This was it! Today was the day he would get his revenge!

It had been a while since he prowled the street of Nerima. With all the craziness he had to endure, not to mention that huge battle, he had to take some time off to rest and recuperate. But now, Hayate Kurogane had returned and he was ready to take his next shot at Ryouga Hibiki.

He had to admit he was feeling good. He was in a brand new suit with a brand new umbrella he had just finished crafting. He had been in town for a few hours so far and he had yet to run into any old trolls or any vigilante groups wanting to beat the tar out of anyone they deemed to be a pervert. The sky was blue with no clouds in sight. Today was a good day. All he had to do was find Ryouga and beat him within an inch of his life. Then the day would have been perfect.

He stopped at the end of the block he was walking down and took a good look at his surroundings. He was still a relative newcomer to Nerima and he needed to get the lay of the land. There were still many things he had yet to discover. For example, that restaurant that served the ramen, the Cat Café. The food there was excellent, and the waitress was a sight to behold.

As much as he found himself actually starting to enjoy what Nerima had to offer, he had to keep his mind focused on his main objective. Ryouga had to be dealt with. With a greater purpose than before, he crossed the street and continued walking. It shouldn't have been that much farther until he made it to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. Once there, he would make his next challenge and this time, he would be sure to win! After all, with as great a day he was having, there was no way he could lose.

-SPLASH!-

Shaking himself dry, Hayate glared up at the old woman in front of her house throwing water out in the street. It was interesting that he hadn't noticed her before. The whole experience soured what was otherwise a wonderful day. Clearly it was a sign of things to come, should he go ahead with his challenge and battle Ryouga. With a heavy sigh, the little rabbit turned around and hopped back home, leaving his brand new suit and umbrella lying on the street.

Today sucked.

Tomorrow! Tomorrow was the day he would get his revenge!

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Epilogue: Unintended Consequences"

-

After the battle had ended, everyone had moved to Dr. Tofu's office to tend to the combatants' injuries. Ukyou was lying on the furthest bed in the observation room, with Ryouga standing over her. Spring was lying on the bed closest to Dr. Tofu's office alternating between longing looks at Ryouga and staring forlornly at the ceiling. Dr. Tofu was at the cabinet where he kept his medical supplies. He and Autumn had bowls in hand, grinding medicinal herbs she gathered from her shop into paste. Ranma, Akane and Mousse all opted to remain in the waiting room.

With the paste ready, the doctor and the shop owner applied the paste to medicinal gauze. Dr. Tofu, being ready first, wrapped the gauze on the cuts and bruises on Spring's arms and legs. For the injuries on her face, he applied small dabs of the paste on her face directly, then covered them with smaller adhesive bandages.

With Spring being attended to, Autumn went to treat Ukyou. Needless to say, Ukyou was apprehensive about receiving care from her. As the Amazon knelt down to her bedside and tried to apply the gauze, Ukyou reared back. Autumn sighed, but smiled, understanding what the girl must've been thinking.

"It's okay," reassured Autumn. "I'm not holding a grudge against you for beating my sister in that fight. There are rules we have to go by. She knew what those rules were and now, we all have to abide by them."

Seeing that Ukyou still wasn't sure, Ryouga said, "You know? I think you can trust her. During the fight, she and Mousse told me she stopped Tsubasa from interfering."

"Tsubasa? What in the world was he doing there?" wondered Ukyou.

"Well when I heard that he had feelings for you, I thought he was there to harm Spring to protect you," said Autumn. "But when I confronted him, he said that he wanted to make sure that you lost, so Spring could have Ryouga and he would be free to have you."

Ukyou rolled her eyes, "That sounds like him." She looked to Ryouga, "And you saw all of this?"

"Yeah," said Ryouga with a nod.

She was still a bit unwilling, but with Ryouga's say so, Ukyou allowed Autumn to treat her wounds. "I can't believe you'd be willing to treat me after what happened. Even if you said that you didn't have a grudge...still, that is your sister."

"You'll have to learn to trust me eventually, Ukyou," said Autumn. She finished wrapping the gauze on Ukyou's wounds and stood up. Just before she walked off, she turned back and added, "After all, you're one now too."

Ukyou raised an eyebrow, "I'm one what?"

"How are they, Doctor?" Autumn asked, not answering the question.

"Some bumps and bruises. Nothing serious," said Dr. Tofu. "Though, your sister has used up a whole lot of her ki. She should stay in bed for a few days to recuperate. Even after that, she shouldn't do anything too strenuous for about a week."

"I see. Thank you," said Autumn with a bow.

"Aw, geez. Bedridden for all that time?" Spring complained.

"That's right," ordered Autumn. "I'm going to make sure you follow his orders even if I have to tie you down, you understand?"

"Fine, fine." She turned to Ryouga and with a little of the sparkle returning to her eyes, she added, "It won't be so bad if you were there with me Ryouga, hon." She gave him a wink.

"Now wait a minute!" went Ukyou, rising slowly and painfully out of her bed.

"Spring," Autumn started in a warning tone. "What have I told you before?"

Spring nodded, "I know, I know." Slowly, she at up and gave Ukyou a slight bow. "May I please have the honor of taking Ryouga to bed with me?"

Ukyou and Ryouga blinked at the question with their mouths slightly agape. Ukyou spoke up, "What...in...the..." Obviously, she wasn't speaking up too well. "Just what kind of question is that???"

"You're going to have to give her some time, Spring," Autumn said. "She doesn't know our ways yet. But this should help her." Reaching into her voluminous robe, she pulled out a book that looked frighteningly familiar to Ryouga. "This is a helpful guidebook explaining some of our rules to outsiders. It's not a full guide, but it should get you started."

Ukyou opened the book and read a few lines. After flipping a few pages, she looked back at Autumn, confused. "How am I supposed to read this? It's all in Chinese."

Ryouga looked at the book over her shoulder, knowing what to look for after witnessing a similar happening when Shampoo first appeared at the Tendos. He pointed to a section of the page and informed her, "Here, Ukyou. There's a Japanese translation."

Looking again, Ukyou rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "Ah, thanks. Can't believe I missed that." Now with a language she recognized, Ukyou began to read. As she got further and further down the page, her eyes widened and a look of intense anger overtook her features. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME????"

Hearing the sudden outburst, the three teens that were out in the waiting room rushed in. "Hey! What's going on?" asked Mousse. "Don't tell me Ukyou and Spring are fighting again?"

Ranma took a look at Ukyou and immediately recognized the book she was looking at. "Uh oh...is she reading what I think she's reading?"

"There's nothing wrong," Autumn reassured them. "Ukyou is just reading a bit about how we handle encounters with outsiders."

Akane looked at Ranma, "Uh oh..."

"I'm guessing that you've had to deal with something similar since you've had to deal with Shampoo," said Autumn. "I don't know exactly what the rules are for her tribe, but I would guess they aren't that much different. If an outsider male defeats one of us in battle, then we are to take that man as our husband."

"Yep, that's been very well established," said Ranma.

"No kidding," Ryouga quipped.

"If it's an outsider female that defeats one of us," Autumn continued, "then we have to give her the kiss of death and hunt her down."

"We know that pretty well too," said Ranma.

"That's what got this whole mess started," said Akane. "Spring gave Ukyou the kiss of death when we first met her."

"However," Autumn interjected, "we only have three opportunities to defeat the outsider female. If by some chance, the attempt to kill her twice fails, then the third time, they are to fight in a duel with at least two members of her tribe as witnesses. If, in that third attempt, the duel is lost, then the outsider female becomes recognized as a member of the tribe."

Ryouga's jaw dropped, "You...you mean she's an Amazon now???"

The demon hunting Amazon nodded, "But that's not all..."

"If there is a dispute between two tribal members over the affections of a single man, then the two women must fight in a duel with no less then two other tribal members as witnesses," Ukyou read from the book, trembling. "Whosoever comes out of that duel victorious shall heretofore be recognized as betrothed to the male." She looked up at Autumn and asked, "This just applies to existing members, right?"

Autumn shook her head. "It's a poorly written rule, I will admit. The way it is now is so broad that it does include new members of the tribe that just entered via the dueling process."

Ryouga gulped hearing their conversation. "What, exactly, does all this mean?"

Ukyou glared at him, "It means that under their eyes, we're engaged!"

"WHAT???"

"Wow! You're engaged now too, huh?" Ranma said, ribbing his rival. "Congratulations, man!"

"This isn't funny, Ranma!" yelled Ryouga.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Akane said. "She doesn't have to abide by those rules if she doesn't want to. She can just forget about them and go about her life like she normally does. She can't be forced to do anything she doesn't want to do."

"You're right," Autumn said with a nod. "She can reject the offer to join the tribe if she wants to. Of course, that would mean she'd have to be executed on the spot."

"Ooookay, forget I said anything," Akane retracted.

Despite the doctor's orders, Spring got up and wrapped her arms around Ryouga's neck. "Don't forget to mention my favorite part!"

"Of course not," went Autumn, raising her eyebrow at her sister's antics. "As a matter of pride, it's customary for all married women in our tribe to show off what exceptional specimens their husbands are by...-ahem-...sharing them with their tribal sisters."

The jaws of everyone in the room not an Amazon dropped. "You can't be serious?!" went Akane, astonished.

"Yep," answered Autumn. "Of course, over the years, the custom had eased up a bit so that there's no difference between married couples and engaged couples sharing."

"While biological sisters are able to share the men they're with pretty much whenever they like," Spring added, "individual non-biological family members can only do this once a month. And it's also customary for the attached woman to be asked first before the share can take place." She turned to Ukyou again and asked, "So, when can I have my first go at Ryouga?"

With a growl, the okonomiyaki chef picked up her mega spatula, which was lying next to her bed and stood to her feet with a very dangerous glare aimed at Ryouga and Spring. Ryouga knew what was coming next was going to be very unpleasant. Unfortunately, there wasn't a door to the outside in Dr. Tofu's examination room. Fortunately it wasn't hard for him to make an exit of his own. Quickly spinning around, he punched a hole into the clinic wall and made a mad dash for freedom. Spring who still had her arms wrapped around his neck, had to hang on for dear life.

"YOU JACKASSES! GET BACK HERE!!!" the irate chef yelled, chasing after them.

Everyone watched as the chase ensued. It was fortunate for Ryouga that Ukyou wasn't at one hundred percent due to the fight, but no doubt with her anger fueling her, it would only be a matter of time until Ukyou caught them and all sorts of unspeakable pain was rained down upon the both of them. With a sigh, Dr. Tofu looked at Autumn and said, "It looks like I'll be needing some more of those medicinal herbs..."

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-End Book Three