Book 2: Autumn

          Chris leaned back with a satisfied nod as the pile of dry twigs and leaves caught fire, and he soon tended it into a proper blaze for camping.  Autumn had arrived.  The trees were alive with color, and the air was cool and crisp, and smelled of apples and pumpkins, and all the other smells of fall.  He had declined Akane's offer to attend school.  Chris had said his master had seen to all the education he would need.  Although he occasionally stopped by in the afternoons to have lunch with Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo. 

          Chris smirked a bit as he thought of Ranma and Akane.  The two were acting like a normal couple, that is, as normal as anything got in Nerima.  Around the house anyway.  In public, however, they gave the appearance of friends, even engaging in minor squabbles from time to time.  They decided that letting everyone else know about them should wait until after they figured out what to do about Shampoo, Ukyo, and most unfortunately, Kodachi.  A project Chris had agreed to help them with. 

         Other things had changed as well.  Nabiki had gone to college, thankfully taking Kuno with her.  Though his help in defeating Vega had been appreciated, it was still too much to suffer his antics.  Cologne had resurfaced, and steadfastly refused to supply an explanation as to her whereabouts during the night when everyone had fought Vega.  Happosai was as lecherous as ever, though he lately seemed distracted by something.

          Chris regarded the fire before him, and then reached for his pack and the food it contained.  He had decided to take a few days and head into the mountains to train.  This is where he found himself now, about to cook his supper when a cry rang out through the trees.

          "Where on Earth am I now?!"

Chris stood up and crept through the woods, attempting to find the source of the voice.  He found it belonged to a boy about Ranma's age.  Chris took in the clothes, the backpack, the red umbrella, and the headband.  He realized this could only be Ryoga Hibiki.

          Ryoga was miserable.  Which he almost always was, but it was worse this time.  For one, he was lost.  Which in itself wasn't so bad, he had gotten fairly use to that by now.  But this time, he was lost and he had a dilemma.  Two women.  Akane and Akari.  He couldn't decide!  He realized ruefully that he sounded a lot like Kuno.  But it was so hard.  Akane was nice to him, one of the few people who were.  Especially as P-Chan.  But really only as P-Chan did she love him.  He was just her pet.  Akari, on the other hand, knew he turned into P-Chan, and still liked him.  But was it because she liked him for him, or because he had defeated her sumo pig?  He wished he could see one of them, both of them.  But he was lost and he couldn't.

          "Where on Earth am I now?!"  He shouted.  Then he heard a voice.

          "Hello there!"  You must be Ryoga."

          Chris saw Ryoga whirl around, hands raised defensively.

          "Who are you?  How do you know my name?"

          "Take it easy pal.  I'm Chris; I'm a friend of Ra… (Don't say Ranma, don't say Ranma!)…Akane's."

Ryoga relaxed and brightened a bit.  "You know Akane?"

          "Sure, sure.  Hey, my camp's just over here.  Why don't you stay with me for the night, and tomorrow I'll take you into town?"

          "Really?  Wow, you're the greatest.  Thanks a lot man."

          Ranma and Akane walked down the street, heading for home at the end of the school day. Ranma looked down at his feet, kicking a stone along as he walked.  His glance fell down to Akane's hand, swinging idly at her side.  He wanted very much to reach out and take hold of it, but he couldn't just yet, no matter how badly he wanted to.  But it was alright, Chris was coming home today, and he had promised to help them figure out what to do about his other fiancées.

He went back to looking at his feet when he heard Akane shout.  "Hey you guys!"  You guys?  Ranma looked up to see Chris heading down the street towards them, followed by Ryoga.  Wonderful, Ryoga.  Just what he needed.

          "Hiya Ranma, Akane!"  Chris called.  Ryoga gave Ranma a look one usually reserved for slimy insects.  Then blushed and mumbled an incoherent greeting to Akane.

Akane went to say hello to Ryoga, while Ranma pulled Chris aside and began to whisper furiously.  "What's the big idea, bringing him here?"

Chris shrugged helplessly.  "I couldn't just leave him there, lost in the woods."

Ranma started to say something more, probably argue that Chris could have indeed, left him lost in the woods, when they were interrupted by a cry of "WHAT!?"  They both looked over to see Ryoga glaring daggers at Ranma.  Then, with a wordless battle cry, he leapt at Ranma, umbrella in hand, and began to attack him savagely.  Chris stared in shock while Akane ran to his side.

          "What's going on?  Why's Ryoga so angry with Ranma?"

Chris looked at her.  "What did you say to him?"

          "I just told him about Ranma and me."

Chris' eyes widened.  "You mean you don't know?"

          "Know what?"

          "Oh man."  Chris looked back to the battle.  On a normal day, Ranma was usually better than Ryoga, if only by a little bit.  But now, Ryoga was fueled by unimaginable rage, and Ranma was hard pressed to defend himself.  Finally, Ryoga pulled back, and threw his closed umbrella at Ranma.  But it never reached him.  Because Akane darted into its path.  The umbrella struck her full on in the chest, knocking her back into Ranma.  Ryoga froze, realizing what he had done.  Ranma looked ready to murder him, and likely would have, had Chris not stepped in and suggested Ranma get Akane to Dr. Tofu's.  Ranma nodded and leapt off, while Chris grabbed Ryoga by his shirt and began to shake him.

          "What were you thinking?!"

          "I…I…"

          "You could've killed her!"

Ryoga slumped to his knees, his eyes starting to grow wet.  "What have I done?"

Chris forced himself to get under control, and then knelt in front of the lost boy.  "Ryoga, you had to have known.  Any feelings she had for you were as a friend, and occasionally a pet."

Ryoga nodded slowly.  "But it may not matter now.  Because I might've…might've…"

Chris clapped his hand on Ryoga's shoulder.  "She'll be fine.  C'mon, I'll take you to Dr, Tofu's, and you can apologize."

          Ryoga nodded, still feeling terrible, as he allowed Chris to lead him along.

          Ranma looked up as the door to Dr. Tofu's clinic opened and saw Chris walk in with Ryoga.  Ranma saw red and leapt to strangle his rival when Chris stepped in his path.

          "Hold on pal, hear him out."

Ryoga bowed low and stayed that way.  "Please accept my most humble apologies.  My behavior was inexcusable.  You may deal with me as you see fit."

Ranma stared at him for a long time, and then decked him across the jaw.  Ryoga dropped to floor.  He waited for the rest of the beating to come, but when he looked up, saw only Ranma's hand extended to him.  Bewildered, Ryoga took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.  Ranma gave him an even look, clearly still angry with him, but letting him know they might have a chance of starting over.

          At that moment, the door to the exam room opened and Dr. Tofu stepped out.  All eyes turned to him.  "The news is good.  There was some bruising of the solar plexus, but nothing was badly damaged.  It's a good thing she's so tough, or that rock might've done more damage."  Ryoga turned red and looked down; eternally grateful Ranma hadn't told Dr. Tofu what really happened.

          "Can we see her?"  Ranma asked anxiously.

Dr. Tofu nodded.  "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Ranma hurried in, only to be beaten by Ryoga, who prostrated himself before Akane's bed and began apologize much less formally than he did to Ranma.

          "Oh Akane, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry, can you ever forgive me, I'm so sorry, I'll never come between you and Ranma, I'm so sorry, please…"

Finally, an exasperated Akane began to wave her hands frantically.

          Ryoga, calm down!  It's OK, really, I forgive you."

Ryoga looked up pleadingly.  "Really?"

          "Yes, really.  Please stop that."

Ryoga got to his feet, still looking highly embarrassed, and did his best to hold back tears.  Chris patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.  The four of them talked for some time.  Ranma sat by Akane's side, holding her hand.  He was glad Shampoo no longer worked for Dr. Tofu.  Eventually, Dr. Tofu came in to tell them that he wanted to keep Akane over night, and that she would be released the following morning.  He also said he had phoned ahead to the Tendo's, so they should probably be prepared for a very distraught Soun. (It had taken him quite a while to explain the situation when Kasumi answered the phone.)

Chris and Ryoga bid goodnight to Akane.  Ranma was brazen enough to give her a quick kiss, and the three boys headed down the street for the Tendo's.

          "So you're gonna devote all your time to Akari now?"  Ranma asked Ryoga.

The lost boy nodded.  "I was a fool to think I could ever come between you and Akane.  And I think with Akari, I might actually be…happy."  He said this as if it was a foreign concept.  Which, to him, it likely was.

          "What about you Chris?"  Ranma turned to his trench coated friend.  "You got a woman you're interested in yet?"

          "Oh please Ranma.  I've only been here a few months, and I don't know how long I'll be staying."

Ranma nudged Chris with his elbow.   "Aww, c'mon man.  I've seen how you look at Ucchan. That little smile you give her."

Chris rolled his eyes.  "Speaking of which, we need to get to work on the fiancée situation, the sooner, the better."

Ranma nodded as they reached the house.  As Dr. Tofu had predicted, they were met at the door by a hysterical Soun Tendo.  After a few minutes, Kasumi and Genma were able to pull him off Ranma and distract him with other things.  Ranma, Chris, and Ryoga all pulled their futons into the living room, where they spent the night devising their battle plan.

          Chris took a deep breath and pushed the door to the Nekohanten open.  It was just after lunchtime, and the crowd was a little thinned out.  Chris still didn't understand why he had to do what he was about to do, but Ranma was very adamant about his plan, so Chris went along with it.  He stepped inside and scanned the dining room.  He saw Mousse off in the corner and gave the myopic boy a quick wave, who Chris wasn't sure he saw, then looked around again for his intended target.  He didn't have to look long, because she found him.

          "Nihao, Chris!"  Shampoo bounded over and gave Chris a friendly hug.  Over the months since Chris' arrival the two of them had grown to be quite good friends, despite the Amazon's attempt to collapse his head in when they first met.  "Shampoo get you usual?"

          "Actually, I can't stay long.  I've just come to give you a message from Ranma.  He said he wants to meet you after you get off work tonight."

Shampoo's face lit up in a brilliant smile.  "Ranma want date with Shampoo?"

          Chris felt his insides churn at the thought of never seeing her smile like that again, after tonight.  "Err…well…"

But Shampoo had heard only what she wanted to hear.  She gave a small cheer, hugged Chris again, and then bounded back to work.  Chris heaved a huge sigh and dropped his head for a moment, feeling like the lowest being on earth. 

          "I'm sorry, Shampoo."  He whispered.  He then looked up again to see Mousse approaching.

          "What was that all about?"  He asked, adjusting his glasses.

          "Ranma plans to dump Shampoo tonight.

Mouse blinked.  "He…he doesn't want to marry her?"

          "He never did.  You've been to busy trying to kill him to notice."

Mousse beamed and looked like he was about to hug Chris himself.  "This must be the happiest day of my life!"

Chris grabbed Mousse by his shoulders before he could get out of control.  "Mousse, listen.  After tonight, Shampoo is going to be devastated, heartbroken.  You try telling her mow much you love her right away, and you'll be met with even less success than normal.  You must learn control and patience.  Be a friend, before anything else."

          Mousse nodded slowly.  "That is sound advice Chris, thank you."  And he too, returned to his work.

          Ranma looked up as Chris stepped through the front door of the Tendo house.  "Well, how did it go?"

          "You're all set.  She thinks it's a date, so be forewarned."

          "Why'd you go and let her think it's a date?"

          "Hey man.  You don't like the way I do things, do 'em yourself.  And by the way, when its Ukyo's turn, I am not going to be your message boy."

Ranma smirked slyly.  "Of course not, I wouldn't want you to ruin your chances with her."

Chris grunted.  Ranma had been getting on his case lately about Ukyo.  The thing was, he wasn't entirely wrong.  Chris did rather like Ukyo, he just wasn't sure how responsive she'd be after Ranma dumped her.  "No Ranma, we wouldn't want that."

          M. Bison was not a happy man.  And when he wasn't happy, it usually meant someone died.  In this case, it was several somebody's.  Standing off to the side, the 7'3" mountain of a man called Sagat watched the dictator/crime lord take out his frustrations on a few nameless lackeys.  Finally, his anger spent, at least, as spent as it ever was, Bison stalked back to his large chair and dropped heavily into it, as other lackeys ran forward to clean up the mess.  He then swiveled and turned his pupil less gaze on Sagat, scrutinizing him closely.

          "And you think you can succeed where Vega failed?"

Sagat smiled confidently.  "I can."

          "Don't forget, you were humiliated by a Shotokan before."

Sagat ran a taped hand over the large, prominent scar that ran diagonally down his chest.  "I haven't forgotten.  But this one is less skilled than Ryu.  Killing him will not be a problem."

Bison leaned forward in his chair, glaring menacingly.  "I hope so.  For your sake."

          From his rooftop perch, Chris looked down at the small café across the street.  The big, neon sign shone brightly in the night.  He waited silently while the event he helped set up transpired within.  It was not a long wait, for soon, Shampoo came bursting out the café doors, clearly in tears, and tore off down the street.  Ranma stepped out a moment after, looking miserable.  This came as no surprise to Chris.  Ranma hated it when girls cried, especially when he was the cause of it.  Chris leapt down to the street next to him and gripped his shoulders. 

          "You did the right thing."

Ranma sighed. "Yeah…I know."

          Of course, they were expecting repercussions of Ranma's dumping Shampoo.  And it showed up the next day at the Tendo's doorstep in the form of a two-foot tall, three hundred year old Amazon matriarch.  Ranma stepped out to confront her, flanked by Chris and Ryoga.  He was pretty sure, between the three of them, that they stood a chance against Cologne.

          "Alright old ghoul.  I figured you'd show up, so let's get this over with."  To Ranma's great surprise, the look on Cologne's face was not angry, but sad and rueful.

          I didn't come here to fight you Ranma."  Ranma, not son-in-law.  "Just to make sure you were final in your decision."

Ranma was incredulous, though that feeling turned swiftly to anger.  "You…you don't want to fight?  After all the crap you put me through, you don't want to fight!?"

          "I may be old, boy, but I'm not senile.  I can see that any future attempts to coerce you into marriage with my great-granddaughter would be a waste of time and energy, as they had been all along."

Ranma relaxed.  "So does this mean you and Shampoo and Mousse are going back to China?"

Cologne shook her head.  "Not yet Ranma.  At the moment, returning to the tribe would not be advisable for Shampoo."

Ranma swallowed hard.  "I…I haven't gotten her in trouble, have I?"

          "To be quite frank Ranma, you have.  But that is a matter for another time.  Right now, I feel that there are more battles to be fought, and our assistance may yet be required."

          "You mean you'd help us?  After all this?"

Cologne bopped Ranma lightly on the head with her staff.  "We have our differences, boy, but we are not enemies."  With that, she turned and hopped off.

          "Huh."  Ryoga said.  "That went well."

          Ukyo Kuonji had been living in a perpetual state of worry for the last few weeks.  She would watch Ranma and Akane at school.  They had done a masterful job of masking their feelings from the general school population, but Ukyo was not so blind.  She had picked up on all the little signs the others had missed.  A part of her wasn't surprised, but that didn't make it hurt any less.  So, when Ranma entered her restaurant one evening, accompanied by Chris, and wearing a morose expression, she had to fight back the tears, all but knowing what was coming.

          "Hiya Ranchan.  What's up?"  Kinda late, isn't it?"

Ranma looked up, eyes even more downcast.  Chris kept his expression carefully neutral.  "Ucchan, there's something I need to tell you…"

Finally, Ukyo lost her battle.  The tears began to flow from her blue eyes.  Ranma looked stricken, he wasn't expecting this so soon.

          "Ucchan…"

          "Don't…I…I know."

          "You know?"  Ranma asked, incredulous.

          "I know what you're going to say."  Ukyo said between sobs.

Ranma felt worse than when he first came in.  He had been dreading doing this, and hoped he hadn't lost his best friend.  "I'm really sorry, Ucchan."

Ukyo just dropped to her knees and kept crying.  Eventually, she heard footsteps leaving the restaurant and thought she was alone.  Until she felt a hand on her shoulder.  She looked up to see Chris smiling down at her.  He took his hand off her shoulder and brought it up to her cheek, gently brushing away the trail of tears.

          "Life ain't over yet."  He said.  Then he stood and followed Ranma out the door.

          And Ukyo, despite all her grief, could feel a funny, twisty sensation in the pit of her stomach.

          November arrived with a sudden drop in temperature.  A harsh, cold wind blew in from the North that brought the promise of an early snowfall.  Ranma pulled his jacket tighter around himself.  He remembered seeing Chris in the Summer time, always seeming to wear his big, heavy coat.  Even on the hottest days, and thought his friend insane.  Now, he would have given anything to own one of those coats.  He looked at Akane beside him.  Her cheeks had taken on a rosy tint from the cold.  It made her look quite alluring in his eyes.  Akane seemed to notice he was looking at her and glanced up at him, giving him a small smile.  He smiled back, and his hand found hers.  When he looked up again, he saw someone else walking a few feet in front of them.  Someone wearing a boy's school uniform, with their long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and a large spatula strapped to their back.  Ranma gulped.  He hadn't seen Ukyo much in the past few weeks.  And when he did, they were just fleeting glances.  Now, she was walking right in front of him.  He wanted to call out to her, but was afraid of how she'd react.  He glanced at Akane, and saw she was thinking the same thing.  He decided to take a chance.

          "Hey, Ucchan!"

Ukyo turned and, to Ranma's great surprise, smiled and waved.  "Hey Ranchan, Akane!"

Ranma and Akane caught up with her.  "So, uh, how ya been, Ucchan?  Haven't seen you around lately."

          "Oh, you know, I've had some things to deal with, needed a little time.  But I'm back and better than ever now."

Ranma continued to be surprised throughout the day.  Ukyo was acting perfectly friendly towards him and Akane.  He couldn't figure out if it was an act, or if she was really over him.  He hoped for the latter.

         Chris showed up that day at lunchtime to eat with them.  It had been a while since his last visit, and they were happy to have him.  When they were heading back to class, Chris stopped Ukyo and asked to talk with her for a minute.

          "So, how're you holding up?"

Ukyo sighed, but smiled bravely.  "Okay.  Better than I thought.  It's still hard, though.  But, if he had to choose anyone besides me, I'm glad it was Akane, and not Shampoo or Kodachi.

Chris smiled, and then looked at her thoughtfully.  "You need something to take your mind off all this.  How about I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Ukyo stared, not quite sure she heard right.  "Take…take me out?  To dinner?"

Chris nodded.

          "You mean…like a date?"

          "Well, I wasn't going to be so pretentious, but if you want to call it that, sure."

          "But, the restaurant…"

          "Oh, come on Ukyo.  The restaurant won't vanish if you don't open it for one night.  Might be nice to let someone else cook for once, eh?"

Ukyo slowly nodded.  "O…okay, sure.  That sounds great."

Chris smiled again.  "Cool.  I'll swing by your place tonight, say seven-thirty."  He waved and left the building.  Ukyo stared numbly after him, then realized she was about to be late for class, and had to hurry.

          Chris still had other matters to attend to, however.  He walked into the Nekohanten and glanced around for Shampoo.  He found Mousse and stepped up to him.

          "Hey Mousse, how's it going?"

          "Excellent Chris.  I've been following your advice, and Shampoo's been hitting me a lot less lately."  Mousse seemed very proud about this.

          "That's great Mousse.  Speaking of which, do you know where Shampoo is right now?"

          "I think she's in the kitchen, with Cologne."

          "Thanks man."  Chris pushed the door to the kitchen.  Cologne looked up as he walked in.  Shampoo seemed engrossed with her cooking.

          "Good afternoon, Chris.  Can I help you somehow?"

Chris gave a small bow to the elder.  "Actually, I was wondering if I could speak with Shampoo."

Shampoo still did not look up.  "Shampoo is busy.  Need help Great-grandmother."

          Cologne, however, seemed to see Chris' intentions.  "You go ahead child, I can handle it myself for a few minutes.

Shampoo sighed and stalked out of the kitchen, into the back alley where Mousse had been attacked by Vega months before.  Chris followed her out, closing the door.

          "What you want, Chris?"

          "I just wanted to see how you were.  I've been worried about you."

Shampoo scoffed.  "Like you worried when you tell Shampoo Ranma want date, only to tell her he no marry her ever?"

          "First of all, that was Ranma's idea.  And I never said he wanted a date.  You came to that conclusion yourself."

          "You no try telling Shampoo otherwise."  She scowled and started for the restaurant door.

          "Xian Pu."  Chris said forcefully, pronouncing her name correctly.  Shampoo stopped walking and hung her head slightly.

          "I is sorry Chris."  She whispered.  "No should be mad at you, you no deserve that."

Chris stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.  "You know I wouldn't try to hurt you.  That's not what friends do."

Shampoo turned around and hugged him tightly.  "Shampoo is lucky, to have friend like you Chris."

Chris hugged her back.  "You've got other friends too, you know.  Like Mousse."

Shampoo gave a small smile.  "Is funny.  Mousse act almost tolerable lately."

          "He's not such a bad guy, is he?"

          "No, I suppose he not so bad after all."  She leaned up and gave Chris a quick kiss on the cheek, then slid from his arms.  "Shampoo need go back to work now.  See you later, Chris."  She waved, and then vanished back inside the restaurant.  Chris waved back, and then turned left through the alley onto the main road.

          "So Chris, Ukyo tells me you two have a date tonight."

Chris blocked Ranma's punch and snapped out with a kick, which Ranma deftly avoided.  He sighed, but he had long ago stopped trying to argue with him.  "Yes Ranma, Ukyo and I have a date tonight, you happy?"  He ducked under Ranma's return kick and swept out with a leg, trying to take out Ranma's feet.  Ranma back flipped out of Chris' range.

          "I think it's great."  Akane said from where she watched the two boys spar.

          "Convenient you mean."  Chris said, leaping over a charge by Ranma.

          "Why are you being so negative about it man?"  Ranma asked as he turned and watched Chris come down.

          "I'm just trying not to get my hopes up, is all.

Ranma waved a hand dismissively.  "You guys'll be fine.  I'm sure of it."

Chris allowed himself a small smile.  "You might be right, Ranma."  And the match continued.

          Ryoga looked up at Chris and Ranma as they exited the dojo, looking worn out.  "Another draw, I suppose?"

Ranma nodded.  "You could say that.  Say man, when did Akari say she was coming to get you?"

Ryoga scratched the side of his head.  "Uh, this weekend, I think.  She said she finally found someone to watch over the pigs."

Chris glanced up at the clock.  "Oh man, is that the time?  I gotta take a shower; I'm all sweaty and junk."  He dashed towards the stairs.

          "Yeah man!  Wouldn't want ya to smell bad for your hot date tonight!"  Ranma called.

          "Ryoga, hit him for me!"

          WHAP.  "Ow!"

          "Thanks man!"

          Ukyo fidgeted nervously as she glanced up at the clock as it crept closer to seven-thirty.  She couldn't really figure out why she was so nervous.  Just because this was the first real date she had ever really been on.  She looked down again at the dress she wore.  It was fairly modest, but she had been told it looked good on her.  She hoped it would be appropriate.  Her supply of women's clothing was limited as it was, and Chris hadn't really said where they were going.

          She looked up again as the door to the restaurant swung open and Chris stepped in.  The first thing that caught her attention was that he wasn't wearing the big, leather coat she had come to associate him with.  It was odd at first.  He never seemed to be without it, like her and her big spatula, which she had done away with for the night.  He also wasn't wearing the usual khakis and gray T-shirt, but rather black dress slacks and matching button down top.  She couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked.

          "Hey.  He said, smiling.  "Ready to go?"

          She nodded and slipped out the door as he held it open for her.  "Where are we going, anyway?"

          "Hope you like Italian."  He said, falling into step beside her.

          "Actually, I've never had it."

Chris blinked and looked down at it.  "Never?  Really?"

Ukyo nodded.  "Really."

          "Huh, and I thought everyone had.  Well, first time for everything.  You look very pretty tonight, might I add."

Ukyo found herself turning red very quickly.  "Th…thank you.  You look, uh…different."  (Kamisama, what's wrong with me tonight?)

Chris laughed lightly.  "I'll take that as a compliment."

Ukyo took a deep breath to calm her nerves.  "I meant, you look handsome."

He smiled that stomach-fluttering smile of his.  "Thank you."

          After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination.  Ukyo realized why she had never known this restaurant existed.  It didn't look like much from the outside.  It was kinda run down, actually.  Ukyo was a bit apprehensive, but when she was through the door, she found it to be quite elegant on the inside.  Chris had a quick conversation with the host in Italian, and they were led to a table.

          "I didn't know you spoke Italian."  She said as they sat.

          "I can speak a few languages, it comes from traveling a lot."

As it turned out, Ukyo liked Italian very much.  So much so, that she ended up ordering half the items on the menu.  She immediately regretted it when the bill came, though.

          "Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry.  I didn't know it was going to cost this much, you have to let me help with the bill."

Chris resisted at first, but eventually relented, mostly because her bright, blue eyes looking pleadingly at him were impossible to resist.

          "I had a really nice time."  She said as they arrived back at their restaurant.

          "Great, I was hoping you would.  Maybe we could do it again sometime."

          "Maybe we could."  Then she bit her lip for a moment, then leaned up and kissed his cheek quickly, before dashing inside.

          The next day, Saturday, found Soun and Genma alone in the house, playing shogi.  Kasumi was at the market, Nabiki, of course, still at college.  Akari had arrived and she, Ryoga, Ranma, Akane, Chris, and Ukyo had gone off to do whatever it was that young people did these days, leaving the two old friends alone with their game.  When a knock sounded, they both looked up at each other.

          "There seems to be someone at the door, Saotome."

          "Seems that way, Tendo."

          "And we're the only one's here."

          "Indeed we are."

They looked at each other for a while longer.  The knock sounded again.

          "It's your house, Tendo."

Soun very reluctantly stood and backed away, keeping a weary eye on Genma.  As soon as he was around the corner, Genma naturally snatched a few of Soun's pieces from the board.

          Soun opened the door and blinked at the massive man that filled his doorway.  "Hello, can I help you?"  He was answered by a vicious kick that sent him rocketing back through the hallway into the far wall.

Genma came rushing around the corner to see what was wrong.  He stopped when he saw the big man stepping into the house.

          "I recognize you."  He said, dropping into a ready stance.  "You're Sagat, the Muay Thai champion."

Sagat smiled grimly and lashed out with his incredibly long legs.  Genma feinted back into the living room, and the battle began.  Genma was no slouch of a martial artist, despite what his son might occasionally think.  But he was past his prime, and Sagat was one of the top ranked fighters in the world.  So it wasn't long before Genma found himself backed into a corner.  A bone-shattering punch to the gut knocked the wind out of him.  Sagat prepared to make the finishing blow, when he was struck from behind by a recovered Soun.

Sagat turned to engage the Tendo patriarch, and Soun was hard pressed to defend himself.  He was about the same age as Genma, perhaps a few years younger, and was in slightly better shape, but he had not been keeping up with his training as much as Genma.  He had about thirty seconds to regret it before a snap kick to the side of the head put him out of action.  Sagat turned back to Genma in time to see him pulling himself to his feet.  The sometimes-panda punched out weakly, which Sagat easily caught.

          "Time for some fun, old man."  He said, smiling without humor.

          Akane, Akari, and Ukyo walked down the street, chatting amiably about things that concerned girls, while in front of them, their fiancée, boyfriend, and not-quite-but-on-the-way-to-being-boyfriend, respectively, walked a few feet ahead, talking in slightly more boisterous voices about their various martial arts conquests.  It had not been as cold this day as it had been, and the six had gone to the park for a picnic.  When they reached the front gate of the Tendo dojo, they could immediately that something was amiss.

          "Why is the front door hanging open?"  Akane asked, a barely concealed hint of worry prevalent in her voice.  There was silence, then the sound of breaking glass as Genma's body crashed through the window and bounced across the front yard.

          "Pop!"  Ranma called, running up to his father, his friends behind him.  He was bruised, bloodied, and his gi was torn in several places.  But he was breathing.  "Pop, who did this?"  Their only answer was a pained grunt.  Then the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, and they looked up to see that Sagat had jumped out the broken window and was crouched dangerously a few feet way.  The three boys, Akane, and Ukyo fell into battle stances.  Akari, the only one without any martial arts skills, hung back.

          "Hey, Pop showed me pictures of you.  You're that champion kick boxer from Thailand, uh, whatsisface."  Ranma tried to place a name.

          "Sagat."  He said, standing to his impressive height.

          "So, are you working for Shadowlaw as well?"  Chris sneered.

          "Perhaps."  Then his taped hands started to glow.  He threw them forward with a shout of "Tiger!"  And a yellow, crescent-shaped ki blast shot towards them.  They all scattered, Ryoga pulling Akari out of the way.

          "Akari, go to the market, find Kasumi and Mrs. Saotome.  Tell them not to home, and to call for ambulance."  Ryoga said quickly.

Akari bit her lower lip.  "Will you be alright?"  She said, worried.

          "I'll be fine, we can beat this guy."  He assured her.  Akari nodded, kissed him quickly, whispered, "I love you."  And dashed down the street.

Ranma turned to his fiancée.  "Akane, go inside and check on your dad, he's probably hurt."

          "Ranma, if this is your way of saying you don't think I can help…"

          "Listen Akane, this guy is number three out of the top twenty martial artists in the world.  I'm not trying to put you down, but he's way out of your league.  Maybe all of ours.  Please…"

Akane nodded.  "Alright Ranma.  Just be careful."  She too, kissed him, and went to check on Soun.

          "Enough talk."  Sagat leaped with a flying kick at Ryoga.  The lost boy batted Sagat's leg down, causing the big man to land unbalanced.  Fists that had the potential to bring down mountains slammed into Sagat's body, sending him reeling backwards.  Ranma leapt over Ryoga's head and delivered a double-footed kick to the face.  Chris followed up with a roundhouse to the temple, and the Muay Thai champion went down.  Momentarily.  No sooner had he hit the ground, had Sagat bounded back up to a ready position, his eye narrowed in anger.

          "Geez, this guy's tough."  Ranma said.  Ryoga struck out again, but this time, Sagat weaved under his fist, coming up outside.  He grabbed Ryoga's arm, then slammed his shin into Ryoga's stomach.  Ryoga doubled over, but Sagat held on.  Withdrawing his leg, he brought it up again and slammed his heel into the back of Ryoga's head, dropping him like a stone.

          Ranma and Chris leapt in, simultaneously attacking.  Sagat expertly blocked all their attacks, then scattered them with a wide kick.  He prepared to launch another attack when Ukyo slammed him in the back of the head with her spatula.  Sagat stumbled forward and turned to glare at her.  Undaunted, Ukyo swung again, only to have her weapon caught and wrenched away.  Sagat bent the shaft with his bare hands and tossed it over his shoulder.  Ukyo backed away, reaching for her bandolier of throwing spatulas.  But Sagat reached out and grabbed her by the hair, drawing back his fist.

          "Hands off, ya one-eyed buzzard!"  Came a shout from behind, as Chris' booted foot connected with Sagat's lower back.  Sagat grunted and let go of Ukyo, turning around in time to get smacked in the face by Ranma's fist.  Ryoga pulled himself off the ground, and leapt to join the assault.

          Akane emerged from the house, supporting her half-conscious father.  She helped him over to where a just-waking Genma lay.

          "I need to go help them."  Akane muttered.  Soun's eyes snapped open fully as he suddenly and miraculously regained consciousness fully.  He grabbed onto Akane.  "NO!"  He shouted, bursting into tears.  "I can't let my little girl fight that monster!"

          "Da-ad!"  Akane protested.  "Stop that!"

          "Please Akane, promise you won't go!"

          "Alright, alright.  Just let go!"

Soun immediately dried up and released Akane.  "Okay then.  Come, let's check on Saotome."

Genma blinked, looking up at the sky from where he lay.  Off to the side, he could hear the shouts as Ranma, Chris, Ryoga, and Ukyo battled Sagat.  Then he saw Soun and Akane enter his field of vision.

          "How goes the battle, Tendo?"

          "The children are holding their own.  How do you feel, Saotome?"

          "About the only bones that don't hurt are the one's in my ears.  Otherwise, alright."

Just then, Akane gasped.

          "What happened?"  Genma asked, trying to turn his head to see.

          "Chris just got taken out."

          The combatants dodged and weaved as punches and kicks were exchanged.  Finally, Chris got under one of Sagat's long legs and prepared to strike with his dragon uppercut, and then he found his head in the grip of Sagat's taped hands.  Sagat smirked and drew his leg back.

          "Tiger…Knee!"  He shouted and slammed his knee into Chris' forehead with the force of a semi truck.  Chris flew backwards and hit the ground.  He lay there, without moving.

Ranma and Ryoga gaped.  Ukyo stared in horror for a few seconds, then rushed into Chris' fallen form and dropped to her knees, pulling his head into her lap.  He was breathing, had a pulse, but otherwise completely unconscious.

Ryoga turned back to Sagat, glowing with battle aura.      "You…miserable…hurt my friends will you?!  Shi Shi Hokodan!"  Ryoga's famed "misery shot" slammed full on into Sagat's scarred chest, sending him reeling.  Ranma leapt forward with a shout of "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" and began to plaster the big man with rapid fire punches.  Sagat covered up as best he could, his one eye looking for an opening.  He found one and took the opportunity, slamming his heel into Ranma's chest, knocking him back.  He gathered his ki and shouted "Tiger!" releasing another crescent-shaped blast.  Ranma and Ryoga jumped backwards to avoid it.  Ryoga's foot hit something hard when he landed.  He looked down to see Ukyo's bent spatula.  He picked it up and straightened it out, then looked around for its owner.

          Ukyo brushed back some of Chris' short, brown hair as she examined him.  An ugly bruise was developing on his forehead, and she hoped he didn't have a concussion, or worse.  They had only really been on one date, but he was quickly becoming very important to her.  The thought of losing him now…

          "Ukyo!"  She looked up when someone called her name to see Ryoga tossing her repaired spatula.  She reached out a hand and caught it.

          "Thanks, Sugar."  She called.  Ryoga nodded, then went to rejoin Ranma in fighting Sagat.  Ukyo looked back down at Chris and slowly slid his head out of her lap.  "I'll be right back."  She whispered, then began to creep very quietly around behind Sagat.  The other two saw her intentions and made sure the kick boxer was too busy to notice her.  She got into position, and as soon as she got the opportunity, wailed Sagat on the back of his bald head.  Unlike before, she didn't give him enough time to recover.  She hit him again, and again, and again, releasing her frustrations.  Ranma, Ryoga joined in, with Akane leaving her father's and Genma's side to help pound Sagat into the ground.  When they were finished, Sagat looked much like Vega had.  Then they heard sirens, and an ambulance pulled up, accompanied by two police cars pulled up.  Kasumi, Nodoka, and Akari jumped out, followed by a few paramedics.  Soun's wounds were minor and treated on the spot.  Genma and Chris were loaded up with Nodoka and Ukyo riding along, while the rest were left to follow by their own means.

          The first thing Chris noticed was the smell.  It was the clean, sterile smell all hospitals possessed.  So, unless he was very much mistaken, and heaven smelled like a hospital, he was indeed still alive.  The next thing he noticed was the pain.  That clinched it.  His head hurt, a lot.  Years of experience told him a headache was all he had to worry about.  A normal person would have likely suffered a concussion, possibly even a fractured skull, given the force of Sagat's knee.  But his head was a bit harder than the normal person's.  Maybe not quite as hard as Ryoga's, but hard enough.  Chris experimentally opened one eye.  No.  Bad idea.  The light made the pain worse.  He closed it again, but the doctor standing by his bedside, scribbling on a clipboard, noticed.

          "Oh, you're awake.  And sooner than I expected.  How do you feel?"

          "Lights."

          "I'm sorry?"

          "Lower the lights.  Too bright."

          "Oh, the lights."  The doctor turned the lights off, so the room was lit only by the soft light of the setting sun.  "Better?"

Chris opened his eyes and found this more tolerable.  "Much."

          "Your friends are here, if you feel up to seeing them."

          "Please."

The doctor disappeared into the hall.  Moments later, Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, Soun, Kasumi, and Nodoka filed in.  Ukyo looked like she wanted to hug him, but wasn't sure if she should.

          "Hey man, how's the head?"  Ranma asked, stepping up to Chris' bedside.

          "Painful, but nothing serious.  What happened to Sagat?"

          "The police took him into custody, and in turn, turned him over to Interpol."  Soun said.  "They wanted him on questioning on his involvement with Shadowlaw."

          "Good."  Chris looked back to Ranma.  "How's your old man?"

         "Awake and complaining about the hospital food.  They'll keep him overnight for observation, and release him tomorrow.  You should be ready to go by then too."

          "Great.  I hate being laid up like this."

          "Now, now Chris, you need your rest.  It won't do for you to get you all worked up."  Kasumi said gently.

          "Your right, of course, Kasumi."  Chris said.  Then looked up at the wall next to the door as cracks began to appear in it.  "That could only be…"

The wall collapsed.  "Nihao!"  Shampoo said as she stepped through the hole she had made, followed by an embarrassed Mousse.

          "Shampoo, the door's right there."

Shampoo looked at him like he had grown a second head.  "I see that."  She then looked back to Chris.  "Shampoo hear there was fight and Chris hurt.  Come to say sorry I no there to help."  She bounded over and hugged him gently.  Ukyo looked slightly annoyed.

          "It's alright, Shampoo."  Chris said as she released him.  "No harm done."  He winced.  "Well, not really."

They continued with idle chit-chat for a while, and eventually everyone filed out to go home.  Everybody but Ukyo.  When they were alone, she still looked indecisive about touching him.  Chris gave a reassuring smile

          "My head hurts, but the rest of me feels OK."  Ukyo  finally rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him.  Chris hugged her back, then smiled.  "Gee, and only after one date.  I must have made some impression."

Ukyo laughed lightly and backed off a bit to look up at him.  "I guess you could say that."  Then her expression grew serious.  "I was really worried about you today."

Chris brought a hand up and tucked a few loose strands of her long, dark brown hair behind her ear.  Ukyo shivered lightly under his touch.  "Hey, it'll take more than a steroid pumped cue ball to keep me down for long."

Ukyo smiled again and leaned down, kissing him cheek, inches from his lips, then pulled from his arms.  "I better be going.  I'll be here tomorrow when they release you.  Then she turned and left.

          November drew closer to a close.  Chris recovered fully from his injuries, as did Genma.  Upon his release, Chris had attempted to leave, saying that if Shadowlaw was after him for whatever reason, he didn't want the others in danger.  They were having nothing of it.

          "What kind of friends would we be if we let you face these maniacs alone."  Ranma had said.

Chris, slightly embarrassed by this show of support, had at least tried to find his own lodging, so the Tendo house would not be attacked again.

          "Absolutely not."  Soun said.  "Whatever may come, we will fight together.  Safety in numbers and all that."  Though Chris suspected the real reason Soun wanted him to stay was because he helped keep Happosai in check.

The final week of the month found Chris and Ukyo in the park.  It was early evening, and it was largely deserted.  A chill wind blew through the air.

Ukyo shivered slightly.  "Geez, it's really getting cold out.  I wish I had one of your coats."

Chris' eyebrow rose slightly as an idea formed in his mind.  He walked up behind Ukyo and wrapped his arms around her, coat her all.  A soft sigh escaped her lips as she turned around in his arms and pressed against him, staring up at him.  A single though coursed through Chris' mind as he found himself completely captivated by her baby blue eyes.  (Ranma my friend, I can't thank you enough for choosing Akane.)  And he leaned his face to kiss her.

          Around them, the first snow of the year began to fall.

                                                                             End 2