Now that Ranma was male again, he was able to go back to school regularly, much to his displeasure. Part of it was because he had to pay attention to the boring stuff again, but the bigger reason was virtually everyone, except Kuno, insisted on seeing his curse for themselves.

It took a lot of water and explaining, both to and from Ranma, but he had convinced Furinkan's students that his curse was legitimate. Most of the men sympathized with him, saying they would have hidden the curse too if they had one. The women were a bit offended at Ranma's behavior and told him he shouldn't have treated having a female body as something to be ashamed of.

Chapter 21: Closer Together

Akane defended him by asking them one simple question. "If you had a curse that turned you into a man, would you have been any more eager to let others know?"

Ranma had once asked her a very similar question when they first went ice-skating, and Kasumi asked her something similar when he was locked in his cursed form. It really stuck with Akane since. For years, Akane had been quick to assume, to judge, to criticize any person or situation that made her uncomfortable. In short, she had a habit of jumping to conclusions based solely on her own instant interpretation of what she saw, often not having the patience or interest to hear any opposing claims. When Ranma asked her what she would do in his place, it was the first time in a long time she had really tried to see things from another's point of view rather than just her own.

Since then, Akane was trying not to judge Ranma so much. She wanted to understand him more, see what he thought of things, rather than just assume she already knew. So far things were working out fine.

But ultimately, Ranma did not really enjoy his day at school.

"I swear the last time I was this wet I was swimming across the Sea of Japan." Ranma commented while he and Akane walked home after school. "I still feel wet."

"At least they won't force you to wear a uniform to school because of your curse." Akane said to reassure him. The faculty had at first pressed for him to wear a uniform since his clothes were affected by the curse, but it was proven futile since regular clothes couldn't really be comfortably worn under a uniform, meaning Ranma if wet would wear a bikini regardless if he wore a uniform or not. "And if someone gets frisky with you, you can fly away or electrocute them."

"Like with Kuno?" Ranma asked.

Akane giggled. "Exactly. Now that you mention it, I wonder how he's going to take this. I don't remember seeing him today for once. At least someone will tell him soon."

"You think he'll listen?" Ranma asked. "I mean, how many times did you tell him to leave you alone and he wouldn't listen?"

Akane briefly looked worried. "You don't think he's going to ignore the entire student body telling him you and 'the green-haired girl' are the same person right?"

The two arrived home and Kasumi was there to greet them. "Welcome home Akane, Ranma. Oh Ranma, this came for you in the mail." She handed him a beige envelope.

He opened it and saw a letter. 'Ranma, I've been training in the mountains so I can properly defeat you at least once. Meet me in your school's yard this Saturday if you have any honor at all. Ryoga.'

Akane looked it over. "The guy does not know how to let go of a grudge does he? He may even end up like that dead spirit in 'The Grudge' if he keeps this up. Hey wait, this was dated a week ago. The deadline's past."

"So what?" Ranma asked. "I bet he's still trying to find Nerima, probably from Sapporo knowing his luck. There's no rush on my part to be there."

Ranma was proven right when it was Wednesday of next week that Ryoga finally found his way back to Nerima. But before he could reach Furinkan, the old ladle lady got to him. And apparently, she was too absorbed in washing the asphalt to notice a stray infant on the sidewalk.

"Oh great. Where the hell can I get some water?" The now oni-infant Ryoga asked himself. As he tried to take off, he saw a shadow approach him from behind.

"What this?" Shampoo asked, kneeling down to get a closer look. She quickly saw the green hair and tiger stripe apparel. "Oni child? Got curse? Like Airen?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ryoga asked.

"Want some hot water?" Shampoo asked and Ryoga nodded. Shampoo picked up the dropped backpack and shirt. "Follow Shampoo." She led him to the Cat Cafe.

Cologne quickly saw Shampoo's company. "You found a stray child?"

"Who?"

"Is cursed Grandmother, like Airen." Shampoo replied.

"Who are you people?" Ryoga asked.

"Just visitors in a foreign land trying to get business done." Cologne answered before getting some hot water, for no reason other than to see who this new victim of Jusenkyo was.

"You know Airen? You got almost same curse." Shampoo asked Ryoga.

"Who the heck are you talking about?" Ryoga asked. 'Japanese clearly is not this girl's first language.'

"Do you know a young man named Ranma Saotome?" Cologne asked, hot water in hand.

Ryoga got mad at hearing the name of his rival. "That bastard is why I'm like this! I rue the day he was born."

Cologne frowned. "Well, in that case maybe I won't give you this water."

"What? Why?"

"I have plans for him, so why would I support someone who has plans of their own that conflict with mine?"

"I don't care about your plans, only mine." Ryoga declared.

"Likewise." Cologne replied, unfazed completely by his claim. Cologne ended up giving him the hot water anyway. "Fine, then take your water and be done here."

The oni child took it and used it to become his teenage human self. He was shirtless, but he had learned to pack a spare with him thanks to his curse. Mumbling his version of gratitude he turned to leave.

An hour later while Cologne was watching a Japanese soap opera, Shampoo came to her. "Strange man still not leave."

The amazon elder went out to see Ryoga in the hall looking around. "Where is the door out of here?"

"You can't be serious." Cologne said, exasperated by his ineptitude.

Ranma was walking back home after a visit from Tofu, just to confirm there had been no changes or damages from being stuck in his cursed form for so long.

"So far nothing looks wrong or irregular, so I'd say you're as healthy as ever. Though I do worry that maybe your body isn't as used to testosterone as much anymore. The hormonal implications of your curse still intrigue me. But anyway, you've got nothing to worry about." Tofu told him. "Oh, and before you go, I was given some eels by a customer. I know Mr. Tendo likes eel so could you take some? I've got more than I need."

So now Ranma was strolling around peacefully walking on a fence carrying a bowl of water containing two live eels.

"Ranma prepare to die!" Ryoga shouted, pouncing at him armed with his umbrella to hit him from behind.

"'Bout time you showed up Ryoga. Maybe you should write your challenges a week in advance." Ranma commented as he dodged without dropping his cargo.

"I gave you an extra week of life. You should be grateful." The lost boy said as the two landed and stared each other down. Or rather he stared down Ranma who was just staring at him.

'Look at him trying to act like he didn't get lost. Akane may have a point about him being a sore loser.' Ranma thought briefly.

"Now die!" Ryoga declared as he charged forward, trying to punch Ranma into unconsciousness.

Ranma was having a bit of difficulty in dodging the fists without dropping the eel. "Hold it! I have to deliver this!"

"Is that so? Well then, if it's removed you can fight unhindered can't you!" Ryoga replied while still striking, adding a few sweep-hits into his moves. When he added a kick, Ranma nimbly dodged by jumping over it and landing on his left hand, right hand still holding the eel container. "Stop squirming!"

Ranma went right in his face with his own. "Hmm... you're getting slow Ryoga."

This caught the lost boy off guard and briefly off balance. But fortunately for him Ranma did not attack, leaving him free to. "How dare you mock me!"

Moving the glass bowl to his left hand, Ranma used his right to deflect Ryoga's punch and hit him in the jaw. Nothing bad, just a stun attack. "You really are slow."

'This can't be.' Ryoga thought as he fell backwards.

"Ranma?" Akane, who just happened to be passing thru wearing a sundress and bag at her side containing a tennis racket, asked, seeing him fight with Ryoga. Ryoga saw her just moments before he saw he was about to fall into a fountain. Luckily Ranma reached out and caught his nose so he stopped falling and gained some leverage by placing his feet on the fountain edge. "So he finally showed up?"

"Yep. Strange thing is all that training he bragged about didn't seem to help him at all." Ranma told her as Ryoga waved his arms around, hoping to get out of this uncomfortable position.

Ryoga then did a flip-kick maneuver to get out of Ranma's grasp and land somewhere dry. "What the hell were you doing just then?"

"Did you want to turn into a baby oni again?" Ranma asked.

"Our fight isn't over."

"What fight? You didn't lay a hand on me." Ranma responded.

Ryoga lunged at his rival, but he wasn't expecting Akane to intercept and kick him in the face, sending him flying without being an oni. "Stop picking on Ranma you jerk!" They didn't see where he landed. "You okay Ranma?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I was never in trouble. It's weird though, for someone who's been training in the mountains, he was too slow to actually hit me."

"Maybe you've just gotten faster." Akane suggested as the two walked back home side-by-side.

The pigtailed boy smiled a bit. "Now that would be nice."

"It makes sense, since you did get training from Shampoo's great-grandmother so much. Ryoga's better off not trying to challenge you anymore. Doesn't he have anything better to do than strike and beat you for something you've already apologized for?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged. "I guess for him an apology just isn't enough."

"It better be, because I'm not going to let him keep trying to kill you just so he can finally feel good about himself." Akane stated firmly.

Ranma smiled at her in a way that made her blush but not feel uncomfortable. "I'm a big boy Akane, I can fight my own battles."

Akane took his free hand into one of her own, making him turn red with her. "Ranma, am I your fiancee or not?"

"Uh... umm..." He fumbled over his words. "If I have to choose one of the Tendo's, it would be you."

Akane smiled in a way that almost made her glow and sparkle to Ranma. "You helped me with the Hentai Horde Ranma. Let me help you with those after you too."

Not sure what to say, he just nodded. But of course, as a Saotome, Ranma's mouth often operated on its own. "Man you look cute right now."

Akane smiled even brighter and her eyes were flooded with emotions Ranma couldn't identity. Before he could react, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before pulling him down into their first true kiss.

Like any male in his position, Ranma did not know what to do. Fortunately, if there was one good thing Genma installed in his son it was how to learn and adapt quickly to change. Before the shock had fully worn off, he decided the best thing to do was kiss her back. He couldn't wrap his arms around her due to the eel bowl, but he did use his free arm to hold her in place like she did him.

They parted for air and just stared at each other, not sure what to say. Maybe nothing needed to be said, they both considered.

"So does this mean you want us to be engaged?" Ranma asked, not quite ruining the moment but returning a bit of reality to it.

Akane thought over her answer very careful. "Let's just say that even though I'm not ready to be married just yet, I think now I'm willing to consider that we can be in time. Play your cards right mister and it might even be before college." 'Or graduation.' She added in her head, not willing to admit that timeline just yet.

Ranma blushed and scratched the back of his head, trying not to blurt out something to ruin the moment. "Umm... we should get home before dinner's ready."

Akane nodded, finding his embarrassment quite cute. Taking his free hand once he was done scratching his head with it, she walked home with him, thinking about what their future might entail. 'Akane Saotome, it does have a nice ring to it.'

Both were unaware that the whole time they had been talking, they were being watched. 'Hmm... this certainly complicates things. Emphasizing Shampoo's appeal to Son-in-law will have to wait, for now I should try putting a wedge in between him and Shampoo's rival. Of course, I'll need a patsy to avoid any worse-case-scenario, and I think I know who to use.'

When Ranma and Akane got home, Soun was quite pleased to see Tofu's gift. Eel was one of his favorite foods and Kasumi knew a good recipe for serving it she rarely got to use.

"Hey boy, summer vacation is coming up. You ready to go on a little training trip for a week?" Genma asked his son as they sat down to eat.

Summer vacation in Japan works differently than it does in America. For one, it happens in the months of July and August, and doesn't include June. And it also does not separate year levels either. The break between year levels in Japanese schools takes place in March and early April. In Japan, summer vacation was basically a two-month long spring break. Even so, it was still a welcome break from studies and homework.

"Sounds good to me. Usual terrain?" Ranma asked. 'Usual terrain' meant the places he and Genma most commonly trained at, which were forested mountains with sources of fresh water so they could live off the land and train without worrying about other people or rules getting involved.

Genma nodded and Soun smiled. "If you're going Akane should probably go with you too."

"Why?" Akane asked, more curious than against it.

"It'll give you and Ranma more time together and you could help out with the cooking. You know how much Ranma enjoys what you make." Soun answered, trying not to taste bile at the memory of oni-Ranma shoving Akane's toxic meals down her throat with gusto. It was like watching someone guzzle down bleach and ask for seconds.

Kasumi smiled. "And maybe you'll have some time to work out with him and make something his boy form enjoys eating too." 'As long as her ingredients and means of cooking are limited so are her chances of ruining anything she makes.'

"And what am I supposed to eat?" Genma asked.

"Can't a grown man like you make your own food?" Akane asked.

"I can. I just don't like to." The bald martial artist answered.

"Then suck it up or eat what I give you."

"Maybe this trip was a bad idea."

"Nonsense Mr. Saotome. You'll have fun while you're out there and you'll manage. If nothing else I'm sure your tiger-cow form can forage for something." Kasumi said, pretty much sealing the deal.

Genma groaned for his poor stomach and Akane smiled before leaning into Ranma a bit, showing him she was glad for this.

Nabiki saw this and decided to have a bit of fun. "So are you two going to being sharing a tent? Because if you are you better get some condoms first." The two turned bright red and Aakne separated herself from Ranma, but Nabiki wasn't quite done yet. "And if you are, you might want to confirm what size works best for Ranma too first."

Never before had Akane been so tempted to use her mallet on her own family like this. She didn't, but the temptation was there.

"Damn you! Damn you Ranma!" Ryoga shouted later that night as he took out his frustration on a poor wall. Which by the way cracked with each hit.

"So, you keep being made a fool out of by Ranma." Cologne said, perched on her crane as soon as he stopped hitting concrete. Ryoga turned to see her but said nothing. "I was hoping to find you and talk to you again."

Ryoga stood straight up and smirked. "I'm listening."