Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Ranma ½ , apart from the DVDs, but that's all, unfortunately!

Chapter Two: It's Repeating, for Pete's sake!

Akane Tendo was suddenly awoken by the sound of a bucket of cold water being splashed down on Ranma's bed.

"Happy Ne -" started Genma's bellow,

"Not today, Pops," Grinned Ranma-Chan, throwing a punch to the gut and then sweeping a leg under the older man.

Akane pouted, and said the only thing that could express her outrage at being woken up in such a way.

"Hmph, Honestly!" P-Chan snorted in agreement.

As the two family martial artists took the fight outside, Akane got up and quickly dressed.

She picked up P-Chan who was blushing furiously for some reason she could not fathom and took her seat at the low breakfast table next to Kasumi, two empty seats to her right, which were quickly occupied by Genma and Ranma.

Breakfast began, Akane had to almost physically stop herself shouting at Ranma to stop being a hog and eat like a normal person.

After his first bowl, instead of grabbing more, Ranma turned her. Akane felt P-Chan tense in her lap.

"Akane," he said, "What are you up to later?"

Akane felt the air fill with tension, as the entire Tendo family looked up at the forcefully engaged couple.

Ranma turns and glares at them all.

"What?" he manages to say in deadpan voice, but Akane could see his hands bunching into fists, under the table.

After a brief moment of tense silence, the Tendo's went back to eating.

Ranma takes his second bowl, Akane looks at Ranma, then finishes her only quarter eaten breakfast.

After breakfast, as Akane was getting ready to set off from their shopping trip, which she was looking forward too, after all it wasn't everyday that you got to travel to the big city and go to the best shopping centres in the world. (Women and shopping, eh? ^_-)

Ranma came into their shared room, looking slightly apprehensive.

Akane did not know what he had to be worried about, stupid baka probably thought he would get malletted for saying anything. Well if it was anything perverted then that's what he should be expecting.

"Akane," he said, slowly, stepping forward, Akane's bed between him and her. "I er, - I need your help with something."

"What?" she looked at him, her hands turned to tight fists, he was asking her for something, she was sure he was going to say something stupid, she was itching to use her mallet again, for the way he treated her yesterday, the JERK!

"I want you to come with me," he said, slowly, "I need to do something and I need you with me."

Akane frowned, suspicions racing through her mind, What was he up to? She thought.

"Oh, but what about the shopping trip?" she said, sounding annoyed at him, not really wanting to go, but she had to know how important this was to him.

"Please, Akane," he said, in a soft voice, "I need your help."

"Okay," she said, curiosity and a slight worry, overriding her instant anger. "Where are we going?"

Ranma smiled, his first genuine smile today. "That is a secret."

"THE CAT CAFÉ!!" Akane shrieked, as they walked along the street, a little later. "How can one be here!?!"

She turned on Ranma, anger flaring up within her, how dare he bring her here of all places, and how did he know that would be here? She would not be at all surprised if he had sneaked off here last night to see Shampoo. The dirty pervert!

"How did you know they were here?" she glared at him, she watched as he cringed away from her slightly.

Akane was angry with him, after all this time, her feelings had barely changed for him, she thought of him as a friend, but she wanted it to be more than that, but having him being an insensitive jerk every time after he said something nice was getting on her nerves. She wished he could make a decision about all this and stick with it.

She wanted an end to the chaos and weirdness that had entered her life, when Ranma had come along. It looked like Ranma was again playing games with her heart, she wanted him to tell her he -

"Look," said Ranma, "I saw the Cat Café last night when we arrived, I was going to tell them to leave me alone, but I want you to come along so that they don't try anything, like drug me or anything, but there is another reason -"

"Oh, and what's that?" she demanded,

"I'll explain when we get there," said Ranma, smiling slightly, "I don't like to repeat myself."

They entered the Cat Café, as the door opened and with the chiming of the bell, a chirpy voice came from behind the counter.

"Niho! Would Honoured Customer want -" Shampoo turned, and then she squealed in pure delight and jumping over the counter made to glomp Ranma. "Airen!"

Or least she would have, if Akane had not been standing in her way.

"Why Violent Kitchen-Destroyer here with my Airen?"

Akane scowled, looking the purple haired Amazon over, she was dressed in a shorter than short skirt and plunging top, reveal everything without disobeying any public decency laws, just bending them a little. "You'll have to ask Ranma yourself, Shampoo." Akane looked over her shoulder at Ranma, he smiled at her, then he stepped beside her, his arm touching hers briefly.

"I'm only here to see Cologne, Shampoo," said Ranma, "I wish to speak with her."

"About what, son-in-law?" said, appearing as if out of no where.

Akane watched as Ranma turned to the tribe elder, a scowl suddenly appearing on his face. "I've been through this day before, twice before, I don't know what you're game is, old ghoul. But it stops right now!" Ranma's anger seemed to expand with each word, his hands balled into fists.

"I see," said Cologne, with an infuriating calm. "what makes you think I am behind this, and how do you know you are not simply having déjà vu?"

"I know what déjà vu is like, old ghoul," Ranma scowled, Akane could almost feel the heat coming off of him, as he stood beside her. "this ain't it, so obviously there is some sort of magic goin' on, and I want it to stop, I've had it with you're Chinese mystic stuff, yer hear me, old ghoul, turn this spell or whatever it is off, NOW!"

The Amazon village Elder merely smiled, as if impressed by his outburst against someone many years older than him.

Akane didn't like the look in Cologne's eye, she was devious, Akane knew, trying to force Ranma in to a marriage to Shampoo, marriage she assumed he did not want, of course it was only her assumption. She knew from assumptions meant nothing in the real world.

"I'll tell you what, son-in-law," said Cologne smiling, Shampoo giggled as she looked at Ranma, "I'll tell you how to reverse this, if you defeat me, one on one, however if you loose -"

"Yeah, yeah," said Ranma, cutting her off with a wipe of the hand, "if I loose, - which I won't, - then I have to marry Shampoo, I know the score, old ghoul. Let's go!"

Cologne smiled a very feral smile, balanced on her staff, she looked like a cat sat on a pole.

"Then, let us begin, son-in-law." Said Cologne, then both Ranma and the old Amazon leapt into the air.

There was a flurry of blows that Akane could barely follow, as they almost seemed to float in the air.

The old matriarch easily deflected a kick, as the two combatants were grounded, Ranma, leaped into the air and wiped a low round house kick, but Cologne blocked it again.

"Very good, son-in-law," said the Amazon Elder, "if you defeat this technique, which I assure you, will not be easy, then you shall have my help."

"Quit goading me, old ghoul," Ranma, bit out, throwing a punch, which missed when the target suddenly vanished. "just get on with it!" he kicked backward, barely missing the elder's face, as she raced up behind him.

Suddenly, there were various Colognes standing on the tables around the small restaurant.

Ranma grinned, "Nice one, old ghoul," he turned to Shampoo, "Shampoo, how fast can you make a ramen with noodles?"

"Airen's Special Ramen, all ready!" squeaked the Chinese bimbo, throwing him the bowl.

Akane fumed, "This is no time to eat, Ranma!"

"Oh, but it is," said Ranma, catching and then lacing noodles between chopsticks, he threw the tangle of food into the center of the multiple Colognes. "here you go, old ghoul!"

"What are you -" Akane stopped, as one of the Colognes detached from the mass and snapped up the ball of noodles.

"Gotcha!" yelled Ranma, thrusting forward and stopping his karate chop to the Amazon Elder, an inch from her throat.

"Curse my stomach," grumbled Cologne, looking down at Ranma's hand, "very good, son-in-law."

"Thanks, old ghoul," said Ranma, straightening, "now why have you been doing this?"

"I never said I started this," said Cologne, calmly, hopping onto her stick, "however we may find something that will help you." She turned to her great-granddaughter, "Shampoo, fetch the ancient texts from the trunk."

"Yes, great-grandmother," said Shampoo, bowing.

"Where is Mousse, Shampoo?" said Cologne, Shampoo turned with a frown.

"Shampoo no know," she answered, "Stupid Mousse possibly outside hugging post box, expressing undying love." As Shampoo left.

Everyone face-faulted.

It was several hours later, when Akane finally decided enough was enough with this research, she wanted to know what was going on. She turned to Ranma, her only source of information in this continuing insanity.

"What's going on, Ranma?" she asked, in a very controlled voice, "I really want to know, right now!"

"This is kinda hard to explain," began Ranma.

"Try." Said Akane, tightening her fists, she had managed to control her anger today and it would only take a little bit more of push to send her over the edge.

"Look," he said quickly, starting to sweat, "I dunno what's goin' on, all I know is, I've just gone through this day, this exact day twice b'fore, I've no idea what 'caused it, but my guess was -"

"- Chinese magic," Akane finished for him, some of her anger ebbing away, "so you come here, which explains how you knew it was here." Her anger bubbled, rising with her next sentence: "so you've been to this bimbo's place before!"

A look of pure terror slipped on Ranma's face, as the mallet made it's belated appearance.

"What Kitchen-Destroyer call Shampoo?" shouted Shampoo, bombari magically in hand.

"Now, jus' a minute, 'Kane," said Ranma, getting up, it was a very bad idea.

BAM! WAP!

"Oops!" exclaimed both Shampoo and Akane, as Mallet-sama and bombari were brought down on Ranma's head.

Akane glared at Shampoo, then took Ranma's limp form by the pigtail, "We're leaving, I can't find anything to do with repeating days, so that's it, 'bye, Shampoo."

Akane slammed the door behind her and then hid both herself and the still unconscious Ranma in a side alley, just as Shampoo burst through the door, looking around for the pair of them.

Akane sighed and looked at her fiancée, lying in the rubbish, completely asleep.

"Guess we better get home," she said, mostly to herself, "otherwise our fathers might think we've eloped or something stupid like that."

Akane was looking around for P-Chan when Ranma, sprawled on his bed, where she had put him, woke up.

"Ugh." He said, in way of greeting and clutching his head. "what hit me?" he asked the world in general.

"A mallet and a Bonbori," said Akane, simply, looking under her bed, "have you seen P-Chan anywhere?" she asked

"Akane," said Ranma, wiping sleep form his eyes, "I've just woken up, how would I where he is, anyway, he'll turn up, he gets lost easily."

"Ranma, you baka," she said, slightly hurt at him for what he was saying about her pet pig, "He's not Ryouga, you know."

"Whatever," he said, with a strange sigh, "what time is it?"

"Three o'clock, you've been asleep for three hours." She replied, still looking.

"Ah, great," he sighed again, "I missed lunch." He got up and went to their, that is Akane and Ranma's, separated beds and all, room. "I'm just going for a bit of fresh air, I may go on to somewhere else, there must be somewhere that can help me out with this prob -"

He stopped, Akane turned, his hand was almost on the handle of the door, he sighed again, opening it and stepping aside as Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome collapsed onto the floor, deprived of the reassuring weight of the door they had been leaning against, trying to listen to the pair's conversation.

"Is that so," said Akane, grabbing her coat, and standing next to Ranma, "well I might as well as come with you, nothing better to see here after all."

They left their fathers were they lay in a crumpled heap, Ranma making sure to step on his father as he went, and left the hotel.

Akane became more interested in Ranma's problem rather than seeing the New Year parade in the main streets of Tokyo, after all if his problem was not solved, she'd see again tomorrow, of course, she wouldn't realise this, but other things were on her mind right now.

"What did we do on the other days?" she asked, turning to her fiancée as they walked down the street, others having gone off to celebrate.

"Same as usual," Ranma replied, "we were bickering, fighting, throwing insults, Nabiki got in the ways, as did our Dads, the rivals and well, you know," Ranma grimaced, "always sticking their noses into our business."

"Sounds like the usual day to me." Commented Akane.

"ARGH! WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW!?!" the yell came from a nearby alley.

"What was that?" said Akane, thinking, Ryouga, how is he here?

Ranma suddenly grinned and raced into the alley.

Just as suddenly there was another shout. "Hey kid! Watch were you're going, you could've killed me!"

Akane went into the alleyway, to find Ranma and Ryouga, with three middle aged men in robes of dark crimson, all in their late fifties, with greying brown hair. One wore glasses with a moustache, the second had a rather ragged beard and the last was cleanly shaven.

"Watch were I'm going?" said Ryouga, he looked angrily at the older men.

"As I recall, boy," said the spectacled one, "you ran into the back of us."

"Oh, really," said Ryouga, his hands in fists, "you wanna fight, old man!"

"Hello, Ryouga," said Akane, Ryouga turned his fuming face from the three men, his expression changing completely as he did so.

"A - Akane," he let out a stupid little laugh. "What are you doing in New York?"

"This is Tokyo Center, pig-boy," said Ranma, folding his arms, "weren't you going to apologise to these three men here, yer know for running into them and all?"

"Who are you calling pig-boy, you cross-dresser!"

"WHAT!" Ranma exploded.

"Whoa! Little hot-heads, eh?" grinned the bearded one.

"Reminds me of someone," the clean shaven on, grinned at his spectacled friend, "wonder who."

"Me too."

"Very funny, Charlie," he growled back, knuckles cracking. He turned back to Akane, ignoring the arguing teens, "anyway, we must introduce ourselves to the young lady here." The man smiled in a friendly way.

"You're English?" asked Akane, noting their features and their accents, although their clothes were a little odd.

"Good observation there, young lady," said the bearded one, "My name is Harry, these are my (Ahem!) associates -" he gestured to the two men that stood before her.

"More like colleagues really," said the one with a moustache and spectacles. "Name's Charlie."

"I thought we were just acquaintances?" said the clean shaven one, "I'm Gary, by the by, the leader."

"Hey," said Harry, turning on Gary, as did Charlie, angrily, "who died and made you leader, huh?"

Gary simply rolled his eyes, "Oh, I dunno, the Master perhaps," he said, "remembered when he was on his sick bed in Vienna, made that big proclamation about me being the new leader."

"Oh, yeah," laughed Harry, stupidly, hand behind his head. "him, heh."

"Excuse me," said Akane, butting in and still trying to blank out Ranma and Ryouga, "but who are you?"

"Us?" they said together, grinning and then striking a pose.

"We are the Priests of the Given Light, Guardians of the Sacred Pipe, Defenders of the Unfallen Wall and Moppers of the Floor of Pain," they flourished and twirled, standing back to back, as well as three men can, "We are the Three!!!"

Akane mouth fell open at three middle aged men, while Ranma and Ryouga had stopped fighting to watch this display.

"I think," said Gary, slowly, looking over the staring teens, "that maybe our delivery is a little off today."

"Oh, come on," said Charlie, disgruntled, "we worked all summer on that!"

"Well anyway," said Harry, glaring briefly at Ryouga and then turning back to Akane, "anything we can do yer for, or you're boyfriends?" he grinned.

"Boyfriends?" said Akane, her eyes bugging out.

"Well, I think they make you a cute couple," said Charlie.

"Oh, yeah?" said Harry, "which pair?"

"Anyway," said Gary, as all three teens started blushing madly. "We know all sorts of magic, alchemy and a few things about higher level martial arts. So just ask us anything you like."

"You know martial arts?" said Akane, incredulously.

"You know magic?" exclaimed Ryouga.

"What's alchemy?" asked Ranma, cocking an eyebrow.

Akane sized the three older men up, they did not have the build for any martial arts that she knew, as for the magic thing, well there was no real to tell for sure.

"OK," said Akane, "prove it then."

"Which," said Gary, "the martial arts or the magic?"

"Magic." Said Akane, firmly.

The 'Three' all grinned, and raised their hands.

It was as if multiple explosions were going off around them, both Ryouga and Ranma got in defensive positions either side of Akane.

Suddenly the rubbish that was piled up against the walls of the alleyway suddenly started sprouting sweet smelling flowers and butterflies appeared out of no where.

"Wow!" breathed the teens.

Gary smiled gently at them, "Learned that one in China, doesn't require any nonsense babbling, just pure thought, took Harry a long time with that one."

"Hey!" said Harry, indigently.

"China?" said Akane and Ranma, together.

"Yep," said Harry, "learn most of our magic from -"

SPLASH!

"Why'd you do that?" exclaimed a very wet Harry, water dripping from his beard.

"Sorry," said Akane, dropping the bucket.

"Ah, well yer see," said Ranma, with a grimace, "it's kinda like this..."

Ranma, with occasional asides from Akane, so that she was sure he told the whole story, told about them visiting China and the cursed springs. Ryouga was of course left out, Akane was around after all.

"You went there, huh?" said Gary, looking sympathetic, "I cannot believe they put a bunch of tour guides there!" he said in exasperation.

"Should've been a troop of guards," said Charlie, nodding wisely. "let me guess, Ranma, you want to find a cure for it, right?"

"To be honest, today that is not a great concern," said Ranma, surprising everyone, even Ryouga, "I've been repeating this very day, it's happened twice already."

"Mmm," said Gary, thoughtfully.

"Mmm." Said Harry, copying Gary's pose.

Charlie turned and said, "You're fooling no one, Harry."

"Ah, shuddup Charlie," said Harry glaring at him, dropping the pose.

"Repeating you're day, you say," said Gary, still with a hand to his chin, "well Ranma, there are a few things we could try, but it would mean that you are all involved in this." He looked pointedly at Ryouga.

Ryouga looked at Akane, "Well OK," he said slowly, "if Akane agrees with this, then so do I."

"Thanks, buddy," said Ranma, with a smile.

"I ain't doing this for you Ranma." Ryouga glared.

"Yeah, I know, but still thanks."

"OK," said Akane, slowly, if she had not seen the display before hand, she would have said a flat no, but seeing them in action had killed some of those doubts.

Some.

Akane heard Ryouga grumble something about 'stupid emotions', when the Three got them to hold hands with them in a circle.

"OK, let's try a few things..."

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"Er, maybe it was the wrong wording?" said Gary, tiredly.

The six of them were, after two and half hours standing in a circle, surrounded by various objects that were not usually found in an alleyway in Tokyo City, Akane was definitely sure you did not find a jungle down one of them, for sure.

"I think we need to take a break." Said Charlie, they all broke hands, Akane leaning against a partial wall, which had remained even after the tropical forest had sprung up.

"I don't think I take much more this," sighed Akane, she looked over at Ranma, he was looking around, he looked bored and more than a little tired, but she knew he would not give up on this, she had given her support, as far as her body was concerned it was in need of food. "I'm going back." She said loudly.

Ranma, turned, "Look, Akane," he stepped up to her, stepping over Ryouga who had collapsed on the floor a few minutes before when a micro storm had decided to shoot a thunderbolt into his head. "thanks for this, I couldn't done this without you, really, but if you gotta go. Take Ryouga with you, he'll walk yer back."

Ranma tapped Ryouga with his foot, the Lost Boy sparked and shot up to standing position, his head whipping from left to right quickly. "Huhwhatzat!?!"

"Take Akane home, Ryouga," said Ranma, stepping back from Ryouga, in case he started to spark again.

Ryouga agreed, then remembered he did not know the way, so Akane decided to lead him with her in front.

After walking a couple of blocks nearing the hotel, Ryouga told her that he wanted to get her something from a shop he had seen earlier, he told her to wait for ten minutes then he would be back with it.

She waited on the corner as night closed in, after almost half an hour past, she decided that Ryouga had obviously gotten lost, so she made her way back to the hotel, sure that he would turn up later.

She met with the rest of her family, they ate dinner, not going on about Ranma's absence for more than two hours before they left her alone and they went onto the party.

During the party going, Akane made use of her time looking over the various stalls, admiring the artwork, and malleting away would-be-suitors, although her heart was not completely in it. Her mind was elsewhere.

It was almost midnight when her family found her and then took her, without a word to the local police station.

"Ranma was WHAT!?!" she exclaimed, as the officer in charge looked at her.

"I said," Replied the officer, "Mr. Ranma Saotome and his three (Ahem!) friends were in a bar brawl, not a scratch on them, they say they did not start the fight, but considering they don't have hardly any bruises, I'm inclined to think otherwise."

"Then you're imprisoning my boy!" Genma growled.

Soun wailed "Now the schools will never be joined! WAAH!!"

"Be brave father." Soothed Kasumi.

"How much? the bail I mean." Said Nabiki, leafing through bill several bills, Akane did not want to know how she got that money.

"Can we see hi -, I mean them?" asked Akane.

The officer nodded.

They were taken into the cells, Soun was still wailing, Genma looked straight ahead. Nabiki was taking the area with her shrewd eyes. Akane just felt a well of disappointment fill her.

She couldn't believe Ranma would do something so stupid that was not like him, to pick a fight, least of all with non-martial artists.

"RanMA!" Akane almost shouted, when she saw him, he stepped up to the bars.

"Akane," he said, "you shouldn't have come here."

"What did you think you were doing?" then she smelt the sake in the air, she wrinkled her nose.

"My fault," said Ranma, not looking at her, "but tomorrow will be better."

"But Ranma, you said," then Akane understood, she rolled her eyes, wondering if this was still true or not. "Baka, I'll try and remember this, after all you could do anything today."

Ranma suddenly grinned, "You know something Akane," his grin broadened, "you're totally right, he-he!"

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Next Chapter: Let The Fun Begin!

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, working on several assignments at once, most of the upcoming chapters will be multi-viewpoint. Be warned, next chapter has various character bashings, and "Oh, my!" will not cover these situations. (Laughs evilly) I shall try and get this up as soon as possible.

Author's New Note (14/7/03): right, another chappie re-edited, should have the next chappie of this soon, so watch this space...