Several days later, Chang was convinced that he'd made the right choice in coming to Nerima. Ukyo's stories had seemed exaggerated at first, but visits from the Kunos and Ryouga had quickly convinced him of the truth of the stories. Tatewaki Kuno really _was_ that dense, Kodachi really _was_ that crazy, and Ryouga - boy, was Ryouga strong!

When Ukyo had introduced her new employee to the fanged boy as the new martial artist in from China, Ryouga had wanted a contest of some sort, and Chang had quickly suggested arm-wrestling to avoid a match that would trash Ucchan's Okonomiyaki Shop. He'd been expecting to win, or at least have a good match, but Ryouga had put him down in seconds, and nearly taken his arm off to boot! {That guy is nearly inhuman,} Chang thought. {He's got to have been training as long as me or longer, with a focus on strength and endurance, to get that tough!}

Chang's musings were interrupted by a young man with black hair and a ponytail entering the restaurant. "Hi, welcome to Ucchan's!" Chang greeted the arrival. "Nice clothes," he continued, noting the shirt the boy wore was nearly the same as Chang's own Chinese vest - Chang's was gray while the newcomer's was red, and that was the sole difference between the two. The boy grinned.

"Thanks, man!" he replied. Hearing the voice, Ukyo looked up and suddenly dashed out from the cooking counter.

"Ranchan!" she cried as she ran in, coming to a halt barely a step from the boy. "Here for lunch?"

The boy's smile vanished as a fit of gloom overtook him. "Better make enough to fill me up, Ucchan," 'Ranchan' stated. "Akane's cooking again tonight. Kasumi's visiting Dr. Tofu, so if I actually have to _eat_ any of _her_ food, I couldn't even count on his help."

Ukyo's face fell. "Oh, Ranchan," she mourned, "that's awful! Why don't you try to sneak out here for dinner instead?" If possible, 'Ranchan' looked even more glum than before.

"Unless you want another hole in the roof, that ain't a good idea," he commented. Ukyo suddenly brightened.

"Hey, Chang's better than her, I'm almost sure! He could keep her outside while you eat!"

Before Chang could comment on his opinion of this plan, a voice speaking broken Japanese cut into the conversation.

"Aiyah! Ranma, why you come to stupid pancake girl for food when Shampoo have special Ramen ready just for you?" Ranma jumped, Ukyo began doing a slow burn and turned toward the door, but both were cut off by a gray-and-brown blur streaking by them to stand before the new arrival.

"Sh... Shampoo! It _is_ you!"

"[[What are you doing in Tokyo?]]" Chang asked, not realizing he'd lapsed into Mandarin Chinese for the final question to his childhood sparring partner.

"[[Aiyah!! Chang! Chang Delune?]]" was Shan Pu's only reply as she stood stunned at the sight of a friend she had thought was still in China. "[[What are you doing _here?_]]" she continued, looking him up and down as if to be sure of his identity.

"[[Hey, I asked first. Have you been here all this time? And is Khu Lon (Cologne) with you? Jokuzetsu village hasn't been the same without the Grand Master around! And what about Muu Se (Mousse)?]]" Shampoo stood stunned by the barrage of questions, and both were startled by the loud 'AHEM' from behind Chang.

Ukyo stood there tapping her foot. Chang suddenly realized he'd totally excluded Ukyo and her friend from the conversation by lapsing into his native tongue, and flushed bright red. Reverting to Japanese, he stumbled, "Ah, um, I suppose introductions are in order." Looking to Ukyo's friend, he stated, "I'm Chang Delune, a martial artist on - well, kind of a pilgrimage - from China. This," he stated, looking to Ukyo while gesturing to Shampoo, "is Shan Pu, an Amazon warrior from a village near my home."

"We've met." Ukyo replied flatly, glaring at the Chinese girl. Chang, put off by the hostility, stumbled again.

"Ah - well, I don't really know who this is, aside from 'Ranchan', so if Ukyo could introduce him to me..." he let the comment dangle as Shampoo glared and Ukyo grinned.

"Sure, sugar! This is Ranma Saotome, greatest martial artist in all Japan, and MY fiancee! I look forward to the day when we can marry..." Noticing Chang had gone dead pale, she broke off.

{It can't be,} Chang thought dazedly. {Well, one way to find out...}

"Uh, that's great, Ukyo," he stated, regaining some color. "How about we all go to a public pool for a swim after work?"

As Chang had been half-expecting (and dreading,) Ranma shook his head violently. "Nuh-uh! Uh, I mean, I've gotta be at that dinner or Akane'll clobber me..."

"-and besides, who needs to dive into a pool of cold water and change shape anyway, right?" Chang finished in such a matter-of-fact tone that Ranma nodded.

"Exactly! I mean, that's such a pain..." Ranma's voice trailed off and he turned to stare at Chang. "_How_ did you know that?"

Seeing Chang struck speechless by guilt, Shampoo quickly explained. "Aiyah! Ranma, Chang's family guardians of Jusenkyo. Not like dumb Guide or stupid Jusenkyo Council, either. Delune Family work to keep foolish travelers out of Springs and help Jokuzetsu Amazons to protect springs from evil people who make bad use of cursed water."

Now Ranma was getting angry. "Then _where_ was he years ago when my _stupid_ pop took me to those _stupid_ springs and we fell in!?! Was he just takin' a _coffee break_ or what!?!"

Chang replied in a hushed voice. "There's only two of us left now: me and my dad. My mother died when I was five," Ranma flinched and lost his angry glare, "and normally Dad and I cooperate with the Amazons to keep watch on the springs. About a week before I think you arrived, Dad and I returned from training to find a thief in the dojo. He'd grabbed one of our scrolls- with family techniques described on it- and threw Dad and I through the walls and took off. Dad went after him, and he told me to stay and look after the dojo - but I _knew_ he'd need help after we got tossed around, so I followed him. We spent ten days looking for that thief, but he escaped. By the time we got back, the Guide was on our doorstep babbling about what had happened, and you and your father had both left via the Jokuzetsu village - and, I gather, Shampoo." He hung his head. "I was sort of hoping to find you when I came to Tokyo, but I also dreaded it at the same time. What happened to you was all my fault. I left my duty to go running after my father on a wild goose chase, and I was wrong. I know it's a lot to ask - but can you ever forgive me?"

Ranma looked sheepishly at Chang. "Ah, it wasn't that bad. I mean, it was, but you gotta look out for your family, you know? I mean, your dad sounds pretty decent - not like _my_ deadbeat pop - and he's about all you got, you know? Thanks to Pop, I can't see _my_ mom right now, either. So, it's kinda like I know how you felt when you chased your dad."

Chang looked up at Ranma like a puppy that expected to be whipped and then got patted. "Seriously? You can forgive me after all you must have gone through? You are truly a good man, Ranma Saotome."

"Aiyah!"

"You got that right, sugar!"

"(cough) (blush) You really think so?"

"RAANNMAA!! You snuck over here to stuff yourself and not eat MY cooking! RANMA NO BAKA!!"

"Geez, it's Akane! Now wait a minute, let me.." Ranma's sentence went unfinished as The Mallet appeared in Akane's hands and swished in an unerring arc toward its target. Ranma cringed in anticipation of a crushing impact and a short flight to some water, but the blow never landed. Ranma looked up to see Chang standing in front of him and touching The Mallet in the center of its flat head, evidently holding it back -

- with one finger.

Akane looked perplexed, Ranma gaped, Ukyo's jaw hit the floor with a 'thud', and Shampoo was looking on with a 'hmph! serves you right!' expression.

"Ai-Yah! Shampoo could have warned stupid Akane. Delune Family school masters of pressure-point techniques. They trade for Jokuzetsu skills over generations, that where Great-Grandmother learn paralysis touch and Full-Body Cat Tongue. Chang help teach Shampoo Xi Fa Xiang Gao attack himself."

Chang cleared his throat. "In this case, I used what dad calls the 'impact' or 'momentum' strike: focusing my _chi_ into synch with my target's and using a type of magnetic field principle - similar charges repelling each other. I can't do anything like _this_ with my chi, though," he admitted, pointing to the Mallet.

Now Akane was truly confused. "Huh? Chi? But it's a hammer! I hit Ranma with it all the time!"

Chang shook his head. "Where do you carry that thing? Bit heavy, isn't it?" Akane looked even more puzzled and didn't answer. "I've fought against a Master of Hidden Weapons, and I'd have noticed if you hid that and fished it out. You didn't. It just appeared! You created it out of the energy of your chi with a boost from your anger." He sagged a bit as he admitted: "I've never been able to manage that kind of brute-force chi manifestation, myself. Even Dad can't figure out why."

Akane looked speculative. "So how much strength would it take to make a hammer as opposed to, say, a big chi-blast?"

Chang shrugged. "No idea for you: it varies by the individual. On average, I'd say about one and one-half times as much. Why?" Chang sweatdropped as he noticed that Akane was grinning savagely at the other two girls and making cupping motions with her hands much as Chang had seen masters do to focus a chi-blast. Ranma looked worried and the other girls seemed to have lost a bit of color. "Uh-oh... I think I just let the cat out of the bag."