Part Three

Author's notice: ALL HAIL TAKAHASHI-SAMA!!!  All credit for these
characters goes to the people who created them... that is not me.  You
should know this by now.

Auth. Note: << >> Means telepathic communication.
*-*-*-*

The story so far...  Akane got a wishing ring from Urd.  Then she got
mad at Ranma.  Now he and she never met, but she kept her memories.  Oh
my!

*-*-*-*

 Akane reentered the house.  Her photo shoot with her sister had
been almost... boring.  Nabiki had seemed completely uninterested in
what she was doing.  She still made certain that the pictures were
quality, and didn't show too much.  But she'd been lacking the vitality
that she usually had when she had been sneaking pictures of Akane or
Ranma.  She seemed rather subdued.  She had left shortly after the shoot
to go get the film developed.
 Running upstairs, Akane paused by the door to her father's room;
it was slightly ajar.  She chanced a look inside and was almost scared
by what she saw.  Soun was in his bed, asleep, but that wasn't what
scared her.  All around the room, and on the floor, were newspapers,
some new, some old.  Mounted on the wall opposite her father's bed was a
postcard with a picture of a panda on it.  She was already kneeling down
to examine her father by the time she realized that she had entered the
room.
 Her father's face seemed a tad harder than it had been, but even
in his sleep tears worked their way down his cheeks.  The pillow that he
was lying on was soaked clear through with the salty water from his
eyes.  She looked closer, examining the papers on the floor.  Newspaper
clippings detailing battles involving Ranma Saotome or a girl using the
same name in Nerima.  Akane found one from almost two years ago.  The
headline read 'Saotome-Hibiki brawl results in massive property damage'.
It went on to detail accounts from bystanders.  Apparently Ryoga had
jumped from the sky shouting "Ranma, prepare to die!".  The ensuing
battle had resulted in the destruction of several stores and ended with
Ryoga being flung into a fire hydrant before the police arrived.  Ranma
had been cleared of liability due to eyewitness accounts that he had not
been responsible for any of the property damage, and had been acting in
self-defense.  Police had been unable to locate Ryoga for questioning.
 Akane scowled at the paper in her hands.  <Yeah right, it was
always Ranma's fault!  He was always picking on poor Ryoga!  When I get
my hands on Ranma he'll wish he'd...> Akane stopped herself before she
lost control.  Anger had gotten her into this; she wasn't going to let
that happen again.  Not again.  When she spoke to Ranma she would be
nice and considerate and careful and she would convince him to come to
the dojo and they would all live happily ever after.
 She stood up, intent on her goal, and turned to find herself
staring into the stern face of Kasumi.  But it wasn't Kasumi.  The
Kasumi that Akane knew was full of life, was always smiling, and never
got angry.  The young woman standing before Akane seemed drained, as if
she were fighting a battle that she knew she couldn't win, but would
continue to fight until either she, or her opponent, fell.
 Kasumi leaned close to her sister, and spoke in a voice that
barely qualified as a whisper, "You shouldn't be in here, Akane-chan.
You wouldn't want to wake father.  He might get upset again.  We should
go to the kitchen."  Kasumi turned, exited the room, and began to walk
down the hall towards the staircase.  She was walking deliberately, and
took great care to keep her steps steady.  When she began to descend the
staircase Akane discovered what the matter was.  Kasumi was limping.
She was favoring her left leg just a little bit when she walked.
Walking was clearly causing Kasumi great pain.
 "Kasumi, are you alright?  You're limping."
 Kasumi turned around and favored Akane with a smile that was
obviously forced.  "I am fine, Akane.  Why don't you go change into
something more... suitable.  I will be in the kitchen making some tea."
 Akane realized she was still in her swimsuit; she blushed dark
crimson and sped for her room.  She emerged in record time wearing a
very conservative blue housedress.  She stopped to close the door to her
father's bedroom and made her way down to the kitchen where Kasumi had
just begun to pour some tea for the both of them.
 "I am sorry, Akane, but the tea might be a little cold.  I didn't
want to risk letting it boil.  The whistle, you see."
 Akane nodded her acceptance.  Kasumi could have just told her that
there was rat poison in there, but she wasn't going anywhere until she
found out what she needed to know.  She sipped the tea; it wasn't cold,
but it wasn't quite hot either.  She decided not to drink any more.
When Kasumi walked over to the stove to turn off the burner, Akane
noticed the way she was walking once again.
 "Kasumi, what happened?"
 "It is nothing Akane, really.  Mistress Kodachi's pet alligator,
Midorigame, got loose again.  Nothing truly bad happened, just a few
broken dishes and a little bruise on my leg.  She made up for it by
doubling my salary for tonight.  With any luck you won't have to do
another photo shoot for awhile."
 Kasumi shot Akane a smile that would have seemed genuine, were it
not for the fact that it never reached her eyes.  Akane fought down a
shudder at the emptiness she saw in her sister's eyes.
 "*Mistress* Kodachi, Kasumi?"
 "I'm sorry.  That's what their ninja Sasuke calls her.  Most of my
time over at the Kuno house is assisting him with the cleaning.  It just
sort of rubbed off on me after awhile.  I don't usually refer to her
like that though, since she insists that I call her Kodachi-chan.  She
says that's more proper as I am slightly older than her and more like a
friend than a servant.  I get along rather well with her.  I usually
don't see either her or Tate-kun, she spends a lot of her time planning
to woo some boy"
 Akane was stupefied.  <RANMA!> However, she retained her calm so
as not to betray any information.  <Maybe I can get some more
information from Kasumi.> "What's this boy's name, Kasumi?"
 "Oh my, I never did hear either of them say his name.  I've always
been in such a hurry to keep their mansion clean.  It is a truly
enormous household.  Usually if one of them is planning something I am
already headed somewhere else."
 "Well, I'm sure it can't be that important then."
 "I guess not Akane..." At the sound of Nabiki reentering the house
and heading upstairs, Kasumi glanced over at the clock.  It read just
past nine.  "Perhaps it was time you went to bed, Akane.  You have
school tomorrow.  I think I need to head upstairs as well.  I'll clean
up in the morning."
 Kasumi exited the kitchen and headed towards the stairwell, Akane
followed closely behind her.  Kasumi wobbled a little as they ascended
the staircase, but with help from Akane she remained on her feet.  After
they had reached the top, Akane led Kasumi to her room.  Kasumi smiled
at Akane as she opened the door, her limp had apparently been aggravated
by the climb up the stairs.
 "Kasumi, perhaps you should go see Tofu-sensei tomorrow.  He can
help you with that limp."
 Kasumi's visage turned slightly crestfallen at the mention of the
good doctor.  "Perhaps, Akane.  I think he could use with some cheering
up as well.  He doesn't joke around nearly as much as he used to.  For
some reason he always seems sad whenever I go to see him."  She shut the
door and Akane could hear her heading to bed.
 Akane gazed sadly at the closed door for a few minutes before
turning and heading towards her own room.  She flicked on the light and
glanced around the room.  Several things were different, the picture she
had kept, treasured, held when she was lonely, the picture of all of
them at Togenkyo, was gone.  Along with it had vanished any link she had
to Ranma.  She realized that that picture was the only thing she really
had that could qualify as an actual photo of him.  The thought made her
even sadder than she already was.  She failed to notice that none of the
souvenirs that she had gotten from Ryoga were there either.
 She changed into her nightclothes, flicked off the light and
attempted to sleep.
 <Dad, Nabiki, Kasumi... I'm so sorry.>

*-*-*-*

 Akane woke late, not having slept well in the first place in the
first place.  She was jarred awake by a peculiar sensation.  The
sensation of being someone nudging her in an attempt to wake her up.
 "Akane?  Yo, Akane!"
 Akane opened her eyes and found herself staring into the face of a
pigtailed-boy in chinese clothes.  Relief at seeing Ranma was clouded
quickly by the usual emotion she confronted him with, anger.
 "Pervert! What are you doing in my BEDROOM?"  She swung her fist
towards the pigtailed figure.  It passed right through him.
 "That's the sorta thing that got you into this mess in the first
place, Akane.  Now..." Ranma leaned in close, put his mouth near her
ear, and screamed. "WAKE UP!"
 Akane sat bolt upright in bed to find Nabiki staring at her.  The
brunette raised an eyebrow.  "Not quite the reaction I was expecting.
But at least you're up.  C'mon, breakfast is ready, and dad'll get
pissed if we're late for school."
 Recalling her dream, Akane stared at her shaking fist in shock.
Before remembering the events of the previous day.  <Maybe I can run
into Ranma at school, then I'll fix everything, and he'll love me again,
and his dad will force... no, his dad will recommend he become engaged
to me and he'll forget all about Ukyo.>
 Almost managing to convince herself that this would work, Akane
dressed in her uniform and headed downstairs for breakfast.

*-*-*-*

 Urd watched from somewhere between dreamspace and reality as Akane
left her room.  Disguising herself as Ranma and entering Akane's dream
had proven to be more risky than she had anticipated.  She couldn't have
Akane believing her whole experience with Ranma to be a dream.  That
would be more dangerous than locking Ranma in a room full of cats.
 She was lost in her reverie when a voice inside her head began to
speak to her.  <<Then maybe you should not interfere.>>
 "But Kami-sama, I have to set things right."
 <<Akane will work this out in her own time.  It is too bad that
time is one thing that she does not have.>>
 "What do you mean, Lord?"
 <<Trust me on this.>>
 "I'm stuck here in dreamspace temporarily for lying to her about
Ryoga so... do I have a choice?"
 <<No.>>

*-*-*-*

 Akane sat at the table, eating her meager portions of food.  Soun
was at the head of the table, engrossed in a newspaper.  He hadn't
touched his meal.  When Akane had seen him as she first entered she was
almost certain that it was someone else.  <He's so thin...>  His face no
longer looked as open as it once had, and though there had been tears on
his face last night, this morning he looked as though he had been carved
from stone.
 Nabiki was eating quickly and remaining silent.  The moment she
finished she whisked up her backpack and was out the door.  Akane
continued to nibble away at her breakfast.  The quiet in the house went
beyond disturbing.  If something insane didn't happen soon she was
confident that she would go nuts.
 Kasumi stood from the table and retrieved a basket from the side
of the room.  It had some of Dr. Tofu's books in it, but where Akane had
expected medical journals, these were books on psychology and clinical
depression.  She wasn't sure what to make of it but had a guess as to
what, or rather who, they were for.  Kasumi made her way to the door
with some difficulty as her leg seemed slightly worse than it had been
last night.
 "I'll be going to Dr. Tofu's if you need anything, Father."
 Soun's eyes moved slightly so he could get a good look at his
oldest daughter. "Kasumi?  You appear to be limping, is something the
matter?"
 Kasumi looked down at her toes as though they would provide an
answer that she could live with.  "I suffered a minor bruise on my leg
yesterday, Father.  I think that I should have Dr. Tofu look at it."
 "Akane, you go to school.  I think that I will help Kasumi to Dr.
Tofu's today."  Soun stood up as he dropped his newspaper.
 Akane noticed that Kasumi looked genuinely surprised at what Soun
just said.  Kasumi found her voice after a few moments of staring at
Soun strangely.  "Are you sure father?  I mean, you haven't left the
house for no real reason in such a long time... do you really wish to
go?"
 "Why, yes, Kasumi.  I think that maybe it's time for me to get
back out into the world... and if we should find Genma, I will hold him
to his vow... and he will explain why he did not arrive at the dojo that
night."  Soun clenched his fist as a red aura surrounded him and began
to glow darker, and darker.
 Akane got up and ran out of the house, the tears were threatening
to come again, and she had to be strong if she was going to do this.
Her father hated Mr. Saotome now!  Could she still get him to go along
with the engagement?  And if she could, could she get Ranma to?  <Wait a
minute, of course I can... I just have to meet Ranma.  I can get him to
fall in love with me again.  It'll be easy, and my dad doesn't really
hate Mr. Saotome.  He's just upset.>
 Akane took off towards Furinkan high, with her mind fixed on one
thing... Ranma.

*-*-*-*

 Passing through the gates, Akane marveled at the sight of probably
three fourths of the male population of Furinkan lying sprawled on the
ground.  Some of them looked as though they'd taken a severe beating,
the rest looked to be merely unconscious.  Passing the large pile of
boys by, the last thing she noticed was Tatewaki Kuno lying unconscious
with his head buried about a foot in the ground.  Akane could hear him
mumbling something and leaned down closer to listen.
 "Ohh... my goddess of the griddle... she loves me well."
 Akane stepped on his head, driving him further into the terra
firma, punctuated with one of her favorite words.  "Baka!"  Not
understanding why she had wanted to hear Kuno's rambling, she ran into
the school.  She was late again.

*-*-*-*

 Akane entered her classroom to find the teacher glaring at her.
 "Ms. Tendo... you no longer have any excuse for being late to
class."  He raised his hand and pointed towards the doorway.  "Buckets,
hall, now."
 Akane did a quick scan of her classroom before she grasped the
buckets and headed out into the hall.  As she stood there she went over
it again and again.  Yuka and Sayuri were watching her as though her
being late was the strangest thing in the world.  Hiroshi and Daisuke
had been half-asleep, and Ranma... Ranma hadn't been in there!
 Akane ran through the classroom in her mind over and over again.
Ranma wasn't in there!  Ukyo had been, but where was Ranma?  It didn't
make any sense.  Suddenly, a commotion from down the hall distracted
Akane from her train of thought.
 "Dammit Kuno!  I don't got time to deal with you right now!"
Ranma leapt out into the intersection a short ways away from Akane, he
was followed closely by a bokken strike.
 "Silence, wretch!  I shall free my goddesses from thy most vile
sorcery."
 Kuno swung his bokken in low attempting to remove Ranma's legs.  Ranma leapt over the swing and planted a foot in Kuno's face.  Kuno flew
backwards through a wall, crashing into one of the Home economics
classes.  Several girls carrying trays of cookies looked out into the
hall.
 "I really hope you know that people don't talk like that no more."
Ranma shook his head and sighed, "What a moron."  Ranma turned around
and looked at a clock on the wall.  He jumped up in surprise.  "Dammit,
Kuno!"  He turned and jetted down a different hallway, "NOW I'M REALLY
LATE!"  Ranma's voice faded as he sped down the hall towards where Akane
figured his classroom must be.
 "Well, that explains that.  Now how to talk to him."  Akane set
her buckets down on the floor and began thinking.  No sooner had she
started than a high-pitched voice rang out a few feet away from her.
 "You naughty delinquent, you shouldn't put your buckets down like
that.  HAPPO-GO-EN-SATSU!"  Akane turned around about to say 'Huh?' when
she found herself falling unconscious due to a severe lack of Ki.  She
didn't notice the twelve year-old behind her morph into a shapely thirty
year-old woman.

*-*-*-*

 Ranma slept through most of his classes, which was not unusual.
He woke up when he heard everyone heading out for lunch.  Following the
crowd, he soon found himself outside.  Taking up his usual spot under a
tree, he opted to wait for Ukyo before starting to eat.  After a few
minutes she walked towards the tree, her omnipresent spatula strapped to
her back.  She was waving as she walked towards him.  When she reached
him she sat down, pulled her grill out from nowhere, and began preparing
herself a couple of okonomiyaki.
 "So Ran-chan, pleasant dreams in class?"
 "Yeah there was this one with..."  He caught himself.  "Who? Me?
Sleeping in class, you're the one who's dreaming Ucchan."  Ranma bit
into the sandwich he had brought for lunch.  Ucchan stared at him in
shock.
 "I could hear you snoring in MY classroom, that's quite a distance
you know, and you have a very distinctive snore.  Your pop's gonna be
upset."
 "He'll get over it.  It's not like he ever did anything to
encourage me that school was important.  No, not school, just martial
arts."  Ranma shifted his voice and began imitating Genma.  "Oh yes boy,
this training ground is perfectly harmless, just because it's name means
'pools of sorrow' doesn't make it dangerous."  They began laughing.
Ranma took a couple more bites, finishing his sandwich.  Ukyo noticed
this time.  "And what's with the sandwich?  Are you too good for my
okonomiyaki?"
 "Ucchan, you know I love your okonomiyaki, but there's other food
out there in the world."
 "Like what?"
"Well, for instance there's..."  There was a loud crashing sound from
across the yard. "..ramen."  Ranma finished his sentence just as a
purple blur took the form of Shampoo, who latched onto him with her
standard vice-like grip.
 "Nihao!  Wo de airen, Shampoo bring lunch.  You eat then take
Shampoo to date, yes?"  Unwrapping one arm from around Ranma's neck
Shampoo reached down at the ground by her feet to retrieve a small box.
Shampoo pushed it into his face.  The ramen, which smelled delicious,
had a peculiar blue tinge to it, which faded into a purple, and slowly
began cycling through the entire spectrum, even bothering to stop at
both white and black.
 "Uh, sorry Shampoo.  I'm not exactly hungry right now, right
Ucchan?"  Ranma looked pleadingly at Ukyo as she watched the scene.  She
was not pleased that Shampoo was once again attempting to drug, poison
or otherwise herbally affect her fiancee.
 "That's right, Shampoo, he's not hungry."  She gracefully removed
Shampoo's hands from around Ranma's neck.  "Now, my little lavender
tressed bimbette.  Why don't you go take a speech course?"
 "Spatula girl keep Shampoo and Husband from being together..."
 "You bet your life I do."
 "Shampoo kill!"  Shampoo brought her bonbori down towards Ukyo's
head, but found it blocked by one of her throwing spatulas.  Holding it
in one hand, Ukyo reached around and punched Shampoo in the face,
sending her sprawling.  Shampoo looked up in shock.  "Spatula girl been
training!"
 Ukyo looked at Shampoo smugly and twirled her mini-spatula before
placing it back in her bandoleer.  "I live in the same house as Ranma,
what do you expect Shampoo?"  Ukyo's face changed from smug to serious.
"Now go back to the Nekohanten and let me and my fiancee eat lunch."
 Shampoo smiled just a little as she looked at Ukyo.  "Spatula girl
gotten better, Shampoo no need hold back now."  With a loud 'Hiya!'
Shampoo leapt towards Ukyo, bringing her bonbori to the ready.  Sphere
met spatula, and the battle was joined.  Shampoo tried a sweep.  Ukyo
jumped over it, performing an elaborate backflip while sending a barrage
of her throwing spatulas at the amazon.  Shampoo caught them and sent
them flying right back.  Ranma just stood on the sidelines looking
somewhat worried.
 The battle had raged for almost fifteen minutes when Ukyo ran out
of her throwing spatulas and Shampoo started showing signs of tiring.
They had both been exerting themselves far too much.  Shampoo brought
her bonbori down full strength towards Ukyo's head.  The chef crossed
her arms in front of her face in an attempt to block, closed her eyes,
and braced for impact.  But a strong hand stopped the descent of the
balloon maces.  When Ukyo opened her eyes she saw Ranma staring straight
back into them.
 Ranma turned to face Shampoo.  "You should be more careful with
these things Shampoo, Ukyo coulda been hurt."
 Shampoo tried to spit in the chef's face, but her mouth had run
dry.  "That whole idea... get rid of stupid chef, then take Ranma to
China.  Ranma make Shampoo happy ever."  Shampoo sighed wistfully and
fell into a sort of semi-daydream state.
 Ranma waved his hand in front of her face.  "Yo Shampoo!"  She
awoke from the spell she had been under, a question in her eyes.  Ranma
responded as best he could  "Go back to the Nekohanten, we got class."
 "Ok, Airen, baibai!"  Shampoo turned to face Ukyo with a sneer.
 "Finish with Spatula girl later."  Shampoo leapt over a wall and began
sprinting from rooftop to rooftop.  Ranma turned to Ukyo, a smile on his
face. "C'mon Ucchan, we got class."  Pecking his fiancee on the cheek,
Ranma turned and leapt up towards the third story of the Furinkan High
School building, leaving an amazed Ukyo behind, until the bell rang.
 With a shriek of "I'M LATE!" Ukyo headed off to class.  Leaving a
dust trail in her wake.

*-*-*-*

 Akane woke up to find herself in the infirmary.  The last thing
she remembered was a little girl in a yellow dress calling her a
delinquent.  <Oh, fantastic... Ms. Hinako.  That's just wonderful, now I
probably missed Ranma at lunchtime.>  She glanced up at the clock.  <No,
I missed lunchtime altogether... wonderful. Heck I missed most of
school.>  Standing up, wobbling a little, Akane scanned the room to find
her bag wasn't there.  Hearing a moan from the bed next to her, she
walked over and pulled away the curtain.  Tatewaki Kuno, Blue Thunder of
Furinkan high, was sitting up on one of the beds and clutching his head
as if to ward off an evil spirit.  He noticed Akane staring at him.
"Ah, the noble Akane Tendo.  I see that your feeling for me has not
wavered.  I must profess that I am sorry I can no longer return your
love, there are others in the world who require the Blue Thunder's noble
presence.  My flame-haired goddess in pigtails awaits, as does my queen
of the culinary arts.  Has your sister yet captured their divine images
for my noble self to purchase?  I cannot bear the thought of another
owning such beauteous... uh... beauties."  Kuno stumbled the end of his
sentence as images of his goddesses appeared in his head.
 Akane was so busy glaring at Kuno that she didn't notice the
person walking up behind her.
 "The Blue Thunder doth protest too much, methinks."
 Akane and Kuno both looked towards the voice and recognized the
brunette with the short bob haircut for what she most likely was at that
time.  A source of information.
 "Ah, Nabiki Tendo, I see that you have come to bask in mine divine
presence this fair day as well. I will overcome that foul Saotome's
sorcery yet."
 "Yeah sure, Kuno-chan.  Akane, could you go over there for a
second?  I have some business concerning his love."
 Akane looked over towards where Nabiki was pointing, the hallway.
Akane exited the infirmary and stopped just outside the door, she could
still hear Nabiki's voice rather well.
 "So Kuno-chan.  How much are you willing to pay for information on
your love's whereabouts?  Starting price is 20,000 yen."
 "Done."
 Akane could hear Nabiki's face-fault from out in the hall.
Obviously Nabiki had not expected Kuno's unquestioning compliance.  She
heard Nabiki gather herself, the voice was cold and expressionless
again.  "Okay Kuno.  Fork it over."
 Akane heard the leafing through of large bills and a satisfied
click from Nabiki's wallet as it strained around the new wealth.  Kuno
sighed.  "Now what is the information that is costing me such exorbant fees to obtain?"
 "The pig-tailed girl lives at 'Ucchan's Okonomyaki-ya."
 Kuno sputtered and Akane heard him choke on his voice.  "Bu-bu-
but... are you telling me that my fair pig-tailed goddess dwells in the
same building as Ukyo Kuonji and the foul sorcerer.  How can this be?"
 "Sorry Kuno, explanations cost extra."
 Kuno's response was as expressionless as Nabiki could ever hope to
be.  "I hate you, you know..."
 "That matters to me, you can tell."  The sarcasm in Nabiki's voice
was deeper than the growl coming from Kuno's throat.

*-*-*-*

 Akane walked down the hall with Nabiki, mulling over the
information that she had just received from her little bout of
eavesdropping.  <So Ranma and Ukyo are both staying at the Ucchan.
Maybe I should stop by... I just have to make sure that I don't give
anything away.  All it takes is a little self-control when I'm talking
to Ranma or Ukyo.  I'll be fine.>  Akane smiled as she thought of how
easy it would be to win Ranma from Ukyo.  After all, Ukyo couldn't
compete with her in the real timeline, how much different could it
possibly be here?
 Out of the corner of her eye, Nabiki saw Akane smile and noticed
as her step suddenly seemed that much lighter.  Something was up, and
she didn't know what it was.  Not good.  "So Akane, how was it you came
to be drained by Ms. Hinako anyway.  You're never late anymore, not
since those boys stopped chasing you, and I've never known you to get in
trouble during class.  So what was it?"
 Akane was slightly startled at the question.  "Oh, I was just
thinking about something.  I was a little distracted, otherwise Ms.
Hinako would never've been able to drain me."
 "Oh, and what was it that distracted you?"
 Before Akane could answer one of Nabiki's underlings called her
over for a private conference.  Nabiki seemed rather upset that she
hadn't had time to get a response, but the information she was about to
receive would more than make up for it.
 Akane was walking out of the doorway to the school when she heard
Nabiki's yell of "WHAT?  THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE!"  Akane fell into a
shocked daze when the voice rang out over the school.  <Nabiki is never
that excited, what could the news possibly be to do that to her?>  Akane
turned around and was almost plowed into by Nabiki who was running
faster than Akane would have thought possible.  Nabiki was almost
boiling by the time Akane had regained her balance.  When Akane was
standing again Nabiki ran off.  Not even looking at Akane, she yelled,
"Sorry!"
 <Nabiki?  Apologizing?  Something must be really wrong.>  Akane
began to run after her sister.  "NABIKI!  WAIT UP!"  Akane was amazed
that she had to break into a full out sprint to catch up to Nabiki.
 Akane grabbed her sister and turned her so that they were looking
into each other's eyes.  "Now, what's this about sis?"
 Nabiki visibly settled down under Akane's intense glare.  She
sighed before beginning to speak.  "You know that boy, Ranma Saotome."
 Akane nodded.  "What about him?"
 "Well, Akane, it turns out that both he and the pig-tailed girl...
are the same person.  Whenever he gets hit with cold water he turns into
the pig-tailed girl and whenever he gets hit with hot water he turns
back into a boy."
 Akane couldn't grasp the importance of this.  "Yeah, so what?  You
didn't know that?"
 Nabiki's eyes, if possible, got even wider at her sister's remark.
Her voice betrayed none of that, however.  "You knew about this and you
didn't tell me?"
 Akane's first thought was <DOH!> followed quickly by <I guess I
didn't know about Ranma's curse in this life.>  She attempted a
recovery.  "I, uh, didn't think it was, um, that important..."  Akane
gave sort of a moronic giggle and began inching away from Nabiki.
Nabiki put her hand on Akane's shoulder and squeezed just hard enough
that Akane could feel it.  Akane stopped moving.
 "Akane... for a long time Ranma Saotome has gone to this school.
When he first showed up we promised each other that we would have as
little to do with him as possible..."  Nabiki sighed.  "I discover that
the two girls that Kuno would pay unimaginable amounts of money for
spend a large amount of their time around him.  This make things harder
than they ought to be, but I can live with that.  But when one of them
actually turns out to BE Ranma Saotome, I think it qualifies as
important.  Even more so when both he and Ukyo Kuonji have gone to
obviously elaborate lengths to keep it secret, I'm even more amazed that
they succeeded in keeping it from me as long as they did.  You've known
about this, judging from your reaction, for some time now and yet YOU
DIDN'T TELL ME!"
 Akane was thrown off balance by Nabiki's outburst.  She'd almost
never seen Nabiki mad.  Nabiki didn't get mad, she got even... with
interest.  "Um, actually Nabiki, I was um... just pretending, I don't
really know anything about him at all."
 Nabiki looked into her sister's eyes and was almost frightened by
what she saw there.  "You're lying Akane.  I know in the past I've done
some rotten things but I would hope that you'd still trust me to some
small degree."  Akane flinched under her sister's words.
 Nabiki continued her speech.  "Tell me the truth... you're in love
with him, aren't you?  Just like all those other girls."  Nabiki stared
at her sister, hoping that the answer that was coming would set her
fears aside.
 Akane closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.  Then she nodded.
Nabiki's eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the ground
unconscious.  Akane looked on in shock at her sister's reaction.  It was
almost a full five minutes before she came to her senses and kneeled
next to Nabiki.  "Nabiki?  Nabiki, wake up!  Come on!"  Akane placed her
hand on Nabiki's throat, feeling for a pulse.  It was strong, but her
breathing was shallow.  <I think we need to get going before anything
else goes wrong.>  Picking up her sister and hoisting her over one
shoulder, Akane set off for the dojo at a dead run.

*-*-*-*

 On the way towards the dojo, Akane passed Dr. Tofu's clinic.
Akane noticed that it seemed slightly run-down.  There was no obvious
damage, but the general mood of the area just seemed... depressing.
Hearing sounds from inside, she walked up to the door.  Akane switched
Nabiki from one shoulder to the other, which elicited a slight groan.
Akane knocked and, receiving no answer, put her ear to the door.  The
voices inside were slightly muffled, but Akane could make out what they
were saying perfectly.
 "Thank you for the cookies, Kasumi-san, they are very tasty.  It
seems your cooking gets better each time I try it."
 "Tofu-san, you shouldn't say such things.  You flatter me
terribly.  I brought these as a thank you for taking care of that bruise
on my leg earlier this morning.  I truly am glad that you like them."
Akane heard footsteps begin heading towards the door.  "Goodbye, Tofu-
san."
 "Farewell, Kasumi..."
 Akane backed away from the door just as it was opening.  Kasumi
exited the clinic with a basket on one wrist.  Kasumi's face took on a
mask of worry when she saw Nabiki hanging over Akane's shoulder.
 "Oh my!  Akane, what happened, is Nabiki all right?"
 Akane shook herself out of her wonderment at Dr. Tofu's behavior
and looked at Nabiki, then at Kasumi.  "Oh no, Kasumi, Nabiki's just
fine.  She just fainted is all.  I was taking her back to the dojo to
get some rest."
 "Oh, alright Akane, I'll walk with you."
 "Uh, Kasumi... shouldn't you be working at the Kuno's right now?"
 Kasumi looked amused at Akane's comment.  She smiled slightly.
"Of course not, Akane.  I only go there once a week to clean their
mansion.  Their poor little ninja Sasuke can't do everything you know.
Though it certainly is very nice of him to try, and he always helps me
whenever I am working over there."
 Kasumi walked around Akane and went down to the sidewalk.  She
turned, heading for the dojo.  "Come along, Akane."  Kasumi's mind still
puzzled over what could have possibly caused Nabiki to faint like she
had.  <I hope nothing's wrong.>  With that thought in mind, Kasumi
continued walking towards the dojo.  Her limp completely gone.  Akane
followed slightly behind.

*-*-*-*

 The walk to the dojo was uneventful.  Akane's pathetic attempts to
weasel information out of Kasumi met a pretty smile and an unconcerned
brush-off.  Reaching the dojo, they found their father playing Pente
against himself.  He barely glanced up as Akane entered with Nabiki over
one shoulder and Kasumi trailing behind them.
 "I think you and Kasumi should take her to bed, Akane.  She looks
like she's had a rough day.  I trust nothing is the matter."  Kasumi
nodded and began walking upstairs.  Akane couldn't believe that her
father had reacted the way he had.  She boggled at him for a few
moments, until Kasumi tapped her on the shoulder and signaled her that
they should head upstairs.  Akane followed Kasumi up and into Nabiki's
room.  They laid Nabiki on her bed, Kasumi had to leave soon after to
began preparing dinner.  Akane sat by Nabiki's bedside and began to
wait...

*-*-*-*

 Ranma entered the Ucchan in an astoundingly good mood.  He hadn't
had to face Kodachi today, and Shampoo hadn't remained a problem for
long.  Ukyo had proven remarkably with the unarmed combat skills that he
had been teaching her.  She hadn't had to use her giant spatula even
once in her battle with Shampoo this afternoon.
 From outside came a cry of, "Now where the hell am I?".  The grin
on Ranma's face rose to become an outright smile.  Heading outside,
Ranma initiated his standard battle with the eternally lost boy.
 "YO!  Bacon-Boy!  How're things?"
 "RANMA!  You honorless bastard.  You've turned Ukyo against me!
Prepare to DIE!"
 Ranma's face lost all joy and happiness.  It had become a mask of
total anger.  He growled as blood red Ki began to surround him.  "You
slept in her bed in your cursed form, more than once.  How DARE you
speak to me about honor.  Luckily Ukyo was smart enough to catch on that
you and little 'Katsu-chan' were one and the same... if you'd kept
pretending you'd have a spatula through your skull right now.  It's all
YOUR fault that Ukyo hates you.  Don't try and pass your problems off on
me."
 Ryoga prepared to launch a flurry of bandannas at the arrogant
pig-tailed boy.  "You pushed me into that pool.  You'll pay for your
crimes against me!"
 Ryoga threw his bandannas.  Ranma dodged them effortlessly.  The
battling duo made their way down the street, exchanging blow after blow,
as a crowd gathered to watch

*-*-*-*

 While waiting for Nabiki to awaken, Akane looked down and noticed
a folder poking out from Nabiki's bag.  Reaching in she found what
looked like a business calendar.  It had dates, meetings, notes, and a
balance in the back.  Akane rifled through it and came to today's date.
There was an entry circled in red marker.  Almost like something that
Nabiki would write in a diary.  Akane read it aloud to be sure that she
had seen correctly.  "No sales of Akane's pictures today.  May have to
use other measures to get money for the dojo.  Remember to thank Kodachi
for doubling Kasumi's check yesterday.  I wonder what snapped that
girl's mind back into place."
 A voice came from behind Akane.  Nabiki was lying on the bed
staring at the ceiling.  "Whod've believed that Kodachi Kuno could
become sane.  Of course, whod've believed that a boy could turn into a
girl.  But I saw the videotape.  Ranma Saotome has some sort of
Aquatransexual curse."  Nabiki began laughing in a rather disturbing
way.  She abruptly stopped and turned on the bed to face Akane.  "And to
think one of us almost got engaged to him."  Nabiki dropped back into
her previous position and began examining the ceiling again.  "But now
you WANT to marry him don't you?  My poor, poor, younger sister wants to
get engaged to a boy who has three fiancees as well as the Black Rose
chasing after him.  Three girls who are better martial artists than you
by far and you still want to marry that boy.  Add to that the fact that
he's obviously in love with Ukyo Kuonji..."
 Akane broke in at that, "HE IS NOT!  He just thinks of Ukyo as a
friend, and he never liked Shampoo or Kodachi.  He's always running away
from them and they're always glomping onto him.  It's not his fault he
has so many fiancees."  After her tirade Akane heard her own voice
echoing in her head.  <YOU'RE SUCH A PERVERT!  YOU'RE ALWAYS CHASING
AFTER OTHER WOMEN!  DIE RANMA!  I WISH I'D NEVER MET YOU!>  Akane
settled her thoughts to a rational degree, then she was hit by what
Nabiki had just said.  <Wait a minute... FOUR fiancees... THAT PERVERT!>
 Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  "You sound like you know him pretty
well, sis.  Anything going on on the side that I should know about?"
Akane opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as Nabiki continued
talking.  "If you were correct I'd be really impressed.  He doesn't seem
to run from Kodachi as often as you say he does.  That purple haired
girl Shampoo is a different story though.  He runs from her whenever he
sees her.  I hear she's gotten pretty desperate lately too.  Trying to
drug him all the time."  Nabiki noticed she was rambling and collected
herself before addressing her sister.  "You want to marry Saotome, huh?"
She was looking Akane right in the eye.  Akane nodded.  Nabiki seemed to
wince a bit at Akane's absolute certainty.  "Well then, I guess we'll
just have to go to the Ucchan's and get him.  According to daddy, Mr.
Saotome should be just as sure about this engagement as he is... and
he's been hunting for Mr. Saotome for almost a full two years now.  All
we have to do is take daddy to the Ucchan and he and Mr. Saotome will
have a little 'chat' with Ranma.  You'll be engaged to him by tomorrow
afternoon."
 Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing.  "Nabiki?"  She
looked at her sister more carefully this time.  "A few minutes ago you
acted like you didn't even LIKE Ranma and now all of the sudden you've
got a plan to get me engaged to him?  That doesn't make sense."
 Nabiki grinned at Akane as she sat up on the bed.  She held up
five fingers and began speaking.  "One,  I don't care if he's a twisted
maniac bent on world domination who turns into a giant minotaur as long
as he makes you happy."  Nabiki continued ticking things off on her
fingers.  "You're my sister and I want the best for you... believe it or
not.  Two,  While he's not my favorite person in the world, you could do
a helluva lot worse than Ranma Saotome for a husband.  Three,  Since he
turns into the 'pig-tailed girl' I am pretty sure if you two are married
he'll do ANYTHING to keep the dojo going.  Which means photos, photos,
photos.  Four, even if he isn't willing, I'm still good enough that I
could get plenty of photos of his girl side without him knowing.  Fifth
and final fact... it's what daddy wants to happen."
 Nabiki looked at her sister with a smug smile.  "Besides, even if
he does want to marry Ukyo Kuonji."  <Which I think he does.>  She added
mentally.  "We've got an honor-bound agreement made by Ranma's father.
I don't think that she can claim that."  Akane thought about that and
felt like she wanted to die...  <But she CAN claim that.  What chance
could I possibly have now?>  "And what do we do if she can?"
 Nabiki stood up on the bed and walked over the window.  She stared
out across the garden at the back of the Tendo compound.  She started to
speak again, keeping her back to Akane.  "I don't do anything, Akane.
And you... you pray with all your heart that you can convince him to
pick you."
 Akane stared at her sister in shock.  "Nabiki, it sounds like you
been thinking about this for a long time.  How could you plan something
like this."
 Nabiki smiled at her sister's comment.  "Get real Akane, you know
why."  She sighed.
 "No, Why?"
 "The way you were always staring at him from across the courtyard.
Watching him fight all those insane people.  You were practically
drooling every time.  You had that look in your eyes.  The same one Kuno
used to have whenever you came charging the school.  You've been in love
with him for awhile now.  I could tell.  I mean... it was..."  Nabiki
was saved from having to finish her sentence by a loud smashing sound
from the front of the dojo.
 Running from the room and heading downstairs, the two sisters
burst out of the front door to see a boy with a bandanna and a redhead
engaged in a most impressive battle.  Akane stared as Ranma landed punch
after devastating punch on Ryoga.  <He's even better than I remember.
Or at least, Ryoga's not as good as I remember.>  Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi,
and the newly arrived Soun stared at the devastation as the battle left
the Tendo's front yard and headed down the street.
 Akane and Nabiki shared a look.  It seemed to convey everything
that the girls had spoken of upstairs, with the addition of 'This could
be a little bit harder than we thought.'

*-*-*-*

 By the time the sun had finally set repairs had been finished on
the stone wall surrounding the dojo.  Nabiki had been able to get a
rush job on it by using some of the 'information' that she had access
to.  The workers were gone; Nabiki's job was complete.  She retired to
her room.  Twenty minutes later Akane found her.
 "Nabiki... we need to talk about this some more."
 Nabiki sat up from where she was on the bed and stared her sister
in the eye.  "Akane, I'm really tired right now.  It may not be eight
o'clock yet but its already been a really long day."  She sighed.
"Kasumi should have dinner ready soon.  Can you come up and get me when
she does?"  Akane stared at her sister with the most pleading look she
could.  Nabiki rolled her eyes again.  "We'll talk about that more
tomorrow.  Maybe at lunch.  Okay?"  Akane smiled hopefully at her sister
as she shut the door.
 Nabiki sat by herself for a few minutes after her sister left.
Turning her head to face the ceiling, a single thought pervaded her
thoughts.  <Akane ,you stupid, lovesick, idiot.  I can't believe you
want to bring the living hell that is Ranma Saotome's life down on this
house.>  Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a box containing one of
her cameras.  Removing the spatula from where it had been jammed through
the casing, she started her repairs.  Hoping to take her mind off of her
sister's problems.

*-*-*-*

 Dinner did not go as Akane expected.  Kasumi had cooked another
wonderful meal, but it was eaten in silence.  There was barely any sound
at all as time progressed.  Nabiki seemed to be deep in thought, and
Kasumi was involved in her own little world.  As for Soun, trying to
strike up a conversation with him was like speaking with stone.  He ate
his meal in silence and went up to his room immediately after finishing.
Akane could hear him shut the door and fall heavily on his futon.
Nabiki headed to hers soon afterwards.  Going to her room.  Kasumi
waited until Akane was finished before cleaning up and up to her room as
well.  Kasumi appeared to go right to sleep, while from the sound of it
Nabiki was tinkering with something.  Akane took Nabiki's advice and
decided to wait until tomorrow to talk to her about it.  Sleep came
easily as thoughts of winning Ranma danced through her head.

*-*-*-*

 At the Ucchan, Ranma sat on a stool in front of the grill as Ukyo
bandaged some of his wounds.  He grunted with pain as she rubbed an
ointment into one of the cuts on his arm.  Ukyo spoke softly as she
wrapped the bandage around his bicep.
 "You know, if you'd just let me tell Ryoga I'll never be
interested in him, you wouldn't have to go through this all the time.
Besides, his sense of direction seems to be improving.  Or at least he's
been training his memory to help him find his way better.  Either way,
he showed up three times last week.  You don't recover as fast as he
does.  Cologne and her stupid 'Bakusai Ten-Ketsu' training."
 Ranma looked at her funny.  "Ucchan, you know that wouldn't work.
He'd just accuse me of lying to you and turning you against him.  He's
in love with you.  Just like Kuno... and Tsubasa... and Konatsu."
 "Well, at least Konatsu will accept the fact that I want to marry
YOU.  He's a nice enough guy.  Kuno's insane, people don't listen to him
anyway.  Tsubasa, well..., I have a harder time thinking of Tsubasa as a
'he' than I do with Konatsu.  I just don't think he realizes it yet,
that I barely even like him, I mean.  I would think that Ryoga could
just find somebody else.  After all, Kodachi was after him for almost
three months..."
 "Yeah, but he was already in love with you by then.  And when
Ryoga does somethin' he goes all out.  Not that it would matter anyway.
When Kodachi found out he was half pig something snapped.  Now,
according to Sasuke, she's saner than he's ever seen her.  Apparently
she was quite the nutcase.  I heard she almost killed some girl in a
gymnastics contest awhile back.  Name was Akana or something.  Of
course, Kodachi's in love with ME now."  Ranma flexed his hand, testing
out the muscles on his arm.
 Ukyo looked at him quizzically.  "Can you blame her Ran-chan?"
 He smirked.  "Well, I am one helluva guy."
 Ukyo whapped him across the back of the head.  "You arrogant
baka."
 "And she's not the only one.  I have to deal with Shampoo, and
Akari."
 "Now Akari isn't so bad.  She's a nice girl.  Not as nice as me,
but she knows you aren't in love with her."
 "Yeah but she still tries, and I can't even bring myself to get
mad at her.  It's not entirely her fault.  But I can't bring myself to
hurt her... or Kodachi.  I think they know that I don't love them, but
they have their hearts set on me... and it hurts every time I see them."
 As she reached up to place the last bandage on his arm, he placed
his hand over hers.  "Ucchan... thank you."
 "For what, Ran-chan?"
 "You've always been there for me.  No matter what happens.  No
matter what I have to say or no matter who tries to kill me, or marry
me, or both.  You've always been there.  Thank you."
 "You're welcome."  Ukyo leaned up towards him and kissed him
before returning to her work on his injuries.
 From the back of the restaurant, Genma Saotome witnessed the
entire exchange.  He was not a happy camper.  The plan was to get to
Nerima, marry Ranma off to one of the Tendo girls, and live off of the
dojo for the rest of his life.  Things were not going well.  He'd tried
many things to split Ranma and Ukyo up, and none of them had worked.
Not to mention that every time he had tried to get in contact with Soun
either Ukyo or that crossdressing Kunoichi had interfered.  If he was
going to get things rolling in the right direction, it was going to take
some careful planning.  While Ranma and Ukyo sat near the front of the
restaurant, Genma reached up to one of the cupboards and pulled out two
full bottles of sake.  He needed to think, and that was something he
seemed to do best when he was at least partially drunk.  One hour and
three and a half bottles later he came up with a plan.

*-*-*-*

 Akane awoke with a smile.  Today she was going to be engaged to
Ranma again.  Nothing was going to stand in her way, and if anything
tried she would make them regret it.  Swinging her legs over the side
she stood up and looked out the window.  The world could have been
ending and she wouldn't have noticed.  <It feels like so long ago I made
that wish.  It hasn't even been two days yet.  Soon Ranma will be mine
again.>
 Nabiki opened the door.  She was pleasantly surprised to see that
she wouldn't have to go through her daily ritual of waking Akane up
today.  "Well, look who's up nice and early."
 Akane turned to face her sister, the smile on her face almost
splitting her face in two.  "I'm getting engaged to Ranma today.  I have
a good reason to be up early."
 Nabiki smiled back at her sister.  She was a good enough actor
that it didn't seem forced to Akane.  "Well, get dressed.  That all
happens later today.  After school."  Nabiki left the room.  Akane
followed shortly after and made her way to the bath.  Soaking in the
furo gave her the opportunity to look at things objectively.  She
realized she hadn't been doing that of late.  Akane stopped to think
about what she was going to do today from all angles.  Ukyo would
certainly be upset about this turn of events.  Shampoo would probably
still be acting the same way that she always had, so there wasn't too
much to worry about there.  <But what about Kodachi?  According to
Nabiki she's an almost completely different person than when I knew her
last.  How is she going to react?  and what made her a completely
different person anyway?>  Akane opted not to think about it much more,
today she was going to get Ranma back.  The consequences could wait.

*-*-*-*

 Nabiki was sitting on the bed in her room.  Looking through
various things.  She couldn't seem to get Akane's hopeful smile out of
her head.  Her sister appeared almost positive that this would work and
Ranma Saotome would fall for her about ten seconds after meeting her.
Nabiki knew better.
 The Ranma Saotome that she knew was obviously in love with Ukyo
Kuonji.  Granted, the other suitors that those two gathered like flies
were blissfully ignorant of that fact.  But Nabiki, as well as almost
the entire non-martial artist population of Nerima, knew the truth the
same way they knew the sun was going to set in the west.
 Nabiki went over the plan in her mind once again, there were no
obvious flaws in it.  But she couldn't help thinking that she was
missing a vital piece of information, and that it was going to cost her,
and her sister, dearly.

*-*-*-*

 Breakfast went smoothly, and silently.  Akane finished hers in a
rush, and Nabiki did likewise.  They had lots to do today.  They left
the house as soon as they had completed the meal, Akane with a smile,
and Nabiki with her doubts.  As they approached the school, Akane got to
witness firsthand just what Ukyo's life was like now.  The mob of boys
was around the same size that it had been yesterday.  Ukyo and Ranma
were having little difficulty clearing a path towards the school.
 Ukyo flipped another boy into the bushes with her mega-spatula, as
Ranma kicked one into unconsciousness.  Akane and Nabiki made their way
along the outer rim of the mob.  Akane's gaze lingered on Ranma as she
made her way to the school.  Nabiki noticed, and frowned ever so
slightly.

*-*-*-*

 Throughout her classes, Akane kept stealing glances at Ukyo.  The
okonomiyaki chef seemed more relaxed than when Akane had last known her.
She was smiling more and staring out the window as the class dragged on.
Akane had never really liked Ukyo, that was for sure, but she had never
wanted to hurt her either.
 <But nothing is going to keep me from getting Ranma back.>  Still,
Akane couldn't silence the ache in her chest when she saw Ukyo, knowing
that soon Ranma's father would be shoving him into a marriage that he
didn't know was already planned.

*-*-*-*

 Konatsu struggled against the ropes that held him.  Mr. Saotome,
while overweight, greedy, and a tad on the stupid side, was still a
skilled martial artist.  He had proven that by his rather simple, yet
surprisingly effective, escape plan.  The overgrown panda took off down
the street at a breakneck pace.  He had to get to the Tendo's.  Problems
were guaranteed to arise no matter how this ended.  But he wasn't sure
he cared.

*-*-*-*

 Yuka and Sayuri sat at their lunch table with Akane.  She had
arrived at school in good spirits, but for some reason she had seemed to
shift during the day from happy, to resentful, and now angry.  She was
continuously glancing over at Ukyo.  The sight of the happy and relaxed
okonomiyaki chef was not doing wonders for her spirits.  The fact that
she was currently sitting and chatting with Ranma wasn't helping out
either.  What little self-control Akane had was slowly evaporating as
she watched them having fun by themselves.
 Akane stood up and began to leave, when a rather loud commotion
began to spring up from across the yard.  Near where Ukyo and Ranma had
been sitting.  Turning around, she saw that Shampoo had arrived.  She
was glomping on to Ranma while he was running around the yard.
 <That pervert!   I can't believe he's chasing Shampoo in front of
the entire school!>  By now, Akane's self-control had reached its limits
and she was ready to maim something.  The something in question was not
aware of this at the moment.  In fact, the something in question didn't
even notice her, or the rather large hammer in her hand.
 She reached the inner circle of the crowd and had her hammer at
the ready, she would have used it right away had Ukyo's spatula not
already been unleashed on the unsuspecting amazon.

*-*-*-*

 Ukyo pried with all her might, attempting to 'de-glomp' her
fiancee.  She was, to say the least, slightly surprised when her spatula
broke in half, the sudden shock causing her to fall backwards and land
on the ground with a loud thump.  Ranma was now turning an interesting
shade of navy blue as Shampoo continued to cut off his oxygen supply.
 Ukyo looked up to see a girl with long black hair wielding an
impressively large mallet in her hands.  The girl turned to her with an
almost sadistic smile and said "Allow me."
 Akane raised her mallet high above her head and with a loud cry of
'BAKA!' brought it crashing down onto the head of Ranma Saotome,
shattering his link to the purple-haired amazon.  Of course, it also
left him even more unconscious then he already had been.
 Shampoo turned to the new arrival with murder in her eyes.  "Who
you?  You hurt Shampoo's airen, stupid hammer girl.  You go now and I no
kill."
 Akane returned Shampoo's stare with equal fervor.  "I hurt him?
'I' hurt him?  You were strangling him, you stupid Chinese bimbo!  He
might've died if I hadn't done that.  I can't believe you could be so
stupid."
 Shampoo retort was cut off as the heft of a broken battle spatula
slammed into the top of her head.  Shampoo collapsed in a heap.  A loud
shout was heard from a tree some distance away.  "SAOTOME!  You have
injured my beloved Shampoo, you shall pay!"
 A flurry of chains wrapped themselves around an unsuspecting
student who was standing near Ukyo.  When Mousse descended to finish the
job he found himself stopped by Ukyo's hand.  "Mousse you idiot.  That's
not Ranma."
 "Then where is he?"
Ukyo leaned down and picked up Shampoo, placing her in Mousse's arms. "Just take Shampoo back to the Nekohanten, Mousse.  Fight Ranma another
day."
 With a nod to okonomiyaki cook, Mousse leapt off into the
distance, with Shampoo in his arms and a rather bedazzled look on his
face.
 Turning to Akane, Ukyo began sizing up the person who had saved
her fiancee from the amorous amazon.  "I'm Ukyo Kuonji, nice to meet
you."
 Akane shook the offered hand, surprised at the chef's openness.
"I'm Akane Tendo."  For just a moment, Ukyo's features darkened as
though she was trying to remember something.  They reverted to normal
and changed quickly to worry when a soft groan from Ranma caught her
attention.   Kneeling down next to him, Ukyo cradled Ranma in her arms
and started gently shaking his head.  "Ran-chan?...  Ran-chan, you alive
in there?"
 Ranma slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring up at Ukyo
through her rather impressive 'attributes'.  She didn't realize this
until a slight trickle of blood leaked out his nose.
 "Pervert."  Ukyo smacked him lightly with her hand.
 Akane fumed, glaring at the person who would be her fiancee in a
few hours.  If she, Nabiki, and Soun had anything to say about it
anyway.
 Ukyo stood, helping Ranma to his feet and turned to Akane.  "This
is my fiancee, Ranma Saotome.  Ranma, this is Akane, she's the one who
got Shampoo off of you."
 "I didn't need your help, you know."  Ranma's usual attitude was
showing once again, just as the color was returning to his face.
 Their was the sound of a large battle spatula readying itself.
Well, half of one anyway.  "Ran-chaaan."  The two syllables were said in
a deep growl that threatened violence.
 Ranma began waving his arms in protest.  "Okay!  Okay! Thank you
Akane, Thank you.  Jeez!"  When the threat had passed Ranma stood up to
his full height, still casting wary glances at Ukyo, who was looking at
the remains of her spatula with a regretful expression on her face.  "Do
you think I'll still be able to cook with this?"
 Everyone who had been listening in on the conversation turned to
look strangely at Ukyo.

*-*-*-*

 Genma Saotome sat across the dojo from his old friend Soun Tendo.
When Genma had first arrived, he had had to endure the frightening 'Soun
Tendo Demon Head' but after all had been explained he had been able to
calm down the patriarch.
 "So what you are saying, Saotome, is that your son is cursed to
turn into a girl whenever he is splashed with cold water."
 Genma nodded.
 "If I had not seen you turn from a panda to a man I would not have
believed, but as I did see just that, I do.  Now, tomorrow you will
bring Ranma to the dojo, he will meet my daughters and he will be
engaged to one of them, do you understand?"
 Genma looked down at the floor for a moment before he began to
speak.  "Soun, my old friend, there is a problem with the engagement.  I
will not be able to bring Ranma tomorrow, but rest assured that he will
be wed to one of your daughters eventually."
 Soun looked at Genma with eyes of ice.  "What... problem?"
 "My son currently considers himself engaged to a girl named Ukyo
Kuonji.  It will be difficult for us to break them up.  But I have a
plan."  Carefully, so as not to confuse Soun, Genma explained what he
was going to do in great detail.

*-*-*-*

 Ukyo and Akane were walking away from Furinkan, with a disgruntled
Ranma in tow.  Ukyo was prying away at Akane, asking question after
question.  Had Akane not known better, she would have assumed that Ukyo
was interrogating her for information on her family.  Which was exactly
what Ukyo was doing.
 Akane was kept on her toes the entire time.  She had never before
had to watch what she was saying, but now she found herself having to
remain in control.  She didn't want to appear to know too much about
Ranma, and she couldn't pass herself off as completely clueless either.
 Akane was staring ahead as they walked down the street.  Ukyo had
said that she had plans to go shopping today and had asked Akane to come
along.  Suddenly, Akane saw something that made her stop dead in her
tracks.  Racing over to a water fountain, followed by strange looks from
both Ukyo and Ranma, Akane filled her thermos from lunch with cold water
and dumped it onto Ranma's surprised form.
 "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
 Unable to voice an answer, Akane just looked back and forth at
Ukyo and Ranma's unworried faces.  At the same time, Nodoka Saotome was
walking towards them from across the street where Akane had spotted her.
When she had reached within a short distance Ukyo called out to her,
waving her hand in the air.  "MRS. SAOTOME, WE'RE OVER HERE!"
 Nodoka walked up to the three of them and for the first time Akane
noticed that she wasn't carrying the katana that had always been present
whenever she had seen her before this.
 "Ukyo-chan, it is not polite to shout in public."
 "Sorry Auntie."
 Nodoka turned to Ranma-chan who was glaring only slightly at Akane
out of the corner of her eye.  "Ranma... why are you a girl in public?
Especially with your shirt all wet.  It is most uncivilized.  Now, who's
your friend?  I don't think we've met."
 Akane was absolutely stunned.  Ranma's mother knew about the
curse...  Somehow, Ranma had been able to break it to her in this life
in a way that he had not been able to in Akane's.  For some reason, that
thought hurt more than almost any other Akane had experienced since her
wish had been made.  She was startled out of her train of thought as
Nodoka voiced her question again.
 "And what is your name, dear?"
 Akane took a moment to gather herself.  "I'm Akane Tendo."  Akane
extended her hand to Nodoka, only to find herself encased in a rib-
cracking hug that she was fairly certain rivaled any Shampoo had ever
managed.
 Nodoka removed herself from around Akane with a slightly frenzied
air about her.  "Are you Soun Tendo's daughter, Akane?"  At Akane's nod
she continued.  "It's been so long since I've seen him.  He is such a
dear old friend of my husband Genma.  They both trained together you
know.  It has been so long since I saw Soun.  I was at your mother's
funeral, you know.  Your father was an absolute wreck.  I hope that he
has improved some since I saw him.  He was always a very emotional
person."
 Neither Akane nor Nodoka noticed when Ranma and Ukyo's eyes
widened.  One  thought was echoing in both their heads at the same time.
 <Soun Tendo...>
 Ukyo's suspicions were confirmed.  The girl that she had
befriended had a distinct chance of becoming another one of Ranma's
fiancees.

*-*-*-*

 Nodoka dragged Ukyo and Akane into a nearby boutique.  Nodoka's
original enthusiasm at meeting one of Soun's daughters was still present
but slightly more controlled.  Nodoka was asking Akane opinion on
several dresses, most of which were a beautiful shade of pink, as Ukyo
fidgeted in the background, turning a matching shade.
 Akane, after seeing many of them and even trying on a few, had
finally gotten up enough nerve to ask Nodoka what they were for.
 "Why, for Ukyo's wedding of course."
 Akane could only choke out a whimper of a reply.  "Wedding?"
 Nodoka looked at her with an outright smile.  "Of course, my son
and she are engaged."  Turning to watch as Ukyo fidgeted with one of the
gowns Nodoka's grin almost doubled in size.
 "Just think Ukyo-chan.  In three weeks, you and my son will be
married."
 Ukyo turned to match Mrs. Saotome's smile with one of her own.
"And then he'll finally be mine.  Forever."

*-*-*-*

End Chapter 3
 

Author stuff:  Oy.

FAQ: What is Genma's plan?  (Already decided, I'm not telling though.)
 Where are the other characters?  (They're coming... jeez, hold on.)
 How long till the next one?  (I wish I knew.)
 
 

"My only dream in life, is that someday there will be a program that doesn't ask me if I'm sure I want to quit when I ask it too."
  -Me
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