Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma.

Chapter 10

Mousse jerked from his sweeping when the door to the Cat Cafe swung open with a bang. "Wha..?"

"Mousse!" Yelled Ranma. "Where's Akane-chan?"

Mousse frowned. "Akane-chan?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, ya know, short, stupid, annoying tomboy you pulled from 10 years in the past. Girl who gave you that eye sore of a bracelet...let me know when this rings any bells in that thick head o' yours..."

"Ranma! You fiend! How dare you say such mean things about a sweet little girl like Akane-chan!" Mousse charged Ranma with the broom in his hand.

"Sweet? We talkin' bout the same girl?" Ranma sighed as he easily dodged the broom and swerved to kick Mousse's feet out from under him sending the blind boy reeling into a far wall. "I ain't got time for this. Just tell me where she is."

Mousse got shakily to his feet readjusting his glasses on his face. "If I did know where she was do you really think I'd tell a monster like you?"

Ranma growled. "Wrong answer. Lets try this again...We can either do this the easy way," He cracked his knuckles. "or the hard way."

Mousse smirked. He raised his arms and various weapons peeked out from under his over sized sleeves. All sorts of blades, knifes, cork screws, daggers, can openers, machetes, and letter openers. It was...truly terrifying. "Well, Saotome," Mousse snickered. "I think you know my answer to that already."

Ranma shrugged. "Your funeral."

The two charged each other, for a fiery battle that lasted all about...three seconds.

Ranma stood over Mousse, who was laying face down, a foot resting on his back. "Well?"

"Haven't seen her." The downed martial artist wheezed.

Ranma shook his head and turned to leave giving the beaten boy a wave as he left. "Thanks for nothin', Moron." Ranma raced down the road calling Akane's name. 'Great, back to square one!'

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Shampoo cried silently as she rode her bike through town. She couldn't believe Ranma thought she would hurt Akane-chan! After all, if she had really wanted to, she could of got rid of Akane long ago, she didn't need to resort to hurting children.

She reached up a hand to swipe at her tears. She was so busy feeling sorry for herself, that she almost missed the little voice that called out to her from Ucchan's.

"Shampoo, its me Akane!"

Shampoo glanced with surprise at the little girl peeking out of the window of the 'closed for maintenance' okinomiyki restaurant. "What problem child doing locked up here?"

Akane looked a bit frightened. "I think Auntie Ukyo's gone postal!"

Shampoo sighed. "Great. What wrong with spatula girl now?"

Akane looked uncomfortable. "I...uh...I don't know...heh heh. I guess she's just really protective of me for some reason..." Akane-chan pulled against the locked window. "...too protective..."

Both of them started when Ukyo's voice rang out from behind them. "Shampoo! You know Akane-chan?!"

Shampoo turned toward her. "Yes."

Ukyo looked extremely hurt. "You knew?"

Shampoo glanced at the small child. 'Akane must of told Ukyo about the time travel.' She turned back to Ukyo. "Of course, Shampoo know."

Ukyo was now close to tears. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Shampoo shrugged. "Shampoo didn't think it big deal..."

Ukyo looked at her incredulously. "Not a big deal? NOT a big deal?! Aren't you just a little upset?!?"

Shampoo frowned. "Of course Shampoo upset, but what can do? Not like we can put Akane-chan back." Shampoo shrugged. "Sometime accident happen."

Ukyo looked as if she were about to bust a blood vessel. "ACCIDENTS HAPPEN?!?" Her kei flared.

Shampoo turned to lodge open the window and let the little girl out. "Spatula girl need to chill out." She lowered the little girl to the ground.

"RANMA AND AKANE HAVE AN AFFAIR AND YOU WANT ME TO...TO...CHILL OUT?!?!"

Shampoo stared at Ukyo slack jawed for a second. "What?!" Before Shampoo could respond further a pigtailed martial artist burst between them to snatch Akane-chan up in a bear hug.

"There you are! I was worried." He suddenly glared at the little girl in his arms. "Man oh man are you gonna get it when we get home. You won't be able to sit for weeks I can guarantee you."

Ukyo sputtered. She growled deep in her throat while pulling the long spatula from behind her back. "So its true."

Shampoo stood there stunned staring at the infuriated chef, before her gaze swung towards Ranma. "Ranma? You have affair with Violent girl?"

Ranma turned ten shades of red. "WHAT?! Of course not! With that sexless tomboy!?"

Akane-chan held up her hand. "I like fairs. 'specally the pony rides." *sigh*

Ranma backed away from his two angry fiancees while he barked down at the clueless little girl. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!!"

Akane-chan looked at the two angry women then up at the extremely nervous Ranma. She summed up the situation quickly. "If you die can I have your marble collection."

Ranma had back up into a wall, he glared down at the sweet seeming hellion by his side. "I don't have a marble collection." He growled.

Akane-chan stared at him dumbfounded. "How do you live?" She whispered.

He shoved her hard getting her safely out of the way as Ukyo and Shampoo attacked.

Akane-chan winced and slowly made it to her feet. She glared at Ranma who was currently trying to avoid getting hit by the women. "Meanie." She frowned when one blow was particularly close to cutting Ranma's head off. 'Their really trying to hurt him!'

she ran towards them hoping to stop the girls from attacking him.

Shampoo stopped what she was doing when someone tugged on her pant leg. She looked down. "Huh?" It was Akane-chan. "Akane should stay out of way. It too dangerous for children."

"Shampoo, there's something I gotta tell you!"

Shampoo sighed and leaned down so the child could whisper in her ear. A few moments later Shampoo eyes widened. She stood up quickly and looked at the fighting couple, she needed to stop them before things got out of hand. Unfortunately they were already rapidly gaining distance away from her. She glanced at Akane-chan. "Stay here, okay?"

"Um, okay. Shampoo?"

"Yes?"

"Do you hate me?" The little girl whispered apprehensively. Tears began to roll down her face. She hug her head and twiddled her thumbs in nervous trepidation.

Shampoo went down on one knee in front of her. "Shampoo never hate too too good friend, no matter how much trouble." She gave a quick kiss to the top of Akane-chan's brow before taking off after the feuding couple.

Akane sighed. 'Shampoo is so wonderful...' She looked at where everyone had disappeared to. 'I know Shampoo told me to stay, but I might be able to help. Then maybe Ranma will like me again.' She nodded her resolve was firm. She started after them.

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"Ukyo!" cried Ranma desperately. he dodged again as she swung the over sized spatula at his head. "Cut it out!"

"Oh! I'll cut it out all right!" She slashed at him again this time aiming below the belt. "You...You...CRETIN!!"

"Geez, Ukyo, you could really hurt someone with that." said Ranma as he agilely dodged a blow that almost made him a girl without the use of cold water. "Can't we talk about this?" he did a side flip to avoid the onslaught of several mini spatulas.

Ukyo paused to regard him incredulously. "Talk? You want to talk?"

"Sure," said Ranma hoping she'd agree. "I could come bright and early tomorrow morning. I'm sure we could straighten this whole mess out then."

"You should of talked to me sooner, instead of keeping Akane-chan a secret!" She leapt over his head to get him from behind, but Ranma saw what she was up to and front rolled out of the way.

"What are you talking about? Ranma looked down in his hasty retreat, his foot got caught in some wire. Trapping him. "Huh?"

"Its over!" She cried. She jumped at him pulling the over sized spatula tight behind her, ready to deliver the final blow.

Ranma could only cover his face with his arm and wait for the inevitable...

*Thump*

Ranma opened his eyes with a start. Ukyo had been thrown to the ground and Shampoo stood there panting.

"Stupid! What you think you doing? You no know lie when hear one?"

Ukyo sat up wiping a small trickle of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. "Lie?"

"You too too stupid! How you think two seventeen year old have seven year old? Huh?"

"Seven? Akane-chan's seven?!"

Just then the little girl in question ran up to them panting. "I tried to...*huff*...get here...*wheeze*...as quick as possible...*pant*..." It was then she saw the angry faces of the teens before her. She cringed. "I'm...in trouble aren't I?"

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Akane groaned. She was lying in the grass on her back, her arms gently cradled her aching stomach. "I hate you!" she moaned out to her grinning torturer. "Ohhh! I really really hate you!"

Cane laughed out loud at that. "Good. I want you to hate me. The more you hate me, the more incentive you have to make sure you defeat the psycho guy. After all, you wouldn't want to become what I am, now would you?"

"I'll never be like you! Ever!" She tried to rise but ended up falling to her knees. "Argh! That was a dirty blow Cane! Sucker punching me like that! And after I just ate too!" Under her breath she muttered. "Talk about double whammy..."

Cane smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "In the immortal words of Genma Saotome...'A true martial artist must be prepared at all times for an attack.' Do you really think that the 'bad guys' are really gonna care wither or not your ready? Well?"

"Jerk." Akane was pissed, but mostly because Cane's words held a semblance of truth. She shakily got to her feet. "Honestly! I've never met anyone more...*thonk*" Akane hit a nearby tree hard.

"Honestly, Akane!" Cane shook her head in mock disbelief. "I can't believe you just stood there and let me hit you. I just gave the lesson not even two seconds ago." She tsked.

Akane growled. Using the tree as leverage, she made her way to her feet. "Why...you...grrr...if you think I'm gonna let you take me by surprise again you can...*pow*" She crashed into some bushes.

Cane sighed. "Hopeless..."

Akane let out a cry of fury and leapt at the older woman.

Cane stepped to the side easily catching Akane's fist, and using the girl's momentum against her, pulled the fist down causing the girl to front flip and land painfully on her back. "...and slow." Cane walked over to the bags and pulled out some cloaks. She proceeded to dump them on the unsuspecting girl. "The clothes you bought in the village are very pretty, but they're not good for training. From now on you'll wear nothing but this."

Akane winced as she tried to sit up. It was the really heavy out fit Cane had given her on the first day. Only these seemed even more weighted down. "You can't be serious. You complain that I'm slow now, I won't be able to move in these."

Cane shrugged. "Not my problem. I just suggest you figure something out, because no matter how slow you become I refuse to let up in the least."

Akane grumbled as she reluctantly began to change.

"Wait!" Cane said in a harsh whisper. "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Shhh!"

Akane frowned thinking that Cane was terribly rude.

Cane nodded. "This way." She took off back the direction they had come with Akane in close pursuit.

It wasn't long however before Cane what, or should I say who, she was looking for. "Well well well, if it isn't my buddy Shinnosuke. Whatca doing up there?"

Shinnosuke looked down at the two small shapes, he assumed one to be Akane. "I'm stuck. This is as far down as I could climb before the branches tapered away into the trunk of the tree."

Cane raised an eyebrow. "You were here all night?"

He nodded sadly. "Yes, and I've never been more miserable. Besides the fact I'm dying of hunger, it was freezing cold last night, and my back is beginning to hurt which means I need my daily dos of my 'water of life' pills."

Cane sighed a little sympathetic. "Sounds like you had a pretty lousy time out here."

Shinnosuke frowned. "Well, I never would have come here if I knew I was going to be malleted into a tree."

Akane couldn't contain her self any more. "WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD' A THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU KISSED ME!!"

"Come again?" Cane looked at Akane then up at Shinnosuke. "You better hope I didn't hear what I think I heard..."

Shinnosuke Frowned. He tried to lean forward to get a better view of the two people down below. The branch he was sitting on snapped from his sudden movement. "Ahhhhhh...."

Cane caught him effortlessly, but didn't let him go or put him down. "Luci, you have some 'splanin' to do!"

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End of chapter 10

I know this chapter is kinda short, but I'm having a bit of trouble writing it. I didn't want you guys to wait any longer so I'm gonna go ahead and post this, and put the rest in the next chapter. Sorry for the wait :'(