The is an important author's note at the end of this piece, just before replies to reviews. I suggest reading it before the chapter itself, as it will help you understand some of what happens, but it is up to you.

Sukuuru Shita Koui means School Under Siege

Chapter Four: School Under Siege - Sukuuru Shita Koui

What more could I possibly ask for? Maina though to herself as she pulled her blankets up around her again. She was lying in her warm bed after having slept all night without interruption. Again. As if sleeping in the bed wasn't enough, she wasn't even pulled out of it to train in the dead of night. All things considered, yesterday didn't go as bad as I thought it would after talking to Renia. Even if I did manage to upset both Ranma and Kou-san.

She had also come to a decision, even if it was a roundabout one. She had hated Akane since she could understand who people were... and there was never someone she hated so much, even though she had never met her. But Akane hadn't seemed upset by this - she had taken it in stride and tried to accept her and teach her. Maina's big problem was that she couldn't turn around suddenly and like the woman who had stolen Ranma from her mother.

But she could like Kou-san. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it wouldn't make a difference one way or the other, but so long as she considered Ranma's wife to be Kou-san rather than Akane, she could tolerate her presence.

Renia seems determined not to abandon me, too. I deserved it after what I said about her mom... but she's still my friend. It felt really good to have a friend now. A real friend. The mere thought of it was enough to set her nerves at ease. I'll have to make it up to her somehow.

After a few more minutes of lying in bed, she decided that it really was time to get up. She had slept long enough, and was supposed to start school today. That would be an experience, that's for sure. She had never gone to school, never really even learned to read. It was not something she was really looking forward to, either, but Renia had promised to help as much as she could. That was a definite bonus.

Once dressed in her usual green outfit, she made her way quickly and as quietly downstairs as possible, well aware that it was early morning still. The sun had barely started to rise, and the smell of early morning dew was in the air.

"Oh, good morning, Maina! Did you sleep well?" She froze in the entrance to the tearoom at Kasumi's voice, and could only stare in amazement. The sliding doors were open and it was obvious that two people were fighting outside, albeit completely silently. "I hope we didn't wake you."

"N... no," Maina stammered after a second or two. "Actually, I was worried about waking someone. I thought I was getting up early."

"You'd have to get up pretty early to beat them up," Renia said from behind her. Maina spun around and found Renia, Minoru, and Setsumi all standing there in workout clothes. "Even I don't get up that early, and I'm always up earlier than these two," she said with a grin.

"I was up before you today, Ki-chan," Setsumi objected. "And usually it's a tie anyway, you don't beat me!"

"There is no need to argue about such frivolous things," Minoru said softly, stepping between the two and continuing to the table. "We all were up in time to complete our morning katas. What more do you need?"

Maina didn't miss the grins exchanged between Renia and Setsumi.

"Ready for school today, Maina?" Kasumi asked kindly as she sat down next to the girl, brushing her long brown hair behind her so it wouldn't get near the food. "I understand it will be a new experience for you."

"I..."

"Things will work out," Kasumi continued as though Maina hadn't tried to stammer a reply but failed. "They always do around here, anyway. I've often thought that..."

Whatever Kasumi had often thought was lost in a sudden splash, followed by a string of yells. Looking up, Maina saw Ranma-chan helping Akane out of the koi pond, and couldn't help but smile at the sight of both of them dripping wet.

Ranma-chan plopped down across the table from her, still dripping water. "Sorry about that, Kasumi," she said with a sigh. "Didn't expect to get wet this early."

"Nabiki waterproofed the floors years ago, Ranma," Kasumi said with a soft smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Breakfast's ready?" Akane asked as she sat down next to her husband. She was also dripping wet, though her blue black hair seemed to be a little drier - probably because she wore it loose rather than bound in a pigtail like Ranma's hair.

"Of course," Kasumi said, standing again. "Just let me bring it in."

Something must have gone unsaid, because when Maina blinked, Kasumi was sitting down again, and neither Ranma nor Akane were at the table anymore. "Where'd they go?" Maina whispered to Renia, who had taken a seat next to her.

"Oh, one of them is getting breakfast to serve to us, and the other is going to wake everyone else up... well, everyone but Nabiki, anyway. She sleeps in until ten most days."

"Why are they doing that?"

The question went unanswered as food appeared on the table in front of everyone and Ranma and Akane sat down again. Ranma was male again, and seemed a little drier than he had earlier. The rest of breakfast was mostly a blur as Maina tried to ready herself for school. She figured it would probably have been a lot easier if she had any idea what to expect.

Just before everyone stood from breakfast, Maina turned back to Kasumi. "Is there any chance you could wake me up at the same time as the others tomorrow? I don't want to lose my edge, and I'd feel better if I at least did a few katas..." Kasumi promised that she would, and then sent her upstairs to get her things ready for school.

Another blur of her day went by before Maina found herself walking on the fence, just behind Renia and ahead of Setsumi. Minoru was there, too, but he was walking on the ground next to the fence. If any of them had been wearing skirts, Maina would have suspected he had a reason to be on the ground, but as not, she wasn't sure what he was playing at. Not that she could see the expression on his face - she could only see his blue hair from her vantage point.

"So, Maina, you might want to keep back when we get to school for today," Renia called after a few minutes of walking. "You've got to learn the ropes first before you take part in the morning sparring."

Maina nodded. "Sure thing," she said without thinking about it. She then faltered and stopped on the fence. "Wait... morning sparring?"

"Keep walking," Setsumi suggested. "We can't be late."

"But school doesn't start for another half hour!" Maina pointed out.

"And if we're too late getting to the grounds, then we'll be late for class for sure," Setsumi explained. "It's quite a crowd to fight through, and if we aren't there, then there's going to be quite a few girls in trouble."

"What?"

Renia was walking on her hands suddenly, looking back at Maina as she did so. "It's our principal who's done it," she said, as though that explained everything. "It starts up every couple of months, and eventually Ranma and Akane come and sort the whole thing out, so it dies down again. But it never lasts long."

"What never lasts long?"

She didn't get an answer as Setsumi suddenly leapt over her to join Renia in running along the fence. As they rounded the bend, Maina froze at the sight before them. The school was three stories high and looked to hold more than a hundred classrooms. It was a magnificent building... she had rarely seen anything so large before.

But what really caught her eye was the horde of boys waiting just inside the school gates, and the two groups of girls waiting outside. The group in front looked like they were preparing themselves, while the second group looked worried. When someone spotted Renia and Setsumi running towards them, a cheer went up from the girls.

"The fight is for the hand of a girl." Maina looked down from the fence at Minoru's proclamation. He almost never seemed to speak, so she was quite surprised that he was explaining it to her. "The principal has said that if anyone wishes to date a girl at this school, first he must best her in combat. Hence the horde of boys on the inside."

"And you aren't interested in anyone?" Maina asked with a small grin.

"Don't mistake me for one of them," Minoru said coldly. "I'm no hentai."

"I never..."

"And anyway, it wouldn't be fair for me to fight. Only Renia or Setsumi would have a chance... any other girl would be mine if I wanted them. Not very honourable, if you ask me," he continued as though she hadn't said a word in the meantime. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it appears that it is about to begin."

Maina leapt down from the fence as Minoru dashed forward into the fray of fighting that had started with a battle cry. She knew the cry had been from Renia, and Maina couldn't help but smile at the thought of her friend protecting so many of the girls who really couldn't fight.

She then figured out why there were two groups. The first group of girls - those ready to fight - were probably students at the Dojo in either the beginner or intermediate classes. They would look at Renia and Setsumi as leaders...

The shocking blue hair in the middle of the horde startled her out of her thoughts, and Maina leapt up to the gates of the school to get a better view as to what was going on. Minoru had said that he didn't take part in the fighting, so what was he doing in the thick of it? It had to be him, too - no one else had hair like that!

A large boy close to the blue hair suddenly flew up over the crowd and crashed into the wall of the school. Two more followed him quickly, easily three of the larger boys in the horde. Maina watched closely, trying to figure out what was going on. If Minoru was fighting, then she wanted to know how he fought. Surely she would spar against him sooner or later, and all the experience she could get would help her crush him.

She was the best, after all.

She spotted Minoru come up from a crouch again, slamming into a boy that was about to strike a girl from behind. When the girl spun around to attack the stunned boy, Maina was surprised to see that it was Setsumi.

Is he in there to protect Setsumi and Renia? She kept watching, following the blue hair from victim to victim... each of which was getting dangerously close to Setsumi. She couldn't spot Renia's red hair anywhere in the crowd until most of the boys had been dealt with and Minoru leapt out of the fray and landed next to Maina on the gate.

"You should get to class before you are late," he said before leaping up again and into an open window. The rest of the fight was over after a few minutes, at which point Maina leapt down next to Renia and Setsumi.

"See what we mean?" Setsumi asked with a smile, working on catching her breath again. "Not your everyday fighting, if you know what I mean..."

"Minoru explained it to me," Maina said with a grimace. "I'm helping tomorrow... I wouldn't want to see any girl beaten into submission like they were trying to do."

"It wouldn't be as bad if any of the boys were on our side," Setsumi said in exasperation. "But any that aren't involved always seem to get inside before it starts, and never bother helping."

Maina caught herself from saying anything about Minoru when she saw Renia shake her head subtly. She nodded in return, and then motioned to the school. "Well? I guess I'm supposed to stick with you, right?" she asked Renia. "And Setsumi's got to get to her own class?"

Once she was in class, Renia directed her to the back of the room, where there were two empty seats still available. She saw the redhead nod to most of the girls as she passed them in their seats, but no one said anything until they had sat down.

"Thanks for your help again today, Renia-san," one of the closer girls whispered to her.

"Yeah," another echoed. "Without you and Setsumi-san, we wouldn't stand a chance out there!"

Renia shrugged. "It's not a problem. We've gotta get here too, ya know. Besides, with a bit more training, you guys won't have trouble with them neither!"

"Maybe a bit for you, Renia-san, but it'll take us years to get that good!"

The class representative stopped the conversation when she stood at the teacher's entrance and had the rest of the class stand with her. Once they had all bowed to her and sat back down, Renia leaned over to Maina. "Ya hear all that?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," Maina replied, not sure where the other girl was going with it.

"They always call us that. Renia-san this, or Renia-san that. I'm sick of it."

"What?" Maina asked in surprise. "Why? What's wrong?"

Renia sighed and put her head down on her desk. "For once in my life, can't I be just plain Renia? Or even Renia-chan?"

Maina nodded and smiled to her. "I know what you mean... Renia-chan," she said softly. "Though for me, just having a friend who would consider me that close would be a surprise."

Renia had looked up in shock when Maina had called her Renia-chan, and smiled back. "Thanks, Maina-chan. You might be surprised by this... but I think you're one of my first real friends..."

Maina caught her breath in her throat before she could reply. She had thought the same thing about Renia earlier on, and knew how much that friendship meant to her. To find out that it meant just as much to Renia... she would not betray that friendship! No matter what happened!

Class itself was quite difficult for her. She couldn't read what the teacher was writing, and she had a very hard time following most of it. She understood that the teacher wasn't writing in kanji, but in romanji - which apparently made it easier for most to understand, but it made no difference to her. She only recognized a few letters, those being the ones in her own name, and that of Ranma Saotome.

She did, however, notice that the other students weren't the only ones who called her friend Renia-san. The teacher also used the honourific title, rather than just call her by name. She was so caught up in wondering what everything was about that lunch came rather quickly, thankfully.

Just before the bell rang, though, the speakers crackled to life. "A new visionary flower hath doned upon our doorsteps," whoever was speaking said calmly. "I require everyone whosoever believes in life and fate to rejoice with us in the gymnasium as I introduce her upon the school."

"What's that all about?" Maina whispered to Renia, who had groaned and set her head on her desk heavily. "Why are you so upset?"

"The principal got wind that you're new here," Renia said as she stood up at the bell. "Which means he's going to welcome you to the school, not to mention 'introduce' you to us," she added sarcastically.

"That doesn't sound so bad..." Maina said softly as she followed her friend to the gym. Once there, she found that the entire school had gathered, and she caught sight of a tall man in samurai robes standing at the front, leaning on a wooden bokken. Behind him stood another twenty boys, all decked out in full kendo garb and with kendo bokkens instead of wooden ones.

"There's your welcoming committee," Renia whispered. "The guy in front is our principal... they say he kicked his father out when he graduated and took the position without anyone able to say anything about it."

"Springtime always brings flowers of such magnificent beauty," the principal said smoothly, bowing slightly to her before leaping over to the podium he had set up. "The wondrous flower that stands before you next to the fierce tigress Saotome Renia is called Kounji Maina," he called out to everyone. Most people, rather than applaud, took several steps away from the stage. "Such a delicate specimen must properly be welcomed unto our fortuitous abode with a date from perfection." He then sighed and looked away from them all. "Sadly, I am not allowed to make that offer myself, as I am no longer a student here. But one of the kendo team is surely close enough!"

"What are you trying to pull here, Kuno?" Maina demanded, taking a step forward as she remembered the name of the man her mother had told her about that always seemed to speak in some type of poetry. "I ain't here for no date! I'm here ta marry a Saotome!"

"Marry a Saotome?" Kuno repeated in surprise. "Neigh, I forbid it! A flower like yourself should not be corrupted by the vile sorcerer known as Saotome Ranma!"

"The fact that there ain't any Saotome boys wouldn't have anything to do with it, would it?" Maina asked sarcastically. "Obviously I can't go with it, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna..."

She was forced to cut herself off as she ducked under a crude bokken thrust from behind. It seemed that the kendo club had decided to attack while she wasn't watching. Rolling forward to avoid another attack, she whipped her hair back and caught the offending attacker around the wrist, throwing him before her to land hard on the ground, knocking him out of the fight already.

Rolling part way forward so she was on all fours, she leapt into action much like she had seen Renia do yesterday. It wasn't quite as effective as Renia's had been, but the kendoist didn't have nearly the skill of either of them, so it did work. She crashed headlong into two more, sending them into the floor, and caught another around the throat with her hair again.

He managed to break free when the ribbon tying the bottom of her hair up fell out. She kicked out hard and low to catch him in the shin as she dove to retrieve the precious fabric before it got lost. He flipped over her, and she was ready before he landed, kicking him in the back and into the crowd of attackers that was left.

When she stood up cleanly and took a step back, it seemed that there were only a couple of them left. Obviously, they didn't have nearly enough skill to take her on. With a hard strike to the chest, one of the two crumpled easily, but the other managed to hit her hard in the back, making her stumble forward and cry out.

Before he could take advantage of the situation, Maina's instincts took over. She had been training under brutal conditions for too long not to be willing to put everything into a single attack to protect herself. The kendoist had hit hard, but she ignored the pain completely as she spun around in the air, catching him in the head with a roundhouse kick. He spun in the air and landed with a crash on the stage, breaking through the wood and ending up on the floor beneath it.

"You know, that hair thing would work a lot better if you braided your hair," Renia whispered to Maina once class started up again. Maina turned to the redhead in surprise, and found herself looking into her blue eyes. "You wouldn't risk losing that ribbon that way, and it would hurt a lot more, too."

"What do you mean?" Maina whispered back.

"Well, braid it," Renia said with a shrug as she leaned back in her chair. "It'd bind it up tighter than having it loose, and make it a better weapon. You've gotta teach me how you control it, though. It's like it's another arm or something for ya."

Maina didn't have a chance to reply before a chalkboard eraser bounced off Renia's head, causing her to look to the front of the class quickly. The teacher was looking at her and pointing out to the hall. Renia shrugged and stood up. "Gomen, sensei."

"Water duty, Renia-san. Now."

"What's that?" Maina asked in surprise as Renia turned to leave the classroom.

"Keep quiet, Kounji, unless you wish to join her."

"I'd like that, thanks," Maina said, standing in her seat to follow Renia. She saw the shocked looks from everyone else in the class, but didn't really understand why until they were both out in the hall with a bucket of cold water in each hand.

"You really had no idea?" Renia asked in surprise.

"How would I?" Maina muttered under her breath. "And what'id we do to deserve this, anyway?"

"I was talking too loud, I guess," Renia replied with a grin. "And you volunteered, remember?"

"Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

"Classic foot-in-mouth mixed with no knowing what's goin on," Renia said, setting her buckets down and turning to the shorter girl. "Look, you want me ta show you what I meant by braiding yer hair? I could do it now for ya, if ya'd like."

"You could?"

"Well..." Renia said, looking up and down the hall carefully. "We're not suppos'ta set the water down until a janitor comes for it, but there ain't nobody around ta stop us now. It won't take long, even with the amount a hair you've got. I can do it pretty quick, given how often I do my own sometimes."

"Why would you put it in a braid?" Maina asked in surprise. Renia's hair loose in the ponytail looked fine to her, and she couldn't imagine the other girl using her hair like a the weapon she was suggesting.

"Sometimes ya gotta dress up a bit," Renia said. "Now turn around, and I'll get ta work." True to her word, she was very fast with the twists and turns of braiding... so fast that Maina couldn't really follow it - not that she could have anyway given how she couldn't see behind her. She was also surprised that Renia didn't pull on her hair even once.

It took all of five minutes to do the three feet of long brown hair tightly into the braid. Once she finished, she took the ribbon and tied it around the end again, this time threading it through one of the braids as she did so. It was only then that Maina got a look at what she had done, exactly.

It looked almost like a bundle of knots had been tied into her hair, but it was obvious that that wasn't it. In fact, at first glance, she thought her hair was only twisted, but by the fact that it wasn't unraveling now that Renia had let it go told her that it wasn't just twisted.

"Tell you what..." Maina said softly as she ran a hand down a length of her bound hair before letting it fall naturally behind her. It felt a little heavier against the back of her legs now than it had before, but it fell... right... somehow. "If you teach me how to do that, then I'll teach you how I use my hair as a weapon. Deal?"

"Deal, Maina-chan."

"Thanks, Renia-chan."

After school was over - Renia and Maina had been let back into the classroom after being in the hall for almost an hour - they made their way back home, both walking along the fence again. Setsumi joined them before too long, and Minoru walked along the sidewalk next to the fence once again. This time, however, there appeared to be quite the crowd following them.

Maina didn't even have the chance to ask what was going on before Minoru spoke up. "I suppose no one told you how things run, did they?" he asked in his almost normal monotone. "After school is the beginner class for students at the Dojo. Ryu-sensei and Xian Pu-sensei usually run it, with okaasan helping out on occasion. Leaves us free to work on homework."

"Okaasan's working with you this afternoon, though," Renia called over her shoulder to Maina. "And I don't mean Akane. I mean Kasumi - we all call her okaasan, even though Setsumi's really the only one who should."

"She doesn't mind, though," Setsumi offered with a shrug. "She does tend to mother all of us, so she thinks it makes sense. One of Fenrish's few nicks that actually came about before she did."

"So yesterday, you weren't telling me ta learn school stuff from yer mom?" she asked Renia. "And I flew off at you fer nuthin?"

"Yup."

"S.F.I.M."

"You said it, Maina-chan."

Once the group arrived at home, the four kids who lived there went to their separate rooms to work on homework. Maina met Kasumi as she entered her room, and the two set to work to bring her up to speed.

Renia was glad that Akiko had been asked to help out in the classes today, given how she wanted their room to herself for once. She didn't mind sharing it with her younger sister most of the time, but today, where she wasn't going to be doing homework but looking at something else, she needed to be alone.

Shutting her door quickly, she dropped her pack right in front of it, to give her a touch of extra time in case she needed it. Then she crouched down and started digging under her bed. With a smile, she found the small case she had stashed there earlier and pulled it out.

When she opened it at her desk, she couldn't help but smile. The family martial arts scrolls, all in front of her. Several had names written on outside, names that she easily recognized as various positions or katas that she already knew. She wasn't interested in those ones... just the ones at the bottom that had wax seals on them.

"Umisen... yumisen..." she read quietly to the empty room. "The umisen needs looking at... I need to be able to move in it. But the yumisen I don't need... I don't need to be breaking into houses like that!" Giggling to herself, she pushed them aside and pulled out four more. One of the scrolls wasn't just sealed with wax - it was coated in it. In very small kanji script on the outside, etched into the wax itself, were three words. "Shishi no Ryuujin," she read softly. "Roar of the Dragon God..."

Setting that one out on her desk, she checked the others she had in her hands. "Neko-ken... Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi... Nagewaze-Ryu... Tachiwaze-Ryu..." Each of these were sealed with a regular wax seal, rather than coated completely.

Satisfied that she had enough to look at, she tucked the rest back into the scroll case and set it aside. Carefully, she slit the wax seals on the nagewaze-ryu and tachiwaze-ryu, knowing that the two were probably very similar anyway. She scanned them carefully, trying to memorize the important facts she would need for later. They were both throws, but throws that were significantly enhanced by one's own ki. It would take a lot of practice to pull them off...

She pulled out the wax stamp to reseal them again before putting them in the box. She then pulled out the Neko-ken scroll and slit that seal. She paled as she read it over, and then found words written in large letters at the bottom. "Sealed Technique. Never teach to another living soul. Mastery is nearly impossible, and the initial training is too much for almost anyone to live through. Sealed Technique."

Thinking for a moment, she realized that the two throws she had read about weren't actually sealed techniques... just hard. Her parents obviously didn't think any of them were up to learning them yet. Vaguely, she wondered as she resealed the Neko-ken if any of the other sensei already knew the throws. It didn't seem likely that the four kids would have all the training that the adults had, after all.

The next piece of rolled parchment she picked up had a wax seal along the entire edge. Apparently it was a little more dangerous than the other ones, which told her without any doubt that it had been sealed. It took quite a bit longer to slit the wax on that one so as not to leave any evidence.

Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi. The Rising Dragon Kick? she thought to herself as she read the title of the technique. Channelled ki... will to deceive and succeed... dragonic strength? She shook her head as she glanced at the different positions of the body throughout the move that allowed for the maximum ki flow. She remembered hearing Mousse and Shampoo talking about that kick a long time ago... apparently Ranma had tried it against Mousse, and had broken quite a few ribs and taken him out of commission for several weeks running.

If the move had the power to take down Mousse for an extended period, she suspected that it was sealed for a good reason. Of all the sensei aside from her own parents, Mousse had always seemed like the strongest. Of course, she had never met Ryoga, but between Mousse and Shampoo, there was almost no competition. If Fenrish had been a sensei, then even still Mousse would have won - he could take a beating without flinching.

As she set about resealing the wax on the Dragon Kick scroll, she thought for a moment about just what she knew about Ryoga. Admittedly, it wasn't very much - none of the adults mentioned him very often. Most of the time, she caught the tail end of conversations about him, but that was about it.

She really had to have a sit down with Nabiki before too long to find out just what was going on and what had happened.

The last scroll she had taken out was easily the most intriguing. It wasn't just sealed with wax like the others, or even with a long wax line like the Goraikou Ryu Aoriashi. No, this one was completely covered in wax, as though to not only seal the technique away, but to seal the knowledge of the technique away. She read the words along the side again, running her finger along the tiny etchings.

Shishi no Ryuujin.

The move itself sounded incredibly powerful. Renia had been told about the Lion's Roar Shot, or the Shishi Hokun Dan before, as well as her father's Fierce Dominating Tiger to counter it, but they couldn't hold a candlestick to even the name of this one move. Roar of the Dragon God.

It took almost an hour to cut through the seal at the right point to be able to uncurl the parchment without disturbing most of the wax. That said, of course, meant she couldn't actually open it all the way, but it was enough to read everyone written within. She couldn't quite make out the drawings to accompany it, but the words were clear as day.

Hate. Fear. Abundant ki. Desire to protect. Power of a dragon. Strength to protect.

Alright, so maybe the words were clearly legible, but they didn't make a lot of sense. What did the move do in the first place? She cracked a touch of the wax to peel it open a little further and scanned the picture quickly and carefully. Her blue eyes widened in amazement as she read the details that he own father had written out years earlier when he had sealed the move in the first place.

It wasn't a move to attack someone. It was a move to force someone to attack you... a move to make an enemy ignore all else around them and focus solely on the user of the Dragon God Roar. In her own mind, the move didn't seem that powerful. Certainly not strong enough to warrant such secrecy and wax to keep it hidden.

She rolled the parchment back up the best she could and sealed along the edge again. Inspecting the outside, she was startled to see a few visible cracks along the length - telltale signs that someone had been looking at it.

A knock at the door interrupted her before she had a chance to try and fix it. As fast as she could, she stuffed the scrolls back into the black box and stashed the entire container under her bed again before leaping up to the door to find Maina waiting for her, about to knock again.

"Er... sorry," Renia said with a shrug, looking back to her desk. "Homework got away on me."

"You think you had it rough?" Maina asked with a grin. "At least you can read it!"

"Ya don't seem too bad off, though," Renia pointed out to her friend's cheerful expression.

"Okaasan asked me to tell you that supper's ready. I'm looking forward to another battle-free meal..." Maina said, looking a little wistful at even the thought of such a simple matter. "She even let me help cook!"

"I didn't know you could cook!" Renia pointed out as they made their way downstairs to the large tearoom, only to find everyone else already gathered there.

"I... uh..."

"She can't," Kasumi said with a soft smile as she came in behind the two carrying several large trays of food. "But we managed. And she'll get better - it seems to me that she's not the first to have that type of problem in the kitchen within this household..."

Akane was, oddly enough, staring at the table during that exchange.

By the fact that no one said anything about Maina's previous intentions for coming to their home during supper, she assumed that Ranma must have explained the situation to all of them. Even still, she had expected at least Akiko and Chika to ask about it, but neither seemed all that concerned. As Chika put it, Maina was just another sister under the same roof.

Fenrish opened her blue eyes slowly to look around the Dojo that evening. It wasn't nearly as empty as she preferred while meditating, but there wasn't an official class going on, so at least no sensei yelling at everyone in sight.

Directly in front of her, both Renia and Maina were sparring with each other. It was rather mild, considering how violent the two had gone at it the day before. This time, it seemed that neither was really trying to win, but simply trying to improve various techniques. While Maina was using her braided hair to a great advantage, Renia was almost constantly trying to throw the smaller girl in an impressive display of speed and strength. It reminded her of an animal... though she couldn't think of which one at the moment.

Beyond the two in front of her were the youngest members of the household. Akiko and Chika weren't fighting with each other, but were in front of practice dummies. Akiko seemed to be working on her punches, looking at her own body rather than the dummy as though trying to fix something about her form. For her part, Chika was working on a high kick, followed by a low sweep. The sweeps were quite difficult against the hard wooden dummies, but the seven year old brunette didn't seem to mind the difficulty.

Each of the sensei were in the room, watching the children as well. Fenrish could sense her husband's aura directly behind her, though she knew he wasn't watching her. In fact, he was watching the other side of the room, where their son was working with Setsumi and Akane. Akane was the only sensei actually teaching at the moment, though she was doing it almost silently at Setsumi's request. Originally, it had only been the two of them, but after a few minutes, Minoru had asked to join them.

Shampoo was just beyond them, watching the three working with swords. She had almost a spaced out look, however, as though she were considering something carefully. Fenrish had long since learned to be wary of such things, given how potent some of the magical potions and smokes could be - and well aware that, given Shampoo's odd moods on occasion, she was a good target to test them on.

"Shampoo has been pushing lately," Mousse said softly from behind her. Fenrish closed her eyes again, willing the calm state given to her by her mediation to continue. She nodded, but didn't reply. She knew what he had meant. Shampoo was finally looking at another man - fifteen years after Ranma was no longer available. Too bad for her that Mousse was already taken!

"Our son seems to be taking quite a liking to the Tofu girl," she offered after a long silence fell between the two again. She knew Mousse was watching everything going on the in Dojo carefully, just like the other sensei, and didn't want to disturb him too much from his work. Besides, she liked the silence, too.

"You've noticed too, have you?" Mousse whispered, sitting next to her and putting a hand on her knee. She eyes snapped open and she looked over to him quickly. "What do you think about it?"

"I think they are both quite young."

"Ranma and Akane first met at sixteen."

"And our son is fourteen." She wasn't entirely sure what the point was to their conversation. It couldn't be called an argument by any stretch of the imagination, but it really wasn't a discussion, either. "But he is able, Muu Tsu." Fenrish saw him smile just a little. Even after so many years, the simple fact that she always insisted on calling him by his real name - at least, when she wasn't using a nickname - instead of the butchered Mousse that everyone else used still brought a smile to his face.

"I do not believe Setsumi returns the feelings, Phen Riche," he replied softly.

"Perhaps not," Fenrish admitted, closing her eyes again and focusing inward. "But he is patient. He is willing to wait, and just be a steady presence, until she decides she is ready. Have you noticed that?"

She could tell Mousse nodded, even though her eyes were closed. "He's not much like his parents, is he?" He had always been chasing after Shampoo in his youth, spouting off his supposed love for her, and Fenrish hadn't exactly been subtle once it was clear that Mousse was ready to move on from Shampoo. The fact that they were married within six months of meeting attested to that fact.

"I didn't chase you," Fenrish objected with a grin. "I was real to you. I let you make the first move," she pointed out.

"And then you made all the rest at once," Mousse added. "I know. He'll be alright, so long as he keeps that patience long enough, but not too long."

Fenrish finally opened her eyes again and took a deep breath, standing with a flourish. She then bowed slightly to Mousse. "What would you have me work on tonight, sensei?" She wasn't a Master of the Hidden Weapons yet, even though she could have been called such at any time. She just wasn't ready to take the title of sensei... being a student was so much easier on one's nerves, if more demanding on time.

Renia and Maina have a conversation about some of Japanese culture in this chapter, mainly involving the use of -san and -chan suffixes. Essentially, -san is a term of reverence (sort of like master, but not necessarily that strong) while -chan is more a term of endearment (like you would use with a close friend or a child). Renia-chan, for example, would imply that either a parent was speaking to her, or one of her close friends. A lot more goes into the suffixes in Japan than just that, but it isn't necessary to get into it here. If anyone wants more information, feel free to ask.

Aside from that, when I use -chan outside of dialogue, it is to identify gender (with Ranma). In other words, Ranma is a guy, Ranma-chan is a girl. This is because -chan can also be used in such a manner.

Ryu-kanjin: Thanks, I'm glad you like both. I'll be updating as often as possible, don't worry.

Neon-Ronin: That's good to hear, thanks. Ukyo's explanation will come later, don't worry, but it won't be a happy tale by any means. I realise that it doesn't really follow how she was pleased (or at least tolerant) before, but there is a reason for it, and it will come to light later. I'll just say this hear - she had a hard run for a while just before and during her pregnancy that made her rethink a couple of things... As for Genma, he does need some sense beaten into him, but a lot of it was at Ukyo's insistance this time. Maina will come to learn what life is really about, but it may take her some time. I did intend for Renia and Maina's friendship to almost mirror Ranma and Akane's, and its good to see that it was noticed. Although it's a little late by now, I'll wish you the same - Merri Kurisumasu.

nonengel: Yeah, Maina had it a little rougher from time to time, that's for sure. The Craddle from Hell showed that he actually had a few good times (even if said good times are now a nightmare to think about...) but Maina seemed to have missed most of those... Ukyo is quite bitter, but why won't come to light for a while, sorry. The talk will be going more in depth in a couple of chapters - when Ranma has no choice but to confront Maina with what he already suspects, but then will know for certain.

a: Good to hear. Maina and Renia/Ranma and Ryoga? Yeah, I guess there is a bit of that there. There's also some mirroring of Ranma and Akane, too, incidentally. As to those in the dojo knowing who her real sensei is... most of them are taking ques from Ranma. He's not saying anything about it, so they assume he doesn't want it mentioned, or wants to prove it first. Unfortunately for all involved, it's proven next chapter...

Akane does realise that it isn't Maina's fault, but as you said, she still has a bit of a temper - just like Ranma has the ability to stuff both his feet in his mouth at once and have room left over. More of that to come, too, btw.

I understand what you are saying about ki and chi, too. My understanding might be a little different, I guess - like I said, I thought that ki was the Japanese term for life energy, be it from within or without, while chi was the Chinese term for the same thing. It doesn't really matter in the end, I guess, given that most of that was simply to point out that ki can also mean something else in Japanese.

Doctor Emmit Brown: Glad to hear it. I know her reasoning is a little weak (as were Ukyo's), but having it driven into her head for years can do that to a person. Hopefully when the full story comes to light, she can let go of some of that... and hopefully Ukyo can too.

And you weren't the only one to be glad I wasn't banned entirely. The week away was enough for me, really! I'm toning things down a little in the future of this fic because of it, but the full thing should be at mediaminer eventually.

kayemsi: The two main kids reflecting their major influences... I'm glad that was noticed. Thanks. As for Ranma not noticing (or figuring it out), well, let's just say he's chosing to keep quiet for now. He wants either to have proof placed in front of him, or to have Maina admit to it, rather than demanding it from her. This is mostly because of the way he was treated when he first arrived at the Tendos so long ago - he wants to give her a home first, before anything else.
And it should be interesting when Maina learns the full, accurate story. And when the other kids hear about the full events, too. That won't be for a few chapters, though - first, Maina's story comes out, and then after Ryoga comes (with one of his sons), Chika has to make a confession - though it has nothing to do with Ryoga, but rather his son, who remembers her from a chance encounter from a couple of years ago...
As to how they got rid of Ukyo, you won't find the answers in the prequel - in that, she seemed to be rather happy and glad that Ranma and Akane had found each other, if a little upset. Nothing like she is now. So the question is... what happened?

Wonderbee31: Yeah, Maina didn't exactly have it easy, did she? There will be a confrontation, but not exactly the type that you might expect. You are right, btw, when you saw that Ranma suspects something. Like I said in an earlier reply above, though, he is trying to give her a home first rather than anything else - what he would have wanted. Understanding. He is waiting for her to either tell him, or for the facts to be forced into the open by some other event.Unfortunately for Maina, the even takes place soon.

Next chapter: Dragon God Unleashed/The Cat Returns - Ryuujin Koihou/Neko Tachimodoru. Maina's sensei is suddenly abundantly clear when an incident at school forces her to go into the forbidden neko-ken. When Renia does the only thing she can think of to make her friend pay any attention to her instead of the crowd of students all trying to subdue her, all hell breaks loose.

Until the sun sets upon a broken world...
The Shadows