Ranma 1/2 Presents:
Shampoo 1/2
Chapter 38

And With Naught But My Flesh, I Dared to Challenge the Gods Themselves


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Standard disclaimer: 
I don't own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters.

All C+C craved for (I will have an additional plead at the end. 
You can contact me at: sommer@3rdm.net

Azatlan has given Shampoo 1/2 a home at:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/Special-Series/shampoo.html

Bloodblade has also put it on his webpage at:
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920

Slashly also has it at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/5747/Shampoo.html

There is one lemon scene in here, but it's pretty tame. I tried my best to
make it as non-offensive as I could, and believe this version with it is
superior to the non-lemon one. Just my recommendation.


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"Where am I?"

Shampoo tried looking around to see where she was. It seemed to her that
she was floating in some kind of void. Everything around her felt...odd.
Empty. It was neither hot nor cold. It seemed to lack any temperature at
all. As to the surroundings themselves, there was nothing to them. No
light. No gray. Nothing but an eternal night completely devoid of stars.
However, the pitch blackness was not frightening, nor was it comforting.
Again it simply was.

How had she arrived in the void? The last thing she remembered was being
paralyzed and dying. Everything was beginning to grow dark. Then there was
a loud roar, followed by the roof of the cavern cracking...


*FLKT*


Shampoo remembered that she was six years old when she woke to the sounds
of her mother saying something in an agitated voice. From her position in
her bed she looked out her window at the moon. It was still late at night,
not early morning, she was certain of that, and if she got up and was
caught she would be punished. Her mother was a stickler for rules, and was
almost always certain to discipline Shampoo for breaking them without a
good excuse. Curiosity was not one of them.

Shampoo had tried to go back to sleep. Really she had, but it was no use.
Curiosity won out over caution, so she attempted to move silently as she
closed the distance between her bed and the door. For most girls it would
probably have been easy, but Shampoo's mother, Comb, had the hearing of a
cat, and somehow always seemed to know when Shampoo tried to sneak out of
bed. Still, she just had to know why her mother was still up and speaking
so loudly. 

It couldn't have been with her father; he never argued with her. Whatever
her mother said, her father went along with. He was a proper male that knew
his place and obeyed his wife. Comb saw to it her only child understood
that obedience was a necessary trait for any boy she should become
interested in. But when Shampoo mentioned that to her great grandmother,
the old one just smiled and got a funny look to her face, saying that a
male with spirit was a far better catch than some spineless jellyfish, and
that if Shampoo's mother hadn't been burned so badly in the past she could
admit to it too.

All of the talk was just plain silly to Shampoo. All boys were yucky except
Mousse. He was fun to play with and would split candy with her whenever he
got some. At least until recently. Now he kept saying he loved her, then
she would have to hit him for being stupid. At least he wasn't like that
all the time.

She returned her attention to the noises in the living room. It sounded as
though it was Shampoo's great grandmother that was talking with her mother.
That was cause for alarm. Shampoo practically worshipped the ground her
great grandmother walked upon, and any arguments between her family always
stung her. They did not occur frequently, but they did happen. Praying to
the gods, she tried opening the door slightly, just a crack so she could
see what was really going on. She moved it, centimeter by centimeter, the
well-oiled door not making a sound. Once there was enough space she looked
out into the room.

It was indeed Cologne with whom Comb was arguing. The old one appeared as
inscrutable as ever, while her mother appeared ready to lash out at her
with a nearby spear. 

"" Comb shook as she protested.

For a moment, Shampoo had thought her great grandmother spotted her as
Cologne turned an eye to the door. If so she said nothing about as she
responded to the accusation in a manner that brooked no arguments. ""

""

Shampoo had never seen her mother so agitated. Ever. Comb was hardly
legendary for controlling her temper, and sometimes she even spoke out
against Cologne (in private, of course), but always it was with some
moderation. To openly plead like she was doing was unthinkable. Always she
carried herself with pride and dignity, at least in Shampoo's eyes.

Cologne shook her head. ""

"" Comb responded through gritted teeth.

"" Cologne said, as though talking to a child. ""

"" 

Shampoo watched on in horror as her mother balled her fists up and appeared
ready to lash out at her own grandmother.

If Cologne took any notice of the move, she did not outwardly show it.
Instead she simply remained where she was, as though there was no danger to
her at all. ""

The strength seemed to leave Comb's body as she unclenched her fists.
Slowly she rocked back on her heels. Shampoo recognized that as a sure sign
her mother was thinking hard. She would do it when deciding Shampoo's
punishment when she did something really bad, like accidentally lighting a
neighbor's house on fire. How was she to know oil was THAT flammable?

Comb at last stopped rocking and triumphantly placed her hands on her hips.
""

Cologne released a tired sigh. ""

"" Comb protested. ""

Cologne shook her head as a note of exasperation entered her voice. ""

Shampoo looked on as her mother's face began to twitch. ""

Cologne gave a flat stare in return. ""

Comb regained her composure, realizing what a fool she had just made of
herself. She rocked back on her heels for a few more moments before giving
Cologne a scowl. ""

Cologne appeared genuinely surprised. ""

Comb's scowl switched to a cold stare. ""
Comb's voice dropped some. ""

Shampoo watched on as her mother brushed her hair back and composed
herself.

""

Shampoo barely caught herself before gasping out loud. How could her own
mother say that to great grandmother?!

Cologne's eyes narrowed in response. ""

"" Comb replied coldly. ""

The two locked stares with one another. It was almost thirty seconds later
when Shampoo was shocked once again when her great grandmother acquiesced. 

In a voice that could barely be heard, Cologne repeated those words from so
long ago. ""

Comb seemed satisfied with that declaration. "" She seemed to savor those words for a
moment, then venom laced her voice once more. ""

""

The last of Comb's energy seemed to pass from her as she slumped into a
nearby chair. Her body appeared exhausted and her spirit drained as she
gave Cologne an evil glare. "" Comb turned to the door Shampoo was hiding behind.
""

Shampoo cowered for a moment, then realized both women had been aware of
her presence the entire time. Sheepishly she revealed herself, waiting to
have both women punish her. As she was considering how to come up with an
excuse about still being awake, she caught sight of the tears in her
mother's eyes. That shocked Shampoo, for her mother never cried. 

Comb composed herself as the tears disappeared with a wipe of her sleeve.
""

"" Shampoo asked in bewilderment. Was that the punishment she was
receiving for her staying up too late?

"" Cologne gave a warm smile to Shampoo, causing her to relax.
""

Shampoo stood up proudly, just as she knew she should. ""

"" 

Shampoo felt a little scared at that. She had spent nights over at her
great grandmother's house before, but living there forever? "" she asked with uncertainty. 

"" Cologne reassured her. ""

That perked Shampoo up. She was going to receive training to be a great
warrior, just like she always wanted. Then everyone would like her and
respect her, especially her mother. And she was still going to spend time
with her parents every day. That didn't seem so bad. Her mother must have
misunderstood and overreacted. 

"" Comb said acidly, then shifted her
attention to Shampoo. She softened then, and moved forward to embrace her.
""

Shampoo gave a tired sigh to all of the 'mothering' she was receiving. Why
did parents always have to be like that and embarrass her? She was already
a big girl, and it wasn't like she was going far away. It was just to the
far side of the village. After replying with the appropriate amount of
'Yes, Mother's,' they packed up some clothes for her to spend the night.
Her father would take the rest of the things over the next day. 

Shampoo gave her mother one last hug before leaving. Comb seemed so sad
over her going away, but it was her big chance to become the greatest
warrior there was. And she did love her great grandmother, so it wasn't all
that scary to her. If she was going to be the greatest warrior ever, she
couldn't let herself be afraid of little stuff like that. 

As she left her home dwindled in the distance, Shampoo began to have second
thoughts. All of a sudden it was scary to be leaving her home. It really
was all she had known all of her life, and the idea of it changing was
disconcerting. Maybe she could change her mind and ask to go back. She
already missed her mother, and it hadn't even been five minutes.

"" Cologne asked.

"" Shampoo answered too quickly. She was not scared, and even if she
was, she would not show it next to her great grandmother. The diminutive
woman was never afraid of anything, and Shampoo wanted to be courageous
just like that.

""
Cologne reminisced. 

That was a shock to Shampoo. ""

Cologne gave her a toothy grin. ""

That was a silly question. ""

"" Cologne asked.

All of a sudden Shampoo felt she had been tricked somehow. Brave warriors
weren't supposed to be afraid, but now her great grandmother seemed to be
implying she should be. "" She held her
fingers barely apart and showed that to Cologne as an example of how little
she was afraid.

""

Shampoo beamed at the compliment. Her great grandmother said she was
courageous. That was all she needed to bolster her courage and move with
more zest in her step than she had before. 

It was as they were almost to Cologne's house when the old woman said
something. Shampoo heard uncharacteristic emotion in her great
grandmother's voice. 

""

Shampoo stared at her, confused. ""

Cologne looked at her softly. ""

Shampoo wasn't sure what to say, so she went with the first thing that came
to mind. "" She leaned over and
kissed Cologne on the cheek. 

Cologne laughed at that, then shook her head sadly. ""

To Shampoo, the comment seemed directed more at the matriarch herself than
at her, so she remained silent as the duo continued on their way. Shampoo
silently vowed she would never be sorry for choosing to follow the path her
great grandmother would lay before her.

And she never was.


*FLKT*


Shampoo still found herself floating in the void while wondering what had
happened and why she was thinking of things from her childhood. True, that
was a defining moment for her, but she had never been able to remember it
so clearly.


*FLKT*


Thirteen year old Shampoo's feet automatically moved, one in front of the
other as she and her great grandmother made their way through the crowd.
She had been only dimly aware of the silence and accusing stares that met
her as she had walked through the crowd and deeper into the village, away
from the eyes of the others with only her great grandmother as her
companion. 

"" Cologne told her. ""

Shampoo was only dimly aware of her great grandmother's words. There was
only one sound she could hear. It was still continuing in an unbroken
cacophony of noise, as clear as though it were being voiced from right next
to her, despite the fact it was really coming from a hundred yards back at
the challenge log.

It was the sound of Perfume's screaming.

"" Cologne trailed
off as she became aware of Shampoo no longer walking alongside her.

Shampoo's feet had stopped moving of their own accord. Now she simply gazed
downward.

""

Shampoo showed no emotion, ignoring the question and staring at the sword
that had never been sheathed. It had remained at her side as she stared at
her handiwork. The cut had been long and deep, just as she had wanted.
After she determined that, Shampoo then jumped off the log and made her way
through the crowd. Now, as she stopped, she examined the blade more
closely. It was lowered at an angle towards the ground, and the blood from
the slash was slowly dripping down the edge of the sword. A part of her
mind acknowledged how odd it was that not all of it had run off before.
Perhaps she had been holding it at a higher angle. 

""

Shampoo took no notice of the command as she watched the red fluid collect
at the tip of the sword. She found herself captivated by the sight,

watching...no, fixated by the small crimson line that hugged the point of
her blade. She could think of nothing else. There was nothing else, except
for the blood, the blood that gravity tugged with agonizing slowness,
drawing it into a small globe that grew until finally gravity won out and a
single red drop fell, only to be absorbed by the ground. Almost as soon as
it landed two more drops followed, soaked up just as greedily by the soil,
but the two new arrivals were clear, not red. It took a moment for Shampoo
to understand to understand why they were different and what they were.

""

Tears. 

""

They were tears. 

""

They were her tears.

Strength left her legs as she fell to her knees, releasing the sword and
whispering softly. ""

Cologne's voice remained in its state of command. ""

Shampoo at last was able to look at her great grandmother. Her voice became
louder and the tears flowed more readily and her voice took on a sobbing
quality. ""

"" Cologne insisted as she
looked around, watching for any others that might see the spectacle that
was occurring in the middle of the street.

"" Shampoo protested, her voice growing louder. ""

"" Cologne hissed. ""

"" Shampoo said, almost inaudibly as she repeated it over and
over again. "" 

Shampoo's voice rose with each declaration. It was only a hard blow from
Cologne's staff that knocked Shampoo flat on the ground and silenced the
purple-haired Amazon, shocking her out of her mantra. Shampoo rose up on
her hands and looked at her great grandmother in shock, and was suddenly
very frightened by what she saw. It seemed to Shampoo that the woman
towered over her, despite only being several inches below her eye level.

"" Cologne warned as the staff
found its way into the crook of her arm. ""

"" Shampoo protested softly. ""

Further protests died on her lips as she saw the glare her great
grandmother gave her. Suddenly Shampoo was truly afraid of her great
grandmother for perhaps the first time in her life.

"" Cologne maintained her glare. ""

Shampoo shot up to her feet, drying her tears and bowing her head in shame
to her great grandmother.

"" Cologne
hissed. ""

Cologne continued her stare. ""

An unachievable longing filled Cologne's face as she continued. ""

Shampoo gazed sadly at her great grandmother, feeling some sympathy through
her own pain. ""

Cologne nodded. ""

"" Shampoo said softly. 

Shampoo had never seen the look Cologne gave when she finished saying that.
It seemed to be a longing sadness with a mixture of pity. Beyond that
Shampoo could not say. But the words her great grandmother spoke ended up
disturbing her for a very long time to come.

""


*FLKT*


She did not want to remember that terrible day. Why was she being assailed
like that? She had mended the bridges with Perfume, and though the
closeness they had shared could never be reclaimed, they had arrived at a
mutual peace. 


*FLKT*


The strange Japanese boy must have been lying. Either that or Shampoo had
misunderstood what he meant when he said they would 'spar' with one
another. No. It was probably a trap, just as she feared. He was trying to
get himself an Amazon bride by defeating her in combat. Surely he was
trying to do everything he could to subdue her. No one was as good as that
when they merely trained. No. He misled her into thinking it was only a
practice match, getting her to drop her guard so that he could later claim
that it was real combat and he had defeated her fairly.

It was such a betrayal, but she had been warned that outsiders were an
egotistical lot that believed the Amazons were nothing more than a lot of
backwater primitives that could be taken advantage of as though they were
children. She would teach the boy a lesson between that stereotype and the
reality of the matter. 

It really was unfortunate because Ranma had seemed so polite and friendly,
not at all like the few arrogant males that would come to the village
thinking the 'little girls' there were some kind of joke. Even the man
called Pop seemed to regard her and her martial arts as something worthy of
great respect. Ranma had treated her very nicely, at least when he wasn't
depressed over the fact he turned into a girl when splashed with cold
water. Shampoo had even comforted him in the last rainstorm they were
caught in, not that he hadn't done the same for her since she too despised
her cursed form. If it had not been for the sadness in Ranma's eyes every
time he looked down at his female body, a sorrow that was mirrored in
Shampoo, she wondered where she would have found the strength to continue.
Her life was over. No Amazon had fallen victim to Nanniichuan in over three
hundred years, but those that had before that had all met the same fate:
Death. Not that she felt like continuing on with such a repulsive male
body. Better to receive an animal curse than to turn into the exact
opposite of what an Amazon warrior was supposed to be.

But Ranma somehow managed to deal with his curse. And if an outsider male
could come to terms with his --admittedly superior because it was female--
cursed body, then how could Shampoo do no less in adjusting to her own
curse-induced sex change? It was a matter of pride, as well as some basic
need to try to find reason to survive, that enabled her to appear strong
most of the time when she was a male. There were even certain advantages to
having a male body. Like being much stronger than when she was a female.
And then there was being able to go to relieve herself standing up,
although having to touch her new...appendage was more than a little
discomforting. There wasn't supposed to be anything there, not for her
anyway. She even had to forgo her underwear and steal some that was drying
out on a clothesline. She found that after her first change into a male
that her normal undergarments were far too confining. She had been reduced
to wearing men's underwear now. It was so embarrassing for the champion of
the village to have to do something that degrading. At least no one back
home knew of that particular shame.

So she and Ranma had comforted one another as they tried to deal with their
curses, each drawing strength from the other. At least until now. 

She brought out her bonbori and swung at his ribcage. She would not try to
kill him, no matter how he had misled her. She owed him far too much. No,
Shampoo would choose to simply smash in a couple of his lower ribs and
maybe an arm if he refused to back off. She saw there was surprise in his
eyes as he avoided the first blow, which was soon followed by a second and
then a third. Her opponent began ranting about something in Japanese, but
Shampoo was not about to let up to concentrate on the words. His actions
told her all she needed to know. 

Faster and faster he dodged the bonbori strikes, but made no offensive
moves of his own. He simply kept ranting in Japanese. The longer the fight
went, the more she was beginning to wonder if what Ranma was trying to say
was important. She deliberately left a small opening on her defense, seeing
if Ranma would exploit it. When he did not she left a more obvious hole in
it. Still Ranma did not take try to take the advantage. In fact, he chose
to jump up in a tree and make placating gestures towards her rather then
try to attack. She listened carefully to his words as he tried explaining
once more that he was merely practicing and asked why she was trying to
kill him.

It was with great difficulty she tried to speak to him in his own tongue.
"Ranma try beat Shampoo real, not make believe."

"I was just sparring, really," he insisted.

She gazed at him suspiciously, but there appeared to be little duplicity in
his eyes, and she did so want to believe him. "Ranma fight too good make
believe. Look real."

"Nope. I was just practicin'. When I go all out you'll know it."

She felt her suspicions begin to die off. "Ranma no try to win Shampoo
wife?"

She watched as he facefaulted out of the tree and hit the ground. "Why
Ranma throw self to ground? Ranma try kill self?"

"No!" he gasped as he picked himself up and brushed the dust off of him.
"What made you think I was trying to win you as a wife?"

"When outsider male challenge Amazon and win, Amazon have to marry. Is
law."

"I don't want to marry you!" Ranma protested, causing Shampoo to feel the
slightest bit of irritation at the vehemence of it. Not that she wanted
Ranma as a husband, even if he was somewhat cute. The timing was all wrong.

"Can't we just practice?" he asked.

Shampoo nodded. As long as it was clear it was only a practice and not a
challenge, marriage rules did not apply. In light of the misunderstanding,
both agreed to not practice until the next day when tempers would have
cooled off. 

"Besides, who would want to marry a violent Chinese chick like you?" Ranma
mumbled under his breath as he turned away. He suddenly found a bonbori
thrust no more than a centimeter away from his face.

"What Ranma mean when call Shampoo, 'violent Chinese chick'?" She had known
enough Japanese to tell that he had been referring to her, and she did not
like the tone of voice in which he had said it.

"Umm, it's Japanese for 'a really strong, attractive warrior'."

Shampoo took a moment to translate what she could of that, then gave a
radiant smile. "Yes. That right. Shampoo violent Chinese chick." 

She watched Ranma give a nervous laugh and walk off. He made it no more
than fifteen feet away when she called out, "Ranma?"

He turned slowly, allowing Shampoo to see a sheen of sweat that suddenly
appeared across his forehead. She figured he was still overheated from
their duel. 

"Yeah?" he said.

"Shampoo think Ranma violent Chinese chick too." 

For some odd reason he didn't seem to take the compliment well and stomped
off, mumbling something to himself. She just shrugged. Japanese boys seemed
to behave pretty weird, although she had meant what she has said about him
being a great and attractive warrior. However, the cursed state she was in
pretty much destroyed any desire to seek out possible mates. She wanted a
cure first. Everything else was secondary to that. Once that was taken care
of, her life could return back to normal. Still, perhaps she should get to
know Ranma better. He certainly appeared to be a powerful fighter, and that
was always a plus when looking for possible romantic partners. Yes. She
would keep a close eye on such a seemingly interesting boy, even if he was
confusing. Once her Japanese got better, she'd be able to understand Ranma
better as well. 

She shook her head. There were more important things to do, like seek cover
from the impending rain that was fast approaching. Rain seemed to follow
them wherever they went since they had each been cursed. It was like they
were water magnets or something.


*FLKT*


Once more Shampoo realized she was still in the void as she wondered where
that one had come from? She had not thought about that day in months. The
whole situation was so bizarre.


*FLKT*


Shampoo-kun had been in the backyard, next to the koi pond, going through
the motions of his kata, but even as he attempted a spinning leap kick he
could tell his center was off. Even the basic forms were eluding him. He
paused in mid-motion and noted that Kasumi was watching him closely once
again from the back porch of the house. It was odd how she always seemed to
be there when he was training, especially considering she didn't seem to
practice the art itself. Perhaps she was considering starting it and wanted
to ask if he would help train her. If so he would accept. Outside of Ranma,
Kasumi treated him the nicest of all. Actually, she treated him a lot
better than Ranma, but in his months of travel with the boy, the Amazon
knew Ranma was hardly an overly sensitive guy. He wasn't deliberately
callous, it just seemed he was cursed to put his foot in his mouth at the
most inopportune moments. Small wonder since he was raised by Genma alone.
It was a miracle Ranma turned out as well as he had without a real woman to
raise him. Men were so limited.

Ranma. It all came back to him. He had asked Shampoo-kun to do the role of
Romeo in the school play. The Amazon didn't know the first thing about
acting, but had accepted anyway. Why? Because it meant he could kiss Ranma.


That sent a shiver down his spine. When had such strong feelings for the
frequently irritating boy come about? Sure, Shampoo-kun admired him and his
martial arts skills, which were admittedly better than the Amazon's own,
but it went further than simple admiration of abilities. There was the soft
side of Ranma he never showed knowingly to the rest of the world, and
denied fervently when confronted with such accusations. The majority of the
time he could be an unthinking egomaniac, yet somehow Shampoo-kun found
that a little appealing as well. Very peculiar.

And why had Ranma asked Shampoo-kun? True, his stated reason was so that no
real men kissed him, but could there have been something else? Perhaps he
truly wanted to taste Shampoo-kun's lips, and given his promise of marriage
to one of the Tendos, it was the only way he could without the fathers
unleashing their anger on him. 

That seemed silly to Shampoo-kun as well. It was true that occasionally
back home marriages were arranged by families for a male to be wed to a
female so that two clans could be united, but it was rarely done anymore.
Cologne had made her opinion on that matter well known, stating such things
did no good to the children themselves and there was a chance of weakness
being bred into the family if one of the prospects proved herself unworthy
of warrior status or if the man was weak. Far better to find a good, strong
mate on one's own than leave it up to chance by linking two families in the
hopes that each clan would provide a good spouse. Politics should have
nothing to do with bloodlines. Personal worth was all that truly mattered,
though politics had to be suffered to get anything done.

And Ranma was personally worthy; of that Shampoo-kun had no doubt. He was
not only strong and handsome, he was Ranma, and that was the only word that
could describe the immutable qualities which made him so irresistibly
appealing. Akane certainly didn't appreciate it. All she ever seemed to do
was pick fights with Ranma (well, he started them at least half the time
too) in which he refused to fight back. If he tried treating Shampoo-kun
like he was not worthy of fighting, he would 'educate' Ranma in just what
defending oneself from an opponent, male or female, could entail.

Shampoo-kun shook his head of such negative thoughts. If Akane did not want
the prize she was handed, fine. Shampoo-kun would be more than happy to
show Ranma what it meant to be appreciated. And he would do it with their
kiss for the play. 

Poor, sweet, irritating Ranma would never know what hit him.


*FLKT*


Shampoo continued floating in the void. All remained the same until she
felt a coldness off to what she perceived was her left. A coldness which
seemed to suck at her very soul, absorbing all light and warmth. And the
worst part about it was that the drain was familiar to her. Very familiar.

It was the same sensation she had in her talk with Mr. Domino.

And then it was gone, as though it had never truly existed. Once more she
lost the ability to perceive either time or movement, nothing other than a
sense of self, as she remained in the void.


*FLKT*


Shampoo-kun could feel Kasumi's legs lock around his waist. The girl was
unexpectedly powerful, especially in those long legs of hers. It actually
took him some effort to draw his hips back and slowly thrust forward again.
There was no rush, despite the urgent messages his male body was giving
off, many of them coming from the new 'equipment' he had. He wanted the
girl beneath him to cherish the experience for a lifetime. It was the first
for both of them, yet it was not for his pleasure, but for hers that he was
doing this. At least that was what he had told himself at first, and in the
beginning that might even have been true, but no longer. His own body now
craved the release only Kasumi could give as he automatically obeyed its
signals and picked up his tempo slightly.

No. He forced himself to fight through those basic feelings and slowed
down, almost to a stop as Kasumi relaxed her leg lock and released him. He
wanted to let her calm down a little bit so he could bring her up once
more. Twice before he had taken her to the edge then backed off. Each time
she looked at him with a mixture of confusion and pleading, then would arch
back and moan as he began his ministrations once again. It was odd how he
seemed to know what to do to maximize his partner's pleasure, and judging
by her reaction she was enjoying herself. What he thought he should do was
almost instinctive, and he followed those instincts as best as he could,
gaining the results he wanted.

Soon he would not be able to control himself; on some intuitive level he
understood that. If the situation were not so unusual he would have lost
control long ago, but at no point in his life had he expected to have an
experience like this. Never would he have believed he would make love to a
woman, yet there he was, doing that very thing. And he wanted to. There was
no denying that. It went far beyond his desire to make up for how the date
had originally gone.

How ironic that at a time when they deliberately went out to have fun
together they had had their first argument. Well, as much as one could have
an argument with Kasumi. They had arrived at the wedding on time and it had
gone off without a problem. During the festivities afterwards, the bride,
Miki, and the groom separated to talk to their respective friends.
Observing Miki's joyful reaction to seeing Kasumi for the first time in
years, Shampoo-kun decided to let the two of them reminisce and made
himself scarce, keeping an eye on Kasumi from afar. Unfortunately all of
the unattached women, and several that had arrived with someone else, took
that as a signal to become excessively friendly with him. The annoying
females seemed to make a contest of trying to gain his attention,
practically coming to blows over it. Showing disinterest seemed to spur
them on to try harder, and he couldn't beat up a couple to make examples of
them. He was not going to ruin the reception and Kasumi's good time because
he was receiving unwanted attentions similar to the ones back in Nerima. He
was simply going to have to smile and live with it.

He watched Kasumi sit at one of the tables across the room and continue to
drink with the bride. She almost seemed to glare at Shampoo-kun. Of course
he knew he was mistaken; Kasumi never glared. It had to have been an error
on his part from the distance he was from her. Eventually the bride left
and was replaced by a man whom Shampoo-kun took an instinctive dislike.
Even from that distance the stranger reeked of the same arrogance Mikado
possessed. The Amazon watched as the man talked with Kasumi for a few
minutes, then whispered something in her ear which made her blush. She gave
a look to Shampoo-kun, then followed the man outside. The disbelief over
Kasumi's erratic behavior almost made the Amazon miss the vain male place a
hand around Kasumi's waist as they went outside to one of the gardens next
to the building. Shampoo-kun had been only vaguely aware of knocking over
two of his female admirers as he rushed outside. Curiously, his entourage
chose not to follow.

Once outside, it only took him a few moments to spot Kasumi leaning against
a wall, the man standing far too close to her for his own sake. Even from
behind, Shampoo-kun could smell the airs the Mikado-like man possessed, and
as the Amazon approached he could hear the man chuckle with a sound that
instantly grated on Shampoo-kun's nerves. Oh yes, there was no doubt from
the tone of voice and the motions of his body that the man was trying to
seduce Kasumi. Shampoo-kun's Kasumi. The Amazon had to reaffirm to himself
he would not simply drive the man's head into a wall when he was close
enough. 

He moved behind the loathsome creature that was trying to beguile sweet
Kasumi and placed his hand around the back of the man's neck, forcefully
turning him around. The displeasure in the man's stare as he was made to
look at one who would dare interrupt him in his 'game' disappeared once he
saw the hate etched in Shampoo-kun's face. 

Shampoo-kun lifted him several inches off the ground by the scruff of his
neck, as though he were a rag doll, and informed him that, "There is
somewhere else you have to be." The man scurried away like a rat, the
Amazon resisting the urge to give him a swift kick to send him on his way.
When he turned to Kasumi, the same glare that he had seen earlier had
returned.

"Why did you do that?" she asked.

Shampoo-kun felt as though he was stabbed through the heart. "Did you want
to be with him?"

The glare lasted just a moment longer, then disappeared as Kasumi appeared
as though she was about to cry. "No. I want to be with you. But you avoided
me since the reception started and were hanging around with those...
women."

That last word was laced with a venom Shampoo-kun had never heard from the
girl, and he wondered why Kasumi appeared so openly... jealous? That seemed
the appropriate word. Perhaps she had had too much to drink. "I not even
like any of them. They was annoying. I wanted to be with you, but I thought
you would want some time alone with you friend."

Kasumi seemed to soften further with that. "No more than a few minutes. It
was wonderful to see her again, but I wanted you there at my side."

"I sorry." Shampoo-kun brought his hands upon Kasumi's shoulders, in a
gesture to reassure her of his desire to please her, and stroked them
through the material of her dress. 

She tensed up for a moment, then moved forward and wrapped her arms around
him, burying her head in the center of his chest. He smiled in response and
embraced her in return. 

"You're the one I want to be with," she murmured into his chest.

"I want to be with you too."

She looked up into his eyes, staring deeply into them with a longing
Shampoo-kun recognized. It was all too similar to the one she had when
under the influence of the love pill. Yet this time there was no fear or
even uneasiness. Tonight it was a comforting  gaze, and he did not resist
when she brought herself to her full height and kissed him on the lips. The
smell of Kasumi's perfume, a mixture of jasmine and orchids, filled his
nostrils and heightened his awareness of the girl, no, woman that was in
his embrace. And just as in the cave, he found himself returning that
perfect kiss, though for longer than a moment. This time there was no
resistance from within. Not here. Not tonight. That was why he had felt
such raw hatred for the man that had talked with Kasumi. Shampoo-kun did
not want to lose her now. Inside each wanted it to be their moment, nothing
outside of the two of them existed any longer. 

They returned to the reception, inseparable from one another. No one else
wasted their time trying to talk to either one alone. There was not a
single person in the room that was able to miss the connection the two now
shared. They danced the night away, enjoying each other's exclusive
company, save when Miki spoke alone with Kasumi every now and then. Guests
left one by one until there was only a handful left, curiously including
the bride and groom. Just as Shampoo-kun and Kasumi were about to leave,
Miki took the eldest Tendo girl aside and whispered something to her, which
caused Kasumi to look wide-eyed at Shampoo-kun, then give an, 'Oh my! I
couldn't!' Miki laughed in response and gave a mischievous grin directed at
Shampoo-kun before seeking her new husband once more.

Shortly thereafter the pair grabbed a taxi and began their journey to the
train station. They had remained at the reception far longer than Kasumi
had planned and only had enough time to catch the last train to Nerima. On
the way back, Shampoo-kun could not help noticing the sad look Kasumi had.
It felt so terribly wrong for her to ever be disappointed, especially after
what Shampoo-kun had done early on. He hoped there was something he could
do to cheer her up.

"Why you so sad?" 

She stared at Shampoo-kun for a moment, then seemed to grow sadder as she
turned to the window before answering. "It's just that today felt so
wonderful I wish it didn't have to end. I'd love to spend some more time
away from everyone else. Just the two of us, even if it was only for a
little while."

Kasumi had actually asked for something. Shampoo-kun could not remember her
doing that to him before. At least not for anything more serious than,
"would you pass the salt?" He considered the request. There were a million
reasons why they could not, perhaps even more of why they should not, but
didn't Kasumi deserve something for herself? Of course she did. She always
gave to others, never asking nor expecting anything in return. Now she at
last sought something the Amazon could give her, and at no real cost to
himself. Just some more time with one another. Of course with what had gone
on earlier in the night, the odds were very good of what that would lead
to. Gazing into her eyes before, he knew that was what she wanted. Could he
do something like that? What about Ranma? 

Oh yes, Ranma. Ranma who jumped back and forth between Shampoo and Akane
like each one was a hot potato, never holding on to one long before turning
to the other. Ranma, who could be the most insensitive, thick-headed,
egotistical jerk the Amazon had ever known. Ranma, who had blatantly groped
Akari's chest right in front of Shampoo and didn't even have the decency to
apologize or even to feel ashamed about it afterwards. Ranma, who almost
seemed afraid to give Shampoo any sign of the affection he so desperately
wanted.

And then there was Kasumi, who was deserving of at least a small piece of
happiness. She had treated Shampoo-kun nicely, even after learning he was
really a girl and the two had no engagement, one that Kasumi seemed to have
wanted very much since that was the only time the Amazon had ever even
heard of her taking the initiative in something like that. A lesser person
might have held such a disappointment against Shampoo-kun, or at least not
gone out of her way to be nice to him, but Kasumi did not. She never spoke
of the matter at all, and in many ways was a much better emotional anchor
than Ranma ever was, even at the best of times. The eldest Tendo girl was
far more stable, and was always there. And she had shown a great deal of
affection towards Shampoo-kun, even when she was female.

Now the question became could Shampoo-kun give something back to one that
had given him so much. Could he make that sort of sacrifice? 

"For the weekend."

Kasumi turned in wide-eyed wonder to look at Shampoo-kun. He nodded his
head in affirmation to her unspoken question. 

Whatever doubts he had dissolved with the smile that alighted Kasumi's
face. Yes, Kasumi had smiled before, but not like that. Never like that.
The joy she radiated was as pure as her kindliness. He wanted her to be
like that all the time, but knew that would be an impossible dream. It was
only for a weekend. Just two more days. But he would see to it she was
happy no matter what.

 Both moved forward, bringing their faces together and kissed once more.

"I take it you guys ain't headin' fer the train station now?" the cab
driver asked.


After a call to the Tendo home, the two checked into a nearby hotel. When
it came time to rent a room, Kasumi looked to Shampoo-kun, appeared as
though she considered something, then shook her head with a crestfallen
look. She then ordered a small room with two beds. She had barely finished
when he spoke up and changed it to one. Kasumi's face remained pointed
downward, but he could feel the joy and anticipation emanating from her.
Tonight was her night, nothing reserved. He would give himself unto her
with no inhibitions or doubts, for those would do nothing but either ruin
the moment or the memory, no matter what repercussions there might be.


And there were no doubts as Shampoo-kun increased his rhythm once more. He
could feel his own body entering its final phase, and knew there would be
no holding back this time. All he could do was delay the release until just
the right moment. Timing was everything if he wanted to maximize the
pleasure for both of them. 

Sweat began to form on the couple as they ground their bodies together. He
tried distracting himself from his body's howls for release by scolding
himself for not turning down the temperature in the too hot room
beforehand. The scent of the sweat, and other fluids, blended with Kasumi's
perfume, somehow creating a new fragrance which only served to excite
Shampoo-kun further as he increased both the force and speed with which he
moved. It felt so wonderful. How could he have ever for one moment hated
his male body? How could he have ever have believed being with a woman was
wrong?  Nothing that could produce such feelings of euphoria could be
immoral. It was all normal. It was right.

He looked down at the woman beneath him and his eyes met hers. An unspoken
communication passed between them. He understood and gave full release to
his passions, pausing for but a moment to slightly reposition his body and
bring his full strength into play. What he had been holding back for fear
of hurting the more fragile Kasumi was abandoned when he saw the craving in
her eyes for a final liberation to her own internal fires. Kasumi's soft
moans became gasps as her body shook with each of his thrusts.

Their eyes met once more as Shampoo-kun felt her begin to contract around
the part of him buried within her. He watched Kasumi's eyes almost seem to
glaze over as she bit down on her lip, a loud moan escaping as she did it.
Eye contact was lost as she turned her head away, thrashing it side-to-side
twice before stopping. At last he paused as he felt her tighten around him,
squeezing his member hard and setting off every last one of his senses,
fully taking in the rapture of her beautiful face as he at last succeeded
in making her climax. She could keep quiet no longer as she gave full voice
to her passion, screaming out for several seconds before Shampoo-kun
brought his mouth onto hers, driving in all of his feelings of love for the
girl with the kiss. 

He quickly discovered that what he had thought was the height of her sexual
ecstasy, when she had reached orgasm, had been completely wrong. As his
lips made full contact with hers, she seemed to explode underneath him, her
muscles rippling with tremendous force as she pressed her body tightly
against him as though they would never be apart, trying to become one.

That explosion sent him over the edge as he felt all of the passion that
had built up shoot through him and into the girl he was within. It was like
nothing he had ever experienced. Absolutely nothing. It was rapture and
bliss, eradicating everything else in his mind. There was nothing in the
world that could feel greater than what he experienced at that moment. He
broke off the kiss to give a cry of ecstasy of his own, and just as quickly
it was silenced as Kasumi forced his head back down and kissed him with the
same force and passion that he had given her. 

Now it was his turn. What he had assumed was the absolute limit of pleasure
he could experience was shattered as he became one with the woman he was
with. They were sexually bonded to one another, their furious passion
linked together, raising each farther than either could have done alone.
Tears flowed as he knew there was nothing in the world that could transcend
what he felt at that instant. Rival at best, but never exceed.

And then the moment passed as each came down from their sexual high,
involuntarily disengaging themselves from the emotional oneness that each
had experienced. There was a feeling of loss for the briefest of moments as
something that was once experienced disappeared, and what was left behind
though truly exquisite, was lacking some ethereal quality.

That instantaneous feeling of loss disappeared as full awareness returned.
He looked down to see Kasumi's tears matched his own. They were tears of
joy, and they too were a wonderful sight to behold. 

As they lay together, Shampoo-kun on top of Kasumi, subconsciously
distributing his weight so as not to leave too much of it on his partner,
he took one moment to admire the pure beauty that made Kasumi what she was.
A beauty that Shampoo-kun knew he could never truly hope to match, yet felt
no jealousy over that truth. What they had done could not be continued for
long, but she had given him some part of herself, even as he had given
something of him to her. She was his first, and no matter what happened
they would always have that. No one could ever take away that which they
had shared, and it was a feeling he would treasure forever.

Gently he lowered his lips next to Kasumi's ear and whispered the words he
felt within.

"Wo ai ni, Kasumi. Wo ai ni."


*FLKT*


Why was she having all of these flashbacks? She was not one to reminisce
overlong about the past. She might occasionally pine for yesterday, or be
lost for a little while on some errant memory, but nothing like the whole
scale remembrance she was experiencing. And never had her memories
possessed such vivid details. It was almost as though she was experiencing
the retrospection in real life once again. Her whole life was flashing
before her eyes. It was almost as if there was some reason for the walk
through her memories. It was almost as if...

...as if she was dead.

"It's about time you figured that out."

She spun around to the first true noise she had heard since finding herself
inexplicably in the void. Before her where there had been nothing was a
fairly attractive black-haired gentleman that was her height and appeared
to be in his middle-twenties. He was dressed in a creamy white silk shirt
and brown pants, matching snakeskin boots and vest, and a brown fedora on
his head. She brought her fists up before her. "Who are you? What am I
doing here? Where am I?" 

The man chuckled in a pleasant sounding voice. "The real question you
should be asking is, 'Why are you here'?"

"What do you mean?"

"You already have the answers to your questions, you simply aren't aware of
them yet."

The man seemed to walk across the nothingness as though it were solid.
Shampoo was confused as to how he could do that until she realized she was
turning to follow him. She could feel nothing beneath her feet, yet was
moving as though her body was responding to her thoughts. 

Shampoo temporarily moved that question to the back of her mind as she
concentrated on what the man was saying. "The last thing I remember was
Mount Phoenix. I was..." she trailed off as she suddenly became aware of
her current condition. 

"I'm not paralyzed anymore. I can move!" She did a backflip to prove her
point. She was cured! There wasn't any pain from her back or any other body
part. By some miracle, she was healed. 

"You can move, in a fashion." The man stared deeply into her light-filled
eyes. "But you still haven't answered the important question. Once again,
'why are you here'?"

That cut through Shampoo's joy as she thought about her situation once
again. "The last thing I remember was that it was getting difficult to
breathe and everything was getting dark. Then the ceiling came down. And
then..." 

"Go on," he urged when it was obvious she was not going to continue without
being prodded.

"Then I was here," Shampoo said quietly. 

"Now you know." There was the faintest hint of a smile on his face. 

She tried desperately coming to a different conclusion. Perhaps someone had
teleported her away. Could it all have been a nightmare and she was still
at the Tendo home, sleeping away on her futon in her room? Maybe she was
dreaming right now. Just because her life had passed before her eyes didn't
mean...

"I'm dead."

"Yes," the man said with compassion in his voice, obviously satisfied with
the answer. "You are."

Shampoo looked around once more. Still there was nothing but an endless
void. "This is the Realm of the Dead?"

"Yes."

"I expected something a bit more...elaborate." Shampoo said, oddly calm in
spite of the situation. 

"It is what it is," he commented mysteriously. "This is the realm where all
things that live must eventually come. It is the place where all things
that die go before leaving for somewhere else. The time one stays here
varies, but it's rarely for very long."

"It's awfully empty," Shampoo commented. It seemed they were the only two
there. Where was everyone else?

"It is more vast than you can possibly imagine," he informed her. "Believe
me when I say there are more things here at this moment than you could
possibly hope to grasp with your limited senses."

She was still trying to fully understand the situation when she became
aware of something else. Her eyes widened as she looked at the man before
her and said, "That means you're-"

"-Death." Death took off his hat and bowed. 

Shampoo, confronted with Death, said the only thing that came to mind. 

"I thought you'd be a lot taller."

If Death was insulted, it did not show. "Don't look at me. You're the one
that's conceptualizing me into this form."

"Oh," was Shampoo could say. 

"Look," Death said as he began to explain. "What you see before you is your
interpretation of me. I appear differently to each living thing. It all
depends on what your mind can envision in its attempt to understand me. I
am a conceptual entity, and have no 'true' form. Not one in the
conventional sense, anyway. I simply am."

He gave a dramatic wave of his hand and continued. "Wherever there is life,
I am there, waiting for my time to come. And it comes to all. There is
nothing that lives that cannot die, and when it is time, I release what is
alive from its shell and allow it to travel where it is meant to go. I am
everywhere all at once. Even as I speak to you, I am doing the same thing
to Effrim Venture, who sees me as a man shrouded in flame. To a dog that
has just died I appear to be a ten foot high Chihuahua with blazing green
eyes. In the Andromeda Galaxy several thousand Shonastas, a sentient form
of light, have just been consumed by a nova. I appear to them as a varying
series of flashes that you could not hope to even see since it goes far
beyond your ability to perceive them. I am everywhere, and each one is the
'real' me. It is the way of things. 

"Now that you are here, you are beyond the physical. That is why you feel
no pain, because what you are now is all that is left when your body has
gone on. That 'body' you have now is not physical, it is something you came
up with to give what you are a form you can understand, just like you have
done with me. Now that you are beyond the physical, time here is
meaningless. You will not grow hungry. You will not know exhaustion or
pain. You won't even grow hot or cold."

"I passed by something cold on the way here," Shampoo informed him. 

Death's eyebrows knitted.  "There are things worse than death. What you
felt was a small part of Oblivion. Occasionally it, or one of its agents,
passes through my realm to get to reality. Even as my fellow conceptual
entities, Infinity and Eternity are related, so am I to Oblivion, although
we are still very different in what we do. I simply end life so that what
is left can go where it is supposed to, but Oblivion absorbs all, leaving
nothing behind.  It serves a necessary function, but sometimes I believe it
oversteps its intended realm of influence and tries to consume more than it
is supposed to." 

He turned away from Shampoo then. "None of that is your concern. Just be
thankful you were not obliterated. Believe me when I say I am preferable to
that fate. 

"I don't want to be dead," Shampoo said softly. 

"Sorry. It's not as simple as changing your mind about what dress you want
to wear to a dance," Death informed her. "Dead is dead." As he finished
saying that, he gained a thoughtful gleam to his eyes. "Besides, are you
sure? I brought an end to your suffering. You were in great pain when I
came to you. Surely you didn't want to suffer?" 

Shampoo began to feel doubts. "Of course not, but I don't want to be dead
either."

Death gave a broad smile. One that was not frightening at all, not like one
would expect when conversing with Death, anyway. 

"Don't be afraid, Xian Pu. Death is natural. It gives definition to life,
even as life gives definition to death. Birth. Life. Death. A finite cycle
of experience. Now you have arrived at the end of the cycle, just like
everyone eventually does. There is no need for fear here, just acceptance."

Shampoo shook her head fiercely. "I don't want to die! I want to be with my
friends!"

"They will be here soon enough," Death informed her. "Their lifespans are
next to nothing when compared with the entirety of time. Hardly any time
will pass before every one of them will be with you."

"I don't want them dead either!" Shampoo insisted. 

Death seemed not at all disturbed by her behavior. "I already told you, if
it lives, it dies." He turned from her and held out his hand towards the
ether. "Perhaps this will help calm you." From the area he pointed at a
bright light, greater than anything Shampoo had ever seen before, suddenly
winked into existence. If she had still possessed real eyes, she knew she
would have been eternally blinded by that light, and she would not have
felt bitter about it in the least. The light was more soothing than
anything she had ever felt before. It was pure joy, and it called out to
her heart, urging her to come forward and seek the peace it promised.

"You have not led a perfect life, but you are one that has tried, for the
most part, to do the right thing in your heart. This is what your kind
wants. This is what your existence has been created for; to know this
moment. Life for your race can be compared to a great game, each person
trying to vie for Heaven or Hell. And now that you are dead, know that
you've won the contest. Embrace your reward: Rapture."

Shampoo felt that prefect harmony, carrying recognizable voices of a
handful of people that she had known that had also died, beseech her to
come forward, promising that she too could feel that unlimited bliss.

Whatever reservations she once had dissolved as she took a step towards the
light.


The Realm of Life:


A thousand odd behaviors Ranma had displayed over the last few months
finally made sense to him. Overreacting to the trust Shampoo had shown
Kasumi in telling the eldest Tendo of the situation with her great
grandmother. A trust not shared with him. The jealousy over the girls that
had paid attention to the Amazon, and the ambivalence she sometimes
displayed over that whole matter. The blind rage that blocked out
everything when Mikado dared to kiss her. The first time he had almost
kissed Shampoo on the rooftop when they were studying for the play. The
naked hatred of Mousse and all of the times he repeatedly tried forcing
himself on Shampoo, especially when the blind one tried to take her away
from him by using the Nyanniichuan as leverage. The dread he felt when she
inexplicably shut him out on the return trip from the Musk. The way he
treasured the shirt she had made for him, the only piece of clothing he had
ever taken care of in his entire life. The overwhelming despair that had
threatened to consume him when he thought he was helpless and Kodachi's
poison would kill Shampoo. Seeking her out first after the Ryu Kumon fight
while ignoring the nearby Akane at the same time. The way he had come on to
Shampoo's male form when Ranma had thought he was a real girl, and the
recently returned memory of kissing the Amazon and the proposal. His desire
for Shampoo the second time on the roof after his mother had moved in. Why
he had followed Shampoo mere minutes before his impending wedding to Akane.

And the most important of all. When Ranma removed the rocks trapping
someone, looked down and saw it was Akane, the very first feeling that went
through him was not relief. 

It was disappointment. 

In his heart he had wanted it to be Shampoo. 

Oh, guilt followed instantly on the heels of the disappointment. Akane
deserved better than that, much better, but his instincts had led him to
the answer he knew was true. He forced himself to make certain Akane was
all right, even though his heart screamed at him to tear through the fallen
rock in search of Shampoo. And he went on to find her. 

He had found her.

And now he was crying. It no longer mattered what he had been taught by his
father about 'real men' not crying, nothing mattered but the girl in his
arms. 

He felt Cologne gently place her gnarled hand in his shoulder. "I'm sorry,
Ranma. She's dead."

She had given her heart to him, yet he had never done the same. How could
he have been so blind? It was so clear now, everything between the two of
them. Somewhere along the line he had fallen for her. There was no one
moment he could point to that it happened, but it had happened all the
same. Quietly she had made her way into his heart, so subtly he was not
even aware of it until now. Now that it was too late.

"She never even knew," he sobbed out. 

"I think she did know, deep down inside." That was a lie. It had been
obvious there was still doubt in Shampoo's eyes at the end, but the boy
needed comforting, and during this time he would be extremely vulnerable.
Under different circumstances she probably would have allowed him to know
her disappointment in not choosing Shampoo before it was too late, but she
had made a promise Ranma would come to no harm. So she would do what it
took to help the boy in whatever way she could.

Ranma shook his head. "No. The last time I saw her I could tell she was
still worried about it." His voice dropped several octaves. "She d...died
not knowing how much I l...loved her."

A sigh escaped Cologne's lips. There was nothing more she could to for the
boy, and she could no longer bear the sight of her great granddaughter's
remains. Instead, she focused on the only other person alive on the top of
the mountain. Akane was on her knees, crying hard. As Cologne moved closer,
she at last got a clear view of what the girl was weeping about. 

Tarou had not survived the rockfall either. He was human now, everything
below his upper chest crushed flat between two huge rocks, blood decorating
the lower one in an almost flower-like pattern. His head was pointed with
his face downward, which suited Cologne. She had no desire to see even his
face in death, no matter how irritating he might have been. There had been
too much death for any day.


Akane curled up into a fetal position, unable to stand the sight anymore.
Her mind paused in memory of the boy. Tarou hadn't been perfect, far from
it. Sometimes he had been very irritating. And other times it seemed as
though he was hiding something from her, aside from his name. He had such
anger over his name; anger Akane couldn't understand. So what if someone
else had given him a name that was just a little strange? She had tried to
reassure him numerous times his name didn't matter, but he had refused to
open up about that. She wanted to take that pain away from him, and vowed
to do it too, once she had the time. But her life had been just so busy
with everything in it she was going to do it later. But now there was no
later. 

He said he loved her. He had never made any pretensions of that. She had
known, yet did nothing to dissuade those feelings. She had known deep down
inside that it must have hurt him to know she was engaged to someone else.
Why had she kept him around, not stringing him on exactly, but not pushing
him away either. Had he been some kind of safety net for her if Ranma had
rejected her, or did she love Tarou too? No. She had not. Not that way. She
cared for him deeply, he had been a good friend to her, and carried such
pain that she wished to heal him of it, but it had not been what she had
felt for Ranma. It was different from that.

And now, Tarou had died protecting her, and all for a love she couldn't
return. It was all over for both of them, and all she could do was murmur,
"Not fair. It's not fair," over and over again. 


Ranma remained where he was, still gently stroking those strands of hair.
He loved Shampoo, he knew it with such a burning intensity that he didn't
understand how he could not have realized it before. He loved her so much
it hurt, but it should have been a wonderful pain, not the tremendous agony
he was going through now. It shouldn't have been that way.

She was dead, and it was all over for him. His love...no, their love would
never be. It was as simple as that. He was helpless to do anything. Him.
Ranma Saotome. One of the greatest martial artists there was, and there was
nothing he could do. She had died, leaving them both unfulfilled, and it
was his fault. It was all his fault. He had made her miserable with his
indecision when he should have made her happy with his love. 

He saw how it should have been in his mind's eye. The two of them were
together, hand in hand, staring deeply into each other's eyes while words
of love were exchanged. He ran his finger tenderly along her jaw, tracing
every perfect inch of it as she purred in contentment. He tilted her head
upward so he could lower his own lips for a kiss with no resistance or
reservations, but one freely given and received. After the kiss went on
forever and ended all too soon, they paused, then he looked into that smile
he had seen all too rarely. That smile made all of the suffering and
sacrifices of his entire life worthwhile, for everything he had done,
everything that had happened to him, led up to that one moment, and any
difference in his past could have denied him his current joy.

Nothing seemed to matter but that smile. A smile that he could never have
fully appreciated until he had accepted his own feelings for her. Feelings
so many others, including himself, told him he should not have because they
could not be. He had been promised to another, and his feelings had to be
for that one. That was what his father, a man whom he loved despite the
older one's faults, had said. And no matter how he truly felt, Ranma always
seemed to end up doing what his father really desired. It was what his
mother wanted, and she was the idol he wished to please. Someone that was
worthy of a love and respect that he could give, and receive those same
things in return. It was what Akane wanted, and she was deserving of every
bit of love he could give. She was deserving of every bit of love she would
be given by anyone, but it could not be from him. His true feelings, those
that he had subconsciously set aside and tried to ignore for so long,
belonged to someone else. Someone that had managed to win his heart long
before Akane could. He just didn't realize it until now.

And now it was too late.

What remained, now that he had finally accepted the truth and there was no
longer anything he could do about it? Anything? He looked within himself,
seeking the answer, and felt an emptiness that was growing by the moment.
It was a vacuum, consuming every emotion, every thought, every desire. Only
now did he understand what Shampoo had done to him in making him fall in
love with her, something so subtle that he had not realized it until she
was gone and taken it with her. In some incomprehensible way, she had
completed him, made him whole in a manner he still didn't understand. And
perhaps the most incredible thing about that was that before he had met
her, he had never even realized anything was missing.

Looking within himself, he was made all too aware of that incompleteness
now, and there was such pain in that knowledge. What was left now was all
that he was before he had met Shampoo, but it was no longer enough. He had
been allowed to be happy for the first time in his life, his heart having
found its match. Now it felt as though he could never have that missing
piece returned. The now jagged edge of his soul was too sharp to be
handled, too incomplete to continue, the abyss too deep to be filled. All
that was left was a void that was growing wider by the moment and gave no
indication of stopping.

He focused on reality and looked at the world around him. It too was the
same as before he had met Shampoo, yet it was unquestionably different as
well, just like him. The sun still shone, but there was something missing.
The light was not as bright as before. The sounds of birds crying out, of
thunder in the distance, of the wind blowing through the air did not carry
the sharpness they once possessed. He looked down at his hands. They could
no longer lash out during a sparring match, hand an object to, or caress
the skin of the one they longed for. Things would never feel the same for
them. The scent of blood still lingering in his nostrils lacked the bitter
scent it once did. It was all so dulled. 

It struck him all at once. The world was now an empty place. Everything was
still there as it had been before, but it was all different as well. It was
devoid of the one thing that directly affected nothing, yet everything had
still changed. 

Nothing was the same anymore.

Suddenly life didn't seem to matter, even though he had fought for his own
tooth and nail on occasions too numerous to mention. No, it was a useless
thing without Shampoo. Without the missing piece of his soul, what point
was there to it?

Rage far beyond anything that he had ever felt before shot through him,
burying the misery. How dare that happen! Was he not THE Ranma Saotome?!
When did he back down from anyone or anything no matter the odds?! No, he
would not allow it! He would have to simply make everything right again.
Yes. That was it. He'd make it all better, and to do that he needed
Shampoo. 


Cologne looked up from trying to console Akane at a sound just barely
heard. It sounded like...sobbing? No, it was laughing. Her ears did not lie
but she could scarcely believe that the quiet mirth was coming from Ranma.
She could only see his back, but there could be no question the laugh was
his. Even as she walked slowly over, she felt a shiver run down her spine
and had a horrible feeling the instant she heard that laugh. The promise
she had made to Shampoo concerning Ranma might just have become harder to
keep.

She stood next to the youth, who was still in the same position she had
left him, his face still pointed downward at Shampoo's remains, his face
hidden from the elder's sight. "Ranma, it would be best if we left. There's
nothing we can do here now. I'll take care of everything later."

The laugh began again, becoming more intense and chilling the blood in her
veins. It was almost certain now; that horrible laughter confirmed it,
although she still needed to look into his eyes to be absolutely positive. 

Ranma stopped laughing and spoke, his face still pointed to Shampoo. "No.
There's still something I have to do, and I just figured out how to do it."

Cologne tried employing a soft tone of voice to calm him down, though she
had little hope it would work. "Ranma, Shampoo's dead. There's nothing you
or anyone can do."

That declaration brought his head whipping about as he stared directly into
Cologne's eyes. "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial
Arts!" he said with an intensity that Cologne had never seen before in all
of her years. "I can beat anyone! I can beat death! It's easy! You showed
me how!"

The look in his eyes, as well as the statement he had just made, confirmed
what she had been afraid of. Madness had taken root in his mind, and she
was going to have to try everything in her power to snap him out of it
before it dug in too deep. "What do you mean 'I showed you how?' I nev..."
she trailed off as her insight enabled her to understand what he was
driving at. "No, Ranma. It doesn't work that way."

"Then I'll make it work," Ranma answered. "I can do it. It's just a matter
of power, and there's so much of it here, all around us." He swept a blood
covered hand around in a circle, indicating the air all about them. "The
air is thick with chi, more than we can possibly imagine. And I'll use
every bit of it to make her better."

Cologne watched on as his body trembled and he began pulling in the chi
around him. 

"No! Listen to me!" Cologne shouted as the air began to move. "It's not a
question of power. Healing can only affect the living! It can do nothing if
someone is dead. It's like trying to heal a rock! It won't do any good and
you'll kill yourself attempting to do the impossible!"

She placed a hand on his shoulder to try to snap him out of it before he
took in too much of the ambient chi and burned himself out to the point of
dying. And in his current state of mind it was all too possible he would do
exactly that.

The day had been the most exhausting ever for Cologne, both physically and
a thousand times worse than anything emotionally. Had she been at even one
quarter of her normal power, she would have been fine, but with her guard
down and as weary as she was, she had unintentionally left herself
vulnerable. The instant her hand made contact with Ranma, he drained a
large portion of the chi still left within her. She barely managed to break
contact before he took it all. 

As she pulled away she tripped over her own feet and fell backwards. She
was on her back as she watched ripples begin to form in the air and flow
towards Ranma. Weakly, she got to her feet and backed away, keeping a wary
eye on Ranma the entire time. The ambient chi in the air began to swirl
directly above his head, almost like a whirlpool, as the energy began to
filter into him. Greater amounts collected by the second, and Cologne at
last understood that he was beyond her ability to save. If she drew close
to him he would simply absorb her remaining chi and kill her, if he had not
taken too much already. And as weakened as she was there was no chance she
could confront him in a battle using chi. Even if she had been at full
strength she would have had the fight of her life on her hands from the
sheer amount of chi he had absorbed. The amount the boy had taken in was
astounding. The only one that had been able to hold that much had been
Happosai, and even then he had been in his prime. 

She shook free of the momentary memory, realizing she had become transfixed
at the sight before her. The blue in the air now had tinges of black as the
chi vortex above Ranma tripled in size, an azure glow now surrounding
Ranma. There was nothing else to do other than run away or stay and
definitely die. Part of her wanted to remain, the part of her mind that
guilt had taken over and screamed at her for failing to keep the promise to
Shampoo to protect Ranma. But the cold rational piece of her mind insisted
Shampoo would not want her great grandmother to die in some futile gesture
that was nothing more than suicide. 

Cologne turned to head through the passageway that Ranma had come through
when a sobbing cut over the loud roar that now surrounded Ranma. Akane was
still curled up in a ball, unaware of the world around her. In life the
Tendo girl had been Shampoo's rival, but now the Amazon was dead, and Akane
had lost in the end anyway. There had been too much death and misery
already for one day. Cologne was not about to add to it by leaving Akane to
die.

Cologne grabbed the girl by the shoulder. "We must leave now, Akane Tendo!"

With the touch Akane snapped out of stupor. As her attention returned she
looked around in an effort to understand what was going on. "What's
happening?!" she shouted over the growing clamor.

"Ranma has gone mad in his grief. He seeks to do the impossible and will
succeed only in destroying himself and all of those around him, unless we
flee immediately!"

Akane stared, horrified at what Cologne had said. She looked towards the
bottom of the vortex, where all of the chi was going, and saw Ranma's
increasing glow. "NO!!!" she shouted out. "I won't lose him too!" She
started to get up, ignoring the pain of her ankle, but felt an increase of
pressure on her shoulder.

"There is nothing you can do!" Cologne warned. "He is beyond anyone's
ability to help, and if you get too close he'll suck the life from out of
your body!"

"He won't do that to me!" Akane protested. 

"Child, in his current state of madness he would do it to his own mother
and not even realize it! We leave, now!"

"NOOOO!!!" Akane howled and prepared to rush over to Ranma. Cologne was
wrong. Ranma wouldn't hurt her. He'd never hurt her.

She had barely gotten to her feet when she felt a tap on the back of her
neck and the world went dark. 


Cologne looked down of the girl before her. Love had blinded Akane to the
truth, and it would have been suicide for her to do anything other than
leave Mount Phoenix immediately. Now Cologne was going to have to somehow
carry Akane down the mountain alone when she was having trouble standing on
her own. She was still trying to figure out when an answer appeared an
instant later. 

One of the winged bird people, a young girl, appeared from the direction of
Happosai's body. She was running, most likely too afraid to fly with the
air as turbulent as it was thanks to Ranma's ever-increasing vortex.
Cologne noted she would have to do. ""

The girl froze, uncertain of what to do now that she was confronted with
one of the landbound. Her mother had always told her to avoid them, but the
diminutive woman had an aura about her that allowed no disregard. 

""

The girl obeyed as Cologne indicated she should help carry Akane into the
mountain. It was slow going at first just picking up the girl, and the
matriarch wondered if they were going to get away in time, when the obvious
occurred to her. It would be difficult for her to do in her weakened state
and would probably hurt in the long run but she had no choice. In spite of
the tremendous amount of chi that Ranma was manipulating, there was still
far more lying about in the air itself. Concentrating, she absorbed some to
enhance her strength so that she could carry her burden with the speed
necessary for survival. In her weakened state even something as basic as
that hurt incredibly, but she absorbed enough to carry Akane easily. With
the winged girl's help, the two began a mad rush through the mountain and
hopefully to their continued survival. 


Ranma felt himself filled to overflowing with chi. Every inch of his skin
burned and he felt his insides practically bursting with what Maelstrom had
left behind. Still, he took in greater amounts until his concentration
started to drift from the euphoric feeling the supersaturation was creating
in him. It felt like it was enough for him to begin what had to be done.

"NOW!!!" he shouted and with all of his heart and soul began trying to do
the impossible. 


On the bridge of TWPOS, First Mate Yoshi Kawada stared at Mount Phoenix
once more now that his headache had at last started to disappear. With his
heightened abilities as a Sensitive, he had been able for one instant to
sense part of what Continuum really was when it first punched the hole in
reality. For one brief instant his mind attempted to grasp the infinite and
he nearly lost his sanity by trying to understand something far beyond his
abilities to comprehend. Fortunately as he began to sense what the 'eye in
the sky' really was he managed to turn away, shutting down everything and
only coming away with a headache that would hopefully go away in a couple
of days. 

Once Frog informed him that Continuum had disappeared, Kawada looked
towards Mount Phoenix once more. Even as far away as the ship was he could
feel the absence of the huge dragon and Continuum. They were gone. All that
was left that was the least bit unusual was the heightened amount of chi
along the mountain top and the magical focus above Mount Phoenix itself. It
was the latter that had caught the seaman's attention. 

"It's starting to move," he told the others next to him, both crew and
family members of those that had set off, all still staring at the mountain
in the distance.

"What do you mean?" D'Amour asked as he watched the quite visible leftover
chi form a huge vortex that seemed to engulf the entire top of the
mountain. He could hear the winds howling up there as well despite the
distance between the ship and Mount Phoenix.

"Before, the focus was pointed at a spot high above the mountain, right
where that huge eye appeared. Now it's inverting and pointing right at the
mountain top."

"What do you think that means?" Genma asked.

Kawada shook his head. "I don't know, but there's an awful lot of chi up
there, and it's starting to move pretty quickly. If that much power is
poured through the focus again, I don't know what'll happen, but I doubt if
it'll be any good."


The focus would disappear in the next twelve hours. The magic that fueled
it would run out by then and with the magical design gone, it could not
even be sustained by another powerful magician. Not that there was anyone
left alive that even knew how to make one. The spell was known only by
Maelstrom had only shown the Shogun how to make it, and the Shogun told no
other. Knowledge that powerful had been hoarded by both. 

The focus was simple in that it amplified the ability to direct or absorb
any kind of energy, and with that kind of precise control it helped serve
to summon Continuum.  It was designed to respond to the most powerful mage
present, and barring that, the most powerful chi wielder could control it.
Since the Shogun fulfilled the former, and Maelstrom was even more powerful
than that on both fronts, there had been no risk that control of it could
be taken away from either one. Now that both were gone, it would answer to
anyone that could control chi, a role Ranma was fulfilling at that moment.
It reacted to his desire to pour all of his concentration into one spot:
Shampoo. So the focus responded to the wishes of the most powerful will
present, and focused the chi Ranma was using, focusing it to an incredible
degree as it was used to try to heal the dead warrior. 

Slowly, in reaction to the tremendous outpouring of the chi, bones began to
knit themselves together and lost fragments grew once more from the remains
of the Amazon. Soon her entire skeletal structure was made whole and strong
again. The muscles and tendons, which had suffered far more damage, began
the slow process of repairing themselves. Flesh grew to cover the destroyed
sections and blood was replaced as within minutes Shampoo's body was in the
condition it was in before having been crushed by the rock. Even the body's
spine was healed and in perfect working order. There was only one thing
missing from the earthly vessel.

Life.

Ranma could sense the absence of that spark and increased the volume of chi
he was employing. Once more his concentration threatened to waver, but he
thought of the lifeless body before him and refocused his mind. Success
favored him as he tripled the amount of chi he was pouring into Shampoo's
body. His own body reacted to the increased amount of chi he was absorbing.
A burning sensation ran all over his skin as it felt like someone had
suddenly begun waving lit matches all over every inch of his body. The pain
was mirrored from within as he felt agony all the way into his bones. Yet
he continued on, using greater amounts of chi to try to bring Shampoo back
to life.


Cologne had made it more than halfway through the mountain when she felt as
though she were going to collapse as the last of the additional chi she had
absorbed was used up in her effort to get Akane to safety. She had a
feeling that the mountain itself was no longer safe as she felt a growing
rumbling come from above. Dust fell on her as the ceiling of the passageway
they were in threatened to give way. She began to consider telling the
winged girl to leave when another figure suddenly approached from within
the mountain. 

"Whaz' going on?" Akiko Yoshida barely managed to get out through the haze
her mind was in. It was taking all of her concentration to simply walk
along. She had awakened, hidden under some piles of rock with one of the
worst headaches in the world to boot. But she was a fighter, and realized
her friends might need her. So she picked herself up and made her way into
the mountain, trying to find a friend to help or a Devil to hurt. She was
still slowly going upward when she ran into Cologne and Akane. 

"Carry the girl," Cologne ordered as she released Akane and told the winged
youth to stay close to them. 

Aki followed the order, shouldering Akane easily even in her weakened
state. Aki followed the elder deeper into the mountain.

It wasn't much longer when the party came upon the trio of Perfume, Ukyou,
and Ai, who was still motionless and deathly pale, but was no longer
currently bleeding. Perfume appeared no better, as though she would
collapse at any time. This time when Cologne informed them they had to get
out of the mountain Ukyou resisted, afraid that Ai might die if she was
moved. In spite of Cologne's continued warnings that things were becoming
increasingly dangerous with the vibrations from Ranma's actions shaking the
entire mountain, it was only when a piece of the ceiling fell and nearly
crushed Ai's skull that Ukyou consented to Ai being moved. 

As Ukyou picked up Ai, while Perfume tried to maintain her healing, she
caught sight of an unconscious bat lying next to a pile of rubble. Suddenly
realizing Ryouga's absence, she instructed the Mount Phoenix girl to
carefully pick up the bat and gently carry him along, briefly mentioning
the curse so the girl understood what the bat really was. The child obeyed,
and the group once more hurried to get out of the mountain. 

Ukyou remembered the way she had come in and the band exited the mountain,
and at Cologne's behest, got as far away from the mountain as they could.
As the group gained some distance from the Mount Phoenix, the elder
afforded a glance over her shoulder to witness a truly spectacular, if
dangerous, sight. Rolling black clouds had formed over the top of the
mountain as blue bolts of chi lashed out, many of them pulverizing large
boulders into dust. 

Maelstrom may have been powerful enough to control all of the chi at once,
but Ranma could only take in a relatively small amount of the total excess
chi that remained in the air above Mount Phoenix. The rest of it that he
had stirred up but not yet tried to directly contain lashed out in random
directions, out of control as he attempted to harness increasing amounts of
the chi. 

Cologne grimaced at the sight. How Ranma could possibly still be alive
while manipulating that much chi was beyond the old woman, yet somehow he
was doing it. Still, even he had limits, and would soon expire beneath the
onslaught of power. There was no hope for the boy now. All Cologne could do
was apologize to the spirit of her great granddaughter and beg for
forgiveness in failing so miserably in her promise. She hoped that somehow
saving the lives of several of Shampoo's friends helped somewhat.


Had Cologne been on the top of the mountain she could have witnessed
firsthand how accurate her guess was. Ranma continued using the awesome
energies he had absorbed to heal Shampoo's body. Now it was in perfect
condition; even the scars she had received at Perfume and Mint's hands were
gone. Every part of her body was at its highest potential, yet it still was
not alive. Still it remained a useless empty vessel. Ranma's frustration
increased as he continued to pour a seemingly unlimited amount of chi into
her body, all the while his own began to feel the effects of his
overwhelming absorption. Blue chi began to pour from out of his eyes and
mouth as he tried channeling a river of power through him. Skin began to
burn off as the fires within him began to rage beyond his control. Yet he
forced himself through the pain to use more as he tried doing the
impossible.

"GIVE HER BACK!!!" he screamed as more blue fire poured out of him,
shattering increasing amounts of the mountain and the storm above doubled
in size again. Still, there was not the slightest hint of change. And still
he continued onward. Time lost all meaning as he adjusted to the new level
of pain he was experiencing. But physical pain could be dealt with; the
damage to his soul could not.  

And then, at long last, he felt the excess chi in the air start to run low.
The storm he had caused began to shrink and the random bolts of power
became fewer as less chi became available for Ranma to use. And still he
was no closer to his goal. That could not be. It would not be. 

"GIVE ME MORE!!!" he shouted as he wished with all of his soul for more chi
energy to heal his beloved. He needed her back, and he would do anything to
regain her. 

Anything.


"The focus is shifting again," Kawada warned everyone. 

"Where to?" D'Amour asked.

"It seems to be pointing downward," Kawada said, and felt his dread double.


Once again the focus obeyed the desires of its wielder and sought out a way
to gain much more chi. Already the wielder had tapped into a source, it
just wanted it at a greater rate. So the focus shifted to obey and sought
out the center of the said source, where the energy was at its strongest. 


Kasumi sensed it first, although she knew not how. Kawada was the second,
with his abilities as a sensitive warning him of it too. Aki was next,
although she had no idea of why something seemed to shift within her. Over
twenty miles away, Herb too felt the change and wondered exactly what was
going on. No one had said anything about mile long dragons and huge eyes in
the skies. And now something else was happening. 


Cologne was so depleted from her ordeal that she sensed the shift in
everything, and the whine that accompanied it, last. But when she did, she
looked on at the mountain with greater terror than ever. 

 "EVERYBODY DOWN!!!" 

The rest of the group was at the bottom of a hill, and Cologne prayed it
would be enough to shield them. 


The focus located the greatest source of chi it could find and focused that
power for its wielder, allowing him access to its energies.


The whine hit its highest pitch as a huge light, over fifty feet in radius,
was the first thing everyone saw. It was so bright that all but Kasumi hid
their eyes from the glow. Automatically she adjusted her vision, using her
chi, to see what was happening. The beam of light seemed to suddenly shoot
up through the center of Mount Phoenix, rising over three miles in the sky
like a kind of giant spotlight. 

Then the mountain blew up. 

Not part of it. 

Not half of it. 

All of it. 

Kasumi uttered one word as she looked on at the scene before her. 

"Doom."


The shockwave rode over Cologne's group which was crouched at the bottom of
the hill. As the roar of the explosion and the accompanying winds buffeted
the band, Ukyou threw herself over Ai, praying somehow they all would make
it.


"WOW!!!" D'Amour commented as the ship finally began to right itself. "It
looks like the whole mountain was disintegrated!"

"Umm...Sir," Frog began. "It wasn't disintegrated." He pointed up to the
sky and hurried into the interior of the ship.

D'Amour looked up to see a twenty ton boulder fall from the sky and head
directly towards his ship from above. Calmly the man smirked and
drew his sword. Even as everyone else began to panic, D'Amour remained
where he was and threw the sword directly at the rock. Almost as though it
were a missile, the sword flew through the air and somehow sliced the
boulder completely in half as though it were cutting through paper. The two
ten ton halves of the rock cleared the sides of the ship by barely more
than a foot, splashing into the lake and creating gigantic waves that
nearly capsized the ship. Standing confidently on the heaving deck, D'Amour
simply held out his hand expectantly. In moments his sword unerringly
dropped almost next to him, the captain snatching it by the hilt out of
mid-air.

"Damn, I'm good!" he declared, his teeth gleaming as the ship continued to
rock violently to and fro from the near miss.


All around the land, pieces of what was once Mount Phoenix fell from the
sky destroying trees, animals, and buildings with equal fervor. The
farthest piece landed almost three hundred miles away in the middle of a
field to the east, leaving people to wonder just what had happened. 


The focus had achieved the goal of its wielder. Ranma Saotome had access to
the power of the Earth itself by tapping into its own chi field. But such
power was difficult to face, let alone control. In the instant the chi
first flooded him, he thought his mind would be swept away in the currents
of chi. It took all of his concentration just to maintain his identity. But
the surge passed, and he regained the ability to direct the flow. What he
had controlled earlier was a mere drop in the ocean. What he had at his
hands now was the ocean itself, and he was going to use it.

He let loose the power, once again using it to heal the body before him. It
had to work. It was ultimate power, the power of the world itself. All he
had to do was heal her the rest of the way. Power enough to level a range
of mountains flooded into Shampoo all at once, trying to reawaken her.

And still nothing happened, so he continued.


The weather patterns, affected by the Shogun's spell, became influenced
once more in an even greater scale by the chi energy Ranma was employing.
The weather everywhere went wild as widespread changes began happening all
over the world. Arctic winds began blowing in the Sahara as snow began to
fall. Waterspouts formed in the Caribbean and drove all ships to seek safe
harbors. A sudden heat wave came over large portions of the Antarctic and
began melting snow that was hundreds of year old. Tornadoes formed in the
Yucatan Peninsula and began ravaging the land before it. And those were
just a handful of the changes. It was the same everywhere. All of the
weather became chaotic, all in thanks to Ranma.

As he called forth more power, the leftover magic from the creation of the
focus, the magic which had changed the land in a twenty mile radius around
what was once Mount Phoenix, was reignited as things began to change once
more. Everything to the south of the point Ranma was at began growing at a
phenomenal rate. Huge trees that had never existed before sprung out from
the earth, becoming hundred foot giants in little more than the blink of an
eye. Fields grew to four times their current height and all plant life went
out of control in an ever growing area to the south.

To the north of Ranma's location, beyond the twenty mile range of already
changed terrain, the life began to drain out of everything connected to the
earth. All the plants and creatures in and under the earth began to wither
and die before people's eyes. Within moments there was nothing green left
behind in an ever increasing area as the changes continued all around, even
the soil turned black. First it was ten miles. Then twenty. Thirty. Fifty.
A hundred. And it kept expanding, encompassing greater portions of the
land.


Kasumi calmly watched on, understanding what Ranma was doing as he began
draining the power of the Earth itself. If he continued it...

"Do what you must, Ranma," she silently whispered. "Do what you must."


Cologne felt the pain within her, which had been plaguing her since they
had exited the mountain, temporarily subside as she believed she sensed
exactly what Ranma had done.

"What's going on?" Perfume asked, truly scared for the first time in years.

Cologne just gave her a sad look, then turned towards where the mountain
had been. Still the pillar of chi stood, burning bright blue and high in
the sky. "Pain on a level that even I cannot begin to imagine, child." She
wondered how anything could drive one so. What Ranma had done should not
have been possible, yet he had managed to do it anyway. She looked to see
if Perfume understood the cryptic remark, then realized she would have to
clarify it for her in the simplest terms. 

"I think it's quite possibly the end of everything. How bitterly ironic it
would be that we should save the world only to have one of our own end it
instead."


Ranma's anger grew as there was still no change in the figure before him.
Why was he being denied this one thing? It was all he wanted with
everything he had, yet no matter what he did, still nothing happened. It
was not fair. He would bring her back. He would defeat death. He would not
be denied that one thing. He would take all that he needed to bring her
back. He gathered all of his concentration as he prepared to seize the
greatest amount of chi he possibly could. He'd take all of it if he had to.
He was going to succeed no matter the cost.

It hit him all at once, flooding him like it had once before. He became one
with IT, the Heart of the Earth itself. He controlled the Heart, not the
other way around as had almost happened before. It was now his to do with
as he pleased. All that was left in his mind was saving Shampoo. 

The earth shook in answer to his summoning, and he let the power build to a
crescendo once more, intent on using everything if he had to.


The Realm of Death:


As Shampoo took a step towards that enticing light she felt a wave of pure
joy wash over her. It was so peaceful. Serene. Tranquil. It felt like
perfection. It was the answer to everything she ever wanted

Almost.

There was the unmistakable sense of something missing. Even looking into
that seductive light, she saw that it was not quite...perfect.

"Why do you hesitate?" Death asked from behind Shampoo.

"I...I don't know."

"Then go forward," Death insisted.

Shampoo felt part of her wanting to go forward, to know that peace, but
something was not quite right. "No," she answered. 

"Why?" Death asked.

The Amazon tried to find the words that would describe how she felt, but it
was so difficult. What was it that was missing? It was so hard to
concentrate with that presence of the light, of the serenity it made her
feel.

"I..."

"Yes," Death asked curiously.

"I want..."

Death remained silent as she continued struggling with the words.

"I want..." She was still confused. Nothing seemed to cut through the
giddiness that the light had produced, but still she resisted the lure.

To her perception, Death seemed to shake his head in disbelief and began
talking to himself. "Incredible. Few can resist the lure of eternal joy,
yet here I am with one such soul." He began paying attention to her once
again. "You cannot go back. You are dead. Just accept that, otherwise
you're simply going to deny yourself the happiness you have achieved. It's
your right. Take it."

"NO!!!" Shampoo shouted. "That place means nothing to me if I can't have
what's missing!" And that statement was becoming more true for her by the
second. As time passed she became more convinced that what was awaiting her
in that light would not satisfy the sensation of emptiness she now felt, an
emptiness that was becoming larger and larger by the moment. And she
thought she knew what it was. There was some intrinsic part of her that was
missing. Something had somehow crept in and consumed her so effectively
that even she had not realized how deep it was until now. It was so great
that, as impossible as it seemed, it could make even Heaven itself fall
short in her eyes. And now she knew what it was that was missing.

Ranma.

"I want Ranma." Yes, that was it. She was still missing Ranma. She needed
him more than anything else. More than everything else. She needed just
him.

"He will most likely join you soon enough," Death assured her. "Just go
forward and wait."

Shampoo shook her head. "I don't want to wait. I want...no, need Ranma! You
don't understand! I don't care about that place! I just want him!" She felt
like crying. Couldn't Death understand? There was nothing without that
missing piece of her soul.

"Yes, even I can feel your longing," Death affirmed. "But it will do you no
good here. You cannot go back. It doesn't..."

Shampoo watched as Death seemed to look away for a second, staring off into
the void.

"How odd," he said as he sensed the hole to his realm that had just
occurred. Still, that alone meant nothing. And he felt that soon the force
behind the hole was going to die off, and perhaps he would be relatively
busy with what effect that might have.

"I feel something pulling at me."

Death turned around slowly at Shampoo's statement. She could not mistake
the look of intensity within that stare. Suddenly she felt concerned at her
fate now that she was before one of the primary forces of the universe.

Death concentrated on the soul before him. There was a link there, one of
magic, that he had not seen. Of course he hadn't bothered to look, for
there had been no warning of such a person arriving in the Realm of Death.
But now that he concentrated, he saw that there was truly a connection
between Shampoo and something else. A thing not dead.

Something was going to have to happen.

Death turned towards Shampoo. "Listen to me and listen to me closely. You
are being given the opportunity all things wait for, that all of your kind
truly want. You are being a offered a chance at Heaven itself. No tricks.
No doubts. No catches. This is what it's all about. Why turn away at the
moment of your greatest triumph? What can you hope to achieve beyond this?
Step forward."

"No," Shampoo said.

Death seemed stunned by the answer. "You arrogant little creature! Do you
truly believe you can achieve something on your own that can exceed Heaven?
What conceit! How can you hope to surpass what God himself created? Do not
be foolish and reject everything for nothing! What else is there that can
take the place of Heaven? How can you refuse it?"

"No," Shampoo said slowly. "I reject Heaven for love."


Within the light, Ranma sensed the arrival of something near him. He
focused his eyes, which had seen nothing since he was enveloped in the
light of pure chi, on a dark figure before him. It appeared to be a woman,
but no ordinary one. It was a humanoid feline, like one he had glimpsed on
an old horror film before he had turned it off. She walked like a human,
but her body was totally covered in fur and her face was like that of a
cat, right down to whiskers sticking out. There was a time when he
considered such a creature, so reminiscent of a cat yet undeniably human,
the most terrifying thing he could imagine. Now, in his current state of
mind, there was no fear. Not because he could destroy the thing before him,
but because it held no terror for him at all.

As the creature approached, Ranma began to get a sense that it was not a
real thing, but rather something that was in his mind. It existed, but not
in the physical realm, for with his chi link, he could sense the creature
was far more than she appeared. It was far more than even Ranma could
comprehend, yet he still felt no terror. 

The creature looked him over once, then began speaking.

"Why do you do this thing? Why do you attempt something that is impossible?
Why do you risk all for a goal you cannot hope to achieve?"

There was no hesitation in his voice as he spoke to the strange creature,
as though answering it was the most normal thing in the world. "I need
Shampoo! There's nothing without her!"

A faint trace of sneering was in the felinoid's voice. "You wish to bring
back that which is dead because of desire? You want to casually discard
your life for something that you will surely fail at? You want to deny the
way of things because of your singular wants?"

"Yes," Ranma said softly. "I do it for love."


***********************************

The look Death gave Shampoo was far from friendly as he approached her and
moved behind her. She did not turn around as she felt him move closer to
her ear.

"Answer me truthfully, for no other answer will suffice. Answer me with
your heart, for what your mind says does not matter now. Answer me."


************************************


The felinoid watched him carefully, then stalked around him. Ranma did not
turn around as he felt the felinoid moved closer to his ear.

"Answer me truthfully, for no other answer will suffice. Answer me with
your heart, for what your mind says does not matter now. Answer me."


****************************************


She said to Ranma:			He said to Shampoo:

"What would you give			"What would you give
for your love?				for your love?

Would you know				Would you know 
pain?					pain?

Would you destroy			Would you forsake
an empire?				happiness for misery?
                                               
Would you bring				Would you give up
misery and suffering			Salvation for 
to others untold?			Damnation?

Would you forsake			Would you forsake
the others that care			the others that care
for you?				for you?

Would you give				Would you risk
up your life?				destroying your soul?

Would you inflict			Would you inflict 
pain on those you			pain on those you
care for?				care for?

Would you bring pain			Would you bring pain
to your beloved?			to your beloved?

Would you risk your			Would you risk your
beloved's soul?				beloved's life?

Would you break				Would you exchange
the world?				light for darkness?

Would you burn				Would you slay Angel
a star?					and Demon alike?

Would you dare to			Would you dare to
challenge the gods			destroy the Natural
with naught but				Order?"
your flesh?"


And Ranma answered			And Shampoo answered:
softly:					softly:

"Yes."					"Yes."

And Death asked:			And Death asked:
"What was that?"			"What was that?"

More loudly, Ranma			More loudly, Shampoo
answered:				answered:

"Yes! I would know			"Yes! I would know
pain, destroy an			pain, forsake happiness
empire, bring				for misery, give up 
misery and suffering			Salvation for 
to others untold,			Damnation, forsake 
forsake the others			the others I care
I care for, give up			for, risk destroying
my life, inflict pain			my soul, inflict pain
on those I care for,			on those I care for,
bring pain to my			bring pain to my
beloved, risk my			beloved, risk my 
beloved's soul, break			beloved's life, exchange 
the world, burn a star,			light for darkness, slay 
and dare to challenge			Angel and Demon alike,
the gods with naught			and dare to destroy the
but my flesh!"				Natural Order!"

And Death asked:			And Death asked:
"Why?"					"Why?"

And Ranma smiled			And Shampoo smiled
then, knowing the			then, knowing the
words to be				words to be
unquestionably true:			unquestionably true:

"Because I love				"Because I love
her more than				him more than 
anything. I love			anything. I love
her more than				him more than 
everything."				everything."


******************


Shampoo felt herself pulled for one brief moment, then found herself
touching something extraordinary. She was whole, truly feeling for the
first time that thing which filled in the missing edges of her soul. For
one brief moment, she touched the pure essence of the one that she needed
more than anything in all of Heaven, and for one brief instant, combined
with it, swimming in the purity of its glory and grandeur. She was complete
once more, despite losing the ethereal contact a moment later as her soul
was beckoned to a familiar vessel. And she knew that even Heaven paled in
comparison to what she had with the one she loved.


Ranma felt what he needed touch the missing part of his soul. It filled
that hole which had threatened to consume all that he was. It was rapture,
and he knew that all he had risked, even the fate of the world, had been
worth it to touch that missing part of him once more. He was complete, and
despite losing that ethereal contact a moment later, he knew he had somehow
done what others claimed was impossible and succeeded at last. He released
his hold on the Heart of the World, his body healed perfectly from the
merging with the chi he had undergone. 

He could do nothing more than to look down expectantly at the girl that was
now in his arms. A second after he lost direct contact with that pure soul
that had touched his, breath returned to her lungs. She gave a loud gasp
and he saw the most wondrous thing ever in his life.

The eyes of his love were opened once more.

The purple-haired Amazon met his eyes, and spoke the first thing that came
to mind.

"I can't believe I had to die to hear you say you love me."

Ranma did nothing for a few moments, then felt the tears run down his face
as he burst out crying. He bent low, savoring the flesh on flesh contact of
his face on hers. Her flesh was warm, not the cold unliving thing it was
before. It was real. It was all real.

It was almost five minutes later when he at last detached himself from her,
though he still kept her in his arms. "How did you know I said that? You
weren't alive then."

She smiled at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat as he got to see that
radiant thing that he feared he would never lay eyes upon again. 

"Your words still linger in the air," she said and gently caressed his
face, savoring the contact of his flesh as well. It was a few moments later
that exhaustion overwhelmed her and knew she only had a few seconds of
consciousness left.

"I need to rest Ranma. But I promise I'll wake up for you."

Ranma gave a smile himself, one free of any concerns. "I promise I'll be
the first thing you see."

"That's ni..ce," she barely got out as she fell asleep in his arms.

Ranma felt a wave of exhaustion pass over him as well. Maybe she had a
pretty good idea. He decided to rearrange their positions as he laid down
next to her and fell asleep with her in his arms.


Epilogue

There is a giant one hundred foot wide, perfect circle of a crystal-like
substance that sits nearly a mile high where the center of Mount Phoenix
used to be. Others have given it the name 'The Tear of the Dragon', which
is as good as any other name. It is unlike any other substance in the
world. It cannot be pierced. It cannot be probed. It cannot be scratched by
any force known to man. No one knows exactly how far down it goes, but
digging revealed it to be down more than five hundred feet deep before the
drillers gave up. 

It is unlike anything in the world, for somehow, Ranma Saotome created it
from the Heart of World itself. It is a structure of pure chi, and
unbreakable for all intents and purposes. No one knows exactly how it was
created, including Ranma himself, but it remains there all the same. No one
has been able to come close to replicating it, but then, no one has been
able to find the Heart of the World since then either. And even if they
did, it's not likely they would be as motivated as the last one who held it
was.

There is one thing that all of those handful that know the whole details
concerning the truth of its creation agree upon. It is, above all other
things, a testament of love and impossible dreams.

When someone said those words to Shampoo the following day, she just smiled
happily in response and didn't say a word. 

Ranma's response was, "Yeah, whatever. It's not like I really care. I ain't
into that romance stuff anyway."

Shampoo swatted him in the back of the head at that point. He shouted about
what that was for. She complained about how he could at least have tried to
have one romantic thought in his entire body. And then they quarreled with
one another.

But the two made up afterward.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I HAVE A PLEA FOR ALL READERS AT THIS POINT. I REALLY,
REALLY, REALLY AM BEGGING FOR COMMENTS ON THIS PARTICULAR CHAPTER. WHY IS
THAT? BECAUSE THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE CLIMAX OF THE SERIES. NO, THIS IS NOT
THE LAST CHAPTER, THERE ARE STILL MANY LOOSE THREADS TO TIE UP, BUT THIS IS
BASICALLY THE POINT I WANTED TO GET TO IN THE SERIES. YOU'VE SOMEHOW
MANAGED TO READ 38 CHAPTERS OF THIS (take a deep bow as I applaud you ^_^),
TAKING UP HOURS UPON HOURS OF YOUR TIME (and don't ask how many it took to
write ^_^), NOW I DO BEG FOR A FEW MORE MOMENTS OF YOUR TIME TO MAKE A
COMMENT OR TWO ON HOW THE WHOLE THING HAS BEEN (UP TO THIS POINT ANYWAY)
AND YOUR REACTIONS TO IT. DON'T FEEL IT HAS TO BE A LOT, ONE SENTENCE IS
MORE THAN ENOUGH, BUT I ALWAYS ENJOY KNOWING THERE ARE PEOPLE READING THIS
AND HOPE THEY ARE ENJOYING/ HAVE ENJOYED THIS THING. HEH, IT'S BEEN FUN
WRITING IT. (sometimes it was a bit hard, but the satisfaction of getting
this far has been worth it)


Special thanks once more to:

Ryan Anderson
Jim Bader
Bloodblade
Gary Kleppe
Lord Talon
Jason Liao
Miashara
Wade Tritschler

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920