Murder. It was the only thing on Shampoo's mind. Had been the only thing on her mind for a few weeks, now. Ever since that red-haired miscreant had stolen her prize meal from that martial arts competition, and then beaten her with a well-placed kick. Shampoo had been quick to give the girl the "Kiss of Death", a solemn vow on Shampoo's part to follow her enemy to the ends of the earth and kill her, to thereby heal Shampoo's wounded pride. And yet, despite Shampoo's best efforts, this loathsome outsider kept managing to escape the death she so rightly deserved. But no more. Today would be the day Shampoo finally enacted her vengeance.

Running swiftly through the forest, Shampoo grinned as she caught sight of a familiar flash of red through the trees. Leaping into the air, she cleared the treeline, weapons raised, ready to strike. "Ranma! Shampoo kill!" she screamed as soon as her feet hit the ground. But the scream dwindled into nothing as Ranma turned toward her, and Shampoo finally realized that her sworn enemy was bathing in the river, completely naked. As her body turned to face Shampoo, her substantial breasts swayed with the motion, instantly drawing Shampoo's eyes.

It took a moment for Shampoo to realize where her gaze was, but once she did, she snapped it back up to Ranma's face, which seemed much less fearful than usual. In fact, Shampoo saw no fear in her opponent's eyes - only a deep confusion. The red-haired girl's head shifted to look down at her own chest, then back to look at Shampoo. It was, all of the sudden, a much warmer day than Shampoo had at first thought; she could feel her face heating up fast.

"Clothes!" Shampoo shouted, glaring and pointing her blade toward Ranma threateningly.

Yet Ranma didn't look threatened at all. In fact, to Shampoo's immense displeasure, Ranma was smiling. And then, to Shampoo's abject horror, Ranma's hands moved, and not toward her clothes sitting a half a meter away on the shore. Instead, they moved to cup her breasts, pressing the soft mounds together tantalizingly.

"Clothes? You want me to cover these?" Ranma said with a dramatic pout.

What… what was she… Damn but it was hot today, wasn't it? Shampoo could feel herself sweating. This was not how today was supposed to go. "Sh-shampoo kill," she said weakly, the arm holding her weapon drooping.

"Kill?" Ranma said in mock surprise. Letting go of her own chest, she started to bend over, finally leaning toward her clothes. Yet she didn't grab them, instead leaning over so far that her round, bare butt stuck up in the air. "Is that what you want…?"

"Aiyah!" Shampoo shouted, leaping backward a meter or two. "Sh-shampoo kill later!" she said, right before swiveling around and sprinting back into the trees.

Once she'd put some distance between her and Ranma, she stopped, breathing heavily. Putting a hand to her face, she realized with irritation that her cheeks were burning. But why? What in the world had just happened? It was just… it was just a naked girl. It wasn't as if Shampoo had never seen one before. And certainly, Shampoo herself had never exactly been one for modesty. But it was different this time, and it took her a long time to figure out why.

Attraction. That's what she'd felt, looking at her most hated of enemies. But… but she wasn't… she wasn't like that. She liked men! She'd never felt that way about a woman. Or, at least, she'd always been able to deny it, before. Now, with the result of her feelings being another unsuccessful attempt to kill the woman she'd literally sworn to kill, it was difficult to rationalize away the situation. ...This changed nothing, though. Ranma would still die by her hands, whether or not Shampoo felt some sort of… vague… appreciation for the other girl's physical assets. In fact now, Shampoo would make sure the girl's demise was even more painful, to make up for today's indignity. A grin spread across Shampoo's face, a dangerous glint in her eye. Next time. Next time Ranma would die.

The next time Shampoo managed to find her quarry, it was on the open country road, traveling alongside the big panda that had helped eat Shampoo's prize meal. Pulling out one of her several swords, Shampoo took aim and hurled it at her enemies, cursing when it stuck into the panda's backpack instead of the back of its head. Pulling out a bow and arrow, she took aim once more, shouting, "Ranma! Kill!"

Before Shampoo could loose her arrow, however, Ranma turned around. Running backwards now, she pulled her blouse open to display her bare breasts. Shampoo froze in her tracks, eyes flitting between Ranma's chest and face, where a cheeky grin had broken out. Her brain continued to spin in place for a moment, before finally coming back to her with anger in full force. Stamping her foot into the ground, she grit her teeth and started running again, determined not to lose her enemy.

Yet with the lead Ranma and her panda had managed to gain, they soon escaped Shampoo's wrath yet again.

Shampoo's next Ranma-spotting was in a nearby city, through the window of a restaurant. Resolved not to fail in her mission again, she smashed through the wall of the building with a giant morning star, raining drywall down on the tables and ground. At the closest of those tables, none other than Ranma and her stupid panda sat, shock on both their faces.

All too quickly, Ranma's look of shock melted away into something far more sultry. No! Shampoo wouldn't fall for that again! Swiping the end of her weapon right for Ranma's head, she growled when the other girl dodged the attack easily. Getting up in Shampoo's face, Ranma smiled, and reached out a hand to lightly caress Shampoo's cheek. Yet again, Shampoo felt her body freeze, unprepared for such noncombative physical contact.

"Com'on, Shampoo, you don't want to hurt me, do you?" Ranma practically cooed, her face entirely too close.

Panicking, Shampoo slapped the soft hand away and took a step back, trying to compose herself. Glaring intensely at the ground, she took long, slow breaths, trying to steady herself. Then she looked back up, expecting Ranma to still be there - but no, the girl and her panda had fled, and were no longer within eyesight.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Shampoo pulled the morning star high above her head, then brought it crashing down into the table in front of her, breaking it into nothing more than splinters. Ranma would pay for this. And she would pay today.

Or, perhaps, tonight. Shampoo had searched for the two villains for the rest of that afternoon with little success, but finally, in the evening, she managed to pick their trail back up. Now she crouched stealthily in the grass a fair distance away from the campfire that Ranma and some old man Shampoo didn't recognize sat around, listening closely to their conversation.

"I'm tellin' ya pops, it's been workin' like a charm every time," Ranma said, laughing to herself and swaying on the log she sat upon. "I swear that Shampoo girl's gotta be one'a those… lesbiabs?" She frowned. "….Lesbiams? ...Less Bien…"

"Out with it, boy."

"Girls."

The bespeckled older man nodded sagely, as though that answer made complete sense. "Well, it has been working," he admitted, stroking his cheek pensively. "But it's so unmanly."

"Aw, don't start that crap again," Ranma said with a roll of her eyes. "It's keepin' us alive, okay? Long as I've got control 'a that girl, we should be able ta keep our heads on our necks!" She paused, a grin creeping onto her face. "'Sides, thought you wouldn't mind me flirtin' with a cute girl."

"Not when you look like that!"

Shampoo tuned out of the conversation. She was having trouble understanding it, probably partially because of the language barrier. But she also needed to stop listening so that she could focus on containing the intense rage building up within her. She was not a lesbian! She definitely liked boys, she was sure of it. Even if she'd never dated any, or shown much desire to. And more than that, she didn't like girls! Or, well… her mind flitted back to Ranma's hand on her cheek. ….Maybe she liked girls, like… a little. And maybe Ranma was pretty attractive, despite how completely infuriating she was, and despite that whole 'vow to kill her' thing.

But while Shampoo could begrudgingly accept that, what she refused to accept was the idea that she was under anyone's control. Ranma might think she had the power in this… whatever it was. But Shampoo would show the despicable girl exactly who was in control. Tomorrow.

Throughout the next day, Shampoo remained in hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Around midday, the old man left, saying something about getting "supplies". Shampoo couldn't help but wonder where the panda was - she hadn't seen it since the restaurant the other day. Regardless, Ranma was alone, and thus it was time for Shampoo to strike.

Rushing forward, she leaped up into the air, landing a meter or two away from Ranma. Drawing no weapon, she pointed a finger directly at the red-haired girl and loudly declared, "No control!" The look of fear on Ranma's face quickly shifted to confusion. Dammit. Shampoo's limited grasp of Japanese must have prevented her from making her point clear. If only the infuriating girl could speak Mandarin.

That confusion on Ranma's face quickly shifted to a now-familiar sultry expression. "Shampoo, are we doing this again?" she said, smiling wide. "And Pops isn't even around… anything could happen." Walking slowly forward, her hips swaying with each step, Ranma got near enough to put a hand to Shampoo's cheek again. "I might even kiss you."

"Kiss, then," Shampoo said, expression blank.

A look of surprise briefly flit across Ranma's face, but she quickly switched back to the seductive grin. "I will, then," she said, voice breathy.

Leaning in close, her lips came within a centimeter of Shampoo's. Yet they hung there, refusing to close the gap, until Ranma finally pulled away a few seconds later, blushing furiously. She leaped backward, hands on the side of her head and visibly shaking. "I-I can't…" she whispered.

Shampoo smirked. Of course it was all bluster. Shampoo had gotten too caught up in her own emotions before to realize, but Ranma had never actually intended to do anything, and that was apparent from the start now that Shampoo had a clear head. It was time to show the girl which one of them actually had the follow-through. Which one had the power. Which one had the other under her control.

Walking forward with strong, purposeful steps and taking care to put some sway into her hips, Shampoo rapidly closed the distance between her and Ranma, who for once was refraining from running, despite the renewed terror in her eyes. Bringing a hand up to softly caress Ranma's burning cheek, she slowly slipped it down the girl's chin, forcing the other girl's head up so she could look her in the eyes.

"Shampoo kiss now."

Fear quickly turned to panic, as Ranma's hands flailed wildly between the two of them. "W-wait, but! W-we're both… I-I mean I'm not, but-"

Swiftly, Shampoo brought her other hand up, pressing a finger against Ranma's soft lips. The other girl quickly stopped protesting. Pulling her finger away, Shampoo stared intently into Ranma's wide eyes. "Ranma want kiss?"

"I… I-I…"

"Yes or no."

Gulping, Ranma looked away for a moment, then looked back at Shampoo's intense gaze. Tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes. Ever so slowly, her head moved up and down, in the faintest of nods.

Smiling warmly, Shampoo said, "Shampoo no hear."

With the most adorable pout Shampoo had ever seen, Ranma quietly said, "Y-yes."

Instantly, Shampoo smashed her lips against Ranma's, reveling in the warm, soft feel of them, and the hungry, needy way that the other girl immediately pushed back. Electricity coursed through Shampoo's body, her arms wrapping around the woman that, only about a month before, she had given a Kiss of Death. The kiss she gave today was an entirely different sort, one Shampoo was quickly becoming much more fond of.

Flitting a tongue out against Ranma's closed lips, Shampoo sent her invitation, and was thrilled to feel Ranma accept, the other girl's head turning to the side and her lips sliding apart. Shampoo's tongue darted forward eagerly, fitting as much of itself into Ranma's mouth as Shampoo could manage, and eliciting a deep moan from the red-head.

Pulling her arm back slightly, Shampoo ran a hand down Ranma's side, running over the smooth fabric of Ranma's top until she found its edge. Slipping underneath, her hand trailed back up Ranma's supple skin, causing the girl to shiver slightly, letting out another soft moan into Shampoo's mouth. Moving her hand further to the side, Shampoo began to caress Ranma's breast, taking the sizable mound into her hand to truly appreciate it. For a moment, she wondered if she was perhaps going too far, but the way Ranma pressed her chest needily forward quickly dispelled that thought.

Smiling against Ranma's lips, Shampoo moved her fingers to Ranma's already pointed nipple, giving it a brief, light pinch. The moan Ranma gave that time was loud and unrestrained. The shorter girl pulled her head back, breaking the kiss and looking up at Shampoo with unadulterated lust and desire in her eyes. "Sh-shampoo…" she said softly, the tone in her voice making the mere utterance of Shampoo's name seem somehow obscene.

There was no doubt in her mind. Shampoo had won. Smiling wide, she quickly pulled her hand out from under Ranma's shirt, then took a few steps backward, trying not to laugh at the look of distress upon Ranma's face. That girl was entirely too cute, and part of Shampoo wanted nothing more than to go right back to her - but the point had been made, and there was no way to tell when the old man or the panda would return. Ranma understood the power move Shampoo had just pulled, but Shampoo had little reason to think the other two would.

Smiling warmly, Shampoo said, "That fun. Shampoo go now. Kill Ranma later. Bài bài!"

Without another word, Shampoo took off running, her smile growing when she heard Ranma call out, "W-wait, that's a joke, right!?"

Truly, Shampoo didn't know. Only time would tell if she held true to her lethal promise. But whatever the ultimate result, one thing was clear. Shampoo's quest for vengeance had become much more interesting.