"Sanity in a world of insanity is insane"

-Unknown

Chapter 10

A Room Full Of Powder Kegs

"Grand Tokyo Martial Arts Tournament," Cologne murmured, eyes rolling across the page. Nearby, Mousse and Shampoo leaned over her right and left shoulders, respectively, reading with interest.

Mousse grinned, turning away from the two Amazon women. "What a perfect way to finally crush Saotome!"

Perhaps he could allow a few more days to perfect his techniques, and then he could test them against Ranma before the tournament...

---

"All fighting styles from all countries welcome." Tatewaki Kuno smirked as he read on, finding the words quite appealing. He didn't care much for China, but...

"What a perfect opportunity to prove my might once and for all!" Kuno posed dramatically, swinging his bokken with a satisfied smirk.

Across the estate- so that the two's interactions would be minimal- Kodachi Kuno read her own copy of the flyer, and laughed maniacally.

---

"Prove your mettle against other opponents both local and foreign." Ukyo muttered, idly twirling a spatula in hand. She smiled.

"Sounds like fun!"

---

"Tournament begins in one month." Ranma breathed, smiling widely. Now I can definitely master those techniques and beat Sasuke up!

Sasuke's mind was racing with ideas. Most of which involved finding strong opponents, learning their abilities, and defeating them. The ones that didn't were discarded immediately.

Naruto grinned. This was the perfect chance! All he had to do was beat up everyone in the tournament, and he was already halfway back to Konoha!

P-Chan oinked and glared at Ranma, as though intent on beating him with just a glare.

Nabiki smiled, eyes glinting. She could already feel the money in her hands from betting and gambling on this tournament. It looks like I've got some calls to make.

Happosai was chuckling. Not only were there two more people to play around with in town- now a whole tournament?

He needed to send a few letters... There were quite a few people who might want a shot at this tournament; or more precisely, at, someone- oh, say Ranma...

Akane frowned. Somehow, she got the feeling this tournament was going to be more trouble than it was worth.

---

Naruto grumbled, tossing and turning, the blankets rustling atop his futon in the spare room that the Tendo's were lending to the two lost ninjas. He just couldn't sleep with the knowledge that in a little over a month, he could return home.

What kind of opponents would be there?

Ranma said he'd fight... but who else?

"If you're gonna stay up, could you not bother the rest of us?" Sasuke's dry, irritable voice cut in through his thoughts.

"Eh, shut up, asshole." Naruto scowled, turning his head toward the other boy, who slept across the room.

"You're thinking about the tournament, aren't you?" Sasuke said, without moving from his position, facing away from Naruto.

"... yeah." The blonde admitted quietly.

"We're both going to make it to the final round." Sasuke's voice was clear and resolute.

Naruto's eyes widened.

Sasuke rolled over, looking him dead in the eye. "That way, even when I hand you your ass, there's no way the prize won't be ours." His voice had a touch of odd, sardonic humor to it.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Like you've got a chance of making it." He muttered, annoyed.

"Better than yours." Sasuke replied caustically, but there was a curl of his lip too gentle to be a smirk.

"Shut up and go to sleep, asshole." Naruto snarled, rolling over again, to look away.

There was silence for a while.

"You'd better make it to the final round, Sasuke." Naruto said quietly. "And when you do, I'll be waiting already, to kick your ass."

Sasuke grunted but said nothing more.

I want to fight you too.

It would only be later that Naruto realized Sasuke said "ours," not "mine."

---

A few days later, on a clear afternoon, Ranma found himself fighting for his life.

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

He was fighting so that he wouldn't have his face pounded in, since so many people in the world were very much inclined to do pound Ranma Saotome into the ground.

In this case, it would be the most common and fervent person who was inclined to attack Ranma, while the young Saotome was taking a jaunt off to the market, to pick up some groceries for dinner.

And of course, walking through the park, who would spot him but Ryoga.

"Damn Ryoga, couldn't you even lay off for a week!"

Ranma grunted as Ryoga's fist narrowly missed his cheek, before lashing out with a solid jab to the other boy's face.

Ryoga barely flinched, but his aggravation grew and he bared his fangs. "If you think you're going to win that tournament, Ranma, think again!" he thrust forward with his umbrella, lashing out with a tempo of staccato stabs.

"Like you're going to win it, pork breath?" Ranma taunted as he wove in and out of the assault, reading the pattern easily- Ryoga was nothing if not predictable.

If only I had more time... I still can't figure out what that old hag was saying...

The words came unbidden, even as Ryoga roared in outrage at Ranma's evasion, and grabbed a bandanna from his forehead (really, no one was quite sure how many he wore), and spun it out until it hummed dangerously into the air.

"Learn to focus your ki, harness it and shape it. This is much more than simply unleashing it using your ego." Cologne breathed out a cloud of misty, ash-grey smoke, "You cannot be taught this. It is something that must be cultivated and learned on your own. I can help you perfect it, nothing more."

Stupid old woman, Ranma growled again, jerking his head to one side to avoid being decapitated by Ryoga's bandana.

With a frustrated snarl, Ranma lashed out, slamming his foot into Ryoga's chest, knocking the other boy backwards, straight into a nearby tree with a particularly nasty crunch. "I said knock it off, P-chan!"

Again, Ryoga' freakish endurance shone through, allowing the eternally directionless boy the ability to stand up and barely feel winded.

Ranma groaned. Akane was going to murder him for not bringing the groceries by dinner. Actually, make that the entire Tendo household- save Kasumi, of course.

Ryoga charged, head bowed low like a rampaging bull.

Ranma raised his leg high, in a display of remarkable flexibility. As soon as Ryoga was beneath that leg, sent it crashing down in a powerful axe kick.

With a nasty crunch, Ryoga hit the ground with impressive force, even though he was only about three feet above it at the time.

With a pained groan and small traces of cement dust falling away like dead leaves from his face, Ryoga picked himself up again.

Ranma rolled his eyes and groaned as well. This was going to take awhile.

---

"What is taking him so long!" Akane snarled, stamping her foot irritably as she glanced out into the front lawn once again. Crossing her arms with a sour look, she grumbled, "How long does it take to pick up some meat and noodles..."

Kasumi, standing in the kitchen, was thinking the same thing- though less violently. "Naruto?" she asked quietly, to the blonde was currently absorbed by the television.

Naruto didn't look away from the screen- actually, from the moment he had seen his first television show, he had been spending a great deal of time watching it- preferring action/adventure shows, of course. "Yes, Kasumi?"

Kasumi leaned into the dining room, where the T.V. was. "Could you go and see what's taking Ranma so long?"

Naruto stood, shrugging his shoulders and grinning carelessly. "Okay. It's a commercial break, anyway."

---

Ranma winced as Ryoga's fist connected with his shoulder, feeling the arm shake beneath the other boy's strength. As the umbrella wielding boy raised his fist again, to crash it into Ranma's face, Ranma bowed his head low and sprang off the ground with both feet, arching his knee in the process.

Ranma's kneecap slammed directly into Ryoga's gut, causing the fanged boy to wheeze and stagger backwards, winded.

"Come on Ryoga, I've gotta go!" Ranma complained, stepping away from the other boy.

"Don't think I'm beaten yet, Ranma!" Ryoga snapped, rushing forward with his index finger outstretched.

Ranma back flipped to avoid the attack, just as Ryoga's finger came down to connect with the ground where Ranma had stood but a second before.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!"

The ground beneath Ryoga's finger exploded into a violent hail of debris and a storm of dust.

Ranma shifted his weight from side to side, avoiding the shrapnel from the attack, expecting Ryoga to charge through the debris at any moment.

His expectation was proven correct was the Lost Boy stampeded out of the destruction he had caused, index finger raised again for another Breaking Point.

Ryoga snarled, "You won't escape this time Ranma! Bakusai Tenketsu!"

"Ranma! Ranma! Where are you!"

Ryoga stumbled, distracted, and missed Ranma by a good foot or so. Ranma didn't notice, his eyes automatically shifting toward the voice calling him.

Naruto turned the corner and spotted Ranma and Ryoga- just in time to see Ryoga's finger connect with the ground and create another explosion of dust and rock shrapnel.

His response, of course, was, "That was awesome!"

"Naruto?" Ranma crossed his arms, glancing at the blonde. "What are you doing here?"

"Kasumi wants to know if you got the groceries. Oh, and Akane's mad at you, again." Naruto said cheerily.

Ranma groaned. "Oh no..." he glanced toward the grocery bag he had discarded when Ryoga had first appeared. Thankfully, it was intact. "Akane's really mad, ain't she?" he asked, turning toward the blonde ninja yet again.

Naruto grinned, nodding.

"Crap." Ranma muttered, grabbing the bag. "I guess I'd better go. See you at home." With that, he took off running.

"Hey! You come back here!" Ryoga shouted, picking himself up from the crater he created.

"How'd you do that?" Naruto asked, stopping the Lost Boy from charging after Ranma. "You know that..." he gestured for a few moments, as if lost for words, "Explody thingy."

"Trade secret." Ryoga replied smugly. After a moment, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing- maiming/injuring/mauling Ranma Saotome.

"I don't have time for this! I need to go after Ranma!" and with that, he stampeded away.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Didn't Ranma go the other way?" he murmured, puzzled.

---

Dinner was fairly typical.

Ranma scowled and occasionally grimaced as Akane shot him the odd glare. Sasuke stayed quiet and only spoke when spoken to or to ask for another helping (Kasumi's cooking was something Sasuke was quickly becoming very attached to). Naruto talked loudly about his day to anyone who would listen.

Business as usual.

"Could I have some more rice?" Ranma asked, holding out his bowl toward Akane, who, unfortunately for him, was closest to the rice cooker.

"Get it yourself." She said coldly, glaring at him.

"Someone's in trouble," Naruto snickered. Ranma scowled.

"Ah, shuddup." Ranma grumbled irritably, leaning forward to get his own rice.

"RANMA!"

Only Naruto and, to a lesser extent, Sasuke, showed any real signs of being startled. Everyone else took in stride, at most blinking once as though seeing something only a tad out of the ordinary.

"Damn, and I was sure Ryoga would have gotten lost for at least another week!" Ranma snapped his fingers and stood up, food forgotten in the face of another fight.

"Oh honestly, you and Ryoga. Can't you two ever stop fighting?" Akane complained, frowning deeply. "If you'd just stop picking on him..."

"Me?" Ranma said angrily. "In case you've forgotten, Ryoga keeps trying to kick my ass! Excuse me for trying to keep myself intact!"

Akane stood up, nostrils flaring and jaw set in a fierce line. "Instead of fighting, maybe you should try to be a better man and talk it over! But no, Ranma Saotome would never dream of solving anything without his fists!"

Ranma opened his mouth to reply, when his father beat him to it.

"Ranma, a true martial artist uses his abilities as a last resort. Not everything can be solved through the fist." Genma said wisely, nodding his head.

"Aw, shut up pops!" Ranma grumbled. "Now you're lecturing me?"

"RANMA! WHERE ARE YOU!"

Cursing, Ranma turned around. "Aw, I was hoping he'd leave, but I guess I can beat him again. Ryoga's not someone who listens to anyone, Akane." And with that, he bounded outside.

"I want to watch this one!" Naruto grinned, and followed. Akane made a low, annoyed growl, and stomped outside, obviously determined not to let Ranma have the last word.

Sasuke quiet set down his bowl, and went outside as well. Though no one could see his face, his eyes changed into the bloody Sharingan red.

---

"Finally decided to come out of hiding, eh Ranma?" Ryoga said mockingly, baring his fangs. He had stayed in one spot, knowing that if he tried to find Ranma, he might end up losing his rival's trail again.

"I was eating dinner!" Ranma snapped, still irritable from his argument with Akane.

"Well you're about to be eating dirt!" Ryoga charged, head bowed like a rampaging bull as he went forward, fists flying.

Ranma sidestepped, lining his right arm up with Ryoga's chest. "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

The audible impact of Ranma's fist again and again against his rival's torso rang out throughout the Tendo's yard. Still, Ryoga only winced and grimaced as he staggered backwards, whereas a normal man might have experienced crippling pain.

"Ranma... I'm not done!" Ryoga charged forward again. Ranma tried to dodge, but Ryoga's punch still clipped him on the shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards. The two boys glared at each other, and tensed, ready to spring at each other once again-

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Akane thundered, stamping her foot as she grabbed Ranma's ear.

"Owowow! Akane!" Ranma whined, but his fiancee only tugged harder on his ear.

"Quiet Ranma!" Akane snapped, before turning toward Ryoga, who backed away in the instinctive fear of a man before a furious woman. "Ryoga, I don't think you and Ranma should be fighting so often. Maybe you should come back later, okay?"

"Er-ah... Okay, Akane." Ryoga stuttered bashfully, his cheeks flushing. Despite his talk with Ukyo about surrendering his infatuation with Akane, he still couldn't help but fall to pieces around the girl.

Naruto, from his position inside the house, grinned thoughtfully as he noticed Ryoga's sweating, reddening face as he tried desperately to remain calm in front of Akane.

Sasuke scowled from the rooftop, letting his Sharingan fade. He hadn't seen anything worth noting from that battle, save for that Chestnut Fist attack of Ranma's again. Still, he had a whole month to copy and improve on any techniques he found interesting.

Sasuke's scowl faded as he jumped down from the rooftop. Maybe there was still some food left on the table...

Ranma scowled, yelling loudly about "Uncute tomboys!" and "Stupid Akane!" as he was dragged inside by Akane, who merely huffed and sniffed and looked pointedly away as she dragged him off by the ear.

Ryoga was left standing in the middle of the yard, scratching the back of his neck. Though he very much wanted to pound Ranma's face in with his fist, he wouldn't dare risk Akane's wrath in doing so.

He turned to leave when a voice called out to him. "Oi!"

Naruto leapt and bounded across the yard till he was standing in front of Ryoga.

"What? What do you want?" Ryoga demanded, looking irritable.

"Teach me that technique of yours!" Naruto said sunnily.

"I told you already that I won't do it!" the fanged boy replied loudly.

"If you do..." the blonde paused, relishing the words, "I'll set you up on a date with Akane." Naruto grinned as Ryoga's face suddenly went a deep crimson.

"I... uh..." Ryoga stuttered, his resistance fading rapidly.

"Come on! I'll even set the date up first! But you have to promise to teach me that technique!" Naruto implored, pointing his finger almost accusingly at Ryoga.

"Okay." Ryoga said, his lip curling upwards.

Naruto grinned. "Then it's a deal!"

---

"A date? With Ryoga?" Akane blinked, looking rather surprised. She was sitting on her bed, with Naruto currently standing in the middle of her room, currently trying to convince the girl to participate in his schemes.

"Please Akane?" Naruto begged, bowing his head and even raising his clenched hands upwards in the classic begging position. "Could you please just do me this one favor? Please?"

"Well... I don't know..." Akane was puzzled. Naruto had no involvement in the fiancee problems of Ranma, so he wouldn't be setting Akane up with Ryoga to get Ranma out of the engagement.

"It doesn't mean you'll marry him or anything!" Naruto pleaded. "Just one little date? Would it hurt you?"

Akane set her mouth in a line. Obviously, she wasn't convinced.

Naruto's mouth quickly raced to find a way to salvage this situation. Grasping at straws, Naruto drew back upon the prankster's cleverness that had terrorized the Academy. With a roguish grin, he said in an oily voice, "Well, I bet Ranma would be jealous to see his fiancee going out with another guy..."

"I don't care about Ranma!" Akane said loudly, her response coming out of her mouth before she could even really think about it. In a much lower voice, she shrugged. "But I'll go on the date anyway... but it is not to make Ranma jealous!"

Naruto grinned. "Sure... whatever."

And just outside of the room, Ranma scowled. "Akane and Ryoga? Not if I can help it."

Not that he was jealous, or nothing.

Because he wasn't.

---

"I still don't know about this," Ryoga said nervously, holding a bouquet of carnations that Naruto had been gracious enough to get for him. They were in the park, waiting for Akane to show up.

Because Ryoga had explained that he had a "slight navigational problem", Naruto decided Akane should just meet Ryoga somewhere, instead of Ryoga going to pick her up.

It was a beautiful day, perfect for a date. If only Ryoga would stop being so difficult!

"Look, I'll make sure everything goes fine, okay!" Naruto assured him, a tone of irritation lacing his voice.

"I don't know... every time I go on a date with Akane, Ranma shows up to wreck everything!" Ryoga's fists clenched and he bared his fangs at the mere thought of his rival.

"Look, I'll even stick around and watch to make sure everything goes okay, alright? I promise!" Naruto said, exasperated.

Before Ryoga could respond, Akane was seen walking up, wearing a modest, yellow sun dress. "Hi Ryoga!" she said cheerily, masking the fact that she was still uncertain about this date.

"Uh... I..." Ryoga's felt his mouth going dry as the desert.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto elbowed the older boy, hard. "Say hi, idiot!" he murmured.

"H-h-hi, Akane." Ryoga said nervously. He blinked as Naruto elbowed him again.

"Give her the flowers!" Naruto was beginning to think that this date was going to be more trouble than it was worth.

"Th-these are for you, Akane." Ryoga managed, holding out the carnations shyly.

Akane smiled warmly, moved by Ryoga's nervous nature. It was a vast change from Ranma's headstrong, prideful nature... but at the same time, there was a tiny part of her that protested the change. "They're beautiful, Ryoga."

"Well, I'll just leave you two alone then." Naruto announced, grinning. "Have fun you two!" and with that, the blonde ninja walked off jauntily, whistling.

"Wait!" Ryoga began, but it was too late. Naruto was already walking away. He turned back toward Akane, feeling an almost overwhelming panic swelling within him. His cheeks burned as he spoke. "So... uh... what do you want to do first?"

"How about we go get something to eat in the park? There's an ice cream stand not too far from here." Akane suggested.

"S... Sounds good." Ryoga swallowed hard. Come on, this could be your last chance! Even if Akane doesn't share your feelings, you have to try! Maybe if you do, she'll start to see you in a different light!

---

"Stupid Ryoga. What's Akane thinkin', going on a date with that nut?"

Ranma was not happy. Not at all. Valuable training time had to be diverted to making sure Akane didn't do anything stupid with Ryoga.

Like kissing him. Or hugging him. Or touching him.

Heck, being on a date with Ryoga was stupid enough without that sort of thing.

A sly grin crossed his face. "I guess I gotta make sure that this little date doesn't go so well..." he grabbed the bucket he had so thoughtfully prepared ahead of time... and dumped it over his head.

Where the dark haired young man had stood, now he was replaced by a busty, smaller redheaded young woman.

Ranma-chan grinned. "Let's get to work."

---

Naruto yawned, rolling his eyes as a blushing Ryoga handed Akane her ice cream (two scoops of chocolate). Really, this was boring.

Remember the technique. Naruto grinned. The idea of being able to obliterate rocks with his finger was just too tempting.

And all he had to do was make sure this little date went smoothly.

His grin widened. "It's not nearly as hard as what Ero-sennin had me doing to learn Rasengan."

Naruto was going to seriously regret those words.

---

"You... are... unbelievable..." Naruto gasped, grabbing the back of Ranma-chan's shirt, along with three of his Kage Bunshins, sweat rolling down his ruby red face, exhausted from subduing Ranma-chan and pulling her away from Ryoga and a furious Akane.

"I can't believe you actually tried to run up to Ryoga and break up that date by pretending to be his long lost girlfriend that he couldn't remember ever going out with because of some crazy accident that gave him selective... amnesia, was it?"

Ranma-chan scowled, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Why are you messin' around where yer not wanted!" she demanded, twisting her head to glare at the blonde, struggling against her captors. "Why are you setting Akane and Ryoga up on a date!"

"It's a trade." Naruto replied, annoyed that Ranma-chan had interfered so much. "I get him a date, he teaches me that... bakusai-whatever technique." The Naruto clones nodded in affirmation.

"You're insane!" Ranma-chan shouted, eyes wide. "Do you know what Ryoga had to do to learn that technique?"

"I guess I'll find out when this date's over." Naruto shrugged. "But for right now, you and me are going to stay right here until that happens." He snickered, remembering Akane's furious, outraged expression. "Besides, I think that you're safer with me. Akane looked like she was ready to kill you."

"It's her own fault. She's got no business dating that Ryoga." Ranma-chan muttered.

Naruto grinned impishly. "Someone's jealous..."

"Ah... shuddup!" Ranma-chan snarled, but her cheeks were stained a pretty crimson. "Why don't ya go up and-"

"DIE RANMA SAOTOME!"

Naruto heard a whistling on the wind that sounded distinctly like metal thrown through the air, and, on instinct, leapt away. His clones were not so lucky, and were destroyed by a rain of weaponry, ranging from tonfa to long spears to knives, all of which were attached by long chains.

Ranma-chan rolled away, narrowly avoiding a very painful, very pointy death.

"Does everyone want to kill you!" Naruto demanded, spearing Ranma-chan with a harsh glare.

"No, just the crazy ones." Ranma-chan snapped, before another hail of sharp and blunt objects soared through the air, forcing her to dodge to one side.

A young man leapt down from the trees, laughing loudly. He was dressed in an intricate, white Chinese robe with a yellow inner lining, with black rimming his sleeves, and wore almost ridiculously large, round glasses.

"Hello, Ranma Saotome." He smirked, crossing his arms. "Today's the day I defeat you!"

"Mousse, I'm sort of in the middle of something here!" Ranma-chan shouted. "Come back later!"

"Later!" Mousse sputtered, blinking in disbelief. "How dare you!" and then, in absolute defiance of the laws of physics, removed a large spear from his sleeves. "I'll kill you!" he roared, charging forward... directly at Naruto.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the blonde ninja shouted, weaving away, barely avoiding being impaled.

"Quiet Ranma! I'll teach you to be so arrogant!" Mousse punctuated every word with another fierce stab, tearing through the air.

"I'm not Ranma, dumbass!" Naruto snapped.

Mousse stopped his assault, blinking as he removed his glassed with one hand, rubbing them against his robes. When he placed them back on, he blinked again, stating, "You're not Ranma."

"No, really!" Naruto snarled, pointing violently toward Ranma-chan. "That's Ranma!"

"So it is." Mousse muttered, fixing his glasses while still holding the spear. He stared at Ranma-chan, who stared back. Naruto's sapphire eyes darted between both, as if waiting for something.

There was a terse moment of silence.

"DIE RANMA!"

And inevitably, it was broken.

---

"That Ranma," Akane huffed, "Who does he think he is, barging in on our date!" behind her, being pulled along by Akane's forceful hand, Ryoga merely nodded silently, as always cowed by Akane's fiery temper.

Akane was determined to make sure this date went well. Just to shove that in Ranma's face.

"Come on Ryoga!" she stomped off, Ryoga in tow.

Ryoga glanced at Akane's determined, angry face, one he had seen so many times, but this time, it was different. Maybe it was his talk with Ukyo, or the memory of Akane's face when Ranma collapsed.

But Ryoga realized that Akane was probably not enthused about this date because of him, but because of how she could shove it in Ranma's face.

Ranma, Ranma, Ranma.

Am I going to lose to you again, Ranma?

They passed a middle aged man on the street, who, after watching the overwhelmed Ryoga being dragged off by Akane, started chuckling to himself. "That poor boy," he muttered sympathetically. "That girl's got a lot of spirit. I don't think he can handle her."

---

Ranma-chan sidestepped a flurry of chains that burst out of Mousse's robes, and then charged forward, coming in with a hard, fast hook.

Much to her surprise, another chain flew out of the Chinese man's clothing, wrapping around her wrist, pulling Ranma-chan's fist until it missed Mousse completely.

"Is that all you've got?" Mousse taunted, flinging his sleeve forward and unleashing another swarm of chains. Ranma-chan, her wrist still caught, was unable to evade, and suddenly her other arm, as well as her legs, were wrapped by Mousse's chains.

Ranma-chan swallowed. Mousse smirked, and tugged violently, hurling Ranma-chan through the air, slamming her into the ground with a vicious thud.

This is new, Ranma-chan thought grimly. Mousse had always been a rather minor threat- but now, his reactions were superb, and those chains of his were acting as though he controlled them with his mind...

Mousse grinned and lifted Ranma-chan up again with another tug on the chains.

"Oh no you don't!" Ranma-chan shouted, managing to get her hands close enough together to gather a rather prodigious amount of ki. "Moko Takabisha!" the blast smashed into Mousse, sending him flying backwards, slamming into the ground with a harsh crunch.

At the same time, the backlash of not being grounded while firing the Moko Takabisha caused Ranma-chan to be knocked backwards as well, freeing her from the chains, though leaving her with some rather raw skin.

Mousse stirred, groaning. He tried to lift his head, but it soon fell back down.

Ranma-chan moaned, rubbing her aching back as she staggered up to her feet. "And stay down," she muttered, removing her hand from her back and rubbing her forehead instead. "My head..."

Naruto shook his head, smiling gently as he stepped next to Ranma-chan, holding out a hand to steady her. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Ranma-chan said, eyes closed. After a moment, they snapped open. "Oh no! I forgot about Ryoga and Akane!" and with that, she ran off, just as Naruto swung out his hand, trying in vain to grab at the back of her shirt.

"Ah well..." Naruto muttered, watching her race off. "They're probably done by now too." He glanced at Mousse's unconscious body, then shrugged. "He probably knows his way back home."

On his way back to the Tendo's, he spotted a familiar spiky head of hair. "Oi! Sasuke!"

Sasuke glanced at the blonde, a hint of annoyance but nothing else crossing his face. "Hn. And what have you been doing all day?" he asked, hands in his pockets, keeping his eyes forward and continuing at his own pace.

Naruto shrugged, falling into Sasuke's pace. "Nothing much really. But you know, this place is weird."

---

"Akane!" Ranma panted, back in his male form after having managed to find some hot water a few minutes before. He had run across most of Nerima, trying to find Akane, before deciding that since it was getting late, Akane might have gone back home.

His guess was correct, and he spotted Akane's lone, petite figure at the gates of the Tendo household. He was glad that Ryoga wasn't there with her, sharing a goodbye kiss, in ways that he would never admit to even under severe torture.

"Oh, it's you." Akane muttered, rolling her eyes as she pushed the gate open. "What do you want?"

"Where's Ryoga?" Ranma asked brusquely, in lieu of answering.

"He left." Akane replied tersely, deliberately not looking at him.

"What, he didn't walk you home?" Ranma's voice was thick was teasing, condescending scorn.

"Shut up, Ranma." Akane gritted out, her nostrils flaring as she continued not looking at him.

Ranma, actually using that part of his brain that had an ability known as tact, did not push Akane's buttons, but instead said, "Eh, he wasn't worth your time anyway."

Akane froze, a redness that was not caused by the setting sun going up her cheeks. "Wh-what? What was that Ranma?" she turned towards him, eyes wide with disbelief.

The Heir to the Anything Goes School, as per his usual oblivious nature, continued on rambling, "Well, you know, Ryoga's kind of... spineless. And you... you've got a lot of spirit, Akane. More than anyone else I've met, anyway."

"Oh." Akane said quietly, her cheeks now definitely burning hot and flushed.

Ranma paused, suddenly realizing what he had been saying. "Uh..." a redness matching Akane's erupted on his own cheeks.

They stood awkwardly in front of each other, blushing, uncomfortable.

"Ranma..." Akane said quietly, in a tone that Ranma had only heard in his dreams.

"Y-yeah?" his breath was short and shallow, his throat tight, his mouth dry.

"Hey guys!"

Ranma and Akane jerked apart, each wearing expressions of absolute shock at Naruto, who, along with a smirking Sasuke, stood right behind them.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything." Sasuke smirked impishly, and the sheer vexing nature of his voice nearly gave Ranma an aneurysm.

"Let's go inside! I'm starving!" Naruto crowed, grinning as he pumped his fist into the air.

Ranma and Akane, determinedly not looking at each other, nodded awkwardly and walked inside.

However, though neither one noticed, they both wore identical, gentle smiles on their faces.


Author's Notes

Techniques

Bakusai Tenketsu (Breaking Point)- An Amazon technique designed for work in the rock quarries, it finds the specific breaking point of rocks or anything derived from rock (including cement) and causes it to explode.

Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire Punch)- A series of punches so fast that they can look like a single strike. Gets its name from the training style, involving pulling Chestnuts from a fire without being burned. Often called the Chestnut Fist.

Moko Takabisha (Fierce Tiger Ball)- A blast of ki powered by Ranma's pride and confidence.

Urgh... sorry everyone. This chapter was a pain to write, the most difficulty I've had with a chapter in this story so far.

First things first... in order to keep confusion away, I'm labeling Ranma's girl form as Ranma-chan, which is a habit I picked up from a few Ranma ½ stories I've read.