A Scary Thought

by Derekloffin

What happens when Kasumi is the one coming back from a training trip rather than Ranma? Well, read on to find out. Chapter 33 new content not on my webpage yet.

39. Chapter 39: The date

Ranma ½

A Scary Thought:

What happened last time: Ukyo found out about a special recipe book but also found she lacks the necessary self confidence to use it. Meanwhile the others were recovering from their little fight.

Chapter 39

It was late in the morning at the Kuno mansion when Kasumi returned to the waking world. Three days had past since the battle at the La Bac, and Kasumi had only been discharged from the hospital the previous evening. She was still far from one hundred percent. In fact, she had nearly collapsed several times and was forced to have an early night. But, she was nonetheless well on her way to recovery.

Kasumi rolled over in her bed, expecting to find Shampoo, but instead found nothing more than a loose pillow. Kasumi puzzled over this for a moment, but looking out the window she realized that it was actually quite late. I guess she got up already, she concluded as she sat up and stretched. As she did, a flash of light could be seen through the window.

Curious, Kasumi got up, making sure to test her strength before walking over to the window and looking out. In the courtyard outside she could see Shampoo in the Dragon Fang Fist stance, apparently practicing. As she watched, Shampoo energized another blast and let it loose to much the same effect as the flash Kasumi had seen earlier. However, Shampoo was apparently not impressed, frowned and reset her stance to try again.

Kasumi watched Shampoo try once more and decided to head outside to join her, after getting properly dressed. A few minutes later, Kasumi stepped out into the courtyard to find Shampoo sitting on the ground, her legs spread in front of her, and leaning back on her arms, breathing heavily out of exhaustion and still bearing a frown. "How goes your practice?" Kasumi asked, although she knew the answer.

Shampoo looked at Kasumi, surprised, but then looked away. "Shampoo can still no get technique to work as well as Kasumi can."

Kasumi nodded, walked over and sat down next to Shampoo. Shampoo looked at her, but otherwise didn't respond. Something is still bothering her, but she isn't being very open about it, Kasumi thought. "It can sometimes take a great deal of time to master a technique."

"Kasumi master it in one day," Shampoo said, some annoyance slipping into her response.

Kasumi big sweated. "Well, yes... but I had already been using a chi projection technique when you showed it to me. It is only natural that I would learn another one quickly. But, for you, it is your first time."

Huffing, Shampoo returned to her feet. Taking in several even breaths, she reset her stance and once more started to gather her chi. Kasumi watched her as she went through the usual motions of the technique and had the usual results. Another attempt followed, but to the same effect. As Shampoo recovered and setup for a third, Kasumi spoke. "Maybe you should try something different." Shampoo looked back at Kasumi, this time not hiding her annoyance, clearly misinterpreting what Kasumi had meant. "Nono, I don't mean to abandon the technique," she quickly explained, easing Shampoo's expression. "But, an alternate approach might yield more progress."

"Shampoo no know any... alternate approach," Shampoo replied as she turned to Kasumi.

"That's not a problem. I know one," Kasumi responded with a smile and beckoned Shampoo to join her once again on the ground.

A bit confused, Shampoo sat down opposite Kasumi. "Shampoo no understand. Is not Shampoo supposed to master technique herself?"

"Hmh?" Kasumi said in confusion then brightened in realization. "Oh, is that how the Elder teaches you?" Shampoo nodded. "There is the school of thought that it is best to let the student analyze and adapt themselves, rather than simply giving them all the solutions, and for many things I can see the value in that. This is not one of them. I think you're having a fundamental problem with your chi control. There is little purpose in making you guess at solutions to such a thing, especially when there is a much better way to learn it than the Dragon Fang Fist."

Shampoo tilted her head in thought, but finally nodded in acceptance of the reasoning. "What Shampoo have to do?"

"Here, give me your hand," Kasumi requested, and Shampoo did so. Holding Shampoo's hand with her own, and raising her other hand to be in front of her face, Kasumi closed her eyes and concentrated. Atop the index finger of her raised hand a tiny ball of chi formed and Kasumi let out a deep sigh and reopened her eyes. "Even this tiny amount is difficult to summon," she noted but smiled. "Now, here's what I'm going to have you do. This training technique was shown to me by Master Dhalsim when I was learning chi control, and now I'll show it to you. It's comes in two phases. First, I'm going to place a bit of my own chi into your hand. It will feel different from your own which will help with the first stage. All I want you to do is to keep it there. Don't let it move. Don't let it dissipate. You understand?"

Shampoo nodded, and Kasumi proceeded, softly pressing the chi ball into Shampoo's open palm. Shampoo's full attention quickly shifted to her hand as she frowned in concentration. "How this help?" she asked after a moment, not looking up.

"Proper chi control requires three essential elements, generation, isolation, and redirection. You are fairly adept at generation, but you have had little experience with isolation and even less with redirection. By keeping this chi in place you are isolating it, learning to control the inner energy system of your body that regulates chi flow. To properly master this phase, you should be able to do this without thinking about it. It should be just as natural as holding a ball in your hand."

"And what is next phase?"

"After you've mastered keeping it there, then you have to learn to move it. That's more complex. It is very easy to simply let our chi dissipate in one place and regenerate it in another, but that takes time. By learning to simply move it you can take advantage of your whole body's chi generation, rather than one specific spot alone.

"You see, the stance you use while executing the Dragon Fang Fist sets up a particular flow of chi in your body that favors chi positioning that is ideal to the technique, but it's not perfect." Looking around briefly, Kasumi pointed out the tipping bamboo shoot at a nearby artificial fountain. "You see that shoot bobbing each time it reaches the tipping point of water filling it?" she asked, gaining a quick look and nod from Shampoo. "That is very much the same thing. The chi flows in, reaches a certain critical point, allowing you to release it. However, it is quite wasteful. The reason you can't get it to go any faster is because you're simply trying to generate more chi. That won't help much because most of that chi isn't going into the technique and instead is just being lost. When you learn to isolate your chi, you can store it up more efficiently, and when you learn to move it, you can utilize all your chi generation more effectively."

Finally looking up from her hand, Shampoo smiled and nodded. "And when Shampoo learn where chi need to be for technique, Shampoo can make flow there herself and no need stance anymore, yes?"

"Exactly," Kasumi replied with her own smile. "I made a bit of game of it for myself, each time trying to move my chi around faster, and to random spots. It became second nature to me. But, don't try to push yourself too quickly into the second phase, or you'll only make it harder on yourself to progress. I would say a good time to proceed is when you can hold the chi in your hand there for a whole day. Then you know you're ready to move on. Also, you shouldn't need my chi for the next step. Once you have isolation mastered, your own chi will be just as good, better in some ways as naturally you are ultimately aiming to control your own chi, not mine."

Shampoo nodded vigorously as she returned her attention to her hand. "Is not that hard to do. Shampoo just never think of it that way."

"Yes. You've been using chi for a while so your isolation should come quite quickly to you as even if you haven't done it consciously, you have been employing some chi isolation. Movement will be slower, I'm afraid. It's not something that is very natural and is not required for the other chi forms you've been using up till now."

Shampoo frowned a bit at hearing this, but said nothing. "And how is Dragon Fang Strike different?"

"The Fist only requires you to release your stored up chi explosively. The Strike requires you to control that chi once it leaves your body, keeping it concentrated and allowing you to use it at range. It may sound like quite a leap, but in practice, once you have mastered your internal chi control, external chi control comes fairly naturally."

"And Ha Do Ken?"

Kasumi hesitated. "The... Ha Do is a bit different. It is external but more importantly it uses other sources of chi, not just your own." Shampoo looked back at Kasumi, probingly, forcing her to reluctantly continue. "The Dark Ha Do is a re-internalization of those other sources, mostly the dark ones. Chi and emotions are strongly linked, and internalizing such large amounts of negative chi can cause a negative change in your personality. The Light Ha Do I used is basically the opposite, but don't mistake that for being good. Both techniques alter your personality and inject massive amounts of foreign chi into your body. That's the reason I'm so weak right now, an after effect. Had I continued using the Ha Do like that I could easily have reached a point where my life could have been in danger."

"So, Kasumi no going to use it anymore?" Shampoo asked in concern.

"To be honest, I hope to never use it again. However, I thought much the same of the Ha Do Ken. My life of late tends to force me to use these things. But, don't worry. I will only use it if I can also use the centering. With that I can properly control it and stop before it goes too far," Kasumi explained and looked down at Shampoo hand herself. "You're doing quite well."

"Yes," Shampoo agreed.

After thinking for a moment, Kasumi changed subjects. "Shampoo, would you like to join me? I've been putting something off, and I would like to do it today. I'd like you to come along."

"Okay," Shampoo answered, although the evasive way Kasumi was speaking puzzled her.

"Good," Kasumi replied as she stood up. "After breakfast we can get cleaned up, and I'll set us out some appropriate clothes. And, after we are done with that, we can head over to the San Cheng Huang. Cologne says it is nearing completion. We may even be able to move back in today," Kasumi said optimistically as she headed out. Shampoo watched Kasumi leave curiously.

XXXXX

Mamoru looked through the airport window out onto the terminal, seeing his plane sitting ready at the gate awaiting it's passengers. With a bit of a frown he turned back to Usagi, who was standing next to him. It had been decided, or rather Usagi had insisted, that Mamoru return to his school as soon as possible. He had left practically in the middle of classes and would now be numerous valuable days behind. Staying as long as he had, he would have to make up that lost study time. However, logical as that reasoning was, it was not very pleasing. "I can stay a bit longer," he said at last.

"No... I don't want you to miss any more of your... classes," Usagi quickly replied with a forced smile. "Besides, there really nothing much more you can do here. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Mamoru asked and gained a mute nod from Usagi. With a heavy sigh, Mamoru echoed the nod in understanding. "If absolutely anything-"

"I'll be fine," Usagi once more insisted. "Just... call me when you get there."

"Of course," Mamoru assured her, and shared a last minute kiss with his future wife before heading off to the gate.

Usagi kept her smile on as long as Mamoru was in sight, but the moment he left her view, her true feeling shone through. "I hate this," she muttered as she looked out the window at the planes. Behind her, Haruka walked up silently, but not unnoticed. Usagi looked next to her as the other girl joined her, her expression asking for support for her decision. When Haruka only returned a neutral expression, Usagi spoke up. "It's not like I want him to go. I want him to stay here. It's just... I don't want him failing because of me."

"I know that," Haruka replied, still neutral.

"And it's not like I'm trying to be alone with Seiya either!" Usagi quickly protested.

"I know that too."

Usagi broke the look, and looked once more at the planes. "Besides, Seiya is mostly avoiding me," she mumbled with a downcast look. "I really hate this."

Haruka merely nodded. "Come on, we have a long trip of our own ahead of us, and we still have to pick up the others. The transport point Setsuna told us about is at least several hours driving from here. We got to get going soon if we plan to make it back before it gets late. And since Mamoru isn't coming, I guess we can take Michiru along."

"Okay," Usagi agreed reluctantly and the two headed off for the exit.

XXXXX

Aboard his plane, Mamoru sat down in his window seat and looked out. Unfortunately his view was blocked by another plane, robbing him of a last look at Usagi. He sighed at this and sat back just as a woman sat down next to him.

"You look a bit depressed," she commented with a reassuring smile.

"Would rather be staying," he replied honestly.

"Yeah, life tends not to be fair that way. Business trip?"

"School," Mamoru replied.

"Oh, and I bet you're leaving a special someone behind," the woman concluded with a knowing look. "Long distance relationships can be very hard. It's very easy for the heart to be lead astray."

Mamoru pondered that for only a second beyond shaking his head. "I have no worries about that. Usagi and I are special."

The woman shrugged as she settled in. "We all like to think that."

Mamoru frowned unnoticed at the woman, but decided not to argue with her and instead looked back outside. Still, I do wonder how she is going to deal with Seiya, he thought, trying not to feel that pang of jealousy that was nagging at him.

XXXXX

Shampoo shifted uncomfortably as she walked next to Kasumi, and looked around her. She was still concentrating on keeping the chi in her hand in place, which despite early optimism, was proving difficult. The slightest lapse in concentration quickly lead to her relaxing and the chi beginning to flow naturally again. Recovering from that was time consuming as she had to fight with the energy to re-concentrate it again. However, that wasn't what was really bothering her. No, what was bothering her was their current destination.

Around them was a large sea of grave markers, and Shampoo was never fond of graveyards. They were cold, eerie, and generally uninviting places that put her on edge even on the most temperate summer day. She also had little liking of the color black which she was currently wearing as Kasumi had requested. She preferred to wear brighter, more cheerful colors. Black was drab and depressing to her and of late she did not need more cause to be depressed. However, she knew that Kasumi had asked her to come for a reason, whatever that might be, and as discomforting as this situation may be, she would do it for Kasumi.

"It's just over there," Kasumi noted as they turned. As they did, Kasumi looked back and Shampoo and gave her a reassuring smile. "It won't be long." Shampoo returned the smile, although it did little to ease her. Whether it was just her nervousness or not, she felt like many eyes were watching her. However, save themselves, and one or two others in the distance, the graveyard was deserted. She still needed to remind herself of this every few seconds. Finally, Kasumi came to a stop in front of a particular gravestone. "This is it."

Shampoo stopped and regarded the stone, the inscription making it clear who it was for, not that she had not already figured out where they were going. Kasumi knelt before the stone in a solemn gesture. "Hello Mother. Sorry that I haven't visited earlier. I've been rather busy, and I suppose I've been putting it off as well," Kasumi said to the stone as Shampoo watched. Kasumi looked back at Shampoo, and with a subtle nod of the head, gestured for Shampoo to join her. The amazon did as bidden, kneeling next to Kasumi. Nodding approvingly, Kasumi turned back to the stone. "Mother, this is Shampoo. I know it might be a little strange, but she is my wife."

The statement briefly puzzled Shampoo. Kasumi had become increasingly comfortable with introducing Shampoo as her wife. However, doing so to a headstone? But, she quickly realized that this was a very particular gesture on Kasumi's part. Symbolic as it may have been, it was one of importance as Kasumi held her mother in high regard. So, Shampoo took the gesture for what it was and brightened, briefly forgetting her surroundings.

"You told me to follow my heart, and that was the only way I could be truly happy. In this one thing, I know I have done just that. I would hope that you understand that. I know it is probably the last thing you'd expect... honestly I did not expect it either, but it is where I have come," Kasumi explained then fell silent for a moment before nodding to the stone and slowly rising back to her feet. "I'll be back with the others on the anniversary," she said as Shampoo too stood up. Kasumi smiled briefly at Shampoo then looked back at the stone. "Till then, mother. I hope you are well... wherever you are."

With those final words, Kasumi lead the way as they started to depart, Shampoo pausing for a second to give a quick bow to the stone before following. As she rejoined Kasumi, the older girl spoke. "I suppose you might find that a bit... odd, speaking to a gravestone."

"No," Shampoo partly lied and getting a curious look from Kasumi, amended her response. "Shampoo... part understand. You wish to speak to her. This... only way you know to try?"

Kasumi thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose that is about right. Of course, in a way, I hope she cannot hear me. That would mean she is trapped here. I would not want that, no matter how much I miss her."

Shampoo nodded and smiled, although the smile was more about just leaving this creepy place. However, just as she did, she felt a cold touch, and a whisper in the wind. Shocked, Shampoo pulled quickly away and spun to face whatever opponent had managed to sneak up on her. What she saw was rather unsettling as a faint wisp of a figure could be seen, just for a second, before fading away. Running on the assumption that it was another invisible attacker, Shampoo struck out with her fist, but connected with nothing. After a second of consideration, she swept the air around her, probing, but nothing was revealed.

"Shampoo?" Kasumi asked in concern.

Shampoo scanned around her intently. She could feel something, but it was not like her usual battle sense. Still, whatever it was, she could not pin it down. After Kasumi once more repeated her name, Shampoo returned to a passive stance and looked back at Kasumi. "You... no see that?"

"See what?"

Shampoo looked around one last time, then took in a calming breath. "Is... just Shampoo's nerves. Shampoo thought she saw something."

"You don't need to worry about those two anymore," Kasumi said as she laid her hand on Shampoo's shoulder. Shampoo looked back at her, uncertain, but accepted it.

If they were here, they wouldn't wait to attack. I'm still not strong enough to fight them, and Kasumi is still far too weak. I guess I'm just imagining things, Shampoo thought and turned back to Kasumi.

"Let's go. Makoto and Cologne are supposed to meet us at the San Cheng Huang. I'm sure they are waiting for us," Kasumi said, and continued to lead the way out. Shampoo followed, more closely than before.

Yes, that's it. Just my imagination, Shampoo repeated to herself, trying to ignore the sensation that would not go away.

XXXXX

Across town, back at the girls' dorm, Seiya watched from afar as Ami joined Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Usagi in Haruka's car and headed off. Part of her wanted to be with Usagi, but the other part of her was saying that would be totally inappropriate. With a heavy sigh, Seiya walked away to a secluded alleyway and activated her communicator.

"Star Fighter, I've been waiting," Princess Kakyuu's voice said over the channel.

"Sorry... been busy," she replied.

A moment passed in silence before the Princess spoke. "I know this is hard for you. I could send Star Blazer there-"

"No. Star Blazer has never been to earth, and knowing her, she probably cause nothing but trouble."

The Princess chuckled for a moment. "Yes, she can be a bit of a hot head at times. But, perhaps one of the others..."

"They would all take a week or so to get here from there. No, I'm here, and for the moment we're not even sure I can leave yet. It might as well be me keeping an eye out."

"I suppose you are right," Kakyuu replied, clearly reluctant to agree however. "Have you learned anything?"

"Nothing more than when I last reported," Seiya replied. "I can only agree with them that Usagi is the most likely cause of my presence here, but how she did it and what has happen to her, I can't say."

Kakyuu sighed. "This troubles me. Sailor Moon is the one to have defeated Chaos within Galaxia. We know what became of Galaxia when she did much the same feat."

"I don't see any signs of that," Seiya replied rather sharply.

"Of course," Kakyuu replied calmly. "But nonetheless it is worrisome that something has happened to her. All the Senshi of this galaxy owe her a great debt. I would not see us stand by while she is in danger."

"Right, I agree completely," Seiya responded.

"Sailor Moon has always been an oddity. Every other Senshi Princess fell before Galaxia, but somehow Sailor Moon was different. Many of them were considered far more powerful and experienced than she was. And there is also the matter of her revival of all the Senshi. That is a considerable level of power in of itself that... well it simply seems quite a bit above the norm. Then of course there was her seed, which was very a-typical for a star seed even from a Princess. And now this..."

"Her crystal shattered, by all rights she should be dead," Seiya concluded for Kakyuu, gaining only silent agreement. "I will contact you the moment I know something, but I think we're just going to have to wait. I can deal with things for now."

Kakyuu remained silent for a moment longer before speaking. "Very well. But, Star Fighter, do not persist in avoiding your feelings. They may not be returned, but that does not make them go away."

"I'll... try. I'll report in again tomorrow. Hopeful they'll learn something on the moon."

"Till then," Kakyuu replied and the transmission ended.

XXXXX

Just outside the new San Cheng Huang, Kasumi and Shampoo stopped to marvel at the change in the building. The original was not a small place, especially by local standards, but compared to the new version, it was tiny. Having absorbed all the neighboring lots, not only the building itself, but more importantly the surroundings had improved immensely. A decorative garden, complete with a pond of fish and mini artificial waterfalls acted as the entrance way to the new building. A small arcing bridge would take customers over the pond and through the garden until they reached the door, and the effect was both beautiful and calming.

The building itself was the equal to the decorative entrance. Elaborate woodwork and architecture made the building look far less like a modern small scale Ramen shop, and more like an ancient Japanese temple that had just been newly refurbished. Wide and numerous windows let light in and customers have clear view over the garden. It also let those coming in see the exquisite interior, designed with no less attention to detail as the exterior. Had the two girls not seen much of this build up over the past weeks, they would probably have been shocked at the sear beauty of it all.

"Karin certainly put a lot of effort into this," Kasumi remarked as she finally headed inside, to which Shampoo nodded in mute agreement. Inside, they were quickly greeted by Cologne and Makoto who had arrived earlier, the elder nodding her approval, while Makoto was excited beyond words.

"Did you see that garden?" Makoto exclaimed as she returned to the window to look out. "I can't believe that. I was here a couple days ago and it was just a bunch of dirt and rocks. I can't believe what they can get done in just a couple days."

"Yes, it is nice," Kasumi replied as she took a look back.

"Nice? It's awesome!" Makoto replied then turned her attention to the room opposite the dining hall. "And this Karaoke room is great!" she said as she entered, followed by the others.

"I'm still not certain that a Karaoke room is... appropriate," Kasumi commented.

"Yes, there are some rather interesting tales of the attitudes and actions of many a drunk businessman," Cologne added. "However, we did opt not to serve alcohol so that should shield us from the worst of it."

"Oh, you guys haven't even seen your rooms yet," Makoto said in a quick change of topic as she moved back into the hall and directed Kasumi and Shampoo to follow her upstairs. They did so, climbing two sets of stairs until they found themselves on the third floor. Unlike the lower two, the third was considerably smaller, with merely a hallway, a closet, and two rooms to either side. Makoto choose one of the rooms and entered to show it off. "Isn't this amazing?" she asked as the others entered.

Within, the room was already furnished, to Kasumi's surprise. The room itself was easily twice the size of their old one, with a glass door leading out onto a deck that made up the rest of the floor space for the third floor. The room itself had it's own bathroom and closet, plus ample room even with all the furnishings to get a good stretch in. For a Japanese home, it was absolutely opulent, although right in keeping with the rest of the building.

"It's... wonderful," Kasumi said as she looked around, examining the furnishings. "I didn't know Karin was going to provide furniture as well."

"I wasn't, actually," a new voice said, but was easily identified as Karin as she strode into view, apparently having been waiting out on the deck.

"She came a bit earlier," Makoto said with a bit of a sly smile as Karin entered, gaining a gracious bow from Kasumi.

"Thank you so much. This is really-"

"No less than you deserve," Karin interjected. "I've already talked to Sakura, and found out about that whole little incident you had. If you don't know, my family's corporation has had more than one run in with Shadowloo. They've been quite the thorn in our side for some time. So, you giving them a good kick where it hurts means you have yet again helped me out. You may very well have put a permanent end to them, and for that I owe you yet again. I figured sweeting our arrangement slightly would be appropriate."

Kasumi could only bow once again. "It was nothing."

"Hardly, but whatever. I assume everything meets with your approval?"

Cologne nodded. "Yes. The kitchen equipment still has to arrive and be installed, but everything else appears to meet or exceed my expectations."

"Good. If it didn't, I'd have to fire someone," Karin replied in approval. "I have the best of the best coming on special order for the kitchen, so it will be a bit longer, but no more than a week I think. I am told, beyond that, the place is complete. My corporation will cover all your expenses for the first month. Past that you'll have to get by on your own, but I've already seen a lot of interest just being here for a few hours so I doubt that will be much of an issue."

"Yes, thank you again," Kasumi said as Karin nodded and headed for the door.

"My pleasure," she replied, but paused as she opened the door. "Just one thing. One of these days you'll have to grant me the chance to spar with you," Karin said, and quickly raised her hand to cut off any argument. "Not for a while. You're still recovering, and frankly, I don't want to be totally embarrassed when the time comes so I have some practicing to do."

"I suppose that would be alright," Kasumi answered to Karin's approval.

"Great, till then. Oh, and if you do have any troubles, don't be afraid to give me a call. I paid top dollar to get this place done, and I expect top dollar results. If there is one thing no one in my family can stand it is swindlers," Karin said, half joking but half serious as well before giving them a wave and heading out.

A moment passed as they watched her leave, then the group headed out onto the deck themselves to look out at the surroundings. "It is quite... overwhelming."

"Is so big," Shampoo commented. "We have enough to run?"

Cologne nodded in thought. "Yes, I do believe we will need some more staff. Running this place will be a full time affair. However, I think I can convince a few individuals to give us a hand." The others looked at Cologne curiously, but she did not elaborate. "In the meantime, since we now have our own residence back, I suppose I should get about getting moved in. You all should as well."

"Right," the others said in unison as Cologne exited the room.

"I took one of the smaller rooms on the second floor," Makoto as she too headed to the door. "My bags are already here so I'm going to unpack."

"Okay," Kasumi replied and looked back into the room. "I suppose we can take this one. By the looks of it, it was set up for us."

Shampoo nodded in agreement and took the opportunity to seize Kasumi by the arm happily. "Is very nice, yes?"

"Yes," Kasumi agreed. "Perhaps I should call Sasuke. We don't have much baggage at the moment. I'm sure he'd be kind enough to help me bring it over. Why don't you stay here and take a look around. There is still a lot more to take in."

"Okay," Shampoo replied, and after one last parting squeeze, headed out.

"Oh," Kasumi quickly said, causing Shampoo to pause at the door. "There is a... movie I wish to see. It obviously has been a bit hectic lately so I haven't had a chance and-"

"Shampoo would love to go," Shampoo interjected to say, causing Kasumi to blush at taking the roundabout approach. Giving a last second smile to her wife, Shampoo left.

XXXXX

Inside the kitchen some time later, Shampoo was marveling at the sheer size of it. The place looked large enough to feed a small army to her and she was pondering how that was going to impact her free time when she heard a new pair of footsteps enter the room. She turned to see a unmistakably female visitor, her face covered by a hood. There was no feel of threat, and a quick assessment of the girl left Shampoo with impression she could easily defeat her in a fight, so the amazon opted for a peaceable greeting. "Nihao," Shampoo said, "we not open yet if look to eat. Restaurant still closed."

"Oh no. I'm here to see you, Shan Pu."

Shampoo blinked in some surprise at hearing her name used formally, but then was struck speechless as the girl pulled back her hood to reveal herself. Like many before her, Shampoo's mind was instantly absorbed into this young woman's beauty, and she lost all sense of the world, much to the girl's satisfaction.

"Good, I thought as much," Lemon commented as she walked up closer. "Now, Shan Pu, I have a little a favor to ask you. You see, I'm sure you're aware that Herb wants to marry that Kasumi of yours, right?"

Shampoo nodded mutely.

"Good. Well, I don't want that, and from what I hear Kasumi has said that you are the person she is going to let decide on who you marry. So, that means I need you to stay clear of marrying my Herb. You got that?"

"Okay," Shampoo agreed mindlessly.

"Wonderful, but I need to be really sure. So, here is what I want you to do. Kasumi has some other suitors from my understanding, so the best way to stay away from Herb is to get together with one of them. Now, I'm not going to choose for you. I'll let you do that, but you need to actually try here. So, if anyone asks you out, I want you to agree," Lemon instructed and Shampoo once more nodded. "Great... oh wait... I suppose I should be careful here. You don't have to agree if you hate the person. Okay? Yeah, that should do it," Lemon amended once more to Shampoo's agreement. "Right, that about does it. Now, just forget you ever saw me."

With those parting words, Lemon raised her hood once more and left the room, leaving Shampoo standing mesmerized. Once outside she was quite pleased with herself. This plan has to work, and best yet, no feeling guilty this time, she thought as headed off to join Sissithississ before he got too suspicious. Hmm... Maybe I should have been more precise with that instruction... oh well, too late now. I'm sure nothing bad will happen.

Back inside, Shampoo stood, lost in her trance for several more minutes until Makoto entered the room. The other girl eyed her curiously. "Hey, you day dreaming about something?" she finally asked, snapping Shampoo out of it.

Shampoo looked around in puzzlement, not sure where her mind had been, but then turned to Makoto. "No. What you want?" Shampoo asked, somewhat defensively.

"Nothing, just curious," Makoto quickly responded. Shampoo frowned and promptly turned and left the room as if insulted. "Gee, all I was is a little concerned. Think she'd take it better," Makoto mumbled but decided to drop the issue, dismissing it as one of Shampoo's little moods.

XXXXX

At the Kuno mansion, Ranma arrived to find Kuno out in the yard, practicing with a straw dummy. He noted rather quickly that said dummy seemed to be dressed quite similarly to Herb, but decided not to mention it. "Hey Kuno, what's up?"

With last stroke of his weapon, Kuno beheaded the dummy and smiled with satisfaction before turning to Ranma. "It seems Kasumi will be returning to her abode today."

"Yeah," Ranma nodded in agreement. "I was by there earlier. Can't believe what they did with the place. It looks great."

"Indeed, but more importantly, it makes now the proper moment to act on my plan."

"Plan?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. I have been considering this well for many days. Today is the day I shall ask Shampoo to date with me." Ranma tried to keep from immediately scoffing, but his disbelief was immediately apparent to Kuno. "I know well the obstacles I face, but one cannot simply give up without trying. And what of you?"

Ranma pondered for a moment. "I suppose I should get in contact with Ukyo. I did promise her a date."

"Hmph, Ms. Kuonji has much to answer for."

"Hey, if you knew the whole story between her and Kasumi..." Ranma replied sharply but let the argument quickly end. "In any case, whether you like her or not, because of this whole screwed up arrangement, she's part of this deal too."

"Indeed," Kuno was forced to agree. "It is still my hope that Kasumi will find some way clear of this engagement. Until then, I suppose Ms. Kuonji must be tolerated."

Ranma decided to let the comment slide. From Kuno's perspective, Ukyo probably seemed completely unreasonable. Of course, he knew nothing of her curse. Ranma had already discussed such with both Ukyo and Kasumi, and although he did believe Kasumi when she insisted it was purely unintended, he could definitely sympathize with Ukyo's anger toward her. However, he wasn't about to try to explain all that to Kuno, especially as Ukyo was not too keen on the idea of having her curse become common knowledge.

"Anyway," Ranma said, in dismissal of the previous point, "it is kinda odd that she hasn't brought it up."

"Oh?"

Ranma looked at Kuno, the older boy seeming confused. "Oh, yeah, you don't know. Ukyo's kinda got this thing for me."

"I see," Kuno replied with a knowing nod. "That would well explain a great deal."

"Yeah, well, it's complicated, but I would have thought she'd bring it up with me."

"Perhaps she waits for you to act. Is that not a common trait among women?"

Ranma chuckled and nodded. "Guess so. Anyway, I just came by for a quick chat. Guess I should hunt Ukyo down and see what's up with her."

"Indeed, and I should set about to my task as well," Kuno said with a nod and the two boys headed out.

XXXXX

At the girls' dorm, Ukyo was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. It was something she had been doing a great deal of lately as she had much to consider. Featuring quite predominantly on her mind was the issue of her recent test and failure. She had come to fully accept the old monk's assessment, but was baffled as to how to deal with correcting it. How do you find confidence in yourself? Ukyo would ask herself and she found no real answers.

However, as vexing as that was, another matter was occupying just as much if not more of her time at the moment. Just yesterday, Kasumi had asked to see her. As Ukyo was prone to conclude, it was for no good, but she had gone nonetheless. It was in a private talk with her rival that she had learned of a rather pesky issue. Apparently, in their duel in the forest, Shadow Lady had been present and was responsible for Kasumi being transformed into her cat state. That a third party had been involved wasn't overly shocking as Ukyo had always wondered where that cat had conveniently come from. However, that lead to a particular problem.

Amazon laws regarding defeats had several conditions under which a defeat could be legally challenged and voided. One of those was third party interference. Kasumi had made it clear that Cologne believed that Shadow Lady's interference was grounds enough to void her loss to Ukyo. However, unexpectedly, Kasumi had not yet challenged the defeat. Instead, she had said the decision was Ukyo's.

She told me that just to get me all confused, Ukyo thought rather angrily. This crazy engagement is all that ties me to Ranma. I certainly don't want to marry her, but if I do, I get to marry Ranma too. So, if I nullify the law, my engagement to Ranma is probably going to be called off, but if I don't I stuck marrying Kasumi... ugh.

As annoying as that train of thought was, Kasumi parting comments were even more annoying. 'I believe you would have won in either case,' she had said. The acknowledgment left Ukyo puzzled and wondering to what Kasumi's angle was. Why'd she even have to bring it up then? I was almost ready to accept this mess when I thought I had no choice, but now... damn it.

As Ukyo continued to pondered the many unsolvable issues on her mind a knock came at her door. Without looking, Ukyo called out, "Come in." Doing as bidden, the visitor entered, and with a slight twist of her head, Ukyo identified the person as Ranma and was shocked out of her thought. Sitting up quickly, Ukyo quickly checked herself over, and smiled shyly at him. "Ranma... I didn't expect you to be here," she said and immediately cringed at how stupid that sounded.

Ranma, however, did not seem to notice. "I figured it was about time to make good on that promise."

"Promise?" Ukyo asked in puzzlement.

"The date," Ranma replied causing Ukyo to pause in shock.

"Date?" Ukyo echoed then finally remembered the promise Ranma had made at her family shrine. "Oh, right, that date! I... totally forgot," she admitted with a blush. "I guess I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Hey, no problem," Ranma said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So, you still good to go?"

"Uh... of course," Ukyo replied eagerly.

"Great. So, where do you want to go? Your choice." Ranma prompted, but caught so off guard, Ukyo could only draw a blank. "There is a fair in town, we could see what that's like," Ranma suggested after a moment, and having no particular objection Ukyo nodded. "Great. It's not for a couple hours, so why don't you get ready and I'll be back to pick you up. And, with any luck, my mom won't catch wind of this and I'll avoid another of her 'manliness' fits," Ranma said with a joking smile.

Ukyo laughed weakly out of embarrassment. "Right. I'll see you then."

XXXXX

Sitting within the dining room of the San Cheng Huang, Shampoo was busy reasserting her control of her chi flows, while simultaneously pondering the reason she had lost it in the first place. How am I ever going to get up to Kasumi's level if I can't even keep my mind on track, Shampoo thought in annoyance as she struggled with the energy. Although she had the lapse for a short few minutes, it was enough to completely defuse the chi Kasumi had placed within her. Now, as hard as she tried to seek out its remains and rebuild it, she could not. In frustration, Shampoo gave up. I don't even know if Kasumi has enough energy left to do that again. Now what am I going to do? she asked herself with a sigh.

As she considered this, the front door to the restaurant opened and Kuno stepped in. Shampoo looked up at him and frowned. Of all of Kasumi's would be husbands, Kuno was the one Shampoo found the most irritating. He was arrogant and very much full of himself, and unlike Herb, who much the same could be said of, he was devoid of any real strength to base that on. He wasn't precisely weak, but he was foolish and often displayed confidence well beyond his capability. Shampoo found that even more irritating than Mousse's blind persistence.

However, of late, Kuno had been relatively quiet. Shampoo had hoped that perhaps he had given up on being with Kasumi, but she had little confidence that that was indeed the case. As he entered and returned Shampoo's look with a confident grin, Shampoo knew immediately her hopes were dashed.

"What you want?" Shampoo asked as she looked away, refusing to look at the boy.

"Actually, I have come to see you," Kuno replied. "If I could have but a moment of your time?"

Shampoo sniffed, but decided there was little she could do to be rid of him. So, she settled on simply ignoring him.

Taking that as his opening, Kuno walked up to stand next to the amazon. "I trust this day finds you well?" he asked, but Shampoo continued her silent treatment. Frowning slightly, Kuno reconsidered his approach. "Very well then, I suppose that it is only proper that I skip the pleasantries and speak to the heart of the matter. I have made no attempt to disguise my desire to have Kasumi Tendo as my wife. As you too seek her partnership, it is only natural then that you would view me as a rival. However, as you are no doubt aware, you will require a true male partner in your relationship to restore that which you have lost."

Shampoo finally decided the boy was not going to leave easily and looked back at him with a level glare.

"Ah, if but the fates were not so cruel as to place us all in this situation. Sadly they are, and such as it is, I will work within these bounds, which is what brings me to you today. I would seek to make peace with you. Nay, I seek more than that. I would have you see me not as a rival, but as one who could bring you happiness on a level equal to that of Kasumi."

Shampoo scoffed at the notion. "You think you equal to Kasumi?" she asked.

"Truly... no," Kuno unexpectedly responded, giving Shampoo pause. "I have thought a great deal on that matter and I concluded that at this time it is all that I can do to aspire to be Kasumi Tendo's equal."

Shampoo blinked in honest surprise. It wasn't like Kuno at all to admit something like that, even of Kasumi. Does he truly believe that, or is he trying to trick me? Shampoo wondered as Kuno continued.

"Truly, once I would have thought differently, but of late I have been given greater enlightenment to my failings. I can only credit Kasumi's influence for this, and be thankful. A man must have a proper sense of self, neither over or under developed."

Shampoo examined Kuno intently, trying to find some hint that he was being deceptive but found none. Not sure how to respond, she merely nodded, prompting him to continue.

"Very well then, if we are to reach a new understanding then it is necessary that we come to know one and other. With that in mind, I would propose that you accompany me this evening to a special event I have planned. Pray, would you agree?"

Guess that's his roundabout way of asking me on a date, Shampoo thought, satisfied that at least some of the old Kuno she knew hadn't left and decided it was time to end this conversation. "Yes." Shampoo blinked as she said the word. Yes? she echoed in her mind.

"But truly I know..." Kuno started to respond, looking off to the side, but then blinked in surprise and looked back at Shampoo. "Yes?"

"Yes," Shampoo confirmed, but once again was surprised by her own words.

Kuno's confidence was fully restored by this and he beamed. "Be assured that you have made the correct choice. I will meet you here at 5pm. Your time will not be wasted," Kuno replied, and with a slight bow he left the room, Shampoo swearing he was practically skipping out.

Why did I say yes? Shampoo wondered, too stunned by her own actions to even realize that she wasn't attempting to correct them.

"Was that Tatewaki that just came by, Shampoo?" Kasumi asked as she came into the restaurant followed by Sasuke, both carrying numerous pieces of luggage. Shampoo could only nod. "Oh, what did he want? Was he looking for me?"

"He ask Shampoo on date."

"Oh?" Kasumi said in surprise, looking back at the doorway. "I guess that is why he didn't notice me."

"Where shall I put these, my lady?" Sasuke asked.

"Just upstairs, the third floor. Thank you Sasuke, and you don't need to call me 'my lady'. Kasumi is fine," Kasumi replied with a smile which Sasuke returned and headed about his task. As the Kuno household ninja lugged his load up the stairs, Kasumi started to follow when Shampoo spoke up.

"Shampoo said yes," Shampoo said gaining back Kasumi's attention, surprised once again.

"You... did?" Kasumi asked to confirm and Shampoo nodded. "Well... that's nice. So, when are you going?"

"Tonight," Shampoo answered as she looked off to the side, still puzzled. Unexpectedly, Shampoo could hear Kasumi drop the baggage to the floor.

"Tonight? I thought... I thought you were going to go out with me tonight," Kasumi said quickly, clearly caught off guard.

Shampoo started at the reminder, as she found herself put on the spot to explain herself. However, struggle as she could with her own mind, Lemon's influence was stronger than any of her attempts to reason out her actions, and it was frustrating. "We... go movie other time," Shampoo fumbled in response, but could see that the answer did not seem to change the look of puzzlement and disappointment on Kasumi's face. "Is you who said Shampoo should consider be with other man," Shampoo continued, defensively.

Kasumi looked down. "I... guess I did."

"Then what is problem?" Shampoo pressed on.

"Ah... nothing," Kasumi replied and looked up with what Shampoo could tell was a forced smile. "Have a good time then." Without waiting for a response, Kasumi quickly snatched up the luggage and headed upstairs.

As Kasumi left her sight, Shampoo hung her head, bewildered. Stupid, Shampoo thought, not entirely sure who she was directing the insult at. However, there was little time to ponder her actions. She still had to unpack and get changed for the date, and despite the questions circling in her mind as to why she was going on this date, she felt compelled to do so.

XXXXX

Far from Nerima, a flash of light heralded the arrival of Sailor Senshi at the former Moon Kingdom. All of them could not help but pause and take in the sight around them: a once beautiful city now nothing more than an ancient ruin.

"I've seen the Moon Kingdom before in visions, but somehow those hardly had the impact of seeing it in person," Sailor Mercury noted sadly.

"Yes, but let's let the ghosts of the past lay as they were," Pluto replied. "Come, it is this way."

Nodding, the others followed as Pluto lead them through the city square and to the devastated remains of the former palace. A short trip through the rubble brought them to a stairway into the ground which Pluto had apparently previously cleared. Using her orb, Pluto light the way. At the bottom they came to a great hallway, with various side rooms. "The computer is at the far end of the hall," Pluto said, and lead them the remaining way to the device.

Within the room, the group found a large raised pedestal, and with appeared to be a giant shaped crystal sitting upon it that stretched into the ceiling. Only a single seat on the pedestal, positioned within a U shaped grove in the crystal marked it as anything important.

"Is this it?" Mercury asked, and gained a nod from Pluto. "It is not quite what I expected," she admitted as she stepped up to to the chair and examined what was apparently the main terminal.

"So, any ideas?" Uranus asked as she and the others joined Mercury.

"It does feel familiar. The system clearly lacks power. I'm not sure... wait..." Mercury responded, and touched her palm to the crystal and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, the room began to noticeably brighten, and the others quickly realized the crystal was starting to glow softly. "I was right, I can transfuse the system with my own energy, just as I do for Frost when I'm charging that device of hers," Mercury explained as suddenly the glow changed into a sudden burst of many holographic displays. "I think it is on line."

"Great!" Usagi cheered as Mercury starting working the terminal.

"Hmm," Mercury said as she looked over the displays. "The amount of energy I gave it is insufficient for full operation. The main power supplies are drain, but it looks like the system uses solar power to charge them. There are numerous shorts, but I think I can bypass them and get main power functional again. It may take me a while."

"As I thought," Pluto replied. "While you do that, I will inspect the gateway here. It may be possible to gain entry," she said as she turned to leave.

"Hey wait, what about us?" Usagi asked.

"The underground complex is quite safe. You can look around if you choose. And no, you need not fear running into any... bodies. The Queen sent everyone into the future that was here, save herself."

"Herself?" Usagi echoed in confusion. "You mean..."

"Yes," Pluto replied. "But, I have already seen to her."

"Oh."

Without saying any more, Pluto left the room.

Turning back to Mercury, Neptune asked, "About how long do you think this will take?"

"Quite possibly an hour or more. I may be familiar with the system, but much of the details still elude me. I'm having to learn much of the controls as I go. I have restored minimal lighting in this area. As Pluto said, perhaps you should have a look around. After all, there is no guarantee that I will be able to restore the computer adequately to learn anything."

"Right," Uranus replied and headed off to the door. "Come on, let's take the hint and check the place out and leave Mercury to her work. Us looking over her shoulder isn't going to speed her up any."

Smiling, Neptune followed, gesturing for Usagi to join them.

XXXXX

Shampoo was not in a good mood as she walked along side Kuno, and she was making no particular effort to hide such. Despite her present company, Kuno was not the direct cause of her current mood, but rather only a contributing factor.

Ever since revealing she would be going on this date, and Kasumi's quick departure, Shampoo could not get a word out of her wife. In fact, Kasumi appeared to be making every effort to avoid Shampoo. That alone was rather troubling, but combine that with the fact that Shampoo needed Kasumi's help in her chi control training didn't help matters any. And, of course, Shampoo still couldn't understand her own actions. That didn't stop her from trying to justify them to herself though.

I don't know why she upset. She's always telling me I should be more open to these men. I'm only doing what she said I should do and now she starts acting like this? Shampoo thought in a mixture of emotions. We can go to her stupid movie tomorrow. It's not like it was probably that important anyway. She's just being stupid, that's all, Shampoo persisted, but despite all the thoughts, the most prominent feeling on her mind wasn't one of anger.

Shaking her head to banish the thoughts, Shampoo decided it was time to stop dwelling on Kasumi, and distract herself with the here and now. "Where we go?" she asked Kuno as she examined their surroundings, an area of town she was not particularly familiar with.

"It is just up ahead," Kuno answered, prompting Shampoo to look and see a large building with numerous windows allowing viewing inside. Within various couples were gathered around a central stage where a woman was apparently directing them, a band behind her. As Shampoo watched it was obvious the couples were engaged in a formal dance of some kind, and a quick look at the building itself and she realized it was a dance hall.

"Dancing?" Shampoo asked to confirm and gained a nod from Kuno. Ooo, Shampoo moaned in her mind, but tried not to betray the reaction to Kuno. Of all the stupid... I don't know any of these dances. Where does he think I come from? Amazons are warriors, not dancers.

Unexpectedly, as if reading her mind, Kuno spoke. "You need not worry. I have anticipated that you are likely unfamiliar with this particular practice, which is precisely why I have chosen it, because I too have no training in the art of dance. This is in fact a dance class, where we might learn the art together as equals."

Shampoo blinked in surprise. Maybe he's smarter than I thought, Shampoo thought, particularly surprised that the normally arrogant boy would choose an event at which he had no skill for a date.

"I take it, then, that you have no objections?" Kuno asked, finally looking over at Shampoo. Shampo shook her head, gaining a confident smile from the boy. "Excellent. Then let us make the most of this opportunity," he replied and, arriving at the door, allowed Shampoo to enter first and soon followed.

Neither noticed a figure duck into the shadows down the street and continue to watch them.

XXXXX

Elsewhere in Nerima, Ranma was suffering a bit of a beating to his male pride. This was not unexpected, but was none the less a bit trying. That beating was coming from the local fair games, but not the games themselves. No, it was coming from the fact that Ukyo was consistently matching or beating Ranma at everyone.

I know she's a good martial artist, but this is ridiculous, Ranma thought with a mild frown as he looked at his partner and her large collection of prizes, compared to his, which while still impressive, didn't quite measure up. There has to be something around here I can beat her at, he thought, his eyes stopping on one of the goldfish games. He quickly shook his head, banishing the thought. No, it's no fair if I win because of her curse.

After a minute, Ranma sighed. There simply wasn't any games around here that he stood a realistic chance of beating Ukyo at, outside of the element of luck falling heavily in his favor. However, he could console himself with the fact that he was at least not getting utterly destroyed. Ranma could still not claim to be Ukyo's equal, but at least he was getting closer, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Still, it would be nice to win just once, he thought, his eyes stopping on a pellet shooting game. Well, I might at least have even odds at that one, he thought and moved over.

Paying the stand operator, Ranma picked up on of the rifles and took careful aim, steadily knocking down targets. "Let's go get something to eat after this," he suggested.

"Sure," Ukyo replied as she watched Ranma complete his try and earn a stuffed panda bear.

"Kinda looks like Pop," Ranma joked as he took the prize. "Your turn."

"Uh... sure," Ukyo said with a nod and took the pellet gun in Ranma's place to have her try, this time with Ranma standing back and watching. However, he could only frown as he did so, Ukyo missing all but 2 targets. Ukyo laughed nervously as she finished, earning only a small fuzzy key chain ornament for her effort.

"You were missing on purpose, weren't you?" Ranma said evenly, causing Ukyo to quickly hang her head. "Come on," Ranma said in dismissal and headed off to the concession stands, Ukyo quickly following.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me," Ranma replied with a sideways look. "But it bothers me more when people don't do their best just to try and make me feel better."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Ukyo said, head still hung low as she started to fidget with her hands.

"Forget about it. Look, don't worry about me. I know I have a lot of ground to make up. Besides, a couple months ago you probably would have demolished me. Think I'm improving a lot. In another few months of training, I bet I'll be able to keep up with you."

Ukyo only nodded, losing herself in thought.

Ranma stopped at one particular food stand selling a number of various rice balls, or other easily handled foods. A couple purchases later the pair was sitting on a nearby bench, eating and resting. Minutes passed in silence, Ranma quickly noticing Ukyo's unfocused demeanor. "You've been pretty quiet all night. Something bugging you?" Ranma finally asked.

Shocked by this, Ukyo nervously looked away. "No, everything is just fine."

"Really? I mean, if you want to go somewhere else..."

"No," Ukyo responded quickly then looked down at the ground. "It's nothing to do with you."

"Then what?"

After a moment, Ukyo answered, "Kasumi."

"Kasumi?" Ranma repeated and nodded. Kasumi always had been a sore spot for Ukyo. Since learning Ukyo's side of the story, Ranma had also learned Kasumi's side. While Ukyo still could not forgive Kasumi, or even truly come to believe her, Ranma was able to understand both sides. He also understood that it was not an issue he should open up at a time like this. "Right," he said simply.

"Actually... it's more than that," Ukyo admitted after a moment and gained a quizzical look from Ranma. "It's... are you confident in yourself?"

"Huh?" Ranma, but Ukyo was at a loss as to how to explain the question further. Thinking for a second, Ranma answered, "I suppose. I mean, not all the time obviously, and I know I still have a lot of work to do, but I know my strength."

"Know your strength?" Ukyo repeated, confused.

"Yeah, you know. I know my limits, and I can feel my potential. I may not be able to stand up to you or Kasumi, but I know I could and will eventually. It's just a matter of training myself," he replied, looking off at the sky. "Why do you ask?"

Ukyo looked down at the ground, her eyes saddened. "I... really don't feel confident. I've fought all my life to be better than Kasumi, and even when I beat her I still feel... I still feel like I'm not good enough. It's like... I just can't come to believe that I'm better than her. No, that's not it either. It's something else. I... I don't know."

Ranma examined Ukyo closely, seeing the confusion that was overwhelming her. "I don't really think confidence is a matter of being strong. I mean, sure the two are related, but they are not dependent on each other. You can be super confident and have no strength at all. It's just... I don't know, being sure of yourself. I'd say it is knowing your limits, but really there are a lot of times you don't know your limits and still have confidence."

"So, how do you find confidence in yourself?" Ukyo asked, finally looking up at Ranma.

Ranma returned the look, but could only shake his head. "I don't really know. It's just something you have to find yourself, I guess."

After another moment of thought, Ukyo nodded in understanding. It was obviously not the answer she was hoping to get, but she couldn't dispute it.

Suddenly, Ranma stood back up. "Come on. We still have some time left, and a lot more to look at." Ukyo hesitated a moment, but then smiled and rose to join him.

XXXXX

Much of the underground complex was rather dull in Usagi's considered opinion. If it wasn't for the general creepiness of the place, she probably would have felt inclined to simple find a nice corner and take a nap. However, it was creepy, and she couldn't quite shake the idea that some ghoul would come out of the shadows and jump her when she wasn't ready.

Most the rooms were full of nothing but various supplies. Old food, long since decayed away, and various kitchen supplies were contained in a good number of them. Others were full of ancient bedding or clothing, in surprisingly good shape considering their age. However, the latest room Usagi had discovered was proving more interesting. Within was a large viewing hall with various artwork, including many portraits of the Sailor Senshi in their former lives.

"Have you noticed something?" Neptune remarked as she too looked about the room.

"What?" Uranus asked.

"There are many pieces here, but not a single one depicts any males. It is rather curious," Neptune replied, gaining curious looks from her two companions, who then confirmed her analysis.

"Yeah, that is strange," Usagi agreed. "Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know. To my knowledge the Moon Kingdom had a male population as well, only the leadership was all female, mainly because it was us... in our former lives that is. But there are many images here of those that bear no resemblance to us, so this hall is not limited to just the Senshi."

"Maybe there is another hall around her somewhere for the males," Uranus suggested.

"Perhaps, but it does seem particularly odd," Neptune conceded. "Also odd is how much we do resemble our predecessors. Our direct predecessors I can understand, but judging by some of these, many of these woman lived thousands of years before the Moon Kingdom's fall. That would most likely make them our ancestors."

"Guess it's a Senshi thing," Uranus concluded to which Neptune could only nod in agreement.

Usagi paused in front of large carving hanging on the wall. It depicted what looked like all of the Senshi, even Saturn, although they all looked older. However, peculiar to the carving was two other figures, one to either side. "Who do you think these two are?" she asked, gaining the other two girls' attention.

Neptune walked up and looked at the carving. "Hard to say. They are featured rather prominently," she remarked as she looked around for a plague or other inscription. "Unfortunately, it does not appear to be marked."

"They aren't dressed like the others," Uranus noted. "Maybe some nobles at the time?"

"That could be," Neptune agreed.

"That is a depiction of the founding of the Moon Kingdom," Pluto said unexpectedly from behind, causing Usagi to jump.

"Hey, do you have to sneak up like that?" Usagi complained

"My apologies," Pluto said with a slightly amused smile.

"Any luck?" Uranus asked, but Pluto only shook her head. "Oh well."

"The founding?" Neptune repeated, looking back at the carving. "Then, do you know who those two others are."

"Yes. They are the Two Builders. Unfortunately, I know little about them. I do know this is the only depiction we have of them, and that they are never mentioned again in the history. I believe they departed shortly after the kingdom was completed."

"So, they were like... carpenters?" Usagi asked sheepishly.

Pluto smiled once more. "More like architects I would think, although I cannot be sure. As I said, I know little about them. I may be ancient, but even I was born long after the Moon Kingdom's creation. They would have been in the time of my great great grandmother... or perhaps even further back than that."

"And perhaps you can tell us why no men are here?" Neptune asked.

"This is a chamber dedicated to the royalty. Although the Moon Kingdom had many men, it was always under the power of women. The other women depicted are close advisors, or those who did not inherit the Senshi powers, but were nonetheless related. It is perhaps a minor shame of the kingdom that it was rather... sexist, although much of that can be traced to the Senshi always being born female."

"Right," Uranus said with a slightly amused grin.

As they took another moment to take in the various works, their communicators beeped. Usagi activated hers to see Mercury.

"I think I have the system properly functioning now."

"Good, we'll be there in a moment," Neptune said, and she and the others quickly headed out for the computer chamber.

Inside they found Mercury still at the console, but the device was even more lively than before. Numerous displays were rolling over with informations of all kinds all around, and the central screen, in front of Mercury, was displaying what looked like a complex diagram of the Sailor Moon's former Crystal.

"What have you found?" Pluto asked as they approached.

"A great deal, actually. Some of the memory banks were damaged, but I've managed to retrieve a good amount of information. I'm not sure how much of it will be very useful though," Mercury explained as she continued to manipulate the computer. "Unfortunately, there is not much on the crystal. The earliest records of it indicated it actually predates the Kingdom. However, I did find some analysis of it. Obviously it is said to be intimately connected to Sailor Moon, but it looks like there was some difference of opinion on what exactly its function was. Some thought it was the source of Sailor Moon's power, which is what we thought, and that is the predominant analysis, but some theorized it may actually not be the source of her power, but merely a conduit. They even theorized that it may in fact limit her power."

"Limit it?" Usagi asked.

"Yes. It was just a theory of course, and there is little here to speak about that is useful. However, given what has happened, perhaps this other theory was correct."

"If it is, that would mean Usagi's powers are still intact, just inaccessible," Pluto analyzed. "You said the crystal predates the Kingdom, how about Sailor Moon's armor."

"Armor?" Mercury asked in confusion then looked down at her sailor outfit in realization. "Oh, right. Let me see... Yes, this is it," she said and new display replaced the old one, this one depicting Sailor Moon's various outfits. "This was made during the time of the Moon Kingdom. It's an adaptive magical energy form. It draws on the user's own energy to create various effects, including acting as protection."

"Why does it look like a school uniform anyway?" Uranus asked.

"I think it may be purely coincidental, although I must admit that is rather... unlikely. Although, with the gateway of time available, I suppose it is possible that someone could have seen this future and designed the uniformed deliberately to emulate current attire... although that too seems rather odd."

"In other words, it could well be somebody's idea of a joke that we wouldn't get until now?"

"That is a... possibility," Mercury had to admit.

Pluto cleared her throat. "Yes, but back to the important matter. Do you believe this could be adapted to work without Sailor Moon's crystal?"

"Maybe... I couldn't really say. I am unfortunately, despite my recent time spent with Frost, quite magically illiterate. I recognize much of the symbolics here as magical, but beyond that..."

"So, who made these then?" Usagi asked.

Mercury altered the display, this time showing all the Senshi outfits, along with a great deal of text. "Sedna..."

"Sedna?"

"It says 'The Great Builder Sedna'."

"Builder?" Usagi echoed, looking at the others. "Maybe she's one of the women in that carving."

Nodding, Pluto stepped closer. "Can you find an image of this Sedna?"

Mercury once more operated the computer, and this time the same carving as in the hall was displayed, this time with captions. "She is the one on the far left."

"That confirms it," Pluto said, stepping back. "And the one on the far right?"

"Quaoar."

"As nice as that is, what exactly are the odds of us finding this Sedna or Quaoar. They are long dead by now," Uranus pointed out.

"Unfortunately yes," Pluto was forced to agree, but Mercury continued at the computer.

"Amazing. These two are almost exclusively responsible for the creation of the Moon Kingdom. It says that Sedna created the Moon Kingdom itself, the teleportation mechanisms, our uniforms, even this computer. Oh, and she did make Jusenkyo."

"Really?" Usagi asked in surprise.

"Yes, although it says here it was apparently originally not cursed. The transformations were used to allow those from the Moon Kingdom to move about on earth undetected, in various forms. Unfortunately, what happened isn't recorded here. I think that must have been lost in the damaged memory banks, but clearly it only gained its cursed functionality relatively recently.

"As for Quaoar, it seems she was responsible for gathering together the people, and helped to form the government and laws. Basically, she was responsible for the more immaterial aspects of the Kingdom, while Sedna made the infrastructure."

"And what happened to them?" Neptune asked.

"It says here they merely... left. Nothing more. It doesn't give reasons or anything."

"Odd, but not very helpful," Neptune said with a sigh.

"No, I guess not. What I can do is download this information to my computer. Maybe with some more analysis I can maybe work out how to fix Usagi's uniform at least, although I may have to make some... inquiries with Frost."

"If you do, be careful. We do not wish for her to gain full access to the nature of our armors," Pluto pointed out, and Mercury nodded in agreement.

"Right... speaking of Frost," Mercury noted and manipulated the computer again, bringing up an entirely new set of data. "So it is true, we were in contact with the Chinese Amazons."

"Cool," Usagi exclaimed.

"Yes, this looks to confirm much of the Amazon version of history. So, it should have some data here on... yes," Mercury thought aloud and brought up an image of Queen Serenity standing next to another woman, who looked surprisingly familiar. "This is Queen Tranquility."

"She... she looks just like my mom!" Usagi said in amazement.

"She likely is your mother," Pluto replied.

"What?"

"Remember, it was not only we Senshi who were sent to the future, but all that were here at the Moon Kingdom," Pluto explained.

"Yes," Mercury agreed. "And Tranquility is said to have fought with us at that time, so she was no doubt here."

"But why would she be my mother?" Usagi asked.

"Hard to say," Pluto replied.

"Uh... well, there is one possibility..." Mercury reluctantly said, gaining the others' full attention. "According to some the Amazon history, Queen Serenity and Queen Tranquility were... sorta... kinda... married or something."

"What?" Usagi exclaimed in utter shock, but unexpectedly, Pluto laughed. "What's so funny?" Usagi asked with a scowl at the usually somber Senshi.

"Mercury misunderstands. There is no modern term for the joining of two families in the fashion that was done here on the Moon Kingdom. It is not truly a marriage, but does function similarly in that it binds two families together. Think of it as a kind of mutual adoption. Although it was a very personal joining, it did not imply a sexual union as in a modern marriage. But, nonetheless, I see Mercury's point. If the two queens were that close, it is quite likely that Serenity may have deliberately chosen Tranquility to act as your new mother since she could not."

"Oh," Usagi said, in a mixture of confusion and relief.

"Unfortunately, unlike us, Tranquility will have no memory of her life here. She does not carry a star seed and therefore she was reborn as a clean slate."

"Well... ah... just out of curiosity then, who was my Mom's real husband."

Mercury went back to the computer for a moment, but could only frown as the information she retrieved wasn't to her liking. "It does not appear she was ever married to a man."

"Not unusual," Pluto pointed out. "Unlike on Earth, unions here were more... transient. Our lifespan made stable unions nearly impossible."

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked.

"The average Moon Kingdom resident lived for 1000 years, including the Senshi. 1000 years is a great deal longer than the typical human lifespan, particularly at the time. Think of how difficult it is on Earth right now to maintain marriages for long periods. Now imagine that when people live over 10 times as long, in their prime. It was simply a matter of reasonable practicality for those of the Moon Kingdom to have many relationships over their lifespan rather than just one. Naturally, this lead to many enjoying the company of several partners, even at the same general time."

"Yes, I suppose it is only natural," Mercury conceded, but Usagi seemed dismayed by the realization.

Seeing Usagi's reaction, Pluto continued. "That is not to say there were no exceptions. Take Uranus and Neptune here. Their relationships have spanned many of their lifetimes. It is simply that your mother was not one of these exceptions." The addition did little to improve Usagi's reaction, but she kept her peace.

Deciding to change topics, Mercury returned to the computer and brought up some more information. "This would explain what happened to the Amazon Queen. Tranquility only had a son, no daughters, and he would have been quite young at the time of the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I suppose she knew she was likely to die, and that there would probably be a fight over who would marry her son so she decided to make the council instead."

"That would make sense," Neptune agreed.

"And if true, he could well be Shampoo's ancestor. Cologne's family is supposedly related, and the hair coloring is at least similar enough that could well be true," Mercury concluded.

"As fascinating as this all is, unless you guys have anything more to look up, we should be on our way. We still have a long drive back," Uranus pointed out.

"Of course," Mercury said with a reluctant nod. "I can activate the self repair systems. They should be able to get much of the rest of the system on line in a few days time. Then, I can up link with this computer remotely. It won't be quite as convenient, but it will do... There, done. I'll also turn everything into power save mode."

With a few last tweaks at the console, the system grew silent as the many displays turned off and the lights dimmed. Getting up, Mercury signaled she was done, and the group began to head out, Usagi at the back of the pack, deep in thought.

XXXXX

Unknown to any of the Senshi, there was one other observer to their departure, although this one remote. Holding a special crystal recently borrowed from Frost, Cologne watched as the Senshi began their departure. It had been an easy enough matter to deduce the most likely individual to be a Senshi, and no less easy to slip the other end of the spell onto the young Usagi without her awareness. Now, Cologne had seen all she needed and deactivated the magic.

So then, I guessed right, she thought. They are the old allies, and best still I have a good idea where to look for the Queen. Nodding to herself, Cologne starting making plans. However, those would have to wait. There was another matter to attend to.

XXXXX

Back within the dance hall, it was almost difficult to admit, even to herself, but Shampoo was actually enjoying herself. Their instructors were a particularly adept pair, who if Shampoo was right were likely husband and wife. They were both experts, but very precise in their directions which made picking up the various steps quite easy for Shampoo and Kuno. In fact, after only an hour of instruction, Shampoo and Kuno were onto their fifth dance, a modified tango, but with a great deal of complexity to it. Mastering it was quite exhilarating and was almost enough to get Shampoo to forget much of her troubles of late.

However, the dancing was by no means the difficult part of the situation to swallow. She'd actually often considered suggesting such an outing to Kasumi, and only her lack of knowledge on the topic had held her back from doing so. No, her real problem with this was Kuno, and the fact that despite all of Shampoo's early judgments and assumptions, this boy was actually not making a complete pest of himself. Oh, she'd seen him falter now and then, but he was making a very noticeable effort to restrain himself. Having always taken Kuno as just the overconfident version of Mousse, it was a difficult to accept that she could actually find any enjoyment in his company.

"Alright everyone, that was absolutely marvelous," the male instructor said as the music came to an end. "You're the best class of students I've ever had, and I'm not just saying that to stroke your egos and encourage you to take more classes, honest," he joked, gaining a few laughs from his students. "Now then, you all seem to have that one down. Let's go for something a bit slower." Stepping down from the stage, the man picked out Kuno and Shampoo and approached. "You two seem particularly good at this. You willing to lead this little group for our next lesson?" There was no real hesitation as both agreed with a confident nod. "Great. Now, if I could just have you too get a little closer there..."

XXXXX

Outside, watching all this from the shadows, the figured frowned, and gripped the wall nearby tightly as Shampoo grew close to Kuno as they were talked through the steps of a particular intimate looking dance. It was not long before the brick of the wall started to fail under the pressure.

"Ah, there you are," an unexpected voice said, startling the figure, causing the person to jump back, crash into several trash cans and quickly tumbled to the ground. A quick attempt at recovery followed as the person tried to right the cans, and restore their lids, but was rather clumsy as this only knocked over several more. Nearly a minute passed before the person finally managed to restore some semblance of order among the trash and turned to face the visitor.

"Elder."

"Kasumi," Cologne replied evenly, but with an upraised eyebrow. "Should you really be out right now? You still have a lot of recovering to be doing."

"I... I know."

Curious, Cologne shot a glance around the corner at the dance hall and those within, and nodded in understanding. "I see."

"It's not what it looks like," Kasumi tried to explain but then, after a curious look from Cologne, had a change in heart. "Okay, maybe it is." Cologne only looked at Kasumi, prompting her silently to explain. "I just... well, I want to be sure... and... and I really don't know," Kasumi said, hanging her head.

"Frankly, although I suppose it is only natural, I find it surprising that you would give into feelings of jealousy so easily, Kasumi. Are you quite certain you or completely free of the after effects of this dark and light ha do?"

"I haven't really thought about it that way," Kasumi thought, pondering the possibility, but then shook her head. "I don't think this has to do with that, though."

"I see, perhaps I just mis-estimated you on this matter."

Kasumi face looked downcast at the remark, as she looked back at the hall. "It is just... I know it is silly, but somehow... I guess... It really is stupid but I'm... afraid that she may find... being with a real man..." Kasumi tried to explain, but finally trailed off.

Taking the silence as an opening, Cologne nodded and stood next to Kasumi. "You are afraid that having a taste of real male companionship that she will reject you," Cologne concluded for Kasumi.

Kasumi nodded. "I know... silly isn't it."

"Indeed. You grossly misjudge my great granddaughter if you believe that is any real possibility."

"I know... but somehow the sensible part of my mind and my heart don't want to agree on that matter."

Cologne chuckled. "Ah, that is the nature of our species I'm afraid. We human beings are instinctively breed to be very selfish. We desire unwavering singular attention from our companions, but we also wish to be free to seek that companionship without that same restriction on us. It is all biologically wired into us, to spread our own genes around as widely as possible, while at the same time restricting others from doing the same.

"Unfortunately, you find yourself in an unusual position. Regardless of our laws, even among the amazons, multi-partner relationships are not common. In fact, disregarding you, at this moment, there is only 1 other official one in the village. The reason for that is quite simple, the jealousy factor. Despite how comfortable we can be with our partners, there is almost always an element of distrust, as if that partner sharing themselves with anyone but you is a betrayal, even if you are fully aware of it, and openly accepting, even encouraging of it. Not many can maintain such a relationship without some... power over their partners.

"However, you are also in a very unique position as well. Due to your curse you need not have simply two relationships with one common partner, but a true triangle of three relationships. That does not make the situation less complicated, but perhaps more stable."

Kasumi nodded. "I had not considered that. I guess, I've always just assumed till now that with a husband in the mix that I would step out of the relationship. Of course, that was before... well, before I decided I truly wished to embrace the relationship."

"Come, we should head home. I think you have little to worry about Shampoo," Cologne prompting, turning away. With a reluctant nod, Kasumi soon followed.

XXXXX

Back inside and oblivious to the goings on outside, Kuno was in high spirits. It was going amazingly well. In truth, he had been quite startled to get so little argument on the matter of the date from Shampoo. He had prepared a long list of alternative strategies and methods to get Shampoo to agree, but all turned out to be unnecessary. With such a promising start, it had been very difficult for him to retain his composure for the night's activities. His sister was certainly right in this regard that Shampoo would likely reject him outright were he too forward. No, what was required was subtlety and reserve. And, so far, his preparations had served him well.

Still, there was the other part of his sister's advice. Yes, it would not do for Shampoo to be treated as merely as means to gain the hand of Kasumi Tendo, Kuno thought as they danced. Unlike certain parties, I shall prove that my heart is open to both equally, he continued, his mind picturing Herb. Briefly overwhelmed by his resentment of the Musk prince, Kuno diverted his face from Shampoo across the room to conceal it.

As he did, he spotted their instructors speaking with another pair on the stage. The newcomers appeared to be brother and sister if he guessed right, and they were both dressed for the dance, yet the evening was nearly done. Odd, Kuno thought but dismissed the minor mystery and looked back at Shampoo, to find she too was gazing off to the side, although not at the stage, apparently lost in thought. "Does something trouble you?" Kuno asked.

Shampoo immediately returned her look to him and shook her head. "No. Shampoo just thinking."

"I trust that you are finding the evening... enjoyable?" Kuno replied.

"Is... nice," Shampoo answered after a few seconds to Kuno's satisfaction.

High praise, hidden behind an air of indifference no doubt, he thought confidently as the music finally came to an end.

"Excellent, excellent everyone," the female instructor congratulated. "I think you've all made some great progress today. Now, we got a special treat for you all. A couple acquaintances of ours happen to be with us this evening. This is Rippa Buyou and his twin sister Kitsui Buyou," she introduced the pair that Kuno had seen earlier. "They are both experts in this field. So, for the final dance of the evening, I'm going to have them lead you in. Feel free to dance along, or just watch."

With the intro complete, Rippa stepped onto the dance floor with his sister, the other giving them some room. "Hello everyone. Now, for the last dance of the evening, let's go with something a bit faster paced. Now, don't worry about following us along, just do as you might and have some fun." Gesturing to his sister with an outstretched arm, she joined him and the pair stood ready at arm's length. The other couples took the cue and set themselves up as well before the music began.

"Shall we?" Kuno asked Shampoo and she nodded, but unexpectedly took up a posture like the new pair. Smiling, Kuno immediately understood that Shampoo meant to match the newcomers. "Very well," he said confidently and likewise took up position. Seeing this, the other pair gave them a smile and a nod just as the music began.

This time, the music was more of a pop beat. The Buyou sibling immediately were in motion, in perfect match to the demanding beat. Kuno and Shampoo did likewise. After the first few moments, it became quickly clear that this dance would be quite unlike the ones they had learned so far. Up till now, the dances had involved only a few steps and motions, repeated for the duration of the song. Such was not going to be the case here, as each motion and step appeared to be unique as the seconds passed. However, driven on my Shampoo, Kuno pushed to match them. Obviously, adding to the difficulty was the mere demands of the dance diverting their attentions elsewhere.

As the dance continued, Kuno couldn't help but be impressed by Shampoo drive and ability. It was taking every ounce of his focus to keep up. Add that to the already high demands of the dance itself, and Kuno found himself on the verge of being overwhelmed. Nonetheless, being who he was, he would no concede defeat and pushed ever harder.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was likely closer to five minutes, the dance came to an end with both couples finishing with a dramatic pose, the women held arched below and by their male partners. As they both took the moment to catch their breath, they were surrounded by applause, causing them to notice that the miniature competition had gained the full attention of all the other students and even their instructors. Breaking their pose, they basked in the attention as their opponents approached.

"Not bad," Rippa praised as he joined them. "You got some natural talent there."

"You is not just dancers," Shampoo said, momentarily surprising them.

"Yes, you're right," Rippa replied with a nod, and with a knowing smile continued, "We are martial artists, like yourselves. We study the art of dance as our focus though, and use it in our martial arts. I'm sure you've aware of the long standing links between the two arts. We seek to unite the two disciplines."

Shampoo nodded in understanding and respect. This is a formidable pair, Kuno thought, no less impressed.

"Okay everyone, it's been a wonderful evening, but I'm afraid we have to bring it to an end. Of course, we do hold advanced class weekly, so if you're interested, please sign up," the male instructor said, and reluctantly those gathered began to head out. With one last mutual nod of respect with Rippa and his sister, Kuno and Shampoo also headed to the coat room to depart.

Looking to his side at his date, Kuno could tell that Shampoo was obviously upbeat. Excellent. A perfect ending to the evening. Of course, it was never in doubt, he thought with a smile to himself but suddenly had his thoughts rudely interrupted when a boy came out of the coat room, practically stomping by, bumping into Kuno but paying him no mind. Insolent welp! Kuno thought angrily, but checked any action. No, this is not the moment to be diverted off onto petty grievances. As he thought this, his eyes turned back to Shampoo to notice that in a complete flip of mood, she was now glaring angrily at the boy that had just past.

Kuno briefly entertained the notion that Shampoo was so affected simply because of the slight paid to him, but as he looked back at the boy, he realized that was likely not the cause at all. I remember this arrogant swine. He was the one from that skating match and who stole that kiss from Shampoo. Mokoto... no, something like that though... Ah yes, Mikado Sanzenin. As Kuno remembered the name of the boy, he noticed that he appeared to have some grudge with Rippa and was talking to him with a clearly angered tone. They were speaking too quietly and distant for Kuno to hear, but in truth he cared little for his troubles. No, an opportunity for righteous vengeance was at hand, and this insolent lowlife would soon know it from Kuno. Retrieving his bokken from the coat room, he marched over.

As he did, the conversation apparently ended, and not to Mikado's satisfaction. However, that matter quickly became secondary as Kuno thrust his bokken towards Mikado in challenge. "You there, swine, today is the day you shall answer for your transgressions!"

"And just who the hell are you?" Mikado asked back in irritation, but before Kuno could answer, waved him off. "Forget it, I don't care. I'm in a bad mood right now, so why don't you leave before I relieve some of my tension on your face."

Undeterred, and unimpressed with the threat, Kuno merely scoffed. "Step outside, villain, where we might do battle!"

"Fine!" Mikado replied with his own confidence, cracking his knuckles.

XXXXX

Shampoo had watched the whole confrontation with a growing level of irritation. Were circumstances, and her current mood different, she might have found Kuno's attempt to defend her honor somewhat flattering. However, despite her exhilaration of moments before, she was in no such receptive mood for Kuno idea of chivalry. Instead, she found it rather insulting, but he was so focused on his opponent that he had not even noticed.

I don't need him protecting me, Shampoo thought angrily as she followed the pair outside, unnoticed by either. Outside, in the open lot of the dance hall, Mikado turned to face Kuno. With a quick move of his feet, his shoes sprung forth wheels, and became roller skates. Kuno paid this no mind and rushed onto the attack with a rapid set of sword thrusts. Mikado, however, smiled and simply skated backwards and out of reach. It continued as such for nearly a minute, Kuno attempting to press an attack, Mikado dodging easily away. The idiot is letting him control the fight, Shampoo thought in irritation, but said nothing.

Finally, Kuno's exertions began to catch up with him, slowing him down. This was apparently what Mikado was waiting for and finally moved onto the attack. First, Mikado skated around his opponent in a circle, attempting to confuse him. Kuno held his ground and switched to a defensive stance. However, Mikado did not move in. Instead, and unexpectedly, he appeared to lose his footing in the turn and began to slide. Kuno took the opportunity and rushed onto the attack. Unfortunately for him, it was a fake. As Kuno committed himself to the attack, Mikado regained his footing, rooted himself with his hands, and swept Kuno's legs.

His balance undermined, all Kuno could hope to do was to take the fall well. However, Mikado had other intents, and with a burst of speed continued his leg spin a full 360 and caught Kuno behind the skull with a double kick. The effect was instant as all strength left Kuno body and he crashed to the ground unconscious.

Scoffing, Mikado righted himself and retracted the rollers from his shoes, returning him to normal footing. "That was pathetic," he said aloud, apparently displeased that his opponent didn't last longer. He turned to leave, then finally took notice of Shampoo. "Oh... I see now. I was wondering what exactly spawned this boy's grudge, and now I see."

"Shampoo no ask him to do anything," Shampoo replied as she glared at Mikado. She was considering the possibilities of her own attack on the boy, but unlike Kuno she had left all her weapons at home. Despite that, the temptation was still strong and she gaged her chances of victory as good. However, there was the matter of defeat, which held her at the consideration phase for the moment.

"So, what is this boy to you? A relative?" Mikado asked, but looking between the two, quickly shook his head. "No, I'm guessing your date for the evening. So then, I assume you and Kaneda-"

"That none your business," Shampoo growled out.

"I suppose not," Mikado replied, unexpectedly appearing honestly regretful. Of course, he was known for being rather deceptive when it came to getting close to a woman, so Shampoo did not let her opinion of him waver in the least. However, Mikado made no move, instead appearing to be in thought. "You wouldn't know where I could find Kaneda?" Shampoo merely continued to glare at him. "Yes, perhaps not the right time to ask. I suppose you'd like to hit me."

"Shampoo do much worse than hit you," she replied, sorely wishing her sword was handy.

"Yes, that you probably would," Mikado said with a nod, and considered. "Unfortunately, there is little I can offer you in way of apology, save exactly that, my apologies."

Shampoo blinked, and looked at Mikado suspiciously. Is he being deceitful, or honest? she wondered as his expression betrayed no ulterior motives. However, suspicion won out and Shampoo concluded this was some sort of trap he was setting up, and huffed to demonstrate her disbelief in his words.

"As I thought," Mikado responded and shrugged. "Despite what you think, my words are true. Since we last met I have had time to... adjust my ways. Of course, this has been a necessity since I had to live up to my end of the agreement made for that match which I lost, but nonetheless it has given me some... wider perspective."

Shampoo scoffed. "Shampoo no care how you 'change'. You..." Shampoo started to say, but cut herself short. I don't need to explain myself to him, she thought angrily, but he merely nodded in the face of her anger.

"So be it. Perhaps we'll meet again sometime and I can prove the worth of my words." Bowing slightly, Mikado turned away. "Oh, and sorry about your date," he said as he departed.

Shampoo continued to glare at him, further considering beating some measure vengeance out of him, but finally dismissed the idea. Ultimately, beating him up would not make her feel any better, and may even get her into trouble with Kasumi, as her wife seemed to disapprove of such behavior. As Mikado left her sight, Shampoo sighed in frustration, considering whether she should simply leave Kuno lying unconscious in the street or take him home. Again, thinking of what Kasumi might say, Shampoo opted for the later.

XXXXX

A half hour later, Shampoo was walking slowly home after having dropped Kuno at his home in the care of Sasuke. She was in no particular rush to get home. Getting home meant being with Kasumi, and although that was usually cause for happiness, given how Kasumi had been acting earlier, Shampoo expected nothing more than the silent treatment for whatever remained of the evening, and some indeterminate time after that.

This day is a total mess, Shampoo thought with a heavy sigh. Why is it like this? Shouldn't I be happy now? Kasumi has fully accepted our marriage, and all that is left is to consummate it. So, why do I feel this way? Shampoo wondered. She was tempted to blame it on that fool Kuno, but he was only the cause of a minor piece of the issue.

The stories never go like this. The warrior is supposed to find her true love, a powerful and handsome man, and they are to be happy together, in battle and glory. Okay, Kasumi is not exactly a man, but the principle should be the same. Of course, there were those other tales, the ones of the naive warrior led astray by her uncontrolled feelings, she thought with a frown. I always hated those stories.

I wonder how people will speak of me in the future? The young fool who ignored all the warning signs of disaster and persisted regardless, or the true warrior who remained true to her goal no matter the obstacle? As Shampoo thought this, she shook her head with a slight smile. What good are those stories if you can't tell which path you are following anyway?

The San Cheng Huang finally in sight, Shampoo let out a heavy sigh, and once more pondered why she had ever agreed to the date. No answer would come to her though, and with nothing else to delay the inevitable, she headed inside. There she found Makoto and her great grandmother in the dining room, apparently making plans for the new restaurant, but that little concerned Shampoo. However, the brief look of disapproval from Makoto did give her pause. Makoto broke the look quickly, so quickly that Shampoo couldn't even be sure it was what she thought it was. Another day, another time, Shampoo would have seriously considered confronting the girl, but right now, her own feelings on the matter reflected those Makoto likely felt. I shouldn't have agreed to that stupid date, Shampoo thought and headed upstairs without saying a word.

XXXXX

In her room, lying on her bed and with her back to the door, Kasumi was deep in thought. Perhaps Cologne is right. Maybe there is some other after effects to the Ha Do... or perhaps even the centering. Then again, I could just be feeling this way naturally... Kasumi frowned slightly at the thought, but then started as the door opened. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see Shampoo coming in, but quickly diverted her gaze. Right, if I don't say a thing, she probably won't notice, Kasumi thought with a quick nod to herself.

After a few seconds, Kasumi heard the door close behind her, and felt the shift in the bed as Shampoo sat down. Several more seconds past in silence, before Kasumi risked another look behind her to see Shampoo was simply staring at the floor. Does that mean the date didn't go well? Kasumi wondered, trying her best to stifle any glee at that prospect. However, as more seconds passed in silence, Kasumi started to become uncomfortable. Kasumi wanted to break the silence, but like earlier in the day, she was worried that her true feeling would spill out if she opened her mouth.

However, finally Shampoo decided to break the silence, turning to Kasumi suddenly and asking, "Why are you mad at Shampoo? I just do what you say!"

Kasumi was shocked by this and quickly turned to Shampoo. "I'm not mad at you."

"Then why you no talking?" Shampoo asked suspiciously.

"Ah... well... umm..." Kasumi fumbled, much to Shampoo's displeasure. "It's not what you think," quickly said as Shampoo started to look away, regaining her attention. "I guess... I was just feeling a little... jealous," Kasumi finally admitted, hanging her head.

"Is that no... same thing," Shampoo wondered aloud.

"Not exactly," Kasumi replied. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't ruin-"

"No say that!" Shampoo said sharply, once more shocking Kasumi. "No say is sorry. Shampoo... no want hear that anymore... not from you."

Kasumi met Shampoo's gaze, puzzled by the odd statement. "Why?" Kasumi asked, but Shampoo appeared unwilling to speak on the matter.

"Is... nothing," Shampoo said after a moment, in dismissal of the subject. "Shampoo should no have gone on date anyway. Was big mess."

"Oh, I'm..." Kasumi started to say, but caught herself. "That's too bad," she amended, and unlike moments earlier, she felt no satisfaction at hearing this. "Do... do you want to talk about it?" she offered, but Shampoo shook her head. Unsatisfied by this, Kasumi sat fully up and took Shampoo by the hand. "Shampoo, I know something is bothering you. Why won't you talk to me about it?"

Shampoo looked down at her hand, breaking her gaze with Kasumi. "Shampoo is one who should be sorry," she said after a moment.

Kasumi blinked in confusion at this. Shampoo was not one prone to apology in Kasumi's considered opinion. In fact, getting her to adjust behavior was difficult at the best of times. Getting her to admit she was in the wrong was essentially impossible. And now she was doing so freely? "Why would you... you mean about the movie. That's fine. We can easily go another-"

"Is not that," Shampoo replied quietly, further confusing Kasumi. However, Shampoo did not offer any more on the subject.

Kasumi pondered prying further, but decided against it. Being this resistant on the matter, and the day going as it had, the results of any such inquiry would probably be not all that useful. So, Kasumi gave Shampoo a sympathetic nod. The mystery would simply have to wait for another day.

XXXXX

Far over the Pacific Ocean, Mamoru stared out his window into the sky, watching as the sun slowly traveled on it's way towards the horizon. It little mattered, he wouldn't be getting any sleep. Ever since his encounter with Galaxia aboard a very similar plane, he found he just couldn't let his nerves rest during a flight anymore. However, rather than dwell on the past, he pondered the current situation. All of our future is now in doubt, he thought. I know Usagi did not intend that, but... what awaits us now?

Frowning, Mamoru briefly looked up at the ceiling of the plane in a moment of philosophical consideration before looking back out into the sky. It was then that a feeling hit him... a disturbingly familiar feeling. No... that can't be, he thought as his eyes scanned the horizon. All seemed normal, but the feeling remained and continued to grow stronger. Anxious, he considered briefly that he may in fact had fallen asleep and was simply in a dream, but no. This was definitely the waking world, and the presence approaching was just like before.

As he thought on this, his eyes caught sight of what looked to be a shooting star, but he knew immediately that it was not. Soon, it proved him right as it changed direction and headed directly for his plane.

"This can't be happening," Mamoru said aloud.

"Hmh?" the woman beside him said as she looked at him in puzzlement, but then noticed what he was seeing. "Is that some sort of UFO?"

The exclamation drew many of the other passengers attention, and soon they too were peering out at the strange incoming object. Mamoru, however, was already making plans. This won't go the same way as last time, he vowed as he stood up. Even if chaos is somehow back, I won't be defeated so easily this time.

"Hey where are you-" the woman started to ask as Mamoru made is way to the isle, but suddenly she simply stopped. Mamoru eyed her briefly, noting that it was as if she was frozen in place. Looking around he noted that the rest of the passengers were likewise unmoving, and that even the sounds of the plane's engines had ceased.

With a grim frown, Mamoru transformed and made his way to the nearest exit door, only to have it thrown open unexpectedly. He paused and watched as a figure descended into the plane, and turned to him. However, it was not who he had expected. The woman before him could certainly never be confused with Galaxia. No unlike that Senshi, this was wore nothing at all to cover herself, save a strange metallic mask covering her eyes. He was taken aback by the unusual encounter, and found himself at a loss for action as she turned to him.

"Terra, there you are. I knew that was you I felt," the woman said with a smile. "What's wrong?"

Mamoru blinked at the unusual name and finally shook himself free from his stupor. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Who am I?" the woman repeated with a sad expression. "I'm hurt that you don't remember me. Although I suppose that is to be expected. But, perhaps I can refresh your memory some." In a flash, Tuxedo Kamen found the woman directly in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Before he could possibly react he found himself in a lip lock with her. The action caught him so off guard that he his mind fumbled and he could not react. Fortunately, the kiss lasted only a moment before she released it and looked into his eyes with a smile. "How's that?"

Strangely, he did feel a sort of familiarity in the situation. There was no logic too it, but somehow, he did know this woman's name. "Eris?"

End Chapter 39

Next time in A Scary Thought: Mikado shows up to make a strange request. Meanwhile, Ranma unlocks the secrets of the scroll.

For those a bit confused on the crossovers: Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Luna, and Artemis are all from Sailor Moon. Kitsune has her ties to the X-files, but only in that she's a fanatic of similar interests rather than appearing in said show. Saki and Sampei are from Sukeban Deka. You may also notice Frost borrowing a spell from here or there; in particular Gargoyles and Illusionaries are two prime targets. Speaking of Gargoyles, if you're a fan of the series you may have already figured this out, but La Bac is Cabal spelt backwards. Also Gen-U-Tech is also a business from Gargoyles. Does that mean this is a Gargoyles cross over? Haven't decided, could just be me stealing ideas ^_^. Anyway, besides that we have Chun Li, Rose, Shadow Lady, Shadow, Gill and the previously shown Karin and Sakura which come from Street Fighter series (Rose, Karin and Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Shadow and Shadow Lady from Marvel vs Capcom, Chun Li from much of the Street Fighter series, and now Gill from Street Fighter III). As for Ranko, well she's from my other major fanfic, Most Unlikely of Friends, although you can largely consider her standard Ranma trapped in female form for most purposes. And lastly comes dear old Siren who is from Dreiser's story 'Black Rose Blue Thunder'. I won't be using her much but she fits a temporary need.

Those paying attention may be wondering 'what ever happened to that beach side location?' Well, I've been wondering that myself. Recently used Google to lookup a Tokyo district map and noticed that Nerima is no where remotely close to the beach. So, evidently it is run by hire ons. Of course, that has led to some other issues with my geography in certain sections. I'm trying to be accurate here, so I'm going back and editing those sections so they make some geographic sense.

Speaking of edits, also recently came to know that Shampoo's weapons are called Chui, not Bonbori as is commonly asserted. I'm not 100% sure on this, but everything I look up about Bonbori that isn't a fansite shows them as paper lanterns, not weapons. While I can see where the terminology may have been derived from this, being as the lantern are circular like Shampoo's weapons, there doesn't appear to be any connection beyond that. Chui are weapons, but I'm finding sources on them rather limited as well, but at least they occasionally match what Shampoo is using. Again, for accuracy, I'm going back and changing all my references to these to what I believe is the more correct term. If you think I'm wrong, and have a good source (not a fansite), I'd like to see it. I'm kinda suspicious that maybe Bonbori is a Japanese term, and Chui is the Chinese term, but without some kind of source, I'm going with what is sourced.

Good news, the website is back up as .com/hosted/derekloffin. Bad news, I still can't directly update it, so it's behind (well it was behind when I could directly update it, but now even more so). I will probably update it sometime down the line when they get some kind of public interface active, but for now it's there just for historical purposes. It needs quite the overhaul now.

And speaking of websites, my GOD, my fortunecity website is still kicking. I thought that thing was dead years ago! And hey, I get 100 megs there... Hmm, you know I hate ads and all, but there is some promise there, especially with the trouble anifics is having lately. Anyway, I haven't got the motivation to do major webpage editing right now, but I might just go back there should anifics not get their act together soon.

Well, that concludes things for this chapter. Later.

XXXXX

Hey folks, it is time yet another Kitsune's Corner! And today we have Miss Kodachi Kuno here with me. So, miss Kuno, haven't been seeing much of you. Seems you and Ryoga haven't exactly been hitting it off.

"He's a shy boy... I like them that way. It so much funner with them playing hard to get."

I'm sure it is.

"Yes, but I must admit, he is pretty hung up on our dear Kasumi. But, it's just a matter of time till he comes around. I suppose I might feel a bit threatened by that, but since he is so shy I really don't see a whole lot to worry about."

Can't argue with that. Ryoga isn't exactly Mr. Forward.

Speaking of relationships, you and Kimiko seemed to have come to an agreement.

"More like she was threatened with a transfer to our class, and decided to play nice to avoid it. I don't think her parents would be overly happy with her if she can sent in with us hard core delinquents. I'm sure she's still looking for a bit of revenge when the opportunity presents itself. Of course, unlike her, I might find it rather amusing to streak the school."

Errr... yeah, I bet you would.

"Hmh?"

I'm just curious what exactly you have been up to in your private time. I hear some rumors that you and Akane are more than friends.

"Oh-hohoho, ah yes, deliberately implied yet untrue. Oh, I like to tease Akane now and then, especially after that whole Kaneda affair, but no, she and I are not interested in that kind of relationship. Although, you would be quite surprised at how Akane's mind works sometimes. She's not quite the clean cut young lady as most assume."

You've probably been a bad influence on her.

"Me? Heavens, I don't know what you could possibly mean. Just because I have a large, purely decorative, collection of interesting... toys..."

Yeah, yeah. Now, let's see here. Seems you own a... giant crocodile?

"Hmh? Oh no. Mr. Giant Crocodile is really just a little green turtle. He's very cute. Although, I must admit, I did flirt with the idea of getting a real crocodile, but Akane convinced me that would probably be a bad idea."

I see... and why exactly did you call it Mr. Giant Crocodile then?

"Well, it certainly wouldn't do to call it Mr. Green Turtle now would it? I mean, where is the imagination in that."

I... suppose not. You do know you're weird, right?

"Of course. Normal is soooo boring. To have real fun, and get some serious attention, you have to be as abnormal as you can. Of course, it's always a balancing act. I hear that I didn't quite balance it so well in certain other world."

Yeah, but let's save the trans-dimensional discussions for another time. It's been... an interesting little discussion Ms. Kuno.