Chapter 8: The Fair.

    Kasumi watched the lively events around her with great interest.
Savoring the smells and sounds, Kasumi felt a part of her quiver with
excitement, that she had never known.  She smiled as she watched the happy
children dash past her.  Elated, she ventured to try some activites herself.

     "Hey, pretty lady.  Want to try this?  Only 100 yen.  All you need to
do is take these balls here, and knock the targets.  If you hit all three,
you get a prize!"  The vendor eagerly held out his hand, while Kasumi stood
there, thinking what to do.  'Should I try this?  Is this a waste of money?
Well, I'll try it once.'  Kasumi handed the vendor a bill.  The man smiled
and he dropped three balls in front of Kasumi.

     Kasumi cocked her arm back, and threw all three balls straight into the
targets.  The vendor whistled, as he turned to Kasumi.  "Well, what would it
be?  A doll?  Some candy?"  Kasumi look at all the prizes.  'Oh my, everyone
is so cute!  But I think I'll take that stuffed tiger.'  Kasumi pointed at
the toy tiger, and minutes later, she wandered around cuddling the tiger to
herself.

* * *

     Kodachi watched Ranma, worried that he seemed so uptight.  "Hey Ranma,
why don't you try some of the games?  It'll be fun!"  Somehow, Kodachi felt
that her optimism didn't quite rub off onto Ranma, and he reluctantly walked
off to play some games.  However, Kodachi's prediction turned to be true,
and as the night continued, Ranma gradually forgot his problems.  Of course,
his periodic surges of yin helped.

     Kodachi suddenly heard someone crying.  Turning her attention away from
Ranma, her eyes were riveted to a boy who was crying.  Walking over, and
kneeling down next to him, Kodachi asked gently.  "What's wrong?"

     The little boy, no more that six years old, stammered out.  "I want a
fish."  He pointed at a pool filled with tiny gold fish.  The vendor stared
at Kodachi.  "Hey lady, 100 yen each try.  If you can catch a fish, you can
keep it.  Want to try?"

     Kodachi smiled at the blubbering boy.  "Don't cry.  I'll catch one for
you."  Kodachi plunked down a coin, and she swung the net at the fish.
Surprisingly as soon as the net hit the water, it dissolved.  Staring at the
ruined net, she threw another coin at the vendor and tried again getting the
same result.  Kodachi turned out to be just as stubborn as Ranma, and soon,
she was dumping coins at the vendor, as fast as he could give her nets.

* * *

      Ranma wandered around, glancing at the various games, and without much
surprise, winning whatever he tried.  Stumbling around with prizes hanging
off of him, he accidentally bumped into another person.  "Excuse me, I'm
really sorry.  Kasumi?"  Kasumi turned around, surprised to find Ranma.  'Of
all the people I bump into, it's Ranma.'  

     Kasumi immediately smiled.  "So Ranma, you enjoying the fair too?"
Kasumi indicated the various prizes that Ranma was struggling to carry.
Ranma-chan smiled back as she looked at her favorite prize, a stuffed animal
pig.

     "Isn't this so kawaii?"  She practically shoved the pig into Kasumi's
face.  Kasumi was about to question Ranma's sanity, then she remembered his
yin-yang inbalance.  Ranma-chan walked alongside Kasumi as they explored the
fair together.  "Isn't this so fun?"  Without waiting for a response,
Ranma-chan walked over to a game, plunked down a few coins, and threw three
hoops onto the target.  The vendor smiled as he handed Ranma-chan a stuffed
giraffe.  Smiling with glee, she grabbed the doll, and added it to her
burgeoning collection of prizes.

     Ranma came walking back, look at the dolls in his hand.  He smiled
sheepishly at Kasumi.  "Sometimes even I amaze myself.  Why did I go through
all of the trouble winning these dolls?"  Kasumi smiled at the contrast
between Ranma and Ranma-chan, and how unpredictably he changed.  Both walked
silently, until Ranma stopped in front of a huge pile of broken nets.

     Ranma tapped Kodachi on the shoulder.  "What's wrong?"  Kodachi paid no
attention as she gave the vendor a coin, and yet again she watched her net
dissolve on contact with water.  Ranma smiled, and he kneeled next to
Kodachi, "Let me try."

     The vendor eyed the newcomer warily.  "You get to keep the fish you
catch."  Ranma stared at the fish, as he thought to himself.  'No sweat.'
Grabbing the tiny net tightly in his hand, Ranma took a couple breaths to
focus himself.  Suddenly he tore loose, and everyone watched in amazement,
as Ranma's arm flashed rapidly in and out of the water so fast that it
seemed that the net never touched the water at all.

      "Oh my Ranma!  You're going to get all of the fish!"  Kasumi watched
with great interest.

     The vendor gasped as Ranma quickly depleted his entire pool of fish.
'This girl's going to make me poor.  Got to think of something.  Got to
think of something!'  Desperation proved to be a great source of
inspiration, and vendor pulled out a giant tank of fish.  He slammed the
tank down in front of Ranma, causing some of the water to splash out.
Victorious, he challenged Ranma.  "Not so fast.  You can't have the fish
yet.  Here I have 20 pirahanna from the depths of the Amazon rainforest.  If
you can take all of the fish out of this tank without getting bitten, you
can keep the goldfish."

     Kodachi brandished her ribbon, and she sliced the metal tub, which had
contained the goldfish, in half.  "Wait a minute!  That's not fair!  Whoever
heard of changing the rules in the middle of a game?  If I could, I'd..."
Kodachi took a couple menacing steps towards the vendor.

     Ranma-chan laughed, and she stopped Kodachi.  "Violence is not the
answer.  Anyways, I can take the fish out, no problem.  Watch me!"
Ranma-chan gave Kodachi a wide smile, and she rolled back her sleeves.  The
vendor watched horrified.  'She must be crazy!'

     Kasumi looked uncertain at Ranma.  "Are you sure?"  For some reason,
having Ranma stick his arm into a tank of carnivorous fish didn't rest well
with Kasumi.

     Ranma laughed.  "Kasumi, it's not a problem.  All I need to do is grab
the fish before they bite me!  I know I can do it..."  Ranma stopped, and
finally realized what he had just said.  'Is this the Kachu Tenshin
Amaguriken.  This is just like taking chestnuts out of the fire!  I know I
can do it!'  Ranma stood poised in front of the tank.  Somehow, the fish in
the tank anticipated an early meal, and all of them swam about wildly.

      Holding his breath, Ranma's arm shot into the tank.  Immediately the
closest fish, swam rapidly towards the giant tower of flesh in front of it.
It's mouth openned in anticipation, and centimeters away, its meal suddenly
flashed.  Ranma grabbed the pirahanna by its tail and yanked it out.  His
hand flashed into the water again, and he pulled another fish out.

    In three seconds flat, Ranma pulled all of the pirahannas out, and the
vendor promptly fainted, terrified by his complete loss.

* * *

     Ranma-chan walked calmly into the Nekohaten.  "Cologne!  I've mastered
the technique.  Where are you?"  She took a couple steps, and she felt the
floor disappear beneath her.  Screaming as she fell, Ranma-chan landed hard
on her bottom on the ground.  All around was a giant cloud of smoke, that
smelled sweetly sick.  Ranma-chan clawed about, since the cloud hid almost
everything from sight.

     Ranma-chan almost found herself drawn into the hypnotic swirl of the
smoke around her.  Struggling hard, she was able to resist the urge to
sleep, and she stumbled blindly through the cloud and crashed into a metal
pipe.  Spying a rafter, Ranma leaped from the ground, and grabbed on tight.
Above the hallucinogenic cloud, Ranma had a better time trying to get a view
of the room.

     Cologne looked upwards, and saw Ranma.  "Ah Ranma, so you've passed one
of my little tricks.  Come catch me!"  Cologne turned tail, and she hopped
off.  Ranma swung off of the rafter, and he took off after Cologne.  After a
few seconds of running in the dark, Ranma burst through some heavy curtains
and he ended up in a room with a pool of hot steaming water.

     "Hey Ranma!  Come and get me if you dare!"  Cologne was sitting in a
little bathing tub that was floating in the middle of the giant pool.  Ranma
instantly walked towards Cologne, but as soon as the tip of his foot touched
the water.  He howled out aloud, and pulled his foot back.

     Still not daunted, Ranma decided to improvise.  Spying a wooden pole,
he grabbed it and using it like a pogo-stick, Ranma hopped out towards
Cologne.  'He's definitely creative.'  Cologne thought to herself.  "Son in
Law, most impressive, but can you handle this?'  Cologne took her walking
stick, and rapidly swung it through the water. 

     A giant tidal wave burst forth, and headed towards Ranma.  He panicked
as soon as his body felt the giant wave of heat hit him, and he beated a
hasty retreat.  Hopping backwards, he was forced to stop when his body hit
the wall.  Spying a convenient rafter above him, he leaped upwards just as
the wave of water was about to hit him.

     Cologne stared, silently dissapointed.  'It seems that Ranma couldn't
handle my feeble attack.'  She was proven wrong.  Ranma shouted as he
launched himself at Cologne.  "Hey old ghoul!  Take this!  Kachu Tenshin
Amaguriken!"

     Ranma's hands rapidly flashed around Cologne, and a few seconds later,
Ranma leaped backwards, landing on his crude stilt.  Cologne stared at
Ranma.  He had certainly surprised her, but she was certain that Ranma did
nothing.  "Son-in-Law, what a feeble attack!"  Suddenly the water around her
bath tub exploded upwards.  After the watered settled, Cologne smiled for
Ranma had lived up to her expectations.  "So Son in Law, you finally learned
the technique."

     Ranma smiled as he flashed the locket which instead of being around
Cologne's neck was now in his hands.  "And I got the Phoenix Pill too!"
Openning the locket, Ranma carefully took out the pill, and stared at it.
"It looks like a piece of candy."  he said as he swallowed it.  

     Cologne decided to tell Ranma the truth.  "Well, it's because you just
ate a placebo."  Ranma started to scream as he irreversibly fell into the
hot water.

* * *