Into Every Life, a Little Rain Must Fall

A Ranma 1/2 (manga) fanfic by Nemesis_Zero



Act 2:  Friction in the Machine

Part 4



"Insider" Pre-readers:

Freak247
Thermopyle
Tonyloco

"Outsider" Pre-readers:

Akraen
Buuchan
Grookill
Pyeknu
Ray DeVore
Yakumo



--%%%%%--

	He lay on his back on a small bedroll, staring mindlessly with half-lidded 
eyes at the ceiling.  Random thoughts trailed through his mind, stirred 
relentlessly by his anchorless consciousness, until they blurred, intermingled, 
and overlapped so thoroughly that they ceased to make any sense whatsoever.  
Featureless faces laughed at him, explosions of light rocked his universe with 
the intolerable scent of his own burning flesh, and all the while, he stared at 
the ceiling.

	Ranma had so far managed to avoid sleep... or had it eluded him?  He 
didn't know anymore, and he no longer cared.  The only thing that mattered was 
that his life was a waking hell, and the only way to escape would be to destroy 
himself, either physically or in spirit.  Running away, even into the arms of 
death, was his father's way, not his.  If he took that step, knowing full well 
that he had no plans to regroup and try again, he would cease to be himself.  
Saotome Ranma was doomed, and he knew it, but he was still determined to go down 
fighting.  Now all he had to do was figure out how he could fight back at all.

	"Ranma, time to get up!  You don't want to be late for school, do you?"

	Oh, and there was that, too.  "I'm up already," he announced, hoping he 
wouldn't have to explain this latest complication to her while the katana was 
within reach.  With a groan he stretched and sat up, forcing his mind back into 
a reasonable facsimile of consciousness.  "Uh, Mom?  About school..."

	"Come on, Dear, get dressed.  We can talk over breakfast, but you had 
better get ready soon so you can get back to Nerima by eight," she suggested, 
turning to leave.  "You can start by explaining why you're not at the Tendos'."

	"Mom, there's no hurry.  I don't need to go to school today."

	"Has your father been filling your head with his nonsense again?" she 
asked, looking at him sharply.  "You need a proper education, Ranma, even to be 
a dojo instructor."

	"No, Mom.  I...  I got expelled from school yesterday."  Seeing the 
disapproving stare harden, he quickly elaborated, "Apparently Pop engaged me to 
the principal's insane daughter as collateral on a loan, so now Mr. Kuno is 
trying to force me to marry her."

	"So you decided that since you were free of the obligation you would come 
and help me finish moving back into the house?" she asked, projecting a hopeful 
look.  "I can't say that being expelled is a good thing, but at least you're 
thoughtful."

	"Well, I also got kicked out of the Tendos' the night before on account of 
a fight with an idiot," he began, but quickly tied up that statement as her 
smile fell a bit,  "But yeah, I guess you could say I just wanted to come see 
you again."

	"Well, in that case, go ahead and change clothes," she replied, turning to 
leave, "and after breakfast we can get started on the rest of the furniture."

	"Umm," he answered, holding the back of his head sheepishly, "I don't have 
anything else to wear.  Mr. Tendo wouldn't let me back in the house to pack, and 
the only change of clothes I had with me sorta got left in my gym locker."

	She stopped abruptly.  "He wouldn't let you retrieve your belongings?  On 
what grounds?"

	Ranma shook his head.  "He said that if he didn't keep my stuff, he was 
afraid I'd just run away."

	She continued, "Can I assume your father said nothing about this?  
Regardless, this simply will not do; to let Soun show such disrespect to his 
future son in law is intolerable."  She walked back towards him, and, placing a 
hand on his shoulder she commanded, "Ranma, you cannot allow him to dishonor you 
so, Father-in-law or not.  Coming here, as much as I enjoy the company, could be 
seen by Mr. Tendo as confirming his theory."

	"But Mom," he started to complain, but was stopped when without warning 
his aura flared uncontrollably, black as pitch and rolling like a living shadow.  
A shock ran through his body like lightning, paralyzing him as he felt a part of 
the aura flow painfully from him, ripping away from him and forcing its way into 
his mother's hand as if pulled by invisible ties.

	She emitted a terrified scream and yanked her hand away as the blackness 
suddenly blazed into life.  It expanded at an incredible rate, throwing her 
across the room with a wave of concussive force to crash into the sturdy wooden 
wall.  She slumped to the floor, twitching slightly with her eyes closed, as the 
aura shrank away to nothingness almost as fast as it had appeared.

	He gaped for a moment, staring disbelieving at the scene before him as he 
slowly rose to his feet.  The disconnected feeling was soon replaced with worry, 
prompting him to dash across the room to check on her.  He reached toward her 
but stopped just before contact, afraid that his aura would only attack her 
again.  "Mom...  Oh God...  Mom, can you hear me?  Mom?" he asked in tense 
voice.  His eyes widened as her aura shifted into view then begin to shift and 
bend, the bright yellowish hue suddenly filled with swirling brown and black 
tones.

	Her eyes flew open and she stared at him with wide eyes and fully opened 
pupils, sucking in her breath sharply as she awoke.  Slowly her eyes returned to 
normal, but still she stared, not at but through him, as if she was watching 
something that only existed in her mind.  After several long seconds she still 
had yet to say anything, but she looked away from him to her hand, which she 
flexed into a fist and then relaxed several times.

	"Mom?  Are you okay?" 

	She looked back at him, and lightly traced her fingers along his cheek, 
studying his face as if seeing him for the first time.  Slowly a smile grew on 
her face.  Not her usual peaceful, open smile, but rather something slight, wry, 
and slightly... unnerving.

	Ranma flinched away when he felt her hand brush his cheek, attributing the 
reaction to his fear of the aura yet again.  "Mom?" he asked, watching as 
intently as the discolored spots faded from view, followed soon after by the 
rest of her chi.

	She stood up slowly, stretching her arms above her head and rolling her 
shoulders and neck languidly.  "Don't worry, Ranma.  I'm fine."  She looked back 
at him with that same strange smile, though it quickly melted away into her 
usual one.  "I was just distracted for a moment."

	"But..."

	"No buts, Ranma, I'm fine.  You didn't hurt me.  In fact, I feel almost 
refreshed suddenly."  She turned away and headed for the door, straightening her 
kimono as she walked.  "Now stop acting so worried and come down for breakfast.  
Afterwards you can go back to Nerima and gather up your things."

	He watched her walk out, though he stayed rooted to the spot, disbelieving 
what had just happened.  He looked down at his hands, studying them intently as 
he focused a small bit of chi to materialize in the air between them.  The 
glowing mass of light swirled between his palms and slowly grew as he watched, 
but he was disappointed and frustrated when it was only shown with yellow, 
green, orange and finally reddish light, with no trace of the black.

	"I will conquer this thing.  I will learn to control this power before 
anyone else gets accidentally hurt by it," he swore to himself angrily as he 
dispelled the chi harmlessly into the air.  "And then I'm going to find a way 
out of this damned fiancée mess once and for all."

--@>+++--

	Kodachi stepped out of the smooth black Nissan Skyline as one of her 
father's subservients held the door for her.  After adjusting her school 
uniform, and internally grumbling about having to wear anything over her custom-
fit leotard even in public, she made her way towards the front gates with 
determined steps and a not-entirely-friendly smile upon her face.  She rang the 
bell twice, then stood impatiently as she awaited a greeting from the peasants 
who called this spacious but extremely ill kept house and yard home.

	"Oh, how can I help you?" asked the eldest Tendo daughter as she opened 
the door then offered a modest bow.

	"I would like to speak with Mr. Tendo Soun," Kodachi responded coolly, 
without bothering to return the gesture.  Her accompaniment, a balding man in 
his late forties wearing a very professional looking gray suit, a dark red tie, 
and carrying a black leather briefcase, did bow slightly, despite her look of 
disdain.

	Kasumi smiled at the man, then turned back to Kodachi.  "Well, he is here, 
but we are in the middle of breakfast.  Please, if you could come inside and 
wait for just a few moments..."

	"No, I cannot wait," Kodachi interrupted.  "I must be getting to school 
soon and this is but the first of my errands for the afternoon.  I would very 
much like to have this matter cleared up before I am forced to sit through such 
tedium."

	"Well if it's serious, Miss Kuno, I suppose Father could make an exception 
for you," Kasumi replied as she stepped back and gestured them in.  "Please 
excuse the mess outside...  Ranma had a bit of a scuffle with one of his little 
friends a few nights ago.  I'm sure you understand."

	"Hee hee!  Oh, so many silky darlings today!"

	Kodachi and the man quickly changed shoes and entered the home, following 
their host's lead, all while pointedly ignoring the demented cackling coming 
from the front room.

	"Father, you have guests," announced Kasumi as she reentered the family 
room.

	"Oh?"  Soun put his morning paper down and looked across the table to meet 
Kodachi's level gaze.

	"And just what in the hell do you think you're doing here?" demanded 
Akane.  "Shouldn't you be off terrorizing Ranma or something?"

	"Me, incite terror in my love's heart?  Oh, truly you are a simple girl to 
think such things."  Kodachi glanced about the room in search of the 
aforementioned young male, but found only the Tendo family and their amazingly 
well trained panda.  "And where, pray tell, is my heart's prince?"

	"I can answer that for, oh, lets say 2000 yen," Nabiki offered.

	"If you knew where he is, why didn't you tell me?" complained Akane.

	"No, I believe I will be more than capable of finding him on my own 
initiative later this afternoon.  I have more pressing matters to discuss at 
present."  Kodachi turned back toward Soun.  "It is my understanding that your 
family has arranged for a marriage of one of your daughters to Saotome Ranma, 
but that you have yet to make the engagement official with either a formal 
ceremony or the exchange of a dowry, correct?"

	"That is true, though I too fail to see what interest of yours such 
details are, Miss Kuno," replied her father with a hard tone.
 
	"What business of it is yours, Kodachi?" Akane demanded from behind her.

	"It most certainly is my business, as you put it, because it seems that 
your engagement is no longer of priority.  I am now officially engaged to Ranma, 
you see.  A substantial amount of money was delivered to Saotome Genma as a 
potential dowry several years ago, sealing this transaction.  Mr. Idoshi, the 
current acting manager of the 2nd Nihon Bank of Nerima, can show you 
documentation of this transaction if you so desire."

	"Um, hello," the man replied with a slightly nervous bow.

	"I'd like a look at that, for one," Nabiki said, eyeing the panda that 
seemed to be attempting to sneak away from the room on the tips of its back 
paws.	 "How about you, Mr. Saotome?  Aren't you curious to see if this is real?"

	The panda froze in mid step, then produced from... somewhere, a small 
wooden sign reading "of course not, silly girl; pandas can't read."

	Kodachi blinked at the odd display that, truth be told, put her own 
efforts at training her pet, Mr. Turtle, to shame.  Perhaps they purchased 
the animal from a circus?  She blinked again as Akane ran off in angry pursuit 
of the fleeing black and white blur, shouting all manner of common, but 
colorful, phrases, the most curious of which was "What, you ran out of food 
sources to trade him for?"

	"This...  I think this actually is legitimate, Dad," admitted the youngest 
Tendo girl still present with a soft tone.  "It's been stamped with his hanko 
and everything."

	"Yes, this is the original document, but we have several copies on file.  
If you would like, I can have one mailed to your lawyer," Mr. Idoshi offered.

	"I doubt that will be necessary," Kodachi said with slight annoyance.  "So 
now you see the crux of the matter, Mr. Tendo; it seems that we are legally in a 
rather gray area concerning the current status of our respective claims to 
Ranma."

	She snapped her fingers at Mr. Idoshi, who stepped forward and sat his 
briefcase upon the table before Soun.  "I have come to make a compensatory 
offer, should you be willing to place your engagement aside in this matter.  
Would ten million yen be sufficient?"

	Knowing where the decision-making power in the Tendo family really sat, 
Kodachi glanced aside to watch the reaction of Nabiki to the offer rather than 
Soun's.  Predictably, Nabiki's eyes immediately bulged at the prospect, but soon 
after her eyes turned downward with an almost guilty or shameful expression that 
was wholly unexpected.

	"I, I don't know, I..." Mr. Tendo began to stammer as he stared at the 
still-closed briefcase.

	The panda ran back through the room, with Akane close behind, and placed 
another sign on the table as he passed, reading "Tendo my old friend, think of 
the Art, of our friendship, and of the honorable promise we made so many years 
ago!"

	Kasumi tossed the sign away quickly and kneeled by her father's side, 
holding his had in both of hers.  "Father, you should accept this offer.  With 
this money you could easily repair all the damages that the house, dojo, and 
yard have suffered since the Saotomes' arrival, and still have enough to fund a 
proper college education for all three of your loving daughters."

	"Kasumi, how could you?" Nabiki whispered before raising her head to offer 
her advice.  "Dad, you can't do this.  If you accepted that money to ignore your 
honor and look the other way as she chases Ranma, you would be no different than 
his father; an honorless, greedy man who doesn't give a single thought to how 
his actions affect the lives of others around him, so long as he manages to get 
his own way."

	Kodachi smirked as Soun glanced back and forth between Nabiki, Kasumi, and 
the briefcase with a bewildered look.  A loud crash, followed by the 
introduction of an unconscious panda to the room via a new hole in the outer 
doors, caught his attention, however, and kept it on Akane as she pushed aside 
the ruined screen and entered the room angrily.

	"No, you can't buy us off," Akane declared.  "I've worked far too long and 
put up with way too much shit on account of this engagement idea of yours for 
you to just call it quits now.  Ranma is mine.  I earned him with blood, sweat, 
and tears, and not you or anyone else is going to take him from me now."

	"Akane?" Soun asked solemnly, "Do you really mean it?  You definitely do 
want to marry Ranma, even after what happened this weekend?"

	"Yes." 

	Soun closed his eyes, and, after a moment's pause, he let out a breath 
before pushing the case back towards Mr. Idoshi.  "I have considered your offer, 
Miss Kuno, but I feel I must decline it at this time.  Please, would you leave 
my family to its breakfast now?"

	"If you insist, Tendo-san, but don't expect another chance at my 
generosity when Ranma chooses my love over that of your excessively abusive 
spawn.  Oh, and keep the case; Inside you will find exactly 400,000 yen, the 
compensation you requested for the damage to your dojo."  Kodachi reached into 
her pocket and retrieved a single, crisply folded paper bill, placing it in 
front of Nabiki.  "And where was it that you mentioned I could find my one true 
love?"

	"That's not what you asked about earlier, but the answer is probably the 
same," Nabiki replied as she pocketed the money before offering a twisted smirk.  
"Frozen waist-deep in the deepest bowels of Hell, I'd wager... but if you are 
referring to Saotome Ranma I haven't the slightest idea."

	Inside she burned with rage at the glib little bitch, but Kodachi thought 
it better to simply leave with her dignity intact and proceed to her next 
target, Kuonji Ukyo, rather than waste more time on these senseless and self-
deluded fools.

--&&&&&--

	"Xian Pu, I have a delivery for you to make!"  

	Shampoo stopped her morning kata abruptly and stuck her head into the back 
kitchen door to comment, "Can't Mu Tsu do it instead?"

	Mousse stopped his own practice abruptly, returning the feathered spear he 
had been swinging in powerful arcs and short jabs back into the mysterious 
recesses of his cloak.  "Why me?" he complained to the rusted trash bin, "I need 
my practice too, you know."

	"What you need are your glasses, idiot!" Shampoo roared as she kicked him 
squarely in the back, launching him headlong into the trashcan he somehow had 
mistaken was her.

	"Xian Pu..." he moaned, his voice muffled by the various rotting 
foodstuffs and paper products crowded into the can with him.  He began kicking 
his legs in random directions, trying to free himself from his confinement.

	"Well then, that settles this little issue, I suppose," Cologne intoned.  
"He can't very well deliver anything if he's covered in filth, now can he?  
Besides, I'd prefer for you to do handle this one anyway."

	Shampoo groaned at her own stupidity as she ruefully accepted the duty. 
"But it's only 7:30 in the morning, Great-Grandmother.  Who in their right mind 
orders carryout at this hour?" she complained.

	"Someone not in their right mind, perhaps?  A fool in love?" replied 
Cologne cryptically.

	"Ha, ha, ha... this is for that idiot, isn't it?" she asked flatly.

	Cologne admonished her quickly, "That idiot, as you call him, could very 
well be your husband soon, Xian Pu.  Remember that."

	"Yes, he will of course be my one and only right after he defeats Ranma," 
Shampoo replied sarcastically, "As if that were even the slightest possibility.  
His art is too formal to be of any real use, and he is so thick-headed that he 
still has yet to accept the truth of Ranma's curse."

	"He seems to have trouble relating to reality sometimes?" asked Cologne 
with one eyebrow raised.

	"Yes, Great-Grandmother.  He acts like he's on a completely different 
world then everyone else sometimes," she answered.

	Cologne muttered to herself with a far-off look, "That may be because he 
is..."

	"What?" Shampoo asked, confused.

	"Oh, nothing to concern yourself with, child," the elder answered 
evasively as her attention returned to the conversation at hand.  "Now head 
upstairs and take a shower.  It wouldn't do for our delivery girl to be all 
sweaty and smelling of garbage when she arrives, would it?"

	"But won't the customer be mad if I don't bring his delivery quickly?" 
Shampoo questioned half-heartedly.

	"Why would Son-In-Law-Number-Two be angry if you are late in delivering 
food he did not order, Xian Pu?" the elder returned as she hopped up onto a 
stool.

	"You mean...  Great-Grandmother, why do you meddle in my life so?" 
complained Shampoo as she sat down.  "You act as if you actually want me to 
marry that fool."

	"Perhaps I do, although he is still my second choice so long as you have a 
chance at convincing Ranma," she replied after a bit of thought.  "My meddling 
in your life is simply an old woman's prerogative, my dear; symbolic revenge 
against the elders that meddled with my life when I was your age.  Just consider 
it advanced training for when you yourself are an elder."

	"Sometimes I think you just stir up trouble in my life to stave off your 
own boredom," Shampoo grumbled.

	"Perhaps..." the elder replied with a sly grin.

	"But why do you want to see me married to him?" Shampoo asked.

	"That boy has tremendous untapped potential, Xian Pu," Cologne stated 
simply.  "Although his fighting technique is limited and his chi seems slight, I 
feel that he has the potential to rival Ranma on the field of battle if only he 
could learn to control his gifts... and convinced that he actually has them, of 
course."

	"Gifts?" Shampoo wondered aloud.

	"Did you not notice his oddly distracted manner, or his piercing gaze?  
The way his comments rang with truths he was not himself aware of?  That young 
man seems highly likely to have the gift of soul-sight, the ability to see 
things as they are in purpose rather than in form."

	"Are you kidding?  That idiot doesn't' even realize that Ranma is cursed!"

	"Doesn't see it, or doesn't acknowledge it?" the crone quipped.  "Denial 
is a powerful force in its own right, child.  And in truth, Ranma –does- 
somewhat act differently depending on his form."

	"Are you sure you're okay?  Did you hit your head or something?"

	"Do not question me in such a disrespectful manner, Child," the elder 
warned.  "Slight jokes and informalities I can ignore and even appreciate, but I 
will not tolerate you questioning my judgment."

	"Yes, Great-Grandmother," the younger Amazon replied, averting her gaze.

	"Good," Cologne replied with a nod, then hopped up on her staff.  "Now go 
and freshen up while I finish the morning preparations."

	After a short but refreshingly hot shower, Shampoo dried herself then set 
about choosing her clothing.  At first she reached toward one of her standard 
work outfits, a short white and green dress with slightly faded colors, but she 
stopped.  Perhaps Great-Grandmother was right; no matter how unlikely it seemed 
that the stick-wielding fool could ever defeat her beloved, the fact remained 
that for the time being she should at least try to get to know him a little.  
With a resigned sigh she reached instead for one of her fancier dresses, a royal 
blue silk slip with a vertical line of light pink cherry blossom petals up the 
side and intricate gold trim along the collar and hem.

	Shampoo returned to the lower floor with her hair still damp to find 
Cologne waiting for her with a wrapped bundle and an approving nod.  She 
accepted the package and went to the kitchen to retrieve her bike.

	"Stay with the boy for a while, Child.  There is more than enough here for 
the both of you to share," the elder instructed.  "Just remember to come back in 
time to help with the lunch rush."

	"Yes, Elder.  I'll go, but only because it is in the best interests of the 
tribe," Shampoo replied as she walked her bike out the back door.  "It looks 
like rain, though.  Can I have a packet of Instant Nyannichuan?"

	"Unfortunately, no.  A strange young man with wheels on his shoes offered 
a ridiculously high price for them, so I sold him all that we had left.  I did 
put in an order for more, though," Cologne replied, slightly apologetic.  "You 
could try the waterproof soap." 

	"No, that stuff always gives me a rash.  Oh well, guess I'd better just be 
careful, then," Shampoo replied.  After placing the package in the bike's 
basket, Shampoo rode off towards the school at a relatively normal pace.

--$$$$$--

	"...The nerve of that girl, making us late to our meeting with Ranma, and 
the way she interrupted us right in the middle of breakfast was very rude, don't 
you think?"  

	When Akane finally stopped to take a breath, the first in over a block, 
Nabiki was quick to step in.  "Yes, yes, I agree completely.  You don't have to 
tell me."  Immediately she went back to studying the figures in her notebook and 
tuning out any further ranting from her riled-up sibling.

	"And I can't believe Kasumi said..." Akane trailed of as they neared the 
school.  "That had better not be what I think it is."

	"Huh?" asked Nabiki, looking ahead at the crowd of students before the 
gates.  At first glance they appeared completely normal, just a crowd of random 
students waiting for classes to start.  At second glance, however, she noticed 
that all of the challengers were male, wearing athletic equipment, and charging 
directly at them.

	"With Ranma gone, the game is back on!" one yelled.

	"Boys!" Akane yelled as if the word were a curse, tossing her bundle of 
Ranma's clothes to Nabiki as she launched into a flying kick.  She pounded her 
way through the crowd with grim determination and an array of quickly snapping 
punches and kicks.  She broke their ranks and pressed on into the middle of the 
crowd, attacking everyone within range with a furious assault.

	Nabiki watched all this with a critical eye, noting that Akane was taking 
more time to deal with each attacker than she had when this madness had first 
occurred.  Was Akane getting sloppy, or had the hentai horde managed to improve?  
The answer seemed rather moot to her as she watched a hockey player sneak up 
behind Akane unnoticed to land a solid blow with his stick to the base of the 
skull.  

	Akane tried to shake off the blow, but it had broken her rhythm enough for 
her assailants to grapple her.  She tried to throw them off but they bore her to 
the ground with sheer numbers and pinned her.

	"So how's Saturday for you?" one of them called above the crowd.

	"Hold, curs!  This display of brutality against purest womanhood shall not 
go tolerated, not while the Blue Thunder yet lives!"  Kuno charged the group, 
swinging his weapon with fury and skill as he cleared a path towards the pileup.

	"But it was your idea in the first place!" one student in a baseball 
uniform complained as he was shouldered aside roughly.

	"That isn't important at the moment!" Kuno replied in a magnanimous voice 
as Akane freed herself of the remaining assailants.  "I hereby declare that 
these attacks will cease, or you shall all face my righteous blade!"

	"Wait just one second, there!" Nabiki demanded as the fight wound to a 
stop.  "You're going to just stop this stupidity?  Not that I'm complaining or 
anything, but still, it was all your idea to begin with..."

	"Yes."

	Nabiki was momentarily stunned by the simplistic answer, having expected 
to be faced with the task of deciphering more of his usually convoluted speech.  
At last, she managed to ask, "Yes?"

	"Oh, my head..."Akane groaned as she regained her footing.  She took up a 
defensive stance and challenged her would-be savior, "And I suppose you want to 
go a round with me now, Kuno?"

	"Nay, good lady, I wish no contest with you this day, both in light of 
your... accident, and in preparation for my duel," the kendoist replied with a 
bow.  "I was advised it would not do for me to be overly tired when I face my 
enemy this final time."

	"You mean Ranma?  Isn't he here yet?" asked Akane, still rubbing the back 
of her head.

	Setsuko ran up from the stairs toward the sisters and Kuno, waving her 
arms frantically.  "Boss, I've been waiting for you for almost twenty minutes!"

	"I was detained a bit by rather rude company," Nabiki replied coldly.

	"Well, there's something you've got to know," Setsuko continued. "Ranma 
got expelled!"

	"He what?" demanded Akane, grabbing the mousy girl by the shoulders.

	"Akane, killing my assistant won't get you any answers," Nabiki 
admonished, leaning in close to her sister.

	Setsuko moved slightly away from Akane before continuing, "The principal 
announced it a little after I got here.  It was something about too many 
absences, or tardiness, or something like that.  He was kind of vague."

	Akane's eyes widened then went dull as she looked at the entryway.  "But 
then... where is he now?" she whispered.

	"Well, Kuno, sounds like your challenge may go unanswered today," Nabiki 
smirked.

	"Nay, I know it shall not be wasted.  This is the fated day of my triumph, 
and even one such as he would not dare to disturb the way of things by not 
answering my call," Kuno intoned gravely.  "Even now, I sense the approach of 
destiny."

	Ding ding!

	Heralded by her usual chime, Shampoo thundered out of the heavens on her 
delivery bike, aligned to land precisely on the head of Kuno Tatewaki.  Much to 
everyone's surprise he remained standing, though he stumbled back a few steps, 
as she balanced on only the front tire before falling off his head to the 
ground.


	"Nihao, keyi-airen!" Shampoo sang rhythmically.  "Wo xie ni liwu!"

	"Youxiu!  Wo bi xiang tai pnzhi shiwu heshi dangshi wufan, wode liu 
cihua," He responded in kind as he accepted a small basket from her.  "Mo ru 
tang zan tan yi putong benzuyu, Xian Pu?"

	"That's just scary," Akane whispered, and Nabiki couldn't help but agree 
as she suppressed the urge to shiver.

	Shampoo sighed, but nodded at his request.  "Shampoo shall speak Japanese 
when others be near."

	"You need not view this manner of speech as a chore," Kuno insisted, 
taking her arm.  "Rather, endeavor to reflect upon each sentence as merely an 
opportunity for improvement and practice.  But, for now, let us away to continue 
this discussion far from the reach of unenlightened ears."

	Nabiki watched Kuno walk away toward the school gates with Shampoo in an 
almost romantic posture, and then turned to regard her associate.  "Setsuko?"

	"I haven't the slightest idea, boss," replied the younger girl with a 
dumfounded look.

	"Pity, but I think I want to investigate that situation on my own," Nabiki 
replied.  "What I need you to do is to cancel any and all bets for today, no 
matter what comes up.  I've just got a sudden feeling that today is going to be 
unusual all around, and I don't think we need to lose money on wildly 
fluctuating odds."

	"Right!" Setsuko chimed as she ran off towards the school entrance.

-- ~~~ --

	Kasumi wiped her hands off on her apron before taking it off and hanging 
it on a hook by the doorway.  She took a moment to mentally check off every item 
she planned to serve, then, finding everything in order, left the kitchen.  She 
walked briskly down the hall to the family room where she found, as expected, 
her father and Mr. Saotome (human for a change) engaged in a discussion of the 
morning's events over a game of Shoji.

	"Lunch is ready.  Would you care for it here, or at the table?" she asked 
simply.

	"Hmm, an interesting question, eh Saotome?" her father remarked with 
unwarranted severity.  "I believe that it will depend upon what you have in 
mind, Daughter."

	It was, of course, the same infuriating question that she was asked every 
day.  "I made some ham sandwiches, a light miso soup, fresh lemonade, and a 
slice of watermelon for dessert," she replied, maintaining her expected smile.

	"Soup, eh?  I think that calls for the table, Tendo.  Wouldn't want to 
soil the game board, would we?" Genma replied with equally haughty tone.

	"Very well then, we shall dine at the table this afternoon," Tendo 
announced, turning to face her.

	Genma took the opportunity to not-so-subtly kick the table from below, 
causing the majority of the dual-colored tiles to flip.

	Soun looked back at the loud thump, but was unable to spot the obvious 
change in the board's layout even when tipped off by Genma's sudden need to 
whistle and avoid eye contact.  Suspicious, he continued his speech while 
keeping an eye on things this time.  "If you would go ahead and set the table, 
Saotome and I will be in to eat just as soon as our match and conversations are 
concluded."

	"What more is there to explain, Tendo?"  Genma asked plaintively.  "I 
admit I made a mistake with the Kuno girl, but that was several years ago.  
Besides, It was all for the good of the school...  you wouldn't hold that 
against me, would you?"

	"Yes, Father," she replied with false cheerfulness before returning to the 
kitchen.

	She grumbled under her breath as she grabbed two bowls of soup, but was 
interrupted midway to the table by a loud knock upon the front door.  Nearly 
screaming in exasperation when her father looked at her expectantly rather than 
moving to answer the door himself, she managed to control her temper and 
maintain her vacant smile long enough to place the bowls on the table and exit 
the room.  Perfect, a guest was just the last thing she needed today, one more 
mouth to feed without so much as a thank you or a bit of help with the dishes 
afterwards.

	Kasumi was thus primed and ready when she opened the door, after a second 
burst of impatient knocking, to find Ranma standing on the walkway.  She 
flinched at the unexpected sight, but soon steeled herself to demand, "What do 
you want?"

	Ranma was surprised at how bluntly hostile Kasumi was acting, but quickly 
set his shoulders in a proud posture.  "I've come to retrieve my property, 
Kasumi.  If you'll just step aside I'll pack up my things and leave quietly."

	"No, you won't," she replied harshly.  "You're going to turn around and 
march out the gate.  In case you've forgotten, you are not welcome in this home 
for the time being."

	"I didn't forget.  I just ain't leaving this time without my stuff, like 
it or not," he responded tersely with a raised voice.

	"Kasumi, who is at the door?" asked her father as he came around the 
corner with Genma in tow.

	Kasumi smiled, but with a sharp light in her eyes.  "It seems that Ranma 
is skipping his classes for the afternoon, Father."

	"Boy, why aren't you in school?" Genma demanded, lumbering his way towards 
the entryway.

	"I don't have classes anymore, Pop.  I got expelled," Ranma replied 
matter-of-factly.

	"What?" Genma howled, pushing Kasumi slightly aside as he stormed up to 
the door and gripped Ranma's shirtfront.  "Do you have any idea what your mother 
will say when she learns of this disgrace?"

	Ranma casually gripped his father's wrist and, applying sharp pressure to 
a nerve cluster as he twisted his grasp, forced the grip on his clothing to 
release.  "Already told her, and she didn't get that mad at all.  I'm going to 
be movin' in with her for a while."

	"But what about Akane?  Do you plan to neglect her again while you are 
gone?"  Soun asked as he joined Genma in the entryway, blocking Kasumi 
completely out.

	"Who said anything about neglect?  You're the one who tossed me out, 
remember?" Ranma demanded.

	"Well, I suppose I did act a bit rashly, perhaps.  You may return to 
living here again, provided you fix the damage to the yard and wall with your 
new free time," Soun replied.

	"Father, no!"  Kasumi complained, grabbing his shoulder to get his 
attention.  "It's no wonder Ranma shows us so little respect, considering you 
bow down so quickly whenever he complains.  It's only been two nights since 
you enacted this punishment!"

	"No problem, I'd rather move out for now anyways... let things cool down 
around here a bit," Ranma stated as he entered the home behind Soun's turned 
back.  Without waiting for a reply, he dashed up the stairs, leaving his shoes 
to fall carelessly to the floor.

	"There, do you see it?  He came back in without being invited, and didn't 
even bother to put his shoes up properly!"  Kasumi pouted, pointing at the 
floor.

	Soun ignored her, turning to his friend who was rubbing idly at his wrist.  
"I don't like this, Saotome.  I think we should keep Ranma here to ensure that 
he and Akane don't grow farther apart again."

	"Agreed, old friend.  Let me try and talk some sense into the boy," Genma 
intoned confidently before he lumbered up the steps as well.

	"Father, why do you want him to stay here?" Kasumi asked in a pleading 
tone.  "He has shown time and time again that he is incapable of showing proper 
respect to us, and he is a walking disaster area!  It would be better for us all 
if he were to simply leave."

	"Kasumi, why are you so adamant about this?" Son asked, concerned.  "Do 
you not realize that if he leaves then the engagement between Akane and could 
become even more strained than it is now?"

	"Father, there is almost no chemistry between them as it is!  Akane is 
merely fixated on the competition for his hand, and Ranma feels only annoyance 
with all his pursuers," she explained, ignoring the sounds of a scuffle 
upstairs.  "It's not just that though... every time I seen him lately I get a 
really bad feeling, like if I don't get him out of here something terrible is 
going to happen."

	"But what if something terrible happens while Ranma isn't around to help?" 
Soun retorted.  "I'm sure that the more time he spends with us the greater our 
chances of convincing him to marry Akane willingly become.  His honor will 
ensure that he chooses correctly in the end."

	"His honor?  Father, I don't see what honor it is that you're referring 
to.  He disobeys your rules and the laws of the country.  He lies, cheats, and 
steals anything and everything that can help him with his martial arts.  He 
argues with Akane constantly, disrupting the harmony of the home.  He encourages 
other ill-mannered hooligans to invade our home at all hours of the day and 
night to fight him.  He pays no heed to the damage to our property and 
reputation his antics cause," Kasumi stopped to take a breath, hardening her 
voice for the final charge.  "Please, Father, he has to go.  Just think of how 
he dishonors Mother's memory, by destroying her shrine, by not making any effort 
to repair the damage, or even taking the time to apologize to her.  Then 
again..."

	A heavy, meaty thump on the floor behind her gave Kasumi pause.  She 
turned to find Genma lying unconscious in a heap.  Ranma stood behind him at 
the foot of the stairs, with a stuffed backpack over one shoulder and a grim 
expression on his face.

	"Don't stop on my account, he requested with a cold, hard voice. "Go ahead 
and finish your sentence, Kasumi." 

	She finished her statement without removing her eyes from Ranma.  "Then 
again, perhaps you're somehow blinded to it, Father.  You are after all friends 
with his father, who, were he a bit less lazy, would be just as bad as his son."

	"Kasumi, this is uncalled for!  You have insulted both of our guests with 
your unwarranted accusations!"  Mr. Tendo cried, grabbing her shoulder and 
turning her to face him.  "What has come over you lately?"

	"Don't blame her, Mr. Tendo.  She has her opinions, and they are just as 
true as anybody else's, I suppose.  I'll be going now," Ranma stately flatly, 
stepping over his father's prone form.

	She stepped behind him as he left.  "Good!  Leave, and never darken this 
door again, you honorless bastard!"

	"Kasumi, you will stop this behavior at once!  Your actions bring dishonor 
upon both our family names!"  Soun shouted with anger and a touch of fear.

	Ranma paused in his step, then turned to regard her with dangerously 
hardened eyes as his aura began to manifest itself visibly as a dark shroud.
 
	She flinched at the sight, but felt even more determined to get him out of 
the home, one way or another.  "Are you still here?"

	The floorboards in contact with his blazing aura began to smolder and ash 
as he stood silently, staring her down.  At length he threatened, "Would ya like 
me to teach your daughter some manners, Mr. Tendo?"

	She smirked at his lack of a defense and against her comments, but was 
surprised when her father pulled her roughly aside by her arm and clamped a hand 
firmly over her mouth.  She struggled against his grip as Ranma walked out the 
door, but he held her stiffly until the front door shut with a faint click.

	"Father!" she demanded with her fists clenched, "how could you take his 
side?"

	Soun slapped her across the face in response, hard enough to slightly 
stagger her.  He turned his face from her as he decreed, "You shame me, 
Daughter.  Go to your room, and stay there until I decide what to do about," he 
glanced at the singed floor meaningfully, "this."

	Stunned, she held her hand against her reddening cheek and stared at him, 
but he would not return her gaze.  With bitter tears on her face and desperate 
anger in her heart, she spat, "Enjoy your lunch, Father," before turning and 
running up the stairs.

--?????--

	Hibiki Ryoga was lost.  

	This was nothing out of the ordinary, but it annoyed him nevertheless, 
especially since he was actually trying to get to the bathroom.  The reduced 
bladder size of his cursed form seemed incredibly inconvenient at times.

	The sound of the doorbell vaguely registered in his mind, but was mostly 
ignored as he continued his four-legged pee-pee dance aimlessly through the 
Tendo home.  The sound of Ranma's voice was unexpected, though, and sneaking 
towards the argument in progress was enough to make him momentarily forget his 
physical distress.

	He reached a passable vantage point from the top of the staircase (wait, 
wasn't the bathroom supposed to be on the ground floor?) just in time to see 
Ranma slip past Kasumi and come barreling up the stairs towards him.  Not 
prepared to face Ranma again, much less in this form, he turned and ran into the 
first open door he saw only to discover that he was now in Ranma's room.  With a 
squeal he dove into the only reasonable hiding place, burrowing beneath the 
sheets as Ranma entered the room, grumbling.

	Ryoga froze, watching intently from his hiding space as Ranma quickly 
packed all of his clothes and belongings into his well-worn traveling pack.  Was 
Ranma leaving for good, finally stepping aside so that he could finally have a 
chance with Akane?  No, Ranma was far too possessive for that.  Even with his 
ever-growing harem, Ranma would never allow anyone to gain a bit of happiness 
under his nose.

	"Stop, Boy, and think about what you're doing."

	Ryoga turned slightly to notice Genma enter the room, just far enough to 
effectively guard the door.

	Ranma gave a snort, but continued his packing.  "I know exactly what I'm 
doin', Pop; I'm taking a vacation from my screwed-up life.  Things are getting 
way too hectic lately, what with Saffron, the wedding, and all the rest.  I need 
a break, a chance to clear my head."

	"Boy...  Son, if you walk out that door we both know you won't want to 
come back," Genma said with uncharacteristic softness.  "I know I'm probably the 
last person qualified to say this, but if you don't stay here and face down your 
problems, your relationship with Akane will never improve."

	"As if you really care..." Ranma replied as he tied the pouch closed.  "If 
you really cared about me and Akane you wouldn't have engaged me to three 
different girls.  I found out about Kuno Kodachi, by the way."

	"I only did that as collateral, boy, to get enough money to support our 
trip, err, most of it anyway," Genma explained.  "Would you have rather I'd put 
up the house, and risked leaving your mother homeless and alone?  It was all for 
the art, boy, all for you."

	"All for the art I buy, but I don't think you've ever done anything all 
for me," Ranma replied with sadness and anger.  "You never really cared for me 
as anything other than a tool of the art, as a bargaining chip, or as a 
scapegoat.  If you did, you wouldn't be trying to force me to marry someone I 
don't love, all for the sake of the school."

	"Foolish boy, you don't even begin to comprehend the gifts I've given you, 
the risks I've taken and sacrifices I've made to make you the best man I could," 
Genma stated defensively, glowering until he caught his anger and forced it 
down.  "Ranma, even if you don't love her now you will grow to love her in time, 
when all the complications of other fiancées are gone.  We both know that deep 
down Akane is a very sweet girl and that she cares for you.  Just give her a 
chance and I'm sure she'll make you a happy man."

	"Is she really such a catch, pop?  Sure, every once in a while she's 
pretty nice, and cute, but most of the time she's a complete pain in the ass to 
be around," Ranma stated, hefting his bag.  "It's not enough, Pop.  Those 
moments are too short and too rare to make up for the rest of her."

	Ranma moved towards the door, but Genma refused to budge.  "I already told 
you that I can't let you leave, Ranma."

	"Well then you've got a problem, because you can't keep me here either," 
Ranma stated, settling into a modified horse stance.  "I can go through the door 
or I can go through you and the door, Pop; your choice."

	Genma took up a stance as well, rooting himself firmly to defend the 
doorway. "There is only one choice, Boy."

	Ranma wasted no more words, charging his father with a vicious kick.  
Genma blocked and countered, and so continued the never-ending battle between 
father and son.  Ranma's backpack slowed him down a bit, but Genma, forced to 
defend a position, was unable to really capitalize on this.

	They tossed attacks back and forth, never scoring a clean hit, until Genma 
at last resorted to his special techniques.  "Jigoku no Yurikago!"  He cried, 
leaping towards Ranma with outstretched hands.  Ranma leapt backwards to avoid 
the grappling technique, forcing Ryoga to abandon his hiding place for the 
relative safety of the closet.

	"Not this time, Pop.  Try that move again and I guarantee you'll regret 
it," Ranma threatened.

	Genma paused, then snickered a bit.  "Oh really?  Let's see what you think 
you've got, boy!  Jigoku no Yurikago!"

	Ranma leaned back, crossing his arms before him as if to defend, but right 
as Genma descended onto him he raised his right leg, screaming "Kachu Tenshin 
Ashige!" as his leg blurred into a frenzy of powerful kicks to Genma's exposed 
abdomen and chest, concentrated on his diaphragm.

	"See?  That stupid move leaves you wide open to a quick attack, pop," 
Ranma commented, advancing on his father's kneeling form, gasping deeply to 
regain his breath.  As Genma looked up slightly Ranma dashed forward, kneeing 
the fallen man in the face hard enough to launch him through the door and down 
the stairway.  "All too easy..." Ranma sighed as he leapt down the stairs as 
well.

	At last Ryoga crept out of hiding and made his way, after four wrong turns 
in the house, a brief sojourn through the yard and a across the street, to a 
bathroom.  One leap into a furo and a much-needed use of the facilities later, 
he was back on the street.

	Ryoga began wandering about town randomly, paying attention only to the 
daydreams that sprang up all around him.   Ranma had all but invited him to take 
Akane off his hands!  Now all he had to do was to break the news to Akane 
gently, deflecting all the blame for the relationship's failings to Ranma, of 
course, and then act the part of the concerned friend.  Akane would surely fall 
for him and then all would be right in the world!

	All he had to do to accomplish his goal now was to actually find Akane.  
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea where the school actually was... not that 
such knowledge would have helped much, really.  Now he found himself somewhere 
in Nerima, wandering aimlessly through a market filled with unfamiliar faces.

	"Sweeto, a garter belt!"

	He turned on his heels towards the shout, watching as a small black blur 
danced through the crowds, flipping up skirts as it ran.  Anger welled up in his 
heart at the sight, and, patiently waiting for the figure to immerge, he 
prepared to strike.

	Suddenly the blur was past the last of the women and emerged from cover 
only to be met with an unexpected fist, pounding elbow-deep into the 
concrete-paved street.

	"That's some punch you've got there, sonny," commented Happosai from his 
new perch on Ryoga's head, "But you have to actually land it before that power 
will do you any good."  He bounced away as the lost boy reached for him, evading 
capture.

	"I'll land one eventually you old bastard!" Ryoga yelled, "And then 
another, and another, until you've paid for stealing my cure!"  He leapt to the 
rooftops, keeping pace.

	"Yours?  Funny, I was under the impression that the water belonged to 
Ranma," Happosai merrily remarked, weaving between attacks and across the roofs 
with little effort.

	"That doesn't matter now!" Ryoga yelled, tossing a few bandanas.

	Happosai casually dove between them.  "Your right, it never mattered in 
the first place.  That cursed water wouldn't have done anything but kill you, 
boy."

	"You lying bastard!  Shi-Shi Hokodan!"  Ryoga screamed, throwing a fairly 
large blast of chi at the difficult-to-hit master.

	Happosai reached into his shirt for his pipe, then spun it around his 
fingers as the blast approached.  With a flick of the wrist he intercepted the 
blast, then with an almost casual spin on the tips of his toes he redirected the 
blast back along the same path it had followed to him.

	Ryoga blinked twice at this, then quickly raised his arms in defense as 
his own attack slammed into him.  He leaned forward against the attack and 
tensed his muscles, fighting against it's momentum, but his footing gave and he 
was overwhelmed.  The attack threw him across the tiles and left him half 
embedded into the roof's rising slope, slightly singed.

	"Such language...  Youngsters these days have no sense of gratitude," the 
old man complained as he hopped over and bopped Ryoga on the head with his pipe.  
"That was Jusenkyo water all right, but it didn't have a curse yet.  All you 
would have accomplished by pouring that on yourself would have been to create a 
new cursed pool, er, puddle.  You should be glad I was there to dispose of it 
harmlessly"

	"If that's true, why did you seem surprised when it wasn't sake?" Ryoga 
countered.

	"Why, um, that's because..." Happosai began, but broke off as he weaved 
between two tentacle swipes and a snapping pincer.

	Ryoga quickly turned his head to behold a huge, somewhat familiar looking 
creature glaring menacingly at the old master with golden, vertically slit eyes.  
The beast was nearly five meters tall and three and a half meters wide at the 
shoulder, a hulking form mostly covered by a thick orange and black striped 
pelt.  It's feet, thick cloven hooves, did not touch the roof as it hovered 
slightly above the damaged surface, kept aloft by the rhythmic beating of two 
large gray-feathered wings.  Its chest was protected by a glossy-finished black 
shell, and its arms ended in matching long, curved pincers.  Its head was rather 
bovine-like with long whitish horns, from which a gray-scaled, ribbed hood 
extended to join with its thick neck.  The same scales covered its abdomen and 
knees, small armored islands in a sea of fur.  From its back extended four long 
purple tentacles, each tipped with a menacing looking barb, and a single 
grayish-green tail ending in a snapping-jawed head, all of which flailed around 
it in an almost hypnotic display.

	"Pantyhose, my boy!  My, you've changed since last we met... still playing 
in the springs I see."  The old man looked the creature over from horns to 
hooves once, nodded to himself, and then ran like a man possessed.

	"Hrrpooarrrsssii!" The thing roared, flying off in pursuit of the 
diminutive pervert.

	"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Ryoga yelled, shaking himself loose of 
the debris and joining the chase.

--/////--

	"Do you like it?"

	He turned to regard the lavender-haired girl next to him as he finished 
his first bite of her offered wares.  The noodles still retained substantial 
forms, as if not cooked fully.  The sauce was salty and sweet, though perhaps a 
bit too watery for his liking. The minced mushrooms could have been fresher, but 
the onions were perfect.  All in all, the food was... adequate.  "But of course 
I like it, Xian Pu.  How could anything delivered from your personage be less 
then perfection itself?"

	Shampoo looked away from the kendoist as she replied, "Great-Grandmother 
always makes the sauce too weak and the noodles have gotten a little stale."

	"True enough, but I would challenge the word of anyone who claimed they 
were able to create a more enjoyable meal from such stock as you used," he 
answered with a prideful smirk.  "I would punish them as blasphemers, and force 
them to repent their wicked lies set against your comestibles."

	"You would do such a thing for the honor of an inferior product?" she 
asked with an annoyed tone.  "Perhaps you are as foolish as I first thought."

	"For your honor, I would," he replied sagely, "and if that makes me a 
fool, so be it."

	"You don't mean that any more than Mu Tsu does," Shampoo replied with a 
slight frown.  "You don't even know me."

	He paused for moment in thought, then, studying her face intently for the 
lightest hint of her true feelings, he answered, "a wise man once said 'a truth, 
once known, requires no further proof of its veracity.  The light of its nature 
will so shine forth unto his very being that to deny it would be to deny his own 
soul."

	"And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked neutrally, her eyes 
widening a bit... with hope?

	"It means that I love you, Xian Pu," he confessed.  "Before we were 
brought together by fate it was as if I were trapped in a fog, with only the 
distant voices of liars to guide my way."

	She shook her head negatively, and argued without meeting his gaze, "You 
didn't even know my name before last night.  You're just another love-sick fool 
like all the boys back in my village."

	"Yet today it is as if the fog is gone," he whispered as he gently turned 
her head by the chin to meet his gaze, "When I look into your eyes, I feel I can 
finally see clearly what it is that I want.  For the first time in as long as I 
can remember the only voice I hear in my mind is my own."

	She held his gaze for a moment, searching the depths of his gray eyes, but 
abruptly snapped her eyes shut pulled away from him, clenching her fist.  "You 
don't even know what love is.  Just yesterday you were entranced by Tendo Akane 
and your 'pigtailed girl.'  You don't love anyone; you're just a fool in love 
with love itself."

	His conscience burned, dragging him bound through pits of fiery shame as 
he confronted her words.  It was true, every word of it.  He had fallen prey to 
obsession, not love, and had pursued his prey with all his might, until at last 
he chased them far from his grasp.  Yet somehow, in a way he still couldn't put 
properly into words, he felt something different towards this girl before him.  
His honor demanded he protect her, her laws demanded he wed her, but his heart 
demanded nothing but patience and understanding.

	"Captain!" Sato Toji, the head of the underclassman kendo squad, 
interrupted in Japanese as he approached, "Saotome has arrived!"

	"Excellent!  Lead me to him, then tend to the preparations," he commanded.

	"How will you ensure that he will accept your terms?" Toji asked.

	"He will accept them, for his pride will not allow otherwise.  I will 
challenge him as stated because of the words of the eternally wise Sun Tsu:  
Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought 
there by him."

	Kuno turned on Shampoo with a determined look and informed her in 
Japanese, "You may have doubts about our future, but I shall set your heart 
free.  I go now to challenge Saotome Ranma, and with the strength of your love 
and a mind clear of distraction surely I shall defeat him for your hand."

	"You wait a second, Shampoo is not understanding!  You challenge other 
airen now?" she asked, chasing him as he ran off, led by the younger student.

	"That is what I intend, yes," he replied in a questioning tone.

	"Challenge no be official unless elder watch," she replied, breaking off 
and heading for the fence.  "Shampoo must get Great-Grandmother!"  He smiled at 
her obvious eagerness to see him victorious as he followed his subordinate to 
the front gates where, as reported, Saotome Ranma was just passing through, 
ignoring the curious crowd of students.

	"Didn't you get expelled?" asked a curious girl.

	"You're here to kill the principal, right?" hoped a younger boy with a 
shaved head.

	As he approached, a feeling of wrongness pervaded his mind, far stronger 
than ever before around the sorcerer, not simply in terms of his almost palpable 
evil but through subtle and mundane cues as well.  For one, Saotome was not 
running or falling out of the sky as he entered the grounds, but rather stomping 
in a slow but determined gait.  With clenched fists and an iron-hard glare Ranma 
appeared the very picture of wrath, yet he did not seem to affix that 
displeasure to anyone at all, as if the feelings his outlook betrayed were 
directed elsewhere.

	For one brief moment, Kuno nearly lost his nerve, but the thought of 
facing Shampoo and her elder without a challenge to witness forced all such 
foolishness from his mind.  With courage and decorum, he approached his target, 
only to be punched aside before he uttered even a single word.

	"I'm not in the mood, Kuno," Ranma remarked offhandedly as he continued 
toward the doors.  The crowd began to spread apart after the casual display of 
violence.

	"Have you so little honor, Saotome, that you will not even wait until 
after I have presented my challenge to attack?" Tatewaki demanded, righting 
himself.

	Ranma stopped and turned to face him.  "You wanna challenge me?"

	"Yes, I..." He began, but was cut off abruptly by yet another uncalled for 
attack, leaving him partially embedded in the wall.

	"You lose," Ranma stated simply, then turned back toward the gates and 
reached for the door handle.

	"You have not yet heard my challenge, fiend!" the kendoist cried as he 
freed himself from the shattered debris.

	Ranma stopped once again, and, more slowly than last time, turned back yet 
again.  "Fine, go ahead and talk all you want.  Just let me know when it's time 
to maim you," he announced, then began cracking his knuckles methodically, one 
joint at a time, while staring at Kuno unblinkingly.

	"It has come to my attention that you are in the habit of conforming to 
the style of many of your opponents, such as a skating match at that occurred 
some time ago."  Tatewaki looked to his opponent for confirmation, but, finding 
none, continued.  "In all this time, not once have we crossed within my chosen 
field of combat, Kendo.  It just so happens that I have arranged for all the 
necessary equipment and officials to be present, and have them waiting in the 
gymnasium at this very moment."

	Ranma blinked, then grabbed Kuno's collar and pulled him face to face.  
"Let me get this straight...  You want to challenge me to a fight using your 
stupid stick-fighting crap?  And you honestly think that this will make even the 
slightest difference in the outcome?"

	"Today is the day you fall, demon, and your evil soul will be revealed 
before all," Tatewaki replied confidently.

	"Fine then, I'll accept your terms just this once."  Ranma released his 
grip with a smirk.  "I was on my way to get something out of my gym locker 
anyway."

--%%%%%--

	"Look, I told you already that I don't need this crap," Ranma stated, 
staring down the other boy.  "You want me to wear these silly black pajamas, 
fine, but I don't need any stupid armor.  It's not like the idiot could hurt me, 
even if he did manage to hit me, which he won't."  

	"And as I told you, it isn't up for discussion," Sato replied, hefting the 
protective jacket in question with obvious effort.  "The rules explicitly state 
that all participants must wear all of the proper protective gear, so unless you 
want to forfeit this match I suggest you let me walk you through putting this 
'crap' on."

	"Fine then," Ranma grumbled, sliding his arms through the appropriate 
holes as his classmate held it out for him.  "Geez, is it supposed to be this 
heavy?  This thing must weigh at least three hundred kilos.  Stupid thing gets 
in the way of my arms, too."

	"It's, um," Toji paused as he circled around to Ranma's back and began to 
lace up the chest plate, "supposed to, ah, simulate the weight of the armor that 
samurai traditionally war into battle."

	"But that's stupid!"  Ranma rebuked.  "Sure, they needed to wear armor in 
an open battlefield to protect them from attacks by opponents from all angles, 
but this is a one-on-one fight so all it does is slow you down."

	"There are rules to this art, Saotome, and the sooner you realize that the 
better your chances to actually give the Captain the showdown he craves."  Toji 
finished tying the laces with a final hard tug, and came back into Ranma's view.  
"I'll begin to explain them while you put on the rest of the equipment."

	"It's fairly simple, isn't it?  Hit with the stick and stay in bounds." 
Ranma stated, annoyed, as he began to lace up one of his thickly padded 
gloves, noting the excessive weight of it's sewn-in armor plates as well.

	Toji sighed as he laced up the other glove.  "Kendo is a much deeper art 
form of strategy, tactics, and skill then that, Saotome, but essentially you are 
correct."

	"Great then, let's go get this over with."  Ranma grabbed his helmet and 
followed the other boy out into half-filled gym.

	He strode confidently towards the marked arena, where his opponent stood 
waiting for him attended by the rest of the Furinkan kendo team and several 
uniformed judges.  Surveying the audience as he stepped to the marked arena, he 
noted the presence of Akane, Ukyo, and Nabiki without surprise, but seeing 
Cologne and Shampoo here as well slightly unnerved him.  All but Cologne cheered 
as he stepped into the ring.

	"Are you prepared, Saotome?" asked Mr. Namura, the P.E. coach.  When Ranma 
nodded, he walked behind him and pulled slightly at the lacing of his chest 
guard.  "I am marking you as red for scoring purposes," he explained.

	"Always been my favorite color," Ranma replied.  Seeing Kuno's back being 
marked with a white ribbon, he approached his rival and offered, "Since I won't 
be back to this school again, how about we place a bit of a wager on the outcome 
of this fight, just to tie things up between us?"

	"Indeed, I would not oppose such a request, were it made reasonably," Kuno 
replied.

	"Well then, how about this?  If I win, your family calls of this 
engagement business between Kodachi and me."

	Kuno shook his head firmly.  "Nay, that I cannot abide.  My sister's 
affairs are not mine to wager on.  I suggest that when I am victorious you 
shall remove your enchantments from every girl under your dark compulsions."

	"I can't remove what ain't there.  How about if I win, you vow to leave 
Akane and the pig-tailed-girl alone?" Ranma tried again.

	"You know, it isn't very wise to place wagers right in front of the 
judges, boys," Mr. Namura said from behind as he finished the knot.

	Ranma bristled for a moment, but then remembered to whom it was he was 
talking.  "Fine, forget it then.  Lets just get this started already."

	"Are the contestant's ready?" asked Mr. Namura as he took the position of 
head referee.

	"Yeah, whatever."  

	"Verily."

	"Then take your positions, and on my signal, begin."

	Ranma fell into a slightly crouching stance, holding his weapon with one 
hand to his side and pointing forward.  He held this pose for several seconds, 
eying his opponent.  When the signal did not come after nearly 15 seconds of 
motionless concentration, he glanced at the referee to see what the trouble was.

	"Mr. Saotome, you must begin in the proper stance," Mr. Namura explained, 
gesturing towards Kuno.

	With a sigh, Ranma forced himself to take on the stiff-feeling posture 
that Kuno held, standing straight upright with his feet slightly apart and 
his shinai held before him with both hands.  As soon as the signal was given, he 
stepped back and into his former stance, easily avoiding Kuno's opening 
horizontal strike.

	For a few brief moments they traded blows, testing the defenses of the 
other, until Ranma spun around a downward strike to contact with Kuno's temple 
strongly.  The bamboo staff shattered with the impact, and his opponent was 
knocked to the ground just barely within the arena's limits.

	"Halt!"

	Ranma waited as one of the two sub-referees handed him a new weapon and 
his opponent regained his footing, taking up the same stance in the middle of 
the arena yet again.  With a smirk, Ranma took his place.

	"Begin!"

	There was no testing period this time, as Ranma attacked immediately, 
knocking his opponent's guard away with several quick blows to once again break 
his weapon across Kuno's temple, from the other side this time.

	"Halt!"

	"Well that was easy," Ranma said, handing the broken handle to the waiting 
sub-referee.  He was surprised, however, when it was replaced with another.

	"Hey, what gives?  I won, right?" he demanded.

	"Won?  Mr. Saotome, you have yet to score even one point.  In fact, if you 
break one more shinai I will dock you a point for un-sportsmanlike conduct.  Now 
take your position and fight properly!  Begin!"

	Ranma's mouth fell from a smirk to a hard line as the match began again.  
He began to fight more defensively, paying more attention to an internal replay 
of the information he had been given than to the actions of his opponent.  

	At first, it was all Kuno could do to keep his defense up, slowly giving 
ground as Ranma attacked relentlessly.  He parried the brunt of the attack, but 
was forced to slowly give ground until he was pushed to the edge of the ring.  
Ranma attacked with a final strong blow, and though Kuno managed to parry it, he 
was forced to move his left foot back to maintain his balance.

	Ranma immediately backed up after the attack and pointed his shinai at 
Kuno.  "There, he stepped outside the ring!  Point for me!" he declared.

	Mr. Tamura shook his head, cleared his throat nervously, and then 
answered, "No, Mr. Saotome, you did not.  Mr. Kuno's foot did not completely 
cross the foul line, and if it had I would have penalized you a point for unfair 
pushing."

	"What do you mean?  I hit him fair and square!" Ranma demanded.

	"The referee's ruling on the court is final!" Mr. Tamura declared.  The 
other referee's looked at him oddly, but made no comment.

	"Begin!"

	Ranma circled his opponent for several minutes, trading blows at a frantic 
place without either scoring a telling blow as he continued to ponder the 
situation.  For over a minute after realizing that he was simply missing some 
piece of information, he began to strike in different locations, pulling his 
attacks to avoid breaking the weapon, but to no avail.  Finally acting out in 
annoyance, Ranma stepped back and dropped his guard completely.

	With a sudden shout, his opponent's weapon swung forcefully toward his 
neck, and Ranma only smiled as the blow connected.

--YYYYY--

	"Hey Nabiki!  What are the odds on Ranma for this fight?" Ukyo asked, 
running towards the Tendo in question while waving a fist full of bills.  Even 
if the payout wasn't that great, Ranma's sure victory over Kuno could help a 
little to ward off having to make a certain dreaded call back home.
 
	"Sorry, Ukyo, all bets are closed.  Might as well have a seat and watch 
the fight with us, though," Nabiki replied, motioning towards several empty 
spots on the bench next to her younger sister.  "Hoping to pay back your debts 
with winnings from me?  Not likely."

	"Damn it," she muttered, annoyed at being read so easily.  She caught 
Akane's glance, noting the lingering anger that was still directed at her.

	Nabiki glanced back and forth between the two other girls before scooting 
next to her sister, leaving Ukyo room to set apart from the angry girl.

	"Any idea why Ranma is even here, Nabiki?  I heard that he was expelled 
yesterday," Ukyo asked, prompting Akane to smolder slightly for an unknown 
reason and turn away abruptly.  "And what is her problem?" she whispered.

	"No idea, on either count," Nabiki admitted.  "To be honest, I'm still 
puzzled over how Kuno managed to set all this up without my knowledge.  I've 
just had a weird feeling all day though, and that's why there is no betting:  
Just in case something unpredictable happens.  You understand, of course."

 	"Yeah, I understand," Ukyo sighed.  She completely understood that in any 
situation involving too much unpredictability Nabiki would not allow others to 
profit at her expense.

	"I trust you won't mind our company?" asked Cologne as she pogoed to a 
stop next to Ukyo, with Shampoo in tow.  "These appear to be rather good seats 
for the upcoming challenge."

	"You're here to watch the fight?" Akane asked abruptly, while putting the 
pieces together in her head.  "And Shampoo has been hanging around Kuno all 
afternoon and acting weird in general...  They must have some crazy plan using 
Kuno to force Ranma to go back to China!"  Akane stood up and pointed an 
accusing finger at the elder.

	Cologne only chuckled slightly.  "Calm yourself, child.  Your paranoia is 
charming to an extent, but in this matter it is woefully misplaced.  I assure 
you that I only learned of this challenge a few moments ago myself."

	"That doesn't exactly answer the question of why you suddenly took an 
interest in Ranma and Kuno's rivalry, or why Shampoo was here this morning and 
again now, does it, Cologne?" Nabiki replied, glancing at the Amazons out of the 
corner of her eye.

	"It no your business what we do, Mercenary Girl," Shampoo snorted, turning 
her attention to the gym floor.  "Quiet now, is starting."

	They watched as the two opponents talked for a moment privately before the 
match began, at which point Akane spoke up.  "Ranma you dummy...  You don't have 
the slightest idea what you are getting into, do you?"

	"Why do you say that, child?" asked Cologne without looking away from the 
proceedings.

	"His stance, the way he's holding the shinai...  It's just obvious that he 
doesn't know much about Kendo at all.  That stance looks more like something out 
of a classical kenjitsu, like Muso Shinden Ryu."

	"He doesn't?" Ukyo asked.  "Why would he accept the challenge then?"

	With a sigh, Nabiki answered.  "That, Kuonji, is one of Ranma's little 
blind spots that I thought he had finally grown out of, rearing its ugly head 
once again.  Before you showed up, Ranma actually participated in quite a few 
martial arts challenges in areas that he had no knowledge of at all before 
accepting the challenge, and a few since then as well.  He's been in martial 
arts contests based on rhythmic gymnastics, a watermelon relay race, the tea 
ceremony, ramen noodle deliveries, French gourmet dining..."

	"Don't forget the paired ice skating match, or the time he turned Romeo 
and Juliet into a four-way brawl," Akane added.  "And he didn't even know how to 
skate or who Romeo was before he started those fiascos!"  Ukyo boggled as the 
list continued, and Cologne even showed a hint of surprise at a few of the 
listed events.

	"But he won them all, right?" Ukyo asked while remembering her earlier 
meeting with the Golden Pair.

	"Eventually, yes," Akane answered, hesitantly adding, "but almost every 
time he was lousy when he started, and needed a couple of days to prepare for 
the rematch."

	"Interesting..." Cologne commented, squinting slightly as Ranma and Kuno 
made their opening strikes.

	"See, right there!"  Akane exclaimed as the shinai broke across Kuno's 
head.  "That would have been a point if only Ranma had bothered to call his hit 
out loud as he attacked.  I bet he doesn't even know that he has to."

	"What a strange rule.  Tell me, what are the official rules for this 
contest?" Cologne asked without looking away from the match.

	"Well, It's fairly simple, really," Akane began.  "They have to hit their 
opponent with a properly called strike to one of several targets, including the 
head, throat guard, chest, and the reinforced area of the forward-most arm 
guard.  Whoever scores two points within the time limit wins."

	"And what of the marked lines?" the elder inquired.  "Is there a reason 
that Ranma is pushing his opponent towards the line?"

	"Yeah, they are supposed to stay in that area.  If they step outside they 
are penalized a point, but if they are pushed out then the penalty is reversed," 
Akane explained.

	Cologne was somewhat surprised at this, and listened carefully as the head 
official explained this point again to Ranma.  "Penalties?  Are there more such 
rules?"

	"There are rules against leg sweeps, grappling, pushing, prolonged weapon-
to-weapon contact, and a bunch of other points of good sportsmanship," Akane 
replied.

	Shampoo complained, "Is stupid art, have too too many rules."

	"Well, it was originally created as an attempt by sword masters to 
preserve some of Japan's rich traditions after it became illegal to carry swords 
in public," Nabiki explained absently.  "In that light, it has succeeded 
admirably."  The conversation died away after this.

	As the fight wore on and Ranma's attacks grew more desperate, Ukyo felt 
progressively more guilt about trying to capitalize on her Ranchan's 
potential loss in progress.  "Is it just me, or is Ranma looking a bit slower 
than usual, too?" she asked.

	"Shampoo no want to mention, but Airen look tired, like have no stamina," 
the younger amazon replied.  "Not used to fight with armor, no?"

	"That shouldn't be a problem," Akane answered, "the protective gear is 
just plastic and cloth, so it doesn't weigh all that much."

	"More interesting still," Cologne commented gravely.  "Perhaps young 
Tatewaki is more cunning than I had guessed."

	"Are you crazy?  He's getting beaten all over the ring!  Why in the hell 
would he be holding back?"  Ukyo demanded.  Cologne neglected to answer, leaving 
Ukyo to silently grumble.

	As one, the crowd went silence when Ranma dropped his weapon and stood 
still, allowing Kuno to score a clean hit.  "Airen... give up?" Shampoo asked 
hesitantly.

	"No way..." Akane trailed off.

	"Point, white!" announced all three referees simultaneously, raising white 
flags.

	Rather than leave, Ranma picked up his discarded weapon and stood in the 
ready position, awaiting the referee's command to continue the match.  Kuno took 
a moment to study his opponent before raising his shinai to match.

	"What the hell just happened?" Akane asked, confused.

	"You said it yourself, Akane.  He probably didn't know what he had to do 
to actually score a hit," Nabiki began.

	"So Ranchan let Kuno score a point to find out?" Ukyo asked, not really 
expecting an answer.

	"Begin!"

	Immediately after the command was given Ranma sprang to the attack, 
forcing Kuno to back up as the flurry of swings assaulted him.  Again and again 
Ranma stuck, but Kuno continued to simply back up and defend, allowing nothing 
to slip through his guard.
	
	Ranma and Kuno's contest ceased as the staccato attacks gave way to a 
sudden pause.  Ranma stepped back from his opponent and raised his weapon 
slowly, watching as Kuno held his guard at a matching height.  

	With a yell Ranma charged, swinging his weapon in a wide horizontal slash 
so quickly that from the stands it almost looked like he wasn't holding anything 
at all.  Kuno moved to counter, but found himself pressing his weapon not 
against his opponent's 'blade', but against the handle.  With the shinai held in 
an underhand grip, Ranma twisted upwards, striking his solidly beneath his foe's 
throat guard and knocking him out of the ring.

--/////--

	"Point, white!"

	He watched as his foe retrieved his misplaced tool and took the proper 
stance opposite him.  Noting the eager gleam in his opponent's eye, the Blue 
Thunder shifted his stance slightly, tightening his guard in anticipation of the 
assault he expected.  

	The battle was rejoined.  After several more blows, Kuno noticed that the 
attacks were coming with slightly less force.  He noted the slight sheen of 
perspiration that made itself known under his foe's mask with interest.  Could 
it be that the demon was lacking in stamina?  With a new strategy, Kuno 
abandoned the idea of his own offense for the time being, willing to see if he 
could weaken his opponent further with a prolonged waiting game.  

	After many more blows Kuno suddenly found himself left alone, as Ranma 
suddenly broke away from the conflict.  Tatewaki searched his foe's steeled eyes 
as he stood some distance away, breathing deeply and quickly, until Ranma's eyes 
narrowed slightly and his foot shifted forward.  Expecting a desperate attack, 
he planned to strike while his opponent's guard was wide open.

	Moving to counter the attack, Tatewaki confidently braced his weapon.  
Mere words cannot express the profound surprise he felt when he found himself 
inexplicably on his back moments later.

	"Point, red!" the head referee crowed as Kuno regained his footing.

	"Pray tell, how is it that I am scored upon?  Is not sorcerous trickery 
prohibited?" Kuno demanded.

	"I must admit, it was rather unorthodox form, but regardless Saotome did 
manage to strike you in accordance with the rules," Mr. Namura clarified, 
looking more at the crowd than at the kendoist.  "Take your position, Mr. Kuno, 
and continue."

	Kuno walked to face his waiting opponent, but did not raise his blade.  
"You do realize that at the moment of the official's signal we shall have but 
mere moments to decide this bout, or it shall be regretfully labeled a draw?  No 
more holding back, Saotome.  Let this final blow conclude our business!"

	"Do what you want, Kuno," Ranma replied cockily, "But I'm going to win 
anyway."

	Tatewaki raised his shinai into position, and at the official's call of 
"Match point, begin!" he dashed forward, yelling "Strike, strike, strike..." as 
he swung rapidly.

	Wide eyed, Ranma leapt fully over his opponent's head to avoid the attack, 
landing heavily behind him.  "What the heck is that?  I thought we weren't 
allowed to use any special techniques!"

	"I fail to see what is special about attacking quickly," Kuno replied, 
turning to his opponent.  "Now face me, and let our blades determine all!"  Kuno 
charged, attacking with blinding speed as he yelled once again.

	Ranma met him with the cry "Katsu Tenshin Amaguriken!" his form blurring 
as well.

	Almost as soon as it began, the final confrontation ended.  Simply 
overwhelmed by the speeds his opponent was capable of, Kuno Tatewaki found 
himself disarmed with a blow to his wrist, followed immediately with a called 
strike to the throat.  Ranma put no force behind the attack, though, instead 
freezing at the moment of contact.

	"Point... Red." the referee admitted ruefully, causing the audience to 
roar with applause as the bloody-hued banners rose.

	Ranma chose this moment to shove the blade under the throat guard, then, 
with an upward shove, to knock the Blue thunder to his back yet again, removing 
his helmet at the same time.  With a contemptuous gesture he removed his own 
helmet and tossed both it and his shinai at the fallen captain's face, shouting, 
"You honestly thought a pathetic weakling like you could beat me?  Me!  I killed 
a God just eight days ago!  Making me fight you under this retarded sport's 
regulations doesn't the change the fact that you will never be my equal because 
I have no equals!"

	Mr. Namura paused, and with a stony expression yelled, "Penalty!  White 
wins!"  Dead silence.

	"Bullshit he does!" Ranma yelled, turning on the referee.  "I scored two 
points so I win, you said so yourself!"

	"As per articles eighteen and nineteen, 'it will be considered a foul 
action to insult an opponent or a referee.'  Article twenty-two states that 'the 
competitor that commits the foul in article nineteen shall lose the match and 
leave the court.  The opponent will be given two points.  If the player 
committing the foul has scored up to this point, the points shall be forfeited 
completely.'"  Seeing Ranma's disbelieving look, he continued, "You did state 
that you were prepared for the match, did you not?  That implies full 
familiarity with all the rules and regulation of the match."

	"But I already won!" Ranma demanded.  "The match was over before I said 
anything!"

	"The match is not over until I announce the winner, Mr. Saotome, which I 
have now done," the referee declared.  With a disdainful look, Mr. Namoura 
turned his back and walked away from the arena, followed soon after by the 
assistant referees.

	Ranma ignored the comment, raising his weapon.  "I want a rematch, Kuno, 
right here and right now!"

	Kuno stood up, offered a short bow to Ranma and them the audience, before 
saying simply, "Your request is denied."  He walked away, darkly pondering the 
odd nature of his victory, ignoring Ranma, who stood rooted in place, quaking 
with anger.

--@@@@@--

	From his perch in the iron rafters of the gym ceiling he had a perfect 
view of all the proceedings.  He didn't care who won, really... he only had to 
wait until the fight was over, allowing him to surprise and defeat whomever came 
out on top.  Surely Shampoo would stop ignoring him when he had managed to 
defeat the greatest of her two suitors, right?

	It was all rather confusing, really.  Ranma was clearly winning the fight, 
yet the witnesses apparently failed to notice, requiring still more proof of his 
dominance.  When Ranma finally stopped and took a hit, Mousse finally 
understood:  this wasn't a fight; it was some sort of damned sporting event!  
Leave it to these backwards Japanese to ruin a good and pure thing like fighting 
with restrictive rules and silly concepts like sportsmanship and points.

	Watching the match as it came to a conclusion, Mousse's anger boiled over.  
These two idiots, these perverters of the art, were somehow deemed worthy of 
Shampoo, while the love of a loyal and honorable man such as himself was ignored 
and scorned?  Even the Elder seemed to favor this new fool, though he could not 
begin to fathom why.  "Is there no justice in this world?" he muttered.

	With a scream of rage, he tossed a handful of eggshell bombs at the 
retreating victor.  As the kendoist jumped back, he dove from nearly three 
stories above towards his prey, leading with his hawk's talon attack.  At the 
last moment, his aim was thrown off as Ranma jump-kicked the victorious 
swordsman out of his path.  Mousse crashed into the floor, shattering the smooth 
wooden planks at impact as his legs refused to buckle.

	As the dust settled he saw Ranma tearing off his armor, allowing the heavy 
metal plates to clank loudly as they struck the floor.  "Damn it, Mousse, this 
is my fight!  If you have some beef with Kuno it will have to wait until I'm 
done with him!"

	"You had your chance, Saotome!"  He yelled back, freeing himself from the 
floor and producing a large iron-ribbed cudgel from his robes.

	Kuno paused for a moment to study Ranma's removed armor, and then tossed 
aside his shinai in favor of the bokken that Toji had brought to his side.  "You 
are both cowards, attacking without warning like honorless dogs.  If it is 
defeat you crave, then Kuno Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, is more 
that willing to oblige you!

	At some unspoken signal all three charged, and the biggest, most 
destructive brawl in all of Nerima history had officially begun.

--#####--

	"Ranma, you idiot.  All you had to do was shut up, bow, and leave to win.  
But no, you just had to prove your point, had to get the last word in, didn't 
you?"  Akane said wistfully as she watched Mr. Namura explain the details of the 
penalty. 

	"Killed a god?" Cologne repeated, then turned to look at the younger 
Amazon next to her with a hard glare.  "I believe you have some explaining to 
do."

	Shampoo gulped and looked away, then tried to change the subject.  
"Shampoo no understand...  Who is winning challenge, Great-Grandmother?"

	"Very well, I will give you time to collect your thoughts on the subject," 
Cologne remarked, not fooled in the slightest.  "By Joketsuzoku standards Ranma 
clearly was the superior fighter and winner, but because he technically lost 
according to the rules he agreed to, I am not sure.  Young Tatewaki's cunning in 
this matter is commendable, but to win on a technicality, especially one that 
occurred after the fight had already ended, is not our way.  I think that I must 
conclude this match was a draw, Great-Granddaughter."

	"Um, what are you talking about?" Ukyo asked.  "You make it sound as if 
this fight had some significance to you, outside of simple curiosity."

	"Yes, you still haven't answered my question Cologne.  Just what exactly," 
Nabiki began to ask, but was cut off as explosions rocked the floor, "...the 
hell was that!"

	"Looks like Mousse to me," Akane stated, squinting to see through the 
debris and rising smoke.

	"Aiya!  Stupid Mousse no hurt Shampoo's airens!"  The purple haired 
warrior yelled, leaping over the guardrail to join the fray below.

	"Hey, is that Kodachi?  What the heck is she doing here?"  Ukyo growled, 
pointing to a smaller form dancing among the growing crowd of combatants.  "I 
owe that little tramp a beating for what she said to me this morning!"

	Akane caught arm as Ukyo rose from her seat and readied her combat 
spatula.  "She came to try and buy you off, too?" Akane asked, then continued 
after Ukyo's terse nod.  "Alright, how about a truce for now?"

	Ukyo nodded again, answering resolutely, "For now."  They both jumped into 
the battle, making a line for the leotard-clad girl.

--$$$$$--

	"Unbelievable.  Only Ranma could turn a simple one-on-one kendo match into 
a free-for-all riot," Nabiki deadpanned, snapping yet another photo.  "Ranma 
already told me most of what happened, you know.  For a price I could be 
persuaded to share this information with you, to compare with whatever Shampoo 
and Mousse decided to tell you, of course."

	"No, that won't be necessary, Miss Tendo," Cologne replied.  "I have my 
own ways to ensure that those two won't hold any more information back from me."

	"Suit yourself," Nabiki muttered, then turned her attention back to the 
fight with a shrug, carefully keeping her face neutral as she fought back her 
disappointment.  

	As she watched the fight went from two combatants to three, then at least 
seven by the time her sister decided to get involved, and after the entire kendo 
squad had decided to 'defend the honor of their captain and school' she had 
completely lost count.  Now it was almost a living, growing organism, a rolling 
mass composed solely of violence and idiocy, absorbing anyone willing to jump in 
(or simply standing too close), regardless of martial skill or even rational 
motivation.

	"Heh, look at Kodachi go!" Daisuke laughed.

	"I don't think I've ever seen Ukyo that mad before!" Hiroshi replied.

	"Whoa, Akane really nailed Jiro with that one!"  Yuka commented, flinching 
at the obviously painful moment.

	"Hey, is Ranma doing that black thingy again?" Sayuri asked, slightly 
fearful.

	Nabiki's attention was dragged to the far wall as an explosion created a 
gaping hole to the outside.  Immediately Happosai jumped through the new 
opening, weaving his way into the crowd, followed closely by Ryoga and, um, some 
big flying thing.  She squinted at the creature, at first noticing its 
similarity to Pantyhose Taro, but then dismissing the possibility.  He hadn't 
looked like that in his cursed form before, had he?

	"Happy never could stand to be left out," Cologne commented dryly.  "I'm 
suddenly reminded of the... time..." she trailed off, turning to study Sayuri 
with a questioning glance.

	"What?" Nabiki asked as Cologne trailed off suddenly, shivering slightly 
as a mysterious chill ran down her spine.

	Cologne didn't answer, instead leaping to the guard rail and shouting 
desperately, "Shampoo, get out of there now!"

	Before Nabiki could ask why, an inhuman bellow of rage tore through the 
din of the melee, followed by a veritable tidal wave of what she could only 
describe as luminous darkness; a wet-looking, shiny void of solid night that 
expanded across the entire floor or the gymnasium.  It didn't stop at the edge 
of the bleachers either, blasting it's way through the uninvolved spectators on 
the lower floor despite their sudden screams of fear, and quickly reaching the 
balcony as well.  Cologne even turned to run, to Nabiki's ultimate surprise, but 
to no avail as the wave crashed across the both of them like a wall of sub-zero 
water.  

	Almost as soon as it had come, the chilling energy receded, revealing a 
gaping crater where the floor had been.  At its center she thought she saw Ranma 
floating in midair and howling with his head thrown back, framed by wispy, 
shifting black forms that almost looked like fluttering wings.  She looked on 
him as a horrible, brutal, yet impossibly beautiful angel of death as the world 
around her grew dark and she collapsed into the waiting arms of sweet 
unconsciousness.

--:::::--

	It was awake.  It opened its eyes and looked on the world around it for 
the first time in over a century.  It reveled in its returning memories, a flood 
of experience several mortal lifetimes long, all in the exhilarating rush of all 
its senses activated at once.  It was free, finally free!

	It examined its arms, gauging the woefully lacking strength they should 
hold, the arcane powers its will should be able to direct with but a gesture and 
a thought.  No, it amended, not free yet.  Its mind was free, but its powers and 
true form were still sealed away by the wards.

	Yet, was this not enough to reclaim the other two?  It smiled, a cold, 
cruel thing, portraying neither joy nor mirth.	Yes, with but a little effort 
all its former abilities would be returned to it, and then it could at last 
return to it's true realm.  

	The boy would be the key.  Already his own awakening had begun, and by the 
time it was completed everything would be opened at their feet.  No need for 
haste though:  there was time enough for the process to complete, time enough to 
plan and prepare.

	Time enough for revenge.



Author's notes:

	First off, let me apologize for scene four.  I'm absolutely sure that 
I've managed to horribly butcher the Chinese language in my clumsy attempt to 
translate 'Kuno-speak' into 'Romanized' Modern Mandarin.  Not speaking the 
language myself, nor knowing anyone who does, I was forced to make do with a 
hunt and peck approach with the aid of an Internet dictionary, 
(http://easyhosting.ipoline.com/dict-gb.html).  If any bilingual readers wish 
to correct my mistakes, please feel free to send me an e-mail.

	If you don't speak Chinese, don't feel the need to go out of your way 
to translate the few sentences written in the language.  I swear that there 
is nothing there of interest, aside from a few bits of information that could 
be guessed just from the context and the imposed grammar.  No secret hints 
about the real plot of the story there at all, nope, none...

	The wise man quote Kuno offers is actually a slightly paraphrased line 
from Rene Descartes.  It was actually referring to one of his rather weak 
proofs for the existence of God, but if any fictional character has license 
to misquote completely out of context a French philosopher who died a long, long 
time ago, it has gotta be Kuno.

	Just in case you're wondering, these actually are the real rules of 
Kendo, as per an Internet source whose address escapes me currently.  I was 
web surfing and curious, and the rule about insults leapt out at me as a plot 
device just begging for use in a Ranma fic.

	If you were bothered by the sudden tonal changes throughout this act, 
congratulations!  You got the point!  It was my intention in this act, and 
this chapter especially, to illustrate the fact that what may seem like 
comedy to an outside observer may in fact be an extremely unpleasant 
situation to those involved in it.  The involvement of the audience in the 
"Blacklight Nova" right after their seemingly innocent enjoyment of the 
spectacle acts, in a way, as little bit of vengeance from the characters 
who's living nightmares are just so much entertainment fodder for the 
masses...

	The title of the act refers to the fact that because of the existence 
of friction, the creation of a machine that can utilize true perpetual motion 
is a scientific impossibility.  Likewise, the little frictions that Ranma 
deals with in his day-to-day life must eventually lead to the breakdown of 
the familiar routines of Nerima.  Entropy prevails.

Nemesis_Zero, AKA Brian #2



New special techniques (in order of appearance):

Kachu Tenshin Ashige 		>	Imperial Chestnuts Kick



Reviews welcomed, appreciated, and sometimes even answered!  Wow!