In response to the reviews:

I'm sorry that chapter 1 was so far OOC. To be honest, I've only watched the anime. I've never been able to read the manga so I didn't know the ending. A thousand apologies for that and for the other OOC that will be present throughout the fic.

Yes this is one of those Ranma trapped as a woman fics but rest assured she isn't a sissy.

Ran Shao isn't a pun on the name Ranma Saotome. It has its own significance which will be explained in the story.

Thank you for your criticisms and comments.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

Chapter 2: Balancing Act

Cologne and her ward leaped effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop as they made their way to the heart of Nerinma and the location of the NekoHaten. As they journeyed, they heard a familiar cackle in the distance.

"Sweeto. What a haul! What a haul! Ha ha ha!"

"I guess the old pervert hasn't changed much." Ran Shao mused with a laugh as she tailed Cologne.

"Indeed Ran Shao. Fortunately, he seems to be the only one of the group that is out and about. You chose a good time of the day to return." Cologne uttered between jumps.

"Thank you Elder. It just so happens that I remembered that about this time of the day the students are all in school and Happosai would be out on his panty raids around the school area. The only person I couldn't really account for is Ryoga since he gets lost all the time and shows up whenever he seems to find the place."

Cologne responded to the last statement with a hearty laugh. "That boy really has the worst sense of direction. Let's just hope we don't run into him before we plan to."

"Agreed."

Little else was said as the duo descended upon the NekoHaten and entered it. The restaurant was closed for the day as per Cologne's instructions and Shampoo and Moose were idly doing house chores whilst awaiting their return (or rather Shampoo made Moose do the bulk of the house chores).

As Ran Shao entered the shop, Shampoo rushed to her. She squealed as she gave her signature glomp to Ran Shao.

For once, Moose was not the least bit jealous. He instead walked straight to Cologne to receive instruction.

"Moose, go and carry out the next part of the plan. We will wait for you here. Shampoo, prepare some green tea and buns."

Both amazons responded with quick "hai"s and ran to carry out their respective tasks. A second later, a splash and a quack was heard before a duck was seen flying towards Furinkan High. Shampoo meanwhile donned her apron and got to work while Ran Shao and Cologne sat down awaiting the arrival of their guest.

Over at Furinkan high, Nabiki's thoughts were interrupted by the rapping on the glass window beside her. She turned to see a familiar looking duck with glasses signaling her to open the window. Nabiki quickly looked around to make sure no one, especially not the teacher, was watching before she opened the window and let Moose in. The moment his webbed feet touched her table, Moose whipped out a letter hidden amongst his feathers and flew off.

"Ok, which is weirder. The fact that Moose has a secret message for me or that he managed to actually find this place and identify me correctly?" Nabiki pondered to herself as she examined the letter. Curiosity got the better of her and she hastily ripped the letter open to inspect its contents. The letter was short and straight to the point.

'Nabiki Tendo, if you wish to know the whereabouts of one Ranma Saotome, go to the NekoHaten as soon as school ends. Make sure that you are not followed. Come alone.'

As perturbed as she was with the letter, Nabiki could absolutely not pass up a chance to gain some info on the elusive whereabouts of the ponytailed martial artist. He has been missing for three months and none of her contacts had been able to give her leads. She knew she had to seize this chance, if not for the money it could bring her, then at the least for the sake of her family. They needed to know that Ranma was alright.

Nabiki spent the rest of the lesson thinking about how much to charge the Kunos, Ukyo and whatever other sucker was willing to pay for the info she was about to receive. The moment the school bell rang she ran out of the school in a cloud of dust. All the students stayed out of her way and assumed she had an important money making meeting to attend. One thing all Furinkan high students knew for sure, you don't stand between Nabiki Tendo and her money.

Nabiki reached the NekoHaten panting and cautiously knocked on the door. It opened to reveal Moose waiting for her.

"Come in Miss Tendo. Elder Cologne has been waiting for you."

Nabiki followed Moose who led her to a table at the back of the restaurant where Cologne was waiting. Nabiki gave a respectful bow to Cologne before cutting straight to the chase.

"You mentioned having information about Ranma for me Elder Cologne?"

"Yes indeed. However dear child, that information is not my to divulge."

"What? Then who am I to squeeze this information out from?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Cologne replied enigmatically and signaled to the other person at the table, a person Nabiki hadn't even noticed was there until she turned to look where Cologne was pointing. What Nabiki saw floored her. Never in a million years did she dream she would see Ranma Saotome smiling in a beautiful Chinese silk dress, complete with matching jewelry, make-up, nail-polish and high-heeled shoes.

"Do you like what you see Nabs?" Ran Shao asked with a wicked grin.

That style of humour…it has to be Ranma, but how? Nabiki thought to herself as she furiously formulated through ever possible explanation Ranma could give. Nabiki was interrupted by Shampoo bringing a tray of tea and buns to the table.

"Thank you sister," Ran Shao remarked in perfect mandarin as she drank her tea. Shampoo responded with a courteous bow and a statement in mandarin that made Cologne and Ran Shao laugh. That little exhange totally destroyed everything Nabiki knew to be true about Ranma.

"Ranma? You called her sister? Don't tell me you're an amazon now? I knew we shouldn't have trusted Cologne."

Before Nabiki could continue her tirade and questions, she was cut off by a firm and commanding Ran Shao.

"First things first Nabiki, let's lay down the rules. Firstly, no recorders, no blackmail and no accusations until the entire discussion is through. Second, you are here as our guest. If you refuse to obey the rules or respect us, we will kick you out of this place after using shampoo 119 on you to make sure you forget everything you've just seen and heard. Third, while I am willing to fill you in on what has happened, I require to favours from you in return. The first of which is that I need you to update me on how everyone in Nerinma is. The second being that I need you to keep everything secret unless we tell you otherwise. I don't want an uproar over my return."

Nabiki sat there stunned. Did Ranma just threaten me? And since when has he or she ever acted so in charge? After considering her options, Nabiki nodded her head to show that she would be willing to comply with the rules. It was hard to choose the other option since Shampoo was already holding a bottle labeled 119 in her hands in case she said no.

Ran Shao gave a chuckle before continuing. "Thank you for cooperating Nabs. Now, not that we don't trust you but," with a swift movement of her hands, Cologne suddenly took away from Nabiki all her hidden tape recorders and cameras and had Moose keep them away until the discussion was over. Nabiki was outraged but there was little she could do to complain. She just stared Ranma in the eyes with that ice-queen glare of hers and demanded Ranma started explaining.

Ran Shao gave another chuckle before starting the story.

Three months ago,

Why couldn't this have gone smoothly? I was actually willing to marry that uncute tomboy for once and she goes and ruins the whole wedding and then blames it on me. Ranma thought to himself as he flew through the air. Akane had unleashed a monster shot with her mallet and Ranma estimated that he would probably land somewhere in the forests beyond Nerinma's outskirts. Ranma's estimate was only half-right. He landed in a lake in the forest beyond Nerinma's outskirts.

The calm of the forest was interrupted by a loud splash and then some splutters as a red-head crawled out of the lake and tried to wring herself dry.

"ARRGH! It figures that I would land in water. STUPID CURSE!" Ranko screamed to no one in particular as she unleashed her fury at the helpless tree she saw in front of her. Very soon, the tree was nothing but splinters and yet Ranko wasn't finished. She proceeded to demolish another tree as stunned birds watched on when she was interrupted by a chuckle.

It sounded like an old woman, but the voice was different from Cologne's. Ranko turned to see and old lady, dressed similarly like Cologne except in blue. The old lady let out another laugh as she hopped towards Ranko on her stick.

"Oh no. Tell me I didn't land in the middle of an Amazon's house? The last thing I need is more kiss of marriage or kiss of death problems." Ranko groaned.

"Ho ho! Don't worry dearie. I mean you no harm. And yes, I was an amazon but I have already left the tribe. My name is Shao Er but you can call me Shower."

After the initial greetings, Shower gave Ranma a kettle of hot water so that he could turn back and then proceeded to question him about his actions. Ranma was hesitant to answer but Shower was firm about wanting to hear it and Ranma also realized she knew about his Jusenkyo curse and could possibly help him out.

Ranma thus followed Shower to her house and proceeded to talk with her over a meal. He related his woes from his dad's sadistic training to the Nerinma Wrecking Crew and the event that sent him flying into her lake. Shower then proceeded to tell Ranma her past and why she had left the Amazon village. It appeared that Shower too had been under a lot of stress when she was younger. She was always competing with Cologne for the right to be matriarch of the Amazons and her own parents were always trying to matchmake her with some chump from the village. Eventually the stress got to her and she fled. She stayed sane though because she eventually discovered Tai Chi.

Ranma was genuinely intrigued. He had heard about Tai Chi and seen some older folks practicing it but he had never really been interested because he had considered it slow and ineffective in actual battle. However, according to Shower, Tai Chi was a very powerful form of martial arts. At its simplest, it was a great way of calming oneself down and clearing one's mind to think soundly. It also improved balance and endurance. At its highest form, Tai Chi could be merged with other martial arts to create unbreakable defenses and devastating counter attacks.

Ranma figured that he had nothing to lose and was eager to learn. Shower agreed and brought Ranma out to a section of the lake. Shower than tapped her stick on a rock at the edge of lake and the whole ground shook as pillars arose from the lake. To Ranma, this looked ominously like the Jusenkyo training ground. Shower immediately sensed his unease.

"Relax sonny. This isn't Jusenkyo. The training is different too. Tai Chi is all about balance. First I will teach you the basic meditation technique and then you will use it to find your inner balance as you go through this course. Don't let the pillars fool you. Some are slippery and others will crumble beneath your feet. You need a perfect centre of balance in order to survive this course. Oh, and the water may not by cursed but…" Shower trailed off and decided to demonstrate by throwing a piece of meat into the water. It was instantly electrified and then gobbled up by a multitude of electric eels.

Ranma gulped and Shower merely laughed and said not to worry as they would begin tomorrow.

What did I get myself into? Thought Ranma.

Hope you guys like this chapter. I don't think I'll be updating again so soon though.