Author's Note: Well, this chapter took me a while to write. I kept working on it and changing things, but I'm still not quite satisfied with the way it turned out. However, I'm at the point where I don't think I can figure out what's bugging me about this chapter without some input, so here it is. Please review, and let me know what you think...if there's some good ideas and points, I'll put up a rewrite (which hopefully, I'll be satisfied with and be up to my usual standards). Thanks in advance!

Chapter Six

He wasn't quite quiet enough when he snuck back into the house. In fact, two people were still awake, and they were waiting for him. Ranma wasn't really surprised. While the battle and the subsequent meeting with the Senshi had concluded late afternoon, he hadn't returned home immediately. In fact, it was the middle of the night now, and Ranma had almost expected that Kasumi was still up. She always was, when someone wasn't at home and she worried about them, despite the message he had left for them.

Nabiki, he had expected, as well. Mostly because of their previous conversation. Still, imagining that Nabiki, the Ice Queen, would be worried about him was still a weird notion. But the instant he slid off his slippers, the middle Tendo daughter turned on the lights in the kitchen, beckoning him over.

Ranma sighed. He was tired. Not only had the battle taxed him – and coming up with two entirely new techniques on the fly most certainly only added to that strain – but he had spent the last few hours from sundown until midnight thinking. His feet had unwittingly carried him back there, and before he knew it he had found himself in front of the Tendo home and dojo. At least Pops and Akane are already asleep, he thought.

"How'd it go?" Nabiki asked.

The pigtailed martial artist shrugged noncommitally. "Could've been worse," he grunted. Actually, it's pretty darn bad already. Thinking about the entire chain of events had led him to a similar conclusion as Nabiki had drawn at the ice-cream parlor. Setsuna was hiding something. And while he could feel that she was honestly trying to stop this invasion and prevent her fellow Senshi's deaths, there was something else to her that he couldn't quite put his hands on.

"Saotome." Nabiki smiled wryly. "I didn't know you had added understating the facts to your talents. Have you seen the news lately? An entire office building vanished. Monsters the size of large cars coming out of the ground. Some footage of the Senshi fighting, and not doing too well. How exactly could it have been worse?"

"Akane could've been there," Ranma replied dryly.

"Good point." Nabiki frowned. "Anyway, so what happened?"

Ranma shot a glance at Kasumi, who merely gave him a blissful smile and began pulling together a quick snack for him. Nabiki shrugged and told him, "I had to tell her why you were going to be out late. She knows you're involved in a fight and helped the Senshi this afternoon."

The pigtailed young man leaned in and whispered, "Setsuna?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Not my place to tell. Besides, who knows what would happen if more people knew the whole story. So, want to tell me what happened out there?"

"Those girls got their asses handed to them on a silver platter, along with appetizers and drinks."

Nabiki was surprised to find no trace of bragging or pride in Ranma's voice. While she had long realized that most of his bravado was an act to protect himself from an environment where his friends were those that merely wanted to maim him, instead of outright killing him, some of it was the well-deserved result of his skills and abilities. If he was dead serious about things, then matters had to be bad – bad enough for him to forego any kind of flowery descriptions and go straight to business. And the last time he had gone straight to business was the battle with Saffron, or so she'd heard. Then again, she thought, if the Senshi couldn't handle those monsters, then things probably are pretty bad. "I could see that on TV," she replied dryly.

"You don't understand, Nabiki," he explained, "They suck. Their idea of fighting is standing still and throwing the bigger magic ball at their enemy. I know Setsuna asked me to train them, but if what she tells me is true, then nothing's ever gonna get them in decent shape in time."

"Oh, come on," Nabiki said skeptically. "They can't be that bad. They've managed to fight off everything they've faced so far, after all."

"Yes, and if their enemies ever learned the value of dodging, then they'd have been toast much earlier," Ranma countered. "Not to mention the fact that these new monsters seem to be magic-proof, or something."

"Magic-proof?" Nabiki arched an eyebrow in doubt.

"You saw it on TV. Their attacks just bounced right offa them. They didn't even leave a dent." Ranma shook his head. "And it gets worse."

"How so?"

"From what Setsuna told me," he said, leaning closer toward the brunette, "things are going very, very wrong. You know how you told me you thought she might be setting this whole thing up earlier?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"I don't think she is," Ranma shook his head. "Things wouldn't make sense if she had."

"Why do you say that? I still think her little warning was a little too convenient." Nabiki frowned. "And of all the Senshi, I would trust her the least, if rumors are even partially true."

"Let me explain." Ranma used the phrase without thinking about it and paused, then blinked in surprise when he realized that Nabiki was actually looking at him intently, and it was dead quiet except for the chirping of crickets outside.

"Cat got your tongue, Saotome?" Nabiki teased after a minute or so of Ranma's perplexed silence.

"Uh, no." He scratched the base of his pigtail in embarassment. "I just realized what I said."

"What did you – oh." Nabiki's eyes widened as she came to the same realization. "Not used to it actually happening, are you?"

Ranma smirked wryly. "To people actually listening to what I've got to say? Not really, no." He shrugged, and picked up where he'd left off. "Anyway, I don't think she's setting any of this up. Things actually make a lot more sense if she's telling the truth."

"Like what?"

Ranma was silent for a moment, unsure of how to word things. "She's…afraid," he finally said. "I know I suck at reading people, but I really don't think she was acting. And…there's something more."

"I'm all ears, Saotome."

"This isn't just any one isolated battle, Nabiki. This is going to become a war, and we just lost our biggest advantage."

The middle Tendo daughter blinked in confusion. "I don't understand." It wasn't often that she admitted to something like this, but the whole situation had her mind in overdrive to make some sense out of it.

"Surprise," Ranma explained. "Setsuna wanted to keep my involvement secret from the enemy to give us an edge when the battle came. I think she really can see the future, and that her warning this afternoon was genuine. When she saw that there was going to be a fight today, it was convenient for her, you're right about that – but I've had time to think about it. Her surprise doesn't add up to it, and it feels genuine, too. After the battle, we realized that our opponent knows I'm involved – that's why he increased the combat strength of his monsters. He knew Setsuna was trying to get help, and was trying to wipe us all out in one go."

"So, what exactly happened? I mean, from the news footage it looks like you had everything under control. It didn't exactly look like you were hard-pressed to deal with them, or something." Nabiki shrugged.

"Nabiki." Ranma's voice caused her to stare at him quizzically – this was a tone of voice he usually never used. This was a Ranma who took matters extremely seriously. "I had to come up with two completely new techniques on the spot to defeat them. The girls' attacks didn't even scratch their armor. One of the girls almost died. And the enemy knows I'm helping. It's about as bad as it can get."

"That's…pretty bad," Nabiki conceded.

"And to make matters worse, Setsuna thinks we're being observed by the enemy, and that he's capable of changing his tactics and attack forces on the fly."

"What makes you say that?"

"They did it already. That first battle wasn't supposed to go the way it did. There weren't supposed to be that many of them." Ranma shrugged. "If your opponent can increase his strike force by four times in a matter of hours, then…"

"Then there's going to be big trouble," Nabiki finished in understanding. "If they can predict your countermeasures an have enough time to put their own in place, then you're fighting a loosing battle."

"Yeah." Ranma sighed. "That and I've got to whip them into shape, and, well…" the pigtailed martial artist shrugged helplessly. "I can't train girls."

"Why's that?" It was Nabiki's turn to be perplexed.

Ranma stared at her evenly for a moment before replying. "Look at what happened with Akane."

A plate of steaming dumplings was placed down in front of him, and Ranma looked up into Kasumi's reassuring smile. "Here you go, Ranma-kun."

"Thanks." For once, though, the infamous Saotome appetite seemed to stay dormant, as Ranma started picking at his food.

Kasumi settled at the table next to her sister, and peered at him intently. "Yes, Ranma-kun, you can." At Ranma's confused look, she smiled and explained. "I think you can train girls, Ranma-kun. Oh, don't give me that look, I know you mean well with Akane, but would you teach every girl the way you train with Akane?"

"Uh…" the pigtailed martial artist scratched the back of his head. "I suppose not."

"That reminds me, why do you train Akane the way you do? I mean, she's right, I'd barely call that training. You've never shown her a single move, all you ever do is dodge her attacks." Nabiki frowned. "Well, whenever she doesn't use her mallet, and only until she looses her temper, anyway."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kasumi reverted back to her blissfully unaware smile, but her eyes gleamed with insight. "We all know Akane-chan is impatient and has problems controlling her temper."

Understanding dawned on the middle Tendo daughter. "So you're taunting her to make her loose her temper? I guess I can see how you're trying to make her see how loosing her temper is bad, but, seriously, I think there's better ways than pretending to not take her seriously."

"Yeah, I guess there are," Ranma acquiesced, absently rubbing Akane's favorite malleting spot. "But this way I kill two birds with one stone…well, sort of, if she doesn't kill me first."

"Like what? All you ever do is dodge her until she explodes."

"Did you notice I stay just a bit ahead of her in terms of speed?" Ranma smirked. "Akane has gotten quite a bit faster over the last year. Her accuracy has gotten better, too, at least when she's not swinging that damn mallet of hers."

Nabiki blinked in surprise, never really having noticed it. "I never noticed."

"I'm not surprised," Ranma smirked. "Akane hasn't, either."

Kasumi's hand found its way on top of Ranma's, and he stilled his food poking at her touch. The eldest Tendo girl's brown eyes smiled at him as she spoke. "Then there's your answer, Ranma-kun. If you really had any doubt about being a competent teacher, you should have your answer."

"Yeah, well, I don't think Akane really appreciates my way of teaching." The Saotome heir shrugged. "I mean, I can't seem to do anything right by her."

"There is a gaijin saying: 'When the student is ready, a teacher will appear.' Akane-chan isn't quite ready to be taught yet," Kasumi countered, her serene smile back in place. "I told you when you first got here, she's a bit of a violent maniac, I'm afraid, and until she looses that, she can't really advance. However," her eyes bored into Ranma, and he felt a chill run down his spine despite her smile, "that does not make you a bad teacher – quite the opposite, really, you found the only way she would improve, and continued to teach her even after she rejected your way of teaching – even after she can't even recognize what you are trying to teach her."

Ranma merely smiled weakly, and raised his hands in surrender. "Geez, thanks, Kasumi. I guess this is my lucky day, what with both of you being so nice today, and all."

The stare Kasumi sent him had Ranma sweating bullets an instant later. "Uh…not that you aren't nice all the time, Kasumi, you're just being nicer than usual today, I mean – uhh, what I actually wanted to say was-"

The two Tendo sisters broke out into fits of giggles at his flustered expression. "Oh, don't take it so seriously, Ranma-kun, we are just teasing you," Kasumi finally managed between giggles. When all of them had calmed down somewhat, she continued. "So, what exactly is it that has you so worried?"

"I'm going to be teaching a bunch of girls, Kasumi." Ranma stated as if it were self-explanatory. When no reply was forthcoming, he elaborated. "You know I don't hit girls, and you know I don't like to fight them. This is, well…" he shrugged helplessly. "This is, like, going against everything Pops ever taught me."

"And since when has your father ever taught you anything relevant or accurate?" Nabiki asked, ice lacing her tone.

"It's not really all that easy…" Ranma started, only to be interrupted by Kasumi, again.

"No, I imagine it's not, Ranma-kun. You've been taught all your life that women are weaker than men, that they need to be protected." The brunette housekeeper allowed herself a sad smile. "In some cases, that may even be correct, and it's always nice to be chivalrous. Women are physically weaker than men, and most tend to be less aggressive, that is true, but we are far from helpless. Look at Shampoo, look at Elder Cologne. Are they weak?"

When Ranma shook his head, she continued. "When you change into your female form, do you consider yourself weak?"

Again, Ranma shook his head.

"Then do you think I am weak? Or that Nabiki is weak?"

"Well…" the pigtailed martial artist didn't know what to reply, so when Kasumi seemed content to let him choose his words, he took his time…and did so carefully, for a change. "I guess, in some ways, yeah. You're not fighters, so when something happens, you're the first I'd want to protect. But in other things…I wouldn't exactly say that you are weak, just…well, just not fighters."

A satisfied smile spread on Kasumi's face. "Then what is the difference between us and Shampoo, or the elder?"

"They're martial artists."

"Exactly. So, if a woman has been trained as a martial artist, is she still weak?"

Ranma frowned, remembering the ease with which Setsuna had dispatched Ryoga before the lost boy had even seen her, and the skill he'd seen her wield during the battle against the youma. "I guess not."

"So then, if women aren't weak as fighters when they're trained, do you suppose they can be dangerous opponents?" Kasumi leaned forward onto the table.

"Well…maybe. I'm the best, after all, but…yeah, Cologne's pretty damn dangerous. Shampoo could wipe the floor with Akane and Ukyo."

"And could such trained women warriors be dangerous to noncombatants? Could an Amazon warparty, maybe, be dangerous to me and Nabiki and your mother?"

Ranma's eyes widened as Setsuna's words came back to him. The casualties in the Senshi's prolonged war with this evil force, which I only know of as 'Kaiser,' will ultimately include your mother, and almost the entire Tendo family. He realized where Kasumi was going with her line of inquiry. "Yes," he whispered, "they could kill you all."

"And if they could, Ranma-kun, would you not be forced to strike them? To do whatever it takes to defeat them?" Kasumi placed a hand on Ranma's. "It is true that it is dishonorable to strike a woman when not in combat, but you have to realize, Ranma-kun, that women can be just as dangerous in battle, and need to be taken seriously. If you don't, people might get hurt, and that is a much greater dishonor."

Nabiki realized where her sister was going, and added in her own two cents. "I know you pride yourself on your skills, Ranma-kun, but even you can't be everywhere. You always say it's your duty as a martial artist to protect the weak, but did you ever imagine others see things the same way? That it's their duty to protect others?"

"I guess," Ranma answered, "I mean, every martial artist should."

"And what would happen if you were caught up in a battle on one side of the city, while your enemies started a second attack on the other side?" Kasumi picked up. "You cannot be in two places at once. A great warrior knows when he needs help, and if this, as you say, is going to escalate, then wouldn't it be your duty to do everything in your power to ensure that people are safe? Even if it means asking for help?"

"But-"

"Ranma-kun, I know you don't like asking for and accepting help," Nabiki chuckled, "especially looking at your father. But sometimes you have to. You can't fight a war by yourself, and more importantly, you can't protect everyone by yourself, not if this is a full-scale invasion. I'm willing to bet the Senshi are as opposed to accepting your help as you are theirs, because of the same reason. It's your duty to protect others, and if they fight, you can't protect them, am I right?"

The pigtailed young man remained silent for a second, then nodded his head in defeat.

"Asking for help isn't weak, Ranma-kun," Kasumi added.

"Women aren't, either," her sister completed the tag-team effort.

"I…I guess, it should be all right then," Ranma conceded. They're right. Maybe Mom died in Setsuna's time because I was too damn proud to ask for help, or because I was off fighting someone else and wasn't there to protect her. And what if people die because I can't be everywhere at once? "I'm still not liking it," he grumbled.

Kasumi smiled at hearing it. "I know you don't, Ranma-kun, and that is why I think you'll be such a fabulous teacher. Because you are so afraid to hurt your students that you'll consider your teachings very carefully."

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!"

"Because you're so concerned with protecting people that you'll teach your students the same code of honor you live by," Kasumi continued, undeterred by his outburst. "And if you occasionally are forced to strike your students in training, I don't think there's any harm to it. You know your own strength very well, and I don't think you'd deliberately injure someone."

Those girls are probably just like me – afraid that they'll risk someone else by asking for help. Setsuna took the first step by asking me. I think the best way to teach them is to start here. Nabiki and Kasumi are right, I need help if I want to keep everyone safe, and if that means training them until they drop, then I guess I'll have to do just that, Pops be damned, Ranma mused. And they seem pretty sure I can do this.

"Well, looks like it's gonna be quite a bit of work, then," he grinned, before his expression fell again. "Damn, I have to figure out a way to deal with Ryoga. Mousse I can probably keep off my back, especially if-" Especially if I ask Cologne for help. I'll owe her, but if things get as bad as Setsuna says they will, then I need all the help I can get to whip them into shape.

"Hmm." Nabiki picked up a pair of chopsticks and snatched a dumpling from Ranma's plate. "I think I have an idea," she said after chewing and swallowing. "But it's going to cost you, Saotome."

"Nabiki!" Kasumi shot her sister a disapproving glance, but retracted it when she saw the mischievous look in her sister's eyes.

"I need Ranko to make a few appereances over the next few days for my plan to work, and…" Nabiki pulled out a pocket calculator. "I need you to take me to Juuban at least once a week."

"What for?" Ranma blinked in confusion.

"Why, ice cream, of course!" Nabiki giggled. And to keep an eye on you. Somehow, I don't think we'll get out of this if we don't all chip in, she added silently.


Despite Kasumi's insistence, Ranma didn't sleep in the Tendo home that night – too many questions would have arisen if they'd stumbled across him after he was supposedly on a training trip. However, Kasumi wouldn't have Ranma return all the way to the park, so they reached a compromise: he would sleep on the roof, come in for an early breakfast, and let her know where he was going.

Ranma didn't think twice about letting Kasumi in on what was going on – she had been his confidante for the past year, and Kasumi was probably the one person he trusted unconditionally to keep his secrets with no hidden motives; besides, he owed her that much, knowing she was worried about him even with the letter he'd left behind the day before. As it was, it took only half an hour for him to explain the whole situation to her, from the day Setsuna K.O.'ed Ryoga and asked for his help to the fight last night. The eldest Tendo daughter took it all in stride, her serene smile never fading, but he had become rather proficient at reading her expression, and he knew that she was still worried, albeit for different reasons.

The Saotome heir left after a quick breakfast, and left, bounding aimlessly across the rooftops of Nerima, lost in thought. The dilemma presented to him was not exactly an easy one, but he had some time before the Senshi – those who had taken him up on his offer for training, anyway – gathered at the shrine. Don't think it'll be many, though, he thought to himself.

He stopped abruptly about an hour later when he realized he had left Nerima, and was standing on a familiar rooftop – the one he had watched the battle from the day before. With practiced ease, he let himself drop down, flipping and landing easily on the abused concrete. The police had cordoned off the area, but it was so early in the morning most people were just either waking up, or coming home from a late shift.

Time to see where the heck they came from. Ranma ducked under the tape that ran around the gaping hole in the ground, and found himself staring down into a black hole. "What the-"

He kicked a pebble over the edge and waited for the sound of it hitting the ground to reach his ears. When he didn't hear anything after a minute, he gulped and took a big step back. "Well," he muttered, "I don't think I'm going that way."

"I don't think you will, either."

"Gah!" Ranma jumped at the sudden presence behind him, causing Nerima's premier martial artist to loose his foothold and tumble towards the hole in the ground as his arms windmilled around for balance.

A hand attached to a long, slender arm caught hold of his right hand and yanked him around, away from the hole. Ranma found himself staring into Setsuna's amused red eyes.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Setsuna's eyebrow arched with practiced ease.

"That!" Ranma waved around wildly. "The whole appearing out of thin air thing."

Amusement was clear in Setsuna's expression now. "And how do you know I wasn't here all along, but masking my presence?" It was true, she had teleported in, and while she had never managed to sneak up on the Ranma in her timeline, she was pretty sure she could on this one…after all, he had no reason to be on the lookout for her specifically, yet.

"Because you displaced air when you teleported in. No ki-masking does that. Besides," he smirked, "Your ki-signature just appeared out of nowhere. Even if you shield your ki, there's an empty spot in the environment that I can pick up."

Then again, considering just who she was talking to, maybe she just had to live with the fact that she couldn't sneak up on him, period.

"So, why're you here, anyway?" Ranma asked.

"Training." Setsuna took a step back from the hole and looked up into the sky, as if looking for something there. "There's a few things I need to talk to you about, a few things I think I need to show you before you start training the other Senshi."

"What kind of things?"

"Combat techniques. Battle strategies. Special attacks from the future, designed specifically to counter and kill these monsters and…" Setsuna choked up for a moment. "And the Senshi."

Ranma was left blinking in stunned surprise. "What? If you've got all those fancy techniques, why don't you just teach them yourself? Why'd you even need my help, then?"

"Because they're yours." Setsuna closed her eyes against the memories. "They're your techniques, your attacks, developed over an entire year of battling youma and us. I'm sure you'd come up with them yourself when faced with the enemy, but I think a headstart wouldn't hurt. Besides," she noted as she opened her eyes again, "you're the only one who can use them. You and Ryoga. That's why I didn't teach the Senshi."

"I guess…" Ranma thought about it. It made sense – Setsuna seemed to know what they'd be facing, even if the when was problematic, so it would only be logical that she teach him what the Ranma in her timeline had developed to counter their enemies. The fact that they seemed to be short on time only added to that urgency. "There's a few things I need to take care of, though. Besides, I know Ryoga isn't going to leave me alone, and he's got this annoying tendency to show up at the worst possible time. And I need to talk to Cologne."

"Talk to me about what, son-in-law?"

"Gah!" For the second time that day Ranma jumped in surprise, causing the matriarch of the Joketzusoku to cackle in amusement. "How long've you been there, old ghoul?"

The comment earned him a smack on the head with the elder's gnarled cane. "I got here just now, while this young lady was telling you about teaching you some new techniques." Cologne grinned toothily. "I, myself, am rather interested in seeing what this young thing thinks she can teach you, and why you'd need it. Knowing you, son-in-law, it's quite a story, I'm sure."

"Yeah, well, what about me isnt," Ranma muttered.

"Oh, don't take it so seriously," Cologne chuckled, "it's quite entertaining. You have to admit, some of your adventures are rather…unbelievable, not to mention so unlikely even I wouldn't believe them if I hadn't witnessed them, myself."

"Well…" Ranma frowned, then chuckled as he realized she was right. "I guess you've got a point there. If it were happening to someone else, I guess I'd think it was pretty funny, too."

Cologne hopped down from her staff and eyed the hole in the ground. "Good. Now, would you care to enlighten me about all of this?" She gestured towards the hole. "And this young lady?"

"My name is Meiou Setsuna, Elder Khu Lon of the Joketzusoku." Setsuna carefully hid her satisfaction at the brief look of surprise that crossed Cologne's face. Of course, she had only ever met the elder once before, in her time, in battle. That had been shortly before Ranma and his friends had launched their campaign against Kaiser, where Cologne had apparently perished.

Cologne's surprise only lasted for a split second, before a benevolent smile was back on her aged face. "Call me Cologne, child. I can practically see your tongue twisting trying to pronounce my name. Now, who exactly are you, and what's your business with son-in-law?"

"Well, it's complicated," Setsuna began, only to be interrupted by Ranma.

"Actually, not really," he interjected. "She's from the future, come to warn me of a horrible invasion from extra-dimensional monsters that we have to help her and her friends defeat or the world will end…or something along those lines."

"Hmm…sounds like the plot of a bad soap opera," Cologne commented. "Which means it's just about par with your life." The elder shrugged. "So, care to fill me in on the details?"

"Sure. I was going to talk to you, anyway," Ranma agreed, "but since you're here…whatcha think of this?" He pointed at the hole in the ground where a ten-story office building had been vaporized the day before.

Cologne hopped back on her staff and pogoed over to the edge. Peering down into the pitch-black darkness her eyes widened in surprise for the second time that day. "Well, this is quite impressive. Whatever or whoever made this hole had to have been using some impressive amounts of energy, if the news reports are to be believed. Throw in a fight with, what do you Japanese call them…ah, yes, 'youma,' and you've perked my interest."

"So, any idea on what came through here?"

"Well…" Cologne poked the sides of the hole with her cane, "my guess would be that your assumption was right, and you're dealing with extra-dimensional invaders."

"Well, yeah, I figured as much from the ki – it's really, like…shifted."

"Out of phase, you mean." Cologne nodded sagely. "From what little I saw of the fight on TV before that fool Mousse dropped a bowl of soup over it, it seems that you're in quite a dire need of help."

Setsuna, who had been interrupted by Ranma, closed her mouth and settled back, content to let the two martial artists discuss the situation. This was Ranma's turf, and while she knew of Cologne, Ranma was the one who was used to dealing with her, and knew how much he could tell her. And at this point, they couldn't afford to alienate potential allies with her mystery routine.

"Yeah…" Ranma scratched the back of his head. "Ya see, I've gotta train her friends, and they, well…"

"Yes?" Cologne asked expectantly.

"They kinda suck."

Cologne nearly fell off her staff. Though I really should've expected that from Ranma. Blunt as ever, she thought as she regained her balance. "I presume you're talking about the Sailor Senshi, whom the news said were fighting the youma?"

"Yeah, them." Ranma nodded. "You know how I am with girls, and stuff…"

"About you not hitting girls." Cologne snorted in disgust. That was one habit she absolutely hated about Ranma. Sure, he was a nice person, once you got past all the bravado and ego, and he was honorable to a fault, but there were a few traits of his that disgusted her. Though those were through no fault of his own, she amended silently; his father was the one who had been drilling those things into his head since he was virtually an infant, so it was to be expected. The habit of his to not take women seriously and to never hit them was one of those, one which she had been trying to break him of for a long time.

"Actually…"

"Hmm?"

"Well, I kinda talked to Nabiki and Kasumi about it, and, well…they kinda explained it to me." Ranma shrugged. "I don't think it'll be easy, but they've pretty much made it clear that if I fail to protect someone because I didn't take a woman seriously, I've failed my duty as a martial artist."

Will wonders never cease? Cologne looked at him with astonishment reflecting in her eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Ranma?"

The Saotome heir chuckled sheepishly. "I guess…I grew up a little."

"Well…just a little," Cologne added, before both of them broke out into laughter.

Their mirth was interrupted when a familiar voice rang through the morning air.

"Saotome Ranma, prepare to die!"

Cologne sighed and leapt out of the way, while Ranma ducked, letting a barrage of razor-sharp bandannas fly overhead, followed by a familiar lost boy.

What neither of them expected, though, was a flash of purple energy that caught Ryoga square in the chest, accompanied by a cry of "Chrono Burst!" The blast enveloped Ryoga, but he continued, undeterred, his fist impacting the concrete and blowing a six-foot crater into it where he'd hit the ground.

Ranma took one look around him, and, realizing they were in a residential area, decided to put his opponent down quickly, before Ryoga decided to cut loose with his really destructive techniques. His battle-aura flared up the instant Ryoga was on the ground, and before the dust and debris had settled, he was airborne, and about to come down on Ryoga hard with an axe kick.

The lost boy twisted to take the hit on the shoulder, then grabbed a hold of Ranma's leg and slammed him into the ground. With his arms extended to catch the impact, Ranma bent his legs, forcing Ryoga to lean forward, then kicked back out, causing Ryoga to loose his hold on him. Both flipped to their feet.

"What'd I do to you this time, P-chan?" Ranma asked in exhasperation.

Ryoga was quick to reply, his words following a Shishi Hokodan. "Don't play dumb, Saotome! You were off running around with some bitches all day yesterday! Akane told me everything! She even showed me on the news!"

You have got to be shittin' me, Ranma sighed. He should really have seen this coming – after all, both Nabiki and Cologne had mentioned the fact that they'd seen him on TV, so it would stand to reason that Akane had, too. Arguing with Ryoga wasn't going to get him anywhere, though, so Ranma decided to just let his fists do the talking, at least until Ryoga either calmed down, or got hopelessly lost again.

"Now, Ranma, you're going to – urk!" Ryoga's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he stared at something behind Ranma. A spurt of blood exploded from his nose, and he keeled over, unconscious.

The pigtailed martial artist blinked in confusion and slowly turned around, careful to keep an eye on Ryoga, just in case. When he realized just what had caused the lost boy to faint, he couldn't help but laugh. Setsuna was standing there, staff still extended from firing off her Chrono Burst, in full Senshi garb, which, Ranma had to admit, was bordering on outright indecency.

Cologne glanced between the two, then joined Ranma in laughter. It took a few minutes for them to calm down, and when they did, Setsuna had reverted to her civillian identity, and was staring down at Ryoga with a frown.

"What's wrong, Meiou-san?" Cologne asked. Well, that explains why she claims to know the future, if the reports of Guardian Pluto are to be believed.

"Why didn't the Chrono Burst work on him? He should've stopped attacking the instant the parasite was removed."

"Parasite?" Cologne arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, that," Ranma chuckled. "There's no parasite, Ryoga's just always like that."

"Now I really want to hear this story," Cologne noted.

"Sure thing, old ghoul."

The comment earned him a bop on his head from her cane. "Respect your elders, boy."

"You kidding me? Pops and Happosai?"

Cologne hesitated for a moment, before chuckling."I think we can make an exception for those two. The Neko-Hanten? I assure you, I've got adequate protection in place."

"Sure, why not. Coming, Setsuna-san?"

"What about him?" Setsuna jerked her head at Ryoga's prone form.

"Eh, just leave him there. He'll wake up and find his way back to Nerima sometime." Ranma shrugged as he turned around.