Prologue

Ryunoske smiled to himself. He was going to leave the office on time for a
delightful change. Ibuki would be waiting to pick him up so the two could
celebrate their twelfth wedding anniversary in style with reservations at
Ma Maison, and afterwards they would get started on raising that family
that had always been dreamed of. Of course that would entail many attempts
at producing some children, a task he looked forward to. With a sigh of
relief he finished closing his files, shut the computer down and headed for
the door. First one in, last one out. Same way it had been all year since
he was promoted to manager. He emerged from the office and managed to make
it all of ten feet from the door when he noticed something terribly wrong.
It was the first time he had been outside all day and was completely
unprepared for the scene before him. The odd weather patterns in Nerima had
become even more bizarre and unpredictable in the last few months, but this
was one for the books. Red clouds decorated the sky and gave everything an
eerie crimson glow. The only thing it compared to would have been pictures
of a Martian landscape. As he stared skyward, trying to figure out how an
atmospheric anomaly like that was possible, he noticed a movement out of
the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around to catch sight of it and,
for the briefest of moments, thought he spotted something standing atop one
of the roofs nearby. A closer inspection revealed nothing. Somehow, that
disturbed him more than if he had seen something. He continued looking for
it when a hand touched his shoulder, causing him to jump. Ibuki had come
over to greet him and was less than pleased with his reaction.

"Unhappy to see me?"

Ryunoske shook his head, then put on his best smile for his spouse. "Of
course not. I just  thought I saw something. A gargoyle maybe."

His wife laughed. "You've been working too hard. Let me show you how to
unwind, tonight." She kissed him on the cheek, hinting of things to come,
then turned to leave. Ryunoske followed, still disturbed by what he thought
he saw out of the corner of his eye.


The object of his discomfort stood away from the edge of the building she
had been perched on only moments before, choosing not to announce her
presence to the world. The pink haired Amazon looked up to the skies, a
small smile creased her mouth as a rumble could be heard from the clouds
above.

"Red skies. The color of blood. A good omen."

Ranma 1/2 Presents:
Shampoo 1/2
Chapter 11

Sins of the Past I

by D.B. Sommer
Standard disclaimer:
I don't own any of these characters. They belong to the Goddess Takahashi
and whomever she sold the rights to.
Project A-ko owned by someone else.

Azatlan has provided a home for Shampoo 1/2 at:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/

C+C always desired. (Please!)
you can email me at sommer@nb.net

An alternate universe:
What has gone on before, (or what you need to know to enjoy this fic.) The
Saotomes traveled to Jusekyou and began to spar, not realizing Shampoo and
Mousse had already began 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 Ranma. Shampoo-kun= male Shampoo)
Shampoo elected to travel to Japan with Ranma and accidentally became
engaged to Kasumi. After that was cleared up Ranma became engaged to Akane.
On the first day of school, water and confusion mixed causing everyone to
believe Ranma-chan is Shampoo and Shampoo-kun is Ranma. Most of the women
in the school have been attempting to defeat "Ranma" in order to date him
ever since. Last chapter, Kasumi broke up with Dr. Tofu while Akane
defeated the Dojo Destroyer one on one. Cologne managed to dupe Ukyou and
Ryouga into fighting Shampoo and Ranma by teaching the duo the Breaking
Point, then employing the Aggression Point to increase their battle rage.
After a brutal fight with injuries to all, Ukyou swore off fighting Shampoo
while Ryouga couldn't give up trying to beat Ranma. Ryouga then wandered
off, trying to come to a decision about what to do with his life. After the
fight, a figure from Shampoo's past had caught up to her, intent on proving
some sins cannot be forgiven...

<> Denotes Chinese
-----------------------------------------

Part 1
The Storm Builds

Kasumi swept the house with the practice ease of years. By now she could
have done it with her eyes closed if she chose to, without missing a spot.
The same routine she had done before, and would do a hundred times more. It
was unusually quiet today. Happosai had dropped by for a visit, taking her
father and Genma out on a business trip (panty raid) with him, leaving
Kasumi alone. She didn't really mind. The quiet was a contrast to the chaos
that usually ensued with Ranma and Shampoo around. Her reverie was
interrupted by the doorbell ringing. 

She opened the door only to see an attractive young girl, about sixteen,
with medium length pink hair that was worn in such a way as to cover the
left side of her face. A pink and black Chinese style outfit with an
elaborate golden tiger design on the chest clothed her body, insulting it
from the weather. The youth was armed with naginta, sword, and bonbori, her
stance indicating she was every bit the warrior she appeared. She delivered
a graceful bow before the woman who had answered the door. 

"Greetings Miss. Is this the residence of Shampoo?" The youth smiled
politely as she addressed Kasumi.

"Would that be Shampoo or Shampoo Saotome?"

The pink haired youth stared in confusion at the older girl, and paused for
a moment "Shampoo I believe. Just Shampoo. The purple haired one from
China." She watched Kasumi intently, waiting for the response.

"Why yes, it is then."

Happiness was etched on the girl's features. "Ah! Excellent. You see, I'm
an old friend of Shampoo's that just happened to be in Nerima and decided
to drop by for a visit. Is she in right now?" 

Kasumi shook her head, then took in the newcomer fully. "Forgive me for
mentioning this, but you seem heavily armed." 

The girl maintained her pleasant demeanor. "The world is a dangerous place.
One must be prepared."

"I guess you're right." The eldest Tendo paused in thought for a moment.
"Are you a friend from China?" The newcomer nodded, causing Kasumi to
frown. "I'm sorry. I can't let you in."

The girl appeared puzzled, but continued to smile. "Why not?" 

"I can't let you take her back to China."

That gave the Amazon pause again. a frown creased her brow momentarily,
then disappeared as she replied, "I see. Well, I assure you, my goal is not
to take Shampoo back to China. I give you my word as a bond." She gave
another deep bow before the eldest Tendo.

Kasumi considered her words then came to her decision. "Well that's good
enough for me. I believe Shampoo mentioned she'd be back in a little while.
Why don't you wait inside?"

The Amazon accepted. Kasumi ushered her into the living room and offered
some food, which the girl politely refused.

"Is this visit a surprise?" Kasumi inquired.

The girl gave a mysterious smile. "Oh yes. I imagine it will be quite a
surprise."


Shampoo was almost bouncing as she made her way back to the Tendo Dojo.
Shopping had gone well, and she found all of the materials needed to
accomplish her goal. The money she made doing the martial arts exhibition
at school had proven useful. She earned every cent of it too. Every single
one of the damn girls and half the guys wanted one on one sessions with her
when she was in male form. The former hoping to beat her and get a date,
the latter trying to beat her up so the girls wouldn't keep trying to hit
on her. Now all that was needed was time to complete the task, then she
could unveil it for Ranma. She picked up her pace, it wouldn't do to be
caught by him with the materials in hand. The boy was dense sometimes, but
even he might be able to put two and two together if he noticed what it was
she carried. For all her joy, there was something tempering it. It was the
weather. Something about the red skies bothered her.

It took her only a few minutes to arrive at the dojo. No sounds of battle
were coming forth, a good sign Ranma and Akane were not present, though
lately they seemed to be arguing a little less. As she entered Kasumi
appeared, a wide smile on her face. 

"Shampoo. I have a surprise for you. Follow me"

The Amazon smiled back. She hadn't seen Kasumi this joyous for some time,
and her happiness was infectious. Shampoo placed her bags on the floor of
the entryway and followed Kasumi to the backyard. 

"What going on?" 

"You'll see." It appeared to Shampoo that Kasumi was going to keep her in
the dark until the last moment. She couldn't figure out what the surprise
could be. Not for the life of her.

Kasumi slid open the door to the backyard and allowed Shampoo a full view
of it. She looked quizzically at it until she noticed a figure, dressed in
pink and black, with her back to the house. The figure was going through a
kata, moving fluidly through it. A feeling if dread started to build up in
Shampoo's breast. It was a familiar pattern. 

"It's an old friend from China. She seemed very enthusiastic to see you."

The figure turned to face Shampoo.

"She said her name was..."

"Perfume." Shampoo's voice was barely audible as she recognized the pink
haired figure before her. The surprise lasted but a moment. "Get back
Kasumi! She's dangerous!" Shampoo wrapped her arm around Kasumi and pushed
the eldest Tendo behind her, as if to shield the girl.

Perfume gave a wicked little smile at the newly arrived Amazon. "Is that
any way to talk to an old friend? One would think you weren't happy to see
me. And after all this time as well." She made a small noise of disapproval
as she walked over to where her weapons lay. The girl pulled out a pair of
black gloves, and slowly began placing them over her hands. 

<"What are you doing here?>" Shampoo's voice had become quiet once again. 

"Now, now. We mustn't be rude. I'm certain your friend can't speak Chinese.
We should be polite and let her understand." She gave another false smile
to Shampoo

"What you doing here?" Shampoo repeated.

Perfume gave a flat look with her eyes. "You know why I'm here."

"What's going on?" The events that were transpiring left Kasumi horribly
confused. "I thought you two were friends. Why are you behaving like this?"

Perfume gave an innocent expression to Kasumi. "But we are old friends. We
go back a long way. Isn't that right Shampoo?"

Shampoo ignored the girl. "Kasumi please leave. Shampoo not want you to
have to see what happens."

"Nonsense. Remain where you are Miss Tendo." Perfume interrupted. Her tone
was polite, yet forceful, having just a hint of insistence. "You should see
what occurs." She looked back towards Shampoo as she finished putting on
her gloves. "All fights should have an audience, and I don't want anyone to
refute the outcome."

Kasumi started to become really scared. This was supposed to be a time of
joy. Shampoo's friend had came all the way from Joketsuzoku to visit her.
Instead, it looked like they were going to have some kind of showdown. "But
you swore you wouldn't take Shampoo back to China."

The girl's smile disappeared as she retrieved her naginta. She began
spinning it around, allowing the weapon to play in her hands as she
loosened up. "I apologize for misleading you Kasumi Tendo, though I assure
you I didn't lie. You see, I'm not going to take Shampoo back to China."
She leveled her stare at Shampoo. 

"I fully intend upon killing her here in Japan."

Kasumi paled at the statement. The pleasant girl she had met at the door
and conversed with was gone, replaced by a homicidal monster intent on
killing Shampoo.

"What you want?" Shampoo asked.

Perfume stared at Shampoo for a moment and considered how to word the
answer. Hate was in her voice as she responded. "What I want? What I want
is to see you laying in a pool of your own blood, looking into my eyes,
begging for mercy where you know there is none, but doing it anyway. I want
to watch as the light slowly leaves your eyes and you body grows cold. I
want you to die, knowing that I am your executioner. That is what I want!" 

She paused, allowing the statement to sink in. "But knowing you, I guess
I'll just have to settle with your death. You can't always get what you
want." Her face lost some of its intensity as she shrugged, then pointed
her polearm at Shampoo. "For the wrongs you leveled against me when last we
met. For the betrayal you made of our friendship. For the ruin you made of
my life. I hereby formally challenge you to a duel Shampoo. A duel to the
death."

Shampoo gazed sadly at Perfume. She had made the challenge, observing the
forms correctly, making her intent clearly known. Refusal or acceptance. No
real choice at all.

"I accept."

Perfume gave a predatory smile. "I knew you still had it in you. You
haven't changed that much, not at all. Collect your weapons. I grant you
five minutes to prepare before our match begins."

Shampoo retrieved her bonbori from within the house and quickly began
several exercises to loosen up, preparing herself for the fight. To her,
each moment lasted an eternity, and still the five minutes passed all too
quickly. She felt reluctant to fight, not out of fear, but out of something
else. Both girls dropped into battle stances.

"Reminds you of the last time we met, doesn't it?" Perfume examined
Shampoo's face intently, watching for any hint of emotion, but the fear she
desired was not there. "Even the skies are the same. Perhaps this is one of
those moments of destiny you hear the elders talk about. Would you agree?"
Shampoo didn't answer. "So. You believe using the same tactics will work
once more. Think again." 

Perfume rushed, blade forward. Shampoo raised a bonbori to block the
thrust, but it never arrived. Perfume switched her grip almost faster than
the eye could follow, and changed tactics, bringing the blunt end of the
polearm up into Shampoo's midsection and winding her almost instantly. The
pink haired Amazon backed off, observing the damage inflicted.

"I should warn you, I've gotten a lot better since the last time we met.
Three years of burning hatred tends to help you focus on your goal." She
came in with another series of attacks, Shampoo barely blocking the
majority of them.

Kasumi watched the duel unfold, fear building with each blow. Her training
in the martial arts was limited, but even she could tell Shampoo was
losing. Her friend was put on the defensive from almost the beginning, and
the few times she was able to deliver return swings with her bonbori they
were easily deflected. Kasumi was not the only one to notice Shampoo's lack
of success.

"Don't you understand what's going on Shampoo?" Perfume came in high with a
series of attacks, forcing Shampoo to give ground with ridiculous ease.
"I'm trying to kill you and you're barely putting forth enough effort to
keep a twelve year old at bay." The challenger deflected a swing from a
bonbori. "Don't you dare disappoint me. Fight harder!"

Perfume swung her naginta overhead in a circle, catching Shampoo in the jaw
with the haft. She backed off again, evaluating the damage the had been
inflicted on her opponent once more. "I said fight harder! Three years I've
been waiting for this moment. Three years! I want to savor it and you're so
pathetic my pulse is barely quickened. You're holding back, I can tell."
She attacked Shampoo again. "Fight harder!"

Shampoo attempted to treat her opponent to a series of attacks. All of them
easily blocked as well, causing Perfume to become further enraged.

"I told you to stop holding back!" She struck out again. "You think this is
a game?! You think I'm not serious?! You think I won't kill you?! Let me
show you!" She thrust the naginta forward as Shampoo tried to block it with
her weapon. The block failed as the blade slashed upward and opened a large
gash in Shampoo's left arm, causing her to drop a bonbori.

Kasumi finally snapped. "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!!!"

Shampoo noticed Kasumi begin to move forward. "Get Back!" She pointed her
weapon in a threatening gesture to the eldest Tendo, causing her to back
up. Shampoo then returned to defending against Perfume.

"Nice to see you still have some honor." Perfume renewed her assault,
scoring a few minor cuts and one solid kick. Just as she came in with an
overhand thrust, Shampoo finally saw an opening and lashed out with a kick
to sweep Perfume's legs out from under her. She succeeding in knocking her
opponent off her feet, then attempted to finish the fight with a hard
strike with the remaining bonbori. Too late, the blow shattered the ground
where Perfume's head had been a moment ago as the pink haired Amazon
narrowly escaped the strike. Perfume quickly leaped to her feet.

"You call that an attack? That was laughable." For all her bravado, Perfume
went into a more cautious method of attack as the fight continued.

Kasumi bit down on her nails in worry. Somewhere in the back of her mind
she scolded herself. She had broken that particular habit eight years ago,
and here she was doing it again. Consciously she continued observing the
fight. Aside from the leg sweep, Shampoo hadn't come close to retaking the
initiative. Worse, with only one weapon she was getting hit more and more.
None of the new cuts were serious, though the gash on the arm was still
bleeding, but they were adding up. 

"Ranma. Please hurry!" she thought to herself. He was the only one that
could save Shampoo now. He wasn't supposed to be gone for very long. Just
out for a little walk he said. He had to hurry, before something terrible
happened.

Something terrible did happen. Shampoo managed to come in close, cutting
off Perfume's reach advantage, and swung her bonbori at her opponent's
head. The pink haired Amazon seemed to flow out of the way and delivered an
elbow to her opponent's head, then followed it up with a backfist to the
same spot. As Shampoo recovered she saw that Perfume had leaped back so
there was enough room to employ her naginta once again. The attempt to
block the downward slash was slow and off the mark. The naginta hit
cleanly, producing a deep cut better than six inches in length along her
right side. Shampoo staggered back from the pain as her hand instinctively
went to the new opening in an attempt to staunch the flow.

>From were she stood, Kasumi could see that the cut was deep and the blood
came forth all too quickly. It was more blood than she had ever seen in her
entire life.

Perfume knew it was over. The purple haired Amazon could barely stand and
was disoriented from the pain. The blood flowed freely from the wound, and
she so wanted to admire the shade of red it was darkening Shampoo's clothes
with. The challenger inhaled deeply as she viewed the scene with something
close to ecstasy. Now that her opponent had been defeated, it felt as
though a great weight had been lifted off of Perfume's shoulders. For years
this had been building from within, a legacy of sorts. A legacy of the
betrayal. A legacy that was now being passed down to its rightful owner. 

Overall, the fight was a tremendous disappointment for the girl. She had
hoped that it would have been one which would have lasted hours, so she
could really have enjoyed each and every blow, but Shampoo's skills kept
that from occurring. Perfume was more than a little convinced that her old
friend had been holding back, despite the lethalness of the battle. Why she
would was totally beyond her. The look that had been in Shampoo's eyes all
those years ago convinced her the purple haired Amazon possessed no mercy,
regardless of what Perfume believed at one time. As she gazed at Shampoo's
face, she saw defiance still resided in the eyes. Deep in her heart Perfume
knew that she wouldn't ever be able to truly crush her spirit. Shampoo was
many things, but a coward was not one of them. 

"Time to finish it," she silently decided. Perfume drove the butt end of
the naginta into Shampoo's solar plexus once again, then lashed out with a
kick into the chest, driving Shampoo's reeling form into the koi pond. Even
as the water settled the Amazon didn't move. Perfume shifted her hold on
the polearm and drove forward with all her strength at Shampoo's heart.



Kasumi was already in motion when she saw Shampoo land in the pond. She
made certain the last thoughts she had were for her family. She apologized
for leaving them so soon, hoping they wouldn't mourn her too long. They had
already lost so much when their mother passed on, and now she would be
dying as well. There was a responsibility to them, for certain, but she
also had a responsibility towards herself and others too. Her only hope was
that they would understand why she did what she did, and why she just
couldn't stand by. At least she would get to see her mother again. Kasumi
had missed her so much over the years.



She hurled herself on top of Shampoo's chest. Her heart directly over that
of her ex-fiancee's. 



Everything seemed to slow down as Kasumi felt the tip of the blade press
against her flesh though the dress. It seemed to take forever as she felt
the metal nudge against her skin and slowly pierce it. There was a bit of
pain as it broke through, then nothing. She was surprised that there wasn't
more agony involved in dying, and there was a bit of disappointment that
her life didn't pass before her eyes. It had been her understanding that
was what was supposed to happen when you went on to your final rest.



Kasumi was in for another disappointment.



She felt more pain as the small tip of metal that had found its way into
her was extracted. It took her another moment to realize she was still
quite alive, and in no danger of dying from the wound she received. She
looked up in amazement, trying to understand what had just happened.
Perfume was still standing over both her and Shampoo's forms, naginta drawn
back once more, ready to lash out again. Her face was a mask of rage as she
screamed, 

"GET OFF HER NOW KASUMI TENDO, OR I SWEAR I WILL RUN YOU THROUGH AS
WELL!!!"

Kasumi shook her head, realizing the nightmare was not over yet. Tears
finally began to flow as the full weight of the consequences of her action
started to sink in. 

"I won't move. Ever." 

She felt a foot wedge itself against her stomach as Shampoo struggled under
her. It took less than a second to realize what the girl under her was
attempting.

"NO! Shampoo stop!" The plea was ignored as Kasumi felt the leg finally
brace itself firmly against her abdomen and push forward, sending her
sprawling several feet away.


Perfume looked down at the now clear path her naginta had to Shampoo. It
was good to see the girl still had some sense of honor, and Perfume had no
desire to kill the foolish woman who had tried to prevent her from
attaining her rightful vengeance. The pink haired Amazon lunged forward
with the weapon once again.


Shampoo-kun was afraid he wouldn't have been able to shove Kasumi out of
the way before Perfume decided to finish the job. Now that he had a moment
before the blade buried itself into his chest, he considered what his final
thoughts would be. At first, it had happened so quickly there hadn't been
time to think of anything. Now, as the blade descended, the only thing that
came to mind was that he was sorry he hadn't had a chance to say good-bye
to Ranma.


Shampoo-kun watched the weapon come forward and...


stop, the blade poised no more than an inch above his heart. He looked into
Perfume's face and only saw confusion. The pink haired Amazon slowly
stepped back, staring in openmouthed wonder at Shampoo-kun. 

"Wh...wh...what's going on?" The victor of the fight stood over her fallen
foe, finger pointed in an accusing manner at Shampoo-kun. The light of
realization came on after she had stood there for close to ten seconds.

"Nanniichuan?" she stammered out. "Nanniichuan? You fell into Nanniichuan?"
Shampoo-kun could do nothing but nod his head. Perfume went from confusion
back to rage. "You fool! Do you realize what you've done? What could have
possessed you to go to Jusenkyou?" Shampoo-kun chose not to respond to the
question. No explanations were owed.

Perfume stood back. A panicked look entered her eyes as she attempted to
regain her composure. A thousand different thoughts collided within her
mind as she considered what to do. At last she came to a decision.

"Damn you! Damn you! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!!!" She was shaking from
her fury as she screamed in rage at Shampoo-kun. The girl ran to the wall
surrounding the yard and leaped over, leaving Shampoo-kun and Kasumi
staring in confusion.


Ranma was returning from his jog through the park. No fights today for the
young martial artist, generally making it a good day. Rare were the
occasions when he had a moments peace to himself, and he treasured them
whenever they could be found. He was within sight of the dojo when he
spotted Perfume leap over the wall and run off at top speed. Sensing
danger, he raced to the house leaping over the wall into the backyard. He
reeled in surprise at the scene of carnage before him. Shampoo-kun was
lying on the ground with Kasumi kneeling over him, trying to stop the
bleeding from the wound in his side. 

"Shampoo!" Ranma rushed over in a panic. He heard Shampoo-kun trying to
calm the near hysterical Kasumi down, assuring her that the cut wasn't bad.
Ranma could see Shampoo-kun was a poor liar, the makeshift bandage Kasumi
had pressed against his side was almost soaked through with blood.
Shampoo-kun spotted Ranma.

"Shampoo have off day. Sorry."  He gave a weak smile in Ranma's direction.

Kasumi finally composed herself. "Ranma call an ambulance and hurry back
here. We might need you to help us if she comes back."

He obeyed and hurried inside, made the call and returned. Kasumi gave him
more orders on what to grab and how he could help. As he moved to help,
Shampoo-kun informed him of what had happened during the fight. 

Shampoo-kun began shivering as he finished the tale. "I'm cold Ranma."
There was no mistaking the look of panic in his eyes.

Kasumi remained composed this time. "He's going into shock. Get a blanket.
Anything to keep him warm." She began to elevate Shampoo-kun's legs.

Ranma got up to move when he heard the sirens of the ambulance approach.
Once they arrived, the crew placed Shampoo-kun inside and informed the duo
that there was only enough room for one more passenger. Ranma began to
threaten the paramedics when Kasumi calmed him down enough to let her be
the one to ride inside. The ambulance set off and arrived at the hospital.
As the paramedics unloaded Shampoo-kun they were surprised to discover
Ranma there as well, having hitched a ride on top of the emergency vehicle.
Shampoo-kun was quickly rushed in for an emergency operation.

Kasumi had remembered to call Dr. Tofu since he was Shampoo's personal
physician and the only one who knew about her curse, then called home and
left a message with Nabiki concerning what had happened. Having nothing
else to do, the duo started worrying. Kasumi sat chewing her fingernails
while Ranma began pacing in circles, quickly threatening to wear a hole in
the carpet.

Ranma was in terrible shape. Nothing like this had ever happened to him
before. Someone he cared for was injured, seriously perhaps, and there was
nothing he could do. He was a martial artist, maybe the best, and he had no
control over the situation. Nothing was worse than feeling powerless. He
recalled how Shampoo-kun had complained of feeling cold right before he was
loaded onto the ambulance, shock setting in. And there had been so much
blood, no matter what he and Kasumi had tried to do to stop it. "Shampoo
has to be all right. She has to be. If she ain't I'll..." His thoughts
trailed off. He didn't know what he'd do.

The rest of the Tendo's and Genma arrived at the hospital and were
appraised of the situation. There was nothing left to do but wait. Genma
and Soun left to get some food while the others waited. Even Nabiki seemed
concerned, though she did get Kasumi to cease biting her nails before all
that was left was some nubs. Akane convinced Ranma to sit down, then sat
next to him herself.

"I should have been there. I could have prevented the whole thing damn it!"
Ranma drove his fist into the chair's armrest.

Akane tried calming him down. "You can't be everywhere at once. Besides,
it's not like you had any idea this would happen." 

"There had to be something I could do." His voice was reaching a higher and
higher pitch.

"No. There wasn't. So stop it." This was not good. She had never seen Ranma
this upset, and the last thing they needed was the wrong person to show up
and pick a fight with him. There would be no telling what might happen if
he got in a brawl with his current mental state.

He started to calm down a little. "A just can't deal with this..." he
searched for the right word. "helplessness."

Akane brought her arm up, hesitated, then allowed to drape over his
shoulder. "We all  feel that way sooner or later. You just have to deal
with it." 

Dr. Mima finally came into the waiting room and stared at the people.
"You're here for Mr..." He trailed off as he looked over the clipboard he
held. "Shampoo? Hmm? Interesting name." 

Ranma answered him. The doctor looked him in the eye, a serious look coming
over his face. "I'm afraid the news I have to tell you isn't good. We had
to replace over ninety percent of his body with bionics."

A collective, "WHAT!!!" shook the heavens.

Mima held up his hands. "Easy. Easy. It was a joke." That set off a couple
of battle auras the size of which few had ever seen. "No one has a sense of
humor these days," he commented as a huge sweatdrop appeared behind his
head.

Ranma stepped over to the doctor, breathing heavily in his face. "Nice
bedside manners Doc. Now what happened, and tell it to me straight!" There
was no mistaking the threat of violence in the statement.

"He's fine. The injuries weren't that serious." He tried smiling at Ranma
to get him to drop the evil stare. "Just a little blood loss and some
stitches. Good as new, except for a few scars. You can see him if you
like." 


Shampoo-kun was laying in bed, staring out the window when he heard someone
outside the door. He really hoped it wasn't the doctor with the warped
sense of humor. When consciousness had finally returned Dr. Mima was the
first thing Shampoo-kun had seen. The man had smiled pleasantly and told
him the vasectomy was a success, hopelessly confusing poor Shampoo-kun. At
least he didn't leave the Amazon in that confused state for long and
informed him of what his condition really was. It was a relief there was
nothing serious. In fact, the only thing that bothered him was the scars.
Judging by the wound in his side, there was going to be a long nasty one
there. True, most Amazons had scars to show their battle prowess, but many
of them came later in life, after they had already married. In the village,
most men preferred women with few, if any disfigurements. Here in Japan
that sentiment was even more prevalent. Shampoo-kun was uncertain how Ranma
would feel about such things.

The door opened as Ranma and Kasumi rushed in to be the first at
Shampoo-kun's bedside. That brought a smile to the Amazon's face. He even
took note that Akane and Nabiki had shown up as well. Shampoo-kun may not
have been overjoyed at their presence, but it was nice that they had come.
Kasumi held Shampoo-kun's hand as Ranma sat on the bed at the Amazon's
feet. Both were trying to comfort him and discover what his opinion was of
the injuries he suffered. 

"I can show if you like." Shampoo-kun pulled back his sheets and allowed
the duo to see the bandaged side.

"Does it still hurt?" Ranma asked, sympathy in his voice.

Shampoo-kun sniffed in the air. "It mean nothing. Is just small scratch."
The denial was adamant, if a bit untrue, but he was damned if he was going
to show any weakness before his friends. 

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Ranma responded. "Now how about telling us
what that fight was all about. Did the Amazons find out about  your curse?"

Shampoo-kun was going to reply when Kasumi cut him off. "Oh no. That
couldn't be it at all. She seemed shocked that Shampoo was cursed. If I'm
not mistaken, that was the reason she left. Thank goodness."

Ranma spoke again. "So why did she attack you?"

Shampoo-kun gazed at all the occupants of the room. The silent treatment
was not going to work, everyone wanted to know about Perfume. She tried to
change the subject. "Where Mr. Tendo and Pop?"

"Got me. They wandered off looking for something to eat," Nabiki answered.


Several floors down two grown men had managed to get themselves lost within
the confines of the hospital. Soun and Genma had wandered into a hall
overlooking the nursery. Just as they entered, a pager belonging to a fat,
ugly, man in a suit and glasses went off. The man checked his device and
left to find a phone, leaving the two men standing alone. Realizing where
they were, the two decided to look at the infants. Both of them pressed
their faces against the glass, scaring the hell out of the little newborns
that were resting in their beds. 

"Aren't they cute Tendo?"

"Yes they are Saotome. Brings back the memories, doesn't it?" Both men
thought about the day their children first came into their lives.

Genma broke the silence first. "Gives you a feeling of wanting something,
doesn't it?"

Soun looked his friend in the eye. "I think I know what you mean."

The men smiled at each other and spoke as one. "Grandchildren."

Soun continued to smile. "We haven't been applying enough encouragement to
our children Saotome."

"Couldn't agree more Tendo. We'll have to come up with something for them."

Both men started making plans to interfere with their children's lives once
more.


Inside the room, a nurse handed a baby to a second nurse. 

"The father's waiting out in the hall for this one." The first nurse said
as she handed the child to the second one.

"What's he look like?"

The first sought to describe him. "He's fat, ugly, and wears glasses."

The second nurse took the child out into the hall and looked at the two men
standing there. Her stare ended upon Genma. "Fat, ugly, wears glasses.
Perfect match," she thought to herself. She approached Genma and handed him
the child. "Here you go sir."

"Ummm. Thanks." Genma responded, though he wasn't sure why the nurse handed
him the child.

At that moment an orderly ran from around the corner and spotted the nurse.
"Come quick, we need an extra set of hands in the O.R." The nurse excused
herself and ran off, leaving Genma and Soun alone.

Genma turned to his companion. "What do we do with this?" He indicated the
child.

It was at this time the mother came down the hall, recognized the blanket
the child was wrapped in, and screamed. 

"HELP! Babynappers!"

The duo began to protest when they heard an annoying high pitched voice
speak up from behind them.

"Oh no! It's a good thing we decided to check on my cousin's baby."

The duo turned around to see the speaker. It was a short blond girl who
stood between a taller red head teenager with leather bracers and a blue
haired girl, all three wore identical brown and white school uniforms.

The red head spoke first. "There's nothing I hate more than babynappers.
What do you think B-ko?" She addressed her blue haired companion.

"For once, I am in total agreement with you A-ko." She indicated Genma hand
the child back to its mother, which he quickly did. The duo went to leave
when they were blocked by A-ko.

Genma began to chuckle. "Now why don't you little girls run along. This is
all a misunderstanding."

A-ko cracked her knuckles. "You don't get off that easily you deviants."

"What are you going to do little girls? Stop us?" The men began to laugh.

B-ko looked irritated and ripped off her uniform to reveal her standard
anti A-ko battle suit. "Something like that. Yes."

Fortunately for Soun and Genma, A-ko and B-ko held back for the sake of the
children in the nursery.


Back at Shampoo-kun's room, everyone heard the cries of agony from the two
fathers. Realizing they weren't coming back anytime soon, Shampoo-kun began
his story.


Part 2
Betrayals

Thirteen year old Shampoo walked along the path to her great-grandmother's
house. It seemed that she was spending more and more time with Cologne and
less and less time with her family. It wasn't that she didn't love the
elderly Amazon, she did with all her heart, but she missed her parents. All
the training Cologne had been making her do the last few years was tiring
her out as well. She kept increasing both the amount and the intensity a
lot lately. Part of the feeling of exhaustion was the fact she had won the
girls thirteen to fifteen tournament two weeks ago. As a reward, there was
a lightening in her schedule. Cologne even went so far as to take her on a
little vacation to go rock climbing, something Shampoo loved to do. It had
been wonderful. They had scaled some really tough cliffs, making her even
prouder of the achievement. There was something about relaxing after a long
climb and looking at the world far below that exhilarated her. She got a
similar thrill when she won a fight, but it was different at the same time
too. The downside to the vacation was when things went back to the way they
were, they seemed twice as worse. 

She had not been paying attention to where she was going and walked right
into the ambush without even realizing it. The three girls had obviously
been waiting for someone, and that someone was Shampoo. She looked the
three girls over, only one registered immediate recognition. Cabinet, girl
she defeated in the finals of the tournament. She had been reputed to be
the best of the fifteen year olds, having won the tournament last year. It
had been a major upset that Shampoo had defeated her as easily as she did.
An upset to everyone save Shampoo and Cologne.

" Shampoo sneered at the girl.

"

""

""

"" Shampoo indicated her
companions.

""

"" Shampoo
kept the opinion to herself. No point in accusing Cabinet of cheating
before she made the move. One Shampoo could handle. Two would make it a
tough fight. But all three together did not bode well for her. Still, she
wouldn't back down.

Cabinet moved to attack. Shampoo noticed the girl was even slower today
than she was the day of the tournament. Shampoo had her on the ropes in
even less time than before. Just as it looked like she was going to win,
one of the lackeys kicked Shampoo in the back as she got close. The purple
haired one ducked under Cabinet's punch and spun a kick into the girl that
had struck from behind.

That was what Cabinet was looking for. "" 

The other girls moved to attack. Things happened as Shampoo feared. The
trio had her at an immediate disadvantage and she probably wasn't going to
win. Shampoo suffered through several nasty blows when one of her opponents
went down. Another thirteen year old had entered the fray, causing
immediate havoc. The newcomer had the advantage of surprise and finished
off the girl she had attacked first. The remaining ambushers realized the
futility of continuing the fight and ran.

Shampoo looked the newcomer over. The girl appeared to be the same age as
her. She wore a pink and black outfit and had her pink hair tied back into
a ponytail. Shampoo didn't recognize her. 

"" The newcomer said.

"" Shampoo agreed. 

The pink haired girl looked Shampoo over. ""

"" She could have, maybe.

Surprisingly, the girl laughed. ""
She stopped laughing and smiled at Shampoo. ""

That was news to Shampoo. Anyone that could beat Cabinet and someone else
at the same time would be a force to be reckoned with. Anyone that good
should be familiar to Shampoo. She looked the girl over more closely. 

The girl noticed the microscope she was suddenly under. ""

Shampoo tried to think focusing on the pink hair. It was an unusual shade
and should be familiar. Pink hair, pink hair. It finally dawned on her.
""

Perfume smiled. ""

Actually, Shampoo only faintly remembered. If it wasn't for the hair she
would never had have been able to place the name with the girl. She
searched her memory for when she had met Perfume. The only thing she could
come up with was a poor fighter she had faced when she was about nine. This
girl bore little resemblance to that one. The girl from her memory was
short, very uncoordinated, and a poor warrior. 

Perfume spoke again. "" Shampoo told her. "" the pink haired warrior asked.

Shampoo shrugged and started to walk off. No one really hung around with
her lately, save Mousse, and that was more of a case of unwanted attention.
Perfume smiled and walked briskly, smiling at Shampoo a lot. The smile
began to irritate her to no end.

"" She snapped.

"" Perfume responded.

That gave Shampoo pause. She didn't think she was unhappy. 

Perfume took the initiative in the conversation. ""

Shampoo considered that. "" Another thought occurred to her.  ""

Perfume shrugged. ""

"" 

That caused Shampoo to blush. ""

An unreadable look came into Perfume's eyes. "" 

"" 

"" Perfume stopped walking and inhaled deeply.

""

"" She held out her hand
indicating a field of flowers they were next to. "" 

Not knowing what to make of the strange suggestion, Shampoo took a deep
breath. It was an intoxicating smell. One which caused a smile to form on
her lips.

Perfume took notice. ""

""

""

Shampoo giggled a little. The girl was right, it felt good. 

Perfume looked at Shampoo. ""

That caught her off guard. Still, Perfume was right. Shampoo was very
curious about her new companions abilities. ""

Each girl dropped into a fighting stance and began the informal match.
Shampoo launched several attacks at the girl which Perfume easily parried.
That resulted in Shampoo attacking more aggressively, which again, Perfume
easily countered. Perfume then went on the offensive. Shampoo countered
easily herself. Both warriors paused, smiled at one another, then escalated
their attacks. Within five minutes the informal match had become a full
fledged fight. Kick countered punch. Punch countered elbow. Elbow countered
leap kick. Each landed a few blows but no telling ones. After a half hour,
Shampoo finally got the advantage and felled Perfume, though not by much.

"" Shampoo gasped as she tried to catch her breath.

Perfume waved her on. "" As Shampoo turned to go, Perfume cried
out, ""

Shampoo shook her head. ""

"" 

Shampoo considered it. Talking with Perfume had been fun and the fight had
been intense. ""

Perfume smiled. "" Then  left.

Shampoo was scolded slightly for being late and went on with her studies.
Her grandmother was having her learn English, something she detested.
Having to learn foreign languages was not something she looked forward to.
Shampoo had absolutely no intention of leaving China, everything she needed
was right here in Joketsuzoku. While she studied her mind drifted back to
her new acquaintance. Perfume was interesting, and it wasn't as though
Shampoo had many friends. There was only one or two people outside of her
family she ever spent time with, and that was fleeting at best. She found
herself looking forward to meeting the unusual girl once again.

Two days later they met at their rendezvous. The duo began a talk that
drifted to many topics. Mutual associates, favorite foods, best fighting
techniques. Shampoo felt an instant connection to the girl and opened up
totally to her. Perfume seemed to do the same. 

Perfume looked her friend over. ""

Shampoo stared at her. ""

Perfume wasn't buying it. ""

""

""

That intrigued Shampoo. "" Perfume ran off a long
list of names. An impressive list. ""

""

""

""

Shampoo sputtered over that one. ""

Perfume arched an eyebrow. ""

Shampoo was shocked again. ""
Perfume giggled at Shampoo, angering her. ""

"" 

"" Shampoo asked.

""

Shampoo paled even as Perfume doubled over in laughter. ""

"" She sighed
wistfully. ""

Shampoo humphed. ""

Perfume suddenly became very serious. "" She began to
smile once again. ""

Shampoo made a retching noise. ""

""

That bit of information did not make Shampoo's day. ""

Perfume watched Shampoo intently. ""

"" she told her comrade. ""

""

Shampoo got a little defensive about that. ""

""

""

Perfume laughed. ""

""
Shampoo sighed. " 

Perfume shook her head. ""

As much as that information saddened Shampoo, what happened next made her
feel much worse. Mousse appeared. 

Perfume smiled as the youth approached. "" She
made kissing noises in Shampoo's direction.

" Mousse glomped onto Perfume,
much to her disgust.

Shampoo didn't want to miss an open invitation like that. She moved
directly behind Perfume and spoke. ""

"" Mousse squeezed Perfume with all his might.

That was all it took to snap Perfume. She broke out of Mousse's grip,
picked him up by his robe, spun around in a circle while still holding him,
then released him in the direction of a pond. The toss caused him to skip
across the surface of the pond until he hit a tree and promptly sank like a
rock. 

It was Shampoo's turn to laugh at Perfume as the warrior recovered. "" Perfume growled.

Shampoo noticed the time and turned to leave. ""

Shampoo noticed Perfume had a sad look in her eye as she turned to go. She
almost mentioned it, then chose not to. There was a chance she could have
been mistaken, and didn't want to look like in idiot.

Several weeks later, Cologne began a conversation with Shampoo as the two
of them washed their dinner plates. 

""

"" Shampoo asked.

""

Shampoo snorted in contempt. ""

Cologne's eyes narrowed in suspicion. ""
Shampoo related the story to her. "" Cologne became very quiet the
rest of the evening.

The next day Shampoo woke up to discover a note telling her there would be
no lessons that day and that she should go to her parent's house until
tomorrow. Shampoo did as her great grandmother bid, enjoying her day off.
When she returned the next day Cologne was waiting for her, a serious look
on her face.

""

Shampoo was in shock. ""

""

Shampoo shook her head in disbelief. ""

" Cologne gave a firm look towards her
great-granddaughter. " Admiration crept into her voice. "" She came out of her reverie. "" Shampoo told her yes as Cologne shook her head. "" 

Shampoo cut her off. ""

Cologne's tone became one of command. ""

Shampoo cut her off again. " And with that Shampoo ran away.

Cologne watched her departing form and shook her head. "" she stated flatly. There was any number of ways she
could have prevented her charge from departing, but she chose to let
Shampoo go. Incidents with her own daughter had taught her it would be best
to let her great granddaughter cool off before talking with her again.


Shampoo's wanderings eventually led her to where she and Perfume had first
met. Her mind raced back to what had just happened. What her great
grandmother said couldn't be true. Perfume was her friend, the best she
ever had. She kept no secrets from the girl and Perfume kept nothing from
her, she was certain. They had spent too many hours together to ever have
one betray the other. They were best friends. That meant others must have
given Cologne false information. Yes, that was it. Someone lied and her
great grandmother had believed it. That was the only possible explanation.
With that knowledge reassuring her, she began her journey home.

It was late in the evening when Shampoo worked up enough courage to return
home. Yelling at her great grandmother was a good way to end up with some
kind of harsh punishment, but there was no way around it. Lights still
burned in the house as she quietly let herself in. As she tried to silently
close the door behind her she heard the unmistakable sound of a weapon
thrown in her direction. Surprisingly, it came from within house. Reflexes
took over and she dropped to the floor as the knife embedded itself a good
two feet away from where Shampoo had been. A poor throw. She sprang to her
feet to see where the object had come from and realized the miss was
deliberate. Cologne stood in the middle of the hall. 

"" The elderly Amazon turned and
left.

Confused, Shampoo went over to where the dagger had been embedded in the
doorframe, and pulled it out. Examining it, she immediately noticed a paper
wrapped and tied around the hilt. Unfolding it revealed a stylized script
that could only belong to a master calligrapher. Her eyes scanned down the
letter and upon getting to the bottom, froze. Shampoo ceased breathing for
a moment as her hands released their grip, allowing the letter to float
ever so gently to the ground.


"So what was it? A challenge from Perfume?" Ranma questioned. Shampoo had
gone silent for several moments, leaving everyone in suspense.

Shampoo's voice dropped several decibels. "Yes." The others waited in
anticipation for more, but the warrior remained silent.

"And...?" Ranma was becoming impatient. The tale she had woven captured his
interest, even if it was told in somewhat broken Japanese.

Shampoo turned her head to stare out the window. "We fought. She lost." 

"That's it? She's trying to kill you after three years because she lost a
fight?" Akane piped up.

Everyone in the room could barely hear the answer. "Yes." Akane's eyes
narrowed in suspicion.

"That's stupid!" Ranma shook his head. "Who would ever waste away their
life trying to kill someone because they lost a fight?"

Nabiki only got as far as mentioning Ryouga when she was cut off by
everyone else. Any further attempts at conversation were ended when the
public announcement system announced visiting hours were over. Nabiki and
Akane practically had to drag Ranma and Kasumi away from Shampoo-kun's bed
in an effort to get them to exit. As the group left, two young nurses
entered bearing a cart. 

Out in the hall Ranma was having further recriminations about leaving. 

"What if that psycho comes back? Maybe I'd better wait here, just in case."

Akane tried to reassure him. "You heard what happened. If she really wanted
Shampoo dead she would have finished it when she had the chance." She
didn't voice the fact she thought Shampoo was holding something back. The
Amazon had been very detailed in everything except the end of the fight.
Akane would compare notes with Nabiki later to see if her sister felt the
same thing. The group made it halfway down the hall when they heard
Shampoo-kun yell. Ranma moved faster than Akane's eye could follow and
charged into the room. Akane followed, expecting to see the deranged Amazon
trying to kill Shampoo-kun once again. The scene was something of a
disappointment. Shampoo-kun was holding a blanket up to his face trying to
hide from the two nurse that were attempting to use sponges in him. It took
Akane a moment to recognize the girls, Sayuri and Chisa from school. 

"Don't you guys ever give up? Can't you see he's injured?" Ranma asked of
the duo.

Akane turned to Nabiki as she stood outside the doorway. "That was in
record time."

Nabiki held up her hands in a defensive gesture. "Don't look at me. I
didn't tell anyone. Heck, I want him healed up as soon as he can so he
isn't vulnerable. If any girl actually gets her hands on him it's going to
destroy the market." Shampoo-kun glared daggers at Nabiki for being
referred to like a market commodity. 

Akane shook her head at the girls. "This is a new low, impersonating
nurses."

The duo became angry. "I beg your pardon. I'll have you know we are not
impersonating anything." Sayuri defended.

"That's right," Chisa broke in. "We've been doing volunteer work here for
almost a year now."

"Then why are you trying to wash Sham...I mean Ranma." Ranma pointed
accusingly at the two.

Sayuri sniffed. "We're just doing our jobs. It's standard procedure to give
a sponge bath to patients that just had an operation."

"I thought that was just for people that were in such bad shape they
couldn't move." Nabiki added.

Shampoo-kun dropped his blanket a little to stare at Sayuri. "And is
massage you say you going to give part of treatment too?"

Sayuri had enough decency to appear shamefaced. "Well, that's just a bonus.
We simply want to make sure you have a nice stay here. Now let us wash
you." She held her sponge like a weapon.

Akane directed her comment to Shampoo-kun. "If it's part of standard
procedure then you better let them give you one."

"Not with warm water I'm not." Shampoo-kun snapped back.

Chisa tried flanking Shampoo-kun. "No one likes cold baths. Now quit
resisting."

Ranma stepped in at this point and picked up the two girls by their
uniforms. "He said he don't want one." Shampoo-kun nodded his head in
agreement.

Chisa was not to be dissuaded. "It has to be done."

Shampoo-kun spoke up. "Want Ranma to do it."

"WHAT!!!" Akane shouted.

Shampoo-kun was adamant. "Want Ranma to do it."

Ranma let the girls down as Sayuri stared at Shampoo-kun in an odd way.
"Let me get this straight. You want a man to wash you?" She asked.

"No way!" Akane would have none of it.

"Akane's right. That would hardly be proper. I used to be his fiancee, so
I'll do it." Kasumi smiled at Shampoo-kun.

Nabiki simply shook her head sadly at the scene before her, once again glad
she didn't have any role in the fiasco. 

Doctor Mima entered and witnessed the war zone the room had become.

"What's going on." He managed to piece together what had happened from the
six people that spoke to him at once. "He needs cleaned up and hospital
personnel will do it. No buts." A hand tapped the doctor on the shoulder.
He turned to see Dr. Tofu.

Mima recognized his old classmate. "Oh. Hey there Ono! What brings you
here?"

"That's my patient. He can't have warm water. It's a delicate medical
condition." Tofu responded.

Mima looked at him curiously. "And what condition would that be?"

"He turns into a woman when doused with warm water."

The jaws of everyone in the room hit the floor.

The doctor stared at Tofu for a moment, than began to quietly laugh. His
quiet laughter eventually roared, deafening everyone in the room. "That's
great! It's nice to see you finally developed a sense of humor. I have got
to use that one. The next patient that I have. Oh yes." Mima wandered out
of the room, still laughing as he departed.

Tofu ushered Chisa and Sayuri out of the room and examined Shampoo-kun
himself. He told Shampoo-kun the extent of the injuries and his feelings on
it.

"It would be a really good idea for you to remain as a male until the
stitches can come out. If you start changing, the mass shift may loosen
them or cause them to break. Not to mention what might happen to the
wounds. Given how fast you seem to recover from injuries, I would guess at
least a week, then let me check and see how you're doing." He turned to the
other occupants in the room. "Everyone leave now. Shampoo needs rest." Tofu
ushered everyone out and told Shampoo-kun he'd let the doctors on the staff
know that they had to clear everything through Tofu due to a delicate
medical condition Shampoo-kun had.


Once outside everyone began to relax save Kasumi, who began fidgeting with
her back. 

Nabiki noticed the discomfort. "What's wrong sis?

Kasumi continued trying to feel the spot. "I think I'm bleeding again."
That caused everyone to panic.

Akane rushed to her sister. "What's that supposed to mean? What happened!"

"Oh, Perfume stabbed me."

Akane looked horrified. "Why didn't you tell somebody?"

"Shampoo was hurt a lot more than me, and I forgot about it."

Tofu was on her in an instant. "Let me check you out." He took a quick
glance at the wound, announced it was nothing life threatening, and gently
led Kasumi away for a closer examination.

Nabiki elected to look for the missing fathers, leaving Akane with Ranma.

"How about we get something to eat?" She looked at him speculatively. 

"I ain't got much money." He turned out his pockets to show Akane. She just
smiled. 

"It's my treat."

The "free food" gene Ranma inherited from his father kicked in. The two
made their way to the cafeteria and sat down to eat. Both seemed to regard
their food as an object to be picked at rather than eaten. Akane broke the
silence.

"First time I've seen you pick at your food instead of stuffing it down
like your father."

Ranma continued to pick distractedly at it. "I'm just thinkin'. That's
all."

"About what?"

Ranma quit picking at his food and looked at Akane. "I'm just worried about
Shampoo. What if that maniac changes her mind and comes back anyway? I
don't know how to protect her." He finally noticed Akane picking at her
food. "What's got you worried?"

"Kasumi. She shouldn't have tried to stop Perfume. There wasn't anything
she could do. I mean she could have died." Her voice became angrier. "That
Amazon is dead if she shows her face around here again. No one hurts my
sister!" 

Silence reigned for several minutes before Akane spoke again. "We should
help Shampoo. Hospital food is pretty nasty, so I'll make her some dinner
for tomorrow."

Ranma looked in horror at Akane, hoping she was joking. She wasn't. 

"Look Akane," He paused for a moment, trying to word his answer delicately.
"We want Shampoo to get better, not worse. None of your food for her." His
tact failed.

"I'll follow the recipe precisely. I promise." She protested.

Ranma put his foot down. "No."

"I'm going to do it!"

Ranma started to panic. "I won't let you. I'll...I'll," he tried
desperately to think of some threat.  "...eat all of it first."

Akane stared in near disbelief. "Is this just some way of covering up the
fact he likes my cooking so much he's willing to eat it?" She thought
silently to herself.

A sick feeling made it's presence known in Ranma's stomach. "I'm going to
end up in the hospital like Shampoo if I follow through on that threat." He
thought to himself. There was time to buy plenty of stomach medicine if it
came to that. Besides, maybe he deserved it for failing to protect Shampoo
from her enemy.


Earlier:

Cologne watched Perfume leap over the wall and run away at top speed. The
fight had gone on much differently than she had thought, but the result was
almost the same. All that was required was to slow the blood flow, bandage
the girl that was now a boy, and take him to Jusenkyou. Hopefully a cure
would follow. Just as she was about to spring down from her vantage point
she spotted Ranma. 

That changed everything. If she appeared, the boy would surely blame her
for what happened and another fight would ensue. If it lasted any real
length of time her great granddaughter might die, and there was also the
fact Shampoo would try to help, causing her further injury. And then there
was Perfume to consider. It never entered Cologne's head that she would
find out about the curse. Now she had run off, destination unknown. The
matriarch was torn between two decisions. Try to grab Shampoo, and possibly
have her die, or chase Perfume to try to figure out where she was going.
Her gaze focused on her great granddaughter's fallen form. The Tendo girl
had rushed over to him and was trying to stop the wound from bleeding. If
they sought medical attention immediately he would be all right. As
desperate as Cologne was to get Shampoo back home, she needed to know what
Perfume was up to. She decided that Shampoo would have to be left alone.
Her death was only a solution of last resort, and it had not come to that
yet. The odds were too great that her great granddaughter would die in an
attempt to force her to go back to China at this time. So she made her
choice and followed Perfume.

Cologne had time to think as she silently followed the pink haired Amazon.
She had made miscalculations again, something that was happening all too
often lately. The last few months had been the worst in her life. How had
it all began? She thought she knew where, it was her decision to go with
the other elders to the springs for renewal. Cologne had almost chosen not
to go, but changed her mind at the last minute. The rest would do her good,
so she set off for the week long vacation at the springs. At the time her
feeling was it had been a good decision,  the rest made her feel much more
active and alive than she had for years. It also served to see how Shampoo
would handle herself when left on her own. 

Upon returning, the matriarch discovered her charge was not to be found. As
she looked through the house Cologne stumbled on the letter. Mousse had
once again sent a formal challenge letter to Shampoo, stating he wanted to
win her hand in marriage. Shampoo could have refused, it was the right of
every Amazon woman to accept or refuse marriage challenges from the males
of the tribe. Once refused, the male would have to wait a year to challenge
again, but evidently her great granddaughter had accepted this time.
Ordinarily that would be no cause for concern, as good as Mousse was he
would hold back in any fight with Shampoo. Poor him, she would not give him
the same regard. But that was not what worried her. She saw where Mousse
had made the battleground: Jusenkyou. Now that was cause for concern. If
Shampoo fell into one of the cursed springs it would cause her nothing but
trouble. Had Cologne been present she would have talked her great
granddaughter out of fighting there and insisted on a different
battleground.

The letter was dated six days ago, right after Cologne left. Very
ingenuitive of Mousse, waiting until she was gone before challenging
Shampoo. She hadn't thought he had that much foresight. He must have known
she would have prevented Shampoo from fighting at Jusenkyou, so he waited
until she was gone. Cologne wondered what advantage Mousse might have felt
he had there. Her eyes examined the letter again. It was sent six days ago,
which meant the fight would have occurred two days later. Cologne looked
into the sink only to see dried up food on some plates. They had to have
sat there at least two days, which meant something had gone very wrong. 

She hopped along on her staff to get to Jusenkyou as quickly as she could,
her mind aflame with the possibilities of what might have happened. Shampoo
could have fallen into a spring and been unable to locate hot water. She
may have changed into a small animal and been eaten by a larger one. That
had happened to more than one victim, but it was unlikely. Mousse was there
and would have prevented it. She may have accidentally killed Mousse, in
which case she would likely have run off in sorrow. Shampoo may have openly
said she had nothing but disdain for the boy, but deep down inside Shampoo
cared for him, just not the way he wanted. One thought terrified Cologne,
by some miracle Mousse may have won. If that had happened Shampoo may have
convinced him to run off with her, rather than face the humiliation of
having to show everyone he had won.

All the speculation amounted to nothing. She found no evidence of either
youth, and her attempt to find the guide proved futile since he was on
vacation. However, his daughter, Plum, was informative. She knew that a
Japanese boy and his father had arrived on the same afternoon the challenge
took place and left the same day. An odd coincidence. That was the only
thing Cologne had to go on, so she tried to follow their path. Fortunately
they weren't bothering to cover their trail and was able to follow them.
Once their tracks were located, Cologne almost immediately found evidence
that Shampoo was either following them or, more likely, traveling with
them, though why she would do such a thing was beyond her. Her great
granddaughter had never given any indication she wanted to travel the
outside world, despite Cologne's attempts at convincing her to do so. 

The world was a rapidly changing place, and the Joketsuzoku would have to
start to easing themselves into modern society. It was the matriarch's
desire that Shampoo spend some time outside of China to understand how
other societies work, and how to live with the influences of the outside
world without being buried by them. Perhaps Shampoo realized the wisdom of
Cologne's advise and chosen to travel to Japan to see some of the world.
True, she should have left some kind of message to indicate what she had
done, but if the boy and his father were leaving in a hurry, she might have
seen it as the only opportunity to travel with someone who would have an
understanding of where they were going. If that was the case Cologne could
be proud of her, taking the initiative like that was a very courageous
thing to do.

The first couple of towns they passed through were easy enough to find.
Sure enough, people remembered seeing a purple haired girl, along with a
Japanese boy and man. She followed the trail and had almost caught up to
the group when she lost them. It was a large town the trio had traveled to,
making it difficult to find anyone who had seen them. What made it almost
impossible was the fact that everyone was worked up over a crazed panda
that attacked the town. When she questioned some citizens about it they
claimed it had been subdued by two martial artists, a young boy and girl.
Cologne had assumed it was Shampoo and the Japanese boy until she heard a
description of the duo. A short red headed girl and a tall black haired
boy, nothing at all like her prey. She spent several weeks trying to locate
them but failed. She was forced to employ a time consuming spell to locate
what city they were in, than began to search for the boat which they took.
It was pure chance that she had stumbled on the man who had sold tickets to
a group with a purple haired girl. he wouldn't have remembered except there
had been a fight with a gang of toughs that tried to pick her and another
girl up. In the end, most of the gang had been hospitalized and the
neighborhood had been free of the thugs for a little while.

Once she discovered they were in Nerima, it had been simplicity itself to
keep a lookout until she spotted Shampoo. That was when everything fell
apart. She was shocked that Shampoo ran away in fear when Cologne first
discovered her. The second time they met  the truth came out, Shampoo had
fallen into Nanniichuan. Of all the pools to fall in, that was the worst.
To complicate matters the elderly Amazon had been beaten by the boy, Ranma.
That loss had, in effect, tied her hands. She couldn't take direct action
against him, and since Shampoo was obviously under his protection she was
covered under the umbrella as well. That meant the matriarch could only act
through others. 

Cologne was well aware of the fact Jusenkyou cures were nearly impossible
to cure. She was one of those that believed there was some deeper meaning
to the curses, otherwise why would people be unable to simply immerse
themselves in the pool they wanted. She had no idea what purpose a curse
would have to do with Shampoo. At any rate, the law was the law and she had
to go back, cure or trial. That was easily the hardest decision Cologne had
to make, for she loved her great granddaughter very much, and if they
couldn't obtain the cure that meant a trial, and the verdict would
obviously be execution, a dead great granddaughter, and most likely
dishonor for the clan unless she could convince Shampoo to lie about when
she got the curse before the trial. But the way Shampoo was behaving meant
she might not lie about it, a terrible risk.

Cologne had called Shampoo's sisters to Japan. She had been confident
RanRan and LinLin could get through to Shampoo and convince her to return
to China, and Jusekyou. A mistake, the girl resisted to the point of
attacking her, the matriarch. So she was once again forced to work through
others, becoming desperate over the months, knowing the council would
eventually recall her to Joketsuzoku and demand why she and Shampoo had
been gone for so long. She resorted to using Ryouga and Ukyou in an attempt
to bring in Shampoo by force. But Cologne again miscalculated. This time it
was Ukyou's desire for vengeance, and the Amazon was forced to use the
Aggression Point on her. Dangerous enough that she should use it on someone
reluctant to fight, but she made another mistake in using it on Ryouga,
someone all too eager to fight. The resulting battle came very close to
killing Shampoo. Her death would solve everything, but it was an
undesirable solution. She wanted Shampoo willing to come back and at least
attempt to cure herself. 

Stumbling across Perfume had been a good surprise, or so Cologne thought at
the time. She had no doubt the young Amazon would try to kill Shampoo. But
as impressive as she had been in the past, the matriarch had been certain
Shampoo would surpass her in fighting prowess. Her great granddaughter had
advanced unbelievably in her months with Ranma. If she could cure Shampoo,
it would be simplicity itself for her to become leader in ten years or so.
Believing Perfume's attack would convince Shampoo she couldn't escape the
Amazons, she assumed the girl would return willingly to Joketsuzoku. It was
yet another mistake on Cologne's part. Things couldn't have gone worse.
Perfume was far better than Cologne had expected, perhaps as skilled as
Shampoo. It had been impossible to tell since her great granddaughter had
held back in the fight. That shocked Cologne, it had been obvious from the
beginning Perfume was playing for keeps. The only thing the matriarch could
think of to explain Shampoo's behavior was that she still felt guilty about
what happened all those years ago. An unbelievably stupid attitude, Perfume
deserved what had happened to her. Cologne had explained it to Shampoo at
the time and believed the girl accepted the argument. Another costly error.
Then the unexpected happened. Just as Perfume was going to administer the
killing blow she discovered the secret. Instead of finishing Shampoo off
she turned and ran. Cologne had a sick feeling she knew where Perfume was
going, and if she was right, then everything had to be solved in less than
a month. No time at all.

The pink haired girl's journey ended exactly where Cologne had feared: the
airport. The matriarch sneaked close enough to listen in on the
conversation Perfume had with a ticket seller. 

"I need the first flight to Tokomi, China," Perfume requested.

Cologne faded back as she heard the words. It was exactly what she feared.
Tokomi was the closest airport to Joketsuzoku. It would still take the girl
time to get there, but there could be no doubt why she was going. It was
only a matter of time. More and more mistakes. Stupid ones. If she hadn't
been checked out by the village doctor before her trip she would have sworn
she was going senile. Cologne walked off, her mind racing to find a
solution. She almost missed the whistling of an object descending towards
her. Almost. She looked up at the last minute and vaulted out of the way of
the body that embedded itself in the street before her. Upon examining the
missile she discovered it to be a young man. He wore a blue dragonscale
vest with matching bracers, baggy white Chinese style pants, and a sash
that appeared to be a pantyhose. Amazingly, the youth lifted his head and
began cursing, in Chinese. 

""

Cologne moved closer to the boy, ""

The youth barely managed to focus on the Amazon. "" And
with that, the boy passed out.

"" She grabbed the
youth by the back of the neck and began dragging him. There was now a need
for a base of operations, which meant it was time for her to visit an old
acquaintance. The boy would not be happy to see her, as though that meant
anything.


Night fell as Ranma lay down in bed. He'd been there for over an hour,
sleep eluding him. He tried everything: Warm milk, counting sheep, rolling
the snoring fat man out into the yard to get rid of the noise, but all
efforts failed.  

"What if Perfume comes back?"

That thought plagued him all day. Akane really tried hard to shake him out
of his depression and anxiety, and he was grateful. His unwanted fiancee
could really be kind and caring when she tried, not that it happened often,
and not that he would ever say it out loud. No point in giving people the
wrong impression. His mind kept going back to that same thought time and
again. Shampoo was helpless and if Perfume came back Shampoo was dead. He
had failed her once and it blackened his thoughts like some kind of cancer.
If it happened again he wouldn't forgive himself, ever. 

There was only one thing to do. It meant he wasn't going to get any sleep
tonight, not that he was getting some anyway. He quietly threw on some
clothes and left the dojo, leaping from building to building until he
reached his destination: The hospital. He found Shampoo's window and sat
back, concealed in a tree that had a clear view of the window. He briefly
considered jumping up and letting himself in, being close to her would make
him feel better. But there was a problem with it, the Amazon had enough
pride for any three people and probably wouldn't appreciate the suggestion
she was weak, even if it was accurate. So Ranma decided to rest where he
was. An intruder would likely try to get in through the window. It was the
quickest route to launch an attack and avoid prying eyes from within the
hospital, and if there was a problem he could leap up to it in less than
two seconds. He made himself comfortable and stood watch over his friend
for the rest of the night. 


Part III

Learning From Past Mistakes

Ranma had already left for school when the exterior of the wall exploded
outward. A figure stepped forth from the wreckage as the dust began to
settle. Shampoo-kun was damned if he was going to stay in that hospital
another minute. When he woke up in the morning he had been accosted from
the first moment his eyes opened. It would have been all right if it had
just been Chisa and Sayuri harassing him, he was used to them. But it
seemed every nurse in the building also wanted to "check out the handsome
new patient." Every five minutes it was one after another. Some were
pleasant enough, but most flirted with him, or even went so far as to give
him their phone number. It quickly became obvious there was to be no rest
in the hospital. Besides, though he hated to admit it, he missed Ranma
greatly. He gave an inward sigh. It hadn't even been twenty four hours
since last he saw the youth and his thoughts were as much about him as
Perfume's return. The mystery of why she left when Shampoo was at her mercy
still bothered him, and he didn't have the faintest idea of the reasoning
behind her behavior.

Shampoo-kun hadn't made it more than forty feet when he heard a voice call
out his name. He turned and spotted the girl that was hailing him. It took
a moment to place the face with the voice. It was the first time he had
seen Ai Konjou, captain of the Furinkan Cheerleader Squad, without her
standard cheerleader outfit. Instead, the girl was wearing a tight leather
number consisting of matching boots, an all too short mini-skirt, and a
halter top that was laced together in the front. At the moment, an almost
obscene amount of cleavage was showing, the laces strained by the ample
bust of the captain. Ai caught Shampoo-kun putting a hand to his chin as he
obviously looked her over head to toe. As he finished his examination he
gave a smile to the girl. 

"Yes! He's checking me out. He wants me." Ai thought to herself. In
reality, Shampoo-kun's observations were along somewhat different lines.

""

Ai move forward, swaying suggestively to her prey. "You have no idea how
worried I was. I heard you were injured and wanted to make sure everything
was all right." She walked around Shampoo-kun, giving him the same
examination she just received. "You look VERY healthy to me." Once she was
directly behind him, she put her arms around his waist and continued,
whispering in his ear. "Tell you what, I have some first aid training. Why
not let me give you a personal examination? We'll make sure everything
works correctly." She pressed her chest tightly into Shampoo-kun's back,
making sure he could feel her breasts. "And I do mean everything." 

Shampoo-kun picked up on the innuendo immediately. Relationships between
women in Joketsuzoku were hardly unheard of. They weren't even frowned
upon, just so long as the warriors' relationships did not consist
exclusively of women. They had a responsibility to produce heirs for the
tribe, and should at least have a male concubine, if not a husband.
Shampoo-kun's tastes did not run that way. A husband was all she was
interested in. 

He pulled out of Ai's grasp, producing a sound of disappointment from the
girl. She pouted towards Shampoo-kun and spoke. 

"There's no need to get defensive. I promise to be gentle."

The girl's persistence was causing the same irritation in Shampoo-kun that
Mousse did whenever he was around. "I not interested in you that way."

A look of anger passed quickly across Ai's face. It disappeared just as
fast as it came as she smiled and stalked towards her prey once more. 

"I heard you were hurt pretty badly. Something to do with your.." she gave
a light jab into Shampoo-kun's injury. "...side, as I recall."
 
The pain from the light blow produced the desired effect. Shampoo-kun
winced while clutching his side.

"I have an idea," Ai said. "Why don't we just pretend we fought and you
lost. I wouldn't want to damage you before our fun." She saw the scowl the
boy leveled at her. "Oh relax. Despite what you may have heard, I don't do
everything with my squad. And if you're afraid of your reputation, we can
just keep this to ourselves. Still, if you want to do it the hard way..."
she allowed the threat to trail off.

Shampoo-kun felt the first twinges of panic form in his gut. The situation
was bad. He was in no shape to fend off Ai, and losing meant he would
become the girl's plaything. The rumors in the school made it sound as
though she had some rather exotic tastes, and  Shampoo-kun had no desire to
find out which rumors were true and which ones weren't. He was about to
consider fleeing when those thoughts were interrupted.

"Leave him alone Ai."

The duo turned towards the voice and saw Ukyou standing before them, minus
her spatulas.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the boy who would be a girl. Or is that the
girl who would be a boy?" Ai jibed at the newcomer.

"It wouldn't be fair Ai," Ukyou continued, ignoring Ai's barb. "he's
injured."

"And that is why I want to do this without a fight. Damaged goods usually
lead to disappointing performances." Ai looked hard at Ukyou. "And just
what brings you here anyway? Did you come to see Ranma?"

Ukyou suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Ai smiled. "So that's it. Your last boyfriend ran off and you're looking
for a new one. Good taste dearie. Ranma really is the best."

"That's not why..." Ukyou began to bluster, but was cut off.

Ai held up her hands in a warding gesture. "Relax. No need for hostilities.
I am more than willing to share." A gleam suddenly shined in Ai's eyes. "In
fact, I'd be glad to. I mean, you are into that sort of thing right?"

Ukyou began to turn red. "What are you talking about?!"

Ai maintained her pleasant demeanor. "Well, I just assumed from the butch
way you dress that you went both ways. You did attend an all boy's school
for goodness sakes." She gave a seductive glance towards Shampoo-kun. "I'm
sure Ranma wouldn't mind. There isn't a man alive that would pass up an
opportunity for a good time with the two of us. It would be a fantasy come
to life. Isn't that right Ranma?"

For the briefest of moments Shampoo-kun envisioned what Ai suggested, and
immediately became nauseous. Ukyou had the same vision and reacted even
more violently. 

"That's it! Ai, get away from him!"

The cheerleader just stood there and smirked. "Since you seem to be so
concerned about Ranma, why don't you fight for him. If I win, I get him. If
you win, you do what ever you want. Deal?"

Ukyou looked towards Shampoo-kun. Both knew it was the only chance
Shampoo-kun stood of not becoming Ai's love slave. The Amazon reluctantly
nodded his head.

Ukyou went for her spatula and froze. She had left it behind as insurance
Shampoo-kun wouldn't think she was dropping by for a fight. Now that
gesture may have cost both of them. The okonomiyaki chef went into a
defensive stance barehanded. Ukyou was a good fighter when it came into
unarmed combat. In fact, she probably could have beaten about ninety
percent of the martial artists on the earth. Unfortunately, most of Nerima
fell into the upper ten percent, and Ai in the upper one percent of that.
The cheerleader matched her stance.

"Are you sure you want to do this? If we fight, you're probably going to
spill out all over the place." Ukyou pointed to Ai's tight top.

Ai smiled in return. "Don't be jealous just because you're flat chested."

"I am not flat chested! I happen to wear a chest wrap." Ukyou simmered as
both girls warily circled one another.

"It really is too bad." Ai sighed.

"What is?"

"The three of us. It could have been an event that would make the gods sit
up and take notice, cutie." She winked at Ukyou, then threw a punch. 

The come on startled Ukyou and she fell victim to the blow. Ai began
pressing an attack, showing her superiority in unarmed combat to Ukyou by
landing several blows. Ai backed off momentarily.

"You've had it girl. Give up! My offer still stands."

"Believe me. I would rather get it on with Shampoo than you," Ukyou
replied. 

 Ai paused thoughtfully. "Well, if you think you could convince either one
of them, you should go for it. They're both good looking."

"WOULD YOU GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER YOU TRAMP!!!" Ukyou was about to
continue the retort when Ai suddenly got leveled from behind by a mailbox
yelling "Charge!"

Tsubasa-mailbox stuck his head out of his disguise. "I got you, you nasty
girl. No one hurts my Ukyou." Tsubasa turned his head to the chef. "I saved
the day Ukyou. Hug me!"

The only thing that saved Tsubasa from being hit by the chef was Ai's fist
burying itself in his face first. She then threw the offending
cross-dresser at Ukyou.

"First they screw up my mail, now they send their equipment after me. The
postal service around here can kiss my..." Ai continued her rant for close
to a minute, allowing Ukyou and Tsubasa time to recover.

Tsubasa said, "It doesn't look good, does it Ukyou?" The chef shook her
head in response. "Well, in that case give me a kiss before we fall." 

Tsubasa puckered up, giving Ukyou a perfect target to hit. Just as she drew
back her fist, an idea occurred to her. "Tsubasa! Change into a giant
spatula."

Tsubasa could have kicked himself. It should have been obvious that was the
way to turn Ukyou on. He decided to test the theory. "Will you kiss me if I
do?"

"I'll hit you if you don't." That convinced Tsubasa to make the change.
Once in disguise, Ukyou wielded him in her normal fashion. 

"Un oh!" Ai thought. The cheerleader put up a good fight, but in the end,
it was too much for her to handle. Ukyou picked up the cheerleader's
crumpled form and tossed it into the lobby of the hospital. 

"Well that was..." Ukyou realized her new spatula was fondling her. "Cut it
out Tsubasa! You actually came in useful for once in your life, you
pervert." He continued rubbing against her. "And I
don't...want...to...hit...YOU!" 

She felt Tsubasa-spatula lifted off her back. Ukyou turned around to see
Shampoo-kun holding Tsubasa by the back of the disguise, offering the chef
to hit the target. Ukyou could hardly pass up the opportunity. Tsubasa got
pummeled into oblivion and punched several miles away, leaving only Ukyou
and Shampoo-kun looking at one another. Neither knew what to say, so both
just stood there until Shampoo-kun spotted an envelope on the ground. He
picked it up and opened it.

"No! Stop!" Ukyou tried to stop him, too late. He opened and read the
letter.

"This a get well card."

Ukyou tried to cover it up. "Yeah. It's for a friend of mine in the
hospital. And I don't mean you either."

Shampoo-kun read the letter again. "And you always sign card, 'Stupid
Spatula Girl?'"

Ukyou gave up the attempted deception. "All right. I admit it's for you. I
wanted to try to make amends for trying to beat you up all those times."
She paused, and looked at Shampoo-kun again. "That's all I came to do. I
didn't know I'd be fighting for you. So good-bye." She turned and began
walking away.

"Thank you Ukyou," she barely heard the soft voice behind her comment. That
made her stop and turn.

"You called me by real name." 

Shampoo-kun blushed. "No I didn't. You confused."

Ukyou would have none of that. "Yes you did. I heard you."

"You take too many blows to head Stupid Spatula Girl." Shampoo-kun sniffed.

Ukyou realized Shampoo-kun wasn't going to admit to it, so she started
taunting him. As she continued a wicked gleam entered Shampoo-kun's eyes.
He glided over to Ukyou and embraced her, cradling her in his arms.

"You save Shampoo. That deserve a great big reward." He moved his face
closer towards Ukyou, much to the chef's distress, than began to pucker up.


Ukyou barely managed to wriggle out of his grasp, then made a motion to
threaten him. It was then she saw him giggling, barely keeping outright
laughter contained. 

"So, she thinks she can mock me and get away it?" Ukyou wryly thought.

"Ha! Ha! You should have seen look on you face Spatula Girl. I..." He
trailed off as he realized Ukyou had moved closer to him. "What
you...HMPPH? Ukyou placed both hands around his head and gave a deep,
passionate kiss. The poor boy was too stunned to do much more than breath.
After several moments, Ukyou broke off the embrace. 

"Now that's how you kiss, you pervert. Bye." Satisfied that she had gotten
the last laugh, Ukyou turned and walked away. Shampoo-kun stood there in
shock. 

Whether it was seconds or hours that passed before the surprise wore off,
Shampoo-kun couldn't tell. As his senses returned, one depressing thought
cut through all the others. That was only the second "real" kiss he had
ever received, and this time it was by a girl. But perhaps the most ironic
thing was, Ukyou kissed a hell of a lot better than Mikado did.












 

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920