Disclaim This!

This is my story and If I want to say I own it, then I do! I just borrowed the characters from other people

I'm glad most of you enjoyed the last chapter, even if it wasn't as bloody as others of you wanted.

Anything between ? xxx? is chinese. anything between !yyy! is english, anything else is japanese.

Anything between ((aaa)) is personal thoughts such as ((Sorry pal, but better you then me)) just little personal conversation.

START CHAPTER

Ranma was confused again. First, he'd told Akane that he'd been lying to her and expected her to thrash him. But instead, she had calmly acccepted what he was saying. Then he'd shown her that het little pet, the source of many fights between them, was nothing but a lying coward who had betrayed her in so many ways it was impossible to keep track. The person she'd trusted most, was the one who'd betrayed her the worst.

Further confusing him was that instead of allowing her rage to well out and slaughter the bastard, she'd turned cool and with words more deadly then any blade, crushed any hope in the idiot's mind of any future forgiveness. It was aside of Akane he'd never seen before, as she had never shown any inclination towards holding grudges. Usually, she'd just bash the offendor with her mallet and, if not forget the incident that incurred her anger, at least forgive.

Sure, she'd stomped him into the ground, but it was almost gentle for her usual reactions. And once she finished the mild attack, she'd turned cold and stonefaced as she'd verbally lashed out at the prone boy. Her words had struck with the same expertise as her punches and kicks, and Ranma was glad that he had never been on the receiving end of that tone.

He had no doubt now, however, that his fiancee had meant every word about what she'd said to Ryoga. He would never again be welcome at the Tendo home, and would never again be allowed to interact with Akane on any level. He pitied Ryoga for a moment, but then recalled all the times he'd come between himself and Akane and felt a selfish moment of satisfaction that his self appointed rival was no longer an issue.

Once they'd entered the house and closed the door, Akane had seemed to collapse into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck and crying so strongly her whole body was shuddering. Not knowing what to do, he'd picked her up and carried her to her room. He'd tried to set her down on her bed, but she'd refused to let go, so he had slid in next to her, only to have her crawl into his lap and continue to wail out her grief and rage. He'd felt awkward as he was unused to such emotional displays, nad pated her on the back while whispering to her that everything would be fine. The situation was further enhanced when he'd realized that his body, if not his mind, was appreciating having his attractive fiancee in his lap, and he'd tried desparately to ignore the feeling of her as she shifted to get more confortable in his embrace.

Eventually, she had settled and her loud wailing had calmed to a gentle sobbing. Kasumi had come up to check on them, and Ranma had briefly explained what had happened. He'd been surprised again to see a battle aura explode around the gentle girl. She had started muttering under breath about possible recipies including various porc ingredients, and had stated loudly that she was going to track down all of Ryoga's clothing in the house and burn it. She had noticed that her sister was clinging rather forcefully to Ranma and when she noticed the father's approaching, she'd threatened them with a month's lack of her cooking if they so much as went upstairs that evening, and the two had hurried down to the engawa and the ever present Shogi board.

She had then tracked down Nabiki and explained that Ryoga was no longer welcomed anywhere near the Tendo-ke, and that she should also make sure that the Lost Boy be no longer welcome anywhere that Ranma and Akane might go. Nabiki, pissed that she had never caught on to Ryoga's trick, agreed and also started plans that would force Ryoga to abandon all hope of ever again being welcome anywhere within the bounds of Nerima or any of Tokyo's outlying subsets. She did this all without asking for any fees and also promised that she would try and make life easier for Akane as she realized that her sister's temper would be even more dangerous over the next couple of days.

Back in Akane's room, Ranma had slid from a seated to an angled position on Akane's bed, propped up byAkane's pillows against the headboard while his fiancee was snuggling agaisnt his side, one leg thrown over his legs and her head craddled against his shoulder. One of her arms was thrown around his back, while the other was now resting over his waist. With outmost care, and a phenominal display of flexibiliy and body control, Ranma had drawn up the covers over them.

Akane was sleeping and Ranma was dozing lightly, feeling more comfortable and at peace then he could ever remember feeling, even with the rather tense situation of certain body parts. He realized today exactly what it meant to love someone. He had to put Akane's needs and wishes ahead of his own ambitions. He needed to dedicate himself fully to making Akane as happy and content with their future as he could. He might not have much, but somehow he'd won her heart, and he would do everything he could to make sure he was worthy of her. It was about helping them when they were sad or hurt, as much as being there when they were healthy and happy.

((Even if,)) he thought with a shudder, ((it means actually paying attention in class. Maybe, now that my brain's been fixed, I'll even understand the stuff and find some of it more interesting.)) He thought about it for a moment then chuckled, causing Akane to stir in his arms. ((Nah, not even a little brain surgery can make me find math and english interestin'. ))

POV BREAK

Shampoo was starting to get frantic. It had been so long since she had seen her husband, she wondered if he could remember her clrealry. He'd spent almost two weeks trapped in the home of the horrible kitchen destroying and her famliy. Too-nice girl was okay, but Money-grubber was dangerous, and so was Airen's father and Sneaky-Man. She was filled with anticipation at seeing her Airen and holding him again, expecially now that he'd be able to really appreciate her embrace.

Her body shivered in excitement at the thought of her Airen finally returning her embrace and she went off into a pleasant day dream of all the things she was hoping to explore with him. The things she wanted to do to him. Her mouth was watering as she turned her mind to mentally exploring his powerful form. Arms strong enough to lift cars and legs powerful enough to shatter steel girders with the force of his kicks. His incredibly muscled chest and incredible abs. His. . . .mmmm Yummy! she thought to herself while absently caressing her stomach in response to the feeling of pooling warmth behind her navel.

Breaking her train of though came a crash and a shouted exclaimation from the other side of the room. Angry at the interuption of her contemplating her Airen's more . . . masculin traits, she turned angrily to the cause of the interuption.

?Mu Tsu! How dare you interupt my daydream of my beloved? she screamed at the blind youth, drawing her bonbori from the hidden space and smashing them over her erstwhile suitor's skull. Unfortunately, since his head was mainly composed of mental images of her, all this accomplished was allowing him to compress those images and create more space to fill with his fantasies about their future together.

?Xian Pu, my beloved! There you are! I've been looking for you all day! The old ghoul said you were off on deliveries, but I didn't believe her! She's always interfering in our love, trying to force you to marry that bastard scumbag Saotome?

Seeing that her usual method of making Mouse make sense was failing, she changed from smashing the top of his head to slapping him side to side a couple dozen times at speeds nearly approaching Amuriken. After smacking him for the 72nd time in under a minute(seh could have done more, but did't want him to know that she could DO the Amuriken), she kicked him under the chin sending him flying back to crash into her wall next to the open door to her room. ?Damn, I missed? she swore to herself as the annoyance peeled itself from the impression in the wood of her wall.

Sighing to himself, Mouse adjusted the various weapons he had hidden on himself, as well as replacing his glasses. ?Xian Pu, when are you going to realize that Saotome is not worthy of you. He is the scum of the earth, not fit scrape the bottom of your shoes. He is not even a man! His father turned him into a boy. Even with this so-called surgery, he will never be a real man.He is too callous and brash and arrogant to ever be a REAL man.?

Xian Pu could fill herself filling with rage, the anger replacing the warmer feelings she'd felt just moments before. ?How dare you! YOU of all people, saying my beloved is not a real man! You, who has withheld his true skill and refused to treat me as a warrior! You who has consistently refused to honor me as a man should! You who continues to treat me like a fragile outsider woman. I am a warrior of the Amazon Tribe! The best of my generation! The best and most skilled in several generations! I have learned more and become stronger then all the members of the tribe save the elders. And you refuse to show me your true skill and continue to disparage my beloved. The only man who has ever shown me even the remotest respect as a warrior. I am sick of your constant lies and insults Mu Tsu! Either you accept the challenge I am issuing now and face me at your full skill, or I will speak to the elders and have you banished from the tribe. For no Amazon man would ever treat a woman the way you have treated me these last few years.?

Mouse stiffened at her words, having forgotten in his time in Japan that Xian Pu was far more intelligent and eloquant than she seemed when speaking Japanese. He had thought his ruse and his refusal to strike her, so different from all the other's who'd tried to win her would let her see that he wanted more then just to have her for the rank in the tribe. he'd wanted to be her partner, not jsut her slave. He'd wanted her to see that he wanted more then the village had to offer, but if she refused to see it, he'd have to resort to the old ways, as much as he'd wanted to avoid them.

Sighing again, he removed his glasses and held them before his face, contemplating what he was about to do. With a shrug he tossed them aside to shatter on the floor. Looking where he could hear Xian Pu breathing, he reached again towards his face, this time for the corner of his eyes. He surprised his beloved by removing a set of contacts from his eyes, revealing a pair of blue eyes he'd had as a child instead of the brown she'd grown accustomed to during their adolescence. His gaze focused on Xian Pu, and the Amazon warrior was startled to see that her suitor was indeed seeing her clearly.

?How?she stated, shocked that the supposed blind boy could see. Testing this, she tossed a small knife at him, not directly, but just to the left. Instead of his usual not noticing the weapon she had thrown at him. This time however, he reached up and pulled the knife out of the wall, balancing it's tip on his finger before throwing it back at her. She was forced to use her bonbori to block it as it had headed straight at her heart. ?What magic is this, Mu Tsu? How can you see, when you have been blind most your life?

Mu Tsu sighed again and drew his arms over his chest. ?Do you remember several months agao, when I left stating I was going to Korea to search for an object in which to trap Ranma's power for myself? Well, I never went to Korea. I went to a medical facility in Russia that has developed a new eye surgery. They were able to repair the damage to my eyes, even replacing some of the damaged area with parts from an organ donor who matched my profile. It took weeks with bandages around my head and three separate surgeries to repair the degeneration that was caused by a bad potion that was thrown in my face by a cousin. The muscles and nerves had to be replaced, as well as my cornea, but luckily they kept the rest. They were worried for a while that they'd have to replace the entire eye. I see better now then I ever have.?

He moved from the wall, advancing on her, stepping over and around the scattered debris common to a teenage girls room. He stood before her, peering down at her with clear eyes. ?You are indeed as beautiful as I have thought, my love.? he muttered quietly before meeting her eyes. He could see the surprise in them, as well as a hint a fear as she realized just how much larger then her he really was. ?I have never seen you as a prize that needed to be defeated in order to be won, my love. I wanted you to see that I was devoted to you, no matter what you did to dissuade me. But if you wish me to obey the old, outdated ways of our backwards village, then so be it. A week from now, my love, on the field at Furinkan. I accept your challenge, and will meet you there. I promise you, no tricks or other foolery I have done in the past. I will defeat you as one warrior to another, using nothing but my skill in the arts. I will even banish my hidden weapons tricks.?

?Why, Mu Tsu? Why if you could see, have you worn those things and hidden as a fool for all this time? she asked quietly, as a thrill ran up her form. She'd never realized just how masculine Mu Tsu was as he towered over her. She gulped as his clear blue eyes, darker then her Airen's but with much more emotion in them, studied her form and for the first time, she felt naked in her skimpy outfit. And to her shame, her excitement built again at the realization of Mu Tsu looking at her the way she wanted her Ranma to look at her.

?Because the old ghoul would never let me win you fairly, Xian Pu. Until now, when she has seen for herself what I have known all along. Ranma Saotome's heart and soul belong to the Tendo girl, and always have. He was never, and could never be your's, Xian. Even as blind as I was, and as limited as Saotome's emotions were by the injuries his brain had suffered, he belonged to Akane. Nothing you or the ghoul did could change that, no matter that you had 3000years of Amazon knowledge behind you. I needed to let you see that for yourself, and I'm sorry if this hurts, but you know it's true. I wanted you to realize for yourself that there is more to life then what you've seen and experienced in the village. I think even the ghoul wanted you to know. That's why she's allowed you to humiliate yourself by chasing the Saotome boy so long. She wanted you to realize that not all of the laws of the tribe were still practical and that there usefullness was past. ?

Xian Pu's eyes widdened as she sensed the truth of her associates words. Could the formerly blind boy be right? Did her grandmother trully want her to see that some of the laws of the tribe could be . . . wrong? That the laws she'd lived her entire life by were . . . outdated and old fashioned?

?I don't believe you! Grandmother would never believe that the tribe's laws were wrong! The laws have protected us for thousands of years and kept us strong when others have perished and vanished.?

Mu Tsu sighed and moved to the door pausing with his back to her just inside the room.

?Wake up , Xian Pu. The tribe is dying. We are weak. Perhaps our martial arts are strong, but take a good look around this world we live in, my love. We are behind in all that matters in the world. The PRA could wipe the tribe off the face of the earth without breaking a sweat, no matter how strong our warriors are. They have weapons that could kill us all in our sleep and leave the land unharmed so that they could move in once we were all dead. They have weapons that few in the tribe have ever heard of. You've seen it here, Xian. You must have seen the news at least once. The wars that are going on around the world. Our arts are ancient and powerful, but in a direct conflict against even the weakest armies of the world, we stand no chance. For our arts to be effective, we must get close to our enemies.

And with the weapons and technology the world now possesses, we would get no where near close enough. They could be miles away and pick us off one by one with their rifles or missles. Even techniques that render us invisible are useless with their equipment. They have the means to see the heat our bodies give off, to detect changes in the air from our breathing, to sense the slightest vibrations of our footsteps. Even the movement of air as we pass. They have body armor so strong that it would blunt the impact of most of the tribes special accupuncture strikes and stop any of our crudely made blades. If any of our warriors ever even got close enough to strike them.?

?Their soldiers are trained to control their emotions so techniques like the Hiryuo Shoten Ha would be useless. There equipment is so heavy that no one in the tribe could life it, even Ryoga could not and you know how strong he is. They are taught to shoot first and never question and if they saw something they didn't understand, they'd shoot first and never ask questions. Hell, some of them would kill us just because we look a little different. You know how different we are from most people. Normal people don't have purple hair, Xian Pu. They don't have the strength to lift cars or to ride a normal bicycle as fast as a racing motorcycle. They don't crush stone in their bare hands, or pull weapons out of thin air.

We are different then normal people, and that puts us at risk. If they ever learn of what we are really capable of, they will seek to slaughter us because they would see us as a risk to their rule. They outnumber us by hundred of millions to one. The tribe numbers at less then 2100, and there are roughly 6.5 billion 'normal' people. Some might wish to learn from us, but most would be afraid and want us wiped out so that they could live in the illusion of peace. Think of that, my love, while you ready yourself for our fight. I leave now, and will see you in a week at Furinken. Goodbye.?

With those final thoughts, Mu Tsu left, deftly avoiding Kulon's strikes and walked off to seek a place to prepare for the coming battle. The universe itself seemed to begin preparing, as more then Ranma Saotome underwent a forced growth towards adulthood.

END CHAPTER

SO, what do you think? Was it any good? Bad? I hope you're enjoying it. Next Chapter:

Akane and Ranma wake up, and Akane has a surprise for her fiancee.