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The Grass is Always Greener
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Part Seven of Too Many

By: Shamus Bowker, aka Tenchi -  tenchi@netcom.ca
    Allan Scott,   aka Ryoga  -  ryoga@uvic.ca

Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/1525

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The story so far: Tenchi Masaki, typecast passive-aggressive personality,
switches places with Ranma Saotome, plain old aggressive personality. 
Ranma (now Tenchi) splits his time between tilling the fields and running
away from various people and things. Tenchi (now Ranma) spends his time 
working, avoiding fights, and driving math teachers insane. Of course, 
such bliss cannot last. Ryoga winds up lost, and finds his way into 
Washu's lab. He and Mihoshi (who's also lost) accidentally loose a man 
with a huge sword upon the Masaki household. The new, improved Tenchi 
is forced first to destroy the sword-wielding maniac, and then to take 
Ryoga in as a guest. While this is happening, Ayeka notices a change 
in Tenchi (particularly during his swordfight) and travels to the city 
to see if Ranma might know why Tenchi is acting so strangely.

Is this volume seven I see before me? Why yes, 'tis volume seven!

Rejoice... :)

					* * * * *

	Washu entered her lab, the door closing automatically behind her. 
Her eyes panned the room, looking for her pack. She spotted it lying on 
the ground where she had put it, though it was now on its side and open. 
She walked over to the pack and kneeled to examine it. It was empty.
	"She's escaped," she said.
	Then Washu saw the two discarded, dirty bowls laying on top her 
computer terminal.
	"And she ate my ramen!" she cried.

					* * * * *

	Tenchi leaned against the kitchen wall, peering around the corner 
into the living room. Ryoga stood in the living room, staring out the 
glass door into the yard.
	I can't let him stay here, Tenchi decided. It's too dangerous. 
What if he figured out who I really am? But what can I do?
	He turned away from the living room and stared at the kitchen 
counter instead.
	How can I get him to leave? Tenchi wondered. Even if I gave him 
directions he'd get lost again and probably wind up back here!
	Then he spotted something lying on the counter. He looked back 
at Ryoga and saw that he was still looking outside. Continuing to 
watch Ryoga, he tip-toed his way across the kitchen and picked up 
Sasami's water gun.

					* * * * *

	Ayeka still stood on the sidewalk at the bus stop, unsure of 
what to do. She had the address of the Tendo Dojo, but she had no 
idea how to find the street it was on.
	Tenchi always brought a map with him, she lamented.
	Nearly everyone around her was running to join the crowd 
building outside a nearby restaurant.
	Hoping that one just happened to sell maps, Ayeka looked at 
the stores lining the street. There was no specific 'map' store, but 
there was a bookstore. As she started to walk toward it, a man 
emerged from the store. He turned the 'open' sign around so that 
the 'closed' side was now on display, and then locked the door before 
running toward the crowd building around the restaurant.
	"Hey!" Ayeka called after the man.
	The man made no sign of response.
	What's gotten into these people? she wondered as she looked at 
the still-growing crowd. 

					* * * * *

	This is a familiar situation, thought Ranma.
	Ukyo and Shampoo had had enough discussion, and had resorted 
to one of the most time-honored methods of settling an argument: 
fighting. Ranma was now behind the grill, keeping his distance from 
the two combatants. The fight appeared to have attracted the attention 
of many pedestrians and local shopkeepers.
	Maybe it'll stop soon and I can get back to work, Ranma thought 
hopefully.
	A rogue spatula embedded itself in the wood next to Ranma, 
missing him by inches.
	I think I'd better wait outside, he thought.
	Nobody paid any attention while Ranma bolted for the back exit 
and left the restaurant. Ukyo and Shampoo were fixated on their fight, 
as was everyone else. Having left, Ranma walked up the side of the 
restaurant and came out around to the front.
	"Hey," he said.
	Nobody paid any attention to him.
	"Hey," he repeated, tugging on the shirt of the man standing 
in front of him, "are they still fighting in there?"
	"Yup," the man replied without turning around.
	Guess I'm not getting any work for today, Ranma concluded.
	"Oh, wait," the man said. "They've stopped. They're looking around 
now."
	"Huh?"
	"They're starting to search the restaurant," the man added.
	Time to leave, Ranma thought.
	He left the crowd and began to walk down the sidewalk, heading 
for home. Pulling out and unfolding the map, he looked carefully at 
the clouds in the sky, and then at a manhole cover in the middle of 
the street before examining it and the two big, red marks on it. One 
of the marks had "Tendo Dojo" written below it, the other, "Ukyo's 
Restaurant." A thick green line followed various streets on a fairly 
direct path between the two points.
	"I should probably memorize this map," Ranma mumbled to himself.
	He folded the top half of his map down, meaning to put it away,
but instead unfolded it again and hid his face behind it.
	What's SHE doing here? Ranma wondered.
	He looked out again from behind the map. He saw familiar 
Juraian clothes, worn by a familiar Juraian. Then he pulled his head 
back.
	Ayeka never comes to the city, he thought. What was going on?
	Ranma hurried his pace.
	Well, he decided, whatever it was, it wasn't his problem right 
now. He was here to escape from everyone back at the shrine. Or was 
something wrong there? Maybe she needed help? At the very least she'd 
need directions; Ranma had taken the only map they had.
	Ranma stopped, uncertain of what to do.
	"Excuse me sir," Ayeka called from ahead.
	"Me?" Ranma asked, still holding his map in front of him.
	"Yes," Ayeka replied, approaching Ranma. "May I have a look at 
your map, please? You see, I'm not very familiar with the city."
	Trapped, Ranma thought. Still, she may not recognize me.
	He folded the top half of the map down again.
	"Ranma!" Ayeka exclaimed.
	"Uh, hi," Ranma replied.

						* * * * *

	Armed with a small cardboard box, a roll of duct tape, and a 
water gun, Tenchi was prepared. Standing against the wall in the 
kitchen, he looked into the living room, but but saw no one there.
	Damn, Tenchi thought.
	Carrying his equipment with him, Tenchi walked into the living 
room and then up the stairs. He reached the second floor landing and 
continued up. At the next landing, he left the stairs and walked 
stealthfully down the hall towards the door to the guest room. Pausing 
to put down the box and roll of tape, Tenchi pulled the door open and 
held his water gun in front of him. If the empty room could have been 
startled, it would have nearly had a heart attack.
	Frustrated, Tenchi grabbed his things and walked back down the 
stairs to the living room, then outside. He followed the deck around 
to where the shed was located. Placing the box and tape on the wooden 
deck, he threw open the door to the shed and pointed his water gun at 
the contents. Ryo-ohki screeched in fright, dropping a half-eaten carrot, 
and Tenchi immediately shut the door again.
	Where? Tenchi wondered.
	Taking his things up with him again, he sprinted around the deck, 
through the house, to the forest, and spent several minutes running up 
the steps to the shrine. He stopped for a minute at the top to catch 
his breath. Then, leaving his box and tape on the ground, he walked up 
to the shrine door, shoved it open, and held his water gun forward, 
ready to shoot. Sitting at his table, Grandpa looked up calmly from 
the scroll he was reading.
	"Is something wrong, Tenchi?" he asked.
	Tenchi closed the door and stormed across the yard to the other 
building. He stomped his way up the steps, and nearly broke the door 
opening it. He thrust the gun into the open doorway, terrifying the 
awakened occupant.
	"No!" Mihoshi screamed. "Don't shoot! I was just resting! I'll 
get back to raking the leaves right now!"
	Mihoshi dashed past Tenchi out the door, nearly knocking him 
over, and began to rake the leaves lying on the ground. Tenchi walked 
back to where he had placed his box and tape and picked them up.
	"See?" Mihoshi said proudly as she raked.
	"Yeah, great," Tenchi replied distractedly.
	Mihoshi smiled and continued raking.
	Taking a deep breath first, Tenchi ran back down the stairs to 
the shrine and back to the gate, where the guardians stood. He charged 
through the gate, ignoring the guardians.
	"How do you like that?" Azaka asked his counterpart. "The first 
time we see him after being stuck in a barricade, and he doesn't even 
say hello."
        "Did you notice what he was carrying?" Kamidake asked in reply.
	"A water gun, cardboard box, and duct tape," Azaka answered. 
"What exactly do you think they're for?"
	"I don't think I could guess," Kamidake replied.

						* * * * *

	Washu's security systems were on full alert. Usually dormant 
ultra-red sensors were scanning the vast network of corridors and rooms 
which, winding and twisting their way through sub-space, made up Washu's 
lab. Video cameras monitored key positions in the complex, and hovering 
robotic probes made patrols. Even some of the portals allowing transit 
between parts of the lab had been closed, isolating the major sections 
of the complex from each other. This included the portal which Washu's 
door to the Masaki house depended on to function, and so for now there 
was no entry or exit from the lab.
	All the information collected by the security systems was being 
fed to and logged by Washu's computer. Washu continued to monitor this 
input from her terminal, but was growing impatient. The portal to the 
house was always monitored, even at a minimum security level. The logs 
showed Washu as the only one to have used the portal since the previous 
night, so Cologne had to be within the laboratory complex somewhere. 
Still, fifteen minutes worth of monitoring had failed to produce any 
sign of her. But she had found several old issues of some book called 
"Reader's Digest" sitting behind one of the toilet units. This was the
only thing odd.
	Washu stood up and stretched, unable to stand the lack of progress. 
She paced across to the other side of the room, and back again. Finally, 
she picked up one of the bowls, which were now on the ground beside her 
pack, and threw it at the terminal screen in frustration.
	As the screen was composed entirely of light, the bowl passed 
through harmlessly, then shattered as it hit the ground. A small panel 
in the floor nearby opened, and a small robot rose up through the opening 
on a lift. It scurried across the floor to the shattered bowl and collected 
all the pieces into an internal compartment before returning to the lift 
and descending back out of view. The panel shut closed again as soon as 
the robot was below it.
	"This isn't possible," Washu said as she sat back down at her 
terminal. "The storage sections report no change in floor pressure or 
temperature, the laboratory sections report no signs of movement, and 
the biological specimen containment sections report one-hundred percent 
of samples accounted for!"
	Washu laid back, her head on her hands, and stared up at the 
ceiling for a moment. Something extra was supposed to be present, 
she thought, something that wasn't there before, something the computer 
isn't expecting to find. Any unexpected intruder would be detected. 
So where was Cologne? The computer didn't expect to find her, or did it?
	Washu bolted upright and began typing on the keyboard again. The 
screen shifted from the video camera pictures to an ultra-red image 
of one of the specimen holding facilities. Many light green blotches, 
representing above-average temperature, appeared on a dark green background. 
A counter in the lower-right corner reported one-hundered percent of 
specimens accounted for. Washu typed in a few more commands and the screen 
zoomed in on one of the many blotches. At the top of the screen, the 
text "Bladium Grandius" appeared while "Specimen 17836 - Present" appeared 
along the bottom. Washu smiled.
	"That's quite a trick," she said, as if speaking to the specimen. 
"After all, Tenchi did destroy you just yesterday. So what are you doing 
back in there?"
	Washu typed in several more commands on the keyboard, then stood up 
and walked off down the corridor to the containment facilities.

						* * * * *

	"What are you doing here in Tokyo?" Ranma asked.
	"Well," Ayeka said after a short pause, "I've never really been here, 
so I wanted to take a look around. I seem to have gotten a bit lost, though."
	Ranma looked back at the restaurant, where the crowd was already 
beginning to dispurse, and then at the partially folded map in his hands. 
Ukyo and Shampoo were already looking for him, he was almost certain.
	"C'mon," Ranma said, beginning to walk ahead again, "I'll help you 
get where you're going."
	"Thank you," Ayeka said, following him.
	"So where ARE you going?"
	"Where would you suggest going?"
	"Uh, how long do you have before you leave? Actually, how are 
you leaving?"
	"I was going to take the bus back at four thirty."
	"I see."
	"So where would you suggest to go?"
	I don't really know where any of the tourist spots are around here, 
Ranma thought, but I can't bring her to the dojo!
	"Well, uh, what are you doing for lunch?" Ranma asked.
	"Do you know a good place to eat?"
	None where there isn't a waitress who thinks I'm engaged to her, 
Ranma thought.
	"May..." Ranma began to say something, but stopped abruptly. "Hey!
Look!"
	Walking towards the two with her arms stiffly at her side, Akane 
appeared to have already noticed Ranma and Ayeka. She was just a slight 
distance away from them, having just come around the corner. Ranma walked 
forward to greet her.
	"Ranma," Akane began in a harsh tone.
	"Ayeka," Ranma interrupted, "this is my fiance Akane."
	Akane stopped in mid-step.
	"Akane, this is Ayeka," Ranma paused, "from the Masaki Shrine."
	"Hello," Ayeka said, giving a slight wave.
	Akane looked suspiciously at Ranma.
	"Something, wrong?" he asked her.
	"What are you up to, Ranma?" Akane asked in reply.
	"Just..." Ranma tried to think of something to say.
	"I'm afraid I was a bit lost," stated Ayeka, "and I asked Ranma 
for directions."
	"I see," Akane said warily. "Are you sure you're not engaged to
her or anything, Ranma?"
	Ranma coughed.
	"So what were you saying about lunch?" Ayeka asked Ranma.
	"Yes," Akane added coldy. "What WERE you saying?"
	"You work at two restaurants," said Akane. "I'm sure you could 
give her directions to one of them."
	"I wouldn't really want to go to either of those," Ranma slipped.
	"Really?" Akane asked in a harsh tone. "Well maybe you'd rather 
take her to the dojo and introduce her to everyone there!"
	Oops, Ranma thought.
	"Uh, I wasn't really thinking along those lines," protested Ranma.
	"No! I insist!"
	Akane spun around and began leading the way back to the dojo.
	"She seems a little... upset," observed Ayeka.
	"She's like that sometimes," Ranma said weakly.

						* * * * *

	Having finally achieved his objective, Tenchi took a moment to 
relax a little. Not much though, since in his left hand he had a black 
piglet, struggling to free itself. Tenchi took the lid off his box and 
placed it on the table beside him.
	"Don't worry, Ryoga," Tenchi said. "I'm doing what you wanted 
me to do! You're going back to the dojo!"
	The black piglet did not seem to agree, and continued to struggle.
	"How you got lost in the hall closet," Tenchi continued, "I don't 
know."
	"Tenchi!" Sasami called from upstairs. "What was with the water 
gun thing?"
	"Nothing!" Tenchi replied, turning his attention back to the pig. 
"Don't worry, P-Chan. I wrote 'fragile' on the box; The mailmen won't 
be too hard on it."
	Tenchi snickered.
	"But, Tenchi..." Sasami started as she walked downstairs.
	"Don't worry about it!" replied Tenchi.
	Sasami reached the bottom of the stairs and came down the hallway 
towards Tenchi.
	"What's that?" she cried.
	"This?" Tenchi asked, holding up P-Chan. "It's a little black pig."
	"Cool!" Sasami exclaimed, snatching P-Chan away from Tenchi. 
"What's its name? It's so CUTE!"
	"P-Chan," answered Tenchi. "But you don't wanna play with him..."
	"C'mon, P-Chan," Sasami said, ignoring Tenchi and carrying away 
Ryoga, "let's go find Ryo-Ohki!"
	Tenchi sighed.
	Why can't my life ever be simple? he thought to himself.

						* * * * *

	Many many miles away, in a basement, a man sipped a can of grape
soda and smiled.

						* * * * *

	"We're home!" Akane called out loudly as she entered the Tendo 
dojo.
	Ranma entered after her, followed by Ayeka. Already in the hall, 
Nabiki watched with interest as this unfamiliar guest entered.
	"This is very nice," said Ayeka, looking around.
	"Yeah, well," Ranma sounded unenthusiastic. "You know, Akane, 
Kasumi isn't expecting a guest for lunch. Maybe we should..."
	"Don't be silly!" Akane cut Ranma off. "There's always lots 
of food!"
	Kasumi walked out from the kitchen and into the hallway.
	"Hello Akane," she said. "Hello Ranma. Who's this?"
	"Yes, Ranma," added Nabiki, "tell us who your guest is."
	Ranma smiled uncomfortably.
	"This is Ayeka," he finally said. "She lives up at the Masaki 
shrine. Ayeka, this is Nabiki and Kasumi."
	Nabiki lifted her hand in acknowledgement of her name.
	"Hello," said Kasumi.
	"Pleased to meet you," replied Ayeka.
	From the other room, Soun and Genma had been listening in on 
the conversation.
	"Genma," Soun whispered, "how can he do this? He's engaged to 
Akane!"
	"Just wait," Genma replied. "Maybe things aren't as bad as 
they seem."

						* * * * *

	The containment facility was dark when Washu entered; The 
automated environmental systems had entered their nocturnal cycle. 
As Washu opened the door, light from the corridor she was standing 
in invaded the room, waking some of the more sensitive specimens. 
They made a wide array of noises as they either fled in terror, or 
turned over in an attempt to continue sleeping.
	Washu waited until the room had calmed down before she 
entered. In the dim light, she could only make out the outlines of 
the many different tanks strewn throughout the room. Still, she 
quickly spotted the tank she was looking for; It had a gaping hole 
in the side of it. She began to walk towards it slowly.
	"Very impressive," Washu called out, "taking the place of 
one of my samples."
	"Three thousand years of Chinese Amazon lore," came Cologne's 
reply, "Washu-ron."
	"I suppose that's where this Washu-ron thing comes from?"
	Washu neared the tank and stopped, noticing the shards of 
glass on the ground.
	"Of course," Cologne's voice echoed.
	"Well, stop it," said Washu. "My name's Washu, not 
Washu-ron."
	Cologne didn't reply. Washu waited outside the tank for a 
little while.
	"Are you going to come out or not?" Washu finally asked.
	"I suppose so," Cologne walked out from the shadows of the 
tank and stood in the center of it, just barely visible in the dim 
light.
	"That's better," said Washu. "I just want to ask you about 
some things."
	"Well then," Cologne responded, "could you do something for 
me?"
	"What?" asked Washu.
	"Hold this, Washu-ron."
	Washu saw a metallic, rectangular object fly at her. She 
caught it before it hit her, but when she looked in the tank again, 
Cologne had disappeared. She looked at the object she had just caught 
and realized that it was an air duct cover.
	"Not the air duct again," moaned Washu. "EVERYBODY tries 
escaping through the air duct!"

						* * * * *

	"Isn't here," Sasami said as she reached the top of the stairs.
	She looked around once more.
	"I guess you'll just have to wait here while I find Ryo-Ohki," 
said Sasami.
	She put P-Chan down, and then went back down the stairs. P-Chan 
waited until she had left before trotting over to the stairs, and began
to make his way down them. He fell on the first step and landed upside-down.
	"Hey P-Chan," Tenchi's voice called from lower down the stairs.
	P-Chan turned himself right-side-up and looked down the stairs 
in time to see Tenchi come up around the corner. He immediately began 
trying to hop back up to the top of the stairs.
	"Come on now," said Tenchi. "Be a good little P-Chan."
	P-Chan managed to pull himself up and began to run. Unfortunately 
for him, the stairs were only exit from the room. Tenchi arrived at the 
top of the stairs, carrying his box and tape.
	"Stop being difficult," he said.
	P-Chan squealed, indicating "no."
	"Fine," Tenchi shrugged.
	Tenchi watched P-Chan for a moment before he dove at him. P-Chan 
jumped out of the way and began running for the stairs. Tenchi threw his 
tape and box at the pig. The box missed entirely, but the tape landed 
only a few inches in front of P-Chan. He hit the roll and stopped for a 
second. Tenchi used the opportunity to jump between P-Chan and the stairs.
	"I'm doing you a favour!" Tenchi said. "You know you'd never find 
your way back to Tokyo on your own."
	P-Chan backed away from Tenchi, until he had backed up against 
the window.
	"Alright," said Tenchi, "if you want if that way."
	Tenchi began slowly walking towards P-Chan. From the bottom of 
the stairs, a small voice meowed. Tenchi paused. There was another meow, 
this one closer. Tenchi turned his head to look down the staircase. He 
saw Ryo-Ohki ascending the steps. He began to twitch.
	Ryo-Ohki meowed again, still climbing. Tenchi began to look for 
an escape, but his only alternative was to jump through a window and 
fall one or two stories. He looked back to the stairs.
	By now Ryo-Ohki had made it up near the top of the stairs. 
Tenchi began backing away.
	"Go away!" he ordered.
	Ryo-Ohki meowed inquisitively, and continued up the stairs. 
Tenchi looked around again, as if expecting an exit to have magically 
appeared since last time, but there wasn't one. In desperation, Tenchi 
ran to the top of the stairs and jumped, hoping to land behind Ryo-Ohki. 
He did, but slipped and slid down into the corner and hit the wall. 
He didn't move for a second. Ryo-Ohki turned around and meowed once 
more at him, at which point he got up and began running down the rest 
of the steps.
	Still by the window, P-Chan was rolling on the floor and seemed 
almost to laughing, if it was possible for a pig.

						* * * * *

	Washu now stood in a corridor, in front of a door marked 
"Mechanical Support Systems Control." She put her hand on a panel 
beside the door, and it slid open. She stepped inside and the door 
closed behind her.
	On the inside of the systems control room, the walls were lined 
with displays monitoring systems such as the electricity grid, plumbing 
to transfer chemicals from storage to the laboratories, and (of course) 
the air ducts. In the centre of the room was a cage, with bars that 
extended from the floor to the ceiling. A very large cushion had been 
placed on the floor of the cage.
	Washu walked over to the air duct display. It showed a layout 
of the ducts in all the seperate sections of the lab. Arrows signified 
subspace connections between ducts in different sections of the lab, 
and dashed lines represented removable barriers which could be used 
to stop air flow. In the lower-right corner of the screen was a 
rectangle with the word "flush" written in it.
	Washu tapped the screen in several locations, causing some of 
the dashed lines to disappear, and others to appear. After looking 
over the display once more, she tapped the "flush" rectangle, which 
immediately inverted its colours.
	Somewhere above, a large fan came to life. Its engine whined 
in protest to the sudden surge in power. The ventilation display 
showed an increase in airflow. The fan continued to accelerate, 
pushing air through the duct system at an increasing rate.
	Washu turned around and looked at the cage. A minute passed, 
and then Cologne suddenly fell out of a vent in the ceiling and 
landed on the pillow in the cage. Washu pressed the "flush" button 
again, which reverted to its original colours. The display showed 
airflow starting to decrease. In the cage, Cologne stood up.
	"That's quite an ingenious trap, Washu-ron," she said.
	"What do you expect?" Washu replied. "Everyone tries to escape 
through the air duct. You think I wasn't going to be ready for that?"
	"Everyone?" asked Cologne.
	"Well, there was that guy in the pink trenchcoat last week, 
and now you... and I guess that's it."
	"Guy in a pink trenchcoat?"
	"Yeah, well. He broke in last week and got mauled by a giant 
anteater. I was certain it had killed him, but half an hour later 
he got in to the generator room and was vapourized by high-intensity 
gamma radiation. At least, I thought he was vapourized. Eventually 
he made it in to the air duct and escaped. The only thing he bothered 
to take was a glass tube of green jello with a cherry in the centre."
	"How unusual."
	"I installed this after he got away. What do you think?"
	"I wonder what use anyone would have for green jello with a 
cherry in the middle."
	Washu groaned.
	"Listen," she said, "I just want to ask you a few questions."
	"And then what?"
	"Then I bring you back to your restaurant."
	"Really."
	"Yes."
	Cologne shook her head.
        "You expect me to believe Washu-ron the Betrayer?" she asked.
	"The betrayer? I think I'm starting to get the idea now. I 
suppose this Washu-ron is an evil, all-powerful being who betrayed 
some great and noble person, forcing them into exile?"
	"You're usually described as a petty, egocentric and 
tyrannical megalomaniac, but evil will do."
	"But that isn't really how I am!"
	"So you admit that it's you?"
	"How can I put this," Washu thought for a moment. "How about: 
Yes, I am the evil demon-being from your myths and legends, but I'm 
not really an evil demon-being?"

						* * * * *

	Tenchi sat on the living room couch and sulked.
	Damn Cabbit, he thought. Ryoga's never going to let me live 
this one down.
	Ryoko appeared in the centre of the room, floating in mid-air.
	"Good morning, Tenchi!" she called out.
	Ryoko flew to Tenchi and tried to hug him, but he continued 
to sulk and proved extremely difficult to hug in that position.
	"It's afternoon," Tenchi replied.
	"Is it?" Ryoko asked, looking for a clock. "Oh well, I guess 
I must have slept in a little."
	Tenchi continued to sulk.
	"What's wrong, Tenchi?" asked Ryoko.
	"Why does everybody like that stupid black pig?" Tenchi 
grumbled.
	"Black pig?"
	Tenchi thought for a moment, sat up, and turned to Ryoko.
	"Hey Ryoko, could you get that black pig?" he asked.
	"What black pig? Where?"
	"It's somewhere in the house."
	"Sure, but why?"
	"It's, uh, bad luck to have a black pig in the house."
	"Really? I never heard that before."
	Tenchi looked at Ryoko strangely.
	"Never?"
	"Okay, I'll get the pig."
	"Thanks. Bring it to me as soon as you find it."
	Ryoko smiled and floated through the ceiling.

						* * * * *

	Soun sat slouched over, his forehead against the edge of 
the table. He was unusually still for someone in such an 
uncomfortable position.
	"Saotome," he said, "was that your son who just brought a 
girl here to eat lunch?"
	"Well, yes," replied Genma.
	"The same son who is engaged to my daughter Akane?"
	"Now wait a second, Tendo..."
	Soun sat up and turned to face Genma.
	"I should have seen this coming!" he shouted. "He's 
growing up to be as irresponsible as you!"
	"Now wait a second, Tendo! There's no need to get 
personal!"
	Soun laid his head back on the table.
	"I suppose you're right," he admitted.
	"Of course I'm right."
	"But Saotome, we must do something. First phone calls, 
and now visits."
	"Hmm," Genma mused. "This all started when the boy went 
up to that shrine. I wonder what happened up there?"
	"Of course, the shrine," said Soun, sitting up again. 
"Genma, I think we should pay a visit to the Masaki Shrine."
	"Agreed," replied Genma, nodding his head.
	Nearby, Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi were finishing the dishes.
	Nabiki picked up a wet glass and began to dry it.
	"You know," she commented, "compared to you she has the 
manners of a princess."
	"Is she all you're going to talk about?" replied Akane.
	"Why? Don't you like her?"
	"She's all you've talked about since we started!"
	"It isn't my fault if you can't handle a little constructive 
criticism," said Nabiki, putting the dried glass on the counter.
	"Constructive criticism?"
	"Absolutely."
	Akane handed a plate to Nabiki, grinning.
	"You missed a spot on that glass," Akane pointed out.

						* * * * *

	As Ranma escorted Ayeka away from the Tendo dojo, he 
felt very tired.
	That did not go well, he thought.
	The two walked in silence for a while.
	"Ranma," Ayeka said, "did you notice anything about 
Tenchi when you saw him?"
	"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
	"Did he say or do anything unusual?"
	No, Ranma thought, just switch bodies.
	"You mean spaceship-landing-outside-the-house kind of 
weird?" he asked.
	Ayeka laughed a little.
	"No," she said, "about Tenchi."
	"Why? Did something happen to him?"
	"No, nothing. He's just acting a little funny, that's all."
	"What do you mean, funny?"
	"Well," Ayeka paused.
	As he waited for Ayeka to respond, Ranma thought he felt 
something on his shoulder. He turned, but no one was there. Then 
another drop of water hit him, this time on the forehead.
	"Rain," Ranma mumbled.
	"Excuse me?" said Ayeka.
	Ranma thought for a moment. He knew something was wrong, he 
just didn't know what.
	"What is it?" Ayeka asked.
	"I don't know," replied Ranma.
	A flash of recognition struck. Ranma began to run down the 
street. Ayeka followed, but couldn't keep up with him. Fortunately 
for her, he reached a store with a canopy and stopped. Seeing this, 
Ayeka slowed to a walk again.
	"Sorry about that," Ranma said once Ayeka reached him.
	"What was that about?" she asked.
	"Well, I'm kind of, uh, allergic to rain."
	Ayeka looked at the sidewalk and noticed numerous marks where 
raindrops had fallen. She turned back to Ranma and noticed that he 
was underneath the canopy, well away from the edges.
	"Allergic?" she said. "How unusual."
	"The doctor says I shouldn't be outside in the rain," 
stated Ranma.
	"Oh, well then. I'm sorry for dragging you out."
	"Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the rest of your trip."
	"Are you sure?"
	"I'm sure."
	"Alright. Thank you."
	Ayeka began to leave.
	"Hey," Ranma called, causing Ayeka to turn around.
	Ranma pulled his map out of his pocket and held it toward Ayeka.
	"You're going to need this to get around," he said.
	"Thank you," Ayeka said again as she took the map.
	"Actually I borrowed it off Tenchi, so I guess I'm returning it now."
	"Alright. Goodbye."
	Ayeka began walking away. Once she was out of sight, Ranma let 
out a sigh of relief.
	Still, he thought, now what am I supposed to do?
	He gazed out into the street, but the occasional drops of rain 
had become a persistent drizzle and Ranma loathed the idea of getting 
wet. More accurately, he hated the idea of turning into a girl. Unable 
to see any alternatives, Ranma sat down against the wall of the store 
and prepared to wait it out.

						* * * * *

Thus terminates part 7.
....more forthcoming :)
						* * * * *

Allan's Notes:
**************

Argh, exams. Three of them in six days. That makes it pretty hard to 
work on a fic. Fortunately, I have six days before my next exam. Now 
if I could only get Shamus to stop showing me Bond movies.

Shamus already has ideas for two more fics he wants to write. Me, I 
just want to finish the first one. Yes, finish. Before spring semester
exams if I'm lucky. This was supposed to go to about three parts. Now
we're done part seven and the end has only just appeared on the horizon. 
Next time I work on a fic, I'm planning it out before I start writing it.

BTW: For this volume's installment of our running gratuitous cameo 
appearances (pink trenchcoat guy) I have one piece of advice: If you 
don't know it right off, don't bother looking. The series he's from 
isn't worth watching.

Shamus' Notes
*************

Well, this volume pretty much fell on Al's shoulders. We started it 
a couple of times, and it finally ended with Al dumping the thing in
my lap saying "Here, edit." after staying up one night writing. I read
the thing over, and I thought it was pretty damn good for an all-nighter.
I guess this means vol. 8 is mine to write...

In case you couldn't tell, Al's not a big fan of the series where our
cameo came from this installment. Personally, I love the damn thing.
Only clue I'll give ya is that it's a series released by US Manga, and
they JUST released the first volume of the subbed version. It's one of
the few dubs ever released that has been recognized as a "Good" dub.

About the other fics, well, there'll be some info on the page once
we get it settled. 

And next time we write a fic, we're planning the damn thing out :)