More notes: Anything that's completely spoken in Chinese goes between these { }

{Yes, Great-grandmother. Fully aware.}

{Are you prepared for your journey?} she asked.

{I am. I leave tomorrow at dawn. I will not return until my honor has been restored by penalty of death,} Shampoo nodded as she gathered her things.

Cologne smiled gently and patted Shampoo on the head. "Good girl," she said in Japanese. "Do you know the language of the land?"

It took the girl a moment to translate and then she nodded. "But I may need brush up."

"Hai," the old woman said. "It is sort of broken."

As the sun sank below the horizon, Shampoo went to bed feeling more determined than she had in a while.

Ranma was going to pay and pay dearly.

The next day met the small girl, already awake and on the trail. She wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow and readjusted the large sword in the scabbard on her back.

Defeat and Shampoo were not to be taken lightly. This was the first time someone had ever dared to beat her and it was an outsider at that.

This simply would not do.

Raising her head high she made a promise to the sky.

"Ranma Saotome, you I kill!"

***

"Tousan, isn't that *boy*," Akane Tendo spat this out with distaste, "supposed to be here soon?"

Soun nodded. "Hai Akane dear. He is."

"You know I still don't agree to you do this without my permission!"

"Akane," Nabiki drawled, "daddy went to all of this trouble to arrange this for you. The least you can do is thank him."

Akane slammed her hands on the table and instantly got angry. "Thank him?! For what?"

Then her older sister leaned in and began to whisper. "I can change his mind for eleven hundred yen. Take it or leave it."

Akane shot her an annoyed look before she stood from the living room table. "Is money all you think about Nabiki?" As the girl in question shrugged Akane turned to her father. "Listen Tousan, I'm going on a little trip to see Ranma Saotome. Don't expect me back any time soon."

Tears began to pool in Soun Tendo's eyes as he gazed upon his youngest daughter. "So does that mean you're going to marry him?"

She snorted. "Hell no! I'm just going to teach him that no one screws with Akane Tendo and gets away with it!"

The other three groaned. "I should have known," her father said.

Running to her room, she grabbed a large backpack from her closet and began to fill it with an odd assortment of things. Clothes, a brush, spare ribbons in case she lost the one currently on her hair; things like that. Topping it all off with a two large maps of Japan and China she was finally ready to be on her way.

Opening her bedroom door, she was surprised to find Kasumi and Nabiki there waiting for her.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" asked an extremely worried Kasumi. "I mean, it can be worked out at home..."

Akane hugged her hand and walked down the hall. "It must be done."

Her sister nodded and stepped away. Now it was Nabiki's turn to speak.

"I just want to ask you something," she said.

Akane threw her an impatient look and the other girl continued.

"Are you sure that you don't want any canned food? I don't want you to die of food poisoning from your own cooking..." As her sister's temper flared, she continued to highlight a deal. "You know what? I'll give you ten packages of instant ramen for only 700 yen. I'm sure that even *you* can't mess that up."

Growling she turned and began to shout. "Fine it Nabiki! Don't wish me well!" She took off running for the stairs and was intercepted by her father.

"Tousan," she sighed. "Let me go!"

"I am," Soun said. "I just wanted a souvenir!"

"Me too Akane!" Kasumi called from the stairs. "We're running out of tea...."

Growling a second time, she threw a disgusted look in their general direction. "I'm going! Sayonara!" She slammed the door shut and then opened again as inspiration struck her. "And I'm going to catch and cook my own food too!" Nodding in certainty she slammed it again, this time the sheer force of it shook the entire house and knocked pictures and small ornaments from the walls.

Both Soun and the girls winced slightly at the impact. A large crack went up the wooden door frame and stopped right below the top. Sighting deeply, her father went to go get some tools.

"That's going to need repairing." Nabiki and Kasumi nodded. "But first, let us have some tea shall we?" Both girls facevaulted.

***

Ryouga Hibiki knocked on the door of a house. He had been walking for quite some time now and he needed a little help. As the door opened, he launched into an oft repeated plea.

"I'm lost. Can I get directions to Tokyo?"

The little old lady peered at him behind wire spectacles. "Eh boy? Don't follow directions too well do ya? I told you it was that way!" She pointed to her right.

Ryouga just nodded and immediately turned in the opposite direction. "Arigatou," he said as he walked off.

The old woman sighed. "That boy. He'll be back. I know for sure."

***

Ukyou Kuonji ran swiftly up the dirt road toward her destination. Her long brown hair was pulled back out of her face with a white ribbon and she had an arsenal of mini-spatulas that she had in a holster across her front. Dressed in men's clothes, even indistinguishable from a man, she had a large spatula -- a family heirloom -- on the holster strapped to her back. Ukyou had begun searching as soon as she could from the time Genma Saotome had abandoned her by the side of the road as he ran off with her dowry. As she thought of the many ways she was going to break every bone in their body, she didn't see the dark haired boy as she ran into him. Down they both went, the boy on his back and Ukyou on top of him.

"Gomen nasai," she apologized as she helped him up. The boy, dressed in black pants yellow shirt complete with a yellow and black headband, just nodded faintly as he brushed himself off. Ukyou, really not willing to travel alone, grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"My name is Kuonji Ukyou," she smiled as she held our her hand. "Where are you headed?"

Ryouga clasped her outstretched hand briefly as he looked back down the way he had been headed. It was a split trail, three different paths headed north, east, and west, and was going toward the west one. "I am Hibiki Ryouga. Tokyo is my destination." That said, he started on his way again.

"Uh excuse me!" She called out to him. "Did you say that you were going to Tokyo?"

He shot an impatient look at the girl and nodded. "Hai," he replied shortly.

"But you're headed the wrong way!"

Pausing, he blinked large confused eyes at her. "Really? Can you help me then sir?"

As Ukyou smiled secretly that she still could trick people, she nodded curtly. "Let's go. I need to kill that Ranma Saotome!"

Ryouga stared in astonishment and started to smile. "Me too! That dishonorable cur!"

The girl let out a battle cry that prompted Ryouga to answer with one of his one of his own. She took off toward the east and made sure to reach back and drag her newfound friend along as he promptly turned south.

***

They had arrived early to school that day. But not early enough for Pan who always made sure to leave at least twenty minutes before because anything could happen from an alien attack to Goten stealing all of their food. Ranma and his father had received the guest room because something came up that changed Pan's whole life in one brief conversation.

~~~

"Tousan! Can we please just forget about this stupid marriage Ojiisan came up with?" she pleaded.

Gohan shook his head and sighed. "It's not that easy. If we do something like that, our honor would be at stake here. You, I, and Tousan would be accused of backing out of the deal that was made with Saotome-san. It just wouldn't be right."

Pan smiled slyly. "But Saotome-san tricked you guys."

Gohan just smirked right back. "Then we get to prove just how honorable the Sons really are."

Pan groaned. Life just wasn't at all fair.

~~~

"Honor," the girl spat out. "Is a lot like pride. Too much is bad for you."

Ranma looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Did you say something?"

"Iie," Pan said mock cheerfully. "It wasn't important."

She walked him to the principal's office and showed him in. "Here," she began. "Get your schedule and we'll meet up in the cafeteria later on. I made sure that you had the first lunch."

"Hey, thanks a lot!" Ranma said happily in the anticipation of food. "I really appreciate it!"

She smiled, a real one this time, and waved as she went off to her locker. "Just don't get into trouble, okay?"

He nodded as she disappeared.

Pan made it to homeroom with time to spare. As she chatted with all of her friends she didn't noticed Ranma come in, that is until all of the other girls started to squeal.

"Ooo!" One girl, a blond said, as she eyed him. "What a hottie!"

"He's mine!" Another proclaimed loudly. "So back off before you get hurt!"

Pan looked curiously at the crowd of females blocking her view of the front of the classroom. "What is going on?" she asked.

"Pan-chan the finest boy just walked into the classroom!" Her friend Mika said happily. "He's right over there!"

So Pan rose from her desk and moved to the wall of girls. Levitating slightly so make up for her short stature, she finally got a peek at who they were talking about.

She never thought, in a million years, that it would be Ranma.

"Who *him*?" She snorted. "He's nothing special."

That was when the world became silent. Even the boys stopped talking in anticipation to what would come next.

In the mean time, Ranma was trying to navigate the sea of females. He thought that he recognized that voice. "Uh hello? Can I get by please?"

"Son Pan," Marita, the blond from before, said in disgust. "What is with you? Every guy who has tried to date you end up getting hurt and you talk about them all the time! You dress like one, talk like one, and act like one too. I'm sorry but I'm starting to think that you don't like boys at all. That you're a--"

"Don't say it!" Mika warned. She hated the sight of blood.

"a lesbian," Marita finished smugly. That was all the confirmation that Pan needed. Throwing a lightning fast right, she aimed for the girl's unblemished face...

And her fist was caught a second before it reached it's destination.

Pan blinked in confusion. "Nani?" Nobody in that school was fast enough to stop her.

This boy was another story.

Ranma stood there, on her right side, with her hand in a grip that even *she* couldn't break.

"What's the deal?!" She yelled at him. "Let my hand go so I can use it to knock some sense into that slut over there!" The haughty expression on the other girls' face only increased in intensity as Ranma stood between her and possible death.

A larger crowd than before had formed as they all waited to see what would happen.

"Pan, why don't you let this one go?" he asked. "I'm sure that she regrets it."

Marita opened her mouth to protest as her two friends both covered it. "Hai," the one on the right said. "She sure does."

"It'll never happen again Pan-sama!" the other said as well. They both bowed respectively and hurried to their seats.

That was when the bell rang and the teacher arrived.

Pan and Ranma, unbeknownst to the other, sighed and thought the same thing in unison. "I hope nothing else happens!"

Oh, this was just the beginning.

***

"Saotome-san and Son-san, this is the last time I will tell you to stop playing around!" The geometry teacher said, annoyed. "One more and it's the hall for you!"

It was their third hour, right before lunch, and they were having a hard time paying attention as the teacher droned on and on about cubes and triangles.

Two heads snapped back to the front of the room and two heads both nodded in unison. "Hai, Genou-sensei!"

So the math teacher went back to doing what he did the best and Ranma and Pan went back to making faces at each other.

First Pan stuck out her tongue and gave him the finger with he also returned. Pulling down one eyelid, he blew a raspberry that almost set the girl off.

She just smirked and balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him. He dodged nimbly and they mini war went on.

After 10 minutes of paper tossing, face making, and stray ammo the teacher finally noticed them again.

"RANMA! PAN! Into the hall!"

They soon found themselves outside, with two *very* full buckets of water on each arm.

"This is all your fault!" Ranma hissed loudly.

Pan jerked her head at the large windows that looked into the room, a motion to lower his voice. "You're the one who got all those girls to gawk at you!"

Ranma glared hard. "What is your problem? Ever since I moved in with you guys you've been acting evil!"

That's when Pan got loud. "I NEVER ASKED FOR A FIANCÉ! MY GRANDFATHER AND YOUR FATHER ARRANGED IT, REMEMBER!"

Ranma shouted back just as loudly. "YOU ACT LIKE IT'S MY FAULT! I DON'T WANNA MARRY SOMEONE AS UGLY AS YOU!"

That was when all hell broke loose.

Kids poured out of every classroom on that floor, either shouting out congratulations (the girls) or angry challenges (the boys). Pan stopped the whole congregation with just one sentence.

"SHUT UP AND GO AWAY!"

They all fled as fast as their legs could carry them. All except one foolish boy.

"Son Pan," he cried. "Ai shiteru!"

A fist silenced his words. Backing away, he turned tail and ran like the coward he truly was.

"Do you want to take this outside?" Pan asked rudely. "I've been itching to hurt someone all day."

"Fine by me," Ranma answered. "Let's go!"

They both ran toward the stairs with the other students following a little more quietly.

So, how do you like this chapter? I crave comments!