[To all of the thousands and thousands of you who are reading my story, and never say anything to me, please take a moment to drop me a PM, if you don't want to review. One of the main reasons I am writing this story is to try out writing techniques and styles for the novel I am writing. If you are enjoying the story, it would really help me out, and be a nice "thank you", if you could just send me a quick note to tell me WHY you are enjoying it. Do you like the romance, the single-person point of view, the suspense, the links to the past, the way emotions are portrayed? (note: "all of it" — isn't helpful, pick something that's your favorite if you have to =_=) Even if you just send one word such as: characters, emotions, romance, or whatever, that would be helpful. Thank you ^_-]

Nabiki walked in companionable silence with Ranma towards Shampoo's restaurant. There were still some students here and there in the streets. Many of them noticed them, a few even pointed and whispered as they passed them. She ignored them. She was sure Ranma didn't even notice them. He was walking next to her, and holding her hand, and alternating between looking around them like he was scanning for danger, and staring at her. Well, he was trying hard to pretend like he wasn't staring, but he was. He kept swinging his gaze around like he was just looking around, but it kept lingering on her, a lot.
It was actually making her blush how much he was looking at her. On some level, she thought she should probably tell him to stop. His open display was attracting attention, and people were talking. But that wasn't the level she was listening to right now. She was living in the level of herself much closer to her heart these days. And that level ... loved ... that he was so interested in her. The dragon inside her was curled up and purring with happiness.
She fluttered her lashes at him the next time she caught him looking at her. He blushed. "You live with me, you know. Haven't you seen enough of me by now?" She teased him.
He looked away then looked back and smiled. "No, I guess not." He said quietly.
Her heart soared. She knew that physical attraction was only one tiny part of a relationship, but she still enjoyed it. It wasn't just that he was good looking and interested in her. She had known he was physically attracted to her almost since the day he moved in. What made her happy was that he wasn't just physically attracted to her. He knew her. He'd seen her at her absolute worst. He had seen her when she was sick. He'd seen her in her pajamas walking around with a toothbrush in her mouth before showering for the day. He'd seen her fight with Akane and Kasumi. He'd even been the recipient of some of her bad behavior.
And yet ... and yet ... he was still sneaking glances at her, and trying to pretend he wasn't. It was because of that, it was because he knew her, had a history with her, and he was still so interested in her, that she was so happy.
She hummed a little bit to herself as they walked. He noticed her humming and smiled, but didn't say anything about it. As they got closer to their destination, he did finally ask her a question, though.
"So ... what's the plan?" He asked quietly. It was clear he had absolute faith in her ability to handle things like this. She supposed that was fair. She had absolute faith in his ability to handle matters involving Martial Arts, after all.
"The plan is pretty simple. We get in, we talk terms with them, endure Shampoo feeling you up, and the old woman's threats. Maybe we grab a bite to eat if they are being reasonable, then we get out." She said softly.
"Do you think they'll attack us?" He asked in a serious tone.
"I doubt it. Shampoo seems to be more or less unrestrained when she is working towards a goal. But the old woman seems to have her own sense of honor. We've seen her in the past do some pretty obnoxious things, but in the end she did keep her promises to you, although she made you work for it. I think the offer of two days free from their attacks was genuine." She said confidently.
"Good." Was all Ranma said.
She smiled and elbowed him playfully in the ribs. "Don't drop your guard, though, Ranma. Just because I am pretty sure they won't attack, doesn't mean I can't be wrong." She teased him.
He squinted at her, then stuck his tongue out at her. "I never drop my guard." He said sternly.
She thought about teasing him about all the times Ukyo, Kodachi and even Akane had managed to smack him, but decided against it. She didn't really want to bring up the rest of the girls with him right now.
So she decided to change the subject to today's events. "So what did you think of—"
She stopped talking abruptly as they walked through a residential neighborhood and a splash of water jumped out of the pathway to one of the houses on their right. Since Ranma was walking to her right, it hit him fully. It only splashed her a little. She actually gasped as the cold water hit her, though. Not only had it been surprising, being randomly hit by cold water was ... disruptive ... to say the least.
Ranma just sighed and looked over at her with world weary eyes. He was now a she, and dripping wet. She had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at him. She knew he didn't find it all that funny, but just the expression on his face alone was amusing.
She leaned around him to see where the water had come from. She saw a little old lady scooping water from a bucket with an ancient-looking ladle and spraying the ground with it. It was a very old practice from generations past. The odds of someone doing it in town at all were very low. The odds of someone doing it and hitting Ranma with the water were infinitesimally lower. She looked back over at him as they started walking again and poked him on the shoulder and grinned.
He looked back over at her and frowned. She couldn't keep herself from teasing him. "Hey, shouldn't you have been able to dodge that, or something?" She asked sweetly.
He scowled at her, well, up at her, actually. His female form was shorter than she was. "Believe me, if that old mummy gave off any signs that she was out doing that, I would avoid her. I don't know how, but she keeps getting me. I'm pretty sure she was a ninja when she was younger." He groused.
"You sure do get splashed a lot, don't you?" She asked cheerfully. She loved that he changed into a girl. It didn't bother her at all. She found it fascinating.
He nodded. "That's one of the reasons why I try to always wear silk. It dries fast." He said quietly.
She put her arm through his arm and marched them towards Shampoo's place. "Well, let's get this over with, then we'll get you home and into a proper bath, all right?" She said sweetly to him. He sighed and nodded in agreement.
They reached the Neko Hanten a few minutes later. Her right sleeve was now wet from holding on to him. She didn't care. She looked down at him in his cute little female form and smiled at him. He smelled like lotus blossoms again. She could actually smell him more strongly than the delicious smells coming from the restaurant. She loved that.
"You ready for this?" He asked her in his female voice. She had to keep herself from smiling down at him. It was very weird to see him in his female form while he was acting protectively of her. It was only because she knew what he could do, even as a female, that prevented her from cracking a joke.
She nodded. "If I am with you, nobody can touch me." She said confidently.
"I ... yeah, I guess so." He said with a small smile. "Besides, we have backup." He said with a small nod towards the shadows across the street.
"Who?" She said with curiosity.
"Your guardian angel." He said with a smile.
T-O-F-U? She mouthed silently to him. He nodded and she smiled. She felt even more secure knowing he was here with them. He must have made his presence known to Ranma. She thought wryly. Of course, she had missed the signs that he was there, entirely.
"Ready?" He asked her. She looped her arm through his again, and nodded.
"Don't worry, I have a secret weapon." She whispered to him. He looked at her with wide eyes, but didn't ask her about it, which was good because she wouldn't have told him anyway. This secret was one she didn't want anyone to know at the moment.
He smiled at her and reached out and slid the door open. Shampoo immediately called out from the kitchen for them to come in. The restaurant was mostly empty. There were just a couple of guys sitting at tables near the kitchen who were watching Shampoo with lovesick eyes. The restaurant was full of the delicious smells of her cooking. Ranma led her to a table along the righthand wall, and sat her in the chair with its back to the wall. He was just pulling out a chair for himself when Shampoo must have realized who it was who had come in.
"Airen! You came!" Shampoo squealed happily as she bounded out from the kitchen to greet him. She rolled her eyes at the young Chinese girl's antics. But she didn't begrudge Shampoo's affection for him. She knew it was an honest affection. And, after hearing this morning that it had been Shampoo who had gotten the Amazon Matriarch to give Akane immunity from the Amazons, she was much more inclined to be charitable to her.
Shampoo dove into his arms and cooed at him happily for a moment. Then the young Chinese girl pulled back from him and frowned. "You is girl again." Shampoo said with disapproval. "Wait, please." Shampoo said as she scampered off back to the kitchen. A moment later she reemerged with a kettle and splashed him with it.
Even though she watched carefully, she still didn't see the transformation actually happen. One moment Ranma was a female, the next he was male and soaking wet. He looked over at her and sighed again. She smiled at him happily. She knew he wasn't amused by his curse, but she was.
Shampoo reached up to the ties on his shirt and tried to undo them. He stepped back and patted her hands away. "Quit it, Shampoo." He said, exasperated.
"But ... you is all wet. I take and dry, is OK?" Shampoo asked, sweetly as she reached up to him again.
He shook his head and backed away from her. "It's fine. Leave my shirt on. I'll dry out on my own." He said sternly.
She knew that he wasn't embarrassed about his body, so he probably just didn't want Shampoo pawing at him. She smiled at that. She wondered if he'd let her take his shirt off to dry it? She seriously thought about trying it right now, to rub Shampoo's nose in it. But she knew that wouldn't be productive towards their goals for the meeting. So, instead, she got right down to business.
"We're here to see your grandmother, can you get her, please?" She asked, as she reached over casually and grabbed Ranma's hand and pulled him into the chair next to her. It was a subtle gesture, but it wasn't lost on Shampoo. The young Chinese girl narrowed her eyes at her and held the stare briefly. Then Shampoo nodded and abruptly spun around and walked off quickly, without a word.
Ranma looked at her with relief. She smiled quickly to him and patted his hand. She knew he was happy to have her take the lead in these kinds of situations. She didn't have time to talk with him about it, though, as the Amazon Matriarch came bounding out of their back rooms a moment later, with Shampoo following meekly behind her.
The old woman glanced briefly at the still-open door to the street, then back at them. She had seen the old ghoul's eyes narrow very slightly when she had looked out at the street. She would have been willing to bet money that Doctor Tofu's presence was known. She was sure he had deliberately made his presence known to the Elder Amazon as a warning.
The old woman spoke quietly to Shampoo in Mandarin with an order for privacy. "关上门。"[1]
Shampoo nodded and moved quickly to close the door. She didn't follow Shampoo with her eyes. She didn't want to betray that she understood them. Nobody knew she understood Mandarin. It was one of her secret weapons.
The old woman looked Ranma up and down, and ignored her completely. She was fine with that. It gave her more time to gather information. She darted her eyes to Shampoo as the young Amazon returned and stood behind her tribal Elder obediently.
"可能我再试试?"[2] Shampoo asked hopefully from behind her grandmother, with her face hidden from herself.
Her grandmother answered her kindly. "你可以，如果你想。不要让您的希望太高了，孙女。"[3,4] The Amazon Elder was a master actor. She kept her tone hard and her face implacable. Only her words to her granddaughter were soft. She greatly respected that. She knew firsthand how hard it was to do that under pressure. Of course, the Elder Amazon probably didn't feel under pressure right now. She likely had no fear of Ranma or even Doctor Tofu, and she certainly didn't fear her. And they were in her restaurant where she held all of the advantages.
Shampoo bounded out from behind her grandmother and plopped herself into Ranma's lap. She had known it was coming, so she had to force herself to react with surprise once Shampoo did it. She blinked and then scowled as Shampoo snuggled into Ranma. She was acting, but not much, it did legitimately irritate her to see another girl in his lap. Her friends fooling around was one thing, this was something else entirely.
It was only her long years of experience using the secret skill she was using at the moment, which prevented her from reacting when the Amazon Elder spoke next. "我们可以杀死她，并带他。"[5] She kept her attention on Ranma and Shampoo, and forced herself not to react to the old woman's suggestion that they kill her. Since she wasn't supposed to understand what they were saying, she would have no reason to jump or look over at the Elder Amazon.
Shampoo shook her head as she replied sadly. "不，如果我们杀了一个他爱，他将永远，永远，爱我。"[6]
"还 有更多比爱情岌岌可危，孙女。"[7] The old Ghoul admonished her granddaughter, still in the same breezy tone that she had been using all along. If she hadn't understood them, she would have had no idea they were talking about killing her.
"我 ... 我知道。"[8] Shampoo admitted sadly. The old woman didn't say anything to that, she simply sat atop her staff and waited while Shampoo snuggled into him.
Ranma was alternating between looking at her with wide eyes, and trying to gently pry Shampoo off of himself without touching her anywhere ... inappropriate. Shampoo's clothes were getting wet all down her front from his wet clothes, but she didn't seem to mind. Ranma's attempts to get Shampoo off of him were a task the young Chinese girl was making more difficult. Shampoo kept squirming around in his lap and deliberately angling her body so he would touch her where he was clearly trying not to touch her. She wondered how much of it was just a game to Shampoo, how much of it was a desperate attempt to interest him, and how much of it was just a way to try to annoy herself? She didn't react to any of it. She knew Ranma and Doctor Tofu would protect her if the Amazons attacked, but she saw no reason to escalate the meeting into combat.
Finally, the old woman switched over to Japanese and addressed Ranma, still ignoring her. "So, future grandson-in-law, have you thought about what I said to you this morning?"
Ranma gave up on dislodging Shampoo and just put his hands on her hips to more or less hold her still. Shampoo stopped squirming around as much now that her grandmother was speaking. She could see that the young Amazon enjoyed having Ranma's hands on her, even if it was just to hold her still. Shampoo was looking up at him with adoring eyes, as she lay her head on his chest and breathed deeply. She idly wondered if Shampoo enjoyed his scent as well.
Ranma answered confidently. "I didn't need to give it any thought. Nothin' has changed. I was engaged to Akane, now I'm engaged to Nabiki. I've never been engaged to Shampoo. That was all her idea."
"How is an arranged marriage between your families any different than the marriage laws of the Joketsuzoku?" The old ghoul prodded him. "You were not directly involved in either decision. In fact, of all of the girls claiming you, only Shampoo's claim in based on law and not simple family agreements or wishful thinking. Neither the Tendo's nor the Kuonji's claims rise to the level of law, and that deluded girl from the rich family doesn't even have family agreements to back her claim, she just wants you."
Ranma looked to her for help, so she jumped in. While it would have been more ideal for Ranma to handle all of it, she knew he needed her to help right now. She was sure they would ignore everything she said as an interested party, and an outsider, though.
"You are correct, honorable Elder." She said as she jumped in. Shampoo didn't react at all, but the Amazon Elder did shift her eyes to herself. "But, family honor and one's own personal desires must play a role in marriage contracts as well, shouldn't they?" She asked politely. She knew taking an aggressive edge with the old woman wouldn't get her anything but hostility. Honest respect would at least let her be heard.
"We are talking about law, Miss Tendo, not feelings or honor." The old woman said as she swung her attention back to Ranma.
She jumped in again. "That is true, but Japan has its own laws, honorable Elder. Do they count for nothing?" She asked innocently. She knew what the answer would be, but she needed the answer to setup her next attack.
"Of course not, we do not recognize your laws." The old woman said in exasperation.
She smiled and pounced. "Ah, but if that is the case, honorable Elder, why should we respect your laws? Ranma didn't even know of your laws when he defeated Shampoo." She said sweetly.
The Elder Amazon narrowed her eyes at her and leaned closer to her from her staff. "You should respect our laws, because I say so, Miss Tendo." The old woman hissed.
She blinked at the Elder Amazon. "But, honorable Elder, would not my father say the same thing about our own laws?" She kept her face neutral. She knew she was pissing the old woman off, so she needed to stay non-threatening, or this really would end up in combat.
Shampoo's grandmother narrowed her eyes again, then pulled back up to her perch on her staff and looked back at Ranma. "Enough of this. We are chasing around in circles. I will make this very simple, future grandson-in-law, our laws require you to marry Shampoo, return with us to China, and to join our tribe. This is not negotiable. Your family agreements don't matter to me. Your honor doesn't matter to me. Your feelings don't matter to me. As an Elder of the Juketsuzoku I am required to compel you to obey."
Ranma frowned at the old woman. "And if I refuse?" He asked simply.
"Then ... I am sorry, future grandson-in-law, but I will be required to use force to compel your cooperation."
"What ... do you mean by that?" He asked with rising heat in his voice.
She looked at him with wide eyes and got him to briefly look at her. When he did, she shook her head a millimeter. Now was not the time to get into a stand-off.
"What I mean, is that I will use additional resources of the tribe to force you to do what the law requires."
Ranma looked away from her and back at the old woman and scoffed. "Look, I've beat both you and Shampoo before, I can do it again. You're not forcin' me to do anything!"
She sighed and closed her eyes briefly in exasperation. He was playing into their hands. She jumped in and tried to defuse the situation. "I am sure Ranma means no disrespect by that, honorable Elder. He is a fighter by nature, please excuse him."
The old ghoul looked at her and smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Of course he means disrespect. That is part of the reason he is required to marry Shampoo. He is a fighter, he will sire more fighters. He will make our tribe stronger. I will see to that."
"Listen, I don't care about marrying anyone, and I don't care about your tribe. Just leave Nabiki and the rest of the Tendos alone, all right? Nabiki can't defend herself like Akane can, she has to be off limits." Ranma said quickly, before he got cut off again. Shampoo scowled up at him as he spoke.
"My point exactly, grandson-in-law, she isn't worthy of you." The old woman said. "You'll see that, eventually. You don't know what you are doing."
"And you don't know who you're foolin' with. I'm tired of getting pushed around. I've been getting controlled my whole life. I'm warning you, just take Shampoo and go home, and nobody has to get hurt. Leave the Tendos alone. Don't test me on this." Ranma growled as he tensed to fight.
The Elder Amazon sighed and rolled her eyes. "You fool. Aside from your basic speed and strength and your general knowledge of the Art, you have two advanced techniques, and I taught you both of them. Do you honestly think those are the only advanced techniques I know? I've shown you only a tiny fraction of what I know. I haven't even taught Shampoo more than I have taught you. There are elder Joketsuzoku who haven't seen all I know. You do not want to face me unrestrained.
The situation was starting to get out of control. She was trying to think of something to say to diffuse it. Before she could think of anything, the old woman snapped her fingers and called out in Mandarin for someone, "来这。"[9] She fought to keep herself from raising her eyebrows. She wondered who the old woman was summoning. She doubted it was Mousse, he wasn't exactly imposing.
Another young Chinese girl emerged from the back rooms. She was gorgeous. The girl looked to be about two to four years older than Shampoo, and looked very similar to Shampoo; she was dressed in simple matching white silk Chinese pants and a top, and had her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail. The girl came and stood obediently next to the old woman. She noticed that the side the older girl chose to stand on, was the side closer to herself, and not Ranma. Despite her plain appearance, the girl screamed danger to her. She could tell Ranma was alarmed as well, as he had sat up straighter, and she could see he was tensing his muscles to throw Shampoo off of himself to get to her side if needed.
Shampoo's grandmother took their reactions in calmly and then spoke again. "This is Kondishonā. She is Shampoo's older sister. I called her here to help ... encourage ... Ranma to see reason and obey the laws of the tribe."
The older girl didn't react in any way. The new girl just stood there calmly next to the old ghoul and stared straight ahead, like a soldier. It was freaking her out. She had to fight to keep herself from sucking air in through clenched teeth in worry. This was ... not good news.
Ranma, however, did not seem impressed. "Yeah, okay, whatever. You can bring her here, and all of the rest of the family. I ain't marryin' nobody!" He said indignantly. She winced at his tone. It wasn't helping. She saw the older girl twitch her hand like she wanted to strike at him, then stop. That worried her.
The old woman sighed theatrically then leaned down towards him from her staff and spoke to him softly but in a very serious tone. "Listen to me carefully. I am giving you a chance to end this peacefully. All you have to do is agree to marry Shampoo, and come back with us to China. It's that simple. You have another day and a half to get your affairs in order, say your goodbyes, and come with us willingly."
"I ain't goin—"
"And, should you continue to violate our laws ..." the old woman interrupted him, "then after your grace period is over, I will start taking steps to force you to obey. Eventually, if I have to, I will take from you every reason you have to stay in Japan. I don't want things to get to that point, but I will if I have to. Kondishonā is here as proof of that."
"I ain't—"
This time she cut him off as she stood up abruptly. "Well, thank you very much for the warning. May we leave now?" Both the older girl and the old woman had twitched when she had stood up, Ranma had too. She had done it deliberately to throw off the energy in the room. A perceived threat, even when not real, tended to throw the mind into the defensive, which was where she wanted them.
The old woman narrowed her eyes at herself. She was sure the Amazon knew that she was using negotiation tricks against them. It couldn't be helped, she had to use the tools she knew how to use.
"Yes, you may leave. Thank you for coming." The old woman said in her false sweet voice. Then she simply pivoted on her staff and hopped away from them, dismissing the meeting. She called out over her shoulder as she hopped away to Shampoo's older sister. "跟着。"[10]
Well, she assumed the call was for the older girl, because that was the only person who moved to quickly follow the old woman out of the room. The older girl had not said a word, or even looked directly at her or Ranma. They were alone in the dining room again with just themselves and Shampoo.
Shampoo's eyes followed the older girl, and the younger Amazon scowled after her elder sister's retreating back. She had to wonder what Shampoo thought of the old woman calling the older girl in. She scanned the café and saw that is was empty now. She wondered when the guys crushing on Shampoo had left? It spoke to how seriously she had been paying attention to that meeting, that she hadn't noticed their exit.
Ranma stood up and pushed Shampoo away from himself and set her on the ground. The front of Shampoo's clothes were damp now. Shampoo made a motion to jump on him again, but Ranma danced backwards and put his hands up into a guarding position. He wasn't in a fighting stance, he was just making it clear he didn't want her on him any more. Shampoo sighed and stayed where she was and hung her head.
"Is Kondishonā really your sister?" Ranma asked.
"Shona." Shampoo corrected him with a soft smile and a nod. "She go by Shona. Not like name. Yes, she my sister."
"Same parents?" She jumped in curiously.
Shampoo looked over at her and blinked then replied slowly, like she was speaking to a child. "Yes, same parents. Is why I say she is sister."
She still genuinely wondered if their tribe had terms and concepts for same biological parents making sisters real sisters. Or if their terms simply meant maybe the same mother, and the father didn't matter, and so the concept of sisters was a bit more fluid. It wasn't really all that important though, so she didn't press the point.
Ranma walked over to stand next to her, and put his arm around her gently. It was a small but powerful gesture. She tensed a little bit as he did it, she knew that he was making a point of choosing her over Shampoo to drive home his position. Shampoo stared at them for a moment, then looked down again sadly.
She looked at Ranma and angled her head towards the door. He nodded and they pivoted to leave. As they reached the door, Shampoo called out to him in an anguished voice. "It's ending, isn't it?"
Ranma turned his head and looked at Shampoo. She did too. Shampoo was still standing where she had been, but the young Chinese girl was looking up at Ranma again, with tears shining in her eyes. Ranma nodded slowly.
"You're serious this time, aren't you?" Shampoo whispered. Ranma nodded again.
Shampoo looked away sadly, then back at him with eyes shimmering with tears. "I ... I thought ... I had ... more time." Shampoo said sadly.
He looked back to her blankly. She was sure he didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know either, so she shrugged softly. Ranma looked back to Shampoo and tried to say something comforting. "I'm sure there are plenty of guys back in—"
"Not like you." Shampoo interrupted him as she shook her head sadly. "Not like you." The heartbroken Chinese girl whispered with a catch in her voice, it was clear she wanted to cry. He stopped trying to talk and just nodded. She was sure he had no idea how to proceed from here.
"Well ... we should probably get going..." She interjected after a few moments had passed with neither of them speaking. Shampoo darted her eyes to her and she caught a flash of a glare, then it was gone as Shampoo plastered a fake smile on her face. The fake smile actually unnerved her more than the glare had. She had also noticed that Shampoo's Japanese had suddenly gotten suspiciously much better than usual. She wondered if Ranma had noticed.
Ranma had caught the glare too, and frowned as he stepped so he was between Shampoo and herself as he tightened his arm on her waist. She reached back and carefully opened the door behind herself. She knew that they were standing on a powder keg, and one wrong move could set it off. As soon as the door was open, she stepped backwards through it, and pulled Ranma with her since he was still holding on to her waist. As soon as Ranma had cleared the door, she reached past him and slid it shut again.
Ranma finally looked at her again once the door blocked his sight of Shampoo.
"Well ... that was intense." She said after a deep breath before she smiled at him.
He smiled nervously at her. "Yeah ... it was."
They turned without discussion to head back to the Tendo household. Ranma kept looking back over his shoulder for a while, then stopped and kept his attention to the sides and straight ahead. He didn't say anything, but she figured the reason he had stopped watching their backs was because he knew Doctor Tofu was trailing them now. She sighed and tried to ignore it all. She had known how crazy the circus surrounding him was, but it was one thing to know something intellectually; it was another thing to have to deal with it for real.
She grew tired of walking with him quietly after a while. So she asked a question that had been floating around in her mind since lunchtime. "So, what did you think of Riko and Yui?"
He looked at her and smiled. "I thought they were ... interesting."
She frowned at that. Interesting could mean a lot of things. "Did you have fun?" She pressed him.
He nodded and smiled. "Oh, yeah ... once I got used to them, they were actually a lot of fun. Very funny." He said quietly.
She was happy about that because it opened the door for her to invite him again. "Would you like to come eat with us again tomorrow?" She asked. She tried not to sound too eager, but she knew she did anyway.
"I dunno, Kiki ... twice in one week..." He said with a smile.
She smiled back, she loved that he was starting to tease her now. "Yes, twice in one week. How else are you going to learn more names that annoy me?" She asked sweetly.
"It's too bad it annoys you ... I think it's kinda cute." He said softly.
She smiled at that. She wasn't sure how serious he was being, but it was a nice sentiment anyway. "I already told you that you could use it when we're alone." She said happily.
He nodded with a small smile on his face. "But, yeah, anyway, of course I'll eat lunch with you and your friends. I gotta stay close to you until this is all over anyway." He said seriously.
She sighed. She really wanted him to want to be with her because he wanted to, and not because he felt he needed to. "Hey, I held my own against Kodachi today for a while. I'm not as helpless as you think I am." She said in the deepest, meanest voice she could make as she punched him lightly on the arm.
He looked over at her with wide eyes, and she laughed at his expression. He smiled. "You did. I saw you, I saw the last few seconds of the fight as I was running to get there. You had a battle aura and everything." He said in an approving tone.
She stopped walking. She did it so abruptly that he actually had to stop short and double back to her. He gathered her up in one of his arms protectively as he scanned all around them looking for threats. "What's wrong? You all right?" He asked as he raised his free hand into a guard position.
She pushed him back and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just shocked. Are you sure, really sure that I had a battle aura?" She whispered.
He looked at her with a look of confusion on his face and nodded his head. "Of course I'm sure. I would know a battle aura on anyone." He said confidently.
She looked down at the ground. "But how? How is that possible?" She whispered.
"You studied until you were like twelve, right?" He asked her.
She nodded without looking up. Her mind was racing. She should not have been able to use a battle aura. She wasn't trained to do it. She could see Daddy and Akane's auras occasionally, when they were strong. But she shouldn't have been able to make one of her own. Should she?
"Kiki ... you all right?" He asked her. He still had his arm on her waist, even though she had pushed him back a bit. He was very protective of her. That both annoyed her and delighted her.
"I ... I'm fine. I just ... I always thought only people like you and Daddy could make a battle aura..." She whispered as she looked up at him.
He smiled a genuine smile at her. "And what makes you think that you aren't someone like us?" He asked her kindly.
She shook her head emphatically. "Come on, be serious. I'm not even as skilled as Akane is." She said with a frown as she pulled on him to start walking again.
He settled into step with her and was quiet for a moment then answered her unspoken question. "A battle aura is ... different ... than trained skill. It's ... it's hard to explain, actually." He said as he put a hand behind his head awkwardly.
She just looked at him and waited. She could tell he was thinking about it, so she left him alone to his thoughts as her own thoughts churned. If I can produce a battle aura ... that means I can really do it. If I trained, I could ... she thought to herself as the ideas bounced around in her head. It would be .... nice ... not to have to be protected all the time.
"Okay, it's like this..." Ranma announced as he finished thinking about how to explain it to her. She looked over at him expectantly. "Your battle aura is just your Ki energy that you're usin' when you fight. The more you know how to use and the more of it you use, the brighter and stronger your battle aura will be. But that's only one way Ki is used. Everyone has Ki energy. Everyone uses their Ki, especially when they're scared or angry, and also when they are really happy. Pops says that adrenaline brings it out in people much easier than other times."
She just listened and nodded.
"Ki is just what we call somethin' none of us really understand. It's ... part of the energy inside you that makes you who ya are. It's also in nature too. Lots of people think there's a push and pull between what is inside you, and what's outside you. The Anything Goes school doesn't care about that. We teach about Ki only as an energy source to power our attacks. But ... I've looked into it more than Pops has, and probably your Dad as well. I think ... it's more than that. Doctor Tofu is kind of livin' proof of that. I think he's a Master of Ki manipulation. That's why he can be so sneaky, and he can hit so hard, yet he seems to be so nice." Ranma said in an excited voice.
She smiled as he talked about the Art. She loved how passionate about it he was.
"And besides, you've had real trainin'. I don't know how your dad trained you, but I've seen him fight. He knows what he's doing. I'm sure he must have showed you how to use your Ki. All students of the Anything Goes style have to know how to use it." He said earnestly.
She thought back to the days she had spent training with Daddy. She remembered sparring him. She remembered practicing the self defense techniques. She remembered lots of long talks about the Art, and duty and honor, and frankly the stuff that had bored her and made her want to quit. She didn't remember anything about Ki or battle auras. She shrugged at him in wordless defeat.
He shook his head at her and smiled. "No, you must have. Even an untrained person can use their Ki energy. But it takes trainin' to produce a battle aura. You don't remember that you remember, but you must. Would you ... would you like me to try to help you remember how?" He asked softly.
She looked at him and thought about it hard. She should probably ask Daddy, he was the one who had trained her. But ... he was also not the same person anymore. The other major reason she had stopped training was because after Mom died, once Daddy had been able to train her again, it hadn't been the same. He had just mostly stood there and sadly looked around the dojo purposelessly. He didn't coach her like he had before Mom had died. He mostly just set her tasks to do like one hundred punches on each side, and katas over and over again.
She'd grown to hate it, and had stopped not long afterward. Come to think of it, she didn't think she'd made it to twelve, she had probably been more like ten or so. The memory was fuzzy. By the time she'd quit, Daddy hadn't even been motivated enough to come and get her for training any more, she had been having to go get him for training on the days they'd trained.
Akane had continued ... mostly on her own. That was one of the main reasons Akane spent a lot of time on strength and endurance training. It didn't require coaching or even another person. But breaking bricks and lifting weights didn't really make someone better in the Art, it just made them stronger. Akane did make Daddy spar with her though, and occasionally Daddy would snap out of it enough to even coach Akane every now and then. He had gotten better over time after Mom's passing. But she had quit long before then.
She looked over at Ranma and saw someone who could really teach her again. Yes, it would be complicated because they were involved. But, she realized that she had been missing it. She hadn't really wanted to quit. She had quit because it had become unbearable. And Ranma was here, and could teach her, and seemed to want to teach her. Why shouldn't I? She thought stubbornly as she nodded eagerly. "Yes. Yes I would like that." She whispered excitedly.
"Let's do it, then." He replied, just as excited.

———————
1. "关上门 (Guān shàngmén - close the door)"
2. "可能我再试试 (Kěnéng wǒ zài shì shì — I may try again)?"
3. "你可以，如果你想。(Nǐ kěyǐ, rúguǒ nǐ xiǎng. — You can, if you wish.)"
4. "不要让您的希望太高了，孙女。(Bùyào ràng nín de xīwàng tài gāole, sūnnǚ. — Do not get your hopes too high, granddaughter.)"
5. "我们可以杀死她，并带他。 (Wǒmen kěyǐ shā sǐ tā, bìng dài tā. — We can kill her, and take him)."
6. "不，如果我们杀了一个他爱，他将永远，永远，爱我。 (Bù, rúguǒ wǒmen shāle yīgè tā ài, tā jiāng yǒngyuǎn, yǒngyuǎn, ài wǒ. — No, if we kill the one he loves, he will never, ever love me)."
7. "还 有更多比爱情岌岌可危，孙女。 (Hái yǒu gèng duō bǐ àiqíng jíjíkěwéi, sūnnǚ. — There is more than love at stake, granddaughter)."
8. "我 ... 我知道。 (Wǒ ... Wǒ zhīdào. — I ... I know)."
9. "来这 (Lái zhè — come)."
10. "跟着 (Gēnzhe — Follow)."