*** Earth  0.000,0.000

Nabiki found herself standing on a rocky promontory, dressed in her gray 
uniform, staring out over the crashing ocean waves far below.  The far 
surroundings had a hazy quality to them, and the sky was a pale pink and 
reddish-orange as the sun settled down in the western sky.  It was a 
familiar scene to her, but her memory was fuzzy as to why.  The skirt of 
her Academy uniform rustled almost soundlessly around her legs.

"Hello," said a voice behind her.  She slowly turned around, and the 
figure that she saw behind her appeared in very sharp contrast to the 
haziness of her surroundings, somehow being more 'real' than the rest of 
the world was.  The face on the figure was her own, and she blinked at 
the sight before quickly taking in the rest of the image before her.

The other Nabiki was dressed in Chinese-style garb, a loose silk shirt, 
light green in color, with wooden ties securing the front, and loose, 
black gi pants with the ankle cuffs tied snugly.  A sense of an athletic 
and trimly-muscled figure was only partially concealed beneath the loose 
clothing.  Her feet were shod in black, slipper-like shoes.  Her twin 
stood in a relaxed stance, the doppelganger's face smiling as she 
watched the setting sun.

"Who are you?" asked Nabiki in surprise, although her oddly fragmented 
memories suddenly held the answer a moment after she had asked the 
question.  Her double dropped her eyes from watching the skies to look 
into her own.

"I'm Nabiki Tendo, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," 
the other girl said, bowing slightly.  "Pleased to meet you."

"What?"  Nabiki suddenly felt confused.  Her memories were frayed at the 
edges, and this dream (for she was certain now that it was a dream, but 
she could not say how she knew) was different from any that she could 
remember ever having before.  She had done something before she had gone 
to sleep, but she could not quite grasp what.

"Take your time," said her double and then sat down on the grass.  "I 
guess I'm a little more used to weirdness like this."

"Ranma-kun's device," Nabiki finally remembered.  "It did something to 
me."  She moved away from the edge of the cliff and sat down in front of 
her duplicate.  A moment later, her posture became a mirror of the 
martial artist version of herself.

"What do you remember?" asked Martial-Nabiki, her hands resting on her 
knees as she sat cross-legged.

"I activated it, and something happened."  Nabiki's face showed a slight 
frown as she struggled somewhat to remember.  "I became you for a time."  
She suddenly remembered how free that she had felt, how gloriously free.  
No regimentation to her life, no need to wear a uniform, her future not 
planned out to the last detail, just being able to embrace each day as 
it came and live life to the fullest measure possible.

"Interesting," said her twin, calmly looking around at their immediate 
surroundings.  As she watched, images suddenly began to materialize in 
the air, fragments of memories.  Martial-Nabiki watched them with 
interest, laughing at some, and looking sadly at others.  They floated 
in the air like bubbles, each one only showing for an instant before 
being replaced by another.  Neither of the girls seemed to be in control 
of them, and that was made clear when Nabiki started to see memories 
that she knew were not her own.

"What's going on?"  Nabiki stared at one image that seemed to be more 
powerful than many of the others.  She turned to look at the other girl, 
and her duplicate was frowning.

"It's nothing that you need to worry about," said her double, rising to 
her feet.  "But that is Jusenkyo Valley.  A place that changed my life, 
in more ways than one."  A reflected image, as if seen in a pool of 
water, appeared in another bubble of memories.  This image was of a 
handsome young man dressed much as her martial artist doppelganger was, 
and there was sadness on his face.

"Who is that?" asked Nabiki, her eyes bright as she looked at her 
duplicate.  "He's gorgeous.  Is he your brother or something on your 
world?"  She turned to look back at the image for another moment, before 
she heard muffled laughter behind her.  When she turned around, that 
same young man that had been in the bubble image was there.

"Surprise," said Nabiki-kun to a startled Nabiki.  "Behold the power of 
Jusenkyo."

All of the memories of that first transformation in the cursed Spring of 
Drowned Man were suddenly Nabiki's, and she was only able to stare in 
shock at the male version of herself.  Nabiki-kun posed for a moment 
while Nabiki felt herself absorbing the memories of that terrifying 
time.

Her duplicate suddenly reached behind himself and pulled out a steaming 
teakettle.  He poured the water over himself and his form lost several 
centimeters of height, transforming back into a duplicate of Nabiki, 
save for the clothes and the more muscular build.

"That was amazing," Nabiki said softly, feeling both a fear of the curse 
and a strange fascination for it filling her.  That she felt such a 
fascination was disturbing to her, so she buried that thought deep.

"It has made my life more interesting," said the once-again female, 
alternate version of her in a slightly dry tone.  "There are times that 
I am thankful that it happened, but it has made my life hellish too.  If 
it wasn't for my fiancé, Ranchan."  Her voice trailed off as she looked 
very thoughtful.

"I guess he is rather special, in any world."  Nabiki, felt an odd blush 
cross her cheeks.  She clamped down on her thoughts with her iron will, 
and the feeling went away.

"Interesting memories you have of yours," said Martial-Nabiki, her 
attention returning to the bubbles of scenes hanging in midair.  The 
first was of Nabiki's very first meeting with Ranma, of feeling that 
subtle electric tingle that had overwhelmed her control for even a short 
time.  The Chinese-garbed girl blinked and smiled.  "Wow!  That was 
something else.  Even as much as I love my Ranchan, I never felt that 
much of a turn-on from him."

Nabiki felt very embarrassed that her control had proven insufficient 
during that incident, the Iron Bitch melting for a brief time in a blast 
furnace of unexpected passions.  And to see such open emotions displayed 
on her other self was also odd.

"I like him, okay?" she said, watching her other self replaying each of 
her meetings with Ranma.  Feeling vulnerable from the desires that he 
had awoken in her, and not liking the feeling, she had reinforced her 
cold, disdainful attitude whenever she saw him.  Her teasing of him had 
an edge to it that she now felt very unhappy to see in her memories.

"Sorry.  I didn't mean to pry, but I can feel how much you seem to care 
about him deep down.  Why be so mean to him all the time?"

"To keep him at a distance, I guess," said Nabiki, her eyes looking 
outwards in a thousand-meter stare.  "It is far better to be feared than 
to be loved, after all."  Her voice suddenly choked a bit, but she 
quickly recovered.  "Ranma-kun isn't anything special.  No guy is."

"Right," said her double, disbelief plainly evident in her voice.  In an 
attempt to change the subject to something easier for them to deal with 
than men, she said, "Hey, you wanna try some sparring with me?"  She 
went through a quick sequence of moves.

To her surprise when she tried them, Nabiki was able to duplicate them 
exactly, and her double nodded.  "I thought so."

"The fight I had."  Nabiki suddenly remembered it, how easy it had been 
to deal with the two toughs, as if they had been moving in slow motion.  
"I have your skills."  She went through a kata, her body moving a little 
more gracefully than it was able to in real life, but not by much.

"It looks like it," said her doppelganger, smiling with a twinkle in her 
eyes.  "I worked my ass off for years following Uncle Genma around Asia 
to learn all of this, and you take a nap for a little while and can do 
the same.  But at least my body is in better shape."

"I'm not that far behind you," Nabiki muttered, suddenly feeling a 
little defensive next to her other self's accomplishments.

"No, I guess you aren't," agreed her twin, looking a suddenly naked 
Nabiki over, noting her body's athletic musculature from her Academy 
training, and the calluses on her hands and feet.  "A couple of months 
of intensive training, and your body should be up to my level.  The 
skills and the reflexes are over half the battle, and you already have 
those from me."

Nabiki tried willing some clothes around herself, feeling strangely 
unembarrassed at her unexpected nakedness, but all that appeared was a 
twin of the outfit that her other self was wearing, only with a red 
shirt.  She shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's spar," she said, raising her hands into a guard.  Her twin smiled 
at her.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quantum Destinies
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By Steven Thesken (quantumdestinies@cox.net)

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  This story 
is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic 
authors.  Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very 
Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series.  All 
C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can 
email the author for them:

The Quantum Destinies Homepage
http://members.cox.net/quantumdestinies/


The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:
Earth  0.000,0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)
Earth  +4.614,+4.496 - The world of Martial-Nabiki (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you 
understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over 
five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world 
and has done so for almost a century.  Theorizing that one could travel 
to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young 
scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own 
invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial 
artist version of himself.  After viewing some other alternate lives and 
dealing with some unexpected situations, Ranma decided to intensify his 
workouts to bring himself up to the level of his counterpart.  Fuyutsuki 
mentioned a mysterious plan that involved Ranma and several of the cast.  
Meanwhile, Soun put the first stage of his plan into play to ensnare 
Ranma, and Hinako learned something about Ranma's past.  Nabiki snuck 
into Ranma's lab and managed to activate his device, contacting and 
duplicating the skills from an alternate version of herself, one who 
went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma.  
Forever changed by the experience, Nabiki dealt with two enemies using 
her new skills and has decided to make Ranma an offer that will prove 
difficult for the boy scientist to refuse.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 5 - Travelling the Path of a True Martial Artist, Part I

     The path of a true martial artist is fraught with peril.

                              - Soun Tendo: Ranma 1/2

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  

Nabiki rolled over in her bed and found herself staring at her clock as 
she blinked her eyes open.  Her dreams of the night before faded away 
like smoke as she blearily read the time.  5:28 in the morning?  She 
groaned mentally at the time on her clock, not being very much of a 
morning person, especially not this early an hour in the morning.  She 
closed her eyes and attempted to go back to sleep for the time remaining 
until her alarm normally went off, but it was to no avail.  Yawning, she 
sat up in bed and stretched her arms up and back.

I guess I should get to my morning workout, she thought with a tired 
sigh.  She slowly rolled out of her bed and wandered over to her closet.  
She had been going through it for several minutes before it occurred to 
her to wonder at her own thoughts.  Morning workout?  Since when do I do 
a morning workout without Mother around?  It had been years since she 
last got up at the crack of dawn to exercise.

Shrugging her shoulders, she continued rummaging through her closet and 
found her old workout gi in the back.  Seeing that it was now easily 
about two sizes too small for her since the last time that she wore it, 
she tossed it onto her bed and continued looking for something else to 
wear.  She made a mental note that she needed to buy some new clothes 
that would be suitable for martial arts training.  Those Chinese-style 
outfits that her martial artist counterpart wore yesterday had felt 
pretty comfortable to wear for such activities.  She finally settled on 
a plain white T-shirt and dark-blue sweat pants, figuring that they 
would have to do for now.

A few minutes later, Nabiki was in the medium-sized training hall back 
behind the main house.  Her parents had received the house as a wedding 
gift from her father's parents, and her mother's parents had paid to 
construct the hall after her mother had left the regular Imperial Army 
and gone into the reserves.  Originally, it was so that Kimiko could 
maintain her skills in combat, but she later used it to teach her 
daughters how to fight and to pass on the traditions of honor she held 
dear.  For Nabiki, that training began when she had first begun to walk 
and continued, alongside her two sisters, until the passing away of her 
mother over six years ago.

She had not been inside the building for the purpose of training for 
several years, but it felt so right to be there now, as if she was 
reclaiming an abandoned part of herself.  The subtle smells of the 
training hall filled her nostrils, triggering a multitude of memories of 
times past.  She briefly reminisced about the many long hours spent out 
here under her mother's patient tutelage, a little girl training to be a 
warrior like her mother before her.  That training had not seemed to 
matter as much after her mother had died, one of many things locked away 
and deliberately forgotten about to avoid the pain they evoked, but now 
it did to her once again.  Her mother had been so very proud of them 
all, and she felt a renewed desire to become the warrior that her mother 
had always told her that she was.

"Mommy is so proud of you, Biki-Bushi-chan," she remembered her mother 
always saying with a loving smile on her face.  "You keep training like 
that, and someday you'll be a great warrior."

"Like you, Mommy?" Nabiki had once asked as she had paused to wipe sweat 
from her brow.  She had been eight years old at the time, but the memory 
still lived for her as if it was yesterday if she closed her eyes and 
remembered.  This particular memory was one of the more precious ones to 
her.

"You're going to be as great a fighter as I ever was, Nabiki-chan," her 
mother had said more seriously.  "I can somehow see it out there in your 
future.  Someday, if you're very diligent in your training, you'll 
become a superb warrior, maybe even better than I ever was."

"Really?" her younger self had asked, wide-eyed with surprise.  She had 
always thought that Kasumi would be the warrior in the family, or maybe 
Akane.  Her older sister had never let up on her regimen after their 
mother had died, and she still continued to train for two hours every 
day, even after her recent marriage.  And the youngest Tendo had made 
perfecting her combat skills into her own personal religion even before 
that time.  Nabiki, on the other hand, had simply stopped trying.  
Without her mother around to prove herself to, there simply didn't seem 
to be much point.

"Of course, Nabiki-chan," her mother had replied, poking her in the 
forehead with a fingertip and a grin on her face.  "But don't think you 
can take your broken-down, old mother in a fight yet.  I may be older 
and slower than you, but age and treachery will always win out over 
youth and speed."

"Let's see about that, Mommy!" her younger self had cried, launching 
herself into an attack, a broad smile on her face as they fell to 
sparring.

Nabiki leaned heavily against the door post and let herself remember 
other things from the past.  There were other memories that she had not 
allowed herself to recall for so many years.  She was surprised to 
suddenly realize how much all of them had changed after her mother's 
death.  Her father had almost completely retreated into his work, and 
the cheerful man that she remembered from her childhood had evolved 
almost overnight into a much colder sort, a pure professional.  She knew 
that she had been emulating him in order to gain approval from her only 
remaining parent, an approval that she now wondered might have carried 
too high a price for herself.  The memories from her counterpart gave 
her a rare opportunity, a chance to re-examine the path that she had 
been on and think about the choices that she had made.

In that other life, I am the center of attention, loved by some, hated 
and feared by others, and respected by many, she thought as her gaze 
roamed around the training hall.  Here, I am known as the Iron Bitch of 
the Imperial Academy, a person both feared and respected, and a true 
heir to the ways of my father.  She sighed softly, like the sound of a 
soul that has realized how lost it was for the first time.  Perhaps it 
is not too late to change, but change to what?  I am not that other 
self, nor do I wish such a chaotic mess of a life, but perhaps some of 
her attitudes might be worthwhile to take for my own.  It was something 
to think about.

Nabiki thought that talking to Kasumi would help.  Her older sister had 
gone through changes almost as great as her father had.  Before their 
mother's death, the eldest Tendo daughter had been a flighty innocent, 
popular with the boys and seemingly without a single thought in her head 
for the future.  Afterwards, she evolved into this quiet presence in the 
house, projecting a Zen-like region of calm around her as if she were a 
Buddha who had taken mortal female form and come to live with them.  She 
had also begun studying medicine and martial arts with equal fervor, and 
never went out on dates anymore, to the extreme disappointment of a fair 
number of boys in the area.

Kasumi had also begun to help their previous housekeeper, a grand old 
lady that was a friend of Kimiko's, keep the house clean and assist with 
the cooking.  Nabiki had not cared to engage in such activities, and 
Akane had proven herself to be utterly hopeless at doing such things as 
cooking and cleaning, much like their mother had been.  At least her 
elder sister always seemed to enjoy doing most of the cooking, and 
Nabiki was grateful to her for it.  She would be the first to confess 
that she missed her sister's comforting presence in the house.  It just 
wasn't the same without Kasumi humming as she went around the house with 
one of her medical books in hand or cooking in the kitchen.

Now to see how much work I have ahead of me, Nabiki thought with a mild 
grimace.  She knew that she was pretty well-muscled and toned for a girl 
her age due to her requisite physical training class at the Academy, but 
her counterpart easily had several more kilograms of solid muscle on her 
and was in even better shape.  To match her duplicate's figure was going 
to take some time and a lot of effort and sweat.  She strongly suspected 
that Ranma had also discovered the same thing about his own counterpart.  
She also deduced that that was almost undoubtedly why he was continuing 
with his current rigorous training schedule, despite what she had heard 
about his present levels of performance at athletics.  She had seen him 
running through his regimen a few times, and it looked brutal.

She walked to the center of the training hall and sat down on the cold 
wood, the sensation triggering even more memories of happier times in 
her life.  It was a little chilly that early in the morning, but the 
cold was invigorating to her as she began doing a light warm-up and a 
regimen of stretching exercises.  She spread her legs as widely as she 
could and was pleased to note that she was almost as flexible as her 
counterpart as she bent down, a holdover from the intensive training 
done in her youth.  She grasped her right foot with her hands and 
lowered herself over that leg.  She then repeated the process with the 
other one.

Perhaps I should volunteer to participate in Ranma-kun's training class 
with Takami-sensei, she mused as she pulled herself down lower and lower 
onto her outstretched leg, stretching out the muscles as much as she 
could.  I'm going to need a much more intensified workout schedule if I 
hope to improve myself, to become a physical equal to my counterpart.  I 
could also use a good sparring partner to hone my reflexes and skills 
on, and I would bet money that Ranma-kun is undoubtedly the perfect 
person for that.  As she pondered such things, she continued stretching 
the rest of the major muscles in her body, striving to maximize her 
flexibility.  She smiled when she finally finished stretching the last 
area and stood up slowly.

As she stood there for a few moments, Nabiki briefly wondered about what 
Ranma's other life was like, the life where he had received his new 
martial arts skills from, and what her analog on that world was like.  
In my own counterpart's life, I am the best martial artist in all of 
Nerima, she thought with a measure of borrowed pride.  There is a Ranma 
there who is, at best, a second-stringer in fighting capability next to 
my own counterpart.  I wonder how good a fighter I am in the world where 
the counterpart dwells that he received his skills from?  Is that Ranma 
also trained in the Anything-Goes style?  She made a mental note to ask 
him these questions, along with a score of others that she had for the 
young scientist.

She settled herself into a stance and began running through a kata, 
letting her body slowly move through the half-familiar motions.  She 
grimaced slightly as she felt herself moving at significantly less than 
perfect form and focused on eliminating as many of the imperfections as 
she could.  She felt very rusty at the activities, but that didn't 
surprise her very much when she paused to think about it.  The skills 
from her counterpart would take time to absorb, assuming that they were 
as permanent a part of herself as she suspected they might now be.  She 
pushed herself even harder, trying to recapture that graceful fluidity 
of motion that she had experienced yesterday.  A sheen of sweat began to 
accumulate on her body, dampening her white T-shirt despite the cool 
morning air.

This is so incredible, Nabiki thought as she continued pushing herself 
harder and harder, increasing her speed as much as she could.  It was 
strange, but the less she thought about the motions and just let herself 
move as her body would, the better she did at them.  She purposely let 
her mind drift away to other things as her body continued moving through 
the regimen that she had set herself for this morning.  As she did so, 
her body's posture slowly changed to a near-match of her other self, and 
her movements increased in grace and speed.  She closed her eyes and 
embraced the freedom.

After about half an hour of that, she then went over to the heavy bag, 
hanging from a thick chain on one side of the room.  It was one of a 
pair in the room, both somewhat worn from the efforts of her sisters 
during their own training over the years.  She settled herself in front 
of it for a moment.

"Hiyah!" Nabiki suddenly cried, driving her fist into the thick black 
leather.  It responded by jerking back slightly from the impact with a 
rattling sound from its heavy chain, and she immediately launched 
another blow into it with her opposing fist.  She repeated this back and 
forth, punching the heavy bag a hundred times with each fist, feeling 
the impact on her knuckles.  As she worked through a second set of 
punches with each hand, an almost pleasant ache slowly built up in her 
shoulders and arms, and there was something rather satisfying about 
landing blows into the bag.

When she was done with her last punch, she began working on her kicks 
next.  Her leg flashed up to solidly strike the bag, knocking it back on 
its chain, and she felt the shock of impact all the way to her hips.  
Again and again, she landed kicks into the bag, driving it back.  The 
efforts brought a heavy sweat to her brow, and her T-shirt now clung 
wetly to her body.  She was almost done with her second set of a hundred 
kicks when she heard a voice speak up behind her.

"What are you doing out here, Nabiki?" asked Akane's voice from behind 
her.  Nabiki paused and turned around, seeing her little sister standing 
in the doorway of the training hall in a well-worn, white gi.  "I 
thought I heard someone, but I never expected it to be you."

"Just working out a bit before getting ready to conquer the new day, 
Little Sister," said Nabiki with a smile, as she panted a little.  "I 
woke up early, and I felt inspired to see how much I could remember from 
the training that Mom gave us."  The lie came quite easily to her 
tongue, but they always had.  Akane just stared at her in slight 
confusion.

"Well, after I've warmed myself up, are you interested in doing some 
sparring?"  Akane suddenly smiled.  "With Kasumi gone, I miss having 
someone around to practice with.  Do you think you might take up 
training again?"

Nabiki debated the matter in her thoughts.  I wonder if I could take my 
little sister in a sparring match now?  She felt a sudden and rather 
unexpected urge to try and nodded.  Her sister looked pleased.

"That's great!" Akane said, beaming even brighter.  "With my help, I'm 
sure that you'll get to be a great fighter.  Not that I mind helping you 
out as a bodyguard, I mean."

"Let me know when you're ready."  Nabiki turned her back on her sister 
before beginning to kick the bag once more.  She put more effort into 
each kick, feeling a soft burning building up slowly in the muscles in 
her legs.

A short time later, Akane called out that she was ready.  Nabiki turned 
around with a smile, breathing hard and deeply to replenish her strength 
quickly as she began walking over.  She saw the other girl standing in 
the middle of the mat, moving slightly from side to side.  By the time 
that she reached the middle of the mat, her breathing had calmed almost 
back to normal.  Her mother had always commented that she always seemed 
to recover the fastest of the three sisters from the strenuous efforts 
of training.  She was proud to see that her abilities at recuperation 
remained undiminished.

"Ready when you are, sis."  Nabiki settled herself into a combat stance.

Akane decided to go easy on her older sister, at least at first.  She 
smiled when the other girl blocked the first few strikes with seeming 
ease.  I guess Nabiki hasn't been letting up on her training as much as 
I might have thought, she mused.  Still, I should have gotten at least 
one punch through by now.  Akane continued to attack, and her sister 
continued to block or evade every punch or kick.  Her constantly missing 
was beginning to irritate the youngest Tendo.

Either she's going really easy on me, or I'm much better now after that 
experience in Ranma-kun's lab than I thought I was, noted Nabiki with 
mild pleasure as she flowed around all of Akane's efforts to strike her.  
The recent experience of her fight with Hayate and Kena last evening 
notwithstanding, she had not been expecting to be doing quite this well 
against her younger sister.  So far she had simply been defending and 
was pleased to see that the other girl was starting to look frustrated 
at her inability to connect.  Nabiki decided to up the ante a little bit 
and lashed out with a quick punch of her own.

Why isn't she fighting back?  Akane was getting annoyed.  I've been 
leaving a few openings in my defenses on purpose that she could have 
exploited by now.  Why doesn't she try and hit me?  Her sister's sudden 
punch burst through her guard a mere moment later and impacted squarely 
into her face.  Akane blinked at the strike, more surprised than really 
hurt.  She hadn't even seen it coming.  Wow!  Nabiki is even faster than 
I thought she was.  The younger Tendo increased the tempo of their 
match, her natural aggressiveness emerging.

"Nice punch, Nabiki," said Akane with a wolfish smile on her face.  "I 
guess you might be some competition for me, after all.  All right, this 
time for real!"  She lashed out with a complex combination of kicks and 
punches that had only ever failed to take an opponent down once, that 
opponent being Ranma.

"Whatever you say, Akane-chan."  Nabiki smirked, a note of smug mockery 
in her voice.  She wove through all of her sister's powerful strikes 
like smoke, some of the blows failing to connect by mere millimeters.  
"I guess I'm better than you expected?"  She blocked one of Akane's 
hands, locked a quick hold onto the extended limb, and then flipped her.

"Yeek!" screeched Akane in surprise, landing flat on her back onto the 
mat in the training hall with a dull thud.  Internally she cursed 
herself for letting her sister get the better of her so easily and 
sprang back to her feet.  An intense fury filled her as she attacked 
Nabiki with her full strength, but she only managed to shatter a fist-
sized hole into one of the walls of the training hall, instead of laying 
her sister out on the mat, unconscious.  A light blow suddenly hit her 
squarely on the back of her neck a moment later, what would have been a 
knockout or even killing blow if it had landed with more force, and she 
blinked in surprise.

Akane pulled her fist from the hole in the wall and turned around, 
looking at Nabiki in shock.  Her older sister stood there in an almost 
casual stance, but still ready for further combat, a thoughtful look on 
her face.  She shook shards of wood from her hand, her anger at the 
other girl diminishing a bit due to sheer surprise.  Her older sister 
had been standing right in front of her, and then she suddenly wasn't.

"How'd you do that?" she asked with a puzzled look, her surprise at her 
sister's combat abilities briefly overcoming her anger.  "I hardly even 
saw you move.  Wherever did you learn to fight like that?"

"It's a secret," said Nabiki, feeling a strange urge to keep the 
knowledge of Ranma's invention to herself.  "I'll tell you about it 
someday though, okay?"  She smiled, feeling not quite like herself at 
that moment.

"Okay."  Akane's sudden anger at her sister so easily evading her was 
already fading, but she still felt suspicious.  "You must have found a 
new teacher on the side, it looks like.  It sure wasn't anything like 
the stuff that Mom ever taught us, or even what the Academy makes us 
learn.  So what was it?"

"It's a style of Kempo.  I really shouldn't say anything more about it.  
Okay?"

"Sure, Nabiki.  Just promise me that you'll teach me someday."  Akane 
attempted to duplicate one of the blocks that her sister had used during 
the fight.  "It looked like a powerful style."  Nabiki simply nodded, 
feeling a strangeness to her thoughts.

Oh yes, Akane, Nabiki thought while she kept nodding.  It's quite a 
powerful style.  One that I've never even heard mention of before my 
experience yesterday, and now I know it, and I suspect that Ranma-kun 
does too.  How very strange.

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

At about the same time in the Kuno household, Kodachi finished pummeling 
the heavy leather bag in the mansion's training hall.  The muscles in 
her limbs ached slightly from the intensive efforts that she had given, 
but she knew from experience that her body would recover very quickly.  
In her original life, she had not pushed herself to the true limits she 
was capable of.  In her present life, she kept pushing what she thought 
of as her limits further and further, and her body kept improving in 
strength and speed.

She smiled as she went through a brief kata, enjoying the supple power 
of her physique.  Many years of intensive gymnastics and dance training 
had given her counterpart a body that was ideal for performing as a 
martial artist.  Lithely muscular, as fast and graceful as a cat, and 
with a well-proportioned female form overlaying it all, she felt quite 
confident that she would be able to overcome any difficulties in her 
pursuit of Ranma.

Ah, Saotome-kun, she thought with a pleasant sigh.  Once I deal with 
that annoying Akane Tendo today, then you and I can explore a romance to 
equal anything in literature.  I will prove the strength of my love for 
you by utterly decimating that little, brutish thug in your name.  Her 
right fist snapped out with near-lethal power, the sleek muscles in her 
forearms standing out in base relief.  Kodachi whirled through a quick 
sequence of strikes and blocks, every movement done with precision.

When she was done, she picked up her towel and dabbed the sweat from her 
brow.  Her chest heaved a bit from her deep breathing, as her lungs 
scavenged oxygen and quickly rebuilt her strength after her efforts.  I 
have to confess that I will sort of miss fighting with Saginomiya-san 
though, she thought as she padded across the floor in her bare feet.  
There really isn't anything quite like dealing with a strong opponent on 
a regular basis to keep the reflexes sharp.  Maybe I can talk Saotome-
kun into sparring with me.  That thought sent a surprisingly pleasant 
quiver through her body, a brief fantasy of yielding herself to the 
victorious pigtailed boy like the heroine of a martial arts romance 
manga running through her mind.

Kodachi looked at her brother as she passed him, a frown crossing her 
face at his earlier refusal to spar with her.  She had politely asked 
him if he had cared to, after completing her warm-up and stretching, but 
he had demurred.  It was the only thing that she could think of to prove 
her strength to him, and her ability to take care of herself.  I will 
simply try again tomorrow, she decided.  An impish, little smile 
appeared on her lips.  Perhaps if she insulted him a bit next time.

Kuno watched his sister leave the room out of the corner of his eye, the 
remainder of his attention on practicing his form.  Today is the day 
that you fall before me, Ranma Saotome.  My gentle and innocent sister 
is not for the crude hands of the likes of you, nor shall the sweet and 
virtuous Akane Tendo be thine.  A brief but vivid fantasy of a maidenly 
Akane dressed in traditional garb, greeting him with a kowtow as he 
returned home, filled his mind.  The powerful image of her gave him new 
determination to visit doom upon Ranma Saotome following classes today.

Perhaps I should consider Father's advice and transfer to the Imperial 
Academy, he thought, slashing through the air with his weapon.  T'would 
bring me closer to the fair Akane, and the might of my guarding hand 
would be ever-present to defend my young sister from the grasping and 
lecherous Ranma Saotome.  One such as he is entirely unsuited to consort 
with my fair sister.  T'would be a noble sacrifice, but necessary, I 
think.

He slashed through a wooden target with his bokken, and the top half 
fell to the side with a crash, sheered clean through as if by a razor-
sharp blade.  Count the hours you have remaining, Ranma Saotome, before 
you face my righteous wrath.  My sweet sister and the innocent Akane 
Tendo must be defended from thy lustful desires.

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

A short time later, Kodachi fussed with her bow as she observed herself 
in the full-length mirror in her room.  This was to be her first day 
attending the Imperial Academy, and she wanted everything to be perfect.  
She felt a bit out of sorts wearing the standard-make, wool and linen 
uniform for a science cadet, not being able to obtain any tailored ones 
suitable for one of her refined breeding on such short notice.  So, for 
a day or two, she would simply have to forego finer fabrics and tolerate 
these more plebian ones.  As she finished adjusting her bow, she found 
herself looking forward to dressing Ranma in silks and satins as well, 
as she felt he deserved.

Finally satisfied with her appearance, she blew a seductive kiss at her 
reflection.  She practically skipped down the stairs, buoyed up by the 
happiness filling her heart.  She quickly raced through eating her 
breakfast, more than a little impatient to be off.  Her father had left 
the house early to attend a meeting with some of his fellow lords, 
leaving her mother to preside over the breakfast table.

"You seem most eager to see your new lover, Dachi-chan," said her mother 
in a teasing tone of voice.  Kuno promptly snapped the set of chopsticks 
in his hand in half in mid-bite.  Kodachi's face blushed bright red 
across her cheeks.

"Mother," said Kodachi in a put upon tone of voice, a touch of whining 
mixed in.  "I have told you that it is nothing like that.  I am simply 
eager to learn what the Imperial Academy has to teach.  Saotome-kun is 
most certainly not my lover."  She began eating what was left of her 
breakfast more daintily.  Although he would indeed be most welcome to 
become so, Kodachi brazenly thought, embracing an impulse that brought 
another maidenly blush to her cheeks.

Kuno grumbled under his breath, more and more convinced that the 
dramatic changes in his sister were due to the morally corrupting 
influences of the pigtailed boy.  His thoughts were filled with a 
simmering anger against the young scientist.  When we finally meet, 
Ranma Saotome, you will face the unleashed fury of Tatewaki Kuno, he who 
is the quintessentially supreme duelist of this modern generation.  At 
that meeting between us, only one shall remain standing, and it shall 
not be thee, Ranma Saotome.  He began gobbling down the remainder of his 
breakfast as fast as propriety allowed.

After breakfast was over, their mother saw them off at the front door, 
while servants handed them their school supplies.  Kuno gave his mother 
a brief kiss on the cheek, part of his morning routine since he was five 
years old and first left home for school.  Kodachi gave her mother a 
gentle kiss on the opposing cheek a moment later.  Their last sight of 
their mother was of her in her usual position, a quiet smile of farewell 
on her lips.

The ride in the limousine was quiet.  When the car stopped in front of 
the Imperial Academy, Kodachi departed from her brother with a brusque 
nod.  He returned the nod, his hands resting lightly on the hilt of his 
bokken as its point sat on the floor of the vehicle.  She shaded her 
eyes with her hand as she emerged from the dimly-lit interior into the 
morning light.

Back inside the limousine, Kuno pondered his course of action for the 
day.  The temptation to smite Ranma Saotome as soon as possible weighed 
heavily upon him, but he decided to proceed with his initial plan of 
action.  He tapped on the window and motioned the driver to continue on.

Kodachi took in a deep lungful of the fresh, morning air and let it out 
with a pleasant sigh.  She was rather early, so she occupied herself 
with watching her fellow cadets arriving as she waited at the gate for 
her beloved to make his appearance.  Several groups of cadets eyed her 
curiously, obviously noting that she was new, but she ignored them.  Her 
eyes waited for only one young man.

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

Ranma strolled along, grateful that he had managed to get out of the 
house this morning without having to hear his mother give yet another 
lecture about the joys of an arranged marriage.  It was a sunny day, the 
birds were singing in the trees, and he felt glad to be alive.  Life 
just can't get any better than this, he mused.

"You have an interesting fate clinging to you, boy," said a voice from 
behind him, startling him from his good mood.  Ranma stopped and turned 
around, blinking in surprise when he saw a small figure dressed in the 
robes of a wandering Buddhist monk, a straw hat hiding the face, and a 
tall staff in one hand.  The wooden staff was metal-shod at both ends 
and was topped by three jingling rings of brass attached to a circle of 
metal at the upright end.

"What?" asked the pigtailed boy, a little irritated at the unexpected 
event.  "Did you say something to me, Old Man?"

"I said that you have an interesting fate clinging to your aura, boy," 
said the wizened voice.  The hat tipped back, and an ugly little gnome 
of a monk gazed up at him.  "It has been some time since I have seen its 
like.  A strange and possibly dark destiny awaits you, young one."  The 
old man's voice had dropped into spooky tones at the last.

"Who the hell are you, Old Man?" demanded Ranma, not only irritated at 
the unexpected delay in his morning routine, but also now more than a 
little weirded out to be accosted like this by the strange individual.

"I am Cherry."  The ugly, little, wizened figure gazed at him calmly.  
"Just a simple, wandering monk, and a student of arcane lore.  By the 
way, do you have any extra food on you, by chance?"  When Ranma did not 
reply, he shrugged then pointed at the pigtailed scholar with the head 
of his staff, the rings jingling slightly.  "Mark my words, boy.  Your 
destiny calls to you, and I am but a humble harbinger of its approach.  
Powerful and strange forces swirl about your life, and a vast storm 
looms on the horizon of things.  I can clearly see that you have been 
chosen for a great task.  It is Fate."  Ranma could actually hear the 
capitalization of the final word from the manner in which the old man 
spoke it.

"What the hell are you babbling about, you old geezer?!" snapped the 
pigtailed boy, finally breaking the brief spell of wonder that the 
mysterious, Old Man had cast over him.  He turned his back on Cherry and 
started to walk away.  "I don't got time to listen to such mystical 
nonsense."

"Then you're a fool, Ranma Saotome.  I will take my leave of you until 
you finally come to your senses."  The little gnome of a monk wandered 
into the gloom of a nearby alleyway while Ranma blinked in surprise that 
the old man had known his name.  The gentle ringing of the monk's staff 
receded into the alleyway.

"Hey!" shouted Ranma, turning back around and taking two steps to bring 
him to the mouth of the alleyway.  He goggled in surprise, for the old 
man was gone, leaving behind only the fading echoes of the jingling 
rings on his staff.  Now where the hell did that old man go? wondered 
the pigtailed boy for several moments.  Was he some sort of master ninja 
or something?  He couldn't possibly have managed to clear the distance 
to the other end of the alley.  He was only out of my sight for a second 
or two.  And how the hell did he know my name?  Argghhh!  I don't got 
time for this right now!

He decided to leave off from exploring his questions for another time, 
since he didn't want to be late for classes this morning.  The word was 
that they were getting a new substitute instructor for homeroom, as a 
replacement for Tokimo-sensei while he went on a long sabbatical.  I 
hope they found someone with a little more personality than that dried 
up old prune, he thought.

The remaining time spent walking to the Academy grounds were devoid of 
any further strange occurrences, and Ranma was glad.  He had experienced 
too many of such things over the last few days.  My life used to be so 
quiet, he thought with a sigh.  Hopefully after I get Akane over her 
little fixation with me, then my life can return to normal.  A little 
excitement is one thing, but this is getting to be ridiculous.

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

Akane and Nabiki walked along, enjoying the morning.  Each girl wandered 
in her own thoughts.  The elder analyzed the abilities that she had 
gained overnight and wondered at how great she felt after the heavy 
morning workout.  The younger fantasized about her future life at 
Ranma's side as his wife, lover, and best friend.

The younger sister was completely convinced now that she was obviously 
the best choice for his wife, and she looked forward to a long life 
fighting at his side, in what she was certain would be a martial arts-
filled, romantic adventure like her favorite television programs.  A 
great many of her imagined scenes were taken from one of her most 
favorite anime series, 'Young Warriors.'  It was a story about a pair of 
highly-skilled, teenaged martial artists, a boy and a girl, and their 
adventures around the world fighting against many new and recurring 
foes.

Briefly breaking out of her fantasy, she was also looking forward to 
brutally stomping on her only perceived rival for the pigtailed boy's 
affections, Kodachi Kuno.  Once I take care of that pushy little 
debutante bitch, then nothing further will stand between me and my 
destiny with Ranma, thought Akane, feeling a wave of happiness fill her.  
She closed her right hand into a tight fist and smacked it into the open 
palm of her other hand.  I'll have to talk with Daddy about arranging a 
marriage meeting with the Saotomes, but that shouldn't be a problem.  
Then Ranma will officially be all mine.  I can hardly wait.

Akane-chan looks like she's thinking about Ranma-kun again, noted Nabiki 
in her own thoughts, observing the starry-eyed gaze filling her little 
sister's eyes.  Since the pigtailed boy's battle with the younger Tendo, 
it had become a very common occurrence.  In addition, every now and then 
this morning her visage would darken, and she would mutter rather dire 
imprecations about Kodachi as she clenched her right hand into a fist 
and released it.  It did not bode well for the young aristocrat.

I may have a fight on my hands after all, once I finally get myself 
engaged to Ranma-kun, thought Nabiki with mild concern.  Akane won't 
just roll over and play dead.  And what's with Kodachi showing up like 
this?  How did she suddenly develop an attraction towards him?  She 
never had any interest in him in that other world, and yet here Kuno 
claimed that Ranma was having some sort of sordid relationship with his 
sister.  It looks like I'm going to have to start taking steps to deal 
with any more unexpected surprises appearing on the playing field.  The 
absolute last thing that I need is to have to contend with any more 
complications in my pursuit of Ranma-kun.  She paused for a moment, her 
hand clenching into a fist.  Still, anything worth having is worth 
fighting for, so let them all come, if they dare.
 
The pair continued walking, reaching the front gate to the Academy a few 
minutes later.  Akane solemnly eyed the new addition to the campus cadet 
population with extreme distaste, an expression that was coolly returned 
by Kodachi.  Nabiki looked at the Kuno girl with moderate interest, 
having heard Akane ranting a little bit over dinner about the girl who 
was plotting to steal 'her' Ranma away from her, now that she had 
finally found the man she had waited so long for.

Still, while those two keep each other occupied, I can take care of 
everything needed to win Ranma-kun for myself, thought Nabiki with a 
smug look briefly coming over her face.  Face it, girls.  Next to me, 
you two are hopelessly outmatched.  However, I do want to see everyone 
happy if I can, and eliminating an enemy by taking away their reason to 
hate you is always good strategy.  Her little sister wanted a warrior, 
and Kuno may be insufficient in ability to defeat her.  I wonder if 
there's a Ryoga Hibiki in this world to pick up some of the slack?  
While she mused on this, she wandered over to a small cluster of her 
usual cronies, several plans for dealing with all of these new 
developments tumbling through her mind.

Akane broke away from her sister's side and approached the young 
noblewoman at a measured pace.  She stopped a short distance away from 
Kodachi, and they sized each other up.  She slowly closed her right hand 
into a fist and reopened it, her breathing deepening slightly.

"Tendo-san," acknowledged the other girl with cold politeness, nodding 
her head slightly, her voice almost resonating with disdain.

"Kuno-san," replied Akane coldly.  "I didn't think that you'd have the 
guts to show up, after the warning I gave you yesterday.  Ranma isn't 
around to save you from having my fist planted into your face in the 
next few moments."

"You really are a most crude and unpleasant sort, aren't you, Akane 
Tendo?" observed the Kuno girl in a conversational tone of voice.  "How 
a brutish barbarian like you could possibly think that such primitive 
behaviors would attract a peaceful and refined soul like Saotome-kun's 
is quite beyond me.  Still, if you're looking for a fight, then I'm more 
than willing to teach you some manners.  I would even go so far as to 
say that I would consider it a distinct pleasure."

"Why, you arrogant-" snarled Akane, dropping her bookbag.  She sprang at 
the aristocrat with fire in her eyes, grabbing the other girl firmly by 
the collar of her uniform with her left hand and pinning her against the 
wall just inside the gate.  Kodachi willingly went along with the 
motion, a faint ghost of a smile briefly appearing on her lips.  The 
cadets began jostling each other for position, hoping to get a good view 
of the upcoming action.

Nabiki noticed the sudden commotion and began accepting bets, quickly 
instructing her assistants to do the same.  She set the odds to favor 
Akane slightly, laying out quick spreads as to duration of fight and a 
few other betting options.  Ranma-kun is sure to see them fighting over 
him when he arrives, she thought as she began scribbling down receipts 
while fistfuls of money were shoved at her.  How he reacts to that will 
be quite educational.  I'll just act as my usual self for now.  Wouldn't 
want to give away the new Nabiki too soon, after all, and surprise is 
always a valuable tactical advantage in any situation.

"Let go of me, Tendo," said Kodachi in very icy tones, dropping even the 
pretense of politeness.  Her school bag had been kicked to one side 
during Akane's sudden rush.  She wrapped her right hand around the Tendo 
girl's wrist as the pair locked eyes in a battle of wills.  Akane 
increased the pressure of her forearm against Kodachi's shoulder.

"In a moment you're going to learn that you shouldn't mess with me, you 
stuck-up bitch," said Akane angrily.  She slowly curled her right hand 
into a tight fist as she drew it back and cocked it.  The crowd watched 
in breathless anticipation but kept a good distance away from the pair.  
A fight involving the youngest Tendo could move around quite quickly.

"Oh?" wondered Kodachi pleasantly, suddenly driving her knee hard up 
into her assailant's stomach and then knocking the other girl away.  
"And why is that, Tendo?"

Akane gasped for air, taken by surprise by the hit.  The crowd made some 
appreciative noises at the unexpected tactic, and even more money flowed 
into bets on the Kuno girl to win.  Akane's eyes narrowed in fury, and a 
red haze seemed to fall over her vision.  Fine, she thought darkly.  
That's what I get for underestimating the little debutante bitch.  But 
nobody makes me look like a fool.

Seeing the move, Nabiki decided to modify the odds to even.

Akane launched into a furious and powerful assault against the other 
girl, but her punches and kicks were turned aside by deft blocks and 
parries time and again.  To counter this, she became even more fanciful 
in her strikes and dealing out even greater power in each of them, 
spinning kicks around her body to add more force to them as she leaped 
into the air.  Against previous opponents this had proven to be a 
devastating tactic, delivering bone-crushing impacts against the upper 
body and face.  Against her current foe it was much less effective, and 
her kicks failed to connect as the young noblewoman ducked and whirled 
around her.  The air was filled with the sounds of grunted effort on the 
part of both girls and the muttered comments and occasional loud cheers 
from the crowd.

The Kuno girl countered the assault with a level of skill that was 
Akane's equal.  Where her adversary had the definite edge in sheer 
power, she made up for it in grace and speed.  One of her punches 
cracked across Akane's cheek, but the other girl shrugged it off.  To 
her surprise, the young aristocrat found herself enjoying the challenge 
of the fight, and the two girls pushed themselves to the limits of their 
abilities as they contended against each other.

Yohko watched the fight with professional interest from her guardian 
position next to Nabiki, as she had often picked up a few pointers to 
add to her own techniques by watching Akane's skill in action during 
previous fights.  A slick move could sometimes prove to be the only 
thing standing between life and death for a Devil Hunter.  Inside, she 
cheered her friend's sister, only showing it outside with a faint grin 
on her face as she tried to maintain a professional demeanor.

She noticed Kyosuke in the crowd watching the fight, standing over next 
to Gosunkugi.  Other cadets were giving the two former Mobius Institute 
cadets a very wide berth without looking as if they were trying to do 
so.  Yohko sighed, briefly forgetting her present irritation with her 
boyfriend over his staring at that Ayukawa girl.  She knew how much he 
wanted to be accepted as just another security cadet, but the small pin 
on his collar seemed as if it would set him forever apart from regular 
humans.  Perhaps it's time for me to forgive him, she mused, her 
attention briefly drawn from the fight.

Akane-chan, thought Gosunkugi with a sigh, glorying in the sight of the 
supple power of each movement of his love goddess.  He swiftly pulled 
out a mini-camera from a front pocket and began snapping pictures, a 
feat that only his senpai standing next to him noticed.  She is so 
graceful and strong.  Oh Akane-chan, your every movement is like a 
symphony to me.

What are you doing, Gosunkugi-kun? asked Kyosuke mentally, directing his 
thoughts to his fellow Esper.

My apologies, Senpai, thought the younger boy with a faint coloring of 
embarrassment.  I just love her so.  Every movement of her body is so 
graceful and powerful.  There is just something special about a woman 
who can move like that.

Yes, there is, thought Kyosuke in reply, a brief memory of some of his 
time spent with Yohko accompanying it.  Any luck in your attempts at 
courting her?

She doesn't even know that I'm alive, Senpai.  Gosunkugi's thought held 
a ringing note of misery.  And now with Saotome in the picture, I don't 
know what to do.  He had confirmed the rumors that he had been hearing, 
and a dark depression still filled him.  He consoled himself by snapping 
another couple of photos of the Tendo girl in action.

Why don't you talk to her? thought the elder Esper in exasperation.  At 
least let her know that you're interested.  You don't see me going about 
acting too afraid to talk to a girl, do you?  His thought sending was 
colored with pride.

Not even Ayukawa-san? teased the younger boy, briefly grinning at his 
senpai's sudden frown.  She has been in your thoughts a great deal the 
last few days.  Are you thinking of leaving Mano-senpai?

My private life is really none of your concern, Gosunkugi-kun, thought 
Kyosuke stiffly, walling off his deeper memories.  I suppose I could say 
much the same thing about you and that young Ghost Sweeper girl studying 
at the Institute.  What was her name again?

All right, Senpai, you've made your point, the boy grumbled, ignoring 
the question and turning his attention back to the two girl's fight.  
Only a few seconds had gone by during the mental conversation.

Kodachi found herself operating on the defensive, letting herself take 
her adversary's measure, or at least that was the initial plan.  She 
kept trying to get some distance between her and Akane to let her use 
her powerful kicks, but the other girl was relentless.  Her mistake was 
in using the same strategies that she had always used against the White 
Lily, and she was not adjusting quickly enough to the tactics of a new 
opponent.  She missed a block, and Akane's fist streaked in to slam low 
and hard into her ribs, right underneath her breasts.  The other girl 
was a hard puncher, and the pain suddenly erupting from her chest was 
intense.  She was surprised once again at the sheer strength behind the 
other girl's fist.  She staggered back, slightly stunned, and the Tendo 
girl quickly followed up with a smashing uppercut across her jaw.  Red 
flecks of blood spattered against the wall behind her back, shortly 
before the young noblewoman collapsed against it, her head spinning.

Akane stood back a pace, actually quite surprised that her foe had gone 
down so quickly from only a couple of strikes.  The young noblewoman 
wasn't proving to be as much of a challenge to her as she had vaguely 
hoped, and it was ending far too quickly for her tastes.  She rubbed a 
bruise on her cheek from one of the aristocrat girl's fists with the 
back of her hand, tasting a little blood in her mouth from a cut inside 
her cheek.  It was one of several minor injuries that she had received 
on her face and body from the young noblewoman.  Seeing that the other 
girl wasn't springing back to the attack quickly enough to suit her, 
Akane started to shout at her.

"Come on!" she yelled tauntingly, gesturing with her hands briefly 
before returning her fists into a ready position in front of her body.  
"Get up, you weakling!  I still have quite a few things to teach you!"  
She circled around the other girl warily, holding down her desires to 
pummel the aristocrat while she was down through sheer force of will.  
She had done it before to other challengers, driving her fists into the 
bodies of unresisting opponents after she had knocked them down, but it 
never offered her the same intense sense of satisfaction that going toe-
to-toe with a strong foe who could defend themselves did.

Kodachi caught her breath while she leaned against the wall and 
grimaced, shaking her head slightly to clear it.  Her adversary's 
strength was great, and her blows were powerful.  Still, she was now 
certain that she was slightly faster than the other girl, and she 
remained confident that her skills would yet prevail, despite the blood 
that she now tasted in her mouth.  This has gotten too far out of hand, 
she thought dazedly, while she regained her breath.  I can't afford to 
waste any more time with this brute.  I'm sure that Saotome-kun will 
thank me for taking this barbarian savage down.  She gathered herself, 
slowly pulling herself up the wall.

"Ready for more?  Good!"  Akane smiled.  The crowd cheered for Kodachi 
in a few scattered locations as they watched the aristocrat girl pull 
herself back up to her full height.  Akane came rushing in with a very 
straightforward attack, more one of raw power than skill.  She wasn't 
expecting to see any more fight left in the other girl, so her defenses 
were weaker while she went into her all-out offensive.

That was all the opening that the young noblewoman needed.  Her left 
foot exploded up from the ground in a powerful side kick that drove hard 
into Akane's stomach.  Quickly dropping her foot, she used it as a pivot 
for a reverse spin kick that whirled her body about, focusing all of the 
energy from her torquing hips into her swiftly-uprising leg.  The crowd 
gasped as her right heel slammed across the Tendo girl's face with a 
bone-crunching sound of impact, spinning her around in a dazed condition 
as blood flew from her nose.  However, a sudden blurring in Kodachi's 
vision when she dropped her foot back to the ground prevented her from 
finishing her foe off at that moment, while the other girl was stunned 
and off balance.

Nabiki actually stopped what she was doing at that moment to watch the 
unexpected turnaround in the fight.  She had not been expecting Kodachi 
to give her little sister such a challenge, and for several long seconds 
there were no motions from either fighter.  The aristocrat girl is far 
more of a threat than she initially appeared to be, if she can stand up 
against Akane as well as she has, noted the elder Tendo girl, filing 
away the information in her mind.  There were no clever tricks being 
used by this version of the young noblewoman, no wielding of ribbons or 
other odd weapons of Rhythmic Gymnastics to fight with.  No, this 
version was simply a well-trained unarmed combatant, demonstrating an 
extraordinarily high caliber of skill.  This looks to be more and more 
interesting.  I do so love a challenge, Nabiki thought, smiling.

Gosunkugi started forward to help Akane when a hand came down on his 
shoulder.  Kyosuke shook his head when the younger boy looked back at 
him.  Do you really think that she would want help in a fight? he 
thought at the other boy.  Win or lose, it must be by her own hand.  Do 
not interfere with the two mundanes, my young friend.  You will not earn 
her appreciation if you do.  She is a girl of intense pride.

Nodding, the sunken-eyed youth's thoughts were dark as he stared at the 
ponytail-haired girl who had struck his love goddess so brutally.  You 
have made a life-long enemy this day, Kodachi Kuno, the young Esper 
thought fiercely.  I will not forget your actions against my Akane-chan.  
Ever.

Amazingly, to those in the crowd who had witnessed both kicks landing 
solidly into her body and face, Akane took both powerful strikes and was 
still managing to remain on her feet.  Her mouth slowly leaked blood 
from a split lip, more blood dribbled from her nose, and it felt like 
one of her molars had come loose during the impact of Kodachi's second 
kick.  She probed the inside of her mouth with her tongue for a moment 
to confirm it, and then she grinned savagely.  Other than against her 
sister and Ranma, she hadn't had this much of a challenge in a long 
time.  It was an enjoyable experience to find yet another opponent that 
she could cut loose on.

I don't believe this, thought Kodachi with annoyance as the other girl 
came back up into a ready stance after several moments.  That kick would 
have floored some of the best Arena fighters.  Is she part cockroach or 
something?  However, the young noblewoman also felt an unexpected quiver 
of savage joy run up and down her body as her foe smiled a bloody smile 
at her in the bright morning light.  All of her fights with Asuka had 
not forced her to reach quite so deeply into herself as this fight had 
required, and she had to admit that she was strangely grateful to find 
such a worthy opponent.  After all, the greater the challenge, the 
sweeter the victory.

She raised her hands back up into a guarding position again, a smile 
that was eerily like Akane's on her face.  The two girls circled each 
other again, both far more wary of the other's capabilities than when 
the fight had begun.  Each of them now realized that they faced an 
opponent who was roughly their equal.

"Was that your best shot, debutante?" Akane sneered contemptuously.

Kodachi's eyes glinted angrily, but she didn't feel like wasting any of 
her breath on replying.  Her jaw hurt a great deal, and she knew that 
she was going to have some colorful bruises all over her body after this 
was over.  She didn't feel that any of her bones were broken, and she 
suspected that the other girl's damages were equally superficial.  She 
did notice that her foe was moving slower, but she was surprised that 
the other girl was still able to move at all.  Putting the Tendo girl 
down was not proving to be as easy for her as she had first thought.

"Come on, princess," Akane coaxed, gesturing for her enemy to close with 
her.  She spit out some more blood, the pain of her injuries dulled 
through the mask of her hatred for the other girl.  However, now mixed 
in with that hatred was a grudging respect for a worthy opponent.  She 
circled around the aristocrat, eyeing her for any weaknesses in her 
defenses, while her body recovered its strength.  She felt a savage joy 
in her soul.  Fighting always made her feel truly alive, and she now 
anticipated the day more than ever before when she faced Ranma like this 
in single combat once again.

She took a couple of my best kicks and didn't fall, noted Kodachi with 
clinical detachment, taking a few moments to study her opponent as she 
searched for any weaknesses in the other girl's defenses.  This Akane 
Tendo's skill at fighting is impressive.  Far better than I anticipated 
from her.  She is tougher than she looks.

Akane quickly tired of waiting for the other girl to make a move, and 
she suddenly came in with a series of punches, elbow strikes, and kicks.  
Kodachi had no choice but to try and see if she could slip any blows 
past the youngest Tendo's defenses while doing her best to block and 
dodge the new assault.  However, for every punch that she threw, Akane 
returned one in exchange.  They moved across the courtyard in a dazzling 
display of martial arts skill.

Asuka Saginomiya watched the combat from a nearby tree with envy filling 
her soul as she witnessed her arch-enemy fighting with the Tendo girl, 
her unexpected new rival for the heart of Tatewaki Kuno.  Not that she 
ever actually considered such a primitive brute of a girl to be a true 
rival, only an annoyance in her life that she would soon deal with.  She 
had not realized before how skilled the Kuno girl truly was, and it 
rankled her that her arch-enemy had actually been holding back her true 
ability, as if she, the White Lily of Blackhall Academy, had not been 
worthy of its full measure.  She made a mental note to hire the finest 
teachers that she could find, so that she could improve her skills 
sufficiently to best her nemesis once and for all.

Next to her perched her right hand woman, Ayako Mitsui, easily balancing 
on the tree branch on the balls of her feet.  Asuka looked over to see 
that the other girl was not following her instructions but was instead 
watching someone else in the crowd.  She followed the line of the other 
girl's vision to see what her friend and sparring partner was looking 
at, and she was surprised to see an identical twin of Ayako standing 
amidst the crowd, next to the sister of the Tendo girl.

"Yohko," murmured Ayako, venom filling the single word as she softly and 
slowly spat it from her lips.  She noticed her liege looking at her and 
gave a quick bow of her head to her mistress in apology.  "I'm sorry, 
Milady.  It is an old family score that I must deal with at a later 
time.  Please forgive me for my inattention."

"It is nothing, Mitsui-san," said Asuka calmly.  "In fact, it gives me 
an excellent idea for a future task for you."

"As always, Milady, my honor is to serve you," said the other girl 
humbly.  "Name the task, and it shall be done."

"Soon, Mitsui-san, soon," breathed the White Lily softly.  "For now, I 
am content to watch the beating that Kodachi-chan is taking from that 
savage brute she's fighting.  You don't know how pleasant it is to see 
that bitch sister of Kuno's receiving such punishment.  I only wish it 
was myself doing it."  Her eyes glittered in the morning sunlight 
streaming down through the tree branches.

Down below, Kodachi's head rocked back from another one of Akane's 
uppercuts, and she responded with a quick footsweep that caught her 
adversary behind her ankle.  She pressed her attack and pounded three 
more hard, quick punches into the other girl's face and torso while her 
foe struggled to regain her balance.  Once she had, the Tendo girl drove 
a hard punch into Kodachi's ribcage that landed just enough off-center 
to prevent several bones from cracking.  The Kuno girl, now on the 
defensive, found herself unable to get past her enemy's guard without 
leaving herself more open than she cared to be, so it quickly became a 
battle of endurance.  Both girls traded hit after hit as they both 
refused to yield.

Kodachi is a wonderful opponent, thought Akane, pausing for a moment to 
catch her breath.  She's strong, fast, and skilled.  If Ranma's skill is 
greater than hers or Nabiki's, then I have to see what a fight to the 
finish with him is like.  She couldn't stop grinning at the thought of 
her inevitable confrontation with him.  This was what she lived for, the 
challenge of the fight.  However, tempering that was a desire to follow 
the example of her Arena idol, Shampoo, and yield herself to a strong 
male.  She had come to consider herself to be an Amazon at heart, and 
she was looking forward to finding out if her ideal man was indeed 
Ranma.

The duo traded punches and kicks once again, in another wild flurry of 
action that carried them back and forth across the paved area in front 
of the Academy.  Kodachi blocked a punch and counterstruck in the same 
smooth motion, her fist snapping Akane's head to the right.  But the 
other girl came back with a lightning-quick return strike of her own, 
her backfist hitting the young aristocrat across the face.  They broke 
apart for another moment.

I was wrong, thought Kodachi, wiping at a thin line of blood that leaked 
from her nose.  Akane is a lot tougher than she looks.  She started out 
this fight angry, but now she keeps grinning at me.  What does she keep 
grinning about?  Does she think she's won?  She paused and tried to 
think of a way to win.  All of her usual strategies had failed to put 
the other girl down, and she had taken much more abuse in this fight 
than she had in a long while.  She can't be able to take much more of 
this.

"The dancing is over, Kuno-hime," said Akane suddenly.  She could feel 
one of her eyes swelling up, and the taste of blood had not left her 
mouth in some time.  "Now you and I are going to get serious."  She 
started moving forward, ignoring these distractions.

Kodachi readied herself.  She felt bruises on top of bruises all up and 
down the length of her body, and she now seemed like she was fighting in 
mud, her movements were so sluggish.  Her injuries had tired her out, 
but it looked like the other girl was able to take even more punishment 
still.  The thought of losing to someone like her brutish adversary was 
anathema to her, so she wasn't about to willingly give up.  No retreat, 
no surrender, she thought grimly to herself.  I am a Kuno, a samurai, 
and I refuse to yield!  Her focus restored, she moved forward grimly to 
meet her enemy.

The eyes of their many watchers were riveted upon them as the two girls 
came together in a last sequence of strikes.  Powerful blows that would 
have been easily blocked or dodged earlier, slipped through defenses now 
ragged from exhaustion.  Akane took a solid shot up from beneath her jaw 
from Kodachi's fist.  A split second later, the Kuno girl felt her foe's 
punch impact against her shoulder right at the joint, turning her entire 
left arm numb.  The Tendo girl followed up by driving her knee low into 
her right side, but the young noblewoman managed to blunt the blow's 
damage by twisting away at the last moment.

Her left arm hanging limp, Kodachi managed to execute a side kick that 
gave her the satisfaction of hearing her foot crack against her foe's 
ribs, but she was unable to tell if she had broken any bones.  However, 
the effort to do so had cost her dearly, and her vision was graying out.  
She felt herself stumble back and fall against the high stone and cement 
wall behind her, struggling to remain standing even as her knees gave 
out on her.  She's so strong, thought Kodachi as her thoughts blurred.  
She's so strong.

"Uhn!" Akane cried, staggering back from the other girl's last-ditch 
assault, her ribs flaring with agony.  She fell to her knees on the cool 
pavement, wrapping her arms around her torso, her vision blurring from 
her exhaustion and pain.  She looked up and dimly saw her enemy slumped 
against the wall by the main gate, her head bowed.  I c-can't lose, she 
thought as she struggled to rise once again to her feet.  Mama didn't 
raise me to be a loser.  I-I'm a warrior, just like she was.

She managed to slowly stagger over to Kodachi and lifted the other 
girl's face up by the hair to punch it, but she had already fallen 
unconscious.  She felt a powerful thrill of victory surge through her at 
seeing her downed foe.  It even managed to overcome the pains of the 
multiple bruises and other injuries that were making it hard for her to 
concentrate now.  She sat down against the wall, sliding down next to 
Kodachi, suddenly feeling so very tired.  I won, Mama, she thought as 
her thoughts blurred to a gray fog.  Now, I'll just rest here and catch 
my breath.  Nabiki will cover for me again.  She always-  Akane's last 
thought faded to black as she fell over unconscious.

Nabiki suddenly left her assistants to pay off the bets on Akane and 
rushed to her sister's side.  She was right behind Gosunkugi and a few 
others from the younger Tendo's unofficial fan club on campus.  The 
spooky little Esper boy was patting Akane's wrist, trying to wake her.  
Nabiki shouldered him aside, earning a dark expression from him that 
lasted for only a moment before being replaced by one of the boy's usual 
obsequious looks he always gave her.

She looked Akane over, even peeling back each eyelid to see how dilated 
her sister's pupils were, all of her training in advanced first-aid 
techniques being put to good use.  Looks like little sister is simply 
out cold, she thought calmly, surveying the damages to the girl.  No 
broken bones as far as I can tell, except for maybe those ribs.

"Somebody see to Kuno-san," she snapped, as she and Yohko picked Akane 
up between them and carried her off to the Academy infirmary.

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

"Let's go," said Asuka suddenly, her voice neutral, startling Ayako from 
her observance of the activities over by the wall as cadets rushed 
towards the fallen pair.  "I've seen enough of this.  I now know all 
that I need know, to achieve my victory over my nemesis when I face her 
next.  She has obviously run from my growing skills at combat, but I 
will see to it that she kneels before me and acknowledges my supremacy 
before all of Blackhall, or I shall deal with her just as that vicious 
Tendo girl did.  Now it is time for me to train for my destined day of 
victory."  A sudden burst of chilling laughter came out of her, and a 
moment later she and her companion were gone over the wall.

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

Ranma arrived at the campus a few minutes later, while the cadets were 
still talking about the fight, but he did not pay them any heed.  His 
mind was already preoccupied with thoughts about the strange event that 
had occurred during his walk to the Academy campus.  He slowly wandered 
past several knots of cadets, unnoticed by all save for a single 
exception.

Gosunkugi gazed at the pigtailed scientist with a sullen look of hatred 
burning within his sunken eyes.  It was for your sake that my Akane-chan 
now lies injured, Saotome, thought the Esper boy with a deeper anger 
than he had ever felt before towards anyone, even against Kodachi.  He 
had very quickly probed his beautiful love goddess' mind while she lay 
unconscious, and her many scattered thoughts about why she had fought 
with the Kuno girl had shocked him deeply.  It was not enough for you 
that you charmed sweet Akane-chan by revealing your skills as a martial 
artist to her.  Now you draw another woman that you have ensnared into 
your webs to this campus, and that she-demon fought with my beautiful 
Akane-chan over you.  If I only had the power to destroy you, I would.

Unaware of the level of emotion directed at him, Ranma continued on into 
the main building.  It was only when he was outside his homeroom that he 
stopped to wonder why Akane hadn't assaulted him yet today.  He had been 
half-expecting her to be lying in wait for him at the main gate.  It was 
a relief to him that she was not.

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

"Explain yourselves to me."

Hayate and Kena looked at each other nervously, both of them now swathed 
in more bandages than the day before.  To one side, Hiei wore a look of 
displeasure that somehow made his face even more frightening-looking to 
the two bullies.  Naka stood with his bokken resting on his shoulder as 
he studied his two teammates, a bright smile on his lips that did not 
reach his eyes.

"It was-" the rest of Kena's speech faded off into a mumble as he looked 
down at the floor.  Hayate, his mouth wired shut from his broken jaw, 
somehow looked even more miserable than he had before.

Atop the raised area at the end of the room, the figure of their boss 
moved in the shadows that he favored.  He thought that it made him look 
cooler as a leader to do so, but his anger at this new disruption to his 
plans overcame that.  He strode forward into the light and grabbed Kena 
by the collar of his uniform.

"Tell me the name of whoever did this!" thundered the brown-eyed boy as 
he shook the injured youth by the collar.  "Was it Ranma Saotome once 
again?!"

"I-it was Nabiki Tendo."  Kena's eyes refused to meet those of his 
leader.  "She broke Hayate's jaw and broke my nose again.  I'm so sorry, 
Kashuoh-san!  Boss, let us have another chance!"  With a look of extreme 
distaste, Kinnosuke released his follower and let him slump to the 
floor.

"Nabiki Tendo," he muttered, straightening his blue cadet uniform.  "She 
takes a direct hand against me now, rather than let others continue to 
do her dirty work."  A solemn look on his face, he walked back to his 
chair.  Shortly before he reached it, he turned to the Wolf Pack and 
ordered, "Leave me to my thoughts.  I must make new plans."

"Yes, Boss," muttered each of them, Hayate's only coming out as a few 
unintelligible syllables.  They quickly filed out of the room, and 
Kinnosuke leaned forward, a brooding look on his face.

"Why do you put up with those four idiots, Kinnosuke-sama?" asked a 
female voice from behind him.  Three tall, female figures emerged from 
the shadows to stand near him as the lights came up in the room, all 
dressed in stylized versions of the Academy's security cadet uniform: 
the speaker, a short-haired redhead, wore a military cap as an accessory 
to her uniform; a blonde with the bangs of her straight hair swept over 
one eye; and a dark-haired girl with deep blue highlights in her long 
tresses.  The now fully lit room revealed his personal bodyguards, and 
the reason behind his iron control over the warriors that made up the 
Wolf Pack.

Each girl appeared to be in her late teens at the oldest, dressed in 
individually modified versions of a female security cadet uniform, with 
abbreviated blouses and jackets, leaving part of their trim midriffs 
bare.  They were each approximately one-point-seven meters tall, the 
blonde being the tallest by an extra couple of centimeters, and all of 
them were somewhat broad-shouldered for women, with athletic and quite 
well-proportioned figures.  The tailoring of their uniform jackets hid 
little of their assets in that particular regard.

Their most distinctive features however, were the two tapering, cat-like 
ears atop their heads and their slit-pupiled eyes, both features marking 
them as creations of Genom Corporation.  Other than these two non-human 
features, they were all beautiful women in form.  Each of them was an 
experimental prototype to Genom's three new lines of liliths, female 
humanoid replicants created for the purposes of being exotic sexual 
companions and bodyguards for the very wealthy, and these prototype 
units were named after their series designations.  They were meant to 
follow up on the great success of the original Puma series.

Like the Pumas before them, these new models had received strong mental 
conditionings and personality governors implanted into them, and at the 
core of their identities, all three of them had been given two main 
motivations.  They had been imprinted to love and to be loyal to their 
master without question, and they all did so with a passion.  They were 
eager to please him, willing to do any and all tasks that he bade them 
do, even if it meant dying on his behalf or killing in his name.

For these three prototypes, that master was Kinnosuke Kashuoh, the heir 
to the Kashuoh's vast financial holdings, among which was a controlling 
interest in Genom itself.  Due to the desires of their creators, each of 
them was presently a teenager physically, but they would age and mature 
as a normal human would.  The boy had received the three catgirls as a 
present from his grandfather, a mark of his ascension into manhood.

"We await your bidding, Kinnosuke-sama," said the redhead.  All three 
young women then knelt before him, their eyes lowered to look at the 
floor until they had been given his permission to rise.  Each of them 
had their ears cocked forward to listen to his command.  A cold smile on 
his lips, he took a long moment to study them.

The redhead with jade-green eyes was named Tiger, the semi-official 
leader of the trio of lethal lovelies.  She wore a pair of long trousers 
that flared out at the knees, Prussian style, before being tucked into 
calf-length boots, and her military-style hat was perched at a 
fashionable angle between the two cat-like ears atop her head.  She was 
also the eldest, after a fashion, the first one decanted and given in 
service to Kinnosuke at Genom's facilities.  Her model's hardwired 
reflexes and skills in combat were arguably the greatest of the trio, 
programmed into her nerves and brain during her creation.  In addition, 
she was also implanted with several optional skills beyond those of a 
strictly combative nature.

The middle one was named Panther.  She was the muscle of the trio, her 
model designed to be a little stronger physically than the other two, 
but she was also a little bit slower as well, both physically and 
mentally.  She was the most aggressive of the three catgirls, and she 
had enjoyed the task of beating up the members of the Wolf Pack for her 
master.  Her long blonde hair was worn straight, and a lock of her bangs 
seemed to perpetually cover one of her steel-colored eyes, usually the 
left one.  Like Tiger, she wore long trousers tucked into calf-length 
boots, but hers fit snugly against her long legs over their entire 
length.

The last one was Lynx.  She was the quietest of the trio, an athletic 
and trim dark-haired girl with cobalt-blue eyes.  Her model was the 
weakest physically by a small margin than the others, but her mind had a 
special ability to analyze an opponent or a combat situation with 
incredible speed.  And she was also a little bit faster physically than 
even Tiger.  Unlike how the first two were dressed, she wore a very 
short skirt that was slit up one side to her hip, exposing her long, 
shapely legs.  Instead of boots, she wore fashionable shoes on her feet.

Kinnosuke considered all three of them to be useful tools in his plans 
while he attended the Academy.  They had 'convinced' each of the members 
of the Wolf Pack to serve him as his agents among the masses by beating 
them brutally to gain their loyalty, but that action was now appearing 
to be a severe mistake.  Two of the Wolf Pack, hand-picked for their 
supposedly high-caliber skills at combat, had already fallen to totally 
unexpected opponents, first Ranma Saotome and now Nabiki Tendo.  

Nabiki Tendo, the boy thought with an angry look, before it turned 
wistful a moment later.  How I long to claim you for myself, to bend 
that iron will of yours to my desires.  I would have you as my own 
consort, placing you by my side as my woman.  If you would only yield to 
me as your master, as is my right as a man.  After all, I should be the 
one who runs things at this Academy, not a mere girl such as yourself.  
Women were made to serve men, and I will see your beautiful body bowing 
down before me, even as my three pretty playthings do now.  Someday 
soon, you will be mine to do with as I please, and nothing will stand in 
the way of that goal.  I intend to own you utterly, body and soul.

"Rise, my pets," he commanded.  The three catgirls stood up, all of them 
gazing at him with adoration in their eyes, their cat-like ears cocked 
forward to listen to his every word as they awaited his orders.  He 
turned his back upon them, pacing back to his chair before turning 
around to face them once more.  "I am very troubled by these new 
developments."

"Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger, an almost purring undertone to her voice, 
a seductive sound that appeared to have no effect on him.  She walked 
over and stood behind him, her hands rising to begin rubbing at his 
shoulders.  "Allow me to soothe you, Master."  Her strong hands began 
gently kneading at the tautness in his muscles.  The other two catgirls 
started to move forward, but a cold glance from his eyes froze them in 
their places, and their ears drooped in sadness.  He shrugged Tiger's 
grip from his shoulders with a brusque movement of his arms, and her 
ears flattened gloomily like the others, a clear barometer to her mood.  
"Kinnosuke-sama?"

"Not now, Tiger," reproved Kinnosuke coolly.  She backed up a single 
pace from him.  "I have to get to my first class now, but I will have 
tasks for you later though.  I want all of you to wait for me here, and 
I will return during lunchtime."  He walked towards the door.

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," intoned all three of them, bowing their heads as 
they watched him depart, their ears twitching slightly.  Once he was 
gone, they turned to face each other.

"He was thinking about her again," growled Tiger, a deep frown on her 
face, her ears flat with her anger.  "How I have grown to hate the name 
of Nabiki Tendo!"

"Why would he ever want such a frail human woman when he has us?" 
wondered Panther, anger in her voice.  "I could break the little bitch 
in two with my bare hands."

"That would most likely displease Kinnosuke-sama, if we killed her," 
said Lynx, her ears laid back as she thought about the matter.  "He 
wants her for himself as a consort."

"The very idea," snorted Panther.  "Only the three of us are suitable 
consorts for Kinnosuke-sama.  When I think of how her defiance has hurt 
him, I want to kill her!"  She flexed her hands into fists.

"Killing her is not an option at this time," said Tiger with a note of 
regret.  "However, she has revealed herself to be a fighter of some 
skill.  That opens up another option."

"You have an idea, Tiger?" quickly asked Panther, both of her ears 
swiveling forward to listen to her 'sister.'

"Perhaps," said Tiger.  "We defeated those four useless fools in the 
Wolf Pack easily enough, even when they fought together, and they were 
supposedly the strongest fighters at this Academy, next to Akane Tendo.  
Defeating a single human girl like Nabiki Tendo should therefore pose no 
great difficulty to any one of us, and then we can force her to kneel 
before Kinnosuke-sama and swear loyalty to him.  I'm sure that such a 
thing would please him greatly, though why he would want a soft, human 
girl like her when he already has three strong consorts like us, all 
eager to please him, is simply beyond me."  Tiger's tone of voice 
betrayed her deep contempt for all human women.

"But he has not bedded any of us in a while," said Lynx softly, her tone 
a little mournful.  "Does he not find us desirable anymore?"

"Shut up, Lynx!" shouted Tiger, her face blushing as red as her hair 
from her own unfulfilled desires for their master.  "It has not been 
that long.  He is simply distracted by his frustrations with the Tendo 
bitch.  She is at fault for this, do you hear me?  This is all Nabiki 
Tendo's fault!"

"What about Saotome?" asked Lynx, ignoring Tiger's outburst.  Her soft 
voice was thoughtful, and one ear was cocked forward to point in the 
redhead's direction.  "He might act to defend her.  He defended the 
younger Tendo girl, after all."

"If he interferes, then we destroy him," said Tiger in a matter of fact 
tone of voice.  "He caused pain to Kinnosuke-sama by daring to interfere 
with his plans for the younger Tendo bitch, and for that act alone I 
would cheerfully break him in two."  She made fists with both hands and 
pantomimed the action, a fierce light glinting in her slit-pupiled green 
eyes, her ears flattened to her head.

"It sounds like a good plan, Tiger," said Panther.  She smacked a fist 
into the open palm of her opposite hand.  "I look forward to this.  So 
when do we put it into action?"

"I'm not sure," replied Tiger, her ears cocked in puzzlement.  "I 
suggest that we watch and wait for a while.  It may be that we will be 
sent against the Tendo girl today, and then we can have some fun with 
her before we present her battered body to Kinnosuke-sama."

"I miss Kinnosuke-sama already," mourned Lynx softly.  Her ears drooped 
in sadness.

"Shut up, Lynx!" shouted the other two catgirls in stereo.

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

The limousine arrived at the grounds of Whitehall Academy, and Kuno 
waited briefly inside for the driver to open the door for him.  He 
tapped the hilt of his bokken with two fingers, and his thoughts were 
dark as he had found himself growing concerned during the short ride to 
Whitehall to have his sister be so far from him, her fragile innocence 
unguarded from the lustful depredations of the commoners and lower-born 
nobles that infested the place.  The thought of her consorting with the 
likes of Ranma Saotome set his teeth on edge.

This day will be long, he thought darkly, as he emerged from the 
interior of the vehicle.  He saw Mikado lazily lounging on the front 
steps.  Kuno gave a brief wave of greetings to his fellow among the 
Duelists of Whitehall, as the members of the Kendo Club were more 
commonly known.  He felt their nickname was appropriate, and he prided 
himself on being known as the pre-eminent duelist among all of his noble 
peers.

"Greetings, Kuno-kun," said Mikado, standing up and brushing off an 
invisible particle of dirt from his trousers.  "I see that your sister 
did not arrive with you."

"I now understand your frustrations, Sanzenin-kun, having to put up with 
the whims of a younger sister," grumbled Kuno.  "A sister can be a sore 
trial to a nobleman, especially when she has been turned against her own 
brother by the schemes and honeyed words of a wretched knave."

"So does this walking dead man have a name?" asked the other boy with an 
oddly neutral expression.  Kuno looked at him and chuckled.

"Aye, he does."  Kuno's hand firmly gripped the pommel of his weapon.  
"Ranma Saotome.  I intend to humble the vile wretch in single combat 
before all who are there to witness it.  As the undefeated warrior that 
I am, he shall prove to be little challenge to my prowess.  Then, when 
he is licking the dust at my feet, after I have broken him utterly, I 
intend to show my sister what a weak and worthless man she has chosen to 
love."

"If by some chance you fail," said the Sanzenin youth in as diplomatic 
of tones as he could manage.  "I shall challenge him as well."  A light 
shone in his eyes as he spoke.  No one is worthy of your sister, my 
friend, but me.  I shall gladly help you in dealing with this low-born 
upstart.

Kuno grunted and nodded, grateful to have such a selfless and stalwart 
friend as Mikado to act as his second.  "It shall be a glorious day 
today.  I shall smite the villain with my trusty weapon.  However, If I 
should somehow fail, then my second shall take my place on the field of 
battle, but only a God-given miracle can save this lowly wretch from my 
puissant prowess.  Mark my words, gentle friend, I shall defeat him, and 
he shall rue the day that he ever heard the name of Kuno."

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

Ranma sat at his desk and looked out the window as he waited for their 
new instructor to arrive.  He had just overheard the talk about the 
fight between Akane and Kodachi from some of the other cadets in his 
class, and the news had left him feeling morose.  This day is already 
starting to look bad for me, he thought, his eyes following a cloud 
moving across the sky.  I think I'm just going to go hide in my lab 
after homeroom period is over.

The door opened, all eyes but his turned to face the door, and there 
were some immediate soft whistles made by several of the male cadets.  
Ranma, puzzled by the sounds behind him, turned to face the door and saw 
the new instructor, a rather stunning-looking woman.  Instructors were 
not required to wear uniforms like cadets, and her outfit revealed more 
than it concealed her figure.  She was dressed in a low-cut black top 
that showed a moderate amount of cleavage beneath a white jacket, a gray 
skirt that rested several centimeters above her knees, and a pair of 
black pumps.  Topping all of this was a lustrous mane of reddish hair 
that fell between her shoulders like a wave of fire.  Her eyes swept the 
room in a cool gaze, and calm was quickly restored.

As a unit, the class rose and bowed to the new instructor before they 
retook their seats.  Ranma, finding the new instructor to be far easier 
on the eyes than the old man who had been it before her, hoped that 
Tokimo-sensei stayed away for a long time.  She shut the door behind her 
and strode the short distance to the desk, her heels making a soft 
clicking sound on the hardwood floor.  She set her attaché case on the 
desk and turned back to face the class, clearing her throat gently.

"I am Ayaka Kisaragi, your new instructor for homeroom," she said in a 
clear voice.  She sat down on the edge of the desk and crossed her long 
legs, and the sound of several male throats swallowing as one 
accompanied the action.  A few girls looked very unhappy with several of 
the boys in the room.  "I expect you to listen to what I have to teach 
you with respect, and we'll get along fine.  Cross me, and you'll regret 
it.  Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Sensei!" roared the class, Ranma's voice among them.

"Good," Ayaka said pertly, uncrossing and recrossing her legs the 
opposite way.  Heh, she thought with amusement, letting a smile find its 
way to her face.  This will be an easy assignment.  Her eyes swept the 
room as she nodded, pleased.  She pulled out the attendance roll book 
from her attaché case and began to read off names.

"Saotome," she said finally, after reading off many names and listening 
for the replies.

"Here, Sensei," Ranma called out.  She gave him a very enigmatic smile 
for a moment, before moving on to the next name.  He then went back to 
admiring the new instructor.  His concerns about the events of this 
morning faded to the back of his mind.

"Ranma Saotome," suddenly crackled the speaker over the classroom door.  
"Please report to Fuyutsuki-sensei's office immediately."  Ranma got up, 
Ayaka nodded her permission for him to leave, and he headed out of the 
classroom.

I wonder what he could want to see me about now?

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

Akane slowly returned to consciousness, and the first sensation that 
greeted her was pain.  Her body ached all over.  She sighed and tried to 
relax back against the soft mattress beneath her.  Even such a simple 
thing as breathing hurt, so she made herself take little panting 
breaths.  When she finally opened her eyes, the first sight that she saw 
was Nabiki looking at her from a nearby chair, a smile on her face.

"I see that you're back among the living, Little Sister," said Nabiki in 
a pleased voice.  "Looks like you bit off a little more than you could 
chew this time.  Does it hurt much?"  She examined the bandages wrapped 
around Akane's chest.

"I hurt all over," Akane moaned out.  "How badly am I injured, Nabiki?"

"Not too badly.  You have some bruised ribs, a few moderate contusions, 
and some minor muscle damage.  Luckily, none of your internal organs 
were injured, and you also managed to avoid a concussion by some small 
miracle.  The doctor said that you should be fine in a couple of days if 
you take it easy."  Nabiki paused as she looked over her beaten up 
sister.  "That means no fighting with Ranma-kun over that time, and no 
morning spars with me.  So, was it worth it?"

"Every fight is worth it," said Akane, nodding slightly.  "A fighter can 
only improve by challenging and defeating strong opponents."  It was 
something that their mother used to say, a phrase that she had taken to 
heart over the years since her death.  She looked her older sister 
squarely in the eyes.  "You don't know the thrill of combat like I do.  
You can't understand what it means to me to fight."

Oh, I think I do, mused Nabiki.  Or at least I'm beginning to.

"Tendo-san?" said the nurse, looking at the elder sister.  "Fuyutsuki-
sensei wishes to speak with you.  Akane needs to get her rest anyway."

"All right," said Nabiki.  She smiled down at Akane.  "You take care of 
yourself, Little Sister.  Get some sleep.  I'll be taking you home over 
lunch period."

On a cot similar to the one that Akane was resting on, Kodachi woke up 
to the sounds of the two Tendo sisters speaking, and she immediately 
wished that she hadn't.  Her face felt puffed up and hurt quite a bit, 
and her body had pains all up and down its length.  That's what I get 
for fighting with so much arrogance.  Fighting with Asuka was one thing, 
but Akane Tendo was another level of threat entirely.  She is a much 
stronger fighter.  She relaxed back into the bed she was lying in.  
That's what I get for underestimating you, Akane Tendo.  However, the 
next time I face you will be different.

She looked out the window, where a songbird had begun to sing in the 
tree outside.  "Oh, Saotome-kun," she sighed softly, her voice only a 
bare whisper.  "I will prove myself worthy of you.  I will train myself 
more diligently for the next time, and then Akane Tendo will learn that 
I am the superior woman for you.  Nobody is going to have you but me."  
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

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

Ranma was waiting in the area outside Fuyutsuki's office when Nabiki 
walked in the door.  When she saw him, a warm flutter went through her 
heart that surprised her with its intensity.  He gave her a neutral 
look, his own thoughts well-hidden from his face.  She walked over and 
sat down across from him in one of the other chairs, her usual cool 
poise quickly returning to her.  She crossed her legs and arranged her 
skirt demurely.  A quick glance of her eyes showed that he was looking 
away from studying her.

What is it with me and girls lately?  The brief sight of Nabiki's trimly 
muscular legs seemed to burn through his thoughts.  There was something 
different about the way that she was walking today, he had noticed, but 
he wasn't sure what it was.  It's probably nothing important, he finally 
decided.  To occupy his mind, and prevent him from staring at her body 
again, he picked up a magazine from the table and thumbed through it.

This is so strange, thought Nabiki.  Here I am sitting near him, and I 
can't think of a thing to say to him.  After all, it's not as if I can 
say, 'Oh, by the way Ranma-kun, I know all about what you're doing in 
your lab since I broke into it last night.  I tried your device and now 
I have all the skills of a martial artist version of myself in my head.'  
Yeah, right.  That would really endear me to him.  She shifted her 
position in the hard, wooden chair, the feelings of attraction that the 
pigtailed boy conjured in her was distracting her once again, but she 
was surprised that it was occurring at such a distance.  Almost two 
meters separated their knees.

I wonder what Nabiki's doing here?  For that matter, why am I here?  
Fuyutsuki-sensei has taken much more interest in me over the last few 
days than he has in all of the weeks that have gone by before.  Ranma 
shifted his position, trying to get comfortable in the chair and 
failing.  The subtle tingling that he had experienced around each of the 
two Tendo sisters, and now also Kodachi, was back once again.  The smell 
of her soft perfume drifted across his nose, but he forced himself to 
ignore it.

The door to Fuyutsuki's office opened at that moment, disrupting the 
uncomfortable scene.  He smiled at them from the open doorway and spoke, 
"Please come in.  I have some important things to discuss with the two 
of you."

The two cadets filed in.  Ranma let Nabiki walk in first, and he caught 
another whiff of her faint perfume that she always seemed to be wearing.  
It was both invigorating and slightly intoxicating to him whenever he 
smelled it.  However, he was getting used to it, so the effect was 
lessened a little from what it had done to him during previous times.

They took the two seats in front of Fuyutsuki's desk, both of them far 
more comfortable than the hardwood chairs that were outside in the 
waiting area.  Nabiki crossed her legs as she sat down, and Ranma stole 
another glance at them as she arranged her skirt.  He pulled his eyes 
away from the sight quickly and returned his attention to Fuyutsuki.  
The pair just missed noticing the looks that they had given each other 
when the other wasn't looking, but Fuyutsuki did not.

The possibilities that their actions raised did much to justify his 
recent decision regarding them.  It's a shame that I will be losing the 
younger Tendo girl soon, he thought, glancing at the request for 
transfer that he had received via fax an hour ago.  But it looks like 
these two might be all I need.  And there is also the Kuno girl to be 
considered.  Judging from my view of the fight that she had with Akane 
earlier, Kodachi's abilities are considerable as well.  She will make an 
excellent replacement for the Tendo girl.

Akane was being transferred to Furinkan Military Academy as of tomorrow, 
a place that was filled with several decades of tradition, of producing 
the very finest soldiers of the Empire.  An abnormally high percentage 
of its graduates went on to fill the few available slots each year in 
the various special forces training programs.  Akane's mother, Kimiko 
Tendo, formerly Kimiko Nakakami, was herself a former graduate of its 
hallowed halls.  Fuyutsuki understood that she was something of a local 
legend there, with several still-unbroken performance records.  For his 
part, he thought that Akane would fit in well there.

"I suppose that you're both wondering why I've called you to my office," 
he said pleasantly.  He sat down in his large chair and folded his hands 
together on his desk, a fatherly smile appearing on his face.  "I've 
been requested to institute some immediate changes in your training 
schedules.  Specifically, in your physical training."

Nabiki blinked in mild surprise, the coincidence a little jarring to 
her.  I was going to volunteer to join Ranma-kun's training class, she 
thought, sneaking another glance at the pigtailed boy seated next to 
her.  That can be the only reason why he and I would both be here.

"What sort of a change, sir?" asked Ranma.  He noticed Nabiki glancing 
at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Takami-sensei and I have consulted about you two," said Fuyutsuki 
calmly.  "And we have decided that it would be in both of your best 
interests for Tendo-san to join you in your extra training class.  We 
feel it would give both of you a chance to excel to the full limits of 
your capabilities."

Ranma looked briefly at Nabiki, and said, "But she's a girl.  She won't 
be able to keep up with me."  He blinked.  Why the hell did I just say 
that?

"What was that, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki, a glint suddenly appearing in 
her eyes.  "My, we are full of ourselves, aren't we?"  She stood up and 
planted her hands on her hips, her cool gaze not quite glaring down at 
him.  "Did I just hear you challenge me to be able to keep up with you?"  
From deep inside herself, she felt an almost undeniable urge to compete 
against him suddenly come boiling up to the surface.  "I can keep up 
with any training that you can, Ranma-kun."

"I doubt that," he snorted, his male ego now running dangerously out of 
control.  His newfound sense of macho pride absorbed from the other 
Ranma had just taken full possession of his mouth.  "Guys are just 
naturally better at doing physical stuff."  He saw her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"  Nabiki's irritation was growing.  "I happen to know that 
I can beat you at anything, but how about martial arts?"  Now it was his 
turn to get a funny look on his face.  He sprang to his feet.

"If you think that you can take me on, then you're welcome to try," said 
Ranma, a little irritated at Nabiki's smug certainty that she could beat 
him.  "I don't ever back down from a challenge."  Both of them were now 
wearing similar looks, confidence bordering on arrogance.

"Neither do I," she said firmly, moving to stand nose to nose with him, 
her eyes almost level with his.  "Care to put it to the test?"

"Anytime you say, Nabiki.  You can't be as tough as your tomboy of a 
sister, after all."

For his part, Fuyutsuki was simply observing, finding the whole exchange 
to be simply fascinating.  He watched them face off, their postures 
matched in aggressiveness.  Such strongly competitive spirits in each of 
them, he mused with a pleased feeling.  This will surely bring out their 
best efforts.  But, it did seem a bit out of character for them both, 
based on the results of their last psychological profiles.  Interesting.  
He chose that moment to interrupt the two with a loud whistle.

Both teenagers blinked at each other, looked at Fuyutsuki with rather 
abashed looks, and then quickly sat down in their chairs.

"Now that I have your attention," he said with a smile.  "I can see that 
you two have a difference of opinion to work out, so I propose a test.  
Beginning today, Nabiki will join you in your physical training class, 
Ranma."  The pigtailed boy started to grumble, and the older man held up 
a hand.  "I'm not finished with spelling out the nature of the test.  
For starters, you two are going to have a sparring match every day for 
the next two weeks, to see who the better fighter is, since you both 
seem to be so convinced that the other one isn't.  If she manages to 
defeat you in at least five of the twelve matches, then you will cease 
your protests and work with her in your class as a full partner."

"That won't be a problem for me, sir," said Ranma confidently, sparing a 
glance at the girl seated next to him.  "How about you, Nabiki?"

"Not a problem for me either, Ranma-kun."  She smirked.  "I'll have 
those five wins before the first week is out."

"In addition," continued Fuyutsuki with a calm voice, before the two 
cadets could come to blows right there in his office.  "She will be 
following your same exercise regimen, Saotome-san.  Seeing that she is a 
year ahead of you in her training, I'm anticipating that to be the least 
problematic part of the test for her."

"A little competition will be good for you, Ranma-kun," purred Nabiki 
with a wry smile, finding that she enjoyed teasing him like this.  I 
wonder how much of this immense ego is from him, and how much is from 
his counterpart?  For her part, she was not normally quite this openly 
competitive, and she knew it, but there was just something in his overly 
macho attitudes towards her that had triggered an almost primal desire 
to test herself against him, similar to the one that she had felt this 
morning that had inspired her to spar against Akane.  She suspected that 
it was some of that other Nabiki's personality showing up in herself.

"If you can keep up with me, Nabiki, then you're welcome to try," said 
Ranma, finding a strange pleasure in the thought of a challenge to his 
newfound abilities.  "I won't go easy on you."

"Neither will I against you, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with another brief 
smirk.  "I hope that you're as fast with your fists as you are with your 
mouth."  The two of them now wore matching smiles, each subconsciously 
recognizing something in the other that their counterparts had possibly 
never encountered before.

"My secretary has your new schedules at her desk, you two," said 
Fuyutsuki, briefly interrupting the staring contest.  "Pick them up on 
the way back to your classes."

"Yes, sir," they said, almost in stereo.  Ranma got up and walked to the 
door, followed closely by Nabiki.  Fuyutsuki smiled at the door after it 
had closed behind them.

"Interesting," he said to the empty room, a smile on his face.  "It will 
be quite fascinating to see where this leads."  He pulled out a journal 
and began to write.

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

Nodoka heard the telephone ringing while she was folding up the morning 
laundry.  She quickly muted the sound coming from the television with 
the remote and picked it up.  Genma had just left to teach his morning 
classes, so she had the house to herself for the next several hours.

"Hello.  Saotome residence," she said into the receiver.

"Good morning," said a pleasant female voice on the other end.  "I'm 
looking for Nodoka Saotome.  Do I have the honor of speaking to her 
now?"

"Yes."  She nodded slightly as she spoke.  "This is Nodoka Saotome.  Who 
am I speaking with?"

"My name is Otsu Mitsuma," said the voice on the other end of the phone.  
"Your name was given to me on a referral.  You have a son by the name of 
Ranma Saotome?"

"Yes, I do," replied Nodoka, puzzled at where this was going.  "What is 
this all about?"

"This is your lucky day, Saotome-san.  Your son's name has been selected 
to receive a complimentary matchmaking from the service that I work for, 
all free of charge to you."

"What service is that?"  Nodoka wondered at her good fortune.  It 
sounded too good to be true to her.

"Why, I'm calling from Chrysanthemum, the Empire's finest service for 
matching the youth of the Empire," said Otsu brightly.  "We offer a 
complete line of marriage services, but we are the best-known name in 
the matchmaking game.  And I have been authorized to provide you with 
the names and portfolios of three young women, each a possible wife for 
your son, Ranma.  If you're available, I can meet you anytime today and 
present them to you.  I think you'll find the daughter-in-law that 
you've been looking for among them."

Nodoka found herself breaking out into a smile.  This phone call was the 
answer to her prayers.  Genma had been concerned at the sizable cost of 
arranging for a matchmaker, claiming that Ranma was still too young for 
such an expense, but now she had been given an opportunity to bypass 
that objection.  This was wonderful news.

"I could meet you for lunch, I suppose," she said, not wishing to sound 
too eager if this was some sort of scam after all.

"Excellent notion, Saotome-san.  How does Hanna Miller's sound to you?  
It's an excellent restaurant."

"That sounds fine to me."  Nodoka had always been curious to eat there.  
"Shall we say noon?"

"Noon it is then.  Until then."

Nodoka hung up the phone with a broad smile on her face.  I'm going to 
find Ranma a bride today!

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

Ranma unlocked the door to his lab, having just come from his meeting 
with Fuyutsuki.  He flipped on the lights with a casual move, moving 
into the room and shutting the door before all of them could even 
flicker on fully.  Why the hell did I mouth off like that in front of 
Nabiki? he wondered, flopping down on the couch and putting an arm over 
his eyes.  I must have sounded like a complete jerk.  If I had said such 
a thing to my female quantum counterpart, Ranko, they'd be prying my 
body out of a wall.

He replayed the incident from his memories, but all he could seem to 
focus on was the glimpse of Nabiki's legs, exposed as they were to her 
knees for that brief instant that he had been looking at them.  He shook 
his head and sat up, disturbed at his thoughts.  And yet, where does she 
get off acting so tough?  She must know that I beat her little sister in 
a fight, so why does she think that she could win against me?  Maybe a 
few days ago she could, since she's been training here at the Academy a 
year longer than me, but now I've got the skills of the heir to the 
Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts inside me.  That Ranma always wins 
in the end, and I think I'm gaining on his physical abilities in my own 
training, so pretty soon I'm going to be the best fighter in the region.  
There's no way that Nabiki is going to be able to match that.

He decided that a little work would distract him from his new problems, 
so he powered up his equipment.  While it was warming up, he pulled out 
his notebook and began to make a few little notes in the margins around 
his new entries taken from Ranko's work.  A brief time later, he was 
writing in his notebook when he noticed something strange in the startup 
messages, on the periphery of his vision.

*SYSTEM HAS 6 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

What the-?  Ranma was surprised to see that.  There were only supposed 
to be five.  He tapped at some keys, breaking out of the program running 
to pull up the general system log.  He scrolled through it casually 
before he noticed something odd, and he stared in brief amazement at the 
screen.  Someone ran a full immersion test at 4:17 p.m. yesterday?  He 
tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up the file in question and looking 
at its individual log.  But that was when I was in the middle of my 
training class.

He restarted the program and loaded the file.  He tapped a few keys and 
was surprised once again to see where this new one was placed among the 
timelines.  "That same region of paraverses again," he mused aloud, 
tapping his index finger against his chin as he rested it on his palm.  
I'm beginning to think that there's something odd about that area of 
timelines, since it keeps drawing my equipment's scanning pulses to it 
more than statistics would indicate.  But this world wasn't found using 
a scan of me, so whose mind was used as the template?  Since it wasn't 
me, it may not even have a counterpart for myself.  He shrugged his 
shoulders.  There's only one way to find out for sure.

His fingers tapped away at the keyboard quickly, setting up all of the 
usual parameters for a test run, but only for ten minutes.  He tapped on 
a few final keys before he pulled the headset off of the workbench and 
laid back on the couch.  He fumbled the headset onto his skull and 
closed his eyes.

"Initiating upload cycle."

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

*** Earth  +4.614,+4.496

The brief period of nonexistence that accompanied a transit into the 
mind of one of his quantum counterparts passed quickly.  Ranma had his 
suspicions that he was simply getting used to it, but it still left him 
feeling unsettled each time.  He blinked his eyes, finding himself to be 
seated at a desk in a classroom that was similar to the one in the other 
timeline.  It gave him a very odd feeling of deja vu, even though the 
classroom that he remembered was now effectively farther from him than 
the farthest star.

He looked down and saw that he was wearing a school uniform for Furinkan 
High School.  The classroom was oddly quiet, only the faint scratching 
of pencils on paper.  He looked down at the paper on his desk.  An 
English test?  Half of the page was filled out, but a few of those 
answers were wrong.  Not knowing what else to do while he waited for the 
memories of this life to appear, he started to fill out the rest of the 
page.

While he was diagramming a sentence for one of the questions, the 
expected kaleidoscope of new memories suddenly whirled through his mind.  
In this life, he had been raised by his mother and Soun Tendo while his 
father had taken Nabiki(?) out on the ten year long training mission, 
and now she was the heir to the Anything-Goes School.  Weeks ago they 
had returned, and a world of strangeness had come with them.

She was cursed to turn into a young man by the strange powers of 
Jusenkyo's pools, and his father was once again cursed to turn into a 
panda.  Why does Pop keep turning into a panda? he wondered for a 
moment.  Is there some strange meaning behind the curses?  At least I 
don't turn into a girl in this life.  But Nabiki turns into a guy?

More of the memories whirled past his mind's eye, too fast for him to 
really lock onto anything but the most basic experiences.  His other 
self had labored under a crush on Kodachi here for many years, but she 
had never returned his interest.  Kuno was a friend of his in this life, 
pursuing Nabiki as a love interest in her female form, but as an enemy 
in her male form.  It was like watching the life of his other analog 
reflected in a funhouse mirror, people were similar but also different.

Ukyo Kuonji had shown up, and so had Ryoga Hibiki.  Ryoga had nursed a 
crush for Nabiki, and he had ended up as this Ranma's rival, even though 
he was now interested in Akane.  Akane had been his fiancée, but that 
had been a doomed effort for years.  After Nabiki's return, events had 
followed a path that led him to becoming her fiancé, to carry on the 
Anything-Goes School together, since Soun Tendo had trained his analog 
in that half of the School here.  Events had spiraled off into a 
radically different path from there.

One thing stood out in this life that made Ranma feel strangely sad; he 
was not the center of attention.  In that other analog's life, where he 
was the heir to the School, he was the hero who dealt with all of the 
problems that arose.  Here, he was only a supporting character, and that 
bothered him a little.

Other images roared through his mind with the speed of thought:

Happosai, the founder of the Anything-Goes School and possibly the most 
perverted man to have ever lived.

Perfume and Shampoo, Amazons that had pursued Nabiki from China.  
Shampoo was pregnant with Nabiki-kun's child.  Ranma's mind boggled at 
that one.

The Principal of Furinkan, the Kunos' father, with a fetish for all 
things Hawaiian.

Ukyo and Perfume became a couple.  Ranma blinked, but the memory was 
gone quickly.

The Road Ronin came to Furinkan-

His vision suddenly grayed out, and scattered all his thoughts across 
the gulfs of superspace that he had crossed.  There was something in 
that last partial memory, something important to know, but it was gone 
in the nonexistence of retrieval.

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

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete," intoned the computer voice.

Ranma laid on the couch and let his mind try and sort through the 
memories.  He had hoped for a clue to whoever had used his device, but 
none had appeared from his counterpart's memories.  That other version 
of him had lived a fairly normal life, until Nabiki had returned.  She 
was the heir, not him, and the world was changed drastically in the wake 
of that different choice.

Sitting up, he laid the headset on the workbench, his thoughts full of a 
strange wonder.  So many possibilities in the way things could have 
turned out, he thought with an odd smile on his face.  He closed his 
hand into a fist, feeling the muscles in his forearms tighten up.  I 
just wish I could shake this feeling that the other shoe is about to 
drop, somewhere.

There was a thought nagging at the back of his mind, penetrating his 
musings.  It was something that he had noticed in the log file for the 
test run.  Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down on the chair in front of 
the terminal and started typing.  He brought up the log file for his 
just-completed test run.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  He saw 
that the system was running at a little above normal baseline in a few 
areas, but everything appeared to be fine.

Then he pulled up the log file for the test run that was done during the 
time he was in his training class.  He ran the numbers, watching the 
graphs of the various system calculations as it made the many minute 
adjustments that were needed during a run to keep the quantum pulse 
signal optimized.  It was there that he finally saw it, and his eyes 
widened.

"What the hell?" he muttered in a low tone.  He closed down that log 
file and ran the one from his first test.  The same thing was there, to 
an identical degree of variance from baseline.  He quickly ran through 
the log files to each of his other tests, but there was only one other 
occurrence of significance.

What he was seeing was a power surge in the quantum flux coil itself.  
During the retrieval cycle of his first test run, the power levels had 
fluctuated upwards seven percent over baseline during the retrieval 
sequence.  On the test run that had occurred yesterday afternoon, the 
exact same thing had occurred.  There was only one other instance of a  
surge taking place during the retrieval cycle over other test runs, 
during Ranma's visit to Ranko's Earth.  But there was also one on the 
upload cycle as well.

These mysterious surges might explain how I ended up with my martial 
artist counterpart's skills in my brain, he thought, although he had not 
noticed anything of Ranko in himself, cupping his chin in his hand as he 
stared at the graphs on the screen.  But who was the subject of the test 
yesterday?

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

Nabiki sat in her class on Imperial History and was rather bored.  She 
had read the material being discussed over two weeks ago, and it had 
bored her then too.  She occupied her time by thinking about how dull 
her life had been before yesterday, but it had taken a shock to her 
system like looking at her life through new eyes to see how gray she had 
let herself become inside.  She no longer wanted the life that had been 
her only option before yesterday, not really.

You and I need to talk, Ranma-kun, she mused, as her ancient fossil of 
an instructor droned through the lesson.  After I show you that I'm as 
good as you are.  No, better.

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

Slowly scratching towards consciousness, Akane awoke to find herself in 
the infirmary awaiting Nabiki's escort home.  She had been having the 
most wonderful dream about Ranma and his fighting skills, one in which 
she was the founding matriarch of a new and better tribe of Amazons.  
All its members were women of superb Japanese stock and full of life, 
similar to the Chinese Amazons who all aspired to marry men of the 
Empire and become full citizens.  She might even let a few of the 
Chinese elders teach her tribe, at least until they had no more to teach 
her.  She hugged herself gently, feeling a faint quiver of pleasure at 
the fading memories of that dream, one in which Ranma had finally 
conquered her as she had long hoped to have a man do, but the pain of 
her bruised ribs quickly stopped that action.

A few hours of sleep had restored much of her energy, even if it had not 
healed her injuries.  She felt the aches of her bruises and frowned, 
slightly surprised that they were as deep as they were.  Normally her 
bruises were almost half gone after a few hours.  Kodachi is a great 
fighter.  But not as great as I am! she thought with annoyance.  Her 
injuries represented the reasons why she would have to leave off from 
her pursuit of Ranma for a while.  Her frown soon turned into a smile 
though, as she remembered the glorious fight earlier in the morning, and 
her eventual triumph over her foe.  But at least I showed that annoying 
bitch who the better woman was, she thought happily, as she made a fist 
with her hand and remembered how good it had felt every time one of her 
blows had struck home into Kodachi's body.

She put her hands behind her head, linked her fingers together, and 
gazed upwards at the plain white ceiling.  There were several mild pains 
coming from various points on her upper body at the action, another 
reminder of the battle with the aristocrat girl.  She had long ago 
trained herself to acknowledge an injury, catalogue its severity, modify 
her tactics if necessary, and then ignore it while she fought.  Slower 
than many of her better opponents, she had learned how to take a hit and 
keep fighting as the mainstay of her tactics.  It was a good thing that 
she had too, since she was sure that Kodachi's final strikes would have 
kayoed her otherwise.  Akane tongued the inside of her jaw, feeling the 
slightly loosened molar.

Such strength Kodachi has, she mused, almost disappointed that she had 
won.  Still, she should have expected to lose when she challenged me.  
After all, I am a true warrior, tested in battle, like my mother before 
me, and my own strength has proven itself many times.  If that pampered 
debutante knows what's good for her, then she'll run back to that school 
full of weakling nobles where she belongs.  I've now shown her that 
Ranma rightfully belongs to me.  He deserves a strong woman at his side, 
someone who can keep up with his martial arts skills.

A curtain surrounded her bed and separated her from the next cot in the 
infirmary area, but Akane could sense that another occupant was in the 
room.  She reasoned that it was most likely Kodachi.  She wasn't sure 
how she knew of the other girl's presence, but she did.  She debated 
saying something for several moments.

On the other side of the curtain, Kodachi rested uncomfortably.  Her 
body ached a bit from the severe abuse that she had undergone a few 
hours earlier, but bedrest had helped restore her a great deal.  She 
slowly rolled over onto her side, trying to get more comfortable as she 
thought about her morning fight with the Tendo girl, and her loss.  I'm 
sorry that I failed you this time, Saotome-kun, she thought, wincing as 
she tried to find a position that would ease the pressure on her 
bruises.  I let myself be overconfident during the fight, and that was a 
very costly mistake.  It is one I don't intend to make again.

She closed one hand into a compact fist, the muscles of her forearm 
standing out due to the tightness that she held it.  She raised her fist 
up and held it over her chest as she made a silent and solemn vow to 
herself.  Akane Tendo shall fall by my hand, Saotome-kun, I swear it, 
and then you and I will be free of her annoying interference.  You 
deserve a loving woman like myself in your life, someone to make a home 
for you.  Leave it to me, and I will take care of that vicious brute.

A pleasant fantasy of the embrace that the pigtailed boy would give her 
after her eventual triumph over Akane brought a smile to Kodachi's face 
as she laid her now open hand across her chest.  She could see it now in 
her thoughts.

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

The battle had obviously been brutal and savage up to this point, a 
long, hard struggle from which only one could win in the end.  Two 
mighty female warriors were locked in mortal combat, fists and feet 
trading punishing blows as the fight between them wound down, blood 
dripping from several wounds as it mixed with their hot sweat.  One 
warrior, Akane, had a cast to her face and body that was vaguely 
demonic.  And the other warrior maiden, Kodachi, carried an air of noble 
virtue in her form.  With one powerful blow, the fight between them 
finally came to an end.  One warrior fell, her body unable to continue 
the fight, a look of fear filling her eyes as she gazed upwards at the 
victor.

"I'm sorry, Kuno-sama!" Akane cried out in terror as she fell to her 
knees before the other girl.  Tears poured from her eyes as she began to 
beg for mercy and forgiveness, her heart filled with sorrow for even 
attempting to rise above her station and claim the handsome figure who 
stood behind her adversary, knowing that he was above such a lowly 
wretch as herself.  Even her brute strength and animal-like cunning had 
shown itself to be no match for a true warrior such as Kodachi Kuno.

Ranma stepped forward, his body clothed in fine silk robes, the very 
image of a noble lord of the Empire.  His gaze was cold as he looked 
down upon the pathetic figure humbling herself before his one, true 
love.  He scornfully turned his back on Akane's weakness, as she 
continued to cry out and beg for mercy and forgiveness.  He gently took 
Kodachi's hand in his own and helped his lady-love to walk from the 
place of battle.

The couple walked off a short distance, and as the sun began to rise, 
they paused and stared into each other's eyes, a true love for the other 
burning within each.  He swept her up in his arms, grateful to her for 
her efforts at saving him from one who was so unworthy.  He brought her 
eager lips in for a warm and passionate kiss.  She felt a maidenly blush 
upon her cheeks at the depths of his desire for her.

Oh, yes, Saotome-kun, she thought with certainty.  For you, I shall 
defeat any foe that stands between us and our destiny together.  No 
other woman shall have you, for your fate lies with me.

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

Kodachi's fantasy faded, and she found herself staring at the curtain 
around her bed.  There was an itch at the back of her brain telling her 
that an enemy was about, and she was sure that that could only mean one 
thing, that Akane was nearby.  This realization pulled her thoughts away 
from her fantasy, and her eyes glared at the curtain.

"Are you awake, Kodachi?" Akane called out, her voice neutral in tone.  
"I can hear you moving around."

"What do you want, Tendo?" grumbled Kodachi.  She rolled onto her back 
once more.  It was about the most comfortable of the many positions that 
she had tried to lie in.

"So, are you going to give up on trying to take Ranma away from me now?"  
Akane purposely put a taunt into her words, a smirk on her face as she 
stared at the plain ceiling.  "After all, I've shown you that I'm the 
better woman."

Suddenly, the curtain by the Tendo girl's bed was ripped aside and a 
furious Kodachi stood there, almost blazing with anger.  The dramatic 
effect was quickly ruined though, when her brief surge of adrenaline 
faded away, leaving her to slump a little against the curtain frame, her 
body trembling slightly.  The aristocrat girl's eyes glared into her 
enemy's, and her facial expression spoke volumes.

"You think you've beaten me?" demanded Kodachi, anger resonating in her 
every tone.  Her breathing deepened a little.  "That was only round one, 
Akane Tendo.  Our battle with each other over Ranma has only just 
begun."  She dropped back to sit on her cot, but her eyes remained 
locked onto the other girl's face.  "Besides which, you did not defeat 
me.  It was a draw, neither one of us left the field under our own power 
is my guess.  Otherwise why are you here, and why were you unconscious 
just a few minutes ago?"

Akane felt an odd sort of joy fill her, mixed with anger at Kodachi's 
continued willingness to defy her.  She smiled in a disturbing fashion 
as she realized that she had found a new sparring partner, one who would 
test her fighting skills to the limit over a prize that she knew was 
worth fighting for all the way to the core of her being.  A moment 
later, her face fell into a deep frown as she sat up on her cot, all of 
her movements stiff from the pains of her injuries.  She glared at the 
other girl and said, "Oh, yeah?  Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough 
to drive you away.  There's more of what I gave you this morning just 
waiting for you!"

"You are not woman enough to win the war declared between us, Akane 
Tendo," said Kodachi coldly.  "You were simply lucky today, since I 
underestimated your resilience as an opponent.  However, the next time 
will be different, and it will be I who shall be standing over your 
beaten body at the end.  Savor your assumed victory over me today, as it 
was your last."  Her fists gripped the sheets on the cot as she felt the 
deep anger rising in her once again, and the need to protect Ranma from 
the other girl who was matching her glare for glare.

"Better bring friends next time, Kodachi, lots of them," growled Akane 
angrily, as she quickly swung both of her legs over the edge of the cot.  
She bunched her right hand into a fist, the muscles in her forearms 
equal to the ones in Kodachi's own.  "It's you who isn't woman enough to 
beat me.  I'm going to have Ranma for myself, and you won't stop me.  
He's mine!"

The two leaped to their feet.  Both of them looked a little unsteady on 
their legs as they glared into each other's eyes with anger.  Akane 
reached out and took a tight grip on a handful of the material of the 
other girl's white blouse with her left hand.  Kodachi, from her facial 
expression visibly affronted at such an action, mirrored the move and 
grabbed a fistful of Akane's blouse as well with her own left hand.  
They pulled each other nose to nose, their faces separated by only a few 
inches, each with naked hatred for the other blazing in their eyes.  
They both tried to stare the other down and failed.

"You'll get Saotome-kun over my dead body, Akane Tendo," thundered the 
young noblewoman in icy cold tones, her body resonating with her 
outrage.  She could feel the adrenaline beginning to rush through her 
battered and weakened body, and her breathing deepened a little more.  
"The last thing that he needs is a little savage such as yourself.  A 
barbarian like you could never give him any of the love and tenderness 
that a man such as him needs.  You probably don't even know the first 
thing about how to be tender with a man, I would bet."  That her 
statement could be taken a few ways did not appear to concern Kodachi at 
the moment.  She was damned if she was going to let the girl staring her 
squarely in the eyes have Ranma.

"Oh, yeah?" growled the Tendo girl.  "As if a strong man like my Ranma 
could ever find any use for a soft, pampered, inbred debutante like 
yourself."  Her voice dripped with heavy sarcasm as she smirked at 
Kodachi.  "I already showed you once that a spoiled, little rich girl 
such as yourself isn't capable of taking my Ranma away from me.  So go 
back to dating your cousin/brother/father, whichever you prefer to call 
him!  Ranma's mine!"  She folded her free hand into a fist, moments away 
from driving it through Kodachi's face, and the other girl was doing the 
same, when a voice interrupted them.

"I just can't leave you two alone for long, can I, ladies?" asked a 
rather sardonic voice from the doorway.  Nabiki watched the pair turn to 
look at her in surprise, and she made a tisking sound in her mouth at 
the sight of the two girls prepared to beat each other to a pulp again.  
"I mean, really, couldn't the two of you wait until you both healed up a 
bit before starting another fight with each other?"

"Your sister started this, Nabiki Tendo," growled out Kodachi, her eyes 
returning to glare at her adversary once again, the fist that was 
already gripping Akane's blouse tightening a little more.  She felt the 
other girl doing the same action in response, and they returned to 
glaring at each other.  "She has a very nasty tendency to lay claim to 
things that do not truly belong to her."

"Who says that Ranma doesn't belong to me?" Akane growled back.  Her 
right fist was cocked back into striking position, and so was her foe's.  
"I'll fight anyone who tries to take him from me."  She briefly smirked 
at the other girl.  "And I'll win, too."

Nabiki's sudden whistle surprised both girls enough to break it up 
before they could start throwing punches at each other again.  She 
stepped into the infirmary and was grateful that the nurse was out of 
the room.  With a brief smirk, the elder Tendo picked up Akane's jacket 
from the chair that it was laying on, and then she looked at both girls 
meaningfully with one eyebrow raised.  They reluctantly released their 
grips on each other's clothes and stepped apart.  She tossed her sister 
her jacket.

"Get dressed, Akane," she said.  "I'm here to take you home.  You need 
to rest up if you want to be able to fight again soon, right?"  She 
stood with her foot gently tapping the ground as she watched her sister 
put on her jacket.  Kodachi sat back down on her bed and just glared at 
the younger Tendo.

Those two really do have a pretty serious hatred going for each other, 
thought Nabiki with another brief smirk.  It's a pretty good thing that 
I decided to talk to Daddy tonight about getting Akane away from here 
soon, or I'm afraid they might kill each other.  And little sister 
really will be much happier at Furinkan, since I've heard that the whole 
student body there loves to fight as much as she does.  I'm sure that it 
won't take her long to find a guy there to take Ranma-kun's place in her 
heart, since all she really needs is a strong martial artist to fight 
with.  Then all I have to worry about is getting rid of Kodachi.  While 
she was considering things, Akane finished fixing up her clothes, except 
for her uniform tie, which she left off.

"See you around, Kodachi," said Akane with a smug look as she patted the 
other girl's face.  "I won't be so gentle with you the next time."  She 
picked up her bookbag and sauntered out of the room.  Nabiki sighed and 
followed along behind her.  The two of them walked down the hallway, 
leaving the young noblewoman to glare at the half-closed door.

I'll show you the true meaning of pain, the next time that we duel, 
Akane Tendo, thought Kodachi with a mental snarl.  She quickly began 
straightening up her blouse and getting dressed.  Her jacket was lying 
folded over one of the chairs, and she picked it up.

Out in the hallway, Ranma peeked around the corner once more and was 
finally rewarded with the sight of Akane and Nabiki walking away down 
the hall to the main door of the Academy.  He breathed a sigh of relief 
when they went outside.  He had been feeling somewhat responsible over 
Akane's actions against Kodachi all morning, and it had been distracting 
him from his work.  All he had to show for the several hours spent in 
his lab this morning were a few doodlings in his notebook.  It was just 
not like him to be so easily distracted, but there was so much going on 
in his life right now.  He kept feeling like an explosion or something 
was imminent, and it was making him jumpy.

I wonder if Kodachi would even be glad to see me? he thought as he 
looked around the corner once again.  Akane probably beat her up because 
of me, so I wouldn't blame her if she was mad at me over it.  I mean, 
after all, she went out of her way to make it seem pretty clear that she 
was my girlfriend or something.  Mustering up what little remained of 
his courage, he casually walked down the hallway to the infirmary room.  
He peeked in the doorway to see Kodachi putting on her uniform jacket, 
but her tie was off and a couple of her blouse's buttons were undone.  
He winced at the sight of the dark bruises on her face.  Maybe this 
wasn't a good idea after all.  He had had a vague notion of walking her 
home, since he felt responsible for the whole thing.

Kodachi spotted somebody looking in on her through the partly-open door 
as she dressed, but she wasn't able to make out who it was exactly.  She 
quickly stomped over to the door and flung it wide open, her hand 
reaching out to grab the pervert who was peeping in on an innocent young 
maiden such as herself, intent on doing grave bodily harm to that 
person.  Her eyes immediately went wide when she saw that it was Ranma, 
her hand stopping mere inches away from grabbing him up by the cloth of 
his jacket.  She quickly raised her hand to her mouth as she blushed, 
embarrassed at her near mistake.

Ranma jumped a bit when Kodachi practically ripped the door off of its 
hinges when she flung it open.  He started to quickly stammer out an 
apology of some sort, a reflexive protest of his innocence almost being 
spoken before he managed to swallow it back down.  All he did instead 
was paste a nervous smile on his face and stand there like an idiot.

"S-Saotome-kun," she said, her eyes looking into his eyes with some 
confusion.  She quickly gave him a proper bow of greeting, her heart 
fluttering with her nervousness and other emotions washing over her.  
"I-I am happy to see you, Saotome-kun."  She could see that he was 
looking uncomfortable, and she quickly glanced down to make sure that 
her blouse was buttoned up sufficiently high.  Only the topmost two 
buttons were undone, and she breathed a brief sigh of relief at the 
preservation of her modesty, her cheeks blushing slightly as a quick 
thought or two went through her head of another nature.

"I-I came to see how you were doing," said Ranma nervously.  He bowed to 
her quickly, perhaps a little bit lower than she felt was necessary 
between them given her feelings for him, but it warmed her heart to see 
his respect for her station in the Empire.  "I heard about your fight 
with Akane."

"The little witch attacked me," she said huffily, before quickly 
bringing her hand back up to her mouth to laugh nervously.  Starting 
over again in as sweet and gentle a voice that she had, she said while 
demurely looking at Ranma's belt, "I mean, Tendo-san started the fight, 
and I defended myself from her.  However, I feel that I gave a good 
accounting of myself against her.  And now that I've taken her full 
measure, if she does it again, I'll knock every tooth from her head."  
She smiled in an attempt to reassure him of her ability to take care of 
herself.

"Uh, yeah."  He started to open his mouth to say something more, but the 
words just would not emerge.  It was strange to him, but Kodachi's 
beaten-up form still looked beautiful to him, an almost wildness to it 
that had not been not present in her oh-so-proper self before.  He tried 
again to speak, and the words just came spilling out in a quick rush, 
"Ithoughtifyoudidn'tmindthenIcouldwalkyouhome."  She blushed across her 
cheeks once again, her heart filling with warm feelings for the 
pigtailed scientist before her.

He does care about me, she thought, a gentle sigh of happiness escaping 
from between her lips.  She lost herself briefly in a fantasy about the 
two of them, with him as her husband as she greeted him at the door with 
proper modesty, as a true lady of nobility would.  From between her lips 
another soft sigh emerged, as her thoughts quickly wandered into areas 
of quite improper actions for an unmarried young lady of noble birth to 
think about a young man.  She reined in her thoughts as she gazed at 
him, but her eyes sparkled with desire.  Oh, Saotome-kun, I would fight 
in a thousand battles to be allowed to remain at your side, and ten 
thousand more to win your love.

Ranma shifted his stance nervously.  Kodachi was looking at him in a 
funny way, a sort of hearts-and-flowers look, and he wasn't sure what to 
make of it.  His memories from his female counterpart, Ranko, were 
pretty spotty, so he wasn't relying on them yet to interpret the women 
in his life.  She seemed to be happy to see him though, so that made it 
okay with him.  The look that she was giving him still made him feel 
nervous though, a warmly soft-eyed gaze that made her eyes seem to be 
even bigger than normal.  He cleared his throat nervously, and she came 
back to herself from her brief fantasy.

"I would be honored to have you accompany me home, Saotome-kun," said 
Kodachi softly.  Her eyes were downcast as she had been taught was 
proper for a young lady of quality, and she stood there with her arms 
clasped behind her body, unconsciously straightening and showing her 
figure off to stunning effect.  Ranma frankly goggled at the combined 
result, and he blinked several times nervously as he gazed at her body 
being displayed so casually for his viewing pleasure.  She held the very 
demure yet casually seductive pose for several of the longest seconds in 
Ranma's young life.

"Uh, yeah."  The pigtailed boy swallowed down a throat gone dry.  It was 
the second time that she had summoned up such feelings of nervousness in 
him.  He moved out of the doorway as she gathered her things, and she 
was back at his side shortly.  Her face beamed with joy as she looked at 
him, the few bandages on her jaw and nose somehow not diminishing her 
beauty.  He felt that to be strange, wondering if he was secretly 
becoming attracted to women who were fighters.

The pair walked down the corridor in silence, Ranma due to his lack of 
knowledge about how to act in such a situation, and Kodachi due to her 
happiness at simply being with the man that she cared about so strongly.  
It was a moment of pure bliss for her, and the pains of her injuries 
were a very small price to pay for such a thing, as she now had Ranma at 
her side, and it was good and proper in her mind.

It looks like I won after all, Akane Tendo, thought the aristocrat girl 
with a smug look crossing her bruised face.  Saotome-kun came to see me, 
not you, and now he is walking me home.  Life is good.  She heaved a 
soft sigh of contentment, moving a little closer to him.  She thought 
about taking his arm, but she did not want to appear to be too forward.  
The last thing that she wanted to do was to scare him off by appearing 
overeager.

Ranma walked along, feeling the faint tingling that the three girls: 
Akane, Nabiki, and Kodachi, instilled in him.  He focussed his mind on 
other things, such as the mystery that he had discovered in his lab, and 
the new problem of dealing with Nabiki.  He was looking forward to 
showing her up, but there was also an undeniable attraction that he was 
feeling for the middle Tendo daughter.  He had actually been somewhat 
aroused by her defiance, and he very quickly changed the course of his 
thoughts.  He focused on the upcoming match that he was going to have 
with her instead.

You won't stand a chance against me, Nabiki, he thought with a high 
level of confidence.  After all, I have within me all of the skills of 
an heir to the Anything-Goes School.  If Akane isn't able to take me now 
in a fight, then what chance do you have?

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

Nabiki sneezed.

Akane looked over while her sister rubbed lightly at her nose.  "It was 
sure nice of you to do this for me, sis," she said, smiling at her older 
sister.  "I hope that you aren't losing too much of your lunchtime 
business income because of it.  I'll have to make it up to you somehow."

"Yes, you will, Akane," replied Nabiki coolly, before suddenly grinning 
impishly at her little sister.  "Don't worry about it.  I'll be able to 
make up most of it easily enough after classes."  She gave Akane a 
reassuring look.  "The money will still be there a few hours from now.  
I'll just have to shake a few different trees to find it."

"Okay, Nabiki."  Akane returned to her own thoughts.  She contented 
herself with recalling the fight between herself and Kodachi, a little 
smile appearing on her face as she remembered how good it had felt to 
lay into the other girl like she had.  That debutante bitch is going to 
have to be carried home in pieces after I get done with her the next 
time, she thought angrily.  No way am I going to let her have my Ranma.  
He's mine to fight with.  The thought of losing to him after fighting 
her hardest against him brought a blush to her cheeks.

Nabiki's thoughts had also drifted to consideration of the subject of 
the Saotome boy, and she closed her free hand into a tight fist as she 
recalled his surprising arrogance in Fuyutsuki-sensei's office.  In her 
other hand was her bookbag, and the leather handle squeaked a bit from 
the squeezing that she was giving it.  It wasn't wise of you to dismiss 
me so casually, Ranma-kun, not at all, she thought with a smirk.  This 
woman is going to show you that I can keep up with anything that you can 
dish out.  Just you wait.

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

The three catgirls were lounging around the room that Kinnosuke had 
appropriated in one of the Academy lower sublevels for his headquarters.  
Tiger was reclining in a chair, her hat resting on one knee as she read 
through the latest issue of 'Imperial Woman,' trying to see what new 
advice was being offered for winning the love of that special man.  Her 
cat-like ears were cocked forward, showing her rapt attention for what 
she was reading.  To her left, Lynx was quietly sitting cross-legged on 
the floor with her eyes closed and her ears resting flat to her skull, 
apparently meditating.  And, in the back of the room, the muscular 
Panther was working out in a pale blue leotard and green legwarmers, her 
body covered in a light sheen of perspiration, and her skintight outfit 
leaving little doubt as to her high level of physical fitness.

"I'm hungry," announced Lynx with a sigh, her eyes remaining closed.

"Kinnosuke-sama will be back shortly," said Tiger, most of her attention 
still on her magazine.  "When he arrives, then we will eat.  You have to 
learn better control over your appetites, Lynx.  You don't hear me 
complaining, do you?"  Her stomach suddenly rumbled with hunger, a loud 
growl.  Lynx opened her eyes and giggled, and the redhead looked 
annoyed.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Kinnosuke walked in.  The two 
seated catgirls sprang up to their feet in an instant, Tiger only taking 
a single moment to hide her magazine behind her chair.  Her cat-like 
ears pricked up with happiness at his arrival, Panther quickly stopped 
her exertions and sprinted over to stand with the others.

"Welcome back, Kinnosuke-sama," the three chorused in near-perfect 
harmony.  He merely grunted at them absently and sat down at the table 
in the room with a look of annoyance.  While Panther went to clean 
herself up quickly and change back into one of her normal outfits, the 
other two young women brought out the lunch that had been prepared by 
the Kashuoh Manor's chef and began to serve him.  He simply treated it 
as his due, his eyes more on the food than the two beautiful catgirls 
serving him.  And while they were still serving, Panther returned, her 
skin a little reddened from the quick sponge bath that she had given 
herself before dressing.

"I have been thinking about the problem with Nabiki Tendo," he said, 
beginning to shovel rice and meat into his face.  Tiger and Lynx sat 
attentively, waiting for his approval before they began to eat.  He 
swallowed before speaking again, "And I am very troubled by the 
unexpected failures of my chosen agents.  If Hiei fails me during his 
upcoming challenge with Saotome, then I have a plan that will require 
you three to assist me with it."  He absently noticed the rather hungry 
look on Lynx's face and nodded that they could eat.

"We live to serve you, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger with a sparkle of 
love in her eye, before she too began to eat quickly.  She paused again 
and swallowed after consuming half the rice in her bowl.  "But what is 
it that you would have us do?"

"Initially, I plan to make my challenge to Nabiki's own organization 
more open," said the boy with an evil light appearing in his eyes.  "The 
three of you are to begin pressuring her resources and encouraging her 
agents to defect.  I want to squeeze Nabiki hard until she gives in."  
He chuckled at his own cleverness.  "Then, when her organization is 
crumbled around her, I intend to play my trump card and challenge her 
personally.  Once I have crushed her resistance to me, she will pledge 
her loyalty to me as my consort, then she and I will rule the Academy 
from the shadows."

Lynx finished the last of the rice in her bowl and daintily wiped at her 
face with a napkin, her expression neutral.  To her left, Panther was 
now working through her second bowl of rice, as well as seeming to enjoy 
the pieces of fresh salmon that she was eating with it, but a very faint 
glimmering of tears showed at the corner of one of her eyes.  Tiger 
simply frowned at her rice bowl before she turned her attention back to 
her master.  The food that she had just eaten was now sitting leaden in 
her stomach after hearing her master's plan for Nabiki.

"As you command, Kinnosuke-sama," said the redhead.  She wanted to cry, 
but she knew that her master did not like to see tears on the faces of 
his playthings.  Instead, a cold rage filled her soul, one that she 
would someday unleash with full force upon the source of her pain, 
Nabiki Tendo.  Her eyes met Lynx's and Panther's, and the three catgirls 
shared a moment of understanding.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Special thanks go out to Jim Bader for his permission to borrow from his 
work Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) for Earth +4.614,+4.496 (Ranma 
1/2 cluster).

Thanks to my pre-readers for all of their help and advice:

Michael Allen
Jim Bader
Donny Cheng
David Eddy
David P. Gao
Doug_W
Rhialto
ShortYes
DB Sommer
T.H. Tiger