Guardian 1/2

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Thank you to Hiryo and Veedramon, who were indispensable in helping me to brainstorm some of the ideas that inspired this story and kept it moving, and as always, thanks to Hiryo for help editing.

For this story, I have done a strange mix of the anime and manga versions, and so things are happening in a somewhat different order, I just latched onto a few ideas I thought were funny, and ran with it. Some things happen sooner, others happen later or not at all, it just depended on what sounded fun at the time. Some of the changes might not make the most sense, or even be entirely 'in character', I just started writing this with only a vague idea of what I was going to do with it, the continuity kind of wrote itself, even as it grew out of hand, so this is what we ended up getting. I never intended for this to get too complicated or lore detailed, so, as they say, "don't sweat the small stuff". XD

There are no actual crossovers in this story, though there are a small number of cameos, and few dream sequences which are inspired by other things. I also do not consider anything that was in the source material, or in cannon same world, as a crossover. For example, Lum and company lived in the same town, but their adventures were a few years before this story started, and the game Street Fighter 2 exists, Shampoo and others have been seen playing it on the Super Famicom in the manga and anime. It may have been a parody version in canon, but I do not have that limitation. Due to the three characters whose names were changed, I tried not to mention them directly, sorry if make a mistake there.

As many of you who have read my other currently still in progress story, Nodoka 2/1, I generally separate physical gender, from gender identity, so it is unlikely for me to refer to Ranma using a female pronoun, even while in cursed form. He is a literal example of a male trapped in a female body, so unless I write a scene where his gender identity changes, that is just not going to happen intentionally, though I am not above making mistakes.

The idea for the opening chase came to me a while back, but I kept it on the back burner, but when I was having trouble getting feedback on my other story and kept getting stuck, I worked on this in my spare time, and well, it kind of took over ...sorry about that. Happosai had been up to his old tricks, and Ranma avoided being changed into a girl during the ensuing chase ...which had profound effects on what followed.

Fair Warning, there are also a few spoilers from Kimagure Orange Road's first movie, I Want to Return to That Day, and a few other unrelated movies, with well known plots, like the Journey to the West.

Most of all, this story is dedicated to my late friend, Jim Bader, and his Reality Bytes series, we miss you buddy.

Legal Notice: Reading this story, constitutes your unconditional acceptance and agreement of the following terms, conditions, and opinions, expressed or implied, as intended by the author without further clarification. You agree to not sue me, to not take anything too seriously, and to maybe write a review when you are done. And of course, all rights to the characters within, belong to the respective owners, primarily, Rumiko Takahashi, I am just trying to have a little fun and practice. Please enjoy. XD

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Long, long ago, on a planet, far, far away, an old man sat on a beach, wishing he had someone to whom he could converse. He did not get his wish... nor did this have anything at all to do with our story, so we will leave him to his dull fate.

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Kasumi Tendo was not one prone to panic, after all, things tended to work out for the best, at least, they always had in her experience, so she was not initially concerned about the loud commotion that she heard rapidly approaching. Loud noises were mostly ignored around the district, most people would only pay them enough attention to make sure they were not directly caught up in the resulting commotion, and to clean up the mess they left behind. While Kasumi had heard stories of exactly how 'messy' some of these events could be, she had always assumed it was exaggerated to make for a better story, but what she was about to see made her quickly rethink that, and it boggled her mind to consider the implications of that fact.

When she finally turned and saw the source of the noise, it was not as close as she had first thought, a dust cloud could be seen rising above the buildings, and then it finally turned the corner. There were so many people running it seemed as though there was a marathon happening, one that the fate of the world might well have depended upon, if one took the intensity of the people involved to heart.

As the horde roared along, Kasumi finally came to the realization that she was directly in its path, and that if she did not move, she would be in danger of being trampled. She felt strange, on one hand, she was blindly trying to run away from the rioting crowd, hoping to at least not be trampled as she was caught up in the flow, yet at the same time, a detached part of her mind was disappointed in herself for trying to run ahead of the herd, instead of trying to get out of the way by moving to the side.

Before she had time to finish that thought, she felt her feet leave the ground as many hands began to push and lift her from her feet. Fearing the worst, she started to pray for her family, hoping they would be able to get along without her. However, instead of the pain of being flattened, what she felt was a warm comfort enveloping her entire body, a sharp contrast to her expectations based on the way this encounter had begun.

"There we go, I've got you, Kasumi-san."

"Ranma-kun, what-?"

"Don't worry, won't let you get hurt on account a' me, just hold on tight!"

Kasumi slowly opened one eye and stiffened as she looked over Ranma's shoulder to see how close the angry masses had come, she even thought she saw an elephant, making her clutch more tightly to her 'savior'. The looks on the faces of some of the women in the crowd suddenly darkened, and their nearness concerned her somewhat. A part of her was apprehensive that she might be the reason they were now throwing things their way, she also worried that her weight might be too much for Ranma, and the reason he was slowing down. Not wanting to be the cause of him getting hurt, she was about to ask him to drop her so he would be able to escape, when Ranma leapt into the air, landing on one roof only to jump again! Kasumi's eyes went wide, unable to believe the view of the ground, and most of the crowd getting much further away, very quickly.

A large part of her wanted to clench her eyes tight and wait to wake up, but another part of her, a much smaller part, was exhilarated by the feeling of the wind in her hair and on the side of her face, the feeling of almost flying. Even watching those members of the pack who were able to follow them through the sky, was not enough to completely remove the disbelief at the feeling of soaring through the air. It was not until most of them had gotten lost or distracted, that she focused her attention ahead of them. For the first time, she felt the wind truly in her face, she could see the skyline below them, along with most of the town. It was a breathtaking sight.

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A short time later, Ranma had felt certain that he had lost the last of his most tenacious pursuers, even as the feeling of Kasumi clinging to him remained ...along with the rest of her. He was fairly positive that they were alone, but she had not yet let go of him. "Kasumi-san, I think we're safe now."

"Oh my, but where are we?" Kasumi looked around, from their vantage point atop the building, she could see fairly far, but did not recognize any of the buildings.

Looking around, he realized that they were in another prefecture entirely, one that he landed in occasionally when a particular person would send him flying. Ranma was not sure why, he had been trying to get back to the Tendo's house, but once he had picked up Kasumi, that had started to feel like a bad idea. He wasn't sure what happened, but the panic induced fog had lifted from his mind, and he realized that going home with so many angry people chasing him, would likely end in the destruction of at least part of their home, and that should probably be avoided when possible, he also had Kasumi's safety to think about. While Ranma knew she was strong in her own way, she was not a martial artist, and while he did not like to ever see any innocent person get hurt, especially if he played any role in it, but the idea that anyone would hurt Kasumi filled him a rage he did not entirely understand. "I think this is Nakano, several kilometers south-east a' Nerima. Akane sends me here once in a while."

Having still not gotten to her feet, Kasumi hugged him more tightly. "Oh my, that is nice of you to run errands for Akane-chan..." Seeing the look that crossed his face, her error was realized, though he spoke not a word. Some people might have accused Kasumi of not paying attention to the world around her, but that could not have been further from the truth, she was usually very observant. It was not that she did not notice what was going on, it was just that she chose to see the best in everything, and not let herself be too bothered by the things she was unable to change. As if to prove that point, she thought it might be best if she were to change the subject. "Oh dear, how will we get home in time? I did not even get the shopping done... and the busses are crowded this time of day."

"Well, don't go gettin' th' wrong idea or nuthin' but if ya want, I'll carry you back. It might not be the best way for ya ta travel, an' I don't want ya ta think I'm trin' ta do nuthin' perverted or nuthin', but it would be faster than th' bus, an' I can help, with carrying stuff, or whatever." Ranma looked embarrassed, he would have been rubbing the back of his neck had his hands not been full.

"Oh no, you do not have to go to that much trouble for me, I can take the bus. Although, we would need to get down from here first..."

"It's not any trouble, I mean I have ta go home too, an' it ain't like yer very heavy er nuthin', an' I am way faster than any bus."

Kasumi's blush matched Ranma's for a moment. "You couldn't mean that! You shouldn't lie, even if it is just to be polite..."

"No, really, I can go way faster than a bus, they make way too many stops!"

"No, I mean... Oh never mind, I suppose it would be nice to have some help for once. Thank you, Ranma-kun, I will take you up on your offer."

"Oh no, it ain't nuthin', I mean it's my fault you didn't get nuthin' done." As Ranma turned his head to look around, trying to get a better view of the area, he noticed something in Kasumi's lap. "Um, what ya got there, Kasumi-san?"

For the first time, Kasumi saw what Ranma had been talking about. "Oh my, what is this?" Leaving one arm around Ranma's shoulders, she picked up the half-scroll, turning it over in her hand, and they both looked it over. "Do you think that perhaps it fell in my lap during that gathering back there?"

"Well, I didn't see it while we were running... so it had ta be. Anything could a' happened in that mess!"

Kasumi wondered about that, but chose not to say anything. "Are you absolutely sure I am not too heavy for you?"

Ranma laughed softly, trying not to deafen his future sister in-law. "Nah Kasumi, there'd have ta be a lot more a'ya before I would even notice the weight! Yer far too light ta be a problem."

"I know you mean well, Ranma-kun, but you shouldn't lie, especially to an old woman."

"What old woman? There's nobody up here but us, ..an' ain't lying! I can barely even tell I'm holding ya, no, I mean... ya don't weigh nuthin', oh never mind..." Ranma flinched, expecting to be struck, flat-out surprised that he had not been hit yet, assuming it was only a matter of time, It was on days, like the one he was having, that made him feel like the universe's punching-bag. Even the people who claimed to love him, always seemed to find a reason to try to beat him senseless, and it was not as though he felt that he needed any help in that department!

Kasumi's blush intensified, before putting the scroll in her shopping bag. "I do not think we will be passing that market on the way home, so I will just take it to the police-box when I go out tomorrow. Hopefully no one will be looking for it until then."

"If ya think that is best, Kasumi-san. Ya ready to go?" Seeing her nod, Ranma prepared to jump. "Hold on tight, an' let me know where ya want ta shop."

Silently admitting to herself that she did not have much choice, she tucked her bag between them, wrapping her arms around Ranma's chest, and leaning her head on his shoulder. She knew she ought to be watching where they were going so she could give Ranma directions, but despite usually smiling, Kasumi felt the irresistible urge to hide her grin, the reasons for which were completely lost on her.

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Thanks to Ranma, she had gotten the shopping done and made it home in record time. She had only been put a bit behind schedule, and she could not be happier about it. They shouted out "Tadaima!" as they removed their shoes, but received no response, though Ranma was certain their fathers were home, and were ignoring them as they played their games.

Ranma followed Kasumi into the kitchen, carrying their shopping bags, where Kasumi made sure Ranma washed his hands as well before she started to gather everything that she needed, including an apron for each of them. Ranma used cold water to wash his hands, feeling more comfortable helping as a girl. Kasumi was not sure how she felt about that, but did not comment.

As she started to heat the pan, Kasumi had him wash and cut the vegetables. She remembered Ranma had helped to prepare dinner the last time Akane and the others had volunteered to cook, though she had not seen it being made, and could not be sure what had been made by him, though when she saw Ranma work, her jaw just dropped, unable to believe not only the speed at which he worked, but the uniformity of the pieces. It was like watching an artist painting a masterpiece before her very eyes …if only he had washed them first. She had been so enthralled, that she almost burnt her own mushrooms! She quickly added some broth, and some of the other vegetables Ranma had already cut for her, saving it from getting a burnt flavor.

After recovering slightly, Kasumi started requesting Ranma's help on other steps in their meal's preparation, increasing the complexity with each task, while carefully watching every step, gently guiding the boy turned girl as needed. After so many years of failure with her only other willing student, she had thought that she was incapable of teaching anyone, so it came as a rather large shock when she realized that Ranma had not only prepared most of the meal, but it looked almost as good as her own!

The last thing she did was to ask Ranma to set the table while she looked over the food, tasting each dish, judging the flavors, while making minor adjustments ...and she was very pleased with the results. She was glad they had bought the extra ingredients, she had thought they might need them if Ranma made any mistakes, but it turned out the only mistake had been her own, and now she could give him extra portions as a reward for helping her! With that in mind, Kasumi considered what to do as she did some of the clean-up, knocking over the shopping bag. She caught the scroll fragment as it fell toward the floor, shoving it into her apron's pocket.

Soon after, Ranma returned and Kasumi was ready for him. As the young redhead walked into the room, Kasumi poured warm water over his head, and handed him a towel. "Uh, thanks, Kasumi-san?"

"No, thank you Ranma-kun, you have a serious talent for cooking, it is almost a crime that you do not nurture it like any other art."

He wasn't sure if Kasumi had chosen that wording intentionally or not, but that had struck a chord in him. "Art?" Ranma's mind flashed to Ukyo, and all of the other food-based martial arts that he had witnessed over the years. Kasumi saw the thoughtful look on Ranma's face, and gained a hopeful one herself. "Ya might have a point, Kasumi-san, I got ta admit I've seen that enough times..."

"If you ever want to do more ...training, you be sure to ask me, ne?"

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"Oh my son! Spending time in the kitchen, cooking, ...like a WOMAN! Where did this lowly father go wrong?"

"You've got the 'lowly' part right." Akane glared at the man responsible for bringing her frustrating fiancee into her life.

Nabiki looked up, with a grin. "For five-hundred yen, I'll start you a list..."

Soun whispered into Genma's ear. "I know it is unusual, my old friend, but you have to admit, one of them is going to need to cook, or our grandchildren may never live to be trained!"

Genma's mood instantly shifted. "Hummm, you might have a point, Tendo-kun." Genma turned to face his son, cautiously eyeing him up and down. "Well boy, to make up for this, you had better make your father plenty of good food-..."

Genma had been cut off by being kicked into the pond. "Who would make anything for YOU?"

Ranma fumed as Genma emerged from the pond, holding a sign that said, '...and don't let anyone find out!'

As everyone sat back down to the table, Kasumi pulled a very large platter of bamboo from somewhere, placing it before Genma's place at the table. When she got to Ranma's plate, she served him triple portions of everything. "This is a thank you for all of your help today ...and for saving my life." Kasumi's voice added three levels of sweetness as she turned back to Genma as she saw him eyeing Ranma's plate. "If you are that hungry, Uncle Genma, do not forget, I have stocked enough bamboo for you to eat for the entire week ...at every meal."

Nabiki raised both of her eyebrows, it was rare for anyone to defend Ranma, and her older sister rarely got involved in anyone else's business! That meant that what she said about saving her life must have been true ...this could get very interesting, very interesting indeed. She kept sparing glances, wondering when her little sister, or even Ranma, would catch on, but Akane seemed too distracted by something, likely related to Ranma beating her at cooking again, judging by the way she stared at the food on the table. Her little sister would violently object if anyone suggested she needed to improve her cooking, and yet she tried so hard to do just that. When Nabiki, who had almost never made anything more complicated than coffee, could manage better than many would suspect, let alone someone who tried as hard as her sister, there was something wrong. It just went to show, effort alone was not enough to succeed, and when it came to cooking, Nabiki decided to lead her sister by example, and not try.

Aside from the dark cloud hanging over Akane's head, the rest of the meal had been relatively uneventful, but even she paused in her fuming to look up when Kasumi served Genma's portion of human food to Ranma, since the panda-cursed man was not able to eat it. It really helped enforce Kasumi's veiled threat, for those who had noticed it in the first place, which meant herself and possibly Genma... He was difficult for even Nabiki to figure out some days, but some elements were consistent, his greed, his thoughtlessness, and his equal parts respect and disdain for her older sister. Nabiki had a feeling that Kasumi reminded him of someone who terrified the man, though she could not imagine whom that might have been, combined with a healthy respect of knowing where his next meal would come from, if he got one at all.

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At breakfast, Ranma was surprised, but happy that his father did not attempt to take his food while still in human form, for the first time in his recollection. He was not sure what had caused it, but was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even Akane had mostly ignored him, and since he had also managed to keep his own mouth shut, it had been what he would call 'a good morning'.

...Or it had been, until he arrived at the school to find an unhappy crowd waiting on him, even his closest friends looking as though they wanted his blood. The hoard gathered around the gate, clamoring for his head, and demanding answers.

"Ranma!"

"Prepare to die!"

"You Svengali!"

"Ranchan!"

"How am I supposed to follow all of this? One at a time!"

"Ohohohohohohoho! Ranma-sama, my love, who was that hussy clinging to you yesterday? It was most unsightly."

"What ...did ...YOU ...say ...about ...KASUMI-SAN?" The sudden heat in Ranma's eyes directed toward the gymnast and the harsh change in his voice had shocked almost everyone present, it had even made Ukyo and Shampoo instantly rethink their current strategies. Both of them were glad that they had not been the ones who triggered that outburst, and decided to look into this at a later date, whatever happened, it could not have been that THAT important. Even those who could not see his battle-aura, backed away from the intensity of Ranma's change in mood. Almost every one of them had enough of a grasp of Ranma's abilities to know better than to poke the hornets' nest when he was in such a mood.

"The harlot, who was attached to your-..."

The only people who did not back off, including all three of the Kunos, were blown away by the explosion of ki that was one Ranma Saotome. It had made quite a mess, but it had also taken out some of the more obnoxious members of the school's population, so most of the student body considered it a wonderful bargain, for most of them, it had been a relatively peaceful morning.

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Ranma's day had been mostly ...unpleasant to say the least, and just got worse with every moment. After the events of that morning, it seemed as though everyone else had spent the day harassing him, even Nabiki kept demanding answers. Discretion being the better part of valor, he broke down and used the Saotome Final Attack: Run Away, to avoid answering anything else. He had told them there was nothing to worry about and that nothing unusual happened, but no one ever listened to him! He ended up spending most of the day on the roof, behind the clock-tower, where even Hinako-sensei wasn't able to get to him. It might not have been the most productive way to spend the day, but it certainly could have been worse...

Knowing school was about to let out for the day, he jumped from the roof, to go for a run before he went home, wanting to avoid the usual problems. He had not made it very far before he felt an incredibly powerful and dark aura, worse yet, it seemed to be following him. Not being in the mood to deal with that, or anything else, Ranma tried to lose it, but had little luck. Before long, trying to ditch his stalker became more trouble than it was worth, and he changed plans, and led them to an empty area, where they would do less damage if a fight broke out. The aura seemed familiar, it was not anyone he knew, but he was certain that he had sensed it somewhere recently...

Once he had left the downtown area and had made it into the suburbs, he saw the source of the aura he had been sensing. The towering black aura was almost as wide as the street, and more than two stories tall, with glowing red eyes, sending anything flying that got in its way. Ranma vaguely remembered seeing that during this 'afternoon run' the day before, but had no idea what it could have wanted from him, he was certain that he would have remembered facing such an opponent!

Upon reaching the edge of town, Ranma came to an area still under development, with empty lots, and places still under construction, where he turned to face the monstrous aura that had been following him. Unwilling to show fear, he took up a cautious stance. "Oi, just what's your problem?"

The gargantuan battle aura began to fade, revealing an almost equally enormous ...elephant? Ranma blinked, certain his eyes were paying tricks on him as a beautiful young woman was lowered to the ground by its trunk. She stared at Ranma with a deadly intensity, sending waves of panic through Ranma, he was certain that he had just gained another unwanted member in his equally unwanted harem.

"You is boy from before! One what was with Happosai! Where scroll? Know you have, Lychee already check everyone else!"

"What? You mean that half a scroll with the red tassel?"

"You really see it?" The cute young woman, looked hopeful as she clasped her hands together, pleading with Ranma. "Please, you must help Lychee get back scroll, only way Lychee can get married!"

Ranma really started to freak out at the mention of marriage. THAT was one of the very last things he needed! "Um, no, wait, you don't want that! It ain't safe!"

"Lychee no have choice, hold scroll, wait for prince to come!"

"Well, I'm not really a prince, no matter how it might seem, but I already have an iinazuke...!"

"Who care about you? You no Lychee prince!"

"Oh, well, that's different ...wait, WHAT? You mean, you really, really ain't after me? Oh, thank the kami!"

"What wrong with Lychee? You think Lychee no make good wife?"

"It's not you, it's just, I got too many iinazuke already! I'm sure you will make a wonderful bride..."

Lychee paused, looking Ranma over, with a look that made him feel like a piece of meat. "If prince no come, maybe you find out how good wife Lychee be..."

Ranma's face contorted in shock, staring off into the distance and slapping his face.

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Nabiki had hurried home after school, leaving her underlings to handle most of their affairs for the rest of the day, there was something she needed to check on ...personally. She was a little winded from running, something she almost never did if she had any say in the matter, but was glad she had been able to catch her sister before she had left for her afternoon errands. Apparently, it was the right choice, as Kasumi already had her shopping bag in hand. "Onee-chan, I saw something rather interesting this morning, would you like to hear about it?"

Kasumi gave her sister a disappointed look. "Nabiki, you know it is not polite to gossip."

"Is it 'gossip' if it involves you ...and a certain pig-tailed martial artist...?" Her sister's only response was to hesitate for the briefest of moments before nodding. "Though, I am not so much here for the gossip, it's more like I am missing a piece of the puzzle. You seem to have had quite an effect on Ranma-kun, I've never seen anyone get so mad about name-calling, especially Ranma-kun."

"Oh my, whatever could they have said, was it about being 'manly'?"

"Nope, that's where you are wrong, Ranma-kun was not the one insulted ...you were. Kuno-kun's younger sister claimed that you were a woman of ill repute."

"Oh my, that was not very nice, but why would Ranma-kun get so upset?"

"That's what I would like to know... What happened yesterday afternoon?"

The look she was getting from her younger sister, combined with the butterflies that were now fluttering in her stomach, made Kasumi nervous, she had not been that uncomfortable since her father had demanded answers on the day Shampoo had had first visited their home. "Oh my, nothing, I mean, I don't know all of the answers... I was shopping, or trying to shop, when Ranma-kun and some friends were running by, and it seems I got caught up in it and, well, I would have been trampled, but Ranma-kun saved me or something, yeah, something like that, I think!" Kasumi blushed as her hands excitedly moved up and down.

"You 'think'?" Nabiki eyed her older sister, looking her over, she had not been able to get anything out of Ranma so far that day, and had hoped this would have been easier. "Are you sure there isn't anything else that happened? Something after that?"

"Ranma-kun helped me do the shopping, and cooking, as you know, what else could there be?"

"I wouldn't know, that's why I'm asking you, O-ne-e-chan." Nabiki was about to start twisting the screws to get answers when they heard a loud trumpeting outside!

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Walking up to the gate, Ranma turned to look at the young Chinese woman and her ...pet? "Hummm, you might have-ta duck." Ranma opened both gate doors, giving the elephant as much room as possible.

Lychee patted her companion on the head. "Come on, Jasmine, it just like back home." The pachyderm did her best to fit through the gate, only rubbing her back on the top as she went under. Rubbing behind the elephant's ear, Lychee spoke softly. "Good girl, Jasmine, very good." Happy to be praised, she let out a triumphant trumpet.

"Wait here a sec, let me see if anyone's here first." Ranma turned to the house, just as Kasumi opened the door, with Nabiki right behind her.

"What is THAT?"

"Oh my, it's SO cute!"

"I thought yer th' 'smart' one, it's an elephant, a' course." Ranma gave Nabiki a cocky smile, and instantly regretted it as he realized what it might cost him in the future.

"I know THAT! What's it doing here?"

Ranma indicated Lychee with a nod. "That one's bodyguard, so you might want to think twice about your usual tricks."

"You wound me, Ranma-kun. I am sure I have NO idea what you are talking about. I never do ...tricks."

Ranma's voice dropped to a whisper as she neared the middle Tendo. "Look, I am trying ta help ya here, ya know I don't like ta hit th' weak, an' ya'd just charge me fer it anyway, but I don't think the elephant has any such problems, an' I saw it take out half a' th' town's finest yesterday..." Ranma trailed off as he heard a familiar rustle, and looked around, almost relieved when he sensed who the target was not, causing him to hesitate for a brief moment.

"SWEET-OOOH!" Happosai was all over the newcomer in an instant, by the end of the second instant, Jasmine had sucked the old man into the grip of her trunk, and slammed him into the ground before using her immense body mass, combined with the power of her ki, to body-slam the ancient pervert into the walkway, crushing him flat. He was then tied up by chains and ropes offered up by the two Tendo girls as Ranma gagged and blindfolded the old man, and clanking the lock shut.

The recently molested young woman turned her justifiable outrage toward the now incapacitated pervert. "We find you now, Happosai! Lychee been looking for you!"

"Yer lookin' fer th' old man? Why didn't ya say so?" Anyone who wanted to beat-up the founder of their school, certainly went up in Ranma's estimation. That did not mean he liked anyone who would help pulverize the panty thief, but he certainly would not stop them.

"You pay for what you do to me!" Lychee started throwing rocks at Happosai, each rock progressively larger than the last.

"Yeah, that bastard has done that to all of us, even Ranma-kun... Not that I want you to stop! Please, continue." Nabiki waved her on with a smile.

"Not that! That is new crime, this old one."

"You've got that right, sister, they don't get much older."

"Happosai, because of you, Lychee, Lychee, Lychee... Give Lychee back precious youth!"

"PRECIOUS?!" Everyone gasped, he was a well-known molester, but none of them ever thought he would take anything THAT far, he took underwear, not virginities, and he had always seemed nice to children before...

Ranma was unable to resist hitting Happosai again, even though he was still unconscious and would probably not feel it anyway. "I can't believe even th' old freak would sink THAT low, Kuno maybe, but doing that ta a kid's just unforgivable!" Ranma's battle aura was quickly building up, as he, along with some of the others, got ready to start dispensing their righteous justice! Even Kasumi looked at him with a disapproving glare.

"Spend whole life, chasing dream of promised prince, face many hardships, all because of scroll you leave!"

Ranma hesitated, but decided to follow though and complete his attack anyway. "Wait, ...what? This is because a' th'scroll, not-?" Ranma froze, he was starting to get a bad feeling...

"Oh my, do you mean this scroll?" Kasumi had pulled the half-scroll, with a red tassel and the kanji for 'good-fortune', out of her bag, showing it to their guest.

Lychee stared in shock and happiness! "That scroll of luck! It been passed down in family for many generation! Been looking all over!" Lychee's mood darkened slightly as her eyes slowly went from the severed scroll to Kasumi's calmly curious face. "...how you get?"

Before Kasumi could respond, the skies darkened, and lightning struck in several successive places, giving them all a strong sense of foreboding.

A piercing squeal cut through the stormy sounds and drew all attention toward the front gate. "IIIIIIIIYAAAAAA! Where is that baaaaad kid, Ranma Saotome? Skipping my class will get you in BIIIIIG trouble, young man! Teehee!"

"Oh great, Hinako-sensei! Like this day ain't already complicated enough... Maybe I can escape before..." Ranma slapped his forehead as he noticed Kasumi opening the gate, letting their diminutive instructor inside before he could make good on his escape. The sweet smile on Kasumi's face prevented him from being mad at her though, and he mentally kicked himself for not being fast enough. Some days it did not pay to be Ranma Saotome, and he had the feeling today was one of those days. He knew running at this point would just get him drained, and while he could stand up to that better than most people, he would only put others in danger if he tried to escape. Hinako rarely seemed to care who got caught in her cross-fire and he did not think he would be able to get far enough away from those he did not want to see hurt, unlike his father, who he would happily use as a shield, so he just hung his head in resignation, waiting for the inevitable.

"Akane-chan, your little friend is back?" Soun walked over, patting the young seeming teacher on the head, distracting her from her intended goal. "Your friends are always welcome here." Soun turned back toward the shrunken sensei. "It is good to see you again." The tall man could not help but to smile as he saw the bright-eyed joy in the adoring face looking up at him.

Seeing the look her homeroom teacher was giving her father, Akane wanted to prevent any further progress. In her opinion, Hinako had simply been using any excuse to visit them, and as usual, she blamed Ranma for giving her far too many opportunities to do just that! So it was, that with a scowl upon her face, Akane picked up her teacher by her collar to plop her down in front of her iinazuke. "That's where you're wrong dad, Hinako-chan isn't here for me, but for RANMA instead!"

Soun was taken aback by the tone in his youngest daughter's voice, and he knew better than to push the issue, so he did his best to shrink back into nothingness, hoping to pull Genma into a game of shogi.

Hinako turned back to face Akane, pouting with her large sad eyes looking as if she were about to start crying. "Ranma, you baka, take care of your guest!" Akane picked up her 'pet pig', and stormed back into the house, slamming the door.

Ranma was eyeing their teacher, hoping to have been forgotten, even knowing his luck did not work that way, he had been trying to back away. "But, hey, what's that?" He had pointed behind her, using a desperate distraction technique, but he had been just as shocked as the rest of them by what he saw in the sky, and was unable to flee, once again.

"I never knew you were so cunning Saotome-kun, but you can't trick me ...no matter how devious your ploy is!"

"Oh my!"

"What IS that?"

"Live long enough, and you see everything..."

"Hey, I asking question here-" Lychee saw what the others had, and gasped as she joined them in staring at the large wooden boat, flying over the house, along with dark storm clouds, blocking out the sun. Ranma was just grateful that the clouds were not drenching him in cold water, but he awaited what he felt certain was inevitable.

"You are helping that delinquent too? Fine then!" Hinako started to fumble for a coin...

Somehow, Ranma had known that returning this girl's scroll would not be that easy, nothing in his life was ever 'that easy', and whenever it seemed like it WOULD be simple, that was when he knew he was REALLY in for it! Ranma only saw a few options in the split second he had to react, running wasn't really an option though, so he moved to the next one, he could try pushing the Chinese girl out of the way, but that came with the risk of Hinako hitting someone else, like the non-combatants behind them, while also possibly angering her elephant again, and he did not want to feel the brunt of one of her attacks again any time soon, so he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the child, blocking her view, and pressing her pressure points, temporarily blocking her attack. He may not be able to pull that off for thirty days in a row, but every now and again, the risk of being called a pervert was better than the alternative. At least Akane wasn't there to see it, and hopefully she would not be willing to pay Nabiki for the pictures surely being taken.

Luckily for him, everyone else was far to busy watching the flying ship to notice as Hinako went limp in his arms. Her whole body felt weak, drained, and she wanted a nap, but she was sure there was something she needed to do first. That thought was lost as something fell out of the sky, and bounced off of her skull, knocking the 'young' woman out cold.

Not sure what to do with his unconscious instructor, Ranma returned his focus to the people on the flying ship. There were a number of strange people on board the air-born boat, and one of them, in particular, seemed to be their leader. He was certainly wearing the fanciest clothing, and that was usually a good sign.

"Oahahahahahaha!" Lightning cracked, as the apparent leader held his chopsticks high into the air.

"Just what th' heck are ya supposed ta be, anyway?"

"Behold, I am the master of the unbeatable martial arts school: Seven Lucky Gods Martial Arts! I am ...Kirin!"

Ranma's attention instantly perked up. 'Unbeatable martial art? Oh now THIS I have GOT ta see! There ain't no such thing, or my name ain't Ranma Saotome! Oh wait, were they saying something?'

The capricious young Chinese woman's good humor returned as she cheered, almost bouncing in anticipation. "My prince, my prince comes!"

"I have finally found you, the one foretold in the prophecy! The woman chosen by the Seven Lucky Gods! Come!"

Lychee blushed as she stepped forward, clasping her hands, and gazing up adoringly at the handsome man on the flying ship, her arms spreading wide as she ran toward it shouting, "Ouji-sama! Ouji-sama! Ouji-sama!"

"Who are you?"

"Eh?" Lychee's mood darkened to match the weather.

"I have no use for you, you do not possess the scroll."

Shocked, Lychee could not believe what she was hearing. Her whole life, the lives of the past several generations of her family, had all led her to this moment. All of her dreams, her desires, shattered in an instant!

Always wanting to be helpful, Kasumi stepped forward. "Oh my, excuse me. Do you by chance mean this scroll? It belongs to this girl here..."

"Ebiten!"

"Ha! Use a shrimp to catch the finest fish!" Ebiten was a short man, almost as short as Happosai, but he wielded a fishing pole easily taller than most men, and as it spun around, a glowing line shot forth, wrapping around Kasumi, and lifting her into the sky with a start.

"Aaaaaarrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"KASUMI-SAN!" Ranma quickly looked around, and saw almost no one left in their yard, Nabiki was one of the few people left, and he tried to hand Hinako off too her.

"I'm not taking that! Just set it on the ground! Besides, that bump is your fault, not mine!"

"Not even fer Kasumi-san? Fine!" Ranma leapt from the nearest tree, to the roof, to rebound enough to reach the flying ship, holding Hinako in his left arm. "Ya baka! Give back KASUMI-SAN!"

"Why you take Lychee prince? You have man! You take Lychee prince, Lychee take you man! Just you wait and see!"

"Ranma, you ...JERK!" A dumbbell flew out of the upper story window, as Ranma used it as a stepping-stone, to bounce off of it, and reach the boat. "Honestly, I am not sure why I threw that, but I am sure it was deserved anyway! Isn't that right, P-Chan?" The piglet vigorously nodded as he sat on her lap.

"But, I don't, I'm not, I don't... oh my! How did I get mixed up in this, shouldn't Akane be here instead of me? I need to get started on dinner. It looks like we are going to have a lot of guests, and I have no idea what to feed an elephant, we don't have that many peanuts..."

"So, 'unbeatable martial art style', ain't th' first time I've heard that, but so far, ain't none lived up ta th' hype. Here, Kasumi-nee, look after Hinako-sensei fer a moment, I'll take ya home as soon as I beat this guy."

Ranma smiled at Kasumi, and it made her feel warm inside. She just knew Ranma would fix this, he always fixed these types of messes, if only they did not need to be so violent. She was a little scared, but she had to admit, this was strangely exhilarating, she had never been in the middle of the action before, and now this was the second time in as many days, it was making her feel rather ...strange. It almost felt like she was a character in one of her romance novels, and without realizing it, she was tensing up as she watched the exchange, as if she were far more personally involved this time. She supposed that being the one being kidnapped might be altering her perspective on the situation, but it still felt strange to her.

"To presume that you may step aboard the ship of Kirin uninvited, is to infer much indeed." The others tensed, but the prince waved them off. "You wish to see the unbeatable style, then Kirin will teach you this lesson, in pain. Seven Lucky Gods School Secret Attack: Hundred Chopstick Sting!"

Kirin and Ranma both started to smile as their hands blurred into action. After only a moment, it was clear even to her that Ranma seemed outmatched, and had been thrown backward, over the side of the boat! "RANMA-KUN!"

Ebiten yelled over the side, taunting Ranma as he fell. "As if a mere commoner could hope to match the level of Lord Kirin! Oh, and don't forget your little sister!" The largest of the prince's followers threw Hinako's sleeping form after Ranma's hurtling form.

"Good, now the two halves of the scroll can be reunited, and the ultimate technique will once again be ours!"

'Sister? Who's sister, what's this feeling, like I am falling?' Hinako opened her eyes and saw that she was, in fact, falling, very fast, and it was very far! "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

'Ultimate technique? I have GOT to get my hands on that scroll!' Ranma noticed the now awake child-like form of Hinako flailing as she fell, and knew she would never land safely. "Kuso!" Altering his trajectory, and once again, bouncing off of a tree, Ranma caught Hinako, landing softly after rebounding a couple more times to cushion their impact. "Ya okay?"

"AGAIN! Let's do it again!"

"Just fine then..." Ranma tried to put Hinako down, but the 'child' would not let him go. Her arms were wrapped around Ranma's neck, and she remained hanging there. "Uuuuummmm... Do ya want ta get down now?"

"No."

"Will ya anyway?"

"No."

"..."

"Hold me!"

Ranma's shoulders slumped, but he was tired of arguing, they needed to figure out a way to go after that ship! The noise had finally drawn the others back out of the house, and they were each taking in the sight in their own unique ways.

"Ranma, you pervert! What are you doing?"

"How dare you do that to Akane-san!"

"When did you manage to change back, P-chan?"

"Who are you calling 'P-Chan'?"

"That should be obvious ta anyone, bacon-breath."

"What's going on here? What happened? Where is Kasumi?"

Hinako jumped down, and ran over to Soun, almost pushing him down. "Mustache-man! Are you my daddy? You feel like a 'daddy' should."

Soun's jaw dropped as he blushed, fumbling for something to say... "Um, no, you are my daughter's friend, yes, that is it. AKANE-CHAN!"

Hinako's face drooped at first, but perked up as his words sunk into her awareness, and it sounded like a very nice thing! She hoped her friend was nice, and they could go play and have treats together! The look on the new girl's face made her feel apprehensive though... "Are you my friend?"

"No! In fact, today you came over to see your very special 'onii-chan'." Plopping her down in front of Ranma, Akane looked sternly at the 'child'. "Here you go, this guy will take extra special care of you for as long as you want! Especially if what you want, is to leave here..."

Her large eyes lit up. "Really? Where are we going, onii-chan?"

"Hinako-sensei, why're ya acting so weird?"

"Sensei? Are we playing school, onii-chan? I don't want to go to school, let's go play!"

Ranma was starting to wonder what his teacher was planning, when something else caught his attention.

"My prince!" Ranma saw that Lychee was being lifted back atop her elephant as she gazed in the direction of the boat with a grim determination upon her face.

"Wait! Ya know where they're goin'?"

Lychee nodded. "Lychee know. They Seven Lucky God. Lychee lose scroll, life over. Family no take back, must get back or die trying. Come Jasmine."

"WAIT!" Ranma moved to get in front of the elephant, holding his arms out wide, Hinako once again hanging from his neck. "Please, ya got ta let me come with ya, let me help ya. Kasumi was kidnapped, an' I got ta save-"

"Yes, because you help so much so far..."

Her sarcastic tone stung. "Hey, now that's not fair, I-"

Soun's head grew to demonic proportions, as his voice boomed! "WHAT! KASUMI WAS KIDNAPPED?"

"How could you let onee-chan get kidnapped? This is all your fault!"

"What kind of a man lets that happen?"

"I didn't see you helping, Pork-Butt."

"Yes, Ranma my boy, you must go save Kasumi-chan, who else will cook for us if you don't?"

"Is that all ya care about?" Ranma was offended that any father, aside from his own, could talk so heartlessly about their own daughter.

"Well, there is also the cleaning..."

"Well, then ya can stay here, I'm sure Akane'd be happy ta cook fer ya..."

"Sure! ...Wait ...HEY!"

"But, Lychee, there's no way ya can take on all those guys with just the two a' ya, an' we want ta help. Besides, if this's th' old man's fault, then that's just one more reason we should be helping ya."

Lychee stared long and hard at Ranma, looking deeply into his eyes, before looking him all over again. "Okay, you can come, but need hurry, Lychee boat not close!" Ranma grabbed their packs, and quickly crammed everything he could think of into them, hitting his father in the stomach with one of them. Lychee mumbled under her breath, "Have promise to keep boyfriend if no get back scroll anyway... Girl be sorry, steal Lychee prince..."

Once he was ready to go, Ranma tried again to dislodge Hinako from his neck, with no luck. "Hinako ...um, -chan...?"

"Hai, Onii-chan?"

"Ya should really stay here, where it's safe."

"But, how can you take care of me, if you leave? You said we were gonna go play together!"

"But, it's safer..."

"...but, I wanna stay wiff ...ONII-CHAN! Is safer wiff Onii-chan!"

Ranma knew he had no recourse when any female resorted to tears, and he hung his head in resignation. "Fine."

*Sniff* "Onii-chan?" Ranma looked at her, and raised an eyebrow as she motioned for him to get closer, before whispering into his ear. "Pweeese?"

"Fine..." Ranma picked her up, placing her on his shoulders as they left for the docks once Ranma had dodged a mallet or two.

"Aw, come on Akane, can't ya at least wait until after we save yer sister before ya try an' kill me?"

"HA! As if we need YOU to do that! We can save Kasumi-nee just fine, without your help!" To prove her point, Akane took another swing, striking the ground right where Ranma had been a moment before.

Riding on Ranma's shoulders, Hinako was rather grateful that Ranma was making an extra effort to dodge the attacks, for some reason she felt that seemed odd, but she couldn't place why, but she enjoyed squealing in Ranma's ear whenever it got close. It was shaping up to be a very long trip...

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"...and so you girl now?"

Ranma ignored Hinako chanting 'Onii-chan is Onee-chan. Onee-chan is onii-chan.', and turned back to Lychee. "Well, half th' time, anyway. Ya gonna make fun a' me too?"

"Why? You first person to listen how Scroll of Luck bring Lychee nothing but hardship up to now, you nicest person Lychee meet on whole trip! Could be worse, at least you is cute!"

"In some ways, that's the worst part..." Ranma shivered as an icy chill ran down his spine with visions of perverted men groping him flashing through his mind, before he could shake his head to clear them. He tried to focus on the attacks used by 'that prince guy', but he had not seen much of it and he was having a hard time analyzing the technique. "So, if that guy's th' prince yer looking fer, then ya must know something about them, like where they're goin'?"

"As tell before, Seven Lucky God, fabled martial artist from small place, deep inside China, Nekonron."

"But what about this ultimate technique they were talking about? If it's worse than th' one I was hit with, we need ta stop 'em before it's too late!"

"Lychee no is-"

"You are right ta be worried, my boy..."

"Where did ya come from, old man? I thought we left ya behind ...with Nabiki!"

Happosai felt a shiver run down his spine. There was no way he was going to stay there ...with her, especially with so many lovely ladies were going to save the sweet Kasumi. Without her, there would be no one to make his tea the way he likes it! The horror! "I knew that had to simply be an oversight on your part, so I packed myself in your bag. However, you were asking about the ultimate technique to rule the world..."

"It's not like ya'd tell us th' truth even if ya did know anything."

"You wound me Ranma..."

"If we weren't on a boat..."

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT OR NOT?"

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Kasumi was uncomfortable enough having others cook for her, but to have the twins sitting on a spinning platform, handing her pickles as they rotated around, was just too much for her to believe. She had heard of people having servants, she had even met the Kuno's little manservant Sasuke, but knowing something intellectually, and seeing it in person, were two totally different things, and her discomfort was growing by the moment. She needed something to do, and eating pickles was not accomplishing that for her.

Prince Kirin finished another pickled turnip as he calmly watched his potential spouse. "Will you agree to abide by our laws and stay with me, as my bride?"

"Oh my, oh my, oh my, I am flattered, truly, but I must take care of my family, one of whom you beat up, which was not a very nice thing to do."

Prince Kirin felt sudden remorse for his actions, something he had never before felt in his life! He ignored it soon after. "I see you have not eaten much, are the pickles not to your liking?"

"Oh no, they are quite good, for pickles..." Kasumi did not want to be rude, she looked around the room and tried to think of the most polite way to tell the man she was tired of pickles already. "I was trying to save room for ...the next course." She was dearly hoping to see someone bring in 'anything' else.

"The what? Oh, certainly, Daikokusei, Daihakusei!"

The twins spoke in unison. "At once, your majesty!" They began to spin a bit faster, placing more pickles on Kasumi's bowl of rice.

Kasumi's frown was only mildly perceptible, but notice the prince did. "Ebiten, did I misread the context?"

Popping through a smaller door within a door, the miniature manservant bowed. "No sire, in this case, 'course' is referring to the next serving of food at a meal."

"Then would you like something else?" Kasumi's smile got a bit less frowny, before the prince continued. "What kind of pickled vegetables would you like, pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, pickled cabbage...?"

Kasumi raised her hand politely. "No, thank you, you are too kind, it is just that with all of the excitement, I seem to have lost my appetite. Maybe I will feel better by morning." Kasumi stated to look forward to some fish and miso soup, and almost started to drool.

"We cannot have that, someone fetch a digestive!"

"No, please, it is fine, I will just wait for breakfast..."

"Certainly, what would you like us to prepare, pickled greens, pickled onions, pickled scallions...?"

It took every bit of restraint Kasumi had to prevent her shoulder slump from becoming a full facefault as she resigned herself to disappointment. "I am sure we will think of something."

Most of her life, Kasumi had asked for one set of criteria in a potential husband, 'older and more mature', and now that she had received exactly that, she was starting to realize she had not been specific enough. Everything, other than the food, was relatively 'perfect', yet all of it felt wrong to her somehow, and she could not understand why that was the case. Had she changed? She still dreamed of a prince on a white horse, a knight in shining armor, a handsome hero coming to save her from her daily life, so why did this not feel right? Surely she could not be so shallow as to begrudge a man for not literally riding a horse or wearing armor in this day and age, there must be some other problem, if only she could place her finger on it...

"Mon-Lon!" The bard and courtesan was almost instantly by her young sovereign's side. "Take care of-" He hesitated briefly before turning back to his 'dinner guest'. "What was your name again?"

Still lost in thought, the nervous young woman slightly stumbled over her words. "Oh, I am um, Kasumi, Kasumi Tendo."

"Ah yes, that was it, Kasumi-Kasumi Tendo! Please, take very good care of Kasumi-Kasumi Tendo for Kirin, we should be arriving in less than a day."

"Yes, at once, Lord Kirin!"

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Kasumi followed Mon-Lon to the small, yet elegant room, and as they entered the room, she tried to make small talk. "That is all you have served for two days. Is that really all you people eat, rice and pickled vegetables?"

"What is wrong with that?"

"Oh, nothing I suppose, there have been times that we have had to live on less... That does explain why you must kidnap brides though... I am sorry for your financial troubles." Kasumi bowed to her captor.

Mon-Lon was not sure how to respond to that, so she just returned the bow. "Is there anything else with which I can assist you, mistress Kasumi?"

"Oh my, no, unless you would like to play something. I just want to do a bit of straightening up before I go to sleep."

"Of course, my lady." The bard began to play a soothing melody as the eldest Tendo daughter tidied 'her room'.

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Being in a different time zone, Kasumi had awoken even earlier than usual. She spared a glance at her chaperone and tucked her in before preparing to start her day.

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The small oil lamp flickered in the darkness, and Mon-Lon rubbed her eyes, straining to see and untangle herself from a blanket she did not remember using. It was still some time before the early rays of the sun would break through the night, and she started to relax and return to sleep as she looked to the only bed in the room to see it was ...empty!

She had considered how inviting it looked for a moment before something clicked in her mind, that bed should NOT have been empty! She jumped up, almost spilling the steaming cup of tea on the table beside her, and ran for the door, having to stop to fumble once she realized that it was still locked from the night before!

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Jasmine's large ears were the first to hear the alarms going off, and as the spotlights lit up the early morning sky, she sounded her own 'alarm', 'rudely' waking the rest of the passengers of the modest sized junk.

"Hey, quit rockin' th' boat!"

"Jasmine, what wrong? AH, look!"

Looking up, everyone saw the dirigible lighting up the sky. "There it is!" Looking around, Ranma shouted again. "I think I got a plan, but we need ta get as close ta it as we can!" They all manned the ores, rowing for all they were worth, trying to get underneath their target.

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"What's going on?"

"The prince's bride has escaped! Search everywhere!"

"Didn't Mon-Lon say the door was locked, how could anyone get out of there?"

"No idea, but who cleaned up in here? I didn't even know this room HAD a floor!"

"You know, searching would be a lot easier if we could hear over this alarm! An elephant could be stealthy in all of this racket!"

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Jasmine had to pause in her rowing to sneeze, since she had been holding the oar with her trunk.

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"The lord's bride, over here!"

"My lady, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Mon-Lon-san, perfect timing! Would you two be dears and help me carry this?"

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"Lord Kirin, we have found your bride."

"That is very good news! Tell me, Bishamonten, what it is that you have there?"

"Um, that is, we..." The large man looked embarrassed as he carried the large tray of food, placing it on the table before his lord and master.

"It is breakfast, of course." Kasumi pulled back the cloths that were covering the serving trays they had helped her carry. They all stared in shock at what they saw. Before them were dozens of plates of food, with a larger variety than any of them had seen in their lives, most of which none of them had ever even considered 'food'. "After discussing your dietary habits with your friend, I took a few things in mind with my seasonings, you should have no problems enjoying this well balanced breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day after all." Kasumi's bright smile warmed the room, and set most of their minds at ease...

Thankfully, no one thought to consider where anyone could find the materials needed to make something here that was not rice or pickled vegetables, and they just stared at the uniqueness of it all.

The large eared gnome, jumped up to make the loudest noise to defend their dietary habits. "Our metabolism can only handle rice and pickled vegetables!"

"Are you sure? That is not a very healthy diet, it cannot be good for you."

"How would you know?"

Kasumi just gave the offended little man a look, just as a knowing mother would give a child who doesn't want to clean their plate. "You most of all I would think would be interested, why would you use that fishing pole, if not to catch fish for breakfast?" Kasumi's hands covered her mouth! "Oh my, don't tell me, you catch fish only for sport? How awful!"

"Who would want to catch a FISH? I use this to fight, and help master Kirin!"

"Ebiten! Stand down, I an curious."

"But sire!"

"It is fine." Kirin looked over the multitude of dishes laid out before him. While there were many items he could not even identify, all of it was presented so beautifully that it was difficult to choose what to try first. It looked more like art than food, almost too beautiful to consume. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek as was clearly agonizing over the decision.

He saw that one of the sushi rolls was mostly made of things he could identify, such as rice and seaweed, so he chose that first. The flavors that exploded in his mouth surprised him, a mixture of the familiar and exotic that blended into a celebration in his mouth. He almost forgot to swallow, and had to force himself, for fear of choking. He sampled several dishes, each one taking his tastebuds on their own individual adventure. To think that this experience had always been there, waiting on him, he was beside himself.

Kirin sampled several dishes, taking the time to savor each delectable bite. Unfortunately for him, he did not get far beyond tasting before the euphoria overcame his senses, and he lost consciousness. The other six members jumped into action. "How dare you do that to master Kirin!"

"Oh my...! Are you all right?"

As most of the crew grabbed their prince to rush him off to recover, Mon-Lon was again left to watch Kasumi.

"This time, try not to let the bride escape!"

"Maybe if we took shifts! Even I can't stay awake forever!"

"No one else is to be trusted with the bride of Kirin! I do not even trust me in that situation!"

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Well, I had intended this to be a one shot, but it seems to have grown too large for that, so here is Chapter One. This is not how I wanted to do this, but without my editor, I am extremely limited. Sorry about that...