Sorry I took so long with this chapter.  I lost most of the first draft
thanks to a power utage and didn't have much enthusiam rewriting it. 
For those interested, previous chapters of the story can now be found at
http://members.xoom.com/Yoshiro_san/cwires.  As always comments are
welcome and thanks go to David Johnston and Kaenda Saotome (now Hiroyuki
Yoshiro) for prereading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or any of the ideas associated with
it.  Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan, Inc do.  Rights in North  America
belong to Viz Communications
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Four: The New Girl

     Kasumi smiled innocently at the young girl in front of her.  "I'm
afraid that Ranma isn't in right now.  Should I tell him that you're
looking for him?"

     "Yes, I think you should.  Tell him that Kiyomi Matsumara is
looking for him.  He'll know why."

     "I'll do that.  Would you like to stay for tea?"

     "No, I have some other business to take care of.  I'll see Ranma
tomorrow."

     Kasumi watched the girl depart with a degree of frustration.  How
could Mr. Saotome have been so irresponsible?  Ranma didn't deserve to
have this much trouble.  The one bright spot was that Ukyo would be able
to deal with this better than Ranma would have.

=====================

     Ranma and Ryoga were walking side by side towards the Tendo's home,
deep in conversation.

     "I can't believe that I let you talk me into doing that, Ranma,"
Ryoga grumbled.

     "Don't worry.  No matter how things turn out you won't have to go
through with it.  Tsubasa only gets his date if he finds the statue and
if that happens you'll have switched back."

      "So, the only thing I have to worry about is Ukyo killing me when
she finds out."

      "I'm almost sure that she'll understand.  She wants to switch back
too."  Ranma ground his teeth in frustration.  He'd devised the perfect
plan to get the statue and all Ryoga could do was complain.  Actually,
it was sort of funny.  By the time Ranma set foot inside the house he
was almost chuckling.  His mirth suddenly died when he saw who was
waiting for him inside.

     "Ranma how could you?"  Akane's face was composed in the grim lines
that Ranma knew all too well.

     "How could I what?  I don't know what your talking about, Akane."
Ranma tried to assume an expression of innocence, but didn't have much
luck.  It was too bad he'd copied the expression from Genma.

      "Does the name Kiyomi Matsumara mean anything to you?"

      Ranma gulped nervously.  Akane asking that question about a girl
meant trouble in more ways that one.  "No.  I'm afraid that it doesn't
seem familiar."

      "She stopped by this afternoon and asked Kasumi about you.  Does
that help you remember?"

      "No.  I'm still coming up blank."

      Ryoga cut in, "You've got to remember her, Ranma.  Kiyomi was that
girl we kept meeting when you walked me home."  Ryoga smiled
maliciously.  "I think she had a crush on you."

     "Do you remember her now?" Akane asked.

     "Yeah, sort of.  She looked a bit like you, only she was cute."
Ranma briefly wondered why he'd said that.  He shrugged off his concerns
though.  Akane was going to hit him anyway, there was no sense in
dragging it out.

     "Ranma, you jerk!"  Akane produced a shinai and swung it in an
overhand arc towards Ranma's head.  However, instead of the usual
thud, it produced a sharp crack when it connected and snapped cleanly in
two.

     "Hey!  That didn't hurt at all. You must be eating too much of your
own cooking if you're getting that weak, Akane."  Ranma smirked as Akane
started to turn a dull red.

     "Why don't you two talk this over, while I go train?"  As Ryoga
left the room, she winced at the sounds behind her.  Her real body was
tough, but there were limits.

====================

     "Yo, Pop.  I want to talk to you about something."

     Looking up from the magazine he was reading, Genma saw his son
standing over him.   "Ranma, what do you want.?" he asked warily.

     "We had a visitor yesterday.  Her name was Kiyomi Matsumara," Ranma
said flatly.  "She was looking for me.  She isn't a fiancee that you've
forgotten to mention, is she?"

       Genma felt a trickle of sweat run out from under the bandanna
covering his head.  "I'm, uh, not sure.  Was she a tall blond with green
eyes?"

     "No, Pop.  She's short with dark hair."

     "Then are you sure that her name wasn't Kiyoki Matsumura?"

     "I'm sure.  Just how many people did you engage me to?"  Even as
he spoke, Ranma knew that he didn't to hear the answer.

     "Only thirty-two girls.  It's really not as bad as it sounds. 
Besides, it sounds like you got involved with this Kiyomi girl on your
own."

     "What?  There's no way that I'd get myself engaged to anyone!"

     "I didn't say engaged.  Have you forgotten Shampoo and Kodachi so
soon?"  Genma shook his head sadly.  "The curse of the Saotome men.  I
can't remember how much trouble this irresistible attraction that women
have towards us has caused me."

     "Yeah right, pop.  You'd better be telling the truth about not
engaging me to Kiyomi."

   ===================

     When Tsubasa heard the front door of the restaurant he was in open,
he froze momentarily.  He was well aware that what he was trying to do
was illegal.  Yesterday, when Ukyo had offered to go on a date with him
if he did just one little favor for her it hadn't seemed to matter.  The
statue didn't sound valuable anyway.  Shaking off his paralysis, he
hurriedly disguised himself as one of the Nekohanten's chairs.

     Entering the Nekohanten, Shampoo felt a brief pang of loneliness.
It didn't seem to be the same without Great-grandmother.  She even
missed Mousse, just a tiny bit.  He'd gone back to China as well.
Shampoo didn't know why, but supposed it was part of some plan to try to
win her love.

     From his hiding place, Tsubasa watched the Chinese girl, who'd
paused in the entrance.  She was almost as beautiful as Ukyo, and he
considered proclaiming his love.  He put that thought aside, when he saw
her reach into a pocket on her dress and pull out a small object.
Squinting, Tsubasa saw that it was a black statue of two people standing
back to back.  It looked just as Ukyo had described.  This was going to
be harder than he'd thought.

==================

     "You said that you wanted to talk to me about something, Ranchan?"
Ukyo inquired.  She glanced at the two people standing opposite her.
She'd always thought that Ryoga and Akane would make a cute couple, but
this wasn't what she'd had in mind.

     "Yes, I did.  This girl that I met while I was going to school with
Ryoga showed up looking for me.  Pop swears that he didn't engage me to
her or nothing, but I still need you to talk to her."

     "You left out something, Ranma."  Turning to Ukyo, Akane continued,
"Ryoga said that she had a crush on Ranma."

     "So, you want me talk to her and make sure that she doesn't get the
wrong idea."  Ukyo smiled.  This girl wasn't any kind of threat under
the circumstances, but she was the perfect excuse to put her plan into
motion.  "I'd be glad to help out."

==================

     Ukyo had almost groaned when Kasumi told her that Ryoga was in the
dojo.  The constant training was becoming tiresome, especially since
Ukyo wanted to talk to Ryoga.  It wouldn't hurt Ryoga if her training
got interrupted briefly.  Especially since she had as much to gain from
this as Ukyo did.  At least that was what Ukyo told herself as she
entered the dojo.

     As Ukyo entered the building Ryoga paused.  "Ranma- I mean Ukyo,
what do you want?"

     "I want to talk to you.  Do you know about that new girl that
showed up?"

     "Yeah.  Ranma didn't remember her until I reminded him.  I suppose
that you're going to have to stand in for Ranma, when she shows up
again."

     Ukyo flashed a smile at Ryoga.  "You figured that out faster than I
thought you would.  I'm going to need someone to pose as my fiancee and
I was hoping that you'd do it."

     "You've got to be kidding.  There's no way that I'm pretending to
be engaged to Ranma."

      "Technically, you already are since everyone thinks you're me.
Besides, you didn't seem to mind when you were pretending that you were
dating him!'

     "That's completely different!"  Ryoga stopped speaking when she
realized that telling Ukyo it was different because Ranma had been a
girl at the time was probably a bad idea.  In fact, mentioning that to
anyone could probably wait.

      "Exactly how is it different?  Never mind, I just asked you
because I'd really prefer not to involve Akane.  If you think that I
should...?"   Ukyo let her voice trail off, leaving the question
unfinished.  Akane was already involved, making sure that Ranma and Mr.
Saotome stayed out of the way.  Ryoga didn't need to know that, however.

     Ryoga gritted her teeth.  "All right, I'll do it."  Ukyo was right
about not involving Akane.  Even if it wasn't real, seeing Akane and
Ranma acting like a happy couple would be more than Ryoga could take. 
Also, Ukyo would be mad enough when she found out about the agreement
Ryoga had made for her to date Konatsu.  That was all Ranma's fault, but
Ukyo probably wouldn't see it that way.  It would be wise to stay on her
good side.

     "Fine.  Then all we need to do is change you into some feminine
clothes and get you fixed up."  Chills started to run up Ryoga's spine
at the sight of Ukyo's satisfied smirk.

     "What are you talking about?"

     "Ryoga, we're going to have to make this look convincing.  This
Kiyomi person won't believe that Ranma's engaged to someone that looks
like a guy."

     "It's not as if you have any girl's clothing," Ryoga protested.

     "We'll borrow something from Akane or Nabiki.  Now stop whining."
Grabbing hold of Ryoga's arm, Ukyo began to pull her out of the dojo.

====================

     Tsubasa almost wept in frustration.  The statue had been placed on
a table not far from his hiding place, but that didn't do him any good.
The Chinese girl kept moving around the restaurant, but she never left
the room long enough for Tsubasa to get the statue.  Finally, she left
building again and Tsubasa slowly began to creep closer to his goal.
When she reentered the room a minute later, clutching a handful of mail,
he was forced to freeze into immobility once more.

      Shampoo sat down at the table she'd left the statue on and began
to absentmindedly go through the mail.  Tossing aside assorted bills and
junk mail, she paused when she came to a letter with a Chinese
postmark.  A smile brightened her face as she opened it, perhaps Cologne
had written to say she was returning soon.  She read for several
moments, before dropping the letter with a gasp."  Aiyah!  This very bad
news."

     Tsubasa blinked as Shampoo raced out the door, leaving the statue
behind.  Shrugging, he emerged from his hiding place.  It was too bad
that the girl had received such upsetting news.  It did make his job a
lot easier though.  As he walked over to collect the statue, he stopped
to examine the letter.  Unfortunately, it was written in Chinese and he
discarded it unread.  If he'd been able to read it, he would have found
the contents to be just as upsetting as Shampoo had.

==================

     Ukyo waited in the Tendo's living room, dressed in Ranma's best
Chinese outfit.  He glanced over at Ryoga, who was slouching against the
wall.  "Stop sulking, Ryoga.  You should be grateful that Kasumi lent
you one of her old dresses."

     "Exactly why should I be grateful?"

     "Because you didn't have to use any of Nabiki's suggestions.  Now
stop slouching and smile."

     As Ryoga attempted to comply, they heard the front door open and
Kasumi greet the visitor.

     Ukyo hurriedly looked away from Ryoga as Kiyomi entered the room.
"You haven't changed, Ranma.  I assume you know why I'm here."

     Ukyo swallowed nervously.  "Yes I do and I just want to say that I
don't think it will work out."

      "What are you talking about?  It took me months to find you, and
you expect me to just give up?"

     There was something wrong about the way that Kiyomi was looking at
him and the barbed spear that she was carrying definitely looked
intimidating, but Ukyo felt he had know choice but to continue.
"Kiyomi, I can understand why you'd be attracted to me, but  I'm
afraid..."

     "You dare to mock me?  I've come for revenge for the way you
humiliated me.  Now die!"

     Caught off guard, Ukyo barely dodged the first deadly thrust of the
spear and hurled himself backwards to avoid a vicious sweep of the
weapons shaft.  "What are you talking about?"  Ukyo didn't really care
what the answer was, but talking things over seemed like a good idea.

     "You crushed my dream and now you pretend that you don't
remember?"  Kiyomi swung her spear in a complicated figure eight,
forcing Ukyo backwards.  "You can go to your grave wondering."

     Shaking off her paralysis, Ryoga moved up behind the smaller girl
and grabbed hold of her, pinning Kiyomi's arms to her sides.  "Can't you
just talk this over peacefully?"

     "Yes, I can."  Feeling Kiyomi relax, Ryoga loosened her grip
slightly.  "Just as soon as I have my revenge!"  Twisting like an eel,
Kiyomi broke free of Ryoga grasp and lunged at Ukyo.

     Taking advantage of the speed the Ranma's body gave him, Ukyo
sidestepped the attack and darted out the door past Kiyomi. When Ryoga
and Kiyomi followed, the only sign of Ukyo's presence was a series of
ripples on the surface of the koi pond.  A moment later, Ukyo surfaced
sputtering.  Pointing over the wall surrounding the Tendos' property,
she cried, "He went that way!"

     Without pausing to acknowledge the information, Kiyomi bounded over
the wall in pursuit of a phantom.

     Her eyes gazing in the direction of her departing assailant, Ukyo
sighed.  "I think I need to come up with a new plan to deal with her."

==================

     Spurred on by the importance of her information, Shampoo hurried
through the Tendos' house, barely listening when informed that Ukyo was
out back.  What she saw when she got there made a far greater
impression.  Ukyo was sitting by the koi pond, trying to wring out a set
of soaked clothing, without removing it.  Ryoga stood nearby, wearing
one of the long dresses favored by the eldest Tendo daughter.

     As Shampoo approached, she could here Ryoga speaking.  "I already
told you, I have know idea why she wanted to kill you."

     "What Ryoga talking about?"  Shampoo's news was important, but this
sounded as if it was slightly more urgent.  

     "Oh hi, Shampoo.  This girl that Ryoga and Ranma used to know
showed up, looking for Ranma.  I decided to talk to her and she tried to
kill me.  If I'd had my spatula, I could've beaten her easily."

     "It's strange.  I don't remember Ranma doing anything to her. 
We'll just have to try to get Ranma to remember."

     "Ranchan can be a bit inconsiderate sometimes, but I'm sure it's
not anything serious."

     "That right.  Shampoo have much worse news for airen."

     "Worse than someone trying to kill me?"  Ukyo's voice contained
both worry and skepticism.

     "Mousse leave tribe and come to challenge under marriage laws. 
Great-grandmother very worried."

     "Don't take this the wrong way, hon, but that doesn't sound like my
problem.  I know that you don't want to marry Mousse, but it would
really simplify things for me."

     "Ukyo not understand.  Mousse not challenge Shampoo, he challenge
Ukyo."

     "Just great.  Kuno, Tsubasa and now Mousse.  Things keep getting
better and better."

     Shampoo whirled to face a dejected Ryoga.  "Shampoo forget.  Mousse
not know about switch.  Things not so bad after all."

     Ryoga just groaned and wondered where Tsubasa was and how long it
would take for him to get the statue.  Ranma was right.  Shampoo didn't
seem to be taking the switch seriously at all.  From the look on Ukyo's
face, as Shampoo tried to persuade her to get some hot water, it was
clear that she was reaching the same conclusion."

==================

     Meanwhile, outside of Ucchan's a mailbox sighed loudly, attracting
stares from curious passersby.  Tsubasa had the statue, but if Ukyo
didn't show up, he'd never get the date that she'd promised him.

End Chapter Four.