Prologue

The figure's eyes fluttered open, torn away from their restful slumber and oh, so enjoyable dreams. There was no time to savor the nighttime images, though. Something had forced them awake, and they had to know why. The figure rose from the bed, sunlight filtering through shades closed to the outside world. They growled at the light. Sleeping in was a joy, and so much more happened during the night anyway. Why anyone would want to put up with mornings was beyond comprehension. But this could be something important, for only one thing could disturb the slumber the exhausted state last night had brought about.

The figure walked over to the dresser and removed the box. It was ornate, and about the size of a common jewelry box, though it was anything but common. Carved from a single piece of mirror black obsidian and with a variety of magical sigils emblazoned across its surface, it held a sinister bent that would encourage only the most daring could bring themselves to touch.

Skilled fingers accessed special, hidden points across the surface, ensuring that none of the traps meant to catch the unwary were activated. It wouldn't do to fall dead from safety precautions that ensured no one would ever learn the truth. At least no one outside of the conclave.

The lid was raised, and the contents revealed. A set of five bloodstones was inlayed on special points of an arcane symbol embedded in the obsidian that lines the bottom. All five stones shone brightly, two of them a deeper red than the other three.

Another one had arrived. A smile spread across the figure's face. At long last, after nearly fifty years, all the pawns were in place. All that was left was for the game to play itself out. One move had already been made. With any luck, the winning combination of remaining moves would follow shortly. And if it took too long, well, then a helping hand would have to be applied. But that was only if events strayed from their proper course. For now, patience would have to serve until victory was at hand. And then all would be as it should, and all those who were part of the conclave would be blessed with the reward they so richly deserved for a lifetime of devotion to the greater good. All would come to them time.

Still, perhaps it would not hurt to oversee matters, remaining apart in the shadows, unless some assistance was required. That was a consideration as well. But there was time to dwell on it. It would be interesting to see if the newcomer would have an impact and speed things on their proper course.

The figure continued staring at the stones, waiting and watching.

Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at sommer@3rdm.net

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video.

Foreword: -Lemon Warning- This chapter has very strong lemon elements; no one under eighteen should read this for fear of having your eyes burn out of your head.

Throughout the series I will be using the 'Ranma-chan' appellation to denote female Ranma due to gender being important to this, despite the fact it is technically improper.

Chapter 4

The heat from the water loosened Ryouga's muscles as he allowed himself to lay back and relax, enjoying the soak provided by the public bath. Initially, he had received a few curious looks from those that had watched a little pig jump into the large pool of warm water, only to be replaced by a young man. Ryouga's quick explanation of being a magician trying out a new trick seemed to assuage the handful of men present, and they went back to bathing themselves.

No longer concerned about changing, Ryouga recalled the frustration from the events from this morning. He forced himself to not cry out in anger at the injustice of it all. Things like this happened to him, and he had to learn to live with it. Still, it would probably take all day to relocate the Tendou household with the way events had unfolded.

After Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki had left for school, Ryouga tried to find the bath so that he could return to his human form and plan a proper trap for Ranma. Unfortunately, instead of the bathroom, he found he had wandered outside. When he tried to go back in the house, he instead wandered through the gate and out on the street. Instead of finding the gate, he wandered away and got completely lost. Luckily, he had stumbled on the public bath. A little patience resulted in an opening to sneak past the inattentive clerk and slipped inside to revert to his human form and plan his next step from there. It was just that 'next step' that was proving a problem.

"I have to get revenge on Ranma, but how?" Ryouga mumbled aloud.

His musings were interrupted by a tumultuous clamor from the far side bath. One of the walls exploded in a loud crash, a section of it collapsing inward and kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured the cause of the destruction from sight.

Reflexively, Ryouga stood up and prepared himself for battle. Had Ranma somehow located him and set an ambush of his own? If so, he'd find Ryouga ready and waiting. He would win no matter what; justice was on his side.

The dust settled and a figure appeared, standing in the middle of the debris. Ryouga saw it was not Ranma, but rather an attractive girl, about his age, with an unusual shade of lavender hair. She wore a pink and blue Chinese style outfit, with an elaborate leather breast guard across the front. Not that the guard did anything to hide the girl's obviously ample bust.

She moved into the bath, bearing a sword in one hand and a bonbori in the other. The remaining men in the bath pulled their eyes from the attractive girl and finally took notice of the weapons. Coming to the same conclusion, that she was not present to give them a free massage, they grabbed the nearest towels and ran out of the bath at top speed.

The girl looked annoyed at their departure, then her eyes settled on Ryouga, who had remained where he was. Unlike the others, he was nowhere near as unsettled at the presence of such weapons. More than one person he had fought had such implements. Still, the curved sword looked particularly sharp, and, without his umbrella to deflect it, put Ryouga at a serious disadvantage.

The girl began to head toward him. Ryouga decided it might be a good idea to put some distance between them, or at least until he could find something that could block her blade. He rose out of the bath and began to back up, keeping his eyes focused on the girl the entire time. Unfortunately, since his attention was centered on her, he failed to notice the wet spot on the tiles behind him. Ryouga slipped, losing his footing and executing a graceful, acrobatic flip, which ended when he landed hard on his back on the tiles.

By the time Ryouga recovered his wits, he found the girl standing over his prone form. It was then he realized the true horror of the situation. He was naked. This girl had seen his cock in all of its glory. Even limp, it hung down low and clearly indicated he was of tremendous size. What would come next was the same thing that always happened: her eyes would light up, she would rip off her clothes, and proceed to screw the hell out of him, not caring a whit about his feelings on the matter. It was all so terrible!

Desperate to avoid such a painful situation, Ryouga got out, "Wait a second! I don't want to sleep with you. I'm looking for a girlfriend interested in a serious relationship, not hot and sweaty sex—" he stopped talking as he found the blade pressed against his throat. Wonderful, if he didn't put out for her, she was going to kill him. Talk about someone obsessed with riding a huge guy. Ryouga resigned himself to being used for sex yet again.

Rather than bending down and fondling him, the girl gave a snort of derision. "No be stupid. Shampoo is no interested in having sex with too big man."

"You're not?" Ryouga said in disbelief.

The girl shook her head. "Shampoo only wants to know one thing: Where is Ranma Saotome?"

Ryouga blinked at that, not believing his ears.

Shampoo prodded him by nudging his dick with her foot, leaving unspoken the implication that she could nudge it a lot harder if he didn't tell her what she wanted to hear. "Where is Ranma Saotome?" she repeated.

The moving snapped Ryouga out of his reverie. He looked the girl over. She did not seem terribly happy, she was armed, and she was looking for Ranma. Every indication was that this was someone who had met Ranma and knew him very well, and they had fallen right into Ryouga's lap. Well, maybe his hands. Girls that 'fell into his lap' usually did so for a reason, one he didn't care for.

A beaming Ryouga gleefully said, "It just so happens I know exactly where Ranma is…"

The school stairwell was one that led to the towards the janitor's storage room located next to the roof. Given that the janitor was usually dead drunk in the furnace room this time of the day, it made for a convenient, out of the way place for some privacy. That was exactly what Nabiki needed as she sat on one of the steps and admired what was held in her hands. She regarded it for a second, playing a finger across the tip twice, then placed her mouth over it. She inhaled slightly, relaxed, and took the entire length inside, letting it touch the back of her tonsils.

"Oh god, no one can do that as good as you," the man in her grasp moaned as she deep throated him once again.

Nabiki smiled as she moved back so only the head of the dick was in her mouth, then began playing over the purple head with her tongue. Matsui was correct. No one was as good as Nabiki Tendou when it came to oral talents, both verbal and otherwise. Though in Matsui's case, he wasn't that large, so taking him all the way was easy. Still, open praise of her skills was always a way to get on her good side. That, and his open admission, made what she had planned next easier.

Nabiki deep throated him one more time, eliciting another low groan, before she removed her mouth from his shaft altogether. Deciding he was in as amicable a state as possible, she continued fondling the veined member with her fingers and said, "I've missed doing this to you. You always taste so good. Maybe we should get back together?"

Matsui let out another groan, this one not of pleasure. "I already told you to forget about it. I can't afford it."

Rather than respond with words, she instead opted to lick the head of his cock, which was even more sensitive then most guys she knew. She followed up by saying, "Come on, I know you've missed me, and this." She added one more lick. "We had a great relationship together."

Matsui refrained from groaning this time. "No, we didn't. A relationship does not constitute making me spend ungodly amounts of money on you until you piss me off, then giving me blow jobs to calm me down."

"Some relationships are like that," Nabiki offered, unable to bend the truth the way he stated it.

Much to Nabiki's surprise, Matsui removed his cock from her hand. "Ah, just forget it. It was stupid to come up here anyway." He adjusted his pants, putting his cock back inside, and zipping up, despite the saliva she had coated it with.

Nabiki said, "Wait. Let me finish you off."

Now thoroughly irate, Matsui snarled, "I said I'm not interested in getting back together."

"I know, I understand," Nabiki admitted, sensing that she had lost what she knew going in would be a difficult battle from the start. "I'll do it for old time sake. I am the one that dragged you up here and got you fired up. It's only common courtesy I finish what I started."

A moment of indecision passed, then Matsui's face showed a resolve that was twice what he had before. "You know what? Forget about it. It's not worth it." He then turned and went down the stairs.

Nabiki remained where she was, listening to his footsteps grow fainter until she heard the sound of a door opening quickly, then slamming shut. She expected this was going to happen. Matsui had been unusually firm when he broke up with her last week. Nabiki had asked around, in case it was some other girl putting out for him, but it wasn't. He had simply grown tired with the nature of their relationship and decided to pull the plug on it. Still, it had been worth the chance of trying to salvage it with some oral action. Aside from having a rich father that practically threw wads of cash at his son to buy his affection, Nabiki had actually liked the guy. He was above average in looks, in good shape, acted classy, and knew how to treat a woman like she was important instead of something to rest his cock in from time to time. She wouldn't have been naïve enough to refer to it as love, but it had been interesting and entertaining. Her life proved to be neither all too often.

Now it was officially time to move on. There wasn't anyone she was particularly interested in, so she'd have to look around a bit and see if someone would turn up. In the meantime, Ranma was an awful lot of fun to play with, and he wasn't hard on the eyes either. He didn't have money, and wasn't hung like a horse, but maybe there were other ways he could entertain her. Getting to know him a bit would be in line with what she had told her father at the outset about not dismissing him out of hand as a potential fiancé. Unless something better showed up, then the bets were off. In the meantime, she'd try to hit him up for information concerning the Ryouga matter. That had really piqued her curiosity, and when Nabiki Tendou became curious, people coughed up the answers she wanted.

Nabiki was in the middle of pondering exactly how to go about pumping Ranma for information when a section of the wall, higher up the stairs, detonated. She froze, looking in shock at where the destruction had occurred. She had just managed to rise to her feet when she saw the cause of the disturbance, a young girl with lavender hair.

The girl stepped through the hole she had created and walked up next to Nabiki. From her higher position on the step above, the girl looked down at Nabiki and asked, "Where is Ranma Saotome?"

Whereas a lesser person would have been caught off guard by both the startling entrance and unusual question, Nabiki was calm and collected. She instantly processed the information. It appeared Ranma had quite the interesting collection of acquaintances. She would simply have to learn what it was about him that drew such colorful people to him. But first, she had to deal with the matter at hand. She considered several possible responses to the question, then opted for the one that would gain her more information.

Nabiki placed her hand to her chin and gained a thoughtful expression, all for the newcomer's benefit. "You seem very interested in locating Ranma."

The girl nodded her head.

Nabiki smirked on the inside. That this girl would admit such without thinking twice meant she was eager or desperate. In either case, it made bargaining that much easier. "Well, it just so happens I know where Ranma is. The only question is, what's it worth to you?"

The girl scratched her head in thought, as though she was considering what was said, rather than the actual value of information. Then her eyes lit up. "You want to know what the information is worth to Shampoo?"

Nabiki nodded.

Shampoo walked down a step so she was standing next to Nabiki, smiled warmly, then grabbed her by shoulders and shoved her up and over the railing.

For a moment, Nabiki found her heart leap into her chest as she stared 'up' at the floor several stories below. She felt herself begin the long fall downward when something snatched her ankle in a grip of iron, arresting her fall, but keeping her suspended upside down in mid-air.

Wide-eyed, Nabiki looked over to see Shampoo holding her leg and smiling pleasantly. "Shampoo is thinking the information worth not letting go of, " her face scrunched up in confusion, until her eyes settled on Nabiki's lower half. "Red Panty Girl's ankle."

"Unquestionably a bargain," Nabiki agreed, willing to ignore the name this 'Shampoo' had given her. Now was not the time to complain.

Nabiki found herself pulled back over the railing and set gently down on her feet. She straightened up her dress, and took an assessment of her condition. Her ankle was a little tender from how powerfully it had been grasped, and her leg was a bit sore from the quick jerk, but considering what the alternative of not being caught was, it was difficult to complain about the minor aches.

An impatient tapping of a foot brought Nabiki back around. She looked to see Shampoo staring at her expectedly. Not wishing to take any further flights, Nabiki quit stalling and said, "Around this time of day, Ranma should be in the locker room on the first floor. Go to the bottom of the stairs, just take a left, and you should eventually get there."

Shampoo turned from Nabiki and began to walk down the steps. Once the girl was halfway down to the landing on the third floor, Nabiki allowed herself a smile. While it was true that Ranma should have been in the locker room at this time of day, he probably wasn't. Over half the gym teachers had fallen victim to food poisoning at an after school meeting and all gym classes had been canceled. Nabiki hadn't lied; it was just that 'should' didn't mean the same thing as 'was'. It was Shampoo's own fault for assuming such. Deals made under duress could hardly be made on good faith, now could they?

Shampoo suddenly turned on her heel, forcing Nabiki to hide her smile. She walked back up the stairs and considered Nabiki again.

"Yes?" Nabiki asked.

"Strip," Shampoo ordered.

That made Nabiki blink. It wasn't often a single word could do that, but this was definitely one of those times. "I beg your pardon," she said.

"Strip," the Amazon repeated. "Shampoo suspect Red Panty Girl might lie to her, so Shampoo will make sure Red Panty Girl no wander off, just in case. Shampoo give back clothes once she finds Ranma. If Red Panty Girl lying, then Shampoo make sure clothes is the least thing Red Panty Girl worried about."

Nabiki could see the challenge in the girl's eyes, daring her to recant her story. Nabiki considered going ahead and ratting out Ranma rather than risking her own neck, it wasn't like she owed him anything, but he hadn't done anything to gain her ire either. Even worse, she hated the idea that she could be outmaneuvered so easily by this stranger.

On the other hand, Nabiki could laugh, play it off as misremembering something, and probably get away with it. This girl was in a hurry to nail Ranma, and the more time she wasted here, the more likely Ranma might slip past. It wasn't really any choice at all.

Nabiki grabbed the hem of her dress and slipped it over her head. She folded it over, then handed it to the closely watching Shampoo. She was a testament to efficiency as she unhesitatingly rolled down her nylons and undid her bra, allowing them to join the pile in Shampoo's hands. Nabiki hooked her thumbs into her panties and bent over to pull them down. As she did so, she felt a hand apply a light smack across her bottom.

"Red Panty Girl better watch what she eat, or else her cute bottom start to get too, too big."

Nabiki shot the grinning Shampoo an evil glare, then finished removing her panties, making certain not to offer her bottom to the girl again. She then held out her last item of clothing to the smiling Amazon.

Shampoo bundled the lot of clothing in a ball, tucked it under her arm, smiled, and waved goodbye to Nabiki. Rather than taking the stairs, she simply leaped over the railing, and plummeted three stories to the ground. Nabiki watched with reluctant admiration as Shampoo landed on her feet with feline grace, then headed out the first level door.

Nabiki crossed her arms under her bosom. Now that the decidedly shifty girl was gone, it was time to get out of there before she found out she had been misled. The clothing issue was something of a problem. Nabiki might have been proud of her body (and her bottom, which was NOT too large), but she had no intention of giving the entire student body a free show. No one received anything free from Nabiki Tendou.

She was still pondering her dilemma when the door at the landing swung open and two boys stepped into the stairwell. Nabiki noted they were both underclassmen, a bit on the pimply side, and a touch overweight. The one that had opened the door was engaged in an intense argument with his companion. Neither had bothered to look up upon entering.

"And I'm telling you I heard something loud coming from up here," the first one said, continuing a conversation that had begun outside the stairwell.

"Why drag me along?" the second asked.

There was a moment of hesitation before the first one offered lamely, "I, uh, thought it might be important and we'd be the first to, um, hear about it."

"What you mean to say is, you're scared."

"I am no… t," the first boy trailed off as he looked up for the first time and saw Nabiki standing a half flight above him, one hand across her bosom and the other over her nether regions.

The second youth slapped his gaping partner on the back. "Thanks for asking me along. I owe you one big time."

Nabiki smiled at the guys, then removed her hands and placed them on her hips. She looked down at them and said, "Enjoying the show?"

Both boys nodded, slow trails of drool trailing from their mouths.

"Good," Nabiki said as she slowly, sensuously made her way down. "I need to ask you two for a little favor."

"Anything you want," the boys said as one.

"That's music to my ears."

"Man, why does all the bad stuff happen to me?" Ranma grumbled to himself as he walked through the halls of the high school. It was just his luck that a little bit of curiosity at adding a vial of blue fluid to his chemistry experiment blew up in his face. The resulting cloud had covered him in blackened soot and produced an odor that seemed to seep into his pores. The teacher had sent him to go cleaned up, and given how the scent seemed to linger, that meant a full body shower rather than simply washing his hands and face.

Grumbling, Ranma entered the locker room and undressed. On the bright side, since all the gym classes had been canceled, it meant he could shower in peace. And if he took his time, he would miss the rest of class and not have to listen to the science teacher's droning voice, one that could but a hyperactive person to sleep. It appeared there was an upside to the accident after all.

Ranma disrobed, placing his clothing in a locker, and walked over to the communal showers. He stopped halfway down and chose one at random. He turned on the water, reveling at the way the warm water splashed across his body. After a few minutes of enjoying himself, he grabbed a bar of soap and started to lather himself up. He was whistling a merry tune when he heard the sound to the locker room door open and a voice call out, "Ranma-kun, I am here to offer my services in washing your back."

Ranma yelped. How the hell had Kunou found out he was alone in the showers? Had the kendoist paid someone to spy on him? If so, there would be hell to pay once Ranma discovered the snitch's identity. In the meantime, he had to do something fast. The idea of Kunou seeing him naked, and being turned on, was just plain freaky.

Ranma looked back and forth, completely at a loss. There was no time to go for his clothes, he could hear Kunou saying in a far too happy voice that he was coming closer. Running out of time, Ranma had determined that the only measure of peace he would have would be to beat Kunou senseless when an alternate plan sprang to mind. He could see a shadow approaching from around the corner as his hand lashed out and spun one of the knobs on the shower in front of him.

Kunou's head poked from around the corner. "Ranma-kun, there you… are." Kunou stared in surprise at the naked redhead that was doing a poor job of covering up her privates.

Kunou bowed deeply. "A thousand pardons. I thought this was the men's locker room. I shall leave you to your own devices." He turned and left without a second glance.

Ranma-chan breathed a sigh of relief. That had been easier than she thought. Now the idiot was gone and she could finish her shower in peace.

Such thoughts were eradicated as Kunou popped back into view, bokken drawn and leveled in Ranma-chan's direction. His eyebrow twitched madly as he stated in cold, harsh tones, "There were standing urinals back there. This is the men's locker room, which means you are in the wrong one. Though I suspect in your case, harlot, that you are just where you want to be."

Ranma-chan quit covering up and placed her hands on her hips in indignation. "And just what the heck's that supposed to mean?"

"I had it on good authority that my beloved Ranma-kun was coming down here. Obviously you heard the same rumors, and sought to seduce him by throwing your repulsive body at him. I will not allow such a travesty to occur."

Ranma-chan snarled, "I'll have you know Ranma is not gay and would be very happy if some naked chick threw herself at him."

"Lies, lies, all lies!" Kunou shouted. "Since you have all but admitted your crime, I shall mete out divine justice! Have at you!" Kunou charged forth with his bokken.

"Bring it on, you fairy!" Ranma-chan fell into an attack stance, waiting for the opportunity to dish out some 'divine justice' of her own.

Kunou rushed the girl, bokken back, ready to be brought forward and into the redhead's stomach for a disabling blow. Just as he was about to deliver his strike, he slipped on an errant bar of soap. Any attempt at an attack was thwarted as Kunou staggered forward, his arms spinning like giant pinwheels blowing in a tornado in an effort to stay upright.

Expecting a swipe with the bokken, Ranma-chan was caught off-guard as Kunou instead ran at her headfirst. She tried to shift her stance, but found the wet tiles slick, and ended up slipping instead.

Kunou, his balance hopelessly lost, began to fall at the same moment. His head impacted squarely with the girl's midsection, knocking them both to the ground. The back of Ranma-chan's head bounced hard off the tiles, stunning her momentarily. Kunou's impact wasn't anywhere near as bad, as his face smashed against the prone girl's soft body instead of hardened ceramic tile.

A deep, booming, male voice came from around the corner of the showers. "Just what is going on around here? These locker rooms are supposed to be empty!" As Coach Hiro Tamiya, head of the Furinkan's Track and Field teams (and one of the few gym personnel not violently ill), strode around the corner, he saw a sight that made his jaw nearly drop to the floor. There was some guy, with face his buried in some cute redhead's muff, lying right in the middle of the shower.

Veins began popping up from Coach Tamiya's forehead. How brazen the youths of today were. It was shameful. Why, in his day if you wanted to go muff-diving on some girl during school hours, you did it somewhere discreet, like behind the bleachers, in the basement, or in the extra storage room with the gym equipment. The latter was the best since you could use the gym mats for comfort. Coach Tamiya wagered those mats had seen more action in one year from horny young teenagers than from ten years of wrestling teams.

The sight before him was decidedly different, outrageously so. Such behavior conducted in the open like this was unacceptable. Teenagers might be teenagers, but discipline had to be maintained. The coach rolled up his sleeves, showing off tremendous biceps, and prepared to enter the showers. "All right, break it up and get dressed, young lady. You too, pal. It's the vice-principal's office for both of…" Coach Tamiya trailed off as the boy finally rose from his position between the girl's thighs and faced the coach for the first time.

"Kunou, it's you," Coach Tamiya said, his eyes wide open in shock.

Kunou noticed the Coach's surprise, looked at where his face had been resting, and realized what the situation would appear to an outsider's perspective. Instantly, the kendoist shot to his feet and proclaimed, "It's not what you think!"

The Coach's surprise disappeared. He scowled at Kunou, then said, "Thank god. And all this time I thought you were queer or something. This is great."

"It is?" Kunou said in bewilderment.

Coach Tamiya smiled. "It sure is. I get picked on by the coaches at a lot of the other schools because everyone thinks you're gay. I mean, kendo is the only things we're good at, except for the soccer team last year. Whenever anyone admits the kendo team doesn't suck, they always qualify it by pointing out we're led by 'The Gay Blade,' and make really crappy jokes about where you store your bokken. But not anymore. Wait until I tell them you're as straight as an arrow and make them eat their words."

"No, I'm not! I have no interest in women!" Kunou insisted. "Let me explain."

Coach Tamiya was off in his own little world. "You go right ahead and continue what you were doing. Anytime you want to have sex in the showers with some girl, it's all right with me. Let me know in advance, and I'll even run interference for you."

Kunou was at the coach's side in an instant. "But I'm telling you it's not what it looks like."

The coach continued walking away. "No need to worry. I'll let everyone know the truth."

"But it's not the truth," Kunou insisted as he exited the locker room, dogging the coach's heels every step of the way.

Ranma-chan shook her head free of the cobwebs that had gathered from hitting it squarely on the floor. Now how about that? Instead of getting in trouble for what appeared to be open sexual misconduct, the misunderstanding instead worked in her favor as not only did the coach not try to turn her in, but he had managed to lure Kunou away as well.

"About time something went my way." Ranma-chan smiled in relief.

Then a nearby section of the shower wall exploded, making Ranma-chan cringe. There was something horrifyingly familiar about walls exploding. She watched in increasing unease as, striding through the destruction, Ranma-chan spotted the very figure that was connected to obstacle removal. "Sh… Sh… Shampoo," she stammered in gaping wonder.

Shampoo, who had been looking the other way, turned in the direction of the voice. Her eyes fell on the short redhead, and she unleashed an almost feral grin. "Ranma," the word slid from her tongue like honey. She took one step in the direction of the girl.

Ranma-chan let out an "AHHH!" at the top of her lungs, then ran out of the shower and locker room as though the all the demons of hell were hot on her tail.

Sayuri Mizuhara was alone in the hall as she opened her locker door and dug under some of the debris littering it to retrieve her trigonometry book. She gave a wistful sigh, depressed that today wasn't anywhere near as interesting as two days ago. A smile came to her face as she recalled how the events from that day made it one of the most memorable in her entire life. After all, how could she forget the luscious-looking redhead who had flashed the best set of tits Sayuri had ever seen? And that cute little derriere hadn't been bad to look at either. It wasn't like she got to see all that many naked bodies, not since openly proclaiming her interest in girls. Only Akane and Yuka weren't conscientious about changing in front of her. And whereas both had nice bodies, especially Akane's athletic one, neither could compare to that exotic-looking newcomer that had been attacked by that vicious Kunou. The redhead was so hot that for the last two nights Sayuri had fantasized about the redhead going down on her while she masturbated, orgasming in record time. Why, just thinking about the girl was getting her hot and bothered again. It looked like it was going to be another night of playing with herself and letting off some steam, or else she feared she would explode.

It seemed Sayuri couldn't get the stranger out of her mind. She seemed to see the hot girl everywhere. Even the naked girl running toward her reminded her of the redhead.

Naked girl running toward her?

Sayuri rubbed her eyes, but the buxom redhead still there, running at top speed, breasts bouncing up and down in the most delicious way as they heading directly toward her. Sayuri's brain stopped all coherent functions as the girl pulled to a stop right in front of her.

The redhead said, "You're Akane's friend Sayuri, right?"

The hot little number was not only naked and right in front of her, but knew her name as well? It had to have been a dream. With that decided, Sayuri chose to relax a bit and enjoy the realistic fantasy. "I sure am."

The girl looked over her shoulder in the direction she had run. "Some crazy chick is after me. You have to hide me quick."

Sayuri wondered if the implication from the girl's plight were somehow related to Sayuri's subconscious. Perhaps the 'crazy girl' chasing after the redhead was representative of Sayuri's own desires to have the girl for herself, and this was her subconscious's way of warning her that her attentions might be unwanted.

However, the girl was naked before Sayuri and seeking her help. Perhaps the implication was Sayuri had picked up on subtle impulses from the one time meeting with the redhead, impulses that implied she would like to be hit on. Thinking about it, the girl had not only rejected Kunou, but had declared all the guys crying out their love for her as 'perverts'. Those could definitely be signs that the girl had no interest in men, and wanted attention from the fairer gender.

Seeing the cute girl so panicked made Sayuri stop her self-analysis and pay attention to the situation at hand. She had to assist the girl. What could she do to help? Sayuri's eyes settled on where her hand was. "Hide in here." She indicated her open locker.

"Perfect." The redhead squeezed past Sayuri and into the locker.

Sayuri couldn't refrain from 'helping' the girl in by grabbing her bottom (and what a delightful bottom it was; petite with just the right mix of softness while still being firm), and then briefly groping the chest (and all but tweaking the taut nipples) as she 'pushed' the girl in. Though the fit was tight, and the redhead looked like a lumpy sardine, Sayuri managed to close the door.

Just as the door clicked shut, a figure raced around the corner and into Sayuri's line of sight. The school-girl cocked her head quizzically as the newcomer ran up to her. The lust she felt for the redhead suddenly had a contender as this new girl definitely caught Sayuri's eye. This one had an even more exotic shade to her hair, was very attractive, and had an outstanding bust. Sayuri would have wagered the rest of the body in that snug outfit was every bit as alluring as the more obvious assets the girl possessed.

Sayuri's lust was momentarily derailed when she realized the newcomer was searching for something. This must have been the girl the redhead had feared. Sayuri's subconscious had certainly dug up an unusual girl to be the cause of such dismay.

"Did girl see someone run past here?" the newcomer asked.

As attractive as the lavender-haired stranger was, an attractive naked girl in the locker was worth four attractive clothed women asking for information. "Can't say I have."

"Shampoo knows Ranma around here," the girl grumbled.

That made Sayuri reconsider things. "Oh, heck. If you're looking for Ranma, he should be in his homeroom by now." Sayuri gave the girl directions.

"Thanks," Shampoo said.

"You're welcome," Sayuri replied. This was the weirdest dream she had ever had. Weird, but definitely erotic.

The sound of movement came from within the locker. Sayuri stared at it for a moment before daring to open it. The moment the door opened, the redhead popped out. More importantly, she was no longer naked, but instead wore a spare uniform that had been inside.

Sayuri was aghast, and disappointed. "How did you manage to put that on? There was no room whatsoever in there."

"I've picked up a bit of contortionism over the years," she explained.

Sayuri said, "I thought you told me that girl was after you. But she wasn't. She wanted to know where Ranma was."

"I am Ran…" the girl started, then abruptly stopped.

"Ran who?" Sayuri asked.

"Ran… ko. I'm Ranma's sis… cousin," she said. "We look a lot alike, so that girl oftentimes mistakes me for him.

"You have some features he lacks," Sayuri pointed at the shorter girl's chest, resisting the urge to go for the grope.

"Ah, yes. Well, she's a bit near-sighted. And Chinese. You know foreigners. They think we all look alike," Ranko laughed nervously.

"I see," Sayuri said, not really understanding, but deciding she would rather blindly agree than possibly sound like an idiot who couldn't understand something that was apparently obvious to others.

Ranko considered the girl before her, and a slightly sly smile spread across her face. "Thanks for everything. I'll tell you what. I might not be able to repay you, but my bro… I mean cousin can. He'll drop by sometime and see what he can do."

Maybe he'll give me your number, Sayuri almost said, but caught herself in time. No sense in sounding like some hard up guy. She had more class than that, and wasn't like stupid men that only wanted to use girls to pleasure themselves instead of engaging in loving relationships. Although Sayuri was tempted to discard her pride if it meant scoring points with someone as hot as Ranko. Maybe the guys weren't completely wrong, and a little cheap sex could be good for the soul.

"Thanks," Ranko said, and headed off.

Once Ranko was out of sight, Sayuri slapped her face. "Ouch, this is really a vivid dream. I'm even imagining pain." She rubbed her check, and began to wonder if it really was a dream. It just seemed so real. Maybe she was awake, and really had fondled the hot girl's chest. Maybe she should catch up to Ranko and ask her out, because, after all, it was reality, and she might not get such a golden opportunity again.

"Hey, Sayuri," Nabiki said as she strolled on past, dressed in a boy's uniform that was obviously several sizes too large for her.

Once Nabiki was out of sight, Sayuri laughed harder than was appropriate. How silly. Of course it was a dream. It all made sense. She was projecting Nabiki as a boy because she regarded Akane's older sister as unpleasantly devious, just like many guys. No doubt the loose outfit represented her subconscious's belief that Nabiki wasn't as important as she liked to think she was. It all made sense. Sort of.

Since this was a dream, Sayuri decided she was really going to have fun. As she headed to her next class, her step considerably lighter than it had been for a while, she spotted Nobuhiro and Umi, a close couple that was the envy of many students due to their good looks and open, affectionate relationship.

Sayuri went up to Nobuhiro and said, "I think it's disgusting the way you're sleeping with Karou behind Umi's back," and promptly kicked him in the shin.

Nobuhiro jumped up and down on one leg while holding the other in pain. He exclaimed, "How did you… I mean, that's a lie!"

Umi's eyes were wide with betrayal at Nobuhiro slip.

Sayuri walked up to her and said, "You should be with someone who'd appreciate you for who you are." And gave her a deep kiss,

Umi was left twitching uncontrollably as Sayuri broke off the kiss and walked away. She stopped in front of a classroom, slid open the door, poked her head inside and shouted, "Sensei Tanaka, you're a boring jerk that tries ramming his own ideology down student's throats rather than actually teaching them!"

Sayuri walked away, leaving an angry teacher and a laughing class behind. This whole experience was very liberating. She decided it was now time to go through the whole school and do everything she wanted to do, but was afraid to in the real world. It wasn't like anyone could to anything to her. After all, it was her dream, and she was mistress of all she surveyed.

Ranma-chan breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close. Luckily, Sayuri had been on hand to bail her out from the psychotic Amazon. Now she had an opportunity to thank Akane's cute friend later for rescuing 'Ranko', by asking her out on a date, when Ranma-chan was male, of course. And she kept in mind Nabiki's warning that Sayuri liked playing hard to get. Ranma-chan would just have to be persistent, and then it would be all the pussy she could handle.

As she turned a corner, she ran into another familiar figure. "Hey, Akane."

A fist met the redhead's face.

"What'd ya do that for?!" Ranma-chan said as she rubbed her jaw.

Trembling in rage, Akane bit out, "I heard about how Kunou was going down on you in the boy's locker room!"

"He did not!" Ranma-chan shot back.

Akane seethed in fury. "Don't play dumb. I overheard Coach Tamiya telling Kunou-chan not to worry about him 'going down on that hot redhead' in the locker room. It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was talking about." Akane brought her fist back again. "Now, for seducing the man I love away from me, you're really going to pay."

Ranma-chan held her hands up in a warding gesture. "Wait, wait, you got it all wrong! Kunou's still gay!"

Akane paused momentarily. "You mean he went down on you when you were a guy?"

"He didn't go down on me at all," Ranma-chan clarified, making a sick face at the very idea of Kunou doing anything to her, except maybe bleeding on her from his wounds.

Seeing Akane was confused, and had calmed down enough to listen, Ranma-chan explained everything.

Akane's anger died. She sighed. "That's a relief. Although now that I think about it, if he had gone down on you when you were a girl, that would have meant he was developing heterosexual habits. I probably could have seduced him away from you." Akane snapped her fingers. "Shoot, I probably would have been better off if he had ate you out."

"Eww, don't say things like that." Ranma-chan recoiled in disgust at the idea of Kunou putting his tongue in there, or anywhere, for that matter. Just that that was the grossest place she could imagine.

The sound of an explosion came from nearby, and a feminine cry of "Ranma!" rang out through the halls.

"Someone's looking for you, but it doesn't sound like that Ryouga guy," Akane commented.

At that moment, Shampoo turned the corner, her eyes alighting on the redhead. She smiled, and shouted, "Airen!" before charging at her.

"Ahh, she's found me!" Ranma-chan grabbed Akane's hand and ran off towards the nearest exit to the school. They arrived within moments. Ranma-chan pushed Akane through the doorway and well clear of it, then struck both sides of the door frame before running outside as well. A moment later, the aperture collapsed, blocking the exit.

Ranma-chan grabbed Akane's hand again and led her away, running at top speed. "That won't hold her for long. She can go through walls pretty easily."

Akane removed her hand from Ranma's and ran alongside her. "Why is that girl looking for you? Did you dump her and now she wants revenge?"

"Ha! If only it was that simple!" Ranma-chan said as she and Akane exited the school grounds and kept on running. "That girl's out to kill me."

"Oh. So you knocked her up and then dumped her?"

"No!" Ranma-chan shouted. "I didn't sleep with her at all."

Akane considered his denials, and thought about the girl again. "She didn't seem all that angry. Actually, she was smiling when she saw you."

"She's been chasing me since China. I'm sure she's delighted she picked up my trail again," Ranma-chan gasped out.

"What does 'Airen' mean?"

"Given the context, I'm pretty sure it's something along the lines of, 'You're dead meat, Sucker'," Ranma-chan explained as she decided to take a detour through the market district before heading back home, hoping to blend in with the crowds of shoppers on the chance Shampoo had kept up with them. Her tracking skills were unbelievable.

Once satisfied they weren't being pursued, the duo slowed down to further blend in, appearing as inconspicuous as any pair of school girls cutting class could. They paused every now and then to look at some vendor's wares or display's in store windows, all the while keeping one eye peeled for any sign of pursuit.

When none appeared, Ranma-chan decided she had the time to explain everything in detail to Akane. "Look, here's what happened. It was just a little while after me and Pop got cursed. We were still in China, adjusting to things. We decided to hit the road, and that useless guide was supposed to be taking us back to civilization. But we made a stop at this Amazon village where they were in the middle of this tournament. Me and Pop were in our cursed forms, basically minding our own business…."

"Wow, that girl's pretty good, Pop," Ranma-chan said through a mouthful of some sort of roasted animal whose shank she had grabbed from the table.

The panda looked over the rim of the bowl his face was currently buried in. He watched as the girl in question sent her larger opponent flying off the log. As the bulky girl continued to ascend, he held up a sign.. *Nice arc on that kick. No question about it, she is a strong fighter. And speaking of kicks, pass me one of those chicken legs, Boy.*

"Actually, I was commenting on her looks. But you're right. Her martial arts ain't half bad either," Ranma-chan admitted as she went for one of the legs in question.

Just as her fingers brushed against the leg, a thrown bonbori came sailing right at it. Ranma-chan barely snatched her hand away in time as the weighted mace slammed into the table, shattering the wood below it into kindling. Ranma-chan tensed up for a fight as she watched the girl, whose looks she had commented on, approach. A scowl marred her attractive features, and the Ranma-chan's trained eye sensed the girl was prepared for yet another fight.

The Amazon started to say something harsh, then she paused before she was more than a few words in. Her gaze shifted from anger to something else. Ranma-chan wasn't quite sure what, since he couldn't recall it being directed her way before. She also noticed that the entirety of the village was now staring at her, and they were decidedly more hostile, almost as though she had done something to them instead of minding her own business eating.

The Amazon, who Ranma-chan now realized was the winner of the tournament, stated something that was much more pleasant than what she had started to say. Or at least it sounded less harsh to Ranma-chan's ears.

The Guide seemed somewhat confused by what she said. Hesitantly, he translated. "Her name Shampoo. She says, why does outsider girl with big… attitude, eat her prize?"

Ranma-chan looked at the piece of meat in her hand. "Umm, because I was hungry?"

The Guide translated the answer to Shampoo. Again she replied, this time with a smile.

The Guide translated much more easily now. "She says it very insulting to destroy her prize right in front of entire village right after she win it. She want to know what you do to compensate for damage. She say she have some ideas of how to work that out."

Ranma-chan was about to tell him to ask her what Shampoo had in mind when one of the villagers, a large woman with an even larger spear, shouted out in broken Japanese, "Give Panda!"

Genma held up a sign. *I'm not for sale.*

Shampoo appeared cross and barked out something unpleasant at the woman. It was met with an unpleasant response, one that seemed to foul the mood of the village further.

Ranma-chan shook her head. No way was she giving her father to them, no matter how stupid he was at times. With the mood getting worse, she decided she had to end things fast. "Tell her I'll challenge her to a fight for the food."

The Guide translated. A pout soured Shampoo's features as she responded.

Hesitantly, the Guide said, "She say she disappointed that the way you want to fix things. She think there much… better way of doing it. She promise to go easy on you, since you such a… interesting girl."

Ranma-chan looked at him curiously. Apparently he was having problems translating what the girl was saying into Japanese, given how much he was hesitating. Still, this Shampoo had made a critical mistake; she had implied that not only would she defeat Ranma-chan, but that she was so much better she could afford to not go all out. Such an offense could not be tolerated. Ranma-chan smirked, then in one powerful leap, cleared the distance between table and challenge log. She lazed casually in a relaxed stance, looking at Shampoo expectantly.

Shampoo appeared surprised at the move, then did the same, though it was nowhere near as impressive given that she had less ground to cover.

The two squared off against one another. Ranma-chan saw that, remarkably, the girl's posture was looser than in her previous fight. Oh well. It was the Amazon's own fault for not taking her seriously. In return, Ranma-chan would end things as quickly as the girl had promised. It was the least he could do, even if Shampoo's generosity was neither necessary nor wanted.

With the Amazon so badly underestimating her opponent, it was a simple matter for Ranma-chan to land in a single devastating blow that sent Shampoo sailing off the log. The Amazon appeared so bewildered by the move that she didn't react. Instead she sailed through the air, then ended up landing on her head, momentarily stunned.

There was a palpable silence hanging in the air. Ranma-chan suddenly felt very uneasy, despite the casual nature of her win. Every eye on the village stared evilly at her, as though she had committed some grave sin. She could feel the dark cloud of anger boiling over, waiting to lash out at her and strike her down for daring whatever it was she had dared.

Slowly, Shampoo dragged herself up from the ground, a touch of dirt now plastered to her chin. She shook her head free of her confusion. She looked at Ranma-chan as though she still couldn't believe what happened. After a few seconds of intense scrutiny, she moved closer until she was standing right next to Ranma-chan. The redhead felt uneasy under that gaze, which unquestionably held a hint of anger, though not a great deal of it. It seemed closer to irritation than any true measure of rage.

With the two standing nose-to-nose, the lingering tension throughout the village's citizenry doubled. Ranma-chan knew something was about to happen, and that it wouldn't be good.

Then the anger in the Amazon's eyes departed. She grabbed Ranma-chan's face, firmly but gently, and said, "Wo ai ni, Wo da Airen," and kissed her on the lips. Ranma-chan was caught totally off-guard by the unexpected gesture, and simply stood there. She felt Shampoo's tongue dart past her lips and into her mouth. It began playing with her own, before the Amazon broke the liplock and stood back, almost as though she was an artist admiring her handiwork.

At that moment, the dam that had held back the gathered emotions burst as the entire village cried out in a cacophony of near homicidal rage. Ranma-chan took a step back, stunned at such in open display of vitriolic hatred thrown in her direction.

The Guide was at her side in an instant, panda in his grasp as well. He grabbed Ranma-chan, and bolted off at top speed with the pair of tourists in hand.

"What's going on?!" Ranma-chan cried out, ripping her hand free and running alongside the Guide as she had no wish to remain in the village any longer. There was no telling what that angry mob might do, other than it would be excruciatingly painful to Ranma-chan.

"Oh, Mr. Customer, you make terrible mistake," the Guide said. "When outsider girl beat Amazon in combat, Amazon give 'Kiss of Death'."

Ranma-chan shook her head. "Well, it was a pretty good kiss, especially with the tongue part, but I'd hardly call it something lethal."

"It not mean she kill you by kissing you. It a gesture. It mean she will hunt you down to ends of Earth to kill you."

"Kill me?! Why?!"

"Who know how Amazon mind work? Is very strange why they do things they do. All the locals know that," the Guide admitted. "That girl is very odd, even by Amazon standards. She must have fun toying with Mr. Customer, because she say very funny thing when she give you Kiss of Death."

Ranma-chan said, "That crowd sure wasn't amused. As pissed as they were, I wouldn't be surprised if all of them joined in the hunt and tried to kill me, too. Let's get the hell out of here and lose that bunch of psycho-chicks!"

"…And so we kept on running, but I'll be damned if she didn't keep popping up hot on our heels, busting through walls and shouting out that Airen thing. I thought we lost her when we finally made it to Japan, but she's managed to find me again." Ranma-chan said, obviously demoralized.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Akane asked, embroiled in the story.

Ranma-chan shrugged helplessly. "Run and hide. Not like there's much else I can do. She'll eventually get tired and quit hassling me."

"She seemed pretty determined to me," Akane said warily.

Ranma-chan placed her hands behind her head and smirked. "Yeah, but no one can beat me when I set my mind to it. I'm not in any real danger. You'll see."

Akane considered the gesture with a slightly incredulous look, "I guess I will."

The roundabout journey took the pair four times as long to return to the Tendou home. Once they arrived, the quickly entered, glad that the ordeal from school, and Shampoo, was far behind them.

Once inside, Akane shouted, "We're home!"

A shout of, "Good afternoon! I hope you had a good time at school!" came from the kitchen, courtesy of Kasumi.

Nabiki entered through the front door just as Ranma-chan and Akane were removing their shoes. "Nice dress," she casually noted to the redhead, amused grin in place at the sight of seeing Ranma-chan in such female wear.

Ranma-chan pulled at the blouse. "It's a bit tight in the chest, but when you got one like mine, it's to be expected. I notice the outfit you're wearing is a bit baggy." He returned the grin.

Nabiki fingered the boy's uniform she wore. "I guess cross-dressing just doesn't work for me the way it does for you."

"Um, Nabiki, if you don't mind me asking, why are you wearing a boy's uniform?" Akane asked.

Nabiki shifted uncomfortably. "I sort of had a difficult situation arise, but I got out of it easily enough." Flashing her goods to two guys that never got any was enough for the boys to cough up a pair of pants from one and a shirt from the other.

"I know the feeling," Ranma-chan said sympathetically, but not elaborating. Thoroughly tired from the day's events, she grunted in appreciation of everything being over and headed to the bathroom to get some hot water and change back into her proper form.

Akane and Nabiki headed to the living room and sat down at the table. Akane turned on the television and the pair relaxed some before changing into everyday clothes.

Kasumi poked her head in from the kitchen. "How did school go today?"

"Matsui and I are officially through," Nabiki informed her.

Akane said, "Ranma was chased around by a Chinese Amazon that wants to kill him."

"Did he knock her up and dump her?" Kasumi asked.

Akane shook her head. "He says it's all over him stealing some food of hers and then beating her up, but something sounded off in the story. I don't think he's lying. He doesn't seem like he'd be good at it, unlike some people I know," she said pointedly to Nabiki.

With nothing on television catching Nabiki's interest, she instead lay idly on the floor, playing with one of the buttons on the uniform. "Claiming I don't know what you mean would just be playing into your hands. Let's just say life is like a game of poker, and I have no problems bluffing when it suits me."

"That could be why you have so many problems keeping boyfriends around for long," Akane said, with just a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Nabiki was nonplused at the snipe. "I don't lie to the guys I go out with. It's just I'm a high maintenance gal, and none of the boys I've met have been interested enough in maintaining me for long."

"It would take a team of mechanics to do that," Akane said pointedly.

"Now there's an idea. Oh, wait, doing a team is your thing, not mine." Nabiki laughed.

Akane turned slightly red. "I only did a gang bang once, thank you very much."

A choking sound came from the doorway leading into the room.

"Hey, Ranma. Are you all right?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah," The now male Ranma regained his composure. He had probably misheard, or it was a joke on the girls' part. Well, he wasn't going to fall for it. He'd act like Akane hadn't said a word.

Kasumi placed her hand to her chin in thought. "By the way, this Amazon person, did she wear a pink Chinese style outfit and have lavender hair?"

"Uh, yeah, she did," Ranma said, noting that Kasumi had gained Akane and Nabiki full attention as well.

"Oh, well she's already here. I thought she was Ryouga's girlfriend since he was with her when they dropped by."

"Ryouga's here with Shampoo?!" Ranma shouted.

The sound of Ranma's voice made the duo appear from the kitchen. Behind them, a panda held up a sign that read. *I told her I've never been to China. I was born in a circus. Watch.* Genma began juggling plates into the air.

"Shampoo recognize fat panda anywhere." She elbowed him in the gut, causing him to drop several of the plates on his head. "Where Ranma?"

"Right there!" Ryouga pointed at where Ranma was standing. Ranma was so surprised by the appearance of the Amazon he froze, making the perfect target. "Now get your righteous vengeance," Ryouga urged.

Shampoo continued looking around. "Where?"

"Right there." Ryouga shouted. Everyone, even Genma, pointed at Ranma.

Shampoo grunted in disgust. She walked up to Ranma. "That no Ranma. Ranma is girl. Shampoo no see how you can make mistake. Stupid boy is nothing like Shampoo's airen, who have nice, big chest." She poked Ranma in his chest. "See? Is flat, like plain."

"It's not flat. I work out and have great pecs." Ranma flexed for her benefit, making his chest bugle out as best as he could.

Nabiki's stare kept shifting between poser and foreigner. She said to Ranma, "You mean she's never—"

"—Seen me after it rained," Ranma provided as cover. "Now that I think about it, I guess not."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "I can't believe it never occurred to you to give her the slip that way."

Now that Nabiki had entered the conversation, Shampoo took notice of her for the first time. "Shampoo recognize you. Why Red Panty Girl no naked in stairs where Shampoo left her?"

"Red Panty Girl? Naked?" Akane asked, showing her family resemblance to Nabiki as her eyebrow perked in interest.

Even Nabiki seemed uneasy from the question. "Yes, it's sort of a long story."

"Do tell us?" Akane asked, delighted at retaking the initiative from her sister's gang bang commentary from earlier.

Off to the side, Ryouga seethed. Why wasn't this Chinese girl killing Ranma like she should? It had been luck on both their parts that she had stumbled upon him while he was lost in the shopping district. He had called out to her and asked if she had found Ranma, only to discover the jerk had eluded her in school and ran off. Ryouga volunteered to show the Amazon where Ranma lived, since he would eventually turn up there. Unable to actually lead her to the Tendou home, he remembered the name of the street it was located. Shampoo was able to guide them to it, and he was able to point out which house she wanted. He was a bit uneasy when they were greeted by Kasumi, who seemed happy to see Ryouga. Luckily, she saved him from coming up with some lame excuse by assuming Shampoo was his girlfriend and that he was waiting for his 'friend', Ranma, to return from school. That she was so trusting of his motives made Ryouga a bit uneasy, but he needed revenge, and could live with the shame. It seemed he had lived with some all of his life, in one way or another. A little more just added to the total.

Given Shampoo's refusal to see Ranma standing in front of her, and that she was now in deep conversation of Nabiki instead of attacking her foe, Ryouga decided to take matters into his own hands. He unsheathed his umbrella and cried out, "Ranma, prepare to die!"

"Quit stealing my lines!" Ranma snarled, evading the blow that shattered the table, sending all of the contents that had been sitting on it flying in every direction.

None headed for Kasumi. Akane and Genma easily evaded the splinters sent their way. However, a vase that was thrown off with a high amount of force headed straight for Nabiki's head.

All Nabiki had time to do was widen her eyes as the white ceramic headed for her face. At the last second, the vase was plucked deftly out of the air by Shampoo.

Nabiki breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

Shampoo nodded, casually twirling the item in her hand. "What it worth to Red Panty Girl for not getting hit in face by flying object?"

A small part of Nabiki admired the way Shampoo was parodying her from earlier. All the rest resented the fact that Shampoo was able to parody her from earlier. "I beg your pardon, but I don't recall asking you to catch that."

Shampoo shrugged. "Okay. Shampoo pretend she no stopped it and resume throw at same velocity when she intercept it." She drew back her arm.

"Wait, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement," Nabiki hastily amended.

While the bargaining began, the battle between Ryouga and Ranma raged on. Ryouga tried to take another swipe at Ranma with the umbrella, but Ranma darted into the arc. As he moved in closer to his opponent, Ranma caught the weapon under his arm before it had a chance to build any true velocity. He pinned it to his side with one arm, then used his free hand to strike Ryouga in the chin with a palm thrust that drove him back and made him release his hold on the umbrella.

Ranma released the umbrella from under his arm and began wielding it like a giant baseball bat. "Now let's see how you like it when someone tries to hit a home run with that empty skull of yours!" He drew back to swing at Ryouga's head.

Unused to the weapon, Ranma's blow was slow and inaccurate, Ryouga easily dodged out of the way. The person standing directly behind Ryouga, Shampoo, was so deeply enjoying her turnabout with Nabiki that she was unaware of the attack until it struck her in the back of the head. She then became aware of how freeing unconsciousness was, as she fell into it. She pitched forward, right into Nabiki's arms.

"And so ends the negotiation," Nabiki said, laying the Amazon gently down to the floor.

Horrified, Ranma dropped the umbrella, the heavy weapon making a loud thud as it impacted with the floor. "I didn't mean to do it!" he said hastily, then saw that Shampoo was not moving. Panic shifted to concern. "Is she all right?"

In answer, Shampoo's eyes fluttered open. Slowly, she rose up to a standing position. Her hand traveled to the back of her head, feeling it as though to make certain it was still there. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in all of the occupants. "Who… who hit Shampoo?"

Everyone pointed to Ranma.

Ranma held his hands up in a warding gesture. "It was an accident. Ryouga's the one responsible. It's his umbrella, and I was trying to hit him. He was the one that made you get hit."

Ryouga snorted. "That's like saying if somebody's shooting at me, and I duck, and the bullet hits someone else, it's my fault they got shot."

"He's got you there," Nabiki said to Ranma.

Akane added, "And what's worse is, now that you've defeated her as a guy, she's honor bound to kill you no matter what you look like."

Ranma slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh man, I hadn't even thought of that."

All eyes turned to Shampoo, who had the look of bloody murder etched on her face. "Everyone says this man beat Shampoo?" she spat.

From Akane's reluctant nodding to Ryouga's gleeful two-handed pointing, everyone but Ranma answered the question. And in a way, even Ranma responded with a cringing look of guilt.

Seeing no other option, Ranma decided to fall back on the tried and true method of running from Shampoo. Before he could move, Ryouga, prepared for the response, reacted faster. He snared Ranma with an arm and managed to lock him in a full nelson before he could flee.

"Let me go, you jerk!" Ranma shouted, struggling to get out of the hold

Finally in a position that took full advantage of his superior strength, Ryouga held on to the squirming Ranma and said, "For once in your life, accept your rightful punishment."

Shampoo stalked forward, her eyes seeming to burn holes clean through Ranma. The captured youth stopped struggling when it became obvious he would be unable to slip out of Ryouga's grasp in time. He was motionless as Shampoo drew closer until her face was near his. His heart raced as he felt her breath dance across his cheek. She took his head firmly in her hands, squeezing his face until he resembled a fish with how hard she pressed. She kissed him on his puckered lips, and said in a voice that held as much viciousness as spitting venom. "Wo ai ni. Wo da Airen."

She released Ranma's face. That snapped him out of his reverie, and he reacted by struggling twice as hard and shouting, "Crap! Now she's vowed to kill me again."

Nabiki said, "Ah, I hate to break this to you, Ranma, but she didn't just swear to kill you."

Ranma stopped struggling. "She didn't?"

"Nope. It roughly translates into 'I love you, beloved husband'. I'm not sure because I'm not that familiar with the dialect."

"You mean you understand what she's saying?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki nodded. "I had a Chinese boyfriend once. He had lots of cash and didn't mind spending it. Of course what I didn't realize at the time was that he had money because he was involved with the Chinese mob. Got caught and deported. It was a shame. He was a definitely what you would call a bad boy, and was very interesting."

Ranma said, "But I thought she gave me a Kiss of Death, like she did in China. Except she didn't give me tongue this time around." He saw the daggers Shampoo was shooting him with her eyes. "And seems way more pissed."

"Kiss of Death?" Nabiki turned to Shampoo. "What's this Kiss of Death thing?"

In answer, Shampoo pulled a book from under her shirt, opened it to a certain page, and handed it to Nabiki.

Nabiki read the pages. "Hmm, it says here that if a girl from outside the village defeats an Amazon warrior in combat, the Amazon has to give a 'Kiss of Death' and hunt that girl down to the ends of the Earth to avenge themselves."

"I already know that part," Ranma said.

Nabiki held up a warning finger, "My, my, my, here's where things get even more interesting. Apparently if the Amazon is defeated by a man, she has to make him her husband."

Everyone but Shampoo stared at Nabiki in surprise. Even Ryouga loosened his hold on his long time foe.

"Husband?" Ranma repeated.

"Afraid so. Congratulations, Ranma. You've got yourself a foreign bride."

Genma held up a sign. No dowry, no deal.

"Sounds pretty silly to me," Akane said. Kasumi nodded in agreement to the statement.

"That's not fair," Ryouga complained. "She's supposed to kill him for hitting her."

Ranma, who had finally processed the information, began to smile. It was an inexorable thing that slowly crept across his face as his mind continued pondering the situation, and enjoyed the conclusions it was reaching. To Nabiki he said, "Tell me, is this marriage thing just ceremonial, or does it include, you know, actually having sex?"

Nabiki looked it over. "I'd say consummating it is a requirement. The idea here is that strong women with stronger husbands make for strong babies. Sort of a primitive eugenics program." Nabiki looked Shampoo over. "Might be some validity in it."

Ranma could barely contain his glee. With an effort, he forced himself to not jump up in victory. He was finally going to get some. He composed himself, and in as chivalrous a demeanor as he could muster, said, "Don't worry, Shampoo. I shall be a perfect gentleman and treat you nicely as my wife, even if our coming together is unusual. I've always had an admiration for the Chinese, and I like a woman who's not only fit and able-bodied, but isn't afraid to take the initiative." Satisfied he had put her at ease, he paid close attention to gauge how she'd react to the statements…

…and barely evaded a sword thrust aimed at his crotch.

"Ahhhh! What are you doing, you crazy chick?!" he shouted, leaping backward and keeping his hands low to ward off any further slashes to his privates.

Shampoo held her sword up, ready to slice away again. "Is simple. If mans can no perform husbandly duties, then Shampoo no have to be married. Stand still, and Shampoo castrate as painless as possible."

"There is no way you can hack off my balls off and make it painless!" Ranma barely evaded a second thrust at his crotch.

Fearing for 'Mr. Happy's' continued welfare, Ranma jumped over the remains of the table (which was then sliced in quarter sections by Shampoo's sword) and headed for the main door of the house. The Amazon stayed close on his heels in pursuit, shouting for him to stand still and get things over with.

"I think she's overreacting a bit to the whole marriage thing, don't you?" Kasumi asked, surveying the destruction.

Akane nodded in agreement, kicking one of the pieces of table. "Yeah. I've known some people that didn't want to get married, but that's taking things too far."

Nabiki placed her hand to her chin in thought. "Something's not quite right. There's definitely something we're missing."

Akane said, "Ranma's going to be missing something if he stops running."

"I'll go help!" Ryouga shouted.

Kasumi watched him race out of the room in the same direction Ranma had departed. "That's so nice of Ryouga to risk himself like that to help Ranma."

"Actually, he probably meant he's going to help Shampoo," Akane explained.

The statement surprised Kasumi. "You mean they're not getting along?"

Akane said, "If you mean not getting along in the sense they're trying to beat each other senseless when they come into line of sight of one another, then the answer is yes, they are not getting along."

"Oh dear, Ranma must have found out," Kasumi fretted.

"Found out what?" Akane asked.

Kasumi started to say something, then shut her mouth. "It's nothing. What do you want for dinner?"

For a moment, Akane was going to press on, then stopped. It was obvious Kasumi didn't want to say anything else on the matter, and trying to pry at her simply didn't work. Worse, when Kasumi was harassed, she reacted in completely passive aggressive ways. The offending party would find their clothing unwashed, food portions small and poorly cooked, and sheets unchanged. And it would remain such until whoever it was that irritated Kasumi stopped doing it. Being pestered with questions about her personal life was a sure way to end up the recipient of Kasumi's ire. Akane decided to let the matter drop, although she still wondered why her sister was taking such a sudden interest in the two guys.

There were matters of a more immediate concern. Akane hoped Ranma was doing all right. He was pretty nimble, and with the stakes involved, she'd have wagered he could run across a bed of nails without stepping on a single one.

Outside, Ranma found himself hard pressed by Shampoo's aggressive, and precise, strikes. Under ordinary circumstances, he probably would have had an easier time of evading the attacks and formulating counter-strikes, but the fear of losing a potential body part was overriding his normal judgment in a fight. Worse, Shampoo showed no signs of tiring or shifting targets on his body.

Ranma finally decided to seek higher ground and jumped upward for a tree branch, planning to use it to vault over the wall surrounding the yard and put some distance between himself and his attacker. Just as his hands grasped the lower branch, a spinning circle of yellow and black severed it from the tree. With nothing to support him, Ranma fell downward and landed on the ground. As he struck the grass he rolled, again barely evading a thrust at his crotch.

Ranma brought his legs up and used his hands to spring up and flipped so that he landed in a standing position. The instant he was vertical, Ryouga attacked him with punches and kicks.

"Stand still and take your punishment like a man!" Ryouga shouted.

Ranma deflected Ryouga's assault, and was about to retaliate, when he sensed an attack from behind. He did an airborne leap which took him over his rearward attacker.

Shampoo's running thrust didn't come close to striking Ranma, but the blade just barely missed Ryouga's own crotch. Only by standing on his tip-toes at the last second did he prevent his own, longer member from becoming a bit shorter, though the blade did slice open both his pants and underwear.

"Watch what you're doing!" Ryouga squeaked, feeling the cool metal against his leg.

The distraction proved invaluable to Ranma as he landed behind Shampoo, then shoved her in the back. Already off balance from overthrusting, she toppled forward and ended up colliding with Ryouga, who also went to the ground. The pair was lost in a tangle of limbs.

Ranma waved good-bye at the two of them, taunting, "So long, suckers!" as he leapt up to the top of the roof and surveyed the terrain. He plotted his course to take him off the big boulder next to the pond, then use it to go over the top of the fence and out the back.

Just as he started to leap, a hurled bonbori struck him in mid-air. It failed to do any real damage, but altered the course of his trajectory so that he ended up bouncing face-first off the rock, then landed in the koi pond with a loud splash.

The blow stunned Ranma-chan for a moment. By the time she started to regain her bearings, while still sitting in the pond, she heard a noise come from overhead and looked up. Poised directly above was an Amazon silhouetted by the sun. Her sword was high overhead, just at the apex of a swing which could slice through stone as easily human flesh. There was no time to react. Ranma-chan cringed and closed her eyes, preparing for the end.

Rather than a sword thrust into her body, she instead felt something splash alongside her. A moment later, she felt a wet, but still warm body, snuggling up to her. Ranma-chan felt someone moving up and down, mashing something soft and pillowy against her breasts. The movement caused some very pleasurable sensations from that area of her body.

Ranma-chan opened her eyes to see it was Shampoo that was treating her so familiarly. "Huh?" was the most coherent statement Ranma-chan could manage.

Shampoo continued snuggling gleefully against the redhead, especially her chest. "Oh, airen, Shampoo is too, too happy to see you."

Again, all that came to Ranma-chan was, "Huh?"

The shock going unnoticed, Shampoo continued snuggling against Ranma-chan. "Shame on Ranma for running away from Shampoo. Shampoo should punish her, but is willing to let bygones be bygones."

"Huh?" Ranma-chan said, still not receiving a satisfactory answer.

Shampoo stopped rubbing against Ranma-chan. She tenderly cradled the smaller girl's face and said, "Wo ai ni," then kissed Ranma-chan passionately on the lips.

That snapped Ranma-chan out of her reverie. This was her third 'Kiss of Death' and she was starting to become used to it. Although this was like the first one, only longer and better. Deciding that if she was going to continue being the recipient of these things, she might as well enjoy them, she embraced Shampoo and kissed back. Shampoo responded by forcing her tongue into Ranma-chan's mouth. Unwilling to back off, the shorter girl retaliated by doing the same thing, trying to work her tongue over more. Shampoo upped matters by outright fondling Ranma-chan's breast through her shirt. Again Ranma-chan met the move by doing the same.

A "What the hell are you doing?!" broke up the mood before things could escalate further. Both Shampoo and Ranma-chan looked up at the top of the roof, where the shout had come from.

Ryouga leveled an accusatory finger at Shampoo. "Why are you kissing him? Cut off his, oh, you can't do that now. Well, kill him anyway! Just because he doesn't have a body part is no reason to stop. Improvise something, damn it!"

Shampoo spat, "No be stupid! Shampoo is no going to kill her airen!"

"But you were a second ago!" Ryouga protested.

Shampoo shook her head. "Stupid Lost Boy not only can no find his way out of closet, but he blind too. This is Girl Type Ranma. See?" she fondled both of Ranma's breasts, eliciting a groan from the girl.

Ryouga was completely lost. The Amazon's own book of laws said she was supposed to kill girls that beat her. By Ranma's own admission she had chased his girl form all the way across China and Japan. Hell, Shampoo was going to kill Ranma as a guy as well despite the fact she was supposed to marry him. It wasn't supposed to get any better than that. But instead of trying to cut off either one of Ranma's heads, depending on which one was available, she was making out with him instead.

Ryouga seethed in anger. "I don't know how you seduced that girl into not attacking you, Ranma, but it doesn't matter! You will pay!" He launched himself at the pair.

Shampoo reacted by hurling her remaining bonbori at him. Ryouga deflected the blow off his arm, but let himself open to Ranma-chan's attack. She kicked him in the gut before he could land. Despite not having as much strength in female form, she still struck hard enough to send him flying halfway across the lawn.

"Here's what you get for trying to help cut my nuts off!" Ranma-chan leapt high in the air, intent on bringing the heels of both her feet into Ryouga's gut.

Ryouga barely rolled out of the way in time, Ranma-chan's feet hitting squarely where his body had been. While prone on the ground, Ryouga lashed out with a leg, striking her in the back of her knees. The blow brought Ranma-chan down so that she landed flat on her back.

Ryouga rolled back over and on top of the smaller girl. Using his superior strength, he pinned her hands to the ground above her head, then sat up, straddling her chest. "Ha! I have you now! Now you're going to get what you deserve!"

"Ahhhh!" Ranma-chan screeched. "Get that thing away from my mouth, you disgusting pervert!"

Ryouga looked down and remembered that Shampoo's earlier cut had gone through not only his pants, but his underwear too, freeing his member so that it had been dangling through the opening. Worse, from the way he was sitting on Ranma-chan's chest, his cock had flopped out so that it was lying dangerously near her face.

"Ah!" Ryouga cried out, releasing his hold on her and shooting to his feet. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

Before further apologies could be blurted out, a hard kick, courtesy of an irate Amazon, met Ryouga squarely in-between the legs. He didn't even cry out. He simply stood there, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Like an oak tree that had been cut just enough at its base, he slowly tilted backward, then fell with a resounding thump and remained motionless.

Shampoo gave a triumphant stare at Ryouga. "That what disgusting man gets for trying to force himself on Shampoo's airen."

Ranma-chan, who had risen to her feet, grimaced and crossed her legs in sympathetic pain, despite not currently being equipped in a like manner. The move might have saved her from Ryouga doing something perverted, and she held no goodwill whatsoever for the eternally lost jerk, but that was just plain wrong.

Within the house, Akane's voice could be heard saying, "I think I heard the fight move on back here. Let's see what's going on."

Ranma-chan looked down at Ryouga, then realized that if he was left in his current state, the girls would see how he was equipped. If that happened Ranma-chan would lose any chance at scoring with them. Besides, according to Ryouga, he didn't like women, so this would be doing him a favor. There was no way Ryouga would get angry over that.

Bending down, Ranma-chan ripped the front of Ryouga's shirt off, and threw it on top of the lower portion of his prone form.

The girls emerged a second later. They took in the scene, their eyes settling on the prone boy on the ground. All three looked at Ranma-chan, who was trying to appear innocent.

"He's not dead, is he?" Kasumi asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"No," Ranma-chan said, though he'd probably wish he was for a long while.

"I'd better help him," Kasumi said, moving forward to examine Ryouga.

Ranma-chan was quick to react. "I think it would be better if he was seen by a professional. I'll see to it he gets the sort of treatment he deserves." Ranma-chan hoisted Ryouga's unconscious body over her shoulder, all the while making certain the shirt continued to cover the space between his legs. She turned toward the group. "All of you stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can." Without another word, she leaped over the fence and ran off in the direction of Dr. Tofu's.

Once she was out of sight of the Tendou house, Ranma-chan slowed down to a much more casual walk, searching for something. She paused in front of an alleyway, quickly spotting what she needed. She walked up to a half-filled garbage can, stuffed Ryouga inside it, then set the lid securely on the top. She wiped off her hands, and said satisfactorily, "There. That's the sort of treatment you deserve, jerk."

It took even less time to return, sans her burden. However it was a tentative Ranma-chan that returned to the house, uncertain of what awaited her. As she opened the door and announced her return, she was all but tackled by the Amazon that, until a half hour ago, had been intent upon killing her.

"Oh, Ranma, Shampoo was afraid you try to run away again and would have to keep chasing you. Shampoo so happy you back so soon. Shampoo miss you, too, too much!" She proceeded to shower kisses upon the smaller girl.

"I, uh, guess you did," Ranma-chan managed to say during the show of affection.

The three Tendou girls approached the scene, a certain panda curiously absent. Akane appeared the most confused, and said to Shampoo, "Hold on a second. I thought that book of yours said you were supposed to kill girls that defeated you."

"Uh, yeah," Ranma-chan suddenly became uneasy, as though Akane's reminder might trigger the Amazon's homicidal tendencies again.

Shampoo laughed. "No be silly. Ranma is Shampoo's airen. Shampoo would never kill her."

The answer irritated Akane. Before she could complain, Nabiki interrupted. "What about your other, 'airen.' The guy Ranma?"

Shampoo's demeanor instantly shifted to one of anger. "Shampoo take care of disgusting man when he come again." She became adoring of the redhead in her grip again. "Girl-type Ranma no worry. Shampoo take care of evil boy-type Ranma." She made a slashing motion in the direction of the redhead's crotch. "Then he no be other airen anymore and no try to sleep with us."

Ranma-chan shuddered at the implication, despite the affection she was being showered with.

Nabiki placed her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I think I'm starting to get a handle on this. Let's sit down, though. I want to make sure I got it right."

The quintet made their way to the living room, using the shattered remains of the table to sit around, even if the piece of furniture itself was unusable. Shampoo snuggled up to Ranma-chan, her hands settling in a very familiar way on her airen's body. Ranma-chan not only allowed it, but placed her hands somewhat tentatively, on Shampoo's similar areas. When there was no protest, she relaxed and enjoyed the hold.

Nabiki took charge on the interrogation side. "Shampoo, how do you feel about men?"

Shampoo's face changed to anger again. "Mens is disgusting. All they want to do is try to make Shampoo sleep with them. Shampoo no like mens. Not want anything to do with them."

"And girls?"

Shampoo's mood lightened. "It depend on girl. Some annoying and irritating, like mens, though they no want the same thing mens want. Others like airen, are nice, and Shampoo like them lots."

"I'm nice, all right," Ranma-chan assured her, Shampoo's declaration still troubling him.

Nabiki nodded in confirmation. "It's as I thought."

Akane interrupted. "But Ranma said Shampoo gave him, I mean her, a Kiss of Death when she defeated him, I mean her, back in China."

Ranma-chan started to slip out of Shampoo's grasp. "Yeah, you did. I mean, that's what the Guide said, and your book said that what's you're supposed to do." She left out that Shampoo had been much more affectionate in giving his female side the Kiss than the male side. "I mean, I thought that whole village was going to gut me on the spot."

Shampoo released her hold and looked at Ranma-chan in surprise. "Is that why Ranma run away from Shampoo? Because Ranma think Shampoo give Kiss of Death?"

"Of course it is!" Ranma-chan nearly shouted. "Why do you think every time you popped up I'd scream 'Ah, she's trying to kill me again,' and run the heck out of there?"

"Shampoo thought Ranma was just playing hard to get."

"Playing hard to get is not one of Ranma's problems," Nabiki assured her with a smile.

Shampoo finally appeared put off at the girl sitting next to her. "Silly Ranma. You waste too much time running away. Shampoo was beginning to think you no liked her."

Ranma-chan shrugged helplessly. "Heh, well, you know how it is. When you think a girl's out to kill you, you don't stick around and wait for her to explain why she's doing it."

Nodding in satisfaction, Nabiki said, "It appears you lucked out, Saotome. Shampoo here didn't try to whack you after your little fight in China because she's a die-hard, rug-munching lesbian."

"Shampoo not eat carpet," she explained, more than a little confused at the accusation.

"It's a very disrespectful term applied to girls who prefer other girls over guys," Akane explained, more than a little irritated by her sister's behavior.

"I'm just being blunt, not casting aspersions," Nabiki said.

Ranma-chan was still confused. "Well, I can see why the Guide was off, but what was up with everyone else in the village wanting me dead?"

Shampoo gave a disgusted noise. "They get angry because Shampoo say Ranma married to her instead of giving Kiss of Death. Actually, they probably more angry at Shampoo than Ranma for breaking tradition. But Shampoo no care." She grasped Ranma-chan by the face and stared deeply into her eyes. "Shampoo knew by the way Ranma look at her that Ranma like girls too. There was no way Shampoo would kill someone who like girls, and who have too, too perfect chest." She fondled Ranma-chan's breasts in appreciation.

"Yeah, I do have a top class rack, don't I?" Ranma-chan said without a hint of modesty.

Kasumi appeared a bit off kilter by all that was happening. "I'll go make some tea," she said, and headed to the kitchen.

Nabiki was openly amused by the whole issue. "It's a good thing it was a girl that defeated her instead of a guy, wasn't it, Ranma?"

Ranma-chan picked up on the hint. "Oh, yes. It is a REALLY good thing I'm REALLY a girl." Judging by the way her ear was being nibbled on, Ranma-chan decided there was at least one tolerable benefit of the curse.

"Would you two knock that off?" Akane said, the open show of affection starting to get to her.

Shampoo shot her a sly look. "No get jealous because Akane's small breasts not as nice as Ranma's."

"I have a perfectly fine chest!" Akane shot back.

"Yeah, Akane's chest is nice," Ranma-chan agreed.

"But not as nice as Shampoo's. Shampoo prove it." The Amazon placed Ranma-chan's hand directly on top of her breast.

Unable to resist the invitation, Ranma-chan did as she was offered. She savored every inch of the soft, pliable flesh that was sheathed in soft silk, taking a moment to fondle the hardened nipple underneath. Ranma-chan decided there was no better sensation his sense of touch could give her. "These are just fabulous." She resisted the urge to lay her head down between Shampoo's ample bosom and rub her head up and down between them.

Now properly irate at the challenge, and losing it, Akane walked over to Ranma-chan and place the redhead's free hand on her own breast. "Feel this, Ranma. Tell Shampoo that firm and supple is better than big and soft."

Ranma-chan's hair nearly stood on end. She had gone from nearly being castrated to having two girls force her into groping their chests. It was better than a dream, especially since Kunou's presence was making those bad experiences rather than good ones.

"Well?" Akane insisted.

Realizing both girls were expecting her to make a judgment, and that it was unlikely she could stall for more time by insisting on a more intensive study, Ranma-chan considered the matter. The answer was actually pretty easy. Amazingly, her survival instincts agreed with the assessment. "You both have great chests. It's not so much one is better than the other, it's just that they're different."

The diplomatic, if sincere, answer, was not what either girl wanted to hear. Instead Shampoo moved forward and began fondling Akane's chest for herself. "Shampoo not know what Ranma talking about. There hardly anything there. It feel like even bra is padded."

Akane snarled. "Oh yeah?" And grabbed Shampoo's chest. "Ha! These have all the firmness of a sack of Jell-O. And what's this? Why it's sag. And so much of it, too. A couple of years and they'll be knocking on the old knees."

"Shampoo is no saggy!"

Ranma-chan continued fondling Shampoo's chest. "Nope. Not a hint of sag." She shifted her grip on Akane's chest again. "Definitely not padded. It's all real."

"I have some tea…" Kasumi trailed off at the sight before her. While she was liberated, and not repulsed in the slightest about girls being interested in girls, it was an entirely different matter to leave a room where two people were cuddling, and then come back to find a trio of girls, including one's youngest sister, enthusiastically groping each other's chest.

The surprise was enough that her hold on the tray slipped. The contents of it slid across the metal of the tray and over the side, tipping out and down to the floor. Only there was one obstacle between the liquid and the target gravity had provided.

"Ah! That's hot!" The now decidedly male Ranma shouted.

Shampoo's grip shifted from Akane's chest to solely on Ranma's. "What, what going on?" she asked as she reexamined her 'airen,' and did not like what she saw.

Ranma watched as confusion began changing to anger, and guessed what would follow next. He decided to explain things the only way that came to mind. As though he was reading lines from a script, he said, "Oh my goodness. I have been doused with cursed tea, which changed me into a boy. But I bet if I get some cold water, it will reverse things and change me back into my true, very female, form." Ranma smiled hopefully.

"Cursed tea? Cold water?" Shampoo continued staring at Ranma. Within seconds her eyes took on a knowing light. She drew some of the tea that was dripping from Ranma's wet locks. She played with it between her hand, and murmured. "It warm. It make Ranma turn into boy. Just like Jusenkyou water do. Except warm water no cause curse. Warm water make person lose curse."

"Oh, heard about Jusenkyou, did you?" Ranma rose to his feet. Much to his chagrin, Shampoo did so as well. However, instead of backing off like he was, she remained crouched down, as though ready to spring on him.

"Ranma lie to Shampoo," she said.

"You jumped to conclusions," Ranma corrected.

"Ranma is really a boy," Shampoo continued.

"But I turn into a girl, so it's not like I'm all bad, right?" Ranma said hopefully.

"Ranma know how Shampoo feel, but trick her anyway."

Ranma held up his hands defensively. "I really think the whole basis of me lying to keep you from killing me should really count for something."

The words fell on deaf ears. Tears formed in Shampoo's eyes. "Ranma play with Shampoo's heart. Not many girls are like Shampoo in small village. And few that like girls, not like Shampoo, or she not like them. Ranma make her think she finally find someone who like her and she can settle down and have relationship, like she always wanted."

Hearing such pain in the girl's voice, even if said girl wanted him dead, made Ranma feel bad. His shoulders slumped slightly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're making me feel really guilty here."

"Shampoo make you feel dead!" she spat, drawing her sword and thrusting it not at Ranma's crotch this time, but rather his heart.

He barely dodged to the left in time, the blade only slicing through air. Another thrust, made lighting quick by sorrow and rage, danced for his head. He turned it to the left, losing a handful of stray hairs. The shorn locks floated toward the floor.

Ranma backed up with the next several thrusts, only having time to evade the blurring blade as it sang through the air and tried to impale his vital organs. He had established a rhythm, and was about to make a run for the outside, when he felt something soft press up behind him and heard a, "Oh."

Instinctively, even as one part of his mind had formulated a stratagem of retreat for more space, another part identified the cry as coming from Kasumi. Years of training honed his mind to react without thinking. Familiarity with the layout of the room let him know one of the outside walls was less than a half meter behind him, and Kasumi was between he and the wall. Obviously, when the fight had broken out, she had opted to retreat in the same path he had. His focus had been solely on evading the blade, making him unaware of her retreat. He could tell the next thrust was another straight one aimed for his chest. Disarming was impossible at this angle, not with the skill Shampoo was using. He could move left and avoid the thrust, but Kasumi would still be in the path of the weapon. He could try to catch it in his hands, but intense lessons with his father showed he lacked the skills to realistically do that, especially with the speed of the blade. And if the sword went through him and out the back it could still stab Kasumi. By now he was familiar enough with the oldest Tendou girl to know she lacked the reflexes to flee before being impaled.

With only one course left, Ranma half turned and shoved Kasumi out of the way, leaving himself open for a perfect strike at his torso. He saw a blur as the blade moved toward his chest, and a calm settled over him as he realized this was the end.

The blade suddenly became visible, stopping just as it pressed against him, slicing through a loose piece of shirt as though it hadn't been there. The metal was so close that it almost broke the skin, it was just barely caressing him.

The blade drew back, and Shampoo tried stabbing forward again. A part of Ranma's mind informed him he could dodge the strike, Kasumi was out of the way, but another part told him the safest thing to do was remain motionless.

Ranma was as unmoving as stone when the blade came towards his unprotected neck. Again it stopped just as it pressed against the flesh.

Tears streaming down her face, trickling off her chin and to the floorboards, Shampoo brought the sword back again. She had it raised up high and back, more like an axe than a sword, and in a pose that was more appropriate for chopping down trees instead of men. Instead of going through the formality of an actual swing, she let the sword fall from limp fingers and clatter on the floor.

Shampoo gave Ranma one more sorrowful look, one that was worse than all the previous misery combined, and said so softly it was almost inaudible, "Bie Lao."

She then ran past the stunned Ranma, purple locks flowing behind her, and escaped through the open back door. She raced halfway across the yard, then leapt, landing on top of the wall surrounding the yard. One more jump, and she sank below the sight of those standing in the house.

All eyes watched in pity at where the Amazon had last stood.

Nabiki and Akane moved forward until they flanked Ranma.

"'Bie lao' means something along the lines of 'Good bye forever'," Nabiki informed him.

"Maybe you should go after her?" Akane suggested.

Ranma shook his head. "We come from different cultures. Different worlds. I made her think I was something I'm not, and could never be, not even for her. It could never work out between us. Far better we pass like ships in the night, never destined for the same port. No, this is the way it must be; a quick, final severing of the ties that bind us together, rather than a protracted relationship that could only end in pain. And so, I let her go, now and forever." Ranma sighed with a pained resolve

Akane looked at Ranma, very impressed. "That was pretty deep."

"That was downright philosophical," Nabiki whistled.

"That was from 'Two Crossed Hearts at Sea'," Kasumi said.

"I read it yesterday when you loaned it to me," Ranma admitted. "It seemed appropriate, given the circumstances." He sighed wistfully and stared at where Shampoo had gone, as though she would reappear if he stared long enough.

"You know, maybe her chest wasn't that bad," Akane admitted reluctantly.

"I have to find her!" Ranma cried out. He was a blur, hurling over the wall in one mighty leap and shouting out, "Wait up, Shampoo! Maybe we can work something out! My turning into a girl should count for something!"

Akane listened until the cries drifted off into nothingness, which took a while, given how loudly Ranma was shouting. She gave a satisfied nod. "I thought that would push him in the right direction."

Nabiki laughed, impressed at Akane's manipulation. "Why, little sister, you're becoming more like me every day."

The compliment had the opposite of its intended effect. "I did it for Ranma's sake. He would have been mooning over her for months… well, maybe a couple of weeks." She conceded. "Anyway, if he didn't explain things to her and at least tried to make some kind of peace, it would have bothered him."

"Just so long as he finds her," Nabiki pointed out. "Hey, Kasumi, how about another round of tea. Akane, I think there's an extra table stashed with the stored weapons for the dojo. We can make Ranma clean up the rest of the mess when he gets back, since it's his fault for picking fights with strangers in the first place."

The girls nodded in agreement, and went inside to wait for Ranma's return.

Darkness had fallen by the time a despondent Ranma trudged his way back to the Tendou home. His, shoulders sagged low, and his tired gait cried out that he had clearly failed in his goal, and that he was too exhausted to continue.

He didn't even bother knocking. He simply opened the door and announced to whomever was still around, "I'm back."

Akane's voice drifted to him. "We're in the living room."

Slowly, Ranma removed his shoes and left them on the mat next to the door. He plodded along towards the living room, head hung low. "I couldn't find her. I did everything I could. I ran around for hours. I searched in a twenty kilometer radius. I asked every person I came across, which had to be over a thousand, if they'd seen an Amazon running around or knocking down walls. But nobody saw anything." He entered the living room, dejectedly watching the floor. "She must be halfway back to China by now."

"Nihao!"

Ranma did a facefault directly into the floor. He picked himself up, defeat replaced by anger. "What the heck are you doing here?!" he shouted at the Amazon seated at the living room table with the Tendou girls, both fathers, one human, one cursed, finally making their presence known as well.

"She came back about five minutes after you left," Nabiki explained.

The Amazon nodded her head in agreement. "Shampoo decide maybe she act too hasty in running away. It better to come back and try to work things out."

Ranma's anger drifted away, replaced by an abject tiredness. "You mean I did all that searching for nothing?"

The Amazon shook her head. "No. Shampoo very impressed Ranma try to find her so hard."

Sensing he had scored some points, Ranma hurried to Shampoo's side, hoping for the opportunity to fondle her again. "It's nice to see you, too." He leaned over to cozy up to her, just like they had before.

She dumped a glass of cold water on him, then hugged the surprised, and wet, girl. "Shampoo is very moved Ranma go to such great lengths to find her."

"Well, now that Ranma's back, what are your plans?" Nabiki asked Shampoo.

Shampoo shrugged. "Like Shampoo said, she need to stick around and see if she can work around curse problem. So Shampoo going to live here until she know for certain."

Kasumi tensed up. "You mean I have to cook and clean up for someone else? But I already do that for five other people."

"Shampoo can help cook and clean," she assured Kasumi.

"Oh, that's all right then." Kasumi visibly relaxed.

Nabiki asked, "What about a little rent money? It's not cheap feeding freeloaders." She stared pointedly in Ranma and Genma's direction.

"Shampoo can get part time work somewhere," she explained.

"I'm cool with it then."

Akane didn't seem enthusiastic about her sisters giving their permission for the Amazon to room with them. Warningly, she said to Shampoo, "Are you sure it's a good idea to stick around? I mean, won't your people or your family miss you or something?"

"No!" Shampoo answered quickly. She then tittered nervously. "What Shampoo mean is, Shampoo no have anything important to do. And Shampoo very happy to get vacation away from home. Am in no hurry to go back."

Akane's annoyance seemed to increase, but she didn't protest further.

Soun finally spoke up. "Um, shouldn't I get some say in this matter?"

"Why?" Shampoo asked.

Soun found his daughters all seemed to be asking the same thing with their eyes. Lacking anything remotely like a compelling argument, or at least one that would be compelling to his progeny, Soun's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Never mind."

Nabiki said, "So the only question remaining is, where is she going to sleep?"

"With airen, of course." Shampoo snuggled closer with Ranma-chan.

Genma held up a sign. No way. I need my beauty sleep.

"There aren't enough days in the year, for that," Ranma-chan said. "Why don't you sleep with Mr. Tendou?" he asked his father.

Forget it. He snores.

"I do not!" Soun insisted.

"It's probably not a good idea for you to sleep with Ranma just yet," Nabiki said. Aside from Genma's protests, she had Shampoo pegged as a screamer, and Nabiki wanted her own beauty sleep.

"Then where Shampoo sleep?"

Nabiki considered that. "Akane's room would be for the best."

"Why mine?!" Akane protested with unusual vehemence.

Shampoo mirrored the sentiment. "Yes, why Shampoo have to stay with her?"

Nabiki stood up and moved next to Kasumi. She draped one hand over Kasumi's shoulder, much to the older girl's confusion. Nabiki then made a sweeping gesture with her other hand and asked Shampoo, "Do you think Kasumi here is attractive?"

Shampoo looked Kasumi over with an appealing leer. "Kasumi pretty hot. Has really nice breasts, too."

Kasumi blushed and shifted uncomfortably.

Nabiki moved away and posed for Shampoo. "And myself?"

The gaze was an admiring one, though not as leering as it had been with Kasumi. "Aside from butt being on big side, Red Panty Girl is pretty good."

Nabiki kept her anger in check. "And Akane?" She motioned with the same sweeping gesture as she had with Kasumi.

Shampoo immediately shook her head. "Breasts is too small. Shampoo like girl that shaped like girl, not like brick."

"Hey!" Akane protested.

"And that is exactly why you should be sleeping with Akane. I mean in the same room with Akane," Nabiki clarified. "We wouldn't want you to be tempted into being unfaithful with your airen by sleeping with a girl you find attractive, now would we?"

Reluctantly, Shampoo nodded. "Is good point."

"I didn't agree to it!" Akane pointed out.

Nabiki said, "But Akane, she isn't attracted to you at all. Kasumi and I would be uncomfortable sleeping with a girl that was sexually aroused by us, but you don't mind it. You hang out with that lesbian friend of yours all the time and I know you've had her over for sleepovers."

"They are not alike, and I would appreciate you not comparing them with one another," Akane insisted. She then said, "All right. Since it would make you and Kasumi uncomfortable, I'll let her sleep with me. But on the floor. My bed isn't really big enough for two."

"Shampoo have no interest in sleeping in bed with Akane either. Shampoo slept on worse than floor."

"We have a futon you can sleep on," Kasumi told her, and left to retrieve it so she could set it up in Akane's room.

Nabiki walked over to Ranma-chan and pinched her cheek. "This is what I like about you, Ranma. You make things interesting."

"Yeah, interesting," Ranma-chan said, more than a touch on the exhausted side from how quickly situations had changed from one extreme to the next throughout the day. It was trying, even by her somewhat manic standards.

With the situation more or less settled, and the hour getting late, everyone headed off for bed.

Ranma sat in his chair in class, waiting for the bell to ring and announce class had begun. Curiously, the room was filled with nothing but girls. Not just the ones from his class, but from every grade of the school, at least the hot ones. Even Kasumi was there, dressed in the same style of schoolgirl outfit. Ranma had to admit, the look didn't really suit her: she was too mature, and belonged in something that accentuated her maturity, like the black stockings and garter he had seen her wear during his first day at the Tendou house. But it definitely worked for the other girls, including Shampoo, who was also present for some peculiar reason.

All the girls rose from their chairs and surrounded Ranma. They all looked at him expectedly.

"What is it?" he asked.

Akane was the first to speak. "Ranma, we need your opinion on something."

Every single girl nodded their head in agreement.

Ranma said, "Sure, I'll be more than happy to help you out."

Akane clapped her hands in delight. "We need you to judge who has the best chest in the school." She grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast. "Tell me, does my chest feel good?"

"It sure does," Ranma said.

"Keep feeling," Akane insisted.

Ranma did, delighting in the feel of her firm chest.

"Do Shampoo next," she said, grabbing his free hand and forcing it on her own breast.

"Then mine," Nabiki said.

"And mine as well," Kasumi insisted.

All the girls began shouting out enthusiastically about how they wanted to be next..

Ranma laughed in lascivious glee. "Don't worry, girls. There'll be more than enough time for me to do an intensive study."

And then a splash of cold water made everything go away. The now female Ranma sat up, spluttering and spitting water out. She was about to shout in rage at having her dream interrupted when a hand clamped itself across her mouth, muffling her incoherent cries.

"Shhh, no make so much noise or you wake up fat panda."

Ranma-chan blinked. She recognized the voice, but it took a second for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they focused, she immediately blinked and rubbed them again, certain she wasn't seeing what she thought she was seeing.

No, Shampoo was still there, half-sitting, half-laying on top of Ranma-chan, completely naked. Her first impulse was to jump the incredibly hot girl then and there, but she held back. It couldn't be this easy. It defied explanation.

"I must be dreaming," Ranma-chan said.

Shampoo slapped the girl hard across the face.

Ranma-chan's eyes bulged. "What'd you doHURMPH," she found a hand clamped over her mouth again. Once Ranma-chan indicated she would not be shouting, Shampoo released her hold. "Why did you slap me?" she said, not really whispering.

"Did it hurt?" Shampoo asked.

"Of course it did," Ranma-chan said.

"Then obviously it not a dream."

"Oh… yeah." The redhead rubbed her cheek. It did prove a point, but there had to have been a less painful way of illustrating it.

Convinced this was reality, Ranma-chan's now wide-open eyes took in every inch of the Amazon's luscious form. From her well-toned body, to her rounded bottom, to her generous bosom, every curve was perfection that no artist could hope to duplicate. That she was allowing Ranma-chan to see it, no, encouraging her to, only enhanced the Amazon's beauty in her eyes.

Keeping her voice low, the Amazon said, "Shampoo can no take it anymore. She want her airen's hot little body." She moved forward and began kissing Ranma-chan passionately on the lips. After a moment of the intense osculation, the redhead had no choice but to kiss back.

This wasn't like the other kisses Shampoo had given her, mostly off-guard and far too brief. This time they had more than enough time to drink in one another's flavor as their tongues intertwined and played with one another. It was much better than anything Ranma-chan had experienced before, which consisted only of brief kisses here and there with the occasional girl, events never going beyond first base, and barely that. This was different, French kissing to the extreme, even if there were no French involved. And it was way better than the normal stuff.

While Ranma-chan was enjoying the contact, Shampoo's hands were busy at work. They threw off the soaked blanket that had been covering the sleeping girl, tossing it far to the side. Quickly, her hands moved under Ranma-chan's white tee-shirt, moving it upward until it was above her breasts. She then released her hold on the material, letting it remain rolled up between the neck and top of the chest, and proceeded to fondle the redhead's now bared breasts, encompassing them as best as she could with her grip. She didn't cover much, her hands were not that large, nor Ranma-chan that small, but she still took great pleasure in it.

The fondling made Ranma-chan even hotter, and she returned the favor by grasping at Shampoo's own impressive bounty. A hint of fascination at actually handling a woman helped Ranma-chan focus past her rising passions. She played with the nipples, rolling them between her fingertips and amazed at how hard and pointy they became with so little attention.

Shampoo broke off her kissing. "Yes, airen, it been too long since someone touch Shampoo that way."

Ranma-chan couldn't think of what to say, but since the move met with obvious approval, she continued doing it.

Shampoo eventually removed Ranma-chan's hands from her. She then grabbed the shirt, and forced it the rest of the way over the girl's head, removing it from her body. She used the interruption to roll over so she was on top of the smaller girl. Shampoo looked hungrily down at Ranma-chan's chest again, and lowered her head down until her mouth was encompassing one of the nipples. She then proceeded to greedily suckle, like a newborn calf with its mother.

Ranma-chan moaned at the sensation. She knew her nipples were more sensitive as a girl, enough so that she rarely played with them since the heightened sensitivity was so weird, but now she was starting to understand what she had been missing as Shampoo relentlessly assaulted her tiny nubs, going back and forth between them and making Ranma-chan start to feel a familiar, yet different, sensation coming from her loins.

The feeling from her nether regions was further intensified as Shampoo's hand found its way into the waistband of Ranma-chan's boxers and, without hesitation, proceeded to dance along her pussy lips. Now the redhead found it impossible not to squirm. Despite having a girl's body, she had no desire to experiment with how different it felt, especially down there. Having an 'outlet' instead of the 'plug' that was supposed to be there was disturbing, so much so that she had been unwilling to examine it too closely. But now she was finding out firsthand just what it was capable of as Shampoo's hands caressed her lower lips, releasing some of her juices and loosening her up. It got to the point where it allowed Shampoo's fingers to actually plunge inside the crevice in her loins. A whole new wave of sensations washed over Ranma-chan, sensations she didn't want to end any time soon.

Shampoo raised up form her oral attention on the breasts. She announced, "Shampoo can no take it anymore."

Ranma-chan remained motionless, still adjusting to the similar but different feelings coming from her body. Rather than a more exterior sense of pleasure that centered mostly on a cock, her entire pelvic region seemed to be alight with a burning of lust. It was still every bit as enjoyable as a man, just different.

Shampoo took advantage of Ranma-chan's immobile state by pulling her boxers down until they were free of her short, but powerful legs. She then turned around on her hands and knees, so that her face was above Ranma-chan's wild tangle of red bush, while her own pussy was poised directly on top of her lover's head.

"Give it to Shampoo," she said.

Ranma-chan stared wide eyed at the sight above her face, and the reality of the situation came to her. At last, she was exactly in a position she had fantasized for nearly half her life, or at least once the hormones from becoming a teenager sank in. She was naked and flat on her back with a girl straddling her face. Had someone told her at the beginning of the day she would be in such a situation in exactly those terms, she would have assumed the girl in question would have been fully clothed and only sitting on her head because she had fallen from a great height and that was where she happened to land. Afterwards, the girl would have slapped Ranma-chan for being a pervert, despite the fact the martial artist had probably saved her from great physical harm.

But no, the situation was exactly what was implied. Shampoo was there willingly, and just as naked as her, wanting Ranma-chan to unleash a physical pleasure she wanted to give. She stared up lovingly at those pussy lips, with that delightful triangle of purple hair running above them, just waiting for the redhead's gentle ministrations to unleash her pleasure. Ranma-chan sighed, savoring the situation, fearful something would happen and it would disappear, leaving her with a memory of what almost was.

"Well?"

Ranma-chan heard the question poised from the girl above her. She was more aware of the note of expectation in the voice, due to her inability to see Shampoo's face. Resolve firmed, Ranma-chan was about to do what Shampoo had asked, then suddenly realized there was one, tiny problem.

She had no idea of what to do next.

Well, technically that was untrue. She had an idea, but only in the vaguest of terms. She had never actually done anything like it before, and at this point, she didn't want to take the chance of screwing up and having Shampoo get disappointed and walk out. Oh, why hadn't she played with her cursed form's pussy and gotten some experience? Given how wonderful Shampoo's manipulations had been so far, Ranma-chan realized she had been stupid in denying herself pleasure from her cursed body. It was a mistake that might doom this ideal situation.

Then a way out came to Ranma-chan "Uh, why don't you start?"

Shampoo laughed, a surprisingly girlish giggle for one as powerful as she was. "So airen want to get off first. All right." Shampoo followed up by lowering her face and delving right into the folds of Ranma-chan's pussy.

The girl underneath arched her back and nearly threw off Shampoo. And she had thought the fingers were something else. That tongue was far more dexterous. Almost prehensile, from the way it was savagely lashing itself into her loins. Ranma-chan was too overcome by waves of pleasure that had been alien to her existence, for the sensations as a girl were very different from those as a male, though no less pleasurable. All she could do was try to hold still and make Shampoo's 'ride' easier, and savor the ecstasy that was making her gasp in delight.

Again and again that tongue seemed to hit just the right spot (which was practically everywhere) to heighten the fires in Ranma-chan's loins and increasing her stimulation. Shampoo tightened her grip on her lover's lower legs, holding the wiggling limbs in place so she could tongue all over and in precisely the areas she wanted, not allowing Ranma-chan to move. Eventually Shampoo settled on one spot that seemed even more sensitive to the redhead, and focused most of her attention there.

No experimentation meant having little in the way of stamina when it came to experiencing female sexual arousal, and Ranma-chan had no idea of what her breaking point was. So she was caught by surprised when, in mere minutes, Shampoo's lapping tongue on the redhead's clitoris finally sent her over the edge and she came. Despite wanting to remain quiet, Ranma-chan wailed in ecstasy as the orgasm overcame her senses. The writhing was intense enough to force Shampoo to relinquish her tight grip on Ranma-chan's legs and allow the redhead's fluids to leak out to the floor, rather than into the Amazon's waiting mouth.

After what seemed an eternity, the orgasm subsided. A part of Ranma-chan's mind curiously noted that instead of feeling that touch of exhaustion and relief that came after ejaculating as a man, she instead felt more aware and alive. She wouldn't have minded talking a little, as well as being held. The difference was… peculiar.

The pussy above her wiggled slightly. "Now airen take care of Shampoo."

Ranma-chan smiled. Time enough for talk and cuddling later. Not only was she still very much aroused, but now had an idea of what to do. It wasn't all that different from martial arts. She was a genius when it came to learning a move from someone after watching them do it. Obviously sex wasn't like martial arts, not exactly, but she could apply the same method and have a better idea of what to do, especially after being on the receiving end of such a thorough oral examination. Despite the Amazon's complaints about finding a lover, it was obvious this was hardly her first time with a girl, and she knew damn well what she was doing. With such an educated teacher, how could Ranma-chan not do at least a decent job?

Ranma-chan placed a hand to Shampoo's lower lips, which had already moistened in arousal from her oral attentions, and raised her head up so she could stick her tongue inside. Rather than going for it all at once, she went slowly, taking her time and trying to remember exactly where Shampoo had gone first with her tongue, and copying it as best as she could.

Judging by the way the body above her started to shift, Ranma-chan was using the technique correctly. As much as she had planned on doing things slowly, Shampoo's reaction, as well as the taste of her loins, was exciting the redhead too much, and she lashed out with her tongue faster and faster.

Shampoo's low moans increased, and she began talking in Chinese. Ranma-chan tried remembering which spot to work on next. She closed her eyes, recalled where her own pussy had experienced the fastest rising, and tried finding the same spot on Shampoo.

At first she had success, mirroring what Shampoo had done. However Ranma-chan was quick to discover that the Amazon didn't react exactly the same way. She had lashed Ranma-chan all over, but not all that deeply, which had been more than enough to get the redhead's engine roaring. But Shampoo wasn't reacting quite as strongly. Worried that she was doing something wrong. Ranma-chan decided to add a twist of her own, and drove her tongue as far in as she could go. That produced in immediate response, as Shampoo nearly bucked off her lover's mouth.

Relaxing a bit, now that the initial trepidation of messing up her oral attentions, Ranma-chan's hands shifted so that they dug into Shampoo's ample, but firm backside, bringing it down and further impaling her pussy with that tongue. That sent Shampoo over the edge, as she said, "Deeper airen, deeper."

Ranma-chan tried reaching as far as she could with her tongue, right up until it felt like she was in danger of dislocating her jaw, but she refused to give in to the discomfort, and instead kept at it, using her tongue like a miniature piston, plunging into Shampoo's pussy and relishing the way the folds of flesh seemed to close on it.

And then Shampoo bucked hard, giving a yelp, and Ranma-chan felt a wet substance come splashing forth from the opening she had been ravaging. Instinctively she clamped down on Shampoo's pussy with her mouth and drank deeply of her lover's offered bounty. Everyone, including Ranma-chan herself, would admit she had a big mouth, and she proved it by catching most of what Shampoo had to offer. She was surprised by how wonderful it tasted, and decided she could get used to the flavor.

Eventually Shampoo sagged, collapsing on top of Ranma-chan. "That was too, too, good airen. A bit sloppy, but more than make up for it with how long you tongue is."

A muffled sound came from beneath the Amazon.

"Oops." Shampoo rolled off the redhead's face before she suffocated.

Able to breathe once again, Ranma-chan sighed contentedly, despite the fact it was Shampoo who had just came. "That was beautiful. I didn't think it would be so… good."

Shampoo turned around so she could cradle Ranma-chan's face. "And that only first time. Give Shampoo a minute, and she show you what she can really do once she get warmed up."

Ranma-chan saw a sign pop up over Shampoo's shoulder. *I don't think so!*

A giant paw suddenly grabbed Shampoo by the back of the neck. She was lifted off Ranma effortlessly, and dangled in the air for only a moment before Genma carried her off. His large, meaty paw encompassed the entire base of Shampoo's neck from behind, while keeping any true pressure from being exerted on it. He then took her outside the room, and deposited her unceremoniously on her bare bottom in the hall. He then slid the door shut behind her, leaving her to blink in confusion.

Ranma-chan jumped up to her feet and pointed at the panda accusingly. "What'd ya do that for, rotten old man?!"

The panda shot him an angry glare. *I heard enough of you two getting it on next to me. You want to continue, take it outside.*

"Fine, I will." Chin upraised in defiance, Ranma-chan walked out into the hall, slamming the door behind her.

Outside, Shampoo was sitting in the same position she had been deposited. She said to Ranma-chan, "Stupid panda sure is moody."

"Yeah, he just can't stand the idea of me being a bigger stud than he is, as a girl, no less." Ranma-chan suddenly realized she felt sticky and sweaty, not the best of feelings. "Maybe we should go to the furo and clean off."

Shampoo sidled up to Ranma-chan. "Is good idea. Shampoo be more than happy to wash airen's hot little body off."

"Oh yeah," Ranma-chan said.

The two kissed as they walked toward the furo, hands starting out around the waist, but eventually traveling downward to rest on each other's backsides. Feeling increasingly at ease, Ranma-chan sighed contentedly. It was about time something went her way. At last, she had a hot girlfriend who wanted all the sex she could handle, and Ranma-chan was going to see to it she got exactly what she wanted. A more perfect situation she couldn't imagine.

The pair entered the bath. Now in better lighting, Ranma-chan again took a moment to admire Shampoo's incredibly hot, naked form. There was no bad point about her. From her good looks, knockout body, and eagerness to jump into bed to the point that she was the aggressor, just perfect. She was everything a teenager could want. Ranma-chan knew her mother had been correct about women admiring guys like him. It had just taken a while to find one that understood what Ranma Saotome was really all about.

The examination of Shampoo's body, from her long, flowing hair to those still flush pussy lips, aroused Ranma-chan once more. Maybe they should go at it again, before washing off, otherwise they would have to clean themselves a second time. It was the most efficient thing to do.

It was also time to try something a little different. Ranma-chan went to the faucet and ran some water into a cleaning bucket, smiling at Shampoo the entire time. The Amazon understood what the smile meant, and returned it with twice the lasciviousness.

Oh yes, Ranma-chan thought as she dumped the bucket of hot water over her head, they were definitely kindred spirits.

Ranma wiped the water away from his eyes, and took in Shampoo's beautiful form again, feeling himself instantly start to get hard. It was interesting how some things carried over from cursed form to his natural body. He smiled at Shampoo, but noticed there was something decidedly different about her. Her smile disappeared, only to be replaced by confusion, then repulsion.

"What Ranma think she doing?" she asked.

Ranma looked at himself. "I just thought we could try it the other way."

Shampoo recoiled. "No be stupid. Shampoo not going to do it with stupid mens."

"Aw, come on. I did it as a girl once. Now let me do it as a guy." He unleashed his best smile again. "I bet I can make it worth your while."

Rather than mollifying her, Shampoo's anger increased. "No way! Shampoo never do it with disgusting mans!" She turned and stomped off for the exit.

Realizing there wasn't the slightest chance Shampoo was going to back down, Ranma said, "Wait! Let me get some cold water and I'll change back."

Shampoo hesitated, then shook her head. Bitterly, she said, "Is too late. Ranma ruin mood. Shampoo going to bed." She spun on her heel and exited through the door, slamming it behind her so it rattled in its frame.

Ranma didn't try to pursue. Not even his lust was foolish enough to trick himself into thinking he could bring her back tonight. Instead he stood there, wanting to cry at how quickly his fates had changed. Perfect to shit in less than a minute.

"Why can't it ever be the easy way?" he cried.

To be continued.

Author's notes: Not as happy with this as the previous chapters, but it accomplished what I needed in introducing elements of the underlying plot, meeting Shampoo and showing her changes, as well as getting some more interaction between the characters, and Ranma actually getting some, even if it wasn't quite in the way he had expected (not that he's exactly complaining about it, mind you! ^_^). Next chapter we find out what happens when we discover that 'Mars Needs Women'.

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007