Disclaimer:  All characters portrayed in this story are the property of
their respective creators and companies.  I don't own any of them. 
Please don't sue me.

This story takes place after volume 38 of the Ranma manga.  It draws
ideas from the anime of all series involved.  Contains stories from
Ranma, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo!, and Yu Yu Hakusho.

This is another part of my Preludes and Interludes series, which in turn
is part of my Life and Times series.

C & C welcomed.  Flames not.

Preludes and Interludes Volume 2

By

Donny Cheng

COLOGNE

Present day...

	The chimes on the door to the restaurant rang in a singsong fashion as
it opened.

	"Nihao!  What can Shampoo get customer today?"  Shampoo asked as she
seated the elderly gentlemen.

	"Cologne.  Tell Cologne that an old friend of hers is here to see her."

	"Great-grandmother?  Okay, Shampoo go and get."  Shampoo turned and
left the table.  That was strange, a customer asking to see Cologne.

			* * * * *

	"Shampoo, leave us to talk alone," Cologne ordered her
great-granddaughter as she sat down at the table.

	Shampoo immediately recognized that tone of voice.  She bowed to the
two elders before quickly ushering the rest of the customers out of the
Nekohanten and closing up.

	Yoshu stared after Shampoo's retreating form.  "She resembles an aunt I
have."

	"Purely coincidence, I assure you," Cologne told Yoshu.

	"Your Japanese is excellent as always, Cologne-chan," Yoshu commented.

	Cologne smiled.  There were not many people in the world that could
call her that.  This man was one of them.  "I see that you are looking
well.  Why don't you take that silly disguise of yours off?"

	"Actually, I prefer this face.  I've grown fond of it over the years." 
Yoshu touched his cheek fondly.

	"Well, enough of this small talk.  I think we know each other well
enough to cut to the chase.  You know that you are forbidden to go into
the amazon village and I thought I had left you with the impression that
I would never leave it.  How did you know that I was in Japan and where
to find me?"

	"You have your student to thank for that.  Did you not know that your
'son-in-law' is a cousin to my grandson Tenchi?  Yes, I got married
again.  When I saw him perform the katchu tenshin amaguriken, I knew
that he had been with the amazons."

	Cologne's eyes widened in fear.  "Ranma is a descendent of yours?"

	"Yes, in a way, but the blood is too thin for him to have any Jurain
powers."  Yoshu was surprised.  He thought Cologne would be thrilled to
have a person with such a strong lineage a part of the amazons.

	Cologne breathed a sigh of relief.  "I see.  So, what have you come
here today?  To see an old woman getting on with the years?"

	"You know me better then that, Cologne.  I just wanted to see a person
that I cared about a long time ago.  I missed you, you know."

	"I know." Cologne remembered what had happened all those years ago.

			* * * * *

150 years ago...

	The amazons gather around the arena stared dumbstruck.  The champion of
the tournament for a straight hundred and fifty years just lost and to a
male outsider no less.

	Cologne got up from the ground.  Hatred was clearly seen on her face. 
She prepared herself for another strike.

	"Stop!"  The village elder called out.  "Cologne, you know what the
rule is.  Do you dare break it?"

	Cologne lowered her weapons and walked over to the man who was still
looking at her curiously.  "Wode airen.  Wo ai ni."  With that said, she
pecked him on the lips.  However, she did not look at all thrilled, as
her words seemed to suggest.

	Yoshu staggered back.  His travels had made him familiar with
Chinese.   Despite what the girl has said, he could tell that she hated
him to the core.  "What was that all about?"

	Cologne reached into her tight dress and pulled out a small book and
through it towards Yoshu.  "Read it, there are Japanese translations on
the side if you need it."

	Yoshu caught the book with it already open at the page in question. 
"When ever an amazon is defeated in combat by an male outsider, she will
have to marry him."  He looked around him.  Already, the entire amazon
village had closed in on him.  They all had grim expressions on their
faces.  While he was sure he could break out, he knew that a lot of the
amazons would get hurt in the process.  It would be better for him to
accept their wishes for now and escape when he had the chance.

			* * * * *

	Yoshu awoke from his sleep.  His back ached terribly.  The floors on
these huts were quite hard.  He looked towards the bed and noticed it
empty.  Cologne had probably already left to do some training.  That
woman seemed to train every single moment of her life.  It was no wonder
that her skill had already allowed her to live over a hundred years of
age.  Her conditioning made her look no older than thirty.  A very
attractive thirty year old to be truthful.  Maybe she would like to spar
with him, he thought as he exited the hut.

			* * * * *

	Cologne refused to look into Yoshu's eyes as she told him farewell. 
She knew that a man like him would never allow her to be his superior. 
He had such quaint little ideas on equality in marriage.  "I will miss
our little training sessions, Yoshu."

	"Cologne, I..."  Yoshu did not want to leave this amazon beauty that he
had grown to love.

	"Hush, go now.  I will keep the elder at bay while you make you
escape."  Cologne then pecked Yoshu on the lips and left.

	Yoshu was stunned.  He heard the words 'bie liao' when Cologne kissed
him.

			* * * * *

Presend day...

	"I missed you too, Yoshu," Cologne confessed.  She looked at the man in
front of her.  Even now she could see those caring eyes looking deep
into her soul.

	"Sweeto!"  A cry could be heard from outside the restaurant.

	Yosho blinked in surprise at having his conversation interrupted. 
Could it be?  It was Happosai outside.  The pervert appeared to be
running away from a mob of angry women.  "That lecher is still alive!?"

	Cologne sighed as she looked out the window.  "Happi is quite feisty,
even at his age."

	Yoshu grimaced at the once intimate name Cologne had for Happosai.  It
seemed more like a force of habit than anything else when she used that
nickname just now.  "I still can't believe that he was once my main
competition for you."

	"I did know him first and he wasn't all that bad a man at times."  This
reminded her of the mess her great-granddaughter was in with Ranma.  She
then thought of Yoshu and Happosai.  "Sometimes, you just can't choose
how many people you will fall in love with at the same moment."

	An arrogant and manipulative amazon flashed through Yoshu's mind.  His
last wife, Tenchi's grandmother, was a kind and gentle soul.  He had
loved both women just the same.  "You did know of my feelings, didn't
you?"

	Cologne nodded.  She and Yoshu would have a lot to talk about before
the day was through.

			* * * * *

A few days after Second Impact...

	Yoshu, with his disguise off, held Cologne's hand within his own.  "You
think they will be alright without us?"

	Cologne, appearing in her twenties, shrugged.  "Only time will tell. 
We've already taught them all we know.  The rest is up to them."

	"I suppose you're right..."  Yoshu was interupted by the sound of
stampeding feet.

	"Sweeto!"

	Yoshu winced.  "But, did we have to bring him with us?"

	Cologne only smiled in response.

			* * *	* *

AMI

Seven years ago...

	"Hey! Give that back."  Chibi-Ami cried out.

	Chibi-Ranma looked back for a moment and saw the girl was still chasing
after him.  They were already pretty far from the playground where he
had taken the cookies.  She must really have wanted them back badly.

	Ami gasped for breath.  She was tired from running all that distance. 
As a result, her next couple of steps caused her slip.  Her knee scraped
against the gravel.  "Oww!"

	Ranma stopped as he heard the cry of pain.  Boy, girls sure were
clumsy.  He walked back to see how the girl was feeling.  "Hey, you're
not hurt are you?"  Ranma felt guilty as he saw the scraped skin on the
girl's knee.

	Ami refused to cry in front of the boy.  Instead, she wordlessly
pointed to the bag of cookies in Ranma's hand.

	"Okay, you can have them back."  Ranma looked wistfully at the treats
as the girl took them back.

	"Don't you know that stealing is wrong?"  Ami got her first real good
look at the boy as she reprimanded him.  He seemed to be near the same
age she was.  He was wearing a tattered gi and his hair was very
unkempt.  Also, Ami had to admit he was cute.  Very cute.

	"Wrong?  I'm hungry, so I eat.  That's the way my dad taught me."  His
stomach growled in agreement.  Ami tried fighting the urge to feed the
obviously hungry boy.  These were special cookies her mother made for
her and the boy was a crook.  However, her nurturing nature got the
better of her and she relented.  "Here, have some.  Anyway, your dad is
wrong.  You can't go around taking things, because they belong to other
people.  Didn't you learn that in school?"

	"School?"  Ranma was getting more puzzled by the minute.

	"You don't know what school is?  It's a place where people gain
knowledge that will help them later in life.  You also learn about
certain conventions in society, like stealing is bad."  Ami sighed at
the boy's blank look.  He didn't understand anything of what she was
saying.  "Take me to your father.  Maybe I can get him to understand the
importance of going to school.  By the way, my name's Ami."

	"I'm Ranma."  Ranma grinned. The cookies tasted wonderful.

			* * * * *

	Genma sweated nervously. He could imagine how much of a fool he
looked.  A grown man being scolded by a nine-year-old girl.  The crowd,
gathered around the empty lot where his campsite was, was getting quite
large.  Many of the onlookers were joining in with the young girl.  "I
don't see why.  We're only going to be in this area for a couple of
months at most."

	"It doesn't matter whether it's for a few weeks or even a few days. 
What matters, is that you get your son get some type of education.  Do
you want your son to be a dumb brawler or a smart fighter?"  Ami knew
that the last sentence would appeal to the martial artist in Genma.

	"Alright, I'll enroll the boy tomorrow."  The crowd finally dispersed
after getting Genma's agreement.  He would never admit it to the little
girl, but the idea of Ranma becoming a smarter fighter sounded very
nice.

			* * * * *

	"Ami-sensei."  Ranma gave an exaggerated bow to Ami when he met her in
the park for their tutoring session.

	"Hello, Ranma-kun.  Are ready to get started with numbers today?"

	"Yes."  Truthfully, Ranma didn't really care for school.  It was very
boring to sit there and listen for a few hours.  The only things he
liked about school were gym and seeing Ami.  She was always kind to him
and would sometimes bring him food.  A moment later, Ranma soon fell
fast asleep.

	Ami smiled at Ranma.  Ami put her jacket over him.  It was sweet of him
to pretend that he was interested in homework for her sake.  She could
guess how much work it took for Ranma just to get to school.  A wild
child like Ranma would be bored if he had to sit in only one place for
any long period of time.  She hoped that there was something she could
do to reward him for his effort.

			* * * * *

	Ranma gave yell of joy as his father fell to the ground.  His first
win.  He had beaten his father for the first time and it was all thanks
to Ami.  "Thank you, Ami!"

	Ami blushed as Ranma picked her up into a hug.  She didn't really do
all that much.  She noticed that all of the battles Ranma had with his
father started almost exactly the same way.  After a few rounds of
sparring, the match would continue on into any number of ways.  Ami told
Ranma of her findings.  Ranma and her came up with a couple of
counterattacks to use at the beginning of the fight.  It would only work
once against a master of Genma's capacity.  The fights would get harder
for Ranma to win now that Genma would be more prepared, but that would
only end up helping Ranma in the long run.  "You did all of the real
work,Ranma."

	Genma tried hard to conceal the grin on his face.  Ranma was learning
faster than he had anticipated.  A little girl with absolutely no
martial arts experience helped defeat an Anything Goes School Master? 
Maybe school did have some use after all.  At the very least, it would
help expand Ranma's mind and make him more adaptable to new changes.

			* * * * *

	Ami and Ranma stood in front of each other.  Both of them were looking
at the ground, too shy to express their feelings.  Ami finally broke the
silence and hugged Ranma.  "Goodbye, Ranma-kun."

	Ranma awkwardly hugged her back.  "Goodbye, Ami-sensei.  I won't ever
forget you."  Ranma then turned and followed after his father.  He would
miss his smart little friend.

	"I won't ever forget you too, Ranma."  Ami whispered as tears flowed
down her face.

			* * * * *

Present day...

	Dr. Mizuno awoke to see her daughter busily baking up a storm.  She
also noticed Ami was wearing a bit more makeup than usual.  Who was the
lucky boy, she wondered?

			* * * * *

	Ami handed the cookies to Kasumi as she entered the home.  "Do you know
where Ranma is?"

	"Yes, he's in the dojo practicing."  Kasumi proceeded to take Ami to
Ranma.  She left Ami at the entrance and went back to her house
cleaning.

	Ami stood at the doorway staring in rapt fascination.  Ranma was
gracefully doing a complex kata.  "Beauti... I mean, what a
aesthetically pleasing technique."  She blushed furiously at her slip of
the tongue.  Ami was usually a practical person, but her father's
influence left her with an appreciation for good art in all its forms.

	"Hi, Ami.  What are you doing here?"  Ranma asked as Ami walked into
the dojo.

	"Oh, I was wondering if I could sign up for a martial arts class." 
That was only part of the truth.  Ami knew that her fighting skills were
not quite up to par with the other senshi other than Usagi.  The other
part of her just wanted to see Ranma again.

	"I don't think Mr. Tendo teaches anymore, but I guess I could teach
you.  I still haven't repaid you for helping me beat pop for the first
time a few years ago.  Do you want to spar first?  I have to see how
skilled you are first."  Ranma grinned at Ami as he got into a ready
stance.

	"Okay, ready when you are Ranma-sensei."  She and Ranma both smiled at
their private joke.

			* * * * *

	"Whoa!"  Ranma yelled out as he flipped out of Ami's throw.  He landed
on his feet.  "I think you've mastered the Saotome Secret Technique
without even trying.  You're good, Ami.  I think you should be the one
that should teach me a few moves.  I don't even recognize the style
you're using."

	Ami bigsweated.  She had forgotten that the fighting style that Luna
and Artemis trained her in dated back to the Silver Moon Kingdom. 
"Uh...It's a very old style that you've probably never heard of. 
Anyway, I know that in a real fight I wouldn't have been able to throw
you.  You weren't even going all out against me.  The reason I wanted to
learn from you is that I'm just not as good as the rest of my friends
like Makoto."

	Ranma shook his head.  "You're wrong Ami.  I think you still would've
been able to do that throw in a real fight.  You were very cautious in
that fight.  You evaded all of my blows and only attacked when you saw
an opening.  Makoto and the other girls might have better skill than you
might, but you can think better that they can.  I wouldn't place any
bets on a fight between you or any of your friends.  I just wouldn't
know who would win."

	Ami blushed at Ranma's compliment.  "Thank you, Ran..."  Ami stopped in
mid sentence as the door to the dojo was suddenly flung open.

	Kodatchi, Ukyo, Shampoo, Usagi, Chibi-Usa, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and
Hotaru came rushing into the dojo.  "We want to learn from you too!" 
The girls all yelled out in unison.  Ranma bigsweated.  Nabiki. It had
to be her.  I'll get you for this, Nabiki.

			* * * * *

	Nabiki sneezed as she was counting the money in her hands.  Life was
good.

			* * * * *

RYOKO

A few days after Second Impact...

	Ryoko floated above her bed in a lotus position.  There was no
expression on her face.

	"Meow!"  Ryo-ohki did her best to comfort the girl.  She purred in
Ryoko's arms.

	Ryoko held the cabbit gently, but tightly, as if she would lose
Ryo-ohki forever.  "What do I do, Ryo-ohki?  What do I do?"

	Ryo-ohki didn't know the answer to that question.  She decided to let
Ryoko hold onto her for a moment longer before she went to go and fetch
Tenchi.

			* * * * *

	<Knock> <Knock>

	Seeing as how Ryoko didn't seem to want to open the door any time soon,
Tenchi opened it himself.  The door swung open to reveal the sullen
Ryoko facing away from the door.  The room looked like a hurricane had
gone through it, but it seemed that Ryoko had calmed down a bit.  "I
guess you heard about the news."

	"Yeah, I heard."  Ryoko's voice was distant.

	Tenchi felt his heart lurch.  He didn't like seeing the usually loud
and brash girl in this state.  "Then you know about the... um..."

	"The engagement?  Yeah.  Yoshu skipped out of town.  You're the next in
line.  Ayeka and Sasami are to be your wives.  Good luck on your life,"
Ryoko said this dispassionately as if they were facts read from a book.

	For one of the few times in his life, Tenchi tried to muster up a
backbone.  "Ryoko."  His voice was firm and authoritative.

	Ryoko was surprised at Techi's tone.  "What..?"

	"I wanted to ask you if you would be my wife."  Tenchi got down on his
knees and gazed intently into her eyes.

	Startled, Ryoko barely managed to find her voice.  "What!?  But Jurain
law only allows two wives and they have to be of royal blood."

	"I... I will try to find a way.  Please believe me.  If they don't
agree to my terms, I won't become their emperor."

	Ryoko shook her head sadly.  "Yes, you will agree.  You and I both no
that.  You won't let an entire empire collapse because of your own
feelings."

	"I..."  Tenchi knew that in his heart, Ryoko was right.  "I don't want
to lose you, Ryoko.  Please, you must agree."

	Ryoko thought back to their battle with Kagato and Tenchi's words.  He
had said that he would not forsake any one of them.  She believed him
then and she believed him now.  "Alright, Tenchi.  I will go with you,
but no I won't become your wife.  Your claim to the throne is weak
enough as it is.  Those vultures on the political court would eat you
alive if you went around changing policies.  But I want you to promise
me something before we leave."

	Tenchi smiled with joy, but was apprehensive.  Ryoko had that feral
look on her face that he had seen all too often.  "What do you want me
to do?"

	"I don't want to be your wife, but I will be your mistress.  It is not
against the law to have concubines.  AND, I want you to announce that
fact on your wedding day and not before then."

	Tenchi bigsweated.  "But... Ayeka will..."

	An evil glint appeared in Ryoko's eyes.  This will get on the
princess's nerves much more than Ryoko being named an empress ever
will.  Imagine everyone thinking the empress wasn't up to performing her
duties as a wife.  Sasami was still young, so the blame would be on the
former.  "Hehehe.  I know Tenchi, I know.  She will have a fit."

	Tenchi hanged his head and sighed.  Won't those two ever get along?

	Besides, Ryoko thought to herself, she also had a certain pig-tailed
boy to think about.  It just wouldn't do if she couldn't see him again.

			* * * * *

Five years ago...

	Ranma looked around the area.  He could still feel the presence. 
"Hi,"  He called out tentatively, "I heard about Tenchi.  He doesn't
come here anymore, does he?  I guess he blames himself for being here
playing while auntie went away.  Don't worry, I'm sure he will forget
all about it and come and play with you again soon.  I hope youdon't
mind if I keep you company while you're waiting."  With that said, Ranma
tightened the belt on his gi.  He then started to practice.  This was a
good place as any to train.

	Ryoko couldn't help but smile as she watched the boy bounce around the
rocks, kicking and punching into the air.  It had been lonely the past
years since Tenchi's last visit.  She promised herself that she would
thank the boy personally when she could finally free herself from the
cave.

			* * * * *

YUSUKE

500 years after present day...

	"Ouch!  Why don't you watch where you're going, you jerk?"  Mai picked
herself up from the ground, after being bumped by the guy in front of
her.

	"Sorry," The stranger spoke softly, "I didn't mean it."

	"Just be more careful."  Mai then proceeded to leave.  It would be
getting dark soon.  Living in a town just outside of Neo-Tokyo did not
provide all that much safety at night.

	"Say, can I make it up to you?"  The man called out.

	Mai didn't know why, but she felt compelled by the voice to stay and
listen.  She took a closer look at the man.  He was of average height
with black hair combed backwards.  He was quite handsome and his body
was muscular.  He reminded her of someone that she couldn't place. 
"Sure, why not?  You can take me to get some food, I'm hungry."

	He smiled.  He had a chance.

			* * * * *

	"...and I've lived here all my life ever since."  Mai finished.  Wow,
she couldn't believe it.  She spent the last three hours talking
non-stop with the stranger.  He hardly spoke at all and just listened
intently to what she her story.  That intensity made her just blurt out
everything.

	"I'm sorry to hear that.  My condolences to your loss."  He looked
sadly at Mai.  The girl had had a tough life so far.  Her parents both
deceased because of the youma that hunted around the outskirts of
Neo-Tokyo.  "Why don't you leave this place and live in the city?  I'm
sure it's much safer."

	"I guess, I'm just stubborn.  My family has lived here for generations
and I don't want that tradition to be erased because of me."

	He looked at the girl appreciatively.  She still had the same spunk she
always did.  "That's very noble and brave of you."

	Mai blushed.  What was wrong with her?  All the man did was compliment
her and it made her feel all tingly inside.  No one had ever done that
to her before.  Being one of only four eligible women for marriage in
the village meant for a lot suitors wooing her.  "Thank you."

	A moment of silence broke out between them.  Both didn't know what else
to say.

	Mai looked outside the window and noticed it was dark already.  "I
guess I better be going."  She got up from her chair and started to
leave.

	The man's despair grew when he heard that.  It didn't seemed like it
worked.  This would be the fourth generation in a row that this
happened.  He began to wonder if their bond was weakening.  That scared
him a lot.  He decided to chance it.

	<Flip>

	Mai stood in her tracks, "What the..?"

	"My, what plain panties you're wearing," he mused as he held the hem
from the back of her skirt.

	"YUSUKE!  You jerk!"  Mai turned around and slapped him.

	Despite being one of the most powerful demons in Makai, Yusuke's head
nearly flew off from the force.  He held his cheek and smiled in
remembrance.  She still had the touch.

	Mai held her mouth in shock.  She just realized that she never asked
for the man's name.  How did she know it?  It was then that bits and
pieces of memories flashed through her mind.

	Welcome back, Keiko, Yusuke thought to himself.

			* * * * *

	Urd, Botan, Makoto, and Ryoko breathed a collective sigh of relief as
they watched the scene unfold in the pool of water before them.  With
that soap with the blorples being pre-empted by intergalactic baseball
games, the immortal girls needed something to fill in their need for
romance.  They were just happy that Keiko didn't reincarnate into a
Mamono Hunter like the last time.

	Belldandy smiled.  It worked.  "If you will excuse me, I will leave.  I
don't believe you need my services now."  She needed Keiichi now and
fast.

	Ranma rubbed his eyes as if he was tired and did his best to look like
he hadn't been interested in what had happened.  It just wasn't manly
for a grown man to cry.  He had noticed Yusuke's sadness the past
century and wanted to be there when his friend finally smiled again. 
"Well, I guess I better be going too."

	"Oh, no you don't.  I finally beat Skuld after she won six years in a
row.  There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight," Urd said as she
grabbed onto Ranma's arm.

	"No, Ranma is going to be with me.  Now that Yusuke has found Keiko
again, he won't be back in Makai for the next little while.  I won't
have anyone to talk to for a while."  Botan grabbed Ranma's other arm.

	"Hey, it's my month!"  Makoto called out.

	"Really, Makoto, you of all people should know.  Remember I am the
ambassador at the moment.  It's Ranma's duty to show me around as First
Knight."

	Ranma groaned.  At least there was only four right now.  He was sure he
could slip by unnoticed when the girls began to fight.  He hoped that
the Almighty would feel lenient.  Fighting in heaven was strictly
forbidden.

			* * * * *

Seventy years after present day...

	Belldandy sighed.  "Are you sure, Keiko."

	Keiko's spirit floated towards the goddess.  "I'm sure.  I'm afraid I
will decline going to heaven."

	"Okay, then I will send your spirit back to Koenma.  He will help you
reincarnate the first possible chance."

	Keiko nodded and then faded out.

	Belldandy felt tears well up in her eyes.  Yusuke, being a demon, meant
that he would never be able to step into heaven.  Keiko knew this and
hence her decision.  Keiko could not stand being away from her husband
for the all of eternity and hoped to be reunited with Yusuke on earth. 
All Belldandy could do was pray for the best.

			* * * * *

The End. (maybe)