Chapter 6: "Pack Mentality"
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2...yet...Mwhahahahahaha...
So wow, 6 chapters already! Thanks so much for all the reviews and such, it really means a great deal to me! Now, some people think Shampoo's being to hard on Ranma, but is she really? To her, he left her after a year, let his mother deal with telling her(she doesn't know Mousse stopped him), and was the cause of her face being carved up by the girl he chose over her(Akane). Really, she has a right to be bitter! Anyway, read and enjoy this new chapter! Also, when speaking in Chinese or by someone who actually knew how to pronounce it, I switched Shampoo's name to what it is meant to be, Xian Pu. So just to clear it up, Xian Pu is Shampoo.
Thoughts are in Italics
Chinese is Bolded
"So Ranma...how are you feeling?" Barely containing his laughter, Ryoga looks the galley's table at Ranma. Ranma drags his head up to look at his amused friend. The bags under his eyes show that he did not enjoy a peaceful sleep.
"You know damn well how I'm feeling Ryoga." Ranma grunted. He usually wouldn't be so rude to the lost boy, but as it stood he was in no mood for this conversation. He rubbed his head and groaned.
"It feels like my brain is trying to dig it's way out of my skull..." He added in little more than a whisper. Memories of the past night were coming back to him, most of them he shuddered at.
"Hey...I didn't do anything dumb yesterday, did I?" He asked the grinning Ryoga. He seemed to think for awhile before answering.
"Nah, nothing much. Attempted to sing with the crew, not that I'd call what you were doing singing..." Ignoring the death stare Ranma was giving him, Ryoga thought back to what Ranma had said about Shampoo. Ha, he has no idea what he said. I'll keep that under my hat until he can admit it without being drunk. Smirking, Ryoga started eating his breakfast that consisted of eggs and toast.
"Hey Ranma," Ryoga caught his attention between mouthfuls, "Did you notice the way the Captain was acting last night?" Ranma seemed to perk up a bit before nodding.
"Yeah, he got all quiet when you mentioned the bonbori I use." Ranma said as he tossed back an aspirin and continued to rub his forehead. "He almost freaked out when I mentioned Shampoo too, think he knows her?"
"Don't see how." Ryoga replied as he finished off his breakfast. Rubbing his side where he got hit by the sea dragon, he looked over Ranma and sighed. "Well, we could go talk to him seeing as both of us won't be able to work for awhile." Ryoga laughed to himself as he watched Ranma try to stand. It was all he could do to even get out of his hammock that morning without falling, it was going to be quite a treat to see his rival try to navigate several flights of stairs to get to the Captain's cabin.
"One good thing came out of this though." Ranma looked at Ryoga with a 'I dare you to say it' face. "At least you finally learned that you're not the 'invincible' Saotome!" The laughing that erupted from Ryoga was only eclipsed by the crash of his head into wall of the galley...
The walk to the Captain's cabin was laced with speculation by theories. Both boys came to a similar opinion, however: The Captain was hiding something. Ranma and Ryoga found themselves in front of the large iron door that housed the missing Captain. In fact, most of the crew hadn't seen him since dinner the night before, most of them saying that he looked lost in thought. He had missed breakfast and that had most of the crew worried. Ranma and Ryoga would have visited him even if they didn't have questions to ask him. The hollow sound that came from the room as Ranma knocked on the door was all that replied to the two young men. After several moments, Ranma spoke up.
"Hey, old man. You in there?" For a time, there was no answer. Ranma was about to knock again when a voice broke the silence.
"What do you want, whelp." Was the reply. It was the Captain's voice, it just lacked the familiar bravado that the two boys had gotten used to.
"Let us in, we've got some things to discuss, and we ain't taken 'no' for an answer!" That was more forceful than Ranma had intended, but he was in no mood to dance around the subject. An audible sigh could be heard from the other side before the door unlocked. Looking at Ryoga and seeing him shrug, Ranma opened the door.
"Ok, so what the heck is wrong...wow..." The surprise came as they walked in the room. Lavish red curtains with embroidered dragons adorned the room and a large map of China took up half of the left-hand wall. Shocked, Ranma and Ryoga keep walking into the room, gaping. Ryoga taps Ranma's shoulder and points above the door they just walked in through. There, shining brilliantly, were a pair of bonbori. Not tarnished in the least, they had the same pattern as Ranma's, Shampoo's, own pair.
"Hey old man, where the heck did you get those!" Ranma whirled around to face the old Captain. He was staring at the map of China with his had resting on one part in particular. Ranma couldn't see the name of the place that drew his attention, but he did notice the pain in the man's eyes as he stared at it. Regaining his composure, the Captain turned to look at his visitors.
"I should be the one askin' that question, boy." He said in monotone. He wandered over to a large chair and motioned for them to sit on a nearby couch.
"Ryoga said you use a pair, lemme see 'um before I answer any of yer questions." Ranma, having no reason to deny him, produced his weapons and handed them to the Captain. Looking them over for a moment, the old mans' eyes grew wide and his cigar threatened to fall out of his gaping mouth.
"By the gods, these are..." The Captain trailed off in Chinese. Ranma furrowed his brow and looked over at Ryoga who was just as confused, but for a different reason.
"Who they belong to, old man?" Ranma asked, surprising both Ryoga and the Captain. The fact Ranma managed to say something in Chinese managed to pry the Captains' gaze from the weapons for a moment.
"Heh, yer a quick study. Didn't think you'd pick up on Chinese that fast, ya still have a long way to go though." The old man said as he shifted in his chair.
"Hold on, when the heck did you even learn Chinese?" That came from Ryoga who was still as confused as ever. "And what did you two say?" Ranma laughed a bit at his friend.
"Ah, I learned from some book the Captain gave me, I'll teach you some before we get to China, so don't worry." Turning to the old man, Ranma continued. "For Ryoga's sake, let's keep this in Japanese. That ok, Brush?" Ranma now sported a slight smile. To the old man's credit, he gave a hardy laugh at the situation and Ryoga only scratched his head.
"Aye, lets. So, you heard that worm say my name, eh? Seems yer a bit more alert than I had you pegged." He began examining the bonbori again. Only raising his eyes to look at Ranma he shifted his cigar in him mouth. "So you know Cologne?"
Ryoga looked over at a confused Ranma, then promptly gave up at trying to understand what was going on. "Uhhh...yeah, I know the old ghoul." The Captain's face lit up and he broke out in laughter at Ranma's description of the elderly Amazon.
"Old ghoul! Har, that be a first. I've heard my mother called a lot of things, but 'old ghoul' is by far the most fitting." Calming down, he noticed the stunned looks on his charges faces and decided to explain further.
"Well? Don't you 'ave some questions? That is what you two whelps bothered me fer, right? " He looked down at the bonbori and sighed. Setting them down beside his chair, he waited for the two boys to ask the inevitable questions. It took awhile, but Ryoga recovered first.
"Yyyyyyy...YOU'RE HER SON?" Was all he was able to get out. Ranma was still trying to process the information. A quick hit to the shoulder by Ryoga brought him around enough to produce some coherent speech.
"So...that makes you...Xian Pu's grandfather...?" Ranma asked, still in a state of shock.
"Aye, it does." Taking a more serious look, he taps the handle of his cutlass that was also laying at the side of the chair, his gaze fixed on Ranma. "And how exactly do you know me granddaughter, whelp?"
Seeing that Ranma wasn't going to be able to produce answers for awhile, and also noticing that the elder Amazon was getting more annoyed by the minute, he decided to recount the events that had happened in Nerima. Throughout the story, Ranma recovered enough to interject where Ryoga would get some facts wrong.
"So, let me get this straight," The sudden switch to Chinese let Ranma know that the old man wasn't kidding around. "My precious granddaughter, whom I love dearly, was beaten to such a degree by your fiancée' that not only did she flee the country and abandon her honor, she left behind her weapon, an extension of her very soul and the pride of an Amazon warrior? Am I getting this right, whelp?" The annoyance in his voice had Ryoga, who didn't even understand the language, flinch and move closer to the door.
Deciding to face the music, Ranma nodded and stared the man in the face. He was surprised at the man's anger, but knew he wouldn't get very far if he ran. Captain Brush simply got up from his chair and headed over to a large table off to the right side of the room where he poured himself a drink. When he looked over at Ranma and motioned for him to come over, he nodded and followed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Was the calm, yet annoyed question put to Ranma as he took a drink.
"I no have answer for that. I can say I...like Xian Pu. Am trying to make up for mistakes by going to China and get her back." He paused a moment and considered what to say next. "Never heard Xian Pu mention anything about grandfather though." The broken reply made Ranma chuckle in his mind, reminding him of Shampoo's Japanese. He was so caught up in memories, that he didn't notice Brush getting a vial of water that was sitting on the table he was next too. The Captain slipped it into his pocket without Ranma's notice before continuing.
"I guess you and her never talked much then." The remorse was written on Ranma's face at that observation was obvious, but Brush didn't want to let him off the hook just yet.
"All this time she just wanted to get some affection from you. Yeah, she may have resulted to some underhanded tricks, but can you really fault her? Hell boy, you lived with one of your other fiancée's, and the other was your best childhood friend! She felt that she had to do things like that just to get some attention from you. Didn't you ever want to get to know her before you just dismissed her!" The rage was building up in the Captains voice. Hope he dosn't ask me how I know all that...maybe it's time to use the water... He slipped his hand into his coat pocket and shifted the vile he had previously hidden there but Ranma disrupted his train of thought.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?" The forcefulness of this was not lost on the Captain as he turned his attention to the furious Ranma who was not even bothering with Chinese.
"Every time I even attempted to get to know one of the girls better someone would pummel me! Be it Mousse for 'taking his beloved Shampoo' or Ryoga there for 'hurting poor Akane again'! I couldn't do anything without someone all over me, Akane alone would attack me at the least provocation, Ukyo would belt me around with that spatula of hers, and Shampoo would just go sulk somewhere until I felt guilty enough to apologize. She would usually glomp me when I did, and then by some act of kame Akane would see it and the whole thing would start all over again!"
Ryoga was going to say something in his defense, but he decided it was best to shut up when he caught a look from Ranma.
"And you!" Ranma turned to the Captain who was now focused on the emotionally unstable young man in front of him. "What do you think your doing, going on about all of this? You think I liked that! You think I wanted to make Xian Pu feel like that? I hated it... I wanted to tell her more than anything that I l-l-l-lo...cared for her." It had been eating away at Ranma for months. Constantly berated by his family, hounded by fiancée's, dodging misguided kendoists. The wall finally fell and the only two witnesses to it were his life-long rival and the old sea captain.
"It was more than what I felt with Akane, much more. To me, Akane was just something my pop stuck me with, I never wanted that. When I first got to the dojo she was so nice to me, once she found out I was a guy, she changed." He was barely able to hold in the wave of sadness that came over him. Summoning up the valiant Saotome male emotion mask, he managed to push back his tears.
"I was on the road with pops for 13 years. Ukyo was my only friend in between and I only knew her for about a year, after her years passed before I got close to anyone again. When Akane treated me so nicely, I thought I actually had a friend, someone who could understand me since they were in the art. When she started treating me differently just because I was a guy, I tried to fix it, to go back, but she was already too far jaded against me. Xian Pu...was different though. No matter what, she would always forgive me. She never hit me, called me pervert, used an old friendship against me, nothing like that. I never got mad at her for all the tricks she'd pull because I could see it, I could see the loneliness she carried...she was...is...just like me, always being pushed around by family and fate." Ryoga just hung his head in shame and silence as the Captain crossed his arms and listened. After he again got his emotions in check again, he continued.
"Ha,
I don't know when I started to really care about her, I really
don't. I love Akane and Ukyo, but not like that. They are
just...really good friends. I don't wanna hurt them or nothin' so
I would never push things with Shampoo. I kept thinking I would have
forever to deal with this...guess not huh Captain?" Ranma actually
chuckled to himself. The Captain was silent for a few minutes. He
took a look at the young man standing beside him and noticed a few
wet marks on the table below. So, that boy isn't the shell of
calmness he tries to show, eh? Well, time to get this show on the road.
"Boy... ye be doin' a good thing, but you know there will be consequences at the village, right?" The tone of the mans' voice made sure Ranma knew he was dead serious.
"Yeah, I figure as much. What do you think they'll do to me?" Ranma asked as he turned to Ryoga with a questioning look in his eye, looking for a neutral opinion. The Captain took that moment to strike out with the vial of water he had concealed. Before Ranma knew what was going on, he found himself slightly wet. Getting mad, he tried to yell at the man, but something was wrong. Where there should have been curses, there were odd, sharp sounds that cut through the silence.
What the hell! That was a...bark... A feeling of dread swept over Ranma as he looked over at a stuttering Ryoga, only he had to look up to see him. He turned to Brush who was wearing a impassive look and holding a empty vial of water, it was then that Ranma looked down at his clothes that were laying in a heap below him. Oh hell no!
Ranma shook his loose-fitting shirt off of himself before he ran over to Brush's cutlass to get a look at himself in its' polished blade. The image that looked back was not one of Ranma. Where there should be a red-haired girl, there was now a red-colored wolf. Sharp canines accented his face and his labored breath fogged up the blade. His cold blue eyes looked over his paws and tail. His fur there shifted to a raven black in a flame pattern on his paws and legs. His tail also had a black tip that looked like a flame, the pattern took up over half of it. The bottom part of his jaw, chest, and stomach was a light gray color fur.
"R...Ranma!" Ryoga watched the red wolf turn and look at him. It then shot it's glare to Captain Brush.
"Most likely they'd do something like that. Same thing they did with Xian Pu, they'd give you an animal curse. After the way ye treated me grand-daughter, it's only fitting you turn into a mutt." Seeing the wolf tense up, Brush shifted his gaze into a cold stare. "Don't even think it whelp, you couldn't beat me in yer normal form, you have no chance now." At least, I don't think you do...maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all...
Baring his teeth, Ranma let out a growl. To Brush's amazement, Ranma managed to summon all of his chi even in his cursed form. Ryoga had the sense to run out of the room, watching the events from the hall. Slowly moving over towards his weapons, the Captain watched any movement coming from Ranma. The boy-turned-wolf saw the action and let his chi erupt. Flames formed from his paws and encompassed the lower half of his boy, including his tail.
"Oh shi..." Before the Captain could even curse, Ranma leapt at him. In his new form, his speed was greater than ever before. With a quick, flaming tackle, Ranma sent the man hurtling towards his bookshelf, smoke coming from his singed shirt. From the hall, Ryoga cringed when he saw the impact. He was about to speak-up, but a glance from the flaming wolf quickly shut him up. Even so, the rest of the crew heard the commotion and came to investigate.
"What the bloody hell!" Said Barry, the helmsman, as he and ten others looked past Ryoga. From what they could see, their Captain was facing down a flaming demon. They were about to intervene when Captain Brush put up his hand.
"None of ya bother us! This is between me an' the boy." He turned to the wolf and tossed off his coat. "I accept yer challenge! If you can beat me, I'll forgive yer transgressions on behalf of me family. If you lose, you give up all claims to Xian Pu. How's them stakes, whelp?"
A low growl was the answer got from Ranma before the boy-turned-wolf headed out the door. The crew scrambled out of the creatures way, none of them wanting to invoke the ire of a demon. The Captain regained his composure before walking over to where his weapons lay. Considering for a moment, he took Shampoo's bonbori and walked towards the door.
"Did you mean all that? You can forgive him just like that if he wins?" Brush stopped in the hall and nodded.
"Will you cure him if he wins?" He of all people knew what it was like to loose your human body. Not even he wished it on another person.
"That I can't do. Wither he wins or not, that is his punishment for his transgressions against me family. My punishment, his new wolf curse, is far better than some of the things others in me family would come up with. Can you imagine that boy with a cat curse?" Ryoga thought about that for a moment, before nodding. A few uncomfortable moments passed before a lupine howl came from the ships deck. The rage conveyed in it sent shivers up the spine of Ryoga and the rest of the crew.
"Aye, that boy is impatient." Looking at the worried expression on Ryoga's face, he gave one of his trademark grins. "Don't worry though, I won't kill him, I'm just going to test how much he cares for my grand-daughter meself." With that, he headed up to the deck, bonbori in hand.
Ha, with something like his future with Shampoo on the line, I don't think that old man could handle Ranma even if he was serious. Ryoga thought as he and the rest of the crew followed Brush to see the fight.
A Few Day's Earlier on the Hong Kong Maru...
It was the third day of training for Ukyo and Shampoo. Cologne had insisted teaching them the more basic Amazon techniques before moving to advanced lessons. Of course, basic to Cologne included mastering the Bakusai Tenketsu and Kachu Tenshin Amaguirken. Shampoo had chosen the Amaguirken and immediately dove into training. Having fought with Ranma before in the past, she was a witness to the amazing speed the skill could bestow. Ukyo took to the Bakusai Tenketsu training well having spent most of her early life fighting the pounding waves of the ocean. She still didn't know how Cologne managed to produce multiple boulders on a cruse ship, but she didn't ask. Cologne said she was at the point where Ryoga was on his sixth day of training. At her current level she could put finger-sized holes in the boulder, but not crack it.
"Child, you must use your mind's eye to see the point where the rock's chi is the weakest! Only then will you be able to truly master the technique." Cologne said. She was impressed with the progress the girl was making though. She wanted to get her to the point where she could win any fights she would get into at the village. That would be wonderful considering what I want her and Shampoo to do once we get home... Her musing was cut short by the sound of shattering rock. Shocked, Cologne looked over at Ukyo. She was breathing heavily and her fist was pointing outward with her index finger extended, a pile of rubble was at her feet.
"Very good child! You now have mastered the Bakusai Tenketsu. You should be proud, it took Ryoga twice as long to learn it." Cologne added.
"I kinda cheated, I had Shampoo teach me the trick to it yesterday." Ukyo said sheepishly. Cologne looked over to where Shampoo was practicing and smiled. It's good to see those too get along like this. She motioned for Shampoo to join the two other Amazons.
"Well, you have both progressed well in your training. Shampoo, you have learned the Kachu Tenshin Amaguirken and Ukyo has mastered the Bakusai Tenketsu in just three short days. I was fully expecting it to take the entire week for you two to learn these techniques." The elder Amazon couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the two girl light up at her praise. They deserved it, both skills had taken Ranma and Ryoga weeks to learn. Of course, they didn't both have the full attention of an Amazon Elder to guide them. Coughing to gain their attention, she continued.
"Now, this is very significant. In three weeks a tournament will be held in Joketsuzoku. Xian Pu, do you remember it?" The younger Amazon thought for a moment then it hit her.
"Yes Great-grandmother, it is the partner tournament, is it?" She answered back.
"That is right child, I wish for you two to enter it. Of course, much more training is needed for you two to actually win, but I think you can do it." She then turned to Ukyo. "Especially if you study elemental schools that compliment's Xian Pu's." It took a moment for Ukyo to translate what Cologne had said. When she did, her face lit up in a smile.
"You mean you're going to teach me an elemental school too?" If that was true, Ukyo was left wondering what school she would get. She had talked briefly with Shampoo about it and found out she was going to learn from the Water School.
"Correct, you will learn from the Air School." She noted the confused looks in the Amazon's faces and decided to enlighten them. "You see, the four schools are Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Earth and Fire complement just as Wind and Water do. The Fire School focuses on physical and chi attacks while leaving out flashy moves or speed. The Earth School is all about defense, most of it's moves are to up power and guard. The Water School is more all-around. It has the potential to deal great damage, but is mostly about precision and armed combat. The Wind School sets speed and the number of attacks over all else. Of course, once you get to the advanced levels of the schools you can mold the style to suit you."
Considering what Cologne said for a moment, Ukyo spoke up. With the Air School, can I still use my spatula?" However much she would like a new style, Ukyo was reluctant to give up her prized weapon.
"Like I said, you can mold the school to suit you, I see no problems with it." Cologne replied. While the two other Amazon's talked things over, Shampoo realized a problem with the elders plan.
"Great-grandmother, we no can enter Amazon partner tournament." The elder Amazon turned towards her great-granddaughter with a confused, if not slightly annoyed, look. "Lin Lin and Ran Ran are the current champions! Even if Shampoo and Ukyo train non-stop we no can beat them in partner match."
The elder Amazon sighed and looked into Shampoo's eyes. "They won't be in the tournament this year Shampoo. Lin Lin was hurt badly during a patrol outside of the village a few days ago." Noting the anger and concern, Cologne quickly added, "But she'll be fine. She just needs more time to heal."
"What happen?" Although the concern was abided, the rage was still apparent in Shampoo's voice.
"Like I said, she was on patrol. Apparently, there was a scuffle with some Musk Dynasty troops. It wasn't going well until several older Amazon's stepped in. Believe me Shampoo, I am going to look into this first thing when we get back, you have no need to press the issue."
Ukyo could see the anger written on Shampoo's face and decided to change the subject for her own benefit before she said something Cologne wouldn't let pass. "Uh, how do you know what happened in the village a few days ago when we've been on this boat for so long?"
Glad for the new subject, Cologne answered. "Good question. The Amazon's have a very good postal service that can get letters to members anywhere in the world. We use a breed of falcon to carry them. I get letters from each of my family members at least once a week, that's how I knew. Although, some members have been delinquent in sending letters..." She trailed off and tapped the ground with her staff with mock frustration. "Like my son. His last letter was sent a few a few days ago from Nerima. It was so brief that it didn't tell me anything at all! I swear, even after all these years that boy is still as daft as ever."
"Grandfather was in town and you no tell Shampoo!" Even Shampoo was interested in the subject now, it wasn't everyday she got to hear from her Grandfather so she was annoyed with the Elder Amazon.
"Well child, we actually passed him when we were at the harbor. He's the captain of our cargo business. If I knew you wanted to see him, I could have arranged it." Seeing the downtrodden look on her great-granddaughter, Cologne decided to slip some information that she had been holding back as a surprise.
"He will be at the Village in time for the tournament though, you can see him then." Seeing the smile the younger Amazon now wore was enough to make Cologne crack a small grin.
"Um, don't get mad at me for prying, but what cargo business are you talking about?" Ukyo asked, disrupting the family moment.
"Oh, it's not prying dear. Joketsuzoku owns several business on the side. You don't think we are a bunch of simple barbarians that have turned a blind eye to the outside world, do you? I acquired the cargo ship from an old acquaintance during a poker match some years ago. My son has always liked to travel, so I let him take care of it for me."
"Great-grandmother, what grandfather say in letter?" Even though she would see him in a few weeks, Shampoo was still eager to hear from him anyway.
"Well, it seems he's taken on two apprentices. That is a miracle in itself, I'm surprised that delinquent would take on that much responsibility. The truly shocking thing is that he says both boys are studying a Elemental School." Shampoo was shocked as well, it wasn't every day that you run across someone with that much talent.
"What's more, he intends to have them enter the tournament. He says their very talented, he seems very confident in their ablities..." Cologne said, she was trying to get them eager for the fight.
"Great-grandmother bet on Shampoo and Ukyo!" Shampoo turned to her partner and saw a look of determination.
"We no let you down! Is Amazon place to beat weak men!" Shampoo announced balancing on one foot shooting her great-grandmother a Amazon victory sign and a wink. Even though Ukyo didn't have the quite same view of the male gender, she couldn't help but get caught up in Shampoo's enthusiasm.
"Then I would get training! From what Brush has said about them, they seem to be very advanced in their schools. One of them already knows several techniques of the Fire School." Shampoo and Ukyo heeded the elder Amazon's suggestion and started working on the basic chi techniques of their respective schools. Before Shampoo started though, she asked her great-grandmother another question.
"What names of competition?" Cologne broke out in a cold sweat. Fumbling for an answer, she avoided eye contact with the young Amazon.
"Errr...well...ah...he didn't say! Yes, he didn't say. Guess you have to ask them yourself at the tournament." Shampoo was about to press her great-grandmother about her behavior when Ukyo called her over for some help. Giving Cologne a suspicious glance, she dropped it and went to help Ukyo.
"That was close." Cologne said under her breat as she hopped off to the deck and pulled out Brush's letter to read again.
Dear Mother,
How ye be doin'? We just left from Nerima headed to Hong Kong. I figure we'll get in about two weeks after you, just in time for the annual partners tournament. I do have two interesting passengers though, a Ranma Saotome and Ryoga Hibiki. It was a shock to me as well. The letter you left for me with the Harbor Master led me to believe that the boy ended things with Xian Pu. I guess you misjudged him. That doesn't happen very often does it? I'll be sure to hold this one over yer head fer a few centuries! Anyway, I've taken them under my wing so-to-speak, I'll get them whipped into shape fer the tournament. The Saotome boy is at an intermediate's level in the Fire School and the Hibiki boy should get to that point in the Earth School by next week. I don't know how I'll break it to them that I know Xian Pu, I wonder how he'll take it when I tell him I'm yer son? Maybe I can do a bit o' acting and cover my butt so he dosn't find out I knew before hand. I do figure I'll have to punish him boy fer what he's done to Xian Pu. I still have that vial of cursed wolf water you left with me all those years ago, I think he'll like that curse more than his current one. Well, I'll cut this letter short, we're just about to cross into Faustosen's territory. You remember that idiot dragon right? He's probably still goin' on about how I ate his mother or somethin'. You know those types, can't even forgive one little mistake. Oh, my advice to you: Don't tell Xian Pu the boy is coming for her, let it be a surprise. I think she'll like that one. Well, I'm off to train the kiddies, I figure a mock fight a week should keep them from each other's throats. I also think I'll challenge him for the right to even go after Xian Pu, that should really put a fire under his arse! Har, har, har.
Yer Son, Brush
All Cologne could do is smile. She folded the letter back up and tucked it away in her robe before heading back to the ships dojo to train the girls. Looks like my son has a plan, good work...Well, I thought it would take a year or two for Son-in-law to come around. Guess I did misjudge the boy... With a soft chuckle, Cologne mused over her long life. For the fist time in 300 years, she was happy to be wrong.
Wow, sorry the update took so long, this was a hard chapter to write. I hope you guys can forgive me for getting rid of Ranma's female curse though, I think he's cooler as a wolf! Next chapter: Shampoo and Ukyo train while Ranma and Brush rumble! Oh, Mousee will get some air time too! See you next time, and don't forget to review!