Ranma 1/2 Presents:
Shampoo 1/2
Chapter 20

The Long Journey Home

As always, any and every C+C appreciated
Azatlan has given Shampoo 1/2 a home at: 
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/Special-Series/shampoo.html
or you can email me for previous chapters or anything else at sommer@nb.net


Standard Disclaimer:

I don't own any of these guys. They are owned by the Goddess Takahashi and
whomever she sold the rights to.

An Alternate Universe:
What's gone on before, (or what you really need to know to enjoy this fic.)
In the beginning the Saotomes traveled to Jusenkyou. They began to spar,
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 Ranma.
Shampoo-kun= male Shampoo. Enjoy) Shampoo elected to travel to Japan with
Ranma. After a brief misunderstanding, Shampoo ended up engaged to Kasumi.
Once that was cleared up, Ranma became engaged to Akane. After many months
of battles and adventures in chaos.(see previous chapters) The Musk Dynasty
came to Japan seeking a magic kettle. In the ensuing fight over it Ranma,
Mousse, and Ryouga were captured by them and taken to China to be killed.
Shampoo traveled alone and engaged in a daring rescue attempt, cursing Lime
with magic cat water and cutting off Mint's hand. Herb, who had locked
Ranma in girl form and tortured him, was taken care of by Ranma in neko
form. The four martial artists escaped with the forces of the Musk
collecting to stop them. Now it's a race to get out of China before the
Musk find them, and the quartet can go home.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Ranma lay back on the pile of fruits and gazed up at the cloudless night
sky to the stars. He had forgotten just how many one could see this far
from the bright lights of civilization. Only away from the big cities could
one begin to comprehend the vastness of space. Admittedly, his mind didn't
go down avenues like that one too often, but every now and then he would
try to gain an understanding of the way the universe worked. He would never
succeed, but then again, no one ever did. 

The silence of the night was broken solely by the wooden wheels of the cart
as it made its way down the dusty road. There was a sort of serenity this
far from a city. One could see vast distances at times, barring vegetation
and never come across anything other than an occasional animal for living
company. The peacefulness was a welcome relief from the hustle, bustle, and
chaos of Nerima. In many ways it felt like an appropriate denouement to the
fight with Herb, but they weren't out of danger yet. There was still a
chance that Herb's forces could catch up to them, and given their present
condition any confrontation might prove disastrous. All four were exhausted
from their ordeal with Herb and any fight would be a chancy thing. Ranma
allowed his hand to rise to his chest and scratch where Herb had burned it.
The area of flesh still hurt like hell, even hours after it had been
injured. Herb might have been crazy, but he knew how to inflict lasting
pain. 

During their escape, while the quartet traveled overland, a bit of good
luck came their way. Earlier in the day a gray haired farmer, driving an
oxen driven cart to a market in a distant town, rode past. He spied the
four weary travelers walking alongside the road and offered them a ride.
Even if they were inclined to, they were in no condition to refuse the
invitation. So they hopped in the back of the cart full of fruit and
vegetable products and were on their way. The only drawback was that the
farmer was inclined to sing old American show tunes during the entire trip
so his passengers would be entertained. How unfortunate the man couldn't
hold a note if his life depended on it.

It was agreed that they sleep in shifts. Ryouga took the first, Shampoo
followed, then it was Mousse's turn. When Mousse awakened Ranma, the blind
one informed him that the farmer knew the truth about their situation and
agreed to help get them to safety by driving through the night to a coastal
town outside of the Musk's influence. When Ranma pressed him for an
explanation, he said that the old man commented that Mousse reminded him of
his own son, and the two had talked a great deal.

Now that there was a moment, Ranma was more than a little eager to wake the
sleeping Shampoo up. After leaving the fortress, he had tried to talk to
her on a number of occasions, only to have her cut him off. The first time
he tried...


The quartet made their way through a number of thickly forested areas.
Ryouga seemed to think they could make better time by going through them on
foot. If they took an overland route with open areas the Musk would be able
to run them down using horses. In the forest their animals would make worse
time than the escapees, allowing them to pull ahead of any pursuit. The
reasoning was sound, much to the surprise of everyone, so they did as he
suggested. Once Ranma was convinced they had left their pursuers behind, he
started running alongside Shampoo, trying to engage her in conversation.

"Hey, Shampoo," Ranma began. "Thanks for saving us. How did--?" 

"Is no time for talking," she panted out, eyes remaining forward on the
path ahead.

"I just wanted to--," 

"I said is no time for talking!" Again she cut him off. "We have to move!" 

Ranma was feeling a mix of irritation and confusion. All he wanted to do
was thank her. "Look, I--"

"Shampoo said she doesn't want to talk to you, Saotome." This time it was
Mousse who leaped to the defense. "Now leave her alone!"

Shampoo turned around at that point and smile at the blind one. "Thank you,
Mousse."

Ranma watched Mousse nearly pass out from joy of Shampoo thanking him. The
fact she was doing it while siding against Ranma probably added to his
happiness as well. 

He shook his head in disbelief. She was siding with Mousse in something
against him. If she was going to be that way, fine! He wouldn't talk to
her. 


However, that resolve had disappeared by now. He wanted to talk to her,
even though, now that he thought about it, she had maneuvered it so they
didn't have a shift next to one another. Difficult to say if it was
intentional or not. Ranma gently moved over to where Shampoo rested and was
about to gently place a hand on her to awaken the girl when his arm was
entangled by a chain. He turned to see Mousse staring at him, a satisfied
look on his face. 

"I knew you were a pervert, Saotome."

Ranma wasn't about to take that lying down. He unwrapped the chain and
tossed it back at Mousse, who coiled back into his sleeve with a simple
twist of the wrist. "I ain't no pervert. I just wanted to ask Shampoo
something."

Mousse smirked in Ranma's direction. "Shampoo thought you'd try something
like that. She asked me to keep you from bothering her. It seems like she's
had enough of your nonsense. About time too."

"Oh, right." Ranma scoffed.  "Like I'm supposed to believe she told you
that. What kind of a chump do you take me for?"

"Is true, Ranma."

Ranma turned in surprise at the speaker. Shampoo had awakened on her own,
laying where she was, unmoving save that her eyes were open. 

Shampoo continued. "I very tired, and not need you to interrupt my sleep
with something stupid. Leave me alone!" 

Ranma was confused. This was not the Shampoo he knew. She always had time
for him. Always. There were occasions, especially after the first few weeks
the started to trust one another, that the two of them talked for hours on
end. Their discussions usually weren't important, but it felt good being
able to talk to someone his own age with similar interests. Even after
their arrival in Nerima she was still his primary confidant. But now it
seemed like she was avoiding him.

"Look, I just want to-" This time Ranma was cut off by Mousse.

"She said she doesn't want to talk to you, Saotome. So leave her alone!"
Mousse's body reflected the change his voice took. No longer was he telling
Ranma what he wanted, he was ordering him to do it.

"What would you know about leaving her alone, panda-boy? The last time I
checked you were the one always following in her wake, and every time you
caught up to her she'd throw you back again." Ranma's body reflected his
change of voice too. If Mousse wanted to lose a fight, he was about to get
his wish. 

"WOULD EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!" Ryouga finally had enough, mad as hell that his
rest was interrupted by a bunch of people acting like children. Once he saw
he had everyone's attention, he continued. "If Shampoo doesn't feel like
playing fifty questions with you Ranma, that's fine. I don't feel like
talking to anyone either. Now respect her wishes and leave her alone. I
need rest, and so does everyone else. We've been through a lot and tempers
are starting to flare. We'll all be a lot more levelheaded if we get some
rest. And remember, we aren't out of danger yet." 

With his speech over, Ryouga lay back down to rest once again. Everyone
else remained in shock for a few moments. Ryouga had just done the
impossible and played the role of peacemaker to an argument. What was worse
was that what he said actually made sense. As disgruntled as Ranma was, he
gave in and left Shampoo alone. They could talk the next day. 


Ryouga awakened everyone to let them know they had arrived at the coastal
town. There was a hustle to the town that made it feel very active,
somewhat reminiscent of Nerima. Groups of people moved to and fro bearing
shipments and cargo, transferring goods and equipment inland and receiving
things to go out in return in an effort to get quickly from one place to
another. The group immediately took note that some of the people appeared a
little rough. Instincts took over as the individuals in the streets were
evaluated. More than a handful of the inhabitants wore weapons in an open
display. Most were hand to hand instruments. Swords, daggers, hammers, that
sort of thing. Everyone noted that the town had a rough edge to it. Caution
was going to be required.

Ranma took note of how slowly Shampoo got up. The purple haired girl
appeared worse after her rest, not better. He was about to make his way
over to her when she darted away in the opposite direction. To Ranma, it
appeared she moved when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. 

"Shampoo!" He moved in her direction to catch up. Enough was enough. 

She paused long enough to look him in the eye. "Shampoo must get some
things so we can leave here and go back to Japan. Must do them alone. If
Ranma or others go along they not going to make deal with me." 

As pale and weak as she looked, Ranma wasn't willing to bet she had the
ability to cross the street on her own, let alone make some kind of deal
with a bunch of strangers. "You might need some help."

"I no need help!" She spat out, then took a deep breath to calm down. "It
involve friends of Amazons. They not trust me if I bring non-Amazons with
me. I must go alone." This time she afforded Ranma a soft look to try to
get him to back off. 

"Isn't hanging around someone that knows Amazons risky?" Ryouga asked.

"As long as they not see me change, is no problem," she explained.
"Besides, they not close friends of village. They just people we work with
sometimes," 

With great reluctance, Ranma agreed to her demands. "Okay. We'll be over
there." He pointed to an open air dining area in front of an inn. "If you
ain't back in an hour, we're coming to find you." 

Shampoo shook her head. "It may take several hours. I come back to you. No
worry about me. Remember who rescue you from Herb." She gave a wan smile at
that and turned to go. 

"Yeah, but rescuing us took more out of you than you're willing to admit,"
Ranma said quietly under his breath. "I just hope you aren't biting off
more than you can chew."

Shampoo thought of one other thing before she would leave. "And stay out of
trouble. We try to keep incon...inconsp...we try to keep low profile."

Ranma gave a lopsided grin. "What? The three of us get into trouble. You've
gotta be kidding." 

Shampoo took a moment to fully take in the three youths standing before
her. If those weren't famous last words, there was no such thing. She
briefly considered staying, then turned to go, determining she wasn't any
shape to baby-sit the trio.

The three youths looked at one another, as if deciding what they should do.
Mousse spoke first. "The old man was kind enough to give us a little money.
Let's get something to eat."


It took all of Shampoo's strength to maintain her facade of casualness. She
was certain she had a fever and was getting weaker as time wore on. Shampoo
hated lying to the others, but she needed to be alone. There was no need to
worry them about her condition, and she didn't need Ranma fawning over her
in pity. She was going to stand on her own two feet. No longer could she
afford to rely on him as a crutch anymore. Ranma wasn't going to be there
for her much longer, once he got married to Akane. Oh, how painful that was
to admit, but it was the truth. He had chosen her back in Japan, and even
Herb knew the violent tomboy was the one that held his heart. Ranma dreamed
of his fiancee even as Shampoo dreamed of him. A tragedy.

She found the place she was looking for. A destination she neglected to
mention to the others. The place was a small, inconspicuous building, but
the sign on the outside told her what she needed to know. It was a doctor's
office. 

Shampoo walked past a man with his arm in a sling, as he left the building,
and staggered weakly through the front doors. It was a small place with
many chairs for the patients to wait. The place was empty, save for the
doctor sitting in a chair towards the back, looking over the papers. It was
a woman, much to Shampoo's relief. She preferred dealing with women. 

"" Dr. Suin looked to see the new arrival. 

Shampoo staggered over to the doctor. Faintness nearly overcoming her now.

"" Suin quickly got up from her
chair and moved to aid Shampoo. "" She indicated a
medical table in a room towards the back of the building. 

Shampoo allowed the doctor to lead her and laid back on the table. It felt
cold and metallic, not comfortable at all. 

"" Shampoo got out weakly, then lifted her shirt.

Dr. Suin looked a bit surprised. The black material of Shampoo's shirt
masked the bloodstains of the wound she bore in her side. The bandages that
had been applied to the cut had both old and fresh blood on them, and had
soaked through long ago, even the inside of the short was moist. The purple
haired girl before the doctor was lucky she hadn't passed out from the
blood loss alone.

"" the doctor commented. She had seen
hundreds of makeshift bandages that did little or no good to the wounded.
So few people understood the proper way to apply a bandage while keeping
foreign substances out of the injured area. But this was different, whoever
did it knew how to treat such wounds. 

"" Shampoo had learned from Silk, one of Cologne's
friends. Silk probably would have been a doctor in the village, if only she
had had the desire to become one. 

Suin didn't like the smug look that entered the Amazon's eyes. ""

"" Shampoo replied, the smugness replaced
by the look of exhaustion once again.

Suin removed the field dressing and examined the wound. As soon as she laid
eyes upon it, she reevaluated the girl before her. She either enjoyed pain
or had near total mastery of it. It was unquestionably a deep puncture
wound in the side. Fortunately it pierced nothing vital, just went through
the soft tissue of her flank. The pain must have been intense though. Most
people would have passed out or gone into shock from the suffering of such
an injury, but this girl held it together long enough to apply a quality
field dressing to it. Very impressive. 

Unfortunately, the wound had become infected. That combined with the blood
loss was why the girl appeared to be in such terrible shape. The infection
was going to have to be treated immediately, plus the wound on her side
needed to be stitched closed. As Suin examined her, she took note of an
older scar next to the new one. The girl was no stranger to this sort of
thing.  It didn't really matter to Suin. She certainly had dealt with worse
than this with less resources on hand. Getting out the necessary
instruments, she began to work her magic.

She finished within the hour and was beginning to clean up when her patient
began to rise to her feet.

"" she placed her hand on Shampoo's shoulder
and attempted to gently guide her back down.

Shampoo gently, yet firmly, removed the hand from her person. ""

Suin wasn't backing off. ""

Shampoo smiled at the concern. Doctors could be so overprotective
sometimes.

"" Dr. Suin understood what the girl was doing, and didn't like it
one bit. ""

Shampoo shook her head. The doctor was going to fight her tooth and nail
over this. It was time to explain the situation to her. "" Suin nodded her head in response.
""

With a reluctant sigh Dr. Suin gave up. In this town, lots of people had
prices on their heads and were on the run. "" She
packed up some additional bandages and wished Shampoo luck. She had a
feeling the purple haired girl was going to need it. 


Anyone in their right mind that passed by the table the three youths were
sitting at, would have given it a wide berth. Something strange was going
on there, and it just wouldn't pay to try to discover what it was. The
palpable silence surrounding the three was more than a little disturbing to
everyone else around. Silence around the trio simply felt wrong.

The three men sat at the table and stared intently at the center of it. The
object that had riveted their attention was a lone sandwich which sat atop
a small paper plate that barely covered the bottom of it. All three gazed
hungrily at it, as though it were the last piece of food on Earth. 

At last Ranma could take the silence no longer. "Why'd you only get one?"

"It's all we could afford," Mousse responded. 

Ryouga's curiosity got the better of him. "What kind is it?"

"Bloodtongue," the blind one answered. 

Ranma made a face at that revelation. "Why'd you get that?"

"It's all we could afford," Mousse repeated.

Ranma paused to consider the situation. He knew what bloodtongue was made
out of, and however awful it might have tasted, it would still be far
better than anything Akane could whip up. 

"Well, who gets it?" Ryouga finally asked the question that was on
everyone's mind. 

All three continued staring at the object at the center of the table, as
though in the hope the sandwich would speak up and solve the problem for
them. 

Ryouga looked at it hungrily. Serving bats scheduled to die regular meals
hadn't been high on Herb's list. It had been a couple of days since any of
them had eaten, and all of their appetites were big enough to consume
twenty such sandwiches, and still it would only satisfy their appetites. 

Ranma's body made sounds that called the others to attention. The Saotome
stomach complained from feeling more empty than it had in years, and let
everyone know it. "We could fight for it," Ranma offered. 

"And burn up so much energy we feel hungrier then if we all had one. I
think not," Mousse's tone made no hint of tolerating argument. 

"Guess we'll just have to divide it then." It was the best Ryouga could
come up with.

"Are you crazy?" Ranma looked at Ryouga, then the sandwich. "The whole
thing won't be able to dent my appetite, and you want me to share?"

"He's right," Mousse seconded Ryouga's motion. "It's the only way to be
fair." Though Mousse didn't like the idea one bit. He deserved to be fed.
Not the two idiots he was surrounded by.

Ranma saw he was going to be outvoted and wasn't about to go along with it.
In fact, he recalled there was a secret technique in the Saotome School of
Anything Goes Martial Arts that was made for situations just like this. His
father used it against him on more than one occasion when there was only
one piece of food between the two of them. Who would have thought Genma
would come up with a stupid technique that would prove so useful? Ranma
mentally prepared himself for the maneuver. 

"Look! A fifty yen piece!" He stood up and pointed at a space on the floor
between the two men sitting across from him.

Mousse actually fell for the trick for the briefest of moments. Once he
realized that it was a trick he turned back to Ranma. Sure enough, it was
just as he suspected. Ranma had grabbed the bloodtongue sandwich when
everyone's back was turned and was about to swallow it whole. Mousse
quickly whipped a chain out and snagged the sandwich out of Ranma's grasp,
allowing Saotome's jaws to bite down on nothing but air. 

"Ha! Since you tried to steal it, none for you. And since I'm the one that
saved it, all for me." 

Ryouga turned from his quick search and looked back up. "I didn't see any
fifty yen piece Ranma. Are you sure it was a..." Ryouga trailed off as he
saw Mousse about to bite down on their one and only meal. He barely managed
to snatch it out of the blind one's hands, then pointed accusingly at him.
"I see how you are, trying to eat the sandwich for yourselves and leaving
me out. Well, I'm not going to stand for it. I'll solve the argument by
eating it myself."

Mousse and Ranma looked at each other momentarily, nodded as though coming
to an agreement, then jumped Ryouga. 


Shampoo walked into the bar. It was amazing how dark and dismal a place
like that could be in the middle of the day. Her eyes scanned the room and
she couldn't help but notice the place was filled with what her great
grandmother would have described as the scum of the earth. It was just such
a person she needed to see. A guess was made about how to go about finding
a captain to take her and her friends out of China quickly. She elected to
approach the first person she thought looked like a smuggler and strike up
a conversation with him. He was a roughish looking gentleman wearing a
white shirt with black vest and black pants. He had a large, seven foot,
almost gorilla like creature next to him. An odd pair. It hardly took any
hinting at all before the two of them to started to talk business. 

"" Shampoo insisted. She had a feeling the man
would set off into a speech about the speed of his vessel. She wasn't
disappointed. 

"" The man said with
more than a note of incredulity. 

""

""

A gut feeling told Shampoo that traveling with this man was going to be
trouble. She listened to her instincts and thanked him, telling him she was
no longer interested, then left. 

The man turned to his large inhuman partner. "" That was when he noticed an older, white
haired man and a youth that looked like he just hit twenty enter the bar
and head towards his table. It appeared things were about to get
interesting. 

Shampoo looked over more occupants of the bar. There was a man with a peg
leg and dead parrot on his shoulder, but she passed on him. Another thin
man with an eyepatch and two long scars across his face stood at the bar.
He was armed with a rapier like sword at his side and skull and crossbones
on his chest. Again, Shampoo's instincts told her to stay away from the
man, that he wasn't what she was looking for either. At last, her eyes
settled upon a very handsome, sharp dressed man off in a corner of the bar.
His dark hair and cobalt blue eyes seemed to shine in the dark recesses of
the bar. Time to find out if he showed any promise. 

The man gave a dazzling smile which caused Shampoo's heart to flutter. He
was a handsome rascal, even more roguish than the first man.""

She elected to skip the idle chatter and get right to the point. ""

The man suddenly became indignant. ""

"" It sounded to Shampoo that he had just described a smuggler. ""

The man's demeanor changed back to what it was when he first spoke to
Shampoo. "" He once again
gave that lethal smile of his. Shampoo mentally marked him as a dangerous
one, not so much physically as much as charming. That could make him even
more dangerous than one who was good with a sword. His kind could reach
places one can't get to with a weapon, and leave worse damage in the long
run. It was fun playing with a fire like him, just so long as you didn't
get burned. Maybe she needed to play a game of risk with this one. It
wasn't as though she had anything, or anyone, better to play with. She
would have to be careful though. 


Shampoo walked out of the bar, somewhat satisfied if a bit taken off guard.
The man had been very compliant with her demands, meeting every one of them
with nary a hesitation. Still, maybe she got lucky with this one. He
certainly could provide her with what she needed. She was considering
exactly what to do next when she heard an explosion from the center of
town.

"RANMA!!!" It was a shout of anger, not concern.


Shampoo moved as quickly as she could, anger drowning out the pain from her
side as she ran. Sure enough, it was exactly the scene she had pictured in
her mind. Portions of several buildings lay in ruin as Ranma, Mousse, and
Ryouga seemed to be fighting over several pieces of something. She silently
believed she should take the ship and leave them behind. It would serve
them right for ignoring her advice and drawing attention to themselves. 

All three were so wrapped up in fighting that it took them a moment to feel
a blue aura of anger rise up behind them All three simultaneously cringed
in cautious fear as they turned to see Shampoo, surrounded in a halo of
blue light, with anger radiating from her like a miniature star. Ranma
involuntarily made a comparison between the Amazon and Akane. He was
getting the same feeling off of her and was a more than a little uneasy.
The trio had enough sense to stop the fighting. 

"What is you all fighting about?!" More anger radiated from her as she
asked the question, already knowing she wasn't going to like the answer. 

The other two shoved Ranma boldly forward, deciding he was the most likely
to survive her rage. And if it didn't work he would at least buy them time
to flee. 

Ranma cleared his throat and began. "We were kinda hungry. And there was
this one sandwich and we couldn't all eat it. We tried to divide it evenly,
but that didn't work out so good, so we fought over it." He silently
wondered if that explanation sounded lame to her as it did to him. Judging
by her reaction, it was. 

"You..." She paused and tried again. "You..." It still couldn't quiet get
out as she was trembling too much. She allowed herself to take one quick
breath, then continued. "YOU IS TRYING TO GET US KILLED OVER A STUPID
SANDWICH?!!!"

"Well, not exactly," Ranma tried to clarify, but somehow he just couldn't
come up with anything. 

Surprisingly, Shampoo's anger disappeared. She just gave a small laugh of
disbelief, then shook her head and turned away. "There a ship leaving in
the hour. It at pier five. If you care enough to leave, meet Shampoo there.
They'll have food on the ship."

"Where're you goin'?" Ranma called out to her rapidly departing form. 

She turned long enough to give him a mocking look. "I going to talk to the
captain. He is a..." she paused for a moment, then smiled at Ranma, "nice
guy."

"Do you want some company?" Mousse finally made his existence known.
Longing to spend some time with Shampoo. Since she was giving Ranma the
cold shoulder it would have been the perfect opportunity for the two of
them to be together. The cold stare he received in response told him it was
best to leave her alone, for now. Curious that she should mention the
captain though... 


Ranma was equal parts curious and annoyed. Shampoo did behave rather oddly
when she mentioned the captain, almost as though she were taunting him.
Ranma was going to have to be properly introduced to the gentleman...


Ryouga looked down at the tattered remains of the sandwich he held in his
hand. It was better than nothing... 


Interlude
Eight Devils

The man in black stared into the dark surface of the water from his
position on the trawler. The ocean was deep here. Deep enough that the
final one would never be recovered through conventional means. How
fortunate the man in black did not rely on the mundane to succeed in his
tasks.

The others watched eagerly, waiting for their last member, their leader, to
be brought back.

The man in black allowed the magic to flow through his hand as he felt for
the man buried in his watery grave.  It took but moments to find the
tremendous weight then use magic to bring him to the surface. 

"You are the easiest to bring back, leader of the devils. I don't even need
to waste energy resurrecting you. Just enough to heal your mind from the
centuries of captivity you suffered in spending an eternity in the
motionless dark. Even if you cannot die, you can know madness. But have no
fear. I shall restore your mind and its glory. Then you will work for me
once again, although this time there will be no betrayals. You will serve
me and serve me well. Simply because you cannot die does not mean you
cannot suffer. I can make you know nothing but agony for an immortal
lifetime if I so choose."

As the speech ended there was a bubbling at the surface of the water. The
seven beings on the deck watched intently as a rough, gold statue of a man
rose above the surface of the water. The only thing that could be made
outside of the lumpy body parts was the face. The contortions on it could
leave no doubt that it was supposed to depict agony. And it did it so very
well.

The man in black waved his hand and allowed the statue to rest upright upon
the deck. He moved closer to the statue and began to run his hand lightly
along its surface. 

"Welcome back to the land of the light...Gemma."

The Eight Devils of Kimone were reunited for the first time in centuries.
His foot soldiers were in place, and this time they would obey their true
master. 

The Shogun in the Dark laughed long and hard. The end of his millenniums
long quest was at hand. 

The end of everything was at hand.


End Interlude


All three showed up at the appointed place within the hour. Shampoo was
there, waiting for them, but no captain was in sight, much to Ranma and
Mousse's delight. 

"It looks pretty good," Mousse commented.

"That's only because you're looking at a buoy," Ranma informed him, then
turned him around to see the armored monstrosity before them.

All three youths saw what passed for a ship before them. It was a large,
awful looking vessel that appeared to have three different hulls fused
together. It was a large ship, maybe at one time a very small passenger
liner. What was originally believed to be paint on the ship was actually
the barnacles and rust which adorned the sides of the craft, and there was
a horrible, fishy odor which emanated from it. All things considered, it
looked like it had just been salvaged from the floor of the ocean. 

"I could have bought a ship like this for what he charge me," Shampoo
mumbled under her breath.

"Y'know," Ranma began. "Swimming back to Japan ain't looking like such a
bad idea."

"If we get on this boat we might end up doing just that." Ryouga was more
than a little fearful that the ship wouldn't make it out of the harbor.
Then he commented on something else.

"The Worthless Piece of Shit?" 

"I think you're being a little harsh, wouldn't you say?" Mousse tried
defending it. "It may have seen better days, but I'm sure she's seaworthy."

"No." Ryouga shook his head. "I mean that's its name. Look at the bow." 

Mousse followed Ryouga's finger and read the name on the front of the boat.
Sure enough, the words "The Worthless Piece of Shit" were written on the
side. "Why would anyone name their boat that?"

"If you had to crew on her, you'd call her that too." That condemnation was
uttered by a short, swarthy looking man who had moved quietly up behind the
group. The fact he had alerted no one to his presence before speaking spoke
volumes about his abilities. 

"Who're you?" Ranma asked. 

"Alehandrjo Pena." The man smiled as he said that. "One of the crew of the
TWPOS."

"Why would you serve on a horrible looking ship like that?" Ryouga asked.

The answer sounded more like a sigh than a statement. "I owe the captain a
big time favor. All of the crew's like that. We either owe him one or can't
get better jobs." He paused as he thought of something else. "Well, some
are pressed into service, hoping to get to their original port of call." 

"Where'd you get a ship like that?" Ranma asked. It truly was an
abomination.

"The captain lost it in a card game."

"Do you no mean, 'won it in a card game'?" Shampoo inquired.

"Look at that thing and let me ask you: Would you want to win something
like that?" Pena explained. 

Shampoo considered that. She would most likely have scuttled it at the
first available opportunity.

"He lost a bet and has to captain it for five years." Pena suddenly got a
thoughtful gleam in his eye. "And what are you three doing here?"

"They're our passengers, Frog." This was spoken by the Captain D'Amore, who
made his way down the gangplank to the people on the dock below. 

"Sir, I'm Spanish. Why do you insist on calling me "Frog?"

D'Amore just stared at him. "You look French to me."

Frog just sadly shook his head, then gave the update to the captain. "We've
lost five men sir."

D'Amore gave an irritated look to his crewman. "Well, get some more." And
with that he handed a club to Frog. The Spaniard simply rolled his eyes and
walked off in search of more "crewmen."

"It's nice to see you're on time, Miss Shampoo." D'Amore's teeth gleamed as
he gave her that oh, so devastating smile which made Shampoo smile cheerily
back. It was no surprise that Ranma and Mousse took an immediate dislike to
D'Amore. 

"You didn't say you're happy to see us." Ranma tried giving the same smile
at the captain, but fell short. 

"You're right. I didn't." 

The captain failed to notice the icy stare he received from Ranma at that
comment. Instead, as he turned to walk up the gangplank he offered his arm
to Shampoo, which she accepted with a smile. That, in turn, triggered
scowls of anger from Ranma and Mousse. They nearly ran over each other as
each tried to be the first one to follow Shampoo and D'Amore, with Ryouga
bringing up the rear. They fought so hard trying to get past one another
that they didn't catch up to the pair until they were almost to the end of
the gangplank. As the arm linked couple set foot onto the ship, D'Amore's
heel kicked the gangplank, where it was connected to the ship, ever so
slightly. That movement was enough to drop the gangplank, and everyone
remaining on it, into the ocean. 

Shampoo whirled as she heard the shouts of the three youths. She witnessed
what had happened and quickly gazed over the side. There had been no reason
to mention any curses to D'Amore, and she didn't want him asking any
questions about that. Looking over the edge she expected to see a girl,
bat, and panda swimming for their lives. Instead, she saw Ranma had managed
to clutch the deck with his fingertips, right along the edge of the boat
and just barely hanging on. Mousse had managed to latch onto Ranma's pants,
and Ryouga was hanging from Mousse's legs. 

"Oops!" D'Amore held his face in false shame. "How did that happen?"

Shampoo understood the man knew damn well what he had done, but smiled back
anyway. Nothing bad had come of the matter.

"Let go of me you pervert!" Ranma yelled. He could feel his pants start to
slip from his waist. 

"Forget it, Saotome! These are my only robes and I don't want to get them
wet. I'd haul myself up if it wasn't for this dead weight around my legs."
He finally turned his attention to Ryouga. "Let go of me, damn it!"

"No way!" Ryouga shook his head. "My wings are still messed up. If I fall
in the water I'll drown."

Ryouga started climbing up Mousse as Mousse made his way up Ranma. The
combined efforts of both men, as well as the miserable handhold Ranma had,
prevented him from making his way up. As the other two got to the top they
left Ranma to pull himself up. 

"Thanks a lot," he muttered under his breath as he managed to haul himself
up to the deck.

"You're welcome," was simultaneously spoken by the duo who had used him as
a makeshift ladder.

"I have to go do captainy things. I shall you see you later, Shampoo." He
made a deep flourishing bow as he kissed the back of her hand and departed.
Shampoo gave a soft giggle and happily walked off in the opposite
direction.

Ryouga couldn't help but feel the heat generated by the two men in front of
him. It didn't look like they were taking a liking to the captain.

"Man, I hate guys like that," Ranma muttered under his breath. "Those
smooth talking, suave creeps make me wanna puke."

"You're right." Mousse nodded his head in agreement.  

It took each youth a moment to understand what just happened. For the first
time in the months since they had first met at Jusenkyou, they had at last
agreed on something. They both recoiled in surprise and disgust, neither
certain what to make of the situation. 

Mousse chose a course of action first. "I'm going to have a little
discussion with the 'captain'. I'll explain a few things about the facts of
life to him." 

Ranma noticed the blind one crack his knuckles as he said that. Good. With
any luck they would beat each other up and stay out of his way. 


Mousse left without any worries that Saotome would do anything to Shampoo.
It was obvious she didn't care about him anymore. Oh joyous day! She had
avoided Ranma like the plague since the rescue at the Musk Fortress. Of
course there was now this new threat, the smooth talking pretty boy,
Captain D'Amore. Mousse chuckled to himself, having picked up the habit
from Tarou. The captain was about to have a close encounter of the painful
kind. No one would stand between Mousse and his Shampoo. No one.


Ranma left in the direction Shampoo had taken. It was time to get to the
bottom of things, and there was nowhere to hide on a ship. He found Shampoo
humming to herself as she strolled along the deck of the ship. The vessel
was still devoid of all but a skeleton crew, leaving he and Shampoo all the
time they needed. 

"Hey, Shampoo!" he called out, hoping to get her to slow down. The Amazon
just gave an irate look at him as he approached. He was really going to
have to get to the bottom of why she was behaving that way. 

"Would you tell me what's going on?" 

Shampoo continued looking irate. "Nothing going on."

"Then why are you avoiding me?"

"I not avoiding you. It all in you head." Looking satisfied that she had
explained herself, she turned to leave again. 

"Oh no you don't!" Ranma was sick and tired of chasing after her. Answers
were desired and he wanted them now. He was not about to spend the entire
trip chasing after her on the piece of junk ship they were on. Things were
going to be settled before the ship left the dock. 

He reached out a hand to grab onto Shampoo. The quick movement caught her
eye and she darted out of the way. She eluded the grasp, but managed to hit
the railing with her side. The wounded side as luck would have it. As soon
as she made contact with metal, she gave a little cry.

Ranma knew something was wrong in an instant. Shampoo had not hit with
anywhere near enough force to elicit that response. "What's wrong?"

"Is nothing wrong." Sweat formed on her brow from the pain. She would hit
it in just the right spot. 

"Which is why you look like you're ready to fall over. Don't feed me that
line." He softened his voice as he reached out to her. It appeared she was
going to let him touch her side, but she batted his hand away at the last
moment. 

"Is nothing to be concerned about. Is just small scratch." She took a step
back,  increasing the distance between her and Ranma.

Whether it was her attitude in general, or if the journey was wearing down
on him, Ranma wouldn't have been able to say. What happened was he finally
lost his temper. "Yeah! I remember the last, 'is just small scratch' you
had! You were in the hospital for a couple of days and it took you weeks to
heal, thanks to Perfume,"

Shampoo's mood darkened noticeably. "You no make fun of the way Shampoo
talk!"

"Well, Ranma no make fun of the way Shampoo talk if Shampoo stop treating
Ranma like he no matter." 

Whatever direct message he was trying to send wasn't making it to Shampoo's
brain. All she heard was a boy making fun of her speech patterns. It was
all his fault! She would have been able to speak better if he hadn't been
frustrating her so. "Shut up, Ranma!"

"No, I ain't! I can't believe you were this stupid!" he reprimanded.

"What that supposed to mean?" She had suddenly lost the direction of the
conversation. 

"I mean you coming all the way to China," he explained. "You shouldn't have
done it. You were hurt!"

Shampoo began to wonder what he was talking about. If she hadn't come he
would have been left to Herb's tender mercies. "I had to rescue you."

"No, you didn't. I could have gotten out on my own." He began to calm down
a little. "And even if I couldn't have, you still shouldn't have come. You
could have been killed, either by Herb or the Amazons if they spotted you.
It was a stupid risk, and it wouldn't have been worth it." 

He never saw the slap coming. One second she was standing a good five feet
away from him, the next she had closed the distance and struck him hard
enough to turn his head. His hand went reflexively to his face as he felt
the sting of the slap settle in, staring at Shampoo with a look of
disbelief in his face. What he saw in hers was a surprise. She was
beginning to cry, and not from pain. At least not from the pain of the
wound.

"Never tell Shampoo, Ranma life is no worth saving!" And with that
declaration she ran off into the interior of the ship.

Ranma stood there, paralyzed. Part of him wanted to follow, to try to
figure out what upset her, but he was too confused by her behavior to trust
himself to not do something else wrong and make matters worse. Not that he
understood what went wrong in the first place. Better to take some time and
let things settle in. For a change.


Ryouga remained right where he was. Everyone else had left, and he knew
that if he allowed his feet to leave the spot they were currently at the
inevitable would happen and he'd get lost. If that happened he might not
ever make it back to Japan. So it was no small surprise to the returning
crewmembers, who fished the gangplank out of the water and hooked back up,
that they saw someone standing motionless in their path. Ryouga viewed Frog
and some other cohorts carrying five unconscious bodies onto the ship. They
had to pause at the head of the gangplank due to Ryouga blocking the path
onto the ship. 

"Would you mind moving? We're in kind of a rush. Generally guys that get
pressed into service raise a bit more of a fuss if they're within sight of
land," Frog explained.

"Sure, but could someone take me to my cabin? I got lost." Ryouga looked
hopefully at the crew. 

Someone did. A young girl, about Ryouga's age with black hair and wearing a
blue and black striped bandanna with a black shirt and blue pants stepped
forward. As she laid eyes upon Ryouga she smiled at him. "Nice bandanna."

Ryouga responded in kind. "Same with you, Miss ahh...?" 

"My name's Akiko Yoshida, but I'll kick your butt if you call me anything
other than Aki."

Ryouga smiled at that. He preferred being informal. Whenever he tried to
act like a gentleman there was always the fear he'd screw something up.
"Just call me Ryouga then." He held his hand forward, which Aki accepted.
It was a surprise to discover the girl possessed an incredibly strong grip
that almost rivaled Ryouga's own.

"I'll take you to your cabin." She looped her arm through his and guided
him into the ship. Once out of sight, the other crewmen stood around and
smiled. 

"Looks like Aki's in love again," Frog stated.

"Think it was a good idea to let her take him to his cabin though?" That
was said by a huge, black man who picked up Aki's unconscious burden. 

"Don't worry, Brunt," Frog explained. "It'll give them time to get
acquainted. Still, we'd better test him before she tries putting the moves
on him."

"Yeah!" Brunt agreed. "We don't want his back broken like the last one."


"Thanks for giving me a tour of the ship. It was very kind of you." The
tour Aki had given Ryouga was thorough. He was certain they hadn't missed a
single corner of the ship.

Aki just laughed as she placed her hand behind her head and chuckled
nervously. Something about that maneuver seemed awful familiar to Ryouga,
but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. 

"Yes. Well, here's your room." She indicated the door in front of her. 

Just as she finished the PA system of the ship blared out. The noise volume
was way too high. "Attention all hands. There is a meeting on the aft
portion of the deck. All hands report immediately."

Aki began to look a little nervous when another crewman, dressed in a white
business suit with a red rose in the breast pocket, walked by. Her arm
darted forward as she snared the man's arm. "Kawada. This is one of our
passengers Ryouga. Ryouga, this is our first mate, Kawada." 

The two men shook hands. "You hear the announcement?" Aki asked the
newcomer.

Kawada looked carefully between the two, then nodded his head in
understanding. "Sure did. Would you like some company?"

Aki relaxed noticeably. "Please."

Ryouga volunteered to come along. Hopefully the vessel would leave port
soon and he wouldn't have to worry about wandering off the ship, probably.
After that he could find the room on his own, eventually. 

As the trio made it to the deck they saw almost everyone else had already
gathered. Kawada walked over to the captain and took up his position next
to him. Ryouga spotted Ranma standing off to one side and walked over to
him. 

The captain grabbed a megaphone and began yelling at everyone. "I have an
announcement to make! There has already been an attempt to mutiny on this
vessel! I cannot tell you how sorely disappointed I am in the lot of you.
You guys usually wait until we've been out to sea at least two days before
you try anything like that. Is this what I have to expect from you this
trip?"

There was a general murmur from the crowd at the end of the little speech.
Kawada picked up on the what the voices were saying and translated to the
captain. "It appears they didn't plan the mutiny, sir. Who was it that
attempted it?"

"That man up there. I'm putting him on display as an example to all who
would seek to defy me." D'Amore pointed to the man he had incapacitated.
Mousse was unconscious  and wrapped up in his own chains, tied to the
crow's nest.

"He's one of the passengers, sir." Kawada explained in a tired voice. 

D'Amore scratched his head. "Can passengers mutiny?"

"It could only happen to you, sir," Kawada said dryly.

"Right! He stays up then." The captain turned back to the crew. "As for the
rest of you. Good news. We have passengers on this voyage that are paying
in advance."

"Does that mean we get paid this time sir?" Brunt shouted out.

"Yes it does," D'Amore answered. That brought a cheer from the crowd.

"Nice move sir," Kawada whispered. The captain had probably bought himself
two extra days before some of the crew would try to mutiny.

Satisfied, D'Amore returned his attention to the crew. "The rest of you,
SHOVE OFF!"

Kawada translated for them that the captain meant untie the ship, not leave
it. In a matter of minutes the crew cut the boat loose from the dock and
sailed out to sea.


Ranma walked around the deck with Ryouga, both keeping their tempers in
check as they watched themselves drift away from China and out to sea. 

Ranma tapped one of the passing crewmen on the shoulder. "When do we get to
eat?"

The crewman walked over to two fishing poles that were resting against the
wall and handed them to the boys. "Bait's in the box over there. Good
luck." He indicated a box next to the wall and walked off. 

"I should have known it would be something like this," Ryouga muttered.
Having nothing better to do, the two youths placed some bait on the hooks
and started fishing. 

"You've been quiet this whole trip," Ranma asked. "Something wrong?" 

Ryouga considered that for a moment. After thinking about it he began
speaking. "What do you think of me, Ranma? I mean what do you really
think?"

Ranma was a bit taken aback by the bluntness of the question. He paused a
moment to consider exactly what it was Ryouga was asking. "Well. You're
depressing. Violent. Couldn't find your way out of a paper bag. Thick as a
brick. Depressing. You reflexively blame everything that goes wrong with
your life on me. Very gullible. Did I say you're depressing?"

With each statement Ryouga seemed to draw deeper into himself. Ranma
actually noticed the effect he was having on Ryouga, for a change, and
reconsidered his words.

"You're also a heck of a fighter. Loyal, in a puppy dog sort of way. You do
seem to have some ethics, unlike some blind pandas I could mention.
Umm...you're strong." Ranma was running out of nice things to say. 

Ryouga gave a weak smile at Ranma. "I know what you're trying to do, and I
appreciate it. I really have some problems, don't I?"

"Well, yeah. You do." Ranma let out reluctantly. "But everyone I know does.
Except me of course," he quickly added.

Ryouga chortled at that. The sad thing was, Ranma probably believed it.
Still, his admissions made Ryouga's decision easier. 

"I've been thinking a lot since escaping Herb and the Musk," Ryouga
confessed. "I almost died, Ranma. If it wasn't for Shampoo, I think I would
have." He noticed Ranma seemed to react quietly to that statement, but said
nothing. 

"Anyway, death makes you think about things. Like what you're doing in your
life. I've made some decisions. It's time for me to try to do something
I've been afraid of." Ryouga let the statement hang there.

"And that would be?" Ranma was a bit impatient at the lag time Ryouga
seemed to have developed between speaking one statement and then the next.

"I'm going to confess my feelings to the girl I think I l...l...like. I
can't just wait around and hope something is going to happen. I have to
take the first step towards a relationship with her. And I'm going to do it
first thing when I get back."

Ranma thought he knew where this was leading to, and he wasn't sure he was
going to like it. Ryouga had an awful lot of problems to hang on Ukyou. He
wasn't sure if his friend deserved to have someone like Ryouga after her. 

"Are you sure she's interested in you? Maybe you should think about it some
more." Ranma tried to avert the potentially damaging situation. If for no
other reason than, if it fell through, he would get blamed for the failure.


"I'm pretty sure she is. Normally she's not too aggressive, but some of the
things she said made me think she wants to get serious."

Ukyou was coming onto Ryouga? That was a surprise, but everything about the
relationship between Ryouga and the chef was a bit of an enigma to Ranma.
"I'm not sure I can approve of it. I mean, and I'm really sorry for being
blunt here, but I think she deserves better than you."

Ryouga shook his fist at Ranma. "And what right do you have to get between
me and Kyoko?"

Ranma stood back in shock. Kyoko. The cheerleader Kyoko? (If it was
Godai-sensei's Kyoko that would be a whole other problem.) "You mean Kyoko?
'Rah, Rah, I know martial arts cheerleading' Kyoko? I thought you meant..."
Ranma let that trail off. No need for Ryouga to know what he had been
thinking. 

"Of course. I'm ready to go out on a d...date with her, if she is." 

That was a relief for Ranma. He put his hands on Ryouga's shoulders and
laughed. "You go for it. I gotta go. See you later." He walked towards the
bow of the ship, leaving Ryouga alone. 

Ryuoga watched Ranma leave. He knew who Ranma thought he was talking about,
Ukyou. He had thought about it. She was kind, sweet, cute, and all sorts of
other good things, but he decided against it. And the reason was simple. He
was a coward. He could admit it to himself. Oh, he tried rationalizing it
with all sorts of reasons, but the bottom line was, he was afraid. 

Ukyou was the first real friend he'd ever had. Ranma couldn't understand
what that meant. He may not have had many friends, but he had some. Ryouga
had always been alone. Ranma had no idea what it was like to only have
one's shadow as a companion. It was a horrible, lonely existence. Even
traveling as they were, being hunted and all, didn't feel quite as bad as
walking alone with no one chasing him. No one caring about him. He wanted
someone to acknowledge his existence. Now he had a friend. There was
someone in his life that cared about him. It didn't matter to her that he
got lost, or had a stupid curse. She liked him just the way he was, and he
liked her just the way she was. As things were, they were both happy. 

But if he told her how he felt, that would be different. What if it didn't
work out? What if she didn't feel the same way about him? If that happened,
not only would he lose someone he loved, but he'd lose the only friend he
ever had. That was why he couldn't say anything. He knew he had a lot of
problems, and the truth was he didn't know if he could work them out. Ukyou
deserved better. So he'd make a play for Kyoko. She seemed to like him, and
he kind of liked her. He couldn't take the chance of changing his
relationship with Ukyou. He could be happy with things they way they were
now.

Ryouga didn't feel like thinking anymore. So he settled down and watched
the world sail by. 


Hours later, Ranma collected Ryouga and went down to the mess. Apparently
enough fish had been caught that everyone could eat. 

"Where are the others?" Ryouga asked. 

"Mousse is still tied up, and no, I'm not letting him down. As for Shampoo,
she's dining with Captain D'Jerkface." 

Ryouga noticed the touch of bitterness in Ranma's voice. "Are you going to
apologize to her?" 

"I ain't got nuthin' to apologize about! She's the one acting like a snob.
If she doesn't want to talk to me, fine! I ain't got nothing to say to her
anyway!" Ranma crossed his arms. "It ain't my fault," he muttered.

Ranma stuffed his face and departed, leaving Ryouga alone. It wasn't long
before Frog, Brunt, and Kawada entered and made their way over to Ryouga. 

"Get up, Ryouga. We have to ask you something." Frog said. 

Ryouga stood up, curious. "What is it?"

Kawada tried explaining as best he could. "Well, you see, you have to pass
the test before you can do anything with her."

Ryouga was totally confused. "What test? With who?"

Brunt smiled. "If you pass the test, you'll get to find out. Remember, all
of this is for your own good." And with that Brunt let loose with his
massive fist and connected with Ryouga's stomach. The boy was sent flying
hard into one of the metal walls, then bounced off, leaving a dent behind. 

Ryouga quickly got to his feet, the look of payback in his eye. "I don't
know what that was for, but you've had it."

As he approached the big man the others got in front of him, trying to ward
him off. Kawada spoke first. "You got it wrong. You just passed the test."

"WHAT TEST?!!!" Ryouga had enough of the mystery. 

"Well, you see," Frog cleared his throat. "Aki's a lot stronger than she
looks."

"And," Brunt continued, "when she gets excited, she doesn't know her own
strength."

"She dislocated several vertebrae on the last guy she hugged." Frog picked
up where Brunt left off. "So we had to make sure you can take the
punishment."

"You passed with flying colors by the way," Kawada stated.

"What does any of this have to do with Aki?" Confusion was a state Ryouga
was somewhat used to, and this was one of those occasions. 

The three smiled at each other, then spoke simultaneously. "You'll see."
And with that they left the mess, doing nothing to alleviate Ryouga's
confusion.

"What the heck was that all about?"

"Hi there, Ryouga." Aki had made her way behind him and whispered in his
ear. 

"Oh, hi." For some odd reason he felt heat rise to his cheeks. Maybe she
understood what was going on. "Do you know why Brunt would hit me? He said
something about a test."

Ryouga couldn't help but notice the facial twitch Aki suddenly developed.
"I'll kill them. The Idiot Trio are interfering in my life again," she
whispered under her breath as she balled her fists, then switched her
attention back to Ryouga. "I'm sorry, but I have to teach them a lesson.
I'll see you tomorrow or something." 

As she turned to go, she gave Ryouga one last look. "By the way, did you
pass the test?"

"Umm, I think so." 

Aki gave a squeal of delight and bounced off, leaving Ryouga even more
confused than before. 


Ranma had stopped in front of Shampoo's cabin and read the note again:

I NOT WANT TO BE DISTURBED. THAT MEANS YOU ESPECIALLY, RANMA.

The death's head below his name was a nice touch. He was getting singled
out again, and for no damn reason. Why was she behaving this way? She came
all the way to China just to give him a cold shoulder? That made no sense.
None whatsoever. It was time for some answers, but every time he tried she
just cut him off or ran away. Well, she was trapped in her room now and
wouldn't be able to run. This time she wasn't going to cut him off either.
It was time for a showdown. Just as he raised his hand to hammer on the
door he paused. 

That was the problem with the whole situation. He was confronting it as a
conflict, and she was reacting accordingly. If he switched tactics and
tried to be nice, maybe she would respond in kind. If it wasn't so
embarrassing, he would have given himself a pat on the back for such
wonderful insight. At any rate, it was worth a shot.

He gently rapped on the door. After receiving no answer, he tried again.
Still no response. An internal conflict developed of whether or not he
should try the handle, or leave her alone as she suggested. There needed to
be a peace made between them, for his sake if not hers. The doorknob turned
under his grasp as he peeked in. 

The room was dark, moonlight coming in only through a single porthole. He
allowed his eyes to adjust to the gloom and saw Shampoo, lying in her bed
under the covers so that only her face was visible, fast asleep. He quietly
entered the room and shut the door behind him so as not to disturb her. Why
was he doing that? If she woke up to find him in the room she would scream
at him then throw him out. And the sad thing was, she would actually be
justified. Staying served no useful purpose. He allowed himself one last
glance at her form as he turned to go. 

Then his eyes opened a little in shock. It could have been the way the
moonlight seemed to move across her face as she lay in her bed. Or perhaps
it was the way her face appeared when she was at rest, relaxed and with
several errant purple strands lying across her nose. Whatever it was, it
made Ranma notice one thing about the girl before him. Something he should
have realized a long time ago. 

"She's beautiful." 

It was nothing more than the faintest of whispers. Only someone next to him
would have been able to make out the statement. Strength left his legs as
he sat down on the floor and stared at her. Why hadn't he realized it
before? He had known her for months. Had spent more time with her than
anyone else. Of all the people that should have realized it, he was the
first, but he hadn't. Why?

Memories of when they first met came back to his mind. He had been cursed.
There had been nothing but shock. Then denial. The curse consumed all his
thoughts. There was no room for anything else. Then recollections of the
purple haired girl that had been knocked into the water at the same time as
he. The one whose eyes he met for the briefest of instants as he fell
headlong into the cursed spring. Ranma-chan turned to see the purple haired
one was no longer a girl, but a boy whose appearance was so like that of
the girl that the two could have been siblings. He jumped down from the
pole he was on and landed, still in shock after the first cry of surprise.
The panda had come over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, as though
to comfort him. The boy turned on it in rage and punched the panda hard,
sending him to a far off place. Then he reexamined himself more thoroughly,
as though making certain everything he believed was true. 

Then he screamed. That horrible scream cut through the redhead's own panic.
She watched as the boy went to his knees and started pounding the earth
over and over again, screaming something in Chinese. It took only moments
before the boy had beaten his hands bloody from the force of the blows.
Ranma-chan asked the guide what it was he was saying. The guide explained
that the boy was shouting out he could never go home. That it was all over.
There was nothing left. He was going to die. 

Something inside Ranma-chan reached out to him. She walked over to the boy
and placed her hand on the boy's fist as he drew it back. The boy stood up
and spun in fury at the interruption, the rage still evident upon his face.
Instead of panicking, Ranma-chan stood her ground and looked calmly at the
youth. The rage in that face ebbed ever so slightly, leaving the boy
standing there, breathing heavily. The words just seemed to flow from
Ranma-chan's mouth. 

"You can come with us."

Despite not understanding the words, the boy calmed down, as though
understanding their intent, if not the meaning. He turned to the guide and
ran off a different phrase in Chinese. The guide answered the boy, who, in
turn, stared in confusion at the redhead. Then asked her something in
Chinese. Ranma-chan looked to the guide for the translation. 

"He say, 'why'?"

Ranma-chan looked up at the boy's face and answered. "Why not?"

It took but a moment for the guide to translate. The dark haired boy stared
curiously at Ranma-chan. The look lasted for almost a minute before his
shoulders slumped in defeat. He gave Ranma-chan a little smile, then said
something to her. The guide translated once more.

"He say, 'Why not indeed'. I think that mean he accept."

This time the boy answered himself. "Yes."

The guide explained the situation with the curse to Ranma-chan as all three
left Jusenkyou and went on the road. It was difficult, but Shampoo was able
to speak very basic Japanese. It was good enough to communicate. As time
passed the two dealt with their curses, each helping the other when things
seemed miserable and hopeless. The first week was the worst. One didn't
realize how much cold water one came into contact with everyday. Water was
the enemy, and both learned to avoid it whenever they could. And then there
was the shapeshifting. It was a new, and very unpleasant experience. There
was nothing it could be compared to. But whenever it seemed hopeless and he
thought he couldn't take it any more, Ranma could go to Shampoo. He knew
she understood exactly what the curse meant, and in that knowledge some
measure of peace was attained as the two comforted one another. Having
someone to share the burden with made adjusting easier. Oh, so much easier.


Now he thought he understood why he never realized she was so beautiful. He
was too caught up in the events that had happened at first to see anything
other than the curse. Once things settled down she had already been there
for so long she was part of the scenery. He had looked upon her as a friend
as well as a crutch, not an object of desire. He never looked at her that
way because he already understood what she was to him.

Until now. 

Then the guilt settled in. He was a friend to her as well, now all of a
sudden he was having...urges of a different kind towards her. He was
certain she didn't see him that way. Besides, it was just wrong. She was a
friend, nothing else. Perhaps he had spent too much time around Happosai,
and was starting to see all women as objects instead of people. That was a
scary thought. 

It was in both their best interests that he leave, before she woke up and
beat the snot out of him for coming into her room when she was asleep. Just
as he heaved himself to his feet, he saw something glisten on her face.
Daring to take a few steps closer, he managed to see what it was by the
moonlight. A tear. His heart fell as he thought of her crying in her sleep.
He couldn't stand to see women cry, even if he wasn't the cause. Then he
heard her mumble something under her breath. He dared to lean closer, and
caught what it was the second time she whispered it aloud.

"Ranma."

His heart sank yet again. She was dreaming of him, and it wasn't a pleasant
dream either. It probably had to do with the argument they had on the ship
earlier in the day. Something was going to have to be done and he was the
one that would do it. His acting like an ass was causing her grief, and she
had had more than a lifetime's worth already. It was a risky choice, and if
he was wrong she would probably never forgive him, but he had to take the
chance. She was too exhausted to be awakened. Shampoo had been on the move
longer than him. She may have tried to hide it, but he could tell. He knew
he couldn't leave her as she was, and it wasn't like anyone else would
know. So he laid down next to her, making certain he was on top of the
sheets so there was no doubt of what his intentions were, and gently
cradled her head into his chest while he whispered softly in her ear,
almost like a parent reassuring a child.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Please forgive
me."

Almost immediately her soft voice quieted and she shifted closer to Ranma.
He laid motionless, watching over her, making certain she had the measure
of peace he was able to give her.


It was the standoff. Shampoo was in the baths again, knife poised at Mint's
throat while Herb stood across from her, Ranma-chan in that neck breaking
embrace. 

""

"" Herb stared at her, then smiled. He
raised his head slightly up as she heard the sharp intake of his breath. He
was going to nod his head and say something.

"" It was over in an instant. He quickly jerked Ranma-chan's neck to
the right as the body remained where it was. The snapping sound that the
vertebrae made as the red head's eyes bulged left no doubt as to what
happened.

"RANMAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


Shampoo felt herself being restrained as she moved to save Ranma-chan.
There was also something binding her arms as she fought her way free of the
fabric and clawed her way through. It took a moment for her to realize that
there was no bath any longer. And, more importantly, she had made it to
Ranma. She grasped the side of his head and was delighted to hear him gasp
in pain. 

"You alive! Ranma, you alive!" she shouted through tears.

"Not for much longer if you keep trying to squeeze my head like an orange."
He had sat up and struggled, trying to extricate himself from her grasp.

Her hands were removed from his head as she slid down to clutch him around
the waist. Slowly, reality started to filter back in as she remembered
exactly where she was, and who she was with. Her head buried itself into
his chest as she kept moaning about him being alive.

"Yeah! I'm fine, you saved me," Ranma finally managed to get out. He mused
that it must have been some nightmare for her to react that violently to
it. It took several moments, but eventually she calmed down and relaxed in
his embrace. The apology was going to have to be done now, before something
else came up and she got angry with him for being here. 

Shampoo was enjoying his embrace, unconcerned by why he was here. All that
mattered was that he was with her. That was when she received another
surprise. 

Several moments passed before Ranma spoke again. "I think I know why you're
so mad at me, and I don't blame you." He couldn't believe he had forgotten
the obvious, again.

Shampoo raised her head from his chest and stared at him in confusion.
"What you mean?"

"I didn't show up."

"You not show up for what?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she
understood what he meant.

"Meeting you the other day. Well, other week now. I kinda got sidetracked
by other stuff and it slipped my mind. I know you probably hate me for
doing that to you. I mean, you seemed so excited about it and I didn't show
up, so whatever you wanted to do must have gotten ruined." He felt awkward
doing that. He wasn't any good at apologizing.

"Y'know, it was the last thing that went through my mind before Herb hit me
with that Breath chi thing back in Japan. I thought I was never gonna get a
chance to apologize to you. I felt-" He stopped there. There was no
confidence in him of remembering exactly what his emotions were at the
time. They were strong, that much he could remember. Beyond that his
memories were too jumbled. 

Shampoo looked down into his chest again, specifically to avoid him
catching sight of her eyes. She was doing everything she could do to keep
her emotions in check, but she felt like allowing a deluge of tears of joy
to let loose. She was the last thing on his mind. Not Akane. She was. He
did care about her. 

"Thank you," she whispered.

The two of them remained where they were, neither moving, happy with the
situation. She had accepted his apology. Everything was all right. 

Then Ranma noticed something. Specifically, something about Shampoo. In all
the time he held her he had been concentrating on her face and eyes,
gauging her reaction to what he was saying. Seeing if he could predict what
her response was before she verbally said it, not to mention concentrating
hard to come up with the right thing to say, which was why he hadn't paid
attention to the rest of her. He felt something poking him in his lower
abdomen, but both of Shampoo's hands were around his back. He looked down a
little ways only to come to a very surprising conclusion. She wasn't
wearing anything underneath the covers. He was being held by one very naked
girl, and from where the faint poking was coming from, it could only mean
one of two things. Either Shampoo was very cold or very excited.

Ranma's reaction was instantaneous. He released her from his own comforting
embrace and tore himself out of hers, keeping his back to her as he sat on
the edge of the bed. He made certain he was as far away from the girl as
possible while he covered his eyes. "Y...You don't have any clothes on!"

Shampoo went from staring at his back in confusion to staring at herself.
So what? She was nude. What difference did that make? Then it dawned on
her. Ranma was easily embarrassed and hadn't even realized she was in a
state of undress. So observant about some things, yet so blind about
others. 

"It not like I had time to pack nightclothes before coming to rescue you." 

"I never thought of that. Could you put something on?" Part of his mind let
him know he was going to have the same problem that she did.

She shifted closer to him and whispered softly in his ear. "I no mind."

He thought if she knew what was going through his mind she sure would. It
was saying a lot that she trusted him enough to let him see her that way,
but she couldn't have had any idea that he was having an
improper...reaction to her. He finally spoke out loud. "I mind." 

If Ranma had still been watching her he would have seen a look of
frustration cross Shampoo's face as she silently began to wonder. Didn't he
understand that she was offering herself to him? Almost any male would have
jumped at the opportunity to be with her. She knew she was beautiful. As
hard as Mousse had tried to drive any men away from her, many still braved
him to try to be with her. And when she walked through Nerima as a girl,
lots of them hit on her as well. D'Amore practically drooled every time she
came into his vision. Ranma didn't have to worry about anyone finding out.
Akane and the others were in Japan, Ryouga was probably lost in the hold,
and Mousse was still tied up. They had the ship practically to themselves.

The look of frustration left her and was replaced by a small smile. There
was something about Ranma's behavior that was reassuring. He treated her as
a human being, not a sex object like the good captain and so many others
had. As many flaws as Ranma had, he tended to treat people based on what
they were, not what they looked like. That was a reason to rejoice. In
school she had heard many of the girls complain about boys just using them
for that sort of thing then ignoring them afterwards. Ranma would never be
like that. So if he ever accepted her advances, there wouldn't be any
concern if he was being sincere or not. 

And she couldn't stay angry with him. He was safe, and he was with her now.
That was more than she dared hope for at the start of the journey. So if
Ranma wanted to take his time, that was acceptable. The last thing in the
world she wanted to do was scare him off. 

"Maybe I better go." Ranma started to get up.

Ranma was going to leave her. Shampoo's mind quickly tried to come up with
something that would keep him with her. He didn't have to do anything with,
or to, her, just so long as he remained. An idea finally came just as he
was halfway to the door. 

"Ranma. I need you to change my bandage." 

Reflexively, he almost turned to look at the wound, then stopped before his
eyes fell upon her. "But you still don't have any clothes."

She gave an inward sigh. He was such a prude. It was business, not
pleasure, to change her wrap. "Shampoo could always let Mousse do it."

That got the reaction she wanted. He stiffened up in indignity at the
inference, that Mousse doing it was preferable to him changing it. That,
combined with the fact that Mousse was probably the only person in the
world Ranma truly hated, and that was mostly because of the Nyanniichuan
incident, would convince him to do it. In a weird way that made her feel
good, that Ranma cared so much about her that he would hate someone that
hurt her, emotionally if not physically. 

Shampoo was incorrect, even that wasn't enough to relax him. "But you still
don't got any clothes."

Now she was getting the urge to hit him. Enough was enough. "I can always
turn you into girl-type. Then you no have to be embarrassed about seeing
naked girl's body." It better not be HER body Ranma was embarrassed about.

"NO!" After being locked in his female form, turning into a girl was the
last thing he wanted. "I'll do it. Just cover yourself up." 

After a few moments Shampoo spoke up. "I decent."

Ranma turned and was left wondering what Shampoo's definition of indecent
was. She was laying on her stomach, still unclothed and with her upper back
upraised slightly because she was propped up on her elbows. The arms were
positioned enough so that he couldn't actually see anything important, but
in many ways the hint was almost as bad as seeing the actual thing. His
eyes almost involuntarily tried to look around the hidden portions. The
covers were gathered around the bottom of her waist, again just scarcely
covering her lower features. If they had moved even an inch she would go
from barely acceptable to scandalous. Given his current state of mind, her
positioning was not conductive to relaxing him. Still, he had agreed to
help her, and she was mostly covered up. 

He sat back down and started to examine her. Curiously, Shampoo just looked
forward and stared at her headboard while Ranma sat next to her. His eyes
involuntarily gazed up and down her back. The muscles of her back
accentuated her spine, and he suppressed the urge to run his finger along
the length of it. He had no idea why he was suddenly afflicted with such a
desire, it was an alien feeling to him. Part of him did wonder how she
would react to the action.

Shampoo sensed, rather than felt, his hand hover over her back and make its
way down to the base of her spine. She felt her heart step up in tempo. Was
Ranma going to make a move? His hand was hovering over her rear end. All it
would take was the slightest of movements for him to slip his fingers under
those oh, so carefully placed sheets. The thought trailed off as she felt
his hand fall on those sheets and...

Raise them so that they covered more of her up. Oh well. She would just
have to move more slowly with him. 

Ranma was surprised at the amount of effort it took to raise those sheets,
but once they were raised he felt much more relaxed. Further thoughts along
those lines were eradicated as he undid the bandage and saw her wound for
the first time. 

"Oh my..." he hissed, then took a much more angry tone. "Are you crazy?!
Why didn't you tell me about this?! I would have helped you! I can't
believe you were so stupid and didn't tell me..." he trailed off as he saw
she had turned around to look at him, doing the worst thing imaginable. She
had begun to cry.

"Ranma, please no shout. I just want to help you. I no mean to get hurt. I
no want you to yell at me." She hated him for doing this to her. Kind and
nice one minute, yelling at her that she was being stupid the next. She had
no idea what was going through his mind and it was tearing her up. If only
he would make up his mind on how he felt.

His emotions changed once again as he started apologizing. In truth, he was
just as confused by the quick changes she was causing in him. "I won't
shout. Just stop crying. Let me change that bandage." 

She calmed down as he undid the old bandage and replaced it with new. Once
he made certain it was a good wrap, he got up to leave. 

"You no have to go. Please stay." Shampoo desperately wanted him to remain
by her side. Once they got back to Japan things would go back to the way
they were. This would be her only time to have him to herself.

"No." He shook his head sadly. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow. Good
night." He went out the door and shut it softly behind him, leaving her
alone in the dark. 

She listened quietly as his hollow footsteps drifted off in the distance.
She had silently hoped he would remain outside the door in hesitation, as
though reluctant to leave, but he hadn't. His steps had been steady and
sure as soon as he closed the door and left. No sleep was going to be had
tonight. She had far too much to think about. Too many things to consider,
thanks to Ranma's actions. Where did she stand in his eyes?


Ranma left Shampoo's cabin at a nice steady pace. He doubted he was going
to get any sleep tonight. Something had just changed in his relationship
with Shampoo, and he had to think about what that change was. He silently
wondered where he stood in her eyes.


Mousse was finally able to let himself loose from his imprisonment.
Imagine, treating him like some huge scarecrow for the crew. It was a
surprise that Captain D'Amore could handle himself in a fight so well,
though it had been pure luck that the captain had disabled him so easily.
Tying him to the pole was a mistake. There was going to be a second
encounter, and Mousse would not underestimate his opponent again.

D'Amore was secondary to the matter at hand. The best way to keep the
captain away from Shampoo was to be with her. Now was his big chance. She
had abandoned Ranma and there were no other suitors for her hand. Mousse
was so proud of Shampoo. She had fought free of Saotome's influence and she
could now choose him as her husband. No doubt the time they had together
since escaping the fortress had a great deal to do with the reason she
broke up with Ranma. Mousse was the only one who could love her the way she
needed love. The curse was irrelevant to him. She was still Shampoo, the
woman he had loved all his life. The only one for him. In a way, their
passage in this boat would be like a honeymoon cruise.

His first stop was Ranma's cabin. He knew from personal experience that
Ranma was stubborn as hell. Simply because Shampoo had given him the
hidey-ho didn't mean Saotome would take it lying down. If anything, the
bastard would probably try harder to win back her affections. Well, he
would if it wasn't for Mousse. This time Ranma was going to receive a
warning he couldn't ignore. And if he tried to, then Mousse would see to it
there wouldn't be enough left to interest Shampoo in any case.

Mousse arrived at Ranma's door and knocked. Receiving no response he tried
again, making sure to shout. Again no response. Since Mousse had no
intention of allowing Ranma to cower from him in fear, he kicked open the
door. There was a surprise inside the room. Not only was there no Ranma,
but his bed hadn't been slept in. 

Mousse checked his watch. Three A.M. There was no way Ranma could have not
been in bed by now. He should have been as tired as the others. And if he
hadn't slept in this bed, then he must have slept in...

"SAOTOME! YOU ENEMY OF WOMEN! PREPARE TO DIE!!!"


Mousse had calmed himself down by the time he arrived at Shampoo's room. He
was being paranoid. Shampoo hated Ranma now. It was Mousse's turn to
romance her. Besides, if he went in shouting and kicking the door down, and
Ranma wasn't present, he would look like a fool. So he crept up to the door
to see if he could hear anything. What he heard froze him in his tracks. It
was Shampoo begging Ranma to stay. Ranma had spent the night with Shampoo. 

Ranma had spent the night with HIS Shampoo!

Saotome was dead!

Mousse's mind went into overdrive. He couldn't kill Ranma, not right away.
Somehow Saotome had slimed his way into Shampoo's heart once again, filling
it with false promises of love no doubt. However, if he killed Ranma on the
ship everything would point to him as the culprit. After the threats
Shampoo had made against him, the one man in the world who had sacrificed
everything for her and would continue to do so, she had made it abundantly
clear what would happen if he were to kill Ranma. He would follow in
Ranma's wake. So it would have to look like an accident. As annoying as it
was, he would have to simply bide his time and wait for the right moment.
There were a few tricks he had picked up from Kodachi that would help in
situations like that. He would have to thank her when he got back to Japan.

All that went through his mind in an instant as he heard Ranma approach the
door. He quickly ducked into an empty room and shut the door behind. Once
he was certain Ranma was gone, he entered the hallway again and stood in
front of Shampoo's door.

"Don't worry, Shampoo. Leave everything to me. We'll be together soon."


The next day was uneventful for all involved. Ranma saw Shampoo for a
portion of the early morning, then they mutually departed. Each said they
felt tired from the journey and needed more rest, but the truth was neither
had gotten a bit of sleep after they parted company the night before. Ranma
did have enough time to think about the events of the previous night. He
had managed to come to one conclusion. There was nothing wrong with
thinking one's female friends were attractive. For instance, Ukyou was
cute. He even told her that to her face, which got him an embarrassed
spatula blow to the head. Minami had her own sort of physical charm. It was
her self righteousness which was annoying. Kasumi was appealing, in a
motherly sort of way. Akane was, well she was Akane, which sort of fell
into its own category. So there was nothing to worry about if he thought
Shampoo was beautiful.

So it wasn't until the middle of the evening that Ranma stopped by
Shampoo's cabin for dinner. When he opened the door he was more than a
little surprised. Shampoo stood there wearing a long blue and peach dress
that hugged her in all the right places. Once again he was taken aback by
her beauty.

"Where'd you get the dress?" If she didn't have time to pack nightclothes
she would not have taken the time to get a dress.

"It from D'Amore. He give it to me for dinner tonight. He say it used to
belong to his aunt." She spun around for Ranma, displaying it for him.

Ranma was less than enthusiastic about the gift. "His 'aunt' sure looked
good."

Shampoo gave a little jump for joy at that. "Aiya! Thank you very much!"

It took him a moment to realize why she was happy. She thought he was
complimenting her instead of insinuating the captain's 'aunt' was nothing
of the kind. Still, it was what he would consider a good misunderstanding.
Something that never happened to him. All misunderstandings always went
against him. His happiness at that soon switched to disappointment. He had
wanted to ask her to spend some time together, but if she had plans with
the 'dashing captain' there wasn't much chance of that. As he turned to
leave she spoke up. 

"What you want?"

He considered lying about it, but changed his mind. Why should he lie? He
told her what he had come in for and finished up with, "...but since you
got plans. I guess you aren't going to want t-" 

"I love to spend time with you, Ranma." 

He looked at her more closely. Judging by the smile she gave, she was
accepting out of desire, not pity. It appeared she had taste after all. 

The two of them leaped to the top of one of the roofs on the ship. The flat
surface was similar to that of the roof of the dojo and gave them the
privacy they desired, despite the chill in the air. The first half hour or
so was spent talking about nothing. Just idle conversation. The duo lost
interest in the discussion, and laid back so they could watch the stars in
the night sky. The added effect of the boat's motion made it appear the
stars were swaying to some unseen melody. Both could feel a sort of
peacefulness at that moment, the first either had had in weeks.

"Ranma."

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Do you hate me?"

That left him a more than a little surprised. "What are you talking about?"

He heard her voice tense up a little. "You yell at me and call me stupid
for saving you life. The first time you do it was when we still at dock
before we set sail. Then you do it last night. So I ask you again. Do you
hate me?"

"Of course not." He seriously did not want to go down this line of
conversation. 

"Then why you do what you do?"

He tried coming up with an answer, but all that came out was, "I, unhhh,
I..."

That was all the evidence Shampoo needed. "You do hate me!"

"NO! It ain't like that!" This was terrible. She was going to force it out
of him and he was going to screw the explanation up. He always did when he
was with Akane. Why should this time be any different? "It's like this. I
don't want to see you hurt. I like you a lot." 

"I no want to see you get hurt either," Shampoo agreed.

"But it ain't right for you to risk your life because of me. And when you
had to come to China to help me you got hurt." 

Shampoo shook her head sadly. "Ranma, if I get hurt it because of who's
trying to hurt you, not because of you."

"To me it's the same thing." 

Her sorrow for Ranma's view of the world began to get to her. "If you
really think that, then you the stupid one." She paused to try to explain
what she meant before he misunderstood what she was trying to say. "You
can't protect everyone around you Ranma. We all take risks for people
we...like. If you feel guilty about everything that happen to everyone then
you is never going to be happy."

"I can be happy. It's just," he paused, trying to come up with the right
words. "When I was travelin' with Pop, there wasn't anyone around to care
about. I was responsible for myself and no one else. No one could get hurt
'cause of stuff I did. But now I got people willing to help me if I need
it. It's all kinda' overwhelming. But because of that I don't want to see
anyone get hurt for my sake. I don't think I can handle it. Does that make
any sense?"

"Yes. It means you a nice person that cares more about others than
yourself," she answered softly. "And that why I help you. If you get into
trouble I always going to help you. No matter what."

He rose up angrily at that. "That's exactly what I mean about being stupid!
You just gotta say stuff like that, don't you? Do you know how bad that
makes me feel? That you might get hurt doin' something stupid like this
again?!"

"Would you help me if I get into trouble?" she asked.

"Of course!" Part of his mind alerted him to the fact he was about to lose
the argument.

"Then I going to do the same for you. That's the way it work, Ranma. You
can no change my mind no matter what. You is not the only one who
stubborn." She hoped he was listening. "Do you remember when you promise to
keep people from hurting me?"

"Yeah. So what?" He vaguely remembered saying words to that effect
somewhere before. And he had tried to protect her whenever he could. Not
that she ever wanted help. 

She sighed in response. "You no understand me yet, Ranma."

"You got that right," he thought to himself.

"You make that promise and expect nothing in return. It not like Mousse,
who make that promise to impress me and hope I let him become my husband,"
she continued. "Once I understand what you mean, then I make the same
promise to you. I not go-"

He cut her off. "Don't say stuff like that! I don't want to feel-" 

It was her turn to cut him off. "You no want to feel responsible for me.
Shampoo got news for you, Ranma. You is no responsible for me. Shampoo is
responsible for Shampoo. I do what I want, when I want. You can no stop
me!" 

Her tone became somewhat icy as she continued. "And if you try, you is
going to have a bad day. You think because I a girl I can no defend myself.
Don't try to deny it. You is a male chauvinist pig. That why you won't even
hit girls. But I not a soft Japanese girl, Ranma. I an Amazon. One of these
days we going to have real fight, not a spar. Then I show you what I can
do. You is going to end up with a rude awakening."

"And there ain't nothing I can say that's going to change your mind?" He
already knew the answer.

"No. You can no always get what you want, Ranma. You is not going to get
this. Now, you can deal with it, or you can be a jerk and try resisting.
But you going to lose in the end. I never going to rest until you treat me
like an equal!"

"Fine."

"Maybe you no listen to what I say. I..." What he said began to process in
her mind. "Did you just say, 'fine'?"

"Yep."

"You no try to fight it anymore?" That was a surprise. Maybe some kind of
trick to catch her off guard.

"Nope."

It was Shampoo's turn to be speechless. Ranma had just given up. Ranma
never gave up. A paradox.

While she sat there with her jaw open and tried to figure out how she had
just won the argument, Ranma moved over and tapped her on the nose. 

"Gotcha!"

He did the absolute worst thing that was possible next. He remained
motionless as he smirked. While he did that, the sound of metal being torn
asunder broke the peacefulness of the night. Even as the screech of tearing
metal ended, Ranma continued to sit still. A moment later, Shampoo played
the cymbals with the metal panels that she had ripped up in her grasp. The
sound produced was not very harmonic, as Ranma's head was between the two
pieces of metal that she had brought together. 

Shampoo followed up her attack by moving behind the boy and grappling with
him, locking her legs around his stomach while wrapping her arms around his
neck. "I not being like Akane, Ranma. I do this to anyone who do what you
did to me. You say you treat me as equal. Say it! SAY IT!!!"

Ranma decided to give in. Shampoo's strength was greater than he thought,
and she was emphasizing her point quiet well. "All right. You win."

She relaxed her grip. Slightly. "You mean that?"

"Yes. I mean it. I meant it before too, but tapping you was too good an
opportunity to let pass by," he choked out.

"That better." She released him altogether. "Ummm, is you okay?"

He shook his head once. "Yeah. The ringing in my ears is stopping." Ranma
backed a good distance away, in case she got the urge to try to choke him
out again.

"I sorry. Sometimes you is very irritating. I promise not to hit you." She
then made an addendum in her thoughts. "Too much."

"Well, okay." Ranma became more serious. "There's one thing you gotta do
though."

"Yes?"

"You gotta promise me you won't do anything stupid if I get into trouble."

He really was going to be a stickler on that. Of course, to Shampoo, there
wasn't anything that could be regarded as 'stupid' when it came to helping
him out. The concept of 'stupid' was pretty open to interpretation as well.
Still, there was no reason why she should explain that to him. "Okay."

"You didn't fight that very much." He began to suspect she was holding
something back.

"Is a reasonable request." One she wasn't going to try to make him give. He
was the kind that would do anything to help out those in trouble. It was
simply too difficult for him to accept that there were other people who
would do the same thing for him.

"Right." He was only half convinced she was telling the truth, but without
anything else to go on he couldn't accuse her of anything.

The two remained silent for a while, just looking at one another. 

"How long do you think it'll take to get back home?" Ranma asked.

"D'Amore say two more days. Is you eager to go back?"

Ranma shrugged. "Sort of. I want to let everyone know we're all right. And
I want to see Ak...er all the Tendos again."

Shampoo caught the slip of the tongue. It did nothing to brighten her mood.


"By the way," Ranma began. "How'd you pay for our passage on the ship?"

Shampoo gave him a nonchalant look, despite her mood. "Shampoo agree to
give up body to the captain."

The reaction was instantaneous. "WHAT?!!! There ain't no way I'm gonna let
him lay one hand on you. I'll kil..."

Shampoo erupted into laughter. "I just kidding, Ranma."

He calmed down almost as quickly as he had gotten angry. "That's a relief."

"I tell him he can have you body."

Ranma began chuckling. "That's pretty funny."

The serious stare Shampoo responded with gave Ranma pause in his amusement.
"I not kidding. All you have to do to make him not want you is turn into
boy-type in front of his eyes. Just hope he is no like Ai, and is no picky
about who he likes."

"You're kidding, right?" 

Shampoo didn't answer.

"I said, You are kidding, RIGHT?!"

Shampoo's demeanor switched as she gained a mischievous look to her eyes.
"Is possibility." 

Ranma finally realized she was kidding (she'd better have been), and began
laughing alongside her. The laughter died down as he asked again. "So,
seriously, how did you pay for it?"

He wasn't going to let it go, as she hoped. "I gave up one of my hairpieces
in trade, but not Alain. Azusa was right. He really is prettier." She gave
a weak smile at the little joke.

Ranma was more than a little shocked. "But you love those things! You said
they're the last things you have to remember your family by."

She had to smile at the fact he had remembered their importance to her. It
wasn't certain he would recall something like that. "We have to get to
Japan quick."

"We could have walked back or something."

It really was unbelievable what he would come up with sometimes. "And have
Herb chase us every step of the way? The way we all are?" She gave him a
soft look. "Getting back home is more important to Shampoo than some silly
hairpiece." The last declaration hurt. They really were important to her,
but this was the only way to get Ranma to discontinue the line of thought
he was taking. 

Despite her insistence that they weren't important, Ranma could see the
look of discomfort in her eyes. "I'll get it back for you someday. I
promise."

Shampoo laid back and hid the smile from that promise. Who knew, he might
even keep it. 

"Things sure are a lot different from when we first arrived in Japan,
aren't they?" Ranma asked.

"What you mean?"

"The guys we've been fighting lately. I mean, when we first arrived it was
Kunou, crazed cheerleaders, and deranged directors we had to deal with. But
ever since that old ghoul of yours tricked Ukyou and Ryouga, things have
been getting worse. I mean Perfume, The Musk, it just keeps getting tougher
and tougher."

Shampoo agreed. "We get tougher too. You just have to deal with what gets
thrown you way."

"Well, if I gotta have someone to help me, I guess I'm glad it's you.
Thanks." 

Shampoo returned the smile. "I glad it's you helping me too."

Silence once again dominated, though this time the two stared at each other
instead of the ocean. Ranma noticed a change in the way Shampoo was staring
at him. Something in the eyes that suddenly made him very wary. 

"Ranma, do you think my dress is nice?" 

The way she ran her hand over the front of the dress as she asked did
nothing to ease the somewhat conflicting feelings he still had over last
night. In fact, he felt a return of them at almost double the force. The
provocative method she was using made him wonder if perhaps that was the
reaction she was hoping for. If so she was successful. He could feel the
heat rising to his face and hoped she wouldn't notice in the dark. "Yes."

She raised herself on her hands and knees and commenced slinking her way
over in almost a feline manner. The effect was especially similar in the
motion of her shoulders, the way they swayed back and forth as she made her
way closer to Ranma. That comparison brought an involuntary shudder. She
approached close enough that Ranma felt her breath upon his face.

Shampoo kept her eyes locked on him the entire distance. How far could she
go this time? They had seemed to patch things up and he was dealing with
her on more even terms. She now understood why he was so emotional the
night before. This night, she had come one step closer to understanding how
Ranma's mind worked. Maybe she could get closer to seeing how other parts
of him worked as well.

"Shampoo?" His voice was like a soft caress along her skin. 

"Yes, Ranma." She strove to sound as seductive as possible. Anything to
enhance the mood. 

"Is that an iceberg?" He pointed over her shoulder. 

One facefault later she made a mental note that another of Ranma's unique
talents was the ability to spoil any mood at any given time. Her gaze
reluctantly followed the path his finger indicated, and saw that there was
indeed an iceberg floating past the starboard side of the ship. It was a
good mile away, so there was no fear of TRPOS making like the Titanic. Not
that they could be so fortunate.

"Aren't icebergs only supposed to be in the southern region of the Pacific
Ocean?" he inquired.

"I think so." Geography was not one of Shampoo's strong points.

Ranma continued to appear confused. "So why are we going past one if we
aren't supposed to be going anywhere near where they're supposed to be?"

Shampoo had no answer.


On the bridge one of the crewmen pointed out the appearance of the iceberg
to D'Amore. He asked the same question that Ranma did. Unlike Ranma, he had
an idea of what was happening.

"Did someone let Aki near the navigation control?"

The sailor that had been manning the bridge earlier in the night said yes. 

"Why did you do that?" D'Amore asked.

The man looked somewhat confused. "She is the navigation officer, sir."

"So! You know she has no direction sense. She was missing on the ship for
three days, wandering around trying to find her cabin." The captain
continued his rant. "And that's not to mention the Cuban blockade we nearly
ran. Kami only knows how she got us in the Atlantic Ocean." He turned to
one of the other crewmen. "Find out what ocean we're in."


The next day:

Ryouga woke up to a splitting headache. Why he had it he couldn't begin to
guess. Perhaps someone strapped some C-4 to his skull and set it off. At
least that was what it felt like. From his prone position on his bed he
examined his surroundings. Underneath him was a bed. That was good. And it
was his cabin. He could tell by the pattern of mildew that decorated his
ceiling. It reminded him of Ukyou's pork okonomiyaki. 

Summoning every ounce of energy he had remaining, he forced himself to sit
up. as he became fully upright his hand fell upon something on his bed. A
leg. A further examination revealed it to be one of a pair of legs wearing
blue pants. The rest of the figure was shrouded by the blankets which
effectively covered everything above the waist. Time to find out who it
was. Ryouga grabbed the sheet and slowly lifted it up. He got as far as the
neck when he stopped. The figure was a girl. He knew this because the
figure had breasts. Very nice breasts, not that Ryouga was any sort of
judge about such things. He knew they were very nice breasts because the
girl was quite topless, not even wearing a bra. The lost one did what came
naturally. His hair stood on end and his nose began to bleed profusely. 

Even as he turned his back to the figure he realized something very
extraordinary was happening. He didn't feel like passing out. There wasn't
even the faintest hint of lightheadedness, just the horrible headache which
reasserted its presence as Ryouga attempted to think. Cognitive processes
began as he endeavored to figure out that question so many people ask
themselves the morning after a drinking binge. "Who's that sleeping in my
bed?" Ryouga's mind made up a list of possibilities. 

The facts known were:
Female
Wears blue pants
Has nice breasts (probably) 

As his mind came up with a list of potential candidates it stopped promptly
on the first one it came to. No way! Not her! It was a mistake! 

Ryouga slowly turned back to the still dozing figure. Revulsion overrode
embarrassment as he carefully examined the girl, breasts and all. His hands
slowly went back to the sheet as he made the strongest prayer of his life.

"By all the kami, if I am granted one wish and one wish only, please do not
let her have red hair!"

Lacking the courage to do it all at once, Ryouga closed his eyes and threw
back the covers. Slowly he opened his eyes and dared to glance down at the
head. The first thing his eyes settled upon was a blue and black striped
bandanna. With a sigh if relief, Ryouga fully took in the girl before him.
Aki. With that out of the way his nose began to bleed more freely.

A knock on the door preluded a new arrival. "Hey, Ryouga!" Ranma called
out.

The sound caused Aki to murmur. 

"Ranma! Don't come in-" Ryouga was cut off as the door opened.

Ranma took one look at the room and stopped, stunned. Ryouga was in bed
with a cute, topless girl. The girl sat up, smiled warmly, and waved at
Ranma, either unaware or unconcerned with her state of undress. 

"R...Ranma. It's not what you think." Ryouga's protests fell on deaf ears
as Aki grabbed him from behind and pressed her body against him in a most
friendly manner. 

Ranma recovered enough to smile at the lost one. "You're a pretty fast
mover. I was going to invite you for breakfast but..."

"He's going to have breakfast in bed," Aki said as she kissed Ryouga on the
back of the neck. "He'll have plenty to eat."

"Why Ryouga Hibiki, shame on you. I guess I'll be seeing you for lunch.
Maybe." Ryouga felt Aki release him and move away as Ranma departed with a
wave and a smile. 

Ryouga stared at the door for several moments, as though expecting Ranma
would stick his head back in. Once he was certain Saotome wasn't coming
back, he turned his attention to Aki. Much to his surprise the girl had
grabbed a bed sheet and was attempting to cover herself up. If he didn't
know any better, he would have sworn Aki was suddenly afraid of him.

"Y...Y...Your name is Hibiki?"

Ryouga scratched his head in confusion. "Yes, it is."

Aki appeared even more frightened. "Do you know a Jun Hibiki?"

It took a moment for Ryouga to place the name. "Yeah. That's the name of my
aunt."

"That's the name of my mother," Aki barely managed to get out.


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Every aquatic animal in a five mile radius swam away as fast as they could
from the horrible sound.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Mousse's glasses broke from the intensity of the scream.

"HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

D'Amore looked up from the papers he was reading. "Those two sure orgasm
pretty hard."

The mutual scream subsided as the duo looked at each other in horror,
identical looks of nausea on their faces. 

"What happened last night?" Ryouga managed to get out.

"I came to your room with some bottles of wine. We drank a bit. Then
started getting frisky." With an increase in disgust, Aki remembered
getting Ryouga really drunk to get him to loosen up, and the two of them
becoming very 'frisky' with one another afterwards.

"Anyway. You ended up on your back and I took off your shirt." She paused a
moment to look at the tattered remains of his garment in the floor. "Then I
took off mine." Hers was lying in one piece next to the remains. "I was-"
She stopped and did some selective editing. "Then you called me Kyoko. I
was willing to let it slide since you were really drunk, but then you got
happier and called me Uk-chan. So I got pissed off and hit you. It took a
moment to realize I hit you too hard and knocked you out, so I decided to
get some shut eye. Then we woke up."

"Then we didn't, unhhh..." was all Ryouga could get out.

"NO! Thank the kami! We didn't. I'd keel over dead if I did something like
that...cuz'." Aki was plenty disgusted with her conduct as it was. They had
been behaving in a manner far too friendly for cousins. It was just her
luck too. She finally found a guy that could physically withstand her
affections, and it turned out he was related. Even a girlfriend or wife
would have been better. Those could always be dumped, but there was no way
around blood.

Ryouga turned around as Aki got dressed. "You know. You're the first family
I've seen in probably four or five years."

"You can turn around now," Aki said as she finished dressing. "You got a
bad direction sense too, huh?"

"You can say that again. How's Aunt Jun doing?"

"Well I haven't seen her in three years, but..." and the two relaxed and
began to converse about anything other than the night's previous events,
swearing each other to secrecy about their family relationship.


"I've figured out where we are, sir," Kawada told D'Amore from their
position on the bridge. 

"Where's that?" The captain asked.

"Somewhere in the southern Pacific Ocean." 

Well that was a relief. Now all they had to do was sail north, and from
there somehow find a landmass with people that could direct them to Japan. 

"Island off the port side." One of the crewmen cried out. 

Everyone looked to see a massive island off in the distance.

"I'm inclined to say, 'something that size couldn't possibly not be on the
maps.' But I have no idea what map we're on," Kawada remarked. 

D'Amore ignored him and gave the order to get closer to the island to see
if anyone was there that knew where they were. As they got nearer they
could see it was a bizarre landform. Huge, sheer, gray rock cliffs
dominated it on every side, making it impossible to even look for, let
alone get to the interior of the island. D'Amore was about to give up hope
until he spotted an opening just large enough for the ship to enter. Once
inside they saw an unexpected sight. Inside was a huge verdant tropical
jungle, as far as the eye could see.

A loud, "RRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAWWWWWW" emanated from the jungle.

"What was that?" Kawada quickly asked.

"Just the wind. Nothing to worry about." D'Amore assured him. "Let's make
landfall."

It was only a promise made to his dying mother that prevented Kawada from
attempting a mutiny then and there. The captain was going to get him into
trouble. Again.


Ranma, Shampoo, Ryouga, and Aki looked at the jungle before them and
sighed. It wasn't Japan. Which meant it was going to take that much longer
to get home. 

"I got a real bad feeling about this," Ranma remarked.

The sentiment was shared among the other three. Trouble was in the air
again.


Two weeks later:

TRPOS finally arrived at its destination. Most people that saw it sail up
to its berth would have thought the ship had been through hell, not
realizing it always looked like that. The crew and passengers on the other
hand, appeared to be in as good a shape as the ship itself. Clearly visible
on the deck were the worn out looking Nerimans, Aki, and Brunt who watched
the dock and waited for the moment that the gangplank would be lowered. 

"Home at last," Ranma said. "Even the air smells better." 

"Things are going to seem almost peaceful after that little trip," Ryouga
remarked.

"That was a bit much, even for us," Aki said. "Not that the captain doesn't
get us into trouble all the time. What was that place called again?"

"Pangea," Shampoo answered, then turned her attention to the small
pterodactyl in the makeshift birdcage she held in her hand. "I think Kasumi
going to like her new pet."

"Yeah. It was nice of you to get that for her," Ranma said and tapped the
cage a bit, trying to get the tiny animal to react. He then shifted his
attention to another companion. "Hey, Mousse. Happy to be back?"

"Yes." Mousse tried to give a sincere smile as he noted the manner in which
Ranma said that. Looking into his eyes, Mousse was certain that Saotome at
least suspected he was behind the two murder attempts on his life. He
silently cursed his ill luck. The dinosaur stampede may have been a clumsy
undertaking, but tricking Ranma into the Veliciraptor hunting grounds was a
stroke of sheer genius. He still didn't know how Ranma survived the
attempt. As badly slashed as he was, it was pure luck Shampoo found him
before he bled to death. The only thing Mousse had going for him was that
there was no way to pin either of the two attempts on him. He covered his
tracks too well.

Ryouga was having his own conversation with Aki. "I'll never be able to
watch 'Jurassic Park' again and be impressed."

"Yeah." Aki mirrored the remark. "Being chased by a real T-Rex is a lot
more frightening than watching it at the movies."

"It was nice meeting you." Ryouga began to get a sorrowful look in his
eyes. "You're welcome to stay with me if you like. I'm sure Ukyou wouldn't
mind taking on another waitress."

Aki shook her head. "No. My life is on this ship. I like the sea too much.
Besides, it's harder to get really lost on a ship than it is on dry land. I
don't suppose you've ever wanted a life at sea?" He shook his head, making
Aki feel a little depressed as well. "It was nice meeting you Ryouga." She
held out her hand for a shake.

Ryouga accepted it and returned the sentiment.

"Aw, c'mon! Aren't you two going to kiss goodbye?" Brunt finally asked. 

Brunt received two savage uppercuts which sent him very far away.

Mousse separated from the others, allowing Ranma and Shampoo to drop Ryouga
off with Ukyou. The two had enough class to leave the two of them alone, as
Ukyou had run over and hugged Ryouga in an embrace that would have made Aki
proud.

The two let themselves into the Tendo household and decided to surprise
everyone by just casually shouting they were home. Akane was the first to
run to the entryway. As soon as she saw the duo she stopped several feet
short of them. After a moment, Ranma closed the distance between them and
held her in a light embrace, much to her surprise and Shampoo's annoyance. 

Ranma released her. "Sorry. I guess I missed you more than I realized."

"It's okay," Akane blushed in response. "I kind of missed you too."

Shampoo's annoyance didn't last long as she was nearly tackled in a hug by
Kasumi, which was a shock to everyone present. Shampoo had to smile in
return. It was nice to feel wanted. Kasumi quickly composed herself as she
went with a more proper greeting, making certain everyone was all right
then asking what had happened. 

The two bone weary travelers sat down with everyone and explained all that
had happened, deliberately glossing over the dangerous parts. Like the
torture Ranma suffered at Herb's hands or the injury to Shampoo, and the
near disembowelment at the claws of the raptors was ignored altogether. He
would explain the two crisscrossing scars that went across his chest to his
father in private. There was no reason to worry the others over what had
already happened. What was done was done. 

After the exhaustive interrogation, the pair called it quits, Ranma leaving
the room a little before Shampoo. Once she finished talking to Kasumi she
made a deliberate detour to Ranma's room. Just as she arrived in front of
it she heard him loudly exclaim. "Oh, man! I forgot. I ain't got no
clothes!"

Shampoo blushed at that particular statement. It was too late to pick up
any clothes for him tonight, so any shopping would have to wait for the
next day. With a reluctant sigh she prepared to enter the sleeping chamber
and apologize for her behavior when she remembered one very important fact.
Quickly, she rushed to her room and grabbed the shirt that had remained on
the dressmakers dummy. Praise be she hadn't destroyed it on an impulse. A
quick scan of the room revealed a pair of pants Shampoo had specifically
gotten for her male form. Even more luck, they hadn't even been taken out
of the package. She grabbed the clothing and made her way back to Ranma,
who was sitting on his floor with a depressed look on his face. Shampoo was
hoping to change that.

"Ranma, I made clothes for you. Was supposed to be a gift because of how
nice you treat me." She held the clothes out expectantly, hoping he would
accept the present. 

"Ah! You shouldn't have done it." He smiled, then gave her a bit of a
disapproving glare. "Of course, you shouldn't have destroyed all my clothes
either." 

"Sorry," That was said more or less to placate him. He had stood her up
after all, and Amazon vengeance could take many forms. 

Ranma waved it off. "We'll call it even. I'll see how it fits." He began to
remove his shirt when he noticed he still had an audience. "I could use
some privacy here."

The response was not the one he was looking for as Shampoo put her hands on
her hips. "I want to see you try it on." And admire his body. 

He physically grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her out the door.
"I'll show you as soon as I'm done. Out!" 

He shut the door behind her, then slumped against the wall. If she was
going to behave like that she was going to get him into trouble. It didn't
take much imagination to figure out what Akane's response would be if she
saw him topless and Shampoo standing close by. They were going to have to
show more restraint than when they were on that long journey home. He
pulled off his old shirt and placed the new one on. 


Shampoo grew anxious with each passing moment. Ranma was taking too long.
She wanted to see if he liked the shirt. Worry began to blossom within her.
What if he didn't like it?

The gentle rapping on the door was answered by a soft, "Enter." Once
inside, she saw that Ranma had indeed tried the garment on and was stroking
it, almost as though he was afraid it wasn't real. It was exactly as she
pictured it in her mind. A perfect fit.

He finally acknowledged her presence. "I can't believe the feel of this
material. What's this stuff made of?"

A gentle smile rose to Shampoo's lips.

"Dreams."  



Epilogue

Kodachi was concerned with Mousse. After a very unemotional greeting he
went directly to his room and locked himself in. A savage disappointment to
The Black Rose. She had wanted to greet her beloved in a manner fitting for
the one that won her heart. Instead, he was squirreled away doing who knew
what. 

She decided she could tolerate it no more, and used her master key to
unlock the door. As she entered the room she saw Mousse hunched over his
desk, writing so intently that he didn't even realize she had entered the
room. Kodachi gazed over his shoulder, noticing he was in the process of
writing something in Chinese.

"What are you writing, dearest?"

Kodachi was a little frightened by the intensity in those eyes behind the
glasses. Mousse appeared a little...crazed, for lack of a better term.

"It's a challenge letter. If I can't kill Saotome, I'll challenge Shampoo
to another marriage duel. Our last one was cut short so she can't refuse.
And this time..."

Kodachi saw his body tense up as he said the next statement. And the way he
said it made her doubt his words not in the least. 

"...this time it's for real."


China:
Joketsuzoku:

Be Dea paused in thought with two of her fellow elders. Talcum and Shou Ya.


"" Talcum asked.

"" Be Dea answered.""

Shou Ya arched an eyebrow at that. ""

Be Dea scowled a bit as she thought of what she was about to say. Events
had gone the way she wanted for quite a while, but all good things must
come to an end. "" Then she added one more comment. ""

"" Talcum asked.

"" Be Dea said. ""


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Special Thanks to:

Harold Ancell
Ryan Anderson
Gary Kleppe
Dr. Wade Tritschler
Kevin R Wible

and George Lucas for coming up with a scene for me to parody.

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920