I do not own the horse or the battling boobies.

In this chapter we have action, reaction and some new problems for the wild horse and his fillies. There is some more lemon/lime action near the end of the chapter as well.

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Chapter 6 Old acquaintances and new friends do not make a good mixture

Ranma had stuffed the knocked out Kaku into his fold space and now was rocketing towards the temple where Kan'u and Chou'un lived with Ryuubi and Chouhi. He knew that for something like this he needed a woman's point of view on how to handle it and what to do with the girl who had apparently planned it, something that still bothered him even with the emotional control of the first form Soul of Ice. He also knew that he could not handle telling the girl he carried in his arms what had almost happened to her.

He landed in front of the Temple but before he could even ring the doorbell Chou'un's voice rang out from the outer wall of the temple area. "Ranma what are you doing here so late? It's nearly 2 AM…" Chou'un's voice trailed off as she saw the girl on Ranma's back and recognized her. "That's one of the fighters that follows the Emperor isn't it, Chinkyu I believe her name is? What happened?"

Ranma still keeping his emotional control through use of the first form Soul of Ice explained as simply as possible that he saved her from something tonight. "She needs a place to stay, and I don't think she can go back ta where her allies are, even if they're really her allies in the first place. From what happened tonight I ain't wantin' ta trust that."

Chou'un looked at him, realizing how much more of this story was left to tell but nodded anyway, "then you had better come in."

The duo had just entered the main temple area when they were met by Kan'u and Chouhi. Kan'u looked dressed to fight having slipped on her school uniform when she heard voices out front. The younger girl on the other hand was still dressed in pajamas complete with bunny slippers. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily.

Chou'un answered her. "Nothing to concern yourself about Chouhi, there was just a confrontation tonight and this girl, whose name is Chinkyu, has to stay here with us for a while."

Ranma nodded and felt his control of the soul of ice fading as Chou'un's simple words brought back to reality of what he had done tonight. He handed the girl over to Chou'un and asked "Where's your bathroom?"

Kan'u, realizing from the look on his face that now was not the time to ask silly questions merely pointed him in the right direction. Ranma took off like a shot and Kan'u followed him. Chou'un and Chouhi looked at one another before looking back at the girl that Chou'un was now holding and decided to put her in the main dining area for now. Chouhi went off to get a futon for her as well as some blankets, pausing a moment as they both heard the sound of heaving coming from the bathroom.

Within the bathroom Ranma was on his knees in front of the toilet retching. The memory of what he had done tonight kept coming back, the blood going everywhere, the smell of the guts, the screams…

He threw up some more as Kan'u moved forward to hold his head up. She put a gentle hand on the back of his head and began to massage his neck slowly letting Ranma get whatever it was out of his system.

Feeling the need to talk to someone Ranma began to tell her what had happened, not realizing that Chou'un and Chouhi had stopped what they were doing out in the hallway to listen. Ryuubi had also at last come out of her room, the noise at last waking her up from her normal heavy sleep.

Haltingly, in between short sessions of heaving, Ranma began to tell them what had occurred earlier that night. When there was nothing more in his stomach to throw up he turned to look over his shoulder at Kan'u.

Instead of the recrimination or disgust he thought he would see there, he saw only understanding and sympathy. Kan'u got down on her knees and hugged Ranma to her. Feeling the boy stiffen even now, even after what had occurred to them earlier that day, she frowned a little, but kept on hugging him until he responded by leaning his head on her shoulder. "You did nothing wrong Ranma. Against those numbers and with them armed with guns as well as other weapons trying to take them prisoner or simply knocking them out was not an option, not with a hostage so ready at hand. You did the right thing."

Ranma answered her still occasionally having to keep his gorge down. "I know that in my head but the rest of me don't agree. Killing like that's supposed to be the last recourse. And killing that many people at once…" he shook his head and again had to fight down his stomach.

Kan'u sighed sadly. "With your skill it's hard to remember that you weren't actually trained as a warrior, but a martial artist. To a martial artist all life is sacred, but to a warrior dying or killing is simply a part of doing your duty. I wouldn't respect you as much as I do if you were the type to be so callous towards killing, but don't let it rip you up inside Ranma. Sometimes there really is no choice and tonight was one of those times."

Chou'un spoke up from the doorway an agreement. "Kan'u's right," she said, "in fact, if it was any other warrior other then you or Ryofu Hosen, I doubt if anything could have been done against those numbers armed as they were." On the other hand, she thought to herself that greatly decreases the number of fighters the Emperor can call upon at one time if they all come from the schools allied with him and not the two or three that are no longer allied with him. Either way the area has taken a monstrous hit to the total number of fighters. And that is probably all to the good.

She went on, "and I think it's a good idea for you to stay here as well as young miss Chinkyu. No offense Ranma, but after the night you've had I don't think I want you to be alone in that apartment of yours." Before Ranma could protest Kan'u agreed dragging him to his feet and out the bathroom door to where the extra futons and spare blankets were kept.

Ryuubi nodded agreement but the younger girl protested. "Now wait a minute! I'm fine with him staying in the compound but I don't want him under the same roof. He's a guy for goodness sake! No matter how good a guy he is he's still a guy and I don't want him walking in on me in the bathroom or something like that."

Kan'u smirked and picked up a cold glass of tea that Chou'un had had been drinking at the dining table while doing her homework and splashed Ranma with it. As the redhead looked at her askance and Ryuubi and Chouhi both gasped in surprise (they had both heard of his curse but never really believed in it before) she merely smiled and said "there you go, no more problem."

After much grumbling Ranma-chan agreed to spend the night as a girl, and bedded down in the dining hall. The girl he had rescued, still comatose, had been placed on a futon in a far corner. As he was making his temporary bed, he was surprised to see that both Chou'un and Kan'u had dragged their own futons out to join him. Kan'u looked at him with a face that brooked no argument. "After a night like you've had, you definitely are in need of some snuggle time."

When Ranma-chan's pretty face tightened automatically at being close to someone she went on in a gentle voice "this is just another aspect of being in a relationship Ranma, we're there for one another. And you need help tonight." Ranma-chan acquiesced with ill grace but inside she was rather relieved that she wouldn't be alone tonight with her dreams.

That matter settled Chou'un went back over to the dining room table where her English book was out and the paper that she was writing in front of it. Ranma-chan looked up from getting into bed and asked her what she was doing and Chou'un replied. "I'm working on an English paper due tomorrow. For some reason I just can't get my mind around English grammar and the entire paper has to be written in English so it's messing me up a bit." This was actually very irritating to her because she had, before being given her families sacred bead, wanted to go into the diplomatic core. But while she had a decent ear for languages, she for some reason could not make the jump to the written form. "I volunteered to take nighttime watch not only because I was the least tired of Kan'u and myself. After all I did get a nice nap this afternoon." She smiled wickedly at Ranma-chan as the redhead blushed hard enough to almost match her hair color. "But also because I knew I would have to finish this tonight."

Still blushing Ranma-chan and rose to her feet and moved over to sit next to her. "Why don't you tell me what you're having trouble with and I'll see if I can help? I'm actually pretty good at languages."

Behind them, Kan'u finished pushing her own bed next to Ranma-chan's futon and turned smiling as she watched the two working on their homework together. With Ranma's help Chou'un finished her homework and only another 45 minutes of writing. That done the two joined her in bed.

Not two hours later the two weapon users were startled awake by the sound of the redhead's quiet sobbing. Each of them put an arm around the smaller girl and hugged her tightly letting her get it out of her system and after 15 minutes or so, the girl fell silent and slowly went back to sleep.

That night, while Ranma's dreams were nowhere near as good as they had been the night before they were not plagued with memories of what he had done to save Chinkyu. The knowledge that other people saw and recognized the necessity for what he had done helped him greatly, as well as their unconditional support and affection. And thus another piece of his Genma induced brainwashing fell by the wayside.

Chinkyu woke up the next morning to a very unfamiliar sound, the sound of a girl singing. She had a moment of panic as the brief memory of what had occurred to her right before she was knocked out. But checking her body she didn't feel any new bruises or injuries or anything like that, and she certainly would've been woken up at some point if she had been abused, which was something she wouldn't put past that sadistic bitch Kaku.

Her thought processes however halted like they had run into a wall as the smell of cooking permeated her brain. For a moment her mind had to fight her stomach for dominance before deciding on a course of action.

She tried to get up stealthily, but her attempt was interrupted by a friendly voice from her blindside. "Good, I see you're awake. We were wondering what had happened to knock you out as, alas, none of us are doctors."

Chinkyu turned to see Chou'un standing there watching her with a calm expression on her face. She knew the older girl, of course. As a friend to the strongest fighter in the territory, she of course had taught herself about the other stronger fighters around that might come around to challenge Ryofu. She immediately got to her feet and fell into a combat stance. "What the hell's going on?" she shouted, "are you working with that bitch Kaku?"

Chou'un giggled raising a hand to conquer smile as another feminine voice, this time coming from the kitchen as the singing stopped answered her "no we're not, in fact I saved you from those bastards last night."

Ranma-chan came in dressed in a frilly kitchen apron over his normal clothing with Kan'u following behind her with several more plates for breakfast.

One of the two things that Ranma actually liked about his female body was that it could hold a tune (the other was it made mooching food easier). He loved to sing, but in his original body he couldn't hold a tune to save his life. In this form however, she could and enjoyed using it. Though this was the first time she actually had an appreciative audience. Kan'u and Chou'un had walked in on her singing as she cooked breakfast for everyone and rather than be amused or condescending had been admiring, and even asked her to continue, which she did, blushing in embarrassment.

Ryuubi and Chouhi came in as well and snickered at the sight of Ranma in a frilly apron before turning to look at Chinkyu. Ryuubi nodded towards the dining table. "Sit and eat first please, then we'll talk. We don't actually have much time it being a school day after all, but we can spend an hour or so filling you in on what we know, and then you can tell us what you know."

The girl stood there for a moment undecided until Chouhi spoke up. "And don't worry about Kaku, she's tied up outside. After what Ranma told us about what she tried to have done to you, we didn't really feel like giving her a lot of hospitality."

Chinkyu thought about that for a second then smiled and sat down at the dinner table. People who were pissed off at Kaku were all right in her book.

Breakfast went smoothly, interspersed with several compliments towards the singing, the food and how well Ranma-chan looked in the frilly apron. Ranma-chan took the first two in stride and scowled at the last. She modestly agreed to make lunch for everyone from now on in return for being paid for the food supplies.

Chinkyu looked on in slight bemusement at the atmosphere for a moment before realizing that it was deceptively normal, and that they were trying to put her at her ease because they weren't certain how she would react. She put them at their own ease by reacting calmly and informing them of what had occurred to her the night before.

She had been following Kaku around because she was worried that Kaku was going to make a move against Ryofu, or turn the emperor against her. She had followed Kaku up to the fifth floor of the apartment complex that Rakuyo used as a base of operations but was surprised by a noose dropping down around her neck from behind. Before she could react she was being throttled from behind by someone she couldn't reach, and as she tried to turn two other thugs hammered her in the head with baseball bats. Her last thought before blacking out was wondering what was going to happen to her.

However hearing from Ranma what he had been forced to do to rescue her was bit of a shock.

She was a friend of Ryofu Hosen, the strongest fighter in the territory. She knew for a fact how good her friend was. And while she felt that Ryofu could have done what Ranma did last night, she couldn't have done it so easily. The idea that this new fighter that so concerned the Emperor and Ryofu had saved her and done so in such a dramatic manner was something that was going to take some getting used to.

The exchange of information over she asked Ryuubi, who she took to be the leader "so what are you going to do with me now? Am I a hostage?"

Ryuubi shook her head, speaking for the group in her role as the leader of their faction. "No, you're free to go if you want. We just ask that you tell Ryofu-san what occurred last night, and don't go anywhere until we decide what to do with the Kaku. As the wronged party, you should naturally be a part of that process, and I think your friend should have some input into it as well. In fact, if you can call your friend over, we can take care of that right now before going to school."

Kan'u nodded agreement. "That's a good idea, but I'm afraid I have a test today, Chou'un has a paper she has to hand in, and Ranma is on academic probation so none of us can afford to be late." Ranma looked over at her in surprise, and she laughed. "What, you thought I didn't know about that? We all took a long look in your academic history Ranma and let me tell you it gave us quite a lot of laughs." Ranma pouted outrageously and the other three girls laughed at him while Chinkyu looked on a little irritated at being out of the loop.

A little while later she was on the phone with her friend and Ryofu, after getting over the shock that she was all right, immediately told her that she would be over as soon as possible. However, by that time the students who needed to go to school had to leave, and her friend arrived to a temple empty except for Chinkyu and the still unconscious Kaku.

Once she arrived, it took about half an hour to explain what had occurred last night from Chinkyu's perspective. After that, Ryofu agreed to wait until the temple's residence returned in the afternoon to decide what to do about Kaku. Normally she wouldn't have agreed to that and would already have killed her but Ryofu desperately wanted to have a talk with this new fighter Ranma, and maybe something more could come out of it. He was rather handsome after all and powerful as well.

The rest of the morning for those at school passed uneventfully, but the same could not be said for people elsewhere in the region.

Police officer Yomi Makashuta turned to his partner who was still on the ground, gagging at the stench of the scene of the crime the two had been called out to investigate. "Are you about done?"

The younger man nodded slightly. I'm sorry, sir, it's just something like that…

"I know kid, I know. Better get the police commissioner on the phone. This looks like something he'll want to know about." Yomi shook his head sadly. He'd been transferred here from Nerima to give the local police force an idea of what to expect but even he had never thought he'd ever see something like this.

The police commissioner did in fact want to know about it, and at first was both appalled and incensed that something like this at had occurred. Bringing in Ranma was supposed to end the problem, not add new ones or heighten the violence already in the district. But then he recalled the two instances that had already been reported within the last few days. The seven C and D ranked fighters that had been arrested in the last few days was only the start. Three fighters, 2 B and one A ranked Fighter that his police force could never have taken on, not only out of action permanently but crippled or weakened to the level of a two-year-old had also been taken into custody, a marked improvement over what had been happening.

Those at all been caused by Ranma, and he knew somehow without even asking the young man in question that this latest incident had to deal with him as well. However, he also knew that whatever else he was Ranma was not a cold-blooded killer. If something like this had occurred, it meant one of two things: first and perhaps the most likely was that somehow Ranma had been taken captive and then saw a cat he couldn't get away from, forcing him or her to go into his berserker rage, with disastrous results. The reports on Ranma had emphasized the damage he could do with the so called Cat Fist.

The second option was that somehow this level of violence had been justified, which was a scary thought but as more and more forensic evidence came in that there had been guns and ballistic weapons found at the scene of the massacre he became more and more certain that the second scenario was in fact the case. Still, he would have to call Ranma and see what the hell had happened. Just because he told the boy that they could deal with an upsurge in violence for a short amount of time was no cause for something like this to occur.

"That was probably the most normal day of school I've ever had," remarked Ranma as he and the Seito quartet walked home. "Nobody attacking me, no weird fights, nobody challenging me" he winked at Kan'u who giggled remembering how they met a few days ago "not even any strange encounters."

Chou'un smiled slightly. "Perhaps karma has decided to reward you for your good deed last night." Ranma looked at her askance and she smiled. "Or perhaps it's just balancing out the madness that you've been dealing with for the past few days."

Ranma shrugged. "Nah, no way. I mean take away the level of the violence and what happened last night, the past few days have been pretty normal all things considered." Kan'u and the others all laughed at what they thought was a joke, but he looked at them in surprise. Ranma was serious.

His day however was about to go pear shaped in a rather dramatic way. "Ranma for forsaking Akane prepare to die!" From above a person that Ranma had hoped to never see again jumped down at him from a nearby roof.

Standing next to Ryuubi when he heard the shout Ranma reacted quickly grabbing her and jumping backward. Kan'u, Chou'un and Chouhi moved just as fast, evading a large old fashioned umbrella as it crashed down into the pavement shattering it with concussive force in a wide circle around the point of impact.

As Ryuubi blushed at being so close to a man Ranma glared at the person in front of him, barely keeping his anger in check. "RRRRyyyoooggga what the fuck are you doing here!" Ryoga, whose relationship with Akari hadn't lasted very long given he continued chasing Akane at the same time, hadn't been around when he left Nerima, and had escaped Ranma's birthday present to himself, much to his irritation at the time. I should have known that he'd show up eventually! Damn it, why didn't he find me when I was out in the woods where we could fight without worrying about breakable things like people, buildings or cities?

Ryoga had changed only slightly from the last time the two had seen one another. His hair was a little longer, his shoulders a little broader, his eyes wilder. But his clothing was the same, as was the look of maddened rage on his face as he stared at the man he blamed for everything that went wrong in his life. "Shut up you coward how dare you leave poor Akane like that, how dare you run away! For all that you have done to my sweet angel I'll kill you!"

Ranma put Ryuubi down gently and moved forward with a snarl but Kan'u put out a hand to stop him, which in turn caused Ryoga to halt his charge as his mad eyes glared at her. Ranma glanced at her and gulped in sudden terror at the look on his girlfriend's face. "And this is?"

"Um, uh this is Ryoga Hibiki one of my old rivals. His family has this weird curse that makes them get lost all the time." Ranma answered cautiously, his automatic terror of angry women coming to the fore.

Kan'u looked at him then at Chou'un who waved one hand forward motioning to Kan'u that she could take this one. Kan'u stepped forward, speaking in a slow controlled voice. "Greetings Ryoga Hibiki, I am Kan'u Unchou. You have not only attacked me, but my friends, my boyfriend and my leader, Ryuubi Gentoku. As such your ass is mine." Ranma made to protest but Kan'u shot him a single look and he shut up abruptly. She was pissed! Any attack on Ryuubi, who despite her inner dragon wasn't a warrior, would always get under Kan'u's skin.

Ryoga fit this statement into his world view and snarled angrily "Ranma how dare you leave Akane for this slut! I'll"

He was interrupted by a slap that smacked his head to the side with a violent crack! Kan'u, who had been merely angry, was now furious. "Such a label coming from you, a perverted pig that used his curse to spy on a girl is particularly irritating. Oh, don't glare at Ma-chan like that, he didn't tell me anything about you. I found out about you by reading the files on Nerima from the Federal Department of Paranormal Activities that Ryuubi-sama was able to find. And I believe I mentioned that you are fighting me."

Ryoga snarled at her as he touched the side of his face. "Fine! But after I beat your new defender down you're next Ranma! You coward, hiding behind another woman's skir" Crack! He was interrupted by another slap to his other cheek that once more rocked him back on his heels.

Kan'u's voice dripped contempt as she took up a combat stance across from Ryoga as her friends automatically backed up. Ranma followed them though he was still worried about letting Kan'u fight this battle for him. "I said you were fighting me, are you deaf as well as stupid pork chops?"

Ryoga growled but readily dropped into his own stance before charging forward with a roar, bringing his umbrella down to crush this bitch that stood between him and bringing his righteous wrath down on the man that had made his life hell.

Kan'u dodged to one side and then sped forward, slamming punches and kicks into Ryoga's rocklike body before her hands flicked toward her face, fingers looking to gouge. Ryoga was forced to dodge backward, leaving his umbrella where it had crashed into a shop's wall to guard his head and eyes from her attack. He tried to lash out and catch his attacker with his normal forceful style but Kan'u dodged backward, gathering her ki and preparing a stronger assault.

Ryoga gripped his belt and pulled it out of his pants, swiftly filling it with ki to make it into a makeshift blade. "Take this!" He shouted, bringing it down and nearly scoring on Kan'u, who dodged the slash only to take a glancing blow to her side from a kick.

She responded by thumping a five punch combo at almost amaguriken speed into his leg, deflecting most of the strength as she backed up in the face of his assault. "No thank you, no one is interested in anything in your pants."

Ryoga blushed as he kept attacking "You-you harlot, how dare you!"

Kan'u came in again and this time landed two hard palm shots to his chest, which he shrugged off like the tank he was. "I believe I mentioned how I felt about such accusations little piggy!"

Ryoga simply ignored her strikes as she expected. Ranma had not told her anything about Ryoga's curse, but he had mentioned that his style emphasized endurance and strength. Still, there were ways to combat that.

Again and again she struck out, using different variants to land blows as she easily dodged his return shots. Ryoga fell into the habit of ignoring her blows entirely save for those aimed at his face in an effort to tag her in turn.

One return blow did land, but Kan'u bit her lip and stayed in the fight even as she felt a rib give way. Her return double palm strike at first brought a sneer to Ryoga's face until she shouted "Explosive Palm!"

Both of her palms charged with her school's signature power strike landed as one. Ryoga was blown backward with a shout into and through a wall behind him by this attack. He lay covered in rubble for a minute, trying to figure out what had just happened. Jesus what did that bitch hit me with? I think I've got a few cracked ribs! I guess it's time to up the anty! Ryoga stood up, shaking off the debris and bringing his hands forward. "Shi shi hakoden!"

Kan'u's eyes widened momentarily at the speed with which Ryoga recovered but she responded instantly. She brought a hand down to her fold-space pocket and reaching in brought Seryuutou out quickly. "Kiiyaaa!" She brought her naginata around in an arc, intersecting the dark green ball of ki. With a shudder Seryuutou cut straight through the ball of depressed ki and Kan'u brought her weapon around in a circle.

Ryoga gaped for a second before snarling. "Damn it, I'm so depressed you could do that! Perfect shi"

Kan'u didn't wait for his assault, instead slashing down with her own long distance attack. "Lightning Roar!" A large bolt of light green lightning flashed forward from the arc of her weapon impacting Ryoga.

Ryoga screamed as the attack landed electrocuting him where he stood, his signature durability doing little against an electric attack like this. After a moment the attack overcame him and he collapsed crackling and smoking to the ground.

Ranma ran forward as Kan'u went to one knee, holding her side and grimacing. "Kan-chan that was great, are you alright, why'd you want ta take him on when it was my fight?" He babbled anxiously.

Kan'u looked at him as she got to her feet, one of Ranma's hands under her arm helping her to stand, her other hand using Seryutou to prop herself up. She smiled as she saw the mix of anxiety and confusion in his face. "In order, thank you, I think I have a rib broken and my hands feel like I've been using them to pound on concrete. And I fought him" She brought a hand up and touched his face gently "because your fights are mine Ma-chan. That's another part of being in a relationship we stick up for one another not just you taking everything on yourself."

Ranma looked into her eyes for a moment, face blank before he smiled widely hugging her gently. "Thanks Kan-chan, that means a lot to me." He turned to look at where Ryoga lay, his face bleak. "But now I have to fix this piece of my past so that it can't go round and bother people anymore."

Ryuubi came forward to support Kan'u as Chouhi and Chou'un moved to help Ranma clear way the rubble to make certain that no one had been injured in either of the buildings damaged in the fight.

Finding no one Ranma went over to Ryoga and heated up a coin as Chouhi smacked the pig awake. "This is the last time you attack me out of the blue Ryoga." Reaching down he placed the coin on a specific part of the other man's back and Ryoga yelped at the heat coming out of his comatose state before turning to look at his enemy with growing horror. "Just like Akane and my old man Ryoga, you've abused your strength and skill, dishonoring the Code. Now you ain't got that strength anymore. Try livin' life like a normal person, like the people you've endangered in yer crazy attacks on me, 'cause that's all you'll ever be from now on. And I'll warn ya now Ryoga, this was the soft option. If ya endanger more lives the next time ya find me by attackin' me out of the blue, I'll kill you."

Ranma glared down at his former rival eyes cold before he moved off to join the group from Seito and they all walked off leaving Ryoga behind them. After a moments shocked silence the pig found his voice and began to shout after them. "Ranma you dishonorable cur you can't do this to me! Damn it Ranma, get back here and take this moxibustion point off me! Ranma, I'm warning you! Ranma!"

Ranma and the others walked on ignoring his cries. "See what I told ya about my life? A crazy person showing up was a daily thing in Nerima. Though normally I faced 'em all by myself, even if I wasn't their actual target."

Kan'u winced as she held a hand to her side. "Well if it means so much to you Ma-chan you can face the next crazy that comes along."

Ranma nodded, "You got it."

The rest of the trip to the temple went smoothly, thankfully and they arrived to find Ryofu and Chinkyu still in attendance.

Ryofu sized Ranma up as he led Kan'u Unchou inside. The champion of Seito was holding her stomach and wincing occasionally, but Ryofu barely spared her a glance all her attention on the pig tailed warrior.

Ryofu was the best warrior in the Kanto region. That wasn't boasting or arrogance, it was cold hard fact. She was stronger, more skilled and faster than anyone else. Only one or two fighters could even come close to match her level of skill. Yet for all that, she wouldn't want to take on the man in front of her. There was something about him that made her pause, something that screamed there was more under the surface that could not be seen. What little of his aura she could see with her admittedly limited ki sight was tightly controlled, more so than any other aura she had ever seen.

Ryuubi, once more taking the spokeswoman role bowed slightly to Ryofu in greeting as Chouhi moved to a protective spot to her right. "Welcome to our home Ryofu-san. As you can see we had a bit of an incident on our way home, but please be welcome. I'm sorry as to the circumstances that brought you here, but if you wait a moment we will get down to business soon."

Ryofu nodded her head, smirking slightly at the somehow out of place politeness, but remained silent for now motioning Chinkyu to do the same as she continued to watch Ranma carefully. He truly is a most appetizing dish.

Ranma walked Kan'u onto the temple porch and had her sit down as Chou'un went to fetch the first aid kit, a necessity in any fighter's home. "I'm all right Ma-chan I've had worse injuries before."

Ranma scoffed, then grinned lopsidedly at her, setting the heart of nearly every girl there to racing as he very gently poked her in the side. Kan'u gasped and growled at him as she buckled a little. "Just cause yer tough don't mean you don't need help Kan-chan, give and take remember? Now let's get those gloves off of ya." Ranma suited action to word and soon Kan'u's red fighting gloves were off her hands. Once they were Kan'u stared in shock.

Her hands were a mass of black and blue marks, almost disgustingly purple, much worse than she had thought. "See, told ya. Since he took the Bakusai Tenketsu trainin' hitting Ryoga without first toughening up yer hands is a recipe for disaster even with gloves like yours on. Remind me sometime to tell ya how I toughened up my hands ta match, you'll get a kick out of it." Kan'u nodded in agreement, still staring bemused down at her battered hands.

Chou'un came back then with the first aid kit and Ranma bandaged up Kan'u's hands before leaving hurriedly as Ryuubi and Chou'un proceeded to take Kan'u's shirt off to bandage her ribs. Their giggles followed him out and Ryofu grinned a predator's gin. So innocent, he's got to be a virgin. I can't remember the last time I broke in a virgin. This could be fun.

Ranma came back after they finished, dragging their still comatose prisoner behind him. I might've hit that pressure point a little too hard last night. Feh, whatever.

The others had arranged themselves around the dining table with Ryuubi and her advisors at one end and Ryofu and Chinkyu at the other. Ranma took a seat in the middle next to Chou'un and propped Kaku up across from him between Chinkyu and Chouhi. If the two girls kicked the prisoner under the table a time or two no one else bothered to notice.

Ryuubi started the proceedings, deciding to keep things on a formal footing for now. "I think it would be best if Ranma relate to you what occurred last night form his perspective Ryofu-san before we move on to what to do with Kaku."

Ryofu nodded her cerulean hair bobbing. Work now, stalk prey later.

Ranma nodded his head, only the tightening around his eyes giving away the fact that he was still distressed about what had happened last night and what he had been forced to do. He gave a concise account of what had happened from the time he spotted Chinkyu being dragged into the van up until his rescue of her.

As he finished, Ryofu's attitude had switched from lusty to all business. She ignored the actual fight for now, the technique he used might be of interest later, but it wasn't as if she couldn't have done the same thing herself. "Not that I'm complaining but why were you in the area anyway? Were you spying on us, and how did you keep from being seen?

Ranma shrugged. "I've been tryin' to get a handle on all the weird ki signatures in the area and was there doing the same. I wasn't spyin' really, if by that ya mean lookin' fer information, just tryin' to make my own assessment of the fighters around here." Ryofu nodded slowly, though why he was doing that and why he was in the area at all was still a mystery. A mystery that would not be solved today judging by the stubborn look on the pigtailed fighters face. "As to how I stay unseen" he paused as every fighter there leaned forward anxious to hear his reply and maybe get him to teach them it if they could. "Now that" he said bringing a finger up to his lips "is a secret!"

His audience all facefaulted save Chouhi who merely groaned. "I'd have never pegged you as a Zellos fan Ranma. What next, you get some of your attacks from DBZ or something?"

"Nah nothing like that, but I did like Slayers and I've been dying to use that line since I first heard it." He said grinning.

Ryofu irritably pushed herself off the ground where she had planted herself and decided to drop that line of inquiry for now. "Can you remember if any of them were wearing school uniforms or anything to show their loyalties and if so how many?"

Ranma thought back, trying to get past his horror at what he had done to remember what he saw before he attacked. "Um a few of them were wearing school pants still, and I think I saw…." He trailed off as he pictured the scene in his mind again. "I think I saw some from all the schools around here including" his eyes moved sideways to Ryuubi "two who were maybe from Seito."

Kan'u and Chou'un both tensed as they turned to look at their leader who leaned back and thought through the attendance list for the day. "Hayato Miokawa and Yuji Arisawa missed today."

Kan'u and Chou'un both relaxed as Ryuubi continued. "Trust me no one is going to miss either of those bastards. One had a court date coming up on rape charges brought forward by his own sister, and the other was reviled by the student population for beating his last girlfriend nearly to death. Again, charges were made and he already had a court order forcing him to stay at least fifty feet from her at all times. We've been debating on punishing them ourselves after the police station was attacked and knowing how reluctant the police would be to press forward with their punishments."

Ryofu nodded. "Every school has 'fighters' like that. I would guess Ranma here," she winked at him "just took out the worst of them, the ones who had organized themselves at least. You're certain this bitch didn't mention anything about Totaku or the Emperor knowing what her plan was?"

Ranma nodded. "Positive, like I said she thought ya were getting' to have too much influence over this Tokkie guy and wanted to take you down a peg."

After this the discussion turned to what an appropriate punishment would be for Kaku's actions, with all the girls taking part, even the gentle Ryuubi getting into it as they described what they could do to her.

With the focus off Ranma for the moment he took the opportunity to surreptitiously study Ryofu's aura up close. The weirdness in her aura was much more apparent up close than from a distance, especially without the Umi-sen-ken getting in the way. What he saw was a lot of power, almost as much as Herb had when they fought, but none of the control Kan'u or Chou'un had in their auras. It was also dominated by a color he had never seen before. He had seen red (anger), dark green (jealousy) and yellow (arrogance) as well as his own blue/white (confidence and pure ki) in the past but never this weird light pink before.

What was even odder was that she had dark spots in the aura. Usually dark spots in an aura indicated an illness or weakness of some kind, but the way these fluctuated and switched places and moved around they looked much more like some kind of strange curse, but Ranma really didn't know what to make of it. What was worse the pink color seemed to be almost artificial, and was strangely brighter directly around the dark spots, as if the dark spots were creating the color. I really need to get in touch with Dr. Oden.

It was at this point that Ranma realized she had caught him staring and blushed. Ryofu smiled seductively at Ranma leaning forward to show as much cleavage as she could, which given the looseness of her outfit was quite a lot. "Like what you see Ranma?"

Ranma shook his head quickly, eyes darting to Kan'u and Chou'un who were watching in equal parts amusement and concern. "It ain't that, its' yer aura. Did anyone ever curse you or somethin'? Yer aura looks strangely sick for some reason, with some stuff in it I ain't ever seen before."

Ryofu smirked and pulled back, certain he was prevaricating so as not to get in trouble with Kan'u or Chou'un. There's no way he can be so skilled with ki sight to see my illness with it. Still I've got his subconscious interest at least, that will do for now and hopefully when next we meet he'll be receptive to my advances. "No I don't think so. In any case, I think it is time to wake the bitch up and be done with it."

Kaku woke up to find herself surrounded not only by the girl she had attempted to get gang raped, but also the boy who saved Chinkyu, Ryofu Hosen, and two of the top fighters of Seito Private school. That this was a very bad situation for her to be in was not lost on her, and her agile mind began to prepare her defense, first and foremost thinking of ways to put the blame on the Emperor to save her skin. Loyalty and ambition was one thing, staying alive was another matter entirely. She could deal with the sheer terror she had felt last night later.

Kaku never got the chance however, as Ranma reached for her back with a heat charged coin and placed it on a specific spot on her back. She shrieked in surprise, but the heat was pulled away before she could do anything more. "Well that's my punishment over with." said Ranma quietly to Kanu. "It ain't the moxibustion point I been usin' but I think it'll definitely fit her crime. The rest of ya can figure out what you want ta do with her but I don't want to be a part of it." So saying Ranma walked away.

Kan'u looked at the glasses girl thoughtfully with her head cocked to one side for a moment before deciding to follow her boyfriend out of the room.

Ryuubi stood there for a moment. All the joking and jesting aside, she really did not feel comfortable standing over another human being as judge, jury and executioner. Despite the apparent authority she wielded as the reincarnation of Liu Bei this kind of thing was just beyond the pale to her, she'd much rather be reading.

She looked over at the Ryofu and said "I think that Ranma's punishment, whatever it was is good enough for our group. After all, the perpetrators of the actual attack all died last night. I know that you don't think it is, but I would ask that you let her live and that she is not completely crippled. Other than that you may take her and do with her as you wish. Just make certain that whatever you do doesn't cause trouble for my faction."

Ryofu nodded and replied, "You have my word." So saying she and Chinkyu dragged Kaku to her feet. She barely had time to scream before she was in the air being carried away by Ryofu and Chinkyu.

As the two jumped away, Ryofu decided she would hand over the girl with glasses to the Emperor to see what he would do about her usurpation of authority, and if it wasn't enough, then she would take her own revenge. She also had something else to research. Ranma might not have said anything she could hear, but she had seen the coin he held glowing briefly. Maybe whatever it was had something to do with the strange weakness seen in the fighters that had escaped arrest from Bunshu's disastrous ambush attempt.

After their guests left, Kanu looked at Ranma with her head on one side. "What was that moxibustion point you used Ranma? You said that it wasn't the weakness moxibustion point."

Ranma blushed and stammered under their gazes as he answered. "U-Um, well it's er, well, ya know how when ya, ya know finish? Um, like yesterday" he gulped and Kan'u and Chou'un both blushed and grinned at the memory while Ryuubi and Chouhi looked on mystified. "Um well, er she, um, that moxibustion point'll, um, make her unable to."

Kan'u and Chou'un both blinked, then their jaws dropped, their faces showing a battle between laugher and horror. "Are you saying that whatever happens she won't be able to orgasm, to cum?" Chou'un asked.

Ranma nodded as Ryuubi blushed and looked shocked while Chouhi simply looked shocked. "Yeah, I uh, learned it reading through a scroll from my school's old grandmaster. It had a lot of stuff that was just y'know perverted, but I figured this was a time ta use it. Let the punishment fit the crime and all." They all stared at his crimson face for a movement before bursting out into laughter.

After recovering from her laughing fit Kan'u smirked and changed the subject. "Were you really checking out Ryofu's aura rather than her body Ranma?" She said it jokingly knowing full well the amount of problems he had with showing interest in women.

Chou'un joined in, coming up on his other side. "She is known as one of the most beautiful women around here and very promiscuous too."

Ranma looked at them and made certain they were joking before answering. "Yeah her aura was way more interestin' to me than her body. I mean she's pretty and all but way too….. er… slutty?" When no smacks were forthcoming for use of that word he went on "But her aura was something else. I was serious it looks like she's got one, maybe two curses on her. I'm gonna write a doctor friend of mine about it and about the dragon auras. There's some kind of connection there, and I want ta know what it is."

"Until then" he went on, reaching into his pocket fold-space and pulling out a large scroll "I want ya both to study this. It's a scroll on auras and readin' 'em as well as using them in a fight. I got this from a group of monks in Tibet when a returned some other scrolls my old man had stolen and helped them drive off some bandits in the area." And worked for them as a veritable slave throughout the winter but whatever it wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to me after all. "Fer some reason none of ya fighters around here use ki sight anywhere near the level it can be, and I think it'll give ya a big time edge in a fight if ya can."

Chou'un took the scroll eagerly and Kan'u nodded remembering how in their first bout he had seen the buildup of her life force and been able to prepare for her attack. "We'll start looking over this tonight, Ranma. Are you going to quiz us on it or something to make certain we understand it?"

Ranma nodded a trifle grimly. "Yep, I will. The sooner more people can see the weird auras around here the better. And I want ta give ya both as much weapons ta use as I can."

Kan'u and Chou'un spent the next few minutes kissing Ranma into a daze for that comment before reluctantly letting him leave. He had a date with some sacred beads to keep, and the more he destroyed the more order and law could start regaining some ground around here. He also had a report to give to the police commissioner.

Ranma spent the remainder of that day on school work and then analyzing and destroying the beads he had collected the night before, then taking a long hot shower and trying to scald away the memories of what each bead had tried to show him. None of them were as bad as Hanno's because Ranma had learned how to partially block the visions, but they were still bad and dealing with them thirty at a time was even harder. He didn't even try the beads he'd gotten from the crazy bastard, the bald guy and his friend.

The discussion with the police commissioner had gone… okay. Not great but okay. The government was happy with what he had done so far, and the sharp drop in fighting and other crimes in the last four days was a blessing, but the incident at the warehouse had soured their attitude considerably. Given the circumstances they had approved Ranma's actions, but warned him to try and keep things calm for a time.

Somewhere that defied that description, some-when that did not change to allow the measurement that is time, a consciousness stirred. It had been diminished, it was less than it was. For the first time in thousands of years something was occurring that it did not intend, something that diminished it in small but increasingly noticeable ways. An outside force was interfering with its game of vengeance. The source would have to be identified and stopped, before it was diminished further.

The next day at school Ranma met up with Kan'u at the school entrance only to find his girlfriend in a bit of a state for some reason. When he asked her what was wrong she merely grabbed his arm and started pulling him behind her.

The crowd of students around them had mixed reactions seeing such an open display of affection by Kan'u towards the new hunk Ranma. The girls bemoaned the loss of the hunk but none of them were stupid enough to want to bother Kan'u or Chou'un in their relationships with him. The boys reacted much more harshly to the rumor that he was dating both Kan'u and Chou'un by being equally jealous and irritated. Both of those beauties had scorned any and all advances towards them, and here this new guy came along and swept both of them off their feet? Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

For his part Ranma ignored the students reactions to his personal life as he always had before, and at this moment was trying not to react to Kan'u's breasts being wrapped around his arm as she dragged him along.

Kan'u halted their progress right outside the principal office. Opening the door just wide enough for them to get an eye into the crack she motioned Ranma to look inside. Ranma did so and saw the girl he had saved in the hospital standing in front of the principal's desk. Ryuubi was over to one side, standing a little ways behind the principal with Chou'un holding a folder behind her like a secretary.

Kan'u whispered in his ear, causing him to shiver and Kan'u to smirk for a moment. "Later for that." She said, causing Ranma to shiver again and her smirk to widen before getting back to business "is that the girl that you saved in the hospital?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, she here asking for more help? I said she could find me here if she needed it." Kan'u looked at him and fought back a groan. He really doesn't know what he does to women. If he had even a hint how he attracts us he'd just be idiotic or a playboy rather than sweet and naïve. I guess this is just something I'll have to put up with she thought. Inwardly she shrugged, thinking it was well worth it. She opened the door muttering out of the side of her mouth "we'll just have to find out why she's here won't we?"

Ryomou turned slightly to see Kan'u walk in with Ranma behind her. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to fight back the memories of the last time she had seen these two together in the park. Her dreams that night had been very sweet indeed...

The principal gestured for Ryuubi to step forward and Ryuubi asked "what is one of the Nanyo Academy's Big Four doing here at Seito?"

Without a flourish or warning the Ryomou pulled a pack of papers out of her bookbag and handed it over to the principal. "I'm transferring" she said calmly. Ryuubi and her friends looked at one another in shock as Ranma looked on confused.

After the principal filed the paperwork and formally welcomed Ryomou to the school Ryuubi led her and the others down to the student council suite, where she gestured Ryomou into a seat at the end of the council table. She took her seat at the front with Kan'u on one side and Chou'un and Chouhi on the other. Ranma remained standing, leaning against the wall. "I'm sure you know why we are so surprised by this Ryomou-san, so why don't we cut to the chase and you can explain why you want to transfer here."

Ranma spoke up from his place by the wall. "'Scuse me, but I must be missin' somethin' here. Why's it such a big deal that she's transferring?"

Ryomou spoke up sounding amused as she looked at him with her one visible eye. "You really aren't a destiny bound warrior are you? If you were you would already know the answer to that question. Since the beginning of this strange destiny we're all laboring under, not a single student in the entire Kanto region has transferred from one school to another. It simply isn't done."

Ryuubi nodded. "That's right, we all formed into our factions as our destiny dictated, so a student transferring would be seen as a switch of allegiance from one faction to another, and thus if the fighter is a high level would see a shift the balance of power."

"And she's a high level fighter," Ranma stated nodding his head as finally understood what the problem was. Everyone looked at him in surprise and he shrugged, grinning at Chou'un and Kan'u, who really should not have been surprised. "Ki-sight, remember? You're a B or low A rank fighter right?" Ryomou nodded, not surprised given his comments to her in her hospital room that he could tell her rank.

"Which brings us back to why you have decided to transfer here?" Seeing Ranma open his mouth Ryuubi answered his question before he could speak. "It's an honest question Ranma. I know that to you the idea of mindlessly following our destinies is bizarre but the idea of not doing so rarely occurs to any of us in a big way. This is a big thing and thus we have a right to know."

Ranma frowned but nodded reluctantly. For some reason he was feeling a little protective of the new girl, though she obviously didn't need much in the way of protection. "Okay, I can see that, I just thought her former friend tryin' ta kill her was enough."

Ryomou spoke again deciding that was as good an introduction as she would get. "That was only a part of it actually. The problem began earlier this year. How much do you know about Nanyo Acadamy?"

Ranma snorted and looked at the others. "Not a lot, I know that Hakufu chick and Kokin go there. The police rated it as the third worst school for problem fighters though, behind Rakuyo and Yoshuu. I figured that was 'cause of the crazy bastard that attacked ya." Whose bead I haven't researched yet, I really need ta do that…

Ryomou looked at the others filing that police bit into her mind as Ryuubi spoke up. "The leader of the school was supposedly a boy named Enjutsu Ranma-san, but he has not been seen for months. His orders were relayed through one of the academy's Big Four, the name given to the school's four best fighters, named Saji Genpou. As it was known that the original Enjutsu was a paranoiac, there were few questions about his reincarnation staying in hiding. Saji later falsified Imperial orders and was killed for it by Ryofu-san three days ago, around the time you first arrived in fact."

Ryomou nodded. "We found out that Saji had been manipulating the school for months. There's evidence that he may have killed Enjutsu and given out all the orders since himself. He also sent both me and Kannei against the Shou Haou, in an attempt to wake up her dragon a week ago."

"Are you certain about that!?" Ranma's voice came out like a whip crack, and everyone looked at him in shock as the normally laid back warrior leaned forward aggressively, blue eyes flashing with energy as they locked on Ryomou.

Ryomou flushed, slightly turned on by this show of power. "Y-yes, he practically admitted it to Gakushu, another member of the Big Four. He first sent Kannei, but I took him out, and then when my own phone showed the order I attacked Hakufu."

Ranma snorted. "And that's why ya were in the hospital." He stated flatly. "I don't know why, but the dragon in that chick is way closer to the surface and way deadlier feelin' than even yours Ryuubi-san. It's like a huge bomb that wants ta go off. Why the hells did he want ta wake it up?"

"T-that I don't know," Ryomou answered, getting control of her hormones quickly. "I only know he kept trying. You're right, I was beaten down by the dragon in Hakfufu, but it didn't stay in control of her. Her cousin Kokin somehow got her to regain control. But Saji falsified an imperial order to send several execution teams after her. Only one found her though, and apparently that was the one you ran into with Hanno and Taishiji." Ranma nodded as everyone else looked at him, remembering what he had done to Hanno. "And the attack on me in the hospital was apparently another attempt. Hakufu had visited me just an hour before Kannei showed up. They barely missed one another, and with the numbers he had they would have woken up the dragon in her again."

(Well that was what she thought anyway. What really happened was the Emperor, showing a flair for irony, decided to take out Ryomou, who was known as one of Saji's strongest supporters, using the same code that Saji had used to falsify his own imperial orders, thus making it appear as if it was Saji's own fault. Ryomuou would never realize that the final act of manipulation that at last showed her how Saji felt about her wasn't in fact from Saji. In any event the actions it spawned would lead her down a road she had never even contemplated, a road leading her to happiness and a new life.)

Ryomou paused looking out a window in the far wall. "I had a bit of a crush on Saji you know. He was handsome and I thought he was strong, and he flirted with me all the time." She snorted. "Of course he flirted with every girl he met, and bedded as many as he could. I knew he was a man-whore but I thought at some point he would change. To find out that he was manipulating the entire school, manipulating me and willing to sacrifice me to meet his ends was a shock."

Ranma lost his dangerous look and moved forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "I know what it's like ta see yer crush in a new light. It took me a lot longer though to give up on it than you, so let me tell ya yer lucky ya were able to so quick."

Ryomou flushed even darker under his touch, the memories of what he could do with those hands from yesterday flashing through her mind. "T-thank you, but his manipulation was only one reason I want to transfer. The other is Totaku, and he controls my school because of Enjutsus' orders, or perhaps Saji's, there's no way to tell. I also have begun to question other ideas that I once took for granted, such as our fates or the entire 'destiny' thing. Don't get me wrong, I love to fight it excites me and gets my blood pumping." Everyone in the room save Ryuubi nodded, they certainly understood that. "But the question why has just been reverberating in my head ever since I got my ass kicked by Hakufu's dragon."

She snorted at their looks of surprise, her one visible eye winking at them in an odd moment of humor. "Oh don't look at me like that. One moment she's a rank amateur and I'm winning handily, the next I'm the one being kicked around like a white belt. It was more than that, her entire character changed. One moment she's an utter ditz" Ranma, Kan'u and Chou'un both nodded, that was the Hakufu they knew "the next she's a ravening killing machine, like Kannei except far more skilled and powerful. I would have died for certain if not for her cousin Kokin."

"And yer own dragon." Ranma stated. Ryomou looked at him in shock and he reached out to gently touch her eye patch. "This thing's an interestin' idea to inhibit it, but I can see the connection between it and the 'dragon' inside of ya. I couldn't see it when I saw ya in the hospital but now it's pretty damn clear with yer ki back to normal. I'd like ta meet whoever thought this seal up though, it's a great idea."

Ryomou blushed again under his touch and Kan'u's lips twitched. It definitely seems that there was something more than self-interest that had Ryomou coming here. And she is cute. I wouldn't mind 'experimenting' a bit with her, much like Chou'un-chan, though Chou'un-chan hasn't indicated she's ready for that just yet. Still I do have one objection to this…

As these thoughts went through the tan warriors mind Ryomou answered Ranma's statement. "Y-yes I suppose that's true. But that and the attack on me, the one Saji ordered and the things that have occurred since Totaku became the Emperor all added up. So here I am." She shrugged.

Ranma nodded and moved back to where he had been standing, and Kan'u leaned forward. "And does your new disdain for destiny extend to myself and how you were supposed to kill me?" Ranma stiffened behind her, but then relaxed. It wasn't like he believed in this shit after all.

Ryomou looked at Kan'u for a moment, eye lighting up in eagerness before dimming. "I'd love to fight you, but as it stands I don't think I would have a chance at beating you, let alone killing you. My own lack of skill has been shown to me very plainly the past few days."

Kan'u nodded. "Tomorrow at lunch in the dojo then, if you are amenable?" Ryomou nodded and Kan'u leaned back satisfied. Fighting her in a controlled environment will allow me to see if being the reincarnation of who she was in the past really will give her an advantage over me and prove once and for all whether or not there is something to our destinies.

Ryuubi was well satisfied with the answers she got for now, and nodded at Chouhi. "Well, that about answers my questions, welcome to Seito. Chouhi-san, could you show Ryomou-san where her homeroom is?" The younger girl nodded and the two left. She turned to the others, not showing a hint of the ditzy, bookish girl she usually was. "We should all get going to but please keep an eye on our newest ally for a few days. I don't doubt anything she said, but I want to make certain."

Kan'u smirked looking sideways at Ranma as Chou'un giggled replying for them. "I don't think that will be a problem. It's always easier to watch someone when you know what they're after." She and Kan'u laughed as Ranma just stood there looking confused.

Ryomou met with Kan'u and the others at the dojo dressed in her usual combat outfit, a maid's uniform in blue and white. The reaction she got from the others though quickly made it clear that she would have to find a new outfit as soon as possible.

"So do you practice some sort of martial arts housekeeping or something?" Ranma asked as soon as she walked in.

"Excuse me?" Ryomou blinked as Kan'u snickered behind her hand, standing in her usual outfit of a tight school uniform baring her midriff and red combat gloves. Thankfully her injuries from fighting Ryoga had all healed, even the rib. While she may not heal as fast as Ranma her ki-enhanced healing speed was still adequate to the injuries he had taken.

"Well, your outfit y'know," Ranma shrugged. "I figured you must practice some kind of maid-type martial arts. Somethin' like hidden weapons in household cleaning tools or somethin'."

"What sort of idiot would come up with something like that?" Ryomou scowled half in curiosity and half certain he was making fun of her and vowing to make him pay for it at the earliest opportunity.

Ranma waved his hands peacefully to ward off the glare he was getting from the blue haired girl. "Hey, I've seen weirder styles, like Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Martial Arts Dining, and Martial Arts Calligraphy."

"Martial Arts Tea Ceremony?" Ryomou asked in confusion.

"Martial Arts Dining?" Chouhi asked, wondering why the image of a frog's giant mouth and tongue came to mind.

"Martial Arts Calligraphy?" Kan'u wondered. "You haven't mentioned that one yet in your stories Ma-chan."

"No, from what I have heard Ryomou-san practices some kind of Cosplay S&M Martial Arts," Chou'un said in a deadpan voice, only a small smirk giving away the fact she was making a joke.

Ranma blushed but also nodded. "That'd match the style I saw her use to take down that Kannei guy in the hospital."

Ryomou shivered at the memory of thinking Kannei might look at her like that for a moment before growling, "I don't practice Cosplay S&M Martial Arts, or Martial Arts Housekeeping. It's just my fighting outfit, okay? If everyone thinks about it like that I'll figure out something else later. Can we just get on with this now?"

Kan'u nodded and the others backed away. The two women stood there for a moment sizing one another up then Ryomou screamed out a battle cry as she leapt into the air, descending on Kan'u with her fist drawn back.

Kan'u deftly side-stepped the attack, causing Ryomou to miss but she immediately continued her assault, launching kicks and punches one after another in an intricate dance of violence.

At first Kan'u was positive this first rushing attack was a faint intended to convince her Ryomou was slower than she really was, but as she caught a glimpse of the shorter girls face she realized that Ryomou was serious. I can't be that much faster than her, can I? Then she realized. I had to push my body well beyond its limits to keep up with Ranma's female form, so now everything else seems slower in comparison.

Realizing this she decided to take the offensive and end this match before Ryomou could figure out how badly she was outclassed. She wanted to win she didn't want to humiliate the other girl. Her first palm strike sliced through her opponent's defense and hit the short-haired girl in the diaphragm throwing her backward several feet and Kan'u followed up quickly, palms strikes and knife hand chops mixed in, forcing the now off balance Ryomou back and further back as she desperately blocked and dodged.

Ryomou became so focused on her opponent's hands she never even saw the round house kick that crashed into her head before she was airborne from the impact. She hit the floor of the dojo shaking her head groggily and looked up from where she lay, eye wide in disbelief. The difference in skill level can't be that bad, it can't be!

She jumped to her feet and charged forward again, her visible eye blazing as she tried again and again to tag her opponent. But after sparring with Ranma-chan Ryomou looked as if she was moving in molasses to Kan'u's eyes. She dodged everything and gave back several hard shots in return, bruising Ryomou and forcing her to retreat again.

Rather than follow up Kan'u stopped and moved back. "I think the winner is obvious. Why don't we stop here?" Inwardly she was elated. History really doesn't matter after all! Deep inside her she felt something as if a thread that had controlled her, connecting her to this unwanted destiny was no longer there, and she smiled.

Ryomou for her part shook her head angrily. She can't be that much better than me, she just can't! An idea came to her, popping up into her mind as if summoned there by that thought, or perhaps planted there, but at the moment she did not question it. With a plan in mind she charged forward a third time.

Kan'u thought to end this quickly and moved to meet her, throwing out a swift punch, but to her surprise Ryomou was able to dodge it. Suddenly, Ryomou grabbed Kan'u's outstretched arm and flipped herself around until she had Kan'u in a classic Judo arm lock, Kan'u's wrist held to her chest, Kan'u's upper arm between her thighs, and her legs over Kan'u's chest with her feet about to be hooked under her other arm to finish the submission hold.

Kan'u however suddenly pushed as much of her ki as she could into her one free arm, heightening its speed in the way Ranma had shown her with his Katchu Tenshin Amaguirken. With it she was able to avoid the final part of the hold and she grabbed Ryomou's legs, forcing them apart and throwing the other girl off her.

Ryomou gasped in shock as her final trick, the trick that should have given her certain victory failed and Kan'u pressed in fast, placing a knee onto Ryomou's chest one hand raised above her in a fist and the other holding the shorter girls hands over her head pressed into the ground. "1800 years ago, Ryomou Shimei killed Kan'u Unchou," Kan'u said, "so if I killed you right now, do you think that would change history?"

Ryomou looked up at her with her visible eye for a moment, before she started to laugh. It wasn't a crazy laugh or a haughty laugh or even very shaky. It was a laugh of freedom, a young woman finding that her destiny was no longer set in stone, but controlled by her own hands at last. In the back of her mind she almost heard a wailing sound but it was covered quickly by her own laughter. "I-I think that history has already changed. I wonder what we can all make of our destinies now?"

Kan'u smiled joining in her merriment and helping the shorter girl to her feet, hugging her for a moment while Ranma and the others came forward to congratulate Kan'u on her win and help Ryomou to the nurse's office.

Ryomou looked at Ranma slyly. Her secondary goal met, she was now free to move on to her primary objective. "By the way," she said in a deceptively normal tone of voice "Since I've transferred I was wondering if I could come live with you Ranma. After all, my home is in Nanyo's territory and that puts me in danger every time I go home." Ranma blushed and stammered and she went in for the kill, using a face she had never tried to use before, the deadly puppy-dog-eyes (eye in this case) maneuver. "And you did say I could come to you for help…." She trailed off with just the right amount of hopefulness in her voice and she could see him caving quickly.

Unfortunately her assault was interrupted by Chou'un. Kan'u, with one arm still around Ryomou's waist was too busy giggling at the situation to be any help. "Can you cook Ryomou-san?" Ryomou nodded distractedly, trying to keep her puppy dog eye attack on target, but it was not to be. "Well then you can move in with us at the temple. We have more than enough room after all, and you can pay rent by cooking breakfast and dinner."

Ryomou was about to protest when Kan'u whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver. The closeness of the other girl, plus the way she had been utterly dominated in that fight by the taller girl was affecting her badly, bringing out her submissive side. "Don't worry about it, go slowly or you'll scare him away, and none of us would like that. Besides, you should really talk to Chou'un-san and me before you start flirting with our boyfriend hmm?" Ryomou nodded reluctantly to both Kan'u and Chou'un and Ranma sighed in relief, not knowing what was being said but thankful that this new factor wouldn't add anything to his already complicated life.

Despite all his changes, Ranma was still ridiculously blind to certain things, and women in general was one of them.

The next two days passed peacefully but busily for those at Seito Private School. Most of the fighters in the Kanto area were in a state of shock over the sharp decline in their numbers of the past few days and this caused a lull in the low key battles between the factions that had become everyday occurrences. The lower-ranked fighters were terrified by what had occurred, while the more powerful fighters were simply cautious. The number of strong fighters that had been taken out, while not including any of the strongest fighters, was still a respectable amount. This new fighter had proven to be skilled, unpredictable and what was worse could turn invisible as well. The report of thirty fighters made up of all the schools dying in what was being reported by the news as a gang war gone bad caused them all to pause, but because it included most of those who had been at the forefront of the abuse and rapine rather than that of actual combat their passing went unremarked.

Ranma and the others had not heard back from Ryofu Hosen about the punishment meted out onto the glasses girl, but they had all decided to leave that one alone. At this point it was really none of their affair what happened. However Ranma had been able to write down his notes to send to Dr. Oden. He even got Chouhi, who was surprisingly good at drawing, to draw up a diagram according to his specifications to send along with them.

Meanwhile Ryuubi and her followers put her own plan into motion to protect the school and the surrounding territory. First, Ryuubi hacked into the computer system of every building that had its own security camera on the front or back. This allowed someone to, once she set up enough computer screens by raiding the schools computer room, to have a person there watch anything that occurred in front of those buildings.

The next thing that she had her followers do was to set up video cameras at strategic positions in their territory. These cameras watched the approaches towards both the school and the Temple which formed the center of their territory as well as a few other prominent spots. The only area left uncovered was the park because she knew that planting video cameras there would be too obvious.

Unfortunately for Kan'u and Chou'un this cut into their Ranma-Time. With schoolwork added on, they did not have time to train during the week as much as they wanted to or spend as much time with him. This was made readily apparent by the fact that Ranma always informed them of his own training times at night. Unfortunately, his apartment complex did not have an enclosed area for them to practice in, and Ryuubi had nixed the idea of the one that was off duty meeting him in the park to practice at night. She didn't want a competition to start up between Kan'u and Chou'un as to who would get to spend time practicing with Ranma and who would be stuck protecting her. That would simply cause ill feelings on all sides. Both Kan'u and Chou'un agreed, but were still irritated.

On the other hand, they still had their Ranma-Time at school. Both girls became very adept at ambushing Ranma and pulling him into empty classrooms or utility closets in order to make-out with him. Each session ended with the girl walking away in a daze with a wide smirk on their faces and left him hot and bothered. After the first two days of this treatment Ranma began to turn the tables on them and began to do the same thing to them, much to everyone's enjoyment.

Kan'u and Ranma also talked and just spent time together getting to know one another more. It was this aspect of the relationship that Ranma, surprising himself, was having the most fun with. Kissing and making out were all good, but simply being hugged or snuggled and relating the problems you had with your father, some nightmares from your childhood, your dreams for the future and problems of the past were something that he would never get used to.

For their part, Kan'u and Chou'un greatly enjoyed having a willing ear to their own problems and pasts. Kan'u told Ranma about the problems that she ran into during training to receive the sacred bead of her clan, and even had told him about her own failed relationships in the past. They all started out well, but at one point or another the boy in question always wanted to push the envelope or became scared of her greater physical prowess and tried to control her in other ways to make up for it.

Kan'u also related the most embarrassing story from her past, one that had been bothering her for a while. When Ryuubi's dragon had awakened shortly after their meeting, she had almost completely destroyed Kan'u's weapon, the Seryuutou. To repair it Kan'u had to go to a specific blacksmith, one who still forged weapons in the old style. This unfortunately was a problem as the smith in question was a rather perverted middle aged man. She would never have gone along with anything too outrageous, but what she ended up doing was still embarrassing. She ended up acting as a pinup model for his weapon collection, letting the old man take pictures of her in various outfits with weapons he had made. It was embarrassing, demeaning, and one of her worst memories.

Ranma had listened to her without commenting then described two of his own adventures, when he had to pose as a girl to get the wishing sword away from Kuno and the 'French Frog Debacle' (Chardin) as well as the nightmares both incidents gave him. He told her that things could always be worse, but to not compromise her sense of self for a short term gain. While on the surface it may look necessary in the long term there were always other solutions, something he wished he had learned much earlier. Kan'u nodded thoughtfully, and promised to take Ranma with her to beat up the smith as soon as they could get away, then spent a few minutes just cuddling.

Chou'un on the other hand, had been in one very serious relationship and was in fact not a virgin, but that relationship had ended amicably. She had no emotional scars from her past relationships, but she did have some from her family. Like Ranma had thought her family practiced both swordsmanship and a special style of ninjutsu. In this style emotional and self-control were the two primary tenants and as a child she was often punished for showing emotion. However, with Ranma giving her back the scrolls his father had stolen from the school, her own standing in the school had skyrocketed beyond even hat of its present master.

Ranma's reply to her was to tell her about the cat-fist. From this one story she got the message that things could always be worse. At least her family had cared for her, even if they didn't show it the normal way. Chou'un had nodded thoughtfully then initiated a very long make out session to take their minds off her problems.

While on the surface Chou'un was all right with the relationship and the way it was going, she was not so sanguine about the future. Ranma and Kan'u had become close very quickly and had already started to think of plans for after they graduated from high school, such as where they would go and what they would do as a couple. Chou'un on the other hand had only said that she wanted to travel the world on a whim as she was interested in historical sites. It really wasn't something she wanted to make a life out of like the other two, who seemed to think they could. She in fact wanted to go into politics. Still, for now the relationship where it was and where it was heading was both good for her and very, very fun for all involved.

Ryomou had been welcomed into Seito with only a hint of ill feeling. She and Ranma sparred during her second lunch at the school and she found herself incapacitated via pressure points in short order, her speed no match for his. This had only strengthened her desire to be with him, and she sometimes hovered around the edges of the trio. Sometimes when Ranma and one or other of his girlfriends was making out she would appear and watch them obviously enjoying it and sometimes even acting as a look out.

Ranma really didn't know what to make of it. He didn't click as much with Ryomou as with Kan'u, but that was more her somewhat tsundere personality than the fact they didn't have anything in common. In fact the way her parents had treated her, which she was very open about though never mentioned the reasons for it, reminded Ranma of his own parents in a way. Not as abusive as Genma or as distant as Nodoka but the similarities were there. The two connected on cooking, fighting and training, the three things that up to this point had dominated Ranma's life.

It was only her flirting with him and making her interest in him plain that bothered him. The girls on the other hand were intrigued by the possibilities. Ryomou was after all attractive, and so long as they got along with her sharing Ranma with another girl wouldn't be much of a stretch. The fact that Ryomou was also a bit of a submissive was interesting to Kan'u, who was the most sexually inquisitive of the three. Ranma was simply going to follow whoever wanted to do anything, while Chou'un already knew her own preferences.

The next problematic incident occurred on Thursday and rather than directly involving Ranma it was someone from Kan'u's past showing up.

Ranma, Ryomou and Kan'u were leaving the school together to head to the park for a training session (Chou'un was guarding Ryuubi today) when they were interrupted by a shout from near the gate. "Kan'u-chan!"
Kan'u looked over and groaned, prompting Ryomou and Ranma to take a look. They saw a young man a little older than them looking at them, with broad shoulders, wavy hair, and a handsome face. He stood there looking strangely arrogant in some indefinable way, in a good suit and tie combination with a sports car behind him.

Ranma and Ryomou turned back to look at their friends face and both smirked at her pained expression. "Let me guess, old boyfriend, rival turned love interest or unwanted suitor?" Ranma asked while next to him Ryomou smirked wider.

"His names Asato Komiya and he's an ex-boyfriend," Kan'u ground out between clenched teeth. "Who apparently can't take a hint."

The trio stood where they were as the man sauntered toward them and Ryomou frowned. "How long ago was this?"

"Half a year now. I dumped him a few months before I met Ryuubi-sama for the first time."

The man had reached them by then and spoke in a happy tone, arms outstretched. "Kan'u-chan, how are you doing these days? Have you reconsidered my offer? I'd still love to take you away from all this."

Kan'u stood there arms crossed beneath her breasts as she glared at him. "No I haven't, what the hell are you even doing here anyway?"

Asato's smile slipped a little but he regained it quickly. "Well as you know I wanted to go into teaching, and I'm here for my field experience. I'm going to be the assistant Literature professor for freshman and sophomore years. And you know you really should give up all this fighting, it won't get you anywhere in today's world."

Kan'u growled under her throat and Ryomou frowned but it was strangely Ranma who answered. "Exactly what's it ta ya if she likes to fight anyway pal, she dumped you remember. That means ya don' have a say in what she does, or did ya miss that memo?"

Asato scowled at the coarse boy before him. "And who are you to tell me what I can or can't do boy?"

"Names Ranma Saotome, and I'm Kan-chan's boyfriend." Ranma said looking at Kan'u and smiling happily, which was returned.

Asato's scowl deepened. "And you think you're worthy of a beauty like her, an uncouth, uneducated little boy like you? I can offer her a future where she'd be safe and secure and not have to work a day in her life. I can take her away from this destiny thing her family brainwashed her into believing and set her up in a life where she'll never have to fight again."

Ranma frowned but Ryomou answered before him and Kan'u, who was still standing there apparently too angry to speak. "And has it ever occurred to you that she might not want to be secure or safe, that she might like fighting?"

Asato smiled at her condescendingly. "I realize that the idea may seem strange to you, you've probably been brainwashed too, but no one sane really likes to fight. It's because I love her that I want to get her away from all that."

"Now I call bullshit on that." Ranma stated simply, moving forward to place himself between Kan'u and Asato, more to protect the asshole from her wrath than anything else. "I'm new to this love thing but I know ya can't make decisions like that fer the other person. You can't pick and choose what part of her personality or lifestyle ya want to keep and get rid of the rest. Ya have to love the whole package. I ain't saying that fighting is all that matters to Kan-chan but her love of fighting and love of the Art is a major part of her, and if ya can't accept that, then ya don't love her. Trying to force her into some kind of perfect image means ya ain't in touch with the reality that is Kan'u Unchou."
Kan'u moved around him, nodding. "I agree. What you've never understood Asato is I never wanted to be some kind of bird in a cage, I want to make my own way in the world as I see fit. That's why I dumped you in the first place, you tried to control me, to change who I am to fit the mold you made. I refused to put up with it then, and I refuse to put up with you now. Stay away from me Asato, you won't like the consequences if you don't." And with that she jumped away to land on a nearby roof, with Ryomou and Ranma following swiftly after her.

Kan'u turned to Ranma. "Screw practicing Ma-chan for what you said back there you're going to get the make-out session of a life time!" Ranma gulped audibly and Ryomou laughed as she followed the pair.

Behind them they left Asato fuming in the schoolyard.

Chou'un bit back a groan of irritation as the doorbell to Ranma's apartment rang. With Kan'u guarding Ryuubi it had been her nights to have some alone time with Ranma, and she didn't want it to be interrupted. The man could kiss like no one's business, and she had just talked him into removing her uniform top, his hands kneading her breasts when the noise of the doorbell hit them.

"If that's Ryomou-san I think I'm going to have words with her." Chou'un said grimly, as she tried to rearrange her hair back into its normal controlled wave and find where she had tossed her shirt. Oh, there it is, hanging from the ceiling light. My, I think I'm a little too high strung these days. I really do need to take the edge off.

The reason she thought it might be Ryomou was that the blue haired girl had taken to coming over to Ranma's apartment at irregular intervals, sometimes walking in or interrupting Ranma and his girlfriends, though never for long of course as she liked to watch, and neither Kan'u nor Chou'un minded. Her reason was her desire to renovate the interior of Ranma's apartment, and strangely she was pretty good at it.

Ryomou had been appalled by the fact he had only a table, a bed and kitchen appliances in his apartment, and when Ranma had told them how much money he was making she had immediately gone out and found several pieces of furniture for his room. One of which was a big comfy couch that both Kan'u and Chou'un loved (especially when they were making out with Ranma on it). She had even found a few tasteful wall hangings that brightened the apartment, as well as a bedside lamp that looked like a paper lantern.

But her watching did tend to make Ranma nervous, so it was not something Chou'un wanted to put up with today.

Ranma bit back a groan himself and got up to answer the doorbell rearranging himself surreptitiously in his pants. The girls had vetoed wearing his little helper and having to walk around with a semi hard-on all the time from their make-out sessions was beginning to be a trial. Also some of the looks he got during class from the other girls and even some of the female teachers were beginning to worry him…

He opened the door to a very unwelcome shock. His mother stood there garbed in a traditional kimono as she was the last time he saw her, though thankfully without her katana over her shoulder.

Mother and son stood there for a moment, looking at each other. For her part, Nokoka was shocked at the change her son had gone through in little under a year. He stood taller, his eyes seemed to be much calmer and much happier. That is until he caught sight of her which sent a twang of sadness through her. His eyes hardened noticeably upon looking at her and the sudden stiffness of his manner made her want to cringe inside. The fact that she knew she deserved the attitude from him did nothing to mitigate the pain.

"How did you find me here mother?" He said coldly.

Inside the apartment Chou'un stiffened at hearing that address and stopped her attempts to make yourself look more presentable moving to the entrance way to see what was going on.

The sight of a beautiful silver haired girl over her son's shoulder made Nodoka want to whip out her victory fans, but she controlled herself and asked politely "May I come in to speak with you, my son?"

"Ranma" he said coldly. "You gave up the right to call me son when you let that fat oaf of a husband carry me off on a fourteen year training trip. But you may come in anyway." As she walked in Ranma asked again "Now, how did you find me and am I going to have any of the other crazies after me? I've already seen Ryoga, but there's no way he can tell anyone where I am."

Nodoka shook her head. "I have a private investigator on retainer who I had looking periodically for your name on any property registry across the country. It was only luck that he found you. I honestly don't think that you will see any of the crew from Nerima ever again."

Ranma nodded coldly. "That's precisely the way I want it" he said gesturing for her to sit down on a dining room table that Chou'un pulled over to be in front of the single sofa.

As she sat Nodoka took the opportunity to examine the girl who was apparently living with her son. She was beautiful, with elegant silver hair, a decent bust size, and the build of a trained martial artist underneath a rather old-fashioned and straight laced school uniform. The uniform however did not hide the fact that she might've interrupted something. The girl's hair was a little mussed and sticking out in places and her face which was probably normally stoic was now almost frozen in an attempt to recover herself, though her cheeks were still flushed.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friend my so- Ranma?" She said halting her mode of address as his glare intensified.

Ranma nodded "Chou'un this is my mother Nodoka, Nodoka, this is Chou'un one of my girlfriends." That last part came out much more stiffly then the first, as he was still unused to addressing the girls as such, though the reality was one he had embraced wholeheartedly.

Again Nodoka had to stop herself from going into her victory dance, but she knew she had to tread lightly here. If she wanted any chance of reconciliation with her son she had to control herself. "Nice to meet you Ms. I wonder however if I could have a moment of Ranma's time alone?"

Ranma shrugged "whatever you have to say you can say in front of her."

Nokoka nodded, not happy but willing to go along with it. She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts as the two watched her. "Ranma" she said slowly, calmly, over "Over the past few months I have been thinking about what happened in Nerima when you left. I cannot find anything wrong with the way you handled your father and Happosai, not after I researched what occurred during the training trip Genma took you on, or what that old man was getting away with. But as for the rest of it, I cannot understand why you did what you did. I realize I haven't been much of a mother to you but I am your mother and I think I deserve an explanation for why you did what you did and I came here to find out if your actions were honorable ones."

Ranma's eyes narrowed, but it was Chou'un who spoke up. "How dare you!?" she spat, her normal self control in abeyance as she opened her draconic eyes to glare at the woman. "You sit there and ask that Ranma explain his actions to you, to you the parent that was never there, the parent that held a seppuku contract over his head every time she showed up, demanding he conform to your ever changing ideas of manliness! Well I must say you are at least consistent, always demanding never giving!"

Nodoka flinched at the scorn in the younger woman's voice but shot back angrily. "You're right I never helped raise him, I never was there for him, but I still love him, he is still my son, and all I am asking is what a mother should ask! I don't know where to begin, so I must look at what he did and start from there."

Ranma's eyes narrowed for a moment, but his voice was calm as he answered. "What precisely do you have a question about Nodoka-san. Perhaps if you explain what action of mine you have a problem with, I can give you the background info to explain it to you."

Nodoka flinched at his mode of address but nodded, it was a starting point at least. "I can understand why you wanted to leave Nerima and try to start over elsewhere, but what I don't understand is what you did to Nabiki and Akane specifically. I realize that whatever was between you and Akane died, but why did you not just leave, it seems rather cruel."

"Oh you mean the weakness moxibustion technique I used on her. Well I felt that was a fair punishment for a bully" he said, smirking though there wasn't any humor in it. "She abused her strength every day, smashing me around like I was her personal punching bag, her property" he spat the word. "to do whatever she wanted with."

"Do you know what she did on my 18th birthday?" Ranma asked whimsically. "After she pounded me for not eating the sludge she called breakfast she nearly killed two elementary students who I was helping, two little girls who got caught up in a fight between me and Mousse. I was protecting them and she heard a girl's voice screaming and smashed me a good one in the back without even seeing what was going on first. If I hadn't been able to twist my body around they would have been crushed when I was hit into a building. As it was they were knocked out and had some broken bones to deal with. That was the last draw for me where she was concerned."

Nodoka nodded slowly, though inwardly she was fuming. She knew that Akane had hit Ranma for the slightest reason, but to actually threaten other people? And hitting him every day? "And Nabiki? She can't get into a college now, none of them will take her."

"Again I hit her where it hurt. She always thought she was more intelligent than the rest of us, and she would never get caught. Well now everyone knows what she did to get that money she always had. Child pornography, extortion, racketeering, taking protection money, if I had been able to swing some more evidence I would have had her in jail. As it is simply airing her dirty laundry was barely enough to make up for the shit she put me through. Though I'll admit I didn't hate her like I hated Akane."

"I see. Given what you have said I concede that you dealt with the Tendo's honorably." The next part was hard for her to say, but the fact she had to was even harder for her to bear. "I-I also realize why you never contacted me. While my actions toward you were never that of a mother, it was my inactions that truly harmed you. I-I cannot change that, but I can make amends. I want you to be a part of my life Ranma, and vice versa. I want to have you call me mother and really mean it. Wh-whatever you want me to do I will do to make amends."

Ranma stood there thinking hard. While this offer would have had him welcoming her back even a month ago, if not with open arms that at least with an open frame of mind, his time with Kan'u, Chou'un and even Ryomou to a certain extent had taught him what a real relationship based on affection and love was like. Looking back on it, even when he/she was acting as a girl, and even after Nodoka learned of the curse his mother had never really shown that sort of support to him, she said the words, but never actually acted the part. So he said softly "I'm happy that you are willing to admit that you have made mistakes in the past, but I honestly can't say that I can see us as a family again."

Nodoka twitched but remained silent as Ranma continued. "I may be able to look past the fact that my father tricked you into letting him take me, I may even look past the fact that you didn't know anything about what was occurring on the training trip. What I can't look past is the fact that once you learned of the curse and of the other problems that Genma had caused that you did not help me in trying to solve them."

"Not only that" he went on inexorably "you added problems to the ones that already there. As a girl you wanted me to be a girl, something that I hate. Not that there's anything wrong with girls." He hastily added looking at Chou'un "or that I'm no longer uncomfortable in that body. But dressing up in uber-girly clothing and acting like a proper young lady is not something I ever wanna do. That and the fact that you still held that contract over my head and went on and on about manly this and that mean that makes me leery of letting you close. I'm not saying it won't ever happen." He added quickly, seeing Nodoka almost in tears, "but I can't say it will happen or happen soon."

Nodoka nodded, taking a moment to get control of herself again before she replied. "As I said I've learned through independent means what occurred to you on that training trip and if I knew of any of it while it was going on my husband would have been behind bars, and you back home with me as soon as I could arrange it. As for the contract I don't honestly know why I continue to hold that over your head. I-I suppose I wanted some measure of control over you, this stranger who was my son, but it was the wrong way to go about it and I realize that now. Would you be against contacting me or my contacting you occasionally just to talk? I think that the more we talk the closer to reconciliation we can get."

Ranma shrugged. "I'll think about it. You know where to find me, though I wouldn't recommend coming around here. There's a lot going on around here that I wouldn't want you involved in. And if any of the others from my past show up," he said coldly, "I will hold you responsible."

Nodoka nodded and allowed herself to be escorted out of the house by Chou'un who volunteered to walk her down to the entrance of the apartment complex. Once outside Chou'un turned to Nodoka and said in a very cold voice. "Ranma may be forgiving but you'll find both myself and Kan'u are not. Now he has girlfriends now who will stick up for him and we cannot forgive you for letting that farce of a life continue in Nerima once you arrived. Tread very carefully here Nodoka-san because if you do harm him in any way we will end you."

With that the silver haired swordswoman left the older redhead in shock and returned to find Ranma still sitting on the coach and brooding. Deciding that this simply would not do she pushed him back against the back of the sofa and sat down on his lap kissing him hard on the lips.

After a moment he began to respond and the kiss deepened, tongues dueling in his mouth. She pulled back, scrapping her tongue along the roof of his mouth before breaking the kiss. She bunched her fists in his shirt raising it to show his abs and kissing her way down his body. "Forget her for now Ranma, live in the here and now, isn't it sweet? Can you feel what I'm doing to you, what I want to do?"

Ranma groaned but reached down and pulled his shirt over his head before reaching down and dragging her back up to resume the kiss.

She didn't let that go on for long though before changing their positions, pushing him to the side and backward to lay down on the sofa. Again she made her way down his body, kissing every inch as she moved down to his pants.

Ranma again interrupted her, pulling her back up, and trying to unbutton her blouse with fumbling fingers.

Chou'un impatiently pushed his hands away and ripped her shirt open, buttons flying everywhere as she swiftly removed her bra and grabbed his hands placing them on her breasts.

This wasn't the first time that Ranma had felt up one of his girlfriends, but it was the first time it happened with her shirt off. He gulped, taking in the expanse of perfect white skin, her pink nipples and large aureole, which covered a little over three inches of her lovely C-size breasts. They looked strangely delicious and Ranma leaned forward licking and biting at her breasts before capturing one of her nipples in his mouth and sucking.

Chou'un groaned, feeling her panties slick with her juices. Ranma was using his ki sense, and while he started out with only enthusiasm, within minutes he was playing her body like a violin. Deciding to regain the initiative she reached behind her into his pants and pulled out his cock.

She looked back and gasped, though this time it wasn't because Ranma had begun to flick her nipple with his tongue, though that did help. This was the first time she had actually seen his dick, and its size amazed her. He is certainly aptly named, gods he's huge! She just had to have a taste…

Pushing Ranma's head away from her breasts gently, she turned around. Ranma tried to stop her but Chou'un only whispered in a voice overflowing with lust "Don't worry Ranma, it'll feel good I promise."

Now sitting on Ranma's chest she leaned down and brought her tongue out to lick at the head, tasting some of his pre-cum. She swallowed licking her lips at the taste. It was almost nutty, tart yet tasty and she leaned down again. With one hand on his shaft and the other cupping his large balls she tried to fit his head into her mouth, but it was so wide she could only manage the first inch.

Ranma had lost it completely now, lust was in the driver's seat and wasn't letting go despite the hammering of his indoctrination on the window and the worry of what Kan'u might think of his going this far with Chou'un first. All he could think about was returning the favor and he grabbed her hips and pulled her legs to either side, sliding her body up his until her crotch was right above his mouth.

He sniffed, taking in the sharp smell of her arousal before sticking his tongue out and running it up and down her by now nearly transparent white panties, licking and sucking at her drenched clit.

Pulling her panties to one side he quickly began licking directly from Chou'un's dripping pink petals with his tongue and sampling her nectar, a treat he quickly decided was among the tastiest he ever tasted. At the back of his now occupied mind doing the same to Kan'u went straight to the top of his to-do list.

Much like in every other physical aspect of their relationship he was a bit clumsy at first, but he used his ki senses to watch for sparks of pleasure in her ki when he hit the right spots and quickly had her squirming and whimpering. Ranma grabbed Chou'un's thighs holding her in place as he continued his erotic torture of her.

Moments later Chou'un couldn't hold it any longer and she sat up mouth open wide and screaming as she came. "AAAHHHHHH, so good Ranma! MORE Ranma more!"

As her first crest peaked she dived back down determined to bring him the same pleasure, body quaking as Ranma went back to licking her slit, this time using his fingers as well, thrusting two deep into her hungry snatch.

She licked and slurped and tried almost desperately to fit more of his cockhead into her mouth, but still could only manage an inch, and she began to work her hands up and down furiously on his shaft.

As fast a learner as Ranma was, he was still inexperienced when it came to his own threshold for pleasure, and within fifteen minutes (and two more orgasms for Chou'un) Ranma groaned. "Chou-chan I'm gonna"

Chou'un removed her mouth from his cock, kissing and licking the head as she moaned. "Cum for me Ranma, cum for me!"

Ranma groaned a final time and let go. Semen erupted from his cock in long, thick spurts, some hitting her face, some shooting past her face only to come back down and splash into her hair, others hit her chin and ran down her neck to cover her breasts in his thick potent seed. After he was done she was almost completely covered breasts to forehead in cum. If anyone had been there to see her they would have thought that she was the main event at a bukkake party.

One final orgasm hit Chou'un as Ranma plunged a third finger into her, tweaking her clit as he shot off his last spurt, and she collapsed on top of him, moaning and breathing heavily.

Ranma pushed her legs together on onside and used them as a pillow for a moment catching his breath from the rush he had just received.

After a few moments though they looked up to see Ryomou and Kan'u both standing there holding several bags of groceries, and behind them through the open door they could see Chouhi and Ryuubi looking around the edge of the doorway.

Kan'u smirked as the two lovers finally noticed their presence. "Well, I do hope to get a play by play later, but why don't you two go clean up for now and then you can join us for dinner."

She and Ryomou ended up having to help the two into the apartment's bathroom and took great delight in cleaning both of them off from their exertions. All in all, despite the interruption from Nodoka everyone, even Ryomou and Kan'u were satisfied with the way the day went.

As she rode the train on the first leg of her journey home Nodoka shivered, suddenly knowing that her son had just been very manly indeed.

Ranma got the chance to even the scale the very next day. Asato had only been there a day and already he was making problems for Ranma and Kan'u. He had taken to stalking Kan'u whenever she wasn't in class, not obviously but constantly being around. The fact that Asato's stalking had blocked all attempts to find Ranma for some make-out time was just icing on the cake. A single morning of this, plus tests in math and chemistry was enough and Kan'u decided to hide in the student council room for lunch rather than go out into the courtyard just to get some peace.

She tensed as the door opened but relaxed as Ranma poked his head in. Catching sight of her he smiled, walked over to her after locking the door behind him and gave her a hug.

Kan'u sighed happily. This was an aspect of their relationship that she enjoyed immensely. Ranma, once you broke down the walls of his multiple defense mechanisms, was an extremely affectionate person, who seemed to just know somehow whenever Kan'u or Chou'un simply needed a hug. "Thank you Ranma, I really needed that. Asato has been following me around every chance he can today, and putting up with him as well as having two tests in my worst subjects has put me on edge."

Ranma sat next to her, opening his overlarge bento stack and handing her a pair of chopsticks. The two began what had become one of their daily rituals, battling for the contents of his lunch. Chou'un often joined in, as did Ryomou, though she also brought food to add to the communal lunch. Oftentimes if they ate outside a crowd would develop to watch the conflict, though it was all in good fun. Kan'u and the others never went away hungry after all, and she could already feel that her reflexes and hand speed were better than they had been.

"It ain't the fact that he's been followin' you that's botherin' ya, it's the fact ya don't know how to get rid of him." Ranma said insightfully. Kan'u nodded ruefully and he went on. "Trust me, I know. Having Kodachi follow me around trying to poison or stun me in an attempt ta date me wasn't fun, but I didn't know how to get rid of her without seriously hurting her, which like now is something ya can't do."

Kan'u smirked as she wrested a piece of fish from the box. "I suppose so, though the idea of physically pounding on him until he gets the hint is already looking very good. I don't know if I'm going to be able to control myself for the rest of the time he's here."

Ranma smiled and closed the now empty bento box, stuffing it back into his fold-space pocket. "Ya don't mean that Kan-chan, he's a wimp not a warrior and ya ain't the type ta bully someone. That's just the tension from him and yer tests talkin'. If ya want I can give ya a massage to take some of the tension out of ya."

Kan'u smirked, kicking off her slippers and wriggling her toes in their stockings. "Well, why didn't you say so Ma-chan, get on with it."

Ranma grinned, moving to sit on the floor in front of her legs, taking one of them in his hands and running his fingers gently along the back of her calf, eliciting a whimper from Kan'u. He loved Kan'u's legs, well he loved her entire body really, but while her uniform covered up her upper body her skirt did nothing to hide her legs, and just seeing them sometimes got Ranma hot and bothered. As his fingers moved up to her foot he caught out of the corner of his eye a glimpse of her underwear and a sudden thought occurred to him. Gulping he turned to look at Kan'u face. "Um, y'know I could also, um, do the um, the same thing I did t-to Chou'un last night, y'know, that is if you want me to, I mean, I ain't pushing or anythin', just if ya want me too."

Kan'u looked at him with her head cocked on one side, her eyes half-lidded with growing lust. She smiled at his blushing attempts to speak, though inside she was doing cartwheels of joy. She had wanted to try Ranma's tongue since Chou'un had given her a brief description of how good it was last night, and she praised her ancestors that this chance had come along so soon. "Say what you want clearly Ranma," she commanded huskily, eyes locked on his, "say it."

Ranma gulped, blushing heavily but as had always been the case met the challenge head on. Leaning in he captured her lips for a moment before pulling back, staring into her eyes and trying to impart the love and appreciation he had for her with just his eyes. "I want to go down on you Kan-chan. I want to make you scream my name!"

Kan'u's eyes glazed over entirely at the raw desire in his voice as she moaned, one hand flipping her skirt up, the other grabbing his pig tail and tugging on it. "Well then Ma-chan what are you waiting for?"

Without further ado Ranma dove down, lifting her skirt and pushing her legs apart so that he could sit facing her where she sat on the edge of her seat. He started slowly, touching and licking around the edge of her panties, touching her slit with a single finger through them. After a few minutes of this as her panties showed a distinct wet spot he could feel her hands in his hair becoming more demanding and he slowly moved her panties to one side.

He took a moment to look at the prize before him, not having had the chance to actually look at Chou'un's last night. Under her panties her skin was the same color as the rest of her, showing that rather than simply being tanned, her skin was naturally bronze. Her slit was a light pink color, and glistened with dew from her arousal. She had her pubic hair cut in the shape of a small dark purple triangle, and it looked soft to the touch.

Wonderingly he reached out and ran a hand over it, marveling aloud. "Your hairs so soft Kan-chan, and it's so pretty, like a flower. I never thought that description was actually true." Kan'u moaned again, the appreciation in his voice and his gentle touch pushing her arousal along, and Ranma noticed as the petals of her flower moistened further.

Using his ki sight he knew just where she wanted to be touched, and he started along the edges, taking his time and driving her insane. Working under a time limit as they were he couldn't give her the number of orgasms he gave Chou'un, but he was determined to make this count. After ten minutes of this he finally thrust his tongue as deep as it could go into her slit while tweaking her clit between his thumbs.

Kan'u came with a scream that, had the council chamber not been soundproofed, would have told the entire school what they were doing. It was a few minutes before she could even open her eyes, and her body was still being wracked by aftershocks as Kan'u came down from a high she had never before experienced, putting even their experiment in the park to shame. She gasped out, "that was fantastic Ma-chan thank you."

Ranma grinned, rearranging himself in his pants as he as he helped her to her feet, "my pleasure. I love the tastes of you girls, so sweet yet so strong, it's great."

Kan'u giggled then frowned, pulling her panties up and fixing her skirt. "I'm sorry I can't try to return the favor Ma-chan. We just don't have the time."

The bell to signal the end of the lunch period rang, emphasizing her point and Ranma shook his head. "No problem Kan-chan. I don't mind really. Ya needed this a lot more than I did today."

Kan'u nodded, and the two walked out the door, though Kan'u felt a little unsteady on her feet. "Thank you Ma-chan, and you're right, I'm feeling much better than I was. Although" she added slyly, "I never did scream your name you know."

Ranma blushed then grinned lopsidedly at her and it was all Kan'u could do to not kiss him right there in the center of the hall. "That just gives me something to shoot for next time Kan-chan."

Kan'u nearly moaned aloud at the thought, but managed to contain herself. "I-I look forward to it, see you after school Ranma." The two parted company and went to their respective classes.

Ryomou, who had been transferred into Kan'u's class based on her test scores, looked up as Kan'u came in. It only took one glance to tell the blue haired warrior what had happened and her response was immediate: "You lucky bitch!"

Kan'u blushed but walked toward her seat in a determinately normal stride even as some of the other girls and a few boys looked at her and began to talk among themselves excitedly. As she passed Ryomou's seat she paused and whispered. "Be a good girl and maybe I'll convince Ranma to let you join us next time." Ryomou stiffened and looked back at Kan'u as she walked on, eye filled with sudden hope.

end chapter. And that is how I deal with Ryoga, not bringing him in as a love interest for Ukitsu like some had thought. So we see that the physical side of the relationship is going well for all but not the emotional side for Chou'un, who doesn't feel as strong a connection with Ranma that Kan'u does. I also have plans for Ryomou's inner dragon, but they won't be apparent for a while. While she is interested in Ranma she doesn't know him well enough just yet to really confide in him, and he still has no idea what to do about the dragon souls yet.