Author's note: Hello again! Well, I hope you're enjoying this AU. It's quite fun to write. Look forward to the antics of next chapter, where this thing really kicks off!

Chapter Four: On The Home Stretch

Nabiki Tendo sipped her cup of coffee, smirking over the rim of it at Tatewaki; so it had come to this, at last. It was a shame, really; she'd been enjoying the little thread of lies that she'd been not only spreading, but making money off. It wasn't often that she lied – as she liked to run a reliable business with her clients – but Akane had begged, pleaded and paid her wads of yen in the past week to tell Tatewaki that the reason she wasn't coming to school was because she was sick. Since Tatewaki wasn't paying her for the false information, she wasn't feeling terribly guilty about it.

However, lately, he was starting to get frantic. He'd spent far too long not getting to fight with and admire his love interest, so he'd said that he was planning on visiting her at her house. This had posed a massive problem, as Akane had still been on the bus when Furinkan High was let out for the day, meaning that she would come home, dressed in a boy's uniform, and her cover would be blown. Therefore, Nabiki had decided to grant him some 'valuable information' about his beloved, but only if he took her to her favourite Western-style café and paid for everything that she ordered.

"Nabiki Tendo..." Tatewaki said, leaning across the table, "wilt thou now tell me why thou haft kept me from my beloved Akane Tendo?"

Nabiki loved watching people beg; it gave her so much power over them. Taking her sweet time, she took another sip and slowly placed the cup back on its saucer.

"Alright, listen, Kuno-baby..." she replied, "the truth of the matter is that Akane hasn't been sick."

Tatewaki jumped back in horror. "What? Akane Tendo is well?" He slammed his arms on the table. "Then why hast thou spun such a web of lies? Speak!"

Unfazed by his crazy antics, she paused a moment. "Buy me some spaghetti and, maybe, we'll talk."

He glowered at her. "And you call yourself a human being..."

She smiled. "I try."

Sometime later, she was twirling bolognaise-stained spaghetti around a fork. The whole time it had taken for this dish to arrive, Tatewaki had been impatiently tapping his fingernails on the table. Now, however, he was staring intently at her. As she thought about how differently such behaviour would affect her two sisters, she couldn't help but feel amused. It would take much more than this to bother Nabiki Tendo.

"Well?"

She took her time eating the roll of spaghetti, just to frustrate him. It was honestly laughable how easy it was to frustrate him. Once she swallowed it, she cleaned her mouth with a napkin.

"Akane has transferred to a different school."

"She's what?"

Tatewaki's fist slammed the table, making her meatballs bounce a couple of centimeters in the air.

She smirked at him. "That's right, Kuno-baby... she's not simply taking time off... she's left Furinkan High."

He grabbed his head. "This... this cannot be!" His arms slammed on the table, making the meatballs bounce again. "What manner of trickery is this? Who has forced my beloved to part with me? Tell me, Nabiki Tendo!"

She calmly stuck her fork into a meatball and lifted it to her mouth. "Cake." She ate the meatball.

A while later, after forcing Tatewaki through an agonising wait, while she ate her spaghetti and he ordered some cake for her, she glanced at her watch. Yep, she'd delayed enough; Akane should be home and changed by now.

Smirking, she swallowed the piece of cake that she'd been chewing. "Here's the deal... Akane was fed up with you and all the other jocks trying to beat her up every day. I mean, is that any way to get a boyfriend? I'd hate guys, too, if I were her... so she transferred to another school."

Tatewaki was silent for a few moments. Nabiki blinked, wondering if she'd broken him, when he suddenly smirked.

"Hmph... poor, naïve Nabiki Tendo... to think that ye know so little of the love of Akane Tendo and I... Alas! Were your statement possible, I should be inclined to believe it, but it cannot be so. Akane Tendo, 'fed up' with the great Tatewaki Kuno, Blue Thunder of Furinkan High? Surely, you jest. No..." He clenched his fists and gained a strange fire in his eyes. "My beloved's father is a foul sorceror, who wishes to keep us from becoming one! Wicked, wicked man! Fear not, Akane Tendo, I shall rescue you!"

Nabiki lowered her eyelids at him. Maybe she'd delayed that last bit of information a bit too much; in that time, his brain seemed to have come up with the strangest of explanations and, now, he was away with the fairies. It was beyond useless to try to pull him out of his fantasy land, so she didn't even try. She simply continued eating her free cake.

Akane always loved getting home and changing back into her girlish clothes. She was, of course, getting used to dressing like a boy, but her years of trying to impress Dr. Tofu had led to her become quite fond of skirts and dresses. Not to mention, it was a huge relief to be able to take off her uncomfortably tight chest bindings.

Currently, she was kneeling at the low table and watching a game show on television. Her eldest sister was watching it with her, while her father paced anxiously up and down the hallway. Strangely, her middle sister had yet to come home from school, but, unlike her father, she wasn't worried; she knew that Nabiki was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. If anyone bothered her, they'd likely end up both dirt-poor and in debt before trying anything.

"So, is everything going well at school, Akane?" Kasumi asked.

Akane turned to her. "Yeah, it's fine," she replied. "We got a new student today, called Ranko."

"Oh, really? What's she like?"

Akane shrugged. "Not sure. I didn't talk to her. The most striking thing about her was her bright red hair."

Kasumi smiled brightly. "Oh, my... what an interesting hair colour."

"No kidding."

"And what about your classes?"

"They're alright. It can be annoying, listening to a microphone all day, but I think I'm doing okay."

"Well, that's good."

Akane looked down. "It's a shame about gym class, though..."

Kasumi's tone became sympathetic. "Oh, yes... you used to love gym class, didn't you?"

"Yeah... It's also pretty embarrassing that Dad told the principal I'm 'frail with ill health', just to get me out of it... Can't believe he bought it, either..." She sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I could actually turn into a boy... then I could do gym without all these problems..."

"Oh, Akane..."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, which made Akane jump. She spun to face the direction of the front door, to see what had caused the noise.

There was a thundering of footsteps. "Akane Tendo, my love!" a familiar voice called out.

Akane paled. "Aw, crap..."

Tatewaki burst into the room. "Akane Ten-!" He paused, staring at her. She stared back, utterly horrified that he'd bursted into her house to find her. He was silent for a few moments before screaming in horror. "Akane Tendo, could that be you? Your... your hair..." His fingers twitched in her direction.

"I'm home!" Nabiki's voice called out.

"Nabiki!" Soun's voice cried. "Oh, Nabiki, you're alright! Where have you been? You could have told your father you'd be home late!"

"Don't fret over it, Daddy."

As Soun and Nabiki walked into the living room together, Tatewaki whirled in their direction, whipping his wooden sword from his belt and pointing it at Soun. Soun jumped back in surprise.

"Fiend!" Tatewaki called out. "Cretin! Not only have you attempted to come between my beloved and I, by forcing her to change schools, but you butcher her luscious locks of divine beauty? Are there no lows to which you will not sink?"

"But..." Soun replied, clearly flabbergasted, "I..."

"Now, Kuno-baby..." Nabiki said calmly, while folding her arms.

Akane touched her short dark blue locks, not quite sure what to say; Tatewaki had finally seen her with her new hairstyle. Not only that, but he seemed to know about her school situation. She was willing to bet Nabiki was behind that. She clenched her fist in annoyance. After all the effort and money she'd put into keeping her sister quiet, she'd finally told him. She felt a strong sense of betrayal, mixed in with the fury.

"Now, see here!" Soun said, seeming to gain some of his courage back.

"En garde!" Tatewaki yelled before jabbing his wooden sword thirteen times at lightning speed. "Dadadadadadadadadadadada!"

Crying out in pain, Soun flew out the door and crashed into the wall in the hallway. Leaving a huge dent, he slid down the wall and landed on his rear with a groan.

Horror replacing her anger, Akane jumped to her feet. "Dad!" she cried.

"Oh, my..." Kasumi said from nearby.

Tatewaki smirked, resting the wooden sword on his shoulder. "Hmph... that is what you get, foul sorcerer, for attempting to come between me and the beauteous Akane Tendo... for none can stop the power of love!" He cackled.

Infuriated, Akane stomped over to him. "Kuno..." she said threateningly.

He turned to her, arms open wide, with a huge smile on his face. "My beloved! Although thou hast lost thine locks of beauty, our love shall not-"

She kicked him upwards, with as much force as she could muster. He crashed through the ceiling and flew away. "You jerk!"

Ranma, male and dressed in his favourite Chinese clothes, sighed as he tried to watch a comedy show on television. He'd only spent one day at school as a girl so far and, already, his father was kicking up a fuss over it. It wasn't as if he was enjoying his new lot in life, but Genma seemed to be starting to think otherwise.

"I can't simply sit back and allow this to happen, Nodoka!" Genma yelled. "You're poisoning the boy!"

"This is for his own good, Genma," Nodoka replied calmly. "You know that."

"No, it is not for his own good! I did not raise him to be a man among men, only for him to hide from his problems as a girl!"

"... I think you're forgetting, Genma, that it was your fault that he's now a girl at all."

Genma spluttered. "Bu-But... Nodoka!"

"I just want my son to be safe. You should at least understand that, considering you've kept him from me for fourteen years."

"But... But..." Genma suddenly regained his composure. "Making him go to school as a girl is going too far! The boy is strong enough to handle himself, should anything happen! I should know, since I trained him!"

"Genma... while I respect what you say, my reasons for my decision have already been clearly stated. Ranma is going to school as Ranko. End of discussion." The gentle footfalls of her sandals began to leave the room.

"Nodoka!" There were a few moments of silence. "Ranma!"

"What, Pop?" Ranma asked lazily, not really caring what his father had to say.

"I can already see that she's poisoning you. You actually like being a girl, don't you?"

Ranma ignored him, but, a moment later, cold water splashed over his head. "Urgh!" He spluttered as he felt himself shrink by a head, growing curves and a large chest. The bangs in front of his eyes turned crimson red.

"You like this form, don't you?" Genma burst into tears. "Oh, my pathetic son... becoming a woman among women!"

Ranma shook herself dry and glared daggers at her father. "Oh, come on, old man! I think you're getting a bit touchy over this! You actually think I like being a girl?"

"You've agreed to go to school as one! Wearing a sailor uniform, no less! My boy, you're about as unmanly as they come right now!"

Ranma growled, pissed off that a) her comedy show had been disturbed, b) her father had thrown cold water on her and c) said father was accusing her of enjoying being a girl.

"That's it, old man!" She jumped to her feet. "You're getting an ass-kicking!"

Genma wiped his eyes dry and got into a fighting stance. "Bring it on, girly boy!"

Infuriated, Ranma let out a battle cry and lunged at him. Jumping into the air, she touched down on the table and launched herself off it. Swinging her leg, she kicked him across the face, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

Ranma landed gracefully on her feet and smirked, wrists on her hips. "Heh! What was that you were saying, Pop?"

Genma growled, glaring daggers at her. "Disrespectful son of mine..." He pulled himself out of the wall, leaving a sizeable dent behind, and stood up straight. "Attacking your own father!"

Ranma lowered her eyelids, unimpressed. "Gimme a break, Pop... You gotta admit, you're not much of a father, as fathers go."

"Insolent boy!"

Genma charged, trying to punch his son-turned-daughter, but Ranma dodged. He attempted this again, but was again dodged. This continued for a while, until Ranma eventually got bored of her father's lack of a challenge. Deciding to change the direction of the fight, she caught his fist in her palm, as it came to strike her. When he swung his other fist, she also caught that one. Growling again, Genma pushed his fists against her palms. Ranma pushed back, determined to gain dominance, just as she knew Genma was doing. The two of them pushed against each other so hard that their arms began swinging wildly up and down. When one side went up, the other side went down, and, again, this continued for a while.

Stupid old man! Ranma thought, swinging her leg.

Genma lifted his own leg and blocked it. "You'll have to do better that that, girl..."

Ranma gritted her teeth, her blood boiling; calling her 'girl' was the last straw. "Alright, that's it! You're going down!"

Immediately, she let go of his fists, which caught him by surprise and made him wobble off-balance. She took this moment to drop to the floor and ready a new stance. Once in the right position, she swung her leg and swooped his feet out from under him. The man fell backwards and landed painfully on his back. Flipping backwards, Ranma catapulted herself off her hands, somersaulted and landed on her feet again.

"Urgh..."

She grinned tightly, still in a bad mood from his earlier comment. "Don't ever call me 'girl' again. Got it, old man?"

"Ranma..."

Genma tried to get to his feet, but his large size was making it rather difficult. Ranma smirked in satisfaction. Walking over to him, she knelt down, hefted him up by the back of his gi with one hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

"Time to bring in the circus..."

With her free hand, she turned on the cold water tap, picked up a glass and filled it up, then poured it over Genma's head. He instantly grew to twice his size, black and white fur covering his body. Ranma put down the glass and turned off the tap, then lifted Genma up and booted him out the kitchen door, where he crashed into the wall in the hallway. Now the house had two Genma dents in it, one for each form. Ranma smirked happily, quite pleased with her handiwork.

"What on Earth is going on in here?" Nodoka's voice asked from outside.

Ranma paused, slightly worried. Aw, crap... maybe I should've been a bit more considerate about Mom's home...

"Genma?" A low grunt came from the panda that was embedded in the wall. "What happened?"

Ranma sighed, wondering if her mother would punish her for hurting her father. Who knows? She must have loved the guy, if she'd gone out of her way to marry him and have a son with him... She cringed at the thought; why the hell would anyone want to marry Genma, of all people? She was sure the woman deserved much better...

Ah, well... she thought, trudging out of the kitchen.

Nodoka looked up at her with a confused expression. "Ranma?"

"Mom... before you say anything..." She pointed at the panda. "He deserved that." Nodoka was silent as she looked back at Genma. Ranma lowered her arm. "Mom?"

Nodoka looked back at Ranma. "My, Ranma... you've given your father quite a pounding, haven't you?"

Ranma wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Uh..."

"And look at my wall... It has a huge dent in it, now..."

Ranma suddenly felt embarrassed. "Yeah, um... there's another one in the living room... Sorry, Mom..."

Nodoka smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Ranma! It only means that you're a very strong young man! And Heaven knows your father does deserve all he gets. Besides, it'll be easy enough for me to call a contractor, to get that fixed."

Ranma stared in amazement; she had the best mother in the world.

Akane sighed to herself, as she climbed into bed; for all the scolding that she'd given Nabiki today, for selling her out, it didn't change the fact that Tatewaki Kuno now knew her secret. True, Nabiki hadn't told him exactly which school she went to, or that she attended that school as a boy... but he did know that she wasn't sick. To think, she'd paid all that yen for nothing, in the end!

Well... if she was honest, he would have ended up finding out eventually. That was just the kind of guy he was; an obsessive fanboy, who was persistent as hell. It wasn't as though she could have kept using the 'sick' excuse forever, anyway. It was just a pity that he had to find out the truth sooner, rather than later. It had only been a week, for crying out loud! Was he really that desperate to see her?

She groaned, rolling over; yes, he was that desperate. He'd always been that desperate. He was one of the main reasons that she'd wanted to get away from Furinkan High and everything in it. He'd been the one to arrange that stupid contest... he'd been the one who'd thought that she'd not only enjoy the fighting, but accept a date from whichever idiot managed to beat her... and he was the one who couldn't, and wouldn't, take no for an answer!

She scowled to herself, feeling a growing need to imagine his face on something and punch it; that idiot was so narcissistic. He was so in love with himself that he couldn't see that she really didn't like him! He was always stalking her and grabbing her. God, it made her so mad, just thinking about it!

She thrust out her fist and punched her desk, barely feeling any pain as her lamp fell off the side and crashed to the ground. Fortunately, it didn't break. This was good, because she needed that lamp for late night studying. Kasumi had really known what she'd been doing, when she'd bought the sturdiest lamp available. Closing her eyes, she tried to get some sleep.