The other side of Nerima As Ranma-chan awoke, she found herself in the ruins of the training hall. Sitting up and looking around she found Akane still dressed in her wedding dress holding a piece of the broken cask of nannichuan. After disentangling herself from the rubble she was half buried under she walked over and sat down next to Akane. As Akane, looked at the yard on the side of the dojo where the training hall was tears silently fell from her face. "Too many problems Ranma, we have too many problems," Akane said in a whisper. Ranma-chan's only reply to this was a quiet nod, which preceded the two just sitting there looking at the destroyed yard while sitting in the leveled training hall of the Tendo dojo. Neither Ranma or Akane thought of the failed wedding or how to solve their problems, for neither of them knew even where to start let alone end their problems. However, a half a hour later, the two were interrupted by Kasumi who told them Soun wanted to make an announcement. After Ranma-chan and Akane had changed their clothing and Ranma-chan had retrieved a kettle of hot water Soun announced that he would not push the marriage until Ranma had solved all of his problems. As Ranma left the tearoom Soun added, "Your mother has decided she and your father will return to their home to rebuild it while you remain here." Ranma's only response to this was to nod his head as he left and headed back to the training hall where he found Akane. "What can we do?" Akane asked. "Not a whole lot. After all, we've got the least control over what happens to us," Ranma said while actually sounding depressed. The sound of depression in Ranma's voice worried Akane quite a bit, however she didn't say anything for she knew Ranma statement was correct. About 15 minutes later however, Akane decided to say, "So how do we gain control over what happens to us?" "Find some way to start over from the day I met Shampoo, runaway and never come back, runaway and comeback in the year after everyone has given up on us, or I could beat everyone into submission are the only options I thought of," Ranma responded rather dryly. "I have a suggestion but you may not like it," came the most unlikely of voices. As Ranma and Akane spun around, they found Kasumi who was usually dressed in a pair of slacks and a T-shirt. "If you want to hear my suggestion I wait at the park for an hour," Kasumi said before walking off. **************** 30 or so minutes later Ranma and Akane find Kasumi at the park waiting for them by watching the goings-on of the park. Turning her attention from a few children playing with their mothers' Kasumi got up and started to walk along until the three reached an extremely isolated spot. This is where Kasumi told Akane to stay put while she talked to Ranma in private. Akane did so albeit reluctantly. About a minute later however, Akane noticed Ranma was not in a good mood however after some reassurance from Kasumi, Ranma looked over at Akane sighed deeply and then nodded his head before setting down underneath a nearby tree. This left Akane with a very nasty feeling in the pit of Akane's stomach, which didn't get any better as Kasumi walked back over to her. "Sis you should sit down," Kasumi's said with a very strange tone in her voice. Akane's only reply was to this was to sit down as the nasty feeling in her stomach increased in intensity several times. "Now Akane before I continue you have to promise both me and Ranma that you'll never tell anyone it I mean anyone what you learn about us until we say so. In addition, you have to promise Ranma you will be his friend before his fiancée. If you betray either of our trusts Ranma will leave and most likely never return," Kasumi explained. "...and what about you?" Akane asked while sounding beyond nervous. Kasumi who was still standing replied by jump front snap kicking a thick tree branch on a nearby tree with enough force to break it cleanly away from the tree trunk after which Kasumi said, "then I will be very disappointed," in a voice a far cry from her usual motherly tone. Akane who was by this time scared out of her mind looked over at Ranma who strangely appeared to be made of ice that was even thicker than the ice around Nabiki. "Well?" Kasumi asked. "Ok I promise," Akane finely said. "DO IT ON YOUR HONOR," Ranma practically ordered. Akane's response to this was to look at Kasumi who's face was an emotionless mask not even Nabiki could match. "I, Akane Tendo, swear on my honor as a martial artist that I will not betray either of your trusts'," Akane said after taking a long moment to compose herself. As Akane looked up a moment later, she found Kasumi smiling not in her usual motherly manner but in a plane and happy manner. "Welcome to the other side of Nerima," Kasumi said as she smiled rather crookedly before Ranma got up and ran off shortly followed by a certain Amazon who neither Akane nor Kasumi had heard previously. Seeing this Kasumi said in a rather plane voice, "I suppose it's for the best that Shampoo is chasing him right now. The three of us together would likely attract too much attention and that is something that we cannot risk. Now come on we have to get to the hardware store we have to pick up some supplies to repair the training hall," before walking off leaving Akane quite stunned. "Come on sis," Kasumi encouraged. ******************* Later at Nerima's hardware store, we find a burly crowd of men, mostly from Nerima's large construction industry, browsing the racks and buying material. Watching over all of this was old and wise looking man wearing orange overalls and a construction belt. Entering this scene were Kasumi and Akane. Akane for her part was slightly nervous. Kasumi on the other hand seemed to be as much at home as she was in the kitchen of the Tendo dojo. This became more and more apparent as Kasumi began browsing amongst the tools and heavy hardware and talking to the construction workers like old friends. Throughout all of this Akane remained nervously silent and by the time Kasumi started making note of the supplies she needed, Akane was beyond nervous. However, she still refrained from saying anything. "Hello Ms. Tendo how are you doing today," the shopkeeper in orange overalls said as Kasumi handed him a piece of paper noting all the supplies she needed. "The usual after the dojo has been destroyed," Kasumi replied rather nonchalantly. The shopkeeper's only reply to this was to nod knowingly before saying, "I'll see that the supplies are delivered to the dojo as soon as possible." "Good," Kasumi replied before leading Akane -who was by this time almost totally out of it- out of the store. ********************* Later back at the dojo Kasumi and Akane enter the kitchen where upon Kasumi locks the kitchen door and opens the trap door to the cellar. After doing so Kasumi motioned Akane to climb down into the cellar. After both had descended into the cellar, Kasumi closed the cellar door behind them and walked over to the far wall of the cellar where she began to trace a pattern on the wall. As she traced that pattern on the wall, the wall began to glow wherever she had traced her finger and when Kasumi was done tracing the pattern of a glowing pentagram surrounded by a circle was outlined on the wall. After that was done Kasumi started to, trace characters each in a different language inside the star point of the pentagram. The first character was in an archaic Chinese, which was placed in the upper left star point. The second character, which was in ancient Egyptian, was placed in the upper right star point. The third character was in traced with Celtic runes was placed in the lower left star point. The fourth character, which was in ancient Babylonian, was traced in the lower right star point and the final character was traced in the dictate of magic and placed in the pentagram's top star point. With a knock at the center of the pentagram, a section of the wall as large as a door vanished revealing a cavernous hallway, which Kasumi motioned Akane to enter. Akane did this and was shortly followed by Kasumi also, as Kasumi entered the wall behind the two of them reappeared. "What is this place?" Akane finely asked. "Neither me or Ranma really know but we have made it our sanctuary," Kasumi replied before guiding Akane down the long hallway. Once at the end of the hallway the two encountered a huge steel doorway that opened effortlessly as they approached it. As Akane passed through the door, she found herself in a huge room that was 25 feet by 25 feet. To her immediate left and right there were large plush couches and a few chairs all of which looked extremely comfortable. On the far left side of the room, there was an absolutely huge and comfortable looking square bed that took up at least a hundred square feet and on the far right side of the room, there was small kitchen. In addition, Akane saw three other doors in the room all of which were made of solid oak. "Welcome to the lair," Kasumi said before continuing, "the library is to the left, the training room is to the right and the Arboretum is straight. The workshop is to the left after you enter the Arboretum, straight after you enter the Arboretum is the combat pit, and right is a room that has been sealed. To the left of the combat pit is another sealed room and to the right is an armory." With that, said Kasumi plopped down on a nearby couch where upon a crystal panel appeared out of nowhere, which started displaying her favorite TV show. "If Ranma's here he's either in the library or the Arboretum," Kasumi said as she stretched out. Akane's only reply to this was to nod and walk off to the Arboretum. As the thick oak door opened, the sound of beautiful violin music found its way to Akane's ears. As Akane entered the Arboretum, she found it was a two-tiered room with a huge domed ceiling that was providing a warm light that was as bright and white as sunlight on a perfectly clear day. Looking around Akane found that the uppermost tier of the room was mostly a giant planter that was divided into four L-shaped pieces by this stairs that radiated out from the center of the room where a small pond sat. Around the pond were four fruit bearing cherry trees that looked older than even the dojo. Beside each tree there was in L-shaped bench. On the far left bench, Ranma sat with his eyes closed playing a violin looking unusually elegant and cultured. Akane was so startled by this that she backed out of the room and back into the lair where she immediately sat down on the large bed feeling queasy and extremely disoriented. Seeing this Kasumi said and did nothing. 10 or so minutes later Akane got up and entered the training room. Seeing this Kasumi got up and walked into the Arboretum where she found Ranma still playing the violin. Hearing Kasumi sit down next to him Ranma asked, "So how is she taking it so far?", as he stopped playing. "About how I expected her to take it," Kasumi replied simply. "She's in the training room isn't she," Ranma stated as he got up. "Yep," Kasumi replied as she headed off in the direction of the combat pit. "Well I suppose I should give her another dose of the real Ranma," Ranma stated before walking off towards the training room. *************** As Ranma entered the training room, he found Akane practicing in her usual manner. Ranma's response to this was to crack his knuckles while stretching his neck. The resulting multitude of popping sounds attracted Akane's attention. What Akane saw on Ranma's face made her nervous and for good reason for as the next second occurred Ranma attacked with a flurry of punches Akane barely had time to block and as panic began to set in Ranma started using kicks and combos. As fear overwhelmed, her Akane screamed and backed into a corner as she covered her head. A full minute later, however the finishing blow Akane was expecting never arrived. Also at around this time Akane realized that all of Ranma's punches and kicks were light enough that all they did was sting for a moment. Cautiously lowering her arms Akane found Ranma sitting beside her patiently waiting for her to recover. As Ranma got up he said, "and the sad thing about that little bout was you should have been able to get least get one punch in considering I was only fighting at your skill level," before he started to leave. Akane of course infuriated that Ranma had been toying with her attacked with her mallet. 0.3 seconds later however, her mallet clattered to the ground as Ranma withdrew his fist from her gut. "now when you're ready to be civilized I'll be waiting in the library till then you should talk to Kasumi; who's waiting for you in the combat pit," Ranma said as Akane staggered away holding her stomach while her face displayed an enormous amount shock. As Akane fell to the ground on her rear, Ranma left the room leaving Akane trying to keep her lunch in her stomach. After Akane managed to recover physically from the blow Ranma had dealt her Akane staggered to her feet leaning heavily on the wall. A minute or so later Akane had managed to walk of the majority of the nausea created by the blow and so decided to find her sister. ***************** As Akane entered the combat pit, she found her sister holding a Claymore type broadsword and facing off against six skeletons and two zombies in the lower part of the pit. Seeing this Akane immediately tried to jump into the pit to save her sister however an invisible energy wall prevented her from doing so. Panicking Akane began pounding on the invisible wall as she watched a skeleton warrior attack Kasumi. Kasumi however just smiled and swung the 22-pound broadsword with one arm. The resulting blow not only knocked the skeleton's axe away but also sliced clean through it. Kasumi not pausing swung once again and sliced through two other skeletons and one zombie's arm before grabbing her sword with both hands and finishing the job of disposing of the first zombie before dodging an ax blow and elbowing another skeleton causing its rib cage to shatter. After this Kasumi swung around and sliced through the remaining two skeletons. This left only one zombie in the combat pit with her. Kasumi's reply to this was to charge and slash the zombie three times before it even had time to react. Stretching her neck from a side-to-side Kasumi smiled and nodded at her work before walking out of the combat pit's lower level by using this stairs on the opposite side of the room that Akane was on. "So what do you think of my combat skills sister?" Kasumi asked as she walked up to Akane while sheathing her massive sword. Gulping Akane said, "Wow," before starting to look disoriented again. Putting her sword on a nearby sword rack Kasumi said, "Come on sis I'll tell you how I found this place," before walking off to the lair. Akane's response to this was to look at the sword her sister had just been using or a moment before following. ****************** A few minutes later, we find Akane and Kasumi sitting on the bed in the lair. "Now where should I begin? Ahh I know, the day after Ranma arrived I came down to the cellar for a bag of rice and as I passed by that wall you saw me trace on the wall began to glow with the same symbol you saw me trace on it, and with my interest in the occult of medieval Europe I was very curious. As I examined the symbol, I heard a knocking sound that sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall and so I knocked and poof the wall vanished and I found this place. As I walked into the Arboretum I found a painting sitting on an easel ... still being painted." "A ghost?" Akane asked somewhat nervously. "No it's a spirit. A spirit that is still powerful enough to manipulate anything physical. From time to time down here, you will see things happen. In the combat pit, I have seen a suit of armor and a broadsword heavier than even mine being wielded against a huge and ancient looking black dragon. In the Arboretum, I have seen not only a painting being painted but also musical instruments being played by themselves. Ranma has seen swords and armor being forged in the workshop and books in the library floating down the aisle. Both of us have seen meals being prepared in the kitchen and the sounds of someone practicing in the training room. Moreover, numerous times both Ranma and I have felt someone walk by us," Kasumi explained. "So how did Ranma find his way down here?" Akane asked. "It was 2 weeks after he came to live with us and 30 days exactly since he received his curse," Kasumi explained calmly. "30 days?" Akane said questioningly before remembering that day a Ranma was nowhere to be found. "I found him or rather her in the bathroom at around 1:00AM that morning. Having her first period," Kasumi answered. Akane's response to this was to immediately start having problems breathing before her eyes rolled up into her head as she fainted. "Well she took that better than I thought she would," Ranma said from the doorway of the library as a smirk rested on his face. "Yes she did didn't, she," Kasumi replied with a smirk of her own. "By the way what was the plan?" Ranma asked. "Be patient Ranma right now we have to break the shell Akane's put around herself," Kasumi said. "Ok," Ranma said before walking back into the library. ************ As Ranma reentered the library, he saw a book floating by. Ranma having seeing this many times before the just continued on into the library where he sat down at a desk where he picked up a stone that was filled with writing of every imaginable type before returning to the racks which were filled with ancient magical tomes mainly on Transfiguration and transformation magics. As Ranma browsed the racks, he mumbled to himself, "Somewhere in here there has to be the key to the magic of Jusenkyo." About 10 minutes later Ranma heard Akane enter the library. Ranma's response to this was to continue reading the book he had picked up until Akane walked up next to him at which time he put the book back on the shelf. "Ranma I'm sorry okay," Akane said sheepishly as she struggled to keep eye contact with Ranma. "Don't be sorry tomboy," Ranma said as he pulled Akane into a friendly hug. Surprisingly Akane's reply to this was to start crying as she returned Ranma's hug. Watching this from nearby Kasumi smiled, warmly and genuinely before leaving to prepare dinner for the rest of the dojo. Ten or so minutes later Akane had cried herself to sleep. Ranma's only reply was to pick her up and carry her off to her room. However, when Ranma reached the exit wall he drew a circle that was broken by two small dashes in its upper left and lower right to sections connected with an upside down cross and upward pointing arrow that was angled slightly to the right instead of the pentagram Kasumi drew to activate the magical door. ************** As Akane awoke sometime later, she heard Kasumi announcing dinner was ready. Akane however didn't feel that hungry considering what she had just learned about her fiancé. 'How much more is there that I don't know about him,' Akane thought before remembering what Kasumi had said before letting her go into the secret library as she left her room. ~~~~~~~~~ "Remember Akane neither me or Ranma will act as we do here outside of these secret walls," Kasumi said. "So Ranma will still act like a baka and call me an uncute tomboy even after this?" "yes but there is something you should know about why he calls you that," Kasumi said before continuing, "when he calls you uncute it has nothing to do with your looks and everything to do with your rotten attitude." "MY..." Akane managed to get out before finding a short dagger an inch from her throat. "...And we mustn't forget about your temper either Akane," Kasumi said before putting her dagger away. Gulping audiblely Akane said, "I guess I get your point," while rubbing her throat before asking, "So what about tomboy?" "Oh, well that's a different matter altogether one of the main reasons Ranma likes you is because you're tomboy. I don't know the details of why he does but he does," Kasumi explained before adding; "now why don't you go talk to Ranma." "Ok," Akane said before walking off towards the library. ~~~~~~~~~ As Akane entered the tearoom for dinner, she found her father, Nabiki, Kasumi all chatting about the usual nothings while Ranma sat nearby looking annoyed as usual. 'Damn I hope I'm half as good the actor as Ranma is,' Akane thought before sitting down for dinner. ************** While on several nearby roofs the usual crazies spied on each other and on the Tendo dojo until Ranma was seen landing in the koi pond after the scream of 'RANMA NO BAKA' was heard. Satisfied that everything was up to par the usual crazies departed and Akane stormed off to her room cursing Ranma. "Ranma-chan, will you help me clean up in the kitchen?" Kasumi asked in her usual manner. "Yeah sure what ever," Ranma-chan grumbled before Kasumi and Ranma-chan left for the kitchen. "I'm going to bed," Soun said before walking off. "..." was all Nabiki said as she thought about her part in the failed wedding before deciding to go work on her ledgers. ************* "She did well," Kasumi commented. "Yep," Ranma-chan said as she started to help Kasumi clean the dishes. After the two were done, they descended into the cellar and on to the hidden dungeon. 15 or so minutes later Akane entered the kitchen and looked around before descending into the cellar. After which she walked over to this secret entrance and saying, "Now what was that symbol Kasumi used again?" Akane received a response to that query when a symbol appeared on the wall. The symbol was a circle connected to an upside down cross that had another smaller circle connected to an upward pointing arrow connected to it with in the main circle. Seeing this Akane commented rather dryly, "I guess that's the symbol for tomboy," before knocking on the wall to gain entry to the hidden dungeon. *************** As Akane entered the lair, she found Ranma-chan lounging on the couch to the left of the door wearing an outfit she would never expect the redhead to wear. The outfit Ranma-chan was wearing consisted of a open red vest, white tube top, a black miniskirt that went half way down to her knee's, and a pair of black leggings as well as her usual pair of bright blue arm bands. In addition, Akane could tell Ranma-chan was also wearing a bra. Seeing this Akane did the only logical thing she could think of ... she fainted. "Hmm, she took that better than I thought she would," Ranma-chan commented as she accepted a soda that had just floated over to her before picking up a nearby book and starting to read it. "Yep she did," Kasumi replied from the other couch in the room where she was watching her favorite show on the crystal panel before noticing a cup of water floating across the room. Seeing this Kasumi just smirked before the cup of water stopped just above Akane and a second later the cup upended it's self splashing Akane who immediately jumped and looked around only to find a floating and empty cup was the culprit in splashing her. Seeing this Akane just blinked a few times as the cup levitated back over to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen the cup landed on the counter after which a towel floated into the air before being tossed at Akane who caught the towel before saying, "hmm thanks." >No problem,< was the reading of the glowing writing that appeared in mid air as a reply. Seeing this Akane just shook her head to clear it before turning her attention back to Ranma-chan who was still reading her book. Just peaking her eyes out from the top of her book Ranma-chan asked, "Yes?" Looking exasperated and sounding panicked Akane replied, "What in kami- sama's name are you doing in that getup?" Looking back at her book Ranma-chan only replied, "Enjoying my feminine side after dinner." Akane's reply to this was to facefault while sweat dropping. After recovering Akane screamed, "Are you purposefully trying to give me a nervous breakdown?" Smirking Ranma-chan said, "Maybe." Hearing this Akane attacked with the war cry of, "when I get my hands-on you I'm going to strangle you!!" This of course began a chase around the room with Ranma-chan teasing Akane. Watching this Kasumi just laughed and smiled. The chase continued for several minutes until Ranma-chan chose the wrong moment to stick out her tongue at Akane causing her to trip over the couch and Akane to land on top of her in a compromising position. "Why Akane, I didn't think you where that kind girl," Ranma-chan said with a smirk as she noticed Akane was groping her with both hands. Akane's response to this was to jump off of Ranma-chan and curl up into a tight ball. Seeing this Ranma-chan and Kasumi's moods' shifted considerably as they saw Akane starting to shake ever so slightly. "Hay come on Akane I was only joking," Ranma-chan said as she sat down next to Akane was now on the verge of crying. After a tense moment, Kasumi finely asked, "sis, are you..." before being interrupted. "NO!! I am not," Akane screamed as she curled up inning even tighter ball. "Akane were not here to judge you okay," Ranma-chan said reassuringly as she put her hand on Akane shoulder only to find that shoulder was shaking along with the rest of Akane. "I'M NOT A PERVERT!!" Akane screamed in protest as she jerked away from Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan's reply to this was to pull Akane into a tight embrace. Akane still infuriated and obviously distraught began fighting and hitting Ranma- chan. However, the pigtailed martial artist just continued to hold on and take the beating Akane was dishing down while not saying or doing anything. Akane finely ran down about 5 minutes later at which time she's just started crying as Ranma-chan continued to hold on to her while stroking her hair and making soothing sounds while also telling Akane it would be ok. This continued for another 5 minutes until Akane appeared to fall asleep. "You ok?" Kasumi asked Ranma-chan who was sporting a black eye along with numerous other bruises. Ranma-chan's only reply was to shake her head as she continued to hold Akane close to her. "This reminds you of how hard it was to accept your girl half doesn't it," Kasumi stated as she saw Ranma-chan beginning to cry quietly. Again, the only reply that was given by the redhead was a nod however, Akane replied, "You really do accept you're a girl?" "No. I accept the fact I'm both," Ranma-chan said quietly. "...and what do you think of me now..." Akane said before trailing off. "Akane, answer this question for me," Kasumi said before waiting for Akane to look at her. Once Akane had turned to look at her sister Kasumi asked, "Are you really attracted to girls or just to a certain redhead?" Akane's immediate answer was to look up at Ranma-chan questioningly before looking down at the floor and stuttering out, "I don't know. I really don't." "Try to answer that question first before making a judgment about your feelings, ok," Kasumi, said reassuringly. Akane's only reply was a nod before looking up at Ranma-chan for a moment before returning to her thoughts. After this, a silence fell over the room as Kasumi and the mysterious spirit of the dungeon cleaned up a liar. This left Akane and Ranma-chan in their corner of the room. "How many times have you called me pervert when you were the one thinking of something?" Ranma-chan asked curiously after about 30 minutes of silence. Akane's reply to this was to try to pull away in embarrassment however; Ranma-chan wouldn't let her so she simply said, "more times than I care to remember." >Akane, you should never ever be embarrassed of your own sexuality or how intense it is,< was the reading of the glowing writing that appeared in front of Akane. Akane for her part just blushed and looked away however, when she did so her nose ran right into Ranma-chan's left breast. Ranma-chan for her part managed to suppress her reaction to this situation, which was to breakdown and laugh. Akane however blushed from head to toe before jerking away from Ranma-chan and running off. ************* Later in the armory, we find Akane crying when Kasumi entered and sat down next to her. "All of this has been quite a shock hasn't it?" Kasumi asked. Akane's only reply was a nod. "So have you given any thought to my question?" Kasumi asked. "Yeah and I'm still not sure," Akane replied after managing to get control of her crying. "Well when you're in the locker room at school do you get aroused by the other girls?" Akane's reply to this was to shake her head after a moment thought. "...and what about Ranma-chan?" Akane's reply to this was to blush almost immediately. "...and what about Ranma-kun?" Akane's reply to this was to blush as red as Ranma-chan hair. Smiling Kasumi commented, "Well I think you have an answer about your preference now." Shakily Akane asked, "What about Ranma? What does he think about it?" Ranma-chan took this as her cue to step into view and say, "I'm willing to experiment if you are." "Ok," Akane mumbled quietly before leaving while saying she needed to get some sleep. "So do you think we broke the shell around her?" Ranma-chan asked. "Well if we didn't break it Ranma we certainly put an extremely large crack in it," Kasumi replied. *************** Early the next morning Akane awoke still feeling extremely disoriented but nonetheless better then she had and a long time. 'So my sister really isn't an innocent ditz of a homemaker and my fiancé is cultured enough to play a violin and who knows what other secrets those two have in-store,' Akane thought before the image of her sister wielding a broad sword floated through her mind. 'What secrets indeed?' With that thought concluded, Akane got up and headed downstairs where she found Kasumi sipping some tea at the tea table. "Where's Ranma?" Akane asked. "I don't know Akane-chan," Kasumi said in her usual manner as she tapped one finger on the tea table. Getting the picture Akane proclaimed, "Well make sure the baka doesn't run out because I'm going to make breakfast," before storming off to the kitchen. Where she quickly entered the cellar before continuing on to the hidden dungeon where she found Ranma in the arboretum playing the violin. "Good morning tomboy," Ranma said rather casually as Akane sat down next to him while looking very nervous. Seeing this nervousness Ranma said, "don't worry about apologizing Akane what's done is done," reassuringly before adding, "and we'll probably still have our fair share of fights." "Gee that's really reassuring Ranma," Akane said sarcastically as she crossed her arms. Smirking out of one corner of his mouth Ranma said, "Just calling it like I see it tomboy." Sticking her tongue out Akane said, "Baka." Smiling Ranma replied, "See we just had one." After rolling her eyes, Akane decided to change the subject and asked, "So has Kasumi told you what her plan is?" Ranma's flat reply was, "Ranko." "Ranko?" "Yeah Ranko; you see the uncute tomboy will get so mad at the baka fiancé that she'll mallet him into the koi pond where he'll hit his head and mysteriously despite numerous earlier head traumas develop amnesia and believe he really is a girl," Ranma said with a grin a mile wide . "Go on," Akane encouraged as she developed a smile of her own. ************** "Oh my Akane you really shouldn't pound Ranma-chan into the koi pond so much," Kasumi said scoldingly just after Akane pounded it Ranma into the koi pond for insulting her cooking. "He deserved it for insulting my cooking," Akane said with a huff before sitting down and waiting for Ranma-chan to pull herself out of the koi pond. "Are you okay Ranma-chan?" Kasumi asked as Ranma-chan reentered. Ranma-chan's only reply to this was to blink cutely before saying, "...But I'm Ranko" in a cute voice that Azusa could not match. Hearing this everyone in the room gasped except for Akane who rolled her eyes before throwing Ranma-chan back into the koi pond while shouting, "Cut it out baka!!!" When Ranma-chan reemerged from the koi pond for a second time she reentered the tearoom and said, "geez tomboy can't you take a joke." "As if you know anything about joking around Ranma," Nabiki quipped. "Hay I'm Ranko and don't you forget it Nabs," the redhead said as she thumbed her chest. Hearing this everyone in the room started displaying honest concern. "Ranma this isn't funny any more," Akane stated while sounding annoyed. "hey, I already said I'm Ranko ... you know, the girl that the worthless panda through in the hot spring of the drowned man before stealing and using that Amazon memory altering shampoo on ...*looks around to see everyone looking blank*... don't tell me pop erased everyone's memories AGAIN," Ranko said before walking off to her room looking exasperated. "Hmm, Kasumi, what the heck just happened?" Nabiki queried the only person she thought might have an answer. "I'm not sure but I think Ranma-chan may have amnesia a very odd kind of amnesia but amnesia nonetheless," Kasumi said uncertainly. Looking extremely guilty Akane asked, "So what should we do?" "We should do nothing. Another blow to the head may cure Ranma or permanently transform him into Ranko," Kasumi explained before adding, "...and I will inform everyone of the situation so no one clubs Ranma ... although considering Ranma's current personality I doubt anyone will get close to get that chance." "How long will Ranma be like this?" Akane asked nervously. "A day, a week, a month, maybe even a year or longer, only time will tell." Kasumi said before walking off to the kitchen. Akane's reply to this was to start crying before running off mumbling something about baka fiancés. ******************** As Akane ran out of the tearoom and upstairs, she found Ranma-chan waiting with a smile. "Good job tomboy," Ranma-chan said before walking by and downstairs. 'I just hope I can keep it up Ranma,' Akane thought before returning to her room to get dressed in her school uniform. ******************** As Ranma-chan and Akane walked along the school, they said nothing as to not reveal anything to those that may be or were listening. ~"it's not paranoia if somebody's really out to get you or if somebody's always watching,"~ was the line Akane remembered Ranma saying in the hidden dungeon early that morning. Akane could not even begin to argue the validity of that line and so agreed not to say anything about the plan outside the walls of the hidden dungeon. 3 minutes later Shampoo as usual ambushed Ranma-chan however since Ranma '- chan' or '-kun' was not in the house so to speak Ranko jumped out of the way of the Amazon's bike landing on the fence behind said bike much to the Amazon's surprise. That surprise only increased when Ranko wheel kicked the buxom Amazon right in her stomach sending her and her bike flying into the drainage canal while Ranma-chan caught the ramen the buxom Amazon was going to deliver. Seeing this Akane raised an eyebrow at Ranko's behavior to which the buxom redhead replied by saying, "hey, no sense in letting good food go to waste," as she ate her ramen. ******************** A few minutes later Ranko and Akane entered the gates to Furinkan high they of course found one Tatewaki Kunou and upon seeing Ranko immediately began spouting off his usual poetry. Also as usual, less than a tenth of the second later the aforementioned kendoist was sailing over the horizon after being punted by Ranko. "Ranma seems normal enough to me," an unnamed student said to her friend who just shrugged as a reply while watching Ranko and Akane enter the school building. ******************** A few moments later Ranko and Akane entered their homeroom classroom and were promptly greeted by Ukyou who pushed Akane out of the way. "Hia Ranma," Ukyou said cheerfully while Akane fumed in genuine anger. "Hey, I'm Ranko not Ranma," Ranko objected as she sat down at her usual desk. "Nabiki really wasn't joking Ranma really thinks he's Ranko," Ukyou said before adding, "The next thing Ranma will be doing is wearing girl's clothing," quietly enough she thought Ranko wouldn't hear. "I will as soon as I buy some stuff Ucchan," Ranma-chan said loud enough for the entire class to hear before adding rather darkly, "the stinking panda must've thrown out all of the stuff I did have." Hearing this Ukyou, facefaulted along with Akane. The rest of the class, including Ms. Hinako, however sweat dropped in the extreme. "Hey, I know! Why don't you join me and Akane; Ucchan, after all you need some girl's clothes to. Looking nervous Ukyou said, "Hmm I think I'll pass Ran-chan," before sitting down looking like she had just lost her best friend ... or at least her fiancé. ********************* Later at lunch, we find Ranko and Akane sitting along underneath the school's surviving oak tree talking. Nearby Ukyou watched the two before sighing and walking off and out of school wondering if Ranma would ever return or ever want to return considering Ranko seemed so much more happy and carefree then Ranma ever did. As she returned to her shop, a little voice in her head mumbled something about her being a part of reason Ranma wasn't happy or carefree and for a change, Ukyou actually started to listen to that voice. While at the Cat café, shampoo brooded over her damaged bike while Mousse sharpened a Chinese broad sword in the background and in the foreground Cologne explained Ranma's odd behavior and told shampoo it would be wise for her not to try to glom Ranma until he returned to normal. Back at Furinkan Yuka and Sayuki nervously decided to approach Akane and 'Ranko' "Hiya girls," Ranma-chan said with a smile. "Hmm hi hmm Ranko," Sayuki said nervously while looking at Akane who just looked away shamefully. "..." was all Yuka said as she gave 'Ranko' an icy stare considering she was too busy thinking about what Ranma-chan was up to. "So do you girls what to join me and Akane when we go shopping after school," Ranko asked rather casually causing Akane to choke on her food and look at Ranko with a raised eyebrow. "Yes I would," Yuka said with a malevolent grin while she thought of a way to expose Ranma-chan's little hoax. ********************** Later that day we find Sayuki, Yuka, Akane, Nabiki and 'Ranko' heading to Nerima's largest clothing store. 'I'll expose Ranma for sure when she doesn't want to pick out any lingerie,' Yuka thought with a malevolent little grin. 'I just know Ranma's faking having amnesia but why ... hmm, maybe it's just so he can relax, Kami-Sama knows he has enough stress in his life ... and maybe he also wants to get in touch with his feminine side. *smirks internally* Kami-Sama also knows he definitely has one,' Sayuki thought to herself. 'I'm not sensing any deception from Ranma ... but Akane seems unusually stressed out, of course that's not surprising either considering what she did but I'm still getting the sense there's something up that I'm missing. I suppose it doesn't matter when I find out because in the end I will find out what is up,' Nabiki thought to herself. 'Why am I getting a strange sense of foreboding?' Akane asked herself while looking at Ranko out of the corner of her eye. "..." was all Ranma-chan said as she smiled as she thought of what Akane would look like when wearing her generic female outfit. ********************* 30 minutes later, we find Sayuki, Yuka and Nabiki looking at Ranko with varying levels of jaw dislocation. Sayuki and Nabiki having the most mild case of the aforementioned jaw dislocation, Yuka however was in need of medical attention considering how far her jaw had dropped. Akane however looked down at the ground to hide the fact she was rolling her eyes. This Akane quickly regretted as she found herself being hauled away by Ranko who was saying something about Akane needing her own copy of the outfit if she ever wanted to compete with Shampoo. This caused Yuka to faint while Sayuki and Nabiki's jaws drop the little bit more. After shaking her head to clear it Sayuki asked, "So do you think 'Ranko' will manage to get Akane into that get up?" After shaking her head to clear it Nabiki responded, "At this point I wouldn't be surprised." Five minutes later Ranko and Akane returned with Akane wearing an open bright blue vest, white tube top, a black miniskirt that went half way down to her knee's and a pair of black leggings as well as pair of bright yellow armbands. "So how do I look?" Akane asked rather nervously. "Great sis," Nabiki responded before the four girls heard a mumbling sound followed by a thud. "Hmm, I guess we know what Yuka's response is," Sayuki said with a smirk before adding she to liked the outfit. "Yep we sure do," Ranko replied before Sayuki woke her friend and helped her to her feet. "So where to now?" Ranko commented. Regaining some of her composure Yuka managed to say, "Lingerie." "Hmm I was thinking of a nice dress but that will do for something to put on underneath it," Ranko commented before walking off never seeing the looks of shock etched on the faces behind her. ************* "Well we'll see you girls later," Ranko said cheerfully as Sayuki dragged Yuka who had been reduced to a to a blithering idiot by Ranma-chan's choices of lingerie and evening dress both of which shampoo would think twice -but only twice- about wearing. 'I wonder if Ranko will willingly do a photo shoot.' Nabiki thought to herself. Akane however just wondered what to hell was wrong with Ranma. ************** Later in the hidden dungeon we find Ranma relaxing on the couch in the liar when Akane entered wearing the outfit, Ranma head picked out for her looking rather angry. "Ok Ranma what was that whole thing at the lingerie store about," Akane demanded. "It was about the fact I really did want that stuff," Ranma responded before adding, "Not to mention it was really bugging Ukyou to see me wearing a sexy evening dress and lingerie." "Ukyou was there?" "Yep she was there until she saw me in the evening dress," Ranma replied as he got up and walked off in the direction of the training room with Akane close behind. Once in the training room Ranma began practicing a kata and Akane of course tried to follow him. ************* Meanwhile at Ucchan's we find Ukyou looking rather pale. 'Kami he's really becoming a woman,' Ukyou thought before saying, "is it because of the failed wedding? Did we all betray him so much that he's abandoning his manhood just to get away from me, Shampoo and Akane?" "Maybe he really just does have amnesia Ukyou-sama," Konatsu said. "No and even if he does I doubt he'll ever change back," Ukyou said sadly. "Why?" "Because Konatsu Ranko it's about 100 times happier than Ranma ever was ... and even if Ranma does return he's already picked Akane." "How can you tell?" Konatsu asked. "Because Ranko and Akane get along so well and everyone knows that Ranma always hides his feelings," Ukyou said before picking up her battle spatula and adding, "I'm going to go pound the panda until he gives me the money back for my dowry then I'm leaving Nerima," as she walked out the door. A few minutes later as Ukyou was walking towards the Saotome household she stopped and thought, 'reality bites real hard,' before continuing on with vengeance in her eyes directed towards the man that had ruined her life and the life of her best friend by cursing him. However just before she entered the Saotome household, she wondered for the nth time why in the hell she attacked Ranma and Akane. "It doesn't matter I ruined my friendship with Ranma and Akane forever," Ukyou said sadly before jumping over the perimeter wall of the Saotome household while drawing her battle spatula however after she landed she found the panda was already being pounded on and so just sat down and started waiting for her turn. ************* Later back at the Tendo dojo we find Ranko sitting by the koi pond. "Don't worry sis I'm sure he'll be okay," Kasumi said reassuringly. "Yeah," Akane replied. "Will Ranma really be okay Kasumi," Soun asked seriously. "With time father," Kasumi replied just before Ryouga attacked. "Die!!!" The eternally lost boy screamed as he tried to plan his fist in Ranko's skull. Ranko of course was not anywhere in the vicinity when Ryouga's fist finely hit the ground however, her foot found its way to Ryouga's face a tenth of the second later sending the eternally lost boy flying. Ranko not satisfied with her work charged and proceeded to pummel Ryouga in the chest at Tenshin Amaguriken speeds before side kicking Ryouga through the dojo's exterior wall. When Ryouga climbed out of the rubble, he looked worse then he ever did after going one round with Ranma however, Ryouga charged nonetheless. Ranko's reply to this was to duck low and knee Ryouga right in the stomach causing all of the air to be forced out of his lungs. Stunned by this move Ryouga looked at Ranko just long enough to see she was executing a double neck chop that KO'd him instantly. As the unconscious Ryouga fell to the ground with a thump Ranko flicked her pigtail over her shoulder before entering the tearoom and walking off to her room. This left everyone but Kasumi with a severe case of jaw location. After clearing her head, Akane shook her head before picking up a nearby glass of ice water and getting up and walking in the direction of Ryouga. Seeing this Nabiki and Soun ran as fast as they could to their rooms and just as Akane upended the glass of ice water on Ryouga Soun and Nabiki arrived at their individual shelters just as Kasumi put on a pair of industrial strength earphones. Three agonizing seconds of silence later, a scream, powerful enough to shatter windows, echoed throughout a ward of Nerima. This of course awoke p-chan immediately who looked up to find a very angry indigo blue haired tomboy holding a mallet that appeared to be made of solid titanium in a grip that was even stronger. Seeing this p-chan immediately started running as to avoid becoming a pig pancake or the first pig to visit Pluto. "Do you think she'll catch him," Ranma-chan commented as she walked back into the tearoom. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Kasumi replied calmly before taking a sip of her tea. ************** Late that night Akane entered the hidden dungeon determined to turn Ranma into paste despite the fact she was completely exhausted. However as she entered the arboretum she found Ranma playing the violin and once he stopped Ranma said, "Ryouga made me promise before you adopted him as p- chan to never tell anyone he was cursed. That promise was made on my honor." The only reply Akane could think of two that was a rather flat oh before deciding the floor would be a good place to take a nap. "I'll take her to bed," Kasumi said before picking Akane up and carrying her off to her room ************* Meanwhile some distance away from Nerima we find Ryouga staggering through a forest when he encountered a mysterious figure. "Help please," Ryouga managed to get out. The only reply that was given to this was a lightning bolt. After the lightning stopped, the figure walked into the shadows leaving Ryouga who had lost his trademark bandanna. ************** As Akane awoke the next morning, she found herself in her bed. Akane's reply to this was to curl up into a tight ball as she looked at the spot on her bed p-chan almost always slept on. "Do you want to talk about it and who Ryouga really was?" Kasumi asked as she entered. Akane's only reply to this was a sad nod after which Kasumi began telling her everything she knew about Ryouga. ************* Meanwhile some distance away from Nerima we find Ukyou wondering alone through the forest absently wondering what to do with her life while regretting she had to knock Konatsu unconscious to finally get him to stop following her when she encountered the beaten and electrocuted form of Ryouga who she didn't immediately recognize because of the loss of his bandanna. Shaking the eternally lost boy awake Ukyou said, "Hey are you okay Ryouga?" Looking honestly blank Ryouga replied "Ryouga? Who's that?" Looking sideways at a convenient tree Ukyou had a very sarcastic thought, 'geez is it amnesia season or something.' ************* Later at the Tendo dojo, we find Ranko and Akane leaving saying that they'll be out all day having fun. However as the two reach Ranma-chan's favorite bridge they quickly ducked underneath. Whereupon 'Ranko' held up her finger in a hushing motion, before concentrating so hard a slight aura appeared around her. A moment later Ranma-chan reached out and drew her dungeon entry symbol on the concrete embankment under the bridge causing it to vanish after which both Ranma-chan and Akane entered quickly. A moment later Nabiki arrived under the bridge and mumbled something about losing her quarry. *********** Meanwhile in the main the hallway of the hidden dungeon Akane looked at Ranma-chan oddly. "You can get into this place by drawing your symbol anytime you're alone and you've got a large enough flat surface to draw it on," Ranma-chan replied as she walked down the hallway and into the lair. "Wow," Akane commented while making a mental note of that little trick before following Ranma-chan into the lair where they found Kasumi. "I have some news," Kasumi said before continuing with the news, "it seems that Ukyou has all ready given up." "So quickly?!" Akane said in surprise. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth Akane just be glad she's out of our hair," Ranma-chan said before stalking off to the combat pit. "Ranma?" Akane questioned while noticing Ranma's tone had been icy to say the least. "Ranma is VERY angry at Ukyou for what she did at the failed wedding," Kasumi said in a voice that understated the truth of the situation. "How angry?" Akane asked in morbid curiosity before both the roar of a dragon was heard from the direction of the combat pit followed by and angry bellow from Ranma. "Does that answer your question," Kasumi responded before she left, leaving Akane alone with the sounds of battle. Akane not liking those sounds one bit, decided to enter the training room and wait for Ranma there. 30 or so minutes later the sounds of battle ceased this drew Akane out of the training room and back into the lair where she found Ranma-chan whom was bruised and beaten standing in the kitchen making tea. "Sit down," Ranma-chan said to Akane who sat on one of the kitchen stools. After doing so Akane patiently waited for Ranma-chan to finish making the tea, which took her only five more minutes. After Ranma-chan had served both herself and Akane, she sat down on the largest and most comparable looking chair in the lair. After downing the tea in one gulp Ranma-chan took a deep breath, "in my life I have been through five truly horrible things the first four were really horrible training methods which each left their scar on me. First, the Neko-ken robbed me of my childhood memories and occasionally it still does eat a few. ... Second, there was a training method pop came up with to help me control my emotions. ... Since then I haven't been really able to do anything but control them. ... Third, he came up with a method to increase how quickly I learned skills. ... Since then I haven't been able to really learn any new skills like, I did before, and it seems to block anything that doesn't have to do with the martial arts and lastly just before we went to China he came up with his most insane method. It totally backfired because of it I can't remember any of the armed fighting styles I learned and all of the reading I did on math, science, technology, philosophy and everything else seems to be totally gone. ...Pop used to be a halfway decent guy. If you dismiss the fact, he's a thief and a liar, but every time he came up with one of these training methods, he got worse. ... Shortly after pop did the second method, we left Ukyou. ... Shortly after the third one, we left a sensei that was teaching me how to use the violin and draw. I couldn't do either because of training method backfiring. Right after we left Ryouga, pop did the fourth one. Each method chipped away at who I am, leaving someone that was less of who they were behind; someone that lost a fifth of who they were each time." With that, speech given Ranma-chan allowed the floating teakettle to pour her another cup of tea before she downed that cup and continued. "The fifth truly horrible thing in my life was finding out the seppuku pledge that pop made with mom," Ranma-chan said flatly. "...and what about the springs?" Akane asked nervously. "I don't know yet. You see the springs did more than transform me into a girl. Because of my self-image, they well to put it bluntly it came close to shattering my all ready cracked soul," Ranma said before accepting another cup of tea and continuing. "Having that first period was the straw the finally did shatter me. When Kasumi found me, I couldn't even think coherently and I was barely aware of her helping me. However, when she got done that symbol you saw me use to open the way here appeared on the bathroom wall. Still in a daze, I entered this place for the first time and the spirit did something. I don't know what, but I came to my senses and of course Kasumi was there to help me with my first period but after she got done, I was still a wreck emotionally. In fact, I was as vulnerable as a two-year-old and Kasumi using that famous voice of hers just asked me to talk about it and I did I told her about the four horrible training methods pop put me through. After that Kasumi tried to help me with my emotions in the only way she knew how by being female. I was coherent enough by then to object to that for reasons both obvious and not. Obvious because at that time I still didn't accept that I was both, and not because I knew if pop ever learned me doing anything but suppressing my emotions he would've probably put me through that horrible training method again." After taking a deep breath, Ranma-chan accepted another cup of tea from the floating teakettle. "...and this is when I started helping Kasumi break out of her shell," Ranma-chan said after taking a small sip of her tea. "You ... helped ... Kasumi?" Akane stuttered out. After taking another sip of tea Ranma-chan replied with a nod, "yep I did. You see Kasumi had a plan. The plan was very simple I would continue to act like I always had, unless I was in these walls. The plan was genius but Kasumi didn't think it was proper because she would have to lie. I told her one of the few things pop has ever told me that has been true and that's sometimes a lie is the only way to help someone. After wrestling with herself for about 30 minutes, Kasumi finally agreed. After that, things slowly progressed; first, I got control of my emotions, then I regained the ability to learn skills just in time to learn the Amaguriken coincidently, about 6 months later I finely broke through what ever was stopping me from remembering all of the math science and stuff I had picked up over the years. Also during all of this time, I was learning how to accept my female half. However I still haven't managed to get my childhood memories back." "...and?" Akane asked nervously. "Other than that not much," Ranma-chan said before walking off towards the library however before she entered she said, "Other than looking around this library for info on the curse." Akane's only reply to this was to accept a cup of tea from the floating teapot as she tried to steady her teacup with both hands. *************** Meanwhile in the kitchen of the Tendo dojo we find Kasumi sipping a cup of tea when Nabiki entered looking frustrated. However after Nabiki had retrieved a soda Kasumi said "Nabiki-chan I'm very disappointed in your part in the failed wedding and I want you to make up for what you did by making sure the Kunou's don't bother Ranma and Akane." Raising an eyebrow Nabiki started to say that would cost a lot of money however Kasumi gave Nabiki an honest disapproving look which froze the mercenary tendencies Nabiki had quicker than a tanker of liquid nitrogen. Looking hot under the collar Nabiki gulped before saying, "I'll get on it immediately sis," and leaving the kitchen with extreme haste. Taking a sip of her tea Kasumi thought, 'that was more than enough to get Nabiki working on the problem with her usual efficiency.' *************** Later back in the hidden dungeon Akane enters the library to find Ranma- chan combing through the ancient tomes therein. "Any luck?" Akane asked. "None whatsoever most of this stuff is written something not even this language stone Kasumi found can decipher," Ranma-chan replied before getting up and adding, "come on Ranko needs to make another appearance to be convincing." "So what did you have in mind this time?" Akane asked. "Jewelry but only if it looks good on both forms," Ranma-chan said as she exited the library with Akane. 'I wonder how Ranma is going to manage that.' Akane thought to herself before following. ************** Later at one of Nerima's jewelry shops, we find Sayuki and Yuka browsing around when 'Ranko' and Akane entered and began browsing around. Yuka immediately saw another opportunity to expose Ranko and move in to began her plan of attack by the saying, "why don't you get your ears pierced Ranko that way he'll have more earrings to choose from." Ranko's only reply to this was to angle her head so Yuka could see her ear was already pierced. Yuka's reply to this along with Akane's was to blink loudly. "Pop used to have a pair of earrings that where a family heirloom ... shortly after he let me wear both of them for a while he had to sell them for food. They were beautifully intricate made with gold, silver, cooper and platinum with several rare and large blood diamonds in them. When pop sold them, he got enough money to feed us for three years. Those earrings were one of the few things pop actually treasured with his heart," Ranma- chan explained before reaching for her ear and subconsciously outlining how large the earrings were, strangely the earring shape she outlined fitted onto the ear instead of dangling down from it. "Most of the time when we still had them I would wear one and pop would where the other," Ranma-chan added sadly before shaking her head to clear it and adding, "it was the only feminine pleasure pop ever let me have," as she got back into the Ranko character. Neither Yuka or Sayuki caught Ranma-chan's momentary slip of character. However, Akane did and stared in wonder considering she knew Ranma-chan had not been lying. "Do you think that those earrings are still out there somewhere?" Sayuki asked. "No blood diamonds are the rarest gemstone in the world so those earrings were probably destroyed just for the stones," Ranko replied as she continued to shop only to start looking annoyed at the selection. This of course perked the interest of Sayuki, Yuka, and Akane. After about five minutes of this Ranko finely snorted and left mumbling, "The whole damn lot of it is nothing but cheap plastic gemstones and leaf coated aluminum." Hearing this most of the patrons in the jewelry store stopped shopping put down their merchandise and walked out the door. ********** A few minutes later Yuka Sayuki and Akane catch up with Ranko who was still muttering curses about the jewelry store. "Ranm ... ko what was that all about," Yuka demanded. "It was about the fact everything in there was fake," Ranko mumbled darkly. "...but how could you tell?" Sayuki asked. "You don't hang around a thief without learning how to tell gemstones and jewelry are real. I suppose it also gives you a heightened appreciation of the real high quality stuff," Ranko said as she continued to walk along. Wisely, the Akane and her friends didn't press the issue any farther. "Well we'll see you later Akane," Sayuki said before she and Yuka left. After the two were well out of site, Ranma-chan entered a nearby alley where she used her symbol to gain entry to the hidden dungeon. Seeing this Akane decided against following, considering the look on Ranma- chan's face said I want to be alone. ************* "How in the Kami-Sama's name am I going to get rid of the Kunous?" Nabiki asked herself before outlining her options on a nearby piece of paper A contract assassin. No too cruel ... to the assassin. The insane asylum. They'd never get the Kunous there. Ranma pounding them both senseless. No, he already does that. Poison. Nope Kunou's immune and Kodachi makes the stuff. An act of the Kami. Well this IS Nerima so I shouldn't rule it out. Get them interested in someone else. HOW!!!!!!! Blackmail. That would only be a temporary solution. Press charges. It's a possibility so I'll research it. Get them cursed in some horrible way. Without a friendly wizard around not practical. Technical truth twisted. It always has possibilities. "Hmm, I doubt one-way will work for both of them," Nabiki thought before looking over her list again. "Hmm, cursing Kodachi with instant spring water might work and twisting the truth always works with Kunou," Nabiki added before heading to the cat café. ************** "...and why should I help you?" Cologne asked Nabiki who had just asked her for some instant drowned spring packets. "Because if you do and I am successful -which I will be- Kodachi and Kunou will be out of the picture," Nabiki said coolly. "What particular instant spring packets were you looking for dear?" Cologne said pleasantly. "Instant spring Nyannichuan for Kunou and something to make Kodachi look really ugly and a artifact that glows with a eerie light but does nothing more," Nabiki explained before Cologne nodded and walked off. A few moments later, however the Amazon matriarch was heard cursing about something and when she returned she only had a small blue sphere and a single packet of instant spring. "It appears shampoo has used all of the instant Nyannichuan again so I can only give you what you need for Kodachi," Cologne said as she handed Nabiki the packet and the blue sphere. Reading the title of the packet revealed to say "spring of the drowned night hag. *raises eyebrow* and what is a night hag Cologne?" "Wait here and I'll go get a sketch of one," Cologne responded. *************** Later we find Nabiki walking down the street to the Kunou manner smiling as she imagined what Kodachi would look like based on the sketch Cologne had shown her. "If I was shaken into a stupor for a moment by the sketch I can't wait to see what Kodachi's reaction will be when she gets dunked with the stuff," Nabiki said with a malevolent smirk. ************* "So what do you want to talk to me about mercenary?" Kodachi asked. "I have been told by my older sister Kasumi that I am to make sure you do not involve your self with Ranma anymore," Nabiki replied. "And how do you intend on doing that?" Kodachi taunted. "If you do not comply I have been given a magical spell that would transform you into this," Nabiki said as she handed Kodachi a piece of paper, which made her pale considerably before Nabiki continued, "now the spell I have with me is only temporary but I have the resources to acquire the permanent version. Therefore, I suggest you just give up on Ranma now." Kodachi's reply to this was a small laugh, "you're lying mercenary no such Magic exists." "I do not lie Kodachi and here is the proof," Nabiki said before pulling out a thermos of cold water and throwing it's contents on Kodachi before running for her life. After Nabiki was far enough away from the tortured screams she said, "Well that takes care of Kodachi So now on to Kunou- baby," while dusting imaginary dust off her hands as she walked off to the other side of the Kunou manner. *********** "So what information do you have about the pigtail girl and Akane this time," Kunou asked. "That the pigtail girl only has eyes for Akane and Akane only has eyes for the pigtail girl," Nabiki replied with technical truth. This caused Kunou's eyes to bug out as his jaw dropped. "My fair maidens be attracted to each other?" Kunou said melodramatically. "yes and it's your fault," Nabiki added before continuing, "because of this my sister Kasumi has told me that you're forbidden to chase after either of them ever again. After all you might cause them to become intimate and I'm sure you don't want that to happen." "Nay I do not -such a thing should not be allowed and I will not encourage it- and I shall also honor your elder sister's wishes," Kunou said defeatedly. "Good," Nabiki said before she left. After taking a deep breath and thinking for an undetermined amount of time Kunou finely said, "Saotome's vile Magic must be at the root of this no matter once I dispatch him his Magic will fade and the fondness the pigtail girl and Akane have for each other will fade. Then they will come rushing to me in all my glory." ************ "Well at least he won't be chasing Ranma around until he gets his memory back," Nabiki commented before leaving. ************ Meanwhile at the cat café we find Cologne sitting on the roof. "Sensei, I wish you were here to help me because Ranma is the biggest enigma and challenge I have ever faced in my life," Cologne commented only to be answered by the appearance of a letter from nowhere. >Cologne Ranma is not to be Shampoo's wife,< was the reading of the letter's one line of text. "Well this changes things ... if she is watching and has declared this than Ranma must be of direct interest to her," Cologne commented before picking up her staff and momentarily staring off towards the Western horizon. "Should I declare them both wanderers and just leave ... no mousse returns to the village and shampoo becomes a wanderer," Cologne decided to after an hour of thought before thinking, 'hmm, if she is near I will be able to communicate with her.' With that, thought concluded Cologne sat down and began to meditate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Cologne appeared, she found herself staring at a mysterious figure in the shadows. "Hello sensei it has been many years since I saw you last," Cologne said respectfully. "It has," the mysterious figure answered. "Why is Ranma not to be Shampoo's wife?" Cologne asked. "You will find out in time Cologne for now do as you planed and return to China with mousse," the mysterious figure said before adding, "Come back in two years by then you will know why." That said the mysterious figure vanished into the shadows and Cologne awoke. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Two years eh, what could she be up to that would take that long for her to do. Something tells me I don't really want to know," Cologne said to herself before entering the cat café where she began to plan her departure from Japan. ************* Back at the hidden dungeon, we find Ranma sadly playing the violin in the arboretum when Akane entered. "Pop used to be a good guy. A thief and a liar yes but nonetheless he was a good guy. The only time he even acts close to what he did is when he and your dad get home from drinking and don't notice us," Ranma answered before Akane had even asked a question. "Why do you think he went so bad?" Akane finally asked. "I have no idea but it started after he sold those earrings. Who knows maybe they were magic. Or maybe something else," Ranma said while looking frustrated. After a long moment of silence, Akane told Ranma dinner was ready before leaving. "I guess I better change into 'Ranko' then," Ranma said dryly. After Ranma had changed and left the dungeon a mysterious voice said, "Kunou, Kodachi, Ukyou, Mousse, Cologne and Ryouga are all out of the picture. This leaves only Shampoo to contend with." ************* 'I wonder what Kasumi did to motivate Nabiki to get rid of Kodachi and Kunou ... hmm, something tells me I don't want to know,' Akane thought as she lay on her bed. "Hmm Kunou, Kodachi and Ukyou are out of the picture so that leaves Cologne, mousse and shampoo but how in the hell do we get rid of those 3,' Akane thought before deciding she need some sleep. ************ Late that night at the cat café we find shampoo sitting alone in the main dining room, wearing bracelet Cologne had given her before leaving with Mousse. Shampoo said in her native tongue before deciding she would get some sleep and head to the Tendo dojo in the morning. ************* Early, the next morning we find shampoo who was unusually wearing a simple pair of jeans and a T-shirt heading towards the Tendo dojo. Once shampoo arrived at the gates, she took a deep breath to summon her strength and entered by walking through the gates. Once she did that shampoo walked along the side of the house to the koi pond where upon she turned to face the tearoom where she found Kasumi sitting alone. Looking at the Amazon warrior with concern Kasumi asked, "What's wrong Shampoo." "Great-grandmother make shampoo wanderer and say no can't marry Ranma," shampoo said from her spot by the koi pond. "Great-grandmother leave for home last night take mousse with her. Shampoo alone here now," shampoo headed before pulling out an armlet of some sort. "Great-grandmother say this for Ranma. Stop water from changing Ranma while worn". That said shampoo put the armlet on the ground before bowing and leaving. Stepping out of the shadows Ranma-chan said, "Well I guess that's everyone." "Yes it is Ranma and I'll tell Akane that it's time to give Ranko a trip into the koi pond," Kasumi said before getting up. This left Ranma-chan to look at the armlet shampoo had left for a moment before picking it up and heading off to her room. ************* "RANMA NO BAKA," Akane screamed as she punted 'Ranko' into the koi pond before realizing what she did and running after Ranko who she quickly pulled out of the koi pond. "HAY let go tomboy," Ranma-chan complained before noticing what she was wearing and running off. "Well it looks like Ranma is back," Nabiki commented before deciding to leave. ************** Meanwhile in China we find a long purple haired woman in her mid-30s practically growling at Cologne. "How could you make her a wanderer," the woman finally asked. "Relax granddaughter my sensei is somewhere in Nerima and until she shows herself shampoo can handle herself," Cologne replied as she sipped some tea. "...and what of Ranma?" The woman asked. "He defeated Saffron with only the assistance of the ice staff .... Do you want to go to Nerima and tell him he has to marry Shampoo?" Cologne asked sarcastically. After gulping the woman said, "You do have a point grandmother but I am still going to Nerima." "Don't do anything foolish child only the weakest of the players there wouldn't be able to defeat you," Cologne advised. "Who would those players be?" "Kunou, Kodachi, Ukyou and Akane although you do not want to mess with Akane because if you do Ranma will not be far away," Cologne explained. "Very well," the woman said before taking an artifact from Cologne and leaving Cologne's house. "I hope granddaughter can survive in Nerima ... she never was never the one that could deal with shock," Cologne mumbled as she smoked her pipe. **************** Shampoo said to herself as she looked at the cat café's interior. the mysterious woman with long purple haired said. Seeing her mother shampoo growled before saying, Shampoo's mother said before walking into the kitchen followed shortly by Shampoo herself. ***************** "So the old ghoul is ghoul gone and Shampoo is now available?" Hiroshi asked Ranma. "Yep," Ranma said as he adjusted his armlet while Daisuke held an empty bucket that occasionally dripped while stuttering. "Why didn't you change?" Daisuke finely managed to ask. Ranma's response was to point to his armlet while saying, "It blocks the transformation." "Oh," Daisuke replied while sounding disappointed. ************* Meanwhile in another part of Nerima we find Akane, Yuka, and Sayuki eating lunch. "Ranko didn't last long did she?" Yuka asked rhetorically and very sarcastically. "What did you expect? Ranma did have amnesia you know," Sayuki replied flatly. "Yeah right," Yuka snorted. 'If only they knew the real reason,' Akane thought to herself while wanting the day to be over so she could retreat to the hidden dungeon and relax with the real Ranma. *************** Waiting at her favorite ice cream parlor Nabiki only sighed before Kunou arrived wanting his usual --pictures of Ranma-chan and Akane--, which Nabiki provided for her usual price. ************* Later back at the dojo we find Soun sneaking ninja style out of his house and at the Saotome household, we find Genma doing the same. About 30 minutes later the two met and started making plans for another wedding. "...but Saotome we don't have anything to bribe Ranma with this time," Soun objected. "As long as the boy has that armlet you told me about Tendo the curse is as good as gone," Genma replied. "I don't know old friend maybe we should just wait now after all now that the others are gone or have no claim on Ranma it's only a matter of time," Soun replied. "Till someone else comes along and claims him as a fiancé," Genma retorted. "Good point, old friend," Soun said with a nod before starting to leave. "...And this time Tendo you can't even tell Kasumi about it until the day we're ready," Genma added. "Good point," Soun said before starting to look thoughtful. "I know that look Tendo what do you have up your sleeve?" Genma asked. "It would be highly dangerous to our health Saotome but we could just transfer Akane's name to your family register and tell them about it after you use your family seal on it to make it final," Soun explained. "A cunning plan Tendo I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself and I shall retrieve the Saotome registry and seal from Nodoka ASAP so we can do it," Genma said with a grin before the two left in different directions. ********************** As Genma Saotome walked into his home, he did so with as much confidence as he could muster. "So where did you go dear," Nodoka asked as Genma entered the tearoom of his home. "I was thinking that if the boy doesn't learn some manners and quickly that the engagement may not succeed and so you need to go teach the boy manners and as soon as possible," Genma proclaimed. "Why me husband?" Nodoka asked while suspecting Genma was up to something. "Because obviously I don't have any manners," Genma replied as he sat down. 'hmm, now I know he's up to something but who I have no idea so for the moment I'll have to play along,' Nodoka thought to herself before agreeing and leaving her home for the Tendo dojo. ******************** Back at the Tendo dojo, Soun snuck back out with the Tendo family register and seal, 30 or so minutes later Ranma and Akane arrived home. However, as Ranma started to enter the gates to the dojo he stopped short as he sensed something. "Akane something's wrong I can sense it," Ranma said before running into the dojo and into the kitchen. "Kasumi, where's your father?" Ranma asked in a near panic. "He should be in the tea room Ranma," Kasumi responded. Quickly directing his ki sense towards the tearoom Ranma found that Soun was not in the tearoom or anywhere in the dojo for that matter. "Oh damn I really bad feeling about this," Ranma muttered. "How bad son," Nodoka asked as she and Akane entered the kitchen. "Bad enough to my newest technique to get back to your house mom," Ranma said before starting to glow with a powerful aura. "Ranma take me with you," Akane said flatly. Ranma only nodded before grabbing Akane and running out of the kitchen and then the dojo after which he shouted ," full body Tenshin Amaguriken!!!!" which was followed by a sonic boom. 1 minute later Soun and Genma were staring at Ranma and Akane as they and a hole appeared in the wall of the Saotome household. 3 seconds later Soun and Genma were blasted with a sonic boom, which sent the Tendo family seal hurdling out of Soun's hands and onto the floor. "Of all the low down plans you have ever come with pop this has to top them all," Ranma snarled before sending his father through the roof and over the horizon while Akane did the same to her father. With that, done Akane retrieved the Saotome family register and put it on the table to reveal that only the Tendo family seal was necessary to make her Ranma's wife. "Damn those bakas," Ranma muttered darkly as he sat down. "It was a close call this time wasn't it?" Akane said. "Extremely close," Ranma replied before noticing Akane had picked up her family seal. "Akane?" "When?" Akane asked as she put the seal down on the table in front of Ranma. "When do you want it after all we both know it's only a matter of time?" Ranma responded. "How bout now baka," Akane said as she looked up at Ranma with a serious look in her eye. "Are you sure tomboy?" Ranma asked with just a much seriousness before handing Akane this seal to her family. However, as Akane reached up to take this seal glowing writing appeared in mid air. > No Akane I have not given permission for you to become Ranma's bride,< was the reading of the writing. "AND WHO ARE YOU TO SAY I CAN'T," Akane screamed. > You would be surprised my little tomboy, < the writing said after rearranging itself. "My little tomboy?!" Akane said as her eyes narrowed in shock. After that was said the glowing coalesced into a blue swirl, which then whizzed Ranma and Akane and out into the yard where it struck the ground and expanded into a glowing blue orb of energy. After the sphere grew to two meters in diameter, sparks began to arc away it destroying anything in their path. "What in the kami's name is that?" Akane shouted over the noise. "I don't know but it's more powerful did anything I've ever sensed in my life a lot more powerful I can't even began to phantom all of the power I'm sensing," Ranma shouted as he shielded his eyes from the light the sphere was now creating. 5 seconds later the sphere of energy exploded covering everything in a blinding white light. As the light faded, Ranma and Akane found themselves staring at a woman that wore a bright red tube top, a pair of orange slacks, and a long light forest green cape that came over her shoulders. Also, the cape was open enough to reveal that it had a royal purple lining. Her distinguishing features were her height which was six feet even, long sky blue hair, and a set of piercing Emerald green eyes which showed even to the most inexperienced that she was far far older than she looked. In addition, whoever the woman was she was quite muscular. Strangely, the fact she looked buff only seemed to add to her already ample feminine beauty. "I am Hishizuka Tendo, Master Magi born in the Avalon calendar year 102,054. I am 5035 years old and creator of the most powerful transformation magic ever known and I challenge you Ranma Saotome for my daughter's hand in marriage. Akane for her part backed away as she stared at the woman before her knowing who she saw before her was indeed her mother however she did not want to believe it. Ranma on the other hand had no such luxury for he sensed the woman's energy, which was very similar to Akane and her sisters. Grinding his teeth and knowing the woman before him was at a minimum a thousand times more powerful than even Cologne Ranma said 4 words "I accept your challenge." "Good and now to the combat field," Hishizuka said before snapping her fingers, which caused both herself and Ranma to vanish in a flash of light. When that light faded all that was left was a crystal panel. ************************* "Ranma before a single punch is thrown and a spell cast you must promise me on your word of honor that you will not hold back your power from the moment we start," Hishizuka demanded. "As if I would stand chance against you if I didn't," Ranma muttered darkly while knowing full well his opponent could wipe the floor with him even at his full power. "Right now you do stand chance against me Ranma because I'm not even at 1 percent of my true power," Hishizuka stated with a Nabiki like business demeanor. Hearing this Ranma's eyebrow twitched before he released his true power this caused the ground around him to buckle for a good two meters. "Good now have a taste of this!!" Hishizuka screamed before firing off several orange spheres each of which vaporized a spherical area 1 m in diameter. Ranma however was able to evade all of the spheres and attack Hishizuka with several high-powered Moko Takabisha. The Tendo matriarch however evaded those attacks with as much speed as Ranma evaded her attacks leaving the two facing each other at standoff distance. After a tense moment of silence Hishizuka smiled and said, "since you can handle 20 flare spheres at one time let's see how you handle 200," before using her incredible speed to do launch off ten times the amount of flare spheres she had done previously. Ranma's reply to this was to combine his high-powered Moko Takabisha with the Tenshin Amaguriken. When the 200 flare spheres hit the 200 Moko Takabisha the results were predictable and when the dust cleared there was a crater a meter deep in between the combatants. Taking a deep breath, while not even looking winded, Ranma asked, "Is that enough warm up?" "No we haven't gone hand-to-hand yet," Hishizuka said with a grin before charging. Reacting immediately Ranma dodged 30 punches is delivered and blocked 20 more at super sonic speed before delivering 30 punches and 10 kicks which were all dodged before he managed to deliver ten punches and 2 kicks which had to be blocked. After that, 60 more punches were delivered by Hishizuka who followed them up with 30 kicks. Of those 60 punches and 30 kicks, Ranma had to block 30 punches and 10 kicks before attacking and delivering 90 punches and 40 kicks. Of those 90 punches and 40 kicks, 60 punches were dodged and 30 were blocked while all of the kicks were dodged. As the hundredths of the second pasted the number of kicks and punches increased to mind-boggling levels and after 30 full seconds of sustaining this pace, Ranma finely connected with a kick just as Hishizuka connected with a punch. The blows and both combatants flying back to standoff range. Neither of them had been hurt by the blows that had connected and just got up. "Well I'd say that's enough warm up exercise wouldn't you Ranma?" Hishizuka asked rhetorically as she cracked her knuckles and stretched her neck. "Yeah I'd say that was," Ranma said as he too cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck. "Good. FLARE!!!!!!" Hishizuka screamed before Ranma was swallowed by a gargantuan ball of solar fire. When the ball of fire faded, Ranma was seen shielding his face while his battle aura burned around him. "That actually hurt you know," Ranma stated flatly before shouting, "MOKO TAKABISHA!!!!!!!!!!!" and launching off a gargantuan version of his signature attack. Hishizuka's only reply to this was to flick her wrist upward causing a spherical shield to appear around her and this caused Ranma's attack to harmlessly explode around her. After the dust had settled, Hishizuka saw Ranma smiling. "So you think you can copy a shield spell after seeing it once do you? Well let's just see if you can," Hishizuka said before shouting, "CRUSHING HAND." This shout caused a huge hand to appear out of nowhere and fly towards Ranma who barely had enough time to reproduce Hishizuka's shield spell but even after that Ranma had a tremendously hard time resisting the hand's crushing force and by the time the crushing hand had faded Ranma was sweating. Hishizuka however had used a tremendous amount of energy but still looked completely undrained. "Is that all you got Ranma I might as well end it now," Hishizuka said coldly before shouting "NUKE!!!!!!!!!" The resulting spell unleashed the inferno of a nuclear explosion upon Ranma. Raising an eyebrow Hishizuka thought, 'he actually managed to get up another shield,' with a smile before waiting for the dust to clear. However, 5 seconds later a huge beam of energy pierced the smoke cloud leaving Hishizuka only time enough to block. After another 10 seconds the beam faded leaving Hishizuka smoking and burnet only enough to give her a tan. "So how did you like the Moko Takabisha Kosen?" Ranma asked as he stepped out of the dust cloud. "Impressive but you revealed you been holding back the Lions share of your power," Hishizuka commented before smiling "I suggest we end this like civilized fighters with one last all-out blast." "Fine with me it will give me a chance to test the KI E CHI and Kosen blast," Ranma said before shouting KI E CHI times 10. Smiling Hishizuka started channeling all of her energy into a powerful spell. As Hishizuka did that, Ranma focused all of his power into one massive energy wave. "KOSEN BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "ULTIMA!!!!!!!!!!!" With those simultaneous shouts, two ultra powerful energies collided. **************** Back in Nerima, Akane shielded her eyes as the crystal panel that was showing her the battle between Ranma and her mother shattered due to the enormous amount light that was coming through it. "No Ranma you can't die," Akane sobbed. **************** A minute later Ranma opened his eyes to see Hishizuka who smiled down at him through the bruises and scrapes she had. Seeing this Ranma stood up despite the pain, he was in due to his bruises and scrapes. "I think we'll call this fight a draw Ranma," Hishizuka said as she supported Ranma while Ranma did the same for her. "So, how much power were you fighting me with?" Ranma asked. "One-half of one percent Ranma," Hishizuka responded before using the combat field's built in return spell to transport herself and Ranma back to the Saotome household where they found Akane crying. "Hay tomboy what are you crying about?" Ranma said jokingly before coughing in pain this also caused Hishizuka to do the same. Looking at the two Akane found her mother and Ranma both had, black eyes, were burnt, and were bruised "Oh kami are you two okay?" Akane finely asked. "Akane dear me and Ranma just survived a 30 megaton explosion so make a guess if were all right," Hishizuka said scoldingly and very sarcastically. Akane's reply to this was a jaw drop. "Now dear I approve of your marriage to Ranma so use the seal," Hishizuka said before adding, "After which both me and Ranma need an Elixir from the hidden dungeon." Akane's only reply to this was to use her family seal to finalize her marriage to Ranma. After which she drew her symbol on a wall that hadn't been destroyed. With that done, the three entered the hidden dungeon. Five minutes later Soun and Genma entered to find the wreckage. "Well it was worth a try old friend," Genma said defeatedly before picking up his family register only to find the Tendo seal above Akane's name. "Mainly because you used the seal before Ranma and Akane got here!!" With that said, the two began to celebrate until that is they heard the sound of a katana being drawn after which they ran for their lives. ****************** Meanwhile in the hidden dungeon we find Hishizuka guiding Ranma through the library. "Ahh here we are," Hishizuka said as she examined the center bookcase at the center rear of the library. This of course raised Ranma's eyebrow until Hishizuka cast a small spell, which caused the bookcase to retract into the ceiling revealing a gargantuan hidden library field with ancient tomes, cases upon cases of magical potions, and even more cases of magical herbs. At the center of all of this, there was a long table that at the moment was clean "Whoa what is this place?" Ranma asked. "The potion and enchantment workshop; everything in here can't really be classified as pure research or something that needs the heavy equipment of the forge to make," Hishizuka said before adding, "If you want Ranma you can help me expand this hidden dungeon." "Yeah ok," Ranma said rather sheepishly before asking, "so what kind of things can you do?" "Most anything but I'll just list a few; Armorsmithing, basketweaving, bookbinding, bowmaking, blacksmithing, calligraphy, carpentry, cobbling, gemcutting, leatherworking, locksmithing, painting, pottery, sculpting, shipmaking, stonemasonry, trapmaking, weaponsmithing, weaving, apothecary, bookkeeper, brewer, cook, driver, farmer, fisher, guide, herbalist, herdswoman, innkeeper, lumberjack, miller, miner, rancher, sailor, scribe, siege engineer, stablehand, tanner, and woodcutter." "That's a few?" Ranma asked sarcastically as he helped Hishizuka to a nearby potion cabinet. "Yep that's a few," Hishizuka replied as she pulled out two large looking bottles of glowing green liquid. "I'd hate to hear the complete list," Ranma commented as he took one of the bottles from Hishizuka. Hishizuka's only reply to this was to chuckle lightly before popping the cork on her bottle and saying, "bottoms up Ranma." "Yeah bottoms up," Ranma said before popping the cork on his bottle and downing it at the same time Hishizuka did her's. After a minute of looking green Hishizuka finely said, "mana I've forgotten how bad that stuff tastes." "No kidding that stuff tastes as bad as Akane's cooking," Ranma said while wanting to puke. Chuckling, Hishizuka only nodded before her mood saddened before she said, "Approximately 4000 years ago, I had to do battle with an Ashura. I defeated her by transforming her into a statue with my magic. The statue 'drowned' by shattering into a thousand pieces in a small spring. The magic water of those springs mixed with her powers and my magic, resulting in the entire area being cursed, which has led to some most unique and grotesque transformations ever known. The human-to-monster transformations never really take hold because the ki of alternate state is unstable. Human-to- animal take over two years to become permanent. However, the human-to-human take hold immediately." "Why?" Ranma asked. "The reason why the alternate body becomes permanent is because the person's ki takes it over. With a human-to-human, transformation the person's ki immediately knows how to take over the alternate body because the alternate body is based upon your own genes. In other words, your alternate body is a direct and true reflection of what you would look like if you were born as a girl, Ranma," Hishizuka explained. "So you can't get rid of the whole thing?" Ranma asked to make sure. "No. Once the ki takes hold, there is no way to get rid of it," Hishizuka said as she shifted her gaze, "but I can get rid of the water based trigger." "So what do you mean about alternate body?" Ranma asked curiously. "There are three types of transformation magic. Type 1 is the oldest. Type 1 magic only gives the appearance of changing into another creature ... In fact, if someone touches you while under the influence of type 1 magic the magic is dispelled. Type two is very common. It's the old witch turns the Prince into a frog Magic," Hishizuka explained. "...but isn't that what happens?" Ranma asked. "Yes and no. With a type two transformation a person's body is literally reshaped at the genetic and biological level into whatever that being transformed into. This also results in the person's ki being wrapped somewhat. The affect is permanent until they are returned to their natural form. Type 3 transformation on the other hand never actually affects the person's natural body. Instead, it uses standard type two magic plus my own special magic to create an alternate body, which becomes permanent after a special ki binder spell is used. This causes the magical alternate body to become physical. This along with a good old-fashioned faze shifting spell allows the person to have two bodies. The springs however botched the job of creating the magical alternate body in that every time you or anyone with a curse is splashed, the magical alternate body is completely recreated. That however still won't stop the trigger from changing them back and forth, or causing the alternate body to be reshaped every time ... even after it becomes permanent." "So I guess that means the springs have type 2 1/2 transformation magic," Ranma said absently, to which Hishizuka replied by looking thoughtful. "I suppose that's as good a way as any to describe it," Hishizuka replied "now, Ranma, considering you fell into the spring of the drowned young girl, I have a little bit of work to do on you; about four years growth of work, if you get my drift". "This is going to hurt like hell isn't it," Ranma said while looking a bit hot under the collar. "No. Worse, much worse," Hishizuka said before raising her hand and firing off an energy blast which instantly caused Ranma to shift into his female form, which then began to grow at an accelerated pace. Four excruciating minutes later, Ranma-chan drops to the ground. However, Ranma-chan being Ranma-chan, manages to pick herself up almost immediately. The new and improved Ranma-chan stood as tall as Akane, and looked just as strong. "Damm, you weren't kidding," Ranma-chan said while noticing that her voice had lost its annoying feminine squeak "it feels almost as strong has my normal body now," Ranma-chan said absently. "Now for the water based trigger," Hishizuka said before firing off an energy blast at Ranma-chan. "Is that it?" The no longer diminutive redhead said before the transforming back into a Ranma. "Pretty much," Hishizuka stated simply before adding, "now let's get back to your house so I can fix it up." **************** "damn those bakas they got away from me again," Nodoka said before sheathing her katana and starting to walk back to her home to find out what her husband and Soun had done -- as well as cleanup the mess the two had made. However, when Nodoka reached her home she found it completely unharmed. "Okay this is weird even for Nerima," Nodoka commented before walking into her home where she found Ranma, Akane and Hishizuka having tea. "Hi-chan? Is it really you?" Nodoka asked while looking as if she had seen a ghost. Hishizuka's only reply was a smirk that seemed to answer Nodoka's question. "...but how," Nodoka asked after recovering somewhat. "Another time because right now we should be celebrating," Hishizuka replied as she handed the Saotome family register to Nodoka. "Is this what they were trying to do?" Nodoka asked as she saw the Tendo seal. "Yep but the two bakas didn't get the chance," Ranma said. "Then why is the seal there?" Nodoka demanded. "Because I put it there," Akane answered. Nodoka's reply to this was to blink loudly, "you agreed to get married your self's?!" "Yep," Ranma replied. "Come on baka let's go," Akane said before she and Ranma left. "Come by the dojo later and we'll have a party," Hishizuka said pleasantly before leaving. ***************** "Hmm, I wonder Ranma and Akane are?" Kasumi asked no one in particular as she cooked dinner before hearing someone walk by the kitchen. Kasumi's response to this was to pop her head out of the kitchen to find her father had just entered the tearoom with Genma both of whom were beaten severely. 'Hmm, Ranma and Akane must have found them,' Kasumi thought before returning to her work. Meanwhile in the tearoom Genma said, "now that it's a done deal, Tendo, not even Nodoka can do anything about it." "I know Saotome, I know, but at what price will come our success?" Soun said. "What do you mean, old friend?" "What if this, forces them further apart?" "You worry too much, Tendo," Genma said as he got up before adding, "well I better get back home and take what ever beating Nodoka has in store for me," before he left. Back in the kitchen, Kasumi just raised her eyebrow. ****************** "So how are you going to explain that your back?" Ranma asked Hishizuka. "The truth," Hishizuka replied nonchalantly. "Oh," was Ranma's only reply to that before walking ahead of Hishizuka and joining Akane. "I can't believe she's back," Akane said in nothing more than a whisper. "Believe it this is Nerima after all," Ranma said with a shrug. "You do have a point, baka," Akane said as she leaned closer to Ranma. Seeing the two leaning closer to each other Hishizuka only smiled. 30 minutes later the dojo came into the trio's view whereupon Hishizuka commented, "Well let's hope they can take a double shock," with a chuckle. ******************* "So where are Ranma and Akane?" Nabiki asked as she sat down for dinner. However, before anyone could answer Ranma and Akane entered and sat down. Well this was not unusual in the least bit. Who entered after Ranma and Akane was. "Miss me much?" Hishizuka asked coyly. "...but how?" Nabiki managed to stutter out. "I'm a master magi," Hishizuka said as she sat down by Soun. "Oh," Nabiki replied while looking unconvinced. Seeing her daughter's unconvinced look Hishizuka said 'nuke' clearly and calmly. This caused a huge nuclear fireball to appear in the sky, which was clearly visible through the open door of the tearoom "Proof enough daughter?" Hishizuka asked. Nabiki's only reply was to nod her head while adjusting her collar. "Good. Now, Kasumi, please serve dinner because I'm as hungry as a wild horse," Hishizuka said causing Akane, Kasumi, and Nabiki to giggle while Ranma mumbled something incomprehensible. **************** Later after dinner, we find Kasumi sitting alone in the liar of the hidden dungeon when Hishizuka entered and began to mix something in the kitchen. Hishizuka's mere presence in the dungeon however surprised Kasumi. "Don't be so surprised, Kasumi, after all who did you think created this place," Hishizuka said as she sat down and handed Kasumi a drink. However as Kasumi was about to take a sip of that drink she's smelled alcohol and began to object however Hishizuka said, "no arguments, Kasumi, you need a drink." "Yes mother," Kasumi said before downing the drink in one gulp. Hishizuka only comment to this was to raise an eyebrow before downing her drink in one gulp as well. "You're the one that's most worried about me returning aren't you," Hishizuka said calmly before continuing, "and you have a right to be worried. Because I will not allow you to do all of the house work anymore and also I'm telling you right now, Kasumi, that you are going to get a life before I allow you in the kitchen again. Now am I making myself clear?" "Crystal clear mother," Kasumi replied while looking like she wanted another drink and quickly. "Good. Now, why don't you, go enjoy your self back at the dojo," Hishizuka said before Kasumi got up and left looking rather shaken. This left Hishizuka alone for the next half-hour until Ranma entered and sat down. "What got Kasumi so rattled?" Ranma asked. "The fact I'm not going to let her do any house work till she gets a life," Hishizuka replied simply. "Ahh," Ranma said in understanding before relaxing and asking, "So what's in the two sealed rooms?" "The first sealed room is the Gateway room which has direct access to any place on this plane of existence, providing you've been there first and to Avalon. The second sealed room is the treasure room, which no one but me is getting access to." "Ok," Ranma replied before starting to toy with his armlet and saying, "this thing's pretty much useless now." Hishizuka's only reply to this was to smile before firing and energy blast at the armlet. Raising an eyebrow Ranma asked, "So what did that do?" "The armlet will now change your clothing when you should forms as well as automatically resize any clothing you put on. Also it will allow you to change your clothing instantly to anything you have in your wardrobe," Hishizuka explained. "Wow," Ranma commented before relaxing. "So how are they doing?" Hishizuka asked. "Nabiki is ... well scared shitless," Ranma said bluntly. "Yes I suppose she is. I always told her to behave or else and now that she knows the or else can mean nuclear annihilation. I'm sure she's quite worried what punishment I have store for her," Hishizuka said calmly. Shaking his head Ranma continued, "Akane seems fairly calm about the whole thing at the moment. Soun however seems nervous for some reason I can't quite pin down." Hishizuka's only reply to this was a why nod before standing up and saying, "It appears I will have to talk to Kasumi since she is the one most affected," as she left. "..." was all Ranma said before shifting into her female form and relaxing. ******************** Back up in the tearoom we find Akane, Nabiki and Soun all looking at Kasumi who was nervously sitting by the koi pond. 'Hmm, Ranma wasn't kidding she really is taking this hard,' Hishizuka thought as she entered the tearoom. "What did you say to Kasumi?" Nabiki asked. "I told her no more house work till she gets a life," Hishizuka responded calmly. "OHHH," was the reply everyone else in the room gave as they nodded in understanding before each went there separate way except for Nabiki. "If you're wondering if I'm going to nuke you for all you've done to Ranma I'm not," Hishizuka said. Nabiki's reply to this was to let out a sigh of relief before she left. In doing so, she never saw the evil and mischievous grin that appeared on her mother's face as Hishizuka thought, ' mainly because I have a far better plan in mind.' Without thought, concluded Hishizuka walked out to the koi pond and sat down next to Kasumi where she began waiting for her daughter to calm down enough that she could talk to her. ****************** "I'm finely married to the baka," Akane said with a strange mixture of emotions in her voice. After a moment of leaning against her bedroom door Akane smiled before walking over to her closet where she started choosing what she would were for that night. ****************** Meanwhile we find Soun in the training hall looking at a picture of his wife and himself on their wedding day that was on the Tendo family shrine. With a smile, Soun took the picture off of the shrine and left the training hall with it. ****************** "Why mother?" Kasumi finally asked. "I think you can guess why," Hishizuka responded before a crystal panel appeared in front of her. "Now what do you say to playing a practical joke on Nabiki?" "What kind of practical joke?" Kasumi asked as she noted the crystal panel was displaying Nabiki doing aerobics workout. "Well first we have to adjust the panel a little bit," Hishizuka said as she reached for a control crystal. After Hishizuka twisted the crystal, a few times Nabiki's clothing completely vanished. "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed as her hand flew to her mouth. Chuckling dryly Hishizuka said. "The best part of this is Nabiki still has her clothing on." "Can the panel do is with anything?" Kasumi asked. "Yep and it can also take photographs," Hishizuka said as she pressed another control crystal causing a picture to pop out of the crystal panel like a Polaroid camera. "...but what are we going to do with these photos?" Kasumi asked. "Why give them to Kunou of course," Hishizuka said with a grin a mile wide as she continued to take snapshots. "You do realize that will make Kunou go ... oh my, that's the point isn't it." "Yep," Hishizuka answered. "...and what do I do?" "You write the letter explaining Ranma's curse and Akane's relationship to Ranma. As well as a side note about Nabiki liking him in secret and I'll enchant it so that the message about Ranma's curse and Akane's relationship actually gets into his thick head." "...but what about the pictures?" Kasumi asked. "Those will be delivered an hour or so after Kunou receives your letter with a bill from Nabiki included of course," Hishizuka said with a smirk. "I'll go write the letter right now," Kasumi said before rushing off. ****************** Later that night we find Ranma playing the violin in the arboretum of the hidden dungeon when Akane entered wearing an indigo shirtdress that barely made it halfway down to her knees. The shirtdress was also already open enough both top and bottom to reveal she was wearing a bright turquoise silk teddy underneath it. The shirtdress also had a sunflower yellow sash across the waist. "I thought you say you weren't going to wear that," Ranma said as he stopped playing. "So I changed my mind,' Akane said as she tried to stop herself from turning candy apple red. "Ahh," Ranma said as he got up while nodding his head in understanding before wrapping his arm around Akane. "Do you really want to do this?" Akane's only reply to that was a nod as she leaned closer to Ranma as the two left the hidden dungeon for Akane's room. ****************** Meanwhile halfway across Nerima we find Kasumi sitting across a table from Kunou at his manner. Kunou had just finished reading the letter Kasumi had brought him and looked rather rattled. "Ranma is the pigtail girl," Kunou stated in pure shock. "Yes now if you excuse me I have to be getting home," Kasumi said pleasantly before getting up and leaving. "I have been chasing ...oh gods forgive me I did not know nor I did not want to know," Kunou said before reading the letter again but this time Kunou noticed the side note about Nabiki Kasumi had written. This more than the shock of Ranma being the pigtail girl caused Kunou's brain to freeze completely. An hour or so later one of Kunou's mysterious ninja servants delivered a manilla folder. Seeing this Kunou still in his brain freeze opened the folder and began looking at the photographs within and by the time, he was done his brain had completely rebooted and Kunou was convinced that Nabiki was madly in love with him despite the bill for 20,000 yen she had sent. ***************** Back in the hidden dungeon, Kasumi and Hishizuka who were watching the events at the Kunou manner using a crystal panel just smiled. "Well how long do you think it will be before she punts him over the horizon?" Hishizuka asked. "Tomorrow morning when he starts spouting poetry at her," Kasumi replied as she left. After Kasumi had left, Hishizuka willed the crystal panel to display a certain kindly doctor who was having dinner alone in his office. Seeing this Hishizuka momentarily closed her eyes before opening the again to reveal her eyes had began glowing with a bright white light. A second later that light shot from her eyes and through crystal panel at which time Hishizuka said, "now Dr. tofu let us see why you go so schizoid around Kasumi," as she scanned Dr. tofu's mind for the memory of what had originally caused the doctor's reaction to Kasumi. 10 minutes later Hishizuka abruptly stopped scanning and said, "oh my!" before adding, "No wonder why he goes so schizoid around her," as she got up and teleported to Dr. Tofu's office. ***************** "Oh, Kasumi," Dr. Tofu said with a sigh as he ate his dinner. A few moments later Dr. Tofu heard a knock on the front door of the clinic and left his office to answer it. Who Dr. Tofu found when he opened the front door of his clinic nearly made him faint. "Hello Dr. tofu I was walking by and decided I should drop in," Hishizuka said calmly as she walked by Dr. Tofu and into his clinic. "...but how I saw you," Dr. Tofu stuttered out. "A story for another time but right now I wish to know where you got a red stemmed Black passion orchid," Hishizuka said as she sat down on a nearby chair while throwing a picture at Dr. Tofu. After looking at the picture Dr. Tofu said, "So that's what it was called," as he sunk to the floor. "So where did you get the orchid?" Hishizuka asked. "Kasumi gave it to me for a present before it flowered," Dr. Tofu said. 'Hmm, how when the world did Kasumi get hold of it,' Hishizuka thought before remembering that one of her red stemmed Black passion orchids had disappeared from her and Soun's bedroom some 11 years earlier before adding the mental thought, 'oops a daisy'. "So how do you know what I did?" Dr. Tofu asked. "It's not important Tofu but you have to understand that that flower was an extremely powerful passion spice and you're not at fault for your actions," Hishizuka said calmly. "Try telling that to my conscious," Dr. Tofu said. "Well there's one sure fire way to help that," Hishizuka stated. "How?" Dr. Tofu asked hopefully. "Apologize of course," Hishizuka replied. Dr. Tofu's reply to this was to give Hishizuka 'you have got to be kidding' look. "...and if that doesn't work ask her on a date," Hishizuka said as she stood up and walked over to Dr. Tofu. "So how angry are you," Dr. Tofu said as he looked up at Hishizuka. Hishizuka's immediate reply to this was to pick up the kindly doctor with one hand before sitting him on a nearby chair. "The jury is still out Ono," Hishizuka stated calmly before walking out of Dr. Tofu's clinic. Whereupon she concentrated on Dr. Tofu for a moment before saying, "That little spell will keep him from going schizoid next time he sees Kasumi." With that done Hishizuka teleported back to the hidden dungeon. *************** Early the next morning Akane awakes in Ranma's arms and smiles warmly as she pulled on his pigtail. This however was all that was necessary to wake Ranma up. "Mmh and you call me a pervert," Ranma said as he held Akane closer. "I guess it takes one to know one baka," Akane said as she started to kiss Ranma passionately. ************** Meanwhile down in the tearoom Nabiki who looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep mumbled, "You'd think they would be tired after 12 hours," with a growl. Soun's only comment to this was to grin like a maniac while Kasumi just smiled in her usual manner. In the kitchen, Hishizuka just shook her head and chuckled at her daughter's complaint. ************* About 30 minutes later, we find Nabiki walking a long to school looking very cranky. "A couple of noisy sex freaks, my period, and no sleep last night what else can go wrong?" Nabiki mumbled while growling. Nabiki's question was answered a few moments later when she stepped through the gates of her high school and started hearing Kunou spouting poetry about his hair mercenary of diamonds as he embraced her. This along with everything else that had happened to her actually managed to light Nabiki's fuse enough that she punched Kunou's lights out. This left Nabiki to look at her fist while blinking repeatedly before shaking her head to clear it and dragging Kunou off. However as Nabiki arrived in the nurses station and through Kunou on his usual cot several pictures flew out of his kendoist robe. After looking at only a few of the pictures Nabiki was doing a very good imitation of her sister as she started glowing bright red. A moment later Nabiki realized who the only person that could be the culprit for these pictures was her mother. "Ok mom round one to you," Nabiki stated with a growl. ************* Meanwhile back at the dojo Hishizuka just smiled as a crystal panel floated in front of her, "if you want to play games with me Nabiki I'll oblige." That said Hishizuka began to write three letters and after she had done so she teleported each of them away. "...and so the game begins anew," Hishizuka said with a chuckle. End of part 1