Anything Goes Game Changer

by Vimesenthusiast

Using a sensor technique Ranma finds Miya, recently married woman who has more ki than anyone he has ever seen. After a Ranma style meeting, the two become sparring partners in return for Ranma's help in repairing Izumo house. Years later, Ranma seeks her out after arriving at the Tendo dojo, soon realizing that there is something big going on in Tokyo, and decides to get involved

6. Chapter 6

Sekirei is someone else, and I am not Rumiko Takahashi.

Here is the winner of the small chapter poll! The total results were as follows:

Semblance of Hope won a measly 176 here on fanfic. That's kind of sad I think given how cool the characters and the combat is in the RWBY universe, though this was sort of offset over on Pat a Ron with 352 votes, giving it 528. Gods and Devils and Wild Horses Oh My won 256 votes on fanfic and 288 elsewhere for a total of 544, putting it in second place. But this story, Anything Goes Game Changer won second place here on fanfic 283. It also won 408 over on Pat a Ron. This gave it a total of 691, and made it the winner. Hope everyone likes this chapter!

I say it again, I hate writing Kuno. On the other hand, this chapter has once more been edited by Michael, and he has again done a fantastic job!

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Chapter 6 Spreading Headaches and Chaos in Equal Numbers

"I'm sorry, could you run that by me again?" Miya said, glancing over at the distraught Musubi. It was obvious the girl had reacted to this Ryoga fellow, and to have the person you are reacting to disappear like that must've been a shock to her system. She would no doubt get over it in time. Miya thought, rather worried about the young feather from whom she sensed something…interesting, something hidden inside of her. I'm only going by what happened to Kazehana, but she got over it within two months or so from what I can remember. "How did this boy just disappear around the corner like that?"

The four of them were alone at the moment, Kagari having just left for work early to talk to his manager, and Uzume having just taken Nabiki home. That was no doubt a good thing. Musubi didn't seem to be in the right state of mind to deal with Uzume at the moment, though Miya was a little worried about how well Uzume and Nabiki had hit it off while the human girl was here.

Most normal women would have been put off by a Sekirei's beauty if nothing else, but not Nabiki. Despite being a self-professed noncombatant, there was a toughness to the girl and a cool self-control that put Miya it mind of Takami in many ways. And the way that Uzume ate up all of the money making ideas that Nabiki came up with was also interesting. I did not know that money was such an issue for her, or is that a recent thing? Miya thought, before turning back to the here and now as Ranma put down his cup of tea.

"Ryoga has this curse; we think it's a curse, anyway. His entire family has it," Ranma replied. "I've never seen his mom, though apparently she was around at one point when I was going to school with him. His father has it too. You should see their house; it has these strings leading everywhere with notes on them at each intersection that they have to put their hands on and follow from room to room. It's really weird. Ryoga's problem when he was younger was that he refused to admit he had a problem at all, but that seems to have gone away. I was going to give them your phone number, but before I could, those two Disciplinary Squad members arrived."

"And you beat them, both you and Ryoga? Very good indeed," Miya said in amusement before sighing. "Had I known that Ryoga had that problem, I would've come up with a way for him to contact me when he called to ask about you when your father kidnapped you away."

"So is it all right if Musubi stays here with you guys? I already feel bad about the Tendos putting up with me, Akitsu, and my old man, even if I'm helping Nabiki with some of her money making schemes and my father has a part-time job."

"That's perfectly all right met," Miya said looking over at Musubi. "It's probably best that she stay here in any event. I can help her through this. Rejection like this is not something that my people take very well, and with her strength she could do quite a bit of damage if she lost control of herself."

Ranma shrugged at that, not seeing the point. After all he didn't think she was that skilled, not in comparison to him or Ryoga anyway. "It wasn't that," he said deadpan. "Ryoga bought us a meal, and Musubi eats at least twice as much as Akitsu. That's more than even my old man!"

Miya held up her hand over her mouth as she laughed, and Ranma's eyebrow twitched. That was really beginning to bother him. Why the heck is Miya-nee hiding her mouth when she laughs?

"Anyway," Ranma said as he stood up, shaking his head of that thought. "It's getting late. Akitsu and I should get going."

He looked over to Musubi. The girl was now sort of rocking in place, holding her knees up to her gigantic chest. Yes, Ranma had noticed. With the size of those things it would've been impossible for anyone with eyes to not have. He just hadn't looked for very long. "Cheer up, Musubi. Ryoga'll be around again. Besides, he's got a cell phone, so maybe he'll remember the name of the dojo I'm staying at, and I'll be able to leave him here."

Musubi looked up with hope shining in her eyes, and suddenly lunged, grabbing Ranma around the middle, pressing her prodigious chest into his lower regions as she squeezed him like he was a giant plushy. "You'd do that for me? Oh thank you, thank you!"

Ranma blushed and tried to get out of her grip, looking over at Miya who was chuckling, and Akitsu who was staring, the temperature around her dropping noticeably. "Yes, yes. If he shows up I'll lead him right to you. Now let me go!"

Thankfully she did before Ranma's self-control could crack. Akitsu immediately moved to stand next to Ranma, lacing one of his hands with hers as she stared down impassively at Musubi. It wasn't that she didn't like the girl. Musubi was happy, outgoing, and seemed kindhearted from what little Akitsu had seen. But even if she wasn't reacting to him, Ranma was her Ashikabi and no one else's! Akitus did not like other Sekirei being around him at all, and she already had to deal with Tsukiumi, who at least had apparently met Ranma before Akitsu had.

Miya chuckled at the possessiveness of the ice Sekirei before gesturing Musubi to the table. "Wait here for me, please. We'll get you set up in a room in a moment." A moment later as she walked Akitsu and Ranma to the door Miya asked, "How long do you think it will take him to show up?"

"I guess around two weeks or so. Maybe three, maybe less. It wasn't like he and I had much time to talk after he showed up before we ran into Musubi, after all. I have no idea what he's done in the intervening years to try and combat his curse other than his cell phone, so I can't really say."

Miya nodded. She honestly had no idea how Musubi's body would react after not being around the one she was reacting to for that long. Kazehana had gone from reacting to trying to wing herself on Minaka in a very short amount of time and then been rejected almost immediately. She had begun to get over it very slowly after that, but for weeks Kazehana had been manic, depressed, and over emotional. It was during that time that Kazehana started drinking. Now that wasn't quite the same thing since Musubi had not been rejected as Kazehana had, but it was the closest example Miya had to go with and she couldn't say if Musubi's reaction would be better or worse, she could only be prepared for either. And I am not going to let her start drinking her problems away like Kazehana!

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow for some training time. I'm afraid we'll have to cut the time down for that, though, if I want to keep patrolling during the day, because I've also got some schoolwork I have to see to." Ranma scowled (really pouted) irritably, kicking the sidewalk outside Miya's door. "Still don't get what all that supposed to do for me in the long term."

"It is to make you a better, more rounded individual," Miya replied promptly. "Even if you want to keep learning the martial arts as you are, you need to know about the world around you and how to communicate with people, Ranma."

"Oh, I get that part. The languages are interesting, as is history. It's the science and math stuff I don't care about. And I'm already getting some really odd looks from my science professors over at Furinkan."

"I can't imagine why," Miya said dryly, then ruffled his hair affectionately before nodding to Akitsu. "Stay safe, you two, and I'll see you tomorrow."

The two nodded, with Ranma grinning at her for a moment before leaping away over the rooftops as easily as any Sekirei, and with quite a bit more speed than most. Chuckling, Miya watched them go for a moment before turning inside to prepare a room for her new tenant. And no doubt she is going to be just as much a freeloader as Mutsu and Uzume. The life of a poor widowed innkeeper is not a pleasant one.

OOOOOOO

Staring at the report from the sensor teams Minaka frowned, leaning back and putting his feet up on his desk as he thought. There were two major issues with the report in his mind, though he bet Takami would have thought the second unimportant at best.

"How did this Ryoga fellow disappear like that?" Minaka mused aloud. One minute Ryoga Hibiki was there, the next, he was simply gone. And none of the other video cameras situated everywhere throughout the city could find any hint of him. It was as if he had just disappeared entirely, until the espionage team had been called in. They had been able to find his cell phone via hacking into his data plan's carrier and then tracing him using Ryoga's own GPS system. It placed Ryoga first in Europe on the Italian/French border, then in Canada, and then in Russia, all in the space of an hour or so!

However he did it, if Ryoga really was able to travel to those places, and after seeing Saotome's curse I can't say it isn't possible, this could be a future problem in the making. If he can take others with him like that, he could easily break our containment of the Sekirei Plan here in Shin-Teito. I am going to have to order the sensor teams to be on the lookout for him. The moment he appears again he'll have to be directed away from any un-winged Sekirei, just in case. I'm all for chaos and anarchy, but only when I can see it occurring right in front of me.

Added to this was the second issue. Another un-winged Sekirei had taken up residence in Izumo House. This wasn't normally an issue, since they would have to leave the North to take part in the Sekirei Plan. But Musubi was a problem for a few reasons. She was one of the Sekirei Karasuba was most interested in fighting, and if she received training from 01 then the odds of the two meeting too soon in the game would go up since Karasuba would be certain to search her out. Musubi was also one he was most interested in watching the progress of given her core had been donated to her by 08, Yume, the leader of the second generation of the Disciplinary Squad.

And she joined four other un-winged Sekirei residing in 01's impenetrable castle. Kagari, Matsu, Kocho, and now Musubi. Kocho is no great loss, though her norito is, of course, unknown, she has no desire to participate in the game at all. Matsu is a thorn in MBI's side, but the jinki she stole is of little concern any longer. Kagari is another irritant, but a small one, since he intends and can be made to take part in the game. Still, they are also apparently allied with number 7, Akitsu, and this Ranma fellow. While I enjoy the way Ranma has added such magnificent anarchy to the game, I would not like his idea of simply not playing it at all to spread, though admittedly that is doubtful in terms of Musubi.

"Still, perhaps I am worrying overmuch. And if it gets to the point that too much anarchy is spreading, I will simply have to send Karasuba to cut out the source of it all…"

OOOOOOO

As they jumped and ran along the rooftops Ranma looked over at Akitsu, who was running beside him now, having come to realize which he wanted her to do that rather than simply trail behind him. He was making more progress with her every day, though she was still not showing any real emotions on her face.

"You know," he began, coming to a halt on a rooftop as he looked around for street signs to make sure they were going the right direction. "You did very well against those two Sekirei who tried to take you away. And um, you've been doing well overall with how much more outgoing you've been. I also know that staying out of my fight with Haihane was tough for you. So um, do you want anything, you know, as a sort of reward?"

Akitsu nodded her head so quickly that it looked like she was already answering before Ranma finished speaking. "I want a kiss, master."

Blushing, Ranma backed away a little, but he couldn't go far because Akitsu grabbed his hand. "Well, that is…um…that wasn't what I had in…r-really?"

Stepping close and looking up into his eyes, she nodded once. "Ahh… You don't want to, master? You, you find me unattractive?"

"That's not it at all!" Ranma said, flailing his hands to both sides as his blush escalated. "You're gorgeous! I mean, of course anyone would, that is…"

Akitsu almost allowed a smile to appear on her face but kept it down for the moment. "Ahh… then that is what I want, master."

Ranma winced, his blush fading slightly. "You're still calling me that. I…"

"…Ashikabi-sama, we have not exchanged a kiss. That is the traditional way for a Sekirei and Ashikabi to bond. I know that this," Akitsu touched the large mark on her forehead, "means we cannot, but I can at least try, master."

"I don't think it will, Akitsu. You, you shouldn't get your hopes up."

"But that is not the only reason I want to kiss you, mas-, that is, Ranma-sama. I know that the odds are low that doing so will let me bond to you. I want to kiss you because I want to kiss you," Akitsu went on quickly, putting her arms around Ranma's body and holding him still, pressing her chest into his and staring soulfully into his eyes. "You are my bonded one regardless of my lack of wings," she said, moving slightly against him, her chains rattling.

That sound caused Ranma to flush and look away, remembering a magazine one of the guys at school had sold to another guy in the locker room. The cover had been of a woman in chains, a happy, almost ecstatic smile on her face.

Ranma knew he was attracted to Akitsu and really wouldn't have minded being in a relationship with her long-term, but there were two things that were bothering him. One was the ongoing issue with the Tendos and his father, with the promise to marry one of the Tendo girls. Admittedly his father had cooled on the idea somewhat, but it was still there in his mind. Though Ranma had yet to see anything concrete that indicated that the Tendos had a school of their own that made it a worthwhile idea.

But more importantly to Ranma was the fact that he didn't know if Akitsu was really interested in him, like he had said to Nabiki. That she was interested in him as Ranma, not as her savior anyway. It was an important distinction, in Ranma's mind at least. These issues were added to the fact that she wasn't the only girl he had confused feelings towards. Ranma also felt something towards Tsukiumi and Nabiki.

He didn't understand or know how to act on those feelings, but he knew they were there, at least. Still, I can I can at least kiss her, right? "Um, all, all right," he said hesitantly.

He leaned down, and their foreheads banged together for a moment, then their noses, as Ranma didn't realize he had to turn his head just a little bit to give her a kiss, and Akitsu hadn't had any idea either. When they did get it right, their lips briefly touched one another. Then Akitsu leaned in a little more, pressing her lips against his and Ranma responded, instincts that he didn't know he had welling up inside him.

His arms went around Akitsu and vice versa, though one of her arms slowly dropped from his back to his rear, squeezing it causing Ranma to squeak a little and open his mouth. Akitsu took advantage of this, her tongue moving into Ranma's mouth to find his, snaking around and along it.

Ranma almost froze at that, but slowly began to respond, his own lips warm and moving against hers, his tongue now dueling with Akitsu's in his mouth, then slowly pushing back into hers, exploring it in turn. She did it to me, so that means it's okay for me to do it to her, right? was Ranma's rather disjointed thought at that moment. Following this thought one of his hands went down her back to Akitsu's rear squeezing it through her kimono, and Akitsu moaned, holding him tighter. Their other hands moved up to twist in one another's hair.

The kiss couldn't become more intense, that would've been impossible, but they hugged one another trying to almost fuse their bodies together, and Akitsu's entire body began to shudder until she was forced to lean away, panting. A rosy blush was visible on her normally porcelain cheeks, her breath coming in short gasps as she leaned her head against Ranma's chest.

He held her gently, the hand on her rear moving up to her lower back as his other fell to her upper back, his own breathing ragged. "Was, was that what you wanted?"

"That and more, Ranma," she said breathlessly, looking up at him with several undefinable emotions in her eyes which Ranma couldn't name but which caused him to blush in turn. "You're so warm!"

Akitsu pulled away looking up into his eyes, her own eyes slightly glassy. "You warm me," She said repeating the line that she had used in the bath when she came into wash his back. Then she leaned up and kissed Ranma very lightly on the lips before moving slightly away on suddenly wobbly legs.

She stumbled and Ranma reached for her, but she righted herself quickly. Now that the event was over though Ranma's nerves came back. He took a quick step backwards, blushing bright red and looking away. "We, we should get going."

"I agree…Ranma," Akitsu said, looking down at her body for a moment, a brief flare of something like consternation in her face, though the reason was lost to Ranma.

It didn't take more than around ten minutes more to get back to the dojo. Leaping over the outer wall into the garden they saw Genma and Soun sitting on the patio around a shogi board. Neither of them bothered to look up, but Genma asked, "Anything happen while you were out?"

"Saw Ryoga, ran into a few fights, including one against a claw user who might stop by," Ranma reported succinctly.

At that Genma looked up, missing Soun moving a few pieces around quickly before he could look back down to the table. "Truly fascinating. I look forward to meeting her and seeing if she outshines Akitsu's physical abilities as you keep saying they do. It should be interesting to see how fast a Sekirei that specializes on close-in combat is able to learn."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Still, I had to take her down pretty hard, so I don't know when she'll show up."

"Bah, even that will be interesting to discover given your own fast ki-assisted healing," Genma said, waving that off.

Heading inside, Akitsu and Ranma found Nabiki watching some news broadcast about stocks in the main room, writing down on a piece of paper as she munched on a rice cracker. Akane was on the floor working on some history homework. Kasumi was sitting beside Nabiki, reading a book on gardening judging by the cover. Both of them looked up as the two guests landed in the garden, moving quickly into the house from the patio.

The two older girls took one look at Akitsu and then over at Ranma, their eyebrows going up. "There something you want to share with the class, Ranma-chan?" Nabiki drawled, trying to keep a hint of jealousy out of her voice. God dammit, I am not interested in him to that extent, not yet. Yes, okay, he's sexy as hell, I admit it. But that is no reason for me to to get so interested in a boy after so short a time!

"We got into a few fights but nothing major, but an old friend of mine could be coming around in the next few months," Ranma said, not realizing that his lips were a little red, or that Akitsu was still looking a glassy eyed and was walking awkwardly. Or that Nabiki had spotted a line of some kind of perspiration running down her inner leg when Akitsu walked forward, letting her legs be seen thanks to her kimono. It was running down in a clear trail down to mid-thigh.

"He's got a sort of family curse thing that makes him get lost really easily, but I mentioned the Tendo dojo to him so he might stop by looking for me. If you guys could keep him here at least until I give him Miya's phone number I'd really appreciate it. And he also mentioned I should probably buy myself a cell phone. I'm not really happy about the idea, but if we can find a small place that sells used cell phones that isn't tied to MBI, or some place that sells a cell phone that can't be tracked? I don't actually know enough about them to know how likely that is."

"Not very, though we might be able to hire someone from one of the clubs at school to make it untraceable physically. Still, every time you answer a call you would be traced by the call," Nabiki mused, distracted for the moment. "I'll look into it."

"Cool," Ranma said. "Still, I suppose I should head up and start my homework. Kasumi, did you set up your room for Akitsu?"

"I did," Kasumi said with a smile, hiding a spark of curiosity in her eyes. "Come with me, Akitsu. We'll go have a bath, and then I'll show you to my room."

"I'll come too, sis," Nabiki said hurriedly, stretching in place, smiling as Ranma tracked the movement for a brief second before looking away. That made Nabiki feel a lot better suddenly. "I have some questions I want to ask Akitsu anyway. Have fun studying, Ranma."

Ranma groaned, causing both sisters to giggle as he left the room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kasumi and Nabiki pounced. "That's not all that happened, is it, Akitsu?" Nabiki asked, taking the girl's arm and leading her towards the bathhouse.

Akitsu paused at the entrance to the bathhouse, looking back at Ranma mournfully for a few moments before turning back to her.

"Your lips are a little bruised," Nabiki elaborated as Kasumi leaned in too, interest in her eyes.

She might have been less overt about it, but Kasumi was still a young woman, darn it! Bodice rippers are all well and good, but listening to some actual romantic moments would be nice.

Akitsu actually blushed, and Nabiki pulled her into hug with her arm over Akitsu's shoulder. "Come on, this is part of being a girl. You have to share things with us," she wheedled.

"Only if you want to," Kasumi said, poking her sister in the shoulder, though that did nothing to dim the curiosity in her eyes.

"We kissed," Akitsu said simply. "Master, that is, Ranma, asked me if I wanted a reward for not butting into his own fight and dealing with two interlopers on my own. I asked for a kiss, and he gave it to me."

Akitsu's hands went up to her forehead, tracing the mark there before sighing. A part of Akitsu had actually hoped that kissing Ranma like that would've broken through whatever barrier was making her unable to wing herself on him. But given the feelings and the emotions that had thrummed through her, Akitsu couldn't picture bonding with him would be any better.

"It was that good? That you found the clouds and rain?" Nabiki asked, watching as Akitsu trailed off, her porcelain skin darkening noticeably under her eyes as she blushed again.

Akitsu had come across that phrase in some of Uzume's books, and she looked at Nabiki in shock, pausing in getting undressed.

"Your walking is rather unstable, my dear," Kasumi interjected. "And, *ahem* you um, you have some evidence of your excitement on your legs…"

Looking down Akitsu could only blush once more, her porcelain skin noticeably becoming pink. She quickly got undressed, making the other two realize she had once more forgotten her panties, hence why the excitement had become visible. Not noticing that Akitsu entered the bathroom faster than either of the sisters had seen her move before this. But Kasumi and Nabiki quickly followed her, getting undressed themselves.

The three now naked girls were all beautiful, if somewhat different. Akitsu was a contrast. Despite her pearl-like skin which made it seem as if she had never spent a day in the sun, her body was fit and athletic save for her somewhat large breasts, which despite their size were perky and firm. Having kept in shape through various exercises Nabiki also looked fit, but Akitsu actually was surprised that Kasumi looked somewhat trim if not athletic. Neither girl had much muscle definition in comparison to Akitsu, though Nabiki's legs had a bit, and neither girl had much excess fat on them. Kasumi's breasts, while smaller than those of Nabiki or Akitsu who were somewhat of a size, were somewhat fuller and bounced slightly more than theirs. Her long hair, undone now, cascaded down to the middle of her back in honey brown waves, and Akitsu idly wondered if she should grow her hair out, wondering if Ranma liked longer or shorter hair.

Both Tendo girls sat down, cleaning themselves on the stools closest to the bath. "So, did Ranma notice?" Nabiki asked mischievously. Turning her head after dunking a pail of water over her hair she saw Akitsu shake her head, still blushing hotly.

That caused Nabiki to throw her head back with a laugh. "Damn, only Ranma would be so dense as to miss the fact he gave a girl an orgasm." Although the fact he was able to give her one in the first place with just a kiss does make you wonder…

OOOOOOO

That evening Akitsu slept in Kasumi's room for the first time, and oddly enough found that given their earlier moment, she was content with this arrangement, if not pleased. The next day she woke up with Kasumi to help her, and after waking up Nabiki with her mug of coffee was thrilled to get a kiss on the cheek and a hug from her Ashikabi. If I have that to look forward to every morning I will forego the pleasure of sleeping in Ranma's bed, especially since I then don't have to deal with Genma. That was not a minor consideration in Akitsu's eyes given what she had felt when the older Saotome looked at her naked when she got up to go to the bathroom. Although having Akane glaring at her and her Ashikabi did irritate Akitsu somewhat.

Thanks in part to this change of routine, the next two days passed relatively uneventfully at the Tendo dojo and in the main elsewhere for Ranma, Akitsu, and the others. Nabiki began to sell off copies of the pictures and started work on a few money making schemes for Uzume's benefit, and Akitsu's training continued during the day with Genma. In the afternoon she sparred with Akane while Ranma did some homework, then after a bath would go to Izumo House where Ranma would train with Miya before going on patrol.

Even the patrols settled down somewhat, as according to Matsu MBI had decided to randomize the releases of the last dozen Sekirei so that they couldn't be ambushed any longer by their winged sisters. They found several matches a day, but only a single uneven fight over those two days. The moment the two showed up, however, the group of ambushing Sekirei backed off, allowing their un-winged sister, a young woman wielding a naginata, to go on her way.

However this only seemed to concentrate the craziness at Izumo House.

On Tuesday Ranma and Akitsu arrived to a banging crash as Uzume leaped out of the bathhouse's window wearing nothing but a towel followed by Musubi who was bare ass naked. "Gah! Dammit, Musubi-chan, I don't want to fight you! I wasn't showing off, just telling ya I was a Sekirei!"

"Musubi doesn't believe you!" the naked girl shouted, charging forward. Her large, melon like breasts bounced and wobbled in every direction as she charged, though not nearly as much as they would have if she was a human, seeming to be very firm for all their size. Her flat, toned stomach was also on display, as was the small v-shape of her pubic hair.

"GAAHH!" Ranma mumbled, nearly losing control of his hop from the last roof to Izumo's garden. Ranma had a lot of self-control, it came from being a martial artist and his own personality. But there were limits, and a naked girl, especially one with Musubi's proportions, shattered that self-control. Blood began to ooze from his nose, and he could only stare as his upper brain functions began to shout for help due to blood necessary for their function rushing elsewhere.

Seeing this Akitsu's face showed no visible reaction. For all that she was becoming more emotional on a daily basis thanks to being around Ranma her expressions had yet to become more demonstrative. Nevertheless anger seemed to boil off her, and she swiftly lashed out with her powers, creating a wall between Musubi and her target.

A second later Musubi crashed into and off the ice, while Uzume leaped backwards, sending a grateful look Akitsu's way. "Thanks for the assist, Icy-chan! HAHHA!" she laughed, pointing at Ranma. "Look's like bro there is going to need a blood transfusion, though."

She moved towards Ranma around the ice as Akitsu glared at the downed Musubi in her normal, impassive manner. Uzume leaned over towards him nearly forcing him to look down her chest. "Good to know you have a pulse, bro…" she whispered huskily, then danced away with a laugh as Ranma seemed to break out of his stupor, falling back on his rear and shaking his head, his eyes wild.

"Mah, mah, mah… Uzume-san, you should know illicit activities are forbidden in Izumo House. As is actual fighting…" All four individuals in the garden shuddered as a Miya came out, a hanya mask already out spreading darkness around it, the sound of two wooden slats smacking together sounding out accompanied by an unseen wind. The image was finished by more masks appearing one after another in slow motion as she stepped forward, one mask per step.

Uzume quickly hid behind Akitsu who had already moved behind Ranma, while he and Musubi were caught in the open, frozen with fear. Even Ranma couldn't quite muster enough courage to pull out his notebook. "EEE, I'm sorry Miya-nee! We just got here and…!"

"I know, Ranma," Miya replied, and with that the terror and pressure of her technique faded somewhat, on him at least. "I was mainly talking to Musubi and Uzume there, as well as Akitsu."

She looked at Akitsu, who was poking her head out from around Ranma, and gestured to the wall of ice. "While I appreciate the fact you did this to stop the fighting here, could you please remove this?"

That, and she no doubt would have attacked Uzume for that bit of teasing there in the end. I wonder why Uzume does that occasionally. Is it just her way, or is she actually somewhat attracted to Ranma despite being with Chiho? Miya thought, before setting that mystery to the side for another time.

"As for you, Musubi, please go and put some clothing on. Running around naked is a most immodest thing for a young woman to do, and I will not allow it."

"Immodest?" Musubi asked innocently, having bounced back from her first exposure to the hanya mask. "What's that?"

The others all looked at her in surprise, and Miya sighed. "I see your education in the human world is sorely lacking, Musubi-chan. I think we will have to correct that."

At that point Kocho came out dressed in a one piece dress that looked remarkably severe alongside her glasses, despite her epic bed-head and bleary expression. "What did I miss? And what the heck happened to the bathroom?"

Later, after being told what had sparked the fight, Miya sighed, watching as Ranma surveyed the damage done to the outer wall when Uzume burst through it. The window into the bathhouse was small and high up the wall, more intended to let in cool air than anything else, and Uzume could never have fit through them, so she had been forced to smash open the outer wall to get away from Musubi's rampage. "That girl, honestly. I see we're going to have our work cut out for us. To think she would assume you were showing off, Uzume. That's rather sad."

Musubi was sitting seiza style nearby with the various bits of wood and other things Ranma was currently using piled on her lap in punishment for the damage she had done to the inn. She was looking rather morose, though Miya doubted the weight of it bothered her nearly as much as Miya could wish for the girl's damaging her home.

"Meh, I think Musubi-chan's just going through a rough patch. I remember the time when Chiho-chan was trying to convince me I shouldn't bond with her. And she was still, y'know, here and visible. This Ryoga guy's not even in the city any longer. Has to be harder for her," Uzume replied.

"Hmm, that's true, and I won't really come down on her for that, but the girl doesn't seem to have much in the way of common knowledge. Imagine, running around naked like that." Miya let out another sigh, shaking her head.

"Heh, I didn't hear bro complaining about it, did I, bro?" Uzume shouted out, causing Ranma to twitch where he was working on the outer wall. "How about we get Icy-chan to try the same thing? Bet you'd die of blood loss!"

"Probably, yeah," Ranma muttered, shaking his head. "Damn nearly did when…" Before Ranma could incriminate himself further he clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head to dispel the image of Akitsu when she had joined him in the bathhouse at the Tendo place.

Akitsu smiled her small, almost imperceptible smile at that, looking up at Ranma from where she was steadying the ladder Ranma was currently using since he needed both hands for the work on the wall. Ranma looked down, and they locked eyes for a moment. Ranma blushed but didn't look away, matching Akitsu's broadening smile with one of his own before giving his head a shake and returning to the task at hand.

Both Uzume and Miya had noticed this, and exchanged a very girlish giggle at the romance developing between the broken Sekirei and the wild horse. "Better than those midday soap operas." Uzume whispered.

Later that day when she saw Ranma and Miya practicing, Musubi tried to join in by attacking them with a shout of, "I want to join in too!"

Ranma reached out lightly to redirect a wildly obvious but powerful haymaker down, leaping up into the air and kicking out at Miya, who had learned quickly to force Ranma to stay on the ground as much as possible. Doing so taught Ranma to rely more on speed and also built up his strength since he had to block rather than dodge or redirect the energy of her strikes in that manner. It also made their matches shorter, which was good considering the duty Ranma had taken on to patrol the city.

She dodged backwards now, her sheathed blade flashing up faster than Musubi could track to bat Ranma's leg aside. But Ranma used that momentum to twist around, kicking out at Musubi catching her on the chin and sending her to her rear. "Gonna have to do to better than that, Musubi!" he caroled.

Pushing off the ground, Musubi laughed, throwing out a series of wild punches. "Musubi will!"

"Well, this seems to have drawn Musubi out of her depression, at least," Miya said dryly, before attacking them both, pressing Ranma down and to one side while she flashed around Musubi, smacking her here and there as she called out instructions.

While Musubi began to adapt given Miya's instruction, Miya was surprised to realize that Ranma's learning curve was actually better than the fist type Sekirei's. Every time they sparred Ranma was better in some fashion, his style and tactics slightly better even if his base abilities, his strength and speed, did not grow at the same rate. Musubi wasn't nearly as quick to adjust her style, but she was still a physical powerhouse. In Ranma's opinion she was better than he was when he first showed up in Miya's garden by a decent margin, but not close to his or even Ryoga's current level.

The sparring ended soon, and Ranma made to join Akitsu, who had been watching form the sidelines, to head out on patrol. Once more Musubi wanted to join in, but this time Miya negated it. "I allowed you to join the training session, but letting you go out on patrol on top of that after this afternoon's confusion is a bit too much like rewarding you for your actions this morning, I think. No, instead you will stay here and we will discuss what you know of the human world and people in general. I get the distinct impression that a lot of your education was severely lacking."

"Oh, pooh. I thought I knew how to fight well enough before coming here," Musubi pouted. "What else do I need to know?"

"Hmm… Where have I heard that before…?" Miya glanced over at Ranma dryly, and Ranma had the decency to duck his head apologetically, acknowledging the point before he leaped away, leaving Musubi for Miya to deal with.

The next day it wasn't Musubi who was the source of the chaos, but Ranma's curse and his being free with his connection to Izumo House.

Miya turned from where she was sparring with Akitsu and Musubi for a moment as the doorbell rang. She had wanted to see what progress the ice-wielder was making training with Genma and Ranma at the Tendo dojo, and had come away impressed with her skills. Not so much her strength or speed, those were much harder for an element type to train to a higher level, though Akitsu was already at least as fast as Musubi. Even if she was nowhere near as strong, Akitsu was still able to dodge and wear out the more straightforward Musubi. And her tactics and style were already much better than they had been.

"Ranma, could you get that for me?" she asked, not wanting to leave the two younger feathers alone, fearing that the match might become a full scale fight without her there.

Ranma was inside replacing the bathhouse's floor, which had been cracked and weakened in places thanks to Musubi's rampage the day before, as well as two of the faucets. Since he was working with plumbing, Ranma had decided not to tempt fate and had changed into his female form just in case. This had proven a prophetic move, given that Ranma had been splashed by some of the water that had somehow stayed in a broken faucet when she removed it from the wall.

Sighing, Ranma stood up from her work, moving to the doorway. Outside she found Tsukiumi standing there, looking around the inn's front yard with approval, possibly to mask a certain amount of nervousness. She turned as the door opened and smiled at seeing the redhead there. "Ah, so this was the right address. Excellent. How are you, Ranma? It hath been several days since last I saw you. And why are you wet again?"

"Hey Tsukiumi, I'm good. You here to train?" Ranma asked. "As for being wet, I'm working on a bit of the plumbing and got wet somehow. I'll show you to the backyard. Akitsu is out there with Miya-nee now, and another Sekirei who I saved from the Thunder Twins. You know who those are?"

"Ah, yes. I have had the displeasure of making their acquaintance. Verily they are a most irksome twosome," Tsukiumi replied, shaking her head as she entered the inn, looking around appreciatively. "My, this is a most traditional inn. I approve. I would like more modern appliances around, but the actual design is much to my liking."

"Heh, Miya-nee will appreciate that, I'm sure. How's life been treating you? Have you run into trouble besides Hikari and Hibiki?" Ranma asked.

"Indeed I have. Though I learned not to venture into the east or south of the city and stayed mostly in the north and west, I did run into a few very combative Sekirei, apparently part of a Nishi Sanada's flock in the west." Tsukiumi began, following Ranma through the inn to the backyard where she could already hear the sound of combat. "They were most rude and violent, as well as skilled, though of course I won despite that."

That battle had been a far closer thing than Tsukiumi would ever admit aloud, and she had in fact more survived and escaped than won. Yes, she had left one of the leather bustier-wearing women bleeding on the ground behind her, but she too had been exhausted and wounded, hence why it had taken her so long to search out Izumo House. And even that had only been because she had taken Ranma's advice and worked on short range techniques, a water sword and a water shield respectively.

Outside they found Akitsu and Musubi fighting. Musubi kept on trying to keep the range close, trying to pin Akitsu in place against the wall or in some fashion limit her maneuverability. Akitsu, in contrast, didn't try to open up the range to use her ice powers, rather she closed hard on any openings Musubi had in her defense, of which there were many since Musubi relied on wide angle blows and brute force rather than control. Her blows didn't matter much taken one on one, but they added up.

As Tsukiumi watched another blow got in between Musubi's arm and chest, taking her right under the armpit and she jumped away, letting loose a wince of agony. "GAHhh, what was that?!"

"There are several places on the human body where if you hit them it will cause too much pain for your opponent to do much." I should know, my old man trained me to be as near to immune to that kind of a hit as anyone can be. "I think that's enough for now, you two." So saying, Ranma moved to stand between them, looking quizzically at Akitsu. "Did you know that would be so painful when you targeted your attack there, Akitsu-chan?"

Akitsu nodded. "Yes, Genma did the same thing to me yesterday during a midday spar." She paused, her normally stoic expressions shifting very slightly to show a grimace. "It hurt, so I expected it would work on Musubi."

"Ara, then it marks the end of this training session, as does this young lady's arrival. Ranma, why don't you introduce us to our new guest?" Miya "asked," looking at the blond feather expectantly.

"Oh, right, sorry. Where's my manners?" Ranma replied, pulling at his pigtail. "Miya-nee, this is Tsukiumi, the Sekirei I saw fighting off four others that first evening while I was coming to Izumo after getting back to Tokyo. Tsukiumi, this is Miya. Don't let her mild appearance fool ya, she's an excellent swordswoman on top of being this place's keeper." Anything else, it's up to Miya to share.

Tsukiumi nodded her head formally, though she was looking at Miya rather askance. Despite the sheathed blade in one hand, Miya just did not give her the impression of being a powerful warrior. "Hmm, it is a pleasure Landlady-dono. I came here to ask if you could train me as you have Ranma."

"Hmm… We will see if that is indeed a possibility," Miya replied. "First I would like you to attack me as strongly as you can for five minutes. After that, I think you and Ranma would both learn something from sparring with one another."

She sighed, looking over at Ranma with a pout. "Really Ranma-kun, since when did my inn become a makeshift training center, hmmm? I would very much prefer a peaceful life you know."

"Yeah, but think about it this way, the stronger me and those allied with me are, the more wrenches into the Great Game we can throw," Ranma replied with a smirk.

"There is that," Miya said, before shaking her head. "Nevertheless, I think I would prefer after today if Tsukiumi and Musubi joined Akitsu and yourself training at the Tendo dojo rather than here." She gestured to her backyard, sighing. "My garden has already suffered enough as it is."

She then blinked, one hand rising to her mouth as she turned to Tsukiumi. "Ara, I apologize. Please, begin."

Narrowing her eyes Tsukiumi gathered her willpower, water appearing out of the air around her. She's not taking me seriously! "Water Celebration!" she shouted, and battering rams of water shot forward, each a different size and speed from its fellows, coming in at multiple angles. Tsukiumi couldn't create her attacks from that far away, that is, she couldn't start an attack from one position while she was in another distant one, but she could control the direction of the attacks at will, which she did now.

It didn't matter much at all to Miya, who dodged around and between her attacks as if they were standing still, her sword lashing out as she did, so quickly none but Ranma could see it move. Each time her sheathed sword hit one of the water attacks the attack dissipated, shattering even as Tsukiumi tried to retain their forms.

Narrowing her eyes Tsukiumi tried to jump up to the roof of the inn, causing Matsu, who was in her room as normal, to look up at the clatter of her feet on the roof. More water condensed out of the air, and Tsukiumi launched another attack, this time pulses of thin water shaped into arrows and going far, far faster than her previous attacks. "Water Arrow Barrage!"

But the added speed simply made Miya smile, and suddenly they all shattered. Her voice registered from behind Tsukiumi who couldn't turn before a slight impact hit the middle of her back, pushing her off balance. Even as Tsukiumi wind-milled her arms frantically to keep from falling off the roof, Miya spoke calmly. "Hmm, there are so many openings there. I think, however, that you would benefit from learning from Ranma before training with me. In fact, I think all three of you would benefit from that."

Tsukiumi scowled, but kept her temper under control as she analyzed how quickly the other woman had neutralized her attacks with seemingly no effort. "Very well," she said, gritting her teeth slightly to get the words out. She then looked down at Ranma, barking, "You, where do you live? I apparently am not at a level where Landlady-dono will consent to train me."

Below in the backyard Akitsu's eyes narrowed slightly, her equivalent of a glare, as she looked up at the very arrogant water user. Musubi, however, thrust her hand into the air. As interesting as it was to fight Miya or Akitsu, Musubi actually gained more fighting Ranma, and she found it a lot more fun too. There was no sign of her depression over Ryoga's absence now and she was eagerly looking forward to more sparring. "Ooh, ooh, me too! This way I won't have to wait here for Ryoga-san to come back either!"

"Meh, so long as it doesn't cut into my training time with ya, Miya-nee, that's fine by me. They can train with my old man during the week and me on the weekends," Ranma replied, her shoulders shifting. "Still, we're here now, so why don't I start Musubi on some more katas, and Akitsu and Tsukiumi can find a nearby empty lot or something and start training against one another?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you think I am unworthy of your training?" Tsukiumi growled, then before Ranma could reply began to attack. The other girl's attitude had irritated her, and she had the desire to fight someone who was hopefully nearer to her own skill level than Miya. Ranma yelped and dodged to one side, then had to continue dodging as Tsukiumi continued to attack, until Miya interrupted her via a smack to the blonde's head.

Elsewhere the days were just as fraught as Ranma's time at Izumo House, if for very different reasons.

OOOOOOO

Karasuba groaned, her blade halting in midair halfway through a kata as the sound of Benitsubasa's shrieking something reached her ears. Whatever the hell had happened to her compatriots had affected them both deeply. Karasuba had not looked into it, not caring in the slightest, having just come back from a slash and hack job. Minaka had sent her to deal with a Sekirei and Ashikabi pair who had been murdering the man's previous employers, and enjoying it too.

That, and the fact she also didn't care about her so-called subordinates. They were weak, it was that simple. She might be the Disciplinary Squad captain on paper, but she couldn't care less about them as individuals or about this whole leadership thing. So long as she had missions like her last one that put some blood on her sword, that was the only thing she cared about.

Well that, and some fucking peace and quiet, maybe! With that thought Karasuba sheathed her sword in one smooth motion, not even looking at what she was doing, before stomping over and nearly ripping the door into the hand-to-hand training area off its hinges. "Benitsubasa, Haihane, shut up!" she barked.

She let out so much killing intent that both of her squad members quailed, shrinking back from her in fear. The pink-haired one almost looked as if she was going to bolt, but Karasuba was standing between her and the doorway. Haihane looked worried, shivering in place, but wasn't making any move towards the door.

Karasuba took in their responses for a brief moment, smirking at them, but then went on quickly. "What the hell are you two arguing about now! It's getting so I can't concentrate on my own training."

"This traitor is actually thinking of going to the dojo that Ranma guy who beat her up is apparently a part of. Can you believe that?" Benitsubasa began, her tone strident but her body language wary.

"Wait, start at the beginning. There aren't that many Sekirei men, and I would've heard about it if you fought with number 5. In fact, I would've been very angry if you had fought with Mutsu," she said coldly, looking at them both. "He's one of mine, understand?" As a fellow swordsman and a veteran like herself from the first Disciplinary Squad she had some smidgeon of respect for Mutsu. So she was eagerly looking forward to the time when she could cut him down.

"No, it wasn't him!" Haihane replied quickly, waving her claw hands frantically. "In fact, Ranma isn't a sword user at all, I don't think. He used his bare hands against me. And he was a human, not a Sekirei," she said after a moment.

"You're joking," Karasuba said, shaking her head, a sneer on her face. "None of these over-evolved monkeys are strong enough to take on a Sekirei."

"Yeah, well these were," Benitsubasa said, shaking her head and getting some of her normal arrogance back now that it seemed Karasuba wasn't going to attack them. "The one I fought was actually physically stronger than anyone I've ever faced. He took my best shots, and it was like I was trying to knock down a building. Most of my blows just didn't matter, and the one blow that did he was too angry to notice."

"And you say you both lost to these humans?" Karasuba said, looking over at Haihane and becoming more interested now.

"The one human who was our actual target, Ranma, he was involved in the painting of the tower. The boss said to go and rough him up a little. Didn't turn out that way, though. Maybe it would have if we'd come across just Ranma, but even that's doubtful since he had the broken one with him," Haiahne said, shrugging as if she didn't care at all about it.

"Humans can actually fight us?" Karasuba said, still skeptical.

"Actually, I have heard rumors from some of the workers that Ranma is connected to 01. Maybe he was trained by her; that could be why he's so strong. Maybe the other one was too, who knows?" Benitsubasa said.

"Interesting!" Karasuba said, suddenly very, very focused. "Who was spreading those rumors?"

"Someone from the Sensor division, I think."

"I'll have to look into that myself," Karasuba mused, then looked sharply at Haihane. "You'll be telling us both about what happens when you go to this dojo, right?"

"Planning to go on Thursday," Haihane replied, nodding her head quickly. "Have to heal before I can go, after all."

"Fine, I'll give you my permission then."

Haihane brightened at that, while Benitsubasa looked shocked. But Karasuba simply shrugged. "He's not another Sekirei so he's not really an enemy in terms of the game, and so long as he doesn't break the rules of the plan in a big way, I'm willing to let it slide. Besides," she said over her shoulder as she turned to leave, her smile condescending. "The two of you are so weak you need all the help you can get anyway."

Benitsubasa growled, but kept her response to herself. It was true, after all. Karasuba could beat the both of them easily with one hand tied behind her back, so long as she had a sword in her hands. And even when she didn't, she was still damn strong.

Haihane looked at her, poking her in the shoulder with one of her claws. "Want to come?"

"No I don't! I don't want to have anything to do with those freaks again!" Benitsubasa shouted angrily, smacking her hand away and stalking off muttering. "I'm going to go see Natsuo-sama. I suddenly feel the need to be pampered."

"Just because you've got a flat chest doesn't mean he'll go for you, you know." Haihane called out to a resounding shriek from her squad mate and a thrown weight from one of the stacks by the door. Haihane dodged them, still chuckling.

About two weeks ago, the Disciplinary Squad had been introduced to and begun to react to their Ashikabi. His name was Natsuo, and he had looks and style that could make you think he was a male model or a playboy. He was suave, seductive, intelligent, and had full access to MBI funds. Benitsubasa had reacted to him quickly, and a few days after he winged her, Haihane had reacted too. As far as she knew Karasuba hadn't reacted, but had still been winged by the man.

However there was one problem: their Ashikabi was gay. Not even bisexual, just plain gay, with a capital G! Haihane was fine with that. She really wasn't interested in all that mushy stuff; so long as she could use her norito that was all she cared about. She was interested in fighting, anime, and Disney stuff pretty much in that order. Even the orders from on high only mattered so much has they let her fight and pay for her other interests.

After her friend had left, Haihane moved around experimentally, wincing slightly as her ribs and thighs flared up in pain. Still, they were getting there, and she would be well enough by Thursday.

Wednesday did not go any more quietly for Karasuba. Though her two squad mates were no longer arguing, and she had indeed found a few Sensor specialists who told her about Ranma and his apparently knowing 01, she wasn't allowed to go and try to find him just yet, despite her best efforts, which had ended with her here in front of Takami's desk.

Half of the rules about how Karasuba and her Disciplinary Squad could act were intended to keep Karasuba away from 01, and the head geneticist, Takami, made no bones about it. "Keep the fuck away from the data anomaly until we figure out how he's so strong and his connection to 01! Minaka might be willing to endanger all of our lives by trying to bait the tiger. I'm not, and I will shut your sorry bitch ass down the instant I see you in the North without prior authorization, understood?"

Karasuba had to admit the human woman had some courage to her. If Takami had been anyone else, Karasuba would've cut them down before they finished the first sentence and made their deaths as painful as possible. That, and the fact that Takami's other hand is underneath the table, probably on the button that will shut me down thanks to those little implants we've all got in our heads, Karasuba thought to herself, chuckling. Humans and their toys. They are such devious little creatures.

"Fine, I'll wait until he breaks the rules and I can go after him for that while he's away from Izumo House. All right?"

"Fine by me. Honestly I would've preferred this guy never even showed up, so if he does break the rules I'll be fine with you hunting him down as soon as possible. But until he does his connection to 01 worries the hell out me."

Karasuba chuckled. "What worries you excites me."

"Just as long as you follow orders you can get excited as much as you want," said Takami firmly, pointing to the door with her free hand. "Now get out. I've got work to do."

Before Karasuba could turn away, however, a call came in, and she stopped, looking at the speaker phone on the desk. "Ma'am, we've got in a situation down herEEE!" A loud bang was heard on the other line, and Karasuba's habitually foxlike eyes widened.

Takami quickly turned on her TV, which was connected to the tower's security cameras, to show the main lobby. There a young man wearing an old-fashioned blue gi and wielding a wooden sword was tossing several of the security guards around like they were untrained children.

"Forsooth, I will speak to whoever is in charge here!" he shouted, audible via the various microphones hidden everywhere in the building as part of its security. "I wish for the beauteous Yuki-onna's hand be given to me, for am I not more worthy of her than the foul peasant Saotome!? You will not gainsay me in person as you did on the phone! For I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Nerima!" the young man shouted as thunder rolled in the background.

"What…the…hell?!" Takami murmured. Both women turned to look outside, seeing it was a bright sunny day, then looked at one another, sharing a slight nod to indicate they had indeed seen the flash of lightning. "Special effects?"

"There seem to be a few other people down there. They caused that, somehow," Karasuba murmured, her eyes flicking over the image. "I think…" She paused, dredging up some memories from that one time she'd allowed Haihane to drag her into a movie. It had been bloody enough to interest Karasuba, and she actually had a bit of fun. From the memory the name came to her slowly. "Ninja, I think they're called?"

"There are no…" Takami paused, then groaned leaning back. "This is all Minaka's fault," she said muttering under her breath. "He opens the gates to this so-called game of the gods as he calls it, and it's like a freaking lightning rod attracting all of the craziness in the world! Why couldn't it have just stayed under the rocks where it was buried!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" asked Karasuba, turning away and heading towards the door.

"He's human, remember," the head geneticist said as she looked up. "Try not to kill him or damage the building too much."

"I make no promises," Karasuba replied with a wave, the door sliding shut behind her.

Moments later, she was out walking from the elevator out into the lobby, watching with interest as the body of one of their security guards flew past her face to crash into the opposing wall. "Not bad form," she said, moving towards the swordsman, her own sword still at her side.

Kuno turned to her, looking her up and down. "Verily, thou art as beautiful as a passing rose, though I declare that your style of beauty is not to my liking. Thou art too boyish for my tastes, so I am afraid I would not date with thee."

"Such a pity," Karasuba drawled, pulling her sword out now. "Because I think I want to date with you. So let's get it on!" With that she charged forward, her sword coming out of its sheath with such speed that no human should have been able to even see it coming.

To his credit, while he wasn't the strongest or the fastest individual, Kuno did have good sword-fighting instincts. The moment the woman across from him crouched slightly his bokken was raised. So he was actually able to intercept her attack. His wooden sword was also not a typical bokken. It was infused with some of Kuno's ki, which he had a surprising amount of. Most of it was tied into his ability to heal from practically anything given time, but what little remained was unconsciously sent into his sword to toughen it up.

His sword was thus not sliced through but it was shattered by her attack, which continued on into his chest, hurling Kuno out the doorway and away, slamming him into a building across the square that was at the front of MBI tower. The actual cutting power behind the attack was mostly absorbed by his sword however.

Whistling in amused wonder Karasuba walked forward over the wreckage of the doorway towards him across the street. "You're still alive! That's actually quite impressive, even if I was holding back most of my strength."

"I…fight…on!" Kuno shouted as he pushed his way out of the rubble, holding up another bokken, though where he had gotten it Karasuba couldn't say.

Karasuba blinked in shock as he kicked his way out of the rubble, his wound across his chest visible but not nearly as deep as she had thought. Did I hold back too much?

She watched as he moved towards her, cocking her head to one side thoughtfully. He can take a hit, let's see if he has any offense to speak of. This could be fun, she thought, her mind much like that of a cat toying with a mouse who had just acted a little cheeky in the cat's presence.

"Verily, thou art strong, powerful enough to even put the great fierce tigress that is Akane Tendo to shame. Yet still I have business inside yonder building to deal with, and thou art still not my type, being of far too boyish manner and body. Verily, I will have to defeat thee to be on my way!"

Karasuba howled, her eyes going wide as she threw her head back in laughter. "Bring it on, you Shakespeare wannabe!" she shouted between guffaws. "You? You? You, beat me?! That is bad comedy!"

She waited until the boy attacked, a long range air slash which she easily blocked, then moved to intercept his blade with her own, sighing theatrically. "So weak, and you think you have business with MBI! Only the weakest of my so-called sisters couldn't put up a better fight than this. Your durability is a little surprising, but it just means I need to put a little bit more into it…"

With that Karasuba's eyes went from amused to dangerous in a brief second. The next moment Kuno was on his back feet from a negligent flick of her wrist, and her sword was coming around in another wind shearing attack.

Again Kuno surprised Karasuba by getting his blade between the two strikes, though she knew she hadn't held back as much that time. She was still holding back, of course, but the difference was something like reducing the amount she held back from 95% to 90%.

However Karasuba's blow shattered his bokken once more and carried on, slicing deeply into the human's chest and hurling him away unconscious from the pain, possibly dead. She had certainly felt some bones being sliced through by her sword there, though she couldn't tell if she had done anything more.

She marched forward to finish the fool off, and suddenly there were ninja everywhere. It was literally that sudden. Even Karasuba's senses hadn't spotted them all. Dozens of short, black clad individuals popped up from the shadows, a nearby sewer drain, and from over the rooftops. All of them immediately began hurling tiny daggers or throwing stars at her then several of them closed in quickly with short swords. At the same time two of their number quickly moved to Kuno, grabbing him up and hauling him away, while two others tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood.

"Now this has gotten a lot more interesting!" Karasuba shouted, cutting down two of the ninja quickly then twirling in place, her blade disappearing even to the ninja's senses as she batted aside or sliced through the weapons hurled at her. A second later she closed swiftly with the ninjas charging at her, cutting them down two at a time even as they leaped away, trying to keep the range open.

Wind attacks slashed out from the Black Sekirei, cutting three luckless ninja standing on the rooftops above the battle in twain, their blood splattering everywhere. Others she cut into actually disappeared into the shadows, their bodies splitting up as if they were images rather than people, but she quickly learned the trick to telling which was which.

The last ninja quickly fell, his head decapitated, only for the rest of his body to roll forward before he hurled himself shoulder-first into a sewer drain.

Karasuba blinked, looking at the head which was now a melon ball and shook her head, laughing aloud. "That was hilarious! You know I'm starting to get why Minaka is holding this game in the first place!" All this chaos it's bringing in, I might actually have some fun with this other than waiting for Musubi to try to challenge me or goading 01 into doing the same.

Minaka had watched all this with amusement from his office up high and thought much the same thing. The chaos this game was causing was hilarious to him, so long, that is, as he remained in the driver's seat. The ninja were a bit of a shock, and he wondered where they'd come from.

What is the importance of this Kuno family? He knew they had rejected his land grab of the district, and the government hadn't helped him at all in that, so was the family tied to the district, and if so, why was Nerima itself important? Something to sic my spies in the government on, I suppose.

For her part back in her office Takami was simply banging her head on her desk, a rhythmic thump as she muttered curses under her breath. "Ninja. People cursed to change into pandas or change genders, sword wielding morons, and now ninja. What the hell is going on with my life!?"

OOOOOOO

Thursday morning started much the same as the previous days in the Tendo household with Ranma and Akitsu helping Nabiki wake up after sparring with Genma. Akane, despite her desire to better herself as a martial artist, wasn't willing to change her morning routine enough to take part and would always go running instead. This left Ranma and Akitsu just enough time to finish up with Genma, give Nabiki her coffee and take a bath, separately despite Akitsu's continual efforts to wear down Ranma on that point.

In that combat he had two willing helpers: Kasumi, who thought it was most improper given they were not married and didn't want to think of someone doing anything in her bathroom, and Soun, who looked at Akitsu as a major threat to the agreement between the Tendo and Saotome families. He always tried to get between the two of them if he could, though he rarely had any energy to do so given the ongoing retraining Genma was putting him through. Soun would train with Genma practically from the moment the kids left for school to when they returned, and then for several hours before dinner.

Leaving Akitsu behind once more, Nabiki and Ranma went to school together with Akane. "So, are you ready for this afternoon's math test, Ranma?" Akane asked, somewhat teasingly. She didn't like how much better Ranma was in terms of martial arts, and sometimes took solace in the fact she was better academically than him. Added to this was the fact their personalities continued to clash, causing an argument at least twice a day. The normal reasons for these were his curse and Akitsu. She still considered Akitsu a witch at times, and thought Ranma a pervert for having her around.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I think I'm all right, but I'd like to get in some more practice before the test," Ranma replied before stopping suddenly and then hopping forward high into the air to put two houses between himself and an old woman who was splashing the step before her front door.

The two girls watched as the woman, instead of splashing the ground, flung the water from her ladle high into the air to try and catch Ranma. Thanks to Ranma's leap, however, this water assault missed.

"Ranma, did you do something to irritate her?" Nabiki asked, catching up to her friend quickly, as did Akane, staring back over her shoulder.

"No idea, but I've gotten into the habit of being leery of people with water," Ranma said, smirking over his shoulder at the old woman who had stopped what she was doing to glare at him.

Thus Ranma completely missed a group of young elementary school kids running by the fence, one of whom was throwing a water balloon to another. The balloon missed its intended target, going high and splashing Ranma right in the chest, triggering his change. As Ranma looked down at herself, the old woman cackled once before going inside.

"Hahaha! The mighty martial artist done in by a kid with a water balloon. Oh, that's priceless!" Akane laughed, shaking her head. "Listen, I'm going to head on and deal with the pervert brigade. I'll see you two later."

"Grrr…" Ranma growled. "That girl really does have it out for me, doesn't she?"

"Well, this time you have to admit it is kinda funny, Ranma-chan," Nabiki replied, winking up at the redhead.

In turn Ranma growled again, leaping down to walk beside her. "Remind me to smack you two with a water balloon, see just how that feels, let alone the whole sex change thing."

"Don't worry about it. You know Tofu's always got some warm water to spare. And as for your test, I'll help and quiz you on it while we walk and at lunch if you want. Think of it as a partial down payment on your share of the cash from the pictures I sold of you and Uzume."

"Really, you already sold them all? I thought you had made a few hundred of them? How'd they do?" Ranma asked interestedly.

"Very well. My factors and I actually didn't sell them at a set price, instead we had groups of students bid on each five picture batch. After giving my factors their cuts and setting aside Uzume's portion from the sales of her photos we still came away with quite a lot. About 17 large, all told."

"Wow! Really?" Ranma was astounded. He knew Uzume was pretty as hell, and his female form was no slouch either, but that much after only a few days?

"Oh yes. Uzume was tremendously popular. I honestly think we could have gotten away with selling some of her pics for an even higher price than they normally went for. And your female form was a major hit too, especially the action poses." Nabiki frowned a little. "I should probably warn you, though, that Kuno bought several sets of each of you, outbidding everyone on them from a few of my factors."

"Ugh, that's just what I need, to have him coming after me in this bod as he does Akitsu already. Not cool Nabs. Why didn't you tell your factors not to sell to that whack job?"

Nabiki reached over and flicked Ranma's ear with one finger, smirking as she twitched away. "Don't call me Nabs, Saotome. And if I had done that it would have cost us at least half of the profits. We'll just be have to be careful he doesn't ever see your female form in person."

"Easier said than done, Nabiki," Ranma groused.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until lunchtime. Ranma and Nabiki were sitting under what was rapidly beginning to be known as their tree, with Nabiki helping Ranma by quizzing him between bites of their respective meals. The two of them sitting like this had become a common sight, though there were many in the crowd of students all around them still looking their way askance at seeing the Wild Boy, as Ranma was known, and the Ice Queen sitting together as friends like this.

Akane thoughts on the sight was much more negative. She didn't like seeing the boy who continually showed her up in martial arts becoming so close to her sister. He was a boy after all, and all boys were perverts. Nabiki might be smart, but she wasn't a martial artist, so who knew what Ranma could do to her?

Their meal-cum-study session was interrupted by an unwelcome voice, though it sounded slightly more breathy than usual. "Hold, Foul Sorcerer Saotome, for whilst I have found thee at last, I have not come before you to do battle this day. Nay, I seek information from the silver-tongued crass commercialist beside you."

The two of them looked up, rolling their eyes at Kuno's speech, only to stare in shock along with much of the rest of the student body. Kuno stood there in the normal school uniform, though it was hard to tell given how many bandages were wrapped around his torso. He was limping badly, leaning on a real katana's hilt for aid as he moved toward them.

"Kuno, what the hell did you run into?" Ranma asked, astonished. Even after so short a time knowing the pyscho-swordsman he knew Kuno's ability to bounce back from injury was impressive, to say the least. Seeing him injured like this was a surprise.

"Verily, while your astonishment is warranted, it is of no consequence to you Saotome. Know only that I didst run into an obstacle in pursuing information on the glorious Yuki-onna who you have been charged with caring for with the intent of taking that task upon my more worthy shoulders."

The two sitting students looked at one another, then Ranma supplied, "Um, you went to MBI and got beaten by someone there?" Ranma tried, wondering if Kuno had a speech impediment to go with his obvious insanity though what Ranma had understood from the swordsman he hadn't liked.

"Indeed. A single swordswoman of…some appeal, physically, though not to my tastes, with an even fiercer disposition than the mighty tigress Akane Tendo, but with far less honor and a bloodlust to match any ogre of old," Tatewaki declaimed grandly. "Twas a sorely fought contest." With that said he turned his attention back to more important matters. Even Kuno had limits, and the beating that Karasuba had delivered to him the day before was one that was going to stick with him for a while. He had no desire to share the full tale with anyone. "I wish to know, Nabiki Tendo, of the magnificent specimens of womanhood whose pictures you were selling yesterday."

Nabiki looked at Ranma, indicating he should be the one to answer. After a moment he nodded back to her and gave the upperclassmen the story the two of them had thought up that morning. "Well, the redhead's my sister, and she's a friend to Uzume. I have no idea why, but Uzume needs the money, hence why she agreed to have Nabiki take pictures of her. Ranko volunteered to join in."

"Hmm… Thou doth speak it plain. I do see a passing resemblance betwixt the two of you," Kuno mused, leaning down with a pained grunt to stare into Ranma's face, making the pigtailed martial artist recoil slightly. "Yet it seemeth to me that thy sister gained the lion's share of the beauty between the two of you."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, Kuno," Ranma drawled, causing Nabiki to break into a fit of giggles she covered unconvincingly with a series of coughs. "Now, was there anything else?"

"Yes, of course there is, you peasant! I wish you to introduce me to your sister and the beauteous Uzume," Kuno said, straightening up once more with another grunt of pain. Ranma could even see some dark droplets of blood coming through the bandages covering his upper body. "Such beauties as they are, surely they wouldst prove worthy to date such as myself!"

"Yeah, no. You hit on me, er, my sister, and I'll kill you," Ranma said, shaking his head and trying to sound angry and protective despite his little gaffe. It worked against Kuno, anyway, and he went on hurriedly. "Come on, Kuno. I hardly know you, man, outside of the fact you're too damn quick to attack, and you don't care much about bystanders."

At that Kuno stiffened, then winced, and Ranma frowned again, noticing how badly hurt he must've been to be in that much pain. But he went on regardless. "So why the hell would I introduce you to my sister? What would you do if someone wanted to meet a sibling of yours?"

"Prepare an obituary page for him because if the fool angered my dearest sister she would probably poison him or feed him to Mr. Turtle," Kuno retorted, sounding rather deadpan despite having gotten the words out between gasps of pain.

As Ranma floundered at that Nabiki stepped in quickly, changing the angle of their defense slightly. She had talked to Uzume extensively yesterday, mostly about how to parlay the girl's skill with costumes into money even though she didn't have any real ID or schooling, and she knew that for some reason Uzume was rather desperate for money. "As for Uzume, she's already in a relationship, Kuno. And we couldn't give out her address without her permission anyway so we'll have to get back to you on her, Kuno-baby."

As Kuno nodded, though most of that might have been because of his being in pain, Nabiki went on quickly, shaking her head sadly. "Besides which I thought you were interested in my sister and Akitsu, Kuno. Are you going to say you're going to throw my baby sister over for someone you just saw in a few pictures? That's low, Kuno, very low."

This seemed to do the trick, and Kuno turned, slowly, his normal somewhat controlled if not graceful movements sharply curtailed by his injuries. "Nay, Nabiki Tendo, I will never forsake thy sister, for she is verily one of the prettiest of the flowers of womanhood." He moved towards where Akane had been sitting nearby watching all of this, his arms spread wide.

Akane paled but was saved by the bell signaling the end of the lunch period. As the others students all turned to enter the building several small men dressed in ninja garb appeared out of nowhere, grabbing at Kuno for a moment, swiftly wrapping his upper body in a new set of bandages.

Seeing them Nabiki hummed thoughtfully as she stood up, accidentally flashing Ranma her legs up to mid thigh as she did so. So he really does have ninja at his beck and call, and more than one too. I thought that was just a rumor. Interesting. "Well good luck on your test, Ranma. Sorry our studying was… What's wrong with you?"

Ranma had turned away, getting up hurriedly, his face red. "Legs, er, I mean, I'm fine Nabs. I'll see you after school. Will you be free to head over to Izumo House today, or should we wait to give Uzume her share of the cash tomorrow?"

Putting Ranma's red face down as a case of nerves or something similar, Nabiki shook her head. "I'm busy after school. I'm seeing a banker this afternoon. Do you want to come with me? You can open up your own account that way and keep it out of Genma's hands."

Ranma frowned, thinking hard, as the two of them walked to the main building. "Um, no, I don't think so. You can take half of my share and—what's the phrase?—play the stocks or something with it? Make it work for us, anyway. I'll take the rest and hide it at Izumo House tomorrow. That way we'll have some cash to work with if need be."

Nabiki turned, smiling brightly and leaning over to give Ranma a brief kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for trusting me like that, Ranma," she said, shaking her head. "I think you're probably the only one who would trust me like that outside of Kasumi."

"Meh, I might've just met ya a few weeks ago but I know you're smart. You could've sold my secret to Kuno or tried to use me rather than work with me to make money, so… Yeah, I trust you," Ranma said, flushing slightly. Then he smirked. "Well, I'll trust ya after you have your coffee in the morning, before that I don't think I'd trust you to walk in a straight line."

Nabiki smacked him lightly on the chest for that, flushing at the gentle teasing note in his voice. Okay, its official. Crap, I really am interested in him. I, I need to sit down with Akitsu at some point, talk this over with her.

OOOOOOO

Later that day Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki walked home together. Akane was rather angry at the moment at Ranma, who she felt had sicced Kuno on her that afternoon. Not that Ranma noticed this. "You want to continue your balance training, Nabs?"

Nabiki kicked the fence lightly. "Don't call me Nabs, Ranma-chan."

"Then don't call me Ranma-chan," Ranma replied, smirking at her. Both of them were now wearing smirks, and Ranma went on still locking eyes with Nabiki. "You didn't answer my question."

A chance to feel those hands and that bod against mine? Yes, please! "Sure Ranma, why not?" Nabiki said, feigning only slight interest despite the suddenly rapid thumping of her heart.

Ranma leaped down, picking up Nabiki easily and leaping back up with her in his arms to land lightly on the fence. Akane watched this, glowering as Ranma's hands rested on Nabiki's waist for a moment before he moved back.

Almost immediately Nabiki began to move slowly forward, showing a decent amount of balance for someone who had only done this twice. If someone had asked Akane she would not have been able to tell them which made her angrier, the sight of Ranma following her sister so closely with obviously perverted thoughts, or the sight of her sister, who had never shown much interest in anything physical, showing such aptitude.

Still, she controlled it for now, saying, "Hmmf, I bet I can do that too!" With that Akane leaped up onto the fence. Her legs were more than strong enough to get her up there, that was never in doubt. Her balance, however, left much to be desired, and she soon leaped off rather than falling off. Despite that she kept trying, getting angrier as the walk went on.

By the time they reached the Tendo dojo Ranma could practically see steam coming out of Akane's ears, and Nabiki had decided to stop practicing, walking on the ground now. This served to calm Akane down somewhat, but not by much. When they turned down the lane to the front door of the dojo Akane stopped, growling angrily. In front of the door was a young woman with gray hair wearing an off the shoulder black kimono and bandages wrapped around her body. On her hands she wore massive claw gauntlets. She was currently poking the ground with them, then looking up at the door and then back down for some reason. Despite her absurd clothes, however, it was obvious to Akane that she was stacked, and Akane could also tell she was probably another one of the Sekirei witches.

"Who the hell is that!?" She rounded on Ranma, who was moving past her towards the girl. "Another one of those freakish Sekirei? Have you been inviting them into our home, Ranma?!"

"Nope. Been inviting them to show up to the dojo for training, though," Ranma replied, smiling in welcome as Haihane looked up at him. "Yo, ya here for some sparring?"

From behind Ranma, Nabiki looked around his shoulder, a curious expression on her face. She isn't as stacked as Akitsu was, but she is cute in a goth sort of way. Yep, beauty does seem to be a Sekirei trait.

"Mm," Haihane said, standing up and smiling at Ranma. "You said I could, so…"

"Cool, lets head inside. Though ya might not be able to spar with me right away. It depends on if my old man and Akitsu are already using the dojo. Don't think it'd be a good idea to have two spars going on at the same time."

They found Genma and Akitsu outside the dojo, with Genma pressing Akitsu back hard. She was trying to bring her ice powers into play, but Genma was moving too quickly for her to get a bead on, and her concentration kept faltering whenever she had to block his blows.

This proved to be a feint. As the others watched several ice spears formed in the air above the two combatants, then fell swiftly, boxing Genma in. But to the surprise of three of the four watchers Genma was able to escape the trap, shattering one spear and bouncing between two more to escape into the sky.

This should have let Akitsu keep the range open, and she began to form more ice spears and other attacks until she spotted Ranma. Then she swiftly moved to his side, a wall appearing behind her, blocking Genma from attacking her once more. The large man smashed bodily into it and bounced off. Akitsu's eyes narrowed in her equivalent of a glare at Haihane before she moved to stand beside and slightly behind Ranma. "Master."

"What've I told you about that, Akitsu-chan?" Ranma quipped, sending one of his lopsided smirks at her, which Akitsu answered with a slight uptick of her own mouth. Before Ranma could stare too much at those lips he turned away, addressing his father as Akane headed up to her room to change into her gi. "Hey, old man, this is Haihane, the gal I told ya about. She's here ta spar with us?"

Genma cocked his head to one side, looking at their young woman before him thoughtfully. "What's with all the wrappings?"

The girl looked away, flushing slightly as two of her claws clanked together as if they were fingers. "I…hurt myself sometimes; forget that I'm wearing these. I started to get into the habit of wearing bandages because of that during training, and it sort of evolved into my own kind of fashion sense."

Genma grunted, looking over at Ranma. "Where would you rate her skill?"

"Better than most fourth Dan black belts, at least in speed and strength. Not so much more style-wise though, and she lacks experience," Ranma replied promptly.

"We'll see if we can help with that, and if you have a learning curve to match your specialty," Genma said, gesturing to the girl to follow him into the dojo where he had left the gasping, brutalized body of his friend a few moments ago.

Genma looked Soun's way for a moment before shaking his head and moving to pick the other man up, leaning him against the wall. With that done he moved into the center of the room, gesturing Ranma and Haihane to join him. Akitsu quickly followed, taking up position behind Ranma, glaring at Haihane. Surprisingly they were quickly joined by Akane, who glared at them all before taking up position along one wall to watch.

Glancing at Akane, Genma hid a smile before turning back to the others. The girl might not have the skill or self-control, but at least she's got a competitive attitude. She might have become something if not for that damn temper of hers and the fact that Soun never trained her. "I want to watch you spar, five minutes, no ki or special attacks."

Ranma nodded and looked at Haihane, cocking a hand towards her invitingly. Haihane needed no second urging, and with a wild grin on her face she charged forward, her claws slashing this way and that, in the same sort of attack she had tried the first time they fought, except slightly more controlled. Despite that Ranma dodged, blocked ,or redirected her attacks easily because she was still being a little too one-dimensional.

But that ended quickly. Between one step forward and the next she leaped to the side, then lashed out with a roundhouse kick which caused Ranma to duck, following it up quickly with a series of claw and leg kick combos, moving around Ranma now, circling and attempting to force him to defend himself from multiple angles.

Ranma laughed, nodding his head. "While your style hasn't changed, you're thinking now. Good!" With that he jumped over another kick, spring-boarding off her leg which was outstretched for just a brief second too long. He smacked her claws to either side, his own hands quickly moving back to her head, using it as a springboard to leap higher into the air. Once in the air Ranma was able to deal with Haihane's attacks easily, and she never regained the initiative.

"That's enough!" Genma said, sitting on the floor of the dojo in a thinking pose as he looked between the two of them. "That was quite good, far more of an actual style than I expected, too. We can work with that. What you need right now is more style and experience, as the boy said. Those kicks were sloppy, uncoordinated, and far too slow. We'll need to work on that first. Once your legwork is up to speed, we'll start moving into more of a balanced style, and then we'll start working on strengthening both your legs and arms further as we build your experience. Only experience can diminish your tells and let you really take your own style beyond the barely acceptable."

Ranma rolled his eyes lightly, but he didn't interrupt his old man. Oyaji might be a bore and an ass some of the time, but when it came to the Art at least he knows his stuff.

"Until then, let's start you sparring with Akane here. She has many of the same problems as you do, but she is actually physically stronger while you have an advantage in speed. It should be a good match." Genma looked over at Akane challengingly, and as he knew she would the girl rose up to the challenge.

For the next hour or so Ranma and Akitsu worked on teaching Akitsu some hand to hand. Since her main power was a long and mid-range type, Ranma taught her some Aikido and would teach her some Pencak Silat along with the Saotome Aerial Style, which would allow her to reopen the range via throws and leaps.

The spar between Haihane and Akane did grab his attention at times. Akane was a bull, charging forward, her attacks powerful, short, sharp, and controlled for the most part, but with little thought or style behind them. Haihane, without her claw hands, seemed to be rather hesitant, awkward for the first few spars, and though she had an edge on speed she didn't use it well, matching Akane charge for charge. But she learned as quickly as Genma and Ranma had hoped a fist type would, never making the same mistake twice, and by the end of the day was able to use a hold to flip Akane to the ground, ending the match by dropping a kick on the other girl's chest.

About two hours after they began Nabiki came in, dressed in short short-shorts and a tank top, holding a large folder. Ranma caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye, and turned his head around to track her, flushing hotly as her legs grabbed his attention for a moment. She noticed this, but only allowed a faint smile on her face as she approached him. "Ranma, here's the thing I wanted you to deliver to Uzume."

Her eyes flicked over to Genma, who she had a low opinion of after talking to Miya and to Ranma about his past antics. Ranma realized this and nodded his head slightly, agreeing with her being cagey about this in front of his father. "Would you mind dropping it off for me today?" Nabiki continued.

"Yeah, sure. Akitsu and I were pretty much done for the day anyway," Ranma said, and Akitsu quickly halted her progress though the last kata Ranma had taught her, moving to stand beside Ranma.

"Thanks, Ranma-chan. And if you could, see if she has a cell phone number I could reach her at, okay?" Nabiki said, then turned away. She looked over her shoulder to watch as Ranma's eyes tracked to her rear for just a brief moment before flicking away and smiled to herself. So he is actually attracted to me. Good, but I do need to sit down with Akitsu this weekend and hammer this thing out.

Seeing that Ranma was leaving Haihane quickly decided to leave too. She had enjoyed sparring with Akane for a bit, but the other girl's smug attitude when she won grated on Haihane's nerves. She made her farewells and hopped away over the rooftops towards MBI tower, before sheepishly coming back to grab her gauntlets from an amused Kasumi, thanking her before once more turning away.

When the grey-haired girl left, Akane smirked smugly and turned in Genma's direction, only to find that he had woken up her father with a splash of water, and the two were facing one another in the middle of the dojo. Scowling angrily, she left in a huff.

OOOOOOO

Ranma and Akitsu quickly made their way through Tokyo as Ranma still called the city, refusing point blank to call it by its new name of Shin-Teito. They arrived at Izumo House to find Kocho and Musubi sitting on the porch as Kocho showed Musubi some pictures in a book, though what they were neither of the new arrivals knew. "Hey gals," Ranma said as he jumped down from the outer wall. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, Ranma-san," Kocho said, smiling over at her savior. While she wasn't reacting to him, she liked Ranma well enough, and if she had wanted to be involved in the Sekirei Plan at all she might well have winged herself on him, even knowing Akitsu would probably kill her. As it was, however, she was more than happy to be not-very-close friends with him. "I'm just teaching Musubi about different actual fashions, street signs, and that kind of thing. Asama-sama roped me into helping teach her common sense."

"Gotcha," Ranma nodded, looking into the doorway as Miya came out of the inn. "Hey Miya-nee, is Uzume here? I got some stuff from Nabiki to give her before we can spar."

Musubi stuck her head up at that reminding Ranma for all the world like a dog that had just heard she might be taken out for walkies. "Spar?"

"Maybe later, Musubi-chan," Miya said before turning back to Ranma. "She's up in her room, actually."

Miya led the way inside despite Ranma and Akitsu both knowing where Uzume's room was and entered with them after Uzume told them she was decent. Thankfully for the brunette Sekirei she actually was, somewhat, wearing much the same kind of outfit Nabiki had been wearing earlier, with a pink and blue short sleeved shirt stretched near to breaking point over her chest. "What's up, guys?"

Ranma tossed the packet to Uzume underhand, and she caught it, opening it quickly. "That's your share of the take from the photo sales, Uzume. Nabiki said that she and her agents cleaned up, though I've no idea how much there is there."

Pouring the package out, Uzume counted through it quickly, her eyes widening along with her smile until it was a full on grin as she leaped up, grabbing Ranma in a hug that planted his face in her chest as she danced around the room. "Bro, this is, oh this is awesome! You seriously don't know what this means to me!"

Gasping, Ranma's hands flailed to either side as he tried to think up how to get out of her hug without touching anything he shouldn't.

Luckily Miya came to his rescue, bonking Uzume on the head with her ladle. "That is most inappropriate, Uzume-san, regardless of how happy you are." To her side Akitsu also was rubbing her head, a sign that she had been about to interfere too.

"Oh fine, ruin my fun, why don't ya?" Uzume quipped, holding Ranma out at arm's length and smirking as the boy gasped in air, his face suffused with a magnificent blush. "Bro, seriously, you've no idea what this means to me. If Nabiki wants to sell any more pictures of me at any point, tell her to call me, because this cash, what it could mean is just…"

Ranma nodded, not questioning why Uzume wanted the money, feeling that wasn't any of his business. "Actually Nabs wanted me to ask you for your phone number so she can get in touch with you. She's apparently following up on some of the ideas she told you about for your costumes and such."

"Awesome!" Uzume cheered, hopping in place as she thrust her hands in the air. Then she sobered somewhat and turned to the window, grabbing up the cash again. Pausing, she turned to Ranma, then reached down to write her number on a pad by her bed, holding it out to him. "That's my number, but I have to go now. See ya later, bro, Icy-Chan, Miya-nee~!"

Miya huffed as Uzume caroled the last word as she leaped out of the window and away over the roofs. "Ranma, if that nickname spreads be prepared for your training to be heightened to a tremendous degree!" Seeing Ranma's thoughtful face she rolled her eyes and smacked him very gently upside the head with her ladle. "That isn't supposed to be a good thing!"

OOOOOOO

The next day the trio's school time was astonishingly uneventful. There was no pervert brigade in the morning, and Kuno was noticeably absent, something they were all happy about. Ranma did decently on his math test, scoring an 82. So it was with a light heart that he headed back to the Tendo dojo with Akane and Nabiki.

Akane had scored better than him, a 94, so she too was in a decent mood, though it passed quickly as Ranma looked around just as they reached her family's front door. "Huh, Haihane isn't here today. I suppose that's a good thing considering it gives me more time over at Miya-nee's, but I would have hoped to see her take her training seriously."

The youngest Tendo scowled. "Well if you want to train someone, why don't you train me?! I am the heir of the Tendo dojo after all, and my own father seemingly can't bring himself to do it, so shouldn't that fall on you and your father's shoulders?"

For a moment Ranma noticed an odd look crossing Nabiki's face, a calculating look coupled with something else he couldn't make out, but whatever it was, it went away as Ranma replied. "Maybe it would if you had enough self-control, or you and I could actually get along well enough for you to take instruction from me. And do you really want my old man to teach you, seeing the way he's been trying to get Soun into shape?"

Akane had been puffing herself up to the first part of his statement, but she couldn't deny that she and Ranma didn't get along, and the last point made her deflate entirely. "Fine, I see your point." With that she opened the door, and the trio entered the house. Nabiki headed upstairs quickly to get changed in order to head over to Miya's. Ranma had told her about Ukyo and what was going to happen today, and she was eager to see Genma get his ass kicked. She also wanted to talk to Uzume about some more money-making schemes and organize the next photo session with her and Ranma.

The other two said good afternoon to Kasumi and then made their way through the house to the garden and the dojo.

In the garden they found Genma having been knocked into the koi poi by one of Akitsu's ice attacks, which made a series of icicle spikes on the ground in a line and elsewhere, where she had tried to bracket the larger but far more mobile Genma. The ice wielding Sekirei stood, looking rather tired, but her face noticeably brightened as she saw Ranma. She moved toward him, and Ranma smiled at her, making Akane gag before turning to head to the dojo.

Looking over at the panda Ranma held back a snicker, saying "Remember, Oyaji, Miya-nee is expecting us over today."

"I heard you the first time, boy," Genma replied with a sign, holding it up quickly before flipping it. "Soun and I will be leaving right after I get back here, though."

He looked around, making sure his friend was still in the dojo where he had left him before sparring with Akitsu. Then he pulled another sign up and began holding them up one after another, flipping them several times to show a longer message with no pause to actually write on it that Akitsu could see. "Honestly boy, I need to get Soun out of this house. Every time he sees Akane trying to train with Akitsu I need to sit on him so he can't interfere. And there's no way I can push him as hard as I need to get him back into shape here. He just won't take it as seriously as he should. Frankly it might take a year or more to get him to the point where he can even use his school's special techniques."

He shook his head, holding up another sign while Akitsu, who had moved to Ranma's side once more, twitched, her fingers making little grasping motions towards the sign. "We might have to figure out a way to teach them to you without his example to work from, boy. I'm not saying Akane won't ever be able to control herself enough to be able to learn them, but it's doubtful."

Ranma blinked, then smiled eagerly at the idea of learning new techniques, while beside him Nabiki snorted, not at all surprised her sister was having self-control issues. Ranma noticed the snort and a sort of dark look in Nabiki's eyes, but decided to set that aside for now. "Sounds good to me, Pop. You know how quickly I can learn things like that. As for Miya-nee, I'll go ahead and tell her you're coming. That'll give me time to train some more with her. She's helping me perfect my wind pressure attack."

Genma growled, throwing his ursine head to one side, visibly trying to throw off the idea that Miya had anything to teach his son that he couldn't, though deep down he knew that was not the case. He didn't like to admit it, but Ranma really was better thanks to Miya's training.

"Yeah… I really don't think ya should show up like that that, old man," Ranma quipped. "I mean, Miya-nee has seen my curse, but she hasn't seen yours yet, and if she reacts negatively…" Ranma and Genma both shuddered at that, and Ranma went on hurriedly. "Besides, this is a sort of formal thing. A meeting between two masters, right?"

The panda held up a sign. "Too right, boy!" The sign flipped. "I'll go and get changed. I'll even…" *flip* "…find a clean gi to change into, and then…" *flip* "…I'll head over there in a few hours."

"You have one?" Ranma asked blankly, then ducked as Genma hurled a sign at him. Akitsu swiftly caught it by the signpost, staring at it only to gasp as the writing disappeared. How does he do that?! she thought, staring hard at the panda as it rumbled its way inside.

"Ah, Soatome-san, please change out there!" Kasumi said with a hard tone for the normally mild-mannered woman. "I do not want to have to clean up more panda hair from the bathroom!"

Laughing, Ranma turned away as Nabiki came out to meet them, talking with Kasumi for a few moments. Ranma exchanged a few words with the woman who he thought was the real head of the Tendo household, promising to be back with Nabiki by the time it went dark, before turning away. With Nabiki once more in Ranma's arms, he and Akitsu turned and hopped up and away over the roofs.

OOOOOOO

From the door to the dojo Akane watched them go, scowling as she saw how closely Ranma was clinging to her sister. For whatever reason though, Nabiki seemed to actually like the pigtailed pervert. I can't believe it, but she does. Though I bet that's only because of how much money she's making working with him. Ugh, who could really like a freak like that, with that curse of his!

But that actually wasn't the main thing bothering Akane. No, she was thinking about this whole Sekirei thing. She didn't like Akitsu. She didn't like her tricks or the fact she was so much faster than Akane. But Akane also didn't like the idea of this whole Sekirei Plan either. The very concept of some pervert suddenly gaining total control of a super-powered alien woman was disturbing to her.

On that same line, however, she didn't like the fact that Ranma seemed to be doing something about it without even asking her or anyone else if they wanted to join him. That, along with how Genma kept on dismissing her skill and her father's continued attempts to dodge out of training her, made Akane think that everyone was making fun of her, or simply denigrating her skills as a martial artist.

She stared over at where her father had just dragged himself out of the dojo, wincing in pain from various muscles and injuries, only having acknowledged her with a bare nod before heading off. Akane's face firmed, watching him. "Well, I can damn well do some good too!"

With that thought Akane headed up to her room, changing into a training gi before heading downstairs. She scowled as she saw the two large packs by the door where they had been left for her father's and Mr. Saotome's training trip. And did either of them ask if I wanted to go? No! I could have helped daddy get into shape, and then he could have taught me the family techniques in return. I don't care what Ranma says, there's no way I'm so far away from using the Tendo branch of Anything Goes even if I can't use the Aerial style.

Quickly Akane reached the door and she turned, shouting out to Kasumi. "Kasumi, I'm heading out on a jog. I'll be back for dinner!" Before Kasumi could reply Akane was out the door, eager to look for some trouble.

OOOOOOO

After arriving at Izumo House, Ranma trained with Miya for about two hours before he looked up as the doorbell rang, audible out in the backyard. His face split into a wide grin, and he looked over at Miya, who looked as pristine as ever despite his attempts to mark her. In contrast Ranma was sweating somewhat heavily, though he wasn't nearly as bruised as he would normally have been at this stage. "Is that…"

Nodding, Miya led the way through her inn, her lips twitching. "Indeed, I called Ukyo-san before you arrived here. You might wish to dry yourself off, at least, before meeting her, you know." She continued onward despite Ranma's growl of irritation at her gentle jibe, a smile once more twitching across her lips.

Opening the door Miya smiled at the young looking woman standing there. She was dressed in a boys' school uniform, but her chest was just large enough to show feminine curves with long flowing brown hair. On her chest she wore a bandoleer with tiny, strangely designed throwing knives, while on her back she wore a massive spatula. "Good afternoon, Kuonji-san. I believe you know the young man behind me?"

"Heh, yeah. You still have that lame pigtail, Ran-chan?" Ukyo said, her voice somewhere between friendly and awkward. She glanced at Akitsu, recognizing her as someone like Uzume and the others here, dismissing her for now while examining the other brunette standing by the doorway into the sitting room much more closely.

"Hey, don't diss the pigtail!" Ranma replied mock-indignantly, then moved forward, his hand outstretched. "It's great to see you, Ucchan, and I'm sorry about how my old man's an asshole."

Ranma than ducked as Miya swung a ladle she hadn't been holding a second before. "You of all people should know that cursing like that is not allowed in Izumo House, Ranma," she admonished, before pausing. "Even if the word you used was accurate."

Both the younger people laughed, and Ranma gestured Ukyo inside to the sitting room. "Erm, so how've you been, Ucchan?"

"A lot better since Miya-san made me realize chasing after you was stupid," Ukyo said dryly as she sat down. "No offense, Ran-chan, you look handsome and all, but I really don't want Genma as a father-in-law. Him… Him I still have a problem with."

"Er, did your old man tell you about the agreement, and do you know why he made it in the first place?" Ranma asked. "I mean, do you know if my old man even mentioned the fact that he'd already made an agreement with the Tendos before making the agreement with your father?" Ranma asked, gesturing to Nabiki.

Ukyo looked at the other brunette, and both girls nodded hello to one another. "We were told about the whole arrangement a few weeks ago, about an hour before Ranma and his father showed up on our doorstep."

"That was still a bit better than me," the chef said grimly. "I wasn't told at all until about an hour before I was due to leave with you. Genma was supposed to take me with you along with our cart, but then ran off with you and the cart, leaving me behind." Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned over poking Ranma in the forehead. "I still remember you sitting on top of it, waving at me as if it was all in good fun, y'know?"

"Yeah, I wish I could remember what line my old man gave me about that. I remember having the cart too for a bit, but I cant remember how he explained that to me. Probably just told me it was to train you or me, something like that," Ranma said morosely.

"Don't worry about it, Ran-chan," Ukyo said, leaning back. "Miya-sama has helped me through a lot of my anger about being abandoned like that, and she pointed out that given our ages there's no way I could blame you for it. But Genma is a different matter. I want to at least kick his tail a few times for what he did."

"Why did your father agree to the deal in the first place?" Nabiki asked. "I can't imagine that Genma was ever that persuasive, unless copious amounts of booze was involved."

"My dad wanted a boy to take over the school," the chef said bluntly. "He was never happy that I was born a girl, hence the way he dressed me and everything. Don't get me wrong, I like dressing up like a guy, makes things a lot easier. But I still have days where I like to dress up as a girl, another thing Miya-sama's helped with. My dad would have thrown a fit he'd ever seen me in anything but our school's gi and guy clothes. I think that was a major part of his reasoning. The other half, he just sucked at taking care of me on the road. That aspect didn't go away when we traveled together after Genma and Ranma ran away."

"That's the most sexist thing I've ever heard," Nabiki said coldly. "Though I have to say it also makes some sense given my own father's reasoning behind the agreement between Genma and him. Where's your father now?"

"He died a few years ago, about three months or so before I found Ranma's name on that high school registry which eventually led me here to Izumo House," Ukyo shrugged, showing a marked lack of regret. "I've gotten over it."

"I have to apologize again," Ranma said wincing. "But hey, look on the bright side. This way you don't have to have Genma as an in-law.

"Ouch. Maybe my sisters and I need to rethink this whole fiancé thing," Nabiki quipped, causing the others at the table save Akitsu to laugh.

The three of them talked for a time, somewhat awkwardly. While Ukyo and Ranma had been great friends when they were younger, that was ten years ago, and both of them had changed a lot over that time. It was obvious that they were still friends, but Miya, sitting nearby but only occasionally taking part, doubted that they would ever become close. Their interest lay in different directions, and they had few similar interests outside the martial arts. But while Ranma saw the Art and becoming as good as he could be in it as his life, Ukyo was nowhere near as passionate about the martial arts. She was a cook first and a martial artist second.

On the other hand, although Nabiki and Ranma were very different and had different goals in life, there was a growing closeness between the two that Miya could see. Whether the connection was one that would grow in time she couldn't say, but she rather thought it would.

There have been many trite phrases trotted out over the centuries about love and how people go about falling in love. But one line my husband once said I think is the closest to reality: falling in love is at times a quick process based on mutual attraction. Staying in love is based upon whether a couple will be able to grow together rather than apart. And I think these two, for all their surface differences, could well grow together like that. Like my husband and I did during our courtship and after until his death.

For once thinking about her husband did not bring with it the normal wave of pain and sorrow. Rather a sort of bittersweet regret came to Miya then as she listened in on the conversation before her. I think you would have liked the young man Ranma has become, my love, and what he continues to do for my sisters as well. What her thoughts on Nabiki might mean for Akitsu didn't occur to Miya. After all, harems were normal among her people.

About an hour after Ukyo's arrival, Izumo House's doorbell rang once more. Miya smiled over at Ukyo, gesturing to the backyard. "You might want to get ready, my dear, to *ahem*, serve up some comeuppance, yes?"

"Lame," Ranma sighed, shaking his head, then wincing as Miya's ladle smacked him upside his head while she moved towards the door. Behind her Ukyo laughed before racing out to the backyard as Ranma, with Akitsu trailing him, went out to prepare. This was going to be fun.

Outside the door Miya found Genma in a surprisingly clean white gi looking irritated and attempting to appear his normal brash, arrogant self. That façade faded quickly as he saw her standing there. Even without her hanya mask Miya could cow most people with her simple presence, but she said nothing. Her own chastisement of Genma would come later; this was Ukyo's time now. "Ara, Genma-san. Excellent. Please, come in. I have been looking forward to speaking to you about the training you gave Ranma while on this trip of yours."

Miya allowed her eyes to narrow even as Genma straightened up, recovering some of his poise. "However, we will be discussing your decision to bring Ranma to this Jusenkyou place in detail later. I was most displeased to discover his curse and how precisely he received it." She let her hanya mask out just slightly so that it peeked over her shoulder almost, the horns, lank black hair, and white skin barely visible.

In response Genma stepped back, letting loose an unmanly shriek, and Miya smiled. "For now, however, please, come this way. There is someone here to meet you, interested in getting to know your training styles. And I must say I'm interested in talking to you about them too."

She gestured Genma inside, then out into the backyard. There was a woman standing there leaning against a tree, but her looks didn't register so much to Genma, rather the weapon over her shoulder was the reason he stopped short. A giant spatula. I know only one school of marital artists that use those… No, it couldn't be…

Genma might have moved backwards, but a slight shove from behind and his son's voice saying, "Get out there, Pop, and take your medicine!" sent him stumbling out into the garden.

The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up malevolently as she took in the sight of the man, and she stalked forward towards Genma.

Genma backed away, trying to think of how to play this, but Ukyo continued to move toward him. Try ignorance first. "I don't know what you're talking about, girl! I don't even know you!"

"My name is Ukyo Kuonji. Genma Saotome, you cheated my father and stole my dowry, prepare to die," Ukyo said, circling around Genma, keeping his back to the inn where Miya was standing in the doorway.

It would take a far braver man than Genma was to try and get out that way, but Genma made a break for the outer wall, only for the girl to intercept him, a string of some kind of dough grabbing his leg and hauling him back to earth. He broke it quickly, but had to leap away again as the girl closed, making him unable to get back to the wall. "My name is Ukyo Kuonji. Genma Saotome, you left me behind and stole my dowry, prepare to die."

Watching from the sidelines, Ranma noted Ukyo's normal Osaka accent had been replaced by an obviously fake, foreign sounding accent. What's up with that?

"I'm sorry! I was weak! I had enough trouble looking out after one child, I couldn't look after two!" Genma pled, looking around for an out. While he could have fought the girl, it was entirely possible if he tried that Miya would join in, or his own traitorous son. It was evident to Genma that he had been brought here to take his lumps, but he certainly wasn't going to go down without a fight. I'll get you for this, boy!

"Then why did you make the agreement in the first place, you ass!" Ukyo shouted. With that she charged forward, leaping into the air and bringing her spatula down, slamming it into his head without further warning. "I will have my pound of flesh for leaving me behind!"

Groaning in pain, Genma dodged to one side, then yelped as a few flung dough bombs went off all around him, almost bracketing him for Ukyo's next charge. But he dodged under it, only getting hit in the shoulder by the base of Ukyo's battle spatula, which hurled him sideways.

Deciding to try to at least redirect Ukyo's anger Genma shouted, "It wasn't my fault! I gave the choice to the boy. He chose your okonomiyaki over you! I asked him which he liked the most between you and okonomiyaki, and he chose the food!"

Ukyo actually looked over at Ranma at that, but Ranma growled, flinging a piece of wood left over from his projects around the inn at the back of Genma's head when he turned to try and run away. "Don't give me that, old man! I was six or seven, and that was the best food I'd ever eaten, and the most, too, thanks to you always stealing my food from my plate! No way in hell did I understand what you were really asking!"

"That's right, Genma. It was your damn fault for stealing my dowry. Now stand still and take your punishment!" Ukyo shouted, closing in once more.

"Never!" Genma shouted, trying to back away only to have to dodge a series of the small knife-like spatulas from Ukyo's bandoleer.

Watching this from where she and Akitsu were sitting on either side of Ranma, Nabiki frowned even though she was amused by what was going on. "So, you have any idea how many other families your father might have made agreements with?" she asked idly.

She blinked as Ranma grabbed one of the spatulas out of the air from in front of her. To one side Uzume too was grabbing them as they came towards them piling them up next to her while she wondered where the girl had been hiding most of them. There were certainly more knives there than showed on her bandoleer.

"I don't know. I've been wracking my brain trying to think about that but I can't remember meeting anyone else my own age on the trip. There could've been a few temples he might have stolen from, and I know we both dined and dashed a lot. Other than that, I don't think so…" Ranma said, shaking his head.

"Hmm…" That was what Nabiki's research into Genma had dug up too, though Miya had not been as helpful as she had hoped in that search. Ukyo was the only one to have come around asking about Ranma and Genma, but that didn't mean there weren't others out there.

"I'd like to think that most of them are like the ones he made with my family and the Kuonji's, simple verbal agreements, and as such could be forgotten. But a lot of the old style martial arts families that have their own styles are a little…well, a little wrong in the head. Look at the way my own father's pushing you to choose me or one of my sisters and get hitched already." Nabiki had, in fact, thought about telling her father about the Kuonji agreement, thinking they might be able to get him to cancel the pact between their families, but thought better of it for a few reasons, not all of them logical.

"Heh, don't hold back Nabs. Tell me what ya really feel," Ranma said, pushing her shoulder lightly. As Nabiki tried to push Ranma's shoulder in turn without success, he went on. "Well, whatever the case, we can just wait until trouble shows up and deal with it then."

"True," Nabiki said, her brow furrowing in irritation.

"Heh, you're looking kind of worried there, Nabiki," Uzume said, having turned from the ongoing fight to watch the two interact with interest, one eyebrow rising in sudden surmise. "Any reason why you're so concerned about more girls going after bro?"

"Other than the fact they might attack my family and our house, no," Nabiki said coolly, staring at the slightly older and far chestier woman with a calm expression, not rising to her insinuation.

Before Uzume could launch another attack, Ukyo picked up a pail that had been left on the porch half full of water with cleaning solution in it and hurled it at Genma, having run out of both spatulas and dough bombs. The makeshift missile hit Genma in the face, splashing him and triggering his change.

Ukyo watched in amazement as Genma shifted from his normal body into that of a large panda, gaining about a foot in height and girth. "GRowf!"

Uzume slid down the support she had been leaning against to land on her rear, shaking her head in shock. "I… You told us about it, but damn if that transformation isn't even more surprising than yours, bro!"

Not having heard about the curses just yet from Ranma or Miya, Ukyo stumbled backwards gaping. This allowed Genma to turn away, leaping up and over the outer wall.

As he did so, Musubi arrived from the errands Miya had sent her on today. "Oya-san, I'm bacKKK!" she shouted, as the giant panda leaped up at her from the other side of the wall.

Before Musubi could do anything or the others could interfere the panda had smacked her to one side, sending her crashing down into the garden while it leaped away, running over the rooftops. Musubi hit face and chest first, holding up the bags of groceries she had been sent to buy so they were left undamaged. Genma raced on, looking for a place where he could change forms and then call Soun to meet him so they could get out of the city as fast as possible.

"Ara, are you all right, Musubi-chan?" Miya asked, moving to help the girl up, taking the basket of groceries from her.

Musubi bounced to her feet uninjured but looking rather awestruck. "I'm fine, Oya-san. But wow, what was that? That punch was strong, and he was so fast, too!"

"I've got the same damn question, girlie!" Ukyo said before turning to glare at Ranma. "Anything you want to tell me, Ran-chan?"

OOOOOOO

"What do you mean she was able to pay the hospital bill? I thought that Uzume had no ID, and thus no method of making money legally without reverting to her MBI card, which she in fact does not have, having helped number 2 escape. Was this in fact in error?" said a calm, but very cold voice. This was a voice of a man who did not like dealing with setbacks and was used to getting his own way.

"No sir. That seems to have been the case." This second voice was also calm, but markedly subservient sounding. "But nonetheless she seems to have figured out a way of making enough money on smalltime jobs. She was not very forthcoming about how or what those jobs entailed, so I doubt we'll be able to find her place of work and put pressure on them." After a moment the voice went on. "If she is able to make that much money in so short a time, we might need to be more proactive in pressuring her."

"Hold her Ashikabi as hostage to her good conduct, you mean?" said the voice from the other end. "That is a bit too strong for my preference this early in the game. I will order the hospital manager to add to the amount of money she needs to pay, but to do it in such a way that it doesn't seem to be maliciously aimed at Uzume. And then when she can no longer pay the amount needed, you can come back into this. Until then, you and your Sekirei will be of better use elsewhere. I'll see you in my office first thing tomorrow morning."

With that Izumi Higa, Ashikabi of the East, hung up, turning to look at a map of the city that was slowly taking shape as the great game continued. Some random elements might've been added of late, but the game is still going on, and so long as it does, my path to power is still out there waiting for me to grab it.

OOOOOOO

After the explanation Ukyo spent several moments playing with pouring hot and cold water over Ranma's head, shaking her head in wonder. "Wow, this is just amazing, Ran-chan! Heh, I don't suppose you're looking for a job? You could make a killing as a waitress with a bod like that."

"Heh, no thanks, Ucchan. I've already got a few jobs lined up through Nabiki here," Ranma said, gesturing at Nabiki who had been talking quietly with Uzume as Ukyo got her surprise at the curses out of her system, having called home to her family to tell Kasumi that she would be coming home late. "But I've got a question for you. Why did you repeat yourself so often when you threatened my old man, and what was up with the accent?"

In the kitchen Akitsu helped Miya with dinner as Miya talked to an excited Musubi about training her further to help her react to sudden surprises. Kocho and Matsu had also joined them in the dining room for dinner as was the rule in Izumo House. Both of them were looking a little angry, glaring at one another, then turning away as Miya turned to glance their way. Ranma guessed the two of them had had another argument about Internet usage.

"Oh, that." Ukyo giggled a little, shaking her head. "Er, I was trying to imitate this scene in the Princess Bride. I suppose my accent and the way I had to mangle the lines kind of ruined it."

"No way, Ukyo. I got it at once. That was why I was laughing," Uzume said, to which Nabiki nodded.

"What, is the Princess Bride a famous movie or something? I've never heard of it," Ranma said, and all the side conversations cut out as everyone except Musubi turned to stare at him in shock.

Reaching over, Nabiki gently touched Ranma's cheek as her head shook from side to side sadly. "Oh, you poor, poor boy. You've never seen the Princess Bride? We must correct this." She looked over at the small TV in one corner which didn't have a DVD player, then stood up resolutely. "Who here hasn't seen the movie yet? I know that my family has a copy."

Musubi looked confused, which Nabiki decided was the same as a reply, though amusingly enough all the other Sekirei, even Akitsu, had seen it already. From where she had turned to them from her place in the kitchen even Miya was looking a little nostalgic, and a little sad. "I saw it when it was out in theaters while on a date with Takehito-san. It was one of the last ones we had seen before he proposed…"

Ukyo shook her head sadly, standing up. "Sorry, I need to get back to the restaurant. If you're ever in eastern Shin-Teito, come and find me, Ran-chan. I'd like to catch up with you more."

"Sure, Ucchan. And again, I'm really sorry about what my old man did." With that Ukyo left, shown to the door by Miya.

Of the Izumo House crowd only Musubi was interested in coming with Ranma and Nabiki. She joined the two of them and Akitsu, heading back to the Tendo house. Little did they know that Musubi wouldn't be the only guest that night…

End Chapter

---

I looked back and saw how much stuff has come out of the Kuno mansion, and I thought… hmm… so the ninja brigade came from that hmm, and Kodachi may well become a main character going forward for that reason and the fact I'd like to see if I could redeem her character without changing her too much. We'll see. I also had several other things I wanted to write up for this chapter, however I realized I was still stuffing in too many events in too short an in-story time frame. So they will occur later.

As for Takami, she struck me, just like Homura, as someone who would be unable to deal with a sufficient amount of utter chaos, hence her reaction and his avoiding Ranma (yes he actually is avoiding him/her). Don't worry, she'll start rolling with it soon, but it will take a while.

August's poll is up here on fanfic. Something many of you might know is that it has been three months since its last update and that means A Third Path to the Future is up for voting!

Why isn't it automatic you ask? I have decided that at this point I can cut down on the chapter size of ATP without losing any of the impact and world building. So from now on it will be up in the monthly poll! It is also the author's choice, which means I will be voting for it too, and Horse for the Force is not going to be part of August's poll. I need to do some research on characters and worlds, and plan the next few events, both major and personal, out for that story. Magic of the Force however is part of the poll in August.

If you want it or one of my other stories updated this coming month take part in the poll here or join up over on P at Ron. I have story ideas, several omakes and teaser chapters up there, as well as the One Piece/Ranma story Stallion of the Line, which is already in the Grand Line, putting it ahead of a lot of the stories here on fanfic LOL.