A Feather in the Wind
Chapter 7
Feather walked slowly up the stairs, as if a great weight was upon her shoulders.
Halfway up the stairs she stopped and looked back towards the dojo itself, a sad look on
her face. She steeled herself and walked the rest of the way towards her room. Akane
was already sleeping peacefully in her bed, so Feather silently changed into her
nightclothes and settled into her futon to try and get some sleep.
Sleep did not come easily for her though. Each time she thought she was about to
fall asleep, her mind would meld the image of Ryouga with the drunkard. Each time she
would sit upright in her bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. ::They are not the
same!!:: Her mind screamed her defiance, but cold logic seemed to seep in every time.
Both of them started out as good men didn't they? Then they began to drink. How long
until Ryouga becomes as mean as the other? With a half-strangled sob, Feather resolutely
buried her face in her pillow and tried to get some sleep.
Bright sunlight filtered through the cracks in the shutters the next morning.
Ranma-chan half stirred, groaned, then rolled over. Suddenly her face felt very warm,
like it was stuck into a fur coat. Ranma-chan sat up quickly in surprise, and instantly
regretted the motion. Her stomach tossed and turned, causing her face to turn an
interesting shade of green and her head suddenly felt like it had been crushed. Ranma-
chan swallowed hard to avoid being sick, and squinted against the light.
"Man, my head hurts!" Ranma-chan groaned as she looked around the room. She
wasn't surprised to find herself in the dojo, but she was surprised to find what looked to
her to be an oversized dog next to her. Ranma-chan backed away, not sure of what to
think.
"Let's see," Ranma-chan started to go over what had happened the day before, "I
found Ryouga, and he said he had been to Jusenkyo. Then we got roaring drunk, and
staggered back to the dojo. I guess I passed out after Akane spayed us with the hose,"
Ranma-chan glanced over at the wolf. "Ryouga, it has to be," She said to herself.
Slowly, Ranma-chan moved on her hands and knees towards the slumbering wolf.
It did not take her very long to spot Ryouga's bandanna tied around the thick, shaggy
neck. Awkwardly, Ranma-chan patted Ryouga-okami's shoulder.
"Sorry man. I know it wasn't what you were looking for, but it's better than
nothing right?" Ryouga growled a little, indicating that he was awake. It was quite a
struggle for Ryouga to gain his feet--between his hangover, and not being used to his new
form it was nearly impossible. Ranma-chan steadied him the best he could.
"Easy man, I'll go find Kasumi and get us some hot water, maybe some food too,"
Ryouga sat back on his haunches as Ranma-chan slowly made her way towards the
house. Inside, he found that the normal morning hustle had long since subsided.
"Kasumi? Are you around?" Ranma-chan called out, wincing against the volume
of her own voice. Kasumi walked out of the kitchen, kettle in hand. Apparently she was
ready for them.
"Good morning Ranma. How do you feel this morning?" Kasumi looked and
sounded concerned. Ranma-chan was grateful for Kasumi's calm and quiet demeanor.
"My head hurts, and everything sounds like it's being shouted in my ear. My gut
feels like I ate the worst of Akane's cooking for a week," Kasumi nodded in sympathy.
"I'm sure poor Ryouga is in no better shape. Let's change him back and see about
getting you two feeling better," Kasumi walked briskly towards the dojo, kettle in hand.
Ranma-chan was a little upset that Kasumi hadn't changed her back then and there, so she
stumbled after Kasumi eagerly awaiting her return to normality. Once they were in the
dojo, Kasumi gingerly poured the hot water onto Ryouga-okami. As with Genma's
transformation, Ryouga's had somehow taken his clothes with him.
"Thanks Kasumi. You wouldn't believe how little a wolf can handle alcohol,"
Ryouga said as he stood up. Kasumi smiled, but delicately wrinkled her nose.
"Off to the bath with you two! I don't want you to make yourselves sick with
your own stench," Kasumi started herding them towards the bathroom. Ranma-chan
opened her mouth to protest, but Kasumi wouldn't hear of it. One stern look from her
made Ranma-chan all but run for the bathroom.
"I'll have some food ready for you when you get out!" Kasumi called after the
retreating pair. Kasumi watched until they disappeared around the corner then she simply
got a mop from the corner and dried the floor with two deft strokes. She turned towards
the kitchen with a resigned look on her face.
"Kasumi's being real bossy today isn't she?" Ryouga asked while he soaked in the
furu with Ranma.
"Yeah, but she has every right to. After all, we both staggered in late last night,
ruining whatever was planned for the evening, and to top it off we were drunk. I'll bet
Akane is real mad. She cooked dinner last night, and I think it went to waste," He bowed
his head. Ryouga looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm better off than I was, I don't turn into something eaten in more places than
not. I still have to be careful though, a lot of people have an irrational fear of wolves."
Ranma nodded.
"Yeah, but now you never have to worry about becoming P-Chan ever again."
Ranma grinned ear to ear, "You want to go out for a pork okonomiaki at Ucchan's later?"
Ryouga looked queasy for a second, but then he smiled hugely.
"Sure. Maybe pork chops after that!" Laughing, the two of them climbed out of
the tub, their appetites sparked. Once they were in the changing room, they found clean
clothes neatly laid out for them.
"She really looks out for everyone, doesn't she?" Ryouga stated more than asked
as they changed. Ranma nodded in response. "Does anyone ever really show how much
they appreciate her?" Ranma stopped dead cold at those words. Ice ran down his spine
as he realized exactly how much responsibility had been placed on those slender
shoulders.
"I think it's time to make sure people do Ryouga, starting with us," Ranma said
evenly. "You're right, Kasumi does so much for so little in return. The only time she
ain't cleanin' is when she's too sick to get out of bed, and even then we have to practically
hold her down," Ranma's face settled into a mask of determination, and Ryouga nodded
at his friends words.
They made their way towards the kitchen, ready to take over whatever chores that
needed to be done. When they reached the kitchen they stopped dead in their tracks,
disbelief plain on their faces. Pots and pans were everywhere; spilled food littered the
floor and stained the walls. Utensils were scattered about, and in the middle of the storm
of disarray was Kasumi, calmly doing her best to clean up.
"Uh, Kasumi?" Ranma asked hesitantly. Kasumi looked up at them and smiled.
"Hello Ranma, Ryouga. Give me a minute and I'll have something ready for you
to eat," Her calm acceptance of the mess nearly made Ranma mad, but it drove Ryouga to
fury. With a great amount of control, Ryouga forced down the rage before he spoke.
"That's not why we came to the kitchen Kasumi. We... We want to help you clean
this up," Ranma nodded firmly to emphasize that desire. Kasumi's hand shot up to her
mouth.
"Oh my, you can't! You're guests, guests shouldn't have to help out around the
house!" Kasumi's protests went unheeded as they proceeded to pick up around the
kitchen.
"I'll clean the dishes Ryouga. Paws wouldn't do much good there, and I stay
human with hot or cold water." Ryouga nodded and quickly gathered the scattered
dishes. Kasumi tried again to stop them, but Ryouga stopped her.
"Kasumi, you have done more for us than anyone can possibly imagine. Let us
clean up this mess while you relax for a while," Kasumi gave a small frown, but Ryouga
spoke before she could. "And if I catch you trying to vacuum or clean anything else, I'll
dunk you in the pond myself!" He then turned back to the mess and proceeded to clean
to spilled food off of the floor and walls.
Kasumi never moved from where she stood. On occasion she would correct them
as to where something went, but other than that did nothing. In short order, the kitchen
was immaculate once again. Ranma and Ryouga looked at each other with satisfaction.
"Ok Kasumi, what happened in there? I've never seen the kitchen that bad, even
when Akane was first trying to cook." Ranma asked bluntly, his eyes promising pain to
whoever caused it.
"Well, I found it like that this morning. I thought that one of you had tried to get
a snack during the night, but when I checked, neither of you had moved." Kasumi tried
to sound convincing but she could not, not with two pairs of steely eyes on her. Kasumi
sighed; she never had been very good at lying.
"I don't know for certain, but I think either Akane or Feather got a little upset
when they tried to make breakfast this morning. When I came in, both of them were
staring at the mess." Kasumi finally confessed. The boys looked at each other and
frowned.
"Kasumi," Ranma said after a short time, "If you ever need help with anything,
and I do mean anything, you let me or Ryouga know. We'll do anything we can to help
you out," Kasumi seemed to ignore the statement, and briskly started to cook some food.
"Akane and Feather are at school. You two slept very soundly. Why don't you go
sit down while I make you some soup," Kasumi remarked lightly. Ranma and Ryouga
retreated from the kitchen and settled down at the table.
"I missed school on my first day back didn't I?" Ryouga slumped his shoulders as
he realized how much homework he'd have to do to catch up. Ranma patted him on the
shoulder.
"Cheer up man, Akane and Feather will be happy to help you out," Ranma
grinned.
"What about you?"
"I'll be right next to you catching up as well." Ranma seemed a bit embarrassed;
"My grades aren't exactly the greatest." They chuckled at that, then groaned from the
sudden pain that lanced through their skulls.
"Remind me never to go drinking with you again." Ranma groaned as he
clutched at his still throbbing head. Ryouga grunted as he laid his head on the table. It
only took a moment for Ryouga to fall back asleep.
With Ryouga tuned out, Ranma turned to watch the Koi pond, hoping that the
serenity that it produced would help calm his headache. A gentle breeze stirred the
leaves of the old tree and caused small ripples to play across the water's surface. He let
his mind wander, losing himself in the calm scene before him. ::No wonder Mr. Tendo
loves to watch the pond, it's so relaxing:: For a moment, one fleeting second, Ranma had
found peace.
All thoughts of peace and quiet fled when Kasumi announced that lunch was
ready. Seemingly out of nowhere, Genma materialized and moved quickly to his spot at
the table. Soun followed at a more leisurely pace. Genma's sudden arrival roused
Ryouga, who muttered dark imprecations at Genma.
"Well boy, you looked like something the cat dragged in last night!" Genma
laughed loudly to the boys' discomfort. "What happened to you boy?" Ranma glared at
his father.
"Look pop, I'm in no mood to talk about it. Just leave me alone 'k?" Ranma
growled, his headache back full force. Genma opened his mouth to say something else,
but found a dishrag shoved into his mouth. Everyone at the table looked at Kasumi in
shock.
"That's quite enough Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi's normally gentle voice quite
suddenly had steel in it. An eerie silence held sway before Kasumi continued.
"Ranma-kun is not feeling well, but he and Ryouga-kun insisted on helping with
the kitchen, so they have done more than enough to deserve a quiet meal." Kasumi gave
him a hard look before she spoke again in her normal voice. "Now, do we understand
each other?" Genma nodded fervently, still too shocked to pull the rag from his mouth.
Lunch was eaten in silence after that. Once everyone was done the boys traded a
glance, and proceeded to clear the table. Kasumi didn't protest, but merely picked up a
share of the dishes. Genma and Soun gaped as they watched. After the table was
cleared, the fathers decided that a good game of shoji would take their minds off of
things.
"Maybe things will be a bit quieter back in the dojo," Ranma said as he washed
dishes. Ryouga nodded his agreement, and they retreated there once the work was done.
Ryouga retrieved his sleeping bag from his pack and opened it up fully. Ranma shot him
a questioning look.
"It'll be more comfortable to sit on this than just the floor," Ryouga explained as
he sat heavily. Ranma sat next to him and they looked out at the garden in silence.
Hours passed as the boys drifted in and out of sleep, but it did not seem like it had
been a long time before they heard the girls returning from school. Ranma and Ryouga
stood and went to meet up with them. As they approached the dining room they could
hear a lively conversation, but when they entered dead silence was there to greet them.
Akane looked nervous about something and Feather's face was blank. Ryouga
swallowed nervously and put his hand behind his head.
"Um, hi. About last night..." he started, but let his words trail off as Feather
turned and fled upstairs. Ryouga glanced around. "Did I say something wrong?" He
asked. Akane glanced up the stairs before she spoke.
"She's been acting really weird today. This morning she went crazy in the kitchen
when I mentioned what happened last night, and she's been tense all day." She spoke
softly so that Feather would not hear her. Ranma shrugged.
"Ok, maybe she's just as dangerous in the kitchen as you are!" Ranma smirked at
his own wit, and Akane scowled at him.
"Watch it Ranma!" Akane spoke with rising anger, "I'm still pretty upset that you
missed out on dinner last night,"
"Heck, couldn't have been that special," Ranma commented, "I mean it woulda
been what? Your second meal that wasn't poisonous?" Akane's scowl grew, but she
managed to restrain herself.
"I think maybe you two did something that upset her last night. It's bad enough
that the principal terrorized her, then the fact that everybody at school knows about her
wings now, and finally you two coming home drunk last night! Heck I'm pretty stressed
out by all of that!"
"Um, so what's the big deal? So what if we came home drunk once? It's not like
we're trying to hurt her or anything," Ranma said as he crossed his arms. Something in
Akane's mind almost audibly snapped.
"What's the big deal?!?! I'll tell you what the big deal is! You're an insensitive
jerk and a complete idiot! She looks up to you and Ryouga like you were idols, and you
destroyed her perception of you two. Mine as well. I never thought either of you would
go and get drunk just for the sake of getting drunk!" While Ranma stammered, trying to
come up with a reply, Akane turned on Ryouga so suddenly he backed up a step.
"And you! Do you have any idea how much Feather worried about you when you
wandered off? She searched for you for three days! It took all I had just to get her to go
to school!" Akane stomped forward as she made each point. Not being used to being on
the receiving end of Akane's temper, Ryouga backed up nervously until his back was
against the wall.
"I didn't mean to wander off..." Ryouga said meekly. His words did not seem to
calm Akane down at all.
"I know you don't mean to wander off Ryouga, but that does not excuse what you
did!" Akane turned and climbed the stairs, leaving a pair of very confused young men.
"Hey Ranma, you think she's upset?"
"Upset is not the word," Ranma muttered as he motioned for Ryouga to follow
him. "Look Ryouga, sometimes the best thing to do when something like this happens is
to back off for a bit. Akane seems to calm down faster if I'm not around," Ryouga looked
dubious, but followed him anyway.
"You sure about that Ranma? The problem is here, so we should stay here,"
Ryouga crossed his arms to emphasize his point. Ranma gave him a hard look.
"Let me say that again. You wanna be here while the girls are still really mad,
and just might decide to take it out on us?" Ryouga remembered suddenly about that
time Akane had hit him; right after the accident that cut her hair. He shivered
involuntarily at the memory.
"Ok you have a point, but where will we eat dinner? I don't have that much
money on me, and I know how you eat!" Ranma grinned.
"Way ahead of you man! We'll just head over to Ucchan's and get some of that
pork okonomiaki we were talking about earlier," Ryouga nodded and grabbed his pack
out of habit, and followed Ranma through town.
Ucchan's was empty when they arrived, save Ukyou. She was cheerfully wiping
the counter when they came in. She looked up and smiled.
"Hello Ran-chan! Hi there Ryouga, what brings both of you here? Akane
cooking again tonight?" She heated up the grill while the boys grabbed a pair of stools at
the counter.
"Naw, at least I don't think so. Feather was real worked up about something,
giving Ryouga a real cold shoulder." Ranma grimaced a little, thinking of the mess
Feather had made in the kitchen. "She didn't even say hi to him when she got back from
school."
"Speaking of school, why weren't you there Ran-chan? Akane wouldn't say
exactly why you didn't show." Ukyou started pouring some batter out onto the grill.
"Two deluxes right?"
"Two pork okonomiaki please," Ranma elbowed Ryouga a little, "Ryouga and I
didn't go to school cause we were... not feeling that well this morning." Ukyou leveled a
steady gaze at them.
"Define not feeling well." Ranma glanced nervously around, as if he didn't really
want to say. Ryouga wasn't as nervous though.
"We were hungover. After Ranma found me last night, I made him take me to a
bar to get dr....OW!" Before he could finish talking, Ukyou had whipped her huge
spatula off of her back and hit Ryouga on the top his head, very hard. Blows from a
sledgehammer were kinder than this. Ryouga only looked mildly annoyed though.
"You jackass!" Ukyou screamed, "Do you have any idea what Feather's been
through?" Ryouga shook his head mutely, wondering why Ukyou seemed to be crying
and screaming mad at once. Tears streamed from her eyes as she repeatedly pounded on
Ryouga. Ranma edged away carefully, not wanting to get hit for his involvement.
Ukyou was so mad, she was starting to shake.
The repeated blows stunned Ryouga and the stool he was sitting on finally broke.
As he tumbled backwards, Ukyou knelt behind the counter and wept into her hands.
Ranma vaulted over the counter to see if Ukyou was all right.
"Ucchan! What's wrong with you?" He exclaimed and tried to comfort her.
Unfortunately, Ukyou was quite beyond the reach of reason and she threw Ranma across
the restaurant. Ranma landed hard on a table, splintering it. He lay there for a second
stunned, until he smelled smoke. As he jumped up, he saw that Ryouga was already
trying to put out a fire on the grill. Ryouga grabbed one of Ukyou's spatulas and flipped
a chunk of charcoaled batter into the sink. Ranma dashed over to the sink and ran water
over the still smoldering chunk. When Ranma looked back, he saw that Ryouga was
ignoring the heat of the grill and the grease fire that was blazing across it's surface, and
was scraping all of the grease and burnt batter into a pan.
Ranma snatched up a tablecloth and smothered the fire. Luckily the tablecloth
didn't catch, and that too was thrown into the sink. Ranma then knelt next to Ukyou
again.
"Hey Ucchan, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to calm down a
bit. You almost let your restaurant burn," Ranma remained tense for whatever reaction
would come next from her. Ukyou continued to cry for a while, and the guys were
starting to get real nervous before she finally stopped.
"Hey Ukyou, what happened anyway? It must have been pretty bad for you to
react like that," Ryouga said standing just out of her reach. Ukyou slowly stood up and
looked over towards the still slightly smoking grill.
"Give me a sec to clean this up, and then I'll explain."
A short while later, Ukyou had finished cleaning up the grill and was starting to
cook some okonomiaki for them. "Ok you two, I'll tell you what's going on," Ukyou said
evenly, still apparently not very happy with them.
"That guy that used to keep her, he was a mean drunk. He used to beat her after
drinking a lot. She has _scars_ fromthat, not just emotional ones. She has a long scar on
her left shoulder and maybe others that she didn't show me." Ukyou paused to tend to the
food for a second. "He used to spend most of their money on booze, and he still hit her if
anything didn't go his way. That's why she's been acting different around you, she's
remembering slowly what happened to her in the past and it's tearing her up." She served
them the okonomiaki at that point. Ranma let out a low whistle.
"So that's it. I didn't know what you were talking about yesterday, and I didn't
think to ask you about it." Ranma said between bites. Ryouga hesitantly ate his; his
revulsion to pork was fading slowly. Ukyou seemed to calm down a little more, and just
started to enjoy having her Ran-chan there.
"So why did you guys feel the need to get drunk? It must've been something
awful that happened," Ukyou asked when they had finished eating. Ryouga swallowed
nervously before he spoke.
"I kinda messed up getting Ranma a cure, and ended up with a curse myself,"
"Poor thing! Tell me what happened," Ukyou leaned over the counter, interested
in what Ryouga was about to say.
"Well, I stumbled into Jusenkyo about a week ago, but I couldn't find the guide
anywhere. So I decided to try and find the nannichuan without his help," he thought for a
second about how he should edit his story, and then continued.
"I basically looked around for human footprints coming out of a spring. I did find
one but when I took off my pack to get a bottle out, I fell into the spring behind me. The
transformation was... painful. The pain drove me insane, and apparently I ran without
stopping for quite some time. When I came out of it, I was in the cargo hold of a plane
thankfully human. Luckily, the plane landed in Tokyo and Ranma found me shortly after
that," Ryouga paused to sip some water.
"I was really depressed when I saw Ranma, 'cause I had to tell him that I had a
cure in hand and lost it. After that I had him take me to a bar and we both got roaring
drunk," Ryouga hung his head, depressed again by his bad luck. Ukyou reached across
the bar to pat him on the shoulder.
"There there hon, can't be all that bad. What do you turn into, by the way?"
Ukyou sounded very curious. Ryouga looked up and grinned, baring his fangs a little.
"A wolf. I turn into a fairly large wolf," Ryouga said with no emotion in his
voice.
"Could be worse sugar,"
"That's true I guess. I don't turn into something small and helpless like some
people, and I don't have to worry about Kuno chasing me down whenever it rains," He
shot a glance at Ranma, "I guess you could say it coulda been worse. It does make
catching my dinner that much easier, and I can track my way back to wherever I camped
by smell,"
Ranma chuckled a little at Ryouga's deadpan description his new curse. Ukyou
giggled as well, but she really didn't know the true reason behind Ryouga's statements.
Evening turned into night, and the boys slowly made their way back to the dojo.
Neither of them spoke, they did not have to. They knew that pair of angry young women
were there, and who on earth knew what would set them off next.
It was fully dark when they passed the gates to the dojo. Ranma guided Ryouga
into the dojo, and with a silent salute left for his room. Ryouga was deep in thought as he
prepared his sleeping bag. Despite knowing what made Feather angry at him, he was
unable to come up with a suitable way to get her to forgive him. Cursing his stupidity,
Ryouga stared at the ceiling while sleep and the answer to his problem eluded him.
Morning did not bring any answers to the lost boy. The cries of the Saotomes
sparring roused him from his slumber. Habit urged him to pack his rucksack and sling it
over his shoulder. As he finished waking up, he noticed female battle cries coming from
the yard. His curiosity piqued, Ryouga followed the voices into the yard.
He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. Akane and Feather were
sparing on the lawn while Genma and Ranma fought over the pond. Feather was being
hard pressed by a vicious pattern of punches and kicks from Akane. More than once
Ryouga noted when and where Akane penetrated her defenses. He smiled to himself in
pride when Feather caught Akane's arm and used her momentum in a hip throw. Feather
didn't let up there as she took her turn on the attack. Akane smoothly blocked or dodged
the strikes though.
Ryouga gasped when Feather whipped her hair around to tag Akane on her side.
A whip-like crack could be heard from the blow. Akane winced, but did not falter when
she took advantage of the opening the move left.
The girls broke smoothly when Kasumi called out that breakfast was ready.
Ryouga snapped out of his half trance to dash for the table. He barely noticed when
Ranma and Genma fell into the pond.
The usual breakfast argument started up between Ranma-chan and Akane, but
Ryouga didn't notice. He was too deep in his thoughts. About the only thing he noticed
was the fact that Feather was making a point to ignore him. He decided to say something
to her. He spoke to Feather during a lull in Ranma-chan and Akane's argument.
"I guess it's about time for you to go back to Cologne again. She did want to keep
track of how much you're improving," Ranma-chan nearly choked.
"The old ghoul wants to see her progress? Why?"
Ryouga shook his head. "I don't really know myself, but she said something
along the lines about how well a one time student of hers could teach. Maybe it's about
how a student represents the teacher or something like that."
"That makes a little sense. After all, she did teach you the bakusai tenketsu,
maybe she thinks you're her student full time now," Ryouga shuddered.
"I hope not. I'm not too fond of her training techniques," Feather didn't reply, but
she did seem to be looking forward to seeing Cologne after school. The rest of breakfast
passed peacefully, and after Ranma had changed back they ran off for school.
When they could see the clock tower, they realized that they were early for a
change. Slowing to a walk, they approached the school. Just inside the gates Kuno was
waiting for them.
"Greetings on this fair morn' to the beauticious Tendo Akane, and the angelic
Saotome Feather! How I yearn for you both! Come, leap into my arms!" He cried out as
they approached.
"Give it a rest Kuno," Akane sighed as she continued towards the school. Kuno
might have continued, if he was given the chance, but he was being held back by Ranma
and Ryouga.
"Release me curs or feel the wrath of the Blue Thunder!" He yelled.
"Chill out Kuno. Today is not a good day for this," Ryouga said with a trace of
irritation in his voice. Surprisingly, Kuno ceased trying to chase the girls the rest of the
way into the school.
"'Tis the wandering warrior Ryouga. Why is this day not a good one to court my
loves? Neither rain nor snow shall stay me from seeking the hands of those I love.
Truly, such a task is too stern for me to delay,"
"Look you moron, we're finally early and I'm not going to let you make us all late
again!" Ranma snapped.
"Very well Saotome. I shall proceed to my own class then. Perhaps after school,"
Kuno walked away.
Despite his parting words, Kuno did not show up again after school. The small
group made their way towards the Nekohanten; the girls were talking excitedly about
something that had caught their interest and the guys were generally ignored. The cold
shoulder was almost more than Ryouga could stand.
They weren't expecting to see the Nekohanten closed down. It didn't quite look
deserted, but business was obviously not being held.
"That's odd. This place usually has a crowd." Ranma noted as they approached.
"Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing Shampoo for the last week or so," Akane
frowned a little. She had noticed, and secretly celebrated the amazon's absence. Feather
walked up and knocked on the door. Several minutes passed before they heard the lock
turn and the door slowly slid open.
"So sorry, Nekohanten closed for... Ranma! So happy to see you," She did not
seem overly enthusiastic though. She appeared to be disheveled, and obviously had not
gotten very much sleep.
"What's wrong Shampoo? You're a mess!" Ranma said with a note of concern in
his voice. Akane frowned again, but said nothing. Shampoo passed a weary hand across
her eyes, brushing some stray locks of hair away.
"Come inside, Shampoo tell you what happening then," She stood aside from the
door to let them pass then she closed and locked the door. Ranma and the others sat at
one of the dusty tables.
"What's going on? As many times as I've wandered here the door's been open,"
Ryouga said. Shampoo sat with them wearily.
"Mousse get very sick from fight with beast. The wounds get infected and he get
high fever. Great Grandmother doing what she can to keep fever down, but it not look
good. Shampoo been busy helping," Feather hugged Shampoo in an attempt to comfort
her.
"I thought you didn't like Mousse Shampoo." Akane spoke quietly.
"If Mousse dies from those wounds, Shampoo will be honor bound to follow him
into the grave. Such are the laws of our tribe." Everyone turned to look as Cologne
revealed herself at the end of the hall. She hopped to join them at the table.
"The gashes in his chest are oozing Shampoo. Go and drain them again," She
dismissed her great granddaughter with a wave of her withered hand. Once Shampoo had
gone upstairs, Cologne turned her gaze to the youths gathered at the table.
"What brings you all here?"
"We were bringing Feather by to show you her progress, but now I think that we
want to do what we can to help," Ranma placed his hands on the table.
"That is kind of you. Perhaps you could help us care for him."
Feather nodded her agreement and started up the stairs after Shampoo to try and
lend a hand.