As usual, Hibiki Ryomi was lost. In familiar territory, no less. "I've got to find her! I've got to find Shampoo, and beat her, for everyone's sake!" For Ranma, because Shampoo had tried an unusual - cowardly? - tactic instead of directly facing Ranma in a fair fight; she had blocked Ranma's memories of both Ayumi and Shampoo. For Ayumi, because now that Ranma did not remember him or Shampoo, the only thing preventing Shampoo from claiming Ayumi as hers was Ryomi. And while Ranma was still Ryomi's chief obstacle for Ayumi's love, she was the ideal person to confront Shampoo, having defeated the girl from China once before. Assuming Ranma could be made to remember Shampoo long enough to fight her... Ryomi understood that somehow, she had come to be lost in Hokkaido, again. How or why did this happen? No matter where or when she became lost, it seemed that eventually she would come to pass through Hokkaido. The only way she could guarantee she *wouldn't* end up in Hokkaido was to set it as her destination. She wanted to be at the Tendo Dojo, not *here*, and she would arrive there sooner or later. Wherever Ayumi was... Shampoo was bound to be in the area. That would prove to be the girl's final mistake. Destiny's Wish Part Nineteen: A Farewell By Any Other Name written by Mike Koos ------------------------------ It was early evening by the time Ranma returned home. Ayumi had attempted to drag her all over town in a useless search for Shampoo, to claim the shampoo the girl from China had used to erase Ranma's memory of them. He had made the mistake, however, of allowing Ranma's feet to come in contact with the ground. She was safely able to wrench herself free of his hold on her then, without the fear of breaking into a tumble and coming up with more than a few pavement scrapes. Why someone Ranma didn't know had... *kidnapped* her to look for someone else she didn't know was beyond her. She proceeded to lose Ayumi and make her way home. Exhausted, she walked into the foyer of the Tendo home, taking care to pry the dress shoes from her feet. All this nonsense concerning her memory had kept her out most of the day. Nonsense, indeed... she couldn't remember not being able to remember anything. The only thing left to do tonight was take a bath, finish her homework and go to bed. Maybe tomorrow morning would be more hospitable to her than this weird day. Oops; she had almost forgotten to tell everyone she was home. "Tadaima!" she called, though not as brightly as she had hoped. The two eldest Tendo brothers hastened to the foyer. "Ranma..." Kasuga said, falling silent. Naka studied her for a moment. "Tofu-sensei called. She said you don't remember who Ayumi is. Is that true?" The name 'Ayumi' failed to register in the girl's memories. "Ayumi?" she asked, clearly confused. "Ayumi who?" Kasuga was unsure how to deal with this situation. "Ayumi, as in the guy standing behind you," Naka told her. Ranma very nearly leapt straight upward with a start. How in the *world* had a boy managed to sneak up on her without her knowing it? And in her own home, as well! He blushed slightly - trying to look modest and innocent, Ranma figured. Well, it wasn't going to work! "Just who do you think you are, barging into my home like this?" she demanded of the boy. "*Your* home!?" echoed Ayumi. "I live here. You're just a *guest*." While Ranma questioned Ayumi's state of mind Kasuga and Naka traded curious glances. "It's true, then. She really doesn't remember him. Poor girl," Kasuga said quietly. Naka shrugged. "Yeah." Making his usual grandiose entrance, Soun shouldered his way between the two brothers to come to stand near Ranma, laughing. "It's okay. They just need to be reintroduced!" He placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and looked down into her eyes. She wasn't exactly happy with the gesture, but he ignored the fact that she was becoming upset. "Ranma, you do remember me, right? I guess you could say I'm your father-in-law..." This seemed to confuse Ranma. "Why would you say that? I haven't married anyone, and Dad hasn't... has he?" "No, of course not. However, you are engaged to be married to my son, Tendo Ayumi, over there." "Who?" Ranma's eyes flashed with returning anger. "And who said you could decide if I should get married to anyone? I don't even know this... this... *guy*! You sound like my Dad!" Ayumi let out a barely audible sigh. All of a sudden he felt a pair of arms latch around him. He glanced down with surprise... into Shampoo's face. She beamed up at him, smiling coyly. "Niihao, airen!" Well, it made sense. Since he couldn't find her by running all over town, why not stand still and let her come to him? "Shampoo, knock it off, willya?" Whether or not Shampoo fully understood what he asked Ayumi didn't know, but instead of following his order she raised her arms to his neck and embraced him lovingly. All she wanted was to hold the man she loved... "Uo da airen..." A mere fraction of a second after that Ranma drove Ayumi out of Shampoo's grasp and to the floor by planting one of her elbows into his face. She froze, unaware of what she had just done. Her elbow remained imbedded in Ayumi's face. Shampoo lowered herself to Ranma's eye level. "Why you do for!?" she demanded angrily. How dare female Ranma interfere in what was destined to happen! Ranma blinked. Who was this girl and what was she talking about? "Eh?" Then she realized what her elbow was doing and withdrew it. Why was she grinding some strange boy's head into the floor with her elbow? Questions. Many, many questions! All of which weren't being answered. Best to start with the boy, then. "I'm sorry - did I hurt you...... whoever you are?" she asked, looking sheepishly down at him. Despite new pain rising in his facial features, Ayumi scowled. "Hmph." wondered Ranma. Naka pounded a fist into the open palm of his other hand. "Was that a reflex action? She's always doing that to him, so maybe..." Kasuga appeared hopeful. "Maybe she hasn't completely lost her memory of Ayumi! There's still hope!" Shampoo's eyes narrowed as she watched Ranma try once again to establish who Ayumi was. She had to admit the only fighting she had truly seen female Ranma do was in her fights with Ayumi - and that had mostly been arguing. Shampoo hadn't given Ranma much of an opportunity to show her true strength in their fight... the girl's strange little pet pig had inadvertently given Shampoo an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Once Ranma's memory of Ayumi was gone there would be nothing left to come between Shampoo and her beloved. Unless, of course, Ranma's memory was not completely erased. Well, there was one way to fix that... Shampoo leapt, placing herself behind Ranma once more. Shouting a few words in Chinese no one else in the room understood - except perhaps Naka - she drew her arms wide open to begin the process. Ayumi immediately recognized what was about to happen. There was no time to lose! If he let Shampoo execute her trick again on Ranma, the baka's memory might be lost forever! So, he made a grasp for one of Shampoo's wrists. It was a gamble; if he picked the wrong wrist - the one *not* connected to the hand that held Shampoo's shampoo, there was a good chance she would still be able to execute the technique with one hand. If he was lucky, he'd be able to shove Ranma out of the way before that happened. Ranma certainly didn't deserve to live out her life with a fair portion of that life missing... He caught the hand that held the shampoo and a comb. His heart was racing; must be all that adrenaline or whatever else it was called. Now, then, all he had to do was grab both the shampoo and Ranma... and run. "*Airen*!" Shampoo shouted at his retreating back. Why did her beloved insist on *helping* this annoyance, this... girl who insisted in meddling with their relationship? Now that she and Ayumi were wife and husband, this Ranma's questionable engagement to Ayumi in mere *words* was annulled. There was *no* need for Ayumi to concern himself with such an annoyance, particularly when she never cared for him to begin with and did her best to hurt him every chance she got. Ranma, meanwhile, wasn't all that sure why a boy she couldn't remember was dragging her through the halls of her home by her wrist. As soon as she figured out what was going on here, someone was going to get pounded! Ayumi took a second to glance at the thin bottle of shampoo in his left hand. He rushed Ranma into the downstairs bathroom and pushed her head down into the sink basin with one hand while turning the water on with the other. Next came the shampoo, which he poured over her head. All he had to do was saturate her head with the shampoo, let it soak in and wash her hair like normal, right? This shampoo probably had more to its directions than 'lather, rinse, repeat.' Since she was conscious it was best not to let the process take too long, or she would clobber him. He began to scrub her hair... quite forcefully and rapidly. Ranma screamed. "Owowowowowowowow*oww*!!" Well - whoever this *moron* was that was hurting her had foolishly forgotten to secure her arms before he did so. That was a very bad mistake for him to make, indeed! In one quick, practiced maneuver she threw her arms straight up and grabbed Ayumi's head. "Let's see how YOU like it!!" she yelled, slamming him face-first into the basin. The sink shattered. Blast! She hoped Mr. Tendo - or worse yet, Naka - wouldn't make her pay to replace it. Knowing Naka he'd hold the payments for this broken sink over her head to blackmail her into practically anything. Just because Naka took care of the family budget, he thought it gave him power over everyone in the house. But if he wanted to have her pose for any more pictures to sell to brain-dead Kunou... she'd beat up the blackmailer and be done with it. Lather from her hair dripped onto the floor to mix with the porcelain dust settling there. Ranma stared at it for a few seconds and then at Ayumi. What had she done? Ayumi stirred. She pulled him out of the sink and let him sit nearby. "You okay?" "Of course not! Ow... what went wrong?" "For one thing, I'm afraid you tried to use the wrong shampoo, Ayumi!" Dr. Tofu spoke up. "Tofu-sensei?" Ranma said with a start. The good doctor was one of the few people who Ranma knew that could sneak past her without her sensing it, and Tofu-sensei had done it again. Ranma had seen an indication of how skilled the doctor was after meeting her for the first time. She had asked Dr. Tofu to teach her how to move as stealthily, but Tofu had told her that all she needed to do was practice, practice and practice more. Hold it - if Tofu-sensei was here, did that mean there was something dangerously wrong with her that demanded a house call? "Ayumi," the older woman spoke evenly. "What brand number is on that bottle?" Ayumi read the bottle. "One-ten." One hundred and ten. That meant there were at least one hundred and nine other shampoo brands to worry about if this shampoo wasn't the correct one, as Tofu-sensei had stated. "We must have brand number 119 if we want to reverse the effect!" "As if it's that easy to find these shampoos!" grumbled Ayumi, slumping against the wall. He was too preoccupied to notice Shampoo entering the room, a suspicious expression to her face. Shampoo, the one person who could help Ranma most of all... Tofu drew a small book from a pouch she carried. "Not to fear. I've found directions for producing a version of brand number 119 in this very book!" "Is that so, sensei?" asked Kasuga. Shampoo stepped aside so that the older boy could pass. "Then, you can cure Ranma's amnesia!" Ranma shook her head. Not only was having everyone show up in their bathroom a bit... well, *strange*, whenever Tofu-sensei happened to notice she was in the same room as Kasuga, virtually *anything* could happen. Now if she could only determine who some of these people were... surely they knew the danger of being present right about now? The doctor's glasses fogged over. Her hands, looking for something to do, began tearing the book they held into tiny shreds of paper. "Kasuga-san! What a surprise to see you here..." "Hm?" As usual, Kasuga had failed to recognize the reasons for Tofu-sensei's odd behavior. Ranma thought, then wondered why. Had Mr. Tendo or Naka attempted a relationship that she couldn't remember at the moment? "Why would you say that? I do live here, after all." Ayumi dove to catch the remainders of the shredded book as they fell to the floor. "Waah! Please *stop* tearing the book up! Please! Sensei?" But Tofu-sensei wouldn't listen. Ranma smirked. Ayumi stuffed one final pair of underwear into his backpack. After Dr. Tofu had ripped apart what might have been an important part of a cure for Ranma, Naka wasted no time in dragging Kasuga out of the room. Without Kasuga present to cause her brain to turn to mush Dr. Tofu apologized for what she had done to the book and, gathering up the pieces, promised to continue working as long as possible in her clinic - which doubled as her home, after hours - to find a replacement cure. He hadn't seen Ranma since the memory-challenged girl went to her room to change clothes. Ayumi had gone to his room to think of a new plan of action. An hour and a half later he had his plan. "Hey, little brother, what's with the backpack?" Naka's voice came from the doorway. Naka always seemed to have a measure of calculated smugness to his voice. Something there naturally made people afraid he was going to lunge for something vital. Ayumi was by now far too used to it to notice. "I've got no choice. Shampoo's not gonna give me the shampoo we need to fix Ranma, so I'm gonna go to China t'find it there!" Naka strode into the room and gave Ayumi two raps on the back of his head. "Hello? Are you in there?" He snorted. "Idiot. You don't know anything about going off on your own to China! The girls, maybe. A few short training trips with Dad and you think you're a world traveler!" "This is a dangerous and foolish idea, Ayumi," Kasuga added. Ayumi shouldered the backpack, heading for the stairs. "I don't care! I'm doing this for Ranma! *Someone* has to! It isn't like she can cure herself..." Naka's next comment caught him completely by surprise. "This is great! He's going to great lengths for the girl he loves! Say... since you're going to China anyway, could you get me a few souvenirs?" "Some special tea blends would be nice," said Kasuga. The rest of the family - including Ranma - suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs. [Could you get me a bottle of shampoo brand 101 while you're there?] the decidedly embarrassed panda held up a sign. Mr. Saotome must have learned what the different brands of shampoo did from Tofu-sensei... the man wouldn't have much to do with changing someone's memory, so maybe... brand 101 had something to do with... hair? Was the old man looking for a cure for baldness? "I need tobacco, son," Soun spoke into his thoughts. "Don't forget." Ayumi turned to glance directly at Ranma. She wore a pair of well-worn denim overalls, covering a yellow print shirt, and the same look of bewilderment which indicated she didn't know who he was or why everyone was making such a big fuss over him. "Don't tell me YOU want something, too?" She absently shook her head no. Although Ranma had no memory of this boy, she could recognize a feeble attempt at communicating when she saw it. paused Ranma. The boy without a name called her. "Ranma...... don't worry. I'll have your memory returned to you soon." She wasn't sure how to respond. Genma slapped him on the back. [I'm so proud of you, son-in-law!] Soun followed suit. "And me as well, son! Good luck!" Ranma watched the boy leave before anyone could ask him to buy them anything else. ** ** ** Ayumi ran through the streets of Nerima on the first step of his considerable journey to China. Only now was he considering the details and possible results of the plan he'd chosen. He dreaded the thought of having to swim the distance between Japan and China. The latter was his justification. Nothing could truly be impossible for a martial artist to achieve! He saw the numbers take shape in front of his eyes. '119,' dark numbers on an off-white background. The same colors as the bottle of shampoo he had held in his hands earlier. He hopped back a few feet. Ahead of him, he noticed a sight he hadn't expected to see: Shampoo, hanging upside-down from an old, gnarled tree branch which had grown past the limits of the yard the tree was rooted in during its lifetime. Shampoo held the bottle of shampoo right-side up so that he could get a good look at it. A bottle of shampoo. Bearing the brand number one-nineteen... She knowingly smiled. Yes, this bottle was what Ayumi wanted... Ayumi read the numbers aloud to make sure there was no mistake. "One... one... nine..." He reached out for the bottle - but Shampoo was faster, easily taking the bottle out of his reach. She swung back up and over the branch; sticking her tongue out at him and pulling down a lower eyelid to taunt him. Shampoo bounded away along the road with Ayumi in pursuit. "Come back here, Shampoo!" This was not good! Shampoo knew he was searching for the only cure for Ranma's amnesia. If he was an accurate enough judge of character, Shampoo *wouldn't* want Ranma to be cured. It had been her idea to remove... no, *block* Ranma's memories of them so that Ranma would no longer stand in the way of her and Ayumi, the boy she now had to marry by the laws of her village in China. But what could he do, short of heading to China and *hoping* he could find a bottle of brand 119? Now that he thought about it, what guarantee did he have that he wouldn't spend the rest of his miserable little life searching every last inch of China for the cure? He was beginning to feel a dull pain in his thighs from having covered most of the distance between here and his home by running. Still, quitting wasn't an option. If he stopped now, Shampoo would disappear with the shampoo and he'd have to go to China after all. There had to be a better way of going about this; right now, his mind was far too pressed to come up with a workable alternate plan. So, on with the chase. He willed all thoughts of pain to leave him and continued on. Breathing exercises. Precise muscle control. If he controlled his body well enough he could shift the pain around, make it go away. At least, that was what he hoped. Shampoo was running wild - Ayumi reminded himself that she wasn't as familiar with the streets of Tokyo as he was. He snorted a laugh. Thank goodness it was *him* chasing Shampoo and not Ryomi... As they turned onto a new street a familiar voice rang out. "SHAMPOO!!" Shampoo stepped back as a whirling yellow-and-black bandanna sliced through the air, followed by another, the projectiles imbedding in the pavement where her feet had been and cutting her flight short. Hibiki Ryomi had indeed arrived. The Lost Girl descended to the street in front of Shampoo, leveling her umbrella at the girl from China. "Give him the shampoo." Shampoo frowned. "No." "I'll have to insist." "Why strange girl help loudmouth girl?" Shampoo wished she had brought her bonbori along to deal with this unexpected challenge. She then admonished herself. Ayumi stretched his leg muscles and applied pressure to them to keep them from seizing up, or hurting as much as they presently were. "That's what I'd like to know." Ryomi seemed to want to help Ranma... why? Every time she did want to help, Ryomi had a hidden motive. Poor, innocent Ranma had yet to learn that her little pet 'P-chan' was Ryomi in a different form. "All you need to know, Shampoo," Ryomi refused to relax her stance, "is that you had better give us the shampoo and go home." Shampoo took up an offensive stance of her own. "I not go home without husband!" "Forget it! You're not going to marry anyone!" Ayumi groaned. Why did everyone always insist on treating him like he wasn't always there? "Umm..." They ignored him. "Shampoo marry who Shampoo want!" Shampoo yelled, charging Ryomi. But Ryomi was ready for her, and the two launched into a fight that appeared to Ayumi to be fairly matched. Ryomi insisted on depending solely on the use of her umbrella and other weapons - perhaps giving Shampoo the impression Ryomi couldn't fight without them, Ayumi observed. He wondered if all the training he'd subjected himself to since Ryomi's arrival had helped him to understand her better. Her opponent kept the bottle of shampoo grasped tightly in hand, not wanting to lose it to an accident. This was clearly a disadvantage; Ryomi had little trouble deflecting several punches and kicks with the use of her umbrella. Shampoo thought. She adopted the pose of a jungle cat about to strike - the same fierce look of determination, standing on its hind legs as it towered over the prey it was about to mutilate using its terrifyingly fearsome claws... Unimpressed by the sight, Ryomi reached in with her umbrella and swatted the bottle of shampoo out of Shampoo's hands. Shampoo gasped, eyes going wide. Ryomi dived for the bottle and caught it. She tossed it to Ayumi. "Take that to Ranma. Hurry!" "But..." "Don't worry about us. Go!" Ryomi told him. She watched Ayumi leave. A presence at her side cautioned her that Shampoo remained a threat. Ryomi warily turned to check on her opponent. Shampoo gave Ryomi the Kiss of Death. Ryomi wiped her cheek. "Good. I'm definitely not through with you yet." The other girl smiled. "Soon you be through." "With *you*, yes!" ** ** ** Acting solely on instinct, Ayumi retrieved his backpack and rushed the shampoo to Dr. Tofu's clinic. No sense in taking any chances this time; Tofu-sensei was more familiar with these shampoos and their use. Ranma's 'symptoms' had shown no sign of worsening, so a delay of an hour wouldn't hurt matters much. He sat in the clinic sipping from a hot cup of herbal tea while the doctor closely examined the shampoo nearby. She had been examining it for the better part of twenty minutes, but Ayumi withheld his anxiety. Wait. Why was he so anxious to fix Ranma's problems? When had he come to care so much for the sex-changing tomboy freak? Ranma was strong-willed, opinionated, and enough of a martial artist to make him pale somewhat in comparison - not that it took much, she would undoubtedly say. There was something to be said for having Ranma not remember who he was or even know that he existed. She wasn't calling him names or developing new ways to humiliate him. She also didn't need him to care for her or stand up for her. However, he had come to do just that regardless of the way she felt. He'd threatened the playboy Sanzenin Mikado's life if Mikado refused to leave Ranma alone. Ayumi had convinced himself that it was only a matter of honor and duty. It was his responsibility to worry about the well being of his iinazuke, no matter what. And despite his best attempts to avoid it, he had come to care for her after all. He realized Dr. Tofu was calling his name. "Ayumi-kun?" Ayumi raised his head. "Yes, sensei?" "I hate to have to give you bad news, but... This isn't the right shampoo." Ayumi stood. "What?" he asked. Not again... "If we had used this on Ranma, there's a good chance she could have lost *all* her memory!" Leave it to Shampoo to try such a devious tactic. "You know all this from testing the shampoo?" She placed the bottle where Ayumi could see it and peeled the label off to reveal the number 107. "That, and someone placed this sticker over the brand number to make it *look* like brand 119." He paused. "But then, we're back where we started! Have you made any progress with the book?" "One page," the doctor said, embarrassed. "One page?" Ayumi took a look at the page. Unfortunately, the writing was all in Chinese, which he had yet to learn how to understand. Concept-reading the Kanji earned him a number - one. "Let me guess - shampoo brand zero-zero-one?" Tofu nodded. "Yes." "What does it do?" "It cleans your hair," she admitted. "Shampoo brand 001 is a normal shampoo. It's the only one that doesn't offer special results in the same sense as all the other brands." Exasperated, Ayumi plopped back into his chair. "Do me a favor, Ayumi-kun?" "Yes?" Tofu leaned against the edge of the examination table. Maybe it was an acquired skill, Ayumi thought; the table was always uncomfortably cold for everyone else thanks to the air conditioning in the room. "Go home." "But..." "There's nothing we can do for tonight. Get some sleep. I've placed a few calls... if anything comes up, I'll let you and your family know." ** ** ** "What do you MEAN, you didn't bring back anything?" Ayumi swallowed hard. He hadn't expected his father to be this upset toward him. Sure, he had come home *much* sooner than hoped and without Ranma's cure *or* any of the things his family had asked him to get, but... Ah, who was he kidding? Why would Dad have reason to act any other way? "I-I did!" stammered Ayumi. "But Shampoo gave us the wrong shampoo--" "So you decided to come home empty-handed?" Soun demanded. "Tofu-sensei told me to!" Ayumi protested. The bright overhead lighting of the dojo made him feel like he was trapped in an interrogation room; the enormous dojo had always been the worst room in the house to defend oneself in. It also wasn't the best room to be in when two martial arts-inclined fathers were angry with him. Soun and Genma - in panda form, as Genma often was - began to beat him up. [That's no excuse!] the sign which Genma pounded Ayumi with read. "You should be more concerned with the well-being of your iinazuke!" After a couple of minutes of this Ranma ran into the dojo to investigate what the source of the commotion was. Her father and Mr. Tendo were beating a stranger? Why would they be doing such a thing? "Dad, Mr. Tendo... Stop it!" Soun raised the face of the boy into Ranma's line of sight. She withdrew; the boy's battered and out-of-place features unnerved her. "Here, Ranma! Don't you remember the face of my inconsiderate son?" She made a face. "It looks like a monster!" Ayumi pulled himself free of his father's hold to glare at her. "Who's a monster?" "You are, whoever you are..." Soun sighed, and flipped Ayumi onto his face, hoping that concern for Ayumi might bring back Ranma's memories of the youngest Tendo boy. It didn't. "Hey!" she shouted. "You shouldn't be picking on someone who can't fight back! Fight me, instead!" Ayumi was becoming incensed. "What d'you mean, 'can't fight back?'" "What did I say?" Ranma, too, was starting to become annoyed. Privately, she wondered why. "You don't look like you could hurt a fly!" "I can fight better than you any day. So why don't you just *shut up*!? You are so incredibly *not cute*!" The words gave Ranma pause. "...... Not...... cute......?" Something shifted in her thoughts. She brought a hand up against her cheek, barely aware of its presence. Soun noted the sudden appearance of confusion and recognition fighting for control of the girl's expression. "C-could it be...?" He placed a hand on Ayumi's shoulder. "Ayumi - one more time!" Ayumi glanced between his father and Ranma and understood. "You are so incredibly NOT CUTE!!" he repeated in a louder voice. The words jolted through Ranma's mind like an electric shock. She seemed to react more; she took on a pained look, her hands instinctively clutching at her temples. "Keep insulting her! And don't let up!" Soun ordered, as though he were conducting an experiment. An unusual request, coming from his father. "You're kidding, right? Okay..." He imposed himself in front of Ranma, drawing himself up to full height. "You're not cute! You have no femininity! You're a savage, clumsy, fat moron!" He took a breath and started anew. He saw Ranma's fingers grasp the hair that happened to be near her fingers as tight as humanly possible. Her eyes shut equally as tight, causing tears to form there. She shook her head unevenly back and forth, having to contend all at once with a vivid collage of thoughts fast-forwarding through her mind... ...Ayumi's insults continuing to echo everywhere... "Unnh..." Ranma abruptly straightened. "How DARE you! *Ayumi no BAKA*!!" And, not bothering to think about it, she promptly decked Ayumi. He collided face-first with the floor once more. She drew her hand back and looked at it, startled. Ayumi? "Ah..." She had punched... Ayumi! A crying Soun approached her. "Ranma! Your memory's back?" "I... I guess so..." Ranma said in all uncertainty. Soun perched on Ayumi's back and gripped her arms. "Oh, it's the miracle of love!" "Get off my back!" grumbled Ayumi. A familiar low rumbling shook the walls. Ayumi recognized it instantly. Ranma recognized it as well - and so did Genma the panda, seconds later, when Shampoo crashed through the wall making her accustomed entrance. Shampoo raised a hand to the air in a lazy version of a salute by way of a wave. "Niihao!" she greeted them cheerfully. Ayumi thought about asking the newcomer what had happened to Ryomi. Had Shampoo killed the Lost Girl? No... he should wait to ask any questions of that nature. "*Shampoo*!" Ranma spat. Anger clouded her features. She now recalled everything Shampoo had done to her. The girl from China ignored her. Instead, Shampoo caught sight of Ayumi, sprawled on the floor. He looked as if he had been in a fight. "Airen!" she blanched. Ranma yanked Ayumi out of her reach by the back of his shirt collar. "Airen--" Shampoo pleaded, then stopped. She met Ranma's gaze. "You memory of Ayumi-husband come back? Loudmouth girl never learn!" Ranma scowled. "Don't talk to me about never learning!" "Much pity. If have memory..." Shampoo advanced toward Ranma. An evil gleam shone in her eyes. "...girl must die!" Before Shampoo or Ranma could begin to clash Ayumi intervened. "Don't do it, Shampoo!" He grabbed her hands to keep her from doing anything to Ranma. Shampoo again managed to maneuver Ayumi into an embrace. "Uo ai nii..." He pushed her away. "Give it a rest for now, okay?" Sighing, he continued. "Anyway, I want you to leave Ranma alone." "She try stop love!" snorted Shampoo. "Cannot allow. She must go." Ayumi pursed his lips. "I didn't want to have to do this, but..." He walked over to the sidelines and, finding the spray bottle of water they kept there for various purposes, turned the spray full-blast on Ranma. The cursed girl transformed before Shampoo's eyes. This Shampoo had not expected. "Ranma-husband...? How?" Ranma blinked. "Yeah. It's me. I'm the male Ranma." "But... but you girl Ranma, too?" "Yes." Shampoo felt her knees go weak. "Shampoo... no understand." "You don't have to. Don't you see how much trouble your village laws are causing?" Ayumi put his arm around Ranma, who was now the same height as him. "Shampoo, Ranma's my iinazuke. She and I are engaged to be married. Maybe... if we'd met somewhere else, some other time..." They watched Shampoo intently for any signs of anger about to explode. Surely she wouldn't back down *now*, after investing so much effort in trying to wed either of them. Hadn't Ayumi tried to tell Shampoo Ranma was his bride-to-be earlier? Ranma had to laugh mentally at her choice of words. Ayumi's pronouncement lacked the same conviction as the threat he'd given Mikado, even if Ayumi had no intention of fighting Shampoo. He was gambling that Shampoo might actually *listen* to his words this time. Ultimately, after a moment or two of deliberation, Shampoo moved to Ayumi's side and gave him one final kiss on the cheek. When she backed away, Ayumi saw new tears emerging from Shampoo's eyes. "Good-bye," she whispered. Shampoo turned and walked out of the dojo through the new door she had created. ** ** ** Ranma found Ayumi lying on the roof above his bedroom, staring idly up into the stars. She sat beside him. Shampoo had departed nearly two hours ago, and hadn't returned. Was she gone for good? Ranma wondered. But more important was the question of what Ayumi was thinking... "C'mon, Ayumi. It's time for bed," she said gently. He didn't move. "Leave me alone." Ranma waited several seconds before asking her next question. "Miss her?" "Huh? Oh... no. I just feel sorry for her. With those laws of hers... what's going to happen to her?" She was surprised to find this level of concern in him. "I don't know. I hope she'll be all right." Ayumi sat up and looked at her. "Even after she tried to kill you, messed with your memory and tried to marry either of us?" "She wouldn't have had to if it wasn't for those rules." Ayumi shrugged. "I guess so." At that particular instant, Ryomi was wandering through Kyoto. "Just like her to chicken out!" she groused. "C'mon, Shampoo, where are you? You're supposed to be trying to kill me! Hey! You hear me? Come out, I said! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Half a second later several windows opened and Ryomi was buried under an avalanche of shoes and other items. ------------ Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi... All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?