Sachiko Scramble

by vechloran

What if Ranma met another student of the art in Junior high besides Ryoga? What if their training sessions weren't exactly what he thought they were and now four years later after the China trip finally ends, the student is at the Tendo's, along with a few others who are about to make Ranma's plans for the future change drastically.

23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Monday Morning

Saki and Akari entered the main house just a little while after sunrise, finding both noise and a pleasant smell of fried fish coming from the kitchen, while sounds of others waking up were coming from the stairs. Saki took Akari upstairs first to show her around, and eventually to the bath so she could get cleaned up. Returning to the kitchen for what she hoped would be a fresh pot of coffee waiting for her, she found Konatsu preparing the breakfast that morning, a white with pink frills apron covering most of her school uniform. She wasn't able to return the beaming smile from the girl, turning her attention to the coffee pot instead and moving to get a cup for herself.

"Rough night?" Konatsu asked with some trepidation as she sensed Saki's mood.

"Didn't sleep…" Saki replied, before taking a sip of the hot coffee and closing her eyes as she felt it's warmth wash through her.

"Oh dear...is Miss Unryu hurt?" Konatsu asked while flipping the latest batch of fish off the small grill and loading a second batch on in what seemed a single fluid movement.

"She's fine, it's her pigs that are in trouble. Their increased size was only possible due to the demon's influence, without it, there are simply too big and their hearts can't keep up." Saki said, not sure why she'd even share such information, maybe its true that misery loves company she groggily though.

Saki wasn't ready though when Konatsu turned around, her eyes seemingly twice as big and tears flowing down them. "That's terrible! Poor Miss Unryu must be devastated!" She cried. Saki nearly spit out the sip of coffee she had in her mouth at the sudden dramatics, but managed to choke it down as she recovered.

"Ugh...yea, but unless we had some way of shrinking them or something, I don't know of anything we can do…the vet we have on retainer is more familiar with dogs and cats, as we tend to find those affected more." Saki grumbled while taking a seat, avoiding looking at the waterworks from Konatsu, only to suddenly hear them stop.

Konatsu not only regained her composure, but somehow had pulled a flashlight out from somewhere in her uniform and was now holding it over her head, flicking it on once she had Saki's attention. "I...have an idea!" She squealed, a large smile all over her face as she ignored Saki's blank stare at her little act, she then raced to the telephone and began dialing.

Saki watched, hoping this wasn't going to add a headache to her list of pains when Konatsu began to speak into the phone, asking for Cologne. "Did the packages you told us about arrive yet, we have an emergency!" Konatsu said eagerly once she heard the elder's voice on the other end. The elder had barely gotten an affirmative out before Konatsu said they'd be right there and hung up.

"We need to go to the Nekohaten! It's their only hope!" Konatsu manically said, taking Saki back with the energy coming from the girl so early in the morning.

"Hold on, it's a school day, is this something you have to be there for?" Saki asked, watching the energy fade at the mention of school.

"Well...but, I mean, we've been waiting for so long…and now it might save others..." Konatsu said manically while also looking like she might break into tears once again.

"Ack...don't start crying, just tell me what's your plan." Saki said, wishing she'd been able to finish her coffee before this had started.

"You said we didn't have much time, I can tell you as we run." Konatsu said, moving over and turning off the stove and taking quickly dishing out the simple eggs she'd been frying on to plates before eating hers in a single mouthful, chewing while she took off the apron and hung it up. Grabbing Saki by the hand she began towards the exit.

"Konatsu...what's…" Ukyo began to ask seeing the two leaving the kitchen and heading for the door.

"I'll tell you at school!" Konatsu said as she slid open the outside door, having barely stopped so the two could get their shoes on.

# # #

Shampoo got up from the table where they were eating breakfast to answer the door, her grandmother mentioning they'd have guest that morning. What she hadn't expected was to find Konatsu in her school outfit leading Saki, who looked pretty rough and had a fragrance to go with it, quickly towards the back of the restaurant with barely a hello. Curious as her curse's namesake may be, she decided to follow and see what exactly was going on.

"Elder! Where are you!" Konatsu called out, not having seen the woman in the kitchen as they'd entered.

"Down here." Came a call from the ajar doorway that lead down to the storage area.

Entering into the small basement, they soon found Cologne opening what must have been the third or fourth layer of packaging, revealing a simple wooden box with what looked to be an ornate golden latch on the top in between where the handle was connected. Placing it down on the largest of the boxes near her, the elder pressed her palm on the latch and a soft click could be heard. Pulling it open, what looked to be hundreds of teabags were arranged in neat rows with the small paper tag attached to the string of each being different colors and bearing some characters Saki and Konatsu couldn't read.

Cologne looked back at the group now that she'd opened it, and gave a small chuckle at the excited eagerness of the ninja girl. "My, you're quite full of energy this morning, what might of happened last night to get you so...wound up?" She teased her.

While Saki and Shampoo looked on with confusion at the two, Konatsu understood the subtle innuendo and began to blush and stammer about how nothing had happened just "last" night, electing a hearty cackle from the old woman.

"Sorry...but we're in a bit of a hurry. Konatsu said you had a way to give someone a Jusenkyo curse, if only temporarily. Would it work on a ridiculously overgrown pig by chance?" Saki asked, a bit of her tired crankiness coming through after the run across the roof tops.

"A pig? You wouldn't happen to be in contact with the Musk would you?" Cologne asked, the mirth gone from her voice.

"Uhm no, I don't know who they are. We have a bit of an emergency, we destroyed a demon Friday night, it was corrupting a farmer and his livestock, grew them all huge. His granddaughter grew up with them, loves them all dearly, but without the demon's influence, they're all too large for their bodies, the veterinarians gave them just a few days at best before circulatory problems would take them. Konatsu think's if we can give them a curse, it might make them normal size and we can work on a more permanent solution." Saki explained.

Cologne thought about the problem a few seconds, a worried look on her face as she turned and looked over the packets. "I don't have a large selection, and while the curse will change their form...how well it will handle the overgrown body size, and the demonic influences is not something we have experience in. The curse tends to give you what you'd be like if born as it, and lead the same life, so strength, dexterity, and other physical attributes kind of carry over. You maybe just end up with an obese creature no matter which you use." She said thoughtfully, looking through the selection for any that might better deal with such a problem.

Saki grimaced at the thought that this hail mary of a plan might completely flounder, she had to admit she'd been feeling hopeful on the run over once Konatsu had explained her idea. Showing up and giving Akari hope only for nothing to work felt more cruel than just having a vet come in and put it to sleep gently.

"So what are our options?" Saki asked tentatively as she looked at the arrangement in the box.

"Well first, Konatsu, here are two of the packets I promised. After using, try and dry the bag out, sometimes you can get a second use out of them, though not always." Cologne said, handing two packets to the girl, Saki couldn't see what was written on the packets, but she was pretty sure of what it was considering the girls excitement at seeing them.

"For the pig…" Cologne said, trailing off as she flicked through the rows. "Well we have a small wild pig, might try that and see if the size is a problem first, as it would be the most comfortable to the animal. But with a circulatory issue...if only we had some kind of mollusk...or an earthworm…" She said, continuing to look through the box.

"What about a reptile, they can get big…" Saki suggested.

"None in this batch unfortunately…" Cologne replied.

"Why not turn to boy, easier to treat person than animal at your hospital" Shampoo said from behind the group. Cologne's face filled with disgust at the idea, but she didn't immediately shut the idea down.

"That's...possibly our best solution, we do have the medical staff and equipment to handle humans far better than anything else." Saki said, nodding her head as it might be their best option for the time being.

Cologne seemed to lose the resolve she had, though her face still looked troubled at the idea as reached into the box and pulled out two packets. "This one will turn it male, though I want to caution that we only do this until the animal can be returned to normal, or we can use this wild piglet packet to make them into a more suitable size. The Amazon's have many taboo's about turning animals human with the power of the springs, I'm only allowing this because it will save a life, and I will be checking in to make sure that is all that is happening." Cologne said with some bitterness that left Saki sure that the old woman would follow through on that as she handed the packets to Saki. "I'm afraid we don't have enough though, we can only save the one..."

"One is better than none, Akari will thank you in the end." Konatsu said solemnly. "Thank you for your help Elder, we'll let you know how things are when we can." She finished, giving a bow before once again dragging Saki along behind her and back towards the compound.

# # #

Ranma took a bite of an onigiri he'd snagged out of the fridge while waiting for the sunrise from the top of the house. He'd woken up especially early due to a dream that had left him feeling even more uneasy than when he'd gone to bed the night before, his mother still not home yet from the date but he'd not really wanted to be there when she did. Now he sat at on the roof, trying to understand why he'd dreamed of the old lady he'd met when he awoke from the cat fist the first time.

The dream was already blurry in his mind though, starting with just the feeling of being in her lap as she pet him, followed by her asking him what his name was, where did he come from, his own answers he couldn't hear though, but cracking an eyelid, he could see her face beginning to worry more with each one. Finally she sat him down and stood up, beckoning for him to follow her inside. But as he reached the doorway, he stopped and looked back at the gate. Standing there, he saw his father, or at least a black shadow that he could only think of as him. This time though it was his father as he was now, staring back at him before lunging through the fence as if it wasn't there, before he could even scream, he had awoken and jerked himself into a sitting position, his hands blocking defensively.

Ranma glanced at the Tendo's gate lit by a lonely street light, wondering if he'd see his father there, as if the dream was some sort of premonition. But no one was there, no one was even on the street at this hour of the morning. As he looked at the gate, his mind drifted to yesterday, the look on his mother's face before she saw him in the restaurant. It wasn't a look he'd been able to place at the time, some sort of mix of happiness and something else. Not like when she was spending time with Mirei, where you could see she was so full of love for her granddaughter, or like when he'd first arrived and she'd barely been able to let him go or allow him out of her site for a while. No, there was something else there and he just couldn't put his finger on it.

The hand on his mom's waist though, brought a bout of anger with it, an image of him throwing the man into the river also flashed through his mind and he had to shake his head to try and stop what he knew were things that weren't reasonable. Sachiko had practically dressed him down last evening when Akane had explained why he'd been behaving strangely. The fact that she'd known and not told him hurt, but he had been avoiding everyone, a fact she reminded him of when he tried to act hurt that she'd known about it, leaving him frustrated at this whole situation even more.

The sound of some barking and whining drew his attention to the backyard, Splat and Checkers were looking up at him. Sighing, he dropped down next to the two who both quickly made to jump up on him while whining and wagging their tails.

"How can you still be hungry, you two eat more than me." he chided them for their continued begging. Seeing as he was up early though, he headed inside to get them their breakfast so they wouldn't wake the rest of the house. He enjoyed petting the growing pups as they ate, he had to admit there was some strange sense of calm when it came to being around them. Eventually they finished, and after he had to tell Splat that no, there weren't going to be seconds and to go play with her sister, he sat back and watched the two go about sniffing around the yard.

He almost mistook the footsteps coming down the stairs for Kasumi at first, figuring it might be her turn to make breakfast, but as the person came around the corner he realized it was Sachiko in her pajama's, and she looked disheveled and surprised to see him sitting there.

"You okay?" Ranma asked after she didn't seem to do anything after seeing him sitting there.

Sachiko pulled herself out of what ever daze she was in and nervously replied. "...just, had a bad dream. Figured I'd get something to snack on before breakfast…" she said while groggily moving towards the kitchen.

"Guess you could say the same of me...had one about pops…" Ranma replied, which at the mention of his father, caused her to jolt slightly in her steps before entering the kitchen. He'd caught her slight misstep, but didn't know what to make of it as he waited a short while until Sachiko returned to sit next to him on the small outside walkway that looked over the backyard and towards the Dojo, a simple yogurt drink in hand.

"Wanna talk about it?" Sachiko asked as she fumbled with getting the straw into the foil covered opening.

"I mean, it was short. It was when I first woke up from the C-C.. you know, that training. I was in the lap of some older woman on her porch. She wanted me to go inside, but before I could, I saw pop glaring at me from her gate, just...it was pop as he was now, not the younger version and he was more of a shadow, all dark and it was more of a feeling it was him..." Ranma said slowly, trying to figure out if there was any meaning to it all. Sachiko didn't reply right away, gently sucking on the straw as she thought about his dream.

"Mine was about my dad meeting Mirei…" Sachiko said, leaving that hanging as she took another sip. Ranma felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up, Sachiko almost never talked about her parents, and if she did, it was about her mom and generally followed by a multitude of foul words.

"He's never seen her, not that I know of. In my dream though he was being kind, loving, like when I was a young kid." She continues, her eyes focused across the yard, past the Dojo. "Then we're in a room, and he's taking her through a door, and it shuts before I get through with them. I was pounding, yelling, screaming but nothing worked." Her voice becoming strained as she tried to finish her dream, her hands shaking too much to drink. "Then I could hear my mom laughing, and I woke up…" She finished, her shoulders slumping and she honestly looked like she might be sick to Ranma who scooted over next to her in case she did.

"I'm...I'm…" Ranma stutters out, unsure what to say.

"...here." She said, leaning against his body, her head resting against his shoulder.

Ranma tensed at the contact, fighting down his normal senses which told him to keep some distance as he looked down at Sachiko. He saw her hands still shaking, and slowly, gently took the yogurt drink and put it down beside him to his left so it wouldn't spill, only to find her hands soon clasping his right hand. He could feel her hands squeezing tightly at first before relaxing, and he thought of her dream, of Mirei being taken away by the only parents he knew that could make his own father look passable, a nauseous anger was the best he could describe it. He placed his left hand over hers, and they sat and watched the sun begin to rise.

"Are you still upset about the date…" Sachiko asked. She could feel him tense for a second, but was grateful that he seemed to let it go quickly.

"I...don't know, I'd like to throw the guy in a river...but I don't think I'm angry at mom." Ranma replied.

"Good, cause if you were, I'd have to get all our friends to beat some sense into ya." She said, a stern look leaving him with no doubt she'd have done just that.

"Well, best of luck on that, Saki said it wasn't worth her time trying to beat anything more into my thick skull." Ranma said with a grin as she gave a snort at his comment.

"Mom deserves better than your father. She gave him a decade of her life, hoping he'd return, only to find he was lying to her even while strung up in those magical rope things mom's got. She spent a bunch of time on the phone this summer, talking to lawyers and who knows what about things that obviously bothered her about your father. She didn't tell me anything, but I could tell she wasn't in a good mood for a while after those calls." Sachiko said, ignoring his banter and causing Ranma to lose his smirk quickly.

"It's been good for mom...going out and stuff, when you all left for the summer, I think she was hiding how hurt she was by your father's lies." Sachiko says, looking at Ranma to see how he might react.

"I...I think I knew that. But I...I spent the summer just telling myself pops would show back up, like he always did…" Ranma said glumly.

"Do you think he is going to come back?" Sachiko said with a hint of worry.

Ranma paused in thought, his gut saying his father would always show up. But it had been almost two months, and he hadn't heard a word, and it wasn't like he had to go looking for him like the times they'd ended up lost in various places. Then he had a thought, one he'd not wanted to hear...that maybe, this time, he didn't want his father to return. It was a squeeze of his hands that brought him out of his self introspection on what that meant about himself though he couldn't seem to get rid of the feeling of guilt buried in his stomach.

Sachiko watched as Ranma's face seemed to meld from being lost in thought, to looking at her as if he'd been caught stealing a cookie, his hands beginning to fidget in hers. She could tell he was probably on the verge of pulling away so she relaxed her grip and felt his hands soon leave hers.

Ranma pulled his legs up to his chest, his arms wrapping around his legs as he looked out into the yard as light slowly started to filter over the horizon. "Pops disappeared a lot during the trip. When I was little, it was training and a kind of challenge to see if I was big enough to handle myself for a day or two. The older I got, the longer he might be gone, but usually not more than a week or so. By the time we got to meet, he'd barely show up at our campsite, preferring to sleep at what ever job site he was working at. It didn't bother me so much, he left money for food, and I could fix up anything else we had." Ranma spoke, never losing focus on the yard.

"It wasn't until the village, the Amazons, that I even started to see what a 'normal' life might be like, where a good meal, soft bed, and friends weren't just some luxury. That was about the same time he'd tried to put one over the elder and ended up leaving town for almost a month. When he did return I felt relieved, he still cared about me, he still wanted me. But right underneath that feeling, I resented him, wanted him to leave me alone so I could keep finding out what all it was like to have a home. I don't think it surprised him at all, that after he got himself caught for something just a short while into our travels, I simply returned to the village to wait for him." Ranma's face tightened as his jaw seemed to clamp down at the memory.

"I think the next time he saw me, he knew I was done with the living on the road stuff, trips after that were just excursions, two weeks or so most of the time, though a few were longer just cause he picked some real ass end of the world to go to. I barely remember much of the trips, just getting somewhere and training for a while, and then returning to a warm meal with Cologne and Shampoo, trying to keep up in their school and mostly failing, and just getting to talk with people and see what had changed. I think he still cares about me, but with there being no 'road' for me to travel on with him, he's just as lost now on what to do as back then." Ranma finished, wiping a tear from his eye as he finished, his thoughts now feeling more unsettled than even after the dream.

Sachiko scooted next to him and leaned against him gently. "Sorry..." She apologized, the nerve she'd hit about fathers being a tender one of her own.

"Eh...it's…" Ranma floudered as he tried to brush it off, people apologizing to him always made him feel awkward for some reason.

"It's what it is...but we'll do better, for Mirei." Sachiko said as she turned her head and gave him a wane smile, glad to see him returning it.

"Yea, that's for damn sure." He replied, confidence returning to his voice. It was a quite peaceful moment before he began to realize just how close they were, how cute Sachiko's smile was, how those lips seemed impossibly close. That last thought sending a spasm down his spine that seemed to bring them both back from their thoughts, Ranma looking away as he blushed while Sachiko sat back upright and did the same. The two stuck in an awkward silence as they tried to collect their thoughts.

Her words about doing better for Mirei reminded him of his own words earlier in the Ferris wheel, his promise to do better, to stop running away from his feelings. Squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath, he centered himself as he slowly let it out and tried to remember the words he'd been practicing in his head. Once finished with his breath, he moved from his cross legged position into a more formal seiza position looking straight at her, getting a questioning look from Sachiko as she watched his movements.

"Sachiko, I said I wanted to do better, but at that time, I really didn't know how. But I've been thinking, and...and I want you to know that I promise to always be there for you, no matter what. I don't want you to worry about being left alone ever again." His voice wavering lightly, but Sachiko could feel the resolve emanating from his rigid body.

She looked back into his eyes, his bright blue eyes unwavering and staring back in to hers, but she could feel a vibration, looking down her hands were shaking ever so slightly. She wouldn't say she felt better or relieved at his words, she wasn't sure what to even say in response to his declaration, She managed to return a smile, a quiet, demure one that she hoped would convey her silent acceptance.

Ranma then bowed his head all the way down to the floor. "I...I said I'd do better to everyone, and...I plan to try and return Shampoo's feelings." He told her, not raising his head at the end.

Sachiko's loose hands and arms slowly moved and cradled her stomach as she felt it fill with butterflies. It worried her though that it was the only thing she seemed to be feeling at this news. She couldn't even smell it seemed as the air tasted bland, and she had to tear her eyes away from him as she saw his muscles flinch at her movement, as if expecting an attack.

'This was fine though.' she told herself, she wasn't trying to get Ranma, Shampoo obviously knew him better and really loved him. She should be happy for them, even support them, she seemed to be yelling in her head, though her stomach betrayed her again as she felt like she might be sick with vertigo, causing her to slam a hand down to steady herself suddenly.

Ranma looked up worriedly, she was looking dizzy, maybe even seasick all of a sudden. With out think, he was helping to support Sachiko and grimacing at how bad this plan of his was going. But he couldn't curse himself for long when he started to hear Sachiko laugh, quietly, but soon having to put a hand over her mouth to keep it from becoming too loud and waking the rest of the house.

After taking a moment to calm herself, she looked at him while still holding back her laughter. "Ranma...you are such an idiot. I mean, you're getting better...but still...a complete idiot" She says admonishing him while he simply kept his body supporting her.

"I'm pretty sure any other guy, who tells a girl he'll always be there for them, and then IMMEDIATELY says they're going to date another girl, should be castrated on the spot, no trial needed." Sachiko said, the chopping motion she made with her hands causing Ranma to grow quite nervous.

"Look...I appreciate you being honest. But talk to mom before you try this with the Amazons." She said with a snicker as she rose back up to her feet and began to make her way towards the stairs, not waiting for a response from Ranma. Making it to the top, she finally took a moment to breath, and stopped to look at the door to her and Akane's room, and the restroom further down the hall, before pushing into her room and hoping laying down would be enough to settle her stomach. She laid in bed the rest of the morning, though sleep was not something that came back to her.

Ranma cursed himself for what should have been an obvious mistake, and tried to think about how he could make it up to Sachiko. But his brain decided that he hadn't obviously suffered enough and reminded him that he still hadn't told Sachiko about what happened with Mirei at the tournament, and that the longer he waited, the worse it would be.

# # #

"Would Saotome Ranma please report to the principles office" Shrilled the speaker in the classroom before the first bell, causing all conversation to pause for a short moment as everyone looked at the subject in question.

Ranma returned to his favorite past time of questioning which deity was choosing to mess with him now as he headed for the door and towards the main office. What he wasn't expecting was a constant watch as he entered the office from all the administrative staff, their eyes filled with something, not anger or jealousy though, he was all to familiar with those. Quickly being shuffled into the vice-principles office, the vice principles chair turned away from him so he couldn't see her, he took a seat and waited for the shoe to drop.

"Ranma…" The vice principle said, he voice joyful, almost child like.

"Uhm...yea…" he responded, already sensing something wasn't normal.

"I hear you attended a sporting event for our school this weekend." She said, and he could swear he heard her suppressing laughter.

"Yea...the gymnastics thing." He answered blandly, though his mind was already running through how screwed he was about the whole thing.

"I've heard you met the referee…" She asked.

"Yea...some guy named Kuno...the father of the girl who was cheating...blatantly." he answered, wondering if he had some personal connection to the vice principle that was about to make his life hell.

"Wonderful." The vice principle replied as she slowly turned her chair around to face him. The smile on her face was massive, and he was honestly not sure if even Mirei could be happier than she appeared.

"You're new this year, so you don't know quite exactly how...troublesome...the Kuno family has been for our school." Mrs. Takako said mirthfully. "But if you're willing to sign this little document, I can guarantee he will be no longer a problem for any of us." She finished, placing a clipboard down on her desk in front of Ranma.

Ranma began to look over it, though the legalize of the language involved quickly made him give her a questioning look.

"Mr. Kuno, who you found refereeing an official inter-school match, just so happens to be our suspended principle here at Furikan high school. Suspended due to his...lack of disciplining his son who was a student here. For him to show up at a school event, breaks the rules and he can now be officially let go." She told Ranma, her smile never leaving her face.

"Uhm...sure…" Ranma replied, seeing the two spots he was being asked to initial and then sign, highlighted in yellow. Quickly making the marks before handing the clipboard back.

"Thank you so very much, and please, have a wonderful day." Mrs. Takako said, motioning towards the door so he knew he could leave now.

Ranma was glad he had escaped without some new problem, though the cheer that came from the office as he was walking up the stairs was somewhat dis-concerning.

# # #

The tale of the weekend school event soon began to spread, along with a suitably large amount of rumors that involved all sorts of the typical embellishments and exaggerations. By the time lunch arrived Ranma could feel Sachiko's eyes on his back, and hoped she'd believe his version of the story, not that it was a good one he thought glumly, but it at least didn't involve him wearing a leotard as far too many of the rumors had mentioned. So as the bell rang to signal lunch, he didn't have to say anything as Sachiko and her friends quickly joined their group as they headed outside.

"So where did you find a red leotard in such a hurry Ranma, you're not just secretly wearing one all the time in case you need to change like Superman are you?" Mako asked as the group was getting settled, leading to some laughs from her, Achika, and Shampoo while the boys did their best to hide their own laughter at that rumor. Ranma just gave her a glare in response.

Sachiko though ignored the banter and once seated, got straight to the matter. "Ranma, what exactly happened, cause I'm a little worried about some of the things I heard…" She asked, hoping the majority of the rumors were overly embellished.

"Well, things started out normally enough, we got some food and then headed to our seats to watch, we were in the middle of the other teams seats, so not too close, not too far, Mirei was on my lap as we hadn't planned to have a ticket for her." He said.

"Some food he says..." Hiroshi says with a scoff, getting a laugh out of the other two boys, though getting a look from Sachiko that told them to keep quiet.

"Why were you in the other teams area?" Mako asks.

"Cause we let Daisuki get the tickets...and it's an all girls school…" Ranma groaned shaking his head.

"What?!" Daisuki said at being singled out, not liking the looks he was getting from the group. "It's not like it worked, Ranma and Mirei had ALL their attention." He quickly added with some anguish, hoping that it might draw their attention away from him, though also earning him a slap upside the head from Hiroshi.

"Well, at least we know they're not lying, and Sachiko, I told you not to let Ranma and Mirei out together in public, like chumming the water…" Achika says while rolling her eyes at the boys.

"Anyway, the matches started." Ranma says in hopes to change topics before any more questions about that situation come up. He went over how the first fights were completely one sided, and it wasn't until Akane and Shampoo got involved that the other team started to show obvious signs of cheating. It was when he got to the part where Kodachi began to throw the clubs into the crowd that Ranma seemed at a loss of how to describe what seemed to happen in a split second.

"So the Captain, she started to throw a bunch of clubs of Lotion, who started to dodge. But the Captain wasn't being cautious of the crowd, and so they started flying out in all directions." He said, he could feel his mouth getting dryer, his palms clamy as he tried to continue. To the others it seemed like he had frozen up, his eyes staring down at his food but nothing moving for several seconds.

"Ranma...what happened?" Sachiko said, worry in her voice as she considered what so of the rumors said happened next. Ranma didn't seem to respond though until Shampoo who was on his right, poked his arm, causing a slight shock to travel though him and bring his eyes back up to Sachiko.

"One of...the clubs. It came right at Mirei." He said slowly, seeing Sachiko and her friends faces filled with horror at the thought. "I caught it, before anything could happen." He said, giving them some relief.

Ranma though could feel the anger once again as he spoke of that moment, his body tense and his nostril's flaring as he spoke of what happened next. "I was angry...more so than I think I've ever been. I threw the club back, hard, shattering one of the rings support columns and causing it to lean heavily. Then, before I knew it I was there, yelling and screaming at that girl about how awful she was." Ranma stops, the look on the girls face as he berated her playing through his mind.

"Oh god…" Mako said, covering her mouth at the thought of what could of happened. Achika was shaking her head, while Sachiko seemed to be joining in on Ranma's rage.

"After the girl seemed to pass out from my yelling, the judge started to try and give the win to her team anyway. I chewed him out until he ran, and then went to check on Lotion." Ranma said, confusing everyone though as he seemed to melt forward into a bow, his food in his lap forgotten, and even the anger in his voice seemingly melting away.

"I'm sorry Sachiko...I'm so sorry…" Ranma said softly, she didn't even catch it all until he repeated himself.

"What...why?" She asked.

"Because...the whole time I did all that...I still had Mirei…she was crying...scared..." He said, looking up into her eyes.

Sachiko's anger that had been building wanted to lash out, her fist balled up even as she considered what it must have been like for her daughter. God she wanted to hit Ranma, and that girl, and the judge, and everyone involved. Hitting Ranma though wouldn't do anything but hurt her hand, and as she looked into his eyes, she started to feel his regret about what had happened. But the anger wasn't leaving, not quick enough anyway to prevent it boiling over.

"BAKA!" She screamed, louder than she thought was ever possible, and drawing the attention of everyone eating lunch.

Feeling all the eyes on her sent her into panic, she didn't even try to pack up her lunch and instead stood up and sprinted back into the school. The rest of the group looked at each other awkwardly and started to quickly pack up their stuff, Ranma grabbing Sachiko's left behind bento to take home for her. They then quickly also headed back in, avoiding eye contact with anything that wasn't the ground in front of them as they made their way back to their classrooms.

# # #

Shampoo gave a worried, if annoyed grunt as she closed the last stall door in the last girls restroom in the school, having started checking them soon into the start of the next class as Sachiko wasn't to be found in her classroom. She was just about to give up and assume the girl had left the school when something had her walk back to the main stairs and look into the office. She noted that the vice-principles door was closed, something the woman only seemed to do if meeting with someone. Figuring the worst she might get is a detention for being nosy if she was wrong, she decided to take the amazon approach and sneak right in and ignore the receptionist who was on the phone. Getting to the door, she really hoped it wasn't locked, because having to pay the replacement fee's out of her slave wages would suck.

Swinging the door open slowly as the knob turned smoothly, she thanked her intuition as she quickly entered and shut the door quietly behind her even as Mrs. Takako began to ask her what she thought she was doing barging in. Shampoo made her way to the other chair next to Sachiko, a brief glance showed the girl had been crying but now was looking miserable, and surprised also at her arrival. Shampoo took a seat before answering Mrs. Takako's question.

"I am here to help with understand Ranma." She said, her tone neutral though a brief furling of her brow as she knew at least two grammar mistakes she'd just made.

"Shampoo, this not appropriate, barging into a private meeting won't be allowed." Mrs. Takako said in a serious tone as she stood up to come around her desk.

Shampoo knew she only had one shot at this so turned to Sachiko. "I tell you story, about my mother. Ranma no know this, but I think it important for both you hear." Shampoo said, staring at Sachiko in hopes she'd accept. A wave a relief washing over her as she saw the girls eyes focus on her with a curious stare.

"Okay." Sachiko said, barely loud enough but it stopped Mrs. Takako's attempt to lift Shampoo out of the chair.

"Are you sure about this…" Mrs. Takako asked through guarded lips as gave Shampoo a glare for her disobedience, her mood foul from listening to the story Sachiko had just told her.

Sachiko simply nodded her head at the woman, before looking back at Shampoo, who began to tell her story.

"I was six years old, and I was outside the walls of the village with my mother. It was the fall and almost every day a group of warriors, hunters, and tradeswomen would head out to gather food, herbs, and other necessities before the winter. I'd begged for months to go along, finally she'd given in as it had been a peaceful summer, our not so friendly neighbors not having been seen for a while." Shampoo began while Mrs. Takako returned to her seat.

"We were almost back, I can remember seeing the walls through the mist as we descended, just a few hundred yards down the hillside. We slowly zigzagged down the narrow path. We were in the middle of the group, in front and behind us were pairs of amazon hunters carrying the deer's we'd caught, their unblinking eye's making me feel uneasy so I clung to my mothers dress tightly." Shampoo tells them, he voice beginning to crack at the end.

"An arrow took the hunter next to us, I remember it simply sticking out of their skull as they fell to the ground. I closed my eyes, but I didn't scream, I was a big girl, brave, even as I clung to my mothers dress as she pulled me into her. I tried to force my eyes open, to be brave, like the warrior they wanted. But I never did...not as the cries of pain erupted, not as the fight seemed to move rapidly all around me, not even as my mother and I fell to the ground." Shampoo paused in her telling, taking a moment to calm her breathing, she could feel Sachiko's hand take hold of hers, but her muscles felt numb and unresponsive under the skin.

"We were lucky, the sounds had carried to the gate, and soon the Musk were over whelmed, those that could retreating. I kept my eyes closed until great grandmother took hold of me, pulling me away. I looked at my mothers body, it was peaceful, almost like she was simply sleeping and I could just cuddle right in with her like I had before, if it wasn't for the blood beginning to seep through her clothing. Later, when I was older, I asked Great Grandmother why she hadn't run away, she could of made it to the gate with me easily." Shampoo's tears were streaming, even as she maintain her posture it seemed as if a simple push would cause her to shatter across the ground.

"Grandmother said, that to retreat, was to sacrifice the village. If she had saved herself and me, but left the hunters and others, there would still be orphans, likely more. My mother put the well being of the other families before her own, showing her true resolve to the tribe. Grandmother tried to explain, that if every warrior only looked out for their own, that our tribe would be over, but it never stopped hurting…" Shampoo says solemnly, her head hanging down, wiping her eyes with a tissue she found placed in her other hand.

Sachiko and Mrs. Takako gave each other worried looks as they waited for Shampoo, not wanting to interrupt her grieving. While Mrs. Takako wondered how she might best help Shampoo, Sachiko was having a hard time reconciling the story with the anger and frustration she had inside for what had happened with Ranma and Mirei, soon becoming lost in thoughts about what might of happened as her anxiety began to rise. A squeeze of her hand though brought her back to the room, and looking over she was surprised to see Shampoo looking at her with the faintest bit of a smile.

"You share room with Akane too long, begin worry too much." Shampoo said, the simple joke breaking some of the tension in the room. "You no like Ranma taking Mirei, doing dangerous things. But Ranma stuck, between...boulder and...side of mountain. Ranma instinct is protect, but he want protect both daughter and friend, he also furious about Mirei attacked, not something Ranma use too." Shampoo said.

"He gets angry all the time about stuff though." Sachiko replied, a bit miffed that Shampoo wouldn't think so.

"He get frustrated, annoyed, upset too too much, yes. But real anger, at someone, I no know of that ever happening, even when Mousse do pranks in village. In village, we always warned, animals dangerous, but animals with babies near, very very dangerous." Shampoo replied, giving Sachiko's hand a squeeze before letting go and taking her hand back.

Shampoo stood up and began to make her way to the door. "Shampoo, please, come see me later if you'd like to talk." Mrs. Takako calls out, causing Shampoo to freeze with her hand on the door knob.

Without looking back, Shampoo replies. "Maybe...but now, Shampoo go park, no think can study today." She says and then exits without waiting for a reply.

Mrs. Takako waits for the door to click shut before moving over to Sachiko and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I understand if you'd feel best returning home early too…" She says gently, not having to wait long for Sachiko to give a nod in agreement.

"Could you ask...Akane to bring my stuff home." Sachiko asked dully as she got up out of the chair. "And...to pick up Mirei from daycare." She added, a worried look on her face as she made eye contact with Mrs. Takako.

"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Let's just go talk to the secretary and she will call to let your mom know you're headed home early." Mrs. Takako says.

# # #

Sachiko wasn't sure how long she'd have before Nodoka would get worried she hadn't returned, but she really wanted to find Shampoo, and there was at least one park close enough that she might be able to check it without raising too much suspicion. There wasn't much to this particular one, really it was just a kind of drainage pond the city had spruced up with a walking path, benches, and some tree's but it was too small for a play area so she rarely visited. Looking in through the old metal gate, the hair on the back of her neck stiffened, a figure was sitting on one of the benches, and their long purple hair gave away their identity immediately.

Sachiko steeled her nerves as she took her first step through the gate, part of her urging a quick retreat home, but something else seemed to be in control of her feet as they seemed to move one in front of the other towards Shampoo. She was about ten feet away when Shampoo slowly turned her head and gave a questioning look at her, which froze Sachiko in place as she hadn't quite come up with anything to say and not was a bit worried that Shampoo's face didn't look to have been crying at all, in fact it seemed mute of any emotion.

"Sorry…" Was the only thing Sachiko could think to say.

"Why?" Shampoo asked, getting up and walking over as it was too awkward to keep her neck craned backwards.

"I…" Sachiko shook her head to try and get her brain back in working order. "I don't know...I just panicked." She said helplessly.

"Look, Shampoo...I'd like...I need...to talk with you." Sachiko said.

Shampoo frowned. "I not in mood…" she said with what Sachiko could of sworn was a low cat like growl.

"I know...really...but it's about Ranma, something he told me this morning." She responded, the standoffish look on Shampoo's face breaking as the cat-girls inquisitive nature began to win out.

"Why no tell here?" Shampoo asked, hoping what ever it was, Sachiko could just tell her and let her get back to being alone.

"I don't have time, the school called ahead, I'm suppose to already be back by now. Come with me, we can talk in private while everyone else is still at school." Sachiko urged, really hoping mom wasn't already starting to panic.

Shampoo gritted her teeth, Sachiko was specifically the person she didn't want to be around at the moment, but she could feel the girl had something important to say. Deciding she'd spend the time after what ever it was Sachiko wanted to talk about grieving, she replied. "Fine."

# # #

Nodoka was surprised to find Shampoo with Sachiko when she went to check on her daughter when she returned. Mrs. Takako had informed her about what had happened in a second phone call after Sachiko had left the school, leaving her in a conflicting state of worry, pride, and frustration with her children. But from the first look at her daughter, she could tell there wasn't going to be any conversation about things in the near future, and after she turned down the offer for her to bring them some snacks she backed off and let the girls head upstairs, though it was odd that they seemed to head all the way down the hall to the sliding doors of the bathroom.

# # #

"Why bring here?" Shampoo asked as she looked at the bathroom sink, figuring they would of just gone to Sachiko's bedroom.

"Because I'm too wound up to think, we can talk in the furo just as well as my room." Sachiko said, beginning to take off the bulky school uniform dress.

Shampoo shrugged, a hot soak didn't sound bad for the day she was having. Though the fact that the small showers in the furo were cold water only was frustrating, as it meant she needed Sachiko's help to get rinsed off, earning the girl a glare as she giggled at Shampoo's soaking wet fur look. Soon enough through she slid into the bath and returned to normal with a nice sigh as the water melted away her aching body. She gave Sachiko a few moments to enjoy entering the bath before opening her eyes and looking at her, waiting for her to get to the point of why she was here.

"So...this morning, Ranma and I were up early cause of some...bad dreams." Sachiko said, beginning to explain what had lead up to Ranma's declaration. "So right after he tells me that he'll always be there for Merei and Me…" Sachiko says, watching as Shampoo lowers herself into the tub up to her eyes to hide a frown she knew the girl must have. "He says he's also going to start reciprocating your feelings for him." She finishes, watching to see how Shampoo reacts.

Shampoo raised up slightly, a worried and confused look on her face. "What be reciprocating?" She asked.

"Sorry...it means "to return". He's going to start trying to return your feelings...like go on dates…" Sachiko explained, her throat feeling strange as she said the last part.

Shampoo's face turn a nearly neon red as she seemingly lost control of her self and began to mutter all sorts of Chinese while her hands cupped her face and she squirmed around. Sachiko wondered if that was how she was suppose to have felt about Ranma's news, if he hadn't so immediately told her about the second part. But as quick as Shampoo's elation came, it faded again when the girl came to the same conclusion Sachiko had that morning.

"He really say, he always be there for you...and then he date me?" Shampoo asked with a hint of disbelief.

"Yep…" Sachiko replied.

"Ai yaahhh…" Shampoo said, her hands now massaging her forehead. "He such brilliant idiot...stick both feet in mouth." Shampoo groaned.

"Yep…"

"In village, we put men like this in stocks, let children throw rotten food at them." Shampoo continued to rant.

"Yee.." Sachiko says, not quite sure how to respond to the thought of that.

"What we do now?" Shampoo asked as she relaxed back against the furo's side.

"Huh...we?" Sachiko responded, figuring it was pretty obvious what Shampoo was going to be doing.

"We...us...both of us. What we do now?" Shampoo repeated, annoyed as she didn't think she'd mispronounced anything.

"You just date him...like you've always wanted…" Sachiko replied.

"Ranma say he always be there for you and child, basically propose in Amazon culture, I try date without you, it shameful, look like I try break up family." Shampoo said frustrated.

"He's not an amazon, nor are we in your village, you can't really apply that here Shampoo." Sachiko said, feeling a bit exasperated at the idea that she had someone just gotten engaged.

"Well...that not entirely true." Shampoo said, now feeling a bit guilty for having kept the following a secret on orders from Cologne. "He made honorary amazon after he come back around second year in China. Council agree as it was looking like things get out of hand when he turn fifteen and susceptible to certain outsider laws. Considered my adoptive brother to tribe…"

Sachiko managed to maintain the ability to blink and breath, as the rest of her brain was currently trying to handle the absurdity of the situation. Once it had passed though, a thought immediately traveled from her brain to her mouth.

"Does Ranma know this?" Sachiko asked.

Shampoo grimaced as a look of guilt flushed through face. "He no understand, Chinese very bad still at time, later he just think it friendly kind of nickname. I...I no tell him details later...was worried he think of me as sister, and look at other girls…" Shampoo answered, looking regretful at having kept it a secret.

"Fuuuuccckkkk…." Sachiko let out as her own hands tried to massage her temple.

"Yes...is big fuck." Shampoo said miserably.

"So...what the hell are we suppose to do now...my tangentially related step sister…" Sachiko said while shaking her head in disbelief.

Shampoo gave her a slightly annoyed look as she answered. "What I been saying whole time! You admit you like Ranma, we both date, be co-wifes, everyone happy, have honor."

"Shampoo that can't be legal." Sachiko said, her minding thinking of a few other things it probably can't be either...

Shampoo rolled her eyes at her. "Is fine in village, and great grandmother already confirm your mom okay with it, say government want more babies from bloodline, even if from male side. I don't think that what bothering you most though, you just no like Shampoo..." Shampoo stated firmly.

Sachiko didn't have a good or quick reply to that accusation, as she knew it wasn't totally wrong. Shampoo still made her feel on edge, and there was almost nothing in common between the two of them besides Ranma. How could she think they could suddenly get along well enough to be in some crazy love triangle when she knew she'd just feel like some spare tire they were dragging along out of pity.

"Is okay...Shampoo know not easy to like…use too it..." Shampoo said softly with a bitterness that was directed inward.

"Wait no...that's not what I meant." Sachiko quickly replied hoping to avoid making Shampoo even more upset. "It's just...I don't really know you." She said, trying to think of how better to explain it to Shampoo who was now looking at her cautiously.

"We've never really talked...like this, just the two of us. There's always others, and if Ranma's there he has all your attention. We don't have much in common either, I'm not a fighter, heck I barely even know what I'm going to do when I finish school but you've got every thing planned out from marrying Ranma to becoming some badass Amazon demon slayer couple. You and everyone else always just sees me as "Ranma's daughter's mother"...at best. Why would I even bother trying to get Ranma to look at me, when he has you and Lufa who could be fashion models throwing themselves at him, heck the only reason some boys even see me at school is cause they think I'm easy…" Sachiko replied, a bit too quickly as her complaints built.

Shampoo needed a moment to catch up and wasn't sure what to make of the compliments Sachiko had given her, even if she felt they were way off the mark at times. Having been in the bath for a while she was starting to feel a bit flushed and light headed so she sat herself up on the edge of the bath, keeping her legs in to stay warm. Thinking through all the things Sachiko thought of her, she couldn't help but begin to giggle at the absurdities, though this seemed to upset Sachiko.

"Sorry, I no laugh at words, they are true in some ways." Shampoo said waving her hand back and forth. "Is true, we no have time just us, I no know you well, assume great many things also. At first, I see you as rival, who I lose Ranma too and no want to make nice. Now, I respect you, you no have easy life, and...Shampoo...I...feel like no can be mother as good as you, no have patience, always feel awkward with children." Shampoo said, wrapping her arms around her chest. "While I like these," Shampoo says, glancing down at her breast and squeezing them with her arms a little "They no help with Ranma...even throw in face he too too nervous and run away." She said, unable to hold back a laugh at how Ranma would always get so flustered and make up excuses when she tried to use them to flirt, eliciting a chuckle from Sachiko.

The change in mood felt good, as the two girls started to open up with each other about how they felt things had been going, surprised at how the other was so unsure and lacking confidence where they thought the other was strongest. Even when Sachiko herself had to sit up out of the tub, Shampoo didn't make her feel self conscious about her scar and ignored it, continuing on about how lonely she felt during school time with no friends in her class as Akane and Lotion were very much only into each other and their constant little flirting in class was driving her nuts.

"Oh you don't know the half of it...every night before bed Akane is talking about Lotion, sometimes even talking in her sleep, I've had to whack her with my pillow a few times before it got to into some things I really didn't want to know…" Sachiko said with a laugh at the memory of Akane's beat red face after Sachiko told her what was going on in the dream she'd just been woken up from.

There came a knock from the bathroom door, followed by Nodoka talking to them from the other side. "Girls, don't stay in too long, I've got some snacks ready for you downstairs."

"Okay mom, we're about done now." Sachiko replied back.

"Well we better get dressed, school's only got another hour or so, and I want to talk to mom about this...issue, and find out if there's anything else she hasn't told me..." Sachiko said, standing up and heading to the exit, Shampoo nodding and following behind.

# # #

Ranma hadn't felt like company after school, and so it was with much annoyance to Lufa that he'd simply said goodbye to his friends before dropping out the window and making a break for it before she'd even begun to pack her bag. She knew something was going on, from where she sat with Nabiki at lunch she'd heard Sachiko's shout, and seen Sachiko walk away early, Shampoo following after her, while Ranma looked gutted. The rest of the school day Ranma was the barely responsive, his head never even following along with the teachers movement around the room, only briefly even looking awake when reading a letter he received from the office staff between classes, which then caused him to really stop even bothering to look attentive. She'd hoped to have a chance to find out more as they walked but now she was shoving things quickly into her bag before following behind him, though she did give a small cry as she dropped out the window also, she landed safely but wouldn't of scored any points from judges.

It was a strange sound that she kept hearing as she made her way around the area's he'd headed towards, hearing it every so often but not sure what it was. It wasn't until she was crossing a bridge that it was finally loud enough to make sense, looking over the edge and waiting, a few seconds later a stone seemed to hurtle down the shallow canal, skipping on the water, and the concrete sides, at speeds well above what even a professional pitcher could do. The sound of the rocks hitting the solid sides and ricocheting echoed up to the street level, the speed of bounces making it sound as if small fireworks were going off.

Seeing the direction the person was throwing, Lufa made her way down from the opposite side, peering around the corner and into the area underneath the bridge she found Ranma, who seemed to be in a trance as he retrieved pebbles and hurled them. She could see his lips moving at times, but the sound of the traffic and the echos from the bridge made it impossible to tell what it was he might be saying. She watched him for a good few minutes before deciding to make herself known, walking towards him, making sure her footsteps were loud and her hands in front of her carrying her satchel.

"Ranma!" She called out, becoming a bit worried as she was well close enough for him to have heard her approach, and yet he seemed to ignore her completely as he picked up another rock and heaved it down the canal.

"I'd like to be alone." He replied, not looking in her direction, the words coming out apathetically.

"I see...but I don't feel." She says, her gate slowing down.

"Lufa." Ranma said, his aura having a short burst of bright red. "I just...can't...right now."

Lufa stopped in her place, watching Ranma from behind, he'd only briefly turned his head towards her, but she saw clearly that his eyes were clenched shut. She considered her next words carefully, and gave herself a chance to get her breathing under control.

"Holding it in...not as good as talking it out...I learned the hard way also…" She said, her stomach filling with butterflies as she fought to keep the memories of her grandmother trying to make her into a warrior at bay.

"You wouldn't understand." Ranma said dismissively.

"Good. Then I don't bring any prejudice. I listen, I hear you." She said firmly.

"Lufa...please just" Ranma pleaded.

"We have study time today, in front of the whole family. Or, maybe I don't feel well, need to take a break, you can just study in your room…" She said, knowing she'd hit her mark as he considered what was going to happen when he did eventually have to return home.

Ranma didn't reply at first, instead bending over and scooping up a handful of rocks and pebbles before taking a few steps and sitting down with his back to a pillar. Lufa took this as her queue to join him. They sat in silence for a while, Ranma lazily throwing a few rocks down the canal.

"I screwed up big time with Mirei." He said, then chucked a rock right into the concrete, missing the water entirely and causing it to embed itself straight in. "Did everything I'd been trained to do...didn't even have to touch anyone...but it feels like I lost the moment it started."

"This was at the gymnastics event?" Lufa asked, already pretty certain it was.

"Yea…" Ranma Sighed. "It was suppose to be fun, just me and my friends. Then we ended up taking Mirei at the last minute and that was fine, she seemed excited to see the matches too. But I should of known something was going to happen when we spotted Akane, Shampoo, and Lotion there, too many from our group in one place seems to spell trouble."

"Can't deny that…" Lufa agreed with a nod of her head. "What all happened though, the rumors are too crazy to believe, even for you." she asked.

"The other team were cheats, attacked our team before the match so most of the regulars were injured, couldn't put up a fight. Once our little group got in, we started winning, and they started cheating more, poisoned weapons, illegal modifications, and it turned out even the ref was in on it, wouldn't call foul on them for nuthin." Ranma explained, chucking another rock, this time skipping across the water before harmlessly floating to the bottom.

"But we won though, at least I think we did from what I heard." Lufa said.

"The last match, their team Captain, she was pulling out all the tricks, got Lotion pretty good in the arm and then started throwing clubs like crazy. Only she didn't care where she was throwing, they were spiked and going into the crowd. One came right at Mirei who was in my lap." Ranma paused as Lufa gasped at the thought of what could of happened.

"I caught the club, but then I just lost it. I've never wanted to hurt someone so bad, not even my pops, but I really really wanted to just destroy that girl. I almost did...just barely got some spin on the club so it didn't go right through her when I threw it back." He said, grimacing as he recalled the feelings.

"But you didn't...you said no one was hurt…" Lufa said worriedly.

"Yea, club went through one of the rings supports, broke it and sent everyone tumbling. Without thinking I jumped down while holding Mirei, and just laid into the girl, calling her out for all of it. Then I laid into the ref when he tried to declare I'd lost the match for the school, but it seems people knew him, I'm not really sure how or why, and he ran off. I helped Lotion get to the locker room, but the whole time, Mirei's crying from being so scared, and I realized how dumb I was." He finished, throwing all the rocks in his hand in frustration, they scattered down the canal in all directions and created a cacophony of noise that was even louder than the cars above for a brief moment.

Lufa watch Ranma as he seemed to curl up on himself after the throw, an inky green color whisped off him as he obviously tried to keep control over his emotions, his eyes closed and his fist clenched. She had to stop her brain from saying anything, knowing it tended to try and solve problems at the worst possible times, and instead she scooted a little closer so she could put a hand on his shoulder. He nearly flinched away from the touch, and she was worried at first that it had upset him, but soon he calmed and she was able to just gently rub the shoulder, though it felt like steel underneath his uniforms jacket.

She thought about what was going through Sachiko's head at lunch, finding out what had happened just then she assumed, a mixture of horrified, infuriated, and overwhelmed could lead to a great many words she could of said to Ranma to get him into such a state. She couldn't really imagine how she'd feel finding out someone so close had been attacked and put in such a position, her family in the village hadn't had a warrior for generations, being healers, farmers, and craftsmen instead. She was completely out of her league with this, and that is what actually gave her the best plan of action.

"Get up." She said, standing up and pulling gently on his jacket, only to find him playing the role of a stump.

"Come on. You're not going to feel any better here, lets go." She told him, once again pulling on his jacket.

"Why...not like you can fix this." Ranma replied skeptically.

"Right, we're going to the people who can." Lufa said, giving a harder yank which seemed to get him to finally look at her with some frustration, though he did seem to start standing up.

"Sachiko doesn't even want to see me right now."

"I could tell, which is why we're going to see your mom first." Lufa informed him and she grabbed his hand and began to lead him out from under the bridge.

"My mom? Isn't that just adding more fuel to the fire?" Ranma whined.

"Sachiko is no fighter, your mom is. Best to have her mediate between you two, besides, wait longer, she'll just be more upset when she finds out too." Lufa explained.

"But" Ranma started to say, the idea of telling his mom about this wasn't sitting well with him.

"No but. You made a mistake, my mom always tell me, only true mistake, is not learning from them. You're not going to learn a thing throwing rocks, so come on." Lufa said as she tightened her grip and quickened the pace once they were at street level. Ranma remained quiet the rest of the way home, which was fine with Lufa as she tried to hold the blush down as she walked through town holding Ranma's hand.

# # #

They'd walked into the Tendo house only to find Ranma's mother, sister, and Shampoo sitting at the table, frustration on all their faces and the moment they saw the two of them arrive it was as if she'd taken a bat to a hornets nest and things spiraled out of control from there. She only hoped her quick SOS to the cafe had gotten through to Cologne, or that aliens might choose now to invade. Though when things seemed to just about explode, She did remind them that Mirei could be back at any moment, earning her nothing but glares but she was glad it did seem to cool their heads.

It continued to be quiet for the next minute, giving Lufa time to watch the others stew and wondered which one would break the silence first. Sachiko was bitter at Ranma and her mother for not having told her about a number of things, Ranma was frustrated that Shampoo and his mother had been keeping some now quite important details from him, while Shampoo was aggravated at having been dragged into all of this in the first place because the other three "communicate as good as rocks" with each other. Nodoka did have the grace enough to admit she was wrong to not have told them everything, but she was still trying to make excuses for why she did it and was taking her children's unwillingness to accept these...poorly.

When she did finally hear the door at the entrance slide open she managed to breath a sigh of relief, though it was shortly sucked back in as Kofumi announced her arrival and rounded the corner. The woman looked to be in no mood for pleasantries as she quickly hushed Nodoka's strained greeting and giving Shampoo and Lufa a look that had the younger girls scurrying over next to Sachiko, before taking the now empty seat across from her daughter.

"Nobody speaks unless asked, I want facts, not a bunch of feelings and assumptions. Ranma, you're at the middle of things usually, so you start, what's this all about?" She ordered, looking into Ranma's eyes as he wilted and his frustration and anger seemed to drain out of him as he tried to think of what to say.

"Uhm...well you see, I went to a martial arts contest, but it got crazy and the other teams captain started throwing clubs all over. One almost his Mirei, and I got angry and ended the thing but Mirei was crying but before I could tell Sachiko I found out Mom's dating Mousse's Dad which neither of them told me about, and then I'm Shampoo's step brother cause I was adopted by Cologne into the tribe which mom didn't tell me, and I somehow proposed to Sachiko this morning according to Amazon law." Ranma said rapidly, hoping to get out from under Kofumi's judgmental stare.

"Sachiko?" Kofumi says, the girl jumping in her seat a bit at the sound of her name.

"G. ...I uhm...he. This morning, Ranma and I were talking, and he said he'd always be there for me and Mirei, then tells me he wants to date Shampoo but doesn't mention what happened with Mirei at all. I went through the whole day hearing rumors about the match only to find out that instead of getting Mirei out of there, he jumped into the middle of the ring!" Sachiko says shakily at first until her frustration takes over at the end.

"Shampoo." Kofumi says, ignoring the look Nodoka was giving her for being made last.

"Honored Elder, Shampoo try explain that Ranma no trained to run from fight, especially if protect others. Lotion was hurt and other team had no honor, could of seriously hurt her or many others if not stopped quickly." Shampoo reported like a soldier.

"And what is this about Ranma being your step brother." Kofumi prodded, getting a flinch out of the girl.

"Was done when Ranma fourteen, Grandma adopt him into our family, was too prevent outsider law problems when he reach fifteen, many girls would fake challenge, lose on purpose and give kiss of marriage otherwise. I try explain then, but Ranma Chinese and my Japanese no good, he just think "brother" is friendly nickname." Shampoo explained, the sheepish feeling inside her causing her cheeks to redden. "Shampoo no really want Ranma know...worry he might see me just sister...nothing more."

As Kofumi turned towards Nodoka, both the front door and back door slid open, revealing Cologne, Touyou, and Mousse looking on edge as they came into the room. Lufa cursed every god of luck she knew while the two groups looked at each other and tried to determine what exactly was going on, with only Kofumi wearing a smirk on her face.

"So...it seems my...other half has decided to show up." Kofumi says, smiling at Cologne.

Cologne simply smiled in return and took a seat next to Kofumi, though Ranma and the Amazon's knew she was anything but sincere with her smile. Mousse and his father who had come in from the garden entrance simply took up standing positions next to the sliding door, with Touyou giving Nodoka a worried look for a second before forcing himself to keep his face neutral.

"We were just getting to my daughter...who seems to have forgotten to mention something about my grandson being adopted into your tribe some years ago…" Kofumi said to Cologne.

Cologne didn't take the bait of what ever Kofumi wanted, and simple nodded in agreement with the statement, keeping her gaze on Nodoka, to which Kofumi's attention quickly returned.

"Daughter...would you care to explain things…" Kofumi asked in a tone that made the woman in question straighten herself.

Nodoka seemed like a robot as she spoke, her face mute of any emotions and the sound of her voice seemed to drone on. "Ranma is upset because I've moved on from...Genma...without having the chance to tell him, though he has been avoiding me since he got back from your training. Sachiko is upset because while I knew about Ranma's adoption into the Jokektsuzoku tribe, I hadn't told her or him about it, this was because it was explained to me as simply a way to prevent more problems and drama during his stay there over the years. Though this is now a problem as Shampoo has explained that this morning when Ranma expressed his plan to always be there for Sachiko and Mirei, that was basically a proposal in their culture." Nodoka said, her eyes never leaving her mothers.

"Cologne-chan...could you please explain why you would have such a...precocious law...in your tribe." Kofumi asked, a hint of mirth in her voice.

"It's to prevent obstinate males who can't take no for an answer. An Amazon male that declares such intentions is given one answer, after which he can no longer pursue the relationship without punishment if declined. Has Sachiko given her answer?" Cologne answered gruffly, as if to suggest any other way of handling things being obviously worse..

Sachiko panicked as the group all turned to look at her. "No!" She blurted out, before quickly adding. "No, I haven't given an answer." Which didn't seem to get any of the attention off of her unfortunately.

"Do you have one now…" Cologne pressed.

Sachiko stared down at her hands as she tried to hold them still, on one hand she could end the whole run around, let Shampoo have a free shot and move past Ranma as anything but a step brother who just happened to be Mirei's father. But she couldn't seem to get that answer out, for the same reason she wasn't going to just accept it, she knew Ranma wasn't trying to push anything on her with his words, and she had a feeling that no matter what she picked, she would regret it.

Nodoka couldn't take watching Sachiko under the pressure of this farce of a proposal while Ranma sat there looking guilty at having caused it. Slamming her hand down on the table to get the attention of the room she made her displeasure known. "My Son and Daughter will not be held to such a ridiculous rule, especially when neither of them knew about it, let alone the failure of your tribe to teach Ranma the rules he'd be held accountable too after you seemingly forgot to check he even knew he was in it." She said, her anger sharp and directed towards Cologne as if she had a knife to the old crone's throat.

"I trusted my gran" Cologne said before being cut off.

"Don't try and use her as an excuse. We both know that keeping him in the dark benefited your plans, and even if he and Sachiko agreed to this, you'd have other ways to keep your claws dug into him." Nodoka spat out, interrupting the elder.

"Nodoka, calm down, this is unbecoming of a" Kofumi said, her voice demanding compliance.

"Or WHAT! You think you're any better, that you haven't been trying to manipulate things behind all our backs? I see the way you look at Ranma, its the same way you looked at Saki, me, and all of our sisters. You wouldn't even visit when HE was born, but the moment he's able to be female, you're suddenly so interested in our lives again. How long until you start looking at Mirei and wondering what kind of soldier she can be for you!" Nodoka screeched at her mother and slamming her hand on the table, no longer even trying to hold back her fury.

Before anything else could be said though, Sachiko panicked and scramble away from the table towards the back yard, without even getting shoes on she bolted for the rear entrance used by students. She was only a few feet away before releasing her stomach onto the groud, having to brace herself against the door instead of opening it. Even after she was done, her body was trembling and she collapsed into the mess on the ground as her arms gave out, a groan of pain coming after the painful smack. Ranma was by her side quickly along with Shampoo and Lufa, but the rest seemed stuck in place as Ranma looked back at them, Nodoka's anger still flowing through her veins while wearing a look of regret and concern for her daughter.

"Sachiko?" Ranma asked, gently lifting her shoulder so he could see her face, which was a mess of bile and blood from what looked to be a bloody nose. She gave a miserable groan before taking hold of his hand to prop her self up a little and not slip back down.

"Ranma please help her up to her room." Nodoka said, her eyes only briefly making contact with his before staring back at the two older women.

"I help change." Shampoo said mostly to Ranma, as he did his best to scoop up Sachiko without getting himself too close to the puddle of bile. Lufa followed along with the others, thankful for an excuise to not be involved in what was going to come next between the older women. The teens quickly headed upstairs with Sachiko, with Cologne giving Touyou and Mousse a nod, causing both to head into the kitchen before returning with what they could find to begin cleaning up silently.

# # #

"Sorry…" Sachiko said, looking up from the toilet she was currently sitting next too as she watched Ranma stand over her, small remnants of her all over his uniform top as she hadn't been able to get to the bathroom fast enough. Shampoo was beside her, holding her hair clear of the bowl.

Looking down worriedly at her, "Don't...you're the last person in the house that needs to say that…" Ranma tells her, his eyes tracking Lufa briefly as she entered with some fresh clothes for Sachiko, before looking back at Shampoo with a disappointed frown. A light kick to his shin though brought his attention back to Sachiko with a questioning look.

"Don't be upset with her, I did the same stupid thing for the same stupid reason." Sachiko said giving him a glare, before suddenly turning back to the toilet and dry heaving.

Ranma was so perplexed by Sachiko actually defending Shampoo that his only response was a confused "Huh?"

"I lied." Sachiko got out before a short bout of heaves.

"I lied...because I wanted you…" She managed to finish before having to gasp for some air between more dry heaves.

"Go, we help her cleanup, change." Shampoo told him bluntly while waving him towards the door. "You need cleanup self too."

"Okay…" Ranma said, his eyes watching Sachiko with concern as he exited. Once outside the upstairs bathroom, he took a breath only to realize just how bad he smelled, and headed to his room to change. Sachiko's words running through his mind as he tried to reconcile the new...sister he apparently had, and also wondering what was taking Akane so long to get back home with Mirei.

# # #

"Ahh, hot hot hot!" Lufa said as she shook her head and tried to get the overly hot water off of her as Sachiko apologized. Lufa was thankful it wasn't that much water as she used the towel handed to her by Shampoo to dab it dry as best she could before getting back into her uniform in Sachiko's room.

"Were they there?" Sachiko asked once Lufa was dressed.

"Yes, All three at Nekohaten, Lotion see me and understand, explain that when they pick up Mirei she said she was hungry, so they decided to head over there for a snack, then told to stay there by elder when she rush here." Lufa reassured her, everyone thankful that a missing Mirei wasn't one of the problems they still had while the adults downstairs continued to argue, leading to the four teenagers upstairs not even wanting to go down to use the telephone, hence Lufa's quick flight home and back.

A loud gurgle from Shampoo's stomach filled the room, only making them all aware of the fact that it was past dinner time, and there wasn't going to be such a meal here tonight. "Sorry." Shampoo said embarrassed.

"I think we do need to figure out food, and I don't think us all going to your place is a great idea at the moment…" Sachiko replied, her hand touching her own stomach that was starting to complain.

"Should we get Ranma?" Lufa asked quietly. While they had spent the time cleaning up talking, none of them had brought up the boy since he'd left the room, foot steps to and from his door was the only indication they had he was even still in the house. The look on Sachiko's face gave Lufa the feeling that was going to be a negative, but after a second she looked at Shampoo, and she seemed to become tired.

"Yea, we all gotta eat…" Sachiko mumbled, only to quickly give out a shout of surprise as she was lifted off her feet and into a cradling hold by Shampoo.

"You get Ranma, meet outside gate." Shampoo told Lufa as she moved towards the still open window.

"Wait Shampoo...you don't have too" Sachiko began to say as she realized what the Amazon's plan was. But it was too late as the girl turned around and slid them through the window opening, only to drop straight down. What actually got Sachiko a bit more panicked on this martial artist ride though was that halfway down, Shampoo simply pushed off against the wall of the house to bounce to the property's wall, and then ricochet off of that back to the main entrance where Shampoo put her down, before putting on her own shoes that were there.

"Was that necessary!" Sachiko whispered at Shampoo with a look of indignation.

"No, but was fun!" Shampoo whispered back with a smirk.

The two then headed out to the gate without saying anything to the adults, though they could hear from the gate Ranma giving a quick shout to his mom that they were going out before he scrambled out to the rest.

# # #

"You know what ever we get, she's going to demand it for the next month…" Ranma whispered to Sachiko as they looked at the menu together.

They'd ended up at a family style restaurant, mostly due to the size of the party and no one having any strong opinions about anything. They didn't have a table for the size of their group of seven, but Akane and Lotion had already eaten while at the Nekohaten, so were content with some desert and Lufa joined their table, leaving Ranma, Sachiko, Mirei, and Shampoo to their own booth across the isle.

"Steak!" Mirei cried cheerfully, pointing at the picture in the menu. Both Ranma and Sachiko grimacing at the demand.

"Mirei...you've already had a bunch of snacks...why don't we pick something light, like some eggs and toast…" Sachiko tried to suggest.

"STEAK!" Mirei now shouted, drawing the attention of other tables.

"Mirei! Keep your voice down please." Sachiko quickly admonished, only to watch as her child changed targets to Ranma.

"Steeeeeaaaaaak?" Mirei pleaded, giving her father a look that could bend steel to it's will.

Ranma quickly averted his eyes down to the menu, noticing something without a picture but looked to be quite cheaper than the rib-eye Mirei was focused on. Eyeing Sachiko, he silently tapped on it with a questioning look, he'd never actually heard of the dish before, but maybe she had an idea of what it was. From the look on her face it did seem to be a good solution.

"Okay Mirei, but, how about we get a Salisbury steak for you, as that's what we can afford." Sachiko asked, hoping for a quick agreement.

Mirei looked at where her mom was pointing, but as there was no picture for this dish she gave a questioning look. "Really steak?" she questioned.

"Yep, made from beef, just prepared like they do in Salisbury." She confirmed, though she did wonder where exactly such a place was. She'd always enjoyed the dish when she was a kid, she just hoped Mirei wouldn't figure out it was more a hamburger than a steak.

"Okay, and juice!" Mirei said, knowing she'd won from her mothers defeated look at not wanting to start another argument.

Soon enough, the waiter had taken their orders and returned with their meals, Ranma having decided to give the dish a try also while Sachiko went with a simple spaghetti dish she knew she could trade with Mirei if she didn't like her own, and Shampoo decided to try a grilled chicken rice bowl. Their table did have to roll their eyes though when a large Sunday was brought out to the other table for Akane and Lotion to share in an overly cute way that had Lufa asking them to keep their hormones in check so she could at least finish her own meal.

Mirei looked at the dish with some concentration, even poking at the meat with her fork and watching Ranma begin to eat his. "burgher?" Mirei asked in confusion. She was also eyeing the mound of white stuff with some suspicion, and the broccoli and carrots on the plate weren't helping her opinion of it.

"Nooooo…" Sachiko replied, wondering why her daughter had to be so smart some times. "Burger's have buns...and...tomatoes, onions, lettuce...Pickles." She emphasized, getting a disgusted look from her daughter at the mention of Pickles. "Here, let me cut it up for you."

Unfortunately cutting up the dish sent Mirei into full pout mode as she could now clearly see this wasn't anything like the steak she'd wanted, and she shoved it away from her, nearly knocking over Shampoo's glass of water if it wasn't for her quick reaction. While Sachiko quickly warned her about such behavior, Shampoo leaned over and grabbed Ranma's earlobe and pulled him in close so she could whisper and prevent him from continuing to eat.

"You help!" She whispered, her eyes looking at his and then motioning towards Mirei, only to see him looking worriedly at Sachiko. Giving his ear another yank, and getting an annoyed look in response she whispered forcefully "Sell Mirei on food, convince is too too delicious. Like this."

Sitting back to her plate, she turned to Ranma and began to talk an overly dramatic way. "Ranma, share steak with Shampoo?" She said, opening her mouth and leaning forward so he might give her a piece. Ranma seemed frozen at the sight and it took a swift kick to his shins from Shampoo to get him moving, quickly cutting a small piece and feeding her, trying to ignore the snickering coming from the other table as they watched.

"Ooohhh, is too too good, so juicy!" Shampoo played up towards Mirei, before giving Sachiko a smirk. "You NEED to try Ranma meat too." She said as innocently as possible, while Akane, Lotion and Lufa had to cover their faces and look away to keep their laughter from disturbing the scene.

Sachiko cursed in her head at the purple haired witch that had obviously planned on this while also wishing Ranma had any sort of a spine around girls as he was already holding out a piece for her though his nervous look at least gave her the impression that he wasn't clueless as to what his little friend was implying. Not willing to back down from Shampoo's little stunt, and hopeful it would actually get her daughter to eat her dinner, she used a hand to secure her hair before bending over the table and quickly taking the morsel into her mouth, chewing it slowly and also playing it up as being far better than her own meal.

It did seem to work as Mirei tentatively speared one of the small pieces on her plate, and nibbling on it. Soon she was chewing on the whole piece while spearing the next piece. "Mmm…" Was about the only intelligible sound to come from her for the rest of the meal, at least until she was down to the vegetables, but she knew no amount of pouting was going to get her out of finishing those.

Finishing their meals, the group headed back to the house to start their homework, thankful to find that the older women had all left for somewhere else, though a note of where, was not found. Unfortunately for Sachiko though, Akane had no problem retelling the little story of the meal to her sisters who couldn't seem to stop making little comments here and there just to watch her and Ranma blush. Laying in bed that night, she couldn't stop remembering Shampoo's story about her mother, nor could she really understand her feelings for the girl, what use to just be a jealous annoyance, seemed to be mixed with sympathy, respect, and confusion on how to be around her going forward.