Voyages of the Wild Sea Horse

by rewind gone nuts

Becoming a pirate captain in a fantastical world was never in Ranma's life plans. But when magic strands him in the Grand Blue, he has no choice. With an impish wizard as a guide, Ryoga as his navigator, and a crew made of unwanted fiancees (plus Nabiki), Ranma sets out to find the One Piece and return to Nerima!

19. Chapter 17

Author's Notes: Well, I must admit I really don't know what to say: thank you all for giving Harumi and the new Ryoga a chance is all that comes to mind!

For those curious about the future of the crew, specifically in regards expansions; the current plan will see the crew completed with just three more additions. Who those are and when/where they'll arrive, you'll have to wait and see.

Because it was brought up, the previous chapter was edited; Ryoga's female form has now been compared to "Sakura Hibiki, from Dumbell Nan-Kilo Moteru" - I actually have no real idea who that is, but there was this big debate on SpaceBattles and that's who won out. Though I'll emphasize that he doesn't LITERALLY look like her, that's just a crude shorthand.

Speaking of descriptions... keep an eye on the SpaceBattles thread in the near future. You may be in for a surprise...

---

Chapter 17: Growing Pains

---

As Kodachi, Shampoo and Ukyo all handed money over to Nabiki, Umok coughed loudly.

"Anyway, Captain Saotome, as amusing as Ryoga may be, I must ask; is it really such a wise idea to remain even this close to Femille Island? Given that you picked a fight with Harumi's former clan, would not discretion be the better course of valor at this point?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well, yeah, it'd probably be the smart thing to set sail, but the Log Pose won't reset for a week. What are we supposed to do?"

"I believe I may be of assistance there, Captain," Harumi suddenly interjected. All eyes turned his way, before he reached into a pocket hidden in his... dress? Tunic? They weren't sure, they just knew it was being worn with pants despite being a flowing garment. From its concealment, he withdrew a Log Pose and gently proffered it in Ranma's direction.

"A year ago, another pirate crew offered me a place in their ranks. When I learned exactly what role they intended I fulfill on their ship, I rejected their offer... but I took one of their Log Poses as payment for the insult of expecting me to sell my virtue for passage. For months now, it has been a glimmer of hope, something to remind me of the world beyond Femille's shores... but I don't need it anymore. I would be honored to give it to you."

"Well, talk about fortunate!" Ranma chuckled. "Alright, girls, you take this Log Pose and get us out of here; Harumi and I will take this lump to the bathroom and work on his therapy," he idly tapped his toe against the still-unconscious Ryoga's head for emphasis.

"Of course, Captain my darling," Kodachi purred, strutting swiftly yet sensually over to Harumi.

"Thank you!" she chirped even as she plucked the Log Pose out of Harumi's unresisting grasp and sashayed away, with Ukyo, Nabiki and Miriam striding off behind her.

Harumi watched them as they left, then turned back to Ranma, who was already hoisting Ryoga over his shoulders with all the lazy grace of balancing a bushel of rice. "Forgive me, Captain, but how may I assist...?"

"Just grab his shirt and bring it with you, huh? This is more just an excuse to show you where the bathroom is," Ranma confessed.

"Very well, I'll be right there," Harumi said, grabbing the garment from where Ryoga had tossed it before his transformation and following Ranma out of the main room.

It didn't take the trio long before they were in the Stormbreaker's bathroom, with Harumi taking in the tiles, showers and central bath with open admiration.

"Impressive! I never dreamed of a ship with hot and cold running water!" the Femille naive admitted.

"Heh, yeah, Miriam and her folks do damn fine work," Ranma declared, smiling smugly even as he unceremoniously dropped Ryoga onto the floor. Walking over to the wall, he plucked one of the cable-like spray shower nozzles from its perch with one hand, pointing away from himself before twisting the tap. A high pressure stream of water erupted from the nozzle, before Ranma casually turned it on Ryoga, sluicing the blood from the newly minted genderbender's breasts and face.

"That's cold!" Ryoga squealed, bolting upright and shaking her head frantically, wet hair plastering itself against her cheeks.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, princess," Ranma smirked.

"Aw, screw you, Ranma!" Ryoga jeered, throwing an obscene gesture at her captain.

"I thought you said you could handle being a girl easily, hmm? Fainting at the first sight of your own boobs - I never did that!" Ranma taunted, wagging a finger in reproach at his old rival.

"J-Just you wait, Ranma! I'll get the hang of this, and then you'll be sorry!" Ryoga spat defensively.

"Talk is cheap, buddy. But it's not like Tokyo was built in a day; you can stay in here until you get the hang of it. Besides, it'll be easier to clean up the blood here..." Ranma flippantly announced.

"Gee, you're all heart, Ranma," Ryoga dryly announced, giving her rival a flat stare.

"Took you long enough to notice," was the insolent retort that Ranma immediately shot back.

The verbal spar probably would have continued, or escalated into a physical one, had Harumi not chosen that moment to pointedly cough. "I'll just leave this shirt here before I go, Captain Saotome."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure thing. Gotta pick yourself out a room, right?" Ranma noted distractedly.

"Yes, that as well," Harumi agreed. He paused for a moment, then added, "I wanted to thank you, Captain..."

"For what?" a confused Ranma asked, both he and Ryoga breaking off their staring match to look in bewilderment at the newest recruit to their crew.

"For not offering to have Umok curse me in the same way as he cursed Ryoga," Harumi elaborated, gesturing delicately in Ryoga's direction.

"...Why would I do that? I don't even know if he can do that..." Ranma muttered.

Harumi sighed hugely. "Too many outsiders would see me, would hear that I come from Femille, and automatically presume that I must desire to be a woman..."

At that, Ranma's expression grew dark, and he scowled furiously. His fingers curled into fists, tightening until the knuckles cracked and popped. "Oh, yes, I know all about that... when my curse came out, lot of creeps started telling me that I must obviously enjoy it, or that I'd be happier if I just admitted that I wanted to be a girl. I kept telling 'em that I am a man, but they wouldn't listen... unless I made 'em..."

Harumi nodded sagely. "Yes. I admit to being an oddity, by your standards and by mine, but I know who I am; I am a man. Neither what I wear nor my desire to fight changes that fact. But I know many outsiders will judge me, for my ways are strange, and it is a relief that you do not."

"But... wouldn't turning into a girl make it easier for you to be accepted as a warrior?" A curious Ryoga interjected.

Harumi's smile grew brittle, and his eyes dark. "Oh, certainly, taking a woman's body and reinventing myself would let me easily win acceptance amongst the people of Femille... and all it would cost me is my pride and my self-worth."

"...Huh?" Ryoga replied dumbly, blinking in non comprehension.

"I have shed sweat, blood and tears to hone my skills, for all that they pale in comparison to yours. For ten years, I have fought against the belief of my people that men cannot be warriors. I have been beaten, bruised, battered, and bloodied, but never have I bowed, despite the suffering. To transform myself would be to admit that everything they said was true - to accept that I cannot be a warrior and a man at the same time! I cannot, I will not, accept that truth! I defy them, now, and forever!"

By this point, Harumi was flushed red with rage, hands curled into fists that he shook at the ceiling, chest heaving with emotion as he spat his wrath, leaving both of the crew's sex shifters staring in surprise. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing and visibly schooled himself, brushing down the front of his dress before coughing demurely.

"I'm sorry, but it is... a sore spot for me..." he apologetically explained.

"Eh, no worries, we did ask," Ryoga muttered.

"Trust me, I understand where you're coming from... a martial artist's honor is paramount, after all," Ranma assured Harumi, nodding sagely in a manner that was eerily reminiscent of his father, Genma... which would have horrified Ranma if anyone had pointed it out.

A weight visibly lifted from the crossdressing youth's features, and he sighed hugely in relief. "My thanks, Captain Saotome... I knew I had made the right choice to sail with you."

"Why are guys forbidden from learning martial arts on your island, anyway?" Ranma asked.

"In short? It is believed that men are too weak, and too corruptible. On Femille, we prize beauty as well as power. It is believed only women can balance both naturally. Men are either too frail to master the arts of war, or else they allow themselves to be consumed by the lust for blood and their baser impulses. It is why the Mourning Wood School is shunned; they are believed to be inherently dangerous, with the worst of their ranks being little more than beasts that walk, stinking, hairy brutes who cannot think beyond satisfying their own appetites," Harumi shuddered in revulsion at the thought.

"...O...kay... Not gonna touch that," Ranma bluntly declared.

"I know it is a ridiculous belief, but one cannot overturn centuries of tradition as easily as that," Harumi replied, clicking his fingers to emphasize his words.

"Reminds me of Shampoo's great-grandma... and not in a good way," Ranma muttered.

"Also, I am attracted to women. I won't deny that your female forms are beautiful, but knowing that you are really men kills all the attraction for me," Harumi casually added, causing both Ranma and Ryoga to go crashing to the floor in shock.

"Wh-What brought that on?! Nobody asked that!" Ranma roared, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's one of the questions I'm always asked by outsiders! You already asked the other, I was just getting things out in the open!" Harumi defensively retorted.

"Seriously, do people really just ask you that?!" Ranma incredulously demanded.

"Femille is an island entirely of warrior women and beautiful men who dress like women. I could tell you stories of what outsiders presume that would set your clothes on fire," Harumi bluntly replied.

Ranma put a hand over his eyes and shook his head. "Just... just go and find yourself a room to claim, will ya?"

Harumi bowed formally to Ranma, stating, "By your command," before he turned on his heel and walked away.

As the door to the bathroom closed behind him, Ryoga shook her head. "...Well, that went weird in entirely unexpected ways."

"Yeah, and here I thought you turning into a girl was going to be the weirdest thing to happen for a while," Ranma quipped back.

"You're a jerk, Ranma," Ryoga flatly responded, unable to muster her usual venom.

Silence filled the bathroom for a minute or so, and then...

"Uh... Ranma?"

"What?"

"Are they supposed to be so... soft? When I touch them, I mean?"

"Oh, now you want my advice?!"

"Well, you can't expect me to ask a real girl these kinds of questions!"

---

That evening...

---

"You know that you didn't need to help out, Harumi, I'm quite capable of feeding this crew," Ukyo politely pointed out.

"I'm quite certain that you can, Miss Kuonji, but I wanted to help! Besides, this dish of yours is fascinating... okonomiyaki, you called it?" Harumi asked from where he was experimentally prodding his own sizzling masses of dough.

"Sure is! Family's stock and trade - y'know, before I took up the pirate's life. The others joke that I'm obsessed, but it's really a perfect meal for sailors. Savory and hearty, and you can make it out of just about anything you have to hand! And it's not like I make them live on it," she added, her pride giving way to defensiveness.

"Well, I know I'm certainly intrigued to try this dish!" Harumi assured her.

They turned their attention back to flipping, removing and adding okonomiyaki to the large griddle, filling the air with the scent of crisping batter and grilling meats and vegetables. Nine people took a fair amount of feeding, especially when those nine people included the likes of Ranma, Ryoga and Miriam. The companionable silence was suddenly broken when the newest member of the Kamikaze Pirates spoke up.

"So, you were a cook before you became a pirate? How did that happen?"

"It's a long story..." Ukyo began, hedging her words carefully. 'Don't wanna tell this guy about us coming from another world; he'll think we're crazy! Same deal with Miriam. Just give him the broad picture...'

"Please? I like long stories," Harumi asked sweetly, giving Ukyo a pleading look.

"Well... the short answer is that Ranchan fell afoul of some crooked Marines, and had no choice but to head to sea and hoist the Jolly Roger. An' me? I'd follow Ranchan to hell and back, so naturally I came along with him. The rest sort of... followed us."

Ukyo trailed off as she realized Harumi was staring at her with obvious wonder, smiling broadly as if he'd realized something very special.

"What's up, sugar?" she asked, trying not to sound too defensive.

"You like him! You like the captain!" Harumi chirped gleefully, almost clapping in delight, the spitting image of a gossipy teenage girl... not that Ukyo was all that familiar with teenage girls and their love of gossip.

Still, it was enough to make the chef's cheeks flush beet red before she defensively blustered, "I-uh, well, we're engaged, so yeah, I should like him!"

"Engaged?!" Harumi squeaked, visibly fascinated to hear this and only deepening Ukyo's embarrassment.

'Damn it all, why do I gotta be the shy one here?! Y'know those sluts Shampoo and Kodachi would be lapping this up!' She sourly noted to herself.

"It's, well, it's a long story, and we don't have time to tell it now - we better get these 'yaki out to the table or those idjits will start chewin' the table!" she blustered.

Harumi pouted, but then nodded at Ukyo's expression. "Okay... but I want to hear this story!" He warned her, even as he took one of the massive trays groaning with piled okonomiyaki and began carrying it over to the dining table, with Ukyo hot on his heels.

Sure enough, the food had barely hit the table before everyone started grabbing for their share. Even Kodachi moved swiftly to secure her favorite toppings, whilst Ryoga (now back to his true male form) and Ranma glared mutual challenges at each other as they snatched back and forth at particularly choice okonomiyaki. Miriam just grabbed several dozen and piled them high on her plate with indifference before chomping into them. Even Umok snatched up a few with hands of spectral mist billowing from his cigar, before he put his ever-present stoogie aside and began eating.

Harumi looked a little lost at first, but hesitantly joined the table. He took a few okonomiyaki with assorted toppings, and demurely took his first bite. Ukyo, who had been idly watching their newest crewmate, felt the familiar warm glow of pride in her cooking skills bubble up as the crossdressing martial artist's face visibly lit up with delight at what he tasted and he quickly took several more large bites, chewing ravenously before dabbing at his lips with a handkerchief.

"Delicious! Truly, a wonderful dish! Oh, Captain Saotome, you are quite fortunate indeed in your choice of bride!" Harumi effused in his delight.

There was a sudden shocked, "What?!" from Miriam, but otherwise the table went eerily still and silent. Harumi paused from where he was dissecting his okonomiyaki to direct a confused look around the table. Ukyo was simultaneously blushing and trying to hide in her seat, Ranma looked like a deer caught in the headlights, Ryoga and Nabiki were smirking, and both Kodachi and Shampoo were giving very dangerous looks at Ranma and Ukyo.

"...Did I say something wrong?" Harumi finally dared to ask.

"What you say about Ranma marry Ukyo?" Shampoo grit out, still trying to bore holes into Ukyo's very soul with her blazing red eyes.

"I... congratulated our captain on his upcoming nuptials...?" Harumi meekly provided.

"That not right. Ranma marry Shampoo," the Zoan Amazon declared icily.

"Over my dead body!" Ukyo protested, all shyness forgotten in the face of her defiance.

"If need be," Shampoo growled back.

Harumi stared from one girl to the other, then directed a pleading look at his new captain. "I'm sorry, Captain, I don't understand what I did wrong..."

"Love 'n' marriage are... touchy subjects on this ship," Ranma slowly responded.

"What Ranchan is trying to say is that he and I were engaged to marry by our fathers as little kids," Ukyo grit out, still locked in her death-stare match with Shampoo.

"But Ranma also defeat Shampoo in battle, so by law of Shampoo's tribe, Shampoo and Ranma must marry!" The ship's resident Amazon spat out.

"I must confess that I have no such petty legal trifles to bind my beloved Ranma and I together... but I have sworn to take him as my husband, for I can imagine no better man to have at my side," Kodachi sighed longingly.

"And let's not forget that Ranma's dad originally promised him to marry into Nabiki's family, so that means he's technically engaged to Nabiki," Ryoga interjected, seeing a rare opportunity to indulge in his own mischievous side.

"Hey, leave me out of this nonsense!" Nabiki yelped in protest.

"Yeah, but the old man still agreed to break off the Tendo engagement for me! And then he stole my dowry and ran off with it!" Ukyo snarled, the raw spot on her psyche throbbing as it was irritated once again.

"...I feel like I need a scorecard to keep track of all this," Miriam muttered, staring around the table.

Harumi just looked downcast. "I...I'm sorry, Captain. I meant no harm... I just wished to congratulate you..."

"Ain't yer fault, you didn't know," Ranma sighed. "But seriously, that's why we agreed to stop all this when we became pirates - we got enough trouble with the marines and every other jerk on the seas, we don't need to be fighting amongst ourselves! Got it?!"

Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi all muttered something that sounded like it was an agreement, but they still cast baleful looks at each other when they felt they could get away with it.

The previously cheerful mood was shattered, and dinner was eaten in tense silence, before everyone went their separate ways.

---

The next morning...

---

The sun shone bright and cheerful in a blue sky, whilst gentle breezes danced playfully across a lazy sea and filled the Stormbringer's sails. It looked like a beautiful day... Unfortunately, that beauty was lost on Ranma, who put his hands on his hips and tried to broadcast as much authority as he could muster.

"Alright, listen up, you lot!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, studying the rest of his ramshackle crew.

Harumi and Miriam were at least doing him the respect of giving him their full attention, waiting expectantly for him to continue, but Ryoga and Nabiki were just slouching lazily against whatever would support them and looking bored, whilst Kodachi, Ukyo and Shampoo (who was in her completely human form, for a change) were more interested in shooting death glares and threatening gestures at each other.

'I should have known last night would bring out the beast... well, fine, they can work it off!' Ranma growled in the privacy of his own head. In the real world, he took a deep breath and began to bark at his crew once more.

"For those of you who weren't paying attention yesterday, I fought a martial artist who actually matched my speed! This is a big deal, because back home, the only people who were faster than me were the old ghoul and the old freak! And here we just ran into some no-name martial artist in the middle of nowhere - no offense, Harumi!"

"None taken, Captain," Harumi assured him.

"Who gave me more of a run for my money than any of you have ever done! Which begs the question; if she can be that strong, how much stronger can people get here on the Grand Line? So, today is gonna be training day! Get ready to sweat, boys and girls!"

Ryoga and Miriam greeted this news with indifference. Kodachi, Ukyo and Shampoo all finally broke off their staring match to focus on Ranma, with Shampoo in particular perking up. Nabiki audibly groaned in dismay, whilst Harumi practically vibrated with anticipation.

"You girls are gonna bleed out that bad blood of yers - you'll be sparring until I say you're done, an' if any of you get any bright ideas, I'll throw you overboard myself! Nabiki, it's time you started working on your offense, so you're going to be practicing the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken - don't worry, we got plenty of burn ointment!"

The three romantic rivals sneered at each other in anticipation, though Ranma's tone made them glance nervously at the mutual love of their lives. Nabiki went pale as a sheet and sobbed, protectively wringing out her hands.

"Miriam... we really need to work on some stuff with you, but the bigger things we need to be on land for. Right now, you and Ryoga are gonna spar, and he'll see what he can teach you about fighting a smaller opponent... and about being lighter on your feet."

"Sounds good to me, Captain!" Miriam replied brightly, unslinging her anchors and putting them down to the side out of the way.

Ranma blinked at her in confusion. "Um... no complaints about needing to learn to fight smaller foes?"

"Beyond the fact I was the village runt, I watched you guys take down Ahab! I know better than anyone what a small, fast, hard-hitting fighter can do someone who's bigger and clumsier," Miriam scoffed.

"O...kay. Well, that's good. Ryoga, when you and Miriam are done, you 'n' me'll take yer girl-form for a spin, give you the ropes on it..."

"I've fought you as a girl plenty of times, I know what the change does!" Ryoga scoffed.

"Trust me, until you've experienced it yourself, you haven't! Alright... Harumi, you get over here; I wanna see just what you can do! The rest of you, get to work!" Ranma snapped his final command, glaring at all and sundry.

Kodachi, Shampoo and Ukyo didn't even move away from their position; they just surged together and began exchanging blows, a vicious threeway brawl erupting right there on the deck.

Nabiki quickly moved away to a more sheltered part of the deck, where Ranma had earlier set up a brazier and a small chest full of assorted nuts. She stood there, staring into the flames, breathing slowly as she worked up the courage to start. Finally, she opened the chest and tossed several handfuls of nuts into the flames, before reluctantly taking up a striking stance.

As Ryoga and Miriam lumbered over to the most wide-open part of the deck to begin their own sparring session, Harumi delicately walked up to Ranma and bowed. "I am ready to begin, Captain... or would you prefer Sensei?"

Ranma shuddered. "Call me Captain, if you gotta! Sensei makes me feel old!"

"As you wish, Captain. Where do we begin?" Harumi asked, tilting his head quizzically.

"Well, best place to start is usually at the beginning!" Ranma took up a loose defensive stance, hands raised before him ready to block or strike.

"We'll see how fast you are first - try to hit me! Don't worry, I won't hurt - sonuvvabitch my eye!" Ranma shrieked, clapping his hands over his face and drawing the shocked glances of the rest of the crew.

"I'm sorry, Captain, are you alright?!" Harumi yelped, guilt written all over his face.

Ranma shook his head and blinked. "Whoo... yeah, I'm alright. Just caught me by surprise, didn't really damage me... okay... let's try that - again!"

This time, Ranma caught the crossdresser's wrist before it could hit him in the face, but no sooner had he released the foiled strike than a second attack came hot on its heels. Harumi blurred into action, and Ranma found himself genuinely pushing himself to keep the blows from landing.

'Holy shit, it's just like his mom! Did this guy master the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken? ...Scratch that, I think this is almost Parlay du Foie Gras level!'

Harumi's fists rained down on Ranma's blocking arms faster than the human eye could follow, audibly pounding a tattoo of flesh on flesh. Ranma stoically endured the beating, analyzing his new student's - his new crewmate's fighting style.

'Okay, you can tell he learned through observation without actual instruction! He's quick, yeah, but look at all these holes in his technique! Balance is all messed up on that backstep... stance is off on the right cross... nothing killer on its own, but it all adds up...'

Finally deciding he'd seen enough, Ranma surged forward, exploiting every hole he'd seen in Harumi's abilities to weave through the startled warrior's strikes and deliver a one-two-three combo. The first two strikes stunned Harumi as they caught him in the solar plexus, before the third punch clipped his chin and sent him tumbling across the deck.

Breathing hard, heart racing in his chest, Ranma tried to order his thoughts... Genma had been much more interested in teaching Ranma how to fight than to teach.

"Okay, first things first; lot of flaws in your technique! We're going to need to single out each and every one of them and train you how to do it right! As for your general skills...well, you certainly got your speed up to scratch! I'm legit impressed - you could probably teach these slowpokes a thing or two! But there's not a lot of power behind your punches; were you holding back?"

"N-no, Captain," Harumi assured him, shaking his head to clear his senses before clambering back to his feet. "The Crying Willow style focuses on speed, grace and ferocity; we whittle our foes down with many blows, rather than hewing through them with brute force..."

"Hm. I see. Makes sense... still, we want to work on your strength training, too," Ranma observed. "Your unarmed forms are pretty impressive... how're your sword forms?"

At this, Harumi blushed mildly and looked embarrassed. "I...I can promise that I can swing the swords without losing my grip, but they are definitely my weakest area..."

Ranma simply nodded sagely. "Alright... grab your swords, and I want you to practice those while I watch. Kodachi an' Shampoo are the real swordsmasters here, but since they're busy..."

The two boys looked over at the brawl, where Shampoo currently had Ukyo on the deck in a perfect neck scissors maneuver, whilst Kodachi was straddling the Amazon's back and attempting to choke her into submission with the thong of her whip. Both grappled girls were doing the damndest to escape from their respective holds.

"...Yeah, you'll just have to settle for me," Ranma concluded.

"As you wish, Captain," Harumi responded, bowing politely before taking up his family swords, stolen from his mother, and slowly drawing them from their sheaths, barely able to believe he was actually holding them.

---

Meanwhile...

---

'Sheesh, I used to think I was pretty spry on my feet, but these little guys make me feel like a pregnant Sea King! ...I wonder if this is what mom used to feel like running after me when I was little... oh, shit, that was close!'

Miriam twisted and turned, skipped and hopped, and generally did her best to defend herself from Ryoga's assault as the Kamikaze's First Mate brutally battered her from all directions. It didn't help that being roughly three times his size meant it was a lot harder to block, as his attacks were coming in from down low, an angle the wotan was unused to defending.

But that didn't mean she was entirely defenseless; as she half-stepped away and half-spun to avoid one of Ryoga's strikes, her tail instinctively whipped around and caught the Eternally Lost Boy squarely in the face, bowling him across the deck and nearly pitching him clean over the gunwale before he managed to snag the railing at the last minute.

"Oh no! Oh, I'm sorry, are you okay?!" the mortified Miriam squeaked, instinctively covering her face with her hands in an effort to hide her blush.

With a soft grunt of effort, Ryoga hauled himself back over the railing, tilting his head until his neck cracked. "I'm okay, I'm okay... that was pretty good, actually! How flexible is that tail of yours, anyway?"

"Um..." Puzzled, Miriam looked over her shoulder and experimentally swished the appendage from side to side. "I guess... decently? I mean, I couldn't pick something up with it, but I can swing it around a fair ways...?"

"Well, work on doing that - it's a natural defense against smaller opponents, so you need to take advantage of that," Ryoga declared matter of factly.

"You really think I can get better?" Miriam asked, perking up at the prospect.

"Trust me; you're actually doing really well. You keep working at it, and you'll get better, I promise you," Ryoga assured her. As the wotan's face lit up, the normally moody youth permitted himself a rare smile.

'Not too different to when I was working with Akane... give her plenty of positive feedback, and she'll almost trip over herself to prove she deserves it! Hm... what to do next... wait, there's a thought...'

"Okay, Miriam, let's take a break from sparring and try something a little more fun..."

As the wotan watched, Ryoga closed the distance between them, then held his arms up, hands open, before bracing himself.

"Let's put that strength of yours to the test! See if you can push me back," he ordered her.

Miriam blinked, but then smirked and saunted over. "Sure thing... just don't be crying when you lose..."

Finding the right angle was tricky with the height difference, but finally the wotan and the human had their palms pressed flat together and were ready to begin their shoving match. They locked gazes, determined expressions fixed on their faces, and then, at an unspoken signal, they surged into action. At once, muscles visibly bulged along their arms, every sinew and tendon standing erect as each poured all of his or her power into pushing as hard as they possibly could, to a most surprising result... a deadlock!

'...O...kay... definitely didn't expect this to be a pushover, but... damn, she's strong!' Ryoga privately conceded.

'Holy crap, he's holding me back! What the hell do they feed this guy?! Since when's a human supposed to be able to do something like this?!' Miriam secretly marveled.

Their hands, too mismatched to form a proper finger lock, shifted back and forth; one pair would backslide several inches as their opponent poured on the power, only to then stop as the defender found a new well of strength and pushed back to the starting point. Back and forth they seesawed, sweat starting to roll down their faces, their skins glistening in the sun.

By this point, everybody had stopped whatever they were doing to watch this display of strength... some a bit more intently than others...

"You know, most girls don't like guys who stare like that," Ranma noted casually, grinning mischievously as Harumi blushed and closed his mouth with a gentle click.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I know I shouldn't, but... she's so breathtaking..." the Femille native sighed longingly, casting his gaze back at the nearly-naked wotan where she was, for lack of a better word, wrestling with Ryoga.

"You really have a thing for her, don't you? I thought you were being unusually friendly with her back on Femille," Ranma observed.

"Can you really blame me? Look at her! Look at those curves - look at those muscles!" Harumi protested defensively, before sighing as the shifting of the clouds around the sun made Miriam's skin glitter, every black stripe rippling as the sinews flexed under her skin.

"I also see a tail and one of the scariest sets of teeth around," the amused Ranma countered.

"Oh, believe me, I'm well aware!" Harumi assured him, never once taking his eyes off of Miriam, purring as he spoke, a distant smile playing on his lips.

"Well, I'd be a hypocrite to put some kind of 'no romance' rule in place on this ship... not to mention the girls would probably have my neck if I tried... but... if you're going to go for it, just be careful, okay?" Ranma cautioned him.

"I promise you, I'd never do anything to hurt her!" Harumi protested, turning away from his wotan-watching to direct a hurt look at Ranma.

"Right. Yes. Because I was worried about you hurting her," Ranma sarcastically replied, in contrast still keeping his attention fixed on the struggle. Suddenly, he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "C'mon, Ryoga, put some back into it! Prove you can beat somebody for once!"

"Hey!" came the indignant bellow in response, followed by cursing as Miriam, whether emboldened by his distraction or angered by being bet against, surged forward and actually forced him to take a step back.

"That the way, Miriam! Girl power, go!" called Shampoo, cheering on her fellow warrior-woman.

That opened the floodgates as the rest of the Kamikazes shouted encouragement and the occasional bit of lighthearted abuse at the two competitors, cheering and cursing as they renewed their struggles. They grunted and growled, shoving back and forth, flexing and sweating as they struggled... but, inevitably, something had to give...

Finally, with a mighty roar, Miriam surged forward and pushed Ryoga so hard that he fell over backwards and hit the deck hard. It wasn't an easy victory for the wotan, however, who was left crouching over her sparring partner, heaving for breath so hugely that it was frankly a minor miracle that her top could handle it, rivers of sweat running down her face and dripping onto the decking below.

"Fuh-Finally... haaaa... finally beat 'im..." she gasped, wonder and triumph in her voice.

Ryoga panted from his spot on the deck, sweat dripping from every inch of his exposed skin. "You...huuu...got lucky..."

"You were using that same line back in Junior High!" Ranma shouted from the sidelines, grinning wickedly at the sputtered curses that drifted back to him.

---

Soon afterwards...

---

Ryoga looked at the bucket of water, his nemesis for all those terrible months since his fateful trip to Jusenkyo, and swallowed the lump that crept into his throat without his consent. Steeling himself, he reached down and picked it up, before tipping the contents over himself.

"...It still feels weird not to shrink when that happens," he noted, then grimaced and clutched at his now-slender, womanly throat.

Ranma, already in his own female form, chuckled darkly. "Just wait... after the first dozen or so transformations, you may not even notice the change at first... So, ready for your first trial by fire?"

"I still don't see why I need to do this," Ryoga grumbled, but the newly-minted buxom blonde beauty adopted a fighting stance all the same.

"Because there's more to fighting as a girl than you think, and I'd rather you learn it here on the ship than out there in the real world," Ranma declared, matching Ryoga's stance.

"Since when do you care?" Ryoga scoffed, right before she launched herself at Ranma.

Ranma blocked a roundhouse strike, dodged a three-punch combo, then jabbed back at her sparring partner, watching as she dodged it with unprecedented nimbleness. "I always cared, stupid! You just were too eager to blame me for every little thing wrong in your life to notice it!"

"Because you were responsible for all of it!" Ryoga roared defensively back, redoubling her efforts.

---

Sundown...

---

A chorus of moans and painful exhalations filled the bathroom, mingling with the sound of steaming hot water gushing to fill the central shared tub as the four original female members of the Kamikaze Pirates gingerly peeled off their clothing.

"Oh, my achin'... everything! Ranchan ran us ragged," Ukyo groaned, grimacing at the twinges from her shoulders as she gingerly untied her makeshift bra.

"In fairness, we certainly contributed to our own misery - I can't believe that you bit me, you savage brute!" Kodachi spat balefully at Shampoo, glowering as she alternatively studied the distinctive crescent-shaped bruise on her arm and the ship's resident Zoan.

"You tried to choke Shampoo! You just lucky Shampoo only have human teeth that moment!" Shampoo spat back, her voice raspier than usual and bruises visibly darkening her throat.

"Considering you were trying to pop my own head off, you deserved it!" Ukyo jeered.

The three romantic rivals were glaring at each other freely now, the pain of their bruises and sprains forgotten in the face of their mutual animosity, before a surprising voice cut through the clamor.

"Oh, will you all give it a break?! No wonder Ranma doesn't want anything to do with you!" Nabiki complained loudly.

The trio turned as one to the outsider of their unusual little group dynamic, matching expressions of shock.

"What you talking?!" Shampoo demanded angrily, the expressions on Kodachi and Ukyo's faces making it clear they echoed the sentiment.

"You three do realize today was a punishment for last night, right?" Nabiki drawled in response, pointedly slathering some of the ship's supply of burn cream on her visibly blistered and reddened forearms.

"Nonsense! Ranma loves me - loves us, I mean," Kodachi corrected herself at the last moment, in a rare display of diplomacy as the other two girls glared at her.

"I love my sisters. Doesn't mean they don't bug the hell out of me sometimes, nor that I don't need to punish them when they get out of hand," Nabiki calmly declared.

"But we didn't do anything wrong!" Ukyo protested.

"The fact you honestly believe that is exactly why none of you have a chance with Ranma... honestly, it'd be funny how you three can botch having a brand new, level playing field just by being yourselves, but not when I get punished alongside you!" Nabiki spat, her sneer twisting into a wince as she pressed too hard on a particularly tender burn.

"And what do you know about love, anyway?" Kodachi demanded.

"Before Ranma arrived, one of my most profitable businesses was matchmaking! If any of you knew half of what I knew, you'd have Ranma calling you his girlfriend by now," Nabiki replied firmly.

"If you so clever, then what we do wrong, hmm? Enlighten us, oh master matchmaker," Shampoo jeered.

Nabiki finally looked up from her medical ministrations, and smiled coldly at the trio. "Very well, if you insist... your problems are two-fold; you're too enthusiastic, and you're too aggressive."

"...Ain't that basically the same thing?" a confused Ukyo asked.

"Your first problem is that you don't have any sense of subtlety. You go from 0 to 100 at the drop of a hat, and over some of the stupidest things. I don't care how cute Ranma is; if one little kiss means I have to marry him on the spot, then you damn well better believe I'm not going to be in any hurry to lock lips! Ranma is never going to act like he's interested in any of you so long as you keep over-exaggerating what it means," Nabiki explained, in her driest, snarkiest tones.

At those words, all three of the other girls looked uncomfortable. It wasn't exactly hard to cast their memories back and think of times when they had gone overboard in their eagerness to express their affections, or in response to what had seemed like a rare sign of affection from Ranma.

But Nabiki plowed on, evidently having worked herself into a rare loss of temper. "But what really kills it is that you three are so desperate to be the only girl in Ranma's life that you end up being your own worst enemies! You can't just let it go unremarked if somebody brings up that Ranma isn't yours and yours alone, no, you have to pick a fight - and you don't even care if Ranma gets hurt in the backlash! Remember that little incident when the gossip was that Ranma's mom had come to take him away, hm? I certainly remember him complaining about the three of you almost deliberately seeming to target him when you finally lost patience and started fighting. And last night? Weeks of effort put into showing Ranma that you actually aren't all lunatics, and you blow it all by nearly getting into a fistfight at dinner!"

She laughed there, and all three winced as the dark mirth in the Tendo girl's voice scraped icy claws along their very souls.

"S-Surely, you exaggerate," Kodachi attempted to bluster.

"Believe what you want... but I'll tell you this for nothing; you keep reacting like you're still in Nerima, and the best you can expect is that you'll go nowhere with your precious Ranma. Worst outcome? Some other girl will come in and steal him away from you," Nabiki cautioned them, before moving to turn off the taps on the now-full bathtub.

An awkward silence fell over the bathroom, Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi all eying each other uncertainly, unable or unwilling to speak. Finally, Shampoo shook her head and scowled.

"Shampoo hate say it... but Nabiki right. This too-too stupid! Shampoo sick of this, sick of take one step forward, two step back!" the zoan Amazon growled, clenching her fist indignantly for emphasis.

"Well, what are we supposed to do about it? I don't care what your village law says, Ranchan an' I are engaged, an' I love him! I'm not just giving him up without a fight!" Ukyo shot back in rejoinder.

Shampoo curled her lip in anger, but Kodachi suddenly held out her hand, symbolically separating the two. "I don't believe that is what our Chinese friend has in mind... is it, dear?"

"No. Shampoo not give up on Ranma... but, Shampoo can respect Ukyo, can respect Kodachi. We sail together, fight together, living together long time now... Shampoo still love Ranma, but...Shampoo not hate you. Shampoo say... we let Ranma decide. Not try force him no more. Is good?"

Ukyo stared incredulously at the Chinese girl, before Kodachi coughed politely. "Allow me to see if I understand the gist of things... you are saying, Shampoo, that you will not try to fight us acting in a romantic manner with Ranma darling, so long as we extend the same courtesy to you. Is that correct?"

Shampoo nodded firmly. "Is so."

"So... what, if I ask Ranchan for a date, neither of you will try and sabotage it?" Ukyo skeptically asked.

"In nutshell? Yes," came the blunt reply from Shampoo, who folded her arms across her ample chest.

"And it also means that we must never again have a scene like last night. A formal truce, as it were. We don't have to like each other, but we will respect each other, and in particular we will respect our bonds to Ranma, disparate as they may. After all, in the end, the final decision will rest with him, and I for one would rather run the race fairly than be so engaged in brawling at the starter line that some complete outsider steals him away from us," Kodachi observed.

"I... yeah, that makes sense, then. But how do we make sure we all stay true to the deal?" Ukyo asked suspiciously.

Kodachi's face went blank, and she blinked. "Ah... that is actually a good question..."

A giggle made the three girls look in the bathtub, where Nabiki was idly soaking. "Ohh, so close! Whatever will you do? You need to trust each other, but you can't trust each other, because you know each other too well!"

She ignored the sour looks and resumed luxuriating in the water, sinking almost entirely below the surface.

Ukyo looked from the tub to Shampoo, then to Kodachi, then back to Shampoo again. Then she sighed softly. "Let's face it; this ain't gonna work unless we trust each other. And if we were back in Nerima, I don't think I could trust either of you as far as I could throw you. But... we're not in Nerima, anymore. Shampoo already said it; we've been fighting together, an' living together. If you girls will promise me you won't meddle with me an' Ranma if I extend that same courtesy, then I can trust you."

"Shampoo never dare say this before now, but... Ukyo and Kodachi be like Shampoo sisters on this trip. Shampoo... Shampoo will no more interfere with courtship. So long as Ranma be happy, Shampoo will let Ranma choose."

"I... was never blessed with a sister. But... after all this time, I think the two of you are a wonderful substitute. The battle for Ranma's heart will be a fair one, this I vow, on the honor of my family name!"

The impassioned heiress impulsively thrust out her hand. Buoyed up by the emotion of the moment, Ukyo placed her hand atop Kodachi's, before Shampoo did the same. They held that pose for a moment, before raising their collected hands to the roof.

"May the best woman win!" Kodachi shouted triumphantly.

"Aw, aren't the three of you cute? If only I had my camera," Nabiki tittered, drawing three unimpressed gazes her way.

"...We no have to count her as part of deal, right?" Shampoo muttered darkly.

"Course not! You heard yourself, she has no interest in Ranma," Ukyo grumbled back.

"Ah-ah-ah, let us not be too hasty, sisters... I for one believe we should extend our alliance to Nabiki Tendo," Kodachi interjected.

Three pairs of shocked eyes fixated on the Kuno heiress, Nabiki, Shampoo and Ukyo chorusing as one, "Say what?!"

"Well, how better to convince darling Ranma of our sincerity and our dedication to redeeming our past aggressive jealousy than by being so magnanimous as to allow Nabiki to join the competition? After all, it would hardly be our fault if she declines to seize the opportunity," Kodachi added, smirking wickedly, and causing similar expressions to blossom on her companions' faces as they followed her train of thought.

"...And what if I decide to take you up on that?" Nabiki impulsively asked, pride stung by their reactions.

"Then I for one look forward to watching and laughing at your disastrous failures," Kodachi declared, before she burst out laughing at the very thought.

Wounded pride actually painted itself onto Nabiki's features, before she drew on her own unique brand of training and reverted to her trademark indifferent expression. "Very amusing. Now, are you ladies going to scrub off and get in, or are you just going to stand around in your birthday suits until the water gets cold?"

Which was when Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi remembered that, yes, they were all still naked and covered in a day's layer of sweat and grime. They quickly set about scrubbing themselves down and sluicing off the worst of it with the cold water from the multiple showers, before joining Nabiki in the steamy hot tub. Strangely, Shampoo was the first to rinse off, but the last to step into the bathtub, actually hesitating before she sighed softly and slipped into the hot water, her bestial ears withering like some kind of fast-forward special effect and vanishing into the ether.

And this didn't go unnoticed...

"Shampoo? Can I ask you something?" Ukyo slowly brought up.

The Chinese Amazon rolled her eyes. "Yes, come here; Shampoo give you special shiatsu massage, make neck all better."

Ukyo blinked at Shampoo's outstretched hand, beckoning to her. "Um... actually not what I wanted to talk about, but okay..."

She slid through the water, hesitating only briefly before she settled into Shampoo's lap. The other girls could plainly see the nervousness flash across Ukyo's face as Shampoo's hands settled around her shoulders... before it melted away as Shampoo began to knead and massage the aching muscles and ligaments. Within moments, Ukyo was slumping limply against the Chinese Amazon, moaning blissfully as she worked.

Shampoo smiled smugly. "Ukyo like that, hmm?"

A wordless, almost sensual groan was the only response she got in return, which clearly further stoked the Amazon's ego. "This special healing massage taught by great-grandmother! Work too-too well, yes?"

"Ohhh... why've you been hiding this all this time? So good..." Ukyo murmured.

By this point, Kodachi and Nabiki were watching the display with mutual envy.

"I...In the name of our truce..." Kodachi began, with uncharacteristic hesitance.

Shampoo rolled her eyes. "Yes, Shampoo give you massages too when done with Ukyo..."

Kodachi's face lit up and she actually clapped her hands in glee, to the surprise of her companions. It seemed to penetrate the blissful fog enveloping Ukyo's brain, as the ship's chef suddenly spoke up.

"Anyway, what I wanted to ask, Shampoo... why do you spend so much time as a zoan?"

Shampoo blinked in surprise, especially as the other girls looked thoughtful.

"Come to think of it, Miss Kuonji is correct; I can't recall the last time you voluntarily spent a prolonged period in your true form..." Kodachi mused.

Shampoo looked as if she'd rather be anywhere else... only to suddenly steel herself, closing her eyes before she confessed, "Is...Is because Shampoo stronger as Zoan than as human."

Silence momentarily fell over the bathroom, before Nabiki cautiously broke it. "Um... okay...? And that's a big deal?"

"You not understand... Shampoo know... Shampoo hope that Ranma love Shampoo, but Shampoo also know that Shampoo is too-too weak compared to Ranma..."

"Well, yeah, Ranchan outclasses all of us here," Ukyo pointed out blithely.

"Some more than others," Kodachi interjected, smirking as she glanced at Nabiki, who just gave her a flat look in response.

"Shampoo have pride as Chinese Amazon to consider! Want strong husband, yes, but be too-too much weaker than husband? Is shameful; mean you no have pride enough to try and stand at husband's side. Mean you lazy. Mean you willing to be burden to husband. Shampoo hate thinking she just burden to Ranma! Shampoo know is not right, take pride in strength Shampoo not earned, but... Shampoo just like feeling she able to actually stand at Ranma's side..."

By this point, she had stopped massaging Ukyo and was instead slumping in the water, looking sadly off into the distance. An awkward silence descended, neither Kodachi nor Nabiki willing to meet the Amazon Zoan's eyes, before Ukyo did something none of them could have predicted.

She spun around and reached out to hug her rival, who couldn't have looked more shocked without taking a lightning bolt to the face as Ukyo's arms gently wrapped around her.

"Listen, sugar; Ranchan ain't some kind of brute who only cares about a girl's strength, okay? He'd never be so shallow as to drop you just because you ain't as strong as he is; you're more than your Devil Fruit, and we all know it, you hear me?"

Shampoo blinked, dumbfounded. Then, hesitantly, she smiled at her rival's kind words, and even gingerly reached up to lightly return the embrace. "Shampoo... thank you, Ukyo. You kind girl... Shampoo can see why Ranma love you."

At those words, Ukyo suddenly blushed and let go of Shampoo as if the Chinese girl had become red hot. "Ah, don't go all mushy on me, China girl," she defensively muttered.

Nabiki just shook her head, commenting in a mock lamentation, "Why can't you three just swap haircare tips like regular girls?"

"...As it so happens, I have been curious about something myself. Ladies, do you think I should start growing my hair out longer?" Kodachi interjected.

"Oh, come on!" Nabiki scoffed incredulously.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," Kodachi confessed, grinning. "But I was actually serious... I'm not sure if this look really suits me any more..."

As the three rivals began to discuss the pros and cons of long hair, with Nabiki occasionally chiming in with her own opinions when she felt it warranted, a strange peace settled over the bathroom. None of the girls knew what impact this strange conversation would have on their future... and yet, at the same time, each privately felt as if a great burden had been eased from her shoulders.

---

Later still...

---

'...Maybe I was too hard on them...'

That thought kept rolling around and around inside Ranma's head, leaving him tossing and turning on his bed. Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly through his nose, trying to wrestle with the unfamiliar and uncomfortable emotions washing over him.

'Let's be honest; they do need to get better... but I was still mostly aiming to punish them for last night. Well, it's like I said, we're stuck out here as pirates now, we can't afford to be scrapping like animals over stupid stuff like romance!'

He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to bury his head in his pillow, but the thoughts just wouldn't stop coming.

'...But why did I take last night so hard? Compared to how they acted in Nerima, last night was practically the picture of civility! So why does it bug me so much?!'

'...Because I expected better of them...'

Ranma wriggled like a fish on a hook at the unwelcome thought, but he couldn't escape it.

'...It was easier, back in Nerima. Shampoo an' Kodachi were the crazy girls, an' Ucchan was still just that foul-mouthed little punk I knew ten years ago but bigger. But... they ain't that anymore. I've gotten to know them, to know the real them.'

'An... I like the real them. Shampoo gets it when it comes to martial arts; she loves to get better, just like me. She's got these crazy stories from her village, an' they're fun to listen to. Ucchan is... well, she's Ucchan, but she's more than the Ucchan I knew. She likes mecha anime, horror movies, and action flicks from America. She almost joined a biker club a couple of years ago... I never knew that! And Kodachi... she's a whole nother person to who I thought she was! She's smarter than I ever thought, an' she's nicer, too. And, for whatever reason, she actually likes me. I mean, they all like me, but Ucchan and Shamps kind of have to, since we're engaged an' all. Kodachi just thinks I'd be a great boyfriend...'

Twisting back over onto his back, Ranma sighed hugely.

'An' that's why last night sucked so hard. They've been getting on so well, I was starting to forget how they acted back in Nerima. I mean, they were never really that much worse than Akane, but here... they were just so much nicer. I was starting to think we could really be friends...'

'...Hell with it. Maybe, just maybe, I was starting to think we could be more than friends...'

'...Boy, Ranma Saotome, you sure got some luck, don't you? Or maybe it's just that Akane was right all along... you are an idiot...'

'...Somebody's in my room...'

Paranoia flaring to life, especially considering that he hadn't sensed whoever had snuck into his room until he'd heard the springs on his mattress (a luxury gifted to him as the ship's captain) squeak, Ranma's eyes snapped open and he shot upright.

...He nearly had a heart attack as he realized that the four girls from Nerima were all in his bedroom. Shampoo and Kodachi, in fact, were sitting on his bed to either side of him, which had been what finally alerted him.

"Nihao, airen," Shampoo purred, smiling seductively.

"Wh-What are you girls doing here?!" Ranma demanded, trying to squash his nervousness. He'd had nightmares that had opened with this very set up...

...Of course, he'd had some dreams with this same setup that went in completely different directions, but when did he have that kind of luck?

"We came to say that we were sorry, Ranma darling," Kodachi replied from the other side of the bed, causing Ranma to twist on the spot like an eel to face her... an act he regretted when he saw the sultry pout adorning her face.

"Yeah, Ranchan - we talked it over and, well, we realized just what a bunch of jerks we've been about this whole engagement mess. You were right; we shouldn't be fighting each other over it, not when there's so many dangers in this world," Ukyo interjected.

"You... You agree that I'm right?" Ranma asked cautiously, his natural optimism trying to flare to the surface despite his efforts to stamp it down.

"Yes. Airen wanting to keep us safe. We understand that. We promise; no more fighting over Ranma like we do in Nerima," Shampoo assured him, trying to snuggle closer to Ranma and press herself against his arm.

Ranma promptly tried to wriggle away from her, only to find himself hemmed in by Kodachi. "Wuh-Well, I'm glad to hear that! Buh-But what are you doing...?"

"Well, Ranchan, we did agree to stop fighting over you... but that doesn't mean we're giving up on you, either," Ukyo explained, trying to look seductive, but being undermined by the fact she was blushing beet red.

"I don't - how?" Ranma spluttered, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening.

"I believe actions speak louder than words in this case... Ukyo, dear? Would you care to go first? Your claim is the oldest of ours, after all..." Kodachi purred mischievously.

Icy fingers danced up and down Ranma's spine, every danger-predicting instinct he had suddenly screaming in his brain. Before he could move, however, Shampoo and Kodachi suddenly pounced, seizing his arms in deceptively steely grips.

"Hey, what the?! C'mon, girls, this isn't funny! Ucchan, what are you-?!"

Ranma's voice failed him as Ukyo reached out and gently touched his cheek. He stared up at her, confused, as she looked at him through hooded eyes, cheeks flushed and breathing fast.

"Ucchan...?" he murmured, curiosity and confusion overwhelming him.

Suddenly, Ukyo bent forward, and the next thing Ranma knew, her lips were pressing against his own. It was an awkward, fumbling kiss, but full of passion and determination. Ranma could practically taste the raw emotion pouring out of Ukyo and into his own mouth, his every sense suddenly lighting up as his whole body seemed to devote itself to imprinting Ukyo's essence into his brain.

And then, as suddenly as it happened, Ukyo broke the kiss and stepped away, redder than he'd ever seen her, but also looking strangely triumphant. The speechless Ranma stared at her, until Shampoo suddenly spoke up from beside him.

"Not bad... but let Shampoo show you how it done!"

Brain still scrambled, Ranma was helpless to resist as Shampoo gently yet firmly cupped his chin and turned his face in her direction, pouncing for his lips the instant they came into view. True to her words, there was no hesitation or uncertainty in this kiss - just pure confidence, and raw, lustful passion. It was like the Kiss of Marriage all over again as the Chinese Amazon devoured any hints of resistance with a wave of pure desire, as if she were a huli jing determined to suck Ranma dry of his yin...

And then, like Ukyo before her, Shampoo broke the kiss as suddenly as she had initiated it. She was panting for breath from the sheer emotion of her liplock, her cheeks dusted faintly crimson and her eyes glazed with joy, but she still managed to give Ranma a cocky smirk.

"And now, as the Westerners say, the best has been saved for last..." Kodachi crooned in Ranma's ear, her hand cupping his chin.

Helplessly, being frankly too disorientated to resist, Ranma let Kodachi do as she pleased, turning to face her. To his surprise, the kiss she gave him was surprisingly gentle; sweet and tender, a far cry from what he would have expected the normally passionate and driven Kuno heiress. She broke the soft lock of their lips and gently stroked his cheek, looking him in the eyes with a gaze filled with adoration, before she reluctantly shifted away from him.

"And now, my darling, the game of love begins in earnest! We accept that only you can name the winner... but don't keep us waiting too long..."

Kodachi slid off of Ranma's bed, joining Shampoo and the still blushing Ukyo before the three walked away - not exactly arm in arm, but not fighting either. They slipped out through the door and it closed behind them, leaving just Ranma alone in his room once again.

Ranma simply stared at the now-shut door. Then, finally, he found his words once more.

"...What the hell just happened?!"

"I rather thought it was obvious," Nabiki mockingly mused aloud, before giggling as Ranma let out a yelp of shock and fell off the bed.

"Where did you come from?!" he demanded from where he was lying face-down on the floor.

"I'd say I was hurt that you didn't remember me, but after what just happened, I'm honestly impressed that you even remember who I am," Nabiki teasingly observed.

Ranma clawed his way back to his feet, then judged them too treacherous for the moment and sat heavily back down on the edge of his bed.

"I still wanna know just what the heck that was supposed to be!" He complained, looking squarely at Nabiki.

The eldest of the Nerimans shrugged lazily. "Pretty much what it looked like. They wanted to prove they were going to stop fighting each other whenever one of them said or did something romantic. Also, they wanted to all be on level ground, since only Shampoo had managed to score a kiss with the real you before."

"O...kay. Oh, man, now what am I gonna do?" Ranma moaned, taking his head between his hands.

"Isn't this a win for you? I mean, you can't seriously tell me you enjoyed having to walk on eggshells whenever you might be inclined to say or do something nice..." Nabiki pointed out.

"Of course I didn't! But... ugh, this just makes things even more complicated!" Ranma groaned, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

Nabiki eyed him thoughtfully, studying her captain and one-time fiance before delicately sitting down beside him. "...Can I ask you some questions, Ranma? I promise, this won't go any further than the two of us..."

Ranma looked at her, visibly surprised, but then slowly nodded. "Alright... what's up?"

"When's the last time you thought about Akane?" Nabiki asked him, looking him in the eyes as she did so.

Ranma flinched, twitching away and unable to meet her gaze. "Uh... um..."

"It's been a while, then," Nabiki observed calmly and matter of factly.

"I... yeah," Ranma finally confessed, hanging his head.

"Well, really, it's no surprise. She's not here, and they are. And, much as I love my sister, I have to admit, she always was a little quick to discard you, wasn't she?"

"You can say that again... I can still see her literally slapping that gift tag on me and tellin' you to just take me,'' Ranma muttered sourly.

Nabiki blinked in surprise on hearing that. "You... remember that so clearly?"

"You'd be surprised what I remember, and how often," Ranma replied.

Unnoticed by Ranma, Nabiki delicately moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, casting her own memory back to the start of their brief engagement. In particular, those brief moments when Ranma had saved her... if she concentrated just a little, she could still feel the heat of his body on her skin, the perversely gentle strength of his arms as they wrapped around her and kept her safe. A shiver ran down her spine, but she squelched it, pushing ahead with her next question.

"Ranma? What...What do you think of me?" She asked, quietly.

Ranma looked at her with naked confusion and surprise. "...Why do you wanna know?"

"Just answer the question," she shot back, mentally cursing at allowing her emotions to leak through.

Ranma studied her, and she boldly let him look, refusing not to hint at being unnerved by the fiercely scrutinizing gaze he swept over her. "I... well, you're not a simple girl. But... I don't hate you, if that's what you're wondering about."

"You just don't like me, hm?" Nabiki responded, trying to put a casual flippancy in the observation.

"Don't go puttin' words in my mouth! I don't like some of the games you pull, yeah, but... you're more than just that part of you. Honestly, you're actually kind of fun when you don't feel like being a greedy jerk. You're smart, you know good jokes and games, you know so much about stuff that I never really was much good at... I mean, I dunno why all the guys at Furinkan were so gaga over Akane; you got brains and looks, they should have been chasing after you!" Ranma declared bluntly.

Nabiki's traitorous heart chose to skip a beat at the compliment, a very unfamiliar tingling sensation in her cheeks. Pushing it firmly down, she spoke again, saying, "If that's the case... did you hate it, when we were engaged?"

Ranma looked at her in surprise, then slowly shook his head. "No... not really. I mean, I didn't like how you sold me off to all those jerks at school, and I've never liked you selling photos of me, but... honestly? If it hadn't been all some kind of sick game to get back at Akane? I... probably would have stayed engaged to you..."

Nabiki started; that had definitely not been what she had expected to hear! As she tried to mentally reboot after the sheer bombshell that had been dropped on her, Ranma gave her an intense look.

"Alright, I gotta know - what's with you? Why are you asking me this?" he demanded.

Still shaken by Ranma's revelation, Nabiki bluntly responded, "The girls said that they'd let me join in courting you, if I wanted..."

Ranma promptly fell off the bed again, his skull bouncing off the floor with an audible crack. He didn't even seem to register the pain, instead staring up at Nabiki with wide, almost terrified-looking eyes. She stared coolly back down at him, until finally Ranma's face split in a nervous grin.

"Oh, I get it, you're joking! Haha, good one, Nabiki, you sure had me going!" He let out a crazed cackle to emphasize the 'humor' of her statement.

"And just what makes you think it's a joke?" Nabiki asked, trying to sound flippant but unable to prevent a tinge of irritation from coloring the words.

"W-We both know I'm not your type! I mean, you wouldn't kuh-kiss me if your life and ten million yen depended on it!" Ranma babbled, still staring up at her.

Nabiki allowed herself to smirk and giggled softly. "Oh, Ranma, you really don't need to be so hard on yourself... you're not that terrible a catch..."

She stepped off of the bed and casually saunted towards Ranma, who scrambled backwards on all fours to get away from her.

"To be fair, I haven't decided if I'll accept their offer yet... I need time to think about it," Nabiki proclaimed.

"Wh-Why would you even think of saying yes?!" Ranma blurted out.

"Maybe because family honor dictates I should try, seeing as I'm the only Tendo girl present now? Or maybe, just maybe, because I could do a lot worse than you?" Nabiki flippantly pondered, shrugging and smiling.

"But there's no need to rush... not yet, anyway. So I think I'll let you guess my answer... night-night, Ranma..."

She blew Ranma a kiss in a gesture at once affectionate and teasing, casting him a final wink before she sauntered towards the door. Each step she took was purposeful and deliberate, adding a sway to her hips that left Ranma helpless but to follow her before she disappeared, leaving him alone in the darkness of his room once more.

Once he was certain that he was alone, Ranma laid his head on the floor and sighed hugely.

"...That settles it. I don't care if I'm stuck with this stupid curse for a hundred years; I will never understand girls!" he lamented.

---

The next day...

---

It was once again a beautiful sunny day, and with no other ships visible on the horizon, Ranma had declared it to be another training day. So it was that Harumi found himself working on a less than familiar set of exercises; lifting weights.

Even though Ranma had conceded that Harumi's style would always call for speed over strength, he had pointed out that more raw might was always useful, and the ship's newest recruit had conceded the point. So it was that he was hoisting away at the makeshift weights he had been provided until his arms burned and the sweat ran in rivers down his face, stinging his eyes. As the fatigue built up, Harumi bowed to the needs of his body and allowed the weights to rest heavily on the deck.

"Not bad, Harumi! You're really working at it!"

The young Femille exile's heart thudded against his chest, and he looked up (way up) at the beaming face of Miriam. He swallowed the lump that had somehow formed in his throat and did his best to smile demurely at her.

"It's nothing fancy, of course, but it's something new. We don't focus much on strength training on Femille," he explained gently.

"Well, if you want some pointers, I'd be happy to share! I do more than my fair share of weight-lifting, as you can tell!" The grinning wotan chuckled, flexing an arm and making the muscles in it ripple like waves on the sea. Then her grin faded and she pouted in dismay. "Probably not as much as I should," she conceded with a sigh, patting her rounded stomach gently with one hand.

'Don't say something flirty! Girls hate guys who get too aggressive, they think it's creepy!' Harumi mentally scolded himself. Mind racing, he tried for a more neutral response.

"I'm more than happy to listen to an expert. Do many girls on your island train in such a manner?"

Miriam just shook her head. "Nah... I mean, yeah, a lot of the girls back home have at least a little muscle - we're an island of farmers, fisherfolk and shipwrights, we work with our hands a lot. But I'm kind of a special case... I had to work for what I have, not just sit on my butt and let natural talent do all the heavy lifting."

"I think that's very admirable," Harumi replied, then bit his tongue. 'Going too fast there!'

Miriam didn't seem bothered by the comment. She just smiled and chuckled softly. "Well, that's nice of you to say."

'...Huh. Maybe I'm being a little too cautious?' Harumi wondered, staring up at the gigantic shark-girl. Before he could test that theory any further, however...

CRACK-KOOM!

The sudden clap of thunder was the only warning anyone on the Stormbringer received before the once-clear sky suddenly grew black with clouds and began dumping rain in a virtually solid blanket of liquid wetness that slammed into those standing on the deck like a weight dropped from above. Even the amphibious Miriam cursed the sudden deluge, whilst from his little room in the crow's nest, Umok could be heard beeping like a telegraph with the hiccups as he attempted to swear around his anti-profanity curse.

"Stupid Grand Line weather! Miriam, Harumi, Umok, get the sails! Shampoo, the engine room! We're gonna have to try and make a run for it! The rest of you, secure the lines!"

Ranma's orders rang out, clear as a bell even over the thunder and wind, and the Kamikaze Pirates scrambled to obey. Harumi abandoned his weights and was about to make for the shrouds and ratlines, when he realized Miriam was still standing in place. He paused, and watched as she speculatively glanced from the rigging to him, before a toothy smirk split her face.

"Fancy a shortcut, little guy?" she suggested, stooping and extending her hand, palm up, in Harumi's direction.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what the wotan had in mind, and Harumi didn't hesitate for a second.

"Allez hop!" he cried, and leapt into the air, landing nimbly on Miriam's hand even as she surged forward. Her long, powerful legs ate up the distance in a few steps, and as she raised her hand skyward, another swift hop saw Harumi landing squarely in the rigging. Whilst Miriam began working at the lowest sails, he scrambled up to the higher ones with the speed of a jungle monkey in the canopy, and soon was working in tandem to stow the sails before the wind could tear them to bits.

Meanwhile, down in the engine room, Shampoo cracked her neck and her knuckles as she stared down the contraption that Kodachi had assured her would convert pedal power into propulsion for their ship.

"Well, this seems as good a time as any to inaugurate this contraption!" Shampoo muttered to herself in her native tongue. She shifted into her hybrid zoan form, then launched herself at the wheel, grabbing the nearest spoke before shoving it with all her considerable might.

Gears whirred and spun, slowly at first, then with increasing speed as the Amazon began to spin the central gear shaft with ever-increasing speed. Motion carried through the network of machinery until it reached the propellers hidden under the ship's stern, which whirred into furious life.

Up on the deck, those battling the storm couldn't see the fruits of Shampoo's labors, but they could certainly feel them as the Stormbringer suddenly lurched forward, then began to power through the heaving waves under its Amazonian propulsion.

"What the devil is going on?!" Miriam yelped, nearly tumbling backward at the completely unnatural movement of the ship before she grabbed onto the rigging to stabilize herself.

Kodachi's triumphant laughter rang out even above the fury of the storm. "That, my dear Miriam, is our secret weapon! The glorious device you labored so hard to install - a tool that frees us of the need to rely on the mercy of wind and waves!"

"You mean that's what we were doing with all those gears and things? Incredible..." the wotan declared.

"Yeah, technology's great, but we're not outta the damn storm yet!" Ranma angry voice thundered from where the genderbent captain was yanking angrily on the ship's steering wheel. "Kodachi, come help me steer this thing!"

---

That evening...

---

Ranma sat at the ship's heavily laden dining table, male once more, and sighed hugely. "Goddamn, I hate storms... but you guys all pulled through. You did a damn good job. I'm proud of you..."

"I'm pleased that I proved my worth, Captain Saotome! I promise, I'll keep trying," a tired yet proud Harumi announced, pleased with such a positive reaction to his trial by fire - or, in this case, trial by storm.

Shampoo, still in hybrid form, stretched hugely and yawned loudly. "Shampoo so tired... propellers smart idea, but running engine too-too hard work..."

She leaned over until she was resting almost entirely against Ranma, looking into his face with her most seductively doey-eyed expression.

"Airen help Shampoo? Rub Shampoo's feet, maybe?" She cooed, ears tilting in a way that strangely helped to make her look more adorable.

Ranma blushed at the blatant flirtation. "Ah! Um... well..."

Kodachi's loud but comparatively gentle laugh cut him off further. "Oh-hohohoho! With feet as large as yours, dear, I fear my darling Ranma will need an assistant! May I volunteer my services, dearie? I promise you, I know all kinds of massage techniques..."

The smoldering look she cast Ranma's way only made her captain's blush deepen.

Harumi took in the tableau with a bemused expression, especially when Ranma suddenly jolted as Kodachi stretched out just so and brushed her foot against his thigh. Emboldened by the adrenaline still lingering in his veins, he gently reached out and nudged Miriam in the side.

"...Do they seem a little... strange... to you?" he whispered once the wotan had cocked her head his way.

Miriam just snorted. "I've only been on this ship a week longer than you have, and I still don't understand them. I mean, I didn't even know any of them were engaged until the day before yesterday! But... yeah, they do seem a little less... I dunno, tense?"

Ryoga rolled his eyes and sneered, loudly noting, "Are you going to let them just fawn all over you, Ranma? You're putting me off my dinner here!"

Ranma glared at her, but surprisingly it was Nabiki who spoke up in response to Ryoga's words.

"Yes, well, maybe you'd have had a girlfriend too if you'd been man enough to ask her like a normal guy instead of pretending to be her pet so you could sneak into her bed," she jeered.

Ryoga visibly winced at her words, flushing in embarrassment before waving his hands in protest. "I - It wasn't like that! I was protecting her from Ranma and the old pervert!"

"Oh, please. The one time Ranma went near Akane's bedroom, it was to try and get you out. And you started up the P-chan thing long before Happosai darkened our doorstep," Nabiki coldly shot back.

"I can't believe I actually kind of rooted for you and Akane," Ukyo interjected, throwing a disdainful look at Ryoga that made him visibly wilt in his seat.

"Wait, you did?" a visibly startled Nabiki turned to Ukyo, an action mimicked by the rest of the crew.

"I mean, I admit I had some ulterior motives, but she really seemed to like Ryoga when I hung around with her - you should have heard what she said about him back in the Cursed Tunnel of Lost Love! She couldn't stop badmouthing Ranma unless it was to sing Ryoga's praises..."

Ukyo scowled at the very memory, but then brightened up. "But I should have known she had lousy taste in men! Who else but Akane would pick Ryoga over Ranchan?"

"You know that as her big sister I should be defending her," Nabiki dryly pointed out.

"And yet I don't hear you doing so," Kodachi interjected.

Harumi and Miriam were watching everything with wide eyes and open ears, drinking in every little hint of their crewmates' previous lives.

"This sounds just like one of those cheesy romantic drama serials they post in the pulpies... you know, the ones where you need to take notes to keep track of the alliances, betrayals, loves and hates?" Harumi noted.

"You read those too?" Miriam asked in surprise.

"They're quite popular on Femille; I used to read several, but I particularly enjoyed Young Guns of G-69," Harumi wistfully recalled.

"Oh, I read that one! I preferred Blood & Brine on Arkham Street, myself," Miriam said, smiling to herself.

"Isn't that the one with the forbidden romance angle between humans and fishmen?" a surprised swordsman observed.

"Yes! I thought it was terribly romantic," Miriam sighed longingly... then blushed as she realized what she'd just said. "Ah-Anyway! Let's eat, I'm starving - fighting storms takes a lot out of you!"

She quickly snatched up a whole fish and began tearing into it like a starving shark, a sight that startled the rest of her crew into quickly joining the feeding frenzy, lest they be left out.

---

Two days later...

---

Shampoo steadily paced in circles around Harumi, the hybrid-form zoan's toe-claws clicking gently on the deck as she moved. As she walked, she studied her impromptu student from head to toe, slowly analyzing every square inch of him as he held his swords out at arm's length.

"Hmm... Your form quite good, as far as Shampoo can tell..."

Kodachi, who was circling the hapless Harumi on the opposite side, nodded thoughtfully. "Yes... good poise, perfect balance, tight grip without too much tension..."

Their student dared to look hopeful. "You mean that?"

"Understand that there are limits to how specific we can be in advising you, Harumi dear; our fighting styles are fundamentally different," Kodachi cautioned him.

"Is true. We all can dual-wield, yes, but you specialize in two-swords, when we both use one sword. Even there, you favor speed, Kodachi favor trickery, and Shampoo favor strength," the Amazon interjected, experimentally swishing her dao for emphasis.

"Still, considering the obvious starting handicap... it's remarkable how well you handle yourself. You clearly have a natural talent," Kodachi declared firmly.

One of the downsides of being so pale, as much as it might contribute to Harumi's good looks, was that it made it very easy to tell when he was blushing. "You flatter me, lady Kuno..."

"So! Stances is one thing. Combat another. You think you can stand to duel us? Or is maybe too much for now?" Shampoo asked, cautiously looking him over.

The newest Kamikaze Pirate merely smiled an inscrutable smile, before shifting his position to adopt a defensive stance. "I appreciate the concern, ladies, but if I allowed myself to be frightened of angry women, then I would not have had to flee my homeland in the first place..."

"Duly noted... very well! I shall test your mettle first, Harumi Tsukuyomi - then, if I deem you acceptable, Shampoo will prove your next opponent!" Kodachi declared, drawing her sword and her whip, the lash of the latter flickering to life like an agitated serpent as she made it dance on its handle.

Instantly, Harumi twisted about to face her, blades at the ready. Kodachi lashed out with her whip in quick succession, but each time the lash arced out, Harumi bent to one side and it sailed harmlessly past at the last moment. A flick of her wrist and the whip curled itself back around her arm for easy redeployment, even as she charged forward.

Her blade lashed out, only for Harumi to intercept each strike with his own quick blows, the clash of metal on metal ringing out across the deck. A dozen blows in quick succession, and not a one got past the new recruit's guard.

Breathing just a little harder from her efforts, Kodachi stopped and stepped back. "Capable effort... reminds me a little of fighting my darling Ranma, and more of fighting my brother..."

Harumi smiled proudly at her words. "High compliments, lady-ah!"

His polite response was cut off as Kodachi suddenly shot forward and slammed the pommel of her sword into his forehead, sending him stumbling backwards and clutching the wound now pouring crimson over his face.

"Of course, my brother would have expected that one," Kodachi added in the same light, conversational tone.

"Kodachi!" an affronted Shampoo roared.

"Enemies won't play nicely in a true battle! He needs to learn better focus, especially in the face of compliments!" The Kuno heiress protested, turning to Shampoo with an expression as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

"Shampoo think you need to learn stop needing to win every little fight," the Amazon zoan dryly retorted.

"I concur..."

The darkly dulcet tones from behind her were the only warning Kodachi had before a sword came scything through the air at her back. With all her prowess as a martial arts gymnast, she sprang to safety, twisting in midair to face her foe; Harumi, still smiling serenely even despite the blood painting his face. She had barely landed before he was upon her, and Kodachi found herself struggling to hold him at bay, her one sword pitted against his two.

The clashing of steel on steel rang out in staccato, as strike after strike flowed from the practitioner of the Crying Willow style. To give Kodachi her credit, not a blow landed on her. But still, she was kept on the defensive, and even as she retreated, Harumi pushed forward, preventing her from finding the footing she needed to rally for a counter-attack.

Inevitably, Kodachi's heel caught on one of the interminable ropes that wound their way throughout the Stormbringer's deck, and she lost her footing and hit the deck hard. Before she could spring nimbly to her feet, Harumi pounced, and she froze as the tip of his sword hovered inches above the hollow of her throat.

Looming over her, the crossdresser smiled down at her through his crimson mask. "I believe the match goes to me?"

Despite her situation, Kodachi smiled and nodded approvingly. "Ferocious. Ruthless. Driven. Yes, you may go far in your art, Harumi dear."

She blinked as Harumi suddenly withdrew his sword and extended his hand, clearly offering her a hand up. She wordlessly refused the gesture, instead rolling over backwards into a handstand that then transitioned seamlessly into her standing upright.

Harumi didn't seem offended by her actions, though, as he simply bowed politely to her. Shampoo wandered over, amusement written on her face, dao slung blunt-side over her shoulders.

"You learn fast, Harumi! Now, you fight me!"

"As you wish, lady Shampoo," Harumi said, twisting to face the Amazon zoan and adopting the same defensive position as before. Kodachi wisely stepped out of the potential field of combat.

Shampoo cracked her neck and rotated her shoulders, tapped the blunt side of her dao against her free palm, and then unceremoniously charged into the fray. Her mighty saber whipped around, and Harumi snapped his two blades into a defensive shield. The blow struck squarely against the braced swords with a mighty shriek of steel on steel... seconds before the sheer force behind the blow carried through the metal and picked the startled Harumi clean off his feet, carrying him screaming through the air and over the gunwale to land in the ocean below with a splash!

Shampoo blinked at the blank spot where her trainee had just been, and Kodachi laughed merrily.

"And you say my training methods need work!"

Shampoo blushed and tried to hide her dao behind her back.

"Ehehehe... whoopsie?" she giggled nervously.

From high above, Umok's call rang out like the voice of god yet again.

"Man overboard! Miriam, get out there and fish him out!"

---

That night...

---

The moon shone in the sky like a great pearl, surrounded by a million-million stars, the celestial lights shimmering on the inky black waters of the Grand Line as the sea gently rolled on. It was, in its own way, a beautiful sight... which was small comfort to Harumi as he marched idly across the Stormbringer's decks.

'...I understand that it's a vital role... but I must admit, I'm not thrilled to be selected as night watchman... Ah, well; it's a sign of trust, right? They wouldn't assign me the job if they didn't expect me to do it right? Still... so boring... wait, who's that!?'

Spotting a figure leaning against the gunwale, Harumi's hands went instinctively to the hilts of his blades and he advanced, calling on his hard-earned skills of speed and stealth to advance under the cover of darkness. Before he could launch his attack, however the figure shifted in the moonlight and revealed their face.

'Wait, that's the captain!'

Indeed, Ranma Saotome was the one leaning over the gunwale and staring into the dark seas. Harumi immediately released his swords and came to a stop a respectful distance away. Ranma was so distracted he didn't even notice until Harumi called out to him.

"Good evening, captain..."

Ranma let out a wordless yelp, jumping away from the gunwale as if it had suddenly burned him, hands twisting into what Harumi guessed were warding gestures and arms shifting into a defensive posture, eyes wide with shock. "What?! Oh! It's you, Harumi..."

"Forgive me, captain, I had no intention to intrude," Harumi declared, bowing his head.

"What? No, no, just clearing my head," Ranma assured him, taking up his former place at the gunwale and waving a hand dismissively.

Silence fell back over the two, before Harumi gently spoke up again. "Woman troubles, my captain?"

Ranma turned a shocked expression at his newest crewmate. "Wha?! How did - I mean, what gave you that impression?"

"Forgive me, captain... but, for all that I have only known you for a few days, it is clear to me that your romantic ties with the ladies of the crew are akin to a floating log full of boreworms," Harumi bluntly responded.

"...Not gonna unpack that one... but... yeah, it's the girls," Ranma sighed, looking back over the sea once more.

Harumi waited patiently, and after a few moments of silence, Ranma slowly spoke up again.

"...I never really had any girlfriends when I was young. Pops an' me moved around too much. Then, one day, he drags me to this town called Nerima and tells me I've gotta get married to some girl I'd never even heard of - the daughter of his old training buddy, Soun Tendo."

"And that is how you met Nabiki?" Harumi asked, mostly out of obligation.

"Yeah... an' also her sisters, Kasumi and Akane. And Akane was picked as my fiancee, because Kasumi and Nabiki didn't take the whole 'turning into a girl' thing all that well," Ranma scowled at old, clearly painful memories.

"You miss her," Harumi stated patiently.

"That's the weird thing... I know I should... but I don't. I mean, not really? Yeah, we were engaged, and she was my friend... but we fought so damn much! She never trusted me, not like she trusted Ryoga! An' whenever we fought, usually, I got hit. She was a short-tempered tomboy with the muscles of a gorilla and the patience of a warthog! But... she wasn't all bad, y'know? She could be kind, and fun to hang out with... and sometimes, just sometimes, she could actually be pretty cute..."

Ranma sighed forlornly.

"Captain... Ranma... do you even like the girls on this ship? Ladies Kodachi, Shampoo, Ukyo and Nabiki?" Harumi asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

"Well... I mean, I never used to hate them, but..." Ranma mumbled.

"But nothing. It's a simple question; yes or no, do you like them?" Harumi insisted.

"...Yeah, I like them. Being on this cruise together, I've seen parts of them I never knew before... or maybe I just didn't want to admit I saw them..." Ranma confessed.

"Then, I'm sorry, but what's the problem? They like you, you like them, why not go for it?" the confused crossdressed queried.

"Because it ain't that simple! I mean, how am I supposed to pick one? Yeah, it helps that they've promised they'll stop trying to rip each other apart if they think I'm favoring one, but even if I trust their words, still, how do I pick?" Ranma demanded, whirling to face Harumi in exasperation.

"Why are you asking me?" Harumi protested instinctively.

"Well, who else would I talk to? You're the only other guy on the ship besides Ryoga, an' whilst Ryoga's a buddy, he's not the kind of pal I can talk about girls with, so that leaves you," Ranma snorted.

Harumi could only blink and stare at that declaration, turning Ranma's words over in his mind.

'That's... wow, that's both an honor and very sad. I wish I could help you, but what advice could I give? I've only ever loved from afar - I haven't even found the courage to begin attempting to court Miriam, presuming she would even be interested in the likes of me! Whatever should I say?!'

'...Wait. What's that sound?'

A glint of moon on metal in the corner of his eye was all the warning Harumi had. He cried out a warning to Ranma, but his captain was already in motion, leaving the exile from Femille to leap to safety as a series of throwing daggers plunged through the air and sank deep into the gunwale where they had both been standing.

"Who are you?!" Harumi cried, swords leaping to his hands, rattling slightly in his inexperience as chagrin flared in his mind.

Poised on a lower mast was their assailant; a coldly beautiful young girl who couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen, with pale skin, blonde hair woven into two long tails, and icy blue eyes. Clad in a black greatcoat, a large katana-shaped sword was strapped to her back, whilst bandoliers of throwing daggers adorned her chest, hugging her surprisingly ample figure.

"Pirate scum, prepare to be purged! The moon watches over your misdeeds, and weeps for the sins you have committed - and I am her wrath, sent to punish you!"

"Oh, great... are you supposed to be cosplaying Sailor Moon or Vampire Hunter D?" Ranma complained, giving their attacker an exasperated look.

"Silence, scum! Deadly Sword Technique..."

She leapt into the air, drawing her sword from her back and swinging it around in that same motion into a horizontal strike so powerful it turned her into a whirling buzzsaw blade aimed squarely at Ranma.

"Hunter's Moon!"

The sudden sharp shriek of steel on steel split the once-still air as Harumi threw himself in the attacker's way, catching her blade on his own paired swords. The impact sent him skidding backwards, despite his efforts to brace, but he at least managed to keep himself afoot even as his attacker broke the clinch and skipped backwards.

"If you want my captain, you'll have to go through me!" Harumi declared, launching himself at the woman.

His swords sang through the air, but she nimbly dodged or deflected his every strike. When she counterattacked, Harumi likewise evaded and blocked her blows, ensuring a stalemate. Back and forth they traded attacks, until Harumi's foe suddenly leapt backwards, putting some distance between the two of them.

"Hmph! You have some meager skill, I admit! I don't normally need to use this move on just any pirate... Deadly Sword Technique...!"

She held her sword vertically upthrust as she spoke, then swept it down to the ground, the light of the moon tracing a crescent arc as she shifted it in her hands.

"Oh no you don't!" Harumi cried, shooting forward and thrusting his katana forward as he hurtled towards her. However, rather than being deflected or dodged as he anticipated, his blade bit deep into the foe's heart, skewering her unresisting form cleanly.

'No! I didn't mean! You weren't! Wait, what?!'

Harumi's horror at dealing the killing blow was washed away by confusion as the stranger melted away like morning mist, leaving nothing around his sword but thin air.

"Phantom Moon!"

Realization slammed into the crossdressing swordsman's brain like a thunderbolt, bringing with it a new surge of horror. He twisted around and saw the stranger in the air above him, blade clutched in both her hands as she descended, intent on delivering her own killing blow. He heaved on his sword hilts, but his blades felt like lead weights, the whole world moving in slow motion...

'Not going to make it! Is this how it ends?!'

"I don't think so, lady!"

Ranma's furious voice split the night air, even as he came hurtling through the air in a rising kick that struck Harumi's would-be assailant like a thunderbolt, knocking her flying so hard that she crashed into the deck and bounced, rolling painfully over the deck until she hit some empty barrels and came to a crashing stop, disappearing under splintered planks.

Cartwheeling so rapidly that the air hissed at his passage, Ranma came to a more graceful landing on the deck in front of Harumi.

"You okay, kid?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder before snapping his attention back to the piles of wreckage where their attacker had been buried.

"Yes, thanks to you... I'm sorry, Captain," Harumi replied quickly.

"Eh, you get better with practice," Ranma nonchalantly replied.

The shattered barrels suddenly went flying as the girl erupted from beneath with a scream of fury, before turning a livid expression on the Kamikaze Pirates. "That was a cheap shot!"

"You snuck onto my ship and attacked me in the middle of the night, you're one to talk!" Ranma jeered back.

"Enough! You may have some talent for a nameless pirate scrub, but I will defeat you!" She snarled... then screamed like a little girl as an anchor suddenly shot right past her head like the world's biggest, most awkwardly shaped spear.

It hung in midair for a moment, quivering at the end of its chain, and then was snapped back the way it came, sending the mysterious girl diving for the deck as its bladed tines scythed through the air where she had been standing. The shaft slapped meatily into Miriam's palm as she deftly snatched it up in mid flight, chainlinks clinking against each other. And the wotan wasn't alone.

"To use the vernacular... You and what army, dearie?" Kodachi jeered, before bursting out into one of her iconic peals of mad delight.

Behind her, the rest of the crew visibly bristled for a fight. Ukyo twirled her battle spatula, whilst Shampoo extended her hybrid-form's claws and raked at the air. Even Ryoga was there, cracking his neck and hefting his umbrella with menacing purpose.

The nameless would-be assassin scrambled to her feet, visibly paling at the sight of Ranma's whole crew assembled before her.

"I... very well! You live this night, but mark my words, I will return for your heads! The moon demands nothing less!"

That said, she turned and sprinted for the gunwale, vaulting it and disappearing over the side. The Kamikaze Pirates chased after her, and when they looked over the side of the ship, they saw the girl had landed in a small sailboat, which she was desperately piloting away from the Stormbringer.

"I'll get her," Miriam announced, dropping her anchors on the deck and muscles coiling as she prepared to leap off the ship and into the ocean.

"Nah, don't bother! She's gone, and nobody got hurt. Besides, what would we even do with her, anyway?" Ranma asked.

"What was that all about, anyway?" Ryoga demanded.

"Probably just some random bounty hunter... we saw lots of those coming through Shay-Lot," Miriam observed, even as she picked her anchors back up.

"Strange woman... never even gave us her name," Harumi noted.

"Ah, well, it's not like she'll ever bother us again," Ranma dismissively noted.

---

Another two days later...

---

Nabiki stared sourly into the brazier standing before her, the dancing flames seeming almost to mock her in their motions. Through the swirling fire, she could make out the forms of chestnuts nestled amongst the coals and ash like jewels, begging to be plucked.

'...Stupid Ranma. This is impossible! How is any sane person supposed to do this? ...No, no, stop it, Nabiki! You know that the more you believe you can't do it, the harder it is to succeed! If you're going to learn this move, you have to believe you can learn it! Okay, deep breaths...'

She closed her eyes and began to slowly inhale and exhale, breathing deeply and rhythmically, calling on every meditative exercise her father had taught her and that Ranma had tried to pass on, letting the calmness build in her heart before seeping out through her veins, filling her limbs and mind.

'How's that koan go? Look with the mind, not the eyes... don't think; feel - don't ponder; do...'

Opening her eyes, she stared into the flame once more, reaching deep within for the power that she knew abstractly was there, fumbling for the spiritual energies that her crewmates tapped so casually...

And then, all of a sudden, something seemed to click...

Like something out of an OAV, time slowed to a crawl around her, the constant noise of the ship dulling to a distant murmur. The individual flames danced for her, and she realized that she could see where her fingers could join the dance. She reached out...

And then time snapped back into place, and she realized her unburned hands were held in front of her, palms filled with hot chestnuts. She stared at them incredulously, before a laugh forced its way out of her stunned mouth.

"I...I did it? I did it. I did it!"

She burst out laughing, cheering wildly as she pumped her nut-filled hands at the sky, mouth running independently of her brain as surprise, triumph, incredulity, pride and delight short-circuited her normal attitude.

"Eat that, all of you! I did it! I learned the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

"Congratulations, Nabiki!"

Nabiki shrieked in shock, flinging up her hands and sending chestnuts flying, before she realized that her antics had drawn the rest of the refugees from Nerima to her side.

"Well, color me impressed - who would have thought you had it in you?" Ryoga commented flippantly.

"Shampoo admit it, Nabiki do good job," the Chinese Amazon conceded, nodding in begrudging respect.

"In only six days, no less. I suppose that your family must have some talent for the martial arts... which makes sense, considering the arrangement," Kodachi mused.

"I'll be more impressed if she starts joining us in the front line now," Ukyo flatly declared.

Nabiki cast a sour look at the ship's chef, who stared unrepentantly back at her, then glanced over at Ranma. "So, am I done training now?"

"That's largely up to you. With the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken under your belt, you should be fast enough now to run from or beat up on any navy or pirate jerks who slip past us, but there's always a higher tier. You really do got some talent for martial arts, Nabiki, you could get pretty good if you put your mind to it," Ranma pointed out.

"You really think so?" a surprised Nabiki asked, unable to help herself.

"The Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken ain't the most complicated training method in the world, but it ain't a cakewalk to master, either! And yeah, you've been training under us for weeks now, but still, to get it in only six days? You got natural talent!" Ranma insisted.

Nabiki looked at her hand as if she'd never seen it before, taking in the burns adorning her once-pristine skin, before slowly curling it into a fist. "I...I'm not a fighter. That's not my nature."

"Or maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit... but, we can't force you to get better," Ranma told her.

"Oh, we totally could, but we not going to," Shampoo cheerfully interjected.

"Gee, thanks," Nabiki sarcastically observed. Glancing past her colleagues from Nerima, she frowned as she saw something unusual. "What's Harumi doing over there?"

As it turned out, Harumi was currently talking to what looked like a very large seagull... a seagull wearing a strange white hat, and with a bag slung over his shoulder. As the intrigued Nerimans walked closer, the crossdressing swordsman stuffed some money into a pouch slung around the bird's neck and offered it a dried fish leftover from breakfast, which it gratefully accepted before handing him a large sheet of something and flying away.

"Yo, Harumi! What was that?" Ranma called, causing their newest crewmember to turn to face him.

"Just a News Coo, captain. I took the liberty of getting a fresh paper, I hope you don't mind?" Harumi asked, brandishing what he had received, which was clearly a fairly thick-looking old-fashioned newspaper.

"Wait, hold up - News Coo? Paper? You mean, newspaper?!" Nabiki demanded incredulously.

"Um, yes? The News Coos are the world's main distributors of print material. They all carry the World Economy News Paper by default, but they can also carry a number of other magazines, pulpies and broadsheets if you contract them...?" The confused crossdresser replied.

"You mean we could have had something to read all this time?!" The dismayed Nabiki demanded, before stomping over and snatching the paper from Harumi's grip.

"You honestly didn't know?" A puzzled Harumi asked, but was ignored as Nabiki began rapidly flicking through the broadsheet.

"News articles, sports, sell-swap-and-buy, comics... wait, what the hell are these?!" Nabiki shouted, turning the paper around and nearly shoving it into Harumi's face.

"The bounty sheets? They're exactly what they look like - all pirates who get their first bounties or who get a mark up on their bounties appear in the World Economy News - it's one of the main reasons that bounty hunters subscribe to it," Harumi explained.

"Lemme take a look at that," Ranma interjected, snatching the paper away from Nabiki before the startled girl could react.

"Hey! How'd you?!" She spluttered, only to be cut off by Shampoo's laughter.

"Nabiki just learn Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken! Airen is master! Nabiki have long way to go yet," she giggled, waving a finger in mock-scold.

"Huh... Monkey D. Luffy, bounty thirty million beries. I think I recognize this kid? Yeah, yeah, I ran into him on some no-name island, way back when we were starting out in the East Blue... man, that feels like ages ago," Ranma wistfully mused.

"Lemme have a look, sugar," Ukyo asked, stepping up and gently tugging the paper from Ranma's unresisting grasp. She flicked through the bounties section for a moment, before her eyes lit up.

"Hey, here's one for you Ranchan!"

A wordless chorus of surprise and intrigue echoed around her as the Kamikazes crowded around.

"Look, right here! Ranma Saotome, captain of the Kamikaze Pirates! Bounty; fifteen million beries!"

"What!? That Luffy boy had twice that bounty!" An affronted Kodachi declared.

"Ah, a bounty's a bounty, it's not like we've been doing anything really piratey," Ranma pointed out.

"It's the principle of the thing, darling!" Kodachi huffed indignantly.

"Hey... wait a sec, Ranchan's got two bounties?!" a surprised Ukyo announced.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah; one for his guy form, and there's this one here for his girl side," Ukyo explained, turning the paper around so they could all see it.

"Huh, must have found out about the curse? But how? ...Wait a second, why is my girl form worth twice as much as my real form?!" Ranma thundered, snatching the paper back from Ukyo.

"Huh, guess they don't know about the curse... I'm more curious about what happened to Ranma's original bounty from back in the East Blue," Ryoga observed, rubbing his chin.

"Well, that bounty was set up by that greaseball Commodore Nelson Royale, right? So maybe when he bit the big one, they got it removed to cover things up?" Ukyo suggested.

Ranma ignored the debate, still trying to bore holes in the paper with his gaze.

"Sheesh, Ranma, would you rather that the whole world know about your little genderbending problem? Nabiki asked in exasperation.

"Course not! But what'd my girl form do to deserve a bounty that high?!" He demanded.

"There was that navy ship you so spectacularly sunk with a Moko Takabisha," Kodachi observed flippantly.

"Picking a fight with my mom in public, then raiding her dojo probably wouldn't have helped much - that's kind of traditional piratey behavior there," Harumi added.

"But what about all those Marines I beat up in the East Blue! I did that as a guy!" Ranma protested.

"The East Blue?" Miriam scoffed loudly. "Everybody knows that place is the boonies! It's the weakest of the Four Blues, so the Navy uses it as a dumping ground for its dregs - all the losers, the weirdos, the perverts and weaklings, they all get shipped out to the East Blue where they can't embarrass the marines. They wouldn't take anything you did out there to be too serious if that's all you did..."

Ranma continued fuming indignantly. Nabiki rolled her eyes, but then spotted something that made her tap her lips thoughtfully.

"If it's really bothering you so much, Ranma... I might know a way you can boost your bounty..."

Ranma snapped his head in her direction so fast Nabiki would have sworn she heard his neck crack. "What?!"

Wordlessly, she held out her hand, waiting patiently for Ranma to place the paper back in her grasp. Smiling a smile that even Miriam would have called sharkish, she closed the paper and then turned the front page to them so they could see what she had seen.

"I find a good heist does wonders for raising your notoriety with the law..." she purred sweetly, grinning in dark triumph at the way Ranma's eyes lit up and the other members of the crew clustered closer to read what she had read...

---

Chapter End & Closing Notes

---

A more "slice of life-y" chapter, but, hey, it can't be all action all the time, right?

Just out of curiosity; is anybody surprised by the revelation that Harumi has a crush on Miriam? And let's just say he's going to get a better understanding of Ranma's problems before the fic is through.

Speaking of Ranma's problems... I'm not going to lie, I am immensely worried about this portion of the chapter. It's always been hard for me to judge how well I'm doing at balancing out the "onscreen downtime" vs. "uptime" ratio in my chapters, and that only compounds my existing nervousness about writing romance.

Basically, by being here in the Grand Line without Akane, our heroines have a chance to run the race for Ranma's heart from the beginning. But they've got a choice; either continue brawling at the starting line, which would let somebody else steal Ranma whilst they're distracted (and I literally had somebody on SpaceBattles note that they would have sworn I was going for a Ranma/Miriam relationship...) or grow the BLEEP up and run the race fairly. I believe they would choose the latter, if only because each is very confident that Ranma will ultimately choose her. As for Nabiki... well, I hope it's obvious, but everybody views her entry as a joke. Even she partially considers it a joke. Whether it will STAY a joke, well, we'll have to wait and see...

And since we're on the subject... yeah, if I had the courage to do a Ranma/One Piece crossover of the "Ranma ends up in the Grand Line alone and becomes a pirate", I would have probably given him a crew that is basically a replacement harem. Heck, I even tossed around a few ideas along those lines early in this story's development on SpaceBattle, such as one "bride" being basically an expy of Mio from Tsukimichi-Moonlit Fantasy. If this story ends up doing an adaptation of the Rainbow Mists filler arc, we just might see what that version of Ranma's life could have been...