"Bathhouse Battle! We're In Real Hot Water Now!"

Late one evening, Kenma and Ranma were out in the garden of the Tendo Dojo, with Happosai, Genma, and Soun.

"This had better be good..." Kenma muttered. Even if he was more invested in his training, it didn't make him any less impatient. That afternoon, he'd been doing some more target practice with Mr. Gomibako, and he had at least made lots of progress since Summer had started.

"For the Chrysalis technique, you must deny the physical world," explained Soun, his face like stone. "This will be the next phase of your training as a martial artist."

Genma nodded. "He's right; in the darkness, your enemy must never sense you." he explained. "The trick is to become the greenery that surrounds you."

"Become the grass and trees around me..." Kenma muttered, taking mental notes.

"So quit talkin', and start trainin'." Ranma added.

"Ah, they're not advanced enough for this; besides, Kenma's a rookie!" Happosai sniffed. "So, I'll teach them by example!"

The dwarfish man then vanished into thin air before the twins' eyes, shocking them beyond belief. How had the little imp disappeared so easily, as if by magic? It made no sense...!

"The master is truly wise, for all his flaws he has become the greatest of martial artists!" Genma praised.

"Indeed, still so many secrets unknown by the rest of the world!" Soun agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, yeah; he may be strong, but all creeps have their weaknesses..." Ranma scoffed.

"You say that like it's a bad thing to be weak," Kenma pressed.

"Not really, but in his case it makes him predictable." Ranma continued, before he rummaged around in his pocket, pulled out a pair of lacey panties, and tossed them into the air.

"TREASURES!" Happosai grinned, gripping the lacey panties in his hands happily, rubbing them against his cheeks.

Ranma then punched Happosai in the face, knocking him out cold. "Told ya, predictable." he stated.

"...where did you even get those?" asked Kenma.

"Then again, we can always learn from the young; new talents and new ideas..." Genma blurted.

"The future lies in their hands, after all..." Soun agreed.

Despite the goofy schmuck using the technique, it's actually really impressive, Kenma thought. But what I'd REALLY like to figure out is Ki; like the energy used to charge up a Kamehameha...; oh, well. That's something else for Mr. Gomibako to cover with me next time I see him...

INSIDE...

The hot water heater clicked a few times as Kasumi tried to turn it on, but it wouldn't comply with the young woman; for if it did, we wouldn't have a story this episode.

"Looks like the heater is broken..." commented Kasumi. "Then that means no more hot water..."

BACK IN THE GARDEN...

"OK, boys, that's enough training for today," Genma spoke up.

And so, the group headed back inside, taking a break to watch television, while Happosai laid sprawled on a pile of pillows.

"Father, it seems the water heater is broken," explained Kasumi. "I'll be able to get by in the kitchen, but what about baths?"

"Well, we could just use a public bathhouse," suggested Soun.

"A bathhouse?" Kenma parroted. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, considering who we have living with us..." he subtly gestured to Happosai's prone form nearby.

Kasumi smiled "It would do you all good and it's merely temporary until we get the heater fixed" she explained

Happosai jolted awake, his state of unconscious ended by the mention of a bathhouse. "Did someone mention an onsen?" he asked. "Why, when Genma and Soun were in training, we used to take trips there all the time, didn't we boys?" he smirked.

Soun and Genma shivered, expressions of fear and disgust forming on their faces; clearly, their memories of the trips weren't as fond as Happosai's.

"Lemme guess, the old creep tried perving on some girls half-naked in the tub, right?" Ranma scoffed. "Jesus! How are you not in jail, old man?"

Kenma blushed, though his pervy days were far behind him, the mental thought of naked girls did sound appealing.

"That, and he would usually leave us to take the fall..." Soun muttered.

"Ah, those were the days," Happosai smiled wistfully. "So, how's about it, boys? The four of us can head down there and hit the baths!"

Genma cleared his throat. "I can always make do with the garden hose and the tub in the backyard..." he spoke up.

"I've already got a fever; the hot baths would just make it worse!" Soun added, giving a trembling smile.

"Aw, who needs those old fuddy-duddies?" Happosai shrugged. "So, you boys ready?"

"It's either that or smelling like body odor." Kenma relented. "...so okay, sure."

Ranma chuckled, patting Kenma on the shoulder. "Remember when pops would take us to bathhouses during our training?" he remembered. "We'd take turns washing each other's hair, you blew soap in my eyes!"

"And you fell on your ass tryin' to catch me!" Kenma added, a smirk gracing his face at the mere thought.

Soun grabbed the boys quickly before they went to gather their belongings. "Listen, boys; you must be vigilant. You cannot let the master out of your sight!" he warned them.

"Don't worry, team twins will keep an eye on the pervy old man." Ranma promised.

"You got it, sir," Kenma added. "Just leave it to the Saotome Bros.!"

Once they had their necessary supplies gathered, Kenma and Ranma walked with Happosai to the bathhouse.

"Aren't you a little old for bringing tub toys?" Ranma asked, noticing the contents of the old man's bucket. "You trying to embarrass us or what?"

"Mind your own business," Happosai replied casually.

"I'd say he's a strange old man," noted Kenma. "...but then I'd just be stating the obvious."

Akane padded down the stairs curiously, it was quieter than usual and she had become suspicious. She spotted Nabiki on the phone "Yeah, sure no problem, sounds good" Nabiki responded hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Akane questioned.

"Hey, what are you doing sitting around? Grab your stuff" Nabiki ordered, making Akane raise an eyebrow.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Kenma, Ryoga and Ranma went to the bathhouse; the hot water heater won't be fixed until sometime tomorrow, so we're going to the bathhouse" Nabiki smiled

"Aiya! Bath house! Shampoo never been to one before, it sounds exciting!" Shampoo smiled, startling Akane at her sudden appearance.

"We can pick up Ukyo on the way; the more, the merrier!" Nabiki declared.

Akane sighed as she shrugged. Why not? she thought to herself. I may as well have fun...

MEANWHILE...

The Saotome brothers were, to put it simply, in a state of total shock from what they were seeing.

"No...Way..." Kenma managed to say.

Above the entrance to the bathhouse was a large, bright neon sign which would have looked more fitting for a Las Vegas casino than a bathhouse in Nerima.

"They call THIS a public bathhouse?!" Ranma exclaimed, bewildered.

Happosai gave an impressed whistle. "Hoo-boy! This place sure looks classy!" he remarked.

As the decrepit old man entered the bathhouse, Ranma placed his hand on his twin's shoulder. "Remember what Akane's dad said, we gotta keep an eye on the old goat," he reminded. "He might try something while we're here."

He knew Kenma would lose his shit if Akane visited and Happosai tried to perv over Akane.

"Trust me, I remember," Kenma nodded; he wanted to enjoy himself tonight, and he hoped Happosai wouldn't drag them into his drama. But in his heart, he knew such a request was but wishful thinking.

AT THAT VERY MOMENT...

Nabiki, Shampoo, Akane and Ukyo were all headed towards the bathouse with two of Nabiki's friends.

"Shampoo so excited! I never been to bathhouse before, back home we use hot springs or wait for fire to heat water!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed.

"Me an' Ran-chan used to bathe together as kids, his pops was so stingy he had to bathe in the river!" Ukyo chimed in.

"What about Kenma?" asked Akane.

Ukyo shrugged. "He was usually stuck bathing with Genma, or off who-knows-where. Maybe the old man was trying to ditch him."

BACK AT THE BATHHOUSE...

Following the payment of their entrance fee, Ranma and Kenma had taken Happosai into the dressing area.

Once the three of them were ready, they headed into the bath area and settled in.

Happosai had already busied himself by playing with a toy replica of the battleship Yamato, while Kenma was still considering the possibilities of Ki.

Ranma nodded in the direction of the showers; Ryoga was thoroughly washing his hair; he'd joined them late after finishing up some training, although he was keeping to himself and trying to enjoy his bath without their company.

Ranma glared at Happosai with a silent rage. "Hey, you old goat; don't you dare do anything creepy!" he demanded. "I don't wanna get kicked out of here because you wanna get your kicks from peekin' on nude ladies!"

"Yeah, whatever..." Happosai saw some nearby kids and let them play with some of his toys, which though creepy was harmless.

Ranma and Kenma leaned back in the hot water and sighed pleasantly, letting their tense muscles soak as the stress eased from their bodies.

"Man, this reminds me of old times," Ranma said as he made himself comfortable. "It's a lot quieter without pops here breathing down our necks, huh?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going snorkeling!" Happosai announced, pulling a mask over his face and submerging himself in the water

And he ducked down into the water. As Ranma took a look up, he saw the snorkel heading for the other side of the bathhouse.

"And so, it begins..." Kenma grunted as he stretched a bit.

Ranma snagged the old geezer by his snorkel, and then poured some water into the top half.

After a few minutes of bubbling, the old man popped back up. "What's the big idea?" he demanded.

"Guys are supposed to stay on THIS side of the pool!" Kenma informed, his face red.

"What's the use of going to a public bathhouse if you're gonna let the scenery go to waste?" Happosai retorted. "C'mon...you're honestly telling me you don't wanna check out the ladies over there?"

"Why bother?" asked Ranma. "There ain't nothin' I wanna see!"

"Not to mention that's illegal!" Kenma added.

Fishing through his bucket of tub toys, Happosai pulled out a pair of gloves with suction-cups on the fingers, and then started climbing the walls like a spider.

However, Kenma sprayed the wall with soapy water, making the old man lose his traction and fall to the ground.

"Ah-ah-ah, you didn't say 'May I'!" Kenma smirked. "But it wouldn't have done much good, anyway."

"Me, Kenma and Ryoga just wanna enjoy our baths, so settle down before things get ugly, gramps!" Ranma warned.

Ryoga climbed into the bath beside Kenma, glaring at Happosai in disgust. "Guys side only: like it or not, old man, you follow the rules!" he snapped.

Happosai crossed his arms in annoyance. "Why shouldn't I go and check out the boobies? Hell, you young'uns are telling me, with your teenage hormones, that you wouldn't wanna see the ladies' soft supple curves?" he ranted.

"Well, well, well...fancy seeing you boys here, the Saotome twins and Shampoo's hubby to be!" Nabiki purred with a smile.

"Nihao, husband!" Shampoo called, leaning over the wall to wave at Ryoga.

Ryoga blushed, dipping his head bashfully under the water.

"Y'know, boys; I'd bet good money that also means Akane and Ukyo are here, too..." Happosai piped up. "So whaddya say we go on over an' pay 'em a visit,? Get ourselves a sneak peek, huh?"

"Nothing doing, old-timer," Ranma retorted. "Besides, we're keeping YOU outta trouble."

"This way we stay out of trouble, too!" Kenma added.

"Good call, Kenma," said Akane as she popped up. "At least you guys are keeping that old wretch on a tight leash."

Kenma let out a yelp and held a hand up to cover the side of his face so he didn't get an eyeful of Akane's chest.

"Aw, c'mon...you mean to tell me that you don't wanna see a peek at your lady loves?" Happosai inquired.

Ranma blushed as he responded. "I used to bathe all the time with Ukyo when we were little kids, but those days are gone!" he remarked. "Besides, I don't wanna get flattened by her spatula..."

"What about you, fangs?" Happosai turned to Ryoga. "That's an amazon you got for a bride! And you mean to tell me you'd pass on checkin' out a babe like that?!"

"Shampoo's my girlfriend, you pruney old creep!" Ryoga roared. "What I do with her, what I don't do with her and what I plan to do with her is none of your business!"

Happosai growled as he shook his head. "The sons of Genma Saotome ignoring beautiful women...what a waste of genes!" he berated.

"Well, sorry if they can't be perverts like you!" Akane retorted dryly.

"Aye!" Kenma replied. "Besides, I really don't feel like getting into trouble or being beaten senseless!"

"I hafta use the toilet..." Happosai groaned.

"Didn't you go before we left?" asked Kenma.

"I'm an old man!" Happosai retorted. "My bladder's like a Ziploc bag with holes poked in it!"

"Euuuugh! Thanks for that unwanted mental scarring!" Kenma groaned, his face turning pale green at such a thought.

"You and me both..." Ranma huffed.

As Happosai got to his feet, Kenma followed behind so as to walk him to the bathroom, while Ryoga submerged himself deeper into the bath.

Once Happosai was inside the stall, he climbed up into the rafters and started crawling towards the women's side. But before he could get there, he was attacked by a horde of rats. As he flailed around in the darkness, he accidentally grabbed a few loose wires and got zapped, before he fell out of the open panel.

Ranma and Kenma stood outside the bathroom playing a game of slaps while they waited for Happosai to finish his business.

"Hah! You flinched, I slap!" Kenma chuckled, happy to finally win at something.

"Feh, I'll get you in the next round." Ranma retorted.

Suddenly, Happosai emerged from the restroom, looking grumpy and scorched, grumbling under his breath as he stormed from the bathroom.

"Woah, what happened to you? Trying to fake tan under the crappy lights?" Ranma teased, while Kenma snorted in amusement.

"What kind of shitty rathole are these buffoons trying to run...?" Happosai grumbled to himself.

MEANWHILE...

Nabiki sat in the tub, staring ahead boredly. She looked towards the wall, in anticipation. "Something should've happened by now..." she muttered.

Akane noticed the look on her face. "Nabiki, what are you hoping for?" she asked.

The brown-haired girl just chuckled at her sister, not really answering her question.

Shampoo sighed heavily; she missed Ryoga, she knew he was on the other side of the wall. She was used to unisex bathing in the amazon grounds, due to the gender equality and the fact that none of the male members ever harassed the women. She couldn't understand the westernized method of separate bathing. She wasn't ashamed of her sexuality or her body.

"Shampoo miss husband...I wish I could wash his back, relax together," she sighed.

Ukyo rolled her eyes. "Geez, can't you go five minutes without your beloved hubby?" she mocked.

"Say you, Tomboy!" Shampoo shot back. "You act like you not love Ranma, but you grouchy lovebirds!"

"And just who asked you to poke your nose into my love life?!" Ukyo retorted.

ON THE MALE SIDE...

Happosai let out a yawn as he twirled a wooden tub around. "I'm bored..." he groaned.

"That's good," said Kenma. "We're not here to have fun, we're here to take baths."

"Ranma, m'boy, how's about I wash your ba-" Happosai began as he raced over, only to get smacked across the face by his washcloth.

"Oh, hell no! You ain't turning me into a girl!" Ranma spat angrily; his curse wasn't a game, it was a pain in his ass...unless he was using it to get food or something.

Kenma blushed again; he was still getting used to the fact his twin was cursed to turn into a girl. Their father knocking Ranma into said spring during their trip to Jusenkyo.

Ryoga flinched, washing off suds with hot water. He'd forgotten about the chance of someone finding out his curse here. Happosai smirked, dodging under the boys legs to flip a tap, spraying cold water. Ranma leapt away like a wildcat from the spray of the cold water. Unfortunately Ryoga wasn't so lucky.

"Damn it!" a female voice shrieked. Ryoga's previously bulkier male body had shifted into a smaller, curvier, female body. A pair of sizeable breasts forming, as the towel hung loosely around her curvy hips. Tears were welling up in her eyes as her curse was revealed; she had tried to keep this secret for so long, even at the beach

"What the...Ryoko?!" exclaimed Ranma, bewildered. "So...Jusenkyo, too?"

Ryoko sighed, as a pair of little black pig's ears popped up from underneath her headband. "...yup, along with Spring of Drowned Pig."

Everyone gasped in shock, while Happosai snickered devilishly.

Kenma's face was now completely red with shock as he got an eyeful of Ryoko's goodies.

Ryoko bowed her head, still covering her breasts while looking as though she was about to cry. "I... I never wanted anyone to know, especially not Shampoo! How can I be her husband while I change into a freaky looking girl? I don't even know how to break this curse!" she sniffled. Great, now she was crying...

Ranma and Kenma blushed; Ryoga/Ryoko was their friend and they would do what they could to help her. But damn it, was she cute when she was crying. Ranma grabbed a bucket of hot water dumping it on Ryoko's head changing her back into a guy.

"We'll figure this out, buddy; but for now, try and stay out of trouble," Ranma reassured him.

Ryoga nodded, wiping his face off as Kenma and Ranma went to go find Happosai.

"And so, the madness commences..." Nabiki smirked to herself as she bobbed around in the tub.

Akane peered at her 2nd-older sister suspiciously. "You're up to something, Nabiki..." she muttered.

Nabiki smiled. "Now what would make you assume that, dear sister?" she asked, feigning innocence with sparkling eyes.

"Can someone wash Shampoo back, please?" Shampoo asked.

"Sure thing, hun; you wanna borrow a hair tie?" Ukyo offered.

"Shampoo would like very much!" Shampoo smiled.

Back on the male side of the bathhouse, Kenma and Ranma were both in hot pursuit of Happosai, ready to take turns wringing his neck.

"Get back here, you shriveled-up flea!" Kenma yelled. "How dare you do that to my pal!"

Ryoga wrapped a towel around his lower half, his eyes burning with rage as he punched a mirror so hard the glass shattered. "C'mere, you filthy little freak! I'm gonna wring your neck for that!" he scowled.

Kenma threw a towel into the air wrapping it around Happosai's ankle and sent him flying into the brick wall with a loud smash, leaving the old man groaning in pain.

Ranma approached Ryoga, whose hand was dripping from the cut caused by punching the mirror. "Ryoga? You okay, buddy? That looks sore..." he asked.

"It'll heal," Ryoga replied as he winced a bit. "But all things considered, I don't mind how I got it."

Kenma blinked in astonishment. "Wow...I did it..." he realized. Then, he pulled down one of his eyelids and stuck out his tongue. "How do ya like THAT, you dried-up mummy?"

Happosai pulled himself free of the wall and dusted himself off. Before he could retaliate, he found himself being lifted off the ground.

"Alright, you!" a female voice declared, getting his attention.

That voice...it IS! AKANE! Happosai beamed as his eyes sparkled like stars in the sky. But when he turned around, much to his dismay, Akane was in a one-piece swimsuit.

As he glanced around, Ukyo, Nabiki and Shampoo were also in one-piece swimsuits.

"You think we'd come without swimsuits knowing YOU were here?" Nabiki grinned.

"Only one who get to see Shampoo's body exposed will be Ryoga!" The purple-haired Amazon added, with a firm nod.

Ryoga blushed while his hand was still aching. Had Shampoo heard? Did she know...why he hated water so much? "S...Shampoo, did...did you hear..." he began.

Shampoo softened approaching Ryoga and wrapping a larger towel around his body, before dumping cold water on him to reveal his cursed female form again with pig ears. Ryoga winced, bowing his head as he reverted into Ryoko again, pig ears sprouting from her head as she remained trapped in her girl form. She was blushing profusely and on the verge of tears all over again.

But to her surprise, Shampoo smiled, abruptly squeezing Ryoko in an affectionate hug and nuzzling against her cheek "Ryoko-chan or Ryoga, Shampoo love her husband/wife too too much! Pig ears no bother me!" she hummed.

Ryoko blushed as happy tears welled up in her eyes. So Shampoo wasn't mad about the curse? She sniffled, trying not to cry from happiness.

"Wait? So Ryoga can turn into a girl? Since when?" Ukyo questioned.

"It's a long story..." Kenma replied, much to Ranma's surprise.

And yet, he blushed; he knew Ryoga was still a guy within the girls body, but seeing his best friend as a cute girl with another cute girl cuddling him. It brought out some mixed feelings.

Happosai just stuck his tongue out. "Oh, brother...more sentimental claptrap..." he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Akane smiled. "Now, why don't you stop pouting...AND GET BACK TO THE MEN'S SIDE!" she roared as she punted the old man over the fence like a football player.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening." Nabiki hummed.

"So this is what you were up to all evening!" Ukyo chuckled; it was a rather amusing prank on the old lech.

"Well, we still want to enjoy our bath, as I suppose you do. We can meet after for some dinner maybe?" Nabiki suggested. Kasumi would be busy all evening calling the repair man about the water heater so she wouldn't be cooking. Their dads could just go hungry.

"Shi de! Shampoo want to eat delicious food with husband/wife!" she beamed.

"She's really invested in that curse of his, ain't she?" Ukyo remarked.

"Yep, she's ride or die for it," replied Nabiki as Happosai landed on the men's side once again.

"You little wretch!" scowled the old man. "How dare you treat your master with such disrespect!"

"So what, we're just supposed to roll over and let you treat us like crap like you did with the old man?" asked Ranma.

"Forget it, Methuselah!" Kenma added. "We're not letting you get all the pizza while we get stuck with the proverbial crusts!"

"You ungrateful delinquents...you should respect your elders!" Happosai raged as his eyes started glowing red. Summoning his ki, a fearsome energy formed around him, glaring down at the surprised teens.

"Whoop, here comes trouble~" Nabiki hummed, perching on the wall to observe what was occuring.

"You knew this would happen!" Akane scoffed. She knew Nabiki was always stirring up trouble, hoping to make some money off of it.

"I knew something would happen," Nabiki replied. "I never knew of anything specific."

"I'll teach you boys the power of bathhouse fu!" Happosai cackled.

"Anything Goes Martial Arts is startin' to sound like a bunch'a bullshit..." Ranma sighed, there were so much Anything Goes styles, he was losing track.

"You're telling me bro" Kenma agreed. "Yeah, Anything Goes is more-or-less just throwing everything to the wall and seeing what sticks."

Suddenly, as Happosai leapt into the air, he knocked a bunch of washbuckets into the air with him, and then began attacking the boys from a distance, peppering their bodies with punch after punch.

"I call this one the Hermit Crab Fist!" the old man laughed as he hid under another washbucket, then popped up underneath another.

"More like, hide and seek for wrinkled old goats!" Ranma scoffed.

Shampoo sighed, rolling her eyes. "Shampoo deal with this," she insisted. Her grandmother had taught her a technique called the Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire technique, as well as the Shi-Shi Hokodan. They would be useful against this old buffoon.

She leapt into the ring swiftly, her acute gaze watching Happosai closely. Before anyone could blink, her hands began to move swiftly like bullets, swiping every bucket and shattering them, destroying Happosai's hiding places eventually revealing him.

"Whoa, what the hell is that?" Kenma asked in surprise; he'd never seen a technique like that!

"Maybe she could teach me it?" Ryoga pondered.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Happosai glared as he rifled around before he gathered the remnants of a bucket and skittered over to the female side.

However, to his misfortune, there were nothing but elderly women as far as the eye could see.

"Wha-what happened?!" Happosai shrieked. "Where'd all the hot babes go?!"

"They decided to get away from you, of course," Nabiki said, very matter-of-factly.

The old man was growing despondent. "B-but...but...there HAS to be at least ONE pretty young thing still..."

And then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a redheaded girl bathing nearby.

"An oasis in a desert! A Buddha in Hell...!" Happosai cheered as he leapt towards the redhead...

...only to be punched upwards by Ranko.

"Pfft...'my master'," she scoffed. "Falling for such an old gag like that!"

As Happosai went up into the air, Kenma suddenly jumped over him before bringing his hands together and slamming them down on the old man, sending him crashing into the floor.

AFTERWARDS...

"That was nice, it's great to be able to relax every now and again," Akane commented.

"Man, after all that? I'm starved!" Ranma declared. "I hope Kasumi has dinner ready!"

"I'm staying over; Akane said it was fine, and I want to teach husband/wife the technique I used earlier!" Shampoo stated.

"Walk me home, Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked.

The pigtailed boy shrugged. "Yeah, sure; so long as I'm home in time for dinner!" he hummed, walking in a different direction to get Ukyo home.

And so, Kenma, Shampoo, Nabiki, Akane and Ryoga all headed back to the dojo.

"So... that female pig-girl form, that was what you tried to hide at the beach was'n't it?" Kenma questioned

"Obviously; I mean, you already knew about it, remember?" Ryoga replied. [As seen in volume 1]

"Oh, yeah..." Kenma nodded. "I guess I sorta forgot about Ryoko after awhile since you didn't get turned very often."

"Fortunately," stated Ryoga.

"That was a fine round a' training, boys..." Happosai gargled, limping behind the group; some of his teeth were missing and his head was peppered with lumps and bruises. "Whaddya say we do it again tomorrow?"

"GET REAL!" Kenma and Ryoga snapped in unison.

"Actually, I heard the bathhouse is going out of business..." Akane commented offhandedly.

"WHAAAAAAAT...?!" Happosai wailed, bewildered.

"Perverts bad for business~!" Shampoo teased.

Kenma and Ryoga all had a good laugh about the whole thing as Happosai wailed and sobbed like a child. "No, no, no! It's not faaaair!" he bawled.

"Man...I wonder what Kasumi whipped up for dinner?" Kenma licked his chops as he rubbed his growling stomach.

"Kasumi has her hands full with the water heater; but you are all welcome for dinner with great-grandmother!" Shampoo spoke up. "Shampoo make too-too delicious traditional chinese dinner!"

Ryoga blushed. "If...if it's no trouble," he mumbled.

"Shampoo want to tell great-grandma about curse," Shampoo replied. "Besides, more food to go around without Kenma twin or spatula girl."

"Yeah, I can't doubt that," Ryoga managed to say as he and the others walked off with Shampoo.