A/N: So, I must admit, I'm astounded that I have reviews. Seriously, you guys rock. And I take the criticism along with the comments. Honestly, criticism makes me a better writer, and I appreicate it, good or bad. Thanks everyone!

After Kire had taken a hot shower and Ranma had come out from hiding under his futon, they all were sitting out on the back porch. "That was dirty, Ryoga," Ranma growled. "Why didn't you tell me she turned into a tiger?"

"You never asked," Ryoga replied.

Ranma scowled at the answer and grumbled, "What is it with girls and cats...?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kire asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There's another girl in Nerima who fell into a Jusenkyou spring," Ranma explained. "She's an Amazon warrior from China named Shampoo. She fell into the spring of drowned cat. Not a big, giant tiger like you, just a little, normal house cat," he said, gesturing the different sizes.

"So... what? I'm the biggest thing around here?" Kire asked, scratching her head.

"Not quite," Akane corrected. "Mr. Saotome turns into a big panda."

Kire sighed. "At least it wasn't spring of drowned elephant."

Ryoga did a double-take. "There is one?"

"Yeah, and it's not very pretty," Kire muttered. "Nearly got stepped on..." She shook her head. "Anyway, who else around here's been to Jusenkyou? I thought it was pretty rare."

"Not rare enough," Ranma replied. He began to count off on his fingers. "There's Pops an' me, Shampoo and Mousse, Pantyhose Taro, the frogman... Am I missing anyone?"

"Probably, but I don't want to think about it," Akane replied.

Kire blinked and looked to Ryoga. "What about –?"

Ryoga's hand was suddenly over her mouth. "Nope, no one else I can think of either," he said, a little louder than necessary. Ranma and Akane didn't seem to find this behavior unusual. Looking at the bandanna-wearing boy suspiciously, Kire's brow furrowed a bit. Ryoga grinned nervously. "Okay, Kire?"

After a moment, Kire rolled her eyes and sighed, moving Ryoga's hand off her mouth. "Okay, okay. So, back to what I was saying... That's a nice handful of people. What are their cursed forms?"

"Like Akane said," Ranma began, "my pop is a panda, Shampoo's a cat, Mousse is a duck; you can usually spot him cuz he wears glasses. The frogman's self-explanatory. And Pantyhose Taro... well, Taro's a huge bull slash yeti thing with wings and tentacles and all sorts of other things that a normal animal doesn't have. I suggest avoiding him at all costs."

Kire waited for more, but it never came. "So... what are you?"

Ranma squirmed, then mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Pardon?"

"I'm a girl, okay?" he snapped. "The worst curse I could have..."

Both Kire and Ryoga scowled. "At least you still retain the ability to speak, move about in public, and wear clothes," Kire said after a moment. "I don't think being turned into the opposite sex is that bad. Hell, I'd prefer getting turned into a boy than a tiger."

"Do you have any idea how inconvenient it is?" Ranma asked. "I get lusted after by so many men, I can't even count them anymore. If anyone of my friends from school are around me and it starts to rain, I have to run and hide. It's Hell!"

"Oh stop being so dramatic," Akane grumbled. "You run around as a girl to get free food."

Ranma went slightly red.

Kire frowned. "Are you kidding? I'm a walking Discovery Channel special."

Ryoga glanced at Ranma. "She does kind of have you beat," he said, then turned back to Kire. "You don't seem as uptight anymore. Are you readjusting to civilization?"

Kire shrugged. "Now that you mention it... I dunno, I guess maybe I just had to take a minute to get used to people again. I'll admit I missed human society, but it was somewhat more natural for me to live as a tiger, having been one for so long. That, and it was easier, to boot."

"Why didn't you try to reintegrate before now?" Akane asked.

"Well, I was kinda forced into this," Kire replied. "But... as a tiger, you see the world a different way. Humans come into the woods to hunt, and sometimes it's you they're hunting. Tigers see humans as a threat; invaders. As a human, you don't really see it quite so black and white. I just forgot that there were grays in that spectrum... until Ryoga needed directions, anyway."

Ryoga joined Ranma's slight redness.

Akane tilted her head. "You make it sound like you're two different people."

"You could say that, I suppose. Though once I'm more comfortable, they'll mold back into one psyche again, so to speak." Kire smirked. "Are your eyes crossed yet?"

Ranma rubbed his head. "Almost..."

------------------------------

A week passed, and Kire was settling in nicely with the Tendos. When Akane and Nabiki were at school, she would help Kasumi with the chores around the house, earning her keep. And every day, Ryoga would check in on her. She didn't bother to ask how he found his way to the dojo every day without ending up across the country.

One day, Kasumi let Kire off early, since there were no more chores to be done. "Why not go into town?" she suggested. "You've never been there, and it'll be fun to look around."

Kire scratched her head. "Okay, if it's alright with you. I'll be back in time to help you with dinner." Then she pulled on the tennis shoes she had recently been given and headed out the door.

The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for a nice amble through Nerima. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Kire sighed and clasped her hands behind her neck, walking down the road towards the middle of Nerima. Funny, the crowds of the city didn't seem to bother her as much as that had when she first set foot in Tokyo. She could actually blend in rather well amongst them now, rather than stick out like a sore thumb.

Oh look, downtown Nerima.

Kire glanced around at all the shops and recreational areas surrounding her. Restaurants and ice skating rinks and parks and... Ooh, pizza! Making a sudden swerve, Kire walked into the okonomiyaki shop next to her. She had a couple bucks that she'd scraped up, she was hungry, and some Japanese pizza sounded good right now. Upon entering the establishment, she saw a long-haired brunette girl manning the grill. Immediately, the brunette looked up from her cooking and smiled.

"Welcome to Ucchan's!" she greeted. "What can I get for you?"

Kire thought a moment, then ordered a traditional okonomiyaki from the chef. Sitting herself down on the other side of the grill, she looked around the place. By all standards, it was pretty nice.

The chef's voice brought her out of her musings. "I've never seen you around before. You new to Nerima?"

"Very," Kire replied. "I came here about a week ago and was kind of forced to stay..."

"Yeah, that happens around here," the girl replied with a smirk. "I'm Ukyo, by the way."

"Kire. Nice to meet you."

While her food was prepared, Kire and Ukyo ended up chit-chatting about random things, like how Kire liked Nerima so far and if she planned to stay. "So where are you staying at?" Ukyo asked.

"A dojo a few blocks away," Kire replied. "They were nice enough to give me free room and board, but I help out with housework to make up for it." She chuckled to herself. "They've gone as far as giving me some of their old clothes to wear, since I didn't really have any of my own."

"Were you a traveler?" Ukyo asked, one brow raised.

"Not really..." Kire replied. "Uh, have you ever heard of Jusenkyou?"

Ukyo nearly face-faulted. "Don't tell me. You're cursed," she surmised.

Kire nodded. "Unfortunately."

"You know, there's another dojo near here that had a few Jusenkyou visitors living at it. Maybe you could go talk to some of them. It's the Tendo dojo."

There was a pause. "That's where I'm staying..."

Ukyo blinked. "Really? So you've met Ranma and Akane already?" Kire nodded. "Well, nevermind, then. Have they seen your cursed form?"

"Yeah. Ranma ran away from me faster than I've even seen a person move."

Ukyo cocked her head to the side. "What do you turn into?"

"A tiger."

The chef let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I bet that scared the bujeebers outta him. Poor guy's dad threw him into a pit of hungry cats with sausage around his neck when he was a little kid. Genma said it was for 'training', but it traumatized Ran-chan."

Kire temporarily ignored that 'chan' and accepted the okonomiyaki Ukyo handed her. After a few bites, she sighed in contentment and smiled. "This is great!"

Ukyo smiled. "A chef always likes to hear that her work is appreciated." She then blinked at Kire. "Uh, I hope you don't think me forward..." she said slowly, "but Nabiki's pink t-shirt doesn't really suit you."

"Oh, believe me, I am fully aware..." Kire sweatdropped and picked up her okonomiyaki again, and as she bit down she heard a familiar shout...

"Where the hell am I now?!"

Kire sighed in vexation.

"In here, Ryoga!"

Kire looked up, surprised. Ukyo had yelled the same thing as she had.

Ukyo blinked. "You've met Ryoga already, too?"

"Yeah," Kire said, "he's the one who brought me here. Well, technically, I brought him, but that doesn't matter..." She shook her head and started over. "Yes, I know Ryoga. He's kind of the only friend I've got in this place."

"I am?"

Kire quickly looked over her shoulder only to see Ryoga standing in the doorway of the restaurant, a slightly bewildered look on his face. She rolled her eyes and gave Ryoga a look. "Yes, you are, you dolt. I don't know anyone else well enough to call them 'friends'." She paused. "Unless you feel otherwise..."

"N-no," he said quickly. "It's just... I don't get called a 'friend' very often..." Slowly, Ryoga walked up and sat down at the counter. "Hey Ukyo," he greeted casually.

"Hey, sugar," Ukyo replied. "If you're thinking about begging for free food, you're gonna wanna go somewhere else, cuz I'm not biting."

"Why does everyone assume I have no money?" Ryoga asked no one in particular. "I can pay, thank you."

"Since when do you have money?" Ukyo asked.

Ryoga scowled a little. "I've always had money. I do odd jobs wherever I go, but since I don't stay in civilization for very long, it sort of just accumulates."

The okonomiyaki chef frowned. "And just how much has 'accumulated', Ryoga?"

Ryoga shrugged and thought about it a moment. "I dunno. I guess around 250,000 yen?" (That's a bit over $2,000 American.)

Ukyo was suddenly looming over the lost boy, eyes narrowed, an unholy red aura emanating off her. "Then why are you always mooching food from me?!" she shouted.

Ryoga laughed nervously. "N-now, Ukyo... Let's not get angry." He slipped off the chair and backed away. Ukyo moved around the grill and followed him, reaching for the giant spatula at her back. "Eep! What can I do to make it up to you? I'll do anything, just don't hit me!" He covered his head as the spatula was raised.

The deadly strike never came.

Slowly uncovering his face, Ryoga peeked between his arms and looked at Ukyo. She was merely standing in front of him, the spatula over her shoulder, looking thoughtful. "Anything...? You know, there may be something you can do, sugar," she said after a moment.

"Will you promise not to hit me if I agree?" Ryoga asked, putting his arms down.

Ukyo smiled. "Of course."

"I'll do it."