Doing her best to keep her Ice Queen facade she answered. "And what if I am?"

Geese smirked when he heard Nabiki's answer. *This is a calculating one.* He regarded her carefully, noticing little things others less experienced would miss. "I have a business proposition for you."

"Just like that?" Nabiki asked, a little surprised at the forwardness of this man.

The blonde man walked forward and sat down next to her. "There's no use in beating around the bush, girl. You know who I am and what I do."

Nabiki shook her head. "I'm not getting my hands dirty with anything like drugs or guns."

"Then I'll have to interest you with something else. Tell me, are you into gambling?" When he saw Nabiki's eyes narrow hungrily he mentally patted himself on the back. It seemed like he judged her right. She was also very ambitious.

A few hours later Mature returned with the children. Upon seeing Geese and a very excited Nabiki working on some papers she rolled her eyes and decided not to get involved. Her husband would tell her what to do when the planning was complete.

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"'NO!!!'" An enraged Shampoo yelled in mandarin as she smashed her bonbori on a table, crushing it beyond usefulness. She had just been informed by Cologne that she should stop her pursuit of Ranma.

Both Shampoo and Mousse had spent most of the time since the attack recovering in bed. Cologne waited till her great granddaughter was back on her feet to drop the little bomb. The results were as she expected. "Are you done acting like a spoiled brat?" Cologne asked calmly.

Shampoo turned her burning eyes on the elder and she growled. "'Ranma is my husband. Not that stupid outsider's.'"

Cologne sighed. "'Great granddaughter, please act your age.'" She said sternly in mandarin so Shampoo would get every word. "'By our own laws Ranma is out of your reach. The fact that you attacked Kasumi, already knowing they were married and with a daughter, is to be punished and you know it.'"

Shampoo calmed somewhat knowing acting like this with an elder, even if it was her own flesh and blood, would only cause trouble for her. "'But the laws don't consider someone escaping from us to another world.'" In fact Amazon law was such that obstacles were for killing, unless the male wanted to remain with his already formed family. In such a case the Amazons would respect the outsider woman's family. "'He hasn't been married to that woman long enough for the laws to apply.'" *Not in our world.* She added to herself.

Cologne shook her head. Being young was full of such good things, yet at the same time the inexperience and recklessness one could live without. "'I've already sent a letter to the council of elders informing them of this sudden change of events. I request of them to disallow Ranma's obligations to you.'"

The young Amazon's eyes flared at that. "'WHY?!'" She demanded.

The elder snorted. "'You saw it yourself, child. Ranma will react badly to any threat on his family.'"

"'He's just a stupid male. He doesn't know what he wants.'" Shampoo impertinently spat. She was shocked when Cologne slapped her. Something that hadn't happened in her entire life. Tears threatened to burst from her eyes as she glared at the woman that had raised her. Even if she had been harshly reprimanded before, the significance of a slap far outweighed even the most physical of punishments.

"'Have you learned nothing from our stay here in Japan? Are you so willing to let the village's prejudices blind you?'" Cologne was one of the few women in the village that understood some males were not inferior but, rather, superior fighters. Ranma was the prime example of this. "'You've seen what Ranma is capable of many times. This last one he almost killed Mousse and took care of you three girls with ridiculous ease. You know very well Ranma isn't stupid, and even if he was he's too dangerous to risk angering.'"

Shampoo averted her gaze from Cologne's and said bitterly. "'You can't stop me from going after her.'"

Cologne's shoulders slumped. "'You're right, great granddaughter. I can't order you to stop what you're doing.'" Amazon law was so complicated. Since attacking Kasumi didn't directly affect the tribe, yet at the same time it did, no elder could order an Amazon warrior to stop from such a course. A council decision was needed for that, and that would take weeks. Cologne returned her attention to the young Amazon. "'I won't help you with this, Shampoo. In fact I strongly suggest you don't go after Ranma's wife, unless your life has little worth to you. As soon as the council answers my letter we'll be returning to China.'" With that she made her way up the stairs, feeling as old as she really was. When she heard the door open she sighed. It seemed like Shampoo wanted to learn things the hard way. *Let's just hope she lives enough to learn from this mistake.*

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Happosai took a puff from his pipe as Soun and Genma continued to play shogi. They were paying little attention to the game since their plans to force Ranma into marrying Akane were more important. The old master felt like snorting at some of the things they were coming up with. If the power he felt that day was indeed Ranma's then those two fools had a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. *Especially since Nabiki seems to be on the boy's side.* He thought.

"That won't work, Tendo. Nodoka said she disowned Ranma, remember?" Genma said tiredly. Even if he really wanted to get his son to stop acting like an honor less dog and marry Akane, Soun was adamant on pushing Ranma through honor.

Soun shook his head. "Your son will see reason, old friend. Especially after we publish his honor less actions. That shall destroy the 'Todo' Dojo." The Tendo patriarch was also very angry that such a new dojo had so many students, while his own was empty. Of course he ignored the fact that the Tendo Dojo had no students because of his incompetence at teaching after his wife passed away.

Genma refrained from arguing the point. *It may not help, but it won't hurt either.*

That particular moment was chosen by Akane to enter the room. She didn't posses her usual smile or attitude, though. Soun felt both pain and anger at seeing his daughter just a shadow of what she was no more than a week ago.

Instead of the confident, nearly arrogant, girl he was used to, Akane was a fragile person that broke down easily. The blow to her confidence as a martial artist being responsible for it. The other times she had lost at martial arts she could convince herself into thinking that her opponent must have cheated somehow, that she wasn't ready. This time as much as she tried, she couldn't escape from reality. Todo Kasumi beat her fair and square, and the worst part was that she did it without much effort. Nabiki made sure to explain how the fight went on, every detail cruelly evident.

What made her suffer the most was that Ranma wasn't there to rescue her. Instead he stood with that other woman.

She sat down carefully, aware of her injuries, and turned to Happosai. Surprisingly the old master had refrained from groping her since she got hurt. "What have you decided about Ranma quitting Anything Goes?" She asked.

That got both the parents' attention, as Happosai was their hope of bringing Ranma back. The old master noticed this but decided not to comment. Instead he answered the youngest Tendo's question. "I don't know yet, Akane-chan. Even if he didn't ask for my permission I understand his reasons for abandoning the school. As for taking away my precious Ranma-chan's bosom, that will be punished!" He said with crocodile tears in his eyes.

Akane turned her head away in disgust and the three men in the room had hope that she would recover from this. It would just take time for her to recover her strength.

Happosai remained silent after that. *There's no way I'm getting on Ranma's bad side again.* When he felt that aura he thought he recognized something about it. Realizing it was Ranma's, thanks to Nabiki, was a shock he wasn't prepared for. The old master had encountered only one other person with an aura like that. It was one of the few fights where he was genuinely scared, and he didn't look forward to reliving the experience.

Genma and Soun continued playing shogi with Akane watching intently. Happosai decided to leave on one of his panty raids, none noticed as he made his way out.

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"He must pay for what he did to my family." Kasumi said sternly, her eyes never softening in the slightest.

After taking a sip of tea, Saotome Nodoka sighed. "There's nothing I can do, Kasumi-chan. Ranma has taken another name, and hes no longer bound by the contract." She turned to the side to wipe away a tear. "In fact he wants nothing to do with me."

Kasumi placed a hand on Nodoka's shoulder, the older woman smiled in gratitude for the support. "Aunty, there has to be something you can do."

Nodoka shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear. Todo-san has no connections to me." She smiled faintly. "Even if it hurt me like nothing ever could or will, I'm proud of him. He stood up to everyone for his family." Tears started flowing from her eyes. "Isn't it wonderful? My son is so manly..." She bawled before hiding her face with her hands, sobs wracking her body. She finally had what she so desired, and it was destroying her. Life was so full of ironies.

Kasumi's features darkened. How could Ranma do this to his own mother?

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"RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" Ryoga Hibiki bellowed as he got trouble picking up his pack. His injuries had seriously slowed him down in his travels, making it even harder for him to find the Tendo Dojo.

But he would pay. Oh yes. Ranma would pay for this, for all his suffering. He was the one that made him fight that red-haired man, another person Ryoga planned on killing as soon as he could train himself enough. And for that to happen he first needed to heal.

Wincing in pain as he settled his pack on his shoulders, Ryoga started limping away from his camping site. A dark green aura surrounding him.

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"Very well, I'll be waiting for you." She said and then hung the phone. With a heavy sigh she scanned her left arm, painful burns still on it, but with no risk of infection anymore. She winced as she stood up and neared her grill, the heat still very uncomfortable. "What'll be, sugar?" She asked as another costumer arrived.

Kuoji Ukyo recovered from the attack only to return to her work. Most of all to keep her mind off of what happened. She'd had nightmares since that day. Even during the day she shuddered just by remembering how it felt to be blasted with such dark energy. And whenever she closed her eyes she could see Ranma's burning blue-gray orbs, promising death. Before blacking out she managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes, and she wished she never did.

"Ran-chan." She whispered as she finished with the okonomiyaki and handed it to the client. She knew she really screwed up. Ranma had always been very forgiving, but attacking someone he cared for was out of the question. How could she be stupid enough to attack his wife and daughter?

Yet the answer was simple. She loved him. She loved him more than anything else. And that love had blinded her judgment.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't know how Shampoo was able to convince her to kill Ranma's wife and daughter. She felt repulsed by what she planned to do, and yet it was too late to take it back.

With another heavy sigh she turned to Konatsu, who was busily working in cleaning the boots. The ninja told her what happened to Mousse after he attacked Ranma. *The blind idiot was stupid enough to attack Ranma when Kasumi and Yoko were with him.* Oh yes, Ukyo knew the names of Ranma's wife and daughter. She had caught a conversation between two students at Furinkan that seemed to be training at the Todo Dojo.

Now all she could do was wait for her father to arrive. He didn't like hearing the latest news concerning her pursuit of Ranma.

She was taken out of her thoughts as Shampoo rushed into her restaurant. Ukyo studied the Amazon and was a little jealous to notice she was mostly healed. *Probably something to do with Cologne, but part of it must come from her training.* Ukyo thought.

Shampoo caught sight of Ukyo and went over to the grill. "We need talk." She said.

"Good to see you too, sugar." Ukyo said sarcastically.

Shampoo either missed it or ignored it. "Need do something about obstacle."

Ukyo shook her head. "You're on your own, Shampoo. I'm not going after Ran-chan like that again." *I don't want him to kill me.*

The Amazon frowned. "Spatula-girl afraid? Remove obstacle, then deal with Aireen." She said forcefully.

The okonomiyaki chef noticed some trepidation in Shampoo's eyes and knew something was up. "Sorry, sugar. This is where I draw the line." Something was definitely up since Shampoo heard that and just stomped out of the Uchan's. Ukyo knew she made the right choice, yet at the same time felt like she was giving up. She hoped her father could help, but somehow she doubted he would make much of a difference.

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Ranma smiled as Daisuke got the move right. He didn't really know why the boy had never taken up martial arts before. He was a natural.

Turning to the rest of the class as they worked he had to wonder. *Many people here have a lot of potential. Why didn't they train seriously before?* It was weird, especially since this was Nerima.

Putting that in the back of his mind he resumed guiding the students through the motions of a beginner's kata.

Kasumi stood in the back, silently studying each and every student and trying to determine which part of the Todo Ryuu Kobojutsu would be most beneficial to them. Nearly everyone had promise for the defensive side, which was fine by her. The offensive side could be quite brutal, though the defensive one was not much better.

She saw as Ranma went though the motions of the kata and couldn't help but stare at him lovingly. Of all the things that attracted her to him in the first place, his passion for martial arts was right on top. After getting to know him better she really fell in love with the man, who could be so thoughtful and was such a protective parent, yet his devotion for martial arts was still pretty high up there. It didn't surprise her in the slightest, since she shared that same love for the Art, it was just something she always found curious about them as a couple. Even if they did spar and train together, never had they had a serious fight. She didn't fool herself into thinking she could beat him, she wasn't that blind, but she was glad they hadn't. She knew she wouldn't be able to try to seriously harm Ranma, and he absolutely refused to hit her with anything more than a pulled punch.

"You got it bad, sensei." A teasing female voice said to the side, startling Kasumi out of her thoughts. She turned to see one of the girls smirking knowingly at her.

Kasumi did her best to hide the blush and frowned. "You should be paying attention to class, Hasagawa-san. Do fifty pushups and then resume training."

The girl shrugged and started doing the pushups. Kasumi stood by her side till she finished and then the girl resumed following Ranma's moves.

Many of the students were taking the training very well, even though they still finished dragging their feet out of the dojo. The time would come when they would be ready to start taking the challengers by themselves, even start attending competitions. But that was still far away.

Class continued on for another hour before it came to an end. The students were generally relaxed as they went home.

Being left alone, Kasumi walked to Ranma and hugged his side. "Anata?" She asked, knowing something was bothering him. Quite possibly it was Tendo Soun's visit.

Ranma placed his right arm around Kasumi's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I'm fine, Kasumi. Just thinking about what to do with the Tendos and other fiancées."

"There's nothing they can legally do, anata."

The pigtailed man nodded. "I know, but that won't stop them. I don't you to live constantly harassed by them."

Kasumi smiled. "I knew how my life would be when I married you. I have never regretted my decision, not even for a second, and never will. I love you."

Ranma leaned to the side and kissed his wife. "I love you, too." He said once they broke the kiss. "But even if you accept things as they are, I don't want Yoko to grow up surrounded by chaos."

Kasumi pouted. "You know very well she'll become a fighter. She can't become anything else being surrounded by our friends and family." They had never pressured Yoko to train, but Kasumi had found her daughter several times in the dojo, trying to mimic what she saw her parents doing. Even if the little girl was doing it in such a roundabout way, the time would come when she was old enough to start seriously training. And Kasumi had no doubt she would ask her parents to train her seriously.

Ranma broke the embrace and took Kasumi's hand. As he led her out of the dojo and into the house he said. "Even if she does decide to become a fighter, I want it to be her choice." Since he was little he had been forced into martial arts. It was his life, and had he been given a choice he was sure he would've taken that path, but the fact remained that he was never given the choice. He wanted his daughter to have it.

"What will you do then?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

Ranma smirked. "You already know. We confront the rivals and fiancées. If the master is planning what I think he is, then we'll have the perfect opportunity to settle things once and for all."

"You're looking forward to it."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "And you aren't?"

Kasumi was saved from answering by a little bundle of energy. She released Ranma's hand to tenderly hug Yoko, who had ice cream staining her dress. She mock-glared at Mature, who stood by the door. "You know chocolate is very hard to wash off."

"That's Yoko's favorite flavor." The blonde woman replied casually before entering the house.

Ranma laughed at that and entered the house, followed by his wife and daughter.

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The scene only made an spectator burn in fury. The figure that was crouching on a roof across the street straightened and turned around. The time to attack was yet to come, but it would come.

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"I see you two got along with each other." Ranma commented as he saw the mess of papers the table was right now.

Geese smirked. "This girl has great potential."

Nabiki smirked back at the praise. From the first five minutes she and Geese had an understanding. "We were just finishing with the plans. The preparations should take a couple of months, but it's worth it."

Kasumi sighed and turned to Geese. "You obviously didn't lose any time, Howard-san. Please try to refrain from turning her into a criminal." Geese snorted at that.

Just then Iori and Leona entered the room, shopping bags held in their hands. Seeing that everyone was present Geese raised a piece of paper for everyone to see. Several eyebrows went up, and even Nabiki could feel the anticipation and excitement circulating in the room.

The paper had a logo in it, carefully worked on by both Geese and Nabiki.

' T H E K I N G O F F I G H T E R S T O U R N A M E N T '

END PART 16

Author's notes: Lots of character development here. Mostly for those who complained that this was turning into another all-fight-no-story fic. This fic does have a story, even if fighting is the biggest part of it.

What to expect next? The tournament will happen, and guess who will enter it to fight Kasumi without Ranma interfering.

See you in part 17!