Ukyou gave the Lost Boy a curious glance as they walked around the outside of the gymnasium. So far they hadn't noticed any oddness. Hana was taking pictures inside, but that was her right as a Student Newspaper photographer, so there wasn't much they could do unless she decided to try and snap a few in the change rooms. There were a few Principal Kuno traps they had disabled but they didn't seem to be anything other than the stuff that was always littering the school grounds - certainly nothing that appeared to be specific to the occasion. It looked like the night might be unexpectedly quiet, which gave Ukyou the leisure to ponder her friend and sometimes partner in scheming.

"If you're going to ask a question, just ask it," Ryouga said as he peered around the corner, then relaxed, having spotted nothing.

"I was trying to be discreet and feel out your situation first, sugar," Ukyou replied, crossing her arms and slightly annoyed that she had gotten caught in her contemplation.

"Not sure that 'discretion' is really your thing, Ukyou," Ryouga replied.

She scowled. "Would you rather I bonk you on the head and call you a jackass?"

"It'd be less weird," Ryouga admitted. "How just about everyone else talks with me these days is ~DORF~" He was cut off as a large metal spatula impacted the top of his skull with considerable force.

"Jackass," Ukyou muttered and re-holstered her spatula on her back. "Now can I ask my question, or is there a form I need to fill out, too?"

"Funny." Ryouga rubbed the top of his head. "Let me guess; This is either about Ranma, or about Akane, right?"

She folded her arms. "Neither. It's about you." She cocked her head. "Are you okay, sugar?"

Ryouga was momentarily taken aback. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, feeling like a bit of a heel all of a sudden. "I… I think so. Things have been weird lately."

"That's an understatement and a half," Ukyou replied. "But… I heard about what happened… the shi shi hokodan that put you in the hospital. Ryouga… why didn't you tell me things were that bad?"

"They weren't… At least, I didn't think they were. Stuff… piled up all at once. Mom coming home, digging up all the stuff about Dad… Finding out Akane knew about my curse all along and how she really felt about me… Nearly losing Akari…" He leaned against the wall, studying the ground. "I mean… one of those things I could deal with… Or even if I could get it out in a good fight with Ranma. But then Ranma changed, and… and it just didn't have anywhere to go." He gave her a sad look. "I didn't intentionally cut you out or anything, Ukyou. I just… it all happened so fast and I just… I was in the hospital before I even knew I was in trouble."

Ukyou nodded. She stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. "It's okay. It's not your fault. That must have been scary."

Ryouga swallowed. "That was the worst part, I think. It wasn't. Not really. I'm not… I don't think I'm suicidal. I mean, I get anxious and humiliated and sometimes I wouldn't mind if the earth just opened up and swallowed me… but I've never really considered… you know. But when I was in the forest, and it just all came up… all of it… it was just too much. And… and somehow I couldn't even conceive of it ever being better. I just… I just saw an entire lifetime of this…" He gestured at himself. "... of nothing ever changing or getting better… and I couldn't even conceive of how things could… I couldn't imagine a future that was anything more than just the present but steadily getting worse. And… letting go didn't just seem like a good idea, it seemed like the only one. So… I did."

"Until a certain stubborn redhead grabbed hold, huh?" Ukyou said, smiling a little.

Ryouga didn't meet her gaze. "Something like that."

"So now the positions have been switched? Akane is the Rival, and Ranma is… the one you're in love with?" Ukyou probed gently.

Ryouga shook his head. "It's not that simple." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Thank god it's not that simple. When I think about what an idiot I've been…" His jaw tensed. "... It's not like that, not really. It's more I wasn't… I wasn't seeing them before. Akane was… she was like this angelic figure, like looking at something with the sun behind it and the light is so bright you can't really make anything out, but you think you see something. Your mind kind of… creates something. And then the sun sets and you see what it really was. And… it almost doesn't matter what the reality is because it's not what your imagination says it was and all of the things you felt about it are just… foolish and childish and humiliating." He relaxed a bit. "I'm… still sorting out how I really feel about Akane. I don't think I really had any clue who she was. It's almost like the Akane I knew is gone and suddenly I'm dealing with a stranger. And she's kind of a jerk."

Ukyou giggled in spite of herself. "And so you pick fights with her?"

"She picks fights with me. I just don't stand still and let her land a punch like Ranma does," Ryouga grumbled. His expression became more thoughtful. "Actually… I think it's kinda how I'm processing things. Dealing with people in terms of martial arts challenges is something I'm comfortable with. It's a way to understand someone that is easier for me. Plus it's maybe a way for me to at least respect her again. Maybe all the angelic choirs are gone when I look at her, but she can still throw a punch."

"She actually that much better now?" Ukyou asked, a little surprised.

"She'd have given the me or the Ranma of a year ago a decent fight at her current skill. Now… well, me and Ranma have progressed a bit," Ryouga said. "But she picks things up fast. It's actually kind of fascinating watching her figure things out in the middle of a fight. So I slow things down, ease up the pressure just enough so she can keep up."

"So you still let her land the punch like Ranma does, you just make her work for it," Ukyou said with a smirk. "You're a softie, just like Ranchan."

"I hit back," Ryouga said crossly. "I just don't put her in the hospital just because I can."

"Akane learns by doing. You tell her what to do, show her… you hit a block because she jumps right into trying to do it herself in her head before you're done explaining. It's like that with her cooking, too. And since she never tasted what she made, it was just all nightmares until I started forcing her to do it. But once she starts to find that connection between what she's doing and the results she gets, she learns very quickly. I'm guessing that's why Genma's training worked for her, as stupid as his methods are." Ukyou cocked her head. "You're training her. And you know it too, don't you?"

"More to training that fighting," Ryouga shrugged. "But if giving her practical experience is a decent workout, why not? I can leave the rest of her training to Ranma."

"Speaking of which… What about Ranma?" Ukyou asked softly. She took the spot next to him leaning against the wall and searched his face as he chewed on an answer.

"... I don't know Ranma Saotome," Ryouga said finally. "I knew a loudmouthed, arrogant braggart who was good at martial arts, and was otherwise a selfish dick."

"That description could cover pretty much every male martial artist in Asia, sugar," Ukyou replied. "And most of the female ones, too. Including both of us."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "'Cept… I never looked past it with him. I never really looked at him, to be honest. It was like… someone glued a cardboard cutout over the picture I had of him in my mind, so that it didn't matter who he was or what he was doing, he was just that macho dumbass martial artist stereotype. Even when he was a girl."

"Is that why you almost never got nosebleeds when he went topless girl-side?" Ukyou asked.

"Never even saw it," Ryouga said. "Unless she tricked me and I didn't recognize her right away. Then…" he shook his head. "She was someone totally different. It was like I had to know it was Ranma to even recognize her, no matter how many times I saw her." He looked up at the sky. "Then… When I was in that… that bad place I was in… Someone came to pull me out. And I knew it was Ranma, but at the same time…" He shook his head. "I didn't recognize her. I didn't know why there was this… this crying, scared, desperate girl in front of me that couldn't in a million years be Ranma, but somehow was."

"I kinda know how that is, I think." Ukyou said softly.

Ryouga gave her a skeptical look.

"Hey! I went through my own 'Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!' phase too, y'know!" Ukyou said hotly, blushing. "I know all about the whole mental 'cardboard cutout' thing." She hugged herself. "When Ranma and his father left me behind… It changed my whole life. I was always a tomboy, but suddenly it felt like that was a crime that I was being punished for. All of the other girls said that was why Ranma ran away - that I wasn't good enough for him. And… that made sense to me. It hurt, but it made sense and it gave me someone I could be angry at. So I grew up with my own cardboard cutout of this guy who only liked girly girls and who thought he was so much better than me because he was a guy. So… I set out to beat him at that… to be a better guy."

"Then when you show up and he calls you cute, that's it?" Ryouga scoffed.

"It was more than that, dumbass," Ukyou glared at him. "How many guys do you think called me cute before that?"

Ryouga blinked, then rubbed his chin. "Well, uh…"

"... While I was pretending to be a guy?" Ukyou added, cutting him off. "Yeah. None. And even if they did… they'd be complimenting my cardboard cutout; The one that I'd made for everyone else to see." She looked down at the ground. "When I fought Ranma… I fell apart. My bindings got sliced and I couldn't get away and suddenly… the cutout was gone and it was just me there… plain old 'Ucchan', with her boy's clothes and her boy's speech and a girl's body, and all of those boyish mannerisms that just become awkward when it's a girl who has them, and… I felt naked. And here was Ranma, seeing all of it."

Ryouga reached up, pinched his nose closed and closed his eyes. "Uhh… j-just for the record… you weren't actually…?"

"No! And I swear to god, if you visualize that I'm filling your sinuses with concrete!" Ukyou huffed, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously. "But… he was the first person who had seen me in so long… all of my flaws, all of my awkwardness, all of my stupid unfeminine charms… just a silly girl playing at being a boy because she didn't know how to be what she was…" She smiled. "... And still he called me cute. After seeing all of that."

"He was probably just saying it to get you to stop trying to kill him," Ryouga said gruffly.

"When have you known Ranma to be able to convincingly lie to anyone?" Ukyou scoffed, then at Ryouga's puzzled look, qualified it. "When he wasn't sporting boobs of his own and dealing with teenaged boy… You know what? I am talking to the wrong person about this."

Ryouga sighed. "Did it ever occur to you that it works both ways with Ranma? That when he's a guy you girls are just as bad?" He crossed his arms and gave her a scornful look.

Ukyou glared back. "This was different, Jackass!" Her hard look faded and she looked down. "I… I thought of that, you know?" She wrapped her arms around herself more tightly. "Part of me figured that was why he did it. It didn't matter. Just… just knowing that he knew that's what I wanted to hear." The smile crept back onto her face. "And then… he kept saying it - even when he didn't need to - even when it didn't get him anything." She looked up at him. "Tell me another girl he called cute without any prompting or reason."

Ryouga's eye twitched. "A month ago I'd have insisted there must have been plenty," his eyes dropped "But… That's the cutout I'd be talking about. Ranma never said stuff like that. She was too terrified of the trouble it'd get her into."

"I guess he trusted me enough I wouldn't drug him and drag him off to Kansai or something," Ukyou said. "Not that I didn't consider it. But… it wasn't about possessing him. I never wanted Ranma to love me through some messed up Stockholm Syndrome."

"So… the Harem is better?" Ryouga quirked an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "After a year of fighting this out and going nowhere? Be honest Before Akane dropped her little emotional bombshell on you, if she had indicated she wanted you and Ranma, and that would have made her happy, would you have gone for it?"

"What? No!"" Ryouga said, frowning. He crossed his arms quickly but Ukyou could see he was slipping into deeper thought on the matter.

"What if your relationship with Ranma was the way it is now?" Ukyou amended, giving him a little extra push.

She could almost see his mental image of the cocky, dark haired male drop away to be replaced by a curvy, redheaded female; a suspicion confirmed as Ryouga grabbed his nose and squeezed his eyes closed again.

"That's… that's different!" He protested. "That's stupid male fantasy stuff!"

"And you're a stupid male," Ukyou added helpfully.

"Exactly! Wait… damnit Ukyou!" he growled, still holding his nose. "Look, you can't honestly tell me…"

"Girl who 'hates' boys, who reacts badly to romantic overtures from males and has only ever reciprocated feelings for a 'boy' who happens to be a hot, redheaded girl half the time…" Ukyou started ticking off on her fingers. "A female warrior from a female-dominated culture derived from Ancient Greek practices, including a fair bit of inspiration from the Spartans, aaaand… a girl who spent most of puberty trying very hard to be a boy. All of whom not only accept their fiance's curse that turns him into a girl but have no compunctions about showing affection towards him regardless of form. What do you suppose that implies, Ryouga?"

"That assuming anything will get me a spatula to the back of the head," Ryouga muttered, rubbing the spot in question. "Like when I made assumptions about transvestites in your shop one time."

"That, and you were segregating male and female transvestites in your attitudes." She patted his shoulder. "But good to see you actually remembered that. Still… we're the ones that Girl Ranma wasn't a deal breaker for and we stood by that even when there was a risk of Ranma getting stuck that way."

"Love for a person and physical attraction aren't the same thing," Ryouga countered, smirking a little. "You hit me for that one, too. Unless you're saying that you're only interested in Ranma for her body?"

"Oh my god, you are an insufferable pig, Ryouga," Ukyou scowled, all the more infuriated by his increasingly smug little smirk as he deflected her rationalizations with her own previous arguments. She rubbed her forehead. "Fine. I'm okay with the Harem because Shampoo and I have already slept together and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and us sharing Ranma seemed like an easy and logical solution. After that it just kinda snowballed. I don't know why Nabiki is okay with it, but Akane probably is because she's got a thing for Shampoo and apparently thinks I'm pretty and part of me really likes that. Shampoo is in because I can tell you from personal experience that if she ends up with only one partner for an extended period of time she'll end up killing them from exhaustion. Happy?"

She glanced at him to see he had hurriedly pulled off a bandana and stuffed it into his face to deal with the consequences.

"I thought you'd say that," Ukyou replied.

They were silent a few minutes. Ukyou listened to the soft sounds of crickets as the sky turned orange-red, and the snuffling sounds as Ryouga blew his nose.

"You should probably see a doctor about that, you know." She casually pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him.

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered, accepting the offered hankie.

"So… What about you?" Ukyou asked.

"What about me?" Ryouga tucked the handkerchief away for later washing.

"How do you feel about all this?"

Ryouga folded his hands behind his head. "Why should that matter? It's none of my business."

"Come off it, Ryouga. I know you better than that," Ukyou said, eyes narrowing.

"You know, I'm getting a little sick of being told that," Ryouga growled at her. "Nabiki, Akane, and now you. Look, I'm not here to mess things up, okay? I've got no place in all of this and I know it. Once Ranma and I fix my direction curse, I'll make sure Mom's taken care of then…" he trailed off, realizing he really had no idea. Most of his long-term plans had involved simply surviving whatever extended journey his directionlessness led him on until chance led him back. Not having to plan on extensive travel times to do simple things left a disconcertingly large void in his future plans. "... I don't know."

"What about Akari?"

Ryouga winced. "Yeah, well… maybe she's better off if I just… never find my way back to her grandfather's farm."

"And you're okay with that?!"

"Her grandfather seemed to agree with me," Ryouga set his jaw. "You don't need to patch me up with Akari to make sure I don't turn into competition. I'm not after Akane anymore and I'm really not after Ranma, so ~DORF~"

Ukyou removed the spatula from his head and glowered at him. "I'm not 'patching things up to get you out of the way', jackass! I'm your friend. I care about you."

"... She says as she bludgeons me half to death…" Ryouga winced and rubbed the top of his head. She had put some real effort into that one!

"When something isn't working right you do what fixes it and you're the sort who responds best to percussive maintenance every now and then, like my TV remote," Ukyou said dryly. She sighed and her expression softened. "Tell me what happened. Maybe I can help. And even if not… well, better to tell someone rather than bottling it up until you explode again, right?"

Ryouga sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Shouldn't we go back inside and watch the game?"

"Ranma was winning last I checked. This one is in the bag, trust me."

000

"We're doomed."

The team was clustered around their bench, taking one of their last time outs. The scoreboard was '3-3', and they had just lost another point to the opposing team. Yuka had just proclaimed their fate as they all slumped, exhausted. Even Ranma felt her usually boundless reserves of energy dimmed.

"They've not let up the pressure all night!" Riko complained, sitting on the bench. "My legs feel like they're going to fall off!" She rubbed them for emphasis.

"At least you've been spared Madam Ryoko's fun facts about human anatomy and all of the delightfully horrible things you can do to it," Yuka replied with a shudder. "I can't even tell if it's just a routine she does to put her opponents off-balance, or if she's actually literally that warped."

Sayuri was looking haggard. She had come up with several strategies, shuffled the team, thrown every trick she could think of at them. Typically anything she tried would only work once before Hitomi and her team shut it down. She gave Ranma a sheepish look. "Umm… remember what I said about following our lead? Well… uhh… If you happen to have any brilliant ideas…"

Ranma sighed. "Sorry Sayuri. I improvise, remember? I'm not so good with team strategies."

"You've always found a way through before, Ranma," Akane said, handing her a towel. She turned to Sayuri. "And you still have Rin's thunderbolt."

"That'll work once, maybe twice before they figure out a counter," Sayuri said. "They've got their teamwork on point and if a rally goes back and forth more than a couple of times they'll get their shot through."

In fact, Hitomi's team was a well-oiled machine. Their strength was in teamwork rather than any individual talent. Ranma chewed on the problem in her head. Volleyball as a Martial Art… Volleyball as a Martial Art… if this were a fight you'd attack their weaknesses and try and undermine their strengths… so you'd isolate one of the team - separate and confuse them… but how do you do that smacking a ball around?

"Sayuri?" Ranma asked, realizing she needed another perspective. "If you wanted to single out one of their team, how would you do it in Volleyball?"

"Other than say they've got thunder thighs?" Sayuri crossed her arms. "I dunno… spike the ball at their face?" Sayuri blinked, her eyes widening. "Hold on… hold on! You're talking about attacking their teamwork, right?"

Ranma nodded. "It's a little dirty but we're kind of out of options."

Sayuri's eyes flicked back and forth as inspiration sparked. "All's fair in love and volleyball… Teamwork is our weak point - that's what we should have been attacking on their side the whole time." She locked eyes with Ranma. "Just this once you are free to call me an idiot, Ranma. Thank you! I've been approaching this all wrong!" She turned her gaze tom Rin. "Rin, next rally, I want you to thunderbolt the hell out of the ball. Right at Ui's feet. Make it look like you're going for her face if you can."

"Y-you want me to hit her?!" Rin squeaked, glancing terrified at the pink haired girl on the court.

"No, no…" Sayuri said reassuringly. "Just make it look like you're trying. Lock eyes with her when you spike it. And kill the ball. Then just keep looking at her, keep making eye contact. She's the nervous one."

"I-I… "Rin fidgeted. "I don't think I can look intimidating…"

Sayuri shook her head, grin forming. "You don't have to, that's the beauty of it! Your thunderbolt takes care of that. You just have to make it clear that she's the one you're aiming for." She glanced at Ranma. "You need to be intimidating. Can you put the ball into Hitomi's face? Hard?"

Ranma smirked. "Definitely. I'll need a run up though."

Sayuri nodded. "You're serving, then. Yuka, Riko and I will get the ball to you and keep it live. Even if you gotta muff a point to rattle them, do it. I want them thinking we've given up and are just out to wreck them for the season." She held out her fist. "Ready?"

Ranma slapped her hand on first, quickly followed by the others.

Akane gave them a thumbs up, holding their towels. "Go kick their asses!"

They scattered back onto the field with Ranma taking the server spot this time as Sayuri took mid court.

Hitomi served, clipping the top of the net and causing the ball to drop just on the Furinkan side. Rin dug for it, popping it back to Sayuri and Riko, who were in position to set it and position it for Rin or Yuka to spike.

Instead, they stood aside at the last second as a red and white blur flashed between them and leapt. Ranma sprinted in from the back of the court with all of her considerable speed, leapt upwards and smashed the ball so hard that she folded double, putting all of her upper body into the strike.

Hitomi's eyes widened as she felt the rush of wind just past her ear. It ruffled her hair and left a slight tickle across her earlobe. There was a bang behind her as the ball slammed into the back wall of the gym and bounced off.

"Error, Furinkan. Point Fuji! Next point is Round and Match!"

Hitomi reached up to her ear. There was no blood, but the air pressure from the sheer speed of the ball had popped out her stud earring and knocked the backing off as it passed. Her fingers trembled a little as she realized what that shot could have done had it been on target. Then her fingers curled into a fist.

"What the hell was that!?" Hitomi charged the net.

Ranma just shrugged. "Missed, I guess."

"You aimed that shot at my head!"

Ranma just grinned.

The referee tossed Hitomi the ball. "Play is still going. Call a time-out or serve the ball."

Hitomi growled and returned to the end of the court, glaring daggers at Ranma. Then her eyes flicked around as she calculated a place to serve the ball.

"She'll aim the next one left or right of center, away from Ranma," Sayuri said to Riko. "Be ready."

Riko nodded grimly.

Hitomi served. She pulled the hit a bit, having to adjust for trying to drop the ball near the left or right sides of the court to be sure she gave Ranma a wide berth. Sayuri ran for the ball but held up her hand as she realised where it would fall. "Out!"

The ball thunked onto the floor just past the line. There was a shrill whistle blow.

"Error Fuji! Point Furinkan, score 2-1. Furinkan's ball."

Sayuri and Ranma exchanged a glance and a nod. The plan was working!

Ranma bounced the ball a few times, like a basketball. She was starting to really wish she had gotten more practise in. She had some ideas for some trick shots but she wasn't confident she could pull them off without a chance to play with the physics of serving a volleyball a bit more and one more error would sink them. She just needed to get the ball over the net now and let the rest of the team handle the next two points.

This is a weird feeling, not having direct control. She shivered a little, not liking it. She glanced over her teammates and took a deep breath. Gotta trust… gotta trust… Don't WANNA trust, but… gotta trust. She tossed the ball in the air, leapt up slightly to give herself a better angle over the net and struck.

The serve was near perfect. It just barely clipped the top of the net, changing its trajectory but leaving a good deal of its momentum intact, which made it hard to predict. The Fuji team scrambled for it, just managing to dig it out and recover, setting it for a spike back over. Riko dove for the ball, got under it and popped it back up to Yuka, who set it for Rin. Ui moved to block as Sayuri predicted.

It looked like it was a clean block as they both jumped for the ball. Ui's eyes were already flicking to her left to look for who might pick it up while Ryoko crouched on the other side of the court, waiting.

Rin's eyes narrowed and, with a shout, she smashed the ball. The impact sounded like a report from a gun. The ball hit Ui's outstretched hands and flung her back. The momentum nearly flipped her over and left her to drop to the floor with a yelp of pain while the ball simply powered through her block and retained enough force to strike the floor with a resounding *bang* and bounce off towards the rafters of the gym.

Ui sprawled on the floor and clutched her injured hands to her chest with a whimper as the rest of her team clustered around her and called a time out.

Oh crap… Ranma ran forward to Rin, the rest of the team not far behind as the diminutive striker stared at the pink haired girl while her hands were examined.

Rin's breath was coming in short hiccups and she was trembling by the time Ranma got there. She didn't look up when Ranma reached her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rin, are you okay…?"

"I-I-I-I h-hit it too... t-t-too hard," Rin stuttered between spasms for air, her eyes still locked on the fallen girl and an expression of horror frozen on her face. "I-I… I was t-t-trying to be mean, s-so I th-thou-thought about your D-dad…"

Sayuri gently took Rin by the shoulders and turned her to face her. "Rin, are you okay? Can you keep playing?

Rin slowly raised her head to look at Sayuri then turned back to look at Ui again. The other girl was standing now and shaking her hands, the palms of which were still red. There were tears in the corners of her eyes, but at a spoken question from Hitomi she nodded. It seemed she felt well enough to keep playing.

The referee walked over, verified she was good to play, then called out. "Point Furinkan. Score is 2-2, next point is Game Point."

Rin turned back to Sayuri. She appeared to struggle for a moment and her trembling got worse. Tentatively, she shook her head.

"D-dad warned me… S-said I needed to control it b-better," Rin mumbled.

Sayuri closed her eyes and sighed. She was silent for a good three count, then opened her eyes again. "Rin, I don't have anyone to rotate in for you so I have to keep you on the field. But you don't have to play anymore if you can't. I'm going to put you in the midcourt with Riko, okay?"

Rin's closed her eyes and, after a moment, nodded reluctantly.

Ranma walked over to Sayuri and handed her the ball as Riko escorted Rin to the mid court.

"Look, Sayuri…" Ranma looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry I didn't help you more with this. Now there's no time and I'm realizin' there's a ton I should have been workin' on with you guys. But you do something with the ball sometimes when you serve - I'm not sure how. You're not a martial artist and I was meanin' to figure it out with you, but I let myself get distracted. If I'm right, though… You gotta be mindful of your feelings when you serve. Pick one. Pick the strongest feeling you got and put that into the ball." She bit her lip. She had a suspicion about what Sayuri was doing but she had never confirmed it. If she said anything more, she was liable to mess things up.

"R-ranma…?" Sayuri looked startled.

"If I tried to explain now... well, I might be wrong or I might make you overthink it. You gotta just trust me on this. Pick a feeling, a strong one. Put everything you got into that. Then hit the ball. Okay?" She pressed the ball into Sayuri's hands and let go.

Sayuri scowled. "Geez, no pressure or anything, Ranma."

Ranma winced. "Look… I want nothin' more than to do it myself… to take the ball and win the game. But… but…" she struggled a bit with what she had to say. "... I can't. You're the server. If I had a few points to play with so I could learn, then maybe... but I don't. We gotta have an ace or they're gonna feed us that ball on the rally."

"You know, this is the second time you've put me on the spot for this," Sayuri said. "But… it's also the first time I've ever… ever heard you admit someone could do something better than you."

"Temporarily. Temporarily!" Ranma hissed, glancing about nervously in case anyone might have heard. "I promise I'll make it up to you! I… ice cream or something? My treat?"

"Ice cream for the team," Sayuri replied, quirking an eyebrow. "Otherwise it looks too much like a date and your wives would get mad."

"Fiancees," Ranma said through gritted teeth.

Sayuri smirked and spun the ball on her finger. "That's not what Amazon Law says, girlfriend. But, for an extra scoop, you can call it whatever you like." She winked and walked back to the end of the court.

000

"Time in, Game Point," the Referee called and blew the whistle.

Sayuri took a deep breath and bounced the ball a few times. She mulled over Ranma's words in her head. She needed a strong feeling.

Confidence? Hah! Not a chance… She kept bouncing the ball as she thought. I'm not depressed like Ryouga… Anger? I mean, I'm pissed at Himura, but she's not who I'm playing and I've never really been the type to rage…

She glanced at the stands, over to the bench where the rest of 'her' team sat, the Volleyball regulars, laughing, joking and ignoring her. All except Himura, who had that insufferable smile on her face - the one that spoke of how far beneath her the girl saw everyone and everything else. She was smug and arrogant and, most of all, intolerant and condescending toward anyone else who dared show a scrap of…

Pride. Sayuri realized. She stopped dribbling and held the ball in her hands. Pride in what me and my friends are trying to accomplish. Not the hubris of someone like Himura, but the feeling that comes from honestly believing you are doing something great - something important.

She looked across to the other side of the net, at the other team. I wanted to do this. That's why I joined the volleyball team. I wanted to play teams like this, and now… now I'm actually DOING it. And we're one point away from winning. Just one. And that's because of ME. That's something Himura said I could never do.

A slow smile spread across her face and a warm feeling spread out from her chest to make her fingertips tingle. Yeah… that's the one. Pride. No matter what happens next. She lofted the ball, leapt up after it and swung, eyes on the other side of the net as she focused all of that sense of pride into one moment of impact.

The ball spun away from her hand. She watched in horror as it arced upwards, the serve high, slow and amateurish. Time slowed to a crawl as she saw the smirk grow on Hitomi's face and her team moved to receive and get in position to stuff the ball down the Furinkan team's throats.

Then, just as the ball crossed over the net, she felt a tug, as though a thread had been drawn taught and suddenly pulled loose. Some imperceptible connection had snapped and she could see the ball pivot and flatten slightly as some restrained force was suddenly unleashed to act on it. The ball's spin changed with a complete disregard for conventional physics and it changed course, accelerating downwards to hit the floor in the middle of all the Fuji players. It didn't bounce - rather it stayed there, spinning and grinding against the floor until whatever energies had possessed it were expended left it to return to its normal shape and behaviour. It rolled slowly away from the mark it had ground into the gymnasium floor.

The Fuji team simply stared.

"Point, Furinkan!"

"What the hell!? Hitomi wheeled and stormed over to the ref. "You can't tell me that was legal!?"

"The ball was regulation," The ref said, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Look, this is Furinkan. Just be glad the building still has a roof." She blew her whistle shrilly. "Game goes to Furinkan High and The Buster Corps!"

Sayuri stood frozen and stared, eyes on the spot where the ball had landed until her line of sight was broken by her team as they practically tackled her to the floor.

Rin had been first, flinging her small frame bodily at Sayuri, very nearly in tears. Riko was right behind her, followed by Yuka and even Ranma, of all people. Sayuri laughed as they babbled over each other, gestured excitedly and generally made no sense that Sayuri could currently work out. Her gaze shifted back to the benches and her eye caught Himura's.

The tall blonde was glaring at her, a mixture of anger, disbelief and… was that a touch of worry creasing that fine blue-blooded brow?

Sayuri smirked and winked at her which caused Himura's eyes to widen then narrow as rage overrode everything else. She barked something to her underlings and stalked off.

"See you after we win game five, Himura," Sayuri said softly.

000

The next day, Nabiki was sitting under the usual tree after class. She finished tallying her figures for the take from the latest game, tapping her pen against her teeth. Running the betting pools herself was a distraction for sure, but she couldn't help but feel they'd need resources. Hana had given up her own attempts though it hadn't stopped her from trying to imply Nabiki was working for her now.

Not that anyone buys that. She snapped her ledger closed and tucked it back into her bag. A nice close game like last night kept the betting lively and it also made the odds for the next game that much juicer. She opened her mouth reflexively to chew on her pen, then stopped. She looked at it, noting the teeth marks she had already left in it, then sighed and put it back in her bag as well.

"Nabiki!"

She looked up to see Ranma trotting towards her, the rest of the volleyball team in tow. They were mostly smiles, though Rin seemed somewhat subdued.

Ranma dropped to her knees on the grass next to her. Nabiki noted Kasumi was probably going to be fighting with grass stains for the rest of the term at this rate.

"Hey, we're just headed off for ice cream. Y'know, victory celebration?" Ranma said. "Did you want to come?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "What about the rest of the herd?" she asked dryly. It was slightly snarkier than she intended but she had noticed Ranma asking her to join her for things had dropped sharply since Fiancee's Tea had started happening.

"Well, Akane is headed to the Ucchan and Ukyou is already there tryin' ta make up for being closed during the dinner rush yesterday," Ranma said. "Shampoo said she had something planned for today, an' we're gonna grab Ryouga once his cleanup detail is done. They got him cleaning up the mess he made with his Bakusai Tenketsu a few days ago."

Nabiki folded her arms. "So… You asked everyone including Ryouga before me?" She gave Ranma a cold glare.

Ranma's eyes widened and she shrank back. "I-I-I didn't mean… I mean, it was just who I ran into on the way out, I wasn't trying to…!"

Nabiki smirked, reached out and caught the back of Ranma's head, preventing her from retreating further. "Ranma? I'm kidding."

Ranma blinked owlishly, then scowled. "I really wish you'd stop doing that, Nabs!" she groused. "You keep complaining about how skittish I get about pissin' any of you girls off an' then you go an' play the pissed off fiancee role, and mmmmph?"

Nabiki cut her off by pulling her in for a kiss. It was rapidly becoming her favorite way to interrupt Ranma. Especially as a girl since it seemed to catch her so badly off balance still. I need to enjoy it while I can. She's getting wise to my tricks. She slipped the other arm around her and pulled her a little closer, not wanting this to be just a quick kiss. Ranma's smaller girl form was a lot more manageable that way. If Ranma were a guy she'd likely be scooting into his lap to get the same effect. She found it a little amusing that she had developed her own version of the Amazon glomping technique to counteract Ranma's flight reflex from public displays of affection.

She felt Ranma start to press back into the kiss. It usually took a few seconds to get her past her initial freeze up. Nabiki felt slender arms slide around her neck, felt the smaller girl pull herself in closer. In the small part of her mind that was always gauging the public she imagined this was likely quite the show.

Good. Mine.

She gently broke the kiss. Not because she wanted to, but because she was aware they were liable to start forgetting other people were watching if they kept going. She stayed close, though, her hand moving down to gently play with Ranma's pigtail. "I'll accept that in lieu of ice cream."

"You're not coming?" Ranma pouted and Nabiki felt a little lurch in her chest.

"I've got business to take care of," Nabiki replied softly. "I'll see you tonight, promise." She smirked. "Unless Ryouga makes his move, in which case my spare camera is in the top drawer of my desk."

Ranma blushed, but managed to look more annoyed than anything. "I'm starting to think you want something to happen between me and Ryouga!"

"You're young, you're liable to experiment and, of all of the males around, Ryouga is at least decently trainable. You could do worse," Nabiki winked. "And if that doesn't work out there's always that packet of instant nannichuan I traded Shampoo for."

"How long have you had instant nannichuan!?" Ranma squeaked, twitching back a bit but unable to escape with Nabiki's hand on the back of her head. Something predatory in Nabiki was definitely enjoying the nervousness in her eyes.

"About six months before we started dating." Nabiki grinned. "Not everything is about you, Ranma. I was curious. I also used to have two packets."

"I…" Ranma blinked then relaxed a little as curiosity overcame her nervousness. "... You tried out being a guy?"

"Mmmhmm."

"What… I mean…" She fidgeted. "How did…?"

"It was interesting. Eye-opening in a few ways," Nabiki replied. She kissed Ranma's nose. "Kind of awkward and less fun than I figured. And more than a little scary. I wouldn't mind showing you if you ever get curious, but I don't think it'll be a 'thing' for me. It did give me a lot more respect for how you handle your curse, though. Especially since yours doesn't go away after a single hot bath."

Ranma cocked her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. "What did you look like?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Nothing exciting. Certainly not as hot as I hoped. This hairstyle doesn't suit guy-me well at all," she smirked. "I took some pictures I can show you."

Ranma blushed a bit. "I… well… I mean… as long as it's not weird…"

Nabiki chuckled. "Ranma? Everything about the curses is weird. But this isn't any weirder than anything else." She spared a hand from behind Ranma's head and reached into her bag. She pulled out her wallet, plucked out a few crisp bills and offered them to Ranma, "Here. For the ice cream."

Ranma boggled. "I… but… I mean… you don't…" Nabiki could see Ranma was trying very hard to fight the urge to ask what the catch was.

"You're broke and you promised your team ice cream," Nabiki said plainly. "And don't deny you're broke because I know your finances better than you do. But we also made a decent profit on the betting pool and you guys deserve a cut of that. Besides…" She deftly popped the top button of Ranma's blouse open with one finger and tucked the bills inside. "... I'm sure I'll find some way for you to repay me."

Ranma blushed and swallowed, then nodded timidly. "Th-thanks Nabiki." Shyly, she refastened the top button of her blouse and stood to turn back to the group.

Nabiki watched her go and felt a pang of regret. Socializing wasn't really a big thing for her - you didn't make a lot of friends and have a reputation for being a mercenary - but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it now and then. She had somehow ended up as part of a group now and she found an odd sense of loss when she couldn't be with them that was at odds with her usual 'lone wolf' self image.

Of course she had a good reason and she looked up to see that reason walking towards her. The normally bubbly, energetic and cheerful Amazon was subdued, almost sullen. She looked like someone walking towards a punishment.

Nabiki packed her things and stood. "You ready, Shampoo?" She smiled but was careful to keep her expression as Kasumi-level of non-threatening as possible. She had a hunch that Shampoo's tolerance for teasing was currently virtually nonexistent.

"No," Shampoo said. "But that not going to change." She balled up her fists and glared at the ground. "Let's to to shed, get cold water, and get over with, please."

Nabiki nodded sympathetically and let the Amazon girl lead her towards the utility shed.

000

"So… Sayuri…" Yuka said conversationally as she polished off a spoonful of something composed entirely of vanilla ice cream, fudge and a dietician's nightmares, "You maybe wanna explain what the hell that last ace was?"

"Not that we're complaining," Riko said quickly.

"But it means a lot less work for us if you can just telekinetically win the game, y'know?" Yuka finished.

"It's not telekinesis!" Sayuri scoffed. Her eyes dropped to her sundae and she busied herself stirring the strawberry syrup into the partially melted ice cream. "... I think."

"You think." Yuka said skeptically.

Everyone's eyes immediately locked onto Ranma.

"Hey, what makes you think I know what it was?!" Ranma said, holding up her hands defensively.

"You told me how to do it!" Sayuri protested, outraged.

"I told you to put your feelings into the ball!" Ranma shot back. "I figured you were doing something with your ki, but…" she shook her head. "I've never seen anything like that." She popped a spoonful of her colorful parfait into her mouth and cocked her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "Mebbe something like the iron cloth technique? Whatcha think Ryouga?"

"I was outside when the shot happened," Ryouga admitted. He glanced around the shop nervously. "Is… is it okay for me to even be in here? I'm getting a lot of stares…"

Ranma smirked. "You're in an ice cream shop with five girls, Ryouga. You're either a player or a pet."

"And I bet most of the guys here envy you either way," Yuka added.

"Bwee," Ryouga muttered, dropping his chin to his hand and dejectedly shovelling a spoonful of his sundae into his mouth.

Yuka's expression darkened. "Which reminds me, you're not totally absolved for that whole 'P-chan' scam either, bucko. The only reason you're not on the receiving end of a mop right now is that it's rude to beat up a teammate's boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ranma protested.

"... sorry, fiance," Yuka amended.

Ranma and Ryouga both groaned in almost perfect synch.

"You guys do realize that's a cover story, right? We're not actually engaged?" Ranma pleaded.

"I remember hearing that about you and Akane too…" Riko said innocently as she took a sip of her milkshake.

"Ever get the feeling the universe derives amusement from your suffering?" Ryouga muttered.

"Hey! You'd be lucky to end up with a hot fiancee like me!" Ranma huffed, her pride prickled.

"You're actually arguing for this now!?" Ryouga gaped at her.

"I… uh…" Ranma blinked at the stares she was suddenly getting, quickly becoming flustered and embarrassed as she saw the sly grins spreading amongst the other girls. "I-it's not like that! I'm just saying if he was engaged to a girl like me! Which he's not! Because I'm not a girl!"

"And we're not engaged," Ryouga added firmly, poking her shoulder.

"Yes! That! Also… ow!" Ranma turned and punched him on the shoulder. "You don't need to be a jerk about it!"

"What!? I barely touched you!"

"You shatter concrete with your pokes! And that was before you learned the Bakusai Tenketsu!" She folded her arms and raised her chin, sniffing. "I'm a delicate flower and you should treat me better."

There was a chorus of choking sounds from around the table.

"'Delicate flowers' should be planted in the ground. Give me five minutes and I'll take care of that!" Ryouga growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh yeah? I've been itching for a decent fight! C'mon pig boy, heard you slowed down enough for Akane to force you to use some of your special techniques. Let's see how sloppy you've gotten!" Ranma grinned, preparing to flip out of the booth and lead Ryouga outside.

A folded menu bapped her on the head, then smacked Ryouga.

Sayuri glared at them both before putting the menu down. "No fighting. Not until you two martial artists start explaining what the hell it is I actually did in that game."

Rin quietly excused herself from the table as they all started an animated discussion of the mystery of Sayuri's unusual ability. She headed to the back where the bathrooms were, but instead of going into one, she continued down the hallway to the fire door that led out into the alleyway behind the store. After checking to make sure the door wasn't alarmed, she silently opened the door and stepped outside. Letting it close behind her, she took a seat on the back step.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them as she rested her chin on them. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep the tears from coming, sniffling softly as she gradually began to lose the battle, as she had known that she would.

"Rin Ito?"

Her eyes snapped open. She looked up to see the familiar face of Mousse regarding her curiously. He had an ice cream cone in his hand and was leaning against the wall next to his delivery bike. She had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts she hadn't even noticed him!

"Eeep," she squeaked. She looked away, frantically rubbing her eyes to try and banish the tears that had escaped with one hand while with the other she fumbled in her pocket for the worry stone Kasumi had given her.

Mousse held out a white handkerchief to her. "Is something amiss?"

Rin stared at the handkerchief, then at him, then back, getting redder with each iteration as she did. "I-I-I-I-I... I… I!"

Mouse simply waited patiently for her.

Rin whimpered and was no longer able to look directly at him as she tentatively accepted the handkerchief. She curled up a bit more as she used it to scrub at her face. The hand in her pocket gripped her worry stone tightly as she tried to avoid another mental short circuit.

He shook his head as she held it back out to him. "Keep it. I have plenty." He popped a few colorful handkerchiefs from his sleeve, tied together in a long line. "What is a magician without an ample supply?"

She sniffed and giggled softly in spite of herself. "Thank you."

He inclined his head in a slight bow. "I don't have much opportunity to practise my sleight-of-hand outside of martial arts battles anymore. Think nothing of it."

She shook her head. "N-no… th-thank you for being concerned…" She curled up again, blushing once more as her innate shyness warred with the conflict that was raging inside her. Finally, the need to speak to someone who might understand won out. "D-do you know Senpai… Ranma… well?"

Mousse leaned back against the wall and licked his ice cream cone, a scowl crossing his face. His eyes were hidden by the light reflecting off his thick glasses, but she got the impression they had narrowed. "As well as I care to."

"You know about the… the things that have happened in her life, right? Her Dad dragging her away from her mother, all of the training, not having any friends or even a home… getting called names…" she hugged her knees tighter. "You're the same, right? Running away from home to join the circus because no one accepted you. Is that… Is that what it's like? To be a martial artist? Is it like that for everyone?"

Mousse gave her a surprised look. That hadn't been the question he had been expecting. He studied her a moment longer, considering.

"Martial Arts requires drive - a singular focus," he said finally. "It requires sacrifice, struggle and pain. I suppose… that just comes more easily to those who already suffer. What is sacrifice when you don't have anything to begin with? What is suffering when that's already all you have?" He shrugged. "Martial Arts is just a shape to give to that."

Rin shook her head. "That's awful…"

"That's just how it has to be," Mousse replied.

"Why?" Rin asked. "That doesn't make any sense to me!" She uncurled a bit and looked at him. "My Dad was an Olympian. He had to struggle and sacrifice and suffer to get there, sure, but… He often said he only made it because of all of the people who supported him - his family and friends. The teachers and co-workers who understood why he had to spend all that time hitting a ball around or working on conditioning training. He said the only reason he made it was because he was doing it for them."

"Martial Arts is a different world," Mousse replied.

"Why!?" Rin demanded again. "You said yourself you learned everything you did because the Circus treated you like a family, right? You wouldn't have the skills you do if they hadn't." She glared at him, then blushed and hid her face again. "I-I'm sorry…"

Mousse studied her again. "... Perhaps you have a point," he said finally. "I can only attest to my own experience. The… intolerable condition I found myself in was motivation to improve myself."

"So is that why Senpai's parents do it?" she mumbled. "Do they make her life intolerable because they think it'll make her better at martial arts?"

Mousse scoffed. "Ranma Saotome is showered with praise and adoration from women and men depending on what his inclinations drive him to and, regardless of what choices he makes now, his golden future is all but guaranteed - be it with the Tendos, with Kuonji or returning to be the shining hope of the Joketsuzoku." He tossed his half-finished cone into the dumpster in disgust. "He has no concept of suffering. Much as I would love to teach him."

Rin's eyes narrowed. "Why do you have to hate him? Just because you think you suffered more? Why not hate me?" She huffed, annoyance briefly overriding her usual shyness. "I've got a good Mom and Dad. Dad supports me and trains me and I got good at what I do. And it was hard, but I didn't suffer. So shouldn't you hate me even more?"

Mouse blinked. "Because… well… I..."

"It's because you like Shampoo…" Rin said dejectedly.

"It's because I love Shampoo," Mousse said firmly. "And Ranma Saotome is unworthy of her."

"... Nabiki likes Shampoo. Do you hate her, too?" Rin asked finally.

Mousse made a small strangled noise in his throat. He closed his eyes, took off his glasses and polished them with the end of his sleeve. "That's… a matter between women and is none of the business of a male like me."

"What if Ranma was a woman?"

Mousse chuckled. "The curse might fool Outsiders such as yourself, but we Joketsuzoku…"

"I'm not talking about the curse," Rin said, annoyed. "Just pretend. What if Senpai was actually a girl and Shampoo wanted to be with her?"

Mousse's jaw tightened. "Again… that would be none of my business. It would not preclude..."

"Even if she just wanted to be with Senpai?" Rin cocked her head. "What happens with Amazons then?"

Mousse swallowed. He put his glasses back on, not liking the direction this conversation was going. "Shampoo… as the heir to Cologne… would be expected to take a husband regardless in order to ensure the lineage continued. Such things…" he sighed. "... Such things are not uncommon."

"Would it make you happy to be her husband then? If you knew she was just doing it for a baby?" Rin demanded.

"If… it was what she wanted," Mousse said stoically.

Rin continued to gaze at him skeptically.

"... No, it wouldn't make me happy," he admitted finally. "It's a possibility I had considered given how… cold she has been to me my entire life. I would do it if she asked me, but it would be joyless." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "I don't want a position, I want… a family. And I want her to be part of it. I have for as long as I can remember."

"Then why is it different if she's with a man? Why would beating Senpai up as a boy change things when there's nothing you could do if she were a girl?"

Mouse chuckled dryly. "It doesn't change things. I just don't know what else to do. What do you do when the girl you love falls in love with an Outsider just because he defeated her? Because he proved he was strong? What... except prove you're strong too?"

"Are you sure that's the only reason why she fell in love with senpai?" Rin asked.

Mousse was a little tired of being on the back foot in the conversation and decided to push back a little. "Well… why do you love Ranma?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

He expected a stammered denial, a timid confession, a stunned silence. He didn't get it.

"I don't love Senpai. Not like that," Rin said simply. "She's someone I want to be like. She's my age but she's seen and done all these incredible things." She stared out across the alleyway at the far wall. "I used to think, seeing her fight or just jump from rooftop to rooftop or doing some other incredible thing like it was nothing, that being a martial artist must be like… like living in this magical world. And I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be strong like her and be able to fly like her and… and be special like her. But now that I've seen what it's like… What senpai's life is like, what everyone around her thinks is normal what…" She lifted her hand and looked at it, shuddering a little. "... what it's like to hurt someone… I don't want to be in this world anymore. I don't belong here. I don't belong in Furinkan even."

She dropped her hand and hugged her knees tighter. "But… but if I run away, that means leaving senpai… b-because I can choose but she can't, and that's not fair. A-and… I just want to show her that life doesn't have to be like hers is but I don't know how. So… I'm scared. I'm scared that this might all seem normal to me one day - that I might be like Kasumi and just… accept the awful things… that I might have to because I can't do anything. I'm scared that volleyball won't be volleyball anymore - that it'll be like martial arts and people will get hurt of maybe even d-die over it. I'm scared that I might forget it was ever anything else."

"Why do you stay, then?" Mousse asked, mirroring the question she had asked him at the Tendo Dojo.

"I…" she sagged. "I don't know. Because I don't know what else to do… Because it's not right and… and even if I can't do anything about it, looking away doesn't make it go away." She shivered. "It's like… when you're a little kid and you think you see a monster in your closet. You could hide under your blanket but it'd be worse because it's still there and now you can't see it or what it's doing. So… you just stare at it and hope that something will change, or a light will get turned on, or your Dad will come in and save you or that morning isn't too far away."

Mousse was silent a moment. "Rin Ito… can I show you something?" He extended his hand to her.

"Mnh?" She looked up at him and blinked owlishly. With a blush, she uncurled from her ball and timidly gave him her hand.

With practised ease, Mousse swept her into a bridal carry and leapt for the roof of the ice cream shop. He felt her clutch his robe and cling to him, but he was sure and secure in his hold on her and didn't slow down, leaping from building to building to gain more height as he worked his way up the taller buildings. She was surprisingly light and easy to carry. He found the one he was looking for, one that had a tall radio tower extending further up from the roof, and bounded up the latticework structure until he reached a small maintenance platform at the top.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Rin squealed, eyes shut tight as she clutched his robe for dear life.

"Rin Ito, open your eyes," he said, keeping a firm grip on her. "I've got you."

She stopped squealing and cracked an eye open to look up at him. Tentatively she turned her head, not slackening her grip on his robe, and looked.

The sun was just starting to set over the city. There was a little cloud on the horizon, enough to catch the light of the sun and spread it so it appeared the curve of the earth itself was on fire and the rest of the sky took on a reddish hue. All of the taller buildings were alight as their windows reflected brilliant reds and golds.

Rin's grip on his robes slackened and her eyes widened. "Ooooooh..."

He felt her relax and knew the sunset must be as spectacular as he imagined. He eased her down onto her feet on the platform next to him, keeping an arm around her to keep her secure. "I know you can probably see it a lot better than I can. But… this is where I go when I don't know what to do. Sometimes I go higher, as a duck." He pushed his glasses up onto his forehead, not caring that it worsened his view. Sunsets were something you felt. "My eyes aren't as good as yours, so when I was a child, I, too saw the monster in the corner of my room. And I remember being too afraid to look away, too afraid to hide. So my parents, being open to such things, gave me a flashlight along with my glasses. It was old, and sometimes I had to rattle it to get it to light… but it gave me the power to make the monster go away. So it was enough. It was magic. The monster always came back the next night but now I could do something. There are monsters and unfairness and unhappiness in the world and, no matter how bright it is during the day, they always come back. And once you see them… you can't pretend they're not there anymore. So martial arts is my flashlight. It can't make them go away forever but… for right now it gives me something I can do. Even if it doesn't seem like it's enough. Maybe that's what volleyball should be for you? Even if it doesn't seem like it's enough… it's what you can do."

Rin was silent, just absorbing his words.

"I watched you play yesterday," he continued after a moment. "You're right, I don't think your art is meant for hurting people. I don't think you are meant for hurting people. But that doesn't mean you aren't fighting in your own way and it doesn't make it any less important."

"The only places I've been able to see the sunset from this high up have always been crowded," Rin said softly. "This was the kind of thing I imagined Senpai could see all the time when she flew." She glanced up at him. "I guess… this must be kind of ordinary for you?"

"Not at all," he replied. "I always loved sunsets, even if I can't see them all that well."

"Did… did you ever bring Shampoo up here?" She asked shyly. "O-or anyone else?"

"Shampoo wouldn't come," Mousse replied. "I'm sure she has her own places to watch the sunsets. I didn't have anyone else I felt like sharing it with."

"S-so… I'm the first," Rin said. She blushed but kept her composure, watching as the sun continued to slip past the horizon.

Mousse looked at her again, lowering his glasses, so he could see her better. She was the first, wasn't she?

An odd realization came over him as he studied her, watching how the last light of the day played over her hair, transforming straw into gold as the wind played with her bangs. The red-gold of the sunset reflected in her green eyes like flames in emeralds. She was petite - almost frail - and had a childlike innocence about her… the opposite of Shampoo, his ideal, in almost every way.

And yet here he was, in what was probably the first real romantic moment he had ever shared with someone else… and it wasn't with his beloved Shampoo, but this odd girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. And for some reason, he found he simply couldn't imagine anyone else in her place. Not even Shampoo.

000

The train ride had been a little tense. Technically, pets weren't allowed on the train outside of their carriers, but Shampoo had not been willing to go into it and Nabiki was not about to force the issue. She kept the cat on her lap and, thankfully, the train was empty enough that no one raised a fuss. She pet her to keep up appearances, but she could feel how tightly bunched her shoulder muscles were through the fur.

Shampoo was not a happy cat.

The tension got worse as they approached the veterinary clinic. Thankfully it was nearing the end of the day and there were no other animals about, though there was one curious resident cat who came over to sniff the odd-colored cat in her arms. Shampoo growled at him but he simply wandered off disinterestedly, being one of those cats that was perturbed by very little.

"So, this is Shampoo?" the receptionist asked, her face lighting up. "Oh my goodness, she's precious! She's just a kitten, isn't she? How old is she?"

"I… uh… I'm not sure." Nabiki admitted. She did a little quick math in her head. "About… seven or eight months?"

The receptionist reached over and scratched behind Shampoo's ears, an indignity the Amazon kitten tolerated. "And you're sure you don't want to make an appointment to get her spayed?"

Nabiki felt warning claws dig through her blouse sleeves. "Absolutely sure," Nabiki said quickly. She had the sneaking suspicion that, even as a cat, Shampoo could probably do some severe damage to her.

"All right… we'll need to have you sign this waiver and there is a considerable extra fee for registering a non-fixed female." She pushed forward the paperwork. "Sorry, new regulation from City Hall to try and limit the stray cat population."

Nabiki winced at the fee on the sheet but she had been prepared for this. She put Shampoo on the counter and pulled out her wallet, payed for the registration and the procedure, and found her wallet distressingly flat and slender afterwards as she tucked it away.

"All right, if you and Shampoo would come with me to the examination room, the vet will be with you shortly. I'll get your tags made and be right back."

Nabiki picked up Shampoo and was led to one of the examination rooms. The receptionist closed the door once they entered, leaving them alone inside.

Nabiki put Shampoo down on the metal table and sighed.

"Miaou!" Shampoo said insistently.

"No, it's fine, I've got the fee," Nabiki replied.

"Miaou."

"Yes, I know you aren't broke like Ranma and can cover it. It's fine. This was my idea, I'll foot the bill."

The pink cat turned and looked at some of the posters on the far wall. One of them covered some fairly unsettling potential ailments pets could be afflicted with. "Miaou…"

"Yes, well maybe it's a good thing they said we had to get all your vaccinations done at the same time. We don't know if you're susceptible to cat diseases or not. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"

Shampoo turned and glared at her. "Miaou!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Yes, even if it does involve six needles instead of one.

There was a knock at the door and the vet herself stepped in afterwards. She was an older woman with glasses and a bit of gray at her temples.

She smiled at both Nabiki and Shampoo. "Well, hello! This is our first time seeing Shampoo, isn't it?"

Nabiki nodded and stepped aside to let the woman get close. She stayed near though, as she could see Shampoo was looking a bit nervous.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" She let Shampoo sniff her hand (Which she dutifully did to keep up appearances) then gave her a rub behind the ears. With her other hand, she made a quick examination, keeping shampoo distracted with the ear rubs. "Hmmm, she appears to be in excellent health… good muscle tone. Coat is… frankly, exquisite." She checked in Shampoo's ears then did a brief check of her teeth. "My goodness, do you brush her teeth? These are the cleanest I've ever seen!" She chuckled. "Is she going to be a show cat? I imagine her lineage must be impressive!"

"Oh it is," Nabiki replied easily. "She takes after her great-great-grandmother."

"Ah. Showcats," The vet said with a smile. "I was a bit concerned about your reluctance to have her spayed but now I believe I understand. I would recommend you keep an eye out as she gets older, though; Purebreds can develop some nasty congenital defects."

"Miaou," Shampoo huffed, managing to sound rather offended.

"You're certain you wish to forgo the ear tattoo as well?" the vet asked. "They're quite inconspicuous and they're not something they mark down for in show cats."

And it would be entirely too visible when she's in human form. THAT'D be fun to explain to her Great-grandmother! "No, thank you," Nabiki said. "Just the microchip and registration is enough."

"All right. If you could hold her?" The vet motioned Nabiki to hold Shampoo as she prepared the first hypodermic.

Shampoo looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening as the vet moved in with a needle which, although small by human standards, probably looked enormous from the perspective of a small cat.

"Miaou…" Shampoo whimpered. She started to pull away, losing her nerve.

Nabiki gripped her head and made her look at her. "Shampoo… calm down," she said, looking into the cat's eyes. "You're fine… trust me, okay Kitten?" She gently stroked her head. She knew that she was talking to a person like a cat and that, by all rights, this should be making Shampoo even more agitated, but for some reason she could feel the cat responding.

"Good girl…" Nabiki caught the vet doing the first injection without reaction from Shampoo. Good, she barely feels it. I just have to keep her attention. She cursed herself for not thinking of this; the people in Shampoo's village were experts in traditional medicines and herbal remedies. Needles were probably not something she had dealt with much before.

"All right, that wasn't so bad, was it?" The vet finished with the shots. "Now the chip itself goes in the back of the neck." She took out one final needle; one quite a bit larger than the others.

Shampoo saw it coming and pulled away, eyes wide.

"Shampoo," Nabiki said firmly, getting her attention again.

The girl turned cat froze and looked at her again. Nabiki held her gaze, distracting her long enough for the vet to insert the needle. Shampoo protested and flinched but otherwise held still as Nabiki kept her gaze focused.

"Good girl. That's always the worst part," the vet said. "The chip itself is smaller than a grain of rice, so she won't even feel it." She ruffled Shampoo's fur a little.

There was another knock at the door and the receptionist walked in, carrying a collar with some metal tags on it.

"Ah, good. Now, you'll probably want to get her something fancier than this, but I do recommend you get something with the same features, and with enough room for her to grow," the vet said, taking the collar. "These are designed to break away should they get snagged on something, but they're still durable enough for most outdoor cats. I would recommend keeping her inside though, and away from the toms." She took the collar and moved to put it around Shampoo's neck.

The Amazon kitten had had quite enough at this point and straight up hissed at the doctor, drawing back a paw in warning as she growled.

"Oh… my," the vet blinked and relented. "Perhaps you should put the collar on?" She handed the collar to Nabiki.

"I'll… do it later when she's in a better mood," Nabiki said sheepishly, mindful of the glare Shampoo was giving her.

"All right. Please keep in mind even with a microchip it's best to have a collar with tags, especially without an ear tattoo. Not all shelter workers are dutiful about checking strays for microchips before they spay them," the vet cautioned.

"I'll keep that in mind," Nabiki replied, looking the collar over. It was a simple fabric weave collar with a buckle and a couple of metal tags hanging from it. Her name was listed as the owner, along with Shampoo's name and Nabiki's phone number. The second tag had a QR code that she understood had her address and contact information when scanned.

She ran her thumb over her name on the tag. THIS would probably raise some eyebrows with anyone who knew about the curse.

She collected Shampoo and bid farewell to the vet, still holding the collar. She noticed Shampoo was very subdued on the ride home and unconsciously stroked her and cuddled her the entire way. It didn't really register as anything significant when Shampoo began softly purring part way through the trip until she was nearly back at the Nekohanten with her.

She blinked and looked down and realized that Cologne or Mousse would likely have something to say about seeing her walk in fondling Shampoo in such a familiar way. For her part, Shampoo had her eyes closed and seemed to have relaxed into a boneless sprawl in her arms. Nabiki knew Shampoo had never objected to being petted as a cat - probably as an extension of her uninhibited nature - but she did wonder if the girl might be a bit grumpy about it given the vet trip had obviously crossed well out of her comfort zone as far as being treated like a housecat.

"We're almost there, Shampoo," she said softly, intending to rouse the catgirl. Shampoo made a soft noise, blinked sleepily then peered up at her.

"How do you want to play this?" Nabiki asked. "I don't suppose you explained what we were doing to Cologne, did you?"

Shampoo looked away sheepishly and made a soft 'mew' to the negative.

Nabiki sighed. "I figured." She took a deep breath. "Well, she'll probably figure we were up to something, it's just a question of whether she feels it's worth investigating. I don't suppose you'd be okay with us just coming out and telling her?"

Shampoo quickly shook her head.

Nabiki mentally ran through a number of potential cover stories but the idea of lying to the elder Amazon again made her palms sweat. There was no 'airtight story' when it came to Cologne. So she decided to forgo one entirely.

"All right… I think this is our best shot," she said finally. "It's either this or go back to the dojo and try and come up with a cover story to give Kasumi."

Shampoo sighed and covered her head with her paws, obviously not liking the idea of trying to lie to the elder Tendo either.

"All right, just play casual then," Nabiki resumed scratching Shampoo behind the ears, blew out a breath, then walked into the Nekohanten.

"Hello! Welcome to the… oh, good evening Nabiki Tendo," Cologne croaked. She noticed the cat in her arms. "And my Great-granddaughter as well!" She hopped over to them on her staff and scowled. "I was wondering where you had gotten to! That idiot Mousse wandered off on his deliveries as well. I've been stuck working the dinner rush by myself!" She reached out with her staff and poked the cat, who had the good sense to look sheepish. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"... Mew?" Shampoo replied, shrinking back in Nabiki's arms.

"If you give me a minute to get her upstairs and get some hot water, I can get her back down to help you out," Nabiki replied casually.

"Feh. There's hardly any point now," Cologne muttered. "I do expect you home more promptly tomorrow evening though, child!" She poked the cat again.

Shampoo miaou'd obediently and nodded.

"As much as your customers wouldn't mind if I poured hot water on her right now, I imagine it'd be best for your 'family restaurant' status if I got her upstairs," Nabiki said, and started to walk past the old Amazon.

"Aren't you going to tell me what you two were up to?" Cologne asked, looking over her shoulder at her. "You are coming home rather late. And with my great granddaughter as a cat, no less."

"I'd rather not," Nabiki replied without looking back. "It's personal."

Cologne turned fully and raised an eyebrow. Then she chuckled dryly. "Ah, youth. I'll assume the details are best left to the imagination. Or… perhaps not. I won't judge."

Nabiki winced a bit but figured this was just the price of admission. Besides, being the willing organizer of a literal harem marriage didn't leave one much room for benefit of the doubt in such things. "I… appreciate it."

She took another step before she heard the thump of the staff on the floor and froze.

"Nabiki Tendo… I will expect you here after school as well," Cologne added as she hopped past her. "Wear comfortable shoes; you will be on your feet most of the evening. I'll need to make up for tonight's loss of revenue. That I'm sure you understand."

"I… uhh…" Nabiki blinked. "I… don't really need or have time for a part time job, Elder. I'm sure we can work out some sort of reparations…"

Cologne tapped her on the shin with her staff. "Did you forget our agreement, child? This will be training."

Nabiki's eyes widened. Cologne had done this sort of 'training' once before with Ranma… and nearly beaten the resilient martial artist into submission with it. "I… uh… I'm not sure I'm ready for this level of training, Elder…"

"Feh, you're respectful, and you have the good sense to be nervous about the training. You're already ahead of son-in-law or Ryouga in that regard," she smirked. "I've been training acolytes for almost 300 years, child. I'm reasonably certain you'll survive this. Reasonably. I'll have a uniform ready for you when you get here after school. And do be sure to keep your after school schedule clear from now on. There are certain standards you will need to meet if you are to join my family… daughter-in-law."

Nabiki swallowed. She wasn't sure why that appellation was ominous, but somehow it was. She understood now why Ranma objected to it so strenuously. "I'll… do my best."

"You'll do a fair sight better than that or you won't last long I'm afraid," Cologne cackled and then waved them away. "Go on, off with you. I have three people's worth of work to finish and two people's worth of suitable punishments to devise."

It's was Shampoo's turn to swallow nervously.

Nabiki scuttled up the stairs quickly before Cologne came up with any more decrees. She was mentally cursing her luck; she had hoped to negotiate a somewhat more relaxed training schedule with the Elder Amazon. She probably should have known Cologne wouldn't be willing to wait.

She dropped Shampoo in the well-appointed bathroom and retreated to Shampoo's room to wait for her to return. She pulled Shampoo's Furinkan uniform out of her pack and hung it up, hoping the wrinkles smoothed out by morning. Losing my after school time isn't a fatal problem but it means I'll need to rely on Hiroshi and Daisuke more. Akane is still working with Ukyou and Ranma will probably be monopolized by Sayuri to get ready for the next game. Which doesn't leave a lot of time to get together to discuss the whole Omiai thing or to keep tabs on Kodachi or Himura… Not to mention Tatewaki will be getting out of the hospital sooner or later. She flopped onto Shampoo's bed and sighed heavily. The corkboard in her mind was a frantic tangle of colored lines now. Too many factors up in the air all at once and nothing to do but keep juggling and hope I can keep up. NOT the best strategy.

She felt something in her pocket poking her and reached in to fish out the cat collar. She ran her thumb over the engraved characters of her name again. We haven't even had a chance to really sit down and sort out how we feel about all this… or each other, she thought glumly. We all are pretty sure about where we each stand with Ranma, but that's not enough. Shampoo's mischief still triggers Akane, but at least she and Ukyou seem to get along okay. I imagine things are still kind of awkward between Ukyou and Shampoo… She dangled the tags over her face. …Then there's ME and Shampoo…

Nabiki reached up with her other hand and turned the stainless steel tag over, back and forth. She had been considerably more comfortable when there had been something of a 'professional distance' between the other fiancees and herself. She would manage the schedules, ensure that everyone got enough time with Ranma to keep them happy, defuse any conflicts and then maybe grab a few moments with him herself at the end. It was going to be like a business. That way it would be fair and orderly and keep the chaos to a minimum. Even the playful banter or flirting was well within her usual 'business casual' demeanor.

Everyone else is right. I didn't account for me having feelings about all of this. She caught the tag and read the inscription fully.

"Shampoo"

"Owner: Nabiki Tendo"

"Contact…"

Nabiki had never been squeamish about getting physical with someone, boy or girl. Getting over that had worked to her advantage after all; grinding on another girl at the dance club would get the boys drooling and loosen their grips on their wallets. Acting interested in a seller would drop their guard and get her a better deal. She had learned to turn the sultry seductress routine on and off like a light switch. She prided herself on being able to be draped over a guy or girl one moment, looking about ready to let them take her home, and then be cold as ice as soon as she had gotten what she wanted, no matter how attractive she found them.

They called her the 'Ice Queen' for a reason.

So why had she cracked when she kissed Shampoo? She had done similar things dozens of times before she had gotten together with Ranma - with more than a few boys (and at least one girl when she had been feeling experimental). She held it as a matter of pride that she could leave them dishevelled, panting and looking lost and abandoned while she skipped away with nary a hair out of place. She'd give them just enough to leave them horny and confused, but not so much that they might feel possessive or entitled. She had planned to teach Shampoo a lesson about her casual playfulness that way, but…

She could understand if Shampoo had just been better at the game than her and swept her off her feet with some ancient Joketsuzoku martial arts make-out technique, but that hadn't happened either. She had felt Shampoo collapse. The Amazon girl had been completely unprepared for Nabiki's tricks and had simply folded. She had surrendered to it, exactly as Nabiki had intended and far more easily than she had expected.

Except… the feeling of having this proud, powerful girl submit like that… to willingly give Nabiki that kind of control over her, even if it was just in the moment and heat of a kiss… it had sent a jolt of electricity into something sleeping deep within her - something primal that didn't listen when she tried to turn it off.

And now seeing her name below Shampoo's, listed as 'owner', it was stirring again.

This is a bad thing. Nabiki said to herself firmly. In other circumstances? Maybe I could afford to indulge this… this FEELING. But I have to stay as impartial as possible right now, even with Ranma! I have to keep a level head. She closed her hand over the tag. Shampoo would agree with me. She's pragmatic when it comes down to it.

The door opened and Shampoo stepped inside then closed the door behind her again.

Nabiki sat up and mentally winced.

Shampoo was wrapped in a large fluffy towel… which was only barely large enough. Her full breasts were bulging over the top and it was just long enough to cover the tops of her thighs and keep her decent. The photographer in her brain was already pointing out that this image alone could be worth more than the entire take from the volleyball game.

It was her expression, though, that was giving Nabiki problems.

Her eyes were downcast. She had one arm crossed under her breasts and holding onto her other arm just above the elbow, and her hair was still damp and slightly mussed. She looked almost timid.

Not a good look for someone trying valiantly to banish fantasies of a submissive Shampoo from her mind.

"I… guess you're all good now?" Nabiki asked. "You feel anything from the chip?"

Shampoo didn't look up but rubbed self-consciously at the back of her neck. "No… little bit of a bruise, but not feel anything inside."

Nabiki sighed in relief. "Okay, good. Hopefully it won't cause problems with you changing then." She found herself fiddling with the collar and forced herself to put it down on the bed. "I guess we're good then?" She swallowed. "I should probably get going and let you get dressed…" She stood, but noticed Shampoo wasn't moving from the door.

"Joketsuzoku have strong feelings about slavery," Shampoo said finally. "Amazons come from women who flee such things. Mongols, Musk Dynasty, Chinese Emperor… all try and enslave Joketsuzoku. All fail because we rather die than submit. Fail because we take ten, twenty, a hundred for every one of us. Learn to leave alone, even if stronger, because they know we never be slaves." She swallowed. "Today… today hard for Shampoo. Willingly accept brand. A-accept ownership."

"Shampoo, this is just a bit of paperwork to protect you in your cursed form, it's not…" Nabiki began, but Shampoo held up a hand.

"Not matter," Shampoo said. "Still real. If not do this now, Shampoo could be taken. Owned. Not have rights as a cat. Property as a cat." She shuddered. "Joketsuzoku pride demand Shampoo fight. Run free. That brand… even fake brand… no better than death. B-but… Shampoo accept."

Nabiki swallowed. She stepped forward, but stopped, unsure exactly what to say or do. She felt a surge of hot shame for viewing the entire matter like a kinky little game between them. "I…"

Shampoo looked up and Nabiki could see tears in those red-hued eyes.

Nabiki closed her eyes, not able to look into the Amazon's anymore. "Shampoo… I didn't intend for this to be… to be this significant. I just wanted to give you some protection because I saw an angle Himura might try and exploit. I wasn't…" She deflated slightly. "... I wasn't thinking."

She felt Shampoo step closer. She opened her eyes and nearly jumped back to find the Amazon almost nose to nose with her. She sucked in a breath, eyes widening.

"You lie," Shampoo said softly. "You want this. Maybe you think idea to protect, but felt in kiss. Want to possess. Want to own."

Nabiki felt her mouth suddenly dry. Guilt and shame twisted in her guts, warring with sudden arousal and that greedy little voice in the back of her mind hissing Yes!

She tried to moisten her lips with her tongue, feeling those eyes burning like coals. The intensity of Shampoo's stare was like a physical thing, drilling into her. She struggled and cast about for an easy lie, a casual misdirection, a half truth - something she could say to escape the answer she didn't want to give - the part of herself she didn't want to acknowledge. But all of her cleverness and wordplay and Art had fled, leaving her alone with nothing but the truth she didn't want to admit.

"...Yes," She finally said softly.

It was the most terrifying syllable she had ever uttered - the worst admission possible. Everything she had ever sought, even Ranma, had been measured - balanced - a carefully crafted exchange where she knew what she sought and what she offered in return, and there was symmetry to it all. She knew that she had what they wanted and had the confidence of knowing she had that leverage, that power.

But, ironically, she had nothing to offer Shampoo - no power - nothing to trade. She could conceive of nothing the Amazon girl might possibly want or need from her that she wasn't already getting. Just naked want and the near certainty of rejection.

"You ask Shampoo give what she die rather than allow to be taken by force?" Shampoo asked in a low whisper. There was danger in her voice, menace. Anger and Pride flashed in her eyes.

Nabiki closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She felt betrayed but had no one to accuse save herself. She had brought about the very calamity she had sought to prevent. And still she couldn't kill the ache in her chest that hoped that maybe, maybe… "It isn't worth anything if it's forced," she said softly. "Even if I could… why would I? It would just be… empty."

She felt Shampoo's warmth slip away as she moved. Part of her wanted to reach out, pull her close, apologize, beg forgiveness, try and deny the ugly, covetous self she had shown her. She trembled a little, expecting a slap, or a demand to leave or just to be left alone in the room.

Instead she heard the slight clink of metal on metal. She opened her eyes and turned to see Shampoo behind her at the bed, holding the collar, looking at it pensively.

The Amazon looked up at her. The anger, the pride, were gone. They were replaced with… sadness?

"Then no hide," Shampoo said softly and held out the collar to Nabiki. "Nabiki ask. Shampoo give. Is shameful? No want to give… unless Nabiki proud."

Nabiki felt paralyzed a moment, overloaded with conflicting emotions, impulses, desires.

Walk forward.

Shampoo's eyes held hers a moment then started to dip, disappointment filling them as she saw an answer in Nabiki's hesitation. "Shampoo see… a-ask too much…"

Walk FORWARD damn it!

The collar started to slip from Shampoo's fingers.

MINE!

Nabiki's hand caught it just as it slipped, clasping Shampoo's hand and earning a startled look from the Amazon.

Slowly, reverently, Nabiki brought the collar up and wrapped it around Shampoo's slender neck. Tenderly she fastened the buckle, just tight enough to remind her of its presence, the tags dangling against Shampoo's throat, just above her elegant collarbone.

"I'll get you something more stylish later," Nabiki said, her voice barely more than a breath.

As Nabiki leaned in to kiss her, Shampoo gave the towel a gentle tug, letting it fall to the floor.

000

"So… how did we lose Rin in an Ice cream shop?"

Nobody answered Sayuri as they stepped out the front door of the store. The sun had recently set and they hadn't found hide nor hair of their striker.

Ranma felt a pang of guilt. Rin had obviously been going through a lot of emotional turmoil lately and pretty much all of it lead right back to her. And yet she had just let the girl slip from her notice at the first hint of a distraction.

"She can't have gone far… right?" Riko asked, looking to the others for confirmation as they started to walk.

Yuka stopped short, her eyes widening as she spotted something going on in the alleyway. She quickly motioned for everyone to stop.

The entire group hurriedly bunched up at the edge of the building, peering around to watch.

Rin was there with the biggest smile they had seen on her face since the sleepover. Next to her was Mousse, who was holding her hand as if he had just helped her down from somewhere.

"Thank you for indulging me, Rin Ito," Mousse said, releasing her hand and tucking his arms into the sleeves of his robe. "I don't get many chances to have a conversation with someone who has a sympathetic ear."

"No… please, thank you," Rin said. "Thank you for everything you said. A-and thank you for letting me watch the sunset with you." She blushed and ducked her head.

Mousse smiled and sketched a small bow. "It was my pleasure. I can't think of anyone else who would appreciate it as you did. I imagine… it must be quite different to your eyes."

Rin cocked her head. "Mr…" She closed her eyes a moment, gripping a rounded purple stone in her hand tightly a moment. "... Mu Tsu… Did you know that there are ways now to fix eyes like yours? So you won't need glasses?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I… did not? Something new?"

Rin nodded enthusiastically. "Sort of. They do something to your eyes with lasers. I had an aunt who had it done and I'm pretty sure her vision was worse than yours!"

"Ah," Mousse sighed. "It has been my experience that such 'miracles' tend to cost a great deal."

"I… Yeah…" Rin deflated a little. "I didn't think of that. I'm sorry…"

He shook his head. "Don't be. It's something I can work towards perhaps. A better flashlight, maybe. Providing options is always welcome, Rin Ito."

She blushed and fidgeted, looking away. "Y-you can just call me 'Rin'... i-if you like…"

Mousse was silent a moment, then inclined his head again slightly. "... Rin. I will keep that in mind. Take care. Perhaps I will see you again sometime soon."

She turned, but he had already jumped up the wall to the roof of the building and leapt away. She clasped her hands around the stone and watched him go. "... Please do."

"RIN!"

Rin jumped, spun and crossed her arms in front of her defensively. "Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Yuka stomped up to the diminutive striker, hands on her hips. "What the hell is this?!"

"A-an alleyway?" Rin stammered, looking scared and confused.

"Here we are worried sick about you, and you're off on a date!"

"I-I-I-It wasn't a date! I-it was j-just…" Rin stammered, looking panicked.

"Yuka, give her a break, wouldja?" Sayuri put a restraining hand on Yuka's shoulder. Yuka huffed and looked away, folding her arms and grumbling.

Rin breathed a momentary sigh of relief, then was startled as Sayuri leaned in.

"Seriously though… nicely done! I want details!" She said conspiratorially. She held up her fist, offering a bump for the shorter girl.

"I-I-I…" Rin whimpered, then timidly bumped Sayuri's fist with her own. "It wasn't a date, honest! We… I just ran into him back here, a-and we talked…"

"... And watched the sunset together?" Yuka asked archly. "That's a date, Rin."

"I've got the picture set of him from Nabiki." Riko said, sighing. "He's so built under that robe! You're so lucky Rin!"

"Seriously, Riko?" Yuka raised an eyebrow at her. "Mousse too? You're shameless, you know that?"

Riko smirked. "I'll shaaaaaare."

Rin's face was burning red and she gradually curled further in on herself, clutching her amethyst worry stone desperately. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…"

Ranma and Ryouga remained at the mouth of the alleyway, watching.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm really up for sitting around listening to a bunch of girls gush about Mousse," Ryouga muttered.

"Yeah, let's go," Ranma replied. "There's only so much brain bleach can do in one day."

000

Ranma walked a bit in front of Ryouga, her hands clasped behind her head as they made their way leisurely in the direction of his house. She wasn't entirely ready to head home yet, to be honest, but couldn't really think of what else to do with her evening.

She glanced back at the Lost Boy. Ryouga had his schoolbag slung over one shoulder and was looking out over the canal as they walked, seemingly lost in thought.

You could grab his hand and find out what he's thinking.

Ranma shook her head to banish the errant thought. Yeah, but then I'm walking holding Ryouga's hand.

He wouldn't mind.

Ranma rolled her eyes and let her gaze return to the route they were walking.

You wouldn't mind either.

Shut up, Ranma thought gruffly. She was getting tired of these intrusive thoughts and feelings slipping through whenever she was alone with him.

Perhaps some company to help insulate her would help?

"Hey Ryouga, you peckish?" She glanced back at him.

"Seriously, Ranma?" He raised an eyebrow. "You just polished off a bowl of ice cream the size of my head. And a parfait or two!"

"Aww c'mon, that's just sweets. The dinner rush should be ending soon. You wanna drop by Ucchan's and see how Ucchan and Akane are doing?" She walked backwards, folding her hands behind her back and giving him her best 'kawaii pleading' look.

Ryouga huffed and looked away, but there was a bit of color in his cheeks. "... Fine. But you're paying. I don't get the 'Fiance Discount'."

Funny how that works on him now. Ranma thought, smiling. Guess Ryouga really DOES think I'm cute. For some reason that thought didn't bother her, though she had the nagging notion that it probably should. "Sure. Just don't snark off to Akane, okay? Don't want you an' her wrecking the restaurant."

"Heh," he said, smirking a bit, then went quiet again.

Tired of walking backwards or talking over her shoulder, she dropped back to walk even with him. "You okay? You've been quiet a lot lately."

"I'm not exactly a big talker, if you haven't noticed." Ryouga slipped the straps of his schoolbag on fully and jammed his hands in his pockets.

She cocked her head, trying to read his expression. She had that weird urge to grab his hand again and find out. "You seem to talk plenty with me."

"I argue a lot with you," Ryouga replied dryly.

"Not lately."

He was quiet a moment, staring at the sidewalk ahead of them. He stole another glance at her, another blush appearing and looked away. "... yeah, not lately."

She scowled. "Why are you being so weird around me?"

"You know why!" he growled.

"'Cuz you see me as a girl now?" She hopped around in front of him to try and meet his gaze again, a bit frustrated that he was so much taller than her. "So? I'm okay with that. I'm not the only girl you know! You're fine around Kasumi or Nabiki… heck, you hang out with Ukyou almost as much as I do and you don't get like this! You're even cool around Akane now, even if you argue a lot."

"Yeah, well I don't get inside their heads if I happen to touch them, either," Ryouga said, poking her forehead with his finger. She got a brief flash of emotion from the link. Annoyance, embarrassment, a little of that confusion that seemed to bubble up around her… and happiness?

She smirked. "You like hanging around with me."

"Yeah, see?!" He gestured at her, frustrated. "I don't get any privacy in my own head with you around!"

"It's not like I look all that deep anyway," she pouted and turned away, resuming walking. "It's just… reassuring, I guess. If I gotta be alone with my thoughts it's nice to have someone there with me."

"That doesn't make any sense, Ranma," Ryouga sighed in resignation.

"Yeah, well… neither do I," Ranma replied. "You said so yourself, and… I think you make more sense out of what I'm feeling than I do."

"... Are you asking me to hold your hand?" Ryouga asked finally.

Ranma slowed a bit, dropping back to walk shoulder to shoulder with him again. She was silent for a moment as she pondered. Finally she shook her head. "Not right now. I just wanted you to talk to me. I've been a girl nonstop since yesterday morning and I won't be able to change back until the soap wears off, which'll be sometime late tomorrow if I'm lucky," she said finally. "I'm just kinda slipping into that 'girl' headspace again and it's nice to have something to distract me from broodin' on it."

"Hnh," Ryouga replied, not really having a decent response to that.

"How's your Mom doing?"

"Surprisingly good. She's got a system figured out to keep her connected to the house. Even a Hibiki can't get lost if we're attached to something with a string." He smiled a bit. "She seems really excited about this cure and even if not, she's made good friends with the neighbors. It's been… well… paradise - having a home to go to with someone waiting there. It kinda reminds me of what it was like when Dad was alive…"

Ranma smiled a bit in spite of herself. It was nice seeing a bit of genuine joy on the Lost Boy's face. The flash she had gotten through the link seemed a lot lighter too. "Kinda reminds me of what it was like when Pops and I first showed up at the Tendo's." She paused and added. "... without the part where Akane smashed a table over my head."

Ryouga chuckled. "Yeah, she'd be doing that to me now, I guess. Or maybe she'd hit me with it a bunch of times with the amaguriken... Don't think I didn't notice some of your tricks showing up the last time I fought her. You're coaching her!"

"Yeah, well, if you're gonna bust out moves like the Bakusai Tenketsu on her, I figure that's fair!" Ranma shot back.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. Just… well, you always used to flat out refuse to train her in the past. Kinda surprised you slipped into it so easily now. Not like I'm the first tough opponent she's faced."

"I… well…" Ranma blushed. "It's… ah, it's a bit different between us. It's easier to talk without one of us settin' the other off."

"Really?" Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "I figured it was because you were always competing with her and were worried that if you actually gave her any decent training she'd end up better than you."

"Hey!" Ranma slugged him in the arm. "There's no way I'd be worried about losing to Akane!"

"So you say..." Ryouga smirked, holding up his hand with his pinky extended. "Wanna pinky swear on that?"

Ranma blinked then blushed and looked away. "... No fair usin' the link like that!"

"Ha! I knew it!"

"It's not really like that..." Ranma grumbled. "It's more… I didn't really have the first clue how to teach someone, y'know? I sure as hell didn't wanna do it Pop's lousy way."

"So… what changed then?" Ryouga stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

"I guess… after seeing her train with Pops, I realized she wasn't gonna wait anymore. If I didn't help her she was gonna do it anyway and she was even willin' to resort to gettin' Pops to teach her." She shrugged. "Plus Pops got her to a point where I'm not so scared of hurtin' her by accident."

"Yeah. She's improved fast," Ryouga said thoughtfully. "But… that was always kind of her thing. I remember training her for her rematch with Kurumi."

"It's like once she gets over the hump with something, she just snowballs." Ranma looked thoughtful. "Heh… who knows? Give her a couple of years and she might actually be a decent fight for me."

"Just a 'decent fight'? I'd bet by then she'll be better than you, Ranma." Ryouga elbowed her gently.

Ranma smirked at him. "Never gonna happen, Hibiki. But I'll bet she'll be kicking your ass."

A pensive look crossed Ryouga's face. "Are… we just having our rivalry by proxy through Akane now?"

Ranma considered. "... Maybe?" She looked up and saw the familiar Ucchan's storefront. The sign was down already but the lights were still on. "Why don't we ask her in person? If she hits me, then yes, if she hits you, then no."

"What if she hits both of us?"

"Then we need to go on a training trip for a week or so to let her cool off."

They both walked up to the door. Ryouga was going to reach out and pull the door open, but Ranma caught his hand and held up a finger to her lips to indicate he should be quiet.

"Let's… let's see how the cooking lessons are going first," Ranma said, looking a little pensive.

"I thought you were all over the moon about how much better Akane's cooking was?" Ryouga hissed, glowering at her.

"Yeah, well, one success in a whole stream of crimes against nature ain't a trend, and I don't wanna discourage her if it's bad and I can't fake it." Ranma glared back at him, holding his gaze until she was sure he would play along. "... Besides, what if it's pork?"

Ryouga blinked then shrugged. "What if it is?"

Ranma gaped at him. "You cannibal!" she hissed.

"What?! I'm not actually a pig!" Ryouga protested. "I've eaten way more questionable stuff out in the wilderness. As long as it's not an actual person who cares? It's not like you stopped eating pork or anything when you found out about my curse, right?"

Ranma didn't answer, instead ducking her head a little and trying in vain to hide a blush.

"... Wait… you seriously stopped eating pork?" Ryouga asked.

"I only eat it when I'm mad at you," Ranma replied curtly. "Which is a lot."

Ryouga stared at her then finally said, "... That's possibly the most tsundere thing I've ever heard in my entire life."

"I am not…! Look, would you just shut up? I don't want them to hear us," Ranma growled at him.

The two of them crept up to the door. Ranma inched it open a crack, and then both peered inside.

Ukyou was standing next to the counter, a plate in her hand, holding a pair of chopsticks in the other and chewing thoughtfully. Akane was standing in front of her, wearing an Okonomiyaki chef's outfit that matched Ukyou's and a nervous expression on her face. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she seemed to be waiting for Ukyou's verdict.

Ukyou sighed and put the plate down, laying the chopsticks on top without a word.

"... That bad?" Akane whimpered.

"Well, sugar..." Ukyou took a deep breath. "... it seems that someone is going to be serving the customers deluxe okonomiyaki tomorrow."

"Yeeeeeeeesss!" Akane hooted with joy and tackle-hugged Ukyou, who swung her around to avoid toppling over and giggled at her enthusiasm. "ThankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!"

"You earned it, Akane," Ukyou said, managing to regain her footing though she was still mostly supporting Akane in her arms. "You worked hard for this. I'm proud of you!"

"I…" Akane looked up into Ukyou's eyes, her own glistening with tears. Overcome with emotion, she pulled herself up and kissed her on the lips.

It was just a quick kiss, but it was a line that neither had crossed before. Both of them looked stunned as it ended, suddenly silent.

"I-I… I'm sorry!" Akane said quickly. "I didn't mean… well, I meant it, but…" she trailed off when Ukyou didn't respond and for a few more moments they were simply silent, looking at each other.

Then they kissed again - more slowly - more deeply - much more passionately. This one lasted until both had to break for breath, panting softly, the stunned expressions replaced with shared expressions of wonder and shy excitement.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while…" Akane said softly, sliding her arms around Ukyou's neck and making it clear she was intent on making herself comfortable in Ukyou's arms for a nice long stay.

"I… half thought we might have already," Ukyou admittedly sheepishly. "I can't remember what happened on the roof too well, but I remember cupping your cheek and… well when you didn't say anything about it after, I thought…"

"I guess that would be awkward," Akane giggled. Then her expression got more serious. "It's not awkward now, is it?"

Ukyou gave her a sly smile. "If I say 'yes' are you going to kiss me again?"

"I'm planning to do that regardless," Akane murmured back. She paused then glanced towards the door. "... Did you hear something?"

Ukyou followed her gaze. The sliding door was closed tight. "No… but maybe we should move this discussion upstairs?" She returned her gaze to Akane and tightened her arms around her. "Well, maybe one more kiss first?"

000

The darkness was starting to settle in over the small park as the businesses in the area shut down for the night. It was getting colder too, but there were still a few insects left to flit around the buzzing lights illuminating the benches and small array of vending machines. Ryouga retrieved two beverages from one of the machines and turned back to the redhead sitting on the bench.

"Here," he said, handing her a can of milk tea. She blinked and looked up at him, then accepted it, staring at it dumbly while he sat down next to her.

"You okay?" he asked softly, popping the top on his own. Her expression was hard to read, and anytime Ranma's emotional state wasn't painfully obvious it was usually a bad sign.

"I dunno," she said softly, turning the can over in her hands. She finally popped it open and took a sip. "How's your nosebleed?"

Ryouga felt some heat rise to his cheeks. "I… think I ruined the handkerchief Ukyou loaned me. Just washed it too."

"Yeah, well… s'what you get for being a perv," Ranma muttered, though without any real venom behind it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

Normally he'd protest that but Ryouga didn't really feel up to debating the point. It didn't help he did feel a bit perverted. Watching Ukyou kiss Akane was entirely too much like watching a sister make out with an ex, which was a whole mess of complicated emotions that a nosebleed just wasn't appropriate for.

"Maybe I should see a doctor about it," he muttered. "Otherwise hanging around you is gonna kill me through blood loss."

Not even a chuckle.

"You're jealous?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"... No," she said, after a pause. "It's not… it's not jealousy." She continued to look straight ahead. "I mean jealousy wouldn't even make sense."

"Doesn't have to make sense," Ryouga pointed out.

"Mnh," Ranma grunted noncommittally. "It's not jealousy. It's not like they're hiding anything from me. It's not like I didn't know about this stuff…"

"You knew Ukyou and Akane were… uhh…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well, not this, but… Nabiki admitted there was something going on with her and Shampoo." She sipped her tea. "I just… the way they were together, I suddenly got this… this cold feeling, deep down. Like… Like I was alone."

"Alone," Ryouga repeated. "Why alone?"

Ranma curled up a little more, resting her chin on her knees. "Like… 'If they feel this way about each other… if they're this happy together… why do they need me?'"

Ryouga snorted. "Ranma… none of them would have even met if it wasn't for you."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so I brought 'em together. Dating services do that too, but that doesn't mean you need 'em after."

"The only reason they're even getting along now is to try and make you happy," Ryouga countered.

"I'm the reason they fought in the first place."

Ryouga scowled. "Are you trying to find reasons to be miserable? You have four girls who are in love with you beyond all reason, and somehow, against any sort of logic or common sense, you've gotten all four of them and you're upset because somehow this whole thing works!? Or are you just miffed because you're not the focus 100% of the time?"

"That's not it!" Ranma said angrily, glaring at him. Her anger faded away and she looked away, draining her can and tossing it into the trash. "I mean… it's all good now, but what happens in a few years when they get sick of my crap and realize they don't need me?"

"Why would they get sick of you? It's not like you've got any new deep dark horrible secrets they don't all already know about." He finished off his own drink. "If they were going to change their minds they'd have done it by now."

"Because that's how it works? It's why we always kept moving, Pops and me. People'd get sick of us, and we'd move on."

"That's because your Dad is a thief and a freeloader and scam artist," Ryouga replied.

"Oh yeah?" Ranma gave him a challenging glare. "What makes you think I'll end up any different, huh? Besides, you and Ukyou ended up hating me and Ukyou was my best friend!"

"Ukyou thought you abandoned her because your Dad is a jerk and I started off hating you." He tossed his own drink into the trash to cover a slight blush. "You… uh…kinda won me over. And the instant Ukyou found out you didn't betray her she was in love with you again." He shrugged. "Just… don't rob them and abandon them."

"But… what if I do something else?" she sighed. "Or… what if they'd be happier without me? I mean… What do I even bring to all this?"

"Kids?"

"Instant Nannichuan," Ranma said flatly. "Shampoo apparently still has some and Nabiki's got a packet squirrelled away. Or they could adopt. Or… I dunno, I'm sure there's medical stuff these days. I mean… If that's all they wanted out of me they might as well snag Kuno for it. He's at least a guy 100% of the time."

"Uh huh. Kuno," Ryouga said dryly. "You're worried that all four of the girls who are currently madly in love with you are going to suddenly dump you for Kuno."

"I…" She slumped and looked away. "You said it didn't have to make sense!"

Ryouga sighed. It wasn't like he had a lot of room to talk when it came to irrational anxieties… "Look… maybe you should talk to them about this?"

Ranma shook her head. "Nah… You're right, this is all stupid and in my head. It's not their problem, it's mine. I just gotta… sort out my feelings." She folded her arms on her knees and buried her head.

He elbowed her. "Call Nabiki at least."

"Mnh."

"Call her or I will."

Her head peeked out. "You wouldn't."

Ryouga smirked, flipping a coin and then catching it, then giving a nearby phone booth a meaningful look.

Ranma scowled. "You're a bastard, Ryouga Hibiki."

"You can't win 'em all, Saotome," he said, flipping the coin again.

Ranma snatched it out of the air, glowering at him as she stood up and walked towards the pay phone.

000

The second time the call went straight to Nabiki's voice mail, Ranma knew she had turned off her phone.

She considered calling the dojo to ask Kasumi if she had come home… but she already knew the answer. Both Nabiki and Shampoo suddenly having plans? Would have been suspicious even if she hadn't seen Shampoo head off with Nabiki as they were leaving. She already knew who Nabiki was with. The phone being off just confirmed what they were doing.

It was a weird feeling - like she had been in a crowded room and then looked up to suddenly find that everyone had gone, the place was empty and she hadn't even seen them leave. There was that nagging feeling she had been told, had been invited along, but had been too absorbed in her own crap to listen or retain any of it, and now she had no one but herself to blame.

She hung the receiver up and jammed her remaining change back into her pocket. She looked up, across to the small cluster of benches, to see Ryouga waiting for her.

She could always hang around with him. They could wander a bit, or spar, or even just talk. She didn't need to be alone, right?

Yeah, THAT'S a good idea, she thought, looking down. Use good ol' Ryouga as a crutch again. He's basically halfway in love with me anyway, right? Just play the girl, let him hold my hand, cry on his shoulder, and maybe hope he doesn't notice I'm the reason he's not gone and fixed things with Akari yet?

She sighed and walked back over to him, not meeting his eyes. "C'mon, Ryouga, it's getting late and I should get you home."

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Nabiki will meet me at the Dojo. Just waitin' on you, pork butt." She crossed her arms and did a fair approximation of her standard confident smirk.

He shrugged and got up. She stayed a bit ahead of him, wanting to get him back home without any more fuss.

That cold feeling just kept growing in her gut the whole way.

When they reached the house she was almost relieved. She bowed and waved Ryoga in like a butler showing the lord of the house in. "Welcome home, Master Hibiki," she said. "Might I suggest a hot bath, sir? His lordship is a tad ripe." She pinched her nose and winked at him. "See ya t'morrow, P-chan."

She started to walk past him. She almost made it too, before she felt his hand grasp her shoulder.

"You're a terrible liar, Ranma," he said softly.

"... Dunno what you're talkin' about, man," she replied, though it wasn't as forceful as she thought. She tried to shrug out of his grip but it remained firm.

"You even going back to the dojo tonight?"

She swallowed. Don't. Don't say what I think you're gonna say, Ryouga. Not right now. "What's it matter?"

"Look, Ranma, why don't you…" He started to motion with his thumb towards the house.

"Don't," Ranma said quickly, cutting him off. She finally pulled her shoulder free but didn't look at him.

She swallowed. "Ryouga… it's not a good time. An'... an' I don't mean 'cuz it's late or anything."

"Ranma, look, I'll get my Mom and she can make you something to eat and we'll set you up in the guest room…"

She shook her head. What am I s'posed to say, huh Ryouga? That if I go in with you, the guy side is stayin' out here? That I WON'T be staying in the guest room? She turned a bit to look at him. She was getting pretty good at reading him even without the link. She knew he wasn't thinking any of those things - not yet, anyway. You probably even think you'd be okay with it, huh Ryo? Acceptin' me over a real girl…

"Call Akari for me, okay?" she said, giving him a weak smile. "Call her tonight?"

"What? Why're you bringing Akari up?" Ryouga gave her a confused look.

"Trust me. It'll make me feel better. I worked hard to get you two together in the first place, after all." She cocked her head. "Please? It'll help take my mind off my own worries if I know you're doing something about yours."

He opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it again and simply nodded.

Ranma gave him the closest she could muster to a real smile then jumped up onto the retaining wall and off into the night.

000

I've had some concerns raised about the time period I've set this in. I know the original manga was 80's, while the anime was 90's. Because I honestly don't trust myself enough to put something in that time period due to faulty memory, I've nudged things ahead into the 2000's. I apologize for inconsistencies, but having technology being a bit more developed gives me more options for people like Nabiki and Himura, who's weapons are primarily information and communication based.

I also know the Volleyball rules I'm using are NOT correct, and I've tangented off into my own bizarre little scoring system. To keep things consistent, I'll stick with it (Though i may retroactively change it later).

Yes, Hitomi's team are all made up of girls from Killing Bites. I'm not going for any sort of real accuracy, it was just bit of a reference since a friend showed me a few episodes recently.