The Sacrifice

by Noodles-22

Ranma is introduced to the Tendos after a 15 year training trip. the plan was for Ranma and Akane to marry and join the houses together. but Genma's plan went too far: Ranma showed up as a nervous wreck.

2. Training

The Sacrifice

Chapter one - Training

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It was a clear and sunny day in Nerima. A gentle wind blew through the branches of the trees. The wind chimes sounded, the splash of water came from the koi pond, and the battle call came from within the dojo.

"HAAAA YAAAA!"

The girl, clad in a white gi, swung her arm down forcefully, and shattered a stack of concrete bricks. Wiping her brow she exclaimed "Whew! That felt pretty good."

The tranquil of the day was interrupted by a strangled shout from within the house. "AT LAST! AT LAST! THE DAY HAS COME!"

The shout came from a happily weeping man who was jumping up and down, named Soun Tendo. He had black, shoulder length hair, a small pencil moustache, and was wearing a brown gi.

His three girls approached to see what the matter was.

The oldest girl who had long brown hair, tied with a bow at the end asked "What is it Father?"

"HE'S FINALLY COMING HERE!" the man shouted while dancing around the table.

"Who is?" asked the second girl, after descending the stairs.

"RANMA!" he cheered. He saw his youngest daughter enter from the dojo, and leapt up to embrace her.

CLUNK!

"Ranma!?" inquired the youngest girl, she eyed her father after she embedded his head in the floor. She was not keen on the affection her father showed her.

"YES. THEY'VE SENT ANOTHER CARD SAYING THEY'VE FINISHED THEIR TRAINING TRIP AND ARE NOW ON THEIR WAY HOME!" cried the man, his voice was muffled.

"YESSS!" exclaimed the youngest girl, snatching the post card from her father as she ran up to her room.

"Oh my!" the oldest daughter sighed as the white blur rushed past her. "Akane sure seemed pleased," as a distant door slammed.

"Of course she did Kasumi! She has _only_ been waiting and training her whole life for this," the girl smirked as she started back up the stairs. Calling over her shoulder she added "When are they supposed to be here anyway?"

"Probably by the end of the month. They were having problems finding transport back from China." The man grunted, pulling himself back to his feet. "At least we have the time to prepare some space for them so they feel welcome after their long journey."

"Nabiki, you can start by removing your surveillance equipment from the spare room. And while you're at it, get rid of the hidden cameras in the toilet and changing rooms!" Kasumi raised her voice at the retreating girl. "It has become very annoying when I go to the market and find boys staring at me after viewing those toilet-cam posters," she added with a frown.

____________________________________________________________________

Akane yanked the drawer out from the shelf, and propped herself down on her bed to read the latest card.

Greetings Tendo

We just finished at the cursed springs training ground of Jusenkyo. Learned enough before the boy destroyed the place (I Swear, that boy ceases to amaze me with his power and skill in the martial arts). Some places are just not designed for the higher martial artists that we are.

We should be arriving on one of the cargo ships in a few weeks. We would have swum back, but the boy has developed some weird reaction to water, and if he gets wet he becomes an unstoppable fighter who won't rest until he beats the living crap out of me.

Saotome

Akane smiled. Soon her fiancé shall be here. Although they had never met, after reading all of the cards she had received, Akane felt that Ranma was the only person in the world who she could relate to. Both she and Ranma were skilled martial artists, both had lonely childhoods, and now she and Ranma will meet and carry on with the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts with the Tendo dojo.

This was probably one of the two things in her life which made her happy. Her father didn't pay her much attention, except for when he taught her the school's martial arts, (which was the only other thing). From an early age, her sisters seemed indifferent to her, but she didn't care. The arts were what life was all about. This was constantly drilled into her up until the age of six when her mother died.

After that, her father started to warm up to her. With a huge speech full of tears and blubbering, her father went on about how a true martial artist should not have to rely on anyone but themselves, but begging the girls to forgive him for pushing them away from each other. Well Kasumi fell for it quickly, after all pop did say that he only started treating them like that before Akane turned one. At that stage Kasumi was three, she had three years of loving tender care from their mother to fall back on. Nabiki, who had at least one year of it, tended to cheer up a bit, but still had the 'Ice Queen' reputation. Both sisters didn't care much for the Arts anyway.

Akane, having nothing to fall back on, still felt distant from the others. At school she had no one, although she got plenty of attention. Every morning all the boys tried to defeat her for the chance to date. It was a good place to try out her new attacks. She liked to fight, and since she didn't want anything to do with them this suited her just fine.



She was coming onto a new chapter in her life. Some things are going to change, (hopefully for the best). Some things would be new to her, while some things would stay the same. But over all, Akane was hoping that some excitement would come out of it.

She put the latest card in the drawer with the rest, smiled, and put the draw back into its place.

_________________________________________________________________

As time slows down when you are waiting for something, every day seemed to get longer as if the Earth was coming to a standstill. At the same time, things started to liven up at the Tendo's. Akane had some weight lifting sessions while removing all the junk from the spare room. Nabiki became nervous since the unknown was coming to town so she couldn't adjust the odds on her gambling pool with as much certainty of profit as she was accustomed to. Kasumi spent more time in the kitchen, trying out new recipes with a carefree expression.

Soun was experiencing emotions wide between joy and horror. All the joy of having his best friend coming back from a 15 year training trip, with his son to wed Akane to join the two families together. The unease of Saotome's opinion of him for forsaking the plan of keeping his children at arms distance since his wife died. And the further worry of Nodoka finally being able to catch up with her good-for-nothing husband, in order to re-introduce him with her katana.

Over the years he had helped Nodoka try to find Genma Saotome whenever she visited, with the place of origin of each of the post cards they had received. After which she would grab hold of her katana, and rush off to the airport to catch the next flight to China. Every time this happened, she returned a month or so later after scrounging the area for the slightest hint of her husband's presence. But he was just too good at making getaways since the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts specialised in that area.

'Come to think of it, it's about time for Nodoka to visit' Soun thought.

"Oh this should be good" said Nabiki, who had similar thoughts as her father. She was secretly setting up more hidden surveillance cameras about the house with multiple angles so her reality TV show would be ready to make a great come-back, the dollar signs flashing in her eyes.

________________________________________________________________

Finally the day came which destined the world of change to the district of Nerima.

The signal was given by the strangest sight. A panda was running for its life, it had a few missing patches of fur, a few gashes across its midsection, and two black eyes.

What made the situation weirder was that at its heels was a short red-headed girl, running on all fours, snarling and attempting to bite the panda's legs off. Obviously being the source of fear and damage to the panda, the onlookers were intrigued by this new girl.

Even more to the surprise of the Tendos, the panda was chased into their backyard and was severely beaten to unconsciousness.

Upon ensuring the panda was out cold, the girl turned on all four heels, and casually walked into the house, curled up on the couch and started purring.

The Tendos all stood there dumbstruck for a while. When Kasumi's mind cleared, she rushed to the kitchen to make some tea for everyone (except the panda). Handing her sisters and her father their cups, she had to force feed them a bit of tea for them to stir from their stupor.

When Kasumi turned to hand a cup of tea to the girl, the other Tendos followed to get a better look at their new visitor. Upon seeing how dishevelled and dirty the girl was Kasumi dropped the tea cup in shock, and gasped "Oh My. That poor gir..." The tea cup's fall broke off Kasumi's words. The cup was hanging over the girl at the time, and when the contents spilled over the visitor, something beyond their wildest dreams happened. The girl began to grow taller, her shoulders broadened, her red hair became black, and all traces of femininity disappeared. She was now a boy.

The boy looked around in confusion. 'How did I get here? Who are these people?'

Seeing the look of abject terror on their faces he spoke. "Umm... H-H-Hi" he stuttered.

________________________________________

"Who the hell are you?" Nabiki questioned in a conquering tone.

"Oh, I'm Ra..." He looked over to where the panda was stirring outside. "Just hang on a second."

He ran outside and cuffed the panda over the head. "Why d-did you have to do that f-for?!" the boy shouted at the quivering beast. "You made a g-great first impression of us to everyone who l-lives here!" he continued, kicking the beaten lump in the gut with enough force for it to clear a few metres from the ground. The panda landed with a groan and fell unconscious once more.

Returning to the people who lived in the house he apologized. "Sssssorry 'bout that. Ma pop somettttimes really pppisses me off with his st-st-stupidity."

The tenants of the house looked at him with in shock.

"Urrr yeah-h-h. I'm Ranma S-S-Saotome," offering his hand. "And we're l-l-lookin' for the T-T-Ten-n-ndo Dojo."

They all perked up at this information. Soun started blubbering again, Kasumi looked worried about how she had accidentally hurt the girl (now boy) by scalding with hot tea. Nabiki thought of the situation being a gold mine. She could make a lot of money out of this.

Akane _was_ excited. This was the weirdest thing she had ever seen, it involved beating things up with the arts, and it somehow came with her betrothed.

Dying, trying to not lunge forward to grab Ranma and swing him in circles with glee, Akane said with an unsteady voice "I'm Akane Tendo. Welcome to our dojo," gesturing behind her. Unable to hold it any more, "What's with the panda?"

"Oh" grabbing the undrunk tea from Soun and upending the steaming hot liquid on the panda, adding insults and another injury to the pathetic creature. "He's m-m-my pop." As the steam disappeared the lump had shrank and turned into an even worse looking sight of an ugly, bald, overweight man, who sported the same injuries as the panda had.

"Oh," stammered Soun. "Come inside why don't you." Blinked twice, and then worried about his fallen friend. "What about Genma, is he okay?"

"You can l-l-leave him thhhere to rot and d-d-die for all I care. Well..." he paused. "Maybe not. H-h-he won't be a-as fun to kick around thhhen."

"He'll be fine." waved Akane. This will be really good. Not only is Ranma a great martial artist, but he really enjoys the arts too! "Could I kick him around a bit later? It looked like fun."

"S-s-sure. Anytime." Ranma was unsure about the girl. She seemed too eager to talk to him, but trying not to be rude to her, he walked along side Akane into the house.

________________________________________________________________

Later that evening...

Around the table they sat while Kasumi served them dinner. Genma was chained up outside in the Koi pond, eating the bamboo which Ranma had given him, while Ranma indulged on the fantastic food at the dinning table. Akane watched in awe as Ranma inhaled plate after plate of food, she had never seen anyone move so fast.

Kasumi sighed in content. Finally, someone who appreciates her cooking enough to eat all that she made, (usually the leftovers go down the side fence into the neighbour's flower beds). Soun was reminiscing about the old days and the insanity that followed him and Genma around after each of his hair brained ideas. This had got to be the results of one of Genma's worst ideas up to date, while Nabiki was savouring the possibilities of making a lot of money out of the latest circumstances.

When no one attempted to say anything, Akane spoke. "Um, Ranma. Could you tell us about your training trip?"

He jumped. He was not used to anyone speak to him so casually. But what she was asking of him was to relive the horrors he endured from the hands of his father. He hesitated.

"Uh, I sssupose so"

________________________________________________________________

For a few hours Ranma told his life story. The postcards Akane kept up in her room was like a severely summarised story; with all the horrors that Genma put Ranma through, and the side effects of all the training removed, then put into note form. Akane realised that what she had already known from the letters was only a small grey scale of the colourful life Ranma had lived.

Ranma was reluctant at first to divulge of the Neko-ken training technique. Genma had collected heaps of household cats and threw them into a dark pit. Days later he came back with Ranma who was only eight years old at the time, wrapped him in fish sausages (the smell was horrible as the supply of fresh fish was not readily available), and tossed Ranma into the pit.

He paused for a while. He had never wanted to have to recall that incident.

Shaking, he then continued on explaining the side effects of the training...

"I w-w-wake up often from nnnightmares about being b-b-back in that pittt. When I'mmm aw-w-wake I c-c-can still see those c-c-cats in my peripheral vision. When I can c-c-concentrate on other t-t-tasks I can mmmanage to mmmmaint-t-tain control llllike I have nnnow. Mmmore c-c-cats cloud my vvvision when I stttart to be overc-c-ome with fear or I have real c-c-cats in front of me, my control fffades and I slippp into the Neko-K-k-ken. When I'm in thhhhat state I am withd-d-drawn, and the cats that hhhaunt me tttake ovvver."

He sat silent for a while shaking. Akane reached over and held him in a warm embrace. When his shaking subsided he continued. "When the sssource of fear is g-g-gone I am ab-b-ble to take control ag-g-gain.

"I survvvived like thattt for the past eight y-y-years. I had managed to stop the cats taking me over as often, but then we went to J-J-Jusenkyo.

"I was sick of pops id-deas, as they usually go wrong, So I gave c-c-control over to my c-c-cat spectres. I tthhhought they would fffinish pop off quickllly and leave, but p-p-pop and our guide witn-nessed me destroying all the structttures in sssight. It seemed that my cc-cat spectres didn't lllike that place annnnymore than I d-d-did. As the spectres brought mayhhhem to the grounds, pop fell offfff his p-pole and into a spring. As he fffell his bulk weighttt pushed annnnother pole ovver, catching my hosts off g-g-guard and knocked my body into the pool of d-d-drowned g-girl." He silently wept for a minute, and then continued.

"This new c-curse caused mmmore trrrouble for me. First of all I bbbecome a gg-girl. If that wasssn'tt nnnightmare mattterial I dddon't kn-n-now what is. Sssecondly I have lost the control of the Neko-ken I had developed, and in the girl form I have absolutely no control of it. The g-girl body has t-t-tunnel vvvision so I c-c-can't blllock out the c-c-cats from my sssight. With those t-two together, every t-t-time I get sp-p-plashed with c-c-cold water, I t-t-turn into the g-girl and go N-Neko!"

He stopped his story with a shudder and shook violently. It was clear to everyone else that he couldn't continue.

One by one they turned to look at Genma panda with their anger filled glares.

Genma saw trouble and silently started to want the pond's high tide to arrive, so he would drown peacefully (stupid as pandas are, this thought actually came from the man-side, showing how dumb Genma really is).

Nabiki lent over to her father and whispered "Do you think we should tell him about Nodoka coming over soon, either to let him panic or to get rid of him, or let it be a surprise?"

Akane joined in and have her thoughts. "That would give him a quick finish. I've got a better idea."

The panda looked on as the three were discussing its fate, a huge sweat drop appeared on its head. 'This can't be good.'

_____________________________________________________________________

When the meeting drew to a close, it ended in laughter.

Akane then turned to Ranma, who was still shaking. "You should probably take your bath now."

Ranma, in distress from his short trip back through his past, made no indication that he even realised they were still there.

"Go with him Akane," Soun said. "He'll need your help." Both Akane and Nabiki grinned, although for different reasons.

___________________________________________________________________

Akane nudged Ranma and got up. Ranma didn't move, so Akane took him by the arm. Surprisingly Ranma stood up and followed Akane's lead.

She led him to the changing room. Once in there she could see that he was still unresponsive. Thinking of leaving him there and hopefully he would come around, she started to exit the room. Almost immediately he started to shake uncontrollably. She rushed back in to hold him and calm him down.

Eventually his shaking stopped, but he was still no closer to reaching his senses.

"This is it then," Akane sighed out loud, as she started to undress Ranma.

Unbuttoning his red Chinese shirt, she felt the thrill shiver down her spine as she realised what she was about to do. She slid his shirt of his heavily muscled shoulders and held it out at arms length. "This needs a lot of work. A thorough scrub and a good patch up," she noted, then laid it to the side. Next she untied the strap of cloth around his waist, allowing his pants to drop to the floor.

She then peeled off his tank top undershirt and gasped at the many scars that disfigured his body. They were the remains of deep scratches which spanned across his chest, over his shoulders, and down his back. Most of them were long thin lines, but there were some that would definitely cause discomfort and hinder his flexibility. Akane recognised them as the scars of the Neko-ken training.

Running her hand across some of the deeper scars she whimpered "How could anyone purposely do this to someone, yet alone an eight year old boy?" He flinched, probably at the memory of the cuts being made Akane thought, flinching herself as she thought what it would be like.

Feeling the horror of such a traumatic experience, she clutched herself to him, holding tightly as if she could break through his mental barrier. Her tears dripped down her face and onto his chest. "I'm here for you Ranma. I'll try to help you in anyway I can. I promise."

Although she enjoyed the moment holding him, she slowly released him, to continue on with her task. She grasped the elastic of his boxers and pulled them down. At the sight in front of her, many thoughts and emotions flooded through her. Most were new to her, and many made her blush a dark crimson.

"No. This is not the time for that. I'll wait until we get to know each other better" she said to herself. Resigning to the fact that she'll get wet while washing him, she decided to have her bath too. She stripped off and led him to a stool to wash him on.

She picked up a bucket and filled it up with warm water, then proceeded to pour it over him. The heat of the water seemed to soothe his tensed muscles, 'probably dreading cold water' she mused as she put the bucket down. Now with the soap she scrubbed Ranma's back, feeling the rough scarring beneath her fingers. She gradually slid closer and wrapping her arms around him, she soaped up his front. After massaging the soap about his abdomen, she stopped, unwilling to go any lower without his consent. 'If only...'she thought, 'if only he was here with me.'

Realising she was daydreaming on his shoulder, she pulled away and scrubbed herself. After refilling the bucket with warm water, she rinsed them both off.

Without a soak in the furo, she led him back out to the changing room. She dried herself off and put on a bath robe. Turning back to Ranma, she dried him off then realised she forgot to get him some clean clothes. Mentally hitting herself, she wrapped the towel around his waist, and led him up to his room. She found him some more boxers to wear from his bag and laid him down on his futon to sleep. She looked on him with pity and then left the room.

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Back down stairs Akane tended to his clothes, while thinking back to the scars covering Ranma. With that many reminders of his past, its no wonder he had trouble coping. 'That Bastard Genma' she thought. 'How would he feel if he had suffered from the same treatment as Ranma went through?' putting down her work, she went outside for some answers.

"Genma" Akane spat. "How could you treat your own son like that? Have you even had a proper look at the damage you caused to your son from the Neko-ken training?"

The panda hung its head. "Thought not," she remarked. She threw a wooden sign at the panda's head, and then asked "Why did you do something like this to him?"

The panda scribbled for a bit then held up the sign. A true martial artist should be willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of the art.

"Yeah, so why did you do it to Ranma instead of yourself? Aren't you a 'true' martial artist?"

I was teaching him the best techniques I could find. He is now unstoppable!

"So why didn't you go through with it after Ranma, OR before for that matter."

It needed someone strong enough to pull me back out of the pit in case if something should happen

"Just get someone else to help."

No one would help

"Why is that?"

Genma hesitated, Because the technique was banned

She paused. "Why?"

It causes severe mental trauma

"Then why did you put your child through with it?"

To strengthen his control of himself

"And Jusenkyo?"

Same again

"And yet he hadn't recovered from your previous attempt. You made his trauma worse for him. It'll be even harder for him to ever recover now. Those scars that he is covered in will never go away you realise, so he'll always be reminded of what you did to him. And for what may I ask? The future of the School of Anything Goes perhaps? He could never pass on the technique. I mean how could anyone with a deathly fear of cats be able to train their students in the Neko-ken?"

Genma's eyes widened.

"There you go. You didn't think ahead. Just like your idea of making us fend for ourselves from infancy. How are we supposed to produce an heir if we can't relate to other people?"

Genma hung his head again.

"That idea of yours, however mildly used in this house has ruined a loving family. Dad cries himself to sleep every night because he kept us all at arms length, even from our own mother as she slowly died.

"Kasumi tries to be nice and show kindness to everyone, even if they don't deserve it. As attention was not received during that time, she seeks it now.

"Nabiki still retains the coldness towards other people, but she can at least relate to them however distantly.

"Me? I don't associate with anyone at all. I think the only reason I care for Ranma, is that I was brought up with the knowledge that we would be married from the very beginning. Those postcards you sent, however bland in the information they revealed, they were the only thing keeping me from emotionally closing down myself.

"Now as for Ranma, I don't have a clue. Since his recount of the torture you put him through, he has been unresponsive. I can only hope he comes out of it long enough for me to show him the error of your ways."

Genma didn't look up.

"I will let you sit here. Stew in your misery and guilt for what you have done. When Nodoka arrives and learns of what else you have forced upon Ranma, death will seem a sweet alternative compared to what she will have in store for you. It's time to atone for the suffering you have caused." Akane stood up, glared at Genma once more and then went inside, shutting the doors behind her.

Genma remained, chained up in the koi pond.

_______________________________________________________________

Akane continued repairing Ranma's shirt, but then had second thoughts. Instead she took it up to Ranma's room and sat nearby to watch Ranma sleep

Once it was finished, she looked down at Ranma. He was frowning and began to twitch again. She pulled the second futon up beside Ranma and lied down next to him. Seeing fear and worry on his face Akane climbed under Ranma's blanket and held him close. His movements began to subside and he fell into a deep sleep.

Morning

Ranma awoke. It was very early in the morning, and was pretty dark outside. Looking around he found himself in a strange room. He was lying on a futon in the middle of the floor. He rolled over to see behind him and found himself face to face with a girl about his own age with dark blue hair. She had an angelic face.

She was the one who helped him the day before. She was the one who promised to be there for him. She was the one who he was supposed to marry.

He smiled. Thinking about what it would be like living with someone who deeply cared for you, and you for them in return. Would it even be possible for him? He had never before had someone that close. 'But it would be nice' he thought, as he raised his hand and gently brushed her face.

The girl next to him smiled, and reached her free arm around his torso, and pulled him in tight. This was far from what he was expecting to happen. 'So far, so good.' He reached his arm around her shoulders and embraced her too, holding onto something so good that it could only be a dream. He closed his eyes once more, and drifted back to sleep.

___________________________________________________________

When he woke again, Akane had left the room. The futon she had moved back into its place across the floor, and on it laid his freshly laundered clothes.

Ranma thought back to what had happened when he woke up earlier. Akane was in here, lying next to him, and had held on to him. He surprised himself when he remembered holding onto her too. That was a nice feeling then, but what would happen if he were to try that when she was awake? Would she reject him?

His whole life he had got rejection from his father because he couldn't learn something fast enough, or come out with the results he was hoping for. The biggest disappointment to his father was that Ranma had never gotten full control of the Neko-ken. He only fell into it after experiencing great fear.

Since Jusenkyo, Ranma had stopped caring what his father thought. He came to Nerima because it was his duty to marry Akane. After this his father would have no say in Ranma's future. In fact he had been able to beat his father years ago and leave, but the ring of Genma's words still fresh in Ranma's mind, 'You are a weakling. To allow a harmless animal frighten you so much is a disgrace to the Saotome School of Anything Goes.' He stayed with Genma, to hopefully get the chance to prove himself worthy to the only person who was a constant in his life.

Now that is over. He has a new place to stay, and a new set of people he needed to be accepted by in order to feel whole. 'It may not be easy' he thought. From what he could remember of the previous night, they were surprised at his appearance. He thought that he wasn't what they were hoping for. He had to make a good impression on the household, starting now.

He got dressed and left the room. Walking down the hallway he found a blue duck shaped wooden plaque hanging from the door of the room next to his. On it had Akane's name painted in white. This was his first chance to make a good impression. He would thank her for the hospitality Akane showed him, and how she helped him during the insentient spell last night.

He knocked on the door. There was no answer from inside. He did not wish to go in uninvited, so he continued down the hall and into the living room.

He found Soun at the table reading the newspaper. What remained of breakfast was still on the table.

"Good mmmorning Mr Tendo," Ranma greeted.

Soun was startled from his paper. He had not heard Ranma approach. "Oh, Good morning Ranma." He gestured for Ranma to take a seat opposite him. "How are you feeling today?"

"Okay I g-g-guess. I'm sorry about what ha-appened last nnnight. I just ssstarted to lose control ag-gain after reliving my p-past."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. After what you told us Genma had put you through, I thought it was amazing that you have turned out as strong willed as you are now."

"Thanky-you Sir"

"What interests me is why you stayed with him after the way he treated you."

Ranma was surprised hearing someone else state that what Genma had done was wrong, but he didn't feel up to telling anyone about his inner feelings of weaknesses. How Genma had constantly put him down for the smallest of mistakes.

"I felt-t it was my duty to c-c-carry on with the Sc-chool of Anything Goes Martial Arts. In order to p-prove myself wor-rthy of your family I nnneeded to be strong en-nough to cope with everything that is thhhrown my way. Pops t-t-tended to throw me into the w-worst of situations for me to d-deal with. I thought if I could manage to d-deal with that, you w-would accept me into your fffamily."

Soun felt sorry for the boy. "I would have accepted you even if you didn't go on the training trip. I wanted nothing but for your well being and the same for my daughter's."

"Then if you ap-prove, it will be an honour to mmmarry Akane."

Soun smiled at Ranma. "Then it is settled. You are now formally engaged with Akane. We will discuss the wedding later. It will give you some time to adjust and for you to get to know Akane better."

"W-w-where is she at the mmmoment? I w-wanted to thhhank her for helping me last-t-t night."

"She is at school. Nabiki is applying for a position for you at the same school. She said it should be ready in about a week. Until then I want you to make yourself feel comfortable. This is now your home."

Ranma bowed. He started to serve himself some breakfast when he noticed something missing. "W-where's Pop?"

Soun scowled, "We left him in the pond."

"What!" Ranma jumped up and ran outside.

Genma panda was extremely cold. If it wasn't for his fur coat he would have frozen over night. How could his best friend do this to him? How could Ranma leave him out here? But then he remembered the talk with Akane. She had said that Ranma had been unresponsive after telling them his tale. Some of her other words had sunk in also; Ranma was a mess. He was taught how to fight, and fight well he does, but he doesn't know how to do much else but look out for himself. 'What have I done?'

At that moment Ranma darted outside and fished Genma from the pond. The chains were pulled free, and Ranma carried him over his shoulder fireman style, and dumped him in the hot furo.

"I'm sssorry Pops. Didn't mmmean to leave you there thattt long. Ssstay here and warm up. I'll g-get you some tea."

"Brrr!" Genma shivered. Ranma's help was a surprise to him. "Where did that come from?"

Ranma busied himself in the kitchen. Kasumi had already left for the market place so he searched the cupboards for the tea. He opened another cupboard and found it.

He made the tea extra strong, and took it to Genma.

"Why are you doing this for me Boy?"

Ranma was silent. He looked into his father's questioning gaze, then left. Genma was the last person he wanted to tell that to. He didn't want another reason for his father to be disappointed.

Back out in the living room Soun had asked the same question. 'There must be something bothering Ranma' he thought while waiting for a response.

Ranma looked down. He didn't want to upset Mr Tendo, but _COULDN'T_ tell him. "I'm sssorry Mr Tendo. I-I-I can't answer that just yet."

Soun saw anxiety in Ranma's face. "That's okay. You can tell me when you feel more comfortable." He didn't want to pressure Ranma. "Just remember if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Ranma nodded. He ate the rest of breakfast in silence.

When he finished he took his bowl to the kitchen. Upon returning he said, "I'm g-going for a walk. I wanttt to see what there is in the n-neighbourhood."

Soun smiled at him. "Have fun."

___________________________________________________________________

He wandered around for a few hours. He took in the sights around him, taking note of the buildings so he could find his way around later.

The district of Nerima was busy. There were lots of people going about their day to day lives. People were shopping, people were at work, and people were sitting down at cafés talking.

Ranma was not used to this lifestyle. It was uncanny to him. It was as though everything was contrary to what he was told and led to believe about social habits of people.

He saw people happily talking with each other, sharing jokes and stories of things they had done. There were young children walking hand in hand with their parents. He was more surprised when he saw a couple openly showing affection for each other while sharing a milkshake.

Ranma bought himself a drink and sat down to watch the couple. They were clearly happy in the other's company. They spoke quietly to each other, their eyes twinkling, and gazed dearly at each other as they both drew their beverage from the straws together.

When they finished they got up and walked away. Ranma didn't fail to notice that they walked close together with their arms around each other.

Was that like what he shared with Akane early this morning? Was he capable of having a relationship with someone like that? Does Akane feel the same about him, or was it just some unconscious act while she was asleep?

Ranma _did_ want something like that, to have someone there for him, to dispel the loneliness and emptiness that he felt. But the way he was brought up made it hard for him to open up his soul to anyone.

Fear of further rejection also didn't help him. He was brought up with the knowledge that he was going to marry Akane and carry on with Anything Goes Martial Arts with her at the Tendo dojo. But how does she see it? Does she see him as a business partner, or as a companion, and if the latter, who will make the first move? Ranma didn't feel as though he could do it. He was not used to human contact, so how can he hold her? How can he show he cares?

Feeling a depression coming on, he stoped his train of thought. He had already taken the step of accepting the engagement, but as for a further relationship, he would not make the first move. If he did it would be in long time from now. He didn't know enough about her to feel that he had a chance. He did not want to feel rejection from her as well as his father.

He needed to do some practice in order to clear his mind. He finished his drink and headed back to the dojo.

___________________________________________________________

Akane returned home that afternoon with a cheerful disposition. She remembered how warm she felt when cuddling up to Ranma at night. She would love to do that again.

But she was more concerned about how he was feeling. Last night must have been hard on him. She hoped he was up and talking again.

When she entered the house she saw her father at the table, still reading the paper. To her displeasure she also saw Genma sitting down. She gave him an evil glare as she walked past.

Up the stairs, she put her school things in her room. She went to Ranma's room to check up on him. To her delight she saw that he had gotten up, but then where was he?

Back down stairs she asked her father where he was.

"I think he is still in the dojo. He has been working out for a couple of hours now."

Akane walked toward the training hall. She went inside and stared in awe as she saw Ranma go through with a complicated kata. He glided through each move with grace; it was as if he were dancing on air. He was very skilled.

He continued for another half an hour before he finished. Akane noticed that he hadn't even broken a sweat.

He looked up and saw Akane. He smiled as he walked over to her.

"That was incredible! I've never seen anyone move like that before!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma, not used to compliments felt uneasy. "Err, thanks. I nnneeded to clear my mmind and to relax."

"Relax!" Akane exclaimed. "I heard you have been in here for about three hours now! I can barely keep two, and never something as complex as I saw you doing! I have enough trouble with the basics."

"Oh" Ranma was unnerved.

"How do you do it?" Akane questioned.

"I dunno." Ranma thought for a bit, then "I g-guess I can last so lllong because I lived like that. Fffighting through everything that P-pops got me into, everyday having to c-cope with the t-trouble he caused me. I guess I have d-developed more st-tamina than most would believe. I had to, to b-be able to survive out there."

Akane thought about his answer. It must have been hard on him over the years. She had to deal with a lot at school, and had never reached the skill Ranma has. She was slightly jealous, but pushed it aside. It was not his fault.

"Would you spar with me?" Akane asked.

"Ok-kay. But I will hold b-back on you until I know w-what you are capable of."

Akane didn't like people holding back on her. It was insulting. It said that she wasn't good enough for people to bother with. But she knew she had no hope against Ranma so it was for the best.

They walked back to the centre of the training hall and took their positions.

Akane took a power stance, ready to take anything he gave her, but he just stood there with his hands behind his back, with a relaxed posture.

'That's it!' Akane thought. She took the first move.

Akane launched a punch with all her strength behind it, hoping to catch Ranma off guard. She was surprised when her fist hit nothing but air when she felt his hand posing as a chop to her right shoulder blade.

Akane went into a spinning kick to get Ranma behind her, but Ranma grabbed her foot and swung her around and gently tossed her across the room.

Akane jumped up, threw a series of fast punches towards Ranma, who just stepped beyond her reach, side stepped, and at then connected a blow above Akane's elbow of her fully extended arm. It went numb for a moment. Akane staggered about for a little while, trying to get the use of her arm back.

When she had recovered, she tried a sweep at his legs. He jumped lightly and flipped over her, while guiding his path with a single finger on her head. She spun around and tried another attack, but Ranma then turned to the offensive. He threw a series of punches, many of which connected, and a few kicks in place of the punches Akane was preparing for. Akane knew they were all pulled and nowhere near his full strength, yet she took them all badly. She went down like a sack of potatoes.

Akane was stunned! Those were her best moves, never failing her on the boys at school, and yet not one had fallen on Ranma. And when Ranma actually attacked the fight was practically over!

Ranma crouched down next to Akane, and looked at her with a probing expression. To Akane it seemed as if he were looking right through to her soul. She was exhausted from the fight but he then poked her in a few different places and she felt re-energized, and was able to stand up again.

"How did you do that? I feel as though I had just woken up from a good sleep!"

"I have p-practiced shiatsu over the y-years. At fffirst it was to help heal my-self in case I g-got injured, but I kept lllearning more and found some other g-good uses."

Akane was very impressed with him. He knew enough to rival the family doctor. "Dr Tofu knows a bit about shiatsu. He has helped me with all my childhood injuries when I trained with my father."

"D-don't you train with him anymore?"

"Not since I was six. He stopped when my mother died."

"Hmm. I nnneed to talk to him anyway. I'll ask him ab-bout your t-training too."

Akane smiled at him.

'Now comes the hard part' Ranma mused. "Akane, I have sp-poken with your father this morning. I t-told him that I havvve accepted our en-gagement, and he said that we c-can talk about the wedding plans later."

Akane rushed forward and hugged him after the good news. Ranma tensed up. He wasn't ready for that reaction.

Akane felt his response and loosened her grip. "What's wrong?"

Ranma was nervous. This _is_ what he wanted, but he wasn't ready for it. "Sssorry. I'm just not us-sed to this."

Akane understood. He had been estranged from people while very young, and now had to adjust.

"I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. I kept every postcard your father sent us. It was as though I had found a friend through the words of your achievements. My only friend," she paused. She had just confessed her true feelings to him. He was the first person she had ever confided in. She had to tell him about her feelings. "And when I finally met you, I realized how much I wanted you, how much I love you." She stopped for his response.

It took Ranma some time to get the words out. "I g-grew up with the sssame thoughts. I didn't have any inf-formation about you. All I knew was that we were to mmmarry. I would l-like to share the same with y-you. B-but it will take me sssometime to get used to being c-close to someone, and to ssshare my feelings."

Akane was a bit disappointed, but she knew where he was coming from. She had promised to help him in anyway she could, she would do just that. She would help him overcome his detachment from human compassion.

"I will help you as long as it takes," promised Akane.

Ranma bowed. Feeling discomfort from the present situation, he left the dojo.

____________________________________________________________________

He lay on the roof of the house for some time. He mulled over his conversation with Akane. She wanted him. She loved him. She had said so. He wanted nothing else. He wanted what he saw the couple had in the bar, friendship beyond friendship. A lifelong bond with Akane, but he had a life of believing that it was not needed to deal with.

He sighed.

He wanted it to go well between Akane and himself. It will take a lot of work for him to adjust, but he was willing to put his whole effort into it. He would try to help her in the same way she helped him.

He got down and decided to call it a night. But he needed a bath first.

He got undressed and entered the bathroom. So his surprise, Soun was in the furo, soaking in the heat of the water.

"Oops. Sssorry M-mr Tendo."

"No that's alright. There's plenty of room."

"Ok-kay, thanks". Ranma sat on a stool and began to wash himself. He noticed the look of horror on Soun's face when he saw his scars, but he ignored it.

"I j-just had a spar with Akane. She sssaid you haven't been t-training her for about ten years."

Soun was uneasy. It was one of the things he didn't like to talk about. But seeing how Ranma told them his story last night, he felt Ranma deserved to get his in return.

"Shortly after you and Akane were born, your father and I took the future of Anything Goes Martial Arts into our own hands. Our Master was a perverted freak who went around stealing women's underwear, and then to get away he left us to get pummelled by the crowd of angry women chasing him.

"We thought this was not an honourable style the way it was going, so we dealt with the master accordingly, we got rid of him.

"During our celebration we came to discuss the future of our school. We decided we needed to pass on the skills to our children. Genma suggested an arranged marriage between my youngest and you after you had both become sufficient in the Art. By the age of sixteen you both would have learned enough to improve together.

"But Genma came up with another idea for both of your up bringing, he said that you both needed to learn to fend for yourselves, so you wouldn't have to depend on someone else when you get into trouble.

"It made sense at first. I wasn't as keen on the idea as was your father, but I agreed to it. Your father took you away from home, against your mother's will, and took up your training. I told my wife the idea, she didn't like it either, but knowing it was for the best we started to keep our daughters at arms length."

He stopped for a while. He remembered the last moments of his wife's life. "When my wife became ill, I started to regret what I had done. My daughters didn't get the love they should have from us, and Kimiko didn't get to spend the time with the children as she wanted. When she died I was heartbroken. She was gone, and my daughters did not know what it was like to have loving parents.

"I tried to redeem for my actions, I started to try and get closer to them. Akane wasn't interested. She just wanted to fight, but I couldn't do it anymore. I wanted to hold her and tell everything was going to be alright. I didn't want to hurt her.

"When I stopped, our family doctor said that she would have trouble with her chi. She was growing stronger at an exceptionable rate. Without the further training it would become too dangerous for her. I asked Dr Tofu if he could hold it steady until I was willing to go back to training her, but so far I have been unable to do so." He finished on a sombre note.

Ranma spoke up, "I had-d noticed the b-blockages. They are now c-causing her more harm than g-good. T-ten years is a lllong time, and in that t-time her body nnneeded a greater sssupply of chi to keep up her skill. Without-t it her skill has degraded. She n-needs to start her t-training all over ag-gain, but her chi nneeds to be released b-before that is pos-sible."

Soun was shattered. His failure to fix the problems he caused Akane has now caused more problems. "Can you forgive me? After all the pains you went through could you find it in your heart to forgive a man's blindness for his children's needs?" Soun pleaded.

"It is not m-me you nnneed to ask for ffforgiveness. It is Akane. I'm wa-aiting for my own fffather to acknowledge his mmmistakes and ask me the same question."

Soun nodded. "Yes, it was my fault for Akane. She needs help." Soun looked up at Ranma, "Would you be willing to help me, would you help my little girl?"

"Of c-course I will. She will b-be my w-wife soon after all."

Soun burst out crying, "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!"

"I n-nearly released her c-chi when I noticed it, but t-ten years! There may be some p-problems of releasing it all at once. I would nnneed to see this doctor t-tomorrow about it."

Soun agreed. "He has a clinic down town. He is a nice person and is easy to talk to. I don't doubt that he would answer your questions."

They were silent for a while, both soaking up the heat of the water. "How are you and Akane getting along?" Soun hoped he didn't sound too nosey.

Ranma thought for a moment, he then said "I t-told her about our talk this mmmorning. She was so happy. She sssaid how she was lllooking forward to me coming here, and how she llloves me. But I..." he paused.

"You are not sure?" Soun asked.

"No. It's n-not that," he paused. "I possibly fffeel the same about her. It's j-just that I am n-not used to expressing these k-kind of fffeelings. Nor used to b-being so close to someone."

"I understand. I think Akane would understand also. You just need the time to get used to it. Possibly training with her will help you to be able to get closer."

Ranma hoped it would help.

He got out, said goodnight, and went to bed.

_______________________________________________________

Akane sat in her room, writing in her diary.

Dear Diary

Today started off to look promising. I woke up in Ranma's arms. It felt so right! Even after all these years of wanting no one, I know that I do want to be with him.

But the moment was ruined, I had to go to school.

I didn't want to wake him, I wasn't even sure he had recovered from the previous night.

School seemed to pass by much slower than usual today as I wanted to see Ranma again.

When I got home I was surprised when I saw him in action. He was incredible! He performed perfectly, without effort, and he said he did it to relax! I don't know how he does it, but for me it is not relaxing! It is hard work. I am ashamed to admit it but I was a little jealous when he treated it like it was just another thing to do.

I told him that I loved him. He was frightened. He said that he would like to be with me, but he said that he needed time to get used to it.

I hope I didn't scare him away.

She hid her diary away and lied back on her bed.

She really did hope that he wasn't scared of her coming forth with her feelings of him.

'He said he needed time. No scratch that, WE need to spend time together. But what could we possibly do together that would last long enough?'

She was brought back from her thoughts with a noise coming from the room next door, Ranma's room. She got up to see what the matter was.

He was lying on his futon, struggling with the covers that were tangled around him. It was clear that he was asleep and having a bad dream. "No, get them off. Let me out..." he murmured.

Akane got down next to him and reassured him with her touch on his face. When he stopped thrashing around Akane lay next to him and held onto him. 'I could get used to this' she thought as he stopped shaking and calmed down.

She stayed a little while. She was trying to figure out what she could do for him. His dream was obviously about the Neko-ken training. He had nightmares about the cats clawing him, and they bothered him when he was awake also.

She decided to try to find a way to get him over his fear of cats. It was definitely what made him so nervous all the time. Tomorrow she would look in the school library and see if she could find something on phobias and how to treat them. That is all she could do.

When she was sure Ranma was calm, she got up and went to her room.

As she was waiting for sleep to overcome her, her last thoughts were 'I will not fail you Ranma. I will not rest until I can find a way to get you over your fears.'

___________________________________________________________________

Everyone was at Breakfast the next morning. Genma was shunted to the end of the table away from everyone and ignored, but between the rest of them, there was friendly conversation.

Then Soun made an announcement: "Akane, I have spoken with Ranma. We have decided for you to start guided training in Anything Goes Martial Arts again. Ranma has agreed to take your lessons from now on."

Akane smiled at Ranma. 'Perfect! That would give me a good excuse to spend more time with him without awkward conversation.'

"If there is no problem," Soun looked toward Ranma, "I believe you will start this afternoon."

Ranma nodded.

"That would be great! Thankyou," Akane squealed as she jumped forward to hug him again.

Ranma stiffened, but tried to get into it; he patted her shoulder. "N-n-no problem. It will k-keep me oc-cupied, and help mmme to k-keep up on my sk-kill."

"That's nice," smirked Nabiki. "She throws herself onto you, and all you do is pat her!"

Nabiki received an evil look from everyone, and she fell back in surprise.

"He's had a hard life. He's doing quite well after how he was treated," Kasumi said.

Genma gulped. No one could feel good after the look of disapproval Kasumi gave him.

"We better get going Akane. We don't want to be late." Nabiki needed a good excuse to get away.

Akane released her hold on Ranma. "I'm sorry. I have to go now. But I'll see you after school." She got up and walked out the door with Nabiki.

Outside Nabiki found herself shoved across the side walk. She got up and turned to Akane. "What's was that for?"

"Don't you ever say anything like that again about Ranma!" Akane fumed. "You should leave him alone."

"Oh come on. Show charity to Ranma? He couldn't afford the fee!" chirped Nabiki. But she then found herself nose to nose with a furious Akane.

"You would not even be able to pay the hospital bill after what I would do to you," threatened Akane.

Nabiki froze. This was the first time she had ever been on the receiving end of a physical threat, and such a painful threat it was. She had no choice but to withdraw her antics. Akane had a short enough fuse as it was.

They walked the rest of the way to school in silence.

Back inside Kasumi poured Ranma another cup of tea. Ranma accepted the cup with thanks.

"Ranma boy, you make an old man proud."

Ranma listened intently. This is the first time he had ever heard praise from his father's lips.

"Teaching the Art to your fiancé is an honourable thing to do. I have a few ideas..."

"You can k-keep them to y-yourself!" Ranma snapped.

"You should respect your elders boy!"

"Like y-you did with your mmmaster?" Ranma added. "Mr Tendo was k-kind enough to tell me his lllife story la-ast night. From what I g-gathered, your master did mmmany of the things to you, as y-you have done to mmme. You have seemed to p-pick up on the b-bad habits which earned him no respect."

Genma sat stunned. The comparison between him and his old master was too much to deal with.

"If you t-try to int-terfere with Akane's t-training, I'll show you the sssame res-spect you showed your mmmaster when you got rid of him!" Ranma finished.

The group sat in silence.

Ranma stood up. "Sssorry for having to b-bring that up at the b-breakfast table Mr Tendo."

"That's perfectly alright Ranma."

"Kasumi, thhhankyou for breakfast." He bowed. "But I mmmust be going. I need to see if that D-dr Tofu has any t-time to spare me today."

Kasumi leapt at the sound of the doctor's name. "Hang on a minute Ranma." She scrambled to find something in the kitchen. When she found it she said, "Could you return this book to him?"

"Sure."

"Thanks a lot," Kasumi beamed.

Ranma walked outside with the book under his arm.

__________________________________________________________________

When he found his way to Tofu's clinic, he took a seat.

Soon enough the doctor escorted an elderly lady from his office, and gestured for Ranma to enter.

"What can I do for you?" asked the friendly doctor.

"I c-came here concerning a fffriend of mine. Her name is Akane Tendo."

"Ah, yes. She is a lovely girl. A bit too self sufficient and aggressive for my liking, but charming nether the less."

"I am c-concerned about the c-chi b-blocking you performed on her."

The doctor's face fell. "Yes. I have begun to regret what I did to her those many years ago. It was only meant to be for a little while, until her father had adjusted to the circumstances."

"I have b-been declared Akane's new instructor in the Arts. I sssparred with her yesterday, when I nnnoticed the blockages in her chi flow. I nnnearly released them there and then when I re-energised her st-trength after the mmmatch, but I nnneeded to find out why they were p-put there first. I have spoken to Mmmr Tendo about it, he t-told me the whole story."

The doctor was flabbergasted, "The whole story!? That's amazing! He hasn't been able to talk about it for a long time."

"I had to t-tell him my lllife story the nnnight before, and it was mmmuch worse than his. I g-guess he thought he owed me."

"Your story? Who are you?" the doctor inquired.

"Ranma Saotome."

"THE Ranma Saotome?"

"Uh, yeah."

"That's good news. I've heard so much about you from Akane and Soun. And now you are going to train Akane."

"Yes. B-but about those bl-lockages?" Ranma interrupted. "Ten years with-out the necessary chi ffflow has caused her more harm. But I d-don't think it would do her any g-good to release it all at once."

"No. You're right." He went to his bookshelf and pulled out a journal. Flipped through a few pages, and said "The best way to do it would be treatment after each of her training sessions. It would increase her chi flow gradually, slow enough for her to get used to the extra energy."

"What-t would I have to d-do with the treatment?" asked Ranma.

"You? Do you know shiatsu?"

"Yeah. It was one of thhhe most nnnecessary things to llearn while out on the road," he answered.

Dr Tofu looked pleased.

"Well there are four that you'll need to concentrate on, in three of the elementals. The wood, fire, and metal.

"In the wood element I want you to concentrate on the Liver Meridian. The fire will cover the Heart Meridian and the Heart Protector. And in the Metal is the Lung Meridian.

"Each of the areas are concerned in the production and flow of chi. The charts of pressure points are in this book," he handed Ranma the journal. "Conduct the treatment in whole for the first session, after that you should concentrate on these pressure points that relate to chi stagnation."

"Thanks Doc."

"Keep me updated on her progress," the doctor smiled.

"I will." He started to turn, but then he remembered, "Oh yeah. Kasumi asked me to ret-turn this t-to you." He handed over the book.

"K K Kasumi..." the doctor trailed off.

Ranma's eyes widened as he watched the doctor jump around with what Ranma thought was halfway between joy and insanity. When it got to the point of Tofu dancing around with the model skeleton he had, Ranma decided it was time to intervene.

With a quick prod at a couple of points on both sides of Dr Tofu's spine, between the shoulder blades, the doctor stopped and realised what he had been doing. He then looked up to Ranma for confirmation.

"You ssstarted to act strange at the mmmention of Kasumi's name."

"Kasumi?" That was the first time he could say her name with out going over the edge. He had a crush on the girl since she was fifteen. Since then he had suffered from anxiety attacks and started to act silly.

"I t-touched your Heart Yu p-points, associated with your c-control of your emotions. You should b-be able to approach her now without the nnneed for a d-dance with the skeleton." Ranma smirked as he pointed to the model skeleton in Tofu's arms.

The doctor was extremely embarrassed. "Uh, thanks." He was still getting over his foolishness when he said, "I've been looking for something to help me with that for a while."

"A-and all it t-took was a roaming mmmartial artist!" Ranma continued.

Tofu burst out laughing.

Then another thought hit Ranma. "Say Doc, d-do you know anythhhing about the Nnneko-ken, or treating Jusenkyo c-curses?"

"Not off hand," Tofu replied. "But come back in a few days and I'll see what I can find." The two seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember what they were. Curious to why Ranma would be asking him, he asked why.

Ranma wasn't keen on spilling his problems to a stranger. The Tendos say that he was a nice and trustworthy man, but Ranma wasn't too sure about him just yet. "Oh I kn-now someone who is ha-aving trouble with b-both, and he has as-sked me to look for sssomething to help him."

The doctor was beginning to like Ranma even more. "Glad to be of help."

Ranma left the clinic. He went back to the dojo to study the book Tofu lent him.

____________________________________________________________________

Akane was in a bad mood. There was nothing useful in the library at all. She had spent about two hours searching with no results.

'I'll just have to see if Dr Tofu has anything in his collection,' she thought, 'But not today.' She really wanted to get home on time for a session with Ranma.

As her thoughts drifted back to Ranma, she felt light headed. Her essence took up an aura of peace that she hadn't felt in such a long time. She felt so cheerful that she started to skip her way home.

Ranma was awaiting her in the dojo. He was looking over a set of charts at the time. When he saw Akane enter, he packed them away.

"Hello Ranma."

"G-good afternoon Akane."

Akane was a bit unimpressed with Ranma's formality. She was waiting for him to overcome his fears and to hold her.

"Training t-today will be light. There is sssomething else that nnneeds my at-tention."

Akane's face became solemn at that announcement.

"When y-your father stopped t-training you, he had your chi bl-locked from growing in strength."

Akane was horrified. 'How could he betray me like that?!'

"He did this ssso you wouldn't lllose control. Without g-guidance, your chi would have b-become too g-great to handle."

'Oh' her anger subsided.

"B-but he waited too long for your t-training to recommence. Your chi should be much g-greater than it is now. B-because the b-blockages are now so great, I will have to release it g-gradually. It will take a while for your t-treatment tonight, but each successive treatment should be mmmuch quicker."

'More time to spend in Ranma's company! What could possibly ruin my happiness?' Akane thought.

"Due to the lllack in chi flow, your form had degraded. You will have to lllearn everything from ssscratch."

'Damn!'

"I want you to st-tart on your punch. I nnnoticed when we were sparring, your p-punches would have caused y-you more harm than me. So I want you to align your hits so they are b-both aimed and hit with your arm held c-correctly."

He turned around and walked to the corner where the training equipment was. "Let's sssee what we have in here," Ranma said to himself. His eyes fell on some practice dummies in the corner, "That should d-do us for now." He moved one to the centre of the room.

"This is what I w-want you to do." He punched the dummy square on, right in the painted target area. It shuddered violently on the stand. "Mmmake sure you hit the right p-place, and hit it p-properly." Stepping aside, he gestured for Akane to try it.

She stepped forward, thinking that this was such a basic step; she would get through this easily. She held her stance, and went in for the kill. Much to her surprise, her aim was off a slight bit, and it did not respond quite as well as when Ranma hit it. She didn't think that she was that bad.

Ranma saw the look of disbelief on Akane's face. "Don't w-worry. It's nothing major. Y-you just nnneed to fix your ap-proach and alignment. "

Ranma stepped beside Akane, holding her arm, he guided her step by step through the correct motions. "This is how y-your arm should move. Nnnotice how much more p-power you can deliver. You should hold your wrist like this," and adjusted her arm accordingly. "This is to mmmake sure you don't j-jar your wrist when you make contact. Now you try it."

Akane lined up her arm like Ranma showed her, and hit the target.

"That's mmmuch better Akane. Now t-try with your other arm. Remember to llline it up the same way as b-before."

Her first shot fell short of the target, but her second was perfectly aligned.

"G-good. Now for some repetitions." Akane continued on with her left, then right. She made good progress. Ranma had to adjust her arm every now and then, so she got the angle right.

After a while she was performing every shot perfectly.

"Halt" Ranma called.

Akane looked over. "What is it?"

Ranma pointed at the clock on the wall. "You are d-doing well, but look at the time. I have to g-get started on your chi t-treatment."

Ranma pulled out the charts he borrowed from Dr Tofu. He knew what he had to do, but some of these pressure points he needed to access were in places that were a bit too intimate for what he was ready for.

"Akane?" he whispered. "Are you wearing a b-b-bra under your gi?"

She was startled at his question. It was a bit forward for how she knew Ranma felt about her. "Y-yes," she whispered back with a grin on her face.

Ranma's face flushed bright red. "Um, I'll have to ask y-you to take it off. It would g-g-get in the w-way of some of the p-p-pressure points I need to access."

Akane smiled at his state of nervousness. She saw beads of sweat running down the sides of his face as she began to untie her belt and slide out of her top. To her disappointment he quickly turned around so he couldn't see her state of undress. 'At least some things make him sweat.' She quickly took off her bra and put her top back on.

He turned back around when he felt the tap of Akane's hand on his shoulder. 'She had her top back on at least' he thought, but then saw her bra hanging across the practice dummy's head. Somehow the thought: 'What I wouldn't to for that to be my head!' slipped into his head.

'WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?' Ranma's brain was on fire.

"Now what would you like me to do?" Akane asked timidly.

'Take of your clothes very slowly...' 'URRRG!'

"Um, lie d-down on the mat. I nnneed to p-prepare," he managed to get out.

He walked a few paces away and kneeled down. He needed to calm down and concentrate. He closed his eyes and started the meditation to develop his Hara. He started breathing down into his abdomen, and gradually reduced his breath intake.

After a few minutes he moved over to where Akane was lying. She was looking at him with a curious expression on her face.

He took a deep breath, then said, "Mmmany of the p-p-places that I will be fffocusing on during the t-t-treatment, you may fffind, um, uncomfortable. You just need to re-elax and stay calm. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Let's begin."

He placed his left hand on her abdomen, and to her surprise, his other gripped high at the top of her thigh. Using his thumb, he gradually kneaded down her inner thigh, past her knee, and down the side of her calf until he reached her toes. The effect for Akane was a light buzzing in her brain. It was from the contact and intimacy of Ranma's touch, but there was something else there too. She felt the same feeling again when he repeated the procedure on the other leg.

To Akane's dismay, he broke contact. But he then moved up and with his hands and like a spade, dug into her sides, slightly above her hips. It made her squirm as his fingers walked up her sides, digging in just as deep, up to her shoulders and then up the sides of her neck, finally stopping behind her jaw.

Akane gasped. She felt like she was in a new body. Her body felt cooler, more energy radiated throughout her veins, and her mind was clearer than ever. What Ranma was doing to her felt like magic!

He motioned her to stay there while he went back to the charts.

She watched him as he studied the papers. He seemed to have a greater control over himself, as he sat tall and straight. To Akane, it looked like he had found peace.

Inside, Ranma's fire was blazing. The last exercise brought out feelings Ranma never thought was possible for him to have. If he hadn't been taught how to show a strong bearing, he would have been quivering silently in a dark corner. Yet it was the shortest and lest intimate technique that he needed to perform.

'Must get a hold on myself!' he thought. 'Soul of ice.' He cooled off, and his breathing slowed.

He approached Akane again. He gently raised her arms to lie above her head. Starting between her last two digits, he thumbed deeply, down her hand, down her ulna, and up her forearm. After he repeated with the other arm, they felt heavy, like they could just mould into the shape of the floor. She had never felt so relaxed.

He motioned her to lie on her stomach. As she rolled over, he places pillows beneath her shins so the backs of her feet were not curled on the floor. Starting just beneath her pelvic bone, he worked his way down the back of her legs and around her heels.

After she turned over onto her back, his hands reached for her chest. Her first instinct was to draw him in for a passionate kiss, but he pinned her down. With the edge of his hands, he massaged either side of her sternum. She could feel the pressure he was applying beneath her bones.

His hands moved again and with his fingertips, formed arches around the top contours of her breasts. With his fingertips, he was probing the flesh deep beneath her skin, tracing out a heart shape across her chest.

The last bit of this technique, he kneeled behind her head and worked his fingers in a parabolic shape, following the inner contour of her jaw.

Upon his completion, she was in a state of complete relaxation. She had never felt so calm before.

'ARRRGH! WHAT'S GOING ON? THE SOUL OF ICE DIDN'T WORK! MY INNER FLAMES BURNED RIGHT THROUGH IT!'

'Don't worry. She was enjoying it. Look at her over there. She is at peace with everything.'

'BUT I'M NOT! MY BODY IS RAGING WITH INSTINCTS THAT I'M CURRENTLY TRYING TO AVOID!'

'That's okay, we can do them later.'

Ranma's mind filled with fear and pleasure; a not too unpleasant feeling. Where ever the second voice in his head was coming from, he wasn't sure, but it was egging him on, with confidence.

He stood up and approached Akane again.

Ranma moved her arms out at ninety degrees to her torso, and thumbed with great accuracy a path starting at her biceps, and ran down the center of her arms and between the two central tendons of her lower arm up to her wrists.

When he moved back to her torso Akane was in for a bigger surprise. Ranma placed one hand above her navel, and the other, with his fingertips brushing across one of her nipples, thumbed a line up the midpoint of her breastbone. The feel of the fabric sliding across her erect nipple was nothing to what his other techniques were doing to her. His next move was another heart shaped pattern, but this time it was across her breasts.

Akane was on fire! The only thing stopping her from losing her mind was his sudden change to cupping a circular shape from the top of her cleavage to her neck.

Finished with the area that was highly sensitive to both of them, he moved up to her neck. With soft thumb pressure, he traced her carotid arteries. Both of their pulses slowed due to the change in stimulation.

For the last of the treatment, he turned her over, and traced lines down from her buttock and across the soles of her feet.

Back at the charts he started to breathe again.

'See, that wasn't so bad was it?'

'But the feel of her nipple through...'

'Said you would like it didn't I?'

'Yeah, but one more to go...'

He thumbed one more path down her arms, then with one hand he applied pressure above her hip while the other walked a path from the first, up to the inner edge of her breasts and then across her shoulders.

With one more session at her throat and legs, he was finished.

"Thhhat is all for t-tonight" he said.

Akane was snapped out of her trance. She had been dreaming of lying next to Ranma, while he was holding on to her and fondling in that soft reassuring way.

"G-goodnight Akane Tendo," Ranma finished off. He had to be so formal so he kept his urges under control. He left the dojo quickly and dashed into the house

'Time for a cold shower!'

'NO I CAN'T HAVE A COLD SHOWER. BLOODY CURSES!'

'I guess a long hot soak will have to do.'

Ranma went to the bathroom, stripped out of his extremely sweaty clothes, and began to scrub himself furiously.

He thought back to how he felt while massaging Akane. 'That was scary, but pleasant at the same time.' He also thought back to when he woke up with her in his arms. It _was_ good back then. Tonight was just a step further. 'Or was it?'

He rinsed himself off and went for a soak in the furo.

What would it be like to just curl up next to her and to hold? 'Probably pretty good. Although I had trouble keeping my cool up in her company.'

He kept up the thought, when the door opened, and in came Akane, naked, with only a towel around her arm.

____________________________________________________________________

Akane was upset. After being so close to him through the training and her treatment, he just ran away. She had definitely felt something there, from his contact. She saw it in his eyes too.

Akane decided that she would take a bath first, then go looking for him. She would give him a piece of her mind.

She stripped out of her sticky clothes, and entered the bathroom.

He was already there. He was in the furo, looking her way like a deer caught in her headlights. 'That's good. I'll show him.'

She proudly walked over to the stool and began to wash herself. She took special care to make sure he got a full view of her as she twisted and reached the soap over her naked form.

'This is fun' she thought, as she watched him stare as the warm water ran off her body. The way he was so easily mesmerised, Akane wanted to give him a longer show. She decided to wash her hair.

She threw another bucket of water over herself, thoroughly wetting her hair, and with some shampoo in her hands, lathered up a rich foam. She slowly moved her arms above her head, their movement causing her breasts to rise up and down as she thrust her chest out to make sure he got a good look.

He was frozen in place. He could not turn away. All he could do was watch as she finished washing herself. When she reached down for water to rinse out her hair, Ranma's eyes were focussed on her breasts as they gently hung from her torso. They were a bit small, but they were perfectly shaped, and were enough to make any man want to regress back to their youth to be nestled between the lovely pair.

She poured the water ever so slowly, holding the bucket high above her head. The suds washed out from her dark blue hair, and came up with a lustrous shine.

When she was finished, she walked over to the tub slowly, then climbed in, and sat opposite Ranma. She looked at Ranma's face full of terror, and sighed. It was not a happy sigh. She was hurt from Ranma's reactions.

She looked up at the terrified boy. "Why are you afraid of me?" Her words were soft, yet they pierced through his mental blockade like a hot knife through butter.

He could feel the pain in her voice, feel the anguish he caused her. He wanted to make her happy. No one could feel good when those big brown eyes gazed at you longingly.

"I-I-I am not afraid of you," he stammered. "I am af-fraid of what I fffeel when you are nearby."

"And why is that?" she asked painfully.

Ranma was struggling to find the words he needed. "I-I-I have nnnever had these fffeelings b-before. It's all nnnew to me.

"During your t-treatment, I was sev-verely losing c-control. Touching you like thhhat was making my b-body react in ways I've nnnever heard of. I had to t-try to fffight against it."

"Please don't fight against me Ranma. I want you just as badly." She moved so that she was sitting beside him. He tensed up.

"For someone who was scared of those feelings, you sure put on one big show for me. You moved with great confidence. You didn't quaver, you held strong.

"The way you held onto me on your first sleep here, I woke up with your arms around me. We can start from there if the other stuff was too much for you." She waited for his response.

He looked down into the water, avoiding her naked features, and thought for a while. Before Akane became too impatient he said, "Are you sssure that you'll let me take it ssslowly? Allow me to mmmake the pace?"

"Yes. I've already have been waiting for a long time, a little longer wont be much of a problem. Having you here is a big step for me too. Our lives have been hard enough on us already, now we have been given a break. Please don't push me away. Let me hold you, if not to just comfort each other."

"Ok-kay. I'll t-try to show my feelings, but c-could we d-do it away from our p-present state of dress? It is a b-bit too mmmuch for me after the session in the dojo."

Akane realised how forward she had been by coming in here. 'Whoops!' "I'll let you have a bit more time alone in here. Dinner should be ready soon." She stood up, Ranma was trying hard to avert his gaze. "I'll see you later," and she left the room.

Ranma slightly relaxed. He lay back in the water and listened to the sound of his heart pounding and carefully slowed it down. This will take a bit of getting used to. As long as she takes it easy on me I should be okay.

After another ten minutes, he emerged and got dressed. When he entered the living room he saw that Akane had saved him a seat beside her. She patted the cushion to call him over.

Ranma sat down nervously as Akane heaped up his plate with food. Everyone's eyes were on the two as they ate dinner together in a meaningful silence. Ranma inhaled his food as they have seen him do before. Akane had also ate her food at an exceptional rate. She refilled their plates and they guzzled down the food.

Soon the silence was ended by Soun speaking up. "How was training today?"

Ranma could feel the gaze of everyone focused on him. "Ssstarted at the b-basics. Akane did well when she realised the habits she p-picked up b-before were doing her nnno good. T-tomorrow I think she would be ready for a mmmore rigorous exercise, now that her aim has been c-corrected."

Soun looked pleased. "What about her chi?"

Both Ranma and Akane's faces turned bright red. "Uh, I ssstarted the t-treatment, and fffrom the looks of her aura and ap-petite, it now has ssstarted to t-take effect." 'Please don't ask for details!' his mind screamed.

Nabiki managed to hold her tongue, after recalling Akane's reaction to her snide remarks this morning. She had viewed her 'treatment' on one of her surveillance monitors. It would get anyone's aura flaring from just watching it.

Soon the table was empty of food, and Kasumi started to gather the empty dishes. Ranma jumped to his feet and offered his help. Kasumi was delighted. No one had ever tried to help before.

Akane was huffed. She had intended to take Ranma to her room straight away. She stood up and said; "Ranma. I'll be in my room. Could you please come to see me when you are finished here."

"Sure," he said while stacking the dishes beside the sink.

Up in her room, Akane was pacing. She wanted to have a deep and meaningful conversation with Ranma. Get him to confide some of his problems with her. Get to know him better. But he was now downstairs with her sister! "Urrgg!"

She decided to tidy up her room, straighten a few things out so it would be comfortable for him to stay in here. Running out of things to do, she grabbed her diary out of its hiding place.

Dear diary

Ranma has let me get closer to him, and after my training it was, ohhh so much closer. Then he turned tail and ran!

I was furious. So upset that I walked in on him in the furo, and proceeded to tease him by staying.

Gah! I couldn't believe I put on such a revealing show for him.

But then he told me that he is scared of his feelings for me. Being out on the road with no affection for his whole life he has never experienced them before. But he said that he will try to open up to me.

I hope he will sleep with me tonight, after all I've slept with him already, but that was by my initiative.

She put the book away and waited.

Soon there was a knock at her door.

"Come in."

Ranma made his way apprehensively through the door, and shut it behind him. She was sitting on her bed and was patting the space beside her for him to sit on. He ventured his way over and joined her.

He didn't say anything, so Akane started the conversation. "Ranma, why are you so nervous all the time? Other than your feelings for me. You seemed to stutter before you knew who we were."

Ranma tensed up. He did not expect to have to answer that so soon. "It has t-to do with my c-curse, and the Neko-ken."

"Yeah. You told us you have nightmares. I have already calmed you down twice the last two nights while you were having them."

Ranma looked up at her. "Y-you have?! That's why they w-were not as bad," he said to himself. "It wasn't the c-complete truth I t-told you the other night. It is true that I am fffighting off the Nnneko all the t-time, but it is mmmore complicated than I made it out to be. Since J-jusenkyo, it has b-become a lot worse." He paused and took a deep breath. "P-please, I'm not ready to t-talk about it. Maybe in a few more days..."

Akane wrapped her arms around him. "When you are ready you can tell me everything. We can just lay here for now." She pulled him down to lie across the bed. With a bit of effort, he managed to scrape up the courage to put his arms back around her.

They lay in silence for a while. The sounds from the rest of the house died down as everyone else went to sleep. Akane realising she should follow suit, got up.

Ranma asked "What is it?"

"Nothing. I've just got to go to sleep soon so I was going to change into my pyjamas." She whipped off her top and began to take off her bra.

Ranma got to his feet. "I better let y-you g-get some sleep then." He averted his gaze and rushed towards the door, but Akane caught him by the wrist.

"Please stay."

"Err..."

Akane smiled, then quickly covered herself up by putting on her pyjama top.

"Umm, ok-kay." He moved back and took off his shirt and pants, leaving on his tank top and boxers.

Akane changed into her pyjama bottoms, and beckoned Ranma over to lie next to her. When he complied, she turned off her bedside lamp. Ranma gulped, she had to lean over him when she did it, and he got a face full of cleavage.

She lay back down and gently pulled his arms around her. Cuddling up to his chest, she promptly went to sleep, filled with blissful dreams. Ranma soon follwed.