"The Saotome Sisters"

Chapter 10

"Oh, wow, this is so good!" Ranma said, a look of bliss coming over her face. "I wish I'd known about ice cream before this!"

Akane regarded the girl in front of her with a smile. Ranma was in Ukyo's form. Akane had wanted to make a trip to the ice cream shop, and begged and cajoled Ranma into accompanying her. Ranma had finally relented, but only after turning into a girl himself.

"So, you're glad I talked you into this, then?" She asked.

Ranma nodded enthusiastically. "I had no idea ice cream was this good!" She dove into her parfait, finishing it with a speed that make Akane a little shocked, and more than a little annoyed.

"You'll get a headache doing that." She said.

"I wanna try this one next. And this one. And this one too." She gestured at the menu, then called over the server. A few minutes later she had three large bowls sitting in front of her.

Akane brought up her hands to shield her face as Ranma began to dig into the ice cream with even more exuberance than before. "Geez, Ranma, slow down! You're spraying it everywhere, you baka!"

The ponytailed girl slowed down slightly, grinning at her. "Sorry." Then she suddenly paused, giving a moan of pleasure before turning back to her treat. "It's just so good!"

Akane shook her head, only half amused. "If you're going to be a girl, then eat like one."

Ranma looked up at her, with a sudden scowl. "Guys don't eat ice cream!"

"Baka. Of course they do."

"Well I don't. It isn't manly."

Akane smiled. "You look like you're eating ice cream to me. And you sure don't look very 'manly'. Not that you're acting much like a girl either."

"Feh. It probably tastes better as a girl anyway." She turned back to the bowl, finishing it off, but Akane noticed she was being a bit more cautious about throwing it around.

"What makes you say that?"

Ranma paused a moment, but then shrugged. "There's lots of things that taste better as a girl. Chocolate for one." She gestured at the topping on the next bowl of ice cream, as she pulled it up in front of her. "Not that I had much time to try it when I was a kid. But it sure tastes better now."

"Really?" Akane was a bit surprised, and leaned forward. "Are you sure that's not just because you're in Ukyo's body, instead of your own?"

The girl suddenly stopped and blinked, thinking about it. Then she shook her head. "Nah. Sis and I have talked about it. She's noticed some difference in how her cursed body senses and tastes things. It's a lot... it's a lot more than that for me, though. Both her bodies are girls, ya know. So there's probably some things that are just me turning inta her, but there's some other stuff that ain't."

"Ukyo's got a lot sharper eyesight than I do, for one. I can see that when I'm in her body. Everythin's like clearer and sharper to me. An' I notice stuff, little stuff I don't usually notice. She says it's the opposite when she's in her cursed form, everything becomes less focused, but she notices stuff more instinctively, like she don't really see it. It's more peripheral vision, she says."

Akane nodded, definitely interested now. Ranma continued, "But there's other stuff, like taste and feelings. There's this type of tea she doesn't like, and I don't really like the taste of it in my male form. But I really like it when I'm a girl. She says she can't tell no difference, but I definitely can. And it ain't 'cause of her body, because she doesn't like the taste. I like the taste, but like it as a girl."

"Hm. I guess that means there are some good things to being a girl, then." Akane's voice was mischievous.

Ranma paused, shocked. Then she bent back to the ice cream. "Well, I still hate it. This curse. But I guess some parts of it ain't so bad." She stopped again, to close her eyes in bliss.

Akane giggled. "I can tell." She leaned forward to wipe off a bit of the ice cream from Ranma's mouth with a napkin. Not that she figured she would make much of a dent, but it was a good opportunity to tease her.

Ranma looked up at her, her eyes wide, and her cheeks starting to turn a little pink. And not from the cold of the ice cream. "You don't... you don't think it's stupid of me ta like ice cream when I'm a guy, do ya?" The question was asked nonchalantly, but Ranma looked away again, and Akane could hear just a hint of doubt in her voice.

She shook her head. "Of course not." She patted Ranma's hand, then picked up her own spoon. "If you enjoy it, then you should enjoy it, and not worry about what people think."

"Hmph," Ranma snorted, finishing off the bowl and reaching for the third. "I'm still not eatin' it as a guy. Guys don't eat ice cream."

"Baka." Akane made a show of mimicking Ranma's expressions as she started eating her own ice cream, and Ranma looked away, turning even redder. She toyed with her spoon for a moment, but was grinning widely. She found herself unable to forget the tingling sensation she had felt when Akane touched her hand.

By the time Ranma had recovered and prepared a retort, she was interrupted by a noise from behind her. She turned to see a section of the wall buckling. With a loud crash, the wall collapsed, leaving a pile of bricks and a large hole. Through the hole stepped a young girl, somewhat stocky, but very voluptuously built. She wore a silk Chinese top and billowing pants, which only seemed to further accentuate her generous curves. Her hair was a surprising shade of bluish-purple, and hung well down her back, although it was drawn up on top of her head, and decorated with ornaments.

Ranma stared in shock, her hands up in a warding gesture, and then backed away hurriedly. "Sh... Shampoo!" She stuttered.

Akane looked the girl over. She frowned slightly. "What about her shampoo? Sure, that's an odd color, but I don't think it's from her shampoo..."

The girl's lavender eyes had quickly scanned the room and settled on Ranma. She brought out two chui, and brandished them threateningly. "Ran-chan!" She shouted. "I kill!"

Akane's frown deepened. "Ran... chan... ?" She echoed.

"What are you doing here in Japan!" Ranma exclaimed. "Why can't you just get over it?"

Ranma had scrambled up the wall to escape from the girl, and now leaped aside to dodge an attack from her chui. She dodged several more attacks, as the purple haired girl pressed her assault, obviously quite angry. "You I kill!" She repeated, while Ranma ducked under a table.

"Ran-chan?" Akane muttered again. She was almost snarling, her eyes narrowed.

Ranma came flying out from under the table, throwing the tablecloth over her opponent. She cried out in outrage, "Ran-chan! I kill! You not escape!" She pulled the tablecloth off just in time to see Ranma trying to duck into a cabinet. She smashed the doors of the cabinet with her chui, at which time Ranma ducked into the kitchen. The other girl followed, and there followed the sounds of screams and crashing from the kitchen.

Ranma darted back out of the kitchen a few moments later. She was then jerked aside as Akane grabbed her by the ponytail, dragging her out of the way of the door. It crashed open as the Chinese girl charged through, glancing about angrily. Behind her back, Akane shoved Ranma through the door to the men's restroom.

The girl looked around, glaring at Akane, who tried her best not to look suspicious. "Where Ran-chan?" she asked, waving her weaponry in Akane's face. "You no hide Ran-chan!"

Akane pointed out through the hole in the wall. "He ran out that way."

The girl turned and looked out through the opening, then leaped through it. In a moment, she was gone, still calling out, "Ran-chan! You no run away! I kill!"

After a few moments, Ranma stuck his head out of the restroom, once again male. "Is she gone?" he asked.

"Ran-chan?" Akane said, studying the boy carefully. She was scowling, but Ranma didn't seem to notice.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Akane. Man, I can't believe she chased me all the way here. I thought we ditched her in China."

"Ran-chan?" Akane said again. Her scowl was growing darker, and she was starting to clench her teeth.

"What?" Ranma looked up at her, then drew back, although he was starting to blush. "Shouldn't ya not call me that? Folks might get the wrong idea!"

Akane hit him on the head. "I'm not calling you that, baka, I'm asking why she called you that! Who is this girl, and who is she to you? What did you do to her that she's trying to kill you? As if I didn't know..."

"Wh-Wha.. what?" Ranma looked startled. "She's just this crazy Amazon I ran into in China! She's been chasin' after me ever since! I didn't do nothin' to her! Not really anyway..."

"Not really?" Akane huffed, her eyes flashing. "Is that all it is to you, you two timing womanizer? It's just 'nothing'? You just had your way with her and then dumped her off in China then! Is that it?"

Ranma put his hands up, to ward off Akane's anger now. "Whoa! Hey, I didn't do nothin' like that! Shampoo don't mean nothin' ta me, she's just a crazy Amazon!"

Akane hit him again. "Shampoo? Who cares about her shampoo! I don't care what shampoo she uses, baka. Or how good you think it smells, you pervert..."

"No, Shampoo's her name! I swear it! And I ain't no pervert!"

"Then why is she calling you Ran-chan?"

"Because that's what Ucchan was calling me!" He stuck his face into Akane's, starting to get angry himself. "She thinks it's my name, Ranchan! It don't mean nuthin'!"

"Oh, come on!" Akane yelled back. "Don't try to tell me that you don't think she's cute! With that long hair, and those huge..."

"She's tying ta kill me, Akane!" Ranma cut in, interrupting her. "She thinks I'm a girl!"

"Oh." Akane lowered her eyes, suddenly embarrassed. "So you... you didn't... um... she isn't... an old girlfriend?"

"Of course not! I'd never do nothin' like that!" Ranma started to look embarrassed as well. "Look, I... I accidentally ate her tournament prize, and then challenged her to a fight for it. I beat her, but she took it kinda bad. She's been chasin' us ever since. I was hoping I lost her in China, but I guess she managed to follow us here."

"I thought ya knew me better than that, Akane," Ranma said, really blushing now. "I wouldn't never abandon a girl like that. Pops tried to leave Sis behind plenty of times and I always went back for her. I wouldn't do nuthin' like that to someone I cared about, I swear."

Akane frowned, but reluctantly nodded. She couldn't meet Ranma's eyes. "Okay. I guess I believe you... So this girl's name is Shampoo? What kind of a name is that?"

Ranma shrugged. "You got me. But we gotta find Sis, and fast. She only ever saw me in her form, and Sis in her cursed form. If she sees Ucchan in her own body, Shampoo's gonna try ta kill her!"

Ukyo wandered along the street towards the Tendo home, trying not to shiver from the water that had soaked her clothes. She had noticed that the old lady with the ladle tended to hit Ranma more often than would be considered natural, but wasn't sure if it was just the curse, or if the old lady secretly got some sort of perverse pleasure out of it.

At least her plan to get Ryoga settled in at Furinkan seemed to be working out. Much like that first day, it seemed that Ryoga couldn't last a whole day without getting turned into P-chan, and Akane always insisted on keeping him in her bag when he did. But Ukyo had started keeping hot water in the equipment shed so she could change him back if she found him first.

As she came near an enclosed lot she heard a commotion, and jumped up on the fence to investigate. Three ragged-looking figures stood there in the lot, surrounding a girl in a grey school uniform, who was eyeing them coolly.

Anyone else observing the scene might have concluded that it was the girl in the center that was being attacked, but to Ukyo's practiced eye it was another story. For one thing, the three figures were also girls, and they were heavily bandaged, as if they had already been in a fight. For another, their 'victim' was tall and haughty, with long black hair which was painstakingly styled and cared for. She had the air of someone who was used to buying whatever and whomever she wanted, and looked down her nose disdainfully at the shorter girls.

She laughed, and the sound was like nails on a chalkboard. Ukyo shuddered. Putting a hand to her mouth, the girl smiled sweetly at her foes. "Are you in such a hurry to face me? Our match isn't until next week."

Ukyo studied the three girls carefully. A couple of them seemed nervous, trembling and looking as if they might bolt and run, but their leader was angry. Her wounds were the worst of all of them, though, and Ukyo felt it likely she couldn't handle a serious fight. She jumped down off of the fence.

"You don't scare us, Kodachi," the leader of the girls said. "You may have ruined our chance to be in the competition, but we'll make you pay."

The girl, Kodachi apparently, laughed her high-pitched, irritating laugh again. Without another word, she pulled out a ribbon and snapped it like a whip, striking out at the girls.

Before any of them could move to defend themselves, Ukyo shoved aside the leader, then snagged the ribbon with her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled the weapon away from Kodachi, and caught it in her own hand.

The dark haired girl regarded her carefully. "You disarmed me. That's never happened before." She stared at Ukyo for a moment longer. "You are no ordinary girl. You dress like a..." She paused long enough to imply the word 'boy'. "... commoner."

"No, not ordinary, no," Ukyo agreed. "I also can't stand to see a martial artist using her skills to abuse the weak. It's obvious these girls are no challenge to you."

"Ho ho ho ho!" Kodachi put a hand to her mouth, laughing in that way that make the hair stand up on the back of Ukyo's neck. "What a novel concept! How droll you are!"

"I am called the Black Rose of St. Hebereke's school for girls!" The girl cried, and bounded off across the rooftops. "Kodachi, the Black Rose! Remember that name, for we shall meet again!" Her maniacal laugher faded away into the distance.

"Thanks for doing this, Ranko," the leader of the three girls said, as they followed the red headed martial artist to the Tendo home. "We really appreciate it."

"No problem," Ukyo answered. "Hopefully my... um... cousin and her friend Ukyo can help you out. I want to see that Kodachi get what she deserves."

The girl looked ashamed. "We were ambushed. Even her teammates can't stand up to her. We tried, but you saw what happened. We just... we're not good enough."

"But Akane's good enough," one of the other girls put in. "Everyone knows she's the best martial artist at the school."

Ukyo nodded. "Ukyo's pretty good too. I'd say between the two of them you won't have to worry about Kodachi any more."

As she started to open up the door to the Tendo home, it suddenly burst open on its own. Ranma, still in his male form, rushed outside.

"Ucchan! There you are! You're in your cursed form, good. Come on, you gotta get inside!"

He grabbed Ukyo by the arm and started to pull her through the door, but she pulled her arm back. "Ran... ma, we have guests! And I'm not Ukyo, I'm Ranko, remember?" She gestured at the three girls next to her, raising an eyebrow at her brother.

"But..." Ranma looked around and noticed the other girls for the first time. He stammered for a few moments, then put a hand behind his head. Meanwhile, Akane had stepped out of the door, and welcomed the girls.

"What's going on?" She asked Ukyo.

"These girls were attacked by a rival from another school. They want us to take their place in a gymnastics tournament. What's going on here?"

She looked at Ranma as she said this, and he seemed to recover his voice. "Shampoo's here! So... um... Ukyo's gotta go away for a while. You'll... um... haveta stay... um... as you are..."

"Shampoo!" The red haired girl shook her head. "And I thought we lost her. Is she still trying to..."

"Kill me, yeah. I mean, Ukyo. But she's never met me before, so I'm all right as long as I... stay like this."

"What's the story about this Shampoo?" Akane asked. "Ranma told me about her..." she shot a glance at him, "... but I'm not sure he's telling me the whole story."

"Well, let's get these girls inside first," Ukyo countered, taking their leader's arm. "I'm sure they'd like to get off their feet, and they could probably use some first aid, too."

Ranma followed as the girls all headed up to Akane's room. Akane and Ukyo sat on the bed, while the girls told their story. P-chan, who had been napping on the bed while Akane and Ranma were out, sat up and listened as well.

"... So you see, Kodachi always takes out her opponents before the tournament, so they have to forfeit. We've seen you do some gymnastics in gym, Akane, and we all know what a good martial artist you are, and we were hoping you could take our place. You're our only hope!"

"I dunno..." Akane looked uncertainly at Ukyo. "I can do some flips and tumbles, but I've never done anything like that competitively before. Are you sure... are you sure you want me to do this?"

"But it's Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!" One of the other girls put in. "You should be a natural."

"Martial Arts Gymnastics?" Ukyo echoed. "That's a pretty weird idea."

"Yeah, it uses the tools of Rhythmic Gymnastics, but uses them as weapons. It's actually a martial arts tournament."

A smile spread across Ukyo's face. "Weapons, you say? I might be a natural at that myself. Maybe it would be better if I took your place, instead of Akane."

Akane looked hurt, but the girl spoke before she could say anything. "You can't compete, Ranko, you don't go to our school."

Ukyo blushed deeply. "Oh... uh... I forgot." She looked around at Ranma and Akane. Ranma shrugged, but Akane studied her for a moment.

"You'll have to transfer to our school for the next week or so, anyway. Ukyo isn't going to be around for a while, and you... can't go back where you came from. You'll have to go to school."

"That's true. And maybe we should both sign up. That'll give us twice the chance to face Kodachi, and we can train together."

Akane's expression brightened. "That'll be great!" She turned back to the girls. "Can you get us some of these weapons? So we can practice?"

The leader of the girls fished around in her school bag and pulled out a couple of clubs, a ribbon, and a hoop. "Here, you can use these. We won't need them and I've got some spares anyway." The other girls produced some items as well, which they handed to Ukyo and Akane.

Akane eyed the clubs warily. "I don't really do that good with the equipment. I usually stick to the floor exercises and stuff."

"Don't worry about it, Akane, I'm sure I can teach you." Ukyo put an arm around her friend, and she smiled.

Kasumi came in with a first aid kit, and in a few moments the girls were patched up and on their way. Ukyo and Akane headed out to the dojo, Ukyo staying in her redheaded form. Ranma, still male, tagged along. As the girls took up positions on the opposite ends of the dojo, Ranma plopped down on the floor, looking bored. P-chan also wandered in, and also trying not to make it look like he was watching, settled down next to Ranma.

"So, Akane, since you've done this before why don't you show me what you do know." Ukyo shrugged. "I never had much chance to go to school while growing up with the Old Man, so I'm afraid I've never had the chance to do any gymnastics at all."

Akane bit her lip, but drew herself up confidently. "Okay. I guess I'll try a simple routine or something." She posed for a moment with the clubs. "Watch this..."

She took a few steps, moving gracefully as she stepped on her toes, twirling the clubs. Then she threw them into the air and reached out to catch them. The clubs arced high into the air, plummeted to the ground, and landed well outside of her reach. Like, several yards outside of her reach.

"Are you supposed to drop 'em like that?" Ranma commented.

Akane turned an interesting shade of red. "Ha, ha, Ranma. I'm just not good at that. Let's try the hoop instead."

The hoop fared no better than the clubs. Akane began a somewhat fluid routine, but then got caught up in the hoop. She struggled with it for a few moments, until Ranma muttered "Are you supposed to get tangled up like that?" at which time she pulled so hard she snapped the hoop in two.

Ukyo put a hand over her mouth, trying hard not to giggle. "All right, all right, you're getting flustered. Take a break for a minute. And Ranchan, shut up."

She walked over and picked up the clubs. "Okay, I think I've got it. Watch my form. And remember, keep your focus."

Ukyo stepped into a pirouette, threw the clubs into the air, then leaped and caught them at the end of their arc. She brought one around behind her back, flipped it over her shoulder, and then caught it again. She looked somewhat unsure of her steps, and her spinning of the clubs looked jerky and awkward, but otherwise she looked like she was born to do gymnastics.

Akane put a hand to her forehead. She seemed to be counting to herself, or maybe holding back tears. "I was never any good with the clubs," she said finally. "I can't seem to hold on to them. Either that or I hold on too tight."

Ukyo walked over and handed her the clubs. "Why don't you try it again, and don't worry about throwing them. You're throwing them too hard, for one thing. Just work on form and balance."

With a sigh, Akane nodded. She quickly took a stance at the start of her routine again, and repeated it without throwing the clubs. This time it went well, even though Akane stumbled a few times.

Ukyo was studying her carefully, though. "Hold on, Akane. Try handling the clubs a little more loosely."

"I'm trying, okay!" She began again, and dropped them. She stamped her foot petulantly.

"Akane, you've got a shinai. I've seen it in your room. Don't you ever practice with it?"

"Um..." Akane's face was really red now, and she looked away. "I used to use it all the time. But... I kept breaking it. Father finally told me if I broke this one, he wouldn't buy me another one. I haven't used it since." She paused a moment as Ranma burst out laughing, but then she shook her head. "It's probably all for the better anyway. I can get more power out of just my fists."

Ranma was still laughing, but Ukyo had to struggle to keep from getting angry herself. The panda's comments about "weapons are useless" kept echoing in her ears. When she finally managed to get her expression under control, she walked over and hugged the currently taller girl.

"You've never learned to properly handle a weapon, have you? A weapon is an advantage because it is stronger and tougher than your body, but that also makes it fragile. Your hand gives when you strike a target, a weapon doesn't. That's why you have to learn to give with the weapon, to sense when you're putting too much stress on it."

"You're supposed to beat your opponent up with your weapons, Akane, not beat up your weapons!" Ranma added, his voice teasing. He had sat up, and slapped his knee as he started laughing again. P-chan glared at him.

Akane scowled, but Ukyo was smiling. "He's right... even though he's being a jerk about it." She picked up the clubs and handed them to Akane. "You need to think of a weapon as an extension of your body. It's not just a tool to deliver energy from your hand to your target. It's a part of you. Just as you don't want to hit so hard you shatter your hand, or hold your hand wrong so you hurt it, you don't want to hold your weapon the wrong way either."

She guided Akane's fingers to grip the clubs, then stepped back. "Okay, start again, but this time be gentle. Let yourself feel the clubs. They're not your opponent here, they're your partners."

Akane sighed and closed her eyes. Then she slowly started to move. Although she kept her steps slow and cautious, they were smooth. Ukyo encouraged her, and after a moment she was becoming more comfortable.

"So," Akane finally said, with a glance at Ranma. "what's going on with this Shampoo? Ranma said something about a tournament, and how she was mad that he beat her. Not that I can't understand, with the way this jerk gloats." Ranma snorted, but Akane ignored him.

"Well, it was right after Jusenkyo," Ukyo told her. "We had no food, so the guide offered to take us to this village of warrior women nearby."

"Amazons, Ranma said," Akane put in.

"Yeah, that's right. Anyway, they don't have a lot of respect for men, so I suggested Ranma stay in my form, and the Old Man be a panda. It went pretty good for a while. I met one of the Elders of the tribe, this old hag named Cologne. She and I were really hitting it off. Meanwhile, as Ranma said, they were having a tournament. Shampoo was competing, and Cologne said she happened to be her great-granddaughter. She was pretty good, too, took out an opponent twice her size without breaking a sweat."

"Anyway, all of a sudden there was this commotion, and Shampoo jumped up and ran off into the audience. There was this huge feast set up at a table there, and of course Ranchan and the panda had spotted and started devouring the whole thing. Shampoo started yelling at them, and Cologne explained that was the prize. They'd eaten Shampoo's prize."

"Wasn't my fault," Ranma muttered. "It was dumb Pops' idea..."

"I didn't hear you complaining," Ukyo said with a grin. "Anyway, once I explained, Ranma figured that since it was the prize for the tournament, he'd just challenge Shampoo, and he'd be off the hook. He couldn't be blamed for eating the prize if he won it fair and square. Problem is, Cologne pointed out that to an Amazon, being beaten by an outsider was about the worst insult there could be. Once I realized the danger, I tried to warn Ranchan, but it was already too late."

Ukyo shot her brother a frown, and he laughed uncomfortably. "He nailed her with one kick. Didn't even make it look hard. Sent her flying out of the ring like she was nothing. And she'd just taken out that other opponent, easily. You could tell everyone else was just shocked."

"Cologne was shaking her head, but apparently Shampoo was really ticked. She didn't look like it, though, and Ranma was kind of stunned. She kind of got up, dusted herself off, and smiled at him. It wasn't a good smile, kind of a mean smile, but I didn't know what to make of it. She walked over to Ranchan, and he didn't know what to do either, so he just stood there."

"That's when Cologne muttered something. I couldn't make it out, it was probably in her language, but I could tell she wasn't happy. But then Shampoo just walked up, grabbed Ranma, and kissed him."

"Kissed him!" Akane shouted. She looked at Ranma, brandishing her clubs in almost the same way Shampoo had earlier. He put his hands up, leaning away.

"On the cheek," Ukyo finished. "And remember, he was in my body at the time. So I was a bit shocked, too."

"He was a girl... he was you at the time?" She glared at Ranma again. "So she wasn't... coming on to him or anything?"

"It wasn't nuthin' like that!" Ranma protested. "She's just a crazy Amazon!"

Ukyo sighed. "It's true. I was trying to figure out what was going on, too, when Cologne put a hand on my shoulder. 'You'd better go,' she said. 'Great-granddaughter has given your sister the Kiss of Death. She will pursue her to the ends of the earth to get her revenge. She must do this, or be labelled a disgrace in the eyes of the tribe. You had better take your sister and your pet panda and run while you still can.'"

"The Kiss of Death?" Akane looked worried now.

Ukyo nodded. "If an Amazon female is beaten by an outsider, she must give her the Kiss of Death, and not return home until the outsider is dead. If I'd had time to warn him, Ranma could have thrown the fight, or at least given Shampoo enough time to keep her dignity when she was defeated. But Ranchan, being the jerk he is, couldn't resist showing off..."

"I said I was sorry..." Ranma muttered, although his voice was only barely audible.

Akane glanced at him. "But he's a guy, not a girl," she said. "Why didn't you tell Cologne that?"

"It likely would have been worse. I'm sure being beaten by a male would be a bigger insult than a female, to them. They consider men weak and inferior. Since Ranma was in my form at the time, and because I was the girl of the group, they might have held me responsible for his actions."

Ranma was clenching his fist now. "I couldn't let that happen to ya, Sis. I'd rather Shampoo keep runnin' after me than have her comin' after you."

Akane looked at Ranma again, then back at Ukyo. At the question in her eyes, Ukyo nodded. "A few weeks after that, when we thought we had lost her, she caught up with us again. Only, I was in my normal form and so was Ranma. She came after me."

"You coulda been killed..."

"I told you, I can take care of myself," Ukyo said, cutting him off. "But it was okay. Ranchan was able to distract her by changing into me, and led her away. We kept that up pretty much all the way across China. I was hoping we had lost her when we got back to Japan, she didn't seem to be following us any more. But I guess it must have taken her this long to track us down."

"So what are you going to do now?" Akane asked.

"I don't know what we can do, other than try and keep Shampoo from seeing either my normal form, or Ranchan's cursed form. If we stay as we are, maybe we can buy some time. Hopefully eventually Shampoo will give up and go home."

Ukyo fell silent as her story ended. "Anyway, I need to think about how we're going to use these things as weapons." She began to experiment with the ribbon, trying to make it snap like a whip, as Kodachi had, but it only fluttered around. She shook her head.

"I think that's enough for me. But Akane, keep working on it. Ranchan, work with her." Ranma snorted, but Ukyo shot him a look. "I mean it! Don't make me force you to learn gymnastics!"

Ranma put up his hands. "I ain't learnin' that! That's too girly!"

"You remember that. And help out Akane. Or else. I'm going to go take a bath."

Ranma growled as Ukyo walked out, but he stood up to help Akane. P-chan watched the two of them for a few moments, then got up and walked out of the dojo.

A few minutes later, P-chan walked into the furoba, just as Ukyo was about to dump the bucket of wash water over herself. She noticed the pig, and let out a shriek, wrapping her arms around herself as she sat on the stool.

"Ryoga! You pervert, get outta here!"

P-chan stared at her for a moment, his eyes getting wide, with just a bit of redness starting around his snout. Then he suddenly turned away from her, looking up with a sniffle. Prancing across the floor with as much dignity as he could muster, he continued over to the furo and jumped in.

Ukyo yelled even louder as Ryoga's naked body surfaced. "I said, get out! What, are you crazy?" She was beet red, and looked away as Ryoga stood and got out of the water.

"I'm not at all interested in looking at you," Ryoga said, although he was also looking away. "Don't flatter yourself."

"What? Wha... you... you... jackass!" Ukyo grew even redder, even as she glared in Ryoga's direction, and then looked away.

"I just came in here to change, since you already know my secret. And don't forget... you did this to me. It's your fault I'm this way."

Ukyo looked down, her eyes darting around the floor. "Just get outta here."

As Ryoga walked on to the door, she turned her back to him, and lifted the bucket over her head. It splashed down over her, and she returned to her natural form. Ryoga suddenly stopped, startled, and looked back at her.

"You're... using hot water?"

Ukyo looked up, surprised that Ryoga was still there, and blushed again. "Yeah, I don't like changing back and forth while I'm bathing! So I use warm water! Now get out of here!"

She threw the bucket, and it bounced off of Ryoga's head. He turned to leave, but paused at the door, unable to resist a parting shot.

"I told you, I'm not interested in whatever you've got. You're not nearly as cute as Akane. Or as nice as her. She cares about me. She's not just taking care of me out of pity."

He turned to look at her, as Ukyo turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "So when I... you know, it's as a pet. That's all it is to you... and that's all it is to me."

He turned and left, as Ukyo silently fumed.