Ranma 1/2: Emptiness and Renewal by Mark
Doherty(s067350@student.uq.edu.au)


Right then, this is my third fanfiction. It's..... well it starts out
pretty depressing, and then does it's best to work it's way out of
there. Don't worry if you think it's too bleak to start with. And if
you don't, well that's alright too. Different people take these things
differently.

Characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I deserve to be cursed
in the spring of drowned worm for thinking of using them.  Please don't
sue me, I am but a poor and penniless student, with delusions of
grandeur.

C&C's are always welcome, but I can really do without the flames, this
is not my account after all. Comments on the effectiveness or otherwise
of the memory lines (see below) would be especially appreciated,
they're sort of an experiment. I know they sometimes dangerously break
up the text, but that is also a boon at times. Plus, in my opinion,
they do work well at times, especially the ones I used with the Ranma
character. But please, comment yourself, if you wish.


Ok, here are some conventions for this fanfiction:
 - The suffix -chan is used (outside conversation) to note a character's
   cursed girl form. Other people's cursed forms will be denoted by the
   curse as a suffix, i.e. Ralph-Amoeba, or Ralph-A.

 - [] are thoughts.

 - * * are memory lines. What are those? They're flashback lines,
       remembered words from someone. Hopefully, you'll understand when
       you see them. Within memory lines, <> are action markers, for
       things like sighs and coughs. You have to guess who's saying
       what from context, it ruins them to have 'X said' in them.
       Still, I think they work well, and it's always either the person
       in the scene or some other person saying them, so it's easy
       enough to guess.

 - <> is chinese speech(when it's not within memory lines).

 - {} are panda signs.



"Laugh and the world laughs with you;
 Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
 But has trouble enough of its own."
		-Solitude, Ella Wheeler Wilcox(1855-1919)

"So many gods, so many creeds,
 So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind Is
 all the sad world needs."
		-The World's Need, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

*********************************

In a dark void, a silent figure waited. With a wave of a hand, two
glowing globes formed before the person. Illumination from the globes,
though not too bright, shone on the person's face and figure enough to
reveal that she was female. She had a calm face, framed by long white
hair streaked through with blue and green.  She was staring intently at
the globes. Each of the globes contained an image.

The left globe showed Ukyou, sitting in her store. It was dark, even
though light shining through cracks under the door indicated daylight
outside. Ukyou looked.... WAS depressed. She radiated depression. Her
cheeks were wet with tears as she sobbed into the darkness.

The right globe showed Ranma. Or was it? This Ranma was dressed
similarly to Ukyou, with black chinese pants and a red okonomiyaki
chef's shirt.  His hair was not in the normal braid, but was tied back
in a ponytail.  He was at a campsite in some anonymous area of country.
Nearby was a yatai, a portable food cart. Behind this Ranma was a tent,
in which a sleeping panda could be seen. Ranma held a photo in his
hands, although what was in that photo could not be seen because he was
clutching it to his chest. He was crying too, his face was contorted in
despair.

"Sad. So sad." the woman watching this said with a sigh.

"Liotha? Where are yo...wargh!!!" a female voice cried out to the
sounds of clattering in the darkness. After a minute of so of
muttering, the voice's owner crept into the circle of light the globes
cast. She looked similar to the first woman, but her hair was a rainbow
of colours, and those colours were constantly shifting, making them
hard to define. "If you're going to keep the lights off in here you
could at least keep a clear path to yourself." this woman said to the
first, Liotha, in a huff.

"Look at these two." Liotha said. "I cannot stand to see such pain.
Such loss."

The second woman looked at the globe for a moment before saying "Yeah,
they're pretty pitiful. But what do they have in common? They're not
even from the same reality."

"No. They are not. But they cry because they have lost each other. The
other from their own reality. The girl, Ukyou, has recently driven away
her best friend and fiance, Ranma, by interfering dangerously in his
wedding to another girl."

"Another girl? Dangerously? What do you mean?" the second woman asked,
interested despite herself. She always had been a sucker for a love
story.

Liotha sighed. "Through love, chance, and stupidity, that Ranma managed
to get three fiances, and similar interest from a fourth girl. Ranma
left Ukyou behind when they were six years old. It affected her deeply,
she started dressing as a boy and trained in her martial arts so as to
one day take revenge on him. When she arrived, ten years later, she
found that Ranma hadn't left her behind. Indeed, it had been his father
who did so. It helped her that he called her cute. And so she renewed
their engagement. In the end, Destiny called that Ranma would marry
another, Akane."

"Destiny can be a real prick at times." the other woman noted.

"Tell me about it. Destiny didn't count on the other fiances, however.
They crashed the wedding and disrupted it so badly that it was called
off. Another wedding won't take place until this engagement mess is
sorted out. However, Ranma does love Akane. When Ukyou endangered
Akane's life at the wedding by using explosives, he was very angry at
her. He shunned her when she came to apologise. She feels that no-one
cares about her, that her whole life is slipping away from her. Much of
her happiness, most, ALL in fact, relies on her dream of marrying
Ranma. And so she sits, five days after Ranma refused to talk to her,
six days after the failed wedding. All alone. All alone. All.....
alone." Tears were flowing from Liotha's eyes.

The other woman sighed. She pointed to the ponytailed Ranma. "And him?"

"His tale is sadder still, Zae. In his reality, Ukyou did leave with
him when Ranma left to continue his training. For the last ten years,
that Ranma and Ukyou have lived, laughed, loved together. They were a
beautiful couple. Complimenting each other's weaknesses. Loving each
other with a soul and a passion experienced by few. Their future was
bright, their love overcame all. But Fate, like his brother Destiny,
is, as you would say, a prick too. This image is from a few months ago.
Three months after they visited Jusenkyo, Ukyou died. A horrible,
unlucky, unfair death. A great love. A beautiful love. Destroyed by
accident, in a petty quest for vengeance. Now, he is alone. Truly
alone. So... damn... alone."

Zae looked from the globes to Liotha. She was still crying. If
anything, the tears fell more freely than before. "You're going to do
something, aren't you." Zae said quietly. It was not a question, just a
simple statement of the facts.

Liotha nodded. "They are both normally such happy people. That is what
makes their despair so hard to take. They NEED their opposite from
their dimension, and in both, they can't have them. They NEED each
other. And I NEED you to help me bring them together."

"You know I don't like cross-dimensional pollution, Liotha." Zae
warned.  "If I did, don't you think I would have made it easier to
travel between the realities?"

Liotha turned to Zae. "So alone." she intoned.

Zae sighed. "Alright. Just this once. I shall help you. To help them."

"So that they may help each other." Liotha sighed.

*********************************

*Why'd ya do it, Ukyou? Why?*

Ukyou cried in the darkness of her store, as she heard the bustle of
life outside. She should be cooking right now, her store open, business
going on.

*I thought you were my friend.*

She clutched her stomach as her tears blinded her. Sobs racked her
body.

*Guess you were no friend at all.*

What was the point? What had she left? When she had crashed Ranma's
marriage, it had been the act of a desperate woman. Ranma was hers, not
Akanes! Akane and Ranma always fought, yet she and him were best of
friends.  He owed her, damn it! Owed her for leaving her, owed her for
all she had given up. And yet, here she was. All alone. Ranma hadn't
visited since the wedding. When she had gone to him the day after, to
apologise, he had railed at her.

*You coulda hurt Akane with that stuff! What were ya thinking?*

She had tried to explain. Tried to apologise. Tried to get anything
from him except disappointment and anger. That had hurt. Hurt so much.

*Just get out of my sight, Ukyou. I don't want to talk to you.*

Now, what was left besides the pain? She barely had any friends.
Konatsu was the only one not tied too closely to Ranma. He had been the
only one to see her since she left Ranma. No-one else had come. Not
Akane.  Not Shampoo. Not Ryouga. Not Ranma. She had nothing. She had
thrown it all away, on one last desperate gamble. And she had lost. To
herself, she could admit that she could never have won. She had been
too late from the outset. Ranma and Akane had loved each other when she
got here. It had been a small love, but it had been there. They had
each other. She knew that. Sooner or later they'd marry. And she would
be alone.

"Yes. Alone." a voice said from behind her.

Ukyou's reflexes kicked into action. She leapt out of her chair, diving
for the counter where she had left her combat spatula. With a tumble,
she rolled over the counter and came up, spatula in hand. Tears still
fell from her face as she cried out "Who's there?" Her voice was
cracked from long hours, days in fact of sobbing.

"A friend." Liotha said as she stepped near enough to Ukyou for her to
see her. "A guardian. A spiritual assistant. Someone who could feel
your pain, and wishes to help."

"Help?" Ukyou whispered. "Who said I needed help?" she shouted, almost
hysterical.

"It hurts, doesn't it? To be shunned by the one you love. For him to
choose another over you, when you feel that you are the better choice?
It hurts. Hurts you deeply. And I cannot stand to see you hurt any
longer. Join me. Begin the healing." Liotha held out her hand to
Ukyou.

Ukyou stared at this woman. She should spatula her just on general
principle, for sneaking in like that. Intruding on her privacy.  But...
there was something so peaceful about this woman. She was like.... like
her mother. Like any mother. Just looking at her made Ukyou feel warm
and safe.

Ukyou reached out and touched Liotha's outstretched hand.

*********************************

Ranma was working out in the dojo when Akane stepped in.

"Ranma, did Ukyou come over here today?" she asked him.

"Ukyou? Nah. She hasn't been round in a few days. Why?" Ranma asked.

"Konatsu was just here. She's disappeared, Ranma. Apparently she's been
locked away all week, and when he went to visit her today, she just
wasn't there." Akane explained.

"That's right. And it's all your fault." Zae said to Ranma as she
walked out of shadows that couldn't possibly have hid her.

"Who are you? Wha.. How did you..." Ranma blurted.

"All your fault, Ranma. Her hour of need, and you deserted her. Left
her to the despair. The loneliness. The sheer pain of her guilt.
You're scum. Pure and simple. You call yourself her best friend, and
then you do this to her." Zae snarled.

"Now hold on." Akane retorted angrily. "Ukyou was no saint either,
you..."

"I have no time for mortal whining. I came here to tell you what
happened to Ukyou. Then, I shall leave. You can both shut up till I
go." Zae said angrily.

"Hey, watch what you're..." Ranma began.

Zae waved her left arm. Ranma and Akane found that they could not move
or speak. "I was not involved in this until Liotha asked me to help.
But now I am. Ukyou was getting suicidal. Another day, maybe two, and
she might have weakened and killed herself. Or, maybe she would have
found the inner strength to go on. It does not matter now. She has
gone.... elsewhere. No point looking for her, not that you seemed to
care before. She will be back, if she ever comes back, when she decides
that she is ready. If she ever does, you owe her, Saotome.  You owe her
an apology, and you owe her a lot more. Personally, I think she'd be a
lot happier where she's gone. May you two find happiness." She turned
and walked back to some shadows in a corner of the dojo. She stopped,
turned back to the frozen couple, and added "It has been built upon the
unhappiness of many others." She turned back to the shadows, and
stepped into them, fading from view.

Akane and Ranma felt able to move again. They turned to each other.

"Who the hell was that?" Ranma asked.

"Someone who wasn't too happy about Ukyou. I hope Ukyou's ok, wherever
that woman has taken her." Akane said.

Ranma sighed. "Me too. You know, I was going to go over to her tomorrow
and make up. Too late now, I guess. Still, we'd better do a search for
her just in case that woman was lying."

Akane nodded. "I get the feeling Ukyou's gone though." she admitted.

*********************************

*Ucchan NO! You've gotta be alright! Speak to me!*

The Ranma with a ponytail took the photo he was clutching to his chest
and looked at it again. On it was pictured himself and Ukyou, standing
proudly next to the yatai, in front of a temple on New Years Eve. Ranma
felt the tears well up, and felt no reason to hold them back. He sobbed
quietly as the memories came.

*H...haven't felt this <ungh> bad in a wh..while. I..I hurt, Ranchan.*

After ten years of living together, Ranma and Ukyou had decided to
formalise their engagement. Genma had been happy for them, but had
seemed troubled. He had said something about having to inform a friend
that an agreement was no longer valid.

*You're gonna be ok. Just hold on. Hold on. Help'll be here soon,
Ucchan.*

A month and a half later, on a training trip to Jusenkyo, Ranma had
been cursed as a girl, Genma as a panda, and Ukyou as a fox. Many
hardships resulted, but they had always had each other. After Ranma, as
a girl, beat some Amazon girl, they had fled China back to Japan.

*I.. I'm sorry... Ranchan. I'll al...<cough>...always be w..with you.*

One day, Ranma, Genma, and Ukyou, who had accidentally been splashed,
and was therefore in her fox form, walked into a small inn. Before they
had even finished talking to the manager, a teenage man and woman burst
through a wall and started attacking Ranma. In the fight, which had
moved outside, the male assailant shore through a large heavy stone
pillar, part of a gate to a driveway. The pillar had fallen onto
Ukyou.

*Ucchan.... Ukyou! NO! Don't leave me! I love you! I.. I love you.*

Ranma had, with strength born of desperation, thrown the pillar off
Ukyou and picked up her fox form. Genma had tricked the two attackers
into following him, while Ranma took Ukyou to safety. Genma had easily
lost the two, and made it back to Ranma. Seeing Ukyou's state, Genma
had rushed off to get a doctor. Ukyou was hurt. Bad. Ranma knew that
changing her back into a girl might make it worse, but he had to.  He
had to talk to her. Tell her he loved her.

*Love... you... t..too. S...so sor...sorr.................*

When Ukyou had turned back to a human, she had been coughing up blood.
Within minutes, long before help arrived, she had died from internal
bleeding caused from the pillar falling on her cursed form. Dead. Dead
because two people had mindlessly attacked him, spouting on about their
life being hell because of him. Hell? Hell was losing the woman you
loved. The woman you could not live without. The woman who was as much
a part of you as you were of her. He'd show the murdering scum what
hell was. He'd track them down, and he'd show them what hell was all
about.

"Your hate consumes you." Liotha noted as she stepped up to the fire
near Ranma.

Ranma stared at the woman. She had snuck up on him, got within five
feet of him without him noticing. Yet, he did not feel that she was a
threat. He felt.... comforted just looking at her. "What would you know
about it?" he snarled as he pocketed the picture.

"I know all about it Ranma. I am here to help." Liotha replied.

"I don't know who you are, but I get the feeling I don't want to know.
Unless you can bring Ucchan back, there's nothing you can do for me."

"She is dead. I will not try to ask you to stop hating those
responsible. But you must realise that it was an accident. You are not
a killer. It is not a road you should travel. Your pain eats away
inside you, making you hollow. Accept my help. Become whole again.
Live, laugh, and love again." Liotha held out her hand to him.

Ranma sighed. And took her hand.

*********************************

Sitting at a campfire were Ryouga and Akane. There were some
differences, however. Akane had long hair, tied back with one of
Ryouga's bandannas.  She wore male clothes, long black pants and brown
shirt. Ryouga was the same as normal. Beside both of them sat an
umbrella, of similar design, though probably not of similar weight.

"We'll get him." Akane muttered to Ryouga. "One day he won't be fast
enough to get away, and we'll get him."

Ryouga sighed. "Calm down Akane. He can't run forever. We'll hunt him
down."

"Hunt him down? Right now he hunts you." Zae said as she stepped into
the firelight. Both Akane and Ryouga surged up and ran towards her,
obviously intent to attack. Zae waved a hand, and both froze in
mid-run.

"Pitiful. Perhaps I should just leave you here. You might like to know
that if we hadn't intervened, you'd both be dead within three days.
Ranma was going to kill you both, then himself. All because of you
two.  Whining and wailing about your petty little curses. Oh! I turn
into a pig! wails Akane. Oh! I turn into a dog! whines Ryouga. Oh! Two
whining bastards attacked me for no good reason and killed the woman I
loved!  points out Ranma. Guess who wins the justification stakes? That
fox that Ryouga knocked a pillar on in that fight of yours was Ranma's
fiance.  They loved each other. More than anything else. Except
revenge. That is why Ranma would have killed himself after killing you
two. So that he could join her. Now, hopefully, there is another
choice. But even if there is, he will never run from you two again. If
you attack him, you do so at your own peril. Go home. You both blame
Ranma for your curses, but neither of you should have been there. It's
your own fault. You've given into your anger, and all it got you was a
curse and a possible death warrant. And you two still don't care.
You're still too wrapped up in plans of revenge, aren't you? You two
are ugly. May you find happiness." She walked out of the circle of
light. Her voice rang out once more "Though you deserve it not."

Ryouga looked at Akane as they felt the paralysis leave. "What do you
think?"

"I think we set a watch tonight." she replied.

*********************************

Ukyou blinked. She was no longer in her store. She had no idea where
she was. There was a soft white light all around. Even below her.  She
couldn't see any walls, floor or ceiling. Yet she was standing on
something solid.

"U...Ucchan?" someone whispered in a half hopeful, half dreading
voice.

"Ranchan?" Ukyou turned to see Ranma. But why was his hair like that?
And that shirt, he was wearing an okonomiyaki chef's shirt.

"Yes..... and.... no." Liotha said as she materialised between the
two.  "Ukyou, this is not your Ranma. He comes from a different
reality. Where you did leave with him when you were six. Where you two
loved each other greatly. Where you died."

Liotha turned to Ranma. "Likewise, this is not your Ukyou. When you
left her when she was six, she gave up life as a girl, and devoted her
life to revenge. When she found you, ten years later, she fell in love
with you again and renewed the engagement."

"In the end, you two need each other." Liotha continued. "You were both
in a dangerous downwards spiral. Ranma, this might not be YOUR Ukyou.
But it is Ukyou. The same can be said to you about Ranma, Ukyou. I'm
going to put you both back onto Ranma's reality for a while. Ukyou, if
you want to leave, really want to leave, you will be able to."

"But what about my friends?" Ukyou asked. "My life back home? Who said
I wanted this?"

"Friends? Weren't you thinking that you had none? Certainly you did,
but that's beside the point. A friend of mine has told them that you
have gone. They need not worry about you. Think of this however you
will. A vacation. A second chance. A kidnapping, if you must feel that
it is so. But know that you need to get away, to get away from the
pain. Help this Ranma overcome his pain, Ukyou. He spirals above the
pit of despair, just as you do. He contemplates murder, to avenge your
double. Help him. Help him overcome his anger. Help him, so that he may
help you." Liotha said as she looked into Ukyou's eyes.

"This isn't Ukyou? How... how dare you? How dare you sully her memory
by doing this?" Ranma snarled.

"Calm yourself, Ranma. This IS Ukyou. But not the one you knew. She is
just as much a loving, caring, needing person though. She needs you.
Needs you more than she really should need a person. And yet, where she
comes from, she cannot have you. This anger is not you, Ranma. Put it
aside, for Ukyou's sake. Both the one you loved, and for this one, put
your anger aside. Help her. Help her overcome the loneliness. Be her
friend, if you cannot be any more. Help her." Liotha smiled to them
both, and darkness descended.

*********************************

*She is dead, son. I am sorry.*

Genma-Panda woke to a thud outside. He rose with a sigh. Ranma had been
so empty the last couple of days since Ukyou's death. Genma didn't know
what to do. He had tried taking the boy's mind off her through
training, but that hadn't worked. Ranma refused to cook okonomiyaki,
though once it had been something he had enjoyed doing almost as much
as Ukyou. Genma was worried. A person in Ranma's state could do
anything, little of it good.

*I'll get them Pop. I SWEAR I will get those two for this!*

Perhaps it was time to try talking to Ranma again. Perhaps. With that
in mind, Panda crept out of the tent. He stopped in shock as he saw
Ranma, in a lotus position, eyes closed, sitting opposite Ukyou, who
was sitting in a similar position.

*Revenge brings only pain, son. And hate is not for a true martial
artist.*

Genma-Panda backed back into the tent. He didn't know how, but somehow
Ranma had summoned Ukyou's ghost. Right now, outside was not a place to
be, he decided.

*********************************

"Do you think it will work?" Zae asked Liotha as they both looked into
a globe that showed the two teenagers in their trance.

"I can only hope. I have done what I could to help. They may not take
it well, seeing someone who looks like the person they love, but is
not. I can only hope that they help each other." Liotha answered. "You
were a bit harsh with the others." she added as she looked at Zae.

Zae shrugged. "A little bit of guilt goes a long way. You should know
that."

They looked at the globe for another minute before Zae sighed.

"Well, come on. They're throwing a party over at the Parthenon. And it
wouldn't be a party without you, Liotha. Everyone knows that you're the
life of any party." Zae said as she dragged Liotha off.

"I guess it can't hurt to leave them. It's up to them now anyway."
Liotha sighed as Zae dragged her off.

*********************************

Ranma opened his eyes. [Not a dream.] he thought as he saw Ukyou
sitting opposite him. No. Not Ukyou. She just looked like her. It hurt
so much, to look at her and know that she would not know him. Not as
his Ukyou had. What was he going to do? Should he just leave her? It
hurt so much to look at her, to be with her. It hurt so much to think
of leaving her again.

Ukyou opened her eyes. [So it was real.] she thought as she saw Ranma
looking at her. At least somewhere, on some world, she had gone with
Ranma when she was young. It was comforting, in a way, to know that.
But then she had died here. And she still did not know how. What was
she going to do? This was not her world. This was not her Ranma. The
woman said that if she wanted to go back, she could. But did she? Did
she really want to go back to a world where she could never have her
Ranchan?

"So....." Ranma said.

"So....." Ukyou replied.

Ranma sighed. "Alright. So you're here. But how different are you from
my Ucchan? Are you Ukyou at all, or is her face the only thing you
share?"

"How can I answer that when I did not know your Ukyou?" Ukyou asked.
"And you. That shirt. That hairstyle. That's not you."

"No, its not him. The other Ranma. It certainly is me. Start from the
beginning, Ukyou. Tell me, what happened from the start."

Ukyou sighed, and began her story.

*********************************

*I, Ryouga Hibiki, swear I shall track you down, Ranma Saotome!*

Ryouga looked over at Akane. Sometimes, she was really sweet. At other
times, her rage would consume her. Her rage at Ranma, who had sullied
her families honour. Who had knocked her into a Jusenkyo pool, cursing
her as a pig. Rage that could bubble to the surface at any time. Ryouga
couldn't really blame her. Her cursed form was not a good one to have.
He had saved her from being eaten at least three times since they met,
and they had met just after they were cursed.

*As long as it takes, Ranma! As long as it takes!*

Ryouga was cursed too. Unlike Akane, it was no-ones fault but his own.
Oh sure, he might blame Ranma, because he wouldn't have been in China,
wouldn't have been cursed, if he hadn't been chasing Ranma. But he
knew, in his heart, that that wasn't good enough. No-one had pushed him
in, unlike Akane. He had fell into a spring, pure and simple. He had
overbalanced and fell when a fox raced past him. A simple wild animal
was to blame for his curse.

*A dog. I am a dog. And it's all your fault Ranma. I'll find you one
day!*

Cursed as a dog. Was it really such a bad curse? It was a big dog,
after all. A dangerous dog. A dog that had a fighting chance if he was
attacked in his cursed form. Not like Akane, whose cursed form had no
chance in a fight. Ryouga wondered.

*I swear! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!*

Ryouga wondered if it was all worth it. Devoting so many months....
years, actually, to revenge for what boiled down to some bread. The guy
had even apologised and stopped trying to beat him for the bread when
his fiance, a pleasant young woman, pointed out how selfish it was. But
Ryouga had not been in the mood for apologies. He had taken Ranma's
discontinuation of their lunchtime competition as an insult, and
challenged him. The Hibiki sense of direction kicked in, and he was
four days late for a duel that he had set the time and place for. And
so he followed Ranma.

*YOU HEAR ME SAOTOME!?! ONE DAY, SOMEWHERE, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!*

Ryouga had to wonder why he was doing it. Why was he chasing Ranma? He
had looked long and hard at himself lately, and he didn't like what he
saw. Had that strange woman told the truth? Had he killed Ranma's
fiance? He had met her a few times when he and Ranma went to the same
school. She had been one of the nicest people he had ever met. And he
may have killed her. Was this the price of a revenge for something that
was mostly his own fault?

*YOU CAN RUN RANMA! I'LL FIND YOU! AND THEN, I'LL DESTROY YOUR
HAPPINESS!*

Ryouga sighed as he bedded down. Akane had decided to take first watch,
in case that woman returned, or Ranma actually did attack. Ryouga had a
lot to think about. But he could do it tomorrow. For now, sleep
beckoned.

*Like you destroyed mine.*

Sleep, and dreams of Jusenkyo, came quickly.

*********************************

Ranma looked over at the tent after Ukyou finished her story. It almost
seemed unbelievable. His Pop had done some cruel and selfish things in
his time, but his engaging him and Ukyou had always been the one thing
Ranma remembered whenever Genma did something foolish. It was the
reason Ranma could always forgive him. Yet, in this girl's world, Pop
had left her behind. For food, no less. It didn't matter that it wasn't
his Ukyou, that it wasn't his father. Somewhere, somewhen, Pop had left
Ukyou behind.

"Well?" Ukyou asked. "I've told you my story. Now tell me yours."

Ranma turned back to Ukyou. "Well, the first and obvious difference was
that Pop didn't run off with the yatai cart. I don't really remember it
well, but he sometimes told us the story again, when me and Ucchan
asked him to."

++++++++++++ (Flashback:
 A six year old Ranma is sitting on the lap of Genma. Genma looks down
 at his son, and says "Listen, son. I have a very important question
 for you. If you could have Ukyou come with you, would you let her
 travel with us?"

 Little Ranma looked up. "Her? What do you mean her, Pop? Ucchan's a
 guy, just like me."

 Genma shook his head. "No, son. Ukyou is a girl. And she wants to come
 with us when we leave."

 Little Ranma tilted his head as he thought about it for a while.
 "Well...  ok. Doesn't matter whether Ucchan's a girl or a guy. She's
 cool either way. Can she come? Can she?"

 Genma sighed and nodded. He was poor, but they'd survive, somehow. He
 couldn't let his son, his only flesh and blood, down on this. Besides,
 it would give Ranma both a friend and a sparring partner to work with
 on the trip. And having a friend, a fiance (though he wouldn't tell
 Ranma about that until he was old enough to understand.) to talk to
 would mean that Ranma wouldn't get in his hair... his way. "Very well,
 Ranma. She can come."

 So it was that Genma pulled the yatai out of the village where they
 had been staying. Ranma and Ukyou were sitting on top of it, laughing
 and playing.

 That night, Ukyou cooked them all okonomiyaki for dinner. Ranma had
 been eating them for ages, but this was the first time Genma had tried
 the child's cooking. He was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps Ukyou
 wouldn't be such a hard thing to have round, after all. Genma had
 originally planned on just selling the yatai, and using the funds to
 finance their trip for a while. But if Ukyou could cook this well,
 this young, even Genma, a man who lived, who BELIEVED in get rich
 quick schemes, could see that keeping the yatai for her to make a
 living with would be a good idea.

 Years passed. Ukyou sold okonomiyaki from the yatai. At first, people
 were amused to see such a young child cooking, and bought the food out
 of entertainment value. Once they had tried it, though, they knew that
 her age had nothing to do with her cooking skills. She made a decent
 profit, keeping her and the Saotomes from starving. Over the years,
 she taught Ranma how to cook as well. At first, he had done it so that
 he could be around her. After a while, he did it because he found
 himself enjoying it. It made a pleasant diversion after a long day of
 training, and with Ukyou there, it was fun too.

 Ukyou and Ranma trained together. Ukyou learned to not rely on her
 spatulas, although she still trained in them to keep the tradition of
 her school of martial arts alive.

 Ukyou told Ranma about the engagement pretty much immediately after
 they left her father. He did not really understand at the time, but as
 they grew older, they settled into a caring relationship. Their love
 grew until, while in China, they formalised their engagement to each
 other, swearing in front of Genma that they would never allow another
 to come between them.

 Not long after, Genma took them to Jusenkyo. And their lives changed
 forever.

 Ranma and Genma's curses were annoying. But Ukyou's caused some
 problems too. Once or twice, people thought she was a fox spirit when
 they saw her change forms. Legends had it that fox spirits were
 mischievous, arrogant, and sometimes cruel, so many tried to kill her
 when they saw the change.

 Her curse caused problems within the first day of having it, in fact.
 They had travelled to an Amazon village to get hot water. When a
 purple haired girl, who had just won some tournament, saw Ukyou-Fox,
 she attacked it. And Ranma-chan had defended Ukyou, knocking the
 Amazon out. The Amazon had given her the kiss of death in return.

 So they fled. And eventually made their way back to Japan.  )
++++++++++++

"And then you died." Ranma said.

"How?" Ukyou asked.

"A man and a woman attacked me, spouting on about how I had made their
lives hell. You were in your fox shape at the time, so the two pretty
much ignored you. In the fight, the man broke off a heavy stone pillar.
It fell on you, crushing your ribs. We fled, and tried to get help for
you. But it was too late. You died, in my arms, two days ago."

"Describe them. Maybe I know them." Ukyou offered. "You had plenty of
enemies in my world."

Ranma sighed and described the attackers.

"Ryouga." Ukyou said. "I'm not sure about the girl. It could be Akane,
but she doesn't have long hair or wear a bandanna like Ryouga. I'd have
to see her, I guess."

"Oh, you'll be able to see her. I'm going after them, to pay them back
for what they did." Ranma answered.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Ukyou asked, fascinated.

"Loved her? Gods yes! How could I not?" Ranma answered. "She was my
world, my stars, my universe."

"Well. There's a difference right there. My Ranma would never speak
like that. He wouldn't know intimacy if it came up and kissed him on
the cheek." Ukyou said with a sad smile.

"I lived with her for ten years, in close quarters. I don't know, maybe
we could have grown to hate each other, or something like that. But we
didn't. We were always best friends, and I think love grew from there.
I had ten years to learn to be intimate."

Ukyou sighed. "Being a best friend doesn't mean you'll fall in love.
Trust me on that."

*********************************

*Akane. I have something to tell you.*

Akane sighed as she kept watch. She didn't want to be here. She wanted
to be home, with her sisters. She wished she'd never heard of Ranma
Saotome.

*What is it Daddy?*

Akane looked over at Ryouga, who was sleeping soundly on a sleeping
bag. He had been the only good thing to come out of this. Akane had,
because of the actions of the boys at her school, been starting to hate
boys.

*Akane, the Tendo honour has been attacked. A sacred agreement broken.*

Ryouga was different. He didn't think that the way to her heart was by
defeating her. He just tried to be her friend. He was a really nice
guy. And he had gone through exactly what she had.

*Go after Ranma, Akane. Restore the Tendo honour. Make me proud.*

He too had been cursed because of Ranma. But his curse had some uses.
Ryouga was cursed with the shape of a dog. A very big dog. A dog to be
feared, unlike her curse. Her curse of being a little black piglet.
Useless in a fight, dangerous near the hungry.

*I don't know, Daddy. You should have told us about this engagement
sooner.*

She had been cursed because her father had come up to her one day,
about four months ago, and pleaded with her to go restore the Tendo
honour. She had done so, more to appease her father and to get away
from the boys at school, than out of any rage at besmirched honour.
After all, their honour was affected because someone had broken an
engagement agreement.  If they hadn't, Akane might have been engaged to
someone without any say in the matter. All for honour.

*Akane, please? Do it for me, and do it for family honour.*

Now, family honour could be damned. She owed Ranma for her curse. After
Ranma-chan accidentally knocked Akane into the spring, Ryouga, who was
in his newly acquired form of a dog, fished her out and took her to the
Guide. He turned them human again, and explained the curses. She had
found out from a description from the Guide, and recollections of
Ryouga's, that she had been knocked into the spring by the cursed form
of Ranma.

*All right, Daddy. I'll confront them. Where did you say they'd be?*

It was Ranma's fault she was a pig. And he would pay. Pay dearly.

*You make your father proud, Akane! Get them to renew the engagement.*

Engagement be damned. Ranma would pay. And then, and then she could go
home. She could let herself go home once Ranma payed.

*********************************

Ukyou stared at Ranma. Ranma stared at Ukyou. Neither had spoken a word
in five minutes. Their conversation had died out once they had finished
comparing the differences between each other and the one they knew.

"What are we going to do?" Ukyou asked.

"I don't know. Not like I have the answers." Ranma answered.

"Do you want me to go? If that woman told the truth, I can go home
whenever I want to."

"I.....I.... don't know." Ranma sighed. "Just seeing you brings back
memories. Good ones. Bad ones. The worst one. Where she died.  While I
held her. But then I think about her smile, her laugh. You should laugh
more, Ukyou. Ucchan always did."

Between the two, they had agreed to call Ranma's Ukyou Ucchan, and
Ukyou's Ranma Ranchan, to avoid confusion.

"Ucchan had her dreams. She had nothing to be sad about. I'm not
normally this sad, Ranma. But it hurt so much, to see you being taken
away from me. To have done something to stop it, only to drive you
further away. Right now, I just don't feel like smiling." She started
to rise.

"Ukyou.... don't go. Maybe I just want to have her face around. I admit
that. But maybe I should get to know you. After all, you are Ucchan's
sister, in a way. I should get to know my...my" Ranma stopped talking
as he tried to say 'dead fiance's family.'

Ukyou sat again. "Alright. For now. Let's see just where this takes
us."

*********************************

*The Champion for this year! Shampoo!*

Shampoo crept between the crates on the cargo ship. She had lost that
girl, Ranma, somewhere in China, after two months of intensive chasing
and ambushes. It took her a couple of weeks after Ranma had gone to
Japan to find that out. And where her prey went, she had to follow.

*Look! Wild fox! I kill it!*

Shampoo waited until the two men unloading the crates took a break.
Hmph, they had only worked for four hours before taking their dinner.
Typical weak males. No wonder she had never been beaten, if men like
those were samples of the gender.

*Aiya! What crazy girl do, protecting fox? I beat you instead!*

The men of the village weren't much better. None of them had even tried
to beat her since Mousse had started chasing her. The men feared him.
Actually feared him! What a joke. If Mousse was such a fearsome
opponent that none of the men would cross him, why hadn't he beaten her
yet?

*She beat me. In front of the whole village. This demands kiss of
death.*

The only one near her age (Great Grandmother didn't count) to beat her
had been a girl. Not even a girl from the village, but a girl from
outside.  People from outside the village were weak. Everyone knew
that. A weak girl from outside the  village had beaten her. Her pride,
the honour of all Amazons, demanded that she track down the girl and
kill her.

*Ranma, DIE!*

Shampoo leapt off the ship onto some crates on the wharf. She looked at
the unfamiliar Japanese signs as she warily crept deeper into the port
city. For a moment, she found herself wishing Mousse was here.  He was
the one fluent in this language. Shampoo's knowledge of Japanese was
rudimentary at best. It would be difficult to track down Ranma here.
But she would succeed.

*DIE!*

She couldn't go home until she did.

*********************************

Ukyou looked over at the tent. "So.... what are you going to tell your
dad?"

Ranma looked confused. "What's wrong with the truth?"

"The fact that it's about as believable as Ryouga successfully
navigating his way through anything larger than a room?" Ukyou
suggested. "Would you believe this if someone started telling you it'd
happened to them?"

"Pop knows you're dead, Ukyou." Ranma pointed out. "Of course he's
going to believe us."

Ukyou shrugged. "If that's the way you want it. What about when some
person I'm supposed to know from our travels comes up and starts
talking to me? Am I supposed to say 'Hi, I'm from another dimension,
don't mind me.'"

"Ummmm.... stall? Claim you've lost your memory? Say you're Ucchan's
twin sister? Be really rude and walk away? Dye your hair to another
colour and pretend to be someone else?" Ranma suggested.

"I am not dying my hair." Ukyou replied. "Sister.... well, I guess in a
way I am. I guess I am sort of Ucchan's sister. That'll do.  Of course,
I don't know what I'll do if I see dad. I don't think he'll fall for a
'I'm Ukyou's sister.' line."

"Not worth worrying about unless you see him." Ranma noted.

"No. I guess not." Ukyou agreed.

They sat there for a minute, not saying anything.

Ranma sighed. "I guess we both need some sleep. Um.... where do you
want to sleep? In the tent?"

Ukyou smiled. "You know, I would have jumped at the chance to sleep in
the same room with Ranchan if he had asked. But.... no. It would be
uncomfortable, being that close to you. For both of us. I'll just sleep
out here."

"You sure?" Ranma asked, mainly relieved, but slightly disappointed as
well. He was having mixed feelings about this Ukyou. He felt happier
than he had since Ucchan's death, but his mind was telling him that
this girl was..... was something else, something that was not his
Ucchan. It was confusing.

"I'll be fine. Go to bed. Maybe this was all a dream and I'll have gone
in the morning." Ukyou said.

Ranma stood. "You really think that?" he asked, dubiously.

"No. Not really." Ukyou admitted.

Ranma nodded. "I'll just get you something to sleep on."

*********************************

*Nabiki, please don't tell Kunou or anyone else where I've gone.*

Nabiki flipped through the photos of Akane that she would sell to Kunou
and the other boys. Thank the gods for negatives. She'd have run out
long ago if she hadn't kept running off copies of old pictures.

*That'll cost you Akane.*

Akane had been gone for a long time. Far too long. She had only planned
to be away for a month at most. It had been four. In that time, she
only sent one message, and that was two weeks after she had left. It
had said that she thought she was getting close to Ranma, and that she
planned to be home soon. Three and a half months later, she was still
gone.

*Nabiki, please. Just this once, forget about money. Do it for me.*

Nabiki sighed as she looked around for Kunou. He was too stupid to
realise that what she was selling him was old photos, and he had been
willing to pay more and more for them since Akane had left. He was
turning into a real goldmine.

*<sigh>Ok. Just this once. Just never tell anyone I did something for
free.*

But sometimes, even Nabiki thought about things besides money. She was
worried about her sister. Really worried. No word for three and a half
months? What had happened? She could be dead! All because Dad had sent
her on some fool's errand. Sent her after two highly trained martial
artists, thinking that they would be too honourable to attack Akane,
even though they had already broken their honour by stopping the
engagement agreement.

*It's a deal Nabiki.*

Well, if Akane had been killed by the Saotomes, Nabiki would find out
for sure sooner or later. And Ranma and his father would find that
sometimes the best revenge didn't need martial arts skills. Nabiki
would hurt them in ways they had never imagined of. Ways they would
wish they had never heard of.

*********************************

Two days passed. Genma accepted the dimension travel story pretty
easily, although he had been a bit wary around Ukyou, especially at
first. Ukyou didn't really feel like cooking yet, so she had the
pleasant surprise of finding out that this Ranma was a very good cook,
especially in okonomiyaki. Her Ranchan had been a decent cook, but this
Ranma could go professional. Well, he did run a yatai, so he actually
already was professional.

They travelled the land, as Ranma tracked down Ryouga and Akane.
Unfortunately, Akane had been distracted for a few minutes while
chasing Genma with Ryouga, and Ryouga had managed to get them lost.
Akane had found out where they were, but Ryouga had managed to take
them sixty miles away from Ranma.

Since Akane and Ryouga hadn't given up on their revenge, they started
making their way back to where they had last seen Ranma.  So it was
that the paths of the two groups slowly began to diverge.

"What are you going to do when you find them?" Ukyou asked Ranma as he
wheeled the yatai along the side of the road they were travelling
down.

"I'll make them pay." Ranma answered simply. Genma, who was walking on
the opposite side of the yatai to Ukyou, shook his head and sighed but
said nothing.

"How exactly? Cash, credit or their lives?" Ukyou asked.

"I'll decide that when I find them." Ranma answered.

Ukyou shrugged. [What could you do?] she thought. [He's not going to
listen to reason. Maybe he shouldn't. I don't know if I even want to
stop him.]

*********************************

*Ah, Nabiki. Where is your sister? I have not seen her today.*

Kunou stared forlornly at the school gate. It was time to get to
class.  Akane hadn't come today, either. That made four months. Four
months!  Four months since she had last come to school.

*Akane's gone on a trip, Kunou-chan.*

Kunou was worried. What had happened to her? Was she dead? Injured?
Had she been kidnapped? Had she gone forever? When would she be back?

*Gone? Where? Where, Nabiki?*

He had asked these questions and more of Nabiki. But she would not tell
him. He had offered her enormous amounts of money, even by his
standards, to get information off her.

*Sorry, Kunou-chan. I can't say. *

She refused, although sometimes she seemed to struggle with herself.
What could be so important that Nabiki would refuse to tell him of it?
She told him anything, any secret he wished to know, if he payed the
right price.

*Can't? Ah... I see. How much, Nabiki?*

But she wouldn't tell him what had happened to Akane. He didn't like
it. He didn't like not knowing. If he only knew where she had gone, he
would go after her.

*This information is not for sale. I'm sorry. It's family business.*

But he didn't. So he was doomed to wait. Wait for her to return.
Return to his loving arms. He was sure it was some dark force that was
keeping her from him. One day, he would find that foe, and vanquish it.
And Akane would return.

*And therefore, it's none of yours.*

Kunou sighed, and walked to class. Yes, Akane would return. He was sure
of it.

*********************************

"Sometimes you're so hopeless." Akane said to Ryouga as they walked
down a road.

"What do you mean, hopeless?" Ryouga asked, annoyed.

"That sense of direction of yours. Every time I don't concentrate on
not getting us lost, you manage it. We'd have settled this thing with
Ranma long ago if it wasn't for you getting us lost."

"Sorry." Ryouga replied.

Akane put her hand on Ryouga's shoulder. "Ryouga.... wait." she said as
they both stopped walking. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't blame you."

"It's ok." Ryouga answered. "Akane.... there's something I've been
meaning to ask you since we met, but I haven't had the guts to."

"Yes?" Akane asked, expectantly, hopefully.

"What are you really going to do if you have Ranma at your mercy?"
Ryouga asked. "I mean, really? You going to hurt him or kill him?"

"Oh. Ranma." Akane said. "I don't know. Sometimes, I'm angry enough at
him to kill him. Especially when I'm in my other form. But I'm not a
killer. I don't want to be one. Not even to get him."

Ryouga nodded. "It's good to know that. I really worry about the way
you let this eat at you sometimes."

Akane smiled. "Of course, maiming isn't out of the question." she
said.

Ryouga nodded again, a slight smile on his lips. "Of course."

*********************************

*Shampoo never marry Mousse unless he defeat her.*

Mousse smiled as the circus troupe he was travelling with stepped off
the ship. Japan at last. He had joined this circus, as a stage
magician, to finance his trip to Japan. So that he could find Shampoo.
His love.

*Shampoo so sick of Mousse. Why don't you fight me?*

Mousse adjusted his glasses. Tonight, he would perform one last time
for the circus. Tomorrow, he would leave and hunt for his Shampoo. He
would hunt her, he would defeat her, and he would marry her.

*But... Shampoo, I don't want to hurt you.*

Mousse sighed to himself. Who was he kidding? He could never hurt her.
He loved Shampoo too much. Perhaps he should have had the sense to have
learnt a martial art where there wasn't at least a fifty percent chance
of killing your opponent. That was why he never tried to fight Shampoo.
He knew it would take his full fighting abilities to defeat her. And
that meant she'd probably be a pincushion by the end of the fight. It
was a bit hard to marry someone you'd just killed to prove you were the
better fighter.

*The way you're going, you will never hurt me. You are weak, Mousse.
Weak.*

And Shampoo thought he was weak for it. Perhaps he was. Perhaps he
should have given up on this seemingly one-sided love affair long ago.
But he could not. He did not know why. [Stupidity], he thought grimly
to himself, [can not be ruled out.]

*And I will marry someone who is strong.*

Still, he had to follow her. Make sure she was safe. And maybe one day,
he would have the willpower, the will to hurt her to defeat her, to
finally show her that he was no weakling at all. One day.

*********************************

It was the fifth day since Ukyou had arrived. In a surprisingly
deserted stretch of forest, Akane and Ryouga caught up to Ukyou, Ranma
and Genma.  Or the other way round. After all, they were chasing each
other.

Ranma, Ukyou and Genma were walking down a path, with Genma pulling the
yatai, when all three stopped at the same moment. They were all skilled
martial artists, who had spent much time on honing their senses and
skills to detect danger. They sensed it now.

Ryouga and Akane stepped out from behind two of the thicker trees
surrounding the path.

"We meet again, Ranma." Ryouga said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yes. For the last time you murderous scum!" Ranma screamed as he leapt
at Ryouga.

Akane and Ryouga were frozen in shock for a second. Ryouga regained his
senses as Ranma descended from his leap, foot forward in readiness to
hit him. Ryouga desperately rolled out of the way as Ranma landed where
he had been standing.

Akane shook herself out of her own shock. [He's insane.] she thought as
she stepped towards the two, ready to help Ryouga. She stopped as a
giant spatula blocked her path.

"Hold it, Akane. Almost didn't recognise you with that hair." Ukyou
said as Akane turned the slight amount she needed to face Ukyou instead
of her spatula.

"Do I know you?" Akane asked as she dropped into a defensive posture.

"Apparently not." Ukyou replied. "But I think I know you well enough.
Well enough to know you're not like this. Why are you attacking Ranma?"

Akane snarled. "Because..." she began, then ran at Ukyou.

Ukyou pulled her spatula back into a defensive posture and dodged out
of the way of the charging Akane. "Yes, because?" she asked.

Akane whirled and faced Ukyou. She looked warily at her opponent. She
didn't have a clue how good she was, but she had dodged her attack
pretty easily, and she had a reach advantage with that weird weapon.
"Because of him I'm cursed with the form of a pig!" she screamed as she
darted in, trying a flurry of punches.

Ukyou blocked Akane's blows with her spatula. "I feel for you, Akane."
she said as she backed up to give herself room, still blocking Akane's
punches. "I really do. But look at what's happened. Your pursuit of
Ranma has killed someone. Not even the person you were after. Was that
what you wanted?"

Akane panted as she backed up after her attack, making sure she was out
of the range of Ukyou's spatula. "Killed? You expect me to believe
that?  I need more proof than what I've been given to believe that we
killed someone. It was just a fox, probably there scavenging food. Or
maybe it escaped from a zoo. I can't give up until Ranma hurts like I
do."

Ukyou sighed. And attacked, starting a set of blows with her combat
spatula which Akane desperately blocked or dodged. "You've hurt Ranma
far worse than he ever hurt you." she said as she started alternating
between side-swipes and overhanded blows. "A curse is just a curse.
Death is forever. Give up Akane. This just isn't you."

Akane didn't answer, she was too busy trying to avoid being hit.
Eventually, she was just a fraction too slow and received a hard blow
to the left side of her temple. Her eyes rolled as she sank to her
knees. She stayed like that for a couple of seconds before she fell
completely to the ground.

Ukyou carefully checked Akane, ready for a trick. Akane had been pretty
good, Ryouga must have been helping her train. Still, Ukyou had always
been slightly better, and not only did she have a years fighting
experience up her sleeve, but she also had that experience from
fighting Kodachi and Shampoo and all sorts of skilled nasties that came
after Ranma. Satisfied that Akane was out of the fight for now, Ukyou
turned her attention to Ranma.

Ryouga was not having a good time. He was bleeding from several places,
including his lip, his nose, and from several cuts on various parts of
his body. He knew he was in trouble. Not only was he being attacked by
both Ranma and Ranma's father, but Ranma was fighting like a man
possessed.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Akane fall. He desperately ran
towards her, taking a nasty kick to his back from Ranma as he turned
from his fight.

Ukyou backed up a few steps from Akane as Ryouga rushed towards her.
Ranma and Genma were hot on Ryouga's heels. She dropped into a
defensive stance, ready for anything Ryouga tried.

Ryouga skidded to a halt when he reached Akane, and knelt down to check
her. Satisfied, he stood again to face his opponents. They had
surrounded him while he had looked to Akane. He could see Ranma and a
woman who was probably Ukyou. Genma was somewhere behind him. Ranma
looked grim, Ukyou seemed a little sad, and also concerned.

"Fine." Ryouga said calmly as he readied himself. "Three on one, is it?
If you think that's what it takes."

Ranma took a step forward. "All it takes is me. Murderer."

Ryouga shook his head. "So some woman claimed. Yet there is Ukyou,
right there. If it wasn't her, who did I kill? And anyway, that was an
accident.  I certainly wasn't aiming for the fox."

Ranma shook his head. "That's not my Ucchan." he said.

"Sorry Ryouga." Ukyou said. "I'm not. I'm.... her sister. She is dead."

Ryouga sighed. "We never meant.... we really never meant for anyone to
die. We just wanted you to feel the pain we did."

Ranma clenched his fists. "Pain? What pain are you talking about? You
attacked us, killed Ucchan, and you never even told me what the hell
pain you went through. You've got ten seconds. Explain."

"You knocked Akane into a Jusenkyo spring." Ryouga said. "And I was
knocked into one as well. Neither of us would have been there if it
wasn't you."

"That's it? That's it?" Ranma asked, starting to shake with anger.
"Ucchan is dead because you got cursed?" He took another step towards
Ryouga.

Ukyou stepped between Ranma and Ryouga, facing Ranma. "Go, Ryouga." she
said, without looking over her shoulder. "I'm sorry Ranma. You'd regret
it if you did something foolish."

Ryouga looked at this spatula girl's back. Ukyou's sister, apparently.
And she was protecting him, the man who had killed her sister? "But..."
he began.

"Take Akane and go, Ryouga. Take her back to Nerima." Ukyou said.

"Out of the way." Ranma said. "They've got to pay." He tried to step
past Ukyou, but she stepped into his way again, her spatula ready.

Ryouga took this cue to leave. He picked Akane up and ran off. Genma
didn't try to stop him, figuring that Ranma was more important right
now.

"Ukyou.... why?" Ranma screamed as he clenched and unclenched his fists
several times.

"I'm sorry Ranma." Ukyou said. "You don't want to do this. You'll have
to fight me to get to them."

Conflicting emotions raged across Ranma's face. He struggled with
himself for a few seconds. "I....I....I can't." he admitted as he
sagged. "Why did you take this away from me Ukyou? I can't fight you.
Why couldn't you let me take my revenge?"

Ukyou sighed and holstered her combat spatula. "Do you think Ucchan
would want you to do it? Let it go Ranma."

"But I gotta..." Ranma said as tears gathered in his eyes.

Ukyou walked up to Ranma and hugged him. "Let it go." she whispered
into his ear.

Ranma sobbed as he hugged her back. "I miss her so much." he groaned.

"I know, Ranma. I know." Ukyou whispered back.

Genma showed more tact than usual by walking off. He knew that Ranma
needed this. Ranma needed to get over his Ucchan. Genma began to set up
camp. Here seemed to be as good as anywhere to sleep for the night.

*********************************

"And so then he said 'Of course I'm Thor! You'd be Thor too if you had
ridden the waves of Aether on a golden chariot led by the Goats of
Apollo!'" Zae finished her joke, and began to laugh.

Liotha didn't even crack a smile. "Very amusing." she said as she
looked down at her glass of water. Her friends had quickly learned that
if they thought she was depressing normally, then they really didn't
want to see her drunk. She was a depressing drunk. Ryouga could have
shishihokodaned a mid-sized continent if he had ever talked to Liotha
while she was drunk.

The two of them were at a party. A very strange party. Men in togas
drank with women in robes who drank with men who had animal heads who
drank with women in animal furs who drank with horrible looking things
with tentacles. It was the fifth day of the party, so it had barely
begun. In the background, a well built man with a bushy beard who was
carrying a thunderbolt was singing into a microphone as he looked at
the words to the song play out on a tv screen.

Zae heard a thump from another part of the party. She turned, looked at
the scene, and said "Looks like Bacchus won the drinking contest.
Again."

"I feel I'm forgetting something." Liotha admitted.

"Oh.... not those two mortals again. We've done the godly thing and
interfered horribly in their lives, Liotha. What more do you want?" Zae
asked, exasperated.

"Yes, but I..... of course. Now I know what I forgot. An important step
in the healing process." Liotha said. She furrowed her brow for a
moment as she concentrated. "There. That should do it. They both need
to feel that they have been forgiven by their realities' love.  That
should help them a bit."

"Fine. Fine." Zae said. "Come on, we have to get ready. We're on for
karaoke after Kali, Athena and Urd finish their song. What do you want
to sing?"

"Do you know 'Stairway to Heaven'?" Liotha asked.

"Well enough to know we'd be lynched if we sang it here." Zae replied.

*********************************

Ukyou slept fitfully. In her dreams, she was in a field, a beautiful
field, full of grass and flowers. A tree stood in the middle of that
field, a great big oak tree, it's branches gently spreading out to give
shade. Standing beneath that tree was....

"Ranchan? Ranma, is that you?" Ukyou asked.

"Ucchan? What.. where is this?" Ranma asked. His chinese clothes and
pigtail marked him out as being the Ranma from Ukyou's world.

"Last I remember I was going to bed. This must be a dream." Ukyou
sighed.

Ranma looked around and nodded. Obviously he was getting better at this
dreaming stuff. He was starting to dream pretty damn vividly.  He was
even dreaming the smells of the flowers and a breeze against his face.

"It's funny." Ukyou said as she sat down against the tree with a sigh.
"I meet a Ranma who isn't in love with Akane, who was in love with a
version of me, and I still dream of you."

Ranma looked at her from where he stood, five feet away. "What are you
talking about? I don't know what sort of dream this is, but I'm sure
this isn't normal."

Ukyou looked hard at Ranma. "It's really you, isn't it? Not some
construct of my mind. It's the real you."

"Well.... yeah. I guess from the way you're acting that we're sharing a
dream or something. Ucchan.... where are you? We're all worried about
you. Me, Akane, Konatsu, even Ryouga has told me he was worried about
you. Where did you go? None of us have been able to find you, and with
some of the people looking, that's saying something."

"You'd never believe me." Ukyou replied.

Ranma looked slightly shocked. "It must be pretty unbelievable then,
considering some of the things I've seen." He looked around, before
saying "What, are you stuck here in a dream world or something?"

"No, of course I'm not....." Ukyou stopped. Was she? Was it all a
dream? Was there no other Ranma, was he just a dream figure? No.  She
couldn't believe that. She wouldn't. "No. I am.... elsewhere.  In
another dimension, reality, universe, I don't know! Somewhere else, a
different reality where I wasn't left behind ten years ago. You're
pretty different here, Ranma. You have the same curse though."

Ranma thought to himself, turning the idea over in his mind. "Ah....
why not? Another reality isn't any stranger than an instant sex change
because of water. So... are you happy? When are you coming back? And
what about the Ukyou of that world? What does she think of having a
twin sister?"

"The Ukyou here is... dead. I... I don't know if I'm happy. I... well
actually, yes, I am. To be away from the constant bickering between
your fiances, away from Akane, away from ......." Ukyou sighed. "Away
from you." she whispered.

"Me?" Ranma asked, looking shocked. His expression slowly changed to
one of depression. "I... I didn't realise I'd hurt you so badly. I just
needed to keep away from you from a while. I thought you'd come back
after a couple of days, and we'd continue as we always did.  But then
you went away. I miss you, Ukyou. I miss you a lot. I could never talk
to Akane the way I did to you. I... all of us, that is, wish you'd come
back. We miss you."

"We?" Ukyou asked incredulously, her voice raised. She stood and began
to shout at a shocked Ranma. "Oh come on! Shampoo, Kodachi and Akane
would be relieved I was gone! Ryouga wouldn't care, Akari and Akane are
the only two females he's ever given a stuff about! Nabiki just saw me
as a way for free lunches! Kasumi would welcome the King of Hell into
her house and miss him when he left! Mr Tendo and Mr Saotome saw me as
an embarrassment, an extra fiance who shouldn't be there! Damn you all,
Ranma! DAMN YOU ALL! None of you miss me at all!"

Ranma took several seconds to compose himself. He closed his mouth,
then shook his head. "You don't know how wrong you are, Ucchan. Akane
does miss you. If it wasn't for the engagement mess, she'd be your
friend.  She doesn't want to see you hurt. Shampoo might not have been
your greatest friend, but she misses you a bit too. Kodachi... ah, to
hell with her. Her opinion has never mattered to me. Ryouga does miss
you.  Just because he isn't mooning over you doesn't mean he isn't your
friend. Nabiki isn't that mercenary, Kasumi not that oblivious. Mr
Tendo might not approve of your engagement to me, but that doesn't mean
he wants you gone. Pop... well, to tell the truth, he misses your
cooking more than you. But that's Pop for you. And what about Konatsu?
He definitely misses you! He's been frantic, searching all over for
you. He almost attacked me once, accusing me of driving you away. And
Tsubasa, he's been looking for you as well. And a couple of your
friends in the okonomiyaki business have come round, concerned for
you."

Ranma panted for a few seconds after that little speech, before
continuing. "Damn it, Ucchan, plenty of people are concerned for you.
Don't you ever think you're alone. If you choose to live wherever it is
you've gone, then I can't stop you. But don't do it because you think
you're alone here either. It's pretty obvious to me that you have more
friends than you apparently realise. Please Ukyou. Please come back."

Ukyou looked at Ranma appraisingly. He started to grow nervous under
her scrutiny.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"Just thinking." Ukyou answered. "How you and the Ranma here aren't so
different after all. Ranchan, I don't know what I'm going to do yet.
I've made friends here as well, you know. This isn't easy for me. I
belong there, with you. But I feel like I'm beginning to belong here,
instead."

Ranma sighed. "If only there was a way to show you that you're wanted
here. I've never seen you like this, Ukyou. I've tried to convince you.
But it's up to you, I know that. If you choose to stay..... be happy.
That's all I want you to be."

Ukyou smiled. "Yes, you are starting to sound like the Ranma from here.
Don't worry, Ranchan. I'm happy. And I haven't made up my mind yet. Not
by a long shot. So far, it's just been like a vacation, away from you
all without being away from you all, if you know what I mean."

Ranma smiled back at her. He looked around before saying "I don't know
why, but I get the feeling I won't be here for much longer.  I think
this dream's about to end."

"Ranchan... before you go. Answer me truthfully. For once, just answer
me truthfully. Do you love Akane?" Ukyou asked.

Ranma fidgeted and cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're.."

"Ranchan... Ranma, PLEASE! I have to know. And don't lie to me, I know
you better than you know yourself."

Ranma sighed. "What the hell is love? I don't know. I've never felt
it.  But when I thought she was dead, after that Saffron thing, I felt
so...  so... horrible. I felt like a part of me was being wrenched out.
Then she woke up, and everything was all right. Everything could go
back to the way things were."

Ranma turned to Ukyou, and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Ucchan.
I think I do love her. But that doesn't mean I don't love you."

"But not like that, right?" Ukyou asked. "Like I said, I know you
better than you seem to think. Ranma, do something for me."

"Sure, anything. What is it?" Ranma asked. He knew he only had a few
seconds left before he was gone.

"Look after Akane. Never let her go. I've seen what losing a love means
to you, Ranma. You will regret it for the rest of your life if you let
this situation go on. Be a man. Marry Akane. Shampoo will survive. I
really don't care if Kodachi does."

Ranma slowly started to fade. "But what about you?" he asked
desperately.

"I'll be alright." Ukyou answered before Ranma disappeared.

"Bravely said." Liotha noted from where she lay, on one of the tree's
higher branches.

"Just who are you?" Ukyou asked Liotha as she walked up to the base of
the tree, her neck craning.

"Me? My name is Liotha. I am a... I am me. What more can I say?
Goddess, demon, being of power, what is in a name? My ego tells me that
goddess would be the best description. But then, that's ego for you. I
don't actually fit into that category as easily as most of my peers. I
am both more... and, of course, less than divine.  Your despair touched
me, Ukyou. Much as Ranma's did. I could see that both of you were
dangerously suicidal. Ranma definitely killed himself, you've noticed
by now that you were thrown back almost a year in time.  You... I don't
know. But there was a high chance of you killing yourself. I decided to
help you help each other."

"Why? If you're some goddess, why me?" Ukyou asked.

"Why? Do I look like I have all the answers? I am not a goddess of
knowledge, you know. You just did. Simple as that. Perhaps one of the
gods of luck intervened. Maybe Lady Luck, she always likes to play with
other gods work. Who cares? I certainly don't, and therefore, neither
should you."

Liotha floated down to stand next to Ukyou. "You are on your way to
finding your inner peace, child. You have accepted the inevitable, and
let go of your Ranma. It is up to you. You can make a life in either
dimension."

"What, do I have to choose now?" Ukyou asked, hesitant at the thought.

"No Ukyou. You need not ever make the choice, if you so wish. Or you
could make it ten years from now. It's not as if I'm going to trip on a
dagger or anything. Well... actually, I could. Happened to Zae once.
But even if I did, it wouldn't hurt me. I'll be around for millennia to
come. You need not worry about me not granting your decision."

Liotha faded out of view. As she did so, she said "When you decide,
call my name. Liotha. I shall come."

*********************************

Ranma slept fitfully. In his dreams, he was in a field, a beautiful
field, full of grass and flowers. A tree stood in the middle of that
field, a great big oak tree, it's branches gently spreading out to give
shade. Standing beneath that tree was....

"U.. Ucchan?" Ranma asked hesitantly. He didn't know why, or how, but
he was certain that this was his Ukyou, not the dimensional traveller.
The fact that Ukyou was in a dress helped him reach that decision. He
still hadn't seen the other Ukyou in anything but boys or androgynous
clothes.

Ukyou smiled. "Hello Ranchan." she said.

"Oh man....." Ranma whispered, as tears started to form in his eyes.
[She's so beautiful. She always was.] he thought. "How... how are you
here?" Ranma asked her as he ran up and hugged her. As she returned the
hug, he added "Where is here?"

"A dream world." Ukyou answered. "A world halfway between yours and the
spirit world. A place where we can meet, at least this once. I've
missed you."

Ranma released from the hug. "Missed you too." he said. "Are you ok?"

"For a dead person, yes." Ukyou answered. "I'm fine, Ranchan. More
importantly, what about you?"

Ranma sighed. "It's hard, Ucchan. So hard to go on without you.
Sometimes, sometimes it's just so damn hard."

Ukyou sighed and leaned against Ranma. "I know.... I know. Ranchan, I
haven't got much time. We have to set some things straight."

"Straight? Whaddya mean?" Ranma asked.

"Don't die for me, Ranchan. Just don't do it." Ukyou said intensely. "I
mean it. Live your life."

"But I want to be with you Ucchan. So bad." Ranma answered.

"You will be eventually. You are now. In more ways than one. I live on
in you, and a part of you came with me. And, there is my sister. She is
more like me than you may think, Ranchan."

Ranma sighed. "I just don't know what to do about her. She looks just
like you, talks just like you, she often thinks like you, but she just
isn't you. I just feel so confused whenever I'm near her."

Ukyou nodded. "I understand." She looked around before adding "Time is
running short. Three things before I go. The first is that I will
always love you. Always. Remember that."

Ranma nodded. "Me too." he said.

Ukyou smiled. "The second is the most important. It wasn't your fault,
Ranchan. It wasn't your fault I died. And it wasn't the fault of the
guy who did it. It was an accident. There is no-one to blame. So don't
blame him, and don't blame yourself. I would be unhappy if you blamed
yourself for my death."

Ranma smiled a sad smile. "I wouldn't want to make you unhappy."

"No, it wouldn't be wise." Ukyou agreed. "The last thing is this: live
life. Live it to the full. And if you want to make the other Ukyou part
of that life, then you make me happy as well. She is part of me. If you
were to go on, and you chose to love again, at least consider her. You
two would make a great couple."

"Ucchan, no! I'll never.." Ranma began before Ukyou put her hand over
his lips.

"Shh." she said. "I'm not telling you to. I'm just saying that if you
do, I will be happy for the both of you."

Ukyou felt her time was up. She quickly kissed Ranma. As she started to
fade out, she said. "Love you."

Ranma sighed. "Always love you." he whispered as she disappeared. And
then the tears came.

*********************************

Ukyou looked around at the dreamscape. [What now?] she thought.

"Hello sister." Ranma's Ukyou (Ucchan) said from behind her.

Ukyou whirled around to look at what was, except for the differences
between her chef's clothes and Ucchan's dress, a mirror image of her.
"Are you...?" she hesitated.

Ucchan nodded. "A ghost. So...." she said as she grinned, "..what do
you think of our world? Should we open a theme park?"

Ukyou smiled. "It's nice enough, but.... well, to tell the truth, it's
a bit more depressing. You're dead! No-one I'm close to has died on my
world. Let alone me, of course. Your Ranma gets so depressed because of
it. Akane is so much angrier than on my world. Ryouga surprised me,
he's actually calmer."

Ucchan cocked her head. "Interesting. I take it Ryouga and Akane are
people you knew in your world?"

Ukyou nodded. "They're that pair that were in that fight that you were
killed in."

"Ah." Ucchan said. "You mean you were friends in your world? Wow."

Ukyou nodded. "Well, yes. They were. They are. I sometimes wondered,
but someone just told me that they were. I trust him not to lie."

"Trust is good. We have to talk about Ranma."

Ukyou fidgeted. "Ummm... what do you mean?"

Ucchan just raised an eyebrow and waited.

After a while, Ukyou sighed. "This is awkward. What am I supposed to
say to you, his dead love?"

"Try the truth. I promise, I won't mind, no matter what you say."

Ukyou sighed. "I like him. Love? I'm not sure I'm ready to love again.
I'm not sure I'll ever be able to. He looks like my Ranma, but he
isn't.  It took me years to get over Ranma the first time. When I met
him again, it took me coming to your world to get over him that time, a
year after we had met again. I don't think I can let myself love."

"What? Now I begin to wonder if we're so similar at all!" Ucchan
shouted, half jokingly. "I'm dead! Dead! And I'd be a lot less happy
about it if I hadn't lived first. If I hadn't loved. Don't give up on
something just because it's hurt you, Ukyou. Love can hurt, but it is
also the most wonderful feeling you will ever have. Trust me. Don't
close yourself off.  Then you would be deader than I am. Just in
spirit, not body."

Ucchan took a piece of paper out of a pocket and handed it to Ukyou.
"Here." she said.

Ukyou looked at the piece of paper curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

"My bank account number, name of the bank, everything you need to
access it. And the current balance. Does me no good where I am. I want
you to have it. Maybe use it to set up a shop. Ranchan and I had always
planned to set up a shop. We had enough to do it, but I wanted to wait
another half year before doing it, just to be sure."

Ukyou looked at the slip of paper. Her eyes widened as she read the
balance. "Wow." she said. "I'm impressed."

Ucchan shrugged. "Ten years worth of saving. Even with what you make
with a yatai, you can save a lot of money in ten years. Open a shop,
Ukyou. It'll make you happy, I know it would have for me. And it'll
make Ranchan happy."

Ukyou nodded. She looked back up at Ucchan and said hesitantly "So....
what's it like?"

"To be dead? I'd have preferred the alternative, to live. To tell the
truth, it's boring. I'm just standing around in a line. Apparently I'm
waiting to be processed or something. I don't know, I haven't read the
brochure the attendants gave me when I arrived yet. I don't even know
which religion's afterlife I'm in yet. Could be any of them." Ucchan
answered.

Ucchan felt the tug of the spiritworld. "Time's up, I'm afraid." she
sighed. "Just make him happy, Ukyou. Make him happy. And be happy
yourself." she said as she faded out of view.

Ukyou nodded as she too faded out, transporting to a normal dream.  It
was about okonomiyaki, but that was normal for Ukyou.

*********************************

Ranma stood in the dreamscape, looking at the spot his love, his
Ucchan, had disappeared from. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks.

"Um.... hello?" the Ranma from Ukyou's world (Ranchan) said from behind
Ranma.

Ranma turned to look at Ranchan. "You look like me." he noted. "You
must be Ukyou's Ranma."

Ranchan looked around. "I guess I am. Who are you? And it's you who
looks like me."

Ranma sighed as he wiped his eyes dry. "I'm not in the mood for this.
Not now. You're Ranma, I'm Ranma. Same person, different realities.
That is, if you're who I think you are."

Ranchan shrugged. "Probably am. If I'm seeing you here too, you must be
with Ucchan. Tell me, honestly, how is she? She alright?"

Ranma shrugged, a mirror image of Ranchan's effort. "I don't know.
Ukyou's hard to read. Damn hard. Most of the time she's really
cheerful, but sometimes you can see her despair, her loneliness, her
isolation from her friends peek through. I couldn't tell you if she's
happy or not."

Ranchan looked at his counterpart carefully. "You're calling her Ukyou.
Why? Didn't you make friends with her when she was young?"

Ranma looked stunned for a moment. "Make friends? Make friends? Of
course I made friends you idiot! With my Ucchan! We loved each other.
Loved each other so much. Then she died. In a stupid accident, in a
fight with a guy called Ryouga and a girl called Akane. Your Ukyou's
nice enough, a good friend, and I really like her. But she is NOT my
Ucchan. My Ucchan, my fiance, the woman I was going to marry, is dead."

Ranchan looked distant. "Dead. I couldn't imagine Ucchan dead."

"I wish it was only my imagination." Ranma answered.

They stood there, looking at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds
before Ranma spoke up. "Hey, what's with the braid? Doesn't seem like
us. You. Me. Whatever."

Ranchan fingered his pigtail, and looked at Ranma's ponytail. "I guess
you must have got lucky or something. I take it you haven't eaten a
dragon's whisker?"

"What?" Ranma asked, confused.

Ranchan sighed and told Ranma how he had eaten the dragon's whisker,
causing his hair to grow at a fantastic rate unless it was capped by a
braid made from a dragon's whisker.

"You're having me on." Ranma said after Ranchan finished.

"Well I'm not untying it to prove it. Besides, who knows if it'd work
here." Ranchan answered.

Seeing another uncomfortable pause looming, Ranma broached a subject
he'd been wondering about since Ukyou had told him her story. "So....
three fiances? What the hell have you been doing?"

Ranchan groaned. "It's bad enough I get this from total strangers, but
from a version of me? It just happened, alright! It wasn't my fault.
None of them were. Ucchan and Akane were Pop's doing, Shampoo was
because of her stupid law, and Kodachi is just....well, if you can't be
honest to yourself.... she's insane."

Ranma shook his head. "Listen to yourself. Fair enough, you didn't make
the engagements. But you could have chosen who to marry. I did. Yes,
she died. But we loved each other. We knew that. And we wouldn't have
let anyone get between us."

Ranchan shook his head. "Don't go making judgements on me man. You
obviously haven't gone through it. You don't know the situation well
enough to be preaching to me. Besides, I'm not that sure. I know who I
love. I think. But I'm not sure what she thinks of me."

"Then you're not talking about Ukyou. She loves you. Loves you so much.
Loves you as much as me and Ucchan loved each other. You should have
seen her when she got here. She was as depressed as I was, and I was
pretty depressed. At least she's perked up some since then."

Ranchan held up his hand. "You're wrong if you think I don't love
Ucchan. I do. But I love her as my best friend, sorta like a sister.  I
don't think I could love her as anything else. Not unless things
changed. As it is....." Ranchan paused. "I don't know why I'm telling
you this. I guess it's like talking to myself. But this is still hard
to admit. I l.. ah man. I think I love Akane."

Ranma blinked. Twice. "Akane? You're kidding me. You've got to be
kidding me."

Ranchan was a bit annoyed at Ranma's reaction. "What the hell's wrong
with that? Sure, she's a tomboy and.."

"She tried to kill me." Ranma said, cutting Ranchan off.

"She can get like that." Ranchan admitted.

"No, I mean REALLY kill."

"Oh. Well, she's not quite that bad over here. Violent, sure. But not a
killer. Never a killer. What could have happened to her that she would
want to kill you?" Ranchan asked.

"I accidentally knocked her into a Jusenkyo pool. Turned her into a
pig. She wasn't happy." Ranma understated.

"I wonder why." Ranchan said. He looked around. "Hey, have you
noticed?  We've been here a fair while now. I didn't spend this long
talking to Ucchan."

"You spoke to Ukyou first? Interesting. But you're right. We have been
here for a fair while. Don't know why. I get the feeling we'll be here
till morning. Don't ask me why on that." Ranma said.

Ranchan nodded. "So, what do we do? Wanna spar?"

Ranma narrowed his eyes. "Sure. Why not."

*********************************

Ukyou woke. [What a strange dream.] she thought as she slipped out of
the sleeping bag. It was still night, the other two were still asleep.
As she pulled herself out of the sleeping bag, she felt something
against her right hand. She pulled it out.

It was a piece of paper. Ukyou stepped over to the guttering fire so
that she could see it better. The dim light revealed that the paper was
filled with several bank account details.

"Oh." Ukyou said. "I see."

*********************************

Ranma pulled himself up from the grass of the dreamscape for the third
time in as many minutes. "What the hell kind of training have you been
doing?!?" he asked Ranchan.

Ranchan dropped his defensive stance. "Well, I guess you were as good
as I was before I got special training from Cologne."

"Cologne? Who... what is Cologne?" Ranma asked as he leaned against the
tree.

"Ah... haven't had to meet her yet. Lucky you." Ranchan said as he
faced Ranma. "She's the matriarch of Shampoo's village. She's an old
interfering crone. But she has a century or more of experience, the
skills and arts of generations of warriors at her disposal. She has
more tricks than....." Ranchan paused as he tried to think of
something. "Than Nabiki has people owing her."

"Who?" Ranma asked.

"Nabiki. You don't know her? Man, you are lucky. Anyway, Cologne has
given me all sorts of painful, humiliating, but useful martial arts
training." Ranchan said. He looked around at the dreamscape before
saying "Hmmmm... you know, I could teach you. I don't know how long
we've got here, but I can at least tell you how to train towards what
I've learnt. Tell you how I learnt what I have."

"Sounds.... interesting." Ranma said. "What have you learnt?"

"A few things. Tell me.... can you do a ki blast? It can be useful...."

*********************************

Ranma groaned. He opened his eyes, but closed them as soon as he felt
the searing light of the sun hit them. His whole body ached.  Really
ached. Even his eyelids felt strained. How could that happen?  How
could you strain eyelid muscles?

The other Ranma had really pushed him hard last night. Ranchan had told
him all he could about how he had learnt his abilities, and then he
started training Ranma in reaching his own potential.

Ranma sighed, and opened his eyes again. No good lying here. It'd only
make him feel worse in the long run. He couldn't believe that what he
had done in a dream had carried over to reality. And yet, it had. His
muscles screamed at him, just as if he had spent the night in really
hard training. Which, of course, he had. In the dream.

With a grunt, Ranma managed to raise himself to a sitting position.
Today was not a good day for strenuous effort. He turned his head to
see that Genma-Panda was still sleeping. Obviously he agreed. To the
accompaniment of several moans and wheezing, Ranma managed to crawl
outside the tent.

"What happened to you?" Ukyou asked. She was at the yatai, making
breakfast. "You look horrible." she added.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at this. This was the first time he'd seen this
Ukyou cook okonomiyaki. With some theatrical groaning, he managed to
sway himself from his hands and knees to a standing position. "Had a
dream last night that your Ranma trained me." he said.

Ukyou nodded, as if that was to be expected. "He really is quite good.
One day, he could be the best. He's had the advantage of having
training from Cologne. Sorta Happosai too, though not really."

"Happosai?" Ranma asked.

"Believe me, you REALLY don't want to know about him. You REALLY don't
want to know." Ukyou replied. She scraped an okonomiyaki off the grill,
and flipped it at him. "Here." she said as he caught it.

Ranma looked at the okonomiyaki in his hands. A smile played across his
lips as he saw that she had drawn a silly face on the okonomiyaki.  A
silly face just like the ones she had drawn when they were younger.
"Very funny." he said.

"Couldn't resist." Ukyou replied with a grin as she flipped her own
okonomiyaki off the hot plate.

Ranma took a careful bite out of his okonomiyaki. His eyes widened as
he chewed the food. "U...Ukyou. This is incredible!" he said. "Even
Ucchan was never this good with cooking. How.... how?"

Ukyou smiled at his compliment. "Thank you. I really don't know how
much time Ucchan spent on cooking when she was with you, but after
Ranchan left me when I was six, it was cooking and martial arts that I
devoted my life to. I trained day and night in the two.  Often at the
same time since my martial arts skills are involved with my cooking. I
was given training by my father, and several other master cooks. I'd
bet that Ucchan had to rely on her own ability after she left with you,
and rarely got more training or tips from others."

Ranma quickly scoffed the rest of the okonomiyaki down. "So you've
trained a lot in martial arts, huh? We should spar." He tried to raise
his protesting arms above his head so that he could stretch, but
failed. "Tomorrow." he amended.

Ukyou smiled and grabbed the hilt of her combat spatula. "A martial
artist should be ready at any time." she said.

Ranma flopped to the ground. "Right now, all I'd be ready for is a
beating." he admitted. "I never knew I could be such a harsh trainer.
The other Ranma, I mean."

"You always did push yourself too hard to learn new techniques." Ukyou
noted as she let go of her spatula.

*********************************

*Hello Kasumi. Do you want to help Mommy in the kitchen?*

Kasumi walked into Akane's room. She had done all the work she had felt
she needed to already. The house was clean, dinner was ready to be
cooked at the appropriate time, her duties were done.

*Yes! I'd love to help Mommy.*

Now she was completing what had become a daily ritual. She was cleaning
Akane's room. It needed it about as much as Ryouga needed being given
the wrong directions, but it was Kasumi's way of coping.

*Oneechan...where's Mommy?*

Coping with Akane being gone. Four months. Everyone was worried. She
was worried, Father was worried, Nabiki was worried, although she hid
it a bit better. Kasumi was not the sort to worry, to fear. But she was
beginning to fear that Akane had joined her mother.

*Mommy is gone, Akane. But I'm here. Don't worry.*

The house felt so empty without Akane. It felt so.... dead. No sounds
of breaking bricks coming from the dojo. No sounds of her focussing
yells as she broke those bricks. No sounds of arguments between her and
Nabiki, although those had been rare when she had been here.

*Akane, I don't want you to take risks on this trip. Be careful.*

Kasumi shook her head as she heard a knocking at the front door. [I
shouldn't get so worked up over nothing.] she thought. [I almost didn't
hear that knocking.] She left Akane's room, which was beyond spotless
by now, and walked down to answer the door.

*Relax Kasumi. I'll just talk to the Saotomes, and come home. I'll be
fine.*

Kasumi opened the door to see Akane, who was propped up against a young
man. Akane looked woozy, and a bandage made out of a bandanna was
wrapped around her head.

*What could happen, oneechan?*

"Excuse me, is this the Tendo Dojo?" the young man, Ryouga, asked
politely.

Akane looked up, her head swimming. "Hi sis." she managed before she
fainted from her dizziness.

"Oh my." Kasumi said. "Bring her inside. I'll get Dr Tofu."

*********************************

Ranma finally felt good enough to start training in the techniques
Ranchan had taught him. So, he banked up the fire, splashed himself so
that he changed to his girl form, and threw a packet of chestnuts into
the fire.

"Let me guess." Ukyou said as she stood nearby. "Trying to learn the
Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken?" she asked.

Ranma-chan nodded. "You know about it?"

"Of course I know about it." Ukyou said. "It's not as if I haven't seen
Ranchan use it before. And he's told me how he learned it."

Ranma-chan sighed as she looked at the fire. "I get the feeling that
this is going to take some pain. He told me he learned it in his cursed
form, that's why I'm like this."

"He learned it in his cursed form since he had to. He was stuck in it
by Cologne because of some pressure point. Actually, that was before I
got there, but he told me the story when I asked him how he learned
it."

Ranma-chan looked at Ukyou. "So you mean I don't have to learn it in
this form?"

"Ranchan is a bit faster in his girl form. Therefore, so are you. If I
was you, I'd learn it like that." Ukyou replied.

Ranma-chan nodded. "He said something about using piranhas as well, but
I don't have them handy. This'll have to do. Tell me.... is this really
worth learning?"

"It's martial arts training, Ranma. I thought that'd be enough for
you." Ukyou replied.

"In a way, it is enough. But I haveta wonder if this is worth what I'm
about to do. It does sound pretty strange."

"I doubt you'll regret learning it." Ukyou replied. "Ranchan uses the
Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken a fair bit. It's got him out of a fair few
binds."

"Ooooookay." Ranma-chan said as she flexed her hands. "Well, here
goes."

Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes. Her hands blurred as she reached into the
fire as quickly as she could and tried to snatch as many of the
chestnuts as possible.

Ukyou winced as Ranma-chan screamed. "I'll get some ointment." she said
as Ranma-chan looked at her blackened hands. She walked off to the
tent, stopping when she reached Ranma's backpack. As she searched
through it, she added "And tomorrow, we look for some piranhas."

*********************************

*Hohohohohohohohohohoho...*

Kodachi smiled as she saw the Furinkan gymnast limp into the ring.
This would be an easy fight. She had ambushed the entire Furinkan team
over the last week. At least they had enough pride that when they
couldn't find an able replacement, they picked the least injured member
of their team to compete.

*...hohohohohohohohohohoho...*

Kodachi decided to play with this girl for a while. After all, her
fellow school members and her brother had gathered to watch her
victory.  It would not do to make their fun too short. It would not do
at all.

*...hohohohohohohohohohoho...*

Kodachi sighed as she battled the Furinkan girl. Pitiful. There was
barely any point in cheating with this girl. Kodachi could see that
even uninjured, she would have been no match for her.

*...hohohohohohohohohohoho...*

Sometimes, in more lucid moments, she wondered why she cheated.  Once,
it had been fun. She would spend hours carefully devising a way to
cheat without getting disqualified for it. Her abilities at it were
shown in that she had never been caught. Not so badly that she was
disqualified, anyway.

*...hohohohohohohohohohoho...*

But cheating was starting to bore her. Winning was beginning to bore
her. Life was beginning to bore her. She wished that someone,
something, would come into her life and offer some excitement. A man to
love, perhaps. A woman worthy enough to beat her, or at least offer her
a challenge in the ring. Something, anything. Anything at all, to stop
the malaise, the drudgery of life. Kodachi sighed as her opponent
jumped out of the ring to avoid her ribbon, forfeiting the match. She
had won.

*...hohohohohohohohohohoho!*

Victory was hers. Not that there was ever any doubt.

*********************************

Ranma-chan looked at her bandaged hands. No permanent damage, but
they'd hurt for a while. She'd have to try again later. Later that
day.  After all, giving up just wasn't in her vocabulary, not when it
came to training. Maybe she should read a dictionary. "Thanks." she
said to Ukyou. "Have you ever learnt this?" she added.

"Are you insane?" Ukyou asked as she packed away the medical kit. "What
sort of an idiot do you think I am?" she added.

"You were all for me to learn it." Ranma-chan pointed out.

"Well.. yeah. But that's you. You'd do practically anything to learn an
useful technique. Besides, it is more of an unarmed style of training.
It's not really suited for me."

Ranma-chan blinked. "Not suited...? You mean, you haven't trained in
unarmed fighting?"

"Not really. Only the basics." Ukyou said. "Enough to get by if I lose
my weapons, but I wouldn't want to rely on them."

"Strange." Ranma-chan drawled. "Ucchan never relied on her spatulas too
much to fight. She was almost as good an unarmed stylist as me."

Ukyou shook her head. "I can bet that's because she went with you, and
so had to learn from your pop, right?"

Ranma-chan nodded. "Well.... yeah. She did get most of her training
from Pop, except what she had learned before she came with us."

"There you go then. I didn't learn my style from Mr Saotome. I
specialised in my spatulas and a few other weapons related to my
school. They have served me well, they give me both range and
versatility. After all, I survived a year in Nerima with them. That
says a lot."

"Nerima? The place where your Ranchan lived?" Ranma-chan asked.

"Yeah. I.... well, I must admit I miss the place." Ukyou admitted.

"We could go there if you like." Ranma-chan offered.

Ukyou narrowed her eyes. "That's not because you want to go after
Ryouga and Akane, is it?"

Ranma-chan looked down. "No." she said with a sigh. "I.... I had a
dream last night. A true dream, I'm sure of it. Ucchan came to me and
told me not to blame myself or them for her death. I.... I can't go
against her wishes. I never could. They are safe from me. But I have to
talk to them. I have to know exactly why, what exactly happened to make
them come after me. I mean.... why? Why did they chase me to China?"

"Ryouga chased you because of some bread feud you two had, from
memory.  At least, in my reality. I think it's dangerous to make
assumptions from my world to yours, especially when it comes to
motivations. Akane....  I don't know, but I can give you a good guess."

"Yes?" Ranma-chan prompted. Genma-Panda had finally woken, and he had
just crawled out of the tent.

"Your dad engaged you to her." Ukyou said, not seeing Genma as she had
her back to the tent.

Genma-P froze, and held up a sign that said {Gak!}

"Engaged? To Akane? Your Ranchan said he loved her. And you told me he
was engaged to her, but you never said how." Ranma-chan said. She
turned her gaze to Genma-P. "Is this right, Pop? Did you engage me to
that Akane girl?"

Genma-P held up a sign. {No! No! It was to be to any Tendo daughter.}
He paused, looked at his sign, then turned it, revealing {Oops.}

Ranma-chan took a handy kettle and threw it at him. Hot water splashed
out, turning Genma human. "Explain." she said, an angry tone in her
voice.

Genma sighed. "Alright. It's true, I did make an agreement with an old
friend, Soun Tendo, to marry you to one of his daughters when you
reached an appropriate age. However, when you and Ukyou formally
confirmed your engagement, and said that you would never allow anyone
to come between you, I knew the agreement could not be kept. I could
not do that to you. So I sent a message to Soun, saying that there
could be no joining of our families."

"There you go." Ukyou said to Ranma-chan. "Akane came after you because
of that."

"Man, Pop. How could you be such an idiot?" Ranma-chan asked her
father.  "I thought it was only Ukyou's Genma that was that stupid, but
you engaged me to two woman as well? How could you engage me to anyone
after you engaged me to Ucchan?"

Genma shook his head. "You don't understand. I made the agreement with
Soun the night you were born. It was Ukyou whose engagement came
second."

Ukyou balled her hands into fists. They quickly whitened from the
pressure she was applying. "It....AMAZES me just how angry I can still
get when I hear your father talk about that." she admitted through
clenched teeth.

"I tried to set things straight." Genma said. "I tried to get Soun to
give up the engagement in the letter I sent him."

"I think you might have failed." Ranma-chan noted.

*********************************

*Hmmm... what's this? A letter from Genma?*

Soun Tendo stood at the foot of Akane's bed. Next to him were Nabiki,
Kasumi and Ryouga. Dr Tofu was attending to Akane, who was in the bed.
"Well, Doctor?" Soun said as Dr Tofu left Akane's side.

*Let's see....'Soun, I am sorry.'

Dr Tofu smiled. "She'll be fine. Just a mild concussion, caused by her
head wound. A day or two of bed rest and she'll be fine."

*'I must declare the engagement agreement between our families void.'*

Soun sighed in relief. His baby girl was going to be all right. He had
feared the worst, with her gone for so long. He had realised long ago
what a fool he had been for sending Akane out alone.

*'Understand that I do this with good reason. Genma.'*

His determination to restore the engagement, by sending his daughter
after the Saotomes, had almost killed her. He had never felt so low as
when he had come back from the dojo to see Ryouga carrying Akane in.

*What?!? How... how could he? How could he do this?*

Soun shook his head as Dr Tofu apparently saw Kasumi for the first time
since arriving and started acting strange. Sometimes he wondered why he
went to Dr Tofu. He was very good, but he could sometimes be
unreliable.

*********************************

Ranma and Ukyou were selling okonomiyaki from the yatai in a mid-sized
town. Genma was off buying supplies. Or at least, so he claimed.

After Ukyou handed an okonomiyaki to a woman, she turned to Ranma.
"Ranma..." she began.

"Yeah, what is it Ukyou?" Ranma asked as he flipped an okonomiyaki
over. He and Ukyou alternated the cooking duties now, and it was his
turn.

"Did you know that Ucchan had a bank account?" Ukyou asked.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. She told me about it years ago. That's where she
put all the savings she hid from Pop. It was her dream to use it one
day to open a store. After a while, it became my dream too. What about
it?"

"Well..... you weren't the only one to dream of her. She gave me her
account details and told me to use them to open a store."

Ranma blinked. "She did? Wow. But.... how can you take money out of it?
The authorities know she's dead, the money has probably been given to
her father or whoever it goes to."

"No." the woman who had just bought an okonomiyaki said. It was Zae.
"No-one knows that your Ukyou is dead."

Both Ranma and Ukyou turned to this woman. "What are you talking
about?" Ranma asked irritably.

"I am a friend of Liotha's." Zae began.

"Who?" Ranma asked.

"She's that woman who brought me here." Ukyou explained.

"Oh." Ranma said.

"If I can continue....?" Zae said, slightly annoyed. "Good okonomiyaki,
by the way. Not bad for a mortal. Anyway, Liotha asked me to come so I
could tell you that no-one remembers Ukyou dieing except for you and
Genma. Ryouga and Akane remember what happened too. The authorities,
everyone informed of her death, they have all forgotten."

"Whaaaattttt?" Ranma hissed.

Zae held up her hand. "Don't get angry. I can understand why you would,
but don't. I wouldn't want to explain to Liotha why I had to fry you.
It's to allow this Ukyou here to live here. If she goes back, everyone
will remember that your Ukyou died, and things will go back to normal.
I guess we could have just created a new identity for this Ukyou, but
making people forget something and destroying a few documents like a
death certificate is easier than forging new documents. Even for the
well powered."

"That's pretty cold." Ukyou noted.

"You hang out with some of the gods I do and see how caring you get.
They can be a pack of bastards. And so am I. I like you two. I don't
know why. Must be Liotha's unholy influence. So I'm telling you, it's
not worth worrying about. Ukyou has moved on. People haven't forgotten
her, just the fact that she died. She understands the necessity, I
asked her permission before I did it. That was why she gave you her
bank details, Ukyou. She knew you could use them." Zae finished.

"Why are you doing this?" Ranma asked.

"Me?" Zae asked. She thought about it. "Because Liotha asked me to, and
she is my friend. Because when I looked at you two, I found myself
agreeing with her, and thinking that you needed each other. Because a
bit of interfering in mortal's business is all in a days work.  Because
I wanted to. May you two find happiness." she said, and turned to
leave.

"Wait!" Ukyou said. "What is your name?"

Zae turned back and replied "Zae. I meant that bit about you two
finding happiness, by the way." She turned away again and walked off
down the street.

Ranma blinked as Zae walked behind a pole and didn't emerge again.
"What did we do to attract such attention?" he asked.

"Just lucky I guess." Ukyou answered. "So.... do you want to open an
okonomiyaki store?"

"Are you kidding? Hell yes." Ranma answered.

"Good. I know the perfect place that'll be available about now. And I
know the perfect name. You'll like it." Ukyou said.

*********************************

Kunou waited in his customary spot just inside the school gates. If
Akane didn't come today, that would make four months and one week.
No-one joined him in his daily vigil. The other boys who had attacked
Akane in the mornings had given up waiting after only a week, the weak
fools.

His eyes widened as he saw a figure in the distance he had begun to
think he would never see again. Akane. It was Akane! His eyes narrowed
as he saw something else. [Wait.] he thought. [Who is that who walks
next to her?]

Ryouga looked at Akane. She had stayed at home for a couple of days
after they had made it there, so that she could recover from her head
wound. Soun had allowed him to stay at the Dojo, in the guest room, for
as long as he wanted out of gratitude for helping Akane. "School huh?"
he asked as they walked along.

Akane nodded. "We can't skip it for the rest of our lives just for
revenge. There'll always be more chances to get Ranma, but I'm not
going to miss any more education because of him."

Ryouga sighed. She was still out to get Ranma. He wasn't. He realised
that now. Ukyou's sister had saved them both. He knew that he couldn't
have won a fight against the three of them. He owed that woman, and he
wasn't going to continue a vendetta on a man that had never deserved
it. Now he had to ween Akane off her hate as well. She was a nice girl
at heart, he was sure she would come round sooner or later. Although
finding a cure for her curse would probably help.

"Don't worry." Akane said, misinterpreting his sigh. "You'll do fine at
school. The boys can be real jerks, but I'm sure we can handle them."

She was beautiful, Ryouga realised. He had seen her naked, when the
Guide had transformed them back, but he had been too preoccupied with
his own curse to really notice. Then, he had to loan her clothes from
his backpack, which he had taken off before he fell into his pool. So,
she had been dressed in a set of his clothes, ie pants and shirt, with
one of his bandannas to tie back her long hair while they had travelled
together. Today had been the first day he had seen her in a dress, even
if it was a school dress. "I'm sure I'll be ok." he said to fill in the
silence.

Akane nodded. Ryouga was certainly handsome when he scrubbed up
properly, she realised. That figure, those eyes, those fangs.....  and
that caring expression he always held when he looked at her.  [Maybe I
should have payed more attention to him when the Guide transformed him
back right in front of me.] she thought, then blushed slightly. Kasumi
had bought him a school uniform to wear, so he wouldn't have uniform
code problems. Kunou and the other boys could be another story though.
[Maybe they've gotten over me in the last few months.] she thought
hopefully.

Ryouga snuck another glance at her. She was still wearing one of his
bandannas, he realised. While they had been travelling, it had been
understandable. She had lost her stuff in her Jusenkyo pool, and they
couldn't afford to get her a new ribbon, not when they had an infinite
supply of material in his bandannas. But now.... why was she wearing
one now? Surely she had her own ribbons in her room?  "What are we
going to do about our curses?" he asked. "At school, I mean."

Akane thought about it as they saw turned a corner and saw Furinkan
High School far in the distance. "I really don't want them to know, do
you?"

Ryouga shook his head. "No. But what if you get splashed? I mean, it
shouldn't happen, and if it does you shouldn't be in any danger, but
what if someone looks at you as an easy lunch?"

"You're not safe either, you know. You could be taken to the dog pound
or something." Akane replied. "I'm not telling the school unless I have
to, but what if we work it out so that they know our cursed forms? You
know, in the lunch time we could have you splash yourself, and then I
could go out with you and tell everyone that you're my dog. Then, you
get back to your real shape, and I splash myself. You go out with me as
a pig, claim that I'm your pet, and then get me back to a private place
to change. How's that?"

Ryouga nodded. "Ok. We'll do that. Uh.... why is that guy ahead of us
looking at me like that?"

Akane looked ahead. "Oh no." she groaned. "It's Kunou."

Kunou stepped in front of the two teenagers. "Ah.... Akane Tendo.  It
has been too long. Far too long. Who is this... this dog who acts so
familiar with you?"

Ryouga turned to Akane, deliberately ignoring Kunou. "Tell me, is he
any good in a fight?"

Akane nodded. "He was last time I was here. But compared to Ranma or
that girl, Ukyou's sister? Not a chance. Unless he's really improved,
you'll be able to beat him."

Ryouga smiled as he unshucked his bookpack and handed it to her.
"Good. If he's ok, I don't have to go easy on him. He's certainly not
getting away with that dog comment."

Akane nodded. "Don't take long, I don't want to be late on my first day
back."

Kunou pointed his boken at Ryouga. "Truly, I worried that Akane had
been held by foul sorcery. Now, I see that you may be the sorcerer
yourself. What have you done to the fair Akane to make her act so
towards you?"

Ryouga cracked his knuckles. "Less talk. More fighting." he said.

*********************************

Ukyou, Ranma and Genma stood outside the front of their new store.  A
banner hung over the door, proclaiming the store to be 'Ucchans
Okonomiyaki'.

Genma nodded. "I think she would have liked that." he said.

Ranma smiled. "She would have. I know I do."

Ukyou smiled too. It hadn't been hard to find the empty store to lease.
After all, she had found it in her own world through the more normal
channels of asking around. Easier when you already knew it was going to
be there. "Yes. She would have liked it." she said, as she stared at
the sign.

*********************************

"School again." Ranma sighed. He was walking next to Ukyou down a road.
He was dressed in his usual clothes, black pants and a red okonomiyaki
chef's shirt. Ukyou was wearing her usual okonomiyaki clothes as well,
black leggings and blue okonomiyaki chef's shirt.  She was wearing her
big and little spatulas in their usual bandolier/ holster. Ukyou had
found out that Ranma kept a few throwing spatulas hidden in his clothes
as well, but he rarely used them for combat.

"It's been a while." Ranma admitted.

Ukyou looked down at her clothes. She hoped she didn't get too much
flak over them, but she didn't have anything else to wear to school.  A
boy's uniform would be inappropriate here, she wasn't legally seen as a
boy in this reality as she was in her own. She certainly didn't feel
comfortable about wearing the dress the school used. So she wore her
chef outfit, and hoped that she could get away with it like her Ranchan
always seemed to. "What do you mean, a while?" she asked.

"I only went to school when we settled in one place for a while." Ranma
said. "The last time that happened was when I went to the school Ryouga
went to, before we went to China."

"Well, we need the education. Even if I will be learning stuff I
already know. Hmmm... I wonder if the exams will be the same in this
reality....." Ukyou mused.

"Education. Who needs it?" Ranma humphed.

"We do, for starters. How do you think you're going to run that
business we started without getting some sort of business training at a
university?  Hmmm?" Ukyou hummed.

"Ok, ok. So you may have a minor point." Ranma admitted. "I never was
good at the business side though. I always left that to Ucchan."

"Well you better get good at it. You can't rely on others for this,
Ranma. You need to mould your own business skills." Ukyou said.

Ranma sighed. "I guess. Are you sure we should go to the same school
that you said Akane went to? It could cause trouble."

"Only if you or they start it." Ukyou pointed out. "It just feels....
familiar to be here again. Ranchan had some good friends at school,
you'll probably make them here just as easily."

"We'll see." Ranma answered as he spotted the school ahead.

*********************************

Ryouga stood, feet set, right arm extended, hand balled in a fist.  As
Kunou toppled to the ground, Ryouga relaxed back into a normal stance.

Ryouga turned to Akane. "What is it with this guy? I've been here three
days and he's attacked me at least once a day."

Akane handed Ryouga his bookbag. "Just stupid I guess." she replied.
"I think he thinks that you've stolen me away from him."

"Oh? You were dating or something?" Ryouga asked.

Akane shook her head. "No. But Kunou has some..... interesting ideas on
relationships. I think he's a bit possessive, and that he views me as
'his'. You know, I can handle him myself. You don't have to fight him."

"You think I don't know you can fight?" Ryouga asked. "I've been
training with you for the last three months, after all. If he
challenged you I'd be glad to stand by and watch you beat him to a
pulp. But he attacks me, not you."

Akane shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe he'll give up one day." She paused
before adding "Probably not though."

"He certainly is annoying." Ryouga noted. He was about to sling his bag
over his shoulder when he froze.

"Ryouga? What is it?" Akane asked, concerned. [Did Kunou hurt him in
the fight?] she thought.

Ryouga pointed beyond Akane, in the direction of the school gates.
"They've found us." he said.

Akane turned to see Ranma and that girl who claimed to be Ukyou's
sister walking towards them. Akane set herself into a defensive stance.
"Fine. I'm not running." she said.

Ryouga placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's at least give them the
benefit of the doubt. We both owe that girl, you know."

Akane sighed and dropped her stance. She was still ready to leap into
action though. "Alright. A chance. Besides, if we fight them now, we'll
be late for school."

They both waited as the two chefs walked up to them. Ranma and Ukyou
stopped about ten feet away from the others.

"Hello Ryouga. Akane." Ukyou said.

"Hello...." Ryouga paused. "You've never told me your name, you know."

"My name is Ukyou. Ukyou Kuonji." Ukyou replied.

Ryouga looked confused. "But... I thought your sister was called
Ukyou."

Ukyou smiled. "I'm Ukyou.... she was Ucchan."

"Ucchan? What sort of a name is that?" Akane asked.

"One I won't hear belittled." Ranma replied calmly.

Akane pointed at Ranma. "You. What are you doing here?"

Ranma put on an innocent face. "Me? I'm just going to school, getting
an education. What's your excuse?"

"Oh, and you just happened to come here, huh?" Akane asked, dubious.

Ranma shrugged. "Ukyou chose the place." he said truthfully. "I just
came along for the ride."

"I don't trust you." Akane said.

"I don't care." Ranma replied.

"This is all fun and all, but we have class. We can throw icy glares at
each other later." Ukyou said as she took Ranma's arm and dragged him
past Ryouga and Akane.

After they had left, Akane turned to Ryouga. "I just get so angry
whenever I see him." she said.

"This is no good. If you and him don't give this up you'll kill each
other eventually. Don't let it get to you, Akane. You said you wanted
him to feel pain? I looked into his eyes while I fought him in that
forest. He was feeling more pain than both of us together have
endured.  Let it go." Ryouga said.

"I.... want to. But I can't. Every time I see him, I get angry." Akane
admitted.

"You can control it, Akane. I get angry a lot too, but if you try, you
can control it. I don't want to lose you just because you couldn't
control your anger." Ryouga replied as they started walking to class.

"Wh..what was that?" Akane asked.

"What? I said, try to control your anger." Ryouga answered.

"No... the other bit."

Ryouga blushed. "Oh...um....ah.... nothing." he said, wimping out.

Akane sighed. "Oh well. At least we won't see them until lunch."

*********************************

The teacher in Akane and Ryouga's class pointed to Ranma and Ukyou, who
were in front of the class. Ukyou was cooking a couple of okonomiyakis
on a portable grill with incredible skill, speed, and dexterity. Ranma
stood nearby, twirling a small spatula in one of his hands. In his
other hand he was holding squares of paper, the sort of paper used to
serve food on.

"It appears we have two new students today." the teacher said as the
students gasped at Ukyou's cooking.

"I am Ukyou Kuonji." Ukyou said as she flipped both of the okonomiyakis
she had been cooking at Ranma.

Ranma caught one with his spatula, flipped it high in the air, then did
the same with the other one. He leapt up, and both of his hands blurred
in front of the two flying okonomiyaki. The students watched in
amazement as a small piece of cut okonomiyaki, each on one of the
serving papers, landed on every student's desk. "And I am Ranma
Saotome." Ranma said as he landed from his leap.

Most of the students ate the piece of okonomiyaki they had been given,
gasping in appreciation at its quality. Ryouga and Akane looked at
their pieces suspiciously.

Ranma walked up to Akane, who sat next to Ryouga. "It's not poisoned."
Ranma said. "If I wanted you dead, I'd attack you. Think of it as a
peace offering."

Ryouga shrugged and ate his piece. Akane looked at hers for another few
seconds before sighing and eating hers.

*********************************

It was lunchtime at the school. Uykou and Ranma were eating their lunch
under a tree. It wasn't okonomiyaki, Ranma had prepared the lunch that
morning, saying that 'Okonomiyaki can get boring you know.' He had then
had to run from Ukyou for five minutes as she swiped at him with her
combat spatula for saying such a thing.

"Strange school." Ranma noted as he saw some scrawny kid nail a straw
doll to a tree.

"That's part of its charm." Ukyou replied.

"I wonder how long I'll be able to keep my curse a secret." Ranma
mused.

"Probably not long." Ukyou admitted. "The school knew by the time I
arrived, back home. You really are a water magnet, Ranma. You'll be
splashed before long."

Ranma sighed. "Oh well. Just as long as the guys don't get any funny
ideas."

Ukyou spotted Kunou striding across the grounds. "We can live in hope."
she said. [Not that there's much hope of that.] she thought. "You seem
to have accepted your curse a bit better than my Ranchan did."

Ranma shrugged. "So I turn into a girl. Big deal. Ucchan helped me
through the initial worry and anger. She got me to accept it.  Well,
not accept it. But live with it, yeah."

Ukyou nodded. "I see."

"So why'd ya want to do that stunt with the okonomiyaki this morning?"
Ranma asked as he finished his lunch.

Ukyou smiled as she put her own lunch down. "It's a cheap and easy
trick. Everyone in our class knows about our restaurant now, and
they'll come to try it out. From them, word will spread, and so does
our business. Trust me, it works."

*********************************

Nighttime at Ucchans restaurant. Ukyou was cooking the okonomiyaki
while Ranma acted as waiter. Just as with the yatai, they tended to
swap cooking duties a couple of times each day. Ukyou was surprised to
find that Genma had actually been helpful in running the business.  Not
only did he prepare the place in the afternoon, but he had offered to
clean up at night so that the two kids could get some sleep.

Ukyou wondered just what Ucchan had done to get Genma helpful. It had
probably been a long, painful job. Genma was even helping now, by doing
nothing. That wasn't quite true, Genma was in his panda form, playing
with a tyre in a corner of the store. He was proving to be quite a
crowd puller.

It made Ukyou remember a time when Ranchan had helped her out when she
was sick, helping Konatsu keep the place running by using his girl
form, and dressing Konatsu up as a weird, but handsome waiter amongst
other, more expensive tricks. So, when there was a lull in the orders,
she broached the subject to Ranma.

"You know...." she said to Ranma as they waited for new customers.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked, sitting down on a spare stool at the grill.

"Have you ever considered using your female form to waitress in?" Ukyou
asked. She probably would have felt a little guilty asking Ranchan the
same question, but she knew that Ranchan hadn't accepted his curse as
quickly or as well as Ranma had.

"You've got to be kidding. Why?" Ranma asked.

"I remember a couple of times when Ranchan used his girl side to sell
food. It really worked. Worked well. Guys would literally run up to her
and beg to buy food off her. I have to admit, it made me jealous at
times." Ukyou answered.

"Oh, come on. You're way cuter than my girl side." Ranma said.

Ukyou smiled. "Flatterer. I mean.... if you don't mind your girl side
that much, it would be a good way to bring in business, especially
while we're new, like we are now."

Ranma looked at Ukyou for a few seconds. "Tell you what. I'll do it,
but only if you do too."

"What do you mean, I do too?" Ukyou asked nervously.

"You don't seriously expect me to dress up as a girl, say tee hee a lot
and all that while you stand around doing nothing? You've got to 'go
girl' too. Dress up as a girl for once. Then we'll see if I was right,
and see if people agree that you're cuter." Ranma smiled wickedly.
"Unless you don't think you're girl enough for it."

"Right. You're on." Ukyou said. "I was always the cutest fiance. I can
beat you at this."

Ranma offered his hand to shake. "Ok. Tomorrow then. We try it. And if
it works, don't go expecting me to do it every day."

"Trust me." Ukyou said as she took his hand and shook it, to seal the
deal. "It'll work."

*********************************

It was almost closing time at the restaurant when Ryouga walked in,
accompanied by Nabiki. Most of the people had left already, so Ukyou
and Ranma were talking at the grill again.

Ukyou turned when she heard the door open, and raised an eyebrow.
Seeing her reaction, Ranma turned as well. He clenched his teeth when
he saw Ryouga, but decided that it would do the business no good to
make a scene. Besides, he had promised, in his heart, to Ucchan, that
he'd try and forgive Ryouga and Akane.

"Ummm... hello." Ryouga said as he and Nabiki walked up to them.

Ukyou smiled. "Hello Ryouga. What can we do for you?"

Nabiki looked around. [Not bad.] she thought. When she saw Ukyou offer
Ryouga a civil greeting, she was a little amazed. After all, wasn't
this girl's sister supposed to have been killed by Ryouga?  Even if it
had been an accident. She'd have to ask Ryouga about it when she got
the 500 yen off him for leading him here.

Ryouga struggled with himself. "I....I." he sighed. "I want to
apologise.  For what happened. Akane might have had a right to chase
you, Ranma, but I didn't. Not really."

Ukyou looked a little surprised. "I must admit, Ryouga, that I never
expected you to apologise."

"Why not?" Ryouga asked, annoyed. He continued at a more level tone.
"You really don't know much about me. Maybe once, my pride would have
stopped me from apologising, but I've been thinking about what I've
been doing for a while now. I really shouldn't have chased Ranma to
China. He apologised to me for our bread feud, and I took it as an
insult."

"You always did overreact, Ryouga." Ranma said, his voice low.

"Hmmm. Yes." Ryouga said. "I think the fact that Akane was cursed as
well helped me realise some things. Like the fact that she had
something to be angry about, and I didn't. My curse was a complete
accident, her's wasn't. And when I found out we'd killed someone....
that's not what either of us wanted. No-one was supposed to die."

Ranma stood and left through the back door.

Ukyou looked at the door for a moment before looking back at Ryouga.
"I think he needed that. Thank you, Ryouga. For the apology."

"I... I can't understand you, Ukyou." Ryouga admitted. "You're....
well, you're so nice. Your sister is dead because of me. Why are you so
nice?"

Ukyou looked at Ryouga for a few seconds. "Do you two want something to
eat? Ryouga? Nabiki? I find it easier to talk while I cook."

"On the house?" Nabiki asked. [I wonder how she knew my name.] she
thought. [Ryouga didn't introduce me. Must have seen me at school today
and asked someone.]

"What do I get in return Nabiki?" Ukyou asked with a grin. Her Nabiki
had extorted a lot of money out of her over the last year, mainly for
time alone with Ranma. The thing was, after she payed, Shampoo, Kodachi
and Akane would usually 'mysteriously' appear. It was fun to rib Nabiki
a little. After all, this one didn't have anything to blackmail her
with yet.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. [Someone's been telling tales.] she thought.

"We'll pay." Ryouga said. [Somehow.] he thought.

"Nah. On the house. This once." Ukyou said as she pointed out the menu.
"Make your choice. Let me guess, Ryouga, no pork?"

"No, I haven't had pork since Akane was cursed." Ryouga admitted.
"Hey, wait a second... how did you know that?"

"I'm a little psychic?" Ukyou suggested. [As long as I've known you,
you've always hated pork.] she thought. [But if you haven't had it
since Akane was cursed......hmm. I wonder. P-chan was always wandering
off.......Oh well. I'd have to see what Akane looks like to make sure
of that suspicion.]

"Actually," Ukyou continued,"Akane told me she got cursed as a pig when
we fought. Do you want to tell me what your curse is?"

"A dog." Ryouga admitted. "What about you? You cursed?"

"Me?" Ukyou laughed. "No, no. I joined Ranma after he got back from
China. I'm not cursed."

"Oh." Ryouga said. "I guess I'll try the special."

"Sounds good to me." Nabiki added.

"Do you know," Ukyou said as she started cooking, "I like Ranma a lot.
He is so much like someone I loved, loved greatly. But I had to give
that man up. I don't want to see Ranma hurt. Killing you would have
marked him for life. That I couldn't let happen. So I protected you.
I'm being nice to you because.... well, what's the point in being mean?
It was an accident that killed Ucchan. I know that. Ranma knows that.
He just can't accept it as easily."

*********************************

Ranma sat on the back steps of the store, staring at the stars.  "I
try, Ucchan." he said as he stared. "I try so hard to not get angry at
them, at him. But it's hard. I wanted to stuff Ryouga's apology down
his throat."

He sat there for a couple of minutes before continuing his litany to
the stars, to his love. "Why am I here? In Nerima?  Why did I let Ukyou
talk me into moving here? I should have said no. I should have said
move to Kyoto or something.  Now, I have to see the people responsible
for your death every day at school."

"I don't know if I can do it, Ucchan. I don't know if I can control
myself. Every time I see Akane or Ryouga, I see you dying in my arms.
What do I do?"

"Damn it." Ranma whispered. "Damn it, why'd ya have to die Ucchan?"

"Why?"

*********************************

Zae and Liotha watched Ranma talk to the stars in one of Liotha's
globes.

"He's still depressed." Zae noted.

Liotha nodded. "It comes and goes now. Ukyou's wounds are almost
healed, I think. But Ranma still has a way to go."

"So what do we do?" Zae asked. "Make him forget his Ucchan, or
something?"

"We do nothing." Liotha replied. "We do nothing. We have done all that
we should already."

*********************************

Ranma-chan looked at the sky irritably. It was raining. Ukyou looked at
her in amusement as they both ran to school. They were running so fast
that waves were being kicked up behind them.

"Told you you'd get wet soon." Ukyou noted.

"This is unbelievable." Ranma-chan muttered. "Why couldn't you have
picked a dryer place to move to? Hokkaido, or Osaka? Neither of them
have rainfall like this!"

"Droughts are bad for business." Ukyou replied. "Well, that's more true
in a rural area than in the middle of a city, but it's still true! And
there hasn't been a drought here in ages."

Ranma-chan looked at Ukyou as they continued to run. "You have got to
be kidding. You call that an argument?"

Perhaps Ranma-chan should have looked where she was going, as she
slammed into Kunou, who had been waiting in his usual spot to challenge
Ryouga.

"Ah, what beauty is this?" Kunou said as he put his hands on
Ranma-chan's shoulders. "Truly, the sight of the great Tatewaki Kunou
has driven her into my arms."

"Just let him go, Kunou." Ukyou said in a tired voice.

"Him? Are you blind woman?" Kunou asked.

Ranma-chan struggled out of Kunou's grip and jumped up and kneed him in
the face. As Kunou toppled to the wet ground, unconscious, she muttered
"Pervert."

Ukyou grabbed Ranma-chan's arm. "Come on. We're wet enough as it is."

"I don't suppose there's any chance of getting hot water before class,
is there?" Ranma-chan asked hopefully as Ukyou dragged her along.

"What'd be the point?" Ukyou asked as they reached the protection of
the school interior. "You haven't got a change of clothes here, and
with your clothes so wet, if you changed to a guy, you'd change right
back."

"True enough." Ranma-chan admitted with a sigh. "What am I going to do
in class? Say to the teacher 'No really, I am Ranma. So I've lost a
couple of inches, my hair's turned red, and I'm a girl. What's your
point?'"

Ukyou shrugged as they walked to class. "It could work."

"Yeah, right." Ranma-chan said, snorting derisively.

*********************************

"Kenji Oote?" the teacher called out.

"Present." a boy answered.

"Ranma Saotome?" the teacher called.

"Present." Ranma-chan answered as she did her best to hide behind the
guy who sat in front of her.

The teacher marked the roll. [Ranma sounded a little funny.] he
thought.  [Must have got a cold from that rain outside.]

The other students had noticed the redhead who had answered for Ranma,
and were staring at her. Ranma-chan nervously grinned, and waved back
to some of them.

"Akiko Takanashi?" the teacher continued.

"Present." a girl answered.

"Akane Tendo?" the teacher called. He waited a few seconds for a reply,
before calling "Akane Tendo?" again.

The door opened, and Akane and Ryouga stepped in. Both looked like they
had just come from a radiation spill clean up. They were wearing thick
plastic raincoats, wide brimmed rain hats, high-length rubber boots,
and both were carrying their bamboo umbrellas.

"Present." Akane said as she began to take off her rain gear, making
sure that she wasn't touched by too much of the water on them as she
did.

"Um... I'm present too." Ryouga said as he took his rain coat off.

"Well then," the teacher said with a frown, "you can 'presently' go get
some mops to clean up the mess you just made, then you can stand
outside for being late."

Akane and Ryouga sighed as they went and got mops to clean up the water
puddles they had made. They had been late because they had had to spend
time getting dressed in all that rain gear, and then they had had to be
extra careful of where they walked, so that they didn't fall into a
deep puddle.

Akane looked at Ranma-chan in annoyance as she mopped. [Typical.] she
thought. [He just waltzes in as a girl.]

*********************************

Ranma-chan shook her head in disbelief as she and Ukyou walked home.
She had gone the whole day as a girl, and not one teacher had made a
comment on it. Her classmates had accosted her at lunch, asking her if
she was really Ranma or just covering for him. After Ukyou helped
spatula the crowd off, Ranma-chan had spent the rest of the lunch break
running from them, so she hadn't been able to get hot water.

"You're unbelievable." Ukyou said. "I can't believe you got away with
that today. Not one teacher said anything about you being a girl."

"Just lucky I guess." Ranma-chan replied. "So, are you ready for our
little bet?"

"Bet?" Ukyou asked.

"Well... more of an agreement." Ranma-chan admitted. "Our agreement to
'go cute' tonight at the store."

Ukyou slapped her hand against her forehead. "Oh no. I'd forgotten."
she admitted.

"Well, lucky I didn't." Ranma-chan said with a grin. "It'll be worth
dressing like a girl just to see you do it."

Ukyou sighed. Ranma had said he'd take care of the uniforms, and she
had a bad feeling that tonight was going to be a very long night.

*********************************

"These clothes are a size too small." Ukyou said as she looked at what
she was wearing. The uniform wasn't much different to what she normally
wore, actually, it was just tighter. She wore a pair of tight black
leggings, that felt like they'd split apart at any second. She wore a
very tight blue shirt, with the word 'Ucchan's' on it. She also wore a
red miniskirt, although she didn't know why. After all, she was wearing
leggings, so it's not as if she was showing her legs off.

"That's the idea." Ranma-chan said. She was dressed the same as Ukyou,
except that her shirt was red, and her miniskirt was blue. "Just keep
repeating this to yourself: 'It was your idea, it was your idea.'"

"It wasn't my idea to do it myself!" Ukyou replied. "I've seen tissue
paper thicker than these clothes!"

"Your idea. Your idea." Ranma-chan intoned mercilessly as she grinned.

"You'd better be sure of these clothes." Ukyou warned. "If they fall
apart while I'm working, I'll kill you."

"You worry too much." Ranma-chan replied. "Besides, if that happens,
our business will boom! Now hold still, I have to do something with
that hair of yours. It's just not right."

*********************************

Business was roaring at Ucchans restaurant. Perhaps it was the two cute
cooks/waitresses who were running the place that night. One of them,
who had red hair swept back in a ponytail, seemed to be having fun,
laughing with customers, bouncing around as she delivered food.  The
other, a brown haired girl whose hair was braided in a thick pigtail at
the back, with a thin braid hanging from each of her temples to fall
onto the front of her shoulders, seemed a little more embarrassed.

"See." Ranma-chan said as she and Ukyou swapped the cooking role. "This
is raking in the business. Good plan, Ukyou."

"I have never been so embarrassed in all my life." Ukyou replied as she
took a completed order to a table. Ranma was actually enjoying this!
Enjoying it! She had never expected that. He obviously had about as
much feminine modesty as Ranchan did, without Ranchan's macho dislike
over his girl side. Still, Ranma was right. Half of the male population
of Nerima must be here. They were certainly making money.

*********************************

Ranma-chan closed the front door of the store after hanging the closed
sign. Business was done for the night. Now she could get her Pop to
clean up while she went to bed. Genma had gone to his room as soon as
he had seen what her and Ukyou had been wearing, and refused to come
out until the night's business was over.

"That might very well have been the busiest day I have ever had." Ukyou
admitted as she sat, sagged, on one of the chairs at a table.

Ranma-chan nodded. To relieve her muscles, she stretched her shoulders
back, raising her arms above her head. There was a tearing noise, and
her overstrained shirt fell to the floor in tatters. "Oops." Ranma-chan
said as she stared at what was now a set of rags on the floor.

"They rip that easy and we were wearing them in front of all those
people?" Ukyou screamed.

Ranma-chan shrugged. "But they didn't rip. And we did the best business
ever by a mile."

"No way I'm going through that again." Ukyou vowed. "Not even to help
business."

"No, I guess it wouldn't be comfortable to do it too often." Ranma-chan
admitted as she sat down next to Ukyou.

"Still, we can still do it." Ukyou said. "Just not in such tight
clothes next time."

"Our clientele will be disappointed." Ranma-chan pointed out.

"They'd better get over it." Ukyou replied. They sat there for another
minute before Ukyou said "Uhhhh.... don't you think you should go put
another shirt on? That is a bit distracting."

"Sorry." Ranma-chan said, and went off to get some hot water, and a set
of clothes to wear.

*********************************

"So they've moved nearby?" Soun asked Nabiki. They were seated at the
dinner table, along with the rest of the family and Ryouga.  It was
morning, and they were eating breakfast.

Nabiki nodded. "That's right. They've set up an okonomiyaki store near
here. It's called Ucchans. We went there a couple of nights ago."

"U...Ucchans?" Akane asked. She'd been denying the fact that they had
been responsible for someone's death for a while now. However, Ryouga
had been slowly convincing her.

Ryouga nodded. "I overheard a couple of people who were eating there.
They thought it was Ukyou's nickname or something! If they only
knew...."

"We must get them! For what they did!" Soun snarled, looking from Akane
to Ryouga and back.

Akane looked first at her father, then at Ryouga. Ryouga had a pleading
expression in his eyes. She turned back to Soun with a sigh. "No
Daddy." she said. "Leave them alone."

"But the engagement!" Soun cried. "Your curse! We can't just..."

"We can." Akane retorted. "They called off the engagement because Ranma
was in love with someone already. I think it's pretty obvious from the
way he's acted after she died that he loved her very much. Yes, it's
his fault that I'm cursed. But it's mine, and Ryouga's, that Ucchan is
dead. It's time to get on with life. Ranma can do what he pleases. I'm
not going after him anymore. Not as an enemy, and certainly not as a
prospective wife."

"Yes Daddy." Nabiki added. "We'll marry when we're good and ready, and
to whoever we want. I certainly hope you haven't got any other arranged
marriages up your sleeve."

Soun shook his head sadly. "No. Genma and I had such high hopes, that
our two schools, our two families would be united one day. But what
happens now? What about our honour? What is left?"

"What are you talking about?" Akane asked. "Life will be better without
that stupid engagement hanging over our heads. As for lost honour.... I
think both sides have lost too much for this to continue."

Ryouga nodded in agreement.

*********************************

Ranma and Ukyou walked to school, dressed as normal.

"By the way." Ranma said. "You won the bet."

"Bet?" Ukyou asked.

"About who was cuter. You got 50 yen more in tips than me. The crowd
voted." Ranma answered.

"Well, it's the last time I do something just because I was challenged
over it. I've been around you too long. I'm starting to get your
kneejerk reaction to challenges." Ukyou replied.

Ranma looked up ahead. They were almost at school. "Strange." he said
as he saw something.

"What?" Ukyou asked.

Ranma pointed. Ryouga and Akane were waiting just inside the school
gates. (Ryouga was, by the way, using an unconscious Kunou as a
footstool.)

The two chefs stopped a few feet away from the other two.

"Ranma." Akane said. "It's time we put aside our vendetta. I don't want
to continue this. I want to apologise, much as Ryouga has done. I can
only hope that you forgive us for Ucchan."

Several seconds passed as Ryouga, Akane and Ukyou looked at Ranma.  He
just stood there, looking at Akane. After a while, he sighed.  "Do you
know what it is like to lose the person you loved more than life
itself?" he asked Akane.

"No." Akane admitted. She had loved her mother very much, but she had
lost her when she was too young to really have the full impact.

"Pray you never do." Ranma said, and walked past her. As he continued
to walk towards the school, he turned his head and said "I will not
attack you two. Ucchan would not approve."

*********************************

"It's time we did something." Liotha said as she stared into a globe.

Zae walked up next to her. "I thought you said we had done enough?"

Liotha pointed to the globe. In it, Shampoo could be seen walking up to
Ucchan's restaurant. Liotha waved her hand, and another globe appeared
next to the first. In it, Mousse was seen to be walking past Furinkan
High School.

"Complications." Liotha noted. "How I hate complications."

"There's always a simple answer to complications." Zae suggested.

"I worry about you sometimes, Zae. All that power and you think that
killing them is the easiest solution." Liotha said.

"I worry about you, Liotha. It doesn't matter how much power you have,
death is the simplest solution." Zae retorted.

"It won't come to that. We'll just give Shampoo a worse fate than
death."

"And that is....?" Zae prompted.

"We help Mousse. We help him win." Liotha answered. "And if that
doesn't work.... well, I know a couple of goddesses of love who owe me
a favour or two. One way or another, we stop Shampoo from killing or
marrying Ranma."

"There is something else we can do." Zae noted. "I've met the Amazons
before. There is something else we can try."

*********************************

Ranma and Ukyou came home from school to find Shampoo waiting patiently
at one of the store's tables. Genma-Panda was trying to make himself
invisible in one of the corners of the room.

"Sh..Shampoo?" Ranma stuttered.

"Oh great." Ukyou muttered.

Shampoo looked carefully at Ranma. "Ranma? You male."

"Uh huh." Ranma answered, sweating slightly.

"He is neither male nor female." Zae said as she walked in the front
door.

"Who you?" Shampoo asked. Then she had a closer look at the woman and
gasped. "No. Can not be you. You legend. You not real."

"What is real, child?" Liotha asked as she stepped into view from the
back entrance. "And what is a legend, if not a colourful true story?"

"You recognise her?" Ukyou asked Shampoo.

Shampoo nodded. "Have many legends of strange beings who encounter
warriors from our village. She one of them. She suppose to be very
dangerous, very insane."

Zae nodded. "Ah, my younger days. How I enjoyed having fun in my youth.
And you Amazons! Such bad senses of humour! From memory, they created a
law just because of me."

Shampoo nodded. "So legend go. Law say that for the good of village,
don't cross Rainbow Hair unless survival of village at stake."

Ukyou blinked. "What did you do to them to get a law like that passed?
The Amazons are fearless! They'll take on anything!"

Zae turned to Ukyou. "Do you have a strong stomach? I can tell you what
I did if you do."

"Uhh.... I'll pass." Ukyou said.

"You show wisdom for your years." Liotha noted. She turned to Shampoo.
"I am sorry, child. Ranma, both boy and girl, is under our protection."

Zae nodded. "Yes. Follow your law, Warrior. The last time your village
crossed me, I left ten women to repopulate it. This time, I would not
be so merciful."

"I can't give up on kiss of death!" Shampoo cried. "I be dishonoured if
I do. Village would not accept me back."

"I shall tell the village of my protection." Zae answered. "Look, I
like a fighter. And you are one. But every fighter has to know when
they face an unwinnable fight. You will not win this one. Ranma is not
covered by your laws. He is also a she. He is a mystical creature, a
magical hermaphrodite."

"Hey!" Ranma shouted at that last bit.

"Shh. Idiot, they're trying to save you from death....or worse." Ukyou
whispered to him. [Like Shampoo trying to marry you all the time.]

"Ranma also girl?" Shampoo asked.

"Yes." Liotha answered.

"Then I kill? Or not kill?" Shampoo asked herself, confused.

"I know your laws, Shampoo." Zae said. "Ranma is not covered in them.
The kiss of death is invalid. Therefore, to pursue it when that will
bring my ire is foolish. Would you destroy your village in pursuit of a
death promise that should not have been delivered in the first place?"

"Great Grandmother never accept this." Shampoo said.

"Great Grandmother? Who is that? Maybe I know her. Although it has been
many decades since I last visited your village." Zae noted.

"Her name Cologne." Shampoo answered.

"Cologne? She's still alive? Ah.... you mortals never cease to amaze
me." Zae said. "Come on, we'll go talk to her. Believe me, Cologne will
remember me."

"But I..." Shampoo began as Zae grabbed her arm, and both faded from
sight.

"And I thought that Zae's questionable temper would never help her."
Liotha said. "She did a lot of nasty things to that village over the
centuries. As much as honour matters to them, they won't let Shampoo
pursue the kiss of death when it means annihilation. Especially not if
Ranma never fit the rules anyway, which he didn't."

"Why didn't you just tell her he was a male to start with?" Ukyou
asked.

"Look how much trouble her knowing that caused on your world." Liotha
pointed out. "Better to tell a little white lie, and let Shampoo get on
with her life."

"So, she won't be back?" Ranma asked.

Liotha shook her head. "No. Probably not. And if she does come back, I
just let Zae do what she has idly thought about doing to that village
for a while."

"What did the Amazons do to Zae to make her hate them?" Ukyou asked.

"Hate? Zae doesn't hate them. She likes them. Her... antics with them
has been her way of strengthening them. If she did destroy their
village, she wouldn't completely wipe them out, she'd let enough of
them live to rebuild, so that they could come back stronger. That's
what happened last time."

Ukyou shivered. [And she's helping us?] she thought. Maybe being
brought to the attention of these two wasn't such a good thing after
all.

Liotha nodded to Ranma and Ukyou. "Have fun. You won't see Mousse,
we'll go get him and send him back to Shampoo. After I give him
some.... tips and a couple of.... spare weapons I have, just to help
him out."

"Who's Mousse?" Ranma asked.

"Someone you won't have to worry about. Goodbye." Liotha said, and
walked out the front door.

*********************************

Mousse was walking down a road, looking for Shampoo, when he felt a
disorientating sensation overtake him. He stumbled before he stopped.
Putting on his glasses, he was amazed to find that he was back in his
home village.

"How did I get here?" he asked himself.

"I sent you here." Liotha's voice whispered in his ear. "I sent you
here so that you could defeat Shampoo."

Mousse looked around. No-one else was there. [I must have fallen asleep
and I'm dreaming.] he thought.

Mousse walked around the village. He saw that everyone had gathered in
the village square. He didn't know why, so he walked up to the
gathering to find out what was happening.

Everyone was arguing over something. Cologne, Shampoo, and some woman
with strangely coloured hair stood in the middle of a circle of
villagers, both men and women, which was rare in itself. A full village
meeting was almost never called, although women only ones happened a
bit more often.

Zae spotted Mousse. <Ah... good. All the players have arrived. What is
the village's decision?>

Cologne squinted at Zae. <We don't like being threatened.>

<Who does?> Zae asked.

<But, if you tell the truth, the kiss of death was invalid in the first
place.> Cologne added. <I will have Shampoo renounce it.>

<Of course I told the truth.> Zae said. Actually, she had spun a web of
lies, but they were lies that ensured Ranma wouldn't be chased. <After
all, people lie only when they have something to fear.>

<Anyone can be beaten.> Cologne retorted. <Anyone. Even a god. Remember
that.>

<Whatever.> Zae answered as she faded from sight.

<She is just as annoying as she was when I saw her in my youth.>
Cologne noted to no-one in particular.

*********************************

Mousse shook his head and walked to his home. If this wasn't a dream,
it was still strange. After he had walked to his room in his home, he
decided to inventory his weapons, that always calmed him down.

He started pulling weapons out of every pocket and sleeve, his hair and
other places. He paused when he picked out an unfamiliar club.  "Where
did that come from?" he asked.

After he had emptied his weapon load, he found at least five weapons he
had never seen before. "Strange." he said. "I wonder where I picked
these up from. I wonder how effective they are."

"I wonder if he's ever going to beat Shampoo." Zae muttered to herself
as she spied on him through Liotha's globes. She shrugged to herself.
Oh well, that would be his problem. She couldn't be expected to help
everybody.

*********************************

Time passes, as it is wont to do. It was an uneasy truce between Ranma
and Akane and Ryouga at first, but after some time, the two sides
started to ease up around each other. After all, they were in the same
classes, they had to learn to live with each other.

Ranma slowly pulled himself out of his depression. He would sometimes
slip back into his funk, but on the whole, he grew happier.

It was a strange friendship that Ranma and Ukyou shared. They knew each
other, on a deep level, and yet there were some very common things that
they didn't know. Favourite foods, for example, were different to their
realities. Ukyou found that although Ranma was still Ranma, a lot was
different, since he had had Ucchan's company for the last ten years.
Ranma found that although Ukyou was in so many ways like his Ukyou, she
also differed markedly in some areas, because she did not have his
company for the last ten years.

But it didn't matter that neither knew what the other had been doing
for New Years last year, or what flavour ice cream was their favourite
any more. Such things were unimportant. In their core, they knew each
other, and what more did one need for a great friendship?

Friends. It was after a while that Ukyou began to think about them.
The ones on her own world.

*********************************

*What, are you stuck here in a dream world or something?*

Ukyou watched as Ranma closed up the shop for the night. She was
troubled.  It had been two months since she arrived on this world.

*...wish you'd come back. We miss you.*

Two months, and she had barely thought about going home. She realised
that she was slowly starting to forget her old friends. Konatsu, all
the friends she made in the cooking business, even Shampoo and Mousse,
all the ones she didn't see in this reality. She'd avoided thinking
about them.

*I miss you.*

Right now, she found that she couldn't stop thinking of them. What
about her own store, back in her reality? How was Konatsu running that?
How was he, how was everyone? Had Ranchan finally got the guts to admit
his feelings to Akane? Ukyou walked out the back door. It was time to
make a decision. She had avoided it for too long.

*Please Ukyou. Please come back.*

Ranma saw Ukyou leave, and followed her.

*********************************

Ranma and Ukyou stood on the back stairs of their store.

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked Ukyou. He had noticed that she looked
troubled.

"It's time for me to go back to my own world." Ukyou replied.

"What? Just like that?" Ranma asked, a bit stunned.

"I've been here a bit over two months, Ranma. I'm beginning to realise
that I was running from myself by being here, just as I had run from
myself when I dressed as a boy. Just as I had run from myself when I
refused to see that Ranchan loved Akane more than me. It's time to stop
running." She closed her eyes for a moment, and called "Liotha! Are you
here?"

"Yes." Liotha said as she stepped out of the darkness of the night.

Ukyou opened her eyes and looked at her. "I've decided. I want to..."

"Wait!" Ranma shouted. He grabbed Ukyou by the shoulders and turned her
to face him. "Don't go Ukyou! Don't leave me!"

Ukyou shook her head sadly. "You've climbed out of your despair, Ranma.
Akane and Ryouga no longer chase you. Shampoo and Mousse are gone. You
will be fine, it is time for me to go."

"But... I care for you." Ranma whispered.

"Do you? Or do you just want me to stay because I am a version of your
dead fiance?" Ukyou asked.

Ranma shook his head. "No. No, I never liked you for that. In fact, I
resented you sharing her face at first. You aren't her, Ukyou. You are
you. And I care for you... as you. As Ukyou, not Ucchan. I don't want
you to leave."

"I have friends to go home to." Ukyou replied.

"You have friends here too. You have a home here too. You have me
here.  Don't go, Ukyou. You were a friend to me in my worst hour. You
were my friend and I care for you. Don't go. Please."

Ukyou turned to Liotha. "What do you think I should do?" she asked.

Liotha raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why ask me?"

"You brought me here." Ukyou pointed out.

"True. I think you should make up your own mind." Liotha answered. "In
the end, it is your choice. Not mine, not Ranma's, not your friends
back home."

Ukyou turned back to Ranma. Then she looked at the store. Then, she
turned back to Ranma. She just stood there, looking at Ranma for five
or six minutes.

"I'll..... stay." she decided. So she was living a dream. So what, she
decided. There really wasn't anything for her back home. She could make
her life here, without ever having to see Akane with her Ranchan, see
them married. Perhaps it was hiding. But she didn't care.

Ranma smiled.

"How uplifting." Liotha noted in a monotone voice. She snatched an
object out of thin air and threw it to Ukyou. "Here." she said.

Ukyou caught the object and looked at it. It was a small brooch.
"What's this for?"

"A gift." Liotha said. "For making your choice. It will allow you and
anyone else you wish to travel between this reality and yours. Two sets
of friends for the price of one, in a way."

"You mean.... you were going to let me travel between here and there at
will anyway?" Ukyou asked incredulously.

Liotha shrugged. "It would have belittled your choice to have told you
of it beforehand. Take your Ranma here and visit your world. I'm sure
they would be delighted to have two Ranmas running around."

"They'd kill him." Ukyou said. "I think we'll lay off going there until
Ranma perfects those moves Ranchan showed him."

"Suit yourself." Liotha said. "Find happiness in each other." Liotha
added as she faded from view.

Ranma put an arm around Ukyou. "So, what do you think?"

"I think it's time we put you in that waitressing outfit again, and
make our business grow." Ukyou replied.

Ranma grinned. "Only if you do too."

Ukyou punched him lightly on the arm. "Not a chance." she said.

"Please?" Ranma whined.

"You have got to be kidding."

Ranma shrugged. "Worth a try. You really did look great in that
uniform."

"Tell you what." Ukyou said. "I'll play you a round of poker, and loser
dresses in the uniform for a week." She grinned as she thought [Ha.
Ranma's hopeless at poker. I'll win this for sure.]

"Ok. You've got a deal." Ranma said. [Wow, it's been a while since I've
played poker.] he thought. [Ever since I got so sick of losing to
Ucchan that I trained in Martial Arts Keeping A Poker Face, and began
winning all the time. I wonder if Ukyou's Ranma trained in it. Ah....
he must have.  Why else would she challenge me if she didn't think I
could play?]

*********************************

Zae smiled as she and Liotha watched Ranma and Ukyou in a globe.
"Well," Zae said, "I have to admit, it felt good to help."

"Yes." Liotha replied. "It feels good that they feel good."

"I hate to say it, but this was fun." Zae admitted. "You want any help
on any other of your cases?"

Liotha's lip twitched. It might have been a smile. "Now that you
mention it...." she waved her hand, and the room burst with light as
thousands of globes, each with an image of some saddened person in it,
glowed to life. "... I do have a few other cases to get round to."

Zae shielded her eyes from the intense light of all the globes.
"You've been waiting a while to sucker someone like me into helping,
haven't you?" she asked dryly.

"Millennia." Liotha admitted. And grinned.

**************************************************************************
**************************************************************************

Well, that's that one been and done. Ah..... Ukyou. Let me kneel before
your shrine (kneels, bows head, touches fist to forehead in reverent
gesture). I'd feel a lot more guilty about continually putting Ukyou in
a good/decent light in my fanfics if it wasn't for the fact that I
honestly think that she's the best and most loveable character in the
series. And if you don't agree, may the spatula god deliver you a most
unwelcome gift in a most uncomfortable place. Just kidding, don't flame
me for that.

I don't think that a couple of the characters in Ranma get a decent
showing in the fanfictions. Out of the main characters, I definitely
think that it's Ukyou who gets used the least, she is usually a minor
supporting character. So I try to address the imbalance. I'm just a
community service orientated kind of guy.

Liotha and Zae are just generic goddesses/beings of power. Why is
Liotha so depressing? Maybe she lost a pet when she was young.
Actually, it was so she had empathy with the depressed Ukyou and Ranma,
enough empathy to decide to help them. Maybe I'll use them again, they
seem the type to interfere for no good reason. Bacchus, by the way, is
the Roman God of Wine, which is why he won the drinking contest.

Somewhere, somewhen, in some bloody reality, Ryouga must have not
blamed Ranma for his curse. I never mentioned it in the fanfic, not
outright, and Ryouga never realised it, but the fox who caused him to
fall in was, of course, Ucchan.

Some will probably write to me saying that Akane would never act like
that. I say: YOU get cursed as a small, defenceless, edible pig and YOU
see how rational you are in how you blame a person. Akane can get very
angry at times, and so a curse could possibly make her go after the
person responsible.

There were bound to be some character changes to Ranma and even Genma
if they had an extra person travelling with them for the last ten
years, especially if it was Ucchan. I think that she would have been a
great help in getting Ranma to accept his curse. Ten years of sparring
with her would of given him a much healthier respect for women's
fighting abilities, and he therefore wouldn't look so badly on his
other body, especially with Ucchan to talk to after the curse.

So, that is my third fanfic down the drain. I'm still not quite over
the writing fever, so I'll probably do a couple more. We'll see.

Till next time.

"I'd be apathetic, but I can't be bothered." -Unknown