Disclaimer: I can't believe you're still reading these- and if you are, you know the drill by now. Ranma ½? Not mine. Muu Tsu? In my dreams. My socks? Try 'n take 'em. We clear? Good.

Auugh! Not fair! Not fair, not fair, not fair! Mid-terms didn't seem to come this early last semester! Sorry about the lack of updating, I hope this makes up for it.

Muu Tsu whirled around, not seeing the washtub in the front yard filled with cold water. And, as it is stated in the almighty laws of the great kamis watching over Nerima- he stepped on the edge of the tub and tipped the cold, soapy contents triggering his curse. And it didn't help that he was now trapped underneath the tub.

He beat his wings furiously against the steel tub. 'clang, c-c-clang-nng' Or I should say that he was denting the tub with various items materialized and whirled against the inside of the tub.

Which, of course, are very normal sounds in some districts of Nerima.

But not in Yuka's front yard.

Yuka found herself opening the door and watching her mother's favorite tub rattling on the ground with lumps appearing on the surface from some source within. She froze.

'A demon?' She considered approaching the steadily jumping washtub. 'A ghost?' Her hand unconsciously crooked and raised itself to her mouth.

'clannng' 'A-''clang', Qwak

"D-Chan! Mom, come quick! D-Chan's stuck under your washtub!"

"What!" called her mom after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. She threw her chopsticks in her bowl and hurried outside to find her daughter struggling with the heavy tub.

"Mom, D-Chan's under here, help me out!" They both tugged the tub upside, leaving a very white bird dancing wildly with various weapons on a white robe.

"D-Chan!" Yuka swooped him up in her arms. "You came back!"

Of course, it took all of five seconds before he realized that he was being hugged. It took another five before he realized he was being called D-Chan.

Immediately he began flapping just as wildly as he had within the washtub. The force knocked Yuka backwards onto the ground as she watched her favorite duck fly over the horizon.

"D-Chaaan!"

Yuka bowed her head, defeated. 'Why?'

Out of the corner of her eye a pair of glasses glinted.

'Xian Pu! Oh, what have I done!' thought Mousse as he winged his way across the horizon. He landed just outside of the Cat Café to see Akane practically dragging Ranma out by the ear. He had a lump on his head from Akane's mallet when he didn't explain quickly enough that he wasn't there to see Xian Pu. Never mind that he was helping himself to some free ramen while he was there. For all she had known, Xian Pu might as well have made it for him.

"Hey, Mousse! There weren't any customers, but Cologne stopped by for a few minutes. She said that if you weren't back by the time she returned, she'd make sure you were a duck for the next 100 years." He paused. "And you know she could do it. See ya!"

D-Chan shuddered inwardly. Being a duck wasn't an awful thing, but not being able to walk occasionally without the fear of being turned into duck soup caused ice to hang from his beak.

He flapped up to his window where a fresh set of robes lay out on his bed and hot water on a small (very small) hot plate. One could never forget to keep a spare outfit and hot water handy at all times.

Once again a fine human specimen with a spare pair of glasses down onto his nose, Muu Tsu rushed downstairs to the kitchen.

Luckily, Kho-Lon wasn't there yet.

Yet.

'chirring' He walked to the dining counter. "Hello, welcome to the Cat Ca-"

The door swung open to fully reveal a short, wrinkled lady who was dwarfed by the large bag of ingredients required to prepare her ancient Amazon recipe for too-too delicious lemon-poppyseed curried rice with some special secret ingredients best not shared with men. She hopped past him on her stick. No sense in getting him involved.

Once she dropped her basket in the kitchen, she pogoed back out to the empty dining area. "Where were you while I was gone, mister part-timer?"

'Watching you from a bus,' he thought. "On an order. I just got back."

"I told you to stay here and watch the Café." She whacked him with her stick, rather unfairly. After all, he had left a replacement. And he told her so. And she whacked him again, ordering him to clean the bowl that had been used by Ranma.

'chirring, SLAM' "Great-Grandmother! I no find Airen!"

"That's because son-in-law was right here." Xian Pu was dumbfounded. Her bonbori dropped to the floor. "Muu Tsu asked him to watch the counter while he left to take care of an order."

"Stupid Mousse!" Muu Tsu flinched, listening to the conversation in the kitchen.

Xian Pu decided to change the subject. "There is big dance in Nerima this weekend. Is called 'Girl's Day' dance. Women ask men to dance. Xian Pu ask Airen, yes?"

'gwush' Muu Tsu turned on some lukewarm water to wash out the bowl, so the rest of the banter was lost.

Yuka crawled over to the glasses and robe. 'These. . . these are the robes Mystery Man was wearing.' She lifted it carefully. The white cloth was soaked through with watered-down detergent. 'What's it doing here?'

"Mom? Is this something I should know about?" Holding it up for her mother to see, she felt her heart bounce once, then sink into oblivion.

"What is it?" She peeked inside a sleeve and turned to her daughter. "I can't say I've seen this, whatever it is, before." She raised an eyebrow and dropped the sleeve. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Me? No." Yuka threw it over her shoulder and a dozen roses fell out.

Picking them up, she thought very hard about what had just happened. They were from Mystery Man. It would make sense that he'd carry them for Xian Pu, whoever she was. She had seen him fighting Ranma and someone had shouted about him being a hidden weapons specialist. It would make sense for him to be hiding other things in his robes besides chains.

Not that anything she was thinking was really hitting home.

Her mother pocketed the glasses.

It was a full ten minutes before Yuka realized that she had subconsciously wandered out back to hang up the robe. One pin on one shoulder, two on a sleeve.

The roses lay disregarded at her feet.

Red roses.

'For Xian Pu,' she reminded herself.

Once she had finished, she picked up the roses and wandered back inside where her mother was waiting patiently.

"Hey, kiddo? What's wrong?" She tipped her daughter's chin upwards.

"Nothing." Yuka looked over at the ramen. "Hey! You ate my shrimp! Not fair!"

"Ah-ah. I paid. Plenty fair."

"I paid the tip!" protested Yuka, to no avail.

"You brought that on yourself."

"Hmph."

They sat down and started in on the fishcakes.

"Yuka?"

"Hrm?"

"How was your day?"

If I get inspired by the next week, then the next chapter will be posted by at least Sunday. If not, this fic could very well fade into the oblivion that is course, the chances of me being inspired are heightened by your reviews. Soo. . . Tell me what you think! How was Ranma? A little OOC? And Kho Lon? And my blatantly obvious plot devices? (Oops. How'd that get there. ;;)

Au Revoir!