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 11. First Training Trip
Nearing the school gate the next morning, Yuka and Sayuri saw their friends Akane and Ranma approaching from the cross street. The pair were moving at a rapid pace, as usual, along the top of the fence which lined the road, a mode of transportation by now so commonplace that no one even bothered to remark on it these days. As everyone had come to expect, the reluctantly engaged couple were also wearing matching outfits, on this occasion bright blue shirts with the familiar black pants. Akane and Ranma leaped down from the fence together, landing at the same instant on the sidewalk in front of the two girls.
"Hi Akane!" the two friends called out, smiling at the male of the two before greeting the female with a more restrained, "Hello, Ranma-kun."
The girl in front of them responded with a bright smile, slowing to match their pace, while the boy merely waved and continued on into the schoolyard.
"Hi, guys!" the girl who looked like Akane said. "Nice morning, huh?"
Yuka, keeping her voice low and shooting a sad look at the blue shirt disappearing into the school, said, "Really staying in character, aren't you Ranma? No one's close enough to overhear. Um, why'd Akane run off?"
The girl she had addressed giggled. "Sorry. I am Akane. By some miracle, we didn't get splashed on the way to school this morning. Weird, huh?"
Both Yuka and Sayuri vented frustrated sighs. Shaking her head in exasperation, Sayuri said, "You know, it would be nice if the two of you would adopt some secret sign that would let your friends know who is who. Like a little mark on the shoulder of your shirts or something."
Akane just smiled and lifted her bangs to point at the scar half-hidden there.
"Oh, yeah," Sayuri said, embarrassed. "I forgot." She reminded herself for what seemed the hundredth time to look for that mark when she ran into her friend.
Akane's smile grew a little wider. "If you keep forgetting that, would you remember to look for any other 'secret sign'?"
Sayuri shrugged. Yuka, impatient with irrelevancies, cut to the real issue when she anxiously asked, "But what about that Chinese girl who's trying to kill you? Aren't you running the risk that she'll attack you?"
Akane shifted instantly from amused to chagrined. "Oops. Um, sorry, I, uh, guess I ... forgot to tell you. She's gone. Went back to China."
Yuka looked at her askance. "And you didn't tell us? I've been worried sick. Was it too much trouble to pick up the telephone?"
Sayuri turned to her other friend. "When did you start channeling my mother?" Yuka stuck out her tongue. Sayuri smirked. "I wouldn't want something that dirty in my mouth either," she said snarkily. On turning back to Akane, she observed that the girl's face had grown rosy, causing the other two to wonder what she was embarrassed about.
Sayuri's eyebrows rose in speculation as the blush continued to deepen, and she glanced at Yuka to see that she had also noticed as Akane began to dig a toe into the sidewalk. "It was kind of a, uh, busy weekend," Akane admitted sheepishly. "I've been sort of distracted."
"Okayyy," Sayuri drawled. "And I bet you're about to tell us it's a long story, aren't you? And there's no time to go into it now, hmmm? Right? Fine. But don't think you're getting out of explaining just because school's about to start. How about you and Yuka come over to my house this afternoon? Then you can take as long as you want and tell us everything."
"I can't," Akane responded reluctantly. "I'm um, uh ..." Red faced, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "... grounded."
Her friends stared, then slowly turned to look at each other. Matching grins grew on their faces before they slowly turned their regard back on Akane. Yuka said slowly, "You? You honestly did something bad enough to get grounded? I mean, the words 'Akane Tendo' and 'naughty' just don't mix. Now you've got to tell us what happened!"
Akane sighed. "Okay. Over lunch. Someplace we can talk in private." She looked up at the clock on the tower. "Right now, though, we'd better hurry. Or we're all going to be in trouble."
The three of them ran for the school, with Akane holding herself back to the other girls' speed.
The lunch bell rang, and the three girls left the classroom together. "Where do you want to go?" Yuka asked. "The roof?"
"On a summer day?" Sayuri inquired in astonishment. "Or, well, I suppose it's technically a spring day. For another three days. But the point is, we're not going to find any privacy up there, not as nice as today is."
"Where would you suggest?" Yuka wanted to know.
"How about the tennis courts down the street?" Sayuri offered. "There's no reason anyone from school would be there. If somebody older is there, playing tennis, they won't have any reason to come near the bench where we're sitting, and we can pretend we're watching the game."
Akane shrugged. "Why not? Like you say, no one from school is likely to interrupt. That's all I want."
The trio quickly made their way to the school gate and down the street, conscious that they would have to be back by the end of lunch period. They had almost reached their destination when Yuka stopped and pointed. "Isn't that your pet?" she asked in surprise.
Akane swung around, her eyes blazing at the sight of Ryoga standing there in his cursed form. The little pig's eyes were very wide, shock clear on his features, as he shrank back from her rage. With a high pitched, worried grunt, he spun and fled as quickly as his hooves would carry him.
"You'd better run!" Akane yelled after him.
"What's wrong with you?" Yuka gasped out. "He's your pet! A little, defenseless pig!"
Akane snarled. She turned the corner and stomped onto the tennis court. Dropping heavily onto the bench, she placed her bento on her knees and then just sat there, breathing heavily. Her friends walked over carefully, eyeing her curiously, wondering what was wrong. They nervously sat on either side of Akane, trying to think what to say.
Akane gave a heavy sigh and shook herself all over. "Sorry. I'm still angry ... I found out Saturday ... that pig, he's Ryoga Hibiki."
"Huh?" Sayuri asked intelligently. Yuka merely wondered if her friend had lost it.
"Ryoga Hibiki," Akane clarified, bitterness dripping like toxic sludge from her words. "The jerk who attacked Ranma a few weeks back. He has a curse like Ranma and me. He turns into a pig."
"Ryoga has a curse?" Yuka asked, trying to make sure she understood. "A curse like yours? You mean, all this time he's had this curse, and he's been pretending to be your pet?" Her voice expressed horrified disbelief.
"Yeah." Akane leaned back, looking up at the sky, ignoring her lunch. "I found out Saturday morning. Gave him a real piece of my mind." She sighed again.
Sayuri was shaking her head. "You live a really strange life, you know that?"
Akane gave a weak chuckle. "Seems that way, doesn't it?" She sat back up and slowly started digging into her lunch. "I might as well tell you the rest of it. Uhm ... okay. Shampoo found out about Ranma's curse Saturday morning ..."
"Before or after you found out about Hibiki?" Yuka wanted to know.
Akane blinked. "Uh ... before." She shook her head. "Does it matter? Are you going to let me tell this or aren't you?" Akane demanded irritably.
"Shut up, Yuka," Sayuri said gently. "Go on, Akane."
"Thanks. Uh ... anyway, Shampoo just up and left. Apparently, because Ranma was a boy, she didn't have to kill him, so boom, she's gone. Once she left, I went out for a jog, ran into Hibiki, and found out about his curse. After that, I was really depressed ..."
"Because he lied to you," Sayuri said sympathetically.
"No! Well, yes. But I was more angry than depressed because of that pig Hibiki. No, what was really upsetting was that Ranma knew about Hibiki's curse. He knew, and he didn't tell me. At least, I thought he hadn't."
"Jerks," Sayuri commented, voicing her opinion of both with one word. After reviewing Akane's statement for another moment she grew puzzled and said, "Wait. What do you mean you 'thought' he hadn't told you?"
Akane laughed again with bitter self deprecation. "Ranma wrote me a note telling me all about it, back when I first found the pig. The baka's story is he couldn't do the sensible thing and just tell me because he promised Hibiki he wouldn't tell anyone about the curse. So yeah, he gave me this note. But I ... I sort of went and, uh, lost it. Never read it. Not until yesterday, anyway."
Yuka, wonder in her voice, said, "And he never said anything else about it to you, in all this time?"
"Go figure," Akane replied, sighing. "Between us, we made a really huge mess of things. Aaanyway ... like I said, I was already really depressed because of all that, and then there was this little kid I saved but my curse hit and his mother saw and ... she treated me like a, like a freak, and, you know, I was just really, really upset ..." Her voice trailed off gloomily.
Sayuri and Yuka exchanged a look then turned to Akane, each of them wearing equally impatient expressions. "We saw how red you turned earlier," Sayuri said dryly. "We know there's got to be more to the story than that."
Akane nodded in embarrassment. "I, uh, look, don't repeat this to anyone, please, but I, uh ..." She squirmed on the seat. "I was really upset. And I, um, had some ... beer."
"That's it?" Yuka asked, exasperated. "You drank some beer? That's nothing!"
"Well, um, maybe a bit more than ... some beer," Akane replied, studying her feet. "Quite a lot of beer. Actually."
Sayuri's other eyebrow lifted, and a grin slowly spread on her lips. "Are you telling us that you got drunk?"
Akane nodded her head in a small spasm, saying nothing.
"Oh, Akane," Yuka murmured in mingled sympathy and reproof. Then spoiled it by allowing a laugh to slip past her lips.
"It's not funny!" Akane complained. "When I woke up that night, I wanted to die!"
"So that's why you're grounded?" Sayuri asked, to which Akane nodded again. "Nothing else? You didn't do anything stupid while you were, you know, out of it?"
"Nothing I want to remember. Or talk about," Akane admitted. "Nothing particularly bad, anyway. Mostly I just tried to beat up on Ranma. You know, for not telling me about the pig. I don't remember it too well. Which is all for the best, I suppose, since I gather my fighting technique consisted of stumbling around like a, well, like a drunken idiot."
Yuka gave her friend a pointed look. "And you were so embarrassed about it all, that you didn't think to get in touch with us? To let us know the crisis was over? That you were safe? Is that what you're saying?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Akane answered. "Sorry. Sunday morning started with a talk with Kasumi about my, uh, behavior. Ranma and I finally got the mess straightened out about knowing about Hibiki's curse, and I apologized to him, more or less. Then he announced that he's taking me on a training trip Thursday, and there was a family argument over that, which ended with Kasumi deciding to go with us. And the way Ranma's talking, he's planning to put me through hell on that trip. So, uh, yeah, sorry. I've been sort of distracted."
"We have school Thursday," Yuka pointed out, needlessly. "Friday too."
"Hence the disagreement," Akane agreed. "Or part of it. But Ranma argued that I need to train this hard, in case someone else like that Chinese girl Shampoo shows up." She shrugged. "I'm a martial artist. This is part of what my life's about, it's what I want. Even if the way he's talking about it worries me just a little."
"I always said you martial artists were nuts," Sayuri mumbled, circling one finger around her ear for emphasis. Yuka gasped and reached across Akane, grabbing Sayuri's hand, turning it to stare at her watch.
"Is that the time?" she exclaimed. "We'd better get a move on or we'll be late."
Akane just shrugged, concentrating on wolfing down the rest of her lunch. She thought about the pending trip, trying to imagine what sort of training Ranma would come up with to put her through. It was still hard to believe that it could possibly be harder than what she was going through here at home.
Ryoga had long since slowed back down to a walk, realizing that Akane had not given chase. Part of him berated himself for being so quick to run. After all, he strongly suspected that she wouldn't really maim him, even if she did manage to catch him. But then again, sometimes it was better to be safe than sorry.
The little pig grunted happily as he saw the towering edifice of a public bathhouse appear before him. He ran inside, past the attendant who gave a startled cry on seeing a pig run into his bathhouse. Zipping past the faucets and surprised men on the stools, he jumped and landed in the hot water, sitting up with a pleased grin.
The attendant slid to a halt, looking around in confusion. "Did you see a ... a ... pig?"
Ryoga shook his head. The man continued to poke around for a few minutes, but finally gave up in bewilderment. Ryoga leaned back and relaxed in the hot water.
It was the first time the boy had been human since Saturday morning, when Akane had transformed him after telling him off. For most of those two days he had been too miserable to bother looking for hot water, content to remain in his cursed form and feel as if all the despair in the world was his lot to suffer. It seemed, however, that he might be recovering, given that he finally cared enough to become human once more. He wondered if seeing Akane again had somehow helped.
Assuming it was Akane. Worried doubt swept through him, recollecting Ranma's curse. But then he remembered the girl's furious anger, and decided it probably had been Akane after all.
Was it possible that if he apologized, if he tried to explain what his life was like, that Akane might forgive him? Maybe ... not. Considering the things she had said to him. She'd certainly need more time to calm down. He shuddered with nausea, remembering how she had described kissing Ranma.
It just wasn't fair! Why should Ranma get all the breaks, while he got all the, the, bad luck? There was no way that Ranma deserved someone like Akane. She belonged with someone better, someone like himself. After all, they were both cursed ...
At that point, Ryoga's thoughts ground to a halt. He tried to picture himself dating someone who turned into an exact duplicate of Ranma Saotome. He let himself slide under the water, trying to force the image out of his mind, but it didn't help. Once thought, it could not be unthought. To Ryoga's horror, he found himself imagining Akane in her cursed form, Ranma's twin, trying to kiss him. He began hitting himself over the head with his fists, whimpering at his inability to drive the image away.
He couldn't handle this. He had to get away! At least for a while. Besides, that would give Akane some time to get over this ... little misunderstanding. But how? With his sense of direction, if he tried to get out of Tokyo, he'd probably just end up at the Tendo house.
Well, what if he did? He wouldn't have to stop there. He could just keep walking. Yes. Just keep walking and walking, and occasionally stop a passerby and ask where he was - and the moment someone said he was someplace other than Tokyo, just stop. Set up his tent and camp right there on that spot, until he thought enough time had passed. It would mean delaying his revenge against Ranma, but he decided that such a delay was a necessary evil, and promised himself that vengeance would still be his in the end.
Of course, first he would need his pack and clothes, but that didn't worry him unduly. Climbing out of the tub, Ryoga "borrowed" a yukata, then waited for an opportune moment and slipped past the attendant. Walking down the street, ignoring the stares of the people all around, Ryoga concentrated on his pack. He never understood how this worked, but he was always able to find his way back to his possessions when he needed them. Opening his eyes several minutes later, Ryoga gave a grin to see the bulging backpack shoved behind a garbage can right in front of him.
Ducking behind a wall, Ryoga emerged a few minutes later fully dressed with the pack on his back. Whistling almost cheerfully, he set about getting himself lost. A few minutes later he found himself in the Tendo yard, smacked himself in the forehead, then jumped back over the wall.
Kasumi Tendo was rather puzzled as to why Ryoga showed up outside her kitchen window three times that day, each time leaving again before she could get outside to ask why he was there.
Through sheer persistence, Ryoga's plan finally paid off. He stopped immediately when a young boy told him he was in Kyoto. For some days thereafter, the children stared with open curiosity at the young man sitting by the tent on the back lawn of their elementary school. But whenever they asked him, "Why are you camping here?" his only answer was, "Someone told me this would be a nice place to stay for a while."
The bed in Kasumi's room was covered with clothing. A backpack sagged beside the bed, half filled. Akane and Kasumi stood looking over the confusion, feeling faintly frustrated as they tried to figure out how to fit everything into the one pack, when a voice from behind startled them.
"Ain't you finished packing yet?"
The two girls turned to see Ranma leaning against the doorframe. His eyebrows were raised, the very picture of masculine bewilderment over what could be taking them so long. He stood up and strode further into the room.
"For your information, I'm finished," Akane told him loftily. "Kasumi and I decided to work together on the packing. We did my stuff first. We're almost done with hers. So if you're worried we'll get a late start tomorrow, don't."
"Mmm," he hummed noncommittally, frowning over the things lying on the bed, presumably waiting their turn to be put in with the rest. "Are you really planning to take that to wear?"
Kasumi and Akane both turned and looked over the clothes again. Neither saw anything wrong. "Is there a problem, Ranma?" Kasumi wanted to know. "They look fine to me. They seem suitable for hiking around in. You make it sound like I'm packing dresses or something."
"Oh, it's not that," the boy reassured her. "It's just, well, tomorrow may be the first day of summer, but we're gonna be pretty high in the mountains. Not all the way up in the snowpack, but not so far from it. You'll likely be pretty chilly in that stuff."
Akane was gazing at him in consternation, while Kasumi turned a similar look on her clothing and what had already been placed in her pack. The younger sister acidly inquired, "You couldn't have thought to mention this before? I'll have to completely repack, baka!"
Ranma shrugged, unrepentant. "Didn't occur to me. I figured you'd know when I told you where we were going. I didn't stop to think how you were raised. Or how you weren't raised."
"Yeah, but ..."
"Akane." Kasumi reined her sister in with her name, softly spoken. "I'm sure Ranma didn't do it on purpose. We'll need to pull out some of the clothes which have already been put away in boxes for the summer."
Akane sighed. "I know." She turned her regard on Ranma, not angry but a wee bit exasperated. "Anything else you ought to have shared with us, that we city girls wouldn't think of on our own?"
Ranma blinked, then his brow wrinkled as he tried to consciously think about things which had practically become second nature. He began muttering, "Plenty of first aid supplies, but I got those. Sturdy, comfortable, good-fitting shoes for hiking, but I'm sure they thought of that. Towels. Gi. Flashlights. Er, uh, tissue. Jackets ..." He kept going, but it was clear he was mostly talking to himself, and it became hard to make out the words.
Finally he stopped with a put-upon sigh. "I don't think it'll work just to try to tell you what to take. I guess I'd better stick around while both of you re-pack. If I see what you're putting in, I'm pretty sure I'll notice if it's anything silly, or if you don't have something you'll need." He frowned, but settled himself back to watch.
Kasumi and Akane both, though more so the latter, eyed him dubiously. They then proceeded to pull everything back out of the pack. When they got down to where the more intimate items had been packed, Akane suddenly realized a problem with his plan, and spun around to yell at Ranma for ogling her sister's underclothes. However, she found the boy already facing the other way, face bright red.
Ranma mumbled something. It might have been, "Those should be fine."
Kasumi looked at him curiously. Then she turned back and, hiding a tiny smile, slipped the offending garments back into her pack where they would not further embarrass the young man.
Once everything else was unpacked, Kasumi left Akane and Ranma to sort through the remaining items on the bed while she went in search of warmer clothing. By the time they finished, it was rather later than originally planned, and they had to do it all over again with Akane's stuff. Nonetheless, eventually the job was done, and they were able to seek their separate beds in time to get a good night's sleep before their early start the next morning.
"So did they get away all right?" Nabiki asked blearily over her microwaved breakfast and instant coffee. Much though she might care about her sisters' well being, she had never had any intention of seeing them off. It would have taken something much more serious than saying good-bye before a four day trip to force her from her bed almost two hours early.
"Yes," her father answered simply. He gave his old companion a look of disgust, adding with significant emphasis, "although I was the only one up when they left." It was grossly unfair, in Soun's opinion, that not only had he been the only one to arise early enough to see their children off, but with Kasumi gone he'd been forced to get his own breakfast. Worst of all, his morning paper had not yet arrived.
Soun's disapproving glare affected the panda bear not at all. Annoyed by the lack of response, Soun returned his attention to his lone daughter present. "All three seemed fine. Akane even looked a little excited, despite the early hour."
Nabiki appraised her father consideringly. "You must have done this sort of thing, too, back when you were younger. So you must have some idea of what Akane's in for, right? She's going to be okay, isn't she? I mean, she is ready for this? Right?"
Soun wished once more that the newspaper wasn't late arriving this morning. Nabiki's question made him distinctly uncomfortable, and he wanted nothing more than to hide behind his paper as was his usual practice at the first meal of the day. His mustache twitched as he slowly took a sip of tea, then returned the cup to the table, while thinking over how to respond.
"One is never really ready when one's sensei chooses to introduce some new form of training," he said at last. "And the more different from what one has experienced before, the harder and more painful it is likely to be. I expect there will be some considerable risks ..."
Soun held up a finger to stop Nabiki before she could launch into a tirade. "If Akane is to be the martial artist she wishes to be, then this is necessary. The worthwhile lessons require risk and hardship. We must hope that she can ..." He swallowed, betraying his own nervousness. "... that she can handle whatever Ranma comes up with."
Despite the fine words, he swore a silent, private vow that if Ranma came up with something that truly hurt his little girl, that he would make the young man regret it. He fought to hold back tears at the images which presented themselves to his mind, nightmares inspired by his own past training.
Genma held up a sign reading, "A martial artist's life is fraught with peril."
Nabiki scowled at him. "Can't you at least come up with a new platitude once in a while?"
The sign flipped around. "Aren't you late for school?"
The girl consulted her wristwatch. "No. But I do need to be going." She rose from the table, carrying her dishes into the kitchen. A few minutes later she walked out the door and left.
Genma, having finished his own meal, strolled down the hall to the furoba. He returned a short time later, damp, cheerful, and human. He slapped his old friend on the back, saying, "Well. Ready to make plans to get our two children together? I can be packed in less than an hour."
Soun nodded. "It'll take me a little longer. Especially as it's been some time since I last did this. Why don't you come along and keep an eye on me? We can talk at the same time. Then you can grab your things, and we can follow after them."
Genma signaled his agreement, and they went down the hall to the taller man's bedroom. While watching his host start pulling out clothes, Ranma's father said, "You're not going to turn all 'my little princess' on me, right? You agreed that the easiest way to make them go along with getting married right away is if my son has sex with your daughter. She's old enough, they'll certainly be doing it once they're married, and it's just a bit necessary for producing an heir."
Soun gave his friend a pained look, and sighed. "I already agreed," he responded in a quiet, determined tone. "But you needn't speak so crudely about it."
Genma grinned. "Aw, c'mon. Don't get all prudish. Victory will be ours as soon as ..." He inserted the index finger of one hand between the circled thumb and index finger of the other.
A moment later Genma pulled himself out of the wreckage of the bedroom wall, rubbing his jaw. "You still pack a hell of a punch, Tendo."
"There's more where that came from," Soun growled, eyebrows lowered.
Genma held up his hands placatingly. "Okay, okay. I won't trouble your dainty paternal feelings. As long as we're agreed on the goal."
Soun glared for a few seconds longer before he relaxed and nodded. "Any thoughts on how to do this?"
Genma considered, then smiled. "There's always the old 'leave 'em with one tent' trick. We sneak into camp, steal the girl's tent, she's forced to share the boy's tent, nature takes its course ..."
"With my daughter Kasumi lying beside, or more likely between, them?" Soun's eyebrows were arching almost to his hairline.
Genma froze, mouth open and finger raised as if to make a point which never arrived. After a few moments he shook himself, lowering the hand to scratch at his chin. "Damn. Forgot about her. That's a complication." He was silent for several more minutes, as Soun stuffed a razor and other toiletries in a small bag. After a while, Ranma's father lifted the finger again and said, "Okay, how about ..."
The two men continued talking for some time, discussing plans, while they packed. They left for the train station before noon arrived. A note on the kitchen table explained that they had been called away, and that Nabiki had the house to herself for the next few days.
"How you holding up, Kasumi?" Ranma asked cheerfully as they hiked along the path winding up the mountainside.
"I'm doing fine, Ranma-kun. But ..." She cast a worried glance in her sister's direction.
Akane labored along beneath the weight of both girls' packs, her features determined. When Ranma had first told her that she'd be carrying Kasumi's pack as well to make the rigorous hike easier for her older sister, Akane had accepted the command cheerfully, striding forth with a will. However, by the time they were halfway up the mountain the extra weight was making itself known.
"Don't worry. She'll manage," Ranma told the older girl, pitching his voice so that Akane would hear as well. "She'll feel ready to drop by the time we make camp, but she'll get there. Or if she can't, we might as well turn around right now, 'cause there's no way she'd make it through the rest of the weekend."
Akane grimaced, but wasted no breath on a reply. From somewhere she found additional energy to put into her trudging pace.
"Besides," Ranma went on, "it's not like I'm asking her to carry a boulder all the way up the mountain."
A shuddering groan came from Akane. Kasumi squeaked, "A boulder!"
"Yeah," Ranma responded nonchalantly. "The difference is between the long haul and the short haul. If I'd asked her to carry a boulder all the way up, she'd have collapsed a long time ago. It's a question of endurance. The weight of both packs will push her to her limit by the time we get to the top."
He paused, watching Akane out of the corner of his eye. She was fatigued, but holding up well. "During the next few days I'll make her do some running around carrying heavy rocks. Say two, three hundred kilos or so. She can lift that much easy. But she won't be able to carry it nearly this long, not at first. Maybe by the time we leave."
Kasumi's fingers were covering her mouth in mild shock. "And that's what you're going to have Akane doing for the next four days?"
"You kidding?" Ranma laughed. "Naw. I'm gonna have her doing a lot more than that! That's just ... building up strength, and endurance. Forcing her to learn to tap energy reserves she ain't ever had to dig into before. I got a bunch of other stuff planned."
A tiny corner of Akane's mind whispered pleadingly to turn around and go home. She ground that voice ruthlessly underfoot and continued plodding onward.
Kasumi looked over toward her sister again. "We really shouldn't be speaking of Akane as if she isn't here, you know. It isn't polite."
Ranma rubbed a hand along the back of his head self-consciously, emitting a weak chuckle. "Eh. Truth is, I am talking to her. It's just easier for me if I, you know, warn her what's coming like this. As if I'm telling you, and she's just overhearing. Besides ..." He chuckled. "I suspect she'd rather save her breath for walking."
"Don't mind me. I'm just the pack mule," Akane managed to grunt.
"Is this really the way your father trained you?" Kasumi asked with a touch of awe.
Ranma's face scrunched up. "Sorta. Not exactly. He was a lot more of a hard ass about it. He'd of had me hauling a boulder up the mountain from the start. In fact he did, once. And when I collapsed about, oh, a quarter of the way up, he just went on ahead. With all the supplies, including the food. Told me to catch up when I could, and that I'd better be carrying that boulder when I did."
He saw that both sisters were staring at him in horror, and shrugged his shoulders. "It worked. After a fashion. But I figure my way'll get the same results in the end. Probably almost as quick, too."
By the time they came over a crest of rock to see the small lake stretching in front of them, both girls had taken instruction from Ranma on how to breathe properly at this height. The word "lake" was perhaps a misnomer, as it was not much more than forty meters long and twenty wide, appearing to fill most of a small pocket on the mountainside. In fact there were only about three meters of bank between their feet and the water's edge. They could see a small cascade at the farther end where the water drained out and followed a path down in a different direction from the one they had taken up.
Looking across the water, numerous rivulets of water were visible streaming down the mountain and entering the pool's surface at the centers of ever-expanding rings of ripples. Following the rivulets upward they could see, through a haze of clouds, a snow-capped mountain peak close enough that one could almost imagine being able to reach out and touch it.
Ranma led his companions around the near end to a wider, nearly flat area where he dropped his pack. "This is where we'll set up the tents," he told them. "Latrine down there," pointing down and away from the lake. "Plenty of firewood to heat the water for cooking and washing. Unless you'd rather bathe in the ice water direct." He gave Akane a sly grin.
She shuddered. "No thanks." A thought occurred to her. "Uh, how are we going to manage privacy for bathing."
Ranma chuckled. "Afraid we don't have any doors here to close. I'll take a long walk when you two wanna bathe."
Akane didn't look happy at the prospect. But neither did she see that there was any other choice. "Very long walks," she emphasized. She sat down on her own pack, feeling almost as weary as she had back in the days gone by, well, fairly recently actually, when Ranma had begun her real training.
Ranma glanced at the sun. "We got half the afternoon left. After we set up camp, we'll get down to the real training. Time for plenty today, and we'll be up at dawn again tomorrow. So off your keister, 'Kane, and start setting up your and Kasumi's tent."
Akane gave a long groan but climbed back to her feet. She began pulling the tent and associated materials free.
"What should I do, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.
"You know how to set up a fire pit?" he asked. At her nod, he pointed. "Great. There's a little depression in the rock, over there, near the water's edge. After that gather up some of the smaller loose wood for the fire. Akane, after you get that tent up, take the hatchet and chop up larger logs from some of the deadfall. I'll take care of the latrine myself, after I get my own tent up."
Under Ranma's direction it didn't take long to get the camp in order. At Ranma's request Akane entered her tent to change into her gi, while he donned his as well, then the two of them went off. Kasumi heard Akane's fading voice attempting in vain to get Ranma to say what he had in mind. Kasumi busied herself getting the fire started and put a pot of water over it to heat, figuring that it wouldn't be long before one or the other of the two would need it to reverse their curses.
Ranma returned some hours later without Akane, but before Kasumi could ask, he said, "Akane'll be along shortly. She's got a bit of a limp, and's pretty banged up besides. Try not to overreact. She looks worse than she is. If you look at each bit at a time, instead of all at once, you'll see there ain't nothing that won't heal pretty quick."
By this time Kasumi was looking at him quite dubiously, as he walked over to the fire and ladled a bowl of stew out of the pot. Sitting on a convenient rock, he slurped it down with pleasure. Kasumi stood, looking back the way he had come for any sign of her little sister.
Akane trudged into sight about ten minutes later. She was favoring one leg. As she drew closer several bruises became visible on her arms, as well as one on her left cheek. There were some abrasions accompanied by dried blood, and the skin appeared to be torn in several places on her hands. Her left forearm had several parallel stripes where something had scratched her deeply.
Swallowing hard, struggling to keep Ranma's words in mind, Kasumi quickly spooned a large helping of the stew into another bowl and held it out for her sister. Akane stumbled past without taking apparent notice. She reached the boundary of the lake and walked right in. One step from the shore she lowered herself to her neck.
Her face came back to life as the transformation took her. She let out a loud yelp and jumped out of the water, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "Cold! Cold! Cold!" came her baritone shriek.
Kasumi dumped the pot of hot water over Akane's head, bringing forth another shriek, but this one followed by an "Ah!" of something like relief. Rushing to her tent, the older girl returned immediately with a towel and started scrubbing at her sister vigorously.
Akane thanked Kasumi with a smile before vanishing into their tent. She emerged a few minutes later in dry clothing, then wearily dragged herself closer to the fire and finally accepted the bowl of stew Kasumi once again held out to her. She practically poured it down her throat, then held the empty bowl out for seconds.
"Dare I ask what the two of you were doing?" the older girl inquired.
Akane sighed, then forced her mouth into something like a grin. "The baka here had me build my own combination obstacle course and training ground. The first hour or so was spent hauling around boulders and great big tree trunks and God knows what else, and positioning them just so. You know those cartoons where the wife has the husband moving the furniture around and around and around until the room is just perfect? Well, that's how Ranma is with a training ground."
From off to the side Ranma snorted.
"After I got it set up to his satisfaction, he had me run the obstacle course a few times. That's when I got this." She held up her arm, displaying the scratches. "Took a tumble, rolled down the hill a ways, and landed in some briars. There's more scratches where you can't see them, on my side and leg. Then we sparred for a while. Rules were we had to stay on the things I'd set up. Except he kept knocking me off."
Akane cocked her head to the side, considering. "To tell the truth ... it was kind of fun." She smiled. "Mind you, I'm ready to go to bed right now. And sleep through till noon."
Ranma gave another snort.
Akane looked at the boy disdainfully and replied, "Yes, sensei. I know that's a pipe dream. Can I at least finish eating?"
"I suppose," he said sweetly. "But hurry up."
A few minutes later she put down her bowl, and Ranma immediately signaled her to follow. He led her around the lake and about a quarter mile beyond, where Akane found herself looking down a cliff.
"So what're we doing now?" she asked.
"You remember how to land when you jump off a roof, right?"
Akane looked down again in sudden concern. "That was only about eight meters! This must be ... fifteen?!"
Ranma joined her in looking down. "Closer to twenty."
Akane controlled a shiver. "Whatever! It's too high!"
Ranma shook his head. "Stop worrying so much about how far it is. That's not the problem. Not as long as you remember what I taught you. Nope, the problem is how rough the ground is down there, with loose rock as well. Footing's gonna be treacherous. If you don't keep your feet, you're gonna get hurt."
She turned to regard him nervously. "You're not really serious about this, are you?"
He returned the look implacably. "Yep. If you haven't joined me in thirty seconds, I'll come back up and push you off." With that he stepped over the edge and landed lightly on his feet below, without any slippage. As if walking off twenty meter cliffs was something he did every day.
Akane pondered his threat. She realized it wasn't at all difficult to believe he meant it seriously. She licked dry lips while contemplating her fate. Mouthing a silent prayer, she took a long step forward and then she was falling, the air rushing past. A moment later her feet touched down.
They immediately shot out from under her. Before her yelp could even get started Akane was seized in strong arms and held fast. She latched on with a grip of iron, finishing her outcry pointlessly against Ranma's chest, against which she pressed tightly. After a couple of erratic thumps her heartbeat returned to normal, and Akane looked up into Ranma's eyes, so close she could make out the individual bits of color in his blue irises.
"Ready to try again?" he asked with a smile.
"No?" she suggested hopefully.
Ranma laughed. "Too bad." Before Akane could register what he was doing, he bunched his legs and jumped all the way back up to the cliff top. "Try to get all of your momentum going straight into the ground, at whatever angle that is where you put your feet down. This time we'll go together. Ready ..."
"No ..."
"... set ..."
Akane released a tiny whimper, but prepared herself.
"... go." He pulled her off with him.
Akane tried to remember what he had just said, in the instant she had before she met the ground, but she ended up in his arms once more. Which felt nice and safe, but unfortunately that wasn't the point of the lesson. Fifteen tries later she managed to keep her feet under her with only a press of Ranma's fingers against her shoulder. Several more near falls followed, but at last Akane ended a jump by successfully staying upright all on her own, albeit wobbling in an inelegant fashion.
"I think that's enough of this for today," Ranma told her. "The sun's going, and you're not ready to try this in the dark yet."
Akane looked at him in horror. "You - You won't really make me do this in the dark. Will you?"
Ranma just grinned. "Not this trip, no. Later in the summer probably. Let's get back to camp. Time for your first swimming lesson."
"But you just said it's getting dark! And I'm exhausted! I can barely lift my arms and legs, let alone paddle!"
"C'mon." He grabbed Akane around her waist and jumped up the cliff one last time. "You won't have to paddle. We're just gonna work on floating tonight. And it won't matter if it's dark. You don't need to see the water to float. The campfire will be more than enough light."
Akane fought back a whimper. The most dreaded training exercise of the trip was upon her, and she didn't feel at all ready for it. All she really wanted at the moment was to slide into her sleeping bag and stay there until it was time to leave Sunday. But she didn't say any of that, knowing all too well it would be futile. So instead she splashed herself with water to turn male, then went and put on her new swim trunks.
By the time the lesson ended a couple of hours later, Akane was absolutely frozen. Undaunted by the way her tense, and male, body kept sinking, Ranma just forced her to keep trying over and over again until she learned to relax enough to float for several seconds at a time. On climbing out of the water she was so numbed with cold, both physically and mentally, that she poured hot water over herself without a thought for the swim trunks she was wearing. The darkness and a hastily grabbed towel preserved her modesty, while she ran behind the tent to finish drying off. Crawling into the tent, Akane had just enough strength to pull on a pair of pajamas before sliding into her sleeping bag and instantly falling into a deep slumber.
"Kiiyaaahhh!!" Akane's scream, released on awakening to find herself flying through the air, ended with a gurgle as water closed over her head. Her rear end struck the gravelly bottom. Scrambling in panic, she managed to get her feet underneath herself and her head shot above the waist deep water. The waist deep, freezing water, as her skin hastened to remind her.
She jumped back out upon the shore, shivering uncontrollably. It didn't seem possible that the water could truly be colder than it had been last night - if it was it would have to be frozen. But having just been torn from her cozy sleeping bag, Akane was absolutely convinced that it must be colder. She looked down at her sodden pajamas, clinging to her frostbitten flesh, then back up at the smirking figure who had perpetrated this crime.
"Wh-what-t w-was th-that f-for, y-you b-b-b-bak-k-ka?!"
"Time for your morning sparring session," he replied cheerily. "Let's go." He beckoned with his fingers.
"S-sounds g-good t'me! I'm g-g-gonna k-kill you! J-just as s-soon as I ch-change!"
"Nope!" Ranma declared jauntily, as he leaped forward and launched an easily dodged kick in her direction. "Sparring as you are is the price you pay for letting me sneak up on you!"
Akane dodged the first couple of blows as she got her brain in gear and started fighting back more seriously. Whereupon Ranma stopped taking it so easy on her. Akane shrieked as a kick sent her flying into the lake again.
"Y-you b-b-baka b-b-bastard!"
She forgot all about changing clothes, running out of the water with murder in her eyes. They fought up and down the small camp area, as Kasumi crawled out of the tent and watched them, not quite daring to start breakfast in the middle of all the mayhem. Akane was knocked into the water twice more before she managed a move which dumped them both in the lake.
"Not bad!" Ranma complimented, grinning at Akane out of her own face.
Instead of leaping straight out of the frigid water, which didn't seem to be bothering Ranma at all, Akane contemplated him for several moments. She wanted revenge, but it was futile to get it by trying to smack him around, not when he was ready for a fight. As she pondered revenge, Akane was also reminded that she still hadn't paid him back for that stupid stuffed pig. She desperately wanted something which could wipe the smirk off his face.
Ranma shook his head violently, flinging water out of his hair, the ponytail swinging back and forth with hard snaps. Akane's eyes widened, but she fought to keep any hint of a smile from her lips. She waited for him to stop shaking his head, at which point he turned around to step from the water.
"You really ought to do something about your hair," Akane suggested calmly.
Ranma stopped and turned toward her. "Huh?"
"Your hair," Akane clarified. "With all we were doing yesterday, you've got a lot of dirt and bits of leaves and ... other stuff ... in your hair. It's kind of disgusting, if you want to know the truth." She ran fingers through her own hair. "I think Kasumi brushed mine while I was falling asleep. Or maybe after. Would you like me to brush yours?"
Ranma pictured himself sitting around like a demure girl, letting someone brush his hair. "Ugh. No thanks. I'll just wash it out." Reflecting on the fact that he was currently female, Ranma untied the two pieces of string holding his ponytail, then held them out. "Here, hold these for me, would you?"
With that he dunked his head underwater and began running fingers roughly through his loose hair. Akane, finally allowing the smile to break free, left the water quickly.
It didn't take long for Ranma to finish, whereupon he got out and grabbed a towel, drying himself off. Kasumi held out a pot of heated water, but he waved it away.
"Not yet, thanks. Remember?" He pointed at the back of his head. "Don't wanna lose my hair." Puzzled, he looked around. "Where'd Akane go? Hey! Akane!" We wandered to the edge of camp, gazing back and forth. "Where the hell are you! I wanna change!"
A few minutes later Akane walked back into the camp, with a broad smile stretching from ear to ear. She ignored Ranma, walking straight to her sister, from whom she gratefully took the pot of water and resumed her female form.
"Dammit Akane! Hurry up and gimme back that dragon's whisker! I wanna change back too!"
Akane turned to him, her smile now on the feral side. She tapped her chin. "The dragon's whisker? Oh, oh yes. I'm sorry. I seem to have mislaid it. But don't worry, I'm sure that I'll remember where it is before we leave."
Ranma stared at her, appalled. "Hey! Quit fooling around! I can't change back to a guy without it! I don't wanna go bald, you know!"
"Oh dear, that's right. I'm so sorry. I wish I could help."
"You ... you ... you ..."
Akane said angelically, "I'm afraid my memory hasn't been working very well since I was traumatized. I'm sure you remember the incident. When I opened a shopping bag and found a stuffed pig inside?"
"That ain't fair!" Ranma howled. He spun toward Kasumi. "Make her give it back!"
Kasumi gazed at them thoughtfully. Akane's practical joke was a little out of line, but then Ranma's had been as well. It wasn't like Ranma would be injured by spending a couple of days as a girl. And maybe he'd listen in future when she suggested he refrain from doing that sort of thing.
Another idea occurred to Kasumi, which caused her to drop her eyes at the devious direction of her own thoughts. The entire reason she was out here was to act as chaperon, to be certain that the two teenagers before her were not tempted to any inappropriate conduct. If Ranma could not change back into a boy, the potential for any such temptation would be greatly reduced. Perhaps even eliminated? No, not entirely, she wasn't quite that naive. But she would certainly feel less concerned, particularly when they were away from camp training.
These thoughts had only taken a few seconds. Kasumi looked back up and said, "I'm sorry, Ranma. I have no way to make Akane remember something she's forgotten."
Ranma stared at Kasumi in horror, gritting his teeth at the happy little smile Akane gave her sister. He turned on his heel and stomped off, tracking Akane's recent footsteps through the thin soil and brush, determined to find her hiding spot. He returned half an hour later, still female, and accepted his breakfast from Kasumi without saying a word. He made no move toward the hot water.
Halfway through the meal, Ranma looked up and caught Akane's gaze. There was a definite glint in his eye as he said, "I hope you realize how much harder your training for the next few days just got." He looked back down to his food while Akane swallowed hard.
"Quiet, Tendo. The lake's just up ahead."
Soun regarded his old friend with little favor. "I seem to recall that you sounded just as certain at each of the last three mountain lakes we approached."
Genma huffed. "It's not like these places come with street addresses, y'know. The boy and I have camped at a lot of places over the years."
The two men slowly made their approach, being careful to move from one bit of brush to another. As their eyes crested the rise, Genma saw with satisfaction two tents standing near the pool. A minute later Kasumi emerged from one of the tents, humming audibly. She put something in a pot sitting on a stand over the fire, then settled herself on a nearby rock and picked up a piece of cloth which had been resting there. As she busied herself with this, it became clear that she was doing some sort of needlework.
"Looks like she's making lunch," Soun whispered. "That means the other two may be back soon. We should wait until they've finished and left again."
Genma nodded, while trying to keep his stomach from growling. The two men crept a good distance away, and hid themselves behind some thick underbrush to be safe. They pulled out some of the trail food they'd brought along and proceeded to gnaw on it.
Before long they heard the voices of the younger offspring return, arguing in a good-natured way. They waited patiently for a time, until quiet returned. After waiting a little longer to be safe, they stealthily made their way forward once more.
They stopped and watched as Kasumi dried some things with a towel. When she was done she carried them into her tent, coming back out again a minute later. She stretched, placing both hands on the small of her back as she arched herself, then looked around happily. Kasumi went into the tent again, and came out carrying a pair of boots. She sat down and exchanged her shoes for the boots. Standing, she walked out of the camp and soon disappeared from sight.
"What an excellent stroke of luck, Saotome!" Soun declared happily. "We don't even have to lure her out of the camp. Come on!"
The two men quickly advanced, keeping a careful eye out for any of their children. They immediately tore into the food, stuffing themselves with anything which was edible despite being uncooked, and destroying as much as they could of everything else. They carefully tore and smashed the containers, dragging the remains and their contents around, and generally making as much of a mess as possible.
When they were done they left quickly, although Genma paused long enough to erase any sign of their footprints. Hoping that their plan would bear the expected fruit, they hiked several miles down the mountain trail to be certain they would avoid detection.
Kasumi returned to the camp an hour later, and immediately cried out in dismay. Then she called loudly "Ranma-kun! Akane!"
A couple of minutes later the other two came tearing into camp, prepared to fight off whatever might be attacking the older girl. Instead they found her looking down sadly at the ruined food stores, and both newcomers gave equally unhappy groans.
"I'm afraid some wild animals got into the food," Kasumi reported sadly. "There's very little left."
Ranma stalked over and looked around, puzzled, seeing no sign of tracks. But there seemed no other explanation. "Yeah. I guess so."
"What are we going to do?" Akane asked. "Does this mean we have to leave already?"
Ranma shook his head. "We don't have to go all the way back home, but we'll need to go back down the mountain to that town we passed through. We can pick up more food there." He paused in thought for a minute. "Problem is, we won't be able to make it all the way back here before dark. I guess we'll have to find a place to stay there for tonight, then come back in the morning. I'm afraid we're gonna lose a lot of training time."
Kasumi looked back and forth between the twin girls, one frustrated and the other sad. Although she'd opposed this trip, they were here, so it would be unfortunate if Akane were forced to waste the opportunity. The arguments about missing school were now irrelevant, as classes would be finished for the week in a little over an hour. Which left only one concern, and Ranma was unable to become a boy for the time being.
Making up her mind, Kasumi took a deep breath and announced, "There's no need for all of us to go. I'm certain that I can follow the trail well enough. You two stay here and do your training. I should be back late tomorrow morning with fresh supplies."
"What? You decided to trust us?" Ranma inquired, one eyebrow raised. Akane glared at him.
Kasumi's lips thinned, and she just looked at him until he squirmed and dropped his eyes. Then she said, "Under the circumstances, it seems that I must. I'm sure that neither of you will give me any cause to feel that my trust is misplaced. Will you?"
Both of the younger teens shook their heads. Ranma added a shrug and said, "Not like anything could happen. Thanks to a certain baka, I'm stuck as a girl."
Akane harrumphed and crossed her arms. Kasumi chose not to respond to Ranma's statement. Instead she just said, "Very well. The sooner I start, the sooner I can make the purchases and find a place to stay. Behave yourselves, and I'll be back as soon as possible tomorrow."
Kasumi walked over to her tent, pulled out her pack, and settled it on her shoulders. She gave Akane a brief hug, then started on her way down the mountain. Within a few minutes she was out of sight.
"Well," Ranma said as he finally turned away from gazing down the trail. "She gave us the chance to go on with your training. We'd best do so. Come on."
He walked off. Akane followed immediately after.
Some time later, the two fathers watched Kasumi walk past without spotting them. Once she was well out of range, they gave each other high fives and started back up the mountain again. Both of them were grinning madly.
After a hard afternoon of exercise, the two girls were finally heading back to camp. Akane tentatively asked, "Are we really going to eat that squirrel, Ranma?"
He gave a single, small bark of laughter. "Yeah. Don't worry. It's not bad. In fact, you should be grateful. I could be making you eat snake. Or lizards."
"Ugh!" Akane put a hand over her mouth. "If you had, I think I'd have gone hungry until Kasumi gets back."
"You just don't know what hunger is," he said in a somber tone. "But that's not a lesson I'm planning to teach you."
Akane gave another dubious glance at the small prize he'd knocked out of a tree with a stone. "It doesn't seem to have a lot of meat on it."
"You got that right. Unfortunately," Ranma agreed. "It'll be enough to take the edge off, though. Plus, I got a couple of candy bars in my pack. But you gotta eat your protein before I give you dessert."
At that moment Akane stopped in shock, any response dying on her lips. They had just come into sight of their little camp, and there was quite clearly only one tent standing there.
"We've been robbed!" she cried out, running forward.
Ranma followed after her, confused. "But why'd they take only one tent?" he asked of no one in particular. When he reached the tent and saw that both his and Akane's packs were inside, his confusion grew vastly greater. A thief would surely have at least rifled the packs, and far more likely taken them entirely.
Akane was gazing around in bewildered pain at the thought that someone would steal their possessions. Ranma was looking around as well, trying to add things up and achieve a sum which made some kind of sense. All at once it came together for him.
"Pop! I'm gonna kill ya!" he shouted.
Akane turned to look at him first in puzzlement, then in dawning comprehension and anger. "You think your father did this?"
"More likely both our old men," Ranma growled. "It's the only thing that makes sense. No thief would take only one tent and leave everything else. It must've been them that ruined the food earlier, too. I wonder if they were trying to make us all leave, or if they expected Kasumi to go away and leave you and me here."
Akane gave a little gasp. Ranma turned quizzical eyes on her. "What's up?"
"I ... I think I know why he, or, or they, did it," she admitted around a lump in her throat. Akane wanted to believe it was all the fault of Genma Saotome, that her own father hadn't known, hadn't tried to trap her in such a way. But she had trouble convincing herself of it.
"Whatcha think they're up to?" Ranma asked.
Akane squirmed a little. "Don't you remember what your father said? Back when Kasumi was arguing about us coming here? About it being all to the good if we, er, um ..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "... fooled around?" Her voice, though still shaky, increased in volume. "They're trying to make us share a tent. I think they're hoping, uh, ..."
"But I'm stuck as a girl for now!" Ranma protested.
A corner of Akane's mind reflected that Ranma was still a trifle innocent in some ways, while most of her refused to think about it at all. Instead she pointed out, reasonably, "How are they supposed to know you're stuck?"
Ranma's eyes swept furiously across the slopes below before he shouted again, "You'd better be a good long way away from here! 'Cause if I catch you, I'm gonna murder you!"
"Are you planning to go looking for them?" she asked.
Ranma sighed. "Nah. I don't think pop's stupid enough to hang around, when he's gotta figure we might guess who's responsible. If they did it not long after Kasumi left, then they'd have plenty of time to get back down the mountain and rent a cozy little room for the night. Besides," he snorted softly, "we could spend hours out there looking for 'em and not find them even if they are there. I'd rather not waste the time when likely nothing would come of it."
"But what're we going to do," Akane wanted to know.
Ranma looked upward, noting the clouds sweeping across the darkening sky, thick with promise of a wet night. He shrugged. "What's the problem? So we share the tent. Nothing's gonna happen, right?" The last word carried a strong inflection, and was accompanied by a raised eyebrow.
Akane flushed. "Of course not, baka!"
"Then no problem," Ranma said firmly. "I'll stay on my side of the tent, you'll stay on your side, and we'll both be tired enough we should fall right asleep. I'd offer to let you have the tent to yourself and take my sleeping bag outside, but ..." He looked upward again, drawing her attention to the clouds. "I think we're gonna get some rain tonight. So I'd just as soon be inside the tent. If you don't mind."
Akane took a deep breath, then let out a sigh. "Yeah. Okay. It's your tent, anyway."
He gave her a firm nod. "That's settled, then. Now how about I show you how someone skins and cooks a meal he's caught for himself?"
"Ranma?" Akane's voice was just loud enough to be heard over the thrum of raindrops striking the tent fabric.
"Hnnn?"
"You asleep yet?"
"Trying to get that way."
Akane smiled in the dark, before her expression turned serious again. "Do you ever wonder why?"
Ranma sighed and rolled over onto his back. "Why what?"
"Why what happened to us. Me ending up inside your head that weird way. I've never heard of anything like that happening to anyone. Then there's our curses. Do you really think there was some kind of Fate involved in it all? Or was it just a bunch of accidents?"
Ranma frowned, resisting the urge to squirm. "Eh. I'd rather think it was accidental. The idea that somebody or something out there has plans for me - that kinda makes me uncomfortable. To put it mildly. But ..." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I can't really see how it could be coincidence you ended up in my head. Not when our fathers knew each other. Or that they were planning to, um, well ..."
"Make us marry," Akane finished when he didn't go on. "It's not really that hard to say, you know."
Ranma was glad she couldn't see his blush. "Well I ain't planning to let 'em tell me who to marry. I mean, I like you, but, uh ..." He didn't know what to say next, but was nervously aware that his cheeks were on fire.
"I don't plan to let anyone tell me who to marry, either," Akane emphasized. "But, you know, that does bring up a point I've wondered about for a while." She paused, licking dry lips, wondering if she dared go on. There was part of her that wasn't at all sure she wanted to hear what he might say.
However, her curiosity had been troubling her about it for some time. So, gathering her courage, trying to keep her voice steady, she said, "Back during the ice skating match. When that asshole Sanzenin was threatening to kiss me. You said that I was your fiancée. In fact you yelled it. In front of everyone! Why? You didn't need to. You could have threatened him just for being a pervert. So, um, why?"
Ranma froze, wishing that she had asked him to go fight a tiger barehanded. He remembered the incident all too well, the emotions roiling within him, his fury at Sanzenin and Ryoga both. He remembered the look Akane had given him when he said it. Not angry. Just confused. He had no idea what to tell her.
After a minute or so Akane quietly asked, "Ranma?"
Having no notion what else to do, Ranma produced a fake snore.
Akane turned onto her side, facing him, lifting herself up on one elbow. "That has to be the most pathetic attempt at pretending to be asleep that I've ever heard."
He snored again, adding a little whistling to his breath.
"Oh for ... are you really that scared of telling me?"
Ranma sat up. "Hey! I ain't scared of nothing!"
"Then tell me!" Akane insisted.
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Do you want me to say I wanna be engaged?"
"Wha- I didn't say that!" Akane stammered.
Ranma lay back down. After another long pause he gave a heavy sigh. "Okay. Here's the truth. I don't know why I said it. Not really. I know I was really pissed off with Sanzenin. And Ryoga, the way he was hanging around, acting like he had some right to you. And you'll probably get mad, but - I reckon my honor was mixed up in it a little. I mean, here's everyone saying we're supposed to be engaged, but these guys - they act like I'm supposed to ignore what they're doing, even though you're supposed to be my fiancée."
Akane didn't say anything. She did feel some irritation over that last sentiment, him regarding her almost like some sort of possession. But taken all in all, she didn't feel nearly as angry as she might have expected.
Ranma was still talking. "There was probably other stuff going on in my head too. Like, you're, you know, my friend. And they shouldn't have been treating you like they were. And I guess I used you being my fiancée as a reason for telling him off. I dunno. I really dunno."
He stared up at the tent above him. After hesitating for a few seconds, he added, "All I really know is, I ain't ready to be engaged to anyone. We're too young. And I don't got time for flowers, and going on dates, and writing bad poetry, and all that other crap. I'd rather spend time with you on our martial arts. For now, anyway."
"For now?" Akane inquired curiously.
Ranma was truly glad for how dark it was in the tent. "Y'know, seems to me this conversation is kind of one-sided. I think I've done enough talking. Wanna tell me what was going through your head about it all?"
Akane's mouth was suddenly as dry as a desert. What did she think about it all? She had no idea how to respond. No idea what to say. She slowly settled back down, closing her eyes, feeling like a coward for wanting to fall asleep without saying anything more.
After a couple of minutes, she quietly remarked, "I'm not ready to think about getting married to anyone either. And I'd also rather spend time with you on martial arts." She paused for a heartbeat, then prompted by some incomprehensible inner compulsion, she added even more quietly, "For now, anyway."
Silence descended inside the tent. Before long, real snores were coming from both of the occupants.
Dawn crept inside the tent. The slumberers stirred. Their mutual jostling served to wake each other further. The eyes of both girls snapped open only to find themselves separated by mere centimeters, followed immediately by realization of the fact that their arms were around one another. They both sprang backwards, shrieking.
"Come on!" a voice called from outside. "We'll be too late! I told you we should have started earlier!"
Another voice responded, "I'm the one who had to pull you out of bed!"
With that the zipper of the tent was suddenly yanked down, and the flap pulled open. Two men shoved their heads inside, the bald one proclaiming, "Aha! We caught ..." He stopped, staring, and then his face twisted in disgust. "Why the hell aren't you a boy?! What kind of sick games are you playing with your fiancée?"
"The only sick one here is you, pop," Ranma stated darkly. His expression turned to one of pleasure, after a sort, as he crooned in his female voice, "You got no idea how happy I am to see you. I've been wanting to tear you limb from limb since last night!"
A well placed kick in the middle of the man's face knocked him out of the tent. Ranma jumped after, attacking furiously. Unfortunately his anger was not enough. Genma was, after all, accustomed to sparring with Ranma every day, and gave as good as he got.
Soun, on the other hand, found himself alone with his daughter, eyeing her nervously.
"Father," Akane said sweetly, locking eyes with the man. "I so wanted to believe you had no part in this. You know, for once I'm completely in agreement with Ranma." Her attempt at mock sweetness was ruined when she was unable to prevent herself from snarling as she added, "I wanna tear someone limb from limb, too!"
Soun, needing no further urging, turned and fled for his life. Akane gave chase but found, rather to her surprise, that her father was a faster runner than herself. Unable to catch him, Akane turned her attention to the remaining conspirator.
At that point Genma Saotome learned that, while Akane's skills might yet be a long way from presenting a serious threat to him in one-on-one combat, it was quite a different story when most of his attention had to be given to defending himself from his son. He went flying through the air to land in the middle of the lake. The panda bear decided that under the circumstances discretion might be the better part of valor, and swam hard for the further shore. As Ranma had learned some months ago at Jusenkyo, the panda could run quite quickly when in fear for its life, and the two teenagers soon were forced to give up the pursuit.
"Bastards!" grumbled Ranma. "They didn't even bring the tent back." After a moment's thought he said, "No way all three of us'll fit in mine. I guess I'll sleep outside and let you and Kasumi have it. I just hope it don't rain again tonight."
"That ... doesn't seem fair," Akane suggested half-heartedly. "After all, it is your tent."
Ranma shrugged. "And it was probably my old man's idea to steal yours. Don't worry about it. I've told you before. I've slept outside plenty of times in my life. I'll be okay."
"If you're sure ..." she replied, not trying very hard to talk him out of it. While she might be willing to try sleeping outside of a tent herself, she wouldn't want to make her sister do so, nor would she suggest that Ranma and Kasumi share the tent.
"I said it wasn't a problem. O'course if you wanna show your gratitude ..."
Akane put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "What?"
"Sheesh!" Ranma muttered disdainfully. "All I was gonna ask was if I could have my dragon's whisker back."
"Oh." Akane shuffled her feet, embarrassed. "Yeah, um, sure. As soon as Kasumi gets back."
Ranma frowned. "Why not now? C'mon, you've had your joke! Give it back." Setting his teeth, he forced himself to say the magic word, although it came out so grudging as to almost oppose its own meaning. "Please?"
Akane grew even more embarrassed. "I can't," she amplified. "I hid it in Kasumi's pack!"
Ranma stared at her, nonplussed. "I thought you hid it out there somewhere?" He waved his arm vaguely.
Akane gave a rueful smile. "That's what I wanted you to think. I was afraid you might go digging through my own pack if you thought it might still be in camp. But I figured you'd never bring yourself to search through Kasumi's stuff."
Ranma looked down and snorted softly. "Yeah. I suppose you're right about that. Damn." He looked back up. "Could you promise never to pull another stunt like this again? Huh?"
Akane looked him in the eye, feeling a little ashamed now of what she'd put him through. "So long as you promise not to pull a trick like that stuffed pig again. Deal?"
"Deal," Ranma confirmed. They gave each other small bows.
"And now," Ranma told her, teeth showing happily, "it's time for training!" Akane suddenly found herself flying through the air, splashing down into the lake seconds later.
She came back up male and spluttering. "Ranma!!"
The fight was on.
It was Sunday and they were on the train heading back to Tokyo, both of the younger teenagers in their proper genders again. Ranma announced, "We'll need to find a swimming pool somewhere to continue your lessons. Not in Nerima though. I don't wanna take a chance anyone we know is gonna think they see Akane Tendo giving swimming lessons to Ranma Saotome."
Akane stuck out her tongue at him, then settled back. Her face, luckily, was essentially unmarred by everything she'd gone through. Not so the rest of her body. Still, the bruises, scrapes and scratches should all have healed within a couple of days. They had discussed avoiding questions by attending school in reversed genders, as people were less likely to comment on Ranma bearing such marks. In the end, however, Akane decided that people needed to accept that she was a martial artist, and it was right for her to show such signs of her training.
Fishing for a compliment, Akane asked, "Think I'm ready to face someone like Shampoo, if she shows up?"
Ranma shrugged. "Hopefully Shampoo ain't gonna be back. If anyone else shows up, it depends. They might be even better than Shampoo, they might not be as good. As for whether you're ready - you're readier than you were. Personally, I hope we don't have to find out."
Akane sighed, wishing he could have been a little more positive. Still, she had learned a lot, a thought which brought a smile to her face. Summer break was only a month away, and then they could go on another, and even longer, training trip. She found herself looking forward to it far more than she would have expected a week ago.
With that pleasant thought, Akane relaxed her muscles, hoping to take a well deserved nap. She was bone tired after the last four exhausting days. They would be getting back in time for a late supper, then she and Ranma would need to do some of the schoolwork Nabiki should have brought home for them. Then bed and back to school in the morning. She hoped she'd be able to stay awake in her classes.
For some reason, as Akane drifted off to sleep, the words "For now, anyway" whispered through her mind.
At that moment, in the Qinghai Province in western China ...
"Shampoo! You're back!" Other heads snapped around to look in the same direction as the speaker. With a rush several girls gathered around the weary figure trudging up the road.
"Ni hao!" Shampoo greeted them with a tired smile.
"Did you ... you know?" one of the girls asked, simultaneously eager and hesitant to hear the answer.
Shampoo held up a hand. "I need to report to the elders first."
"Indeed." As if by magic, her great-grandmother Cologne was standing before her. "I was rather disturbed when your reports stopped coming after you caught up with that Ranma girl. I hope you have a good explanation. Come along."
Shampoo followed obediently, suppressing a traitorous wish that she could at least be given time to bathe and take a nap first. The other girls remained behind, watching their friend walk off. It troubled them that they had barely been given the chance to say hello before she was hauled off, and they wondered if perhaps she was in trouble. Then they shook themselves free of such worries and returned to their tasks. After all, Shampoo was the consummate warrior of their generation. It was inconceivable that she would have returned except to report that all was well.
Author's note:
The next thing I plan to post is the seven chapter story Adamantine Mist. Therefore, even though the first draft of chapter 12 of Side by Side is already written, it will probably be a few months before it is posted.
Related sites on the web: Please visit my profile page for information on upcoming chapters or stories, by clicking on my name at the top of this chapter. My profile also has links to my web site, LiveJournal site and forum. The web site contains the official versions of my stories. The LiveJournal site provides updates on what I am working upon at any given time. The forum is a place to discuss my stories or Ranma 1/2 in general.