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    Wow... it's been a while. Well, I hope that someone enjoys this.


The Unbroken Circle: Chapter one

Fukanshou / Kanshou

Part A

Disclaimer: Takahashi provided the paints, I'm just working on my own
easel.

This is a fic based on Ranma and the gang that takes place about the
middle of the series. It's more of an altaverse fic than anything else,
but... Here's the run-down: Ryugenzawa happened, but Herb has not.
Nodoka does not know that Ranma and 'Ranko' are the same person, but she
has visited the Tendos and met 'Ranko'. Otherwise... it's sticking
pretty closely to manga events. Except... I'm keeping the anime hair
colors. I love the hair colors.

Other chapters for The Unbroken Circle can be found here:
http://ranma.stassen.com/uc/
(Thanks to Chris Stassen for hosting!)


Brief key, trying to stay simple.

<> frame thoughts.
"" frame speech
"{}" frame speech in Mandarin


"Therefore-
The plans of the wise necessarily include advantage and harm.
They include advantage. Thus one's service can be trusted.
They include harm. Thus adversity can be undone."

Sun Tzu - from Chapter 8 of 'The Art of War'


The dream again. Always the same, never revealing the secrets it held
before waking. He was in the dragon's mouth. No, _she_ was in the
dragon's mouth again. There was surprise, but no fear, and a certain
sense of calmness. The inevitable was coming, as the teeth drew
together, shutting out the light. The end would come soon.

***

Waking with a gasp, Ranma sat up, clutching his head, and peered around
the clearing warily.

A girl sat up in a bedroll near him, eyeing him blearily. After a moment
of hesitation, she asked, "Ranma? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, lying back down again. "Nothing, Chame... just a bad
dream, I guess."

She nodded, and mumbled, "Okay... try and get some rest. Ryugenzawa is
really close. You'll need your strength."

Ranma said nothing, merely staring at the stars and remembering the
events that had led to this.

***

The rain pattered against the roof of the dojo, tapping out a rhythm
that Ranma could almost feel resonating through some inner part of him.
His eyes were unfocused as he woke from his light nap, and stared out
into the yard. Barely recognizable droplets of water streamed past the
open door of the dojo, facing the koi pond. Light spilled from the
opening, dimly illuminating a small section of the yard.

He meditated on the rain, the dream already forgotten. Ever since
Jusenkyou, water always seemed to have some strange, nearly mystical
attraction to him. No normal person had gotten wet that much. Sighing,
he let a small frown crease his face while he thought about it. Perhaps
the storm was trying to punish him for avoiding his curse for nearly two
weeks.

A thump and a skittering noise interrupted his ruminations. To his
surprise, the Tendo dojo sign was sliding across the floor, coming to
rest a few feet from him. Ranma stared at the sign for a moment before
comprehending, and raised his head to peer into the darkness beyond the
faint pool of light.

A figure emerged from the darkness, rain droplets bouncing off a cloak
and giving it a faint, ominous halo.

Ranma scowled to himself, idly wondering who it was, but decided to say
nothing until he knew more. The figure halted briefly under the dry
awning leading to the door, and began removing its shoes. After that,
the figure set aside a long staff. Ranma stared, gauging. The figure was
bowed low, so he couldn't make out a face, yet. Red hair. A pair of
braids.

The figure stood up, and glanced at him appraisingly. He did the same.
She had a face that seemed vaguely familiar, similar to Ranma's own girl
form, and a nearly identical hair color. The pair of braids reached
midway down her back.

Removing her cloak revealed a soaked, red, karate gi. She dropped a
large backpack next to her shoes, and raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Ranma observed that she was smaller than his girl form, as well.
<Probably barely four foot nine inches tall.>

Ranma cleared his throat and glanced at the sign at his feet. "I suppose
this is a challenge?"

The girl shook her head, "Broke off in the wind. Mind if I come in?"

Ranma nodded, and she entered, bowing briefly to the shrine. He stared
at her for a moment before speaking. "What are you doing here at this
hour?"

She glanced back at him, calculating, then smiled disarmingly. "I'm just
passing through. I found the sign and wondered if I could challenge
someone for a place to stay the night, maybe some warm food."

Ranma considered this briefly, then shrugged. "I dunno. I guess the
Tendos probably won't mind you staying in the dojo tonight... I can
probably scrounge something up for you."

She shook her head, her voice carrying irritation, "No, I will challenge
someone for it. Do you accept?"

Ranma grinned, his own tone mocking, "I don't fight girls."

The redhead's eyes narrowed, as she stared at him. "I'm a woman. Not a
girl."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I won't fight you."

She smiled slowly. "I understand then. I accept your offering, and your
forfeit."

The pigtailed martial artist frowned, getting annoyed. "I didn't
forfeit!"

"Then you'll fight me?"

Ranma scowled, sulking. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

She smiled, and retrieved the staff she had been carrying previously.
"Do you use a weapon?"

Ranma scoffed, "Weapons are a crutch. I'll fight you bare-handed, but
I'll let you use your weapon. Won't help you much."

Her smile faded. "So be it. Are you ready?"

Ranma walked to a position a short distance away, and bowed, almost
mockingly. She returned the bow, and the fight began.

He decided to start out on the defensive. His opposition to hurting
women led him to believe that he could disable her with defensive moves
and throws, thus satisfying his honor by not harming her. She eyed him
warily, slipping into a stance that Ranma didn't recognize. He grimaced,
as a stray thought occurred to him, and he asked, "I don't have to marry
you if you win, do I?"

She looked somewhat amused at the thought. "No. Why?"

Relief showing on his face, he smiled. "Ah... never mind. I'll tell you
later." He shrugged, still waiting for her to make the first move.

The girl smirked, and rushed at him, feigning a sweeping blow with the
staff, then trying to kick Ranma's chest. Ranma blocked with one arm,
relying on his strength to block her attack with one hand, while he
attempted to grapple her for a throw with his other.

Seeming to read his move, she slipped outside of his reach, and landed a
blow to his wrist with her staff.

Scowling, Ranma decided to rush as she retreated, but she disappeared as
he reached her. Wheeling around in surprise, he found her a few steps
away to his left. He frowned. <Speed is my strongest point, how can she
be this much faster than me?>

She cocked a head at him. "Stop holding back."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to hurt you."

She scowled at him. "I've had about enough of that attitude."

Ranma took a defensive stance, but the woman moved too fast for him
again, and was behind him before he could react. He staggered at a blow
from behind, and whirled around. The woman was waiting for him, staff at
the ready. He glared, and muttered, "Alright then. Let's go." He
unleashed a flurry of blows, intending to knock her over but not hurt
her. The punches were not quite as fierce at the tenshin amaguri-ken,
but almost. The woman deflected each one with a casual detachment.

Ranma edged back a step, wincing at his hands. The staff she carried was
_hard_. He stepped around, warily. This woman was more skilled than he
would have suspected. Much more skilled. <If I can get that staff away
from her, then maybe I can win.>

She shifted from one defensive stance to another. Instead of being held
along her body, she held the staff out at a low angle. "Is that it?"

He glared again, and leapt towards her, expecting to pass over her range
before she could ready her staff. She dropped the staff before Ranma
reached her, and pivoted on one foot, extending the other to catch Ranma
full in the chest. He staggered again, and fell to the ground. As he
rolled away, he made a swipe at the staff, and knocked it across the
dojo floor.

Mid somersault, he used a handspring to escape away from the woman.
<What's going on here? She's even smaller than my cursed form. How is
she strong enough to do that?> His chest was bruised, but he'd had
worse. He analyzed his options. She simply stood in another defensive
form, not moving towards the discarded staff, and Ranma paused, <Maybe I
should use a chi attack... She's fighting defensively. No, I don't need
to go all out against her, the tenshin amaguri-ken should get through.>

He nodded to himself, and charged again, crying out, "Tenshin
amaguri-ken!!" She danced back through the rain of blows, deflecting,
blocking, or dodging them all. He stepped back, gasping, "How...?"

She just smiled. "Clever. I've faced the Joketsuzoku before. They don't
part with their techniques easily."

He backed off a little further. She was still in a defensive stance,
while he considered, <She knows of Joketsuzoku techniques. She's not
going to let me use a hiryuu shouten-ha, and I'd trash the dojo anyway.>
He shook his head, wondering, <What am I thinking? Hiryuu shouten-ha, in
a sparring match? That's not right. Maybe a mouko takabisha...?> He
nodded to himself. <A weak one. Just enough to get her attention.>

He took a deep breath, gathering himself and his ki, and smiled at the
girl. "I think I've got a few tricks of my own..." Lashing out suddenly,
he lobbed a bolt at her, shouting, "Mouko takabisha!"

The bolt of force flew out towards the woman, who raised her arms,
crying out something Ranma didn't recognize, and then everything turned
black.

***

Ranma opened his eyes, groaning and blinking groggily. "What... What
happened?" His head felt muddled, as though he had been woken with too
little sleep. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he eyed his
surroundings.

The woman was peering down at him, in one corner of the dojo. She smiled
at him apologetically. "Sorry. I thought you were being serious. Guess I
overreacted."

He sat up slowly, noting that his Chinese clothing was singed and torn.
The beginnings of a faint, buzzing headache were starting from the base
of his skull. "What did you do?"

She shrugged, and explained offhandedly, "A kind of deflector. I sent
the attack back at you, redoubled."

He shook his head again, trying to clear it of the odd sensation. "You
beat me?"

Her braids had slipped over her shoulders, and bobbed as she nodded. "I
am afraid so."

Ranma blinked, mouth wide open, and momentarily forgetting his headache.
"But... how?!"

She looked irate, and helped him to his feet. "I already told you. Now
that I won, I want some warm food. We'll talk about it over dinner."

Ranma sighed, and headed towards the house. "Yeah, yeah... Follow me."
He led her into the house, motioning her to pick up her pack and shoes
before entering. He noticed that she had already retrieved her staff
before they reached the house. He sighed and looked into the yard. The
wind had lessened a little, but the rain seemed to intensify, if
anything. He silently thanked whoever thought it was a good idea to
install a covered walkway between the house and the dojo as he entered
the living room.

He pointed at the table, after turning on a light and closing the door.
"Have a seat. Um... do you mind leftover miso soup?"

She grinned. "I mostly live on the road, sounds great."

He nodded, and headed into the kitchen. "It'll only take a minute or
two, then." Ranma retrieved some leftover miso soup from the fridge, and
put a large bowl of it in the microwave. <Normally it's a breakfast
food, but...> He stared at the microwave for a long moment, trying to
remember how long it would take. He sighed, and turned a dial on the
microwave to three minutes.

Leaning against the counter, he stared at the dial and thought back to
the match. <How the heck did I lose? She's fast, that's for sure. I
guess using the mouko takabisha was a bit much, but nothing else was
getting through. Hmm... I have to ask her about that.> The microwave
made a piercing wail until he opened its door. He paused after opening
it, hearing a soft thump from the living room.

Shaking his head, he brought the bowl to the table. The girl was holding
her head in her hands, wincing and rubbing her temples. Ranma set the
bowl and a spoon in front of her. "You okay?"

She nodded, wiping the wince from her face. "Yeah... I don't like
certain tones, that's all."

Ranma blinked, confused. "Uh... huh. Anyway, dig in."

The woman ate in silence, looking at nothing in particular. After an
uncomfortable minute, Ranma turned on the TV. Almost nothing was on at
this hour. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was already 11:12.
After a few more awkward minutes, the woman pushed the bowl away,
sighing contentedly.

Ranma turned back to her. "Erm. Sorry, I didn't ask you yet, what's your
name?"

She regarded him levelly for a moment. "You can call me Chame."

Ranma blinked. "No last name?" She said nothing. Ranma cleared his
throat, "Right. I'm Ranma. Saotome Ranma."

She nodded. "I see. Pleased to meet you. You have a lot more potential
than most fighters I come across."

Ranma frowned. "Huh... I'm not much used to losing. How long have you
been practicing, anyway?"

She stared at him guardedly. "All my life."

Ranma nodded slowly. "Ah, I've been training since I was about 4, so
that's been the last 13 years."

She nodded. "You're pretty good for someone that new to the art."

Ranma stared, wide-eyed. "What do you mean, 'that new'?"

Chame frowned, thinking. "I'll tell you. But you must respect my privacy
in this and not tell anyone else."

Ranma blinked again. <Who would know you? You don't even have a last
name!> "Alright, I give you my word of honor as a martial artist."

She nodded, a slight smile forming on her lips. "I've been facing
martial artists for some time. You are still young, but I've fought
people with decades of experience. Lets just say I'm a little older than
I look."

Ranma shrugged. "Happosai says he's over a hundred, and Cologne says so
too. I've fought with them."

Chame frowned thoughtfully. "Happosai, eh? I wonder what he's been up
to. Cologne, too? I've been away too long. I've fought both of them
before."

"I... see. How old are you, anyway?"

Chame glanced up at Ranma sharply. "It's rude to ask a lady her age."

Ranma shook his head. "Right. Sorry."

Chame frowned. "Well, can you do me a favor, then?"

He eyed her warily, then mumbled, "Depends."

"Tell me about yourself?"

Ranma blinked, taken aback. "Ah, right. Lemme think about this, then...
I been practicing martial arts for the last 13 years, and except for the
year in this house, I spent most of my time on the road. Dad traveled a
lot. Learned a lot of techniques. Uh, let's see... I spent a couple
months training in China, recently. For the most part, my life was
actually pretty dull. Not too much excitement."

She stared at him for a minute. "You've fought both Cologne and
Happosai, and you say it isn't exciting?"

He frowned, the admitted, "Well, you're right. Things got a lot more
interesting after those two showed up."

Chame smiled slightly. "You said you don't lose much. You won against
them?"

Ranma frowned. "Well... yes. The old ghoul is dangerous, though.
Happosai's not normally as big a threat. He's got an exploitable
weakness."

"That's true. How did you learn the tenshin amaguri-ken?"

"Well, I learned it from the old ghoul. Only way she'd let me have, ah,
something I needed at the time."

Chame nodded slowly. "How did you beat her?"

Ranma frowned. "Well... Are you familiar with neko-ken?"

Chame sighed, another look of irritation crossing her face. "I suppose
that might work. Yes, I'm familiar with it."

"That's funny, it's not exactly well known."

"You learn a lot when you travel."

"I guess so... when you fought them, how'd you win?"

Chame shrugged, "I fought Cologne once. Only once, and that was after...
well. It was over fifty years ago. That's another story. Shiatsu
paralysis points. Happosai was much more dangerous. I fought him a few
times. Most fights were draws, but the times I beat him were...
actually, worry about that later."

Ranma nodded slowly, digesting the information. "Yeah, that works..."
<How old _is_ she?>

Chame shook her head. "I'm letting myself be distracted, though. What
was that about marrying me?"

Ranma blushed slightly. "Ah, well... I have these problems with my
fiancees..."

Chame raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You have more than one?"

His face colored angrily. "Well... I have three, really. First, I have
Akane. Pop said that it was arranged to have me married to her family
first, before I was born. But he engaged me to another girl before I met
Akane. He accepted her dowry, too. Then he... he lost it." Ranma sighed,
troubled, "But he accepted the dowry, so she expects me to marry her,
too."

She interrupted him, "What's her name?"

"Kuonji Ukyou. The other fiancee is Shampoo."

"Joketsuzoku?" she asked. He nodded glumly in response. "Beat her in a
fight, did you?"

Ranma nodded again, then continued, "Yep. It's an accident, really. Pop
and I kind of... ate the prize at a tournament, and she won, so I fought
her. I figured if I beat her, then the prize would be ours, and then it
would be no harm done." He sighed again. "And then there's Kodachi.
She's just a psycho that wants me. Really scary woman." He shivered.

Chame paused thoughtfully. "That's a lot of trouble. Which one do you
want to marry?"

Ranma frowned, considering. He wasn't certain how to answer a question
from a stranger that he couldn't even answer for himself. "Well... I
like Akane, but we don't always get along so well. I like Ukyou, too,
but really, I'm not sure I like her as more than a friend. Shampoo,
well... she's cute, and a good fighter, but I'm not sure that I care for
her that way. Kodachi's just not worth considering." Ranma shook his
head, wondering, <Why am I telling her this? I hardly even know her!>

Chame smiled sympathetically. "Well, things could be worse. I have a
question for you, though. If your name is Saotome, why does the dojo
sign say Tendo?"

Ranma started, then offered, "This is the Tendos' house."

Chame frowned, then asked, "Who are they?"

"Akane's family."

"Ahhh... I see. You have to live with a fiancee you aren't sure you want
to marry."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah... Pop and Mr. Tendo are trying to push us together
a lot."

Chame frowned, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Who else lives here?"

Ranma paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Ah, well, Akane, Nabiki,
Kasumi, and Mr. Tendo. Me and Pop are sharing a guest bedroom. Oh yeah,
Happosai's got a room upstairs, too."

"You live with Happosai?" Ranma nodded, and Chame looked troubled, "I
see. Do you have a history textbook?"

"Uh, I guess... hold on a minute." Ranma scrambled up the stairs, and
crept into his room. Genma was gone, leaving the room empty. <Probably
out drinking with Mr. Tendo. Now, the history book.> He searched through
his schoolbag. <Why am I doing this? I hardly even know her! And what
does she want with a history book?> Despite his reluctance, he found
himself retrieving the book, and bringing it back downstairs.

When he returned to the living room, the woman was studying a trophy on
a bookshelf. The TV had been turned off, and the dishes cleared. He
shook his head. "Uh, here's the book."

She smiled at him, and took the book, flipping through it. "You go to
Furinkan High?"

"Yeah, me, Akane, and Nabiki. She's graduating soon."

Chame murmured something, and stopped to read a particular page. After a
few moments, she closed the book, and set it on the table. She shook her
head, and sat back down. Ranma joined her, asking, "So... What did you
need the history book for?"

"Just wanted to see something. You'd be surprised how much things
change, no matter how much you try to keep them from it."

Ranma frowned, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"You know the saying 'history repeats itself?'"

Ranma furrowed his brows in thought. "Uh, yeah, something like that.
Sure, why?"

Chame shrugged. "Well, it does. I've tried everything to change it, but
it's very hard. Some things changed easily, but almost never the way I
wanted."

He shook his head slowly. "I don't think I understand what you're
talking about."

She sighed. "Well, that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is
your training. Do you think you can get away with a training mission for
a month?"

Ranma paused, then shrugged. "Probably, but I don't know if Pop will
want you along."

The redhead smirked. "No, Ranma, you'd be traveling with me. I doubt
your father has much left to teach you."

He balked at the prospect. "Well, I don't think my other fiancees would
approve of that. I mean, I don't want 'em angrier at me than they need
to be..."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then gave a slight nod and offered,
"Okay, then try this. We have to leave in the morning, two days from
now. You have tomorrow to tie up any loose ends, and then we'll leave
the morning of the next day."

He shook his head. "I don't know..."

"Wouldn't you like to learn to move as fast as I do?"

He considered, then nodded. "Yeah, actually, I would like that. But I'm
still not so sure about this... I mean, at least one of my fiancees is
going to insist on coming with me."

"Then don't let them know."

"Yeah, but... uh... I guess that would work, actually. I don't know,
though..."

She frowned. "What could I do to convince you?"

He eyed her speculatively. "Well... you gotta promise me that you aren't
going to try and marry me."

She rolled her eyes at that. "That was painless. Okay, I promise. Now,
I'll go ahead and sleep in the dojo. Tomorrow, I'll tell your family I
was another fiancee abandoned by the side of the road when you were
younger. I'll tell them my family has collapsed, and isn't interested in
forming a marriage, and I was just hoping for some shelter before I
moved through to my grandmother."

Ranma blinked, then shut his mouth with an audible 'clack.' "Uh...
right. That might work."

She nodded, smiling. "Right. I'll see you in the morning."

He returned the nod, and went upstairs, to his room, trying to puzzle
over events, <No matter how this works out, they're going to know that I
left about the same time as her. They'll suspect I'm with her. Akane
will never forgive me. Damn it. I'll ask Chame in the morning, maybe
she'll have an idea.> And with that, Ranma let himself drift to sleep.
The last thought he had before it claimed him was, <Why do I trust her?>

Chame smiled to herself as Ranma walked up the stairs. She wasn't
planning on getting much sleep tonight. She had a lot of work ahead of
her. She had probed Ranma's mind gently, and gotten a bit of
information, but after he was knocked out, it was simple for her to
delve more deeply. Still, he had a mind that refused to reveal certain
information, even to her skills. The other minds in the house weren't as
protected, already in dream. She could glean a bit more information from
them before morning. Enough to formulate a plan, at least.

***

Kasumi woke early the next morning. She yawned, and stretched. Her alarm
had not gone off. She studied it for a moment. It was only two minutes
after it should have gone off anyway. She glanced around the room.
Everything was in place. She retrieved a spare robe and towel from the
closet, and headed towards the bathroom. Shaking her head, she muttered,
"I thought I turned the alarm on last night..."

Kasumi knocked at the door, not expecting a reply, and an unfamiliar
voice called back, "Just a minute!" Chame probed the mind at the door
briefly, <Oops, you weren't supposed to wake up yet... I can still
cover.>

Kasumi paused for a moment. Was that voice... "Ranma?"

"No, one moment." The shower turned off, and Kasumi considered. It was a
feminine voice, certainly. She heard rustling behind the door for a
moment, and then it opened, revealing a diminutive redhead with her hair
down, still wet. She was wearing a brown skirt with a white blouse,
"Sorry about that, uh... Akane?"

Kasumi blinked, and shook her head slowly, "No... I'm Kasumi. Who are
you?"

She smiled, and Kasumi felt her worries begin to fade. The diminutive
redhead seemed friendly enough. "I'm Chame!"

Kasumi nodded. "Are you one of Ranma's fiancees?"

Chame nodded back. "Well, kind of... it's a long story."

"That's nice! I'll just make you something to eat after I wash. Is that
okay?"

Chame beamed at the taller woman. "Sure! What are you making?"

Kasumi paused, studying, <How old is this girl? She looks kind of
young...> "I haven't decided yet, maybe you can help me."

"Sure! But for now, your bath is waiting."

Kasumi nodded, and let herself be herded into the bathroom. She thought
about this as she washed her hair. <Another fiancee. Oh, Ranma, your
father is so bad about that. If only he had been more responsible.> Once
her hair was done, she climbed into the furo, letting the hot water soak
her. <Of course, with all of those girls, I suppose one more won't make
much of a difference.>

After toweling herself off, she returned to her room, dressed, and
prepared for another day in the kitchen, cleaning, and so forth.

She stopped in the entrance to the kitchen, blinked, and turned around.
The living room was the same as it was yesterday. It was definitely the
same house. She blinked once more, turned around, and looked into the
kitchen again.

It was clean. No, that was an understatement. It was shining,
practically glowing. The rice cooker was busy, and a fresh pot of miso
soup was heating. Six bento boxes were stacked near the sink. Kasumi
checked the cooking meal, but everything seemed to be in order.

She checked again. Nothing was out of place, and everything seemed
clean. She put a finger to her lips, thinking, but couldn't think of
anything to say. Actually she could think of a few things to say, but
the only one she would _let_ herself say, was, "Oh."

Chame walked into the room, arms burdened with grocery bags. "Hello,
Kasumi. Sorry about taking so long to get back."

Kasumi paused, then asked, "Did you go shopping?"

Chame nodded, and began putting groceries away. "Yep."

Kasumi nodded, thinking, <How long was I in the bath?> She looked at the
stack of bento boxes, then asked, "Ah, who are all the bentos for?"

Chame looked surprised briefly. "Oh, right. Um, one each for Ranma,
Akane, Nabiki, me, you, and... Dr. Tofu."

Kasumi looked askance at Chame. "Dr. Tofu?"

"Ranma said you were going to be having lunch with him today, something
about talking about medicine. I thought I could make the two of you a
lunch, so you could spend more time worrying about, um, whatever you're
talking to him about."

Kasumi nodded slowly, as Chame began preparing breakfast. "Oh. I see."
Kasumi shook her head. "Wait, I don't have time to visit Dr. Tofu today.
I have to go to the grocer."

Chame smiled at her. "Already taken care of."

Kasumi paused. "Oh. Right. Um, I need to make lunch for Mr. Saotome and
Father, though."

Chame shook her head. "Ranma said they were out drinking VERY late last
night. They shouldn't be up for a while, and I doubt that they'll be in
the mood for anything to eat until later."

The taller girl paused, and protested, "But-"

Chame put a finger to Kasumi's lips, and gave her a stern look. "No
buts. Ranma tells me that you don't spend enough time worrying about
yourself." Kasumi flushed slightly, but Chame continued, "He says he
thinks that if you wanted to, you could become a doctor, and you
shouldn't have to put your dreams on hold for your family. It was his
idea, to get you a surprise date with Dr. Tofu. He's not a very open
person, but he does care about you." The truth of the matter was that it
had never occurred to Ranma, but Chame was satisfied that the small lie
would suit her purposes.

Kasumi nodded, practically on the verge of tears. "Right. I'll just-"

"Take a day to relax, and think about what you want to do with your
life? That's a good idea. I'll take care of the cleaning before I go to
school. I'll give you a word of advice with Dr. Tofu. When you see
him... tell him you already know, and acting silly won't help."

Kasumi looked startled, absorbing the message. "Know what? Wait, you
mean, he's not normally that way?"

Chame looked evasive. "Ah... no. He's not. He's actually much nicer. It
might take a minute or two of keeping him from eating the lunchbox, but
he'll listen. It you're interested, he can also tell you a lot about
medical schools. Ranma seems to think that you might be interested,
since you read so many of Dr. Tofu's medical journals"

Kasumi froze, thinking about it, while Chame led her to the table.
Hearing other family members begin shuffling down the stairs, Kasumi
sighed, and whispered, ""I never realized Ranma could be so
thoughtful..."

The first one down was Nabiki. She sat at the table, dishes already set,
food ready to be served, and Kasumi looking like she was still asleep. A
huge grin was plastered on Kasumi's face, and she idly twirled designs
on her plate with one finger. She looked off into the distance, at
nothing in particular.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, but served herself anyway. She didn't normally
get up this early, but she was busy today. <If this works, I might just
be able to keep the dojo afloat for a whole year. Then I won't have to
sell pictures to Kuno.> She didn't _dislike_ selling pictures of Akane
or Ranma's girl form, but really wanted more from her life than that.
She had greater aspirations.

She paused in her eating, as a perky redhead in a skirt swept into the
room, and set a bento box in front of her. Nabiki glanced at the box,
then up at the girl. "Who are you?"

Chame shrugged, offering a good-natured smile. "I'm Chame. You must be
Akane!"

Nabiki shook her head. "No, I'm Nabiki. Akane's probably still asleep."

Chame shrugged again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Well, nice to meet you!" She stuck
a hand out to shake with Nabiki. Nabiki eyed the hand warily for a
moment, the same way she might regard a venomous snake, but accepted and
shook after a moment.

"Uh, right. Well, I guess you're another fiancee, right?"

Chame shook her head. "I was, but he's got a prior claim, so I'll be
leaving tomorrow."

Nabiki blinked, taken aback. <One of Ranma's fiancees giving up that
easily? That's not normal. I need info on this girl.> "So, ah, Chame.
What's your last name, and where do you live?"

Chame simpered cutely, and Nabiki felt something in her heart, even
though it was something she would never admit to. "Oh, you know,
around." Then she looked into Nabiki's eyes, her own blue eyes big and
round, like a puppy's. "But, I have no last name, now." She sniffled,
carefully activating mental centers in Nabiki's mind to stimulate trust,
speaking at the same time, "For you see, when I was abandoned by the
side of the road by my fiance as a child, my family stripped me of my
name. Now I live wandering from relative to relative, hoping to survive
long enough to find someone willing to marry a girl with no name." She
sniffled again, eyes watering. Internally, Chame rolled her eyes. <This
is too damn easy. I expected it to be a lot harder to charm this one.>
"But I heard from Ranma that he already has a fiancee. Well, more than
one, actually. I can't add to his burden, and I have nothing to offer
him that they don't." She sniffled again for good measure, then sank to
her knees, hiding her face in her hands to cover her smile, and
pretending to sob.

Nabiki blinked again, completely bewildered. <This is not normal at
_all_.> She shook her head, wondering what this girl had that let her
through Nabiki's layers of emotional barriers. <I will find out what's
going on here if it's the last thing I do,> Nabiki vowed internally.

Kasumi moved swiftly around the table and embraced the small girl.
"There, there, Chame... It's not that bad."

Chame bawled, face now hidden in Kasumi's shoulder. "But I don't have a
last name! How can I go on!" A few moments of mental probing towards
Nabiki helped strengthen the small bit of sympathy already there, though
the scene alone would have been enough for most people.

Kasumi wracked her mind, "Well, you could stay with us. Right, Nabiki?"

Nabiki blinked, "Well, I suppose-" < It _would_ give me a chance to keep
an eye on her and figure out what's going on...>

Kasumi cut her off, "See then? You can stay with us!"

Chame brought the sniffling and sobbing to a dramatic end, and sighed,
looking into Kasumi's eyes wistfully. "I wish I could. But I can't.
Ranma's already told me about everything else you've been through, and I
can't add to the burden. But maybe, for just one day, I can be a part of
your family."

Kasumi brightened. "See? It won't be that bad. And maybe you can come
visit us!"

Chame nodded. <Ah... no. Not if I can help it. Guess I might have played
that point a little too well. And I only just barely managed to get to
the middle sister, too.> "You mean it!? Really?"

Kasumi shot Nabiki a look, and Nabiki's expression cracked momentarily.
"Sure! We'd love it!"

Chame scampered away to a place at the table, as the next casualty of
the morning stomped down the stairs. Akane approached the table, looking
clean and well dressed, if displeased. She glanced around, eyes settling
on Chame. She blinked, pausing for a moment to consider, then asked,
"Who are you?"

Chame repeated her tragic story, hoping to inspire compassion in the
youngest Tendo daughter. She just looked angry, "Damn that Ranma!
Abandoning you like that!"

Ranma chose that moment to come down the stairs, not hearing anything
but what Akane had said. He replied with an intelligent, "Huh?"
Growling, Akane reached behind her to seize the table.

Chame reacted swiftly, interposing herself between Akane and the table,
so that Akane grabbed her arm tightly. Chame screamed in feigned pain,
then pretended to faint.

She was aware of the people around her, even though she couldn't see
them. Kasumi spoke with somewhat less than her normal endearing calm,
"Akane, that wasn't very kind to our guest."

Akane sputtered, but couldn't say anything comprehensible. Nabiki just
observed, slowly edging away from Akane.

Ranma sighed, "Jeez, Akane, what did you go and do that for?"

Chame moaned softly. <No good. Better head things off at the pass.>
"R-Ranma? Is that you?" The room temperature lowered from Akane's gaze,
as Chame slowly opened her eyes. <Okay, bad move. Let's try this again.>
She sat up, looking around in feigned confusion. "What happened?"

Akane's face bore a combination of anger and guilt. "Uh, sorry. I guess
I wasn't being careful."

Chame shook her head. "Huh?"

Ranma sighed again, "Sorry, Chame, guess the violent tomboy was thinking
of me and attacked you instead."

Akane lunged towards Ranma with malicious intent, but found her
movements hampered by the girl clinging to her. She settled for glaring.
"At least I'm not a pervert!"

Chame sighed internally. <That boy is not helping matters any.> "What do
you mean?"

Akane snorted, "Ranma's a pervert. A sick and twisted pervert. You can
marry him, for all I care."

Chame sighed, externally this time. "No, I can't. My family will never
accept me back in, and I have no name of my own."

Akane paused at this, and softened a little. "Well... Uh..."

Chame took advantage of the momentary lapse. "It doesn't matter. You
shouldn't worry about me. But we should be getting ready to go to
school, shouldn't we?"

Akane blinked, and glanced at the clock. "Uh, well, I guess." She
sighed, grabbed a bento box from the stack in the kitchen and walked
through the door. Ranma scratched his head and shrugged. Nabiki got up
and left for school as well. It didn't occur to any of them why someone
who was only staying one day was already going to school.

Chame shrugged, and smiled weakly. "Sorry about that, Ranma."

He returned the shrug, gulping down his breakfast. "I didn't get hit
this time, so no problem." He eyed the clock, then mused, "They left a
little early..."

Chame frowned thoughtfully. "Probably just want to be on time. I guess
things aren't working out too well with her, eh?"

He sighed, retrieving another of the bento boxes. "I don't know. I
should probably try and catch up with her."

Kasumi and Chame watched for a moment, as Ranma jogged out the door.
Chame shrugged, and went to the bathroom to change again. This time, she
retrieved a high-school uniform from her backpack, and donned it. She
sighed wistfully, and fled out the door. On her way out, she'd tossed
her backpack into Ranma's room; for now, the panda wouldn't pay
attention to it.

She paused at the front gate, and ran back into the house. "Kasumi!" she
shouted, in a commanding tone. Kasumi flinched, and shied away from the
plates she was about to collect. "Don't do that! Call Dr. Tofu. I'll
clean for you later." Kasumi blinked, noticing that Chame was wearing a
Furinkan high uniform, and nodded obediently. Chame flashed Kasumi her
most winning smile, and dashed out the door at top speed.

Chame's top speed was actually quite fast. She avoided rooftops and the
long arcing leaps that Ranma enjoyed, knowing that being closer to the
ground would give her an advantage in speed, lower wind resistance, and
traction. <Lets see... an alley about... here?>

Chame slid to a halt, and peeked into the alley. It was empty. She moved
to the next one, and peeked again. Nabiki was conferring with some
smartly dressed gentlemen in low tones not far from her. Chame scowled.
<Too late again? Maybe not.> She listened closely.

Nabiki's voice stood out from the rumblings of the men, "Well, that's
the offer. If you think that it's... agreeable, I'll see what I can do."

One of the men spoke then, "You're asking a lot of money. If he can't do
it, we can't promise... a pleasant ending."

Nabiki's voice again, "I know him. He's good for it."

Chame swore under her breath. <Damn it. I'm going to be forced back into
my contingency plan anyway. I hate that.> One of the suits shifted
something. <Probably a briefcase.> A moment later, clinking sounds, and
a soft 'whoosh' sounded. <Yep, it's a briefcase.>

Chame didn't need to hear the rest. She vaulted up onto an awning, and
waited for the suits to leave. They did. Black sedan. Looked American.
Then again, so did they. Nabiki came out a moment later, and shoved the
briefcase into a nearby trashcan. Chame sighed, guessing that the money
was already in her book bag.

She leapt down onto the ground, pacing Nabiki from about two steps
behind her.

Nabiki turned around and blinked three times. Chame glared at her. On
anyone else, Nabiki's reaction was the equivalent of wetting oneself.
Nabiki regained her composure, and quirked an eyebrow at Chame. "Ah,
what's up? Nice uniform."

Chame removed her scowl, and smiled at Nabiki cheerfully. "Not much. We
have to hurry, I've got another appointment. That's why you're not going
to scream."

Before Nabiki could say anything, Chame swept her off her feet, and
began running again. Chame spoke to Nabiki, her voice somehow not being
blown away by the wind. "Nabiki, you will back out of that deal
tomorrow. If you don't, then you will die."

Nabiki stared, trying not to be frightened. "Are you threatening me?"

Chame didn't even blink. "Nope. I'm not the one who's going to be doing
it. The suits are. There's a limit to how far someone can be pushed, and
you're about to cross it. He's going to back down, they'll get mad, and
someone's going to die. I've got an obligation to him, and I am going to
do everything in my power to protect him. You can return the money,
apologize, and go after another project. Otherwise, the one person who
_might_ have been able to protect you from them will be gone, and you
will belong to them. I'm not talking about owing favors, I'm talking
about living the rest of your life chained to a bed, running one of
their spy outposts. They won't hesitate to sell you like a pound of
beef. Don't screw this up."

Nabiki had turned white as a sheet. Chame dropped her at a cafe a block
from the school, and tossed someone a few bills to see that she had
coffee and would be pushed towards school before the bell.

Chame idly wondered if the warning would work, but had to rush to her
next stop. She reached the school gates about a minute before Akane and
Ranma. She had waited for him, apparently. Chame smirked to herself.
<Maybe things _aren't_ that hopeless.>

She glanced at the 'art deco' monstrosity that was Furinkan high, before
turning to her next task. Sighing, as she entered the gates; she knew
what was going to happen next.

A large man carrying a bokken slung over one shoulder spied her. "Oh, it
is my pigtailed goddess- But wait! Who are you? You are not my goddess."
The man seemed confused, and eyed her with a determining gaze.

Chame smiled weakly, tossing her braids behind her shoulders and
blushing. "Oh no, what man such as this towers before me, a giant among
men, that makes a maiden's heart beat all the quicker. How great a man,
wielding such a mighty weapon, to bring thoughts of love, of sharing an
embrace, a life of passion, oh, but how sweet-" Kuno was swelling with
each word, his ego building up more and more intensely. She paused.
<Akane and Ranma should be entering earshot about... now.> "Uh, you have
a really big booger hanging out of your nose." Kuno's raging ego flared
brightly for a moment, then guttered out, aided by a forceful push from
Chame's mind. <He's awfully eager to accept impressions... I wonder...>
Then he ran screaming, weeping, and wiping his face furiously until he
slammed into the side of school building. There, he collapsed into a
sitting position and wept, sobbing loudly about how this new goddess
despised him.

Ranma blinked, and Akane's jaw dropped. Chame smiled at them, feigning
innocence. "Better get to class. I'll see you guys at lunch, got a few
loose ends to tie up."

Ranma nodded slowly, turning to Akane. "Did you see that? That was
amazing!" He thought to himself, <Whatever she can teach me on this
training trip is going to be worth it!>

Chame smiled weakly, a sick feeling in her stomach. Nabiki staggered
onto the grounds at that point, holding a coffee cup in one hand. Chame
took her hand, and led her to her class. "Look," Chame whispered to her,
"keep up the front. Today, you can't afford to be seen as weak. I'll
talk about this with you later. Start taking bets about Kuno giving up
his sword. He will in a few days. And he'll turn to something else for a
week or two, but he'll go back. Make what you can off of that."

The businesswoman in Nabiki snapped to attention, and left the rest of
her to agonize over what she had been told before. Chame shook her head.
<This is going to get very ugly soon.>

She trudged into the school registrar's office. Everyone was bustling
around, but soon, the majority of them would clear out and head to their
classes.

She loitered for a moment, unnoticed, until the bell rang. Three
teachers were still left, chatting idly.

Chame sighed, <Nothing for it.> Gathering her will briefly, she
whispered, and faded from sight. She shook her head, as the teachers'
gazes swept across and through her. While invisible, she collected all
of the records concerning Ranma, and removed them. There was no computer
to worry about, only the papers. There would be more in the classroom,
of course, but those could be dealt with later today.

Clutching the papers, she returned to visibility. <Time to visit the old
woman.> The teachers in the room didn't notice as she left.

***

The Nekohanten wasn't open yet. Chame considered, then decided that this
should be dealt with politely. She sighed, and banged on the door a few
times, loudly, resisting the urge to simply smash the door down.

A myopic boy answered the door, and peered out at her from behind a pair
of giant lenses, "I'm sorry, we're not open yet."

Chame nodded. "Thanks." She pushed past him into the restaurant's
interior. The old woman and a younger purple-haired woman stared at her
from a table covered with herbs and baubles.

Mousse blinked a few times. "I just told you, we aren't open yet!"

Chame sidestepped, bowing gracefully to the old woman as a number of
chains flew past her.

The old woman deflected the chains with her staff, seeming almost
negligent about it. "Mousse, clean the back." Mousse glared, mumbling
something, but obliged after closing the door.

Once he was gone, the purple-haired woman peered at her. "What you
want?"

The old woman hopped towards her on her staff, "I could ask the same.
You move with a grace few people possess. Something about you seems
familiar..."

Chame fought back the urge to attack the woman. Barely. If the younger
woman hadn't been with her, she might not have. "Honored Elder, I need
to talk to you about a few things."

Cologne blinked a few times at this, then shook her head. "Why should I
help you?"

Chame sighed, "{Because if you don't, then Ranma will die.}"

Before Cologne could say anything, Shampoo had readied a pair of
bonbori. "{Who would dare to try and hurt my husband?}"

Cologne nodded. "Yes, who?"

Chame sighed, muttering, "Right now, quite a few people that I know of."

Cologne motioned to a seat at the table, forgetting the herbs and
trinkets littering the surface. "Let's talk about this, then. Mousse,
I've already warned you about eavesdropping. Make yourself useful and
make some ramen for us."

Chame smiled, and took a seat. Shampoo sat to her right, and Cologne to
her left. "I'm not sure I can finish a whole bowl, but thanks. What I
know of so far, ah... Both of the younger Tendo sisters are a risk to
him right now. He's got someone in American organized crime after him,
though they don't know it yet, Kuno is becoming less stable day by day,
and Ryouga has been given something dangerous. The next time they fight,
Ranma will almost definitely die."

Shampoo shook her head, doubtful. "How Tendo sisters dangerous?"

Chame nodded slightly. "Well, first off, Akane is violent. Carelessly
so. Ranma is entering a vulnerable period where an otherwise 'normal'
attack could permanently injure him. That's the biggest threat."

Shampoo glared. "Violent girl no good for airen."

Chame continued blithely, ignoring Shampoo. "Nabiki got Ranma in a deal
over her head. Remember the American crime people? She's made a deal
with them to use Ranma. If Ranma's injured, he won't perform well
enough. They'll kill him. Even if he wasn't injured, I doubt he'd go
along with their plans."

Cologne prompted Chame to continue, "And the rest?"

"Well, Ryouga's gotten a tool. I'm not familiar with it, but it makes
the shishi houkodan pale in comparison. I know that it's dangerous. Too
much use makes it bond with the user in an unhealthy fashion. The
resulting backlash is not much, but it's enough to kill him, and anyone
close."

Shampoo handed Chame a glass of water, and she smiled gratefully,
"Thanks, Shampoo. Kuno thinks that he is seeing Ranma act worse and
worse towards Akane, and he's seeing his 'pigtailed goddess' a lot less.
Soon, he'll snap, and attack Ranma outright. Normally this wouldn't be a
problem, but Kuno's got a knack for attacking at just the wrong time.
Ryouga herding Ranma into an angry Kuno, or Kuno and a group of crime
lords. On his own, he's not _that_ dangerous, but with the others..."

She took a sip from the glass. "Happosai is probably the least
dangerous, right now, but he could surprise us. He's been quiet for a
while, and that's not like him." The other two nodded, and Mousse came
out with several bowls of ramen. He set one in front of each of the
women, then returned to the kitchen. Chame waited until he was gone to
continue, "I don't think Mousse is dangerous right now, since he doesn't
want Ranma dead, just out of the way."

Shampoo looked after the departing boy thoughtfully.

Chame swirled the water around in the glass idly, then picked up her
thread of speech again, "Kodachi is a slight danger. If she gets to
Ranma, she could kill him with an overdose before anyone can save him. I
don't see that as a huge problem, but Akane might misunderstand, even if
he escapes, and hurt him badly. Am I forgetting anyone?"

Cologne was quiet for a moment, then suggested, "His father?"

Chame frowned. "He's stupid, but he's not a huge danger to Ranma."

Shampoo nodded. "Spatula girl."

Chame sighed. "I should have started sooner. I know I can trust you
somewhat, because you want him alive and able to breed. Ukyou's
trustworthy, too; but she's not nearly as powerful as you are, right
now. Look, I want to meet you here later, with Ukyou and tell you what
I've managed so far. I want to get back and keep an eye on Ranma. I've
done what I can, so far. Dr. Tofu should no longer be a danger to Ranma
after this afternoon. I'll have Kasumi take care of that. Nabiki's
American business partners are probably not going to change their minds
at this point, though I think she's going to give them back their money
and try and talk them down."

Shampoo spoke after Chame finally gave in, and started eating the ramen,
"What you want with Airen?"

Chame just shrugged. "He's too important to lose. I don't have any
involvement or attachment to which of you he chooses. All I can say for
certain is that I don't think Akane is good for him right now, and
Kodachi's dangerous. You or Ukyou would probably be the best choices."

Cologne spoke while Shampoo was quiet, "How do you know so much about
everything? I've not heard of you before."

Chame sighed, and pushed her bowl away. "You may not remember, but we've
fought before, earlier this century. More importantly, is the fact that
your tribe, in its younger days, attacked a land rich with magic."

Cologne narrowed her eyes, suspicion in her gaze. "And what do you know
about our history?"

Chame glared, then snapped out, "That your people wiped mine out. I've
struggled for all that time, one of the last survivors of an unrighteous
massacre, and now that I've found someone with enough blood to continue
the line, I don't intend to let him die." <There's more to it than that,
but _you_ don't need to know about it.>

Shampoo just looked confused, while Cologne stared. Collecting herself,
the old woman asked, "You mean, you are of the Machin?"

Chame nodded. "Yes. The few that survived the massacre swore someday
we'd see you humbled, but time has done that better than we ever could
have." She narrowed her eyes, then muttered, "Not that that lessens the
anger."

Shampoo boggled, and Cologne bowed her head. "I was not proud of all of
our ancestor's actions."

The Machin woman shook her head. "It doesn't matter any more. My people
are three thousand years gone and more. I'm not the only survivor. There
were a few others. Of course, none ever tried to reestablish our land,
but now, I've found someone who does have that potential. Ranma can
bring the strength of our blood back. I don't care who he chooses, as
long as he lives. And I intend to train him in our ways. Now, if you'll
excuse me, I need to remove his existence from certain records, and make
sure nothing happens to him."

Shampoo turned to Cologne, as Chame stormed out the door.
"Great-grandmother, what that about?"

Cologne sighed, and began putting the collection of herbs and trinkets
away. "Something more dangerous than you might think. And someone we owe
a lot to."

Shampoo narrowed her eyes, calculating. "How much? Owe Airen?"

Cologne nodded. "If she asked, then we would have to give him. She's
older than any of our laws, and we owe her people everything. Without
them..." The old woman sighed once more. "Never mind about that now.
Let's get this put away, and prepare for the meeting later."

As Shampoo worked, Cologne turned to look at the empty doorway. <Let you
have him, perhaps. Keeping him is another matter entirely. I remember
you now, you called yourself a different name then... I'll not let you
win this match.>

***

Chame stormed off across the street, breathing hard and barely
containing her anger. She needed an outlet. She sighed, and sank to her
knees, frantically searching her mind, <Where can I go now?> She
concentrated, trying to remember something close by, and then she
recalled, <Kasumi! If I catch her before lunch, then I can talk to her.
Yes.>

Resolute, she began walking, until someone called out to her, "Saotome!
Prepare to die!"

Chame froze, calculating. When he got closer he would realize his
mistake. <If I hide, for a moment, I can disguise myself...> She darted
into an alley, and quickly re-braided her hair into a single tail. She
focused herself for a moment, drawing on her resources, to appear a tad
taller, and as an afterthought, reached... _somewhere_... and pulled her
staff out of it.

She darted back out of the alley, prepared to face Ryouga. He was there,
looking around for Ranma. He saw her, then paused. "Ranma? Wearing a
dress again, I see."

She nodded grimly, searching the carefully collected memories. "Yeah,
pig-boy? What's it to ya? You wish your other form was human, too?"

Ryouga's face contorted with rage, but he restrained himself. "Ranma.
You will die today."

Chame blinked. "Why?"

He glowered at her, his voice quavering with barely restrained violence,
"For your crimes against Akane!"

Chame frowned. <That's the best reason? Either this guy is challenged,
or totally driven by rage. Maybe angering him isn't the best idea. I'll
try a different approach.> "So, ah, you want to talk this out?"

Ryouga paused, taken aback. "What?"

Chame shrugged, feigning indifference. "You got a crush on Akane,
right?" His face turned red from a combination of anger and
embarrassment. "Okay, then this is pretty simple. You want to date
Akane, and I see her more like a little sister."

Ryouga stared for a moment, confusion and anger warring for control
before settling on the familiar anger. "You're stalling. No more!" He
pulled something from his belt, resembling the handle for a Spanish
sword, with no blade. A small steel basket covered his hand, and he
gestured menacingly.

Chame studied him and the weapon. <What the hell is this? I can't tell
if he's honestly that unbalanced, or something's doing it to him.> "Uh,
right. What doctor do you want me to drop you off at when we're done?"

Ryouga's face darkened, embarrassment gone. There was nothing but rage
there now. "You die now, Saotome."

He charged, swinging a haymaker with the fist holding the artifact. She
dove underneath him, sliding between his legs, and spinning over onto
her back. She raised her staff for a vicious strike to his groin, then
pulled her staff against her and rolled back, using the staff to vault
to a standing position behind him. Or at least, that was her intent.
After the strike to his groin, Ryouga had doubled over, and drove his
fist into the ground. The explosion knocked both of them flying.

Chame raised herself to her feet, unbalanced and wary. <What the hell
_is_ that?> She cursed her sources for not being able to tell her more.
<Whatever it is, it's making him much, _much_ more dangerous than
Ranma's memories of him. Faster, too.> Well, there were a few options.
She hadn't been hit yet, though she suspected her blow didn't do much
aside from angering him.

She charged him as he was recovering, and spun the staff around in a
wicked arc. There was a brief crack, as it struck his head and knocked
him across the street into a construction site. The workers milled
around, shouting, and Chame decided that would be a good time to leave.


------
Author's notes:

01/24/2001

As always, thanks to Druid and Chris for their excelent C&C, and thanks
especcially to Carlos, since without him, the fic would not exist in the
first place. I don't want to get too long winded with my notes, but a
few explanations might be needed at this point. The title for this
chapter is Fukanshou / Kanshou, which should translate literaly to
'Nonintervention / Intervention.' I will keep the use of Japanese words
to a minmum, since this is intended for a western audience, and is
written from a western viewpoint. The few exceptions to this rule are
the names of the attacks and such that the character use, since they are
intended to be somewhat exotic. I also use 'furo', instead of bathtub,
but that's because a furo is substantially larger than a bathtub, so
there's a difference.


--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.
Part B

Disclaimer: Takahashi provided the paints, I'm just working on my own
easel.

What has gone before. Chame was attacked by Ryouga, after arranging to
spirit Ranma away from Nerima. Various members of the Nerima Crew can
tell that something is strange, but no one can tell what, yet.

Previous chapters can be found here: http://ranma.stassen.com/uc/

Brief key, trying to stay simple.

<> frame thoughts.
"" frame speech
"{}" frame speech in Mandarin


"Therefore-
The plans of the wise necessarily include advantage and harm.
They include advantage. Thus one's service can be trusted.
They include harm. Thus adversity can be undone."

Sun Tzu - from Chapter 8 of 'The Art of War'


Chame arrived at the Tendo home, and dropped her illusion. After pausing
to fix her hair, she staggered inside. Kasumi was lounging in the living
room, watching TV, while the two old men played their game and traded
nervous glances between Kasumi and the table.

The plates were still there. Chame smiled a little, and tossed the staff
into a corner, announcing, "I'm back."

Kasumi looked up from her show, then smiled at the redhead. "Hello,
Chame! Are you okay?"

Chame looked down. Her uniform was a bit tattered from the explosion.
She imagined she was probably a little scuffed and bruised, as well.
"Ah, I'm fine." She glanced at the two men, and grinned. "Nice to meet
you two."

They smiled guardedly, and the thin one asked, "Kasumi, who is this?"

Kasumi waved a negligent hand at him as she walked over to Chame. "A
friend of mine, another of Ranma's fiancees."

The fat, older man ran into the yard, and was replaced a moment later by
a panda. The panda sat unobtrusively in a corner, watching Chame.

Kasumi fretted over Chame. Sighing, she murmured, "Let's get you into
the bath, shall we? Do you have an extra uniform?"

Chame let herself be fretted over. Being three thousand years old and
not looking it had advantages, and being fretted over was almost always
enjoyable. <Thank god for Kasumi. After I get cleaned up, I'll take her
to Sir Ono's for her lunch, and get back to school.> "Um, sorry, I'm
afraid this is the only one I have."

Chame soaked in the tub, while Kasumi busied herself finding another
uniform. Maybe Akane had a spare. The woman sighed, and climbed out of
the tub. <A splash of cold water, a towel, and...>

She smiled brightly as Kasumi entered the room. Kasumi offered an
apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, I hope this fits you..."

Chame put on the outfit. The hem of the uniform was low, since she was
shorter than Akane, but it could work. "Sure. Do you have any safety
pins? I can use a few to bring the hem up to a level I won't trip over."

Kasumi nodded, and within a few minutes, it was more acceptable. Not
perfect, but it should suffice. Chame turned her attention to the eldest
Tendo sister and announced, "Well, let's get you ready for your lunch
with Dr. Tofu."

Kasumi smiled dreamily, as Chame led her into her own room, and pawed
through the closet. She glanced at the clock. Chame had eaten some ramen
from the Nekohanten earlier, and it was only shortly after eleven in the
morning.

After finding something she decided was appropriate, she held it towards
Kasumi. "Here, try this on."

Kasumi blushed at it. It was a simple knee-length skirt and a creme
colored blouse. It wasn't daring, but it was a far cry from her normal
outfits. Finally, she agreed to put it on, and Chame watched critically
while she showed it off. <Why does she blush, if she's got the outfit in
her closet anyway? She must have been planning on using it at _some_
point.>

Kasumi giggled. "Do you think he'll like it?"

Chame shrugged. "Well, I think he'll like you no matter what, but it's a
reasonable outfit. It's not one that says anything other than 'I am in
control of my life,' but that's good! Anyway, we should probably get
ready. Did you already call him?"

The taller girl grinned, her dreamy smile returning. "Yes, he's
expecting us at twelve-thirty."

Chame checked the clock again. "Well, why don't you watch TV? I'll feed
the men, er... your father, I suppose, and clear off the dishes."

Kasumi frowned, pulling herself out of her daydream. "Are you sure you
don't want any help?"

Chame turned to face her. "Kasumi, you've already helped me clean up and
adjust this uniform. You've done all the work I'm going to let you do
today."

Kasumi smiled. "I won't fight you. It's actually kind of nice."

Chame returned the smile, and led her down the stairs. <I need Sir Ono,
and she's too important to the plan to lose. He'd be a powerful ally.>
She shook her head, chastising herself as she cleared the table. <Bah.
She's more than just a tool. It makes people happy, and helps me keep
Ranma alive.>

Soun blinked, as Chame resumed Kasumi's normal duties, clearing away
dishes and a newspaper. The panda was playing Shogi with him. Finally,
he got enough nerve to speak, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

She shrugged, and explained offhandedly, "Yes, but I had to come home
and get a clean uniform."

He nodded knowingly. "Another fiancee attacked you?"

Chame paused, considering. <What would be the best way to answer this?
Oh yes, this will work.> "Yes, but I told her I didn't want to marry
Ranma, and she left me alone after that. I'll be leaving tomorrow or
later today."

The panda perked up at this. Chame felt sick. <He actually thinks that I
am one of his son's fiancees? That means that there's enough out there
for him to not be certain. I had hoped that was only in his dream...>

Chame retreated to the kitchen and whipped up a quick lunch. A simple
ramen using the leftover miso as soup base. She made enough for one
person, and cleaned up the kitchen. When she returned, she gave the bowl
and a drink to Soun. "Here's your lunch, Mr. Tendo."

He ate it swiftly, defending it from the panda. "So, ah, why are you
leaving so soon?"

She shrugged, and nonchalantly twirled her staff. "I have to find
Ranma's father."

The panda stopped trying to grab the bowl away from Soun, and paid
attention. Soun swallowed nervously, and asked, "Ah, why is that?"

"Well, you see, Ranma's father abandoned me as a child. My family was
trusting that he would take care of me. When I was abandoned, they
disowned me. So, I lost my name, and the only way my family will accept
me back in is if I marry Ranma, or kill his father."

Soun blinked, slurping some soup and regaining his composure. "And if
you don't?"

She sighed, bringing the staff to a ready position. The panda was slowly
wilting, and trying to slip away unobtrusively. She shot a glance at is
as she explained, "Then there's no life for me. I can't marry Ranma
because he already told me that he has fiancees. I'll accede to their
claims. He said that I could kill his father, but that he was on a
training trip for a while. By the way, who was the man who was playing
with you earlier?"

Soun glanced at the panda, setting the soup bowl on the table. "Uh, just
a friend."

Chame nodded, and turned her attention to Kasumi again. "Well, let's go,
Kasumi."

Kasumi rose from her seat and followed Chame to the door. After
collecting their bento boxes, they waved to Soun, and left the Tendo
home. As they were walking down the path, Kasumi spoke, "Chame."

Chame sighed inwardly. <Damn.> "Yes, Kasumi?"

Kasumi shot her a stern glance. "It's not nice to lie," she admonished.

Chame considered this for a moment, then sated, "I'm sorry, but I think
he deserves that considering some of the things he's done to Ranma."

Kasumi shook her head, but didn't say anything for a while. When she
spoke again, her voice was thoughtful, "Chame, who are you really?"

Chame sighed, not disguising it this time. "A three thousand year old
woman who's planning on kidnapping Ranma and not marrying him."

Kasumi giggled at that. "That's funny, but who are you really?"

Chame pondered for a moment. "Sometimes, I don't know that, myself. Dr.
Tofu will know more, and I should be there for this. Damn it! I didn't
want this to happen." She scowled, frustrated.

Kasumi's step faltered for a moment at the expletive. "What do you
mean?"

She just shook her head. "In a few minutes, Kasumi."

Shortly after that, they reached the doctor's office. Chame repressed a
shudder, and entered behind Kasumi.

Dr. Tofu's glasses fogged over as soon as he saw Kasumi. "Ka-ka-kasumi?"
He grinned from ear to ear. Luckily, the office was empty. Chame closed
the door and flipped the sign to 'closed.'

The doctor made a spectacle of himself for a bit, then Kasumi spoke,
remembering Chame's words from earlier. "Dr. Tofu, I already know, you
can stop acting silly."

Kasumi winced, as his smile faded, and he lowered his head. His glasses
were no longer fogged, and he sighed. "Well, I guess that's that, eh?
What now?"

The tall woman had no idea what was going on, but tried to play it by
ear. "We could have lunch." She offered one of the bentos to him.

His face lit up again, as he stared into her glowing visage. "You mean
it? Really?"

Chame interrupted, "Sir Ono?" Tofu looked at her, and froze, his face a
mask of confusion and fear. "Now that we've got you roughly back to
normal, I'd like a few brief words with you."

He nodded slowly, confusion giving way to fear. "Of course. Whatever you
command."

Chame rolled her eyes. "There's no time for that now. Ranma is in
critical danger, and I need you on your best behavior. I'm sorry about
this. I'm not planning on seeking retribution, but I need you to watch
out for the Tendos for a while."

Tofu nodded slowly, while Kasumi simply looked bewildered. "Yes, Chame,
I can do that. Are you sure you don't want retribution after-"

Chame sighed, closing her eyes. She could feel tears coming, and this
wasn't the time for them. "No. I don't want to talk about that. Talk
about it with Kasumi, enjoy yourself, and have fun." Chame turned to
Kasumi, and opened her eyes. "Kasumi, take good care of Dr. Tofu, you
two can help each other a lot more than you think, and you're going to
need that soon. I'm really sorry for pushing you two like this, but I
have to run. Ryouga's on the loose, and might hurt Ranma. Akane could be
in danger, too."

Kasumi finally found her voice, though she was still uncertain of what
was going on. "What are you going to do?"

Chame shook her head, frowning. "Right now, I have to go back to school.
When school lets out, I'll be meeting Ukyou at the Nekohanten. Sir Ono,
I'd like it if you could meet us there as well. Kasumi, I know you'd
like to come, but I'd rather you stayed home and kept Akane and Ranma
apart as much as possible. Ask Ranma for help with a chore, send Akane
shopping for something you don't need, do whatever. Make sure there's no
violence between the two of them. Hopefully this is needless worrying.
I'll see you both later tonight. Why don't you invite Sir Ono to
dinner?"

Kasumi nodded, a slight smile evident on her features. "Okay. Good luck,
then."

Chame smiled. "Sir Ono, please answer any questions that she might have.
I'll leave the two of you the extra bento; I'm not hungry. I will see
you later."

Dr. Tofu smiled. "Good luck!"

Chame ran out the door.

Kasumi turned to Dr. Tofu. "Now, then. Can you tell me what's going on?
Why is Ranma in danger? Who is Chame, and how does she know so much?"

Tofu smiled slightly, remembering. "Well, I can answer some things. I
don't know _why_ Ranma is in danger, but if she says so, I believe her.
Chame was a good friend of mine when I was younger. She taught me a lot,
and we were friends when." Dr. Tofu frowned, plucking at the cloth
wrapping his lunch. "Well. This is going to be hard to believe. I'm much
older than you probably think."

Kasumi smiled, and encouraged the doctor to continue, "Three thousand
years?"

Tofu looked up sharply. "How did you know?"

Kasumi shrugged. "I thought she was joking."

He managed a weak laugh, and explained, "We were children together. We
were to be married, at one point. But, in the last days of our village.
we were attacked."

Kasumi held his hand reassuringly, and he smiled at her, thought it was
a slightly strained expression. "You can tell me about it, Dr. Tofu."

"Well. as far as that goes, we were attacked by the Joketsuzoku. Chinese
amazons. Actually, that's not entirely true. It was the ancestry of the
current tribe, but they bore the same name, and upheld the same ideals.
I remember, I was living in what's now India at the time the original
tribe fell. I cheered, and celebrated. They reformed very quickly right
after that, of course, but that's not what's important.

"We were a fairly secluded people. Very magical in nature. We aged
slowly, lived long lives, and avoided the most of the outside world. We
were afraid that people would covet our powers. So we hid.

"I remember dancing with Chame in the moonlight. It was beautiful, like
the night was made just for us. The flowers were in a circle around us,
glowing, and we laughed, twirled." Tofu sighed, removing his glasses and
rubbing his eyes. "We hadn't before, but I suspected that we would have
our first kiss that night. Maybe we would have. Chame drew near me, and
my heart nearly stopped.

"I had never been so happy before in my life. We were young... We drew
closer together, then we heard a cry from the side of the hill. Chame,
ever the wary one, went to investigate. I followed, worrying about
leaving her alone.

"We found Chame's younger sister. She was only a child, but they. they
tore her apart. She crawled to where she knew Chame was hoping that
Chame was okay. Or maybe she was trying to warn us, and wanted us to
flee.

"Chame wrapped her in her arms, and held her sister, and sang her to
sleep while she bled to death. I didn't know anything about healing,
then." Tofu's eyes squeezed shut, and a tear trickled out. "Chame was
the most beautiful singer of our generation. I still cry when I remember
her song. Even the Joketsuzoku that followed her sister were swept away
in the beauty of that song. As her sister died, and the song ended, I
took Chame, I grabbed her in my arms, and I ran.

"I ran to the village, Chame screamed at me to take her back, but the
Joketsuzoku were already chasing after us. I couldn't; I knew if I did,
she would fall to them too. I did the only thing I could do well. I
ran." Tofu let out a ragged breath, trying to restrain the emotion. "The
village. when we got there, our small and peaceful village was overrun.
Our families, our friends, everyone we knew. The ground was thick with
blood.

"I don't exaggerate about this, either. We lived in a small valley, and
the bottom was pooled with blood. I saw an amazon grab a friend and
drown him in the blood of his family. I saw them commit every atrocity
that a man can commit to another. They held a sword to my father's neck,
and-" His voice turned hoarse. He stared at the backs of his hands for a
moment, collecting himself. "They gave him a knife. They told him they
would kill him if he didn't kill my mother with it."

Kasumi gasped in response to the story. She carefully pushed the bento
boxes aside, and grabbed Dr. Tofu in an embrace. "Dr. Tofu... let it all
out." Kasumi gave him a shoulder to cry on, and for a moment, he did.

He sighed, not letting go of Kasumi, and not moving, before he began
again. "My father took the knife, and did the only thing he could think
of in that situation. He knew what would happen." He raised his head to
stare into Kasumi's eyes. "He took his own life. But in the few seconds
it took for his life to completely ebb away, he looked at me. Standing
there with Chame in my arms, somehow untouched by the chaos. He looked
at me, and he looked into my eyes from across the village, and he looked
_triumphant_. His gaze looked _proud_. And then it was over. They didn't
stop there, and I didn't stay any longer. Joketsuzoku were all around,
Chame still fought me, and-"

Dr. Tofu swallowed nervously before continuing, "And I dropped her. I
left her there. And ran." He cried again, "I abandoned her, leaving her
there to die.

"I didn't see her for two hundred years. When I did, she carried a staff
from our village. You've seen it. The red is the blood of all our slain
people... When she saw me, I died and was reborn again. I hoped that she
would forgive me, and feared that she wouldn't.

"I surrendered myself to her. She didn't recognize me. She had lost her
memory." Dr. Tofu laughed sardonically. "I helped her get it back. It
took a long time. When she had her memory back, she looked at me, a look
that saw deep into my soul, and she told me-" He swallowed again, trying
to collect himself. "She told me 'I never sang again. And I don't think
I ever will.'

"And then she left, taking her staff with her. I saw her occasionally,
after that. In the Americas when they were new, and a few times before
that. I stayed out of her way. I never imagined that she would forgive
me. She's not the only survivor I've run into; there are a few. But not
many."

Kasumi sniffled, feeling sorry for him. "Oh, Dr. Tofu... I wish I knew,
I'm so sorry."

He enjoyed the comforting embrace for a moment, then straightened up.
"And now you know why I act so silly around you." She looked up at him,
uncomprehending. He smiled at her, explaining, "Well, after Chame, I had
a lot of fear of the same thing happening. I make a fool out of myself
around women I like, to scare them away and to avoid getting close.
Chame saw through it, but she didn't want me anymore. I can't blame her.
Even after three thousand years, the memory of that night still haunts
me."

Kasumi patted Dr. Tofu on the head as she consoled him, "There, there,
it's okay. I'm here, and I want to be with you."

He smiled into her eyes, his gratitude practically overflowing. "Thank
you, Kasumi. Thank you."

Kasumi smiled at him, then asked, "Where was your village?"

Dr. Tofu frowned. "It's Jusenkyou, now. The curse of our people."

Kasumi nodded slowly. "That's amazing... Is there anything else you want
to talk about?"

The doctor let himself relax somewhat. "Well, actually, yes..."

***

Chame rushed through the streets of Nerima. They left early, but she had
stayed talking to Tofu longer than she had meant to. There wouldn't be
much time left for lunch. Hopefully nothing had happened to Ranma while
she was away.

When she reached the school, lunch was halfway over. She looked around,
trying to find out where Ranma was. Her search was interrupted by a
call, louder than the normal bustle of students chatting at lunch. "Ah,
my beloved goddess!"

Chame smiled sweetly, inwardly ready to seriously harm the boy.
Pretending happiness at the sight of the boy, she exclaimed, "Why, it is
none other than the Adonis of my dreams! That man who shines a shining
example of all that men can aspire to be! Please good sir, tell me thy
name, that my heart can tie a name to the one who has claimed it!" She
batted her eyelashes at him, holding her staff in front of her, parallel
to the ground.

Kuno blinked, taken aback. "Of course, fair maiden! I am Kuno,
upperclassmen. My associates call me-" Kuno drew up to his full height,
as lightning crackled in the distance, and he proclaimed, "The Blue
Thunder, of Furinkan High!"

Chame stared for a moment. <Lightning, eh? Nice trick.> "Oh, no. What's
your first name, then?"

Kuno paused, confused. "My first name is Tatewaki, fair maiden-"

Chame interrupted him, "No more. Allow me to introduce myself." A crowd
was gathering, normally the scenes were all in the morning, long before
lunch. "I am Chame. Grandmaster 7 times in the annual combat
championships of my village." Kuno had a distinctly more confused look
as she continued, "Born of a noble family, lost in the jungle and raised
by savages, I've come to claim vengeance on the fiance that never
searched for me! Tatewaki Kuno! Prepare to die!"

Kuno stared for a moment, as Chame held her staff in a combat ready
position. It only took a touch against the trigger that his mind had
built earlier that morning to set him off. Then he ran, screaming. This
time, he made it to the front door and disappeared. Chame flourished the
staff and bowed to the collected students.

There was a smattering of applause as she walked over to where Ranma was
eating his lunch. Ranma and Akane were staring at her, with Akane's
mallet held mid-swing between them.

Chame smiled innocently, and took the mallet from Akane. "Is this a
trophy? Thanks!"

Ranma blinked, obviously impressed. "Ah, what was that?"

"If you know how to play someone, you can turn them against themselves.
It's not hard. Play on a mix of emotions. He's pretty easy to read." <I
just hope he doesn't remember the 'fiance' bit. Hmm. Maybe I should make
him forget...> The mallet she held behind her popped out of existence,
as the creator's focus vanished.

Akane shook her head, regaining her composure. "That was...
interesting."

Chame bobbed a nod towards Akane. "Thanks. By the way... do you know
someone named Ryouga?"

Akane nodded, and Ranma just rolled his eyes. Akane spoke first, "Yes,
he's a friend of Ranma's. Why?"

Chame paused, considering, <How to play this off?> "Oh, he saw me in the
street, screamed that I was Ranma, and that he was going to kill me. He
tried pretty hard, too. I got away but my uniform was ruined. I had to
stop by and borrow one of yours. I hope you don't mind."

Akane seemed stunned, while Ranma shrugged. "Nothing new about him
trying to kill me."

She rounded on Ranma, accusing, "Ranma! You're always starting things
with him! You're the one who makes him so mad!"

Ranma 'hmph'ed, and looked away. Chame rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe
he's in a bad mood. Try and keep him and Ranma apart. I wouldn't like to
see him hurt." She scanned the yard, searching for someone.

"Nihao!" Shampoo landed her bike in the yard near Ranma.

Chame seethed internally, <Of course,> and grabbed Shampoo by the arm.
Shampoo blinked in surprise, and then allowed herself to be hauled away
by an angry Chame. As soon as they were hidden behind a small cluster of
trees, the redhead rounded on Shampoo. "What are you doing here?"

Shampoo tried to look haughty, but failed under the intense gaze. "Want
to keep violent girl from hurting Ranma."

Chame pursed her lips. "What did you put in the lunch you brought him?"

Shampoo's feigned innocence lasted even less than her haughtiness. "Love
potion."

Chame rolled her eyes. "Which one?"

The purple-haired girl's eyes began to tear slightly. "Only weak one!
One day."

Chame nodded thoughtfully, then grumbled, "Okay. Let's go out there.
We'll try and slip it to Akane. Maybe it will overcome her violent
aspects long enough... I intend to-" She broke off as she saw someone
out of the corner of her eye. Growling, she spat, "Damn it. Again. Okay,
try and get Akane to eat it. I know you can be clever, so do what you
have to without using force. I'll see you later." Chame dashed off to
pursue who she had seen, and turned Shampoo loose.

Shampoo sat near a suspicious looking Akane and a wary Ranma. She turned
to Akane, and apologized, "Shampoo sorry. Short girl tell Shampoo give
violent- uh, Akane lunch to apologize." She smiled to herself, Chame was
right, though. She was cleverer than she let on.

***

Chame cornered her quarry. "Excuse me!"

The girl turned to face her, looking irate and rushed, in her oddly well
fitting boy's uniform. "Yes? I have to hurry."

She sighed, facing the new girl. "My name is Chame. I need your help to
protect someone."

The girl eyed her for a few minutes, then asked, "Who?"

She smiled up into the new girl's eyes hopefully. "His name is Ranma, do
you know him?"

Chame suddenly found herself pinned against a wall, held there by an
angry Ukyou. The okonomiyaki chef hissed, "What do you want with him?"

"I need help to protect him. He's in danger." She felt herself being
lowered to the ground. "I don't want to steal him from you, I swear
that... but I could use your help." <Hmm... she looks suitable.
Certainly respects him more than herself... but other than that she's
got a good protective instinct towards him. Excellent.>

Ukyou nodded slowly. "What do you need me to do?"

Chame sighed in relief, and brushed the hands away from the collar of
her borrowed uniform as she explained, "I need you to go to Ranma. Akane
and Shampoo are there. Akane just took a bit of love potion, so
Shampoo's going to be busy keeping Akane off of Ranma."

Ukyou's eyes lit up thoughtfully. "I see..."

Chame scowled, taking a moment to admonish the taller girl, "You can't
take advantage of that to steal him. He needs you as a friend for now."
Ukyou glared at her, and Chame continued, "Besides, after it's over,
won't he respect you more for not taking advantage of the situation?
Look, hurry and keep an eye on him, stay a friend, and help him avoid
Shampoo, Akane, and Kodachi. If they used the love potion I think they
did, Akane will only hesitate a moment to offer to share Ranma with
Shampoo, and then there's going to be _real_ trouble."

Ukyou nodded, eager to move on. "Anything else?"

Chame grinned. "Escort Ranma and Akane home. If you see Ryouga, or
anyone else who wants to hurt Ranma, keep them away from him. After
that, Kasumi will take care of the rest. Meet with me at the Nekohanten
later. There will be a few others there, and I'll explain the rest. Now
hurry!"

Ukyou eagerly trotted off, not even questioning the orders.

Chame sighed. <Okay. I'll watch from the roof for a bit. This shouldn't
be too much of a problem.>

She leaned against the railing on the roof, and looked down into the
yard. Shampoo was holding Akane down, and Ranma was edging away
nervously. Ukyou looked like she was behaving herself.

She heard a slight noise behind her. Chame didn't look up, already
sensing the presence as it approached. "Yes?"

Someone cleared a throat, from behind her. "Uh, Chame?"

Chame blinked. <Nabiki?> She turned around, to face the short-haired
girl. "Yes, Nabiki?"

Nabiki frowned. "What's going on? You make me nervous, and my spies
can't find anything about you. You don't seem dangerous to us, but I
need to know what's going on." <Why am I talking to you about this,
anyway? What _is_ it about you that makes me care?>

Chame stared at her for a moment, then smiled slightly. "You don't like
being in the dark on anything, do you?"

Nabiki shook her head, confused. <I hardly know you, why am I telling
you this?> "I'll admit to that. I was also impressed by what you did
with Kuno."

Chame grinned, and slumped to the ground. "I have my vices. Okay then...
Go home with Ranma and Akane. Help Ukyou out. When you get home, Ukyou
will leave for a meeting with me. I'd like it if you can come up with
something to keep Akane and Ranma apart for the rest of the day. Try and
avoid any of Ranma's enemies. Once you do that, there's a pack in
Ranma's room. Looks like his, but it's got a dress on the top."

Nabiki nodded. "Okay. You want me to take it somewhere?"

"Take that pack, and meet me at the Nekohanten. I'll explain the rest
there. Don't look through my stuff, please. I know that today is going
to get really weird, but we'll talk about the rest later." She smiled at
Nabiki encouragingly. "Good luck. I hope the bets I gave you help you
out."

Nabiki nodded again. "Right. I'll see you later." Chame just nodded
back, as Nabiki entered the stairwell and the bell rang.

Chame sighed, "So tired. Soon now, I can rest. Soon."

She glanced over the side of the building again, at the students heading
back in, and managed a weak, but sincere smile.

***

Ranma reflected on the day after he reached his class, <Good thing that
Ucchan is in this class too. Akane is behaving more, now. Maybe we can
get through the day without too much trouble.> He glanced at Ukyou,
considering, <I'm so glad she's not trying to get me right now. It's a
good thing that I'm going on a training trip tomorrow, too. I don't
think I could handle much more of this, and some of the things I've seen
Chame do are awesome. What she did to Kuno... amazing! I can't wait to
learn that.>

He smiled at Ukyou, and she smiled back. He barely avoided a piece of
flung chalk from the teacher. "Sorry, Mrs. Hinako." The teacher glared
at him, and he focused on the board. <I can't afford to be sent to the
hall now; who knows what will happen.> He repressed a shudder at the
idea of Akane getting sent out with him, and all that would entail, at
this point.

The rest of the class passed without event, and it was time to go home.
Ranma sighed, and set about collecting his things. Akane was giggling,
and latched onto his arm. Ukyou pried her away, but not before Akane
slipped a note into Ranma's bag. He decided to ignore it for the time
being. "Ah, thanks Ucchan. C'mon Akane, we should head home."

Akane nodded, and waited for him in the hall. He turned to Ukyou. "Um,
thanks for your help today. I'm just not sure where I would be without a
friend like you."

Ukyou's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to hug him, but remembered the
advice from earlier. "Think nothing of it, Ranchan! We should get you
home, though. I'll escort you and Akane." She smiled, inwardly cursing
herself, <Why, Ranchan? Why can't you like _me_?>

Ranma grinned, relief evident on his face. "Great!"

The trio bumped into Nabiki on the way out of the school, and she
grabbed Ranma's shoulder. "Hey you guys, wait up for me."

Ranma paused, confused. <What's going on here?> "Ah, sure..."

Nabiki grabbed her sister's hand, and generally kept herself between
Akane and Ranma. Ukyou walked by Ranma's side, not reaching for his
hand, while helping Nabiki run interference. Ranma heaved a sigh, then
muttered, "I guess you heard about it, huh?"

Nabiki looked up to Ranma and asked, "Heard about what?"

Ranma sighed. "Shampoo tried to slip me some love potion. For some
reason, she gave it to Akane instead of me."

Nabiki nodded. "That's interesting. Hey, Akane?"

Akane blinked herself out of her daydreams. "Huh?"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Can you help me with something?" Akane frowned,
and Nabiki leaned in close, whispering to her, "You think you want to
get a new dress? I've got a suspicion Ranma's going to ask you out on a
date soon, and you'll want to look the part."

Akane nodded eagerly, exclaiming, "Yes! That would be great!"

Nabiki glanced around. Ranma and Ukyou were eyeing her suspiciously.
"Once we get home, change, and I'll give you some money. I'll get Ranma
to stay home, so he won't see you, and we'll hide it from everyone else.
That way, Father and Mr. Saotome won't be able to mess things up."

Akane nodded again, her eyes bright with anticipation. Nabiki grinned
reassuringly, thinking to herself, <This love potion may make things
easier than I thought.>

Ranma looked about ready to bolt, but no one said anything until they
reached the house. "Well, I'll see you later, Ranchan. I have to go get
the restaurant set up," she called out as he walked away.

Akane sauntered into the house without saying anything. Nabiki handed
Ukyou a note while Ranma was passing through the doorway, then followed
him through.

Ukyou paused, and unfolded the note. It was covered in Nabiki's
business-like hand:


Ukyou,

Wait for me, I have to go to the Nekohanten as well.

-Nabiki


She nodded, folded the note away, and waited just out of sight. A moment
later, she heard a familiar voice, "Ranma's going to love _this_!" Akane
fled out into the street giggling and running like mad.

Ukyou cringed. <I don't like the looks of this.> After a minute, she
heard another familiar voice from down the street. The color slowly
drained from her face. <Oh no. Not-> she glanced around the corner
worriedly, as realization stuck her, <It is. Oh damn.>

Ryouga rounded the corner, his face a mask of barely restrained rage. He
turned to Ukyou, who was trying to look inconspicuous. After a moment of
staring, he asked, "Ukyou?"

Ukyou glanced around, standing in front of the Tendo Dojo sign. Someone
had polished it recently, and it gleamed in the sunlight behind her.
"Yeah?"

"Can you direct me to the Tendo dojo?"

Ukyou breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure, follow me." She seized his arm
and began forcefully leading him away. Nabiki chose that moment to
emerge from the house, carrying a large backpack. Ukyou glanced back,
and saw her, as the okonomiyaki chef struggled to drag the confused
Ryouga away.

Nabiki paused, considering, <What can I do here? Damn it. I can't think
of anything that will help matters.> With a sigh, Nabiki tailed the
couple.

After a few blocks, Ukyou dropped Ryouga off at a train, and made sure
he was on it when it left.

Nabiki met up with her, and the two jogged for the Nekohanten. Ukyou
noticed Nabiki flagging, and took the pack from her. Nabiki smiled
gratefully. "Thanks, Ukyou. Where did you send him?"

Ukyou grinned as she explained, "I told him that Ranma and his father
were in Okinawa." Her smile faded as she added, "With his luck, he'll
end up back at your place within a week, though."

Nabiki nodded thoughtfully, but didn't say anything until they reached
the restaurant.

She knocked on the door as they reached it, only slightly winded. A sign
said that it would be closed for the day.

Mousse answered the door, peered at the pair, and motioned them in.
After the two were in, Ukyou set the pack on a table. "Uh, Nabiki?
What's the bag for, anyway?"

Nabiki shrugged, scanning the room. "It's Chame's. She asked me to bring
it here."

Ukyou nodded; Mousse was the only other person in the room, and he
busied himself with some sweeping. She took a seat, and Nabiki sat next
to her. Trying to break the silence, she said, "So, Nabiki. What do you
know about that girl? I hardly even know her, and I'm going out of my
way to help her."

Nabiki frowned, mulling it over. "I don't know much more than you, I'm
afraid."

Mousse answered another knock at the door, and a taller gentleman
entered the room. He glanced around, smiling at the girls. "Hello there,
Nabiki."

Startled, Nabiki flinched. "Ah, hi, Dr. Tofu. What brings you here?"

He smirked, and sat down opposite her. "Chame."

Nabiki nodded slowly. "What can you tell me about her?"

The doctor shook his head, his smile fading slightly. "I'm sorry, I
respect her privacy too much to talk about that." His face brightened,
as he asked, "How is your older sister doing?"

The middle Tendo sister paused. Thinking about it for a moment, she
explained, "Uh, kind of, odd, actually. She was watching TV and not
doing her chores. She looked like she was in a dream, or something. She
mentioned you were stopping by for dinner later, though."

The doctor smiled, a dreamy expression dominating his face. "Yes. Yes I
am."

There was another knock at the door, and Mousse let Chame in, not
disguising the daggers he was glaring at her. She ignored him, and
slumped to a seat between Ukyou and the doctor. The uniform she was
wearing looked disheveled, as she apologized, "Sorry I'm late. Is
everyone here yet?"

Doctor Tofu shook his head. "Not yet."

She shrugged. "Nabiki? Did you bring my stuff?" Nabiki nodded, and
pointed to the pack. Chame rifled through the pack for a moment, grabbed
a bundle, and headed towards the restroom, calling out over her
shoulder, "Thanks. I'll be right back."

The people at the table exchanged a three-way glance and shrug. Chame
emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing a pair of loose
black pants and a green silk shirt with a dragon embroidered on each
sleeve. She sat at the table and groused, "Ugh. I am so tired. Mousse,
get Shampoo and Cologne down here."

Mousse grumbled something, but retreated upstairs. A few minutes later,
Cologne and her great granddaughter emerged from the stairway, and
joined the group at the table.

Chame cleared her throat and jerked her head at Mousse. Cologne nodded,
calling into the back room, "Mousse, why don't you come here for a
minute?" Mousse approached, confused, and Cologne paralyzed him with
quick jabs at his shiatsu paralysis points. "Shampoo, take him to the
back room. He won't hear us there, and it won't wear off for a few
hours." He may not have been able to speak, but his venomous glare said
all it needed to.

Chame pursed her lips. "We can try to avoid making him any angrier than
we need."

Cologne shrugged. "I'll deal with him. In the meantime, there are a lot
of questions we need to ask."

Ukyou nodded. "Who are you, and how do you know Ranma is in danger?"

Nabiki added her own two cents, "How do you know so much about us?"

Shampoo chimed in, "What you going to do with Airen?"

Dr. Tofu said nothing, glancing at Cologne uneasily. Chame sighed, the
offered, "Well, why don't we just say I can read minds, and see a little
into the future." The younger women at the table gasped, but Chame
raised a hand, continuing, "Anyway. Right now, Ranma is in danger. I
need to keep him safe. I need all of your help to do this."

She furrowed her brow in thought, then declared, "There are a few things
we can do to make things easier. First of all, Sir Ono, I want you to
start spending as much time with the Tendos as you can. No buts, taking
care of them where you failed with me will absolve you, so do your best.

"Nabiki, you're the second biggest threat right now. Those friends of
yours aren't likely to accept the change in plans, even if you give the
money back. Lay low, keep the family as together as possible. I'll be
using you as a secondary contact.

"Cologne, I want you and your great granddaughter to go back to China.
Spread rumors that Ranma ran away with you, since your village can
defend itself from about any attack that tries to follow those rumors."

The old woman shook her head, irritation carrying in her voice, "Why not
take him with us? He would be safe, and could marry Shampoo-"

Surprisingly, it was not Chame who interrupted, but Dr. Tofu. He slammed
a fist on the table to get attention, then his voice filled the small
restaurant, "No! I don't know why Chame says it should be done this way,
but she's right. Your tribe owes us this."

Cologne gasped at the doctor, "You- you are Machin, as well?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, I am. Chame and I were both there for the
massacre. Shall I take you into my mind, and make you relive my memories
of that night?"

Chame shuddered, and put a hand on Dr. Tofu's fist. "No, I don't think
that will be necessary. Cologne, just accept it. Maybe Ranma will choose
on his own to come back to you, and maybe he won't. It's his choice. For
now, I want you to go back to China as soon as possible. Spread rumors."

Cologne nodded obediently. "And if Ryouga shows up looking for him? He's
probably dangerous enough to kill a few of us if what you say is true."

Chame frowned. "That shouldn't be a problem. It's right next to
Jusenkyou. Lead him to the spring of drowned boy, and half of his hatred
for Ranma should go away. There might be other problems, though. His
anger doesn't seem... natural."

Ukyou interjected, "Ryouga has a Jusenkyou curse?" Nabiki looked curious
as well.

Chame shrugged. "I recognize the mark of my people's curse. I see it on
him, Ranma, Mousse, and her," she said, as she pointed at Shampoo.

Curious, Nabiki asked, "What does he turn into?"

"I couldn't look too closely; his mind was clouded. Ranma knew, but
those memories were locked away. Based on what he remembers saying to
Ryouga, I think it's a pig."

Ukyou blinked, and stared at Nabiki. Nabiki's eyes just widened, and the
two spoke in unison, "P-chan."

Cologne nodded. "Yes. The little black piglet."

Nabiki sighed, "Well, I'll be damned. Next time I see him as a pig, I'm
showing that to Akane."

Chame shrugged again. "I'm not so sure about that. If it's something
he's been hiding from her, it could get ugly. If Akane strikes him, or
hurts him enough, he might blame it on Ranma and shishi houkodan the
whole house as soon as he's human again. Like I said, something seems
odd about him."

Nabiki nodded thoughtfully. "He's more dangerous than I realized."

Ukyou shook her head. "What do you want me to do?"

Chame regarded her thoughtfully. "Ranma's leaving with me on a training
trip. Things are heating up, and it'd be best if we could make ourselves
scarce." The assembled people at the table nodded. "With Ranma gone with
me, the rumors about him leaving with Cologne for China will be more
believable. With Cologne and Shampoo gone, the only way to verify will
be to ask them."

Ukyou frowned. "But that still doesn't tell me-"

"Patience, child. Cologne, I'll be using you as a primary contact. I'll
send you packages, letters, and anything else that needs to be sent.
You'll repackage what I specify, and send it to Nabiki. She'll
distribute it as necessary, either to Sir Ono, Akane, or whoever. The
biggest problem here is Mousse. He could give things away."

Cologne nodded. "What do you suggest?"

Chame paused, then admitted, "I'm not certain what the best thing to do
is. Bringing him to the spring of drowned boy would probably be a good
way to keep him quiet for a while. Threatening to take him to another
spring might help the rest of the time."

Cologne nodded again. "I'll come up with something. In the meantime,
that should work. What else?"

Chame turned to Ukyou. "Ukyou, your role in this is important too. Just
a little more patience." She flashed Ukyou her most winning smile, one
that had seen a lot of use already that day, then turned to the middle
Tendo sister. "Nabiki. I'd like you to keep these papers safe, they're
going to be important for a while."

She handed a manila folder full of papers to Nabiki. Nabiki examined it
closely without opening it. "What is it?"

Chame shrugged. "All of the official paperwork concerning Ranma. School
transcripts, birth certificates, medical records, everything." She shot
a meaningful glance at Dr. Tofu. "Almost all of them."

He nodded. "I'll bring all of the papers I have on him over when I come
for dinner tonight."

The redhead frowned again. "I can't remove his records from computers,
I'll admit I'm not familiar with those. Since this is his birth city,
the majority of the paperwork is here. There's other schools he attended
that I can't reach, I suspect that it's a little beyond our power to
deal with that right now, but this will slow down anyone who tries to
use those records. Nabiki's American friends, and the government, for
example. When he returns, he might need these things, so keep them
safe."

Nabiki lowered her head, feeling ashamed. Dr. Tofu reassured her.
"What's done is done. Worry more about setting things straight."

Shampoo shook her head, looking irate. "Shampoo want to stay with
Airen."

Chame shook her head. "Sorry. I'd like to bring someone with us, but it
should be someone used to being subtle. Someone who knows disguises, if
necessary. And I need you with your great grandmother to help spread
rumors. If they follow the rumors, and then find the truth, they'll have
lost time, and Cologne can contact us to tell us who's been looking.
Nabiki can tell her whoever has been poking around for us here."

Ukyou flushed slightly, already guessing her role. "You want me to come
with you, don't you?"

Chame nodded. "Yes." Shampoo glared, and looked ready to attack. "Ranma
will need a friend, since this is likely to take a lot longer than a
month. Stay home from school tomorrow. Ranma and I will stop by early in
the morning, probably about five or so. We'll hide there while I explain
things. After we've been there a day or two, Akane will probably stop
by. Nabiki can help encourage that... When she does, she'll tell you
that Ranma's left for China. You'll have to act shocked, and close down
the restaurant. After that, you can join us. Of course, if you don't
want to, you don't have to. This is just what I think would work best."

Ukyou nodded eagerly. "Yes, I'll do it."

Chame looked her in the eye. "This is going to be dangerous. Are you
sure?"

The girl nodded again. "Yes!"

Chame sighed, "Okay. We've all got our roles, then. Sir Ono, please
escort Nabiki home, Cologne, get Mousse and start packing. Shampoo can
start spreading rumors while you're doing that. Can you be out of here
by tomorrow?"

Cologne nodded, wearing an irritated expression. "Easily. And we will
be. Great granddaughter, get to work." Any thoughts she had, she kept to
herself.

Shampoo left sullenly, to start spreading rumors. Cologne walked towards
the back room to rouse Mousse.

Chame sighed again. "I am so tired. Ukyou, mind if I accompany you?"
Ukyou nodded, and Chame shouldered her pack. "Nabiki, Sir Ono, I'll see
you later today." Nabiki and the doctor left.

Ukyou offered to take Chame's pack, and she was too tired to refuse.
"I'm so excited! I'm going to travel with Ranchan!"

Chame nodded, leaning on her staff. "Well, don't get too eager. You know
how important it is that we keep it a secret."

***

After a short walk, they arrived at Ucchan's. Ukyou let the two of them
in. Chame sighed wearily, "Do you mind if we stay with you? Is that
alright?"

Ukyou paused, considering. "No problem. I've got an empty room you can
use."

Chame frowned. "I'd rather share a room with you. Ranma might like a
little privacy."

Ukyou blushed, looking slightly nervous. "Well, ah, I was hoping..."

Chame rolled her eyes. "Patience, child. He needs a little time. He
doesn't even know half of what we're doing right now. He's going to need
you as a friend. Be his friend. If anything is going to happen, let it
happen, but don't push too hard, or you'll scare him, and leave him
short of the one friend he could have talked to."

Ukyou nodded slowly, letting it sink in. <She's right. I want Ranchan,
but he's going to be very alone soon.> She sighed, "I need to get ready
for work."

Chame shrugged, and hefted her pack. "Is it okay for me to put this in
your room?" Ukyou nodded. "Thanks. I'd help you out, but I need to be at
the Tendos' house for dinner tonight. I'll try to help you out tomorrow,
okay?"

Ukyou smiled. "No problem."

Chame smiled again, and allowed herself a short nap upstairs before
heading to the Tendo household.

***

Chame arrived at the house tired, carrying the bundled uniform she had
borrowed. She knocked on the door, and Kasumi answered, "Oh! Chame! I
was worried about you."

She grinned. "Nothing to worry about. Let me start dinner. Do you know
when the doctor will be here?"

Kasumi put a finger to her lips, smiling slightly. "Not for another
hour."

The redhead sighed in relief, "Oh good. I have enough time then. By the
way, have you seen Ranma's father around?" There was a distant splash
from the backyard.

Kasumi tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't hide the laughter in
her eyes. "I'm afraid I haven't seen him."

Chame's grin widened. "Guess I won't be cooking for him then." An
agonized panda wail rang out from the back yard. "Is your panda sick?
Maybe it needs to see a vet." The noise cut off. "Well, I'm going to
start on the dinner, then."

Soun was in the living room, playing another game of Shogi with the
panda. The panda cast mournful glances towards the kitchen.

Chame let her mind wander as she worked in the kitchen.

As the allotted time drew to a close, she finished the last of her
preparations, and slumped against a counter. She shook her head,
mentally berating herself, <Not as young as I used to be. Oh well. Maybe
I can get some real sleep tonight.>

She smiled cheerfully, gathered up the dishes, and served them to the
assembled family. Akane was staring at Ranma with wide eyes, a slight
blush coloring her face. Nabiki sat between them, trying to be subtle.
Soun beamed at Akane and Ranma, and Kasumi and Tofu were lost in each
other's eyes. The panda sat at the table as well, its mouth watering.
Ranma eyed Akane warily.

Chame set the dishes down. "Okay, here we go... Wait! Pandas shouldn't
eat things like this." Chame herded the panda outside, and closed the
door.

Smiling politely, and nodding throughout the meal whenever someone spoke
to her, Chame went over the steps in her plan. Nabiki was practically
the only one able to speak, and there wasn't much they could talk about
in front of Akane. Akane just stared at Ranma longingly. Soun seemed
oblivious to Ranma's obvious discomfort, and Dr. Tofu and Kasumi were
too busy staring at each other to comment.

Ranma finally broke the silence, "That was really good, Chame. Thanks."

She smiled, nodding. "No problem. I'm glad to cook."

Ranma edged away from Akane. "Um, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Chame nodded. "Sure, just let put this away and clean up." She gathered
up the leftovers and the dirty dishes, and whisked them into the
kitchen. It took her less than a minute to package everything away and
clean all of the dishes.

She walked back into the living room. Akane was standing about a foot
away from Ranma, the same dreamy expression on her face. The youngest
Tendo finally got the courage up to break the uncomfortable silence, and
asked, "Ranma?"

Ranma backed away, nervously. "Uh, yeah?"

Akane stepped closer to him, breathing on his neck. "Is there...
something you want to ask me?"

Ranma gulped nervously, and looked around, Nabiki seemed at a loss, and
Soun wasn't about to interfere. The panda wasn't likely to be much
assistance either. Chame intervened at the last moment, "Akane?"

Akane blinked, and looked at Chame, irritation evident on her features.
"Yes?"

Chame smiled, and led her up the stairs. "I need to talk to you for a
moment or two."

Akane allowed herself to be led up to her room. "What's so important? I
have to get back down to Ranma, he's waiting for me."

Chame nodded. "Uh, right. One quick thing, though."

Akane glanced at her expectantly. "Yes?"

Chame smiled, and asked, "Do you know what a shiatsu paralysis point
is?"

A few minutes later, Chame descended the stairs, alone. Ranma looked at
her quizzically, and Chame offered, "She's asleep."

He nodded. "Oh good. I was getting kind of nervous about that."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

"Uh, things have been getting kind of weird today, do you know anything
about it?"

Chame looked him over. "A little. I'll tell you the rest later. Do you
think you can have your things packed and ready to go tonight?"

He nodded. "Yeah, after Akane acting like that, I could sure use a
break. This is confusing me."

She shrugged. "Okay. About an hour after everyone else is asleep. Meet
me by the dojo with your things. Can you see to it that the panda is
asleep then?"

Ranma's eyes widened, alarmed. "Uh, yeah. I can do that."

She smiled at him, and said nothing as she walked back to join the rest
of the family.

***

Dr. Tofu and Chame left together. Chame bowed deeply to Soun. "I'm sorry
I have to leave, but I can't impose on you any longer. Thank you for
your hospitality."

Soun nodded politely. "Of course. I suppose we'll be seeing you more
soon as well?"

Chame smiled. "Well, we'll see. I do have to keep an eye out for Ranma's
father. I'm still honor-bound to kill him to reclaim my name."

Ranma blinked at this, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Kasumi
said nothing, and hid her own smile, while Nabiki did the same. Chame
was certain that Akane wouldn't be awake for a few hours, and they would
be gone by then.

As Chame stood on the doorstep, Kasumi gave Dr. Tofu a hug. Soun froze,
watching. Kasumi smiled wickedly, and leaned in to kiss the doctor. He
didn't resist. Chame turned her back and admired the stars for a while,
until the telltale gasp for breath signified the doctor's release.

He smiled, though it was harder to guess which of the two had a bigger
grin plastered across their faces. Chame gently led the doctor away, as
he waved goodbye.

After they were out of sight of the house, the doctor exhaled again,
sighing. Chame smirked at his expression. "So. Is she the one for you
Sir Ono?"

He smiled. "Chame, I stopped being Sir Ono the day we left the village.
Just call me Tofu."

She nodded. "Okay. I hate to bother you, but I've got a premonition that
something will happen tonight. Something bad. Meditate when you get
home, and if you hear me, I need your help."

The doctor sobered at this. "Very well. Should I be ready to summon
assistance?"

Chame was quiet for a moment as they walked, considering, then said,
"No. We have no real allies this close."

He nodded. "Do you know anything more?"

She shook her head. "Blood. A lot of it. That's all. There's going to be
some violence tonight." She twirled her staff. "I'd rather make sure
that Ranma is not on the receiving end of it."

Dr. Tofu nodded again. "Okay. Good luck to you then. I hope I don't see
you again tonight."

Chame laughed. "So do I, Dr. Tofu. Good luck to you as well, you need to
protect the Tendos."

He nodded a final time, and they parted ways.

Chame reached Ucchan's shortly after. It was busy, but Ukyou was
glowing. Chame paused for a moment, then went behind the counter and
upstairs. She had debated helping Ukyou, but decided to allow herself to
continue the nap from earlier. All too soon, she slipped into the
embrace of sleep.

***

Someone moving near her woke Chame. She sat up, wearily, and looked
around.

Ukyou hummed to herself as she put on some pajamas. Chame yawned,
"Ukyou?"

The girl looked at her, smiling. "Yes?"

Chame shook her head to clear it. "What time is it?"

After a pause, Ukyou answered, "A little after eleven. Why?"

Chame stood up, and stretched. "Okay. Why don't we go pick up Ranma?"

Ukyou blinked, and scurried to get re-dressed. "Sure! Just give me a
moment."

Chame headed downstairs, and helped herself to a glass of water. Ukyou
came down shortly, dressed in her standard battle garb. Chame smiled
approvingly. "Okay. Let's be on our way."

The two headed through the streets. It was about eleven-thirty when they
reached the Tendo household. Chame shushed Ukyou, and motioned for her
to wait outside. A few minutes later, Nabiki and Ranma followed her out.
Chame whispered something to Nabiki, who nodded, and went back to the
house.

Ranma looked very nervous, but Ukyou flashed him a reassuring smile.
Chame glanced at the two briefly, and they set out together.

They were quiet for the most part, wary of making noise this late at
night. As they were passing through a street of abandoned buildings and
empty lots, Chame froze. Ranma and Ukyou did the same. After a moment,
Chame shuddered, and motioned for them to resume.

Ranma listened, but could only hear a train moving in the distance. He
shook his head, and moved on. Suddenly, he halted, standing stock-still.
Chame had already stopped, and Ukyou slowed when she saw the two of
them. A low, almost feral laugh taunted them from behind.

He spun around, suspecting who was there, but wanting to see. A figure
emerged from the darkness, laughing. Ranma swallowed. He knew that
laugh. And that outline. It could only be Ryouga.

He stepped out of the shadow of a derelict building, and into the
moonlight. He paused there, and laughed again. A dry, hollow sound.
Ranma swallowed again, nervously. Ryouga wasn't looking at him; he was
looking at Ukyou.

Ranma blinked. "Ucchan? What's going on here?"

Ukyou shivered nervously, but readied her giant spatula. "I, uh, tried
to send him to Okinawa, and said that's where you were."

Ryouga just stared at her, his expression completely feral. "You
lieeeeed to me, Ukyou." Ryouga snapped his umbrella into his hand, and
giggled hysterically, "Oh yes. You lied." His eyes shot to Chame,
darting across Ranma briefly. "You." His eyes narrowed, and his feral
expression became even more fearsome. "You struck me. Twice. And you
lied as well. Which one first, hmm? Which one?"

He gazed between the two of them, calculating, and Ranma stepped
forward. "Ryouga! I don't know what's going on here, but you aren't
getting in my way any more. You aren't going to hurt either of them if I
can help it!"

Ryouga tore his attention from the women, and stared into Ranma's eyes.
He laughed again, voice filled with contempt, "You aren't dangerous to
me. You can't even slow me down." Another giggle sounded from the boy,
and held his umbrella in a ready stance. "Once I take care of your
friends, I'll give you a slow and painful death."

Chame leapt between the two of them, twirling her staff around her
forearm. It spun in a cone shape, one end pointed towards Ryouga, Chame
looked grim. "Ranma. Get ready to run, this isn't the Ryouga you know."

Ryouga's laugh rang out once more. "You! You shall be the first to die!"

Chame focused her ki for a moment, crying out, "Ichijin-dan!" The air
moved by the staff formed a jet, knocking Ryouga back at least thirty
feet. He fell onto his back. Chame spun towards Ranma, then her eyes
widened.

Ranma opened his mouth to say something, then he heard it. The train. It
was braking, somewhere. The faint, piercing wail sounded clearly through
the night. Chame clung to her staff, and sunk to one knee. Her face was
a mask of pain, and she whimpered, "R-Ranma! R-run!"

Ranma froze, unable to move, remembering what had happened, only one
night before. The microwave. It made a piercing noise like that, and
Chame had said- "Oh no, Chame-"

A sickening squishing noise covered the wail, and Ranma stared, eyes
widening. Chame looked down, dumbfounded. Ryouga had gotten up behind
her, and taken advantage of her weakness. Chame gasped as Ryouga forced
the umbrella further, and it erupted from her abdomen. She pawed at it,
uncomprehending. The black, dull tip protruded, dripping blood onto the
ground, and she stared at it, blinking.

Then Ranma heard it again. That hollow, dry laugh. "Ranma. She was the
most dangerous one. And now..." His laugh cut through the stillness of
the night again, "It's over! So fragile."

Ukyou gasped as she saw was Ryouga intended to do next. He slid one hand
to the base of the umbrella, grabbed firmly, and. Ukyou covered her
eyes, pleading, "Oh, please, gods... no!"

Ranma didn't think; he had no time for that. He knew what was going to
happen, and more importantly, what he had to do. In a single, fluid
movement, he dashed forward, and snapped a kick into the umbrella's tip.
Ryouga grunted, as it flew free of Chame's body before he could open it.
Chame slumped into Ranma's arms, shivering, and Ryouga fell backwards.
The umbrella opened, and obscured his vision.

Ranma didn't waste any more time, and leapt up onto one of the derelict
buildings. Once his feet found purchase, he began to run like hell.
Chame clung to him weakly, mumbling. He tried not to pay attention to
the warm wetness spreading from where his hand supported her, under her
back. He just ran.

Ukyou followed him, then pointed to a street below them and cried out,
"Ranchan! Stop! Down there!"

Ranma jumped to the ground obediently, and set Chame down. Ukyou grabbed
Chame's hand, after landing near her. "Chame! Are you going to be okay?"

Chame shook her head slowly, and fumbled at Ukyou's chest. "B-binding.
Sir Ono." Then, spent, she collapsed.

Ukyou tore her shirt off, and removed the bindings across her chest as
quickly as possible. Ranma nodded, and grabbed an extra shirt from his
pack. After a moment, they had a makeshift compress, and Ukyou bound it
to the prone woman tightly. Ranma touched the cloth gently, and it
instantly reddened beneath his hand.

He looked up into Ukyou's eyes, fearful. "This... this isn't supposed to
happen."

Ukyou shook her head, shrugging back into the tatters of her shirt. "We
need to get her to a doctor."

Ranma nodded, numb. "Right." There was a movement, nearby. He spun to
face it, fearful that it was the lost boy again.

It wasn't.

Dr. Tofu landed next to them, and hurriedly examined Chame. "Damn it!
Chame? Chame! Okay. Ranma, tell me what happened."

Ranma babbled the story briefly, while Tofu considered the wound. He
sighed, "Okay Ranma, I might be able to slow this down, but she's lost a
lot of blood."

He stared into the doctor's eyes. "Please, Dr. Tofu."

Dr. Tofu carefully removed the bandages, muttering, "You don't have to
ask me twice." He lay his hands against Chame's wound, and his palms
began to glow gently, as he mumbled softly to himself. After a moment,
the wound sealed, leaving a pink scar. He nodded, and rolled Chame
carefully onto her side to do the same to her back.

He drew breath in, as he looked at the other side of the wound. The
umbrella was quite large, and Chame was a small woman. He shook his
head, and covered the gaping wound with both hands. A glow suffused them
as he chanted in a thick, alien tongue. After a few minutes of chanting,
the blood stopped, and he pulled his hands away. This time, there was no
scar, only a nasty looking bruise.

Ukyou sighed. "So, she's going to be okay, right?"

Tofu wrapped her carefully back up in her tattered clothing. "No. Where
are you staying?"

Ukyou shook her head. "Take her to my place." The doctor nodded, and
picked up the limp redhead. Ranma and Ukyou followed in a mad rooftop
course to Ucchan's. Ukyou fumbled with the door before it opened, and
led the three up the stairs to her room.

Dr. Tofu lay Chame gently on Ukyou's bed. He closed all the windows.
"She's going to need a lot of warmth. Ranma, go downstairs and heat some
water." After Ranma was gone, Tofu stripped Chame's clothes off, and
slid the covers over her.

Ukyou fretted, "Well?"

Dr. Tofu sighed, "She lost too much blood. It's only a matter of time. I
can fix the damage, and repair the tissue, but I can't make her more
blood. I could give her some of mine, but I might end up killing both of
us."

Ukyou didn't hesitate. "Take some of mine!" She offered a wrist to the
doctor.

He shook his head. "It wouldn't work. She needs Machin blood. And Chame
and I are the only Machin I know of right now." He bit his lip,
comprehension dawning. "Ranma!"

Ranma scurried up the stairs. "Yeah? The water's not ready yet."

Tofu shook his head. "Not important. Chame needs blood, are you willing
to help her?"

Ranma nodded eagerly, nearly shouting, "Yes! If that will save her,
yes!"

Tofu sighed in relief. "Okay. Ukyou, do you have a thick piece of
cloth?"

She nodded, and gave the doctor the sash to a robe. After that, she
shucked the torn remnants of her shirt, and slipped on a new one. The
men were too intent on Chame, and this was no time for real modesty.

Tofu folded the cloth a few times, "Ranma, put this in your mouth and
bite down hard. This is going to hurt. A lot."

Ranma nodded, and did as told. Tofu closed his eyes, and placed a hand
against Chame's chest. He grabbed Ranma's hand in the other, and began
chanting something softly. A warm red glow formed, first, between Chame
and the doctor, then between Ranma and Tofu. Ranma's eyes widened, and
he made a muffled choking noise through the cloth in his mouth, as the
redness began flowing across the space between Tofu's hands, arcing
upward slightly.

Ukyou grabbed his other hand reassuringly, and he clenched it tightly.
He made a sobbing noise, and sank to his knees, eyes focused on the arch
that began at his linked hand, and terminated on Chame's chest. Tears
streamed down his face, but he didn't pull back the hand that the doctor
held.

After an indeterminable length of time, it was over. Ranma sighed, and
passed out on the floor. The doctor looked vaguely surprised, then shook
his head, dismissing a stray thought. "Ukyou? Could you please get me a
rag? The water Ranma was heating should be done now."

Ukyou ran down the stairs, and turned the stove off. The water in the
kettle was boiling. She gambled that it would be too hot, poured some
out, and added some cold water.

She hauled the kettle upstairs and the doctor thanked her. He wet the
rag, and scrubbed at his hands with it, then he cleaned Ranma's hand,
and gave the rag to Ukyou. "I'm going to set Ranma in the next room.
He's fine, but he gave up a lot of blood for Chame. Do you mind if I
stay here with him tonight?"

Ukyou shook her head. "No, that's fine." The doctor smiled, and carried
Ranma away. She looked at the cloth in her hands, and noticed the stains
on it. Red. Bloodstains. She shook her head, and wiped the blood off of
Chame's chest and back gently.

After a moment, the doctor returned. He turned the heater up, and
sighed, "Ukyou, this is going to be a close thing. Are you still willing
to help?"

Ukyou nodded again. "Of course!"

The doctor smiled. "Okay, you might not like this part. I'm going to
close the door so no heat escapes. I need you to share your body heat
with Chame." Ukyou nodded, "It will work better if you take your clothes
off."

Ukyou blushed, but nodded. "I can do that. Now go, you're letting heat
out."

The doctor smiled, and let himself out. Ukyou stared at Chame for a
moment, then shook her head. <Nothing for it.> She stripped down to her
underwear, sighed, and discarded that too. She climbed into the bed near
Chame nervously.

The smaller woman stirred weakly, and Ukyou nervously edged towards her.
After a moment Ukyou touched her. She gasped, and drew away. <So cold!>
She sighed, gathering her confidence, and slid towards Chame.

The diminutive redhead stirred again, as their legs touched, and Ukyou
suddenly realized why. She smiled, and embraced the small girl,
adjusting the blankets to cover everything but their faces.

Ukyou shivered, but noticed Chame slowly warming. The doctor knew best.
She sighed again, and let herself drift to sleep as she wondered what it
would be like to share a bed with Ranma.

------
Author's note:

I know I promised to use as little japanese text as possible, so an
apology is in order. 'Ichijin-dan' should translate to 'gust of wind
shot'. As Chame observed, Ryouga's been boosted by his weapon, which is
why he was able to do so much damage. There's little to explain in this
chapter other than that. So, I would like to thank (as always) Chris and
Druid for their excelent C&C, for without them, this story wouldn't be
half of what it is now.

--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.



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