Story Tags: [Continuation, Post Vol. 38][Moderate crossover][Lime Flavored (Mature Situations, Nudity)][Martial Arts(KOF super-remix)][Harem]
Story Seeds: Prereader request of a revival of 'Ranma House' crossed with 'Yojimbo' to create something new. That prereader had two requests for certain things to survive from Ranma House. Lotsa girls(the harem tag) and Cos-play Fu (Feel the terror).

Rated R for fairly serious plot, adult situations, frontal nudity, violence, language, and crossodressing ninja. Over all, like the manga, but more serious.

Contact info: email valorphoenix@yahoo.com ICQ# 1685995, valorphoenix on yahoo, vphoenix on AIM, yahoo email address for MSN. If you're using an IM, please be semi-polite and to the point. I'm generally happy to discuss things but not much for small talk. Website: http://valor_phoenix.tripod.com/

Author's Notes: This is a half chapter, and id being published early to satisfy certain people. The full chapter will likely be twice as long, somewhere at 15,000 words.

Notes on HTML: If the text is to wide for comfortable reading, then simply resize your browser to be narrower.

In the Nerima ward to Tokyo, the somewhat infamous Nerima High was letting out, hundreds of students eager to leave spilling out of the gates. At those gates stood two of the most well known students there, Nabiki Tendou, a senior soon to graduate, and her younger sister Akane, soon to become a senior.

Normally these two wouldn’t be caught waiting at the gates for Ranma, since he would follow when he got free. That had changed a little over two weeks ago when he had moved into the newly rebuilt Saotome home.

Considering those facts, plus the fact they were waiting for someone that definitely knew the way to their house, Nabiki posed the obvious question, though it was more from just knowing her little sister. “Akane, you did ask him already, right?”

Akane hesitated to answer, because she knew her older sister was going to make fun of her. It wasn’t her fault after all, she just couldn’t get long enough with Ranma during the school day with no one in earshot to ask him. After all, if she asked him if he would come over to her house, or if she could come over, people would start thinking she liked him or something. There were already enough rumors going around with out fanning them any further. It was strange though how it was so much worse than having him as a houseguest. Hiding her turmoil, she replied a bit hotly, “I just didn’t have a chance, okay?”

Smirking in amusement at her little sister’s antics, Nabiki launched a light verbal jab at her, “Really? I mean, you even had an excuse today. After all, it’s Kasumi that wants Ranma to visit, not you.”

Not getting a reply from her grumpy little sister, Nabiki decided to push her buttons a bit more so she would vent a little. Poor little sis couldn’t get up the courage to invite Ranma over or visit him yet, so instead she stewed at home thinking about the horrible things Ranma might be doing without her to watch over him. Combined with the fact that she didn’t have anyone at home to vent on, the poor girl was practically stewing in her own juices. “C’mon Akane, that’s pretty pathetic, have you even seen you dear fiancé’s new bedroom?”

Outraged at what her conniving sister was implying, Akane replied in turn, though hotly and loudly. “Of course not! Why the hell would I want to?”

Using a tone that was especially condescending, Nabiki leaned in towards her sister for a little more privacy, “That dear little sister, would be your problem. One day though, you’ll understand. Of course, if you’re impatient, you could pay me, but that talk would cost you a bit.”

Simmering in anger, the youngest Tendou did her best to remain still, stiffening her posture quite a bit. She was glad for the restraint this afforded her, because it barely kept her from shouting about how she already knew the birds and the bees.

Luckily for Akane’s patience, Ranma finally came out of the school, meandering his way over to the gate since he had spotted the two girls waiting for something. Luckily for Ranma, Akane cooled down during this time, to preoccupied with being flustered about what she was going to have to ask Ranma.

Along with the change in homes had come a change in wardrobe for Ranma. Instead of a silk Chinese shirt, he wore the same basic design, but in a black cotton instead, currently with short sleeves for the spring. With the change in clothes, his growth over the time they had known them was apparent, the Ranma of late being a somewhat calmer and a little less prone to crazy stunts.

Curious why the girls were waiting around, the pigtailed young man approached the pair at a leisurely pace before giving them a friendly greeting. “Yo, what’s up?”

Acutely aware that the now thin stream of students leaving were staring at the trio on their way out, Akane fidgeted and stalled, “Uhm well, just waiting ya know.” Knowing how lame she sounded copping out like that, Akane was actually relieved when Shampoo jumped over the wall and onto Ranma, sending him to the ground with a lapful of enthusiastic amazon. The fleeting relief faded as Akane realized Ranma was making a scene yet again, embarrassing her with his playboy ways yet again.

Knowing from experience how to cure this little mess, Akane pulled out her lunch thermos, currently full of cool water. Uncapping it in one practiced motion, she continued the now familiar motion, flinging the aqueous contents across the amorous amazon and her philandering fiancé. That action resulted in the familiar damp white furred cat in the lamp of a damp and now annoyed red-headed girl.

What followed next surprised even Nabiki, as the now female Ranma lifted kitten Shampoo in her hands to eye level, looking at the cat as if for the first time. “You turn into a cat, right Shampoo?” Getting a hesitant nod from the thickly furred kitten, the part time girl brought the feline closer to her chest, cradled in one arm like she saw Akane treat her pet. Looking down at her currently feline fiancee, she tried petting her, getting a favorable response as she wondered out loud. “Huh, nothing. Ain’t that weird?”

Brushing herself off with her free hand, the petite red-head got up to a squatting position, gathering up the damp silk dress and other clothing Shampoo had left behind in her transformation, putting the clothing in her book bag. Setting Shampoo on her book bag for a moment, she adjusted the red sash she was wearing for a belt, insuring her clothes fit, then put her bag on her back and picked Shampoo back up, an action which made Shampoo a very smugly happy feline indeed.

Giving a quick wave with her free hand, Ranma turned on her heel, preparing to take the fast way home over rooftops, calling back over her shoulder an instant before she launched herself into the Tokyo skyline. “Later, gotta go get a shower now. Say hi at Kasumi for me.”

Seeing her little sister was still at a loss over the incident, Nabiki poked her in the shoulder, jarring her out of her shock. “C’mon sis, we’ve wasted enough time here.”

Waggling his eyebrows suggestively, Daisuke nudged the girl walking ahead of him in an attempt to ignore him. “Hey, ya see that Yuka?”

Not turning around to face him, the schoolgirl responded, “What about it?”

Grinning, the impetuous boy jogged up beside the girl so she could see his triumphant grin and read what he was expecting, while was par the course for the pervert duo. “Ranma holding a cat and not freaking out. You know that’s a sign of the apocalypse. C’mon, ya don’t wanna die a virgin do you?”

Snorting in disgust, Yuka decided to respond in kind to take the wind out of his sails. “Ha! If it was the apocalypse, me and Sayuri would be double teaming Ranma. Take that for a sign!”

Hopping over rooftops not only happened to be the quickest way home, but had the added advantage of lots of wind to help dry the pigtailed martial artist and his furry passenger out. While the bounding leaps across buildings and carefully soft landings were second nature, the red-headed martial artist had to pay attention to her passenger, cradled between both arms to ensure her safety.

“So, you got an excuse ready?”

Turning to look at her older sister in offense, Akane responded defensively, “Excuse? What for?”

Used to explaining things in detail for the more simple-minded, Nabiki graciously reminded her sister, “About not inviting Ranma over. Kasumi’s probably feeling lonely without the extra housework and cooking, but whatever the case, she did want him over tonight.”

Finding her sister’s reminder pointless, Akane dismissed the issue, “I’ll just tell her the truth, I didn’t get a chance.”

Having been frowning in thought for several minutes on the walk to their respective homes, Yuka’s friend and neighbor finally voiced her concerns. “Uhm, Yuka? Does it have to be the end of the world?”

Being puzzled by the sudden conversation, Yuka tried to figure it out at the same time as she answered, “Huh? End of the world? You’re not thinking about going out with that pair of perverts are you? You know what they want, and it isn’t a good movie.”

Flustered with her friend’s lack of understanding, Sayuri refuted her, “No! Of course not! It’s. . ya know. . the other thing. Ranma isn’t engaged anymore, and Akane just says nothings happening, they haven’t even seen each other outside of school since then.”

Finally understanding what her friend was talking about from a prior conversation, Yuka prepared to chew her out for suggesting such a thing. While she was formulating her reply however to take some of the bite out of it, she defeated her own argument. “Uhn, I guess, I mean, we could ask Akane if it’s alright, then we’ll find out how she really feels. If she keeps pretending there’s nothing between them, then we ask Ranma out, then we really find out what’s going on.”

Staring at her dear misguided friend owlishly, Sayuri was happy that she agreed at least. Why Yuka was so concerned about Akane and not interested in checking Ranma out first hand was beyond her. After all, with Ranma there probably wouldn’t be any progress on a first date, so Akane wouldn’t be too hurt and that would definitely tell the tale. More importantly though, the shy school girl was more interested in getting to know Nerima’s most eligible bachelor first hand.

Finally landing in her yard, Ranma walked along the west side of her house, heading north towards the street. Looking to her right, she spotted her mother through the glass wall puttering around the kitchen area. The older red-head catching sight of her part time daughter, they both waves at each other. A moment later Ranma was at the side entrance to the kitchen, having been met just inside by her mother, who was a little surprised at what Ranma was carrying.

Acting like a kid, Ranma held up the somewhat startled white and dark purple furred cat in a most obvious way while sporting a silly self-amused grin. “Check it out mom, I’m holding a cat.”

Bemused by her child’s antics, the woman tolerantly replied, “I see dear, but don’t you have problems with cats?”

Returning Shampoo to a much more comfortable position cradled in the nook of an arm, the petite red-head shrugged. “Mhmm, not anymore I guess. Guess my new training paid off. Anyways, I’m gonna go up to my room and get changed, then see what Shampoo wants.”

Nodding to her child in acceptance, Nodoka gave her a parting smile. “Alright dear, supper will be at the usual time.”

Giving a quick nod of her own as she hopped backwards, Ranma closed the door behind her. Going back the way she came along the west glass wall, she cam to the south end of her new house. While the basic footprint was an almost square rectangle, this end had a square protrusion. On the first floor this created a tea room with three glass walls. Above that were the smooth walls of the second story bath, the roof of which formed a large square balcony on the third floor. It was this third floor balcony which was Ranma’s destination, a short leap taking him up to the backdoor of his third story room.

Opening the glass paned french doors with one hand, she stepped into the large room, combining the entire third floor with the open vaulted rafters of what would have been the attic in a normal design to create a truly spacious bedroom. Like the first floor, only the north wall was solid, so the three galls walls and sparse furniture only added to the feeling. Banners of translucent fabric stretching between beams helped make the room be a little cozy, though the kitten in Ranma’s arms was most interested in the large bed in the middle of the room.

Ignoring the bed and pausing only long enough to drop off her book bag at a desk and withdraw the kitten’s clothes, Ranma continued on towards the right, where the stairs lead up from the second floor. Opening the second door on her left, she carried Shampoo into a small room lined with clothes on each side. Opening the second sliding door, she brought the wide eyed kitten into the third floor bath, which had a simplicity to it which only enhanced its size. The floor and part of the walls were tiled with natural stone, while the inner wall was frosted glass. Besides a removable shower head in the inner wall corner, only a pedestal sink accompanied the large spa tub, which was nestled in larger natural pieces of flat stone to help it blend into the setting.

Setting the curious kitten on the ledge of the tub, Ranma noticed the silk dress was still soaked. Absently hitting the heat button, the tub began recycling the forest scented salt water in the tub, the returning water coming out of a gentle waterfall style recessed spout. Stepping out of the bath for a moment, Ranma rifled through her walk in closet to find a rarely used bath yukata, dropping it back off in the bath by Shampoo’s clothes. “Okay, bath will be hot in a minute, just don’t play with the buttons. Took me forever to program the damn thing right.”

Perched on the wide stone ledge of the tub, the Jusenkyou cursed kitten had to wonder if this was truly Ranma’s bedroom she had passed through. The walls between the bath and bedroom, both solid and frosted glass, happened to be around nine feet tall, ending at the lowest of the exposed rafters. That meant both rooms shared the same ceiling, and Shampoo could make it to the bedroom by just jumping to the top of a rafter and back down. To Shampoo’s way of thinking, that meant the third floor was a single room, and each floor was its own separate house, one for Ranma, then his parents, then the bottom for family. Surprisingly, she was correct about the general division of the house.

Because of this division and the inner walls being thin and unconnected to the ceiling, she could clearly hear what was occurring elsewhere with her kitty ears, despite the constant burbling of the waterfall faucet. From what she could hear, Ranma was somewhere between the closet and bed, behind an opaque wall and using what sounded like a sink. Obviously it seemed, he wasn’t eager to share a bath with her, even a short one to change back.

Noticing the water around the spout was finally steaming pleasantly, Shampoo hopped in, immediately turning back into a curvy nude young woman and grateful for the increase in height as she could rest on the bottom of the tub. The highest area of the bottom of the tub would put her shoulders out of water while sitting, while there was a deeper part towards the middle for her feet to go down into. Either way, there was no way for a kitten to stand on a solid surface in this tub or climb out the smooth sides, so she grateful for the hot water filling tub, which was why she didn’t jump in earlier to test the temperature personally. Being a drowned cat in her husband’s luxury bathtub would have been too embarrassing for even the afterlife.

At the moment however Shampoo was being acquainted with the spa jets of the tub, currently on a soft setting to stir up the water. Had they been on a higher setting, her husband might have found her hanging ungraciously form the ceiling in fright, but instead she enjoyed the stirring waters. Finding herself lulling into resting her entire body beneath the pleasant waters, she abruptly stood up. Taking note of the buttons on the inner ledge, she stepped out of the tub, dripping water onto the tiled floor only to have it meander towards the floor drain through the grout line cracks.

Stepping towards the door, she pulled the towel from its rack, cuddling the fluffy cloth and breathing in deeply instead of immediately drying herself. She wasn’t a cat at the moment, but like everything else here, it carried her beloved’s presence. After the whirlwind adventure of Phoenix mountain, and the disaster of the Tendou family trying to force Ranma into marriage, Ranma had been upset with most everyone. He had avoided people for the most part by working on his new home and earning money to help cover the expenses.

That of course only reinforced one of Shampoo’s biggest blunders, helping destroy her husband’s home over rumors caused by a mere pillbox. Ranma had asked the insurance ladies to be lenient on many points, but that Meryl girl had been just as insistent on others. Shampoo hadn’t realized Ranma’s home had been worth so much, and even though she only had to pay a small part of it and wouldn’t have criminal charges pressed, it was more than Shampoo could understand Cologne paying without comment. Besides that, if any of the three girls caused trouble on the property or came over uninvited, they would get hit with a restraining order.

The insurance woman had interfered once more, though Shampoo was ambivalent about this point. At the same time Ranma moved home he officially had the engagements dismissed. Shampoo agreed that it was nice that Ranma could now honorably pursue a girl and each girl could stand on her own merits, but Ranma had left them in limbo, not pursuing any girl.

This perhaps wasn’t a bad thing after all. The girls involved had been reluctant to move forcefully with the situation so unclear, something that had been highlighted by Kodachi making her move on Ranma and getting shot down as a result. Standing nude in his bathroom under invitation, Shampoo had the first true shot at him, and this chance was ripe with possibility. There was however a distinct possibility that this would be her best and perhaps last chance to finally win over Ranma.

Fluffing her hair dry, Shampoo considered her options. By the time she was cinching up the belt to her bath robe, it was clear that it was time to lay down her cards and play her hand for all it was worth.

Hearing someone finally returning for home, Kasumi made her way towards the entry hall, looking expectantly despite only finding Akane and Nabiki there. Seeing the two close the door and start taking off their shoes without saying anything, her hopes were dashed just as quickly as they sprung up. “Ano, why isn’t Ranma with you? Did something happen?”

“No, everything’s fine, I just didn’t get a chance to ask.” answered Akane. Considering her sister‘s concern over the subject, she ventured a question, despite thinking her sister was just being worrisome, “Was it something important?”

Frowning in thought, Kasumi considered it. It wasn‘t about Ranma coming over for dinner and having a family get together, not precisely. While it would be nice, she had other concerns. “No, I just don‘t feel right about what‘s happened.”

Nabiki scoffed at her sister‘s concern, “What, you actually miss the freeloaders and all the work they caused?”

“Nabiki! That’s a terrible thing to say. Ranma and Akane were almost married. Now it’s like there’s nothing between them.”

“Well, that’s simple, there is nothing between them now.”

“Nabiki! I was ready to marry Ranma! How could you say that?”

“Simple my dear naïve little sister. Despite what they might have said, Ranma wasn’t even aware he was going to marry you that day, and despite what you might think, you weren’t ready to marry him either.”

“Think about it Akane, after you’re married you can’t have any more tantrums or kick Ranma out. You wouldn’t even be able to say ‘Ranma you’re a pervert’ unless you meant it in a good way. Are you prepared to have him in your bed every night, and putting up with him during the day?”

“…Well, if you’re so smart, then why is he so upset with daddy?”

“That one’s a no-brainer, our dear father goofed. The last casket of man water in existence probably and he uses it as bribe, and you don’t bribe someone into a healthy marriage. All that did was upset Ranma, when daddy could have won him over by just giving it to him free and clear.”

“What does that have to do with it? Ranma’s upset about the cask with his cure being destroyed.”

“Nah, that isn’t the first time Ranma has lost out on a cure. What he’s upset about is that daddy pulled a stunt worthy of someone like Kodachi. We can’t even blame Genma for that since he didn’t know about it all.”

“Well then, what does this mean? I mean, what is Ranma doing now?”

“Well Ranma probably wants some distance for a while because of everything that’s happened. To answer the question you should have asked though, Ranma is doing the smart thing, even though it was probably that insurance girl that thought of it first. Ranma ends the engagements and steps back. Now the only thing between him and the various girls is the truth. Like he told Kodachi, the only thing standing between him and her was her.”

“That means dear little sister, that what goes on between you and Ranma is up to you. You can ignore each other and part ways, be friends, or you could take a copy of the Kama Sutra with you when you visit his bedroom and work out all that frustration of yours.”

“Nabiki!”

“What, I’m sure Kasumi will lend you her copy.”

“Nabiki!”

“Why it’s illustrated even, so it should be a snap to follow.”

“Nabiki! - Nabiki!” rang dual outraged, flustered cries from both Akane and Kasumi.

Just down the hall, the father of the three girls having the heated discussion stood quietly, considering their words and listening quietly. Perhaps it wasn’t just his imagination that Genma had become distant and things had become eerily silent between the two families.

Stepping around the corner from the entryway, Kasumi spotted her father standing near the entrance to the kitchen, dumbly holding his empty tea cup. Smiling tolerantly, she approached him and asked pleasantly, “Father? What is it? Do you want more tea?”

By then having forgotten he had gotten up to see his daughters come home instead of refilling his empty mug, Soun numbly looked at his cup before realizing it was empty. “Uhm, well, yes. More tea would be nice.”

Still bearing with him, Kasumi ushered him back towards the family room. “Then there was no need to get up Father. I’ll be in shortly with a new pot.”

Absentmindedly agreeing while deep in thought, Soun turned around, mumbling his acceptance, “Alright Kasumi-chan.”

Over by the stairs, Nabiki and Akane had stopped midway up to their rooms to watch the scene play out. Nabiki snorted in disgust at their father acting like a baby while Kasumi took care of him, while Akane was left wondering what was bothering Nabiki now.

As she was making her way out of the bath, Shampoo heard music start up and drift over the walls. It was the strange city music which didn’t use natural instruments or voices, but unlike the clubs, this was more soft and soothing. It was one of the things about the city life she appreciated, the energetic music suiting her well. Admiring the music however was merely a pleasant distraction, as what she was preparing to do had her disturbingly nervous.

Slowly making her way around the corner, she was debating whether she really should come clean and tell the truth. She realized he didn’t know the ways of her village, so he didn’t explicitly know what was involved for Shampoo. In the village, the promise was understood in detail, so no explaining was necessary, but with Ranma she was skirting disaster not telling him, simply because it was so hard to explain, not to mention scary.

It would be so easy to just jump into his arms and hug him for all she was worth. If she could just win his affection, she wouldn’t have to put it in words. The problem was that no tactic of the village or Japanese girl seemed to work, and there was no way out besides success. All she needed to do was place herself in Ranma’s life, and she could spend the rest of it making up for mistakes so far.

Failure was not a possibility.

Steeping around the corner, she found him sorting out the contents of his school pack on his desk. Losing her nerve as usual, she went with the tried and true easy way, launching forward with a skip-hop across the floor, latching her arms around his firm neck, delightfully hanging from his side as she whispered huskily, “Shampoo happy see beloved.”

Ranma blushed slightly, grimacing as he fought the urge to react more strongly and lose what little control of the situation he had. Leaning in towards Shampoo to set her feet firmly on the ground, then unclasped her hands from his neck with his opposite hand, soothing the rejection with guarded acceptance. “Uhm yeah, I guess it’s good to see you too.”

Put off by his rather cold reaction, especially for normally flustered Ranma, Shampoo leaned in slightly to peer at him with obvious attention, showing her disapproval with a small frown. “Beloved no happy see Shampoo?”

Feeling a lot more centered for once in dealing with Shampoo, the attempted guilt trip wasn‘t unexpected. Knowing control was important, Ranma slipped into a new technique, a mental discipline called Eye of the Hurricane. It might be a bit harsh, but he couldn‘t afford to fall prey to an amazon trap when he had no one to help him out. “Well, I just wanted to know what you wanted back at school. You know, before Akane interrupted.”

The young woman with long damp violet hair was slightly put off by his detached serious nature, but it was promising in its own way, allowing for a normal conversation. Now she just had to make it a romantic conversation. “Shampoo want see beloved-Ranma. Wait for visit Shampoo like say, Shampoo is lonely.”

That Ranma supposed, had been something he hadn‘t considered. Since Ukyou and Shampoo couldn‘t visit uninvited, that changed things. After nullifying the engagements with the blind hope of actually getting to know a girl like a normal person, he had realized visiting any of the girls would be taken way out of proportion, like a wedding proposal. Of course, that sort of killed the entire getting to know the girls thing. “Well, you can just call or catch me after school.” He’d have to make a note to visit Ucchan and smooth things with her a bit.

Pleased with herself for how she caught Ranma today, with a flying glomp, Shampoo happily agreed. “Nnnn, Shampoo catch Ranma good!”

“Hehe, guess you can say that.” Figured she would take ‘catch‘ literally. Having Shampoo in a bathrobe in his bedroom was making Ranma a little too antsy for small talk to be comfortable. This situation screamed amazon trap, making him regret using his bathroom for changing her back to human. “So, what do you want?”

In her native Chinese, Shampoo might have responded with a fair amount of tact, despite her headstrong aggressive nature. In Japanese however, it was all she could do to get simple thoughts across. She had enough trouble with the culture barrier that she didn‘t need to deal with the language barrier too. “Nnn, Shampoo want Ranma. Be one with beloved.”

Sighing in disappointment at finding his concerns confirmed, Ranma decided to end this discussion as quickly and gently as he could manage. “Well, guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Look, I’ll just tell you now, you’re probably better off going back home. I don’t really want to get married anytime soon.” Even Ranma was surprised by how smoothly he said that, though he didn’t let it show and spoil his image of smooth control.

“Is married! Shampoo say so, is promise. No break promise.”

Frustrated with the lack of comprehension form violet tressed girl, Ranma responded more harshly, intent on putting all he had learned from Terry to use. “Look! I didn’t promise you anything, I didn’t agree to anything. Have you not noticed I fight it every time you try to trick or force me?”

Rapidly losing her place in this verbal battle, Shampoo tried to change the conversation around, but as usual her command of Japanese failed her. All she could offer as a simple explanation was, “… is village way.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t want any part of it. I guess I might have been leading you on trying to be friends, but if it’s what it takes, then we’re not friends anymore.” Sighing with regret at having to end his rocky friendship with the normally energetic girl, Ranma prepared himself for the worst. If he was lucky it would be a violent response, if he was unlucky it would be something devious. “You wanna go ahead and kill me for it, that’s your decision.”

The Amazon was at a loss for how to continue, his words painfully sinking in. That he was tolerating her out of the sense of naïve kindness she loved him for was painful, but to have it withdrawn was more so. Was this the price she paid for being a shameful woman and breaking her promises? Was this what she had abandoned honor for?

There before her stood her beloved, eyes stormy with upset swirling emotions while his body was slightly tense to receive an attack. Intellectually she knew he wasn’t truly rejecting her, because he was ignorant of what was truly going on between them, due in large part her own deceit in the matter, yet it still hurt to be rejected. It hurt her even more that he would expect violence as a response, as if she would revert to misguided ‘Kiss of Death’ days.

Ranma was in turn surprised as Shampoo seemed to deflate emotionally, slipping down to the floor to lay down on her side listlessly, idly starting out at the fingers on her outstretched arm.

Out of the blue, in a detached offhand manner, Shampoo softly asked, “How Ranma nice nice to kitty Shampoo?”

Seeing that Shampoo was not inclined to leave and being peaceful if not disturbingly quiet natured, Ranma decided to continue talking with her until he saw a good moment to make her leave. Considering how to answer the question though, he realized he only had a vague idea of how the nekoken might have been cured. “Well, I suppose it was the Dark Hadou training. It’s sort of an inner demon style, the guys that get heavy into it get possessed apparently. It’s really like emotional ki training using a lot of angry and dark emotions to boost your strength. While I quit it early so the beast didn’t control me instead of the other way around, I guess that was enough to tame the nekoken.”

Getting no response from Shampoo, Ranma decided to sit down at the desk he used for homework to watch to girl from relative comfort. Eventually she turned to look at him, arching her back and splaying her limbs like the cat she sometimes was. “Ranma learn. Ranma grow. Become strong man. Is not…is protect self now. No let Shampoo bad action no matter.”

Puzzling over Shampoo’s words, Ranma thought her understood, but just to make sure, he rephrased her words to see if she would agree. “If you mean I’m not going to put up with tricks and traps, I guess you’re right. I don’t really want to hurt you, but I’m not gonna let stuff slide anymore.”

To Ranma’s surprise, the feline mannered girl smiled at him with a silly grin that spoke of her inability to contain her pleasure. “Is good.” It was obvious there was more brewing within her, but apparently that was all she could put to words.

Of course, this only puzzled Ranma, how could this be good for Shampoo? She looked like her world had just ended. “What do you mean good? Doesn’t that screw up your plans?”

Lazily Shampoo rolled over on her back, looking for all the world like she was laying in sunny grass as relaxed as she was. “Ranma too too nice. Shampoo not like see hurt.”

Finding a good counter, Ranma instinctually probed deeper into Shampoo’s reasoning. “So? Then why didn’t you do something?” While Ranma certainly wasn’t admitting he wanted someone to look after him or even protect him, it would have been nice to have someone on his side. After all if Ranma didn’t want to see someone get hurt, he moved the battle away or protected them.

The question seemed to stab into Shampoo with the force of a dagger, driven home by the accusation folded into it. It probably would have saved her a lot of grief in hindsight, two warriors against the world would have worked out well. Instead it had been Ranma versus the world, with Shampoo on the side of her tribe, not the best way to form a close relationship.

Of course, the truth of why was painful to admit, but something she’d come to accept in the cold of the night. Compared to failing to win Ranma however, it was merely part of the cause. Although her beloved was sitting in a chair seemingly at ease, however tribal girl easily recognized his relaxed battle ready state.

It was for this reason Ranma was slightly surprised that Shampoo stood up fluidly and languidly made her way towards him, hips swaying and her borrowed bathrobe swishing. He was surging with enough kill ki to instinctually scare off most any animal, and Shampoo had to feel that. If she wasn’t going for fast surprising, that meant a trick was coming. After shooting down her hopes so they could both move on with life and seeing her collapse emotionlessly left no doubt she might do something extra desperate.

Finally closing into striking range, Shampoo casually lifted her arms up towards Ranma shoulders, prompting him to grab her wrists before she could get her hands near his neck or the back of his head. The sultry young woman was not the least bit deterred however, hooking one leg then the other over his lap until she was sitting in his lap and apparently rather pleased with herself. A distant part of Ranma’s mind noted she was only wearing a small bathrobe, but the more pressing concern was psycho violent girls with mischievous smiles were a bad thing.

It was a testament to Ranma’s new training and mental discipline that he didn’t squeak like a frightened schoolboy, instead evenly staring her down and insistently demanding of her, “Shampoo, what do you think you’re doing?”

Instead of replying, the curvaceous bundle of lust and affection began to wiggle in his lap, giving his a brief smoldering look before nuzzling his neck rather aggressively. As the young woman gave him a lap dance that would have made her popular and well off in another line of work, the young man was at a loss for what to do. Despite his searching, he hadn’t found any worthwhile scrolls and Martial Arts Romance or Sex. That left Ranma with bluffing, and since he only knew this was supposed to lead to marriage, he couldn’t make a specific bluff.

So he did one of the smartest things in his recent life, he sat there impassively as Shampoo squirmed in his lap, sealing the deal by levelly staring back at the girl so she would know it wasn’t a simple case of pretending she wasn’t there.

Eventually she slowed, nuzzling into the junction of his shoulder and neck since gazing into his eyes just sent delightfully disturbing little shivers down her. With her warm-up done, she pulled her head back slightly to whisper low and breathily into his ear, though aiming downward slightly so her breath tickled his neck instead. “Shampoo not honest. Shampoo is belong to beloved. Not like Japanese marriage, Ranma no belong to Shampoo.”

Surprised by what she was saying, Ranma used his grip in her wrists to force her to lean back in his lap, so he could look her in the face. Absently noting Shampoo liked something about how he was treating her, he let a little anger seep into his voice to give it some bite as he demanded an answer, “You’ve been lying to me? So what is the truth, huh?”

Hair somewhat disheveled and her robe coming loose, the sultry young lady-warrior stared back at him with half-lidded eyes and a smoldering smile. “Elder explain last month when false wedding happen. Say Ranma is beast, like name. Is wild, but have kind heart, act tough, but be nice nice. Put in corner, try to tame, claws come out, no can be nice.”

Seeing her beloved was still uncomprehending, she explained her part in it. “Shampoo is different beast. Act nice, but is cruel, have very sharp claws. Shampoo too different, Shampoo want be tame.” While her beloved was digesting that complicated bit of sentence fragments, she leaned in close again to whisper intimately and throatily so she could hear her shame. “Shampoo love Ranma too too much, but Shampoo only know claws. Shampoo know do bad things.”

Figuring the significance of holding her wrists out for her body language, Ranma decided to ask the important question. “. . . and what does all that mean?”

Finally slumping in partial defeat at least, or perhaps from emotional drain. “Shampoo is not explain well. Need Elder translate, tell truth.”

Gazing at the violet cascade of hair before him, Ranma agreed with her in part at least. Seeing Cologne would settle this one way or another, and he was curious to find out the truth in all of this. Having Shampoo squirming in his lap and whispering in his ear like that had caused an interesting reaction, maybe Shampoo had used some strange female technique on him.

That in mind, he pushed back against her forearms to direct her off of his lap. “Alright then, let’s go.”

With an ambivalent sense of trepidation and eagerness, the young woman edged out of his lap, stepping back to stand in front of him where he finally let go of her wrists.

Seeing her waiting for him in such a manner was an odd sight, but really something to consider later. Off handedly he waved her off towards the bathroom where her clothes lay. “C‘mon, I‘d like to get this over with.”

--Ranma and Shampoo(in damp clothes) arrive at the Cat Café--

Copyright notice: All created works are immediately copyright their respective creators, with all rights reserved unless otherwise noted.

Author, 2004: Valor Phoenix
Prereader, 2004: Eternity