From: Kyo Kusanagi Subject: [FFML][Ranma][Fanfic][revision][Lemon] Jusenkyo's Curse 2 (2/4) "H...Hey! Shampoo! Quit pushing! Hey!..." Ranma spluttered as Shampoo playfully pushed him into the room and onto the bed. She then walked over to a nearby table and dumped the armful of herbs, spices and the kitchen sink onto it. She then took out a teapot and, opening the top, emptied the contents of the packet containing the drug into it. Shampoo thought, grinning wickedly. <...Finally I can go home with husband...> Shampoo was so absorbed in thought she didn't sense Ranma coming up behind her until he was almost on top of her. "What're you doing, Shampoo?" he asked, peering at the open teapot. Shampoo jumped, literally, as she got a surprise. "Aiya! Ranma, no sneak up like that! You scare Shampoo!" she said in mock anger before holding out a cup of tea. "...Drink!" she said, smiling. Ranma took the cup but didn't drink. "...What didja put in it?" he asked after a moment. "Shampoo no put anything in tea!" she said indignantly. Oh suuuuuuure she didn't. "Shampoo try to be nice and make tea for hurt husband and he no like..." Shampoo said, tears forming in her eyes. "Ack! Shampoo, don't cry! I'll drink it, I'll drink it!" Ranma said quickly, gulping down the tea in one mouthful. He failed to notice the look of satisfaction on Shampoo's face as he downed the tea. thought Shampoo. <...Finally you will say that you love Shampoo and will marry her.> "Funny taste, that tea, you sure you didn't put anything into it?" asked Ranma, peering into the cup. Shampoo put on an innocent look and shook her head, smiling cutely at Ranma. "Shampoo no put anything into tea, ai-ren...Lie on bed, Shampoo need change bandage..." she said, pushing Ranma onto the bed again. She began to rummage through the pile of medicinal herbs and items that she brought with her, mumbling something unintelligible in Chinese all the while. Ranma however, couldn't take his eyes off Shampoo's butt, which was facing him as she was bent over the small table nearby. He could almost see her panties through the thin white skirt she wore. His eyes dropped lower to gaze at her legs, which disappeared up into where her skirt began. All the time he was yelling to himself not to think such thoughts, however he wasn't succeeding, his growing erection was proof of that. A strange longing was building up inside him. The more he tried to tear his gaze away from Shampoo's ass, the more he found himself staring. Ranma cursed himself. Though the answer he came up with was something along the lines of 'I don't care!'. He remembered exactly why he ran away from the dojo in the first place. Akane said that he'd be better off dead, didn't she? "Ranma? What you thinking?" Shampoo asked, smiling as she walked over to him holding a bundle of cotton wool and some yellow liquid in a bottle. Ranma turned onto his side, trying to hide his obvious erection from her. He couldn't help but note the flimsy blue top she wore, barely covering her breasts and the way they bounced as she walked. Taking a closer look, he could see the outlines of her nipples through her flimsy top. She unbuttoned his shirt and, after removing the old dressings, began to clean the wounds. >From the way she was standing, Ranma could see her entire bust through her top which was hanging down. He got even more turned on by the sight. he yelled at himself once more He tried to stop by thinking of Akane again, but it only made things harder. Yes she does Ranma, why else do you think she cried when you left? Kuno? Yeah right. Ryoga? He would if he was in any state to even move. You know she wouldn't! "Yaaaaagh!" Ranma yelled out, frustrated at losing a battle with himself, Shampoo however, thought that she'd hurt him while she was cleaning off the wounds and immediately backed off, a concerned and shocked look on her face. "Ranma...you ok? Shampoo sorry if..." she looked sheepishly at the ground. Ranma stood up and walked over to her. he mentally berated himself. His mind knew full well what he was thinking of doing was hell wrong, but for some reason his body didn't agree. His throbbing erection was more than adequate proof of that. "Ranma!.." Shampoo was surprised when he gave her a hug. A part of her said that he shouldn't be doing this, a VERY small part. The rest was telling her that it was what she wanted. his mind screamed at him. His body was thinking otherwise however, as his hug became a caress. "Shampoo, it's ok, it wasn't your fault, I was just thinking..." "What you thinking Ranma?" Shampoo looked up uncertainly at him, her eyes never leaving his face. his mind immediately pushed in, before his mouth could wander. "Shampoo...I've been thinking...Umm...that we can...err..." Ranma being this close to Shampoo, could smell her scent, it was nice, smelling faintly of lilac. Ranma lost his mind for a moment, unconsciously running a hand through her soft, purple hair. He could smell the shampoo she used as he played with a few strands, it's scent making him feel light-headed. He abruptly stopped, realising what he was doing. The drug was now beginning to take full effect and Ranma, unknowingly, was losing control over his faculties. His mind recovering in time to scream at him. He released his hold on her and walked over to the table, where all sorts of paraphernalia were scattered. Shampoo, watched for a moment then walked over, hugging him from behind. Ranma felt a twinge of electricity when she hugged him. He could feel her breasts poking into his back and, shamefully, his own erect member poking at the front of his pants. "Shampoo...I...I..." It was as far as he got as Shampoo turned him around and drew his face down for a kiss. his conscience yelled out. Ranma yelled back at his conscience. Ranma ignored the mental warnings, his mind set on doing something that he wanted for once, or rather, what his body wanted. Fully under the influence of the lust-inducing drug now, he kissed Shampoo back, their tongues intertwining as he picked her up and walked over to the bed. They didn't break the kiss until Shampoo pushed him onto the bed and began to undo her top. "Ranma, Shampoo wait so long for today..." she smiled as she slipped out of her top, her breasts swinging into full view. Ranma's eyes widened at the sight of them, his erect manhood raising a lump in his pants. Shampoo giggled when she saw it, Ranma immediately blushed and tried to hide it. Shampoo simply smiled, put a hand down his pants and began to stroke it. Ranma started in shock for a moment, realising that Shampoo was beside him half-naked and giving him a hand-job. He moaned softly at the pleasure her rubbing was giving him., Cupping her breasts in his hands, he began to suckle on a hard nipple. Shampoo let out a soft moan as her breasts felt like they were on fire. She shivered as Ranma continued sucking and occasionally nibbling, drawing gasps of pleasure from her, momentarily stopping her from finishing the hand-job she was giving him. Ranma eventually stopped and stood up, Shampoo gasped as he dropped his pants and his erect manhood was fully exposed. Ranma laid back down on the bed as Shampoo timidly took his manhood in her hands and began to play with it. Ranma moaned with pleasure as Shampoo began to suck at it, deep-throating it while Ranma's hands found their way up her skirt and began to tease the moistening area of her panties. Shampoo moaned as Ranma's fingers found their way under her panties and found her hardening clit. Even the slightest contact was enough to send shockwaves of ecstasy through her. Shampoo almost wanted to grab Ranma's wrist and make him drive his fingers into her, or suck them, anything to make him stop driving her crazy with the pleasure she was getting now. "Ai-ya! Ranma no...t-tease Shampoo...ok?" Shampoo managed to get out in between gasps and moans. Ranma smiled and nodded as he pulled her wet panties down to her ankles and began eating her out from behind as they twisted into a 69. Shampoo's head began bobbing up and down frantically as she deep-throated Ranma, stopping occasionally to lick up and down his shaft, kissing or sucking on the tip. Ranma, behind her, was lost in a sea of ecstasy, muttering Shampoo's name more than once as Shampoo continued her treatment. his mind clicked for a moment. <...Wha...what am I doing?!?...> he thought. But before his mind could answer, it gave way to the drug's influence once more. Ranma moaned and watched Shampoo's head continue bobbing. From his position behind her, he could smell her musky scent as he licked at her wet womanhood, his tongue penetrating her wet folds and into her tight hole more than once, drawing moans of pleasure from her. Ranma's conscience kept plaguing him as he continued to pleasure Shampoo from behind. his mind screamed from behind the barrier of insatiable lust that the drug was imposing onto Ranma, now lost in a world of ecstasy as he felt himself start to cum. Shampoo, sensing this, increased her tempo as Ranma did likewise, licking her clit with an increasing pace. Both screamed as they came almost simultaneously, Ranma's seed splashing into Shampoo's mouth as her honey ran down Ranma's face, who eagerly licked up as much as he could as Shampoo likewise swallowed as much of his seed as she could. Shampoo sat up and slowly positioned herself over Ranma's still-erect manhood. Ranma's eyes widened as he silently posed the question, 'You sure you want to do this?'. Shampoo, seeing the look in his eyes, simply nodded and guided the tip of his rock-hard shaft toward her wet opening. "Ok, Shampoo, just go slowly at first, it may hurt." Shampoo nodded and began to lower herself onto Ranma's shaft. Taking his advice, she went slowly at first, feeling her vaginal walls expand to accommodate his manhood. The feeling was euphoric, although it was mixed slightly with pain, it felt better than anything she'd ever felt before in her entire life. The hours masturbating in the bathroom and in bed were nothing compared to this. Shampoo continued descending until she suddenly stopped when she felt Ranma's manhood gently poke her hymen. She looked at Ranma expectantly. "Shampoo..." Ranma began but was shushed when Shampoo put a finger to his lips, her eyes saying all. Ranma nodded and, with one upthrust, broke her. Shampoo screamed at the sudden pain as she felt something run down her inner thigh. But soon the feeling of pleasure took over as the pain vanished and she began to moan in ecstasy as Ranma slowly thrust upward into her. The feeling of pleasure was overwhelming, Shampoo moaning Ranma's name and "wo te ai-ren"(my husband, my lover etc) more than once as she could hear Ranma's grunts and moans of pleasure and, even better to her, the sound of her own name. Ranma decided that he'd had enough of being on the bottom and pushed her off, drawing a small 'Huh?' from Shampoo. She looked at Ranma who came up behind her and before she could realise what was going on, entered her wet pussy from behind. Shampoo began moaning again as the euphoric feeling of pleasure redoubled itself, this time with Ranma in control of the tempo as he held onto her hips for support. Watching Shampoo's breasts jiggle back and forth only caused him to lust for more. "Ai-ya! Ranma!...Ai-ya!..." Shampoo screamed as she felt herself approach her second orgasm. Ranma noted this and began to drive himself into her faster. However, Shampoo suddenly pulled herself off and, pushing Ranma back onto the bed, began to ride him with increasing speed. This time Ranma didn't complain, he simply drove his hips upward in time with her pounding. Shampoo knew she couldn't hold on any longer and when she came, she came hard, her pussy clenching tightly onto Ranma's manhood like a vice, her honey running down his erect shaft as he continued to thrust into her. The extra tightness was all he needed and, after a few more strokes, he shot off his hot seed inside her, Shampoo screaming with pleasure as she felt the hot wetness splash inside her. Both of them were silent for a while after that, breathing heavily. Ranma pulled his softening member from Shampoo as she got off him and sat up beside him, gazing at him with tear-filled eyes. Ranma smiled at her and reached up with one hand to gently rub her cheek before gently pulling her toward him. Shampoo buried her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her lovingly as she cried quietly into his chest. "Shampoo...what's wrong?" Ranma asked quietly. "N...Nothing, Shampoo just happy...happy that Ranma love Shampoo..." Shampoo said in between sobs. Ranma simply stroked her hair and smiled, it smelled fresh and clean. "R...Ranma..." "Hmm?" "Do you love Shampoo?" "Ssshhhh, Shampoo..." Ranma whispered into her ear "...You know I do..." Shampoo's heart leapt as he said it, and simply continued crying into his chest out of happiness. Her whimpering slowly faded and stopped completely after a while. The couple fell asleep after a while. Outside, Cologne turned away from the door and smiled, it had all gone perfectly. A few hours later Ranma awoke with a start. Now that the drug had worn off, he was wondering where he was and more importantly, what he had been doing. "Where the hell am I? What the hell's been...ACK!" Ranma yelped when he saw Shampoo, completely naked, snuggled up to him. Ranma asked himself furiously. He desperately tried to slide her off him without waking her, with little success. "What the hell is she doing here like this?!?" Ranma whispered furiously to himself. "...And why is she naked?" Ranma peered around the room, it was now dark but there was no mistaking this was the room she'd dumped him into before everything went hazy. There was a strange, faint, lingering smell in the room. It was rather hard to place, he'd smelled it somewhere before, just can't quite place it. He shrugged the blanket off and tried once more to push Shampoo off him, and the scent filled the room. Ranma's stomach lurched, not from the scent, but from realisation. "Oh God! No...Don't tell me I did...with Shampoo..." Ranma said, trying to convince himself. He moved aside slightly and saw a small patch of blood on the bedsheet, blood that Shampoo had leaked when he broke her hymen. "Shampoo..." he gently spoke her name into her ear. Shampoo stirred after a moment and woke up. "Hmm, ai-ren?" "Did we just...just...do...you know...Well did we?!?" Ranma asked, almost frantically. Shampoo smiled and nodded before burying her face into Ranma's chest again, nuzzling softly. Shampoo thought. <...Ranma no remember what he do, pity...It so nice...> "Ranma have Shampoo now..." she said happily. "...Shampoo always waiting so long for this..." Shampoo continued expounding on how wonderful it was that she now had Ranma all to herself. Ranma however, wasn't listening, his mind was too busy trying to work out what to do now. Ranma thought feverishly, panic rising in him. "Shampoo..." he put both hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away to within arms length. "What is it, ai-ren?" Shampoo replied, giggling. 'Promise me you won't tell anyone about this!" Ranma said, almost pleading. Shampoo feigned a look of surprise. "Why? Shampoo so happy now, must tell violent-girl that violent-girl lose to Shampoo..." Shampoo thought, grinning evilly. "NO!..." Ranma shouted, startling Shampoo. Then he caught himself and forced himself to be calm. "...I mean, don't do that, please..." he said. "Why not? Why ai-ren no want violent tomboy girl to know?" "Shampoo listen..." Ranma said, taking a deep breath. "...If Akane finds out, she'll kill me, no...Her father will kill me, and that's just the start...If he finds out I've 'broken off with Akane', as he would put it, there's no telling what he'd do." Ranma looked down at his lap, his voice now soft and withdrawn. "...I don't know what he'd do, I don't know what *I* would do...He may choose to throw me and oyaji out of the dojo altogether..." Ranma paused, and drew in a breath. Shampoo noted with surprise and a little shock that it drawn raggedly, almost as if he were trying not to cry. Suddenly his head shot up, anger flaring in his eyes. "...Why did I do this anyway?!? I wouldn't do it willingly!..." Ranma said menacingly. Shampoo yelped as she felt his grip on her shoulders tighten painfully. "...What did you do to me Shampoo?!? What did..." Ranma's voice trailed off. "...Of course...the tea!" Shampoo paled. "What...what you talking Ranma?...Shampoo no understand..." she said meekly. "Don't hand me that!" Ranma snapped back. "...I know you put something into that tea you gave me!..." Shampoo yelped again as Ranma's fingers dug into her skin painfully. "...I want to know WHAT!" Shampoo remained silent and said nothing. Ranma shook her. "...Tell me Shampoo! What did you put in the tea?!?" he rephrased his question, this time adding more force behind his words. Shampoo lowered her head shamefully and began to sob quietly. "...Forgive Shampoo, Ranma...was Hibaa-chan tell me to do..." she said, blinking back a few tears. "What did that old prune tell you to do?!? Don't lie to me Shampoo!" Ranma shook her once more. "Hibaa-chan tell Shampoo...Tell Shampoo that..." Shampoo began, sniffling pathetically. "Told you what?!?" Ranma almost shouted. Shampoo winced then broke down and began to cry. Ranma's anger slowly dissipated, he always found it hard to stay mad at a crying girl, this was no exception. Shampoo's sobbing was starting to make him feel guilty. "...I'm sorry Shampoo..." he said, calming his voice. "...But I have to know...Tell me...Please." Ranma took his right hand off Shampoo's left shoulder and wiped away a tear with a finger. Shampoo nodded after a while. "Hibaa-chan say that if Shampoo want to make Ranma husband, make love to Ranma...Then must marry or lose honor..." Shampoo said, trying not to choke on her words. "Why that withered, dried up, stinky old...*ACK*" Ranma let out a yelp of surprise and pain before collapsing unconscious to the bed. Shampoo looked up in surprise at Cologne who was poised on her staff behind Ranma. For all of Ranma's legendary danger senses, they were still no match for a 300 year old master of the martial arts. Cologne shook her head. "...Stupid boy, you had to find out, didn't you?..." she said with a tinge of regret in her voice. <"...Xian Pu, he must not remember this incident...You know what to do..."> Shampoo blinked in shock. <"You mean, use the Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu?...No! Not on Ranma! He will never forgive me!"> Shampoo retorted. <"You foolish girl! If you don't then when he awakes, he will hate you anyway! What you have just done is unforgivable in his mind..."> Cologne paused to draw breath. <"...The choice is yours granddaughter...If you want to marry Ranma, then I suggest you do it, and do it now..."> Cologne turned and hopped from the room. Shampoo looked down at the unconscious Ranma. <"Ranma, please forgive me, it's the only way..."> Shampoo said, hoisting Ranma over her shoulder and walking into the bathroom. In the bathroom, Shampoo deposited Ranma on a small bath stool and took a place behind him. She sighed and looked at the bottle of shampoo in her hand, Formula 411. Steeling herself, she commenced the process, 60 seconds later, it was done and Ranma would never remember any of the wonderful things that they'd done this night. Shampoo sighed again, pausing to flick a few stray tears out of her eyes before picking Ranma up again and carrying him back into the bedroom and depositing him onto the bed. Ranma awoke a few minutes later. "...Man, I must have been tired out..." he looked around the room, it was now dark. "...Yep, I must have slept through Shampoo's treatment." He looked around the room and saw Shampoo sitting on the chair near the table, she appeared to be sifting through the pile of herbs until she heard Ranma wake. "Oh, you wake up Ranma..." she said, putting on as cheerful a face as she could. "...You sleep well, yes?" Ranma nodded and scratched the back of his head. "...Yep, sure did, man I sure feel refreshed..." he said, grinning. "...Thank you for helping me Shampoo, I owe you one..." Shampoo thought sadly. "Hey! What's wrong, Shampoo?" he asked, noticing the sad look on her face. Shampoo shook her head and put on a forced smile at Ranma. "Nothing, Shampoo okay..." she said, bouncing away from the table. Ranma made to get out of bed then noticed he was naked. "Ack! Where are my clothes?!?" he exclaimed, clutching the covers to his chest. "...Shampoo! Did you do anything while I was asleep?!?" Shampoo shook her head. "N...No, Shampoo no do anything...S...Shampoo only change bandage..." she said, stuttering slightly. Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, okay, where are my clothes?" Shampoo pointed to a stool beside the bed and turned away as Ranma dressed. "Ok, I'm done..." he exclaimed, standing up and stretching. As he did so, something on the table caught his eye. "What are those small silver packets over there on the table?" Ranma was curious as to what the packets resembling packs of trading cards in silver wrapping were. "Oh, that is anti-curse powder. Great-grandmother say it can remove curse but..." "WHAT!?" Ranma jumped up at hearing that. "Why didn't you tell me you had this sooner?!?" Shampoo looked at the ground, hesitating a bit before saying anything. "Because Great-grandmother say it only temporary..." Ranma face-faulted. "...As well as un-sta-ble." Shampoo's Japanese wasn't all that good and she had trouble pronouncing complicated words. "Bah, what the hell, being cured for a while is better than not being cured at all! Come on, show me how you use it!" Shampoo sighed, she had hoped not to tell Ranma about the powder because it was rather unstable and could have unpredictable results. At any other time she would have simply refused but, looking at Ranma who was eyeing her expectantly, and considering what she'd just done. She thought it would be all right to give him the powder once. If only to ease her conscience. "Ok Ranma, come into bath..." Shampoo walked over to the table and gathered up the packets along with a few other items as Ranma eyed her from the bed, a noticeable bulge growing between his legs as he watched her breasts jiggle. "Err...Right behind you!" Ranma waited a moment for his erection to drop before following Shampoo into the bathroom. "Ranma, Shampoo give you powder only if you promise to keep secret ok?" Ranma eagerly promised, it was as if he was going to reveal something this wonderful to his lame excuse of a father, who couldn't care less who he engaged(or sold) him to. Ranma ran over the possible candidates that he could tell and came up negative on each one. Shampoo ran the bath, waiting for the bathtub to fully fill with cold water before emptying the contents of a packet into the water. Ranma could see the silvery dust glimmer as it fell and dissolve as it mixed with the water. Ranma thought to himself as he saw the look on Shampoo's face, half-pleading him not to do it. "Ok...what's next?" Ranma asked. Shampoo, hearing this, slumped her shoulders in resignation and, picking up a bucketful of cold water from beside her, dumped it onto Ranma. "H...Hey!! What's that for!?...Brrr! That's cold!" A shivering Ranma-chan exclaimed. Shampoo simply looked at her with a look of resignation on her face. "For powder to work, must be in cursed form..." Shampoo took a long look at Ranma-chan, like it was the last time she'd ever see the redheaded girl again. Her eyes scanned Ranma-chan all over, stopping particularly at her chest and the spot between her legs to eye her voluptuous curves and red pubic bush respectively. Ranma-chan blushed furiously, covering her chest with her arms. she cursed herself silently as she felt her nipples erect and a growing wetness between her legs. Ranma-chan couldn't help but feel that Shampoo was liking this too. Ranma-chan was surprised when Shampoo reached out and touched her mound, running her fingers through the red pubic hair. Ranma would never admit it, but on occasion he liked getting off as a girl. It felt 'different' somehow, and having the best of both worlds he was able to fully appreciate it. That's probably one thing his curse was good for. But now however, he, she rather, felt kind of strange, she was actually liking Shampoo's fingers playing with her moistening sex. Ranma-chan felt herself getting wetter as Shampoo gently spread her lips and stroked her hardening clit. Ranma-chan knew she shouldn't be allowing Shampoo to do this, yet she was enjoying it so much it was hard to tell her to stop. "S...Shampoo...St...stop it...Wha...What're you...Don't!" Ranma-chan managed to get out. Shampoo, realising what she was doing, drew her hand back and apologised quickly before turning away to select some other ingredients from the pile she brought in with her, putting them into the bath as well. Ranma-chan however, was getting a little fidgety watching Shampoo dump the ingredients into the bathtub and she was beginning to wonder whether this was a good idea. "Ok Ranma, get into bath" Shampoo said finally after adding some blue powder from a sachet she held in her hand. Ranma-chan, her mind on other things however, didn't hear what Shampoo said and simply went 'Huh?'. Shampoo thought Ranma didn't hear her and simply pointed at the bath. Ranma-chan nodded and as she was about to step in, she slipped onto the wet floor and bumped into Shampoo, knocking the sachet containing the blue powder into the bath. "Ai-ya! No! Not that powder!" Shampoo blurted out. "Oh, sorry Shampoo, slippery floor..." Ranma-chan smiled uneasily at her before stepping into the bath, shivering slightly as she felt the cold water. "Ranma! No! No go in now, it..." It was too late, Ranma-chan had fully immersed herself into the water containing dissolved substances. Shampoo gasped and took and involuntary backstep. Quickly she recovered her wits and, snatching up something looking very much like a sponge and immersed her hand into the bath water, hoping she wasn't too late. "Shampoo? What are you...YAAAAAAA!!" Ranma-chan screamed as the water in the bath suddenly erupted with a blinding white light, engulfing them both. "Ranma!! Get...out...of...bath..." Shampoo managed to get out before being engulfed by a torrent of glowing water and fainting. Ranma-chan simply continued screaming, her voice echoing long into the night... ************ Jyusei Shimada screamed as a massive release of power assaulted his mind, lights exploding before his eyes and dancing like spectres in front of him through a red haze that clouded his vision. It took him a few long, tense moments to recover, his hands gripping the sides of the table so tightly his knuckles turned white. He thought "Err...Mr. Shimada...Sir, are you ok?" a Director asked tentatively. "Uhh...Y...yes I'm fine...Let's...Let's postpone this meeting till....another day." Jyusei struggled to get out, his mind still reeling from the sudden explosion of power. His Board of Directors nodded uneasily and began to pack in their documents and other items. A few of them offered to assist Jyusei but he declined, saying that he was fine and they should just leave him be. Slowly they filed out of the meeting room, a few looking back at Jyusei, still seated in his chair, still visibly shaking. Jyusei rose unsteadily to his feet, waited a few moments for the room to stop moving, then pressed a button his desk intercom. "Uhh...Jyusei here...tell...Mishouru the appointment is off for today. Some...something's come up. Tell him I'm sorry..." "Mr. Shimada, are you all right? You sound kind of shaky..." His secretary's voice came through from the other end. From the tone of Jyusei's voice she naturally was concerned for her boss. "Y...yes, I'm fine. Also, tell Ken to come to the meeting room quickly...I...I think I'll take the day off..." "Will do sir, have a good rest ok?" His secretary sounded quite concerned. "I will, thank you..." Jyusei flicked the power off and walked shakily to the door, using the frame to steady himself on occasion. Ken, his chauffeur and personal assistant, as well as his confidant in many things, quickly ran to his employer's aid after getting the message from the secretary. "K...Ken..." Jyusei mumbled as Ken assisted his employer out of the meeting room and out of the building. "Sir?" "Take me to the...ancestral shrine...now!..." Ken shot his employer a questioning look, only to be received with a piercing gaze. "Do it...don't question my order!" Ken nodded and, making sure his employer was safely in the limo, drove off. Jyusei tried to make sense of the burst of power that had sent him almost insane. Indeed, a lesser man would have been nothing more than a raving lunatic now. Jyusei shivered at the thought. ************** "Hey guys, what do you make of this?!" Akane ran into the main room, holding a peach she found outside the window of the room where Ryoga was sleeping just before he vanished. She had said that she'd felt uneasy and had taken a walk outside to clear her head. Night had just fallen, the stars coming out from behind the clouds as the moon's brilliance shone upon the dojo. Akane was walking around outside stargazing when she came across the peach. "Oh my! A peach?" Kasumi exclaimed. Everyone paused for a moment then piped up almost at the same time. "Toma?!?" Another pause. "Can't be, Togenkyo floated away more than three months ago..." Nabiki piped up. "Even if it was him, what would he want with Ryoga?" Akane added. "Togenkyo?" Nodoka asked, apparently confused. "Oh, sorry. Let me explain..." Akane spent the next half-hour explaining to Nodoka their experiences on the Island of Togenkyo after being shipwrecked on a deserted island after Kuno took them on a 'cruise' three months or so ago. About how Toma wanted to marry Akane and how Ranma saved her. Nodoka's eyes filled with tears as Akane talked about Ranma and his gallant act. Akane left out the part about Ranma needing the water from the spring to be cured however, as it would give the game away. "Akane..." Nodoka began. "...Do...do you love my son?..." Akane was taken aback at the question. She wanted to admit it, but as usual her pride prevented her from doing so. Also, she wanted to tell Nodoka the truth about Ranma's curse. She, like most everyone else here, knew how much it hurt Nodoka every time she came, hoping to see her son and husband for the first time in years. But every time being denied that opportunity. Akane slowly nodded, to Nodoka's delight. Soun and Genma, who'd been watching like hawks for the past few seconds, took out their little fans and began cheering. Nabiki sighed at not being to use that fact to blackmail Akane in future while Kasumi simply smiled. <...Yet...I drove him away...> Akane's eyes began to fill with tears at the thought. "Akane dear, what's wrong?" Nodoka gently pushed Akane's hair back over her forehead out of her eyes, Smiling. "Oh Auntie...Ranma, Ranma's..." Akane stopped when she saw Genma standing behind Nodoka, sweating profusely while making stabbing motions with both hands toward his stomach while frantically imploring her not to say it. Akane held Genma's pleading gaze for a moment. Akane thought. Akane looked apologetically at Genma, who caught the look and began to inch toward the door. "Auntie...Ranma's...Ran-..." Before she could finish, a voice rang out from outside. "Akane!! Akane, where are you?!?" Akane's eyes widened in surprise, along with almost everybody else's. "R...Ryoga?!?..." Akane stammered out. To everyone's utter shock and surprise, Ryoga actually managed to find his way in through the front door!!! Akane's eyes widened further when she saw Ryoga, with hardly a scratch on him! "Ryoga...Where were...what..." Akane tried to say. Too many questions were plaguing her mind though, and she couldn't finish. "Akane! I've something very important to tell you..." Ryoga began. "Ryoga...Where were you? We were all worried..." Kasumi said. "...and we found this..." Akane held out the peach she found under his window. "...and you're healed!? Who did..." Ryoga grimaced as everyone pressed questions onto him at the same time, demanding answers. "Ok, ok, HOLD IT!" Ryoga blurted out, everyone fell silent. "I'll explain everything, give me a moment will you...as well as something to drink, I'm parched!" Kasumi got Ryoga a drink from the fridge. "Ok, here's what happened..." Ryoga began after finishing his drink. For the next hour he related how he was brought to Togenkyo by Sarutoru and of Toma's suspicions. He also said that Togenkyo was once again nearing Japan. "Hey! If the island is coming here again, let's go visit them!" Nabiki piped up. "Later Nabiki..." Akane was slightly annoyed that no-one appeared to consider the problem at hand. "...What's important now is that we find out the truth about what Ryoga's just told us..." "Hmm, I'll bet Cologne would have something to say about these mysterious happenings our friend Toma claims to have taken place..." Panda held up a sign. Everyone nodded. "Well, let's go see her then!" Akane stood up, followed by everyone else. "Oh, Akane...You will be back for dinner won't you?" Kasumi glanced at the clock on the wall, it was 6.30pm. Akane nodded at Kasumi who smiled back. Nodoka and Kasumi then went into the kitchen to start on dinner as everyone left for the Nekohanten. Akane thought as they stepped out into the cool, night air. ************* K u s a n a g i K y o --|---|-- --|---|-- ----+---- +-----+ /-, +-+- +-----+ |-----| | |-|- | | +-----+ -|- |-|- +-----+ ----|---- / \ +-+- / J \ ----------------------------------------------- "Kusanagi Flames, Yagami Tears, Orochi Blood"