(Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters and stories associated with it.)

Of Kisses and Amazons

After Cologne announced she wished to speak with the Saotome family, Ranma became somewhat defensive, "What do ya mean ya want to speak with Mom?"

Cologne sighed, "Don't worry yourself, Ranma. I just need to speak to you and your parents about Shampoo.

From the doorway a woman's voice called out, "I'm afraid my husband won't be able to attend, Elder. He's … sleeping."

The old woman eyed the katana and smirked, "Indeed. Well then, is there a place where we can talk?"

Nodoka glanced at the Tendo family, "Elder, as far as I'm concerned, these people are my family. What ever you may have to say to the Saotome family, will be said to the Tendo family as well."

Kasumi placed her hand in front of her mouth, "Auntie…"

Cologne nodded, "As you wish."

She sighed and continued, "When my great granddaughter first fought Ranma here at this house, I was under the impression it was a challenge. I found out last night it was not. Apparently shampoo was beaten by Ranma while he was protecting the young Akane from her attack. Somehow she got knocked on the head by her own weapon. Once she came to, she gave Ranma the kiss of marriage."

She looked at Ranma for a moment, "Does that sound about right?"

Ranma nodded.

The old woman took a breath, "It is as I feared then. If the fight was not a challenge for her hand in marriage, then the kiss of marriage was invalid."

Soun raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me, Elder. But when Shampoo first visited us, she let us borrow a small booklet with some of the Amazon Laws in it. It stated that if an Amazon warrior lost a fight to a woman, she had to give the woman the kiss of death and kill that woman. It also stated that if the warrior lost to a man, she had to marry that man."

"Was it printed in Chinese on one side and Japanese on the other?"

"Yes it was."

Cologne chuckled, "One of these days we are going to have to get those properly translated into Japanese. Something in the translation isn't quite right."

The whole room yelled out at the same time, "What?"

The Amazon shook her head, "Think about it for a moment. If we went out and killed everyone that beat one of our warriors, eventually we would kill a woman from a powerful family or country. We would be in a constant state of war against every family whose daughter or mother we killed. Then there is this…. We must be able to gauge our warrior's skills against that of the outside world. Without fighting matches, we could easily fall behind new teachings and skills. If we killed every woman that beat one of our warriors, do you think anyone would allow us to fight against them knowing that if they won, we would be forced to kill them?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow, "So, you're telling us the kisses of death don't exist?"

"I didn't say that. The kiss is only used when great honor has been lost by the hand of another. In shampoo's case, she felt dishonored by your defeat over her. Her kiss was valid, even if she did make herself look like a poor loser."

Nodoka glanced over at Ranma for a second, "That makes a bit more sense. I can understand righting a wrong that was committed against me, or my family. But what about the kiss of marriage?"

Cologne sighed, "That too, is a bit different. It's true that when the kiss of marriage is given to a man, she is married to that person. But there are conditions. First of all, it must be an official challenge. If a warrior had to marry every male that defeated her in a fight or battle, she would eventually have a big problem on her hands. Not only that, what if the person that defeated her was extremely evil or perverted?"

Ranma pointed towards the guest room, "The old freak!"

"Exactly. Happosai can probably beat the majority of the warriors in the village. Can you imagine the horror of being forced to marry him just because he won a fight? No, the kiss of marriage can only be given after an official challenge for a warrior's hand."

Ranma shuddered very slightly as he moved closer to Nabiki, "So you're saying that I'm not Shampoo's husband?"

Cologne cackled, "Not unless you want to be, sonny boy. As I recall, your mother here said that you were free to court my great granddaughter if you wish."

Ranma glanced over at Nabiki for a moment, "Uh, I don't think that would be a very good idea."

Cologne cackled at the boy's discomfort, "Ah to be young again. Alright doctor, what was it you wished to see me about?"

Tofu pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, "It's about Akane, Elder. Lately she has become very violent and last night she attacked Nabiki, Ranma, and her father. When I arrived here, she had already been quieted down. After checking her over, I looked at her ki paths and they were not what I expected. To tell the truth and I was quite confused at what I saw. I think it best if we go upstairs and you see for yourself."

"Interesting. Alright, lead the way, Doctor."

Tofu and Cologne walked up the stairs to Akane's room. When they reached the door, Tofu turned to the rest of the family that had followed them and shook his head, "I'm sorry, but you will have to wait outside."

By the time he had closed the door Cologne was already checking the girl's pathways. She motioned for the doctor to come closer, "I can see what you mean, Tofu. This girl has a very odd triangular marking on her back. Look here, you can see it even now as it flows around her heart and actually blocks the good energy of her…."

Tofu turned, "Yes Elder?"

Cologne's voice began to shake, "Here. Help me turn her over on her back. We need to look at her shoulders and stomach."

Tofu helped turn Akane over, "She's still out, I figured she would be starting to wake up by now."

Cologne pulled the young girl's blouse up and gasped, "It's a good thing she's still out, young man. Look at this!"

He pushed his glasses up and looked carefully. It took a few moments, but soon he was able to see what Cologne was pointing out. There on Akane's stomach was a small 2 inch circle. The outer edge of the circle was drawn in a zigzag pattern, much the same as a child would draw the sun.

As he studied the circle, the old woman pulled Akane's blouse open to reveal the shoulders and gasped, "It is as I feared."

Tofu turned, "What?"

"I wish I could say I was wrong, Tofu. But this girl and everyone around her are in great danger."

"I don't understand."

Cologne turned towards the doctor, "Let me explain. What you're looking at is part of an ancient technique called the Demon's Fist. It's an ancient Chinese spell that calls forth a demon to give a warrior strength and power."

"A demon?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, summoning a demon for this purpose has its risks. It requires great skill to master the demon and the constant watch of a demonic seer or priest to keep the demon under control while the warrior is sleeping. The last person I know of who used this ability was killed by the demon when it tried to use the warrior as a portal to our world. He was killed in the battle and the instructions were sealed in a wooden box and given to my grandmother to hide safely in our village. The box was stolen almost a hundred years ago and hasn't been seen since."

Tofu raised an eyebrow, "Interesting, but how did Akane here get a hold of this sort of technique?"

"The spell would have to be done over time and it takes several applications to make it work. We need to look through her things. You will be looking for three candles and what looks like a stick of charcoal."

They both began to search through Akane's things. Cologne carefully looked in the closet while Tofu searched the drawers of the dresser. After a few minutes of rummaging, Tofu noticed something and called out, "Elder, this may prove interesting. The writing is quite old."

Cologne hurried over to where the doctor was looking in the dresser, "What have you got there?"

What she saw made her gasp, "By the gods! It's the ancient box."

"This is what you were talking about?"

The old woman reached in the drawer and picked up a black enameled box. Not much larger than a good sized bible, the edges were adorned with a gold leafed motif while the top contained a pair of bright red Chinese kanji. The front of the box had a gold hasp and attached to the hasp was a very small lock. Cologne gently placed the old box on the desk and turned towards Tofu, "After all these years of missing from our village, it turns up in this girl's room"

"That's quite a while ago, Elder. How do you suppose she got it?"

Cologne reached for the open lock and removed it allowing the box to be opened. Inside were visible three white candles, a small blackened box, a delicate looking scroll, and a piece of paper with crudely written Japanese. She reached inside the box and pulled out the paper and shook it at the doctor, "This is how, Tofu! I'd recognize this handwriting anywhere. This is the work of Happosai!"

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying he's the thief?

Cologne darkened as she read the paper, "Listen to this, Tofu:

School of Anything Goes Unlimited Power Technique.

On the third Monday, place three circles on the body in the places indicated, using the charcoal stick.

Light the three candles

Let a small amount of wax to drip in the center of each circle. Use one candle for each circle.

With two fingers from each hand, rub the wax into the skin and say the following, 'My heart is protected from the weaker powers. Let the Darkness grant me the strength of twenty men.'

Repeat once on every Monday for six nights."

Tofu shook his head, "It's a good thing we found out about this now, Elder."

Cologne held up one of the small candles, "Maybe not, Tofu. This candle is very small, and she may have only one or two more days to go. If she is on the last day, then the demon will do what ever it takes to get her to finish the summoning."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Tomorrow is Monday and the demon spirit inside her now will not allow her to sleep through the night. Even though I intend to send the box back to the village in China, we may well be too late."

Tofu glanced over at Akane, "Do you think this demon is going to harm her?"

Cologne shook her head, "I don't think so. If anything, the demon will protect her until it is either destroyed, or leaves on its own."

"That doesn't help us much, does it?"

Cologne looked over at the door for a moment, "I know you're out there Kasumi. You may come in for a moment. But only you, please."

Moments later, a blushing Kasumi entered the room, "I'm deeply sorry for listening in, Elder. I'm just worried about my sister."

Cologne nodded, "That's understandable, dear. Come over here and look at this box. Do you recognize it?"

The old woman showed her the box and Kasumi nodded, "Yes I do remember. About six weeks ago, Grandfather Happosai was cleaning out his things to make room for more of his…hobby, and threw that in the trash. When I asked him about it he said it was old and musty and he no longer wanted it."

Cologne raised an eyebrow, "Old and musty?"

"Yes. Later that day, Akane came in the house with the box and said she saw it sitting on the top of the can and wanted to use it for a jewelry box. I thought it might make a wonderful little jewelry box and agreed with her."

Cologne shook her head, "So Happi tossed the box into the trash and Akane found it. This just keeps going from bad to worse."

Kasumi tilted her head, "I hope I didn't cause any trouble by letting her have it, Elder. It seemed like a beautiful little box for her to keep some treasures in."

The old Amazon smiled at the younger woman, "Unless you can read ancient Chinese, there was no way for you to know, dearie."

"Do you have any idea what's wrong with my little sister?"

Cologne nodded, "Indeed we do. It would appear that either Akane or someone else has cast a demon summoning spell on her. This spell caused her to become more and more violent as it progressed. Tomorrow is Monday and so I will be leaving now to do a bit of research. I will return in the morning and we will discuss what our plans are going to be. The box was entrusted to our village to protect and I will do whatever it takes to save your sister."

Kasumi gasped, "A demon? In Akane? But…"

The young woman suddenly could take it no longer and began to break down in tears. Tofu, in a move that quite surprised the Amazon, placed his hand around Kasumi's shoulder and walked her out the door. When they had left, the rest of the family approached the door. Before they could bombard her with questions, Cologne quickly explained the situatioin about Akane.

After Cologne was finished, she excused herself and left. For Soun, the stress of the past few hours suddenly took its toll and he began to wail like a baby. He didn't get far in his outburst, before getting hit over the head by the sheath of Nodoka's katana.

The Saotome matriarch glared, "Your daughter needs you more than anything right now, Soun. You're emotional outburst isn't helping things here one bit and you need to reach inside yourself and find what's left of your pride and start acting like a man. Your family needs you…we all need you to show some strength."

Soun gave Nodoka a momentary look of anger before his face softened and he sighed, "You're right Nodoka. It's just I havn't been myself these years and it's hard to keep from losing it."

Nodoka smiled warmly as she led the man down the stairs, "I understand, Soun. Let me fix us some tea and cookies and we'll talk about it, okay?"

Before Ranma could follow his mom downstairs, he was grabbed by the hand as Nabiki pulled him towards her door, "Not yet Ranma. We need to talk."

Ranma followed his fiancé into her room, "What's up Nabiki? They said we don't have to worry about Akane till tomorrow night."

Nabiki's voice was colder than Ranma had heard in a long time, "That isn't what I want to talk about, Saotome. For right now, close and lock the door."

Ranma turned and latched the door shut, making sure it was locked. He turned to find Nabiki staring at him with an icy glare. She pointed towards a spot on the floor and as she sat down Ranma sat across from her. She tapped the tips of her fingers together before speaking, "We need to talk about Shampoo."

His eyes widened, "Sh-Shampoo?"

Her voice was like ice, "Yes, Shampoo. The two of you have a little secret you've been keeping and after that little talk with Cologne, I've grown a bit curious."

Ranma was getting nervous, "What do ya mean?"

Nabiki went into full Ice Queen mode, "Oh come now, Ranma. Surely you don't think I didn't notice you becoming jumpy when Cologne mentioned the kisses of marriage."

Ranma was sweating bullets at Nabiki's words, "I ah-"

Nabiki's face warmed a bit, "Remember Ranma, nothing happens here that I don't eventually hear about. I've had my suspicions about this, but I want to hear it from you. What happened between you and Shampoo?"

Ranma looked at his fiancé for a moment and swallowed hard, "You remember back when Shampoo hated me for a while?"

"Yes. That had something to do with a broach."

"Yeah, it was called the contra jewel or something like that. Anyway, Shampoo got a hold of this jewel and was wearing it for a while."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Well, it has this magical power. It makes you express the opposite of what you actually feel. Shampoo is normally crazy about me, but when she wore that jewel, she acted like she hated me."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "And you didn't care for that, did you?"

"No. It ticked me off that she was ignoring me. So I…"

"So you what, Ranma?"

Ranma swallowed again, "I challenged her."

Nabiki rubbed her temples, "You didn't…"

"Even though I beat her, she never gave me the kiss of marriage. In fact, she pretty much told me she hated my guts."

Nabiki began to calm a bit at this news as she rubbed her chin, "Why do you suppose she hasn't told Cologne about the challenge? If there were witnesses, you would have been hog tied and carried off to China by now."

"I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with that stupid jewel. If she hated me when she was wearing it, she may not remember the fight. Akane sure didn't remember telling me she loved me when she wore it."

She reached over and grabbed his hand as she stood up. Pulling him up with her, she looked at him closely, "Let's hope so. That's one little secret that might ruin everything for you."

Nabiki moved until she was inches from his face, "Listen Ranma, I already knew some things about the challenge. There were a few witnesses to the fight between you and shampoo, but they had no real idea what was going on. You are one damned lucky arrogant jock, Ranma. The only reason why I'm not completely pissed off with you right now is because that happened when you were with Akane and I really didn't have any feelings for you then."

He only nodded in agreement.

"I don't want anything like this to happen again, Ranma. I want you to promise me on your honor you will never let your arrogant ego drive you to do something that stupid again."

Ranma swallowed hard as he answered, "Yeah, sure. I promise, Nabiki."

Nabiki moved closer, "Thank you, Ranma. I know your word is as good as gold. Now I have a little secret of my own to tell you. You see, I'm not angry that you chased after Shampoo when she acted like she hated you. No Ranma. I'm angry because it could have meant losing you."

"Huh?"

"That's right. You see Ranma, I've been keeping this to myself for quite some time now. Yes, I know…The Ice Queen is full of secrets. But this little secret is special…it's about me. You already know that I care a great deal for you as my friend, but what I haven't told you is how strong those feelings are. Whether we wanted this to happen or not, Ranma, I'm slowly but surely falling in love with you. With each passing day, I find myself thinking of you more and more, and in ways I've never felt for anyone else."

Before Ranma could comment she reached out and slapped him softly across the cheek, "That's for risking your life needlessly just for the affections of Shampoo."

Ranma placed his hand on his cheek. He didn't really feel it, but the tone of her voice hit like a stone fist, "Nabiki, I didn't kno-."

She interrupted, "And this is to show how much I care for you and that I'm never going to let you go."

She then reached up with both hands and clasped them around his neck. Ranma's eyes popped open as she brought his head close to hers and kissed him full on the lips.