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

Shampoo's Shame

From the last chapter: Nabiki's eyes were wide as saucers as she looked down at the check for two million yen…

Nabiki picked up the carefully written check and eyed it for a bit before turning her gaze towards Nodoka, "How…how can you…?"

Nodoka chuckled softly as she walked around the counter, "Contrary to what that might imply, I live by a simple means and am not a rich woman. The Saotome clan, however has considerable resources at their disposal and even though they would not allow me to use any of the funds to track down Ranma when he was young, because the honor of both families was tarnished, I was allowed to pay off the debt."

The Saotome matriarch reached down and clasped the young chef's hand, "Remember dear, this only changes the debt of honor between our families. Not only are you free to use that any way you wish, you are also free to take what ever justice you feel is needed out of my husband's hide."

Ukyo looked up at the woman through moist eyes, "I should be happy…I really should. After all these years I can finally build the restaurant I always wanted, and I can face my father again."

The older woman smiled knowingly, "You still want to be with Ranma, don't you?"

Ukyo nodded as her eyes watered up again, "Yes…with the dowry paid now, I don't have a claim on him anymore."

Nodoka nodded, "This is true. Only the Tendo agreement remains intact. Still, that doesn't mean you can't continue to be close friends and still court my son's affections"

Both women suddenly looked up, "Huh?"

She smiled, "Take it easy, you two. What I'm trying to say is Ranma has the right to choose who his wife will be. In the end, he may choose any woman he wishes. While the honor of the two families dictates that he pick a Tendo girl, I will not stand in the way of my son's final choice. I want him to be happy, and that takes precedence over any past agreements."

Ukyo perked up a bit and turned towards Nabiki, "Just tell me one thing Tendo, and tell me truthfully. Do you love him?"

Nabiki smiled for a moment as she rested her chin on her folded hands, "All I ever wanted was to be his friend, Ukyo. But like we've all found out, Ranma kind of grows on you after a while. Before I knew what was happening, I had fallen for him as well. So to answer your question, yes I do love him."

Ukyo swore, "Damn, I didn't expect you to admit it so easily."

"Normally, I wouldn't. But to family and friends, I'll make an exception."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow, "Friends?"

Nabiki smiled as she extended her hand, "He doesn't have very many he can trust, Ukyo. I consider any friend of Ranma's to be a friend of mine."

Ukyo smirked as she cautiously shook the other girl's hand, "What about the Ice Queen?"

"Don't worry about her, she's always here when I need her. It's just that from now on, I only let her out when I'm doing business. I decided a while ago that she gets put away when I'm with my friends and family."

Ukyo laughed, "Alright Sugar, I close up in about 2 hours. Give me till then and I'll start helping you look for her."

Nodoka smiled, "Thank you. We're going to make a quick trip to check on the young Amazon and then I'll be going back to the Tendo house to assist Kasumi with the dinner. If you wish, stop by and say hello. I'm sure you would be most welcome."

Ukyo paused for a moment, "I still have a lot to do here, but I'll see if I can make it."

Nodoka smiled as she bowed politely, "Very well. I hope we will see you again soon, Miss Kuonji."

After Nabiki and Nodoka left the building, Ukyo picked up the check and shook her head. Looking around at her little restaurant, ideas began to form in her mind of the possibilities.

* * *

Outside, Ranma and Genma were arguing once again. The portly martial artist was getting tired of Ranma pretending his mom was near by and Genma wasn't going to fall for it any more. He sat down on a bench and waved his hand at his son, "Listen boy, we've looked everywhere in the shopping district and around the school. Plenty of people have seen her, but no one knows where she went. Let's call it a day and search again tomorrow. I'm bushed."

Ranma folded his arms across his chest and smirked, "Are you sure you want to do that, old man? You know how mom gets when she see's you loafing."

"I'm not falling for that any more, Ranma. She and your new fiancé have probably gone back to the dojo for some of Kasumi's wonderful cooking."

A wicked smile formed on Ranma's lips, "Do you really think Mom would have gone home already? She can be a pretty stubborn woman when she puts her mind to it. You know if she sees you loafing, she's going to skin you alive"

The portly martial artist leaned back in the bench and crossed his legs, "Let me tell you something, Ranma my boy. I'm not falling for any more of your little jokes. I'm going to sit here and take a break and I'm not going to move one inch until I feel rested. I don't care if she was standing behind me right this minute. I've been working all day with you and now I'm going to take it easy for a while."

Ranma smirked, "If you say so, Pop. Hi Mom!"

Genma waved Ranma off, "I'm not falling for your tricks again, boy. You can't expect me to jump every time you mention her name, now can you?"

Ranma just smiled and didn't say anything more. Genma looked at his son's quiet behavior and shivered as if a cold wind had blown right through him. Suddenly a soft voice sounded from behind him, "Hello husband dear. Have you already found Akane?"

The girlish screams of terror that followed were almost comical as the portly martial artist took off running down the street. Nodoka shook her head as Ranma laughed, "Please tell me he hasn't been loafing all day, Son."

Ranma was still laughing, "Actually he's been helping quite a bit. Just needs a little push now and then to get him motivated. Unfortunately, he can run pretty fast when he wants to and I don't think I'm going to find him anytime soon, now that he's taken off."

Nodoka smiled, "It's at a small start if he was at least trying to do his part to find the girl."

"If you say so, Mom."

"I'm glad I found you, son. Nabiki and I were going to see how the young Amazon girl was doing. I need to get home and make a few quick phone calls and it might be better if you and Nabiki went instead."

"Me?"

"Well, yes…. You were her fiancé at one time and at the very least a friend. You and Nabiki should go and visit her for a bit. Dinner will be ready when you finish and after that you can go out and look some more for Akane. We still have all day tomorrow to locate her."

* * *

Ranma and Nabiki said their good bye's and headed off to the hospital while Nodoka made her way towards the Tendo dojo. Not too far from where they parted, in a large mansion, Tatewaki Kuno was looking at himself in a gilded mirror. Striking a dramatic pose, he ran his fingers through his through his hair. He then gave the mirrored image of himself a smile before turning and calling out, "Sasuke!"

The diminutive ninja immediately appeared, "Yes master Kuno?"

Tatewaki raised his bokken and struck another dramatic pose, "Should I wear these, the official family robes of the samurai, or should I wear something else while searching for the fair Akane Tendo?"

Sasuke hesitated for a few moments as if thinking. He normally disliked helping the young Kuno choose his clothing because when Tatewaki came home beaten from a fight, The ninja got blamed for picking the wrong clothes. He was saved from this danger when the door bell chimed in the foyer.

The ninja excused himself and was off in an instant. Tatewaki adjusted his clothes in the mirror for a moment before slowly making his way to greet the guest. The moment he entered the foyer, a young woman suddenly ran to him and clutched him around the waist tightly while she buried her face in his chest and cried emotionally.

"You have to save me, Tatewaki! Please, they're coming for me!"

Tatewaki Kuno was surprised to say the least. Although it has been said many times by more than a few people the boy was dense, he still recognized the short black hair, the soft voice, and most certainly the death grip around his waist. He looked down at the young woman, "Akane Tendo, what is troubling you so?"

Akane looked up with large wet eyes and smiled ever so slightly, "It's terrible…they want to hurt me. All of them are plotting to rob me of my martial arts skills and make me a slave to that pervert, Ranma Saotome. Please Tatewaki…please! You've got to help me!"

Once again, the boy's intelligence failed him. Having forgotten about the possibility the girl was possessed by a dangerous demon, he now concentrated only on the girl's closeness and how nice it felt having her arms around him. Smiling to himself, he wrapped his own arms around her, "There, there. You're safe here. Tell me all about it and I, Tatewaki Kuno, the legendary Blue Thunder will do what ever it takes to assist you."

The corners of Akane's mouth turned up a bit more as she began her tale, "Tatewaki, I have discovered a wondrous power that will finally break the chains that have bound me to Ranma Saotome. Unfortunately, I have not yet completed the final piece of the technique. I need you to protect me, Tatewaki. I need you to protect me from him and his weapons of black magic."

Akane reached up behind the confused boy and placed her hands on four special points on his back, "Help me do this and I will be yours, Tatewaki. Yours to court and date as you wish with no interference."

Tatewaki felt the slight pressure on his back and assumed the girl wished to kiss him, "My dear Akane. I vow to protect you with my very life."

Akane sneered under her breath, "That's all I needed to hear."

With a quickness even Ranma would appreciate, she struck the four points she had been holding on the boy's back. Instantly Tatewaki began to slide to his knees and as he dropped, the Tendo girl moved in and kissed him full on the lips. The kiss only lasted for a second, and then the Kuno boy dropped to the floor and slumped over. Akane placed her hand on the boy's shoulder and hit a final point.

Tatewaki raised his head and smiled adoringly at the young woman before him, "My mistress. What is it you wish of me?"

Hidden within the shadows down the hall, a feminine figure dressed in black stifled a gasp.

* * *

A few blocks away, Ranma and Nabiki had entered the hospital. After checking in with the nurse at the desk, they entered the elevator and took it to the third floor. At the waiting room, they saw Doctor Tofu and greeted him.

Ranma called out, "Hey Doc. How's Shampoo doing?"

The doctor looked up from his papers, "Ah, hello Ranma…Nabiki. She is going to be alright. We got her here in time before she bled too much. She has a two broken ribs, a broken arm and her pelvis is cracked. All that will mend in time, but she also has a bad concussion.

Ranma clenched his fist and swore, "Damn…"

Tofu continued, "She's a very strong woman, Ranma. I have no doubt she will pull through like you did from that gunshot wound."

"That's good to hear, doc."

"Would you two like to see her? Normally only family are allowed to visit, but she has no one right now."

"What about Mousse and the old ghoul?"

"I haven't seen the Amazon boy yet, but Elder Cologne is getting her ankle treated. She sprained it a bit in that fight. She wouldn't let us look at it when she got here, but I have a Chinese colleague here that talked her into letting him check it out for her."

Ranma chuckled, "She's pretty tough for her age."

Tofu smiled as he pointed down the hall, "Third door on the right. If anyone yells at you, tell them elder Cologne and I said it was okay."

"Thanks, Doc."

Ranma and Nabiki walked over the door and entered the room. Separated from the other patients by a curtain, Shampoo could be seen on the nearest bed. Ranma hesitated as he eyed the condition of his blue haired friend. The top of her head had a large white bandage covering her blue hair and her face had several smaller bandages covering what must have been cuts and abrasions. Her right eye was swollen and dark purple in color, her right arm was elevated and in a cast, and her left arm had a pair of tubes attached to it.

Ranma approached the bed cautiously, "Hey Shampoo."

A few seconds had passed before Shampoo opened her eye and focused on the martial artist. She smiled a bit at seeing him, "Ranma visit Shampoo?"

Ranma smiled, "Yeah, the Doc let us in."

The Amazon glared at Nabiki for a moment, "Why Ranma bring mercenary girl? Shampoo only want husband."

Nabiki's eyes flashed for a moment, but quickly softened, "Look Shampoo. I don't want to be your enemy. Ranma still thinks of you as a friend, and I would like to as well."

Shampoo closed her eye, "Shampoo no want to be friend with mercenary girl. Mercenary girl obstacle. Obstac-."

Nabiki interrupted, "Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before and you should know by now I don't take kindly to threats."

Ranma spread his hands apart, "Look, we didn't come her to fight with you, Shampoo. We came to visit and see how you were."

Shampoo's face softened, "Shampoo sorry. Shampoo very upset. Lose face and honor in battle."

Nabiki nodded, "You mean that fight you had with my sister?"

The Amazon lowered her eyes, "Shampoo no take violent girl seriously. Shampoo pay for stupid mistake."

Ranma shook his head, "That may have been true, but in the end she would still have had you beat. That demon has amped her up more than either of us were ready for."

"Make no difference. Shampoo loose. Shampoo fail."

Nabiki crossed her arms, "I don't believe this. And here I thought Amazons were tough."

Shampoo looked over at the middle Tendo, "What mercenary girl mean?"

"What I mean is after all the high and mighty words I've had to listen to about how tough Amazon women are, all I see before me is a young girl wallowing in her own self pity about losing a battle."

A bit of fire glinted in the girl's eyes for a few moments, "Shampoo have nothing now. Shampoo loose husband. Shampoo loose fight with violent girl. Shampoo make bad Amazon Warrior."

Nabiki smirked, "You know, Shampoo…I used to admire you and your sisters. You didn't take any guff from anyone and were willing to fight for what you believe in. You need to realize that you can't go beating yourself up because Akane caught you by surprise. My demon-powered sister beat all of us, even your great grandmother."

Ranma nodded, "Nabiki's right. When I fought her last night it was like hitting armor plate. She's stronger and a lot more skilled. I've fought Cologne and I can tell you that if Akane could beat her as easily as she did, then she could beat you too. It's not your fault, Shampoo. It's the old freak's for stealing the box in the first place. If you want to blame anyone for all this, blame him."

Tofu picked that moment to enter the room, "I'm sorry you two. Your special visiting hours are over now."

Ranma picked up Shampoo's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Hang in there, okay Shampoo?"

Nabiki reached over and placed her hand on top of Ranma's, "Like it or not, Amazon, you're a friend of ours."

Shampoo nodded to them and after the two had left, closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

At the Kuno mansion, another meeting was about to take place, "So brother dear, you've taken this commoner as your mistress…. You do know father would never approve of such a thing."

Tatewaki glared at his sister as she lazily twirled a black ribbon, "My twisted sister, do not interfere here. Be gone from this house and I shall let you live, stay and I will surely kill you."

Kodachi snapped a ribbon just inches from Tatewaki's face, "This is my home too, brother dear. I will fight you if needed to keep what is rightfully mine."

Tatewaki Kuno's eyes blazed as he withdrew the Kuno honor blade from its sheath, "So be it!"