Ranma 1/2 Presents:
 Shampoo 1/2

Chapter 10

Breaking Things


D.B. Sommer
C+C always welcome
Standard Disclaimer:
All Ranma 1/2 stuff belongs to the Goddess Takahashi and whoever else owns
the rights.

Azatlan has provided a home for Shampoo 1/2 at:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/            
under Ranma 1/2 Fanfics: Special Series Fanfics

An Alternate Universe:
What's gone on before. (or what you need to know to enjoy this fic). In the
Beginning, the Saotome's traveled to Jusenkyou and began sparring, not
realizing that Shampoo and Mousse had already begun a duel there. One
mid-air collision and bath in Spring of Young Drowned Man later, we have a
male Shampoo as well as a female Ranma. (So, Ranma-chan =female.
Shampoo-kun =male.) Shampoo elected to travel to Japan with Ranma, and
ended up briefly engaged to Kasumi. After that was cleared up, Ranma became
engaged to Akane. In the ensuing months many battles occurred, both with
old and new foes, including: Cologne, who wants to take Shampoo back to
China to stand trial for becoming a man. Ryouga, who is still resentful
towards Ranma for being knocked into Spring of Drowned Bat. And Ukyou, who
is still irate at Shampoo for impersonating Ranma, among other reasons.
Last chapter, Mousse and Kodachi met defeat at the hands of Ranma, Shampoo,
and Ghost Sweeper Minami. After the fight, Kasumi placed a call to one Dr.
Tofu...

Note:  denotes Chinese.
Side Note: You did not miss a chapter. Explanations for references to
"crazed cultists, First Shieldmaiden's," and attempted marriages to Ryouga
and Ranma are explained in the end notes.

Part 1

Breaking Rocks

All things considered, the day started out pretty good for Ranma. Akane
hadn't tried to pound on his skull, or worse, feed him any of her toxic
waste/cooking. His father had fallen to his prowess in record time, in
spite of the underhanded tricks the fat man had tried to use. Nabiki hadn't
tried to weasel any money out of him. The pair of fathers had not attempted
to give him "advise" on dating his spiteful fiancee. And especially, no
crazed cultists were trying to marry him. Yes, all and all, a good day.
Shampoo had even talked him into going shopping with her, which was where
they were heading. A nice normal day that included Ryouga, who decided to
make an appearance. 

"There you are Ranma! For what you did to Ukyou, prepare to die!"

Ranma turned to Shampoo. "We got enough time for this?"

She looked at her watch. "Mall no open for ten minutes."

"Plenty of time then." Ranma cracked his knuckles and the beating took
place. Less than two minutes later, Ryouga was laid out in a heap.

Shampoo paused to examine Ryouga's fallen form, determining no real damage
had been done. "Why drag that out Ranma?" Training with him had given her a
good estimate of his abilities, and it seemed to her he took his time
thrashing Ryouga. Ranma was a lot of things, but being cruel wasn't one of
them.

"He had it comin'. All he ever does is try to beat me up and mooch off
Ucchan, and I don't like it." The truth was he was getting a little tired
of the constant annoyance "Fangs" was becoming. It wasn't like he stood any
chance of winning, especially after all that additional training Ranma did
preparing for the "First Shieldmaiden" that had challenged him. But for
someone that got lost as easily as Ryouga did, he seemed to be popping up
around Ranma more and more. He didn't have time to dwell on that, as Ukyou
appeared from the same direction Ryouga had just come from. Judging by the
way she was looking around, it was evident she was searching for her
waiter/flying rodent. It was beyond Ranma's ability to understand why she
let him hang around her. Anytime he tried to pin her down about it she
would either give some answer that didn't make any sense, or worse, try to
convince him Ryouga was an O.K. guy. Predictably, as soon as Ukyou made eye
contact with Shampoo, she drew her spatula and did her impression of
Ryouga.

"There you are! For what you did to Ryouga, fall Shampoo!"

Ranma turned to his Amazon companion. "Go easy on Ucchan. Will ya'?"

Shampoo snorted in contempt. "Shampoo not beat up on weaklings. Not even
use bonbori."

Ryouga came around long enough to mumble, "Don't call her Ucchan," when
Ranma stepped on his head. Where did he get off trying to tell him what to
do? Ucchan was his friend, not the lost boy's.

Ranma watched the fight with a careful eye. It took about two minutes
before Ukyou ended up on the ground, defeated. Having Shampoo train with
him over the last couple of weeks in preparation for the challenge had
improved her martial arts noticeably as well. He gave a once over to make
sure Ukyou wasn't really hurt, then walked off with Shampoo. Once they were
out of the defeated duo's earshot Ranma spoke up.

"I wish you two would get along." It was really bothering him that his two
best female (and about only) friends got along about as well as him and
Ryouga.

"It no Shampoo fault Weak Spatula Girl start fight she can no win." 

"Yeah. But it ain't like you really try to avoid fights with her. Couldn't
you just, y'know, back off a little."

Shampoo paused in her walk and looked straight at Ranma to see if he was
being serious. One glance told her he was.

"You mean you want Shampoo tell Stupid Spatula Girl I no want to fight. You
want Shampoo to refuse challenge and be coward?"

A voice in the back of Ranma's mind cried out a warning that he was making
a mistake and should let it go. As usual, he ignored the advice and pressed
onward. "Well, I don't want you to look like a coward or nothin', but you
could back off."

Shampoo started to get angry. It wasn't an emotion she usually felt when
dealing with Ranma, but he had hit the wrong buttons today. "In Amazon
village it great dishonor to back off from challenge unless have good
reason. You no back off from challenge, do you?"

Ranma became flustered. He was getting backed into a corner and becoming
very uncomfortable, "Well, it's different for me."

"How?" Ranma opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. "And if Ranma say
it because you a guy and I a girl, then you find out how hard Shampoo hit
when she really try. Make Akane look like Kasumi." Judging by the fist she
was waving menacingly at him, he felt it safe to assume her threat was
serious. And it had started out to be such a good day too. He began to
continue his explanation when he came to an uncomfortable conclusion: she
was right. That was exactly what he was going to say. 

"Well, it's like this..." he trailed off at a loss for words.

Shampoo unclenched her fist and the harsh stare disappeared. "Look, Ranma.
You have to understand. Shampoo come from warrior society, we have code we
have to follow, same way like Ranma have one. Honor very important to
Amazons, is no way to just back out of fight without looking like coward.
Just because Shampoo not live there any more doesn't mean am not Amazon." 

The more he thought about it the more he realized she was right. He hadn't
made the comparison, even though it had been before his eyes the entire
time. He tried to backtrack slightly. "It ain't like I want you to lose any
honor. It's just that I like both of you and it bothers me to see you
fight."

He started to hit the right buttons now. Showing concern for her was an
easy way to make her less resentful of him. She knew it shouldn't be that
way. As a proud  Amazon warrior of Joketsuzoku she wasn't supposed to dance
to any man's tune, but that was exactly what she was doing, and it made her
feel a little powerless. Unfortunately for Ranma, his next statement had
the opposite effect.

"I don't want to see you hurt."

Shampoo slipped into anger mode again. He dared call her weak. "You mean
you think Spatula Girl can beat Shampoo?"

Ranma had enough sense to see where this was heading to. He had witnessed
it more than enough times with Akane to know he was going to end up getting
hit if he couldn't think of something, fast.

"I know you're better, but anything can happen." He knew as soon as the
words came out of his mouth they were wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

"The only way anything bad happen is because Shampoo holding back like
Ranma ask!" Suddenly, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, as though something
occurred to her. "Did Ranma ask Spatula Girl not to fight?"

He wondered where was this going to? Shutting up wasn't going to get him
out of it this time, as much as he wished it would, so he decided to find
out. 

"No." One look said he found the wrong response again. It really was
amazing how someone could get the wrong answer to so many yes or no
questions. And it really had looked like it was going to be a good day,
about a million years ago.

"So Ranma think Shampoo only one that wrong! Should be only one to swallow
pride. Ranma like Stupid Spatula Girl better! He no care that she start
most of fights!" He didn't like the anger that was getting into her voice,
and for the life of him he didn't know how this argument had started. Was
it so much to ask that his friends try to get along? Now he was arguing
with her, and if he didn't figure out the right thing to say soon it was
going to be a long, and probably painful day.

"It ain't that I like her better. I like you more." His own statement
caught him off guard. He wasn't sure where the last part come from. He
hadn't intended to say that, he was certain. Once he thought about it, it
felt right, probably because he spent so much time with her over the last
few months. As he collected his thoughts, he paid closer attention to how
Shampoo was reacting. Surprisingly, all traces of anger had disappeared
from her face.

"Shampoo promise try to not fight Spatula Girl. Is O.K. Ranma?" Her
demeanor had totally changed and he wasn't about to let the chance to keep
things that way slide away. All he had to do was say the right thing.

"Yeah." Jackpot! She didn't try to hit him. Silently he thought, "I don't
know what I just did, but I gotta remember it." He felt he needed to add
something else. 

"And I'm sorry if I insulted you or something. I didn't mean to." She shook
her head, gave a dazzling smile, then grabbed his arm and headed off to
shop like they had originally planned. It wasn't until much later he
realized he had apologized without hesitation.


Back at battleground, Ukyou and Ryouga had finally recovered. Both of them
had the same look of dejection on their faces.

Ryouga was the first to break the silence. "We just got our butts kicked,
didn't we?" It was an obvious statement, but one that needed saying.

Ukyou was accomplishing a rare feat, and matched his depression. "Yeah.
They've gotten good after all that training they did for that deranged
cultist." 

Ryouga's slid into one of his black pits of depression. "She sent the
challenge letter to him. How was I to know she wanted to marry me too?"

She got up and worked some kinks out of her back.  "I'm not blaming you. I
just wish there was some way we could get better."

Destiny, in the form of Cologne, walked out from some bushes and towards
the pair. The aged Amazon looked the two over, "I couldn't help but
overhear your predicament. I would be more than happy to train you."

"All Right!" Ryouga was ecstatic. Free training. Ukyou, on the other hand,
was a lot more cautious.

"Wait a minute. Why do you want to help us?"

Cologne gave the smile that could give nightmares to a demon. "Let's just
say I have a personal problem with Shampoo and Ranma, not all that
different from you if you stop and think about it," she paused and looked
the two over once more.  "If you don't want to, then you don't have to
accept. I'm sure you'll figure out some way to overcome them. In about a
year or so."

Ranma had warned her about the aging Amazon. She had some kind of grudge
against Shampoo and wanted to take her back to China. Not that Ukyou would
miss her if she left and never came back. Still, it wouldn't go over well
with Ranma if she was forced to go.

"First, you have to know we won't help you take Shampoo back to China."

Cologne held up her hand, "I promise not to try to make you take her back
to China. How's that?"

Since they had her promise, Ukyou saw no reason why she couldn't go along
with the training. The two decided to listen to Cologne's outline for what
she intended to do with the two warriors.

"I'll have to close up the restaurant for a while, but I have to beat
Shampoo." That was the one sticking point that was left in Ukyou's life.
She had not only had settled the score with Ranma, but the two had become
friends again. Her business was a success. She had Ryouga who was
her...well, she wasn't sure of what he was, besides a waiter. The only
thing that stuck in her craw was that Shampoo was better than her, and she
needed to change that in a hurry. "We'll do it. C'mon Ryouga."

The two went back to Uk-Chan's to gather their belongings and close down
the store. Eventually they arrived, at the rendezvous at the top of Mt.
Terror, where Cologne was waiting for them.

Once they settled in and made camp, the aged Amazon began to get specific
in what she wanted. "Now what I want to do is teach you a technique called
the Breaking Point."

The studies consisted of having one arm tied behind the back, while hanging
from a tree branch and having rocks hurled at the recipient, while trying
to break them with one finger. Dozens of rocks were hurled at the duo, 
crushing and mangling them while trying to learn the technique. By the
second day, Ukyou mastered the technique, shattering the boulders while
yelling out "BAKUSAI-TENKETSU."

"I did it first!" Ukyou's grin was wide as she smiled at her new mentor.

Cologne smiled back. "Of course, you are a woman, and therefore better. 
Now, try to do it with two at once." She released two boulders at Ukyou,
each coming from opposite directions.

"WAIT! I can't do two..." the rest was abruptly cut off as she was smashed
between two boulders.

Ryouga shuddered when he saw his partner's flattened form. "If that's what
happens when you do learn it, I'm having second thoughts about this whole
thing." He was crushed by another hurled boulder.

Night fell. The two finally stopped training and (heavily) bandaged
themselves. Ukyou decided to cook first, preparing some Okonomiyaki for the
trio.

Cologne bit down into the food, "Hmmm! This is pretty good. You know what
you're doing." She cleared her throat. "Now let's discuss strategy on how
to defeat those two. I want you, Ukyou, to start by attacking Ranma..."

"No!" The vehemence of the refusal surprised Cologne.

"What do you mean no?"

"I won't attack Ran-chan."

"Why on Earth not?"

"Because he's my friend."

Cologne shook her head in disbelief, "That doesn't make any sense. Ryouga
attacks him all the time, but you don't try to stop him."

"That's between Ryouga and Ran-chan." She shifted her gaze from Cologne to
Ryouga and spoke much more softly, "I would like it very much if the two of
them would make some kind of peace. It would mean a lot to me."

He noticed the stare immediately. Ryouga was a lot of things, and being
thick was definitely one of them, but he picked up on the hint. His gaze
shifted away from Ukyou's pleading eyes. "I'm sorry. But he has to pay for
what he did to you." Ukyou's shoulders visibly slumped.

Cologne took notice of the interaction between the two. "Well, I see.
Ryouga, why don't the two of you start off by double teaming Shampoo? She's
vulnerable to..."

Ryouga cut her off, "No!"

Cologne's patience started to wear thin, "Just what do you mean, No?"

"I don't attack girls. It wouldn't be honorable."

"She's responsible for your curse."

"It doesn't matter. I don't attack women." He crossed his arms to reinforce
the point.

Cologne focused her eyes on the duo and thought, "I see. Well we'll just
figure out what we can do about that, after your training."

Later, Ukyou retired to her tent, trying to get some sleep. Despite her
exhaustion, rest eluded her. After tossing and turning for a couple of
hours, she got up and decided to try to clear up what was bothering her.
She made certain her pajamas were not revealing anything, and walked over
to Ryouga's tent. 

"Ryouga. You up?" She spoke softly, hoping not to disturb the aging Amazon.
Hearing no response she stuck her head into the tent itself. "Ryouga!" This
time it was a little louder and he finally woke up.

"Wh...what?" he stared through sleepy eyes as he tried to come around. As
he sat up, the blanket fell from his body, allowing Ukyou to get a full
view of his torso. Somehow, she never got tired of gazing at his broad
shoulders, his muscular chest, his...she shook her head to clear it of such
thoughts. Being almost alone on a mountain with a man and thinking those
sort of things was sure to lead to trouble. True, she slept under the same
roof with him, but the barrier the tents represented seemed so much
flimsier than the walls and doors of Uk-Chan's.

"Wake up sleepyhead." This wasn't unusual for her. She had to get him up
every morning for school. An early morning person he was not. "I need to
talk to you." He finally came fully awake. 

"What about?" He grabbed his shirt and started to put it on, causing Ukyou
to feel a mixture of relief and regret.

"It's about you and Ran-chan," for the briefest of moments, she thought he
cringed, but in the darkness she couldn't be certain. "This is really
starting to bother me. Why can't the two of you get along?"

Ryouga paused in thought for a moment. Why was she bothering him this late
at night, no, make that, this early in the morning, with annoying
questions? "I hate him."

It was Ukyou's turn to cringe. She never really had come right out and
asked him why he and Ranma didn't get along. Now she was beginning to see
why. She was afraid of the answer, and justifiably so. "Why do you hate
Ranma so much?"

"Lots of reasons," the only thing Ryouga had to decide was where to begin.
"He's arrogant for starters. He thinks he's so much better than everyone
else just because he's good at martial arts. He always rubs people's faces
in it and makes himself seem like he's some sort of idol. He's a louse as
well. From what I've seen he treats Akane like dirt, and that's his own
fiancee. What kind of a guy does that? A jerk who doesn't respect others,
that's who. And what about Shampoo? I wouldn't be surprised if he's letting
that Amazon hang around just so he can be a womanizer. I can't figure out
why else he keeps her.  He's also a pervert the way he keeps changing
sexes, like there isn't any difference between the two. He's even a girl at
school for goodness sakes. And then there's what he did to you. He deserves
a good thrashing." He pounded his fist into his hand for emphasis. 

She never realized how much anger he felt towards Ranma. Still, she had to
get him o change his mind. "I'm sure if you really got to know Ran-chan
you'd think differently. I think he just puts up a front because he isn't
used to dealing with people from living his life on the road so much. So he
sort of keeps them at arms length." She saw the stare of  intensity leveled
at her and realized he wasn't going along with it. "All right! Maybe he is
a little bit arrogant, but he really is a good person once you get to know
him."

Ryouga shook his head. "I did know him in school when I was growing up.
Remember? He is not good person, he's an arrogant jerk!"

Ukyou decided to continue, ignoring the statement. "And it was his father's
idea to engage us, and you know what a genius he is, so you can't blame him
for that. He didn't even know I was a girl."

Ryouga interrupted her. "I find that hard to believe. I think he's lying
just so he won't look bad. There's no way anyone would mistake you for a
guy."

She blushed a little at that. "Actually, I did kind of look like a boy.
I'll show you some pictures when we get back. And I'll be the first to
admit he can be dense sometimes, but I believe him when he says he didn't
know. I forgive him. Who knows, maybe things are better for me since we
didn't get engaged. There would have been a major hassle with the Tendo's
because that idiot father originally promised him to one of those girls. I
sure wouldn't want to be caught up in a mess like that. As for his
relationship with Akane, he's told me he doesn't want to be engaged to her.
His father came up with the idea, and Ranma's just doing it to uphold the
family honor. If he gets her mad enough she'll want to break off the
engagement and then he won't have to worry about it. So you see, there
isn't any reason to not get along with him. You shouldn't hate people for
no reason." 

"Sort of like you and Shampoo. Right?" 

Ukyou's demeanor changed almost instantly, "I have plenty of reasons for
hating that hussy. She is a spiteful, arrogant, purple haired bimbo. Just
because she trains with Ranma she thinks she's a better martial artist than
everyone else. She's also a pervert that flaunts that man's body for
everyone to see. Not to mention she got you your curse because she wasn't
paying attention to what she was doing. She doesn't want to take
responsibility for her actions. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing that can't
be trusted!" Her voice raised higher and higher. "I don't know why that
stupid witch hangs around Ran-chan or why he lets her. I think he's under
the misguided impression he owes her something because of her curse. It's
her fault he ended up getting cursed, not his. I keep trying to tell him
she's bad news but nooo, he won't listen! The stupid jackass!"

Ryouga looked at her curiously, "In other words, you think she's arrogant,
she acts like a pervert with her curse, and she hurt a friend. So you want
to avenge them since they won't do it for themselves."

Ukyou thought about it for a moment. Something wasn't quite right with the
way he said that, but the facts were sound. "Yeah."

"Sounds like the same reasons I hate Ranma. Why is it all right for you to
hate her and I can't hate him?"

Ukyou froze, surprised by the response. It took her a few seconds to
recover. "They aren't the same reasons. They're different because," she
paused, "because," she paused again, "just because it is! That's why. I'm
going to bed." And with that she stormed out of his tent and headed back to
hers. 

During the walk back she kept telling herself there was some difference
between her motives for revenge and Ryouga's, she just couldn't figure out
what it was. She lay back down and started to fall asleep. As she began to
finally drift off, part of her mind realized she had left out one very
important reason she hated Shampoo. Not that she would ever admit the
reason out loud. When she first saw Shampoo-kun, when he was in the combat
ring standing in for Ranma, she thought he was very handsome and briefly
considered calling off the match to try to get the engagement back. Shampoo
had almost made her discard all those years of training and dedication
because of an attraction to a woman. That was unforgivable.


Part II

Breaking Relationships

Days later.

Everyone had gathered in the dojo itself to watch the two occupants in the
center of the practice floor face one another. The first was Akane, dressed
in her gi, and in an aggressive fighting stance. Across from her was the
huge, ugly looking giant called the Dojo Destroyer. He looked the worse for
wear, with a huge bruise on the right side of his face and he was
apparently favoring his ribs on the right side of his body.

"Tell me again why you aren't helping your fiancee defend the dojo, son."
The animosity in Soun's voice was very evident.

"Cause' she won't let me. She keeps muttering about how she has to prove
she's a martial artist and 'doesn't need some pervert's help,'" Ranma
answered. He then turned his attention to the Destroyer. "That ugly mass of
flesh doesn't look to good."

"That's made all the more remarkable by the fact the fight hasn't even
started yet," Genma answered. "Don't worry Tendo. I've been helping train
Akane."

That caught Ranma's attention. "So that's why me and Shampoo have to keep
breaking her of those nasty habits that have been showing up in her
practice."

That set off another argument between Genma and Ranma, which started them
punching at one another. Neither of the fighters in the middle of the floor
paid any attention to the commotion. Each continued to look the other one
over.

"She doesn't look like much," the Destroyer thought. "Good thing to. I've
had better days. I think that fool in the bandanna broke some ribs. The
little..."


In the Destroyer's mind he remembered walking the streets of Nerima weeks
ago, lost. He made his way over to a boy who was also looking around. 

"Excuse me. Do you know which way it is to the Tendo Dojo?" the Destroyer
inquired.

"Oh sure. I've been there lots of times," Ryouga replied.

He gave the Destroyer a set of directions. He began the journey, walking
for many days and nights, thorough far off distant lands, until he came
back to exactly where he started. Ryouga was there as well. 

"You little fool! You intentionally gave me the wrong set of directions."

"I did not!" Ryouga began mumbling to himself. "I've gotta get back to
Ukyou and the dried up hag. Maybe I should change..."

The Dojo Destroyer decided on a course of action. "You will pay for mocking
me. 

He moved to attack, Ryouga returned the favor. By the end of the fight a
wasted Destroyer stood over Ryouga's form, which was buried a foot deep
into the ground.


The Dojo Destroyer's thoughts came back to the present. "I will wait to see
what this warrior can do."

They duo were motionless for a minute, then two, then five. Ranma finally
had enough and spoke up.

"Look! I like watching floorboards warp as much as the next guy, but I have
stuff to do. So if you don't mind, would someone please throw a punch."

Both opponents scowled at Ranma. He briefly thought they might be
considering double teaming him. Fortunately, they turned back to each
other. The Destroyer spoke first. "Your patience serves you well little
one. I shall attack first."

He threw a punch which Akane easily dodged. Several more blows fared the
same. Akane then began her offensive. Her attack was concentrated on one
point, the Destroyer's left leg. Defense was never the Destroyers strong
point, and Akane managed to land several blows, causing him to limp
slightly. Once he concentrated his defense entirely on that body part,
Akane switched targets to the area of ribs the Destroyer was favoring. All
it took was one punch to double him over. Once bent over, Akane grabbed an
arm and applied a Judo style toss, throwing the Destroyer into the ground.
He finally connected with a solid blow to Akane's stomach from his prone
position from the floor. The force of the blow threw her across the room
and against the wall. Both Soun and Ranma got up to their feet to help
Akane.

Akane noticed their actions. "Stay out of this!" She got up, determination
still on her face. "Neither one of us is going to win this fight with one
blow."

The Dojo Destroyer heaved himself to his feet as well. "You are right about
that. It will take a hundred blows."

Suddenly, the signs of all the dojos he had conquered appeared and started
swirling in the air. Their circular motion was interrupted when they hurled
themselves at Akane. She remained calm and stood her ground. As they closed
in she employed the Kachuu-Tenshin Amaguriken, shattering the majority of
boards. Several got through her defense and struck her. None of the blows
were serious though, and she eventually broke those as well. The Destroyer
stared in disbelief.

Akane picked up on the surprised state he was in and thought she saw her
opening, "Time to finish it. Let's see if I can do that move I saw Ranma
use," she thought.

She ran up to one of the walls and leaped off of it. The Destroyer turned
to meet the attack that never came. Akane had not launched herself at the
Destroyer, but rather for another wall. She used it as a springboard as
well. Even as the Destroyer barely got himself repositioned for an assault
from that direction, Akane landed using a third wall, and finally hurled
herself at the Destroyer. He was twisted around so much trying to defend
himself from various positions that he was wide open for a vicious kick
which Akane applied to the bruised right side of his face. She hit full
force and landed gracefully. The Destroyer followed her to the ground,
unconscious.

Akane looked over the fallen form. "I knew I could do it."

Everyone looked on, impressed. Genma and Soun moved the unconscious body
outside to be taken away by the garbage men outside.

"Gotta' hand it to you Akane, not bad," Ranma said as he went over to
congratulate Akane.

"Hmph. Could have done better," Shampoo declared as she crossed her arms
and stared at Akane.

Akane scowled at Shampoo, but quickly smiled again. "I'm going to get
cleaned up. See you later." She left upstairs.


Some time later, Nabiki and Shampoo-kun made their way downstairs. They saw
Akane and Ranma waiting at the entryway of the house.

"Where are you two going?" Ranma inquired.

Nabiki spoke up, "We are having a special martial arts demonstration at the
school courtesy of Shampoo here."

"An admission price, right?" Nabiki nodded. "How did you talk her into it?"
He pointed to Shampoo-kun.

"Surprisingly she came up with the idea and volunteered. And for only forty
percent of the ticket prices."

"Fifty." Shampoo-kun broke in.

Nabiki turned, irate. "We agreed on forty."

"No," Shampoo-kun corrected. "You agree at forty. Shampoo agree at fifty."
Nabiki began to bluster, but he cut her off,  "If want Shampoo at
demonstration. Fifty percent."

"All right," She finally assented, then thought, "At least she hasn't
learned the difference between net and gross profits."

"Want gross, not net."

Nabiki nearly exploded on the spot. "Who taught you that?"

Shampoo-kun smiled, "Shampoo go to school remember? Am beginning to
understand Japanese economics."

Nabiki managed to regain her composure.

"I'm starting to like the way you think," she tried to sound happy as she
gave Shampoo-kun a very insincere smile.

"Somehow, Shampoo doubt that very much." Shampoo-kun sounded just as happy
and gave the same insincere smile right back.

"Why do you need the money?" Ranma asked

Shampoo-kun answered as he turned away, "No particular reason." The two
left for the demonstration.

Kasumi walked into the entryway and noticed Akane and Ranma.

"Did Nabiki and Shampoo already leave?" Akane nodded. "So are you two going
to the library now?"

"Nah! Sayuri and Chisa cancelled at the last minute. That means we'd be
left alone with those two girl crazy idiots, Hiroshi and Diasuke. They seem
like nice guys, but they keep hitting on me and it drives me nuts." Ranma
grimaced for effect.

Kasumi suddenly appeared a little...nervous. Genma and Soun soon joined
everyone else.

Kasumi turned to them. "Are you two going to the movie now?"

"No. We decided to stay and play Shogi," Soun replied.

"But you do that every night."

Genma's turn.  "So?"

Kasumi sighed and went into the kitchen. The doorbell rang just as she was
out of sight. Akane opened it to reveal  Dr. Tofu standing in the doorway.
He was wearing a rather nice suit and bore a package.

"Good evening Akane. Long time no see," Tofu beamed at the girl who had
frequented his office so many times.

Akane smiled while blushing ever so slightly. "It's nice to see you too
doctor."

He stared at her a moment. "Umm, Akane please don't be offended, but that
short hair isn't you." Her hair had grown about halfway back to what it was
before her attempted scalping by LinLin.

Akane maintained her pleasant demeanor, much to Ranma's surprise. "I agree.
Let me take your coat. So, what brings you here?"

Tofu's glasses fogged up slightly as he took off his jacket. "Kasumi
invited me over."

That surprised Soun. "What? She didn't tell me."

Akane paused in thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Now I see.
So that explains it."

Kasumi heard the noise coming from the hallway and decided to see what the
commotion was. Once she came into Tofu's line of sight, he lost his grip on
reality.

"K-K-K-KASUMI! I brought you some cake for dessert." He started stuffing
his jacket into Ranma's mouth. Akane barely managed to drag the victim out
of the doctors reach. Ranma gagged a little as he removed the jacket. 

"Why that rotten..."

Akane cut him off. "It's not his fault. I'll explain later."

"You look wonderful tonight." Tofu smiled.

Genma was flattered.  "Why thank you."

Kasumi finally managed to grab Tofu by the arm and lead him away before he
could cause any more damage. The others just watched on, more then a little
startled.

"What was that all about?" Ranma pointed in the direction the doctor had
gone.

Akane thought she knew. "Kasumi obviously wants to talk to the doctor in
private. Let's give her that space."

"WHAT!" Soun erupted.  "Leave my daughter alone in the house with a man!"

"You aren't leaving your daughter alone with a man. You are leaving Kasumi
alone with a man," Genma reassured his old friend.

Genma's remark worked, Soun calmed down. "Oh, of course. If it's Kasumi
it's different. What could happen?" He gave a little chuckle.

Ranma was in agreement, "Well, if Kasumi wants the place to herself I guess
we can make ourselves scarce." He turned to Akane. "We could go out and,
y'know, celebrate your victory over that big goof today."

Soun and Genma conjured party streamers and horns from out of nowhere.

"That's the spirit boy. You two go out on a date." Soun honked a horn in
their direction.

"You make your old man proud." Genma blew on a kazoo.

"NOW CUT THAT OUT!!!" Ranma wasn't happy. The two took everything out of
context.

Akane emotions mirrored Ranma's. "It's no date! It's just a celebration!"

"Yes. And we are celebrating," Soun replied.

Ranma balled his fist. "Not no more you ain't.'

Akane and Ranma dragged their respective fathers outside, leaving them on
the walk.

"Now don't go hassling Kasumi," Ranma warned the two. "Go out to that movie
or something."

Ranma and Akane walked off, leaving the fathers behind. After several
blocks, Ranma turned to Akane. 

"So why were you all gushy with that guy?"

Akane blushed furiously.  "I was not."

"Yes you were."

Akane started to get defensive, but looked towards Ranma, and, as if
deciding on something, changed her tone. "Well it's like this. I sort of
used to have a...crush on Dr. Tofu."

Ranma spoke in very open disbelief. "You? A crush?"

That angered Akane. "Does it surprise you to know I like men?"

"Well, yes, it does. All I ever see you do is complain about them and hit
'em."

Akane scowled at him, but didn't strike. "I complain about boys. They're
all brats. I like men. They are mature."

There were still a few things Ranma wanted to know.  "So what about the
Doc. Still got feelings for him?"

Akane turned from Ranma and looked to the ground. "No, not really. I kind
of got over it a while ago. You remember when I cut my hair, the first time
I mean." Ranma nodded as she started playing with her hair. "Well, the hair
was kind of symbolic of my feelings for him. When I realized I wasn't going
to win his heart, I sort of gave up on him and got it cut short."

"What made you give up?" Ranma was genuinely curious. This was a side of
Akane he had never seen. 

Akane's face was still pointed to the ground, so Ranma couldn't see the
increase in her blush.  "Nothing in particular."

"So why did he go crazy?"

Akane looked up. "He has a crush on Kasumi. Once she enters the room he's
in, it's best to take cover. He just loses it."

The two continued their walk, Ranma eventually dropping behind her a little
bit. Once he was sure she wasn't watching him, he began staring
thoughtfully at Akane.

"Every time I think I understand her she surprises me again." He shook his
head at the thought. 


Kasumi had prepared dinner for herself and Tofu. His glasses were still
glazed over as he sat down to eat. Once she made sure they were both
settled, the dinner began.

Tofu began to eat. "This is a little dry Kasumi." 

"Oh silly! You're eating the napkin."

"Oh! Ha ha! The soup seems a little bland."

"Oh! That's because you're using your spoon on a glass of water."

"Oh! Ha ha! This steak tastes just right."

That one gave Kasumi pause. "I...see. That's odd. That centerpiece you're
eating is composed of flowers, and shouldn't taste like steak at all."

Tofu just stared off into nowhere. "Oh! Ha ha! I need to use the restroom."
He got up and walked to the hallway, opened a door, and entered.

Kasumi began thinking to herself,  "Oh Great! That's the closet. I'd better
get him out before anything messy happens."

The rest of the night continued in much the same manner. Any attempts at
coherent conversation with the doctor were useless as he remained in the
same state of awareness that he usually has around Kasumi. As the evening
progressed, Kasumi began to look depressed. The look became more and more
pronounced as the night wore on. Eventually, Kasumi ushered the Doctor to
the front door, calling it a night. 

"Well. I had a great time." Dr. Tofu told her.

"Yes it was..." she trailed off and started looking at the ground,
"...something."

"I hope to do it again sometime."

Kasumi gave a faint smile, "We'll see. Take care doctor." He turned to
leave, when Kasumi suddenly shouted, "WAIT!"

Tofu turned around. Kasumi had the saddest look on her face since the
evening began. She moved forward to him, and stood on her tip-toes.

"Goodbye doctor."

She kissed him lightly on the lips. A look of pure ecstasy crossed the
doctor's face and he passed out.

Kasumi sighed. "I was afraid something like that would happen." She bent
over to examine him and make sure he was all right.


Much later, after the doctor recovered enough to send him on his way,
everyone returned. Kasumi had retired to the kitchen, sitting at the table
nursing a cup of tea. Nabiki passed by, then walked backward and looked in
at the kitchen. 

"Something wrong sis?" 

"No. Why?" Kasumi answered.

"Just checking. I'll be upstairs if you need me." She left.

A few moments later Akane passed by. She paused at the doorway and entered
the kitchen. 

"Something wrong?"

"No. Why?" It struck her as unusual for so many people asking that sort of
question tonight.

"You look a little down."

"No. I'm fine."

Akane stared at her sister for a moment, then turned to go.  "If you need
me, just call."

Moments later Kasumi saw her father pass by. She turned to look at the
clock when she suddenly heard loud crying next to her.

"WAAAAAAAAA!" Soun was in the standard state of bawling his eyes out.

Kasumi looked around quickly to see who died. "What is it?"

"MY LITTLE GIRL IS DEPRESSED!"

Kasumi patted her father's head," There, there father. I'm not depressed.
And even if I was there's no need to cry."

Soun calmed down. A little. "I haven't seen you depressed since your mother
died!"

"You haven't..." She shook her head. That was absurd. There were times she
had been depressed since her mother died. "Look. I'm fine. Just go to bed."

She reassured him enough so he went to bed. A minute later someone else
stuck their head in.

"Hello..." Genma started.

Kasumi finally snapped. "Get out!"

"Sorry." He quickly left.

It only took a moment for Kasumi to become aghast at her action. "What have
I done?" She stood up and hurried to Genma. "I'm sorry. That was rude of
me. What did you want?"

"I just wanted to grab something to eat."

She apologized again and escorted him to the kitchen where he loaded up
half of the refrigerator and walked off. Kasumi sat back down and started
nursing her tea again. Shampoo came in without a word and sat down.

Kasumi turned to her new companion.  "What do you want?"

Shampoo just looked Kasumi in the eye. "Nothing. Does Shampoo need reason
to be here?"

Kasumi blushed.  "No. Of course not. I apologize for my rude behavior."

Shampoo just shrugged. "Is all right."

The two remained sitting there for ten minutes without another word
exchanged. Finally Kasumi spoke up.

"Are you going to be here all night?"

"Are you going to be here all night?" Shampoo answered right back.

Kasumi hesitated.  "I don't know."

"Shampoo not know either then." Kasumi returned to staring at her cup when
Shampoo interrupted, "Want talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Shampoo not stupid. No treat like am. Now, you want to talk about it? "

"I don't know..." Kasumi started again, then stopped and took in a deep
breath. "Maybe I do need to talk to someone. Just promise me this will stay
between the two of us. I don't want to worry the others."

Shampoo held up her hand. "Promise."

Kasumi began, "I invited Dr. Tofu over tonight because I hadn't seen him
for awhile. I've always been attracted to him." She blushed a little. "I
have sort of a weakness for older men. Ever since he opened his practice
here and I took Akane over for her injuries, he always seemed so nice,
so...impressive. I was actually glad when Akane had some very minor injury
and I could go over. Once I got older, I started coming up with excuses to
go over and see him. Sometimes it would be books, or to deliver food to him
in appreciation for all he had done. As time passed I started dreaming we
might get married some day. I never told him how I felt, of course, but I
thought he liked me too. It was just a dream I had. One I was content
with." She took a deep breath. "But recently, things changed. A certain
black haired boy entered my life and changed it."

Shampoo nodded.  "Ranma have that effect on people."

Kasumi smiled.  "No silly. I meant *you*."

A huge sweatdrop appeared on Shampoo's head.  "B...but Shampoo not boy."

Kasumi grabbed onto Shampoo's hand which had been resting on the table and
held it. "I know that now, but I didn't know then. When I first laid eyes
on you my heart skipped a beat. No lie. You were the most handsome man I
ever saw. I never believed in love at first sight. I guess I'm not that
sort of romantic, or at least I wasn't. Now I know differently. When I saw
you, I promised myself I would make you a part of my family, to take care
of you. I wanted you by my side. I thought of all that in that first moment
I saw you. Somehow, I was happier in that instant than I was with all those
daydreams I had of Dr. Tofu, or anyone else for that matter.'

Shampoo now understood and began to look forlorn. "Shampoo sorry not right
kind of guy for you. What..."

Kasumi cut her off. She raised herself to her feet, walked over to the
entry to the kitchen and looked down the hall. She saw Nabiki moving a
shotgun microphone into position to eavesdrop on her conversation.

Nabiki smiled hopefully,  "Oh. Hi sis. I was just testing out some
equipment."

Kasumi smiled right back. "Good. You can test out the washing machine and
dryer as well. Tomorrow you're doing the laundry."

"That's hardly fair," Nabiki started to protest.

"You're right," Kasumi agreed. "You can do the dusting also."

Nabiki gave up, "I should probably cut my losses while I'm behind,
shouldn't I?"

Kasumi smiled pleasantly and nodded her head. Nabiki left with equipment in
tow. Once she was sure Nabiki wasn't coming back, she returned to the
kitchen.

"It's amazing what some people think they can get away with around here,"
she said as she sat back down.  "I know sometimes I don't pick up on things
right away, but I'm not an airhead." 

She picked up where she left off. "Anyway, it's not your fault you are who
you are. I admit, I was disappointed at first when I learned you were
really a girl. Very disappointed. But I remembered that promise I made to
myself about when I first saw you, and decided it wouldn't be fair to not
like you just because you weren't who I thought you were. I was the one
guilty of jumping to conclusions, so I gave you a chance, and I'm glad I
did. You have been one of the best friends I've ever had. So please don't
think I'm disappointed in you. I couldn't be happier..." A tear started to
form in Kasumi's eye.

Shampoo moved to comfort her. "What's wrong?"

Kasumi became a little more tearful. "It's just that, I guess I was a
little lonely. I didn't realize it at first, I think it sort of crept up on
me slowly. It's not that my family isn't caring or thoughtful, but ever
since mother died, I spend a lot of time doing things for everyone, and
they rely upon me for so much, that it can be a bit overwhelming. I'm not
sorry for anything I've done, and I would do it all over again in an
instant. It's just that it can be difficult to have to do almost
everything. Most of my life, I could never spend much time with others
because I had to help take care of everyone else, so I always felt a little
alone. I had friends, but not any real close ones. It became worse once I
was out of school because my social contacts became more limited, and there
are some things that you can't discuss with family, it's just too awkward. 

"So when you came here, it was like a breath of fresh air for me. You're
someone I can talk to. I mean, I can talk to Ranma, but it isn't the same
thing like when I talk to you. I also appreciate your help with the
shopping and cooking. I like doing those things with others, and you're the
only one that wants to do them. Well, Akane's cooking doesn't really count
since I have to make sure she doesn't create something that will eat
through the countertops. There's too much pressure to enjoy that. And
Nabiki and I are two different people. We just don't have much common
ground, but you and I do. We're hardly the same, however, there are enough
common interests that we don't get bored with one another. What I'm trying
to say is, thank you for being the friend I needed very much."

"You welcome."

"And thank you for helping me change."

That confused Shampoo.  "Change?"

Kasumi began smiling again, "Before you came I was content with what I was
doing. However, after our conversation about all the changes you've gone
through, I started to think about myself and what I want out of my life. In
several years Akane and Nabiki will be leaving and that's going to change
everything. That was another reason I invited Dr. Tofu over. I wanted to be
sure of how I felt with him. I know now it's not going to work out between
us. I don't find him interesting in that way anymore. It's not like he's
changed, he's still a very nice man, I just don't look at him the same way
I used to. I can't talk to him as a person, he's too incoherent. I need
more than that in a relationship. I need a friend, like you." She looked
down at her cup again. "When I kissed him, it was our first kiss, and our
last. I don't think I'll see him anymore. I wouldn't want to lead him on,
and he should have someone nice in his life. He deserves that. Now I have
to decide what I want to do with mine. Maybe you can help me."

Shampoo smiled warmly. "Would like that very much."

"Thank you." Kasumi got up. "Now, it's getting late. I'm going to clean up
and you should go to sleep. Good night."

Shampoo left the kitchen while Kasumi stayed behind to clean up. She
watched the Amazon exit and stared at the doorway for a few moments. She
then spoke almost inaudibly to herself.

"Just because I have had a lot on my mind doesn't mean I haven't been
paying attention. Something has been bothering you. I've felt something
building up inside you for some time now, even though you're trying to hide
it. It's something big, and it's getting bigger every day. I just pray
whatever it is you either let it out or let it go, before something bad
happens." She paused.  "No matter what it is, I promise to help."


Part III
Breaking People

Ranma built up speed as he prepared to go up the ramp. He had to hit it
just right or else he would suffer defeat and humiliation in front of the
crowd gathered before him. He pumped his legs for every bit of force he
could muster while making certain that he got just the right angle. If he
wasn't fast enough or he came in wrong, it was over. He could practically
feel the anticipation of the group as he went past them full bore, and
seemingly flew up the ramp. Once airborne, he twisted his body in three
tight spins while simultaneously going head over heels in midair. For
lesser mortals it was an impossible feat, but Ranma Saotome had trained in
the Saotome School of Martial Arts all his life, and mid-air combat was a
specialty. He executed the leap and spins perfectly and landed on the
concrete of the sidewalk after completing the jump. A roar of approval
broke out from the group of twenty children that had gathered to watch
Ranma do his leap. Ranma skated over to the group. Once there, an older
child of about eleven approached him. Ranma saw he carried a skateboard as
he came over. 

"That was the most awesome thing I ever saw Mr. Saotome. I thought I was
good on my board, but you're the best." The smile he beamed at Ranma told
him the child was being sincere in his compliment. 

He returned the smile to the boy and patted him on the head. "Thanks." It
was weird hearing someone call him Mr. Saotome. That was his father, not
him. He then turned to the crowd. "Thanks everyone, but I gotta go." The
children let out cries asking him to do it one more time, but Ranma
politely refused. He had already given in twice and it was getting late. He
took off his skates and said goodbye to the group, waving at them as they
left. He overheard more than one lamenting that he hadn't done more. Ranma
had to admit, it was kind of neat to have so many people, even kids, cheer
him on. 

After the fight with the "Golden Pair, " Shampoo and he discovered they
liked skating, so the two decided to start practicing whenever they got the
time. They elected to practice roller skating rather than ice skating to
avoid prying eyes at the rink, and to avoid a rematch should the "Golden
Pair" find out just how bad they really were. They also didn't want Akane
around because (at the time) she was much better than either one of them,
and neither felt the need to be reminded of their novice status. As time
went by, they got good, real good. In fact, they had become so good that
they had attracted a following that would go out of their way to watch the
two of them execute the complex series of stunts they usually performed. He
and Shampoo had been putting on expositions for the kids for several weeks
now, and watching them smile always made him feel sort of flattered. 

As his thoughts turned to Shampoo, he decided to go over to check on her.
Earlier in the day his skating partner had run into a classmate that had
come to the park with her infant brother. The student had recognized
Shampoo "Saotome" from the Rhythmic Gymnastics competition with Kodachi and
greeted her. Shampoo excused herself and began a conversation with the
girl, leaving Ranma to entertain the masses on his own. When he headed
back, he saw Shampoo was still talking to the girl. The Amazon held the
infant in her arms and gently rocked him back and forth, a smile of
contentment was on both child and holder. Shampoo spotted Ranma and smiled.
She held the baby forward and picked up the child's hand to "wave" to him.
Shampoo handed the infant back to his sister and walked towards Ranma so
the two of them could start home.

Ranma took notice of Shampoo's happy, carefree attitude. Something he
hadn't seen in her for a while. "How did it go with the kid?"

Shampoo grinned broadly at Ranma. "Sentaro was good whole time. He no cry,
just smile. How skating go with fans?"

"The usual. Had about a dozen of them ask me to train them. If they're that
enthusiastic about martial arts, I won't have to worry about making a
living when I'm running the dojo."

Shampoo's smile quickly disappeared as she turned her head towards Ranma,
"Ranma. Shampoo have question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you like Akane?"

Ranma scowled at her.  "No way! She's a violent, uncute, tomboy that gets
her kicks out of bashing me around." He suddenly got a thoughtful look in
his eye. "Y'know, I always wondered what she used to do for fun before I
showed up. 'Gotta ask Kasumi about it sometime. Akane'll just hit me again
if I ask her."

"Then if no like Akane, why not break off engagement?"

Ranma sighed. "I got to keep it. It's like a matter of honor. Besides, our
fathers only said engaged, not married. Believe me, marrying her is about
as likely as me jumping into Spring of Drowned Moose."

"Then why you say you want run dojo?"

Ranma paused for a moment to think about what she was talking about. It
finally dawned on him. "Oh! You think I was talking about the Tendo Dojo.
No! No. I meant when I open my own place."

That seemed to cheer her up slightly, but it didn't last. Her demeanor
became more serious again as she looked him straight in the eye. "Then what
you do if meet nice girl want to marry?"

He started scratching his head. "I dunno. Never thought of it, I guess.
Discounting fiancees my pop sold me to for food, I don't think too many
girls would want me. At least not until I get this curse thing taken care
of. What about you?"

That caused her to blush. She wasn't expecting the change of subject. "What
you mean?

"You meet any guys you like? I guess it would be kind of hard for you since
you're a guy at school and all. The rest of the time you're with me or
Kasumi anymore. Maybe you should, y'know, get out more often."

Shampoo stopped walking and stared at the ground. She began talking in a
much softer voice and continued looking down. "You not want Shampoo
around?"

That confused Ranma. He didn't know how she got that idea, "No. I didn't
mean..."

Shampoo raised her face to him, pain etched in her visage as she cut him
off. "That what sound like you mean. Maybe should go away. Never come back
if no want around!" and with that she turned and ran off at top speed.

Ranma remained motionless for a moment, stunned at the turn of events. He
had absolutely no idea how she came to that conclusion, or why she would
run off. He began shouting at her rapidly departing form. "That ain't what
I meant! Come back Shampoo!" The realization she wasn't going to slow down,
despite the fact she had to have heard him, set in.  "Aw man! What the heck
was that all about? I thought I have her figured out and now she's getting
all moody lately. Next thing you know she'll be hitting me with a wooden
hammer or something."

Ranma started running after her. So intent was he on keeping an eye on the
fleeing Amazon, he failed to notice an older one watching. Cologne observed
the direction the two of them took, and hopped off in a different
direction. 


Ukyou and Ryouga were waiting patiently for the matriarch's return. She had
told them to remain where they were until she could locate Shampoo and
Ranma for them, saying she wanted to make sure that her protégés attacked
the duo at the same time because Shampoo would recognize the technique
immediately, and would be able to prepare a defense against it if she had
forewarning. Ryouga was pacing like a caged animal while Ukyou sat in
contemplation. 

"I can't wait. Ranma is so dead when I meet him this time. He isn't going
to know what hit him," Ryouga bragged as he continued to pace back and
forth.

Ukyou knew Ryouga was eager to start this fight since he had mastered the
Breaking Point technique, but one look into his face frightened her. The
smile that was creeping across his face promised serious violence towards
Ranma if she didn't do something now. 

"Ryouga. You have to swear something to me."

His smile disappeared when he realized Ukyou was being dead serious. He
paused in his pacing and paid attention to her. "Yes."

"Here it comes girl. Don't chicken out now," she thought. Out loud she
stated, " I want you to promise you won't beat up Ranma badly. Just defeat
him in combat this once and never go after him again."

"Why would I promise that?" Ryouga hadn't expected that sort of thing.

She got up and walked towards Ryouga. "Because I don't want the two of you
to fight. You both mean a lot to me and I don't think I could bear it if
anything bad happened to either one of you."

Ryouga felt a mix of emotions. On one hand he really wanted to beat the
stuffing out of Ranma. On the other hand Ukyou was obviously concerned over
he and Ranma fighting, making him feel torn between the need for vengeance
and the desire to please his friend. This was the exact sort of problem
that constantly came up his entire life, one that had no easy solution. Why
did he have to make important decisions like this? Why did she have to
protest so much? Wasn't it enough that he had spent nearly his whole life
seeking Ranma to pay him back, and now at the moment of true retribution,
she had to intrude and ask him to not do it. It was the story of his life,
a series of no win situations. He immediately began to fall into one of his
depressions.

Ukyou saw the effect she was having and pressed forward, both verbally and
physically. "Do it for me. Please." There was more indecision on his face,
so she drew closer still. "Please." She gave the most pleading look with
her eyes that she could muster as she leaned forward, considering doing
something to him that would prove her sincerity about not wanting to see
him hurt.

Ryouga couldn't help but notice how close Ukyou was getting. His depression
slipped away, all but forgotten as a new feeling began to overtake him,
panic. Her face was nearly up against his, making him suddenly very aware
of the fact she was now closer to him than any other female had ever been.
It wasn't exactly an unpleasant experience, discounting the fact that blood
was beginning to rush to his nose and he was on the verge of passing out.
Not a bad feeling at all. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, something was
about to happen. He decided that it might be a good idea to lean a little
closer himself before he journeyed to the land of unconsciousness.

"Ahem!" 

Cologne cleared her throat, causing the duo to separate better than twenty
feet apart. The motion was so quick that even she couldn't follow their
movements as each of them attempted to look nonchalant, and failed
miserably. 

"Thank goodness I arrived in time. Another moment and I would have had to
find them a hotel room before they could concentrate on the matter at
hand," she thought to herself.

"Did you find them?" Ryouga's concentration returned first as he cracked
his knuckles in anticipation. Beating up Ranma was an easy thing to do.
Much, much simpler than dealing with Ukyou.

"Yes I did. As of this moment they are aimlessly running all over Nerima.
My advise to you is to find a tall building to watch them. Then when they
finally stop, move in to attack." 

"Sounds good to me," Ryouga said. Cologne noticed he was becoming more and
more eager by the second, unlike Ukyou, who was clearly troubled. She
walked over to talk to the girl.

"Are you having second thoughts about this? I thought you wanted revenge
against Shampoo?"

Ukyou started to focus on her hate, just as Cologne had anticipated. "Yes I
do."

"Then just concentrate on that. Everything else will fall into place. I
guarantee it." 

The matriarch tapped her lightly on the back with the staff. Ukyou felt a
slight twinge from where the wood made contact, but it faded almost
instantly. Her feelings about revenge became more focused on Shampoo. She
was going to make the Amazon pay. Oh yes. Pay in spades.

Cologne walked over and tapped Ryouga on the back with the staff "for luck"
as well. She noticed both of the young fighters appeared much more
enthusiastic about the upcoming fight and set off. Cologne watched the two
begin running, talking to each other about what they were going to do when
they caught up with their opponents. The Amazon smiled to herself. "It's
been a while since I've used that technique. Nice to see it still works."
She paused momentarily, a look of regret crossing her face. It disappeared
as quickly as it came and she walked towards a higher point herself to
observe the upcoming event.


Shampoo continued to run away from Ranma at full speed. The race took the
duo high and low all over Nerima. Shampoo dashed through busy streets,
jumped from building to building, leaped across ponds using the boats on
them as springboards, and even went so far as to jump onto a moving train
in an effort to elude her pursuer. Ranma kept up the entire distance, just
barely making the last car of the train to keep her from getting away.
Shampoo in female form was every bit as fast as Ranma in male form, which
allowed her to stay just ahead of him. After the race covered the majority
of Nerima, she finally looked over her shoulder and came to a decision.

"Maybe am overreacting. He chases me so hard. But what if let catch? What
then?" she thought.

She slowed down enough to allow Ranma to catch up. Right before he could
grab her she stopped and confronted him.

Ranma stopped as well and stood for a moment, watching her closely to make
sure she didn't try to bolt while he tried to get his breath back. It had
been a difficult chase, even for him. He couldn't remember the last time he
had run so hard.  

"Why d'ya' run off?"

"Why you try catch?"

He still hadn't figured out her game. "Because I don't want you to go."

"Why?"

Ranma started to become flustered. The girl was quickly becoming a total
enigma to him and he hated mysteries. "I don't know. Guess you've just
always been there and..." he began to lose it. "Look! I dunno! Why are you
so concerned? Do you want to leave?"

"No"

"Then why'd you run away?"

She bit down on her lip. Not only had he evaded the question, but he had
turned the tables on her. The answer had to do with what she felt inside,
but she had no idea of how to say it, or even what exactly she was feeling.
This was all an entirely new experience for her and she didn't know how to
deal with it. Perhaps if her great-grandmother or mother were here she
could seek their advise, but as things stood, she could only rely upon
herself. She knew Ranma was her friend, one of a precious few, but also
unlike any other she ever had. The feelings for him felt far more intense.
It shouldn't be love. She had been taught that emotion was reserved for
those that defeated you in combat, at least if one wanted a happy marriage.
Still, he was a better fighter, she wasn't even ashamed to admit it, so
maybe it could be. She gave an inward sigh, it would have been so much
easier if he had challenged her to combat and defeated her, but as it was,
confusion reigned within. 

She was about to answer when two figures rushed toward Ranma and her. 

"Damn! Why did they have to show up now?" Shampoo thought, then backed up a
little. She wasn't sure what to say to Ranma and it may have come out
wrong. Perhaps this was for the best. At the very least it would relieve
some of her tension.

Ranma prepared himself for a fight when he noticed something disturbing.
Ryouga appeared to be a good bit angrier than usual, but his main concern
was Ukyou. There was no mistaking the gleam in her eye, something had
royally pissed her off and she wasn't even trying to hide it. Maybe it
would be better if he bothered to talk to the duo before the fight to find
out if something was wrong. He approached the duo even as they closed the
distance to him. 

"Yo. Ryouga. What I'd do now?" 

Ukyou and Ryouga looked at each other, smiled wickedly at one another, and
separated. Ranma began to leap back when Ryouga reached forward with his
finger and shouted,

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" 

The ground exploded underneath his finger, the force of it causing Ranma to
be blown backward. Even as he was flying through the air he realized if he
hadn't already been moving backward the damage would have been more severe.
As it was, he still had to use a great deal of skill to land on his feet.
He glanced over to see what Ukyou was up to.

Shampoo saw and heard the results of the Breaking Point. She pieced
together what had happened almost instantly: her great grandmother had
taught Ryouga, and possibly Ukyou, a dangerous Amazon fighting skill, one
Shampoo herself had not yet mastered. Her thoughts were cut off as Ukyou
came forward to deliver the same kind of blow Ryouga had just used.
Forewarned, she leaped back out of range of the explosion and tried to
remember everything she could about the technique. It was painful to learn,
it could blow up things, but not people or animals, and there was something
else, but she couldn't recall what it was. She shouted out what she knew to
Ranma.

Ranma heard what Shampoo shouted to him and felt his confidence soar.
Ryouga couldn't actually blow him up with his finger. That was a relief.
Now all he had to do was keep him from blowing up everything else, then
Ranma could move in and beat the daylights out of him. Of course, how one
would go about moving all matter away from Ryouga was going to be a
challenge in and of itself. 

Shampoo kept leaping out of Ukyou's range as she continued to use the
Breaking Point to blow things up. There was one problem with Shampoo's
strategy though, which she discovered about a minute into the fight.
Running around Nerima all day was tiring and a few minutes of rest was
nowhere near enough time to recover from it. Her muscles were already
starting to burn from the fatigue that had built up from the miles of
ground she had covered. She was quickly slowing down, becoming exhausted,
unlike Ukyou who was attacking with a vigor Shampoo had never witnessed
before. She looked directly at the cook's face and was disturbed by what
she saw there. In times past Ukyou had certainly appeared mad at Shampoo
for some imagined wrong, but now she appeared downright homicidal. Shampoo
tried to think of what she might have done to trigger that level of anger
directed at her, but couldn't figure it out. Perhaps she had served the
okonomiyaki chef one defeat too many. 

Ukyou switched tactics, becoming frustrated with the lack of results from
her newly learned technique. She switched over to her spatula and started
swinging with it. Shampoo reversed direction, ducked under the swing, and
connected with a kick to Ukyou's midsection. The cook just stood there,
unfazed by the blow.

"You call that a kick?!" Ukyou shouted. "Here's a kick!" And with that she
lashed out with a blow that connected with the Amazon's shoulder. She then
brought about her spatula again, using the edge, in an attempt to strike
the Amazon. "Die Shampoo!" 

The young Amazon barely dodged in time. Shampoo remembered the final skill
of the Breaking Point, "Ranma! It also makes people tougher. Normal punch
no work!"

Ranma found that out on his own as he attempted a leap kick at Ryouga and
bounced off the lost one. Even with his reflexes, he barely got out of the
way of the next blow that Ryouga almost connected with. Ranma's own
breathing had become ragged as he felt his chest start to burn with each
breath he took. He assumed Shampoo was in the same boat as he was, that
both were exhausted and faced with opponents that were unusually angry with
them, almost lethally so. He tried again to defuse the situation.

"Hey Ryouga. Knock it off! You can really hurt someone like this."

Ryouga just continued to rage on. "Die Saotome! BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" 

More ground exploded as Ranma leaped out of the way of the blast. As he
leaped back he suddenly encountered a  stream of water that changed him in
mid-air. Apparently one of Ukyou's blows had shattered a fire hydrant,
causing a stream of water to shoot up into the sky like a miniature
fountain. Ranma-chan landed next to the newly geyser. If she could trick
Ryouga into the water this fight would be over in a flash.

"Hey Batboy. C'mon and get some." She stuck her tongue out in an effort to
lure Ryouga into the water, but even as enraged as he was, Ryouga didn't
fall for it. Instead he drove his finger into the ground and unleashed
another "Bakusai Tenketsu."

The result was different this time. The street beneath Ryouga exploded in a
huge detonation ten times the size of any of the other blows as Ryouga
accidentally hit a gas main. All three remaining participants stopped and
gazed at the raging conflagration that soared up into the sky.

"My God!" Ranma-chan uttered as she saw the flames continue to rise to the
sky. "I don't know if he..." Her jaw dropped as she saw a vision that
appeared straight out of hell. Ryouga ran out of the inferno, still
smoldering in a few places and burned in many others. But the most
terrifying thing was the look on his face. He appeared to have totally lost
his mind as he screamed something unintelligible at Ranma-chan and moved in
for what looked like the kill. Ranma-chan jumped back to keep out of
Ryouga's way.

Shampoo was paying attention to Ukyou even as the chef watched the events.
She saw Ranma-chan leaping away from Ryouga when she noticed Ukyou draw
several mini-spatulas from her bandoleer. 

"No way. Stupid Spatula Girl would no hurt Ranma." 

Shampoo couldn't have been further from the truth as Ukyou hurled the
blades at Ranma-chan's leaping form. "RANMA LOOK OUT!"

Ranma-chan turned to the sound of the warning and saw the mini-spatulas.
She was shocked at the idea that her oldest friend had actually attacked
her. Fortunately, reflexes took over and she narrowly got out of the way of
the hurled objects. Unfortunately, this caused her to remain low enough for
Ryouga to grab onto her leg and smash Ranma-chan into the ground, bouncing
her head off the asphalt and stunning the girl.

"You die now!" Ryouga drew his umbrella and prepared to drive it through
Ranma-chan's prone form. The blow was blocked by a crossed pair of bonbori
as Shampoo jumped in front of Ryouga. The force of the impact was enough to
drive her ankles several inches into the paved surface, but she remained
upright. Ryouga lashed out with a kick to Shampoo's now wide open
midsection and sent the girl flying. Her flight was suddenly interrupted as
Ukyou smashed down on Shampoo's head with her spatula, hard. Ranma-chan had
recovered enough to see Shampoo stand upright for a moment, then slump
forward as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Got You!" Ukyou grinned evilly at Shampoo's unconscious form.

Ranma-chan snapped. She sprang up from her back and jumped on Ryouga,
straddling his face and locking her legs behind his head. She raised back
her fist and shouted.

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKAN!!!"

She brought her fist down repeatedly in the same spot, Ryouga's face. To
his credit he ignored the first eighty blows and drove his torso downward,
smashing Ranma-chan into the asphalt once again. Ryouga attempted to stand
upright, only to discover the legs remained locked behind his head.
Ranma-chan once again employed the Chestnut Fist into Ryouga's face.
Despite that, he managed to raise himself to his feet again, even with the
girl still on his shoulders. However, as soon as he became vertical again,
he slumped to his knees. By this time, Ranma-chan had landed over three
hundred blows and wasn't giving any indications she was stopping anytime
soon. The count was up to the three hundred and eighty one when she finally
stopped. Ukyou's spatula had connected with the area of flesh between the
shoulder and neck, causing enough pain to drive Ranma-chan into
unconsciousness. Her still form fell to the ground.

"We've done it!" Ukyou was practically frothing at the mouth as she paused
to consider what to do next. She knew she had to hit someone.

"Oh! Those are pretty lights." Ryouga's voice sounded distant and his eyes
were glazed over. Ukyou didn't pay any attention to the distraction as she
looked down at Ranma-chan's unconscious form, considering what to do next.
Ryouga's next statement cut through the red haze that covered her thoughts.


"She has a pretty glow." Ryouga pointed over Ukyou's shoulder.

She turned to see Shampoo had recovered enough to stand up once again.
There was now a blue aura that hugged her body. A closer examination
revealed that the blue aura seemed to have the texture of scales, similar
to a reptile's.

Shampoo's eyes locked onto Ranma-chan's fallen form, then turned to Ukyou.
Each girl sported identical looks of hatred. 

"YOU HURT RANMA! I KILL YOU!!!"

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FIRST!!!"

Both girls simultaneously leaped at each other.


Happosai was sitting on the new stash of underwear that he had "rescued"
earlier in the day. He enjoyed the texture of a pair of smooth cotton
panties that he ran along his face when he felt the release of chi energy
and heard an explosion in the distance. He turned to the direction of the
sound.

"That had to hurt." Losing interest, he went back to playing with his
underwear.


Cologne had observed the entire fight from her vantage point on a building
overlooking the war zone. She began speaking to herself.

"So. You surprise me once again granddaughter. You have somehow mastered
the Dragon's Scales. Very impressive indeed. I believe you have won the
day." Despite the fact that she had been thwarted, Cologne felt a certain
amount of pride in Shampoo. The youth was becoming an even greater warrior
than before. If only the price wasn't so high.

She continued to stare down at the carnage the quartet had caused in all of
five minutes. If someone had taken a picture and shown it to the world, it
appeared as though someone had marched through this area of Nerima with a
tank division, guns blazing. At least most of the buildings had already
been slated for demolition. Just as the dust started to clear from the
latest mix of irresistible force meeting immovable object, Cologne spotted
a movement on the top of an adjacent roof. Curiosity led her to check out
just who would risk watching a fight that was obviously so dangerous.


Back at ground zero, a small crater had been newly formed by the two girls
connecting with one another. Shampoo's glow had disappeared, but her stance
indicated she was ready for more. Ukyou on the other hand, was obviously
staggered and could barely remain upright. Shampoo stalked over, grabbed
Ukyou by the collar, and drew back her fist.

"YOU..." she lashed out, snapping Ukyou's head back.

"HURT..." a second punch with the same results.

"RANMA!" a third.

"YOU..." a fourth blow. This time, Ukyou's head did not snap back. Shampoo
shook her around until she could land a good blow on the okonomiyaki chef's
cranium.

"HURT..." a fifth blow. By this time, Shampoo was the only thing keeping
Ukyou upright.

"RANMA!" She unleashed a sixth punch.

"YOU..." This time, as she drew her fist back, she felt a sudden weight on
it, causing her to delay the blow. She turned to see a girl holding onto
the Amazon's arm for dear life. To Shampoo, the girl seemed to be familiar
somehow.

"Shampoo stop it! You're going to hurt her."

Shampoo released Ukyou and focused on the newcomer, trying to recognize
her. The Amazon's head hurt and she was having a terrible time
concentrating. She stared at the girl until it finally came to her. Ranma.
The girl's name was Ranma

Ranma-chan looked at Shampoo and became very worried. It was obvious the
Amazon was having trouble focusing her attention on her, and she didn't
even want to think about  what shape Ukyou was in. At least Ryouga seemed
relatively healthy, except for the fact he kept talking to the sky about
pretty lights. Ranma-chan turned her attention back to Shampoo as the
Amazon reached out and gently caressed Ranma-chan's face. 

"You Ranma?" That caused the red head to panic. She was having trouble
recognizing her. 

"Yes." 

"You O.K?" Ranma-chan nodded her head. "Good." And with that Shampoo passed
out.

 Ranma-chan, barely managed to catch her with her good arm. Ukyou's blow
had temporarily paralyzed her right arm. At least she prayed it was only
temporary. As things stood, she could only use her left. She started to
carry Shampoo off when she remembered Ukyou. No matter what happened during
the fight, she wouldn't leave her behind. Ranma-chan called out to Ryouga
since he seemed to have calmed down a little.

"Ryouga! Pick up Ucchan and follow me." Thankfully, Ryouga got up and
obeyed. 


The girl stood on the rooftop, and looked down at the two figures moving
away from the battle site carrying their burdens. She was dressed in a
Chinese style pink and black outfit, an elaborate tiger design colored in
gold upon the chest. The girl was heavily armed, bearing a naginta strapped
across her back, as well as a sword and single bonbori at her sides. In her
black gloved hands she wielded a bow, an arrow drawn back in the bowstring.
The target was the girl draped over Ranma-chan's back.

<"It would be so easy to end your miserable life now Shampoo. Just one
arrow and you would never know what hit you.> The girl spoke softly, but
the tone carried nothing but pure hatred.

 

The girl whirled to see the who the newcomer was that had managed to
successfully sneak up on her. Her eyes widened in shock as she lowered her
weapon.



Cologne now had a clear view of the girl's features. She appeared to be
about sixteen with  medium length pink hair. The youth had strikingly
beautiful features, at least what could be seen of them was attractive, for
the style of hair she had covered the entire left half of her face. Her
height and weight were similar to Shampoo's, though she wasn't quiet as
busty. It was exactly who Cologne suspected it was. The girl had changed a
great deal since the last time she had seen her.



The girl regained her composure and answered the matriarch.  She shifted her
gaze to Shampoo's departing form and added, 

The girl felt the bile rise from her stomach. The matriarch knew why she
was here and Cologne possessed the right to deny her the challenge that she
sought. In fact, she probably would, since Shampoo was her great
granddaughter and the challenge could easily be considered flimsy by many.
It wasn't fair. She had waited so long for this moment and it was going to
be taken away from her. She almost wished she had loosed the arrow,
consequences be damned.

 Those were perhaps the hardest words that ever
passed from her lips. 

Cologne paused and looked the girl in the eye. 
And with that the matriarch departed, leaving the girl staring wide eyed at
her departing form. It took almost a full minute for the impact of what was
just said to settle in.

 The girl raised her
head to the skies and gave a deep, sonorous laugh. Surely the gods smiled
on her, she who would at long last have the vengeance she so richly
deserved.


Ryouga followed Ranma-chan like a puppy, managing to stay with her despite
the fact he usually had difficulty following his nose. The duo arrived at
Dr. Tofu's, which currently had no patients, allowing the doctor to quickly
assess the injuries the four of them sported. Shortly after arriving,
Shampoo started to come around followed by Ukyou. Even Ryouga became more
coherent. After a couple hours, Tofu rendered his verdicts.

"The resilience you four are displaying is nothing short of incredible." He
finished using a penlight on Ryouga's pupils, then walked over to Ranma.
"Your nerves are just a little stunned in that arm of yours." The feeling
in Ranma's arm had returned and it almost felt like normal. "You should be
fully recovered by tomorrow." He turned to Shampoo. "You have a very minor
concussion. If you have any problems with your head or thinking, let me
know, otherwise you should be fine. He turned to the remaining two.

"You two, on the other hand, are not so good. Miss Kuonji," He handled her
face gently since it was still very swollen from the beating she suffered
from Shampoo. "You have multiple contusions which are going to make your
face feel really sensitive for a while. Use lots of ice." 

He turned to Ryouga. "You sir, are the worst of the lot. You have second
degree burns over much of your body and first degree burns over the rest.
That's not to mention the major concussion you sustained. Are you sure you
don't want to go to the hospital?"

Ryouga protested, "No. And the lights are getting much smaller."

Dr. Tofu stared at Ryouga. "Fine. I'll downgrade it to minor concussion.
Feel better?" Ryouga nodded his head. I want to keep you around for a few
hours to make sure you don't suffer a relapse. That's it for the lot of
you. And please try to be more careful in the future."

Ranma looked at Tofu. "Doc, can we have a little privacy? There's some
stuff we gotta discuss in private."

"I won't tolerate any fighting. Keep whatever it is civil or I'll take
action. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nodded. Actually, Ryouga was
already periodically nodding, but his timing was such no one noticed he
wasn't paying attention. Once the doctor left Ranma turned towards Ukyou
and Ryouga.

Ukyou had been fearing this moment ever since she regained consciousness
and realized what she had done, and what she had tried to do. The look on
Ranma's face told her who would be the main recipient of his anger. 

"I would almost expect something like this from that moron, but you Ukyou?"
That hurt her worse than any blow she had received the entire week. Ukyou,
not Ucchan. 

Ranma continued his diatribe. "I thought you were my friend. I overlooked
what was going on between you and Shampoo 'cause I was happy you came back
into my life. And I really appreciated how you believed me when I told you
Pop was the one who screwed everything up. You don't even mind my curse. I
even went so far as to try and get Shampoo to stop the fights, which wasn't
fair to her because you're the one that starts almost all of them. But now,
I wonder if you were ever really my friend. Teaming up with Cologne? You
knew she was after Shampoo, I told you, but you sided with her anyway!"

Ranma's first accusation felt like a knife had been plunged into her gut.
Each one after that felt like someone was twisting the knife. She wanted to
defend herself, but realized that Ranma was right. Every statement was
true. It was like some kind of terrible truth serum that caused others to
speak what you knew deep down inside. So instead of protesting, she took
the criticism leveled at her.

"What you did today is inexcusable. Bad enough you attacked me, and I still
don't know why. But trying to kill Shampoo, and that was exactly what you
did, that is going over the edge. How could you?"

She tried hard not to break down. She could feel she was losing her oldest
friend, if she hadn't lost him already, and there was nothing she could do
about it. Still, she had to try to tell him what happened, even if he
didn't believe her.

"It was weird. At first I didn't really want to fight. But once I started
to get excited about it, a red haze seemed to come over my thoughts. I just
knew I had to beat up someone, and Shampoo was the one in my mind. Somehow
as the fight progressed you entered into my sight as an enemy. I..." Her
voice started to fail her, "...I wanted to hurt you too. I'm sorry." She
was trying desperately to keep from crying, and failing. 

Ranma began to speak again when Shampoo cut him off. She spoke directly to
Ukyou. "Did Great Grandmother tap you on back?" 

She recalled the instance when Cologne pushed her in the back with the
staff. "Yes. Why?"

"Just wanted to know if she still do that. Ranma, we need talk," and
without waiting for a response, she grabbed Ranma and walked out to the
hall with him. Once outside she spoke to him in a low whisper. "Shampoo
hate to admit, but is no Spatula Girl's fault."

"What do you mean?"

Shampoo sighed, then began her story. "Great-Grandmother use Aggression
Point Technique. It way of making warrior into much fiercer person. But
problem is no can control. It easy to start attacking everyone when no can
find opponent want, so it not used often. Only way to get rid of is touch
right spot, knock person out, or exhaust them."

"So you think that's what happened to them?" She nodded. "How can you be
sure?" Ranma questioned.

"Because Great Grandmother use on Shampoo once." She hesitated, then
continued, "It not pleasant experience. It happen just way Spatula Girl
say. And it happen when tapped on back in right spot."

A smile formed on Ranma's lips. "So what you're saying is, the old ghoul's
responsible for how they've been acting?"

Shampoo hesitated again. "It not last that long. So they must have went
away with great grandmother to learn Breaking Point because they want to.
But it does explain why Stupid Spatula Girl fight way she did today."

Ranma's smile disappeared before it was fully formed. "So they volunteered
to attack us." A frown appeared. "Still, we should let 'em know what the
ghoul did to them."

Shampoo placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder to restrain him. "May not be such
good idea. If tell they may want beat up Great Grandmother, but is no way
they can win. And Great Grandmother hurt them if they attack."

Ranma's eyebrows shot up. "Sounds like you care what happens to them."

Shampoo turned and crossed her arms, a scowl appearing on her face.
"Shampoo no care what happens to Stupid Spatula Girl. Can fall into
bottomless pit and never see again. I no mind."

Ranma just stared at Shampoo's back. "Anyway, you may be right. Ryouga
would be stupid enough to go after her. Just because he's annoying doesn't
mean I want him dead. We'll keep quiet about it." He turned to go back into
the recovery room, "But I'm still angry at them. Let's say our good-byes
and get out of here."


Ukyou watched Ranma shut the door behind him as Ryouga finally came around
enough to pay attention to what was going on. 

"He's got a lot of nerve. Just wait until..." Ukyou cut him off.

"Shut Up! We deserve everything he said." She paused to reign in her
emotions. "We let ourselves be used."

"It's not that way at all," Ryouga defended. "I think she did something to
us to make us lose control like that."

Ukyou turned on Ryouga, "Of course she did! So what? We asked her to. Hell,
we practically begged her to teach us how to beat up those two. Why should
we feel bad about her doing something to help make us tougher? Who needs a
conscience to get in the way?" Tears long restrained starting coming
forward. "You were right. I wanted to beat up Shampoo for the same reasons
you did. I just tried fooling myself into believing they weren't. I kept
telling myself my motives were pure, unlike yours, but I was just as wrong.

"And now, I may have lost everything. I just tried to kill my best friend
Ryouga, and for what? Because I don't like Shampoo, that's all. It's not
really hate, she hasn't done anything to earn that. I just don't like her."
She paused for a moment. "You know, I could have been perfectly happy with
everything I have, but I don't think I know how to be happy. For years I
obsessed about Ran-chan," she paused again. "No, I guess that's Ranma now.
He probably wants nothing to do with me, and he'd be right. I hated him for
years and drove myself to beat him. I just wanted to make him pay for what
he did to me. Then, once I found out he wasn't to blame, I switched my
obsession to Shampoo. It was so much easier to just transfer my hatred to
someone else instead of letting it go. I can't believe I was so blind." Her
voice changed, sounding more confident, "I will not live life that way.
It's over! From now on, I'm letting go of my hatred. I'm going to treasure
everything I have," she paused as her shoulders slumped. "I mean everything
I have left." 

She turned to Ryouga her voice softening. "I also can't live with someone
like that either. It's wrong. Ryouga, if you want to work for me, stay with
me, you have to change. No more trying to beat up Ran-ch..." She stopped
and corrected herself. "Ranma. You have to let it go."

Ryouga couldn't bring himself to look at her face, so instead looked down
at the floor. "I don't know if I can. It's the way I am."

Ukyou's voice became slightly chilled. "I'm going back home. I would
appreciate it if you waited a few hours before coming back." She got up and
left.

Ryouga lay back and stared at the ceiling of the office. Part of him wanted
to let go of his anger, but another part still wanted to beat Ranma. Even
now, despite everything that happened, he still felt frustrated because he
lost to him again. As he lay back and allowed his mind to wander, a thought
finally hit him. A voice from deep within said, "If you can't let go of
your rage, you will be failing her as surely as you did in the nightmare
that demon created." Those words may have made the difference, had it not
been for the concussion that was still effecting him. The thought drifted
from his mind almost as quickly as it entered. 

After several hours he departed Dr. Tofu's. He had no desire to return to
Uk-Chan's, but he had nowhere else to go. He began wandering, lost in
depression and thought. In time, his head started to clear up and thoughts
became more distinct. He kept asking himself if he really wanted to change
or not. That was the crux of the matter. He didn't know if he could change
after all this time. Eventually, he realized the sun was high overhead.

"Damn. I wandered around all night." He turned to a blond man who was
putting some crates on a ship.

"Excuse me. Where am I?"

The man spoke in English. "I got no idea what you said mate."

Ryouga asked again in English. The man replied, "You're in Sydney,
Australia."

Ryouga was totally bewildered. Now that he though about it, he did remember
someone saying something about a ship, and he did walk in lot of circles.
Panic began to overtake him, but he stopped and collected his thoughts.
Maybe this was for the best. He needed time to think, and he didn't want to
go back to Nerima, to Ukyou, until he knew what his answer would be. He
just hoped it would be the right one.


End Notes: 
The explanations of references to "Crazed cultist" "First Shieldmaiden" and
attempted marriage's to Ranma and Ryouga. Not all of the events that happen
to the cast in Shampoo 1/2 are written down. This was an instance of a
relatively unimportant event. The only reason it was mentioned was to
explain why Ranma and Shampoo has become so much better than Ryouga and
Ukyou. Basically here's what happened. A member of a cult designated as
"First Shieldmaiden" received a garbled prophecy from her "Goddess." It
told her to marry "Ryouga Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial
Arts" and gave a description of both Ryouga and Ranma, making it sound like
it was one person. She identified Ranma and sent a challenge to him, which
allowed him one week to prepare. Ryouga attended the fight, wanting to see
Ranma beaten up. The First Shieldmaiden became confused by his presence and
decided to marry both of them. Once she realized they were cursed. She quit
the cult and retired.

Special Thanks to 
Harold Ancell
Ryan Anderson
Kevin R. Wible

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920