Side by Side
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Sequel to Togetherness. Alternate universe story in which Ranma and Akane are cursed to change into duplicates of one another.


Chapter 2. Ryoga Hibiki

It was a bright, sunny day late in May, with occasional breezes ruffling the leaves on the trees. Lunchtime at Furinkan High saw many of the students taking their meal out of doors, Akane and Ranma among them. Not together, though. Akane sat with her friends, Yuka and Sayuri, under a tree while Ranma had similarly been joined by his own friends.

"So, Akane, how's life with your fiancé?" Yuka sounded entirely innocent, but there was a gleam in her eye which was anything but.

Akane scowled. From where she sat, she could just see the subject of the question out of the corner of her eye, about fifteen meters away. He was leaning against the wall of the school and eating lunch with Hiroshi and Daisuke. She avoided looking directly at him, since she didn't want Ranma to catch her gazing at him.

"Would you please drop it, Yuka?" Akane said with more than a trace of irritation in her voice. "Haven't you been listening to me for the last couple of weeks? By now I've made it more than clear that Ranma and I don't agree to this engagement idea of our fathers. Teasing me about it is getting a bit old."

Yuka sighed in cheerful frustration, and when she next spoke she sounded a little less playful. "Okay, okay. Still and all, Ranma has been living in your house for - what? Going on three weeks now? Given your past history with boys, it's only natural to wonder how you're getting along with one of them right there in your own home."

Akane wasn't sure how to answer this. She thought about it for so long that her friends began to wonder if she would answer. Finally, she started speaking, although the words came slowly.

"We're getting along pretty well, really. The biggest problem is that our families won't stop calling us fiancés, or talking about us getting married someday. That gets us irritated, of course, and we start snapping at them ... and each other. But on the other hand, we also spend a lot of time together training in martial arts, and I really like that." She made a sour face. "Even if he does make me work pretty hard. And sometimes we do homework together ..."

Akane paused, looking off into the distance. Then she added, "Sometimes he's a jerk, but most of the time ... he's okay."

"And your curses?" Sayuri asked.

Akane shrugged. "Nothing new there. We still get splashed too damn often, and change. A few times people have mixed us up. That's mostly just been funny."

"Any new observations on what it's like to be a boy?" Sayuri pressed.

Akane blushed. "I've got nothing to say," she stated forcefully.

Yuka spoke hesitantly. "What's that on your face? It looks like a bruise. I didn't really notice 'til your face got all red just now."

Akane replied quickly, hoping to prevent her friends from thinking too hard about it. "Oh, probably just a hit that got through while Ranma and I were sparring. It's nothing."

Yuka had turned back to look over at Ranma, and from her thoughtful expression, Akane may not have succeeded in distracting her. This was confirmed a moment later when Yuka muttered, "You know, that's the same place that Ranma got hit with the baseball yesterday. Except ... why doesn't he have a bruise there? You'd think he would."

She turned back to Akane, who winced as Yuka added, "Or at least ... he should if he was the one who was hit." Sayuri's eyes suddenly widened. Yuka nodded to herself and asked, "So ... which of you was really playing baseball with us in gym yesterday?"

Akane closed her eyes in shame at having been caught out. She could feel her face heating up again, which would be answer enough for her two friends even if she didn't speak. "Er ... we ... ah ... you caught us ... hee hee." The giggle at the end wasn't very convincing. "Ranma and I ... switched places ... for yesterday's gym class." Akane cringed, wondering what they would think of her.

"You mean you let Ranma use the girls' locker room?!" Yuka asked, horrified.

Akane sputtered. "Wait ... no ..."

Sayuri inquired gleefully, "So you used the boys' locker room and watched them change? You naughty girl! I'm soooo envious."

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane saw that Ranma had cocked a curious brow in her direction. No doubt he was wondering why she was so red-faced. "We ... we didn't!" she half-shouted, her tone of horror nearly matching Yuka's. "We changed clothes in the restrooms! Before and after class."

Yuka gave a sigh of relief, as her inability to recall seeing "Akane" in the locker room that day matched her friend's claim. Sayuri shook her head, her mouth making a little moue of disappointment.

"Why not?" Sayuri asked, in fact almost demanded. "I mean, I'm glad you made Ranma change in the restroom, but how could you pass up a chance like that?"

"Because I'm not a pervert!" Akane sputtered. "And listen to yourself! Talk about hypocrisy."

Sayuri shrugged, admitting the truth of the accusation. A thoughtful look passed across her face. "Wait a minute. That means yesterday - in the dugout - that was Ranma ..." She broke off, laughing.

Akane scowled at her. "Yeah, he told me about your perverted questions last night." She looked down at her lap and added, more quietly, "Though I have to admit, he didn't say anything until after I, uh, complained about Hiroshi and Daisuke saying perverted things to me when they thought I was Ranma."

Yuka snorted. "Those two perverts. I can only imagine what they said to you." She glanced over and caught Akane's eye, giving her a hurt look. "That wasn't very fair to us, you know."

"Huh? What?" Akane looked confused.

Sayuri picked up on the complaint. "Not letting us know that you were switching places. You let us talk to Ranma, thinking that he was you. What if we had told him something, thinking we were sharing a secret with you? Or if we asked him about something that you had told us in secret?"

Akane blanched. She could think of several things Yuka and Sayuri knew about her, that she wouldn't want them mentioning in front of Ranma.

Looking very guilty, Akane promised, "Uh, I'm sorry. Next time Ranma and I decide to switch places in school, I'll warn you guys. Okay?" She paused and bit her lip, before adding, "But, you know, sometimes our curses are triggered by accident. You might, uh, want to be careful what you say until you, uh, make sure it really is me."

Yuka sighed. "Definitely something to keep in mind," she admitted. "Are you planning on swapping places today?"

Akane shook her head. "No. We decided to take today off after the last few days ..." She trailed off, realizing what she had just confessed.

Yuka and Sayuri were both giving her amused glares. "Okay, girl. Details. Now."

Akane sighed. "Nothing much happened the other couple of times ..."


The final bell of the day rang, signaling an end to gym class. Akane and Ranma were among the last to leave their respective locker rooms. There was nothing unusual in this - they were the last to leave every day. It took them longer than their classmates because they had to be extra cautious about avoiding accidents in the locker room. They both felt that would be a particularly unfortunate place for their curses to be revealed.

As students poured out of the school building, Hiroshi was near the front of the pack. He ran out of the gate and turned the corner, only to run into a stone wall and bounce back. Curiously, the stone wall carried an umbrella, wore dusty clothes, and had a bandanna on its head.

A hand shot out, grabbed a fistful of Hiroshi's shirt, lifted him up and pressed him against the wall surrounding the school. The stone wall into which he had collided resolved itself into a boy, a fellow Hiroshi's own age. The boy holding him demanded, "I need you to tell me where I can find Furinkan High School."

Hiroshi was flashing back to the first time he had talked to Ranma about Akane, and nearly been choked with his own shirt. ‹Why me?› he silently moaned inside his head. Unable to get any words out of his throat, or even to breathe, he held up a hand and pointed at the sign on the wall.

The boy read the words "Furinkan High School" on the sign. He gave a tight grin and released Hiroshi, who barely managed to stay on his feet when he landed. His assailant now asked, fiercely, "Where is Ranma Saotome?"

Hiroshi wondered whether he ought to pretend ignorance, even though it would risk angering the maniac in front of him. It wasn't a happy thought. Then he considered the fact that Ranma was an incredibly skilled martial artist - surely he could take care of himself. Looking around quickly, he saw Ranma coming out the front door. Hiroshi lifted his arm and pointed once more.

The stranger looked up and saw Ranma running out the door and across the schoolyard, wearing black pants and a red Chinese shirt. He blinked. Running beside Ranma was a girl, also wearing black pants and a red Chinese shirt. Then he took a longer look and frowned. Something about that girl looked familiar, he was sure.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Ranma was getting closer and had to be dealt with. The boy leaped high into the air, then whipped around the umbrella he was carrying to land point down, right on Ranma's head. His lips drew back in a pleased snarl.

Ranma's subconscious noted Hiroshi's eyes looking at a point above himself, an observation which communicated a sudden sensation of danger to the young martial artist. Acting on instinct, he grabbed Akane and leaped to the side. A moment later an umbrella landed where he'd been about to step, with the power of an unknown boy driving it down, causing it to blast a hole in the sod.

The unexpected attacker snarled at Ranma. "Huh! You haven't changed, Ranma. Still prefer to dodge rather than fight."

Ranma stared in puzzlement. Apparently the other boy knew him, and he did look vaguely familiar. But he was having a hard time placing him. One of the dojos where he trained? One of the schools he attended for a few months?

Akane was also struck by a sense of familiarity. The clothing, the backpack, the bandanna, they all reminded her of someone. A moment later she gave a little gasp. The boy at Jusenkyo. The one Ranma had saved from falling into the pool. She almost cried out, but stopped herself just in time. There were other students nearby who would overhear. How would she explain recognizing someone Ranma had met in China?

The stranger sneered at Ranma's obvious inability to place his face. "Just tell me one thing, Ranma. Why did you run out on our fight?!"

Ranma's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Ryoga Hibiki! I remember you. We went to school together! Last fall!" He paused, then frowned. "What the hell do you mean, run out? I waited three days for you to show up."

Akane turned to stare at Ranma. "Three days?" she repeated incredulously.

Ryoga clenched a fist. "Yes! And when I came on the fourth day, you had already run away!"

Akane was staring at them both in complete disbelief. Ranma cocked his head. "Uh, Ryoga? We lived a block apart, and we were supposed to meet in an empty lot halfway between our homes. Why did it take you four days to get there?"

Ryoga growled. "Do you think I spent those four days taking a casual stroll? I crossed rivers, mountains, oceans ... I suffered to meet you for that duel."

Daisuke whispered to Hiroshi. "Oceans?"

Ryoga shook with rage. "Then when I finally get there, I find that you've broken your word, and run off to China with your father."

Ranma raised his eyebrows. "Hey, my old man wasn't gonna let me wait for you forever, y'know. But if you wanna finish our fight ... I'm game." He raised his fists in preparation.

Ryoga's lip curled into a snarl. "I don't care about that fight. This is for revenge!" He suddenly threw his umbrella, which went spinning through the air like a drunken UFO with a tail. Ranma leaned to the side, closer to Akane, and let it pass him by. Keeping his attention on Ryoga, he watched out of the corner of his eye as the umbrella pruned some shrubs before returning, cutting down a sapling on its way back to Ryoga's hand.

"Nice trick," Ranma commented. "Not very useful though."

Ryoga gritted his teeth. He vowed, "No matter what it takes, Ranma Saotome, I shall destroy your happiness!"

Ranma gaped. "My ... happiness?" Then he snorted. "If that's your idea of revenge, I'm afraid my pop already beat you to it."

Akane stopped staring at Ryoga to look at Ranma. She felt a little sad at his words, the suggestion that he wasn't happy. But she knew Ranma was thinking of his curse at that moment, not anything else about the present.

At that moment, Principal Watanabe came marching out of the school. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded. He looked at the hole in the ground and the sapling which had been cut down. "Who's responsible for this?"

Several students pointed in the direction of the boy holding the umbrella. Ryoga grimaced. "I'll be back, Ranma," he declared flatly, then turned and strode off.

The principal stopped in front of Ranma. "I do hope you weren't damaging school property, Saotome-kun?"

Ranma shook his head. Akane answered, "No, Watanabe-sensei. The other boy did all of the damage. All Ranma did was dodge his attacks."

The principal looked out the gate and sighed. "Well, he's gone now. Try to avoid any property damage in future, eh, Saotome-kun." He turned and headed back into the school.

Ranma wasn't one to dwell on things. He turned to Akane, grinning, and called, "Ready! Set! Go!" He took off running.

Akane stared after him blankly, then remembered their training. With a muttered, "Ranmaaa ..." she took off running after him.


When Akane and Ranma came into the house from their afternoon training session, Kasumi met them holding an envelope. "Oh, Ranma. I forgot earlier. A letter came in the mail for you, from someone named Ryoga Hibiki."

She was very surprised when Akane took the letter from her, tearing it open with a mumbled, "Now what?" Even more surpisingly, Ranma stood there and watched placidly.

"Akane!" Kasumi exclaimed, shocked by this display of rude behavior. "That's Ranma's mail! You shouldn't open it."

Both of the younger teenagers looked up at her with sheepish grins. The one wearing Ranma's face gave a small bob of his head, saying, "Sorry, oneechan. That is Ranma. We were practicing in our cursed forms this afternoon. Could you get us some hot water?"

"You ...?" Kasumi stopped, eyes wide as she realized what they were telling her. She finally looked for and spotted the slight scar on the wrong head. She frowned then turned away, mumbling under her breath and shaking her head. Akane was just as glad that she couldn't hear what her older sister was saying.

While Kasumi went off to get the water, Akane read over Ranma's shoulder. It was a formal challenge for a duel, to take place on the grounds at Furinkan High School.

"This is pretty serious," Akane stated unnecessarily. "He's certainly mad at you about something." Looking more closely at the dates, she remarked in confusion, "Uh, this says that he was supposed to meet you for the duel yesterday."

Ranma shrugged. "Ryoga's got the worst sense of direction you ever heard of. When we went to school together, I had to walk him from his home to the school and back every day, or else he'd get lost. That's why I waited three days for him to show up - I knew he wouldn't make it by the appointed time."

"He's probably not going to let it drop, you know," Akane responded. "Not if he's angry enough to send you a formal challenge. Not that it really changes anything. It was already pretty obvious he's going to be back."

Ranma nodded, dropping his chin to his fist in thought. Speaking mostly to himself, he said, "I just wish I knew why he was so pissed off with me."

Akane snapped her fingers. "That reminds me. Do you remember at Jusenkyo ..." She broke off as Kasumi returned with the water, followed by Nabiki.

"Hey, heard you got a letter from the guy you fought today," the middle sister said. "What's he want?" She first addressed Akane, who was still in Ranma's form. When Akane shook her head and pointed, Nabiki sighed before turning to look at the correct person.

Ranma snapped his own fingers. Then he looked up, finally processing Nabiki's question. "Oh, it's a challenge. He'll show up at school again one of these days. But I just remembered something, the reason we were going to fight before."

"So what did you do to him that was so terrible?" Akane wanted to know.

Ranma stuck out his chest and told them proudly, "I beat him in a contest for the last bread in the cafeteria every day. Lunchtime was always a war there. After all, it was a boys' school."

Nabiki looked over the boy wearing her sister's body and smirked. "Boys' school?"

"Hey!" Ranma whined, annoyed. "Back then I was always a boy."

Kasumi sighed. She poured the hot water over his head, restoring his male form. She then treated her youngest sister similarly.

While shaking water out of her hair, Akane commented, "He seems awfully angry, far more than you'd expect because of some bread. He was trying to seriously hurt you." She wanted to talk to Ranma about recognizing Ryoga from Jusenkyo, but couldn't do it with her sisters present.

Both Nabiki and Kasumi were reflecting on Akane's last statement. "Just how ... how seriously was this boy trying to hurt Ranma?" Kasumi asked.

"Pretty damn seriously, oneechan," Nabiki responded, earning a frown from Kasumi for her language. She turned to Ranma and fixed him with a hard look. "What if you and Akane are backwards the next time he attacks? Is Akane going to be ready to defend herself?"

Ranma shuffled his feet, and Akane started thinking about becoming angry. The boy replied, "If she sees Ryoga coming, she can probably hold her own long enough to run away. I wouldn't recommend that she meet him head on. He was good enough to give me some trouble in those cafeteria fights, and he's built like a tank."

Akane was no longer thinking about it. She was now angry. Glaring at Ranma, she shouted, "I can take care of myself ...!"

Nabiki stepped between the two, staring Akane down. "Ranma's told you before that he thinks you're pretty good. Now do you trust his judgment or not?"

Akane looked down at the floor, scowling, refusing to answer.

Nabiki turned around to face Ranma, hands clenched. "Now what are you going to do about it? If this Ryoga mistakes Akane for you, my little sister could get hurt. Is she ready to take him on or not? And if not, what else can you do about it?"

Kasumi stepped up and put a calming hand on Nabiki's arm. When the latter turned to look at Kasumi, the older sister shook her head slightly.

Ranma grumbled. "I'm already training her, ain't that enough?" He ran a hand through his hair as Nabiki continued glaring at him. "Okay, okay, dammit. I guess I can start training her harder, start introducing her to some of the other stuff a bit sooner than I planned. And I'll give it some thought, see if I can think up anything else that'll help."

Akane was still looking at the floor, still angry, though the anger was fading. In its place she was starting to feel appalled at the idea that Ranma was going to train her harder. She already felt like he was pushing her to her limit. At the same time, there was a part of her which was enthusiastic at the thought. In the end she left to get ready for dinner without saying another word, thinking hard.


Later that night, Akane came into her bedroom after her bath, wearing pajamas and with a towel wrapped around her hair. She flopped down onto her bed, feeling exhausted. Ranma had run her ragged in the dojo that night, insisting she perform her kata twenty percent faster than usual, and pressing much harder during their sparring. Akane still wasn't sure where she had found the energy to struggle through washing up. She had slowly recovered after she dragged herself over the side into the furo and soaked in the hot water.

As she lay on her bed, Akane remembered that she still hadn't told Ranma about recognizing Ryoga from Jusenkyo. She groaned at the thought of getting up again, and wished that she was able to just think and have him hear her, like back in China. It was odd, Akane reflected. She had only spent two weeks trapped inside Ranma's head, and close to three weeks had passed since then. But she still missed being able to talk to him so easily. On the other hand, she had to admit that she didn't miss the fact that neither of them had been allowed any privacy whatsoever during those two weeks.

Snorting at her own silliness, Akane focused her thoughts hard on the boy who was surely somewhere nearby. ‹Ranma! Ranma! Can you hear me? C'mon, baka, please answer if you can.› There was of course no answer. She sighed, then the corners of her mouth turned up. Did she really want to go back to a time when all of her thoughts were shared with him? Of course not.

All the same, there were times when it would be convenient. Like right now, for instance. With an audible groan, Akane pulled herself to a sitting position, then climbed wearily to her feet. She stumbled out of her room and went in search of Ranma.

When she didn't find him in the guest room or family room, she stepped outside and looked up. "Ranma! Are you up on the roof?"

A head peeked over the edge. "Yeah. Whattcha want?"

"Could you come down for a minute?" Akane pleaded. "I'd like to talk to you."

Ranma considered. "Why don't you come up instead?"

Akane glared at him, though the effect was somewhat lost in the darkness. "Because I'm too worn out from our workout earlier. I'm barely standing on my feet as it is."

"Oh, okay. In that case ..." Suddenly Ranma landed lightly right beside her. Before Akane realized his intention, he had wrapped his arms around her then leaped high into the air. They landed on the roof and Ranma helped her to sit down.

"Baka," Akane said without heat. "We could have talked down there."

Ranma shrugged. "More privacy up here. So, what'd you wanna talk about?"

Akane lay back on the roof and looked up at the stars overhead. "Do you really think I couldn't handle Ryoga if he attacked me?"

Ranma looked down at Akane, then joined her in lying on the roof. "Depends," he replied. "On how serious Ryoga is. How focused he is. He's a lot stronger than that Kuno guy, and just as fast. Of course, at our level, little things mean a lot. You're pretty strong yourself. If he made a little mistake, and you got a punch in, you might put him out of the fight. I wouldn't want to count on that kinda luck, though."

There was some bitterness in her voice as she said, "So, you think I could only beat him if I got lucky."

Ranma's voice was strained. "Akane ..." He paused. "Listen, how many times I gotta tell you? You're good. But you ain't the best. Not yet. That's why I'm training you. So yeah, in a straight up fight where he thinks you're a guy, if you don't get lucky, he'll beat you."

Ranma continued, seriously. "On the other hand, you gotta remember that you practice 'Anything Goes.' We make our own luck. I told you it depends on how focused Ryoga is. One thing about that guy is he can't take any kind of insult. He gets mad and loses all focus. I used that more than once in the cafeteria fights.

"So if you find yourself fighting him, insult him. Tease him. Dance around him. Anything to get him hopping mad. He'll lash out without paying as much attention to defense, and you might get a good hit in.

"But don't be stupid about it. You ain't ready to fight him on his own terms, not yet. If he leaves you an opening, you get the hell out of there. Y'understand?"

He heard a sigh beside him. "Yeah, I understand," came the girl's resigned response. When she continued, her voice was wistful, "How long do you think it'll be before I can take him on in a fair fight?"

Ranma grunted. "I ain't ever seen much point in fighting fair. I was taught to fight to win." He paused and considered her question. "In all honesty, I dunno. I only ever fought Ryoga in those lunchtime battles. He was late for that duel, and I didn't really fight him at school today. I'd have to fight him for real before I know how good he really is."

Akane acknowledged to herself that Ranma had a point. Changing the subject, she asked, "By the way, did you recognize Ryoga today?"

Ranma sounded a little confused. "Yeah, of course. I told you. We went to school together. Bread fights. Supposed to have a duel."

"Not that," she said in exasperation. "I meant from Jusenkyo. He was the boy you ran into, when we fell off the cliff. The one where we both barely managed not to fall into the other pool."

Ranma sat bolt upright. "What?! He couldn't be!" He cast his mind back to that day, dredging up the memory, trying to recall what that boy had looked like. "Damn! You're right. It was him! What the hell was he doing there?"

Akane couldn't help a small chuckle. "Well, he did follow you here, looking to finish that duel. Or for revenge. Or something. I guess he followed you to China first."

Ranma gave a light laugh as well. "Guess so. Poor bastard. Chases me all through China and back, when he could have just stayed here and waited in Tokyo. Damn lucky for him that we kept him from falling in that pool. Imagine how much more angry he'd be if he had fallen in while chasing after me."

Ranma paused and considered something else. "Y'know, it's kinda funny he didn't recognize you as well. At school today. After all, I was in my cursed form when I, ah, 'ran into him' at Jusenkyo."

Akane spoke disdainfully. "What's so strange about that? You didn't recognize him. He only saw you for a few seconds that day. You were wearing your hair differently. I'd be startled if he had recognized me."

"Mmm, I suppose," Ranma said. "Well, at least now I have something else to ask him about next time I see him. Maybe I can find out what's got him so upset."

Akane watched as the lights of a jet slowly passed overhead. She knew that eventually she would need to get up and go to bed, but she felt too weary to contemplate it. Instead, from out of the blue, she asked the boy beside her, "Ranma, do you ever miss it? Being able to talk to each other just by thinking?"

Ranma snorted. "I don't miss getting yelled at for accidentally thinking something you didn't like. It's nice to be able to take a bath without worrying about where I'm looking or scrubbing. It's damn nice being able to, um, go to the little boys' room without someone else being along for the ride."

Ranma couldn't see Akane's smile in the dark, but he could hear it in her reply. "Okay, I won't argue with any of that. It's also nice to have my own body back, to be able to move my arms and legs, instead of simply riding along in your head. But, um, ..." She hesitated, unsure of herself. "Sometimes, I kind of miss ... how easy it was to talk to you. We ... talked about a lot of things, just to pass the time."

"Yeah," Ranma said, sounding reflective and maybe a little wistful. "But you know, you can ... come and talk to me ... anytime you like. About anything." He smiled. "It ain't like you could come up with anything more embarrassing than what we went through together those days."

Akane had to smile as well, and felt a warmth inside at his words. Deciding that eventually she would need to go to bed, she said, "I hope you realize that you're going to have to get me down from here as well?"

"No problem," Ranma answered gallantly. Without warning, Akane found herself scooped up into his arms and the two of them falling toward the ground. She took hold of a handful of his shirt, pressing herself tightly to his chest, surprised at how secure she felt in his arms. No sooner did they come to a stop, then Ranma was leaping into the air again. He landed on the sill of her bedroom window before hopping inside, whereupon he placed Akane on her bed.

"Uh ... thanks," was all that she got out.

Ranma gave her a slight bow, then turned and hopped back out of her window again. Akane watched the window through which he had departed for several minutes, before turning off the light and climbing under her covers.


The days that followed became a test of endurance. Starting bright and early Saturday morning, Ranma further picked up the pace of Akane's training, pushing her harder and harder. Then harder still.


Akane threw punches into the pads Ranma held in front of himself, moving as fast as she could. Left, right, left, right.

"C'mon, Akane, faster!" Ranma demanded. "You can punch faster'n that if you let yourself! Kuno's almost that fast."

Akane growled. Somehow her punches started coming faster.


Akane jumped up to the ceiling, grabbing another of the short ribbons Ranma had hung there. She twisted acrobatically in midair to evade the beanbag which whizzed past. At first she had scoffed at the idea of Ranma threatening her with beanbags. That ended when the first one struck her. She couldn't believe how much it had stung.

The moment her feet touched the floor, she leaped toward the ceiling again, spreading her legs so that a beanbag zipped between them. She wasn't allowed to remain in contact with the floor for more than a few seconds at a time, until after she collected all of the ribbons. The first time she had tried to pause between leaps, Ranma had nailed her with one of the beanbags, much harder than the midair strikes. She planned to give him a piece of her mind once she finished this exercise and had a chance to breathe, but in the meantime she didn't want to give him any reason to do that again.


They had dragged a balance beam into the middle of the dojo, and she and Ranma were both standing upon it. They traded punches and kicks, until Akane tumbled off again. She twisted in the air and landed properly.

"Good. Again," Ranma called.

Akane muttered a curse under her breath. She jumped back up onto the balance beam.


Akane struggled to lift the barbell, barely moving it. "It's no use, Ranma! I've never lifted close to this much. I'm trying, but it's too heavy!"

Ranma leaned down near her. "Try not! Do. Or do not. There is no try."

Akane snarled. "Dammit! You're not Yoda, and I'm not Luke Skywalker and this isn't a damn movie!"

Ranma chuckled. "C'mon, use your diaphragm and fill those lungs for something other than talking. Feel your chi. Push it out into your legs for support. Push it into your arms for strength. You can do this!"

Cursing inside her head, Akane breathed deeply, filling her lungs completely. She took a moment to focus herself, then lifted. Centimeter by agonizing centimeter the barbell rose from the floor. When it reached chest height, Akane opened her eyes to stare into Ranma's eyes, flames burning behind her pupils.

Ranma reached out to grab the bar, smiling. He helped her to lower it to the floor. "That was great, Akane! I knew you could do it. I think I want to add some breathing exercises though."

Akane groaned at the thought of more exercises.


Akane knelt on the floor of the dojo, panting. "Are we done in the dojo for this afternoon, Ranma?" Try though she might to sound confident, the tone of voice came out one step short of begging.

"Yes. We're done in the dojo," Ranma answered, promptly enough to be suspicious. Akane looked up, worried, while rivulets of sweat ran down her face. One look at Ranma's overly innocent expression was enough to warn her that he was indeed up to something. Blithely, Ranma went on. "However, I gotta go downtown for something. So we're going for a run. Come on."

With a whimper Akane climbed to her feet. She grabbed a towel and mopped at her face. Ranma waited until she finished, then he nodded and took off running. Akane gave chase, struggling to keep up.

She managed to draw level with him. As soon as she did, he turned his head to look at her and cheerfully announced, "Time for something else." Akane turned frightened eyes upon him. Ranma pointed over to the wall beside them. "Time for a little more balance training. Follow me!"

With that he jumped up to land atop the wall and continued running, calling out over his shoulder as he went, "I chose our path today so that we have thick walls almost the entire way." Akane ran a few more steps along the sidewalk, staring after him. Then she gathered her courage and made the leap as well, catching her balance and running along the top of the wall behind him. It wasn't as hard as it looked from the ground. The wall was a good twenty centimeters wide. At least, it wasn't hard as long as she ignored the distance to the ground on either side, a distance she'd be experiencing directly if she made a single misstep.

"C'mon, slowpoke, speed it up!" Ranma called from up ahead. Akane narrowed her concentration to her feet, the wall and Ranma, trying to shut out everything else. Especially the protests from her own body.

When Ranma finally jumped down to the sidewalk, Akane tried to follow him but stumbled upon landing. She would have fallen except that Ranma was immediately there to catch her. She looked up at him, still in something of a daze from her recent narrowly focused concentration on the task at hand. She looked so lost and out of it, that Ranma felt a pain in his chest that he was putting her through this.

"It's only a little further," he said softly. Holding her arm to lend support, Ranma walked with Akane a short distance along the sidewalk and into a small bakery. He left her leaning against the front wall with her eyes closed, while he went down an aisle to select the small loaves of bread he'd come out after. When he was done Ranma paid for his purchases, then took Akane's arm once more.

"We'll walk home," the boy told her comfortingly. Akane nodded, giving her attention to placing one weary foot in front of the other.

Ranma cleared his throat, looking sideways at the girl beside him with some concern, before continuing more seriously. "We'll stick to walls like that for the next couple of days. Then we'll throw in some thinner ones. We'll be doing more balance practice in the dojo, too. Next week you'll be walking some fences, with me right behind you. A week or so after that I think you'll be ready to start running the fences."

Akane listened to him as if from a distance, with something akin to disbelief. Oh sure, she wanted to be able to do those things. Wanted it desperately, even. But could she really keep up this pace?

Ranma's next words made it sound as if he could hear her thoughts. "You can do it Akane. Just believe in yourself. You got reserves, beyond what you know. Crap, beyond what I woulda believed about you before I started training you. I'm gonna be giving you a taste of hell, but you can do it." He was almost pleading with her to believe him.

Akane stumbled on, processing his words. Her head was beginning to clear, enough so for her to feel more than a little worried about what was in store, but those few sentences awoke a fierce pride in her. She would do this! She would prove to Ranma that his faith in her was justified. With a grunt of effort she forced herself to pay attention to her surroundings once more, and focused on lifting her feet and walking properly. Beside her, Ranma smiled.


It was a quiet afternoon, threatening rain. Lunch had been finished a short time earlier, and everyone had scattered to their normal Sunday activities. That meant that Soun and Genma had started up one of their constant games of shogi. Akane had gone upstairs to deal with some homework before their next training session. Ranma knew that he needed to do the same, but had no objection to procrastinating.

Ranma approached the two older men with a serious expression. "Pop, Tendo-san, can I speak to both of you for a minute?"

The two men looked up from their game. "Certainly, son," Soun said. Turning to the other man, he suggested, "Saotome, why don't we step away from the board for a few moments to, ah, remove any temptation?"

Genma grunted, disappointed by the suggestion but not enough to argue the point. They sat with Ranma around the table in the family room. "What's this about, boy?" his father asked peremptorily.

"Akane's training," Ranma answered. His father's lips twisted into a sneer but at a glance from Soun, Genma held his tongue from any comment.

"More specifically," Ranma went on, "her awareness. When Ryoga attacked me at the school, she didn't notice anything until I pulled her aside." He frowned. "When I sat down and thought about it, I remembered other times she missed things she shouldn't have. Not always. Not even most of the time. But more than's healthy under the circumstances."

He paused briefly and shrugged. "Thanks to pop being a complete maniac, I learned that I might be attacked at any time. I grew up that way. Akane didn't. But now someone might. Attack her at any moment, that is. And she's not ready for it."

Ranma looked the two men over carefully. "Somehow we got to train Akane to be more aware, to spot attacks before they reach her."

"If you think I'm going to go around attacking a little slip of a girl out of the blue ...," Genma began.

Soun looked furious, although there were tears in his eyes as well. "You can't do that! My little girl will get hurt!"

"Sheesh! We don't have to hit her!" Ranma yelled. "Slow down and let me explain!" He waited for a moment before going on, finding his place in what he was trying to say. "We need to train her to be more aware of her surroundings, and to respond defensively. But we can do that without hurting her. My first thought was water pistols, but I'd rather do this without activating her curse.

"So I was thinking we could smear toothpaste or something like that on her. If she don't dodge or block it, that is. If she does defend herself successfully, we stop. This ain't about fighting. It's about spotting an attack before it arrives. Now pop, is it really gonna kill you to put a dab of toothpaste on a girl's cheek?"

Genma thought about it, then looked over to his old friend Soun. Though he was loathe to admit it, the idea actually amused him. Still, he couldn't be the one to give in to the boy's request. Soun finally looked up and consulted Genma's eyes as well.

"Very well, Ranma-kun," Akane's father told him. "We'll do it. I assume you're planning to inform my daughter of this plan."

Ranma nodded. "Yep. I'll go upstairs and do it right now. I'll warn her that she's gotta be ready anytime, anywhere. The only place that's off limits is when she's bathing or changing clothes."

Genma frowned. "The training is incomplete if you allow the student to feel there is a time that he can let his guard down."

Ranma growled. "We'll take our chances. You sneak in on Akane while she's bathing and I'll help her break your bones. However, I wasn't planning to mention to her that there will be times that are off limits."

Allowing the two fathers to return to their game, Ranma climbed the stairs to explain this new aspect of her training to Akane. He hoped that she'd take it calmly.


Akane, Yuka and Sayuri sat down under one of the trees in the schoolyard and opened their bento. Before they could begin eating, an arm suddenly darted around from behind Akane, and left a dab of toothpaste on her nose. She shrieked and jumped up, almost spilling her lunch on the ground in her haste. Her hands clenched in fists as she watched Ranma stroll off casually to join Hiroshi and Daisuke.

Sitting back down with grumbled curses, Akane pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off her nose. Her friends were both staring at her. "What was that all about?" Yuka asked inquisitively.

Akane huffed. "Just a ... a stupid training program Ranma started last night. He and our fathers attempt to do stupid things like that, and I'm somehow supposed to notice them sneaking up on me before they do it. And all three of them are really good at sneaking around, damn it!"

Sayuri said rather doubtfully, "Ranma certainly seems to insist on making you do a lot of training."

"You don't know the half of it," Akane grumped. "It got a lot worse this weekend. Let me tell you about it ..."

Over by Ranma, Hiroshi was asking, "What was that all about? Playing games with your fiancée?"

Ranma scowled, but there was no real anger behind it. "Just a new training technique. Don't read nothing into it."

"Whatever you say, Ranma," Hiroshi replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Hey Daisuke, could you give me one of those packages of wasabi?"

"Sure, here."

The little packet came flying over. Hiroshi grabbed it out of the air, squeezing unintentionally. "Thanks. Hey! Shit man, why didn't you tell me it was open! Uh, um, sorry about that, Ranma. It was an accident, right?"

Ranma was looking down at the dark stain on his white shirt. He gave a heavy sigh. "Yeah, yeah. It was an accident. Sometimes I think you're a walking accident." He scrubbed at the spot with a napkin, removing some of the excess.

They continued with their lunch, eating and talking about what they'd be doing in gym class that afternoon. When they were about halfway done, the automatic sprinklers hidden in the lawn suddenly turned on, spraying water everywhere.

"What the hell!" numerous voices screamed. Students everywhere were jumping to their feet, making a mad dash for the doors into the school. Without pausing to think about it, Ranma and Akane ran toward one another before anyone could take the time to notice their changed genders, confusing the eye as to who had come from which direction. The crowd of students that entered the building contained one male Ranma figure and one female Akane figure, just as it should.

As the students milled around, trying to sort themselves out to go to their classrooms and finish their lunches, the P.A. system came to life. "Attention. We're very sorry, but the sprinkler system seems to have suffered a malfunction. We're working on fixing it, but in the meantime everyone should stay inside the school."

"Well gosh," Daisuke remarked acerbically, "it never would have occurred to me to stay inside."

"Hey Ranma," Hiroshi asked, "why didn't you just jump through the classroom window?"

"Uh ..." The person he addressed had to think about it. "I guess it just didn't occur to me."

Hiroshi laughed. "Yeah, well ..." He trailed off, staring. Daisuke looked at where he was staring, which was the front of "Ranma's" shirt. It suddenly occurred to Daisuke what was troubling his friend. There was no stain on the shirt, except for the obvious marks the water had left.

At that precise moment, "Akane" walked by. There was a very obvious stain on her shirt. It even had that funny little curl on the lower left that Daisuke remembered noticing while he was talking to Ranma. "What the hell?"

The girl who appeared to be Akane turned to regard him curiously. Hiroshi started pointing back and forth between the two shirts. "Huh? ... Wh-why would you have changed your shirts? I mean, I would've noticed if A-A-Akane had p-pulled off her sh-shirt while ..."

The boy he thought of as Ranma hit him over the back of the head, causing him to stagger forward. Beside him Daisuke said, "I'm sure she didn't do anything like that." He was thinking hard. Looking at Ranma and Akane he declared, "I ran right up behind you two, and you were in my sight the whole time. I'd swear that neither of you took off your shirt."

The girl wearing the stained shirt looked around nervously at the other students nearby. "Dammit! We gotta take this elsewhere. Come on!" Ranma grabbed Hiroshi and Daisuke by their collars and dragged them with him. Akane, in her male form, together with Yuka and Sayuri, trailed behind. The latter pair had already guessed what had happened.

The six of them entered the empty home ec classroom and shut the door behind them. The girl they thought of as Akane turned on the two boys with a fierce glare. "We're about to show you something. You will keep it a deep, dark secret. If you tell anyone about it, you die. Understand?"

Both Hiroshi and Daisuke swallowed in fear. Unable to speak, they nodded their heads. They also both noticed that Yuka and Sayuri were grinning, as they stood nearby watching this byplay.

"Now, Ranma," Yuka began, causing immediate and deep confusion in the two boys. "Was that really very nice? Akane only swore us to secrecy. She never used any threats."

In the meantime, the real Akane had poured some hot water into a couple of measuring cups. She came back over and handed one to Ranma. Lifting them over their heads, they poured. Hiroshi's and Daisuke's jaws hit the floor as Ranma and Akane appeared to switch places.

"Wh-wh-what's going on?" Daisuke whispered. He was honestly starting to feel frightened.

"Calm down, you guys, you'll get used to it," Sayuri attempted to reassure them. Turning to the cursed duo, she added, "You'd better hurry up and explain before they bolt."

Ranma sighed. He launched into the explanation about Jusenkyo, getting cursed, waking Akane, and finding that she was cursed as well. Both of the boys were staring at him in awe when he was done. There was also a trace of disbelief in their expressions, but that was mostly overruled by what they had just seen with their own eyes.

Hiroshi started stuttering. "Y-you, you mean to say, that e-every time you get wet, your b-body changes into Akane Tendo's? That would mean - whenever you take a bath?!" A line of drool snaked down his chin from the corner of his mouth.

Akane marched over and whacked him upside the head, causing him to crash into the wall and fall to the floor. "Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself! Which reminds me ..." She gave Daisuke an evil look as she stepped over beside him. He watched her very nervously.

In a purring whisper, Akane told him, "That was me, not Ranma, sitting beside you on Thursday when the baseball hit me. Do you remember what you said that distracted me?" A expression of terror lit Daisuke's face, a moment before he went crashing into the wall himself.

Ranma crouched beside the two boys, who were both still lying on the floor. He smiled maliciously. "The next time you two start asking me perverted stuff, you'd better stop and wonder - is that really Ranma? Or could it be Akane?" Both boys looked up at him in horror.

After the two boys climbed to their feet, they nervously asked a few questions. However, their glances kept straying over to Akane, standing there, watching them. As a result, their hearts weren't really in it. They just wanted to escape and find a quiet place where they could take some time to adjust to all of this craziness.

While the boys were quizzing Ranma, Akane was standing off to the side with Yuka and Sayuri. Yuka quietly said, "I meant to ask while we were eating lunch. Are you and Ranma switching places today? You haven't said anything about it."

Akane shook her head. "Ranma wanted to take a couple of days off after hitting me with the baseball last Thursday. I think it shook him a little. We were discussing swapping during math class tomorrow." She grinned wryly. "If we do, I hope he doesn't get called on in my place."

Her two friends grinned and nodded. They all looked up at the sound of the warning bell ringing for the next class period, which cut short the boys' questions. "Aw hell," Ranma complained. "I never finished my lunch!"


When the bell rang for the end of math class and the start of lunch period, Ranma rose from Akane's desk with a sense of relief. While he hadn't said anything to her about it, he had been very worried that the teacher might call on him in Akane's place. His heart was lightened considerably at having escaped unscathed.

As he stood up, Ranma suddenly found himself flanked on both sides by Yuka and Sayuri. They grabbed his arms and hustled him out of the classroom. "Come on, Akane," Sayuri said. "We don't get enough chances to talk these days. You never seem to have time before or after school."

They were stepping through a swinging door. Ranma looked up at the sign on the door as he passed through, then struggled not to recoil in horror as he found himself being dragged into the girls' restroom.

Sayuri leaned over a sink and looked into a mirror as she started to apply some lip gloss. Yuka leaned back against one of the walls casually, her arms crossed. Looking into the face of her friend, she asked, "So, Akane, have you told Ranma yet that you really want him to be your fiancé?"

Ranma stared at Yuka in shock. "I-I-I do?" A tremor passed over him as he visibly pulled himself together. "I-I mean, n-no. I h-haven't told him. It's ... I need ... need more time to think about it."

Yuka replied thoughtfully, "Don't you think you'd better snatch him up while he's available? What if some other girl catches his eye? He might decide to pick her instead."

The boy-turned-girl was sweating heavily. How had he gotten into this conversation? "I ... I don't really think so. I ... he doesn't really have time for girls right now. Training, y'know?"

"But how can you be suuuure?" Sayuri pressed from her position over the sink. "There are lots of girls who wouldn't mind going out with him. He might pick one of them."

Ranma shook his head in quick jerks. "I'm sure if ... he ... picked anyone, he'd pick A- ... me."

Yuka smirked. From her position over the sink, Sayuri grinned. Changing the subject after this admission, the latter said, "By the way, did you two notice those tight pants that Kazuki was wearing today? What a cute butt. Don't you think so, Akane?" She smiled sweetly while Yuka gave her a frown from out of sight behind Ranma.

Outside the restroom, Akane was fuming while trying not to stare directly at the door. What were they up to in there? She was still in Ranma's body, and the hall was crowded so she couldn't just march in. She swore that she'd pay her two friends back for this.

Back inside, Sayuri had stepped closer to Ranma. "Here, Akane, let me put some of this on you." She held up the lip gloss.

Ranma tried to step backward, but bumped into Yuka. "N-no, thanks. I don't r-really want ..."

"Oh come on, Akane. There's nothing improper about a little lip gloss at school. Hold still." With a smile she managed to apply a thin coat to Ranma's lips.

Yuka cleared her throat. "I, uh, think we'd better ..."

Sayuri interrupted as she turned her back. "Akane, could you help me please. I think my bra strap is twisted." Her hands reached for the top buttons of her shirt.

Ranma made an "eep" sound and the room swam in front of his eyes. He was afraid he might fall over. From behind him, Yuka's voice hissed, "Sayuri, you pervert! This wasn't what we ... er ..."

Ranma turned and stared at her frightened gaze. He then spun back around, taking in Sayuri's mischievous grin. "You knew! The whole time! You ... you ..." His mouth opened and closed, unable to continue speaking. He turned on his heel and marched out of the restroom, colliding with Akane who had just made up her mind to go in whether it looked perverted or not. With one last seething look toward the two girls still in the restroom, Akane and Ranma took off down the hall.


Both Akane and Ranma suffered from short tempers most of that week. For Akane, this was due less to the restroom incident than to the constant barrage of surprise attacks, on top of the unending training sessions. The attacks kept her reeling with confusion while the training left her dropping from exhaustion. As for Ranma, not only did he remain upset with Yuka and Sayuri, although they did apologize later than afternoon, but he was also being pestered endlessly by Daisuke and Hiroshi. Whenever they were sure of his identity, they plied him with questions about Akane's body. Pounding on the pair didn't stop them, it barely even slowed them down.

On the other hand, Ranma found it easier to forgive the two boys the day he tripped over a bucket and splashed water all over himself in the hallway. Daisuke and Hiroshi were with him when it happened. His two friends stood between him and the other students in the hall, mostly hiding him from sight, until he was able to duck into a restroom to get some hot water.

On top of all these things, they had another minor run in with Kuno. There was also the ever present question of when Ryoga would reappear and attack to finish their duel. Ranma had warned Principal Watanabe of the Hibiki boy's intentions, and had promised to try to lead him away from the school when he showed up. The big concern was when that would occur.

When school let out on Thursday, Ranma casually closed in from behind Akane as she walked across the school yard. He was just about to make his move, one finger extended with a bit of toothpaste on the end, when Akane suddenly spun around and clobbered him with her schoolbag.

"Ha! Got you!" she crowed in victory.

Ranma climbed back to his feet, looking with mild dismay at the smear of toothpaste on his shirt. "Yeah, you did. Congratulations! I ..."

He stopped short, looking over her shoulder with an oddly blank expression. Akane's pleased look faded into confusion and she turned around to see what he was looking at. Standing at the edge of the soccer field was Ryoga Hibiki.

"About time," Ranma mumbled scornfully. He took off walking quickly, and Akane hurried to catch up. Within moments, they were facing Ryoga from a distance of several meters.

Other students had begun to take notice. They drifted over, like moths drawn to a flame, calling out to others who hadn't noticed yet. The hillside around the soccer field filled up with spectators.

Ryoga proclaimed, loudly and nastily, "So Ranma, you finally had the guts to show up!"

All eyes turned to see Ranma's response. With a huge effort, he ignored the jibe. "Listen, Ryoga, there's no need for us to fight."

As far as Ranma was concerned, this whole business was just silly. It was time to try to defuse the situation. Slowly, his hand reached inside his schoolbag for the item he would use to negotiate a truce with his opponent. An item obtained at his own expense several days earlier.

Ranma called out, "This should make us even." He tossed the object through the air to his opponent. Ryoga snatched it in confusion and looked down at what he held.

"Curry bread?!"


Author's note:

I've got no idea why FFnet didn't send out story alerts to those of you who have me on author alert, when I posted chapter 1. Just one of those little glitches we know and love so well on the site. Anyway, here's chapter 2, and I hope you enjoy it.

Yes, yes, I know. Everyone was expecting more fighting with Ryoga. The first big confrontation with Ryoga will be right at the beginning of chapter 3, and will form a significant chunk of that chapter.