Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 does not belong to me, but all your bases do. I expect you out by midnight. Anyways, Ranma and all its characters portrayed herein belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Communications. I make nothing from this, so please don't sue me. Please? *puppy dog look.*

Author Notes: Well, here we are for chapter 4 of my little A/U adventure. Time for a little introspection by all the characters, as the changes that have happened begin to sink in. *arches an eyebrow as if someone off screen is asking him a question.* How am I doing? I'm doing fine, just a little sore. Luckily, Ranma only broke four of my ribs. Oh, and my right leg as well... I really need to learn when to shut up. *uses his cane to hobble over to the projector and press the button to start the fic.*

Also, I apologize this story's extreme lateness, as I was merely trying to insure quality over speed.

P.S. If anyone can clue me into the specific name of the mountains outside of Nerima Ranma and co. train at times, please put it in the review. Thanks.

First I Giveth

Chapter 4: The Winds of Change

by Marik Kurakashi

It was a long week for the tenants of the Tendo compound, as well as a hard week for those who were associated with them. The usual craziness that was associated with them had come and gone, leaving an eerie atmosphere of calm that they were not accustomed to, though they would be if it would stay around. There had been a whirlwind of change that had blown through their lives, leaving them to readjust from the suddeness of it all.

It was more than a little disconcerting at how fast the changes had happened.

The changes had been minor in stature, but had a huge impact on those involved in them. As such, they worked hard to assimilate the differences into their lives. The dynamics of friendships and relationships had drastically changed in a quick flash.

Those who had grown in this manner were still having trouble believe that the changes had happened.

Night had fallen at the Tendo compound, which had been the location for many of these shifts in their lives. The occupants busied themselves in various nighttime activities, all the while contemplating all that had happened to them in these few short days. Some of the shifts they had under gone were either very easy to adapt to, or were still in the process of completing themselves.

If only all this had happened sooner...

- -

Nabiki sat at her desk, looking into a hand mirror while silently wondering what had changed in her so much. She noted that there was a distinct lack of her usual frostiness in her expression. She and Ranma had been growing rapidly closer, their new friendship becoming something totally different in a short amount of time.

She wondered if she was making a mistake doing it.

It crossed her mind that her attraction to Ranma may have been because Ranma was Akane's fiancé, not because of Ranma himself. She asked herself the same questions that she had since that first fateful night when she had impulsively kissed Ranma in his room after the Gymnastics match at St. Hebereke. Did she really care for him? Or was it because she was lonely?

What in the hell was it about Saotome Ranma that seemed to turn her insides to goo?

It was a question just about every girl who had ever become enamored with the young Saotome seemed to ask. What was this unknown quality that seemed to lift him above ordinary men and make him so damned special? It was fastly becoming hard for her not to think of him constantly, and she was certain it was just as bad for Akane as well.

She wondered just what had caused her to change.

It had started that dark night in his room. She had snuck into his room to take some pictures of onna-Ranma when she studied the boy in the minor light she had provided for her camera. She had felt things shift within herself, had clearly felt an attraction there that had not been all that present since she had first heard of this boy.

What was it about Saotome Ranma that had relit the flames of passion within her breast?

She placed the mirror back into the desk while she wondered if she had been hanging around Kuno too much. She giggled slightly at that thought, savoring her reawakened feelings. She sat in the warm waters that had been her sea of ice and for the first time since her mother died, she wasn't afraid of being hurt.

For the first time in years, she felt as free as the wind.

It had been a long time coming, as her bottled up emotions were threatening to spill over for a while now. It had taken a daring action on her part to pull the stopper out of the bottle. Now that her emotions had been unleashed, she had no intention of ever fully bottling them up again.

She sighed, thinking about what had made her lose control like she did that night....

- -

Ranma had successfully pulled the upset win over Kuno Kodachi in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. It was a stunning feat for someone who had only trained in the art for a handful of hours before the event. It was simply amazing that someone was that adept at learning how to fight.

Nabiki, as well as the rest of Nerima, was just now learning of the abilities that had seen Ranma through the ten-year training trip.

She had been impressed with his, at the time her, ability to fight despite not sleeping a wink before the event. She found herself in stark admiration of the aquatransexual martial artist, something she was new to feeling. After she had shaken the unfamiliar feeling from herself, she had decided it was time for a few more onna-Ranma pictures.

After all, people would want a picture of the girl who had defeated Kodachi at the Black Rose's own game.

So here she was, in Ranma's room with her camera, a cup of water, a kettle of hot water, and a small hand lamp for lighting so she could get some good shots of onna-Ranma. She had closed the door, necessitating her need for the lamp, as Akane had stepped up her patrol to catch Nabiki taking photos of her or Ranma. She set up the lamp, bathing the room in a soft light that was just perfect for taking pictures.

She picked up the glass of cold water, ready to douse Ranma with it, when something had given her pause. She looked at Ranma, really looked at him, and found her eyes roaming over his unconscious form. She felt a strange sense of warmth wash over her, causing her body to lock up slightly. She commanded her body to move, only to find herself rooted to the spot, eyes locked on the pig-tailed boy.

She set the glass aside and drifted down to her knees, as though to get a closer look. Awash in the dim light, Ranma had some sort of glow about him that gave him a more humble appearance than she knew possible. Her hands acted without her command, snaking out to touch the boy that could have been her fiancé. Her hands roamed over his muscled chest, feeling what she had given up those few weeks ago.

She began feeling a soft warmth encompass her, as though the boy was a fire that existed only to warm her. She had not awakened the boy with her slight groping, she became emboldened in her actions. A mischievous smirk spreading across her face, she reached a hand up and gently stroked the boy's face. She felt the smooth yet rough contours of his face, her hand telling her more about the intimate details of his face than her eyes ever could.

'What the hell am I doing,' she thought idly, 'What the hell is wrong with me?' Slowly, she pulled her hands away and let out a ragged sigh.

Ranma chose that moment to rollover onto his left arm, placing his back to Nabiki and effectively scaring the hell out of her. She sat listening to him breathe for a few seconds before she realized he wasn't awake, at which point she started breathing again. She began to wonder yet again what in all nine levels of hell had possessed her to effectively grope Ranma in his sleep.

Ranma once again tossed in his sleep, startling Nabiki yet again by his sudden movement. She looked over the boy, who was once again on his back, her mental protests fading as her attention was soon cemented on his prone form. Her eyes continued to rove his body, taking in all sorts of visual goodies until her eyes rested upon his lips.

The world around her seemed to fade away as she thought about what it would have been like to have been his fiancée. A small, yet very vocal, part of her wondered just why she gave up on that notion so quickly. She dismissed the thought, deciding that it was useless to dwell on the past. Her mind wandered aimlessly as she continued to stare.

'Kiss him,' came a silent command, one that she felt that she should comply with.

'What the hell,' she thought, 'One little kiss won't hurt anything, besides no one else will know.' She took a deep breath, trying to relax herself as her heart began to beat faster. She leaned forward slowly, puckering her lips as she went. She hurriedly lowered her face to Ranma's in an effort to get it done before hesitation set in and robbed her of this moment.

Her lips were firmly pressed to his, the emotions she had bottled up the past ten years were finally uncorked. As she reveled in the feel of her lips against his, she keenly felt the cracks form in her mask of ice. She finally reminded herself that if she wasn't careful, she would wake up Ranma. With a grunt of displeasure, she reluctantly disengaged herself from the sleeping boy's lips. Once she was back up to her normal seated height, she stared down at him again, her mind on what it would have been like once more.

She sighed and gathered her materials and silently padded from the room, her mind a mess from all that had happened.

- -

Nabiki sighed as she remembered the events of that day. It was strange for her to lose control like that, especially since there had been no warning of it beforehand. There had be that strange feeling, that odd sensation of compulsion that had commanded her to do that. She decided to start on her homework, hoping to distract herself from an endless barrage of Ranma.

Not that she minded, just that thinking about him too much would hurt her grades.

After about an hour's worth of homework, Nabiki's mind drifted once more to the pig-tailed martial artist. She set down her pencil so she could think without chewing on the end. The more she thought of her future, the more Ranma was involved in her plans for it. No longer did she dream about solely being a wealthy CEO of some company, now it was also being a martial artist's wife. It surprised her at how easy she had slid into that particular way of thinking, but she wasn't against the notion.

After all, if things worked out with Ranma, then that's what she would be.

She shoved that from her mind and concentrated on how she would break it to Akane that she was in- that she liked her fiancé a whole lot. It wouldn't go well, of that she was certain, as Akane's mind often seemed to change itself once she had made it. The pain this was certain to cause her baby sister wasn't an appealing venture, but if things worked out, then it was inevitable.

Once more, she let out a deep, painful sigh that carried the weight of her varying emotions. It was almost more than she could handle, as she was never one to worry about others once she set her sights on something. But she cared about her little sister enough to try and soften the blow as much as she could, should Ranma decide to be with her over Akane.

Her mind wandered back to how she had thought of everything before the incident, and was shocked at how naïve she had been. Her mindset, as well as everyone else's in the house, had been to simply ignore all the fights and tell herself that they'd just get together in the end, despite all their fussing. She compared with how she thought of their fights now and realized that the detached hope had been replaced by a harden cynicism.

She decided that she had thought enough for this night. She got ready for bed, her mind teased her by fantasizing about Ranma being there with her in the same bed. She blushed a bit as her thoughts turned naughty on her and she hurriedly turned off the lights and tried to go to sleep.

Akane blinked next door and decided that she would have to ask her older sister about those noises in the morning....

- -

Elsewhere, the pig-tailed object of Nabiki's deliberation was awake, unable to sleep. He tossed and turned for what seemed like forever, but in reality it had only been a few minutes since he had laid down. With a frustrated grunt, Ranma sat up on his futon, mentally cursing his mind for not allowing him to sleep.

'Damn, why can't I sleep?' He mentally asked himself, deciding that he couldn't risk anyone over hearing what he might say.

Of course he knew why he couldn't sleep, his mind was on Akane and Nabiki. Thoughts of his feelings for either one of them invaded every facet of his sleep. He hadn't been able to nap in class all that well because of all the rampant images that flashed through his mind.

The more troubling thing was that most of the images were of Nabiki.

He considered her a friend, but just how deep that was, he didn't know. He wasn't quite sure what it all meant, but he knew that his thoughts were more than just friendly about Nabiki. His confusing thoughts caused Ranma great distress as he tried not mumble anything about Nabiki while seated next to Akane, his ill-tempered fiancée.

He sighed, wishing his mind would give him peace so that he could sleep.

Unbidden, an image flashed to front of his mind, one that had caused Ranma to fall out of his seat during English. It was an image of a nude Nabiki, who had covered herself up, trapped behind a wall of ice. He wondered just where he got the image from, and just why was he dreaming of it?

It was all so confusing.

He thought on all the changes that had happened recently, more specifically the changes that Nabiki had gone through. He wondered why he had accepted what Nabiki had been doing without question. The answer was vague, if anything at all. 'She opened herself to me,' he surmised, 'and maybe I just felt like doing the same.'

It was almost like talking to his father, the answer had left more questions in its wake instead of silencing them all.

Akane was an entire matter altogether, though. While he had been trying his hardest to make it work, something seemed to hold him back from truly giving his all to the engagement. He felt somewhat bad about his lack of attention to her, but he figured it was for the best that they avoid each other for a while.

After all, the chaos only appeared when they tried to form something about their relationship.

He thought back to the skate wrestling match. He remembered explicitly what he had said that day, but he wasn't sure he meant it. He thought of Akane's reaction to what he had said, and wondered if she had frozen because he might not have meant it...

- -

Ranma had just scored a glancing blow on Mikado, bringing the serial kisser to his knees. He caught Akane on the run but couldn't stop and did a spectacular flip that served to dazzle the crowd and scare the hell out of both of them. After regaining his composure, he turned to face Mikado again.

"To think," the tall boy mused, "that anyone could bring Sanzenin Mikado to his knees!"

'Why are you getting so upset over what Sanzenin does?' a voice asked in his head.

Ranma blinked at the presence's sudden inquiry. It had been floating around in his head, offering him advice on several things, though it rarely questioned what he did. It was a surprise to the boy, whom had come to see this ghost voice as a blessing.

'Well, are you going to answer my question or not?' the voice groused, miffed that Ranma had failed to answer it.

Ranma ignored the voice and said aloud, "The next time you pull that with Akane, I'll do more than bring you to your knees!"

'Please Saotome, if you are going to lie, try to be a little more convincing?' the voice pleaded, wishing that it had more time to cultivate the boy.

'Be quiet, I don't have time for lectures,' he mentally replied, nearly missing Mikado's retort.

"Oh," the arrogant boy asked, "And just what will you do?"

'Punch him a bunch of times, and then some more if that doesn't work?' the voice jokingly supplied.

'This isn't the time for jokes,' he mentally admonished the voice, before he said aloud, "I'll bring you straight to your coffin!"

'That could work, but how do you plan on being the best martial artist in the world in jail?' the voice asked curiously.

'You have a point there, but I gotta focus,' he replied, before he yelled aloud, "Got it? Akane is my fiancée, lay a lip on her and I'll kill you!"

The crowd exploded into frenzied conversation about what Ranma had said. Mikado wore a bemused expression on his face, as though he considered such a proclamation a joke. The standoff was on, as everyone on the ice seemed to have taken a time out.

Akane looked totally shocked and thoroughly embarrassed by his proclamation. That served to confuse Ranma, as he thought she could at least do something other then stare blankly. Before he could ask her what her problem was, he heard Mikado laughing and snapped his attention back to the lecher.

"Your fiancée huh?" Mikado asked in amusement. "Such bonds are fragile."

Azusa skated up and stuck her tongue out at them while Mikado cracked his knuckles and chuckled. "I shall do all in my power," he intoned, "to shatter those bonds!"

Akane still looked out of it, though the obvious question was in her eyes. 'How can she think I didn't mean that?' Ranma thought to himself.

'Because you didn't, Saotome,' the voice answered, making its doubts known.

'How do you know?' Ranma mentally retorted.

'Simple, she wouldn't be stunned by such a proclamation if you had meant it,' the voice replied soothingly, 'It's easy to doubt you. Besides, if your fathers had heard that, you'd be married by sundown.'

Ranma inadvertently shivered at this, causing Mikado to chuckle even further. Azusa giggled further, and Ranma could practically see visions of her playing with Charlotte dancing through her mind. Ranma affixed a hard stare at Mikado, hoping to cover his slip.

Mikado's arrogant smirk increased at the sight of Ranma's quaking. His doubt was clearly displayed as he said, "Heh, you are very brave... in your words! But we, Skating's "Golden Pair", are known by another name!"

Mikado skated forward and Azusa jumped on his back. Mikado smirked and proclaimed, "The Anti-Matchmakers!"

"This is it," the announcer proclaimed, "Sanzenin Mikado's and Shiratori Azusa's ultimate move, the Couple Cleaver!!"

"Not a single pair we've faced," Mikado began.

"Has ever not been split up by us!" Azusa cheerily finished.

'Watch it, Saotome,' the voice cautioned, 'this is a very dangerous move.'

"Don't be so cocky," Ranma yelled, "Let's go Akane!"

"R-right," Akane stammered, obviously trying to get over the shock of what just happened.

Ranma and Akane went for a double jump kick at Azusa on Mikado's back. Mikado ducked and Azusa hopped over the attack with practiced ease. Mikado snagged Ranma's leg, which cause him to let go of Akane, who then skated up the ice. Azusa pounced on the suspended Ranma and kissed him on the nose.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, clearly expecting something more painful.

Akane turned and growled at the sight. "What?!" she roared, and skated forward, "What do you think you're doing?" As she closed in, she muttered, "Maybe he was lying¼"

With Ranma befuddled, Azusa gleefully shouted, "An opening!" She slipped down between his legs and tripped him.

"Yow!" Ranma hollered as the ice approached at a high speed.

'Now she'll grab your hands,' the voice predicted.

Akane did as the voice predicted, and the two found themselves hauled into the air.

"There it is," the announcer screamed, "The terrible Couple Cleaver!



"The Goodbye Whirl!" Mikado roared as he began to spin at an insane speed.

Ranma struggled to hang on to Akane, stretched out like he was at the moment.

'Let her go, Saotome,' the voice gently said, 'You'll only hurt her more if you hang on to her.'

"Release her and I'll stop spinning!" Mikado demanded at the same time.

'What?!' Ranma mentally balked, then hollered down at Mikado, "What did you say?!"

"Let go Ranma," Akane implored, not caring of the consequences.

"You dope, you'll fly into the wall!" Ranma shouted back.

'No she won't, Sanzenin will skate under her and catch her, then kiss her.' the voice said, worry evident in its tone.

'How can you be so sure?' Ranma asked back.

'Because Sanzenin gets off on playing the dashing hero,' the voice answered.

"If he betrays his partner and let's her go," the announcer intoned, "he alone will be spared!"

P-chan struggled against the chain at this proclamation, trying to get free to save Akane, though how a little black pig could do that was anyone's guess. The crowd was breathless in anticipation for what would happen next. Would he let her go, or would he find some way to foil the Goodbye Whirl?

"Never mind that," Akane demanded, "Let GO!"

'Let her go,' the voice implored, 'If you care about her as much as you say you do, let her go.'

'I won't,' he mentally retorted.

'Saotome,' the voice pleaded.

'I WON'T!' he mentally screamed, meaning it with every fiber of his being.

'Oh, you poor sweet fool,' the voice quietly answered, almost too low for Ranma to hear.

He yelled at Akane, "Idiot! You think I'd let go after hearing that?!"

"Heh," Mikado laughed dismissively, "The more you trust each other, the greater the shock when he finally lets go of you!"

He picked up his speed, trying to get Ranma to let go. "The couple caught in the Goodbye Whirl," he intoned, "is doomed to disaster!"

'If only you'd let go, you'd see there is no need for concern,' the voice said soothingly.

'GO TO HELL!' Ranma yelled back at the voice.

'No need for that,' the voice answered back.

"D-don't let him manipulate you!" Akane yelled, trying a different avenue to try and get Ranma to let go. "I'll be fine, just let me-"

"You moron!" Ranma interrupted, "You think I'm going to let a ditz like you fly off by herself?!"

'You should, she'll be just fine,' the voice insisted, hoping to advert the coming disaster.

'I'm not listening to you!' Ranma mentally shouted back.

"What," Akane growled, "did you call me?!"

"Ooo," Azusa said, "Widdle Azusa all wore out!"

'Oh lord, here it comes!' the voice shouted.

"Ooo," Azusa screamed, "I can't hold on!" With that, she let go.

Akane screamed, the crowd did so as well. The two rocketed towards the nearest wall at a terrifying speed. Akane screamed again as she saw the wall coming up behind her. Her terror filled eyes locked into Ranma, leaving him little choice in his next action.

'Brace for impact!' the voice cried.

Ranma flipped himself over Akane at seemingly the last instant. He closed his eyes and collided with the wall with a mighty crash that echoed throught out the gymnasium. The pair slumped to the ground, his hands still holding hers.

"He never let go of her hands," the announcer shouted as the crowd behind him went nuts. "They foiled the Goodbye Whirl!" The announcer paused to take a deep breath before he continued, "But they've paid the price! Will Saotome Ranma rise again?"

Akane began to check on Ranma, not paying attention as the crowd began to murmur. She continued to check on him, her worry and fear beginning to grip her tight. The crowd fell silent as she continued checking him.

"Clown! Show-off!" Akane scolded, "You didn't have to go this far!"

Ranma didn't respond, as he just laid still with his eyes closed. There were no signs of him breathing which caused a guilty feeling to run along Akane's spine. She tried to dismiss the fear and dread, but found she couldn't.

'Hmmm¼' the voice observed, 'she looks rather guilty about something. Poor girl must be scared witless right now.'

"Ranma..?" she asked gently, hoping he would wake up. "Ranma!" she cried, a little more frantic.

"Every bone is his body must have been crushed!" Mikado observed as the crowd began to murmur again.

"Nothing human could survive that!" Azusa agreed, her hands brought to her face in a show of concern.

"All for my sake¼" Akane muttered as tears began to form and she didn't stop them.

Ranma looked up at the lights from his position on the ice. His body was wracked with pain, as such he was barely aware of his surroundings. He felt a weight on his chest and slowly cocked his head to see Akane hunched over his chest.

"WWAAAAHHH! RANMA, YOU FOOL!!" Akane screamed, burying her face into his chest and crying.

'If that's how she feels then...' he thought, before he sat up and snapped, "Hey, wait a minute, can't you at least say thank you?"

Akane's eyes shot open and she turned a tear tracked face up at him. He felt a slight stab of guilt for causing her such pain but he pushed it from his mind. He glared down at her for a few seconds more, wondering why he was so mad at her.

"So. Tricking me," she said numbly.

"Now who's the fool?" Ranma asked flippantly.

'You are,' the voice answered.

'Who asked you?' Ranma thought back.

'Nobody, but look at how she is now, did you think she couldn't fend Mikado off on her own?' the voice asked, trying not to lay on the guilt too much.

'But if I let her go-' Ranma started.

'Mikado would have skated under her and caught her. You could then easily have flipped Azusa off of you, then skated up to stop him,' the voice interjected before Ranma could conjure the image of Akane laying broken against the wall.

'Maybe you're right,' Ranma agreed, his brain shaking of the effects of the blow.

"I was worried about you!!" Akane shouted as Ranma moved to kip up to his feet.

"Hmmph," Ranma said dismissively, "You think I could be wiped out by that?" He kipped up to his feet and every joint in his body popped, causing him to freeze in pain while Akane looked on is disbelief.

'It sure looks that way, Saotome.' the voice quipped.

'Bah,' Ranma mentally shot back, unable to think of something witty with his body racked with pain.

"So," Mikado said plainly, "You stood up eh?"

"The.... fight's.... just.... startin'." Ranma replied haltingly, trying to ignore his body's continued protest.

"And the match resumes," the announcer said in plain wonderment, "The Charlotte Cup, fought over a pet pig- - Who will bring home the bacon?!" The announcer paused to look at the trophy and saw that the pig was gone. "What?!" he blustered, not sure how a pig got free from the chain.

"Hey...." one student started.

"The pig is gone..." another finished.

"Charlotte?" gasped Azusa.

As the crowd speculated whether someone else had nabbed the pig, Ryoga crept along the rafters high above the gymnasium. He laughed to himself, "Thank you to whoever spilt their tea on me." He looked down at the ice, a devious smirk on his face.

"You can't do this in your condition!" Akane shrieked at Ranma, who was barely standing upright.

'She's right, you know,' the voice interjected again.

"Shut up," Ranma snapped, ignoring the voice, "I'm gonna beat that lousy pervert to a pulp!"

"My thoughts precisely," Mikado said, "I will not have you withdraw from this fight..." He started to skate forward before he continued, "...Not until, as promised, I have stolen Tendo Akane's lips!"

"My Charlotte's gone!" Azusa screamed, grabbing Mikado's legs, causing him to fall flat on his face.

"What are you doing, you stupid girl?!" Mikado roared as he climbed to his feet.

"Find my Charwotte!" she shrieked, eyes edged with tears.

Akane skated over to Ranma and flicked him with her index finger. This had the inevitable consequence of sending Ranma crashing back to the ice. He struggled to stand, but found he could not.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ranma demanded, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

"Don't push yourself!" Akane hollered back, grasping his hand. "Please..."

"Uh..." Ranma uttered, not sure how to reply.

'I told you she would be more hurt be you not letting go.' the voice said gently.

Ranma ignored the voice and stared up at Akane as she continued to hold his hand. They stayed like that for another few seconds, before the lights went out. The audience exploded into excited chatter as the darkness closed in around them.

"A blackout?!" one shouted in slight terror.

"Somebody cut off the power!" another replied, "I thought I heard someone flip the power switch!"

"Sit back and watch..... little girl!" a familiar male voice called from above, as water splashed Ranma in the dark. "Now Akane, pair up with me and- -" Ryoga said, as he grabbed who he thought was Akane.

The lights came back and revealed a wet and angry onna-Ranma was the one Ryoga grabbed. He stared in disbelief, though how he thought he could accurately grab Akane in total darkness is anyone's guess. Akane stood off to the side, wondering what the hell happened.

'What an idiot,' Ranma thought to herself, 'and right when things were getting good too!'

'Can you really say that she was more upset at what happened to you instead of losing the match?' the voice asked, hoping to keep him from any potential emotional injuries later.

'She was crying wasn't she?' Ranma thought back.

'Can you say for certain that those tears were all for you and not for her losing her precious P-chan?' the voice asked, again voicing Ranma's own doubts back to him.

'No.. no, I can't," Ranma conceded sourly, 'it don't mean I can't pretend right?'

'That's an admirable trait you have, Saotome, you try to turn any negative into a positive,' the voice replied, a slight trace of admiration in its tone.

"Wait," the announcer gasped, "What's this? Furinkan High has slipped in a substitute pair!" The crowd began to murmur yet again at this, wondering just where this new pair had come from.

"What are YOU doing here?" Ryoga snarled, bopping Ranma on top of her head with a fist,

"YOU dragged me out here!" Ranma replied, responding in kind with a hit of her own.

"The girl with the pigtail...." Mikado gasped, "The girl who so innocently accepted my kiss."

"Oh!" exclaimed Mikado in a falsetto approximation of onna-Ranma's voice, "To think that my first kiss would be with THE Sanzenin Mikado!"

"Wait!" Mikado cried, "Please!"

"EEEE!" he cried in his onna-Ranma falsetto , "I'm so happy!"

"Cut the lies, Jack!" the real Ranma yelled, hitting Mikado hard on top of his head.

"I am so glad we have met again." Mikado said, attempting to take Ranma's hand.

"Oh yeah?" Ranma snapped, yanking her hand away from Mikado. She skated back from Mikado and stood next to Ryoga. "Well then, let's get on with the match."

"Hold it, Ranma," Ryoga said as he belted her in the back of the head.

"What was that for?!" Ranma growled at Ryoga, having turned her head to face him.

And so it had quickly degenerated to a wild brawl from there, as Ryoga stretched Ranma in an attempt to get her to step aside. Of course the crowd had voiced its dissenting opinion to the fashion of the "new" Furinkan pair, leading to a quick outfit change for the two. After that, it really got out of hand, as there was still a mix-up about who would pair with who.

Eventually, Ranma and Ryoga got caught in a goodbye whirl that demonstrated that the voice had been correct in its guess that Mikado would have simply skated under Akane if he had let her go. Ranma quickly scrambled out of Mikado's vile clutches to avoid getting yet another kiss by the lecherous baka. She skated over to the prone Ryoga and gave him a smack on the head to wake him up.

Ryoga, clearly ticked off about his inability to skate and being pile driven face first into the ice, smashed a fist into it, which in turn caused it to shatter into a bunch of floes. Afraid of going pig in front of Akane, Ryoga laid down a challenge to Ranma that the first one to lose gives up Akane. It was just another situation where you have to ask if Ryoga's head is screwed on straight.

As if Saotome Ranma would lose to him.

"What a turn of events!" The announcer shouted, "A skating match becomes a battle on the ice floes! One false step- and the icy water awaits!"

"Dear Akane," Ryoga said loud enough for Ranma to overhear, "Will I plunge into the water and turn into a pig before your very eyes? Or will I become the champion and hold you in my arms? It can only be one or the other!"

'Dunno what he's thinking,' Ranma thought as she glanced at Ryoga, 'but I can't let him get Akane.'

'Well, I suppose that he seems to think beating you up will get him Akane,' the voice answered. 'But why can't you let him have Akane?'

'Because he challenged me!' Ranma thought in annoyance.

'That isn't that good of a reason y'know?' the voice said off-handedly.

'I'm gonna win this-huh?' she thought, as Ryoga hefted her into the air with a single hand.

"The last one left standing...." Ryoga growled, "must be me!" With that, he hurled Ranma towards Mikado and Azusa.

"Ryoga," Ranma yelled, "what do you think you're doing?!"

'Well he did say that the first one to fall will give up Akane,' the voice supplied helpfully.

'Why that lousy jerk!' Ranma thought angrily. 'I had thought that he'd at least help me eliminate Mikado, but I guess I was wrong.'

'Aren't you always?' the voice asked, unable to resist making light of it.

'.....Shaddup.' Ranma snapped back, landing on her feet and facing the eternally lost boy once more.

After that, all hell broke loose, as Ranma and Ryoga each hurled an ice boulder at each other. Ranma followed her ice boulder with a flying kick, which Ryoga took and caught, slamming her in turn into the ice. The ice then tipped over and spilt its passengers into the water, with Ryoga narrowly avoiding getting splashed.

Just as Ranma was prepared to spit cold water on Ryoga, the lost boy got an unexpected assist from Mikado, who had booted him in the back of the head. Ryoga landed on his feet on another ice floe and promptly slipped and was pinned down by Mikado. That didn't last as an angry outburst by Ryoga sent Mikado skyward. Once he righted himself, Ryoga promptly resumed his attack on Ranma.

He hefted an ice boulder and miraculously jumped with a huge chunk of ice, coming down towards his hated foe. Ranma easily shattered the boulder with a punch, but that proved to be a feint as Ryoga used the opportunity to suplex Ranma onto her head. It succeeded in knocking Ranma for a loop, as well as splitting the ice they were standing on in two.

As they careened towards the water, they both executed the splits and escaped from the icy water. As Ryoga clamored up back to even ice, Azusa leapt on top of him, which in turned knocked him back on top of Ranma. As Ryoga huffed and puffed about being safe, Mikado was seen in the air, ready to deliver the final blow. After a quick prayer to Akane for strength, Ryoga hefted the two split halves of ice and sandwiched Mikado between them and hurled them away before leaping to safety as it all crashed down on poor Ranma's head.

"I....won....." Ryoga panted, then looked at Akane and said, "Dear..... Akane...."

Ranma erupted from the ice and latched onto Ryoga's leg and growled, "It's not over yet..."

'No it's not,' agreed the voice.

"I'd like to compliment you, Ranma," Ryoga said, "on your tenacity.... but instead.... I'm taking Akane!" As he said this, he reached down and grasped Ranma by her head, hefted her up and slammed her face first into the ice.

"She's not a pet y'know," Ranma snarled, displaying her limberness as she managed to kick Ryoga off of her. "You think I'll just say, 'okay, take her.'?"

The two stood off once again, as the crowd began speculating the fate of Mikado. Azusa approached Mikado, and found the blanket they were using to keep him warm cute. After he made the mistake of snatching it back, he was declared unable to continue because of the steel chair wrapped around his skull. The crowd broke into frenzied cheers that the Golden Pair had finally been defeated, then quieted to watch the brawl continue between Furinkan's substitute "pair."

"Prepare yourself, sissy boy!" Ryoga snarled as he leapt at Ranma.

"What did you call me, Pig?!" Ranma retorted in anger.

"I won't leave Akane in the hands of a half-man like you!!" Ryoga yelled, kicking as he said it.

"It's better'n being a hog!" Ranma snapped back, springing off the leg and wrapping her legs around Ryoga's head and pulling him towards the water. "This time you're going down!" she yelled, while Ryoga screamed in terror.

An ice boulder came screeching out of nowhere, nailing Ryoga in the back of the head and skipping up to nail Ranma in the face. The two crashed on a nearby ice floe and looked towards the source of the unexpected attack. Akane was knelt down on the ice, arm in the position of having just thrown something.

"Will you two cut this out?!" Akane demanded.

"A-Akane?" Ryoga stuttered, wondering what had motivated her unexpected assist.

"What the heck are you doin'?!" Ranma snapped angrily at her fiancée.

"Why can't you two get along?!" Akane shouted back, anger at being present at another one of their petty squabbles.

"Butt out!" Ranma shouted, hammering Ryoga to the ice to keep him from getting up. "This is our fight!"

"Bu...butt out?" Akane asked slowly, her anger beginning to simmer. "What's it about anyway?! What are you fighting over?!"

"That-" Ranma started, when Ryoga jammed her face into the ice to interrupt.

"That," Ryoga said, while punching Ranma away, "we'll sit down and explain... after it's over!"

"Wait a second..." Ranma shouted, leaping back towards Ryoga, "what do you mean 'sit down and explain'?!"

"I said...." Akane growled, hefting an ice boulder, "stop this!" With that, she flung the boulder at Ranma, who barely avoided it.

"An opening!" Ryoga roared triumphantly, kicking Ranma down to the ice floe Akane was situated on.

"Hey," Akane squeaked, "hey."

"The final blow!" Ryoga shouted, coming down in a kick that Ranma narrowly avoided.

The kick split the ice, coincidentally right at the spot Akane was standing. She tried to avoid falling in the ice, even doing a semi-graceful flip before she finally fell in the water. The two combatants paused to watch the object of their current brawl flounder in the water.

"Akane!!" Ryoga cried, starting to panic at what fate could befall his beloved.

"The dope!" Ranma groused, "I told her to stay out of this!"

As Akane continued floundering, it finally dawned on the two that she could be in serious trouble. Panic hit full tilt as she went under and didn't come back up. They stared in horror as a simple revelation set in for them.

"Don't tell me...." Ryoga started, worry evident in his voice.

"She can't swim!" Ranma finished in equal panic.

"AKANE!!" Ryoga shouted, diving with Ranma towards the water without thinking.

"Hey," Ranma said simply.

"What?!" Ryoga snarled back in annoyance.

"You sure about this?" she asked, as Ryoga seemed to pull back out of his dive and realize what he was doing.

"Ah!" Ryoga screamed in naked terror, afraid that Akane would somehow see and roared, "Ah..... AKANE!!" He hit the water and changed to his pig form.

Sometime later, Ranma sat in the med room, wrapped in a blanket and still female. She and Ryoga had managed to save Akane, but the voice was giving him no reprieve for his stupidity out there. It hadn't been enough that he had completely lost it out there, but the fact that he put Akane in severe danger for the sake of his foolish pride.

'Are you certain that brawling wildly with Ryoga was the best course of action out there?' the voice asked gently.

'What do you mean?' Ranma thought back, finally feeling a bit silly talking to a voice in her head.

'I mean, just look at how close you two had come to severely hurting the girl you're both fighting over,' the voice replied, a tone of patience rather then anger evident.

'What was I to do, just let him clobber me?' Ranma snapped back flippantly.

'No, but you could have mentioned that now was not the time for you two to renew your rivalry,' the voice answered. 'Besides, do you think that Akane would like being a trophy for the two of you to be fighting over?'

'I guess not,' Ranma thought dejectedly. 'Not like that jerk would've listened anyways.'

'Well, how are you holding up, Saotome?' the voice asked, changing the subject.

'I'm alright I guess, my back doesn't hurt all that much anymore.' Ranma thought back.

'Not physically, how are you emotionally? You really stuck your neck out for Akane today and after a bit of a positive response, it kinda went south,' the voice explained , trying not to be too hard on the girl.

'I guess I'm alright in that regards.... just why did she have to chuck the damn ice at me?' Ranma asked in slight dejection. 'I mean, I wouldn't have been fighting Ryoga if he hadn't challenged me.'

'I.... I don't think you would like that answer, Ranma,' the voice said, sounding exasperated of the youngest Tendo's actions.

'It's ok, I doubt I would like the answer to that either....' Ranma thought as she looked over and saw Akane beginning to stir...

- -

Ranma sighed, the weight of the pain once again seizing his heart. It was difficult enough being engaged to her, but he didn't need to add to his problems by starting to fall for Nabiki. He hoped that she wouldn't try to push herself on him and just be a friend to him. Maybe in time, once he could think of how he felt without pain, maybe he might give himself to either Tendo sister, but now was too soon.

It was a hard decision to make, to be sure, but he was confident he could make it stick.

He sighed once more, blowing out some of his pain with it. Now, how was he going to approach a friendship with Nabiki? After their talk the night before, Ranma had a general inkling of what she liked and disliked. He thought about things for a few minutes and he decided to give her a gift as a symbol of friendship.

But what to get?

He yawned then, his emotional fatigue finally catching up with him. He began to lay down, as his mind began to fog up on him. It came to him that he had no idea what to get Nabiki to celebrate their new friendship.

He decided that he would ask Kasumi in the morning.

- -

In the abandoned Chinese restaurant that had become her home, Shampoo sat in deep meditation. On her mind was what had plagued her since she had left this cursed place the first time. She had thought about it and thought about it, but it still clouded her mind.

What was she still doing here?

She had tried to come up with an answer to satisfy her internal debate, but found none that would suffice. It was hard to quell the urge to go running back to China and return to her great-grandmother, who seemed to have an answer for everything. But she knew that something held her back, some mysterious presence that had cautioned her against going. She shivered slightly as she recalled an ancient practice of dunking an Amazon into Jusenkyo, then using something similar the Musk's Chiuston to lock them in that curse.

Seldom were those curses human.

She shoved that from her mind, lest the terror that had plagued her when she fled the Tendo compound seize her again. She stood tall and proud, even if inside she felt like an unmitigated coward and abject failure. She knew that she had made this bed and it was high time she got ready to sleep in it.

If only she could figure out why.

Sliding into a ready stance, Shampoo began a few Wu-Shu katas to work out the stiffness of her meditation. She knew that her physical aches would fade over time, but she knew the biggest ache of all would never leave her for a long time to come. In her heart, she knew that she was going to cause tremendous pain to her family back in Joketsuzoku. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of them, only around long enough to express how proud she made her ancestors.

But never around long enough to allow Shampoo to feel human.

She increased the speed of her katas, as anger over remembered loneliness bubbled to the surface. Her feet pounded out a gentle but furious tempo as she moved from one end of the floor to the other. The one friend that she had was nothing but a half-blind moron who was obsessed with her to the point of vexation.

It was one of the pluses of her decision to banish herself.

She wondered about how different her life would have been if she wasn't groomed to be her great-grandmother's heir. If she wasn't a warrior, what would she be? A cook like her father, or maybe she would have left Joketsuzoku behind for the wonders of the outside world, as many others before her had.

But she was certain that her great-grandmother wouldn't allow her to do that.

She slid to a stop, drawing herself up in her ready stance again. She quietly surveyed the floor, as ghost images of people dining there while she served them manifested. It came as a small shock to the girl who usually dreamed of such big things that she found herself craving something so mundane and simple.

It also disgusted her to her very core.

She let loose with an angry snarl as she pulled her bonbori from weapon space. She surveyed the area, the background fading to show Joketsuzoku. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered that she no longer had a home, nor did she have a family. It was her choice to choose banishment, so why did she choose it?

She would find out why, or just give up this foolish stand-off.

She started her favorite bonbori kata, flowing like water through the movements. The inhuman grace and underlying sorrow of her kata created an atmosphere of depression, like a warrior preparing for her final battle. Her thoughts drifted back to Ranma, the impressive male warrior who had enticed her so with just the hint of his presence. She had the beauty and grace of a living goddess, it should have been easy to grab any man she wanted.

But she couldn't get the one who mattered the most to her.

Her thoughts drifted towards the Amazon method of snaring an outsider husband, an unintentionally dark look crossing her lovely features. The incongruity of her upbringing flared through her mind at that moment, a mysterious sensation washing through her brain. Males were inferior within the Matriarchal society of Joketsuzoku, not even having a say in the affairs of the village. But if an outsider male were to get lucky enough to defeat an Amazon, he suddenly was raised upon a pedestal and worshipped as though a god.

It was this kind of backwards logic that had her vexed over the whole situation.

It also gave her pause, as she had never really minded it in the first place. As she pondered this, her movements slowed to a stop. She peered cautiously around, as she felt another presence, but couldn't locate it. She figured that it was probably her great-grandmother finding some way of spying on her.

She did her best to hide her shudder of fear at that thought.

It wasn't due to the fact that her great-grandmother was an awful person, far from it. It was just the fact that three hundred years of life had run her patience with Shampoo thin. She may have been a slave driver in training her, but she wasn't going to begrudge the ancient woman anything for how she was raised.

For the Amazonian Matriarch, she held nothing but the deepest respect.

She sighed heavily and returned her bonbori to weapon space. Her answered lied in the fact that many of her peers were discouraged from giving the Kiss of Death, for fear that the outside world entice them into giving up their heritage. She wanted to broaden her horizons a bit, to learn about this foreign place. She hoped that she could maybe negotiate a temporary banishment from Joketsuzoku, in order to be able to return once more.

She breathed heavily and blew out the candles that served as the lights for the room. She curled up in a kittenish manner, deciding that tomorrow was a good day to begin her exploration of this land. She sighed once more, hoping that she could come up with a plan to deflect her great-grandmother's wrath.

Unbeknownst to Shampoo, a small blue light flew from her head, stealthfully making its way across Nerima once more. It shimmered brightly as it passed over head, as though it recognized the landscape. It continued on its silent mission, looking as nothing more then a passing airplane to those who happened to look upon it.

It could not stop though, as it still had more missions to complete.

- -

Back at the Tendo compound, Tendo Soun was another of the unfortunate tenants who could not sleep. But his reason for the lack of sleep had more to do with the fact that he wasn't the least bit tired instead of being troubled. He was filled with the same youthful vigor that coursed through him in his youth.

It was as though he had been reborn.

For the past ten years, he went to bed with an overwhelming amount of sorrow and guilt. He would wake up lethargic, his passion for the art that had been his life dulled to a mere flicker. But a few weeks ago, he had a dream that had chased away his pain and fatigue, leaving the man who was once renown for his courage and compassion.

He had dreamed of his long dead beloved.

That is not to say he hadn't dreamed of her before that point, far from it. The difference between his old regretful fantasies and this new dream was that he had felt her there, had felt her love and warmth as clearly as though she was in the bed with him. His spirit had returned in full from then on, his tears banished by that memory of love.

The sun had come out after a long absence.

As it were, Soun was headed to the dojo to seriously practice his art for the first time in years. His technique had fallen off a bit and he decided to make use of this renewed vigor to help correct that error. Once he had arrived in the dojo, he looked around the room, an odd warmth encompassing him as memories of the past began to take shape throughout the room.

He knew now, almost more than anything, that he missed teaching the most.

His eyes began to moisten, but these were not the great fountains of old, they were just the simple tears of a humble man. He knew he had neglected his parental duties, but he still had the chance to be the father he should have been. Kasumi had already shown signs of leaving her oblivious shell behind, something that filled him with great joy and even greater dread. He knew that he should be happy that Kasumi was ready to go out and find herself something more meaningful than taking care of her sisters and himself.

But he just couldn't.

He slowly took a ready stance, savoring the last few moments of inactivity before he would begin. His mind was mostly clear, with a few stray clouds of worry for his eldest child. Over the past few days she had seem to have changed from the oblivious mother figure to a young woman ready to seize the world by the horns. He began a basic kata, hoping to thrust out his worry for her well being.

After all, she was a grown woman.

With a quiet growl, Soun seamlessly shifted up to the more advanced katas of the Tendo-ryu. He knew that he had no real place to try and hold her back from pursuing a life of her own, as she had sacrificed so much for this family already. But in spite of that fact, he did not want to worry about Kasumi being out late, worry about her getting hurt in anyway. He sighed bodily and slowed down his katas, lest he harm himself and cause undue stress for his eldest child.

Now, on to other matters that were of concern to him.

He had noticed the subtle shift in Nabiki, the seeming disappearance of coldness that had suddenly and swiftly come. He was confused and relieved by it at the same time. He was afraid his middle daughter would grow old and die alone, and if her recent shift in attitude was any indication, that wasn't going to happen.

And for that, he was immensely glad.

He also noted the budding relationship between Ranma and Nabiki and was at a loss to figure out what had triggered it. It was as though they had suddenly been drawn to each other, despite the fact that Nabiki had shown little to no interest in the Saotome heir until recently. It baffled him to think of the reason for her sudden change of heart, but he wasn't going to worry too much about it. Nabiki was a big girl, she didn't need her father to protect her.

Now why did that thought inspire such deep sadness?

Deciding that it was better to not think about, Soun turned his attention to his youngest. She had changed the least of the three, though she seemed to be withdrawing into herself. He never could understand what went on in her head sometimes, no matter how hard he tried. It was very puzzling to him, as she generally wore her emotions on her sleeve and he could often tell her opinion on something before she uttered a word.

He just hoped that all of his daughters would be happy.

He wound down his katas, fatigue finally settling into his bones. He was satisfied with himself, finally feeling worthy of being the father of such wonderful girls. As he headed to bed, his mind couldn't help but wonder what his late wife would think of this.

But somehow, he already knew.

- -

Up in her room, Akane was yet another unfortunate victim of insomnia. As much as she tried, she could not sleep, seemingly in spite of the fact that she had greatly fatigued herself breaking blocks in the dojo earlier. It frustrated her to no end that she could not sleep, as she had no desire to ponder what was on her mind. She would have tried mediation, but she doubted that she had enough patience to sit still. Besides, her thoughts wouldn't be all that calming anyways.

Why did it all have to be so damned confusing?

With a disgusted sigh, Akane sat up in bed. She had been avoiding this, as she instinctively knew that the answers would piss her off to no end. It was an unavoidable frustration and a subject of great pain and personal vexation.

Of course it had to be a certain pig tailed aquatransexual who seemed destined to hurt her.

She knew on an intellectual level that Ranma's words and actions only hurt her because she took exception to them. It really wasn't all that fair of her to strike him simply because he spoke a harsh truth. But then again, she expected him to be smart enough to keep his mouth shut after the first few times she walloped him.

But then, she supposed, that was part of his charm.

It was one of the qualities that she actually found admirable in the Saotome boy. He always had a knack of saying the wrong thing, yes, but at least he would say what some other people were afraid to say. She knew she was far from the most attractive girl, which is what confused her so much about the horde of hentai. She was around average in looks, her figure didn't exactly merit lusting over by her own humble admission.

Which, as always, was Kuno's fault.

Before that stupid speech of Kuno's, she had been a moderately popular girl, pursued no more or less then the other girls. In fact, before the speech she had wondered if there might have been something wrong with her because she didn't receive as many date requests as some of the other girls. Not that she would have accepted any of them, it would have been nice to know she was desirable to somebody.

Her failure to capture a certain doctor's attention flashed through her mind.

Pushing that aside, Akane thought about how it had made her feel at first. She had been a little shocked by Kuno's attention, especially since she was a year younger than him and didn't think a snob like him noticed anyone who didn't pass in front of his face daily. After the first week though, it had quickly spiraled out of control and had ceased to be amusing.

It didn't help that all these boys seemed to have become masochists over night.

But then, she mused, calling Kuno masochistic was like saying a full grown elephant was heavy. She would almost be willing to bet money that he would go into orgasmic ecstasy if she hit him the face with a spitball. It was the chief factor that had lead to her classifying all boys as perverts, better to condemn them all and be proven wrong, than to be ignorant and proven right.

Now what was it about Ranma that so drew her in and made her want to be with him and completely beat him senseless at the same time?

She began to recall the first time Ranma had appeared. Ranma had been in his girl form and looked extremely lonely and lost, to the point that she had hidden herself in an effort to prevent them from finding out she was a girl. She had felt such empathy for the strange girl, because she felt that maybe this girl had been hounded for her body and was ashamed just to be female. After her father's fainting spell and Nabiki's anger, Akane decided to befriend this wayward girl and draw her out from her shell.

It was the least she could do for her.

When she lost the match, it had taken a lot of willpower not to shout and accuse the girl of cheating. After all, she was trying to be the girl's friend and didn't need to alienate the rather timid girl. Deciding to go with tact for once, she good naturedly jested with the girl about her not being a boy. Once she had finished there, she went to her room to get ready for her bath. Once she had made it there and undressed, she slid the bathroom door open, hoping for a little girl talk with the newcomer.

Instead she saw him, ALL of him, and her friend nowhere to be found.

Then had come the unveiling of Ranma's curse. At first, she had thought that he had somehow managed to chase her new friend off, though there was nowhere for the girl to have run out of in the bathroom except the door. Then came the fact that he WAS the red haired girl, she had assumed the very worst about things. She had thought that Ranma had spied on her to learn about her aversion to males, then got that stupid curse just to use his girl side to get close to her.

It was a preposterous accusation, even by her standards.

Akane sighed bodily, sorrow and pain escaping her body for her treatment of Ranma so far. After all, he was her fiancé, she really should try to get along with him better. She then snorted at that line of thought, which had caused her mix-up in the first place. She wasn't sure just why she wanted to honor the engagement, maybe so she wouldn't have to actually play the field so to say.

She wasn't all that good at attracting those she really wanted after all.

Of course, it didn't help that he infuriated her to the point where she wanted to beat him senseless and yet want to glomp onto him with a grip that would make Shampoo jealous. She was so confused around him, she couldn't make up her mind around the pig-tailed boy for the life of her. She did want to beat him in a match to prove she was better then him, but then what would drive her to train any harder if she beat someone as skilled as Ranma?

She hoped that she would not grow lax if that happened.

She decided to sleep on it, as she was feeling quite tired now. It wouldn't do to continue her mental debate if she fell asleep in the middle of it. Maybe in the morning she'd prod Nabiki for details concerning her new relationship with Ranma, if only for her peace of mind.

Tomorrow was another day after all.

- -

Meanwhile, on Mount Kakorin just outside Nerima, a ghost waited patiently for its flicker to return from its mission. The ghost had entrusted this important mission to the flicker, simply because the ghost couldn't go near her targets without them recognizing it. The ghost's mission was very important to it, thus it could not jeopardize it by doing it personally and having itself be uncovered.

The ghost had put on hold its chance to rest in peace for now until it could feel that its family was secure.

Death had come as a shock to the ghost. Tendo Kimiko was her name in life and had taken her time to reclaim it in death. It had become apparent that her family could not accept her death and had kept her spirit from fully resting in peace. The Kami had been sympathetic to her plight and had offered her a way to solve her family's problems in order to allow her to rest in peace.

It was just too bad it took them ten damned years just to get the proper paperwork in order.

Just about a month ago in mortal terms, a messenger from the Kami gave her the okay to meddle in their lives as she saw fit. She was intrigued by this Ranma character who had shown up the very same day she had gotten the okay. Since it was Akane who was engaged to him, she decided to use up her allotment of clairvoyance and peek into her youngest daughter's future.

What she seen had shaken her to the core.

It was extremely shocking to see what would become of her youngest if she was to remain to engaged to this Ranma. The daily fights, the multiple fiancées, and all the craziness that had enveloped the pair's life had terrified her, especially what would happen at Phoenix Mountain and Jusendo. It bothered her that both Akane's and Ranma's bullheadedness would cause them so much pain.

The fact that the two would eventually fall in love gave her little solace, if any at all.

But what had concerned her more was her two elder daughters, as they would become embittered to their choice to foist Ranma off on Akane and poison any hope they'd have for happiness in at least the next couple of years. Deciding that if she was going to accomplish her task of getting her family past her death, she felt it was for the good of all that Akane did not remain Ranma's betrothed. The next task was helping each of her children find a suitable husband for themselves. The obvious block was who, and just how soon she could get them together. Kasumi's had proven the easiest, as all she needed to do was be gently notified that Dr. Tofu was madly in love with her.

Now what about the other two?

She could feel how important the agreement between the families was to Soun, as such it had to be upheld. As she had decided that Ranma and Akane would not be allowed to stay together, that only left Nabiki to the task. Having come to that decision, all that was left for her to find someone for Akane to replace Ranma.

The question of just who that would be plagued her still to this day.

Certainly not that dreadful Kuno boy, whom she had already developed her daughter's deep disgust for. But still, Akane's personality did not lend itself to potential matchmakers if she had learned anything about her. The puzzle of how Akane would find happiness might not be solvable by her, at least not at the present time.

It hurt deeply to think of harming her daughter in such a way.

But it couldn't be helped, she steadfastly reminded herself. There was a lot riding on her ability to drag the odd couple apart before any real deep bonds could form. The future she had foreseen had to be prevented at all costs, no matter who was hurt by it.

A little pain now instead of a lot of pain later.

She felt a familiar presence behind her, signifying the return of her acquired Amazon helper Shue. He had been gone since yesterday, and she had watched him fail miserably in his given task to convince Shampoo to give up on Ranma. She was disgusted at how he had handled himself, even after she had battered down Shampoo's emotional defenses.

And he received a fitting punishment by her estimation.

"Forgive me, Kimiko-sama, I have failed you," the bespectacled boy said, on his knees in apology.

"Get up, you silly boy," Kimiko admonished teasingly. "Do you think I don't know this?"

"Forgive me, I had forgotten that you see all that happens," the boy cowered, bowing further then before.

"I said get up!" Kimiko commanded sternly, the boy's submissive posture annoying her heavily.

"H-hai!" quipped the boy, shooting to his feet as though he would be struck dead in the next instant if he didn't.

"Shue," the ghost began softly, a slight sense of sadness spreading through her being at what was to come. "You have served me very faithfully, but now is the time for you to return to your own life."

"B-but Kimiko-sama," the boy protested, "serving you is my life. There is nothing for me to return to."

Tears appeared on the ghost's face, the boy becoming something of a son to her during the past month. It did not help that she was feeling guilty about kidnapping him from his family and forcing him into servitude. Little will-o'-wisps appeared around her as she began to get depressed. After a few moments, she composed herself to do what she had been dreading.

He deserved his reward for his service.

"My dear boy," she began, a certain wistfulness in her voice. "My dear, sweet boy, I am touched by your sentiments. But as of now, I have no more need of your services. I thank you and will cherish your hard work for me always." She reached out an ethereal hand and held it over the boy's head. After a moment it glowed blue, and the boy's submissive posture vanished and was replaced by one of confusion.

"I" the boy started as he made his way down the mountain, "I am Mu Tsu of Joketsuzoku. Why am I here? And where am I for that matter." The boy continued down the mountain and vanished from the ghost's sight.

She loosed a ghostly moan, her equivalent of a sigh.

"The game is afoot now my children," she said as she watched the sunrise. "I have played my hand in this grand game, now I shall see if my gamble will pay off."

As the sunlight illuminated the mountain where she rested, Kimiko felt a sense of new found hope and cheer. It was the first time in years that she had felt good about her family's future. She took this sunrise as the first step to her finally being able to rest in peace.

It was indeed a new day

End Chapter 4

Teaser for Chapter 5:

Kuno Tatewaki was not a man of staggering intellect, nor was he a man of great tact. He was known to most as a perverted moron who couldn't distinguish fact from reality. He was, for all intents and purposes, Furinkan's class idiot, nothing more then a fool who was kept around for the amusement of others.

Something he blamed the foul sorcerer Saotome for.

Obviously the scoundrel had used his foul magics to bewitch his fellow students into ridiculing him. After all, he was the standard for what a man should be, the idol to Furinkan's male population. He also was incensed by the fiend's use of foul magics to gain the favor of his two destined loves, something the great Kuno Tatewaki would not stand for.

Of course, he couldn't stand for it when he was knocked unconscious by Ranma.

Kuno was now at his wit's end, that is to say his limited brain cells refused rub against each other to create friction. He had displayed his might, yet nothing could deflect the fiend's foul magic. It was almost becoming more then he could handle, especially with all the ridicule he had taken from his fellow students.

An overwhelming amount of it coming from his supposed ally, the foul Mercenary Tendo Nabiki.

He had been denied his deities' sanctioned viewing of the fierce Tigress' prowess by the fiend's magic. To say nothing of the fact that he had bewitched his dear, but overly twisted and demented, sister into loving him meant that he had to be careful not to harm his sister's love, lest she poison him even more then she does now. The gods were now being tricked into mocking the mighty Blue Thunder, their chosen tool of vengeance.

He would do anything to defeat that foul sorcerer, even if he had to stoop to his level of tricks.



Post chapter stuff: Whew, after two months, this thing is finished. I apologize once more for the lateness, but quality over speed of completion. Gomen! Tootles!