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Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma 1/2, of course, belong to Rumiko Takahashi (and lots of others). Sati Li, and any other strays that may appear, belong to me, unless otherwise noted.

A Werewolf in Nerima

By: USA Tiger

Author note: Many many many thanks to my new beta Silver-Tiamat from DeviantART for going behind me to clean up the chapter.

Chapter 22

Nabiki was waiting by the front door when Ranma came downstairs. The middle Tendo daughter was dressed in a nice blue sundress, nothing fancy just something nice enough for their date. Ranma had found the new silk Chinese shirt he had bought some weeks ago, a blue one with a golden phoenix that went well with the girl's dress.

"Well you do clean up nice," Nabiki said. "Shall we then?"

"Yeah," Ranma said opening the door for Nabiki who grinned at how gentlemanly Ranma was acting and left. From the landing on the stairs, Akane watched it all. Ranma had passed by her without even batting an eye. The blue hair girl wasn't sure what to think or feel about all this. It had finally gotten through to her that her older sister was serious this time; Ranma was even taking her on a date. While she and Ranma had gone out to a few places over the last year, it had never been as a date for the two of them.

'Well I wouldn't want to go on a date with that pervert anyhow,' Akane thought to herself with a sniff of annoyance as she turned and headed back to her room. She sighed as she lay back on her bed; she had no idea why she was so annoyed right now. Some would point out that she was jealous that Nabiki was getting the attention that Ranma never seemed to show her. Others would be just as quick to point out that Akane never let Ranma do so, always screaming that he was a pervert or acted suspicious when Ranma tried to be nice to her. Other than her crush on Dr. Tofu, who was in her mind the perfect example of a man if only he wasn't in love with Kasumi, Akane didn't think much of the male population. Kuno and the boys that fought with her every morning left a bad taste in her mouth.

Ryoga wasn't bad either; he was a real good friend and was really sweet. But Akane didn't see the lost boy as anything more than a friend. There was also Shinnosuke who had confessed to loving Akane but had forgotten afterwards after he had been healed from his injuries and Akane left with Ranma.

Mostly Akane was a bit ticked off that she didn't have Ranma to call her fiancé anymore. Not because she wanted to marry the pigtail boy but because she had been the only girl in school that was engaged, something she could lord over the others if she wanted to. Well not the only girl, Ukyo was engaged as well but it was to the same person. Ranma was also her own personal punching bag, it showed how great of a martial artist she was that she could hit and beat up the annoying boy that no one else could. It never occurred to Akane that Ranma let her hit him, as it went against his morals and teachings to hit the weaker girl.

Akane frowned and wondered what would happen at school, it hadn't really been announced that she and Ranma weren't engaged anymore and she was afraid that once it was those stupid fights in the morning would start up again.

"God I hate boys," She said with a groan, thinking of all the stupid boys at school.

**

"I think I should be leaving as well," Nodoka said as she stood from the table.

"You are not staying for dinner Auntie Saotome?" Kasumi asked.

"No my dear, I think I should head home," Nodoka said with a small smile and a shake of her head. "I have a lot to think about. But do inform me if my useless panda of a husband returns will you? I want to have a few.... words... with him."

"Alright," Kasumi agreed. Nodoka smiled again then left the door to head back to her home. "She seems a bit sad."

"Well she did just find out her husband has lied to her all these years about her son," Sati said. "On top of the shock of finding out all these different things about Ranma today, I'm sure she just wants to sit and think on it."

"I don't know how father is still friends with Uncle Saotome," Kasumi said as she sat down at the table across from Sati.

"I really don't know what to tell you Kasumi," Sati said. "They have some reason to stay friends, sometimes a real friend can look over the other's faults."

"Father hasn't been the same since Mother died, she would have never let things get so out of hand," Kasumi said as she rubbed her forehead. "She never did like Uncle Saotome, nor did she like Grandpa Happosai."

"No one likes Happosai," Sati said with a chuckle. "He has managed to piss off every immortal in Asia and in European countries."

"I wonder if George is free tonight," Kasumi mused to herself, a smile crossing her lips. Sati chuckled softly; the girl was acting like a love-sick teenager about her demon beau.

**

"Well this is nice," Nabiki said as she sipped on her cola. "I think this is the most normal meal me and you ever had."

"It's kinda... nice," Ranma agreed. They were having a quiet, normal meal without people jumping out to challenge him at every other moment. It was great way to have his first ever date. "Is this how dates go?"

"Hmm," Nabiki smirked slightly. "Forgot you haven’t ever gone on a real date before, even though Shampoo keeps asking you for one. You're doing pretty well Saotome," She assured him. "So how did it go with your mom?"

"She took it better than I thought she would," Ranma said in a low tone, the two teens were in the corner of the restaurant where others couldn't hear them. "A lot better. She had no idea I'm a Lycan but she said she's fine with it."

"What about the man-among-men thing? Is your curse going to mess that up for you?" Nabiki asked she was getting to like Ranma she didn't want the younger teen to get killed.

"Nah, Mom only had Pops sign that contract to try and keep him under control while on the road," Ranma said with a slight grin before it melted into a frown. "Mom told me she and Pops had a son before me."

"What?" Nabiki said surprised. Ranma nodded his head.

"Yeah, he died a couple of weeks after he was born," He said. "Mom said his birth was really hard and she couldn't have any more kids. So Pops went out and got me from somewhere. Mom doesn't know from where, just what Pops told her."

"And of course he didn't tell her the part about you being able to turn furry," Nabiki said.

"The way Auntie explained that seal thing, I wouldn't have turn furry anyway if Pops hadn't forced me into learning that Neko-ken and taken us to Jusenkyo," Ranma pointed out. "Either way, Mom's not happy with Pops at all."

"I don't blame her," Nabiki said as she sipped at her drink again. "How much did you tell her?"

"Everything. The training trip, what happen in China, and everything that happen here," Ranma said as he waved one hand. "She knows about all the girls that Pops engaged me to over the years. Her face got so red in anger if Pops had been there, I'm afraid that she would have taken his head off with her katana."

The teens' conversation was interrupted as the waiter came over with their food, a large order laid out in front of Ranma. The boy serving them wondered if Ranma was going to really eat that much food as he walked away.

"Truth be told, I don't think she's too happy with Akane either," Ranma said after a few minutes.

"Can't really blame her," Nabiki said. "Akane treated you like crap, not that you helped with your comments about her. Of course, I didn't treat you much better, at times."

"Yeah, but you apologized for it; at least, and makin' up for it now," Ranma pointed out before he started to inhale his dinner. Nabiki smirked fondly and made sure her meal was out of range of Ranma's chopsticks. It was kinda nice to know that Ranma didn't bare her any ill will for using him, both in male and female forms, for monetary gain all the time.

Dinner ended and the two teens left the restaurant with a pile of plates and bowls left on the table. The restaurant employees looked at the pile in disbelief.

"And I thought that blond girl that was here last week ate a lot," One waiter said.

"At least it's all paid for," Another said as he picked up the money that was left behind for the bill.

Outside Ranma and Nabiki walked around, Nabiki taking the time to truly get to know the younger boy.

"So you never read any Dragon Ball mangas?" Nabiki asked as they stopped in the middle of a bridge, overlooking a creek.

"No," Ranma said with a shake of his head. "Pops didn't like me reading comics on the road or anything. Sati sneaked me some when Pops wasn't looking but that wasn't one of them. What is a 'dragon ball' anyway?"

"Dragon Balls are this mythical set of balls; 7 in all, each with a different number of stars in them, that when you gather all 7 you summon the dragon inside Shenron and you can have any wish you want," Nabiki explained. "I mean anything. It's a really good series. I'll lend you the first couple of books; I think you'll like it. It has a lot of martial arts in it"

"Really?" Ranma said his interest perked now.

"Yep," Nabiki said with a nod. She thought Ranma would like all the different technique in the series and wondered if Ranma might attempt to try and recreate the Kamehameha/. 'Knowing Ranma, he just might try,'/ she mused to herself. The two teens continued to walk around until it started to get late and they needed to head back to the Tendo's.

***

A couple of days later, Soun returned to the dojo without Genma. When asked, the man said his old friend still needed a few days to himself. He was delighted to hear that Ranma and Nabiki had gone on a date and it had gone well.

That afternoon, while Akane and Nabiki were out, Ranma approached the man. Sati had been on him to at least inform Soun about his new non-human status.

"Mr. Tendo?" Ranma asked as he found the man sitting at the low table with his daily paper.

"Ranma my boy," Soun said, lowering his paper. "What can I do for you?" Ranma sat at the table across from the older man, his hands fidgeting on the table.

"This is kinda hard for me to tell ya..." Ranma said. Soun's eyes narrowed, wondering what was on the boy's mind.

"What is it son?" Soun asked. "You're not able to tell me that you are backing out of marrying Nabiki are you?"

"No no," Ranma said, waving his hands in the air. "That's not it." Soun smiled slightly, relieved that whatever it was, the lines would still be joined.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me Ranma," Soun said. Ranma sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I bet Pops didn't tell you this... but I'm... well I'm a lot of Auntie," Ranma said. Soun frowned while crossing his arms over his chest.

"A lot like Sati how?" Soun asked.

"Err," Ranma said there was only one thing about Sati that made her stand out. Taking the plunge, Ranma closed his eyes as he focused on shifting. Soun gasped as he watched Ranma changed from human to a tiger/wolf humanoid creature.

"Oh... oh!" Soun said. "You meant a werewolf like Sati"

"Err, yeah... but more like a werewolf and weretiger crossbreed," Ranma corrected him.

"Wait... I know Saotome is not a werewolf," Soun said with a frown. "And I don't think your mother is either."

"They're not," Ranma confirmed. "Mr. Tendo... has Pops ever told you anything about me? Other than what you learned since we showed up."

"No, nothing I can think of," Soun said with a shake of his head. "I haven’t heard from Saotome for years since you two went on that training trip and even before then, we only met for drinks a few times since we sealed away the master and both married."

"Mr. Tendo, I'm adopted," Ranma said bluntly.

"Impossible, I know Genma had a son, I saw you right after your birth," Soun said with a shake of his head. "So I would know that our schools would be joined after all."

"That was Tatsuo," Ranma said. Soun blinked then gave a thoughtful frown; he did vaguely remember Genma telling him that his new son was named Tatsuo, or something like it. But every time afterward, Soun only heard Genma talk about his son Ranma. "Mom said he died a couple of weeks after he was born then Pops went out and got me from somewhere."

Soun felt floored, he never remember Genma ever saying anything about his son passing away. Thinking back on it, Soun very faintly remembered thinking Saotome's newly born son looks a little sickly but thought at the time it was due to the baby's recent birth. He saw the babe again a couple of months later, looking much healthier than before. But Ranma was telling him the newborn baby was a boy named Tatsuo while the child he saw later was Ranma himself.

"I must... go think about this," Soun said as he stood up. Ranma watched Soun leave the room, sighing to himself.

"Poor Father," Kasumi said as she walked in.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Ranma asked.

"He will be, I think you shook his beliefs in Mr. Saotome though," Kasumi said. "He's heading out to Mother's shrine to ask for her advice on this."

"I kinda feel bad now," Ranma said, scratching at the side of his muzzle.

"Don't," Kasumi said with a shake of her head as she sat down. "Maybe this is what Father needs to finally see what your adopted father is like. I like you Ranma; you are a sweet boy who tried to get along with Akane and is becoming good friends, if not more, with Nabiki. But I cannot stand Mr. Saotome." Ranma looked at her in shock, his mouth hanging open.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about someone that way," Ranma said after he got his thoughts back. Kasumi's lips quirked up into a light smile.

"I know, I give off the image of a sweet young woman who can't say anything bad about anyone," Kasumi said with an amused tone. Ranma blinked in shock as that pretty much summed up what everyone thought about Kasumi. "I know what everyone says about me and I'm flattered but I am not naive Ranma-chan. I pretty much took up Mother's duties when she died; I had to grow up quickly to take care of my sisters. Father... Father changed greatly when Mother died; even now he's affected by her death. He was so busy grieving over Mother that it fell onto me to take over Mother's role."

"I'm sorry," Ranma said, he had no idea what the Tendo sisters had to go through when their mother passed away.

"You didn't know," Kasumi said with a small shake of her head. "Mother couldn't stand Uncle Saotome and never could understand why Auntie Saotome married him."

"Did your mom and my Mom know each other already?" Ranma asked curious.

"Yes, they were childhood friends," Kasumi confirmed. "I believe your parents were introduced when mine were dating. What your father did would have not surprised her. That is why Father is praying at her shrine for guidance."

"This isn't the first time Pops has lied to Mr. Tendo," Ranma said. "I mean, he does it all the time. Like with all the girls he engaged me to just to feed himself."

"To use an American expression, I think this is 'the straw that broke the camel’s back'," Kasumi quoted. "Just one more thing piled on top of everything else, it may have been too much. Don't worry too much about it Ranma, I'm sure whatever Father decides, you will always be welcome here."

At that time they heard the front door open and Akane calling out she was home. Ranma cursed softly under his breath and quickly changed back to his human from as he had been in his hybrid on the whole time. Akane walked into the room just as the last bit of Ranma's tail disappeared. Akane stopped for a moment when she saw her ex-fiancé was in the room, giving him a small glare then ignoring him as she turned to Kasumi.

"Do you need any help with dinner Nee-chan?" She asked.

"That's alright Akane-chan, it's mostly finished. Maybe tomorrow," Kasumi offered.

"Alright. Well I'm going to do my work out then," Akane said as she headed for the stairs to go up to her room.

"Father is at Mother's shrine praying so try to keep the noise down," Kasumi called after her. Akane called back to show that she heard before disappearing into her room.

"I think I'll go for a walk before she comes back down," Ranma said as he stood.

"Be back in a couple of hours then, dinner will be ready then," Kasumi said as she stood as well, cleaning off the table. Ranma waved his hand over his shoulder as he left the Tendo dojo.

****

"Mistress, she's back again," Sasuke said as he kneeled in front of Kodachi. Kodachi looked up from pruning her prized black roses with a frown on her face.

"What is the girl doing?" Kodachi asked as she put the shears to the side.

"The same as always, just watching the house," Sasuke said. "Do you wish that I get rid of her?"

"No, I will do it," Kodachi said as she stood. For the last few days, Sasuke had reported that the America werewolf had taken up watching the Kuno estate from up top one of the houses that surrounded their property. The information that Sasuke had gathered on the girl hadn't been much. An American that lived with her father and happens to be a Lycan. That didn't give Kodachi any clue to what the girl wanted or why Jasper was watching their house. She slipped out of her room after grabbing one of her ribbons and headed outside. Jasper hadn't been that hard to find, she was sitting on their elderly neighbors’ rooftop with a pair of night vision goggles on. The marital artist gymnast landed lightly on her bare feet a few feet away from the Lycan.

"You shouldn't wear heavy perfume if you gonna sneak up on someone," Jasper said as she pushed her night vision goggles up onto the top of her head. Kodachi had unthinkingly landed upwind of Jasper, the wind carrying her rose scented perfume to the Lycan's sensitive nose. Kodachi scowled and snapped her ribbon out at Jasper who heard the snap just in time to roll out of the way and turn to face the other girl.

"Stand still, peasant!" Kodachi yelled as she attempted to ensnare Jasper in the gymnast ribbon while Jasper dodged and rolled out of the way. But alas, Jasper was not a fast moving martial artist and Kodachi showed she is a master of her craft as the ribbon finally wrapped around Jasper's ankle, trapping the werewolf who tripped and landed on her front as Kodachi pulled back on her ribbon. With a twirl, Kodachi had the ribbon wrapped around Jasper tightly so the werewolf couldn't escape. "Now you are going to answer my questions."

"You could've just asked me whatever you wanted; ya didn't need to attack me. This is why everyone thinks yer nuts," Jasper said as she wiggled, trying to get the ribbons to loosen some.

"Why are you spying on my home?" Kodachi asked, ignoring Jasper's comment.

"I'm not spying on your house," Jasper said. "I'm spying on yer cousin."

"Why are you spying on my Cousin Taeko?" Kodachi asked with a frown.

"You know why. He's a murdering asshole," Jasper said. "Look, can you untie me already? It's really uncomfortable sitting like this."

"Why should I do that?" Kodachi said.

"Look, I know you don't like yer cousin any more than I do," Jasper pointed out. "We're on the same team here."

"I have other reasons not to trust you. You keep company with my Ranma-sama," Kodachi said, knowing from Sasuke's reports that Jasper regularly was seen with Ranma.

"Ranma is a friend at best," Jasper said with a shake of her head. "He is not my type at all. So can you let me go already?" Kodachi frowned at Jasper for a moment then sighed and flicked her ribbon, untying Jasper. The American pulled herself up off the rooftop and brushed the dirt from her jeans.

"Why are you really spying on Taeko?" Kodachi asked.

"Yeah, not sure how much I can tell you," Jasper said. "I know you're not as crazy as you act but I'm not gonna go and tell you everyone's secrets." Kodachi stiffened a tiny bit.

"Act?" She asked tensely, did someone discover her ruse?

"Yeah, an act. No crazy chick's gonna go out of their way to teach little girls gymnastics and be nice about it," Jasper said.

"You followed me," Kodachi said. "I believe you just said you are spying on my cousin, not I."

"I am spying on him. But I also followed you a couple of times and I followed your brother," Jasper countered. "Why does he talk like that anyway? I mean you can tell it's fake, when he's frustrated or forgets, he talks like a normal person. And I've followed your Dad once; he's a real piece of work. Gotta know what I'm getting into." Kodachi scowled at the other girl, she wanted to know why Jasper was spying on her home.

"If you don't tell me why, I will let your secret out," Kodachi tried to blackmail the Lycan.

"What, that I'm a werewolf?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow. Kodachi gapped at Jasper, she hadn't thought the other female would admit it. "What? I've never kept what I am a secret. But most humans now-of-days think I'm playing like the humans who call themselves vampires. Most of those people would shit themselves if they met a real vampire."

Kodachi's mouth continued to move up and down, the blunt truthful nature had blindsided her. She was use to everyone in Nerima cringing around her for they were afraid of her and her insane act.

"You look like a fish," Jasper snickered. Kodachi's mouth snapped shut as she glared at the American.

"Do not be so uncouth," She hissed. Jasper shrugged her shoulders and turned away from the gymnast, sitting down on the edge of the roof and pulled the night vision goggles back down over her eyes. Kodachi wasn't sure what to make of this, other than Nabiki Tendo, no one had utterly disregarded her in such a manner. And not even the middle Tendo daughter had ever seen through her ruse, and if she had, Nabiki never let on that she did.

"Are you going to sit down or are you gonna go away already?" Jasper asked without turning to face the other girl. Kodachi hesitated then came over sitting next to Jasper on the roof's edge, sitting in a much more lady-like way.

"So... are you going to tell me anything?" Kodachi asked after a few quite minutes.

"Wow, you're like a dog with a bone," Jasper said. "You're almost as bad as Nitro."

"Nitro?" Kodachi couldn't help but ask.

"You know Akane Tendo, right?" Jasper asked.

"Of course I know her. She is an ill-mannered little girl who abuses my Ranma-sama," Kodachi said. "She is as far from un-lady like as possible, even the cook and the savage are more of a lady than she, and is a horrible cook."

"More or less sums it up," Jasper agreed. "Anyway, she's like TNT, ready to blow at any time therefore Nitro."

"I will admit... the nickname does fit her," Kodachi said amused then sighed. "Of course, that does not stop her from being engaged to my Ranma-sama. She and the red-headed harlot have him under a spell."

"Ranma isn't engaged to Akane anymore, he's engaged to Nabiki," Jasper said turning to look at Kodachi. "GAAAH!" She quickly pushed the night vision goggles up after getting a close up view of the human girl's face.

"WHAT!? Ranma-sama and Tendo Nabiki!?" Kodachi yelled, standing up. "Since when!?"

"Almost two weeks now," Jasper said. "Who's the red headed harlot? Only red head I've seen is Ranma."

"Yes, the girl that shares my Ranma-sama's name," Kodachi huffed as she sat down again, she could not believe this. Ranma and Nabiki engaged? And she hadn't heard about it? Surely her bother knew.

"Oh right, Nabiki said you and your brother think Ranma's girl form is separate person," Jasper said. Kodachi blinked then frowned.

"What are you talking about? Ranma-sama and the harlot are not the same person," Kodachi said.

"Yeah, they are. Ranma's got a wacky curse where he turns into a girl with cold water," Jasper said. "I mean, come on, both of his forms look like brother and sister. Have you ever seen them in the same room together?"

Kodachi's frown deepened as she crossed her arms over her chest. She thought about it for a few minutes, her mind connecting the dots and clues together. The odd America was right, her Ranma-sama and the harlot were never in the same room together. They shared the same name and when thinking about it, both Ranma and the red headed girl looked the same in the face.

"I must go," Kodachi said as she jumped up and quickly left the roof. Jasper blinked as the other girl left.

"Err, ok?" Jasper said then shrugged her shoulders. ~And I thought New York was weird, ~ Jasper muttered to herself in English.

**

Kodachi paced her room, she had been thinking about what Jasper had said to her less than an hour before. She had thought for a short time that the American had lied but all the clues lined up once it was pointed out to her.

"Ranma-sama is a werewolf, the idea that he and the red headed girl are the same person isn't that crazy of an idea," She said to herself. "It makes sense even when you think about it." She sat down with a sigh at her dressing table, rubbing her face.

"Mistress?" Sasuke asked as he entered the girl's room with a cup of Oolong tea. "Are you alright Mistress Kodachi?"

"Uncle Sasuke... am I stupid?" Kodachi asked softly.

"Of course not Kodachi," Sasuke said as he quickly recognized that Kodachi needed her 'uncle' instead of her family servant. "Why would you ever question such a thing?"

"Then why can't I tell that Ranma-sama and red headed girl are the same person?" Kodachi asked. "I can understand why Tatewaki cannot, brother-dear is an idiot. But I fell for it as well."

"I see... you finally figured out Ranma is cursed?" Sasuke asked, he had spied long enough on the Tendo-dojo for Kuno to witness Ranma changed from one form to another several times.

"So it really is true," Kodachi said with a sigh.

"Yes Mistress. I've witness Saotome-san's transformation a number of times," Sasuke confirmed. "Master Tatewaki refused to listen when I attempted to inform him."

"That is not surprising," Kodachi said with a lady-like snort as she picked up the cup of tea and slowly sipped on it. "Brother-dear is blind to anything that does not fit into his twisted view of the world. But I am just as guilty, I didn't see the signs either."

"You are not around Saotome as much as your brother," Sasuke pointed out.

"Yes, but I am not as stupid as Tatewaki," Kodachi said. "I should have figured it out."

"You are not stupid Mistress Kodachi," Sasuke said. "Sometimes... we do not see what is in front of us. You have never seen Saotome change unlike Master Tatewaki. All you can do now is decide what to do with the information."

"Yes, I suppose you are right Sasuke," Kodachi said, feeling a little bit better. "Thank you uncle."

"You're welcome Kodachi," Sasuke said with a smile.

"SASUKE!" Kuno's voice rang out through the house, making Sasuke sigh as he looked over at the clock on the wall.

"It's time for your brother's nightly puppet show," the Ninja said, bowing toward Kodachi then leaving the room. It was annoying to have to do the shadow-puppet show every night but Kuno wouldn't sleep without it. Kodachi shook her head as she chuckled softly.

"So Ranma-sama... you are a were-girl on top of a werewolf..." Kodachi said as she turned to look out her bedroom window. "And you are now engaged to Tendo Nabiki... the game for your heart has become a bit harder but I will win in the end."

**

"Hey Ucchan," Ranma said as he entered Ukyo's restaurant.

"Ranma! Where have you been?" Ukyo asked as the boy sat at her counter.

"I've been really busy with something," Ranma said with a shrug. "I haven’t had much time to visit, Auntie had me training and I've been patching things up with Mom."

"You mother? So she knows about.... you know?" Ukyo said as she started to cook up a quick okonomiyaki for her friend.

"Yeah, without Pops there to stop her, Mom found out," He confirmed. "She's fine with me turning into a girl but she is pissed at Pops."

"Your father has that effect on people," Ukyo said as she set the okonomiyaki in front of Ranma. Ranma made a humming sound in agreement as he wolfed down the okonomiyaki, Genma did have that effect on people, as the man was a thief and a liar.

"So... I noticed that you've been avoiding Akane at school," Ukyo said as she cleaned her grill. "In fact... I've been seeing you hang around with Nabiki a lot lately when you’re not with those two friends of yours. Has she blackmailed into something again?"

"Yeah... about that... Me and Akane ain't engaged anymore," Ranma said with a bit of a wince, Ukyo would be the last to know this bit of news. Well her and the Kuno siblings but Ranma had no reason to tell Kodachi anything and Nabiki told him to leave Tatewaki Kuno to her.

"Really?" Ukyo asked, perking up at the news. This was great news to her, maybe Ranma had finally saw the light and knew she was the only girl for him finally.

The bell above the door rang as someone entered the restaurant.

"Is this Nerima?" Ryoga asked as he looked around. His eyes lit up as he saw Ranma and Ukyo, he had finally made it back!

"Hey P-chan," Ranma said with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey Sugar," Ukyo said as she started to make another okonomiyaki, this one pork free, for the starved looking teen.

"Don't call me P-chan," Ryoga grumbled as he sat at the counter next to the other boy.

"So... Ranma said he's not engaged to Akane anymore," Ukyo commented as she passed the okonomiyaki to Ryoga, mentioning this fact as she knew Ryoga had a crush on the youngest Tendo and hoped it would push the boy into getting closer to Akane. She wanted a failsafe to make sure Ranma didn't become re-engaged to her rival-friend.

"I know he's engaged to Nabiki. He has been since they came back from that trip in the woods," Ryoga said.

"Nabiki!?" Ukyo said, turning to Ranma. "What trip to the woods? That one you took with Sati? I thought it was just you two!!"

"Well... no... Nabiki was there too," Ranma admitted. "And Jasper then Ryoga showed up." He left out that Shampoo had been there as well, Ukyo already looked pissed.

"How did you end up engaged to Nabiki?" Ukyo said.

"It was her idea," Ranma said. "Some stuff has been going on in my life and no way Akane's gonna put with it. Nabiki offered to become my betrothed until I figure out who I want to marry." Ukyo calmed down a bit and looked at Ranma again.

"So... it's just a ruse?" She asked.

"Err, for the sake of our families, it's not a ruse but Nabiki is very open to letting me take you and Shampoo on dates," Ranma said as he rubbed the back of his head. "And if you or Shampoo are who I chose, or someone else," He add with a pointed look. "Then Nabiki will step to the side."

"So... we're in the same situation as before but you have a bit more freedom to do stuff," Ukyo summed up. She wasn't happy with it, she wanted to be the only one to date and marry Ranma in the end, but at this point she had to take what she could.

"I don't like any of this either, Ucchan," Ranma said with a look as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I rather have time to fall in love and freely chose who I want to be with but thanks to everything that Pops has done, that has been taken from me."

"Ukyo don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Ryoga piped in. "You want to prove that Ranma should marry you then take this chance." Ukyo closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose. If Ryoga, of all people, had to be a voice of reason then maybe she needed a step back and look at this as the chance she needed.

"Ok, you're right," Ukyo said as the tension bled out of her shoulders. "Both of you are right. So... we are going on a date?" She asked Ranma.

"That's what I came here to ask you in the first place," Ranma said. Ukyo nodded and leaned against the counter.

"Where are we going?" Ryoga sat back as he watched his two friends plan their date. He was a little jealous of the fact that Ranma was getting to date a bunch of girls but stepping back and seeing it from Ranma's point of view, he had been pushed into this situation by his father and now the pig-tailed teen was taking control of his life, for once.

"Ok, I'll be back later Ucchan," Ranma said as he got down from the seats at the counter and headed to the door.

"Looking forward to it Ranchan!" Ukyo said with a wave. Ryoga watched Ukyo as the girl watched Ranma leave.

"I meant what I said Ukyo," Ryoga said softly after a few minutes. Ukyo started at his voice, she had forgotten he was there, and then looked at Ryoga with a curious look.

"Not that it's a bad thing, but I never seen you defend Ranma in that way," Ukyo said after a few minutes. Ryoga sighed and run his fingers through his hair.

"I've had a lot of time to think lately," Ryoga said. "About things I've seen and something Sati told me. Ranma is trying to clean up his life, Ukyo, and he needs support instead of fighting, I think."

"A lot of stuff has changed since that Sati woman showed up," Ukyo said.

"Yeah it has," Ryoga agreed. "But maybe that's what we needed; a player in the game who's got nothing to gain that shook us up. I... I can't complain with the way things are changing."

"I guess you're right," Ukyo said with a sigh of her own. She straightened up with a determined look in her eye. "Well, now is my chance to show Ranma that I'm the one for him."

"Good luck," Ryoga said.

**

"Poor little things, their mother were hit with a car yesterday," A teenage girl said as she looked down into a cardboard box. "Are you sure your son will be alright with coming over to feed them every day?" The girl asked, looking up at Sati.

"He's more of my foster son and I think it'll be good for him," Sati said with a smile as she looked down at the litter of kittens that were barely a week old in the box. The kittens were giving little mewling cries as they blindly walked around the box.

Ranma's self-help therapy for his Ailurophobia was going reasonably well, at least Sati thought so. Now that the teen was no longer crippled by his fear of cats, at least to the point of running out of the room screaming or if he was around felines too long his snapping and Ranma acting like a cat. Ranma was now able to look at pictures of cats and had even been able to hold an old stuffed animal cat of Kasumi for at least a minute.

Now Sati hoped to help Ranma further with the little kittens in the box. The tiny things were harmless so Ranma wouldn't feel threatened by them and would hopefully appeal to Ranma's martial arts senses to help and protect the helpless.

"Don't worry, he'll come by every day to feed the little sweethearts," Sati assured the girl.

"Thank Kami," The girl said, glad that there was someone able to come and feed the tiny kittens while she was at work. She could handle most of the feedings but when she was at school and work, she needed someone there.

"We're glad to help," Sati said with a smile, reaching into the box to gently run her fingertips over one kitten's head. The kitten mewled, calling out to its mother for warmth and food, its siblings doing the same.

"I should go ahead and feed them," The girl said as she got up. "Thank you for your help," She bowed as Sati got up as well. Sati smiled and nodded, leaving the girl to prepare the kitten's something to eat. Sati hoped this was the thing Ranma needed to fully heal from the neko-ken training.

**

Kasumi looked up from her cleaning in the kitchen when she heard the gate door slam, frowning as she dried her hands on her apron and walked toward the door. The smell of cheap sake reached her nose first, making the quiet calm sister's nose wrinkle up in distaste, before she saw a very drunk Genma staggering down the hall.

"Ahhsss Kassumi," Genma said with a slur. "Make me... make me sumthing to eat." Kasumi scowled, she didn't like her father's friend bossing her around. A wicked idea entered her head and her usually sweet sunny smile was plastered on her face.

"Of course Uncle Saotome, why don't you go wait in the living room," She said, gently pushing and guiding Genma to the living room. The large bald man staggered over to the couch and crash out on it. As soon as his head pit the decorative pillows, the panda cursed man was out like a light just as Kasumi hoped. Humming softly to herself Kasumi walked over to the phone in the hallway.

"Auntie Saotome... your husband has returned."

Hours later Genma woke up to a dark living room, the man groaning as he pressed his hand against his throbbing forehead. He sat up slowly, one hand still pressed against his aching head as he looked around trying to figure out where he was. The room was a little too dark to make out and his glasses were off on top of that making the room blurry.

"Hello husband," A cold voice said as a light clicked on. Genma hissed in pain as the sudden light sent a spike of pain into his head from his hangover. Whose voice it was caught up to him a second later, his hands shaking as he slid his glasses on and turned toward door.

"Na-Na-Nodoka!!" Genma stuttered as he looked up at his wife, his eyes wide in fear. He looked around for a quick escape, noting that while drunk he had returned to the Tendo's home. "Wh-what are you do-doing here?" He asked as he slowly inched his way toward the doorway. Nodoka quickly drew her sword and pressed it against Genma's neck, stopping him in his tracks.

"You and I are going to have a little talk about our son," Nodoka hissed like an angry cat.

***

Edit 6-3-14: Nothing much changed, just fixing little mistakes here and there.