================
PART XIII
The eye of the storm.
================

"EEEEK!!!! PERVERT!!!!!" Shoko grabbed the shower rail and started beating the offending person,
before stopping to examine him. "Magical Guy Makoto!!" She threw the rail over her shoulder and
yanked Ryoga to his feet. "I'm sorry! Can I have your autograph? My friends will never believe
this!!!"
Ryoga was thankful to a god others cursed for the fact that the girl had a towel wrapped around her.
"Sorry, can't now, gotta job to do." He ran out of the room, only to be bopped over the head by an
invisible mini-Skuld shouting "Not that way, this way!! Honestly, I thought I fixed your sense of
direction!"
Shoko sighed happily. "What a dream..." 
Her happy memory was disturbed by the arrival of a bona fide hentai leaping through her window with
a cry of "Sweeto!"
"EEEEK!!!! PERVERT!!!!!"
Ryoga shook his head sadly and made his way to the roof. "So it's that squelching, squid-blob we're
after?"
Skuld nodded. "I don't recognise it, but it's showing up on my scanners." The creature in question
batted away the Hyperdoll flying towards it and stood on Sailor Jupiter. "I'll bet that hurt."
"Amazing how many super heroes in this city are female," Ryoga commented as Moldiver bounced off the
creatures flesh with a audible boing. He flapped at a small, yellow butterfly and a small, localised
rainstorm appeared over his head. "That's not funny." The rain turned to hail. With a growl,
Ryoga-chan pointed her wand at the cloud and it faded out of existence. 
"Stop moaning at the butterfly and kill the creature."
"Nag, nag, nag." Ryoga-chan bounced from building to building, almost crippling herself in her high
heels, until she was directly above the monster. "HEY, SQUID!" The jellyfish thing looked up and
almost passed out with a nosebleed. Ryoga-chan glowered at it. "PERVERT!!!!! CHAOS SHAN HIGH BLAST!"
Eye of God and Star Trek pretty lights and sounds merged together and turned the squid-thing into
enough fried calamari to feed the whole of Italy, Sicily included. 
"Not bad," mini-Skuld commented. "You're getting better at this."
Ryoga-chan grinned a little. "Than...HEY!"
"HOTCHA!" Happosai glomped onto her leg.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!" Ryoga-chan smashed him over the head with the wand a few times and a small
vial of water fell from his clothes. "What's this?" She bent down and picked it up. 
"Nyannichuan water?" 
*poof* 
A small devil appeared on her shoulder, scaring the hell out of mini-Skuld. "Pour it over him!"
*poof* A small angel appeared on her other shoulder and mini-Skuld massaged her head. "Uh.... I've
got nothing to protest here, pour it over him!!"
"That's for the curse and for Aiko," Ryoga-chan snarled, emptying the vial over Happosai's head
before booting her into the sky. 
A panting, red-haired woman ran onto the roof, followed by a handsome young man. "Agents Mulder and
Scully, FBI," the woman barked. 
Mulder ran forward. "Take me to Samantha."
"Samantha?" Ryoga-chan asked weakly.
Scully pushed him aside. "Does she look like a green, mutant turtle to you?" She turned to
Ryoga-chan. "How did you defeat that monster? What is your involvement in the government, cover-up?"
"Uh..."
"Have you seen four, mutant turtle aliens anywhere around town?" Mulder asked, shoving Scully aside.
"No..." Ryoga-chan flapped irritably at the butterflies flapping around her head.
"Would you shut up about that?!" Scully snapped. "There's a perfectly rational explanation for
them." 
A snow storm appeared above Ryoga-chan's head. 
"Aliens!" 
"Genetically engineered creatures!"
The snow storm turned into a full blown blizzard and Ryoga-chan pointed her wand at it. "Stop
that!" She glanced at the two arguing agents before jumping off the roof with a shrug. "Very
strange people around here."

Shampoo was annoyed. What was it all the guys saw in these violent brunettes anyway? Everything they
could do, she could do better. But last night, with her own eyes, she'd seen not only Ranma and
Akane out on a date, but Ryoga and Ukyo too. It wasn't fair! *Maybe violent spatula girl bribe Ryoga
into going on date...* After all, that was a technique she'd used on several occasions to get Ranma
to date with her. It was also a technique she wasn't going to use any more, as it had a tendency to
backfire. *Yes, spatula girl bribed Ryoga. Shampoo take him some nice ramen, show she forgive him.*
That would be a nice thing to do, after all. With a widening smile, she prepared a delivery.
"Shampoo, my love! Where are you going?" Mousse asked.
"Go away, Mousse." Shampoo blocked him out as background noise.
"But we had no orders..."
"Shampoo said go away." She walked past him and out of the door.
Mousse stared after her. "She's going to see him again? But why?! He doesn't love her! He is
unfaithful to her!" Thunder crashed in the background as Mousse raised his fist high. "Hibiki, YOU
SHALL PAY!!!" He flapped at the small butterfly fluttering nearby. "Go away." A small lightning bolt
shot out of the thundering clouds and struck him on the end of his nose. "Ow!"
"Keep it down, Mr Part Time, you're disturbing my meditation," Cologne grumbled. She slammed the
door before he could detect the opening theme to El Hazard on the television set.

Tsubasa walked into the okonomiyaki restaurant before taking a seat. Ryoga-chan wandered over to
her. "Are you here to eat?"
Tsubasa nodded. "I'll have a special."
"The gods must be smiling on me," Ryoga-chan muttered, noting down the order.
"And I'd like to talk to you."
"With maniacal grins and voodoo dolls," she finished. "Is that talk as in talk, or talk as in
attempted murder?"
"As in talk!" Tsubasa snapped. He sighed and leaned on the table. "I don't think darling Ukyo likes
me."
"Well duh." Ryoga-chan shot him a dubious look. "What gave it away?"
Tsubasa ignored her comment and continued. "What is it though? What did she see in Ranma? What does
she see in you? I mean, I..."
"Wait a second!" Ryoga-chan held up a hand. "She doesn't see anything in me."
"She went on a date with you, remember."
Ryoga-chan groaned. "I'm trying to forget. Things were going so well until you and Mousse and Kuno
and Shampoo turned up. I was having fun... she didn't hit me once."
Tsubasa glared at him. "You don't have to rub it in!" He sighed. "I know she's engaged to you, and
I'd give up on her. But she's so cute and kind and smart and a great cook..."
"Whatever." Ryoga-chan tapped her pen on the notebook, trying not to think about Ukyo. *Sure, Ucchan
may be smart and c-cy-cute... but she's just so...* She finally focused on the enraged teen in front
of her.
"You don't like her?!!" A battle aura flared around Tsubasa as he jumped to his feet.
"No! I-I mean yes! I mean..."
"CHARGE!!!!"
"DON'T ATTACK MY STAFF!!!" Ryoga-chan sighed in relief as a giant spatula sent Tsubasa hurtling
across the restaurant. Her relief was short lived as the spatula crashed down upon her skull. "AND
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T LIKE ME?!!!"
"I _DO_ like you!" Ryoga-chan rubbed her head. "Those rare moments when you aren't trying to kill
me, you can even be kinda kawaii. And I'm sorry the date didn't work out." She turned to walk away,
but found her movement limited slightly by Ukyo's grip on the back of her uniform.
"What did you say?"
"I said... oh." Ryoga-chan paused and blushed. "I said that aloud? Hehehe ... umm... I've had my
body taken over by an evil spirit doll? I've been hypnotised? Possessed by a demon?"
"That's not funny," Ukyo snapped, remembering the events of a few nights back. She turned Ryoga-chan
to face her and smiled a little. "It's OK about the date."
Ryoga-chan looked at the floor. "I really am sorry. I didn't expect all those other people to turn
up too."
"I said it's OK. Rush Hour's a popular film." She increased the radiance of her smile. "Better luck
next time, yeah? Now back to work." She walked away quickly, leaving Ryoga-chan standing, slightly
stunned in the centre of the restaurant. *Oh my god! Did I really say that?!!*
"Nihao Ryoga, spatula girl!" Shampoo crashed through the doorway, flattening a few customers in the
process. She walked over to the still-dazed Ryoga-chan with a grin. "You not get to eat ramen in
hospital, I bring you some now."
She snapped out of her dream world and looked at Shampoo. "Oh. Thanks!"
"Is OK."
Mousse burst through the doorway. "SHAMPOO MY LOVE!" he wailed, glomping Tsubasa. "I'll save you!!"
"Who do you think you're calling Shampoo?!" Tsubasa growled.
"Sorry, miss." Mousse slipped his glasses back onto his nose. "HIBIKI?!! YOU DARE TO EAT THE FOOD OF
MY DARLING SHAMPOO WHEN YOU FLAUNT AROUND WITH OTHER WOMEN?!!!" Weapons flew towards Ryoga-chan, who
dropped her ramen in surprise. "YOU SHALL PAY!!!"
Kuno strode in. "My bandannaed goddess! My love for you shall conquer all!" He paused as a small,
yellow butterfly alighted on his bokken. "Curse thee, winged traitor! You pass through my barriers
unto the outside world and make thyself a public spectacle?" A hurricane wind ruffled his hair. "Ah,
but the blue thunder of Furinkan high shall put thee back in thy place." 
The lightning flashed through the blue sky outside and Ryoga-chan blinked in surprise. "Those
butterflies... _that's_ how you manage it!!!"
"Ignore me, would you?!!" Mousse snarled, running forward. 
Tsubasa joined him. "Your time has finally come!!!"
"My darling! Jump into my arms and let us flee together!!"
Ryoga-chan squeezed her eyes shut and a butterfly landed on her shoulder. Her mind filled with chaos
and all of a sudden, she knew how it was done... "ICE STORM!!" An icy wind hit the three boys head
on, causing them to immediately turn tail and flee before they became replicas of Frosty the
snowman.
Ukyo blinked a few times. "How in the WORLD did you learn how to do that?!!"
"Uh..." Ryoga-chan tried to think of a reasonable excuse other than 'I learnt it from the
butterflies.' Skuld jumped to her rescue. "I taught him how. Useful, eh?" "Very." Ukyo and Shampoo
nodded in agreement.

*Nerima attracts some very strange people,* Ryoga-chan reflected, looking out of the window to the
street outside. It was true, alien activity was more than 50% above the average, and monsters and
super heroes attacked the city more times than there are parts to Friday the 13th. Once, a cat had
walked in, introduced itself as Salem and announced that he wanted a special and to rule the world. 
She idly wondered why she didn't get her family to wire Mr Tendo the money and start wandering again
when a white rabbit carrying a baby with a cigar in its mouth charged past her view, shouting "I'm
late!" closely followed by a blond haired girl in a blue dress, only to get squashed by a house
falling on her head. 
Another girl exited the house and sighed. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
*Oh yeah. That's why. Whenever I leave the restaurant I get struck by lightning, trucks or grand
piano's falling out of the sky.* Very strange. Nobody lived above Ucchan's and Ryoga-chan couldn't
figure out where on earth that piano had come from. *Probably just an act of god to make sure I
stick around to fight these weird demons.*
Ryoga-chan shook her head and handed two plates to the guys in front of her. One was very tall and
very serious looking, and was wearing a pair of sunglasses despite the localised areas of freak
weather. The other one looked more her age and Ryoga-chan was slightly pleased that he wasn't
spending all his time with his eyes glued to her chest. "Your orders."
"Thanks, babe," the boy said idly. He switched his attention back to the tall man. "You need more
attitude still, if you're gonna pass."
"No sweat, Jon," he said seriously. "Chill."
Jon grinned. "That's better."
The man stood up. "The T1000 is in the area. We should leave."
"Oh Shit!!"
Ryoga-chan looked at them both. "Leaving so soon?"
Jon reached into his pocket and handed her a fistful of notes. "We'll take the food with us - it
looks great. That should cover it." He grinned. "This is a nice little place."
The tall man nodded solemnly. "Come on, Jon." He paused and looked at Ryoga-chan. "I'll be back."
They both roared away on a motorcycle. 
Ryoga-chan looked at the handful of notes and her eyes widened. "Wow... what a tip!" She shrugged
and began serving again. Eventually there was a lull in activity and she sat down at the counter
with a groan. "I'm beat."
Ukyo sniggered. "I thought you were a big strong man. Cantcha handle a few hours waitressing?" she
teased.
Ryoga-chan glared at her. "I'm a girl right now," she mumbled. "Besides, when you first hired me, I
had three other people helping me."
Ukyo pondered that remark for a second. "You're right. Maybe I should hire some more help." She
patted Ryoga-chan on the shoulder. "Howzat sound?"
"Like heaven." She stood up and stretched. "_Please_ can I turn back to normal now?" she begged. 
Ukyo thought about it for a moment before relenting. "OK. I'll close up now and get started on my
homework."
Ryoga-chan gave her a big grin. "Thanks! I'm gonna change back and spar with Ranma." *And then
Skuld's gonna tell me how I'm learning other peoples techniques.* There was no way she was going
near Happosai or Cologne until she figured out how to stop it, otherwise she could end up having to
steal underwear to get her strength. Not a happy prospect. But she wanted to try out some new tricks
on Ranma. She turned her back on Ukyo, not noticing the chef's battle aura starting to glow. "It's
been ages since I had a good fight."
*Oh, so he doesn't think I'm good enough to fight him?!!* Ukyo fumed. She tensed up, reaching for
her spatula. "Ryoga, you JERK!" she howled, slamming the spatula into the ground where she'd been
just a second before. 
Except now, Ryoga-chan was a few feet away, with a big smirk on her face. "Nyah, you missed me," she
taunted, wiggling her tongue at Ukyo. "Catch me if you caaaan!" With that, she raced up the stairs
and into the bathroom, leaping through the mirror just before the spatula smashed down on the glass.
Ukyo stood panting in the bathroom. *Stupid, hentai JERK! I can't believe I actually agreed to go
out with him last night!!* With a small sigh, she slumped down on the floor. (And I'm sorry the date
didn't work out...) The words echoed through her mind. *I guess... I was having fun until it all
went wrong...* she admitted to herself as she climbed back to her feet. (Y-y-you look really
n-nice... wanna get some popcorn?) Expertly, she shoved the memory into the darkest corners of her
mind, although for some reason, an image of Ryoga giving her an undeniably cute smile lingered in
her mind's eyes. She quickly replaced it with a picture of Ranma. *Ranchan... not that idiot Ryoga.*
She looked at the mirror, beginning to fume all over again as she took in the fine spiderweb of
cracks running through the glass. *This is all Ryoga's fault!* she decided, walking away. At least
being mad at him helped block out the memory of him smiling at her. A little. *I must be ill,
thinking of him.*

Ranma sighed happily and relaxed even lower into the hot water. "This is the life..." he murmured.
After a few minutes of soaking, he reluctantly stood up and began to get dried and dressed before
his father ate all the dinner again. He leaned forward to study his reflection in the mirror. He
frowned. *When did I get green eyes?!* he wondered, then let out a yelp of terror as Ryoga-chan
popped out of the mirror.
"Hey Ranma."
Ranma backed away, tripping over a bucket of cold water. She angrily flicked her red hair out of her
eyes and glared. "What the hell are you tryna do, scare me to death?!!" she ranted.
Ryoga-chan thought for a second. "Original and effective. Maybe I should do that more often." She
grinned slightly and landed on the floor. "Let's spar. We haven't had a good fight in ages."
Ranma-chan thought longingly of dinner. "Not now, Ryoga," she decided. *After all, if I don't eat
now, I may be forced to eat Akane's cooking again!* She went to move past Ryoga-chan.
"Wait!" Ryoga-chan moved forward to block her path. "Come on, Ranma! What's the matter with you?!"
She crossed her arms irritably. "What's the matter, scared I'll beat you?" she taunted. "Biii!
Surely der big, bad Ranma Saotome isn't afwaid of widdle Ryoga-chan, is he?"
Ranma-chan turned a strange shade of purple. "Hey, you little...." She began, little crosses of
annoyance appearing on her head. Then an image of Akane waving deadly weapons ... a mallet, and even
worse, her home cooking, appeared in his mind. "Look, Ryoga, I'll fight you." She pushed past the
smaller girl then turned to face her. "But not until _after_ dinner, you got that?"
"You're no fun," Ryoga-chan mumbled under her breath as she followed Ranma-chan to the kitchen. 
Kasumi looked at them both and smiled. "Oh my. Ryoga, would you like to stay for dinner too?"
"N-no, that's OK..." Ryoga-chan stuttered, laughing nervously. "I mean, I already ate."
"But you're a growing boy," Kasumi smiled, completely oblivious to the fact that her statement
happened to be untrue at the moment. "You need all your food, right?"
"Uh...hehe..." Ryoga-chan scratched the back of her head. "No, really, that's OK. I don't want to be
a nuisance..." 
Ranma-chan shook her head and placed the kettle on to boil. Kasumi continued to smile sweetly.
"Really, I insist."
Ryoga-chan gave up. "Thanks, Kasumi. That's really nice of you." 
She sat down next to Akane, who turned and smiled at her. "Hello Ryoga. You and Ukyo got home safely
last night, didn't you?"
Ryoga-chan blinked. "Well, uh.. yeah.. hehehe..." She scratched the back of her head again with
another nervous laugh, and tried to concentrate on Akane's face. For some reason, she kept seeing
Ukyo in her mind, smiling at her... (Hey, sugar, I'll go with you.. after all, if normal people get
lost in cinemas, imagine what would happen to you...) She shook her head and tried to focus on
Akane. *I love Akane I love Akane I love Akane I love* she repeated firmly in her mind, gritting her
teeth and closing her eyes. Big mistake. The moment she closed her eyes, she was bombarded by the
memory of Ukyo taking hold of _his_ hand and walking with _him_ to get some popcorn. 
A hand rested lightly on her shoulder and Ryoga-chan almost jumped out of her skin. "Aaah!" She
whipped around to come face to face with Akane.
"Uh.. Ryoga? Are you all right?" she asked in concern.
Ryoga-chan nodded numbly, a slight tingle running through her small frame. *That was weird...* she
thought to herself. Then the thought was pushed aside by a more worrying issue. *I was thinking of
Ukyo while I'm here with Akane?!!* She forcefully pushed the memory aside. *She must have hit me
harder than I thought,* she decided dryly.
Ranma-chan picked up the kettle and poured it over her head. "Oh, that feels so good," he muttered
cheerfully, before holding out the kettle to his best enemy. "How about it, Ryoga-chan? Wanna be a
guy?" He grinned as the small girl winced in internal agony. 
Ryoga-chan fixed him with a venomous glare. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me
that?" she hissed.
Ranma shrugged. "I lost count after seven hundred and thirty eight," he quipped, before shaking the
kettle a little. "So? D'ya want it?"
Ryoga-chan looked down at her waitress outfit. "I don't suppose there are any of my other clothes
here?" she asked hopefully.
"Nope. Sorry." 
Ryoga-chan looked at Kasumi, who shook her head, before giving up with a sigh. "I guess I'd better
stay like this then," she mumbled. "I guess I need to get used to fighting in this body too."
Ranma grinned. "Hey, that's great!" He patted her on the shoulder, an evil grin on his face. "Your
girl side is _totally_ hot, y'know. Can't wait." There was almost nothing Ranma liked better than
winding up Ryoga. He was a master at it, as he continued to prove. "It's almost a pity you're not a
real girl sometimes," he carried on, noting the battle aura flaring around the girl and the utterly
pissed off expression on her face. With a huge smirk, he reached over and ruffled her hair. "You're
cute when you're mad, y'know," he taunted.
The next thing that struck him was completely unexpected. Actually, it was a mallet.
"RANMA, YOU JERK!!!"
*WHAMMO*
Ranma reached up carefully and traced the mallet handle back to a hand and grabbed it. "Jeez, Akane,
I was only... gah!"
The hand he was holding wasn't that of  a certain young tomboy Tendo, but rather, that of a certain
shocked bandannaed lost girl who was staring at the mallet with as much amazement as he was. "How
did.. how ... h-h-how..." Ryoga-chan stuttered, staring at her hands.
Nabiki grinned. "Well, Akane, looks like you've been upstaged." She casually patted her sister on
the arm. "Never mind, I'm sure you'll find a new trick to beat up Ranma with." 
Soun Tendo appeared then, bawling his eyes out. (Boo hoo spat splat.) "NABIIIIIIIKI!!!!!! How can
you ENCOURAGE them fighting?!!!!!!" He began to claw at his hair. "My BABIEEEEEEEE!!! Why must you
fight with your fiance?!!!!!"
Ranma shrugged and looked at the still stunned Ryoga-chan. "We weren't fighting, Mr Tendo, we were
talking about how Ryoga-chan here stole Akane's technique."
"I DIDN'T STEAL IT...." Ryoga-chan began, before Mr Tendo grabbed her by the arms and started
shaking her. 
"WHY?!!!! WHY I ASK YOU?!!!! I'M BEGGING YOU, GIVE MY BABY GIRL BACK HER TECHNIQUE!!!!!!!" he
bawled.
Akane sighed. "Daddy, Ryoga didn't do anything wrong, he must have just worked out how I do it," she
said lightly. Inwardly she frowned. Even _she_ wasn't sure where the mallet came from. Oh well, she
was sure it didn't matter. "Isn't that right, Ryoga?"
Ryoga-chan grasped the suggestion like a drowning man clutching a straw. "Oh, yeah, that's right, I
mean, I've seen you use that thing, been on the receiving end a few times too, hehe..." She turned
about thirty shades of red. *Oh god, they're not buyin' it... what the hell is going on here... oh
man, I just don't _get_ this!!* 
"See? That's all." Akane smiled at her father, who still had tears pouring down his face. "Oh daddy,
must you over react?"
Ryoga-chan blinked a few times. *Wow... they're actually buying it!* That was good. She didn't know
how she was supposed to explain that she was learning techniques from anyone who touched her.
Ranma gave her a dubious look. "I think you're not telling us something, Miss Ryoga-chan." 
Immediately, a demon head loomed over Ranma, with forked tongue, glowing eyes and fangs. "WHAT THE
HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT?!!!!!!"
Ryoga-chan roared. Then she realised exactly what she was doing. "Um..."
Ranma crossed his arms. "How did you do that?" he queried, looking closely at Ryoga-chan.
Ryoga-chan put on her best cute face. "Me? I guess I picked that one up from watching Mr Tendo do it
to you all the time." She smiled sweetly. "Not scared, are you? Want to fight still?"
Ranma glared at her. "Sure thing! As if a few new moves could make _you_ any better than _me_!!"
"In the training hall, boys," Nabiki called out. "Or should I say girl and boy?" She whipped out her
camera for a few shots of Ryoga-chan in the waitress outfit. "Don't create _too_ much damage!!"
Ranma grinned. There was one move certain to put Ryoga-chan out of it, no matter _how_ many mallets
she pulled. All he needed to do was make her mad. "Hey, Nabs, don't suppose you could make me copies
of those photos, could you?" 
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!!" Akane jumped to her feet, waving a large mallet around. 
Ranma glared at her. "Akane, don't butt in! This is a man to man fight!" He glanced at the seething
Ryoga-chan again. "Although it looks like only one of us is a real man!"
"DIE, SAOTOME!!!!" OK, yeah, it was an outdated battlecry. But it was quick and straight to the
point.
Ranma charged towards the training hall as the demon head loomed over him. "What's the matter, lady,
can't take the heat?! You make a better girl than a guy, anyway!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!" Ryoga-chan roared, swinging a mallet which connected solidly with
Ranma's skull, much to his surprise. 
*I forget... he's faster as a girl.* Ranma straightened up and began taunting Ryoga-chan again,
carefully leading her into a spiral. "I thought you said that battlecry was outdated? What's the
matter, Ryoga-chan, something wrong? Why not stay a girl for the rest of your life and find a real
man to marry?" He could feel the heat of the battle aura radiating from the girl. Boy, was Ryoga
mad! Just a few more steps and he'd have the Hiryuu Shoten Ha to end all. "I don't know why Ucchan
decided to stick with you, when she had a real man like me around!" 
Ryoga-chan seethed with anger and renewed her attack. "Get back here, you coward!" she raged,
chasing after him. "Stop running away!"
The words clicked in her mind.
Ranma was... running away... running away in a spiral...
Time seemed to slow down as she realised she was being drawn into the centre of the spiral. *Oh no!
Not again! Not this time!* (It's nothing more than a clash of temperatures.) She remembered helping
Ranma train with Cologne - she'd been the first one Ranma had unleashed his greatest attack on. And
she'd gotten herself mad enough to be blown a few miles at least. Unless.... she could cool herself
down. She grinned. "ICE STORM!" Ranma's eyes widened as the cold air surrounded him, cancelling out
his twister. Then, before he could react, he was hit by a flurry of punches. He staggered backwards
before regaining his composure. "H-how did you do that?!!" he whispered in awe. Ryoga-chan smirked.
"That would be telling. Come on, Ranma. Fight me." She could _do_ it this time. She could defeat
him! Ranma grinned. "OK. For real. Winner takes all." He took a stance. "Let's go!"

Skuld glanced at the okonomiyaki chef as she worked through her katas with her giant spatula, before
swinging at an imaginary foe, muttering under her breath. A grin appeared on Skuld's face as the
words reached her ears. 
"...Jerk! Pervert! Stubborn, stuck-up, pig-headed jackass!"
"He'll be back soon," Skuld called. 
Ukyo jumped around, a red flush covering her features. "I couldn't care less where he is or what
he's doing!" she growled. "Why should I care anyway?!" She whirled around again and started the
kata, smooth and controlled. Her mind was in a state of chaos, though. She didn't understand what
was happening to her. She loved Ranchan, she knew that. *So why am I worried about that idiot
jackass Ryoga?* She sighed. Well, if there was a question that needed answering, there was just one
thing to do.
Procrastinate. 
Procrastinate like you've never procrastinated before.
Skuld smiled knowingly and looked at the small pill she'd been given by her sister, and held it up
to the light. "Admit it. You like him."
"I DO _NOT_!!!" Ukyo screamed.
Skuld couldn't resist goading her a little more. "So how was your date last night? Have fun? Was
Ryoga a gentleman? I hear he leapt to your defence pretty quickly when all out war broke loose."
Ukyo scowled. "I don't want to talk about it, so drop it."
Skuld relented. She genuinely liked the okonomiyaki chef and didn't want to spoil the friendship
they were building. "OK." She looked at the pill again with a smile. *Love potion number 9.* Ryoga
and Ukyo were her friends. They deserved a little happiness after all the recent mayhem and chaos.
As a goddess, surely she could do that? *Pride... it always gets in the way. Well, Urd, maybe your
ideas aren't as far-fetched as I originally thought.*

End Part XIII
Final Song - Another Day In Paradise

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Member 30 of SSoAGMA, Deadly Everyday Object Weaponary Technique, Dragon Warrior Style
Mousse no miku; Generally dangerous English otaku; Supporter of cliched pairs;
Member of the Chan club; WoS; SCG; COURT; SOotCiP;CotMHW - Launderer of the Robes of Death;
Head Castrator of the Hotnit Feminisation Project; Keeper of the Moneybags for the Hotnit Fan Club;
4th Gen. EOE; Image Consultant For "That Guy"; #WASHU#;AKPReSS, Gen. Div.; SLAP;
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Coming soon to list near you.. the legendary 50 foot sig of Team Chan !