Hello everyone. I am sorry, but the updating schedule is shot - I have quit my job today, and I am trying to figure my life out. Not a fun thing to do, but alas, I must. Editing this has cheered me up and infuriated. some characters didn't like their stories and demanded a through rework - and I hate posting things that aren't at a decent place in the reworking process before posting.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

That afternoon saw a very strange procession of people enter the Tendo dojo. Elder Lu Fa lead the group, talking animatedly with Saotome-san, Cologne immediately behind them looking rather afraid, something that was entirely uncharacteristic for the woman. Shampoo followed behind, appearing to be very lethargic, head hung, shuffling along. There were no visible tears on her face, but later, in the privacy of her own room, she knew that she would give herself the luxury to cry. Not only did she lose the possibility to be with a man that she knew she respected, if perhaps not loved, but there was also the sudden realisation that the two years that she had spent chasing Ranma had dulled her own sense of honour to become something malleable. Nodoka's demand for repayment of the damaged with her honour, and the realisation that in her quest for vengeance and a husband she had destroyed the property of someone like Kasumi, a woman who would be universally respected anywhere, was an eye opener. It also brought great shame to her, leading to a reassessment of her values. Perhaps her grandmother's influence, though not as lethally inclined as her own (but infinitely more devious and possibly dishonourable) had not been such a great thing.

The rear was brought up by Nabiki and Mousse, who despite having started to walk along in total silence, managed to strike up a conversation. The page-boy haired girl found that the almost blind martial artist had a very sharp mind – something that she already suspected – but also played a very convincing role in order to get what he wanted.

"It is a pity I suppose, that we will have to leave here soon. It would take us perhaps a week to pack and sell the shop, finish up the repairs at your dojo, and we would be on our way. I enjoyed learning your ways of life, but all good things must come to an end."

Nabiki did a double take. The fact that the Amazons would be likely to leave hadn't occurred to her as something that would happen in the near future. She had thought that they would stick around for a few more months, so that she could benefit from them financially – if they were around, Shampoo would still made doors in walls and Nabiki had been hoping to start a small repair business on the side. Unable to stop herself, she gasped. "You would be leaving that soon? Don't you want to stay?"

Mousse smiled. It was rare that anyone seemed concerned about anything he did, even in Japan. "Well yes. I suspect that Cologne is homesick, and Shampoo will see this turn of events as a dishonour and will try to get as far away as possible from here as soon as she can."

"And you?"

"I will go where they tell me to go. I am after all only a male." The voice carried well concealed bitterness.

Nabiki felt her cheeks heat up slightly, both at the embarrassment of forgetting that fact and due to the anger she felt. It didn't matter about a person's gender – if it didn't affect the person's honour, there was no reason that they would not be allowed to follow their dreams. Instead of voicing that, she said,

"I have been meaning to ask. Why did neither of your attend school? Did Cologne home school you?"

At this, Mousse, let out a bitter laugh. "I am a male, Tendo-san. Beyond being able to write and some basic maths and engineering, we are not expected to study at all. I have been lucky to have come from a good family and be a good fighter, because that meant that I was allowed to study Japanese and English even before we came here, and Cologne was expected to make sure that I maintained that. But I have no hope of ever attending a university or becoming anything other than a martial artist. Shampoo has that chance, but I am unsure if she will take it like Elder Lu Fa did once upon a time, or if she will simply return to follow Cologne's footsteps."

The bitterness in his voice was quite apparent now and Nabiki cringed. Even if her society meant that she had to sometimes enter into arranged marriages, it was at least expected that a woman be given a chance to pursue some level of her dreams through education. Even Kasumi, the perfect Nadeshiko, knew that once everyone was away from the house, she would be allowed and even encouraged to get a career, if for no other reason than to show her worth to a potential husband. Seeing another culture, especially one who claimed to be more fair than the society she lived in, treated anyone so, well, abusively, made her question her own morals. She resolved to have a word with Elder Lu Fa before the woman left, to ensure that Mousse at least was offered a chance to study. She was sure she could help him get into a decent university in Beijing or Shanghai to study something that he enjoyed, at little cost to herself, especially if she found a way to have him sponsored and have herself benefit from it in the future.

The procession came into the house and Nabiki and Nodoka took over the roles as hostesses, showing everyone to the table and seating them all around. Kasumi came in from the kitchen to see what was going on and lifted her hand to her face. "Oh my. So many guests, Aunty, Nabiki." The frown on her face stayed there for only a second before she smiled, the silent admonishment for not warning her earlier left unspoken. "Would everyone like some tea? I would offer you dinner, but we only have rice at the moment."

Lu Fa glared at her fellow elder, as the implication was clear, and looked down in shame. Nodoka saw the quick exchange with a level of immense satisfaction, and answered. "Tea would be fine, Kasumi. Husband, would you please stop hiding as a Panda and fetch Akane, Soun and Ranma, please? We have much to discuss and the day is getting on."

The panda sitting in the corner of the room thought about pretending to be just a panda for a moment, before eyeing the katana in the woman's hand, thinking better of it, and reaching for the kettle. A moment later, Saotome was running off to the dojo to grab his son and his fiancée, and drag them to the house if necessary.

Everyone was gathered in the dining room in short order, though Ranma and Akane sat very close to his mother, shooting glares of disapproval across the table. Kasumi sat on their other side, separating the teens from the other occupants of the room, proving them with two human barriers.

"What are you and that attempted murderer doing here, ghoul? And who the hell is the reinforcements?" Nabiki cringed as the boy negligently pointed at Lu Fa.

Shampoo looked as though she had been slapped. Her tears finally became visible as she realised with shock that the man she once called her airen told her of how he really saw her. Seeing that Cologne was liable to do something stupid in the defence of the great granddaughter she loved, Lu Fa spoke up. "You are one Saotome Ranma, of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school, who is afflicted with a Jusenkyo curse? Is that correct?"

The pigtailed boys' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's it to ya?"

Lu Fa stood and to everyone's surprise bowed, bending deeply at her waist. "I, as the Highest Elder of the Amazons of China would like to thank you for the hospitality that you have shown my people. A difficult situation has come to my attention and necessitated that I come here on behalf of the Elder council. We have decreed, as a Council, that one Saotome Ranma is to be released from both the Kisses of Marriage and Death, and as an apology for the distress they may have caused, we will provide financial reparations, as well as any reasonable other assistance that we may offer. To prove this, myself and a number of Japanese lawyers have drawn up documents to this effect."

She sat back down, and silence enveloped the table.

The Tendo patriarch was the first to regain any semblance of speech. He too stood and bowed. "I thank you Elder, for your words. Now, would anyone mind if someone explained what in the world is going on?"

Nabiki and Nodoka smiled, and launched into an explanation.

It was perhaps two hours later that the various occupants of the Tendo house had finished asking and answering questions to everyone's satisfaction, and Kasumi had invited everyone to stay for dinner. Cologne looked sheepish for a moment, before ordering Shampoo to buy some ingredients at the store and come back without creating any new doors in the house, before moving over to the kitchen to assist the oldest sister with the various preparations for a sizable meal. In the next hour and with the assistance of Shampoo's purchases, they managed to prepare a decent meal of rice, pickles and various Chinese meats.

Genma decided that it was best to make himself scarce, and the remaining people at the table turned to each other. Ranma and Akane both looked distrustfully at the remaining two amazons.

"So how do I know you are not going to go back on your word tomorrow? After all, Japanese law never meant much to Shampoo or even Cologne."

The woman smiled. "Yes, I find that my little sister tends to be very traditional with respect to this kind of thing."

Akane looked up with interest. "Sister? You and Shampoo are sisters?"

Everyone turned to look at Mousse, who had been unobtrusively sitting at the table, blending in with the decorations, as he suddenly broken into a cackle and then to stifle it took a gulp of tea. Unfortunately, the tea lodged in his throat and the cackle quickly became a gasping cough.

"No, Tendo-san. Cologne is my baby sister. She is a good 10 years younger than me."

*facefault*

Nabiki looked up from the floor, where she had collapsed to when she heard Lu Fa mention a familial relationship. "REALLY? Is that why I asked to speak to someone who would be able to keep Cologne in check you decided to come over yourself?"

Mousse had stopped coughing and was sitting up straight eyes twinkling merrily, waiting for the elder to answer. "Yes, that and the fact that I am her superior in the council. The council considered your petition and agreed that I needed to be present to reverse the kisses." Turning to Ranma, she continued. "As for how I can assure you that this would be upheld, we can point out a number of things. Firstly, as far as we know, Shampoo never formally challenged you for your hand in marriage, so you were never her husband to begin with, nor was she supposed to claim that. And in any case, even if she were to marry you, she would need to immediately kill you – one kiss does not grand exception to another. It would have meant that as a husband killer, Shampoo would have not been allowed to continue living with us – and I will be explaining a significant portion of this to her later today. She is already deeply ashamed of how she acted, and would simply ask to be considered a friend in future, I beleive."

Akane and Soun looked concerned, while Ranma appeared to be impassive.

"How do I know this isn't some story you concocted to lull me into a false sense of security?"

Mousse jumped up, angry, before his Elder waved him down. "Sensible question. I am quite proud of you asking me. For one, it is now set out in Japanese law – and we will all sign the paperwork after dinner. And, I have enough honour to ensure that this would never be broken. On top of this, we cannot just risk a political confrontation with both your government and the Chinese government. Usually, the Kiss of Marriage only applies to men who are of age anyway – and for your country, this is at least three years away. No matter what, Shampoo won't be able to marry you without risking repercussions." She paused. "And in any case, we think that angering a God killer would not do us any service. We must survive, and to do so, we renounce any claims to you."

Ranma nodded, seemingly satisfied, and relaxed a tiny portion. The woman in front of him grinned suddenly. "Now, as the kisses are dissolved, there is the small matter of you eating Xian Pu's prize..."

She managed to keep a straight face as the young man's features contorted in fear, body positioning itself ready to run, while the rest of those present chuckled. "But, wha, why?"

Unable to help herself, Nabiki burst out laughing, which seemed to set everyone else off. The middle sister recovered first. "Actually, normally I would say that it is a good idea. However, Elder, Shampoo has an annoying habit of making holes in walls rather than use the doors, particularly in this house. That, and she, along with two other girls, almost completely destroyed the Saotome home not too long ago. I think the costs would at least balance out, if not exceed the value of the prize. The fact that Ranma turns into a girl and has been called a cross dresser more times than any of us can count, something that is insulting here, can go towards redeeming Shampoo's honour."

Lu Fa shook her head. "Typical. I tried to insist that my great grand niece get a proper education and be sent to Hong Kong to university – it benefited me greatly. However, my little sister has been very insistent that she not go yet. Now, she very nearly started a war between two contries. I do have the advantage of age, of course, but I do have several degrees in history and politics, and knowledge like that would be more valuable than knowing how to fight on a log. Great grand nephew, what in the world do you see in her?"

All eyes turned to Mousse, as he simply opened up his arms. "I just... do."

Nabiki's eyes, however, lit up at the mention of universities. "Elder, perhaps we can discuss a few things before dinner?" And stood to lead the woman to her room.

It was only another hour before food was served and everyone ate their fill, including the lawyers. Then, as had been anticipated, the whole group proceeded to sign the paperwork that had been prepared. As it was, all fear evaporated as Kasumi and Lu Fa acted as chief witnesses to the document.

Everyone, however, was surprised, and Shampoo more than a little put out when Lu Fa announced that Mousse was to be staying, and applying to a number of Japanese universities the next year. Cologne grumbled, but didn't resist her sister, unwilling to rock the boat or face more reprimands.

It was almost midnight when the rest of the group dispersed, some to bed, some back to the ramen store to begin the process of deciding what was to be done about Mousse and the Cat Cafe, though both the teens promised to be back the next day, early in the morning, to begin assisting with the rebuilding of the dojo and the improvements of the house.

Nabiki smiled.

One down, one neutralised and one befriended. At least five more to go.

It was several days before Nabiki was able to implement the next stage of her plan. While nothing insane happened in that time, she did have a rather unpleasant encounter with Ranma in the interim.

She had just come home from school, having finished one of her final exams, and sat down at her desk when an ominous presence entered her room. She swung around, her meagre martial arts training helping her crouch, mallet at the ready, when she came face to face with ...

"Ranma? What are you doing in my room?"

It didn't even occur to her to shout 'pervert' at him or do anything that Akane would normally do. The mallet clattered to her side, as she lost grip of it in her surprise.

"What's it going to cost me, Nabiki-san?" The boy no longer looked like his happy go lucky self – his battle aura, while barely visible, was visible none the less, and Nabiki knew instinctively that he was locked in the Soul of Ice.

Stunned for a minute at the hostile look in his eyes, Nabiki swallowed, but quickly regained her cool, confident that no matter how angry he was, he would not be causing her any significant bodily harm. "What IS going to cost you?"

He sighed and opened up his arms. "Whatever it is that you are doing. Getting rid of the Amazons can't have been cheap. So, what you going to do to us? Sell naked pictures? Get us to run errands for you? Blackmail us?"

For a moment, the middle Tendo felt pride – not only could he be taught, but he was referring to himself and her sister, and possibly the whole family as a single unit. Immediately, however, anger flared up in Nabiki's chest and she had to force herself to breathe deeply for a second. No matter what, she would not lash out.

"Did you ever consider, Saotome, that you are not the centre of the world? Or that I would do something for other than money?"

Ranma laughed bitterly. "Yeah right. You don't care about anyone other than yourself." He turned to look around her room, no doubt intent on pointing out the cameras and the things that she had bought for herself using said money.

There was no mistaking the venom in Nabiki's voice. "I care about Kasumi."

Immediately, Ranma spun around. Seeing the disgust directed at him for forgetting the oldest Tendo and the fact that Nabiki was the one he had always seen buying her things, the boy deflated. "I m sorry. I..."

"Forgot? Didn't realise that Kasumi needs to live as well? Kami, you are so selfish!" The righteous anger was flowing through her now.

Ranma didn't reply at first before saying, "I forgot that there are families where everyone looks out for each other, ya know? Rather than living on the go for eleven years or helping a relative catch a husband."

The anger didn't extinguish, but certainly lessened as Nabiki stared hard at him. It was no surprise, really, that the boy had no concept of how to behave normally, considering the only people who were remotely normal in his life were the Tendos and Dr Tofu, and even then they had their quirks, not to mention that the good doctor was currently on a sabbatical, and had been since before the Jusendo trip. Nabiki made a mental note to try to track the man down and have him come back – his professional handling of the young people of Nerima could come in handy. She sighed. "I m sorry. You didn't deserve that. Or rather, you no longer deserve that. There is little doubt that when you arrived you were as selfish as the panda, just as there is little doubt that you have changed a lot since coming here, and mostly for the better. To answer you, if I help you, you will get abused less often, and Kasumi and I can live in peace. Maybe she can even pursue the medical career she put on hold to help Daddy raise Akane and myself. Not that Daddy was much use. The fact that you gain something out of it is purely coincidental. If there was anything in there to benefit you, I would have charged you." She paused and grinned suddenly. "Of course, now that you have pointed out that you stand to benefit here, we should discuss now the Saotome clan can benefit me. Though I suspect that this conversation is best had with your mom. We can settle on you helping Shampoo and Mousse rebuilding the dojo." Her eyes did let him know that it was mostly a joke.

Ranma grinned. "Makes sense. Thanks, Nabs. I ll monitor them tomorrow, to make sure they aren't trying anything."

Nabiki looked after him closely for a moment, glad that the atmosphere was slightly lighter, and decided that a bit of truth could not hurt. "Ranma, do you want to know why I hardly ever charge you money, and never for the food and stay here? No charge?" Ranma shook his head. "Because, unlike that panda you call a father, you care. You help Kasumi and you help Father fix the house when it needs to be. That is more than most of the honourable martial artists in this town have done. I may not like you, but you are a good person. Run along now, before I change my mind about free information."

She listened to the young man running down the stair before reaching for the phone, shaking her head in exasperation. Her persona was still intact.

It was time to start the second part of the process.

AN: No idea when i will be posting next, but the next chapter will have us dealing with Ukyo. In my opinion, the one who can twist anything to make it about her, and also the only character with a father with a morality on par with Genma. Oh boy...