Tendo Nabiki Enterprises, Incorporated Presents:

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic side-story

Careful Destiny

Part Five
"Mending Fences"


by:
Todd Hill


Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime by Rumiko Takahashi

*** Warning! This section of the story contains minor lime scenes scattered throughout. There is also a rather involved scene that could almost be called "full lemon" that is located near the end of part five. Caveat Lector ***

Ranma cupped the chin of their marauding intruder and tilted it upward. A chill shot through the veins of his hands and he verged on unconsciousness as he concentrated on the person's face. "No!" he groaned in defeat as he fell backwards, stunned by the one thing that he had never expected to see in this life.

"Shampoo..." he whispered softly, staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the prone figure on the floor.

"Ranma!" Akane and Ranko chorused. The younger Saotome wasted no time in hobbling next to her brother. "You okay, bro?" she asked with concern.

"Why?" was his only response, his gaze never leaving Shampoo's face.

"What? You're not making sense, Ranma," Ranko said, following up with a light, open-handed smack to the cheek. "Did he do something to you?" She stepped in front of her brother, blocking his view of the stranger while trying to gain his attention.

"Is everything okay, Akane?" Soun asked worriedly. His future son-in-law seemed pretty spooked, and given Ranma's demonstrated abilities, that bothered him quite a bit. He vaulted down from the rafters and touched down right next to his daughter, intent on making sure that no harm came to her.

"I don't know what's going on, Daddy," Akane replied honestly. She looked at Ranma again, and followed the path of his gaze to where the party-crasher lay silent. "It's almost as if Ranma knows this guy." She knelt down next to the body and reached out to tug on the hood of its cloak when Soun stopped her.

"Careful, Akane," he warned. "We have no idea who or what may be under that cloak. If it's bad enough to cause this in Ranma," he said, pointing to the stock-still youth, "then we shouldn't be reckless."

Akane nodded, taking care to guard herself against sudden movement from the person as she reached down and tugged on the hood. "Huh?" she asked in puzzlement as a long lock of rich purple hair flowed from under the hood and spilled onto the hardwood floor of the dojo. Emboldened by the lack of response, Akane tugged firmly and yanked the hood all the way back.

"Whoa! Now *that's* a first-class babe!" Hikaru blurted out from behind Akane and Soun as Shampoo's face popped into full view. They both turned to look over their shoulders and saw him standing behind them, his eyes locked on Shampoo's face. He was so transfixed by her that he didn't realize that Ranko was angrily glaring at him. As the seconds ticked, the intensity of her gaze quickly shifted from Ultra-violent to Infra-dead.

Ranko finally had to clear her throat to get her point across, her gaze a smoldering cauldron of doom. The sound snapped Hikaru back into the realm of the living, his head turning towards the noise's origin. He winced as he caught sight of her demon's-glare. Feeling confused and a little angry at her attitude, he kept from responding out loud, well aware of her ability to snap his spine like a twig.

The stern noise of Ranko's throat clearing caught Ranma's attention, too. His distant gaze changed as his eyes focused on his sister.

"Ranko, I don't believe it," he muttered in an eerily calm voice. "It's Shampoo." He grew silent again, his eyes betraying the shock and confusion that he was trying to hide.

Akane's brow furrowed as she looked down at Shampoo. "What does he mean, Ranko?" she asked of her newfound friend. She gazed at the long locks of purple hair cascading from their party crasher's head, which were matted slightly due to sweat and coated with dust. "She does need to wash her hair, but I don't see why Ranma would care about something as trivial as that at a time like this."

"I don't think that's what he meant, Akane," Ranko replied guardedly as she cupped her brother's cheek in her hand. "I swear, Ranma," she said in a near-whisper, her thumb gently caressing his jawline. "You look like you've seen a ghost." 'Or a ghost from the past' her mind added. Ranko gasped as something suddenly clicked into place.

"What is it, Ranko?" Soun asked at her sudden intake of breath.

'Dammit!' she swore to herself. 'I don't need to be explaining anything right now. Besides, I'm not even sure if I'm right.' Ranko looked up to Soun with what she hoped was a confused expression. "I honestly can't say, Mr. Tendo. I'll just have to keep talking to Ranma and hope that he can tell us something about her."

Satisfied with her answer, Soun clapped his hands together to dust them off, startling Akane enough to make her jump. "Well, we don't seem to be in any danger from this girl at the moment," Soun declared after toeing the body with his right foot and getting no response.

"Yeah, she's out for the count," Hikaru added, his dreamy-eyed expression returning as he took in Shampoo's face again.

"Well, what'll we do with her?" Akane asked of no one in particular.

"We should confine her until she regains consciousness, and then ask her what the hell she thought she was doing." Soun looked down to his daughter and Ranko for approval.

"Don't see anything wrong with that, Daddy. Question is: who will watch her, and where will we put her?"

"How about lashing her to a tree outside?" Ranko suggested venomously, her anger at Hikaru's antics leaking into her words.

Soun seemed to ponder that question for a moment. "You've got a point, Ranko, but I don't think she's so dangerous that we should treat her like an animal. We could put her in the guest room, and two of us will keep watch over her," he mused.

"I would advise against that, Tendo-sensei," a shout issued from the rafters. Soun craned his neck and spotted Sato sitting in the rafters, still cradling Nabiki protectively in his arms. "That girl knocked a big hole in the outer wall. I don't think she should be trusted at all." The expression on Sato's face was a mixture of anger and fear, with anger winning out at the moment.

"You mean that she caused all that noise by herself?" Akane asked with alarm.

Soun 'hmmm'ed, and took Sato seriously. He bent down and scooped his arms under Shampoo. Despite the danger that she posed, Soun couldn't help but notice how tightly the cloak covered her, leaving little to the imagination. "She's a light little girl," he commented as he hefted his burden, one of his hands closing around her legs and the other one touching near her left breast.
"She's not armed, either," he grunted thoughtfully, feeling nothing beneath the cloak except the girl's body. That seemed to cement his decision. "I don't think we'll have to worry if we guard her, but I agree with Sato. To minimize any risk to our guests, we'll keep her outside near the pond."

Ranko stifled a beleaguered sigh as Soun's words answered her unspoken question. 'Well, that doesn't leave much doubt as to who she is...' she thought with growing worry. 'First Kinuko, and now this.' She looked up at Soun, realizing that he was waiting for her to respond to his suggestion. "I agree, Mr. Tendo. After all, you are the expert and our host," she demurred. "Ranma and I will join you in just a moment."

Soun nodded. "Very well, Ranko. As soon as you get Ranma on his feet and find out what's wrong with him, let me know. I'd like to find out what caused this in him." He turned to his youngest daughter after seeing Ranko nod her assent. "Akane, go find Mr. Saotome and let him know what we're doing. Also, see if your sister and Nodoka are okay." She nodded as he continued. "I'll bring this girl to the pond and wait for you there," he said as he regarded his destination a few paces away. "Ah! That reminds me! Akane, I'll need you to bring a blanket with you when you return. We can't just lay this girl on the ground." Akane nodded to her father as they left the dojo.

Ranko noted with a heavy tinge of jealousy that Hikaru was following behind them. His eyes had a target lock on the girl's impressive figure from the moment she collapsed in the dojo. His head bobbed in time with her breasts as she bounced in Soun's arms. Despite the obvious danger that Shampoo presented, Ranko began feeling very loathsome thoughts for both Hikaru and the purple-headed girl. It took a couple of minutes of gritted teeth and angry breathing before she calmed herself and realized that she had a higher priority at the moment.

"You alive in there, Ranma?" she asked softly. "You can talk about it now, they're all gone." Ranma slowly emerged from his bout of shock, pulling Ranko into his lap and hugging her tightly. He said nothing, drawing comfort from his embrace of her. Ranko returned the hug, but was a bit anxious to get her brother mobile again. "Talk to me, bro," she entreated, kissing him lightly on the forehead.

"I don't know what to say," he replied softly, running his hand across her back. "That's Shampoo. I don't know how she got here, but she's here."

"She's that Amazon floozy you told me about, right?" Ranko returned, unable to completely mask her anger. Ranma nodded, saying nothing. "She was one of your fianc‚es. The most dangerous one, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, she was really violent. But she wasn't dangerous. At least not to me," he amended.

"Really? Well, if she's not dangerous, why did you freeze up just then? Mr. Tendo thinks you've lost it." She tapped him on the forehead with her index finger. "You definitely aren't making any brownie points with him right now."

He sighed and rested his head against hers. "Hell. She's gonna wind up ruining everything. As for my reaction, well..." he trailed off, having a hard time looking into his sister's eyes. "All I can say is that I never expected to see her here. She's got no reason to be here. Dammit!" he shouted, clenching his jaw tightly and slapping his hand on the floor.
Ranma saw his dream life crumbling before his eyes with that airheaded Amazon manning the wrecking ball. Seeking a solid foundation, he clutched his sister ever tighter. "I don't want to lose this life, but that could happen as long as she's here. *That's* why I froze like I did. I thought that the wish was over, and I was going to lose everything." His eyes lost focus. "Including you, Ranko."

"Ohhh! Don't say that, Ranma!" Ranko hissed angrily, not in any mood to hear such a thing. "We don't even know if that is Shampoo that Mr. Tendo dragged out of here."

"But it looked like..." he began.

"Stop it, Ranma!" She allowed herself a moment to calm down. "Let's just go join the others, okay? If we take things one at a time, then we should be able to get to the bottom of why she's here, and what she plans on doing."

A few moments of silence passed as he turned Ranko's words over in his mind. Then Ranma loosened up as common sense reasserted itself. "You're right, Ranko. Regardless of who she is, Shampoo wasn't a match for me before, and the person out there won't be a match for me now!"

Ranko smiled and kissed her brother loudly on the cheek. "Now *that's* the brother I've grown to love!" She pounded him on the back, earning her a laugh followed by a slight groan of pain.

"Thanks, sis." He said with a smile before looking at the door of the dojo. "We should join Mr. Tendo. I don't want him thinking that I'm a loser."

"Yep," she said as she stood up and held her hand out to her brother. "Let's get over there while that bitch is still unconscious." Hobbling on her good foot, she helped Ranma to stand and then followed him as he led the way to the Koi pond.

"Such language!" Ranma mock-chided.

"Yeah, well I learned from a master," she retorted with a smirk. "The Saotome School isn't only known for its martial arts skills."

"Tell me about it..." Ranma snorted derisively as they disappeared through the door.

****

Sato watched from his perch on high as Ranko and Ranma left the dojo, their voices fading as they headed through the doors. "I think they forgot all about us," he muttered to himself. He hadn't been able to hear the conversation between Ranko and her brother, but he assumed that Ranma was doing okay now that he was on his feet again. 'Ranma has been acting very different recently. He's become a tough guy, even getting up the nerve to whip Kuno at school,' he mused. 'But to make things even more confusing now, he's getting frightened at the sight of an unconscious stranger.'

He shook his head vigorously, as if the agitation would magically shake loose the answers to all of his questions. 'What's freakin' me out is... he reacted the way all of us would've *expected* him to if something like this had happened three weeks ago.' He gazed at the empty doorway of the dojo, focusing on the glow of the afternoon sunlight as it crept in through the opening. Try as he might to explain what he had witnessed so far today, he was unable to piece it together so that it made any sense. 'I don't know if Ranma's getting back to normal now, or if we're in worse trouble than I -'

A slight moan broke his reverie, making him return his attention to the only other person still in the dojo. He looked down at the brown-haired beauty he had cradled in his arms and felt a warm upwelling in his heart. Her head was still buried in his chest and her arms seemed welded to him. He didn't want that moment to end, despite the trouble he was having breathing. 'I guess I have to give that purple-headed monster a little thanks for this,' he grudgingly admitted. 'This is the first time I've ever held a girl.' He allowed himself a small smile. 'I kinda like it, too.'

Nabiki stirred slightly, then her head snapped up in alarm, her eyes wide with fear. Sato quickly whipped an arm out to stabilize both of them before they wound up toppling from the rafters. She calmed down long enough to look at him. "Is it over?" she asked in a weak voice.

"I think so, Nabiki," he replied with as much false confidence as he could muster.

"Ah, good," she said before fainting dead away.

"Whoa, Nabiki!" Sato said in alarm as she went slack in his arms. "Nabiki!" He shook her, but got no response. "Oh no! NABIKI!" he shouted a little more frantically when she refused to stir. 'If that little purple-haired bitch has hurt Nabiki, I'll make her pay!' he thought furiously, before his more rational mind took control again.

'Yeah, right! If I live three seconds in a fight with her, I'll be lucky!' he scoffed, laughing at the sheer stupidity of it. He paused his rant as Nabiki's breathing became more noticeable. Sato felt her chest expanding and contracting within the confines of his protective embrace, and flooded with relief upon hearing her breathe normally. "Thank God, you only fainted!" He felt his own breathing slow down to normal levels and his mind calmed. But just as he was recovering from that false tragedy, Sato looked around as another predicament came to light. "How the hell am I gonna get down from here!?"

****

"What was that?" Nodoka asked in alarm as an explosive sound rocked both her and Kasumi. She quickly blushed and fought to regain her composure, having been taken so off guard that she had sworn in the presence of her host. But before Nodoka could apologize, she jumped as another explosion took her by surprise, causing her precariously balanced cup of green tea to spill into her lap. She yelped in pain as the scalding-hot liquid soaked through her clothing, sluicing between her thighs.

Kasumi, dazed by the loud sound of the crashes, reacted rather slowly to Nodoka's pained cry. "What was that, Nanna?" Seeing that Nodoka was doing okay, she turned her head away from the frantically hopping older woman and looked towards the entryway of the house, her brow furrowing in concentration. "You know, that sounded like a car crashing into the boundary wall of our property. Someone may be hurt!" she said in a panic.

"Crashed twice?" Nodoka returned, forcing calm and walking around to allow cool air to pass between her burned thighs.

"I'm not sure! Whatever it was, it sounded horrible!" Then Kasumi stood quickly from the table, almost tipping it in her rush. "I hear yelling outside! There might be trouble!"

"I hear it too, Kasumi-chan. We'd better see if everyone's alright."

"Yes, ma'am!" she shouted as she took off for the door to the dojo, with Nodoka in close pursuit.

Kasumi had barely gotten around the corner when she ran into the barrel-chested bulk of Genma Saotome. "Ooof!" she got out as her face buried itself in his chest, almost knocking him down.

Genma staggered, but managed to stay upright as the slight yet solid force of Kasumi rocked him. He paused for a moment to right himself and catch his breath. He looked down at young woman's face as she slowly pulled herself off from him. She had red eyes, as did Nodoka, letting him know that they had been crying a lot. But over what, he didn't know. "You two okay?"

"What was that, Genma?" Nodoka asked worriedly as she latched onto her husband with a tight hug.

"I'm not really sure what's going on, honey," he said as he returned the embrace with equal vigor, then began to fill them in on what he knew. "But I'll tell you what I *do* know. We were working in the dojo when it happened. The first blast startled us, and the second blast almost knocked me out of the rafters. Hikaru wasn't so lucky." Nodoka gasped, fearing the worst. "Don't worry about him, Hon," Genma quickly amended. "I caught him before he could hit the ground. He's shaken, but okay. Anyway, Nabiki and Sato had apparently seen what had caused the racket, because they ran back to the dojo after going out to get some wood. They were covered in dust, and both were shaking. Also, Sato was carrying Nabiki in his arms."

"Carrying Nabiki?" Kasumi asked worriedly. "Oh my goodness! Is she okay?!"

Genma nodded quickly, trying to keep his story going despite the interruptions. "She's fine, from what I could tell, Kasumi. Anyway, Sato was trying to tell us what was going on when someone in a dark cloak stormed into the dojo-"

"Someone attacked us?" Nodoka asked, her fear upgrading to anger. "If anyone's hurt our kids, I'll do them two worse!" His hug suddenly became a forced restraint as he struggled to hold her in place. "Let me go this instant, Genma! I need to know that they're okay!"

"Nodoka, they're fine!" he returned with effort. "I wouldn't have left Ranma or Ranko alone if there was any hint of danger to them! Now settle down and let me finish!" he yelled, a little louder than he intended to. In any event, it had the desired effect. Nodoka calmed considerably and relented to his hold.

"Thank you, dear," he said with a sigh. "Now, after the person entered the dojo, Soun did something absolutely brilliant. He faked a stumble in the rafters and dropped his toolbelt on the person's head." Genma chuckled at the ease with which his old friend had dispatched the threat to them all. "The intruder dropped like a stone..."

Nodoka winced. "Ouch! Honey, what was in the toolbelt?"

"I'd say it had two hammers and about four handfuls of nails when he let it fly."

"So it's safe to assume that the person is either knocked out or dead," Nodoka deadpanned.

"Oh, no! Daddy killed someone?" Kasumi squeaked.

"Nononono! He didn't kill anyone." Genma bit his lip to keep from adding, 'at least I hope he didn't.'

"Still, I want to go out there and see how everyone is," Nodoka stated firmly. She shrugged herself out of her husband's embrace and headed back into the kitchen.

"Now where-," he began as his wife took off for the kitchen, breaking off his sentence when she disappeared from sight.

"Mr. Saotome, I'm going to check on them too," Kasumi stated, prompting Genma to turn to face her.

"Very well. But I want you to stay with me in case something else happens-" he started to reply.

"Let's go, dear," Nodoka called from behind him as she approached. His eyebrows went up in alarm as he caught sight of the sword she held in her determined grip, unwrapped yet sheathed. He learned a long time ago to never argue with his wife when she was in this kind of mood, and instead led the way to the dojo.

The sight that greeted them wasn't what they had expected. "Where is everyone?" Nodoka asked sternly, her voice echoing in the abandoned room.

"I have no-," Genma said as Kasumi tapped him tentatively on the shoulder.

"Ummm... I think they're all over there, Mr. Saotome." she said in her delicate voice, pointing towards the pond in the distance. Her father seemed to be holding some cloaked figure in his arms.

"You're right, Kasumi," Genma replied. "We'd better get over th-," he said as he began ushering all of them out of the dojo.

"HEY!!!" a panicked shout issued from over their heads.

'For once I'd like to be able to finish a sentence around here,' he thought with mild consternation as he turned his attention to the latest interruption.

"Any chance I could get a ladder over here!?" a harried youth returned with as much deference and respect as he could muster under the circumstances.

"Sato?!" Nodoka asked in disbelief. Then she turned to her husband. "You never said he jumped up *there*, honey," she added, elbowing him lightly.

"Oh, Nabiki!" Kasumi gasped in alarm as she saw her sister nestled in the grasp of the young man. "Are you okay?" she shouted.

"I'm okay, ma'am," Sato replied. "Nabiki's okay, too. She just fainted from all the excitement."

Kasumi breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Thank you for looking out for her, Sato-kun."

"Let's get you down from there, son," Genma said as he trotted across the dojo floor, mindful of the holes still in it, and placed the ladder against the wall nearest Sato's rafter. "Can you handle it?" he asked concernedly.

"I think so, Mr. Saotome," Sato said confidently. He shuffled across the rafter, taking great care to see that Nabiki didn't slip and fall from his grasp. Despite all of his jostling, she dozed peacefully in his arms, unconsciousness granting her the serenity that he wished he were feeling for himself. With a long slow effort, he made it to the edge. Genma climbed partway up the ladder and met Sato as his feet touched the second rung from the top, then took hold of Nabiki's legs as Sato began his descent. With only a little bit of struggling, Sato managed to get down to the floor while keeping Nabiki in his embrace.

Kasumi changed that when she ran to her sister and took her into her arms, crying softly. "Oh, my little Nabiki! Thank goodness you're okay!" she sobbed.

Nabiki stirred at the sound of her older sister's voice. "Kasumi? 's'matter?"

"Everything's okay now," Sato added from nearby, trying to comfort Nabiki.

Genma stood alongside Sato. "I want to take a look at the wall and see what our visitor did to it," he declared. "Come along, Sato. Show me where it happened."

"Uhhh... y-yessir, Mr. Saotome," Sato said reluctantly. A stout pat on the back from Genma forced the issue and he found himself quickly leading the way.

Nodoka turned to Kasumi after Sato and her husband had stepped out. "You'd better get Nabiki inside and lay her down somewhere. The poor dear must've been through quite an ordeal." Nodoka reached up and ran her fingers through the younger Tendo-girl's hair, dislodging dust and specks of mortar and concrete.

"Yes, Nanna," Kasumi replied obediently. "Will you be coming in with me?" she added while reshuffling the burden of her younger sister in her arms.

"Not as yet, dear. I'm going to talk to your father and find out what he's doing with our uninvited guest," she said, pointing in the direction of her children and Soun with her sword. Kasumi seemed to hesitate for a moment, prompting Nodoka to smile comfortingly. "Don't worry, Kasumi-chan. I'll be back inside in as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Kasumi said, returning the smile. She shook her sister a little in her embrace, trying to roust her. "Wake up, Nabiki-chan. You may be petite but I'm not strong enough to carry a full-grown woman in my arms."

Nabiki attempted to snort derisively, but it came out as a weak moan. "I cn' walk jus' fine, tanks..." she retorted as best she could.

"Okay, then. Let's go inside," Kasumi urged as she began walking in the direction of the house, her sister dragging alongside her.

Nodoka suppressed a sigh as she watched the two sisters shamble out of the dojo then focused her attention on the stranger in black that Soun had in his arms. Fingering the saya of her sword out of habit, she tried to guess at what had prompted the attack. Having no love for mysteries and disliking threats to her family even more, she gripped the saya tightly in her left hand and trotted out of the dojo to obtain the answers she required.

****

"You're kidding me!" Genma shouted, his mouth agape. "That person caused *this*?!" He stared at the bus-sized hole that had literally been punched out of the wall. It was at least eight feet wide and was mostly open from top to bottom. Some of the soil had been moved when the blast unearthed parts of the wall that had been below ground level. Also, some of the blocks and capstones at the top were teetering precariously from crumbling precipices created when the wall was blasted outward. Genma refused to advance any further for fear that they would clobber him should they come loose.

"Yes she did," Sato said soberly, looking at the damage anew. He'd been too terrified when the attack had happened to take note of just what had happened to the wall. Looking at it now, with no threat currently facing him, left Sato feeling very lucky that he and Nabiki escaped with their lives. A couple of person-sized chunks were lying on the ground near where he and Nabiki had fallen together following the first explosive blow. 'If that thing had hit the wall a little harder, we would've been killed!' he thought sickly, his stomach somersaulting inside his belly.

"She?!" Genma countered in shock. "How do you know that that *thing* is even human?"

"After you left to check on the others, Akane uncovered the girl's head and it was quite obvious that the attacker was female. She was fairly attractive, in fact," Sato replied.

Genma grunted thoughtfully. "Interesting. And you only saw one person, right?"

"Yes sir," he nodded

"Did you have to fight this girl to get back to the dojo?"

"No way!" he said quickly, punctuating his statement by shaking his head. "I was more interested in getting Nabiki and myself out of the way of that lunatic! I don't think I could've fought her, anyway," Sato admitted.

"Oh? Why is that, son?" Genma asked with a hint of challenge in his voice.

"Because she caused all of this damage by herself."

"Really?" Genma asked, honestly stunned. "She did all of this without using any weaponry?" His respect for their unknown foe was rising rapidly. 'I'm going to have to make sure that Soun's got everything under control. Don't need some berserker girl coming in and ruining everything after Ranma went to such trouble to set it up. Also, I don't need anyone dying.'

"I think so, Mr. Saotome. I didn't see anything in her hands when I did manage to look. Mr. Tendo also said that she didn't have any weapons on her when he picked her up and took her out of the dojo."

The elder Saotome found himself reassessing his opinion of the slight boy standing next to him. He looked at Sato critically while the youth was surveying the damage. 'The boy did what was best, given the circumstances,' Genma considered. 'That, and the jump he did in the dojo. He may have potential.' He considered his next words carefully. "You ever have any martial arts training, Sato?"

Sato looked at him askance, surprised that his name was even mentioned in the same sentence with the phrase 'martial arts' "None at all, Mr. Saotome." He restrained himself from adding 'Why do you ask?' because he didn't want Ranma's dad pissed at him for being an asshole.

"Would you like to learn?" he offered, wondering what the youth's reaction would be.

Sato looked like someone had slapped him silly. "M- me? Train w- with you?!" he stammered. He thought he saw disappointment in Genma's eyes, and continued quickly. "Don't get me wrong. I'd like to, sir. I'm just surprised that you asked, is all."

Genma nodded in understanding. "You have potential, son. I watched you while you were carrying Nabiki. That jump wasn't an easy thing to do."

Sato shook his head. Was that how he'd gotten up there? Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't able to recall exactly what he did. "Well, I did what I could at the moment, Mr. Saotome," he replied as honestly and obscurely as he could.

"That's all anyone should be expected to do, son." He smiled at the youth. "What do you say?"

Sato mulled it over and smiled sheepishly. "I'll think about it, Mr. Saotome."

"That's all I ask," he said with a wry smirk. "And drop the Mr. Saotome. You can call me 'Sensei' now."

Sato's eyes widened both because of the unexpected increase in respect Ranma's dad was giving him, and because he knew that his pain threshold would be tested mightily in the days to come should he accept. "Yes, Sensei," he replied obediently, adding a small bow to punctuate his sincerity.

"That's better!" Genma said with a chuckle, pounding the hapless youth on the back once more. "Now that I've seen the huge hole in Tendo's wall we should get back with the others and get all of our facts straight." The elder Saotome winced as he pictured his friend's reaction to the damaged wall section, which would easily cost more to repair than all the dojo work that had been accomplished thus far. 'He's going to shit when he sees this!' He did take comfort of one small fact as he and Sato strode across the compound to the Koi pond. 'At least it wasn't the fault of anyone in the Saotome family this time.'

****

Nodoka's determined stride brought her quickly to the group standing beside the pond. The sound of everyone shouting grew louder with every footfall as they argued about what to do with the girl. Just as she was about to approach Soun, Akane trotted up to her side carrying a large blanket. The two stopped just short of the shouting match. "Were you and Kasumi okay, Mrs. Saotome? I couldn't find either of you when I went in the house," she asked, out of breath.

"Oh! Yes, Akane. We were both fine."

Akane breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness!" She chanced a sidelong glance at Nodoka while she walked. Her eyes widened slightly as Nodoka's long sword came into view. She kept her silence for the last few paces.

"I am *NOT* losing my mind, Mr. Tendo!" Ranma shouted indignantly, catching the attention of the approaching women.

"Then how do you explain that little panic attack, boy?" he shouted back, clenching Shampoo angrily in his arms although she was too unconscious to care.

"I was ... caught off-guard is all I meant. When you think about it, how can one girl cause such a racket?" Ranma returned as quickly as he could.

"Obviously you've never been married, boy!" Soun replied with a snort.

"Oh, and how can marriage be that destructive, Soun?" Nodoka asked sweetly from behind him.

He turned around in shock, and his arms took that opportunity to advertise that they were starting to hurt. "I was being sarcastic, Nodoka."

Nodoka 'um-hmmmed' with a smug look on her face, making Soun turn away. He suddenly felt very grateful that Akane had retrieved the blanket as swiftly as she did. "Put the blanket down here, Akane," he commanded, shifting his attention to Shampoo to avoid any further conversation on the subject of marriage. Akane obeyed her father by placing the blanket on the ground and smoothing it out as best as she could. With a grunt, Soun crouched and gently laid Shampoo down on it. He positioned her on her back, and crossed her arms on top of her stomach.

Nodoka got her first good look at Shampoo, and her eyes narrowed. 'This young lady is trouble,' she quickly assessed. 'She's built like a female bodybuilder.' She vowed to watch the girl closely, as her son approached and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I'm glad you're okay, Mom."

"Thank you, dear," she replied, placing her free arm around him while laying the flat of her sword's blade against her shoulder.

Without meaning to, the entire group surrounded Shampoo as she lay out cold on the blanket. While the rest of them stared in silence at the marauder, Akane gazed over to her father. She gasped as she got a good look at him. "Daddy! You're bleeding!" she shouted, pointing at his hand.

"Really?" he asked, puzzled. He looked down and saw that the fingertips were slick with fresh blood. "That's odd. I don't feel any pain."

"You may be in shock, Soun," Nodoka suggested. "Let me take a look at it," she offered, already reaching down to take his hand in hers. A closer inspection on her part revealed no wounds of any kind. She pressed the skin of his palm and moved his fingers, looking for any indication of pain on Soun's face. Declaring him unhurt, Nodoka looked down to their uninvited guest and grunted thoughtfully. "It must be hers, then."

A mixed chorus of "ouch"es and "oooh"s greeted the statement. Nodoka knelt down and gripped Shampoo firmly by the shoulder. Not getting any reaction, she tilted the girl up and gasped. The blanket where her head had lain was coated with blood. "Dear, could you hold this for me?" she asked as pointed the hilt of her sword at Ranma. He wordlessly took the proffered weapon, his scrutiny of Shampoo's fallen form never wavering. With her other hand free Nodoka propped Shampoo up and felt around the Amazon's scalp.

"She's got a nasty gash on her head, Soun. You may have done more than just knock her out," Nodoka said darkly.

"B... But she's still breathing!" Soun said, his voice almost cracking. He pointed at her heaving chest with a blood-covered finger. "See?"

Akane and Ranko looked on with extreme concern. Neither had seen someone with an injury this bad before. Ranma, meanwhile, stared at Shampoo with an odd detachment. He wasn't sure whether to be elated or grief-stricken.

"Mom, are you saying that she's never going to wake up?" Ranko asked.

"It's possible, dear, unless we get some medical attention for her immediately," Nodoka replied.

Soun looked to his youngest daughter. "Akane, run in the house and call Dr. Tofu. Tell him it's an emergency and we need him to come here. Make sure you tell him that it's a head injury." She nodded soberly and ran to the house as fast as she could. "And bring some wet rags with you when you come back!" he called after her.

Genma and Sato approached just in time to see Akane fly past. "Tendo, what's wrong?"

"It looks like I really hurt this girl, Saotome. She's got a pretty nasty gash on the back of her head. She may also have a concussion. Akane went to get a doctor." He paused to rub his temples, banishing a headache before it could start. "I didn't mean to hit her on the head in the first place," Soun continued. "I hit my head on a rafter and the belt came loose when I slipped. It was honestly just a fluke..."

Genma nodded. "It looked like you had faked the stumble to keep the girl from getting wise that you were about to nail her with your tool belt."

Soun waved his clean hand in a gesture of disagreement. "I wish I were that good. But luck, good or bad, was the main player."

From her kneeling position, Nodoka cleared her throat and looked at the two men. "Ahem! Do you think that we can cover the analysis of what happened in the dojo at some other time? We should try to do something for this girl before she goes into shock. If she loses too much blood she could die."

That got to everyone, including Ranma. He handed the sword to Genma and knelt down beside his mother. "What do we need to do, Mom?" he asked.

"Get her shoes - ah! She's not wearing any shoes. We need to get this dusty cloak off, elevate her feet, and -" Nodoka looked about for items that she needed. "- we need some water and clean rags. Until the doctor arrives, we're going to have to apply pressure to her wound to keep her from bleeding out."

"What can I do, Mom?" Ranko asked as she hovered by Nodoka.

"We need something to rest her feet on so that they are higher than her head. You understand what I'm asking for?" Nodoka asked.

Ranko nodded to her mother then tapped Hikaru on the shoulder. "Let's go, Hikaru. If it weighs a lot, I won't be able to carry it in my current condition, and ..." Her voice trailed off as she realized that he was hopelessly lost to Shampoo's face. Growling slightly, she started to walk off on her own when she felt Sato's hand on her shoulder.

"Need a lift, Ranko?" he asked politely.

"Thanks, Sato. I'd love to," she added, loud enough for Hikaru hear even though he wasn't listening. Angry, she wrapped her arm around Sato's waist and walked with him as they headed for the dojo.

Trying not to smirk, Nodoka turned her attention back to her son. "Ranma, dear. Help me get this cloak off of her. Try not to move her around too much."

Getting on the other side of Shampoo, Ranma reached down and unknotted the length of rough-hewn cord that held the thick, dusty cloth on her. After they'd managed to loosen the cloth a bit and wrestled it open at her shoulders, Nodoka and Ranma both stopped and wrinkled their noses.

"Man, she's ripe!" Ranma complained, pulling his head away from the source of the noxious odor.

"She must have gone a couple of weeks since her last bath!" Nodoka added, likewise turning away.

Soun, Hikaru and Genma coughed as a slight wave of the odor hit, prompting them to move back a step.

Talking a deep breath, Ranma turned back to Shampoo and pulled her cloak open to uncover her. He was rewarded with another gust of stinky air, forcing him to make another hasty olfactory retreat. He turned away and gasped for air. Hikaru joined him in gasping. 'Yeah, Gos. That girl's definitely got a major Amazonian stink going on there,' Ranma said to himself.

"Oh, man!" Hikaru groaned an instant later.

Ranma and Nodoka both looked up at him, fully expecting him to retch on them due to the stench wafting from the uncloaked girl. Instead his eyes and face looked almost placid, as if he were looking at one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Instinctively Nodoka whipped her head back around to Shampoo. She barely kept herself from gasping as she saw that Shampoo was topless, her breasts almost too large for her slender frame. Also, the pants that she'd worn underneath her cloak were so tattered that there was no need to guess at what she looked like with them off. 'No wonder Hikaru's lost touch with his senses. He's finally seen what a girl looks like without clothes.' Nodoka shook her head.

Ranma turned around and was greeted with a sight that he'd seen on several occasions in his past. Still, the unobstructed view of her body rattled him a little. "Shampoo!" he yelled, before he could think. His arms went up a bit to obstruct his view of her heavily curved chest.

Nodoka nodded as she drew the cloak over Shampoo's breasts and pants, ending Hikaru's peepshow. "That and a whole lotta soap, Ranma-dear," Nodoka amended. "She's going to need a very long scrub and soak if she's going to get rid of *that* stink."

Ranma felt himself near-collapse after that slip. He thanked his lucky stars that his mom had misunderstood his outburst. "Uhhh, yeah, Mom. No kidding there!" He laughed nervously and stood away from Shampoo as Sato and Ranko approached with Kasumi right behind them. "Looks like the rest of the crew's arrived," he announced as he made more room.

"Akane told me that someone had a head injur- Oh my!" Kasumi shouted as a latent cloud of Amazon stink met with her nose. "I know a little bit about medicine," she offered. Her arms cradled a plastic jug of water and several rags.

Nodoka nodded and pulled back a lock of Shampoo's hair to expose the wound. Kasumi knelt next to Nodoka and wet one of the rags. "Thank you, Kasumi," she said as she took the rag and placed it against Shampoo's head, following the Tendo girl's directions. Ranma flinched as the cold water made contact with the Amazon's skin, fully expecting to be running away from an unconscious cat a moment later. As quietly as he could, he sighed with relief when she remained human.

While Nodoka was tending to Shampoo's cut, Kasumi wet another rag and handed it to Soun. "You should clean yourself, Daddy. You never know what she may have been infected with." Nodding his agreement, he gladly accepted the wet cloth and vigorously cleaned his bloodied hand.

As everyone else moved closer to Shampoo to lend a hand, or in Hikaru's case, drool uncontrollably, Ranma started moving towards his father. 'She's not even conscious and she's playing with my mind!' he groused. 'I guess it would be asking too much if she would just wake up and leave...'

Sato and Ranko bore in their arms a combination of bricks and a few foam sparring pads that they'd liberated from the dojo. They stacked the items at Shampoo's heels and then propped her feet on them.

Ranko then walked back to her mother, aiming a lethal stare at Hikaru as she hobbled in his direction. Showing signs of life for the first time in nine minutes, he glowered at her. When she was close enough to him, he spoke.

"What are you so mad for, Ranko? I'm not doing anything here except watching," he hissed defensively.

"We'll talk about this later," she huffed; her intense stare boring into him. Hikaru crossed his arms and returned his attention to Shampoo. A smile returned to his face as the girl's cloak parted again, exposing one of her breasts. He had to duck a moment later as Ranko swung at his head, barely missing tagging him on the face.

"You perv! Quit staring at her tits!" Ranko almost yelled, her face purpling with rage. 'You should be happy with staring at mine, dammit!' she wanted to add.

Everyone except Kasumi and Nodoka caught the attempted pummeling and moved to keep Ranko from making pudding out of Hikaru. "Dear, do you think that you'll need anyone else to help you with this girl?" Genma asked, realizing that there were too many people hanging around and doing nothing. Besides, he didn't want to have to bail his daughter out of jail for beating Hikaru to a pulp.

"We should be fine, Genma," she said over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of Shampoo.

"Pop, I'll stay behind and make sure she doesn't do anything to Mom or Kasumi," Ranma offered, standing next to his mother.

"You sure about that, Ranma?" Soun asked skeptically. "You won't have another episode like the last one, will you?"

Ranma flushed slightly at the barb. "No, Mr. Tendo. It isn't a problem." He took his mother's sword from Genma and held it to his chest.

Sato walked up to his friend and put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Let's leave Mrs. Saotome to work on the injury." His friend didn't reply, but turned around to face Genma and Soun, and deliberately avoided looking at Ranko as she was still obviously smoldering over his leering at the stranger's bare chest.

Seeing that things were as well in hand as possible, Soun took control of the hangers-on. "Okay everyone, let's get back to the dojo." He was greeted by puzzled and, in a couple of cases, incredulous looks. He continued despite the confusion, the commanding tone in his voice intensifying the more he talked. "We can't do anything to help Nodoka or Kasumi. They're doing just fine without all the extra attention. When the doctor arrives, he'll not need us getting in the way. There's still a lot of work to be done, so let's get back to it!" He clapped his hands and started off in the direction of the dojo.

Slowly the group moved to follow. "Son, don't take any risks with that girl. If she wakes up, make sure you get our attention. Don't try to fight her alone," Genma called over his shoulder as he followed the rest to the dojo.

"Don't worry, Pop. I will."

Ranko moved to follow the rest of the group and was three steps into her march when Nodoka called out to her. "And where do you think you're going, young lady?"

'Man! She never even looked at me!' she groused. "I'm going back to work, Mom. Didn't you hear Mr. Tendo?"

"I heard him just fine, little girl," Nodoka replied tartly. "And don't take that tone with me! You shouldn't be overdoing it with your injuries! I want you to take it easy on that ankle. Now sit here with me until the doctor arrives."

"But what if that girl decides to get dangerous again, Mom?" Ranko countered.

"Then your brother will have to make sure we don't get hurt," Nodoka parried.

Resigned to staying put, Ranko sat down on the ground beside her brother and glared at Shampoo. 'Man! I can see why Ranma thought that floozy was such a pain in the ass. She's not said a word to anyone yet and she's still managing to piss me off!'

Ranma knelt down and put his hand on his sister's back. He could feel the anger pulsing through her, and knew that she was a lot more upset than she was letting on. "You okay in there, Sis?" he whispered, kneeling next to her.

"Yeah, bro. I'm fine. Just ticked at Hikaru is all." She let her breath out in a long sigh, trying to will some of the tension from her muscles. "He shouldn't have been staring at her like that!"

"Trust me, Sis. You don't have anything to get angry about. She would never go for someone like him, anyway."

Ranko snorted at that. "He's just an idiot, that's all. Hikaru knows it bugs me when he stares at other girls. He's doing it just to tease me."

"Well, in that case I hope he keeps his insurance paid up." Ranma chuckled and tickled Ranko on the back of her neck. "You looked like you were about to make sukiyaki out of him a minute ago."

Ranko smiled despite her foul mood. "Yeah, I wanted to practice my joint-dislocation techniques on him. If I'd been in shape then he wouldn't have been able to stare at her twice." She looked at Shampoo as her mother and Kasumi continued to fret over her. "I bet they're fake," Ranko added with a slight tinge of jealousy.

"What do you ... Oh, I see. Sorry to tell you this, but those things are real," he whispered back.

Ranko looked at him strangely for a moment, then her eyes widened. "How do you know that... Hey! You and she didn't... you know?" she hissed.

Ranma shook his head vigorously. "Trust me on this one. There's nothing fake about her body. You have to keep in mind that she's an Amazon," he reminded his sister.

"An Amazon!?" Nodoka shouted, startling both of her children and Kasumi in the process.

'Awww, shit! She could hear us!' Ranma thought as he scrambled for a quick explanation. "Uhhh... well - yeah! I mean, look at her! She's built like one of those Amazons from the movies!"

Nodoka blew her breath out in a whoosh. "Whew! That's a relief! For a moment there I thought you were going to say-" She stopped herself as she considered something. "Well, that's not important now." She turned back to Shampoo and reapplied pressure to the bandage covering the cut on the Amazon's head, missing the puzzled look on Ranko's face and the sigh of extreme gratitude from Ranma.

"I hope that Doctor Tofu gets here soon. This girl's soaked three rags so far, and she's still bleeding," Kasumi said, interrupting Ranko before she could ask what her mother had been so upset about.

"Ah, Ranma! Where's my dad?" Akane asked as she trotted over to him. "I figured everyone would still be over here watching our ... party crasher."

"Our dads both thought that there were too many people standing around," Ranma replied. "So they decided to go back to the dojo and return to work. I volunteered to stay behind in case something happened here."

"Yeah, and I was *told* to stay here," Ranko pouted. She frowned when her mother didn't take the bait.

"You can stay with us if you like, Akane," Ranma added, ignoring his sister's outburst.

She smiled at him, stepping just a little bit closer. "I'd better check on everyone else, first. If they need help, then I'll probably work in the dojo." She turned to leave.

Ranma was about to reply when Kasumi interjected. "Akane, how's Nabiki doing?"

"Oh, she's fine. I took her to her room and she went to sleep right then." Akane shuddered at thinking about what could've run through her middle sister's head when that stranger burst onto the scene. "I'd say she's entitled to a rest."

"Okay, thanks Akane. I'll be checking on Nabiki as soon as Dr. Tofu arrives." Kasumi smiled to her youngest sister, and then resumed her duty of trying to clean off as much of Shampoo's body as she could. Akane nodded, then turned and dashed for the dojo.

Kasumi's last words sparked a latent feeling of concern in Ranma. Despite how much trouble Shampoo had caused him just now, he didn't want her to suffer at the hands of Tofu while Kasumi distracted him. He had images of a bleeding pretzel with purple hair and felt some sympathy for the girl. 'I need to get Kasumi out of here before he arrives,' Ranma thought urgently.

At that moment, the smiling face of Dr. Tofu appeared in the distance.

****

Once inside the dojo, Sato objected. "I don't think that someone as dangerous as that girl should be given much treatment or sympathy. She's obviously a risk, Tendo-sensei. Has anyone thought to call the police?"

"I don't think that the police are necessary at this time. We've got things under control here for now," Soun said confidently.

'You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen what she did to your wall,' Sato thought, although he didn't say anything further.

"Well, now that we're dealing with fewer people, I think we should concentrate on getting the wall boards replaced. We'll take a break in an hour and see how things are going at the pond." Soun looked at Hikaru and Sato. "You two take your hammers and pound out the boards that I marked earlier. Mr. Saotome-" He stopped as Akane walked in. "Everything okay, Akane?"

She nodded. "Mrs. Saotome and Kasumi are handling things. Nabiki's asleep, so I thought I'd come here to see if you guys needed any help."

"Ah, good! Akane, you and Saotome can join me outside to put the new wall boards up," Soun suggested as he picked up his toolbelt from where it had landed on the floor. Akane and Genma followed him out of the building, grabbed some planks and headed to the first repair spot.

As soon as they were alone Hikaru dropped his hammer. "What kind of person works when his house has been bombed?" he groused, eyeing the door hopefully.

"And what do you think you can do for that girl, dweeb?" Sato shot back, easily seeing what Hikaru was getting at. "The only thing that you were doing before was making a huge puddle of drool at your feet and I don't think that helps unconscious people much."

Hikaru glared at him. "Don't be a smartass, Sato. I coulda died falling out of the rafters earlier so I think that I'm entitled to a little bit of complaining." He winked slyly. "Besides, you can't deny that she was one of the most beautiful women *either* of us will ever see in our lives, dude. I mean, think about it this way. Would you rather swing a hammer or pay your respects to that goddess out there?"

Sato had to admit that the girl was definitely a looker. Excepting for the peeks he took at his dad's Playboy collection, he'd never even seen a girl's breast before. The stranger at the pond had plenty of breast to spare, and it wasn't just on paper either. Still, he couldn't shake the sense of danger that he got from her. "Hikaru, start thinking with the head on your shoulders! That beauty out there knocked a hole in the boundary wall big enough to push a car through. AND SHE DID IT WITHOUT ANY KIND OF WEAPONS! Good looks or not, she's not someone I'd drool over. She's too dangerous!"

Hikaru sighed impatiently. "You're no fun, man! Honestly, she looks like she'd be a tornado between the sheets. In fact, I bet that if you treat her right she'd be all yours." He smirked wickedly and elbowed Sato in the ribs. "She's a natural purple, too!"

"You saw that much?!" Sato asked, incredulous. He caught himself before he could ask more, knowing that it would only lead to a more lascivious description of not only the girl, but what Hikaru would like to do to various parts of her. "Nevermi-"

He was interrupted by a shout from the other side of the wall. "Are you two alive in there? We need to get these boards up!" Genma's voice bellowed.

"Sorry, Sensei," Sato said, picking his hammer up and pounding away at the first of many boards.

"Sensei?" Hikaru mocked in a whisper. "What's going on with you, man? You caught the Chop-suey bug from Ranma, now?"

Sato glowered at Hikaru. "Just pick up your hammer and help me knock these boards out. The sooner you start, the sooner we're done."

"Whatever," Hikaru shrugged, bringing his own hammer to bear on the damaged wall planking. 'I'm gonna have to talk to Ranma when we get a chance. The crap with Kuno and Kinuko was bad enough. Now we've got this disaster and Ranko's bad attitude towards that babe. Plus Sato seems to be going gaga over martial arts crap. It's all due to Ranma. It's like he's become a bad-karma magnet...'

"Boys, when you get finished with knocking the boards out, you can resume working on the floor," Soun called from the other side.

"Awww, man!" the two chorused to a background of muffled laughter.

****

"Umm, Kasumi. I think you've run out of rags, there," Ranma pointed out, hoping to get her the hell out of the way before Tofu and she saw each other.

"Goodness, you're right! I'd better go get some more." Kasumi beckoned Ranma to kneel next to her. "Keep on rubbing this spot here, gently, until I return." She took Ranma's free hand and nearly yanked him to a kneeling position. She placed his hand on the rag that she'd just been using to cleanse Shampoo's stomach.

"Umm, I... Err... " he spluttered as Kasumi stood up and dashed for the house, quickly adding a "Thank you" over her shoulder.

His hand trembled slightly. 'If I was touching the other Shampoo this way, she'd be all over me!' Ranma gulped. Shampoo's entire torso was exposed once more now that prying eyes weren't drooling over her immaculate shape. His discomfort was palpable, and his mother noticed.

"Ranma, dear. You don't have to do that if it makes you uncomfortable. She'll be fine if you want to stop for a moment," Nodoka offered helpfully.

"It's not a problem, Mom," Ranma replied automatically. "I can handle it." He rubbed around Shampoo's navel to prove his point. "She's smelling a lot better, so it's worth it."

Nodoka laughed out loud. "I guess you're right, son. Still, you look a little green. You sure you can handle looking at her? I'd understand if you wanted to walk away."

"Nonono. I'll stay," he said firmly. His libido was communicating one thing to him rather clearly while his old preservationist tendencies were saying something quite the opposite. The combination was making him quite tense.

"Ahh, hello there!" Dr. Tofu's voice issued as he finally reached the small group.

'Thank God!' Ranma thought jubilantly, his features relaxing quite visibly. He didn't notice his mother smirking at him before she turned to greet the newcomer.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Dr. Tofu," Ranko greeted, standing with the assistance of her mother's shoulder. "We've had a busy day here," she said with a wan smile.

"So you're Dr. Tofu? I'm glad to meet you. I'm Nodoka Saotome, Ranma and Ranko's mother." She bowed to Dr. Tofu, smiling as warmly as she could. "We've got a stranger here with an open wound on her head."

Tofu saw the number of blood-soaked rags laying at Nodoka's knees and 'hmmm'ed thoughtfully. "What caused the injury?"

"It's a long story, Doctor," Nodoka said with some measure of apology. "Basically she had a toolbelt fall on her head."

"Ouch!" Tofu winced, then knelt beside Nodoka. "Has she awakened or said anything since the injury?"

"Not yet," Ranma replied. He lifted the rag from Shampoo's navel and tossed it in a pile of used rags. "She hasn't said a word at all. Not even when she stomped in here an hour or so ago. No one knows why she's here or what she wants." 'And she'd better not say or do anything to ruin my wish,' he added to himself.

"Well, you and your mother seem to have done a good job of keeping this girl from bleeding out," Tofu complimented. "Interesting... she looks Chinese. Was there anything to identify her?"

Ranko shook her head. "The only thing she's brought with her is confusion and a very big stink," she said with a gleam in her eye.

Nodoka shot her a stern look. "What my daughter is trying to say is that this young lady apparently hasn't bathed in a couple of weeks. We've been spending most of the time cleaning her off as much as possible. She smells a lot better than she did."

Ranma and Ranko nodded their agreement. "Yeah, Dr. Tofu. She was really stinky," Ranko opined with a smirk.

Tofu turned to look at Ranko. "And how are you doing today, Ranko? I see you're not staying off of that ankle like I told you." Ranko was taken aback by the sudden change in focus, leaving her speechless.

Nodoka sighed. "My daughter is very headstrong. She wanted to help with the repair work that is going on in the dojo. I told her not to overdo things, but she insisted. She can be very difficult when she doesn't get her way." Ranko stifled an indignant retort, but couldn't keep from flushing with embarrassment.

"You've been exerting yourself, Ranko?" Tofu chided softly. "Frankly, you should be laying down and doing absolutely nothing. If you don't follow the regimen that I prescribed, your ankle will take a lot longer to heal."

Ranko's eyes widened, and Ranma shot an "I told you so" look in her direction. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean to make you angry."

"I'm not angry, Ranko. You're the one who has to live with the pain, not me. I'm just trying to help you get well as quickly as possible." He said with a warm smile and then looked at his watch as something occurred to him. "When did you have your last herbal bath?"

Not wanting to deal with her daughter's prevarication any longer, Nodoka answered for her. "Around eight this morning."

"Then you're due for another one now," Tofu suggested. "Especially in light of the fact that you've been exerting yourself. If you take a bath and relax for the rest of the day, you'll be doing yourself a big favor."

Ranko thought to protest one last time then resigned herself to the inevitable. "Okay, I guess I'll take a bath as soon as I get home." She hoped the evasion would work.

Nodoka cleared her throat. "Ranko, I think it's best that you go get your father and have him carry you home now, and then you take a bath as soon as you get there."

Ranko growled in frustration, her instinct to protest was overridden by her common sense. She saw that she was outnumbered, with her brother siding with her mom and Dr. Tofu. "Okay, okay! I'll go."

"Mrs. Saotome, you said that Mr. Tendo was working on some repairs today. Does that include putting another egress in the boundary wall?" Tofu asked.

"She caused that," Ranma interjected, pointing to Shampoo. "That's why I've been here with Mom and Ranko. This girl could be a problem."

Tofu whistled, surprised. "I understand now, Ranma. You can go with your sister if you like. I can handle things here. You don't have to worry." He turned to regard Nodoka again. "You've been doing a masterful job of keeping her stable, Mrs. Saotome. But I think we need to get her out of the sun and stitch her up." His face lost some of its humor as he continued. "There's also a chance that she's got a concussion, so we need to keep a close eye on her in case I have to rush her out of here."

Nodoka agreed and swapped places with Tofu, groaning as she stood up. "Ouch! I was on my knees longer than I should've been." She stretched and stepped back a bit as Tofu moved to stand over Shampoo and examine her thoroughly.

Ranma grabbed his mother's arm and pulled her back a couple of steps. "Mom, I'll help Ranko get over to the dojo." He lowered his voice. "Also, you need to keep Tofu and Kasumi apart. Don't even mention her name to him. He tends to get ... distracted whenever she's seen or talked about." She started to ask him questions, but he held up his hand. "Trust me, Mom. I saw how he acted yesterday when Mr. Tendo talked about her in front of him." 'Accurate to a point' he thought.

"I - Okay, Ranma. It sounds strange, but I'll keep it in mind." She pecked her son on the cheek and took her sword back. "And thanks for watching out for Ranko. I appreciate it, Ranma."

"No prob," he said before standing next to his sister. "I'll see that she gets home safe." With that, Nodoka followed Tofu as he headed towards the back door of the house. 'I hope that Kasumi and Tofu don't cross paths.' He winced at the thought. 'I'll have to trust Mom to run interference.'

Ranko looked to her brother as his hand slid across her back and curled around her waist. "Shall we go?" Ranma offered as he tugged her in the direction of the dojo.

"Do we hafta go, Ranma?" she complained, walking as slowly as she possibly could. "I think that Dr. Tofu's overreacting."

"Ranko, please don't argue. Mom told you to go home, the Doctor said it would be best, *and* you already agreed to go." He looked her in the eyes and pinched her nose gently. "You wouldn't go back on your word, would ya Sis?"

"No," she relented. "I just think I'm wasting my time, is all." She picked up a small stone and threw it at the distant boundary wall. It pinged away, landing somewhere in a nearby plant bed. "Besides, as worried as you were about how things would go today, I thought that you'd need someone to stay with you in case you needed help."

Ranma smiled at that and hugged his sister to his side. "Thanks, Sis. I'm glad you're concerned and all, but I don't think that much else will happen today. Besides, I don't fear Shampoo. I'm not scared of her, just mad. The sooner she leaves, the better." He stopped walking for a moment. "I've been thinking about her since we got out to the pond. The only thing she can do is try to marry me again. If she does that, I'll just say no."

"But what if she doesn't take 'no' for an answer?"

"She'll have to, because it's the only answer I have for her," Ranma said firmly.

"Okay, Ranma," she said, not quite convinced that he'd be okay but accepting that he wasn't going to allow her to stay behind. "Hey, I've got an idea!"

"What's that, Sis?"

"Why don't you just take me home by yourself? We don't have to bother Pop with it. Besides, if I was going to get a bathing partner, I'd much rather it be you than him." 'And you'll be safer at home than you would be here,' she kept to herself.

Ranma swallowed nervously as a rather nice yet lengthy scene involving both of them played out in his mind. 'That would be a pretty careless move on my part,' he thought. The fantasy teased at the edges of his mind, the realism of it hard to resist. "I dunno Ranko. You think we'd be able to get away with just bathing?" he chanced asking.

"Oh, you have something more fun in mind?" Ranko purred. She giggled as Ranma turned a deep shade of red. "I understand that martial artists have good hands. Wanna help me find out if that's true or not, bro?"

"Ranko!" Ranma shouted, embarrassed. "I already toldja that I can't act like that with you!"

Meanwhile, Ranko was nearly doubled-over with laughter. "You're cute when you're being teased, Ranma," she taunted. She could see the steam escaping from his ears and relented. "I'm kidding!" She tiptoed on her good foot and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "I'd never put you in a situation like that..."

Ranma sighed relief and resumed walking. "Thanks, Sis."

"...unless you tell me that you want to be put in a situation like that," Ranko added with a sly wink.

****

"Nonono! You've got it backwards, again!" Soun complained as he stepped ahead of Genma and Akane and poked his head through a recently created gap in the wall. "Hikaru and Sato! Both of you need to be keeping your eyes on the mark. That's the second *good* board that you've knocked off of the building so-far!"

"Sorry Tendo-Sensei," a chastened Sato could be heard from the opposite side of the wallboards.

"But there are so many with marks on them, Mr. Tendo," Hikaru added by way of explanation. "We started assuming that all of the ones in this group had to come down."

"That's why it's bad to assume, young man," Soun retorted, his patience with the boy starting to wear a bit. "Please pay attention and only knock out the marked boards." He hmmphed and returned to tacking on a piece of siding, ignoring the smirks from Genma and Akane as they worked ahead of him.

Work progressed for another few boards when the Saotome siblings suddenly appeared from around the corner. "Wow, you guys got quite a bit of work done," Ranma commented as he and his sister came to a halt next to Akane and Genma.

Soun flushed with pride. "Yes, she's really starting to shape up, isn't she Ranma?"

"Yes it is, Mr. Tendo." Ranma turned to his father. "Pop, Ranko needs an escort back to the house and Mom thought that you could take her."

"Oh, why are you leaving Ranko?" Akane asked, interrupting.

Ranko held up a packet of herbs that Dr. Tofu had handed her before she left for the dojo. "I have to soak in a bath with this stuff every few hours. It's part of my treatment for the injuries I got yesterday." She looked to her dad sheepishly. "I'm supposed to be carried home so that I can have my next bath."

"You don't have to leave!" Akane offered. She put her hammer on the ground and took the packet from Ranko's hands before she could object. "You can bathe here if you like."

Ranko smiled broadly at the idea. "Hey! Yeah, that's a great idea, Akane!" She looked to her father and Soun. "Is that okay with you, Pop?"

Genma shrugged. "If Mr. Tendo says it's okay then I don't mind."

Soun was then besieged by a couple of girls saying "Pleeeeeeeeeease!" and otherwise acting very cute. "I don't mind," he said after a minute's worth of listening to their begging. "Just make sure that Ranko stays safe, Akane."

"I will, Daddy," she promised. "Lets go, Ranko!" Akane unhooked her toolbelt and dropped it on the ground. She grabbed Ranko by the hand, tugging her from her brother's embrace as they left for the house.

Ranma watched as the whirlwind of girls swept past him. He resisted the urge to shake his head at their blatant manipulation. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Soun regarding him sternly.

"Why are you here, Ranma? Shouldn't you be watching that girl?" he asked urgently.

"Everything's okay, Mr. Tendo. Dr. Tofu got here a little while ago and said that he could take care of things. He and Mom both told me to bring Ranko here, so I did."

Soun relaxed and let go of Ranma's shoulder. "How are things with that girl anyway, Son?" Genma asked.

"Mom was still cleaning Sh... the girl off when we left, and Dr. Tofu was examining the girl's head. He looked like he was about to work on the cut," he guessed.

Soun nodded. "Has she regained consciousness yet, Ranma?" he asked.

"Not yet, Mr. Tendo. I'm sure that Dr. Tofu will let us know if she does. He says that he could handle things, so I wouldn't worry."

"I agree. He's a capable young man," the elder Tendo said.

Meanwhile Genma handed Akane's toolbelt to Ranma. "Since you're here, you might as well get to work." He smirked at his son and pointed to the piece of siding that he and Akane had been working on prior to the interruption.

"Saotome, it seems like now is a good time for the two of us to take a break. Why don't you show me what that girl did to the boundary wall while Ranma and his friends finish up on this side of the dojo?"

"Excellent idea, Tendo. My arms were starting to get sore, anyway." Genma dropped his toolbelt on the ground and led the way.

"Son, make sure that your friends are knocking the right boards off of the framing. We don't need them scrapping good pieces of siding." Ranma nodded to his father while strapping Akane's tool belt to his waist.

"You better brace yourself, Tendo. There's a bit more damage than you'd be expecting," Genma warned his friend.

Soun gave him a quizzical look, but kept silent. Soon the two were out of sight and Ranma was left with five holes in the wall and the distant sound of hammers pounding on wood.

Suddenly a piece of siding flew away and Sato fell forward, his head poking through the new hole. "Ow, you dickhead!" he yelled.

"Sorry, Sato," Hikaru could be heard to yell from behind. "I guess I put a little too much oomph into that last swing. Didn't mean to push you like that."

Ranma shook his head and tacked two more nails into the piece of siding his father had indicated. 'These guys are supposed to be my best friends?' he asked himself.

"Hey Ranma!" Sato said with a wave of his hand through the opening in the wall. "Everything okay now?"

Ranma nodded in response. "Yeah, everything's cool now,... Sato." 'Geez! Gotta remember his name!'

Hikaru poked his head through the hole just above Sato. "Hey, Ran-man! How's it hangin'? We didn't get much of a chance to talk before because someone -" He pointed at Sato's head. "- wanted to do some dojo-improvement. Personally, I think he's crazy."

"Hey, doofus! I'm not the one lusting after a demolition machine with big tits and Barney-colored hair! *That's* crazy!" Sato shot back with an evil smirk. He moved just enough to avoid a lazy swipe at his head.

Meanwhile, Ranma stared oddly at Gosunkugi. This boy was completely different from the one that had bothered him in his 'other life.' Hikaru was confident, talkative, a little cocky, and he also didn't look like he was preparing to do anything weird. "Yeah, well we all have our own little quirks, Gos."

Hikaru frowned. "Ranma, you know I *hate* being called that."

'Oops!' "Hey! I was just kidding," Ranma replied as casually as he could.

"Yeah, well I still don't like it."

"Sorry, Hikaru," Ranma replied. 'Something else that I've got to remember now.'

"We still on for tomorrow, Ran-man?"

"Eh? Whattaya mean?"

"The Sunday Attic festival, man! We were planning a Urotsukidoji marathon after I got back from band camp, remember?" Hikaru said with a wink. Sato nodded with a smirk.

"Err... Well, I don't know if ..."

"Heh, I was just kidding, Ran-man. I know that stuff makes you queasy. Sato said that he was going to bring his Lodoss Wars box set with him. I figure that we can spend the whole night watching that. Whattaya think?"

"Well, that all depends..."

"Aw, c'mon man! We've got a lot of catching up to do. We've been gone for two weeks. I need a good dose of anime and relaxation."

"Yeah!" Sato cheered, trying to get his friend in the mood.

"I guess..."

"Good! It's settled, then! We'll be at your place tomorrow afternoon. Now let's get this wall finished before your dad gets back," Hikaru said with a triumphant grin.

Ranma nodded numbly and said nothing. He picked up a piece of siding and focus-nailed it into place. 'What the hell is "Urotsukidoji" anyway?' he wondered

Meanwhile, inside the dojo Hikaru was smiling. "I guess our friend's not as out of it as we thought, Sato. At least he's still into the same old stuff." He clapped his friend on the back. 'If I can find out more about that girl, then this'll be a *really* good day,' he added to himself.

****

"NO DON'T!" Nabiki shouted in a hoarse voice, jerking awake. Her panicked eyes darted about as she tried to figure out where she was. The dusk light of a setting sun cast a warm amber tone in her bedroom. 'Shit! I'm in my room. How did I get here?' she asked herself as she caught her breath. She brought a trembling hand to her brow and mopped cold sweat from it.

'What happened to me?' she asked, trying to assert control over her nerves. Sketchy details of what happened to her after the explosion at the boundary wall began to trickle into her memory. 'That guy...' she concentrated on his face, searching for his name, 'Sato. He saved me from that *thing* that attacked us.' The effects of her adrenaline overdose started to fade which allowed her a chance to think.

'I'm in my room, so I guess that we won against it, whatever it was,' she thought as she peered out her window. She didn't see any activity in the direction of the dojo, and digested what she could of the situation. 'I don't hear any screaming, yelling, fighting or explosions. I don't see any smoke or, thank goodness, blood.' She walked to her door, the process being made more difficult due to the shakiness of her legs. 'Dammit! I'm okay now! I don't need to be this ... scared.'

Taking a couple of deep breaths, and steadying herself against the wall, she opened her door just in time to hear footsteps in her direction. Her immediate impulse was to dive for the covers and hide, but before her flight response could take hold, she heard her sister talking to someone else. Nabiki paused with the door cracked, listening as the footsteps approached.

"You didn't have to follow me up here, Ranko. I was just going to get something for me to wear after the bath. I would've been right back downstairs."

'Ranko? Bathing here? What have I missed?' Nabiki asked, curiosity doing a better job of killing of her case of nerves than anything else had.

"I was just curious to see what your room was like, Akane. That's all," the younger Saotome replied in a warm voice.

'Well, things MUST be okay if they're talking like that. After all, who bathes during a brawl, anyway?' Nabiki concluded.

"I don't mind you looking in my room, Ranko, but what about that ankle? Climbing the stairs has got to be painful!" Akane scolded, though not unkindly.

Nabiki strained to hear, edging the door open a little more. The two girls were making their way back downstairs towards the bath. Despite her efforts though, their voices were soon difficult to discern. The attack on them starting to become less of a traumatic memory, Nabiki's mind started to recall the offer that Kuno had made to her, and the promise she'd made to herself on Ranko's behalf.
'The only way I'm going to hear them is to go into the bath,' she concluded. 'But if I'm in there, they won't be as willing to talk about things. After all, they sound like they're already good friends. I'd just get in the way.' She kicked her impaired scheming mind into gear, trying to formulate a good way to get what she wanted. Nothing was coming to mind, short of sitting in the hallway outside the bathroom door and listening.

'Well, I can't think of any other way to do it, and I'm too tired to try rigging a recorder or something like that.' She opened the door to her room fully and stepped into the hallway, making her way down the stairs with hands firmly planted on the rails. As her feet touched the landing, she glanced towards the door with more than mild trepidation. 'I'm definitely not going outside to listen from the window.' With that she made for the bathroom door, hearing the inner door to the change room close just as she stepped up to the outer door. Sliding it open, she could hear the splashing of water as the girls scrubbed down in preparation for the bath.

Minding the "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from the handle of the inner door, she carefully slid the door open a little and espied the two sitting on stools while Akane helped Ranko with the scrubbing. Ranko, from what Nabiki could tell, had taken one hell of a beating. At first she'd thought that the psycho who blasted the wall had done it to her until Akane spoke.

"Ranko, I'm sorry that those Kendo club idiots did this to you," she said while eyeing the myriad of bruises, cuts and scratches. "It's all my fault."

Ranko put a hand on Akane's and turned to look her in the eyes. "Hey, it's not your fault that they're a bunch of assholes whose Budo means nothing to them. If they'd really been Kendoists, they would've let Kuno get back at my brother on his own." She squeezed Akane's hand warmly and stood with a bit of effort. "I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. They tried to attack my brother, and they also tried to attack you. If the same thing was to happen again, I'd do the same thing."

"But, Ranko! It *is* my fault. If Kuno-" She stopped as Ranko grabbed both of her shoulders firmly to support herself as she stood on her one good foot as well as to get Akane's attention.

"Akane, please! It's in the past, now. I wouldn't have done it any other way." Ranko slipped her arms around Akane's waist and hugged her close. "Please, Akane. Don't get upset over this anymore. My brother risked everything to defeat Kuno because he's very interested in you. I think he made the right decis-" She paused as she realized what she just said. 'Oh boy! Way to go Miss Take-My-Good-Foot-and-Stick-It-In-My-Mouth Saotome!'

Akane started as the words sank in, and the reciprocal hug that she'd been giving Ranko turned into a vise-like press against the hapless girl's ribs. "You mean it?! Really?" she asked, her somber mood now banished and shock taking over for the n'th time that day. The news, while not unexpected, still jarred her.
"Akane... Air... please!" Ranko gasped.

Akane quickly relented and Ranko sagged into her arms while her chin rested against the young Tendo's shoulder. "Sorry, Ranko. That had to hurt."

"Well, I really shouldn't have said anything," Ranko replied sheepishly. "I promised him I wouldn't tell, but looks like I slipped up."

"Oh, I won't tell him you told me, Ranko! I promise!" Akane replied, stepping back from Ranko and crossing her chest at her left breast with her finger in a vow of silence. Stepping back had allowed her a renewed look at Ranko's patchwork of injuries and a small amount of guilt wound its way into her heart. "After all that you've done for me, I wouldn't dare tell Ranma that you told me how he felt. A-... and I still feel responsible for all of those. Especially that one," she said as she pointed to the angry bruise on Ranko's breast. "There's gotta be something I can do for you."

Ranko sighed in exasperation. "Okay, well if you feel that you want to do something for me, why don't you help me get my hair untangled and wash it? That would do wonders for me."

"Okay!" Akane said with full enthusiasm as she guided Ranko to a stool and helped her to sit. Shampoo at the ready, she lathered her hands and then began attacking her new friend's scalp. After a few minutes of silence, during which time Ranko was in complete bliss, Akane's curiosity got the better of her. Much to Nabiki's delight, she started asking questions.

"So, Ranko, now that you know I won't tell Ranma anything, you think you can tell me what your brother thinks of me?"

Ranko smiled and tried to respond, but Akane's massage was too heavenly for her to concentrate. "Umm, well, Akane..." she began

"I mean, I know what Kinuko said about Ranma and her still being together, but it didn't look like he was interested in her anymore," Akane pressed. She stopped scrubbing Ranko's head for a moment. "They're not still going steady, are they Ranko?"

Ranko coughed nervously at the mention of Kinuko Amagi. The ditz was making her brother's life miserable, and seemed to be working her nasty spell on Akane as well. "You shouldn't worry about Kinuko, Akane. That psycho-bitch isn't seeing him anymore. I can guarantee you that he's not interested in her. She only said what she did because of what Ranma did to Kuno."

From the changing room, Nabiki started making mental notes, cursing herself for not bringing her notebook with her. As frazzled as her nerves were at the moment, she couldn't trust her memory to reliably commit everything she'd heard thus far. Still, despite the extreme commotion she'd been through, what she was learning now was starting to make up for the inconvenience of almost being killed.

"So you don't have anything to worry about, see?" Ranko said positively. "In fact, as crazy as she is, I suggest that you ignore anything she says to you about herself or Ranma. She's one of those who tries anything to cling to someone even after being dumped."

Akane nodded and put a smile on her face, then attacked Ranko's long hair anew. "That's good to know. I try to ignore Kinuko, but she always manages to get under my skin. I don't know why, but ever since Kuno and I got together that little freak has always been after me. There were a few times where I wanted to beat the crap out of her, but was trying to be 'lady like' for Kuno."

Ranko could feel the mood in the room begin to shift towards anger, and debated changing the subject. "Akane, you don't have to tell me about-"

"But I think it's something you need to know, Ranko. After all, you should know why you were defending me at school yesterday in the first place."

"Akane, I hate to disappoint you, but a lot of people at school have known all about how Kuno treated you." Ranko felt Akane jump in shock behind her and quickly added, "We weren't talking about you to be mean, Akane. The girls were only repeating rumors being told by the guys in the Kendo club, and you can guess how those guys found out about your relationship with Kuno."

Akane growled. "It wasn't a relationship, Ranko. It was servitude."

"I'm sorry, Akane. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to let you know that I already knew what Kuno did to you, and that he damn well deserved the ass kicking that my brother gave him." Ranko turned her head and winked at Akane. "And the Kendo club got what they deserved as well, don't'cha think?"

Akane nodded, but concern still showed on her face. "I didn't know about the Kendo goons talking about me, but it doesn't surprise me. I was just thinking, though. You said that Kinuko would do anything to get Ranma back because she clings, right?"

"Yeah," Ranko responded, wondering what Akane was getting at.

"Well, Kuno's the same way. I just know that he's not going to give up on me because he lost a fight to Ranma. He'd try anything to get revenge, and..."

"What is it, Akane?" Ranko pressed.

"I was thinking that Kuno may have been behind the girl who blasted her way into my home."

"I hadn't thought of that!" Ranko shouted.

The sentiment had been echoed by Nabiki, although not aloud. 'Kuno is obsessive, but he's not that organized. Besides, I would've known in advance if he'd tried to coordinate something like that. Still, a girl did all that damage? Better chance Kodachi did this, then.' Her thoughts grew angry. 'If she is behind this, I'll make a mockery of the Kuno name in school before siccing daddy and Ranma on her and her brother.'

"Akane, if the 'Blue Wind of Furinkan High' -"

"That's 'Blue Thunder'," Akane automatically corrected.

"You have your description of him, I have mine," Ranko said slyly, snickering.

"Ah, I see. In that case he's the 'SOB of Furinkan High," Akane amended, snickering as well.

"That's the spirit, Akane! Anyway, if that dummy was stupid enough to hire a hit-girl to take out anyone in my family or yours, then he's going to suffer a lot. Ranma was holding back against Kuno in that fight, and if it turns out that you're right about him doing that, then Ranma, myself, my dad and your dad will each take turns ripping Kuno's head off and shoving it up his-"

"I get the idea, Ranko," Akane said, smirking. "And you can count me in on that, too. I wouldn't want to miss out on giving him pain for everything he gave me." Akane gave a hearty sigh. "Still, I'm not worried about that girl now that your brother is here to protect us. Besides, I'm sure she's still out after what my dad did to her."

'What daddy did to her.' Nabiki repeated. 'What did he do to her?' She closed her eyes and concentrated, recalling being in Sato's arms somewhere and hearing him tell her that everything was okay. 'I wish I could remember everything that happened.'

"Speaking of Ranma, Ranko," Akane said, turning the course of the conversation.

"I don't mind, Akane. He's one of my favorite topics, too," she said with a wink, causing a deep blush to consume Akane's soapy body. "Hey, I'm teasing, Akane. Lighten up!" she said, playfully reaching around and popping Akane on the butt.

Akane laughed, then squealed as Ranko's hand made a light, stinging contact with her bare behind. "I'll get you for that!" she said, returning the favor by dumping a big bucket of cold water over Ranko's head.

"C-C-C-COLD!" Ranko shrieked, hugging her arms around herself as the last remnants of soap and shampoo cascaded down the flanks of her body to land in big droplets on the floor. "That was mean, Akane-ch-chan!" Despite that, she giggled.

"Now we're even, Ranko." Akane winked and then doused herself with another bucket of water to cleanse the soap from her body. "Let's get in the tub before we get too warm," she added, teeth chattering.

"The medicine's already in there?" Ranko asked as she stood with Akane's help. Akane nodded as she stepped forward into the tub then helped Ranko in. Both exhaled as the warm water assailed their senses, bring relaxing waves of comfort to their tired muscles.
"You and Ranma are close, aren't you, Ranko?"
"Yeah. We're a lot closer than we used to be, Akane. I love him, and he loves me. There's almost nothing that we wouldn't do for each other. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, Ranko. I do." Akane replied. "Nabiki and Kasumi have both been wonderful to me. And I'll gladly return the favor if either of them need it."

"Who else are you close to, Ranko?" Akane said with a sly voice. "I've talked about your brother for awhile, but now I want to hear about you."

"I, uhh... Heheheheheh" she laughed nervously. "You're right, Akane. I guess I should be sharing, too."

'Yes, now for some solid intelligence!' Nabiki thought, believing that, despite her shakiness, her patience was now paying off. However fate intervened in that moment as a hand landed delicately on her shoulder before Ranko could continue. Nabiki jumped out of her clothes, and then decided that wasn't enough and jumped out of her skin, too. "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

Kasumi jerked her hand back like she'd been shocked and she looked for the entire world as if she'd committed the worst of sins. "Oh my! I'm sorry, Nabiki. I didn't mean to startle you! Are you okay?"

Clutching her breast to keep her heart from escaping, Nabiki's lungs clawed for breath as she lay sprawled in a heap on the floor of the change room. "I'M ... DOING ... BETTER ... KASUMI" she bit out as her pulse slowed to subsonic speeds. She gulped and was about to speak when the inner door flew open, startling Kasumi and scaring the bejeezus out of Nabiki all over again.

"Would you PLEASE stop doing that?" Nabiki ground out, glaring at the two naked girls who were staring at her curiously.

"What's going on?" Akane asked in alarm. "Sounded like someone attacked you, Nabiki."

"That was my fault, Akane. I surprised Nabiki when I walked into the change room."

Before she could be interrogated, Nabiki waved her hands to distract them. "But I'm okay now, honest! I'm just a little shaky after what happened. Kasumi's not to blame. I heard you talking, Akane, and wanted to know what had happened in the dojo. I was about to come in and talk with both of you when Kasumi found me." She breathed deep a couple of times, trying to weave her excuse ever tighter. "I'm sorry for interrupting your bath, Ranko. Akane."

"That's okay, sis," Akane replied. "You look really tense. I can understand why Kasumi could've scared you."

"I know what will help," Ranko suggested. "She can join us in the bath and we can fill her in on what went on."

Nabiki's eyes got wide. "I... umm, that is... "

"Oh, come on, Nabiki. You're more than welcome! You've got nothing to be ashamed of, right?" Ranko added with a playful wink. "Besides, we're all girls here!"

Nabiki winced inwardly at being asked that particular question by Ranko Saotome, current target of a surreptitious investigation commissioned by Kuno, her sister's former betrothed. Nevertheless, she relented. "Okay. I'll join you," she said, forcing a smile.

"Well, it seems that you're in good hands, sis," Kasumi said. "Go ahead and give me your clothes and I'll leave a fresh change in here for you when you're done." Nabiki nodded, stripping out of her clothes with a slight amount of modesty due to Ranko's presence. 'Not that I'm jealous of her body,' she thought to add.

Dumping a bucket or two of water on herself while the younger girls re-entered the hot bath, Nabiki followed with a slight amount of hissing in pain. This being her second bath of the day, she didn't expect to stay in there long. Besides, it was a tight fit with the other girls in there as well, and she wound up sitting on the opposite end with her legs separating Ranko and Akane. Nabiki did her best to relax, and found the medicated water of the tub was helping her to do just that,

"Mmmmm, this DOES feel good. Thanks for inviting me, Ranko," Nabiki said in a near-sigh.

"You're welcome, Nabiki. I mean, after what you went through, I'm surprised you can walk at all," Ranko replied.

"Ugh! Don't remind me," she said, shaking her head as more memories resurfaced unwanted. "You guys are just lucky that I rinsed all that dust off of me before I got in the tub with you."

They all smiled lightly at that, then fell into companionable silence as the water worked its magic on them. Then Nabiki snorted at something Ranko had said earlier.

"What?" Akane asked, curious.

"I was just wondering what daddy would say when he sees what happened to the boundary wall."

****

"Let me at her!" Soun thundered, squirming within the bear-hug restraint that Genma hastily slapped on his once-again friend. "Let me go, Saotome! I'm going to break every bone in that girl's body!"

'Ow, he's stronger than I remembered,' Genma thought with no small amount of pain, his arms straining to contain Soun's thrashing. "Tendo, listen to... Stop moving for a minute, okay?" he yelled. The thrashing diminished, but didn't stop. "Killing her won't undo what she did."

"I don't care! She deserves-" Soun shouted before being interrupted by Genma at full-blast.

"And after you kill that girl, what will happen to your daughters? Are you so eager to abandon them because there's a hole in your wall?"

Soun went limp at that, going silent. His recent revelations about how much he'd ignored his daughters were still fresh in his mind. Saotome's words were true, and they struck him dead center in his heart.

After a few seconds of silence between the two, Genma felt it safe enough to release the Tendo Dojo's sensei. "Thank you, Saotome." He paused to catch his breath. "That would've been a very foolish thing." He looked at the breach in the boundary wall. "Even still, you don't expect me to simply be calm about this and just accept it, do you?"

Genma smiled good-naturedly and clapped his hand on Soun's back. "I don't blame you for being upset, Tendo. I'd be very angry, too. Fortunately, you've got a brilliant friend like me to help you see reason and keep you from doing something you'll regret later on," he said with a smirk.

Soun chuckled despite the devastated wall to his left. "Your ego hasn't gotten any smaller since the last time we were together, Saotome." He sighed again and kicked a chunk of broken wall away from him. "Still..." His words trailed off as commotion headed his way.

"Clear the way! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!"

He and Genma watched with open mouths as Dr. Tofu dodged around a stunned Ranma with Nodoka trailing directly behind him. In his arms Tofu bore the cause of Soun's anger.

"What happened?" Genma yelled with concern as he broke away from Soun and ran directly to his wife.

"We were about to move her into the house and stitch up her head when she started convulsing," Nodoka replied through short gasps of breath. "Nothing serious had been done to her once the doctor arrived. We were preparing her head to be stitched up, but that's -"

Whereas she had stopped, Tofu had continued running. "Excuse me, Tendo Sensei!" he shouted as he dashed past Soun. "I need to get her to the hospital!" Soun took off after him, following the doctor as he ran through the new hole in the wall and into the alleyway.

They stopped at an old car that Soun didn't even know the doctor possessed. Tofu set Shampoo down on the hood of his car as carefully as he could, then fumbled for his keys. 'It's a good thing I followed my hunch and drove over instead of walked,' he thought as he got inside and folded down the passenger seat as far as it would go.

"What's going on, Tofu?" Soun asked as the doctor re-emerged from the car.

"Convulsions," he snapped.

Soun did the wise thing and didn't interrupt as Tofu picked Shampoo up and dashed around the car. He opened the passenger door for the doctor and got out of the way. After arranging her on the passenger seat and covered her with a blanket he dashed for his side of the car.

"I'm coming with you," Soun said. Tofu looked to object, but realized that Soun was telling him, not asking him. Just as he was about to get in the back seat of the car and take off with the doctor, Genma and Nodoka caught up with them.

Tofu displayed a rare moment of rudeness. "I have to get her to the hospital now, so I can't be dealing with a lot of distractions. She may not have much time left."

"Here's your bag, Dr. Tofu. You left it at the pond," Nodoka said in a rush, handing it to him and stepping back.

"Let's go, then!" Genma said, climbing in the back with Soun.

Exasperated, Tofu tossed his bag in the back of the car, with Soun catching it just as Genma was wedging himself into the back seat with his friend. Not saying anything, Tofu started up the engine and revved it a couple of times then pulled his door shut.

"Genma, what are..." Nodoka started, before he leaned in front of Soun, poking his head out of the rear door window.

"Honey, after what you said I decided that I have to stay with Tendo to make sure everything stays calm." Before she could object, Tofu peeled away. "We'll call from the hospital!" Genma shouted, his voice growing lighter as the car vanished down the street.

"Mom, what's going on?" Ranma, now sans tool belt asked as he, Sato and Hikaru ran to her side. She didn't respond, her mind taking a moment to digest everything that had just happened. Concerned, Ranma reached out and shook her arm. "Mom, you okay?"

"Ranma!" she said, startled. Catching herself, she put her hand to her breast and tried to calm her breathing. "Where's Ranko?" Nodoka asked when she could speak again. "Genma was supposed to have taken her home."

"Don't worry, Mom. She's inside with Akane."

"What's she doing in...?"

"It was Akane's idea. She invited Ranko to use their bath so she wouldn't have to walk all the way home. Dad said it was okay, and so did Mr. Tendo," Ranma explained before his mom could get upset.

She deflated a little at that. "Whew! That's good. I'm glad that she wasn't out here to see what just happened."

"What did just happen, Mrs. Saotome?" Hikaru inquired. "All I heard was some yelling, then that car took off."

"Yeah, Mom. It looked like something was wrong with Sh... that girl," Ranma added with no small amount of concern.

"Well, after you and your sister walked off, Dr. Tofu and I got ready to stitch the girl's wound. She started convulsing when we tried to move her into the house." Nodoka shuddered a bit at the recollection of the scene. "It looked pretty bad. Her skin went cold and clammy, and she was also foaming at the mouth a little." Nodoka's look darkened as she contemplated the worse. "I don't think she's going to make it, dear."

"But...She can't die!" Hikaru fairly shouted.

"Yeah, at least not until after we find out why she's here and what she wants," Sato added matter-of-factly.

"That's cold, man!" Hikaru retorted hotly. 'She can't die! She's too beautiful to die!'

Nodoka sighed. "I'm going to check on Ranko," she said, heading through the hole in the boundary wall on the way to the house.

Numb, Ranma let his mother walk away without acknowledgement. His mind had blocked out everything, save one thought. 'Shampoo...'

****

"Ahh, I feel so much better!" Nabiki said, stretching lazily as she sat at the table next to Ranko and Akane. All three were rosy pink from their hot soaking in the bath and had put on some loose, soft clothing.

"Thanks for loaning me the outfit, Akane. I really appreciate it," Ranko said, putting an arm around Akane's shoulders to prop herself up.

"You're welcome, Ranko. It was nothing, really."

"There's something that surprised me about Sato today, Akane," Ranko commented. "I'd never seen him do that before in my life."

"I know what you mean. I don't know him that well, but I do know that he's never done any kind of martial arts or gymnastics before."

"What're you guys talking about? All he did was carry me away when that freak attacked us." Nabiki shuddered at the remembrance of that event, and tried her best to ignore it. "Before that, all he would do was *stare* at me. I swear! It was creepy."

"Now THAT is the Sato that I know," Ranko said with a chuckle. "A pretty face will drive him to distraction, Nabiki."

Nabiki flushed at that and Akane chuckled despite herself. "Still, it was spooky to have him leering at me like that."

"He's harmless, Nabiki. Honest! He's looked at me a couple of times like that, and I know he wouldn't have ever done anything bad to me. He's quite a gentleman. In fact, I think it's kinda sweet that he thinks I'm pretty." Ranko leveled a serious gaze at Nabiki. "I'll tell you what, though. You're the first girl that he's ever really been interested in."

"How do you know that, Ranko?" Nabiki replied.

"You really don't remember what he did, huh?" Ranko asked, smiling. "When that maniac was chasing both of you into the dojo, Sato jumped into the rafters while holding you in his arms. He's never been willing to put himself between someone else and danger before. At least I've never seen him do it before. He was willing to die for you, Nabiki."

"You're putting me on, Ranko!"

"Well, I may be exaggerating the die-for-you thing just a little bit," she admitted with a smirk. "But I doubt that I'm far from the truth. You at least have to admit that he's cute, right?"

Akane nodded. "Well, I agree with Ranko. I don't think he looks all that bad."

"What is this, a conspiracy?" Nabiki shot back. "C'mon you two! We just had our home attacked and here you are trying to set me up on a date with someone I don't know!"

"Maybe it's a conspiracy, or maybe not" Ranko said with a wink. "Aww, Nabiki, don't get upset about it. After all, Sato's a good guy. You could do a lot worse."

"Yeah!" Akane said, adding more oomph to her voice than she intended.

"Okay, okay! I get the idea. He likes me." She paused, wondering why she'd become the focus of the two girls' attention. "Still, I don't think I'm interested."

"We're not saying that, Nabiki. Just saying that it's cute, is all."

"Yeah, don't be so serious, sis!" Akane added, punctuating her words with a quick hug.

Nabiki smiled as the enthusiasm of the younger girls rubbed off on her. "Well, maybe..." Her words trailed off as Nodoka Saotome rushed into the room from outside, her face flushed and her sword gripped tightly in her hands.

"Thank goodness you girls are okay!" Nodoka declared. "Where is Kasumi?"

"I'm right here, Nanna," Kasumi replied as she stepped in from the kitchen. "Is everything okay? How is Dr. Tofu doing with the patient?"

Nodoka took a deep breath and told them everything that had happened since Kasumi had left her side at the pond.

****

"Man! This sucks!" Hikaru groused. "No, don't try to shut me up, Sato. I'm mad! That pretty girl is going to die and I won't ever know anything else about her!"

"You don't know that she's going to die," Ranma retorted. "That girl's got a harder head than you think."

"What makes you so sure?" Hikaru retorted hotly. "And don't talk about her like that!"

"Hikaru, quit thinking with your little head!" Sato yelled back angrily. "You didn't see what she is capable of. She almost killed Nabiki when she punched through that wall. Sure she's got nice tits, but she's a KILLER! Can't you understand that?"

"Sato's right. She's a tough girl, no doubt about it," Ranma added.

"Oh, NOW Mr. Hot-Shit Chow Yun Fuckin'-Fat knows everything about martial arts, huh?" Hikaru spat back, angry that his friends were ganging up on him.

"I'll show you just how much I *do* know if you don't can that attitude," Ranma replied, leveling a dangerous glare at him.

"Okay! Sorry!" Hikaru said, toning it down before things got physical. "I just..."

"You're assuming too much. You saw how strong she is; you saw how muscled she is. Believe me, she'll live," Ranma assured him. 'You would never get anywhere with her, though,' he thought to add, but kept to himself.

"Anyway, we should-" Sato began when someone walked up to the boys.

"Pardon me, I got reports of a disturbance," said a police officer as he tipped his cap to Ranma.

'Oh, now the cops arrive!' Sato thought with more than mild irritation. "What took you guys so long?"

"So I guess the reports are right. You guys are making an awful lot of racket out here," the cop replied tersely.

"Waitaminute!" Ranma retorted. "We aren't the disturbance. That was!" he said, indicating the hole in the wall behind him.

"What the?! Did a car run into the wall or something?" the cop asked as he inspected the damage.

"Not really," Ranma said, not sure he'd be able to explain that an Amazon with a penchant for destructive love plowed through the wall for no apparent reason.

The policeman whipped out a notebook and a pen. "I think I'd better talk to you individually."

Sato and Hikaru groaned. The cop pointed at Ranma. "You first, since you seem to know more about this than the other two."

"ME?" Ranma shot back defensively. "Officer, I-"

"Save it for your statement, young man. Is there a place where you and I can talk alone?"

"Yeah, there is," Ranma replied, not wanting to get himself or the others in any trouble, but knowing that he couldn't avoid answering questions. "Come this way," he said as he led the cop to the dojo.

"Hey! Sato and I are going inside," Hikaru said as he wended his way through the ruined wall, Sato hot on his heels.

"You boys better not leave until I've had a chance to talk to you. Your friend here WILL give me your names and if I have to come looking for you, I WILL be angry."

Both swallowed nervously. "Yessir!" they said before retreating to the Tendo home.

Ranma and the officer walked silently to the dojo. "Mind your step," he said once they were inside. "We're doing renovations and some of the floorboards are still out."

"That's okay. I know what it's like to have to do work on something to make it better. Always have the chance of pitfalls being in your way," the officer said, suddenly showing a warm smile.

"Well, yeah. I guess," Ranma replied, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I'd offer you a seat, but..."

"No apologies needed, Ranma," the cop replied.

"How did you-"

"Maybe this will help," the officer said as he raised his white-gloved right hand and snapped his fingers. A brilliant flash of light later and a man in a white leisure suit stood before him.

"HOW? You..." Ranma was too confused to speak in more than one-word sentences, but managed to ask a critical question. "WHY?"

"I should be the one to apologize to you instead, Ranma. This mess with Shampoo wasn't supposed to happen. I would like to be able to fix it, but alas, what is done is done." Ranma's face flashed angrily at the cavalier tone in the man's voice, and he made a move to get closer to the visitor. Roarke held up a hand and spoke calmly. "I can guarantee that you will not be able to hurt me, nor should you want to. I am not your enemy here. I suggest that you sit down and listen to me, because I have a lot to tell you and time is short. Your friends will come back to look for you in a few moments, so please hear me out."

Unable to argue with a man who could bend the laws of physics with a snap of his fingers, Ranma sank down in a cross-legged seated position and paid attention as the crazy guy in white started talking.

****

A pleasant tone echoed in the corridor followed by a pretty feminine voice. "Paging Dr. Mikimoto. You are needed in Pediatrics."

Soun and Genma ignored the hospital's intercom system and paced the hallway floor. They had been hovering for quite a long time outside the room where the strange girl had been placed, and were eager for news of her status. The past thirty minutes had been a blur to both of them. Following a breakneck race to the hospital and a hurried admittance procedure courtesy of Dr. Tofu, the two men had found themselves going from being indispensable to being in the way.

"It's been awhile, Tendo. I'm worried."

"I know, Saotome. I'm concerned, too."

Genma stopped pacing and sat in a chair facing the door to the room. "Is Dr. Tofu good?"

Soun nodded. "Indeed. He has been a tremendous help in taking care of my girls. This stranger is in good hands."

As if on cue, Tofu stepped out of the room and removed the scrubs that had been hastily donned over his street clothes. "She's going to make it." He turned and looked directly at Soun. "I want to apologize for my rudeness earlier, Tendo-sensei. I have no excuse for my actions. I'm only glad that Kasumi wasn't there to see me act that way."

"Nonsense. You did what you had to do, and I respect that," Soun said, dismissing the incident entirely. "Now what was the matter with that girl? Is she awake yet?"

"Well, we don't know what caused the seizures, but she's not had any since we got to the hospital. We've run a battery of tests on her and as far as I can tell she's clean, plus there are no life-threatening injuries. She's lucky. All she got from that whack on the head was a mild concussion and a split scalp."

Soun sighed. "That's a relief, Tofu."

"We actually spent more time cleaning her off and washing all that hair than we did stitching her up." He paused, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. "I personally think that her seizure was due to dehydration. She looked very malnourished, despite her healthy looking figure. I doubt that she's eaten more than one meal every two days. Whatever the reason, she was slowly starving herself to death. We put two IVs in and are pushing in as many nutrients as her body can stand."

"I wonder what she was up to, Tendo," Genma mused. "After all she's been through, you don't think she crashed the property wall looking for food, do you?"

"I doubt it, Saotome. She was looking for someone. That much was evident by how she was acting."

A nurse stepped out of the door. "We're done, Dr. Tofu. She's resting comfortably."

Tofu nodded and walked into the room with Soun and Genma right behind him. Soun whistled as he caught sight of Shampoo lying in the bed. What had been a dirt-smudged face with matted hair and cloaked in a heavy stench was now a very pretty face framed by long lavender locks. She smiled in her sleep, accentuating high cheekbones.

"Look at her, Saotome. She hardly looks like the kind of person to do what she did."

"You're not kidding, Tendo. She looks like a child!"

Tofu nodded. "I'd put her between sixteen and nineteen. Hard to tell without doing a more thorough exam of her."

"Well, I wonder who she was looking for, Tendo. What could someone have possibly done to this young girl to make her go through what she did?" Genma mused, and then added, "... assuming that she's looking for someone and not just in a blind rage or something like that."

"I really believe that she was hunting someone, and being very persistent about it. Who and why is what I want to know."

"Well, we'll have to wait for her to regain consciousness, then. If you hadn't knocked her out, we may have gotten some answers from her," Genma said before thinking.

"I know, and I feel bad about that, despite the damage she did to my home." Soun hung his head.

"I didn't mean it that way, Tendo," Genma added, placing a hand on Soun's shoulder. His friend flinched slightly, then relaxed. "What I meant was that we'll just have to wait to get answers from her. You probably saved the lives of both our children by knocking her out. Since we aren't sure what she wanted, or what she was willing to do to get what she wanted, we shouldn't start feeling guilty about what happened."

Soun smiled and nodded. "You're right, Saotome. I guess waiting a little while longer isn't going to hurt anything." He stepped to the bedside and put a hand against Shampoo's cheek, which was warm and soft to the touch. "She's looking a lot better than before. Some pink is coming into her face." He took his hand away and turned to Dr. Tofu. "How long before she wakes up, Tofu?"

Dr. Tofu shrugged. "It could be fifteen minutes or five hours. She's a tough girl, but she's been very hard on herself. I have no idea how exhausted she is." He headed for the door and held it open for them. "We should let her get her rest undisturbed while I fill out the paperwork."

"Good idea," Soun said as he walked out of the room, followed by Genma and Tofu.

"Anyone know how we're going to pay for this?" Tofu asked with a smirk once they were in the hallway.

"Pay? What do you-" Soun choked, hearing his wallet scream.

"Not to worry Tendo-sensei. I was only joking. I'm sure she qualifies for indigent care." Tofu led them into a general-purpose office/cubicle at the end of the hallway and started filling out forms. "I guess we can call her 'Jane Chen' until we talk to her," he muttered to himself, not minding the shrugs from his office guests.

Seven minutes later Tofu was just about done with the preliminary formwork when a nurse burst in, frantic. "Doctor! The patient's gone! I don't know where she is!"

"What!? It can't be!" Tofu said as he vaulted over the small desk and sprinted for Shampoo's room. He body-tackled the door and stared slack-jawed at the empty bed and open window. The clothes that had been picked out for her were gone and her tattered rags were still in a heap at the foot of the bed. "Damn! I never thought that she would've had the strength to leave through a sixth story window. I should have had an orderly keep an eye on her!" Tofu slammed the food tray stand with his hand, then ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Well, Dr. Tofu, I wouldn't have thought she would do that, either," Genma supplied, hoping to calm the young doctor. "Not for another hour, anyway."

Soun looked at the bed. The two IV needles that had been feeding Shampoo were now taped to the pillow. Squinting, he saw something fluttering in a fold of the white bedsheet. He bent down and smoothed out the cloth, whereupon a piece of neatly folded paper fluttered free. He caught it before the breeze from the open window blew it out the door and into the hallway. It was a piece of paper from her medical chart, with Chinese writing crudely done in red wax pencil on the blank side.

"Well, we may not have been able to speak to her, but we do have something," Soun offered, holding the folded paper up over his head. The other two men turned to look at him. "Anyone here know how to read Chinese?"

Tofu shook his head

"Not I," Genma said. "But-"

"Saotome," Soun interrupted, his mind jolted by a sudden revelation. "I think we better get back to the dojo! If that girl thinks that what she wants is still there, she may return and cause more damage."

Genma blanched as Soun's words struck home, literally. "Dammit! You're right, Tendo."

"Let's get back to the car," Tofu said calmly. "I'll take you to your home on my way back to the office."

****

"Now do you understand?" Roarke asked.

Ranma nodded, although his brain was the consistency of tapioca pudding after listening to what the wish maker had to say for the past twenty minutes. "Yeah, Mr. Roarke. I guess I do. Some of it anyway."

"I don't expect you to understand how we do our work, or why. All I want you to do is keep in mind what I said about Shampoo," Roarke nodded and pointed to his forehead. "And I guess I don't need to tell you to keep it to yourself about how she came to be here in the first place."

"Yeah, no one would believe me anyway," Ranma said with a wry smirk. "Does this mean that she won't ever come back?"

Roarke shook his head. "I can't guarantee that. She's a part of your life now, whether you like it or not. I can't change what has already happened. You will have to deal with her at some point. I don't exactly know what she'll want or do, but I'm sure you'll figure that out by the end of the night."

"How?" Ranma began, but stopped when Roarke held up his hand.

"Just have faith in yourself, your ability and your desire, Ranma. I promise that you will not be hassled by any of us anymore. This is your wish for you to live out as long as you want it. And while I will continue to watch from time to time, everything that happens will be due to a 'natural progression' if you will."

"I understand," Ranma said, feeling a little better than he had right after Shampoo had crashed the dojo repair party.

Roarke nodded, smiling, then snapped his fingers. Once again he was in his Officer's uniform. "And I think you should refer to me as Officer Tokugawa," Roarke suggested, pointing to his name on the uniform. "Now we should keep up the appearances here. Go get Sato and tell him I'm ready for his statement.

"Sure thing, Mr. R- I mean, Officer," Ranma nodded as he started for the doorway.

"You should keep an eye out for him, Ranma. He's a good kid and a loyal friend."

Ranma smiled, pausing at the doorway as he considered something. "I want to thank you for this. Despite all this stuff with Shampoo... well it's been a good life."

Roarke nodded and smiled until Ranma was out of sight. "While my associates will not be a problem anymore, it's a shame that I can't be there when you will truly need me, Ranma," he said softly to himself. "I only hope that you'll make the right decision when the time comes."

****

Ranma appeared in the doorway of the house and found his sister, Akane and Nabiki sitting together at the table. Hikaru was sulking in the corner and Sato was sitting near Nabiki, but keeping a polite distance.

"Sato!" Ranma said as he walked towards the table. "Officer Tokugawa is ready to take your statement. He's waiting for you in the dojo."

"Did he give you any crap, Ran-man?" Hikaru said, coming to life and standing straighter in the corner.

"Nope. He's convinced that the girl was on drugs or something."

Sato nodded and stood, sparing a smile for Nabiki. He turned and just missed Nabiki's blank expression mutate into an irritated one as he walked outside and headed for the dojo. "Thanks, Ranma. I'll be right back."

"Mom told us what happened. Still, bro, do you think the cop can handle that bitch when she's wakes up?" Ranko asked, noting that Hikaru bristled at the slur.

"Ranko, I think he'll have as many cops with him as he needs. He knows what she's capable of. I made sure to tell him," Ranma assured them all.

"I see. Well, you look tired, Ranma. Take a load off," Ranko offered, scooting over and patting the cushion between she and Akane.

Ranma hesitated. "I... umm, that is..."

"Oh, have a seat before you fall down! I can tell that your back is bothering you."

"Okay, okay!" he said, defeated. He took the offered seat, mindful of not straining his back as he contorted himself to not sit on either his sister or Akane. Crossing his legs, he gave Akane a polite smile, then stared at his feet. Without realizing it, they shared a common blush as every other pair of eyes in the room scrutinized their closeness.

"So... When do we eat?" Ranko asked, breaking the tension a couple of minutes later.

"I dunno. Did Kasumi say if dinner was ready?" Nabiki asked. Akane shrugged, although grateful for the change of subject from she and Ranma to something else.

"I'll go check," Hikaru offered as he headed through the doorway for the kitchen. He reappeared a moment later with Nodoka.

"Looks like everyone but Soun and Genma are here. Wait, where's Sato?" Nodoka asked as she scanned the room.

"Sato's with the police officer giving a statement," Hikaru answered before Ranma could.

"The police are here? I wondered when they would show up. I wonder why he hasn't come in here, though. Surely he wants to talk to everyone who saw what happened."

Sato entered the room with a smile on his face. "That won't be necessary, Mrs. Saotome. He said that he had all the information that he needed from Ranma and me. Officer Tokugawa told me that he wanted to be at the hospital when that girl awoke, so he left."

"Ah... Well, in that case I guess we can rest easier now that the police are involved," Nodoka said. "Now, Hikaru mentioned dinner. Kasumi and I are almost done, so it'll be ready in just a few minutes."

"Is everyone okay? I saw a policeman just now," Soun said as he and Genma rushed into the room.

"Yes, Soun," Nodoka said as she embraced her husband tightly. "The officer was on his way to the hospital to deal with that girl." She frowned as she realized that they hadn't been gone very long, nor had they called her from the hospital, both of which meant the worst. "What's happened to her?"

Soun held up the piece of paper he'd found on Shampoo's hospital bed. "I couldn't believe it, Nodoka. She escaped from her room and disappeared not long after she'd had her wounds treated. She left-"

"Oh, no! Then she could be on her way back here!" Nabiki shrieked, scurrying away from the table and standing up. She turned to run away but wound up running into Sato, who had been standing a bit behind her. Without thinking about it, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her head against his chest. "Not again!" she sobbed, not caring who saw her.

Flustered, Sato reciprocated and held her close to him, patting her on the head. "You'll be okay, Nabiki. We'll protect you," he said, trying not to stammer.

"What about that note you have, Soun?" Nodoka asked. "What does it say?"

"We can't read it. It's in Chinese."

"Oh, is that all? Give it here," Nodoka commanded, holding out her hand.

"You read Chinese?" Soun asked.

"I've done quite a bit since we last saw each other, Soun," Nodoka said with an enigmatic smile. Ranko and Ranma shared quizzical looks as their mother took the note in hand and began to read.

"Even though I know little of your language, I overheard you talking about me with the other men in the room. I want to apologize for what I did to your home. It was regrettable, and I will make amends someday. I will talk with you in person after I talk with the village council to make arrangements. After that, you will know who I am and what I was doing here today."

"It's not signed?" Soun asked.

"No, she left her name off."

"So what's going on, honey?" Genma asked. "If that letter is on the level, then we have nothing else to worry about from her."

"It's not that simple, dear," Nodoka answered as she began re-reading the entire message. She managed to suppress a gasp as she got to the end of it.

"What is it, Nodoka?" Soun asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, Soun. I'm just tired, is all," she said quickly as she folded the paper and put it in her kimono. "Now that I've read it again, I agree with Genma. I'll be very surprised if that girl tries to do anything to us."

Sato rubbed the back of Nabiki's neck gently. "See, Nabiki? It's going to be okay," he whispered in her ear. Nabiki snuffled and wiped her eyes on Sato's shirt, leaving a pair of small damp dots behind.

"Thank you, Sato," she said in a fragile voice, excusing herself from the room. He made a move to follow her, but stopped when he saw Ranko shake her head slightly.
"I'll go check on her," Kasumi volunteered, following the middle Tendo daughter up the stairs. A couple of uncomfortable moments later, Sato sat down where Nabiki had been at the table but reserved room for her in the event that she returned.

"What did the police say?" Soun asked, after Kasumi disappeared upstairs.

Sato related what he'd told Nodoka; along with the statement he'd given the policeman.

Ranma nodded when Soun and Genma looked his way. "I told him pretty much the same thing. He seemed to think that Sh- e was on drugs and wasn't in control when she did it. He was headed to the hospital to verify that, but I guess he won't get the chance now." 'Not that it matters anyway,' Ranma thought with no small amount of relief. 'Now that she's okay and gone home, everything should be back to normal here.' Still, there was something bugging him about what had happened. 'Sure Shampoo was going to say that she would return, since Roarke said something about that. So what's bothering me?'

"Well, Tendo. I guess that there are no hard feelings on her end since she heard everything we said," Genma offered.

Soun nodded. "Indeed. If she understood enough Japanese to follow our conversation, she knows that I was the one that hurt her. I guess that if she held a grudge against me, she would've said so."

"Yeah, so you may be in the clear," Genma laughed, clapping his friend on the back.

Ranma cut short a gasp, his body unable to move as he finally figured out what had been bugging him. 'She knows that Mr. Tendo knocked her out! Defeated her... No way! Akane's father is engaged to Shampoo!'

Suddenly paranoid, he looked about the room to see if anyone had caught his reaction. When his gaze landed on his mother, he noted that she looked exactly like he felt. Her eyes were the size of saucers and it looked as if she'd stopped breathing. 'Does she know what this means?' Ranma asked himself. 'And she reads Chinese, too. I wonder what else she knows.'

"Who wants some sake? I know my nerves sure can use some!" Soun enthused; his spirits apparently not dulled much by the ruined wall and commotion caused by Shampoo's arrival.

"Hear hear!" Genma cheered.

"Yeah, Soun, some sake would be a really, really good idea right now," Nodoka said in an odd tone as she followed him into the kitchen.

"I sure could use some," Ranma whispered.

"No kidding," Akane and Ranko whispered in unison.

"We're going to eat first," Nodoka could be heard to say from the kitchen. "No one is going to drink on an empty stomach, es