Hello and thank you all for the love and support of this story. It's becoming much more popular much faster than I originally thought it would, so I'm assuming I'm doing well so far. This chapter is somewhat longer than the other two because I couldn't figure out how I wanted it to end. I finally decided on a good ending and I hope you like it.

Do you like the new cover picture for this story? It was created by my author friend ShadowRose DarkBlade. This is what Ranma's cursed form looks like, more or less.

Hope you enjoy this exciting episode of…

Spring of Drowned Nymph

Chapter Three: Inner Turmoil

Ranma found himself walking through the Tendo house, minding his own business. He opened the door to the guest room and found the last thing he wanted to see. "K-Kuno! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Kuno glanced over his shoulder at Ranma. "Ranma Saotome, I love you."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Are you sick?! I'm a guy you moron!" Then a hole suddenly opened in the floor and he fell through it, landing in the furo.

On the other side of the furo, Kuno was looking him in the eyes. "I love you." Ranma backed away as far as he could from him. When he felt his back touch the wall, he dove underneath the water. When he couldn't hold his breath any longer, he popped his head above the surface. Now he found himself in the middle of the ocean in a raging storm. A huge figure started rising out of the ocean, it was a gigantic form of Tatewaki Kuno. "I love you Ranma Saotome."

"Are you totally dense?! I said I'm a guy you brainless jerk!" He stopped talking when he realized his voice was far too high-pitched too be his male voice. He looked down to find the blue scarf that accompanied his nymph form. She looked back up to see the giant Kuno reaching out to grab her. She levitated out of the water and tried to fly away, but the giant hand continued to chase after her.

"Come back. I love you." Ranma tried to charge up electricity to zap Kuno. When no electricity came out, she tried drawing lightning from the storm to power her up. She was struck by the bolt of lightning she wanted, but instead of charging her up, it shocked her like it would any other human being.

She fell downward, but instead of falling into the ocean, she landed on solid ground. She recognized this place as the Furinkan High School courtyard. Then, the next thing she knew, a group of guys surrounded her. These weren't the students who attacked Akane every morning, these men were all exact copies of Kuno. They started closing in on her, all of them repeating the same thing. "I love you."

"No, stay back! Get away from me!" She tried to shoot lightning, to fly away, to telepathically contact someone for help. When none of that worked, she tried to punch and kick the Kuno clones, but they grabbed and pinned down each of her limbs.

One of the clones leaned his head towards her face. He came closer and closer. When he was barely a centimeter away from her face, he said one last time, "I love you." and closed the distance.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ranma screamed as she shot up from her lying position. She put a hand over her chest as she tried to regain control of her heart rate. "Just a dream. Thank god it was just a dream."

The door to the guest room opened and Akane came in. "I heard a scream. Are you alright Ranma?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a totally messed up dream."

Akane crossed her arms. "What were you doing sleeping as a girl anyway?"

Ranma looked away. "I'm having some emotional issues alright? I've slept as a nymph before, I usually have dreams of forests and rivers and nature-y stuff, so I thought I wouldn't get a nightmare!"

"It must've been some nightmare to freak you out so much, especially when you're like this."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Well you'd better get dressed quick, unless you want to go to school in nothing but boxers and a scarf." She left the room and closed the door.

Ranma got dressed and went downstairs. Kasumi offered her some hot water at breakfast, which she took hesitantly. Once she returned to a he, a chill ran up his spine as he recalled the previous day's events and last night's dream. He finished breakfast and left for school with Akane.

Once they arrived at the gates of the school, the usual group of boys charged forward. Instead of staying back, Ranma joined his fiancé in the merciless beating of their fellow students. Once the usual guys were down, Kuno came running out of the school, wooden stick held high. Ranma and Akane simultaneously leaped into the air and planted a foot into Kuno's face. The 'True Blunder' fell again.

When lunch came around, Akane glared at Ranma. "I never asked you to help me out!"

"I wasn't doing it for you. It was for personal reasons."

"Whatever. Just don't do it again."

(Meanwhile)

Nabiki looked down at the stuffed panda that Kuno had put on her desk. "What's this?"

"It's a stuffed animal."

"I know that genius, what is it for?"

"It's a present."

Nabiki pushed it aside. "No thanks."

"Did I say it was for you? I think not." Kuno said irritably.

"Then what's it for?" She asked as she took a bite of her food.

"This, Nabiki Tendo, is a token of my affection for my scarf-clad goddess!"

Nabiki stared at the little panda with wide eyes. 'THAT…is for Ranma?' She couldn't hold in her amusement at the idea any longer and burst out laughing, spitting out her food onto Kuno's face as she did so. 'Scarf-clad GODDESS huh? Kuno-baby doesn't know how close he is.' Nabiki reached into her bag and pulled out some photos. "I just happen to have some pictures of her Kuno. You want?"

"Pictures you say?" He took a look at the photos. In most of the pictures, her only clothing was the boxers and tank-top Ranma wore in his sleep, and of course the scarf and vines. "She's so…unashamed before the camera. Such beauty, such grace! I must have them!"

"One-thousand yen each." Nabiki said. 'Good thing Ranma slept in his curse form last night. His decision made getting these photos much easier.' She smiled as Kuno gave her the money. "You know Kuno, you've surprised me. To think you would dump my little sister for another woman so easily."

"I never said I was dumping her." He replied indignantly.

"You're not planning on two-timing her, are you?"

"Please. Don't be so vulgar. The purity and power of Akane Tendo, the exotic beauty of the scarf-clad girl. I cannot bear to part with either! Do you call it deceit to wish them both?!" He shouted.

"No, I call it two-timing." She handed Kuno photos of Akane. Most of them were of her working out in her martial arts gi. "One-thousand each."

Kuno stared at each picture intently. "Such ferocity, I'll take them!"

"As an added bonus, I'll even tell you how to get your little present to that scarf-wearing 'goddess' of yours."

"Tell me!"

(After School)

Ranma and Akane were walking out the front gate of the school when Nabiki ran up to them. "What is it Nabiki?" Akane asked curiously.

"I came here to tell Ranma something." She looked at the pigtailed boy. "Kuno wants to meet with you."

Ranma felt like he was going to be sick. "Ugh. What does he want now?"

"He wants you to meet him in front of a nearby café."

"This'd better be good." Nabiki led Ranma to the café Kuno requested. Ranma saw the obsessive kendoist waiting for him. "Alright Kuno, I'm here. Now spill it, what do you want?"

"I want to give you this." He threw Ranma the stuffed panda.

Ranma stared at it blankly. "Is this a joke?"

"No, it's a stuffed anim-"

"I know that you moron! What is it for?"

"It is a token of my affection to the scarf-clad girl."

"So you're giving it to me because…"

"Because SHE told me to." He pointed at Nabiki, who was casually whistling in an attempt to not draw attention. "According to Nabiki Tendo, the fastest way to get my gift to the scarf-clad girl is to give it to you. Now tell me, just what is your relation with her?"

'Dammit Nabiki.' He thought to himself. "Listen, take my advice and stay away from her, you're just going to end up getting hurt. And either way, if I have any say in it, you'll never see her again anyway." He threw the panda back to Kuno and walked past him. He turned at a corner and was immediately doused with water by someone emptying a bucket from the second-story window. 'Dammit irony!'

"Never see my goddess again?" Kuno growled. "And just why is that Ranma Saotome?!" He ran around the corner to confront him, but instead of his rival, he laid eyes on one of the loves of his life. "Scarf-clad girl!" He reached out a hand towards her, which she heartlessly slapped away. Kuno ignored the cold gesture and grabbed her in a bear hug.

Ranma was about to give Kuno the electrocution of a lifetime when Nabiki poured a thermos of hot water over her head. "Hot, hot, hot!"

"I'm sorry Ranma. Too hot?" She asked with fake innocence.

"Ranma?" Kuno asked curiously. The person he was hugging suddenly broke free and kicked him in the face. When he recovered, he realized that the person standing in front of him was Ranma Saotome, not the 'scarf-clad girl'.

"Well Kuno? Have you realized my secret yet?" He asked.

Kuno spoke coolly and slowly. "I would have never imagined. To think, Ranma Saotome is a practitioner of dark magic."

Ranma nearly face-faulted at the pure stupidity of the man in front of him. "Are you a complete idiot?!"

"Don't play dumb with me Saotome! What have you done with my darling goddess?!" He shouted in rage.

Nabiki just shook her head. "Looks like he won't get it unless we spell it out for him. Come here Kuno-baby." Once she had his attention, she started speaking in a dramatic voice. "You see Kuno…that girl you want, her body and her soul…both belong to Ranma."

"Her body…and her soul…belong to Ranma?!"

"That's right, and you know what that means don't you?"

Kuno looked back at Ranma. "You vile sorcerer! You would bind the scarf-clad girl to you against her will?!"

Ranma sweat-dropped. "What're you talking about?!"

"Silence you wretch! I can see it now! You've bound her body and soul to you using your evil magic. You've tortured her mercilessly until she had no choice but to bow down to you in fear! I will not allow this tragedy to continue any longer!"

"Uhhh…what?" Ranma didn't have anymore time to ponder this man's stupidity because Kuno pulled out his wooden blade and charged at him once again. The sword swings he was forced to dodge were much faster than anything Kuno had done so far, but Ranma dodged them nonetheless.

"Stand still so I can end you, you enslaver of woman!"

"Not a chance Kuno!" Ranma dodged another strike and kicked his foe in the chest. Kuno was knocked back and a piece of paper fell out of his kendo outfit. Ranma grabbed it and his eyes widened when he saw what it was. "Hey! This is…"

"Ignore me will you?" Kuno struck Ranma's side while he was distracted.

From behind the pedestal of a nearby statue, Akane was watching the fight intently. She gasped when she saw Ranma get hit. "What's that moron doing?"

Ranma continued to dodge and strike. Each time he did more pieces of paper fell out. "Where the hell did these come from?"

"Do not look away in battle!" Kuno aimed a sword thrust at Ranma's head. The pigtailed martial artist leaned back to avoid the strike. He used the momentum to turn his lean into a backwards rolled to gain some distance.

He kept rolling until he reached the spot where Akane was watching. He stopped on his head and looked up at Akane. "Hey there."

"There's something you should know Ranma, Kuno's really tough to beat when he gets angry like this. You'd better pay attention or you'll regret it."

"And there's something YOU should know Akane. Those polka-dotted panties don't suit you."

Akane backed away and glared at him. "Dry up and die!" She kicked him up into the air.

Ranma landed on his feet in front of Kuno. "I have you now Saotome!" He went into a barrage of sword thrusts so fast that the average person probably couldn't see the strikes let alone dodge them, but that didn't stop Ranma from avoiding every strike. The statue pedestal behind Ranma started to crumble from the air pressure of the strikes alone.

Ranma looked back to make sure Akane was okay. "Out of the way tomboy!"

"Eyes in front idiot!" She yelled back.

"You're mine fiend!" Kuno went in for one last strike.

"I don't think so!" Ranma struck him with a kick to the chest. Kuno lowered his blade and just stood there. "It's over Kuno."

"You will address me as…upper-class…" He fell to the ground.

Nabiki walked up to him. "Am I the only one here who's confused about what happened?"

Akane rolled Kuno onto his back. There were bruises and footprints all over his body. "Each blow hit a vulnerable spot."

"You kicked him? I didn't even see your feet move." Nabiki said in an impressed tone.

Ranma put his hands behind his back. "Eh. It was nothing."

"Really? But you got hit too. Doesn't it hurt?" Asked Akane.

"No, not really."

"Even if I do this?" She poked Ranma's side and he immediately winced in pain. "Oh yeah, it's nothing alright. What distracted you back there anyway?"

"This." He held up two pictures, one of his cursed form and another of Akane.

"Where did you get these?! I'm afraid to ask!"

"Hey, Kuno's the one who had them! I didn't do anything!"

"Well then where did he…Nabiki!" She shouted at her sister.

"Can't blame a girl for trying to make a little cash." She said sheepishly.

Ranma put his hands behind his back. "Like it matters. After all, who would want these boring pictures anyway? How you'll ever get a husband is a mystery to me." He held up a picture of his nymph side. "Now THESE are actually worth something. Maybe if you keep following me around, some of my looks will rub off on ya, then you might be able to get a husband." He let the photo fly away in the wind and started walking away.

Akane's face was red with rage. "Why…you. Come here Ranma!" The physical restrain she had been keeping up for the last few days shattered and she unleashed all her anger on her fiancé.

(Several minutes later…)

Ranma was laid down on one of the beds in Dr Tofu's clinic. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably and his arms and legs were bent in odd positions. Dr Tofu examined him while Akane watched. "Hm. Amazing. This sword wound is almost completely healed up, but these other injuries…he looks like he was hit by a truck."

'Or a tomboy.' Ranma added in his head.

"Who would do such a thing?" Akane looked away shamefully when he asked this.

Ranma whispered softly. "A tomboy with anger management issues." He was silenced when the end of the bed was lifted up, making Ranma fall to the floor. 'Is violence her answer to everything?!' He thought in pain.

Akane dropped the bed when the doctor looked at her. "Akane, you did this?"

"Um…well…"

Dr Tofu snapped his fingers and chuckled. "I knew I recognized these kinds of injuries. They look just like your handy work. Ha ha!"

'You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one with dislocated joints!' Ranma mentally screamed.

Dr Tofu picked him up and put him back on the bed. He grabbed Ranma's left arm and than yanked on it, making Ranma grunt in pain. He continued to do this with his other joints while talking casually. "So you're Ranma huh? I hear you're Akane's fiancé."

Akane's face went red, whether it was because of anger, embarrassment, or both is unknown. "It was our parent's idea! Not ours!"

"That's alright." The doctor said as he started pounded on Ranma's spine. "After all, you're still young, you both have plenty of time to work it out."

When the Dr Tofu finished, Ranma glared at him. "That hurt!"

The doctor looked at him curiously. "Really? Where?"

"Well…" Ranma was going to respond, but he couldn't find any place on his body that still hurt. "I'm cured! Thanks a lot Doc!"

Akane nodded. "Thank you Doctor. We should probably get back home now."

Ranma and Akane were walking out the front door when Dr Tofu grabbed Ranma's shoulder. "Ranma, I know you and Akane are upset about the engagement, but please, try to get along. It looks like she's trying really hard to control herself, so you should make an effort to control yourself as well."

Ranma looked away. "I know Doc, and I've been trying to keep my mouth shut lately, but I just…slip sometimes, y'know?"

"It's the same thing with Akane. All I ask is that you think before you speak next time. She's really a sweet girl once you get to know her. You'll understand soon." He slapped Ranma on the back and waved goodbye.

It was fairy late now, the sun had gone down and the streets were mostly vacant. "What were you two talking about?" Asked Akane.

"Oh, just guy stuff."

"Like?"

Ranma considered using this as an opportunity to make fun of her but decided against it. He truly did want to get out of the habit of insulting others to get them mad. He originally learned it from his father. It was a way to get your opponent angry so that they would get sloppy. Ranma had spent so much time alone with his dad on the road that he'd forgotten how much words could hurt people. His cursed form was even less caring about insulting others than he usually was, so he resolved to try and get better about it.

He let out a sigh. "Nothing. Just forget about it."

"Come on. Tell me!"

"No way!"

Akane huffed and looked away. "Fine then. Like I care anyway."

'I still don't understand what Doc meant about her being 'sweet'. Every time I try to be nice, she just pushes me away. I swear, I've just about had up to here with-' Suddenly, Ranma's legs gave out on him and he fell to the ground. "Hey! My legs, they won't move!" He thought back to when Dr Tofu slapped him on the back. 'He must've hit a pressure point or something.'

"Are you okay Ranma?" Akane asked with concern.

"I'm fine! I just…need a moment to get my legs working again. That's all!" Akane crouched down in front of him. "What are you doing?"

"Don't just sit there, come on. Piggyback."

"No way! Guys can't be seen doing stuff like that! It's embarrassing."

Akane picked up a nearby hose and sprayed Ranma with it. "So it's okay if we're both girls then?"

"I guess it would be okay, but…" She charged herself up with electricity. When she charged down, she immediately hopped back onto her feet. "…it looks like a good jolt of electricity got them working again. Thanks for the offer though." The two continued walking home. 'She did offer to help me out. Maybe she is kinda sweet when she wants to be. If only she was like that all the time.'

(The next day)

Ranma and his dad were in the middle of their morning spar. As usual, both sides seemed equal, so it was hard to tell which of them was truly stronger. They each stood on a boulder on opposite sides of the Koi pond. They both leaped at each other and went into a barrage of midair punches and kicks. From inside the dining room, Kasumi called out to them. "Mr. Saotome! Ranma! Breakfast time!"

Both fighters stopped their midair barrage to respond to the eldest Tendo girl. "Thank you Kasumi! The food smells great!" Genma shouted.

"Be there in a minute!" Shouted Ranma. At that moment, gravity decided to take effect again and they both fell into the pond.

Ranma sat on the porch and dried herself off with electricity as she had grown accustom to doing lately. Genma just went to the table, not even bothering to change back.

Eventually, everyone gathered at the table to eat their breakfast. Nabiki left for school early as she usually does. Akane got up to get going as well, but Kasumi held up a hand. "Akane, I have a favor to ask of you. Could you deliver this book back to Dr Tofu for me?"

Akane looked away nervously. "S-sorry. I can't today."

A frown crossed her oldest sister's face. "That's too bad. I guess I'll have to bring it back myself later."

"Why don't you go Akane?" Asked Ranma. "It would be the perfect excuse."

Akane glared at him in a 'shut your mouth right now you idiot' way before grabbing his arm and running out the door. "Come on, let's get going!"

"But I'm not done eating!" He whined.

"Deal with it!"

"Slow down will ya!" Akane dragged him down the street and didn't even notice when the old lady with the bucket splashed her fiancé again. "Let go dammit!"

Akane dragged her through the school gates and slammed her into the inner wall. "Why can't you learn to keep your big mouth shut!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. I mean talking about me and Dr Tofu like that! I outta…" It was then that she noticed the state Ranma was currently in. "When did you…"

"I told you to wait." She glanced behind Akane's shoulder and realized they weren't alone. "Hey Akane, behind you."

She turned around and noticed the crowd of male students watching them. She stepped away from Ranma and took a stance. "Alright. Who's first?" Then all the men started doing something she didn't expect in a hundred years. They all started to cry. "What's going on?"

One of the men spoke up. "Akane, we all had a meeting and came to a decision." The men's tears flowed even harder than before. "We've decided to swallow our tears and accept you engagement to Ranma."

Akane stared at them blankly. "…Why?"

"Because, fair Akane Tendo…" Came the voice of Kuno. He limped through the crowd, using his blade as a crutch. His whole body was covered in bandages, giving him the appearance of a mummy. "these fools believe that the vile sorcerer Saotome has bested me in battle. Tatewaki Kuno NEVER accepts defeat! That treacherous scum shall not escape my vengeance!" He fell to one knee, unable to stand up any longer.

Another boy from the crowd spoke up. "Kuno was this school's greatest fighter. If HE was beaten by Ranma, then the rest of us don't stand a chance."

"I told you naïve fools already…" He removed the bandages on his face to reveal just how bruised and battered it really was. "Ranma Saotome has NOT bested me!"

Ranma had had enough of his babbling. "Will you just give it up? I, I mean Ranma, already beat you fair and square, so get over yourself already!"

Kuno grasped Ranma's hands in his own. "Fear not my scarf-clad goddess, for I know you do not mean what you say. Once I defeat the wretched Saotome, his hold of you shall end, and we may be together forever!"

"Ugh! You're sick! It's Akane you're supposed to be drooling over, not me!"

Kuno turned his attention towards the blunette girl. "The beauteous Akane. So strong, like the ox, yet as graceful as the leopard." He turned back towards Ranma. "And the scarf-clad girl. Truly, you are a wonder of nature itself! Is it wrong that I cannot bare to part with either of you?"

Ranma grabbed Kuno by the ear. "Excuse us a moment." She dragged the wannabe samurai outside of the gate, on the other side of the wall. A crackling sound and lots of pain were heard from the the other side. When Ranma dragged him back into the gate, Kuno was covered in burn marks and shaking uncontrollably.

"What did you do to him?" Asked one of the boys.

"Nothing you need to worry about." She dropped Kuno in front of the school and walked inside.

(Later, in P.E. class)

Ranma flipped up and down on the pull-up bar several times before he let go and landed on the ground, earning him some applause from his peers. He gave a bow and sat down on the side with the others. One of the boys in his class, Hiroshi if he remembered right, walked up to him. "Hey, that was pretty cool."

Daisuke, Hiroshi's best buddy, nodded his head. "Yeah. Didn't you say you practiced gymnastics or something like that?"

"I practice martial arts, not gymnastics."

""Well either way, you're pretty good. Is it true you beat Kuno?" Asked Hiroshi.

Ranma put his hands behind his back. "Yep. He wasn't all that tough either. It's been verified by a doctor that Akane hits harder than him."

"That's right," Said Daisuke. "You're her fiancé right? Man, you sure are lucky, you know that?"

"Yeah right." He scoffed. "She's more likely to kill me than kiss me, and besides, she's already got someone lik-Urk!" His sentence was cut off by the baseball that hit him in the face. Ironically enough, Akane's the one who hit it. Go figure.

Hiroshi and Daisuke looked down at him. "You said you're a martial artist didn't you? Couldn't you have dodged that or something?"

"I had something on my mind." He replied dully.

(After School)

Ranma was walking to Dr Tofu's clinic. He had an icepack clutched to his face. Akane was walking beside him. "Look, I said I was sorry!"

"Whatever. Just remind me to never be around while you're playing baseball ever again."

"Come on. It was just an accident! The odds of it happening again are about as high as getting struck by lightning." She said in a bit of a joking manner, then she remembered just who she was talking to. "Um…maybe that wasn't the best comparison to use."

"Ya think?" They walked up to the clinic and found Ranma's dad sweeping the porch. "Pops? What are you doing here?"

The panda held up a sign. [I got a part-time job] Flip sign. [Working for Dr Tofu.]

"You never told me you were getting a job." He stated accusingly.

[Must've slipped my mind.] He went back to sweeping.

"Ranma! Akane! How are you both doing?" Came the voice of Dr Tofu from the doorway.

Ranma pointed at his cheek. "Hey Doc, you don't mind checking this out, do you?"

Not even a minute later, Ranma was sitting on the patient's bed. Dr Tofu was checking the injury. "Interesting. This is a softball wound, am I right?"

Ranma nodded. "You got it Doc."

"And if I had to guess, Akane hit the ball, right?" He said in a joking tone.

Akane looked away shamefully.

"Right again Doc. How could you tell?"

"Well, who else could hit a ball hard enough to penetrate this thick skull?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Said Ranma, obviously not humored by the comment.

"It's just a joke. Here, let me go get some ointment to take care of the swelling." Before he left the room, the phone started ringing. "Could you get that for me Akane?"

The blunette nodded. "Of course Doctor!" She picked up the phone. "Hello, who is it? Oh, hello. Yes I understand. Goodbye." Akane suddenly started looking downcast. "Ranma, we're leaving."

"Huh? How come? I thought you wanted to spend some time with the Doc"

"Just shut up! You don't know anything!" She shouted. Then she looked down. "Look, it's true that I have a crush on Dr Tofu, but he doesn't return my feelings. To him, I'm still that little kid who used to injure herself all the time. He's in love with someone else."

Ranma hesitated to ask the next question. "…Who is it?"

Akane sighed. She clearly saw that question coming. "It's my older sister, Kasumi. For as long as I can remember, he's been hopelessly in love with her. Nabiki just called, she said Kasumi is coming to drop off her book. She'll be here any minute now. "It'd be best if we weren't around when she got here."

"Okay, I guess. Just wait until I get the ointment from the Doc and we'll leave. Kay?"

Akane nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

A few seconds later, Dr Tofu walked back into the room. "I have the ointment, now let me have a look at that wound, okay Ranma?" He held Ranma's head with one hand and applied the ointment with the other.

A few seconds later, the sound of a door opening and shutting was heard. Ranma and Akane looked at the doorway to the waiting room anxiously. Their fears were put to rest when panda-Genma walked in. Both teens let out a sigh of relief. The panda held up a sign. [We have a visitor.]

He put the sign down and Kasumi stepped out from behind his back, wearing her ever-present smile. "Hello Dr Tofu." She noticed the other two occupants of the room. "Oh! Ranma, Akane, I didn't expect to see you two here. What a surprise."

Dr Tofu took one glance at Kasumi and immediately stopped what he was doing. His glasses fogged up and a goofy grin crossed his features. Ranma tried to move, but his head was stuck in the doctor's vice-like grip. "K-K-K-Kasumi! What a coincidence meeting you here of all places! Is there anything I can d-do for you?"

She continued speaking in her sweet voice, as if oblivious to the doctor's strange behavior. "I just came to return this book I borrowed from you. What are you doing?"

Ranma tried to pry his head free from Dr Tofu's hold harder than ever, but it was still no use. "I'm just helping out this poor child here. It seems he injured his head somehow. Now let's see if we can fix it." He turned Ranma's head to the right. A loud snapping sound and a groan of excruciating pain was heard. "There we go, all fixed."

He finally released his hold on Ranma. He tried to move his head, but he soon found out it was stuck in position. "Great. Just great. Hey Akane, be a pal and help me out here will ya?"

"I don't know what you expect me to do." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm going home. Just wait for him to calm down and then he'll help you out, okay?" She grabbed her bag and ran out the door.

"Hey, wait up!" He tried to follow her, but he had a difficult time staying balanced with his head snapped to one side. By the time he made it outside, Akane was already gone. "Great. Now where'd she go?"

He was about to go look for her, but he stopped when he heard Kasumi call his name from the doorway of the clinic. "Ranma, are you going to be okay? I don't think a person's head is supposed to bend that way." She asked with a mother's concern.

"Yeah. It doesn't hurt or nothing, it's just kinda awkward."

Kasumi's serene smile appeared on her face again. "That's good. I know how strange Dr Tofu acts when he's around me, that's why I try not to interrupt him as much as possible. I really do care about him though. That's one of the reasons I pushed you onto Akane when we first met."

"Any other reasons?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well…" She looked Ranma in the eyes, then broke out into a giggling fit. "I'm sorry. It's just difficult to take you seriously when your head's like that. Maybe you should get it fixed by the doctor. He should stop dancing with Betty sometime soon."

'Dancing with…never mind. I'm not even going to ask.' "Nah, I think I have a quicker solution." He walked over to the hose in front of the clinic. He sprayed himself and turned into a nymph again. "Watch this." Ranma started charging herself with electricity, then her whole body turned into a glowing, light blue color and seemed to lose physical mass. "You might want to cover your ears and step back."

Kasumi did as Ranma told her. She watched in wonder as Ranma suddenly shot into the sky like a lightning bolt. The resulting thunder made Kasumi's ears ring, but she was otherwise okay. She continued to watch as the lightning bolt zipped back and forth around the sky. It didn't stopped moving until it struck the ground in front of her. The spot Ranma landed on was scorched, but the nymph herself was just fine. Plus her head was back in the correct position. It seems dematerializing into a bolt of lightning, flying back and forth at the speed of light, and rematerializing back into solid matter was enough to fix Ranma's neck. Simple solution right?

Kasumi clapped her hands. "That was amazing!"

Ranma sent her a bright smile. "Yep. I'm just cool like that sometimes. So what was it you were going to say?"

"Oh right, about the engagement. While it's true I pushed you onto Akane because I cared for Dr Tofu, that wasn't the only reason. I did it for her own good as well as mine. I thought getting to know a nice boy like you might allow her to open up a little towards boys besides our father and the doctor."

"I can't say it's worked very well." Ranma said, feeling a bit downcast.

"I disagree." Ranma looked at her like she was crazy. "Well, I heard the boys from school have stopped attacking her because of you. Is it true?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but still…"

Kasumi put a hand on her shoulder. "Give her some time, she'll come around sooner or later. Unlike our fathers, I'm not expecting you to marry her, I'm just hoping you'll give her a chance."

Ranma looked away. "You know, it's kinda strange…"

Kasumi tilted her head. "Hm?"

"It's just…how did three sisters living under the same roof end up so different?"

"I don't know. How does a child who's spent his whole life with only his father as a role model become so much different than him?" Ranma didn't know how to answer that. "I guess it's just nature's design, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Kasumi looked at her watch. "Oh my! It's getting late! We'd better get home, I still have to make dinner for everyone."

Ranma nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we should." The two took off to go home.

(Somewhere far, far away)

A tree fell to the ground somewhere in a North American forest. The group of lumberjacks that cut it down loaded it into a large truck with a few other trees. "Alright guys, that's enough for today. Let's get these trees back to the lumberyard and call it a day." One of them called out to the others.

"You got it boss!" Came the replies from the others. They tied the trees down and drove away, back to civilization.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched, not by the woodland animals, or by someone wandering the vastness of nature. They were being watched by nature itself. Somewhere within the woods, within the trees and the streams and the mountains, within nature itself, within a place where no mere mortal could enter without divine help, a pair of eyes were watching. They weren't just watching the lumberjacks, these eyes were watching many things.

Many images appeared on the walls of the place where mortals could not enter. Images of forests being chopped down tree by tree, images of factories spitting out several shafts of smoke into the atmosphere, images of farmers slaughtering some of their livestock.

One image was of an oil platform out somewhere in the Atlantic ocean. The platform had sprung a leak, and was now spilling tons of oil into the ocean. Another image was of a live battlefield somewhere in Asia. Soldiers of opposite sides were fighting in a forest. They shot at anything that moved, whether it was their enemies, or an innocent creature who was caught in the middle. They used the trees around them as cover. Many of the trees had bullet holes in them while others had fallen over from grenade damage and such.

Watching all of this, was a single person. This person clenched a fist in anger. "These mortals…" The person said through clenched teeth. "They have no clue how much trouble they cause to the environment around them. They take advantage of the earth and the creatures that live there as if it's their property. It makes me sick!" The person watching the images gazed upwards, as if remembering something from long ago. "Two-thousand years…I've given them the benefit of the doubt for a whole two-thousand years…and they've become even worse than before! I refuse to let this go on any longer!"

The images vanished from the walls and the figure walked away from them. "I'm not going to sit back and let this continue! Not like I did with the incident at Jusenkyo, not like I did when I lost Phosphora…It's time for action."

"Humanity WILL pay."

End of Chapter

FORSHADOWING! The next chapter is when things really start to get different, so look forward to that.

If you've played or watched KI Uprising like I suggested, then you already know who was watching the activities of the humans, if not, then just bare with me a little longer.

Review if you want and have a nice day!