A/N: Don’t own Ranma ½, Love Hina, Fatal Fury or any other of the animes mentioned in here. Hell, I barely own my shoes.

Dangerous Pride

Tsuruko moved with graceful purpose to the gates of the Tendo home. Pausing before the gates, she took a deep breath. ‘Let this go well,’ she silently prayed, knowing how badly this could go if mishandled.

Stepping inside the gates, the woman rang the bell, waiting patiently before Kasumi’s smiling face opened the door.

“Why hello! It’s good to see you again, please come in,” she offered, holding open the door and waving the woman in.

Tsuruko gave the woman a smile in return. “Thank you, your hospitality is wonderful,” she complimented, bowing slightly once inside.

Kasumi blushed slightly from the praise. “It’s nothing really. It’s always good to have such good friends come over unannounced,” she told her as they walked into the living room.

Many eyes turned to her as she entered, though hers were solely focused on Akane.

“Hey, Tsuruko, what’s up?” asked Ranma, rising from the floor at the base of the couch, Nabiki lying across it.

Turning her attentions to the boy, “I was just stopping in to ensure everything was going well and to check on the recovery of Akane,” she informed him.

Akane glanced over at the woman with a neutral expression. “I’m fine, really. Doctor Tofu says I should be back to normal with a few more days rest,” she told the swordswoman with a smile.

Ranma shrugged. “It’s kinda nice not having her bust up bricks all the time. First time we’ve ha...OW!” yelped Ranma, his hand slapping down to his thigh, almost catching Nabiki’s hand from the pinch she’d given him.

“Now, Ranma, let’s not start that again,” she chided him with a smile, not wanting to rile her younger sister up.

He blushed slightly, but nodded. “Yeah, I know. Sorry ‘bout that, Akane,” he said as he turned to the stunned younger girl.

Soun and Genma looked at each other with barely disguised glee at the actions of the boy. “You know what this means, Tendo?” asked Genma, a smug smile on his face.

“Of course Saotome,” replied Soun, both men leaping to their feet while waving victory fans. “THE SCHOOLS WILL FINALLY BE JOINED!” they chorused, doing a happy dance around the shogi table.

“Ahem,” coughed Nabiki, looking at the two men with a stern expression. “Unless you two are planning to become the first male married couple in Japan, a wonderful precedent if you ask me, then I would cease this little celebration if you know what’s good for you,” she told them darkly, fixing them with her patented icy stare.

Soun immediately stopped dancing, looking at his daughter warily. “Surely you can’t be serious, Nabiki. Saotome here is already married and I’m a widower,” he tried to reason with her, motioning to the woman seated on the floor.

Nodoka just shook her head, hiding her smile at the girl’s tactics in her cup as she sipped her tea. “Oh, I’m sure my husband is manly enough for you, Soun,” she said quietly, lidding her eyes demurely.

There was a splashing sound and a large and wet panda was suddenly playing with a tire in the middle of the living room. I’m just a normal panda, no funny business going on here read the sign it held up.

Soun’s eye twitched. “Saotome! How could you desert your old friend like that?” he accused, glaring at the panda.

Nobody here but us pandas, Tendo...uh, I mean, mister it read on the opposite side of the sign, flipping so quickly it was a blur.

“Yeah, well we don’t allow useless pets in the house either,” smiled Ranma wickedly, taking the two steps and punting the oversized bag of fur out of the living room, through the kitchen and out the door that Kasumi had just opened.

Her long pony tail fluttered in the passing breeze, “Oh my, it’s a good thing I was warm or Mr. Saotome could’ve gotten hurt,” she said with a shocked expression, turning to look at Ranma.

Ranma shook his head and smiled at her. “Nah, but you did save an innocent door. Way to go, Kasumi!” he told her, giving her a thumbs up.

She smiled at him, bringing her hand to her cheek. “Oh Ranma,” she said, waving at him as if it were no big deal.

Nabiki chuckled at her sister. “Well, thanks to Kasumi, it looks like daddy is going to be without a playmate for a little while,” she said, getting up from the couch.

Tsuruko laughed lightly at the banter and activities of the household. “I am glad to see that everyone is well. However, I would like to speak with Akane if I could, about her fight with the attackers. Perhaps some of her insight into the way they fought could help us discover which of the clans they came from,” she told them, looking back to Akane.

Akane’s face was inscrutable at the request. “Um, sure...I guess,” she hesitantly replied, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

“Perhaps we could discuss this in the dojo, that way we will be less distracted,” offered Tsuruko, smiling at the girl’s acceptance.

Ranma watched them leave. “Hmmm, that’s kinda odd,” he muttered, unsure of why he suddenly felt edgy.

Nabiki glanced at him. “You okay, Ranma?” she asked him, leaning against his shoulder.

He frowned in response. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s just that I’m not sure why Tsuruko would want to hear Akane’s opinion about them. We all know she won’t know anything important, she just don’t pay attention to stuff like that,” he told her bluntly, his tone not mocking or arrogant, simply stating a fact.

She frowned at his comments. “Maybe she’ll be able to offer a different view point about them. You don’t have to be a martial artist to notice things, Ranma,” she reminded him, not liking the disparaging way he’d simply dismissed Akane. ‘Even if he’s mostly right, she’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer,’ she thought to herself.

He flinched at her words. “Hey! I ain’t tryin’ to insult her or nothin’! I’m just saying that Akane don’t pay attention to fights, she just clobbers the guys she’s fighting without thinking. There ain’t no style or study goin’ on with her, it’s all a trained reaction instead of a learning experience,” he told her, explaining his reasoning.

Nabiki blinked at his words. “Why, Ranma, that’s probably the most intelligent thing I’ve heard you say,” she complimented him, surprised at his insights on Akane’s fighting style.

The house shook with a mighty explosion, causing Nabiki to clutch onto Ranma to avoid falling to the floor. “What the hell was that?” asked a concerned Ranma, just as Akane’s scream of rage echoed through the house.

The remainder of the family raced to the dojo, to witness a sight that was both horrible and fascinating to watch. Tsuruko had her sword drawn and a determined expression on her face, while Akane was crouched nearby, watching her warily.

“You can’t do that!” shouted Akane, launching herself at Tsuruko, causing Ranma to shout in warning to the girl, convinced she was about to die.

“YO TOMBOY!” he called out, hoping to pull her anger to him instead. He was ignored as Akane landed a solid blow to the sword arm of Tsuruko, forcing the woman back.

Ranma’s brow furrowed at the speed, power and accuracy of the blow, all things that should have been well beyond Akane’s level of expertise.

They watched as the two women fought, Tsuruko holding the girl at bay with her sword while Akane tried to capitalize on any openings she found.

“When did Akane get so good?” asked Nabiki quietly, noticing the same things Ranma did.

He shrugged and ground his teeth, unsure of what to do about this sudden turn of events.

It was Soun that actually got involved, to his detriment. He stepped between them in a vain attempt to keep them apart. Tsuruko’s face twisted in annoyance at his actions, “MOVE!” she called, shoving him aside just as Akane used the distraction to fire off a barrage of punches and kicks at her, oblivious or apathetic to the presence of her father.

Soun didn’t see this, only the fact that Tsuruko had forcibly moved him from protecting his daughter. “How dare you!” he cried, getting quickly to his feet.

Tsuruko didn’t bother to pay attention to his words, instead batting aside the kicks and punches trying hard not to harm the girl. Her teeth ground in frustration. ‘I can’t use my ki attacks without possibly seriously injuring her,’ she thought in helpless fury.

Nabiki glared at them, and then turned to Ranma. “Do something!” she told him, pointing to the fight before them.

Ranma was torn on which woman to assist, knowing how dangerous Tsuruko was first hand, but unable to suddenly discount Akane’s new found prowess. “I can’t,” he told her with a dark sounding growl.

Nabiki’s eyes narrowed at him. “Akane is my sister Ranma and your former fiancée! You’d BETTER do something,” she warned him, her temper flaring in concern for Akane.

He looked at the girl in surprise, having never been on the receiving end of her temper before. “But Nabs...” he tried to explain, only to be cut off by more of her words.

“What? Are you AFRAID of her? She’s YOUR friend; remember? Tell her to stop!” she yelled at the boy as the two women once more attacked each other with furious speed and power.

His eyes narrowed at the insult, his mouth setting into scowl. “Fine then,” he muttered, jumping into the fray...and striking Akane, throwing her to the far wall.

Tsuruko, breathing heavily from the exertion of fending off the girl, nodded her thanks to him. “She’s not herself Ranma,” she said to him quietly, even as they watched her rise up to her feet.

Akane fierce stare bore into them. “So, that’s the way; it is, Ranma? You just gonna take ANYONE’S side over mine huh? Even if she’s the one that tried to kill me?” she spat at him.

Ranma shook his head. “No Akane, but I know that Tsuruko wasn’t trying ta hurt ya, while you were trying to kill her,” he answered, falling into a waiting stance at Tsuruko’s side.

Soun, Nabiki, and Nodoka were shocked and appalled at his sudden actions, having never seen him take sides with someone that wasn’t a part of his family. “Son, you MUST defend the honor of this dojo!” shouted a very angry Soun, pointing at him.

“Ranma! How could you?” asked Nabiki, looking at him with a betrayed expression, unable to believe his actions. “I thought you were better than this!” she told him, her voice clearly showing her disapproval of what he’d done.

His hands dropped slightly, the only outward indication of the pain her words had caused him. His lips pursed in anger, unable to explain to them that something didn’t feel right about the whole thing. Akane, using the distraction her family brought her once more, ran at the two impromptu allies, her body moving and flowing into a series of attacks that Ranma knew all too well.

“Akane! Cut it out, ya dumb tomboy! We don’t wanna have ta hurt ya!” he said, finding himself facing the very moves he practiced day in and day out. Ducking and weaving from her attacks while trying to move in concert with Tsuruko, he was unable to speak more lest his concentration falter and something terrible happen.

Akane ignored his pleas and insults; so focused was her attention to trying to defeat and cripple the two people fighting her. She’d never felt this powerful, this much in control both of her body and mind. ‘I can really beat them,’ she thought giddily, increasing her efforts and forcing them back.

Tsuruko, while very thankful of his help, also realized the damage this was doing to the boy’s family ties. “Akane Tendo, stop or you will force me to truly harm you!” she ordered, slapping aside a foot that threatened to strike her head.

The woman’s warning had the opposite effect on both the girl and her family. Anger was prevalent on their faces as they watched Ranma helping a woman that had now claimed to be willing to harm the youngest Tendo daughter.

Akane, so focused on trying to do bodily harm on Tsuruko, left herself a tiny opening in her defenses; a fact that Ranma quickly capitalized on.

With the speed and accuracy he was so noted for, he swept the girl’s feet from under her and shoved her hard as she fell, sending her crashing into the far wall to slump to the ground.

There was a collective gasp from the onlookers at his actions, the first time any could remember him actually striking Akane in a battle. Nabiki’s anger blossomed at him, seeing his attack as a betrayal of her family’s honor.

Her eyes narrowed as she walked up behind the boy, grabbing him by the shoulder from where he was crouched, spinning him to face her. Despite the sorrowful look he wore, her anger wasn’t swayed nor abated. “What do you think you’re doing?” she yelled at him.

He met her angry glare with resignation, something dying in his eyes at her words. “I’m trying to save Akane’s life,” he told her quietly, jerking his arm from her grip and returning to the confrontation.

Nabiki’s heart almost broke as she watched his pained expression, realizing how deeply her words had cut the boy. ‘Oh my god, I’m no better than Akane,’ she thought to herself, realizing that for all her claims of listening to him, the time it had mattered to him, she hadn’t.

Tsuruko, seeing the girl slow to rise after the surprise hit by Ranma, set her stance and unleashed an attack that would banish any dark spirits possessing her. The ki attack raced across the mats of the dojo with blazing speed, directly into the body of Akane.

She managed to bring her arms up in defense, forearms crossing into an X shape before her. The pure energy of the attack passed through her, dissipating harmlessly through the wall behind her and into the evening air.

As her arms lowered, Akane’s smile was dark and sinister. “That didn’t hurt at all,” she told the stunned woman. Her right arm shot out towards the woman, black energies racing down her arm and forming into a ball that streaked towards Tsuruko.

With a grimace, Tsuruko deflected the killer attack up and into the ceiling of the dojo, blowing a rather large hole and sending debris raining down on the occupants of the room.

Akane glared at the woman that had dared block her newest technique, setting herself to try another.

There was a shout from outside the dojo moments before Shampoo somersaulted into the room, looking around for the unknown attackers. Seeing Akane squared off against Tsuruko, she stopped with an incredulous look on her face. “You crazy? Sword woman too too good for one like you!” she told the girl, shaking her head in disbelief.

Akane’s face screwed up in rage at being dismissed by her long time rival. “I’ll show you!” she cried, summoning a powerful ball of energy between her palms and sending it towards the Amazon.

Ranma moved faster then the attack, easily scooping up Shampoo and cradling her away from the area it was headed.

Tsuruko, moving to intercept the newest dark energy ball, landed in the spot Ranma had only vacated less that a second prior, once more intercepting the energy, and redirecting it back towards the strangely acting girl.

Cursing at the sudden change of events and the subsequent rescue of her target by Ranma, Akane crouched down and sprang upwards. Her leap easily carried her over the rebounded attack and out the massive new hole in the roof.

Setting down a stunned Shampoo, after disengaging her arms from around his neck, he looked over to Tsuruko. “Thanks Tsuruko,” he told her, breathing a sigh of relief.

She nodded to him. “It was nothing, Ranma, though I will have to pursue her now. I have Vash awaiting me, I feared something like this would happen,” she told him, eyeing the hole before leaping through it as well. “Keitaro and Motoko will arrive shortly for your mission, you must make haste, time is critical. I will deal with Akane,” she called down to him.

“Be careful!” he called after the disappearing woman, before looking into the eyes of Shampoo. “Hey, Shampoo, you okay?” he asked her, helping her to her feet.

Nodding, she blushed deeply at his show of concern and the glares they were currently receiving from some of the household behind him.

Swallowing hard, he turned to face them, finding anger and jealousy in the face of Nabiki.

“So, you want HER to be careful Ranma? What about, Akane, huh? Did it ever occur to you that maybe SHE was the one in danger there?” asked Nabiki, her voice cold and hard as her arms folded across her chest. She turned from him so that he was facing her right shoulder, closing her eyes after speaking.

“That woman is one of YOUR friends, Ranma! And she attacked a member of this family and you HELPED her! How can you explain yourself?” demanded Soun, eyes torn between breaking into tears and springing the demon head on him.

Nodoka looked at Ranma, worry and concern in her eyes as she watched her son verbally assaulted. “Perhaps a moment to allow heads to cool,” she offered, though her voice was firm as well.

“Disgraceful boy! Abusing your future sister in law like that? How could you? Have you no honor, no decency?” demanded Genma, back in human form and his normal hypocritical self.

“Oh no, don’t you even START that crap!” shouted Ranma at his father, tired of having to suffer from the man’s delusional indignities. “I was tryin’ ta SAVE her you morons! Tsuruko coulda killed her!” he shouted at them, meeting the eyes of Nabiki as she turned back to him.

“You have a funny way of showing it, Saotome, looked to me like you were ATTACKING her,” she countered, taking a step forwards.

“Like you would know Nabiki! If I was tryin’ to hurt her she’d be in a hospital right now, I was only tryin’ to get her knocked outta the fight before Tsuruko had to hurt her. Besides, didn’t ya see what she was doing? Ain’t NO WAY Akane shoulda been able to do somethin’ like that,” he told his fiancée, the cold glare he was getting from her cutting deeply into him.

Nabiki’s eyes narrowed at him, “I’m NOT my sister Ranma, nor am I stupid. Don’t think you’re going to be able to talk your way out of this one, we all SAW what you did,” she told him, her voice dropping low with malice. ‘He’s right though, how DID Akane do that?’ she asked herself, her mind trying to rationalize past the sudden jealousy she was feeling.

As he tried to explain himself, she held up her hand. “You know what; I don’t want to hear it. I now see why Akane had so much trouble with you.” Nabiki spat at him, taking a perverse glee in the pain that her words gave him.

Turning from the boy, she walked from the dojo, leaving him dumbstruck and slack jawed by her verbal attack.

Even the fathers were quiet after the cutting words, realizing that perhaps something more was happening then they realized. “Son, perhaps you could explain your actions?” tried Soun, once more, eyeing him carefully.

Ranma hung his head. “I...can’t. I’m, uh...sorry about all this,” he told them, his voice dropping low. “Don’t worry though, Tsuruko will bring her back,” he said, unable to meet anyone’s eyes.

“That! That...WOMAN, that tried to kill my little girl, is supposed to bring her BACK?” he cried incredulously, finally unleashing the Tendo Fountain, soaking Genma.

“Aw geez, she ain’t that bad...” he started to say, only to be interrupted by Genma.

“Boy, I don’t know where you get your ideas of what a FRIEND is, but she is NOT someone that appreciates family! You’re a disgrace, Ranma! Oh the shame of having such a dishonorable son that would help someone KILL a future member of his family!” he cried, fists clenched under his chin as he joined his long time friend in tears.

Nodoka glared at her husband, shoving him out of the way to assist Kasumi in taking Soun from the room. “Genma, perhaps a bottle of sake would be appropriate,” she said harshly.

The words had an instant effect on the man. His tears stopped and he took on a worldly countenance. “Yes, perhaps Tendo could use a stiff drink to help his nerves. I would be remiss not to join him, a true martial artist and friend is ALWAYS there for his friends,” he said, bolting from the room.

With a long suffering sigh, Ranma looked over to the silent Shampoo. “Even when I try ta do the right thing, I still get blamed,” he muttered, more to himself than to the girl.

Shampoo, eyes wide at the whole situation, simply nodded to him. “Ranma, Shampoo sorry you have fight with family,” she told him sincerely, finally beginning to realize how troubled his life really was. Add to this new revelation her own sense of guilt at having manipulated this before, and Shampoo found a renewed sense of shame over her actions.

He shrugged to his friend, a weak smile on his face. “Hey, it ain’t like I’m not used to it or nothin’,” he told her, not feeling as confident or nonchalant as he sounded.

Shampoo crossed to his side, touching his arm lightly. “Shampoo sorry Ranma, for all trouble Shampoo cause,” she told him, not glomping or taking her eyes from his.

He blinked at her, at first unsure of what to make of her sudden apology, then nodded his acceptance. “Thanks, Shampoo, that means a lot,” he told her quietly, feeling marginally closer to his long time former fiancé and friend.

Looking back in the direction everyone had left in, he sighed once more. “C’mon, let’s get going,” he said morosely, knowing that no matter what he did it wasn’t going to make things right.

They walked from the dojo and back into the house, passing Kasumi who was preparing a tray of tea. “Ranma, perhaps you should speak with Nabiki before you leave. I’m sure she’d appreciate it,” the smiling woman told him.

Ranma, unable to deny anything the eldest daughter she asked, frowned slightly as he paused to consider her remarks. “I dunno, Kasumi, I don’t think she really WANTS to talk to me right now. She made that pretty clear,” he told her, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.

Kasumi set aside the tray and crossed to stand before him, lifting his chin so that he was forced to look in her eyes. “Ranma, she was just surprised at your actions, just like the rest of us, but I’m sure she didn’t mean those things she said,” she told him, her smile never leaving her face.

Ranma was unable to hold onto his doubts in the face of her simple logic and faith, very few people could. “If you say so, Kasumi,” he told her, nodding his head.

“I’ll meet ya outside, Shampoo,” he told the girl, smiling as she nodded and left without argument. He turned back to find Kasumi smiling indulgently at him. “You sure she ain’t gonna kill me?” he asked her, swallowing hard once more.

Kasumi shook her head. “No Ranma, Nabiki would never hit you. You know that,” she told him, pushing him in the direction of the stairs.

“Sometimes it’d be better if she did,” he muttered quietly, the pain still echoing in his chest from her verbal tirade. He looked at her closed door, his heart in his throat as his hand moved on it’s own to knock on her door.

“What?” called the girl from inside, her tone level and emotionless.

Ranma closed his eyes. ‘Here goes nothing,’ he thought. “It’s me, Nabiki,” he said quietly, preparing for the worst.

It never came. “Come in,” she told him, her voice and tone still not changing. That fact alone scared the boy, more so than a temper tantrum would have.

He opened the door and stepped in quickly, shutting the door behind him. He found his feet suddenly to be the most interesting things he’d ever seen.

She regarded him with a mixture of shame and anger: anger over having watched him side with a stranger over her family, and shame over having said such horrible things to him, things that she knew she didn’t mean. “My time is valuable, Ranma,” she warned him, crossing her arms across her chest as she sat with her back against the wall on the bed.

“I, uh...” he stammered, suddenly unsure of himself and what to say. He slow brought his eyes upwards, looking at Nabiki from under his bangs. He wanted so much to have things back to when he could talk to her about anything, only to find the Ice Queen was fully in place. ‘So much for talkin’,’ the boy thought, letting out a sigh of resignation.

“Look, if you’ve got something to say, Ranma, just say it and get out,” she told him coldly, beginning to lose her patience with him. He evoked such strong emotions from her, even shattering the mask of ice she normally wore for everyone. It frustrated her to no end as she realized how deeply under her skin he was, and how out of control that left her feeling.

‘Isn’t that what you wanted?’ her mind asked her as she watched the blushing young man stumble to try and find words to speak articulately. Her expression softened slightly as she caught sight of his face and the haunted look in his eyes. “Ranma...” she said with a shake of her head, climbing off the bed and crossing to him.

He took an involuntary step back as she approached, still unused to not being abused when anyone was mad at him. “I’m sorry,” he said hastily, giving a warding sign with both hands.

She stopped and regarded him, “For what?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He blinked at her sudden demeanor change, “For what ever it is you’re mad at me for?” he asked, cracking a half smile. Open mouth, insert foot, swallow to knee. Repeat as necessary.

“So, you’re telling me that you’ve no idea of why I’m mad?” Nabiki asked him, something akin to a friendly expression on her face.

Slowly bringing his hands down as he realized that he wasn’t going to get hit and that Nabiki was almost smiling at him, almost. “Kinda, I mean you were pretty ticked I had actually fought the tomboy,” he told her, relief showing on his face.

Nabiki nodded to him. “I see. So, that means that you don’t believe that what you did was wrong?” she asked him, crossing her arms once more and cocking her head forwards slightly.

Ranma, used to having more straightforward battles, missed all the danger signs that he’d just been set up and delivered to the verbal trap Nabiki had given him. “Um, no...not really. It woulda been a whole lot harder to fight Tsuruko than Akane, but Tsuruko wasn’t the one goin’ crazy. Didn’t ya see half the crap Akane was doin? That shoulda told ya something,” he said, happily oblivious to the anger in Nabiki’s eyes.

Her tone dropped the temperature in the room by 30 degrees. “It shouldn’t have MATTERED, Ranma, Akane is family. I haven’t spent the better part of the last 7 years taking care of this family to have you and someone you consider a friend ruin it!” she told him, fixing him with a baleful glare.

He blinked at her, finding himself once more on unstable and unfamiliar territory with his fiancée. “But, Tsuruko is a good guy...uh, woman,” he tried to defend his actions once more, growing frustrated with both himself for not being able to explain the situation and Nabiki for not listening to him.

With a growl he threw his hands up in the air. “Aw, just forget it! You ain’t gonna listen to me anyhow! I shoulda known better than...” he started to say only to find that his brain finally overrode his hyper active mouth, silencing him before he truly made a mess of things.

Her eyes narrowed. “Than what Ranma?” she asked him carefully, feeling her own heart cracking at his words. ‘You had it coming, you did it first remember?’ her mind taunted her, her own words coming back to haunt her.

He looked away with an angry expression. “Nothin’,” he said sullenly, suddenly finding the wall interesting.

Nabiki swallowed hard and closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths to try and calm her frayed nerves and fragile feelings. “Ranma, what were you going to say?” she asked him calmly.

The boy looked at her neutral expression, trepidation evident on his face. ‘Oh no, we ain’t falling for this one again,’ he told himself, feeling a bit proud to see the trap she’d laid for him.

Unfortunately for him, he was only thinking on a planar level and not the myriad of levels that Nabiki used to garner information from people. In other words, he was doomed once he opened his mouth.

“Uh-uh, you ain’t tricking me like that again! I just came up here to tell ya I gotta go do something for Bill,” he tried, changing topics with the vain hope she’d forget about his words.

She nodded slowly at his words, a sad expression on her face. “I see, so you don’t think I can handle your opinion of me?” she asked him, her face falling.

“Huh? No, it ain’t like that at all! I just didn’t want you ta get mad at me for saying something stupid like I should never of trusted...you,” he finished slowly, eyes wide as he trailed off. ‘This is gonna hurt,’ his mind told him.

Something broke in Nabiki at his words, causing her to take a step forwards. “Trust? TRUST! It should be ME that’s ashamed for having ever trusted YOU Ranma! You know what? Go, just go! It’s obviously more important for you to do what ever it is you do then to sit here and TRY to fix this!” she spat at him, finding him backing away from her as she advanced.

He stopped at the last statement, anger flaring past his survival instincts. “It’s not like I don’t wanna work this out with you, Nabiki! I just gotta take care of something first, I wouldn’t be goin’ if it wasn’t important,” he told her, giving her his own glare.

Her mind distantly registered his words, and the earnest nature in which he gave them. “You mean like those assassins that came here?” she asked him bluntly, the question coming out like an accusation.

As he nodded, her frown deepened. “Look, Ranma, I don’t know what you’ve got yourself tied up in, but it isn’t worth losing everything for, is it?” she asked him, her tone defrosting, eyes imploring him to talk with her.

“If I don’t, I could end up losin’ more’n just family,” he told her quietly, unable to break his gaze from the pain and pleading in her eyes. “I gotta go, Nabiki, I don’t wanna leave it like this, but...” he told her.

Her face slowly fell, finally breaking her gaze from his. “I see,” she responded quietly, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper. Nabiki turned from him, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling suddenly very cold in the room.

Ranma hadn’t seen her act like this before, unsure of herself and almost silent. The pain in her eyes had carved deeply, knowing that it was him that caused it. He reached out an arm to touch her on the shoulder, though it brought no response form the girl.

Unsure of what to say or do, Ranma let his arm fall back to his side and turned to the door. He paused as he opened the door, giving one last furtive glance before departing silently, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

As the door closed, she looked over her shoulder with an intense stare, as if wishing him to burst back through the door, take her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

‘But he’s not, he’s not coming back,’ she thought, replaying all the harsh and cruel things she’d said to him, and the sick pleasure she’d felt at the sight of pain in his eyes. Tears burned her eyes, wanting to be spilled, only held back by force of will.

“I’ve got to apologize, this isn’t all his fault,” she told herself, walking through the door he’d departed and heading towards the stairs. She could hear the soft murmurings from downstairs of Nodoka and Kasumi as they tried to console Soun over the actions and subsequent disappearance of Akane.

It was the lilting voice of Shampoo that caused her to stop in her direction and instead go to the window that overlooked the front gate and porch. Pushing aside the curtain, she gazed down at Ranma and Shampoo, waiting in the street outside the compound while talking to each other.

‘Great, way to go Nabiki. First you hurt him, then he ends up going on one of these missions with Shampoo instead of Ryoga. Why not just gift wrap him next time?’ she berated herself.

She watched as three other people walked up and joined them, one of them immediately recognizable as Bill. She watched with narrowed eyes as the man handed Ranma a rolled up piece of paper, wishing vainly that she could hear the conversation.

Her breath caught in her throat as Ranma turned his face up and looked directly at the window she was in, as if he could see her. Involuntarily, she brought up her hand to touch the window, as if justifying his attentions, but by the time her fingers rested on the cold pane of glass, he’d already turned and was walking down the street with the others.

Nabiki frowned at Bill as he entered into the gates. “He’s got a lot to answer for,” she said darkly, moving to the front door.

She jerked the door open just as he was about to knock. “Just the person I wanted to see,” she told him ominously.

“Hello to you, too,” he responded, returning her glare with the same amount of intensity.

Kasumi walked up behind them, “Why hello, Bill, good to see you this evening,” she told him, motioning for him to come in.

Moving past Nabiki, Bill smiled at Kasumi, “Thanks, Kasumi, but it looks like I didn’t get here in time,” he said, removing his shoes.

The man’s voice brought the remainder of the family into the foyer, all of them showing varying levels of annoyance. “You’ve much to explain,” said Nodoka, glaring at the man.

Bill sighed. “Look, I’ll try to explain,” he started to say, only to be interrupted by Soun.

“YOU brought that monster to our home and she tried to KILL my little girl!” wailed Soun, soaking both Nodoka and Genma in the process.

Rolling his eyes at the man, Bill stifled the growling profanity he almost blurted out. “If you’ll just give me a chance, I’ll try to explain what’s happening,” he said; his voice taunt with control.

Nabiki walked past him and stood along side her family, though well outside the range of her father turned sprinkler. “Talk, and this better be good,” the girl said.

Kasumi frowned lightly. “I do wish everyone would stop being so hostile,” she murmured, shaking her head as she passed them back into the kitchen.

Both Bill and Nabiki followed her with their eyes. “Sorry, Kasumi,” they said simultaneously, then eyed each other suspiciously.

“Jinx, ya owe me a coke,” half heartedly joked Bill. Nabiki didn’t crack a smile.

“Whatever,” he sighed and motioned to the living room. “This could take a minute, wanna sit down?” he asked, looking at everyone’s face.

Genma regarded the man with outright anger, though he was kept in check by Nodoka, her hand on the hilt of the honor sword.

The group walked into the other room, Bill remained standing while everyone else took a seat. “I take it that Akane used some skill’s she shouldn’t of had, and Tsuruko was fighting her,” he asked to the nodding faces.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Okay, this is gonna be kinda difficult to explain, but given everything you all have seen and done, it won’t be too far a stretch for you,” he told them.

He locked eyes with Nabiki as he started to explain. “Ranma, Shampoo and Ryoga have all been working for us, holding off various insurgents until the regular forces can arrive. That much you know,” he said, starting to pace slightly.

“What you don’t know is that the insurgents aren’t human...they’re demons to be exact, or Oni if you prefer,” Bill explained, watching everyone’s face carefully for reactions.

Disbelief was present but so was suspicion. “Since you’re all martial artists and it’s your code, we hired on the most talented of those here to work for us. Unfortunately, just like I’ve been looking for help, so has the other side. In this case, it looks like they may have tried to recruit Akane,” the man told him, placing an easy chair between him and the family for safety.

Genma and Soun leapt to their feet. “That’s preposterous! How DARE you accuse my little girl of consorting with vile demons!” shouted the Tendo patriarch.

“I should teach you a lesson!” growled Genma, cracking his knuckles and glowering at him. “That will teach you to ambush a martial...I mean make false accusations,” he corrected himself, seeing the glare from his wife.

“You shouldn’t make such statements without proof, young man,” Nodoka told him after subduing her husband with a glance.

“Are you people really that DENSE?” Bill practically shouted at them, frustration over events boiling over.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath while closing his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed, there are things going on around here that are weird even for this place. Now Akane has fallen in with that,” his voice was strained.

Nabiki nodded slowly. “She was fighting much better than she usually does, including those dark blasts she was throwing around,” she allowed, crossing her arms across her chest.

“That still doesn’t excuse her coming in here and attacking her,” the girl added, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t have a freakin’ clue what happened in there, and until I talk to Tsuruko, I’m not going to try and give an explanation. I can show you this though,” he told her, handing her the photo of Akane taken by Gosenkugi.

Nabiki looked at photo with a studious expression. “This could have easily been doctored Bill, this doesn’t prove anything,” she countered, handing the photo to her father, his tears having instantly dried up as he regarded the photo.

Soun’s face paled as did the face of Genma as they observed the photo. “Uh, perhaps something is amiss,” allowed Soun, swallowing hard

Genma nodded. “Too true, Tendo, too true. Perhaps his claim might have some merit,” he allowed.

Nodoka raised an eyebrow as she snatched the photo from his hand. “All I see is a blurry after image around her. It’s nothing more than a shadow,” she told them with annoyance.

Nabiki’s mind was working overtime. “Where did you get this, Bill?” she asked him suspiciously.

He turned his thin lipped face to hers once more. “Gosenkugi took them for me, along with a bunch of others that included the old lech...if you remember correctly,” he added, turning to Nodoka.

The older woman’s face fell as she realized that he hadn’t been simply making it up. “I see,” she said quietly.

Both men eyed the woman suspiciously, “What of the master?” asked Soun, his question echoed by Genma.

Bill smiled. “He made the mistake of dealing with the bad guys that tried to kill Ranma and your daughters, and had to be dealt with,” he told them with a sadistic grin.

The men immediately began dancing around and singing ‘Ding Dong the Lech is Dead’ at decibels guaranteed to wake the dead, or more likely cause them to rise up and kill the one’s making such an infernal racket.

Nodoka silenced them by drawing steel; the distinctive sound seemed to echo in the room. “That’ll be quite enough of that from the both of you, we still have matters to discuss,” she told them sternly, returning her attentions to Bill.

“That still does not excuse her actions regarding Akane. She could have came forward and told us of your suspicions,” Nodoka told him, her voice still cold.

Shaking his head, he pointed to the sword. “You think I trusted ANYONE in this household to think rationally? Look how you all reacted so far, and then tell me again WHY I should’ve trusted you with information like that? Akane was family, even if she did make a deal with the devil, like you’d of believed either of us,” he told her with exasperation, unbelieving that he was still covering the same old ground with them.

Nabiki glared at him for his statement. “I might have if you’d of come to me first,” she told him.

He shook his head. “Sorry Nabiki, I couldn’t do that...too much at risk and I didn’t want to alarm Ranma. I couldn’t take the chance and spook her or tip her off that we knew something was up,” he told the girl.

“That went well, didn’t it?” she asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

Bill frowned at her. “It could’ve gone better,” he said darkly.

Nodoka, still with blade in hand, interjected herself into the conversation once more. “I have dealt with Tsuruko before this, and while I frowned on her actions regarding my husband, I also acknowledge that she is honorable. Perhaps her actions were misconstrued as you have said, it still leaves your culpability in this matter,” she said.

“You wanna blame me? Fine, then do it. I’ve been blamed by better than you before and probably will be again. It still don’t change the fact that things have GOT to change around here!” he practically shouted at her, his face turning red in anger.

“I don’t like your tone or accusations,” Nodoka warned him, eyes narrowing at him as her hand tightened on the sword.

Soun and Genma backed quickly away from the angry woman. “Um, perhaps some more of that sake, Saotome, I feel rather upset again,” Soun told his friend.

“Yes, yes...I’ll pour,” Genma said quickly, both men all but running from the room.

Bill pointed at them. “And you wonder WHY I think the way I do?” he asked her heatedly. Seeing that her neither her expression nor the way she now held the sword had changed, his eyes lidded.

“You gonna use that on me?” he asked her quietly, motioning to the sword.

Nabiki swallowed hard at the sudden direction the conversation had taken. “Now, Auntie Nodoka, let’s not be rash here,” she said placatingly.

“Don’t worry, my dear; I won’t sully the blade with his blood. This is an HONOR blade after all, something his ‘MAN’ knows nothing of,” she told her with venom.

Bill’s barking sarcastic laugh was grating. “HONOR? Are you kidding me, lady? You talking about the same HONOR that your husband has? Or how about the fact that you’ve got a death sentence over both his and Ranma’s head about being a ‘MAN’, as you call it. Believe me, if that’s your idea of being honorable and a man, than I’m glad as hell I ain’t like that,” he spat at the woman.

“You know NOTHING of my family or me! Don’t you dare to claim an understanding of honorable living,” she told him with quiet menace. She sheathed the sword with a forceful gesture. “I think it is time you left,” she told him coldly, turning to find her husband.

Bill simmered in his anger at the woman as she left. “Of all the bone headed, ignorant, stubborn...” he muttered darkly, finally noticing Nabiki’s look of shock and anger at him.

“You really know how to win over people, huh?” she asked him sarcastically.

Holding up his hand to her, “Don’t. Just, don’t. You’ve got no idea WHY I’m so irritated at them, so don’t go judging me, alright?” he told the girl, stepping back and finding his shoes.

She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Then why not show me? Help me understand, because right now I’m not sure why I should side with you either,” she told him, her voice emotionless.

He frowned up at her. “You don’t want that Nabiki, trust me. That is something that you don’t want or ever NEED to know,” he told the girl with a soft voice, the anger almost totally flooding away.

Nabiki simply stared at the man for a long moment. “I think I do, in fact, I insist,” she told him with conviction.

Bill closed his eyes and shook his head, “Look Nabiki, I’m gonna tell you like I told Ukyo. There are some things that are better left unknown. Once you learn something, it can NEVER be unlearned, no matter how much you wish it so,” he finished with a sad whisper.

At the mention of Ukyo’s name, her jealousy flared back up. “Speaking of a former fiancée, what’s with his going with Shampoo? Thought the deal was that he wasn’t going to be partnered with her again,” she asked him pointedly.

“It was either that or send him in alone, and trust me, that would’ve been much worse then anything Shampoo could say or do to him,” he told her, wincing slightly.

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” she told him dryly, cocking her head to the side. “Now, what was this you told Ukyo?” she asked innocently.

He smiled at her faintly. “Don’t worry about that, Nabiki, it was just me telling her that Ranma didn’t see her as more than a friend. She demanded to know what I knew about Ranma, so I told her. She still didn’t believe me, and look where that got her,” Bill said to her, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

She ignored his implications. “I still want to know what’s going on, Bill. It’s my business to know, and I don’t like being kept in the dark...especially when it comes to Ranma,” she told him firmly.

Bill hung his head but nodded. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Nabiki,” he said quietly, standing as he finished. “C’mon, let’s go. This isn’t something you’re gonna want to share with everyone,” he told the girl before walking out the door.

Surprised at his sudden change of demeanor, she hastened to put on her shoes and follow the man outside. She found him waiting for her by a darkened street corner.

“Don’t talk, okay? Not until I give you the word. It’ll make more sense in just a minute. Now, take my hand and whatever you do, DON’T LET GO,” he stressed to her.

The look she gave him was disbelieving, but Nabiki complied with his words, taking his hand and following him into the shadows.

As the darkness closed around them, she felt a sudden rushing sensation without sound or motion. The world spun crazily for him, the darkness seeming to envelope her, cocooning her.

She opened her mouth to scream, but Bill’s free hand clasped firmly over her mouth before she had the chance. The darkness was absolute, creating a sense of claustrophobia in her mind. It felt as if she was being pulled in too many directions at once, alien and strange thoughts assailing her mind. Some of the voice seemed all too familiar, while others were too strange to even be considered human.

Through all the disconcerting voices and sensations, she could feel a powerful and peaceful presence, one that helped to ease her anxiety, assuring her that things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Her mind clutched to this feeling, though it was alien to her, it provided her mind with the rock on which to cling to maintain her sanity.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. Nabiki fell to her knees, gasping for breath and fighting the overwhelming sense of nausea that was threatening to crush her.

“Take it easy, Nabiki, you’re gonna be okay,” came the calm voice of Bill, placing his comforting hand on her shoulder. “Deep breaths and think happy thoughts,” he said, gently rubbing her back.

It took her several moments to recompose herself, feeling a slight sense of shame at her weakness, especially in front of Bill. She looked up into his eyes and nodded a couple of times. “I’ll be fine, thanks,” she told him.

His smile wasn’t mocking or derisive. “It hits ya hard the first couple of times,” he told her softly, waiting for her to rise to her feet.

She slowly stood, finally taking in her surroundings, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Where are we?” she asked him, noticing the burnt and scorched trees around them.

“That’s actually a good question, I just don’t have a good answer for you,” he told her with a shrug. “C’mon, it’s only a short walk,” the man said, starting to follow the well worn path they stood on.

“You don’t have an answer, or you WON’T tell me the answer,” she challenged, following behind him, her eyes were drifting to the eerily silent landscape around them.

“I really don’t know WHERE this is to be exact, but things should be pretty obvious in a second or two,” he replied over his shoulder, his face not showing any of the normal good humor he had.

Grumbling quietly at his cryptic answers, she went silent again, observing the vast amount of ash and small debris on the path they were following. There were many foot prints in the ash, some of them not looking at all human.

She bumped into the back of Bill, who had stopped while she wasn’t paying attention. “Okay, last chance, you sure you wanna do this?” he asked seriously, having turned to meet her surprised face.

“You’re asking me that AFTER what I just went through? Don’t be stupid,” she told him with a shake of her head. ‘After almost tossing my cookies I’m sure as hell gonna find out what’s so damned important,’ she told herself.

He released a deep sigh. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he told her quietly, extending an arm forwards.

She looked past him and finally saw what he was pointing to: the ruined shell of her home. It was blasted and burnt, nothing was intact or in a semblance of good order. Nabiki walked forwards with timid steps, hand going to her mouth as she walked over the remains of what used to be a wall around her home. The koi pond was empty of water, garbage and burned out debris filling it now. There were many stones missing from around its rim, giving it a gaped tooth appearance. She felt a twinge of sadness at the sight, something that was so minor in their lives, yet in this state of disrepair giving her pangs of loss.

Along the back wall were several upright and rectangular stones, it took her mind only a moment to realize that they were headstones. Gasping deeply, she turned disbelieving eyes to Bill, his somber expression greeted her. “I told you, it ain’t pretty,” he said quietly, walking past her towards the stones.

He knelt before one of the smaller stones, his right hand resting atop of it. He bowed his head reverently, his lips moving silently as he whispered his prayer to the dead.

Her feet moved of their own accord, until she ended up behind him, finally able to read the name; Ranma Saotome.

“No...no, this can’t be...it’s impossible,” she whispered as she fell to her knees, wanting to make the tombstone disappear, to make everything around her disappear. “It’s a trick! Something you made up,” she said with desperate energy.

“Wrong, Nabiki, it’s VERY possible, even I wouldn’t make something like this up,” said a quiet Bill, not looking at the girl.

“He’s going to die, Nabiki, of wounds suffered in a fight to save his family,” he continued, fingers tracing over the inscriptions.

He finally turned to look at her horrified and shocked expression. “Thanks to you, it wasn’t at the hands of Akane, as was his original fate,” he told her, bringing her from her stupor.

“What do you mean ‘original fate’? What’s going on here?” she asked, confused and scared by his demeanor and words. “How can anyone change their fate?”

Bill relaxed into a cross-legged position. “That’s a long story, involving explanations I still don’t understand,” he said.

He jerked his head to the tombstones. “You see, every once in a while someone comes along that is truly extraordinary. They can do things that are impossible without blinking an eye, making the rest of us believe that ANYTHING is possible,” he told her with a wistful smile.

“Unfortunately, they’re just mortal, confined by the same set of rules the rest of us are, no matter how powerful they are or become. Ranma has to be one of the very best I’ve ever seen,” he said, nodding with his statement.

Looking back to Nabiki, he smiled genuinely at her. “You see, by having me get involved like I did in the messes of his life, you saved him a rather brutally short marriage and death from Akane. She really did love him, but her own issues were going to cost him his life. When you replaced her, you saved him from that fate, only to deliver him into another,” he explained, the smile leaving as he watched the tears welling in her eyes.

“You’re WRONG!” she cried to him, wanting him to shut up, to stop telling her these things. “I would NEVER let anything like that happen to him!” she challenged.

His sad smile returned. “You’re right, Nabiki, you never did. He died saving you, his unborn son and the rest of your family from someone that came for revenge on the Saotome name...in particular something Genma did,” he finished with a growl, pointing to another tombstone.

Her eyes moved her head to gaze at the stone that bore Genma’s name. Her mind still whirled with the thought of her carrying Ranma’s child. “How? When?” she asked him quietly, wondering if perhaps she could head off this particular disaster before it occurred. ‘C’mon Nabiki, you’re the master negotiator, you know you can find a way out of this,’ her mind rallied her spirit.

Bill shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, things aren’t necessarily set in stone. Time is a lot like a river; it flows through, over, and around objects, but always in the direction it wants. It takes something massive and drastic to change the course of a river. Same principles apply to time,” he explained to her.

Seeing her slightly confused look, he changed tactics. “What happens when you put your hand in a river? Nothing much, a few negligible current changes, maybe an eddy or two, but the river itself is unchanged, right? But,” he said, with the right index finger of his hand up and a hopeful look in his eyes. “If you drop a large boulder into the river, it can change the course and complexion of the river; diverting it from its original course and altering the landscape around it,” Bill told her, drawing a nod of understanding from her.

“So, by me taking the place of Akane, I changed the course of time?” she asked hesitantly, unsure if one single person could influence events to that great of a degree.

He frowned at her. “Not exactly, you DID change it some, but not enough to really change the overall outcome. It’s going to take something drastic to really change this,” he allowed, looking slightly frustrated.

Nabiki looked at him, swallowing hard. “How drastic are we talking?” she asked hesitantly.

He looked at her with a resigned expression. “When I first agreed to help you, I did a little looking into Ranma’s fate, trying to see if I was actually doing a good thing or a bad thing for him. Sorry, but you asked, remember,” he told the girl’s outraged expression.

“Anyways, that’s when I started finding out that he wasn’t going to have a very happy life no matter what I did. THAT’S why I’m not a fan of his parents. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I watched her force suicide on him and Genma. Not to mention all the times Genma’s stupidity has come back to haunt Ranma...and you,” he added quietly.

She blinked at him. “Okay, just what exactly are you saying here, Bill? That I get wrapped up in the messes his father made? That I’m one of the problems in his life?” she asked him, finding her self defensive over the insinuations.

He stared directly into her eyes. “No, Nabiki, you’re one of the few that bring him happiness...if only for a little while,” he answered honestly, remembering how happy Ranma had been with her, right up until the time of his death.

She sat down heavily at his words, finding joy and pain at the discovery: joy that he would be happy with her, pain at the memories of her hateful words to him not so long ago. “What have I done?” she whispered.

He looked at her with sympathy. “What’s done is done, Nabiki, you need to be careful yourself though,” he told her, motioning to the headstones around them.

“You won’t find yours here. Want to know why? Because your actions made it easy for darkness to find your heart. Being ruthless and cut throat isn’t a good way to live your life, even if it’s for the good of your family. You’ve got to be the one to decide what’s best for you, without giving up who you are and want to be,” he said to her, his voice showing how earnestly he felt about this.

She blinked back the tears once more. “Who are you, Bill? How do you know all this? How CAN you know all this?” she questioned him, feeling her mind reeling once more with the weight of everything she’d learned.

Bill chuckled at her questions, shaking his head ruefully. “I’m just an unlucky SOB that happened to be in the wrong place at the right time,” he told her, looking up to the cloud covered skies. “Someone that can’t leave things well enough alone,” he whispered, taking a deep breath as he lowered his gaze to the ground before him.

“So, now you know. You can’t tell ANYONE about this Nabiki, believe me, you don’t want that attention. It’s up to you, Nabiki, to find out what’s best for you and Ranma, don’t let anyone else determine your fate. I’ll keep doing what I can to help you both. Who knows, maybe I can find a way out of this for you both, so you guys can raise a brood of your own,” he said with a deep groan as he got to his feet.

Nabiki looked up at him, uncertainty in her face. “You didn’t answer the question, Bill. What are you? How is it that you can do all of this?” she asked him, not letting him get away with cryptic answers this time.

He smiled down at her concerned expression. “I’m one of the good guys, Nabiki. A long time ago, I got caught up in something that I didn’t understand, and haven’t been able to walk away from it. I keep meeting people that need help, so I help. I’ve seen hell, Nabiki, in every sense of the word, and don’t wish that on anyone,” his words were laced with sorrow and heaviness.

“As far as HOW I can do all this, well, you’re not ready for that information yet. I’m just as human as you are, I’ve just been shown a different perspective then most people will ever see,” he finished, extending his hand down to her.

As he pulled her to her feet, he nodded in the direction they came from. “C’mon, we gotta get back before someone gets suspicious.”

Brushing off her butt, “Are we going to...” she asked, looking with a fearful expression on her face towards where they’d come from.

Nodding, “I’m afraid so, can’t be helped. Just remember to think happy thoughts. Sounds corny, but it works for me. Haven’t puked in a few years,” he added with a wry smile.

Rolling her eyes, she clenched her teeth in preparation. “That doesn’t make me feel any better,” she muttered darkly.

His laugh was light. “Me neither,” he told her.

Meanwhile, In the sewers...

Ranma raced after the man that had thrown Shampoo down the tunnel. He could barely keep them in sight due to the darkness and shadows of the sewers.

“C’mon boy, don’t keep me waiting,” the man taunted from ahead of him, his voice now echoing dully.

The tunnel opened into another bell type chamber, this one much larger then the other with more branches off into varying directions as well as levels. A thin coating of a green/black slime covered the metal railings and walkways that circled the chamber.

Shampoo was struggling to get her feet under her, a large lump under her right eye, leaning against the far wall. The man that had tossed her stood arrogantly in the middle of the chamber, his arms crossed across his chest.

Pointing to the man, Ranma’s face turned angry. “You’re gonna pay for that! What kinda guy hits a girl, huh?” he accused.

The man smiled sardonically. “I take it you’ve never really faced an equal that was a woman. You’ve a lot to learn boy, and here I thought you actually knew something about fighting,” he sneered back, waving a hand at Ranma dismissivly.

Ranma’s face twisted as he charged the man, launching into a series of combinations, punches and kicks flowing easily and without any seeming pattern. None of the attacks scored a hit; each was deflected or redirected away from the man. His smile infuriated the young man, his arrogance grating on Ranma’s nerves.

“I heard you were quite the fighter, Ranma Saotome, but I’ve yet to see anything all that special,” he told the boy, snapping a fist forward with stunning speed, slamming it into his chest and throwing him backwards.

His breath exploded from him at the sudden hit, his eyes widening with pain as he hit the wall. Jumping back to his feet, Ranma gave the man a cocky grin. “Lucky shot. Looks like I won’t have ta take it easy on you,” he said, drawing once more on his vast ki reserves.

Smiling at his words, “It’s about time Ranma, you’d do well to take me VERY seriously,” he warned him, crouching into an open fighting stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.

Ranma’s speed blurred him across the open area of the chamber, giving him the appearance of being in two places at once. “Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken!” he called out, his fists blurring into streaks of color.

The man’s face wrinkled in surprise at the power and speed of the boy’s attack, forcing him to go from an attacking mind set into a defensive one. Ducking his head behind his crossed arms, he tried to absorb the blows as they rained down on his upper torso.

He was slowly being driven back at the ferocity of the attacks, his feet creating troughs in the muck around his feet as he slid. Grunting heavily as the blows finally ceased, he brought up his eyes behind his defending arms. “Very good! Maybe they weren’t wrong about you after all,” he said with a sick smile.

Dropping his guard, he stepped back and bowed to the boy. “You’ve earned the right of knowing my name. I’m Geese Howard, fighter and crime lord extraordinaire,” he said with a flourish.

“Geese? What kinda stupid name is that?” asked Ranma, wondering why the guy was so full of himself. The fact that he’d taken the full brunt of his attack and was showing little to no effects bothered him, but he wasn’t done in his bag of tricks yet.

Geese frowned at his insult. “I’ll show you it’s not wise to disrespect me, boy,” he growled at him, dropping into a fighting stance once more. His right hand came forwards, surrounded by blue white energies, “Reppuken!” he called, unleashing the pent up ki in his fist.

The ki took the form a blade that raced along the ground, rising upwards and slamming into Ranma. He was caught unprepared for the attack and it not only threw him backwards, but cut through his shirt and into the skin of his torso.

“RANMA!” cried Shampoo, leaping to the aid of her friend, attacking the man from behind. Her descending kick found its mark, slamming the blonde haired man into the muck face first. Following up on her attack, she tried a heel smash into the back of the man’s skull, only to find that he’d rolled from the attack and was once more on his feet.

“Shippuken!” he called out, pointing his open palm at the surprised girl’s face. A blue ball of ki fired from the palm of his hand, crashing into her at point blank range. Her limp body flew backwards, smashing through several pipes on the way. Water; both dirty and clean, gouted out of the broken pipes, creating a dull roaring sound that made hearing difficult in the enclosed chamber.

“Möko Takabisha!” shouted a very angry Ranma, his attack also finding the back of Geese. The ball of energy crushed the man, sending his arms and legs splaying outwards as it propelled him forwards. He hit the wall and the energy exploded around him, temporarily blinding Ranma with the fierce intensity of his attack.

As he lowered his arm, he squinted through the mist and water that cascaded through the air, eyes searching for his target. To his disbelief, he found the man, now shirtless and lightly bleeding from several minor wounds, getting to his feet with a dangerous looking smile.

“You’ll do PERFECTLY, once properly broken,” he said, wiping a thin stream of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. He walked forwards, pausing as he was a third of the way across the room. “Now that we’re both properly motivated, let’s see what you can really do,” he challenged Ranma, once more dropping into a fighting stance.

Ranma shook himself from his shocked state, quelling the fear that was rising inside him. ‘This guy just ain’t human, even Ryoga couldn’t of taken a beating like that and get back up so quickly,’ he thought, focusing his energies once more.

Both men stood quietly in the room; the only sound was the rushing water around them. Ranma, hoping to catch the much larger man off guard, leapt forwards and through the water that was jetting from the busted pipes.

Geese, seeing the boy’s move, smiled to himself as he prepared his devastating counter attack to the boy’s impulsive advance. He was caught totally off guard as a petite red headed girl came soaring through the water at speeds even he hadn’t witnesses before.

With successive blows, she clobbered the man, forcing him from his ready stance and crumpling him to the ground. Her kicks, while lacking in power, were much quicker and much more accurate as his eyes almost crossed when she landed a solid blow to his crotch.

He made a mewling sound as his hands gingerly clutched his wounded family jewels, eyes squinting closed in agony, every heart beat he could feel in excruciating detail in his loins.

Ranma looked down on him with sympathy. “Sorry man, but you asked for that,” she told him, wincing in the sympathetic way guys did with one another.

Seeing the man wasn’t moving, Ranma crossed to Shampoo, checking on her as he knelt. Her low groan as she came around sent a wave of relief through him. “C’mon Shampoo, we gotta get outta here before ugly over there gets back up,” she pleaded with the girl.

“Who’re you calling UGLY?” asked a strained voice, causing both young people to look at Geese, once more standing. His face was a mask of anger, pain and humiliation.

“I see,” he said through clenched teeth, his eyes dark as he glared at them. “It would seem you’re just FULL of surprises,” Geese ground out to them, feeling outraged at having been treated so roughly by mere children.

“Stay here, Shampoo, this guy’s serious,” whispered Ranma to her friend, slowly standing and facing the irate and wounded man.

Before Shampoo could argue, they were once more engaged. Ranma moved far faster then the man did, though it seemed her punches were ineffectual as the man simply absorbed them with impunity. They moved so fast they became nothing more than blurs to her eyes, making her dizzy.

She fought to her feet, struggling against the pain in her side and back, her left arm dangling from a dislocated shoulder. Bracing herself against the wall, she watched with horror as the two warriors finally locked together, Geese having caught Ranma’s leg sweep in a hand and subsequently slammed her into the ground without mercy.

Ranma struggled back to her feet, face bleeding profusely. She spit blood into the muck beneath her, grimacing in pain with the action. ‘Busted ribs, loose teeth...ouch, feels like a broken hand, not good Ranma,’ she thought assessing her wounds.

Geese smiled evilly at her. “Your bag of tricks seems to have run dry,” he taunted, knees flexing slightly as he rushed Ranma again.

Shampoo covered her mouth with her hand as she watched him attacking Ranma again, this time with a devastating attack that all but leveled the younger fighter.

Geese’s smile held only malevolence for Ranma as he suddenly appeared before her startled eyes, “Jaei Ken!” he called, unleashing a three hit combination that picked up Ranma and threw her to the ground, sliding through the muck to slam head first into the wall beyond. The bricks shattered from the impact, almost burying her where she lie.

Geese’s laughter echoed through the chamber, mocking and derisive of the boy turned girl. “Oh, the FUN I will have with you!” he crowed, even as he watched the girl trying to struggle from the pile of rubble she was lying in.

Shampoo’s eyes burned with tears as she watched the boy she loved struggle to rise once more, though he was obviously beyond his considerable endurance. As she moved, a thought occurred to her, a wild idea that caused an evil smile of her own. ‘Ranma forgive Shampoo later,’ she thought, pushing herself into the water and triggering her transformation.

Geese watched a small purple and lavender kitten run across the floor of the chamber, directly for the wounded girl. “I think your pet missed you,” he smiled at her, only then noticing the look of horror on her face.

Ranma, seeing the incoming form of Neko-Shampoo, struggled to crawl away from her. “Get away from me! Don’t come any closer, I’m warning ya!” she cried in a panic, feeling her sanity releasing its hold on her, and the Neko-ken rising up to take it’s place.

With a last leap, Shampoo latched onto Ranma’s face, clinging to him with all she was worth. “MEOW!” she cried out, tiny bells tinkling as the girl beneath her shivered and quaked in unrestrained fear.

Watching the display with a growing sense of dread, Geese couldn’t understand what was happening. “What’re you doing over there?” he called, hearing a faint growling noise that was starting to grow louder with each passing second.

A set of glowing yellow eyes appeared behind the water, a yowling noise coming with them. He took an involuntary step backwards, his hands coming up to wipe the water from his face. “What the hell...” he muttered, just as Ranma exploded from behind the water and debris.

She bounced out, her back arched up, as she stalked the man on all fours, teeth bared in a feral hiss. Geese didn’t have time to move or avoid the sudden swiping attack, an attack that left his chest cut open with inch deep furrows from her hands.

Stumbling back from the cat girl, his hand went to his chest to staunch the flow of blood. He looked wildly around for the girl, only to have a dual set of claws rake down his back, once more opening him up and causing his blood to cascade to the muck below.

His scream of pain was only answered by a yowling hiss from Ranma, once more stalking the male in her territory. She watched him with feral eyes and primal intelligence, slowly circling the man.

Trying to keep the strange girl in his sight he tried to maneuver towards one of the openings he knew would lead from this chamber. “That’s right kitty, come to Uncle Geese,” he said with malevolence, glaring at the girl.

Ranma, seeing that the male was attempting to get closer to her litter-mate, arched her back and hissed at him in warning, ki claws digging into the floor.

Geese turned to see the little purple cat sitting calmly behind him, her tail swishing in annoyance. “You little mongrel,” he muttered, pointing his fist to her.

The little cat tried to scamper away, her speed hindered slightly by her wounded shoulder that had transferred with her curse. She meowed in panic, sensing the massive build up of ki in the man and knowing that she couldn’t withstand such a blow in this form.

With a roar Ranma leapt at the man, leading with her claws, claws that were waving furiously before her, intent on shredding the male once and for all.

Geese, smiling that his little trap had worked, whirled and unleashed the attack directly into Ranma’s face, “Shippuken!”

The ball of ki exploded as the ki claws of the Neko-ken met it, shredding it around the attacking cat, leaving her virtually unharmed by the attack.

Once more claws raked him, scratching and carving his face, chest and abdominal area without mercy. With a supreme effort of will, he managed to bat the cat girl off of him, leaving him a bloody mess but still standing.

“This round to you Ranma, next time you won’t be so lucky,” he hissed at the landing girl, racing from the room and into the darkness beyond.

Ranma hissed after the man, bounding to the entrance and yowling after him in triumph. When no answering cry sounded, she turned and moved to the side of the little kitten, scruffing her in her teeth. Looking up to the ceiling and the faint lights above, she crouched and leapt up, bounding from wall to wall until reaching a manhole cover.

With a swipe of her paw, she destroyed the iron disk and crawled from the sewers to the streets above. She sniffed the air around her before leaping to the roof tops and rushing towards her home.

Tsuruko grabbed Vash’s arm, pulling him back into a shadow, her eyes intent on the boy. “Wait,” she whispered to him.

Vash watched Ranma bounding off with what looked like a kitten. “Well, that’s something you don’t see everyday,” he said with an appreciative smile.

Tsuruko smacked the back of his head. “Ranma is still male, Vash, if you’re lucky, I won’t tell him you found his girl side so attractive,” she teased, both of them heading out once more to find Akane.

Vash gave her a hurt expression as they moved. “I was only talking about a guy that’s a girl that thinks he’s a cat while carrying a kitten,” he complained quietly.

“Anywhere else but here and that would sound weird,” agreed Tsuruko.

Kuno compound...

“But brother dear, you must eat with your medication, doctor’s orders,” sang a happy Kodachi, trying to shovel something pink and bubbling into Tatewaki’s mouth.

“I’m fine, my twisted sister. I’ve already eaten my fill when Sasuke brought me some okonomoyaki,” he said with a tired expression, fending off her slop with his bokken.

Her frown was deep as she glared at him. “Very well, I will simply have to tell father that you aren’t cooperating with me,” she threatened, whirling on her feet and walking stiffly from the room.

“Perhaps another stay at yon hospital will suffice to clear the vile ringing of your demon’s laugh from my noble mind,” he muttered, lowering his bokken and taking a seat once more.

He had dark circle under his eyes and his face was drawn and pale. The last weeks hadn’t been kind to Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, the Blue Thunder...

Shaking his head, he dropped the noble pose he’d been striking. ‘Just when I thought I was getting better,’ he thought harshly.

He snatched the pill bottle off his night stand and glared at the instructions on the label, as if daring them to lie to him. “Mayhap a few pills will solve this usual posturing of mine that I might once more rejoin my fierce tigress, Akane Tendo or the feisty and spirited pig tailed girl,” he said, slapping himself on the forehead once more.

Popping the lid off the bottle, he shook out four of the little green pills and dry swallowed them in a hurry. Opening his eyes, he caught sight of a dark figure speaking with Kodachi on the bridge over Mr. Turtle’s pond. ‘That resembles Akane Tendo...’ he thought, shaking his head and looking at the bottle once more.

“Perhaps an addiction to medication is exactly what the doctor ordered,” he muttered, turning and walking towards his bed.

Outside...

Kodachi glared at her visitor. “And why, pray tell, should I believe one of such low born birth? Is this not simply a ploy by one that was jilted? Am I the one to deliver your vengeance since you are incapable of doing so?” she asked the dark clothed Akane, hands clasped at her breasts.

Akane rolled her eyes. “Okay, so maybe you’re NOT as dumb as I thought, but it still doesn’t change the fact that Nabiki and Ranma are engaged...and getting along very well I might add,” she told the high strung girl.

Looking at the dark eyes of Akane, Kodachi considered her words. “And what is to stop you from trying to claim my Ranma-Darling after I’ve done your dirty work?” she asked bluntly, eyes narrowing. ‘Such underhanded tactics I can appreciate, though only when I’m the one using even MORE underhanded ones,’ she thought.

“I’d rather marry your brother then EVER be with that lying bastard Ranma!” she spat at Kodachi, her anger even taking the normally psychotic girl by surprise.

“Well, you certainly are...enthusiastic, in your feelings,” she told Akane, taking a step back and wondering if she’d given any of her special cookies to the girl in the recent past.

Growling at her, “Look are you gonna handle this or not? I’m sure one of the OTHER fiancées would be more than happy to take care of this,” she said, abruptly turning and starting to walk from the bridge.

“Let us not be hasty, Akane Tendo, for the Black Rose will be the instrument of your vengeance and in one fell swoop will deliver your justice and rescue my beloved Ranma-Darling from the vile clutches of the mercenary, Nabiki Tendo,” she said, flipping backwards and suddenly appearing in her leotard, complete with ribbon in hand.

With the haunting laugh that marked her appearance and the twirling of the ribbon, a shower of jet black rose petals stormed around them, before Kodachi the Black Rose vanished.

Akane’s grin was humorless and dark as she watched the girl disappear. “Take THAT, Nabiki, just wait until you find out about how ‘honorable’ Ranma really is,” she said, leaping from the compound and once more disappearing into the night.

Tendo Dojo...

Nabiki waited in silence within her room, eyes straying to the window every few minutes. She hated feeling helpless, especially when it came to events in her personal life. ‘Business is business, but this is personal,’ she reminded herself, a frown on her pretty features.

“Nabiki, could you come down here please?” called Kasumi from the base of the stairs.

“Coming,” she called back, sighing as she flung her feet from the bed top and walked to her door. She paused, the feeling of being watched heavy on the back of her neck. With a side long glance she looked out her open curtains to the night outside.

“What the hell is that?” she muttered, seeing a minor storm of some sort just outside her window. It was only after a few black rose petals softly slapped the glass did she realize the mortal danger she now was in.

Diving out the door that was barely opened, she slammed her shoulder into the solid wood frame, seconds before the window and a good part of her wall imploded, showering her room with debris.

The haunting laughter filled the air around her as she slid into the wall across from her room. “Nabiki Tendo, it is time for you to release my Darling-Ranma from your evil embraces!” called out the Black Rose, standing majestically in the center of the whole she’d created.

Her arms fell as she realized that her prey wasn’t even in the room to witness her performance. “You shall pay for snubbing me so,” she growled, her beautiful face contorted with anger.

Nabiki crawled from the area, her shoulder throbbing painfully as she moved, causing her some difficulty in attaining speed in her departure. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her body as fast as she could to the stairs, almost getting kicked in the face by Kasumi as she did.

Stumbling over the injured girl, Kasumi wore an expression of concern, “Oh my, Nabiki! Is everything alright?” she asked, kneeling down and helping the girl to her feet.

“Kasumi! We gotta get outta here,” she gasped, clutching her sister tightly as they made their way down the stairs.

Kodachi burst from Nabiki’s room, her ribbons twirling around her, “Why THERE you are Nabiki! I’ve something to discuss with you regarding my beloved Ranma!” she called out in a friendly voice.

Even Kasumi wasn’t swayed by the woman’s demeanor, instead hastening her descent down the stairs, just avoiding the ribbon the sliced easily through the banister on the wall.

Nodoka and Genma rushed to the girls’ sides, each giving fearful glances up the stairs to where Kodachi was now backlit and laughing madly.

“Uh oh, looks like the psycho sister found out about Ranma’s new fiancée,” mumbled Genma, stealthy placing Nodoka and Kasumi between him and the crazed girl.

Nodoka glared at him, but said nothing of his statement. “Genma, take them to the dojo and see to her injuries. I will discuss proper etiquette with her,” she said dangerously.

Genma nodded ridiculously fast as he ushered the two girls from the site of the impending battle, eyeing Nodoka’s sword warily.

“Why, mother in law, surely you cannot allow one of such manipulations into your noble line. I am of noble and high birth, a much better match for your son,” petitioned Kodachi, slowly descending the stairs.

Shaking her head, “Child, there is NEVER an excuse for such crude and uncouth behavior, especially within a home that is not your own,” she chastised the girl, stopping her dead with her simple logic that cut through the girl’s madness.

Cocking her head to the side, “But in the case of a loved one being held against their wishes, my actions should be lauded, for surely Ranma-Darling cannot be truly thinking of wedding that vile little wench!” she countered incredulously.

“My manly son will sire many children, no matter WHO he marries. If you are not the one he chooses, perhaps it is your role to be his first mistress,” offered the Saotome Matriarch.

Kodachi considered her offer for a long moment. “That would be acceptable if it were anyone other then Nabiki Tendo. For you see, I know what vile manipulations she’s capable of...including the selling of her fiancé to the highest bidder on more than one occasion. I simply cannot allow that disgrace and dishonor to fall upon my Ranma-Darling’s shoulders, I couldn’t bear it!” she cried with fervor, leaping over the woman, a pink/black powder falling over the mother attempting to stop her.

Nodoka suddenly found herself unable to move or speak. She watched in helpless dismay as the girl simply laughed shrilly and walked to the where Nabiki was being guarded. ‘Perhaps Ranma will find Kasumi to be an adequate choice,’ she thought, realizing that her husband’s courage only extended to the limits of his own skin.

Kasumi frowned lightly as she tried to help Nabiki. “This is going to hurt, Nabiki,” she said softly, then yanked her arm forcefully outwards. There was a wet pop and tears immediately sprang to her eyes, a moaning hiss escaping her lips.

Taking a damp cloth, Kasumi wiped the tears from her sister’s face. “It’s okay now, Nabiki, I think it’s back in,” she soothed, giving her a soft smile.

Genma backed slowly away from the door. “Tendo, we’ve got a problem,” he said to his old friend.

Soun glanced over to the door, the shadow of Kodachi looming down the hallway. “We MUST stop her Saotome, it’s a martial artist’s duty...SAOTOME!” shouted the upset man, seeing not Genma the martial artist, but a large panda pretending to be a good luck cat statue.

Quiet Tendo, you’ll blow my cover the sign read before quickly disappearing once more.

Left eye twitching madly, Soun glared at the panda. “One day, Saotome, you’ll have to explain to me how you manage that,” he told him sternly.

Kodachi walked into the dojo as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “I’ve come for you, Nabiki Tendo,” she called out, laughing once more as she saw her prey on the floor, still holding her shoulder.

“Now see here, young lady, I’ll not have any of this nonsense in my home!” Soun told her firmly, standing between her and his children, arms crossed on his chest.

She stared at him for a long moment, and then laughed once more. “For a moment there, I thought you were talking to me,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Shaking a fist at her, his left eye twitching even more madly now. “I WAS talking to you!” he shouted at her.

Her expression went from humor to anger. “I don’t think I like your tone,” she told him coldly, her ribbon flaring out to the man.

“Now Saotome!” he called, holding up an arm defensively, a look of fear in his eyes as he watched the ribbon closing on him.

The panda gave a mighty ‘GROWF!’ as it leapt at the girl, its maw open and claws extended. Without looking at the panda, Kodachi pulled a 5000 yen note from the front of her leotard, tossing it casually to the side.

Hot water seemed to spring into the panda’s hand, transforming him back into his human form. “5000 yen! Finders keepers!” he cried happily, nuzzling the crisp bill to his cheek.

The ribbon snapped into Soun, sending him flying to the far wall of the dojo, where he slumped to the floor with a groan. “I’ll get you for this, Saotome,” he muttered, trying to stop the room from spinning wildly.

“Daddy!” cried out a very concerned Kasumi, starting to rise and cross to her father.

Nabiki, seeing that Kodachi was bent on attacking once more, grabbed her sister’s leg. “Get outta here, Kasumi, call Dr. Tofu!” she ordered her older sister.

“Quite right, I do believe that a doctor will be needed by the time I’m done with all of you,” laughed the gymnast, her ribbon angling towards the two girls.

A yowl filled the room, causing all occupants to regard the large hole in the ceiling. There, sitting on the side of the hole was Ranma in all her glory, holding Neko-Shampoo by the scruff of her neck in her teeth. Her eyes glittered in the lighting, watching the attacking girl warily, giving another warning yowl to the intruder into her home.

“YOU! Pig tailed girl, you’ve interfered with my Ranma and I for the LAST TIME! I will deal with you once and for all,” she growled, snapping her ribbons up to the cat girl.

Ranma moved with blinding speed, becoming a red and flesh colored blur as she leapt at Kodachi. She moved within the circling ribbons, her hands moving with incredible speeds.

Kodachi managed to duck under the girl, turning as she did to strike her as she past, only to find only 3 inches of her ribbon remained attached to her stick. The rest of the ribbons were gently drifting to the floor of the dojo, having been shredded.

She looked at the stick incredulously, “What sorcery is this?” she hissed, looking at the girl again.

Ranma had gently placed Shampoo down and was now walking in a stiff legged sideways stride at the intruder. Her back was arched once more, hissing at Kodachi with malice.

“I don’t find this funny!” challenged Kodachi, still not comprehending the dire circumstances she was now in.

“Kodachi! Drop you stick and run! Don’t look back, just RUN!” shouted Nabiki, suddenly very aware of the wounds on Ranma and the fact of how deeply she was into the Neko-ken.

She glared at the girl. “Don’t be ridiculous! One such as I—” was as far as the deranged girl got. Ranma, tired of listening to the high pitched screeching of her voice, attacked.

Claws extended as she moved, she did a raking attack as she passed the girl. For a moment it appeared as if Ranma had missed, then with the sound of threads ripping, Kodachi’s clothes exploded off her body into little shredded piles of rags at her feet.

The stunned girl looked down to her body, up to Ranma who was still hissing and spitting at her, back down to her body, then down to the pile of rags that used to be her favorite leotard. Then, she screamed, loud and long as she tried to cover her modesty while running from the building as fast as her legs would carry her.

Ranma immediately stopped hissing and looked after the intruder with first confusion, then satisfaction. Padding over to where Shampoo was, she nuzzled the kitten, and then promptly began to clean her.

Nabiki felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight of her fiancé licking another girl, or cat in this case. “Kasumi, let’s get some hot water for her. She’s hanging out all over the place,” said Nabiki quietly, eyeing Ranma’s abundant assets that were shaking in time to her rhythmic licking of the kitten.

Shampoo was struggling to get away from the girl, though every time she made any progress, Ranma simply reached out a hand/paw and pulled her back in. Finally, annoyed at the constant attempts at escape, she rested her forearm across the kitten’s back, pinning her in place.

Giving Nabiki an imploring stare, Shampoo couldn’t help but to start purring in satisfaction. She slowly closed her eyes and enjoyed the attentions Ranma was giving her.

“Don’t get too comfortable over there,” warned Nabiki, cocking an eyebrow at the kitten.

Kasumi walked back in with Nodoka, the older woman looking very annoyed. “Where is she?” asked the woman, eyes finally settling on her son/daughter cleaning a kitten.

“RANMA!” cried the woman, appalled at the actions he was performing.

Genma was trying to slowly sidle from the room, willing himself to become invisible. His hasty escape was interrupted by a sword burying itself into the wall by his head. “What is the meaning of this, Genma?” she asked in a cold voice.

“I can explain,” he hastily said, pocketing the cash he’d found and immediately taking up the Crouch of the White Tiger. “I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY,” he cried, tearing streaming from his face in fear.

Nodoka looked down at the prostrate man, pulling her sword from the wall. “Why, Genma, what ever are you sorry for?” her question sent chills in the spines of the gathered people.

Soun, slowly rising back to his feet and limping over to the man, smiled at him. “Yes, Saotome, why not EXPLAIN to your wife about the Cat Fist Training? I’m sure she’d love to hear about it,” he said with a malicious smile.

Genma looked up in horror at his friend. “Tendo! How could you?” he asked, his face paling even further at the betrayal.

Kasumi had retrieved a kettle of water from the kitchen and handed it to Nabiki. “I’ve got a blanket for Shampoo,” she told her sister with a smile.

Nabiki smiled her thanks at Kasumi, and then walked over to where Ranma was cleaning a happy Shampoo. She set her teeth and poured the water over the two of them, triggering their curses back to normal.

Ranma looked up at Nabiki with a confused expression, still no trace of humanity glimmering in his eyes. “Meowr?” the boy called.

“Oh my! Shouldn’t that have triggered him back to normal?” asked Kasumi, attempting to put a blanket around Shampoo. She was still being held down by a confused Ranma, his hand on her toned stomach.

As Kasumi tried to pull Shampoo from his grasp, a low growl sounded in his throat. “Um, Nabiki...” asked the older girl in a comforting tone, not looking from Ranma.

Setting the kettle down, Nabiki crouched nearby. “Here Ranma, c’mere Ranma,” called Nabiki sweetly, smiling gently at the boy.

Blinking at her, Ranma reluctantly pulled his hand from Shampoo, watching Nabiki intently. He made no motion to go to the girl, only sat and watched her raptly.

Her heart pounded in her chest. ‘Why doesn’t he come to me like he did to Akane? Could it be that he doesn’t care for me as much as he did her? Is he still mad over those things I said to him?’ she wondered, feeling the all too familiar ache returning at her thoughts and insecurities.

“Ranma, go see Nabiki,” urged Kasumi, smiling at the boy that had turned cat, quickly covering a blushing Shampoo with the blanket, earning her a grateful smile.

Ranma looked at his litter mate, seeing she was in the safe custody of the ‘Nice Lady’, and then glanced over to his mate. She was murmuring softly to him, though she was radiating a fearful scent that tickled his nose.

He blinked at her several times, deciding on whether or not she was still mad at him. Sniffing carefully and detecting no traces of malice or hostility from her, he rose and crossed to her slowly. Pausing when only a few feet away, he meowed to her in a questioning tone, as if asking permission to come closer. Ranma was surprised to see sorrow and regret in her eyes, moisture starting to creep down her cheeks. Feeling the sudden need to comfort his mate, he quickly closed the distance and climbed into the surprised girl’s lap.

Nuzzling her face with his cheek, he wiped away her silent tears, his purr loudly springing to life as she threw both arms around them and cuddled him close to her.

Kasumi smiled at their actions. “Good boy, Ranma,” she said quietly, then met Nabiki’s eyes. “I’ll go make something for him to eat, Nabiki, can you make sure he stays here?” she asked, rising to her feet.

Nabiki didn’t respond, simply nodded to her sister, not trusting her voice at the moment.

Kasumi walked from the room back into the house with Shampoo in tow, humming quietly to herself once more.

Nodoka looked up from Genma, following the actions of Ranma closely, her smile fond as he cuddled closely with his fiancée. Glaring down at Genma, “What is the Cat Fist training?” she inquired with a casual sounding tone that fooled no one.

While Genma stuttered and stalled, Soun cleared his throat and began to describe, in EXCRUCIATING detail, exactly what was entailed in the highly dangerous training.

As he finished, Genma was either passed or faking his death, lying on the floor in front of her. Nodoka looked down to her husband with a horrified expression. “You promised to make him a man amongst men, NOT to torture my little boy!” she cried to him, feeling sick to her stomach at the knowledge of what he’d done.

Genma popped to his feet. “Now see here, it’s a martial artist fate to face a life of trial and hardships! How can one ever become good if he doesn’t face trial and adversity?” he asked her, his tone taking an arrogant timbre.

Ranma stopped purring and looked over at the man, a growl starting in his throat.

Nabiki’s arms tightened around him, “No, Ranma, you’re staying right here, you understand me?” she asked him firmly, forcing his eyes back to hers.

He purred loudly in response and brought his lips to the surprised girls, licking them softly.

Nabiki froze as she felt his lips and tongue on hers, a bright red blush falling over her at the actions.

Nodoka smiled widely at the boys actions. “Oh my MANLY, MANLY SON!” she said happily, joy quickly replacing the disgust she felt at Genma. She walked over to them, intent on wrapping both of the young people in a loving hug, only to be met by a hissing and spitting Ranma.

Ranma, seeing the ‘Happy Lady’ coming closer with the dangerous weapon, immediately took action to protect his mate. Eyes narrowing, he hissed again, warning her to stop or face his fury.

“Ra...Ranma! What are you doing?” she asked in a hushed voice, swallowing nervously at the hostility in her son. “I’m your MOTHER!” she said defensively.

Nabiki, struggling to overcome her shock at the impromptu cat ‘kiss’ she’d just received, attempted to grab Ranma. “Ranma! No!” she said, straining to hold the powerful young man back from attacking his mother.

Placing her self directly between Nodoka and Ranma, she wrapped her arms around him. It was only then that her intellectual mind realized what his fear was and why it was affecting him. “Oh shit,” she muttered, her eyes going wide, figuring out that she had inadvertently placed herself between the sword and Ranma.

Holding on to him for dear life, both hers and Nodoka’s, Nabiki yelled at the woman with a strained voice. “Drop the damned sword already!”

“Foolish woman! Can’t you see that the boy is afraid of you?” chimed in Genma, pointing at the weapon with haughty superiority.

She looked down at the weapon that had been passed down in her family for 6 generations, a sad look on her face. “Have I really instilled that much fear in my own son?” she questioned quietly, kneeling slowly and placing the revered sword on the ground next to her.

Ranma had leapt upwards, Nabiki still attached to his neck, landing lightly on the roof via the hole, glaring down at the woman. He vainly struggled to disengage his mate from his neck, only to be frustrated time and again by her constant wiggling.

While finding her suddenly playful and amorous actions exciting, it was hardly the time for something like this, after all, there was a threat to her, couldn’t she understand that?

Nabiki, not quite realizing what effect her actions were having on him, wrapped her legs around his waist, arms around his neck and had pressed her face to the side of his neck. “Don’t do this Ranma,” she begged him, appreciating and fearing how strong he was at the same time.

Finding it difficult to walk with her attached so tightly to him, he stood on four feet and gazed down at the woman. He caught sight of her caring and concerned expression, and the fact that she had placed the hateful weapon on the ground and stepped away from it.

With a warning sound to Nabiki, he leapt down to the floor once more, thoroughly enjoying the way she clung tightly to him. He landed near the lady, promptly sitting and with a firm paw, pulling his mate from him. Feeling safe and more than a bit content, if not bit edgy from her attentions, he promptly began to clean and nuzzle his mate.

Nabiki, feeling his attentions on her neck, cheeks, ears and hair, was an odd mixture of confused, mortified and excited all at the same time. ‘No wonder she was purring,’ she thought, realizing how enjoyable it was to be on the receiving end of his affections.

“Um, Auntie Nodoka, he gets like this when ever exposed to cats. He usually snaps out of it when we trigger his curse. If that doesn’t work, we just have to let him sleep it off,” she told the woman, realizing that if she was able to, SHE’D be purring as well.

Her eyes went starry. “Well, by all means then let’s get you two upstairs. You can take Ranma’s room!” she told them, her mind dancing with thoughts of babies.

Genma agreed quickly, too quickly. “Yes! Yes indeed! It’s after all YOUR responsibility to care for him, no matter the circumstances,” he said, his mind dancing with thoughts of the schools joined.

Soun, desperately wanting that very dream as well, also looked at the expression on his daughters face. “Now Nabiki, you don’t HAVE to do this...BUT,” he said, eyes darting to the house meaningfully.

She glared at the adults. “I will NOT be coerced into something that both he and I will regret,” she told them fiercely. ‘My first time with him will be special and CONSENSUAL, I couldn’t do that to him...no matter HOW much I want to at the moment,’ she thought, almost moaning as he licked her earlobe again.

Seeing the girl’s eyelids droop as Ranma continued his cleaning, Nodoka helped them up. This time it was Ranma in Nabiki’s arms as she carried him to his, now their, room. “I’ll send Kasumi up with a snack in a few moments, Nabiki-dear,” she told the girl as she silently slid the door shut.

As she descended the stairs, a knock pounded at the door, followed by it cracking open and Bill sticking his head into the house. “Hello? Anyone home?” he called out before seeing Nodoka.

She frowned at his manners, but bowed slightly, “Please come in,” she said to him, her voice no longer frigid.

He eyed her suspiciously, even more so when he noticed the lack of her sword. “Sorry to barge in like that, but I thought I caught sight of Kodachi a few minutes ago and I was worried about you guys,” he apologized to the Saotome matriarch.

She nodded. “Yes, she did arrive and seemed intent on harming Nabiki, though Ranma...returned as well to stop her,” he paused when mentioning her son.

He winced. “Uh, yeah...that was the other part...he’s, uh, in cat state, isn’t he?” he asked, looking mildly ashamed.

Gazing at the man intently, “What do you know of this Bill?” she asked him coldly.

Holding up his hand, he sighed, not wanting to fight with the woman again. “I just happened to see him in it not too long ago. He tried to fight Tsuruko while he was in it, it was all she could do to hold him off,” he explained.

Nodoka’s eyes closed and she too took a breath. “My apologies, Bill, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just been such a stressful day,” she told him tiredly. Her face grew angry as she thought about what her husband had put Ranma through.

He saw the look on her face and took two steps for the door. “Well it was really nice seeing you again, we have to do this again soon, take care, say ‘hi’ to the family for me, oh my, look at the time, gotta go!” he said in a hurried rush, hand reaching for the door and his escape.

Her hand closed on his shoulder. “A word with you, if I may,” she told him, her voice neutral.

Bill’s head slowly turned to face hers. “Uh, sure?” he asked, not really wanting to argue.

“You knew of my husband’s involvement in the training known as the Cat Fist, yes?” she asked him, smiling tightly when he nodded. “I take it that Tsuruko’s attack on my husband was ALSO motivated by such knowledge, or knowledge of the acts of atrocity that he committed while on the training journey?” she further asked.

He paused for a moment, weighing his options and answers, not liking the panda much but not necessarily wanting to be a party to his death either. “Um...yeah, you could say that. She refused money for working for us, instead opting to take her pay by punishing the panda man for what he’d done to Ranma. After he attacked her, he explained everything and she took exception to what he’d done in the name of training,” he revealed, figuring the best way to mend bridges with the woman was to be forthright and truthful.

Her hands slowly clasped before her, her eyes going downcast, giving her the appearance of being subservient and submissive. “Is my husband going to be punished any further for his actions or swindling?” she asked quietly.

Bill swallowed hard. ‘This isn’t quite the reaction I was expecting,’ he thought, trying to discern what the woman was feeling or thinking.

“Kinda, Ukyo is the last one that I know of. I gave her the option when I removed the engagement between her and Ranma, but she didn’t give me an answer,” he told her, his tone showing his distrust of the sudden change in demeanor.

Her eyes rose up suddenly, a devilish smile on her face. “Then I will speak with Ms. Kuonji, ensuring that her vengeance is swift, painful and decisive,” she told the man, her words making his skin crawl.

Before he could speak again, the placid smile returned. “Now if you will excuse me, I must see to my husband. Would you care to come in?” she asked, turning away.

“Uh, NO. Thanks, but uh, I’ve REALLY gotta go,” he said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door.

Her smile was pleasant. “Then please take care, Bill, and please, visit again soon,” she told him, nodding as he quickly left.

“Genma? May I speak with you?” she called out, passing Kasumi who was on her way up to Ranma’s room with a small tray with snacks and tea.

“Auntie Nodoka and Mr. Saotome have such a wonderful marriage,” she said happily, her smile widening as she heard the sounds of horror and pain coming from the dojo. She paused at the stairs, listening for a moment as she heard her father enter into the conversation.

“No! Not the table. Well Saotome, at least she didn’t use the stone bird bath. Ewwww, that had to hurt Saotome, don’t worry, I’m sure the bird feeder can be fixed. Nodoka, please be careful of those stones in the yard, they are MOST solid,” came the happy and helpful voice of her father.

The house shook lightly on it’s foundations as Kasumi continued up the stairs, “I’m so glad Father is happy, it’s been so long since he’s laughed like that,” she said idly, knocking gently at he door.

Nabiki was seated on Ranma’s futon with him in her lap curled up and purring gently. The effect it was having on her was distracting, making it hard for the girl to truly concentrate. The knock at the door gave her a moment’s refuge from some of the more vivid and delicious images going through her mind.

Seeing Kasumi poke her head in, Nabiki smiled. “Thanks, Kasumi,” she whispered over the purring boy in her lap.

Kasumi set the tray down and knelt near them. She eyed the boy’s wounds critically. “I’ve called Dr. Tofu and asked him to come over to look at Ranma. I was concerned about how hurt he looks,” she told her sister, brushing her long fingers gently across Ranma’s brow.

“I was worried too, especially when he came home topless like that. I’m used to him doing that here, but for him to do that in public,” she trailed off, absently touching him as she spoke.

Looking up, “Where’s Shampoo?” asked Nabiki, wondering where the Amazon had gotten to.

Kasumi smiled, “She went home once Aunty Nodoka started playing with Mr. Saotome. I think that she wanted some clothes on before she offered to help, she’s such a good friend,” the woman said.

Nabiki shook her head as she smiled at Kasumi, ‘I’m not sure that FRIEND would be the word panda man would use for her if she helps Aunty,’ she thought with a mental chuckle.

Neither girl spoke for a long while, listening to the purring Ranma was making as well as the sounds of righteous punishment being inflicted outside. As the din quieted down outside, Kasumi let out a sigh. “Well, I should go check on Father. I’m sure he’s going to be quite tired out after watching Auntie play with Mr. Saotome,” she said with tired smile.

Nabiki’s laugh was quiet as well. “Just make sure they didn’t ruin anymore of the house, that hole in the roof is really gonna cost us,” she told her sister.

Kasumi smiled down at her. “Don’t worry, Nabiki, I’m sure that everything will be fine,” she said as she left.

Her words struck the girl strongly; memories of what Bill had showed her flashing through her mind once more. She looked down at Ranma, a look of deliberation on her face. ‘Something massive and drastic huh?’ she thought, playing through several scenario’s in her mind’s eye.

Nabiki smiled softly as a plan began to form in her mind, and her heart. “That should be a start,” she said in a whisper, feeling the familiar tingle she got whenever she initiated a plan.

Her eyes drifted back down to the still sleeping Ranma, her fingers fondly and affectionately running through his hair and along his skin. “If only you weren’t a cat right now...” she said with a crooked smile, then paused a moment and blushed.

“Or, maybe I am,” she allowed, shivering slightly as the smile widened and the blush deepened.

In a dark room across town...

Geese winced slightly as his personal physician stitched closed his wounds. “You should have seen him, he was MAGNIFICENT!” he said with an approving nod.

The man looked up from the bloody needle and thread. “The last time someone wounded you like this, you spent weeks plotting their death. What’s so special about this boy?” asked the doctor with a grimace.

Geese’s smile deepened. “You don’t understand. I underestimated him and look what happened to me, TO ME! Imagine what he’ll be like in the new tournament!” he said with an excited tone.

Rolling his eyes, “Hadn’t you learned from the last few? Shouldn’t we be keeping a low profile? There still is a price on your head, remember?” he asked, cinching in another stitch.

Geese chuckled, and then winced as it yanked his wounds. “Who cares about that? For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m not bored! This boy, with MY guidance, will become the greatest fighter of all time! With me as his mentor, he’ll be unbeatable and I’ll finally have my revenge on everyone that humiliated and mocked me,” he said darkly, the smile on his face evil.

The doctor drew quiet at that, knowing it was in his best interests to stay quiet when his boss was like this. Shaking his head, the man simply worked on his boss, and pitied the boy that had gotten the man’s attention.

End of Chapter notes:

Okay, this one was a bit longer than I’d anticipated, but it took on a life of it’s own at a point and time. I had to end it here or it would have been even longer...lol. RnR if it moves ya to do so. I hope I portrayed Geese correctly; it’s been along time since I’ve seen Fatal Fury. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and look for the next in Immortality Sucks to be coming soon, followed by another of Ranma and crew.