First piece of work I've updated in months and it came out fairly well. We'll see how fast I can update, though I'm proud of this. Read and Review, please; feedback keeps me interested.
Disclaimer: Don't own Ranma or any of the characters used in this fiction.
It was the night before Thursday and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...except for a cat. This particular cat was an animal on a mission, though. Slinking through the empty halls of the Tendo home, it was looking for one room in particular. Behind the cat, someone just as sneaky was following along.
Ukyo tip-toed after her Amazon "teammate", trying her best to not make any noise. She had managed to catch up with Shampoo right as the latter hopped into the Tendo's koi pond. Shampoo's plan was probably to just sneak in, grab the jewel, and then sneak out. Well, no way was Ukyo going to let her go in without supervision. The conniving cat could put the jewel right side up and then do all kinds of perverted things to Ranchan! Although Shampoo had loudly meowed in protest the chef wasn't hearing it. Thus, the two had slipped into the house, trying not to run into anyone.
To get to Ranma's room, the pair had to somehow get past Happosai, though. The old pervert had set up camp in the old television room right beside the stairs. Shampoo passed it easily enough and waited by the first step for Ukyo to work her way by the door.
How odd it was that Shampoo was waiting on her, Ukyo thought. With how gung-ho she had been about going it alone, the Amazon was suddenly becoming quite amicable. Could it be that Shampoo was finally starting to come around? Maybe, with some of the pressure off, she would relax?
"Meooooooooooooow!"
Then again, it was Shampoo. The yowl reverberated through the house just as Ukyo stepped in front of Happosai's door. Lights were already starting to click on upstairs and from the direction of Soun's room and loud thumping could be heard all around the home. Predictably, Shampoo had already scampered off, leaving Ukyo to hold the bag.
Happosai's door slowly opened and the tiny master bounded outside, instantly hopping into Ukyo's bosom. "Sweety! What a great dream I'm having!" he cooed, snuggling into the soft flesh more. Not even the chest bindings Ukyo wore were enough to deter the senior.
Ukyo, of course, screamed at the sudden molestation and swatted the lecher away from her chest. Oh, Shampoo was going to pay for this and she was going to pay dearly. Not right now, though, as she could hear shouting from upstairs. It sounded like Akane yelling about a burglar in the house or something.
The chef darted out onto the porch and hid in the bushes by the koi pond. By now the entire house was up and around, looking for whatever it was that had disturbed their sleep. As they were running around, Ukyo spotted a tiny pink blur making it's way up the stairs through the open screen. Oh, that was rich. Shampoo was going to pay dearly for this.
"So, whacha doing out here, cutie?"
Ukyo's body went stiff as a board when she heard the voice behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, the girl's worst fears were confirmed as she spotted Happosai sitting a little ways off, puffing on his pipe. He didn't look mad or lust-craved, though, only curious. That in itself was terrifying.
How best to deal with this? Ukyo didn't see Happosai running off to call attention to her at the moment, but if the old man got mad enough he might. Perhaps playing to his perverted side would work?
"I was just...going to Ranchan's room?" It was so embarrassing! "I didn't get to see him the other day and-"
Happosai chuckled and held up his hand for her to stop. "Oh, I remember what it was like to be a youngin'! Sneaking into houses at night so mothers wouldn't find me!" Ukyo was more inclined to believe that it had been so his targets would be asleep and easier to molest, but she held her tongue. "Tell ya what I'll do. I'll help you get up there without anyone spotting you!"
It was almost too good to be true! "You'll help me? Really?" Ukyo scooted over to the old man, eyes glistening with grateful tears. She could catch up to Shampoo yet!
"Yup! Hold on tight." With his tiny hand, he lifted Ukyo off the ground without much effort. "And here you go!"
Being tossed around like a sack of rice was not Ukyo's idea of being helped. She managed to do a midair somersault and land on her feet, though, finding herself on the roof of the dojo. When she looked back down at Happosai, he was waving a long piece of white ribbon in his hands and motioning for her to get to whatever it was she was going to do.
Wait. A white ribbon? Looking down at her chest, Ukyo sighed. The old lecher had managed to get her chest binding off without her knowing. Nothing she could do about it now, though. Fortunately, she was right above Ranma's room. Ukyo leaned down from the roof and confirmed that Ranma was sound asleep still along with Genma. What was more, Shampoo apparently hadn't made it there first.
The window didn't have any locks, so it was easy for Ukyo to get inside. Being heavy sleepers, neither Genma or Ranma woke up when Ukyo's feet hit the carpet. The chef looked around, if only to ensure that Shampoo wasn't sitting somewhere, waiting to ambush her, before walking over to the sleeping boy.
Like usual, Ranma was still dressed in his day-to-day clothes. He probably hadn't thought anything of putting them right back on after a bath. Question was, where could the cursed jewel be? Obviously it was somewhere on Ranma's clothes, but where?
Well, logically thinking, it wouldn't be where anyone would see it easily. Mousse wasn't an idiot, after all. Someone might have seen it back at the dojo, too. Right now, Ranma was sleeping on his side so Ukyo carefully pulled up the covers. Nothing on his back or side, though. Maybe she could just push him over a bit and-
The door slid open and Ukyo jumped away from Ranma. Instead of some angry Tendo, though, it was the wayward Shampoo, now in her real form, slinking in. She saw Ukyo after she closed the door and the two just stared at each other.
"Tell me why I shouldn't scream right now and wake up Ranchan," Ukyo whispered. She had landed on the windowsill and could easily just jump out to the yard below. In fact, it was becoming a very tempting idea.
Shampoo looked like a deer in caught in headlights for a second; she soon snapped out of it, though. "If Ukyo do that, Shampoo no get to tell her where jewel is on Ranma."
Was Shampoo lying? Ukyo stared long and hard a the Amazon, but the girl had an incredible poker face. Maybe she did know where it was? If she didn't, it would be pretty easy to see. "Alright, go ahead and get it."
Having been called on her bluff, Shampoo nevertheless resolutely walked up to Ranma. Unlike Ukyo, the Amazon wasn't being too quiet; she had experience when it came to how deep a sleeper her Airen was, after all. Looking at all the obvious places, she couldn't spot the broach and Shampoo imagined Ukyo would have given everything a good look before she had came in. So, where was that damn jewel?
Suddenly, Ranma shifted in his sleep. His arm reached up and pulled on his pillow a bit more, revealing something shiny under his arm. So, that's why no one had seen it. Unless they were really looking, the jewel would have stayed hidden. Shampoo gingerly plucked the broach from her Airen and held it up triumphantly in the moonlight.
Well, Ukyo hated to admit it but the Amazon had came through. "Alright, lets get out of here," she said. When Shampoo didn't move, her eyes narrowed.
"Shampoo no give up chance to be with husband," Shampoo stated as she began taking off her pants. It had been months since she had snuck into bed with Ranma and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. Before Ukyo could stop her, she was already under the covers of the futon, smugly sticking out her tongue at her rival.
That...that...hussy! Ukyo couldn't believe that Shampoo would be so forward! If she tried to separate the two, Ranma would wake up and then things would be really, really bad. There would be a lot of questions that Ukyo didn't want to answer. After all, she was the good fiancée'; the one that didn't try and trap, trick, or seduce Ranchan. For Shampoo, this kind of behavior was expected so she would get off easy.
Seemingly knowing this, Shampoo scooted up more to Ranma and took half the pillow. She wasn't even trying to taunt Ukyo anymore and that only upset the chef more. Shampoo was just going to go to sleep and let that be the end of it.
How could she be so brazen?! Oh no. Ranma shifted again and put his arm around the Amazon, drawing her in further. That proved to be the last straw for Ukyo as she dashed over to the futon and yanked Shampoo up. "What the hell do you think you're doing you-" Ukyo really started to unload on the girl but Shampoo simply pointed behind Ukyo.
Apparently, the wrangling had awoken someone else. Genma, who, for once, was not sleeping as a panda, yawned loudly and rolled over. His eyes only opened for a second, but when they did it kick started his brain in a way only two young woman, one of whom was already half-naked, looming over his engaged son could.
"What's going on here?!" Genma shouted. Fortunately, Ukyo had the presence of mind to slap a pillow over Ranma's head so he wouldn't be woken up by the bellowing. Unfortunately, Soun was currently prowling around upstairs and he rushed into the room along with the rest of the Tendo hoard.
The first, and most vocal reaction, came from Akane upon seeing Shampoo's state of undress. These were followed by several embarrassed mummers from Kasumi and a low whistle from Nabiki. The Amazon, not the least bit modest, crossed her arms and gave the fuming Akane a taunting smirk, further angering the girl.
Ukyo, who was far more embarrassed at having been caught, was stuck staring down Genma. Ranma's father, whom she still hated with a vengeance, wasn't backing down either. She knew the old man wasn't as helpless as their first fight had led Ukyo to believe, but just how strong Genma really was, or how much he'd push back at this moment, wasn't known.
Finally, the chef just decided to tell the truth and maybe appeal to the more reasonable Tendo's. "Ranma-honey was cursed. We just came here to fix him," she blurted out.
Immediately, Akane interrupted with, "Then why is Shampoo naked and why is your top half-open?!" she seethed.
"Like I know! You know how she is! And it isn't my fault you have a pervert living in your house!" Finally, Ukyo was fed up with this mess. "Look, we did what we came here to do so I'm going to leave. You have a problem with the hussy, take it out on her." She ignored the feeling of Shampoo glaring daggers at the back of her skull.
Genma didn't move, however. "And how do I know you didn't do something to the boy?" Shampoo he could understand, but Ukyo? This would have to be some kind of serious plot to drag her into it.
"Oh dear, wasn't that the broach Ranma was wearing earlier?"
Sometimes Kasumi was more trouble than she was worth. In a room full of martial artists, she was the one who managed to spot the broach before Ukyo could get it into a pocket.
Instantly, there were several calls of, "What broach?" and "I bet it's magic!" from everyone in the room. Soun nodded at Genma and the two closed in, catching Ukyo and Shampoo between them. The eldest Tendo resolutely held out his hand in what he probably considered a resolute manner.
"I think you should give that to me, Miss Kuonji."
Seeing that there really wasn't any other way out of this, Shampoo moved closer to Ukyo and put her back to the chef. "Shampoo think we have to fight way out. Ukyo want to team up?"
"How do I know you won't just run and leave me here?" she growled. There wasn't any forgetting what had happened downstairs. She felt Shampoo shrug and understood it to mean that there was no way to know for sure. Wonderful.
Seeing that the two girls weren't backing down, Genma gathered all the hubris he could and stomped forward, intent on just grabbing the bauble and seeing what it was. Instead of getting what he wanted, though, he got a kick to the forehead from Shampoo who had catapulted over Ukyo. When the chef gave her a questioning look, Shampoo only responded, "Ukyo get chance to beat up stupid panda once. Shampoo turn."
That left Soun for Ukyo to deal with. The mustached man had shouted after his friend, but he didn't move to help. Instead he looked quite lost at the situation deteriorating into violence. His daughter, though, seemed to have no such reservations and launched herself at the chef, aiming for the jewel.
Ukyo dodged the first grab and retaliated with a light rapping that tested Akane's defenses. The short haired girl blocked the blows and launched another series of attacks, this time aiming at incapacitating rather than capture. Although she was better than Ukyo would have given credit, the blows were still deflected and not a single one got through.
Contrary to the comparatively-sedate sparring match between Ukyo and Akane, Genma and Shampoo had already moved into the yard. To Shampoo's overwhelming aggravation, Genma was simply matching her skill level and wearing her out, not launching any attacks of his own. It reminded Shampoo a lot of Ranma's own style, especially when he was fighting weaker opponents he didn't take seriously.
It pissed her off.
Shampoo pulled out her bonbori and began to fight in earnest. She was getting closer with her strikes, but Genma was still either deflected the attacks or dodging them with spry movements that would have impressed the Amazon in any other situation.
"Fat panda no run from Shampoo!" the girl cried in frustration. It was, to her growing horror, seemingly impossible to even hit the aged martial artist. If she was going to hold him up any longer than her stamina would hold, Shampoo was going to have to slow the old man down with the only way she thought had a chance.
The eldest Saotome didn't respond to Shampoo's angry outburst. The girl was good, just as his son had appraised earlier back in her village, but certainly not anywhere near Ranma's own caliber. In fact, it reminded Genma of a time when he was able to beat Ranma easily, probably back when he was around twelve or thirteen, and the look on Shampoo's face matched it. That need, that want, to pound him flat but the inability to do it. Made him down-right nostalgic.
Therefore, it wasn't a big surprise to Genma that Shampoo seemingly got angry enough to actually throw one of her maces at his head. He dodged it, of course, and spared her a consolatory smile. She was probably losing steam by now and would soon be too tired to continue.
Wait, why was his back getting wet?
The now-panda Genma looked over his shoulder and noticed why Shampoo had thrown her weapon. It hadn't been to hit him at all, but to instead hit the koi pond she had maneuvered him over to. He knew, as did Shampoo, that in his cursed form he would be a good bit less limber.
"Now Shampoo think she ready for Cantonese Panda Cuts. Too, too delicious." To Genma's unfettered fear, the Amazon had drawn out her far more lethal dadao and was now holding it in place of the tossed bonbori. He knew from experience that the girl was far more comfortable, and therefore more dangerous, with her sword than unarmed or only maces. Now armed with sword and mace, she was looking fairly confident.
The first blow, thankfully, came from the mace and Genma was forced to block it rather than dodge. It was so powerful that it made his furry arm shake, even after she withdrew it for another swing. Even Ranma, in his female form, didn't have so much raw power. Unless he got serious, which Genma was very loath to do, this was going to be aggravating.
Shampoo's sword came a hair's breath from slicing off something and Genma realized he would have to devote his attention fully to the fight. Although he was worried, Shampoo didn't seem to be trying to kill him so that was in his favor. Still, after a clump of hair was cut down razor close with the second swing, the girl didn't seem too adverse to a maiming.
Alright, time to think logically. Genma's self-preservation sense told him to do one of three things: Either get to hot water in a hurry, try and dunk Shampoo into the pond herself, or make a break for it. The smart thing to do would be to dunk the Amazon and link up with Tendo so they could get the truth out of Ukyo. That sword, though, was going to make fighting difficult. Unless, of course, he could get the teen to do something stupid...
When Shampoo moved in close again, Genma sprang onto the roof. Taking the bait, he was followed by Shampoo who leapt into air after him. Suddenly, the girl found herself face-to-face, midair, with a giant panda. She swung wildly, trying to fend him off, but Genma was already inside her defenses. He easily trapped Shampoo's sword arm in his massive paw and sent a forceful kick into the girl's midsection, sending her careening towards the pond below.
There was a pitiful meow from Shampoo as she surfaced. Genma landed beside the pond and, par for course, pulled out a sign to gloat. 'Never challenge a Saotome in the air!' it read and Shampoo had no choice but to agree. She could do little more than wriggle in indignation as Genma lifted her up by the scruff of her neck. How embarrassing.
Back up in Ranma's room, the "friendly" sparring match between Ukyo and Akane had turned ugly. The chef hadn't expected to be attacked so quickly and she had neglected to draw her weapon. That left her totally dependent on what rudimentary hand-to-hand martial arts she had taught herself growing up. Unfortunately, this was proving problematic in dealing with Akane who's years of experience and superior physical strength was starting to beat the difference in speed and natural combat talent.
One particularly witty maneuver by Akane forced Ukyo up against the wall like a boxer on the ropes. The chef rolled to avoid follow up punches, but she couldn't escape from her position. The girl had trapped Ukyo in such a way that it was still impossible for her to pull out her spatula, too.
"Give up yet?" As if she could sense her opponent's feelings, Akane was really starting to pile on the pressure. Fortunately for Ukyo, the linear martial artist wasn't using her feet. That didn't mean she could keep up her defense forever, though. Akane was starting to get in hits and Ukyo was getting sluggish in blocking.
Taking a chance, Ukyo tried ducking under the punches. Akane chopped downwards, but the chef was far faster and she managed to roll under her opponent's downward arc. Now, flanking Akane, Ukyo unleashed a flurry of punches herself. Akane couldn't dodge the first barrage and she winced with every hit, eventually proving that she wasn't so immobile as to not leap backwards, out of Ukyo's reach. The chef immediately pulled out her large battle spatula and was pleased that Akane was much more wary to attack.
Finally, Soun stepped in between the two. He hadn't raised a finger to help his daughter, but Ukyo had no doubts about whether or not he would intervene should she really start to win.
"I think it's time for you to come clean over whatever it is you're doing here, Ukyo," the man stated despite Akane glaring at the back of his head. Soun was shivering, though. Ukyo wondered if he wanted to end this just to keep his daughter from getting too worked up and destroying the house. The walls already had several holes in them from where Akane hadn't stopped herself in time. At least she was at least to see if Ukyo would respond to her father's ultimatum.
It wasn't as if Ukyo had a choice. She started to back up towards the window, intent on leaving Shampoo to her fate. Unfortunately, said Amazon was in no condition for stalling as the chef soon discovered. Just as she had gotten ready to bolt, Genma had just hopped back up to the room. His furry body covered the window quite well and blocked Ukyo's avenue of escape. Not only that, he dropped a transformed Shampoo on the floor.
"Good job keeping him busy, Shampoo," Ukyo whispered. The cat hissed, but was otherwise too aggravated to respond to the jibe properly. With the Amazon out of the picture, there wasn't a way out of this for Ukyo.
Seeing that Genma wasn't going to let her pass, the raven-haired teen did the only thing she could; try and talk her way out of this. "Is this the thanks I get for helping Ranma get out of those Chinese curses he keeps falling into?" she demanded. Shampoo loudly voiced her disapproval at being thus betrayed, but Ukyo didn't care. This entire thing was about Ranma, after all.
Soun didn't outright call the teen a lier, but he wasn't convinced. Ukyo held up the reversal jewel so everyone could see it. "See this? It controls Ranma's mind. Haven't you noticed him acting differently lately? The Amazons put it on him to get him to like Shampoo, but it backfired and now he dislikes all his fiancées."
"That's a lie! Ranma wasn't mean to me at all!" Akane shouted. "I bet it only makes him hate you. Why else would you team up with Shampoo to get if off of him?"
While Ukyo tried to come up with some kind of excuse for this, she neglected to remember that Shampoo could still make an annoyance out of herself even when she was a cat. Said feline seized on Akane's distraction and snatched the reversal jewel out of Ukyo's hands with a leap. Unfortunately, she was quickly caught by the scruff of her neck by Akane when she made for the door and the broach was pried out of her mouth.
Akane studied the simple piece of jewelery, noting Ukyo's discomfort at not having it in her hands anymore. It didn't really look Chinese, but rarely did anything Cologne used. "This thing can make Ranma hate you all?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. Slowly, a smile spread across her lips. "Do you know how embarrassing it is when Shampoo hangs off of Ranma or when he spends so much time at your restaurant? He's actually been nice today! I think this thing was supposed to make Ranma perverted, but it backfired and made him normal." She smugly turned to the chef. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Ukyo didn't answer.
Taking that as an affirmative, Akane walked over to the still-sleeping Ranma and resolutely popped the broach back on his shirt. Shampoo was going absolutely feral, but the cat wasn't able to claw anything but air because of how Akane was holding her.
"There. Now Ranma won't be hanging off you two anymore." The girl tossed Shampoo over her shoulder and waited to see what Ukyo would do.
The chef wasn't able to make a move as her attention, along with everyone else's, was soon elsewhere. Ranma, who had until now managed to stay asleep despite the chaos, stirred. It was amazing; even after Shampoo kicking Genma out of a window, Ukyo and Akane having a full-scale fight, and various conversations between Soun and just about anyone who would listen, a tiny poke was what woke Ranma up. Ukyo figured it was just bad karma.
Ranma yawned as he pushed the pillow off of his head and looked around the room as his eyes came into focus. He didn't seem different, but he hadn't looked in Ukyo's direction yet. Akane was looking a bit pleased with herself as were Genma and Soun; they probably figured that Ranma would eventually fall for Akane so long as they could keep the broach on and that the future of the dojo was safe. Nabiki and Kasumi, more the former than the latter, were looking on the drama with curiosity. In fact, the middle Tendo looked almost speculative as she watched events unfold which struck Ukyo as being odd.
"What are you guys doing?" Ranma finally asked, looking at Akane's side of the room more than Ukyo's. Said girl took the opportunity to start subtly inching towards the window now that Genma had moved closer to his son. She would have to go back home and rethink a plan of attack now that everyone knew what the jewel could do.
Just as Akane was about to answer, a freshly-changed Shampoo burst through the door. Eyes full of promises of painful death, she had out her dadao and was wearing her armored breastplate. Where she kept all this stuff was beyond anyone's understanding. If she saw Ranma, Shampoo didn't react. Instead, she slowly stalked forward, towards Ukyo, ignoring the audience that was locked in morbid attention.
Ukyo now started to wonder how far she could get before the faster teen managed to catch up. "Shampoo, come on...you'd have done the same thing! You did do the same thing!" Lousy argument, but there wasn't much left to be said. Finally, cornered for the second time in a night, Ukyo brought up her spatula. "Think, Shampoo! Two of us and three of them! We could try and get the jewel back!"
"Shampoo no care! Spatula-Girl die!" With a battle cry that would have done even Ryoga proud, the Amazon lunged at Ukyo. Her broadsword hit the spatula and shook Ukyo down to her feet. How was Shampoo so strong when she was using only one hand?! The Japanese girl set her feet and pushed back hard with both hands, only succeeding in moving Shampoo back a few inches.
The two pushed back and forth with Shampoo not willing to commit her other arm. It soon became apparent why; she was shooting Ranma looks every few moments as if she were expecting him to suddenly attack. Ukyo couldn't deny the sensibility of this; who knows how Ranma would react with the jewel on, finding them both in his room in the dead of night.
Regardless of how Ukyo or Shampoo thought Ranma would act, what the boy actually did surprised them, and everyone else, to the point that no one could stop him. While he had watched the fight at first with a blank stare, it soon became a distressed one as the two girls fought on. Finally, it became too much and he jumped up.
Ukyo and Shampoo didn't know what exactly happened in the next few moments. One second they were locked up, the next they were disarmed. Standing between them was none other than their mutual fiancée, who did not look very happy. He was practically looming over them both.
"You two..." The teens braced themselves for the worse, "...shouldn't fight! What the heck would I have done if you'd hurt each other?!" With that stunning declaration, he unceremoniously enveloped them in a hug the likes of which would make even an Amazon glomp look tame.
Several things immediately happened; one, Shampoo and Ukyo were completely incapacitated by the show of affection. Two, Akane had suddenly developed a furious battle aura. Three, Soun's demon head was was threatening to take the roof off the house, and four, Kasumi let out a low, "Oh my."
"What do you think you're doing, Ranma?!" was shouted by no less than three different people. Akane had picked up the nearest thing, which happened to be her writing desk, and deposited it not-so-gently atop her fiancée's head. Ranma keeled over, releasing both of the stunned and speechless teenagers in the process.
Shampoo, giddy from the very feeling of being hugged for a change, promptly slapped herself to get her wits back. She yanked Ranma up, popped Akane on the head, and promptly leapt out the window while everyone else could only watch in disbelief. By the time Genma and Soun could work themselves back up to speaking-capacity, the Amazon was already nothing more than a spot on a distant roof.
Although Akane couldn't follow, much to her frustration, Ukyo could. She snapped out of it long enough to grab her discarded spatula and gave chase. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop wasn't something she did often, but she was able to at least keep Shampoo in sight. Of course, Shampoo noticed her chaser and veered off into a construction site where it would be difficult to be found by the Tendo hoard. She waited at the entrance, Ranma still unconscious and over her shoulder, until Ukyo was well within sight before heading inside the weave of metal and scaffolding.
Of course, it was an ambush. It was as plain to see as it was unavoidable. Something was wrong with Ranma, probably magic-related, and Ukyo couldn't leave him alone and unsupervised with Shampoo. The chef headed in, bracing herself for the inevitable.
Shampoo didn't disappoint. The Amazon silently floated down from above Ukyo and barely missed slicing into her target. Ukyo had rolled out of the way at the very last moment and brought her spatula upwards, cleaving the air and almost taking off one of Shampoo's trademark locks of hair in the process. The teen rolled back and kicked up, catching Ukyo on the chin. The chef's head snapped back and Ukyo's entire body lifted off the ground. Fortunately, she caught a steel girder on the way up and swung to a stop. The two martial artists both sized the other up, noting just how tired each was, and picked out wounds that could be exploited. Although it was nerve-wracking, fighting in the dark against an armed and motivated opponent, neither girl could suppress the thrill that ran up their spines. For them both, this was the first major fight they had been in for a number of months.
Again, it was Shampoo who began the next round. The purple-haired warrior demonstrated her excellent physique as she set her shoulder and drew back her sword. Ukyo's eyes narrowed as she saw the muscles under her opponent's silk shirt start to tense and she was already on the move when the dadao was sent flying in her direction. With deadly accuracy it cut into the platform where Ukyo had been only seconds before, creating a shower of sparks that skittered through the darkness like fireflies disturbed from their nightly routine. Ukyo ran through the hot twinkles and charged at Shampoo with a feral battle cry, swinging her spatula back like a prodigious battle ax.
Evidently, the Amazon wasn't expecting such a move as she was sluggish dodging. The pointed tip of Ukyo's spatula cut into her dress along the sleeve and left just the tiniest line of red marring Shampoo's otherwise jade complexion. Shampoo ignored it and, amazingly, bent her arm up and caught the large flat head of the spatula between her forearm and bicep. It was a shocking display of just how much upper body strength Shampoo had and, if anything, the blood only served to make the gleam in Shampoo's eye grow more wild. With her free arm, the Amazon slammed into the metal neck of the spatula, bending it to a nearly ninety degree angle. With her weapon useless, Ukyo retreated backwards and gave herself some room. Both girls were breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, but unwilling to back down.
If Ukyo had been watching the display as a third party, she would have declared it nothing more than a macho pissing match. However, she was already caught up in it. The mood was reflected in the raven-haired teen's eyes, flashing dangerously in the scant moonlight that filtered through the towering hulk of metal above. She was starting to remember her earlier days in the art, developing her own movements and drills. This fight was pushing her harder than anything she could remember and it was the first time Ukyo had ever fought outside of her element. If things continued like they were going, Ukyo imagined that she would be on the losing side without her main weapon.
"Shampoo! Where did ya go?"
The fighting abruptly stopped as Ranma's voice reverberated throughout the construction site. Shampoo cursed in Chinese and quickly put away her sword before Ranma managed to find them. She wasn't going to get caught in a bad situation like the Tendo home again tonight.
Ukyo used the lull in hostilities to pick back up her battle spatula and unbend it. It was a good thing she knew a blacksmith in town that didn't ask too many questions or else she would have to send it all the way back home to get it repaired. "So, what do you want to do, Shampoo?" Ukyo asked. Ranma's voice was getting closer and closer so any prospect of fighting was off, yet nothing had been settled. "You want to try and lose him again to finish this and then the winner gets the spoils?" Barbaric to be sure, but Ukyo couldn't think of anything else to do.
It was getting later and later and Shampoo was sure at least Soun or Genma would be showing up soon. With that time limit imposed, there wouldn't be time to enjoy time with Ranma even if she managed to finish off Ukyo quickly; the chef had proved to be more a challenge than Shampoo would have given her credit. There were just too few options at the moment under these circumstances.
"Shampoo have proposition," the Amazon finally whispered. Ranma was now visibly walking towards them, waving as he came, but he was was still a few seconds off. "Spatula Girl and Shampoo make deal, yes?"
Ukyo didn't like the sound of this. "What do you want?" she whispered back. All of the weapons had been quickly put away and the girls were waving back as if nothing had happened. "Spit it out, Shampoo," Ukyo added through teeth clenched in a happy smile.
Instead of answering, the Amazon skipped over to Ranma and gave him a hug. Ukyo, livid, stomped over and pulled away one of Shampoo's arms, shouting, "Is this what you call a deal?! You-"
At that moment, Shampoo's free hand snaked out and poked the back of Ranma's neck while he was distracted with trying to calm down Ukyo. The effect was immediate and Ranma slumped to the ground, sound asleep. Shampoo thanked whatever gods were looking out for her that her husband had been preoccupied or else this would have never worked. She ignored Ukyo, who had jumped back and retaken her combat stance, and instead plucked the reversal jewel off of Ranma's shirt. It shimmered in the faint moonlight, mischievous, as if it were calling upon Shampoo to place it back on the boy. It was an old piece of magic; far older than even Cologne. It seemed to scream out to be used, for its untold powers to be put into effect. Enrapturing.
"If you think I'm going to let you put that on me, you've got another thing coming," Ukyo snarled, breaking the trance Shampoo had fallen under. It was an obvious conclusion for Ukyo to come to, after all, but it wasn't what Shampoo had in mind.
"Shampoo want to, but it no work. Tendos already know what jewel does; they take it off Ukyo just to spite Shampoo." Instead, Shampoo placed it on a nearby concrete slab and picked up a rock. "Shampoo say she had deal: Shampoo know Airen like her and Spatula Girl know same thing. What biggest problem that no one can deal with by self?"
Ukyo instantly picked up on Shampoo's thinking. "Akane and the old men." She put away her spatula and hesitantly walked over to her rival. "What do you suggest, sugar?" She didn't let her guard down, though. This was still Shampoo.
The purple-haired teen had the same thoughts as she angled her body in case Ukyo launched some kind of attack. "Shampoo destroy jewel. Akane or Mousse no put it back on Airen." That was the obvious part of the deal, but Shampoo continued. "Then Shampoo and...Ukyo work together to get Ranma out of Tendo house. After that, we finish fight; winner take all."
It was a good deal. Ukyo wasn't happy leaving their match unfinished and some extra help, even from Shampoo, would be needed to free Ranma from any Tendo obligations. Not to mention the resources at Cologne's disposal. Still...
"How can I possibly trust you, Shampoo?" Ukyo countered, glaring, "You left me hanging at the Tendos when we were supposed to be working together!"
Shampoo glared back. "We no work together then! Ukyo just follow Shampoo." She could see the chef's point, though. "Amazons no go back on word. Shampoo pledge alliance and Shampoo no break it. More worried about Ukyo betraying Shampoo!"
This back and forth was getting the pair nowhere fast. Finally, Ukyo sighed and held up her hand. "Alright, alright. I swear I won't be the one that breaks the pact. Is that good enough? If I do, you'll get to take revenge guilt-free so it's win-win for you." Not that Shampoo ever cared about guilt, Ukyo mentally added.
The Amazon nodded. "We agreed, then. Akane and idiot old men big threat. Give Shampoo hand." Shampoo held out her own, waiting for Ukyo to do the same. She was surprised when Ukyo complied with only a small hesitation. The Chinese girl grasped said hand and quickly pulled out a small double-edged knife with her other. Before Ukyo could pull away, she stabbed the blade between both their hands, holding on tight when Ukyo tried made to move. "Blood oath. We no break it until obstacles no more." Finally, Shampoo let go.
"You could have warned me," Ukyo snapped. She made a face at the long cut that now ran across her palm. "You better not have any diseases." Not that her complaining mattered at this point; Shampoo's blood had already gotten into her wound.
"So, what now?"
The Amazon snorted as she bandaged her own cut. She picked back up the rock she had set down earlier and held it over the broach. "Now we destroy jewel." Ukyo nodded and watched as Shampoo raised the rock over her head.
Should she actually do it, though? Shampoo hesitated and her arm wavered. This jewel had changed everything in only a day; could she really destroy the only current way of getting any attention from Ranma? If she did, and it turns out Cologne had been mistaken on how it worked, what then? What-
A shaky hand closed around Shampoo's fist. Ukyo was looking at Ranma, but turned to Shampoo. The same doubts the Amazon was having were mirrored in her expression. However, there was also a hope. Taking strength from that, Shampoo clenched her fist tighter and brought the rock down, smashing the jewel forever and changing their destinies.
As the two women left, each going their separate ways for the night, they could only hope that they had changed things for the better.