Prelude


"I'm so glad you could stop by, Dr. Channard." Dr. Otani examined the
distinguished looking, fortyish, gaijin doctor closely as the two walked
down one of the corridors of the Matsuda Institute. An insane asylum by any
other name. Otani was pleased that it was a quiet day at the institute. The
patients had been worked up over the last few days, and he wanted to
impress his somewhat mysterious guest as much as he could. 

"Your case caught my interest," Channard replied in fluent Japanese. A fact
not overlooked by Otani.

"You speak Japanese remarkably well."

"I am a remarkable individual." Otani felt rebuffed, despite the neutral
tone Channard's voice carried. It sounded as though the foreigner had been
stating a fact, not an opinion. 

Little was understood about the man known simply as Dr. Channard. Otani
didn't believe anyone even knew the man's first name, just that he was a
mysterious individual whose skills in the field of psychology were
unsurpassed by any. At least that was what was said. No one knew where he
lived, where he originally came from, or where he learned his skills. Many
thought he was a myth, similar to that of Dr. Blackjack who was altogether
too real. Perhaps all such geniuses were eccentrics. At any rate, after
telling a friend about the 'John Doe's' unusual case, he had recommended
allowing Dr. Channard to examine him. Otani had thought the man was joking
until he received a call from Channard himself to explain the situation.

"Tell me the specifics of this case," Channard requested.

That caught Otani a bit off guard. "Weren't you told what to expect?"

"I want to hear them from your own lips," Channard explained. "You are
familiar with the case, and may mention something others overlooked or
forgot."

That was a real boost to the ego. Channard thought Otani was reliable
enough to give accurate information. He wouldn't let him down. "The man was
brought in almost two years ago. He was found outside by a road yelling and
screaming. As I remember it, the police had to bring him in with heavy
restraints. He was mostly incoherent, rambling on in gibberish or totally
nonsensical statements. There wasn't any rhyme or pattern to any of it, no
way to get anything from him. He also displayed extreme agitation and a
proclivity to violence periodically. Fingerprints turned up nothing on the
man. He had no identification on him. No one claimed him and no one fitting
his description went missing from any of the other institutes. We still
have no idea who he is, so we just call him John Doe."

Otani saw Channard remain silent and process the information. Otani
continued. "Here's where it starts getting strange. We did a medical
examination on him. It turns out someone removed portions of his brain."

"Which portions?" Channard asked.

"That's sort of odd. The parts that were removed weren't from any really
active areas. Almost like someone wanted to see what would happen if they
just took them out. The job was really professional too. Scarring was
minimal and he was put back together flawlessly. We asked around at all the
hospitals in Japan and nearby countries. No one admits to doing that sort
of thing, naturally."

"What has changed that you felt the need to contact me for this case?"
Channard inquired.

"Originally he never responded in the least to any treatment, so we haven't
made any concentrated efforts at bringing him around." He noticed Channard
give a curious look. "There are others we can help, and we simply don't
have the staff to assist everyone as well as they deserve," he quickly
added. Otani took his job seriously, but there really was only so much he
could do.

"Then things changed one evening, about seven months ago. He managed to
catch the attention of one of the orderlies by talking to him.
Understandably. It was an older one, fortunately, so he realized the
importance of his coherence. I was contacted, but by the time I arrived he
was beginning to slip back into an incoherent state and becoming worse by
the minute. I rushed to meet him and began a conversation, hoping to learn
something of his past. I was in for a disappointment. He was still quite
insane, you could tell simply by looking into his eyes. He began talking.
His voice was so different when he spoke in normal tones.

"But I digress. He began telling me of how, for all intents and purposes,
the end of the world was coming. I humored him, hoping to learn some grain
of truth in his speech. Any information to go on. Well, he informs me he's
from the future, where some great evil ends up 'consuming humanity' as he
puts it. I asked him what the evil was. He said he couldn't remember. I
asked him several other questions, including his name. He couldn't remember
any of it. The only thing he did was run off a series of events that would
happen before the year was out. I asked him how he could remember those
relatively minor things, yet nothing else. He said something curious then.
He said, 'because that's what they programmed into me.' After that he began
babbling once more, and he hasn't regained cognizance since."

Channard finally spoke. "Why the sudden interest now if all this happened
months ago?"

"Well," Otani began playing with his collar uncomfortably. "Some of the
things he said would happen, have occurred. Actually," his voice dropped
several decibels, "actually, all of them occurred. Some were easy, like who
would win the next election and how many typhoons would hit this year."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "but other things he predicted
were less likely. Such as predicting that the Tokyo Bombers would win the
World Series this year. I mean, they were picked to finish dead last in the
league by everyone. And he knew about that new volcano that suddenly
erupted in Korea a month ago. He even gave an exact number of the people
that would die in a mud slide in Indonesia. He got the exact date correct.
Everything he has predicted has come true."

Channard placed his hand to his chin in thought. "I see. Show me this man."

Otani guided his guest with all due haste. John Doe had been getting more
and more agitated lately and was being kept under sedation in solitary,
straitjacketed for his own protection as much as others. 

The duo arrived outside the padded cell of the patient. Two orderlies were
waiting at their posts, just as Otani had ordered when he understood
Channard had arrived. "He's been quiet for almost half an hour now, sir,"
one of the uniformed men informed, Otani.

The order to unlock the door was given as Otani wondered if the patient had
foreseen this visit as well. As the door opened, three of the four men
looked on in shock at the scene before them. One of the orderlies bolted
while the other one just stared in horror.

"How did he...?" Otani couldn't continue.

Channard, unaffected by the display before him, answered the incomplete
question. "He most likely used his teeth to get through the material of his
straitjacket, and then into his flesh."


>From down the corridor, the sounds of the orderly beginning to retch began.
He didn't make it to a restroom in time.

"How could a man chew through his arm like that?" Otani finally managed to
voice. 

"Fear," Channard informed him. "real or imagined, can drive a man to do
anything. Never forget that." Channard returned his attention to the room.
John Doe might have killed himself out of fear, but he had left one very
important thing behind. Something he wanted others to know. A message had
written in his own blood, smeared along one of the walls. It took but a
moment to decipher the writing. 

"I will never live under his rule again. He hates us all."

"Would you like my advice, Dr. Otani?" Channard asked in an even tone,
still obviously unaffected by what occurred. 

It took a couple of seconds for Otani to understand the question, the scene
before him starting to take its toll. "Yes."

"Has there been something you always wanted to do, but were always putting
it off for later because you thought you would have more time in the
future?"

"Yes."

"Do it now. You're almost out of time." And with that Channard departed,
leaving Otani alone as the other orderly finally collapsed into
unconsciousness.

Once outside, Channard pulled out his communicator and tapped in his eight
digit code. The connection was almost instantaneous as his message bounced
off a satellite and was sent deep within the earth at a location in the
Rocky Mountains.

"Channard to Danse Macabre. Put me through to the shift commander."

"Confirmed," The voice on the other end hissed. Channard knew who it was
immediately. 

"Roquat. I looked into the Japanese rumor and have concluded my
investigation. I believe it deserves looking into."

"Did you do a mind probe?" The voice hissed.

"No," Channard replied. "The subject was already deceased."

"How?" It was impossible to tell what Roquat was thinking, his voice
betrayed even less emotion than the doctor's.

"By his own hand." Channard knew what the response would be now.

"Without a mind probe, and without an outside influence involving his
death, the Danse cannot act on this information."

"My instincts tell me this is for real." For the first time that evening
emotion crept into Channard's voice.

"There is no time. You are needed elsewhere. Allow me to give you the
address of where you need to go." Roquat sent the information. India was
the next stop. Channard knew better than to argue with his superiors. So he
just prayed his instincts were wrong this time.

Another dimension:
The Empire of the Five Comets:

The Seer felt the course fate took with the time lost man. If only Channard
had arrived an hour earlier, the patient would have still been alive and
the Danse Macabre would have had enough information to intervene. With the
resources at their disposal they could have stopped the Shogun's plans. But
that was not what had happened, and things continued onward upon their
disastrous course. 

Time was running out.


End Prelude



Ranma 1/2 Presents:
Shampoo 1/2
Chapter 22

Unexpected Visitors


As always C+C greatly appreciated.
You can get previous chapters at:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/Special-Series/shampoo.html
or you can email me at sommer@nb.net

An Alternate Universe:
What's gone on before (or what you really need to know to enjoy this fic.
You should probably read the previous chapters, a lot has gone on. but
here's a summary anyway.) In the beginning the Saotomes traveled to
Jusenkyou 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, there is 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 and briefly ended up engaged to Kasumi. After that was
cleared up Ranma became engaged to Akane. During the first day of school,
water and confusion mixed and everyone believes Ranma-chan is Shampoo and
Shampoo-kun is Ranma. Last chapter, A new Ranma Saotome and his wife Kaori
Daikoku Saotome, hit Nerima looking for the missing half of  'Ranma's'
martial arts. In truth, the new Ranma is Ryu Kumon, who impersonated Ranma
so he could locate Genma and the other half of his martial art, the
Yamisenken. Also, Mousse has decided to challenge Shampoo to one last duel
for her hand in marriage. It almost was their last fight as Kodachi
poisoned Shampoo in an attempt to prevent Mousse from ruining his life.
Only Mousse's quick thinking saved Shampoo, who reemphasized that she
wanted nothing to do with him and that in two weeks time, one way or
another, there will be a final resolution between the two. To make matters
worse, Silk, an Amazon sent by the elders to bring back Cologne, has
decided to visit her old lover Soun Tendo. How unfortunate Amazons aren't
allowed to become cursed by the male spring without the penalty of death to
follow...
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Part One
Past Remembrance

Years of Amazon training made Silk react instinctively despite her
surprise. Kasumi never came close to touching the floor as the Amazon
caught her falling form and lifted her, as gently as a newborn, into her
arms. 

"The unfortunate child," Silk thought. "She must be in poor health to faint
like that. And calling out to her mother as she did. I hope someone else is
here."

Silk had little choice but to allow herself in uninvited. Under the
circumstances, it hardly seemed inappropriate. She carried Kasumi down the
hallway and announced her presence. As she entered she saw a slightly
younger girl with a short haircut set foot in the room at the same time she
did. 

It only took a moment for Nabiki to take in the situation. "What happened?"
She tensed up at the intruder holding her sister. If it was someone that
had come for Ranma she could be dangerous. But one look at the woman, whose
graying hair made her look older than her face indicated, made Nabiki feel
she wasn't here for Ranma.

"The poor girl passed out when she answered the door," Silk explained. "Is
there somewhere I can lay her down?" 

If she was here for Ranma, she was the most polite foe he ever had. And
there was something very familiar about her, but Nabiki couldn't place what
it was. She shifted her concern with the woman to Kasumi. There was never a
time Nabiki could ever remember her sister passing out. Silk laid Kasumi
down on them while the middle Tendo examined her. Akane finally came down
and took in the scene before her eyes. 

"What happened?!" 

"Kasumi passed out. This..." Nabiki now realized she was uncertain of
exactly who the woman was. 

Silk noticed the hesitation and filled in the blank for her. "My name is
Silk."

"Ms. Silk brought her in." Nabiki examined her sister closely. She knew
enough from first aid courses that she was breathing regularly. It was a
surprise when the woman came over and proceeded to examine Kasumi in
earnest. She asked Nabiki several questions about Kasumi's health then,
after a few moments, rendered her diagnosis.

"It seems to be just a fainting spell," Silk said. "She cried out for her
mother before she passed out. Is she present? It might be wise to have her
next to her daughter when she comes around."

The reference was all she needed to place the face. Nabiki's own eyes grew
wide as she stared at the woman before her. "Mommy?"

It was Silk's turn to stare. Things were starting to become enigmatic to
her. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't impossible that, rather than
calling out FOR her mother, Kasumi might have been calling HER, mother. 

Nabiki moved closer and touched Silk's face. "No," Nabiki said softly. "You
look a lot like her, but you're not her."

"I should say not," Silk said softly, and held Nabiki's examining hand
gently in her own, hoping to put her at ease. "I think I'd remember having
two such beautiful children as yourselves."

Akane looked confusedly at Nabiki as her sister drew back from Silk. Akane
could barely remember her mother's face, and didn't think Silk looked like
her at all. At least from what she could remember.

Nabiki composed herself, somewhat. "Sorry. You just look a lot like our
mother."

"I understand." Silk gave a smile. "Many young girls have made similar
comments. I guess I just have a motherly face."

"No." Nabiki shook her head. "I mean you look almost exactly like her."

"I see." Silk scowled slightly at that. "Is your mother home?"

Nabiki shook her head once again. "She died some years ago."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Silk hadn't meant to dredge up old wounds. She
needed to talk to Soun. "Is your father home?"

As if in answer to the question, Soun entered the room. "What's going on? I
thought I heard some..." he trailed off as his eyes fell upon the newcomer.
"Silk?"

"It's wonderful to see you again, Soun." Silk recognized him immediately.
He hardly changed at all in the ensuing decades. Her first impulse was to
go over and embrace him, but she remained close to Kasumi instead. A more
formal greeting could wait until the eldest Tendo recovered. Besides, she
had some questions to ask him that would have to be done in private.

Silk heard Kasumi begin to moan as she came around, and moved out of her
direct line of sight. No point in startling the young girl into
unconsciousness again. 

Soun suddenly realized his daughter's condition and raced over to her side,
almost crying. "What's wrong Kasumi? What happened?"

Silk took note of Soun's tearfulness. He was always a little overemotional,
but this was a bit much, even for him.

Kasumi slowly opened her eyes and smiled at her Soun. "Hello, Father. I
just had an unusual dream about Mother. I dreamt she came up to the door
and was looking for you."

"It wasn't a dream, Sis," Nabiki said hesitantly as she looked back at
Silk. "I mean, it wasn't Mom. Just someone that looks a lot like her."

"What?" Kasumi asked as she quickly sat upright. 

"She means me," Silk said as she came into Kasumi's line of vision. 

Once again the eldest Tendo daughter's eyes opened wide at the sight of
Silk. "Y...you do look a great deal like Mother. Who are you?"

At last! An opportunity to properly introduce herself and put everyone's
minds at ease. "My name is Silk. I came to visit my old friend, Soun Tendo.
I apologize for startling you."

"Are you related to Mom?" Nabiki asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Silk answered. She carefully looked at all the
people present in the room. Soun was looking at her in a very surprised
manner. Kasumi was still staring very wide eyed at her, which was only
slightly worse than Nabiki's stare. Of all the people in the room, only
Akane seemed the least affected, simply appearing a little bewildered.

"What brings you to Japan?" Soun finally asked.

"I'm here on business, I'm afraid," she said with a resigned sigh. "I do
have a couple of days to kill though. I thought I'd look you up while I was
in Japan. I didn't mean to cause any problems." 

"No! Oh no. You're not causing any problems." he quickly answered. "I just
didn't expect you. This is quite the surprise. It's not as though I've seen
you in over twenty years."

"Much time has passed, yes. I'm sorry about your wife passing on. My heart
goes out to you."

The Tendo girls were slightly surprised by their father's reaction. Usually
he would cry or his eyes would at least tear up whenever anyone mentioned
their mother. This time, however, he simply looked towards the floor and
sighed. "Thank you. Your sympathy is most heartfelt."

"You're welcome." Silk decided to change the subject, lest things become
too morose. "Why don't you introduce me to your lovely family?"

Soun lost his somber expression and brightened up immediately. He
introduced all if his daughters and did likewise for Silk, introducing her
tactfully as an old friend. Silk couldn't help noticing the looks of
confusion from Kasumi and Nabiki had changed slightly, almost as though
they were evaluating her. 

"So, you've known Daddy for a long time?" Nabiki asked.

"Indeed. We traveled over a great deal of Japan together in our youth,"
Silk answered politely.

"He never mentioned you," Kasumi added.

"I suppose he thought he'd never see me again. I actually live in China,
and I was only visiting Japan."

"How long did you visit?" Nabiki asked back.

"I stayed here for three years."

"It sounds more like you moved here than visited," Kasumi commented.

"True, it was an extended stay. I wandered around a great deal in my youth.
It was only through the greatest of fortunes that I met your father during
one of my journeys."

"How long did you," Nabiki chose her words carefully, "hang around
together?"

Silk began to see the way things were developing. The sisters were taking
turns interrogating her. "About a year."

Both Kasumi and Nabiki appeared taken aback. 

"You were around one another for a year?" Kasumi managed to ask.

"It may have been a little less, but yes, it was about a year." Silk
watched the reactions more carefully now.

"I see," Nabiki said, her voice laced with sarcasm as she now appeared a
little hostile. "That's a long time. Sounds like you two may have been a
little closer than 'friends'." There was no mistaking what that implied.

"Nabiki!" Soun suddenly shouted out. "Silk is our guest. How dare you treat
her in such a manner! Go to your room!"

For the first time in recent memory, Nabiki was struck speechless. Her
father was punishing her? Her father? She remained motionless while trying
to process the information. 

Soun was not pleased by the hesitation. "What are you waiting for?" 

His tone brooked no argument, but Nabiki tried one any anyway. "You haven't
sent me to my room in years!" 

"An obvious oversight on my part if this is the behavior you demonstrate to
our guests," Soun glowered, then added. "Get going!"

Nabiki gave a, "Yes, Daddy," through clenched teeth and headed upstairs. 

"I...I better get going as well and make sure she's all right." Kasumi got
up and moved to follow Nabiki. She paused a moment to give Silk one last
longing gaze. "It was a pleasure to meet you," then ran up the stairs. 

"I'm going to check up on them as well. It was nice meeting you." Akane
bowed before the guest. Silk returned the gesture with an even deeper bow
of her own.

"The pleasure is all mine." She smiled warmly in response.

Akane found her spirits inexplicably soar at that smile. She hurried up the
stairs, almost as quickly as Kasumi had, and went directly to Nabiki's
room. There was more than a little bit of confusion as to why her older
sister was acting the way she did. Silk had given her no reason to be so
catty. She barged into the room to see Kasumi already sitting in a chair
and Nabiki lying on her bed. Akane chose to sit next to Nabiki's prone
form.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you treating that nice lady like that?"
Akane asked. 

"Yes, Nabiki. That was rather rude," Kasumi added.

Nabiki examined her sisters with a careful eye, determining they really
were oblivious. "What are you two, stupid?!" she spat out.

"Hey!" Akane cried out. Nabiki had no business talking to her like that.
She sounded like Ranma.

"Nabiki!" Kasumi was even more shocked. Her sister had NEVER been rude to
her before.

"You two are practically fawning all over her. You're looking at her like
she's some kind of saint," she pointed accusingly at Kasumi. "And you look
like a puppy that just got her head scratched." That accusation went to
Akane. "You have no idea what that 'nice lady' is, do you?" She watched her
sisters' reactions once again. 

"Father's old friend," Kasumi said.

"Yeah," Akane agreed. " and she seems pretty nice."

Nabiki shook her head. Those two were so naïve. She elected to explain it
to them in stages. "Oh yes, she's father's 'old friend' all right. An old
female friend. An old female friend from over twenty years ago. An old
female friend from over twenty years ago, he spent a year with. An old
female friend from over twenty years ago, that he spent a year with, that
just happens to look like Mom. Now do you understand?"

A "No", and "Not really," were Nabiki's answers.

"Do you two think it's some kind of coincidence she just happens to look
like Mom?" 

"Well..." Kasumi was still having difficulty grasping what Nabiki was
hinting at.

Akane was having just as hard a time. "Are you saying she's some kind of
replacement for Mom?" Akane wasn't sure if she liked that.

Nabiki spun on her in anger. Akane was shocked to see tears forming in her
eyes. "You're such an idiot! She isn't Mom's replacement! Mom was HER
replacement!"

Akane and Kasumi simply stared on in shock.


Shampoo-kun was not a happy person. He had been nailed by that damn old
lady again. Why his senses seemed to shut down whenever he got near that
aging sack of flesh was beyond his understanding. He actively tried to stay
far away from the house. Yet if he wasn't concentrating, he always seemed
to go past it and get nailed with some water. Maybe it was some kind of
bizarre Jusenkyou Cursed People Seeking Water or something. There had to be
some kind of explanation. Perhaps taking the bucket from her would help. 

It was with a heavy tread he entered the Tendo house, still feeling weak
from the effects of the poisoning from the day before. But at the rate it
was fading he should be back to normal within another day. Then he could
train in earnest. Though there was more than a little concern over the fact
that Ranma had accepted a fight on the same day. Curse him. Why couldn't he
have made it earlier or later? Shampoo-kun had to train specifically to
combat Mousse's long range abilities. Mousse was up to something, and he
had to be prepared to deal with absolutely anything the blind one could
throw at him. He needed Ranma to help. But Ranma had his own problems with
the impostor Ranma. Things couldn't possibly get worse.

Shampoo-kun turned the corner and recalled a very important fact of life,
one he should never have forgotten, having fallen victim to it repeatedly
the last few months: It can always get worse.

Silk had been talking with Soun Tendo until a moment ago. Now she had
turned to see Shampoo-kun standing there. Hair standing on end as he drew
back with a look of total shock on his face. It only took a moment for her
to come to an assumption. 

"Oh no! I'm not your mother. I just look a great deal like her. My name is
Silk." The Amazon had no desire to cause yet another one of what she
assumed was Soun's children to pass out.

Shampoo-kun relaxed enough to appear simply confused, trying to understand
why she seemed to think he believed she was his mother.

"Actually," Soun cleared his throat in explanation. "He's not my son. That
is a guest who's staying with us. His name is actually-"

"Ranma Saotome," Shampoo-kun quickly said and bowed before Silk, thanking
the kami that he was in male form when he entered the house.

"Err, right. Ranma Saotome." Soun went along, despite his confusion.

"Saotome?" Silk asked suspiciously as a light frown creased her brow. "As
in Genma Saotome's son?"

"Yes," Shampoo-kun said meekly. What had 'Pop' done now?

"You don't look a thing like him." Her suspicious glare went to a relaxed
one. "Good for you. I must say, I'm shocked anyone would be desperate
enough to marry him. He was pretty much spineless pond scum when I knew
him. You do remind me of someone I know, though."

A huge sweatdrop formed behind Shampoo-kun's head. Just as he was about to
panic Soun inadvertently came to his rescue.

"He wasn't as bad as all that." Soun came to his absent friend's defense.
"And he's gotten better over the years." 

If he had truly gotten better over the years, Shampoo-kun shuddered to
think of what he must have been like in his youth. The more likely
explanation was that Soun was judging his friend through the rose colored
glasses of friendship. Still, as long as he didn't mess up with the
attempted deception, all should be fine. Of course there was still the
little matter of what Silk was doing at the Tendo house in the first place.
Had she heard there was a Shampoo living here and investigated? Was all
this on her own initiative, or was she the scout for a much larger force?
There were too many questions unanswered, and that lack of information
might blow Shampoo's cover.

"Oh, welcome back, Shampoo. How do you feel?" Kasumi asked as she came down
the stairs.

"You is mistaken, Kasumi. It's just me, Ranma," Shampoo-kun quickly said,
hoping the eldest Tendo daughter picked up on the hint. 

"Oh. Yes. Sorry about that, Ranma." Kasumi quickly looked around for some
of Shampoo-kun's school mates.

The reference didn't slip by Silk. "Did you say Shampoo? She wouldn't
happen to be from China, would she?"

"Nonono," Shampoo-kun said, silently praying Silk would quickly forget the
line of questioning, while knowing better. "She a redhead from Hokkaido,
Japan."

"Oh," Silk said. Shampoo-kun would have sworn he saw something shine in
Silk's eye as she continued. "I would like to meet her though."

Great. She wasn't going to let it go. Now Shampoo-kun was going to have to
intercept Ranma and his father, lest Silk catch them in the lie.

"Tell me about yourself, Silk." Shampoo-kun asked. Once he was openly
informed of who Silk was, he might be able to explain later if he let some
personal knowledge of her accidentally slip. And the others would have to
be informed of her status as an Amazon. 

Silk told him she was an old friend of Soun's and gave some background
information about herself. Shampoo-kun noted she never referred to herself
as an Amazon or hailing from Joketsuzoku. She simply said she was from
China. The others didn't appear to have any idea of the danger she
represented.

Once he received the information and answered some questions as Ranma
would, he grabbed some water and hurried outside to cut off the Saotomes.
He made it just in time to spot a very male Ranma coming up the walk with
his father. The two were still arguing over his father's stupidity in
teaching such a dangerous attack to someone he barely knew, as well as
engaging Ranma for food again.

A splash of water hit Ranma as he was about to enter the house. "Whad'ya do
that for?!" Ranma-chan shouted angrily at the Amazon.

Shampoo-kun quickly explained the situation.

"Great," Genma said dryly. "The last thing we need is that worthless woman
hanging around here."

"What did you do to her, Pop?" Ranma-chan asked while Shampoo-kun stared
angrily at the derogatory way in which 'Pop' spoke about Silk.

"Nothing, for a change," he admitted. "She's just a very annoying person
that takes a great deal of delight in cutting me down."

"Like we all don't get our kicks from doing that, Old Man." 

Shampoo-kun headed off the impending argument. There was no time for
horseplay. He  helped create a fake past for the red-head so they could use
it when Silk asked her inevitable questions.

"I think I've got it. I'm from Hokkaido and I'm Akane's cousin, Shampoo,
who's staying for a while." Shampoo-kun nodded his head as Ranma-chan added
a little more. "I'd better introduce myself out loud so everyone else knows
the story. I don't want Akane to let it slip I'm her fiancee or we're going
to have a lot of explaining to do." 

"And no let her see your martial arts," Shampoo-kun supplemented.

"How come? You know we gotta start practicing for those upcoming matches."

Shampoo-kun shook his head. "If she sees us use even one Amazon technique
she going to suspect something."

"I think I understand what you mean," Ranma-chan said. "We've been using
those techniques for so long I can't remember the last time I've fought
without using them. Damn! We need to start preparing for those matches."

"She won't be here more than a day. I not worried." Shampoo-kun's attitude
did not match what he felt inside. He needed to start practicing for that
match. He couldn't lose. Not to Mousse. 

Shampoo-kun headed inside a few minutes before Ranma-chan and Genma, then
managed to get all of the Tendo girls together and explain the situation.
Silk and Soun were so busy talking and laughing with one another they
didn't even notice Shampoo-kun's furtive actions. 

Genma and Ranma-chan entered, then promptly acted surprised at Silk's
presence. The Amazon greeted Genma in the same manner she had employed when
she last saw him so many years ago.

"I see you've gotten even fatter and more repulsive than before. At least
that stupid looking handkerchief you always wore serves a purpose now. It
helps to keep the gleam from that balding dome  of yours from blinding me.
You have my thanks." For the first time since her arrival, Silk had
switched from her pleasant, even voice to a more scathing one. 

"You're welcome. I see you look even older than your fifty-five years would
indicate," Genma shot back.

"You mean this?" Silk ran her hand through several of her graying locks. "I
have gone a bit prematurely gray, I'll admit. Everyone else thinks it adds
a distinguished quality to an already pleasant woman. And that's
forty-five, not fifty-five." She corrected with a wide smile, one that made
Genma suddenly remember that Silk had been a very able fighter in her
youth. And she didn't look out of shape in the least.

"Would you two settle down? I'd rather you got along with one another since
we haven't had a reunion like this in years." Soun tried to placate the
duo.

"Very well," Silk said as Genma nodded his head in reluctant agreement.
Silk then turned her attention to 'Shampoo.' After several minutes of
interrogation, delivered so pleasantly that it seemed to be nothing more
than polite conversation, Silk determined there was no chance Ranma-chan
was the Shampoo who she was thinking of. 

Ranma-chan noticed Akane was in an unpleasant mood, presumably unrelated to
anythng Ranma-chan had done. She made up some excuse for the two of them to
go up to Akane's room so they could talk in private. Once the door was
closed the two began to converse quietly. 

"What's wrong?" Ranma-chan asked, the concern on her face evident. 

"It's Silk," Akane explained. "Nabiki seems to think that since Dad knew
her before Mom, that Mom was some sort of replacement for her since the two
look alike. I don't see the resemblance myself, but I don't really remember
what Mom looked like either."

"Do you think it's true? That she's some sort of replacement?" Ranma-chan
asked.

"I don't know what to think." Akane ran her hand through her hair in
frustration. "On one hand, what Nabiki says makes sense. On the other hand,
I don't believe Dad thought of Mom that way. I'm sure he loved her. And
then there's how I feel when I look at her."

"How do you feel?" Ranma-chan inquired. She wasn't used to Akane being this
open with her.

"When she smiles at me, I feel happier than I've felt in a long time."
Ranma-chan took note of Akane smiling as she thought of Silk. Akane
continued. "I guess it might have to do with the fact that maybe she really
does look like Mom. I know I shouldn't feel that way. I mean, maybe
Nabiki's right, and in some way I am betraying Mom's memory. But Silk just
seems so nice that I can't help it."

Ranma-chan stood next to Akane and placed her hands on the dark-haired
girl's shoulders. "I think you've got nothing to be ashamed about. She
seems like a nice person and she reminds you of your Mom. That's no big
deal. I don't think you're betraying the memory of anyone, and I'm sure
your Mom would want you to be happy."

Akane was a little taken aback by Ranma-chan's opinion. It made sense and
she unquestionably felt better. Not always an emotion she felt when dealing
with her fiancee. "Thank you, Ranma."

"Hey, it's no problem." She shrugged. "I just hope she leaves soon so we
can practice for that upcoming fight."

Akane agreed and the two started discussing what they should do for the
upcoming duels.


Several hours later, Shampoo-kun looked worriedly at Kasumi as she prepared
dinner. The girl appeared unquestionably distraught over something. 

"What's wrong?" 

Kasumi paused a moment in her cooking, then continued. "It's nothing."

That hurt. It was obvious something was bothering her and she didn't want
to open up to him. "Kasumi," he said softly, "please tell me."

She didn't look up from her cooking as she answered him. "I don't want to
trouble you."

He moved next to her and gently cradled her chin in his hand, delicately
moving it back towards him in the hopes Kasumi wouldn't resist. Kasumi
followed the motion until they stared at one another. "There nothing you
can do that would ever trouble me. Please tell."

Kasumi felt her resolve weaken as he looked at her in that soft caring way
he possessed. She really didn't want to trouble him, but he was just so
persuasive when he did things like that. "It's Silk."

Shampoo-kun thought he understood. "You concerned because she might find me
as a girl-type? No worry. I'm not going to change until she's gone. As long
as I stay away from hot water it no problem." 

"I am concerned about that, but that's not it." She paused a moment, then
continued. "Nabiki seems to think Mother was some sort of replacement for
her in Father's eyes. I know that's not true. I remember exactly how much
he was broken up inside when Mother died. Although I do find the
resemblance uncanny. I'm positive it's some sort of coincidence."

Shampoo-kun nodded his head in agreement, solely to assuage Kasumi and make
her feel better. It was the Amazon's instinct that Nabiki might be closer
to the truth than Kasumi, but voicing that opinion would just upset the
girl.

"Silk was in here earlier while father talked with Mr. Saotome. She was
helping me make dinner," Kasumi said as she turned away from Shampoo-kun
and began to prepare food once more.

"And?" 

Kasumi paused in her work. "At first it was perfectly fine. She was simply
helping me with the preparations. Then she made a suggestion about how to
prepare something and I found myself automatically and happily obeying her,
almost as though I wanted to. It took me a moment, but I realized that I
was waiting for her to say something so I could follow her instructions." 

"That's bad?" Shampoo-kun asked.

"Oh no!" Kasumi shook her head vigorously. "It's not that it's bad. It's
just that I was eager to follow her instructions, like it was the most
natural thing in the world." Her voice began to sound more depressed.
"I...it's just that, I guess she really does remind me of Mother. I mean,
they are different. I remember what Mother looked like a lot better than
Nabiki does, and even thought there is a strong superficial resemblance,
there are a lot of differences too. Physically. But the way Silk acts,
that's different. As much as she looks like Mother, she acts even more like
her."

"She's the mother of us all," Shampoo-kun suddenly said, as though he were
a million miles away.

That managed to lose Kasumi. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shampoo-kun came back to reality. "Silk is sort of an unofficial teacher in
village. She very skilled at many things and knows how to teach so you
learn really good. Everyone likes her. Almost all the girls in village
learn under her at one point in life. She is very nice and motherly the way
she teach everyone. So we all call her our second mother. Many girls
confide in her before their own mothers." He became quiet for a moment.
"Even Shampoo do once." 

Shampoo-kun shook out of his reverie once more. "So no feel bad if she
reminds you of your mother. That's just the way she is. Just hope she
doesn't decide you make her angry."

"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked.

Shampoo-kun gave a soft chuckle. "Great-grandmother once say Silk has a
honeyed tongue that spits acid. If you make her angry she goes from being
motherly to being a very stern person. I once see her make a tough twenty
year old Amazon break down and cry just by yelling at her. The most amazing
thing was, she not ridiculed by others for doing that. Everyone just glad
Silk not do that to them." Shampoo-kun stopped laughing and continued. "She
not do that often though. Usually she is a very nice person. I like her a
lot. I just wish I no have to hide."

"I understand. She sounds like a very nice person."

"She is," Shampoo-kun agreed.

"I just wish she didn't remind me of Mother so much. It makes me realize
how much I miss her." 

The Amazon heard the soft sigh Kasumi gave. Instinctively he placed a
comforting arm around her shoulder. "If you want to talk to me about it I
always there."

She squeezed his hand gently, then released it. "I know. Thank you." 


Genma scowled at the returned Amazon and Soun. The duo were talking on the
back porch like there wasn't anyone else in the world, laughing and
discussing about the times past. Genma couldn't understand why. A great
deal of that time with Silk was spent running from people that either they
had angered or Happosai had stolen from. The only pleasant thing about
Silk's presence was that she was able to deal with the master. The rest of
it was pretty miserable.

And once more Genma felt left out, just like back then. When he suggested
to Soun they play some Shogi, he simply waved Genma off and told him there
would be time for that later. Now all Genma could do was stare at the board
and look at the pieces.

"Looking for company, Mr. Saotome?"

Genma turned to see Nabiki sit down at the opposite side of the board. She
was the last person in the house he wanted to compete with. She was an
absolute cutthroat at the game and he could never cheat around her. 

"I'll play with a handicap," she added.

That was different. Genma quickly set up the board and began to compete.
She allowed him the first three moves to even things up. She hadn't
completed her first move before she started revealing the real reason for
her appearance. 

"So, what do you think of Silk?" 

Genma snorted derisively at that. "I try not to think about her." Genma
finally took a good look at Nabiki's face and didn't like what was there.
Her usual ice-like exterior was marred by a look of anger. An anger
directed at the newcomer to the household. 

"What kind of relationship did she have with Daddy?" 

Genma adjusted his glasses at that question. "I hate to say it, but those
two were almost inseparable once they met. Their relationship was, ah, very
physical in nature. Oh, don't get me wrong. The talked and did other things
too." Much to Genma's chagrin. Soun saw to it he still paid attention to
his friend, but the majority of his time was taken up with his girlfriend
all that time ago. As Genma related what had happened in the past, he saw
Nabiki's anger grow. He would hate to get in between those two if they
should butt heads with one another.


Silk could feel the stare of the middle Tendo child burn into her back. A
good thing she knew the girl represented no physical threat. Despite that,
Silk had to actively suppress her desire to scare the girl off. It was very
distracting to have someone that didn't like you right at your back. Best
spot for one to place a dagger.

The pleasant conversation with Soun had gone on long enough. Silk had
enjoyed every word the two of them had shared since her return, but the
hour was growing late and there were some things she had to get clear
before deciding on her next course of action. She had deliberately skipped
over anything relating to his wife for fear of what direction the
conversation might take. But if Soun gave the wrong answer to her
questions, their reunion would be cut short. 

"Soun," she began as nicely as she could. "Do I look so much like your dead
wife?"

She saw him tense up. So he had expected her to ask. Good. It meant he
remembered what she was like. 

"Yes. You do."

She sighed to herself. It appeared she was going to have to drag it out of
him. "Why?"

Silk was amazed at how depressed she felt at the hurt look Soun gave her.
He took a deep breath and began. "When you broke up with me. I was hurt.
Very hurt. I felt so badly I didn't even get worked up over the master's
treatment of myself and Saotome. For a while."

"I'm sorry, but it had to be done. It was for both of our sakes." Silk was
afraid the conversation would come to this.

"So you said at the time." There was pain in his voice, even after all the
decades.

She felt her control over emotions begin to loosen itself. That was a
surprise. She didn't think it would still bother her that much, not after
so much time had passed. It took a great effort for her to compose herself.
"We both know you wanted to settle down and raise a family. I still wanted
to travel the world. In order for us to have continued our relationship,
one of us would have had to give up our dreams. I was neither prepared to
yield mine, nor have you give up yours. I cared about you too much."

"You never even asked me." There was even more pain in his voice.

Silk felt her control slipping again. She had no idea hearing him like this
would make her feel this way. It had been over twenty years and she had
believed she was over it. "I didn't want you to have to make that sort of
choice. It wasn't my right to force you to choose like that." 

"Was that the real reason you didn't ask?" 

That was far from the whole truth, but looking into his eyes, Silk thought
he might have figured it out. She had always regarded herself as the
smarter of the couple, but Soun was able to read her emotions far too
easily. It was one of the things about him that vexed her so. Yet at the
same time it was also one of the things that drew her to him as well. Such
was the effect Soun Tendo produced. Love and fear. Strong emotions from one
who prided herself as a master of control. Was it any wonder she still
found herself attracted to him after all this time? She silently decided it
was time to come clean. 

"No. There was another reason why I didn't ask." Silk was surprised to hear
the emotion in her own voice. "I was honestly afraid you'd beg me to stay.
And I was afraid I might give in to you.

"It would have been terrible for both of us, Soun. I might have been able
to settle down for a while. Maybe even long enough to bear a child or two.
But in the end I would either have left you or resented you for tying me
down when what I had always wanted to do was wander the world. It would
have meant sacrificing my dreams for you. Yes, I might have done it, but I
don't think I'd have been happy. Not totally. There would have been too
much doubt within me, and I have little hesitancy to believe it would have
poisoned our relationship in the end. I wanted a clean break from you and
to still have the wonderful memories of our year together. Better that than
to have you at my side and hate what had happened. Now do you understand?" 

Soun considered her words carefully. "If you had asked, I would have
postponed my dreams and waited for you."

Silk felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She didn't believe he'd have gone
that far. 

"I'm glad you didn't," he added.

That was cause for confusion. "Why?"

Soun was uncertain whether to proceed. No. He had started that line of
conversation. He would go on. "Because then I would never have met Kimiko.

"As I said, I was broken hearted when you called things off. It took me
months to recover. Then one day I spotted Kimiko. At first I thought it was
you and that you had come back to me. Once she got closer I knew she wasn't
you, but there was a remarkable physical resemblance. That was enough for
me to ask her out on a date, which she accepted. Within the first five
minutes of our conversation I knew she was nothing like you." Soun quickly
realized that came out wrong. "What I mean to say is, there were a lot of
differences between you, but you were a lot alike as well. In the ways that
matter, anyway. She was a soft and gentle woman, yet there was a firmness
about her that was strong as steel. It didn't take long for me to fall in
love with her. We were married within the year, and had Kasumi shortly
thereafter. I never regretted a moment we had in our all too short time
together."

Soun was afraid Silk would be angry at him for saying such things. He knew
she had a wicked temper and a vile tongue that could hurt as much as any
weapon. She employed both on Happosai when he tried to molest her. It
didn't take long for the master to avoid her most of the time. Startlingly
enough, Silk was smiling at him.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," she said.

"You are?" She was surprising him once again.

"If you had told me you married her for any reason other than true love, I
would have walked out that door immediately." She saw the confusion on his
face and quickly explained herself. "The Soun Tendo I knew and fell in love
with would never have married a woman for any reason other than love. If
you had married her simply because she reminded you of me, I would never
have forgiven you for lying to her and your children."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way." Soun then asked the question that had
been eating away at him. "Are you sorry that you never asked?"

Silk shook her head. "I won't claim I never had second thoughts, but no,
I'm not. I've led a great and wondrous life. Much happiness. Much pain.
Some regrets. But never enough to make me sorry I broke things off. Never."

"That makes me happy. How ironic." He scratched his chin in thought. "At
the time, we hurt each other a great deal by the choices we made. But in
the end, the more painful decision was the one that led us to even greater
happiness."

There was one last thing she had to mention. "Soun, explain to your
daughters what the relationship between myself and their mother was.
Explain it all to them. They really need to know."

"They know I loved their mother!" 

Silk shook her head. "They're young, and given to misunderstandings. For
instance, your middle child is looking at me as though she would like to
sink a knife in my back at the first available opportunity. Just do it so
they feel reassured, and so I can calm my paranoia."

Soun looked over his shoulder and saw Nabiki quickly turn away. Silk was
right, as usual, he was going to have to explain things.

Silk got up and began to stretch her legs. The two had sat still and talked
for hours. Soun saw her motion and did likewise. 

The sun had almost set by the time she realized how late it was. "I'd
better get going. It's getting late."

"Do you have a place to stay?" he asked.

"No. Can you recommend a good hotel?" 

"I won't hear of you staying at a hotel!" he proclaimed. "You can stay in a
spare bedroom."

She considered the request. "Very well, I accept. Make certain you tell
your daughters right away, though. Otherwise they are going to really go
crazy. There's no telling what they might think will happen if the two of
us were to stay under the same roof together." She gave him a seductive
wink in addition to the statement.

He blushed furiously at that. "I'll be sure to tell them." As he went to go
into the house he decided to ask the one final question on his mind. "Did
you ever marry?"

"Why, no. I didn't." 

"How come?" he asked.

Silk gave him that seductive smile she unleashed upon him so many times in
their youth. "Because no man has ever compared to you."

Soun's blush doubled.


"Are you crazy?!" Akane shouted at her father. 

"What do you mean?" The hard part of explaining things to the girls was
over. But when he mentioned Silk was staying, the three looked at each
other in concern.

"She's an Amazon, Father." Kasumi explained in a much more pleasant tone.
"And she personally knows Shampoo. If she sees him...I mean her transform,
she'll try to take her to China."

"Silk's an Amazon? You must be mistaken. She would have told me." He shook
his head. "No. She comes from a small village in the western regions of
China. The name of her village was..." He trailed off as he suddenly
remembered what the name of it was. Joketsuzoku. "Sorry about that."
Another thought occurred to him. "Maybe it's a good thing she was always
better at martial arts than me. If I had beaten her..." He allowed the
thought to trail off. 

Nabiki still didn't look terribly pleased by the explanation her father had
given concerning Silk. "Why don't you just send her to a hotel? Tell her
there isn't enough room, which would be the truth."

"No," Soun scowled in Nabiki's direction. "I promised her she could stay,
and I've made up my mind."

"All right." Nabiki relented. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Her
presence here is going to cause nothing but trouble." As though it hadn't
already. 

Soun saw there was going to be no further arguments. "Good! I'll let her
stay in Shampoo's room. But that means Shampoo will have to stay with
someone else."

"She can stay with me, Father." Everyone was a bit taken aback by the
enthusiasm Kasumi demonstrated in volunteering. Raising her hand and waving
it back and forth to get everyone's attention was a bit much.

"Wait a minute." Akane realized there was a slight problem. "Shampoo's
going to be a guy the whole time. And since Silk doesn't know Shampoo is
impersonating Ranma, it's going to look really suspicious if Ranma
impersonating Shampoo is staying with Mr. Saotome and Shampoo impersonating
Ranma is staying in someone else's room, when it should be Shampoo
impersonating Ranma sleeping with Mr. Saotome and Ranma impersonating
Shampoo sleeping in the room Silk's sleeping in."

There was a collective blink.

"I don't understand," Kasumi said as she tried sorting through what was
just said. Soun nodded in agreement as he felt a migraine coming on. Nabiki
remained silent, confident she could decipher Akane's statement no matter
how challenging it was.

"That made sense to me when I started out, but I think I lost it somewhere
in the middle." Akane said, now thoroughly confused herself.

"No," Nabiki said as she finally got it in semi-logical order. "What you're
saying is, we have to pretend Ranma was sleeping in the room Silk now has.
That means that, as a girl, he is going to have to sleep with someone
else."

"So it did make sense? Good." Akane was more than a little happy all that
thinking hadn't been wasted.

"That means it will be Ranma sharing someone else's room?" Kasumi asked.

Akane nodded in response. 

"It wouldn't be proper for him to sleep in my room then, even as a girl."
Kasumi looked a little downfallen.

"Shampoo was going to be a guy when you volunteered the first time." Nabiki
smiled as she informed her sister.

Kasumi blushed at that. "Yes. Well, she's really a girl, so it would have
been all right."

Nabiki leaned in close and whispered in Kasumi's ear. "Nice try, Sis."

Akane spotted her father get an all too familiar look in his eyes. "I have
to talk to Saotome about this."

Now Akane was really worried.


"You get all your things out of your room?" Ranma-chan whispered to
Shampoo-kun. If Silk had managed to spot the bonbori or sword, she would
almost have certainly suspected the truth.

"Yes," Shampoo-kun answered, then turned his attention to the two fathers,
who had gathered everyone together to discuss sleeping arrangements.

"Since Silk will be sleeping in Shampoo's room," Soun announced. "We felt
it appropriate that Shampoo stay with Akane for this evening." 

"You two have fun," Genma added.

Identical looks of shocked surprise alighted upon three faces.

"No way!" Ranma-chan said.

"You've got to be kidding!" Was Akane's response.

"That no fair!" Shampoo-kun shouted.

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Soun asked of the currently
black-haired Amazon.

"Answer is simple." Shampoo-kun sniffed in the air. "Shampoo can stay with
Pop and me. Like she's done before."

Ranma-chan was trying to figure out if staying with her father and
Shampoo-kun was such a good idea when Akane spoke up.

"She can stay with me," she sighed reluctantly.

"You no sound very happy about that," Shampoo-kun said, seeing his chance
for spending a night sleeping in the same room with Ranma-chan slipping by.

"Well, I am happy. It just took me by surprise," Akane retorted by sniffing
at the air as well. That particular motion caught Shampoo-kun off guard
momentarily, then caused him to get a facial twitch from the response. 

"Doesn't anyone care about what I have to say?" Ranma-chan asked.

A chorus of "No!"s met her in response as the four people treating her like
a piece of meat continued their argument of why it was best for her to
sleep in either Akane's room or with Shampoo-kun. The dark-haired Amazon
quickly lost the fight, due to superior numbers and having a visitor's
status as Ranma-chan was chosen to sleep in Akane's room.

As the fight was over everyone elected to retire to their respective rooms.
There was more than a little nervousness as Akane helped Ranma-chan bring
up an extra futon to the bedroom (much to the disappointment of the pair of
fathers). The two set up the redhead's sleeping spot.

Ranma-chan noticed an addition to the room. "How nice of Pop and Mr. Tendo
to leave a hot water bottle filled with hot water nearby," she commented
dryly as she sloshed the water in the offending object around, then threw
it out the window.

Akane began to lay down the ground rules. "Don't you dare try to do
anything. I'm only letting you sleep here because there isn't enough
space." 

"Why would I want to do anything with you?" Ranma-chan said flatly.

"Just...just never mind." Akane was too flustered to think of a decent
comeback.

"If it bothers you that much I can sleep with Pop," Ranma-chan offered.

"You mean sleep with Shampoo, don't you!" Akane shot at him angrily.

"She's going to be a guy for crying out loud, Akane!" The redhead attempted
to calm her down. She didn't feel like getting hammered tonight. "And you
know I ain't a pervert." 

"All right," Akane growled back. "Let's just get some sleep." 

Each person left the room while the other one changed. Once in nighttime
attire they laid down in their respective spots and attempted to get some
sleep. Each with their back to the other. After a while it became apparent
to each of them that sleep was going to be no easy task.

"Why should I be worried about being in the same room with Akane?"
Ranma-chan thought to herself as she stared wide eyed at the wall. "She
won't try anything." Somehow, that thought did nothing to ease her
emotions.

Akane wasn't much better as her eyes were wide open and she tried to listen
to Ranma-chan's breathing, silently wondering if her new roommate was
asleep. It didn't seem to matter that Ranma was a girl at the moment. It
still felt too much like the redhead was a boy, and that was far from a
comforting feeling.


Downstairs, the rest of the house lacked the stillness that should have
been present at the late hour. Within a half hour after Ranma-chan and
Akane retired, Genma rose from his bed and collected Soun from his room.
The two fathers grabbed some glasses from the kitchen to help them listen
at a door, then quietly sneaked up the stairs to get next to Akane's
bedroom. Both were surprised to see Nabiki already there with a much more
sophisticated listening device attached to the door.

"What's going on?" Genma asked.

Nabiki remained silent and simply held out her hand. Genma quickly coughed
up a small amount of money, which Nabiki looked at in disgust, then
relented by placing it in her pocket and informing him.

"Nothing." 

Genma quietly facefaulted and was about to demand his money back when
Nabiki quietly assured him she would let him hear the good stuff when it
came on. The three sat back and waited for something momentous to happen.

The trio at the door were not the only ones still awake. Shampoo-kun knew
what the fathers were up to. When Genma left the Saotomes' bedroom
Shampoo-kun leaped out the window and jumped up to the tree that overlooked
Akane's room. From his perch he could see perfectly inside. If Akane even
thought of trying anything, Shampoo-kun would be in there in a flash.


Silk listened carefully to the sounds of three pairs of feet moving
throughout the house. She quietly exited her room, making certain her loose
nightclothes didn't reveal anything, and moved silently as well. She walked
far enough up the stairs to see the fathers and Nabiki listening at the
door to Akane's room. Silk just gave a sad nod and started to head back
downstairs when she detected a fourth intruder. A clumsy one since she
could clearly hear the footfalls of a lightweight person make their way
through the house. Silk quietly walked halfway down the stairs, and was
about to creep into the hallway the intruder was located in when she
stepped on a loose floorboard. The creak was all it took for the Silk to
hear the intruder react. 

Silk leaped down the rest of the stairs and into the corridor. The Amazon
was totally stunned by the sight before her. She would have sworn that the
intruder was a lightweight person, but evidently she had been mistaken
since it was quiet obviously a huge pig-like creature standing in the
middle of the hall. It was beyond Silk's comprehension how something that
looked liked it weighed close to a half ton and stood as high as her chest
could possible move that silently. Even in the moonlit corridor, Silk
thought the species of animal it represented was familiar. She wasn't given
time to remember what book she had seen it in when the animal made a
wuffing sound and shook its head.

"Now why do I think you don't belong here?" she said to the pig-like
animal, using a soothing voice in order to calm it down. "I'm pretty sure
Birdy is the only pet the Tendo's have. So where did you come from?"

The pig creature gave a wuffing sound and shook its head to one side.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to tell me to get out
of your way."

To Silk's surprise, the creature shook its head up and down.

"Well, now. I've heard of smart pigs, but you really take the cake. I am
afraid I still have to ask you to leave." Silk continued her steady voice
even as her body tensed up and prepared for a conflict.

Silk maintained her ground and allowed her hand to slip inside her
nightshirt. She wouldn't be able to dodge the creature's attack in the
close confines of the hallway, and if she gave ground it would probably
charge. She wasn't to be disappointed as she observed the creature tense up
and prepare to move. 

It barreled forward with a loud grunt. Silk's reaction was almost
instantaneous as she pulled out a small, one foot cylinder that telescoped
in length to form a steel shod staff. The object shot out and nailed the
creature squarely between the eyes, stunning it. Silk quickly gained the
initiative and jumped onto the creature's back, wrapping her thighs around
its neck, and began hammering it in the head with the staff. The creature
suffered several blows, then charged forward into the living room, trying
to gain room to maneuver. Once there it rolled over and nearly crushed the
surprised Silk as she barely had time to release the hold and keep from
having her legs broken. The creature regained its footing and gazed down at
the Amazon, who also quickly regained her feet.

The creature appeared undecided about something when it received a solid
blow to the back of its head. The creature was barely able to remain
upright when it spotted Shampoo-kun silhouetted in the doorway leading
outside. He had thrown a bonbori, which was the missile that had struck the
creature in the back of its skull. It quickly tried focusing its rage at
the person responsible for ruining its life when it heard others rush down
from the upstairs. It was too weakened to risk losing a conflict with the
hated Shampoo-kun, so it barreled toward Shampoo-kun, then pivoted at the
last moment and ran clean through two walls and out into the midnight air.

Soun hurriedly rushed to Silk's side and helped her up. Crying with all his
might that she had been injured in the fight. Rather than resist, she
accepted his tears and smiled at him until he calmed down. It was nice to
know he would still get overly emotional over her welfare. 

"What the heck was that?!" Ranma-chan shouted.

"It was a razorback," Shampoo-kun said loudly enough to inform everyone.
"It a giant hog that indigenous to North America. But that one much bigger
than any that was listed in the book I read. And I not know what he's doing
in Japan. Or why he attack the house."

"How do you know so much about razorbacks?" Nabiki asked.

"I ran into that one the other day when it tried to run me down. I looked
up information about it."

"So that's why you wanted that book," Nabiki said.

Ranma-chan's reaction was a little different. "Why didn't you tell me you
got attacked?"

Shampoo-kun snorted in derision. "After what happened with Mou-" he quickly
caught himself, realizing Silk was within earshot. "--with that idiot the
other day. I was no really concerned about it."

"Well, since it attacked the house, we can be fairly certain your encounter
with it was no coincidence," Nabiki said.

"What have you gotten us into now, Ranma?!" Akane shouted at the redhead.

"Look at me when you going to accuse me of doing something uncute, flat
chested, ugly looking tomboy!" Shampoo-kun quickly shouted out, hoping Silk
wouldn't notice the error Akane made in addressing the real Ranma by his
proper name. Not that applying those terms to Akane wasn't amusing in and
of itself.

It took a moment, but Akane quickly picked up on what was going on and
started yelling at Shampoo-kun. "I know you have something to do with this,
you idiot!"

Shampoo-kun shook his head. "It an American animal. I never been to America
or met anyone that was. I got no idea why it come here."

"Akane, quit yelling at Shampoo like that! It's very rude." Kasumi scolded
her sister.

"She already did Kasumi, but thanks anyway for coming to my defense."
Ranma-chan tried to save some ground, but felt it would take nothing short
of a miracle for Silk to not see through everything.

If Silk saw through the deception, she gave no outward indication of it.
Rather, she spent the entire time trying to reassure the crying Soun she
was perfectly healthy. The attempt to shock him back to reality, by
suggesting he find out for himself just how healthy she was, was met with a
scowl by Nabiki and concerned looks from Kasumi and Akane. Soun's words may
have been taken at face value, but Silk realized the girls were still
ranging from hostile to uncertain when it came to the duo's relationship.
Best not to joke about such things anymore if she wanted to get on the
daughters' good sides.

The group relaxed and went back to their respective bedrooms, including the
fathers. All went immediately to sleep, including Akane and Ranma-chan who
suddenly didn't seem to be concerned about the other's presence.


The next morning Silk set out after assisting Kasumi with breakfast.
Everyone stood outside the dojo to see Silk off.

"Are you certain you can't stay longer?" Soun asked, then received twin
elbows in his side from Nabiki and Genma.

"No," Silk sighed. "Duty calls. I must carry on with my tasks. It was
wonderful seeing you again, Soun." Silk turned to the Tendo girls. "And the
three of you. Your father has done a wonderful job of raising you. And you
of raising him," she added with a smile.

Only Nabiki retained a slight scowl as Silk shook each of the girls' hands
and turned to go. If she was ever to return, she would have to tread
carefully with that one. It would take a great deal of time and effort to
win over Nabiki. And there was no certainty of how much time Silk still had
before returning to Joketsuzoku with Cologne. Then there was the matter
with how things went with the Musk, and training more of the village girls
after that. There was no telling how much time she would have in the near
or even distant future.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Shampoo, Ranma." She went to each of the
youths and bowed before them while making certain she missed Genma
altogether.

Silk added one final comment. ""

Shampoo-kun paled at the statement as Silk turned to leave once again. She
knew. Silk had seen through everything and knew. Shampoo-kun should have
realized the mistake of leaving that thing in his hair. Such an obvious
error. The only thing remotely in his favor was that she would never have
let Shampoo-kun know if she was going to turn him in. He still had time.

Silk was more than halfway to the end of the street when she gave one last
look to the Tendo family. Earlier, she had told Soun that she had no
regrets over their breakup. But now, for the first time in almost twenty
years, she did. As she looked at those three lovely children and their
handsome father, one last thought went through her mind concerning Kasumi,
Nabiki, and Akane. 

They could have been hers.


Everyone watched Silk walk out of sight and breathe a sigh of relief. Even
with Shampoo-kun informing them of what she said, they were still glad she
was gone. 

"Time to get packing," Soun said enthusiastically. "We have to get that
training trip going so you three can win your fight."

Akane exchanged a look with her sisters, then watched the other two nod
their heads in silent agreement. "You guys go on ahead," she told the other
four members who were going up to the mountains to train. "Kasumi, Nabiki,
and I have some things to do. I'll catch up to you later."

Ranma-chan looked concerned at Akane. "What's up?"

"It's nothing to worry about." She smiled at the redhead to reassure her.
"We're just going to visit Mom. We've been thinking a lot about her lately
and decided it's time to make a visit."

"Do you want me to go along?" Soun asked, concerned.

"It's kind of a 'girls only' thing this time, Daddy. If you know what I
mean." Nabiki explained to her somewhat downbeat father. 

Soun nodded his head in understanding and felt a little pang of sorrow, not
that he thought they didn't love him. He knew they did, despite the current
set of difficulties. It was just that there were still some things he
couldn't give to them. Things that only their mother could help them with,
even in death.


Part 2
Getting Ready to Rumble

"Are we on? We are? Hi there! This is news person slash intern, Nanami
Jinnai here, filling in for your regular reporter, Taki Sato, who is
currently ill with a stomach problem. I'm reporting to you from the Eye in
the Sky helicopter high above Mt. Terror. There have been recent reports
over the last few days of strange sounds and lights emanating from upon the
mountain. What could be producing these terrible effects? Aliens? Youmas? A
secret government research facility? Bugrom Invasion?

"Our great station has the inside scoop as to the identity of the
noisemakers. It was risky, getting so close to the center of the
disturbance, but Nanami Jinnai takes that extra step to get you the true
story. Now, as our camera with its special extra-powerful zoom lens focuses
on the scene below, we see that, in fact, it is not my insane brother
attempting to invade our dimension with an army of giant bugs that only he
can talk to, but a number of martial artists practicing their craft. 

"Safe, high above their heads, we bear silent witness to their proceedings.
Observe as the fellow in the white robes hurls a variety of weapons, and a
wheat thresher, at many targets. All the while his weapons cut through the
trees and foliage, slowly making it a barren mountain. We fly a couple of
miles away to witness a purple-haired girl destroying some makeshift
targets of her own. Curiously, these targets look a lot like the white
robed youth we just left. In that same clearing we see a young girl that
seems to be striking a dark-haired boy with a large wooden mallet. Wow!
He's really traveling. I...LOOK OUT! BANK LEFT!!!

"That was a close one. I wonder what he meant when he cried out 'uncute,
sexless tomboy' as he flew past. At any rate we turn back to the scene
below where we see that dark-haired boy...wait a minute! Where did the
purple-haired girl go? She was right there just a second ago. Oh well. The
dark-haired boy is working on those familiar targets and...whoa! That guy
is almost as good looking as Makato. *Sigh* If only he hadn't fallen for
that damn, walking erector set...

"But I'm getting off the subject. A little further down the mountainside we
see yet another area that is rapidly being destroyed. There is a young girl
down there fighting while using her food as a weapon. Heh! Gives a whole
new definition to the term 'food fight.' And lastly we have a rough looking
guy that...Wow! He just reduced a boulder into dust with his bare hands.
Now his hands are glowing and he's releasing some kind of light which is
destroying things. Whoops! One of his shots went astray. In fact, it looks
like it might be heading for...un oh! OH [BEEP]!!! He hit our rotor! This
is one of the reasons I left El Hazard! To keep from being attacked by a
bunch of weirdos! Oh man, this is going to hurt. This is Nanami Jinnai,
signing off."


At the Saotome encampment, they saw the helicopter land hard, shattering
the landing gear and crunching the helicopter down to almost half its
original size. After a few moments all of the people pried themselves out
of the wreckage, unharmed save for bumps and a few bruises.


Ryu Kumon stared at the trail of smoke from the fallen helicopter for some
time. He had never been that clumsy before. But this time was different. In
the past, training always helped him focus on his goals. If anything, he
got sloppy when he didn't have time to train. So now that he had the time,
he should have been more intent than ever on achieving his goal. Instead,
he was allowing stray shots to fly wildly all around. He knew why there was
such trouble. His focus was off, and that distraction was growing by the
moment, making him even more careless. The source of the distraction was
easy to identify. In fact, she was placing her hand on his shoulder to
relax him.

"Ranma, relax. If you behave like this you're going to lose. Concentrate.
Focus your desire to one single thing: winning the match. Let that guide
you." Kaori tried reassuring her spouse. She was more than a little
concerned about his behavior. Before this challenge came up he was easily
the greatest fighter she had ever laid eyes upon. But now he looked nothing
like that perfect fighter she had grown to love, making mistakes left and
right. That was something he couldn't afford to do in the upcoming fight.
Kaori didn't know much about the impostor Ranma and Genma, but she knew
enough to realize they were highly skilled and dangerous. If her husband
didn't have a near perfect fight, he was going to lose. 

She tried to put his mind at ease once again. "Does your lack of
concentration stem from these last two nights? If so you're being foolish,
I don't expect you to perform every single night. That would be
unrealistic." She failed to notice a sweatdrop form behind his head as she
continued. "Besides, sex is a secondary thing. I just love waking up next
to you. That's all that matters to me."
  
"It's not that!" he declared all too quickly. The problems with his nightly
performances were mental, not physical, and he knew it. It wasn't so much
that he felt bad about his lack of performance (though it did bother him).
It was what that fact represented that really disturbed him. His thoughts
and emotions were in such turmoil that it was affecting him physically. And
that could only lead to bigger problems for the upcoming fight.

It had never been like this before. In the past he cared about nothing
other than discovering the Yamisenken. Fights happened frequently with
little regard for the consequences. He had been in life and death struggles
when the odds were even greater against him, and yet he had never felt as
nervous then as much as he did now. 

The cold fact of the matter was, he no longer gave a damn about the
Yamisenken, or his dojo. That truth had become acceptable in the last four
days. He couldn't lie to himself any longer. All that mattered was the name
and Kaori. And the name was only important in keeping his wife with him.
How greatly he had changed from the rough, street fighter that traveled the
world, seeking out a style of martial arts at any price. Now he had been
tamed, like so many other married men. Once, long ago, he had remembered
hearing about a fighter that the same thing had happen to. He had voiced
his opinion that the man had been gelded. Well, now the same thing had
happened to him. At least it had happened with his consent, if unknowingly.


Now that peacefulness was about to be shattered. Unless he could rediscover
his focus and defeat his opponent. The real Ranma Saotome. And that was
seeming less and less likely by the moment. 

"Kaori? Would you still love me if I had a different name?"

She smiled at him. "Of course I would. It's not your name I fell in love
with. It was you. Now stop talking like that. You're allowing the idea that
you might be beaten enter your mind. With that kind of attitude you'll
lose." She moved closer and stood on her tiptoes, kissing his forehead.
"You are the best fighter in the world. I know you won't let me down by
losing."

He thanked her and walked off to gain some room so he could practice a few
of his more powerful techniques. She would love him even if he lost his
name. That was a relief. His concentration increased as he suddenly
rediscovered his focus. His moves became flawless for the next fifteen
minutes, moving with the powerful grace he exuded when he was in fight.
That focus was eventually lost again as yet something else began to bother
him. The back of his mind cried out that there was more to it than losing
his name. Frustration grew as he further lost control, becoming even more
reckless and careless in his katas. Guilt came to the forefront as the
realization that the lies he had told Kaori were starting to take their
toll in him. A conscience, something he had thought long lost, was making
its presence known once again. It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't he simply
take back the challenge and go back home?

His mind gave in to fantasy as he dreamed of the course he should have
taken. They could have built a house somewhere and settled down. No more
wandering. No more fighting. Peace. Happiness. A family. Something that had
never crossed his mind a year ago. No more than sixteen years of age and
already looking forward to settling down to the married life. Learning how
to help run a business had begun to sound good. And here he was, throwing
it all away for something that could never give him what he wanted. He had
initiated a quest to find a martial art that would give him the harmony he
so desperately sought his entire life. Instead, he had found the answer in
something entirely different. He had found it in the love of the woman at
his side.

And now he was in danger of losing it all. 

Ryu sank to his knees, trying to figure a way out of the entire mess his
life had become. His mind drew a blank. In frustration he pounded his fists
into a stone, pulverizing it into dust. A clapping suddenly came from a
nearby tree.

"That rock will never bother you again."

Ryu looked up to see a youth about his age, standing on a branch in one of
the trees, wearing a dragonscale vest with a single matching bracer, and,
if Ryu was not mistaken, a pantyhose around his waist.

"What do you want?" Ryu tensed up as he questioned the newcomer. Something
about the youth's stance and sneer suggested he was someone to be reckoned
with. And there was some air about him that made Ryu not want to trust him.

"Relax." Tarou held out his hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm not going to
give you any problems, impostor. In fact, if the way your practice is going
is any indication of how you're going to be fighting for that upcoming
match, I'm your best friend in the world."

Ryu didn't relax. "Somehow, I doubt that very much. And the name's Ranma
Saotome. Remember it!" 

Tarou gave a derisive snort. "You can call yourself Sailor Moon for all I
care. The reason I'm here is because I'm going to help you win this fight."

"Why would you want to do that?" Ryu asked, his suspicion growing by the
second. "I don't know you."

"But I know Ranma Saotome." Tarou saw Ryu begin to react in anger. "The
other one. And believe me, if you knew him you'd understand why I want to
see you kick his ass and take his name."

"I can take him." Ryu didn't like the implication the youth was making.

"The way you're fighting? Please. He'll make mincemeat out of you in less
than five seconds." Tarou was beginning to wonder if the impostor was going
to make things difficult. All he wanted to do was help. Himself.

"So what can you do to help me?"

At last, Ryu was showing interest. "I can show you his fighting style and
weak points. I can tell you how to beat him, easily."

"I don't need your help!" Ryu shot back.

Tarou chuckled, eliciting anger in Ryu. "Look at you. You're so far off
your mark it's hilarious. Mousse could probably take you with one arm tied
behind his back. Now, are you really that eager to lose your name?"

Ryu silently cursed himself. Every instinct told him not to trust the boy
in front of him. His identity and true purpose were a total unknown. He
could be a plant, placed here to give false information. But the
consequences of losing were great as well. If the boy before him truly
hated the real Ranma, then he could be the edge Ryu was looking for.

"Husband. You do not require his assistance. I have every confidence in
you." Kaori remained a good distance away from her spouse, satisfied that
she could support him from a distance and not let it appear she was
anything other than a proper wife who was deferential to her mate.

That was all it took to convince Ryu of what to do. Losing his wife was not
an option. Any advantage that could help him in his fight would be used.
Anything to win. "I accept."

Tarou leaped down from the tree and went to shake Ryu's hand. He gave the
most convincing smile he could muster, then turned to Kaori. "Since your
husband is willing to takes tips from me, how about I tell you a few of
that Tendo girl's weak points. Can't say I care much for her, since she's
the other Ranma's fiancee."

If her husband was willing to go along with Tarou's plan, she saw no reason
why she couldn't take a few pointers from the newcomer as well. She agreed.

That brought a smile to Tarou's face. Everything worked out just the way he
wanted. He would teach Ryu Fem-boy's tricks. Ranma would have his head
pounded in. Ryu would take away Ranma's name so that the engagement between
Akane and the hermaphrodite would be dissolved. After all, the agreement
was to unite the Saotome and Tendo families. But if Ranma wasn't a Saotome
any more, then the engagement would obviously be called off. That would
give Tarou his fair shot. Not only that, but he managed to help Akane too.
He would give Kaori a bunch of false information and help Akane win with
ease. Fem-boy was going to be so humiliated that Tarou considered buying a
camera to capture the look on Ranma's face the moment his life was
destroyed. Then he could laugh long and hard about it, enjoying that
picture for the rest of his life.


Mousse threw another fifty shurikens into the tree. For the last three days
he had been focusing his thoughts on only one thing: defeating Shampoo.
This would be his last chance. The final attempt. He couldn't afford to
hold back. Not this time. There was far too much at stake. If he failed,
Shampoo would be left in the hands of one of the most evil men that lived
and eventually lose her life. Mousse cursed Ranma Saotome for making his
life a living hell. Ranma was the one that deserved to be beaten for all
the crimes he had done to both him and Shampoo. In fact, Ranma was
responsible for the curses as well. If he hadn't been so careless and
knocked Shampoo into the Spring of Young Drowned Man, none of them would be
going through the difficulties they now had. And even that could have been
forgiven if Ranma hadn't taken Shampoo away. Together, Mousse and Shampoo
could have fled China and gotten married somewhere, keeping a low profile
until a solution to their predicament was found.

But that wasn't the way things had turned out. Now Mousse was being forced
to fight the last person in the world he wanted to. Life was cruel and
unfair. If he learned nothing else his entire life, he at least learned
that. Why all the bad things seemed to happen to him was beyond his
understanding. For all his resolve, he felt tears make their presence
known.

"Why does it have to be this way?" he said aloud.

"Actually, it doesn't," a voice answered back. "You could call off this
foolishness and go back to Kodachi, or China. Anywhere on the face of the
earth but Nerima. You could probably even stay here if you just kept out of
Shampoo's way."

Mousse turned to see the figure of one almost despised as Saotome. Cologne
made her presence known once again.

"What are you doing here, old hag?!" Mousse was certain she had come to
mess things up for him. She always did.

"I should crack your skull for that remark." She let the implied 'but' hang
there for a while, then continued. "However, I'll let it slide this time.
You're going to have enough trouble surviving Shampoo's onslaught. She
won't go soft on you like she has in the past."

"Shampoo never took it easy on me."

Cologne shook her head. "I doubt there is anyone else that could annoy her
half as much as you have and still be alive. Or at least not crippled. No.
She's taken it easy on you because she regards you as little more than an
annoyance that, at one time, she had feelings for. Though if she has any
for you now it would be nothing short of a miracle."

"She still cares for me. Deep down inside, I know." 

For the first time in years, Cologne gave up her role as Mousse's elder and
began speaking to him as a person. "Mousse, please give up. For both your
sakes. No good will come of this fight and you can't possibly win. The best
way you can help her, and yourself, is to let all of this go. Get on with
your life."

"So you can take her back to China? Your own granddaughter? I'll never let
someone as heartless as you do that to her. I'll protect her from everyone.
I promised myself that and I mean to keep it. Now get out of here! I still
have to practice for the duel."

Cologne remained where she was and watched him employ another volley of
weapons. It only took moments for Cologne to realize that he was training
in earnest. She carefully watched his movements and knew he was really
going to go through with it. This time it would be for real, just as he had
promised. With a sigh she turned to go. There had to be some way to help
Shampoo. But discretely. Given their current relationship, there was little
chance Shampoo would listen to her. No, Shampoo would either run or fight
if she spotted Cologne. Assistance would have to be given some other way.


Shampoo went through another pattern of movements. This was getting her
nowhere fast. Three days already wasted. What she needed to do was practice
against long range weapons and develop strategies against them, not
destroying stationary targets that looked like Mousse.

"Ranma," she called out. "Come over and help me!"

Ranma stopped matching his father's movements and answered. "I can't. I
gotta learn this Yamisenken stuff. Pop says I can beat him with it."

Genma smacked Ranma in the head. "Only if you continue to concentrate, boy.
If you keep letting yourself be distracted you'll never learn that
technique and you'll lose your name."

"Well then, I guess I wouldn't have to introduce you as my father any more
if that happens. Hey! Maybe I should throw the fight?!" he snapped back.

Genma started to retort when Ranma pointed to the ground behind Genma. "Is
that your fifty yen piece?"

"Where?" Genma turned to look at the ground Ranma had been pointing. He was
only able to look for a moment when a foot met his behind and he was sent
into a tree. 

"Talk about easy to distract." Ranma commented, then turned to Shampoo.
"Look. I really wish I had time to help you. But I got my hands full. Maybe
if you helped me we could work something out."

Shampoo shook her head. "I have to train only for Mousse. If I waste time
he might beat me. And you know what that means. No. The risk is too, too
great."

Ranma looked somewhat angrily at her. "Well, I gotta keep my family name.
It's real important to me that I keep it y'know?"

Shampoo understood exactly, and came to the same conclusion Tarou had
earlier. No name, no engagement. But there was no way she could root
against Ranma. Still, if he lost...

She pushed such thoughts out of her mind. If she didn't want Ranma to win
it would affect her, especially if he really did lose. She just couldn't
imagine herself enjoying Ranma suffering. The feelings ran too deep. This
was all proving to be a distraction. Just like the last three days. Every
time she found herself starting to concentrate on Mousse, she'd notice
Akane and Ranma together, or the fathers would come up with some stupid
scheme to get the two closer together. 

A primary example was Soun "accidentally" pouring some water on Ranma's
sleeping bag and making it too wet to sleep in. Just as the duo started to
suggest he and Akane share one, Shampoo calmly walked over and handed her
sleeping bag to Ranma. She overrode his protests by claiming it wouldn't be
proper for a boy to sleep with a girl. Shampoo said she would share the
sleeping bag with Akane, adding an "unless you want to sleep with Ranma" to
her. It had the desired effect of Akane loudly proclaiming "NO WAY!!!" and
agreeing to share with Shampoo. There had been the smallest fear that Akane
would agree to sleeping with Ranma, but it was a risk Shampoo had been
willing to take. 

Akane warned her that she better not turn into a guy in the middle of the
night. There was no chance of that. Shampoo would have preferred to share a
sleeping bag with a nest full of snakes than the violent tomboy, and
certainly wouldn't want to stay close to her as a guy either. Sleep was not
easily gained by either one of them that night.

All the constant distractions were beginning to add up. Little to nothing
was being accomplished, and the clock was ticking. Mousse had an edge, she
was certain of it. And if she wasn't fighting at close to optimum capacity
she could lose. That was not an acceptable option. She viewed losing to him
as little more than eternal bondage to his suffocating attention. There was
difficulty envisioning life with him. And what she could view was a
continuation of what life had been like growing up with him. Even if he
changed, what then? Could she grow to love him? Perfume once told her that
man had an infinite capacity for change. Of course thirteen year old
Shampoo had little ability or desire to listen to such ideas at the time,
but now she understood what it meant. If she lost to Mousse, what would the
future hold?

The answer was surprisingly simple: A lifetime spent with someone she
didn't love. No matter how much he changed on the outside, deep down he
would still be the same boy she had grown up with. She had spent more than
enough time with him to understand what he was like even better than
himself. Overprotective to the point of attacking a person she honestly
loved. Obsessive to the point of willingly causing her pain. Ignorant of
her needs and desires, no matter how plainly or violently she stated them.
A boy she could never love, just tolerate. No. She would never settle for
marriage to someone she could never do anything more than like at the best
of times and despise so much of the rest. 

All his actions over the last few months were little more than nails in the
coffin of any chance of a relationship, as if there was any chance to begin
with. Constant attacks upon Ranma. Placing innocents at risk for his own
desires. Assuming he knew better than she did what she wanted. All marks
against him. Even when she pointed out the flaws, he ignored them and
continued on the way he wanted. No. There were plenty of alternatives to a
marriage with him. Locking herself in male form. Dying in battle. 

Killing Mousse.

That was what it looked like it would come down to. She would not lose to
him. Never to him. In order to ensure he wouldn't, she would have to adjust
her mindset. Killing was never desirable, and he was a friend so very long
ago. How unfortunate there were no other viable alternatives. She had to be
prepared for the eventuality and train effectively. Ranma had refused her.
Genma was busy teaching him the Yamisenken. Akane had done likewise, saying
she had to learn Martial Arts Take Out. Ukyou had supplied some texts on
how it was done, but couldn't spend the time in the mountains to help Akane
without her business suffering. So she practiced with her father while
learning the counter-techniques. Shampoo was left alone.

Now it was time to come to a decision. Stay and waste time, perhaps
eventually losing to Mousse, or go away so she could find someone that
would help her in earnest. That choice meant leaving Akane and Ranma alone
with only two encouraging fathers as their company. There was no choice. 

"Ranma. Shampoo have to go. Winning is too important to me." She wanted him
to change his mind. Call out that she was more important than defeating the
false Ranma. Even though she knew if he sacrificed his time to help her it
would only hurt his chances at winning his own fight. There was a part of
her that was ashamed of her self-centeredness. Didn't she accuse Mousse of
the selfsame behavior? Why did the fool have to pick the same day for the
match as hers? Why were there so many obstacles in her life?

Ranma nodded his head in understanding and began practicing with his father
once again. That was more than a little disheartening. Couldn't he have at
least taken out the time to give her a sincere goodbye? She turned in a
huff as she went to collect her things.

"WAIT, SHAMPOO!!!" Ranma cried out. "Don't leave us..."

Shampoo felt her heart soar. Ranma wanted her to stay.

"...alone with Akane's cooking! If you go, we'll starve!"

"I haven't even made anything and you're already insulting my cooking!"
Akane picked up a teflon skillet and threw it at Ranma. He dodged the first
projectile as Akane went for more cooking weaponry and continued hurling
them at Ranma.

Shampoo shook her head in disgust and left Mt. Terror to return to Nerima.


Epilogue


Mousse concentrated, assuming the position he had been taught. His arms
held high above the head and the hands pointed forward, standing on one leg
like a crane. All day he felt himself just on the verge of employing the
technique. Just a little more and he would master it. He had to. It was for
Shampoo's sake. If he couldn't discover the proper use of it, he could lose
to her, just like he had all his life. He allowed his frustration that had
built up over the years to grow...

At last, he felt the chi energy form in front of him. For the first time in
his life he was able to effectively tap into his own body's unique chi
abilities. There was only a dim awarness of the small white light that
formed in front of him. Quickly it grew to a man-sized blob, building
steadily up until it suddenly shot forward, taking the form of a giant
white eagle that seemed to soar forward at an incredible speed. The chi
bird smashed into a grove of trees, shattering several of them into
kindling. He fell to his knees, a feeling of being utterly drained ran
throughout his body. It didn't matter how tired he felt. His heart was
racing. At long last he had mastered the Soaring Eagle Strike. Shampoo
could not win.

Mousse laughed long and hard for the first time in years, tears of joy
streaming from his eyes. Happiness was only ten days away.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Special Thanks to:

Harold Ancell
Ryan Anderson
Gary Kleppe
Jason Liao
Lord Talon
Shadowmage
Dr. Wade Tritschler

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920

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