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Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to

her, and her alone. I'm just kinda borrowing them. The story below is

for entertainment purposes only, and not to be used commercially.

...Obviously.





"Learning Curve"

        Part II



by:   J. Wagner   (Mako)







Soun Tendo yawned, blinking at the early morning sun. He loved the

mornings - so crisp, calm... a new day. A clean slate. Moments like

this always gave him the opportunity to escape from the insanity that,

fairly frequently, seemed to encroach on his home and hearth. Extra

fiancees showed up every now and then, crazy female martial artists

all of them, but they came and went. The holes in the roof were

patched up, the floors rebuilt, and a new day always began. Luckily,

he mused, things had actually been somewhat calm for the last few

weeks. Akane and Ranma had steadily been getting along better, ever

since that trip they took with Genma to train in the mountains, and

aside from the occasional escapades revolving around certain busty

Amazons and the reappearance of the hated Master, the destruction and

distractions had been minimal.



Stretching, Soun winced slightly at the sound of sirens. Curious, he

walked up to the gate and looked to the left, were some men in white

uniforms were cordoning off the area just outside the Tendo Dojo. This

came as little surprise, really: it looked like a bomb ...no, numerous

bombs had gone off: there were massive holes in the street and

sidewalk, as if some giant hand had simply scooped out chunks of the

ground. Streetlights were bent at odd angles, a vending machine had

been torn in half, somehow, and was lying on its side in two cleanly

cut pieces, a few stray yen lying around it like blood from a wound. A

telephone pole, made of concrete, was broken into splinters, and stray

wires were hanging limply from its still standing fellows.

Additionally, more than a few walls had deep slashes in them, and

while one car had been just turned over on its side, another looked

like it had its front removed. The engine... half of the engine had

finished leaking fluid, and was now just laying there. Soun could see

that it had been bisected smoothly, and saw the missing half just to

the side, still in the front of the car that had been removed.



"Murgh."



"Hmm?" Soun picked up sound from a nearby bush, and parting the

obscuring foliage, saw a familiar pigtail sticking out.



"Ranma? Son?" Soun poked the back of the boy's head, before sighing

and simply pulling him out by his hair.



"Ow ow ow ow OW!" Ranma failed weakly, waking up.  Letting go, Soun

shook his head as his son in law fell forward and back into blissful

sleep.



"Sorry 'bout the mess, Tendo-san."



Soun turned around, and saw just who he suspected he'd see. Ryouga it

was. His hair seemed a little ruffled, and there was a hint of a

bruise on his left jaw, and more than a little sleeplessness in his

eyes, but it was minor. Otherwise he was normal, right down to that

(he'd heard) ridiculously heavy backpack and umbrella. Crossing his

arms, Soun debated whether to reprimand the boy or not. On one hand he

seemed to have been the cause of more than a little damage done on

Ranma, but on the other hand, Soun knew all too well that Ranma's

wounds would heal, and his pride would force him to improve. ...Just

as it had been between Genma and himself, all those years ago.



"You know, Ryouga, it looks like you and Ranma caused a lot of damage

out there last night."



"Yeah," Ryouga nervously scratched the back of his neck, "Well, we

tried to keep it out of the yard, Tendo-san. You know... keep the

damage here to a minimum."



"Were you two up all night fighting?"



"I think Ranma fell asleep a few hours ago. I kinda did the same.

Figured we could," Ryouga smiled, "Continue it another time. Maybe

show him some more tricks I picked up in my travels."



"Well," Soun mused. New techniques? Soun held no illusions as to his

status in the unspoken martial arts hierarchy in Nerima. Genma had

surpassed him long ago, and he'd largely relegated his skills to

teaching, and more recently, trying to beat on the perverted Master.

The thought of which, plus his natural curiosity, drove the Tendo

patriarch to a decision, "How about tea, then? Its cold out, and it

has been a while since you dropped by."



"I would be most grateful, Tendo-san," Ryouga walked over to the bush,

and casually pulled Ranma out and hefted him over his shoulder, "Lead

the way."



~~~~~~~~



"Arigato," Ryouga took the tea, and gave Kasumi a brief bow. No one

else was up, just yet, and Ranma was on a couch in the living room. It

was generally agreed by those awake that he'd sleep better there than

with his father. A man could cut down a forest and no one would hear

it over Genma's snoring. Kasumi smiled, as she always did, and sat

down next to her father. Idly, while drinking, Ryouga wished he could

have had an older sister like Kasumi. Of course, being related to him,

she'd only end up getting lost... and he doubted she'd be so content

all the time with a curse like that over her head. No... best not to

even think about that.



"So, Ryouga," Soun began, "Still have the curse?"



"Hai," Ryouga frowned. Soun had found out soon after Ranma had, during

the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition, when, without

thinking, Ryouga had jumped into the bathtub as P-chan, and came out

as Ryouga. ...While Soun was in it. The older man had confronted

Ryouga about it soon after, and after a solemn vow from the younger

man that it was mainly innocent, and not perverted, decided to let it

pass. Given the attack by Kodachi in the night, and her training under

him for the match, Soun had decided to give him the benefit of the

doubt. They'd even talked about it occasionally, and Ryouga suspected

that Mr. Tendo actually liked talking to him about things. The man had

a similar past; that of a wanderer, but he wandered by choice, and not

by default. Ryouga had no doubt why, now, Mr. Tendo had allowed him to

stay as P-chan. It made Ranma jealous, and Soun knew that even as it

did that, it would push Ryouga himself farther and farther away from

becoming a potential romantic interest for Akane. Ryouga had to admit:

Tendo-san was smarter and craftier than he let on, especially when it

came to things revolving around his 'Plans.'



"I tried to find Jyusenkyo, and I aimed for the more mountainous areas

of China, hoping to hit either the Joketsuzoku, where I could get a

guide, or the Baiyankara Range itself," he shook his head in defeat,

"But I don't even know if I hit the Quinghai Province, to tell the

truth. Hmm... this is good tea, by the way. It's been a long time

since I've had good tea, you know. Not since I left for Korea,

really."



"You've been gone a long time, Ryouga-kun," Kasumi spoke up, "Did you

go any place new?"



"Yep. I got to some new spots in Russia this time around, and spent

some time in the Near East and the Subcontinent. I doubt I'll end up

there again, but you never know... I just got back three days ago, and

made a bee line here. I guess I actually got a little lucky and made

it when I did," Ryouga sipped the tea, "Anything new going on around

here, Tendo-san? Kasumi?"



"The Master returned," Soun's voice was borderline breaking-down-into-

tears.



"Master?"



"Grandfather Happosai," Kasumi held her hand out over the table,

"About this high, several hundred years old... wrinkly."



"Like a male Cologne?" Ryouga couldn't help but start to laugh,

"Seriously?"



"I wish that was it!" Soun held back the temptation to wail, "He's the

most evil, foul, perverted demon on the planet! He destroys things,

steals underwear, and eats us out of house and home!"



"I ...see," Ryouga still couldn't quite picture this 'Happosai,' and

settled for nodding as if he understood, "Anything else?"



"Well... there was that Martial Arts Takeout Race..."



"Oh, and that play Akane and Ranma were in," Kasumi added, "Romeo and

Juliet! It was very... entertaining."



"Romeo and Juliet?" Ryouga frowned, just a little, "Was Ranma Romeo or

Juliet?"



"Both," Soun shrugged, "There was this boy... Ukyou, if I recall, who

started coming by and attacking Ranma. He doesn't come by here much,

though."



"Then there were those Love Pills at the beach. Remember that,

father?"



"How could I forget, Kasumi?" Soun's voice was the same, but Ryouga

detected a small smile on the older man's face.



"It must've been... amusing," Ryouga ventured.



"Oh my!" Kasumi suddenly remembered, "Ryouga-kun... a few days ago, in

the news... We heard that your dog, Shirokuro, I think, had puppies.

She was looking for you, but I suppose you were still out."



"Yeah. In Hawaii," Ryouga bit his lip. Shirokuro had puppies? ...And

she'd been looking for him? Silently, he cursed. If he went to look,

it'd almost certainly be weeks before he found home. Hell, he didn't

even know exactly where home was, not that exact locations in general

had any real meaning to a Hibiki, "I'll... have to try and find a way

home later. I don't want to risk getting lost again now that I found

Nerima."



Soun sighed, understanding, "So... what are these new techniques

you've picked up?"



"Well," Ryouga thought for a second, "On the road I got a lot of use

out of my Bakusai Tenketsu. That's the Joketsuzoku technique Cologne

taught me. It's designed for use in mining, destroying rocks and the

like... and more importantly, the training for it boosted my

durability. I used it to tunnel through some of the more treacherous

mountainous areas, and for general demolition. Its pretty easy once

you get used to it, and I'm comfortable enough with it that I can

control the reaction pretty precisely. I'm experimenting with a

Special for of it... I can already delay the reaction, and have it

explode on contact with things. Ultimately, I want to be able to make

the reaction ki specific."



"Interesting," Soun finished his tea. Kasumi poured him another, but

both kept listening intently.



"On the other hand," Ryouga continued, "Instead of finesse, I've also

been working to make the Bakusai Tenketsu itself more powerful. It

only took a few weeks to learn to control the strength of the blast,

and direct it from the Blasting Point itself. The trick is to infuse

tightly controlled and confined ki into the target. I'm working on

perfecting the Bakusai Tenketsu to the point where I can send a stream

of ki into the ground, and use it to create Blasting Points in areas

far away from myself. A long range attack like that would be a real

asset, because it would force an opponent into close quarters combat,

where I have the advantage."



"A substitute for a ki attack," Soun nodded in approval, "Saotome told

me you also picked up the Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken technique."



"Um... sort of. I have *a* Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken attack I can do,

but I haven't been able to do much with it. The attack itself is

mainly used to distract or overwhelm an opponent to maneuver for a

single blow. I'm still not as fast as Ranma, and I haven't been able

to narrow down the strikes themselves like Ranma has. His Amaguriken

and mine are really pretty different. To the point where they could be

considered different attacks entirely."



"I see."



"Ah," Ryouga leaned forward, conspiratorially, "I'll tell you where I

have made my greatest progress, though. You know the Iron Cloth

technique?"



"Of course," Soun answered.



"I've taken it a step forward, mixing it with elements of Martial Arts

Rhythmic Gymnastics, and the Hibiki School of Survival. At first, I

just needed a way to make my clothes stronger... and last longer on

the road. Mimicking and adapting what I knew from before, and had done

with my bandannas and belt, I altered my clothes, and my spares in my

backpack. I call it 'Tekimen Kongou Gishu.'"



"Instant Diamond Hand?" Kasumi piqued up at this.



"Yep. Even saved my life once, while passing through Afghanistan.

...Or I think it was Afghanistan. Kasumi, could you get a knife,

please?"



"Um... of course, Ryouga-kun," Kasumi got up and headed for the

kitchen. A moment later, she came back and put a sleek cutting knife

on the table, though a little hesitantly.



"Arigato," Ryouga thanked her, and picked up the knife, "Now watch."



With a swift movement, he held up his arm, and quickly slashed at the

sleeve, just below the wrist. Kasumi jumped a little, half expecting a

fountain of blood, and then she saw her father, leaning forward, eyes

narrowed. Curious... but nothing more. Without hesitating, he reached

out and tugged at Ryouga's sleeve, and felt the material. Leaning

back, he brought his hand up to his chin, "Incredible."



"You have to 'teach' the material, and it didn't work the first couple

times because I tried to do it all at once," Ryouga explained, putting

the knife down, "But using a steady infusion of ki achieved the

desired results. It'll stiffen automatically whenever something tries

to pierce it. It'll stop knives, arrows, needles... even bullets and

swords. It'd even stop my old Iron Cloth belt sword...."



"Old?"



"After I finished with this, about halfway through my little trip

around Asia, and had the technique down pact, I decided to see what

else I could do with it. The simplest result was to pre-treat my belt

and bandannas, so they'd be better than before. My bandannas... I

didn't sharpen as much as I could have; in fact I barely changed them

except to make them a little lighter, and thus more accurate, when

thrown. My belt, however," Ryouga reached down, and untied his belt.

Holding up his hand, and one end of the belt, it smiled. Instantly, it

straightened out into the air, forming a blade.



"I call it the Tekimen Kongou Toushin, to separate it from the pure

Iron Cloth technique I used to use," Ryouga was careful with the belt-

sword, and kept it in the air and away from anyone, "Or Instant

Diamond Blade. This was what cut through that car outside. As far as I

know, it'll go through anything... even clothes treated by my Tekimen

Kongou Gishu."



"That's a very dangerous weapon, Ryouga-kun. Could you please put it

away?" Kasumi shifted a bit, and visibly relaxed when Ryouga nodded,

and put it away, reverting it back into the belt he always wore.



"I only used it to scare Ranma a bit last night. I wasn't even aiming

to hit him with it," Ryouga shrugged.



"You mentioned that this was the simplest result of your

experimentation with the technique."



"Yes. The other one was a lot more difficult to get down. I merged

what I had learnt from developing the Tekimen Kongou Gishu, and the

Bakusai Tenketsu. Its... well, you could say it's my trump card. ...My

most powerful technique. I didn't show it to Ranma last night because

it would have ended our little fight right then and there."



"I'd love to see it sometime," Soun mentally added, "Preferably when

used on the hated Master."



Ryouga just nodded, and leaned back, his hands behind his head. His

smile slowly faded, though he didn't know it, as the topic faded away.

His mind, that was, just a few second earlier, content to focus on his

martial arts and his training, and even his journey, had wandered back

into darker and more depressing territory. He was having doubts as to

whether he should be around when Akane woke up. He hadn't seen her

since that disaster after the Bakusai Tenketsu training, around eight

months ago, and the last time he'd seen her she was... irate. That

seemed like a nice, intermediate word, though perhaps 'furious' was a

more exact description.



How could he blame her? She had every right to hate him. For a little

over a month he'd posed as he pet, LET her take him to bed with her,

and even almost gone so far as to look forward to getting to the Dojo

not so much for the opportunity to beat the hell out of his rival, but

just to be P-chan. Cringing, he repeated the hated nickname over and

over in his mind, examining and cataloguing the deep, burning disgust

he felt in ever syllable, and in every stroke of its kanji. Truly, he

was fortunate he had gotten out of the situation when he did. It was

torture to be so close to love and yet, at the same time, so very,

very far. That month had, in retrospect, been one of the most painful

in a life of painful memories and experiences. To degrade himself; to

forsake his precious humanity, the only thing he had left in life to

hold onto, just to feel affection given to an animal, and worse: to

become addicted to it?



Indeed, perhaps it was for the best.



Over the last half year, he'd had more than enough time to roll the

situation around in his mind. He still remembered when he asked

himself the critical question... what if anyone else had picked him

up? What if any other girl had shown affection, and in so doing,

trapped him forever? Robbed him of his humanity for the pathetic

security of a pet? What if Kodachi had picked him up? Ryouga felt a

shiver down his spine at the thought of it. He wanted happiness,

yes... oh gods how he wanted some small measure of happiness, but at

any price? At the price of his humanity? ...His soul?



"Never," he growled, softly. Checking the time, he again thought over

how to approach, or whether to approach at all, Akane. Ranma, at

least, wasn't an issue. Ryouga had been hoping to get in a good fight

when he arrived, and Ranma had practically walked into him. It quickly

became obvious that his nemesis hadn't been working very hard the

intervening months, and resolved to find out more later. However,

looking back, Ranma had responded very well when Ryouga used bladed

weapons, no doubt a result of Ukyou's attacks, and remained untouched

by either bandanna or belt-sword. Cursing, Ryouga realized his mind

had again wandered off track.



Akane. Akane. What about Akane? What to say? He'd already apologized,

and gotten belted across the face for it, though luckily he hardly

felt it. Slowly, indecision and nervousness started to creep into his

thoughts, and Ryouga had to grit his teeth to banish them. Though he

didn't love her, he could see that now, he had been, before,

infatuated with her, and more to the point, still deeply respected

her. He respected her martial arts, meager though they were compared

to Ukyou's or Shampoo's, and he respected her ability to put up with

Ranma, in close quarters, for so long. Ryouga suspected he'd have

likely smothered Ranma in his sleep before spending two full weeks

around the pig-tailed boy. Strangely, he still realized he knew

relatively little about Akane, despite the time he had spent near her

as P-chan. What was her favorite color? Her favorite food? Why didn't

she try and grow her hair long, again, after it got cut?



"Morning Dad. ...Kasumi. ...Ryouga."



"Hmm?" Ryouga opened his eyes, putting aside the annoying thoughts for

later (over) examination, "Oh. Nabiki."



The middle Tendo daughter yawned and sat down at the table next to

him, as if just now realizing he was actually here, "Ryouga. What're

you doing here? It's been... a while since you came by."



"About a year," Ryouga admitted. He'd been gone for about three months

before the Training with Cologne, and around eight after. Narrowing

his eyes a bit, he checked her facial expressions and body posture,

and confirmed that, indeed, she was still a bit groggy from waking up.

That was good - it meant a minimum of hassle and manipulations from

the middle Tendo daughter. He silently hoped she wouldn't find out

about the incident he'd had with Ranma earlier. It would only make

things worse, and blow everything out of...



Nabiki smiled, though her eyes were still half closed, "You're hiding

something, Ryouga-kun."



"What? Huh? Me... nah," Ryouga shook his head more than a little

vigorously.



"Something happened. Is it something I'd be interested in knowing

about?"



"Look, I... there... no. Nothing at all happened last night. Nothing."



"Oh! So it is!"



"Hey, now..."



"Ranma, right?"



"I... ah..."



Nabiki looked into his eyes, suddenly alert, and followed them to the

living room. Slumped over the side, just barely visible, was a black

pigtail. The middle Tendo nodded, and faced the Lost Boy, "Alright.

Did you have an audience?"



"What?"



"Did anyone see you fight him? Judging by the fact that he's

unconscious, and you look awfully spry, I'm guessing you were holding

back."



"Damn it," Ryouga silently cursed, and concentrated on ignoring her.

She was setting him up again, just like before, when he'd first found

his way to Nerima. He'd bumped into her, and found out (see: paid

through the nose) where Ranma was going to school, and gotten a small

map, too. She'd questioned him thoroughly, and promptly pointed him in

the wrong direction. Whether it was a purposeful misleadment, or her

trying reverse-directional psychology, was unknown. Needless to say,

when he'd shown up for the second time, and he and Ranma had had their

little duel, it was no coincidence she had placed bets on him winning.

That little 'bit' with the vitamins was cute indeed. He'd never

actually seen steroids, or how they were used (missing gym class will

do that to you), and he'd only vaguely known what they could do. Oh

yes - Cute, indeed, that.



"What do you want, Nabiki? Just come out and say it," Ryouga found his

voice again, once he'd distanced her's from his thoughts.



"It looks like you've been on the road a long time, Ryouga-kun,"

Nabiki ran her finger down his jaw line, causing the younger boy to

flinch, "You've grown some stubble. You want to know what I want to

know?"



He nodded.



"How good you've gotten. Kuno-chan hasn't exactly been a challenge at

school, and Mousse hasn't issued a challenge in months. Ranma's going

to train to beat you in the formal match I just know you're going to

write up today. I know your type - they're rare, but very... very

predictable. There's no honor in beating Ranma right off the bat like

that. You want him to get better. You want him to be a challenge, and

you want to overcome that challenge in front of everyone that matters,

which... at this point... is pretty much yourself, even if you risk

losing. If it were me, I'd jump him at school, and flatten him in

front of everyone."



"Yeah?" Ryouga cocked his head a bit, as if losing his attention.



Nabiki continued, regardless, "The question then becomes how good

you've become, and how much time you give for Ranma to improve."



"That's none of your business, Nabiki. This is between Ranma and

myself. No one else."



"And Akane?" Nabiki smirked at the response she got.



Ryouga shuddered, "Akane has nothing to do with this. Maybe she did

once... a long time ago. I'm here for Revenge. Retribution. Not to

pick up women."



"Pity," she turned away at the sound of footsteps from upstairs, "I

guess we'll see soon enough, eh? ...Ryouga-kun?"



Nabiki frowned.



Hibiki had bolted. Typical. He could probably face down a speeding car

(from what she'd heard of the Bakusai Tenketsu) without getting hurt,

but he ran at the first sight of something he couldn't deal with

physically. He'd obviously gotten stronger, but emotionally he was as

unsure about himself, and how to deal with the world, as ever,

especially in regards to her sister. It was a weakness. One she could

see, and one she was sure Ranma would and could exploit in a future

rematch. And if that inevitable rematch were to become profitable, for

her, then it was a weakness that would have to be dealt with. ...As

quickly as possible.



 Ryouga ran.



A wall was in the way, but it crumbled like rice paper, and he kept

going. It wasn't ultimately a physical barrier that stopped him, or

one of fatigue, but a matter of self-control. The looming threat of

getting hopelessly lost finally kicked in, and broke the barrier his

panic had built up. Stop, he thought, and stop he did. If only that

thought had come a few seconds earlier.



"Where... the hell...?"



***



"You saw him?"



Nabiki nodded, slipping another piece of deluxe okyonomiaki into her

mouth.



Ukyou waited, as if expecting more information. After a couple

seconds, she realized none was forthcoming, "Well?!"



Nabiki chewed slowly, deliberately, "This is very tasty, you know

that?"



"What is it? Money? How much?"



"Free lunch. Two months."



"TWO MONTHS?!"



"Two months."



Ukyou fumed, but calmed herself, and admitted defeat, at least for the

time being. She was already paying Nabiki not to tell Ranma that the

same boy who attacked him so often was, in fact, a girl, "Ok. You have

my word. Just tell me one thing: How did you know I'd even care?"



"Simple," Nabiki shrugged, and didn't mind letting this information

flow freely. It was good for her healthy ego, "I overheard Ranma

mention that sometimes you fight like Ryouga. I brought the subject to

Shampoo, and she spilled everything. It was too easy."



"Shampoo. I should have known," Ukyou growled, "Go on."



"He showed up two days ago, at night, and got into a little tussle

with Ranma," Nabiki noted Ukyou's pleased smile, and continued, "I

talked to him in the morning, while Ranma was... sleeping. He'd gotten

a little taller, and started on a little bit of beard, but the yellow

and black bandanna was a dead giveaway. He's planning a formal match,

of course, for whenever he shows up next."



"Nani? You mean he isn't there now!?"



"My sister sort of scared him off."



"Is that ...it?"



"There's more," Nabiki thought, briefly, about selling it later as

'breaking news,' but decided Ukyou may well not pay if she felt she

had been too gypped this time around. Skirting the fine line between

alienating customers and milking them for all they have was something

Nabiki Tendo had a good deal of experience in. She'd questioned Ranma,

her father, and Kasumi. The latter two had been hesitant to say

anything at all, apparently keeping the lost boy's confidence, while

the former hadn't had that problem, "From what I gathered, he still

has his curse, even though he went through China at least once. His

martial arts have improved considerably, and he's not interested in

Akane. Afraid, yes, but interested, no."



"I don't care about that!" Ukyou huffed a bit, "He's just a good

friend."



"Oh. Good," Nabiki let the inference slip in, "By the way, as a

friendly bit of advice, I wouldn't bother Ranma for a few days. He's

wound a little tight right now."



***



"Fwah!"



"Faster, boy! Kick! Kick!"



Ranma snarled, and whirled into a spinning roundhouse, clipping his

father's practice glove, just below the target. His toes provided his

only means of motion, next, as he rose almost two inches high to

strike again at the target with the same foot. His father danced back,

targets moving erratically left and low, drawing Ranma's attention as

he flowed into another set of attacks. Beads of sweat fell from his

bow, as the tempo of attacks increased, blurring at around half

Amaguriken-level speeds. Ranma knew this was his father's fastest rate

of speed, but knew that the old man could both dodge and attack at

these speeds, and his experience and familiarity showed when the

training had increased to this point, earlier in the day.



Ranma smiled, as his body and mind synchronized. His aura was a

blazing avatar now, fueling the fire that was *him* - he could just

see the edges of it as he struck, dodged, and moved to counter. Tiny

droplets of water, his sweat he recognized, rolled eerily in midair,

as if suspended and caught in the maelstrom of the match. Five Days

had passed since his ...encounter with the Lost Boy. Eyes flashing,

Ranma's fist struck the glove, and it exploded in a spray of palpated

leather and stuffing. Genma rolled back, and broke off the spar. He

looked down at the glove, and back at his son.



At his feet, tiny droplets finally hit the ground.



"Mr. Saotome, Ranma... dinner!" Kasumi slid open the door to the dojo.





"Already?"



"We're done for tonight, boy," Genma licked his lips, "All this work

makes a man hungry."



Ranma just nodded, and followed Kasumi to the table. He ate quickly,

concentrating on the food, and keeping it away from his father. Soun

and Genma exchanged words, when the latter wasn't trying to steal his

son's food, Happosai sat contently smoking his pipe, the Tendo sisters

chatted, and Ranma ignored them all. He caught occasional glances from

Akane, however, and they burned him like hot coals. Though none of

them had talked about it, except Nabiki, once, Ranma knew his defeat

had to be a hot topic while he wasn't around. He'd been thrashed...

manhandled... humiliated, luckily, no one had seen him. He had gone to

school the first day, and caught the looks of Hiroshi and the rest.

They knew, and Ranma knew Nabiki had told them, most likely just to

hype up their eventual rematch.



He silently cursed her, but kept eating.



It was the worst seeing that... pity in Akane's eyes. At least in

practice, in battle, he never had to worry about being looked at that

way. He'd skipped four days of school, and trained every waking

moment. Ryouga was lost, Nabiki had told him 'for free,' and out of

the 'goodness of her heart.' She hadn't said anymore on the subject,

even though she obviously knew more. He was working towards asking the

old Ghoul for help, even though he already knew the price she'd ask of

him... even though he knew that price was one he would never pay.

Which left him with his old man - a skilled and effective teacher, if

not a father.



And one other, he was hesitant to approach.



Putting down his bowl, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand,

"I'll be in the dojo."



Ranma left, quickly, purposefully, and without waiting for an answer.



"He's obsessed," Akane finally said what most of them had been

thinking.



Soun arched an eyebrow, "He's taking this very seriously. But this is

a matter of honor, for the both of them. A little extra drive never

hurt anyone, eh Saotome?"



"Never, Tendo. Speaking of competition, how about a game of Shogi

later?"



"Good idea, Saotome," Soun clasped his hands together. Gradually, the

family finished dinner and dispersed. As they did, Akane noticed

Nabiki moving with a distinct hurry.



"That's odd."



***



"Where ARE you headed, Miss Kuonji?" Mousse adjusted his glasses as he

landed, carefully slipping his cell phone back into the voluminous

folds of his robe. Far below, on the streets of Nerima, he watched

Ukyou Kuonji run. Leaping to another rooftop in his silent pursuit,

Mousse ran his fingers along his vast array of hidden weapons in

preparation. His purpose for this midnight gaunt was two-fold. Three

fold, actually.



He'd heard of Hibiki.



>From the worst possible source - Shampoo. Worse than the fact that

Shampoo seemed close friends with him, and went so far as to openly

look forward to seeing him again, was that she had repeatedly gone out

of her way, especially over the last few days, to compare Mousse to

this other man. And when it came to jealousy, even Akane Tendo

couldn't hold a candle to Mu Tzu of the Jyusenkyo. It was bad enough

being places side by side with one rival for Shampoo, Ranma Saotome,

who he had repeatedly failed to defeat in combat. At least then,

Mousse suspected, Shampoo's feelings towards Ranma were neither very

fresh nor very strong. This other one, however, would be a problem,

and an obstacle.



And, as everyone knows, Obstacles are for Killing.



He leapt again, keeping Ukyou in sight, even as she ducked through the

overhang of a large restaurant for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, some

of the roof under Mousse's foot, despite his light landing, chipped

and fell. Ukyou stopped instantly, and turned around, her practiced

ears and eyes searching. Her right hand rested calmly on the handle of

her main weapon, some sort of giant spatula, almost on instinct.

Mousse flattened himself, and controlled his breathing. He couldn't

see her anymore, from where he hid, and he almost growled in

frustration. A sharp knife's polished side alleviated the situation,

as he used it to look over the edge of the roof and down into the

street.



Ukyou turned and went back to running.



Mousse followed.



"Almost there," Ukyou smiled, but forced herself to slow down a bit as

she entered the park. She was in her male school clothes, just in case

she ran into trouble, but she still couldn't shake the odd feeling

that she was being followed. Brushing aside such a silly notion, she

kept walking, looking around the area. She'd overheard a woman with a

child talking in her restaurant about a 'wandering martial artist'

camped in the park. It had to be him.



Parting foliage, she got a good look at the campfire, and a large pack

and umbrella leaning heavily against a large tree. It was fall, and a

sudden cold wind reminded her of that fact just then. Leaves were

falling, slowly, to earth, and amid them a single figure, highlighted

by the flames, sat. His eyes were closed, but he seemed to be studying

the inferno that lay, less than a foot from his hands, none-the-less.



"Hey," she called out, just loud enough to get his attention, "Got

room for company, sugar?"



His eyes opened, and green-brown orbs seemed to take a second to

register who she was. He jumped up, smiling, "Ukyou! What're you doing

in Osaka?"



"This is Tokyo, dummy."



"Nerima?" he frowned, and the expression stayed, even when she replied

in the negative, "Close, then?"



"Very," she walked up to him, hesitated for a second, and reached out

to give him a warm hug, "Its good to see you again."



"Geez! You've gotten stronger, Ukyou!" he laughed, but it was a

controlled laugh, the ones he preferred to show. It was only

occasionally that he showed genuine emotional laughter, and in those

rare occasions, it was indeed wild, uncontrollable, and even a little

inspirational. She'd only really gotten him to laugh three times, in

the two weeks they'd traveled together. Still, at least, now, his eyes

seemed happy. Distantly, Ukyou realized Nabiki had been right - his

chin was a bit rough with stubble. He gave her a gentle squeeze back

and let her go, and motioned for her to sit down on the soft grass,

"How'd you find me?"



"Someone at the restaurant saw you breaking rocks with your finger.

Who else does that kind of stuff?"



"Good point. Subtlety has never been a specialty of mine," he jabbed a

blackened branch at the fire, causing it to crackle and hiss, "You've

gotten all my packages, haven't you?"



She nodded, "All of 'em. You're spoiling Shampoo, giving her all that

stuff."



"Her great grandmother doesn't pay her," Ryouga shrugged. Ukyou hadn't

known that. Then again, even if it was true, and it must have been for

Ryouga to say it, it would be typical of Shampoo to just take it in

stride and say nothing. The conversation turned to his travels, and

Ukyou listened as he retold what he'd been through and where. At the

same time, around the fire, she couldn't help but remember when they'd

met.



-The Past-



"Okyonomiaki. Okyonomiaki. Okyonomiaki," Ukyou sighed, as she cooked.

The roar of the surf had died down from its earlier fury; leaving it

sounding almost content with the fight it had given her hours ago. The

tireless sea had been her opponent, and partner, for years. It had

been her trainer, in preparation for her inevitable revenge on those

responsible for her ruined life. Ukyou cooked slowly, letting the

peace of mind that came from her unique art seep into her muscles and

body, warming her soul from the continual assault of the cold.



She almost didn't hear the muffled footsteps until they were right

next to her.



"Hey," a tired voice broke her train of thought, "Got room for company

there?"



It was the voice of a boy - obviously, and she checked to see whether

she was in guy-guise at the time being. Realizing that she was, she

deepened her voice just enough to (usually) be convincing, "Huh?"



"I'm starving. Haven't eaten in... days."



"You got any money in there?" she looked at his backpack. It seemed

stuffed. There had to be something in there he could trade for.



The boy shifted the strap on his pack, and looked away at the lights

of the city at the horizon. He smirked, a little, "No cash. And I

don't think you take traveler's checks."



"No," she smiled, a bit, "I guess I can let you have some, though."



"Thanks," he looked at her, and seemed to examine her features a bit,

"I'll pay you back."



"Sure you will," she humored him, and flipped the okyonomiaki onto a

plate.



"You have my word," he took the plate, but waited for her to accept

what he'd said. When she nodded and waved it off, he folded the

okyonomiaki once, and ate it in a single bite. It was, quite

literally, ridiculously fast.



"Its good," he licked his lips, not seeming full in the least.



"Really?" she'd never actually sold her food to anyone, so the

monetary loss was nothing, really. This was the first time anyone had

actually complimented her cooking, "Want to try another?"



"Sure," he waited as she quickly cooked up another okyonomiaki, and

ate that one more slowly, in only three bites.



"What's your name, anyway?" she started on two this time, at the same

time.



"Hibiki, Ryouga," he watched her cook closely, carefully observing her

hand movements.



She blushed a bit, not used to much non-Tsubasa attention, "What?"



He leaned back a bit, and nervously put his right hand behind his

head, "Nothing. You're hands are just very efficient. ...Like a

martial artist's."



"I am a martial artist. Okyonomiaki Style," she flipped the food, to

let the other side cook.



His left eyebrow rose a bit, "Really?"



"What? You've never heard of it before?"



"No..." Ryouga trailed off, but noticed her expression, "Heh. Learn

something new every day, I suppose."



That seemed to placate her, "I guess you're one too. What style?"



"No real style. Just whatever I can pick up," he shrugged half

heartedly, "You any good?"



"I'm... ok. Yourself?"



"I guess I'm ok, too. I know some tricks."



"Maybe you could show me them, then. These tricks of yours," she

handed him the two finished foodstuffs.



He took the plate, looked down at the steaming okyonomiaki, and back

up at her. Slowly, a hint of a smile drew up his lips, "Sure. I could

use some good company. And some good food."



-Present-



"I swear... if I never see that damn country again it'll be a year too

soon," he shook his head, "Ukyou-san?"



"What?"



"Whose your friend?"



"Huh?" she looked around. Then, the lost boy pointed over her shoulder

and into the branches of a tree. It was dark, but she could just

barely make out the outline of something large - too large, hiding in

the cover of the foliage. She reached for her megaspatula, but Ryouga

shook his head.



"Let me," he reached up, and his fingers just seemed to brush by his

bandanna, and he had one in hand. He spun it, quickly, as he stood,

and let it fly with a flick of the wrist. The figure moved, like a

blur, at the last second, and the bandanna cut into and through the

branch it had been perched on. Now partially lit by the fire, and by

the far off light of a streetlamp, Ukyou immediately recognized the

figure.



"Mousse," she growled.



Ryouga blinked in surprise, then nodded, "Makes sense. Mu Tzu!"



"You must be Hibiki," he stepped forward, long hair moving slowly in

the breeze, "A pleasure."



"Same here. I've heard of you," he smirked, "From Shan Pu."



"Oh?"



"Nothing good, I assure you," a prominent canine pointed out as

Ryouga's smirk deepened, "Still, its nice to see you in person,

finally."



"Is that so?" Mousse kept his cool, and his hands in his sleeves, "I

heard you beat Saotome."



Ryouga paused before replying, "I haven't beaten him yet."



"Still. You understand... I simply must see for myself," Mousse's eyes

narrowed, and he jumped. Ryouga stood, watching. Ukyou, however,

moved: reaching out for the Lost Boy's umbrella. It was heavy as hell,

but she could lift it, and he'd need it to fight Mousse. She'd seen

the Chinese boy fight Ranma, though she'd never crossed him herself,

and he wasn't a pushover.



Bladed chains rained down.



Ryouga gave a small jump back, and out of their way as they dug into

the ground. His hand reached up, and brushed back and forth, procuring

a handful of bandannas. He spun them a bit longer, and jumped again,

letting them fly in three waves of three. Mousse instantly switched to

the defensive. His first attempt, with a wooden spear, was a total

failure as the bandannas cut through it like rice paper, forcing the

master of hidden weapons to make a costly dodge attempt that drew

first blood. Not missing a beat, the male amazon switched approaches,

and pulled out two steel maces, using both hands independently to

intercept and deflect the next two small swarms of bladed bandannas.



He landed, and turned, watching Ryouga do the same.



Without a word, they charged each other. Ukyou forced herself to look

away from the fight, and grabbed the hilt of the umbrella lying

against a large tree. Lifting with her legs, she was able to get it

off the ground, but not without a strong effort. She knew she'd gotten

stronger since she saw him last, but the umbrella seemed two or three

times heavier than before. It was just like the first time she'd tried

picking it up, almost a year ago.



Mousse broke from the fight, hand flipped out, and spun. Ryouga moved

in to pursue, but caught the glint of metal hidden behind Mousse's

robes. Jumping up, he tricked Mousse into a preemptive lunge, and

finally saw the weapons - Mandarin Duck Blades. They were smaller than

normal Deerhorn Knives, but still damn deadly in the hands of a

master. Mousse moved more quickly and expertly now, using complex

movements and attacks with the weapons beyond Ryouga's knowledge of

them. It was getting dangerous.



"Alright. That's enough," he brought his forearm forward, and in-

between two blades of the knives. With a quick twist, and a trickle of

blood from where the edges caught his skin, Ryouga forced an opening.

His hand found Mousse's wrist, twisted, and in the same instant, the

other Mandarin Duck Knife was wrenched free. Mousse's eyes widened, as

a blazing red and black aura snapped into existence around the lost

boy. Before his opponent could recover, Ryouga's right hand drew back,

just a few inches, and shot forward, palm open, impacting Mousse's

sternum like a pile driver. The amazon flew back twenty feet, a solid

tree finally meeting his back with a loud crack.



Mousse fell to his feet, breathing heavily. Behind him, the tree

groaned, and fell. Gently, he reached up, felt the area where Ryouga

had hit him, and drew back his hand in a silent grimace of pain.

Meters distant, Ryouga lowered his arm slowly, and frowned. Letting

out a deep breath, Mousse concentrated, and his own battle aura

crackled to life. He jumped again, and arms splayed wide, let fly an

arsenal of weapons, chained and otherwise, coupled with a quarter of

the throwing knives he had on him.



Ryouga moved like lightning among the weapons, dodging every one, and

Mousse prepared his most powerful attack. His most powerful, improved,

attack. Feeling his hands on the weapon, and seeing Hibiki in position

and range, the Chinese amazon let his ki flow into his weapon, making

it stronger and faster - letting it defy reality itself. With a yell,

he moved to strike, "Painiyao Chuan REVISED!"



"Eh?"



Ryouga saw a flash of white, but felt a dozen blows across his body,

at Amaguriken speeds. This was impressive, since whatever had hit him

obviously wasn't a fist or foot - a weapon of some kind, used at

blinding speed. Impressive indeed.



"Just not enough," Ryouga opened his eyes, and lunged. He found, in

front of him, what looked to be a training potty in the shape of a

swan. It was already slightly cracked from hitting him so many times,

and when Ryouga's fist met it, the weapon shattered like a broken Ming

vase. However, instead of stopping, or even slowing down, the meaty

fist continued on course, slamming into the side of Mousse's face. The

amazon went limp, reducing damage from the blow, but lost his glasses.





"Remember this, my Myopic Friend," Ryouga pulled back his hand, and

sent a tiny charge of ki into the palm as it glanced against Mousse's

robes, "Yubisaki Ishimi Miketsukan!"



In midair, Ryouga reached out and caught the glasses.



Next to him, Mousse hit the ground.



"Agh... what?" Mousse struggled weakly, but his clothes were like a

vice now. They were as tight and immobile as pure lead, and just as

heavy. It was like being wrapped up in a ton of industrial strength

chains. As he tried to break free, he was thankful that his robes

allowed so much room underneath - if he had been wearing tight

clothes, not only would he be immobilized, but also unable to breathe,

especially if he had been caught in the instant he exhaled air.



"What happened to him?" Ukyou walked over, carrying a red umbrella,

even though it was useless now.



"Just one of my little... tricks," Ryouga reached out, and took the

umbrella from her effortlessly. He looked down at Mousse, "He should

be fine, however."



"Gah!" Mousse gave one last attempt to escape before silently

admitting defeat.



"Now," Ryouga knelt down, and smiled a little, "Why were you following

me? I know you attacked me because of Shampoo, and maybe Ranma. But I

don't think you would have followed me just because of that."



"That would be because of me," a familiar, female voice answered from

in the shadows, behind them. Ryouga and Ukyou pivoted, and saw the

source.



"Nabiki," both gritted their teeth.



"Ooh. Stereo sound," Nabiki walked up, smiling in a most predatory

fashion, "I'm afraid I needed to find you, so I put a little bounty on

your head among a select few people. Mousse was one of them."



"Typical," Ryouga crossed his arms, "How long were you watching?"



"I saw the whole thing," she chuckled, "Very impressive, from what I

could see."



"Which probably wasn't that much," Ukyou huffed.



"It was enough," the middle Tendo sister reached down, and rapped her

knuckles on Mousse's robe. It was like hitting a solid block of metal,

and its texture was similar, even though it still looked like normal

cloth, "Interesting."



"Alright, Nabiki. Let's strike a little deal," Ryouga sighed, "I need

to find my house. My dog..."



"Had puppies. I know," Nabiki also crossed her arms, under her

breasts, "I'll take you there, if you fill me in on your capabilities,

and give me control over when you fight Ranma."



"I fight, when and where I want to fight... but I will tell you what I

know, if you can take me home."



"Deal," Nabiki paused a second, "Where is your house, anyway?"



Ryouga scratched his chin, "Well..."



***



Mousse was sulking.



Granted, this was not something revolutionary. But it bore mentioning,

none-the-less. After his little run in with Hibiki, and soon after the

mercenary Tendo had left, he'd been released. Hibiki had simply knelt

down, and touched the fabric of his prison, with an almost inaudible

murmur, that sounded like 'Bakusai Tenketsu.' The fabric, formerly as

heavy and hard as a foot of cast iron, just gave way and crumpled into

flecks of dust and strips of cord. Luckily, Mousse still had a

formidable arsenal of chains and other weapons to ...conceal himself.

Hibiki then put some fresh wood on the nearby campfire, and resumed

talking to Ukyou Kuonji.



Of course, Mousse always had a spare set of clothes hidden...

somewhere.



He wasn't the Master of Hidden Weapons for nothing!



Dressing in his spare, and putting back as many weapons as he could

recover, Mousse paused at the broken 'Fist' of the White Swan. The

memory of a fist, smashing through the weapon, and getting inexorably

closer, came unbidden. Looking over at the two martial artists, he saw

Ryouga lean back a little, and scratch the back of his head while

Kounji laughed softly. Mousse's glasses slipped down his nose a bit,

and he reached up, pushing them stubbornly back into position. When

they'd fought, Mousee hadn't even come close to touching Hibiki, much

less doing any real harm. He'd heard of the resilience and toughness

that followed the Bakusai Tenketsu training, and he'd seen the three

women of the village who had gone through it fight. Needless to say,

Mousse knew even one blow from the Revised Fist should have at least

winded them some, maybe even stunned them for a second or two.



How was it possible that Hibiki had simply ...ignored the blows?



What kind of a monster was he?



Mousse cursed silently, and turned to leave. Then, abruptly, he looked

over his shoulder at the two. Not just martial artists, but friends.

Between chasing Shampoo, and picking up what he could to impress her,

martial arts-wise, to convince her he was as strong as any Outsider

male, he'd never had time or an opportunity for friends. The life of a

male amazon was nothing particularly interesting, which only served to

widen the divide between himself and his amazon brothers. They were,

as a group, far to demure and skittish to be around for extended

periods of time. His year-brothers, he had been ...almost close to,

when he was young, and they'd all practiced cooking and cleaning and

the male 'Arts.' But as the years went by, he found that he just

couldn't stand their incessant chatting, their physical weakness...

and worst, their veiled contempt and jealousy. All because Mu Tzu

could fight, and wanted to fight, and pursued a woman instead of the

other way around. For Mousse, the word 'Tomboy' bit especially deeply.



Maybe... this was a chance.



Walking slowly to the came, he couldn't help but see Hibiki's eyes

follow him, searching for any sign of attack. And yet, as the same

time, there wasn't any true hostility or pity in his eyes, only

curiosity, and a little sadness. The former, Mousse could understand,

but the latter...? What did Hibiki, who could fight, who had friends,

who was free of obligations, have to be sad about?



"Hey," he ventured, and noted that Ukyou still seemed a little tense

around him, while Ryouga seemed essentially indifferent. A weak smile

from her pushed Mousse forward, the ever-present fear of derision and

mocking diminishing, "Good fight."



"You did pretty good," Ryouga shrugged, "You even tagged me a couple

times."



"You were holding back."



"I don't fight to hurt people," Ryouga motioned to his side, in

between himself and Ukyou, who sat opposite him, "Except Saotome, of

course. You wanna sit?"



"Thanks," he did. The ground was soft, but not moist, which was good.

Moisture still made him uncomfortable, damn Jyusenkyo to hell.



An uncomfortable silence followed.



"Hey," Ukyou finally said something. It had just occurred to her,

"Where did you get your clothes? You were in your birthday suit when

Ryouga broke you out."



Mouse arched an eyebrow, "Secret of the trade."



"You know, I've seen this guy transform in and out of his curse,"

Ukyou saw Mousse twitch, and realized she'd made a mistake, "Oh!

I'm..."



"No," Mousse shrugged, "Its ok. Really. The curse is as much a part of

me as my thrice damned vision."



"And my kami damned sense of direction," Ryouga squeezed his eyes

shut.



Depression reigned.



"Anyway," Ukoyu hated to see Ryouga sulk like that. And it didn't make

her all to happy to see Mousse like that either, even if she barely

knew him, "I saw Shampoo splash him with water, at the Nekohanten,

where this poor guy works..."



"Unfortunately I didn't see it coming," Mousse sighed.



"And he transforms," Ukyou continued, after hitting Mousse on the

shoulder and getting him to clam up, "Nothing surprising there. But

when he gets turned back, a kettle of hot water later, he's got his

clothes on!"



Ryouga perked up at that, "That's like Old Man Saotome! He transforms

back fully clothed, too! How?!"



"Hmm," Mousse considered that. He'd seen Genma, at the Tendos and at

Doctor Tofu's, in both his panda guise and as a human being (such that

he was), but he'd never seen him transform, "He must know a great deal

about concealment then. It took me a while to figure it out myself...

and even now, it's difficult to explain. It does make the curse a

little more tolerable, though. The last thing I need is women leering

at me."



"Leering at you?" Ukyou scoffed, "Awfully full of yourself, aren't

ya?"



Mousse paused before answering that, "I'm an amazon, remember. Women

are all hentai perverts, anyway. ...Always trying to cop a feel.

Especially Shampoo."



Ryouga's eyes went wide from information overload, and he passed out.



Ukyou seemed stunned, and then shook Mousse's hand, "Congratulations.

You knocked him out, sugar."





***



GLOMP



"Nihao!"



"Uh... hi, Shan. Mind, er, letting go here?"



"Sure," Shampoo backed off, after giving him one last squeeze. Looking

him over, again, she smiled - he seemed in good condition. Then again,

considering he'd been doing this most of his life, it wasn't really

that much of a surprise that nothing major seemed to have happened to

him. He was a good friend, like Mousse almost was, and without the

obsession... on her, specifically, anyway.



"You look good, Shampoo. Your birthday's... when?"



"The twentieth of April, 6:12 AM," Mousse interrupted, his voice laced

with tension. He'd led Ryouga from Ukyou's, where he had stayed for

the night after they left the park together. It had been more than

enough time for Mousse to be filled in on the Lost Boy's stance with

his Shampoo. They were friends, and considering how few friends

Shampoo had here in Japan, it was put forward that this was a healthy

thing. For both of them, truthfully, because Ryouga didn't really have

anyone outside Nerima, and a scant few other haunts. At least Mousse

and Shampoo always knew they had a home, though it was far away, for

them to visit. Ryouga's house was, supposedly, nearby, but given his

direction, it might as well be somewhere in China.



None of this, however, made seeing Shampoo glomp onto him easier and,

in traditional hentai Amazon fashion, give him a few subtle squeezes.

Mousse had been in a similar position often enough, at home, though

never with Shampoo - and never with anyone he particularly respected

or felt even close to liking in that way. It was frustrating - no one

understood, and he'd long ceased really trying to explain the nuances

of Joketsuzoku behavior and society. Hell, the word 'amazon' tended to

make people here either nervous or distracted. Subsequently, Mousse

settled for gnashing his teeth in relative silence while Shampoo

fussed over Ryouga, looking for physical differences.



As if half a year would have that much effect on a person's body.



"Is obassan in?"



"Right here, boy," Cologne came out from behind him, causing Ryouga to

almost jump out of his skin. Almost.



"Hey, granny," he recovered from the surprise smoothly, and nearly

without missing a beat, "Could I get a Dim Sum? Ooooh, and some Ramen!

With meat - lots of meat!"



"That's the greeting I get?" Cologne smiled. ...Almost.



"You know me. I'm always more forthcoming on a full stomach," he took

a seat, and brushed off Shampoo after she undid one of his bandannas,

"Hey! I don't have an unlimited supply of those, you know."



"How many you have then?" she twirled it, but it didn't seem to do

anything unusual.



"A little over a hundred. I lost count a while ago."



Shampoo blinked. A hundred?!



"Here ya go, sonny boy," Cologne presented the ramen with her usual

lightning (literally) speed, "Mousse!! Get back to work and sweep the

front of the store!"



Mousse snarled like a rabid animal, but went back to his little

chores. Ryouga nodded in thanks for the food, and dug in, though at a

level just below a typical Ranma-stuff-you-face-like-its-going-out-of-

style binge, "So...? How goes the Husband Hunt?"



Cologne seemed about to say something, when Shampoo interrupted,

"Going good! Very good!"



Ryouga seemed a little encouraged by such a vigorous response, "Good.

As long as you don't kidnap anyone... or use any Jyusenkyo water..."



Mousse flinched, before leaving the restaurant.



"...Then it shouldn't be a problem," Ryouga finished and went back to

the food. Truthfully, he did have some doubts as to whether

encouraging the amazons was a good idea. Ranma obviously had some

interest in Akane, and that feeling was reciprocal, if repressed and

hidden behind harsh words and anger, respectively. Still, Shampoo was

a good girl, and a good catch, and she seemed to take the obligation

to 'love' Saotome very seriously. He couldn't just tell her that she

didn't have a chance, especially when he suspected she did. Ranma

never seemed one to rate family honor that high (look at his role

model of a father), and though Kodachi was a dead end with a pit of

spikes at the end, Shampoo did have a genuine chance to win that rat

bastard's heart, if she tried.



And, of course, he also knew that Ukyou was 'engaged' to Ranma as

well. Though he also knew Saotome was oblivious to this - as well he

should be. Knowing him, he'd flatter her and sweet talk until she was

convinced not to fight him, and it would only make things worse.

Oddly, he found he couldn't even picture Ukyou as trying to be Ranma's

fiancee after all she'd said, and said she'd did. Still, anything was

possible.



Lost in his thoughts, as always, Ryouga realized he'd been operating

on automatic. Nodding and make the occasional reply independent of

what he was really concentrating on. It was a useful habit to have,

sometimes, but it was a lot of trouble in others. Cologne was talking

about some business at the village, and wondering if he'd gotten close

(like he wouldn't have noticed). Apparently, Shampoo was planning on

taking a trip back home for a few weeks, something about that

'Happosai' person that Mr. Tendo had mentioned before. Then, one word

caught his immediate attention.



"Jyusenkyo..."



"Soap," Shampoo repeated, "Jyusenkyo soap. Could be cure to cat

curse."



"Shampoo, you should know better than to order from them by now,"

Cologne sighed, and got out Ryouga's Dim Sum, "Its always one thing or

another."



"But great grandmother, is waterproof soap! What could be wrong with

waterproof soap?"



"A cure," Ryouga's voice bordered on being a whisper, "A cure....

Shampoo... I must have it."



"Shampoo only order one box of soap. Is to too expensive," she looked

away from the obvious disappointment and crushing depression on his

face.



"I see," he cupped his hands, and looked up at the ceiling, "If it

works, though... if it works. I'd kill for a cure."



The calm tone in his voice left little doubt that he hadn't been

exaggerating. Or, that if he was, he was close enough to meaning it

that the line became blurred. Shampoo became a little nervous, just

then - she'd been ready to kill Ranma-chan, back when she thought she

was just a food-thieving girl with a nasty sucker-punch/kick, but

she's always approached it with a measure of passion. Letting the heat

of the moment simply could any other inhibitions she had, of which

there weren't that many to begin with. Ryouga, though, said it like he

was saying something so obvious that even a child would know it. That.

And the simple fact that's she never really been around a male who

could, at any time, physically overwhelm her, and she knew Ryouga

could without even trying. For the best warrior of her generation,

just being around a male (of all things) powerful enough to smash

through her defenses like paper was a humbling and slightly unnerving

experience.



"A cure for this... freakish body," he clenched his fist, and screwed

his eyes shut. Cologne seemed content to watch, dispassionately, but

Shampoo wasn't as cold - would never be as cold as he ancient mentor.



"Shampoo like you the way you are," she whispered, and but if Ryouga

heard it, he didn't give any indication.



***



"How much?!"



"Two thousand yen for the first week, one thousand for every three

days after that," Nabiki grinned, imperiously. Her posture, and her

voice, made her seem the type who didn't suffer fools kindly, but

preferred to make fools suffer. She was in obvious control of the

situation.



"Damn it... fine. You've got a deal. I just need a few more days, then

I'll be ready to take him down," Ranma stopped in his pacing and

looked at her closely.



"Of course," she confirmed what he wanted to hear, though the tone

irritated him.



"A week, maybe a little more. You give me that week, and I'll

guarantee the victory you want."



"Good. Very good," the middle Tendo daughter made as to leave, "Are

you sure you don't want...?"



"I'll find out on my own. I think you've ...helped me enough as it

is," Ranma's voice was level and calm, practiced and controlled. For

once.



"I'm always there in case you change your mind," Nabiki gave him a

little salute with two fingers, and left the dojo. As she walked back

to her room, she couldn't help but privately laugh a little.

Everything was going smoothly. Manipulating Ranma was easy, and

keeping tabs on Ryouga, while difficult at times, was well within her

means. The stakes in this fight were higher than they'd ever been, for

all three of them. She had an opportunity to ...move events back and

forth, and maximize profit, if she was careful and shrewd enough.



First and foremost, was finding Ryouga's house, however.



She needed his trust and his ear to make as much from the situation as

she could. The problem was several-fold, however. Ryouga had made it

abundantly clear that the time of the fight would be dictated by

himself alone, and worse, she had no real leverage against him, and

very little concrete information on him at all. But, luckily, Ranma

didn't know that Nabiki actually had very little say, so far, as to

when the challenge would be issued and when the fight would take

place. For the crafty, Nabiki knew, the image of control was often

enough to accomplish one's goals. And the fun wasn't just in the

profit, but in the challenge. And balancing the two fighters to her

advantage would indeed be a profitable and entertaining challenge.



 She heard Akane 'sneaking' up on her well in advance, however, to set

her mind on other things. Turning, she gave a small, innocent smile,

and cocked an eyebrow, "Yes?"



"Oh!" Akane looked away, embarrassed that her stealth left more than a

little to be desired, "Well... I was wondering..."



"Go on."



"I wanted to meet him. I want to talk to him."



"You mean our friendly neighborhood lost boy? About that pet pig

thing, I assume?" Nabiki knew she'd ask something similar soon, but

not this soon. Last time the thought of facing Akane had reared its

head Ryouga had bolted like a rabbit on an airport runway. She

couldn't afford a similar occurrence, just yet, given her position.



"Yeah. That. And some other things."



Nabiki quickly decided to deter her. It'd be easier without Akane

running around as a random factor, "Isn't he a pervert? If you just

want to hit him, you can get in line behind Ranma."



"I don't want to hit him! Geez, what makes you even think that?!"



That came as a small surprise. Nabiki, however, recovered instantly,

"Didn't he sleep with you? And I've seen you snuggling up to that

little black porker."



"He never looked at me," Akane smirked - it was something Nabiki

rarely saw, "He didn't take suggestive pictures of me without asking

either."



"Touche."



"I just feel kind of sorry for him. Last time I saw him... I did hit

him; I thought he was a pervert... Look, I just want to talk to him."



Akane's sister sighed, "Neechan, you remember when daddy told you that

Ryouga had left before you woke up?"



Akane nodded.



"He lied. Ryouga ran when he heard your footsteps," Nabiki spoke

slightly more slowly, to make sure the point was driven home, "Now, if

you'll excuse me..."



"Nabiki," Akane reached out, and took her sister by the shoulder,

"Please."



Nabiki struggled with her more reasonable side - it was a fight she

normally avoided altogether, and simply let the emotions vent

elsewhere, but Akane's words - and that one damn word: 'please' cut

deeply. Against her better judgment, against her own personal

interests, she acquiesced, "...Fine."



"Great," Akane's voice betrayed her. She had known her sister would

give in then; it was a weakness both she and Kasumi had known of for

some time, and occasionally used to their advantage. Watching her

younger sister go, Nabiki cursed her own inability to outright refuse

her family when they needed her help. It was always so much easier

when their backs were turned... when work could be done without

risking confrontation, censure, or observation. Behind the scenes,

Nabiki was the master of the house. Face to face, she was the omega -

lacking the maternal influence of Kasumi, the youth and passion of

Akane, and the traditional authority of her father.



"Feh," she dismissed the thoughts, and closed her room's door behind

her. Walking up to the desk, she cleared a few stray papers,

schoolwork, from her sight and off to the side, leaving a single piece

of paper. It was a map only in the most generously liberal, bordering

on socialist, meaning of the word, depicting a mountain labeled as

Fuji-san, a mailbox, the vague location of a school, and some water.

It was, needless to say, pretty much useless. If Ryouga had demarcated

his house with rough degrees of Latitude and Longitude it would've

been more descriptive.



Not for the first time, she wondered how one person, beyond being

totally brain-dead, could get themselves lost so easily?



"Damn it all. Saotome... I will find you... someday," he had snarled

loud enough to scare away small animals when she'd first seen him, in

the park, back before he'd managed to find Furinkan High. She was

alone, as usual, reading a book and enjoying a few moments of peace

and quiet between the violent madness that her house had recently

become, and the violent madness that her school had been like since

Akane showed up and Kuno became obsessed with her. It was fun,

sometimes, for about a week, but the constant fighting between

fiancees had rapidly grown old, and even annoying, more often than

entertaining. At school, watching Kuno get the crap kicked out of him

on a tri hourly basis was also grating on her nerves. Kuno, and the

Kuno clan, had always been eccentric, but things hadn't been this bad

for years.



In Akane's own words, 'it must be Ranma's fault.'



In fact, it was his fault - but it was also hers, and Akane's and a

half dozen other people's who simply watched and did nothing, and let

the situation deteriorate. Apathetic teachers and a poor school

environment that even encouraged violence and erratic behavior, even

with the old Principal gone, wasn't conducive to any form of anything

approaching normalcy. So, she had been away from Nerima, in a quiet

park, when Nerima had found her.



"Saotome?" she didn't even say it that loudly, and more by surprise

than by design.



"Huh?" the boy turned around, and noticed her, as if from a daze. His

eyes were intense and piercing; his gaze like that of a drowning man

only now finding a piece of driftwood to keep himself afloat. He was a

total stranger, a ragged looking and desperate total stranger, and she

couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She wasn't nearly as

sexually oblivious as her older sister, or as Hominophobically

repressed as her younger sister, but to say that a great many boys

paid much attention to her would be more than a little generous - she

was well aware that Akane was the local heartthrob, while she was the

intimidating Ice Queen of Furinkan High. This boy's attention was

unsettling.



"Excuse me, Miss, but do you know him? Do you know Ranma Saotome?" he

walked up closer, and she made out an embarrassed blush. Was he shy or

something?



It was a moment of weakness on his part, and was all the crack in the

armor of the situation that Nabiki Tendo needed to gain the advantage,

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who wants to know?"



She idly rapped her knuckles on the desk, and stared at the map,

dismissing the clear memory of the meeting. Not for the first time,

she wondered why she had given him that map and the directions to

Furinkan High. There was the money, of course, but that was aside from

the actual motivation. For a while, she had simply told herself that

he was a useful tool. Ranma was cocky - damn cocky, and full of

himself. It had rubbed her the wrong way the day he'd arrived, and

continued to do so ever since. A healthy portion of the reason behind

his poor treatment of everyone in the house, herself included, was

that selfsame overconfidence. She'd always wanted to shatter it, and

had endeavored to do so herself, but Ranma only considered loss in

Martial Arts any sort of priority. Outsmarting him, or anything

similar, had no effect. Ryouga fitted in nicely in taming the wild

horse a little, especially once he had demonstrated his strength by

effortlessly demolishing a brick wall. If anyone stood a chance of

beating Ranma, and taking him down a few pegs for her, even

indirectly, it was him.



And yet...



"Nah," Nabiki folded up the map and pocketed it. She had her

associates combing the area and asking for the Hibiki residence - it

wasn't listed in the phone book, but clerical records had narrowed

down the search area significantly. She'd have him where she wanted

him by tomorrow, after school, and after that, she'd have the fight

under her thumb. It was as easy at that.



As simple as that.



***



The subtle shift of balance, and inch to the left, was noted. Ryouga's

eyes darted to the left, and watched the handling of the weapons,

looking for any commitment in direction or focus. They two fighters

came in low and fast, but to him, it was like watching a video at half

speed. A casual back flip brought him the room he needed before they

passed below him, attacks missing by a safe margin. In midair, he

watched them recover and followed their eyes and head movements as

they looked for him.



Shampoo was the first.



She had always been sharp, that one.



Of the two, Shampoo had both the most training, and the most fighting

experience, and a healthy dose of raw power, which made up for her

somewhat inferior speed. She'd obviously been practicing, he noted, as

she charged his landing spot, forcing him to twist and avoid her blows

before his feet even touched the ground. Leaning back, he caught Ukyou

moving in from the side, and cranked up his speed a notch when his

ears picked up the almost inaudible sound of metal cutting through

air. For a second, his arms blurred, appearing almost like swirling

storm, as the three attackers moved in, their respective weapons

moving to strike any and all opportunities.



He observed them as he moved, bordering on invisibility at the speeds

he had to use to keep from being tagged.



Ukyou was controlled rage. A determined glint in her eyes, like

chipped flint, caught him as she made a shirt, swift, economical

lunge. Her hair was tied up behind her in a ponytail to keep from

getting in the way - unlike Shampoo, she was unused to fighting full

out with her hair long. Her bladed spatula missed him by millimeters,

which was more than enough in his estimation. A miss by a mile was, in

the end, the same as a miss by a millimeter. Of the two girls... of

the two young women, Ukyou had, perhaps, the most untapped potential.

She had trained alone, very much like Ryouga himself had, and she was

eager to improve and focus herself on things. If she approached

fighting with the same devotion she gave to Okyonomiaki, she'd be as

good as Ranma and himself, almost certainly.



Mousse passed overhead, raining down blades and nets, as Shampoo and

Ukyou started to move away.



"Oh? Thought they pinned me down, did they?" Ryouga thought, as the

nets and blades descended, the trap both obvious and clever. Ryouga

smiled, and crossing his arms, leaped up and right into the

overlapping nets. Tucking his legs in, he let himself get tangled up

as his momentum carried him up and away. Keeping track of his course,

and his inertia, he angled himself to bounce off the nearby wall of an

old building, pushing off with the tips of his toes, spinning like a

top, and finally landing on his feet, still mostly tucked in like a

ball and covered by the nets. Through the crisscross wire, he saw

Ukyou and Shampoo moving forward at a brisk pace.



A snarl left Ryouga lips as his muscles truly flexed for the first

time. The wire bit into his skin, but he barely felt it. Razor wire

would have been a problem, but even then it would only have been a

little blood lost, and the wounds would have healed quickly. Letting

out a snort of air, Ryouga allowed himself a small laugh, and tore

through the wire like it was made of soft noodles. He saw the surprise

on Ukyou's face, as she slowed slightly, and switched to Shampoo, who

was still charging.



Mistake.



"Flour Bomb!"



"Kuso," Ryouga moved to the side, as Ukyou Kuonji blanketed the area

in smoke. She'd obviously improved the weapons - they exploded in the

air, now, letting out the smoke screen more efficiently and over a

wider area. The Lost Boy's eyes narrowed, searching the smoke, as he

held his breath. She descended from above, like an avenging angel, her

weapon's glare against the sun giving her away. He thought about

catching the weapon, but instead rolled to the side, disappearing in

the dust and smoke.



"Nice try, Ukyou," he moved quickly, letting his voice mislead her,

"You almost had me. You were so close."



"There!" she struck, but hit nothing.



"It must be all this smoke. Let me take care of it," Ryouga jumped

back from behind her, and concentrated his ki, "Kachuu Tenshi

Amaguriken!"



The wind from the open palmed blows almost instantly scattered the

smoke screen to the four winds, and Ryouga quickly broke it off as the

three martial artists turned their attention to him. They moved in

like a team - not a well-oiled team, but one well enough. A bonbori

blow from Shampoo came close, missing his chest by the slimmest of

margins, as Mousse appeared to the side, wielding a large polearm with

a heavy metal cap on the blunt end. Ukyou quickly joined them as the

trio got back a third or fourth wind. They had been attacking him, to

help them practice as much as himself, all morning. After waking up,

and getting lost, in Ukyou's restaurant, he'd been surprised to find

his three friends, two old and one new, eager to get some training in.

Ukyou had even skipped school for it - though naturally she had to

take care of the breakfast crowd before anything else could even be

considered. It was well past noon now - time to end it.



Without warning, he seamlessly switched from defensive to offensive.

With a single hand motion, he had the handle of Ukyou's spatula in his

hands, and used it to directly counter Shampoo's bonbori, both of

which were sent flying from a twist of the larger weapon. Shampoo

spun, her sword in hand, trying to get some distance now that his

tactics had changed. Ryouga noted it, and shifted his stance, using

the back of his left foot to trip up the cute Okyonomiaki chef,

sending her flailing to the ground indignantly, her weapon lost.

Ryouga spun the somewhat unwieldy megaspatula, deflecting a trio of

thrown stars, before planning the weapon firmly into the ground and

using it as leverage to improve his reach and kick deep through

Mousse's defenses, sending him flying. Shampoo was next, and last, as

Ryouga tapped aside her blade in midstrike, pivoted on his heel like a

ballet dancer, or, to be more exact: a Martial arts Gymnast. He had

Shampoo in an arm lock in a heartbeat.



"Game over," he stated, simply, and let her go. Turning around, he saw

Mousse getting to his feet a little unsteadily, "Mousse, you alright?

I accidentally hit a little higher than I wanted."



"Yeah," he held up his hand, but groaned a bit. With the fight over,

and things cooled down, the four warriors went over their moves and

motivations from before, each in turn. For each, Ryouga explained why

he did what he did, so that next time they'd be able to improve or

come up with new ideas more easily. He explained, much to Shampoo's

unconcealed distaste, that he considered Mousse the most dangerous of

them, based on his wider repertoire of moves, weapons, superior reach

and endurance. Ryouga was careful not to suggest that Mousse was

better than Shampoo, only that he was considered more dangerous in

many ways, none of which correlated to faults in the young female

amazon, who more than once interjected that Black Arts 'Trickery'

wasn't really Martial Arts, regardless. He went to Shampoo next,

complimenting and critiquing her style, which was highly grounded in

offensive attacks, like his own, and her weapons handling. Of the

three, she was the strongest and most aggressive, but she also left

herself open too often. He saved Ukyou for last, and continued talking

to her while the two Joketsuzoku made they way back to the Nekohanten

- they'd both be pulling late shifts tonight to compensate for missing

work in the morning.



Of them, Ryouga considered Ukyou his best friend. He had known her

longer, and spent more time around her. He knew her better than

Shampoo, and much better than Mousse, and of the three, in his heart,

he knew he had the most fun fighting against her. While a girl,

precluding physically striking her any more than a tap, she had an

excellent balance of strength and endurance, and a good measure of

speed - a necessity when one's foe is Ranma Saotome. Better still, she

was unpredictable, possessing a variety of moves, much like Mousse,

coupled with a healthy dose of rage and aggression; the perfect

motivator.



~Past~



"Aaah," Ryouga sighed, relaxing into the hot spring. How fortuitous

had it been that they'd stumbled across gift from the gods? Right when

Ukyou was getting frustrated with him getting them hopelessly and

endlessly lost, too. Looking over his shoulder, he caught sight of a

sign - Something about a Martial Artist's Therapeutic ...something?



"Whatever," he mumbled. Probably a tourist trap. Speaking up, he

called for Ukyou, "Hey, man! You coming or what?"



"Hold on!"



Ryouga wrung his hands together, enjoying the warmth, and the wetness

that was minus the hellish pig curse he'd been inflicted with. He'd

managed to keep that under wraps for a few days, at least until a

sudden downpour got him right in front of his companion. They'd had a

good laugh about it in the end, though, and laughing with someone was

defiantly and infinitely superior to being laughed at, Ryouga knew

firsthand. Still, he sensed Ukyou was holding something back - a

weakness of his own, perhaps, Ryouga didn't know and didn't pry, but

there seemed to be something the boy felt obliged to share with him:

something of some importance. And why had he insisted that they wear

bathing suits to a hot spring? This wasn't like they were at the

beach... then again it was really just a small matter. He must be shy,

and Ryouga's swim trunks hadn't seen use in what seemed like forever.

As it was, they were more than a little tight and uncomfortable.



"Ok," Ukyou's voice seemed... off, "Here I come."



"Ooook," Ryouga rolled his tongue right before she stepped into view

and it fell out altogether. His hand moved at Amaguriken speeds,

catching his nose and saving him from a dual stroke-fatal nosebleed,

"Gr... Gr... Girl?!"



"Surprise?" she smiled and shrugged. In her one-piece bodysuit, the

movement did little to help the situation. The last thing Ryouga saw

was some guy jumping out of the water, yelling something, and getting

a face-to-face introduction to Megaspatula-sama.



~Present~



Ryouga shook his head, and laughed nervously. What an odd thing to

remember. After Ukyou was sure he wasn't lost in the bathroom (he

wasn't that bad, he kept telling her), she handed him some new clothes

and closed the door behind her. Looking at what he'd been handed for

the first time, as a change of clothes, he quirked an eyebrow at the

selection - a black, regular looking, shirt and jeans. It was rather

uninspired. Then again, compared to wearing the same combination of

clothes for weeks on end, even if they were treated with ki making

them almost maintenance free, wasn't exactly inspired decision making

either. The change didn't particularly thrill him. He was used to his

loose, familiar clothing. The jeans would be all right, as long as he

didn't try and thing too outlandish, but the shirt seemed thin and

light and impractical. His regular clothes were wonderfully heavy,

thanks to his ki infusions, but these... threads seemed to have the

weight and consistence of papier-mache.



Taking off his tunic and pants, and folding them away, he took a brisk

shower, keeping the water at a temperature that probably would have

scalded a normal man. He wasn't really in the mood for a soak just

now, and decided to forego the furo. It'd been about a week, to the

day, since he'd arrived in Nerima from his travels, and two things

dominated his thoughts, one old, one new. We wanted to see Shirokuro

badly. He wanted to know that she was all right, wanted to see her

puppies... wanted to just be home, to make sure everything was as it

should be. Maybe, just maybe, one of his parents would even be home,

as unlikely as that really was. The other thought was Ranma - his foul

nemesis was, no doubt, even now training to the point of exhaustion to

catch up to him in skill and power. Not that he was concerned, Ryouga

was more curious as to how well Saotome's training was progressing. He

had his father, and his school's tricks, neither of which were to be

underestimated. Consequently, he'd felt inclined to encourage Mousse

and Ukyou to try challenging him in tandem. The two of them would be

an entertaining and effective gauge as to Ranma's level of

advancement, especially after a few more training sessions. Ukyou's

safety in such a plan did present a problem, but Ryouga was sure it

wouldn't come to that. Ukyou was no fool: she'd bail out of things

turned badly, and if worse came to worse, he'd be there, too. Besides,

what was done was done.



Wringing out his hair, and stepping out of the shower onto the tiled

floor, he quickly felt the tingling sensation of the rapidly cooling

water on his skin. The curse, like a demon inside him, was slowly

starting to emerge, threatening to tear the humanity from him. A flare

of anger and depression provided more than enough catalyst to spark a

fraction of his battle aura, warming the water on his skin. It was a

trick he eventually hoped to use to completely dry himself, but it was

far from perfect. By nature, battle aura wasn't hot near the skin, and

it had to be forced, mentally, to turn in on itself. He'd burned

himself more than once, despite his high pain tolerance and resistance

to heat, when practicing. This time, he settled for simply heating up

the droplets, and quickly toweling himself off. Putting the new

clothes on, he called down, letting Ukyou know he was done, and found

his way down to the restaurant after a few missteps that led him into

a closet and back into the bathroom, respectively. Downstairs, he

manned the grill while Ukyou washed up. She was far his superior in

this battleground, but he could hold his own well enough, considering

he was only a temporary substitute. It was more important that someone

was simply there than they actually do any large measure of cooking.



"Nabiki," he snapped to attention when the middle Tendo daughter

walked in with two of her friends. He recognized them from before, but

didn't actually know them. Still, if Nabiki was here, that meant only

one thing!



"I'll have a Shrimp."



Ryouga's left eye twitched.



"Mushroom," said the girl to her left.



"Vegetarian," said the one to her right.



Two more twitches.



"W...What about...?" he started, but Nabiki cut him off.



"Food first, Ryouga-kun."



He grumbled, but did as she asked. Getting the ingredients

together, he watched them head to one of the booths. Of everyone in

Nerima, only Nabiki Tendo made him nervous. Akane downright frightened

him... and other things. But with Nabiki, he felt inadequate and

insecure: more so than normal, anyway. She was damn near impossible to

read properly, and she guarded her words and actions like a monk

guards a temple. Cooking quickly, though more slowly and with less

finesse than Ukyou, and prepared the three and waited for them to

cook. Standing there, he caught a glance from one of the girls, long

hair, brown, sort of like Ukyou's, looking at him. He concentrated on

them, trying a little eavesdropping, but couldn't pick up anything to

note - just giggling. It was a noise he was familiar with. Girls had

been laughing at him since he was five, maybe younger.



"Let them laugh," he reminded himself, "The weak have no other

recourse."



The phrase calmed him, and he flipped the okyonomiaki. They went

back to talking to each other, and Ryouga made a point of ignoring

them altogether. So long as Nabiki could take him home, he couldn't

care less what she schemed, or thought, or did, or said to others. He

turned, instead, to the cooking, cleaning up the sides, making sure

the shape was close to perfect, and taking out three plates. Ukyou had

taught him a little more than the basics to cooking her favorite food,

and her livelihood, when they had walked about together, before he

decided he needed some time to himself, and that Ukyou was good enough

to go after Saotome herself. He'd headed off with nowhere in mind the

day after, in the morning, and ended up in Korea two days later.



In a smooth motion, he flipped the three okyonomiakis onto three

different plates, held in the same hand. Heading over, he stopped

himself, re-corrected his course via Line of Sight, and walked over,

"One vegetarian, one mushroom, and one shrimp."



"You can put all three on my tab," Nabiki said, straight faced.



"Is that so?" Ryouga spared a quick look at the two other girls,

obviously not as well versed in concealing their emotions, and cracked

a half-smile, "Nice try, though. Almost had me believing you for a

second there."



"A girl can only try," she smiled back.



"Enjoy the food, " His face melted back into a near frown, its

apparent default, before walking back to the grill.



"He could stand to be a little friendlier," Yuka watched him go.



"Hmm... but at least he can cook," Sayuri contently chewed on a

piece of her vegetarian okyonomiaki, "Not hard on the eyes, either. He

almost looks like Ranma, to tell the truth. Just a little rougher

around the edges."



    Nabiki said nothing, covering her silence by taking a few

tentative bits out of her food. It wasn't nearly up to Kasumi

standards, or Ukyou standards, but it was still good. That wasn't her

concern, however. She chatted idly with Yuka and Sayuri while chipping

away at her meal. After a few minutes, Ukyou came down from the

backroom, her hair still looking a little wet. Ryouga leaned over,

exchanged a few words, and let her take the grill. The door chimed

quietly as a couple entered, took a seat, and ordered. Nabiki checked

her watch, just as the door opened again.



    "Akane-san," Ryouga took a few steps back, before hitting the

wall, "What are...?"



    Akane waved, put on a friendly front, and slowly walked up to him,

"Nabiki and I are taking you home."



    "You... are?" he relaxed a fraction of a motor unit, "You aren't

still... You don't...?"



    "Its just nice to see you again, Ryouga-san. Its alright, really."



    "But I... its not really alright, Akane-san," he looked away and

spoke so softly, even Akane barely heard him, "What I did."



    "Come on," Nabiki got up, and moved next to the two, "Time to go."



    "Wait a second," he looked at the table, "What about paying for

the food?"



    "I told you. I have a tab here," she couldn't help but grin at the

surprised, and unprepared look on his face when he saw Ukyou nod in

confirmation.



    "And my tip?" he held out his hand.



    "I'm not paying anything. 10% of nothing is...?"



    "Nothing. Wonderful," he sighed, "Let's go."



A long, pregnant silence followed the trio as they walked out of

Nerima ward and inexorably to the supposed location of Ryouga's house.

Nabiki was leading, so they weren't traveling at anything approaching

the clip Ryouga or even Akane were used to. The former took the

opportunity to brood, and every time he stole a glance at the youngest

Tendo daughter, he'd quietly snarl under his breath, and his mood

would darken just a little bit more. Nabiki found herself oddly

frustrated by the whole thing. True, she didn't need to talk to him or

even enjoy his company to get the job done, but even then... even then

she'd wanted, just a little, to get to know him better. He was an

outsider, who didn't seem intimidated or afraid of her. He was a

mystery in many ways, and at the same time, he seemed like a nice

enough person. I'd be nice, for once, to carry a non-extortionist

conversation with someone.



"This is stupid," Akane finally broke the silence.



"Huh?" both Ryouga and Nabiki stopped and looked at her.



"I've forgiven you already," she whapped Ryouga in the back of the

head with a small mallet. Hibiki seemed surprised, but Nabiki wasn't

impressed. Small ones like that were easy - even Kasumi could 'use'

them. Her father had insisted on giving a minimum of Tendo style

Anything-Goes to all his daughters, though only Akane had broadened

that knowledge and put it into general use. Or abuse, depending on how

one looked at it.



"You may have," Ryouga watched an wondered where the small mallet had

suddenly disappeared to, "But I haven't. I was such an idiot. Such

a... just an idiot."



"I guess it was kind of pathetic," Akane elbowed him when he bit his

lip and started to glow green. He seemed to respond to violence a

little better than words, "But we all do stupid things sometimes."



"Not me," Nabiki interrupted, and they started walking again.



"So why'd you do it, anyway?" Akane broached.



"Youmrsde," he mumbled.



"What was that?"



"You... kissed me. As a pig," Ryouga massaged his temples, suddenly

feeling a headache coming on, "It was the first ...only time a girl

had kissed me. Hell, it was the only time anyone besides my parents

had shown kindness to me. I guess it really is pathetic, but when you

held me, I was just happy. It was like someone actually loved me. Even

if I knew it wasn't me... it was P-chan. A stupid little pig. It

would've been easier if you just tried to cook me, or something. At

least I'd know what to do then. I've been in that situation enough

times."



"Of all the people to want to cook you..."



"Nabiki!" Akane pouted, and scowled, "I'd like to be friends, Ryouga.

You're a nice guy, and there seem to be precious few of those in my

life. Just forget about the pet pig thing. As far as I'm concerned, it

never happened."



Ryouga thought briefly about arguing that point, but decided to simply

nod and agree with her, "Sure."



Nabiki took this opportunity to bring up something else entirely, more

along the lines of what she needed, and perhaps wanted, to know, "Are

you going to be staying in Nerima, with Ukyou, for very long?"



"I dunno," Ryouga shrugged, and looked around. He vaguely remembered

this place. It was a card shop he passed by all the time back when he

was little, and his mother would take him shopping... until they both

got lost and separated for the next intervening few weeks, "I've got

the fight with Ranma, and my friends there, but I'm just not too sure.

It'll depend on how things go, I guess."



"Oh. I see," Nabiki thought about that.



Ryouga laughed, half heartedly, "That's kind of the reason I came

back, you know. I don't have anywhere else to go. My feud with Ranma

is about the only life I have."



"What about school?" Akane asked. Had he already graduated, or...



"I dropped out of Junior High School to pursue my revenge," he gave

them a serious look when he noticed the way they were looking at him,

"Understand, it wasn't a difficult decision for me. The only times I

ever got to school at all were when I got lucky, and found it by

chance, or when I followed another student... like Ranma. When I got

there, the only thing that kept me even remotely sane was my ability

to defend myself. I barely passed my courses, because I missed two out

of three classes, and exams, and because the teachers and staff though

I was just being tardy. They said I had a fear of school, a school

phobia or some nonsense. I wasn't afraid of school, I just hated

going. I hated being mocked most of all... when Ranma humiliated me,

over and over again, it was the last straw. I quit going altogether."



"Of course, they complained to my parents," he actually smiled at

that, before settling back into a comfortable frown, "My parents had

problems of their own to deal with. Otousan made me promise to keep up

my studies, and bought me some books to read while I wandered

aimlessly. I kept my promise. I always keep my promises."



"But you never graduated?" Nabiki idly kicked a small rock aside as

they kept pace.



"No," Ryouga sighed, "There's no point. I tried to register to take

the placement tests for High School once, but..."



"You got lost?" Akane finished.



"Yeah," he ran his hand through his hair, nervously, "Its ok, though.

I'm used to it. You could call me home schooled; except for how little

time I'm actually at home. Luckily, otousan and okaasan bring new

stuff for me, and leave it in the kitchen, or in the family room, or

wherever they find themselves, so I rarely have to buy the books

myself. Absentee parent teaching, I guess. There's probably a ton of

stuff waiting for me when I get there."



"That's good. I don't think Ranma would even give school a second

thought except that we force him to go," Akane gave his backpack a

sidelong glance, "Do you...?"



"Oh, sure. I've got everything in here," he reached back, let the pack

slide off his shoulders and into the crook of his arm, and rooted

around with his other hand. Finally, he took out a large book, and

handed it to her, "That was a good one."



Akane stared at the cover, and took a few quick steps and showed it to

Nabiki. She looked at it for a few seconds, than read out loud for her

sister, "Literary Classics... of the ...um..."



"Renaissance."



"Why is this in English?"



Ryouga shrugged, and took out another, "Okasaan always buys stuff in

English. Here's one in Japanese."



"Human Physiology: from cells to systems? Is this a biology

textbook?!"



"I think pop got that one from a university book store. They get stuff

wherever they can, I guess. It came with a CD, too, but I lost it a

few months ago."



Nabiki skimmed through the 'biology textbook' as if the cover was a

trick or something and the inside was a coloring book. A face fault

followed two seconds later. Ryouga, meanwhile, took out two more

books, "Here's a Physics one - a bunch of the pages on Chapters 30 to

32 got soaked a while back in Thailand, though, before I could finish

studying it, so I'm looking for a replacement."



"Numerical Methods for Engineers?!" Akane's eyes were wide as saucers.



"I hated that one," he took the books and put them back in, while

taking some smaller soft cover ones out, "Okasaan also got me a bunch

of English Literature stuff you've probably read before to keep me

'grounded in the arts,' she likes to say. 'Works of Shakespeare,'

'Western International Politics 1920 to 1950,' 'Twilight of the

Idols/The Anti-Christ' by a German philosopher named Nietzsche,

'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals' by Kant..."



"You've read all that stuff?" Akane thumbed through the Nietzsche

book, "This isn't English..."



"Oh, that one's in German."



Nabiki had, at least, read some Shakespeare before, though never in

English. She was one of the better students in her English class, and

she could read parts of the book fairly well, but others didn't seem

to make much sense. She handed it back to him, then thought of

something, "If you read all this stuff because your parents want you

to, what do you do for... you know: fun?"



"I used to read my manga... but that's all at home. Its too bulky to

carry with you," Ryouga busied himself by putting the books back into

his backpack, and started to walk in a perpendicular direction without

noticing. Fortunately, Akane acted quickly, grabbed his collar, and

pointed him back in the right direction, "About three years ago, I met

this guy who at the University of Kyoto was into Science Fiction, and

he gave me some of his books when we parted ways. So I try and pick up

any Asimov or Herbert or Heinlein I can get my hands on."



Suddenly, a loud bark cut him off.



The group turned, and saw a dog, black on one side, white on the

other. To the amazement of both Tendo girls, Ryouga opened his arms to

receive the animal and was actually bowled over. The two Hibikis

rolled and wrestled for a moment, before Ryouga lay, pinned, and had

to endure a severe face licking. Struggling meekly, he pushed her away

a bit before giving her a big hug, "Shirokuro!! How are ya, girl? Ah,

you're getting a little weak, Shirokuro! I guess being a mother forced

you to slack off, eh?! Ow! Don't bite me! I didn't mean it!"



"All right," he unclamped the dog's play bite on his forearm, and

started to get to his feet, suddenly self-conscious, "Let me up. Come

on. We've got guests."



"Hi there," Akane bent over, and reached out to the dog, a little

cautious. Shirokuro gave her master a quick look, before letting Akane

pet her on the head and scratch behind her ear, "What a nice doggie!"



"Smartest animal I know," Ryouga beamed, proud.



"I'll say," Nabiki held out her hand, and Shirokuro sniffed it, no

doubt smelling money, "How does a dog get herself on the seven o'clock

news?"



"No idea," Ryouga clasped his hand together, anxiously, "Shirokuro.

Let's go home, girl."



The dog gave a quick bark, and headed down the street, slow enough for

everyone to easily follow. They came, quickly, to a nice looking,

middle-income house, with 'Hibiki Residence' written on a sign at the

front. It was comfortable looking and quite homey. It actually seemed

to exude an aura of ...near normalcy. Truth be told, Nabiki had half

expected either a run down shack that no one lived in, or a crazy

dojo.



"Ah, home," Ryouga took out his keys and unlocked the front door as

Shirokuro went in through the dog door. The second he stepped inside,

a shower of heavy furniture and assorted weights and a kitchen sink

buried him like an avalanche. A single piece of paper wafted down, and

Nabiki caught it, carefully stepping around the mess.



"Ryouga. There are thieves everywhere. Watch out for traps. Love Mom,"

Nabiki tapped a finger on the upturned sink with its stereotypically

exposed bent pipe, "Everything and the kitchen sink. Cute."



"Annoying, you mean," a hand waved in the air a bit. He was tempted to

Bakusai Tenketsu the hell out all the junk, but decided against it.

Aside from making (more of) a mess, it might hurt Akane or Nabiki.

Slowly, he removed himself from the pile, quickly moving the heavy

objects to the side where his mother would generally put them back up

when she found her way home. Closing the door behind him, he finally

looked around and mentally congratulated himself.



Home!



He'd finally made it home!!



"Hey," he faced Nabiki, and nodded in thanks, "You've fulfilled your

end of the bargain, Nabiki. Thank you."



She almost said something she never intended. Almost. Dismissing what

she'd done and gone through on the spur of the moment would be both a

lie and turning back on her plans. Still, looking at him, happy for

once, she couldn't help but feel good that she done something that had

such an impact. Even though it had originally been for self-serving

purposes, she wondered now, whether she would have done it just for

free, if he'd asked. Why not? It'd be nice for someone to think kindly

of her, for once. Though not necessarily vain, Nabiki did think highly

of herself - she was proud, proud of her independence, her

intelligence, and her body. And the behind the back whispering and

chiding she got for it never seemed to fade or go away. Sometimes she

wondered if it was simply her lot in life, whether she would end up

alone and ultimately unloved, in a mansion, by herself. It was an

unsettling thought, and subject, because she wasn't entirely sure that

such a thing wasn't her destiny.



A chorus of high-pitched yelps and barks heralded a small wave of

black and white puppies, lead by Shirokuro herself. The little dogs

clustered around the three humans, and three jumped straight up and

into Ryouga arms. He took a few moments to pet and check each one,

looking for distinctive marks or coloring. He was still curious as to

who the father of Shirokuro's litter was. There were numerous

neighborhood dogs who could be the potential sires, and only one or

two he thought really worthy of the honor. Akane had her hands full,

too, with two dogs that were busy licking her face. One, however,

walked slowly up to Nabiki, and yipped - demanding to be picked up.



"Not going to jump, hmm?" Nabiki knelt down and looked at the

imperious little puppy. Finally, Nabiki scooped her up, and slowly

stroked the dog's fur. It was soft - softer than Shirokuro's, and the

black was more like brown than the dark onyx of her mother. Without

even thinking about her, she scratched the puppy's chin, "Lazy pup. I

think I'll call you... 'Dollar.'"



"So... umm," Ryouga looked around and slowly got his bearings on where

everything in the house (hopefully) was, as he put the puppies in his

arms back down, "Do you two want anything to eat or something?"



"Sure," Akane headed for the kitchen; putting her two back on ground

level as well.



"Don't let her in there alone," Nabiki leaned over and whispered, a

little hastily, still holding Dollar.



"Huh? Why?" he asked.



"She's not exactly 'at home' in the kitchen, if you catch my drift."



"I ...don't," he shrugged, and headed in himself, checking the fridge.

Akane seemed to be rooting through a cupboard with practiced ease.

There were, all in all, always few perishable foodstuffs in the Hibiki

Home, for obvious reasons, but the family maintained a well-stocked

supply of dry consumables, canned goods, and exotic preservatives.

Anything that could be hoarded for a year or so without going bad was

in generous supply. Noticing a plate on the kitchen table of shriveled

up noodles, he inspected it with a casual, but practiced, eye. From

the consistency of the noodles, the dryness, the layer of dust, and

other minutiae, he deduced the date of preparation at about eight to

nine weeks ago. When he picked up the plate, it set off a small

'click' sound, revealing a small, well-hidden pressure-pate.



Interesting.



Leaning back, he caught the small dart in midair between his index and

middle fingers.



"Gone shopping. Eat this for lunch. Mom," Ryouga folded the note, and

put it aside, along with the dart. He also noted that this table was

one of their many spares. Curious. Then he saw the old table, broken

in half, carefully propped against the far wall. Inspecting it, he

noticed the indentation of fingernails clawing furrows in the thick

English oak. Okaasan had always been a strong woman, and this meant

otousan had to have been around at the same time. He was a happy for

them. He knew his parents rarely saw each other. It was a good think

they were so passionately in love, or... Ryouga didn't broach that

thought further.



On the fridge itself had been a note from his father about a business

trip to Hokkaido. He'd estimated being home by summer, which meant

it'd be well after next Christmas before he saw him again. Ryouga

nodded somberly to himself - he'd have to remember that and try and

catch up to them next time. Akane still seemed busy looking for stuff

to make. She was oddly eager. Strange, too, his Martial Artist's

warning sense was tingling.



"I've got some things I want to drop off in my room," he called out to

either of the girls, "But I, uh, don't want to..."



"I know," Nabiki spoke up, and put Dollar on the floor, allowing Akane

to go back to trying to mangle a bag of crackers in an effort to open

the package, "I'll make sure you don't live up to your name, lost

boy."



Ryouga bit back a retort, and went up the stairs into his room.

Navigating the house generally wasn't a problem. He'd been born and

raised here, and actually knew his way around, but it never hurt to be

careful. More than once he'd gotten overconfident in his ability to

NOT get lost in the house and had ended up in someone else's' house

without even noticing that he'd gone outside. Or maybe he'd been in

someone else's house all the time, and had mistaken for his own...

whatever. Regardless, it never hurt to take along a spotter, when you

happened to be a Hibiki.



Nabiki was about to open the door, when Ryouga grabbed her wrist and

pulled her towards him. The sudden move, and the sudden closeness,

made her blush. He had an arm around her waist, but her mind raced. He

didn't seem the type! Kasumi would probably smile... vacantly, and

Akane would probably slap him. Of the two, the latter seemed most

appropriate, but why wasn't her body responding?



"Careful. It's electrocuted," he pointed to the tiny hidden wires

attached to the knob, and disguised carefully to look like part of the

door. He let go of her wrist, then her altogether, and reached up to

his forehead, taking out a bandanna. It straightened into a blade on

command, and he bent over, carefully cutting the current, "She's

getting better at her traps. I barely saw this one."



"What? You mean like the front door?" Nabiki gladly felt her composure

return.



"Yep. Okaasan has traps everywhere. She's a little eccentric, I

suppose," he opened the door safely.



"Just a little," Nabiki sighed; so much for normalcy. Ryouga's room

was large, a little larger than her own, and lined from wall to wall

with framed pictures and posters, a few of them family portraits, but

most of far off lands and places, in addition, two large racks held

innumerable souvenirs, many from Japan, and many from overseas. She

also noticed a few College fliers, showing off university colors or

teams. Almost half of an entire wall was solely devoted to a library

of books. Everything looked recently cleaned, amazingly enough, since

she knew Ryouga hadn't been home in well over a year. There were also

a few new books lying on his bed. The calendar on the wall, proudly

displaying a set of 'martial arts umbrellas' was set to the wrong

date. As in wrong date month AND year.



Ryouga started to unpack, no doubt thinking about exactly how much he

was going to tell her (she doubted he'd actually tell her everything),

when Nabiki noticed someone at the window. She spoke up, "Anyone you

know, Ryouga-kun?"



"Eh?" he looked just in time to see the girl set off one of the traps

and get electrocuted. Moving quickly, he disarmed the wires leading to

the window, and opened it up, retrieving the girl who was slumped

limply on a tree branch, still faintly smoking. She had black hair,

done up in two pigtails, and a red and black irregularly schemed

bandanna, immediately reminiscent of Ryouga's own. Overcome by

immediate curiosity, he check to see if she had layered them, but

found that it was purely ornamental, and that there was only one. She

had on a plain red sweater and a brown overall type dress. What was

shocking, though, was her rapid breathing and recovery from the shock,

and her teeth - there were two prominent canines on her upper jaw.



"Na... nani?" Ryouga gulped, got up, closed the window, came back, and

hesitantly shook her shoulder a bit, "Miss?"



"Ryouga...," the girl's eyes opened and focused on him. There was a

very brief glimmer of fear, then anger, then surprise, before she

lunged and embraced him, "Ryouga-kakaei!"



"B... Big Brother? What are you talking about?"



She instantly started to sniffle, "You're so mean... how could you

forget about your little sister Yoiko?"



Ryouga's lips moved but nothing came out.



"Its no surprise you don't recognize me. You're never home anymore."



"I... I have a little sister? How could I miss something like that?"

Ryouga's mind raced. He had totally missed out on Shirokuro having a

family. He hadn't even seen his parents in ...years. He looked the

girl in his arms over. She couldn't be more than 10. Still,

considering that his parents were gone more often than at home, it

wasn't that much of a stretch to assume... to believe that this girl

could be his sister. How else would she know his name, and know about

the family curse, and have the teeth, and the family style of

bandannas! His parents had never mentioned having another child,

though. Then again, maybe, just maybe, this was only his half-sister.

It didn't matter! He wasn't alone!



"I have a sister!" tears began to build up and drip down his cheeks,

as he caught her in an embrace. He was careful not to crush her, but

also knew, in his heart of hearts, that she could take it. Hibikis

were tough like that. True enough, the girl didn't seem to mind the

force he was hugging her with, which would probably have broken the

rib cage of a normal girl, "I'm so happy!"



"Me too, big brother!"



"Yoiko, this is Nabiki Tendo," he let her go and motioned towards

Nabiki, who seemed to be looking at the new girl suspiciously.



Yoiko seemed nervous, and her hand shook a little when she waved,

"Hello... Nabiki-san."



"Isn't she polite?" Ryouga smiled, pride filling his chest. What a

nice sister he had!



"Nice to meet you, too... Yoiko," Nabiki gave a small, predatory

smile, "Didn't you know about the traps?"



Yokio big-sweated, but Ryouga didn't seem to notice.



"I bet my big brother is really strong!" Yoiko wisely changed the

subject, "Can you show me some of your Martial Arts moves, big

brother? Please?"



Ryouga laughed, scratching the back of his head, "Sure! I was going to

show Nabiki that stuff anyway!"



As the trio got up, and headed downstairs, Nabiki made a lunge for

Yoiko's hair, but the younger girl was too quick, and caught her hand.

Behind Ryouga's back, she smiled, and waved her finger back and forth,

silently chiding the middle Tendo daughter. As always, Ryouga was

oblivious, going on and on about how cute and nice it was to have a

sibling. He waved to Akane, telling her that he'd be in the backyard,

and she responded by saying she was making snacks for them. To his

surprise, both Nabiki and Yoiko seemed to freeze up at that comment.



He dismissed it immediately as a quirk, and led them into the

backyard. It was spacious, and while not the size of the Tendo's, of

course, it was more than large enough to accommodate an area for

sparring and practicing. It was also a little brisk out, but the week

as a whole hadn't been that cold for late autumn. Ryouga stood by

himself, and did some stretching and limbering up, while Nabiki sat

down on the porch with Yoiko. After a few seconds, he faced Nabiki,

his hands on his hips, "So? How versed are you in Martial Arts,

Nabiki?"



"I have some cursory training in Tendo Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu," she let

some pride seep through as she continued, "More than Kasumi. Less than

Akane, of course."



"Sounds alright," Ryouga nodded, "Where should I start?"



"How about with your evaluation of your last little skirmish with

Ranma?" Nabiki didn't need to see Yoiko, to know she was getting more

nervous by the second, "Doesn't that sound good, Yoiko?"



"Umm... sure," she said, weakly.



"Okay," Ryouga seemed to miss the exchange, "Well, when I came back

from my training overseas, I'd expected Ranma would slack off with

only his lazy father around. I wasn't surprised, then, when we met and

exchanged words."



Yoiko flinched.



"He goaded me about being more lost than usual, and a few other

things. It was pretty much the same shallow drivel he always spouts

when he wants to show everyone how much of a ...jerk he can be. I let

the first few slide, because, in a way, I'd missed the ribbing, and I

knew the idiot didn't know any better. But he kept at me and at me,

until I yelled 'Saotome! Prepare to Die!' and attacked. I'd hoped that

he would attack me, so I could get a good appraisal of his non-verbal

offensive skills."



Nabiki laughed a bit, but Yoiko wasn't smiling.



"Instead, he let me attack. By the look in his eyes, I could see he

was more than a little surprised when I tagged him on the first blow,

and sent him flying back and into a wall. I held back, not wanting to

cripple him just yet, and let him get back up. He made a snide comment

not quite proper around my little sister, so I won't repeat it, and

attacked. I went fast, keeping myself around his level, and compared

his style to what I remembered of it. It was easy to see the influence

that fighting Mousse and Ukyou had on him. His movements were," Ryouga

searched for the words, "Restrictive to anti-weapon techniques. This

was useful for him when I tried, though not seriously, to attack with

my belt sword and bandannas, but it hindered him in open handed and

close quarters combat. By now, in all likeliness, he's started to

narrow the gap. His father, though as much of a coward and oaf as his

son, would be quick to correct this."



Yoiko grudgingly agreed at that. Though Genma hadn't explained it, he

had significantly increased the speed and power behind his blows, even

though it tired him out sooner, in their training exercises. It was a

subtle shift from how he normally sparred with his son.



"As the fight continued, another thing became obvious. Ranma's

endurance and stamina had actually somewhat decreased from before.

He's obviously grown complacent fighting his father, Mousse, Kuno and

Ukyou, who are all themselves lacking in that department. The

difference in raw strength between us, again, has widened

significantly. Even when I allowed him to hit me repeatedly with his

somewhat superior version of the Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken, I barely

felt the blows. As it stands, aside from pressure points and attempted

lethal blows, he has no way of hurting me at all with his bare hands.

This, coupled with his comparatively limited repertoire of special

techniques and my expanded knowledge of different styles, and

familiarity with his own, will be his biggest personal hurtle to

overcome."



"And his speed?" Yoiko broached.



"He's still damn fast, I'll give him that," Ryouga admitted, "He's

always been slightly faster than me, because I'm a little larger. I

suspect that by the next time we fight, he'll either be on par with my

speed, or have exceeded it. However, that advantage won't help him in

a fight if he can't hurt me, overpower me, or fight at full power as

long as I can."



"I wouldn't underestimate him," Yoiko warned.



"I'm not," Ryouga assured her, and turned back to Nabiki, "Well?"



"Very interesting, Ryouga-kun. And your opinion of Ranma personally?"



"As a fighter, or as a human being?"



"Both."



"As a fighter he's formidable. In keeping with his training, and the

doctrines of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, he's an extremely agile and

versatile fighter. He finds a weakness, and exploits it... often

ruthlessly, from what I've observed and heard of him. While an

excellent martial artist, as a human being I find him lacking. His so

called 'honor' is almost non existent," Ryouga noticed Yoiko getting a

bit anxious and decided to explain himself, "He promises to keep

secrets, and yet he takes every opportunity to indirectly expose them.

He's untrustworthy. Additionally, perhaps as part of his upbringing

and training, he's also rude, short sighted, selfish, a glutton...."



"At least he isn't a pig," Yoiko blurted out. Ryouga flinched,

noticeably, and Nabiki smiled.



"You're digging your own grave," she whispered, "Its very

entertaining."



"Shut up," Yoiko whispered back, "Please, big brother, continue!"



"He's more animal than man, really. And the way he flaunts his curse

to get what he wants, and to manipulate people is disgusting! True, I

made a mistake. Not a night, not a day goes by that I don't loathe

myself for what I did, and for what I almost kept doing. Ranma,

however, seems to have no remorse for his actions, and his indecision.

He goads others into fighting him, and then denies blame. He toys with

Kuno, alternating encouraging him to hit on his female form, and then

bashing his face in. He mocks Akane, mercilessly exploiting even the

smallest fault, and never... NEVER does he show remorse. He has no

concept of right and wrong... only what he wants, or does not want.

He's a pre-madonna and a narcissist."



"Interesting. I agree with a lot of that Ryouga-kun. He has bad

manners, too," Nabiki pointed out, enjoying the moment.



"So I've heard."



"He also runs around topless at home. No modesty. No modesty at all."



"That sick bastard! ...Pardon my language, Yoiko."



"And he snores like a chainsaw."



"Yeah! That night I snuck in to fight him, he was really tearing it

up! Thrashes around like a scared rabbit, too."



"Probably nightmares about losing his masculinity!"



Ryouga laughed, "Probably!"



Yoiko spoke through gritted teeth, "So, big brother, how about showing

us some of these so called 'special techniques,' hmm?"



"Oh," he scratched behind his ear, "Right. Well, first..."



"Come and get it!" Akane walked out, carrying a tray of 'crackers.'



"Why are they green?" Nabiki quirked an eyebrow, and regarded the

plate like one would an angry cobra.



"Hey, crackers! I'm starving!" Ryouga didn't feel like mentioning that

he was pretty much always hungry. Taking one, he saw that Yoiko was

giving the food a wide berth, "Yoiko-neechan, why don't you have one?

Akane here is a guest, and it's not polite to refuse the food she so

graciously made for us."



"Says you. I don't feel like poison today, thank you kindly."



"Yoiko," Ryouga's tone became stern. Akane suddenly noticed the girl

for the first time, and her eyes narrowed in recognition.



"Are you kidding?!" Yoiko waved off the offering, "It looks like

pieces of cement with green moss growing on it! Can't that tomboy

girlfriend of yours cook?!"



"You're being... very rude, little sister. Very rude," he took a step

towards her, "Say you're sorry, Yoiko."



Yoiko backed up a little, looked around, and jumped up and over the

fence. Ryouga watched her go with a mixture of fear and shock, and

tensed to follow, when his legs simply gave out, and he fell to his

knees. Without noticing, he dropping the crackers, and squeezed his

eyes shut, "What have I... done? Yoiko..."



"Ryouga, calm down. She'll be back," Akane put the tray down and went

over to try and get that green color out of his aura, "You just kind

of scared her."



"You don't understand," he looked at her, at both Tendo sisters,

"She'll be lost... I'll never see her again... I... I've screwed up

again. Just when I find someone... I chase them away. I'm such an

idiot!"



"She wasn't," Nabiki began, and then thought again about telling him

the truth. He might not take it well - in fact, it would've been

wiser, in hindsight, if she had simply exposed Ranma right off the

bat, instead of playing around. The Lost Boy seemed genuinely hurt,

bordering on devastated, by 'losing' the sister he had just met.

Unsure, both of the situation, and herself, she slowly crept over, and

draped her arm over his broad shoulders, which were vibrating with

tension and every intake of breath. Akane looked at her, then, almost

with amazement, and gave a weak smile.



~Wonderful~



Helping him to his feet, and no longer eager to see him show off his

techniques so she could decide whether to rig things in Ranma's favor

or not, she started to lead him inside, when Yoiko jumped over the

wall again and into the yard, carrying one of the puppies. The phone

inside rung, but Ryouga ignored it and ran over to Yoiko, catching her

in a bear hug like embrace, while the puppy jumped out of her arms,

saving him or herself. Ryouga was crying, and held her even tighter,

"I'm so sorry, Yoiko! I didn't mean to yell at you; it's just that I

want you to have better manners, like a real Lady! I want things to be

better for you than they were for me!"



"Um... ok," the near crushed girl gasped.



"Ryouga, phone!" Akane walked out with a wireless phone in hand, "Its

your father."



"Thanks," he took the phone, let go of Yoiko, and held it to his ear,

"Moshi moshi? Yeah. Hai, otousan - yes, they're real. No! Yeah. Lost

okaasan around where? No... haven't seen her, but I'll keep an eye

out, like usual. Oh, and I ran into Yoiko, too. ...You know, Yoiko. My

sister."



Yoiko gulped.



Akane bit her lip.



Nabiki noticed the dogs had fled to the safety of the house and that

Shirokuro was watching things unfold with the canine version of a look

of trepidation, while slowly nudging the back door closed. ...Smart

Dog.



"You... don't... have a daughter? No, I'm sure mom wouldn't..." Ryouga

looked at Yoiko again, presumably looking for features they didn't

have in common. The fangs were, after all, from his mother's side.



"Hey, pal," Ranma pulled off the wig, and took out the fake set of

fangs, "Get a clue, huh?"



"I'll... talk to you later... dad," Ryouga's eyes flashed, and the

phone in his hands crushed like so much tissue paper. He was literally

shaking with rage, "Saotome... you won't live to see our duel. You

won't even live to see the sun set today."



"Hold on a sec, buddy," Ranma held up his hands.



"You wanted to toy with me... you wanted to SPY on me?!" The snarl on

his lips grew, exposing fully his larger than normal canine teeth,

"You want to see what I'm capable of?! DO YOU!?!"



Ranma looked from Ryouga to Akane, to Nabiki, both of which were

backing off, and damning him with their eyes. Silently cursing, he

threw aside the last of his disguise, rallied his self-confidence,

balled his fists, and took a fighting stance. He'd trained damn hard

the last week, and he was the best he'd ever been. Even if he was in

girl form, it was time to perform. Time to show them that Ranma

Saotome wasn't to be trifled with and mocked. He felt a rush as his

Battle Aura manifested around him, snapping to life out of thin air,

sheathing him in power.



Then, Ryouga's aura began to appear.



The first signs took the form of a heaviness in the air, pushing at

Ranma's shoulders and knees, and flattening the grass around the Lost

Boy for two or three meters. Ryouga was crouched, snarling, his arms

crossed in front of him, when barely visible white crackles of

electricity began to dance from his faintly glowing body to the

ground, scorching the crushed grass as it hit. The faint glow

manifested, then disappeared, manifested a little more, disappeared,

and finally exploded like an overloaded light bulb. The flash was

almost blinding, and when it cleared, a heartbeat later, Ryouga was

engulfed in an inferno of red, black, and white fire, dancing up into

the air like ethereal claws reaching for the heavens. Air was kicked

up, and as pieces of paper and grass neared the pyre, they caught fire

and burned, even as they lazily swirled around the lost boy, paying

homage and penance to his released power.



"He's a monster," Ranma blinked, hoping that what he was seeing was

some kind of mirage. Calming himself, he was only consoled by the fact

that, unlike Happosai, Ryouga couldn't project his aura, though the

intensity was eerily similar in that both were beyond Ranma's

experience with the phenomenon. The flames seemed to recede a bit, as

Ryouga lowered his arms and gained more control, until they burned

only a few inches from his body, now tightly under control.



Ranma moved, when he saw Ryouga's eyes finally focus on him totally,

and still caught the edge of the heel kick to the abdomen. The world

became blurry for a second, and he was thankful that he'd had his ki

to cushion the blow, or else it might have blown his (her) kidney's

out through his back. As it was, he was damn stunned, and crashing

into the wall didn't do anything to help. He didn't see the next blow

coming, but he knew it was, and focused on moving to the left.

Blurring from the motion, Ranma barely avoided an axe chop that

shattered the wall behind him into so much dust and gravel.



"I need time to think! Need time!" Ranma's mind raced, desperate, as

Ryouga's eyes again fell on him. His elbow proved to only be a fake,

and when Ranma dodged it by a hairsbreadth, the Lost Boy's knee

connected with Ranma's sternum, knocking the wind out of his

transformed female body, and sending him into the air. The pigtailed

boy/girl got only a few feet skywards, when a backhand intercepted him

and send him screaming like a misguided rocket into the ground,

tearing a long furrow into the ground.



"Ryouga! STOP!"



"Damn it! You're going to kill him!"



Ryouga skip-jumped over to where Ranma lay, bruised, beaten and

bloody, his (her) head lolled off to the side slightly, a swelling eye

and bloody lower lip marring the otherwise good looks of his female

form. His clothes were torn and dirty as Ryouga lifted him by what was

left of his collar, straight armed, and shook the body slightly. Ranma

blinked, and slowly came to, his vision messed up by his left eye. He

reached up, trying to pry Ryouga's fingers lose from his shirt, but

found it impossible - it was like trying to bend a vice made out of

inches of tempered steel. With his last bit of energy, Ranma's feet

blurred in a version of his Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken, striking

Ryouga's chest and midriff hundreds of times in the span of a few

seconds. None of the blows seemed to even warrant the Lost Boy's

attention.



A simple heat butt had Ranma seeing a miniature version of the

cosmos.



"Having fun, Saotome? Was it worth it?" he shook Ranma again,

harder this time, "Was it worth it?! Answer me!"



"Freeze!"



"Put the lady down NOW!"



Ryouga's eyes moved to two police officers that had just left their

car, as it was still rumbling, the engine left on. They both had

pistols aimed at him, and only then did he notice that the streets

were almost deserted. Had he been in possession of a cleared head,

just then, he would have realized what the situation appeared to be: a

large, angry and dangerous looking man holding a beaten and battered

woman up like a rag doll, shaking and yelling at her. As it was, he

saw the guns, and dismissed them. They were aiming at his chest. His

Tekimen Kongou Gishu made him effectively immune to being shot there,

and at this range he could dodge the low powered bullets if he had to

anyway.



"You're more trouble than you're worth Saotome," with a sneer, he

dismissed them and faced Ranma, leaning in closer, "I hate you, you

know that?"



Ranma spat something unintelligible, and Ryouga have him another hard

shake, "How do you like being toyed with?"



Gunshots.



Ryouga turned, intending to take the bullets to the chest and

discourage the two police from interfering. It had worked before, but

when the three rounds hit, instead of feeling a hard, but not piercing

impact, he felt almost nothing. The impact was wrong - not like

before, and surprised, when Ryouga looked down at his torso, he saw

three red stains on his nice yellow shirt that Ukyou had given... him.

The pieces instantly fell into place, but it was too late to do

anything about them. His carefully controlled aura faded like a blown

out candle, and his grip on Ranma's collar disappeared. He heard some

shouting - Nabiki's voice mixed with Akane's, and the police yelling

something. He was still on his feet, and stumbled forward a little,

when another three dull thuds, almost knocked him back and off his

feet. Again, he analyzed the unique feeling, amid the growing

dizziness. Running his hand down his face, and by his neck, he felt a

spurt of wetness, and was distantly glad it was too warm to trigger

his curse.



He blinked a few times, and felt another of the odd feelings just

under his shoulder, as a fast blur hit the two things in the distance.

Suddenly thirsty, he licked his lips and tasted coppery liquid that he

finally connected with blood. It wasn't refreshing. He wanted some ice

water, not over his head mind you, which would turn him into a damn

little piglet, but some ice water in a nice glass. Maybe he should go

to the kitchen and get some? With a straw - maybe a curly straw, like

his mother used to give him. Blinking again, he found himself swaying

a bit, falling out of someone's grip, and hitting the ground. It was

softer than his pervious experiences with concrete. Looking up, he saw

brown hair and brown eyes: Nabiki. She seemed to be saying something,

probably complaining about all the blood on her nice money-green

shirt.



Gods, what a headache he had.









Author's Notes



The storyline is most closely following the manga, but I'm not shy to

dip into the anime as a supplement. I can imagine people saying right

off the bat that Ryouga's too powerful here - keep in mind the months

of intense training and wandering he's gone through, and his renewed

focus on beating Ranma for the sake of beating Ranma. This Ryouga is

both less obsessive, less naive, and more willing to think things

through, because of his greater experience, and his 'getting over' and

recognition of his infatuation with Akane relatively early in the

series. Without her being the prime focus of his world, this Ryouga

has become more like he initially was rather than what he eventually

became. He also recognizes things more as they are - don't expect him

to attack Ranma out of the blue yelling, 'Apologize to Akane right

now!' He is, for all intents and purposes, Ryouga before Akane kissed

his pig form. See: More of a villain and a foil for Ranma than a

suitor for Akane. This mentality, combined with his training and

experience makes him extremely formidable, though it should be noted

that Ranma himself is rapidly improving and starting to catch up -

Ryouga knows this, and expects it almost eagerly.



The other potential bone of contention is probably how I portrayed

Ryouga's intelligence and his academic standing. He never seems to go

to school, and never even gives it much thought beyond being there to

better know Akane. Now, either he's dismissed academics altogether, or

he studies by himself. Given a non-Saotome family, even if they are

absentee, I'd figure his parents would encourage the latter (my folks

sure as hell would). His life divided then between martial arts, and

his studies, and having pretty much NO knowledge of what he was

supposed to learn in class... and you see how I got what I did. Those

who remark to Ryouga's stupidity, I point to this: He somehow tracked

Ranma all the way to the exact right part of China (the window of

opportunity there was ONLY one month), survives on his own, tracked

Ranma back all the way to the exact school he was attending, and

numerous other things. It's largely his obsession with Akane, and his

naivete, coupled with his curses (which he cannot help) that make him

foolish. Again, before his infatuation and eventual listless love with

Akane, he seemed to be of above average (obsessive) intelligence.



As my mother always says, there's a difference between book smarts

and common sense. On the occasions Ryouga's academic standing have

been brought up, though never revealed fully, he proved a dedicated

student and one willing to study. His personal self-doubt, however,

and constant problems with Happosai and Ranma in regards to Akane,

precluded any verification of where he would, or would not stand. So,

using my Writer's License (tm) to solve the issue in a manner

befitting my mad schemes.











53







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