Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
Purple-haired Destiny
By Ryan Anderson
Part 1:Beginnings and Endings.

Standard Takahashi Disclaimer. I don't own any of these characters, 
I'm just a humble college student/otaku. Please don't sue me, I don't 
have any money.

More Disclaimers: I'm new to the FFML, but some of my pre-readers have 
instructed me, for my own saftey, to put a Kun-chan and Zen disclaimer 
in here. so here it is.

Continutiy Note:This is set loosely following the Manga, taking place 
about a year after the Manga ended. The only real differaces are that 
Nodoka doesn't know about Ranma's curse, and there is no Akari (Don't 
know enough about Akari, so I didn't include her.)


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"ouch."

Ranma sat... somewhere. He wasn't sure exactly where. Wherever he was, 
it was so peaceful here... The clouds drifted serenely across the bright 
blue sky, birds chirped somewhere close by... and as long as he didn't 
move, Ranma was fairly sure his head wouldn't start throbbing again.

"Baka kawaiikune tomboy..." Ranma muttered under his breath. He 
didn't think she'd EVER hit him this hard before. He'd only regained 
consciousness a few minutes ago... long enough to try to lift his head 
and discover new realms of agony, the likes of which he hadn't known 
existed. It was late in the day, but Ranma didn't mind overly much. On a 
pleasant summer day like today, he had no problem camping out for one 
night, and maybe by the time he returned to the dojo whatever had pissed 
her off so much would have blown over. 

He sighed. Today had just gone from bad to worse. With their Senior year 
nearly out of the way, his and Akane's fathers had stepped up trying to 
get the two to marry again. Breakfast had quickly gone from peaceful to 
warzone as the topic of conversation had drifted to him and Akane 
getting married. Then he'd gone said something stupid again... After 
living with (and getting hit by) her for almost two years now, he 
thought he ought to know better. However, the lumps he'd received this 
morning had been nothing compared to what he'd had waiting for him at 
school.

Kuno had challenged him again, and today he had had the weirdest 
sense of confidence as he and Ranma had faced off. Initially Ranma had 
chalked it up to Kuno getting hit in the head one-too-many times, but as 
the fight had progressed, things had begun going badly for Ranma. Kuno 
seemed possessed today, and came at him faster than he'd ever seen 
Tatewaki before. Kuno only managed to land one blow, and it hadn't hurt 
too much, but it was still a blow to his pride to have let Kuno land 
even one. Before he could deal out the appropriate amount of 
retribution, however, the kendoist had suddenly collapsed in a heap, 
snoring soundly. Ranma hadn't even had to lay a finger on him. In 
retrospect, that should have made him wary, but at the time he'd been 
too pissed at missing his chance to beat the hell out of Kuno to wonder 
about *why* he'd passed out. 

Of course, not having had a chance to release his anger and frustration, 
he'd let it out at the first available source: Akane. Again, big 
mistake. 

He'd been doing that more and more lately, lashing out at her with 
increasing heat to his words. It made him feel bad to see the hurt in 
her eyes, but some how he just didn't feel bad enough to stop. He 
thought he'd cared about her once... He'd always wanted to protect her, 
reveling in the warm feeling he always got when he saved her from some 
menace... Lately, however, he'd begun to question just what he did feel 
for her. The few tender moments they had shared... what were they 
really? Could that really be called love? On adventures, it was fun to 
be with her, rescue her; it made him feel good. But day-to-day, was that 
what he wanted to come home to? A beating? He just didn't know and, of 
course, their parents weren't helping anything, always pushing them 
together, never letting them make any decisions for themselves. 

Ranma was afraid of the answer to this question of Akane. Both sides 
would only bring a lot of pain. If he married her, his honor would be 
satisfied, as would that of his family. But would he ever be happy with 
her? And if he didn't marry her, not only would he be ostracized from 
his family, but he wasn't likely to survive the experience of telling 
the violent tomboy he wasn't interested in her anymore. Besides, Akane 
didn't seem to like him overly much... She just kept hitting him. How 
could he force her into a marriage she obviously didn't want?

Ranma sighed again, his head beginning to clear. Once more he drifted 
back to the day's events. After Akane had belted him out into the school 
yard, he'd discovered *why* Kuno had been so good... he'd teamed up with 
his sister and her drugs. In fact, his bokken had been coated in a slow-
acting paralysis poison, while Tatewaki himself must have been flying on 
speed or something. The paralysis had taken over when he landed in the 
school yard, only to be discovered by none other than the sick, twisted 
individual who had put it on the bokken in the first place. 

Kodachi had pounced on his now-helpless form, and had begun 
dragging him off to lord-knows-what horrible fate. Thankfully, Ukyo had 
spotted them before they'd made it off school grounds and had confronted 
Kodachi. The black rose and the spatula queen had battled for quite a 
while, using the helpless Ranma as the battle field most of the time. 
Ukyo had finally driven Kodachi off, and was cradling his head in her 
lap just as Akane showed up. Of course, typically, she hadn't waited for 
an explanation and had booted him back toward the dojo. Landing in the 
pool in the backyard had cured his paralysis but activated his curse, 
and by the time he had gotten changed back, Akane had returned home, 
still steaming mad. 

Apparently, Ukyo had informed her that Kodachi and he had been leaving 
school together and she'd stopped them. Akane, of course, assumed that 
meant Ranma had *willingly* left with Kodachi (which no one in their 
right mind would do) and yet another argument had begun. This one had 
raged far longer than normal, both of them reaching new heights of 
anger, when finally Ranma had said something to the effect of "... was 
never going to marry you so I don't know why you care what I do or who I 
do it with, seeing as you're such a kawaiikune violent tomboy..."

With that, and a scream of pure rage, Akane had launched Ranma into 
orbit. Ranma seriously doubted he'd ever been hit so hard in his entire 
life, and knew he had gotten a decent concussion out of it. He was 
actually quite surprised he could still remember the pain of the blow.. 
that was usually the nice things about concussions, they made it so you 
couldn't remember how you got them. Now he was... here, wherever that 
was. The sun had gone down, and it was really getting dark, so he 
figured he should at least try to get up again and see where he was. 

His second attempt at standing went a far cry better than his last 
attempt, but he was still racked with pain as he got to his feet, the 
world spinning around him. He was suddenly violently ill, but as he 
finished releasing what was left in his stomach the world seemed to 
settle down a bit and stop spinning. Dazed, he looked at his 
surroundings. He appeared to have made it all the way out of Tokyo, 
'cause he certainly didn't remember there being a forest anywhere around 
there. With the sun gone and clouds beginning to roll in, he had no idea 
which direction was which. 

He cursed himself silently. He was as lost as Ryouga, probably 
more so, at the moment (remembering how "P-chan" had appeared 
yesterday). Finally, he decided there was no help for it, spun around in 
a circle, and started heading in that direction. 

He'd wandered for about an hour, his head throbbing and his stomach 
gnawing at him for missing dinner and losing his lunch, yet he seemed no 
closer to getting to any sort of civilization. In the hour he'd been 
walking he hadn't seen any sign of dwelling, human habitation, or even a 
cave to take shelter in. The clouds had rolled in and covered the sky, 
making it extremely dark, and he'd tripped an untold number of times in 
the infernal darkness. He just couldn't imagine how today could possibly 
get any worse.

Then a noise began to penetrate his fatigue-fogged mind, a noise that 
wasn't one of the natural background sounds of the forest. It was the 
sound of someone crying. Moving as quietly as he could in the dark, he 
made his way toward that very human noise, which seemed to echo through 
the forest. Finally, he saw a light up ahead, and as he approached he 
realized it was the dying embers of a campfire. Carefully he crept up to 
the light, barely making out a figure reclining next the fire, seemingly 
sobbing its eyes out.

Suddenly, Ranma realized he knew this figure. "Sh-shampoo??" he 
asked, surprised.

No less surprised than Shampoo, obviously, as the Chinese girl 
suddenly sat up straight, straining her eye to see him in the darkness 
beyond the soft light of her dying campfire. She quickly wiped her eyes, 
trying to hide the tears, but it was no use; it was obvious to anyone 
who saw her that she had been crying.

"R-Ranma?? Wha.. What you doing here?!?"

Ranma walked into the radius of the campfire. He knew he must look a 
fright: his clothes torn by numerous falls and scrapes, his face 
bruised. Yet as he walked close enough to see Shampoo, he knew that he 
couldn't possibly look any worse than she did. Oh, it wasn't that she 
had been beaten. No, it was the look in her eyes and on her face-- a 
look of such complete and utter despair it made Ranma's scraped and 
bruised self look immaculate by comparison.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I got booted out here by 
Akane and then got lost... but what the heck are you doing way out here 
in the middle of nowhere?"

"Ranma ..." she looked on the verge of tears again, but she 
quickly turned away, trying to hide it.

Ranma didn't have many weaknesses, but he knew that seeing girls in pain 
was one of them. He didn't particularly like to see anyone in pain, but 
seeing Shampoo there before him, the strong Amazon that had always been 
so proud, _crying_... it broke down any rational thoughts of 
consequences or Akane. He went over to her and pulled her close, hugging 
her to him, as she sobbed out her grief onto his shoulder. What could 
possible have happened to do this to her? Shampoo dedicated her entire 
life to not showing weakness.... 

Ranma could only think of one other time she had shown anything like 
this before: when she'd stood over his female form, sword raised for the 
killing blow. Something had been in her eyes then. It hadn't been as 
intense as the look he had just seen, but it had been the same thing... 
a look of horror, a look of sadness, and a look of fear. All the things 
she tried her hardest as an Amazon not to show to anyone.

Slowly her sobs stopped and, remarkably, she pulled away from 
Ranma. She pushed him back to arms length, looking into his eyes with a 
bit more of her old pride in her eyes... though no less sadness. 

"Ranma, Shampoo... Shampoo no can marry you anymore.." She 
looked on the verge of tears, but pressed on. "Shampoo no more 
Amazon! Shampoo nothing but worthless garbage!" Now Shampoo 
started crying once more, the tears running unashamedly down her face.

Ranma was shocked. What was Shampoo saying? How could she not be an 
Amazon? And what was this about not being able to marry him anymore? 
"Shampoo! Don't say that! You're not worthless! You're... you're..." 
Ranma struggled for the correct word, something that would make her feel 
better, anything to get that hurt look out of her eyes... "you're 
special... you're a great fighter, and you're cute, too."

Shampoo looked skeptically at Ranma, as if she didn't believe any of it. 
"Why you even bother being nice to Shampoo, Ranma? Always treat like 
dirt before. Never care for Shampoo, no one ever care for Shampoo!"

"Shampoo... that's not..." Ranma struggled for a way to deny it, but 
he couldn't.

"It no matter now, Ranma." Shampoo said sadly. "Shampoo was fool, and 
now Shampoo has lost everything. Is not Ranma's problem. Shampoo has 
come here so no one have to hate Shampoo anymore." she said, gesturing 
toward the far end of the small camp.

Ranma followed her gesture, and saw... nothing. He blinked again and 
realized why he didn't see anything over there.. it was because there 
was nothing there to see but empty air. The camp was pitched at the edge 
of a cliff.

Shampoo evidently saw his look of dawning horror. "Shampoo no 
longer be a disgrace to her family. Shampoo no longer have family."

Ranma was stunned. He'd seen people awfully depressed before, even 
people besides Ryouga, but not like this, not so seriously. Shampoo was 
such a creature of extremes, she either hated with all her heart, or she 
loved in an equal amount. And when she hated herself, there was no 
messing around.

"Shampoo, why don't you tell me why you decided to make this... final of 
a decision? What could possibly have caused you to sink so low?"

"Shampoo tell you her story, one last time, it not like Ranma care 
anyway. Still, Shampoo think it be nice that someone hear it."

"Ranma, You remember when you first come to village?" Ranma 
nodded. "Shampoo was best fighter, no one Shampoo's age could possibly 
match. Had always been so. Shampoo grow up very lonely. Great-
grandmother always say. 'Shampoo, you must be best fighter, or else!' so 
Shampoo beat all others from very young age. It tough to have friends 
when you beat them up all time. Everyone Shampoo's age fear Shampoo, and 
Shampoo just sneer at them, 'cause great-grandmother say Shampoo one day 
have all Amazons kneel before her. Shampoo always listen to Great-
grandmother, always hope for that day when other Amazons look up to 
Shampoo. At time, Shampoo always thought that all girls Shampoo's age 
respect her, but now Shampoo know truth, they all fear Shampoo. When 
Ranma came to village, Shampoo had never met anyone like. Ranma was not 
afraid of Shampoo, and that make Shampoo very angry, though Shampoo no 
know why. When Ranma beat Shampoo so easily, Shampoo was shocked, that 
not way great-grandmother said things should be! So Shampoo give Ranma 
kiss of death..."

Ranma looked at the Chinese girl. She seemed so... hopeless. It was as 
if she had given up all reason for living except to tell him her story. 
He shuddered, what could possibly have happened to bring her to this? 
Sure, she'd had a lonely childhood, but so had they all. Ranma on his 
training trip with a father who cared so little for him that he was 
willing to sell Ranma for food, engage him for anything, and who was 
responsible for keeping him away from his mother. Ukyo had run away from 
home, lived as a boy and spent her life on the road of revenge, while 
Ryouga was lost constantly, searching the world over for Ranma on a 
misguided quest. All of them had had their fair share of childhood 
tragedy, even Akane had lost her mother. Surely Shampoo had more to tell 
than just a sad childhood.

Still, for once he decided that this situation was too delicate to let 
his big mouth get in the way. A person's life hung in the balance here. 
He decided he would hear her out. 

"Shampoo then chase Ranma all over China, and for once Shampoo able to 
see that there more to world than just Amazons. Shampoo keep after 
Ranma, but maybe she no try as hard as she could. Shampoo was... scared 
of world she found, so full of people unlike her, who no follow her 
customs, who didn't believe Amazon ways. Finally Shampoo reach Japan, 
and there people not even speak Chinese! When she finally find Ranma 
again, at last she find something familiar, something she know... 
Shampoo must kill Ranma! So Shampoo try, but then Shampoo discover Ranma 
male...."

"Shampoo was so confused, she no know what to do! Laws say must marry 
Ranma, yet also say must kill Ranma! Shampoo was so alone, away from 
everything she knew... She not really hate Ranma though, Ranma had shown 
Shampoo the world, shown her that there was more than just fighting... 
and male Ranma was so strong, so handsome... Yet she see fear in eyes, 
like back home. Shampoo no know why at time, but that make her angry... 
and scared. Why everyone fear Shampoo? She ask self. Why no one just 
love Shampoo? When Ranma try tell Shampoo he really girl, Shampoo feel 
cheated, so she attack Ranma again, and was about to kill, but saw look 
of fear in eyes again... Shampoo no like that. That hurt Shampoo. Ranma 
had been nice to Shampoo even though she try to kill him, and now she 
was cause him fear... Again Shampoo ask herself, 'Why everyone fear 
Shampoo?' and Shampoo answer self, ''cause Shampoo mean to everyone, so 
they no like her.' But great-grandmother always say 'fear is good' and 
Shampoo was so confused, so she... ran."

Shampoo took a deep breath, shaking a bit. This was obviously very 
difficult for her to think back to these times, thought Ranma. He wished 
Kasumi were here, or anyone who was good at this touchy-feelly stuff... 
but no one else was, and if he was going to save Shampoo, he had to be 
here for her. Quietly, he indicated that she should continue.

"When Shampoo get back to village, no welcome for her. Shampoo's 
'friends' all not talk to her, 'cause she lose.. then great-grandmother 
take Shampoo to Jusenkyo and she get curse. Then great-grandmother say 
'Shampoo, can help you get Ranma's love, it easy' and Shampoo hurt, and 
confused. She always believe great-grandmother, so she believe that 
great-grandmother make everything ok. Then Shampoo make it back to 
Japan, and find that curse is even worse than Shampoo think, 'cause 
Ranma no like cats. That hurt Shampoo even more, that fate seem to be 
against her so. She go to great-grandmother, say 'anything! please! Make 
Ranma love Shampoo!' so great-grandmother and Shampoo use potion after 
spell after potion on Ranma, try make him love Shampoo. Never does it 
work, Ranma always go back to violent tomboy. Shampoo not know why, no 
can understand why Ranma not like her... is cause Shampoo not cute? 
Shampoo not cook good? Somewhere, Shampoo always know that it more than 
that, but keep telling self that she can make Ranma love her. And great-
grandmother always agree... Shampoo a fool for believing great-
grandmother. Shampoo also have many adventures with Ranma, and she see 
him as truly nice guy. He always help people when they need him, even if 
his pride no let him admit he nice guy. Shampoo know she never find 
anyone as wonderful as Ranma... Finally, after trying for year, Shampoo 
begin to despair. She no think she ever get Ranma's love. She also no 
practice martial arts for while, since Ranma so good, why she need them? 
Finally, Mousse challenge Shampoo again, but for once Shampoo lose! 
Shampoo no believe it. Everyone always say Mousse love Shampoo, but 
Shampoo know that lie. Mousse just want Shampoo 'cause she the prettiest 
in village, so Mousse prove he real man or something. Stupid Moose. Even 
worse than loosing to Mousse, great-grandmother get angry at Shampoo! 
Yell at Shampoo! Tell Shampoo, 'You no longer Amazon! You bring shame to 
your family! You disgrace! You never come back to China! And you never 
speak to Amazon again!'" 

Now tears were once again rolling down her face. Ranma didn't know what 
to think or feel... Shampoo, no longer an Amazon? 

Shampoo continued, gasping out her story between sobs. "Being 
Amazon only thing Shampoo have! No one love Shampoo, Shampoo no longer 
great fighter! All Shampoo is is Amazon! Shampoo weak, she cry, she run 
into woods... Now Shampoo knows what she must do. Shampoo have no more 
reason to live...." She began sobbing in earnest again. Ranma tried to 
imagine what she was going through, what it would be like to feel you 
had no redeeming value... Strangely, he didn't find it all that hard to 
imagine.  

"Shampoo.." He said, lifting her chin till their eyes met. "You aren't 
the only one... to feel this way. What do I have? A fiancee who beats me 
to a pulp, a father who would sell me for food, a mother who doesn't 
even know I exist, and whom I can't approach for fear of death? I grew 
up with no friends except my martial arts, and even now, I don't really 
have any real friends, or anyone who cares at all for me. Oh I there's 
Akane, and under other circumstances, it might have worked out between 
us. But now... both of us have so much pride... too much to let the 
other in. We'll never be friends, and even if we were forced to be 
married, the odds are pretty lousy for it being a happy marriage. I 
don't know if I love her, and I don't think I even know what love is."

"Ranma... You no say such things. You... You do good things, Shampoo 
only does bad. You help people, make world better place... Shampoo only 
causes pain."

"Shampoo... you've done good things too! You remember when Kuno and his 
Phoenix attacked us? Not only did you make those pills, but you also 
saved Akane when she might have been hurt! Or that time when we fought 
against Cologne at the ski resort? If it hadn't been for you, I never 
would have been able to stop her! It's true that you have done some 
things that were... less than honorable, but don't ever tell me that 
you've never done anything good!"

Shampoo sniffed, still looking at the ground, though she did seem to be 
considering what Ranma was saying. "Ranma, you always so 
honorable... Shampoo never know honor, Shampoo only know win... that all 
great-grandmother teach. Shampoo wish she knew honor, maybe then she do 
good things too, maybe someone love Shampoo as much as everyone love 
Ranma."

Ranma snorted. "'As much as everyone loves Ranma'?? Hardly... 
everyone is always out to kill me! Ryouga, Kuno, Ukyo, _you_, even 
Akane, lately it seems. And as for my honor.. I wish I could say that I 
was honorable as you claim, but I even I'm not perfect. Usually when I 
try to help people, it's only for some way to cure my curse."

"But Ranma, even if people no like you, you still no hurt them. 
Shampoo never understand that, why Ranma never just kill stupid rivals 
and be done with it... That what Shampoo would have done. But that why 
Shampoo no have friends, right? Shampoo also wonder why Ranma no like 
curse so much. It no wrong to be girl! In A..Amazons, being women very 
good thing... men looked down upon. At least in you cursed form, one you 
love no run from you." 

Ranma looked embarrassed for a moment, "Ah, I shouldn't expect you to 
understand... I know that I don't like you as a c..c...your cursed form, 
but you don't have to deal with the sudden change with the way you 
interact with people, especially when I've been raised my whole life to 
believe I have to be a 'man amongst men.' And besides, you don't seem to 
particularly like my curse form anyway."

"Oh, Shampoo not mind. Is not so unusual in village for woman to fall in 
love with woman. Shampoo not like that, but can accept that. Only not 
like girl-Ranma 'cause she suppose to kill girl..."

Ranma strained his brain... There had to be a way out of this ever 
deepening cycle of angst! It seemed like Shampoo was so resigned to her 
fate, what could he tell her that would want to make her go on living? 
"Shampoo... " suddenly, he thought of something. " Shampoo!" 

Shampoo looked up at him curiously, though there was still no hope in 
her eyes. "Shampoo! I've got it! Why don't you come back to the dojo 
with me? I'm sure that when they hear your story, they'll let you stay! 
And if you stay there, we can work on rebuilding you martial arts! Not 
only that, but maybe we can try to teach you about honor too!"

For the first time that night, hope, or something akin to it, began to 
creep back into her. As they stood there looking into each other's eyes, 
the hope began to swell within her until her eyes fairly shown... much 
like a cat's. Then suddenly her eyes became guarded again. "Ranma, why 
you be so nice to Shampoo all of sudden? You always push Shampoo away.. 
Always ignore Shampoo. Shampoo know you no care for her."

Ranma shook his head. Why _was_ he doing this? He didn't hate 
Shampoo, and certainly did want her to kill herself, but taking her home 
with him? All that was likely to do was cause him to get beaten by Akane 
a lot more over the inevitable misunderstandings about having Shampoo 
around (he still remembered what happened that time Ukyo had come to 
stay.) Yet... something was different now. This wasn't the cold aloof 
girl who glomped onto him like giving her affections was nothing more 
than giving someone a pat on the back. This wasn't Shampoo, the Amazon 
bimbo, this was Shampoo, the very alone, very sad, and very much in need 
of help girl. It didn't matter that he didn't love her, she needed his 
help, and he'd give it. "Shampoo... you're right, Maybe I don't love 
you. But I don't not like you either. I don't want to see you in pain 
like this, and if I there's something I can do to stop it, then you'd 
better believe that I'm going to do it."

Shampoo looked him over curiously. Then nodded. "Ok Ranma, 
Shampoo come with you. Shampoo no try to get you anymore. 
Shampoo be Ranma's friend?"

Ranma nodded. "Yes Shampoo, I'll be your friend. Now come on, let's get 
some sleep."

***

The next morning was foggy, but not enough to trigger the change in 
either of them. Shampoo was still stunned by what Ranma had told her 
last night, and she had lain awake long into the night, thinking about 
what the future would bring. In the morning, as the two of them set off 
back toward town, Shampoo gave Ranma a long look. Even if she was only 
going to be his friend, suddenly the future looked a lot better. 

They had been trekking through the woods for sometime, Shampoo 
leading since she knew the way back, when she became aware that 
Ranma was staring at her back intensely. Curious, she turned around. 
Ranma looked strange... almost, guilty. She watched him, patiently 
waiting for him to say whatever it was his brain was chewing on.

"Shampoo I.... I... I just wanted to say... that is... I wanted to... 
you know... well, uh... kinda... well, appolo... apologize for the way 
I've treated you the last couple years." Ranma was flushing a deep red 
by this point, and Shampoo was quite impressed Ranma had gotten it out 
at all. In all the time she had known Ranma, she'd only know him to 
apologize once or twice. For some reason though, she didn't feel shocked 
that he'd said it. "Shampoo know.. It not matter though. Ranma have good 
reason to be angry at Shampoo... most time." she said. "That Shampoo no 
longer. We friends now, right? Put past behind us, 'kay?"

Ranma nodded, still blushing. "You know Shampoo, When we get to the 
dojo, Akane is not going to be happy to see that I've been with you..."

Shampoo sighed. Ranma apparently still didn't think too much of her 
intelligence... though she supposed he had reason. "No worry, Ranma. 
Shampoo know she must behave. Shampoo do many mean things to Akane too, 
must apologize to violent... must apologize to Akane."

Ranma nodded, apparently satisfied that she wasn't going to make 
things any worse than they were going to be. She sighed again... if only 
she hadn't stopped practicing her martial arts... Now she was so bad 
even Akane could probably beat her! Not that it mattered, since she 
wasn't an Amazon anymore....

Shampoo squashed that line of though, it would only drive her deeper 
into depression. Quietly, they made their way back toward Tokyo.

***

As they neared the dojo, Ranma was worried. No, more than that, he was 
beginning to get a little bit scared. Akane and him hadn't been on the 
best of terms lately, and there was a very real possibility that 
bringing Shampoo home with him after being out all night would drive the 
final nail in the coffin of their relationship. For all his prostrations 
yesterday about not knowing if he loved her or not, he _was_ looking 
forward to seeing her again, even if he was worried about exactly what 
might happen when he _did_. If only she'd let him explain... yes, if 
she'd just hear him and Shampoo out, if she'd just see how lonely and 
sad Shampoo was, he knew the sweet girl in there somewhere would come 
out and she'd agree to take Shampoo in... Yeah right, and maybe he was a 
Chinese jet pilot.

He sighed and kicked a stone. This was never going to work... he and 
Shampoo would never make it in the door. As soon as Akane saw Shampoo 
she was going to go ballistic again, he knew it. He'd be lucky if he 
didn't land up right back in the same forest again. He needed a plan, he 
needed... Kasumi. He'd probably still get hit, but if he had Kasumi on 
his side, he could probably be kept from being launched into orbit. 
Yeah, that was it... if he could just talk to Kasumi, she'd get 
everything figured out!

He looked back at Shampoo. She seemed to be getting more and more sullen 
as they approached the dojo. As he turned, she looked up and he gave her 
a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Shampoo, I've got a plan..."

***

Akane launched another series of attacks at the straw dummy (made up to 
look suspiciously like Ranma... naw, must just be a coincidence). Ranma 
had been gone for a whole day now and she was really beginning to get 
worried. She threw another punch at the dummy, feeling anger wage war 
with guilt inside her. That baka, she thought, Why did he have to go and 
get her so mad that she had to hit him so hard? As she stepped back from 
the dummy, she felt her anger beginning to disappear. Maybe it really 
was her fault this time, maybe she had hit Ranma so hard, he was lying 
hurt somewhere! Fearful images began to flicker through her mind, images 
of Ranma bleeding and broken lying in the trash somewhere, unable to get 
up, crying out her name.... 

Then she the memories began to filter in of *why* she'd hit him so hard. 
"I'm never going to marry you anyway, so I don't see why you care what I 
do or who I do it with" he had said. That had hurt, that had hurt a 
lot... ever since the first disastrous attempt at a wedding, Akane had 
been so sure that he really was going to marry her... and now this! This 
flat out denial that he had ever even considered it! New images came to 
Akane's mind now, images of Ranma avoiding her, laughing with Ukyo and 
Shampoo over how stupid that Akane was for loving him....

Akane pounded the dummy a few more times, watching straw fly 
everywhere. As anger warred with guilt within her, one thought stood out 
from the rest... "Please Ranma, please be ok..."

***

Kasumi stood in the kitchen, busily cutting vegetables for that 
evening's dinner. She hummed a mindless tune to herself, trying to get 
the carrots sliced *just* right... 

Suddenly she heard a tapping. She looked up and spotted Ranma 
hanging upside-down in front of the window, giving her a small wave. She 
walked over and opened up the window.

"Ranma-kun! So glad to see that your ok! We've all been so worried, 
especially Akane!"

Ranma winced at the mention of Akane, a fact not lost on Kasumi. "Ah, 
Kasumi, I really need your help, can you come out front for a minute?"

"Sure Ranma-kun." Kasumi closed the window. What could possibly be the 
matter now? Kasumi quickly made her way out to the street.

Ranma was there waiting for her, as was another girl that looked 
familiar....

"Ah, Kasumi... We've ah, got a bit of a problem, you see... " Ranma 
started.

Suddenly it hit Kasumi who the girl was... it was Shampoo. With a small 
"oh my!" Kasumi raised her hand to her mouth. She hadn't recognized 
Shampoo at all, she looked so different. Gone were the arrogant lines, 
the proud lift to her chin. Shampoo didn't look anything like the Amazon 
Kasumi knew, she wasn't glomping onto Ranma, and she looked so... 
dejected. 

Kasumi quickly guessed that there had been some major changes to 
Shampoo's life, and she now needed their help. That was the only 
reason she would come to them. "Ok Ranma, I think you'd better start 
from the beginning."

***

The telling didn't take very long, and Kasumi quickly agreed to help, 
giving Shampoo an appraising look. "Ok Ranma-kun, Shampoo, here's what 
we'll do. Sneaking Shampoo in won't do any good, the best we can hope 
for is to confront Akane with this up front."

"But.. " Ranma started to protest.

"No buts Ranma-kun. Delaying only makes it worse. Don't worry, I'll make 
sure Akane hears your tale." Kasumi stared hard at Ranma. "I hope you 
know what you're doing. She might hear your story, but I can't guarantee 
she'll believe it. Are you sure you want to do this Ranma?"

Ranma considered it, then looked back at Shampoo, who was still 
staring mutely at her feet. "Yes, " he replied, "She needs our help. 
Akane is just going to have to understand that other people need help 
too, on occasion."

Kasumi nodded, apparently agreeing with Ranma's assessment. "Okay. I'll 
go in first, then you two come to the door, okay?" Both Ranma and 
Shampoo nodded.

Ranma waited nervously, glancing occasionally at Shampoo, who just 
stared mutely into the ground. Finally he decided he'd given Kasumi 
enough time. "Come on Shampoo, lets get this over with."

Shampoo nodded her head, quietly following Ranma as he led her to the 
door. Ranma fought a brief internal battle, wondering whether or not it 
would be better to walk in and announce his return, or knock and hope 
Kasumi answered. He quickly decided on a knock, that way at least if 
Akane got there first he'd already be outside and wouldn't go flying 
through any walls. With one last glance at the still pensive Shampoo, he 
knocked.

Kasumi was there first, and as she opened the door, she called back 
over her shoulder in a joyous tone, "Akane! Ranma's home!"

Akane came running, she ran right up to Ranma and for a second he though 
she might hug him, but she caught herself just before she got close 
enough. Ranma was surprised to discover that he felt more than a little 
unhappy about that fact she hadn't completed the gesture. 

"Ra.. Ranma! You're back!" Akane gasped out.

"Yeah Akane.. I guess you belted me a little hard that last time, took 
me the entire day to get back." Akane looked a little sheepish, then her 
eyes began to slide toward the other figure standing sullenly in the 
doorway, eyes still fixed on the ground. 

Akane stared at Shampoo, and Ranma could just *feel* the anger 
swelling within her. He shot a pleading look a Kasumi, and evidently 
Kasumi saw it too. Just as Akane opened her mouth, Kasumi interrupted 
her. "Oh my! Is that Shampoo? Shampoo! You look awful, what's wrong?"

Ranma felt relief flooding him, Kasumi could handle this, Kasumi could 
handle anything. Akane closed her mouth and shot a glance at Kasumi that 
started out as one of anger and ended as one of curiosity over barely 
controlled anger. Now, finally Shampoo looked up, the very picture of 
misery. Ranma knew it wasn't an act, but he was still rather surprised 
at just _how_ pitiful Shampoo still looked.

Shampoo gave a sorrowful sniff, not meeting Akane's gaze. "Shampoo fail 
great-grandmother! Shampoo get beaten by Mousse, and great-grandmother 
kick Shampoo out of Amazon tribe!" Tears were once again falling down 
her face again. Ranma supposed it was just too early for that severe a 
hurt to have healed over even partially. He just couldn't believe how 
much this girl's whole life had been based around being an Amazon. 
"Shampoo weak and pathetic, she go to cliff to end misery Shampoo cause 
everyone, but Ranma stop her, say she 'friend.' Shampoo never have 
friend before. Then Ranma say Shampoo come stay with Tendos, say he 
teach her honor and martial arts again. Shampoo want to try and learn to 
live honorably, find way to live without Amazons. If Akane no want 
Shampoo here, Shampoo understand, Shampoo do so many bad things to 
Akane, She no want to hurt Akane more, will leave if Akane want... Maybe 
find cliff again."

Silently, Ranma applauded her speech. He knew she must have been 
rehearsing it all the way here, as it had just the right notes struck in 
it, not condescending, apologetic without sounding falsely so, and very 
sad. Surely even Akane would be moved by such a speech. Ranma looked in 
to Akane's eyes and saw that indeed she was, her jaw hung a bit slack as 
she just stared at Shampoo. Finally, Akane seemed to recover a bit.

"What about Ranma, Shampoo? This is just some clever ploy to get him 
alone, isn't it?" 

Shampoo shook her head. "No Akane, Shampoo no can marry Ranma now, she 
no longer Amazon..." tears began to well up in her eyes again. Ranma was 
beginning to wonder if she would dehydrate from the constant water 
works. While certainly she didn't shed as many tears as Soun, she'd been 
crying pretty much constantly since he'd met her in the woods. However, 
the tears seemed to get through to Akane, who'd never seen the Chinese 
girl cry before. Akane took a step back and seemed to consider. Finally, 
she replied.

"Ok Shampoo, you can stay... but if there's any trouble from you..."

"Thank you Akane, Shampoo know how... hard it can be to forgive."

Ranma was amazed at how well this little ploy of Kasumi's was 
working. Akane, letting Shampoo into the house without a fight! Ranma 
had been sure he'd have to argue with her over it. However, he could 
also seen in her eyes that she wasn't exactly pleased about it either, 
and he'd probably still get hit when she found out he'd spent the night 
with her alone in the woods....

***

Akane had been so relieved when she finally saw Ranma okay... Then 
she had spotted Shampoo standing next to him. Suddenly every one of her 
fears seemed confirmed, Ranma had been out with Shampoo, and now he had 
brought her home, probably so they could announce to everyone that they 
were getting married and laugh in Akane's face....

Akane felt the heat rising up within her. No! It just wasn't fair! Ranma 
was suppose to love her! Not that Chinese bimbo! Her fists clenched, 
Akane prepared to tell them both *exactly* what she thought of them both 
being here together...

...When suddenly Kasumi interrupted. "Oh my! Is that Shampoo? 
Shampoo! You look awful! What's wrong?" 

Akane shot Kasumi a betrayed glance, but looking into her sister's face 
she could see that the shock and worry were quite genuine. Putting her 
anger on hold for a moment, she looked back at the Amazon... and 
instantly began feeling the anger drain out of her.

Shampoo looked wretched, she seemed defeated, beat down by the world 
around her, like just remaining standing was almost too much for her.

Akane listened patiently as Shampoo told her story. She just couldn't 
believe it, Shampoo _had_ to be up to something, it just sounded too 
implausible... and yet, she didn't think Shampoo was a good enough 
actress to fake looking that miserable, her pride shouldn't have let 
her.

Akane decided to try one more time to crack Shampoo's facade. "What 
about Ranma, Shampoo? This is just some clever ploy to get him alone, 
isn't it?" 

Shampoo shook her head. "No Akane, Shampoo no can marry Ranma now, I no 
longer Amazon..." Despite her best efforts to remain mad at Shampoo, 
Akane felt her resolve breaking. Everything she thought she knew about 
Shampoo seemed to be being thrown out the window. There was no help for 
it, she supposed, Shampoo really did need their help.

"Okay Shampoo, you can stay... but if there's any trouble from you..."

"Thank you Akane. Shampoo know how... hard it can be to forgive."

Akane nodded, satisfied with that answer, though a bit puzzled by it. 
Who had Shampoo had to forgive?

***

Shampoo was put in the dojo for the night, and as she settled down 
to sleep, she pondered how quickly her life was changing. 

Just three days ago she had been cooking in the Nekohanten, dreamily 
humming to herself as she prepared her latest batch of noodles, these 
with a special magical spice that would cause the person who ate them to 
not leave the side of the person he saw next after eating them for a 
day. Great-grandmother had thought that maybe with this she could 
finally win Ranma's heart... because surely, if he spent an entire day 
with her, she could convince him that she was the right choice....

As always when she was preparing one of great-grandmother's 
schemes, she felt a twinge of guilt over what she was doing... Was this 
what she really wanted? A voice in her mind would ask her, did she 
really want a husband enslaved to her? As always, she had great-
grandmother's arguments as to why it was right... that it was the law of 
the Amazons, that Ranma would come to love her in time and the like. 
Today, however, the voice wouldn't give up so easily. "Ranma always 
treats you like dirt." the voice said. "Do you really want to marry 
someone who despises you so much?" That had brought her up short... but 
she quickly dismissed that thought. Once they had been together, he 
would come to his senses, she thought. Somehow though, it still just 
didn't feel right. 

"Why today, of all days, am I feeling this way?" she silently asked 
herself. The feeling of uneasiness just seemed to grow though, until 
finally she was so distracted that she accidentally put the wrong spice 
in the noodles, ruining the batch. With a sigh, she dumped them down the 
sink, getting angry with herself for making such a stupid mistake. "What 
else go wrong today?" she muttered out loud.

"Shampoo!" Shampoo spun around to find Mousse in the door way. "I've 
finally found a way to win your heart and defeat you! At last we'll be 
together!"

Shampoo had no patience for Mousse today. However, it would be 
fun to let out some of her frustration on him. With a not-very-nice 
smile, she replied "If stupid Mousse wants tar beat out of him again, 
Shampoo happy to do so." 

The two went out back of the Nekohanten and faced off. Shampoo 
knew she had been slacking on her practice lately, but she was sure she 
was still fast enough to beat Mousse. "Now you're mine Shampoo!" Mousse 
yelled as he charged her. In the flurry of blows that followed, it 
quickly became clear to Shampoo that Mousse had improved... improved _a 
lot_. Not enough to actually beat her, but enough that she wasn't 
beating him, either. Although Mousse didn't seem to be having any effect 
on her with his attacks, he was still grinning confidently as he 
struggled to keep up with her. Then suddenly he somehow managed to close 
a handcuff over her wrist, which was attached to a chain. With a quick 
flick of his wrist, he sent the other end of the chain, which had a 
spike attached to it, sailing over and into the wall behind her, where 
it stuck fast. As Shampoo looked at the manacle in shock, she got 
another one attached to her leg before she could recover.

Cologne, who'd been watching the fight from the doorway with grim 
amusement, suddenly scowled. "Shampoo! What are you doing? Finish him!"

Shampoo had tried, really she had, but with her arm and leg restrained, 
it had quickly become a one sided fight. The only reason it lasted as 
long as it did was because Mousse seemed reluctant to actually strike 
her. Finally, fatigue getting to both of them, Mousse had shot a metal 
ball at her and she hadn't been fast enough dodging. With a brief 
metallic ring as the ball bounced off her head, and a shot of pain, she 
slumped to the ground.

When Shampoo had come to, she was laying on a table in the 
Nekohanten. Mousse stood nearby, a look of unrestrained glee on his 
face. Cologne balanced next to her head, and ugly (even more so than 
normal) look on her face. Shampoo sat up.

"Wha.. Great-grandmother, what.. what happen?"

Cologne's face had twisted into one of rage. "<You lost to Mousse you 
fool! You DARE call yourself an Amazon? Mousse is one of the weakest, 
stupidest men in our village, and you _LOST_ to him!>" Cologne was 
steaming mad now. "<I CANNOT accept it! You're no better than a weak 
_man_!  You've disgraced your family! I cannot believe my own 
granddaughter lost so pitifully.>"

Shampoo was at a loss, her head still throbbing. "<I, I lost to 
MOUSSE???>" she said in Chinese, unable to comprehend how it had 
happened. This was more than a tragedy... how could she marry 
Mousse?

Mousse stepped forward. "<Leave her alone you old ghoul! She's my wife 
now!>" he said with a smug smile.

It proved to be an unwise move, however, as Cologne whirled on him. 
"<No..>" Cologne said in a quiet, lethal voice. "<No you shall NOT marry 
my granddaughter!>"

Mousse looked confused at this. He had obviously been expecting 
anger, but certainly not a flat denial. "<But.. but, I beat her in 
combat! You witnessed it! Not even you can shirk that law!>"

But Cologne looked unfazed. "<Ah but the law that says that a women 
beaten by an Amazon man must marry him only applies to Amazon women!>" 
Cologne turned back to look at Shampoo. "<And from this day forth, YOU 
ARE NO LONGER AN AMAZON! You are no longer my granddaughter! Your very 
presence disgusts me! You are a disgrace to your family, and so you will 
be a member of that family no longer! Now get from my sight!>"

Shampoo was stunned, she just couldn't believe it... she... she was no 
longer an Amazon? How was that possible? Slowly the words began to sink 
in, and she began to feel panic well up within her... and fear. What 
would she do without being an Amazon? Being an Amazon meant everything 
to her!! She had always done what her great-grandmother had said, and 
now she still wasn't good enough? Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Cologne turned her back on Shampoo. Mousse took a step toward 
Shampoo, obviously in shock from what he had heard. "Shampoo..." he 
started, pity in his voice.

Cologne's voice was no less harsh. "Mousse, do not speak to... the 
outcast. You are still an Amazon, and if you wish to remain so, you 
_will_ obey me."

Mousse looked fearfully between Shampoo and Cologne, undecided as to 
what he should do. Shampoo, still in shock, finally felt one thought hit 
her, one which struck her to the core. SHE WAS NO LONGER AN AMAZON!!! 
That single phrase had echoed in her mind, dredging up everything she 
feared most. With an inarticulate sob, Shampoo ran out the door.

Shampoo had no idea how long she had run, tears, disgraceful for an 
Amazon to shed, trickling down her cheeks. She was not an Amazon, she 
was not an Amazon, she was not an Amazon! The phrase spurred her on, 
pushing her to run farther and farther from the life she had known.


Shampoo sighed in the darkness of the dojo, rolling over. She could 
still hear her great grandmother's recriminations echoing through her 
mind, but the sting seemed less now. She had run from the life she 
knew... and found Ranma. And for once, Ranma had actually listened to 
her! Shampoo tried not to revel in the feeling that he might actually 
care for her... But she couldn't help it. Could it be that after all 
this time, Ranma did feel something for her? 

Shampoo shook her head. Surely not... after all, he had just wanted to 
save her from killing herself. He was such a good man, she thought. Even 
after all the things I did to him, he still didn't want to see me hurt. 
He had been honest with her though, and said that he didn't love her. 
Somehow, Shampoo had always known that, it just never seemed to matter 
before. After all, love had always seemed like just a potion or two 
away, so what did it matter if he actually loved her or not? Shampoo was 
still a little confused as to *why* he didn't love her, especially after 
he said that he didn't know if he loved Akane or not, but she was 
willing to except it. In the two days since she'd lost her Amazonhood, 
she'd come to realize just how little she knew about love and 
relationships. After she had finished running, she had found herself 
lost in the forest. For awhile she had just collapsed and slept, but 
when she had awoken, she'd lain there for a long time, thinking about 
why she had been kicked out, trying to figure out why great-grandmother 
had treated her so. 

After mentally going over pretty much her entire life from childhood, 
she came to one inescapable conclusion: Cologne had lied to her, used 
her, and never loved her. Her great-grandmother, whom she had looked up 
to and tried to model her life after, had lead her astray. She had 
compared what she knew of the people she'd met here in Japan with what 
Cologne had always told her, and once more discovered how wrong her 
great-grandmother had been... The people here, while constantly fighting 
and arguing, _cared_ for each other, or at least respected one-another. 
After coming to that realization, Shampoo still hadn't felt any better, 
in fact, she had felt worse, since it meant that she had hurt so many 
people... She realized that all the people that she thought she hated 
had what she wanted more than anything else... love and friendship.

She'd made up her mind after that to seek absolution by never causing 
anyone harm again. She'd decided to throw herself off a nearby cliff 
she'd run by the day earlier. As she'd approached the cliff though, her 
courage had left her, and as dark descended, she had wept at her own 
cowardliness, that she couldn't even bring herself to fulfill this last 
act of absolution. 

Then Ranma had come... How he had found her, she had no idea, and at 
first she had just been so relieved to see him that nothing else had 
mattered except that he was there for her, holding her in his strong 
arms. How long had she dreamed of him holding her like that? However, as 
awareness that this wasn't a dream had crept in, she had felt her self-
loathing return. Ranma, of all the people she knew, had rarely ever 
treated her with even the barest kindness, and she could certainly think 
of no reason for him to start now... However, as their conversation had 
progressed, Shampoo had come to realize that he was treating her 
differently, no longer was there a look of fear in his eyes when she was 
around. Then he had offered to take her home with him, help her re-learn 
martial arts... she just couldn't believe it. She'd been ready to throw 
in the proverbial towel, and now this. She had lost all that meant 
anything to her, only to discover that maybe that wasn't such a bad 
thing....

Shampoo sighed again. Tomorrow they would see, and as Shampoo 
drifted off to sleep that night, she shivered in anticipation.

***

All the Tendos plus Ranma and Genma sat around the table. Akane was the 
first to speak up. "Ok Ranma, what have you done now?"

Ranma instantly went on the defensive. "I.. Nothing! She was in trouble! 
She needed my help, that's all! Geez...."

Akane started to retort, but Nabiki beat her to it. "Look, Akane, even 
you admitted that you thought she needed help, right?" Akane 
reluctantly nodded her head. "Okay then, let's stop squabbling and 
discuss what's to be done about her. Unless someone gets a job around 
here, I'm not sure our budget can handle another martial artist for very 
long, and especially since it's Shampoo, the repairs from Akane-Ranma 
fights could get especially high." Nabiki smirked as both Ranma and 
Akane glared at her.

Kasumi went next. "Ranma told me that he told her that he was going to 
help train her, and teach her about honor. I think this could be a very 
good thing for the poor girl. I also think we should send her to school, 
so she can improve her Japanese."

Ranma blushed at the mention of teaching Shampoo honor, and Akane 
quickly picked up on it. "Oh, _you're_ going to teach her honor, are 
you? What do you know about honor anyway, you pervert!"

"Hey! I know a lot about honor! She..."

"Yesss... I bet, I'm sure you'll have to give her a lot of *private* 
lessons, won't you Ranma!" Akane accused him.

"Ahh, I don't have to take this!" Ranma said, getting up.

Akane just stared after him in hurt disbelief. Why hadn't he fought her? 
There's no way Ranma should have just walked out after she called him a 
pervert. As the rest of the group made plans to send Shampoo to school, 
Akane chased Ranma up the stairs.

***

Akane found Ranma on the roof. It was raining lightly, and Ranma had 
already changed, though she didn't seem to even have realized it, so 
lost was Ranma-chan in thought.

Akane crept up to her, trying to decide whether or not to lash out at 
Ranma again and accuse her of being too cozy with Shampoo or to 
actually try to talk to her. Seeing Ranma-chan's pensive mood, she 
decided on the latter.

"Ranma... what's wrong?" she said, sitting down next to the boy-turned-
girl.

Ranma glanced up at her, then back to the clouds overhead. "Akane, I... 
I don't know. Please don't be mad at Shampoo, ok?"

Akane felt anger welling up in her again. "Why are you defending 
Shampoo? You always treated her so badly before..."

A look of pain crossed Ranma's face, and Akane didn't know whether she 
should be angry or sad that she'd seen it. "Yeah, I did treat her 
badly.. very badly." Ranma said, siting up. "but you didn't see her up 
there in the mountains! She was ready to kill herself! I've never seen 
anyone that miserable before, not even Ryouga after you found out about 
his curse."

Akane colored a bit at the remembrance of that. She had found out 
about Ryouga's curse a couple of months back, and had beat the lost boy 
within an inch of his life. She'd finally forgiven him though, and had 
even formed a bit of friendship with him. After all, he had heard a lot 
of her most secret thoughts, and it was still comforting to talk to him 
once in awhile. 

Ranma continued. "Look, Akane, please... try to get along with her, ok? 
She's come to help you many times, now she needs our help."

Akane considered for a moment. "Yeah, she always came when I 
needed help, but only to chase after you."

Now it was Ranma's turn to blush. "Yeah, maybe... but we still owe her 
something."

Reluctantly, Akane nodded. "Just keep her out of my way, okay?"

"Sure Akane, though you know, she's like a completely different person 
now, maybe you'll like her this time around."

"Che.. yeah, sure. Don't hold your breath. I know she looks miserable 
now, but I'd be willing to bet she goes back to the old Shampoo."

"I don't think so Akane. When she got kicked out of the Amazon tribe, 
something snapped. I really think she's different now."

***

Shampoo was having a wonderful dream, where she and Ranma dunked a 
helpless Cologne in every Juksekyo spring... When suddenly she was 
rudely awakened by a bucket of (warm) water spilling over her. She 
spluttered and sat up, noticing that the sun wasn't quite up yet. Ranma-
chan was standing over her, grinning impishly and holding the up-ended 
bucket.

"Ok Shampoo, up and at-em! If you want me to teach you, its time ya got 
up!"

Shampoo groggily got to her feet, as Ranma-chan headed for the door. 
"I'll be waiting in the backyard, get changed and then we'll see how 
much you have to learn!" she called over her shoulder.

Shampoo sighed, looking down at the gi laid out for her. It felt strange 
as she put it on, and she had a feeling it was going to be a *long* day.

***

The two girls sized each other up. Shampoo looked a lot better after 
some rest, but the proud lines and firm-set chin were gone, Ranma hoped, 
forever. Ranma-chan charged in, feinting a punch, then quickly going for 
a low sweeping kick. Shampoo barely managed to dodge away, and Ranma 
could instantly tell that her style left *a lot* to be desired. 

As the practice continued, Shampoo almost constantly on the defensive, 
it became clear to Ranma that she simply lacked confidence in her 
martial arts, she seemed to throw every punch like she never expected it 
to connect. Finally Ranma stopped his assault and took a step back, 
looking her over. 

"Ranma, why you girl when teaching Shampoo?" Shampoo said, trying to 
catch her breath.

"Well, I figured if I was going to teach a girl, I had better see things 
from a girl's perspective. Besides, this way Akane can't accuse us of... 
you know." Shampoo nodded. "Well, anyway, your major problem seems to be 
your lack of confidence in your attacks. Try this, come at me."

Shampoo did, and of course every attack she threw at Ranma he easily 
dodged away from, with seemingly no effort. However, unlike whenever he 
and Akane did this, instead of getting more and more upset (and 
therefore putting more effort into every blow) she seemed to go the 
opposite direction, becoming more and more depressed with every blow 
that didn't connect. Ranma was beginning to see that this teaching stuff 
wasn't as easy as it looked.

They spared for a bit more, and Ranma quickly came to the conclusion 
that they'd have to start all over again from the basics if Shampoo was 
ever going to get back her confidence. However, fighting wasn't the only 
thing he was suppose to teach her. 

"Ok Shampoo, that's enough for today, I think I can see at where to 
start your training. Now, I also promised to teach you about honor..."

***

An hour later when Kasumi called them to breakfast, Shampoo's head was 
spinning. Ranma had gone over dozens of examples of situations where 
honor might come in to play, discussed why honor was so important, and 
innumerable other things. She wasn't sure she understood though. It all 
seemed so illogical. Shampoo knew it was important to keep promises, but 
Ranma had told her about how it was wrong to twist someone's promise to 
mean something else. He had also tried to explain to her why it was 
important not to force someone to do something, even if it seemed like 
it would be for their own good. It just didn't make any sense to 
Shampoo. 

She sat down to eat with a sigh. Meals were going to be trying, she 
knew. The Tendos had reluctantly made room for her at the table, 
about as far away from Ranma and Akane as she could get. That was 
probably a good thing though, judging by the looks Akane still gave her 
occasionally. The rest of the family ate lively, shoveling food into 
their mouths with reckless abandon, while Ranma and Akane fought over 
some silly imagined offense. Shampoo decided it would be better for 
everyone if she just kept to herself.

Kasumi, however, had other ideas. "Shampoo, are you ready to go to 
school? I've got you all enrolled at Furinkan High School, though I'm 
afraid you'll be in a class behind Ranma and Akane's."

Shampoo's jaw dropped. Her, going to school? Inconceivable! 
"Shampoo go to school?? Shampoo never go to Japanese school 
before..."

"Ah come-on Shampoo, it'll be good for ya! And besides, it'll give you 
an opportunity to use what I told you about honor, and it'll be a great 
way to prove to the world that your a different person now!" Ranma said, 
elbowing Akane in the side. Akane gave Ranma an angry look, but quickly 
focused on Shampoo again.

"Yeah Shampoo.. it will ah.. be good for you." Akane said half-
heartedly.

"But.. but, Shampoo no ready! I no have supplies..." Ranma tossed her a 
school bag full of supplies. "ah... oh... guess Shampoo can go.."

Ranma nodded vigorously at her as Akane stood up. "Okay then! Come on or 
we're going to be late!" The three of them grabbed their bags and ran 
off toward school.

As they ran toward school, Ranma jumped up on the fence and raced along, 
while Akane matched his pace on the street. Shampoo, however, had to 
make a quick decision as to which she should do. Her balance was still 
superb, so she could follow Ranma on the fence, but that would probably 
make Akane even more mad at her. Besides, Ranma had given her a lot of 
attention at breakfast this morning, a fact she was sure wasn't lost on 
Akane. Shampoo knew better than to hope that it was because he cared 
more for her... no, it was probably just because she needed more help 
than Akane did. For all his virtues, Ranma could be phenomenally stupid 
when it came to annoying women. Shampoo decided she would try the 
diplomatic approach and followed Akane.

As they approached school, Kuno was waiting for them. Kuno had been an 
upper-classman last year and should have graduated with Nabiki's class, 
but he'd been held back a year because he spent so much of the school 
day in the infirmary and had been unable to keep up with his school 
work.

"Saotome! Foul fiend, Was not the pig-tailed goddess and the beauteous 
Akane enough for you? Am I now to believe that you have enslaved the 
lovely Shampoo as well?" Kuno said, brandishing his bokken.

"Look Kuno, believe whatever you want. We gotta get to class."

"Cur! You dare ignore the mighty Kuno Tatewaki? Shall I give you 
another beating, as I did yesterday?"

Ranma grimaced at that. Shampoo decided it was time for her to do 
something. Her martial arts might be pathetic at the moment, but maybe 
Kuno would listen to her. "Kuno, you no fight Ranma today, 'kay? We no 
want be late for class."

Kuno looked at her intensely for a second, then came to the only 
conclusion his brain could come up with. "So, the fiend Saotome has 
enslaved your mind as well has he? No matter. I, Kuno Tatewaki, blue 
thunder of Furinkan High, shall free you from his evil grip, fair 
maiden!"

Shampoo just stared at him, wondering just _how_ stupid it was 
possible to be. She shook her head in wonder. And to think people had 
called _her_ clueless. 

"Akane, take Shampoo in, will ya? I'll deal with Kuno."

Akane nodded, grabbing Shampoo's hand and dragging her into the 
building. "Come on Shampoo, Ranma can handle Kuno. You don't 
want to be late to class, do you?" 

Shampoo shook her head, just hearing Ranma say "Ok Kuno, now its time 
for pay back..." as she was dragged into the building.

***

Shampoo sighed in frustration. No matter what wonders Ranma said it was 
doing for her Japanese, school just wasn't worth it. She looked over her 
math homework one more time, utterly bewildered. Why the heck did anyone 
need Algebra anyway? 

She knew she was years behind most of the other students, but it still 
didn't make it any easier. Back at the village, all children had been 
taught basic arithmetic, and some geometry (helped improve fighting) but 
this "Advanced Algebra" was hard!

Deciding she'd done enough for tonight, Shampoo rolled over and 
turned off her light. She was still staying in the dojo, but she'd 
managed to get a lamp setup in the corner where she slept every night so 
that she could study. 

"Well, no help for it, tomorrow, get Akane to help with math." she said 
to herself. She wished she could get Ranma to do it, but he wasn't much 
better at math than she was.

Suddenly she heard a noise and froze. Someone was outside! It was 
pitch dark in the dojo, but through the many cracks in the dojo wall 
(put there by overly zealous practice sessions) Shampoo thought she 
could make out a tall figure creeping along the side of the building. 

Shampoo's martial arts had improved tremendously under Ranma's 
tutelage, as he worked to get confidence back into her techniques. He 
had also taught her how to even more effectively use the speed she had. 
Still, she was learning mostly Anything goes style from Ranma, and even 
though her training was going at an accelerated pace thanks to her 
previous training, she still was probably only as good as Akane, and 
judging by the kind of intruders that frequented the Tendo household, 
that was probably far inadequate to take him on herself.

Without so much as daring to breathe, she watched the shadowy outline 
creep around to the door of the dojo, then quietly opened it. She could 
see whoever it was outlined against the starlight... he was very tall, 
and something about him seemed familiar....

"Shampoo?" the figure whispered.

"Ma... Mousse??? Wha... how..." Shampoo was at a total loss. Mousse had 
been the _last_ person she'd expected to see after all this time. 
Cologne had made it pretty clear that if he so much as spoke to her 
again, he'd be kicked out of the tribe as well.

"Shampoo! At last I've found you! I've been looking ever since you 
left!"

"_WHAT?_ Why? I no more Amazon, why you look for me?" Shampoo said in 
shock, hoping the answer wasn't what she thought it was.

"I love you Shampoo! If it means I have to be kicked out of the 
Amazons, then so be it! I'll follow you to the ends of the earth my 
love!" he said, taking another step towards her.

Shampoo sighed, then reached over and turned on the lamp. As Mousse 
blinked in the sudden brightness, Shampoo stood to face him.

"Mousse, how many times Shampoo... I tell you? I no love you 
Mousse! I never will!" 

The vehemence of her denial seemed to take him by surprise, as if he had 
expected her to run into his arms or something.

"But, Shampoo... I don't care if you're not an Amazon, I'll still marry 
you!"

"Oh, is that what you think Mousse? That Shampoo need you marry her out 
of pity?? Stupid Mousse.. No you understand??? I no like you!"

Mousse looked like he'd just been kicked. "Shampoo... no... It's Ranma 
isn't it?? He's made you turn against the Amazons!"

Would he never learn? "Mousse no BAKA! Amazons turn back on 
Shampoo! Ranma show Shampoo how to live without Amazons! No 
need stupid Amazons anymore! And no need Mousse! Go find girl who like 
you Mousse. I never make you happy. Understand?"

"So it _is_ Ranma's fault that you don't love me! I'll make him pay! 
I'll show you I'm the better man!" yelled Mousse, looking desperate now.

"Mousse, you touch Ranma and I never speak you again! You hear? Ranma 
Shampoo's friend! If Mousse just had been Shampoo's friend, maybe 
Shampoo no beat Mousse all time! But no, Mousse always want Shampoo be 
more than friend. Well too bad Mousse. Shampoo NEVER be more than that 
to you... maybe never even be friend if no leave her and Ranma alone!"

"Shampoo... you don't mean that, do you? I... I was always your 
friend..."

"No Mousse... you never good friend to Shampoo. You always try make more 
than friends, never just accept Shampoo for who she is. Never there when 
need you. I do cons... consid...think of you as friend, but you need to 
start act like one. "

Mousse stared at the floor, as if willing her words not to be true.

"Mousse... love must be given, not won. We no good for each other 
Mousse. But you still Amazon, go back with gr--Cologne. Find 
a..Amazon girl who like you..."

Mousse's shoulders seemed to slump in defeat. He seemed to fold into 
himself, the weight of reality pushing him down. Still, Shampoo wouldn't 
let him depress her by wallowing in his guilt here in front of her.

"Mousse, you go home now, okay? Shampoo need get sleep so she get to 
school tomorrow."

Mousse weakly nodded, turning for the door. 

"Mousse..." He looked back at her over his shoulder. "You no be too sad, 
okay? Shampoo still friend. You need _talk_ to Shampoo, Shampoo 
listen... just not so late at night. Shampoo... I know what it feel like 
to lose one you love. It hurt a lot. I sorry I hurt you, but no other 
way."

Mousse nodded, obviously trying to force himself not to look so glum, 
then his face hardened a bit. "I'm sorry Shampoo, but if I'm to be your 
friend, I can't just stand by and watch Saotome bleed away the Amazon 
warrior I *know* is in you... I love you Shampoo and I can't stand to 
see you like this!" Then he was gone, leaving only a still night air 
where he had stood.

Shampoo laid back down in her bed, puzzled by the encounter. She 
supposed she should have expected it, but she hadn't thought he'd be 
that persistent. And then he'd made that last statement about her losing 
her Amazon self... That made her a bit angry. After all, she'd been 
kicked out of the Amazons, why _shouldn't_ she start acting like a non-
Amazon? She just hoped that Mousse wouldn't cause any more trouble for 
her and Ranma. She thought back to something Ranma had said when talking 
with her about honor... He had said that often the best reward he got 
from being honorable was to see someone else smile. Today Shampoo felt 
like she'd just betrayed Ranma's teachings. Still, he had also said that 
telling the truth was honorable too... and she had. It wasn't that 
Mousse was such a bad guy, she reflected, but he just didn't *feel* 
right to her... as much as she tried, she just couldn't think of him 
*that* way.

Unlike Ranma, which lately she'd been thinking about a little too much 
lately. She cursed herself silently. After all the things she'd done to 
him, and all the things he'd done to her, she shouldn't still feel this 
way for him. Yet, as she drifted off to sleep, it was his face she still 
saw as she dreamed....

***

Ranma sat on the roof top, thinking about what he'd just overheard. 
He'd been up studying late that night when he'd heard the shouts 
coming from the dojo. He'd managed to make it over there fast enough to 
catch most of what was said. 

It was amazing, he thought, just how much Shampoo had changed. He tried 
to think back to when she had still been an Amazon, tried to recapture 
the loathing he'd felt for her... It just wasn't there. He 
remembered the instant nanniichuan incident, how mad he'd been when he'd 
discovered he'd been tricked... but at the same time he also remembered 
the hurt look in Shampoo's eyes when he'd drugged her with those 
flowers. She'd still come after him, but after that she'd been wary of 
him. She'd seemed so happy to see him when he'd first shown up carrying 
the flowers for her, so full of hope, and then he'd dashed those hopes 
with a whiff of paralysis gas. She'd still chased after him, but after 
that she seemed to have given up hope of him coming along on the date 
with her willingly.

He cursed himself for being so stupid, both for hurting her then and for 
thinking about it now. Shampoo was a different person now, nothing like 
that old Shampoo, and yet... More and more over the past few days he'd 
seen that look begin to blossom in her eyes again, that look of hope. 
And it surprised him just how much he looked forward to seeing that 
full-of-hope look in her eyes again like that day he'd taken her on a 
date. 

What was he thinking?? He shouldn't be thinking about Shampoo like 
that... she was his friend now right? He didn't think of Ukyo like 
that... What about Akane? Akane... he tried to remember her smile, how 
good it made him feel to see it form because of him, how cute she looked 
when she smiled... however, the image of her smiling seemed dim. When 
was the last time she'd smiled at him? he wondered. All she seemed to do 
these days was yell at him and hit him. Not like Shampoo.... 

<argh> he crushed that thought before it could get started. He 
shouldn't... no _mustn't_ think of Shampoo that way. She'd never 
forgive him for the things he'd done to her anyway.

***

The two girls faced off, both examining the other for any sign of 
weakness. Ranma was pleased to note that Shampoo's stance seemed to have 
improved overnight, and she wondered if it had anything to do with her 
and Mousse's conversation. 

Well, Ranma was sure that she'd tell him about it if she felt it was 
important, and Ranma didn't feel like giving away the fact that he'd 
been eavesdropping on them. With a cry, Ranma sprang at her.

Her defense was much better today too, but still no match for Ranma. 
Shampoo's speed had definitely increased with the intense training Ranma 
had been giving her the past couple weeks, but she still wasn't up to 
amiguriken speed yet.

Their fight raged across the backyard, and Ranma could tell that 
something was different this morning. Shampoo was fighting a lot 
harder than normal, not giving ground unless she absolutely had to... in 
fact, sometimes she was pushing her back. She looked into Shampoo's 
eyes, and found the strange new confidence reflected there as well. She 
was smiling this morning too, something Ranma was truly glad to see. 
Shampoo hadn't been smiling much in the past couple of weeks, she hoped 
she would keep it up.

Shampoo's grin widened as she spotted a rare opening in Ranma's 
technique. Lunging in, she *almost* connected, but by the time her fist 
got to where Ranma-chan's body should have been, she was gone. Ranma 
poked her in the side, and Shampoo looked up at her in surprise. Now it 
was Ranma's turn to smile. "Feeling confident today, hmm?" She said, 
ducking two more strikes.

Shampoo's grin hadn't faded though, but now she looked a bit more 
determined. "Shampoo have visitor last night." She said, kicking out at 
Ranma-chan, hoping to catch her off guard from the announcement.

She was disappointed, however. "Ah, who? Some secret lover coming in the 
night brought you new confidence?" Ranma-chan chided, ducking out of the 
kick's way.

Shampoo, unlike Akane, didn't rise to the bait, however. "Ha! He 
wish. Mousse come say hello." Another jab and a flying kick.

Of course, this was nothing new to Ranma. "Oh so it _was_ a lover 
coming to see you!" Ranma laughed, jumping over her flying kick and 
going on the offensive.

Shampoo's brow did furrow a bit at that one. "Mousse not know love if 
fall on face and wiggle! Mousse still trying to make Shampoo fall in 
love with him." she replied, dodging two of Ranma-chan's lightning fast 
blows.

Ranma-chan came in with a kick. "So, did you grind him to pulp or just 
toss him into orbit?"

Shampoo ducked the kick, coming back with a combination of her own. 
"What you think, Shampoo no listen to Ranma? Ranma teach Shampoo honor. 
Shampoo just tell Mousse truth, though Mousse no believe her."

Ranma was starting to enjoy this banter. At least Shampoo knew she was 
just kidding around, and did take things so personally, unlike that 
kawaiikune.... lost in thought, she almost got hit by Shampoo's next 
attack.

Shampoo smirked, having seen just how close she'd come to getting him. 
"Mousse try to tell Shampoo she still Amazon at heart. He such stupid 
man. He no get that Shampoo no want to be Amazon anymore."

Ranma decided to see just _how_ far she could tease Shampoo without her 
getting mad, and she went on the offensive verbally as well as 
physically. "Oh? And why not? With my training, you'll be able to beat 
anyone on the battle tree... maybe the old ghoul too!"

Shampoo still refused to get angry. "Baka! Why Shampoo want go back to 
village? Have much more fun here with Ranma... " she said, giving her a 
sly, sexy look.

Momentarily, Ranma's brain locked, trying to understand what she 
meant by that... Did that mean that she...? Too late she saw the sexy 
smile widen into a devilish grin. Before she could blink she was hoisted 
off her feet and thrown in the koi pond. As she surfaced, Shampoo was 
there grinning like a madwomen. "Ranma getting sloppy. Maybe Shampoo 
teach Ranma a thing or two, hmm?" she said before spinning and bouncing 
off toward the house.

Ranma just sat in the pond, watching her go... the sun striking her just 
_so_ as she bounced happily toward the house, grinning from ear to ear. 
Ranma just shook her head, a grin breaking out on her face as well. 
Leaping out of the pool, she vaulted toward the retreating figure. "Hey! 
come back here, we're not done yet!"

***

Akane watched from her window as Ranma and Shampoo sparred back and 
forth. She just couldn't believe those two! Out there grinning like a 
bunch of idiots! And they expect her to believe that they're just 
friends? Ha! They must think she's a complete idiot!

Not only that, but Shampoo was taking such abuse from that pervert! 
Akane just couldn't believe that Shampoo just stood there and took his 
barbs. Akane would have pounded him flat by now. In fact, she was about 
ready to go out there and pound him flat just on general principle for 
insulting someone so.

She was about to do just that when there was a knock at her door. 
Without waiting for her reply, Nabiki came in. Noting the angry look on 
Akane's face, it wasn't too hard for Nabiki to guess what her younger 
sister was thinking about doing.

"What is it, Nabiki? Haven't you ever heard of waiting for someone to 
invite you in?" Akane snapped, a bit more heat on her words that she had 
intended.

"Nope, sorry sis, I hadn't heard that one. I'll have to remember it for 
next time," Nabiki smirked. "Anyway I came here with a business 
proposal."

"What is it Nabiki? You _know_ I don't have any money."

"That's just it. I want you to make us both some money. Ok, here's the 
deal. You pick a fight with Shampoo, set the battlefield at Furinkan 
High softball field, and I'll sell tickets and take bets. There hasn't 
been a decent fight around here since that Hibiki guy gave up on killing 
Ranma. I'll give you a cut of the profits... what do you say?"

Akane sighed... It _would_ be nice to fight Shampoo, show Ranm... the 
world that she was better than Shampoo at *something*, though at the 
rate Shampoo was improving, she wouldn't be able to beat her much 
longer, maybe not even now. That stupid Ranma! He'd never trained her... 
"I'd love to Nabiki... but I can't."

This was obviously not the answer Nabiki expected, and for once 
Akane was able to revel in still being able to stump Nabiki 
occasionally. 

"You see, I've tried to pick fights with Shampoo before, but she won't 
fight me! No matter what I do or say to her, she just apologizes and 
walks away! I just don't get her."

Nabiki studied Akane for a second, then sighed. "Oh well, so much for 
that idea. Well, come on, I'm sure Kasumi's got breakfast ready by now."

***

Ukyo was just finishing up with the morning crowd when the door 
opened. "Welcome to Ucchan's! What can I... Mousse! What are you 
doing here?"

Mousse didn't look too good, his shoulders slumped, his hair bedraggled, 
and his eyes bloodshot. Ukyo immediately went over to him, sitting in 
the booth across from him. "What happened? This is about Shampoo, isn't 
it?"

Mousse nodded. "I went and paid her a visit over at the Tendo's..." he 
suddenly clenched his fists, shaking in fury. "Damn Saotome! He's 
poisoned my bride against me! She says she just wants to be my 'friend'! 
That bastard Ranma has crushed the spirit of the Amazon warrior that is 
my love!"

Shampoo even knew what a 'friend' was? That's a new one... still, it 
wouldn't do to have that slut hanging around her Ranchan all the time, 
and maybe just maybe....

Mousse noticed her far off look. "What? What is it? You know 
something I don't?"

Ukyo smiled back, a plan forming. "Maybe, sugar, just maybe we can get 
your Shampoo back."

Mousse's eyes seemed to come back into focus a little, a glimmer of 
hope showing. "If there's any chance that I can get Shampoo back... I'll 
do whatever it takes."

Ukyo's eyes flashed... if they could just pull this off, Ranchan would 
be hers! "Ok Mousse, If were going to do this, its going to take _a lot_ 
of good timing..."

***

That day after school, Ukyo made her move. Tears in her eyes, she 
walked up to Ranma and the two girls as they headed for the dojo. 
"Ranchan..."

Ranma looked at her in concern. "Ucchan! What's wrong?"

The other girls were looking at her curiously, also a bit concerned. 
Ukyo spared a moment's wish that she didn't have to do this to them, but 
then her resolve firmed.  "Ranma... can I talk to you alone for a 
second?"

Ranma took a quick look over his shoulder at his other two fiancees, 
noting their disapproving looks, but he ignored them. "Yeah sure Ucchan, 
whacha need?"

Ukyo led him off underneath a tree, waving the other two girls on. 
Ukyo reveled in having him _alone_ for just a second, but knew that now 
was not the time for that... there'd be plenty of _that_ later. 
"Ranma... I'm worried, it's... he... " She quickly looked around, as if 
expecting someone to pop out from nowhere. "Look, we can't talk here... 
why don't you come by Ucchan's later... I'll even treat you to a free 
okonomiaki."

Ranma looked at her concerned. "You sure Ucchan? You sure looked worried 
a minute ago...."

"No, no don't worry, I was just over-reacting. I'll see you in an hour, 
'kay?"

Finally Ranma shrugged. "Sure Ucchan, I'll be there."

***

Both the girls glared at him as he caught up to them. 

"What was that all about?" they both asked in unison.

"Oh, um.. Ucchan's worried about something and she wants me to come by 
Ucchan's later to discuss it. She seemed worried about saying in public. 
Anyway, I'm just going to go over there around dinnertime and see what's 
up."

Akane looked a little worried, then quickly became a little peeved. 
"You're going to Ucchan's for dinner? What, did she invite you on a 
date?!"

Shampoo, also looking a bit concerned, added "Yeah Ranma, is you sure 
she not just want get you alone?"

Ranma looked at the two girls, a bit annoyed. "That's 'are you sure' and 
yes, I am. Look, Ukyo and I have been friends for a long time, I'm sure 
she's just having some trouble with making ends meet or something."

"Then why would she come to you? Everyone knows _you_ don't have any 
money." Akane accused.

Ranma was starting to get annoyed. "Look, just because Ukyo happens to 
be cuter than you could ever dream of being..."

Akane pulled her hammer from wherever it was that she kept it. 
"WHAT WAS THAT? WOULD YOU CARE TO REPEAT THAT, RANMA!?!"

Ranma leapt back barely out of the path of her first swing. Then he 
stuck out his tongue at her. "I said, you're a KAWAIIKUNE 
TOMBOY!!"

Akane's battle aura began manifesting itself as she screamed in rage, 
leaping at him. "RANMA NO BAKA!" 

Suddenly Shampoo stepped in the way, stopping the mallet on its way 
towards Ranma's face. "Akane! You no hit Ranma! Ranma, you apologize..." 
Shampoo's words were abruptly cut off as Akane's mallet suddenly 
reversed directions, planting itself in her face.

Shampoo went flying, sailing over the nearby fence and into the canal. 
Akane, having dealt with the obstacle between her and the focus of her 
anger, quickly spun around and prepared to finish the job at hand. 
However, as she raised the mallet, something suddenly made her rage 
drain away... the look on Ranma's face.

Ranma was looking at Akane in a whole new light. _Never_ that he 
could remember had she ever hit someone else trying to get to him(at 
least, not on purpose) but this time she had gone too far. As she raised 
the mallet to strike again, he stared at her in absolute shock, not 
believing that she could still be angry after hitting an innocent 
bystander. As he gazed at her though, the rage seemed to seep out of her 
as realization of what she'd done sank in. Ranma was just about to yell 
at her for losing control, when suddenly he realized something else-- 
Shampoo hadn't surfaced, and neither had Shampoo-neko. Without a thought 
for the consequences, he leaped over the fence and into the canal. It 
took him-turned-her a minute to locate Shampoo-neko, slowly sinking 
toward the bottom while being swept along by the lazy current of the 
water. Grabbing her unconscious form, she surfaced, trying to make out 
if the cat was still breathing.

However, once surfacing and realizing that Shampoo would live, reality 
seemed to sink in... the reality that it wasn't just Shampoo she was 
holding, it was a cat. Ranma-chan's mouth fell open, as she began to 
babble. "Ca..c..c..Ca.c.caca..ca...CAT!!!!" she finally screamed, 
hurling the small bundle of wet fur onto the shore, her mind desperately 
locked up in the terror of actually *touching* a cat, *holding* that 
disgusting ball of wet fur... the whole thing sent a shiver down her 
spine.

With a scream of pure terror, Ranma-chan charged off, away from both 
Akane and the cat.

***

Akane, for her part, waited around long enough to see that Shampoo was, 
indeed, okay, then stalked off, her mind a turmoil of emotions. She 
didn't know what to think... A part of her was really upset that Ranma 
would look at her like that, like he was blaming *her* for what she had 
done, when obviously it was *his* fault for making her upset in the 
first place. 

Of course, then there was the other part of her that was kinda scared at 
what she had done, scared that she could lose control to the point where 
she couldn't see anything but the target of her anger... She really 
hadn't seen Shampoo, or at least, she hadn't comprehended that it *was* 
Shampoo in the red haze that had seemed to come over her. All she had 
seen was something preventing her from clobbering Ranma... A clobbering 
he richly deserved after that comment...

***

Ranma-chan ran like her life depended on it, trying to banish the 
feeling of that *fur* from her mind with exhaustion. Finally coming to a 
stop, feeling the panic subsiding, she looked around trying to figure 
out where she was. She'd covered a fair distance, and if she walked she 
figured she'd make it to Ucchan's right on time.

Ukyo was busy with several customers, but waved to Ranma-chan as she 
entered, pointing out an open seat at a nearby booth. She quickly 
finished up with the remaining customers and flipped an okonomiaki over 
to Ranma.

Just as Ranma-chan finished wolfing it down, Ukyo left the grill to 
Konatsu and bounced over to sit across from her. "Phew! Well, you're a 
bit early, but I see your appetite hasn't changed... even if the rest of 
you has. Another fight with Akane?"

"Uh, yeah... We were walking home from school when she just blew up at 
me for no reason! She came after me to clobber me, but Shampoo got in 
the way, and Akane hit her! I couldn't believe it. I mean, Akane's 
always been violent, but to just hit Shampoo like that for getting in 
the way..."

Ukyo gave her an odd look. "Akane hit Shampoo? I... I had no idea she 
was _that_ violent."

Ranma-chan nodded. "Yeah, came as a shock to me too. Anyway, 
Akane knocked Shampoo into the canal, and I had to dive in to rescue 
her! I uh.. kinda forgot that Shampoo turns into a cat though..."

Ukyo nodded. "That's my Ranchan, body moving faster than your brain. I 
can't believe that Akane's gotten that bad though... I really don't know 
why you stay with her."

"Ucchan, uh well... its uh... you see... " Ranma-chan's face was turning 
a bit red as she struggled for an explanation, then finally settled on a 
safer course. " ...we'll talk about that later. Now, what's this <yawn> 
problem... you... wanted to... discuss... Uc...chan?" Ranma barely got 
the words out, his eyelids suddenly feeling unbelievably heavy.

Ucchan looked at her in concern. "Gosh Ranchan, that running away from 
Shampoo must have _really_ tired you out... There's a spare bed in the 
back, why don't you go lay down for awhile?"

Ranma was in no shape to argue, suddenly feeling the overwhelming desire 
to sleep _right now_. Nodding her assent, Ukyo helped her into a 
makeshift cot in the back where she promptly feel asleep as soon as she 
hit the flat surface.

***

Ukyo looked down at Ranma-chan, sleeping blissfully away. "Sleep well, 
Ranchan. By the time you wake up, I'll have all your fiancee trouble 
sorted out, and you'll be able to see once and for all that I'm the one 
that really cares about you."

***

Shampoo-neko had been vaguely aware of the contact with the water, the 
sensation of being unable to breathe... then strong arms lifting her 
above the surface. She had opened her eyes at that point, looking in to 
her savior's eyes, and seeing only real worry there. However, that look 
quickly faded as Shampoo-neko watched with disappointment as the horror 
began growing in Ranma-chan's eyes. Then she was flying again, landing 
hard on the shore as Ranma-chan screamed and ran off in the other 
direction. 

Shampoo sighed, picking herself up. She really couldn't blame Ranma... 
but she privately decided that she'd find a way to punish Genma for it 
later. 

"Uk, I hate being wet" she thought to herself, shaking her fur out. 
Noting that Akane had apparently left without waiting for her, and 
seeing no sign of Ranma returning, she decided she had better find her 
way home, or at least to some hot water.

By the time Shampoo-neko made her way back to the dojo and got 
changed, dinner was ready, though Ranma was nowhere to be found. Finally 
after a (relatively) quiet meal, Shampoo headed up to Ranma's room to do 
some homework.

Suddenly there was a tap at the window. Looking up, Shampoo was 
surprised to see Ukyo there, crouched on the windowsill.

"Can I come in?" Ukyo asked, barely audibly through the glass. 
Reluctantly, Shampoo reached over and unlatched the window.

Ukyo looked worried. "Shampoo! Its.. It's Ranma! Remember how he was 
supposed to come by Ucchan's?" Shampoo nodded, "Well, you see, the 
problem I was having was with Happosai, he's been harassing my customers 
and stealing a lot of food... Well, when Ranma got there, Happosai 
attacked again! Last I saw, the two were battling their way down the 
street, but Ranma told me to come get you and Akane! Shampoo, I know 
you're not in top form at the moment, so Ranma had an idea.. there's 
this place across town, a museum, where they have this cursed bra... If 
you can just go and get it and get back here fast enough, Ranma thinks 
he can beat Happosai once and for all! Please Shampoo, time's running 
out! You've got to go right now!" Ukyo shoved a piece of paper into her 
hand, which Shampoo looked at in puzzlement for a moment, then nodded. 
"Alright then! Get going! Go now, I'll go get Akane and together we'll 
hold off Happosai until you get back, okay?" 

Shampoo nodded again. "Be careful Ukyo, Happosai dangerous 
fighter..."

Ukyo hurriedly pushed Shampoo toward the window. "Don't worry, I'll be 
fine! Just get going will ya? Who knows how much longer Ranma can hold 
out?"

Shampoo leaped out of the window, hitting the ground running at full 
bore. However, getting a block or so away, she quickly stopped and hid, 
watching back toward the dojo. She looked down at the address again. So, 
Ukyo thought to send me all the way across Tokyo on a fool's errand... 
we'll see what she's up to, Shampoo thought to herself. She had 
recognized the address... it was the address of an herb supplier that 
Shampoo and her great-grandmother had always bought herbs from. 

Shampoo smiled as she watched carefully to see what would happen next. 
It truly was unfortunate for Ukyo that she'd picked that address... any 
other and whatever she was planning might have worked.

***

Mousse chuckled as he watched Shampoo sprint away. Everything was going 
according to Ukyo's plan. Really, just getting Shampoo to go on this 
wild goose chase had been the hardest part of the plan to figure out... 
how to get Shampoo out of the way without alerting anyone else or 
hurting her or even revealing that they had anything other than the best 
of intentions. Now that Ukyo had done the tough part, his own part of 
the plan was going to be easy.

He waited patiently, hidden in plain sight (magician's trick) on the 
neighboring roof and waited for Ukyo's signal. Finally, after Ukyo 
checked to make sure the ex-Amazon was gone, she climbed out of the 
window and gave Mousse a "thumbs up". He returned the gesture, waiting 
for her to disappear back toward Ucchan's so she'd have plenty of time 
to set up for the next phase of the plan... then he jumped into the 
Tendos' backyard.

***

Shampoo silently watched Ukyo come out of the same window she had, then 
give a "thumbs up" sign in her direction. Hmm... that must mean she has 
an accomplice. Watching Ukyo head back toward her restaurant, Shampoo 
decided to stick around a moment longer to see if her accomplice would 
reveal himself. Sure enough, her patience paid off as Mousse jumped down 
from the building she was hiding behind and made his way into the 
Tendo's backyard.

"I knew it, Mousse can never be trusted!" she thought. She considered 
staying there, maybe getting closer, to see if she could find out what 
Mousse was up to, but there still had been no sign of Ranma and with 
Ukyo here, she had no idea what they'd done with him. Starting to get 
worried, she headed off after Ukyo.

***

The next brick crumpled under Akane's punch, sending cinder-dust 
flying everwhere. Not noticing, Akane picked up another three bricks and 
prepared to bash those too. "Damn Ranma anyway," she thought, picturing 
him laughing and eating Ukyo's okonomiaki. He never would eat *her* 
cooking... <bam!> Another three bricks reduced to dust with one blow.

"Ah, Akane.. there you are." Akane looked up, startled to find Mousse 
looking down at her. 

"Mousse! What are you doing here? I think Shampoo's up in Ranma's 
room..." she started, assuming it was her he was looking for.

"Actually, ah, Akane... I was, that is... looking for Ranma. I uh... 
needed to talk to him."

Akane gave Mousse a funny look... When had Mousse *ever* just talked to 
Ranma? Still, she gave a mental shrug. She couldn't care less if Mousse 
beat Ranma to a pulp, it would save her the trouble. "Sorry Mousse, I 
don't know where he is, though he said he'd be over at Ucchan's helping 
her with something."

Mousse seemed to look thoughtful for a second, then continued. 
"Strange... and Shampoo's not in his room either, Kasumi said she'd be 
up in Ranma's room doing homework, but when I got there she was nowhere 
to be found and the window was opened... I wonder why she would have 
left without telling anyone?"

Akane could imagine... she could just see Shampoo sneaking off, 
meeting Ranma somewhere, she had probably got back and changed into that 
slinky dress of hers. She could picture the two of them, out having a 
good time, eating dinner somewhere fancy.... 

Akane felt the heat rising within her... How *dare* they sneak around 
behind her back! If Ranma were going to go out with Shampoo there was no 
reason he should hide it, he should just end his relationship with her! 
No, there was only one reason that Ranma and Shampoo were sneaking 
around her back, so they could both live under *her* roof and eat *her* 
family's food... and so they could laugh at her while they trained every 
morning... Heck, probably Ukyo was in on it too, after all, she'd 
invited Ranma over for dinner. She could just see it now, Ukyo, cooking 
okonomiaki for Ranma, then sitting down next to him, snuggling up close, 
him turning, their lips meeting.... 

Akane's vision began to turn a deep crimson the more she thought 
about it. Of *course* he didn't give a damn about *her*... she was just 
his meal ticket to an easy life while he lived it up with Shampoo and 
Ukyo. Well she'd make him pay for it...

With an absent blow, Akane shattered all three of the bricks she had 
lined up, then without a second glance at Mousse she began stalking off 
toward Ucchan's.

***

As Mousse watched the stages of rage build within Akane at his subtle 
hints, he couldn't believe how easy it had been... He'd come expecting 
to have to keep pointing out how odd it was that Ranma never spent any 
time with her, or a million other statements he'd devised to send her 
into a blind rage, but all it had taken was one. 

And boy did she look _pissed_. Mousse decided he shouldn't stand 
*quite* so close, lest he accidentally draw her ire. As she began to 
walk off toward Ucchan's in a huff, Mousse called after her. "Akane! 
Wait for me! I'll come with you to help you find Ranma!" 

He ran and caught up to her, walking just behind her. He seriously 
doubted that she even knew he was there, so blind was she in her rage. 
Yes, the plan was going *better* than expected. With a small smile, he 
thought "Soon my love... Soon you and I will be together..."

***

Ukyo raced back to Ucchan's, she knew she wouldn't have much time. She 
and Mousse had devised a dozen insults to spark Akane into a rage, but 
Ukyo was pretty sure it wouldn't take much, after hearing about this 
afternoon's events. Locking the door to Ucchan's and putting a "closed" 
sign up, she quickly dragged the unconscious Ranma (now male since she'd 
dumped a pot of warm water over him) out to one of the booths... one 
which happened to be coincidentally facing the large window. Propping 
him up in the booth, she climbed in next to him, feeling a momentary 
thrill at finally being so close to him, and undisturbed. She'd given 
Konatsu the evening off, so there was no chance of her being 
interrupted... by anyone she didn't want to be interrupted by.

Ukyo smiled slyly at that thought. Everything had gone *perfectly* so 
far, much better than she had expected with such a tricky plan. She 
placed Ranma's hands around her so that it looked like the unconscious 
boy was embracing her. There, now all she had to do was wait for *just* 
the right moment, and Ranchan would be hers forever. She would finally 
have proven that she was the best for him, and with her clever plan 
she'd get rid of all his other fiancees too! He'd be so grateful that he 
could finally express his true feelings for her when this was all over, 
he'd never have to sully his honor by telling Akane he didn't love 
her... with her plan, Akane would dump him! 

It was all so perfect! She could just see the two of them, Ranma holding 
her hand, sweeping her into his embrace to show her just *how* much he 
appreciated what she'd done for him. Ukyo gave a soft sigh. Not now, she 
thought, I have to focus for this to go correctly! 

Then she saw her, Akane, followed closely by Mousse, coming toward 
Ucchan's. Apparently Mousse had done his job well, 'cause Akane looked 
positively steamed. Her face contorted in a mask of rage. This was it, 
do or die... Ukyo stopped thinking about what she was about to do, and 
just *did* it. Turning Ranma's face toward her (and away from the 
approaching Akane so she couldn't see that his eyes were closed) and 
kissed him.

It wasn't exactly the best kiss in the world, as she basically was just 
mashing her lips against his, and he wasn't returning it at all, but 
still... It _was_ her first kiss, and it _was_ with Ranchan. Ukyo felt 
her heart beat quicken, the closeness of his body was... doing.. things 
to her... finally, reluctantly, she pulled back, gazing up adoringly 
into his still closed tight eyes.

***

Akane couldn't believe it, she just couldn't. The red haze over her 
vision seemed to shatter into a million pieces upon seeing it, as her 
mind struggled to maintain even slight control over her emotions... but 
it was no use. She could almost hear the sound of her heart shattering, 
as she watched Ranma kissing Ukyo. There could be no denying it, nothing 
could disprove it, she'd seen it with her own eyes, though she'd often 
accused him of doing such things, deep down she'd never really 
believed... until now. 

She felt the tears of betrayal well up within her. Everything, 
everything had been a lie. Ranma didn't love her, he never had... The 
pain was too much to bear. With a sob, she turned and ran.

***

Shampoo had followed Ukyo stealthily back to Ucchan's, observing the 
proceedings with growing trepidation. She had seen Ukyo drag the 
unconscious Ranma out and place him in the booth. She had started to 
guess what was going on and was about to go interrupt when Akane came 
around the corner, and then it was too late. She watched helplessly as 
Ukyo planted a deep kiss on Ranma, her angle to Akane *just* right to 
prevent her from noticing how limp Ranma was. Not that it probably would 
have mattered to Akane, she would probably just have assumed that Ranma 
had his eyes closed to enjoy the kiss more. 

Shampoo felt something start deep within her as she watched Ukyo... a 
spark of her old fire, the feeling of focus that came from a mixture of 
desire and frustration but that gave one the will to go on. She'd gotten 
her confidence back in her martial arts from Ranma's careful teachings, 
now she had the will to use it again.

Still, as she watched Akane run off in tears, she knew the damage had 
been done, and there was no way Akane could un-see what she had seen. 

She briefly considered the Xia Fang Shiatsu technique, but it hadn't 
worked on Akane before, and besides, Ranma had taught her that it was 
dishonorable. And now that she thought about it, she could see why... 
erasing Akane's memory might be a short term fix, but you had to face 
these things to really get them fixed. Sighing to herself, Shampoo 
decided her best course of action would be to wait and see what happened 
next. They'd have to deal with Akane once she freed Ranma from Ukyo's 
clutches.

***

Ukyo finally looked over to where Akane had stood and found her 
gone, Mousse standing there with a big silly smile on his face as he 
waited for her to open the door and let him in. Reluctantly laying 
Ranchan down in the booth, she slipped out from underneath him and went 
and let Mousse in.

"We did it Ukyo! We pulled it off!" He seemed nearly ready to burst from 
excitement. Obviously, he wasn't used to things going his way.

"We sure did Mousse. Come on sugar, help me get Ranchan back into the 
cot."

They both managed to haul Ranma back to the cot he'd been sleeping on. 
Once again Ukyo had to marvel at the power of that sleeping spice... 
She'd have to send an extra-special batch of okonomiaki to Kodachi to 
thank her for it. Of course, Kodachi didn't know *who* she'd sold the 
spice too, or she might have interfered, but Ukyo still felt she owed 
her something. The spice was suppose to last for 6 hours, but with 
Ranchan's fast healing, she couldn't count on him being out much longer. 
Indeed, he seemed to stir a bit as they set him down on the cot.

"Ok, Mousse, thanks for all your help. Now, all you have to do to win 
Shampoo's heart is go back to the dojo and wait for her to return... she 
will, eventually. Tell her... tell her anything, in fact, why don't you 
tell her some of what happened here, that Ranchan finally admitted his 
love for me and kissed me. Then, while she's in a state of shock, just 
be there for her, be her friend. Then, when Akane throws her out, which 
she will, offer to let her stay with you... it's guaranteed to work!"

Mousse beamed, he seemed to have grown two inches as he stood taller, 
hope etched into his face. "I... I'll do that Ukyo. Thank you, I don't 
know if I can ever repay you..."

"Oh hush. Don't worry about it. I couldn't have done it without you. Now 
get going before Ranchan starts to wake, 'kay?"

Mousse nodded, then backed his way out of Ucchan's, giving Ukyo a deep 
bow as he turned and left.

Ukyo sighed. That guy was hopeless. Still, she hoped it worked out 
between him and Shampoo, she didn't want to have to deal with 
Shampoo after all she'd gone through to get rid of Akane.

Ranma stirred a bit, then finally blearily blinked open his eyes. They 
quickly locked on Ukyo, and an unspoken question leaped to his eyes.

Ukyo answered before he could find the words to ask. "I'm sorry 
Ranchan, you're under a bit of paralysis at the moment, but it will fade 
in a little bit." She then burst in to a huge smile. "Ah, but Ranchan! 
I've got such great news! You know that fiancee problem? I got it all 
fixed! You don't have to pretend you care for Akane anymore! And it 
didn't even sully your honor any! You see, I got Akane to dump _you_ 
instead of the other way around, isn't that great?"

Ukyo beamed down at him, but slowly her smile faded as she noticed the 
look of horror in his eyes. "Ucc--Ukyo.. What have you done?" he gasped, 
finding it difficult to speak through the paralysis.

Ukyo looked at him in concern, Kodachi hadn't mentioned any side 
effects of the sleep spice addling his brain... "What do you mean? I've 
freed you of your tie to Akane so you can express your true love for me! 
That's what!" Seeing the look of horror in his eyes not fading, a 
sickening thought began in the back of her mind. It'd been there for a 
while, but she'd always brushed it off, crushed it down, since it never 
made any sense anyway. It was a voice that told her that maybe Ranchan 
really _did_ like Akane... that maybe he _wasn't_ faking to appease 
Akane and his father. But of course, that was ridiculous.... how could 
he love that uncute, unfeminine tomboy? Yet as she looked at him, 
sensing the horror at what she had done welling in him, directed at 
_her_, the voice came back stronger than ever, her worst fear made real.

Desperate, she flung herself onto him, holding him tight. "You see 
Ranchan, it's me you really love, I know it..." Somehow, even to her, 
that sounded weak....

Ranma opened his mouth again, about to either confirm her worst fears or 
fulfill her wildest dreams. However, before a word could be uttered, 
there was a shattering crash, as the wall next to her crumpled inward.

Shampoo stepped into the room, and Ukyo took a step back in shock. 
Shampoo wasn't angry, not like Akane, where she went into unthinking 
rage, but there was a promise in her eyes, a promise that Ukyo was in a 
lot of trouble. Still, Ukyo had first-hand reports of Shampoo's degraded 
skill, she should be able to beat Shampoo easily, no matter how 
confident the ex-Amazon looked. Ukyo unsheathed her combat spatula, 
getting it ready. 

"You!" Ukyo practically spit the word. Shampoo had always been the most 
annoying of Ranma's suitors, always popping up when she was least 
wanted, always trying some knew trick that left the others 
struggling to keep one step ahead of her. "It should have taken you 
another thirty minutes to get back from where I sent you! How'd you get 
back so fast?"

Shampoo just gazed steadily at her. "Shampoo knew that address was phony 
from beginning, I saw it all, Ukyo. You very devious, but Ranma is going 
_home_, if I have to carry him there myself!"

"Fine! You think he wants to? Why would he want to go back to that 
_tomboy_ when he's got me! Besides, he _is_ home. And if you mean go 
back to the Tendo's, I'm afraid he won't find a very warm welcome 
there!"

Ranma looked about to say something at this point, but Shampoo beat him 
to it. "Ranma _always_ consider you friend, Ukyo, why you throw that 
away? Mousse think like you do, think that one day he be more than 
friend, and keep pushing. Well you wrong, Ukyo, by pulling this little 
stunt, you may have just lost his friendship."

Ukyo felt the doubt return within her, the feeling that this was all 
horribly wrong... but she beat it back savagely. Ranma _had_ to love 
her... he'd called her cute, right? He wouldn't have done that if he 
didn't feel something for her. 

Her resolve firmed. "We'll just see about that!" and she leapt at 
Shampoo. Shampoo didn't have her bonbari, she was supposed to be a weak 
fighter now, and she'd always been the stupid one. What did she know? 
Ukyo would get rid of her, then Ranchan would tell her how cute she was, 
how brave to face Shampoo, how smart to think up this plan...

***

Shampoo dodged Ukyo's first swing, using Ranma's Anything-Goes 
style she'd become familiar with lately to fight unarmed. She'd almost 
gotten through to Ukyo, she could see it in the girl's eyes, but now 
Ukyo had a look of complete desperation in her eyes. Shampoo realized 
what this meant... Ukyo knew that if she had been wrong about Ranma's 
feelings for her, she'd lose him for good because of it, and she 
*couldn't* accept that. 

Shampoo mentally sighed. This was not going to be an easy battle, as 
Ukyo couldn't afford to lose and she was fighting with desperate 
energy. Normally, now that Shampoo felt she had her old fighting spirit 
and speed back, she could have whiped the floor with Ukyo, but at the 
moment she was barely staying one step ahead of her. With a deft hop, 
she skipped over Ukyo's spatula, noting briefly in mid air that Ranma 
was trying desperately to get up. 

The moments distraction of looking at him cost her though, as one of 
Ukyo's throwing spatulas grazed her arm, drawing a line of blood. 
Shampoo grimaced at the pain, but kept moving, hoping Ukyo would begin 
to tire... however, Shampoo's stamina had never been the best, and Ukyo 
had such a half-crazed look in her eye, she doubted she'd be able to 
hold out long enough. She needed some way to distract Ukyo...

"Ukyo! Why?" she yelled, leaping over another dozen throwing 
spatulas. "I thought you loved Ranma! Don't you want him to be 
happy?"

Ukyo just growled in response, bringing her combat spatula across in a 
vicious strike. "What do you know of love?" Ukyo yelled back. "You 
_never_ loved him! You always tried to use magic to get him to love you! 
You think he'd be happier as a slave!?"

Shampoo felt color flush her cheeks, anger welling within her. Damn it, 
she thought, *she's* the one whose suppose to react, not me! Savagely, 
she beat down the anger that might cause her to make mistakes. Shampoo 
ducked under another kick "I was wrong! I know that! And I'm only now 
coming to realize how shallow my love was! Yet I *do* love him, though 
I'll never be worthy of him after all I've done!"

Ukyo seemed shocked by that admission, but the opening she left 
closed before Shampoo could take advantage of it. "Then why do you 
fight? Let one who _is_ worthy have him!" 

Ukyo just barely managed to block an elbow headed for her head. 
"Why? Because only Ranma can decide whose worthy and whose not, and 
you're not giving him the choice!" 

Ukyo was ready to rebut, but suddenly both girls stopped in mid-
movement, staring at Ranma, who'd managed to rise to his feet. "Stop it! 
Stop it both of you!" he yelled. 

Ukyo immediately sagged, tears welling in her eyes. "Ranma, tell her! 
tell her you love me!"

Shampoo watched as Ranma fixed her with a cold stare, a stare that 
seemed to pierce Ukyo like a lance. Shampoo could almost see Ukyo's 
heart being stabbed into as the two continued to stare at each other. 
Finally, Ranma spoke.

"Ukyo, I've never loved you _that way_. I always thought of you as a 
friend, but what have you done?"

Horror welled in Ukyo's eyes, and Shampoo could well feel for what the 
girl was going through, indeed, if any of her plans had succeeded as 
well as Ukyo's had, she might well have been fixed by that same cold 
stare.

As Ukyo stared at him uncomprehendingly, Ranma staggered past her, over 
next to Shampoo. "Come on Shampoo, help me out here, I don't think I can 
walk home by myself." 

Shampoo put her arm around him, supporting his tall frame as best she 
could, as the two slowly left Ucchan's behind, its proprietor still 
standing in mute shock at the empty cot and shattered room... and her 
shattered dreams.

***

Ryouga looked around. Where was he? Everything looked so 
unfamiliar... He was in a city, he knew that much, and it seemed pretty 
large, and the signs were in Japanese, so he at least knew he was in 
Japan somewhere... 

"Oh Akane, One day I'll find you, and I'll tell you how I feel this 
time, I really will! You accepted my curse, have even called me 
'friend'... " tears began to roll down the lost boy's face. "Akane, why 
can't I tell you how much I love you?"

Ryouga suddenly stopped. There, as if summoned up by his words, was 
Akane running toward him. His heart skipped a beat, as he momentarily 
imagined her running into his arms... but then he saw her face. Her face 
was a mask of tears mixed with anger, and she ran right by him without 
even seeing him. Ryouga felt rage burn inside him.. only one man could 
be insensitive enough to do this to Akane... Ranma! But, he realized, 
now was not the time to deal with Ranma, Akane obviously needed his 
help. With a cry of "Akane!" he turned and sprinted after her, barely 
able to keep her in sight.

***

Akane dashed into the house, completely ignoring the surprised and 
concerned looks Kasumi, Soun, and Genma-panda were giving her. Without a 
look back, she ran up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door 
shut behind her. Akane threw herself down on the bed, sobbing, willing 
all this to be some sort of bad dream....

Then there was a knock on her door, probably Kasumi coming to see what's 
wrong, she decided. She didn't respond to the knock.

Slowly the door swung open, then closed as someone came in. She 
refused to look up, but she felt irritation wash over her. Couldn't they 
tell that she just wanted to be left alone?

"A.. Akane? are you ok?"

Akane froze. That _was not_ Kasumi. Slowly lifting her head, she 
found Ryouga sitting at the edge of her bed, looking at her with eyes 
filled with worry and concern.

Akane felt the tears coming. Ryouga was never a jerk to her, he was 
always willing to listen to her, unlike Ranma... With a cry, she flung 
herself onto him, using his shoulder to wipe her tears.

Unsteadily, he embraced her, holding her tight, waiting for her grief to 
subside. "Wh.. What happened?" His face was alternating between 
continued concern and unbelievable bliss at having Akane in *his* arms 
for a change...

Akane drew back a little bit, sniffing. "I.. I saw Ranma kissing Ukyo!" 
she blurted out, without any preamble or introduction. Ryouga looked 
stunned, his face becoming dark with anger as the ramifications of what 
she'd said sunk in. 

"Why that two-timing, freeloading jerk! I'll kill him!" he said, raising 
to his feet, his fist clenched. But then he looked back down at Akane, 
still suffering, and sat back down. "Akane..." he began, looking 
nervous. "I... I... I want, that is... uh, you should know.. that .. 
well... I'll always.. L... l... be here for you. " He finished, finally 
his face flushed.

Akane looked at him for a moment, seeing nothing but concern in his 
eyes, none of the pride which had always gotten in between her and 
Ranma... Ryouga was such a nice guy, always willing to be there for her, 
to fight for her... 

Akane gave him a weak smile. "Th.. Thank you Ryouga... that means a lot 
to me. I.. I have a feeling I'm going to need you here when Ranma gets 
back... if he does come back, that cowardly worm..." she said, trying to 
fight the anger swelling within her at the thought that Ranma might have 
the gall to come crawling back after that. He'd probably have some lame 
excuse like Ukyo tricked him into it or something. Well, she wasn't 
buying it this time. She'd just have to explain to her father that she 
was not marrying Ranma, and she never wanted to see him again. Ranma's 
days of freeloading off her household were over.

***

Ranma's strength had returned not long after leaving Ucchan's, but that 
was the least of his worries. Shampoo had filled him in on the things 
Ukyo had done, and he agreed with her... Ukyo had done her job well, 
Akane was going to be *very* upset when they got home... and for the 
life of him he couldn't come up with a good excuse that she wouldn't 
accuse him of making up.

Shampoo, too, looked worried. Ranma sighed, that was another 
situation that he didn't know how to deal with... apparently she did, 
after all he'd done to her, still care for him... but that puzzled him 
even more, because unlike trying to get him for herself, she seemed to 
be pushing him toward Akane... No, that wasn't quite right, she wasn't 
pushing him toward Akane, she was trying to let him figure it out on his 
own.

Ranma shook his head. Would wonders never cease? If the prideful 
Amazon could change so much that she was willing, despite her own 
feelings, to let him choose who he wanted, maybe there was even hope for 
the violent tomboy.... 

That thought sobered him a bit. Akane... argh... dammit, she'd never let 
Ranma explain after what Ukyo had done!

Still unable to think of a solution, the two approached the Tendos' 
gate. As they stood in front of it, trying to gather the courage to 
actually enter, the gate slowly swung open. Just in front of the gate 
the entire Tendo clan was standing, plus Ryouga standing next to Akane, 
his arm on her shoulder. Akane had a deadly calm look on her face, one 
matched by the unexpectedly solemn look on Ryouga's face. Genma stood 
off to one side, all his, Ranma's, and Shampoo's belongings piled around 
him. His face was as unreadable as ever, but he seemed upset to Ranma, 
who was adept at reading his father's mood. For a moment, the world 
seemed to stand still as the two groups stared back and forth.

"Ranma..." It was Akane who broke the silence, her voice clear, and 
cold. "Your days of freeloading off this family are over. Take your 
things and go. You and your family are no longer welcome here." 

Ranma felt something break deep within him... the knowledge that he'd 
lost something, something very dear to him forever. He'd missed his 
chance. If only he'd been able to... to tell her.... 

Ranma started to open his mouth to speak, to defend himself, to yell and 
scream, beg if necessary... All he had to do was get them to listen! He 
thought desperately what he could possibly say. As his mouth opened, 
however, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Shampoo shake 
her head, tears in her eyes. He looked back at the Tendos, and realized 
she was right. There was nothing he could say. Akane's battle aura was 
barely being kept in check, Soun's fists were clenched, Nabiki's gaze 
was cold... even Kasumi looked less than friendly. Closing his mouth, he 
nodded, feeling tears well in his own eyes. Without a word he walked 
over and picked up his backpack, handing Shampoo hers. Then he, Shampoo, 
and his father turned to go. With one last look back at the Tendos, his 
family for the last two years, he stopped, gave them all a deep bow, and 
said, "Thank you, for your hospitality. I know you can't forgive me, but 
thank you for being my family. One day, perhaps, you'll understand." 

The short speech, flowing for his lips completely unrehearsed, had 
little effect on the family... except for Kasumi, who seemed to soften a 
bit. He gave them all a sad smile, and turned and left. There was 
nothing else to be said, for now.

As he caught up with Shampoo and Genma, Shampoo gave him a sad look, 
taking his hand in hers. For once, he didn't protest. He clung to that 
contact, the knowledge that there was at least one person in the world 
who hadn't turned from him. He wished he could express his gratitude for 
that simple action, but he just couldn't... the pain was too fresh.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Epilogue:

Shampoo sat out on the rock, looking at the stars. She felt more than 
heard Ranma approach and sit down next to her. They were ironically 
close to the cliff where she'd met him a bare month or so ago, but this 
time it was he who looked ready to take the plunge.

"Ranma... It will be all right. Give Akane time to calm down, then you 
can explain it to her..." She knew better though. She'd seen the look in 
Akane's eyes... She might one day forgive Ranma, but things would never 
be the same between them.

Ranma, apparently, knew this too. "You know it won't Shampoo. 
things will never be 'all right' between me and her again... Though I do 
need to explain it to her... or at least to Kasumi. I.. they're my 
family, Shampoo... I can't stand the thought of losing my family all 
over again..."

Shampoo thought for a moment. Ranma did seem to be dealing with his 
grief a lot better than she had when she had lost her home. Maybe there 
was another option. She took Ranma's hand in hers, tilting his head up 
so he was looking into her eyes. She could see him forcing back the 
tears, even now struggling not to show weakness. "You still have your 
family Ranma... the Tendos took you in, but they aren't your blood 
relations. Perhaps it's time you looked to you real family."

Ranma looked at her, puzzled for a moment. "Who? Mom?"

Shampoo nodded. She saw Ranma working over the suggestion in his mind, 
his conflicting emotions showing plainly on his face. Hope began growing 
in his eyes... then it suddenly damped down. "I can't. She'll kill me if 
she finds out about me curse, force me to commit Seppuku. Not only that, 
but she was always fond of the Tendos... if she finds out that I got 
kicked out, and then finds out *why*... There's no telling what she'll 
do."

Shampoo knew about the Seppuku pact, but she hadn't thought about 
Nodoka's reaction to Ranma's apparent infidelities. Still... "She is 
your mother Ranma... I remember my mother... she was one of the greatest 
warriors in our village. She died when I was young, fighting against 
Musk. After that, great-grandmother took me in, became my surrogate 
mother, in a way. It never the same though, your mother is always your 
mother, and I refuse to believe that she would damn her only son no 
matter what offense he had committed. Mothers are a very special thing, 
Ranma. Don't lose yours as I lost mine."

Ranma looked startled about the revelation of Shampoo's mother's fate, 
but the idea of finding his mother seemed to have seeded itself into his 
mind. Shampoo nodded. Now, more than ever, Ranma needed his mother. The 
part of Shampoo that was still Amazon told her that it was weakness to 
need anyone, but she just smiled at that. She needed Ranma far more than 
he needed his mother, and he was only a man.

***

Breakfast at the Tendos was deathly quiet. Ryouga nervously ate, 
sitting next to Akane, in Ranma's usual spot. Where he was sitting had 
definitely not gone unnoticed, as Nabiki kept giving him funny looks. He 
ignored it, however, rejoicing in how close he was sitting to Akane....

Akane, for her part, didn't seem to have cooled off any. She was still 
furious, Ryouga could tell. He sighed. Soon he hoped, when she got over 
Ranma, then he'd tell her, he'd tell her how he _really_ felt about 
her....

***

Ucchan's was closed the next day... and the next... and the next. No 
one had seen the proprietor for days.

***

Cologne stared out from the roof of the Nekohanten as the sun went down. 
She hoped Shampoo was alright, wherever she was. It was probably the 
hardest thing she'd ever done, kicking her great-granddaughter out of 
the Amazon tribe, but there was no help for it. Shampoo desperately 
needed to be taught to temper her arrogance, and only the pain of loss 
and experience of the world could do that. Shampoo would probably never 
forgive her for it, but it would be worth never seeing her great-
granddaughter again if it meant that she was happy, and Cologne was 
pretty sure she would be.

With a flick of her cane, Cologne hopped down in front of the 
Nekohauten, watching Mousse prepare for the night's rush. She'd been 
aware of his activities, but had turned a blind eye to them, preferring 
to test Shampoo's character. If Shampoo _had_ agreed to marry Mousse, 
she probably would have let her back into the tribe, but Cologne never 
would have been able to respect her again, a girl who sold her love for 
the comfort of being a part of the tribe. Cologne had been glad to find 
that that wasn't the case. Shampoo would make a fine Amazon... even if 
she wasn't an Amazon anymore.

Giving the Nekohauten a last look over before heading inside, she 
realized she needed to call the broker. She'd have to accept the offer, 
even though it was far below the value of this place. Still, the money 
would benefit the tribe once she and Mousse got back to China.

With a last sigh, feeling the weight of ages upon her, Cologne hoped 
into the Nekohauten, ready to cook. She was getting too old for this... 
but perhaps she would be able to pass on the mantle of leadership now 
without doubts about the abilities of her successor. Only a few more 
years... yes, then Shampoo would be ready, and Ranma too.

----
fin

author's note:
Ok, finally done with the first part. I hadn't initially thought to have 
this turn into a series, but there was no helping it. As I began to draw 
the story to a close, I realized that there was just no way that Ranma 
would admit his love for Shampoo after going through the emotional 
ringer of Akane, A relationship that still has a lot of lose ends. So, 
this is now only the first part of "Purple Haired Destiny", and I have 
no idea how long its going to go. As you can probably guess by hints in 
the Epilogue, the next one will deal with family problems, namely 
Nodoka. Ukyo is also still out there somewhere... and Ranma and Akane 
aren't through with each other yet. 

A note on Ukyo: I didn't mean to set Ukyo up as the badguy(badgirl?) in 
this story, it just happened to work out that way. Don't worry though, 
this little experience might have been just what Ukyo needed... With any 
luck she'll return as a better person later. 

Also, I've already planned a sequel, even though I have no idea how many 
chapters this is going to go... It might be wrapped up in the next one, 
it might not... we'll see. (I'm kinda interested to know myself..)

I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly had fun writing it... C&C is always 
welcome! Please let me know what you thought of it!

Thanks to my pre-readers, Ben Kosse, Sutedja, Gary Kleppe, and Shazorn. 
Without them, this peice would have been a nightmare dure to my less-
than-exemplerary grammer and spelling. 

Special thanks to Wade Tritschler for his suggestions and thoughts on 
Shampoo. If any of you are looking for some really good arguments for 
why Shampoo is his and my favorite character, check Wade's Shampoo page 
at : http://malvm1.mala.bc.ca/~tritscwa/ranma/shampoo.htm and 
for reasons why Shampoo and Mousse are just WRONG for each other, check 
his Anti-Shampoo+Mousse Page: 
http://malvm1.mala.bc.ca/~tritscwa/ranma/moandsh.htm

Thanks for reading!

Ryan Anderson
andersor@cs.colorado.edu
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~andersor/tenchi/ryoko.html