Setsuna was walking to her class's classroom nursing a massive headache. Something was going on and it was causing her massive problems. All the students were talking about something in the news. However, every time Setsuna tried to hear what they were saying a massive screech like someone's nails scraping a chalkboard filled her ears. This sound didn't occur with everything the students were saying; it just occurred when some unknown topic came up.

Unfortunately, everyone in the school seemed to be talking about this subject and the scrapping sounds in her ear were slowly driving Setsuna insane. Setsuna sat down at her desk and noticed that she had a few minutes before class had to begin. The undercover guardian of time quickly decided to pull out her local newspaper to try and focus on something besides the torture her students were inflicting on her. She opened the paper and stared in shock at the first page.

For some unknown reason, the cover article and its accompanying caption were completely illegible. This wasn't a simple case of a bad print job. Instead, it looked to Setsuna like someone had censored the entire article and photo. Just what by the ancestors was going on? It was almost like she was under a spell that wouldn't allow her find out about something. That thought made Setsuna very, very uncomfortable and afraid.

Setsuna prided herself on her mental control, willpower, and restraint. This wasn't too surprising considering that anyone who guarded a portal that could manipulate time needed these characteristics to not fall into the temptation to start manipulating. Thus the mere possibility that she could be under the effects of some spell terrified Setsuna. She fought back a gulp at the possibility that she might be doing things under someone's orders.

However, now was not the time to panic over such possibilities. Right now see needed to teach her students and then once classes were over she could run a diagnostic spell to check herself for any magical alterations. Setsuna turned to face everyone and stated, "Alright class, time to settle down. I know that you all have a lot to tell your friends, but save it for your lunch break. Now, there are a couple of announcements that need to be made before I turn you over to Mr. Ishimura for your math."

Like many of the boys in the class, Ranma had been paying close attention to Setsuna. However, he wasn't paying attention to her figure. Ranma had noticed that Setsuna seemed to be in some sort of pain; in particular he noticed that she seemed to wince every time someone mentioned the fight yesterday at Toshiro's. What could this possibly mean?

Ranma kept these observations to himself and thought on them during breaks in his next few classes. A big part of him simply wanted to drop all thoughts on his homeroom teacher's situation and let it be. The kami knew that he was in a bunch of situations where it was better for regular people to just let him be. However, a part of Ranma just wouldn't let go. Why did hearing about the attack cause Setsuna so much pain? Besides, how many times had he brushed things off as not his concern only for them to come back around at him?

The young champion finally made up his mind to approach Setsuna about her situation during lunch. After Ranma finished his lunch he promptly made his way back to the classroom. Like he expected, Setsuna was sitting at her desk finishing up her lunch. An opened bottle of extra-strength Tylenol showed that she was still suffering. Setsuna glanced up as Ranma entered the classroom and gave him a weary smile. "If you want to start on your homework Saotome, feel free to do so."

Ranma walked up to his teacher's desk and nervously asked, "Are you okay Ms. Meioh? I mean, you looked like you were getting a headache whenever people mention the incident-" Ranma paused in mid sentence when he saw Setsuna apparently bracing for the pain. He frowned and then asked, "That's what I mean. Whenever someone mentions that topic you look like someone punched you in the gut."

Setsuna could feel the sweat drops forming on the back of her head at Ranma's question. How could he see through her? Damn it, she was the millennium long champion at holding a poker face! She should have been able to remain impassive even if she went into an iron maiden. So how by the goddess was Ranma reading her situation? The only reason for this catastrophe that she could think of was that she was in more pain that she had thought.

The guardian of time knew she needed to say something or she'd look suspicious and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Setsuna sighed and then gave her answer. "I've got a very bad headache Mr. Saotome. Talking about that only aggravates my headache."

It was obvious that Setsuna was not telling the whole truth, but Ranma simply nodded his head and went to his desk. Ranma then pretended to work on his homework while mulling over what he had learned. He knew that Setsuna couldn't hear about the attack because it caused her pain. It was almost like something was actively preventing her from finding out about the attack.

Realization suddenly hit Ranma like a freight train. Eris had stated that the other planetary champions wouldn't be able to find out about youma because of some unintended side effects of Luna's champion's spell. Furthermore, one of the champions was in the area looking for the newest champion a.k.a. him. Setsuna had recently arrived in the area and she couldn't find out about youma attacks because something was preventing her. Could she be the champion looking for him?

Ranma's cell phone started going off causing him to quickly leave the classroom. The young champion quickly ducked into a janitor's closet and pulled out his phone. "Ranma here, what's the situation?"

Eris's voice cheerfully came over the phone. "Good afternoon Ranma. I was just checking in on you a few minutes ago and I noticed that you think you've figured out who the champion looking for you is. Do you want to make your guess official? If you guess correctly you'll win a fabulous prize. If you've made a mistake; well, lets just say that you really don't want to make a mistake."

"Wait a minute Eris, you were reading my mind?"

"Of course I was Ranma. How did you think I talked with you yesterday when you wanted to heal Lilith? Besides, figuring out what a guy is thinking is easy for any girl. Now, are you going to make your guess now or not?"

Ranma sighed and then shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he could simply put this guess off; Eris would put him through a whole new round of hellish training for showing indecision and being a coward. Not that he minded the training, but it was general principal. "Alright Eris, I think that Setsuna Meioh is the planetary champion looking for me."

The sound of trumpets came blaring through the phone and then Eris suddenly appeared in a shimmering dress fit for a movie star going to an awards ceremony. She promptly planted a kiss on Ranma's lips and called out, "Congratulations Ranma! You were correct, Setsuna is a planetary champion. I can't tell you which spirit she champions since that would allow the other spirits to blab about you. Still, you were able to use your weakest skill, non-combat analytical and deductive reasoning, and solve the challenge I set for you."

Eris then snapped her fingers causing a rather large Macuahuitl to appear next to her in a puff of bluish black smoke. The handle and main body of the weapon was made of some sort of black wood while the blades of the weapon were made out of blackish-blue stones. "This is your reward Ranma! This is the talisman I created for you when I made you Senshi Eris. I've withheld giving it to you up till now because I wanted to be sure that you could use your brains as well as your brawns. Not that I had any doubts you'd earn it, but nobody hands a newbie all of the good stuff. This talisman is called the Mania Macuahuitl. By having it on your person you will double your abilities; any attacks that you channel through Mania Macuahuitl will be five times stronger than that doubled base. Needless to say, this is a very powerful weapon that you'll have to use carefully. Oh yah, you can also use it in melee attack since it's got a very wicked edge. You could saw off a stone dragon golem's head with that if you wanted."

Mania Macuahuitl crackled with power for a second and then was covered in smoke. Ranma instantly noticed that the talisman was now resting on his back like a sheathed sword. Eris's talisman then glowed and sunk into Ranma's body integrating itself with his champion form. Ranma looked at Eris wondering if his Lady had anything else in store for him this visit. As it turned out, Eris merely vanish her clothes, kiss Ranma firmly on the lips, and then vanish from sight. Ranma quickly took the opportunity to join his fellow students in returning to the classroom before things became awkward for him.

"Ranma?"

"Yes Shampoo?"

"Are most Japanese males a bunch of stupid morons who follow the direction of the loudest idiot?"

"Sorry to say 'mother', it looks like you're right about the guys around here being a bunch of morons. My only question is where did the upperclassman whose suppose to have started this whole embarrassment get the idea? I mean, our family report doesn't come out for another two weeks and I don't know how this Kuno fellow could have come up with an idea so similar to your village's laws otherwise."

Shampoo and Ranma hung there heads in embarrassment as they watched the latest batch of insanity to hit Nerima unfurl before their very eyes. Several dozen school boys, all armed with various improvised weapons, were blocking everyone from entering the school while shouting about their love for some girl named Akane. The rest of the student body looked on either in embarrassment or thinking about joining the mob. Both 'mother' and 'son' were standing in the crowd of onlookers wondering why they couldn't have a simple, normal school life.

The dull roar of the onlookers made it almost impossible for anyone to clearly hear anything besides their neighbors or the barricading mob's chant. Luckily, Ranma was able to pick up some peoples' voices or he'd have no clue why this bizarre situation was happening.

"Didn't you hear? Upperclassman Kuno made a declaration is speech class the other day!"

"-Won't allow Akane to be dated unless defeated."

"Can you believe it? Akane Tendo's got all these guys-"

Deciding he had heard enough, Ranma turned to face Shampoo. "Hey Shampoo, what do you say we get out of here? I'm thinking the roof would be a good way in."

Shampoo gave her adopted son a quick smile and then called out, "Just try and keep up!" She then jumped into the air, landed on the overhead above the school entrance, and then jumped onto the school roof. Ranma took a slightly different route up by jumping onto the school's wall, grabbing a second story window ledge, and then used the ledge to go into a cartwheel onto the roof. The duo's actions briefly shocked everyone down below, but the mob's chanting for Akane quickly made the students forget about the duo.

Both of the super martial artists quickly entered their school from the rooftop entrance and walked to their classroom. The arrived in the classroom just in time to have box office seats for Akane Tendo verses the Hentai Horde. It took Akane about five minutes to pulverize the horde into a bruised bunch of bozos. The duo was then treated to the follow-up act Akane verses the Shooting Simpleton.

The Amazonian's face was clearly showing her disgust with the antics below as she watched Akane and Kuno fight. "This travesty is a mockery and affront to Amazonian tradition! What kind of man fights in a group for the woman he wants? Four year olds back at the village know that a challenge carries no weight if the combat is not one on one. And what's with that stick wielding moron who's supposed to have started this whole insult? Is he some sort of eunuch that he can't hope to please a girl unless she's been worn out by dozens of little boys?"

A quick chuckle escaped Ranma's lips when he heard Shampoo's attacks on Kuno's manhood. Personally, Ranma had his own doubts about the upperclassman given that the fool had supposedly started this whole mess. Ranma then sighed and shook his head. "What makes this whole situation embarrassing is that there's no point to it. Kuno doesn't have the authority to make such a decree as he isn't Akane's father or guardian. The fact that people are listening to the bozo only makes them look like fools."

"Of course, that Akane girl's making a fool out of herself in how she's handling this situation. She should point out that she never agreed to Kuno's proclamation and that it isn't valid. Also, she shouldn't fight back and instead focus on avoiding their attacks. If Akane did this then she could have every single one of those morons arrested for assault and premeditated attempted rape. The big house would probably do these fools some good. Sadly, her striking those fools pretty much negates any protection the law would offer her from this insanity. Didn't anyone teach this girl that part of martial arts is about knowing when to strike?"

Shampoo nodded her head and then stated, "Well, at least we don't have to deal with that mess. After all, we can easily get by those losers if they keep this up and that girl is in another class so we don't ever have to worry about running into her again." Ranma nodded his head grateful for at small blessing.

The people of Nerima were treated to an odd sight as the entire Saotome family strolled down the street in the rain. Ranma and Shampoo were walking on either side of Genma's panda form with each teen carrying an umbrella. Genma himself was walking on all fours while Nodoka sat on his back like some fantasy queen. The panda gave a short and dull roar to show his annoyance at being his wife's beast of burden.

Nodoka leaned over and petted Genma's head. "Oh don't be so grumpy dear. I can't tell you how much fun it is to ride you like this. Besides, I'll let you 'ride' me as soon as we get home."

Both teens glanced at each other and muttered together, "TMI."

Nodoka pretended not to hear what her son and cowife said and kept her attention on her husband. "Now Genma, how much father is it to the Tendo Dojo? I can't wait for Ranma to pick out his new bride among your friend's daughters! Oh why didn't you tell me that you had arranged this match earlier? We should have introduced Ranma to his future bride as soon as he got home!"

Ranma rolled his eyes and refrained from sighing at his mother's antics. Wasn't it just his luck that this new curveball came into his life just as soon as he gotten used to how things were? Things were just so simple: go to school, beat up youma that tried to appear, and train on Eris in his downtime. How was he supposed to juggle a fiancée into this pattern?

The most annoying thing about this whole situation to Ranma was the fact that Eris was putting her full support behind the engagement. Well, she gave her full support in her usually unique way. Ranma could still remember Eris's words when he told her the situation. "If the girl is halfway decent then you must stick to her. Even an average mate can pass on a bloodline and provide relaxation after a brutal battle or harsh training. If you don't think she'll produce children that will be capable of handling your mantle then simply take another mate as well. I have no problem was a superior specimen insuring his lineage. Just make sure that the girl isn't some vapid airhead; if she is then transport her to my body and I'll insure that no one ever finds her corpse."

Knowing that there was no help from Eris, Ranma simply resigned himself to the inevitable. Hopefully, this Soun Tendo that his father trained with would have a daughter that was tolerable. Part of Ranma also hoped that his future wife wouldn't mind his hectic lifestyle and wouldn't end up as a reoccurring victim of the week. However, he wasn't about to as for a miracle. The thought of what that kind of blessing would cost him sent a shiver up the young Saotome's spine.

Soon enough the quartet reached the Tendo Dojo where Ranma rang the doorbell. He was immediately rewarded for this with a bear crushing hug from Soun. "Oh Happy Day, at long last you're here to fulfill the pledge!" Soun then paused and looked around in confusion. "Where are you Genma?"

Ranma freed himself from Soun's death grip and quickly caught his breath. "Mr. Tendo I presume? I understand you're excited about the pledge, but wouldn't it be wise to check and see who you are hugging? If it had been anyone other then I who answered the door you would have put yourself in a rather embarrassing situation of greeting the wrong person. At least, I'm assuming it was me you were referring to since my father Genma never mentioned that I'd be getting any brothers-in-law at the same time as I got my future bride."

Soun blinked his eyes and then muttered, "Ranma Saotome?" Ranma gave Soun a curt nod causing the older man to smile. "Sorry my boy, I'm just so happy that this day has arrived. But please can you introduce me to your companions?" Mr. Tendo thought he recognized Genma's wife, but he couldn't for the life of him place the panda or the purple haired bombshell.

Eris's champion pointed to each person in turn as he did the introductions. "This is my Mom. This is Shampoo, my father's Amazonian wife, and the Panda underneath my mother is my father Genma Saotome." THUD! Ranma blinked his eyes as he watched Soun fall to the ground in shock.

A short time later found the Saotomes and Tendos sitting around the table with the Saotomes just finishing up explaining their unusual situation. The expressions on the Tendos faces covered a broad spectrum of emotions from Akane's disgusted look, to Nabiki's WTF look, Kasumi's calm and yet slightly unsettled look, to Soun's deliriously happy look. Soun didn't seem to pay any attention to how his daughters were shocked at the Saotome's situation as he spoke up. "These are my daughters: Kasumi age 19, Nabiki age 17, and Akane age 16. Please choose which one of my daughters will be your bride Ranma."

Time seemed to slow down for Ranma as his mind entered full battle mode. He was in a dangerous situation and needed to make a life changing decision quickly. Ranma was sure that if he didn't his father would make the decision for him and that was unacceptable. The biggest problem for Ranma was the fact that he knew little about the girls in question and most likely wouldn't be able to ask for time to think about the choice. He pulled everything he ever knew about the girls and weighed the scant information he had.

First he considered Akane since she was the same age as him. On the one hand, she was cute and rumor had it at school that she was a friendly girl. She was also a martial artist which would fulfill the 'join the schools' aspect of the pledge that his father had mentioned. On the other hand, choosing her would mean dealing with her fanboys at school and Ranma had no desire to waste his time dealing with fools. Besides, her acceptance of the hentai horde situation despite her protests to the contrary showed a disturbing lack of judgment. Ranma already had enough trouble on that count from his father and he didn't need any more of it.

Nabiki was quickly put out of the running. She was very sexy and had a rather crafty head on her shoulders. However, her lack of ethics as shown by her swindling a classmate with his inhaler made her an instant fail. Eris might not be bothered by that fact, hell she'd probably insist that he sire at least one child with Nabiki in the future, but Ranma couldn't accept the idea of a wife who didn't have a strong sense of morals. That was something that simply too ingrained into him thanks to martial arts.

Finally, there was Kasumi to consider. Like her sisters, the oldest Tendo sister was beautiful, possibly even breathtaking. Ranma knew that he knew the least about Kasumi. In fact, I he actually knew about her was that she had a friendly disposition and that she had helped him once in the grocery store. That made her an unknown factor in his analysis, but the fact that she had helped a stranger indicated that she couldn't be too bad.

Trusting in his gut, Ranma blurted out his answer. "Kasumi, er, I choose Kasumi to be my bride Mr. Tendo."

Soun's smiled grew even brighter than anyone thought possible and he started to break dance in joy. "Oh happy day, my dear sweet Kasumi is a bride! Wonderful choice my boy, you pick a real winner. I promise that you won't regret choosing Kasumi as your wife."

Nabiki, though she didn't want to admit it, was rather pissed that she had been passed over by Ranma. Not that she wanted to be Ranma's wife, she was just annoyed that people always paid attention to Akane or Kasumi and ignored her. "So brother to be, why did you choose Kasumi? Is it that you're into older women?"

Ranma's danger sense started blaring telling him that he was entering a mind field. If Ranma had just been trained by Genma he would have ignored the warning. Luckily for him, Eris had taught him how to watch what he said a little bit. "Er, its nothing like that. I simply remembered Kasumi helping me find something at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I don't really know you three and your father insisted that I choose now. I simply went with my gut which told me that I couldn't go wrong with a friendly young woman who was willing to help out a stranger in need."

A faint blush formed on Kasumi's face when she heard Ranma's words. She was still shocked that she was going to be Ranma's future wife. It wasn't that she had anything against the young man; it was just that he was so young. However, a part of her was thrilled that he thought that she, plain old Kasumi, would make a good bride. It was also touching that Ranma remembered her after she helped him out that one time.

Nodoka and Genma quickly joined Soun in his break dancing routine. Akane, Nabiki, and even Ranma turned their heads to look at Shampoo. The young Amazonian raised an eyebrow and stated, "What? Are you expecting me to join the other parents in that routine?" Kasumi merely shook her head and wondered what kind of family she was joining.

"Memo to me, find a better way of getting out of family functions." Senshi Eris muttered to himself as he proceeded to bash a youma's skull in with his fists. The Champion of Chaos and Evolution shook his head as he watched more and more youmas pour out into the warehouse. Eris had called her champion about fifteen minutes after he had chosen Kasumi to inform him about a major imminent youma incursion. Normally this wouldn't be a problem for Senshi Eris. However, the Tendos had eaten up his warning time because of having to explain that he had a job and informing Akane that she couldn't tag along.

Just like he had feared, Senshi Eris's inability to leave quickly had resulted in a beachhead situation. "Damn, where is Lilith? Why is it that the one time I end up late to a fight she has to end up late as well?" Senshi Eris didn't want to admit it, but he had grown to depend on the mysterious sorceress in his battles. It was good to have a comrade in a battle like this and she did have skills that were extremely useful. After all, it wasn't like he knew how to seal a magical inter-dimensional portal.

Senshi Eris considered his options while slashing another youma in half with Chaos Claw variant kick. These youmas were weaker then the ones he usually faced and he could kill them not problems at the present rate. However, their sheer number would result in a high about of collateral damage if he didn't take it up a level. Chaotic Claw Windmill was out of the question because too many youmas would likely escape once he unleashed that attack. It was only a series of his Chaos Slash attacks with a shortened time in between each attack.

Eris's champion grabbed the handle of his talisman and brought Mania Macuahuitl to bear. "Well," Senshi Eris muttered to himself. "I know I can use this from my training; just wish I could have drawn it against a more worthy opponent. When this is over I'm really going to have to create an attack to be used against groups." Senshi Eris closed his eyes for a second and channeled his powers into his talisman. The technique he had in mind was designed to take down a very large and heavily armored enemy, but it should work for this situation.

Mania Macuahuitl was glowing with Senshi Eris's power and small bolts of lighting were dancing between its blades. Senshi Eris grinned and shifted his stance so he looked like a baseball player waiting to swing his bat. The champion grinned as swung his talisman shouting out, "Chaos Slash Revised: Oceloti Claws!" A giant blackish-blue crescent of energy formed and then shot out at the youmas. The blade moved like an unstoppable juggernaught slicing through any youma that came within its pass. Just before the attack was about to hit the wall Senshi Eris shouted out, "Claws Retract!" The energy behind his attack instantly dissipated seconds before it cut into the wall.

Suddenly, a very familiar orb attack flew next to Senshi Eris and slammed into a youma that was only a few feet behind him. Senshi Eris blinked his eyes wondering how the youma could have snuck up on him. Lilith emerged from the shadows with her usual eye smile. "That's a pretty powerful attack you've got there Senshi Eris. However, I really wouldn't do that again when fighting a group unless you've got someone to cover your back. Its sheer power makes it impossible for a person to detect anything other then the attack."

Considering that a youma had snuck up on him, Senshi Eris wasn't about to disagree with Lilith's observations. Both warriors quickly fell into their usual battle patterns that had been born in these sorts of fights. Senshi Eris had sheathed Mania Macuahuitl since he no longer needed to use its power in the fight. The youma no longer had a chance since their entire troop had emerged and the two warriors had timed their strikes in such a way that there was no relief from their onslaught. Less then three minutes after she joined the fight, Lilith fired her Bendis Blast into the last youma on the field.

Lilith gave a quick glance at the youma she had dispatched and then walked over to the portal. She then summoned a knife from somewhere and proceeded to seal the portal like she had at Toshiro's. The sorceress fell to her knees painting in exhaustion immediately after the sealing was complete. Lilith glanced over at Senshi Eris and called out, "Hey would you and Eris Sama mind it if I borrowed some of your power to replenish my reserves?"

Senshi Eris chuckled nervously and then started scratching his head. "I'm not so sure that it would be a good idea to do so tonight." Oh man, how was he supposed to handle this situation? Senshi Eris hadn't minded helping Lilith recharge her power in pervious situations; what red-blooded guy would mind helping out a hot woman and getting to kiss her at the same time? However, he had a fiancée to think about now. The idea of kissing Lilith now seemed wrong to Senshi Eris since he had Kasumi. True, she had only been selected as his future wife less than an hour ago. But, it was the principal of the thing!

To Senshi Eris's surprise, Lilith actually started chuckling. "How sweet, you're worried about what your fiancée will think aren't you?"

Eris's champion blurted out, "How the hell did you know?"

Lilith gave the champion a seductive smile and replied, "You need to work on your exits more Ranma Saotome. Besides, you spirit's signature stays the same whether you're in your champion form or just being yourself."

Senshi Eris frowned and shot back, "Okay you know who I am. I don't know how you found out about my recent engagement, but that should let you know that things can't continue as they were. I'll talk to Eris and see if there's a way you can have your power recharged after these fights like she promised. However, we can't do it like we have been doing previously."

A strange gleam appeared in Lilith's eye that the champion couldn't figure out for the life of him. The sorceress crawled even closer to him and 'accidentally' allowed her top to partially slip exposing her right breast to the young champion. "Why should you having a fiancée have anything to do with us? It's not like an ordinary girl could find out about this secret life of yours."

To Lilith's surprise, Senshi Eris got down on his knees and gently slipped her top back into place without touching her bosom. He then looked into her eyes and said, "Whether my fiancée finds out or not doesn't matter. The fact is that kissing you would mean cheating on her and that's wrong period. I wouldn't be a man if I went behind her back like that even if no one ever found out. Such an action would dishonor you, her, and me.

The seductive and sensuous aura that clung to Lilith like white on rice instantly vanished. She softly smiled at Senshi Eris and said, "You passed my test Ranma." Lilith reached up, grabbed her facemask, and pulled it down to reveal her face to Senshi Eris.

Senshi Eris stared at Lilith's face in shock. All he could say as he looked at her was, "Kasumi?"

Author's note: Senshi Eris's talisman, the Macuahuitl, is a mesoamerican weapon that is a cross between a club and a sword. One could almost think of it like a stone age chainsaw sword. If you want to see it in action, I'd suggest looking at clips from Deadliest Warrior.