Chapter No. 6
"May I introduce Ryoga's wife?"

Akane forgot about being angry with Ranma when he started recounting his adventures of that day.

"You met Ryoga?" she questioned him, wide-eyed. Beside her at the table, her whole family looked on with interest. Genma didn't seem nearly as thoughtful as the rest of them, judging by the way he consumed second helpings without even looking up. Ranma nodded once.

"Yeah," he told her, and then mentioned casually, "He's married now."

Nabiki snorted. "But he's such an innocent!"

Akane couldn't help but agree with Nabiki and she stared down contemplatively at her half-eaten meal. She could clearly recall Ryoga's shining eyes, a face that became brighter when he looked at her. Had he truly forgotten her? "Who's he married to?" she asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't know her," Ranma replied, slightly uneasily. When Akane continued to glare at him, he acceded, "Her name's Shampoo and she's a Chinese Amazon warrior. Turns out if an Amazon is beaten by a male outsider, she has to marry him."

"Oh," said Kasumi. "How intriguing!"

Akane was not as easily appeased. "How do you know all this anyway?" she demanded, still glaring at Ranma.

Ranma opened his mouth to reply. Then he was rudely cut off.

From the open doorway there came a lusty cry, "Pretty boy!" in a betraying Chinese accent. There was a rushing of footsteps and before he could look up, Ranma felt slim, feminine arms encircle him. He sensed trouble and looked around at the staring Tendo family. Even his father was peering intently at him, his round panda eyes telling him, "You've done it now, boy."

Ranma spluttered, "M-May I introduce Ryoga's wife?"

"Are you sure they don't need marriage counselling?" Nabiki commented drily as Shampoo affectionately rubbed her head against Ranma's shoulders.

Meanwhile, Akane was seething. As she looked from Shampoo's adoring features to Ranma's nervous yet yielding body language, she felt the volcano inside her erupt. "You idiot!" she bellowed as she got to her feet. She delivered a not-so-friendly bop to Ranma's head and then stormed outside, not even bothering to spare a glance at Ranma as she went past.

He stared guiltily at her. He'd really muffed up this time and he hadn't even deliberately provoked her. Well, that was a little lie. Truth be told, he had been jealous of Ryoga because Akane spoke so highly of him. If only Shampoo hadn't taken away all the credibility of his half-truth. He wasn't sure how she had managed to track down his male form as well as his female form. But… things weren't as bad as they could be. Now if only Akane were as affectionate as this.

Shampoo, sensing Ranma stiffen, pointed her gaze upward at his face. There was something wistful in Ranma's countenance, and he was failing to respond to her caresses as she had hoped. It had to be the fault of that short-haired girl who had left the room. All her fault. Shampoo sat silently and fumed.

"Little Shampoo," Kasumi began gently, "I'm not sure if it's right to be cheating on your husband like this."

"Shampoo no marry Ryoga!" She pouted. She also relinquished her tight vice-like hug Ranma, allowing him to breathe again.

Soun felt it necessary to break his prior silence. "Ranma is engaged to Akane!" he bristled. Genma nodded in agreement.

Shampoo froze. It seemed as if some sort of message was finally getting through to her. "Ranma…?" she repeated the name, looking absolutely thunderstruck.

Ranma remembered yet again that Shampoo associated the name 'Ranma' only to her bitter foe, the pigtailed girl. She knew nothing of his curse. Thinking about Akane's furious face, Ranma decided that the misunderstandings ought to cease at once. He couldn't go on like this.

"Shampoo," he said suddenly, softly. The confused girl turned to him at once. "There's something I must tell you," he continued.

Shampoo said nothing, only swallowed and continued to gaze at him unblinkingly.

Ranma reached for a handy bucket of cold water, hesitated briefly and then tipped the contents on himself.

Shampoo's eyes became wide. She leaned forward, touched Ranma's chest and confirmed that he had become a busty she. Then she sat back and worked her mind furiously.

At last, she gasped, "You… like Ryoga is." She couldn't hold back a tear which slowly rolled down her cheek. When the tear fell past her chin, she added, "Cursed."

Ranma nodded slowly. "I am Ranma," he said.

Shampoo wordlessly got to her feet. It had become too much for her. First, her obligation to marry Ryoga and now this: Her pretty boy was really the girl she had sworn to kill. No. It was too much. She needed time to sort things out.

She mumbled a goodbye and then left through the front door. Perhaps she'd never return.

Ryoga, as usual, was lost. After Shampoo called him husband, she went into a sudden rage. She beat him around the head numerous times, nothing of which he felt because he was too shocked to acknowledge any pain. Then she left him alone and went off somewhere; he had no hope of tracking her down. The pigtailed girl had looked as confused as he had, and then she, too, took off to the winds. Which left Ryoga all alone.

He was back where he had started. Sometimes, Ryoga felt as if he wouldn't know what to do if he had a sense of direction, having no vocations anyway. First Akane, now this. Life sure sucked.

Ryoga had not yet left Nerima when he saw Shampoo walking down the road. He stopped. He was glad to see someone he recognised. But ought he to talk to her? She was a weird, violent girl - who was to say she wouldn't start beating him up again for no reason? She did look very down, as confused and as all alone as he was. He took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Sham-" His call was abruptly cut off when someone on the building above tipped water on the ground – on him. The rest of Shampoo's name came out as a high-pitched oink.

Despite being in her private world of misery, Shampoo recognised the two alternate voices as belonging to a friend she knew. Ryoga was a friend, even if he was part of her problems. She walked up to him and deftly picked him up by his bright, spotted headband.

Ryoga looked at Shampoo's face and realised that she had been crying.

"Cursed," she whispered in a bitter tone. "Ranma cursed. Is man and woman." She sniffed, for the tears were threatening to come out again. She relented.

It certainly was odd, Ryoga reflected, to see the proud and scornful Amazon woman so emotional. Up until then, he had never seen Shampoo as a real girl. Now he did.

Shampoo bowed her head. "Ryoga hate himself, yes? You is pig, worthless."

He said nothing to that.

The tears were literally streaming down Shampoo's face. "Shampoo never marry Ryoga!" she screamed, returning to her old habit and kicking Ryoga to goodness-knows-where.

She sighed after that. She honestly believed that letting out her pent-up anger and confusion on something would make her feel better. But it didn't.

Inside the Tendo Dojo, Akane released her anger on a punching bag. Immaturely enough, she had drawn crude facial features on the red bag and as she beat it up with relish, she imagined those features contorting in pain. "Jerk! Jerk!" she intoned passionately in time with her punches. Now this felt good.

"Akane! Shampoo's gone now! Aren't you going to come inside?" It was Ranma, calling her. She snorted hearing his voice and quickened her punches. "No!" she returned fiercely.

"Akane!" Ranma sounded exasperated. "What are you angry at me for, anyway? If you jealous, then-"

"I'm not jealous!" Akane insisted hotly. "But is it true about Ryoga and Shampoo?"

Ranma stepped into the dojo and shook her head uncertainly. "I'm not sure now. She called him husband but then said she didn't want to marry him."

"In any case," Akane continued as she gradually slowed her attack on the punching bag, "it's true Ryoga's forgotten me." She was surprised at how hurt she sounded. "He…" Her voice quivered, "He's such a coward, not daring to face me at all! I wanted to forgive him." She clenched her fist so tightly her knuckles went white.

It is a sad coincidence to hear commentary about your character that wasn't intended for your ears. Ryoga heard everything Akane said. Shampoo had kicked him into the Tendo's backyard, right in the thorny bushes outside the dojo. He froze at the sound of Akane's voice. He hadn't thought he would ever hear her sweet voice again. He had forgotten how much he had longed for it. But to hear her badmouth him, to know how little she thought of him, was almost more than he could ever bear.

He looked down at his little pig feet. "Ryoga hate himself, yes? You is pig, worthless," Shampoo had said. He had been afraid to believe her at the time but now all doubts were cleared. Ryoga truly despised himself. He let out a squeal so full of his agony and misery that he almost choked on it.

"What was that?" Ranma exclaimed in alarm.

Akane raced outside and reported, "It's a pig!" She cried. "Oh, you poor thing!" And she immediately pulled Ryoga out of his prison of thorns. The innate, motherly instincts Akane had within her immediately surfaced at the sight of the little pig whimpering as if it was in pain. She held the pig in her arms and gently kissed its nose. It immediately went still. "Oh, you poor thing," she said again, softly this time. "I will call you P-chan."

Ranma snorted. "That pig seems awfully human to me. It's blushing," she pointed out.

That Ryoga was still in love with Akane was certain. In fact, as she held him closer to her heart and embraced him warmly, he fell deeper for her. If Ryoga had one weakness, it was to kindness. Even if he knew that Akane's love was not for him but for the pig, he couldn't help but feel drunk on happiness. One might say that Ryoga fell in love not with Akane but to kindness itself, and that was why he felt so safe, so… at home, as if he knew where he was. It was something he had never felt before. It was easy to call this magnificent feeling love.

If there was one difference between Shampoo and Ryoga, it was that Ryoga brooded - Shampoo did not. She did not stay depressed for very long and soon found herself making plans for the future.

She thought about Ranma and wondered if anything could be done. Even if he was the girl she despised, she loved him and she came to that realisation soon enough. She knew it was love because of this sense of attraction she felt being near him. He was handsome and had a cute smile and was so yummy she could eat him. Her body reacted, sending shivers down her spine just being with him. And from all the talks she had had with her great-grandmother, she understood what she was called to do.

If Ranma was actually a man, she would marry him, not Ryoga. After all, Ranma had defeated her first. That thought relieved her. There were two distinct choices she could make: One, she could go back to China to her great-grandmother waiting for her. Or two, remain in Japan and see if she could win Ranma's heart. She was more inclined towards number two, really.

As she got her feet, she grinned. Wasn't it right that after night there was dawn?