Hi all,

Thanks for the kind feedback from everyone who has replied so far.  I 
haven't had a chance yet to sit down and write my replies, but it is on my 
list of things to do.

As promised, here is the rest of chapter 18.

Steve

(part 2 of 2)

                    ******************************

Hinako Ninomiya padded softly into her den, her hair still slightly
dampened from her morning shower, dressed in a snug, light green robe
that was decorated with a golden phoenix that wrapped around her torso.
She carried a cup of gently-steaming tea in her hands as she strolled
across the length of the room, where not a single book or paper could
be seen out of place.  Hinako was an orderly and careful person, and it
showed in how she kept her home, especially here, her private sanctum.

Sitting down at her desk, she tapped a key and the computer screen woke
from sleep mode.  She could see a symbol blinking away in the bottom
right-hand corner of the screen.  She smiled.  The datatap she had
ordered placed within Ranma Saotome's computer had something to report.
One of her men had installed the tap several days ago when the house
had been empty.

Moving the cursor over the icon, she tapped the mouse once, bringing up
a duplicate desktop of whatever Ranma had been working on.  Her eyes
widened a bit at what she saw, and her smile deepened.  The boy had
done the impossible and hacked through one of the Empire's most secure
file encryption methods in less than thirty minutes.

"Oh, Ranma," she murmured in sultry tones.  "No wonder dear Soun is so
interested in you.  What a find you are."  She read through the file a
bit more intently, her interest in Ranma growing, a smile appearing on
her lips.

"Soun was wise to keep an eye on you, Ranma."  She paused and thought
for a moment.  "But you would be wasted under his guidance, so I think
I'll make you mine instead.  You and I could do many great things in
the Empire.  I'm so looking forward to talking with you.  With you at
my side, I'm sure we could go very far in the Empire together."  Her
smile grew more lustful.  "And I can teach you a great many wonderful,
pleasurable things, Ranma.  Things that a handsome, virile young man
like yourself would find very, very interesting."

Swiveling her chair around to face the window, Hinako sipped at her
tea.  Her recent investigations into Ranma's life had come up with
three marriage contracts filed with the Ministry of Information, and
one of them had been to Nabiki Tendo.  It was yet another surprising
thing to learn about the boy.  Hinako chuckled softly.

It would be a modest challenge to break Ranma away from his arranged
marriage to Nabiki Tendo, and it would be a quite delightful slap in
the face of her arch-nemesis, Soun Tendo.  As to the other girls, if
any of them dared object to her claiming the Saotome boy, Hinako would
simply squash them like troublesome insects.  That gave her a notion.

A martial arts duel over the boy had a certain dramatic appeal, but
only the Kuonji girl had any notable fighting skills.  It was a pity
that Soun's daughter had let her combat abilities dwindle since her
mother's untimely death.  Beating Nabiki Tendo to a bloody mess in
single combat would have been enjoyable, and also quite legal under the
Empire's dueling laws.  And if any of the other girls were unwise
enough to choose to make an issue of Ranma, Hinako would gladly knock
out a few of their teeth, purely as an object lesson, perhaps even
breaking a major bone or two if they gave her much of a challenge.  Not
that they could, Hinako mused with a smile.

Yes, a duel would make things so much tidier.  Once defeated, the girls
would be honor bound to release their claims on Ranma.  Then that only
left the matter of dealing with the boy's parents, potentially a more
challenging issue.  As for Ranma?  Seducing him around to her way of
thinking would be mere child's play to one of her experience.  Despite
his intellectual gifts, Ranma Saotome was still a hormonally-challenged
teenaged boy of very limited experience with the opposite sex.

Hinako sensuously crossed her long legs as she sipped some more of her
tea, and she began laughing seductively.

Ranma Saotome's handsome body and his brilliant mind would be hers to
play with and use as she saw fit.

It was only a matter of time.

                    ******************************

Nanami Jinnai stood chatting casually with Ami Mizuno as she eyed the
crowd with a portion of her awareness, noting with satisfaction the
membership of the Ranma Saotome Fan Club strewn throughout the crowd,
waiting for the object of their desires, nearly two dozen girls in all.
Word had spread like wildfire over the weekend about Ranma's comeback
victory over Utena Tenjou, the 'Prince of Ohtori'.  She had made a tidy
profit this morning, selling more pictures of Ranma, pictures taken by
a confederate of hers at Ohtori.

"She's watching us again," commented Ami, pretending to write something
down that Nanami had said in her notebook as she mentally prepared
herself for Ranma's arrival on campus.  It would not be long now.  A
member of the club who was a Security cadet had reported him less than
a block away as she passed them by, not making eye contact with either
of them as she had taken up a spot near the outer wall to wait with the
others.

Nanami smiled.  "Let her watch.  She hasn't seen anything yet."

Ami glanced around, noting the looks of determination on the faces of
the girls from the club.  They would show Ranma Saotome the depths of
their feelings for him.  They would show him their strength and their
worthiness of him.

                    ******************************

"What are you looking at, Yohko?"

Nabiki paused in her questioning of Hiroshi, glancing over to where her
best friend was standing guard, watching out for any instructors coming
by.  Her fist was bunched into the front of Hiroshi's jacket, holding
him firmly.  Her inquiries had been coming up dry all morning, and she
was starting to think she was simply being paranoid.  But someone had
been moving in on her organization, and someone had trapped Ranma in
the locker room with the Wolf Pack a few weeks ago.

Yohko looked back and shrugged.  "There's some kind of odd tension in a
number of the girls over by the main gate.  They're trying to be casual
about it, but they look like they're waiting for something.  And that
wannabe Jinnai girl seems to be up to something, with Ami Mizuno of all
people."

"S-senpai," said Hiroshi, feeling a sharp trickling of fear at Nabiki's
rough treatment.  While she hadn't yet hurt him in any way, he could
sense her frustration.  "I really don't know what you're talking about.
I'm loyal to you.  I always have been."

"Shut up for a moment, Hiroshi-kun," Nabiki commanded, tightening her
grip in his jacket a little more.  This was something that she normally
had Akane or Yohko take care of, but there was something to be said for
the personal touch.  "Waiting?" she asked Yohko, her brow furrowing a
bit.  It was likely to congratulate Ranma on his victory, she mused.
Everyone loved a winner.  But soon enough that would be her, and Ranma
Saotome would be yesterday's news.

Nabiki turned her attentions back to Hiroshi, adding her other hand to
her grip on his collar and lifting him off his feet a couple of inches.
Her training had been improving her strength quite a bit, and she made
use of it now to make an impression upon her captive.  She brought him
back down and leaned in close.

"Hiroshi-kun," she said pleasantly, pulling him nose to nose with her.
"If I find that you've lied to me, you won't like the results.  Are you
absolutely certain that there isn't anything that you'd like to tell
me, your senpai?"

"N-nothing," he stammered.  His nervousness grew when he saw Nabiki's
gaze darkening.  He looked away.  "I don't know anything."

Nabiki smiled.  "You're lying, Hiroshi-kun," she purred, her grip on
his jacket tightening.  "I think you do know something.  Something that
you'd like to tell me."

"Nabiki!" hissed Yohko suddenly.

"I-I can't," whimpered Hiroshi.

He was getting close to spilling something.  Nabiki could tell.  She
smiled coldly.  At last she was getting somewhere.  At last she would
have a lead on this mystery challenger to her dominion.

"Nabiki!" Yohko hissed again.  A moment later, she said in a pleasant
tone of voice, "Why hello, sensei.  Looks like rain today, doesn't it?"

Nabiki released her hold on Hiroshi and let him go.  She could always
find him again later.  She walked around the corner to join Yohko,
greeting the instructor who had walked by, all innocent smiles and
pleasant tones.  Where was Ranma?  He should be here already.

                    ******************************

Ranma paused for a moment as he felt another sneeze suddenly come over
him.  He had sneezed several times this morning, and he wondered if he
was coming down with something.  He had never been sick before, which
he now knew was due to the presence of his symbiote, but maybe there
was a first time for everything.  He stood at the gates of the Academy
as he rubbed his nose for a brief moment, dressed in his blue uniform,
his other clothes in his bookbag.  He looked at the sky.  It looked
like the storm was about to break.

His battle with Utena came to mind.  He smiled briefly at the memory of
the pink-haired girl.  She was certainly easier to get along with than
Nabiki often was, and sometimes even Kodachi was.  Utena was quite a
bit like Ukyo in personality, someone that he could enjoy a comfortable
friendship with.  Maybe more.  Ukyo had certainly been fun to be with
on their one date so far, but Utena had been quite enjoyable to talk
with too.

As he stood there, lost in his thoughts, male and female cadets in blue
and gray uniforms passed by him, a number of them giving him pleasant
smiles or friendly nods.  His uncharacteristic actions of late had
apparently been raising his favor among his fellow cadets, but he felt
embarrassed by the attention.  He had gotten used to being ignored by
everyone.

"There he is!" came a cry from a female voice.  Hearing a deep rumbling
sound moving up quickly behind him, Ranma turned around and gaped at
what he saw.  A number of girls were now converging on him from several
directions, running hard.

"Ranma Saotome!" cried the first to reach him, a trim girl in a gray
uniform.  "Feel the strength of my passion!"  And she tried to hit him.

"What the heck?" Ranma blurted out, evading the strike with a quick
shift of his weight to the right.  Several more girls had reached him
by that time, all of them in an offensive posture.  Why were they all
attacking him?

"I love you, Ranma Saotome!"  A shorter girl in a blue uniform lunged
at him with a flying kick aimed at his head, her unexpected statement
nearly giving her the drop on him.

"What the hell is going on over there?" snapped Nabiki, echoing Ranma's
own question, seeing him suddenly being assaulted by a large number of
female cadets.  Nearly two dozen girls were involved.  Some of them
were even armed with weapons: bo sticks, nunchuks, and even one with a
pair of sais.

Ranma had his hands full for several moments, as he quickly began to
deal with the sheer number of opponents now piling onto him.  He evaded
and blocked their strikes, throwing punches and kicks around him into
his attackers in reply.  While he was pulling his blows, unwilling to
hurt any of the girls, it was proving to be a bit of a challenge to his
abilities.  Unlike the worlds of his counterparts, several of these
students had a fair amount of martial arts training, mainly the ones in
gray uniforms.

                    ******************************

"So that's him?  One of the students you wish me to train?"

"Yes," said Dean Fuyutski with a brief nod, watching Ranma's impromptu
fight with interest.  He glanced once at the Chinese man standing next
to him at the window, a handsome gentleman with gray salted throughout
his straight hair, dressed in a white silk shirt and dark blue pants.
"He has good potential, wouldn't you say?"  He received only a grunt
from the other in return.

"I haven't said I agreed to anything yet," said the man, turning away
from the window and presenting a face known Empire-wide for his many
film exploits and from his days spent fighting in the Arena, Jun Fan
Lee.  His grim look faded into a slight smile.  "He does seem to fight
well enough, but I think a more severe test is in order before I make
up my mind.  And I would also like to see the other one you mentioned
in action."

"I'm sure that something could be arranged."  Dean Fuyutsuki steepled
his finger together as he sat back in his chair.

                    ******************************

"Please tell me that you're getting all this, Mizuno," whispered Nanami
in an urgent aside to the other girl.

"Yes," replied Ami, quickly checking the images she was receiving from
the tiny cameras she and Nanami had concealed early this morning.  She
flipped viewing angles, and she nodded in satisfaction.  "I'm getting
some really good footage.  It's wonderful."  Her voice was getting a
little breathless as she gazed raptly at Ranma in motion.

Ami's brief reverie was interrupted as Nanami snapped her fingers a few
times before her eyes.  "Is it enough for analysis?"

"Oh, yes," Ami replied.  "I should be able to give you a complete
tactical analysis of Saotome-san's fighting abilities by lunchtime."
She winced as she watched Ranma side-step two girls coming in from
either side of him, one girl ending up kneeing the other in the face.
"I should be able to let you know of any weak points in his technique
by then, if he has any."

"Excellent."  Nanami rubbed her hands together gleefully.  Selling that
information to the other members of the club would be a very profitable
endeavor.

Ami went back to her study of Ranma.  Such a brilliant mind, combined
with such stirring athletic ability in action.  Watching him fight with
such supreme grace and skill left her feeling surprisingly weak in the
knees, and she desperately wished that she too had the courage to talk
to him, to declare her feelings for him like so many other girls were
doing.  But Ami knew she wasn't a fighter, and her own analysis was
conclusive in her eyes that Ranma Saotome was attracted to stronger
girls than she would ever be.  It would take a miracle for her to ever
be able to fight that well.  Resigning herself to her fate, she quietly
continued filming him, her heart aching within her chest.

                    ******************************

Standing with his trio of catgirls by the main building, Kinnosuke
Kashuoh calmly eyed the fierce battle taking place, his gaze alight
with interest.  He closely watched Ranma's technique, seeking for any
weaknesses that he could exploit.  He kept watching as girl after girl
attacked and was skillfully taken down, but he was a bit puzzled as to
their goal.  They weren't trying to seriously hurt him, just subdue
him.  What was going on?

Tiger, like the other two catgirls with Kinnosuke, stood in a state of
relaxed readiness, like a soldier at ease.  She too watched Ranma's
battle with interest, watching his body twisting and moving with grace
and speed as he dealt with his attackers.  She licked her lips, her
mouth suddenly feeling a little dry, a headache coming over her as she
thought about him.  Why was Ranma Saotome able to draw her attention
away from her beloved Kinnosuke-sama?  There was something on the edge
of her memory, but it evaded her more deftly the harder she tried to
reach for it.

"Tiger," Kinnosuke said firmly.  He looked at her, noting her attention
lingering on Ranma Saotome for a moment longer than he cared to see
before snapping to meet his.  It was oddly irritating, almost as if he
was jealous.  But that was impossible.  Tiger was simply a tool for him
to use and eventually to be discarded when her usefulness was at an
end, nothing more than that.

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama?"  Her breathing was slightly elevated.  She saw
that her beloved master was looking at her with a slight frown.

"How soon until we are ready to strike?"

"Within a day, maybe two, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger firmly.  "We have
gathered quite a number of stray cats and have them penned in the old,
abandoned dormitory's basement, but we still aren't up to the number
you required."

"Very well."  Kinnosuke took Tiger's chin gently in his hand, tipping
her head up slightly, his gaze boring into her eyes.  "I want this to
go off without flaw, Tiger.  I wish my debut to Nabiki Tendo and Ranma
Saotome to be done with proper drama."  His gaze briefly dipped down
her front, and he felt lust stirring within him.  It would be difficult
now to concentrate on his studies today.  He reluctantly brought his
gaze back up to her face.

"I look forward to crushing him when he is sniveling with fear before
me from his pathetic little phobia."  Then he smiled.  "I've also given
the matter some thought and I have decided to give you a gift, Tiger."
He looked over at Lynx and Panther.  "For all three of you, actually."

"A gift?"  Their ears perked up happily.  They loved getting presents.

"While I deal with Ranma Saotome, the three of you are to keep Nabiki
Tendo occupied, as well as anyone else who tries to interfere with my
business with him."  His grip tightened painfully on Tiger's jaw, and
he dropped his gaze to look into her eyes again.  "But there is to be
no serious damage done to Nabiki, Tiger.  I want her to fall by my hand
and by mine alone, once I'm done with breaking Ranma Saotome.  She's
mine.  Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," Tiger replied softly.  "It shall be done as you
command."  The other two nodded.

"Excellent, you three."  He nodded and released her.  "Excellent."  He
looked at them.  "Now go!" he snapped.  "Gather more felines."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama!" they cried out as one and ran off.

                    ******************************

Less than a minute later, it was over.  Girls lay strewn around Ranma
in various states of disarray, groaning as they tried to catch their
breath.  A few of them even had broken weapons still clutched in their
hands.  Hearing a car approaching, Ranma kept his guard up as he turned
around and saw the Kuno family limousine pulling up to the curb outside
the gates, and then Kodachi gracefully emerged from within.

"Would you get a load of that?" remarked Yohko with a note of amusement
in her voice as she stood with Nabiki, the pair having watched Ranma's
battle with the girls from a distance.  Nabiki had been standing rather
rigidly during the entire fight, her body almost seeming to quiver with
a desire to involve herself in it, but she had demurred.  Yohko lightly
elbowed Nabiki to attract her attention.  "Her royal highness has
arrived."

"Yeah," Nabiki replied, a bit absently.  Her intense gaze had been
tightly locked on to Ranma during the entire fight, and that same gaze
narrowed ever more dangerously when she saw Ranma walk over and greet
Kodachi.  Her right hand briefly clenched into a fist at her side.  "I
can see that."

"Good morning, Kodachi," Ranma said in greeting, relaxing a bit.

"Good morning, Saotome-kun."  She paused before him and bowed.  She
looked past him and saw what seemed to be the remnants of a war zone.
"My goodness.  What happened here?"

"I honestly don't know," Ranma confessed, shaking his head.  "They all,
well, just came up and attacked me."

Kodachi blinked and studied the girls gathering themselves back up from
the ground.  It reminded her of a scene from Sukeban-Kodachi's life at
Furinkan Reformatory School.  Getting attacked by the many gang girls
at Furinkan had been a very common start to her day.  She turned back
to look at Ranma, her eyes wide.  "All of them?"

"Uh, yeah," said Ranma, putting his hand behind his head and looking
embarrassed.

"You poor dear."  Kodachi sidled closer to him, stepping over some of
the fallen girls.  Her voice briefly lowered in clear disapproval as
she looked at the girls.  "Such brutish hoodlums."  When she was near
him, she brightened.  "I would be pleased if you could escort me away
from this dreadful scene and walk me to class, Saotome-kun."

"Sure, I guess," Ranma replied, nodding.  He began walking Kodachi to
the main building.  He didn't notice her trodding on the occasional
hand or limb as she walked just behind him.  He was more focussed on
keeping an eye out for Nabiki, but he hadn't seen her yet.

                    ******************************

Ukyo's feet landed noiselessly on the roof of one of the buildings next
to the Academy.  The journey had only taken her several minutes of
quick roof-hopping, not even enough to dull the edge from the nervous
energy that seemed to fill her this morning as she bathed and changed
into her uniform a short while ago.  Just the mere thought of seeing
Ranma again filled her with joy.

The ninja girl smiled as she hunted for her target from her vantage
point, her gaze scanning through the knots of cadets moving through the
main gate and around outside the main building.  A single bound brought
her across the length of the narrow street to land with a light thump
in a crouching position on the high wall surrounding the grounds.  She
continued scanning the many cadets moving around, her eyes questing for
one face in particular.

With a grin, Ukyo suddenly spied Ranma among a group of cadets, walking
towards the main building.  But her grin turned to a frown when she saw
who he was talking and walking with: Kodachi Kuno.  The noblewoman was
standing just a little too close to her Ranchan for Ukyo's tastes.  The
ninja girl felt quite irritated at the sight.  She leaped high into the
air, unsheathing her battle spatula for balance and hoping to spook her
rival for Ranma's attention a bit.

                    ******************************

Standing a short distance away, Nabiki continued glaring at Ranma and
Kodachi walking together, even as she remained partially hidden behind
a tree with Yohko, observing her fianc�.  Suddenly, she caught a rapid
flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced upwards
to see a figure come hurtling down upon the pigtailed boy from above.
She lost sight of Ranma's assailant in the glare of the morning sun,
but she was certain she had seen a weapon raised to strike.  Reacting
from instinct, Nabiki charged out from beneath the tree and took to the
air in a high, leaping kick.

Ukyo was only moments away from landing behind Ranma, and her knees
were half-bent to absorb the shock of her landing.  She grinned broadly
as she imagined the shock that the Kuno girl would have at her sudden
appearance.  But as she began her descent, out of the corner of her eye
she saw Nabiki suddenly appear out of nowhere and come leaping upwards
at her in an obvious attack.

"Whoa!" Ukyo yelped, barely evading the savage attack of her unexpected
opponent.  She flipped herself around in midair, re-angling her landing
spot with great acrobatic skill.  However, by doing so, she dropped
down a bit too close to Ranma, moreso than she had originally intended.

Nabiki finally saw who her foe was as they had flashed by each other,
recognizing Ukyo Kuonji, dressed in the gray uniform of a male Security
cadet.  She was a bit surprised when she missed Ukyo cleanly, something
that indicated she faced a much more highly-skilled fighter than she
had calculated.  She flipped over in midair and descended gracefully,
curious to see what the other girl intended.

As she walked demurely alongside Ranma, Kodachi's thoughts had drifted
off into one of her many fantasies, starting with the two of them alone
together, and then quickly growing more salacious.  If only Ranma could
be more like gentle Miki was, she mused, her thoughts floating off in a
very unintended direction.  Memories from her other self, of the Black
Rose of Furinkan Reformatory High School, and of her boyfriend, another
version of Miki, came over her.  She slowed her pace slightly as she
enjoyed the erotic fantasy.

Hearing a yell behind him, Ranma managed to half-turn around to see a
figure come hurtling in his direction, feet first.  Reacting from sheer
instinct, he swiftly dove to one side, forgetting at the last moment
that Kodachi had been standing with him, now lost in thought.  As fast
as he could, he leaped back towards her.

"Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi as she opened her eyes, suddenly aware of
Ranma's motion away from her.  She took a step in her confusion and
ended up occupying almost the same space he had just vacated.  The
young noblewoman glanced around her, startled to see the look on his
face when she saw him.  She could see need in his eyes, and her heart
leapt within her chest.  She closed her eyes and waited for what she
was sure would be a passionate embrace and kiss from her beloved.

Ukyo, finding herself unable to violate the laws of physics any further
than she had already done, touched down, her feet landing squarely atop
Kodachi's skull.  The gray-uniformed ninja girl bounced off and upwards
a moment later, flipping her body agilely and ending up landing next to
Ranma, but she had unintentionally transferred a significant amount of
kinetic energy down into the unsuspecting noblewoman.

Kodachi slammed hard into the soft grass, nose first, her head planted
into the sod deeply enough to cover her face up to her ears.  Her body
came to rest fully prone, her limbs sprawled all around her.  Kodachi
rested like that for several moments, almost motionless, her only sign
of life a slight twitching, quite obviously stunned.

Oh damn, Ranma thought with a sinking feeling in his gut.  He stood
where he was and stared at Kodachi's fallen form, and he quickly knelt
to make sure that she wasn't seriously hurt.  He briefly imagined that
he heard fading echoes of laughter in the back of his mind.  First the
gang of girls attacking him and now this.  Similar events from other
worlds flashed across his mind.

"Uh, good morning, Ranchan," Ukyo said with a little smile, quickly
resheathing her large battle spatula, her use of the nickname intended
to be a teasing joke.  Standing near him like she was, she felt a blush
surge up into her face, reddening her cheeks.  She suddenly could not
seem to figure out what to do with her hands, now currently fidgeting
with one of her small throwing spatulas.

Ukyo's thoughts began wandering off into odd directions, and she could
not seem to bring herself to move to stand as far away from him as her
mother had once told her that propriety required between a boy and a
girl.  In one small corner of her suddenly chaotic thoughts, she also
felt a little guilty at her actions, but she knew that they weren't
really her fault.  Nabiki had tried to attack her, so it was actually
the Tendo girl's fault.  She glanced around to find her foe.

The crowd began to whisper theories about what was going on, seeing a
very male-looking Ukyo talking in a friendly and rather affectionate
manner to Ranma, Nabiki apparently having just attacked the strange,
new boy for unknown reasons, and Kodachi now lying face-down in the
grass.  Some of the theories quickly being traded around were pretty
wild.  In addition, several young women suddenly sighed dreamily at
their first clear look at the attractive stranger.

All in all, it was a most embarrassing and uncomfortable moment, most
especially for Ranma.  He sighed and looked glum.  Why was this stuff
happening to him?

Nabiki and Ukyo caught sight of each other at roughly the same moment.
The expressions on their faces were ones of uncertainty verging on a
possible outbreak of further violence.  The latter possibility seemed
to be the more likely outcome as moments passed.

Terrific, thought Nabiki wryly.  The cross-dressing weirdo has shown
up, and in full costume for her part.  Flashes of memories from her
counterpart's life filled her mind's eye for a moment.  Nabiki eyed
Ukyo with a most unfriendly gaze.  It figures that she'd be a student
here, she realized.  But she'd better not be Ranma's fianc�e in this
world, or he and I are going to have words, harsh words.  Nabiki flexed
her hands unconsciously, briefly closing them into fists.

What's her problem? wondered Ukyo, meeting the cool-eyed glare she was
getting from Nabiki with one of her own.  This was the second time she
had run into Nabiki Tendo, and the upperclassmen girl clearly intended
to be trouble, but she was sure it wouldn't be anything she couldn't
handle.  Bring it on, girl, Ukyo mused.  I could use a light workout as
I feed you your own teeth.  Ukyo turned her eyes towards Ranma, finding
him to be a much more pleasant sight to look at.

Kodachi, after taking a few moments recovering from the shock of what
had just happened, slowly levered herself up.  A few random clods of
dirt fell free of her face and hair.  She felt the sting of scratches
all over her face.  Fury filled her.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Ranchan," said Ukyo mildly, although she
wasn't really too sorry about the face-planting done to the noblewoman.
After all, a weak girl like that should stay away from her fianc�, she
thought.  In the back of her mind, she knew she could definitely get
used to the feelings the pigtailed boy was giving her, similar to the
charge she always felt near Ryoga over the last few years.  But unlike
her long-time sparring partner and rival, Ranma always acted much more
friendly and nice to her, and the combination was kind of intoxicating
to the ninja girl.  She twiddled her fingers together nervously.

"Uh," said Ranma uncertainly.  He glanced from one girl to the next, at
a loss as to what to do.  This was totally unlike the first meetings
that his counterparts were around to experience on their own respective
worlds.  He saw Ukyo gazing at him with a soft look on her face.  He
saw Kodachi glaring evilly at Ukyo.  Looking over to one side, he saw
Nabiki studying the situation with a slight frown on her face too, her
attention mainly on Ukyo.  This did not bode well.

"YOU!" roared Kodachi, breaking the momentary peace.  "How dare you do
such a thing to a lady of quality, you brute!  I demand an apology from
you immediately!"  Kodachi had seen that smirking face before.  It was
that cross-dressing peasant that she had run into a short time back at
Ohtori Academy, Ukyo Kuonji.  Kodachi stalked over to the okonomiyaki
chef, feeling her fury rising with each step.

Ukyo was annoyed.  The stupid girl coming towards her had been too slow
to get out of the way, and Ukyo's change of direction during her leap
hadn't even been her fault in the first place.  She smirked a bit more
at the several scratches on Kodachi's face, fearing little threat from
someone who could be taken down so easily by such an unintentional sort
of attack.  Even a lumbering buffoon like Ryoga could have gotten out
of the way, she felt certain.

"Friend of yours, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked pleasantly, as if she had never
met Kodachi before, a wicked glint in her eye as she glanced over at
the noblewoman taking up station next to Ranma's other shoulder.

"Uh, sort of," Ranma mumbled.  "This is Kodachi Kuno, a classmate of
mine here at the Academy."  He paused.  "And a close... friend."

"Hey there, Kuno-san," said Ukyo casually, waving once.

"I'm still waiting for an apology, you," growled Kodachi from Ranma's
right.  Noting Ranma glancing at her, she quickly smoothed her face as
best she could and calmed her voice for his benefit.  It would not do
at all to let him think she was anything less than a lady of the very
highest quality.  But she could still not resist letting at least one
more barb fly.  "What is your name, you barbarian?"

"Ukyo Kuonji," said the ninja girl, starting to lose some of her cool.
"What's it to you?"  Ukyo started groused in her thoughts.  Who does
this piece of fluff think she's talking to, acting so tough?  She knows
exactly who I am already!  The two had met briefly in Utena's room at
Ohtori Academy, but they had been interrupted before coming to blows.
Ukyo was quite willing to correct that oversight now.

"I am Kodachi Kuno," said the noblewoman grandly, with a lazy wave of
her hand.  "Not that someone with your obvious background would ever
recognize my name."

Ukyo's features darkened.  She glared at Kodachi.  "And what's THAT
supposed to mean?"

Nabiki watched the little exchange going on over by Ranma with a frown.
It looks like I get to save you from your growing fan club, Ranma-baka,
she thought, irritated at his passiveness.  Admittedly, the sight of
the two girls arguing over Ranma had set off an urge to protect him
from any trouble, but it was an urge she was containing for now.  After
what he had done the other day, being far too friendly with that Utena
tramp, Nabiki decided to let him stew a bit longer before she finally
came to his rescue.  Then he would see that he needed her help and
guidance to avoid such problems in the future.

Please don't fight, Ranma kept repeating in his thoughts, his mouth too
dry to speak from his current nervousness.  The urge to run for cover
was growing within him.  He felt trapped in a nightmare, fearing that
violence was just moments away.

"Anyway," said Ukyo more pleasantly, after glancing at Ranma.  "I just
became a cadet here, so I was hoping that Ranchan would show me around.
I'll also be cooking his lunch for him," she then added as a sudden
afterthought.  Twirling one of her throwing spatulas in her hand, she
smiled in challenge.  "Okonomiyaki, the best in the Empire, of course."

Kodachi glared at Ukyo through narrowed eyes, her back teeth grinding,
the urge to brutally beat the girl in male garb totally black and blue
almost overpowering her control.  This PEASANT dared to refuse her an
apology?  She quickly regained control of her emotions again before
speaking, a feminine chuckle now coloring her voice.  "I'm sure such a
pedestrian repast would be acceptable under other circumstances, but
Saotome-kun shall be dining with me this afternoon on much finer foods
than such peasant fare, as we do every day."  She took a deceptively
firm hold of Ranma's arm and smiled sweetly at Ukyo.

Ukyo was not one to back down from a challenge.  Ever.  After quickly
re-sheathing her small spatula, she grabbed Ranma's other arm tightly
and said with the same level of sweetness in her voice, "I'm sure that
my Ranchan would really prefer to eat something I made him, rather than
something obviously put together by servants for some rich little snob
who probably can't even boil water."

Ranma swallowed down a suddenly drier throat, glancing over at Nabiki
and hoping for some assistance.  Seeing the frown remaining on the
older girl's face, he sighed.  No help there.  He resolved to get
himself out of this by just being up front and direct with the two
girls currently glaring at each other and clutching his arms ever
tighter.  After all, in a few moments the blood flow was certain to be
cut off to his hands if he didn't do something.

"Wh-why don't I eat lunch with both of you?" Ranma ventured hopefully.
"I'm sure I'll be really hungry."  He smiled at them as warmly as his
nervousness would allow.

"Well," Kodachi said slowly, feeling her heart suddenly racing a bit at
the look on Ranma's face.  She really didn't want to make him feel
uncomfortable, so she decided to be magnanimous about it this time, as
she was sure a true lady would.  "That sounds fair, Saotome-kun."  She
turned a less than genuine smile in Ukyo's direction.  "Perhaps a brief
truce, Kuonji-san?  For now?"

"I'm game, Sugar," Ukyo said with false cheer.  So Ranma liked this
prissy bimbo chasing after him, eh?   Ukyo considered the potential
challenge that the Kuno girl represented and promptly dismissed her as
a threat.  A ninja of her skills was not about to lose to someone like
Kodachi Kuno.  And pounding her pretty face into so much mush was going
to be the very least that Ukyo planned to do to the other girl, if she
didn't back off on Ranma.  The same went for Nabiki, and she owed that
one a few hard punches (and maybe a kick) into her face anyway.

Ukyo smiled cutely at Ranma and said, "You can decide whose food you
like better.  Right, Ranchan?"  And it better be mine, you jackass, she
growled in her thoughts.  I worked damn hard for days to improve my
cooking skills with Aunt Yumi's recipes, and I refuse to lose to some
snobby bitch who probably can't find her way around a kitchen without a
compass and a map.

Hmph, look at him, growled Nabiki in her thoughts.  He has himself a
regular little harem going on over there.  All he needs now is to have
that Utena tramp around to complete his set.

Looking like a man heading to the gallows, Ranma was escorted into the
main building with both girls still firmly holding onto his arms.

                    ******************************

Morning classes began with homeroom.  Ukyo stood at the front of the
room as Ayaka gathered her class notes, still feeling a bit fragile.
She smiled at the new addition to the class, and she wasn't the only
one.  As she straightened papers, many of the female cadets gazed
happily at Ukyo, some even sighing.

Minami sat in her seat and looked up at the handsome boy in front of
the class, at first simply trying to find something else to look at
while she was pointedly ignoring Hikaru.  Her breath was taken away as
she gazed at the handsome figure in Security gray.  What a gorgeous
boy, she thought, feeling a blush warming her cheeks and a silly smile
appearing on her lips.  She leaned forward on her desk and sighed for a
long moment, resting her chin in her cupped hands, Hikaru forgotten for
the moment.

"Class, this is Ukyo Kuonji, who will be joining us as a new cadet this
term," announced Ayaka solemnly, still feeling a little fragile this
morning.

"Hello," said Ukyo with a smile, bowing to the class.  "It's an honor
to be here."

Ranma was struck by the differences and similarities in this version of
events from how they had happened in the worlds of his analogs.  Ukyo
was dressed as a boy and was his fianc�e, but everything else was quite
different.  And she hadn't shown up wanting to beat him up.  That was a
definite plus.

"Kisaragi-sensei," said Minami, standing up.

"Yes, Minami-san?"  Ayaka looked at the girl, making a mental note that
she still needed to have a chat with her, but that would have to wait
until she felt better.  The girl's perkiness was a little unnerving
right now, especially in her current condition.

"Kuonji-san can sit here next to me," Minami said, gesturing at the
seat next to her, on the other side from where Hikaru Gosunkugi sat.
She smiled brightly.  "Right here."

"Uh, that's fine, Minami-san."  Ayaka took a quick glance around the
room, but she wasn't seeing any other available seats that were in any
better position.  She pointed at the seat that Minami suggested.  "Take
your seat please, Kuonji-san."

"Yes, Ma'am."  Ukyo gracefully strolled the length of the classroom,
followed by the eyes of several girls, before finally taking her ease
in the seat next to Minami.  She nodded pleasantly to the Ghost Sweeper
and said, "Hello."

"I'm a new student here as well, so I hope we can get to be friends,"
Minami said, leaning forward and smiling.  The swell of her bosom was
emphasized by the position.

"Uh, yeah."  Ukyo nodded, thinking she may have made a mistake sitting
here.  The other girl's friendliness was a little overdone.

Quietly sitting on the other side of Minami, Hikaru Gosunkugi glared
sullenly at the new addition to the class and brooded grimly.  His mood
had grown progressively darker since waking up from his pleasant dream
to the hell of his real life.  His great spell of revenge, intended to
punish the wretch Ranma Saotome, had failed, and even the tome he had
used to cast it from had vanished.  Now Minami was not only ignoring
him, she was gazing at the new prettyboy in their class like a hungry
cat sizing up a canary.  And why did he even care that Minami had an
interest in some guy?

Life wasn't fair.  All he had wanted to do was to make Ranma Saotome
and his pet noblewoman thug suffer.  Was that so much to ask?  The
object of his hate was athletic, intelligent, and good-looking, all the
things that Hikaru Gosunkugi wasn't, and Hikaru hated Ranma for that
almost as much as for what he had done to Akane Tendo.  So intent was
he on glaring at Ranma, that Hikaru did not realize that his lips were
forming the words of a spell.

Ranma felt a sudden drowsiness coming over him, and his thoughts began
to riffle.  Brief images of Ranko floated up, and he shook his head a
bit to clear it.  Then his mind drifted to memories of Jusenkyo from
his other selves, the fall into a pool, and the horrifying results.
The sudden rush of fear snapped him back awake, and he looked around
while Kisaragi-sensei was finishing up with checking attendance.

Hikaru's lips suddenly quirked into a cold smile.  He wasn't sure how,
but he had received a clear image suddenly appearing in his mind of how
he would finally attain his revenge on Ranma Saotome: Jusenkyo.  It was
perfect.  Why hadn't he thought of it before?

Hikaru wasn't sure how he knew of such a place as Jusenkyo, but it had
a familiar ring to it.  And didn't the Mobius Institute have several
storage areas of mystical artifacts around Tokyo?  Again, for some odd
reason, he was quite sure they did.  But how he knew didn't matter, he
resolved.  He would find a way to douse Ranma Saotome with some type of
Jusenkyo water, and then the Institute could come and take his nemesis
away for study, like a human lab rat.  Yes, that would be a fitting
retribution.

Ayaka whirled at the sound of manic laughter erupting from the back of
the classroom, the shrill tones aggravating her headache.  She quickly
launched the chalk-filled eraser she had in her hand.  Hikaru's peal of
laughter was cut off sharply when it smacked him squarely in the face.

"Gosunkugi!  Go stand in the hall!"  She winced at the sound of her own
voice.

Shocked back to his senses for the moment, Hikaru walked past Minami,
ignoring her muttered 'Idiot' comment.  He kept his face calm as he
opened the door, and he only turned once to glance briefly at Ranma.
He then walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Ranma was puzzled.  What had that been all about?  Then he considered
it.  It was just Gosunkugi.  The guy wasn't any real threat to him, in
any world.  He went back to half-listening to the instructor's lecture
as she resumed speaking, another very forgettable lesson on the natural
superiority of Imperial Japan and its way of life when compared to the
lot of the rest of the world.

                    ******************************

After homeroom was over, Minami was surprised to see Kisaragi-sensei
approach her while she was chatting with the new boy.  While she was
partly doing it out of a desire to punish Hikaru, and hoping to make
him a bit jealous by her flirting with Ukyo, she could also admit that
she found the new boy to be quite handsome.  He had the most beautiful
facial features that she had ever seen on a boy, and they had an almost
feminine quality to them, but Ukyo was definitely masculine from his
mannerisms.  He was also very much a gentleman, not letting his gaze
linger on Minami's bosom like most boys would, even as she gave him
numerous opportunities to study her figure.  It was both charming to
find a boy that self-controlled, and also a bit vexing.

"Minami-san,  I'd like to see you in my office," said Ayaka calmly.
"Please come with me."

"Yes, Kisaragi-sensei."  She got up from her desk and bowed briefly to
Ukyo.  "See you later, Kuonji-kun."

"Uh, yeah," Ukyo replied with a casual wave of her hand.  "Later."  She
sighed briefly when Minami was safely out of sight.  It wasn't the very
first time that a girl had expressed such interest in her, thinking she
was really a boy, but it was always disconcerting.  Ukyo was a girl,
and while she wasn't particularly attracted to other girls, she had
been out on dates with a few as part of her pretense at being a boy.

Ukyo considered herself lucky at having had a close friend at her old
school that was willing to pretend to be her girlfriend, something that
would have scandalized her mother.  While it had been useful at fending
off the unwanted attentions of any other girls, she had to endure the
boys bragging about their sexual conquests around her and asking about
her own exploits in that area, having a steady girlfriend.  Ukyo had
always just shrugged and refused to comment, which had given her a
reputation for being cool.

Ukyo glanced over at Ranma's empty desk, a wistful grin appearing on
her face.  He had smiled and waved goodbye to her as he headed for some
special martial arts training class he was in.  She wished that she
could have gone with him.  She wasn't relishing playing catch-up up in
her other classes.  Maybe Ranma could help tutor her or something.

Even though they had not yet spent a lot of time together, Ukyo felt
that there was something special about Ranma.  He knew the true self
that lay beneath her male disguise, and it didn't seem to bother him
that she dressed like a boy.  They could be comfortable with each other
when they were together, able to talk and laugh together like the best
of friends, and Ranma seemed to know her quite well for so short a time
they had known each other.  It had been a lot of fun going out on a
date with him, and she was grateful to discover that she could be his
friend as well as his fianc�e.  That budding friendship enhanced the
attraction she felt for him.

In her pursuit of Ranma, the only difficulty she could see was the
interference of those other girls.  Physically dominating them and
driving them away from her fianc� was the simplest course of action.
As the best fighter by far at her old school, Ukyo was quite confident
in her abilities, despite her aunt's warnings against overconfidence.
While her encounter with them this morning had shown that Kodachi's
threat level was laughable, Nabiki's seemed much more formidable.  It
was a welcome challenge.

                    ******************************

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Kisaragi-sensei?" Minami
asked as she closed the door to the office.  She saw Ayaka half-seated
against the edge of her desk.

Ayaka looked at her new charge steadily and said, "What was that stunt
you pulled last night?  You could have gotten Kasuga-kun killed, not to
mention yourself.  You only have a trainee's license.  You had no right
to try and take on something that powerful.  Director Kasuga was not
very happy to hear that you dragged his grandson into that mess.  The
words 'glory-seeking young fool' were used."

Minami gulped, her usual bravado temporarily deserting her.  "I-"

Ayaka abruptly held up one hand.  "Save it.  Because of that little bit
of recklessness on your part, I've been given instructions to mentor
you and offer you the benefit of my experience as a Ghost Sweeper."

"I see."  Minami looked down at the floor, trying her very best to look
humble.

Ayaka sighed and said, "Director Kasuga thinks you're salvageable, but
right now I have my doubts.  You've caused me a lot of trouble, Minami-
san."  She paused.  "I wonder.  Do you have what it really takes to
earn your license and be a fully-fledged Ghost Sweeper?  I'm warning
you now that I won't make it easy on you.  Director Kasuga has given me
carte blanche in overseeing you."  Ayaka felt bothered that the man may
have been right, that Minami was just like she herself had been like at
that age, a young hotshot.

"I can take any training you care to throw at me," Minami said, raising
her eyes to meet Ayaka's.  Her usual bravado was resurfacing.  "I'm not
afraid."

Ayaka leaned forward, her gaze suddenly more fearsome.  "You will be."

                    ******************************

Nabiki eyed the storm clouds moving by overhead as she stepped out of
the door leading to the girls locker room.  She was dressed in one of
her light-green Chinese-style shirts and a pair of black gi pants, tied
tightly at the waist and ankles.  She lifted her arms up high over her
head, lacing her fingers together as she stretched, feeling the muscles
in her upper back and shoulders loosening a bit.

With a confident swagger in her step, Nabiki calmly strolled across the
pavement to the training mat.  She nodded to the coach, noting absently
that he had a thoughtful expression on his face for some reason.  She
sat down and began warming up with some stretching exercises, leaning
forward and grabbing her left foot for several seconds, and then her
right, her body bending almost double as she felt the muscles loosening
up.  It felt good to be moving around like this, preparing her body for
some serious training, getting her blood flowing.

Kodachi emerged from the locker room, glancing around for Ranma as was
her usual habit each day.  She didn't see him, but she caught sight of
Nabiki and frowned.  Her dear brother Tatewaki was honoring his vow to
Nabiki after his loss at her hands, but without him around to provide a
distraction, the Tendo girl was proving to be most annoying.  At least
that cross-dressing savage wasn't joining their class.

Taking her place a suitable distance from the vexing presence of the
middle Tendo daughter, Kodachi began performing her own set of warm-up
exercises.  Her mother had been working her hard in their private
training sessions over the past few days, and she was hopeful that
today would finally be the day when she would crush Nabiki, and show
Ranma that she was truly the most worthy of him.  After a brief, rather
disdainful glance at Nabiki, she started into some serious stretching.

Stepping out from the boys locker area, Ranma was dressed in one of his
red Chinese-style shirts and a pair of black gi pants, tied at the
ankles and waist.  Storm clouds rolled lazily across the skies, heavy
and black with moisture.  He walked over to sit between Nabiki and
Kodachi, taking his usual position between them.

"Hey, Ranma-kun," Nabiki drawled to him in greeting, leaning forward,
her legs together as she bent almost double, giving him a rather nice
view of the swell of her breasts within her Chinese-style shirt as she
moved.  A measuring look was in her eyes as she gazed at him, as well
as a slight smirk on her lips.  She then went back to focussing on her
exercises.

"Hello, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi with her usual, slightly shy smile.
She changed her position to work on one leg some more, unintentionally
giving Ranma a rather nice view of her derriere as she leaned forward
and stretched.  She did not hear Ranma's sudden gulp as he gazed at the
sight.

Ranma quickly shut his eyes to the sight, half afraid that Akane was
going to suddenly appear and accuse him of being a pervert.  Then he
paused, feeling silly.  He sat down and began stretching and warming
himself up for practice.  What was he thinking?  But he kept his eyes
shut anyway.

Nabiki was the first to notice a stranger approaching, accompanied by
Dean Fuyutsuki.  As the man got closer, her eyes widened.  She could
not quite believe who she was seeing coming towards them.

It was Bruce Lee.

Memories from her other self suddenly burst across her mind's eye, of
breaks from training sometimes spent in grungy movie houses, watching
the film exploits of a man who had been dead for years on that other
world.  Nabiki had never had much interest in the man's movies in her
own life, where his career had spanned for years longer, so it was a
double shock to see him, here and now, an older man, walking up to her
with a casual stride.

"Stand and bow, cadets!" snapped Coach Fujinami like a drill sergeant.
"We have guests."

All three teenagers snapped to their feet.  Ranma reacted to the sight
of the man walking towards them with a similar level of surprise to how
Nabiki had felt.  Kodachi felt a thrill as well when she realized who
was approaching.  All three of them hastened to bow with respect to the
man now standing before them.

"Good morning, cadets," said Dean Fuyutsuki calmly.  "It is my honor to
present Master Jun Fan Lee to you, who has most graciously accepted an
invitation extended by the Imperial Academy to consider instructing one
or more of you as his students.  I trust you will do your best to prove
yourself worthy of consideration for that."

"Hello," said Master Lee calmly, studying the trio now before him.  He
briefly inclined his head, a slightly amused look on his face.

Kodachi was the first to find her voice.  "It would be an honor to be
able to study with Master Lee, of course."

"Yeah, like you'd be his first choice for a student, Kodachi," Nabiki
drawled in an aside to the young noblewoman.  "It's pretty obvious who
among us would be the best choice."

Kodachi felt a vein briefly pulse on her forehead, and she restrained
herself with some difficulty from attempting to pummel Nabiki right
then and there.  Instead, she shot a deadly glance at the other girl.
It was simply infuriating to her to be spoken to with such disrespect,
especially by one of her rivals for Ranma, but she chose to endure it
stoically, as a true lady would.

Ranma decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment, waiting to hear
what Master Lee had to say.  He didn't care very much for Nabiki's tone
of voice though.  He spared a brief glance at the two girls on his
right, then returned his gaze to the front.

"Allow me to introduce your prospective students, Master Lee," said
Dean Fuyutsuki, with a measure of pride in his voice as he pointed at
each one in turn.  "This young man is Ranma Saotome.  The girl next to
him is Nabiki Tendo.  And next to her is Lady Kodachi Kuno.  They have
been training together for the past few weeks."

"Master Lee," Ranma said, bowing respectfully once again, an act that
was mirrored by Kodachi and Nabiki.

After studying them again for a few moments, Master Lee said, "So which
of you is the best fighter?"

"I am," Nabiki and Ranma abruptly said, in almost perfect stereo.  They
both quickly frowned and eyed each other.

"It seems there is a difference of opinion between the two of you."

"Yeah, it appears so," said Ranma, looking towards Nabiki again.  There
was an odd sense of inevitability to the scene now taking place, Ranma
realized.  That now-familiar competitive fire began to burn within him
once again.

"Then perhaps you could demonstrate your fighting skills, to see who I
choose to take as my student."

Nabiki showed her teeth in a mirthless smile as she returned Ranma's
look steadily, and she said, almost tenderly, "It looks like it's time
to put it to the test, Ranma-kun."

"It looks like it," he replied in a similar tone, his gaze now firmly
locked with Nabiki's.

Both of them licked suddenly dry lips briefly, as they continued to
hold each other's gaze, an unspoken understanding passing between them.
Their hearts began speeding up, their breathing deepened, and there was
an increase in the tension in the air between them, like lightning on a
summer night.  It was almost, but not quite, a sexual attraction at
that moment.  They realized, deep down inside, a struggle for dominance
existed between them, more important to them than life itself, and both
of them could feel it slowly taking over, becoming inescapable.

"Saotome-kun," Kodachi whispered, suddenly fearing.  She could not help
but notice the intense, passionate gaze he was sharing with Nabiki, and
she started to move between them when a hand fell on her shoulder.  She
saw Dean Fuyutsuki standing there, and he gently pulled her back out of
possible danger.

Cocking his head, Master Lee smiled slightly as he noticed the postures
of the two young warriors changing.  He gestured towards Coach Fujinami
and the two men moved back as well, moving to stand beneath the awning
on the building with Dean Fuyutsuki and Kodachi.  None of them had a
place in what was about to take place.  It was now solely in the hands
of the boy and girl in front of them.

Nabiki found herself eager to begin.  She felt a tingling in the back
of her brain, like a foretaste of a buzzing, her mind entering into a
state of supreme focus, one that she could only recall feeling a few
times before in her young life and never about any sort of physical
confrontation.  Nabiki licked her lips again briefly, her eyes never
leaving Ranma's even as his eyes never left hers.

The familiar buzzing appeared in the very back of Ranma's hindbrain,
like a coiled dragon, young and eager to fight, simply waiting to be
unleashed.  Ranma held it back for now.  He knew what the boost was
now, and its dangers.  Besides, he was confident he would beat Nabiki
without it.  He'd beaten her before without using it, and he'd do so
again.

A single drop of rain hit the ground with a wet splat, momentarily
breaking the tension.

Nabiki surged forward suddenly, taking the initiative with a vengeance
and launching into a quick volley of punches and kicks, testing Ranma's
defenses.  She held back on her new speed a small amount, planning to
save it for a surprise.  She didn't want a quick end to this.  She
wanted to beat Ranma only after he recognized the true superiority of
her skills.

A bolt of lightning arced in the distance and a crack of thunder rolled
across the skies as Ranma blocked and evaded Nabiki's attacks.  This
was no mere sparring match.  Both of them were fighting in sincere
earnest, each determined to take the other down.  Nabiki had gotten
better since their last encounter, and he struggled to hold on to the
initiative, which quickly fluctuated back and forth between them in
roughly equal measure.

Nabiki slipped her head a fraction of an inch to one side, allowing
Ranma's fist to blur by her face, narrowly missing her jaw.  A grim
smile lit her face when Ranma took the initiative back from her once
again.  She experienced once again a fierce joy that her counterpart
would probably never know, to face Ranma like this, to be challenged by
him like this.  Like before, there was an intensity to her struggle
with him, an excitement that no other opponent had ever given to her or
to her counterpart.

Master Lee cocked his head slightly to one side as he watched the two
young fighters engage each other.  Neither of them had managed to hit
with any serious force into the other yet, stymied for the moment by
their roughly equal level of skill.  But that wasn't the most amazing
thing about their battle.  No, what amazed Master Lee the most was the
core style they were using, buried under maneuvers gleaned from dozens
of other styles: the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts.

Ranma rocked Nabiki with a punch to her ribs, the first solid blow he
had managed to get in this fight.  Her defenses were beginning to show
minute holes, and he battered against them, struggling to pry them open
farther.  But his own defenses were beginning to tatter as well.  He
managed to land a kick into her thigh, a punch into her face, and then
a drenching rain began to fall, cold on his skin as it soaked into his
clothing within moments.  Unconsciously anticipating the change, he was
left momentarily off-balance when it didn't occur.

The rain had plastered Nabiki's clothing to her body, chilling her, but
she was a fraction of a second faster than Ranma to realize that the
change wasn't going to happen.  She tasted blood in her mouth, felt the
ache of the deep bruise in her ribs, and knew it was time to unleash
her surprise on him.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Ranma was taken completely off-guard as a blinding flurry of punches
ripped into his body by Nabiki's fists, tearing through his already
tattering defenses.  While the first hundred or so blows from Nabiki's
fists impacted into him, he regretted withholding the boost, and now it
was too late.  Sometime before the rest were driven into him, he lost
consciousness.

Kodachi let out a muffled gasp as Ranma's body was lifted free of the
ground by the sheer volume of punches that Nabiki ravaged him with, as
the brutal attack swiftly pummeled him unconscious.  Seemingly in slow
motion, his form arced back, a burst of crimson escaping his lips as he
rose and fell, landing on his back on the mat.  In a surge, the young
noblewoman broke free of Dean Fuyutsuki and quickly rushed to Ranma's
side, calling his name, heedless of the rain now drenching her body.

Nearly exhausted by her efforts, Nabiki half-collapsed to her knees,
panting, her lungs scavenging every trace of oxygen they could.  She
had won.  A grin lit her face as she at that thought, but it quickly
turned to a frown as she watched Kodachi take charge of Ranma, the
young noblewoman glancing back at her once with a grim look before
returning her full attention to the fallen boy.

The brief, intense rain had stopped, the storm clouds moving by slowly
overhead as a hand fell on Nabiki's shoulder.  She looked up to see
Master Lee looking down at her with an inscrutable expression.  She
blinked and looked up at him, a question in her eyes.  Did this mean
that she was going to be Master Lee's apprentice?

"You fought well," Master Lee said calmly.  He looked over at Ranma's
fallen form.  "Both of you did."  With a nod at Dean Fuyutsuki, he
stepped away from Nabiki and said, "I will teach the boy."

Nabiki felt her ego seem to shatter within her from surprise.  What had
he just said?

"But, I won," Nabiki said, feeling a little bewildered, standing up.
"I proved that I'm the strongest fighter, stronger than Ranma."

Master Lee looked mildly at Nabiki.  "You are also arrogant, and I did
not necessarily say that I would instruct the victor."  He gazed at
Ranma, who was still unconscious and being tended to by Kodachi.  "In
time, perhaps I will take you on as my student as well.  But for now,
Ranma Saotome will be the one that I will teach.  He shows great
promise."

"Thank you, Master Lee," said Dean Fuyutsuki with a smile, stepping
forward quickly.  "I'm sure that Saotome-san will make you a fine
student.  And consider the resources of this institution to be at your
disposal for as long as you are here."

Master Lee nodded to Dean Fuyutsuki.  "When the boy wakes up, tell him
that I will begin his training tomorrow."  He bowed once, and then he
walked off.

Kodachi gazed down at Ranma's bruised face resting in her lap, feeling
pride filling her as she gently wiped the blood from his face with her
handkerchief.  She felt warm inside at his nearness as she tended him,
a background mutter in her thoughts as her other selves whispered to
each other.  The Black Rose was especially pleased.  Her Saotome-kun
was going to become an apprentice of the great Jun Fan Lee, the Dragon.
They were all so happy for him within her, looking forward to having
him as her husband and protector.  And with such a master training him,
he was certain to surpass that hateful cow, Nabiki Tendo.

Standing alone, watching Kodachi caring for Ranma, Nabiki closed one
hand into a fist at her side.  So what if Master Lee had rejected her
in favor of Ranma?  There were other teachers.  She would find one to
teach her and show both of them how strong she was, especially Ranma.

Why did the thought that he might surpass her hurt so much inside?  She
wanted him to be strong, didn't she?  But if he became stronger than
she was, he wouldn't need her, she realized.  That was what hurt. Her
other self liked being needed, liked being the one people looked at to
deal with any problems that came up.  But here, if this Ranma took that
spot, he wouldn't need her, not like that other Ranma needed that other
Nabiki.  So she couldn't let him do that.  She had to maintain her edge
over Ranma somehow.

"Why don't you two girls head to the locker room, change clothes, and
dry off?" suggested Dean Fuyutsuki.  "I'll have the coach take Ranma to
the infirmary, and we'll continue your training inside."

"Yes, sir," both girls replied, interrupting their respective musings.

Kodachi helped the coach pick up Ranma, and then she followed Nabiki
back to the locker room.  Maybe now that Ranma had weakened the other
girl, she could take advantage and deal her nemesis some vengeance for
Saotome-kun's sake.  She almost purred as she looked forward to it.

                    ******************************

Sometime later, Ranma awoke on a bed in the infirmary.  He was startled
to see Genma sitting on a chair, reading the newspaper.  He sat up, and
the older man frowned.

"Beaten up by a girl, or so I heard," Genma said grimly.

"Shut up, old man," Ranma grumbled back.

Genma tossed Ranma his uniform jacket, smacking him in the face with
it.

"Get dressed," Genma commanded.  "We don't want to be late for dinner."

Ranma slipped out of bed and put on his jacket and shoes.  He heard
Genma grumbling behind him.  He turned to face the older man.

Genma frowned, obviously displeased.  "You're a poor excuse for the son
I knew, even if he was half-girl, but at least you did something right
today.  You got lucky, you little punk."

"Huh?  What do you mean?"

"It seems that Master Lee took pity on you and decided to take you as a
student, instead of Nabiki."  Genma suddenly exploded, "How could you
let yourself be beaten by some slip of a girl?  You're a disgrace!"

"Don't push me, old man," Ranma growled.  "I still haven't forgiven you
for this morning."  Then he blinked.  Waitasec.  He was Master Lee's
student?  That was unexpectedly good news.

Genma smirked.  "Deal with it, boy.  I'm your father now, and you can't
do a thing about it.  I've seen to that."

Ranma frowned, but he said nothing.  We'll see, old man.  We'll see.

As they walked out of the main building of the Academy, Genma glanced
over at Ranma.  "By the way, tomorrow night, you've got a date with
Tendo-kun's daughter, Nabiki.  I arranged it with Tendo-kun, so I don't
want you screwing it up.  Got me?"

Ranma's mood darkened even more.  It sounded like the fake was getting
along quite well with the other fathers.

"I'm not going on any date with Nabiki," Ranma declared, mentally
digging in his heels.

Genma smirked.  "Afraid she'll beat you up again, if you two are left
alone together?"

Ranma grumbled, but he said nothing more.  Fine.  He'd take Nabiki on a
stupid date.

And so the two men headed out the gates of the Academy, a pair that was
not quite father and son, each one lost in their own thoughts.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Stay tuned for the next chapter: "Signal to Noise Ratio"

It will be coming much sooner than this one did.


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