A Scary Thought

by Derekloffin

What happens when Kasumi is the one coming back from a training trip rather than Ranma? Well, read on to find out. Chapter 33 new content not on my webpage yet.

22. Chapter 22: The Fiances step up

Ranma 1/2

Altered Destinies: A scary thought

Chapter 22

They had been camped off the side of the mountain... well, what was left of it anyway, for several hours now, and Ukyo had yet to get a wink of sleep. It was a cold night, but that was not the reason why Ukyo was still awake. She had lived on the road enough to endure a little chill. No, her problem was more frustrating as it came from within. She simply couldn't get comfortable.

Her ribs still throbbed every now and then, but not nearly as bad as they had before Kasumi had tended to them. She was mildly suspicious that Kasumi had deliberately held back on a full heal, but one only needed to look at Kasumi's pale complexion to know she had drained herself to the very limits of her endurance. However, the pain was not the main problem. The simple problem was that she was so unused to being in human form while sleeping that she could no longer get comfortable.

That fact was enough to make Ukyo berate herself every few minutes, especially as the reason for this problem was that she was tricking Ranma. However, as usual, despite her guilt about it, she simply couldn't will herself to stop. So, to divert her thoughts, she let herself think about the day's events, in particular their guests.

Herb, prince of the Musk dynasty, was one weird customer. From Kasumi's story, Ukyo had expected Herb to attack Kasumi on sight. However, instead she seemed to do everything but that. She had avoided confronting Kasumi, and that had Ukyo puzzled to no end. What was the prince up to?

Then there was his man Mint. He had been acting weird ever since the battle, giving Ukyo all sorts of odd looks, and hanging around her. Ukyo was not too sure what to make of it. He knew about her curse, so she was suspicious he might have designs of using her somehow, maybe even making himself a new vest. The other possibility... well, Ukyo was disturbed even more by that one. Aggression she could handle. That she was not prepared for. It did not help matters that he had seen her naked.

So, Ukyo was left with far too many questions, and all too few answers. That, coupled with the lack of sleep, finally forced Ukyo to get up. Besides, the damned furs were itchy, not to mention just a wee bit on the weird side. So, Ukyo sat up and looked around for something to do for a few minutes, just enough to get her mind off of things.

As it turned out, Ukyo was not the only one suffering from insomnia. Lying next to a nearby tree, Frost was tossing and turning, looking to Ukyo to be about as comfortable as she had been. Maybe a bit of company would help both of us, Ukyo thought, and walked over. "Can't sleep?" Ukyo asked quietly as she came up on the magus.

Frost rolled over and eyed Ukyo, then sighed. "I hate this outdoors stuff. How the hell can you get comfortable on dirt and rocks?"

"Typically, you try to find the patch with the least rocks and the softest dirt," Ukyo replied jokingly, but as she laughed slightly at her own joke, her ribs throbbed once again. Ukyo rubbed them for a moment until the pain ceased then sat down next to Frost. "Why don't you just conjure up a bed?"

"You'd be surprised how difficult that is. A bucket is easy. A bucket is just some wood in a simple configuration held together by anything that can exert an even pressure around its circumference. Easy. A bed is wood, fabric, steel, not to mention bolts, nails, screws and other junk in a fairly complex configuration. Also the mass is a lot more. I could do it given a few hours and a day or two rest before hand, but not right now."

"Didn't realize magic was so complicated."

"Well, what did you think, that you twiddle your fingers and a feast appears? Sorry, don't work that way. Magic manipulation is much like manipulating chi, it isn't easy, and is draining. Very few can even tinker around with the basics of magic. Even fewer can use the craft effectively. And of those, only a small fraction, like me, are qualified to wield it at full strength."

"Okay, okay, point taken. Magic is serious stuff." Ukyo leaned back to look up at the sky. "So, you know some stuff about these Musk guys?"

"Lots," Frost replied, and finally sat up herself. "The Musk is an ancient and formidable people, outcasts from Joketsuzoku in fact. We threw them out after they tried to take over. That's when we started up with our wars with them. Of course they were no match for us, and we basically kicked their tails every time they tried anything. That is until they pulled this crap with Jusenkyo. Those sickos started using the springs to produce their own breed of super-soldiers. That's why they got there one, and only mage, sick bastard, to make the Chiisuiton, to lock the transformed animals as women. For some odd reason they found out that although the springs do transform the person, they do it very conservatively. The actual genetic alterations tend to be minimal so the offspring carry many of the abilities of the animals they came from. An Amazon magus made the Kaisuifu to reverse the Chiisuiton, but it went missing ages ago. We always thought the Musk took it, but we were never sure. I guess they shipped it as far away as they could. Anyway, they've been using the Chiisuiton for generations.

"Take Herb, he comes from the dragon line. A dragon was one of the first creatures they used, although the toughest to gain control of. It was supposed to have killed nearly a hundred men before they subdued it. My guess is that boy in the wolf pelts is of the wolf line. They tend to be really fast. The muscle bound moron you fought is probably from the tiger line, and, as you probably guessed, strength is their thing."

"Whao, you mean to tell me Mint there is part wolf?"

"Yep, sick isn't it?"

Ukyo didn't bother answering that question, instead dwelling on the wolf bit. "And I turn into a wolf... ah great."

"What's the problem?" Frost asked, then realized Ukyo's concern, having noticed Mint's actions of earlier herself. "Oh yeah, looks like the twit has got an interest in you. Careful, I wouldn't put anything past them. Half of them are no better than barbarians. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to club you over the head and take you home with him."

"Like hell!" Ukyo proclaimed a bit too loudly and quickly fell silent.

"Good. If you want I could-"

"No!" Ukyo interjected. "No need to get lethal. I'll handle him if he tries anything."

"Fine," Frost responded then yawned and smiled to herself. "Of course, that stupid tradition of theirs does have a bit of an amusement factor with Herb's current condition."

"Hmh?"

"Well, women don't have much power with them. In fact, they're little better than slaves in most cases, at least legally. Add in that they legally consider any Jusenkyo cursed being to hold the status of their curse, at least if it is permanent...well, I bet you can fill in the gaps from there."

Ukyo blinked for a second then cast Herb a quick look. "You mean he's legally a she now? Sort of like with Shampoo?"

"Worse than even that. Like I said, women are little better than slaves in the Musk. At least we Amazons give the men some rights, and unofficially Shampoo will retain much of her status. I doubt the same is true in the Musk as this will make an excellent opportunity for any guy who is interested to take the throne. All he has to do is marry Herb, and there is very little the Prince can do about it. He's got no say in the matter."

"Wouldn't his parents say something about it?"

"Maybe... then again he is the last of their line, and Musk kings are not known to be very nice, even when it comes to family. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his father okayed a marriage just to have the line carried on. Quite amusing, no?"

"I don't know if that's the word I'd use for it," Ukyo replied.

"Ah, it was his own stupid fault for being stuck in that form. I bet he's also..." Frost smiled as she trailed off. "Never mind. So, what about this Ranma character? What's he got on you?"

Ukyo nearly fell over in surprise, but recovered quickly. Of course she'd know. Probably seen me with him. "It's private."

"Private eh? You let that man treat you like his personal pet, his obedient little lapdog."

"It isn't like that!" Ukyo protested, again too loudly. After taking a second to readjust her volume, she continued. "Ranma doesn't even know about my curse. He just thinks I'm a normal wolf, that's all. I... I haven't worked up the courage to tell him the truth."

"Why, what's so tough about that?"

"Because he'll hate me."

"Who cares! Men aren't worth licking our shoes clean!" Frost proclaimed, gaining a disbelieving scowl from Ukyo.

"Look, it's my business, not yours. I'll handle that, and I don't need you judging him, or me. I don't know why you hate all men so much, but not all of them are bad, you know."

"Yeah, well you can believe that if you want," Frost responded.

"I do," Ukyo responded, and a moment of silence ensued between them. "So, what do you know about Jusenkyo anyway?"

"Quite a bit, but not about any cure if that is what you are fishing for."

"Well, I could hope... How about that bucket?"

"No way. It doesn't work that way. Like I told Kasumi, only augmentory magic can affect Jusenkyo curses. There is no way to cancel out the transformation effect. In fact, this magic only works on the cursed form, not your real form. No matter how you use it, it will trap you in your cursed form."

"Too bad," Ukyo said with some regret, although she had suspected as much. She had long been of the opinion she was stuck with this curse, and was not going to be rid of it anytime soon. "Well, cures aside, what do you know about Jusenkyo?"

"Hmm, for one, it is a very ancient place. Goes back at least two thousand five hundred years, and probably is older than that. However, I learned that the curse is rather recent. In old times it was said that the pools did not mix their effects, and were effectively just a convenient way for some ancient civilization to take on alternate forms. You could easily use the springs to undo the effect. The mixing seems to be more recent.

"There were springs that had mixed curses, but they had to be created that way. Now all the springs seem to intermingle their magic effects. Why that happened no one is too sure of. I personally have three theories. One is that some dope tried to mess with their magic and screwed up. Two is that the spell has started to degrade over time. The other is that they were purposely cursed to ward off other people from using their true magic."

Ukyo blinked in confusion. "True magic? What do you mean true magic?"

Frost frowned in thought. "Well, there is a heck of a lot of energy tied up in a Jusenkyo curse. Far too much energy in fact. I can easily polymorph you into a frog, all the time forever, and you'd even think you were a frog if I wanted you too. Take me about a day to set the spell up, and I'd have to sacrifice something magical to get the energy needed, but it is no big deal. A Jusenkyo curse, on the other hand, has about ten times as much energy in it, or even more, depending on the relative difference in size between cursed and normal form, and the real kicker is the ease that the victim changes form, and how often. Do you have any idea how much energy that accounts for? Plus, there is magical lock on top of magical lock guarding the magic. No magus has ever to my knowledge managed to break through to manipulate the magic of Jusenkyo, and that is why there are no known cures.

"No one has yet to find out exactly what is going on with a Jusenkyo curse. Bits and pieces we can guess at, but the big picture eludes us. There is a mess of energy there that is unaccounted for, plus with all that protection it seems awfully suspicious. I've worked at Jusenkyo myself for over 10 years and barely even scratched the surface. I once spent the better part of three months trying to break through the barriers, and finally just had to give up. For every lock I bypassed, another four were behind it."

Ukyo nodded. "Yeah, that does sound kind of weird, but it isn't much help to me."

"Hm, well, I can tell you a few things that you might find interesting. For one, I hope you haven't spent any excessive periods of time in your cursed form."

"What do you mean?" Ukyo asked nervously.

"It's no trouble if you change back about once a week, even if only for an hour or so. That's all you really need to reaffirm your identity. However, the one thing the Musk did learn, and us later on from a bit of information gathering, is that extended periods in a cursed form can alter one's core identity. You start to think of yourself as whatever you've transformed into. The effect takes longer with creatures of more intelligence like humans, but with animals, give them about a month and they are totally lost in a new form's identity.

"Another thing to watch out for is the plain physical effects. I bet you know Kasumi can't have children, well that's because of two things. One, every time she transforms, her body restarts its cycles. Additionally, her hormones are totally out of whack. Probably would take months of time without a single transformation for her to even become fertile again. Then you have problem two. A Jusenkyo curse can't handle stuff that isn't there in both forms. It sort of short-circuits. Like for instance your tail. I bet if you damaged it as a wolf, then transformed to human and back it would be perfectly fine. Good as new in fact. That's because the curse doesn't know what to do with the extra bit. Unfortunately, when you change genders that's a big problem. Any unborn children are just an extra bit the curse doesn't know what to do with, so it just ignores it, and when you transform back it restores the original pattern, not the pregnant pattern. Instant abortion."

"Will that affect me too?"

"You, no. You transform into an animal, but a female animal. The fetus will just transform appropriately with you, and as long as you give birth as a human the child will be fine. Now, the other way, if you became pregnant as a wolf-"

"Don't even talk about that!" Ukyo warned, feeling sick at the very thought of it. "Anything else?"

"Nothing too important. Just some technical junk that doesn't really matter that much unless you're studying the things."

Ukyo nodded, and shivered at reviewing the thought of having puppies. "Great, now I'm going to have nightmares. Maybe this was a bad subject. How about that technique Kasumi used? Do you know anything about that?"

Frost laid back in thought. "Martial arts stuff isn't my forte, but if I were to hazard a guess I'd say it is some kind of external chi gathering technique."

"External?"

"Yeah, most of you martial artists, from what I understand, act mostly as a sponge. You passively soak up chi around you. An external chi gathering technique acts more like a pump, drawing on lots of chi around you. I would bet that blast we saw was the combined energy that we had expended in the fight, the Kaisuifu's energy, and some energy from all this plant life around us. That's a lot of juice to work with."

"Yeah," Ukyo agreed sadly.

"I take it you're not happy about being shown up."

Ukyo took a moment, but finally nodded in agreement. "I've been working most my life to prove myself against her. How do you fight something like that? Do you know of any techniques like that?"

"No. The closest we Amazons have in the martial arts field is the Hiryu Shouten Ha. It can use the hot energies of an opponent, but is relatively weak in comparison, and very limited in its gathering ability. There are magics that can match that level of power, but that's high level stuff, and no non-magus can use them. I'm afraid you're out of luck."

Ukyo nodded once more sadly. "Yeah, seems that way. Guess I better try to get some sleep again." Ukyo headed back to her place where a single blanket awaited her. Yeah, I'm out of luck all right. Can't prove myself against Kasumi. Can't tell Ranma the truth. I can't even be sure I was right about Kasumi anymore. Ukyo curled up under the blanket, those thoughts prying at her mind until fatigue finally overcame her.

XXXXX

The next morning Frost was not doing well herself. Three things were combining to make her trip home a hellish one. One, she had gotten at most two hours sleep during the night. Two, although she was far from out of shape, she had expended enough energy during the conflict of the previous day to leave her with very little left, especially compounded with problem one. And, finally, she had been out in the sun for about five hours too long.

The result of all that was that Frost tired, hot, feeling sick to the stomach, likely suffering from multiple sunburns, and nursing a heck of a migraine. In short, she was in rather crappy shape. Pride however, especially in light of her present company, had kept her quiet about all of that. Instead she had pressed on, trying very hard to keep her focus. Finally though, her physical condition overcame her.

The three women, one transformed man, and two semi-normal men had arrived at a secluded gas station by the roadside, and everyone had taken a rest break. Everyone save Frost had met outside in fairly short order. However, Frost did not produce herself for over ten minutes, until finally everyone went off to look for her, Herb in particular mumbling that she had double-crossed her.

However, such was not the case. Kasumi and Ukyo quickly found Frost in the bathroom, recovering from being sick, as was quite plain from the present contents of one of the sinks.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Kasumi asked as she examined Frost, and Ukyo set about cleaning up.

Frost took a moment to respond, mostly just to build up the energy to speak. "I... I... thought I could make it."

"Well, it looks like you were wrong. If you... never mind. Ukyo, can you tend to her?" Kasumi asked, and Ukyo responded with a simply nod. "Good. Get her to drink some warm water, and I'll see about getting us a ride." Kasumi left the two in the bathroom and joined the others outside. "Frost's sick."

"Oh," Herb responded with little sympathy. "So, now what?"

"I'll just call and see if I can arrange to be picked up. Mr. Hiro can drive so maybe-"

"Who?"

"He's a teacher from the school I work at."

"You work at a school?" Herb asked with sudden interest.

"Yes, I've worked there almost since I returned to Japan. I better make that call," Kasumi answered, then hurried off to find a phone.

Herb watched closely as she placed the call, wondering once more at the great diversity of qualities Kasumi demonstrated. She was a formidable martial artist, a healer, something of a diplomat, and even a teacher. "Truly perfect," Herb mumbled with a small smile.

Moments later Kasumi returned. "Mr. Hiro is on his way here. He managed to get access to the school's bus so he should have no trouble taking us all. We'll just have to wait." Kasumi explained and Herb nodded. "Once we get back, do you have any place to stay?"

"Actually, no, but that should be no problem," Herb replied with a dismissive tone. However, as she turned to scan the area she noticed Lime giving her a nervous look. "What?"

"Ah, Herb-sama, we kind of... have no money."

"WHAT?" Herb exclaimed, and started to glow as she marched over to Lime. "What do you mean we have no money?"

"Well, not very much money. Maybe 50,000 yen. We've been spending so much and-"

"Alright!" Herb snapped, then began to glower. "Great, just great. That would last only a few days tops," Herb mumbled, wringing her hands together nervously.

"Well, I might have a suggestion." Herb spun about at hearing Kasumi's voice, and looked at her in surprise. "The class I help teach has been mostly living temporary with other teachers and volunteers. However, we're about to get some long-term dormitories, and there should be some spare rooms. I could arrange for Mint and Lime to stay at the boys' dorm. I'm afraid your condition complicates things, but I think I can talk to my father and arrange for you to stay at his house."

"That is... nice of you to offer, but I cannot accept charity," Herb responded instantly.

"Then, where are we going to stay?" Lime asked, gaining a wince from Herb.

After a moment of grumbling, the prince sighed. "Alright, it seems I have no choice. However, I will endeavor to repay you for this."

"That's not-" Kasumi began to respond, but Herb cut her off.

"Nonsense. I will allow nothing less."

"Very well," Kasumi said with a slightly smile then noticed the absence of one of the boys. "Where is Mint anyway?"

XXXXX

Back in the bathroom, Frost slowly sipped at a glass of water with the help of Ukyo, and she was not feeling much better. In fact, the remainder of her stomach contents were long gone down the sink, which had made her feel momentarily better, but soon faded. At the moment, she lacked even the strength to raise her head.

"You really need to see a doctor," Ukyo said as she set the empty glass aside.

"I don't need a..." Frost began to protest, but in raising her head to do so she caused the room to start spinning, at least as far as she could tell. "Then again..."

Ukyo held Frost by the shoulders to steady her then reached back for the glass. "Here, drink some more of..." Ukyo began to say then realized she had not filled the glass. Despite that, it was full. She quickly looked behind her and to her surprise she spotted Mint standing behind her smiling. "Hey! What do you think you're doing in here? This is the women's washroom!"

XXXXX

Seconds later, outside, just as the others were about to go look for Mint, the door to the bathroom opened, and with a shout of, "get out!" from Ukyo, Mint was shoved outside. Kasumi looked on in surprise, while Herb covered her eyes and shook her head. Mint in the meantime stared at the door for a moment then sighed dreamily.

"Mint! I thought I told you and Lime to stay out of women's washrooms!" Herb exclaimed, still covering her eyes and shaking her head.

"I was just trying to be helpful, Herb-sama," Mint responded.

Herb finally uncovered her eyes and glared at her subordinate. "Well, find some other way to be helpful. Go get us something to eat."

Mint hesitated at the door, "but, maybe I should wait to see if Ukyo-"

"I said, go get us something to eat, NOW!" Herb ordered more forcefully, yet Mint still hesitated. After a second though he nodded and ran off. "What the hell is with him?" Herb asked openly, although not expecting an answer, and thus received none.

XXXXX

A short time later Hiro finally arrived with the school's bus and the others boarded to head home, Kasumi and Ukyo helping Frost inside. As Hiro started driving back to Nerima, he began to question Kasumi about the reasons for her being so far out of town, and her companions, to which Kasumi answered as best she could. While they were so occupied, Ukyo took to examining her traveling companions some more.

Lime was casting her looks now and then, each time looking nervously toward Herb to see if his actions had been noticed. Ukyo had guessed by this point that these boys were not well acquainted with females, and Ukyo was presently displaying quite a bit of the female figure. However, a few curious, lustful glances from that boy she could take. Mint however was far bolder. The wolf boy was practically staring at her the whole time. He did not even bother to hide it. Instead, when she looked back at him, he would just smile back at her in a way that was making her exceedingly uncomfortable.

Trying to ignore the boys' looks, Ukyo focused on Herb, who was herself focused on another of their party, namely Kasumi. What is with her... him? Damned gender curses, never know what to call these people. The look Herb was giving Kasumi was very peculiar. She seemed to be examining Kasumi intensely, and seriously, but at the same time there was a strange quality to Herb's eyes, like she was... Oh, god, tell me that's not it! How the hell does Kasumi get away with this? Ukyo thought in frustration, turning to look out the window in anger. I don't believe her! She's a damned man magnet! Actually, it clearly isn't limited to men.

XXXXX

A short time later, Kasumi helped Frost into Doctor Tofu's clinic. "Doctor?" Kasumi called out as she led Frost into the examination room. "Are you going to be okay, Frost?"

"Do I look like I'm going to be okay?" Frost asked angrily just as the doctor walked into the room.

"Frost, oh my goodness, you sound terrible," Tofu said as he walked up, and gained a number of grumbles from the Amazon. "What happened?"

"I think she's suffering from sun stroke," Kasumi suggested, and Tofu set about giving Frost a tertiary exam. "I should get home, doctor. The others are probably worried about me. However, if there is anything I can do..."

"No, I can handle this. You go on home Kasumi. I'm sure Frost will be fine with some rest. If there is any trouble I will call."

"Alright, doctor. Goodbye Frost, and thank you for your help."

Frost nodded in irritation. "Yeah, yeah." With a sigh, Kasumi turned and left, leaving Frost alone with Tofu. Just as he began to open his mouth, however, Frost cut him off, guessing at what he was about to say. "Spare me the speech. I'm well aware I shouldn't be out in the sun that long. I didn't have much choice you know. I had important business."

"Actually, I was going to ask you to remove your cloak so I can check out those burns," Tofu responded, gaining a short glare from Frost. After a few seconds though, Frost complied, and undid the collar clasp that held the cloak in place. As she did so Tofu headed to a nearby cabinet to retrieve some burn lotion. Once he turned around he stopped dead in his tracks.

It came to him at that moment that up to this time he had never seen Frost without that cloak on. The most he had really seen of her was her head when she lowered the hood to work. He had noticed that she did appear somewhat attractive despite the paleness of her skin tone, but the cloak, being a darkish brown and rather unremarkable, hid much of Frost's features and gave her a dreary sort of look in general. Now, as the garment lay on the examination table, he caught his first sight of what was truly below.

In stark contrast to the cloak, Frost was wearing a soft pink blouse and matching pants. It did an excellent job of offsetting her whitish skin. It also showed off her modest figure. She did not have quite the... assets of someone like Shampoo, or Ukyo. Usually, with the cloak, and her diminutive size, she appeared to be much younger then he knew her to be. Now however, there was no mistaking that Frost was a fully adult woman. In fact Tofu would have to say she was rather beautiful. The mild burns on her cheeks made her appear as if she were blushing and added to the effect. When she turned to look at him directly, Tofu inexplicably found his glasses to be fogged up. He quickly restored his professionalism, and removed his glasses to clean them.

"Something wrong?" Frost asked, and Tofu quickly shook his head.

"Nono, my glasses just got a bit foggy, that's all," Tofu responded as he put his glasses back on and came over. "Now then, let's see to those burns." Frost submitted to the treatment, and actually found the attention rather soothing, at least to her stinging skin. After a minute Tofu completed applying the burn lotion, and stood back. "How's that?"

Frost took a moment to respond but finally conceded, "I guess it is a bit better. I still have this damned migraine though."

"Migraine huh," Tofu repeated, and maneuvered around to Frost back. "Get those often?"

"Too often," Frost replied tiredly, but then felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. Reflexively she jerked away from the grasp, and twisted around on the table to look at the doctor. "What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.

"You said you had a migraine. I know some techniques to get rid of those," Tofu explained calmly, silently reprimanding himself for not explaining beforehand. Fortunately, Frost was too tired to go into one of her usual rants, and in too much pain to consider refusing, so she relaxed and returned to her original position to allow the doctor to work.

Frost groaned slightly in pain as she stared down at the floor, but as the time passed she actually did start to notice an improvement. Within two minutes in fact her migraine was as good as gone. Furthermore, the massage she was receiving was relaxing her into a near state of bliss. If the application of the salve had been relaxing, this was heavenly.

"How's that?" Tofu asked, suddenly reminding Frost just where she was and who she was with. She tensed up slightly but only for a moment before relaxing once again.

After the miserable morning I've had, I deserve something, Frost thought. "Better."

"Migraine gone?"

Frost thought for a moment then shook her head. "No... no, it's still there. Better though." Tofu shrugged, and continued with the massage as Frost enjoyed.

Several minutes passed, then Tofu's mother stepped into the room, looking down at a paper she had in her hands. "Tofu, where do you keep the..." She trailed off as she looked up and spotted the scene before her. Tofu and Frost in turn tensed up and stared back at her. Several seconds passed before Mrs. Ono smiled happily. "Well, why didn't you two tell me you wanted some private time together," she said suggestively. "You two go right back to what you were doing. I'll find it on my own." Frost and Tofu watched Mrs. Ono leave, and seconds after both hung their heads in embarrassment.

XXXXX

"Here we are," Hiro called out as he pulled the bus up to the San Cheng Huang. "Kasumi, I must say the place is looking great."

"Thank you," Kasumi replied as came up front. "Why don't you come in for a while? Have some tea, and maybe something to eat."

"No, maybe some other time. Got to get this thing back to its proper place before someone notices it's gone. I'll be sure to take you up on the offer soon though. From what I've heard you serve some great food."

Kasumi nodded as Herb and Ukyo passed her by and exited the bus. "I'll be sure to pass along the compliment. Thanks again. Oh, would it be possible to drop Mint and Lime off at the new boy dorm on your way back? It is near the school."

"Certainly, I know the place. No problem, of course I don't have the keys."

"I'll call ahead for you and tell them you're coming," Kasumi replied, and Hiro nodded. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow then." Just as Kasumi exited the bus herself she noticed Mint doing so as well. "Mint, aren't you going to the dorm now?"

"I was going to stay with her," Mint answered, pointing out Ukyo and causing the chef to cringe in response. "That's okay, isn't it?"

"Well, I suppose I could-"

"No!" Ukyo cut in to say. "You should go over there right now. Besides, I have things to do. I insist."

Mint hesitated, but only for a second, then sighed somewhat sadly and got back on the bus. "Okay then, if that's what you want."

Ukyo blinked. That's was a lot easier than I expected, she thought, having predicted that the wolf-boy would put up much more fuss. Instead he had complied. However, the way he did left Ukyo feeling a little bit like a heel, but she quickly quashed that. Every moment she was around him was making her more nervous. It was best to be rid of him.

Hiro gave a quick goodbye and headed off, leaving Ukyo, Herb, and Kasumi to themselves. Ukyo gave Kasumi one last departing look, and headed off herself for the Tendos'. Kasumi then directed Herb to follow her inside the restaurant. Kasumi was barely a foot inside the door when a purple blur rushed into her. Kasumi was caught totally off guard by the motion, and it was only through a demonstration of extreme balance control that she managed to maintain her footing despite have a large weight suddenly grabbing onto her front.

"Airen, oh is so happy!" Shampoo said ecstatically as she hugged Kasumi. "Shampoo worried when Kasumi go away. Where Kasumi go?"

"I was sort of taking care of some business," Kasumi explained, blushing at being hugged so affectionately in front of a room full of customers. "Shampoo, could you please... umm... let go?" Kasumi asked as gently as she could.

Shampoo scowled for a second in disappointment, but then obliged and released Kasumi, contenting herself by just giving her husband/wife a warm smile. Her eyes soon turned to Kasumi's companion, however, and the scowl returned. "Who this?"

"Ah, this must be the Amazon," Herb mumbled as she passed Shampoo by, giving her only a second of notice then ignoring her. That caused Shampoo's scowl to deepen.

"Shampoo, this is Herb. She... He is going to be staying in Nerima for a while," Kasumi explained, although Herb did not bother to take notice of Shampoo in response to the introduction. "I have to make some calls," Kasumi said after a moment of tension, and headed into the kitchen. Shampoo eyed Herb for a moment longer then followed, as did Herb.

Inside the kitchen, Makoto and Cologne, both of whom were curious as to Kasumi's recent whereabouts, greeted Kasumi. She delayed answering until after she called up the dorm and then the Tendos' to ask Nodoka to come over. By the time she finished the call, she found herself to be the center of attention.

"Well Daughter-in-law, would you care to tell us where you have been?"

"Um... well," Kasumi began to explain, puzzling over how to tell them without mentioning Ukyo's curse. "I... I had to help... ah... You see there was an accident and... Um... I really can't say," Kasumi said finally. Everyone save Herb gave Kasumi a curious look then their eyes turned to Herb. Kasumi took the hint and immediately introduced her. "Elder, Makoto, this is Herb."

"Prince Herb?" Cologne asked, gaining a wary look from Herb, and a mildly surprised one from Kasumi.

I forgot, they are supposed to be enemies. "Well... yes."

"You're a prince?" Makoto asked in shock, and some interest.

"A prince of the Musk Dynasty to be specific dear," Cologne explained as she examined Herb. "It is quite rare to see any of the Musk outside their borders. What brings you to Japan? Would it perhaps be to find the Kaisuifu?" Cologne asked with a knowing smile.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Herb asked back.

"No. After all, our two peoples have not been at war for some time now," Cologne responded.

Makoto, Shampoo, and Kasumi watched the brief confrontation with some mixed tension and confusion. However, nothing seemed to come of it, as Herb and Cologne both remained wary of the other, but did nothing. Kasumi decided to take this as a good sign and turned to Shampoo and Makoto to explain. "Herb actually has a curse similar to mine. He is cursed to change into a girl. Unfortunately, he's trapped in his cursed form until Frost can repair a magical device called the Kaisuifu."

Both Shampoo and Makoto looked at Herb in surprise at this, having assumed she was a he, and not having noticed her present gender until now due to her cloak and oversized clothing. "Guess that must be rough," Makoto sympathized, but gained only a snort from Herb, which in turn caused Makoto to frown. She was tempted to reply in kind, but checked her anger, and instead returned to her work.

"Elder, can you call me when Auntie Nodoka arrives? I'm going to go take a bath. It has been a long few days," Kasumi asked, and Cologne nodded. The elder gave Herb one last look then prompted Shampoo to return to work with her. Kasumi turned to Herb, thanking the heavens the conflict had been minimal. "My aunt should be here soon, and I can ask her about you staying over at my father's place. Why don't you wait in the dining room until then?"

"Very well, Kasumi Tendo," Herb replied, even going so far as to bow to her slightly, then headed off into the other room. Kasumi then headed off to the new bathroom.

XXXXX

Kasumi let herself finally feel all the pain in her body as she lay back in the hot waters of the San Cheng-Huang's new furo. She had not dared show it until now for fear Herb might consider acting against Frost again, but she was utterly exhausted. The Ha Do Ken was not something one employed freely. That one blast, coupled with her earlier activity, had left her feeling as if she had just run ten laps around Tokyo at a sprint. She certainly was not up to using a second blast. The only thing that had kept her going was having the presence of mind to reserve enough energy from the attack to allow the use of her healing skills to stave off the fatigue's full effects. Fortunately, Herb had fallen for her bluff and it was now all over.

Or was it? I still don't understand why Herb didn't attack me, Kasumi thought in confusion as she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Before she... he was willing to kill me. Now, he doesn't even seem willing to hurt me. Yet, she was also sure to say that I should be kept for him to deal with. Perhaps he just felt he could not defeat me as a woman, and wanted to be a man before trying. Still, you'd think that being as angered as he was that such concerns wouldn't restrict him. Oh well. Whatever is the case I'm sure I'll find out eventually.

Kasumi sighed and let herself relax just a bit more, enjoying the warmth of the water against her skin. A few minutes passed, and in that time the exhaustion and warmth combined to put Kasumi in a near sleeping state. The soft sound of the door sliding open, light footsteps coming across the tiles, and the gentle ripples caused by another form entering the water were all too little to register in Kasumi's exhausted mind. Even the feel of another body coming up next to hers did not immediately get Kasumi's attention. After all, she was becoming increasingly accustomed to having Shampoo sleep next to her nightly. In fact, the presence served only to relax Kasumi that much more, that is until it maneuvered itself to be directly in front of her, straddling her legs, and suddenly hugged Kasumi about the neck with the happy cry of, "Airen!"

Kasumi snapped awake to find Shampoo embracing her. Instinct took over for a second and Kasumi tried to push Shampoo away out of pure shock. To her embarrassment however, her hands ended up against Shampoo's quite naked breasts, causing Kasumi to withdraw them as if she had touched a red-hot skillet before she managed to move Shampoo at all. This also caused Kasumi to take a quick look at the Amazon, and equally quickly divert her eyes. This allowed Shampoo the opening she needed to once again pull herself tightly against Kasumi.

"Shampoo!" Kasumi squeaked desperately as the Amazon continued to her passionate embrace.

"Yes?" Shampoo asked as she leaned her head against Kasumi's breast.

"W...wh...what... what are you doing here?" Kasumi stammered as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"Shampoo miss Kasumi very much. Shampoo worried something happen to Kasumi. Thought you might..." she explain, sounding a little sad, but quickly changed back to her happy tone. "What Airen do all day?"

"I... can't say Shampoo," Kasumi replied as she stared off at the ceiling nervously. "I made a promise."

"You keep secrets from own wife? You no trust Shampoo?" the Amazon asked in a mix of anger and sadness.

"Well, I... that is..." Kasumi tried to respond then felt Shampoo suddenly remove herself. Although that was a slight relief, when Kasumi looked down to see Shampoo's frowning face, she felt even more nervous than before.

"Is true then, you no trust Shampoo."

"No! I mean..." Kasumi tried to explain then hung her head. "Shampoo, I made a promise on my honor to not tell anyone." In response to this Shampoo huffed and turned her back on Kasumi. "Shampoo! I don't mean that I don't trust you."

Shampoo responded with another huff. "That not way Shampoo see it."

Kasumi bit her lower lip as she thought and considered. This secret of Ukyo's was becoming increasingly tiresome to keep. Letting Frost in had been a necessary evil, but Shampoo... When she had made the promise, she had known nothing of this marriage. Marriage was one of those things that usually dictated openness and honesty. It also did not affect Shampoo in any way Kasumi could think of. "Alright, but I want your solemn promise you will not repeat this in any way to anyone."

"Shampoo promise," she replied, spinning about to look at Kasumi eagerly.

"I was helping Ukyo along with Frost to find the Kaisuifu she needed to cure herself."

"Cure?"

"Ukyo has a Jusenkyo curse, and she got hit by some water from the Chiisuiton, locking her in her cursed form. Herb and his men were also looking for the Kaisuifu. There was a bit of a fight for it, and in the end Ukyo was cured but the Kaisuifu was destroyed before Herb could use it."

Shampoo nodded in understanding and, after a couple seconds of thought, asked, "is Ukyo Ryouko?"

Kasumi was mildly surprised by Shampoo's insight, but nodded. "Yes, but Ranma doesn't know. In fact, only Frost, myself, and now you know."

"Do Kasumi have something to do with Ukyo's curse? That why she no like you?"

Kasumi nodded. "I was the one that knocked her into the spring. She thinks I did it on purpose but I didn't. A c...cat jumped at me there, and I ran off without thinking and hit her. However, I have no proof of that."

"Shampoo believe you," Shampoo said as she edged back over to Kasumi, who was a bit too distracted with the memory to notice until Shampoo was right in front of her again. "Shampoo know Kasumi much too nice to do such thing on purpose."

"Yes, well... ah, thank you," Kasumi said as she tried to withdraw but found she was already pinned against the side of the bath. Shampoo did not waste this opportunity and wrapped her arms around Kasumi's neck once again, staring into her wife's eyes with a loving look that seemed to paralyze the older girl.

"Shampoo also happy Kasumi do trust her," Shampoo added as she closed within a few inches Kasumi's face. All Kasumi could do was swallow nervously. Finally Shampoo decided to stop playing around and just go for it. In a quick motion she locked lips with Kasumi.

Kasumi simply could not muster her thoughts enough to act in any way. So, she ended up letting Shampoo continue to kiss her for several moments. Even when the door opened and she heard a gasp of shock, she could not make any attempt to escape. It took Shampoo's releasing her and looking up to allow Kasumi to move.

"Auntie!" Kasumi squeaked out as she looked up as well to see Nodoka at the door.

A moment of silence passed between them, until finally Nodoka came back to herself and turned to leave. "I'll wait for you outside... and prepare some tea."

Kasumi involuntarily winced at the mention of tea, and turned her head to look at Shampoo. Unexpectedly, she found Shampoo giving her an angry look. "Why she so surprised and you so nervous?"

"Ah..."

"You no tell her about me?"

"She already knows about you," Kasumi offered lamely.

"YOU KNOW WHAT SHAMPOO MEAN!"

"I...I... haven't gotten around to it," Kasumi replied with a wince.

"So, you is embarrassed to be with Shampoo, is that it?" Shampoo asked angrily.

"No!"

"Then why you no tell her?"

"I..." Kasumi tried to reply, but could not come up with a good reason. This caused Shampoo to huff and quickly remove herself from the furo. Kasumi watched as Shampoo exited the bathroom angrily, then hung and shook her head. "Why does this always happen to me?" she asked, then with a sigh got out of the water herself. "I'm really beginning to hate tea."

XXXXX

By the time Kasumi was dressed and had made her way to the kitchen, she found Nodoka already chatting with Makoto. From the nervous expression on Mako's face, Kasumi guessed that she was being pumped for information. Herb was also standing by the doorway to the dining room looking ominous, but that seemed to be usual for her so Kasumi could not really draw any inference from that.

"Auntie, I can explain," Kasumi said as she approached. Before she said anything more though, Nodoka raised her hand to silence her, and handed her a cup of tea.

"In a moment, Kasumi. You called in regards to having someone stay at the house."

"Ah, yes," Kasumi said with a nod, looking over to Herb. Herb responded by walking over. "Auntie, this is Prince Herb."

"Prince?" Nodoka asked with a mix set of confusions as she examined the girl before her.

"He bears a curse like mine in reverse and is unfortunately trapped this way."

"I somehow guessed that," Nodoka said. "I was more curious as to why a prince would need someplace to stay."

Kasumi opened her mouth to respond, but Herb cut in. "Unfortunately, in my search for a cure I have exhausted most of my funds."

"Can't you send for some more?" Nodoka asked.

Herb hesitated then shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. My present condition makes that impossible. They... wouldn't recognize me."

Nodoka nodded in understanding. "I see. Very well then, I suppose you can take Kasumi's old room. It's empty since she's staying here. I don't think there will be any problem with that." Herb nodded in acceptance. "I'll take you over there in a little while. First, I must speak with Kasumi, in private."

"Very well," Herb said, and headed off into the other room, leaving Kasumi with Nodoka.

"Auntie-"

Once more Nodoka raised her hand to silence Kasumi, and directed her to come out into the dining room. Selecting a secluded booth in the back, Nodoka led Kasumi over and sat. Finally, after Kasumi sat down opposite her, she spoke. "I understand from Makoto that Shampoo is now sharing your room." Kasumi hesitated, hung her head and nodded. Nodoka replied with a sigh, and a shake of her head. "I should have anticipated this."

"Auntie-"

"No Kasumi, let me speak. I... I think it is time I just accept what is and give up."

"But Auntie-"

"Kasumi, please!" Nodoka said in a scolding tone that caused Kasumi to fall silent. "I understand that you have led a rather lonely existence up to this point. And I also understand that Shampoo offers you a great deal of affection, so I suppose it was simply a matter of time. However, if this is what you really want, then I will not stand in your way. It is your life after all, and not for me to live for you. I do, however, leave it to you to tell your father. What I am concerned about is what you plan to do about a possible second marriage. There is still that option available to you, and I would hope you are not accepting Shampoo merely on a basis that you believe you will get nothing more."

Kasumi did not know quite how to respond. She could deny having any relations with Shampoo. However, in light of her present reputation with Nodoka, and what the older woman had seen, she very much doubted Nodoka would believe her. It might in fact lower her reputation with her aunt that much more. Resigned to her fate, Kasumi decided to just concede the point, and focus on what Nodoka wished to know.

"I am still considering that Auntie, and, no, I am not just settling for Shampoo. I am well aware that I have other options."

Nodoka nodded mutely then thought for a moment. "Good, I suppose that is something. I just hope that they will understand." Kasumi opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it. "I suppose I should get going then."

"Goodbye Auntie," Kasumi said as Nodoka got up to leave, rising briefly to see her off. After Nodoka and Herb headed off, Kasumi returned to the booth and dropped her head to the tabletop. It had been probably one of Nodoka's shortest lectures, but somehow it felt like the worst of the bunch.

"Look on the bright side, dear," Cologne said as she came up. "At least now she knows."

"Weren't you supposed to warn me when she arrived?" Kasumi asked without looking up.

"My apologies. I was indisposed. I also did not notice that Shampoo had slipped off," Cologne answered. "Speaking of which, she appears to have run upstairs in quite a huff."

"I'll talk to her in a minute," Kasumi replied, and remained at the table with her head buried in her arms. Cologne lifted an eyebrow in place of a shrug and headed back to work. A minute later, Kasumi remained true to her word and got up to talk to Shampoo.

XXXXX

Outside, Nodoka and Herb were on their way to the Tendos' when Herb asked the question that was prying on her mind. "Just what sort of relation are you to Kasumi Tendo? Despite your title as aunt, I somehow doubt you are truly related to Kasumi."

"You are a very perceptive young... man," Nodoka responded with a small smile. "No, I am not really Kasumi's aunt. You see, my family and the Tendo family have a pact to unite our two clans together through marriage. To facilitate that, my son, Ranma, was sent to live with the Tendos, while Kasumi came to live with my husband and I. I suppose you could say we acted much like an aunt and uncle would."

"Yes, I understand the habit of calling non-blood relatives aunt or uncle," Herb said. "So, the one who is the panda must be your husband then?"

"Why yes, that is right."

Herb nodded, adding that piece of information to his memory. "So, there is another Tendo girl?"

"Yes, two in fact, Akane and Nabiki. Nabiki is seventeen, and Akane is sixteen. Akane was originally set to marry Ranma."

"I see... Originally?" Herb asked curiously.

"Yes, it did not work out as planned."

"Oh, then Nabiki is to marry Ranma," Herb assumed, but Nodoka shook her head.

"No. Kasumi is actually Ranma's fiancée now."

"Kasumi," Herb repeated rather darkly, but this went unnoticed by Nodoka.

"Yes. I had my doubts about the whole affair, Ranma being 3 years younger and all, but lately he seems to be warming up to the idea. Ah, perhaps it is just a mother's hope. With this whole Amazon business, I don't know if anything will ever work out."

Herb was only vaguely listening, her mood darkening by the moment. So, Ranma Saotome, you think you can take what is rightfully mine? Never. I had planned on holding back until I found my cure, but clearly that is not possible. No one shall have Kasumi but me, and certainly no commoner by way of some simple family pact!

XXXXX

Ukyo, or rather Ryouko, arrived at the Tendos around that time. She had briefly entertained the idea of running off, or of telling Ranma the truth. However, both considerations were dumped. She could not bear the thought of being away from Ranma forever. Nor could she bear the thought of him rejecting her. Of course, that left her back at square one, but until a way to extract herself from this mess presented itself she was stuck.

She rounded the building to enter the house via the common room when she spotted Ranma together with Kuno by the entrance to the dojo. The two boys were talking, or rather Kuno was doing most the talking, while Ranma did most the listening. Kuno was always a bit longwinded, but Ranma seemed to tolerate it. Letting off a small sigh, Ryouko walked over to join them.

"Hey Ryouko!" Ranma called out as he noticed her approach, and proceeded to pet the wolf affectionately when she came in range. "Sorry about that tea, girl. Guess I must of burned ya, huh? I promise I won't be that clumsy again." Ryouko let off a single short whimper in reply, but then let herself enjoy the attention. If nothing else, the incident seemed to decrease the chances of her curse being discovered. Ranma had firsthand proof that nothing happened with hot water. As long as she avoided the appropriate water while in his presence, he should have no cause to suspect her. However, in a way, Ryouko half hoped it would be revealed. At least then it would be over with. However, she far more desired for it not to be discovered.

After spending a few moments with Ryouko, Ranma returned his attention to Kuno. "So, Saotome, I have noticed of late a shift in your interests."

"Eh? You mean with Ryouko?" Ranma asked in confusion.

"No, I refer to object of my heart's longings, Kasumi Tendo. I hear tell you even participated in a date with the noble woman. Since you never got involved in such romantic relations with Akane, I must assume that something beyond the identity of the girl is different."

"It is not what you think. I was sort of forced to go on that date. We both were really. You know how my Mom gets when she gets it into her head to prove I'm 'manly'. Besides, nothing much happened. The whole date fell apart because of the lunatic Mousse and then Frost casting some spell on Shampoo. We had to spend the rest of the night hunting her down. It doesn't mean I'm interested in her.

"I mean, it's not that she isn't nice," Ranma amended after a second, "because she is. It is just that I want to choose who I marry. It is the principle of the thing. It has nothing to do with Kasumi. I mean... I don't know. If it were some other way... But then her curse..." Ranma trailed off, lost in a jumble of his own thoughts.

Kuno eyed his friend curiously, a mixed gamut of emotions going on within his own mind about how to respond, friendship and personal feelings warring with one another. "Saotome, I am certainly one to encourage the following of one's own heart with confidence and vigor down any path that it may lead you. One should not approach something like this reluctantly. Heaven knows my sister knows this well. I dare say there has not been a day that goes by when she is not trying something to win over that Hibiki boy."

"What?" Ranma asked in shock. "Are you telling me she's got another boyfriend?"

"Yes, Ryoga Hibiki. He is a member of our class, in fact."

Ranma started to glower at that point. "That jerk is no good for her. He can't even find his way to the bathroom without his dog," Ranma noted angrily, clenching his fist tight enough to whiten the knuckles. Ranma had suffered through about twenty of Kodachi's boyfriends over the years, although probably the most embarrassing was Kasumi. How did one live down losing one's would be girlfriend to one's fiancée? Ranma had tried and tried to get her attention, but it seemed nothing ever worked.

"I claim no interest in such matters any longer. My sister switches her affections faster than I can keep track. However, back to the matter at hand. To follow the path of love, one must follow it with the fullness of one's heart. Success may not lie at its end, but only failure lies there if one is hesitant. I know this well. For, only by showing Kasumi the trueness of my love will I hope to make up for my past misdeeds. In truth, I must confess uncertainty of my success. However, I will endeavor to continue. And what of you Saotome? What path shall you follow?"

Ranma was not too sure if he fully agreed with Kuno's argument. Tatewaki's and Kodachi's enthusiasm had probably done more to scare off love interests than attract them, but still there was something to it. However, at the moment, he did not know his heart too well. "I really don't know right now."

"Well, I would suggest to you that you find out and soon. Failing all else, I would know the one whom Kasumi would marry. If it is to be you, I could at least know some measure of satisfaction."

Ranma eyed his old friend with a bit of surprise. He was well attuned to Kuno's ways, particularly his roundabout ways of admitting something. Sometimes the Kendoist did not even realize it himself. And, if Ranma guessed correctly, whether knowingly or not, Kuno might have just given him some encouragement to seek Kasumi. However, he did not get the chance to confirm the observation, as Master Happosai dropped into the yard at that point.

"Ranma my boy, I hear talk of Kasumi," the old man said as he smiled mischievously at the two boys.

"It's none of your business, you old pervert!" Ranma snapped back, with Kuno nodding in agreement.

"None of my business when I see someone tossing away the chance of a lifetime! What's with you, Boy? Has living with your mother twisted your sex drive, or are you just chicken!"

"Hey!" Ranma shouted in outrage. "It's got nothing to do with that!"

"No? Then pray tell, why would you be even the least reluctant to enter into such a union? You get the attentions of two fine young women all to yourself, not to mention all the fringe benefits of having them mutually interested in each other." To make his point, the master quickly pulled a large paper from his shirt, and jumped onto Ranma's shoulder. "Here boy, you look confused. Perhaps a visual aid will help." Happosai placed the paper in the confused Ranma's hand then jumped down to the ground.

Ranma immediately froze at seeing what was on the paper, his face turning beat red. Kuno, curious as to what could elicit such a reaction, peeked over Ranma's shoulder, and instantly fainted, a trickle of blood coming from his nose. However, he recovered within seconds, and rose to confront the master. "Fiend! How dare you sully the image of the pure and noble Kasumi Tendo with such base filth! You will be punished!" So saying, Kuno drew his bokken and charged at the master, looking for blood. Happosai easily dodged and taunted the Kendoist, and the chase continued. All the while Ranma remained paralyzed by the image before him.

XXXXX

"Well, here we are," Nodoka said as she showed Herb into Kasumi's old room. "I'm afraid it isn't much, but there is a futon stored over there you can use."

"It will suffice," Herb responded as she gave the room a casual inspection.

"You are welcome to join us for meals if you wish," Nodoka added, and gained a mute nod from Herb. After a few seconds of silence, Nodoka turned and headed out, leaving Herb by herself.

Had she not already been on the road a good three months, and had suffered through the limited facilities of local inns and even camps, Herb would likely have found the room an insult. However, she had, and compared to that, this was not so bad. She could live with it until she found some way to get some money. If she could risk contacting the Musk she would have no troubles with money, but she could not. If they already did not know about her situation, they would when they received a letter from Japan.

The sound of a loud splash outside brought Herb to the window, and he looked out into the yard below to see one boy picking himself out of a centrally located pond, while a diminutive old man taunted him from dry land. The boy raised a wooden sword he was carrying and, calling out a battle cry in Kasumi's name, charged the little man.

"Ranma," sneered Herb as she clenched her fist and let a charge of chi explode from it. "We shall see about you laying claim to Kasumi." Herb immediately marched to the door.

XXXXX

It had taken several minutes, and nearly all of his will power, for Ranma to finally shake himself free of the seemingly hypnotic effects of the picture he had in his hand. He guessed that the image would be with him for some time to come, as it already played at the back of his mind. However, for the moment he was free of its power and, like Kuno, wanted to give the old pervert a good thrashing.

He raced around the building until he came on the two combatants. As he had suspected, Kuno was having little luck. He would slash erratically at the master, but the old pervert twisted away from each attack, moving to a new position that forced Kuno to spin a bit to face him. In the short few seconds Ranma watched, Happosai fooled Kuno into spinning around at least ten times, and it was getting to the Kendoist. He was becoming wobbly and confused, but pride kept him from resting. Instead, he continued to be drawn in by Happosai's little trick, and the more he was, the more dizzy he became.

At seeing Ranma though, Happosai decided to end his little game. He brought Kuno around two more times, then when Kuno was totally off balance, rushed in and finished the duel with a quick tap of his pipe. Kuno was sent flying into the stone fence of the Tendo home, where he slumped to the ground in pain. Giving Ranma a quick raspberry, Happosai jumped up to the roof and then vanished from sight. Ranma was tempted to follow, but decided it would be pointless, and instead walked over to inspect Kuno.

"Hey buddy, you going to live?" Ranma asked as he helped Kuno to his feet.

With a sudden jolt, Kuno came back to himself and began swinging his bokken around wildly, nearly striking Ranma in the process. "Where is the fool creature? I will have vengeance!"

"Hey, watch it! He's gone already."

Kuno scowled, but then smiled broadly and laughed. "Hah, no doubt fleeing my continued wrath!"

Ranma sighed. "That's one interpretation," he mumbled, but Kuno caught the comment.

The Kendoist frowned at Ranma, but then nodded. "Of course, you are right. I have failed in my task to punish the demon for his vile misdeeds, for he has escaped my fury. I must train properly for our next encounter, for next time the result will be different. This I vow!" To punctuate the statement a rumble of thunder came from the skies.

"You know Kuno, you have a rare gift for dramatic timing," Ranma commented jokingly. Kuno, however, did not take notice, instead focusing on the arrival of a new figure on the walkway of the house, one who was returning the look in kind. Ranma soon noticed this, and looked over his shoulder at the newcomer. "Who's that?"

"I was about to ask you the very same question, Saotome. After all, this is your home. Whoever it is has an aura of trouble about them." Kuno stepped forward, as did the person on the walk. "Stand and be identified!"

"Ranma Saotome, you are the one that claims Kasumi," Herb replied.

Kuno laughed, but then raised his bokken haughtily. "You are a fool. I am Tatewaki Kuno, formerly known to his peers as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High. And, I ask again, who are you, and by what right do you speak the name of my goddess thus?" Kuno demanded as Ranma joined him.

Herb scowled. Two! Ranma and this boy! Herb thought with a mix of shock and increased anger, then eyed the boy standing just to the side of Kuno. That one must be Ranma. I suppose I should have anticipated this. A woman such as Kasumi would certainly have suitors. Then, perhaps this is fortunate. I can dispose of two of my rivals at once. Stepping forward another pace in a threatening posture, Herb spoke. "I am Herb, Prince and Heir to the Musk dynasty, and your better. You would be wise to renounce your claim to Kasumi now, both of you, for none shall have her but me."

Both Ranma and Kuno took this with a small measure of surprise, but also a great deal of anger. "Hey pal, I don't care what the heck you call yourself. What makes you think Kasumi wants anything to do with a jerk like you?" Ranma asked angrily.

"I am the only one worthy of her company. That is all there is to it."

"Arrogant cur! I will not stand for such insults!" Kuno shouted, and without further consideration or provocation, rushed forward to strike down Herb.

Herb had anticipated this, had planned it after seeing the way the old man had used his emotions to lead the lout around by the nose. She merely smirked and, with a simple raised hand, sent of burst of chi to hit Kuno solidly in the chest. Kuno had no chance to block or dodge, and he was hit fully by the attack and sent once more into the stone wall surrounding the house. However, this time the force was enough to crumble the fence, and leave Kuno buried in its remains. He managed to let out a single moan before falling completely unconscious.

Ranma watched this with no small measure of shock. Who the hell is this nut? he asked himself as he turned from looking at Kuno's fallen form to face Herb. Ranma considered for a second, but then knew one thing. This guy was a real asshole and nothing but trouble, for himself, his friends, and probably Kasumi too. Fancy tricks or not, he was going to beat the piss out of him. "No one does that to my friend and gets away with it."

"I take it then that you are Ranma Saotome," Herb said, as the fight finally garnered the attention of the house's other occupants. Ryouko, who had been hanging around Ranma the whole time, decided not to waste any more time watching, and raced off to get transformed. Nabiki and Akane came down the stairs, both in quite a rush to see what all the commotion was about. C-chan scooted by them and headed off herself. Nodoka, her husband, and Soun also soon arrived from various other places, wondering themselves at what was going on. When they all came to the common room, they found Ranma readying himself for a fight with Herb.

"Damned right I'm Ranma Saotome!" Ranma yelled back. "Come on, let's go!"

"Very well, I will be glad to teach you a lesson," Herb replied, and shot forth another burst of chi, this time at Ranma.

Unlike Kuno, Ranma was prepared for such an attack, and dove off to the side to avoid it. Although, the second and third burst that accompanied it pressed him to the limits of his speed, and the fourth he simply couldn't handle. Recovering from his third dodging leap, he tried to roll away from the forth, but it curved in midair and struck him on the shoulder, sending him sprawling. Ranma grit his teeth to take the pain, and jumped out of the way of the follow up.

This is bad, Ranma thought, barely back flipping away from another blast. I'm totally defensive here. He'll cream me if I can't get through that damned chi of his.

However, Herb was also getting worried. Three more shots he sent Ranma's way the boy had managed to evade. I can't keep this up forever, she thought as she pulled back a few steps to get some room. I can't risk letting my chi levels get too low, especially now. Somebody could be just waiting for such an opportunity. She energized and fired off another bolt, but could already feel the telltale signs of fatigue getting to her. That battle yesterday took more power out of me than I thought. I can't keep wasting it like this. After two more blasts, Herb knew this was going to be a problem. Although she had adjusted quite well to her female form, it still was not up to the levels of his male form. She could not replace lost energy as fast, and this was catching up to her now.

Finally, with a growl of frustration, Herb suspended her chi use, and rushed in for a physical assault. Ranma took this as a positive sign, and blocked Herb's first attempted crescent kick, then ducked under a palm strike to the face. This gave him the opening he had been hoping for, and he drove his fist home into Herb's belly. A second uppercut accompanied it, catching Herb solidly on the chin, knocking the Prince back.

Knowing this was going to be a much more difficult duel than she had foreseen, Herb set herself up for a long fight. The two quickly rushed into another exchange, as Nodoka took this as a cue to place a quick call.

XXXXX

Kasumi was getting more nervous and muddled by the second. At the moment, she and Shampoo were inside their now shared room, both sitting on the bed as they talked. The conversation had drifted away from Kasumi not telling Nodoka about the present arrangements, for which Shampoo had already forgiven Kasumi, to something more fundamental about their relationship.

"Shampoo, I mean, you're a girl, and I'm a girl. Don't you find that just the least bit... uncomfortable?" Kasumi asked diplomatically as she watched Shampoo, becoming more unnerved at the look she was receiving back from the Amazon.

Shampoo had a delicate smile on her face, as she eyed with Kasumi with an almost predatory gleam. "Shampoo know this, and it no bother Shampoo that much. Shampoo love Kasumi. Besides, you change boy," Shampoo said, causing Kasumi's mouth to dry out.

"Yes, but I'm... still a... girl... inside," Kasumi stammered out as Shampoo closed the distance between them. It was causing such a rise of anxiety in Kasumi that she had a very pressing desire to flee the room. However, despite that, she held her ground, for what exact reasons she did not yet know.

"So? Shampoo see two girl love before," Shampoo responded, and closed the gap even more. "Is possible then. Why no Kasumi let Shampoo show feeling then decide?" Shampoo asked.

"I... I... don't think it works that way," Kasumi replied lamely, but this did not deter Shampoo in the least. Before Kasumi could say another word, Shampoo had wrapped her arms around Kasumi's neck once again, and was staring into Kasumi's eyes in such a loving manner as to leave Kasumi's mind a blank. Somewhere in her mind she knew what was next to come but could not get herself to do anything about it.

That is, until she heard the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Kasumi shouted, quickly ducking out from Shampoo's grasp and dashing out the door, leaving the Amazon sitting confused on the bed, her arms surrounding nothing but air. After a moment, she frowned and decided to follow Kasumi downstairs.

No sooner did she reach the kitchen where the phone was located than Kasumi was hanging up with a very urgent look on her face. "I have to go," Kasumi said to Cologne, Makoto and Shampoo, then began to head out in a hurry.

"Where are you off to now?" Cologne called after her.

"There is trouble at my father's house," Kasumi called back without stopping.

Cologne frowned, giving each of the other girls a quick look. "I have a good guess as to the nature of the trouble. Perhaps I should accompany her." Cologne said.

"I go too," Shampoo said.

"Hey, don't count me out," Makoto added.

Cologne sighed and nodded, then headed on her way. "Well then, hurry up and close up the restaurant for now. I will go on ahead." The two girls nodded, and set about doing just that.

XXXXX

Kasumi was at a dead run in seconds, hoping she would arrive before anyone got hurt. Why would Herb attack Ranma? They haven't even met, at least as far as I know. It makes no sense. Kasumi continued to puzzle over this until she arrived at the Tendo home. Not bothering with the gate, Kasumi jumped the fence and raced towards the sounds of fighting.

She finally came to a stop when she arrived in the backyard. It seemed nearly everyone was there watching. Her father, Ranma's parents, her sisters, and even Ukyo, Kuno and Mousse. All seemed rather indecisive about what kind of action to take in regards to the ongoing conflict, so they all remained on the side, not interfering. However, Kasumi was not so hesitant, and was about to break up the melee when Cologne's stick came across her path blocking her.

"No, Daughter-in-law, let this play out for now," Cologne said as she observed the fight. "The situation has not yet grown dire. Let the two be."

Kasumi looked to Cologne in confusion, uncertain of the elder's motives, but obeyed none the less. She turned back to the fight, and began observing more closely, readying herself to act should things get any more out of hand. Somewhat to her surprise, Ranma was making a good accounting for himself. Herb was already looking fatigued and shaken, while Ranma still seemed relatively fresh. At the moment, Herb was landing only the occasional blow, but was pressed back mostly onto the defensive, allowing Ranma to essentially work the Musk Prince over with impunity.

It took several moments of examination to figure out why exactly this was the case, but at last it came to Kasumi. Herb is holding back his chi, but why? He's being beaten badly, yet isn't using it. Is he holding it in reserve for a special attack? Somehow, Kasumi did not believe that to be the case. Much longer and Herb would not have the physical strength left to launch any sort of attack. However, the puzzle became quickly unimportant.

Ranma was in the process of finishing Herb off, delighted at this particular victory. He had fought a variety of opponents before, and Herb had made for an interesting challenge. It was not like with Kasumi, where Ranma found himself badly outclassed, or with Akane, who he really had a definite advantage on, despite her denials of it. Herb was a near equal, like Shampoo had been, and had kept Ranma on his toes throughout. However, the battle had turned Ranma's way slowly but surely, and now it was almost over.

Ranma caught the prince's cloak in his hand, and, using the fabric as leverage, pulled Herb into a quick knee shot to the abdomen. He followed the strike up with a quick throw, and in the process removed the garment from Herb.

Herb took the fall as best as she could, half expecting the next attack to finish her. She was sorely tempted to cut loose, but was uncertain it would do any good now. In her weakened condition, Ranma could probably finish her off, chi or not. Best to just keep it in reserve and not waste it. She needed something to fall back on should someone uninvited decide to pay a visit soon, else she would have no defenses at all. However, Herb soon realized Ranma had not acted.

"She's a girl?" Ranma exclaimed after a few seconds, causing the prince to frown angrily. The statement brought murmurs from those watching. Herb rose slowly back to her feet, taking the moment to recover and plan on her next attack. She never got the chance, as Kasumi finally stepped in between the two combatants.

"That is enough," Kasumi said, but her statement went largely unnoticed, the others still focused on Herb.

"Pray tell, what fool's prank is this?" Kuno asked from the sidelines, just as Makoto and Shampoo arrived. "Am I to understand yet another woman makes claim to Kasumi Tendo?"

"What?" Kasumi asked in unison with several others.

"Hey, don't you know Kasumi is a girl?" Ranma asked snidely.

"Of course I know that you fool!" Herb shot back. "This is a cursed body, not my real one."

A conflagration of other questions flew through the air, including Kasumi's own. The result was a mass of noise that resulted in no progress for anyone, until Kasumi at last exerted herself with a loud whistle that finally silenced everyone. Kasumi turned to Herb. "What did he mean, lay claim to me?"

Herb hesitated, though for the life of her, she could not figure out what was causing it. Having Kasumi look at her, and admitting her interest just seemed to send a wave of nervousness in her. However, it was a passing feeling, and took only a second to be stomped out. "I would have you as my wife Kasumi Tendo," Herb replied at last, then pointed an accusing finger at Ranma. "And, I will not stand for one such as the likes of him getting in my way."

"Knave, you have no claim to Kasumi Tendo!" Kuno shouted, rushing forward to stand between Kasumi and Herb. "For it is I, Tatewaki Kuno, who shall wed her!"

"What? In your dreams," came Mousse's response as he stepped out to confront the Kendoist. "No one is marrying Kasumi but me!"

Kasumi cringed, expecting another fight to erupt, and it promptly did, with the two boys and one girl shouting at one another.

"Base fiend, you have no love for Kasumi! You would but challenge her for your own personal whims to forcibly acquire the Amazon!"

"That's a lie! No jerk like you could possibly love her a tenth as much as I do! Besides, you're not even thinking about Shampoo! What about her?"

"Your feelings are irrelevant. I am the only one here worthy of Kasumi's company, let alone her hand in marriage."

"You, worthy of Kasumi's hand? Hah!"

Herb smirked. "Laugh all you want, but I am certainly infinitely more worthy than the likes of you lot. Look at you, toying around with wooden swords, dressing like some sort of clown, or having relations with your own animal."

Ukyo bristled at the insult to herself, but more particularly to Ranma, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth to contain her fury. However, Ranma could not manage that level of restraint and entered the fray. "You take that back, you damned lesbian!"

"What did you call me?" Herb asked angrily.

"He called you only that which is appropriate to one with gender issues such as yourself," Kuno replied for Ranma.

Things only deteriorated from there, the four diving deep into a match to see who could be the most colorful and scathing with their insults, with only Ranma and Kuno remaining sided with each other. Kasumi shied away from listening, as much of the commentary was rather troubling to her ears. However, it did not last long. In a sudden turn of events, Kasumi suddenly found herself the center of attention, with silence surrounding her. She blinked, looking about herself nervously, having missed what exactly had brought such regard her way.

"Well Kasumi, you have to make a choice," Mousse said.

"Yes, silence these insolent fools by naming the man you would truly have," Kuno added, leaving Kasumi thoroughly on the spot.

"I... ah..." Kasumi began to say, nervous sweat beading down her face. "It's not really my choice. Shampoo really-"

The sentence was not even complete before Mousse was at Shampoo side, on his knees. "Shampoo, choose me. You know I'm the only one here that truly cares about you."

Shampoo frowned at that, somewhat angered that he would even claim such a thing, but did not get the chance to voice that. Instead, Kuno shoved Mousse aside and took up the same position. "Nay, it should be I, fair one, that would be joined with you, for it is only I that have the strength of spirit to be joined to two such as you and Kasumi."

Shampoo looked nearly as irritated as she did with Mousse. Crossing her arms across her chest she simply replied, "Shampoo want no one but Kasumi. No need no stupid male."

"What you want is of no consequence," Herb noted. "You are but the lesser in this marriage, and your choices and opinions are therefore meaningless."

"Shampoo no meaningless!" Shampoo shouted back angrily.

"Yeah, where do you get off?" Ranma asked.

"It is their own stupid law. I did not write the foolish thing, but facts are facts. Only the one that bests Kasumi in combat can marry her, and that shall be me," Herb declared, emphasizing the statement with a slight glow from her eyes.

"Like hell am I allowing you to get anywhere near her, you creep!" Ranma yelled back, which set off another argument. This time Shampoo joined in, resulting in an even more confused clutter of voices than before, with an equally nasty vocabulary.

Kasumi watched this go on for another minute, until the group seemed ready to begin trading blows instead of words, and decided it was time to intervene. "Alright, alright," she yelled to get everyone's attention. "That is enough."

"Then you have decided?" Kuno asked.

"I... no, I have not, but I won't allow any more of these fights. I won't have people fighting over me. I won't," Kasumi said, letting some of her feelings be heard in her voice. It had the desired effect of quieting everyone before she continued. "I... I'll consider you all, but you must promise me to stop this fighting."

A moment of silence passed as each of the concerned parties examined the others, strong sentiments of distrust and resentment clear in many of the looks. However, at last there came some mumbled agreements to Kasumi's terms from each of them.

XXXXX

As the confrontation began to break up, Makoto shook her head in wonder, walking up next to Akane. "Your sister is something else. She's got the interest of three boys, one half boy, and a girl."

"You missed out Ryoga, not to mention a good portion of the male and female population of Furinkan," Akane replied soberly.

"Yeah," Makoto said with a nod, remembering her own crush on her instructor with a slight blush.

"Yes, my Daughter-in-law sure brings them in, doesn't she?" Cologne noted with a smile. "So many interesting possibilities. Makes me long for the days of my own youth. Ah, but I suppose I should concentrate on the here and now."

"Aren't you worried about somebody beating Kasumi?" Akane asked. "I mean, being forced to marry someone just because of some silly law..."

"Such is not always a bad thing. Besides, I plan to make whoever does challenge her have to truly earn such a victory," Cologne replied, then turned to go. "Come now Ms. Kino, we have a restaurant to run, and it is presently sitting unattended and empty."

"Right," Makoto replied and followed after the Amazon elder. Akane watched sadly for a short time as Kasumi continued to reason with various parties, including now the adults who had intervened to state Ranma's claim, then shook her head, and headed off.

XXXXX

Watching this all, hidden in a shadow by the dojo, was Happosai. The proverbial gears were working overtime in his devious little mind, as a lecherous smirk appeared on his face. There was a lot of delicious potential fun in this situation surrounding not only the newcomer, but something that was brought to mind about that. But first, it is time to get to work on that pupil of mine's education. Can't have him being so strung up around the girls all the time. Happosai nodded to himself, and took off to get the proper tools for the job.

XXXXX

No one noticed Ukyo silently slip away to the bathroom, a troubled look on her face. She did not like these turns of events. No, she did not like them one bit. The signs were becoming uncomfortably clear, Ranma was starting to take an interest in Kasumi. That worried Ukyo, not only for the obvious reason of losing Ranma herself, but also because it meant he would be in conflict with the others. That could potentially be quite dangerous.

I have to do something about this, but what? Ukyo thought as she starting filling a bucket with cold water. Confusing the whole matter was Kasumi's latest actions that had left Ukyo unsure of not only her, but also herself. Maybe... maybe I don't even deserve Ranma. I just continue to trick him even though I know he... he... he'd hate me. Ukyo looked at the now full bucket as she truly considered that, and appeared ready to cry for a second. However, she quickly shook away the feeling. No, I have remain confident, no matters what. I can't let this get to me. I'll figure it all out eventually. I just need time, that's all. With that thought, Ukyo upended the bucket over her head.

XXXXX

The next morning Kasumi was engaged in a sparring session with Ranma, both wielding quarter staves. Ranma was taking a thorough pummeling, despite Kasumi being easy on him. It was Kasumi's considered opinion that Ranma was distracted. He wasn't her equal with the weapons, but he usually could put up a far better showing of himself than he was. It seemed that he was avoiding getting close to her, which was hampering him. In addition, when he did, he seemed to hesitate badly.

After about the tenth fall, Kasumi withdrew to let Ranma recover. "Ranma, are you all right? You seem distracted to me."

"Distracted?" Ranma repeated in confusion, looking up at Kasumi then suddenly blushing. "No, no!" he blurted out as he diverted his eyes.

XXXXX

Nodoka was just finishing with making Akane's bed and heading into Ranma's room, when she came to a sudden halt. "Oh my goodness," she gasped as she scanned the walls. Covering every square inch of wall space were drawings, ranging from just revealing, to scandalous. Most depicted Kasumi, but a fair percentage included Shampoo as well.

After a few seconds of blinking, Nodoka clasped her hands together happily. "Oh my son is so manly, and an artist too."

XXXXX

Damned old geezer. I can't even look at her now without... Ranma thought angrily as he got back to his feet. He cast Kasumi a brief glance, and almost instantly had numerous images from his room pop into his mind, forcing him to look away with another blush.

"Ah, Ranma my boy, it seems like the treatments are working," Happosai called out as he dropped from the roof to be next to Ranma. "I'll have you all fixed up by the end of the week."

"Die, old man!" Ranma roared in outraged, and kicked out at the aged pervert. Happosai easily dodged, and pulled down his eyelid while sticking out his tongue at Ranma. "Came back here! I'll make you pay for this!"

Kasumi watched with a small amount of confusion as Ranma proceed to chase Happosai around the yard, the former yelling continuously in anger, while the latter just laughed. I wonder what Ranma is so worked up about? she asked herself, but then shrugged off the question as she noticed Cologne arrive. Cologne stopped to watch the display for a moment, as Kasumi approached her. "Something wrong elder?"

"It is nothing. Just an errant memory that I can't seem to place. I am sure it is nothing. Now then, how is your own training going?"

"Well enough," Kasumi answered.

"Truly?" Cologne responded then struck out at Kasumi in a blur. Kasumi blocked, dropping back two paces before finally reaching a stalemate. After a moment Cologne withdrew with a smile. "Not bad, although still in need of improvement."

"Improvement?" Kasumi repeated then looked down at her hands and the writing of 'too slow' written on them. "Yes, I... suppose so."

Cologne merely chuckled and turned to inspect the other sparring matches. Akane was holding her own against Genma, but Shampoo was pretty much dominating Makoto. Mako just could not seem to compensate for Shampoo superior strength and speed, and the result was she was performing almost as badly as Ranma had been.

"Tell me, Daughter-in-law, what do you make of them?" Cologne asked, gesturing to Shampoo and Makoto.

Kasumi took a moment from trying to rub away the writing on her hands, to look up at the two girls and examine them. "Makoto's style is clean, although not perfect. I suspect she's used to having the physical advantage herself, and is not prepared for combat with an opponent like Shampoo who actually beats her out physically."

"Yes, she'll learn though. And Shampoo?"

"Well, her style is also very clean, near perfect in fact. However..."

"However? Well, speak up dear. No bruised egos around here, and you are supposed to be one of her trainers, remember."

"Of course," Kasumi acknowledged, then after a second more of analysis answered the question. "She's not pushing herself. Not against Makoto I mean, but anyone. Even this training seems half-hearted."

Cologne nodded. "An apt analysis, and quite correct. It has nothing to do with present circumstances though. I fear it goes back far more than that."

"How so?"

Cologne fell silent for a moment, considering what to say. "Shampoo has not really been training up to her potential for years now. I suspect she has lost the desire she once had."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Perhaps. I noticed this shortly after a rather unfortunate incident occurred. A fellow villager, who was posing as Shampoo's friend, challenged Shampoo to a duel."

"What's so bad about that?"

"What was bad about it was that Shampoo prized her position as the village's best fighter very highly. More importantly, I think this girl was also known to scout out other fighters and adjust to their styles. She was no doubt using her position as Shampoo's friend to do just that."

"I see. Shampoo must have felt very betrayed by that. She once told me she had no real friends. I suppose that must have made it hurt that much more."

"Perhaps," Cologne said with a nod. "So, have you been giving much thought to your potential male partners yet?"

Kasumi's face switched from her slightly sad consideration of Shampoo's situation, to a more nervous one. "Ah, well, actually, no. I really don't know what to do."

"And what of Herb?"

"Herb, what do you mean?"

"He is a prince of the Musk Dynasty which means he carries with him the power of a dragon. Mousse I am confident you can fend off, as well as others should any of them get it in their head to challenge you. However, I am not so confident with Herb. His kind are known not only for their raw power, but their intellect as well. Pushed, they can become very dangerous."

Kasumi became concerned, looking up at the window to Herb's room, and seeing the young prince looking back at her. "I wish I could say you were wrong. Last time I really fought... him, it was very difficult, and I am not certain that I would have won."

"All the more reason to increase your training. I am actually curious as to what the limits of your learning speed are. They are quite exceptional so far. However, that is not your only option. Once married to a man, no challenge for marriage is of any consequence to you. You might want to consider that." Cologne paused a moment and looked up at the prince as well. "Although, it might be best to keep your options open, at least for the moment."

"Maybe."

"However, I would advise you to talk with my great granddaughter about it. At the moment she is not... agreeable to a second partner. You may have to sway her."

Kasumi nodded in response. "I'll be sure to do that, Cologne."

Just behind them, Happosai stopped cold at hearing the name. Ranma was sure to make good use of the distraction, flattened the master, and began crushing him into the ground. "Ha, take that, old man!" Ranma declared triumphantly.

XXXXX

Hinako was in a rather grumpy mood by the end of the school day. First of all, she had been caught unprepared in a rainstorm on the way to school. Then she became depressed as that brought to mind that she could not hold a driver's license due to her condition. To add to that, she once more caught a group of students referring to her as 'that little girl' again. And, to top it all off, the dumb people in charge of the school's various supplies, in particular drinks, had still not bothered to do anything about the current situation.

"What do those dummies think, that I drink coffee too?" Hinako exclaimed as she trudged up the last of the stairs to get to the teacher's lounge carrying a can of soda in her hand that she had just purchased from the vending machine in the student's cafeteria, on the first floor. "I swear, I should go teach those delinquents a lesson."

The annoyed teacher entered the lounge, finding Kasumi engrossed with several new student data sheets. Hinako walked over and jumped into a seat next to Kasumi, peeking around to see the sheet in Kasumi's hand. "Hey Kasumi, you don't drink coffee. Can't you complain? I'm really sick of having to go up and down three flights of stairs to get a stupid, lousy drink."

"I already did, Hinako, but I'm afraid I cannot be optimistic about them actually acting on the suggestion," Kasumi responded with a sympathetic smile. "I have thought about just buying some stuff ourselves and storing it in the fridge up here."

"Maybe," Hinako responded, then gave the paper another look. "New students?"

"Yes, although I must say I can't understand why they would be sent here. These two have a history of tardiness, and some other minor offenses, but nothing major. This other girl is a straight-A student, and her record is nearly spotless."

"Oh well, at least they won't be trouble," Hinako noted with a smile.

"I suppose so," Kasumi said with a nod of agreement, then set down the papers to rub her eyes.

"Troubles?"

"You could say that," Kasumi replied tiredly.

"Man troubles," Hinako concluded, gaining a surprised look from Kasumi. "Tatewaki and Ranma were both giving you a bunch of looks today, far more than usual. You know, you should just pick one and marry him. Get it over with."

"I'm afraid it just isn't that simple. Whichever one I choose, the others suffer. Plus, I have to consider Shampoo, and what she wants," Kasumi responded, then got up, taking up the papers. "I should be getting on home. See you tomorrow."

Hinako nodded, and watched as Kasumi left. After a moment she hung her head with a sigh. "I would die to have a real boyfriend." Hinako sighed again, feeling even worse than she had before. "It's not fair. Everyone treats me like a kid. No one takes me seriously unless I'm in my adult form. It's just not fair," Hinako said with a pout then looked ready to cry.

"Hey, don't generalize so much," Hiro said as he came over. "Some of us are more enlightened."

"I suppose, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't get through a single date with a guy and have him take me seriously. Oh sure, I get attention when I've drained someone, but when I'm like this..."

"Hmm," Hiro hummed as he took a seat next to her, thinking. "It's too bad you can't find something to give you a continuous supply of battle aura. That way you could keep yourself in your adult form all the time."

"Maybe, but where am I supposed to find something like that? Even top martial artists can only stand up to a drain for a few moments."

"I couldn't really say. It is not my field of expertise. Perhaps you should consider something else as a source. I'm sure human's aren't the only things that give off the kind of energy you need."

Hinako looked up at Hiro at that thought. "Maybe, I never thought about that." A faint gleam of a smile appeared on Hinako's lips as she had a new piece of hope.

XXXXX

Another fine day of school had come to an end for Makoto, and as she walked home she struck out with her fist at the air, pleased with the speed and strength of the blow. If nothing else her skills were improving around here. She had actually managed a few telling blows this morning against Shampoo, which is more than she had managed since they had begun sparring. Sometimes it became irritating always losing and she had been tempted more than once to transform and give Shampoo a real work out. However, that defeated the whole purpose of training in the first place. If she ever managed to match Shampoo normally, she'd be that much better a Senshi when it came time to face a real opponent.

Maybe the others should train like this. Definitely would do us all some good. I bet I'm nearly twice as good as I was before. I might even be able to beat Haruka now. If we all improved that much, I bet we could handle anything. We could use it too. The way our challenges keep going, the next bunch of nuts that comes along will be more powerful than the last, and I'm getting really tired of being one step behind these guys. For once I'd like to have the advantage instead of playing catch up. Makoto made a mental note to get Kasumi to teach her one of those chi techniques, and she could show it off to the others the next chance she got. Seeing her use something like that was sure to get their interest.

Makoto stopped next to the door to the San Cheng-Huang, and started to enter. However, she was no more than three steps into the restaurant when Shampoo came from the kitchen and exclaimed, "out!" Before Makoto knew what was happening, she found herself shoved outside, the door closed behind her.

"What the... Who does she think she is?" Makoto exclaimed then turned back to the door. Mako proceeded to pound on the door for a moment, until Shampoo returned and opened it. "That's better. Now what-" Mako got cut short when Shampoo threw something in her face, then closed the door again. Mako quickly, and angrily, removed the object, and identified it as her coat. "Why... that... that..."

"Calm down child," Cologne said as she came up to Makoto from down the street. "My great granddaughter simply desires some time alone with Kasumi. I will speak to her later about her manners. Come, I will take you out for dinner."

"Ah... Thanks," Mako responded, and donned her jacket before following the elder down the street. "I must say, you are a lot nicer than she is."

"Ah, but I have had three hundred years to learn, not to mention I am presently not courting someone. In my youth, particularly when actively seeking love, you would have been best advised to give me a kilometer or so of berth lest you get in my way, which was not smart, or healthy." Cologne said, casting her companion a brief smile. "Do not let this taint your image of my great granddaughter. She has grown up without much in the way of companionship. The little she has known has been rather... negative. Perhaps you might set your efforts to correcting that, rather than getting angry about it."

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." After a moment, Mako noticed Cologne continuing to examine her closely. "Yes?"

"You have an unusual aura Miss Kino. Very unlike a typical person's." Makoto swallowed nervously at that. "It has an almost magical quality to it, even somewhat similar to Frost's aura. Tell me dear, what do you know about your lineage?"

Makoto turned her head and bit her lip with her anxiety. "My lineage? Well, ah... I'm afraid I don't much. My parents... died you see."

"Most unfortunate, and my condolences to you," Cologne replied just as she stopped beside the entrance to a local restaurant. "This establishment should do. After you Miss Kino."

XXXXX

Kasumi was on her way home, walking atop the street side fence. She usually did not indulge in such open displays of her skills, but right now she needed something to keep her mind focused. With the rest of her mind in turmoil, she needed something to concentrate on least she lose herself.

She looked up at the sound of a familiar dog's bark to see Ryoga and Shirokuro coming up a crossing street. Ryoga turned at hearing Shirokuro's bark as well to see Kasumi, and called out to her. With a grateful smile, Kasumi descended to the ground, and joined her old friend.

"Hello Ryoga. Where were you off to?"

"Ah, nowhere really," Ryoga responded, in a modest lie. He had no intended destination, but had rather been in search of Kasumi. "How about you?"

"Home," Kasumi answered simply. "Do you wish to walk with me then?"

"Of course I would," Ryoga answered enthusiastically and fell into pace next to Kasumi, while trying to build up the nerve to say what he had come to say. His past association with her had done wonders for Ryoga in most ways. No longer did he experience enormous bouts of depression, instead Ryoga had been taught how to find the good parts of his life. His anger too had been trimmed back to a manageable level. Even his lack of direction was modestly lessened, although that was simply a matter of sticking around Shirokuro more, who did not let him get lost. However, one thing that still remained was his shyness.

However, Ryoga had taken over a week to work this through in his mind, so it took only a moment to reinforce his determination before he at last said it. "Kasumi, actually, I wanted to talk to you about... something."

"Yes?"

"It... It's about... Kasumi, I... I'd marry you. To help out with this whole mess I mean." Ryoga added the last in a moment of weakness, and silently cursed himself for making it come out wrong.

Kasumi took a few seconds to examine her friend then smiled softly. "That's very sweet of you Ryoga, but I could never ask such a thing of you. It would be a burden that I don't wish to place on someone."

"I don't think it would be a burden at all," Ryoga replied, but Kasumi just gave him her usual friendly smile.

"I know what you're trying to do, and it is very nice, but I simply couldn't. I will get through this on my own. Don't worry."

"But..." Ryoga began to respond, but once more lost his nerve.

At that moment they arrived outside the San Cheng-Haung, and Kasumi turned to Ryoga. "Thank you for the offer, and also for walking with me. Again, don't worry about me. I'm sure I will get through this. I'll see you at school tomorrow," Kasumi said with a slight bow and entered the restaurant.

Ryoga managed a, "bye," but nothing else. After walking down the street a ways he then snarled, "I am such a wimp!" By his side Shirokuro shook her head, and took the lead.

XXXXX

Inside the restaurant, Kasumi came to a sudden stop at finding it deserted. She then noted that the open sign was still inside, and that a single table was laid out for use. Two lit candles on the table were the only sources of light in the room as the curtains were drawn. The table itself was covered in an elaborately decorated tablecloth, which itself was covered in a lace overlay. Two settings were in place, each opposite the other.

As Kasumi puzzled over the decorum, Shampoo came into the room. The Amazon was also made up, dressed in a full length, red Chinese dress with the design of a serpentine dragon up one side. The dress was slit up each side, almost to her hips. Both her face and her hair also made up a bit as well, a jewel encrusted ornamental butterfly held in her hair for show.

At seeing her, Kasumi's mind skipped and lost its track, causing her to simply stand and stare. "Airen like new look?" Shampoo asked.

"Ah... yes, it is very nice," Kasumi replied. "But isn't it a little formal?"

Shampoo scowled and walked over to her wife. "Formal? Is no supposed to be formal for special occasion?"

"Special occasion?" Kasumi asked in confusion, her mind finally starting to get back on track.

Shampoo lost her scowl and smiled happily. "Yes, Shampoo prepare special private dinner for Airen. This way Shampoo be alone with Kasumi. You sit, Shampoo get food."

"Okay," Kasumi replied with a slightly nervous smile, and watched as Shampoo left to the kitchen. She admired the look of Shampoo's dress until her eyes briefly drifted a bit too low for her liking, causing her to look away with a blush. All that has been happening must be getting to me, Kasumi thought as she occupied herself by looking at the specially set table. Still, I suppose she put some work into this. I better go along with it for now. Looking down at herself, Kasumi added, although I'm not at all made up for such a thing.

XXXXX

Makoto watched in a mild sense of awe as Cologne went through her third helping. She herself had been full about ten minutes ago, but the elder kept on going in what Mako considered to be a very atypical amount of appetite for an old woman of her age. As the elder finished, she relaxed in her chair with a satisfied sigh, and chuckled at her companion's amazed expression.

"Not used to seeing old ladies with much energy, are you?" Cologne asked, and Makoto shook her head.

"Can't say I am."

"It's an Amazon thing. We all have a greatly increased life expectancy, not to mention energy to spare," Cologne explained, then leaned forward. "Speaking of Amazon things, I need the opinion of an outsider. What do you think of Herb?"

Makoto was taken off guard by the question, and took a moment to think. "Why do you want to know?" she asked while she continued to think on the question.

"The Amazons and the Musk have a less than stellar history. In fact, you could say we pretty much hated each other's guts until recently," Cologne said with a smile. "It is a conflict that goes way back, and there is not a family in the village that has not lost someone to a battle with them. Still, it is in the past, getting on now, although... there is a more recent incident."

"What's that?"

"Nothing you should concern yourself with, an unfortunate turn of events that showed off both of our peoples' lack of standards. They lost a prince, and we lost several promising warriors, although our warriors are at least still alive. However, that has more to do with Herb's father, not him. Still, this prince could be a serious danger. It might be best to put him out of the way. On the other hand, this situation does hold some interesting possibilities."

Makoto nodded, wondering just what exactly was entailed with 'putting him out of the way'. Somehow she doubted it would be pleasant for the prince. "Well, my first impression of him, is that he is a... a... jerk," Makoto said bluntly. "He seems arrogant, possessive, self-centered, and, like you said, dangerous."

Cologne nodded slightly in agreement. "I must agree, but let me add something. From what I know of the Musk, princes such as he are kept largely isolated throughout their youth. In particular, they are never allowed near a woman, even their mothers. He has probably known only the company of servants, and that does tend to give one some... poor social skills."

"Yeah, I suppose it would. I guess maybe he should get some consideration because of that. Still, he's got a long ways to go before I could consider him... nice."

"True enough," Cologne agreed. "I suppose for now I shall simply observe. Give the prince a chance to show his true colors, as it were. It might also be interesting to see how he deals with the consequences of his present predicament."

"Consequences?"

"Oh, nothing to trouble yourself with, dear," Cologne dodged, leaning back and smiling in contemplation.

A moment passed, both taking the time to think, Mako trying to think about the consequences of a Jusenkyo curse like Herb's. Not coming to any immediately answers, beyond the consequences he was already facing, Mako turned her thoughts to Jusenkyo in general. "Elder, could I ask you what you know about Jusenkyo?"

"Of course. There is quite a bit. Anything in particular you wish to know?"

"How about its history?"

Cologne thought for a second then nodded. "Very well, although on that I'm afraid matters are sketchy at best. We know it was created at least 2500 years ago, although it may be even more ancient than that. In fact its history mingles somewhat with our own Amazon origins. You see, one of the ongoing theories is that visitors from the heavens created it. What exactly that means is up to some debate. It could mean space or the celestial plane where the gods reside. Some old texts mention the moon."

"The moon?" Makoto asked with a greatly increased interest.

"Yes. I believe it was supposed to be their home, or maybe just their capital. As I say, it is sketchy, and that is just one tale among many. In any case, those same tales of visitors from the heavens appear in our Amazon history around the same time period. It is said they aided our people, and even may have joined their blood with our own. There seems to be some truth to this as you may have noticed, my great granddaughter has some rather unusual hair coloring.

"Anyway, these visitors were supposed to have created the springs. Why is unknown, but there are many guesses which I won't get into. However, as time passed, these visitors were forced to withdraw. Some stories say something about a war being the reason for that, but they don't say whether the war was on the Earth, in the heavens, or between the visitors and us humans."

"This war, when was it supposed to have happened?"

"Oh, at least a millennium ago, perhaps longer. They did stay some time, if you believe that theory."

Man oh man, that could be us. Gees, for all I know Shampoo could be a relative. Distant, but still a relative. "Do you happen to know any names associated with these visitors?"

Cologne thought for a moment. "They are given numerous titles. I don't believe there was any predominantly common one. Why? Do you have some theories?" Cologne asked with a smile that shook Mako up.

Mako quickly shook her head, trying her best to cover up any expression that would betray her. "Oh no, just curious, that's all." Cologne seemed to accept that, and called over the waiter to pay the bill. Wait till I tell the others about this. Maybe if we pump Setsuna, she could confirm it. Gee, if we did create the springs, I wonder if there is someway that we could get rid of the curse. Oh God, wouldn't Kasumi be happy about that. Still, I bet it is just a bunch of wishful thinking.

XXXXX

About that time, Kasumi was finishing her dinner, and nervously dodging Shampoo's gaze. The meal had been pleasant enough, but having Shampoo look at her passionately every few moments was getting to Kasumi's nerves. Having the last of the food vanish from her plate, Kasumi had nothing left to hide behind.

"That was very nice Shampoo," Kasumi complimented politely, not knowing what else to say.

"Fight not Shampoo's only talents. Shampoo taught by father how to cook."

"Your father?"

"Yes. Mother could no cook if life depend on it, although still better than Akane's cooking."

"Akane tries. She just gets... overly experimental, and lacks some basic cooking knowledge."

Shampoo shook her head, not really believing the problem was that basic, but conceded the point. "She your sister, so suppose must have some potential."

A tense moment of silence passed after that, Shampoo watching Kasumi closely with a dreamy sort of shine to her eyes, while Kasumi attempted to think of what to do next. She was not ready for any sort of repeat of the events of yesterday, so she decided on a distractionary approach, one of the more dubious talents she had learned from Genma. "Cologne told me about a... friend that you once had."

The topic had the desire effect of breaking Shampoo's look, as it contorted into a frown. "Par Phume,"

"Perfume? Was that her name?"

Shampoo paused a moment, then nodded. "Really should be called Par Phume. Is two girls in village with nickname Perfume, Pur Fum and Par Phume."

"Oh..." Kasumi paused on that thought with a sudden realization. "You mean Shampoo is only your nickname?"

"Yes, but Shampoo no mind. Rarely use real name, Shan Pu. Many villagers have such nicknames. They no mind if used, but with two Perfumes can be confusing."

"I see. What happened between you and Par Phume then?"

Shampoo looked pensive about the question, nervously biting at her lower lip. However, Kasumi probing looked finally broke through, and Shampoo answered. "Perfume once help Shampoo against group of girls that try ambush Shampoo. We be friends for while after that. She strong fighter, smart too, but devious. Shampoo think she real friend, but she give challenge." At this point Shampoo's earlier trepidation returned, causing her to fall silent.

"I suppose you thought she had just been playing at being your friend."

"Shampoo no know anymore. Was angry at time... very angry, and sad too." Shampoo eyes gained a far off look as she remembered the time, as below the table she wrung her hands together nervously.

Kasumi watched as Shampoo remained in silent thought for over a minute. Looking at her, Kasumi knew there was more to the tale than Cologne had told her, something that generated a great deal of guilt in Shampoo. After another full minute passed, Kasumi decided to see if she could find out what it was.

"Something happened, didn't it? Something you wish didn't." Shampoo looked up suddenly, and fearfully, then lowered her head as she considered. "Please tell me. You said we shouldn't hold secrets from each other."

Shampoo looked up once again, uncertain. Looking into the warmth of Kasumi's eyes for a moment quickly beat down the resistance. "Shampoo defeat Perfume in challenge... but then cut her, on face." Shampoo traced a line down from her eyebrow, across her eye, and down her cheek. "Was pointless thing. Stupid thing." After another moment of silence Shampoo continued. "Scar little better. Village healers fix it, but it still there."

"I see," Kasumi said slowly with a nod. "I presume she blames you for that?" Shampoo answered with a nod. Kasumi took a minute to think then spoke. "Sometimes, particularly when we are young, moments of weakness can cause us to do some... terrible things. The mark of our character, however, is what we feel about the act, and whether we repeat it or not. You seem to me to regret it, and I assume it did not happen again." Shampoo shook her head. "The past is not something we can change unfortunately. We simply must live with it, and learn from it. You've done that." Shampoo smiled at Kasumi thankfully, and nodded her head. Maybe if I met this girl, I can direct her to Dhalsim, Kasumi thought, absently rubbing her own cheek.

Having gotten one mystery out of the way, Kasumi turned to another. "Cologne also told me you haven't been training very hard."

"Is not true. Shampoo train," Shampoo responded. "What think doing every morning?"

"I know you train, just not up to your potential. Cologne seemed to think it had something to do with that fight. Does it?"

Shampoo frowned, but then sighed, and nodded. There seemed little point to her to keep the matter from Kasumi. "Is too much hassle. Shampoo no want be best anymore. All it be is trouble. Soon Li once warn Shampoo that being champion not that good of thing. Shampoo no believe her at time, but do now."

"Soon Li?"

"She old village champion. She leave village many year ago. Shampoo think she lonely too. That seem to be what being champion gets you. Some resent you. Others avoid you, afraid. Others try use you. Still others think too much of you. What left want be you. Shampoo sick of that. Might have friends now if Shampoo had not been so determined to be village champion. Fight with Perfume make Shampoo realize this."

Kasumi nodded sympathetically. "Yes, I know what it can feel like. You may get respect, but that is a poor substitute for companionship. Still, that is no reason to hold back on your training."

"Shampoo no want be best anymore."

"So you are waiting for someone to defeat you. I'm afraid that just doesn't fix things Shampoo. You've dug yourself into a bit of hole, but being defeated doesn't get you out of it. You have to do that yourself. However, your martial arts training should be something you do for yourself. Do you truly wish to throw away all the years of training you put into it simply because you dislike what has resulted? That is not really the fault of the skills, but the fault of the goals. You wanted to be best at all costs, to gain respect, right?"

"Yes," Shampoo admitted.

"Well, it is that goal that has caused you the problems, not the skills that got you there. You should keep up with your training; maintain those skills, for they have many more uses than simply being the best. Instead they can be used to expand your options, allowing you to overcome more obstacles than you could without them. And, they help give you a sense of pride in knowing what you can achieve, even if you don't feel the need to achieve it." Shampoo looked at Kasumi, somewhat skeptical and uncertain. "If you wish, we could keep it a secret from everyone. Train with me."

That prospect alone shattered any resistance Shampoo had to the idea, and she vigorously nodded. "Okay, Shampoo do."

"There is something else I wanted to talk to you about." Shampoo's expression immediately darkened as if she already knew what Kasumi was about to say. "It is about the... boys."

"Ohh..." Shampoo groaned out in annoyance.

"Shampoo, I know you aren't... enthusiastic about another man, but I really want you to consider this. It does solve your status problem, and... and... I..." Kasumi trailed off as Shampoo's eyes were suddenly riveted to her. After a moment to recompose her thoughts, Kasumi continued. "I never envisioned myself living out my life with another woman. I'm... I'm not certain I could, and I'm not certain you'll get what you want either."

"Shampoo just want Kasumi to love her."

"You want a romantic sort of love I may not be able to give you," Kasumi stopped as she noticed a hurt expression on Shampoo face. "I... It may not be impossible," Kasumi conceded, "but it may be best to at least keep your options open, wouldn't you think?"

Shampoo lost her hurt look, but then scowled at the thought. However, after a minute of thought, she finally nodded. "Shampoo will keep open mind, if Kasumi really want that. Shampoo no think she like any of the boys now, though."

"Well, what do you think is wrong with them?"

Shampoo frowned in thought. "Mousse never listen. Kuno too full of himself. Ranma too... he no treat Kasumi right. And, Herb is jerk, and girl!"

"What about... Ryoga?" Kasumi asked out of curiosity.

"How Shampoo love man who always get lost?"

"Well, I know it is a problem with him, but he's working on it," Kasumi replied, wondering in the back of her mind why she was even including him. "Could you at least give them some time?"

Shampoo frowned for a moment then suddenly switched to a smile. "Shampoo give try, if Kasumi give Shampoo try."

Kasumi started playing with her fingers as she thought about how to respond. "I... ah... umm... okay," Kasumi finally answered, knowing already she had put her foot in it.

Shampoo smiled happily at that, but then had a thought. "No Mousse. Shampoo know Mousse since was three year old. He no change one bit for good. Only get worse."

"Are you sure? He-"

"No, is sure," Shampoo answered quickly, so Kasumi conceded the point.

Just at that moment, the door to the restaurant was practically flung open, and Herb marched in. Kasumi looked back at her in surprise, while Shampoo looked extremely irritated at the interruption. Herb looked over the scene with a frown, and huffed.

"What you want? Go away, we is busy!" Shampoo ordered, but Herb ignored her.

"I have business with you Kasumi Tendo."

"Shampoo said-"

"Shampoo," Kasumi cautioned, causing the Amazon to fall reluctantly silent. "I'll deal with this. What is it, Herb?" Herb did not respond, instead eyeing Shampoo. Kasumi took the hint and gestured for Shampoo to leave them. The Amazon gave Herb a momentary glare, but then collected the dishes and headed into the kitchen. "What do you want?"

"I... need a job."

"A job?"

"Yes, a job," Herb repeated, feeling thoroughly humiliated at needing to ask.

"Alright, what kind of skills do you have? Perhaps I can recommend something."

Herb crossed her arms as she thought. "I... I... what do you mean by skills?"

"Like knowledge of computers, or knowing some math, or-"

"I know lots of mathematics."

Kasumi nodded. "That's good, what else?"

Herb opened her mouth to respond, but fell silent for a few moments before responding. "Well, I have a pretty diverse education."

"Any particular strengths?"

"Err... not really. Politics, economics, military strategy, martial arts, and leadership was a good lot of it."

Kasumi sighed. "I'm afraid those kind of skills are not very practical for any position you could hold around here. You don't have any official credentials, and any high-level position requires them. At best, you would be looking at some part-time work unless you could say... keep books or something."

"Keep books?"

"Accounting, do you know anything about that?" Kasumi asked, but received only a shake of the head from Herb.

"I am unfamiliar with... accounting."

Kasumi sighed once again then noticed Shampoo entering the room again. "Shampoo know, you be waitress," Shampoo suggested tauntingly.

"I will not act as some common servant! I am a prince."

"Herb, there is little out there with your particular skills that would not require you to act in some sort of service capacity."

"That is unacceptable!" Herb exclaimed, and turned her back to the two girls. "There must be something else. What about Mint and Lime? Could they find work?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, I think they could. Mint's speed would make him great for anything that requires that, deliveries for example. And Lime, he would be excellent with any sort of heavy lifting. In fact I might be able to employ Mint here, and Lime could probably get a job at the school helping with the gymnasium equipment."

"Would that pay sufficiently to procure a place to stay?"

"I doubt it would be. Prices are rather expensive around here for rental," Kasumi answered, causing Herb to hang her head.

"Hmph, Shampoo knew it. Musk prince is too lazy to work for self. Must have own men do all work," Shampoo taunted, causing Herb to growl angrily.

"I am perfectly capable of doing my own work!"

"Prove then! Shampoo can do own work, can you?" Shampoo challenged.

Kasumi looked between the two, noticing Herb starting to glow with her anger. She started to open her mouth to calm the prince, but suddenly the glow ceased.

"Fine! I will not be outdone by some mere Amazon. I will accept the position."

Kasumi looked at Herb in surprise. "You'll be a... waitress?"

"Yes, yes, whatever."

"O...kay, I'll see you tomorrow then, after school."

"Of course," Herb replied, sneering at Shampoo, who returned the look. After a moment, Herb turned and marched back out the door. A moment after she did so, Shampoo smiled at Kasumi deviously.

"Just need know how to properly motivate such people," Shampoo said smugly, causing Kasumi to marvel slightly at the strategy.

XXXXX

Outside, Herb barely made it ten feet before she felt like hitting herself. However, what was done was done. There was no going back now. I seem to be sinking lower and lower lately. Dependant on an Amazon for my manhood. Competing with another for my future bride. If I did not know it was in fact possible, I would say it couldn't get any worse. Sighing, and hanging her head, Herb headed off to the Tendos', his temporary home.

XXXXX

Ranma slammed his fist once more into the rope-wound log in front of him, the force of his final blow snapping the foot-thick practice target in half. Stupid jerk! he thought angrily, although he was not sure whether he was referring to Ryoga, or Herb, or perhaps both. It did not really matter, he was angry at both of them, Ryoga for getting between him and Kodachi, and Herb for... being a general pain in the neck. The latter of the two, however, was of more concern. I just know he's going to be nothing but trouble.

"That's the way, my boy. Need to work on your skills if you ever expect to beat Kasumi," said somebody from behind Ranma.

Ranma spun around, immediately knowing the voice. "You old geezer! What the hell are you doing around here? Can't you tell no one wants you around?"

Happosai just smiled, taking out his pipe and blowing out smoke panties. "Oh, you want me around, you just don't know it yet. You see, I've got this little proposition for you."

"What?"

"Patience boy, I'm getting to it. First, how'd you like your new wallpaper?" In response, Ranma thrust out with his fist to slam the old man into the dirt. Unfortunately, Happosai easily stopped the attack with his pipe and tossed Ranma face first into the ground without any real concern. "You should be more considerate. After all, I'm just trying to help you."

"Help me?" Ranma exclaimed as he got up. "What, to become as perverted as you?"

"There is nothing perverted in a healthy appreciation of the female form," Happosai replied. "You are a man, are you not? Despite that, you seem far too resistant to the idea of marrying Kasumi... Unless, of course, you're... gay."

"NO!" Ranma shouted angrily. "You don't have any idea what it is like, the prospect of..." Ranma trailed of, not willing to say it aloud.

"Prospect of what boy? Marrying a half-man?" Ranma snarled, but after a moment turned away from Happosai with a sigh. "Ah, so that is it then. Bunch of nonsense really. You shouldn't get so worked up over such things. You and I both know Kasumi is all woman on the inside, no matter what some crazy curse has done to her body. However, since you're so hung up about it, I'll tell you my proposition.

"You see, Kasumi's trainer is a sort of... old acquaintance. An old acquaintance I'll be damned if I let have the better student. This is where you come in. You're going to show her who is the best by beating Kasumi."

"Why would I want to do that?" Ranma asked over his shoulder.

"Because, one, you want to. You hate being second best. And two, I can fix your little problem if you do."

Ranma blinked in surprise at that, and he turned back to the master. "You... you mean you can cure Kasumi?"

"Maybe," Happosai replied evasively. "Of course, I won't even consider it unless you do this for me."

"What kind of a person are you? If you can help Kasumi, why won't you!"

"And leave that poor Amazon girl Shampoo without a proper husband? Never," Happosai countered, looking choked about the prospect. "Nope, I'll only do it if she is defeated by you."

"And I have to marry her that way," Ranma concluded.

"You or someone better who can beat you. I don't really care. Once you defeat her, I've made my point, and I'll fix your problem. From that point I don't care what you do. I personally think you should take the opportunity. After all, what real man could resist the prospect of two beautiful wives?"

Ranma scowled, not sure what the old man was up to. But a cure for Kasumi... If he really has one, I have to do it. Besides, damned if he isn't right. I'd love to beat her legitimately just once. And, I'm not truly locked into the marriage. As long as someone beats me, then I'm clear. "All right you old goat, I'll do it. You better not be lying though, or I'll clean your stinking clock but good, got that?"

"Certainly," Happosai responded with a calm smile. "Well, better get back to work my boy. Not going to beat her in the shape you're in." Ranma sneered at the master, but took his advice and headed off to the dojo to practice some more. After he left his sight, Happosai laughed. "Wonderful! Haven't lost the old charms. Now, all I have to do is get to Jusenkyo and his problems will be solved alright." Happosai smiled even wider at that, and headed off to check out his old maps.

End Chapter 22

More editing notes. I recently found out I messed up the order of Dr. Tofu's name, so his mother is actually Kin Ono, not Kin Tofu like I thought. Oh well. I've fixed that now.

A quick note on Frost's little explanation of the Musk. I'm actually aware her explanation is incorrect. One must note that Frost is extremely anti-male, and the Amazon information on the Musk is no doubt not the best and tainted by bias. Although, when I originally wrote it I didn't realize just how contradicted it was by the canon, but I've left it fully intact as it was always intended to be basically Amazon propaganda.

Lastly, yes Par Phume is borrowed from D. B. Sommer's Shampoo 1/2. If you haven't guessed, Pur Fum is the other Perfume seen earlier in chapter 19. Oh, as for Soon Li, she's from another fanfic of mine, namely 'Most Unlikely of Friends', but she won't be making an appearance here.

Well, that concludes things for this chapter. Special thanks as always go to T. H. Tiger for creative assistance in writing this thing, and all my other pre-readers. Later.