Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2 or any or its characters. The work of literacy shall not be distributed for any other purposes other than entertainment.

Author's note: I seem to be having some difficulty with copying and pasting. Earlier it had posted the same story twice, but I solved that problem. If there are any repeats in the story let me know.

Further notice...I want some constructive criticism (any review is fine, unless you're just flaming me). I'm going to post three chapters for now, and post another in a week or so. I was going to wait until I was done with the whole story, but it was taking to long, and maybe some constructive criticism will motivate me to do better and finish it. I strive to make this story the best I can for a certain someone... Anywho, on with the story.

As we grow older, we take little things in life for granted. Things like our favorite pair of shoes, or education. We can even go as far as taking friends for granted. We can be on the outside looking in, watching our friends suffer, but we don't do anything about it because we don't think we can. And for a while, our lives go on like they always do. We ignore the problem that is plaguing our friend. That is, until we can no longer look away.

Section 1: Concessions

Chapter 1: Akane's Cousin

For the first six months, there wasn't a single day in which strange things weren't happening to Ranma. He met rivals and fiancées alike. He met old friends and made new ones. He's fought monsters and defeated a God.

But after those six months, Everything settled down. It was a miracle, but one of Ranma's wishes had finally come true. Of course, he had several others, but what person didn't have wishes. His wish had been for at least a semi-normal lifestyle.

With no enemies he could not defeat, Ranma attended school and continued his studies with Akane and Nabiki and the rest of the crew. There were still the occasional bouts between rivals such as Mousse and Ryoga, for one reason or another, but Ranma enjoyed that, and it kept him in top performance. And so for the next five months afterwards, things became trite.

Day in and day out, the same things occurred. He would travel to school, where he ran into Kuno and thoroughly bashed his fists into him. Then, after school he would be attacked by either Ryoga or Mousse. After defeating them, he and Akane would go back home, and on their way, Ranma would be glomped by Shampoo. And then came the mallet to the head, for Ranma.

During the summers, they would temporarily forget their differences, and the whole gang would gather around and go to the beach. During the winters, they would give and receive. Those were the only times where Ranma received peace and quiet from all abnormal distractions, and he could think.

And it was one of these times right at the moment. They were currently bounded for the beach, opting to travel by bus. Conversation was afoot among the large group, though Ranma hardly heard a word that was spoken.

He was instead, focused on his thoughts, as explained above. He rummaged through his mind on all he knew about his curse. He'd questioned a few people about the curse. Some, who knew of his curse, would suggest that the strange occurrences followed Ranma because of it. It had been one reason why he was disgusted by it.

Another reason was because it turned Akane Tendo away. She didn't like it in the least bit, adamantly proclaiming to be straight. And because of this, their marriage was postponed until he could find a cure.

"Pfft, as if that would happen." he mumbled angrily. There was no cure. Cologne had made him well aware of that fact. And it would take a miracle to find some loop hole in the curse.

Apparently Akane was listening and she glanced worriedly in his direction. "Ranma, what's wrong?" He snapped from his reverie and turned his attention to her. She was looking into him with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Nothing. Nothin's wrong Akane. I was just thinkin' 'bout some stuff's all." Ranma replied. He drooped his head and waited. He made sure she was content with his answer before returning to his thought process.

If it weren't for Akane hating the curse, Ranma might have grown used to it. But he could never forget those furtive remarks and looks she gave him when he was a female. And then there was the whole honor in become a man among men that made him that much more adamant in enforcing his manhood.

For the most part Akane tried to ignore Ranma's girl-half. They have gone on dates, and in some of those dates, Akane had to accept going with his girl-half. After all, the female version was still Ranma.

Ranma remembered every one of those dates. And how he would get to kiss her, if he weren't a girl at the time. But in those times where he was, he couldn't even make the simple advances of a cuddle.

He knew he should be disconcerted by the whole dilemma, but it only made him hate the girl-half that much more. And that hate had somehow hurt him. It didn't really make much sense to him, but maybe he shouldn't question why it hurt him as much as why Akane turned those advances down.

He quietly assessed the situation. He was in love with Akane. That much was for sure. But he wasn't good enough for her, for he was cursed to become a girl when he came in contact with cool water. He couldn't simply wish the curse away, it wasn't that simple. So therefore, he was in limbo.

He shook his head clear. He shouldn't be concentrating so much on his troubles. This trip was exactly there for him to forget his troubles, even if they were only to be gone for a short period of time. He could be with family and friends and enjoy the time with them instead of worrying over the future. He became slightly happier at that prospect.

The bus was nearly at its final destination. They could see the beach in their eyes now. The wheels soon lolled to a stop, and the family eagerly gathered their meager supplies and excitedly exited the bus. They wouldn't stop until they reached the beach, where they set up umbrellas, and set down coolers full of an assortment of consumables.

Everyone had lightened up, even Nabiki. She had been paired off with her two sisters in a beach volleyball battle against Ranma, Mousse, and Dr. Tofu. The ball was passed back and forth with quick precision. Akane smacked the ball over to Ranma, who hopped and slapped the ball back over to Kasumi.

The game was pretty even, Happosai thought as he stared, particularly at the girls. It was a shame he couldn't have a crack at the panty goodness. He, however, enjoyed the game never-the-less.

Another spectator was enjoying the game, but for a different reason. Shampoo was admiring the way Ranma lithely passed the ball back and forth. The tight squeezing his muscles made as he moved in the sunny day. It made her shudder with excitement.

In the water, Tsubasa and Ukyo were both splashing each other with much fervor. They were giggling and laughing. They swam around, playfully running the watery sand through their toes and gasping as they touched the smooth surface of rock or seaweed.

Over in the shade, Genma, Soun, and Cologne huddled together, concentrating stiffly on a game of shogi. It was a heated battle of Cologne against Genma and Soun. They both frowned as Cologne had won yet again.

"Hey Ranma, Akane, let's go surfing." Ukyo yelled out. Ranma smiled and nodded earnestly as he went quickly into a bathroom to change. The water was going to change him into a woman, and after over eleven months of containing the curse, he had learned a little bit about woman modesty.

After a quick change. The three jumped back into the water, surf boards in hand, and the two girls and, well, half-girl hit the waves. They weren't very good at surfing, but that didn't matter. They still had fun.

Hours of the fun and care-free attitude of the group continued long into the night. They set up camp near the beach and cooked delicious food on a grill. They ate plentifully that night.

Their vacation continued for a week. Though their activities varied throughout the week, they're fun never ceased for a single moment. It was a warm welcoming to a normally overly serious group such as this.

On one night, Ranma stayed outside of his tent, longingly staring into the stars. He found them beautiful on a night like this. Each star represented a galaxy, full of life and energy. It just goes to show how small their world really was in comparison with the rest of the universe.

He loved the stars. They were always there to give him comfort whenever he felt down, or there to tell him that some things don't change. If he looked at them long enough, they would form patterns and words. They promised of a new day of fortune and hope. Hope that his life would be complete.

He was starting to dip back into the startling depression. He still had no idea what caused it, but he knew it had to deal with him and Akane. He wasn't satisfied with the way things were. There was something more that he wanted. He tried understanding what it all signified, but all the thoughts came back to him in a jumbled state. Perhaps he was just trying to hard to make things perfect.

There would always be ups and downs, he knew that. There would be pain and love. Yin and yang. That was just a part of life. He sighed. He knew this to be true, and his pain subsided.

"Ranma?"

He turned to the owner of the voice. It had been Akane. "Oh, hey'ya Akane. How's it goin'?" He watched her take a seat next to him, getting comfortable.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she leaned her cheek on her fist. She was looking intently at him, thoroughly making sure he wasn't going to get away from her this time.

"I was just thinking." Ranma replied stiffly. He had a lump in his throat suddenly. As if this was a scratchy topic. Who knows, maybe it was.

"About what?" She continued.

"Oh you know…The usual. Us. Me. Romantic stuff." Ranma tried to keep things basic. Maybe he could shake her off him as he had on the bus.

No such luck. She looked at him fixedly, expecting a more specific answer. He knew he couldn't escape from the topic this time. He chuckled half-heartedly and closed in on her. "I was thinkin' 'bout how beautiful we're together."

Just as they were about exchange their lips in a lip lock, one fateful meeting interrupted their precious time alone together. It was from an unsuspecting source, too.

"Ranma, prepare to die!" Ryoga chanted as he barged forward. Ranma widened his eyes as he saw the incoming attack. He rolled away as Ryoga's attack came bearing down on him. He leaped back over a swinging umbrella and ducked a flying fist. He sent several chestnut fists into Ryoga's gut. Ranma dove back and kicked up into Ryoga's chin.

Ryoga soared through the air, but the attack didn't seem to affect him. He chucked three pairs of bandana shuriken at Ranma, who evaded to the left, the right and leaned back, as if preparing for a limbo contest. Ranma made a reach for the third bandana as it passed him, and caught it. Without hesitating in the slightest, He sent it flying back at Ryoga with the flick of his wrist.

Ignoring the shuriken-like bandanas, Ryoga held out a hand and yelled, "Shishi Hokoudan!" A negative blast exploded outward, ripping through bandana like butter. It continued onward towards Ranma quickly. Ranma had little time to pull off his own maneuver "Moko Takabishi!"

The two blasts smacked against each other and negated. The aftermath shook the ground around them, but they didn't seem to notice. Akane, who was not to far off, covered her face in fear. The blast was very close, and it could have brought harm to her. After the light show was over, Akane screamed at Ranma, "Ranma-no-baka! You should know better than to fight so close to me! I could have been killed in the cross fire!"

Ranma tried responding to Akane that it wasn't his fault, but Ryoga came at him again, with more fierceness. He seemed angered that Ranma had nearly hurt Akane. Without a reply, Ranma dodged an incoming fist. He engaged in a heated exchange of punches and kicks.

Faster, Ranma could get off more punches, but Ryoga's punches were more powerful. If he hadn't developed a touch skin from the previous bouts against Ryoga, he might not have survived this long into the fight.

The battle raged on. Ranma's only hope of knocking Ryoga back was the chestnut fist attack, but he was to close to pull off the maneuver without being countered. He needed to withdraw and make a strike on Ryoga's other side. He backed up, intent on side-stepping around Ryoga for a sneaky assault. But things didn't quite go according to plan.

Ryoga stepped forward as Ranma stepped back. He was getting closer to the edge of the beach. The ocean waters came up to meet him. All it took was that one touch, and Ranma underwent the sex change. She cursed under her breath as she lost even more control in the battle.

Though she was now faster, Ranma's punches were even less devastating. And Ryoga's intense training regimen the past few weeks has gotten Ranma on her last edge. Fortunately for her, Ranma found an opening. "Kachu, Tenshin Amaguriken!" Her famous chestnut punches pounded into Ryoga, forcing him back slowly, step by step.

Even though Ranma had the slight advantage of speed, It only delayed the inevitable defeat. Ryoga had won this excursion, but he knew Ranma would be determined to become even stronger later. He would have to get stronger if he wanted to stay as number one in all of Japan. Therefore, at the end of the fight between Ranma and himself, he bid him goodbye and left in search of ways to get even more power.

Why didn't he kill Ranma? It was simple. Ranma was his best friend. Even though he spouted proclamations of murder all the time, Ryoga would never go through with it. He didn't have the heart. Ranma was no longer the outlet of blame, to him.

Ranma was okay for the most part. She now adorned several bruises and cuts, but she wasn't seriously injured. She would have to rest mostly for a day or two, but no more than that. She was glad that Ryoga was never serious about killing her. She understood the meaning of the act of kindness Ryoga showed toward her. She realized that they were best friends, and not just rivals.

=&=

The trip back to Nerima was uneventful. After the bus ride, Everyone said their farewell and went their separate ways, to wherever they belonged. Their summer vacation had officially come to a close, and by the next day, everything would be back to normal. Shampoo and Ukyo would be contesting Akane for Ranma's heart. Mousse, Kodachi, and Kuno would attack Ranma, in one form or another. And Genma would still piss him off.

As the dysfunctional family approached their residence, the Tendo house stared back at them happily, ready to receive it's occupants with open arms. The gate was unhinged, the door unlocked, and the lights turned on. They unpacked and promptly retired for the night.

The next morning, Ranma awoke to a distress call. It was emanating from the front porch; Ranma hopped out of his futon, opened the window and leaped out into daylight…straight into the koi pond!

Surfacing, Ranma cursed to the skies for her misfortune. She whipped around and clutched roughly on the rocks surrounding the koi pond, heaving herself up and out of the water.

Glancing around, Ranma found the object in distress. One Akane Tendo. She was currently staring at two visitors. One of them, Ranma found familiar, the other not so much, though, her clothing was very similar to Akane's. Perhaps she was a long lost twin or something.

"Ryoga! Cousin Akari! How does it go?" Akane asked joyfully and invited them inside. She didn't even seem to notice Ranma outside as she closed the door behind her and followed them into the living room.

Ranma was shocked. Ryoga had found a girl!? This was definitely news to her! Last time she saw him, Ryoga was still going through so much depression. Ranma suddenly felt bad for not trying to help Ryoga through those times, but it was already said and over with, right? There was nothing she could do, except go in and introduce herself to Ryoga's new girlfriend.

Inside the living room, Ranma properly introduced herself to Akari. Hey, she could have manners, when she wanted to. The group of four sat comfortably on the couch, where they spoke cordially. It was mostly Akari and Akane wrapped up in the conversation, and the boys interjected every now and then.

Akari turned to Ranma and said, "You're Ranma, right?"

Ranma nodded with a smile and held out her hand. They shook each other's hands, and afterwards, Akari asked Ryoga, "I thought you said your best friend was a guy."

With a flush, Ryoga mumbled, "Well Ranma normally is a guy. I mean-he was born a guy. And…"

"Oh," Akari responded, misinterpreting Ryoga's sentence, and exclaimed innocently, "So Ranma was born a guy, but she was really a girl, and had surgery, thus making her a woman?" She stuck a forefinger on her mouth thoughtfully.

While Ranma was seething, Ryoga tried desperately to salvage the situation. "No, what I mean to say is err…Ranma is cursed. He becomes a girl every time he's splashed with cold water. And then he becomes a guy when he's splashed with hot water. Kasumi!"

"Yes?" Kasumi replied stoically from the kitchen. She was most likely preparing everyone's lunches. She peered around the doorframe to the living room, staring directly at Ryoga.

"Can you boil up some tea?" Ryoga asked politely, adding, "please?" After receiving the tea, he poured it over Ranma, and Ranma transformed back into a male. The transformation was quick, and the male Ranma stared calmly at Akari.

"I see." Akari said simply.

"…Wait a minute, why'd I show you how it worked? You already know about mine!" Ryoga asked, and a moment later, he snapped his mouth shut and planted a hand firmly over it in fear of being found out by Akane.

A nerve struck a chord. "You have a curse?" Akane asked sweetly, almost with a sneer on her mouth. "Mind telling me what curse that might be?" Ryoga's reaction to his own mistake caused Akane to become suspicious. Her brow furrowed as she waited impatiently for his answer.

"I…am cursed to turn into a pig." Ryoga replied sheepishly. The statement spoke in volumes to Akane. Abruptly, she wielded her famous mallet and smacked Ryoga outside and into the sky.

For once, Ranma was glad that he was down here and not up there in the sky. So Akane's anger wasn't only directed at him. Ranma chuckled.

"Lunch is ready," called out Kasumi as she set the plates and sandwiches on the table in the dining room. She found Ryoga trudge in a few seconds later, covered in filth and mud. She exclaimed, "Oh my!" She went to Ryoga's aid and helped him clean up.

=&=

Ranma was gazing at the sun setting in the west. He loved the red-orange lights that emanated off the sun. Ranma compared the sun setting to his sleepy form. They had so many common qualities that one wouldn't normally look at. They both radiated confidence and hope, and the length of time it spent above them all was eerily similar to Ranma's undying will to fight.

The roof in which Ranma was sitting on was comfortable enough. At least it kept him stable on top of the house. And this was away from all the other residents of the household. Up here, it was quiet.

It was becoming increasingly normal for Ranma to stand outside of their circle and think about his life. He hadn't done so in the early months of his stay at the Tendo house. Perhaps he wanted to go back to his own home, and be with his mother, Nodoka?

He doubted so. He may have wanted spend more time with her, but he didn't think it was that serious. No, a more probable reason was the shaky relationship with Akane. He could admit to himself, even if it was only to himself, that there was something wrong in their relationship.

Not that he would go see a relationships expert. Ranma was too arrogant to dip so low as to seeing a counselor. If their relationship was meant to last, then he would solve it on his own.

"Hey Ranma," someone spoke off-handedly as they hopped down next to him. He spun around to find Ryoga sitting next to him. He beamed and jibed, "so you found your way up on the roof P-chan. Congratulations."

"Save it Ranma." Ryoga replied. Ranma studied Ryoga's features carefully. He could tell there was something going on. Ryoga bit his lip as he stared down at his hands. He clenched his eyes shut and explained, "I'm going to go live with Akari. This may be the last time we see each other."

"You won't come'n'visit?" Ranma asked incredulously, "We're rivals Ryoga. We've gotta continue sparring to keep up our strength." He beat his hand upon his chest. "I know I'm good, Ryoga. But I didn't think I'd scare you away, of all people."

"Would you just shut up Ranma!" Ryoga yelled. Ranma jumped back. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. Still, Ryoga usually didn't react that harshly to Ranma's taunts. They usually would fight and all would be okay. "I don't want to come back."

It looked like he was straining to say these words. Perhaps a part of him didn't want to say this, wanted to come back to the Tendo's every now and then. It didn't matter, though. He continued anyways, "This has been a place of nothing but pain and humiliation for me. No more."

Ranma stared at Ryoga confusedly. "What do you mean?" He asked with a long face. He didn't like where this was going. The evidence, however, was leading to him being the cause of Ryoga's suffering.

Ryoga jumped up from his seat and growled at Ryoga, "I mean, that no matter how we look at it, you have brought about my suffering. And now, I'm severing our ties. I'm through having to deal with your shit. I hate you, Ranma, but you're lucky, because I can't kill you. Akane wouldn't forgive me if I did."

Well gee. Isn't that nice of Ryoga. "What do ya mean my shit? I have to deal with yours as well." Ranma retorted, pointing an accusing finger at Ryoga. "I just want to be your friend, but if that's so god damn hard then you should just leave!"

"Fine I will! I don't need you or Akane. Akari is more than enough to mend my heart!" Ryoga turned around briskly and stomped off the roof. This show of ferocity angered Ranma even more, and he moved to pull out all the hair on his head. He sighed heavily with anger. "Rah!!"

Akane and Akari, who had just gotten back from the mall, an idea Akari suggested to spend the day while their friends said their goodbyes. They heard the commotion before they saw it. As they entered the gate, they saw Ryoga leap off the roof of the house.

Before questions could be voiced, Ryoga harshly grabbed a hold of Akari's hand and stampeded out of the lot. "Why are we leaving so soon?" Akari asked as they headed back to Akari's home.

Ryoga replied gruffly, "Ranma." And he would say no more. She said, "I presume Ranma didn't take the news well?"

Akane watched the two speed walk away into the sunset. She fleetingly wondered if he knew they were going in the wrong direction before the clamor of a door slamming grabbed her attention. She hurried along to catch up to Ranma.

"Ranma!" she yelled as she reached his bedroom. He replied by slamming his bedroom door. "Ranma what's wrong?!" She cried, again trying to help Ranma. But to no avail did she get him to open his door.

"Just go away! I wanna be alone righ' now!" He sounded hurt more than angry. And what's worse is he wouldn't let anyone in to give him a shoulder to cry on. No matter what she tried, she couldn't pry the door open. And so the door stayed close four hours on into the night.