Title: Together -- A Tale of Transformation and Tragedy

Author: Rowan Seven

Teaser: A magic fountain makes one of Nodoka's desires come true in a way she neither desired nor expected.

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Viz Communications and Rumiko Takahashi. Other characters belong to their respective creators and copyright holders. I am not making any profit off this story.

Author's Notes: - - indicates thoughts. # # indicates signs.

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Chapter 9 – In These Arms

In the backyard of the Tendo Dojo, Ranma furiously dueled Genma, agile form a blur but still not fast enough to conquer his father's brutal training regimen. Genma's blows connected with the force of a hurricane, and every second of this bout was sheer agony for Ranma as he forced his exhausted, battered body to continue. How long had they been fighting for? Minutes? Hours? It felt like days, and although he yearned for this practice session to end Genma showed no signs of slowing down and Ranma's pride refused to let him show any weakness.

Adding to his suffering were the fleeting images of the Tendo sisters he glimpsed through the kitchen window. They were beaming as they moved around the kitchen, joking with each other and looking completely happy. Even Nabiki seemed to be having a good time helping Kasumi prepare a dish, and Akane's infamously bad cooking skills appeared to be muted by her eldest sister's careful supervision. A delicious aroma wafted across the yard, reminding Ranma how long it had been since he'd last eaten and causing his stomach to rumble hungrily.

They looked so happy inside the kitchen doing something as simple and common as cooking a meal, while Ranma was in pain and exhausted, engaged in an agonizing physical bout with his seemingly tireless father outside the comfortable, inviting house. To Ranma, this contrast didn't feel fair, and the sound of cheerful, female giggling only added to his frustration. Why did they deserve to have so much fun when he was forced to work so hard? He was a better cook than any of them except for Kasumi, and it's not like he ever saw Akane endure this much suffering for the art despite her desire to be a good martial artist.

A hard, fierce kick to the stomach sent Ranma stumbling back, and he barely avoided the diagonal hand slice his father followed up with. His own counter was dodged with infuriating ease, and Genma's disappointment and grim determination bored excruciatingly into him. What did Dad expect of him anyway?! It's not as if this fight meant anything. A few well-placed ki attacks could end it within minutes, and Genma was darn fortunate that he was deliberately not using his advanced techniques. As for training, he could improve just as much and with less pain by practicing by himself in the dojo. This entire battle was simply a waste of time!

A new wave of agony washed over him as Genma found and exploited a weakness. As he stumbled backwards, Ranma caught another glimpse of the Tendo sisters – now joined by his mother – out of the corner of his eye and sighed. It would be so much better if he was in there with them, even if it meant having to transform into Ranko again, than out here trapped in this pointless exercise. Why did his life have to be so painfully difficult?! At times, it seemed like it might even better if he was Ranko instead of Ranma...

------

Ranma-chan woke up, stretched, and yawned tiredly. Even though she'd probably never slept better now that her father's obnoxious snoring was nowhere to be heard, she found herself strangely exhausted each time she woke up, as if some part of her had been lost. It was probably just another consequence of spending so much time in this infernally complicated female body, though, just like Ryouga had suggested. If Akane's violent mood swings were anything to judge by, she should probably consider herself fortunate that she wasn't experiencing even more unseemly side-effects. Having emotional mood swings was not something she could afford right now. Darn female hormones and body chemistry, why couldn't they be simpler like men's?

Shaking her head, Ranma-chan sat up and opened her eyes, wincing as the visual onslaught of pinkness her room had become assaulted her sight. Even her own room had fallen victim to her need to keep her mother fooled. Usually sparsely decorated, it was now almost overflowing with cute dolls and stuffed animals she'd alternately found and borrowed. Volumes of – blah – girlie manga and magazines on topics like housekeeping filled the shelves, and she didn't want to look at the silly posters she'd picked up. Still, putting up with this was a small price to pay to stay alive, and it did seem to make her mother happy. The last time she was in here she'd even sat down and discussed her own teenage years with her, although Ranma-chan didn't fully believe the parts about Genma. Like her father could've ever been that romantic or, for that matter, had such good hair. What nonsense!

Reluctantly getting out of bed wearing a pink, frilly robe, Ranma-chan walked over to her dresser, grabbed her school uniform (Why or why was the skirt so blasted short?!!), picked out a pair of undergarments, and headed to the bathroom. If she hadn't become so used to it, she'd be muttering about all the extra time she was forced to spend in the morning applying make-up, using perfume, and doing her hair. At least it was fun to see Akane's dismayed and even jealous expressions at how pretty this cursed female body looked. At any rate, complaining only wasted more time, and she was now helping Kasumi and Nodoka prepare and serve breakfast before going to school. On the positive side, the cooking practice she was getting was really helping her in home-ec, but these new chores were cutting even more into her morning training sessions. It seemed like Nodoka's presence was monopolizing her entire life, and until she left there was nothing that could be done about this.

"Ah, good morning Ranko," Nodoka's cheerful voice welcomed her as she neared the door to the bathroom, katana thankfully missing and replaced by a towel flung over her left shoulder. She was also wearing a bathrobe, although it was, much to Ranma-chan's relief, blue instead of pink. Any more pink and she might die of a cuteness overdose.

"Good morning, Auntie Saotome," Ranma-chan greeted her in return, an honest smile forming on her features. It was nice to talk to her mother, even if it was like this. Noticing that Nodoka looked more exuberate than normal, she added, "You seem to be in a good mood today."

A strangely wistful and joyful expression crossed Nodoka's face as she looked at her disguised son. "I don't know how to say this, Ranko, but repairs on my house were finally completed last night. I'll be moving back home this Sunday."

"I...I'll miss you so much," Nodoka confessed, voice filled with tenderness and care as she reached over to clasp Ranma-chan by the shoulders and then, seemingly spur of the moment, wrapped her arms around her in a warm hug.

"I'll...I'll miss you too, Auntie," Ranma-chan replied, stunned and nearly disbelieving as her mind processed this news. At last, the time she could end this embarrassing act and be Ranma again was near. But...but, her mother was leaving. She...she honestly didn't know how she should feel right now.

------

It was now late afternoon, and Ranma-chan still didn't know how she should feel as she walked home from school by herself, having stayed after because Mrs. Taji wanted to talk to her. She'd somehow noticed her student's confused mental state and wanted to know what the problem was and if there was anything she could do to help. Ranma-chan appreciated the thought but, as she'd explained to the abnormally normal home economics teacher, there wasn't anything she could do. The lie she'd been living for the past month or two had served its purpose and life would soon return to the way it had always been for her – he in the not so distant future. And the only cost was not being able to see her mother everyday let alone any day until who knew when.

Ranma-chan sighed morosely, pausing for a moment in front of a park. She knew life wasn't supposed to be easy, but honestly. Why did her life have to be so difficult?! Why must every success come with a price, every moment of joy be offset by sadness or frustration, and every truth marred by lies? Why couldn't she be herself and also be truly happy? Why did- Gah, she was starting to out-mope Ryouga!

Sardonic, bitter laughter broke forth as Ranma-chan lowered her head and closed her eyes, retreating for a moment into the unfeeling bliss of solitude. She just...she just didn't understand. Her entire life had been a never ending series of progressively greater problems that had only gotten worse since coming to Nerima. And yet, they had never bothered her this much before. While she was at it, why should this cause so much pain? This wasn't the first time she'd said good-bye to her mother as Ranko, and, comparatively speaking, her other problems seemed to have all but disappeared lately. Surely she wasn't upset because her deception was almost o-

"AAH! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" a child's voice screamed from nearby, interrupting Ranma-chan's train of thought.

"Silence, brat! You're only getting what you deserve. Honestly, trying to steal my wallet? Where do you get off?!" answered a gruff, angry man's voice. In a much more amused tone, the young man continued. "Hm, running away isn't going help. It will only tempt me to break even more of your bones. Come back here and face your punishment like a man if you ever want to live to become one! Heh."

Without hesitation, Ranma-chan sprang into action, covering the distance between herself and the source of the noises in under a minute. Her eyes quickly spied the cowering form of a boy, probably no more than twelve years old, backed into a tree trunk and horrified. In front of him was the lithe, muscular frame of a shirtless young man with unkempt, spiky red hair with a white headband around his forehead. He grinned sadistically as he towered over his victim and raised his left arm, preparing to strike.

Acting on instinct, Ranma-chan charged, opening with a powerful, roundhouse kick that struck the unprepared man in the stomach. Ranma-chan followed through with hard punch to the chest, pushing her startled opponent back and sending him stumbling to the ground. Turning her head partially to see behind her, she addressed the kid she'd just saved. "Run. I'll take care of this, but don't let me catch you trying to steal anything ever again!"

Nodding his head in mute gratitude, the kid ran off, cursing his luck. First there was the woman with the katana, then there was the woman with the giant floating logs, and now there were crazy martial artists. -That's it! I'm never going to pickpocket again! At least not until I find a normal town...- the youth vowed, temporarily scared away from a life of crime.

"Heh, you hit pretty hard for a girl," the young man commented nonchalantly as he rose to his feet in one swift motion. He grinned as he noticed Ranma-chan tense. "Just so you realize what a stupid mistake you made when you decided to interfere, my name is Adon. One day the world will fear it."

"Tough words coming from somebody who seems to enjoy picking on children who can't defend themselves!" Ranma-chan retorted smugly, time spent in her female form having done nothing to curb her self-confidence. "And just so you know what a huge mistake you made when you decided to walk into Nerima, my name is Saotome Ranma and I never lose!"

"Is that so?" Adon said wryly, chuckling. "The competition in these parts must be pretty weak, then. Please, permit me to show you a true challenge." He took a step back and assumed a defensive stance. "I'm usually not one for chivalry, but you amuse me so I'll make an exception in this case. Ladies first."

"Heh, you'll regret your generosity," Ranma-chan answered arrogantly, smirking. She recognized her opponent's stance and posture as belonging to the Muay-Thai Kickboxing school and was unimpressed. Already she could see several openings caused by sloppiness and guessed that Adon had never finished his training. He was just a bully who enjoyed beating people up.

With a silent cry of excitement Ranma-chan attacked, launching a series of rapid blows at her adversary. Forced back, Adon blocked her punches with a raised forearm, grin slowly growing wider as he realized that this girl was much tougher than he'd anticipated. For her part, Ranma-chan was startled and slightly annoyed at how well Adon was defending. She'd expected this would end quickly, and his guard shouldn't be so effective...

In less than a second, Adon's stance and posture completely changed, becoming something Ranma-chan had never seen before. Sidestepping her next attack with remarkable swiftness, he growled and charged, his fists barely missing Ranma-chan's head as she dodged, desperately backtracking. Adon relentlessly continued his assault, challenging Ranma-chan with an unending onslaught of jabs, half-kicks, and thrusts that she was hardpressed to block. Her own counters were either preempted or easily evaded.

-Argh! Why can't I read his actions?- Ranma-chan wondered, frustrated at her unusual inability to predict her opponent's moves. There was something...off about Adon's fighting style, and there didn't seem to be any pattern behind his attacks. Still, if she couldn't foresee his next move and outmaneuver him, she had other options available.

Throwing a hard right jab to interrupt Adon's onslaught, Ranma-chan rushed backwards, putting a few yards between herself and her adversary as she clasped her hands together and stoked her confidence.

"Moko Takabishi!"

"Pathetic!" Adon shouted derisively, easily blocking Ranma-chan's ki attack with an upraised arm and grateful for Sagat's brutal training for a change. This was nothing compared to being struck by dozens of Tiger blasts in rapid succession. "Honestly, is that all you've got? You're disappointing me, little girl."

Surprised but undaunted, Ranma-chan smirked. She lived for fights like this, where she was pushed beyond her limits and had no choice but to innovate. If Adon thought this was the best she could do...well, he was sadly mistaken. Narrowing her eyes, she took a deep breath and charged, fists flying and moving at speeds no normal human could follow.

"Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Adon found himself overwhelmed, barely able to block even one out of every five strikes. Ranma-chan was unremitting in her offensive, giving him no time to recover and pushing him back towards the very same tree where the scared kid had once cowered. Soon, his vision clouded over with agony, and his body mentally screamed at him, urging him to embrace unconsciousness and end it. Continuing to stand was torture.

It was exactly what Adon wanted.

Laughing madly out of sheer pleasure, Adon slid backwards and spun around the tree. As he returned to battle, a red, fiery glow suffused his body, and he met Ranma-chan's next blow with one of his own at equal speeds. Caught off-guard, Ranma-chan wasn't able to completely halt her next punch in time, and Adon grabbed her overextended arm, using her own momentum to throw her over his head and into the tree as he released his iron grip. Their eyes met as she repositioned herself in mid-air so her feet would land first and allow her to use the trunk as a springboard, and she realized that the next few moments would be crucial.

"Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she shouted, pushing off the tree trunk to boost her already incredible speed as her fists and frame blurred.

"Jaguar Assault!" Adon yelled, jumping over Ranma-chan's aerial lunge and then, like a bird of prey, descending down to meet her as she desperately spun to face him.

Defending was out of the question. At these speeds it was virtually impossible to see the next attack let alone block it. Instead, both combatants focused solely on doing as much damage as possible. Ranma-chan, neither knowing nor caring what she hit so long as she hit something, punched, kicked, and jabbed furiously, force behind her blows amplified by her amazing quickness. Adon was just as brutal, pummeling her over and over again with his full strength.

Their encounter, although lasting only a few seconds, was decisive.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhh!" Ranma-chan screamed in agony, falling.

Letting go of the leg he'd just twisted as both landed, Adon chuckled triumphantly. A feral grin crossed his features, and as Ranma-chan looked up and tried to concentrate past her pain she finally understand why she'd been unable to read his movements. He fought like a wild animal. There was no overarching pattern or theme to his style, just the deadly skill and cunning of a predator and a cruelty that could only belong to a human.

"You should be proud, little girl. You actually hurt me," Adon told her, wiping the blood off his face from where Ranma-chan had landed several blows and actually appearing excited to see the red viscous fluid. He laughed, then, and slowly turned to walk away. "Well, it's been fun, but I still have a petty pickpocket to punish. Consider yourself lucky that I don't break both your legs, woman."

He had only gotten a few feet when the sounds of someone making a valiant effort to stand despite tremendous pain reached his ears. Turning half in surprise and half in eagerness, Adon was greeted by the sight of a determined Ranma-chan rising to her feet despite the damage he'd inflicted to her right leg. Finally, he'd found someone who understood. The purpose of martial arts wasn't to earn honor and develop one's spirit and mind or any other such nonsense. Martial arts were all about survival, fighting until it was impossible to go on for the sole reason of becoming stronger. If you lost, you were weak and didn't deserve to live. If you won, you'd earned the right to exist in this senseless world for another day until the next challenge. In the end, only the strong survive.

Adon whistled appreciatively, reassuming his unorthodox combat stance. "Heh, your stupidity amazes me. Here I was, about to let you ago with what are probably only a few bruised ribs and maybe a broken bone or two. And yet, you foolishly try to get back on your feet. Well, since you're so willing to take that child's punishment on yourself, I'll happily oblige you. This fight is much more interesting than a second-rate thief anyway."

"Keep smirking, Adon. You're only giving me something to look forward to when it's your body lying prone on the ground," Ranma-chan retorted with more confidence than she felt. Her right leg was screaming at her and was going to be practically useless for the rest of the battle. She wasn't even sure if it could support her, and relying solely on her left leg was going to be a large handicap. The rest of her wasn't feeling much better either. She didn't even want to think about all the bruises she had. Fortunately for her, Adon didn't appear to be in terribly good condition either, despite his bravado. She could see several marks forming where her punches had connected, and he seemed to be walking with a slight limp. Of course, he was probably doing better than she was, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. Ranma never loses, after all!

-But...I'm Ranko right now,- the traitorous thought spoke, flittering through her mind with devastating results. -I'm a girl, and girls are weak. Women belong in the house, not the battlefield. They should cook, not fight. Do you really think you stand a chance, particularly with how little serious practice you've done recently?-

-That...that's a lie! No matter what I look like, I am still Ranma! Nothing can change that!- Ranma-chan mentally retorted, trying to reassure herself but to no avail. Realistically, she could not win. That was painfully obvious no matter what she might want to believe, and even if she did discover her opponent's Achilles heel in the next few moments she wouldn't have the opportunity to exploit it. One more exchange with Adon would likely finish her off.

-But...Ranma never loses!-

-...I'm not Ranma right now.-

Wondering what his challenger was thinking and disgusted by the look of indecision on her face, Adon decided it was time to attack. Concentrating, he relaxed, leaned back, prepared to spring forward, and-

"Where in the world am I now?!" Ryouga's plaintive cry echoed throughout the park as he rounded another tree and appeared in the clearing where the battle was taking place. Mumbling in frustration, he looked up from the map he was holding upside-down and prepared to ask for directions. "Ranma?!" he spoke, surprised to see her and even more startled at her badly beaten appearance. His attention then focused on Adon, who was quite clearly upset at being interrupted. "Who the heck are you?"

"Adon," the red-head answered, perceptively noticing the way Ryouga conducted himself and correctly guessing that he had some degree of fighting skill. This might actually be fun..."I'm the one who just trounced your girlfriend," he added, drawing the wrong conclusion from the worried glances Ryouga was casting Ranma's way. The way Ryouga's body tensed and eyes narrowed didn't do much to dispel Adon's misconceptions, though.

"...Die!" Ryouga shouted, overreacting, as he reached for his umbrella and cast his backpack aside. Honestly, was finding his house again, seeing his parents, and going for a walk with his dog without ending up in Aruba too much to ask for? Instead, he'd been lost, wandering through scouring deserts, mosquito-infested swamps, and top secret government space stations (at least, he hoped those were government space stations. He didn't want to think about who else those legions of white-armored soldiers might belong to), and plagued by those disgusting, recurring nightmares of him and Ranko. He did not need this insinuation to remind him of those dreams he was so desperately trying to forget and ignore right now.

"Nnh...stay out of this, Ryouga. This is my fight!" Ranma-chan protested, indignation momentarily eclipsing doubt. "I started it, and I will finish it!"

Hearing this declaration, Adon broke out laughing. "Heheha! You can't finish anything right now, little girl. If your boyfriend wants to step in and fight me, I'm all for it. Hopefully he'll prove to be more of a challenge than your pathetic efforts were."

"Why you!-" Ranma-chan yelled in anger, preparing to charge despite her injuries when Ryouga laid a firm hand on her right shoulder, halting her.

"Don't worry about this, Ranma. I normally wouldn't interfere in your duels, but I want to fight this guy, and I know how quickly you recover," Ryouga said truthfully and a little ruefully. "I doubt there would be anything left for me to attack if I let you finish this battle. So, I'm calling in the favor you owe and entering the fray. All right?"

Ranma-chan wanted to say that no, it was not all right. This was her battle and he had no right to involve himself in it. However, something held her back from saying so, and the more she thought about it the more appealing the idea became. She was badly injured, and she really had nothing at stake in this battle. Adon wasn't challenging her to claim the Tendo Dojo, triumph over the Anything-Goes Style, or even to avenge an insult. He just wanted to engage in senseless violence. Ranma, of course, would never back down from a fight, but she was Ranko right now. Letting Ryouga fight for her, letting him protect her, that is exactly what Ranko would do.

"...All right," Ranma-chan agreed reluctantly, backing down. "But be careful!" she added, concerned. "He's fast and fights like a wild animal. Don't be fooled by his stances."

Ryouga smiled reassuringly, although internally a few doubts were beginning to surface. This Adon had seriously messed up Ranma, and he knew better than most just how difficult that was. Still, seeing the vicious, nearly feral bloodlust on his opponent's face made it clear that this was somebody who had to be defeated. "Let's do this."

Umbrella extended, Ryouga released a battle-cry and charged. Adon, despite his own injuries, easily evaded and ducked under Ryouga's follow-up swing, laughing arrogantly. "You're too slow, fool!"

Sidestepping Ryouga's next thrust, Adon began dancing in and out of Ryouga's guard, attacking with lightning speed and then retreating before the Lost Boy could launch an effective counter. Ryouga found this greatly aggravating, but it was something he was used to from his numerous battles against Ranma. He needed to put some distance between them, though, if he ever wanted to reclaim the initiative.

Letting his body flow with his next umbrella strike, he leaned down and touched the ground with his left hand. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"

The sudden eruption of the ground caught Adon, who'd been about to weave into Ryouga's guard again and hammer him, by surprise. Forced to leap backwards to avoid the rain of debris, he barely raised his arm in time to block Ryouga's follow through ki attack.

"ShiShi Houkoudan!"

"Nice try, but not nearly good enough!" Adon bellowed, arm throbbing despite his words. A razor-edged bandana that came too close for comfort silenced him, and Ryouga continued his assault, pushing Adon back with a series of swift, powerful umbrella thrusts. Deciding to change this, Adon subtly led Ryouga towards a tree. Jumping over the next umbrella swing and onto the tree's surface with the expectation that connecting with the trunk would slow Ryouga and leave him open to attack, Adon was startled when Ryouga's umbrella smashed cleanly through the tree trunk, sending the decades-old tower of wood tumbling down. With an aggravated sigh, Adon adjusted his position and reluctantly pushed himself off the falling tree trunk away from the Lost Boy instead of toward. He'd have to take extra care not to get struck by his opponent's full strength. Better yet, he shouldn't give this Ryouga a chance to hit him at all.

"Jaguar Strike!"

Red aura crackling with power and animalistic rage, Adon struck with the speed and lethal grace of a jungle cat. Subjected to a flurry of blows at speeds he couldn't match, Ryouga was unable even to counterattack. Adon detected and evaded his feeble attempts to break up his onslaught with ease even at such close quarters, and punch after punch and kick after kick pummeled the Lost Boy's rock hard form. Finally, with a cry of pain, he fell. Adon continued to assault him as he lay on the ground, unmoving, but after a minute when it seemed certain that he'd won he stopped and chuckled triumphantly. That had been enjoyable, and he'd proven his superiority to the rest of humanity once again.

Turning to face Ranma-chan, he was surprised to see her smiling. What could she possibly find so amusing about this situation? He'd just trounced her and pummeled her boyfriend into the ground. She should be crestfallen and fearful, not-

Adon suddenly learned the answer to his question when, against all his expectations, Ryouga sprang to life and grabbed him by the ankles. Not giving the surprised martial artist a chance to recover, Ryouga used his powerful legs to propel both himself and his opponent into the air and into the rough surface of another tree (it goes without saying that the park had seen better days) that collapsed under the sheer force of the impact. Still holding onto Adon with an iron grip, Ryouga released one hand and started punching his adversary as they rolled on the ground, Adon desperately trying to break free and failing. Ignoring the red-head's ferocious attacks, Ryouga seized him by the neck with his free hand and readjusted his hold, regaining his feet and forcing Adon into a crushing bear hug.

"SHISHIHOUKOUDAN!!!"

A towering column of ki erupted from Ryouga and shot into the air, growing larger and more powerful as it ascended only to eventually succumb to the force of gravity and fall, returning to its owner. Adon screamed in rage and agony as the embodiment of Ryouga's loneliness and despair washed over him until, anger and energy finally spent, he collapsed. When the light and noise cleared, a battered Ryouga stood triumphant over the unconscious form of Adon in the epicenter of a newly formed crater.

The sound of Ranma-chan's congratulatory clapping greeted Ryouga's ears as she very carefully hobbled her way towards the rim of the crater. "Heh, not bad Ryouga. Playing dead in order to get him to drop his guard was a pretty good idea, although it wouldn't work against me since I know how much damage you can take."

"So you like to think, Ranma," Ryouga retorted smugly but a little tiredly, battle against Adon having drained him. Stretching once, he winced as his body made it known how bruised and sore he was. Adon's punches had hurt! "What was all that about anyway?"

Ranma-chan shrugged. "Who knows? He was threatening to harm a little kid who'd tried to steal his wallet or something when I interfered." Looking down at the unconscious Adon with contempt, she added, "He's just a violent maniac who enjoys terrorizing others."

"Well, he certainly did a number on both of us," Ryouga admitted, gazing at his fallen opponent cautiously to make sure he didn't get back up and utilize the same trick he himself had used earlier. Endurance notwithstanding, he didn't feel very confident about his chances in a second round. Focus returning to Ranma-chan, he noticed with some alarm that she was bleeding. "Are you okay?"

"Eh, I'll be all right. I've survived worse, after all," Ranma-chan commented, confidence contradicted by her groan of pain a moment later. "I'd better go to the hospital, though. Normally I'd just sleep this off, but with Nodoka still around that's definitely not an option."

"I'll carry you there," Ryouga offered, gathering his belongings and reluctantly sweeping Ranma-chan into his arms. "Look, I'm not any happier about this than you are, but I've seen enough injuries to know that you shouldn't do any unnecessary walking on that leg until you've had it examined by a doctor," he explained sternly, silencing her protests. A moment later, he added with some embarrassment, "You'll have to guide me there, though."

Ranma-chan chuckled and gave him directions as they proceeded, telling him when to turn and which streets to walk down. As she did, she couldn't help but note with some amusement that they actually did look like a couple, bruises and injuries notwithstanding. Heck, if she didn't know the truth even she might be fooled. For a brief moment she experienced a feeling of intense terror and disgust at this thought, but she quickly dismissed it. After all, wasn't this exactly what she wanted? To create an illusion so convincing that Nodoka would have no reason to doubt it? Well, by all accounts so far she'd succeeded splendidly. She should be happy about this.

...Right?

------

"Waaah! My niece has been wounded for life! Waaah!"

"Honestly, it's not that bad, Uncle Soun! I'm only going to have to wear a leg cast for a month, if even that!" Ranma-chan replied reassuringly, her embarrassment at Soun's waterworks of tears shared by the three Tendo sisters who were also in the room...well, at least two of the Tendo sisters. Kasumi still had that same, serene smile on her face so it was hard to tell what she was feeling.

"I wouldn't worry, Soun. Ranko is quite the survivor, and I'm sure she'll be back on her feet in no time. After all, she still has to repay Ryouga for saving her," Nodoka said, trying to reassure the Tendo patriarch and giving Ranko a covert wink. A little more sternly, she added, "You still shouldn't have been fighting, though, Ranko. Outside of self-defense, it's inappropriate for a lady."

Ranma-chan chuckled weakly from the hospital bed she was sitting up on and ignored Akane's pointed cough. "I know, Auntie, but I couldn't just stand aside and watch a child get beaten up." Noticing Nodoka's features tighten in preparation of a lecture, she conceded, "Next time, however, I won't stick around and put myself at risk. This-" she said, pointing at her cast, "-has certainly taught me a valuable lesson. Thank goodness Ryouga arrived when he did," she added, trying her best to go dreamy-eyed and sound lovesick. After so much practice, it was rather easy.

"Speaking of the knight in shining armor," Nabiki began somewhat wryly, leaning against the window, "where is he right now? I'm sure we'd all love to thank him for saving our dear cousin."

Silently thanking the gods that Ryouga had possessed the foresight to become lost as soon as he checked her into the hospital, Ranma-chan answered, "Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since he tried to track down a nurse to ask about my condition. Knowing him, he probably wound up lost." She pretended to be depressed.

"That's too bad," Akane spoke, a note of concern in her voice. "I would've liked to see him again. You're certain he wasn't seriously hurt, Ranko?" Privately, she was worried about Ryouga and wanted to ask him what had actually happened. Anybody who could defeat Ranma would surely have given Ryouga a hard time too, but Ranma was unlikely to tell her the full truth behind the battle, at least not while her loss was still so fresh. Darn him and his pride!

Ranma-chan nodded her head confidently. "Ryouga's fine! He showed up in the nick of time and overcame Adon in a matter of minutes." Falsely blushing, she continued, "I was worried about him for a moment, but Ryouga was marvelous," she spoke, forcing herself to go starry-eyed. "He fought brilliantly and then kindly carried me the entire way here." Sheepishly, she added, "I was actually disappointed when he handed me over to the medical staff. Oh, how I would've loved to stay in those strong arms..."

"Yes, Ryouga can be quite the gentleman," Kasumi piped in, sitting next to Ranma-chan's bedside and still wearing that serene smile of hers. "It's a pity he won't be around to help you with your recovery, Ranko. We'll just have to make sure you take it easy for the next month."

"Yes, we'll all help you while your injuries heal, Ranko," Nodoka spoke up, smiling comfortingly. "I'm not going to abandon you when you can use my help, so I've decided to postpone my return home until you've recovered...provided that's okay with Soun, of course."

Soun gulped quietly but, seeing no credible excuse he could use to deny Nodoka's request, quickly agreed. "Of course, Nodoka. Your presence in my household is an honor. Why, we're virtually family as it is anyway, what with Ranma and Akane's betrothal..."

Thankfully, Soun's comments redirected Nodoka's attention away from Ranma-chan who'd suddenly tensed, mind seething with emotional turmoil at this new development. The day when she'd have to say good-bye to her mother had been postponed, but the duration of her deception had just been extended. Even worse, in her injured state there was very little chance that Nodoka would let her continue what remained of her normal training regimen, and she'd also be forced to remain around the house more than she already did. Except for school where she spent much of her time in her female body anyway, she would have even less time she could use to be Ranma.

Spying Ranko's reflection for a brief moment in the window, Ranma-chan sighed and nodded her head imperceptibly. So be it. Her safest option now was to simply forget about finding time and privacy to drop the ruse and instead simply keep it going continuously. Until her mother left, she would be Ranko. It was as easy as that.

Smiling, Ranma-chan rejoined the conversation. The light shifted, and her reflection faded away, looking for all the world as if it was screaming although that may have only been a trick of the shadows.

Addendum: Adon is a character from the Street Fighter videogame series and is copyrighted by Capcom. In an attempt to forestall some criticism, yes, even as hard as it can be to compare fighters of different series to each other under typical circumstances I agree that Ranma would probably be able to defeat Adon. However, as I attempted to convey in this chapter, Ranma hasn't been practicing as much as she normally does and it was her doubt in her female form that shifted the advantage to Adon before Ryouga showed up. Had Ranma remained confident she would've likely figured something out just as she usually does. Adon is also a skilled fighter in his own right who has put up a good fight against Sagat, so one shouldn't underestimate his capabilities either.