Disclaimer: The following is a fan-written fiction, the views and opinions in this story are not intended to be viewed as those of the author. Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha, and Five Pound Gospel are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi, property of their respective rights holders and publishers. Please support the official releases.

CW: This story will contain violence, strong language, sexual humor and situations, drug use, Moroboshi Ataru, and Happosai. You've been warned.

It was hard to comprehend how quickly time had begun to put the climactic battle with the Sickle Gang behind Akane and Katie. Why, no more than an eye blink and two whole days had passed. Fact of the matter, if not for the cancellation of classes until the school could be rebuilt, Akane might not have noticed time had passed at all.

Okay, there were one-no two-other factors that helped remind her that things were still fresh. Firstly, her father was still nursing wounds from the encounter and seeing him hunch over in pain every so often reminded her that it wasn't a clean break. Second, sitting right next to her at breakfast was Katie, who was hanging out a bit more since classes were off.

No one minded the extra mouth today, thanks in part to the foreigner bringing along more than her appetite to the table. The spread for breakfast looked almost like take-out–a testament to Kasumi's skill–but the volume and contents carried a note of the outsider's touch to them. Steak for breakfast sounded like something a rich villain character might indulge in to make the audience hate them, but Akane was finding it hard to cast shade on their taste.

"I was coming over today anyways, but the roomie sent me out the door early because she had some work stuff to do, and didn't want me all up in her background," Katie her most recent reason for coming by.

"That's awful." Kasumi said, putting a hand to mouth in sympathy.

"What? Nah, I ain't salty about it," Katie said. "Heck, normally we'd be starting class around now, anyhow. No class means I gotta be off set, so here I am."

"That doesn't explain the steak, senpai." Akane said, doing her job as kouhai and weeding left out information.

"Well, we were supposed to have some for breakfast, but since she had to send me your way, she let me take some as a token of gratitude."

"Some? You've covered the entire table in steak." Nabiki pointed out. "And there's still another three bags in the icebox."

"Well, I ain't no small eater and neither is the roomie, so we keep a bunch of protein on hand. This ain't even a dent in our stock." Katie explained away.

"I have enough for lunch and possibly dinner, too," Kasumi said cheerfully, now with even less to guilt or worry about.

"And that's including feeding her," Nabiki murmured in wonder. As much as her bank account has swollen with her side gig advising Kodachi, things were too busy for her to get towards spending it to feel the effects of wealth.

"Well, if I didn't account for myself, you wouldn't have enough to make it worth the effort," Katie declared.

"A good day of meals and we save on groceries." Akane took her chance to poke Nabiki for once. "Wasn't someone bemoaning the strain having her over put on the bills"

"That was more in making sure we remember we're not made out of money," Nabiki shot back. "I might be building up a nest from working with Kodachi, but I'd like to get it done before you two start laying eggs."

As fun as it was to watch her sisters bicker with one another, there was food to be eaten so Kasumi changed the subject. "Speaking of Nabiki-chan, how's the reconstruction going?"

Nabiki began to stack her bowl with meat and rice. "Mendō's in full simp mode and the school should be rebuilt within a week," she reported. "Which is impressive considering that between the shrine and the huge jungle basement, the whole building is sitting on a man-made sinkhole."

Akane stopped. "Wait, wait, there's a jungle in the basement?"

"Some crazy thing the Principal had built in the school."

Kasumi's head drooped slightly, traumatic high school memories flashing before her eyes.

Not noticing her older sister's reaction, Nabiki continued. "It doesn't really matter, though. First thing Kodachi had done was fill both those holes so they'd never cause trouble again." She gestured to both girls. "Oh yeah, the workers found that Pickup Martial Arts guy chained up down there and cut him loose."

Katie let out an amused huff. "Was he done up in leather, too?"

"Like the rest of those gimps," Nabiki said with a nod. "Curly and the Butsu boys made him walk back to Taian like that so everyone could see."

"And he won't have anything to go back to," Katie said with a triumphant huff. "The old Landlady took his whole business, so it'll be the last we see of those PUMA jackasses, probably."

Akane was concerned about someone else. "Did they find Principal Okamada down there?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Nope, all they found was the roof of the buried temple. If that gross pervert is anywhere, it's under that."

"So, he's where he belongs," Katie said with a snort.

Kasumi snapped out of her traumatic flashbacks and asked. "What happened to the rest of the Sickle Gang?"

"Well, most of the Japanese members have been kicked out of the SAD. Curly and them shipped them to the gates and out of town, too." Nabiki explained. "The guys from around here who got pressed into it were happy to go back to where they came from, too."

"As long as we don't have to deal with a Neo Sickle Gang or anything like that, good," Akane said.

"What about the boys from the school?" Kasumi inquired.

"Yeah, they're still broken," Nabiki revealed. "They've gone right back to wallowing in their own self-pity."

And that just made Akane disgusted all over again, though not so disgusted that she lost her appetite, as she resumed digging into her food.. "Pathetic, it's been over two weeks…"

Katie agreed with her kouhai. "At this rate, if all they're gonna do is mope we may as well cut 'em loose."

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "I'll bring it up with Kodachi later next time I hang out with her."

"Well, as long as she's not gonna go all Mendō and turn the boys into her harem or something, I'm good with whatever."

Akane laughed at the very idea. "Those guys?! Ugh, guys like them are why I don't like boys. Kodachi could do so much better for a harem–like Butsumetsu."

Katie and Nabiki nearly spit-took, as the absurdity of that mental image hit like a hammer, and both girls laughed.

Still, there was no disrespect for the young men of Butsusmetsu, as Akane went on. "Seriously, though, I'd rather have all the guys from Butsumetsu attend Furinkan instead. As crude as they are, they came through when we needed them and have been nothing but helpful."

Katie agreed. "Maybe we should ask Sōban and Curly about it, see if they'd be up for it." Her musing reminded her. "Oh yeah, Nabiki. What's the word on that chick who knocked the big man out?"

Nabiki shook her head. "On God, I could not tell you. No one has seen any sign of a girl or a panda since, and I've asked around."

"A real live panda bear," Kasumi said in wonder, "I remember seeing one at the zoo back when I was very little, before China took it back… I wonder how it got here."

"To say nothing of why it was chasing a girl around the SAD," Katie quipped.

Nabiki smirked at her. "You want to fight her, don't you?"

"Sōban is a huge, super strong dude; anyone that small who can one and done anyone that big has my immediate attention!"

Akane would be lying if she wasn't intrigued by the potential challenge herself. Since meeting Katie and encountering competent martial artists like Ryūnosuke and even Kamaitachi, she was more invested in the skills she had honed. Would she like another fight like Madame Kamenbell? Probably not, but she wanted to explore the world she was raised in… and meet others who lived in it.

"I just hope that she's not a bad person," she said. "After dealing with those perverts, I don't want to be the next strong person we meet to be another problem."

Katie nodded. "Hear, hear."

Nabiki was likewise in agreement. "Same. The SAD is bad enough as it is, we don't need a boss parade."

Kasumi nodded assent; while she liked the excitement of her town, she wasn't keen on a crisis every week

As the four girls continued to chat while they tucked into their meal, letting whatever else to be said left for later, Tendo Soun was stirred from his slumber by a buzzing sound. While on the (exaggerated) mend from his (not as severe as they actually were) injuries, Soun had taken to spending more time (than usual) in bed recuperating (to avoid going on neighborhood watch patrols with Dr. Tofu) and bringing himself back to full health. So, he spent most of this time playing games on his phone.

He was not a tech savvy guy, but it served its purpose in allowing him to keep in touch with his family, and play a few gacha games said family would give him weird looks if they knew he was playing them.

Blearily opening his eyes to the faint sound, Soun reached over to his buzzing phone and picked it up. Updates to his games usually happened close to noon, and it was nowhere near that, so it puzzled him why the device was making such a racket.

When he saw that he was receiving messages, from an unknown number his eyes widened. He could count the people who had his personal SMS number on one hand.

When he opened the messages and began reading them, he froze.

Unknown Number Said:
Tendo, is this you?

Unknown Number Said:
It had better be, you're the only Tendo in Nerima.

Unknown Number Said:
Answer me, damn it.

Unknown Number Said:
I'm in a rush so I'll just say it.

Unknown Number Said:
It's me, Saotome. I'm back from China.

Unknown Number Said:
I'm bringing Ranma with me.

Soun stared at the screen, as tears began to fill his eyes. A day he'd once been praying for had come… and for some reason he was filled with dread.

While school was off for Furinkan, it was still in session for the students of Tomobiki. With the end of the Sickle Gang, its male students, some of them sporting bruises and bandaged up injuries, had refilled the classrooms and everything was fitting back into normal.

It helped that none of them wanted to talk about the experience. Even Megane.

Especially Megane.

Moroboshi Ataru was not going to let him have that luxury.

"Megane, I just wanted to say." He reached out and placed a hand on his classmate's shoulder. "Whatever feelings you feel, however you want to express yourself, you should always know I won't think any less of you as a person–because that is impossible."

In the shoe box room of the school, the furious Megane swung back at the maliciously grinning Ataru. "FUCK OFF, MOROBOSHI!"

Naturally, Ataru evaded the swing and laughed at the rage of his fiancée's simp. "Hey, don't be mad, you'll be okay. It's a man's world, after all!"

"Cast yourself into the fires of Mount Doom from whence you came, you demon!" Megane yelled as he lunged at him with every intent to inflict violence.

Having already swapped out her shoes and avoided his flirtatious advances, Ryūnosuke shook her head in disdain as she watched Ataru harass Megane with Nick. "That's kind of messed up. Considering who he's saying it to, though? I can't really be bothered to intervene."

"Good on you," Nick congratulated her. "Knowing when to fight is just as important as knowing how, maybe even more important."

Ryūnosuke folded her arms as the two walked away from the shoebox room towards their class. "I'm glad things are back to normal," she said aloud before amending herself, "The new normal."

Nick agreed. "I'm right there witcha, but don't get too complacent, now. Ain't no telling what's ahead, especially for those who lead lives of violence like us."

Of course, as soon as he said that the PA system came on and the Principal spoke. "Attention all Teachers and Faculty. The Lady Mendō is arriving at the school gate, please report to the front of the school to welcome her."

As a commotion broke out and teachers and faculty alike began hurrying outside, Nick tilted his head slightly. "The Lady Mendō?"

Sakura, who was standing outside the school clinic, was glad to explain. "The Mendō Family is being the Mendō Family. When one of the parents shows up, the school drops everything and pulls off this pomp and circumstance out of respect."

Ryūnosuke rolled her eyes. Nick simply said what she was feeling. "Sounds like a bunch of bull hockey to me."

"Of course it is," Sakura agreed. "My question is… why is she here?"

Nick looked towards the ceiling, then closed his eyes and hummed. "If I had to guess, she is here to say something about the treatment of her son."

Ryūnosuke side-eyed her Dad. "So, she's here to see you."

He rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Oh boy, my first parent-teacher conference."

"Over a week after the fact," Sakura noted.

Nick turned to her. "Maybe she's really busy."

Sakura wanted to think better of people. Especially parents. "I like that answer, let's go with that."

A call of "Hail to the Mendō Zaibatsu!" followed by choruses of "Banzai!" sounded from outside, and Nick recoiled a bit in visible distaste. "I'd say that's a bit much, but armed soldiers and tanks in the streets over kids skipping out for lunch."

"The Mendō family is nothing if not extra," Sakura replied bluntly.

Shortly thereafter, the doors opened and in walked a beautiful middle-aged woman with bright blue eyes and deep purple hair pulled back into a tight, aristocratic bun. She wore a green dress accented with yellow frills and trim and carried in her hand a purple feather-tufted fan. She was accompanied by an elderly butler, who led her through the school's front lobby and up to Ryūnosuke, Nick, and Sakura.

The red-haired teacher got the dirt off his shoulders and brushed down his suit as the woman and her accompanying servant approached him specifically. "Good morning, Mendō-san. Sorry for not being out there to greet you, I'm new to that whole policy."

Rather than Mrs. Mendō, it was the Butler who addressed Nick. "Mr. Nicholas Fontaine, I presume?"

"That's Nicholas Fontaine Sherman, I've been married for over twenty years," Nick corrected.

Mrs. Mendō's pointed stare became a glare, before she opened her fan and used it to hide the lower half of her face. Glancing out the corner of her eye to beckon her accompanying butler, she began to whisper to him from behind her fan when he leaned in close.

As the Butler listened to the Matriarch of the Mendō, Nick raised an eyebrow in confusion, while both Ryūnosuke and Sakura turned to look at him. Down the hall, Ataru and Megane were no longer squabbling and peeking from the shoebox room to observe the confrontation. Both found the appearance of Shūtaro's mother concerning.

"Mature baddie that she is, nothing good can come of her being here," Ataru quietly suggested.

Megane had the right idea about it. "The only reason she could be here is to demand compensation for kicking her son out of school. Sherman-sensei is in trouble, no doubt."

"On one hand, he is a teacher," Ataru whispered, "On the other he has helped Ryū-chan realize her true potential and got rid of Mendō in the first place… also his daughter is a total babe."

Megane, ever the lovable Lum lover, was interested in the revelation of a teacher's daughter. "A daughter? She's hot?"

Kakugari and Perm were also drawn in and leaned in on Ataru. "What does she look like?"

Once Mrs. Mendō finished speaking, the butler nodded and bowed to her. "I understand!"

Turning to Nick, he spoke in a tone full of authority and stern vigor–not unlike a middle manager dressing down a lowly salaryman. "Listen here, Mendō-sama has come to express her great anger and disappointment in your conduct towards her son, Shūtaro-sama."

Nick's expression turned flat, as he checked himself out of the conversation immediately. "Oh, really?"

"Without consulting his parents or even informing the legal representation of the Mendō Zaibatsu, you unilaterally expelled Shūtaro-sama from this school," the butler continued with increasing volume. "In doing so, you have humiliated and brought shame not only to Shūtaro-sama, but the good name of the Mendō family. What do you have to say for yourself, commoner?"

Without looking, he held out an arm and stopped Ryūnosuke from flying off the handle at the butler for spitting out the word commoner at her Dad like it was a slur.

What did I say about knowing when to throw hands? He thought.

Rather than answer the butler, he addressed Mrs. Mendō. "Your son, in unwitting collaboration with your daughter, conspired with the school's faculty and arranged an armed attack on his classmates under the guise of a disciplinary action. This resulted in an afternoon-long brawl that left both students and faculty injured. I expelled your son, with the consent of and full authority from the Principal because, frankly, that boy is an idiot and a menace. That's what I have to say for myself."

Her eyes widening at Nick's insults, Mrs. Mendō tightened her jaw then leaned towards her butler. While the two conversed, Nick spied some nearby lockers, then glanced at his indignant daughter, before returning his attention to Mrs. Mendō and her fan-concealed muttering.

"You don't even have a picture of her?" Perm muttered at Ataru.

"No, I don't," Ataru snapped back. "But uh… imagine Nena Trinity from Gundam 00, but actually cute instead of psycho."

Lum's Stormtroopers all paused and hummed in consideration.

Megane nodded. "Would."

Ataru could not stop himself. "My brother beside the Buddha; you would if you could–but you cannot."

The Butler nodded and bowed again. "Understood!" He turned back to Nick. "Regardless of what Shūtaro-sama was doing, it is not your place to discipline someone of his standing in such a manner. As a matter of fact, you–"

"And I'm going to stop you, right there," Nick said, cutting the butler off.

The butler was surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

"My man, are you the boy's father?" Nick asked.

The butler shook his head. "No, I am a humble servant of the–"

"Then be quiet." Nick cut him off again, before addressing Mrs. Mendō. "Ma'am, if you want to discuss the matter regarding your son, then you're going to speak directly to me, or we have nothin' to talk about, y'hear?"

The uncouth manner in which he spoke to Mrs. Mendō set the butler off something fierce. "The Lady Mendō-sama refuses to raise her voice to those beneath her station. As her butler, I will speak on her behalf to you, and you shall be grateful for the privilege."

"Hey, kiddo?" Nick said to Ryūnosuke.

"Yeah, Pop?" She asked.

Nick pointed at the butler. "Take this nerd." He pointed at the lockers he'd scoped out. "And stuff him in one of those lockers over there for me."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" The Butler shouted, much louder, before he was grabbed by Ryūnosuke and hauled away. "Unhand me this instant! This is assault!"

Ryūnosuke was not intimidated. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, call the cops? They can't unstuff you from a locker, nerd."

Nick watched Ryūnosuke with no small amount of pride, before he turned a cold glare onto Mrs. Mendō. "Let's make one thing clear, ma'am. I was hired onto this school's faculty to serve as an educator and a disciplinarian, not as one of yer son's toadies."

With her fan concealing her indignant sneer, Mrs. Mendō looked away from Nick. She held the fan slightly higher–to serve as a barrier between their faces and make her disdain for him known.

In response to her petulant display, Nick grabbed the fan and crushed it in his grip. Jumping in surprise, the Mendō matriarch stared at him with mouth agape as he moved closer, getting directly in her face. "I expelled your son because of his downright fatherless behavior, and I'm certainly not going to tolerate any of that from you either. Now we are going to discuss this like grown adults, or I'll stuff you in a locker right next to the help over there, y'hear?"

Directly behind him, Sakura was mortified. Down the hall, Ataru stopped pushing and shoving with the Stormtroopers enough to stop and stare at Nick looming over the richest woman in Japan like he was about to expel her from school next. In the other direction, Ryūnosuke had managed to get the requested locker closed and looked over to see how the confrontation was going.

Mrs. Mendō, still wide-eyed, stared at Nick in silence. His expression was like stone, his gaze locked on the woman like he was burning holes through her eyes and out the back of her head. After a moment more of studying his face and his uncompromising authority, Mrs. Mendō looked away, her own visage coloring as she brought her free hand up to her lips.

"Very well, Nicholas Fontaine Sherman-sensei," she said audibly, but still in a quiet and reserved voice.

Nick eased back and brightened. "Thank you, kindly. I don't ask for none much more than a little bit of decency to remember you and I are the same species, ma'am, regardless of the privilege this world bestowed on us."

He turned and gestured towards the teachers' offices. "Now then, let's step into my office over here, so we can discuss this whole matter of lil' Shooter."

Her hand still hiding her lips, Mrs. Mendō nodded quickly, obediently, and followed Nick along to the teachers' office. Watching them go, Sakura stood with her own mouth hung open, unsure if she had misread that exchange and confounded by the implications that lay if she hadn't.

Back over with Ataru, he and Megane all just stared in silence. They were of similar thoughts, unsure of what they just saw was real.

Ryūnosuke walked back over to Sakura, having left the butler in the locker. She looked in the direction Nick went. Seemingly missing any and all implications, she let out an annoyed sound. "She better not convince him to allow that dimwit back here."

Even with all the chatting and joking, the steak was dispatched without a chance to get lukewarm. It was a fine meal; the kind you might loosen the tighter buttons to allow sensitive bits to expand. But as great sounding as kicking back to allow the food to digest was, there were other things to do.

"So where are you two headed?" Nabiki asked her sister and Katie, leaning back to keep the budding food baby from making too much of a bump on her front.

"We were gonna check on the Butsumetsu boys." Katie replied as the two got up.

"They are our friends," Akane concurred. "Plus, we'll be able to walk off this meal."

"Well, have fun you two. Don't try to start more story arcs while you're out, okay?"

"I can't promise that." Akane admitted.

"If you feel like tempting fate, though, go ahead," Katie invited her.

Akane shot Katie a look, rolled her eyes and stomped to the front door to get her shoes.

Nabiki repressed a laugh into her right hand. "Never stop poking that one."

"It's too funny," Katie replied as she moved to follow Akane. "See y'all."

Kasumi called after her. "Be safe, the both of you." She turned to Nabiki. "And what about you?"

Nabiki abruptly laid back and splayed her arms on the floor. "I'm going to digest my food and leave future Nabiki on the hook for getting rid of the two kilos I'm sure I've gained from eating all of that."

Kasumi giggled at her younger sister, happy to do the same.

Outside and walking down the street towards the under reconstruction Furinkan High School, Akane watched Katie out of the corner of her eye. Some revelations from the other night were still weighing on her, and now that they were on their own, she wanted some clarification.

"Ne, senpai," she began. "I have some questions."

Katie looked at her. "Oh? Go on, shoot."

"That Uncle of yours, who took in Ryūnosuke, is that the same one who brought you here?"

Katie turned to her. "Oh, yeah, one and the same."

Akane nodded and looked ahead. "So, why don't you live with them?"

Katie shook her head. "Main reason is I'd have to go to school over at Tomobiki if I stayed at their place, and none of us wanted that."

That was as good a reason as any. "Down in the temple, you said something bad happened at your old school, and that's why you're here. What happened?"

Letting out a sigh, Katie explained. "A long time ago, my parents made a lot of enemies. A lot. And back at my school, some of those guys caught up to them and tried getting at them through me. Now they're laying low, who knows where, and I'm here where I should be safe."

Akane nodded slowly. "Okay, last question? Who are those people you know who could help Kamaitachi?"

Katie smiled slightly. "Friends of my Uncle. Like I said, people who can get him on his way to where he needs to be. Hopefully by now, he's much happier with who he is and will knock off that gang shit."

"What do you suppose will happen to the rest of them?"

"Roll back into Japanese society, I reckon. Maybe they'll stick together, maybe they'll go back into their closets and pretend they were never part of the Sickle Gang." She shrugged her shoulders. "But that's not really our problem anymore, is it?"

Akane nodded slowly. "No, I guess not. I just feel a little bad for them all now, with Madame Kamenbell gone and all that's left is why they even joined him."

Katie smirked. "You're a better person than me."

Akane let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm glad you can say that; I've been on my last nerve non-stop for the last two weeks!" She hung her head. "I just want to go back to being nice."

If only for a little while.

"An ambitious goal, given our notorious new classmate," Katie joked.

Akane hung her head. "Don't remind me, Senpai…"

It was as good a place as any to change the subject. "Say, hon."

Akane turned her head to look at her. "Yes?"

"Thinkin' about it," she began, "I have been relyin' a bit too much on yer hospitality. I think I should return the favor."

The younger girl perked up. "Wait, you mean have me over to your house? What about your roommate?"

"The roomie won't mind if I bring you by, so long as she knows you're a-comin'," Katie assured her. "Heck, she might be amenable to a sleepover, since she don't socialize much away from her keyboard."

Akane's internet consumption consisted mainly of J-Pop, K-Pop, martial arts demonstrations, and makeup tutorials. She wasn't much of a gamer, and much less an aficionado of foreign gamers who made their money gaming all day for people to watch. "She doesn't get out much, huh?"

"There's a reason for that," Katie replied with the implication that she didn't want to get into the particulars herself.

Akane yielded, getting the sense that it was a sensitive topic. Luckily an impressive sight came along to change the subject as they reached the corner where they'd take a right to head on towards Butsumetsu. Furinkan High School was a hive of activity, completely entombed by a massive scaffolding frame that obscured all but the building's clock tower. The courtyard that surrounded the school was churned up and muddy from the construction vehicles moving with machine-like precision, and construction workers in hardhats and safety vests were all but occupying every square foot of the site.

"Dang, them boys at work," Katie said.

Akane made a face. "It's a little disappointing that this is all thanks to Mendō."

"Don't think about how the sausage is made, hon, just that it tastes good."

"I don't want to think about Mendō and tasting sausage in the same context."

Katie held in that laugh hard.

It hurt.

"Ah, ladies." Honestly after that, Mendō actually going out of his way to approach them could not even inflict an ache. He approached them not looking like a throwback to the Antebellum Showa Era but dressed in a crisp white uniform. Even the eyepatch was gone.

Akane was glad she was too full of steak for breakfast for aggression, it helped her put up instead of shut up over her pledge for patience. "Hello, Mendō-san."

Katie was impressed by her commitment to the polite vibe and rolled with it. "Howdy." She looked from him over to the school. "Good job getting this all together, man. We wanna be back in class sooner than later."

Mendō was actually surprised that the two girls, who'd been nothing but belligerent to him from the jump, were speaking to him without even so much as a disparaging side-eye. Seeing the opportunity to reestablish a social link, Mendō played it cool. "Ah, thank you. After what happened, I was more motivated than I was before to realize Kodachi-sama's vision. At the rate of progress, the reconstruction and renovation should be complete by this Saturday."

Katie was impressed. "That soon? I heard within a week, but I was thinking Monday or somethin'."

Mendō smiled. "I would not dream of delaying the opportunity to learn any longer than possible. That is why I have this veritable army of men, with reserves prepared to take over and work overnight. All are well-paid craftsmen, renown experts in their fields, because only the best will do."

Already he was laying it on thick, but it amused Katie more than it offended her. Akane's eyebrows furrowed a little bit, less in disgust and more in exasperation that he was still trying to flex with no muscles.

"Well," the former said, "Keep up the good work, I s'pose."

Akane nodded, the steak-induced good mood keeping her from throwing cold water on him.

Mendō was heartened by their neutral reaction. "If you don't mind my asking; what brings you both out today?"

"Oh, we were on our way over to Butsumetsu to hang out with Sōban and the boys," Katie revealed. "Been meaning to check up on the big guy since his freakout at the function."

Mendō tried not to visibly cringe at the mention of Sōban. "I see… well, take it from someone who knows. It's been a few days, so he should be back to his normal self."

Both agreed with that opinion, in truth. "Still," Akane said, "They're our friends."

The very idea of these beautiful girls being friendly with that bunch offended Mendō to his core. He needed to show them what proper company was like, before their association with those brutes led them down a dark path (away from him). "You know, if you have any free time after your visit, I would like to treat the two of you to dinner."

"Dinner?" Katie repeated.

Mendō cleared his throat. "Or lunch, depending on how long you intend to be away. My family recently purchased a flying yacht, and my efforts here have regained me the privilege to use it. I'd like to give you a tour aboard it."

Akane was a little incredulous. "Uhh… what?"

Katie would be lying that she wasn't a lil' bit curious. Nevertheless. "Hey, Shooter, can I level with you, man?"

Mendō stood a bit straighter. "Of course, what is it?"

Katie sighed. "Look, I get that you're a good-lookin' guy used to flashin' some cash and having girls follow you around like ducklings, but ain't every girl shallow and greedy like that."

"Thank you for saying it!" Akane all but shouted.

"I'm an American," Katie said with a dutiful nod, "It's what I do."

The gates were open and Akane charged through them. "I'm not interested in you or your money, Mendō-san. I appreciate you helping Kodachi rebuild the school, and I'm over all the crap from before… but… can you just tone it down?"

"Yeah, my man," Katie added. "There's a speed limit, and you're going so fast your family will go broke paying the tickets."

Akane shook her head. "Lunch on a flying yacht? That's way too much!"

"Yeah, try startin' a lil' smaller," Katie suggested.

Mendō Shūtaro thought he was starting small. Grand and ostentatious gestures for even the smallest of favors was a hallmark of the Mendō family; he couldn't call himself scion if he did not demonstrate the formidable might his name represented to those he sought to impress. Especially to girls of such beauty and vitality as these two.

Perhaps in my eagerness to capitalize off their more civil behavior, I overstepped. Damn, how do I pull back? Invite them to one of my family's hotel resorts? Rent out a restaurant in Taian for the evening? Hire some manner of entertainment troupe to stage a play set in the Heian Era?

Credit to Mendō, he considered those things a bit much too–and things he'd done before to impress Lum, Shinobu, Ryūnosuke, and Sakura. Closing his eyes, he hummed.

"I suppose you're right," he said before he bowed. "I apologize for being too forward."

Akane feared for a second there he was going to double down, so to hear him step off the gas was a relief. "Thank you."

Katie nodded sagely. "There you go. Baby steps: we're still gettin' used to you bein' around."

Baby steps indeed. With his head still bowed, Mendō couldn't help but smile. Even if it means making baby steps for five hundred kilometers, I will impress the two of you. And with this, I have taken the first in that direct–

His ambitious thoughts were jarringly interrupted when a pair of feet came down on the back of his head and accelerated his face into the sidewalk with enough force to crack it. The hard-headed scion of the Mendō family lay sprawled there, while a young man stood atop his head, more concerned with what was behind him rather than where he landed.

Akane and Katie both gawked in surprise at the newcomer standing atop Mendō's head like it was an extremely dense rock.

"What in tarnation…?" Katie quietly asked.

It was a boy their age–but he didn't seem like the average Japanese boy, wearing a bright red but dirty shirt and dark brown pants that had small tears at their bottoms from excessive wear. He had a youthful but handsome face with dark eyes, and black hair that began with messy bangs at the front, and ended in a long, braided pigtail, but what caught both girls' attention as martial artists was his wiry, agile physique, made for speed but also clearly strong.

"Did I lose him?" Saotome Ranma asked as he scanned the rooftops he'd plunged down from and the street below them. "Or did that crafty bastard lose me? I'm not letting him sneak me again."

"Um…" Akane said aloud, and Ranma looked at both girls.

He blinked in surprise at them. "Oh, it's you two."

That caught Akane off guard. "Have we met?"

Katie had more pressing concerns than prior affiliation. "My guy, you might wanna check what you stepped on."

Alarmed, Ranma looked down. "I didn't land in crap, did I?" He stopped when he saw Mendō twitching beneath his feet.

Akane held her tongue harder than Katie held hers previously.

It hurt.

Ranma stepped off Mendō. "Oh, hey man, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't looking."

Mendō responded with more twitching and an inarticulate groan.

Suddenly, Ranma grew alarmed. "Crap, I know who you are…! You're that one rich guy from one of the Great Houses!" He pointed at Mendō. "You're Mizunokoji Tobimaro, aren't you?!"

Akane and Katie asked as one. "… Who?"

Mendō shot awake, alight with indignation as he faced Ranma. "DO I LOOK LIKE THAT STARRY-EYED JACKASS?!"

Ranma stared back at him. "Yeah, kinda?"

Mendō drew back, still agitated. "I'm not Ton-ch–Tobimaro. I am Mendō Shūtaro, scion and heir to the Mendō-clan, and mortal foe to the Mizunokoji family's first son."

"Oh," Ranma didn't expect to run into a Mendō around here. "Well… sup, I'm Ranma."

Katie leaned over to her kohai. "… The Mizunokoji have a son?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders. "First I've heard of it."

Ranma turned to the two girls again. "Yeah, he's one of my senpai at my school. Kind of a weirdo who's obsessed with being the best at baseball, but I don't think anyone ever taught him how to actually play."

"Really?" Akane asked.

"Dude spends more time eating baseballs than catching them."

Katie had to know. "Like, getting hit or actually eating them? Because I've been in this town for a bit and seen some stuff…"

"Oh no, he'd actually eat them after catching them in his mouth," Ranma confirmed.

That won a laugh from Katie. "Oh man, that is weird."

Mendō, being a man of the ladies, immediately disliked Ranma for being able to make her laugh before he could. "Hey, weren't you on the run from somebody?"

Ranma grew alert again. "Oh yeah, I was. Have any of you seen an old man in a dirty white gi, glasses, with a white bandanna on his head around here?"

Both Katie and Akane shook their heads negative, the latter replying. "We haven't seen anybody like that, no."

"Dang," Ranma muttered.

Mendō huffed. "Then maybe you should get out of here before–"

He was once again brought down to the ground–this time beneath the impact of the very man Ranma described. A bit stocky, chunky if you will, from a love of exercising his jaw muscles over other groups. The dinginess of his white gi said it'd been a bit since he had a chance to wash it, the bandana on his head was either to hide the fact he was going bald or a humiliating haircut.

Katie shook her head at Mendō's being embedded in the sidewalk this time. "Well! That's just inappropriate timing; I'll tell you what."

He's here! He's finally here! And already he's up to some nonsense! Welcome back to Nerima, Ranma Saotome!