Almost twelve months ago...

	"Akane, there's something we need to talk about."
	Delivering a curious look to her older sister, the youngest
Tendo nodded.  "Is something going on Nabiki?"
	The mercenary girl sighed, putting her hands behind her head as 
the two continued on their way home from school.  "There was a new student 
at school today, and I think you need to be aware of it, that's all."
	Nabiki paused then, collecting her thoughts as she debated 
how to proceed with her information.  "Do you remember a couple of
weeks back, when Daddy announced we'd be getting a fiancee?"
	"Ranma Saotome, I think Daddy said, why?"
	Nabiki's face became serious as she stopped and faced her
younger sister.  "Because he enrolled at Furinkan today, that's why.
Luckily, fate was on our side and he's not in any of your classes,
but you deserve to know."  Pulling a small yen piece from her pocket,
she shifted the coin to her thumb and began flipping it in the air.
"So now we have a choice to make.  We can either approach this Ranma
person," she flashed one half of the yen at her sister.  "Or we can
avoid him at all costs." The reverse side of the coin showed itself.
	"I already checked, and he's not the brightest yen ever 
minted, but he's pretty damned cute and could probably pound Kuno up one
side of the school and down the other.  Aside from that I don't know much 
yet."  The coin shuffled along Nabiki's knuckles, moving first up then 
down as her fingers shifted.  "I admit I was kind of excited at first, but 
when you really think about it, do you want to risk being engaged to someone 
you don't know and Daddy's never met?"
	"Do you really want to keep this from dad, Nabiki?  You saw how
upset he was when the Saotome's didn't show, how mad he still is at them,
how do you think he'd react if he found out we're going to the same
school as Ranma and we didn't even tell him?"
	A thoughtful gaze passed through Nabiki's eyes, and for a 
moment hesitation accompanied her normally calculating look.  "I just
want to know more about this guy before we get in over our heads, that's
all.  So what do you say, tell Ranma and Daddy, or not?"
	Akane locked eyes with her sister.  "Heads we do..."
	"...tails we don't," Nabiki finished.
	With the flick of a thumb, the coin rose into the air.
	

*-*-*-*

A Wish Come True, Chapter 4: New World Order

A Ranma Fanfiction, by Brian

*-*-*-*

Present day...

	Akane tossed and turned, her sleep disturbed by images, thoughts, and
fragments of memories that weren't quite her own attempting to overwrite 
the existence she knew.  She remembered defeating the Dojo Destroyer, 
fighting Mariko Konjou, Gosunkugi's paper dolls and the quivering mass
of bruised flesh she'd left of him after their magically induced date.  
She remembered watching in awe from the sidelines as Ranma summoned the 
Hiryu Shoten Ha for the first time, and seeing Ukyo dive into the vortex 
to save her fiancee.
	She remembered falling in love with Ranma, this time from a distance.
	"Akane?  Yo, Akane!"
	The long-haired girl opened her eyes and found herself staring into 
the familiar blue orbs of a pigtailed-boy in chinese clothes.  There was Ranma,
complete with that same grin he always had.  Relief at seeing her fiancee was 
clouded quickly by the unfamiliar impulse to throw her arms around him and
squeeze, which is what she did.
	Someone screamed her name.
	Akane's eyes shot open, and she found herself wrapping her sister
in a bone-crushing hug.  Nabiki was not amused, though she couldn't express
that emotion as she was having trouble breathing at the moment. Releasing
her grip with embarassed speed, Akane murmured apologies to her sister.
	The brunette raised an eyebrow, holding one hand to her side as she
caught her breath.  "Not quite the reaction I was expecting, but at least 
you're up.  C'mon, breakfast is ready, and if you don't hurry I'll tell 
everyone at school you were calling out Ranma's name in your sleep."
	Recalling her dream, Akane stared at her shaking arms in shock,
before she fully recalled the events of the previous day.  
	For some reason her own thoughts sounded hollow in her mind.
She didn't even know how she'd fallen for him, how was she supposed to
make him fall for her?
	"Akane, you okay?  I swear, I'll tell the whole school... again."
	Out of habit more than anything else, the youngest Tendo nodded 
and followed the laughing Nabiki downstairs to the dining room.

*-*-*-*

	Akane sat at the table, eating selectively from the meager feast 
Kasumi had crafted.  Shinnosuke and the oldest daughter sat side-by-side. 
Oddly enough, the forgetful young man had no trouble remembering the eldest 
sister, while Nabiki had been forced to remind him of her identity more 
than once.
	Soun did not eat with them, Kasumi having taken his breakfast
and paper to his room before the others had come to the table.  Nabiki ate 
quickly, remaining silent even as she finished and whisked up her backpack,
fleeing the house like a ghost.
	Akane continued to nibble away at her beef bowl, the soft clicking
of chopsticks the only sound coming from the three that remained at the 
table.  The quiet in the house went beyond disturbing, and if something 
insane didn't happen soon Akane was confident that she would go nuts.
She idly blew bubbles in the glass of water that accompanied her meal,
earning a reproving glance from the oldest sister.
	Kasumi stood from the table and retrieved a basket from the side 
of the room.  The wicker container had some of Dr. Tofu's books in it; medical 
journals and a few thick tomes on psychology and physiology.  She wasn't sure 
what to make of it and didn't want to hazard a guess as to what, or rather who, 
they were for.  Kasumi made her way to the door with some difficulty, her minor 
leg injury seeming more of a problem than it had been last night.
	"I'll be going to Dr. Tofu's if you need anything, Father."
	Akane had not even noticed when Soun appeared at the foot of the
stairs, his face a weathered mass.  His eyes moved slightly, a barely
noticeable motion, casting an observing look at his oldest daughter. 
"Kasumi?  You appear to be limping, is something the matter?"
	Kasumi looked down at her toes as though they would provide an 
answer that she could live with.  "I suffered a minor bruise on my leg 
yesterday, Father.  I think that I should have Dr. Tofu look at it."
	"Akane, you go on to school.  I think that I will help Kasumi to 
Dr. Tofu's today."  Soun stepped up to support his eldest daughter, dropping
his newspaper as he did so.
	Akane noticed that Kasumi looked genuinely surprised at Soun's
declaration, and it took her sister a moment to find her voice.  "Are you 
sure father?  I mean, you haven't left the house in such a long time. Do you 
really wish to go?"
	"Why, yes, Kasumi.  I think that maybe it's time for me to get 
back out into the world... and if we should encounter Saotome or his son,
well, he will simply have to explain himself."  Soun clenched his fist as 
a dark aura surrounded him, demonstrating his thoughts more accurately
than his words might have.
	Akane got up and ran out of the house, the tears were threatening 
to come again, and she had to be strong if she was going to do this.  
Her father hated Mr. Saotome now, could she still get him to go along 
with the engagement?  And if she could, could she get Ranma to?  
	Akane took off towards Furinkan high.  Her mind was a chaotic mesh
of hopes and memories, but with a little luck she was certain she could
work things out.

*-*-*-*

	Passing through the gates, Akane marveled once again at the sheer
quiet that enveloped the town.  Kodachi had put a stop to Kuno's daily assault,
she remembered, claiming that it would interfere with her constant challenges
directed at Akane.  In a sense, it had, as Akane had started using the horde
to hone her rhythmic gymnastic combat skills.  The Black Rose had not been happy
when she lost three matches in a row.
	Still, that was just one more thing that had changed because of Ranma's
absence, which was becoming more pronounced to Akane the more she wandered 
through town.  There hadn't been one explosion that she could hear all morning, 
nobody crying out for vengeance or screaming in bloodcurdling rage.
	It was kind of unnerving.
	As if sensing her thoughts, a window on the second floor blasted
outward with a shriek of energy.  Akane leapt backward to avoid the falling
body that had been cast outside by the energy ball, the bag of panties strapped
its back cushioning it from most of the damage the fall should've caused.
	Happosai wobbled for a moment, looking for all the world like some
poor defenseless turtle that had been thrown onto his back, before rolling
to his feet and dusting himself off.
	"Insolent wench," he muttered.  "I gave her those powers damnit,
and I'd take 'em away if I had the arm span for it."
	Akane took advantage of the ancient pervert's brief pause to punt
him off into the distance, his scream as he flew away having a calming effect
on her disposition.  There was no malice in her action, it just helped her to 
feel a little bit closer to normal for a moment.

*-*-*-*

	Entering her classroom, Akane found the teacher already buried
in a lecture on the cultural significance of Yu Yu Hakusho and its inherent
symbolism regarding the industrial revolution and the parallels between it 
and Dante's Divine Comedy.
	"Ms. Tendo, you no longer have any excuse for being late to 
class."  Without looking away from the elaborate Botan illustration he was
making on the crowded blackboard, he raised his hand and pointed towards 
the doorway behind her. "Buckets, hall, now, etcetera."
	As Professor Fujisawa returned to the lecture, Akane did a quick 
scan of the room and its occupants before she grasped the punishment that 
had been assigned to her and headed out into the hall.  As she stood, passively
supporting the weight of the water, she replayed the rapid onceover of the 
classroom in her mind's eye.  Yuka and Sayuri were staring at her as though 
being late was the strangest thing in the world, Hiroshi and Daisuke had 
been half-asleep, and Ranma hadn't been in there.
	Akane ran through the image several times.  Ranma wasn't in there.
Ukyo had been, and if what Urd had told her was correct Ranma should've been 
with her, but he wasn't.  It didn't make any sense.  Suddenly, a commotion 
from down the hall distracted her from her train of thought.
	"Dammit Kuno!  I don't got time to deal with you right now!"  
	Ranma leapt out into the intersection a short distance away from Akane, 
the sight causing her breath to catch in her throat and her heart to stop beating 
for a moment, he was followed closely by a bokken that seemed intent on removing 
his head or a different body part.
	"Silence, wretch!  I shall free my goddesses from thy vile tyranny."
	Kuno swung his bokken in a low arc, attempting to remove Ranma's legs.  
Ranma leapt over the swing and planted a foot in Kuno's face, sending the 
kendoist  backwards through a wall into one of the Home Economics classes.
Several girls carrying trays of cookies peered out into the corridor through
the large void that now graced one of their classroom walls.
	"I really hope you know that people don't talk like that no more."  
Ranma shook his head and sighed, "What a moron."
	Turning around, the pig-tailed boy caught sight a clock on the wall, 
screaming in surprise at the time it displayed.  "Dammit, Kuno!"  He turned 
and jetted down a different hallway, "Now I'm really late!"  Ranma's voice 
faded as he sped down the hall toward his own classroom.
	A memory of Nabiki and a fateful coin toss came to Akane at that
moment, and her buckets made a clanking noise as she placed them on the floor 
to begin following in the direction of the pig-tailed boy.  No sooner had 
she started to run than a high-pitched voice rang out a few feet behind her.
	"Happo five-yen satsu, you delinquent!"
	Akane turned, a question dying on her lips as the world around her 
began to grow dark, a severe lack of ki sending her into deep unconsciousness.  
She didn't even see the ten year-old behind her become a shapely twenty-four 
year old woman.

*-*-*-*

	Shinnosuke ran through the streets of Nerima, periodically shifting
his gaze to the left like a swimmer gasping for breath, keeping the boy with
the bandanna and the umbrella in sight.  As he approached the end of the 
avenue on which he was sprinted, knowing that he would soon be forced to turn,
a thought occured to him.
	
	A bandanna whizzed by the forgetful boy's face, leaving a thin cut
across his cheek from which a lone drop of blood escaped.    Shinnosuke continued running, blocking some projectiles
with his broom and dodging others.
	Ryoga, only slightly winded from his run, and the eight day hike 
across Japan that had preceded it, screamed at his adversary as he pursued him.
"I may not know your name, but I saw what you did.  How dare you hurt her 
feelings that way?"
	"Whose feelings?"  Shinnosuke shouted back.  "Who are you?"
	"Don't feign ignorance!"
	"I'm not feigning anything."  Arriving the cross-street, Shinnosuke
turned right, away from the lost boy.
	Still angry and overeager, Ryoga turned left, away from Shinnosuke,
shouting in fury as he tore off into the hazy afternoon. "Don't you run away from 
me, you'll pay for toying with her that way!"  No longer able to see his prey, 
as it had vanished behind him, Ryoga stormed onward in pursuit.
	
	Propping himself up with his broom, Shinnosuke slowed to a walk as
he moved through the street, stopping only when he realized he had no idea
where he was.
	"That's strange, I could've sworn I was doing something.  I was...
talking to a girl?"  A young woman's face appeared in his mind, but he could 
not quite place her name before the image faded.  He reached a hand up,
brushing a small trickle of blood from his face. "And why am I bleeding?"
	He pondered that for a moment before dismissing the concept.
	"Oh well, it can't have been that important."
	Continuing to walk, Shinnosuke enjoyed the bright sunshine, stopping
to smell the roses that lined the small street.
	
*-*-*-*

	Ranma slept through most of his classes, which was not unusual,  
but he woke up when he heard everyone heading out for lunch, and that was
a little out of the ordinary.  Following the crowd he soon found himself 
outside, taking up his usual spot under a tree, and waiting for Ukyo.  It took 
a few minutes before she joined him, her omnipresent spatula strapped to her 
back.  She was waving, chuckling giddily as she jogged toward him.
	"So Ranchan, pleasant dreams in class?"
	"Not really, been feeling kinda weird all day."  
	"I could hear you snoring in my classroom, that's quite a distance 
you know, and you have a very distinctive snore."
	Ranma shrugged in response, enjoying a few bites of the okonomiyaki
his fiancee had prepared. "I don't know Ucchan, you ever get the feeling that
there's something out of place.  Like something doesn't belong, you know?"
	"Like what?"
	"Well, for instance there's..."  A loud crashing, and the splintering 
of stone echoed across the yard. "..that."  Ranma finished his sentence just 
as a purple blur appeared, taking the form of Shampoo, and latched onto him.
	"Airen!"  The purple-haired Amazon squealed with delight as she
rubbed her body against the pig-tailed boy.  She retrieved a small box 
from the grass near her feet, pushing the bowl of ramen it contained into
Ranma's face.  The noodles smelled delicious, and the hopeful look in the
Amazon's eyes ate away at Ranma's resolve.  After all, he was still hungry.
	"Shampoo bring lunch!"  The smile on the purple-haired girl's face 
faltered only slightly as she took in Ukyo's presence.
	The bowl holding the ramen split evenly down the middle, one of Ukyo's
smaller spatulas passing neatly through its center, spilling the soupy liquid
down Shampoo's hands.  The purple-haired girl yelped in pain as the scalding
ramen contacted her skin, shaking her hands to scatter the steaming broth, and
slurping the lunch she had prepared off her fingers as she glared at her rival.
	"Oops, my hand slipped." Ukyo's grin had little warmth in it.  She 
was not pleased that Shampoo was once again attempting to drug, poison or 
otherwise herbally affect her fiance.  "He's not hungry, bimbo.  Not for your 
food anyway."  She gracefully removed her larger spatula from its holster, 
leveling it threateningly.  "Now why don't you run home to granny?"
	"Spatula girl keep Shampoo and Husband from being together, yes?"
	"You bet your life I do."
	"Okay!"  Shampoo grinned happily, producing her bonbori and bringing
it down toward Ukyo's head in a swift arc.  The cheerful look, however, vanished
when she found her weapon blocked by her opponent's large kitchen untensil, and
her eyes turned to steely concentration as the two traded attacks back and forth.
	Ukyo's spatula blocked again and the chef spun in a circle, bringing the 
large peel around behind her and using the loop on the weapon's handle to ensnare 
one of Shampoo's maces.  In one smooth motion, she disarmed the Amazon's left hand.
At the same time, one of her throwing spatulas appeared in the opposite palm, 
blocking an incoming attacking from the other bonbori.
	Unfortunately, this series of maneuvers let Shampoo get in close enough 
to drive her knee toward Ukyo's back.  A deft block resulted in the chef's
favorite spatula now having an obtuse bend in the haft, forcing her to roll
forward to absorb the impact.  With an angry roar, she planted her feet and
reversed direction, bringing the flat edge down toward Shampoo in an deadly arc.
	The new bend in the handle of her weapon, coupled with Shampoo's catlike
grace, caused her to hit slightly to the right of the Amazon, piercing a buried
lawn sprinkler as she did so and dousing the purple-haired girl with a cascade of
cold water.
	Shaking what droplets she could from her hair and clothes, the Amazon 
leveled the remaining bonbori at her opponent who was vainly attempting to 
wrench her buried spatula free of the dirt and mud.
	"You miss."
	 Ukyo thought.  The edge of her baker's peel had caught on the
water pipes below ground, making it more difficult than she'd expected to pull
her weapon loose.
	Shampoo's eyes narrowed.  "Panda say Ranma marry Shampoo, not spatula
girl, now see why."  Raising the bonbori over her head, the Amazon brought the 
weapon down toward her rival.  "Spatula girl weak!"

*-*-*-*

Ten months ago...

	"I'm a girl, Shampoo, do you get it now?"  Ranma pulled open her
shirt, exposing her chest for the Amazon's inspection.  From behind the
counter and grill, Ukyo looked on in horror.
	"Ranchan, what are you doing?  She'll kill you!"
	Seeing the purple-haired girl raise her bonbori, the redhead
closed her eyes, bracing for impact.  The sound of the balloon mace
hitting the hard floor of the restaurant was the only sound that came.
When Ranma's eyes opened, she saw tears coursing down Shampoo's face,
and a look of unspeakable sadness across her features.  Closing the
distance between herself and the redhead, her eyes downcast, the warrior 
spoke slowly and softly to the pig-tailed girl.
	"Bie liao," was all the Amazon said before she turned and fled.
	"Shampoo?"  Ranma stared after her in shock, her body acting almost
of its own accord as she began to follow the running girl.  A hand on her
arm stopped her forward motion, and as her eyes fell on the limb and tracked it
back to its source, she was astonished to see tears beginning to trickle from
her fiancee's eyes as well.
	"Ranchan, don't go.  Don't follow her, you don't know what will happen.
She could try and kill you again."
	"Ucchan, I can't just let her run off like that."
	Ukyo's arms wound around the petite redhead, enveloping her almost
completely in a vicelike grip.  "Please don't go, Ranchan.  I don't want to lose
you, not again."
	Without words, Ranma returned the crushing hug she was recieving, though
her eyes continued to stare off into the night after Shampoo.

*-*-*-*

	Tears clouding her vision, the proud Amazon ran without direction, care,
or restraint.  Walls became dust as she sprinted through them, not even slowed
by the hard stone that seemed to surround so many of Nerima's homes.  As she 
rounded the corner past the clinic she had worked at only briefly, her thoughts
turned to what she should do now.
	She couldn't stay, that was out of the question.  She would forever be
confronted by the girl that was the man she loved, the one she was sworn to kill
but could not bring herself to harm.  She needed advice, from someone wise, someone
who always knew what the appropriate course of action was.
	She needed her great-grandmother, and that meant returning to China.
	As she turned to leave the city, a large claw grasped the back of her
shirt and pulled her into a nearby alley.  A black and white paw shoved a wooden
sign into her face as she scrambled to pound the mugger, rapist, or whatever.
	'He's a boy, not a girl,' the sign read.
	Shampoo looked skeptical as she eyed the bear before her.
	"What Panda talking?"
	Genma examined the purple-haired warrior in front of him.  What he was
about to do was a gamble, one that might prove impossible to correct if it didn't
work out, but he was ready to admit it was a necessary one.  As long as Ukyo was 
in the picture there was no way he could approach Soun.  His old friend would be 
dining on Panda steak as soon as the facts came out.
	Shampoo was attractive enough, in a teenage way, and a fighter of no small 
ability, she was just the type to get Ranma away from Ukyo, and with a claim as flimsy 
as an Amazon law, and nobody to back her up, she could be easily dismissed once she'd 
served her purpose.  Then he and the boy would be off to the Tendos.
	He needed Shampoo to stay in Nerima, and that meant she had to know the truth.
	'The curse is triggered by cold water, hot water returns us to normal. Ranma's 
really a boy, I can prove it!'
	"Ranma man?"
	The panda nodded rapidly, and a look of realization came into the young girl's
eyes.  Ranma was a man, that meant she didn't have to kill him, probably, though she 
still had to ask her great-grandmother to be sure.  The dumbstruck girl sagged against 
the side of the alley as thoughts and emotions poured through her brain until a second 
realization came to her.  Grasping the oversized raccoon by his fur, Shampoo glared 
into Genma's eyes with burning intensity.  "Why Ranma lie Shampoo?"
	Another sign was produced.  'He was protecting the other girl.'  The sign
in his paw turned around to expose its other side, also covered in written characters.
'If you can get her to leave, he will be free to marry his true fiancee.'
	"If spatula girl go, Ranma marry Shampoo?"
	'Sure, whatever.'
	With a vicious backhand, Shampoo sent the Panda flying into a nearby brick 
wall, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes as she gazed back toward the
restaurant where she had left Ranma and the other girl.  
	This changed everything.
	'Ouch.'

*-*-*-*

	Cologne smiled around the long-stemmed pipe in her mouth, puffing 
out a smoke ring which joined several others in a halo above her head as 
she read the letter from her great-granddaughter.  Apparently, the red-haired 
woman she'd been following was a young man as skilled in combat as Shampoo herself.
	The elaborate message went on to detail not only the curse of Jusenkyo, 
but also her intentions to pursue Ranma as a husband and the implicit blessing 
Shampoo had recieved from the boy's father.  Another young woman stood in the way, 
apparently, and was no slouch in the art of combat herself, but such things could 
be dealt with if necessary.
	Her crinkled voice rang out, summoning the blind boy who was so infatuated 
with her heir, and Mousse appeared before her.
	"Pack my bags, boy, we're going on a little journey."
	It was just as well that this information had come to light when it had.  
If Shampoo had returned unsuccessfully from her quest she would've needed retraining, 
probably at Jusenkyo, and that could have been tragic in its own right.

*-*-*-*

Present day...
	

	Akane woke to find herself in the infirmary.  The last thing 
she remembered was a little girl in a yellow dress calling her a 
delinquent.    She glanced up at the clock.    Of course, she'd missed the first
half of school while recovering, but that didn't seem important.
	Standing up, wobbling a little, Akane scanned the room to find 
Tatewaki Kuno, Blue Thunder of Furinkan high, lying down on one of the beds 
and clutching his head as if to ward off an evil spirit. He was not quite
conscious yet, which gave her a few minutes to better assess her surroundings.
	A sound, a loud crashing noise followed by shouting, drew Akane's
attention to the window which overlooked the schoolyard.  There stood Ukyo,
her spatula at the ready, facing off against Shampoo.  As the young Tendo 
watched, the chef drove her spatula into the ground, causing a gout of
water to erupt and conceal the Amazon from view.  When the Amazon emerged 
a second later, still human, Akane found herself unable to breath.
	As she watched, Shampoo brought her bonbori down toward Ukyo's head,
a blow that would in all likelihood crush the chef's skull, but Ranma
interceded.  Though she could not hear the words that were spoken, she 
could tell he was berating the Amazon for actually trying to harm someone.
Shampoo shouted something back at him, gesturing to the spatula still
buried in the ground a few feet away from her, probably challenging Ranma's
excuse, whatever it was.
	Reflexively, Akane's fist came up and backhanded Kuno in the nose as
stood from his bed and came over to the window.  The young samurai flew
backward into the wall, leaving a kendoist-shaped hole in the school's clinic.
	"Sometimes I wonder how our pathetic little high school can afford
all the construction bills you seem to accrue, Akane."  Nabiki stepped around 
into the entrance of the infirmary, nonchalantly brushing some errant plaster 
from the shoulder of her uniform.  "Well, you and Saotome, at any rate."
	Akane blushed as she noticed the Kuno-shaped crater she had created
with such a relatively weak attack, or so the muscles in her arm told her,
perhaps she should be more concerned at the newfound skill she possessed.

*-*-*-*

	Akane walked down the street with Nabiki, mulling over what
little information she had managed to accumulate throughout the day.
She would definitely need to contact Urd and straighten some things out.
	 
	Her smile faltered as she remembered the way Ranma had defended 
Ukyo, it was the same kind of offhand way that he would've protected her.  
She hadn't been prepared for just how hard it was to see him act that way
toward someone else.
	Out of the corner of her eye, Nabiki saw her younger sister's 
mood turn sullen and her steps suddenly become that much heavier.  
Something was up, and she didn't know what it was.  Not good.  "So Akane, 
how was it you were drained by Ms. Hinako anyway?  You're never late 
anymore, not since Kodachi stopped her brother's little challenge, and 
I've never known you to get in trouble during class.  So what happened?"
	Akane was slightly startled at the question.  "Oh, I was just 
thinking about something.  I was a little distracted, otherwise the little
brat never would have been able to drain me."  She clapped a hand over her
mouth, shocked at her own words, she would never disrespect a teacher that
way.  She was slipping into that other Akane, her new memories dictating her
behavior, Urd had warned her about that sort of thing happening.
	Nabiki either didn't notice or didn't comment, continuing her
previous line of questions.  "Oh, and what was it that distracted you?"
	Blushing a brilliant scarlet, the younger girl dismissed her 
sister's question with a wave of her hand, but Nabiki was not to be 
placated so easily.  Silently, the middle Tendo vowed to keep a closer 
eye on her younger sister.  If what she thought was going on was going on,
steps would have to be taken.
	A loud masculine shriek emerged from the dojo as the two drew
near, accompanied by the front gate bursting open as Shinnosuke fled the 
compound.  The forgetful boy was oddly dressed, wearing what could only
be described as half of a tuxedo, with his shoes and pants conspicuously
absent.  Upon spotting the two Tendo sisters, a fevered looked came into
his eyes as he attempted to remember their names.  "You there, please,
help me, she's insane!"
	Nabiki did her best not to laugh out loud.  "Who's insane?"
	A ribbon snaked out through the gate and wrapped itself around 
Shinnosuke's frightened form, effectively gagging and restraining him 
simultaneously.
	"Nevermind," Nabiki said.  "Akane, she's your friend, can you
deal with this?"  The middle daughter turned the corner, striding
confidently past Kodachi's calm and collected face as the wealthy girl
reeled in her catch.
	With a slight tilt of her head, the gymnast acknowledged the
mercenary's presence.  "Nabiki-san."
	"Black Rose."
	Akane warily peered around the Tendo gate, fearing what she 
might find in the entryway to her home.  There stood Kodachi Kuno,
wearing a beautiful and obviously expensive kimono, the very picture
of Japanese nobility.  The image was spoiled somewhat by Shinnosuke's
bound and, now, unconscious form.
	"Good, Akane-chan, you've returned, now you must help me."
Kodachi grasped her friend by the arm, dragging her into the house
while Shinnosuke trailed behind on the ground.  "You might recall the
troubles I have been having with that fiendish Saginomiya tart, and
while I have successfully postponed our competition for nearly a week
now at your behest, Shinnosuke still refuses to cooperate."
	A deep sigh oozed from the Black Rose as she gazed at the
forgetful boy's bound form.  "When I visited him this afternoon to
entreaty his aid one final time he still did not recall my name,
it is most disheartening.  Yet I persevere, and shall have him
properly dressed to escort me to Asuka's sound and excruciatingly
pleasant defeat."
	The ribbon slackened, unraveling itself from Shinnosuke's
body and returning to Kodachi's hand, where she secreted it on her
person once again.  Akane continued to stare in mute shock at the
scene she was witnessing, trying vainly to comprehend the snippets
of memory that were surfacing in conjunction with Kodachi's words.
	  A new memory came to the fore, of a Kodachi who sought Akane's
aid when the strange foe emerged, and an Akane who advised her to
delay the duel, and use Shinnosuke if no other prospects emerged.
	Apparently, Kodachi had taken her advice.
	The gymnast's arm snaked around Akane's shoulders, drawing
her into a conspiratorial whisper.  "Now, Akane-chan, I know you are
not able to sew..."  Kodachi trailed off as she thought about her 
statement for a moment.  "...or cook, or clean, or dance," a large 
vein throbbed on the youngest Tendo's forehead as her friend's 
laundry list continued.  "Or swim, or draw, or do any of those myriad 
things which require femininity, grace, or a creative nature."
	The gymnast smiled at Akane.  "But you are always able to
look well dressed, regardless of your pathetic financial circumstances,
and it is that skill for which I have a use at the moment.  It is
imperative that Shinnosuke look his best for our date, and while you
are taking care of that I shall see to it that Asuka's escort is 
properly disposed of."
	Kodachi leapt away, out of the living room and over the wall
that surrounded the Tendo compound, the blizzard of black petals
that Akane had been expecting never came.
	Nabiki's voice came from the stairway.  She too had seen the 
Black Rose's exit.  "At least she doesn't do that scary laugh anymore."
	Another memory came to Akane, the flower petals and the 
laughter had ceased about two months ago, the same time Kodachi had 
stopped hinting at her mysterious boyfriend and pounded Akane flat in 
nearly ten straight sparring matches.  The Black Rose hadn't laughed since.
	Remembering the vow she had given her friend, the youngest 
Tendo awoke Shinnosuke as gently as she could before proceeding to
explain the situation to him.  He did not wear the tuxedo naturally,
and did not look nearly as dashing as Akane remembered Ranma being
when he wore the same outfit, but Shinnosuke was handsome enough in
his own right.
	With any luck, things would end in a draw after Asuka revealed 
the same supernaturally beautiful man Akane remembered from her own 
experience, but who knew what the demented White Lily could cook up with 
an extra week to plan?

*-*-*-*

	Ranma eyed the package on the counter warily, wondering who
would send him something so elaborately wrapped.  The tag had no name
on it other than his own, and he had come to be somewhat untrusting
of mysterious presents.
	However, he wasn't one to just toss away something that he'd
gotten for free, no matter what it was.
	
	His decision made, the pig-tailed boy removed the lid of the
package, finding only a notecard and a small flower inside.
	Ranma's eyes tracked along the elaborate calligraphy on the
card, widening as they moved across the text.  "Be my boyfriend?"
His voice cracked in hungry rage as he examined the flower that had 
been included.  "What the hell is this crap?"
	Then the white lily exploded into a cloud of knockout gas.

*-*-*-*

End chapter 4

Next:

Chapter 5: The Breaking of the Black Rose

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