STICKS AND CARROTS

Part One: Sensei

Chapter Six

                Ku Lon helped Xian Pu and the cooks in setting up their little contribution to the fair. The Ramen Vendors Association had decided to put the general onus of setting up the booth to the most successful shop (not to mention the newbies), much to the Amazon Elder's relief – she'd seen some of their plans.

                'Xian Pu as a stripper. I don't think so!'

                In fact, she was starting to feel a bit of sympathy for Akane. The average male of Nerima was… not appealing. Oh, hell – they were a bunch of perverts. The few that weren't were just too quiet. It was like a newspaper – only the bad news got the headlines.

                Ku Lon eyed the setup. Very nice, and the costumes on the assistants were a work of genius. Xian Pu would be working as the door greeter and 'hostess'; the rest would be monsters and other nasties. It was a pity that Ku Lon couldn't have gotten some genuine monsters, but one had to make do. Besides, genuine 'monsters' or magical beings were extremely shy. It would take more than a good joke to bring them in.

                'Or maybe it would simply take the right joke. I have no doubt that any number of them would probably pay red gold to have a chance to get their two yen in on the boy's life.' A thought to store for later use, actually. Some of that number were capable of teaching humans their abilities, and Ranma certainly wouldn't have much trouble accepting magical monsters – not after Jusenkyou.

                Which reminded her – she had a teishi to tease.

                "Is everybody ready?"

                "I'm ready, father,"

                The panda panted its affirmation, while thinking that maybe the cold bath to cool off before the evening fair hasn't been the best idea in the world. Who would have guessed that fur was so… hot?

                "Oh – where's Ranma-kun?"

                Nabiki fanned herself. "Probably setting fires in the garden again."

                Ranma was, indeed, in the garden next to the koi pond, squatting by a crackling fire with a bucket next to her. Scattered about were a few chestnuts she'd successfully snatched through pain and suffering. There were a lot more in the fire. Ranma looked frustrated, tired and distinctly crispy.

                Ku Lon bounced over the wall surrounding the Tendou grounds. "Well, teishi," she said, doing a remarkably good imitation of a disgustingly bubbly-chirpy tone of voice. "Have you mastered the katchuu tenshin amiguriken yet?"

                Ranma looked at her. This time there was no doubt about it – the girl growled deep in her throat and chest like a cat before speaking. "Listen, old ghoul…"

                "Lookie-lookie! Here's the Pill that will let you become a man again!" Ku Lon sing-songed, grinning widely. This was fun! At least, it would be as long as she didn't let it get out of hand. As long as she kept the spirit of the training in good fun, though, the attitude would rub off on her student. It was her professional opinion, after having Ranma under close observation for over a week now, that the girl really needed to learn how to laugh. Not the mocking or intentional laughter that she sometimes used, but genuinely laugh for the fun of it. Ranma seemed to have been suffering under a shortage of childhood.

                'And, naturally, there are those who believe I'm going into my second childhood for doing things this way. Well foo to them, too!'

                Ranma lunged and snatched at the dangling Pill, but Ku Lon gracefully glided out of the way. "Tut tut tut! You'll have to move faster than that!"

                The next moment was a repeat of hundreds of other moments that had occurred since Ku Lon received the Pill, save that it moved at a much faster rate than ever before. Not that the increased speed was particularly evident to the onlookers; Ranma had been able to move faster than the eye could follow even before Ku Lon began her speed-training regime. Once past that milestone, any additional speed was invisible.

                Finally, Ranma broke off the exchange and glared at her hands, which were covered in little red pressure-marks like stamps saying 'Reject.' "Grrrr…"

                Ku Lon smiled, pocketing her stamp while Ranma was distracted. "You're still too slow, teishi."

                Turning, she decided to drive her point home and began snatching chestnuts out of the fire, much to the astonished disbelief of Soun, who had just come out of the house. When she was done, she held out the double-handful of chestnuts with a smirk.

                She was applauded. "Old gal, that was great," Nabiki grinned, clearly delighted by the demonstration.

                "Thank you, young lady," Ku Lon said with a smile. "Which reminds me, would you care to visit our booth at the fair? It would be an honor to have you."

                "I'll think about it," the girl promised.

                "That's all I ask," Ku Lon replied. "Well then, teishi… I'll see you again – soon!"

                With those words, she sprang over the wall, once again indulging in her 'wicked old crone' laughter. "Wahahahaha!"

                The fair started officially at sunset, but people trickled inside sooner, to watch the vendors putting the final touches on their booths and to determine where they would go in order to optimize the entertainment value versus the probable crowd crush. Ku Lon was very flattered to see that the Haunted House was getting a very large crowd of prospective customers clustered around its entrance. This fair would be a nice addition to the restaurant income.

                Ku Lon bounced up onto a stone lantern and waited, occasionally smirking and scanning the crowd as they stared at her in astonished horror that quickly changed to shock as they realized that she was not a prop. 'Fun, fun, fun. This is going to be an exciting evening.'

                As she waited for the fair to officially begin, Ku Lon thought back on Ranma's failure with the amiguriken. To the pseudo-girl's credit, it wasn't through any failing of her own that she was unable to muster the speed to snatch the chestnuts before the heat of the fire burned her. Ku Lon wasn't certain if even she, with almost two centuries of constantly using the amiguriken under her belt, would be able to pull that stage of training off, not if she was also a victim of the Cat's Tongue – which specifically made one extremely sensitive to heat.

                Ku Lon knew that eventually Ranma would have to accept that she could not bear the fire long enough to snatch anything. The question was, what would Ranma do then? She was in fact looking forwards to the results. Ranma was more than creative enough to figure out an alternative training technique. The only question was, how long would it take?

                The slow trickle of people became a rush as the sun touched the horizon and the fair began. As Ku Lon had hoped, the Haunted House proved to be quite popular, and she even went inside briefly and scared the daylights out of a few customers. The staff of the Nekohanten and those of the local ramen vendors willing to briefly forsake the fair in order to help out were dressed in costumes of oni and mononoke of every shape and form. Most of the costumes looked corny, cheesy, laughable or all of the above, but some were realistic enough that even Ku Lon felt an atavistic chill. As for Xian Pu, she was dressed in full ceremonial clothing and carried an ornate lantern, welcoming their guests with a smile. Xian Pu was a crowning detail, in fact; she was cute, even beautiful, and friendly, but there was enough of the exotic about her and in the general surroundings to make the customers wonder if she was hiding something. The setting did sort of invoke that particular mindset.

                Ku Lon made a mental note to ask Xian Pu if she was willing to use her Jusenkyou curse to unnerve their guests at some point. Having the cute, friendly door-greeter simply vanish in a splash of water (or at least seem to) would probably freak them out – and afterwards, they would convince themselves that it was only special effects.

                Not long after the festival began, Ku Lon glimpsed a familiar page-boy haircut and black kimono. She waited, curious, to see what the Tendou girl would do.

                Nabiki was not actually in the line to the haunted house, although the curiosity in her face suggested that she might indeed shell out a little yen to find out what was inside. Instead, she was scanning the grounds carefully as she walked. Finally, she paused, right under Ku Lon's lantern. Before Ku Lon could do anything, Nabiki began rescanning, this time above ground level. When she saw the Matriarch, she smiled.

                "Scaring your customers, Elder?" she asked, mischief playing in her eyes.

                Ku Lon smiled back. She could easily get to like this girl. "Congratulations, child. I see that you, at least, think three-dimensionally."

                Nabiki blinked. "You're going to have to explain that one."

                "It has been my experience that few people ever think to look up when searching for something." Ku Lon hopped off the lantern and landed pogo-style on her staff.

                Nabiki grinned. "Well, it would be bad policy to let myself get caught by a trick that I've used myself, right?" She nodded to the booth. "I like your set-up. You've gone for the classical style rather than the extravagant. I wasn't sure…"

                "Xian Pu may lack in subtlety, but she is a very straightforward person, and she is young." Ku Lon shrugged. "I am sure you have noticed."

                "You're flattering, Elder. Flattery doesn't replace yen, but it sometimes lowers the price tag." Nabiki smiled, but there was a slight edge to her expression now. "Now, I believe we have finished the required preliminaries? You wanted to see me, if I recall. Why?"

                Ku Lon blinked, then laughed. "Very good, child. Yes, I did have a specific reason to speak to you, and preferably away from your family."

                "Hmmm. Well, since you seem civilized, I won't scream kidnapper." There was a little more tooth in her smile than absolutely necessary. "Which might be one reason why you'd separate me from my family. Besides, there are too many other people here. So with that possibility aside, I must assume that your intentions have something to do with a certain martial artist of our mutual acquaintance who is currently female?"

                "Precisely." Ku Lon gestured towards the side entrance that the staff used. "Would you like to come in?"

                Nabiki folded her hands in her kimono sleeves and arched an eyebrow. "The price tag's a little steep, thanks."

                "This is not a tour, Miss Tendou. We are discussing business here." Ku Lon moved for the door; after a moment's hesitation, Nabiki followed.

                The girl whistled slightly in appreciation when she saw the inside of the haunted house. "Nice setup."

                "Why, thank you."

                As they passed the 'lake' (actually a large, wide and shallow pool of hot water), Ku Lon noticed a flicker of jealously in the girl's face. Nabiki commented, in a suspiciously casual tone, "That's a lot of hot water. How are you maintaining the temperature – and why?"

                "It makes for a nice effect. It's heated the same way that the furo in the times before electricity were heated, with an oven underneath the building. Having all the other ramen vendors assisting in paying the bills for this did help."

                Nabiki relaxed minutely at the reply. Looking at the girl again, Ku Lon noticed that her kimono was apparently a hand-me-down. 'So… is she just thrifty, or the family financier? Or both?'

                "Tell me about Ranma," the Matriarch said, deciding to cut to the chase.

                "That will cost you," the girl warned.

                Ku Lon shrugged. "What's the price?"

                Nabiki looked at her carefully, and Ku Lon could see the mental scales being carefully weighed and balanced. "One thousand yen, and you promise that you will not use the information to hurt anyone in my family."

                "Eight-hundred, paid now, and I will only use the information against your family if I judge that more harm will be done by not using it."

                "Eight-hundred now, agreed. Define your promise better, old gal. That's my family you're referring to. I want something concrete, and I want the promise in writing."

                "If I think that someone is being seriously hurt, I will take steps to intervene, even if this means interfering with the plans of your father or yourself. I will do my best to remain equivocal and unbiased, and if possible I will not take action without consulting you." Ku Lon smiled. "I know better than to alienate a strong ally."

                "Hmmm. So, no physical harm, but you will make judgment calls regarding emotional harm?" At Ku Lon's nod, Nabiki thought long and seriously. "I want this in writing."

                "Of course." Ku Lon led the way to a small back section of the booth where she kept an accounting station and pulled out paper, pen and ink. "This is not your normal modus operandi, though. Why the change?"

                Nabiki hesitated.

                "I'll add a hundred yen to the deal," Ku Lon said teasingly.

                The comment startled a laugh out of Nabiki as she switched out of business mode again. "Deal, but only if paid in advance."

                "Of course." Ku Lon handed the girl the sheet and several bills. "Do you want a witness' signature as well?"

                "No, this will be fine." Nabiki read the words, then folded the paper neatly and pocketed it. "I know martial artists; I've lived with them and I've made something of a study of them recently. You have given a promise to me and your honor will demand that you keep it. Besides, as you said, if you break it, you automatically make me into an opponent, and I have many ways of dealing with people I don't like. No – this is just in case we ever need to argue technicalities." She smirked suddenly. "I have to thank you – you've basically put all the loopholes in my hands."

                "You're a reasonable girl. I'm sure that if something is necessary, I can talk you around."

                "Thank you, thank you." Nabiki bowed like a performer, then her face became serious again. "I also want the formal evidence because it makes the promise formal, and I want that. This could be serious stuff, after all. Your great-granddaughter is trying to snare the boy that my sister is engaged to, and at some level at least you are supporting her. Anything that affects Ranma will affect Akane, either directly or indirectly. And if something affects Akane, then it affects the family."

                "Interesting. Then Ranma only influences your family through Akane?"

                Ku Lon noted that Nabiki hesitated momentarily before replying. "Mostly, yeah. I guess he's not bad, and having him around is amusing, but Akane is the important one here."

                Ku Lon nodded, mentally making a note. Ranma was still the odd one out in the family, apparently – but Nabiki's hesitation had proved that something was going through the girl's head. She decided not to pursue the topic, however. "Now, I believe you owe me some information?"

                Nabiki nodded and sat gracefully on a chair. "Do you want it chronologically, or by topic? And I should warn you, there is some very specialized personal information that I will not sell at this moment without serious consideration and perhaps consultation."

                'If she isn't referring to the Neko-ken, at least partially, I'll eat raw ramen.' Ku Lon smiled, again, but only internally. 'That's good. So the girl does have a heart in there somewhere.' "Of course. I am more interested in very general information. And please, give it to me in whatever form you care to."

                Nabiki tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Alright. Ranma: age sixteen, he's been with us for about a month and a half. Martial artist, very capable in that field. Socially clueless."

                Nabiki went on, listing off what she knew of Ranma. Ku Lon was left with three overall impressions: When Ranma was on ground he was comfortable with he was impressive, Ranma did not know how to deal with people, and beyond that, Nabiki did not know very much about him. And if Nabiki didn't know, then probably no one except Ranma and Genma knew more. Nabiki, too, came to that conclusion, for when she reached the end of her list she paused and said, "You know… it's not a lot, is it? Heck, I don't even know when his birthday is."

                "No, child. It is not."

                Nabiki seemed very thoughtful. "You know… I don't trust Genma not to have a bunch of skeletons in his closet. And anything that affects him will probably trickle down, just because he's so good at dodging."

                "True. Would you be interested in a contract?" When Nabiki just raised an eyebrow, Ku Lon said, "You know more about the information system here than I. Is there any way to look for records of Genma and Ranma? Forewarned is forearmed."

                "Very true. Now, how much are you willing to shell out for that forewarning…?"

                Nabiki left a few minutes later, several thousand yen richer, and Ku Lon resumed her post, smiling in satisfaction. The girl was no-one's fool. Ku Lon was glad that she was starting off on the right foot with her.

                Shouting and commotion down the road turned her attention in that direction. After a moment, she caught sight of a tiny female dashing through the crowd, borrowed black kimono kilted up and tucked into her belt and the sleeves rolled up all the way to her shoulders. "SHAMPOO!"

                A huge smile spread over Xian Pu's face, and her eyes became happy upside-down crescents. "Nihao, Ranma!" she caroled, waving.

                As Ranma came close, Ku Lon noticed a gleeful grin on the pseudo-girl's face, and a few red marks peppering her bare forearms. "I've come for the Phoenix Pill!" she yelled. "Where's the old ghoul?"

                Ku Lon grinned to herself as she came to the ground behind the excited child. 'My my my, ready for another shot already? He's tenacious beyond belief… and smart enough not to try the same-old-same-old. I wonder what's up his sleeve this time.' She readied her staff and poked Ranma in the small of the back. "Here, boy."

                "Yipe!"

                Well, why not spice up this challenge a little? Ku Lon smirked as Ranma returned to earth from her startled leap. "A showdown in the haunted house!" she called over her shoulder, bounding through the door.

                Behind her, there was a clatter as Ranma kicked off her geta sandals and charged in pursuit. "Fine with me!"

                Ku Lon zipped through the gathered 'extras', grateful that all of them were the ones with the highly impact-resistant costumes when she heard the sounds of a scuffle behind her. "STAY OUTTA THIS!"

                As Ku Lon reached the 'lake', now steaming and making her feel like she was being steam-cooked, she heard a yelp as Ranma encountered her first real challenge: an 'extra' dressed as an oxen-oni with a special fire-thrower installed in the mouth. The Matriarch hopped into a floating barrel and pushed off into the middle of the pool, turning to watch the fight.

                Ranma dodged several blasts of fire, and Ku Lon noticed that the proximity of this admittedly short-term and relatively weak fire did not seem to bother her. 'Adrenaline, I suppose.'

                Then Ranma was charging dead-on at the 'oni', headlong into the flames, which flared around her and hid the subsequent events from view. But Ku Lon could hear them perfectly well.

                WHIIIRRRRRRRRR! "Outta my way" –THWACK– "before ya get hurt!"

                Ranma flew over the remaining obstacles and landed in the open area before the steaming pool, the staff she'd snatched from an unfortunate extra held firmly in her left hand.. She recoiled slightly, her sensitized skin letting her know just how much that hot water was heating the room. But she wasn't ready to quit, not in the least, and her eyes immediately locked on Ku Lon in her makeshift boat, floating in the center next to the tiger spout.

                Ku Lon smiled and held up the Pill. "I thought you'd appreciate a challenge. Here is the Pill – but you must cross this boiling lake to get it!"

                Ranma prepared to spring, like a cat. Her eyes had the exact same total focus as a feline preparing to pounce, as well. "So ya want it that way, ol' ghoul?"

                She sprang. "THEN HERE I COME!"

                Ku Lon blinked, ready for the opening jab. The first move was always the most difficult to block; once she and Ranma settled into the normal exchange of blows Ku Lon inevitably won hands-down, but Ranma's adaptive ability made anticipating the first jab very difficult.

                So she was completely surprised when Ranma made a wild swing instead. So surprised, in fact that she incredulously repeated the sound effect. "Whish?"

                Ku Lon had long known that there were many laws in the universe which science neither acknowledged not adequately explained. One such law was the Law of Forestalling Comedy. As far as she knew, the law went something like this: when something really predictable and inevitable happens, everything stalls for a few moments for everyone to appreciate the irony and for the victim to make an inevitably futile attempt to correct the error. Ranma stared down at the water. "WAAAAAAAH!" she yelped, flailing as she seemed to hang in midair for a moment.

                Part of Cosmic Irony also involved someone laughing at the poor victim. "Watch out, child!" Ku Lon called teasingly. "It's hot! Verrrrry very hot!"

                Pok. "Just kidding."

                Ku Lon blinked. There was Ranma, perched on the end of the staff just as Ku Lon herself went about when she was actually walking on her staff, well above the hot water. Apparently the girl had been learning more than she'd realized.

                Ranma grinned ferally. "And what's this I have here?" She held up a very familiar round case on a chain.

                Ku Lon's jaw dropped, and this time she didn't bother covering it. Yet again, Ranma had surprised her.

                And also, to move fast enough to grab the Pill without getting Ku Lon's attention only meant one thing – Ranma had mastered the amiguriken.

                A smile spread on her face as Ranma carefully opened the case. "Well done, teishi, and an apt reward for your fighting spirit. You are always surprising and impressing me. By the way, your form on that staff is sloppy. Fix it or you'll fall." She began poling back to shore.

                "Ahh, what's it matter?" Ranma said airily, although she did correct her balance enough to pop the scarlet and gold-colored pill into her mouth and swallow. "See? Now I can drop into the hot water with no pain!"

                Ku Lon blinked as Ranma allowed herself pass the point of recovering her balance. "Ummm… that may be partially true, teishi, but…"

                SPLASH.

                "ITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Ranma, voice markedly lower now, rocketed back out of the water and landed on the shore, bright red from the heat.

                "…I did warn you that it is very hot," Ku Lon said, trying desperately to contain her giggles.

                "I noticed," Ranma gasped, somehow managing to sound wry even as he was desperately fanning himself, trying to cool off.

                Ku Lon decided to indulge just this once and admired the sight. The kimono was still tucked up, although starting to loosen. The end result was a very nice view of his bare, lithe-muscled legs and a bit his chest where the neck of the kimono was open.

                Ahhh, the younger generation had all the luck sometimes.

                "Nice legs," she commented, somehow managing to keep a straight face. Ranma glanced down and eeped, although he couldn't blush any more than the hot water had already flushed him.

                "Ranma!" Not a moment after that desperate shout, a deluge of water engulfed the startled boy.

                "Good thing this tank was here!" Akane gasped, clutching a huge fish tank.

                Ku Lon blinked. 'Interesting – she carried that thing? Now that is strength.'

                "What th' heck didja do that for, ya tomboy??" Ranma demanded, piranha attached to her kimono (now very revealingly loose after her brief return to her larger male form) and pigtail. There was another one trying to get its mouth around the top of her head (it was failing miserably) and more snapping around her feet.

                "I heard you yelling! You fell into that oversized hot bath, didn't you? I knew it! You need to be more careful around hot water!" Akane yelled back. "Honestly, why are you so careless? Baka! You know there's no way you can get the Pill from that old woman!"

                "I WAS JUST FINE, YOU UNCUTE… Oh, forget it!" Ignoring the way Akane's face nearly purpled as all the blood rushed to her face in anger, female-Ranma turned sharply away. Kneeling by the pool of hot water, the girl plunged her arms in and splashed as much water as she could over herself.

                Ranma stood up again and spun around, taller now. (He also surreptitiously pulled the kimono down to cover his legs properly.) "I already got the Pill, okay?!"

                Akane blinked, and took refuge in anger. "Fine then! See if I ever help you again!" Sniffing haughtily, the girl turned away and stomped out.

                Ranma looked as though he were teetering between anger and upset over Akane's reaction. Ku Lon saw him almost start after the girl, but he held himself back, and she saw his hand curl into a fist by his side. Frustration was written throughout his face. Finally, he made a wordless sound of annoyance and confusion and turned away from the exit.

                Ku Lon smiled sympathetically. "Calm down, teishi. She honestly thought she was helping you."

                Ranma sighed explosively. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know."

                "You're just upset about getting into another fight?" Ku Lon nodded sagely. "Give her time. If she has any sense at all, she'll realize that you were simply annoyed at being thrown back into female form after finally regaining your male form and reacted against the nearest target."

                Ranma reached inside his kimono and pulled out a few bandages; presumably the bindings for the breasts of his female form. "But I shouldn' do that. Right? 'f I always hit the nearest thing when I get riled, I'll hurt somebody bad."

                Ku Lon nodded, pleased that the boy was willing to be responsible. She watched him pick the piranha off his pigtail and clothing and wondered where the heck they'd come from. "But you did not strike, and you had every right to be agitated. What is more" –and here she grinned– "you just came from a very challenging battle, and your blood is still going. Calm, teishi. Give yourself a chance to calm."

                To her surprise, Ranma paused and gave her a long look. She couldn't read his expression, though; he simply stood and studied her for several long moments. Any thoughts that were in his head, he kept there.

                "Great-Grandmother? Something wrong? Xian Pu hear yelling and see pervert-girl – Aiyah!"

                Ranma jumped as Ku Lon turned and smiled at Xian Pu. The girl was looking at her desired husband with shock and delight. "Airen man again! Is too too wonderful!"

                Ranma waved a hand, a bit distracted. He'd just noticed that his kimono was too small, and that the obi was coming undone. He held it closed and looked around. "Ah, just great. I'm a guy again, and I have ta turn back t' a girl t' leave."

                "No, wait. Xian Pu…" Ku Lon stifled a laugh at the expression on the girl's face and mentally blessed the fact that her great-granddaughter was wearing an ornate and more importantly encumbering set of robes. The girl was plainly itching to glomp Ranma. "Pay attention! Would you please go and find a kimono and belt for Ranma? I want to talk to him anyway, and there is no reason for him to return to female form so soon when he has just regained his true form." Xian Pu hesitated, but before she could object, Ku Lon bounced over and bopped her on the head. "Scoot."

                When she turned back to Ranma, she discovered that he had taken the moment of being ignored to quickly re-fold the kimono into something approximating an appropriate fit and had wrapped the long fabric of the obi around his waist to approximate a very broad sash. Now at least marginally presentable, he looked a fair bit more comfortable than he had for a while, and was picking up the scattered piranha and putting them back in what water remained in the tank.

                Moving to help him, she said, "By the way, where did these come from? And do tell me, how did you master the amiguriken with the Cat's Tongue inhibiting you?"

                Ranma looked up, surprised. "Wha… y'mean y' knew that I wouldn't be able t'…"

                Ku Lon nodded. "Of course I knew. I do not think even I could pull off such a feat." Before Ranma could get angry, she explained, "I wanted you to innovate. There are many ways to teach oneself speed. The chestnuts in the fire, while they give their name to the training, are not the only method."

                "Ah." The last of the piranha in, Ranma lifted the tank and carried it out of the way, where it would not interfere with the atmosphere of the haunted house when the booth re-opened. "Well… Akane was kinda tryin' this booth where y' catch goldfish, an' I took a shot at it an' pretty much caught 'em all, so the vendor said tha' if I wanted t' keep 'em I'd hafta catch all these piranha barehanded, an'…"

                As Ranma explained what he'd done at the fair (and Ku Lon was caught between amusement at his enthusiasm and a bit of sorrow that he treated such a common thing in Japanese society as a once-in-a-lifetime-treat), they cleaned up the remains of the fight and helped the dazed extras unfortunate enough to have gotten in Ranma's way earlier. Ku Lon listened and prompted him when he stopped talking.

                "By the way," Ranma said, as they withdrew to the back office (the same place, indeed, where Ku Lon had struck her bargain with Nabiki) to wait for Xian Pu's return, "what were y' expectin' me t' do t' learn th' amiguriken?"

                Ku Lon shrugged, fanning herself absently and thinking wistfully of the block of ice in the basement freezer of the restaurant and the sweet syrup she could add to it once it was shaved. "There were many things you could have done. To be honest, I am more interested in what you would have attempted, had this opportunity not presented itself."

                Ranma looked at his hands. "Well… I coulda kept tryin' th' fire…"

                "No," Ku Lon said, shaking her head. "I have made a point of watching your manner, teishi. You are stubborn and determined, but you are not stupid and you are flexible in your ways. You would not pursue an ineffective approach."

                Ranma was still looking at his hands, and Ku Lon abruptly realized that, oddly enough, he was avoiding eye contact, quite unusual for the brash young man. "Well… I was kinda thinkin'…"

                "Well? I am curious."

                Ranma coughed. "Well… y' know that book y' gave me?"

                "Yes. What about it?" Now she was more than curious. Ranma had returned the book three days after borrowing it; what had it triggered?

                "Well… I was kinda curious. I mean, I knew some'a th' theory o' ki, but Pops never really seemed int'rested in teachin' it…" Ranma scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Anyway, I finished the book, an' I was kinda curious t' see if there was more. So, I, uh, I kinda went an' visited the Doc…"

                "Doctor Tofu?" At his nod, Ku Lon smiled. "A wise choice, teishi. He has a vast store of knowledge and a good heart."

                "Um, yeah. Sure. Anyway, he told me some things 'bout pressure points – said tha' if y' really worked at it, y' could temporarily overcome 'em, or somethin' like that. I was thinkin' maybe I could try meditatin' and trainin' myself t' handle th' heat. 'course, if I did that then I guess I wouldn't'a needed th' Pill… but anyway…"

                Ku Lon blinked. "I had not considered that aspect. You are correct, although the amount of training needed to utilize ki in that manner is arduous and involves a long process of difficult testing. Do not abandon the idea. Simply because the impetus of the moment is gone does not mean that you cannot learn the method against perhaps a similar difficultly later."

                Anything more she would have said was interrupted as Xian Pu hurried in. "Xian Pu late! So so sorry, but pervert-girl be very stubborn. Xian Pu have kimono for Airen."

                "She seemed to think that breaking into our house to get it was just fine," Akane said huffily from behind her. "Anyway, Dad wants the family back together for a bit, so we can go watch the fireworks." She glanced at Ranma, and Ku Lon thought she saw a blush of embarrassment before the girl pointedly looked away. "Anyway, here's your kimono, Ranma."

                Ranma accepted the kimono of black cotton and silvery-grey embroidery with a look of astonishment. "But… I don't have…"

                Akane glanced down. "Ummm… Kasumi kinda made it for you."

                "Oh…" Ranma started to look for a place to change, then paused and turned to Ku Lon. "Ummm… I know it's kinda hot, but… could you light a fire?"

                Ku Lon looked at him, smiled, and nodded.

                Several minutes later, Ranma and Akane left. Akane was staring at Ranma; Ranma was staring at his hands. And next to the ashes of the small fire were two double-handfuls of roasted chestnuts, still steaming.

                Ku Lon smiled and, selecting one of them, began to nibble on it. No technique should have only one purpose, that was her motto.

(A.N. – Well, here it is, chapter six. I got this one out very quickly, didn't I? I apologize for the short length, but it was a fairly short section of the manga.

                About the Nabiki scene – I have a confession: I like Nabiki, and I tend to portray her in a positive light. Besides, in the beginning of the manga she isn't such a bad person. Also, Nabiki and her knack for finding things out could be very useful for Ranma. Now, an interesting question – with Nabiki actively digging into Ranma's background, what will she discover? Will they have forewarning regarding all the engagements by Genma?

                Well, now we have a major change from the canon. But don't think that the beach isn't going to happen! It's just going to be… different. VERY different.

                Brian Drozd – thank you for reviewing. It's a very, very nice feeling to have one of my favorite authors say he likes my story. Also, many thanks to everyone else. Just a warning – unless I get my hands on the next few Ranma books, this story is going to stall for a bit fairly soon. Keep the reviews coming, please! It's nice to know people like what I'm writing.

                Next up: Beach Battle – Revised)