Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to her, and her alone. I'm just kinda borrowing them. The story below is for entertainment purposes only, and not to be used commercially. ...Obviously.

"Learning Curve"

Part VIII (v1.4)

by: J. Wagner

"Ayia! What little black pig doing in stupid Mousse's room? Ryouga, you sneak out of hospital?"

"Bwee!"

"Well, come on." Shampoo turned and gestured for the pig to follow. "Shampoo get you hot water."

The little animal sat on its haunches, and seemed to give that a few moments' thought. Not one to wait, Shampoo quickly picked him up, ignoring his small squeal of protest. Shampoo found this odd - it wasn't the first time she'd picked him up in his cursed form. They'd both been splashed more than a few times when they sparred during his Bakusai Tenketsu training. Then again, he'd never been without his bandanna either. Feeling a bit emboldened, and curious, she scratched him behind the ears. To her surprise, instead of grunting in annoyance, he moved with the hand, and seemed quite content.

"Is you feeling ok, Ryouga?" She looked him in the eyes. There seemed to be some spark of intelligence, but no real understanding of the words. Hurrying downstairs and into the kitchen, she started boiling a kettle of water. The pig seemed uncomfortable in the place, but dutifully sat down where Shampoo placed him.

While waiting for the liquid to warm up, she switched to Mandarin Chinese, the dialect he was most familiar with. "I've been thinking about some things. Now that you're back and all."

"Bwee?"

Shampoo sat down, and the pig jumped up and onto her knee, studying her carefully.

"It's Ranma," She continued, "I ...I don't think he'll ever marry me. I don't think he even likes me. I've done some really stupid things while you were gone. The thing with stupid Mousse always attacking Ranma because of the marriage law, that Instant Nannichuan, the Love Pills, this weird mushrooms... Don't look at me like that; I used the magic on Ranma, not Akane. I never said I wouldn't try it on him, just her."

"Bwee."

"Good." Shampoo rocked back a bit in the chair, sighing. "This whole trip... this whole business here in Japan has been nothing but a disaster. Sometimes, I think you're the only friend I have in this whole country."

The pig blinked and tilted his head to the side a little. "Qee?"

"Ryouga... promise me we'll stay friends. Especially after I tell you..." Shampoo shook her head, letting her velvet tresses flow behind her. "Well, great grandmother, she... I know I promised that when you beat me, that first time we fought, that it didn't involve any of our rules or anything, but great grandmother doesn't see things that way. She says she wanted to keep the option open."

The pig looked at her quizzically.

"You know what I'm saying, right?"

"Bwee."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Shampoo reached for the kettle, and put the pig on the floor. "You're a nice guy, and I think... I think we could be happy. You'd like the village. It's too small to get lost in after a few weeks, and..."

The water hit the pig.

"And... um... and..."

And the pig didn't transform.

"Bwee."

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Great grandmother!!!!!!!"

***

New Years' Day was a busy one in the market. Aside from last minute shopping, there was also a good deal of entertainment and families just enjoying the night together. Of the sights, however, one stuck out like a sore thumb. The sheer number of people gathered together to see what was so interesting attracted even more.

"Woah, check it out!"

"She beat the middleweight machine like it was nothing!"

"How'd she get so strong?"

Akane gave the crowd a little wave, and quickly reminded herself that she wasn't indulging or impressing the crowd: she was doing this for fun, and as a test of strength. The middleweight arm-wrestling machine was no real challenge, true, but only she knew that. It was worth almost anything just to see the astonished expressions on the faces of the people around her. ...Especially the men. The ego of the male gender had always been one of her not-so-little pet peeves, and any opportunity to beat some of their unspoken male pride into the ground was to be taken advantage of.

It wasn't that she hated men; she didn't.

She just didn't like them.

Rolling up her sleeve, she smirked. "Too easy! Next!"

The heavyweight machine awaited her, finally. She'd beat it, almost certainly, she knew, but this time she decided to pretend to struggle a little. Let those in the crowd start to whisper and say that she had 'met her match.' Let them think that for a few seconds, and then, she'd beat the machine and savor the looks on their faces and the gasps of awe. Of admiration. Of respect. The respect she deserved, as a martial artist, as a woman, as herself - they'd respect her, or at the very least, fear her a little. Unlike Kuno, or Ukyou, or Shampoo, or Ranma, or even the students of Furinkan, to these people, she'd be something to remember, and to be inspired by. Then, of course, she'd go home, and be overshadowed by damn near everyone, but until then...

Akane gritted her teeth. The machine was putting up more of a fight than she expected. Pushing harder, she felt it match her easily, so the youngest Tendo decided to end it then and there, and kicked up her strength to its maximum. It gave for half a second, before recovering and matching her again. Then, to her surprise and shock, it began to push her back. She struggled, tears just starting to tinge her peripheral vision and cool, quickly, against the winder air. She was losing, and from behind and around, she could hear the whispers, louder now.

Then, the inevitable happened, and she felt the back of her hand slam against the hard wood, but, before anything could be said, the façade of the arm wrestling machine began to crack and deform. A plume of violet hair, and elaborate green and red, Chinese styled sweater, and a familiar laugh heralded the entrance of a certain Chinese Amazon. Shampoo smirked, one foot on the table, and the other lazily drooped over her knee, while Akane panted from exertion.

"You still weak, Akane."

The youngest Tendo just growled, despite being short of breath. "I demand a rematch!"

"You never be strong enough to beat me!" Shampoo suddenly seemed to remember something when a soft beep from her right pocket got her attention. "Besides, no have time play with violent girl! Still have deliveries to make."

"Shampoo...!"

From out of nowhere, the Chinese girl produced her assault-bike and took off, using Akane's head and back as a ramp to get on the street. Akane turned, hissing in anger, just in time to see Shampoo give her a little salute.

"I win last battle of year! Ha!"

Alone in the crowd, Akane seethed.

At the Tendo Dojo, Ranma's kata was interrupted, again, when Kasumi walked in. He wiped a few stray beads of sweat from his brow. "Hey, Kasumi. What's up?"

"Ranma-kun," she asked in that demure, caring way that usually brooked no dissent. "Would you please go look for Akane? I don't want her to miss dinner."

Ranma thought about it a second before answering. "I'm sure she's fine, Kasumi. Akane's more than capable of taking care of herself. Trust me, I know. So don't worry 'bout it, ok?"

The oldest of the Tendo daughters seemed to accept that. "Well... dinner will be in thirty minutes."

"Thanks."

When Kasumi left, Ranma let his next movement carry him into a different kata, one of the new ones he'd taken a liking to. He didn't like saying no to Kasumi in any form; the girl was like his older sister, or something, or even his mother, but she didn't understand him, or his training. It would be a waste of his time to go looking for Akane - no one had tried to kidnap her since Mousse, months ago, and even then, Mousse had only thought he'd kidnapped her. In reality, he'd just kidnapped a doll that looked nothing like her. If she wanted to wander around, it really wasn't his business to stop her. She'd probably just mallet him or something for his troubles anyway.

He wasn't anyone's keeper, even if that person did sort of grow on you after a long enough period of time. That thought lingered for only a moment before it, too, was gone, replaced by the movement and flow of the well-practiced kata. His focus sharpened, and turned inward, and he could feel his Ki flowing through every vein, and in and out of every pore. He was like a living ocean of energy, and his movements were like a tide, and every minute, every hour, made him a little bit more comfortable and proficient in accessing and allocating his Ki into his body. A little more, into the arms, not an even distribution, but degrees of difference, mentally calculated through intense hours of knowing one's body on a plane beyond physical.

It was this silent barrier that separated him from the mundane masses of mankind.

His schoolmates, and his quasi-friends and acquaintances there could never understand the oneness and fulfillment of purpose and form he had become. Their words, their movements, their thoughts... so slow and awkward and wasteful. They could no more understand him, or compare themselves to him, than a puddle of rainwater could the Pacific Ocean. He was Saotome Ranma. They... were not. An oversimplification, true, but it was close enough to be accurate. Ranma moved, and thought, and focused, and around him the world faded. Time seemed timeless, space seemed space-less, and every thought magnified as if through a kaleidoscope.

Then, he felt it.

The distant, and yet always at hand, pull of the Abyss from which all power was drawn. He could feel, amid his thoughts, and deep in his physical body, from a point with no true physical reference, the horizon of the well. Or the black hole, perhaps. It drew him in with promises of warmth and power. It was the great tempter, power, and he had to fight to keep control of where he stood, between the abyss, and the fall. He drew more, just a little bit, without falling into the trap of taking in more than he could handle. Too little, and his exercises and training would be wasted... his life, would be wasted, but too much, and he could burn himself out, like a wicker candle caught in a forest fire.

Some had a natural ability to channel, control, and manipulate their Ki, and could dip further into the well with each attempt, eventually outstripping those less fortunate. He felt himself questioning his ability, and his bravery - was this temptation, or a product of logical thought? Was it both? He wanted more, and he was confident he could draw more, safely, but the bridge of his nose burnt, as if smelling sulfur. A warning, perhaps, or was it an outside factor? He finally pulled back, after what seemed like hours of standing at the edge.

Ranma blinked, and he was in the dojo.

Akane was looking at him.

"What?" He asked, checking himself. He seemed fine, though breathing heavily, and he was in his male body. Everything was what and where it should be.

"Nothing!" Akane suddenly got self-conscious, and adjusted the black belt around her waist that hugged her white sparring Gi to her body. "Want to spar?"

"Why now?"

"The same reason you're here. I just want to get better."

He shrugged. "Yeah. Sure. Why not?"

She attacked, as she always did, opening up with a powerful jab that, had it connected, would have had enough force to shatter a block of concrete, but at this point, he'd have brushed it off like it was nothing. Akane continued, in her usual style, which was better suited to plowing through multiple attackers, and not as effective in a dueling scenario, especially against someone with his level of speed and flexibility. He dodged, blurring here and there, as she pressed the assault.

Akane was good, do doubt, but she wasn't anywhere near his league, and almost certainly never would be. It was a pity, really. He'd have liked someone who came closer to understanding the Art, and him, better. Then again, would he? The thought of trying to live with a girl who acted like he did made him realize that he'd never be able to stand it. There could only be one Saotome Ranma. His ego would not allow it any other way.

"Stop dodging and fight me!"

Ranma jumped, avoiding a kick to the midsection, and landed on her head, driving her to the floor. It was one of his favorite tricks, because it annoyed people no end, and that made them clumsy and slow when they retaliated. Only Ryouga had ever been able to tag him after he used this trick. Akane fumed, and as always, Ranma checked her neck. He'd been doing the land-on-head thing for years, and he was damn good at it, but he'd never once used it on a regular person for fear of breaking their neck. Akane was far from regular, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

"What are you so worked up about?" Ranma ran a hand through his hair, casually, and stepped off her head.

Akane looked up at him, shaking with some unknown emotion. "I'm a martial artist too, you know! I have my pride!"

"Shampoo." Ranma guessed.

Akane kept silent, but Ranma knew it. Shampoo was the only thing besides himself and the Kunos that really got to Akane now. Kuno and Kodachi made her mad, and generally got punted for their efforts, and the sparring between Akane and himself were primarily verbal, again, with the occasional punting or malleting, but nothing serious anymore. Not after what had happened in the mountains and that fight with Ryouga.

Shampoo, however, always upstaged Akane, especially in martial arts and cooking. Not that Ranma himself particularly cared what the two of them did, as long as it didn't interrupt or involve him, but he didn't exactly like it much either. Especially when it made Akane want to cook to prove herself, and force the food, if it could be called that, down his throat.

Then, if became life threatening.

"Look," he began, but got cut off by a voice from the far side of the dojo.

"Dinner!" Nabiki called, adjusting her blouse. "Break it up, you two."

Ranma 'humfed' and Akane blushed a bit, before quickly hiding it. Quickly, Ranma straightened his shirt. "Good. I'm hungry."

"One thing, first." Nabiki held out her hand, before he could leave the dojo. "We have company over tonight for New Years. I don't want you to cause trouble."

Ranma crooked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"You cause trouble... and I'll cause trouble. And I don't think you want that." Nabiki smiled, warmly, like a cat would to a canary.

"Whatever." Ranma said, scowling, not in the mood for her or her schemes. She stepped to the side, and he walked past the middle Tendo girl. He made his way into the dining room, and stopped, instantly. Dr. Tofu was sitting, watching Kasumi put food on the table, his glasses fogged over worse than the Labrador Coast. Happosai was watching some swimsuit models on the television intently, a bit of drool collecting at the side of his mouth. His father was nursing his stomach, and waiting intently for the food to be served. And, sitting to the left of Mr. Tendo, and talking animatedly with him, was none other than the lost boy himself.

A flash a panic shot up Ranma's spine, before disappearing. He wasn't ready to defeat Ryouga, not yet - but the other boy obviously wasn't here for a fight. With that established, a veritable gamut of emotions vied in Ranma's mind for dominance. This was the first time he'd seen Ryouga since the incident at his home. He was alive, and seemingly well, which Ranma found (to his surprise) relieved him. Yet: what was he doing here? More to the point, who did he think he was, being here? After everything that had passed between them, just who the hell did Ryouga think he was showing up like this?

"Some company," Ranma said and smirked, cruelly. "Inviting a pig to the table."

Ryouga bristled, a bit, but actually ignored the comment and went back to discussing things with the Tendo patriarch. Ranma was about to say something more, when Nabiki and Akane came in from behind him. Nabiki walked right past him, but Akane paused to elbow him in the ribs. "Don't annoy Ryouga-kun."

"You're being awfully friendly with him." Ranma didn't hide the contempt in his voice. Akane was defending this guy? Why? She had more reason to dislike Ryouga than Ranma did!

"That's because he IS my friend." Akane said, then continued more softly. "I'm doing this for your sake, too."

Ranma didn't quite know what to say about that. His sake? Deciding he'd figure it out later, he watched as Akane took her seat, around the same time Nabiki sat next to Ryouga. Ranma was about to make another, more playful, attempt at goading the lost boy, when Nabiki gave him a hard uncompromising glare. Grumbling, the pigtailed one took a seat, between his father and Akane, who was seated opposite her father and next to the still-drooling and distracted old freak.

"Happy New Year's, everybody!" Kasumi put the last of the soba noodles on the table and took her own seat, disastrously enough next to Dr. Tofu. To his credit, the doctor was able to keep from breaking anything. He simply chewed happily on his napkin.

"Happy New Years!" Ryouga seconded, much to Ranma's annoyance. As was typical of the family, they ate quickly, and in a minute, everything was gone. Ranma wiped a bit of a noodle from his lower lip, faced Ryouga, and locked eyes with him. He could see the dismissing look in the other boy's eyes, and it brought a fresh wave of anger up to flood Ranma's mind, riding a crest of jealousy and bitterness from two previous defeats. Ranma smiled, ready to rip into his former 'friend.'

Then, Happosai howled, "NO!! My Soba Noodles!"

The attention of the two martial artists turned to the elderly pervert at the end of the table, who seemed to be making quiet noises to himself, his television program now over and the credits rolling down the screen. His bowl was also half empty. Soun leaned forward.

"Master? ...What's so funny?"

"I was crying, you idiot!" Happosai clunked Soun over the head with his pipe.

"Ah... That was good, Kasumi!" Akane put her bowl down, and instantly, the table cracked and gave way, splitting down the middle.

"You... YOU ate my Super Soba!" Happosai stood up, and glared at Akane.

"Super Soba?" Genma scratched his head.

"The wood could have just been rotten," Nabiki pointed out.

"The house is very old," Kasumi contributed.

"Wha... what a coincidence to see you here, Kasumi!" Dr. Tofu didn't contribute, he just mumbled to himself, mostly.

"And I spent so long gathering the ingredients!" Happosai began to cry, and then launched himself at Akane. "A good cry in your bosom should make it up to me!"

Akane's hand came up, and Happosai was sent flying on contact, crashing into and through the far wall. The youngest Tendo looked at her palm.

"Wow..." She said, and smiled broadly. "Super Soba."

"Bah," Ranma interrupted. "The old freak's just toying with you. I'll prove it."

Ranma lied down, on his side; arm up in silent challenge. Akane did the same, and they locked hands. Ryouga looked on, in amazement, as Ranma's whole body was flattened and thrown to the side in a loud crash, leaving a Ranma-shaped hole in the floor.

"Oh my," Kasumi said what everyone thought.

"Again!" Ranma got up, and Akane soundly thrashed him again.

"Again!"

Crash.

"Again!"

Crash.

"AGAIN!!!"

Crash.

"It seems Ranma-kun is a real glutton for punishment." Nabiki blinked, not really believing her eyes.

"Nothing new in that revelation." Ryouga shook his head, as the bells outside began to ring - the first of hundred and eight times.

"I'm... so happy!!" Akane began to cry tears of joy.

Soun sniffled and did the same. "My little girl... I'm so proud."

"Our poor house," Nabiki interrupted, but didn't quite wail.

Akane smiled at her older sister, and then at Ryouga. "Hey! I bet I'm even stronger than you now, Ryouga!"

"Maybe." He shrugged, not really caring. Even if she was, it was because of that magic Soba.

"Want to find out?"

"No. Not really." Ryouga scratched behind his ear, not quite comfortable with where this is going.

"Are you afraid you're going to lose?" Akane ventured.

"Akane!" Kasumi and Nabiki said at the same time.

"Yeah, P-chan!" Ranma spoke up, from his hole in the floor. "Afraid she's going to beat you?"

Ryouga's eyes narrowed. He spared Nabiki a quick glance, before resigning himself to his fate and lying down. Slowly, he rolled up the long sleeve on his right arm. Akane hesitated a bit - he looked stronger than Ranma, and much more heavily muscled. Indeed, she knew he was far stronger than Ranma. It wouldn't look good if she lost. Ryouga was a friend, yes, but she found herself praying that he'd lose. It'd be painful to lose face after goading him into a match with her. They locked hands, and Akane felt his large hand, and calloused fingers, close around hers with gentle, but incredible, strength. His face seemed neutral, but it was obvious he wasn't very comfortable in the situation he'd been thrust into. He waited for her, and Akane used a sudden, powerful burst to try and overwhelm him like she had Ranma.

His arm barely moved, though the ground beneath their elbows cracked and began to give way. A moment of panic set into Akane's brain, and she tried again, applying constant pressure. Still, his arm held, though she could see he was gritting his teeth now. She couldn't see him, but to the side, Ranma's eyes were wide as saucers. Akane started to feel fatigued - she was stronger than ever, but her endurance was the same. And an endurance contest with Hibiki Ryouga was no contest at all. Finally, mercifully, the floor under them gave way, kicking up some dust.

Ryouga's hand left hers, and he stood up, shaking his arm a little.

"Tie?" He asked, his voice hopeful.

"Tie," she agreed, and the two shook hands. He obviously seemed grateful it had ended when it did, and Akane wasn't sure whether or not, had it come down to it, he would have beaten her or let her win, to save face. He smiled weakly, nervously, and Akane nodded. He knew the ground would give out before one of them won. Mentally, she kicked herself for challenging him in the first place. Some friend she turned out to be.

"Well, that was fun," Ryouga lied, and bowed politely to Mr. Tendo. "I think it's time to go. Thank you for the meal, Tendo-san."

"Anytime. You two have fun, now!" Mr. Tendo waved him off.

"Bye, daddy!" Nabiki waved back, grabbed her jacket, and headed out, Ryouga following right behind her. Ryouga neither had, nor needed, a jacket, because the cold wasn't really a problem for him, but he waited while Nabiki fitted herself into hers. She was wearing a barely loose fitting black blouse, blue jeans, and her jacket was almost the same shade of yellow gold that he wore. The winter, so far, had been mild, and her jacket looked quite light. He blushed, and turned away a bit, looking outside. In the sky, he could see the occasional flash of fireworks going off. Checking his watch, he smiled a bit.

Nabiki had given it to him for Christmas, though he'd still been in the hospital at the time. Of course, he hadn't been able to do any shopping for anyone, so he just promised to 'owe her one' even though he suspected he was getting himself deeper into debt and doubted she'd paid for it with her own money. To his surprise, she invited him over for New Years, and said that she just wanted to go out and see the town with someone - at their expense, of course, instead of just sitting around and watching television like the family normally did.

She took his arm, and led him out. Ryouga was still blushing in embarrassment, and fought to keep it under control. This was Nabiki - a standoffish, manipulative woman, though at times nice and even cute. No: not so much cute. She was alluring. Attractive. Mesmerizing. Cute would be a woodland creature. Mesmerizing would be a diamond - faceted and reflective. That was Nabiki. She was also a master actor and player of the game, and not to be trusted. Still...

He grinned, a little shyly, and let her lead him out of the house and to the front gate, chuckling stupidly under his breath. She turned to him, as they walked, and smiled, pleasantly. "Thanks."

That caught him off guard, and snapped him back to near attention. "For what?"

"Letting her win," Nabiki said, plainly.

"I... don't know what you're talking about. That soba was strong stuff... she's stronger than anyone I've ever met before."

"Maybe. But wood doesn't just explode in little puffs of smoke naturally you know." She ribbed him, gently, but he felt it. "I don't think anyone else saw it though. I was a little surprised myself - don't you need to yell 'Bakusai Tenketsu' to do the move?"

Ryouga laughed, softly. "No. That's only when you're learning. It helps develop focus. Consider that fact a freebee."

"Very generous of you, Hibiki." Nabiki opened the gate, and they stepped out together.

***

Inside the house, Ranma was taking a quick break to watch a little television. Flipping through the channels, he sighed as the news turned from local events to weather to shots of the fireworks silhouetted against Tokyo Tower. Thinking over the events of the last twelve months, Ranma had mixed feelings about it all. Approaching the present, he stifled a frustrated growl. It was bad enough losing to Ryouga, but to have Akane overpower him because of some stupid magic soba...

He reminded himself not to worry about that, or the directionally challenged enemy out to destroy him, with whom he had a life-or-death duel who-knew-when. Tonight, he would relax a bit. Watching the fireworks, in this place, he savored the rare moment of normal, mundane calm. Things had really been so much simpler back when it had just been his father and himself, wandering and training together. Still, even with all the trouble, a part of the younger Saotome was glad he'd found a place, a home, to settle in for a while.

In that moment, on that tangent, he thought of his mother. He hardly knew her, so he didn't exactly 'miss' her... but who was she? What was she doing this New Years? Did she miss him? Did she live at her home, or their home, or what? Was she a Martial Artist - on that, at least, Ranma almost knew she wasn't. If she was, Genma would have probably taken her with them on their training trip.

"Mom." The word felt alien to the pigtailed boy. "Mother."

Sighing, he went back to looking at the television.

"...The hell?" Ranma blinked as a quick black shape passed by the periphery of his vision, silhouetted against the lights out over the koi pond and the rest of the yard. It looked almost like... P-chan. But that was impossible. Ryouga obviously wasn't sleeping with Akane in that form, now that she knew his secret, and besides, he'd left with Nabiki a little while ago. Then again, he hadn't seen Ryouga change at all since he came back, mostly because he wasn't in the Nerima-Water Hazard Area that much, but the fact remained. Also, he hadn't responded to the P-chan taunting like he usually did. Was he cured? Was his cursed form, maybe now a separate creature, returning to its 'home?'

"Hey, pig!" Ranma ran out to the edge of the dojo, where it opened into the yard, and looked around. The little critter was gone. That was odd... he had been around here somewhere. Focused on the search, he didn't see the shadows descending from above.

"NOW!"

"Get 'im!"

"What?" Ranma whirled, avoiding a rather long and nasty looking sword that imbedded itself into the dojo floor where he'd been standing, followed by a flurry of thrown bolas. Thrown off guard, Ranma had been unable to properly dodge the bolas, and had paid the price for it, having his left arm tightly wound around his chest. The sword was still quivering where it had cut into the ground, when a flurry of spatulas rained down, forcing Ranma to jump back, and twist to avoid the blades. Still in midair, Ranma got a look at his attackers as they leapt from the shadows.

"Aw, geez!" Ranma groaned. "You two idiots?"

"Time for a humbling, Saotome!" Ukyou was the quickest, and closed the distance, while Mousse stayed at range, a long polearm drawn and ready.

"Why don't you two morons just get lost?" Ranma back flipped away from Ukyou's initial attack, and lashed out with a kick that caught her at the back of the neck. Ukyou flew back with the blow, tucked her legs in, and landed on her feet, none the worse for wear.

"Why don't YOU just DIE?!" Ukyou roared, crossed her arms, and concentrated. Her battle aura flowed out and over her, and her hands blurred, as she loosed two-dozen mini-spatulas in as many heartbeats.

"Yeah, right!" Ranma took a familiar stance, his hands starting to move at incredible speed to deflect the blades. "Katchu..."

"Painiyao Chuan Version 2.1!"

Ranma grunted, as the first of a hailstorm of blows connected with his lower back, and tossing him right into the blizzard of thrown mini-spatulas. The instant of panic came and passed, but Saotome Ranma pivoted, and let his momentum carry him forward and down, passing through the weapons with only a nick across the shoulder. Rolling forward, he kicked up and out, towards Ukyou, his battle aura now in full force. The awkwardness of the move gave her enough time to move, allowing Ukyou to block the kick. Landing, Ranma looked down to see what kind of damage he'd taken, and saw them.

Breasts.

He was female. How? To his side, Mousse started laughing. "Let's see how cocky you are now, Saotome!"

"Hey!" Ranma saw Mousse throw aside the broken, and still slightly damp, Fist of the White Swan. He'd obviously remade it to hold water, and break after a few blows, drenching the target. To Ranma's right, Ukyou advanced, slowly.

"Heh!" Mousse gave a single, sharp laugh, his hands in his sleeves. "He's weaker in his girl form. Much easier to deal with."

"Double team on three, sugar!" Ukyou was chuckling softly, her male-guise ponytail wafting in the breeze blown in from the now-open side of the dojo. She was out of mini-spatulas in her bandolier, but Ranma knew she had other surprises hidden on her person.

"One!" Mousse took a step forward.

"Two!" Ukyou shifted her grip on her megaspatula.

"Three." Ranma spat, and they attacked.

***

"Hey, look. It's Kuno."

"Where?"

"There." Ryouga pointed down the street. Nabiki squinted a bit in the low light, before finally making out the shape of a certain familiar kendoist. "Looks like he sees us."

Nabiki scoffed. "I really don't feel like dealing with Kuno-chan right now."

"It's a little too late now." Ryouga shrugged. "Besides, I want to tell him something. I just got an idea."

Tatewaki Kuno met them halfway down the street, a box of chocolates in one hand, and a bouquet of red roses in the other. They met under a business shop's overhang. Ryouga gave a quick, short nod, and Kuno stopped and noted just whom he was with. "Well met, Wanderer. And you, as well, Tendo Nabiki. How fare the two of you on this good night?"

"Hey, Kuno, lookin' good! What's up? Who are those chocolates for?" Ryouga asked, pleasantly.

"Ah. These sweets are for the similarly sweet, yet fierce, Tendo Akane, so that my love for her would be signified by the taste of yon pastries upon her gentle lips. She loves me well; this is the least of many gifts I shall shower her with."

Ryouga sniffed with a practiced nose. "Truffles?"

"How didst thou know?"

"Er." Ryouga bit his lip, and Nabiki laughed. "I'm a good guesser. Akane doesn't like truffles, though. She's allergic."

"What?" Kuno looked down at the heart shaped box of candies. "Art thou sure?"

"It's true, Kuno-baby. She puffs up like a balloon when she eats truffles." Nabiki pointed out, straight faced.

"Tis a tragedy, then - a sad fit of circumstance!"

"I'll take them off your hands, Kuno-baby!" Nabiki grabbed the small box of candy. Kuno was about to ask them back when the Tendo girl interrupted him. "Are those roses for the pigtailed girl?"

"Ah... they are." Kuno took in a deep breath. "Yes, for the pigtailed girl is like a rose, so delicate, and yet so strong..."

"She prefers lilies, I hear." Ryouga looked over his shoulder. "In fact, when I went to pick Nabiki up, I overheard Ranma saying that he was going to buy her some himself."

"The Sorcerer dares seduce my pigtailed goddess?" Kuno started to shake with indignation.

"Well, he did mention ringing in the New Year with her..." Ryouga answered, straight faced.

"And drowning in her passionate caresses," Nabiki added in.

Kuno reached for his bokken, teeth clenched. "I shall punish him!"

"Here. Lemme hold those for ya." Ryouga took the bouquet of roses, and Kuno raced off towards the Tendo Dojo, a righteous fury now thoroughly stoked and burning in his mind. As he vanished, Ryouga sighed, and shook his head. "I almost feel sorry doing that."

"I thought you hated Ranma." Nabiki opened the box, and popped a single black chocolate into her mouth.

"I meant I almost felt sorry for Kuno." Ryouga looked at the roses, fought down his nervousness, and handed them over to her, using his best Kuno-impersonation. "For, ah... the capitalistic brown-eyed goddess, Nabiki Tendo. I would date with thee."

"That's terrible." She took the roses, and the two laughed. "You make an awful Kuno, Ryouga."

"It's the thought that counts." Her arm snaked out to interlock with his own and he felt a new flush of heat rise in his cheeks. "Are... are those any good?"

"Sure. Want one?" Nabiki held up one of the little chocolates.

Ryouga took it from her, their hands brushing for a second, and ate it. Chocolate he didn't particularly like, but recently he'd had an unusual attraction to truffles. Combined with Ranma's recent obsession with getting ice cream in his female form led the lost boy to wonder just what kind of influence his cursed form was having, or could be having, on his normal body. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but luckily, it came and went quickly. There'd be time to worry about it later, anyway. Ryouga licked his lips, getting a stray bit of chocolate off his upper lip.

"Not bad," he finally decided on saying.

The two walked in silence for a few steps, before Nabiki spoke up, "What was it you wanted to tell him, anyway?"

"Kuno?"

Nabiki nodded.

"Oh. Well, right now, Mousse and Ukyou are off playing with Saotome." Ryouga smiled, though it wasn't particularly friendly. "It's the reason I didn't feel the need to pound him earlier. I knew he'd be getting his in a few minutes anyway. I figured that throwing Kuno into the mix couldn't hurt... anyone except Ranma, that is."

"And if he's in his girl form?"

"I hadn't thought of that... but it's not likely. Mousse and Ukyou should stay away from the Koi pond, for obvious reasons, and keep it in the Dojo." He saw the disapproving look in her eyes. "I also told them to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. So they came up with a plan to trap him there and catch him off guard."

"They better. Or you'll be paying for it!" Nabiki scowled. "And I can't believe you..."

"What? Planned an attack on your future brother-in-law?" Ryouga rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't strike me as particularly honorable," Nabiki said, honestly.

Ryouga's eyes became dangerously narrow. "Honor...? No. I suppose it isn't honorable. However, neither is it honorable to abandon one's friends. Mousse and Ukyou have no chance of beating Ranma in an honest fight. No matter how much they train... so do I have a problem with what they're doing? No. No... I don't. So long as it brings them happiness."

"And if they beat him?"

"What do I care if they do?" Something in Ryouga's voice indicated to her that what he had just said had some hidden meaning. "Besides, I have serious doubts that they have the stomach to do what needs to be done. That's why I'm here."

"You don't mean..."

He looked at her cautiously. "I mean... making Ranma miserable, of course. It's what I do. It's who I am. I said I was going to destroy his happiness, and I will."

Nabiki frowned, disapproving. "All because of some stupid bread?"

Ryouga stopped walking, and Nabiki got jerked back a bit, her arm still in his.

"What?" She asked.

"It's not the bread," Ryouga's voice was cold. "Nabiki... Ranma knocked me into the Heituenniichuan. The spring of drowned piglet! He ruined my life several times over! I'll never forgive what he did to me. Never."

"And where do you think this feud is going to get you, hmm?" Nabiki gave his arm a hard shake. "What do you want to get out of it?"

"Revenge!"

"Where's the profit in that?"

"I... I," he stuttered. "I don't know. I don't know, Nabiki. This is just something I have to do. If I don't settle things with him, I swear, I'm going to explode. I've trained and worked and bled for too much for it to come to nothing. Maybe I can't explain it that well, but..."

Nabiki sighed. "Alright. All right. I get the idea."

"Good," Ryouga didn't say anymore on the topic.

"Now, can we get to the movie before it starts?"

"Um... sure. You'll... er... lead the way," he mumbled a bit, and Nabiki dragged him off.

"Baka."

***

"Got 'im! Now, sugar!"

"Die, Saotome!" Mousse flipped in the air, raining down nets on the pinned down pigtailed one. Busy grappling with Ukyou, he looked up just as the interlaced nets widened and began to descend on him, like a cloud. Cursing silently, he overpowered Ukyou, and broke her grip on her megaspatula by twisting it and throwing her over his shoulder. Without hesitating, Ranma spun, and threw the large bladed weapon up and into the nets, putting a bit of a spin on it as to catch and tangle the nets before they could do the same to him.

"Damn it!" Ukyou balled her fists, and watched as her weapon fell to the ground, now tangled beyond quick recovery. Unarmed combat had never really been her forte, and though Ranma-chan wasn't as strong as Ranma-kun, she still out-muscled her by a fair margin, and worse, Ranma-chan was ridiculously fast. Mousse landed, and sensing her hesitation, closed the distance with Ranma with a flourish of weapons and barehanded attacks. He had a significant reach advantage, this much was obvious, but Ranma's technique was much more fluid and flexible, and her speed was much greater. Mousse was hard pressed to hold his own, much less do any real damage.

Ukyou made a quick decision, and lunged for her weapon.

"Halt, varlet!"

Ukyou stopped, her feet skidding on the floor of the dojo, and looked up.

"Kuno!" She frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"How dare thou assault the pigtailed girl?"

"Jackass. Ranma is your enemy too!"

"I see not the foul sorcerer Saotome present; only a duo of fiends attacking the most healthy and vibrant of wildflowers. I won't allow it!" Kuno's bokken swung in a swift, downward arc.

Ukyou acted quickly, rolling to the side. "What are you doing, you ...you moron?!"

"Stand still and let me vanquish thee!"

To her side, Mousse crashed to the ground, but rolled and got back to his feet, claws drawn and ready. He spat a bit of blood. "Is that all you've got, Saotome!? Come on! COME ON!!"

"Strike Strike Strike Strike Strike Strike!!"

"Kachuu Tenshi Amaguriken!!"



"Four Bomb!!"

"Nihao!"

"Shampoo! Help me out here!"

"Shampoo?! Where?!"

"Ah... yon purple haired vixen would challenge the Blue Thunder? Very well, if you defeat me, I shall date with thee!"

"Shampoo! I love you!"

"Get off me, you jackass! I'm not Shampoo!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"Sweeto!"

"Keep it down out there, damn it!"

***

"Are you sure your father won't mind?"

"Nah. He seems to like you."

"I come in handy." Ryouga huffed up a bit. "He wants a rival for Ranma. I'm useful for that. He wanted someone to make Ranma jealous over Akane. I *was* useful for that. I don't think it's anything else."

"You're too damn depressing, you know that?" Nabiki reprimanded him. "It gets annoying after a little while."

"Does it, now? I'm a realist. It's the world that's depressing, not me." Ryouga's face was indifferent. "Actually, in a way, I consider myself sort of an optimist, too."

"Yeah right."

"It's true. When you're at the bottom of a cliff, what's the only way to look?"

"Up... I guess."

"Exactly. If I weren't an optimist, I'd have... done something hasty and unfortunate a long time ago." Still, Ryouga's face was unreadable. "Anyway... you're not exactly happy go lucky either, you know."

"I'm content. ...Mostly." Nabiki looked away, up at the night sky. "I've got a family. Money. Good grades... Friends."

"How is that, anyway? Having a family?"

Nabiki gave him a disbelieving look. "What do you mean, how is it?"

"Well... You know, I don't really have one. Not a normal family, anyway. Ukyou's my closest friend, and she barely talks to her family now. I don't really know a lot of people."

"My family." Nabiki gave a short, quick laugh at the very thought. "My family is just... that. I live with them. Kasumi's nice, and Akane is fun to be around... or used to be... I don't really know. I don't have a lot in common with any of them, to tell the truth."

"What do ya mean?"

"Kasumi's just... not normal, really. She likes doing housework, and I can't stand it. She's... she's a little like mother, and I was never really all that close to her, either. We talk, but I really can't relate to her much. Akane and I used to be close, but then she really got into the Family School and martial arts, and everyone just seemed to love her. I mean, the second day she came to school, it was like, 'snap' and the whole school body became the Akane-obsessed."

"Ignoring you, completely. I know how it feels, Nabiki. To be alone in a crowd."

"Yeah." Nabiki looked down at her feet. "But even you were obsessed with her."

"I suppose I was... before... everything. But that could have been anyone. If you had picked me up..."

"What? You'd be sleeping with me every night?" Nabiki smiled, as the lost boy blushed and started to stammer.

"Not... not every night! I... er... there's no real good side of this, is there?"

"Pervert." She smacked him playfully on the chest. As they approached the outer wall, a strange stillness filled the air.

"It's quiet. Too quiet," Ryouga said, in a conspiratorial tone. He swung open the dojo gate after Nabiki unlocked it, and came face to face with a very battered, tired, and angry Ranma-chan.

"You... you!!" Ranma took a wobbly step forward.

"Happy New Year, Saotome." Ryouga gently touched her shoulder, her clothes froze up, and he and Nabiki went into the house without another word. "I'll be in your room, Ranma, so why don't you just sleep outside today? Great! Thanks, buddy."

Ranma grunted something incoherent from the floor.