Chasing the Rainbow

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any related characters in any way, shape or form.

Author's Notes: It's been some time since this was updated, and we apologize for that. Real life gets in the way. We're glad to see folks enjoyed the last chapter, and don't worry, Natsume and Kurumi aren't going to be non-entities in this story. They aren't the stars of the show, but they are going to get involved. We were already half-decided on skipping the Tunnel of Lost Love story, but seeing the rest of you agreed it was totally skippable with this current concept means that any doubt was removed – we'll just jump right to the Evil Oni, once it's time.

Chapter 18: Shampoo's Training Inferno!

The rooftop of the Nekohanten was flat and wide open enough that in the early mornings, if one bothered to look up, they could see a pair of blurs dancing around on the rooftop. If there was anyone watching however, Shampoo was far too busy trying to avoid getting bruised by Cologne's walking stick to care about it. Ever since the small-scale 'war' between the three fiancées, Shampoo had taken to sparring with Cologne at every opportunity in order to improve her skills.

And it was showing...at least as far as the bruises were concerned. She had been getting faster and hitting harder, but anyone could do that. Shampoo wanted something that would impress Ranma and intimidate her rivals, and, dammit, she wanted it now!

WHACK!

"Owie."

Cologne sighed, "You're drifting off again child." Shampoo had the decency to flush in embarrassment as Cologne continued, "If you have something to ask, ask it."

Shampoo took the chance, "Teach me a new technique great-grandmother!"

Cologne chuckled. "Ah, to be young again. Let me guess, something flashy and powerful to impress that certain someone?" She didn't hold back a cackle as Shampoo blushed bright red at being found out, "You can't fool me child, I figured out why you've been doing this the moment you came home and asked to spar with me." She bounced onto her cane and regarded Shampoo with smiling eyes, "And I do believe that those new arrivals you spied on only made it more urgent in your mind yes?"

Shampoo nodded, "I want to learn something like those girls used! Do you have any knowledge about this 'Hot' and 'Cold' Ki, great-grandmother?"

Cologne nodded, "Let's go back inside. There's a few things about such techniques you'll need to know first."

Once Shampoo was seated at the small table in their living room, Cologne put on a special batch of herbal tea which would revitalize them both and encourage their injuries to heal quicker. Shampoo was quiet, as she had been taught, but Cologne didn't need her many decades of experience to see the eagerness in her position and know the desires that were chasing each other around her heart. Once the two had each half-drunk a cup of her restorative brew, Cologne began to speak. She spoke in their native tongue, so as to ensure that Shampoo would not misunderstand something vital.

"Before we begin, you must understand the difference between channeling ki and invoking ki." She stated.

"Great grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

"When you channel ki, you reach out with your spirit to touch the spiritual energy of another power, be it the earth underfoot, the ambient ki of an area, even an object or another person, and then draw that external energy into yourself. For offensive purposes, you would act as a kind of spiritual conduit, drawing in the external ki, focusing it within your own soul, and then expelling it at your target. Ranma's Moko Takabisha, and the Shishi Hokodan that he derived it from, are perfect examples of offensive ki channeling. When they use those attacks, they draw in the ki that is generated by their own emotional state and then expel it as a blast of force. Because of this, such a move is not restricted to the user's own spiritual strength; a weak person, such as... let us say that Tatewaki Kuno fool, could generate a Moko Takabisha of even greater force than your Ranma if his confidence was strong enough."

Shampoo couldn't help but look a little skeptical at that proclamation. "Then... to invoke ki is to draw upon the ki from within yourself?" She asked.

"That's it exactly, child." Cologne said, favoring her with a smile.

"But that would mean that invoking ki is more limited, wouldn't it? After all, its strength would be determined by your strength." She reasoned.

"That is so." Cologne nodded sagely.

"Then... why learn to invoke ki, when you can channel ki?" Shampoo asked.

"The ki that you call from within takes more effort to master, but in return, it is more controllable." Cologne explained. "As it comes from you, it is innately more malleable; it does not resist your efforts to shape it and wield it in specific fashions."

As Shampoo nodded in comprehension, Cologne then continued to the true matter at hand.

"It is almost impossible to master Hot and Cold ki simultaneously." She explained. "Only the utterly mad would be capable of changing their way of thinking so completely. Channeling hot or cold ki is simple; one merely needs to draw upon the ki of a fire, or a block of ice, the desert, a blizzard - theoretically, one could even draw upon the sun for hot ki, though the risk of being incinerated far outweighs the likelihood of success. But to invoke such ki... you would need to confront and control your own emotional state."

"Ranma," she continued, "is inclined towards the usage of cold ki. He is still inexperienced and headstrong, but he does have the requisite control over his emotions -as proven when he mastered the Soul of Ice to achieve the ability to wield the Hiryu Shoten Ha in battle. He does not allow passion to rule him battle... usually."

"And what about me, great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked, eager to the point of impatience.

"You...? You, I would say, are inclined to the usage of hot ki. Your passions are your strength; your emotions run freely in battle, and in life, and you let your feelings drive you. The same could be said of Akane Tendo." Cologne declared.

"Oh, thank you." Shampoo grumbled.

"That is not an insult to either of you. It is a part of who you are, nothing more." Cologne stated firmly.

"So, I must learn to use my emotions to make my ki burn hot, and then draw that hot ki from myself in this attack you are suggesting?" Shampoo puzzled.

"Precisely. The move I wish to teach you is called the Kasho Happa-Ken." Cologne declared.

"...Circles of Inferno?" Shampoo wondered, eyes alight with the expression of a thief who had just seen her greatest score ever in front of her eyes. This sounded like just the move she dreamed of to humiliate her enemies and impress Ranma!

Cologne nodded, "It is a powerful technique if used properly, but there is a great degree of preparation that needs to be done beforehand. Pack for a trip far from Nerima, we will need an isolated location. Also, there are some other issues that I need to take care of, so I will be back shortly." With that said, Cologne left the Nekohanten as Shampoo dashed upstairs to pack.

It took little time to find Ranma's camp site and Cologne watched as the person in question finished some katas before she applauded loud enough to catch his attention. "Very good, Ranma; it's good to see you keeping sharp."

"Thanks, granny. So, what's up? You don't usually leave the Nekohanten." Ranma asked, sincerely curious. A part of his brain wondered if maybe something had happened with Mousse, or if he was late for a date with Shampoo - after all, he was sure that Cologne knew about the changes in their relationship. Then again, if he was late for a date, why would Cologne have come to get him? Shampoo would much have preferred a direct approach to reprimanding him.

"I'm taking Shampoo out of Nerima for some training in a new technique since she was...impressed by the two new arrivals to the Tendo Dojo. However, this is a difficult training and for that I will need your assistance in order for it to be successful." Cologne shifted slightly on her walking stick, face serious, "If this was any other training I wouldn't trouble you but for this your presence is a necessity."

"Why do you need me?" Ranma asked, at once interested and cautious. The Joketsuzoku wouldn't just show off one of their precious techniques, certainly not in a fashion that would allow him to duplicate it and learn it for himself (after all, Ranma didn't need all that much to duplicate a move anyway)... and the fact it had something to do with Natsume & Kurumi just gave him more reason to be both interested and cautious. Interested because it hinted that it was something to do with the Joketsuzoku's understanding of temperature ki, cautious because there had to be a catch if they were willing to let him "eavesdrop" on such information.

"I'm training her in the usage of a technique that will require her to go through some intense emotional training and your presence will be needed to help stabilize her during the training." Cologne thought carefully for a moment, "The technique is one that will allow Shampoo to be able to use the same type of Ki the younger girl, Kurumi I believe, uses; since my great-granddaughter is more suited to that kind of Ki usage."

She tapped her staff to emphasize what she said next. "And as for why I need you...the best way I can put this is that Shampoo is less likely to try and kill you than anyone else and you possess the best chances of preventing her killing herself."

"...It's that dangerous?" Ranma finally commented in disbelief. The Moko Takabisha and the Hiryu Shoten Ha hadn't been dangerous at all - okay, the last one maybe a little, seeing as how he needed Ryoga to have a full-fledged burning aura to see if he'd pulled it off, but still...

Cologne nodded, "I don't need to remind you what the Amaguriken and Bakusai Tenketsu involved in order to master them do I?" At Ranma's silent negative Cologne continued. "Children's games compared to this one. I have been around a very long time Ranma, and I have seen warriors with your potential who took on even other, more secret, techniques without complaint, and mastered them as easily as you did."

She shook her head tiredly. "And that overconfidence was, I will admit, their main downfall. They mistook physical fortitude for mental fortitude, and they paid the price for it."

"So, what, this involves messing around with Shampoo's head?" Ranma crossed his arms over his chest in suspicion. He had a deep distrust for any move like that, especially after his own personal trauma. He shuddered and forced the memories away.

"Only in so much as I 'messed with your head' to teach you the Soul of Ice." Cologne stated smoothly. "The technique's power comes from within... but to access that power requires pushing the trainee to extremes that can be dangerous to her trainer and her surroundings, as well as herself. Very few trainees die... but there are things that can be worse than death, to a martial artist." She stated, letting the words drift to a conclusion.

Ranma drummed his fingers irritably on his arms. "Y'know, this is really starting ta sound like that damn Nekoken my old man put me through..." He warned, trying to hold sincere anger up as a ward against the nightmare images that tried to claw their way out of the back of his mind, the darkness and the smell and the eyes and the claws and the teeth and...

Cologne promptly introduced her cane to Ranma's head, and not in one of her usual playful pokes. "That is precisely why I came for you, to ensure that a similar scarring would not be afflicted upon my poor descendent." She snapped. "I admit I am not infallible, but kindly credit me with more sense than your father has displayed!"

"...I'll admit you're right about that." Ranma said, rubbing his head, hard pressed to be grateful for that manner of distraction. "So..."

"So, I am asking you, as one martial artist to another. Will you help my great-granddaughter with her training? I would not expect you to do this entirely out of the goodness of your heart... I would be willing to compensate you..." Cologne trailed off, dangling her bait and waiting to see if Ranma would bite.

"Compensations...?" Ranma asked, eager despite himself. He tried to be good, he really did, but he couldn't help who he was deep down; someone used to looking out for his own skin (because nobody else would, not in his life). Besides, Ranma had never claimed to be a saint, and doing something like this without a reward would take a saint.

Cologne nodded, "I can provide basic information on more advanced techniques. Nothing detailed mind you, after all you aren't married to Shampoo yet, but I'm certain you can fill in the gaps." She pulled out a scroll that she had grabbed before leaving the Nekohanten and tossed it to Ranma, "Consider this a down payment. It's basic, but I know you can do serious damage even with this."

Ranma snagged it out of the air one handed. He didn't open it, but he held it close to his chest. "Thanks, granny... although, I gotta say I probably would have come anyway, if you'd kept your mouth shut a few moments longer."

Cologne shrugged, "It never hurts to hedge your bets Ranma. Pack for a long trip, we need to be somewhere isolated to lower the chance of Shampoo hurting anyone."

"Well, that's easy enough; haven't taken anything out of my backpack yet." Ranma said, rolling his shoulders and proceeding to pack up his campsite.

Cologne nodded, "We'll be waiting at the Nekohanten."

Ranma nodded absently as Cologne bounced away atop her ever-present staff. The idle thought that this might actually be seen in a bad fashion by his other fiancées pushed its way into his mind, and was promptly pushed out. This was entirely innocent, they surely would understand... especially given how much progress they all had made, right?

Some time later, he and Shampoo were setting up a camp in the mountains near Nerima - Ranma was actually fairly sure this was the same mountain range where he and Ryoga had their Bakusai Tenketsu duel, if not necessarily the same camping grounds. Cologne watched them as they worked; perched owlishly atop a small bundle the contents of which she would only say were a necessity for the training. Only once everything was in its proper place were the teens allowed to approach her, Shampoo visibly bouncing on her heels in excitement.

"Camp is all set up, great-grandmother. We start now?" She pleaded.

Cologne nodded solemnly. "We shall begin, child... if you truly believe you are ready."

"Shampoo is." She insisted, trying to sound stern and stoic rather than giddy with excitement. She failed.

"So, what's in the bundle?" Ranma asked, finally able to sate his curiosity. If there was one flaw of Ranma's that he would actually admit to, it was that he was inquisitive even when prudence would serve him better.

"You remember what you were required to do in order to master the Soul of Ice?" Cologne asked.

Ranma nodded.

"Well, that would have been a prepatory step for mastering cold ki. What Shampoo needs to do is quite the opposite; hot ki is fuelled by passion and emotional intensity. The first part of the training, and the most difficult, is for Shampoo achieve a total lack of emotional inhibition. This bundle contains certain incenses that will stimulate her emotions... a kind of anti-meditation, if you will." Cologne explained.

Ranma blinked several times, before... "You had me worried over Shampoo's safety over that!" He shouted. "You made it sound like she was in serious danger; since when are mood swings lethal?"

"You were worried about me, airen?" Shampoo asked eagerly, then, blinking as the less important details caught her attention, "Wait, what danger?" She demanded.

"All special techniques require risk, Shampoo, you know that." Cologne chided. "And believe me, son-in-law; this is not some mere mood swing we're talking about. I will not force you to undergo this, child..." She began.

Shampoo shook her head fiercely, not even needing to speak when determination was writ large on her features. Cologne sighed softly, and began to unwrap the bundle...

A few minutes later, Ranma was shaking his head at the sight of a topless Shampoo dancing around, singing some manner of song with a look of ecstatic joy on her face. He turned to Cologne. "Okay...maybe you have a point, granny, but so far… this is just annoying."

Cologne shook her head as the singing stopped. "I suggest you start running."

Ranma blinked. "Huh? What do you mean..."

"Oh airen..."

Ranma paled at the tone in Shampoo's voice and without another word, took off at a dead run as Shampoo took off after him, somehow managing to have lost more of her clothing on the way.

"I didn't know he could run that fast." Cologne commented idly as she watched her now-naked descendent chase the boy she desired around and around the camp before racing off into the wilderness.

"Shampoo, get a hold of yourself!" Ranma half demanded, half pleaded. "This isn't like you! ... Okay, you weren't exactly unaffectionate or especially reserved before, but this still isn't normal for you!" He amended after a moment's thought, springing up into a tree and leaping to its closest neighbor from a solid branch.

"But airen! Shampoo just want to show she love you too-too much!" Shampoo maintained her pursuit easily and Ranma shivered at the almost feline manner some of her leaps took on as the chase progressed in a steadily rising loop in the forest until Ranma suddenly dropped down in the hopes of throwing Shampoo off.

"Okay, this... this could be a problem." He admitted to himself. "Still... all I have to do is stay out of her way until she stops wanting to jump me - that couldn't be that hard, could it?"

"Airen? Airen, where are you? Why are you hiding from Shampoo?" Ranma stiffened and stayed very quiet and very, very still as the sounds of footsteps met his ears. He wondered if there was some manner of invisibility technique he could learn. If not, he'd definitely make one! He shifted ever so slightly and raised his foot to step around the tree that Shampoo was stalking behind.

Crick! Ranma decided that if there truly was a kami in every object in the world, the ones inside sticks and twigs had a sick a sense of humor as he started running again.

"Airen! There you are!" Shampoo cried, charging straight for Ranma and literally smashing through the tree in between them, a poignant reminder of the fact that, for all Ranma's ability to outfight her, Shampoo was still monstrously strong in her own right. She smiled in a manner at once beauteous and lustful, arms open wide and breasts brandished proudly. "Come to Shampoo's arms, let Shampoo show you all the pleasures of Amazon womans..." She purred throatily.

"N-now Shampoo, just take it easy okay? Just, calm down a little...please?" Ranma backed off slowly and warily, hoping against hope that the amorous girl would slow down.

'Lethal to her? I'd say this is going to be lethal for me if she doesn't calm down!' Ranma wondered if this was what deer felt when confronted by wolves.

Shampoo moaned sensuously as she advanced, hooded eyes doing nothing to hide the fires of lust burning within, hips and breasts sashaying from side to side with deliberate, exaggerated flirtatiousness. "Oh, airen... Shampoo so horny... Shampoo love you long time..."

"H-heh, that's nice Shampoo." Ranma winced at the phrase that had left the girl's lips, and then dodged out of the way of another grab, contemplating running again but deciding against it. Who knew how long until her next mood swing and whether she might need help then.

"Ranma, come here! This is wasting time we could be making each other very happy with!" Shampoo shouted, still lustful, but now a tinge of anger in her words, her body slowing its strangely hypnotic gyrations as she tried to latch onto him.

"I think I can be just as happy with my pants on thank you very much!"

At that, Shampoo stopped. And then, she started to tremble, tears beginning to trickle from her eyes. "Airen...?" Then her battle aura began to glow around her, something Ranma couldn't recall seeing before. It grew thicker and thicker, starting to veil her skin and shroud her features, a palpable wave of heat growing around her, and then... "Ranma!" She screamed, her aura suddenly flaring brighter than any Ranma had ever seen before, a surge of dry heat washing across Ranma, leaves overhead withering in the baking incandescence, Shampoo's hair rising almost perfectly vertical and dancing as if in a fierce wind.

"Ah shit."

Ranma dodged, wincing as another tree was felled and Shampoo was on him again, this time looking in the mood to do something cruel and horrifying to him and then do unspeakable things to his corpse later. "Is it too late to say I'm sorry?" he called as he dodged a fallen branch thrown like a spear, shuddering as it went through another tree.

"Ranma! You not get away with this! Always, always Shampoo be good to you, give self to you, humiliate self for you, and you never thankful! You take and you take and you never give! Shampoo just want little smile, little thank you, little touch on cheek - is that too much to ask for? Shampoo try kiss Ranma, show she happy Ranma strong and healthy, Ranma run away! Shampoo offer most private, special thing that woman can give, Ranma spit in Shampoo's face! Shampoo not take it any more!"

"Yeeek!" Ranma backflipped over a roundhouse kick and then rolled from a stomp that made a small crater. "Look, I'm sorry, its just that well...I don't want to rush things!"

"Oh no, you not sweet talk you way out of this! Shampoo sick and tired of giving Ranma chance after chance and always come to nothing! Shampoo try and get hug from Ranma with hypnotic mushroom - Ranma treat Shampoo like villain, trick Shampoo with think maybe he really appreciate Shampoo's feelings after all, then hypnotize Shampoo!"

Ranma wondered how long this would keep up, "It's not just you, it's the other girls as well!"

"Yes! Shampoo make Ranma pay, then make them pay too! They not know what it like! They not know what it like to be made to marry man what you lucky you can love, but who no love you back! They not know what it like to lose all what you work and struggle for all lifetime to complete stranger! They not know what it like to leave only home you ever know and come to strange land where you be alone... be all alone..." She trailed off, her aura vanishing like a candle in a breeze, hair falling about her like dead straw as she slowly wrapped her arms around herself in a desperate embrace, tears flowing from her eyes again. "Shampoo so, so very... alone..." She whispered, her knees giving way as she slowly collapsed to the scorched earth.

Ranma winced as the implications of Shampoo's statement hit him along with the tears, and with a part of his mind weakly complaining about the absurdity of the situation, he tentatively put an arm around the girl's shoulder and sat with her, saying comforting words and hoping that it wouldn't start to rain; last thing he needed was to comfort a depressed cat in a storm.

"It's alright, I'm here. I'm sorry about hurting your feelings; my nerves are just a little shot is all. Things have been...stressful and I'm sorry." Well, that was somewhat true after all; don't the best lies use the truth?

Shampoo just sniffed, and then started to sob, turning around so that she could bury her face in Ranma's shirt, arms twining about his neck. All Ranma could do was sit and hold her as she cried.

Minutes later, Ranma walked back into the camp, Shampoo in his arms and trying his hardest not to look at the naked form he was carrying, instead fixating his expression on Cologne, who was blank as a winter pond. "Well, I got her back, and she's alright." He said conversationally, tucking Shampoo into her tent as best he could without actually looking at her. "I'll tell you what, I'm glad that's over with though." He added, more sincere than he had ever been.

"I understand the sentiment... but it's not over." Cologne pointed out casually.

Ranma stared at her blankly, then responded with a flat, "What?"

"The incense, and its effect on her, will easily last another day or two. Maybe as long as three days from today. And she'll be feeling that way right up until it all burns itself out." Cologne explained.

"You mean..."

Cologne nodded. "I told you to be on your guard at all times, and I'm reminding you again now. In this state, Shampoo is a danger not just to others, but also to herself. Get some sleep, and make sure you stay close in case she wakes up and has another mood swing."

Ranma groaned as he set up his own tent; he was tired out just from one day, and now he had to keep it up for maybe another three?

"Damn, this sucks. This technique better be worth it, Shampoo."

It took sleep a long time to reach Ranma as the teen twitched and started at every suspicious sound. Finally, his eyes started to droop and he drifted off into a fitful slumber.

"Yeah, I should be able to make it tonight. Busy? No, with the old ghoul gone for so long this is pretty much a vacation for me, so I've got plenty of time to spend on you beautiful. Hmm? I don't know, some sort of technique training, don't know what she needed Ranma for. Probably conned him into helping out." The sound of keys being turned in the front doors of the Nekohanten drew Mousse's attention from where he was sitting with the restaurant's cordless phone with his feet propped up on a table. "Well, I need to go, sounds like they're back. Heh, love you too Nabiki-chan."

Mousse hung up just as the door opened, and then goggled at the sight before him. "Damn, did you stop to fight a war on the way back?" He asked, only barely joking.

Ranma presented him with an obscene gesture. "Hahah, very fucking funny. I just want to have a bath and forget the last three days."

"Shampoo too-too sorry Ranma." The blue-haired girl looked contrite though Cologne managed a smirk at the memory as Ranma flinched.

"Tell you what; when I decide to master Ice Ki, I'll get you to look after me and we'll be equal." He winced as he shifted slightly, "You better hold up your end of the deal old ghoul."

"Don't worry; you've earned it." Cologne said, letting the "old ghoul" comment pass... just this once. "You can use our bath upstairs again, if you'd like." She said, referring to that incident in which Shampoo had found Ranma lying on the pavement outside after ending up on the wrong end of Happosai's Mold Burst attack and then brought him in to wash up.

"...I'd rather not." Ranma stated flatly, then, in the same tone of voice, "See ya". He turned and staggered off, either to his chosen camping ground or the public bathhouse, Cologne couldn't tell which.

"You sure he'll forgive me, great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked nervously.

Despite himself, Mousse couldn't help but flinch. Yes, he was kind of with Nabiki now, but... well, he had chased Shampoo for a long time, and nobody liked having their face rubbed in their romantic failures.

"I am sure. He understands you couldn't control it... now, to the bath with you."

Shampoo nodded tiredly and made for the stairs leading up to the second level of the Nekohanten.

So, Shampoo doesn't have the Circles of Inferno technique down yet, but rest assured, you'll get to see it displayed very soon, and it will have an effect on the roles she's going to play in future chapters. Next up, we'll show you what Ranma and Ukyo do on one of their dates… suggestions are heartily encouraged, as we're honestly drawing something of a blank on things for them to do.

As an aside, yes, you could do a Ranma/Shampoo lemon "spin off" of this chapter. Did it occur in the canon of this story? No. Are we going to write one? Certainly not! If you want to see a passion-crazed Shampoo managing to catch Ranma and screw their brains out in the wilderness, you write it.