Shampoo walked slowly down the streets of Nerima as dawn came. She was in a complete daze over the previous night's events, and still dragged her two chúi behind her.

She hadn't returned to her home that night, not wanting to face her great grandmother. She didn't want to face anyone, and ended up spending the night on the roof of an apartment, crying about her disgrace before falling asleep.

When she awoke that morning, she had hardly felt rested at all, but forced herself up. She wasn't going to just lay around and wallow in self pity. That was why she now wandered the streets, lost in her thoughts.

Shampoo didn't understand what she had done that was so wrong that she was stripped of the power of law. Everything she did was within her rights under her claim on Ranma. It was her great grandmother that was at fault, wasn't it? Shampoo wondered.

No, of course her great grandmother wasn't at fault. Shampoo knew better than that, now that she'd had some time to mull it over. She could not accuse her elder again anyways, since Amazon law forbade issuing a challenge over the same claim twice.

Shampoo continued to wander through the streets aimlessly as her thoughts moved to find a solution. She didn't know what she could do. As an Amazon, she had always been guided by honor, tradition, and law. Now, she had lost two of those three guiding pillars. All she had left was tradition.

Tradition. As Shampoo thought about the only thing she had left, her mind drifted to the root of her loss, Akane Tendo. Tradition had means of dealing with things in life without execution of law.

Ranma ½: Limitless

By: OmegaGear

Chapter X: Rage

At the Tendo household, Akane walked down the stairs with more pep than usual. She had just had an amazing night's sleep, and felt like she could have ran forever during her morning jog. She didn't have a care in the world as she looked forward to breakfast.

Akane was humming happily when she joined everyone in the family room. She was surprised that she was the last one to the table, but immediately forgot about it when she saw Ranma eating. She was happy to see him, even if he was a girl still.

"Good morning!" she practically sang.

Ranma stiffened slightly when she heard Akane. She wasn't exactly sure how to behave around her now, since no one else had any idea what had happened between them. Ranma felt like she was suddenly between a rock and a hard place. On one end was an angry Akane over her pretending nothing had changed. On the other end was an angry Akane over her assuming too much. Ranma decided to err on the side of caution, and just play it cool, and let her decide.

"Good morning, Akane," Kasumi greeted her youngest sister. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mm hmm," Akane nodded and sat down next to Ranma. Her smile was practically glowing, which went unnoticed by everyone, save for Nabiki, whom watched her curiously. When she glanced at Ranma, she noted her discomfort, even while eating.

"That's good," Kasumi handed her a bowl of rice. "I was worried, since you never had dinner last night."

"I didn't?" Akane looked up and tapped her cheek to think. "I never noticed..."

"Well, it's just as well. Ranma ate the food I saved for you anyways," Kasumi said.

"There's a surprise" Akane said sarcastically before starting to eat.

"Hey, I was hungry," Ranma said between mouthfuls of rice. "And you said 'goodnight' when I left to go eat."

"How interesting," Nabiki said from the other side of the table. "And just where would this goodnight have taken place? No one saw you last night until you came downstairs to eat," Nabiki gave Ranma a mischievous smile.

Ranma stopped eating, but said nothing. She completely froze and her face began to turn pink.

Nabiki gave a mock gasp. "Saotome! I do believe you're blushing!"

"Cut it out, Nabiki," Akane said, trying to sound annoyed. "Ranma just needed to talk to me about... our exams. He's fallen behind quite a bit!" Akane was already slapping herself in her head for coming up with such a pathetic lie.

"Oh, so you were talking about school, eh, Saotome?" Nabiki asked the girl whom was turning redder. "If nothing else happened, why so flushed?"

Ranma suddenly dropped her bowl and gripped her throat. She began to cough violently, indicating that she had been choking, not blushing.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Akane slapped Ranma on the back a few times until she inhaled sharply.

"Ugh, thanks, Akane," Ranma coughed.

"How disappointing," Nabiki said lazily.

"Next time, just start coughing right away!" Akane scolded her.

Ranma scowled and looked up to glare at Akane. "You didn't have to hit me so hard, tomboy," she grumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Akane asked. She leaned in close to return Ranma's glare.

"Er... Right... of course..." Ranma rubbed her head, as if embarrassed.

"Humph," Akane raised her nose at Ranma and finished her breakfast without speaking again.

Everyone found this to be rather normal behavior for Akane and Ranma, so no further incident occurred, if only to keep the peace. Akane was grateful, since she didn't want her good mood ruined. She wasn't really mad at Ranma the slightest bit. She just wanted to make sure he knew his place.

"Right, well, I'd better get going," Akane announced and got to her feet. "I need to talk to some of my teachers before class about my exam date extension."

"I may as well get going too," Nabiki said and joined her sister. "See ya," she waved to everyone as they left.

"Have a good day, Akane! Goodbye, Nabiki!" Kasumi waved goodbye.

Ranma watched the two girls leave and sighed. She needed to worry about those exams too, but wasn't attending class in order to train and because she couldn't change back into a guy. The curse, of course, wasn't the problem, since everyone at the school knew, unless they were just too stupid to catch on after this long. The issue was in it being too risky for it to be worth it. Still, Ranma couldn't believe she was looking at the girls leaving for school and actually feeling jealous.

While Ranma didn't like school, she also didn't like being cooped up in the house. In fact, she knew it was going to start driving her crazy in a day or two. Just thinking about her horrible luck with hot and cold water though was enough to halt any cavalier ideas of going out for a quick free run.

Happosai also knew about Ranma's plight. After everyone had found out about her late night escapade to the Nekohoten, she received quite the scolding, and the reality of having to stay in the grounds of the house was made clear.

This of course, only meant one thing to Happosai. He would be free of Ranma's meddling for a while. With an evil smile, he got to his feet.

"Well, I'm off to do some training," he said, almost grinning.

Ranma nearly snapped her chopsticks from how tense she had become at Happosai's announcement. His idea of training really meant he was going on a panty raid, and this time Ranma couldn't stop him.

"Well, my boy, eat up," Happosai said as he chuckled at Ranma's tense expression. "I'll be back to continue your training!" he called as he hopped over the koi pond and then the wall of the house. Ranma's eye began to twitch slightly as she forced herself to remain behind.

- x -

"Okay, what was that all about?" Nabiki asked as the two walked to school.

"What was what about?" Akane asked.

"Please, Akane," Nabiki scoffed. "Ranma asking about school? I'd sooner believe he finally grew a pair and laid one on you," she pointed her finger like a gun to accentuate her point.

Akane suddenly tripped and nearly fell flat on her face. Luckily, she caught herself in time, but couldn't hide her blush at Nabiki's comment.

"Oh my... he did!" Nabiki pointed at Akane's flushed cheeks and gasped. "I was just kidding, but he really did!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Akane shouted nervously. She quickly looked away to hide her face.

"He totally did!" Nabiki said, excited. She pointed an accusing finger at her sister. If there was one thing about Akane that Nabiki knew, it was that she had the worst poker face ever. "Ranma kissed you!"

"D-don't be silly, Nabiki," Akane insisted, but continued to hide her face from her sister. "R-Ranma? Kissing me?" her voice cracked.

"Oh my god, your voice cracked," Nabiki was nearly giggling. "That is too adorable!"

Akane was feeling dizzy. The accusations were always enough, but Nabiki's behavior was adding another layer of confusion. She'd never seen her sister act so girly. Akane surrendered to Nabiki's attack. She was trapped, so the only option now was damage control.

"Okay, I admit it," Akane said, fist clenched nervously. She then spun her head around to look Nabiki in the eye. "But you can't tell anyone!"

"Aw, but Akane!" Nabiki whined mildly. "This pool's been building for almost a year!"

"Nabiki!" Akane yelled, but not out of anger.

Nabiki saw Akane's panic. She wasn't angry over the prospect of some rumors starting, or anything like that. What Nabiki saw was her sister looking really nervous.

"Alright, how much is my silence worth to you?" Nabiki asked in her business tone.

"Nabiki, please..." Akane pleaded.

Nabiki saw Akane's anxiety turn to something completely new. She had only seen this look on her sister's face a handful of times since their mother died. It was the look of genuine happiness, like she wanted whatever this was to last, afraid it would break, because it was so fragile. Nabiki cursed at herself. Not even she could be that cruel.

"Alright, Akane, I'll keep quiet," she said.

"Really?" Akane perked up.

"Yes, you have my word," she said, holding up her hand as if she was swearing in at court.

"Thank you, Nabiki!" Akane said, relieved.

"Besides... I'm sure teasing Ranma about this will more than make up for this lost opportunity," Nabiki mused.

"Oh, you are just too much," Akane threw her hands up and resumed walking.

Nabiki laughed. "So, what brought this on?" Nabiki asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Akane," Nabiki said. "Ranma kissing you is pretty big."

"Oh well... That's between me and Ranma," Akane said. She wasn't ready to tell anyone the truth about what happened the past two days.

"Akane, you didn't..." Nabiki gave a suggestive look.

"What? No way! I did no such thing!" Akane yelled and shook her head rapidly. She didn't know what Nabiki was thinking, but she knew it wasn't good.

Nabiki laughed as she followed her sister down the street. In truth, she was happy Ranma finally made a move on her younger sister. As entertaining, and profitable, as the past year had been, Nabiki was glad things were starting to work out, if only a little. It was nice to be able to do some innocent teasing for once.

As with anything involving Ranma, however, trouble followed anything good that came their way. When the sisters turned a corner, they were confronted by a rather disheveled looking Shampoo.

"Er, hey, Shampoo," Akane said nervously. She had been fearing this encounter.

"What's her deal?" Nabiki asked. She'd never seen Shampoo look so out of sorts before.

Akane was quiet as Shampoo stepped towards them. She looked like she may have been crying, but showed no tears now. Her eyes looked devoid of any emotion at all, but it was the presence of her chúi that really worried Akane.

Shampoo walked numbly towards Akane, the source of her disgrace. All she could think of was her stripping of power, her right to Ranma refused by her elder, and great grandmother. She could no longer execute the law, and claim Ranma as her airen, and it was all because of what this girl had done. This girl, Akane Tendo, had stolen everything from her.

There was only one solution that came to Shampoo's mind. Tradition demanded action. She raised her chúi and focused her eyes into a fierce glare.

"I Kill!" she cried and swung at Akane.

Akane quickly pushed Nabiki out of the way and ducked under Shampoo's attack. She never thought that Shampoo would take everything well, but she wasn't quite expecting this either.

Shampoo was absolutely livid as she attacked Akane. She swung her two chúi violently, cracking walls, the sidewalk, street poles, and everything else she struck as Akane avoided her.

"Shampoo kill!" she growled.

Akane dodged Shampoo's attacks, but couldn't get in any of her own. Her school clothes were too restricting for combat, so she was forced to flee from the faster girl.

"Shampoo, what's wrong with you?" Akane asked, hoping she could reason with her.

"Shampoo kill Akane!" Shampoo replied, like an animal.

Akane yelped and jumped over Shampoo, holding down her dress as she landed. There was no way she could defeat a calm Shampoo, let alone a berserk one. She didn't know what to do.

Nabiki watched Shampoo assault her sister in complete fear of what was happening. She'd never ever seen Shampoo so enraged, not even when she first arrived to Japan to fulfill her kiss of death on Ranma. Back then, she was cold, determined, and lethal, but still controlled. This was uncontrolled rage that turned Shampoo into a destructive force.

"Akane doesn't stand a chance," Nabiki said. She didn't know what to do. She knew it'd take too long to run and get Ranma when something appeared to give her a glimmer of hope.

"Ukyo!" Nabiki yelled to the girl in a boy's uniform passing by. Despite Ukyo wanting to take Ranma all to herself, Nabiki knew her good nature would come through in a situation like this.

Ukyo looked to where she had heard her name being called and saw Nabiki running to her.

"Nabiki?" Ukyo said, surprised at who was calling to her.

Nabiki reached Ukyo, panting for breath. She really needed to work out more. "Ukyo, I need your help... it's... Akane," she panted.

"Akane? What about her?" Ukyo asked and then looked up as the sound of a wall exploding caught her attention. "What the hell's going on?"

"Akane's in trouble," Nabiki said. "Shampoo's gone completely nuts!"

"What? Shampoo?" Ukyo watched as another plume of smoke appeared along with the sound of a wall crumbling.

Whatever was going on, it looked bad. Ukyo pulled the giant battle spatula from her back and tossed Nabiki her bag. She said, "hold this for me," and ran to where the explosions were coming from.

Nabiki followed behind Ukyo, carrying her book bag in her arms. She had to make sure she knew Akane was okay.

Ukyo rounded the corner and saw Akane stumbling to the ground. She looked unhurt, but was panting for breath. Shampoo landed just behind her and had a crazed look in her eyes. Ukyo couldn't remember ever seeing anyone look that blood thirsty before. It sent chills down her spine. Before she could make sense of things, however, she saw Shampoo prepare to swing, and quickly leapt at her with her battle spatula.

Akane rolled onto her back to see Shampoo raising her chúi to crush her. She couldn't escape this one. She raised her arm to hopefully block the attack and closed her eyes, when the sound of metal clanging rang in her ears.

Akane opened her eyes to see Ukyo blocking Shampoo's chúi with her giant spatula. She didn't know where she had come from, but was thankful for the help.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Shampoo?" Ukyo asked. She knew the Chinese girl could be rather aggressive with her claim on Ranma, but this was crazy.

Shampoo pulled her chúi back and swung it sideways at Ukyo. She was annoyed by the interference.

Ukyo had to jump back to avoid the swing, but stepped back in right away to block Shampoo's second attempt to crush Akane. This time, she didn't bother talking and heaved Shampoo into the air with an upward swing from her spatula.

Shampoo flipped in the air and landed on a wall next to where she had been standing. She looked down at Ukyo and growled her frustration.

"Spatula girl no interfere!" she yelled.

"Just what the hell is this all about?" Ukyo demanded.

"Shampoo no warn again," Shampoo glared and clenched her chúi tightly. "Leave now, or die!"

"You can't be serious," Ukyo exclaimed.

Shampoo didn't wait another second and dove down at Ukyo with her chúi pulled back to strike.

"Oh crap! She's serious!" Ukyo exclaimed in shock and raised her spatula to block.

Shampoo swing her right chúi at Ukyo's head, but was blocked by the battle spatula. Ukyo grunted as the power behind Shampoo's attack sent vibrations through her arms. Part of her was regretting getting involved, but she didn't want to think about what would happen if Akane was killed by Shampoo. While Ranma hadn't made it clear how he felt about anyone, Ukyo knew he still cared for Akane, and that meant dire consequences if she was harmed, let alone killed. She had no desire to see that can opened.

Akane got to her feet while Ukyo deflected Shampoo's attack. She didn't have a weapon, so she wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't just leave Ukyo though, when she had saved her.

Shampoo sprang off of Ukyo's spatula and back flipped into a jump kick at Akane. Akane dodged to the side, and threw her own kick, which Shampoo blocked with her chúi. Akane followed with several punches, but Shampoo was too fast for her, dodging them all easily.

Shampoo danced around Akane's punches and returned them in kind. She released a flurry of quick strikes that forced Akane to the defensive. Shampoo attacked with all of her speed, aiming to wear down Akane until she had an opening. Before she got one, however, she sensed incoming danger and jumped to avoid a trio of mini spatulas that had been thrown at her.

Ukyo still didn't have the slightest clue what had gotten into Shampoo, but she was clearly hell bent on killing Akane. All thoughts of using this opportunity to help her position against her rivals for Ranma's affections were gone, replaced by her instincts to survive, and stop this crazed girl.

Ukyo followed her mini spatulas and swung for Shampoo, but the Amazon was prepared with her own weapons. Chúi met battle spatula as the two girls clashed violently. Shampoo was fast with her twin weapons, but Ukyo had mastered constant spins and flowing strikes to defend against multiple attacks.

Were it a matter of armed combat, Ukyo may have been Shampoo's equal. Unlike Shampoo, however, Ukyo was not trained in unarmed combat at all. Shampoo knew this, and sent the girl staggering backwards with a spin kick between two well planned chúi swings.

Ukyo caught Shampoo's kick in the stomach and fell back. While it wasn't the hardest hit she'd taken, it still hurt like crazy. This moment of pain was just enough to slow her down too. Ukyo missed blocking Shampoo's next attack, and lost her grip on her spatula.

With Ukyo disarmed, Shampoo batted her aside and rushed at Akane. She would deal with the spatula girl later. Now, unchallenged, Shampoo let her rage absorb her at the sight of Akane.

"I Kill!" she cried, more than a little psychotic.

Akane retreated and dodged as best she could. There was nothing she could do, nowhere she could go. Shampoo's attacks were relentless.

Shampoo was lost in her thoughts of her disgrace as she viciously attacked Akane. Maybe she couldn't stake her claim on Ranma, but she could still kill the obstacles in her life. The fastest way to honor from disgrace was to be blooded, after all.

Akane was starting to panic. Her arms were starting to sting from the attacks she was forced to block when she couldn't dodge. Shampoo had always been a strong opponent, but these attacks were brutal compared to what she usually dished out. She knew she couldn't last, and was sure she was finished when a strike from a chúi sent her to the ground.

Ukyo had watched it all as she got up and retrieved her spatula. The barrage Shampoo attacked with had lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to overwhelm her. With Akane down, Shampoo was raising her chúi up to deliver the killing blow.

"Oh, hell no!" Ukyo cursed and flipped over Shampoo. She thrust her spatula down in front of Akane, forming a shield against Shampoo's attack.

Before Shampoo's chúi could strike Ukyo's spatula, Cologne came diving in on her staff. The elder Amazon struck the chúi down into the ground, where it created a crater and still dented the spatula where it hit it.

Ukyo was surprised when Cologne suddenly came diving in and struck Shampoo's chúi with the tip of her staff as it collided with her spatula. She had assumed Cologne would be helping Shampoo, if anything, but she had very clearly come to repel her.

Akane had not seen what had happened. She was staring at Ukyo's spatula that had been shielding her the entire time. The force of the blow dented the metal spatula, letting everyone know just how close Shampoo had gotten to her goal.

Akane was breathing rapidly. She was sure her life had just flashed before her eyes. All she could do was stare at the dent in Ukyo's giant spatula, imagining what would have happened if that had been her body.

Cologne sprang off of Shampoo's chúi and onto the wall next to everyone. "Shampoo!" she yelled.

Shampoo was shocked out of her drunken rage at the sound of Cologne's voice and withdrew her weapons. She hadn't even noticed her great grandmother interfering, she was so enraged at the time. She looked up at her great grandmother.

Akane let Ukyo help her to her feet and said a quick "thank you" before also looking up at the Amazon Elder.

Cologne was perched on the wall beside them, glaring towards Shampoo. Her eyes showed disgust, anger, and warning for the young girl.

"You and I obviously need to have a talk," she said, sounding very displeased with what she had just attempted. "Go home, now!"

Shampoo had to choke back what she wanted to say. She wanted to protest the order, but knew it would do her no good. Now feeling the depression of her status in the Amazon hierarchy, Shampoo wanted to cry. She would not cry, though. She wouldn't show any weakness, especially in front of them.

Regaining her angry glare, Shampoo gave a humph and walked past the two other girls, making sure to bump Akane with her shoulder as she passed.

"Hey, watch it!" Ukyo warned her as she caught Akane against her. She was really starting to get pissed off at Shampoo's behavior.

Cologne watched Shampoo as the girl walked away and shook her head. Her great granddaughter had much to learn before she'd be ready to be free of her punishment. Amazons were supposed to execute with honor and conviction, not wild fury, blinded by emotions.

Cologne had to find a way to make Shampoo understand, so she'd have more control over herself. She was their tribe's greatest young warrior in over a century. If left to her suddenly wild nature, she was a danger to everyone.

It had been the same way when she had given Ranma the kiss of death. The once finely honed weapon became a geyser of unrelenting fury. Shampoo needed to learn to control her base instincts.

Cologne had always seen Shampoo's fiery nature. She blamed herself for letting it go untamed for so long. She had hoped it was simply part of her coming of age, and that time would take care of her. She had a lot to do, to help Shampoo, but for now, she had to make sure the current situation ended at this street corner.

"Akane, are you alright?" she asked from where she was perched on her staff.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Akane answered.

Cologne nodded and hopped down from the wall so she could address her more directly.

"I must apologize for Shampoo's behavior," Cologne said, which surprised the two girls. "She is... not well."

"You call that 'not well'?" Ukyo asked, obviously astonished by the explanation. "She was completely crazy!"

"Ukyo, it's okay, no one was hurt," Akane said, trying to diffuse the situation. She knew this had to do with what happened with Ranma, and didn't want this subject lingering any longer.

"Okay? Have you gone nuts too?" Ukyo asked. "She almost took your head off!"

"Ukyo is right," Cologne sighed. "What happened is not alright."

Nabiki had joined them from where she had been watching, and was now looking at the elder with the other two girls.

Cologne took a moment to think about what to say, how to explain everything. She would not bring Shampoo further shame by explaining exactly what had been done to her in accordance to their laws. But if there was to be any understanding, and hope for forgiveness, Cologne knew she needed at least some kind of explanation.

"Shampoo is not in her right mind right now," Cologne admitted. "She is burdened by the demands my tribe makes on her life. As my heir, she is held to an incredible standard that she is devoted to meeting."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with her freaking out all of a sudden?" Nabiki asked. "She tried to kill my sister!"

"I can't go into details," Cologne said, "but I will tell you that part of the problem is that Shampoo always looks for the simplest solution to solving matters of honor and law. This has left her untrained in many ways, and I blame myself for letting it go on for so long."

"So you're saying Shampoo's solution to some Amazon problem is to off Akane?" Nabiki asked.

"I can only guess at Shampoo's motives for what she tried to do, but it would make sense," Cologne answered.

"So what's stopping her from trying again?" Ukyo asked. "I'm surprised she stopped at all."

"Just leave Shampoo to me," Cologne said. "I am her elder. She will listen to what I have to say."

"Do you really think she'll listen?" Akane asked. She knew more about what was going on than the other two did, which probably made her more skeptical.

"She'll have to," Cologne said, eyes narrowing.

- x -

After the fight with Shampoo, the girls had to rush to make it to school in time. Once they arrived, Akane had promised Ukyo she'd talk to her at lunch. She spent the entire morning worrying about what she was going to say to her sometimes friend, all times rival. When the bell rang for lunch, she had made no progress on a plan.

"So, what gives?" Ukyo asked as she sat down with Akane at a secluded corner. She started up her mini grill while Akane pulled out her bento. "That was pretty random, even for Shampoo."

Akane sighed when she tried to think about it. She really had no idea what the exact reason was. She assumed it had to do with Cologne giving her the potion, but for Shampoo to react by trying to kill her was a little unbelievable.

"I honestly don't know," she said. "Cologne made it sound like it had something to do with Amazon law."

"And you have no idea what that could mean?"

"Nope, not a clue," Akane said with an almost blank expression.

"You don't suppose it has something to do with Ranma?" Ukyo was curious.

Akane sighed. Of course it had to do with Ranma. Anything Shampoo did involved Ranma. What would bring her to kill though, was beyond her. Shampoo hadn't showed any signs of that way of thinking since coming back from China with her curse. Although, Akane did wonder if it was possible recent events convinced Shampoo to fulfill past declarations.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Akane muttered. "She did give me the kiss of death, a long time ago, because of her claim on him."

"The kiss of death?"

"Yeah, some Amazon law thing," Akane groaned. "Basically, she's got a death warrant on me, but she's never actually tried to go through with it, until now."

"Wow... that sounds pretty serious," Ukyo said as she tried to imagine what it'd be like to have a death warrant.

"Honestly, I've never given it much thought," Akane admitted. "Shampoo's always been more interested in her claim on Ranma than her promise to kill me."

"Alright, well... let's assume that this is because of the kiss of death," Ukyo tapped her finger on her chin to try to form the puzzle in her head. "Why go through with it now?"

Akane was uncomfortably silent. She didn't know how she could possibly answer that question without explaining about the potion.

Ukyo watched Akane closely. She saw that look on her face and could tell she wasn't telling her something. Akane did know something about what was going on with Shampoo. Ukyo was sure of it. Why she wouldn't tell her though, is what made her curious.

"Akane, what aren't you telling me?" she asked.

Akane was quiet for a second. "It's complicated," she said.

"When has it not been?" Ukyo asked, half joking. Ever since she'd come to Nerima to seek revenge, Ukyo's experienced complications she's never imagined before. Her situation with Ranma alone was complicated enough even before you factored in Akane or Shampoo, and that was only half of the story.

Akane couldn't agree more. She had always thought her life was complicated even before Ranma showed up. Now, her life was utter chaos at times. Before, Akane really detested it, but last night with Ranma made her forget about everything else. That made it all worth it. Just thinking about it made her tingle a little, and even forget about Shampoo's attempt on her life.

"Well, I won't try to force it out of you," Ukyo said when Akane didn't speak. She flipped her okonomiyaki on the grill and poured some sauce over it before putting it on a plate to eat.

Akane remained silent.

"How is Ranma, by the way?" Ukyo asked, not wanting to continue the discussion of murder in the name of law. The idea was a bit unnerving for her resolve in challenging Shampoo for Ranma. "I assume he's better now, since you're back in school?"

It really aggravated Ukyo that Akane had been able to stay with Ranma the whole time while she was forced to stay away. While she had tried to insist on her rights as Ranma's fiancé, his mother was insisted, and quite convincing in her argument for peace. Ukyo hated it, but she couldn't hope to win Ranma's heart if she turned his parents against her.

"Yeah, he's out of the hospital," Akane admitted. "But he can't return to school, and probably won't for the rest of this year."

"You mean the last two days," Ukyo reminded her. They were just two days away from finals and summer break.

"Yeah... the teachers are going to let him take his exams later though, since he was in the hospital."

"So... if Ranma's better... can I... see him?" Ukyo asked. She was twiddling her thumbs nervously.

Akane felt a mixture of feelings over the question. She had always been jealous of the closeness Ranma and Ukyo shared. Even after last night, Akane still felt that jealousy burning in her stomach. She felt she could trust Ranma, since he never really did show anything to imply he was affectionate for Ukyo, but she still didn't like thinking about them being alone together. Ukyo had proven to be just as conniving as Shampoo when she really wanted to be.

It also didn't help that Ukyo wasn't hiding her hopes for the encounter. She clearly had more than just a friendly talk to catch up. Just thinking about what Ukyo may be planning was enough to make Akane want to break something.

On the other hand, Akane didn't think keeping Ukyo away would make things any better, and she had just saved her from Shampoo. She felt Ukyo earned at least some measure of trust by now. She just wasn't sure if it was a good idea for Ranma to go to her restaurant.

"I don't know... we sort of all agreed it was best that he doesn't leave the house, to avoid the risk of running into hot water," Akane said.

"He doesn't need to come see me," Ukyo exclaimed. "I can come over to see him!"

Akane had thought of that already. She knew it was the best idea, but she didn't want Ukyo coming over tonight, not when she was planning to talk to Kasumi about the kiss she had shared with Ranma. Ukyo walking in on that discussion would be a complete disaster.

"Of course you can come over," Akane said, "but let me talk to Ranma about it first."

"Huh? Why?" Ukyo asked. "Is there something I should know about?"

"A lot has happened," Akane sighed. "I just want to make sure Ranma is okay with seeing people right now. He's pretty absorbed in his training."

"Oh..." Ukyo believed that, sort of. She was suspicious that there was more to it, but didn't want to jeopardize her chance at seeing Ranma by prying.

"I'm sure Ranma would be more than happy to see you," Akane admitted, with the tiniest pinch of pain in her chest. "I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Okay, thanks, Akane," Ukyo smiled.

Akane smiled back. "Thanks for this morning, by the way," she said. "I don't think I'd be here right now if you hadn't helped."

"Heh, don't mention it," Ukyo said. She really didn't want to remember that fight. Shampoo was just too bone chilling when she was attacking them.

"No, I really mean it," Akane insisted. "You stuck your neck out for me."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Ukyo gave an earnest smile.

Akane returned the smile. "Right," she said. She just hoped when this was all over Ukyo would still be willing to be her friend.

- x -

At the Nekohoten, Cologne was giving her great granddaughter a stern look. She was disgusted with Shampoo's behavior, both as her family, and as her elder. Her actions did more than embarrass just herself, and only proved that Cologne had been right in choosing her punishment.

Shampoo was sitting in a chair with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were as angry as ever as she stared forward, not meeting her great grandmother's gaze.

"Shampoo. Just what were you thinking attacking Akane and Ukyo like that?" Cologne asked. "I forbade you to exercise your claim on Ranma!"

"Shampoo not making claim on Ranma," she answered. "Shampoo kill source of disgrace!"

Cologne shook her head sadly. "That is not our way," she said. "We don't attack people like common hoodlums!"

"Is tradition!" Shampoo yelled. "Shampoo have no right of law, but still have right of tradition!"

"What? Shampoo has no right of law? What is this?" Mousse asked as he poked his head into the room from the kitchen.

At Mousse's arrival, Shampoo suddenly became pale and hid her face from him.

Cologne knew how Shampoo would feel once another Amazon found out. She only hoped her heir would learn her lessons with Mousse being the only other member of their tribe to ever know.

"Mousse, please leave us some privacy," Cologne asked.

Mousse looked at Shampoo keeping her face averted from him. He couldn't believe she had received such a disgrace, but her shame confirmed it.

"Shampoo..." Mousse wanted to comfort her, but knew it was best that he left. This was a private matter, and interference would only make things worse for everyone involved. He walked past her and left the restaurant.

Shampoo was nearly crying as Mousse left. Until now, her disgrace hadn't been known to anyone else in the tribe. Now that it was no longer private, her shame hit her hard.

"I know you are in pain, child," Cologne spoke softly. "It is better that you feel shame than anger, however."

"Shampoo only want her honor back," Shampoo sobbed. "Akane..."

"Akane has done nothing to bring you shame," Cologne cut her off. "And neither have I."

"Shampoo no understand... Why you help Akane? Why not Shampoo!"

"There is more at stake here than your claim of marriage," Cologne said, not directly answering the question. "Shampoo, you know I care about you, and your claim on Ranma."

Shampoo wiped her eyes and nodded.

"But it's time you realized something. Your future as an elder is more important than that. I'm not going to be around forever."

"Great grandmother shouldn't say that!" Shampoo yelled, sobbing again.

Cologne shook her head. "Ignoring the truth won't make it go away, child," she said. "It's my duty as elder to make sure you're ready to take over once I'm gone, and that comes before a husband."

Shampoo continued to cry, unable to speak. Her shame was only increased at the reality of how selfish she had been since coming to Japan. How could she ever hope to be a respected elder?

Cologne hopped down from the table she was perched on and over to her great granddaughter. She put her hand on her knee and smiled.

"I don't know how your claim on Ranma will turn out," she admitted. "But greater honor awaits you. In time, you'll understand."

"What can Shampoo do?" she asked.

"Learn from this, child," Cologne said. "Don't despair in dishonor. Overcome it with grace."

Shampoo soaked in her great grandmother's words. She had never considered a graceful approach to honor. She had always taken the fast and vicious approach, because she was their best warrior, and always wanted to assert that fact. She now realized just how much she needed to learn.

"Shampoo understand," she said.

Cologne sensed Shampoo was finally calming down, and gave her a reassuring pat.

"Go and get some rest," she said.

Shampoo nodded and stood up. She quietly walked to the back of their restaurant and upstairs to get some much needed sleep.

Cologne watched her great granddaughter walk up the stairs looking much better than when she had first entered the restaurant. It had been tough to deal with her in such a way, but Cologne knew it had to be done. She had a duty to her people to prepare Shampoo, which involved the toughest lesson of all for an Amazon. Sometimes obtaining true honor means to let go of it first.

Author's Notes: Remember when I said the next update would take longer? I lied. I didn't even attempt to work on my Evangelion fic before finishing this chapter.

Nothing too big going on in this one, just some set up for the next few chapters. I did decide to reintroduce Ukyo, as she's been largely ignored. Of all the characters, I find her the hardest to be accurate to. She's got the widest spectrum of behavior. At times she's almost as bad as Shampoo, and at other times she's like a best friend to Ranma and Akane. I tried to strike a healthy middle road in this chapter, and it took quite a few rewrites and tweaks before I was satisfied.

Can you believe this was originally a 4-5 chapter concept? I was really aiming to write a nice, short, simple story when I started this. This chapter actually makes this story as long as the first Harry Potter book, and that kind of scares me. It's grown completely out of control, but I can't seem to help myself.

As usual, any comments on this chapter, and the fanfic as a whole, are greatly appreciated.