Kon Lon, as Kyo had half expected her to, decided Ranma would be a fine husband to Xian Pu...though she did at least give Kyo a head's up that she was heading to Japan.

At this rate it might be easier on everyone if he moved to Nerima. Kami only knew Ranma was going to need the help. He managed to secure another week off school...his (or rather her) grades were good enough so long as he agreed to do make-up work while she was gone they would let it slide. Yuki couldn't be happier.

Kyo packed enough to last at least two weeks, and promptly took the train to Nerima. This was going to be a headache, he just knew it.

Ranma looked relieved when he saw Kiyone.

Probably because she would actually listen to him and offer advice...and spar a little bit. The one time some nut called Kuno tried to flirt with her, she broke his arm in four places and several of his ribs were bruised, shouting she'd sooner date other girls than even look at weakling like him.

Ranma had laughed himself to hiccups, because he was well aware Kiyone was in fact a guy. On the plus side, it forced Kuno to leave Kiyone alone.

"So how are you going to cover the fact you're coming to Nerima every week?"

"Kon Lon is my sensei. If anyone asks I'll just say I'm training to beat my cousin in Nerima, and I'll ride the train back."

"RANMA YOU PERVERT!"

Kiyone blinked, before she saw that Akane girl come at Ranma with a massive mallet. The two dodged without thinking, though Akane left a massive crater behind her.

"What the hell was that for!" shouted Kiyone.

"Kuno was going on about how you ensnared another...oh. Another pervert," said Akane. She scowled at Kiyone, who looked confused.

Kiyone looked at Ranma.

"Is she always like this?"

"She's always calling me a pervert if she hears I'm talking to another girl and then trying to cave my head in. If it weren't for the fact I have insane pain tolerance and build up a thick head, I would have been dead twenty times over."

Akane looked pissed about something, but before she could try to attack again, Kiyone acted first but using her skills at shiatsu. The girl was out cold in seconds.

"That girl needs to see a psychiatrist or something. And why do you take that kind of abuse anyway?"

"She's a girl, and not a very strong one. It's against my code to beat up someone who weaker than I am," shrugged Ranma.

"Okay that I understand, but the way she slanders you and abuses you isn't right."

From the look on Ranma's face, it was clear no one had said anything to Akane about her actions or the fact that Ranma was a saint for putting up with such abuse without a word. He didn't even like the girl.

"So why exactly do you live with them anyway?"

"It's an arranged marriage. Means I have to honor the agreement even if I don't like the girl or her school."

"And if something were to break that agreement? I mean you're pushing it because of that stunt with Xian Pu in China, but if another girl shows up with the agreement to marry you, that would make the contract void until you get the mess sorted out."

Ranma had a thoughtful look on his face. From what Kiyone understood, his father had literally dragged him out of schools so he had very little in the way of social interaction or a proper education. In fact the closest person he could confide to was Kiyone, and he lived in another district!

Still, at least Kiyone could give Xian Pu advice on how to at least get Ranma's attention without driving him further away. She would have better luck trying to be his friend first than forcing herself on him...just look at how he and Akane got along!

"Kiyone, more water for table five," said Kon Lon.

"Hai, Baba-sensei," said Kiyone cheekily, ducking at the staff aimed for her head.

Working at the recently opened Cat Cafe had all sorts of benefits. She got to train, earn some money that couldn't be traced back to her male side, and she got to spend time away from the Sohmas and spent time with some of her actual friends.

People who knew she was cursed, but didn't care.

Kon Lon had at least listened to her advice, because she had Xian Pu infiltrate the class Ranma was in. It wasn't uncommon for her to get into a fight with Akane, mostly about the abuse she kept giving Ranma or the fact she called him an 'irredeemable pervert' without any actual proof.

To emphasize that fact, Kiyone had successfully found a way to keep Akane from using that mallet of hers. Apparently it was some form of rare chi skill that allowed you to hide objects...and Kon Lon knew of a way to temporarily block it for short periods, usually months. It was often used with the hidden weapons trick Mu Tsu favored.

Most Amazons that used the style Mu Tsu had as his main fighting technique generally learned the counter to the pressure points to avoid being hindered in a fight with someone that knew what they were doing.

Kiyone, however, showed Ranma how to apply it to force Akane to realize she was just being an abusive person. And without the threat of that mallet of hers, she had started to see a change in how people reacted to her.

She went from the 'most popular' girl in the school to the most feared. Apparently after seeing the size of that mallet of hers, most people pretended to like her out of fear.

And the less said about her cooking, the better. It should be classed as a biological weapon.

"Yo, cat girl," said Nabiki.

She rather liked Kiyone, who was blunt, if honest. She was also the only person who thought of a way to get Ranma out of an ill-made engagement with Akane. Why hadn't she thought of simply getting the thing annulled after the first 'fiancee' had shown up claiming Genma had promised his son to them?

Shampoo was the exception...Ranma had gotten himself into that mess and it was acceptable, if frowned upon, to have a mistress.

"Yo, Ice Queen," said Kiyone flipping Nabiki the bird. It was all in good fun. She dodged another swipe from the cane, not spilling a drop of the water as she poured it from an odd angle.

She loved Cat Cafe.

When the weekend came to an end, however, she felt somewhat miserable.

Kyo had mostly come to a truce with the damn rat, but he could barely tolerate a few hours with him. The only reason he tolerated being in the same school as him was because he could use the Sohma family curse against him.

She was on her way home from the cafe when she heard a commotion at the high school. Seeing all the cats run out Kiyone had a bad feeling about it.

What she found confirmed her suspicions. Ranma was in a tree screaming about 'stupid humans' and 'waking him up'. Of course no one other than Kiyone could understand him.

She sighed, and reached into her purse for her one indulgence that she wasn't entirely ashamed about.

She shook a cloth bag, getting Ranma's attention. The boy jumped down and promptly started rubbing against her leg. Kiyone bent down and started talking to him in Chinese.

It was weird, but she had found out that no matter what language was used, cats still understood her perfectly. Even the ones in the Amazon village while he was speaking Japanese and a few words in English.

Ranma seemed to calm down considerably thanks to the fact Kiyone spoke perfect cat...well that and the fact Kiyone always had a cloth bag of cat nip to soothe her nerves didn't hurt either.

Akane stared at the scene.

"Who's the complete moron who forced Ranma into Neko Ken training?" asked Kiyone flatly.

Without hesitation, both the Tendo sisters pointed at Ranma's father. Kiyone growled and popped her knuckles.

"You and I are going to have words and it won't end well for you," she stated flatly.

Getting home could wait...anyone stupid enough to give their child a permanent phobia for an extremely dangerous and unpredictable technique that was rarely effective in the long run needed a beat down.

Kyo came home in a surprisingly better mood.

"What's got you so chipper?" asked Shigure.

"My teacher in Nerima said I had earned the right to a new technique because I beat the shit out of a panda earlier."

Shigure stopped what he was doing and looked at Kyo oddly.

"Why would they give you a new technique for beating up an endangered species?"

"Because the panda wasn't in fact a panda, but some dumb idiot under a curse who didn't think things through and did things that hurt his son in the long run. Ever heard of Neko Ken?"

Shigure shook his head. Kyo went into his room and found the translated version of the book he had been reading on the way back to Japan.

He handed it to Shigure. Five pages in and the Dog's eyebrows kept going up. He looked at Kyo incredulous.

"Surely no one is this stupid?"

"My friend in Nerima was seven when his dad found the book and started the training. Took six tries before his son found the pages were stuck, and by that time the damage was done. Some idiot surrounded him with cats, but luckily I was in the area with my bag," said Kyo.

Shigure snickered. He was well aware Kyo always had catnip on him, but he didn't advertise the fact.

"Anyway after finding out his dad was stupid enough to actually use this method, I beat the daylights out of him even though he tried turning into a panda to get out of his long overdue beat down. Sensei apparently agreed with me, because she agreed to teach me something new next time."

"Your teacher is a woman?"

Kyo pulled out a photo. Shigure recoiled.

"Ghoul is more like it. She's over four-hundred years old and she can still kick my scrawny ass all over the training hall while beating me over the head with that cane of hers," said Kyo. He was definitely amused at the look on Shigure's face.

"Ghoul is right..." he muttered.

"Tadiama," said Yuki. His eyes narrowed when he saw Kyo, but as per their agreement they pretended the other didn't exist.

Kyo went up to his room and pulled out the new book on Shiatsu points Kon Lon gave him after he demonstrated he could use most of those used in the first book. He wasn't anywhere near Xian Pu's level, but he was getting pretty damn close and he was ready to start training on using them in battle.

"Under-19 Martial Arts tournament?" said Kiyone.

"I sometimes watch the MMA stuff on TV. You said you like martial arts right? I figured it would be right up your alley," said Uotani.

"I've wanted to try that kind of thing, but I never felt skilled enough for one. I can barely keep up with my friend Xian Pu, and she's the best under twenty fighter in the village."

"Who names their kid Shampoo?"

"Xian Pu, not Shampoo. Though she's used to people getting it wrong."

Kiyone reached into her wallet and pulled out a picture.

"This is Xian Pu, her great grandmother Kon Lon and some of the other girls."

"Holy crap she looks like a ghoul!" said Uotani.

"She's over four hundred and the village leader. Xian Pu is in training to take over once she's old enough. Still... I wonder if Kon Lon-sensei would even let me participate in something like that."

"So you're interested in the Mixed Martial Arts tournament coming up next week."

"Since I've come to realize Yuki isn't nearly as good as I thought him as, and Ranma is at a level too high to currently compare to without some serious training that would cause my grades to slip, I figure this might be a better idea. It would give me a chance to see where my level is right now and show me where I need to improve."

Kon Lon smoked her pipe, her eyes half-lidded.

"I may approve of this...if you can master the basics and the intermediary shiatsu points three days before the tournament. I will also get you started on the basics of the technique I mentioned if your skill and aim improves," said Kon Lon finally.

Kiyone's face brightened up considerably. She had never tried to fight in a tournament, figuring if she couldn't beat Yuki there was no way she'd be able to win one, let alone get very far.

Right now her goal was to at least match Ranma Saotome. She didn't have to surpass him, but she wanted to at least provide a decent rival for him that wasn't completely insane or have some grudge against him.

"For now you are to complete your shift and then work with Xian Pu."

"Hai, sensei!" said Kiyone, bowing.

"Tickets for a tournament?" asked Tohru.

"Kiyone is going to be a participant in the MMA tournament in two days, but I've got some intense training I have to do so I can't go. I figured you could take some of your friends with you to cheer her on for me," said Kyo.

"You're not seriously suggesting Tohru-san go watch something as violent as a martial arts match are you, stupid cat?"

Kyo ignored him to look at Tohru.

"I heard Kiyone was going to be in a tag-team battle with a friend of hers from Nerima."

Ranma had agreed to stay in girl form so they could do tag-team battles...mostly because Kiyone had an idea of how to help him with his Neko Ken problem. Well that and Kon Lon had told Ranma if he could pull it off as a girl, then she would teach him some of the same techniques she had been teaching Kyo. He wasn't about to back down from a challenge like that.

"It sounds fun!" said Tohru.

"How many tickets did you get?"

"Five. One for Tohru and her two friends. The fifth one is for Kiyone's friend Xian Pu, but the last one is up for grabs. Though if I were you, Rat Prince, I'd leave chivalry at the door when you meet Xian Pu. She won't like it if you treat her any less than a warrior," said Kyo.

It would be hilarious to see the Rat Prince taken down hard by Xian Pu. Kyo hoped he got to see it.