Personal thanks:
Note: I think I have everyone's review here, but I can't be positive, because I'm going by what I still had in my email. I don't think I deleted any of them, but if yours isn't here, please forgive me and blame the slowness of ff.net.
Ranma+Akane4Ever: I don't think I will kill Shampoo, as much as I might be tempted to smother her with a bath towel or something of the sort. Be pretty ironic. And you know what they say: Even if you aren't paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
Yuki: So it is really interesting? That's good. I hope I am holding the readers attention and not dragging this on to long.
Ranchan: Was it too short? Sorry, I tried to make this one longer. Don't worry, I got the review. You will find out what Nabiki wanted to talk to Ryoga for. Just not in this chapter.
bittersweetKandy: I think that Ranma feels really bad when girls cry, so he tries not to make him. Who knows, maybe he goes and disinfects himself afterwards. Sorry it was so short, I didn't mean for it to be.
Silver Angel: When we want to characters out of the picture, is there a better way then letting them finish each other off? No, I think not.
Lil washu: I can't wait for March 10. I've read volume 19. Kuno doesn't like Mariko, which is strange because she is the only one who likes him. Except for maybe those girls who go to Kodachi's school. For some reason, I think Ukyo and Kuno would make a nice match. Please don't shoot me.
BriGuy, the Writer: Well, I really can't think of a color that I can say for Akane's hair. And Viz sometimes uses different colors in different episodes. I make Cologne call Ranma "son-in-law" because I can't imagine her calling him anything else. Besides, old habits die hard. There is a tiny bit of martial arts when Kuno and Kodachi start beating on each other, but the main fighting character is Ranma, who is sick. I'm also pretty bad at battle scenes. But we wont go into that.
Christie: I say "evil fanfiction.net" but bad works as well.
The Cat Café is also referred to as the Nekohanten in some places.
Disclaimer: Insert a disclaimer here and pretend I wrote it.
Thoughts are in 'quotations'.
Akane stayed in the same room as Ranma that night, although Shampoo made sure that they were as far away as possible. The young Amazon had thrown a fit when her great-grandmother made her stay in a different room then her beloved. Mousse was overjoyed.
Everyone's nerves were buzzing. The fact that they were awoken at 6:30 in the morning didn't help. Cologne dumped a bucket of lukewarm water on Ranma's head, just enough so he wouldn't change. "Wake up, son-in-law. Get into that bath, and then put this on."
Ranma cracked one eye open, seeing the reason why Cologne's husband had probably passed on. 'No one would want to wake up to that horror every morning.' He thought and vaguely wondered how she got a bathtub in the middle of the room, but decided not to question the Amazon leader.
As he began to strip down out of his shirt, he realized he had an audience. "Get out!" He cried to Shampoo and the mummy.
"But Shampoo help. Wash airen's back."
"No thank you!"
"He is right, Shampoo. After all, that would go against the entire purpose of the purifying bath. Tell us when you are finished." She shut the door, but he thought he could still feel their eyes following him.
"Bet there are holes in the door." Ranma grumbled as he entered the tub. "IT'S COLD!" Ranma-chan yelped.
"But of course. Who has ever heard of warm holy water? A warm purifying bath is out of the question." The matriarch said wisely from behind the closed door.
"Then what was the point in waking me up with warm water? You could have just turned me into a girl then." Ranma-chan called back reasonably.
"Yes, but then you would be used to the cold water, and I wanted to hear you yell," The old woman cackled.
"Freak." The young woman muttered as she got out of her bath. She also said a few more words that wouldn't be printable under the G rating, but let's just say the purifying bath would have been something to soak in once again.
Akane poked her head into the room, but closed her eyes. "Here is some hot water," she said and held out a steaming tea kettle before leaving the now him to dress.
"You all can come in now." Ranma said. "Why do I have to wear this outfit?" He was clothed in a light white shirt and pants made of the same material.
"Well, you will be sweating a lot, and won't want clothes that will stick to your body to much. We may even have to change your clothes once or twice." Ranma and Akane both blushed, while Shampoo volunteered for the job. Her offer was quickly turned down by everyone else present.
Everyone looked at the pig-tailed martial artist as his stomach growled. "Do I at least get to eat first? I'm starving."
"I expected that and prepared this for you." She put a cup in his hand.
Ranma looked down expectantly, hoping to see ramen or miso soup. His face fell as he recognized the contents. "What is this?"
"Airen never have smoothie?" the purple-haired girl asked in surprise.
"Smoothies aren't manly! Real men don't drink them. I'm not eating this. This is a ramen restaurant, why can't I have some of that?" He begged and gave Akane the cup while crossing his arms.
"You need something that won't weigh down in your stomach or cause to much work to digest. I suggest you change your mind and have to smoothie. It will be one of the only things you will be having for perhaps days, maybe weeks. Besides, if you die, won't you regret never having one?" The crone asked, pushing it into his hands again.
"How comforting." Ranma quaffed the drink, glad that at least something was entering his body and filling him up. 'This is pretty good. Maybe if - when I'm better I can change into a girl and have more of these.' He frowned as his eyelids begun to droop. "You-you drugged it! What'd ya do that for." The mighty Ranma Saotome collapsed in a snoring heap.
"So that you would fall asleep," Cologne answered. "Shampoo, go help Mousse open up the shop." She moved towards the large heater and plugged it into the wall, then started fooling around with the circuits.
"Shampoo stay and help take care of airen!" She hugged the sleeping young man possessively.
"There is no need for that, Akane and I have it under control." She randomly pushed buttons on the large machine.
"Violent girl no can take care of airen! Is job for wife." Shampoo declared.
"Well, that is why she is here. You have a previous engagement with our customers. Now, go tend to them," The elder woman firmly told her heir. She was getting annoyed that her granddaughter was going against her wishes and started taking it out on the heater by striking it with her staff. "Why wont this work?"
"Let me try it." Akane examined the piece of machinery for a moment before figuring out the problem. She reached over and punched in a key that read "POWER". "Now adjust the temperature."
"Oh, yes, of course." She played with the thermometer before turning around with a satisfied look on her wrinkled face. "I will not tell you again, Shampoo. Go downstairs and don't bother will son-in-law until he is better."
Of course, this infuriated Shampoo. She flew down the staircase and putting as much weight on it as possible, so that it would make the most noise. Minutes later you could hear the loud quack, signifying the now fowl busboy.
"Now we can get started. The first thing we want is to draw the fever away from his head and towards his lower body. Place a few of these blankets along his legs and abdomen." Akane did as she was told, keeping a keen eye on her fiance. "You will need to drink something special as well. Put on of the small heating pads in between two of the blanket until I return."
The work was not hard for the blue-haired female, and she was glad to be of use and help Ranma. She didn't know what she would do if he died and didn't want to the about it. The task at hand would occupy her for the moment at least.
"Drink up." Cologne returned with another glass, though this looked like it was filled with seltzer.
"What is it? It takes a bit like... cotton candy." She licked her lips, savoring the sweet taste.
"It is a liquid version of the Phoenix Pill, though it is weaker then it's solid counterpart. The heat will not affect you as much as it would. This room will be sweltering by midday and it won't due to have you pass out from it. There is also a pitcher of water and cup here, so you don't get dehydrated. I see you did as you were told. At least one young woman around here does. There is really nothing else to do. Keep an eye on him and wipe spots where pools of sweat are gathering with these towels. Change the blankets out regularly and put all dirty ones in the laundry bin in the corner. I have to go mind my restaurant now. I trust you can handle this." The woman left Akane and Ranma.
"I can handle this. Of course I can." She shot a look at Ranma. "I just hope he can." She spent the next hour or so just sitting there, watching him and wiping him dry with a towel every once in a while. She was overcome with boredom when there was a knock at the door. Akane immediately perked up. "Come in!"
"Hello, Akane." A white, wide-eyed Ryoga came in the room and sat next to her.
"Hi, Ryoga! It is nice to see you, I was getting really lonely." She noticed his scared expression. "Is something wrong?"
He chuckled nervously. "You will never believe the conversations I had yesterday."
A/N: I know you all are dying to know about the conversations Ryoga had with Ukyo and Nabiki, but I thought I would save that for another chapter. Shampoo is so annoying, even her own grandmother would want to throttle her. I know I do! Don't ask why I put smoothies in here. I happen to like them.
Please excuse the lateness of this chapter. I know that ff.net worked even when it said it wasn't and I had this chapter written several days ago. First of all, I couldn't post it Friday or Saturday because I had no internet connection for my laptop. Sunday my entire internet wasn't working period, so I couldn't even access my reviews, let alone post this chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy this.
If you get a chance, drop me a line at lavendergaia@yahoo.com. Who doesn't love getting mail? Unless it is bills, but I don't get those anyway. Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.
Note: I think I have everyone's review here, but I can't be positive, because I'm going by what I still had in my email. I don't think I deleted any of them, but if yours isn't here, please forgive me and blame the slowness of ff.net.
Ranma+Akane4Ever: I don't think I will kill Shampoo, as much as I might be tempted to smother her with a bath towel or something of the sort. Be pretty ironic. And you know what they say: Even if you aren't paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
Yuki: So it is really interesting? That's good. I hope I am holding the readers attention and not dragging this on to long.
Ranchan: Was it too short? Sorry, I tried to make this one longer. Don't worry, I got the review. You will find out what Nabiki wanted to talk to Ryoga for. Just not in this chapter.
bittersweetKandy: I think that Ranma feels really bad when girls cry, so he tries not to make him. Who knows, maybe he goes and disinfects himself afterwards. Sorry it was so short, I didn't mean for it to be.
Silver Angel: When we want to characters out of the picture, is there a better way then letting them finish each other off? No, I think not.
Lil washu: I can't wait for March 10. I've read volume 19. Kuno doesn't like Mariko, which is strange because she is the only one who likes him. Except for maybe those girls who go to Kodachi's school. For some reason, I think Ukyo and Kuno would make a nice match. Please don't shoot me.
BriGuy, the Writer: Well, I really can't think of a color that I can say for Akane's hair. And Viz sometimes uses different colors in different episodes. I make Cologne call Ranma "son-in-law" because I can't imagine her calling him anything else. Besides, old habits die hard. There is a tiny bit of martial arts when Kuno and Kodachi start beating on each other, but the main fighting character is Ranma, who is sick. I'm also pretty bad at battle scenes. But we wont go into that.
Christie: I say "evil fanfiction.net" but bad works as well.
The Cat Café is also referred to as the Nekohanten in some places.
Disclaimer: Insert a disclaimer here and pretend I wrote it.
Thoughts are in 'quotations'.
Akane stayed in the same room as Ranma that night, although Shampoo made sure that they were as far away as possible. The young Amazon had thrown a fit when her great-grandmother made her stay in a different room then her beloved. Mousse was overjoyed.
Everyone's nerves were buzzing. The fact that they were awoken at 6:30 in the morning didn't help. Cologne dumped a bucket of lukewarm water on Ranma's head, just enough so he wouldn't change. "Wake up, son-in-law. Get into that bath, and then put this on."
Ranma cracked one eye open, seeing the reason why Cologne's husband had probably passed on. 'No one would want to wake up to that horror every morning.' He thought and vaguely wondered how she got a bathtub in the middle of the room, but decided not to question the Amazon leader.
As he began to strip down out of his shirt, he realized he had an audience. "Get out!" He cried to Shampoo and the mummy.
"But Shampoo help. Wash airen's back."
"No thank you!"
"He is right, Shampoo. After all, that would go against the entire purpose of the purifying bath. Tell us when you are finished." She shut the door, but he thought he could still feel their eyes following him.
"Bet there are holes in the door." Ranma grumbled as he entered the tub. "IT'S COLD!" Ranma-chan yelped.
"But of course. Who has ever heard of warm holy water? A warm purifying bath is out of the question." The matriarch said wisely from behind the closed door.
"Then what was the point in waking me up with warm water? You could have just turned me into a girl then." Ranma-chan called back reasonably.
"Yes, but then you would be used to the cold water, and I wanted to hear you yell," The old woman cackled.
"Freak." The young woman muttered as she got out of her bath. She also said a few more words that wouldn't be printable under the G rating, but let's just say the purifying bath would have been something to soak in once again.
Akane poked her head into the room, but closed her eyes. "Here is some hot water," she said and held out a steaming tea kettle before leaving the now him to dress.
"You all can come in now." Ranma said. "Why do I have to wear this outfit?" He was clothed in a light white shirt and pants made of the same material.
"Well, you will be sweating a lot, and won't want clothes that will stick to your body to much. We may even have to change your clothes once or twice." Ranma and Akane both blushed, while Shampoo volunteered for the job. Her offer was quickly turned down by everyone else present.
Everyone looked at the pig-tailed martial artist as his stomach growled. "Do I at least get to eat first? I'm starving."
"I expected that and prepared this for you." She put a cup in his hand.
Ranma looked down expectantly, hoping to see ramen or miso soup. His face fell as he recognized the contents. "What is this?"
"Airen never have smoothie?" the purple-haired girl asked in surprise.
"Smoothies aren't manly! Real men don't drink them. I'm not eating this. This is a ramen restaurant, why can't I have some of that?" He begged and gave Akane the cup while crossing his arms.
"You need something that won't weigh down in your stomach or cause to much work to digest. I suggest you change your mind and have to smoothie. It will be one of the only things you will be having for perhaps days, maybe weeks. Besides, if you die, won't you regret never having one?" The crone asked, pushing it into his hands again.
"How comforting." Ranma quaffed the drink, glad that at least something was entering his body and filling him up. 'This is pretty good. Maybe if - when I'm better I can change into a girl and have more of these.' He frowned as his eyelids begun to droop. "You-you drugged it! What'd ya do that for." The mighty Ranma Saotome collapsed in a snoring heap.
"So that you would fall asleep," Cologne answered. "Shampoo, go help Mousse open up the shop." She moved towards the large heater and plugged it into the wall, then started fooling around with the circuits.
"Shampoo stay and help take care of airen!" She hugged the sleeping young man possessively.
"There is no need for that, Akane and I have it under control." She randomly pushed buttons on the large machine.
"Violent girl no can take care of airen! Is job for wife." Shampoo declared.
"Well, that is why she is here. You have a previous engagement with our customers. Now, go tend to them," The elder woman firmly told her heir. She was getting annoyed that her granddaughter was going against her wishes and started taking it out on the heater by striking it with her staff. "Why wont this work?"
"Let me try it." Akane examined the piece of machinery for a moment before figuring out the problem. She reached over and punched in a key that read "POWER". "Now adjust the temperature."
"Oh, yes, of course." She played with the thermometer before turning around with a satisfied look on her wrinkled face. "I will not tell you again, Shampoo. Go downstairs and don't bother will son-in-law until he is better."
Of course, this infuriated Shampoo. She flew down the staircase and putting as much weight on it as possible, so that it would make the most noise. Minutes later you could hear the loud quack, signifying the now fowl busboy.
"Now we can get started. The first thing we want is to draw the fever away from his head and towards his lower body. Place a few of these blankets along his legs and abdomen." Akane did as she was told, keeping a keen eye on her fiance. "You will need to drink something special as well. Put on of the small heating pads in between two of the blanket until I return."
The work was not hard for the blue-haired female, and she was glad to be of use and help Ranma. She didn't know what she would do if he died and didn't want to the about it. The task at hand would occupy her for the moment at least.
"Drink up." Cologne returned with another glass, though this looked like it was filled with seltzer.
"What is it? It takes a bit like... cotton candy." She licked her lips, savoring the sweet taste.
"It is a liquid version of the Phoenix Pill, though it is weaker then it's solid counterpart. The heat will not affect you as much as it would. This room will be sweltering by midday and it won't due to have you pass out from it. There is also a pitcher of water and cup here, so you don't get dehydrated. I see you did as you were told. At least one young woman around here does. There is really nothing else to do. Keep an eye on him and wipe spots where pools of sweat are gathering with these towels. Change the blankets out regularly and put all dirty ones in the laundry bin in the corner. I have to go mind my restaurant now. I trust you can handle this." The woman left Akane and Ranma.
"I can handle this. Of course I can." She shot a look at Ranma. "I just hope he can." She spent the next hour or so just sitting there, watching him and wiping him dry with a towel every once in a while. She was overcome with boredom when there was a knock at the door. Akane immediately perked up. "Come in!"
"Hello, Akane." A white, wide-eyed Ryoga came in the room and sat next to her.
"Hi, Ryoga! It is nice to see you, I was getting really lonely." She noticed his scared expression. "Is something wrong?"
He chuckled nervously. "You will never believe the conversations I had yesterday."
A/N: I know you all are dying to know about the conversations Ryoga had with Ukyo and Nabiki, but I thought I would save that for another chapter. Shampoo is so annoying, even her own grandmother would want to throttle her. I know I do! Don't ask why I put smoothies in here. I happen to like them.
Please excuse the lateness of this chapter. I know that ff.net worked even when it said it wasn't and I had this chapter written several days ago. First of all, I couldn't post it Friday or Saturday because I had no internet connection for my laptop. Sunday my entire internet wasn't working period, so I couldn't even access my reviews, let alone post this chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy this.
If you get a chance, drop me a line at lavendergaia@yahoo.com. Who doesn't love getting mail? Unless it is bills, but I don't get those anyway. Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.