Wow, just a few days short of five years later and I'm finally giving this story an update. I feel old.

Chapter 14:

Ranma set Sakura down at Sasuke's signal. She wasn't normally one to take directions but she'd found she didn't mind following his lead while on missions. She'd still rile him up of course but it took some of the stress off not to be the responsible one for once. Sasuke was very mission-oriented and efficient while very rarely making a fuss about his position as the official team leader. And while he might not be the best rival or leader in the world, Ranma greatly appreciated having someone around that wasn't constantly butting into her business or trying to marry her or marry her off.

Ranma nabbed an energy bar from Sakura's pack. She hadn't brought a pack herself since she hadn't expected camping and didn't like the way the straps accentuated her boobs. Luckily she had cute kohai to carry food for her. She should have gotten herself students ages ago. Technically they were still Arisu's students but she'd taught them more than he had and she liked to think they looked up at her with respect.

'Hmm…' If she squinted Sasuke sort of reminded her of a younger her. Hadn't her old body sort of looked like that at that age? She hadn't had much access to mirrors back then and it had been a while since she'd seen her male body in the flesh but she was pretty sure she'd looked like that - well, except for his ridiculous hair.

Ranma tried to picture herself the last time she'd been her proper self but the image was hazier than she liked. She shivered and moved to thinking about similarities that didn't involve appearance. Similarities like that skill of his that she'd been cultivating ever since the rest of the village gave up or died on them, and the way he was constantly chased by girls. 'A regular mini-me.' She stretched towards him to tussle his hair affectionately but stopped abruptly.

Ranma shook her head, realizing she'd been thinking way too many nice things about him again. It had to be her stupid girl body, she was never this chummy with people as a guy. Best to do something quick before anyone got the idea that she was going soft.

Turning the head pat into a super-powered flick she send the duck-haired boy straight into the muddy forest floor, the map he was holding the only shield between his face and the muck.

Sakura smoothed out her cheongsam, trying to look dignified after riding piggybacked on her redheaded teammate through the woods. What were her teammates thinking, acting up again. It was mostly Ranma's fault of course but she was clear-headed enough to note that it was Sasuke's voice that was carrying the furthest through the woods. She knew it was bad that Ranma destroyed their only map but right now she was more concerned with their immediate surroundings than how they would find the tower.

Her head twisted from side to side, trying to see all directions while her companions were busy arguing. Weren't they worried at all about who or what might hear them? This was the Forest of Death after all, not to mention the first time they'd done anything more dangerous than a D-rank since -

It hurt to think about their old sensei so she just didn't. At all. Her mind had plenty of other things to busy itself with like trajectory formulas and chakra discussions and the number of acres of rice in the Land of Fire. All of them were much more beneficial and useful for her future spectacular ninja career and marriage than thinking about unpleasant things.

"So what now?" she asked, breaking up an argument that was already fizzling. And argument that wouldn't have even started if Ranma didn't enjoy teasing Sasuke so much. She supposed that at least one thing hadn't changed when Naruto became Ranma.

"We follow the sun west," said Sasuke. "Keep an eye out for traps."

It was a simple plan but serviceable enough, Sakura supposed. She still wasn't nearly as strong as she wanted to be but Sasuke was competent in all areas and Ranma was absurdly good at those "martial arts" of hers. Together they had little to fear from a head-on encounter with other genin, or so she hoped.

They walked in silence for a time, Ranma incredibly nonchalant but still somehow perfectly silent in her (his?) steps. Sakura wondered if Ranma knew that by linking her hands behind her back like that she was thrusting her unfairly prominent bosom forwards and upwards. She also wondered something deeper, a niggling question that had bugged her for some time.

She started to speak several times but kept stopping, some of the same doubts continuing to block her curiosity. Were the Anbu watching them even here during the exam? How would Ranma, still a relative unknown, react to questions about his/her past? She had to know though, she just had to.

"Ranma," she said cautiously, still wondering if even a simple nickname might be enough to give them away. "There's no one watching us right now, right?"

Ranma scratched her head and replied, "Umm, I don't think so. Tough to say with so many ninjas running around. Some of you chumps are actually half decent."

Sakura felt rage rising at the insult to her chosen profession but tamped it down. "Then can you tell me about yourself." There was a noticeable rise in tension when the question dropped but she plowed ahead anyways. "You told us about your water issues but you haven't told us about anything else. Like how you came to be… Naruto, or-"

_
End of Chapter 14
You can find chapter 15 at lycelia dot com/?id=1fe
Or wait a bit and I'll post it here eventually.