Ki Cutters: 35

The Pest III

Akane broke the kiss and held Ranma hard against her, breathing heavily. She could feel Ranma's heart racing in her own bosom and wondered what brought this on. Not that she minded particularly, but they probably gave Kasumi a heart attack. "Ah… We ought to get this cake out to our guests," she suggested. She felt Ranma's head bob in agreement, but the shorter figure made no move to release her. "I've missed you this week."

"I missed you, too." Ranma sighed and let Akane get a little air. "Don't let Urudu tick ya off, tomboy."

Akane looked at her suspiciously. "Is that why you came out here?" She glared. "Afraid I'll poison someone?"

"Partly." Ranma gave a faint smile and snuggled close again, nuzzling her neck. "We are really screwed up, ya know?"

"Oh, Ranma…" Akane smiled as she heard Ranma's sigh. She had just trailed a hand across certain attributes. "Why didn't you get the hot water before you kissed me like that?"

Ranma looked embarrassed. "I'm gonna hafta show Amatras this shape. And it's not like we haven't kissed before, girl-girl."

Akane nodded. "It was just so…" She shivered and looked distressed. "Before last Friday, it was buddy-buddy in a way, when you're like this. That was…" She backed away to arm's length and laughed nervously. "We are messed up," she complained rubbing the front of her thighs. "But I'd rather be messed up with you than be normal with anyone else."

Ranma nodded in agreement and reached for the cake. If her eyes were a bit wild, Akane didn't notice with her own averted. Ranma did notice however, and flinched away from, the little form reclining on the counter. Happosai chewed noisily and swallowed as Ranma's eyes focused sharply on him and the distinct lack of cake. "That was pretty good," he commented. "Did Kasumi make that?" He licked his fingers with a slurp. "Don't let me interrupt you. You two were doing just fine, earlier."

"You jerk!" Ranma slapped Happosai off the counter. Happosai cackled and rebounded off a wall. "I'm gonna squash ya like a bug," Ranma added.

"Not if I get him first," Akane snarled. "That cake was for our guests, Grandfather!"

Happosai cackled and bounded out of the kitchen. He lurched and skidded to a halt in the main room. His eyes popped as he saw Amatras beside Urudu and Baradandya. "Who're you?" His fingers twitched. "Are you a martial artist by any chance?" Happosai dodged the frying pan Akane swept his way. His eyes remained fixed on their guest.

Urudu decided to make matters simpler and shrugged a shoulder out of her top. "Oh, Hap-pi…"

Happosai glanced her way and his mouth opened to call his typical battle cry of "Swee-to!" What came out, though, was a belch. His eyes shot around from Urudu to Baradandya to Kasumi… He was surrounded by girls who were off 'the list' but he had let his lusts get away from him. Urudu's spell began to affect his lower tract and stomach. "I… Arrgh! I was just… glah! (WHAM!) A Happosai-shaped hole appeared in the shoji. Happosai vanished over the fence beyond the koi pond.

"Hah!" Ranma shouted, lowering her leg. "Got him good!"

"He ate the cake, Kasumi," Akane wailed.

"Oh, dear," Kasumi rose to her feet. "I'm so sorry. I have some nice pecan cookies in the refrigerator."

"Everything Kasumi makes is wonderful," Hinako commented. "She's really far more mistress of the house than I am."

"But Akane has done very well handling the finances," Kasumi put in.

"I'll get the cookies, sis," Akane broke in. She was not satisfied with the quality of her financial skills and felt embarrassed by her sister's endorsement. She ducked back into the kitchen.

Kasumi glanced at Ranma, seeking reassurance that Akane was not going to mangle her kitchen in pursuit of the cookies. Ranma smirked in response and Kasumi relaxed and settled back at her place. The pigtailed girl also ducked into the kitchen, not to monitor Akane, but to get a roll of tape and some newspaper. She quickly taped the paper across the hole as a temporary patch while Akane served the cookies.

"Ummm…" The goddess eyed the hole in the screen. "Excuse me, but what was that?" Amatras pointed to the patch.

"Local pest by the name of Happosai," Urudu explained. "He used to steal panties and irritate young women everywhere till I nailed him with an interdiction spell."

"Don't break yer arm pattin' yerself on the back, Ms. Kamiko," Ranma said dryly. Urudu stuck her tongue out. Ranma pirouetted for Amatras. "Well, do I pass?"

"Astonishing." Amatras got up and took a good look at Ranma. "My granddaughter could easily have been your twin."

"Don't reach too much for similarities," Ranma warned her, "I'm not her. Besides, folks say I look like my Mom this way."

"If you say so." Amatras cocked her head in an eerily familiar manner. "May I touch you? If my granddaughter was used to make the spring, I'll be able to tell." Ranma shrugged and leaned forward. Briefly, one redhead placed a hand on the cheek of the other. "Yes, I can sense part of me within the Jusenkyo magic. Tsuriganeso must have been the origin of the Nyanniichuan."

"I'm sorry," Ranma said quietly. The redhead smiled slightly and leaned into the kiss Akane gave in passing as she placed the cookies on the table. "I know it doesn't change anything, but I mean it."

"Thank you." The former Amazon goddess seemed to be recovering. She sipped her tea and sampled the cookies Akane brought out, commenting favorably to Kasumi. She seemed to be in no hurry now that she had established that Ranma was indeed connected with her granddaughter, regardless of how remote that connection was. Finally, Amatras came back to the issue that Ranma and Akane were most interested in. "I understand," she said over her cup, "that you two were hoping for some advice on Amazon Law?"

"That's right," Ranma began, "if there's some way to shortcut the duelin' Akane and Shampoo get inta twice a month, I'm all for it." Amatras gave Ranma a hard look. Ranma glared back. "The Amazons won't tell us what's needed. They seem to feel Akane should just know."

"That's not quite what they said, Ranma," Akane objected. "They said I would understand what to do when the time comes." She shifted on her knees. "It's almost as if it's supposed to be something instinctive or natural to someone who is even potentially an Amazon. "

"How can a law be instinctive?" Ranma complained. "Laws involve penalties, and that means choice is involved. There ain't a country in the world that don't explain why it whacks you if you do somethin'. Why don't the Amazons?"

"The law doesn't apply to outsiders," Amatras said inscrutably. "Akane, as an outsider, is not affected by the law. She cannot recognize a 'Sister of the Heart' after all, only another Amazon can." She leaned back as Akane and Ranma exchanged glances. "The law isn't really a law, Ranma. It is a set of guidelines used to identify someone worthy of being an Amazon." She crossed her arms. "I could tell you what that standard is. Are you interested?"

"Only if it doesn't affect my honor with Shampoo," Akane qualified quickly.

"I see," Amatras said. She glanced between Ranma and Akane, trying to decide whether Akane really meant what she said. "Let's put that aside for now," she said finally. "I promise to deal with the honor issue after I ask you some questions." She looked at Ranma, but nodded at Akane. "How do Akane and Shampoo compare as warriors, Ranma?"

"They're damn good. Akane's better'n Shampoo just now," Ranma said glumly. "Heck, Akane's almost as good as me." She sipped her tea. "We train all the time." Rolling her tea thoughtfully, she added, "but Shampoo trains just as hard and Cologne's a helluva good teacher. Shampoo is gaining."

"What is your plan, Akane, if I can't help you? Do you plan to keep dueling, fighting her to a standstill each and every time?"

"If I have to," Akane said. "As long as I have to."

The goddess turned back to Ranma. "What about you, Ranma?"

Ranma mumbled discontentedly before saying, "I don't think Akane's thought this out."

Akane frowned. "What haven't I thought out?"

Ranma's hand suddenly slapped the tabletop – not hard enough to break anything, but enough to rattle their cups. "This is the same crap ya went through when everyone was offering you as a prize in some fight I was in, dammit!" she snarled. "Do ya think I'd just go off and marry someone who had k-killed…" Ranma's lips pressed together, unwilling to finish the statement. She gulped. "Even if somethin' happens to ya, there's still the matter of family honor."

"Ranma," Akane said. "If I had to, I could make Dad adopt Shampoo — then she'd be a Tendo." She paused. "I might do that anyway."

"Like that'd make any difference to me," Ranma retorted, "and what about Mousse?" Akane paled. How could she have forgotten Mousse! "Ya think he's gonna fade back into the woodwork? I don't think so. Shampoo wins, he's gonna be after me like before, except more so. I might even make it easy for him," Ranma growled.

Akane leaped to her feet. "Don't you dare!" she shouted, tears in her eyes. "Ranma Saotome doesn't give up." Akane knelt again. "If you love me, you'll not give up, even if I'm gone. You'll help our friends and family to win… somehow." Amatras took in the stricken look on Ranma's face as the redhead's lips tightened to keep in the protest that raged. She could tell that there were many answers that Ranma wanted to throw back into Akane's face, but love stopped her.

Amatras set her cup down and bowed to Ranma and Akane, catching their attention. "What a fine mess this is," Amatras told them. "I sometimes think it was easier before Amazons permitted marriage." She shrugged. "Still we have to deal with what is, not what should or could be."

"Huh?" The verbal combatants parried with ignorance.

"Let's get down to business, then," Amatras said. "As I said, Akane, the Amazons may not discuss this law because it is really a custom and affects them, not you. Needless to say, the results can be faked, if the candidate knows the correct actions or responses. I can tell you what the guidelines are and once you satisfied the requirements, whether you believed in the requirements or not, Shampoo would be able to 'recognize' you, and you would become, officially, her Sister of Heart in the eyes of all the Amazons."

Akane met Amatras' eyes squarely. "No."

Ranma sighed catching his fiancée's attention. "It would be a cheat. Akane don't cheat." Akane nodded sadly but proudly, seeing the strain on Ranma's face. "I guess that just means we have to win," the temporary girl said softly.

Urudu frowned. "You mean you aren't going to help her, Ami?" she demanded.

"She doesn't need or want the help, Urd," Amatras assured her. "Take it from me. She has what it takes. Any other response she made would have disqualified her." Neither Ranma nor Akane seemed surprised. "When the time comes, she'll manage just fine, I think."

"Could you tell me?" Urudu asked brightly.

Amatras glanced at Urudu's deceptively open face. "I don't think so, Urd. You don't know how to keep a secret and, if this became general knowledge, it might ruin Akane's chances with Shampoo."

"Awww…"

By common consent, they dropped the issue at that point. Instead, with Kasumi and Baradandya's help, they made small talk. It turned out that Amatras had, until recently, also worked as a teacher. It was apparently a very common cover for kami visiting the earth. That did not make kami teachers very common; there were perhaps three-dozen on the entire planet, but Amatras was presently on a sabbatical and was considering moving on to something else. The discussion over the preferred job became quite intense. "I think I'll move to Europe," the redhead said finally. "I'm a bit exotic-looking but Europe is enough of a mix these days that I can probably fit in."

"Why not be an airline stewardess?" Kasumi suggested. "You would get to travel around the world and everyone would assume you're from somewhere else."

"Would you like that sort of job, Kasumi-chan?" asked Urudu.

"Well… No, but I'm more a homebody." Kasumi blushed. She knew she should be more outgoing.

"So are most kami, dear," Amatras soothed. "We're very much stick-in-the-muds. We like to locate ourselves in a predictable atmosphere where we can conceal ourselves." She patted Kasumi's hand warmly.

"How did you guys get assigned to Furinken?" Ranma snorted mirthfully. He had changed back to his male form and relaxed, his knee encroaching slightly on Akane's space. "It's hardly predictable."

Urudu grinned. "But you can always predict that it will be exciting."

Amatras looked startled as Akane and Ranma laughed. "The school was nearly destroyed two or three times... Half the male student body became Ranma clones, if only temporarily… Amazon month… The principal, booby-trapping the basement… Happosai twice tried to take over the school play… Terrorists stalking the shopping mall…. Ninja on the make everywhere…" Akane ran out of breath.

Ranma took up where Akane left off. "Ryoga and Akari split because of Konatsu, which led to Ryoga becoming Ukyo's boyfriend and Konatsu, Akari's…"

"Oh! I got a wedding invitation for you from Konatsu and Akari," Kasumi broke in.

"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma said. "Where was I? Oh, yeah, Ryoga and Taro lost their old curses and got new ones, Taro married Kodachi. Kodachi is carryin' (gulp!) twins… "

"Oh, my!" Hinako and Kasumi's eyes grew large and they boggled at Ranma. "Are you all right with that, Ranma?" Hinako asked delicately. Ranma made a face. Amatras' women's rights background came to the forefront with a vengeance.

"And why is it Ranma's concern that this Kodachi is carrying twins?" she growled.

"It isn't, really," Ranma admitted, a pained look on his face. He turned to Akane. "Ya got those photos, tomboy?" Akane grinned and passed them over. Ranma handed them to the goddess.

"This is Kodachi?" Amatras gasped. "Why does she look like you, Ranma?"

Of course that story had to come out, from beginning to end, including Taro's wooing of Ranma's recently acquired biological twin. At the tale's end, Amatras knelt gaping in her place.

"Just another fine mess in Nerima," Ranma said brightly. "Just ta warn ya, there's a couple of givens if ya move here. One, 'Ranma, it's your fault!'; two, 'It's not what it looks like!'; and three, 'when in doubt apply hot or cold water.' I wish someone had told me that before I came here," Ranma added mournfully. "Of course, if you are plannin' on movin' into the neighborhood…"

Amatras smirked and shook her head in disbelief. "Don't worry. I won't be." She opened her hand and plucked a bundle of papers out of the air. "The wonders of heavenly technology… these are my tickets to Europe. I'll be on my way at midnight tomorrow."

It was the first time they had seen an obvious use of her powers. There was the usual polite protest of her immanent departure, but Akane's eyes were unfocused in a pained, introspective look. "It's not what it looks like?" she repeated slowly. "Oh, damn." She focused on the Amazon goddess. "Amatras, before you go, would you meet my Sister of Heart and her family?"

Amatras looked a bit defensive at the demand. "Why? I don't think a divine visitation will help your cause, dear. Amazons aren't that impressed with divinity."

"Ya got that right," Ranma snorted undiplomatically. "Of course if ya beat her in combat first… Though I wouldn't suggest doin' it as a girl..." Akane elbowed him. "Then again, if ya beat her as a guy, things might get a little dicey…"

Akane threatened to beat her fiancé. "Quit joking around! I'm not trying to impress Shampoo! You heard Amatras. It wouldn't matter who told us about their laws; it would still mess things up. I don't want Shampoo to believe we went behind her back. If we try to hide this…"

"We'll just tell 'em that we coulda, but didn't…"

Akane restrained herself with difficulty. "Baka! You should know better than anyone that facts aren't enough!"

"Right, right… 'It's not what it looks like!'…" Ranma looked pained.

"Exactly! Do you remember what it felt like when I didn't believe you about not being a pervert?" Ranma nodded wincing. "Well, it felt pretty lousy not to believe you, either, and I don't want to put Shampoo through that," Akane explained and turned back to Amatras."Amatras-megami, would you please come and see my Sister of Heart? I don't want her to think I failed her." She looked unhappily at the tabletop.

Ranma nodded. "Besides, if Shampoo thinks Akane was cheatin', they'd be fightin' all the time and Shampoo'd be using drugs and magic again." He shuddered. "I may not wanna be a Joketsuzoku husband, but bein' a drugged Joketsuzoku husband would be much worse." A determined look came over his face and Ranma suddenly jumped to his feet and hurried out to the kitchen. Returning female, she put her hands together and gave Amatras the cutest, most defenseless expression she could manage. "Please, see Shampoo for Akane?" Amatras looked startled. "C'mon, Akane. I got her on the ropes," Ranma evaluated.

Akane choked but then laughed and joined in. "Ple-e-ease?" they asked together.

Ranma and Akane's ultimate kawaii attack gave Akane the victory. It was opined that Chinese food might be nice for dinner. Hinako decided to remain behind. She smirked and told Kasumi to go have fun with her friends. She smiled and winked at them. She was looking forward to some quality time alone with her husband.

oOo

"Welcome to Nekohanten… Oh, Ranma!" Lung-Lung looked at Amatras curiously. Then she frowned. "You not Ranma," she said, frowning and beginning to withdraw.

"No, I'm Amatras… Sorry 'bout this." The redhead moved past the frozen girl to look over the neat, refurbished ramen shop. "Not very Amazon," she murmured, "but considering your purpose here, it's understandable."

As the real Ranma, along with Akane, Kasumi and the kami crowd entered, Lung-Lung swung around, her young face pale. Amazon or not, she was certainly impressed. "Great-grandmother!" she called out shakily.

Hearing the emotion in her voice, Cologne, Ling-Ling and Shampoo leaned out of the kitchen doorway to boggle at the scene. With a hard look on her face, Cologne advanced, eyeing the Ranma-clone with a critical eye. "Well, aside from the fact that you're not Ranma, I don't…"

"Great-grandmother!" Lung-Lung choked out. "She say she… Amatras."

Cologne's eyes widened. "Really? You don't look anything like the descriptions." Her smirk lost its life when she noticed the other guests. More seriously she asked, "And why would the legendary mother goddess of the Joketsuzoku come to visit us after all these years?"

Baradandya ignored the tension that seemed to crackle in the room. "Perhaps we could discuss that over dinner," she said brightly. "The last time we were here you had a wonderful curry chicken."

oOo

Ranma sat with his hands around his cup of tea. Dinner felt like an armed standoff. Fortunately, the rebuilt Nekohanten now possessed a private dining room, in addition to the common area, courtesy of their recent lack of immediate neighbors. They had finally had enough of the weirdness and sold their property to Cologne for a very reasonable price. Ranma thought that was a nice bit of luck for the Amazons, as the Nekohanten could ill afford a loss of revenue so soon after its reopening. Urudu, Baradandya, Keiichi and Amatras sat at one end and along one side of the big table, while Akane, Kasumi and Ranma sat across from them. Mousse, who had been out on a delivery when they arrived, now acted as their waiter, quickly serving their orders before retreating to the kitchen to help the twins with their dinner customers. Shampoo entered with Cologne, after everyone was served, to take their places at the opposite end of the table.

Ranma paused in his inhalation of food and jabbed his chopsticks toward them. "Why ya sittin' clear up there?" he asked. "Do we stink or somethin'?"

Shampoo's mouth twitched, but she remained silent. Cologne frowned, but didn't budge from her chair. "We're a trifle concerned, son-in-law," she said in a serious tone. "We haven't heard from Amatras for over two millennia." She nodded their way. "To be blunt, we're concerned that Akane's status might be called into question."

"I told you that would happen," muttered Akane sadly.

Ranma covered her hand were it lay on the table and smiled. "We know better, though. That's why we came." They looked to Amatras.

"Though Urudu had suggested I might advise them," Amatras began, "Akane would not permit me to do so if her present relationship with Shampoo were threatened. She seems confident that time will tell." Akane couldn't keep her eyebrow from twitching. She wouldn't exactly call herself confident. "Ranma seems mostly concerned that they will hurt themselves before this is resolved, but he has also agreed to abide by the Law." At their guarded looks, Amatras added, "I, Amatras, once Mother Goddess of the Joketsuzoku, assure you that I revealed nothing of the Law to Shampoo's airen nor to her sister-of-heart. Nor did I reveal such knowledge to anyone who might later so inform them."

She seemed to glow for a moment, and Ranma twitched as a weird sort of overlay briefly altered her features. For a moment, Amatras seemed taller with dark hair, a sunburst symbol edged in blue upon her brow. Something tugged at his own memories, but faded with the vision. He realized in retrospect that he had seen her aura and true essence through his ki vision. But even that revelation vanished like a soap bubble as forty-five kilos of girl clotheslined himself and Akane in a monster hug.

"Shampoo know you not betray her! Akane true Sister of Heart!" the purple haired girl squealed. "Shampoo love you both!"

Ranma's short hairs rose as he heard the distinctive sound of tendons snapping across bone. His head turned by itself. Mousse stood behind him, eyes flaming. "It's not what it looks like, man," he choked out around Shampoo's grip.

"Enemy of women," Mousse ground out. "Urk!"

Shampoo had dragged him into the hug, too. "Isn't it wonderful, Mousse? Shampoo worried something stupid happen, but Akane do right thing!" Akane, Mousse and Ranma felt their ribs creak.

"Shampoo… Can't breathe…" Moose gasped faintly.

"Enthusiastic girl," Amatras commented.

"It's endearing, but sometimes gets her into trouble," Cologne confirmed.

"I'm sorry to have left my daughters all those years ago," Amatras said sadly. "I arranged for colleagues of mine to help you when I left. They weren't warriors, but…"

"Do you mean the three sisters? They taught us the magic we use to match our martial skills." Cologne chuckled. "Did you hear what the eldest did to your brother? It was perfectly diabolical. The middle sister taught us hearth and healing magic and the youngest showed us mechanics and technology. We had the first waterwheel in the world, I believe, and…" Cologne's eyes suddenly went unfocused. Her mouth opened in protest. Then she turned her eyes toward Baradandya and Urudu. "I don't believe it. You people did it again!"

Baradandya looked surprised. "Pardon?"

"You fogged my mind again," Cologne complained. "Must you do that when we already know you're kami?" She huffed as the kami exchanged glances, curious expressions on their faces.

"But, we haven't…" Urudu frowned. "Why would you think…" She seemed to look into the distance. Her symbols briefly glowed to life on her face, illuminating the room in eerie blue light. "Oh, shit! You realize what happened, don't you, Bel?"

"Sister! Language!" Baradandya looked incensed at her sister's outburst.

"Bel, access that three month temp assignment we had just before heading west toward the Balkans," Urudu grumbled. "You won't believe it!" Baradandya looked surprised then followed her sister's example.

"Oh, my! I'm very sorry, Cologne. You are correct. That was my sisters and I. Your mind was being tampered with, though not by us. That was a standard protection protocol put in place by the heavenly system. Our interaction with your people was for such a short time and so long ago, that we didn't upload those memory-summaries for our current existence. For our protection, anyone familiar with our involvement there was automatically discouraged from recognition."

Ranma watched the Amazons' faces carefully. He barely resisted laughing as one of the key events in Amazon history was reduced to an unmemorable footnote. "You guys didn't realize you three Norns were the Amazon's three sister goddesses?" he demanded snickering. "Even after all those rituals Cologne put us through?" Both Norns present blushed, and Keiichi hid a smile. There was no malice in Ranma's humor. Remembering what Cologne had said, Ranma queried, "Wadja do to Herb's god?"

"Let's simply say that he has the opportunity to protect where he once destroyed," Cologne commented before the goddesses could answer.

"Good!" Amatras said grimly. "He was a real jerk, that one."

"Amatras," Shampoo spoke for the first time. "What happen that you leave us?"

"I'm rather interested in that, myself," Cologne admitted. "You were our mother for so long then, suddenly, you were gone. We would have been destroyed without them." The old woman nodded at the Norns. "We feared your brother had destroyed you."

Amatras shook her head and then indicated Shampoo. "I understand you were there when Saffron was defeated?" Shampoo nodded affirmatively. "Saffron is reborn anew once every 1000 years. He is, essentially, a new being, a blank slate." Her hands clapped together as if removing dust from her palms. "Celestial kami like myself and the Norns must also go through rebirth, but we have somewhat greater latitude as to when and what memories we retain for the new life. Memories we don't plan to use are archived. Normally, this takes no more than a dozen years or so. I knew I couldn't trust my brother, so I delayed my rebirth too long. I was incapacitated for a long time."

Cologne's eye twinkled. "I'm happy you're feeling better, mommy."

"Cologne-chan…" Amatras grinned as most of the people around her face-faulted.

"I don't suppose you have some words of wisdom for back home?" Cologne asked.

"My little birds have been long out of the nest," Amatras smiled, reached out and patted Cologne's hand. "You had your childhood. Though I'm sure you'll have your challenges, I have faith that you will triumph." She smirked. "So don't even tell them about me. Alright?"

The dinner, which had begun so stressfully, became a party. As the customers dwindled away, Lung-Lung, Ling-Ling and Mousse spent more time with their friends. Mousse in particular, had a silly grin on his face and even reverted to calling Ranma 'Shampoo' on one occasion. He blushed like mad when Ranma suggested what might have happened if he had done that to Amatras since her hairstyle was so much closer to Shampoo's. Shortly thereafter, he nearly passed out when, with his glasses in place, Amatras gave him a long, slow wink and pinched his butt. Conversation eventually revealed Amatras' plans to leave. It was decided that Shampoo, Akane, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung would accompany Amatras as a sort of unofficial honor guard. Baradandya and Urudu promised to come and reintroduce Sakurida to their old associate. Ranma and, surprisingly, Kasumi also planned to see her off.

"I don't get out much," Kasumi explained. "Besides, it gives our step-mother a chance to settle in better."

"Kasumi wants to be a stewardess," suggested Akane with a naughty look.

"I do not," Kasumi protested. She shrugged and blushed. "I would like to see the planes taking off, though."

"I don't care for planes, myself," Mousse commented almost airily as he cleared plates. "I almost got sucked into a jet once. And even if you avoid the intakes, the turbulence can strip your feathers right off."

"Hey, Mousse," Ranma asked suddenly, "If ya loose her feathers when yer a duck, what does that mean for yer human form?"

Mousse shuddered. "It looks like I've sand-papered the body hair off my skin. Very unpleasant."

"That's really tough, man," Ranma said sympathetically.

"You know, I'm surprised at how well everyone takes their curses around here." Amatras let her eyes catch Ranma, Shampoo and Mousse's. "Have you tried to rid yourselves of them?"

Ranma's laugh was a bark of frustration and embarrassment. "Most of the hot situations I've gotten into revolved around tryin' to get rid of the curse. And I'm one of the lucky ones; I'm still human. I can't imagine what it must be like for Mousse and Shampoo, or Ryoga, back when he turned into a pig."

Mousse snorted. "You can't imagine the battles we've engaged in trying to find cures or prevent one another from getting them." At the goddess' look he added, "We were enemies, then."

"You know," Cologne considered thoughtfully, "we're about due for another contest between Akane and Shampoo."

"Aw, no!" whined Ranma. "Do we hafta?"

"I think Amatras deserves to see how her people have faired and maybe where they're going in the future, Ranma." The old woman pogo-ed to the door and looked out into the fading light. "We'll use the park they're renovating near your mother's. There shouldn't be many people this late. Besides, it's not raining and there's just enough light to give her a show." She glanced at the kami. "Perhaps Baradandya, Keiichi and Urudu would like to see how these things go?"

The Morisatos consulted among themselves. "Could you limit this to no weapons?" Baradandya asked.

"As you wish, dear," Cologne agreed. "I'll warn you, however, that stipulation has little meaning."

Ranma sighed, "Oh, well, it'll probably do Keiichi some good to see a no-holds-barred duel. You ready, Akane?"

Akane was hugging Shampoo who had tears streaming down her face. "Now look, Shampoo," he could hear her whispering, "you've got to pull yourself together. Our time will come. I'll win this one, but if you don't make me work for it, I'll just lay down and die and I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!" Akane shook the purple-haired girl while her audience considered the weird sight of Akane demanding to be attacked with all-out lethal force. "Maybe we should start with the Megami Hamaya. I've worked it out finally and Amatras might be interested in seeing the move."

"Akane!" Ranma growled, appalled at her brass. "D'ya mind?"

oOo

At the international airport in Narita, a flight from Beijing disembarked. Among the precisely tailored three-piece suits of the embassy staff, a short elderly woman observed the hustle and bustle with thinly veiled contempt. A staff, twice as tall as she was, occasionally thrust out, pointing here and there at some deficiency. Her garment was a vividly blue robe embroidered all over with jeweled thread and brilliant beadwork. The old woman's hair was white with strange bluish highlights.

""The secure vehicles are prepared, honored one,"" a minor official reported.

""Humph! That took long enough! Take the diplomatic pouches to the Embassy."" The old woman turned away.

""Forgive me, honored one, but aren't you coming?""

The old woman snorted. ""I have business in Nerima.""

The minor official sweated; the old woman was considered very important. ""Perhaps you would come with us to the Embassy. I am certain we can provide suitable transportation.""

(WACK!) ""I decline. Any other suggestions?"" She glanced about and smiled at the tremble she detected in her subordinates.

The punished one raised his head. ""Owww… With respect to security for your honored personage, might we know where you are going?""

She eyed him then smiled deceptively sweet. ""You may not. Nor is it your place to question me."" She reached out with her staff and, as he struggled to rise, pushed him off balance with a single smooth application of leverage. She sneered at him. ""I will return when I am ready.""

The rest of the staff cursed under their breaths as she disappeared into the shadows. ""Damn, that is one scary woman!"" snarled the man who had suffered her wrath. ""I don't know why the People's Party puts up with those witches.""

""You'll find out, soon enough,"" suggested an older official. ""I suspect it will be extremely unpleasant.""

The bruised man glared at the other, scratching unconsciously at the place where her staff had struck. As they embarked into the cars, his fingers continued to probe his bruise. ""Step on it,"" the remaining senior embassy official said. ""If we're not going to make a scene in front of these foreigners, we need to be inside the Embassy gates quickly.""

The driver glanced up briefly before using a cell phone to warn the other drivers in the official convoy of the necessity for speed.

As the convoy left the airport a man in the uniform of a maintenance worker took a cell phone from a pocket and spoke quietly. It had nothing to do with the arrival of a Joketsuzoku Elder in Japan, but rather with the perceived deficiencies that allowed such a despised outsider access to the Land of the Rising Sun. He and two other workers had spent months smuggling in packets of fine powder and hiding them in the wall abutting the security offices of the airport. In theory, any unusual smell from the plastic bags would be covered by chemicals stored there by Security for testing the bomb-dogs. Tonight the cache would be utilized. Nodding, he resumed his progress toward a tanker truck tagged for maintenance. Well inside the security of the airport, he met another man, dressed in the uniform of a driver. Together, they emptied the gray powder into the empty tank. Carefully, they began to add water.

As the Chinese arrived at their embassy, people started to arrive at the airport for the international flight out of Japan. Among them, strode a man with the glittering eyes of a fanatic, who believed he was the instrument of the gods. Kilometers away, a minor official of the Chinese Embassy screamed in anguish, as his skin peeled off like a snake's. Geographically, the perpetrator of that gruesome punishment was not that far away, her eyes were the glittering eyes of a politician, who believed she was the ultimate instrument of Necessity. Only time would tell which was more dangerous.

oOo

Akane had indeed claimed the Megami Hamaya as a technique of her arsenal, but Shampoo was the technique's master. Akane had to rely heavily on her shielding technique and her speed to stay alive. To an observer with ki vision, the two girls raced along the ground, between the trees and even skimmed across the water dueling with Roman candles. The physical effect was that of two erratically moving blurs dueling with rapid-fire, wire-guided missile launchers. As they closed, flashing waves of energy, weirdly arcing bubbles and detonations filled the air between them.

They met face to face across the pool, the steady thud of strike and parry carrying easily to their audience's ears. They kept their attacks very precise and sprinkled ki techniques into the hyper-fast physical engagement. Their ki arrows would slide around, over or through trees and bushes without affecting the park's property. Their blades and ribbons of ki were precisely tuned. Despite the violence, they both avoided collateral damage. But when the techniques encountered a combatant's aura, the effect was explosive.

Baradandya and Keiichi were appalled at the violence. Urudu watched critically and with barely suppressed twitches when either combatant took dangerous hits. Ranma sat despondently on a bench near the lake, suddenly recalling another duel and its aftermath, when his female body had balanced knee-deep in these same waters, trying to heal damage caused by the Taochinpang.

A sudden massive explosion raised waves and sheeted up icy water from the pond's center. He looked up to see Shampoo in cat-form paddling for shore. Beyond her, Akane thrashed desperately in the cold water.

"Aren't you going to save her?" asked an anxious Baradandya. "She obviously can't swim!"

"She's a human hammer, but I don't need to save her," Ranma admitted casually. He noticed Keiichi's flinch and decided swimming lessons were in order come summer. Resignedly, he slid off the bench and approached the pool's edge. "Hey, Akane!"

"R-r-an-(blub!) Ranma! (Thrash!)" Akane was making little headway. Shampoo dragged herself ashore and turned to watch anxiously as her sister dealt with the hostile aqueous environment.

"Akane!" Ranma bellowed. He made no move to go into the water.

"Why aren't you going in after her, Ranma?" Urudu asked, becoming concerned. If anything, Akane was worse than Kei when it came to swimming.

"Because it's cold, dammit," he replied irritably. "And this is part of her challenge. Akane!"

"Blub! Ranma! I… Glarg! I'm drowning!"

"You stupid tomboy! Stand up!"

"Who're you calling stupid?" Akane screamed. She rose, face contorted, and discovered her feet had purchase beneath the water. She coughed and stopped thrashing. The water was just about midriff deep. She suddenly looked terribly embarrassed. "Uhhh…"

"Why should I get wet?" Ranma smirked turning back to their wide-eyed audience. "I didn't jump in a lake." He watched amused as Akane stomped ashore, face flaming. Akane walked up to him, noted the shift of balance warning her that Ranma was prepared for her to throw him in the lake and chose a second option.

She hugged him. As Ranma's face twisted in horror at the squishy, cold sensation of water soaking through his jacket and down his body, he shrank and Akane smirked gently. She murmured, "I think that adequately expresses my opinion of your deep concern for my well-being."

"A-Akane!" Ranma stood there, arms out from her sides, toes turned in, trying to avoid the steadily progressing trickle of frigid dampness.

Akane's smile broadened. She glanced at Shampoo as the little cat sneezed. "Oh! Could you get Shampoo's clothes for her? They're over that way!" Caught completely off guard, Ranma sailed out over the pond and splashed into the frigid water. Shampoo applauded as best she could and sneezed again. After a moment, a grumbling Ranma slogged ashore dragging the Amazon's clothes behind her.

"Use yer ki, tomboy," the redhead commanded as she observed that Akane was going to refuse to don her coat while soaked the way she was. "Heat it up! You too, Sham-cat."

Amatras watched everything with a critical eye. The girls began to warm up, using their auras to generate heat. As they did so, Ranma dried off in a similar fashion, drying Shampoo's clothes at the same time. Suddenly, Shampoo changed, the water on her body becoming warm enough to return her natural form. An instant later, Ranma also resumed his natural form, holding out her clothes even as he averted his eyes. Shampoo hurriedly dressed. Akane watched Shampoo, smiled and swept her own coat around her shoulders. Shampoo leaped like a panther, her hands reaching for Akane. There was a brief flurry of movement.

Akane sat across Shampoo's hips holding her face down with one of the Amazon's hands tucked up her back, nearly to her ear. Shampoo slapped the earth with the other hand in recognition of defeat. Akane released her opponent carefully, kneading the tortured muscles, releasing ki to help repair the damage. Shampoo shuddered and sighed in relief. "Thought you got stupid, sister," she admitted.

"You've taught me not to do that, Shampoo. Hey! What was that snaky thing you did with your opening shot?" The girls began to talk about the deadly match as if it had been a school dance.

Ranma released the breath he'd been holding. "See what I put up with," he grumbled to their audience. "Twice a month, I hafta worry about whether they're gonna kill each other." He walked over and put a hand on their shoulders.

"You and Ryoga used to fight at least that often," Akane pointed out. She put her hand on Shampoo's shoulder. The auras of the three martial artists flared briefly.

"Yeah, but you didn't believe he was trying ta kill me," Ranma pointed out, indifferent to the display.

"There were times," Akane pointed out heatedly, "I didn't know what you two were trying to do."

"Are you still griping about that koi rod thing?" Ranma grumbled. "You know more about that than I do. You read the manual for the stupid thing."

Amatras' eyes went back and forth as if she were watching a tennis match.

"Don't forget when you pretended to be his fiancée," Akane retorted. She raised Shampoo to her feet. "We'll pick this up later. Don't forget our guest, Ranma." They turned back to Amatras.

"I'm very impressed." Amatras smiled broadly. "Especially there at the end. You were actually healing one another with ki. How did kids your age get to be ki adepts?"

The martial artists glanced at one another. Ranma shrugged and answered. "That's a very long story."

"I have until 9:00 tomorrow evening, when I leave for the airport," she replied. "And I'm a very good listener."

"Would you like to stay with us tonight, Amatras-mother?" Cologne asked. "It isn't every day one gets a visit from her goddess…"

"Cologne…" Amatras said warningly. "I'm not here to be worshipped."

"I'll even avoid traditional blessings in your name."

"As you wish, then," Amatras giggled and dodged between Akane and Shampoo, cutting them off from Ranma. "Now why don't you two tell me all about your hunky boyfriend. I want details…"

"Details?" Akane asked uncertainly.

"Details?" Ranma squeaked.

Amatras ignored him. "Akane dear, I may be old, but I'm not dead. I've had dozens of children. I know where they come from and what you have to do to get them." She held up a hand as Akane began to protest. "I know, I know! You aren't doing it — you can't because of the dispute — but there are more ways to have fun than riding the wild horse." She glanced back at Ranma then and bit her lower lip. "I wonder if he's aptly named?"

Akane groaned but Shampoo giggled like a maniac, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, yes…"

"Shampoo!" Akane protested.

They made their way back to the Nekohanten in a much more companionable fashion. The reparté had Ranma twitching and flinching even after he had reassured himself Akane wasn't going to go ballistic over the teasing. Under other circumstances, it might have reinforced his manliness and let him puff up a little and bask as he rarely could, in the praise of several beautiful women, including his beloved, but some of the suggestions were beginning to border on the crude. The Norns and Keichi went their seperate ways long before they reached the restaurant, with Baradandya's husband blushing like a stop light. Ranma wasn't guarrenteeing Akane wouldn't pound either Shampoo or Amatras. So none of them noticed the short figure in the shadows, nor how its glowing eyes narrowed as the old woman in blue took note of each and every one of them.

oOo

The next afternoon, before they left for the airport, Sakurida rose out of a basin of water in the Nekohanten's sink to throw herself in a hug at Amatras. As they discussed lost time, Cologne announced she would not be going with the party, as she expected an important visitor from the tribe. Though her granddaughters looked at her questioningly, she did not elaborate. She and Mousse would cover the restaurant until their return.

Ranma soon dumped water over his head as Shampoo and Amatras again discussed his male-form's attributes. Akane, Keiichi and Sakurida did their best to ignore the earthy debate. Blushing as furiously as her own hair, Ranma received no end of glances from people who imagined she and the goddess were twins. And as was often the case when the trains got crowded, the girls had to contend with some men who felt a pretty girl was designed for pinching. Each of the females in the party had their own unique ways of dealing with such attentions and the perverts, who came into the car believing they had found heaven, discovered instead a painful and frustrating hell instead.

They arrived at Nerita Airport's Terminal Number 2 with plenty of time to kill. The airport was huge, crowded and exciting to Ranma in particular. She had never been in one before and found it to be similar to a large mall, but with stranger, more intense traffic patterns. It was obvious to everyone that she wanted to head for the observation deck on level five. Akane kept reaching out and snagging her by her braid. When Ranma finally managed to edge clear of Akane, Shampoo grabbed her the same way. "Wait for Amatras to go through check-in at least," she warned.

People around them were amused or annoyed by the enthusiastic jittering of the redhead. The men were amused and the women watched their men and grew annoyed. Amatras' ticket was confirmed and her baggage checked. She received her gate assignment. "Ranma, you're such a baby!" Akane observed darkly. But with the requirements for travel met, Ranma was off like a shot.

She was immediately stopped by airport security. They apparently had concerns about a strange girl moving through their facility at warp speed. Ranma stood angry and blushing as they used the metal detecting wands to sweep her body. When she got antsy, they pointed to a room where a female inspections officer could oversee a more thorough search. She ground her teeth as her party walked by, unconcerned on their way to the upper deck. Then, security warned her politely to walk, not run. Akane gave Ranma a smug look as she caught up with them and proceeded at a more leisurely pace.

"What are you looking for, Amatras?" Baradandya asked as they browsed the shops on the fifth level.

"I hear there is a good kissaten around here," she said. "We've got plenty of time to kill."

"Ahhh… The hustle and bustle of a modern airport," Urudu grinned. "Planes that pass in the night!"

"You can't do too much at two kilometers, Urudu," Keiichi snickered.

"Spoilsport!" Urudu shot back. "You never know. I may just meet up with one of my old flames and…"

"Oh, look! That's what I was looking for!" Amatras pointed to a corner shop.

The party followed her over. Ranma looked around curiously as they entered, noting that the decoration was more garish than the shops around Nerima. They had to wait a bit because of the size of the party, but finally were led to their table. As they passed a booth for two, Ranma noticed some familiar faces; people she would never have expected to find here.

"Ucchan!"

"Ranma?" Ukyo Kuonji stared over her cup and boggled.

"Do we have to talk about him?" came another familiar voice. "Oh!" Ryoga Hibiki blinked. "Heh, heh... What are you doing here, Ranma? And why are you a girl?"

"A friend of Urudu's is leaving for Europe," Ranma said. "We came along for the ride."

"Why are you a girl, Ranma?" Ukyo asked. Ranma grimaced, blushed and looked down. She clasped her hands together to forestall the dead giveaway of pigtail twiddling. "Ranma…"

"Don't bother, Ukyo," Shampoo giggled. "Amatras and Shampoo make Ranma very embarrassed."

Then Ryoga and Ukyo caught sight of Amatras. "Shit!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"Oh, Kamisama!" Ukyo gulped. "We don't wanna know, do we?"

Ranma sighed then got a mischievous grin on her face. "Ukyo, Ryoga, meet the originator of the spring of the drowned girl." She clapped a hand on the kami's shoulder. Amatras' eyebrow went up and she glared at Ranma.

"The origin…" Ryoga went from puzzled to panicked in a breath. "She's a ghost?"

"Hey! At least she's not a new fiancée."

"Are you sure about that?" Amatras injected. "You're being awfully familiar…"

"Huh?" Ranma blinked and turned to meet her doppelganger's gaze.

Amatras kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose. "Wo ai ni…"

Ranma was suddenly across the open space, eyes huge. "Ya… Ya…"

"Ha… Hahahahahahaha!" Amatras curled up on herself laughing while Akane and Shampoo sweated. "Gotcha!"

"You're kidding, right?" Ukyo asked in a sick voice.

"Of course I am," the Amazon deity said smugly. "He infringed on my space, so I punished him… and a particularly appropriate punishment, if I do say so myself."

"Uh… yeah!" Akane managed weakly.

Ranma stayed about as far from Amatras as she could get and glanced hopefully at the tall dark windows not far away. She still hadn't gotten a good look from the observation deck and Amatras' teasing was making her uncomfortable. With nothing better to do she asked, "So, what are you two doing here?" She gagged exaggeratedly at the look of absolute brainless devotion her friends shared.

"Don't knock it till you try it, Ranma," Ryoga observed with a smirk. He shrugged easily and answered the question. "I always liked planes. Besides," he added grinning, "my uncle is an airline pilot." He sipped his coffee. The silence was deafening.

"Yer kiddin', right?" Ranma demanded shaken.

"Nope." Ryoga patted Ukyo's hand and then enclosed it in his own. His grin revealed nothing. "My uncle is an airline pilot. He often flies out of this airport in fact."

"Ahhh… Which airline does he fly for?" Ranma inquired. "Remind me to never use them," she added under her breath. (Bop!) "Ow!"

"Ranma," Akane growled. She looked at Ryoga doubtfully. He smiled neutrally and glanced at Ukyo. She smiled in a similar fashion. Deciding that it wasn't worth confirming that somewhere there was a Hibiki who could find their way out of a tunnel, and observing the super-polite lack of patience on the hostess, she chirped, "Why don't you join us?" Ryoga and Ukyo shrugged and then nodded their thanks. The enlarged party of fourteen filled two big tables, butted together. A brief discussion hammered out the etiquette for the occasion and they gave their orders to the waiter. Because he was cute, Urudu also gave him a pinch in appreciation and silent reprisal to the male sex for the perverts on the train. While waiting for their orders they made small talk.

"Does Ranma look like he does because of the spring, Amatras-san?" Ukyo asked. It had been decided that the 'san' suffix was best in the public surroundings.

"Only a little, apparently," Amatras replied, warming her hands on the hot cup. "Otherwise, his aura would be more like mine and Akane tells me that to ki vision we look nothing alike."

Ukyo nodded. She and Ryoga had switched immediately into ki vision when Amatras had appeared. As similar as they were physically, their auras were distinctly different.

"I understand most of the springs are like that, Ukyo," Baradandya said. "Only a very few are to template a specific look or personality."

"Excuse me," Kasumi said pensively. "But I always wondered why, with all of the trips to China everyone has made, no one ever went to Jusenkyo to get cured?" The cursed around the table went silent and stared at the tabletop. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, Kasumi," Ranma said quickly. "It's a sore spot, especially since every destination has been within a week's hike of the springs." She shrugged. "We never thought about it at the time. After Jusendo, it was too late."

Shampoo sighed deeply and seemed to shrink into her seat. The unusually depressed body language drew everyone's attention. "What's wrong, Shampoo?" Akane asked.

"Jusenkyo was back to normal for about three months, last year," Shampoo said morosely. She winced at her friends' exclamations. "Where you think Nanniichuan at wedding come from? But last we hear, springs flooded out again."

Urudu spoke up. "I wouldn't normally know this, but since I just accessed the files from when we were there, I can tell you it has to do with the nature of the springs. While a spring can be magical without an associated spirit, most magical springs acquire a spirit due to the advantage of an additional source of magic. Jusenkyo has such a spirit and he doesn't curse people just to let them off again."

"So every time we were in the area…"

"He used his link through your curse to fog your minds," Urudu admitted. "That's partly why Ryoga, Taro and Kodachi were able to switch their curses at Togenkyo. They were far from China and Jusenkyo's power. It helped that they were trading one curse for another."

"Has anyone ever gotten cured?" Ranma demanded.

Urudu shrugged. "I don't know. I know of a couple of people who did make it back there, but they only traded one curse for another."

"I'd like ta find the kami who thinks it's so funny ta screw around with our minds and kick his butt!" Ranma growled.

"Don't," Shampoo said. "Jusenkyo under Amazon protection."

Amatras looked startled. "That's news to me."

"Happen after Mother-goddess left," the purple-haired girl said.

Ranma looked startled. "Why?" Then he added, "Is that why we got involved with Phoenix Mountain? I thought we were trying to protect our cures?" He turned to Urudu. "You people were there after Amatras left. What's this about?"

Urudu opened her mouth and closed it silently. She tried again. She sighed deeply. "I can't say. There's an encryption on that information. Sorry 'bout that."

Ranma turned her gaze to Baradandya, who shook her head. "I don't know, Ranma. Urudu, Sakurida and I often work separately. I know nothing about the Jusenkyo connection."

"I don't know, so don't ask," Sakurida said defensively. "I hated my last incarnation. Nothing but war, war, war and death!"

"Sakurida found the time through World War Two particularly distressing," Baradandya said, patting her sister's shoulder. "After helping Amatras, we were reassigned to Europe until 1946." She sipped her coffee. "After that we were back in our first jobs actually, though it is designated as the Goddess Help Line these days."

"Amatras-san, if I understand it," Kasumi asked politely, "you've been active for a long time. "Where did you live?"

"Here. I was renewed shortly before Buddhism came to Japan."

"You've lived here in Japan for the last fifteen hundred years?" Ryoga exclaimed.

Amatras sighed and looked distant. She didn't answer right away. Her behavior made the whole table uncomfortable. She said, "I immersed myself in my assigned work which was essentially policing the earthly kami of Japan. At first I was a wandering priestess and healer. Later, after the Fujiwara took control of the government, I attached myself to the Imperial Court and endured a number of aliases as scribes and poets."

"You didn't write Genji, did ya?" Ranma asked in a hostile tone.

Amatras smirked. "No, I didn't. But I did know her. Shikibu was talented, spoiled, a workaholic and a marvelous politician. She didn't like me much. I was too outspoken against the corruption and decadence of the period. I didn't like it that women were treated as toys at the Court." She winked at Akane. "You might say I was a bit of a tomboy." Akane blushed. "I left the Court to travel the country for a time. I traveled as a warrior, a ronin. No one paid much attention to a wandering warrior, except to watch their valuables a little more closely. I taught warrior skills to people I thought would need them in the coming chaos and eventually joined the Minamoto family as a sensei and warrior. It was a mistake. If I had stayed at the Court, or rejoined it, I might have helped Go Sanjo over the difficulties of the time. I can't tell you how much I despised the various Shogunate."

"You were too limited, dear," Baradandya assured her. "You would have gotten into terrible trouble if you had tried to reattach yourself to the Imperial Japanese house." She sipped her coffee. "Besides, you know the value of 'what if'. Feel free to observe the alternatives."

Ranma choked and coughed. Many different facts came together, and in a flash gave revelation. He distantly felt the slaps on his back and Akane's 'Baka!', his focus entirely on the figure across from him. Amatras had been in Japan fifteen hundred years and had an interest in the Imperial family. Amatras and her brother, who was a jerk, were once allies and later in conflict. Amatras had divided her people. One group was the Amazons. A certain report theorized that the others… "Amatras?" he asked, interrupting quietly. "Yer granddaughter…"

"Yes?" Amatras asked.

"If she hadn't died tryin' ta bring the Chinese Amazons back, what would have happened?"

Amatras blinked, then grew wary. "She would have been the first leader of her people. When she didn't return, I gave the emblems of my authority to her brother for safekeeping."

"Ya never said where yer other group was located," he continued carefully, "or yer grandson's name?"

"No, I didn't." Amatras was very quiet now. Akane was looking puzzled at the exchange. She looked at Shampoo and was even more puzzled to see a smirk on her face.

"I know you folk like to stay under cover, but, let's say, speculatively, that his name was somethin' like Ninigi? Could that be the case?"

Akane choked then and Kasumi put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my!"

Amaterasu, progenitor of the Imperial Japanese family sat stonily across from her current form's twin. Ranma held her eyes even as the Japanese at the table froze and the Joketsuzoku allowed themselves little smirks. After a moment, the goddess raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile. Briefly, she allowed a golden emblem that resembled a sunburst clearing a distant horizon to gleam in the artificial lights. "He was a skilled warrior and loved his sister dearly," she said. "When Tsuriganeso failed to return, he did the right thing and became the leader of his people."