All characters and suchnot, save Feather, are copyright by 
Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, and whomever else owns a piece of the
wonderful world of Ranma 1/2 They aren't mine, and I'm 
borrowing them for a purely non-profit fictional work.

 
                 A Feather in the Wind 
                      Chapter 7



        Feather walked slowly up the stairs, as if a great
weight was upon her shoulders.  Halfway up the stairs she
stopped and looked back towards the dojo itself, a sad look
on her face.  She steeled herself and walked the rest of the
way towards her room.  Akane was already sleeping peacefully in
her bed, so Feather silently changed into her nightclothes and 
settled into her futon to try and get some sleep.
        Sleep did not come easily for her though.  Each time she 
thought she was about to fall asleep, her mind would meld the 
image of Ryouga with the drunkard.  Each time she would sit 
upright in her bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps.  :: They 
are not the same!!::   Her mind screamed her defiance, but cold 
logic seemed to seep in every time.  >Both of them started out 
as good men didn't they?  Then they began to drink.  How long
untill Ryouga becomes as mean as the other?<
With a half-strangled sob, Feather resolutely buried her face in 
her pillow and tried to get some sleep.
        
        Bright sunlight filtered through the cracks in the 
shutters the next morning.  Ranma-chan half stirred, groaned, 
then rolled over.  Suddenly her face felt very warm, like it was 
stuck into a fur coat.  Ranma-chan sat up quickly in surprise, 
and instantly regretted the motion.  Her stomach tossed and 
turned, causing her face to turn an interesting shade of green 
and her head suddenly felt like it had been crushed.  Ranma-chan 
swallowed hard to avoid being sick, and squinted against the 
light.
        "Man, my head hurts!"  Ranma-chan groaned as she looked 
around the room.  She wasn't surprised to find herself in the 
dojo, but she was surprised to find what looked to her to be an 
oversized dog next to her.  Ranma-chan backed away, not sure of 
what to think.
        "Let's see," Ranma-chan started to go over what had 
happened the day before, "I found Ryouga, and he said he had 
been to Jusenkyo.  Then we got roaring drunk, and staggered back 
to the dojo.  I guess I passed out after Akane spayed us with 
the hose," Ranma-chan glanced over at the wolf.  "Ryouga, it has 
to be," She said to herself.  
        Slowly, Ranma-chan moved on her hands and knees towards 
the slumbering wolf.  It did not take her very long to spot 
Ryouga's bandanna tied around the thick, shaggy neck. 
Awkwardly, Ranma-chan patted Ryouga-okami's shoulder.
        "Sorry man.  I know it wasn't what you were looking for, 
but it's better than nothing right?"  Ryouga growled a little, 
indicating that he was awake.  It was quite a struggle for 
Ryouga to gain his feet--between his hangover, and not being 
used to his new form it was nearly impossible.  Ranma-chan 
steadied him the best he could.
        "Easy man, I'll go find Kasumi and get us some hot 
water, maybe some food too," Ryouga sat back on his haunches as 
Ranma-chan slowly made her way towards the house. Inside, he 
found that the normal morning hustle had long since subsided.
        "Kasumi?  Are you around?"  Ranma-chan called out, 
wincing against the volume of her own voice.  Kasumi walked out 
of the kitchen, kettle in hand.  Apparently she was ready 
for them.
        "Good morning Ranma.  How do you feel this morning?"  
Kasumi looked and sounded concerned.  Ranma-chan was grateful 
for Kasumi's calm and quiet demeanor.
        "My head hurts, and everything sounds like it's being 
shouted in my ear.  My gut feels like I ate the worst of Akane's 
cooking for a week," Kasumi nodded in sympathy.
        "I'm sure poor Ryouga is in no better shape.  Let's 
change him back and see about getting you two feeling better," 
Kasumi walked briskly towards the dojo, kettle in hand.  
Ranma-chan was a little upset that Kasumi hadn't changed her 
back then and there, so she stumbled after Kasumi eagerly 
awaiting her return to normality.  Once they were in the dojo, 
Kasumi gingerly poured the hot water onto Ryouga-okami.  As 
with Genma's transformation, Ryouga's had somehow taken his 
clothes with him.
        "Thanks Kasumi.  You wouldn't believe how little a wolf 
can handle alcohol," Ryouga said as he stood up.  Kasumi smiled, 
but delicately wrinkled her nose.
        "Off to the bath with you two!  I don't want you to make 
yourselves sick with your own stench," Kasumi started herding 
them towards the bathroom.  Ranma-chan opened her mouth to 
protest, but Kasumi wouldn't hear of it.  One stern look from 
her made Ranma-chan all but run for the bathroom.
        "I'll have some food ready for you when you get out!"  
Kasumi called after the retreating pair.  Kasumi watched until 
they disappeared around the corner then she simply got a 
mop from the corner and dried the floor with two deft strokes.  
She turned towards the kitchen with a resigned look on her face.
        "Kasumi's being real bossy today isn't she?"  Ryouga 
asked while he soaked in the furu with Ranma.
        "Yeah, but she has every right to.  After all, we both 
staggered in late last night, ruining whatever was planned for 
the evening, and to top it off we were drunk.  I'll bet Akane is 
real mad.  She cooked dinner last night, and I think it went to 
waste," He bowed his head.  Ryouga looked up at the ceiling.
        "I'm better off than I was, I don't turn into something 
eaten in more places than not.  I still have to be careful 
though, a lot of people have an irrational fear of wolves."  
Ranma nodded.
        "Yeah, but now you never have to worry about becoming P-
Chan ever again."  Ranma grinned ear to ear, "You want to go out 
for a pork okonomiaki at Ucchan's later?"  Ryouga looked queasy 
for a second, but then he smiled hugely.
        "Sure.  Maybe pork chops after that!"  Laughing, the two 
of them climbed out of the tub, their appetites sparked.  Once 
they were in the changing room, they found clean clothes 
neatly laid out for them.
        "She really looks out for everyone, doesn't she?"  
Ryouga stated more than asked as they changed.  Ranma nodded in 
response.  "Does anyone ever really show how much they 
appreciate her?"  Ranma stopped dead cold at those words.  Ice 
ran down his spine as he realized exactly how much 
responsibility had been placed on those slender shoulders.
        "I think it's time to make sure people do Ryouga, 
starting with us," Ranma said evenly.  "You're right, Kasumi 
does so much for so little in return.  The only time she ain't 
cleanin' is when she's too sick to get out of bed, and even then 
we have to practically hold her down," Ranma's face settled into 
a mask of determination, and Ryouga nodded at his friends words.
        They made their way towards the kitchen, ready to take 
over whatever chores that needed to be done.  When they reached 
the kitchen they stopped dead in their tracks, disbelief 
plain on their faces.  Pots and pans were everywhere; spilled 
food littered the floor and stained the walls.  Utensils were 
scattered about, and in the middle of the storm of disarray was 
Kasumi, calmly doing her best to clean up.
        "Uh, Kasumi?"  Ranma asked hesitantly.  Kasumi looked up 
at them and smiled.
        "Hello Ranma, Ryouga.  Give me a minute and I'll have 
something ready for you to eat," Her calm acceptance of the mess 
nearly made Ranma mad, but it drove Ryouga to fury.  With a 
great amount of control, Ryouga forced down the rage before he 
spoke.
        "That's not why we came to the kitchen Kasumi.  We... We 
want to help you clean this up," Ranma nodded firmly to 
emphasize that desire.  Kasumi's hand shot up to her mouth.
        "Oh my, you can't!  You're guests, guests shouldn't have 
to help out around the house!"  Kasumi's protests went unheeded 
as they proceeded to pick up around the kitchen.
        "I'll clean the dishes Ryouga. Paws wouldn't do much 
good there, and I stay human with hot or cold water."  Ryouga 
nodded and quickly gathered the scattered dishes.  Kasumi 
tried again to stop them, but Ryouga stopped her.
        "Kasumi, you have done more for us than anyone can 
possibly imagine.  Let us clean up this mess while you relax for 
a while," Kasumi gave a small frown, but Ryouga spoke before she 
could.  "And if I catch you trying to vacuum or clean anything 
else, I'll dunk you in the pond myself!"  He then turned back to 
the mess and proceeded to clean to spilled food off of the floor 
and walls.
        Kasumi never moved from where she stood.  On occasion 
she would correct them as to where something went, but other 
than that did nothing.  In short order, the kitchen was 
immaculate once again.  Ranma and Ryouga looked at each other 
with satisfaction.
        "Ok Kasumi, what happened in there?  I've never seen the 
kitchen that bad, even when Akane was first trying to cook."  
Ranma asked bluntly, his eyes promising pain to whoever caused 
it.
        "Well, I found it like that this morning.  I thought 
that one of you had tried to get a snack during the night, but 
when I checked, neither of you had moved."  Kasumi tried to 
sound convincing but she could not, not with two pairs of steely 
eyes on her.  Kasumi sighed; she never had been very good at 
lying.
        "I don't know for certain, but I think either Akane or 
Feather got a little upset when they tried to make breakfast 
this morning.  When I came in, both of them were staring at the 
mess."  Kasumi finally confessed.  The boys looked at each other 
and frowned.
        "Kasumi," Ranma said after a short time, "If you ever 
need help with anything, and I do mean anything, you let me or 
Ryouga know.  We'll do anything we can to help you out," 
Kasumi seemed to ignore the statement, and briskly started to 
cook some food.
        "Akane and Feather are at school.  You two slept very 
soundly.  Why don't you go sit down while I make you some soup," 
Kasumi remarked lightly.  Ranma and Ryouga retreated from the 
kitchen and settled down at the table.
        "I missed school on my first day back didn't I?"  Ryouga 
slumped his shoulders as he realized how much homework he'd have 
to do to catch up.  Ranma patted him on the shoulder.
        "Cheer up man, Akane and Feather will be happy to help 
you out," Ranma grinned.  
        "What about you?"
        "I'll be right next to you catching up as well."  Ranma 
seemed a bit embarrassed; "My grades aren't exactly the 
greatest."  They chuckled at that, then groaned from the sudden 
pain that lanced through their skulls.  
        "Remind me never to go drinking with you again."  Ranma 
groaned as he clutched at his still throbbing head.  Ryouga 
grunted as he laid his head on the table.  It only took a 
moment for Ryouga to fall back asleep.  
        With Ryouga tuned out, Ranma turned to watch the Koi 
pond, hoping that the serenity that it produced would help calm 
his headache.  A gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the old 
tree and caused small ripples to play across the water's 
surface.  He let his mind wander, losing himself in the calm 
scene before him.  ::No wonder Mr. Tendo loves to watch the 
pond, it's so relaxing::  For a moment, one fleeting second, 
Ranma had found peace.
        All thoughts of peace and quiet fled when Kasumi 
announced that lunch was ready.  Seemingly out of nowhere, Genma 
materialized and moved quickly to his spot at the table.  
Soun followed at a more leisurely pace.  Genma's sudden arrival 
roused Ryouga, who muttered dark imprecations at Genma.
        "Well boy, you looked like something the cat dragged in 
last night!"  Genma laughed loudly to the boys' discomfort.  
"What happened to you boy?"  Ranma glared at his father.
        "Look pop, I'm in no mood to talk about it.  Just leave 
me alone 'k?"  Ranma growled, his headache back full force.  
Genma opened his mouth to say something else, but found a 
dishrag shoved into his mouth.  Everyone at the table looked at 
Kasumi in shock.
        "That's quite enough Mr. Saotome!"  Kasumi's normally 
gentle voice quite suddenly had steel in it.  An eerie silence 
held sway before Kasumi continued.
        "Ranma-kun is not feeling well, but he and Ryouga-kun 
insisted on helping with the kitchen, so they have done more 
than enough to deserve a quiet meal."  Kasumi gave him a 
hard look before she spoke again in her normal voice.  "Now, do 
we understand each other?"  Genma nodded fervently, still too 
shocked to pull the rag from his mouth.
        Lunch was eaten in silence after that.  Once everyone 
was done the boys traded a glance, and proceeded to clear the 
table.  Kasumi didn't protest, but merely picked up a share of 
the dishes.   Genma and Soun gaped as they watched.  After the 
table was cleared, the fathers decided that a good game of shoji 
would take their minds off of things.
        "Maybe things will be a bit quieter back in the dojo," 
Ranma said as he washed dishes.  Ryouga nodded his agreement, 
and they retreated there once the work was done.  Ryouga 
retrieved his sleeping bag from his pack and opened it up 
fully.  Ranma shot him a questioning look.
        "It'll be more comfortable to sit on this than just the 
floor," Ryouga explained as he sat heavily.   Ranma sat next to 
him and they looked out at the garden in silence.  
        Hours passed as the boys drifted in and out of sleep, 
but it did not seem like it had been a long time before they 
heard the girls returning from school.  Ranma and Ryouga stood 
and went to meet up with them.  As they approached the dining 
room they could hear a lively conversation, but when they 
entered dead silence was there to greet them.
        Akane looked nervous about something and Feather's face 
was blank.  Ryouga swallowed nervously and put his hand behind 
his head.
        "Um, hi.  About last night..." he started, but let his 
words trail off as Feather turned and fled upstairs.  Ryouga 
glanced around. "Did I say something wrong?"  He asked.  Akane 
glanced up the stairs before she spoke.
        "She's been acting really weird today.  This morning she 
went crazy in the kitchen when I mentioned what happened last 
night, and she's been tense all day."  She spoke softly so 
that Feather would not hear her.  Ranma shrugged.
        "Ok, maybe she's just as dangerous in the kitchen as you 
are!"  Ranma smirked at his own wit, and Akane scowled at him.
        "Watch it Ranma!"  Akane spoke with rising anger, "I'm 
still pretty upset that you missed out on dinner last night,"
        "Heck, couldn't have been that special," Ranma 
commented, "I mean it woulda been what?  Your second meal that 
wasn't poisonous?"  Akane's scowl grew, but she managed to 
restrain herself.
        "I think maybe you two did something that upset her last 
night.  It's bad enough that the principal terrorized her, then 
the fact that everybody at school knows about her wings now, 
and finally you two coming home drunk last night!  Heck I'm 
pretty stressed out by all of that!"  
        "Um, so what's the big deal?  So what if we came home 
drunk once?  It's not like we're trying to hurt her or 
anything," Ranma said as he crossed his arms.  Something in 
Akane's mind almost audibly snapped.
        "What's the big deal?!?!  I'll tell you what the big 
deal is!  You're an insensitive jerk and a complete idiot!  She 
looks up to you and Ryouga like you were idols, and you 
destroyed her perception of you two.  Mine as well.  I never 
thought either of you would go and get drunk just for the sake 
of getting drunk!"  While Ranma stammered, trying to come up 
with a reply, Akane turned on Ryouga so suddenly he backed up a 
step.
        "And you!  Do you have any idea how much Feather worried 
about you when you wandered off?  She searched for you for three 
days!  It took all I had just to get her to go to school!"  
Akane stomped forward as she made each point.  Not being used to 
being on the receiving end of Akane's temper, Ryouga backed up 
nervously until his back was against the wall.
        "I didn't mean to wander off..." Ryouga said meekly.  
His words did not seem to calm Akane down at all.
        "I know you don't mean to wander off Ryouga, but that 
does not excuse what you did!"  Akane turned and climbed the 
stairs, leaving a pair of very confused young men.
        "Hey Ranma, you think she's upset?"
        "Upset is not the word," Ranma muttered as he motioned 
for Ryouga to follow him.  "Look Ryouga, sometimes the best 
thing to do when something like this happens is to back off 
for a bit.  Akane seems to calm down faster if I'm not around," 
Ryouga looked dubious, but followed him anyway.
        "You sure about that Ranma?  The problem is here, so we 
should stay here," Ryouga crossed his arms to emphasize his 
point.  Ranma gave him a hard look.
        "Let me say that again.  You wanna be here while the 
girls are still really mad, and just might decide to take it out 
on us?"  Ryouga remembered suddenly about that time Akane had 
hit him; right after the accident that cut her hair.  He 
shivered involuntarily at the memory.
        "Ok you have a point, but where will we eat dinner?  I 
don't have that much money on me, and I know how you eat!"  
Ranma grinned.
        "Way ahead of you man!  We'll just head over to Ucchan's 
and get some of that pork okonomiaki we were talking about 
earlier," Ryouga nodded and grabbed his pack out of habit, 
and followed Ranma through town.
        Ucchan's was empty when they arrived, save Ukyou.  She 
was cheerfully wiping the counter when they came in.  She looked 
up and smiled.
        "Hello Ran-chan!  Hi there Ryouga, what brings both of 
you here?  Akane cooking again tonight?"  She heated up the 
grill while the boys grabbed a pair of stools at the counter.
        "Naw, at least I don't think so.  Feather was real 
worked up about something, giving Ryouga a real cold shoulder."  
Ranma grimaced a little, thinking of the mess Feather had made 
in the kitchen.  "She didn't even say hi to him when she got 
back from school."
        "Speaking of school, why weren't you there Ran-chan?  
Akane wouldn't say exactly why you didn't show."  Ukyou started 
pouring some batter out onto the grill. "Two deluxes right?"
        "Two pork okonomiaki please," Ranma elbowed Ryouga a 
little, "Ryouga and I didn't go to school cause we were... not 
feeling that well this morning."  Ukyou leveled a steady gaze 
at them.
        "Define not feeling well."  Ranma glanced nervously 
around, as if he didn't really want to say.  Ryouga wasn't as 
nervous though.
        "We were hungover.  After Ranma found me last night, I 
made him take me to a bar to get dr....OW!"  Before he could 
finish talking, Ukyou had whipped her huge spatula off of her 
back and hit Ryouga on the top his head, very hard.  Blows from 
a sledgehammer were kinder than this.  Ryouga only looked mildly 
annoyed though.
        "You jackass!" Ukyou screamed, "Do you have any idea 
what Feather's been through?"  Ryouga shook his head mutely, 
wondering why Ukyou seemed to be crying and screaming mad at 
once.  Tears streamed from her eyes as she repeatedly pounded on 
Ryouga.  Ranma edged away carefully, not wanting to get hit for 
his involvement.  Ukyou was so mad, she was starting to shake.
        The repeated blows stunned Ryouga and the stool he was 
sitting on finally broke.  As he tumbled backwards, Ukyou knelt 
behind the counter and wept into her hands.  Ranma vaulted over 
the counter to see if Ukyou was all right.
        "Ucchan!  What's wrong with you?"  He exclaimed and 
tried to comfort her.  Unfortunately, Ukyou was quite beyond the 
reach of reason and she threw Ranma across the restaurant.  
Ranma landed hard on a table, splintering it.  He lay there for 
a second stunned, until he smelled smoke.  As he jumped up, he 
saw that Ryouga was already trying to put out a fire on the 
grill.  Ryouga grabbed one of Ukyou's spatulas and flipped a 
chunk of charcoaled batter into the sink.  Ranma dashed over to 
the sink and ran water over the still smoldering chunk.  When 
Ranma looked back, he saw that Ryouga was ignoring the heat of 
the grill and the grease fire that was blazing across it's 
surface, and was scraping all of the grease and burnt batter 
into a pan.
        Ranma snatched up a tablecloth and smothered the fire.  
Luckily the tablecloth didn't catch, and that too was thrown 
into the sink.  Ranma then knelt next to Ukyou again.
        "Hey Ucchan, I don't know what's gotten into you, but 
you need to calm down a bit.  You almost let your restaurant 
burn," Ranma remained tense for whatever reaction would come 
next from her.  Ukyou continued to cry for a while, and the guys 
were starting to get real nervous before she finally stopped.
        "Hey Ukyou, what happened anyway?  It must have been 
pretty bad for you to react like that," Ryouga said standing 
just out of her reach.  Ukyou slowly stood up and looked over 
towards the still slightly smoking grill.
        "Give me a sec to clean this up, and then I'll explain."
        A short while later, Ukyou had finished cleaning up the 
grill and was starting to cook some okonomiaki for them.  "Ok 
you two, I'll tell you what's going on," Ukyou said evenly, 
still apparently not very happy with them.
        "That guy that used to keep her, he was a mean drunk.  
He used to beat her after drinking a lot.  She has _scars_ from
that, not just emotional ones.  She has a long scar on her 
left shoulder and maybe others that she didn't show me."  Ukyou 
paused to tend to the food for a second. "He used to spend most 
of their money on booze, and he still hit her if anything didn't 
go his way.  That's why she's been acting different around you, 
she's remembering slowly what happened to her in the past and 
it's tearing her up."  She served them the okonomiaki at that 
point.  Ranma let out a low whistle.
        "So that's it.  I didn't know what you were talking 
about yesterday, and I didn't think to ask you about it."  Ranma 
said between bites.  Ryouga hesitantly ate his; his revulsion to 
pork was fading slowly.  Ukyou seemed to calm down a little 
more, and just started to enjoy having her Ran-chan there.
        "So why did you guys feel the need to get drunk?  It 
must've been something awful that happened," Ukyou asked when 
they had finished eating.  Ryouga swallowed nervously 
before he spoke.
        "I kinda messed up getting Ranma a cure, and ended up 
with a curse myself,"
        "Poor thing!  Tell me what happened," Ukyou leaned over 
the counter, interested in what Ryouga was about to say.        
        "Well, I stumbled into Jusenkyo about a week ago, but I 
couldn't find the guide anywhere.  So I decided to try and find 
the nannichuan without his help," he thought for a second about 
how he should edit his story, and then continued.
        "I basically looked around for human footprints coming 
out of a spring.  I did find one but when I took off my pack to 
get a bottle out, I fell into the spring behind me.  The 
transformation was... painful.  The pain drove me insane, and 
apparently I ran without stopping for quite some time.  When I 
came out of it, I was in the cargo hold of a plane thankfully 
human.  Luckily, the plane landed in Tokyo and Ranma found me 
shortly after that," Ryouga paused to sip some water. 
        "I was really depressed when I saw Ranma, 'cause I had 
to tell him that I had a cure in hand and lost it.  After that I 
had him take me to a bar and we both got roaring drunk," Ryouga 
hung his head, depressed again by his bad luck.  Ukyou reached 
across the bar to pat him on the shoulder.
        "There there hon, can't be all that bad.  What do you 
turn into, by the way?"  Ukyou sounded very curious.  Ryouga 
looked up and grinned, baring his fangs a little.
        "A wolf.  I turn into a fairly large wolf," Ryouga said 
with no emotion in his voice.
        "Could be worse sugar,"
        "That's true I guess.  I don't turn into something small 
and helpless like some people, and I don't have to worry about 
Kuno chasing me down whenever it rains," He shot a glance at 
Ranma, "I guess you could say it coulda been worse.  It does 
make catching my dinner that much easier, and I can track my way 
back to wherever I camped by smell,"
        Ranma chuckled a little at Ryouga's deadpan description 
his new curse.  Ukyou giggled as well, but she really didn't 
know the true reason behind Ryouga's statements.
        Evening turned into night, and the boys slowly made 
their way back to the dojo.  Neither of them spoke, they did not 
have to.  They knew that pair of angry young women were there, 
and who on earth knew what would set them off next.
        It was fully dark when they passed the gates to the 
dojo.  Ranma guided Ryouga into the dojo, and with a silent 
salute left for his room.  Ryouga was deep in thought as he 
prepared his sleeping bag.  Despite knowing what made Feather 
angry at him, he was unable to come up with a suitable way to 
get her to forgive him.  Cursing his stupidity, Ryouga stared at 
the ceiling while sleep and the answer to his problem eluded him.
        Morning did not bring any answers to the lost boy.  The 
cries of the Saotomes sparring roused him from his slumber.  
Habit urged him to pack his rucksack and sling it over his 
shoulder.  As he finished waking up, he noticed female battle 
cries coming from the yard.  His curiosity piqued, Ryouga 
followed the voices into the yard.
        He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.  
Akane and Feather were sparing on the lawn while Genma and Ranma 
fought over the pond.  Feather was being hard pressed by a 
vicious pattern of punches and kicks from Akane.  More than once 
Ryouga noted when and where Akane penetrated her defenses.  He 
smiled to himself in pride when Feather caught Akane's arm and 
used her momentum in a hip throw.  Feather didn't let up there 
as she took her turn on the attack.  Akane smoothly blocked or 
dodged the strikes though.  
        Ryouga gasped when Feather whipped her hair around to 
tag Akane on her side.  A whip-like crack could be heard from 
the blow. Akane winced, but did not falter when she took 
advantage of the opening the move left.
        The girls broke smoothly when Kasumi called out that 
breakfast was ready.  Ryouga snapped out of his half trance to 
dash for the table.  He barely noticed when Ranma and Genma 
fell into the pond.  
        The usual breakfast argument started up between Ranma-
chan and Akane, but Ryouga didn't notice.  He was too deep in 
his thoughts.  About the only thing he noticed was the fact 
that Feather was making a point to ignore him.  He decided to 
say something to her.  He spoke to Feather during a lull in 
Ranma-chan and Akane's argument.
        "I guess it's about time for you to go back to Cologne 
again.  She did want to keep track of how much you're 
improving," Ranma-chan nearly choked.
        "The old ghoul wants to see her progress?  Why?"
        Ryouga shook his head.  "I don't really know myself, but 
she said something along the lines about how well a one time 
student of hers could teach.  Maybe it's about how a student 
represents the teacher or something like that."
        "That makes a little sense.  After all, she did teach 
you the bakusai tenketsu, maybe she thinks you're her student 
full time now," Ryouga shuddered.
        "I hope not.  I'm not too fond of her training 
techniques," Feather didn't reply, but she did seem to be 
looking forward to seeing Cologne after school.  The rest of 
breakfast passed peacefully, and after Ranma had changed back 
they ran off for school. 
        When they could see the clock tower, they realized that 
they were early for a change.  Slowing to a walk, they 
approached the school.  Just inside the gates Kuno was waiting 
for them.
        "Greetings on this fair morn' to the beauticious Tendo 
Akane, and the angelic Saotome Feather!  How I yearn for you 
both!  Come, leap into my arms!" He cried out as they 
approached.
        "Give it a rest Kuno," Akane sighed as she continued 
towards the school.  Kuno might have continued, if he was given 
the chance, but he was being held back by Ranma and Ryouga.
        "Release me curs or feel the wrath of the Blue 
Thunder!"  He yelled.
        "Chill out Kuno.  Today is not a good day for this," 
Ryouga said with a trace of irritation in his voice.  
Surprisingly, Kuno ceased trying to chase the girls the rest of 
the way into the school.
        "'Tis the wandering warrior Ryouga.  Why is this day not 
a good one to court my loves?  Neither rain nor snow shall stay 
me from seeking the hands of those I love.  Truly, such 
a task is too stern for me to delay,"
        "Look you moron, we're finally early and I'm not going 
to let you make us all late again!"  Ranma snapped.
        "Very well Saotome.  I shall proceed to my own class 
then.  Perhaps after school," Kuno walked away.
        Despite his parting words, Kuno did not show up again 
after school.  The small group made their way towards the 
Nekohanten; the girls were talking excitedly about something 
that had caught their interest and the guys were generally 
ignored.  The cold shoulder was almost more than Ryouga could 
stand.
        They weren't expecting to see the Nekohanten closed 
down.  It didn't quite look deserted, but business was obviously 
not being held.
        "That's odd.  This place usually has a crowd."  Ranma 
noted as they approached.  "Come to think of it, I don't recall 
seeing Shampoo for the last week or so," Akane frowned a 
little.  She had noticed, and secretly celebrated the amazon's 
absence.  Feather walked up and knocked on the door.  Several 
minutes passed before they heard the lock turn and the door 
slowly slid open.
        "So sorry, Nekohanten closed for... Ranma!  So happy to 
see you," She did not seem overly enthusiastic though.  She 
appeared to be disheveled, and obviously had not gotten very 
much sleep.
        "What's wrong Shampoo?  You're a mess!"  Ranma said with 
a note of concern in his voice.  Akane frowned again, but said 
nothing.  Shampoo passed a weary hand across her eyes, brushing 
some stray locks of hair away.
        "Come inside, Shampoo tell you what happening then,"  
She stood aside from the door to let them pass then she closed 
and locked the door.  Ranma and the others sat at one of the 
dusty tables.
        "What's going on?  As many times as I've wandered here 
the door's been open,"  Ryouga said.  Shampoo sat with them 
wearily.
        "Mousse get very sick from fight with beast.  The wounds 
get infected and he get high fever.  Great Grandmother doing 
what she can to keep fever down, but it not look good.  
Shampoo been busy helping,"  Feather hugged Shampoo in an 
attempt to comfort her.
        "I thought you didn't like Mousse Shampoo."  Akane spoke 
quietly.
        "If Mousse dies from those wounds, Shampoo will be honor 
bound to follow him into the grave.  Such are the laws of our 
tribe."  Everyone turned to look as Cologne revealed herself 
at the end of the hall.  She hopped to join them at the table.
        "The gashes in his chest are oozing Shampoo.  Go and 
drain them again,"  She dismissed her great granddaughter with a 
wave of her withered hand.  Once Shampoo had gone upstairs, 
Cologne turned her gaze to the youths gathered at the table.
        "What brings you all here?"
        "We were bringing Feather by to show you her progress, 
but now I think that we want to do what we can to help," Ranma 
placed his hands on the table.
        "That is kind of you.  Perhaps you could help us care 
for him."
        Feather nodded her agreement and started up the stairs 
after Shampoo to try and lend a hand.



----------------------------End Chapter 7----------------------


Ok, I know it's been a long wait, and I apologize.  Still, I 
hope the wait was worth it.  Please send all comments and 
criticism to atarukun@usa.net  I'd love to hear anything you
have to say!


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