The disclaimer, practically every character here is NOT mine. They all belong to their respective company. I am using a lot of them, so I can't list them all. Beside, I am gonna add more series to the story later on. Don't sue me. Pleeeeeeese! I haven't got a penny! For others, there are SOME characters I made up, but who cares? I don't. Ranma Crossover fanfic WARNING! Some of the contents might damage your stomach from laughing too much, or your eyes from crying too much. Read at your own risk. STALLION Chapter 11. < The Little House of Horror... well... maybe more like Chaos... > After an attempted grand-patricide, the Masaki Mansion had quieted down somewhat. But the tension was still thick enough to cut, as Ranma continued to glare at his now sweating grandfather. "I HATE YOU." "......" Akane fumed mildly at her still sulking fiance. "Ranma! Don't be so rude to your grandfather!" "But you heard him too, Akane!! He's the reason why mom has such a weird idea of manliness!! You think I should give him a break?! Give ME a break!!" "Cut that out, Ranma! It's true your grandfather was very careless with his words..." A dagger, although imaginary but still as painful as the real one, appeared and stabbed into Katsuhito's back. "...and came up with that stupid idea for an excuse as the explanation of a pervert for a small child..." Another dagger went through the old priest's back. "...not to mention to his own child, a girl at that..." Katsuhito's shoulders slumped down as his back now had multiple daggers appearing on it. "...but he just made a mistake! He is your grandfather! Show some respect to him and forgive him..." Katsuhito's face cheered a bit hearing Akane's words...... "...for being such a failure of a father!" Bam! ......but it was soon embedded on the floor as a large spear skewered through him now. Akane nervously smiled as she scratched her head. "Eh... that didn't come out right....." Washu smirked. "Don't worry, Akane-dono. You didn't say anything wrong." "Eh......" Ranma also smirked as he watched his grandfather slowly turning into a moldy lump on the floor. "Yeah, I gotta agree with you, Akane. I must give him some respect, and forgive him for being such a FAILURE." "Ranma!" The couple argued again, while Mayuka and Mihoshi were poking at the wasted Katsuhito with a stick. "Is great-grandpa dead?" "I don't know, Mayuka-chan. He does seem to be breathing..." "......" Washu continued to smirk as she enjoyed watching Katsuhito so down on himself. 'Boy, today has been such an entertaining day for me. I can't wait to see what happens next.' "Washu-CHAN?" "Huh?" Washu looked up to see Tenchi smiling down at her. It was a kind of smile that clearly said "I want something from you and I'll give up my liver and kidneys for it." Washu thought, amused. 'Hmm, it seems that I don't have to wait that long. You are so easy to see through, Tenchi-dono. I must give you some lessons on how to ask for a favor... later. Much later.' Washu then smiled as she asked him. "What can I do for you, Tenchi-dono?" Tenchi flinched briefly. Somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being seen through. 'But I have to do this. I promised to Auntie Nodoka...' "Um, can we talk in private?" Suddenly Washu clung to Tenchi's arm, smiling happily. "Oh so THAT's what you want! Don't worry, Tenchi-dono. My lab is only steps away, and NO ONE will bother us there!" Tenchi sweatdropped and replied nervously. "Eh... not THAT private... Let's just go somewhere quiet... like the kitchen?" "So... let me get this straight. Ranma-dono seems to have lost some memory regarding Yosho-sama and Achika-sama?" Tenchi nodded his head. "Uh-huh." "And you want me to examine him to make sure that there isn't anything wrong with him?" He nodded again. "Uh-huh." "That sounds like fun! I'm gonna really enjoy this!" This time, he shook his head. "Uh-uh." "Eh? What do you mean?" Tenchi grabbed Washu's shoulders with a smile that was somehow... forced. "Listen carefully, Washu-CHAN. Ranma is my cousin. My very, very precious cousin. He is my favorite aunt's son, and my dear departed mom's nephew." "Okay... what are you getting at?" Washu asked with a curious look on her face. Then she was surprised when Tenchi did his version of demon-head. "PROMISE ME THAT YOU WON'T DO ANY EXPERIMENT ON HIM, LIKE YOU DO WITH ME!" "Eh??? Then where's the fun in that?" Washu, disappointed, mildly protested. "THIS ISN'T FOR YOUR FUN!!!" "But!" "PROMISE ME!!" Washu sighed, defeated. It wasn't that Washu was scared of Tenchi. Nothing short of Apocalypse could possibly make her even flinch. Well... maybe Mihoshi in her lab. Anyway, she knew she would have to give in this time since Tenchi was being so insistent on it. He rarely forced anything on anybody, but whenever he made a decision, he stuck to it. However, Washu would never back down quietly on anything. She grinned as she answered back. "Okay... I'll do it." "So you promise? No weird experiment? No more dangerous test?" "Yes, yes. I promise." "Really?!?!?" "Really." Tenchi sighed in relief. "Thank you, Washu-chan. I really owe you this time." Before he could turn away, Washu's voice stopped him. "Wait. I didn't say I'd do it without a condition." "Huh? What do you mean?" Now it was Tenchi's turn to be surprised as Washu had a mean grin on her face. "Why so surprised? You didn't think you could get this favor out of me for free, did you?" "Um... yes..." "Oh really? And why would I do that?" Tenchi put on his most innocent-looking look on his face as he hopefully replied. "Because you are also the most kind and caring scientist in the universe?" Washu smirked at his rather pathetic attempt to flatter herself. "Gotta do better than that, Tenchi-dono." "Eh......" "Now, as the greatest genius in the universe, my fee is rather... expensive. If I cannot have my fun one way or another, what motivation would I have for doing this favor for you, hmm?" Washu was laughing inside when she saw Tenchi's face turning pale. 'He is so gullible.' "Um... what can I do for you then?" Tenchi sweatdropped as he answered. Somehow he knew that he would pay for this, REALLY pay for this. "Well, I'll tell you later. But there is just one more thing... about this experiment..." Crash! "Oops! How clumsy of me. I spilled some tea on the floor. Ranma, could you go and get me the mop? It's in the broom closet near the stairs." "Huh? Me?" Ranma pointed at himself, bewildered. 'Why me? I am the guest here. And... why does Ten-chan look so nervous?' "Yes. You, Ranmachan. Please?" If Tenchi could see himself right now, he would know why he could never win the Academy Award for acting. "Um... okay..." Of course, if Ranma could THINK more carefully right now, he would know why he could never win ANY prize that requires intelligence...... The others in the living room just blinked. They knew something was fishy here. Aside from Tenchi's bad acting, they knew fully well that he would never tell anyone else to do something for him. He was the type of a person who would try to do everything by himself. Not being able to hold back her curiosity, Sasami opened her mouth to inquire. "But Tenchi-niichan, we don't have a broom closet. It's now Wa...... mmmmmmm?" Ranma dumbly stared at his cousin who now had this dubious smile while covering Sasami's mouth. He couldn't help but feel rather uneasy about Tenchi's actions. However he just shrugged it off. 'What could possibly be in that closet that could hurt me?' But when he stood in front of the closet door, the sense of doom returned. Ranma couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt like he saw the same door before. 'Now, where had I seen this thing before?' Ranma INDEED had seen the same door before. It was the same one that Washu dragged him through to her lab, where he went through that water test(?). But the experience was rather fast and painful so much that his mind couldn't quite register exactly what had happened. The vague feeling of fear was all that was left. Saotome Ranma was never a coward. But in this situation he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was walking into a trap. Although he rarely acted so careful, he slowly reached for the doorknob. He then carefully opened the door slightly, and quietly peeked inside. Inside, there were nothing more than a few brooms and a mop. Ranma blinked. 'Now THAT was disappointing...' Ranma sighed in both relief and regret. It was foolish of him to expect something dangerous would pop out of a broom closet, he guessed. He dropped his guard completely and put his hand inside to grab the mop. Wieeeeeeee... "Huh?" Ranma was mildly surprised when he heard some kind of small mechanical sound. Then he was shocked out of his reverie when a pair of gigantic machine arms burst out of the closet and wrapped him up. "Ohohohohohohoh! You fell for it, Ranma-dono!" "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaackk!!!!" That was the last word of Ranma before he was sucked into the closet by the machine arms. Everyone dumbly stared at the closet door which slammed shut, and made a burping noise. Silence lasted for about a minute, before Akane opened her mouth. "Um, Washu-san, right?" Tenchi hung his head in shame. "Uh-huh." "Way to go, Tenchi! You completely fooled him!" Ryoko hit his back playfully, although it seemed rather painful for Tenchi. Ayeka asked Tenchi, still confused. "Um, but why did you do such a thing? I thought you didn't want Saotome-san to go through any more experiments?" "Well, it's like this......" Inside the lab. "Help! Help! Ten-chan! Minagi-san! Akane! Sasami-chan! Grandpa!!!" "No use, Ranma-dono! Be quiet and face it like a man! After all, you are not getting away this time! Ohohohohohohoh!" "Noooooooooooooooooo!!!" "So you mean she is just doing a simple physical, like she did with the rest of us before?" Sasami spoke. "Yes..." Tenchi replied, his head still down. "Um, then why didn't you just ask him? I am sure Ranma-niichan wouldn't object that much..." Then Sasami pondered. 'Of course, he might refuse since he already went through Washu-chan's tests once...' "Well, it wasn't my idea. It was Washu's idea, actually." "Huh? It is? Why though?" Tenchi lowered his head even more. "She said... "it's more fun this way..."" Everyone around him just rolled their eyes. 'It figures.' But Akane wasn't all that relieved, as she nervoulsy asked Tenchi. "But, but she wouldn't hurt him, would she?" Everyone went silent. Ayeka was the first to speak, albeit hesitating. "She, she wouldn't of course. She is not some kind of monster. She might be eccentric..." Ryoko cut in suddenly. "Eccentric? Full out-grown lunacy is more like it." It was Mihoshi's turn to panic. "Oh no! And we only met Ranma-san today! It's so sad!" Kiyone sweatdropped at her partner's comment. "She is not gonna kill him, you know." "But, but surely Washu-san isn't all THAT bad, is she?" Minagi nervously said her mind, trying to depend her mother, so to speak. The room was silent once again, before everyone in the Masaki Mansion hung their head helplessly. 'SHE IS!' But not all was lost in hopelessness, as Sasami stood up eagerly. "We have to stop her right now! Even for a joke, this is too mean!" "Wait, Sasami-chan! I'll go with you!" Akane quickly followed after Sasami who stomped towards the closet door. The rest, including the reluctant Nobuyuki, slowly stood up and followed them, although half-heartedly. Soon, the only ones left in the living room were the still-out-of-it Katsuhito and Minagi, who had a big bead of sweat running down her head. "I, I really don't think she's really THAT bad......" "Washu-chan? Where are you, Washu-chan?" "Ranma? Ranma, can you hear me?" Sasami and Akane desparately searched for the two, while the rest just nervously walked after them. The lab was surprisingly quiet though, giving them no clue of the two's whereabouts. Ryoko pondered out loud. "It's weird. It's TOO quiet. I don't like it..." Ayeka nodded. "You are right. If Washu-san was doing any experiment on Saotome-san, this lab would be shaking with his screams right about now." "Um, did I ever scream that loud?" Tenchi sweatdropped and asked, but nobody answered him. "No, no way... but..." Everyone looked at the now panicking Mihoshi, who kept mumbling in fear. "...can't be, right? She wouldn't, would she?" "What are you talking about, Mihoshi? Out with it already!" The agitated Kiyone scowled at her partner. Mihoshi nervously continued. "...you don't suppose... she already finished him off... and did away with his body... do you?" Bam! After such a hard facefault, it was rather hard for everyone to even stand up again. Showing some super-human strength, however, Kiyone stood up really fast and yelled at Mihoshi's face. "SHE'S NOT AN AXE MURDERER!! SHE'S JUST A SADISTIC MANIAC!!" "Waaaaaah! You are scaring me, Kiyone!" "Who's a sadistic maniac?" Kiyone was frozen like a statue when she heard Washu's voice coming from behind her. Everyone turned around and saw Washu and Ranma, who was lying silently on a bed floating right behind the pink-haired girl. "Ranma!" Akane ran up to the bed hurriedly. She sighed in relief when she saw that Ranma was just sleeping. She couldn't help but feel rather annoyed to see him asleep though. 'Here I was worried about him, and he's sleeping!! I'm gonna mallet him REALLY HARD when we get home...' All the while Sasami was saying her protest to Washu. "How could you, Washu-chan? It was so mean, scaring him like that! I know it was meant to be a joke, but it was too cruel! You are not supposed to make us worry like that!" "Sorry." "Eh?" Sasami blinked in surprise. Washu had just casually apologized without any excuse or explanation. She had said it so... so easily. Everyone dumbly stared at Washu. 'What gives?' "Tenchi-dono, can I talk to you for a sec?" "Huh?" Tenchi was surprised when Washu turned her attention to him. He was surprised even more when the rest of the people around him quickly edged away from him. "Eh? Eh?" But Washu kept her calm, as she spoke again. "Let's go somewhere quiet. There is something I must tell you." "Eh?" Tenchi kept blinking in confusion, and dumbly stood there while watching Washu walking off. She stopped briefly to look at him again. "Um, okay. I'm coming..." 'What's with her serious expression?' Tenchi was about to walk away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Nobuyuki's grim face right up to his own. "Wha, what, pop?" "Tenchi... I was always proud of you as my son. Face your doom like a man." Bam! Nobuyuki's face was now embedded on the floor, thanks to a big tanuki(raccoon) statue standing on the back of his head. Tenchi sweatdropped and quickly walked away toward Washu, who had stopped again with an annoyed look on her face. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" The rest gathered around and dumbly stared at now out-cold Nobuyuki. 'He had that coming.' "Eh, what's wrong, Washu-chan? You look really serious." "......" Washu kept her silence despite Tenchi's question. Somehow Tenchi felt a bit awkward in the silence. He scratched his head nervously while trying to draw Washu's attention. "Ah come on! What's wrong? You look like as if you are about to tell there is something seriously wrong with Ranma..." "How did you know?" "Yeah, yeah. That is...... eh?" Tenchi blinked. "What... did I know?" Washu, still with her grim face, continued. "How did you know there was something wrong with your cousin?" "Huh?!?" The shock was clear on Tenchi's face. He grabbed and shook Washu's shoulders out of hurry. "What do you mean?! What's wrong with Ranma?!? Tell me, Washu, tell me!!!" Bonk! "I would if you'd STOP shaking me!!!" "I am... sorry..." Tenchi managed to apologize even after such a hard hit. He rubbed his head which was still throbing with pain. Washu hmphed mildly before turning back to her serious face. "Tenchi-dono, listen carefully." Tenchi gulped and nodded his head. "Okay. I'll listen." "There is something wrong with your cousin." "Okay......" The silence lasted for a while. Soon a bead of sweat formed on Tenchi's head. "......and?" "And what?" "What is exactly wrong with Ranma?" "I don't know." Tenchi suddenly felt the great urge to go out and mow people down with a machine gun. With his super-human strength he suppressed that urge, and asked Washu again. "Then why do you think there is something wrong with Ranma?" "Because he has lost some of his memories." "THAT WAS WHY I ASKED YOU TO EXAMINE HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!" Washu blinked her eyes. "Oh, you are right." "Why you..." If he was a normal person he would have dared to choke Washu right about now. Of course, that would have meant some serious damage on his part since he would be going up against the greatest and the craziest genius in the universe. Fortunately Tenchi was a kind and gentle person. He managed to restrain his trembling fingers away from the neck of the pink-haired girl. His eyebrow was continously twitching though. He might live longer thanks to his intelligence, but he wouldn't live that long due to his held-back stress level. Not even feeling threatened, Washu continued her explanation. "I was teasing with him at first, but I found something strange in his head. So I sedated him and did some scanning on his brain." 'Now that's more like an explanation I was looking for...' Tenchi let go of his anger somewhat. Then he blinked in mild surprise. "You sedated him? You DO sedate your test subjects? How come I was never sedated before then?" "Oh you DID want to be sedated?" "...never mind." Tenchi shuddered briefly as he imagined what it would be like if Washu put him in sleep during her experiments. 'I wouldn't know what she might do to me...' "It's okay, Tenchi-dono. It works really well! Well, Ranma-dono seemed to have some imunity against this method though. You don't know how many times I had to use it." Tenchi sweatdropped when he saw Washu swinging a small pink mallet a couple of times.(1) 'No sedation, definitely.' Washu put away her mallet in her hyperspace pocket and continued to explain. "I found out that some of Ranma-dono's brain cells... don't react at all to any outside signal. It would cause some blockage between the information flow within, and ultimately seemingly loss of certain portions of stored datas or events." Tenchi blinked. "Um, can you repeat that? Biology is NOT my best subject."(2) "*sigh* Some of his memory cells are not working. That's why he can't remember some of his past." Tenchi's face brightened with understanding, but it soon turned pale. "You, you mean he has some brain damage?!?" Washu shrugged her shoulders. "Sort of, but not exactly." "Eh? What do you mean by "not exactly?"" "Well, if he had some accident and hurt his head in the process, then he would have had the brain damage. In this case, some brian cells would be dead, or the neurons between the cells would be cut off, causing the memory loss. But it's not the case this time. His brain cells are fine. It's alive and kicking, and none of the nerves was either cut or damaged. In physical sense, his brain is in perfect condition." Tenchi frowned a little. "Then is there any possibility of..." "Mental problem? Not likely. If that was the case the individual brain cell would still react to the outside shock that I had given. Even if this was due to a traumatic experience he had suffered, his brain cells should still work. But even when I applied small electric shock on them, none of these sleeping cells reacted. In other words, this isn't because of some kind of normal brain damage, either in physical sense, or in mental sense." "......" Tenchi was speechless. He didn't quite understand Washu one hundred percent, but he understood enough to realize that there was some mysterious problem that had caused Ranma to lose some of his memory. If the greatest scientist couldn't find out the reason, then who could? Tenchi was at loss. '...wait. Electric shock? Brain cells? No way...' "Um, Washu-CHAN. You didn't happen to... dissect Ranma or anything... did you?" "Eh......" Tenchi was ready to explode when he saw Washu flinch a little. "WASHU-CHAN!!!" "Aaaaah! But it was necessary! I couldn't help it! I was doing it for him! Beside, I sealed him up real good!" Tenchi was about to yell some more, when he heard frantic cry of Sasami. "Aaaaaaaack! Ranma-niichan's head is bleeding!!"(3) Akane's voice soon followed. "Somebody go get some tissues! No, make that a towel!" Ryoko's calm but trembling voice was also heard. "Wow, it's like watching a tiny geiser." "You are not helping, Ryoko-san!" Ayeka was shouting along with them. "You gotta do something or he will die!" "I knew this would happen! That Washu! ...where are you going, Mihoshi?" "Oh I'm just going to get the medical box, Kiyone. Don't worry. I'll nurse him myself. He'll be fine in no time." "NO!!!" The lab shook with the amazingly loud yell by everyone present.(4) "You want some more chips, Usagi?" "Wow, really? Thank you, Rei-chan!" Usagi happily gulped down another bag, yes, an entire bag, of potato chips. She was so happy that her usually strict friend was buying her all sorts of snacks from the train food cart. Rei rarely offered her to buy her munchies so Usagi was determined to make the best out of her current situation. Rei smiled as she quietly watched her meatball-headed friend attacking another bag of chips, despite the shocked stare from the other people on the train. Usagi was wailing and crying like a baby a moment ago, protesting about having to accompany her all the way to Okayama. But some bags of snacks solved that problem right away. "Geez, why do we have to go all the way to Okayama with you, Rei?" Of course, that didn't solve the problem of her other disgruntled friends. "Ohoho. Don't worry about it, Makoto. Care for some chocolate chip cookies?" It didn't hurt to try though...... Makoto snorted. "What am I, Usagi? I am not falling for that one, Rei. You gotta try better than that." "Um, because you guys are kind and caring friends?" "*snort* Try another one, Rei." Minako eagerly nodded her head, while Ami sweatdropped. "Guys..." Rei sighed in defeat. "Come on, I paid for the tickets and stuff, right? What's so bad about coming with me? It's not like you guys have something else to do." "Oh I DO have so much else to do!" Makoto protested. Minako also chimed in. "Yes, me too! We are not some sort of losers, you know! We are busy people! We have tons of stuff to take care of!" Rei snickered. "Name one." Makoto fumed. "Okay, I will! First, I have to do my laundry, and...... and......" "*snicker* Aaaaand?" "......I DO have so much else to do!" "You said that already. How about you, Minako?" "......fine. I'll go with you." Minako gave up fast. She knew she wouldn't win this battle. But Makoto didn't give up that easily. She hurriedly added on her words. "How about Ami, huh? I am sure she got some study stuff to do!" "Eh......" Now it was Rei who was speechless. 'Damn! I forgot about Ami!' "Um, actually..." Ami blushed when her friends turned their attention to her. "...I am a little ahead on my schedule so I am free for a couple of days..." Makoto smacked her forehead while Rei smiled triumphantly. "See? All of you guys have nothing better to do anyway. What's so wrong about coming with me? Just think of it as our vacation trip, okay?" "But, but... what if those youmas from yesterday attack again!?" "Chill down, Makoto. I am sure the Outers will be happy to take care of them. And if things become worse, Mamoru will be there too. There is absolutely nothing to worry about." "But, but..." Makoto paused, before muttering in barely audible voice. "...what if the Knight-san come out again...? I wanted to meet him again..." Her voice was thin and soft, but the word "the Knight" caught everyone's attention. "She's right! What if there is a youma attack, and the Knight comes to fight again? We didn't get to ask him anything yerterday, you know!" Minako continued in her thoughts. 'Like his phone number or where he lives...' "Hey! You guys only want to see him again so you can ask him out or something! He has nothing to do with our official duties as Senshis!" "Hah! You are the one to talk, Rei! You were blushing all over yesterday when he called you a 'fiery tigress!' You want to see him as much as we do!" Rei blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed by Makoto's words. She soon fought back though. "Well, at least I am not a boy-crazed maniac who thinks every guy who passes by looks like her old SEMPAI!" "Hey! This has nothing to do with that!" "Oh really? Didn't the Knight LOOK like your old sempai? Oh wait. He was wearing a mask so you couldn't see his face. So maybe he was BUILT like your old sempai!" "Wait! He really was! AND THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Minako sweatdropped. "Um, Makoto? I don't think you should have said that..." Ami also chimed in, hoping to break the two up. "Minako's right. And I don't think you should be fighting over Knight-san either, guys..." "Um, who are you guys talking about? Who's this Mr. Knight?" Usagi paused during her snacking long enough to ask a question, which Ami answered. "Oh, we are talking about that man we met yesterday. You remember him too, right? You know, the man with the cape and the bandana mask..." Crack! All four girls froze when they heard the cracking noise. They slowly turned their heads to see the now glowing Usagi who had her hands on now cracked armrest. She quitely turned her menacing gaze toward her friends, and spoke in low and dark tone. "DON'T. EVER. TALK. ABOUT. HIM. IN. FRONT. OF. ME." "...yes ma'am..." The four mighty Senshis shivered as the cold eyes of their princess passed by them. The rest of the ride was quiet, but it was also really really scary and awkward...... '...eh...?' He opened his eyes. He was standing on a barren field. 'Weird... How come I was sleeping while standing up? And... what's this in my hand?' He looked down. Or more accurately, he lifted his hand. He was surprised to discover a shining long sword there. 'A sword? Why do I have a sword?' Then he was surprised even more, as his body began to move against his wishes. He was doing some sort of movements, probably a kind of sword techinique. 'Hey, it's like a kata, only with a sword... I ain't half-bad too... I am pretty good, actually...' Suddenly his head swirled really fast, so fast that he felt dizzy. His head abruptly stopped when he spotted a figure of a woman standing in the shadow of a tree. Then, a gentle breeze blew through, floating her long blonde hair. He couldn't see above her nose for some reason. All he could see was her mouth. '...?!' Suddenly, the woman became a blur. Then the blur rushed him. Instinctively he raised his sword to defend himself. He managed to block a blade as it almost sliced him in half. 'What the!?' It didn't end there though. The blur kept advancing, forcing him to back away little by little. Her attack was continuous and intense. All he could do was to keep up with his defence barely enough to stay unharmed. Even with his skills, even with all his trainings, he still couldn't keep up with her movements. Slowly, but surely, his defense was breaking down. Her blade was getting nearer and nearer to his body. 'She, she's really good!' Finally, he couldn't keep up any more as one blow took the sword out of his hands and sent it up in the air. Shocked, he dumbly stared at the now flying sword. It was then when he realized that his eyes were off the attacker. He quickly diverted his gaze to his front, but there was nothing. 'Where did she go?!?' Swish! '!!' He felt a cold metal feel on his neck. He slowly turned his eyes down and found a blade right next to his throat. Opposite to that cold feeling on the front of his neck, the back of his neck was feeling hot all of sudden. It was then when he realized that the woman was now standing right behind him. He gulped loudly. '*gulp* She, she got me!!' Then he saw it. He saw the slight movement around the woman's mouth. The muscles contorted and twisted there. His pulse suddenly raced as he watched her mouth. Its movement wasn't all that slow but for some reason he felt like he was watching a slide show, a slide show showing the woman's mouth change, forming... ...forming a smile... '......?' "...eh...?" "Oh, you are awake, Ranma-san." Minagi smiled at the pigtailed boy. "You had us worried, you know." "Um... sorry... By the way... where am I?" "You are in the living room. You were out cold so we were trying to wake you up. Wait a second. Sasami-chan! No need to bring any more ice! He's awake!" "Really?! Okay!" After Sasami's voice from afar, Ranma heard a quick footsteps, followed by the worried voice of Akane. "Ranma! You okay?" "I think so... but why do I have this bandage around my head?" "Eh... nothing much... just a safety measure..." Washu, who happened to be nearby, answered somewhat nervously. "Okay... aaaaack!! Get away from me, you psycho!!" Ranma jumped up, trying to keep a safe distance between him and the pink-haired girl. "Geez, I already said sorry!" "When? I didn't hear nothing!" "I said that when you were sleeping. There is no more need for me to apologize." "Are you crazy?!? You are supposed to apologize to me when I am AWAKE!! Besides, I was out cold, not sleeping, and that was because of YOU!!" "Ah, stop whining." Before Ranma could yell at Washu again, Minagi spoke calmly. "Oh by the way, Ranma-san, Tenchi-san and Katsuhito-san wanted you to see you at their training ground. It's on the path to the shrine, right by the stairs out front." "Huh?" Ranma wondered out loud. "What do they want from me?" "I think they want you to spar with Tenchi-san or something." "Great! Now that's the fun I was looking for!" Not even casting a second glance, Ranma dashed out of the room. A second later, the sound of the front door slamming shut rang through the house. Akane, who discovered herself suddenly left behind, scowled deeply. "That jerk. He didn't even pay attention to me. Here I was, worried sick about him! I am gonna hit him REALLY REALLY HARD when we get home!!" Minagi, Sasami, and even Washu edged away from Akane since she was now flaming with anger. In hope of distracting Akane from her anger, Sasami nervously spoke. "Um, why don't we go and watch their practice? It will be fun. I'll make some food, and it will be just like our own picnic." Surprisingly, Akane's mood quickly changed in the mention of making some food, as she clasped Sasami's hands eagerly. "That's a good idea! Let me help you!!" "Um, okay..." Sasami couldn't help but to feel rather scared, as Akane's glimmering eyes were giving her goosebumps. 'I don't know why, but I feel like I just made a BIG mistake...'(5) "It's a good idea really, Sasami-chan! I'll go get my analysis equipments right now!" Before she even finished her words, Washu ran to her lab in the speed that would put an Olympic athelete to shame. The rest of them just blinked in confusion. "Why do we need some analysis equipments for just watching them spar...?" But Sasami's wondering voice didn't reach the scientist as the pink blur had already disappeared into the door... The temple was quiet and peaceful. It was more so today even for one where three goddesses resided. Eveything was so calm that Keiichi was feeling sleepier by the second. He really wanted to go to sleep. Who wouldn't in his shoes? He was right now lying on a porch, his head comfortably laid on the lap of the beautiful goddess, the one who promised to be with him forever. The peace and the silence were special blessing in themselves, but his current situation was nothing if not a gift from heaven itself. Keiichi could stay there forever. Well, nothing was perfect though. There was one minor detail that was bugging him. He was still a 'she,' a small girl to be more precise. The last blunder of Urd's attempt of 'the cure' failed miserably, as he ended up being a 'she.' Keiichi sighed helplessly. 'It would have been great if I was back to normal...' Then he, well, she slowly opened her eyes, and the beautiful face of Belldandy filled his vision. Keiichi smiled. 'Well, at least the view is nice.' "Keiichi! Hey, Keiichi! Are you home?" 'Geez. I knew it was too good to last. Who's that? Ah, Chihiro-sempai... WHO?!?' "Aaaaaargh!!" Keiichi shot straight up. "Chihiro-sempai's here!! Chihiro-sempai's here!! What do I do?! What do I do?!" "Um, Keiichi-san? What's wrong?" Belldandy asked with a confused look on her face. "Where is Urd? Where did she go? What should I do!?!?!?" "Ah Belldandy! You are home, at least..." Chihiro, who just turned around the corner to find Belldandy and the panicking Keiichi, greeted the goddess. "Hello, Chihiro-san. How are you today?" Ever so cheerfully, Belldandy greeted her right back. "Fine, thanks. By the way..." Chihiro scanned the surrounding carefully. "...have you seen Keiichi? I need to talk to him. Is he home?" 'Don't say yes don't say yes don't say yes...' Keiichi was praying in his, ahem, her head. Then she realized something. 'Wait a minute!! Goddesses can't lie!!' "Why of course. Keiichi-san's right here." Belldandy, still smiling, put the young, and female Keiichi right in front of Chihiro. 'Uh-oh.' That was the only thought that went through Keiichi's mind as she was on the verge of fainting away. "Wha......?" Chihiro blinked. "What are you talking about? This girl is not Keiichi... As a matter of fact, Keiichi is NOT a girl..." 'I am doomed I am doomed I am doomed...' Keiichi was now frantic as Chihiro just kept blinking at her. Then she was shocked even more when Chihiro slowly raised her hand. It made way up to her head... "You DO certainly look like him though! Who are you, his cousin or something? Wow, Keiichi's face looks better as a girl." ...and patted her head. Keiichi blinked. 'Wha... I see! She thinks I am my relative! I am saved!' But she stiffened when she heard Belldandy speaking up. "Um... this is not Keiichi-san's cousin. She is..." "I am his niece!" Keiichi quickly cut in. 'Yes! I made the save!' "Oh really? I am sorry, kid." Chihiro didn't suspect a thing... "No, no problem, pretty oneechan..." Keiichi was now sweating nervously. "Oh my! She's so cute!" Chihiro suddenly hugged Keiichi in her arms. "I wish I had a niece like this one!"(6) "Hehe... eheheh..." Keiichi nervously cackled while blushing furiously in Chihiro's arms. "I can't believe that dumb-looking Keiichi has a niece this cute!" 'Sorry I am dumb-looking!' A tiny vein popped on Keiichi's head, although she was still pretending to smile. "...wait a minute..." Chihiro suddenly stopped hugging Keiichi, as she faced the young girl, who again began to sweat nervously. "I don't remember hearing about Keiichi having an older sister..." Belldandy chimed in, still smiling. "That's because she is not a child of Keiichi-san's sister. She is..." "I am his cousin's child!" Keiichi, showing amazing recovery skill, quickly cut in again. "Ah. That makes sense." Chihiro nodded her head. "...but then why did you say she's Keiichi, Belldandy?" Belldandy cheerfully answered. "That's because she IS Keiichi-san." Keiichi felt his heart suddenly stop, while Chihiro blinked, confused. "Eh?" But today Keiichi was on a roll, as she quickly responded to the situation. "My name is Keiichi too! My mom named me after Keiichi-ojisan!" "Ah! Is that so?" Chihiro hit her palm. Then she lowered her gaze down as she patted Keiichi again. "That's a little bad judgement of your mommy, naming you after a guy. Especially one like Keiichi. It has a dumb feeling to it, doesn't it?" Another vein popped on Keiichi's head. 'Sorry my name is dumb too!' Not noticing it, Chihiro continued. "I would like to play with this kid more, but I am actually quite busy right now. I just came by to drop off a box." "A box?" Belldandy blinked. "Yes... well... um... I got a delivery order a while ago... but somehow I forgot all about it! Isn't that funny? Heheheh!" "Delivery? Where?" "Yokohama." "Yokohama?!" Now it was Keiichi who blinked in confusion. 'What does that have to do with me anyway?' "So what do you want Keiichi-san for?" Belldandy asked the question that Keiichi himself had hoped to ask, thankfully. Chihiro nervously scratched her head. "Eheheh, well, I was wondering if he could deliver the box by tomorrow... because if I send it by a parcel, it will be too late..." "WHAT?!?! You want ME to go all the way to Yokohama to deliver something?!?" Keiichi did a double-flip. "Are you serious?!?" Chihiro blinked for a while, before a realization hit her face. "Oh no! Of course I don't mean you, Keiichi-chan! I was talking about your Keiichi-OJISAN." 'That's all the same to me...' Keiichi slumped his shoulders. "Anyhow, I left the box at the front gate. I wrote the address on the box too, so there is nothing to worry about it. Please, Belldandy, be sure to tell Keiichi to deliver that box by TOMORROW. Okay?" "Sure thing, Chihiro-san." Belldandy smiled at Chihiro then turned to Keiichi, who blinked in confusion. "Keiichi-san, Chihiro-san wants you to deliver the box left at the front gate to the address written on it. She says it has to be done by tomorrow." Bam! Both Chihiro and Keiichi now had their faces on the dirt, but with different reasons. Chihiro managed to stand up while rubbing her face. "Th, thanks, Belldandy..." 'She really is one of a kind...' Belldandy replied with a smile. "You're welcome, Chihiro-san." "Ha, haha... see you then..." Chihiro walked away with a weak smile. 'I could never understand that girl...' All through this, Keiichi still had her face on the ground. "......" "Um... you sure about this, grandpa?" Tenchi sweatdropped as he asked his grandfather. "Yes. I think Ranma should learn a thing or two from our family sword style. After all, it's his heritage." Now back on his feet, Katsuhito stood confidently between his two grandchildren. "He recovers pretty fast, huh?" Ryoko whispered to Washu, who was munching on the popcorn stash Sasami handed to her. "Of course. He used to be the best sword fighter in all of Jurai." Washu grinned slyly as she continued. "He beat YOU, didn't he?" "Hey! That jackass didn't beat me! He just sealed me off with his Juraian power! I'd won if it wasn't for that!! That piece of stick ain't nothing! I can beat him anytime!" Bonk! "Don't shout during the training!" Katsuhito retracted his bokken off the head of Ryoko, who was now trembling with pain. Washu did nothing but grin as she saw the tiny vein popped up on the priest's head. 'Touched a nerve, did she?' "Geez, why do I have to use this? I can fight fine without a weapon." Ranma grumbled, not wanting to train with the bokken. "Of all the things, it's bokken too! I ain't no Kuno!" Akane turned to her side, where the rest of the crowd looked at her with curiosity clear on their face. "Inside joke." "AH." They nodded their head and turned their attention back to the two boys. "Ranma! This is your heritage! It's your duty and responsibility to learn the Juraian style of sword fighting." Katsuhito mildly scolded his grandchild. However Ranma didn't even flinch as he skeptically stared at his grandfather. "I don't know. I think I learned enough from the OTHER idiot who ruined my life." Katsuhito sweatdropped at first, but recovered fast enough to reply. "Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to widen your horizon, does it? What's so bad about learning a bit about the way of the sword?" His voice turned soft as he began to persuade Ranma. Then he grinned slyly. "What? You scared? Worried that Tenchi might beat you with his sword? I didn't remember you being such a coward." "Coward?! Me?!? I ain't a coward!!" Ranma fumed at the accusation. He pointed his booken at Katsuhito. "Fine! I'll show who's the coward!! I ain't scared of nobody, especially one with YOUR techniques, old man!!" "Whatever you say, my boy." Katsuhito grinned. 'Good. Ever so touchy about the subject. He's so easy to manipulate.' On the other hand, Tenchi wasn't feeling all that glad. He didn't know Ranma's skill level, but he knew all too well that his cousin had been training with his uncle all his life. Ranma would be anything but an easy opponent. "Gee... why did he have to get Ranma so riled up...?" Paying no heed to the worried Tenchi, Katsuhito started the duel. "Are you boys ready? Bow to each other. Good. Now draw your sword." Both boys drew their swords. Katsuhito was a little surprised when he saw Ranma's stance. 'He's not so bad. In fact, his form is perfect... not a hint of hole in his defence... Genma must have taught him some Kendo too... although I never thought he would. That idiot always had something against the art of the sword.' "Begin!" As soon as the signal was given from their grandfather, both boys charged at each other. "Hyaaaaahhh!!" "Haaaaaaahhh!!" Slash! Kachang! Swish! The battle was short-lived, however, despite everyone's surprise. They were even more shocked when they saw the winner of the fight. "Wha..." Tenchi blinked. Right in front of his eyes was the bokken of his cousin, while his own somehow made its way into the bush on his side. Not only had Ranma parried his attack, the pigtailed boy had easily disarmed him as well. All of this in a mere blink of eyes. 'How did he do that??' Ranma was also surprised himself. He blinked a couple of times before opening his mouth. "Wow, I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was THIS good." Akane smacked her forehead. "Great. His ego is already as big as it can get, and now it's even bigger now." Tenchi stood up and sincerely congratuated his cousin. "Ranma-chan, you are great! I didn't know anyone could move that fast." Sasami also cheered on his side. "Yeah, you were great, Ranma-niichan! Tenchi-niichan's great too, but you were really awesome!" "Nah, it's nothing." Ranma casually shrugged it off, but it was evident on his face that all the compliments were getting to him. Kiyone playfully hit his back. "Hey, don't be so modest. I know how good Tenchi-san is. You are really good." "Oh yes! You were great, Ranma-san!" Mihoshi cheerfully nodded her head. "Eheheh. Nah, it's nothing." Ranma was acting modest, something he rarely did. But alas, he was only ACTING modest, since his face was telling it otherwise. Akane frowned a little. "Ranma you idiot! You don't know how to act modest even when you try to." Ayeka was also frowning, but for a different reason. Technically Ranma was also her family so she should be glad of his fine skills. However she wasn't very amused to see HER Tenchi-sama being defeated so easily. She laughed mildly as she spoke to Ryoko, who was standing by her side. "Ohohoho! He was good. But I am sure Tenchi-sama was going easy on him. Saotome-san is his cousin, after all. Don't you think so, Ryoko-san?" "......" But no reply came. Ryoko was silent, deep in her own thoughts. Ayeka was surprised. If there was one thing that Ryoko and she actually agreed on, it was that Tenchi was a GREAT person. They wouldn't forgive anyone who would say otherwise. 'Is she also thinking that Saotome-san is better than Tenchi-sama?! How dare she!!' "Ryoko-san!!" "......huh?" Ryoko was shaken out of her trance by Ayeka's shouting. "What?" A vein popped on Ayeka's head. It seemed that Ryoko wasn't disagreeing with her, just distracted. However the fact that she was ignored was even more agitating than the assumption that Ryoko didn't agree with her. "How dare you!!" Ryoko raised her eyebrow. "How dare me what??" "Why you..." But before Ayeka could began to choke Ryoko, Minagi came up to them and spoke with a serious look. "You noticed it too, didn't you?" Ryoko's face also turned serious. "You too? And by the look on his face, Yosho did too." Ryoko gestured toward Katsuhito, who was now in deep thoughts. "Eh?" Ayeka blinked in confusion. "What are you people talking about?" Ryoko and Minagi walked away, not realizing that Ayeka was talking to them. Ayeka blinked some more, before fuming furiously and also walked away herself. "Hmph! Fine, be that way!!" "Yosho." Katsuhito raised his head when he heard his name being called. He didn't seem to be surprised to see Ryoko and Minagi standing right in front of him. "Hmm... just as I guessed. You guys noticed it too?" Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. I have been slacking off in the cave for 700 years, but my senses haven't gone yet." Minagi chimed in. "What do you think? Should we ask him about it?" "Ask him what?" "AAH!!!" The three startled when the fourth voice came from behind then. They looked back to see the smiling face of none other than the greatest genius in the universe herself. "DON'T SCARE US LIKE THAT, WASHU!!" "Ahem!" Minagi and Katsuhito flinched a little, but Ryoko didn't. "Ah screw you. What are you doing, sneaking around and eavesdropping on people!?!" Washu put on her mock-hurt expression. "What, can't I join on your conversation? *sob* I was just trying to be more friendly..." "Ah shut up! I know you ain't like that!" Washu grinned slyly. "What were you guys talking about anyway?" Minagi and Katsuhito sighed in relief. It seemed that her curiosity got better of her determination of being called "-chan." They were safe, for now. Ryoko didn't care though. "Feh! Why should we tell you anything?" "Katsuhito-dono?" Katsuhito calmly explained. "We were talking about Ranma's sword skill." "Hey!" Ryoko fumed. "Whatcha tell her that for?!" "I think we can use her opinion. After all, she IS the smartest one in the house, if not the universe." "Hmph!" "Now, now. Don't be upset, Ryoko-san." Minagi tried to calm Ryoko, who mildly hmphed again. Washu grinned at the irritation displayed by her daughter, but went back to talking to Katsuhito. "Yeah? What about Ranma-dono's skill? It was good, wasn't it?" "Yes, it was. Maybe TOO good, actually." "Huh?" Washu blinked. "What do you mean?" Katsuhito's face turned serious as he began to explain. "I have known Genma for quite some time, and one of the things I learned was that he didn't like using weapons. I am sure Ranma also picked up on that, as you saw earlier." Seeing Washu nodding her head in agreement, he continued. "But you also saw him easily defeat Tenchi with his sword. Now, I am not trying to brag or anything, but I am confident that Tenchi's skill surpasses most of the kendo instructors in Japan. He might not be the best yet with his skills alone, but he should easily make in the top one percent." Washu again nodded her head. "I can vouch for that myself. With his Light Hawk Wing Sword he is practically invincible. But even without it he is a real tough one." "Correct. Now, I don't know what kind of weapon training Ranma might have gone through, but it wouldn't have been so thorough and detailed, since Genma himself does not like training with weapons. He might have given Ranma some basic training, but it should be as far as he has gone. But the result today says it otherwise." Washu scratched her chin. "Really? I learned some martial arts myself when I was back in the Academy. Isn't that possible for a martial artist to fight evenly with a swordman?" "It is, if he was going up against him without a sword. With a sword... it's another story. I cannot account for every single case, but in most cases, the martial artist's movement will be restricted somewhat due to the very presence of a sword in his hand. He might still be able to fight evenly with the swordman, but with a great disadvantage." "Still, isn't it too much to think like that? I mean, just because Ranma-dono has won it doesn't mean..." Ryoko snickered as she cut in. "Hah! That's your greatest brain in the universe can come up with? You make me laugh!" Washu frowned. She didn't feel amused of being laughed at, especially about her intelligence. "What do you mean by that?" It was Minagi who answered this time. "Since both of us use the swords, we both know how hard it is to take out an opponent's sword. If one was strong and agile enough, he or she could either break the other's sword or slap it away, provided the opponent was unskilled, or just not skilled enough. But in case of Ranma-san, it wasn't the either case." Washu raised her eyebrow. "Really?" This time it was Ryoko's turn to reply. "He used the method of diverting one's thrusting force to take out Tenchi's bokken. It in itself takes a great deal of skills, but it also requires the ability to predict your opponent's movement. THAT needs a whole different level of training and experience that you can't get in your everyday training." Washu contemplated on the information she had just received. "Hmm... so you are saying Ranma-dono is actually quite a swordman, although he himself does not realize it?" "In a way. However, that's not the only thing that worries me." Katsuhito added. "Huh? What do you mean?" Confused, Washu asked him. 'There is more?' "It was his eyes..." Ranma and Tenchi were standing against each other, both with a bokken in hand. After Katsuhito's signal, both boys charged at each other. *"I saw it that time..."* Close up on Ranma. His battle cry ringing through the air, he rushed toward Tenchi. Suddenly, for a brief moment, his eyes flashed. *"His eyes were... different. During that a second or two, he wasn't himself. He was... someone else."* Suddenly the movements of his bokken became smoother, as it touched Tenchi's bokken. Next second, Tenchi's bokken was up in the air, away from the hands of now shocked Tenchi. *"...and that someone else used the bokken, not Ranma. It was very short and brief, but it was there. Ranma... changed."* "Changed? To whom? And how would that be possible?" Washu's ears perked. 'This is very interesting...' Katsuhito shook his head. "I don't know, and I doubt even Ranma himself knows. I can't even fathom what might have happened. Somehow there is a part of Ranma no one knows, even himself. That's all I can tell." "Hmm..." Washu was not in deep thoughts. 'Maybe this has something to do with what I discovered earlier... Memory loss, and a short but definite change of a person... it sounds fishy...' However, before Washu could gather her ideas, Nobuyuki's voice caught everyone's attention. "Father! Father! There are some visitors looking for you in the shrine!" "Coming! Let's talk about this some other time, shall we? We don't want to worry Tenchi needlessly." All three girls nodded their agreement to the priest's suggestion. "Good. Now I should head back to the shrine... that reminds me. Tenchi!" "What, grandpa?" "Don't forget to come up to the shrine later! You still haven't finished cleaning the stairs today!" "*sigh* Fine, fine." Katsuhito grinned shortly before he began walking up the stairs. 'Ah, the joy of having a grandchild as a servant. By the way, who could be there to visit me in this time of the year?' "Where is he going?" Ranma asked his cousin as he shoved another riceball into his mouth. 'Doesn't he hear anything when he's eating?' Tenchi sweatdropped but answered nonetheless. "He has a visitor waiting for him at the shrine so he's going back there." "Shrine?" Ranma blinked, but shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. Less people here, more food for me." But before Ranma could reach for another riceball, Akane slapped his hand away from the bento. "Ranma! You had a dozen of them already! Let Tenchi-kun have some!" Ranma rubbed his hand while scowling at his fiancee. "Geez, alright alright. You are so uncute." "What did you say!?" "Nothing." Ranma snorted and turned his head away. Akane blinked. 'Weird. He would usually insult me some more before shutting his mouth... well, I have to shut it up for him, but nonetheless...' Seeing their mood deteriorating, Sasami tried to cheer Ranma up with another bento box. "Here, Ranma-niichan. Have this one!" Ranma smiled at the blue-haired girl happily. "Wow, one whole box for myself? Thank you, Sasami-chan!" What he didn't notice was the sly grin on Akane's face. 'Good. He doesn't know that's my cooking. Let's see what he says after he eats it...' "Mmmm! Yummy! You are such a great cook, Sasami-chan!" "Thank you, Ranma-niichan!" "Eh?!" Akane blinked. 'He, he likes it?! Does this mean I DID IT? I MADE SOMETHING AND RANMA LIKES IT!?' Not noticing the shocked look on Akane's face, Ranma continued to compliment on the food. "Especially this eggroll, it's really good! It's one of the best I had, well, ever!" "Heheh... You are embarassing me, Ranma-niichan..." 'He likes the eggroll too! After all I went through of making it... huh? Eggroll? I made no eggroll...?' Akane blinked in confusion. She hurriedly grabbed the bento box out of Ranma's hand, much to his surprise. "Hey!" Not paying attention to his protest, Akane quickly examined the bento box. "This, this is not mine!" "Well, duh! It tastes good, so why would it be yours?" Bam! "You didn't have to say it like that!" "Un... cute..." After burying Ranma's head underground, Akane asked Sasami. "Where is my bento box, Sasami-chan?" "Ah, that one?" Sasami pointed toward the opposite side of the group. "I think it's somewhere over there..." "Yuuuuuuccckkkk!!! Yo, Ayeka! You cooked again?!" "I certainly did not!! I wouldn't make something so discustingly looking like that!! You are just covering for YOUR mistake, aren't you?" "Hmm... maybe not... It looks like it might be one of Mihoshi's creation, all burnt and shaped weird... and it smells weird too! It must be Mihoshi's!" "Eh?! What are you saying, Washu-chan? I didn't make anything this time, I swear! Kiyone was with me the whole time! Right, Kiyone? Kiyone?" "........." "Um, Mihoshi-san. I think she passed out... after eating that bento..." "Um..." Sasami turned to Akane with a sweatdrop on her head. "...maybe that's the one you were looking for...?" "...yes..." When Katsuhito reached the shrine, he found four figures standing in front of his place. One of them was a young girl, one about Mayuka's age. The rest of them were full-grown ladies. One of them was a short blonde, while another had ocean blue hair. The last one was a beautiful lady with long dark green hair, that floated gently in the wind. She had her back toward him, so he couldn't see her face. 'Wait. Long... dark green?! Can't be...' Katsuhito's eyes widened with the shock. They widened even further when the lady in question slowly turned toward him. Finally, she was looking straight at him, and his jaw was now hung open widely. "Set-Setsuna..." Meiou Setsuna smiled at her old friend. "Long time no see, Katsuhito." Morisato Keiichi stood at the gate, his eyes staring off at empty space. Before him... no her, was a BIG box. There was no other words suitable for describing it really. It was BIG. Even if Keiichi turned back normal, the box would be still big enough to fit her... him in. "How am I going to deliver this box?! To Yokohama, no less!!" She looked down on her small, and female body. "It would be hard with my normal body... and I am stuck like this right now! I can't even lift it! This is impossible!" It was then when a hand reached from behind and gently touched her shoulders. Keiichi looked up behind to see the smiling face of Belldandy looking down on her. "Don't worry, Keiichi-san. I can deliver it for you. It won't be so hard for me." "But..." Keiichi couldn't finish her words. She knew she would have to depend on Belldandy eventually, only that she didn't want to admit it. Although she was in a female body right now, Morisato Keiichi was a man! ...how wimpy he might be. He had pride as a man, damn it! ...how weak and indecisive he might be. She knew the goddess would have no trouble doing the work for her, but Keiichi just didn't want to impose on Belldandy. However she couldn't come up with an arguement. The box had to be delivered by tomorrow in one way or other. In her current shape, there was no way Keiichi would be able to do the task. He knew it well, maybe too well... Defeated, Keiichi slumped her shoulders and lowered his head. "I am sorry, Belldandy......" The goddess only smiled back at her man, who was a girl right now. "No need to apologize, Keiichi-san. I am only doing this because I want to. I want to be more help if I could. I can't turn you back, so this is the least I can do for you." Keiichi just stared at the goddess. "Belldandy......" Belldandy gently hugged the little girl. "Cheer up, Keiichi-san. I promised back then that I will stay with you forever, right? No matter what happens, you are still the same Keiichi-san I made the promise with. I will always be at your side." Keiichi smiled back. "Thank you... Belldandy." "You are welcome, Keiichi-san." "*whistle* Whoo-hoo! Check out the hot couple!" Keiichi blinked, until she saw Urd standing not far away, with a smirk on her face. "Urd! Where have you been?! What about my cure!?" "Ah, that!" Urd scratched her head with nervous grin. "Well... I totally forgot about that..." "What?!?" "Calm down, calm down." Urd held up her hands defensively. "There is no need to worry. I worked out the formula again and it seems that the effect of the drug shouldn't last that long. In fact, it should wear out pretty soon." Keiichi's face brightened up significantly. "Really? How soon?" "Well... right about..." Puff! "...now..." She was right. Keiichi's body turned back to normal. Unfortunately, she... no he was still wearing his... her clothes. Keiichi was a small and petite man, but he wasn't THAT much small and petite, as the small dress he had been wearing was now nothing but a torn piece of fabric. While that in itself was a total embarassment, it was nothing compared to the pain he felt as his... her underwear stretched to fit HIS groin... "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!" Chapter 11 ends. (1) Well, duh! You are gonna have to do better than that, Washu! Akane SEDATES Ranma all the time! (2) Nor is it mine! Sorry, but I am not coming up with more difficult one than that one! (3) Washu might be the greatest scientist in the universe, but she was NOT the greatest doctor in the universe... (4) ...and awake. Nobuyuki was still out cold. (5) It's not a BIG mistake, Sasami. It's a GIGANTIC mistake. (6) Flattery might get you nowhere sometimes, but it's worth a shot most of the times. Finally! I've been hanging on to this one for quite some time! My school is finally getting to me, and I didn't have much time to work on this lately. I am not giving up though! Stallion will go on! Hurray! Late thanks to Hair Care Productions(TendouNabiki@webtv.net), Speeps(Speeps@aol.com), and Otaku (swilliams07@home.com) for letting me know more about Sailor Mars. Sorry for the lateness of this message, but I was busy... For the previous chapters, go to Phu's Anime Page! At http://members.nbci.com/phu_lam/