A/N: Well holy hell in a hand basket. Hey there folks. I have returned again with the twelfth chapter of this monstrosity. I think we might be getting into the final arc, but with the way I seem to be writing it could be another hundred thousand words or so.

What's sad is I'm not sure if that's an exaggeration or not.

Anyway you people, let's get this goin' already.


Directly in the aftermath of the battle between the clawed capers, the now battered and bruised set of Nerima brawlers sat in the debris filled area that used to be their campsite. Resting next to them was a currently conked Shampoo, too tuckered out from her recent escapades to even think about waking.

"So what- what just happened?" Akane wasted little time asking as she sat down next to the nearby Ranma. Everything had somehow gone just completely wrong for her and her companions. In the span of what seemed like a single moment, they were left down and out for the count. It hardly made any sense at all. Luckily though, she looked to be the slightest injured out of all of the lot, and was capable of at least bandaging up the Chinese girl that lay beside hers' wounds.

"I- I don't really friggin' know," Ranma stated. His voice had a world weary, exasperated tone to it. If inspected closely, his eyes seemed to be dimmer; less vibrant than before, as if drained of some life. "I think- I mean, well, it's Ryoga- he was, he still is, under mind control, or somethin'."

Akane's brow furrowed. "Mind control?..."

Ranma simply just shifted his ki-eyes up and down, in an attempt to nod. "Yeah, ya know, remember that time Shamps' got hit by one a those eggs, and got all loopy?" He turned and looked over at the purple hared girl. "Well, the same thing happened ta Ryoga, only a little different. Instead a just goin' and trying ta screw us over right away, they kept it all real secret, and waited ta screw us over until the right time!"

Akane simply gasped. "So… so Ryoga, this whole time, was under a spell?"

The black chúi just stared downward. "Yep, and they made im' attack us during the fight." He looked up at the girl in front of him. "He went for you first, too. Ya alright?"

The young Tendo felt slightly like she was in a daze, as she clutched the hem of the dress her attack had inadvertently charred. "Yes. Yes. I'm okay. It's just, Ryoga…"

"Listen, I know…"

Akane started to shake her head. "I just never pictured him attacking me like that; so brazenly…"

"I'm tellin' ya, we'll smash his skull in for it. Then we can turn him back ta normal."

She held her hem harder. "It was just so quick… right out of nowhere."

"Okay, we'll-"

"I've, never seen Ryoga be that, assertive before." A small blush wormed its way on to her face.

Ranma just blinked. "Wait, what the heck are ya goin' on about?"

"I mean, it was just so different from the way he always acted around me. Most of the time he just stutters and laughs… for the few seconds I saw him, he acted so, determined."

"Uhh, tomboy, are you with me here?"

"I- I just never pictured him like that; never even thought. Most boys don't even try to hit me…" Akane glanced up at Ranma with a starry look in her eyes. "He threw me and made me explode!"

Ranma's figurative mouth was agape. "Aw crap, you're in friggin shock, ain't ya?" Deadpan would be too excited of a word to describe his voice.

As Akane went about rambling on to herself, off to the side, a certain Amazonian warrior started to stir; her face scrunching as she felt the ache that her muscles brought about. "A-airen?..." she mumbled, as she raised herself out from under her blankets.

Ranma's drearier than usual eyes managed to perk up upon seeing the purple haired girl. Maybe she could provide some sanity for the situation. "Shampoo, you're awake!"

Said Shampoo twisted and turned as to the best of her abilities, eliciting small mewls from the soreness that ran about her. "Ooh… what happen?" She asked while rubbing her right hand against her opposite arm.

The black chúi hissed a little, as he watched the injured girl try to move about. "H-hey, watch out! Ya just got put through the ringer! Ya gotta take it easy fer a little while!" His words fell on deaf ears though, as the foreign girl slowly sat up Indian style towards him, and let out tired yawn. While mildly irked, the hammer continued on with his diatribe. "Listen Shamps, things got outta hand! Ya remember what happened earlier at all?"

Blinking a few times, her sleepy state seemed to sap the girl of her cognitive abilities about the current crisis. Realization though slowly but surely struck with the tribal brawler. "O- oh no! Girl-Ranmas!" She gasped out, standing up wobbly, right to her feet. "We- we's got to go! They take other Airens! They-ack!" She stopped, as she felt the pain of her damaged bones hitting her; causing her to fall quickly, toppling on to her knees.

That said tumble made a certain young Tendo to snap out of her long-winded rhetoric. "Oh, Shampoo, you're up!" She smartly added.

"Yeah, she is… kinda. Ranma dryly murmured; finding himself pausing for a moment to glance between the girls, before continuing. "But it's gonna take a little while ta get back up to speed, for all a us, ain't it? I really don't think we're gonna be movin' from this spot, at least tonight."

The purple haired girl simply just grunted in response. The eclectic energy that hit her earlier had taken its toll. While her intense training would rapidly accelerate any sort of damage she took, it would still probably be another day or so before she could properly be moving about. Though if that was time they had to spare, was another matter entirely.

Still half in a daze, Shampoo was left bewildered and confused. "Stupid, stupid, bird peoples, they take other airens! What they want her for?" Her eyes scrunched as she rubbed her temples; the girl tried to wrack her brain for the proper answer, but her still weary state left her confused with about everything around her. But slowly, an idea managed to creep its way through her thoughts. "W-wait… they know Ranmas got transformed?"

Akane's face scrunched a little upon hearing this. "I guess so? What's the bit deal about that?"

Shampoo just gave the other girl an indignant glance; completely baffled by her ignorance. "It big deal, because we knows, that bird peoples knows, that Kiima knows, that Ranmas been put under spell! It obvious!" Her hands wavered about in an almost cartoonish fashion. "We no know before if Kiima-person use orb for evil, or somethings else! Now really we dos!" The girl tried her hardest to explain; articulating herself as best as a recently blown up person could, but a lot of it was lost on the slightly shattered stated that Shampoo was sputtering around in at the moment.

Ranma though, understood slightly more fully. "Yeah… yeah! For all we knew before, that egg-lady could a just gotten the damn orb cause it was pretty! Now we know she wants ta screw with us!"

The blue haired girl though was still a bit unsure of what to entirely make of it all. "But what does that all mean? We knew from the start that the Phoenix people were trouble. We just know that they want to mess things up even worse for us now!"

Shampoo simply shook her head. "Mmm-mmm, no! It real important! It mean Phoenix peoples have to knows they take from Amazon peoples! They steal from us and get powerful item! That mean bad things happen! We could go to war!" Her voice echoed out in awe and mild shock. "Dozens of too too powerful Amazon warriors fightings with bird-mens, crazy crazy magic being used, big big explosions!" Her hands clasped together as she sucked in a breath. "Little baby Amazons crying for dead mama-Amazons! It awful!" Her voice was raised to a squealing pitch.

Ranma's ki-eye's narrowed. "Now- now hold on. Geez, I mean, I know ya mentioned something like that a while ago, but..." He became silent for a moment, before speaking up. "Listen, I don't think ya guys should have ta all duke it out cause a somethin' stupid like this! We should just keep it all under wraps fer now! We shouldn't go squealin' to your tribe!"

Akane frowned slightly upon hearing this. "What the hell are you talking about? We should tell them! Going to the Amazons for help might actually make things easier on our end! That way they could send some extra fighters to help get you back to normal!"

Shampoo didn't even want to begin to try and explain how the various subtleties and rules of Amazon law would be shattered if they attempted to follow the same structure of ideas as Akane was trying to get at. Though she did raise part of a point, maybe telling the tribe would be the smart thing to do? Or not. She just didn't know. The whole mess of thoughts and going on's about her left the purple haired girl spinning slightly. Not even five minutes awake and she was mentally looking over political organization and intrigue. She needed more time to think, to get a better grasp on the situation, figure out how everything was working now.

"Ranmas… what- what happen with pig-person? Where he go? Did two bird-boys take him with thems?" Shampoo rather bluntly asked. She needed to change the topic for a moment; if only for her mind's sake.

The black chúi merely just blinked several times, before figuratively shrugging. "Yeah, they sure did, right along with the other me!"

"How?" Akane innocently interrupted.

"What?" Ranma asked.

The young Tendo girl had a slightly confused look upon her face. "How exactly did they manage to take Ryoga? Didn't you say earlier that they just sort of flew off?..."

There was a brief awaked silence that permeating the air for the shortest moments. While in a bit of small sputtering, and attempting to segue, Ranma did his best to reply. "Umm, he sorta, I guess, flew with them? Kinda, ya know?..."

Akane's brow furrowed even further. "But… Ryoga's a big guy, how'd they lift him all the way up to fly? That- that doesn't really make sense."

Ranma knew he was stuck between a rock and hard place. Akane was asking questions that he didn't really have answers for, unless he wanted a certain eternally lost boy to end up Kasumi's next pork roast! 'Ah geez, damn it pig-for-brains, the stuff I have ta do to keep your stupid hide from bein' turned into a football…' "Well uh, it's actually- you know the guy with the bow and arrows? Well get this! He's super tough! He went up to Ryoga, used his claws, and just sorta lifted him! Then, he just up and flew off like it was nothin'! It freaked me right out!" He tried hard not to suck in a metaphorical breath. Trying to lie in front of Akane was a dangerous gamble on a good day; suicide on a bad.

The blue haired girl stared out across at Ranma for a scant few seconds; her face eerily neutral, without nary one bit of emotion. It was right when the chúi was going to speak up again, that she did she reply, "Wow! Lifted him up just like that? I guess we really did underestimate those guys! We're gonna have to go all out once we see them again! Haha!"

"Hehe, yeah!..." Ranma's voice grew slightly more somber as the last syllable of his words stretched onward. While he was lying through his nonexistent teeth about the black winged boy being a real bruiser, it still raised the point that they looked to be quite outgunned. Of course though this was all without taking into account that they now had a rescue mission they had to deal with. Things were getting far more complex than they really needed to be. As no one had brought the matter up; it came down to Ranma to try his hand at the idea of being logical. "Guys, I hate ta be more of a downer like this, but what are we gonna do? We're out two people, and we gotta storm a mountain filled with an army a mutant-bird-dorks!"

Shampoo, in the meanwhile of all this, was contemplating roughly that exact same thought process. The whole concept that, essentially the two of them, had to invade an enemy base of such magnitude seemed preposterous! The odds of winning in an all out assault were so low that even thinking about it made her head spin. She couldn't let her worry show though; she had to be strong for her airen! "It- it be okay Ranmas! We still can do it! We just have to be extra careful!" She turned to Akane. "What things we have left? What can we use?"

Getting up from where she was sitting, Akane marched on over to a pile that she had set up of various items she had found lying around. "It's- it's not much." She tossed a burnt and ragged tent top out of her way. "Most of it was destroyed in the fight. A few clothes, part of a map, first-aid thankfully… everything else though got burnt to a crisp."

Ranma's voice grew hesitant. "…Wait, what about our money?"

Before he could even attempt to feel the chill of dread run up through him, Akane almost instantaneously pulled out several stacks of what looked to be blackened rectangles, but were obviously bills of Yuan. They were tarnished and damaged beyond usability.

The chúi let out a guttural growl. "Aw geez, we can't even buy the stuff that got wrecked back?" He didn't give time for the others to answer his rhetorical question. "Great, it's just like living' on the road back with Pop's again. Too bad roughin' it ain't exactly somethin' we can put up with right now!"

Shampoo's brow furrowed as she moved closer to Ranma, picking him up. "Like I say, it's going to be okay airen! We still fix things! You no have to worry!" Her enthusiasm faltered only slightly, as a small frown appeared on her face upon looking into the energized eyes one the one she loved. Despite his minimal ability to form facial expressions, she could still clearly see the doubt pouring out from him.

"Really? We've been tossed around, screwed over, and beaten back half a dozen times already!" Ranma was clearly fed up. "We gotta think up a solid plan fer this one! They're obviously workin' on something with the other me! We can't just run in there expectin' ta breeze through things. Even without Saffron, they probably got half a dozen other ways that could take us out just as bad!" The hammer grew more and more distressed with each proceeding word. "I mean, heck! You're down and out a weapon as is! Do ya even have anythin' ya can use in your other hand?"

The young Amazon slowly started to grow more consternated with each passing second, completely unsure of what she should be doing or saying. The girl started to fidget awkwardly in her seat, as she looked around the area before her, not wanting to make direct eye contact due to embarrassment. "Ah, Shampoo no really bring extra weapons airen… remember? She say she was only going to use yous twos!" Her smile was completely forced at this point. "It… not too bad! We- I- Shampoo can just use guy-airen, it not big deal!"

Even Akane, in her mildly loopy state, saw through the flimsy statement. "Listen, even though he's an idiot, I think Ranma might be right. We have to rethink ourselves here. If we don't, and screw up again, things could end up really bad!"

The purple haired girl's face finally fully faltered, and her hidden panic started to shine through. "Well, what we do? Shampoo out of ideas!"

There was another bit of uncomfortable emptiness that filled the air before them at that moment. No one spoke up or gave any insight.

It was after several moment of that awkward interval though, that a certain obsidian tool joined in; his tone defeated and subdued. "Listen," he said; looking up skyward to see the moon shining bright above them. "It's gettin' late, we ain't gonna solve everythin' tonight; especially since all the crap we had ta put up with today. You should all get some rest or somethin'. Heck, maybe I'll think up an idea while you two are snoozin'!" He turned upward to look at the Amazonian warrior. "Especially you Shamps, even Akane'd admit that you got the most throttled outta all of us. Ya need ta get some rest."

The group looked between each other, and slowly but surely silently nodded. Shampoo contemplated protesting, but the fatigue that she felt coursing over her made sure to make itself most prominently know when she least wanted it to, and she started to feel like she could hit the wall at just about any moment. Letting out a yawn that showcased her drained state, the girl lifted the chúi up to eye level. "Okay Airens, but we start moving to Phoenix peoples' mountain first thing tomorrow! We no fall behind!"

Ranma's eyes softened a bit as he looked at the girl. "Alright, you two just get some shuteye though, okay? There's still a bit of a ways to go. Though I guess is a good thing, since we haven't cooked up a plan… Still, I'm gonna be burin' the midnight oil tonight! I'll figure somethin' out, I swear!"

As quickly as the girl nodded, she and her blue haired cohort started getting ready for the evening; making do with what they had. For Shampoo, it was simple, she already had her nice little bed laid out for her, but Akane had to tango with an arrangement of cloths and shards of blankets, to make herself a cocoon like device that would entrap her form, but keep the night's cold chill away from her body. She had no idea how she came up with this idea; considering she had little wilderness survival training, and even less in the beautiful insectoid-like art of encasing oneself in refuse, but her bombarded-brain felt little desire to think logically right now.

As Ranma watched with amusement, he hardly had time to think when he was suddenly placed into the sleeping bag right along with Shampoo. "H-hey! What the heck are ya doin'?" He asked, as the purple haired girl wrapped her arms around him like a slightly awkward teddy bear.

"Thampoo vou verbert!" Akane exclaimed, her voice muffled due to a patchwork mix of a half burnt bathing towel, and newspaper coving her face. She had half the mind to go stomping over there to try and pound the other girl out, though the thought of moving, and toppling her great monument to the butterfly Gods was not on the highest of her priorities at the moment.

Shampoo just let out a small titter as she tried to get comfortable. "I no let airen out of sight now, she already lose one of yous! Shampoo have to be extra extra careful! She make sure Ranmas no get lost!"

Ranma wanted to complain, but talking down to the girl while she was injured would probably be in quite bad taste, and seeing the broad smile that she gave him shot down those thoughts almost immediately. With a grumble, and a slight roll of his eyes, Ranma stayed quiet on the manner. 'Eh, I'll let her have her fun, I guess… it's not like she can really do anything. That'd just be weird, and really friggin' creepy. I just gotta come up with a plan ta work with for how we handle things from 'ere.'

As the rest of the group slowly fell deep into dreamland, momentarily forgetting their current woes, Ranma stayed vigilant; keeping a watchful eye out for any unwanted enemies that might come by, while at the same time working out battle strategies in his head as best he could. 'Hey, ya know, this ain't so bad. I mean, I wish I had a book ta read or somethin', but at least I can keep myself preoccupied! Ya know, maybe if we go in and give em' a surprise attack, but then go in at the main entrance, we could confuse the guys and junk! That way, we can get the other me, and snap pig-breath out of it!'

It was at that moment, that a low rumble vibrated itself throughout the area around them; it started off low, but soon evolved, and grew louder in the pitch, its range so high that it bordered on ear splitting to all those that happened to pass on by.

Shampoo, was snoring.

Knowing that his time for thinking just now became a lot more distracting, Ranma did his best to try and wake the young girl, so he would go back to thinking properly. "Hey- hey Shampoo, wake up, will ya? You're kinda snorin'!" He received nary a scant remark from the girl, save from more ear splitting wailing. This continued on for several more minutes, as he tried his best to wake the young companion. Sadly though, all his effort were to no avail, as she continued on, just as conked out as she appeared to be after the fight with Masara and Koruma. It was then that Ranma realized something.

It was going to be a long night.


Ukyo Kuonji was arguably one of the more stable people in all of Nerima. While yes, she occasionally had her bad bouts involving random acts of violence, rampant destruction, the rare moment of molestation, as well as various other forms of misconduct that, if taken place in any other district, would net her right into an asylum; she was still quite level headed. But standing before her was a sight that would make even the most angelic of saint's eyes begin to twitch.

The entirety of the Ucchan's stock was cleared out and barren.

"K-Konatsu, sugar, wha- what happened here? W-where are my supplies?" She asked agog; staring out across at the effeminate boy-girl-hybrid-thing that was standing before her in the middle of the store. She had come straight from the Cat Café after just returning from her long journey, and her appearance was still just as disheveled. "The batter, the ingredients, the napkins, they're all gone!" When she arrived at the restaurant, she found a creeping caution slithering down her spine. Her first big clue was that the store was closed right in the middle of the dinner-time rush. It was when she entered though, that nearly had a heart attack. Everything was gone. From the food, to the condiment dispensers, so long as it wasn't nailed down to the floor it was up and absconded with.

Upon further inspection though, it did appear that at least one nailed down chair was, in fact, missing.

Konatsu was, for a lack of better words, mildly flustered. He had been doing so well in his mistress's absence! After his brief and coldly received venture back to his family's tea-shop to check on his relatives, he returned and made sure to try and keep the Ucchan in tiptop shape. He wanted to sell as many things as he could! "Ah! Madame Ukyo, you're finally back! I've been so worried!" He clasped his hands together in a sign of relief. "Well, umm, I've been doing like you've said; trying my best to sell all that 'stock!'" He wiped a bit of sweat that had formed itself on his brow. "It was real hard work doing it on my own, but I even managed to get people to buy all the stuff that was just lying around the restaurant too! Isn't that great?"

Dread began to wriggle around in the okonomiyaki chef's gut. She usually could put a great deal of her faith in the boy before her, despite her various flaws. But a concern was coming to a head in the forefront of her mind. "Money." She squeaked out.

Konatsu blinked. "Money?"

Ukyo sucked in a sharp breath. "Money, Konatsu. How- how much money did you make off all…" she slowly glanced around the area, as if taking appraisal;

"this?"

The male kunoichi's visage brightened up in clarity, making an "O" face. "Ah! The money!" He snapped his fingers as he began to root around in the pockets of the apron he was currently wearing.

"Here!" he said, as he pulled out what looked to be a bona fide bevy of bills crumpled up together; some of them splattered with a bit of batter. Before Ukyo could let out a sigh of relief though that everything wasn't all for not, she managed to get a quick close inspection, and noticed that they all looked to be quite low; the vast majority of them looking like something that'd be squandered away on a tip.

"I know you have a set price for things… but I thought it was best to start low, you know, to reel people in! And let me tell you, it worked!" The black haired boy just smiled. "Ten yen a meal! That's how much I sold each okonomiyaki for! I had people lining up across the block waiting to be served; it was great! Though I had to close down things once we ran of ingredients, I mean, you can't cook off of nothing!" He walked over to one of the remaining tables and let the bills float downward into space so that they could be observed. "Counting just about everything- including the jars of coins I got! We made just over 6000 yen in the past week!" He turned to look over the woman. "Are you proud of me, Mistress Ukyo?"

To put it bluntly, Ukyo Kunoji didn't need this. She did not need this at all.

All the girl wanted was to be able to come home, sit down, and relax. A nice nap sounded good right now. But the ditzy cross-dresser before her had practically ruined everything! Truth be told she only hired the boy out of pity for the most part. With all the troubles Konatsu had gone through, and the life he had, what kind-hearted person wouldn't try to help and shelter him? Plus she didn't really pay him anything, and he was pretty much her slave, so that was kinda cool. 'But damn it, he's gone too far this time! I can only give so much!' Ukyo's life was teetering on the edge as is. Her Ranchan was off far away in China, and what's worse was that he could be dying! Then there was that hussy Shampoo… it was all just too much! She needed time to think!

…And that brought her back to her current predicament. Konatsu's face was just beaming at her. On any other day she'd find it amusing, maybe even a little cute. But now it just filled her with the utmost contempt! Maybe it was splitting headache that was building up in her, or maybe it was the fact that she currently smelled like three day old garbage, but an anger was growing inside her, and it was getting ready to burst!

"Konatsu, you are one of the biggest idiots that I've ever met! Her arms waved about close to the boy, seriously invading his personal space.

It seemed clear now to the genderly confused boy-thing that his ever-so caring mistress was not in the best of moods. But he couldn't understand why! He had done everything right, and they made plenty of money! Didn't they? They must have! He used to live off of 200 yen a week! Right now they were richer than rich! "But- but Ukyo!"

Konatsu's stuttering fell on deaf ears. The shop-owner was on a roll. "How could you do this? I trusted you! It wasn't hard!" Her face reddened just a bit more. "I left explicit instructions! I even managed to; against all odds of course, call you to make sure that you followed through! But you didn't! How simple do I have to make things?"

Konatsu's was now sweating buckets. He had never seen Ms. Ukyo like this before; he had an inkling that something was amiss, but nothing like this! She hadn't once called him "sugar", or honey, in that entire last rant!

The boy's face unsure, and his eyes turned downward, he raised his hand up to articulate. "Mistress, I apologize, but what exactly is troubling you?"

Ukyo at this point just grew further exasperated. It was like he wasn't even listening at all! "You know what's 'troubling' me! You screwed up!" She shoved her hand so close to the boy's face, that her index finger was mere millimeters away from poking out one of his eyes.

"I- I'm sorry?... I did the best that I could!" His voice was pleading, but he wasn't sure what exactly he could say to calm the girl.

'He just doesn't understand what he did, does he?' The one place that she had worked so hard to earn, worked so hard to keep, had been completely and utterly devastated! Who knew how long it would take to get everything up and running!

With one final inhalation and the crack of her knuckles, her hand jutted outward, straight towards the door! "Out!" She bellowed! "Out, out! I want you out of my store right now!"

"But-"

"No!" The brown haired girl didn't even give him the chance. "Honey, as of this moment you are relieved of your position as assistant cook and waitress at the Ucchan! Now get out!"

Konatsu just stared, his mouth aquiver as the woman he so greatly admired glared blazes right at him. He waited desperately for her to say something- for her to tell him it was all a joke, but as the seconds ticked, her features only hardened in their intensity. Turning his head downward, he sniffed once, and clenched his fist. Damn it, he was gonna stay strong! He simply had to go out like a man! Giving one look at his, as of just now, former boss, he nodded one. And…

Burst into tears.

"Waaaaahhhhhh!" He screeched, as ran straight for the door, his arms flailing about like a chicken with its head cut off. Dignity was an overrated concept.

The now sole proprietor of the okonomiyaki shop eye's just twitched, before she let out an exasperated grumble. She was still far too ticked to consider if her words were too harsh. 'But damn it! Look at this!' The store seemed so empty now. The only thing she could be thankful for was that her own personal items seemed to have been left to their own devices.

Shaking her aching cranium, the girl just shrugged. Looking out the window she noticed that dusk was finally coming about, and night would soon settle in over the district. 'Well, if I can't do anything right now, then I'll worry about it all later. I need some 'me' time anyway.' Perking up ever so slightly, the spatula wielding warrior started to march. A bath sounded great right now! 'Maybe if I can just relax, I'll be able to think clearer, and then I can fix my problems… I can make this work! I just need to sit down, and-'

It was at that moment, that all of the lights in the Ucchan simultaneously shut off. The power was out.

Ukyo blinked; staring off into the growing darkness around her. Slowly her hands began to clench and her face started turning red. She absolutely couldn't- it's not- why did thi-; she paused though. Wait a second! Maybe the power would turn on if she just wanted a second!

It didn't.

Ukyo screamed.

"ARRRRRRGHHH!"


Being pilfered into the night by a duo of horrible bird-beast abominations was probably one of the more disconcerting experiences that a certain female Saotome could remember; in recent memory at least. After being assaulted, betrayed, and embarrassingly, defeated, she dared to even bump it all the way up to terrifying, but with the way said two feathered fiends acted, it seemed that no matter what emotions stirred in her, it all boiled down to an abject feeling of rudimentary annoyance.

"Okay- okay, now hold on, we took a left, right? And by right I mean left? I'm right, right? No wait…" Sitting down in a makeshift camp, far away from their recent victims, Koruma, Masara, and Ryoga sat staring out into the dead of the night. Currently they were all quite lost, as the darkening skies sapped what little awareness of their surroundings they had; forcing them to land in an adjacent cave area to settle in for the evening. The boy with the black wings didn't see fit to just wait it all out until morning though, as he toiled over the map they had brought along with them.

"Oh would you just give it up man? We'll deal with things once the sun comes out!" The archery expert of the squadron was not in the best of moods. He was tired. He had just come back from a hard earned victory, and now all he wanted was to catch a little shuteye. It seemed though, as he lied down on his spread open sleeping bag, that that would just not be the case at the moment. That stupid little hammer would just. Not. Stop. Talking! It was driving him crazy! What was worse though, was that their mind controlled pig-guy-thing was egging her on! Like he was trying to make things more insufferable for them! And all the while Koruma just sat there, with that confused idiotic look on his face! It was enough to drive the white winged warrior to drink!

"Now, now, remember; heroes never sleep, my friend! We must always be at work and stay vigilant, or else!" Ryoga exclaimed as he tossed another small log into their fire. Things had been going just swimmingly for him and his companions. Evil was thwarted, and they came away with the prize! And despite its annoying demeanor, the heroic warrior peace-bringer just knew that the mallet could be put to some use for the side of good! "We've still got a long road ahead of us, so keep your chin up!"

Masara just sighed as he shook his head. "God… I'm going to have to put up with you for this entire trip, aren't I?" He began to articulate his hands at his reluctant companion. "Days and days of- of… this." His shoulders just sagged. "You know this is all your fault, right?" He pointed to Koruma. "You were the one who did this. I just had to opt out on programming him, didn't I? I knew you'd just screw up."

Kiima's favored swordsman just placed his map down for a moment and raised an eyebrow at his companion. "Well then it's not my fault then, is it? You had your chance but ya didn't help, so I did all the work!" Koruma gained a slight tinge of smugness in his voice. "If he really bothers you that much, why don't you try and actually and help me out here? Then we can get home faster!"

"I got a better idea, how about both of ya just wring each other's neck's, and get it over with, huh? It'd save my friends a ton a trouble!" the red chúi butted. She was currently watching the conversation from a nearby assortment of packs and items. "I swear, you jerks are gonna get it! It was just a dumb ole fluke that ya beat us out like that!"

Ryoga just shook his head as his chiseled features stared down at the evil weapon. "Justice is blind, not dumb, you miscreant! And I suggest that you brush up on the fact that, in the end, good always triumphs. Your petty threats hold no ground."

"Ah, geez, Ryoga, stop actin' like a Kuno! Ya gotta snap outta it, they mind-blitzed ya!"

"He's not going to acknowledge any of that, you know." Koruma interjected. "I totally got that part covered." A nerdy little grin made its on to his face. "Super villain mind control rule number one! It doesn't matter what you make em' think! Just that you make em' think it!" He shifted his beak over to the pig-boy. "As long as he's under our control, he's not gonna question anything that we say! Isn't that awesome?"

Ryoga just let out a hearty belly laugh. "Haha! Your words baffle and amuse me, my egg laying friend!"

The swordsman just gave a toothy grin. "You are so, cool." He gestured his thumb at the supposed redhead. "He's like a big action figure."

Masara just rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, we can talk about your dumb comic obsession later. You." He looked at the chúi. "What's your deal? Why are you a hammer, and why can you talk?"

Ranma was slightly taken aback by the query. "Wait a second, are ya tellin' me that you guys don't even know about the person ya kidnapped?" A feeling of indignation formed inside her. "Well alright then, if we're playin' 20 Questions, let me ask you guys this! What the hell are you Phoenix people doing? What do you guys want from me?"

"Pfft, hell if I know." Masara bluntly answered.

"Yeah, gee, I've been wonderin' about that too!" Koruma parroted.

"…The heck?" Ranma responded; flabbergasted.

Masara simply shrugged. "We have no idea what the hell's goin' on, really." The archery expert huffed. "I mean there was the Captain, and like, a jewel or something, and we were on vacation, and I just wanted to relax, but then she got really pissed, and then we just got out here… and- and I really don't know." The white winged one just crossed his arms; feeling quite disgruntled.

Koruma, his lips pursed, began to nod determinedly. "Yeah! We don't even know your name!... I mean, do you, you know, have a name?"

The warrior heir's eyes just narrowed. "What the hell are ya talking about? It's me, Ranma Saotome! Don't you remember?"

The two boys just gave each other profound looks. The question of, "huh?" seemed to be the general topic of discussion between the two.

Ranma frustration was palpable at this point "What? I- Ya know! Pigtail, kinda a martial artist… kicked your king's ass, that Ranma Saotome!"

Masara merely just blinked a few times. "Holy crap, you're the weird man-lady that beat the stuffing out of Lord Saffron!"

Koruma gasped. "Wow, first you're a girl and now you're a hammer? That's- well, that's… really sorta weird." He started to scratch his head.

Ranma snorted. "Oh man, tell me about it!"

Ryoga just gave several distinct nods in response. "Yes, but it all makes sense in the end, doesn't it? It's clear as day." He looked towards his fellow compatriots. "You may have defeated good on one occasion, but justice's wrath could not be evaded forever, could it? So you went into hiding! And through months of-"

Masara smacked Ryoga upside the head.

"Cram it; we don't need a bunch of stupid rants right now."

Ryoga looked down slightly, like a dejected puppy-pig.

Ranma just rolled her eyes. "Geez, you people… Ya know, in all the half a dozen times I've been kidnapped, why did every one a them have to be by a bunch a lug nuts?"

The black winged boy just frowned. "Well now that's just rude! I mean, I dunno what a lug nut is, but just cause we kidnapped you doesn't mean you have to be so mean! You'll hurt people's feelings if you keep acting that way!"

"I'll hurt more than feelings if I can get a chance…" the red chúi sardonically mumbled.

Koruma either ignored, or just didn't hear the remark. "So, anyway, changing topic,how'd you end up turned into a hammer, huh? That's gotta be somethin' to tell! Did you want to be one or something?"

"No!" Ranma quickly rebutted. "It's a long and stupid story. Why do you guys want ta know?"

The sword wielder once again took the forefront of the conversation. "Well it's not everyday that you get to meet a talking mallet, especially one that wasn't born that way! I wanna know what happened! It's probably really cool."

Ranma just grunted as her eyes drifted off to the side. "It ain't cool. It's dumb, and boring, and nothing goes right! It's one a the worst things to ever happen ever! Why would I want ta tell you guys anything?"

"Cause it's past midnight, and apparently no one around here knows the concept behind sleep?" Masara rhetorically asked.

Ranma snorted, and began to mumble to herself; trying to decide whether she should tell or not. Would it really matter in the end? Her triad though slowly reached resolution with a sigh, as she directed her eyes over to the awaiting crowd. Deep down, she felt the need to vent. "It's like this, okay? That dumb idiot Happosai tried ta use a magic spell on me for somethin', and it backfired! He used that orb a transmutation thing, you know the one? And I got turned inta the way I am now! But that's not the half of it..."

The Saotome heir followed up by beginning to recount, to her best ability, some of the events that took place during the previous week and a half or so. From lumberjacks to mafia wannabes, the girl's story continually grew stranger and further nonsensical, and the words coming out of her mouth starting to sound more like a rant, rather than her weaving a tale. In the end, neither of the two were really anymore informed than they had been thus previously.

"…And that's another thing, don't even get me started on fish people! Those guys are like, total jerks; almost as bad as chicken wranglers, but ya know that's more of Akane's deal… Man, whatever, do you all get it now?" Ranma's voice was starting to strain from exasperation.

"My head hurts…" Koruma mumbled.

"And you think we're the crazy ones?" Masara asked.

Ryoga just rubbed his chin. "I liked the part with the dashing rogue in the bandanna."

Masara though turned to Koruma. "Wait, wait, hold on, I think I did get something outta that. Didn't she say that that orb-thingamawhatsit was like, an Amazon item, or something?"

The swordsman sucked in a breath at this realization. "Wait, yeah, she sure did! What do ya think that means?"

The bowman just shrugged. "Heck if I know, probably nothin'."

Koruma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, who cares?"

Awkward silence pervaded the room for a scant moment.

"Aw well, no point in sittin' around and doing nothing! While you," Koruma looked towards Ranma, "were going off and talking for that whole time, I've been looking over things on the map! It turns out we were flying in the right direction after all! Isn't that great?" Noticing he didn't get a response from the chúi, he continued on. "At this rate, with the way we can fly, we can make it all the way to Mount Phoenix in just a few days! Then the mission's done!"

Ranma didn't like the way that sounded at all. Her voice filled with mild trepidation, she inquired further. "Yeah? And just what's supposed ta happen to me then, huh? You obviously got somethin' cookin' up!"

Masara just grumbled at the hammer's incessant whining. "Like we said, we don't have a damn clue."

"But I bet it's something cool!" The swordsman of the squad squeaked. "We go to all the trouble to get you here safe, so there's got to be a good reason! Maybe you'll be used in like, a super doomsday device weapon-thing! You could be the, you know, core component! And once you're added in, we'll take over the world and stuff!" The Phoenix warrior had flown the coop with his ideas.

Masara simply sucked in a breath, and rubbed his eyes. "Yes. Yes. Hidden deep within the hollowed out corridors of Mount Phoenix lays an unstopped death machine that's key to functioning is a talking hammer. That is the complete truth."

The sword wielder just let out a gasp. "Aww shucks, ya it is? Oh well get this! I got a ton more a theories! Okay, okay, get this, have you ever wondered why bathroom soap…"

As Masara attempted to become temporarily deaf, Ranma tried to take all the ramblings and incessant story-telling in stride.

Sadly though, she failed miserably.


Hours in the past, but not many, a lone Chinese boy was strolling through the streets of Nerima, and generally just enjoying the brisk night atmosphere around him. Mousse was having a pretty darn good day! The old ghoul had relieved him of any sort of work that he had to do, and he managed to spend his time properly resting and recouping from his long journey across the country. He spent a good hour or so sitting in the furo, he cooked himself a nice dinner, read the paper, and just took the freedom in

There was that whole bit of news about Saotome dying or something, but screw him he's a jerk.

Still, he had other things to attend to. Earlier today, Ukyo had run off to go look after her store, and to see if everything was copasetic. He hadn't heard a word from her since then, and he was starting to grow a tad bit curious. She and he had become relatively close in an extremely short span of time, and seeing her run off like that make him worry, if only just slightly, and so her felt the need to check in on her.

It was at the moment, as he walked along, that he noticed a somewhat open and unused lot right across the street. Upon focusing he eyes, he gazed on what appeared to be a homeless transvestite picking out bits of scraps from a trashcan. 'Wait a second…' He recognized the fellow. It was the rather odd boy who worked for Ukyo. What was his name?... 'Konatsu!' That was it. Still, it left him wondering just what exactly the guy was doing. It especially didn't bode well if one of the Kunoji girl's employees was sorting through garbage. 'Well, while I'm passing through, I suppose…' With some trepidation she slowly marched over.

Scavenging was an art. At least, that's what Konatsu thought. The ability to search the area around you, and make due with the items others had deemed worthless gave the poor pauper a sort of Zen. A loaf of only half-moldy bread, a can a soup only two weeks past its expiration date, and a perfectly good salmon so openly thrown away because it was a little green, were merely just some of the treasures he had picked up that night. "Ah ha! Jackpot!" His rummaging hands had come across a half-eaten can of peanut butter! He was eating like a king tonight!

Before he could feast upon his literal spoils though, a white robed warrior approached him to make contact. "Umm, excuse me; are you, uh, Konatsu?" He asked; making sure to hold out his hand in an attempt to look trustworthy

The cross-dressing ninja was a little cautious at first; mostly out of habit than anything else, but he recognized the guy's face. He had come into the Ucchan at least once or twice before. "Ah, yes, that's right, I'm Konatsu. And you're- you're…"

"Mousse."

"R- Right, Mousse…"

An awkward silence carried itself throughout the air. "Umm, so uh, are you okay? I mean, what- what are you doing?..."

"Oh ah, uh…" Konatsu looked at his small pile of refuse he was collecting. "Stuff?"

"Well, it's just that- well it looks like you're- like you're picking through trash for food…"

"Well ah; some things sort of happened…" The ninja just rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, with Mistress Ukyo…"

Mousse blinked at this. "Really? Is she okay?" He was slightly worried. Something must have seriously been up.

Konatsu opened his mouth for a moment, but then closed it; unsure of what to say. "Umm, well, yes. I think she's okay- I hope! It's just that I think I sort of messed things up, kind of…"

"Did you undercut the prices for the okonomiyaki?" Ukyo had informed him of some of her assistant's more hair-pulling quirks.

The kunoichi's face just scrunched up. Who was this guy? His visage grew a little bit red. "I did the best I could! We wanted to sell okonomiyaki, so that's what I did!" He crossed his arms and looked away.. "But then she got mad at me, and then fired me, and then- and then! Waaahhh!" Once again he burst into tears. Masculine tears. Masculine, masculine, tears. "I don't know what to do!"

Mousse's eyes just rolled as he watched the figure before him blubber. "Listen, I'm going to go see her right now. I'll mention you and see what's up. Maybe it's all blown over, and you could come back. "'Unlikely', he internalized. 'If Ukyo really did kick her co-worker out like that, then she probably has a good reason… Let's just hope the guy didn't do too much damage.'

The ex-Ucchan employee sniffled about for a moment as the tears slowly ceased to strewn. Wiping away a few falling droplets, he turned his head up to the boy. "You- *sniff* You really mean it?"

"Alright, sure, why not? I'll try and put in a good word for you, I guess."

Konatsu let out a gasp as he started to jump upwards and downwards for a moment. "Oh! Thank you, thank you! I wouldn't know what to do if you hadn't come along!"

"You'd probably still be sifting through a bunch of garbage cans." Mousse replied in deadpan.

"Oh! I'm still going to do that!" Konatsu remarked by waving his hand off. "There's a lot of cool stuff that you can pick out in here! You should try it!"

"I- sure… next time, of course." 'freak.' He looked down at the non-existent watch on his wrist. "But look at how late it's getting! I've got to get leaving. I'll go and make sure things are okay at Ukyo's restaurant. You just- you just do whatever you're doing."

"Oh, I will!" The enthusiasm in Konatsu's voice was ill befitting of the task at hand. "There's still plenty of stuff to look through! I even found a box I could sleep in, so no covering myself in rocks tonight! Things are looking good!"

Mousse silently and awkwardly took his leave.


The Ucchan was eerily quiet as Mousse approached. If it wasn't such a ridiculous idea, he'd be slightly worried that he was walking into a trap. Still, he put his guard up when no one answered him at the door. Looking around inside he saw that the place was oddly barren. His first impression was that someone had up and ransacked the place or something But that idea was momentarily pushed to the side when he noticed the calming sight of dimly lit candles that were emitting a warm glow all around store. Someone had clearly set them up on purpose.

Not hearing a direct response for a good moment, the quirky quacker bravely ventured forth into the (mostly) dark abyss before him. "Ukyo?" He called out a second time, and once again he received no response. His feet guided him rather aimlessly. He knew little of the layout to the building, only the main dining area, but his keen instincts kept him at a steady pace.

As he meandered further, he reached an area where the lights of the candles ended; a single door with the word "Furo" marked on it. "Ukyo?" No response. Mousse grimaced. He'd been in this situation before. He knew it all too well. He'd walk in there, see the young chief, she'll screech, and then he'll get pummeled! Well no. He wasn't going to have any of it! 'I've obviously come at a bad time. I'll just turn around, exit the building, and come back to-'

"Oh, hey there sugar!"

"Wah!"

Standing right before Mousse's scared witless form, was the brown haired chef he had just spent the last several minutes searching for. She was dressed in a casual form of attire, with a large dark blue T-shirt covering her all the way down to her hips; partially concealing the loose and comfortable shorts she was donning as well. "What are you doing, and when did you come in?" She asked the still mildly flabbergasted boy, as she hefted the small box of assorted supplies she was carrying into the washroom and over to the bathtub.

"I ah, well, sort of was, you know… looking for you I guess?" He rapidly shook his head to regain himself. "To check in on things." Glancing about he saw that the furo itself seemed filled to the brim, "Umm, were you about to-"

"Ooh! Well that's nice of you honey! It's always good to see a friendly face," she stated; placing her box down before the great obstacle before her. "Especially at times like this."

Mousse's lips pursed. "Yes… this place seems a little well, off at the moment." He tried to downplay things as much as he could. "What- what exactly are you doing?"

Ukyo's tone grew a tad nonchalant. "Ah, just trying to fix a little problem here. Don't you worry about it Mousse." She gave an annoyed snort. "Konatsu screwed up again."

The Chinese warrior took a step forward. "Ah, yes, I heard you were having a few issues with him… The guy told me himself when I passed him on the street."

"Mmm." Was her reply, as she hopped into the tub; a manual drain declogger in hand. "The guy screwed up. Bad. He sold everything in the store! For practically free!" she stuck her hand down the drain of the furo, and started to yank. "Then it turns out he forgot to pay the electric bill!" She pulled harder. "And then!-"Hardest tug. "He actually somehow blocked the furo with-"Up came her hand. "Hair." She looked at the clop of strands in her hand; a mild disgust on her face. "He somehow clogged the tub with hair." The water around her was now actively draining, as she tossed the dirty mess haphazardly to the ground before her. "Sorry about that, sugar." She stated turning to Mousse. "Geez, I just took a bath and I feel like I need to wash again!"

"I swear, if it's not one thing, it's another. I just wanted to try and relax, you know? Take a bath. But then the water wouldn't drain!" She jutted her arms out forward to gesticulate. "It's all stupid Konatsu's fault." She started to rub her temples a little to try and calm down. "So wait, you said you saw him out there?"

"Yes. He was looking through trashcans for food I believe. Said something about rocks too; I don't know." He crossed his arms slightly as he face scrunched. "So he's the reason your power's out and your stuff's gone?"

Ukyo let out a huff and rolled her eyes. "Damn right he is! I couldn't leave him alone for two seconds! You saw what it was like in there! The whole place looks like it got looted!" Her words matched Mousse's thought process almost entirely. "Now I don't have any power, and I don't have anything to cook with! He's a complete and utter idiot!" She stopped for a second, before turning to the Amazon before her. "So why'd ya come all this way honey? Was it just to see me?" Her brow furrowed slightly though. "Wait... he didn't try to get you to come here to change my mind, did he?"

Mousse raised his arms up slightly in defeat. "No- now just wait a second! What do you take me for?" He stared down at her for a moment, before his demeanor roughly shifted. "Well, okay, yes, he sort of did, but that's beside the point!" Seeing as how he only got a hardened glare from the girl, he quickly continued. "It doesn't matter though, from what I'm hearing you were in the right; if that's the case why should I defend him?"

Somewhere, a boy sleeping in a cardboard box grew slightly colder.

Ukyo stared on a bit longer, before her face broke out into a fit of sniggering. "Hnk! So- so you came all the way here and you you're not even going to try and bail him out?" She grew a cheeky smile on her face. "How… un-noble of you." The two started making their way out of the bathroom.

"Now Ms. Kuonji, I'm kind of shocked!" Mousse gasped out. "Whatever gave you the idea that I was noble?" He gave her half a smirk as he laid it on thick. "Just think of all the times I tried to do in Saotome. I can count the amount I attempts to do it honorably on a single hand." He raised his digits to demonstrate. "Of course though it was all for a good cause; I just wanted to win over my beautiful Shampoo!" A sour expression made its way on his face when he thought this. His current progress with the girl had not been going well. "But I didn't come here just to help your freaky friend. I wanted to check in and see if everything was going well." He once again looked at the empty eatery around him; now that he was less focused on keeping his guard up, he could truly un-appreciate how dead the place looked now. "Apparently they aren't."

"Hehe, yeah sugar, they sort of aren't exactly…." Her mostly upbeat tone dropped a bit as she said this. "I'd well, offer to make you something to eat, but I really don't have anything to cook, or to even cook with."

Mousse and the chef took a seat down by one of the remaining tables. "Ah, don't worry about it. I'm not exactly hungry anyway," the duck-boy stated in response. "How are you going to get this place up and running again though? It looks like it's going to take quite a bit of work."

Ukyo looked away slightly, and her fingers began to tap about on the table before. "Ah, well, I'm sure I'll figure something out honey! I know a few people; I can probably get a lot of the ingredients and stuff pretty cheap. It's restocking everything else that's going to be a big pain."

Mousse hmm'ed and haw'ed a bit as he heard this; looking at the girl before him made him feel slightly worried. She seemed like she was holding up okay, but even he could see the strange twitching movement she ever-so-slightly did when she started to get really thinking. "Well…" He raised his hand in a contemplative manner. "Maybe…" Oh geez, he knew he shouldn't probably even be considering this, but just looking at her he felt the need to intervene. "Maybe I could help out?" He hoped this wouldn't bite him back in the end.

Ukyo blinked several times when she heard this. "Help out?" She let the words roll off her tongue as she heard this. "What do you mean by 'help out', sugar?"

Mousse began to scratch his head a little. "Well, I mean, I suppose I could lend you some extra things... I do own some personal cooking supplies." A few pots and pans, some various utensils; it wasn't a whole lot, but it would probably be enough for her to get on by at least.

Ukyo's face practically lit up at this. "Oh! That's so sweet of you Mousse! Thank you! That'd be one less thing I'd have to worry about!"

He didn't exactly understand why, but seeing the young girl before him just beaming made the duck-boy's face flush ever so slightly red. "Oh, hehe, it's no problem!" He began to rub the back of his neck. "Hey, you know, maybe I could do a little extra to! Do you think you'd need some on-hand help around here? I could do some cooking…" He blinked. What the hell did he just say?

The okonomiyaki chef's brow just arched a bit in surprise. "Y- you mean like work as a chef here or something, honey?"

Oh God. 'Me and my stupid mouth!' It just sort of slipped out when he said it. "Ah, well, I guess yes?" Smooth. "I mean, I'm sure we could work something out. The decrepit old mummy does might be willing to spare me a few hours if I explained your situation. Besides, sheonly really makes me do morning and afternoon shifts… Maybe I could help cook for the dinner-time rush?" '…What the hell did I just offer?'

The young female chef's grin grew wider when she heard this; she found the prospect of having someone who was actually competent for once actually working with her to be a rather appealing idea. She paused though for a moment and pursed her lips. "Now hold on Mousse. I really appreciate the offer and all, but you don't have to do anything like that!" Her head tilted slightly to the left. "I've been through some pretty crazy stuff you know! A little bad weather like this isn't going to bring me completely down! You don't have to worry about it!"

Mousse knew he probably should take her up on the out she was giving him. It made the most sense; it would probably get him into the least amount of trouble, and was likely just the smart thing to do. But still, looking around at the ram-shackled building, and then back at Ukyo, he knew deep down that she needed a hand in all of this. It just wouldn't be right to throw her to the wayside. "Nonsense, it's fine! Hell, it could actually be kind of fun, I guess. It's not like I don't enjoy cooking, and considering the old ghoul tends to move me towards such prestigious duties as floor sweeping, this might actually be a good way to wax off my skills!"

Ukyo just jutted her hand forward, and clasped it around the Chinese boy's digits. "Oh Mousse! Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it! Having you here will make things so much easier!" In the past several hours the young Kuonji girl had found herself a little lost. With all the things going on in her life, and all the troubles piling up around her, she was left completely befuddled and unsure. Having Mousse around there, after everything they had to put up with, would be a great help. And she knew that he could be trusted! The whole volcano incident proved that!

Mousse used his remaining hand to begin scratching the back of his head.. "Haha! Don't mention it! It's no problem at all!" 'Oh my God, what the hell am I doing?' The young Chinese duck-boy was currently knee-high in pigeon stool. He had no idea how he was going to work this, but he knew it was going to end badly regardless. The second he even mentioned his current plans, Cologne would likely just up and bash his skull in. And then there were the thousands of other issues toppled all over things that needed to be addressed too. How much time would he have to put into this? Would he be delivering as well as cooking? Hell, was he going to get paid? But most importantly, there was one gaping issue that the Kuonji girl had seemingly forgotten.

"What about Ranma?"

"Hmm?" Ukyo released her group on the boy's hand. "What about Ranchan?"

"Well how are we going to work things? Are we still going to go searching for Kiima?" Mousse crossed his arms and grew a serious look on his face.

Ukyo's eyes widened further than they already were. With all the things going on in her life at the moment, the simple fact that she was originally planning to head and out hunt for Kiima once again had slipped her mind. 'Ooh, this is bad…' Her restaurant was in no proper shape currently. It simply was not operable. Work clearly needed to be done. There was also the apparent issue that she had fired her sole assistant, so she couldn't even get him to help out.

"I- I don't know…" She tilted her head down and began to start rubbing her temples again. "Do we even have a lead on her yet, sugar?"

"Not any more than we did yesterday. It's only been a few hours since we've been back in Nerima."

This was all too much. Ukyo was barely two steps in the door and she was already having to process so much information.. "I- I really don't know Mousse. I- my store! It's completely ruined! But- but I don't want to let Ranchan down!" A cold feeling crept down her spine as her mind drew a blank. Countless possibilities and options all jumbled together to make a fine mess that yielded no viable results.

"He- hey!" His features grew slightly more concerned. "D- don't worry about it all right now! You just got back! Just deal with priorities! He tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"But Ranchan is a priority!"

Mousse started to grit his teeth a bit. He honestly just could not understand how women could somehow become so infatuated with the gender-changing imbecile. It just completely boggled his mind. Still, it was a simple matter-of-fact that both of them at least needed a few more days to recoup from their travels. Heading out right then and there was simply unfeasible. "Listen, I know that he's your fiancé, but you have to keep perspective! He's in good hands right now, even if he's in danger! You've got to make sure that you're okay." He theatrically looked around the building before him. "And well, I really don't think you are at the moment."

Ukyo simply let out an exhausted sigh, as she slumped slightly forward. "Maybe you're right Mouse. I don't know. I'm just so confused right now!"

"You need to get your bearings." He bluntly replied; his tone nonchalant. "Forget about him for a while, and just try to get everything else settled first. It's the smart thing to do."

Mousse, though arguably not the best person to talk to about the matters involving Ranma; especially considering he'd likely throw the pigtailed boy into a wood chipper if given the was opportunity, was still for the most part making sense. Maybe it was the fact that she was completely and utterly worn out, or the fact that her brain was one more missing set of utensils away from short circuiting, but it seemed to her that right now, the path of least resistance was the one most appealing. "I- I guess.' She leaned her head back a bit. "I have about a thousand things to do in the morning. I've got to go and pay the bills, and then try and restock things. I've got a bit saved up, so I should be able to squeak on by…. hopefully."

"Well, that's settled then!" Mousse's tone changed to be a bit more upbeat. "I'll make sure to bring over some of the supplies I was talking about earlier. So long as I can escape from that decrepit old mummy for the five minutes it would take me to do it." He let out a quick huff. "How long though do you think it will take you to get this place back up and running?"

It was Ukyo's turn to cross her arms, as her face scrunched ever-so-slightly in consternation. "It's going to at least two days, sugar. And that's if everything goes right." She turned her head away and let out a snort.

"Well then that's fine!" Mousse kept his enthusiasm. "Until then though I'd suggest that you just relax for a while; from what I'm understanding it seems like you haven't had a chance all day."

The brown haired Kuonji girl just let out a bit of a chuckle. "Heh, yeah, you can say that again."

Mousse tentatively looked around and inwardly cursed that the room was currently lacking a clock. He knew it was getting on rather late into the evening though, and it would probably be a good idea to start heading back for the night. "Hey, listen, I should probably ge-"

"So what exactly do you do to relax, honey?"

Mousse blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ukyo seemingly began to lightly up slightly. "Well, I mean, this place isn't exactly an entertainment center at the moment. Hell, I'm afraid to use the furo!"

"Ah, we, err…" Mousse was caught off guard. He wasn't sure exactly how to respond at the moment. "Well I don't know. You might not like the way I relax.

Ukyo raised a brow. "Oh come on! You lived out in the wilderness for years! You have to have figured out a way to keep yourself busy!"

"Well, the Amazon village does have quite adequate technology, but ah, err…" He stuck his hand up his sleeve and began to look befuddled.

"Well spit it out already sugar! If it's interesting you could show it to me, or we could both do it together!"

Mousse's hand began to fiddle around his sleeve some more, and his face grew consternated. "Well…"

Half an hour or so later…

"Got any two's?" Ukyo asked.

"Nope, go fish!" Mousse exclaimed; his harsh poker face dropping for a moment. "Sorry it took so long to find the cards! They were really hidden up there, but man this is so much fun! Usually I just play solitaire!"


"…And that's why, right next ta c-cats, wolves are the worst animals ever!"

A day after the harrowing encounter with the two bird-boys, a certain black hammer and his purple haired holder found themselves currently taking a small break from their hot pursuit in a quick attempt to restock supplies in a small village that they were passing through. Or rather, Akane was attempting to restock supplies, while Shampoo and the chúi rested on a nearby bench. The Amazon girl wanted to help, especially because of her language skills, but Ranma insisted that she take it easy after her recent injuries. It took a bit of goading, and an assurance from the young Tendo girl, but she eventually agreed. Which all in turn left both of them alone and sitting on a park bench; letting the cool breeze of the air ease them from the moment's worries. It was the calm before the storm.

"I no know airen…" Shampoo had a rather amused tone in her voice. "I met plenty of wolves before. They aren't all bad!"

"Well you never met a werewolf! And let me tell ya, they suck… Err, bite, but that's a whole other thing!" Ranma's voice grew a scholarly tone to it. He had been feeling slightly more energized than he had been yesterday. "I mean, just look at Ryoga! Ya see the guy's teeth? He has some freaky wolf fangs and stuff! And come on! That idiot screwed us over big time!"

Shampoo's lips pursed slightly at this. "It- it not really his fault Ranmas… He put under too too bad egg magic-spell!" Memories of her time as Kiima's mind-servant were not exactly the girl's fondest. She'd been rather purposefully avoiding bringing the matter up. It was by and large the most shameful thing she had ever succumbed to, and the single fact that it almost tore what little relationship she had with Ranma at the time apart made it all the more worse. She'd been lucky so far at being able to avoid bringing it up, but with the recent events involving the Hibiki boy, but a conversation about the matter was very likely to come about soon. She just hoped she could postpone it for as long as possible.

A small wily smile formed on the purple haired girl's lips when she thought of something. "Besides, doesn't Ranmas always call pig-person pig? How can he be wolf too?"

Ranma fell into deep contemplation for a moment. "Well, I guess he's like some sorta pig that got bitten by the wolf-man! So he's kinda… both, huh!"

Shampoo just grinned. "Airen you is real crazy crazy person. Sometimes, I wonder if maybe you no speak Japanese that well! Hehe- hrk!" The girl lurched forward a bit as a sharp pain stabbed itself through her abdomen.

"Shamps!" Ranma's features grew fearful as he saw her gritting her teeth. "Ya gotta take it easy, remember! Ya don't just take a blast like ya did and walk away!"

The Amazon used her spare hand to wave him off as she nodded. "I'm- I'm okay Ranma. Is just a little pain." She leaned back a bit on the bench. "I be all better real quickly. You no have to worry."

"But still…' The chúi continued to feel a bit distraught. He really wished he had a body right now. He just felt completely and utterly useless. Seeing so many people fighting for him, especially Shampoo, made him really appreciate what good friends he had. Except Ryoga, he was a jerk! "We got a whole trek ta go before we reached Mount Phoenix. Ya need ta be in tiptop shape if we're gonna storm the place and get the other me back. It's gonna take a whole lotta plannin' and 'strategizin'' if we wanna pull this off right."

"We can do it Ranmas. No matter whats I want you know that I no let you down! Shampoo care about you too much!" The Amazon's voice filled with determination as she said this; despite still being slightly sore. A good half of what she wanted to gain out of this experience was to show to her airen that she really did love him, and to make sure that no matter what, she'd do anything to make sure that he was okay.

If Ranma could blush in his current state, he most certainly would. Instead he opted to become a mild bit flustered. "Ah, uh… yeah, thanks Shamps…" Still, her response raised a question that had been nagging at Ranma's mind for what seemed like ages now. Just why exactly did Shampoo seem to care about him so much? He knew there was the whole kiss of marriage thing going on, but over the past while he had been with her; even he was able to notice that she was far more devoted to him than what some silly oath would most likely dictate. 'I mean what exactly makes her want ta be with me and stuff? I know I'm strong and can fight and stuff, but there's gotta be a bit more to it!' Ranma's voice grew slightly hesitant. "Hey, uh, Shamps, can I ask ya something'?" He paused for a brief moment. "Sorry if this is kinda outta the blue, but ah, why do ya really want ta marry me and junk? I mean what makes ya think I'm all that better than someone like, Mousse or somethin'?"

Shampoo blinked at this statement; slightly surprised at the turn of events.

In fact make that very surprised.

Was her Airen actually asking about her engagement to him in a serious manner? Was he raising a point to indicate that she was openly a legitimate fiancée, worthy of his time and attention? Was he trying to reach out with an olive branch of love, which would lead to years of countless doting between each other, going on special dates, and eventually marriage and children? Could it be true? Her mind was racing! 'Oh no, what should I say? He wants to know why I love him, but there are so many things! I've got to say something smart- I've got to- I've got to say something right!' She internally gasped. 'What if I screw up? What if I say something that I don't mean! My Japanese still isn't perfect, I could ruin everything! Then what would happen?' Her eyes grew shockingly wide. 'We've still got the whole rest of the journey left! What if I tell him something and he gets mad? I sill have to fight and get the other Ranma back! Things would be so awkward! And then Akane would be there to just gloat!' Her mind continued to blast about at a mile a minute, going through dozens of dozens of possibilities and outcomes that would end everything horribly.

Ranma though just stared on at her confused, as the girl in front of him held a vacant, if not slightly look appearance on her face. "Hey, uh, Shamps?..." He got no response. Her eyes began to glaze over. "Listen, if I said somethin' stupid, I didn't mean ta-'

The hammer though was cut off when the purple haired girl's gears got going again. "Ah! No!" She intelligently remarked. "I's means… it not anything! Hehe." She backpedaled with a laugh, but tried to calm down as best she could. "Umm, sorrys airen, I's just get distracted for second. But your question…" She gave herself one last pause before stepping on the landmine. "Ranmas, Shampoo- Shampoo like you because you is good persons!" Her face twitched a little at the way she said that. "I means, yous may act really silly sometimes, and say things you no want to say, but you really are good! You always help people when they need it, and make sure no one ever ever really gets hurt; when it be about fighting, or other things!" She grew a slight blush of embarrassment. "I knows you always have to put up with whole bunch of craziness, but you no let it get to you; even when other peoples make fun or do stupid stuffs! I no's really blame you if you get confused and angry about things. I would go real crazy if I had so so many people wanting to marry me's!" Her embarrassment grew slightly more. "I also knows I sometimes no real help. I's do's stupid stuffs to get your attention… but I only do it to show I care!" Her eyes shifted downward. "Out of all peoples who try and get kiss of marriage from me, you not only first one to beat me, but first one to not make stupid huge deal about romance."

Shampoo was practically on a roll at this point. Over the time she knew Ranma, she grew to find more and more things to like about him. From his cocksure attitude, to his often times downright heroic antics, the Amazonian heiress had practically grown infatuated with him. She had thought that come the day she would finally be able to bare her heart to him, and show her feelings beyond such minor frivolities as free lunches and hugs, she would be completely prepared. But everything right now left her quite jumbled up. Her much anticipated confession was now out and out turning more into a way to vent out some much needed baggage. "Mousse can be good friend when he want to, but he is too too pigheaded! More then pig-person even! He always talk about his love, and how he care, but he no care about the way it hurts me!' she lifted her free arm up in exasperation. "When walk around village, he always go about how he marry me, and how we make too too good couple! It embarrassing!" She stuck her tongue out slightly in disgust. "I super powerful martial artist, but he always follow me around like super weird dog who no know to go home! I no get any space! When Shampoo leave village, I think I be rid of him for while, but he just come here too! Shampoo just want to be left alone!" She stopped momentarily, and grew quieter. A thought just occurred to the girl. "I- I guess that what I been doing to you airen all along, isn't it? Shampoo just crowd you and no give you chance to breath. I'm sorry."

Ranma was mildly flabbergasted at the amount of information being thrown at him. He didn't exactly know what to say or think. Shampoo didn't blame him for all the stupid romance stuff he had to put up with? She didn't think it was his fault, and that he was just being indecisive and cowardly? Akane always got on his case about how he should man up and toss out all the other girls if he really wanted to be with her. But it wasn't easy! He wanted to figure out a way that he could make everyone happy without hurting their feelings Plus the attention he got was pretty nice too… but it was mostly the other one! This, regardless of anything else said, struck a particular chord within Ranma. "I ah, it's okay Shamps, It's not like I don't like bein' around ya and stuff! You're actually a really great person! I just sometimes got a lotta stuff ta deal with…" His voice trailed off for a moment. "But what you said about not blaimin' me and things?... Thanks. That's really nice of ya! Hehe." It was his turn to be somewhat embarrassed. "I don't get a lot a people willing to cover my back on stuff, so to hear that coming from someone is actually pretty nice and stuff!"

A small but growing smile formed itself on Shampoo's face as she heard this. She was glad that at least so far that she hadn't screwed up. "Aw, it not big thing Ranmas. Shampoo just saying what she is thinking! Hehe." 'I've got to make sure to stay calm. Airen won't like it if I get all gooey on him. But still! This is almost like one of my stories! Only with a few more inanimate objects…' "Shampoo also think you is good because you always find way to put up with bad things that happen to you! I's means have too too stupid panda pop pop, lots of really weird rivals, and a whole bunch of crazy crazy magic you have to put up with, but you still no give up! Even when you get turned into chúi you still want find way to get you fixed! Most people would just go coo coo if that happen to them!" The girl made a swirling gesture up at her temple. "Shampoo think that really really great of you! It inspiring!"

"Hehehe… hahaha, ha..." Ranma at this point was quite certainly flustered. Although he may not have technically had a head right now, all the praise he was getting was definitely going somewhere. If there was one way to get on Ranma's good side, it would have to a good healthy ego-boost. But beyond any of that nonsense, hearing all these kind words coming from the Amazonian warrior made the chúi honestly take a bit of a reevaluation of her. Before this whole mess involving him and the orb started, his opinion on Shampoo was basically that she was a meddling Chinese girl with a really creepy curse. But slowly he had grown to realize that there was a lot more to her than simply that. She was loyal, strong, and actually a really nice person. She was also creative and smart. Watching her train and fight was really something! He could completely relate to the sheer diligence that she put into the work; with the way she would just spend hours struggling to try and better herself. He had also semi-reluctantly come to the conclusion that she really was a beautiful looking person. From her exotic hair to her… c-catty smile, she was honestly quite breathtaking to the eye.

Still, there were a thousand matters going right now that had to be dealt with. And for the most part he did not know how to deal with them. He did lo- lov- really like Akane. And they had been through so much together… It was all too confusing. He wasn't sure what to do. The one thing though that Ranma did in fact know, was that maybe getting to know the young Chinese girl before him more wasn't such a bad idea. He had never really given any of the other girls a real chance. At least not in that way, but with all they'd been through on this little adventure, the Saotome heir felt the need to at least not give Shampoo the snub. 'We did plan out that whole trainin' routine an' things… Maybe I could get ta know her better then. I dunno. Geez, this stuff is way too friggin' confusing!' All the black hammer knew though was he really did have some hard thinking to do. Though, looking over the current state of his appearance, there were certain other matters that needed to take precedence before anything else. 'Gotta get back ta bein' human first before talkin' about relationships and junk. Have ta have priorities straight.'

"Hehehe, hm, err, thanks Shamps. I think ya actually cleared a whole lotta things up for me right there. I really appreciate ya spillin' your guts an' stuff. Ya didn't have ta go that far, but it's nice ta hear your opinion about everythin'."

Shampoo internally let out a sigh of relief as a hard blush formed on her face. Did she do good? She hoped so. Hearing what she was hearing from her airen right now made her think she just might have, but she didn't want to get too cocksure about things. She never would have guessed a long cylindrical object could make her so nervous and red-faced! "Ah! Thank yous Ranmas! You is actually real good listener! Shampoo think she actually needed that too," still, she would take what she could get.

At that moment though, an intense and fast moving blur began to zoom directly towards them; going at seemingly mach speeds! "Ranma! Shampoo!" Akane stopped dead in her tracks as she reached right in front of them. On her back she held what appeared to be a bevy of parcels and supplies. From what looked several un-pitched tents, to packs upon packs of packaged food, the blue haired girl held just about everything a well-versed camper would need for an extended expedition. "Get off your butts! We've got to get out of here!" Without even giving them a second to response, the young Tendo had jetted off into the distance; leaving a cloud of smoke in her wake.

"…What the heck was that about?" Ranma blinked in confusion as he looked up at his equally befuddled companion.

"I… I no know airen. Maybe-"

Before Shampoo could finish though, a soft but growing rumble could be heard from not so far of a distance away. If one had a keen eye, several dozen small but quickly enlarging dots could be seen rushing towards them from the town center.

It appeared that Akane had somehow infuriated an entire backwater Chinese village.

"Uh oh," both them simultaneously spoke.

Without missing a beat, Shampoo had bolted up, suddenly feeling that her injuries weren't quite that bad; especially considering the types of insults being thrown out by the nearby general populace. "We go now!"

As she spoke this, a fast flying bullet shot itself right past her ear.

They were carrying guns.

This was not a good sign.

Soon a second updraft of dust was shot into the air as Shampoo moseyed her way out of there; quickly catching up to Akane, who wasn't entirely heartless enough to leave both of them behind.

"Geez ya uncute tomboy! What the heck did ya do?" Ranma's tone grew frantic as several more shots rapidly roared past them. A chorus of rabbles erupted behind him. Even with his rudimentary knowledge of Chinese, he could easily make out the "Get them's", and the "Catch those crooks", as well as something particular rude the group's various mothers.

"Well what did you expect you idiot?" Akane's voice was as banging as the bellowing of the barrels of the bullets being blasted. "We had no money! I had to…" She raised her arms up in a shrugging gesture as her tone grew exasperated, "improvise!"

"Akane stole all those things?" Shampoo gasped!

"Oh I am so calling you on this later!"

"Shut up Ranma!" The rage wielding warrior was in no mood!

"Well what the heck are we suppose ta do now?" A pitchfork just flew past the hammer's head. "Ya pissed off the whole town!"

"Well how exactly was I suppose to know that they'd care that I ransacked one little general store of theirs?"

"Stupid stupid dumb!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

"Umm, peoples?" Shampoo continued to dodge the projectiles being shot at her. It appears that they were working with fruit at the moment.

"What?" Ranma and Akane both shouted; their voices filled with rambling rage.

"I think we actually going in right direction for Mount Phoenix. We maybe can just keep on running!" The purple haired girl knew the geography well enough. She was quite sure.

Ranma blinked. "So we just keep on goin', and try an' lose these bozos along the way?"

Akane twitched. "What the hell kind of plan is that?"

"Is better than nothing!" Shampoo sneered. "Besides, I can test and see if I feeling better by running!" The Chinese girl tried to at least look on the bright side

Another shot flew past Ranma. "Well, it ain't like we got much of a choice right now... so, umm…" Ranma cleared his voice in an official manner. "*Ahem* Alright then people; hold on to yer butts, cause if we can outrun this stupid mob, we're headin' to Mount Phoenix!"


12/26/10: Completely renovated.