Mamono Hunter Ukyou

Yokkyuu: Flame of Desire

Part 3

By Edward A. Simons

Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko. Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. Devil Hunter Yohko and characters copyright NCS, Toho Company, LTD., and Mad House. This story revised 2005 by Edward Simons.

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You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

Edgar Allen Poe, "A Dream Within A Dream"

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The last of the sun was mirrored in the sea.

She looked out over the ocean and gave a deep sigh. "I'm sorry."

He didn't speak for almost a minute. "Um, I don't know what you're apologizing for, Ucchan, but it's okay, whatever it is."

"No, it isn't," she insisted. "I promised myself I was never gonna hit you."

"It's alright," he chuckled. "I'm used to getting..."

"But..."

"How many times did Shampoo park a bicycle on my head or Akane smack me with a table or something? What you did was nothing."

"But..."

"Hey, I coulda dodged any time I wanted," he insisted.

"Then why...why didn't you?"

This silence stretched longer, so long she'd decided he wouldn't reply; but he did in a voice so faint she barely heard it over the murmur of the sea below.

"I...um, I've caused...I mean, none of you three would have half as many problems if..." He took a deep breath. "You got kidnapped by those ugly ninjas. That creepy Ghost Cat was after Shampoo. Akane got kidnapped so many times that I lost count. I knocked Shampoo out when I she first got to Nerima and I really smacked you around when you first showed up, and that...that was nothing."

He stared out over the ocean. "Shampoo...she ain't never gonna walk again 'cause I was too slow going up against Haradachi. It's my fault you got hurt by Aijou. Akane...her sister...I killed her sister and...and...I almost killed you that day at the school, when I used...I used..."

"It's okay, Ranchan." She shivered, not from the evening chill, but from the heavy chi she felt in him, the same kind of chi he'd used for the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan. "It's okay," she repeated, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"No, it ain't, Ucchan. I...I thought I'd killed you. I care about you...I care about them, too, but all I seem to do is hurt you guys. Anytime any of you want to smack me around you've got the right and more than enough reason."

"You won't fight back?" she whispered, her breath tickling his ear.

"The only time I did..." He swallowed and bowed his head. "The only time...I was..." He shook his head. "No, I was fighting that stupid magical Battle Dougi that Akane was wearing, I wasn't fighting her. I didn't want to fight her." He took a deep breath. "And I ain't ever gonna fight one of you girls again, not like that."

"Ranchan," she sighed, "that makes what I did even more wrong. I shouldn't hit you just because I'm mad or embarrassed."

The last of the light was gone; the sun had faded beneath the waves. She let go of him and called his name softly. "Hold out your hand," she insisted. When he did, she linked her little finger with his. "Pinky promise, Ranchan."

"Pinky promise?" He scratched his head with his free hand. "Like when we were kids?"

"Just like when we were kids," she said earnestly. "I promise I'm not going to hit you again, not ever, and this time I'm gonna keep that promise."

"Um, you never promised that to me before and it ain't like you gotta promise me nothing," he replied. "But as long as we're promising..." He pulled just a little tighter on their linked fingers and looked directly into her eyes. "Ucchan, I promise the same thing I promised when we were kids; the same thing I promised again during that whole Secret Sauce mess. I didn't really know what I was promising. I didn't so good a job." He paused for a moment that seemed to stretch forever. "Ucchan, I promise I'll always take care of you, and this time I'm gonna keep that promise."

He saw the tears in her eyes, but she was smiling as she kissed him.

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"I'm tired of fighting you. Nothing really changes."

Mousse didn't answer at first. The gymnastics ribbon made an effective gag until he sliced it with a concealed blade. "Does that mean you give up, Kodachi?" He flung several chains, which the girl easily leapt over.

"No, I mean you aren't trying and that's boring." She pretended to yawn, hiding another gymnastics club behind her back. "You try to steal these things again and again, but you always hesitate when you could have won." She flung the club, missing him by a small enough distance that he might think it was accidental. "You aren't even trying any more, Mousse."

"That's not true!" He was so busy yelling he almost didn't dodge the club when it bounced off a tree towards his head. He ducked, then sensed a reddish blur coming from his left. It was another piece of gymnastics equipment that had somehow materialized from underneath Kodachi's leotard. A sphere, about the size of a soccer ball, and it was too close to dodge. A javelin materialized in his hands and there was a sharp pop as he accidentally released the paralysis gas inside.

The Kuno girl skipped forward and bowed mockingly above her helpless opponent, but she was smiling. "I expect better of you. It was easy, too easy, to make you angry and that made you lose focus. You should be better; but you aren't fighting with your whole heart." She paused, then softly added, "Like my brother fought when he thought Ranma was really a girl."

There wasn't enough moonlight for Mousse to see her blush as she remembered why Tatewaki had hesitated in all those battles. He did see her shake her head as she tried to deny that there might be another reason for Mousse's hesitation; that any man might hold back for fear of hurting her.

"We have some time before you can move again, but you can still speak." Kodachi had spent a lot of time trying to research a powder that only paralyzed certain muscle groups. She had wanted the opposite effect, a powder that left the victim mobile but voiceless, to use on her brother and silence his ceaseless rages against Ranma. Still, this powder had proved useful. "So tell me why you're doing this, then."

She didn't expect an answer, but she got one, though it was a long time in coming. "I...I'm doing it for Shampoo."

"Yes, I did figure that out." Sarcasm dripped from her words. "You've said, I'm sorry, that should be you've yelled it several times over the past few weeks." She stretched her arm, pointing towards the greenhouse. "Why do you want these plants?"

"I need them as ingredients for a potion. I have to save Shampoo."

Kodachi gave a short chuckle. "When has she ever counted on you to save her? She'll just run to Ranma."

"She can't run and he can't help her," the boy insisted.

"Why not? He is a better martial artist than you."

"Martial arts can't solve this." Mousse closed his eyes and sighed. "She's...she's dead."

Kodachi heard the anguish in the boy's voice and bit back a mocking reply. "Isn't it a little late for potions, then?" She gave a vague attempt at a reassuring smile.

"Not this one," the boy insisted. "Even after this long, it's not too late.

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"So just how did you beat that Martial Arts Baseball guy and the girl?" he asked.

"Actually, the Hibiki girl was just as mad and embarrassed as I was and she..." His fiancée's voice trailed away.

Ranma nodded in understanding. "So how did you beat her, then?"

"Yoiko and I, we didn't feel like fighting anymore, not after..."

"So what did you do?"

She blushed and spoke quietly. "We, uh, settled it with a game of Rock-Scissors-Paper."

Neither said anything for a while.

"Do you forgive me, Ranchan?"

"Like I said, there's nothing to forgive." He noticed the look in her eyes and sighed. "Okay, I forgive you, Ucchan, but I still think you didn't do nothing wrong."

"Then are you mad because we only took second place in the tournament?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged. "It's not like it really counted, we were just doing this so we could find my sisters." He bowed his head and fell silent for a moment. "Sorry, but I sure was hoping this would bring them out. It's gotta be hard for them, just the two of 'em on the road."

"Two is a lot less lonely than one."

"I said something dumb again didn't I, Ucchan?"

She smiled sadly.

"That last fight was a disaster." He'd always felt comfortable talking about martial arts. "After Cologne, I shoulda never taken little old ladies for granted."

"We couldn't have known Martial Arts Knitting was so dangerous," she said.

"You know that the fight wasn't the dangerous part," he replied. "It would have to start raining right before the battle and after they won those two old bats would have to insist they didn't want any okonomiyaki, they just wanted us to marry their grandsons."

Ukyou smiled. She'd turned bright red when Ranma in his cursed form had announced he was already engaged to her; but it had gotten rid of the unwanted matchmakers.

"It'll work out," she said, trying to sound reassuring. "We'll find your sisters."

"Yeah, I guess so. After all, we still have all the ingredients to make the prize. We can try again somewhere else."

But they couldn't. All the foodstuffs were gone. A tall, serious-looking girl in a blue schooldress with her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail stepped out of the darkness and bowed. "I'm sorry, I try to control her, but my little sister Kurumi was so hungry."

A shorter girl with an unruly mop of lighter colored hair stood behind her, wearing a different sailor-style school uniform. "Hey, it's Ranma," the girl beamed. "I'd recognize that pigtail anywhere. What are you doing here in Kansai? And who's the girl with you?"

"She's my fiancée," the boy replied.

Kurumi bounced forward, circling Ukyou. "Wow, I hope I get a late growth spurt like you! You're so much taller than the last time we met and your breasts have gotten a lot bigger."

"Um." Ukyou's cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"And growing your hair out really suits you. It looks a lot better than the way you used to have it cut short."

"Actually, I'm..."

"This ain't Akane," Ranma explained. "This is Ucchan, my fiancée Ukyou Kuonji."

The older girl, Natsume, frowned. "A new fiancée? What happened to the old one?"

"I bet she died fighting bravely or something, that would be so tragic, and you found solace in the arms of this other girl, though you were never the same again," Kurumi gushed. Her tone hardened. "Or did you just dump her for this girl? She is a lot cuter." She frowned at Ranma. "That sure better not be the only reason. And what about the dojo, then? Wasn't that where you were living? What about your dad, what does he think about this? And where is he, anyway? How is Akane taking it? She was so nice, she made all that food for me. Hey, how about her family?" Kurumi paused for just a moment to take a breath. "I bet you two are eloping, aren't you! Wow, that's so romantic, I wish a cute guy would elope with me."

"Um, well, uh..." Ranma had clearly been overwhelmed by the barrage of questions and Ukyou couldn't help but chuckle.

The noise drew Kurumi's attention and the Kuonji girl stopped laughing. "So where did you meet Ranma? How many dates have you been on? Has he kissed you yet?" The short girl put her hands on her hips and glared at Ranma. "I bet he hasn't; I bet he's too chicken to kiss you."

Ukyou sighed. "Actually..."

"Hey, have you got a brother?" the other girl continued. "I bet he'd be cute. Do you think maybe he'd elope with me, that would be so romantic?"

"Um..."

"Kurumi," her big sister interrupted, "you aren't giving them a chance to answer."

"And we've got something important we gotta tell you," Ranma replied. "But it's gonna take a while to explain."

"Then can we get some more food first?" Kurumi asked.

The others just stared at her.

"What? I'm still hungry."

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"Do I trust him?" she whispered as she looked up at the three-quarters moon, but it didn't answer her. It was nearly midnight and Kodachi still hadn't come to a decision.

Mousse had seemed genuine when he claimed the plants he needed would allow him to work powerful magics and bring Shampoo back from the dead.

"I didn't know she was gone." It was habit for the Kuno girl to speak her thoughts aloud even though she wasn't yelling. "I suppose I should be glad to be rid of a rival, but I'm not. It doesn't feel like she's dead, but it doesn't feel like Nabiki's dead, either."

She stared down from the roof of the greenhouse at the estate grounds, enjoying its beauty for a little while.

"Maybe I can't feel anything anymore. Maybe I've grown that cold." She shook her head. "I've been wrapped in my own selfish dreams, just like he is now. Mousse may be a fool, but I don't know what I'd give to have someone want me badly enough to be a fool."

There was something wrong with the Chinese boy's plan, she could sense that much. He was hiding something, as she had hidden herself from the world so no one would ever get close enough to hurt her again.

"But I robbed myself of warmth and light, until Ranma, until meeting him forced me to realize I was dying inside, just like my plants would die without warmth and light. The only one I really hurt was myself."

She glanced up at the moon, but there were still no answers there.

"If Mousse is lying, I haven't lost anything I can't replace. If he's telling the truth, then maybe I'll be helping someone else for once in my life."

She laughed darkly.

"I don't know which joke is worse, that no one will believe I'd help someone else or that all Mousse's efforts still won't win her love."

Kodachi didn't laugh anymore; she uttered an agonized sob and raised her hands to her eyes, failing to stop the tears.

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"Remember, Pops never promised you'd inherit the Tendo dojo, just the Anything Goes School."

Natsume frowned, clearly still weighing things. "Well, our father did promise that."

"But he didn't mention dojos at all," Ranma added.

"No," the girl replied hesitantly.

"And you can tell Kurumi gets her skills at swiping stuff and her appetite from Pops."

Ukyou yawned and nodded in agreement with him. Dawn was nearing, and none of them had slept. Her fiancé and his half-sisters had spent the night talking, sharing their separate adventures.

"She's also trusting, like you, Ranchan."

Kurumi had accepted her half-brother instantly and almost crushed him in a hug. Natsume, the older girl, had been more distant physically and emotionally, too polite to disagree out loud, but Ukyou still saw doubt in other girl's eyes, heard it in re-asking questions that had already been answered.

She's been alone for so long, she doesn't dare believe that loneliness is over. Like me. And she's smart enough to know that being related to Genma isn't the best thing in the world. It takes a lot for someone to walk willingly into that.

Ukyou gazed longingly at her fiancé. "You're worth the risk, Ranchan." She kissed him before he could react, while Natsume blushed and Kurumi cheered.

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"This is all your fault, you stupid, ungrateful child. Don't you have any consideration for your father? You leave me no choice."

The rest of Genma's words were incoherent grumblings against his son, but now he knew that his trip to China had been a fool's errand. Cologne had explained that the last she'd known about Ranma, he was with Ukyou.

"Consider that knowledge a present," the old woman had said. "Your words may have just saved my great-granddaughter's life."

Her statement had made no sense to him; in fact he suspected the old bat had gone senile. She'd said those words just before literally throwing him out of the village.

He'd gotten up and dusted himself off, when Cologne spoke again.

"I give you a final warning, Genma Saotome. Now that the tribe knows Happosai is your master, it would not be safe for you to return to the village. Have you heard of the Death of a Thousand Cuts?"

He nodded. It was one of the more excruciating and lengthy methods of execution ever developed.

Cologne grinned. "The Death of a Thousand Cuts was developed by males. We have worse things in our Book of Punishments. The village has chosen something particularly lengthy for Happosai, should he ever return."

"I'll be sure and give him directions," Genma replied.

The Amazon smiled, then her expression turned serious. "As students of Happosai, you and the other members of the school of Anything Goes have been barred from ever coming here again. That means your son, your friend Soun Tendo, and his daughter Akane. It also means those sisters, Natsume and Kurumi. Whoever's daughters they are, they're part of the school. It also means that wanderer Ryu Kumon who learned your techniques."

Genma wiped some sweat from his brow, then scratched his head. "How did you even know about them?"

"I make it a habit of being informed."

He shrugged. "It wasn't that important, anyway. Oh well, I suppose not being able to go to one small village in all of China isn't that big a punishment."

Cologne smiled. "I don't just mean the village itself. You're still standing on Amazon land. Once you leave you can never return."

"That's still not a very big part of China," he replied.

"You would find it very difficult to get to the Jusenkyou Springs without crossing our territory."

"Oh."

"Of course, there are some ways to get around the ban," the woman continued quickly. "Any member of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts who brings us Happosai, preferably alive; or returns what he has stolen; or who marries into the tribe may freely visit or pass through the lands of the Amazon tribe."

Stupid boy, not only did you lead me on a wild goose chase, you wasted weeks of my time, got me into trouble, and ruined my best chance of a cure.

In the weeks that followed, Genma crossed mountains and swum rivers, heading for the coast. He grumbled his way across China, or growled when cold water activated his curse. He grumbled for most of the voyage across the sea, until the coast of Japan was in sight.

Then he cursed loudly and at length. He hadn't even thought of visiting Jusenkyou or getting water from its springs on his way out of the Amazon lands.

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"Congratulations."

"Why thank you, Akane," Kasumi beamed. Dr. Tofu had finally given her the ring and she'd felt like she was flying since then. Her little sister had noticed the ring immediately, though their father remained oblivious.

"I'm happy for you." Akane's voice was a hoarse whisper and she clutched P-chan close. "But please, can we talk somewhere away from Daddy? I need your help before I tell him something."

Kasumi smiled reassuringly and led Akane upstairs, trying to think of the best way to help her sister explain Ryouga's curse to their father.

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Am I just running away?

Kasumi stared at the ring on her finger, thinking of the commitment it symbolized between her and Tofu.

I've been carrying the burdens in this family. Am I just running from them now?

She pondered the new dilemma that Akane had shared with her, looking once again for her big sister to chase away the problems with gentle words and a cheerful smile.

Why did you have to tell me tonight, Akane? I was going to tell father about my engagement and it was going to be a happy, special time. Now I don't know what to do.

She couldn't be angry at her sister; the girl was still so scared and confused by her own problems. She couldn't hate Ryouga, either. The boy didn't say a word, but she saw the pain in his eyes as he agonized over the way Akane felt.

I told them we'd tell Father tomorrow night, but am I just putting things off, just running from this?

Kasumi sighed, realizing she'd be getting very little sleep this night.

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Ran-Ran's body was covered in sweat and all she wore was a loincloth. Though short, and not so obviously endowed as her tribal sister Shampoo, it was not a child's body. She'd been practicing her martial arts for hours; spinning, turning, leaping, parrying against the sister who wasn't there and might never be again.

I have to decide. If sister Lin-Lin's soul is gone, it is best that her body follow.

Ran-Ran would never let a mere male see her in this state of undress. Or more precisely she would only let one male.

But which one?

She considered Ryouga and blushed. She though of Ranma and blushed again.

Ranma is more clever, but he also lacks a proper sense of obedience. Both are strong and brave and handsome.

And both had other girls in their lives, girls who'd defeated her even when she'd had her sister's aid. So she trained. She had to become better than one of her rivals, strong enough to finish off one of the outsider girls who had defeated her.

And it was much better than waiting for something to change.

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"Father, we have to talk," Kasumi insisted. She didn't want to deal with this problem, but fate had left her no choice.

Soun nodded. "Talk about what?"

"There's a reason I invited Ryouga over tonight. He and Akane have several things to tell you."

The younger teens squirmed uncomfortably. Soun maintained his cheerful cluelessness until his oldest daughter upended a kettle of cold water over Ryouga's head. The Tendo patriarch stared wide-eyed until a second kettle poured hot water over the small black piglet.

"I...I...he...Ryouga...Ryouga is..."

"Ryouga is P-chan, Father." Kasumi sighed in exasperation.

"I...I thought...I thought it was the sake..."

"You knew," Akane growled.

"No...I thought it was the sake...if Ryouga was P-chan, then..."

"You knew," the girls chorused.

"So that's why Ranma and Ryouga fought all the time," Soun continued.

"There's more," Kasumi added. She turned to her little sister.

"I...we...um..." Akane took a deep breath. "I'm gonna have a baby."

"Wonderful," Soun beamed, "I always wanted to be a grandfather."

"WHAT?" rang from three throats, shaking the room.

"I knew Ranma had it in him. Now the future of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts is assured."

Soun was still smiling when the giant hammer smacked him into unconsciousness.

"You...you malleted Daddy."

"He deserved it," Kasumi smiled.

"But I wanted to," Akane pouted.

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"Little Azusa is bored."

That's because little Azusa has a brain the size of a marble, Ukyou thought. She said something different. "Konatsu will be ready for your date soon. Shampoo is just helping him with some last minute touches." She didn't know the details, she and Ranma and his sisters had only gotten home a few hours before and the Saotomes were off in the corner chattering away.

"Azusa is still bored," the skater whined.

Ukyou shrugged.

"I know, I can restyle your hair," the shorter girl beamed.

"What?"

"You're a Magical Girl, so you have to look like it."

"I am not a Magical Girl," Ukyou hissed. "I am a Mamono Hunter. It's not the same thing."

Azusa ignored her. "We could do your hair up in two little buns like Suzaku no Miko."

"Suzaku no Miko is just some dumb character in a stupid book and I do not want my hair done up in two little buns."

"How about huge loops like your cousin Yohko?" the skater asked.

"How do you even know about that?" Ukyou wondered. "And no, I do not want to look like a Mickey Mouse fangirl."

"Alright, we'll do two long ponytails, like Magical Girl Pretty Sammy."

"I. Am. Not. A. Magical. Girl."

"How about two little buns and two long ponytails, like Sailor Moon," Azusa piped. "That would look really cute."

"I said no!"

"Ucchan already looks really cute." His fiancée beamed with joy and Azusa never realized that Ranma might have just saved her life.

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They were days from Tokyo. Caught between towns, they'd set up camp along the side of the road. Sasuke lay in his sleeping bag, beneath the starlit sky. Beside him, Tatewaki Kuno slept peacefully. The winter night was cold, but sweat beaded on the ninja's forehead.

Tatewaki had openly declared his affection for Ukyou Kuonji, who the ninja believed was male. He'd seen Kuno embrace Ranma, declaring his love and then denying it with the feeble excuse he had mistaken the other boy for the pigtailed girl. Just before they'd left Tokyo, Kuno had flirted with Konatsu, who Sasuke had easily identified as a male ninja.

And Kuno had fled from Azusa Shiratori, who was obviously a girl.

Sasuke glanced nervously at his sleeping employer. The ninja knew he wasn't very attractive, he could admit that. But Tatewaki Kuno was not the most faithful of men. Given enough time away from Nerima with only Sasuke for company, who knew what he might do.

The ninja would not be sleeping well, not for quite a while.

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Ryouga had never been on the receiving end of Soun Tendo's angry demon head technique before, but he finally sympathized with Ranma.

"You did what to my little girl!"

"Daddy," Akane tried to interrupt.

"Have you no honor at all?"

"Daddy." The voice was soft, pleading.

"Now what's going to become of the dojo?"

"Daddy." The word was iron, the expression stone.

"Now what's going to happen to the dojo?" Soun repeated helplessly.

Akane smacked him with the dining room table.

"What did you that for?" her father moaned.

"So that stupid dojo is more important to you than I am?" She was doing a wonderful imitation of her father's demon head technique and he found the experience quite unpleasant.

"You are going to shut up, Father," Kasumi insisted. "Shut up and let Akane explain."

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"Now what?" she asked.

"It will take several days to prepare." Mousse stared in amazement at the ingredients he needed for the Sapphire Essence Resurrection Elixir, all provided willingly by Kodachi. He smiled, but it was an empty smile. He felt hollow, empty, afraid.

"Can I help?" the gymnast asked, "Potions can be quite fascinating."

"It's not just a potion, there's a magic ritual. It is..." he searched for the word, "dangerous, yes, very dangerous."

"Danger is what makes life interesting, Mousse."

But this wasn't danger, this was sacrifice, and suddenly he realized he wanted to live. "I...um, thank you, Kodachi. I need to be alone for a bit. There are things I need to think about."

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The hair was done up in an elaborate coiffure. Golden earrings framed a perfect face, and full rich ruby lips almost begged to be kissed. The makeup was done to perfection, enhancing rather than masking the natural beauty. The embroidered crimson Chinese dress clung to feminine curves in ways that seemed magic. The neckline plunged and the skirt was slit up the side, revealing expanses of smooth creamy flesh and hinting at delights still concealed beneath the shadows.

It was any man's dream.

It was only a dream, for beneath the feminine exterior, Konatsu was definitely male.

Ukyou and Ranma stared, barely recognizing their friend. Konatsu smiled nervously and blushed. He and Shampoo had spent hours perfecting this look, preparing for the boy's date with Azusa.

The Amazon smirked. Konatsu's honor required he fulfill his promise to date Azusa, but he never promised he would dress as a man.

Silence filled main room of the restaurant as Azusa stared openmouthed at her date. She blinked, once, twice, a third time, and still she could say nothing. Shampoo almost glowed with happiness; everything was going exactly according to plan.

Then Azusa rushed across the room and glomped Konatsu. "Pierre, this is the cutest thing I've ever seen you wear. It's perfect!"

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"It's Ryouga's." Soun's face was grim.

Akane nodded.

"Then you two have to get married."

"No." Ryouga had been kneeling, head bowed, eyes shut. His voice was a whisper, but he punctuated his statement by putting his fist through the floor.

"No!" The voice was stronger, more confident, but he didn't look up. "Ever since I met you, you've been trying to force Akane to do what you wanted. You never, ever asked what she wanted. I was just a stupid little pig, but in the last year I've listened to her hopes and fears and sorrows more than you've listened to your own daughter in her entire life!"

The Lost Boy gave a strange, strangled noise, an awful mix of a laugh and a sob; then looked Soun straight in the eyes. "You never asked what Akane wanted," he spat, "you never cared, you never gave her a choice. All you did was push, push, push. You trapped her in one relationship, now you're trying to trap her into another. I won't let you do that. I won't let you destroy..."

Akane's scream of rage interrupted the boy. "You pig, so you don't want me either!"

Ryouga tried to explain, to tell her he did want her, but he wanted it to be her choice, no one else's. He tried. He failed as angry accusations hammered down his words and anger drowned reason, the pain of old wounds pouring forth like a torrent.

"Akane." There were tears in the Lost Boy's eyes.

"You jerk! I was stupid enough to think you cared. I don't need you, Ryouga," she spat. You can just get lost!"

He took her at her word, fleeing through the nearest wall into the winter night.

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Starlight filtered through the bedroom curtain.

"Do you think Konatsu's gonna be alright, Ucchan?"

She nodded and snuggled closer to him. "Even Shampoo will get over it. I'm worried about your sisters, though. There's only so much space here. Letting them share a room with Shampoo will work for a few days, but it's kinda crowded."

"They could stay with my mom."

"And how would she like that, Ranchan? They're Genma's daughters by a mistress."

"Actually, I think Pops married their mom, too."

"Kids from a second, bigamous marriage? They're still illegitimate in the eyes of the law. Why would your mom want them around?"

"Uh oh."

"What is it, Ranchan?"

"Natsume's almost a year older than me. That probably means Mom's marriage is the second one. I'm not sure I have the right to use the name Saotome."

"It doesn't change who you are, Ranchan."

"No, but it might set me free of all these promises." He smiled more deeply than she'd seen him smile in a long time. "Pops being dishonorable might mean I've finally got an honorable way out of this mess."

Ukyou let him enjoy the thought, but she doubted the existence of Kurumi and Natsume would end Soun and Genma's obsession with Ranma marrying Akane.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nodoka heard the pounding at the door and rushed to it, praying it was her son. Instead, a package lay on the doorstep.

No one delivers at this time of night. There's no stamps or postmark, either.

It was thick enough to hold three or four notebooks, but when she picked it up it felt too light for that. She carried it inside, setting it on the table. In moments the package was open, the wrapping paper neatly folded for reuse.

Nodoka frowned. There was no address, no letter of explanation, only a stack of photographs.

She picked up the first. It looked like Ukyou, her son's other fiancée, or more correctly one of his other fiancées, standing in front of Furinkan High; but the person in the photograph wore a boy's high school uniform. She flipped the photograph over, noting a date inscribed in a precise hand and a name - Ukyou Kuonji.

Nodoka flipped the picture around and stared closely, finding no reassuring bulges on the figure's chest. She dropped it and grabbed up the next, finding it similar. So were the rest, over a dozen, all labeled as Ukyou Kuonji, all looking like a slightly effeminate boy.

Kami-sama, no! Don't tell me this Ukyou person is one of those people. Don't tell me he's making my son into one of those people, too!

Nodoka shuddered. That would not be manly at all. She looked back in the box, finding copies of school records for elementary, middle, and high school. All were for Ukyou Kuonji. All listed Ukyou Kuonji as a boy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He looked up, his eyes lost and pleading.

"That didn't go very well, did it Father? I don't think she'll marry him now."

"But she has to marry Ranma."

"I meant Ryouga." Kasumi sighed, wondering which of them was the parent and which was the child. "She's not going to marry Ranma, not after everything that happened. And she's carrying Ryouga's child, why would he marry her?"

Soun nodded glumly. "I guess you'll have to marry Ranma, then."

Her voice was a hollow whisper. "I'm already engaged to Dr. Tofu."

"That's nice...I mean, that doesn't change anything. Saotome and I promised that our lines would be joined."

"What about the promise Tofu and I made?"

"I'm sorry, Kasumi," he sighed. "That's the way it has to be."

"I see," the girl's face was a mask. She rose silently to her feet, leaving the cups and teakettle. She turned and walked slowly, deliberately, into the hall and up the stairs to her room.

The door never slammed. Soun expected it, but there was just the empty silence.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A girl lay on the roof of the Tendo home, staring at the stars. She wanted to curse this whole fiancé mess and a thousand other things.

I want my sister back.

But nothing was the way Ran-Ran wanted it. Her sister Lin-Lin weakened daily, her body fading as her spirit had.

And Ran-Ran had overheard the Tendo family discussion. She'd come seeking the easier rival to destroy, needing something solid, something human to take her vengeance on. But there was no honor in killing a mother-to-be, in fact there was great dishonor.

More practice. Ukyou could even stand up to Big Sister Shampoo. She'll be much harder to slay than Akane.

Ran-Ran sighed.

That's pointless. Even if I win he won't want me and there's still this Kasumi girl, another fiancée. She's no warrior. Killing her would be a great wrong, almost a great as killing a mother-to-be.

Movement caught her eye. A shooting star, a lonely chunk of rock entering the atmosphere, burning as it died. Westerners made wishes, but Ran-Ran knew it was a bad omen.

She heard the gate open and glanced down at a panda approaching the house, walking on its hind legs.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sasuke?"

Only the wind answered.

Kuno stretched and looked around. The sun was still climbing above the horizon. A light dusting of snow had fallen, but there were no noticeable tracks. That was hardly surprising, considering hiding was one of the few things the ninja was skilled at. Not that Tatewaki Kuno was the most observant person in the first place.

But he did see a lone figure walking across the newfallen snow, his eyes fixed on the horizon, driving a path straight as an arrow, going nowhere.

"Greetings, Ryouga Hibiki, it is I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Crimson Avenger of Furinkan High. Truly, fortune smiles upon mine worthy self that we should thus meet. I have discovered a poem, nay, a prophecy that shows we are fated to work together and destroy the vile sorcerer, Ranma Saotome. While you are of limited cleverness, your ample brawn should prove most effective in this noble task."

The Lost Boy, more lost than he had ever felt in his life, stopped and turned slowly. Empty eyes seemed to look through Kuno. Ryouga's mouth twisted in a grimace that he might have intended as a smile.

"Kuno?" Ryouga didn't ask where he was. For once, he didn't care. Something stirred behind the boy's blank eyes and he shook himself like a sleeper trying to wake.

"Kuno," the boy repeated.

"Yes, it is I, that well-beloved and puissant swordsman, Tatewaki Kuno. I offer you the opportunity to assist me in destroying the base and treacherous Ranma Saotome."

"Base? Treacherous?"

"Yes, first he forced himself upon the fair and virtuous Akane Tendo. Now he has abducted the fiery and passionate Ukyou Kuonji, no doubt intending to slake his vile lusts upon her helpless form as well. Of a truth, we must act in haste before another tragedy comes to pass."

Ryouga's laugh was short and sharp. "You're one to talk of honor, you self-righteous asshole. When Ranma was weak, you didn't just attack him while he was helpless, you ganged up on him. And you still lost. I despise you. Even Mousse showed some honor by helping us in the fight against that bastard Tarou."

"My honor...my honor is tattered shreds... mocking empty reminders of how I failed, how I hurt people." Ryouga begin walking, bearing steadily towards Kuno. "So many times I failed, so many things I touched turned to ashes, so many times when I was selfish and greedy."

Kuno took a half step backward.

"And that's still better than you! I tried to help Ranma when he was weak. I helped fight against the Orochi, the eight-headed dragon. I tried to save Akane from drowning at Ryugenzawa and during the Charlotte Cup match. I helped pound that jerk Tarou that kidnapped her."

"You never did anything to help anyone. You're as empty as this road to nowhere."

Power flared in Ryouga's outstretched arms as a nimbus of crimson energy formed around him. This was the attack he'd improvised against Ikari's puppets, powered by his rage, his pain, and this time nothing would hold him back.

Kuno's sword cleared its sheath.

"Rekka Jikoku Tomuraigassen," the Lost Boy thundered, unleashing the Raging Inferno of Retribution.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't think you can stay here any longer. One night was dangerous enough."

The girl seemed to collapse into herself. "Please," she whispered, " I haven't got anywhere else to go."

"Kasumi, you really shouldn't stay here before we get married."

"I don't care what people say, Tofu."

He bowed his head. "Kasumi, you're a beautiful woman and I love you and if you stay here another night I don't trust myself to act the way...to treat you...Kasumi, you understand what I'm trying..."

She kissed him and his brain shut down.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I can think of half a dozen ways this could go wrong, Ucchan."

"So can I," his fiancée replied, "but I can't think of a better way to do this. I told your mom some friends and I would meet her at the public baths."

"So what did Mom say?"

"She seemed very eager to talk with me and she said the public bath would be the perfect place."

"She did?" He scratched his head.

"Yeah, it seemed kind of odd. Anyway, once we relax a bit, I'll introduce Natsume and Kurumi, give her a chance to get to know them. Then, after a bit I'll tell your mom who they really are."

"Are you sure that's gonna work?" Ranma asked.

"No," Ukyou sighed, "but I don't have a better plan, either. At least in the public baths, she won't be near her sword, no matter how bad she takes it."

"Sorry, I wish I could be there with you, Ucchan. This is my problem."

"No, this is our problem."

"Thanks."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A night of sleeplessness hadn't given Mousse any answers. If he did this, if he used the Sapphire Essence Resurrection Elixir and the accompanying ritual, he could recall Shampoo's spirit from the afterlife.

At a cost. The guardians of the underworld would seek her and reclaim her unless another soul was offered in her place. Offered willingly.

That means me. It would have been easy right after she died.

But now it wasn't.

And I still need a place to house her soul.

He'd planned to use a cat's body, the symbolic link made it close enough to house Shampoo's spirit.

But I'm not sure her essence will fit inside a cat. If it doesn't, we might lose some essential part of her. And how do I get a cat to the right pool of Jusenkyou when I'm dead? There's no way she could make it that far on her own.

He needed help. Kodachi might, Ranma would aid him, but only if they didn't know the full details until it was too late.

Someone rapped on his door. It had to be the only other person living at the Neko-Hanten. They'd avoided each other since that night. They hadn't talked since then. He hadn't talked to anyone but Kodachi since then.

"Go away," he sighed, but the door opened anyway. He looked at the intruder, too tired to even glare.

"I need your help," Ran-Ran said. She'd swallowed a large amount of pride to ask the boy. "You are from the tribe. Only you would understand what needs to be done."

"What?"

"I need to retrieve what is left of my sister, to perform the final rituals for her."

Sleep-starved eyes snapped fully open and Mousse had his answers.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Are you alright, Saotome?"

"I've been better, Tendo." Genma was nursing a headache and wore a fair amount of bandages, thanks to Ran-Ran's ambush just outside the Tendo front door. Soun had arrived in time to hear the girl say "None of this happen if Stupid Panda Man not eat big sister Shampoo's prize," and see her run sobbing into the night.

"Tendo? I could use some more sake here. It helps me think."

Both men had been lubricating their brains since just after sunrise, hoping for inspiration.

"You're sure this will work, Saotome?"

"Trust me, this plan is perfect. Fate is smiling on us. Shampoo has disappeared and not even her great-grandmother knows where she is. After the package I left at Nodoka's last night, Ukyou will be out of the picture, too. That leaves only Akane for him to marry."

"Um, Saotome, I've been meaning to tell you something about that."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Something had scoured the arc of land, leaving darkness in the midst of white. The thin coating of snow was gone, along with the grass beneath and even several inches of soil. Wispy smoke rose from dry grass smoldering at the edge of the area. Jagged bits of plastic, the bent and melted remains of the tent poles, clawed their way towards the sky.

When Sasuke heard the explosion, saw the flare of light, he'd almost kept going, but freedom was something new and duty an old habit. The two impulses warred, but duty won.

The ninja coughed and leapt over the feeble flames. The blackened earth scrunched beneath his feet. Torn bits of the camp stove lay scattered, still glowing faintly red. Sasuke advanced cautiously to Tatewaki's side. Hair and clothes had been singed away, but his sword was still in his hand and his pulse was strong and steady.

The ninja was too busy tending to his master's injuries to notice crimson traces on the blade, staggering footprints leading off into the snow, or the scarlet stains that accompanied the tracks.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It felt more like a funeral than a trip to the public baths. Konatsu had offered to push Shampoo's wheelchair, but she'd refused his help, refused to even speak to him. Ranma's mother appeared grim, tightlipped, and she was carrying her katana. Natsume looked reserved, distant, outwardly calm. Only Kurumi was her usual bubbly talkative self.

Ukyou leaned close and whispered to her fiancé. "Why did your mom look at you like that?"

"I dunno," he whispered back, "but she's looking at you the same way." He didn't have to say something was wrong; even he could sense it.

"I think you and Konatsu should come along, Ranchan."

"But I can't go into the girl's side. Mom would recognize me."

"Dummy," she smiled. "I mean for you to be on the guys' side. I'll feel safer knowing you're nearby."

Sometimes a feeling of safety is an illusion, a fading dream.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In Japan you lather up and rinse off before you actually enter the bath. Kurumi and Natsume were assisting Shampoo in spite of the Chinese girl's protests that she needed no help. Nodoka moved toward Ukyou with a feral look in her eyes.

"You have beautiful hair, Ukyou." It didn't feel like a compliment. "Let me wash it for you." It was more of an order than a request and Ukyou sat glumly on one of the small stools.

Ranma's mother emptied a washbucket of near-scalding water over the girl.

"What did you do that for!" Ukyou yelled, suddenly on her feet, arms raised defensively. "That hurt!"

Nodoka didn't reply, but stared firmly at Ukyou's breasts. The girl turned bright red and crossed her arms over her chest before realizing Nodoka's eyes had tracked downwards. The woman's eyes widened and she gave a faint smile. Ukyou folded into a ball, her legs crossed in from of her, more embarrassed than she'd ever been in her life.

"Mrs. Saotome!"

The older woman smiled. "Tell me, Ukyou-chan, do you like girls?"

"Mrs. Saotome!"

"Oh, it doesn't matter." Nodoka grinned and wrapped the girl in an unwanted hug. "My Ranma is man enough that you want to be a woman for him and you didn't need surgery or Jusenkyou magic to do it."

"Mrs. Saotome? You better tell me what's going on right now go and you better have a good explanation for this. A really good explanation."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Things were calmer on the men's side of the baths.

"So how did your date go, Konatsu?"

"Oh, it was fun, I suppose." The boy sounded tired, his words hollow. He sighed and continued. "We went skating. Roller skating, not ice skating." Konatsu lowered his head, remembering. "Ranma, have you heard of a boy named Mikado Sanzenin?"

"Yeah," the boy growled, remembering the repulsive feeling of Mikado's lips touching his.

"For one trained in the arts of the kunoichi, his kiss was easy to avoid." Konatsu smiled faintly. "His reaction when Azusa told him we were on a date and hugged me was amusing."

Ranma chuckled. "Serves the pervert right."

"Yes." The other boy smiled again, but it never reached his eyes. "It was funny, but it wasn't worth Shampoo getting mad at me."

"But she knows you only went on the date cause you had to, not because you wanted to."

"Isn't that how most of your dates with Shampoo went, Ranma?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"And didn't the other girls get upset, even when they knew why you went on the date?"

"You're right." Ranma pondered it for a while. "All the girls acted that way. I wonder why?"

"Ranma."

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Desire burned in Happosai's eyes. He'd missed Nerima and all the lovely young women. Now he stared from a hidden vantage point at a sea of feminine flesh, trying to decide which girl to glomp first.

Hmm, Shampoo is just as stacked as I remember. Natsume has a nice rack, too. Nodoka still has a fine figure for a woman her age, better than most women ten years younger. Kurumi's the smallest, but perky in more ways than one. Ukyou is slender, athletic, but she's still got a nice pair. How will I ever decide who to grab first?

Something else decided for him. A will that was not Happosai's launched his body forward. He was halfway to his target when a ribbon wrapped itself around him.

"Gotcha, you nasty old man," Kurumi crowed, all the while feeding hot chi into the ribbon. It should have burned, but Happosai smiled until a form flowed from him, a fiery figure of molten gold, a being of light like a dancing flame. It hung in the air for a moment, giving a glimpse of breathtaking beauty that was somehow both male and female and yet neither. Mocking eyes flickered and a sly smile curved perfect lips as the Mamono arced triumphantly towards its target, engulfing her with its living flame.

Happosai's body hit the damp tiles with a wet smack, again the shriveled emaciated thing that had called on the Mamono for strength, but all eyes had turned to Ukyou. She screamed as the flames writhed around her, then collapsed to her knees. Ranma appeared, moving faster than anyone had seen, catching his fiancée before she fell forward on to the tile. For a moment the flames licked at him and he sensed a wrongness in them.

"Ucchan!"

And the flames vanished. His fiancée lay limply in his arms; but she felt so warm, too warm, like the worst of fevers. "Wake up, Ucchan, please wake up." He reached forward, grasping the Shimi-Seki pendant she wore, not caring if anyone though he was trying to grope her. His senses expanded, revealing hidden currents of magic.

There was something inside his fiancée, a brightness that almost blinded. Dimly, inside the brightness, he saw a silhouette struggling and knew it was Ukyou fighting against something. Ranma sensed a name. Yokkyuu. Desire. Another Mamono.

The vision faded, but he had no idea how to help her. "Please, Ucchan, you gotta wake up, you gotta fight this thing. Please, Ucchan, I...I..."

"You love her," Natsume stated. The boy nodded, grateful someone had said the words.

"Please come back, Ucchan." He didn't even notice he was crying.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It's been two days, Tendo. I think it's safe to see how Akane is doing."

"I'm not sure, Saotome. Every time I knock on the door, she screams that she hates me, and Ryouga, and you, and Ranma, and then she starts smashing things."

"Nonsense, Tendo. She ran out of things to break early this morning."

"That's what worries me. The only thing left is us."

"The maybe we should go looking for Kasumi again," Genma said.

"An excellent idea," his friend replied, "though I still wonder why she left in the first place." Someone coughed behind him and Soun turned at the noise.

"Akane?" She was dressed in pajamas.

"Shut up, Daddy." There was no anger left, even she was tired of the anger. "I just came downstairs to get something to eat. I hate you. I hate that fuzzy fat freeloader. I hate everything. I wish I was dead." She shuffled past him into the kitchen.

Her father followed. "Please, don't give up, Akane. I'm sure it will all work out. I'm sure we can convince Ranma to see reason."

She hit him with the refrigerator.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So how is Ucchan?" he whispered.

"About the same, Ranma." By which Tofu meant only slightly worse.

"You're the doctor." Something blazed in the boy's eyes. "It's been three days and you still can't find what's wrong with her. What kind of a doctor are you?"

"Ranma." Kasumi interrupted the boy's rage with a single word.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Sorry, Doc, I know you're doing everything you can." None of them mentioned Nabiki. "I hate being helpless. I want something I can grab and smash."

But he hadn't seen Kuno or Ryouga or Mousse in weeks, Happosai was in the hospital on life support, and no new idiots had dropped into his life challenging him to a battle.

"I know a way you can do that, Ranma." The boy stared in confusion. Kasumi never solved things with violence.

She showed him the newspaper ad for building demolition.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next four days were profitable, but Ranma didn't care.

He glanced again at the ruined warehouse, ignoring the beautiful weather outside that hinted at an early spring. They'd paid him to demolish the condemned building and they hadn't asked how. He'd spent most of the day battering away at the walls and supports, trying to drive away the pain in his soul. His fists and feet were torn and bloody from his efforts, but physical pain couldn't erase the ache inside.

I'm sorry, Ucchan, I'm so sorry. I promised...I promised I'd always take care of you. I even meant it. But I guess I'm about as good at keeping promises as Pops is.

He took a final look around, instinctively verifying that no one was inside this blast radius, then smiled grimly. It was time to finish this, time for the release the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan would bring.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"It's too soon," Gosunkugi whispered into the phone.

"We can't wait any longer," Miyo replied.

"He'll never try it," the skinny would-be sorcerer insisted. "It's insane. He's got almost no chance."

"That is why he might succeed," the psychic replied. "He has a talent; he grabs the threads of fate and twists."

"He's got no reason to trust me, but he has to trust me," the boy stated. "He's got no reason to believe you, but he has to believe you." Gosunkugi made a noise that might have been a laugh. "He has to depend on Azusa for his survival and she's an idiot!"

"Ranma dared anything to help a friend, faced any odds to save a fiancée," Miyo replied. "Ukyou is both. Tarou is stronger than Ranma, a huge magical blending of several beasts, but he beat Tarou. Cologne is more skillful, with decades of knowledge and experience on him, but he got her to give him the Phoenix Pill. Herb is more powerful than he is, yet Ranma beat the Musk Lord, the descendant of dragons. The Ghost Cat is the embodiment of one of his fears, yet he triumphed, not once, but twice. He destroyed two of the Mamonos, Aijou and Shinrou, and he did it without any magic of his own. He'll risk anything, dare any odds to save her and I don't need my psychic gifts to see that."

"But will he succeed?" the skinny boy asked.

"I wish I knew. This won't be like any fight he's had before."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dust was still raining down, and scattered bits of debris. Ranma knelt in the middle of the crater he'd created with the Perfect Shishi Hokoudan.

"So there you are, boy. You've run from your duty long enough."

Ranma glared at his father but said nothing. For a while, neither did Genma. He'd expected anything but silence from his son.

"Come on, boy, fate has decided it for you. Shampoo is gone. Ukyou won't last much longer. Just come back and marry Akane."

Ranma still said nothing.

"Honor," his father continued, "duty, don't those words mean anything to you?"

"Picollete Chardin," the boy whispered. "A single meal."

Genma looked puzzled.

"Kaori Daikoku." Ranma's voice was louder now. "Another meal."

"What?"

"Ami Kurimoto." He wasn't yelling, but there was a sharp intensity in the boy's voice. "A third meal."

"I don't under..."

"Shampoo. Thinking with your stomach again, Pops, and so was I. Tell me, where was the honor in that?"

"I..." Genma didn't know what to say.

"The dowry," his son spat. "You stole Ucchan's dowry. Don't talk to me about honor, Pops."

The old man shrugged. "Okay, so I made some mistakes," he replied. "But...but you have to marry Akane. Tendo and I made promises."

"Pops, you made promises to more people than I can remember. I haven't mentioned half of them. And you broke them all. I only made one promise. I promised Ucchan I'd always take care of her."

"I'm sorry, son." Ranma glanced sharply at his father, but the words seemed genuine, the tone sincere. "I'm sorry, but you have to accept...you know she's not going to make it."

"Maybe not, Pops. But even if Ucchan doesn't, I still ain't gonna marry Akane. Maybe if things had gone differently, but even when Akane and I work together, we don't work together." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Look at that mess with the other Tendo girls, the ones who thought Soun was their dad."

There was sweat on Genma's forehead and the corner of Ranma's lip curled in a faint smile.

"And all that, all the squabbling nearly cost her the dojo, and I know how much that means to her." A haunted look appeared in Ranma's eyes. "But there was worse, when the Ghost Cat trapped Shampoo in that creepy old temple. Akane meant well, but in the end she couldn't trust me, she couldn't let go of the quarrel, and Shampoo coulda spent the rest of her life trapped in her cursed form, married to that monster."

"And that's the way it always is between me and Akane. The quarreling doesn't end, even when something big is on the line. I can't...that would be hell for both me and her. That's no kind of future, and I'm sure she hates all the bickering worse than me. We started wrong, and it ain't really got better. Seems like all I do is make her sad or angry and I...I care about Akane too much to keep doing that to her; I ain't going back to the cycle of pain."

"I don't want to do this, son," Genma sighed, "I don't want to be an ogre." His father's words echoed the ones he'd used during the harsh but necessary training he'd needed to learn the Hiryu Shouten Ha. "I don't want to do this," he repeated, "but I can't have you making this mistake. If you don't marry Akane, I'll have to tell everyone about Ryouga sleeping in her bed. Think of what that will do to her reputation."

"Is that why you never ratted the Pig Boy out, so you'd have another lever to force me to do what you wanted? That's lower than trying them stupid Magic Leaves on us, lower than what her own dad tried to do to her with that dumb Love Pill." He shook his head faintly. "Pops, you're lucky I'm tired. Very lucky." Ranma bowed his head in thought. "You do that and Mr. Tendo's gonna kill you. Besides, it's not like most everybody didn't know already."

"She's pregnant."

Ranma swallowed, and there was moisture in the corner of his eyes. "Just...just when I thought you couldn't do anything worse. That's a new low, Pops. And there's no way I'm gonna believe that, no way that anyone's gonna believe a stupid story like that. Now go away before I do something I might regret later."

"Son, I don't want you make the same mistakes I did. You can't decide this based on your emotions, they never last."

"But I'm not gonna make the same mistakes as you, Pops. Sure, I'm gonna make some, but at least they'll be my mistakes, not yours all over again."

Genma sighed. "No, you are making the same mistake I did. I married your mother because I loved her, but in the end it didn't last. That's why I backed the Tendo arrangement. Even when the feelings fade, and they always do, you'll have a good home and a stable income."

"You mean you'll have a warm bed, a full belly, and a roof over your head."

"Why not? I'm not perfect, but I've spent more time trying to be a father, spent more time trying to help you than anyone else around here has spent helping their kids."

"What?"

"When did you ever see Tendo give any of his girls help, advice, or training? And if he was really serious about the school, why didn't he teach martial arts to all of his children? Still, he's one of the better fathers around here. Shampoo's was a nonentity, someone so quiet we never even learned his name. We barely noticed him while he was here, we barely noticed him when he was gone, and he never did a single thing to help Shampoo. All Principal Kuno ever did was torment his kids. Kuonji didn't even care enough about his girl to back her on her quest."

"Nice words, Pops, but they're not gonna cut it, not when I know about Kurumi and Natsume. And why are they even around if you really loved Mom?"

"You knew?" Genma's shoulders slumped. "Yes, I married their mother, but then I met your mother, too. I had a good thing going and I threw it all away to marry Nodoka. When Yumiko found out, she threw me out and swore I'd never see my girls again. I only found them by sheer luck, while you and I were on the training trip."

"Then how come I never saw them?"

"Because you were too busy doing things with..."

"...with Ucchan. It was the time I got to spend with her," the boy finished.

Genma nodded. "I hadn't even heard that Yumiko was dead. But the girls were making it on their own, too proud to go to their mother's family for help, determined to be true martial artists like their father."

"And you left them to fend for themselves."

"They were already fending for themselves, and doing a fine job of it. I would have liked to give them more than encouragement, but I was barely getting by with just you, I couldn't afford two more mouths to feed."

"That's the same stupid excuse you used with Ucchan," the boy snapped.

"It's the truth. I hadn't developed the Umisenken and Yamasenken techniques yet."

"Pops, they were already surviving on their own. What makes you think we couldn't have all made it - you, me, them, and Ucchan?" He exhaled slowly. "But you didn't think again, did you, and more people got hurt because of that."

Genma blinked owlishly at his son.

"I know you don't mean it, Pops, that you don't even realize what you and all your broken promises really did to them, or their mom, or Ucchan, or Mom, or Akane. And it took a stupid freaking Mamono to make me realize I was doing the exact same stupid things as you did."

"You have been there for me with advice," the boy continued. "Maybe I ain't said so, but I appreciate you caring enough to do that. But there ain't no way I can follow your advice this time."

"You're making a mistake, son."

"Maybe so, but it's gonna be my mistake and it's gonna be my promise that I keep." Ranma stood, brushing the dust off of his slacks; turned slowly; and walked away. He never looked back.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo