Curse of the Nanban Mirror

"Don't just stand there! Hand me that would you?" remember I said someone up there really hates me? I'm changing my mind. They don't hate me. They fucking want to kill me.

Chapter Nine: Hot Springs, Weak Ranma and Parental Instincts

"Katsuya Shinochi!" I sighed dejectedly as I side-stepped an attack from Ken and raised my fan to the left to block his fan. Apparently, he was serious about being my eternal rival. Almost everyday for a week now, I find myself getting attacked by him around school or grocery shopping. Not that it's a bad thing; I'm actually improving each time he fights with me. It's like fighting myself and spotting all the mistakes I was doing before… Though, it would be nice if he stop attacking me during lunch.

"Can't this wait after I'm done with lunch?" I whined and dodged another attack.

"No, you fight me now!" he demanded.

"But I'm hungry!" I blocked Ken's fan casually. My defense against myself is ultimate! MUAHAHAA! …talk about lame; had Ken used Ranma or Ryouga to fight me, I would've had my ass handed to me twice over. "You know I can't beat my own defense, why do you bother? Not that I'm not grateful for the practice." I blocked another blow from his fan before attempting to strike back, he manages to block my blow as well and we continued to trade and block blows from one another.

"Just you wait, I'll beat you someday and then I'll beat Ranma too!" he growled irritably. By now, I'm quite used to talking to my own face. "Where is Ranma anyway? Isn't he usually up here with you for lunch?"

I finally managed to catch a break and got through his defense to strike him down. YES! The first time I ever have beaten myself! "Not really sure, he said something about meeting Akane in the gym," I'm quite certain it's not Akane that told to meet him there though. Of course, Ranma wouldn't know and goes anyway. Just only, I can't seem to remember who called him there. After all, there was so many that called him there in the series… You would think he'd learn his lesson by now.

"That doesn't sound like something Akane would do," Ah, so even Ken noticed.

Maybe I got my intelligence from mom… Ni-chan and nee-chan most definitely got it from mom. I'm a bit of a dunce compared to them. I have a straight B average compared to their straight A average. Yep, I'm not worth a dime when being compared in family reunions. But who cares about that anyway? It means fewer expectations from me and I can goof off! MUAHAHA! Take that, geniuses! Ah… I can just imagine my cousin Ryu rolling her eyes and sighing exasperatedly, calling me an idiot. I wonder whose her parents in this fucked up reality.

"It doesn't, does it?" I responded as I offered my hand to pull him up.

Unlike the other prideful idiots in this place, he accepts and reverts to his own face. "Well, I'll leave you to your lunch; I'll be back again later."

"Please not during dinner or in my house, I have enough trouble cleaning up with Ranma over."

"Fine, I—"

"MEREOW!!!!" the two of us rushed towards the fence to glance down to the school yard.

"Oh no," I groaned when I spotted a cat-crazed Ranma running around the school yard slashing things up with his chi-claws.

"Are you going to help?" he asked me.

"And get murdered?" I returned the question at him. "No offense, I may be able to beat you when you're using my face, but against Ranma, I'd die before I get anywhere near him. Especially, if he's in this state of mind."

"State of mind?"

"Ranma is afraid of cats… and before you think you can use it against him, if he snaps from the fears of cats, he becomes that." I pointed to Ranma, who was decimating a tree. "Even with your imitation skills, I don't think you can beat a wild animal with instincts like that."

"So you're not going to help?" he asked.

"What can I do?" I turned to him. "You've seen my abilities. What do you think I can do?"

"Calm him down maybe? At least I think that's what Genma is trying to do," he pointed.

I covered my face in embarrassment for him. Not only cross dressing, but with such bad taste. "Maybe, I should try…" I muttered before turning to leave by the stairs, but Ken caught me by the shoulder.

"It'll take too long if you took that way."

"What do you expect me to—HEY! What are you doing!?" I yelped when he turned into Ryouga and hauled me off the ground.

"Taking the short cut," he said before jumping over the fence.

"KEN!!!!" I screamed as we plummeted to the ground, but he landed perfectly before dropping me to the ground. My heart was racing like crazy as I placed a hand over my chest trying to calm my nerves, but I felt it pulse rapidly.

"I don't get why you're such a chicken shit, it's not like you can't—" I shut him up by kicking him in the gut. My arms aren't fit for attacking, but my legs are different. Fortunately, he turned back to his own face or else I would've just missed and landed on my ass.

"Shut up dumb ass, I don't care if you think I'm chicken shit. I value my life and I won't hazardously jump off high places, unless I'm certain I can land!"

"REOW!" Ranma was charging at us furiously.

"Shit! Ken run!" I shouted to the copy-cat before he transformed into me with blades and disappeared. I was plowed over seconds later with Ranma on my back. I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the painful death he was going give me, but it never came. Instead, I felt something against my face. I cracked an eye open before I realized Ranma was sniffing me. His nose went to my hair before he purred happily, licking my face. "EWW!!! RANMA KNOCK IT OFF!" I tried shoving him off, but he only swatted my hands away and nuzzled my face.

"KYA!!!!" I heard the fan girls squeal in the background.

"Katsuya! Don't move and he won't hurt you!" Genma shouted.

"I don't think Ranma is hurting him." Akane whispered. "I think… He's playing with him."

"GET HIM OFF!" I snarled. Ranma was starting to tug at my hair with his mouth.

I don't fucking care if the mirror show him as my dad. Not even my dad can touch my fucking hair! He's not my mother or my brother! I felt a flare of energy and my chest was no longer pressured against the ground. The cat Ranma had jumped off my back and watching me with interest. I blinked in surprise and looked down, I was floating again. I felt a bubble of excitement, but dropped to the ground again. It wasn't more than an inch, but the fact that I found out the feeling was more than enough.

I sat up from the ground before Ranma pounced on my back again, nuzzling my face. I don't think anyone saw me float. "Can someone please get him off me?" I sighed tiredly.

"You might as well give up. Ranma is going to be like that until he wakes up." Genma commented. "Though… it is a bit curious to why he would calm down by the likes of you." He's not happy. Probably thinking that Ranma turned gay or some other nonsense… I hate old fashion people like him.

"Wonderful…" I murmured before standing up. "I'm taking Ranma home," another series of fan girls screamed. "Akane-san, tell sensei I'm taking Ranma back to the Tendo residence." I stressed the location, not wanting any more misunderstandings from the psycho yaoi fan girls. Ranma was still hanging off my shoulders. I sighed again before pulling his legs up and carried him piggy back style, less stressing than having to drag his ass around. "Saotome-san, would you mind grabbing my blades from the lockers and my bag?"

"Sure," the old bastard is probably thinking of stealing my wallet while he was at it. Dumb ass, I keep my wallet on my person at all times. I won't think of his as my grandfather.

Not that I know my grandfather from my dad's side, he died a year before I was born. Mom told me stories that he wasn't too happy when nee-chan was born, but was ecstatic when my brother was born. Old fucker, good thing he died, if he tried to do what he did to Ranma to my brother. I would fucking kill him right now. Poison him, then burn him and then feed him to the piranhas! I felt a malicious laughter rising before I bellowed out the laughter, scaring whoever that was in the vicinity.

"Reow?" Ranma kitty swatted his paw, er, hand at my head getting me to stop laughing like that.

"What are you my mother?" I snapped.

"Reow!" He hissed and swatted me again.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" I grumbled before he stopped and contented himself with chewing on my hair. If he chews off one strand, I am going to poison his ass the next time he comes over for dinner… I can't kick his ass yet sadly.

"Oh my! What happened?" Kasumi greeted us as we walked into the residence.

"You can ask Saotome-san when he gets back, but for now, can you get him to stop chewing on me hair?" I begged.

"Of course, here kitty, kitty. You're a nice kitty aren't you?" Kasumi's sweet voice distracted Ranma from chewing my hair and padded over to her curiously. She knelt down holding her hand out patiently for him. He sniffed her hand a few times before finally nuzzling his face against her hand. I watched as Kasumi's gentle hands patted him on the head before he climbed into her lap and curled up contently.

"You know, I'm right," I said cheerily.

"Right about what, Katsu-kun?" She smiled warmly.

"You're going to be an awesome mother." I answered before glancing down. "But, it seems like you're not going to be able to cook tonight. You haven't bought the groceries yet right?"

She shook her head. "I was doing laundry when you came back."

"Then dinner's on me tonight. I'll be right back."

"Katsu-kun! Maybe you want to change out of that first." I blinked and glanced down and grimaced. Ranma had slobbered over my uniform and it's a bit filthy from getting pinned to the ground. "There's a clean set of Ranma's clothes in that basket, I haven't gotten a chance to put them away yet." She pointed to the basket near the coffee table.

"Its fine, I'll manage," I said not really wanting to wear Ranma's clothes. Who knows if it'll attract dangerous individuals!

"Katsu-kun," I sighed, unable to resist Kasumi's will and went to change into one of Ranma's red shirts before walking out.

Along the way, it seems like people were mistaking me for Ranma as I passed them by, even the market lady commented to me. Though… I didn't think that Ranma was on speaking terms with them, seeing all the damages he caused around the area each time he fought. Not wanting to bother correcting them or having the truancy after my ass. I just went along with it and let them think I was Ranma. The truancy is terrified of Ranma to my amusement for the day. However, I didn't notice the trouble that pretending to be Ranma brought until much later.

"HOTCHA! WHAT A HAUL! WHAT A HAUL!"

I grimaced when Happosai rounded around the corner with a mob of girls after him. I jumped onto the fence to avoid the passing mob, though a bit shaky, my sense of balance isn't the best. At the size of the mob, I don't think I'll be able to use the ground for a while. Sighing in irritation, decided to attempt trekking the rest of the way back to the Tendo's via fences. Not before accidentally dropping a fruit along the way. The old fucker took the bait and jumped for the food. Grandpa did always say wasting food was a bad thing.

The moment he jumped for it, the girls batted him to the ground with a metal bat and promptly mauled him to their hearts content. I grinned in accomplishment as I trekked back to the Tendo's to prepare the dinner. I found Kasumi and Ranma napping in the living room, which was pretty cute. A very cute pair! By the time Genma and Soun came back, I was done with the cooking and had everything wrapped up neatly for Kasumi to serve later.

"Thank you for all your help Katsuya-kun!" Genma bellowed with laughter.

I took my things from Genma without paying much attention to him. "Tendo-san, I suggest the two of you not disturb Ranma until he wakes up on his own." I pulled on the laces tightly before quickly tying them together. "Kasumi-san should be able to handle him until then." I stood up and tapped at the toe to make sure my foot was completely in.

"Where are you going? You're not going to stay for dinner?" Soun asked.

"I have something to do today, maybe another time." As much as I love to watch what happens next, I need all the time I can get to practice. Now that I know how it's supposed to feel to float, I need to practice until my body memorizes this feeling. Who knows, I might actually learn how to fly! How cool is that!?

I somewhat wished Shiyu was around to help me out with this practice. Even if she can't fly, we can probably bounce ideas off of each other until one worked... Though, she would probably shove me off the roof the first time to try to shock me into floating and catch me the last second if I couldn't. She has done this before when training me to land properly after jumping from quite a height. Of course, that usually leads to her disjointing her arm, since she couldn't pull much weight. It's very disturbing to see her pop the limb back into its socket without even a grimace of pain. Either she's used to it, or she's very good at hiding the agony of doing that.

"Katsuya!" I was so distracted from my thoughts, I hadn't noticed I gotten myself lost, I can probably backtrack and find my way back… Given, I don't give in to my urge to turn at a corner, thinking it's a short cut.

"Ryouga-kun, it's been a while," I greeted the lost boy as I halted my blades.

"A bit strange to see you in Osaka," he commented.

"We're in Nerima, Ryouga-kun," I responded dryly.

It's not uncommon for me to bump into him as of late. We ended up back at my apartment, another place that seems to be attracting Ranma and Ryouga for a long while. Unfortunately, on our way back, Ken decided it was a good time to attack me again. He ended up flying off quite a distance away when Ryouga punched him. Poor Ken, I hope he's not too hurt from that. Must've hurt like a bitch to get hit by Ryouga with my face.

"I guess dinner at my place?" What else could I have said in this situation?

o.o.o.o.o

I didn't get much practice in since Ryouga visited, but I did get a good sparring match. With Ryouga holding back a whole lot while doing so, but nonetheless it was a good experience. Yep, I'm completely out classed by these martial arts monsters. Since no sign of Shiyu, I'm getting a bit worried. Sure, she's a defective vampire, but who knows what can kill her. Maybe I'm thinking about this a bit too much, she'll eventually turn up… Crap, I got attached to someone!

I groaned as I bladed down the familiar path to school. Why do I bother with this stupid thing anyway? It's not like my grades counts for here; I could be using this time for something more productive like FINDING A WAY HOME! I sighed dejectedly before screeching to a halt. The ground was littered with paper. Actually, the whole Furinkan campus was littered with paper raining from the sky. Absently, I snatched on from mid-air before glancing at its content.

"Oh no…" I groaned, faintly hearing Happosai's cackle from somewhere. On the flier, written in bold letters, Ranma is weak. "It's too early for this," I grumbled irritably before rolling through the campus.

"HAHA! Foul apprentice sorcerer! Today Tatewaki Kuno shall vanquish you as I did to your master!"

"Shut the fuck up! I'm not in the mood!" I snarled, slapping his bokken aside with my fan and kneeing him in the crotch.

I'm starting to like that move a lot. Who cares if it's low and dirty move? It's effective for weaklings like me… but I guess it's not that pathetic if I managed to hit him there. I see improvement! YAY! I can match Kuno's speed… now what good would that do me when the crazy defective vampire can still run around like Hiei? At least she doesn't hit hard… but still hits the same spot repetitively… she can probably give the amazons a run for their money.

"Katsuya-kun, have you seen—"

"No," I scowled at Akane as I jumped over Kuno and continued to roll into school. She followed me, once I was in school the dark cloud lifted. "Alright, tell me what happened."

Akane gave me the quick story. Apparently, Happosai had mistaken me for Ranma the day before and decided to punish Ranma by putting the moxa burn on his back. At the moment, neither Akane nor Ranma knows why he's weak. Not that I'll bother correcting the little cretin, but I do feel a little bad for having that old bastard after him. However, I'm not going to willingly give up my lack of strength in exchange for Ranma, I'm not that chauvinistic. Ranma had a little run in with Kuno and is now missing.

"Missing? How could he be missing?" I asked dumbly. "Where's Ukyo-san?'

"We split up to look for Ranma," Akane answered. "But we still can't find him anywhere!" I think she was getting near to tears.

"I'll find him, why don't you go get Ukyo and go back to class?" I suggested before she left.

I rubbed my temple in irritation; I can feel a headache coming on. I groaned before closing my eyes in concentration. My chi sensing range isn't that large, probably covers the size of an average classroom... Maybe I should start with the campus first. Who knows if he was knocked out of the building when Kuno was kicking him around, I'll bitch if he made me search this damn school and he's not in it.

"Come out, come out," I sang under my breath as I waved my hands about. I found out that by extending my arm away from my body, I could get a few more feet in my range… though I'm sure I look ridiculous doing so. "Troublesome ass, I can't believe this guy is going to be my father." I grumbled and stalked across the campus before catching a familiar chi, finally!

Damn asshole; now let's see where the heck he was hiding. I opened my eyes and blinked in surprise. He was hiding in the trees near the gymnasium.

"Oi, what the heck are you doing up there moron?" the insult flew out of my mouth before I even notice.

"Katsu?" his broken voice questioned.

"Come on, let's go back to class, Akane-san and Ukyo-san is worried." I said, waiting patiently on the ground. "Come on!" He didn't move… great, I have an emo-king to deal with. "You know I'm not allowed to cut class. Are you sure you want me to get in trouble with the authorities again?" My mom's guilt trips usually make me feel bad for a week.

"…"

Damn, I guess it doesn't work for me. "I heard what happened. Are you going to sulk there all day?"

"… What else can I do?" he muttered.

"Ranma Saotome is worthless then," I sighed and turned to leave.

"What did you say!?" he jumped down and grabbed the collar of my uniform.

"If you're not worthless, you won't be sulking here and actually go find a way around this. Idiot," I said before flicking his forehead and watching him flip into the tree. "See?"

"I'm not worthless!" He jumped and flipped back onto the ground; in his fury he punched me with his roasted chestnut fist. I waited until he was done, Shiyu hits harder than he does.

"Are you done?" I asked. He cursed and kicked at the tree angrily. Should I pity him? He hopped around before going into another cursing fit. I sighed and scratched the side of my face. "I think I heard of something similar to this before."

He stopped hopping around and grabbed me by the arms. "YES!? WHERE!? WHEN!?" He shook me.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I heard it was something about points on the body that can affect bodily usage. Maybe if you find the counter point, you can get back your strength."

"YES! We're going to Tofu sensei," he tried to pull me along with him, but he ended up jolting and landing to the ground.

"You forgot that you don't have enough strength to pull me along anymore didn't you?" I asked dryly.

"Yes," he said dejectedly.

"Come on, we can go to Tofu sensei AFTER classes." I stressed before hauling his ass to class.

Of course, with his luck, we never even made it to the school's entrance when Kuno attacked again. I barely pulled my fans out in time to block a strike. Man, I love the materials I have for my fan! It's nearly unbreakable to people like Kuno.

"You apprentice! Stand aside! My business is with the foul sorcerer!" Kuno declared.

"You are so fucking annoying!" I hissed struggling to push his bokken back. "Why don't you be a man and attack Ranma when he could fight back?" For some reason, I felt a chill run up my spine as I said this… I later found out the fan girls had witness the whole ordeal and was screaming their psychotic little heads off.

"Ranma Saotome!" Mousse shouted as he charged down to attack him.

"Ah damn it!" I grunted before forcibly shoving Kuno aside and snapped my fans open to slap Mousse's weapons aside. "Ranma, run!" I shouted.

"Don't get in the way foul apprentice!" I didn't have a chance to block the attack. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the pain behind my head. Shit… So much for playing hero.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ugh…" I groaned like a zombie as I rolled over to the edge and hurled. "So dizzy…"

"Ah, you're awake. You're becoming a regular here Shinochi-kun," commented a familiar voice cheerily.

"Tendo sempai, please not now," I groaned and groggily opened my eyes… So I'm in the hospital this time. I wonder if Harry Potter feels this shitty getting sent to the hospital wing so often.

"You should've seen Ryouga when he saw you get knocked down. He was completely berserk." I peeked an eye open to see Nabiki frowning. Why would Ryouga go berserk at the sight of my bloodied self? Strange…

I sat up with a grunt running a hand to the pressure against my head before brushing against bandages. "What the—"

"You were bleeding; Kuno-chan hit you pretty hard."

"Crazy martial artists…" I winced and held my head with both hands hissing when my vision started to double and shake.

"I wouldn't suggest moving anytime soon with your condition." She smirked.

"Ugh…" I gently lowered myself back onto the pillows before pulling my arm over my eyes. "How does Ranma take all those hits from Shampoo and Akane-san?" I lowered my arm and glanced over to Nabiki. "Um… Tendo sempai, may I ask why you're here?"

She covered her mouth in amusement; her eyes glinting with schemes and plots behind them… I'm scared. "Let's just say you're not the only one that got sent to the infirmary." I blinked before she stood up from her seat and pulled open the curtain.

My eyes widened. "Did Ryouga— Oh my— Are they okay?" I stuttered sitting up in a hurry, but quickly regret it as I swayed from the dizzy spell.

"I'm surprised you're not angry with them," she commented.

I didn't dare shake off the dizzy spell, it would only bring another. "Irritated and probably a little annoyed, but not angry to the point to see them in this condition! What the heck did Ryouga do?" Before me was Kuno and Mousse's thoroughly battered bodies, I'm surprised that they're not sent to the hospital in their conditions. Kuno seems to have a lot of punctured skin on his face, somewhat similar to splinter holes. Mousse on the other hand had his arm in a sling.

"Like I said, Ryouga went berserk when he saw you fall to the ground with a puddle of blood slowly oozing from your head. Kuno got the blunt of the damages. By the time he started with Mousse, Ranma was trying his best to stop him, until Cologne came. They're still cleaning the blood from the campus grounds."

"Blood?" I gapped. Sure, there's a bloody lip or a spit of blood in the series, but not to the extent that they need to clean up. "Where's Ryouga now?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Cologne blasted him away with some strange tornado."

"I see…" I glanced over to Kuno and Mousse again. Even if they're moronic assholes… I don't think I'd like the fact they almost died. "Are they going to be okay?"

"You're really a strange one Shinochi."

I gave a shrug. "You're not the first to say it." I glanced at her questioningly.

"They'll be fine with some rest. It's not that bad, I've seen them in worst conditions before. These knuckleheads get sent here almost once every few weeks." She said before pulled the curtains close from me. "Just get some rest."

"Tendo sempai…"

"What?"

I grinned brightly. "You're just a big softy under that ice queen façade you show, aren't you?"

"What?!" She spluttered.

I pulled the covers over my head before slowing my breath down to a soft pattern to feign sleep. She continued to splutter indignantly before huffing out in irritation. I smiled against the cover. I think I know who Nabiki might be in my time, Ryu-chan's mother. Abi oba-san… the scariest woman I'll ever meet, but is actually quite nice… if you ever manage to get over your initial fear of her… I still get scared shitless by her the last few times I went to visit Ryu-chan. Maybe it's not so unbelievable after all… She left with a comment about making me pay later, but I'm not too worried about it. At most I'll just take her out for a nice dinner.

It took the whole day and a half for my chi to close up the injury Kuno dealt to my head; it was an angry bruise once it was closed up. Despite draining my chi to heal my head, I still feel migraines even in my sleep. Ranma hadn't appeared that night. Should I get worried? Ah… my head hurts too much to care… Maybe some sleep would make it better… Yeah, sleep sounds nice… Good night.

o.o.o.o.o

"KATSUYA-KUN!" I cringed at the loud voice, holding my ears, trying to get it to stop ringing.

I sat up from my bed with a hideous scowl over my face before grabbing my alarm clock. My tired eyes twitched. "WHO THE FUCK WOKE ME UP AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR!?" I snapped before turning to the culprit… Akane… what the fuck does she want!?

"No time to waste Katsuya-kun! Ranma is missing!" She said as she rummaged through my drawers and tossed a set of clothing in my face.

I yanked the clothing off my face. "Akane-san, do I want to know why you're at my house five am in the morning" I growled groggily.

"Ranma is missing!!!! Kasumi 'nee-chan said Uncle Saotome took Ranma for some training." She ranted panicking while she paced around my house.

"Why don't you go alone then?" I grumbled and pulled the covers over my head.

"What if Ranma gets attacked? I can't handle them myself!"

"Then go get Ryouga, he won't hurt Ranma at his pathetic state right now," I murmured tiredly, nearly falling asleep again.

She yanked away my fluffy blanket, fucking bitch! "I can't find him anywhere, Ukyo is missing too!"

"My head hurts, leave me alone!" I whined as I sat up.

"Come on Katsuya-kun, Ranma could be in trouble!" She hauled me up and dragged me to the bathroom before shoving me in with the pile of clothes. I'm very curious to why she's not bothered by my morning cursing fit. "I know you're not a morning person, so I'll make you some breakfast."

I froze. "Akane-san! It's probably best to go as soon as possible. I'll get something to eat along the way!" I don't think I've ever gotten ready as fast as this. I barely had enough time to pack myself a bag of supplies before she dragged me out from my apartment… Life sucks.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya-kun! Hurry up!" Akane cupped the sides of her mouth to shout at me.

"You've got to be kidding me," I huffed tiredly as I trekked up the mountain after her. Normally, going up a mountain isn't tiring, since mom and dad often took the whole family to camping and hiking trips… but Akane wants to search every inch of the mountain before she's happy. "Forget it! I need a break! I'll be useless if Ranma's in trouble if I'm tired."

"Katsuya!" Akane stomped her foot angrily.

"GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I glanced up just a second before a body plowed me into the ground.

"Someone please end my misery…" I moaned.

"Ranma! Uncle Saotome! Ukyo!" Akane shouted before running back to me.

"Old hag! I'm going to kick your ass!" Ranma snapped before crawling off me to run off.

I grabbed the back of his shirt before yanking him back. "Where the heck do you think you're going!?" I snapped.

"Hey Katsu! You're better!" he grinned.

"I see you're better." I grumbled.

"The old hag is going to teach me something awesome! Finally a way to kick that bastard's ass and get the cure!" He immediately ran off.

"Wait— Ugh…" I pinched the bridge of my nose, that headache is coming back again.

"What is he talking about?" Akane asked Ukyo.

We found out Cologne was teaching him the Rising Dragon. Once Cologne explained the basics and set up the movements for Ranma, it was an all day fest of training for the soul of ice. I covered my mouth snickering at the photos Genma was showing to us. It's just too rude to laugh out loud in his face… maybe I'll do it at a later time to tease him. Eventually he manages to keep his cool, but it's still quite amusing.

"All right! Let's start the training!" Ranma cheered.

"Not so fast, son-in-law," Cologne said. "You won't be able to master the Rising Dragon."

"WHAT!? Then what was the point of the Soul of Ice!?"

"I never thought you would be able to master it," she cackled before getting serious again. "You won't be able to master it because you don't have a sparring partner. None of them can fight at your caliber and you don't want to hurt them either."

"Damn it!" Ranma cursed.

"Unless…" I froze when she turned her attention to me. "Your friend here is willing to show his prowess in martial arts."

"Katsu? Old hag, are you out of you mind!? Katsu can't even beat Kuno! Kuno busted his head open just yesterday!" Ranma argued.

"Ah, but if he was seriously injured, how is it that he's moving so casually without an ounce of pain?" Everyone turned their attention to me. "Maybe your friend is hiding more than you think." Aw shit, this fucking old hag is going to get me killed. "Well, sonny, are you willing to get serious and help Ranma?"

I grinned weakly. "Elder, you can't be serious. I really can't fight!"

"Then may I ask the shadow in your style to fight with him?" My shadow? SHIT! She means Shiyu, how the hell did she see Shiyu in me? I haven't copied her style… at least I don't think I did.

"Katsu?" Ranma placed a hand on my shoulder before I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Well young man? Are you going to help Ranma?" Cologne asked.

"I…" I sighed, hopefully, Ryouga will come out soon. "Fine… But I'm telling you now, my attacks aren't that good." Ranma found himself in restraints moments later.

I shouldn't have agreed. I found myself standing in front of Ranma with my fans out and ready. My heart was racing; my mind knew that I won't be able to beat Ranma even in this state. I took a deep breath before wiping my mind clear of those thoughts. Just think of it as a sparring match with Shiyu, and try not to get my ass kicked. I charged forward without a word, jabbing my fan at Ranma. He dodged as expected; I drew my arm back and strike again, my fan snapped open and swatted at Ranma's. He dodged with merely centimeters from the weapon. Left step, right step, front step, bend low, upper cut, low kick, jump and leg sweep. I felt very light… Before I did my next attack, Ranma was knocked in the head with Colognes staff.

"What the heck was that for old hag!?" he snapped angrily.

"WHAT'S THIS!? You're not even going in a spiral!" she pointed furiously before turning to me. "You're not suitable to be Ranma's sparring partner!"

"Hey! Katsu was doing fine!" Ranma argued.

"Look at the floor," Cologne said simply. The ground was littered with random steps, no where near a spiral, but more importantly… my steps… were strange. Ranma's steps were clearly noted on the ground. Mine would always be towards his right or towards his left, never in front of him and occasionally, my steps seems to be missing entirely. It doesn't seem like Ranma was purposely making extra steps without me either. "I would like to talk to you later in private young man," she said to me.

"ARGH! I don't see what's the problem!" he grumbled.

"His style is not an offensive style," Cologne answered.

"Non-offensive?" Ranma frowned.

"He won't be able to produce the hot chi needed for the Rising Dragon to work. His style is passive and for defense, it's almost similar to the soul of ice you were practicing." She glanced at me again. "I've known one other person that uses that style, but it's been a long time."

"So I need someone that fights offensively. Damn it! Where am I going to find that!?" Ranma punched the ground furiously.

"Heh, pathetic. So this is how the great Ranma Saotome falls." Ryouga has finally arrived. A bantering went between Ranma and Ryouga before the later agreed to help Ranma complete the Rising Dragon.

It was quite a while before the completion of the move, Cologne can tell just as well. She left them with utmost instructions before dragging me away from the group. "Now tell me young man, what relation are you to that vampire?"

Yep, Shiyu must've been a sloppy eater even back then. "I'm—"

"Don't lie sonny, I can see her very clearly in your moves."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "Not exactly sure of the relations. She just found a strange interest in teaching me." I think I'm getting better at lying… I think.

"A strange interest? What sort?"

"I don't know! She's—"

"Don't lie to me boy!" She snapped.

I bit my lower lip. "She's Ranma's guardian from his mother's side. She chose to train me because I can get close without suspicion."

She frowned. "But your style isn't offensive. While you may have copied some of her movements, but it would be useless to you since you don't feed on blood."

"Pardon?" I blinked.

"When you were fighting, I've noticed your head brush past Ranma's neck quite often. This method would intimidate most people since it's invading another's personal space." Ah, right… People of this time are still quite conservative. Being part of my generation, closeness isn't much of a problem, the problem is getting them to stop being so close.

I shrugged. "She pretty much got me used to it, I guess."

"Why hasn't she fed on you?"

"My blood doesn't suit her taste," I shrugged. "How did you know her?" I asked curiously.

"She was often around one of the best restaurants in the village. We've tried many times to vanquish her, but she always seems to be able to slip out of our grasp each try. It wasn't until a foreign man came, that she was willing to leave."

"A foreign man?" I wonder if it's her turner.

"I don't know much about them, just that he was urging her to go somewhere. Speaking of which, where is that blood-sucker?"

"I don't know she's been missing for the past few days."

"Well—"

"DAMN IT!" Ranma's curse interrupted our conversation.

"Maybe we should leave this for another time Elder," I said before hurrying towards Ranma's. I don't know what I should tell her.

Ryouga couldn't pull out hot chi; he can't treat Ranma as a rival while he was so weak. So, we're at another road block until Ryouga can get over this… Maybe this is what leads to the careless attacks he pulls on Ranma later. They've decided to take the night off to rest before trying again next morning. I found myself sitting near the fire drowsily waiting for the completion of the move. My memory maybe horrible, but I can remember the move being completed during the night due to some misunderstanding between Ryouga and Ranma… something with Akane and torn clothes… I sighed, no wonder Ryouga went nuts.

"Katsu, why aren't you asleep yet?" I glanced up with drooping eyelids. "You're obviously tired, just go to sleep."

I shook my head. "I'm not ti—" I covered my mouth and yawned, "Tired yet."

"And you call me a moron," Ranma laughed and plopped down on the ground next to me. "How's your head?"

"I've had better days, still have some headaches though." I answered, I wonder where Akane is. "Where's Akane-san?"

"She's pissed off that I won't eat her cooking." He answered.

I blinked, "So where's Ryouga?" I asked. Ranma is pretty much screwed now, without Akane to piss off Ryouga.

"Not really sure, he disappeared off to somewhere again." He sighed dejectedly.

"Ah don't worry; he'll turn up again sooner or later." I said rubbing the side of my head.

"Still hurts?"

"A little… Hey Ranma, what would you do if you're no longer martial artist?"

"WHAT?!" He grabbed me by the collar.

"I meant if you couldn't get that chart from Happosai." I corrected immediately, I'm not afraid of him attacking me right now, but more of his voice. Ow, my head.

"I'll get that chart you hear me!? I'll never stay weak damn it! I can't stay weak!" He snapped furiously.

"But at this rate, you'll never master the Rising Dragon without Ryouga going all out on you. I'm just asking. Why are you getting so defensive about it?" I pulled his hand off my shirt, e became quiet. "You're afraid aren't you?"

"I'm not afraid!" he snapped again.

"You are," I repeated firmly. "You're afraid that no one would care who the hell you are because you're no longer outstanding at something." I blinked at my own words. When the hell did I become a shrink? "If you want to know, there is still one person that cares even if you can't be the best anymore."

He laughed bitterly. "Like who?"

"Kasumi-san," I answered before throwing another log into the burning ciders. "I heard that she told Akane to go check on you." I pondered for a moment. "Ranma, have you ever considered to choose Kasumi-san as your fiancée?"

He spluttered. "WHAT!? What makes you say that? Besides, Kasumi likes Tofu sensei!"

"Who said? You never even asked who she likes," I added.

"But she'll get attacked by—"

"Who would actually hurt Kasumi-san? She's too sweet for that. If you don't have martial arts, it's more likely she'll be able to protect you. And if you have your martial arts back, you can defend her with no problem."

"Shut up Katsu!" he snapped before smacking me behind the head.

My vision doubled and stumbled forward, nearly plowing my face into the flame if someone didn't catch me. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING RANMA!?" I blacked out after that… I think I need to start wearing a helmet or a Naruto forehead protector for the back of my head. Who are you to judge how I use those things!? People could use it for cupping their crotch for football for all you know… or shin guards if you don't have as disturbed of an imagination as me for item usage.

o.o.o.o.o

I woke up to a nice scent of food. "What smells so good?" I said sleepily before sitting up. I found myself in a futon and a wet towel falling off my head.

"Katsu-kun, I'm glad you're awake." Kasumi's sweet voice greeted me. "You gave everyone a fright when Uncle Saotome came back with you in his arms. Here, I made you some congee."

I accepted it gratefully. "I'm fine." I took a sip and nearly moaned at the deliciousness of it, exactly like mom's cooking. "Where's Ranma?"

"He went out earlier with Akane to go after Grandpa Happosai." She answered before moving to change my bandages. "You should really be more careful."

"It's not like I'm purposely trying to get hurt," I said before taking another spoonful of Kasumi's wonderful cooking.

"Do you think they'll manage to get the chart? I hope Ranma-kun doesn't get too hurt from it." She said gently as she tied the bandage off.

"I think he'll do fine." Just as I said it, Ranma came through the window with a sulk and went off to pack his things. I remained silent as I watched Kasumi try to comfort him.

After a moment, I decided to take the bowl to the kitchen and finish it there. He'll get healed eventually, why bother when I could spend my sweet time finishing the delicious home cooking I missed so much. A scream of pain came about fifteen minutes later before followed closely by the scream of joy… then a series of crashes and destruction of things... I sighed as I washed the empty bowl and set it to dry. Better go tell Ranma to stop before he decides to destroy this house and move onto mine.

"KATSU! I'M BETTER! LOOK!" he said before promptly breaking the chair.

"Ranma, don't you think that's quite enough already? Kasumi-san is going to have to clean up the mess later. You really don't want to give her extra work do you?" He stopped immediately. Ah, so the guilt trip only works for Kasumi's person or from her mouth… Man, I really wish mom would teach me how to do that.

"Right…" he murmured.

"Well, now that you're better you should go thank Ryouga-kun, he did help you after all." I said before crossing my arms. "But hearing that you completed the move, you probably blasted him off somewhere."

He laughed sheepishly. "Um… sorry?"

"Don't say that to me; say that to Ryouga-kun when you see him… Now excuse me as I go home and sleep for the next half a century. My head is killing me." He looked guilty for that. "It's nothing Ranma, don't think much on it. Just stop destroying the house and help Kasumi-san. Later." I said as I left.

"On guard!" I dodged at the sound of my own voice before raising my fan to block. At least this part of the day isn't as stressing as the rest of it… stupid Nerimian luck.

o.o.o.o.o

"NO! I don't want to go!" I screamed from Ranma's shoulder trying to kick him the whole time, but he caught my legs.

"Katsuya-kun, it's just the hot springs, why are you so against it?" Akane asked me. "Besides, it's to repay you for helping us out so often."

"I accept your gratitude, but there's no need to take me to the hot springs! It's expensive, I'm sensitive to heat, I break out in rashes, I start decaying and—!" I started throwing out a bunch of rubbish, not even caring anymore. I need to stop them from taking me there at all costs.

"Grow up Shinochi, it's just a hot spring, it won't hurt you." Nabiki grinned.

There are two reasons why I don't want to go to this hot spring trip! One, obviously, I don't want them to find out I'm a girl or they'll kick my ass. Two, the heir to this creepy ass hot spring spot is a lame ass idiot that needs to get laid. There is no way in hell I'm getting my ass kidnapped by his lame ass.

"WHERE AM I NOW!?" Fuck, Ryouga's here, which means we're getting closer.

"Ah, Ryouga-kun!" Akane chirped happily. "Want to go to the hot springs with us? You can help drag Katsuya-kun with us."

"Ryouga-kun! Have mercy! Don't let them take me!" I whined to my fellow Jusenkyo cursed buddy… but of course he doesn't know I'm cursed.

"Sure Akane-san!" he said with a stupid grin. DAMN IT RYOUGA!

Ranma chuckled. "Face it Katsu, you're not getting out of this."

"Shut up Ranma," I elbowed him in the head, but he continued to laugh.

Since we had so many people we ended up getting three rooms instead of the original two. Guess who I'm sharing with? Yep, Ranma and Ryouga… I am so taking the futon closest to the door.

"Katsu, come on! Let's go to the hot springs!" Ranma said as he grabbed my arm.

You know those old American cartoons where the animal character digs their nails into the ground in an attempt to stay put, but gets dragged off against their will anyway? Yeah, that's how I feel. "I'll go later! At least let me unpack first! Why don't you go with Ryouga, Tendo-san and Saotome-san?" I protested. I'm doing anything to postpone it.

"Come on, it's no fun to go alone." Ranma crossed his arms.

"I'll go later! Just let me unpack, please?" I begged.

"Oh fine… Who wants to go in with the three old men anyway? I'll just to get Ryouga and the three of us can go later!" Ranma said before darting out of the room. I bit back a scream as I dropped my head to the tatami mats on the ground. Please stop torturing me, whoever is up there.

At least I have sometime to plan of how to not go in… Hmm… Maybe I can say I have diarrhea? Who would want to share a hot soak with someone with a running ass leak? I grinned happily at the thought. I can stay in the bathroom for a while and try to fart up a storm or something… Damn, this is the one few times I wish I can fart on demand… that is seriously one of the coolest useless abilities. I'm serious; there are people that can fart on demand.

But… Just to be safe, I think I'll just run away. I held back a cackle, as I shouldered my bag and peeked out in the hall. Going out this way would be obvious for them to think of me, but I still have to make sure that they're not around. Closing the door quietly, I snuck towards the window to peek around outside. That is also an obvious exit, better to be safe than sorry, I had to check it too. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I forced myself to float up to the ceiling to push the loose panels aside to climb into its empty space. Don't you just love the beauty of old buildings?

Grabbing hold of the edge I pulled my self through before setting myself gently on the pillars. The danger of old buildings is that they're fragile, so if I'm planning to escape via ceiling space I have to be continually careful as I go about the place. I placed the panel back into its original spot before I started to crawl around the pillars and beams of support. Let me tell you, it's harder than how I make it sound. This way requires a lot of upper body strength as you have to drag yourself around by your wrists and elbows and there's not a lot of space for your legs to move.

Every now and then, I'll place my ear against the surface to listen for what area of the building I'm in before continuing, but without a map or even seeing where I'm going, it's going to be a while before I can get out of here... especially with my sense of direction… I mentally sighed as I went on. Eventually, I finally hit a wall. That is definitely a good sign; I'll just feel around until I find a loose panel. It took a while, but I found one and knocked it open… and promptly falling out of it. I cursed loudly when I saw the steam from the hot spring.

"FUUUUUUUUCCCCKKK!!!" I screamed as I landed just inches from the spring.

I scrambled away in a hurry, holding a hand to my erratically pulsing heart. That was close, just a little more and I would've landed in its hot glory. At least there weren't anyone around. The sky has already darkened… I must've spent a lot of time in the ceiling space than I originally though. At least I'm out in the open; I'll just escape from the back of the springs and round to the front before running back to the path we came from. A little hiking and camping can't hurt me.

"Katsu! There you are!" FUCK! WHO THE HELL HATES ME UP THERE?!

"Hey…" I grinned weakly and the towel clad form of Ryouga and Ranma.

"Trying to get away are you?" the two grinned. I found myself stripped of clothing a moment later before tossed into the spring with the two laughing.

I kept myself under the hot water for a while, until I can't stand the heat anymore. I surface my head, but kept the rest of my body below the water. They continued to laugh, not knowing my change.

"How's the water?" Ryouga grinned.

"Come on! You really think you can run from us? At least enjoy the hot springs!" Ranma quipped.

"Nothing to say, Katsuya?" Ryouga added.

"Come on, let's go in!" Ranma said.

"DON'T YOU TO FUCKING DARE COME IN!" I screamed just before they decided to touch the water with their feet. They froze completely. I raised a hand to hold onto my throat. I forgot my guy side had a very deep voice compared to my girl voice.

"Katsu you're a…" Ranma's eyes widened.

"Girl!" Ryouga squeaked as his face flushed.

I sank down deeper into the water. "Don't just stand there! Hand me that would you?" Remember when I said someone up there really hates me? I'm changing my mind. They don't hate me. They fucking want to kill me.

Surprisingly, Ryouga hadn't fainted yet. Ranma rushed off to get me a robe; he left it at the edge before turning away with Ryouga. I grabbed the fluffy garment before slipping it on and quickly tying a tight knot on it before crossing my arms tightly against my chest. They were still gapping, uncertain what to think of the whole situation.

"Can we go somewhere else for your questions? And can you please get me some cold water?" I mumbled. I refused to relax until I got my douse of cold water. Once male and properly clothed, we were seated in our room with the two sitting quite a distance from me. "Well jack asses, just because you found out I'm a chick you're going to treat me like the plague?"

"Uh… So how long were you cursed?" Ranma asked.

"Obviously since I came back from China dumb ass, any other intellectual questions?" I grumbled.

"Why did you remain as a guy the whole time?" Ryouga asked. Damn it, why does he have to be smart?

"Haven't you noticed? I live alone; it's not safe for a girl to live alone! Besides, with Ranma crashing into my place almost every night, had they known I was a girl, his fiancées would come and murder me." I retorted.

"What happened to your family?" Ranma asked.

I became quiet… how the hell do I answer that one without lying and them finding out it's a lie? God damn it, I wish I can lie better. "Ranma, it's obvious they're dead, don't make her live through those memories," Ryouga hissed. Okay, jumping to conclusions work too. "So what made you not interested in Ranma compared to the other girls?"

I snorted as Ranma glanced up with interest. "No offense Ranma, but I prefer a guy with a brain and not obsessed over martial arts." Ryouga cracked up laughing at my comment. "And if you try to get me to date you right now, I'm going to tell that crazy fan club you're planning to elope with Kuno. You're a friend, but I'm not going to let your silly superiority complex get trailing my ass."

"You use really crud words for a girl." Ryouga commented.

"And act like Ukyo and Shampoo after Ranma's ass? Hell no! I have more self-respect than that."

"Hey!" Ranma protested, but I just stuck my tongue out childishly at him.

"Besides, if I acted like a girl, I wouldn't be able to pass off as a guy for as long as I have. You guys didn't even think I was a girl until you dropped me in the water," I cackled. Both of them flushed at that memory. I snickered. "Don't let it bother you, you didn't see anything. There's not much for you to see anyway, with Ranma's female side, my body can't compare."

"Erm…" the two shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm not offended, yeesh, stop treating me like you would treat Akane or the others. I'm still Katsu. It's awkward if you treat me like a girl anyway. Just keep my secret okay? I don't want to deal with the trouble yet." The two reluctantly agreed.

"RANMA!!!!! KASUMI HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!!!!" we all jolted up at Soun's cry.

Fuck, the lame ass heir attacked. "We'll have to continue this later, let's go."

We hurried out and badgered the caretaker of the place to give us all the information. Akane and Nabiki was taken next, Ranma decided to make himself the bait, since he and Ryouga promised that my secret won't be revealed. I can't do anything of use, since the lame heir uses hot water to attack. I could only watch on the sidelines as Ranma and Ryouga both went at him. Unfortunately, I was still a bit close and got drenched with a blast of hot water.

The two looked at me in horror before I was snatched. However, before the lame heir managed to get away, the two bashed him over the head and ceased his attacks with hot water. Ranma quickly dumped cold water over me before Genma and Soun arrived. Talk about pulling it close. We found Kasumi and the others stowed away in the bushes later. After many apologies from the caretaker and a good talking with Nabiki, we were finally left at peace to enjoy of what was left of this little trip. And since the two of them found out my secret, what better ways to use them, than to have them stand guard while I take a nice long soak. Of course, during the night, they sleep furthest away from me, giving me a whole lot of rolling space. I hope Shiyu comes back soon because I really don't know what to do after this revelation of my secret.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: W00T! Finished! And a freaking long chapter as well!

Koganei: Not much to say than FRI!