Unfair Warning: Phase Nine

A metafiction by Brian Randall

Disclaimer: Original source is Ranma 1/2, which is the property and creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Her paints, my easel, and the brush is borrowed without permission (hence this disclaimer) from Kenko and Chris Jones, as this metafic is inspired by 'Fair Warning' and 'The Tomboy Solution'.

Note: Fans of the above fics will probably not enjoy the effects of this one. Consider yourselves warned. Divergence. You'll know it when you see it.
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-0-

Arms crossed over her chest, Akane stared at the young Ryouga in confusion. "Ranma asked me to watch over him?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from the bashful Ryouga (dressed in some of her own childhood clothes) to regard her sister.

"Tofu-sensei said it would be a favor to him," Kasumi said with a tiny shrug. "So, I don't mind watching him while you're at school, or training. But if you can watch him while I'm tending the house, then everything should be taken care of!"

"It's just temporary!" Ryouga protested. "And, I'm not a little kid!"

"Of course not, Ryo-chan," Kasumi agreed, patting him on the head. "Now, would you like to help Auntie Kasumi in the kitchen? I'll give you a cookie!"

"Yay! Cookies-- I mean, hey! Stop that!" Ryouga tried not to pout, and Akane was hard-pressed not to laugh aloud. This was certainly easier to deal with than the cursed dougi. Was that Ranma's message? Was this some kind of test on his part? She had delivered the moss, after all. Maybe he was going to give her another chance?

"You're going to need to listen to, er, Auntie Kasumi," Akane said with a tiny giggle she couldn't quite keep down. "After all, I've got classes, so I can't be here all day. Now, Ryo-chan, why don't you tell me just how you got turned into a child?" Was it Ranma's doing? It would be just like him to foist the responsibility off onto her, if he had. She savagely beat that thought down -- Ranma was taking responsibility for what she had done; she couldn't simply accuse him of wrong any time it seemed convenient.

"Magic mushrooms," Ryouga pouted. "But Tofu said that he'd give me some to turn me back as soon as they grew enough."

"I suppose that makes sense," Akane agreed. "Anyway. If I'm supposed to take care of you, I wonder what that means?"

"Well, he has gotten lost twice already," Kasumi warned. "He needs to be walked to the bathroom. Once, he ended up at the Yamada's house, and the second time I got a call from the conductor of the Minato-Chiba line.

"He does get lost easily," Akane mused.

Ryouga sniffled, staring at the floor in dismay.

"Er... But, that's okay! We can go for walks together. Won't that be fun, Ryo-kun? Maybe I can teach you your way around, so you can always find your way back to the dojo!"

"Yay!" Ryouga cheered, jumping to his feet, then giving Akane a hug. How adorable, she thought to herself, ruffling her hair. "I'd love that!"

"Well, then don't you worry about a thing. With 'Auntie' Kasumi, and your big sister Akane keeping an eye out, you'll be kept totally safe!"

"S...sister?" Ryouga asked in a slightly shaking voice.

Aww... The poor thing was so touched by the chance of having a family. Akane belatedly remembered that Ryouga had hardly ever gotten to spend any time with his own, due to his hereditary poor direction sense. He was even moved to tears!

-1-

"Alright," Ranma muttered, glancing around Kodachi's room. She was once again wrapped in the ominous aparatus of the traction gear, only freed briefly for the failed surgery. "If... Well. Your brother and I don't get along so great. Maybe I should-"

"Stay, please?" Kodachi asked, her eyes imploring. "I have no desire to deal with him at all, to say nothing of doing so alone."

"Well, it is Tatewaki," Ranma agreed, giving her an apologetic smirk. Shampoo and Ukyou were both at Ukyou's, still, and Tofu was preparing his clinic to accommodate Kodachi. They couldn't very well try and smuggle out an apparent five-year old in traction, so they would adjust her age there. This also meant, even though Kodachi hadn't minded the idea, that she would be operated on there.

He was worried, but Kodachi insisted that she was unafraid, as long as Ranma was there to assist the doctor in their covert application of magical medication. But before that, Kodachi had agreed it would be a long while before she could actually speak with her father or brother. Therefore, she had -- with Ranma's help -- called up her older brother and requested a handful of keepsakes, and some spare clothing.

Ranma had thought she'd have servants to tend to that thing for her, but she explained somewhat bashfully that the Kuno family found it difficult to keep servants.

He was distracting himself, he realized. An easy habit before Akane had changed everything, but one that an aspiring doctor couldn't afford. He chuckled to himself, noting with a raised eyebrow how much tension faded from Kodachi's expression at the sound. A knock sounded at the door and he stiffened, turning as it opened and Tatewaki strode in.

The kendoka froze for a moment, eyes narrowing as he stared at Ranma. But instead of his usual fit of curses and accusations, he simply said, "You. I should have expected as much." Then he turned to face at his sister, though his head bowed, and he stared at the floor instead. A bouquet of flowers was in his left hand, which was trembling, balled almost into a fist. "My sister," he finally said, in a quiet, almost strangled voice.

"My brother," she replied coolly. "Come to the foot of the bed; I can't see you there."

He flinched, but nodded and did as instructed, even though it put him nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Ranma. Then, he finally did raise his head, and Ranma stepped away, discomfited by the anguish in the older boy's eyes. "You are well?" he asked harshly, flinching at his own tone and looking to the floor again.

"As well as can be expected." Her responses were smooth, almost calculated. Ranma spent a moment admiring how collected she was, all things considered. "Ranma-sensei has been tending me quite carefully. Our family should be grateful to have a friend such as he."

Tatewaki's lip curled in a half sneer, but it died, and he slumped, thrusting the flowers towards Kodachi. "So you say," he replied quietly. "I worry at the fiend's reasoning. Tendo Akane..." His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath, the bouquet that Kodachi couldn't move to take falling to his side again. "It is difficult for father and I. He is quite displeased. It has been an epic struggle to keep his wrath at bay. Only your requests have averted disaster."

Kodachi said nothing, her eyes going to Ranma before she studied her brother.

"I wish to champion justice," he continued, eyes still shut. "I wish to believe in good, and beauty. Divine providence. I wish to think that good things are true, and that this... That somehow..."

"People make mistakes," Ranma said, shaking his head. "Kuno-sempai," he added, almost choking on the honorific, "no one is perfect. Not you, not me ... and not Akane."

Tatewaki flinched again, then his eyes opened, glaring at Ranma harshly.

"That doesn't mean that she can't make up for them," continued hastilly, trying to offer a placating smile. "nI fact, Akane went out of her way to try and find something that would help Kodachi out." Then he paused, as though something had occured to him. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"I have not," Tatewaki admitted, his glare weakening. "I have been..." He paused, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Wary," he finally said.

Ranma thought the word was more like 'afraid,' but said, "Okay. Why don't you get her side of the story, then?"

"I am ashamed," Tatewaki sighed, rubbing his eyes. Rubbing tears away? Ranma tried not to think about it. "I call myself a champion of justice and truth, and rightness ... and it is you who guards her more truly than I could."

Ranma shifted his shoulders at that, aware of a sudden worry in Kodachi's expression. "Not like that," he protested quickly. "I mean, Akane's been trying to make up for it to 'Dachi-chan, Shan-chan, and Ucchan. And I..." He hesitated, then blurted out, "Right now I just want to make sure my friends are okay. I'm doing this for them, not her."

Kodachi's smile made Ranma wince all over again. "A...anyway, 'Dachi-chan needs to be moved to a private clinic so we can try and take better care of her," he said, clearing his throat. "I don't meant to chase you off or anything, but-"

"I understand," Tatewaki said solemnly, standing up to his full height. "Saotome, I have sorely misjudged your intent. Watch over my sister. I entrust you with this duty, and in exchange, I promise you I shall watch over Tendo Akane, as you no longer can."

"Now, hang on," Ranma began to protest, but not quickly enough.

The kendoka had recovered his full bearing, and turned to Kodachi again. "The things you have requested are here. Tofu-sensei took them from me at the door. I trust I will see you again when you are well."

"Your trust is well placed," Kodachi agreed. "Now go, my brother."

Head held high, Tatewaki marched from the room.

"He forgot to leave the flowers," Kodachi mused, once the door shut.

"He's probably on his way to give them to Akane," Ranma said with a sigh, shaking his head.

Kodachi was unable to avoid giggling at that.

-2-

Tofu was in Kodachi's mind a very good doctor. Possibly one of the best. One of the things he did that reassured her about his practice was his willingness to explain everything, with a minimum of fuss, and a level of confidence that allowed her to withstand the bad news he'd given her in the past. A level of confidence that told her as bad as things got, they would get better.

She admitted that she was biased -- heavily, no doubt -- by the fact that he was Ranma's teacher.

Even so, his explanation that he was not technically qualified for the surgery they were planning to perform didn't bother her. Ranma had complete confidence in the moss, and Kodachi knew it would take months -- perhaps years -- to get such a substance through any of the testing procedures required for it to be legitimized. Time for that later; she just wanted to get better.

So the explanation was simple enough. They'd give her one of the age-changing mushrooms, and reduce her age to five years old. Then, they would re-open the incision on her back from the failed surgery, and pack the wound with the moss of life. After that, the plan was to stitch her back up -- something Tofu was qualified for. Ranma had expressed doubt that this would required, since the moss would likely take care of that, and Tofu had countered with warnings of prudence.

All that remained, then, was for the operation to proceed. Before that, since the moss had come from Akane, she had just one last task to do, something she hadn't discussed with her new friends.

"Any other questions?" Tofu asked, looking up from the sheaf of notes he held in one hand, adjusting his spectacles with the other.

"I... I would like to say one thing before we begin," she said shyly, trying to force down her apprehension. She'd come to learn more of Ranma's true nature, over the last few weeks. Learned how noble he'd actually been, as compared to what she had expected he was. And it was different from her expectations ... better, in many ways. Ultimately, she realized that there was one thing she'd done which might truly offend him. One thing that she had left to admit and apologize for.

If it could be apologized for.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked, smiling at the doctor's side, hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth slowly. "What is it, 'Dachi-chan?"

"B...before we..." She trailed off, unable to meet his eyes, and cleared her throat. Her face was heating up, and Tofu coughed pointedly, saying, "I'm going to make some tea. I'll be right back."

Ranma glanced over his shoulder at the doctor, then shrugged. "Well? What is it?"

"I... I made an error of judgement, and there... I should say that you are helping me under untrue pretenses," Kodachi said slowly, fear outweighing shyness, her blush fading.

"What?"

"It is not ... entirely the fault of Tendo Akane that I'm here," she said in a quiet voice.

"'Dachi-chan, what are you talkin' about? Akane already admitted it was her!"

"My injuries are the result of a battle with her," Kodachi agreed, "but the truth of the matter is... Ranma-sama, I apologize. In truth, it was I who challenged Tendo Akane after she defeated Ukyou-chan and Shan-chan."

She stole a glance at his face, apprehensive. He squinted at her, as though confused. "You challenged her? Why?"

"I... I thought she needed to be stopped," Kodachi said in a tiny voice. "I thought it was my responsibility to press her, even when she said she did not wish to fight me." Then she took a deep breath. "And I thought, she was unsettled enough by what she had done, that... That was my best chance to win..." Her eyes closed, unable to look at him as she managed to finish: "To win you."

He said nothing, and she screwed her eyes shut, feeling the hot tears trickling down. He was noble, she told herself. True nobility, unlike her own petty line. He deserved someone better than her -- Ukyou-chan, or Shan-chan... They'd do well for him. And who was she kidding, anyway, trying to stay in his good graces so long? Realistically, hadn't she just been taking advantage of her injuries to keep him near? To keep the other girls united against Akane?

"S...so," he finally said, his voice uneven, "she wanted to back down, and you made her fight?"

"Yes," she said quietly.

"I..." He sighed, and when she looked, he was rubbing at the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut. "I don't want you fighting," he said miserably. "That's why..."

Tofu coughed as he slipped through the doorway. "Not interrupting anything, I hope?" he asked with a genial smile. He held the tray of teacups out for Ranma. "Won't you be a gentleman," he asked, before either Ranma or Kodachi could answer, "and help the lady with her cup?"

"Uh, 'course," Ranma said with a start, taking one of the teacups carefully. He held it to her lips, taking advantage of the moment to wipe away the tears Tofu hadn't noticed. Or had simply politely pretended not to notice.

After a single sip, she murmured her appreciation, and insisted that she'd had enough. Though, that wasn't terribly true -- she missed tea, and being able to drink it on her own. The hospital had put her on a liquid diet to spare her the indignity of being fed, by and large. Straws worked quite well.

Still, the tension hadn't lessened in the slightest, so Kodachi finally blurted out, "I'm sorry, Ranma-sama! It's my fault, all of this, but I... I have become spoiled, and am undeserving of your kindness."

"It ain't like that," Ranma countered, shaking his head. "She could have stopped you without hurting you. I've fought you before, so I know how good you are. And I know how good she was. She didn't have to do this to you," he said, gesturing at the traction gear. "Maybe, if that's all it is, you can forgive her. I mean, Shan-chan did, so..." He shrugged. "But that doesn't bother me."

"Though it does, in truth, make her less of a villain than you had been led to believe," Kodachi protested.

Ranma scratched his head and rocked back on his heels, pensive. "Tofu-sensei?" he asked abruptly, turning to the bespectacled man. "I got a question for you."

"I'm sure you do," the doctor replied, sipping his tea and raising an eyebrow. "Which one is it?"

"Is there something that makes people feel guiltier than they should when they're about to get better?"

Tofu snorted, then set his cup down. "It's an acute attack of conscience, Ranma."

"I don't think it's anything so simple!" Kodachi protested, cheeks coloring. "I simply feel that I owe Ranma-sama the entire truth; after all he's done for me, it would be shameful to give him anything less!"

"Oh?" Tofu asked, quirking the same eyebrow slightly higher. "Do you know why?"

"Because I want him to be able to like me enough to still let me be his friend after this is all over!" she cried, tears filling her eyes again.

"And, why?" Tofu asked, smiling.

"Sensei," Ranma began, uncertain, "maybe-"

"Now, now," the doctor said, still smiling. "There's truth you want to tell, Kodachi? If it wasn't your prior admission, then what was it?"

Kodachi felt a pained twinge of embarrassment; the doctor had heard everything after all. Summoning up her stubborn pride, she shot the doctor the most haughty glare she could manage from her current position, and said, "I want to be able to tell Ranma-sama that I love him, and hope that after what I've done he..." Then she realized what the doctor had goaded her into saying, and fell abruptly silent, her cheeks flaming.

Ranma looked embarrassed, too, his face red as he pointedly looked away. "Um," he said with a cough. "Um, so. Sensei..."

"Right," the doctor said, shaking his head. "Well, back to business, then."

-3-

The operation was simple, and successful. No worry about precise placement of needles, or applications of sutures. Simply a few incisions in Kodachi's younger body, liberal application of the magic moss, and then some stitches to close the wounds back up. Much to the relief of both Tofu and Ranma, the moss immediately began to take the form of the missing vertebrae, though it was slow enough that the doctor judged the girl would need to spend time in traction, regardless.

Once she was properly bandaged, Shampoo and Ukyou ushered Ranma and Tofu from the room to properly dress the girl in one of her old outfits, a simple dark sun-dress, appropriate for her younger self.

Ranma found that, once her makeup was washed up, and she was reduced to being five, she was really adorable. Though, he wondered how much of that came from her recent admission, and the fact that she was still asleep.

He tried to sort that out as he lounged on the roof of the clinic, sorting things out. He'd gotten admissions from Ukyou, Shampoo, and Kodachi about the fact that they loved him. Akane had kind of managed to say that she did, too, but...

He lowered his head, sighing. No use trying not to think about it anymore. It had been simple to just look at the damage she'd done, and her behavior for a single moment, and judge her by it. In fact, when he thought about it, that was how she'd often judged him. But did that make it right? He somehow doubted it.

And then, Akane had apologized to Shampoo. He thought it was heartfelt, too, though it stabbed at his heart to watch her admission. She hadn't apologized to Ukyou yet, but he suspected that would be coming. The moss she'd gathered suggested that, well enough.

Still, how much of that was Akane's doing? How much was the unsubtle guiding hand of his father, and how much could he trust that? Whatever else had happened, the last weeks taking care of Shampoo, Ukyou, and Kodachi had taught him something he'd never had time to realize before. All three girls were good friends. It wasn't just that Ukyou was a good cook, or that Shampoo had access to untold herbal lore, or that Kodachi had helped push his grades up from 'Yakuza-finishing-school' to 'college hopeful'...

But without Akane to berate him or accuse him of things he wasn't doing ... he liked them. He liked spending time with them. And it had started out of anger at Akane, when it wasn't a protective impulse to keep the girl from getting herself into worse trouble than she could handle. But with so much time passing, and all of them getting along...

He had no idea what to do about the situation. He knew he liked the girls, but love? He felt for them all -- differently. Ukyou's tenderness, Shampoo's hidden softer side, Kodachi's insightful observations and suggestions to maintain the peace...

...but he couldn't stop thinking about Akane's smile. How once, long ago, after a wearying, cursed, friendless trip back from China, there was once a girl who said, "Hey, let's be friends."

He'd tried to concentrate on just taking care of the three she had injured ... but with Kodachi's last admission, he wondered how right it was to blame her. Cologne had said it wasn't the dougi; it was just the power going to Akane's head. But if she'd tried to stop before Kodachi...

It didn't justify what Kodachi had suffered. It didn't even justify what Shampoo had suffered, even if the Chinese girl had gotten off lightest -- from what he could tell. But what did it say about what Akane had suffered?

He shook his head. No point thinking that. The girls had every reason be angry at Akane's lapse in judgement. But then... Shampoo had forgiven her. Kodachi didn't seem to blame her. Hell, his father even expected him -- somehow -- to marry the Tendo girl!

But ... did he want to? Was the feeling he'd held -- and that still flickered in some capacity despite his efforts to ignore it -- the same as his feelings for the other girls? Or was it something else, maybe even something stronger?

"I'm going to hell," he decided, putting his head in his hands.

With Tofu's direction, Kodachi's traction frame had been adjusted by Ranma's self-proclaimed nurse, and they'd carefully put the girl back into it. Ukyou was thankful that she was on crutches; the young Kodachi was so terribly adorable, she could barely resist the urge to hug her like a doll. She made a mental note to defend Kodachi to the death against Azusa, should the kleptomaniacal skater come anywhere near the young Kuno girl.

Shampoo glanced her way after setting the last of the traction gear in place, then smirked as though reading her mind. "But," she said in a low voice, pitched so Tofu wouldn't hear, "is okay cuteness -- Airen not like little girls like that, Shampoo think."

Ukyou giggled quietly and nodded. "That's for sure," she whispered back.

"She should be waking shortly," Tofu notified the pair in soft tones. "Since she's just had a fairly major operation, I expect she'll be very sleepy for the next few days. Of course, this moss could prove more effective ... but I still think it would be best to keep her in the frame for at least a week -- just to be sure."

Tofu checked the wall clock, then smiled softly. "I'll let you visit for a bit," he said, nodding at them. "Ukyou-san, once Ranma comes back, we'll be taking a look at your hip again."

"O...okay," Ukyou said, unable to keep a quaver from her voice at that. It was very embarassing, stripping down to just her panties so that Ranma could examine her hip ... but for him, she didn't mind. And Tofu seemed like some kindly old uncle, so she could handle that, too -- especially since he was very professional.

"Until then, I've got some other patients coming in." He nodded curtly, then ambled to the front room of the clinic, leacing the three girls alone.

Kodachi made a quiet noise, and then her eyes slowly blinked open, somewhat glazed, but clearing. "W...was it a dream?" she asked in a childish voice. "Wh..." But her question died unspoken, the traction frame restraining her.

Shampoo was already at the foot of the bed, and Ukyou quickly worked her way there, too. "A good dream, maybe," Ukyou said, smirking. "It looks like everything's going to be okay. Well, Tofu-sensei wants you to stay in bed for another week, but it seems good otherwise."

The Chinese girl nodded. "How is your head?" she asked. "You thinking okay?"

"I'm as much myself as I ever was," Kodachi said with a tiny, imperial sniff that made Ukyou want to giggle again. So adorable!

Shampoo clasped her hands together beneath her chin and blurted out, "Chibi-Dachi-chan is too, too cute! Now Shampoo wants a girl just like her!"

Kodachi's face reddened, and her lower lip stuck out in a defiant pout. "I am as much as I ever was!" she repeated insistantly. "I assure you my mind has not been dulled by being made younger, just as most medications don't dull my wit either!" Then, seeming against her will, she admitted, "Even if I really crave ice-cream."

Ukyou snickered, shaking her head, but forcing herself to sober quickly. "Dachi-chan," she said, "we need to figure things out, here. Um ... what does this mean, since Akane got the moss for you? How does this change things?"

Kodachi's pout faded, shifting to a pensive consideration. "I, personally, am in her debt," she said quietly. "Without Akane injuring me, I would not be this close to Ranma-chama." Ukyou bit her lip to avoid laughing again at Kodachi's adoption of the more childish form of 'sama'. "Without her retrieving this moss, I would not have hope of fighting again. She is a double-edged sword, and has cut me with both."

Recovering her bearing, Shampoo cleared her throat and recovered her Japanese. "Well, we need to think what Akane plans next. Or what the panda and the pervert plan for her," she warned.

"Good point," Ukyou said, frowning. "Well, we already guessed she was going to apologize to me. And we agreed that I should forgive her... But, what then? What happens when I do?"

"She trains with Ranma-chama," Kodachi said slowly. "And maybe gets to be good friends with her again. And maybe more."

"And how do we compete?" Shampoo asked, raising an eyebrow. "We agreed to a truce, and I don't want to break it with you like..." She nodded her head at Kodachi.

"This form is not appropriate to pleasing Ranma-chama," the Kuno girl agreed, her face glowing red.

"But Akane isn't part of our truce at all," Ukyou said with a furrowed brow. "Well, let's think about things. You're staying here until Tofu lets you out of the traction frame, but then you'll have to stay this young for a while ... and that's going to give Akane a lot of time to make up lost ground."

"I will start training with Ranma," Shampoo suggested. "Things Akane cannot show him ... Great-Grandmother has been teaching many pressure points."

"But that won't take up all of his time," Ukyou said, shaking her head. "If he wants to see her, then there's no way we can keep him from visiting her without making it obvious. So ... unless we want to look bad, we pretty much have to accept it."

"Maybe it is time to let the truce slide a little," Kodachi said pensively. "As I've said, this form," and her free hand gestured towards her smaller body, "is not appropriate for... Well. But that doesn't mean that I can't get him used to being near us."

"So, what," Ukyou asked, narrowing her eyes, "you think you can get away with hugging him because you'll be a kid?"

"And then it only makes it natural that you'll want the same thing, which would, of course, be a bit different," Kodachi said slowly, before she suddenly yawned. "Mmm. I'm tired." She blinked. "That is, I am tired," she corrected herself. "But if we all agree, it's quite simple ... and Tendo Akane is unlikely to allow Ranma-chama such liberties, if my memory of her behavior..." she trailed off with another yawn, then sleepily finished, "serves."

"It's something to think about," Ukyou allowed, glancing at Shampoo, who nodded. "Well, you rest up, and we'll see about working something out."

"Mmm," Kodachi hummed, her eyes drifting closed.

"Well," Shampoo said, frowning at the apparently slumbering girl. "I have one question, though."

"What's that?" Ukyou asked, cocking her head to one side.

"If we do this ... we try to keep Ranma near and comf...com..."

"Comfortable?"

"Yes, that word. If we do this, then what happens when the truce is up?" The girl in the nurse's outfit shivered, looking at Ukyou with obvious worry in her face. "It will be hard to be Airen's friend if he does not choose me, I think."

Ukyou bit her lip and looked at Kodachi. But the sleeping girl didn't have an answer. Still, even if she did, Ukyou thought, would it be to everyone's benefit? Or just Kodachi? At some point, it was going to come back down to every-girl-for-herself. A unified front would probably win Ranma away from Akane ... but for who? And was it worth it to try and win Ranma just to keep him away from Akane?

She rubbed at her eyes. "Damn," she muttered. "This is going to suck."

"Will be no fighting, at least," Shampoo said with a sigh.

Ukyou nodded glumly, half-wishing that a decisive final combat could settle things. It might be violent, but it would be a quick, conclusive end. No, she told herself, one hand going to her hip. That hadn't helped, anyway. No matter what happened, Ukyou thought, feelings were going to be hurt.

"Let's enjoy it while we can," Ukyou decided with a tight smile. "Right now we've got good friends, and... And, well, we do have Ranchan, as much as we can. That'll do for now."

"Even if these are the best days we have," Shampoo murmured.

"Even if," Ukyou agreed with a sigh.

-
Author's notes: Mmm. Intro-specty. Needs more chibi-Dachi humor next chapter, methinks.