The Saotome Sisters

Chapter 53

Akane awakened with a sharp pain in her stomach, and a sense of urgency that wouldn't allow her to sleep any longer. She had vague memories of nightmares, and awakening from time to time with nausea and discomfort that had kept her tossing and turning all night. She would roll over and ignore the pain, too exhausted to get up, until finally she would drift off again, only to be pulled back out of her light sleep some time later. She couldn't tell for sure how much later, as she wasn't really aware of the passage of time, caught in that state between waking and sleep. Clearly, her cooking had not agreed with her.

Despite the pain, she really didn't have the energy to do anything but just lay there and suffer. It was easier when she was asleep, so she would just close her eyes and just try to relax. This time, however, the stomach ache was accompanied by a pressing need, that just simply couldn't be ignored, no matter how little sleep she had gotten. Reluctantly, Akane sat up, and tried not to retch as the movement set her head spinning.

She glanced over at Ukyo, to make sure her tent mate was still asleep. Ukyo had mentioned to Akane that she tended to kick and punch in her sleep. Normally this didn't bother Ukyo, since Akane slept in her bed, and Ukyo on a bedroll on the floor. At the moment, though, the other girl's sleeping bag was only a few feet away from hers. Considering the way she had been tossing and turning all night, she was slightly concerned that she might have disturbed her friend. The brown haired girl was snoring softly, though, apparently either too deep in sleep or too exhausted herself to notice Akane's thrashing.

Akane regarded her friend fondly, noticing a slight smile on her face. Ukyo did look tired, but relaxed and calm in her sleep. Akane was glad, considering all the girl had gone through. "Sweet dreams, Ucchan," she muttered quietly. She stroked her hair, being careful not to wake her. "From now on, I'll be watching over you."

Reminded again of that urgent need that was clamoring for her attention, Akane crawled out of her own sleeping bag, and made her way out of the tent. Pushing aside the flap, she stepped out into the clearing. In the moonlight, she could clearly see the remains of their campfire, and that it had been built back up to a small fire. Ranma was stoking it, throwing some spare twigs into it to keep it going.

"Ranma!" Akane called out, surprised to see him. "What are you doing still up?"

Ranma turned to her, and smiled knowingly as he looked her over. Akane was sweating, and still had a slightly pained expression. "Same thing as you, I bet," he told her.

Akane blushed deeply as she realized what he meant. "Oh..."

"Here ya go." He tossed her a roll of toilet paper. "There's a good spot down that way with some privacy." He pointed to a path leading out of the clearing.

"Um... oh, okay." Still blushing, Akane gingerly started across the clearing towards the path. As she passed him, Ranma grinned impishly.

"It's gonna hurt like Hell, tomboy. Just thought you should know."

She looked at him, her eyes widening. "I did NOT need to know that!"

Ranma kept the mischievous grin. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Akane disappeared into the trees. A few minutes later, she returned, her face pale, and her body trembling slightly. But she looked much better, her skin having lost its greenish pallor. She walked over to sit down beside him, and Ranma poked at the fire, stirring the coals.

"I guess I'm not ready to cook without Ukyo's help," she said with a sigh.

"You'll get it," Ranma said.

"Training, huh?" she added. "Even so, I think I'll pass on the gastrointestinal distress from now on."

There was a long silence, and then Akane took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry, Ranma. I never meant for you to think I had chosen Ryoga over you. I was just trying to see if he had changed, if he was really ready to forgive you and Ukyo, or if he was just saying what he thought I wanted to hear..."

Ranma looked away, and Akane's lip trembled as she studied him. "I... I... I didn't mean to betray you like that, Ranma. I'm so sorry." Her voice became choked. "Ryoga doesn't mean anything to me. You've got to believe that!"

"Well... Akane..." Ranma kept his head turned away, but he cut his eyes to glance at her. "I guess I never meant for you to think I don't... you know... need you..."

Akane sniffled, and she reached out to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Ranma... You're the only one I ever want to be with. No matter what. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. I swear it."

The pigtailed boy turned and took his fiancee in his arms, while she leaned against his chest. She wasn't crying, really, although a few tears fell anyway. She hugged him tightly, while Ranma stroked her short hair. She stayed like that for several minutes, just savoring the feel of being held close.

"So... what did ya find?" Ranma finally asked. "About Ryoga, I mean."

"I'm not sure." Akane wiped her eyes, and then turned thoughtful. "I hope he's learned something. But I can't really tell. He was so ready to kill you over his grudge, after all that I said to him..."

She looked up into Ranma's blue eyes. "He told me to tell you, though, that if you had been in your male body, you would have won. Ukyo was able to hurt him, and even with the Neko-Ken, he thinks you're still probably stronger than that. So he wanted me to tell you that as far as he's concerned, he got his duel, and you beat him fair and square."

"Well, that's something, anyway," Ranma commented.

Akane smiled a bit. "He did say he plans to keep training, and someday he'll come back and beat you. But he wanted me to tell you..." she blushed, deeply, cutting her eyes away. "... that he expects you to take good care of me, and if you don't, he'll um, 'make you pay'." Despite her embarrassment, Akane still seemed amused at Ryoga's protectiveness.

Her smile then faded. "But I don't know about him and Ukyo. I couldn't get him to talk about her. He said he'd think about it, but... I don't think he wants to admit how mad he still is. He's still making excuses..."

"Pervert pig," Ranma growled. "If I'd known what Sis was goin' through, I woulda been harder on that Pork Chop..."

"Yes, I know Ranma, but I hope that that's what finally got through to him. I just hope..." She stared into Ranma's eyes for a moment. She didn't think it was a good idea to mention her suspicions about Ryoga's feelings for Ukyo. If he thought Ryoga was attracted to his sister, Ranma would probably get protective of her. "... I hope he can come to terms with his anger and realize what a friend he has in Ukyo."

She leaned against Ranma's chest. "... Like I did with you."

They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. Finally, Akane looked up, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Hey, Ranma, why don't we spar a little?"

Ranma looked around at their darkened camp. "What, now?" He sounded shocked, after all, it was the middle of the night.

"Sure, why not? There's enough light, since the moon is out, and we came here to train. So let's train!"

"What about your arm?"

"What about it?" Akane scowled. "You're not going to take me seriously anyway, so what difference does that make?"

"Hey! I've already told you, I'm not going to..."

Akane waved her hand, smiling. Her irritation at Ranma's concern seemed to have been only momentary. "All right, all right. Just be a little careful of it. I know you're not going to go all out, but you can at least give me a workout. I'm feeling a lot better now, and I want to work off a little energy before I go back to bed."

Ranma eyed the black haired girl cautiously. He could tell she was serious, and she wasn't angry with him, but there was something slightly off about her expression. It was challenging, a bit more than usual, like she was planning something. He considered whether or not there could be any harm in it, and finally decided there was none. After all, she had agreed he could go easy on her, and was showing the proper concern for her arm.

He took a stance opposite her, masking his stance in his usual fashion, and waited for her to attack. She did so, but more cautiously than in her match with Genma, being careful not to overextend herself. As before in the dojo, Ranma found he had to push himself to avoid her blows, even more because he lacked the speed of his sister's body. Akane began to feint, and he had to block one of her punches to keep her from tagging him. She smiled at the victory, but didn't let down her guard.

"Still not going to strike at me, are you?" Akane asked, her eyes twinkling. She was definitely planning something.

"I told you, Akane, I don't hit girls. Even girls as good as you..."

Akane chuckled, smiling a bit at the compliment. But she met his gaze with a smirk. "You keep saying that, but you know what I say to that. You'll hit Ucchan and Shampoo. So come on, give me a challenge..." She opened some holes in her defense to lure him into attacking, while pressing her own attacks to make him push back.

With a smug smile of his own, Ranma struck out with a few light blows, just to make her tighten up her form. Akane immediately responded, countering his attacks. Her brown eyes watched him carefully, obviously waiting for an opening.

When she finally saw one, Akane struck. Ranma blocked it, and then turned to avoid a follow up attack. As he moved, though, Akane suddenly darted the wrong way. Hopping on one foot, as if leaning out too far, Akane suddenly twisted, and appeared to stumble.

Her clumsy move had made his block head straight for her injured arm. Desperate, Ranma pulled it back, knowing that she wouldn't be able to avoid the blow totally. She managed to lift her arm at the last minute, though, and he caught her in the side. His strike sent her flying through the air, the unexpected force of it knocking her off her feet. Akane fell to the ground, rolling to shield her arm from the fall.

"Akane! You okay?" He saw the look of agony come over her face, as Akane's injured arm was wrenched by the fall. The stupid tomboy could have made the break even worse! Pushing that thought aside, Ranma concentrated on rushing to her side. As Akane bit her lip, whimpering in pain, he put out a hand to help her up.

Suddenly, Akane flipped back to her feet, and struck out with a punch right at his chest. His guard was still up, despite his concern, and Ranma was able to twist his arm around, and deflect the blow. Akane's charge carried her past him, and she tried a back kick, but he simply jumped away. She got back into her stance, all signs of pain gone from her expression, and with that wicked smile once again on her face.

"Good try, Akane. That would have caught me, too, if I was a little slower."

"I didn't figure you'd fall for it," Akane said, still smirking. "But I had to try."

Ranma grinned back as Akane circled him. That trick had all the hallmarks of his sister. So that's what Akane was planning. Well, he knew all his sister's tricks, and none of them were going to catch him off guard. Let the tomboy practice them, he thought, it'll do her good to add a little variety to her fighting style.

"I should have expected that," Ranma commented. "Especially after the way you handled the Old Man. Sis taught you that move, huh?"

"Yep. Practiced it for a couple of weeks, in the dojo. Ucchan knew I couldn't take your father in a straight fight, but she said if I could take him down fast, it'd be too much a blow to his pride and he wouldn't challenge me again."

"Another couple of months, and you might be able to take Pops for real."

"Thanks, Ranma," Akane said, obviously pleased.

"I bet you're the one who made that phone call, too," Ranma said. "Sis wouldn't say, but she knew a lot about the training that she wouldna known unless she was there."

Akane blushed deeply, but she nodded. "It took me forever to find an aid station. For a while there, I thought I would have to go back down the mountain and go into town, to find a phone. But that's why I had to leave a message, I knew Ryoga and Cologne would come looking for me if I stayed away too long."

"Why'd ya tell Sis not to tell me?"

"I... I thought you might not trust me, if you knew it came from me." She swallowed, and looked away.

"I trust you, tomboy." Ranma smiled. "Thanks for watchin' my back."

They continued to circle each other, throwing the occasional punch, when suddenly Akane zigged when she should have zagged again. She blundered right into Ranma's punch, and it was about to hit her right in the arm. With her earlier close call still fresh in his mind, Ranma was already on the alert for just such a mistake, and quickly pulled his punch. He didn't even hit her that time, stopping his fist well before it reached her.

Akane stared at his hand for a moment, open mouthed, and then her eyes began to flash with an all too familiar anger. She looked up at him. "You ARE holding back! You didn't even try to stop that! You just decided to stop it, and you did!"

"Hey, at least I didn't hit you!" Ranma snapped back at her.

"I am a martial artist, just like you!" Akane shouted, getting up in his face. The heat of her aura was beginning to radiate from her, now, and Ranma gulped. "A martial artist is supposed to be able to stand a little pain! You aren't taking me seriously!"

"You're a stupid, clumsy tomboy!" Ranma answered. "You've got a broken arm! You SHOULD be more careful!"

"If I have a broken arm, then I DESERVE to be hurt for making a stupid mistake like that!" Akane poked him in the chest. "It's how I learn not to make mistakes! But you don't care about that! All you care about is protecting your Akane, and making sure she doesn't get hurt! But I'm not fragile! I wouldn't need you to protect me, if you'd just TRUST me!"

She pulled back her hand as if to punch him, and Ranma cringed. But suddenly, as her arm came forward, it was as if a switch had been pulled. Akane's anger vanished, and her battle aura snapped inward, wrapping itself tightly around her body before seemingly dissipating. Her fist never landed, instead, she suddenly dropped, and swept with her leg. Ranma flipped over forward onto his face, and Akane's open palm struck him right in the chest. He went flying backwards, the wind knocked out of him by a blow that was carefully controlled, and yet surprisingly powerful.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma saw Akane dart forward, with a speed he had never seen from her before. She actually outraced him as he flew through the air, arriving at the same spot just before he hit the ground. She slid around behind him, and he found himself sitting in her lap. Her arm went around his neck, and then she put her other arm, still in the sling, against her wrist. She then tightened her grip on his neck, and Ranma realized he was caught in a chokehold, with her legs pinning his arms to his side.

Ranma struggled to get loose, but he quickly realized that Akane's hold was secure. There was one way to break it, but that meant he would have to put pressure on Akane's injured arm. He looked up into her face, and noticed strain there, as she bit her lip against the pain. But she was grinning, smugly, clearly aware that she had him at her mercy. And with her strength, it would be tough to get his arms free.

"DAMN IT!" Ranma suddenly shouted. "You HAVE been talkin' ta Sis, haven't you?"

"Yep," Akane said. Her smile widened. "So you know what you have to say."

"No way! No way!" He scowled at her, now angry himself. But Akane didn't seem angry at all. "You know this is just a trick! It don't count!"

Akane tightened her arm. "You know what you have to say."

"I can break this easy!" Ranma protested. "You ain't done nothin'!"

She leaned forward, to look him in the eye. Her smile was disarmingly sweet, but Ranma still could not help but grind his teeth at the satisfaction in her eyes. "I know good and well you won't break it, because to do that, you will have to hurt me. You'll have to hurt my arm, possibly injure it worse than it's already hurt."

Her smile turned a bit more serious, her expression softening. "And you also know that I'm having to endure pain to maintain this hold. The longer I hold it, the more it hurts me."

Ranma growled, knowing that she was telling the truth. It was hurting her to maintain the hold. And he could stop it. But...

The challenging smirk returned. "Come on, Ranma. You can say it to Ukyo. So say it to me."

There was a long pause, while Ranma ground his teeth in frustration. Then, he lowered his head. "Fine. You... you... win, Akane." His voice was a whisper. "I'm... defeated."

Akane leaped to her feet, with a whoop of joy. Ranma scowled at her, as she pumped her fist in the air. Then, just before he could really get mad, she looked down at him, and gave him that sweet smile again.

"Ranma..." she said, her voice soft. "How in the world could you fall for such a transparent trick? I even pulled that trick with pretending to be hurt to test you, to see if you'd drop your guard. You didn't." She giggled. "How could you fall for exactly the same thing?"

When Ranma didn't answer, she continued. "When your sister told me that all I had to do was pretend to be angry with you, and you'd drop your guard, I told her she was crazy. I mean, I know I always somehow manage to hit you when you make me mad at you, but I just figured you chose not to dodge, so I could get it out of my system." She smirked. "Either that, or you're so dense you're actually surprised when you say something insulting to me."

Ranma growled and stood up, walking away from her. Akane's expression turned apologetic, and she approached him, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Do... do you feel you need to be punished or something... when you hurt me?" she asked, hesitantly.

"That's kinda it." He pulled away from her. "So I guess you want the same deal, huh?" He asked, his voice harsh. "I take you seriously, and you don't pull that again..."

Akane took his hand. "Don't be mad. I don't want to hurt you, Ranma. I just want to understand."

"It ain't nuthin' I wanna talk about." Ranma sighed, keeping his face turned away from her.

"Ranma..." Akane could feel him wince as she caressed his back, trying to be reassuring. She wanted to hug him again, but knew better than to push. "Ukyo said she thinks it's your training, that you don't want to dishonor yourself by hitting a girl. But there's more to it, isn't there?" She smiled at him, turning him to face her. "You can tell me, Ranma. You can tell me anything."

Ranma didn't say anything. He just shook his head. After a long moment of silence, Akane spoke again. "Come on, Ranma. If there's a reason that you don't want to spar with me..." She looked hurt, but put on a brave face. "Then I want to know about it. I won't force you, if it bothers you this much."

"It's not that! It's just..." Ranma fell silent again, avoiding her gaze. Finally, he pulled free of her hands, and walked a short distance way. Akane watched him, waiting, as he clenched his fists.

Finally, he relaxed. "If I tell you this, you can't tell NOBODY about it! Sis doesn't know and... I don't want her to know. And if Pops ever finds out, he'll have my head! You can't tell nobody."

"Of course, Ranma. You know you can trust me. I won't tell anyone, I swear."

Ranma was silent again, and when he spoke, his voice was only barely audible. It was barely even a whisper, Ranma was so quiet. Akane had to strain to hear, and when she did, she had to take a moment to decide if she had heard wrong.

"I... I hate fightin'..."

Akane giggled lightly, a bit stunned. She had to have heard wrong. "You... you're kidding."

"I love the challenge of the fight, of course," Ranma said, turning back to her. "I love testin' myself against another martial artist, fighting against the odds, and thinking on my feet, you know, the thrill of it. And I love winning, of course. Even losing, it just makes me want to fight harder, and show that I can come back and win the next time. I love to prove that I'm the best, and more than that, I love... you know... the fun of it."

He shrugged, not exactly able to put his love of the Art into words. But then his expression turned dark. "But in order to fight, I've got to cause people pain. That's what we do, ya know? It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak. To stop those who would hurt innocent people who can't defend themselves. But in order to do that, you've gotta hurt the people who would hurt the weak. You're hurtin' people, to stop 'em from hurtin' people."

Akane smiled. Of course she understood that. "Every martial artist goes through that, Ranma," she said. "It's part of the responsibility of being a martial artist. You've got to have the wisdom to use your skills responsibly, and not lose control."

"I know. And most of the time I can accept that." He nodded. "It's a sign of respect for your opponent, ya know, that he can endure pain as a man. And I know it's got nothin' to do with bein' a man or a woman!" Ranma shouted, to forestall the explosion he could already see coming, in Akane's narrowed eyes. "I feel the same way about Shampoo or the Old Ghoul! I know yer tough, Akane, and I know you can take it!" He fell silent.

"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said, gently, her initial reaction fading. She could tell that it was hard for Ranma to say that.

He took a deep breath, both in relief that Akane held her temper, and to gather his thoughts. "It wasn't always that way." His eyes unfocused and his voice took on a faraway tone. "Back when I was little, when I first met Ucchan and started fighting with her for food an' stuff, it was fun, you know? It was a game back then. Things like the fact that I was stealing food, or that Ucchan was getting mad at me because I was making her look bad every day. I was too little to understand those things. To me, she was a friend, and she was sharing something with me. Both the food and the sparring...

"I think it was Ukyo that changed first. After the N-Neko-Ken." Ranma looked uncomfortable at his memories of that training, and the horror that they had both shared. "She was different after that. More protective of me, and more serious. She would push me, when we sparred, driving me to be better, toughening me up, so I could take on the Old Man. She got almost... cold sometimes.

"It didn't hit me until I was about ten or twelve. All of a sudden I started to notice that Sis would be really tired and sore after a rough session. And sometimes we would get in... trouble, you know, we would get in fights, and Sis would get hurt. It really started to bother me, to see her hurt, beaten up and bruised, or with a broken arm or somethin'..."

Ranma turned and looked back at Akane, and she noticed he was looking at her arm. She absently rubbed it, through the sling, his expression making her feel unexpectedly guilty for not admitting how she let herself get hurt.

"It slowly started to occur to me that... I was hurting people. That I was hurting Ucchan. My Pop. I knew it hurt ME, of course, but I had never cared before. Now I started to realize that... that Sis was hurting, like I was hurting. And for some reason that really hurt me worse. And... and if I DIDN'T hurt her, well that only meant she would be hurt even WORSE, by someone else!

"It got harder and harder to take. It feels... every time I hit Sis, I feel it, like a punch to the gut. Even if I pull my punches, I still feel it. Not even Pop hits as hard as that." He managed to smile, at that. "After a while... I just stopped sparring with her. I couldn't take it anymore, and I stopped. Even though I knew that I needed to keep trainin' her if she was gonna get tougher... I just couldn't take it."

Ranma paused for a moment, and then he walked over to sit on a log near the campfire. Akane sat next to him, and put her arms around him. "That's when Sis came up with her trick. She talked me into sparring, and pretty much said the same thing to me you did. And then she pulled her trick and... and she... defeated me. She had figured out my weakness and... and she used it to beat me."

Akane had to smile at how Ranma lowered his voice, as if he was still ashamed to admit it. "Pops says a real man never admits defeat, and even though Pops is full of it, still, I gotta be the best martial artist in Japan or... I'm not me, ya know? Ranma Saotome never loses."

He looked up at Akane, and met her smile. He chuckled, a bit self-consciously. "Yeah, I know I'm full of it, too. But I gotta be me." Akane gave him a little hug in response.

"Anyway, it hurts me more to admit I lost than to hurt Ucchan. So she made her deal. As long as I keep pushing Sis to her limits, and hold back only so much that she still has a challenge, she's happy." He looked over at the black haired girl that was holding him, tightly. "That's one reason I'm glad she's got you to spar with, now. You can push her a lot more than I can, and it's not so hard for you. I'm glad she found you. You've helped her get a lot better."

"I've helped HER get a lot better?" Akane sounded surprised by that revelation.

"Yeah. The truth is..." He stared into her brown eyes for a moment. "I never felt that way about anyone else. Pop, Ryoga, Shampoo, all of 'em, there's never been nobody that I feel that way about. Just Sis. If it weren't for Sis, I probably wouldn't have even noticed. I do feel it, now that I know what it feels like; I can tell it's there, a little bit. But Sis is the only one where it gets so... intense."

Akane swallowed, as Ranma held her gaze. "An' then I met you. I knew that first day, in the dojo, it was the same. I knew I'd never be able to lay a hand on you. If I did, it would just hurt worse than anything. An' I just couldn't do it. In a way it's... it's harder than with Ucchan." He looked away. "She's fast, an' so good at dodging that I can hold back an', most of the time, she don't know it, 'cause I don't hit her. She dodges my attacks just as well as I dodge hers.

"With you, though, you're such a klutz and a muscle-bound gorilla that you're too slow to dodge." Ranma smirked at her, a bit, but Akane could also see a flash of apology in his eyes. As if he knew he was insulting her, but couldn't think of a better way to put it. "You're right, ya do need me to hit ya and toughen up your body. But I just know that when I do, it's gonna... it's gonna..."

Akane felt her heart start to beat faster, at the look in his eyes. "Well, it's gonna hurt like Hell," he quipped, with his teasing smirk. But then he looked away, and it took several minutes before he could speak again.

"I guess you think I'm pretty stupid, huh?" He finally said, still not looking at her. "Some manly man I am, getting all worried about hurtin' people..."

"No, Ranma," Akane said softly. "Actually, I can understand completely. I... um... I hate losing my temper the way I do all the time." She shook her head, her smile bitter. "When I get mad, I tend to forget myself and just lash out without thinking. And then, after it passes, and I see what I've done... well, I just feel horrible."

She sighed. "I try to hide it, because I can usually convince myself that I was justified." Her smile turned more teasing, like Ranma's. "I mean, it is usually your fault, baka."

"But the truth is, deep down I know I've hurt someone... someone I care about."

Akane was silent for a moment more. "Pretty soon, I'm just lashing out because I feel weak and out of control and... that just makes it worse. I turn that anger on you, but it's really me that I'm angry at.

"But Ukyo's helped me to control it, and as I've learned to control it, I feel better about myself. Each time, it gets easier, and even when I do get angry, it's easier to forgive myself. It helps knowing that you forgive me. Even though my emotions are still kind of wild and scary sometimes... well, sometimes they can be kind of nice, too."

Akane leaned forward and gently kissed him. Ranma caressed her cheek, and Akane blushed again. "I bet it's the same for you. Take it a little bit at a time, instead of trying all at once to try and force yourself to hit me, give yourself a break now and then."

She smiled, shyly. "You know, Ranma, the truth is, while I want to be a better martial artist, and I want to grow and get stronger, the main reason I ask you to spar all the time is... because I just want to BE with you. I want to spend time with you. This is something I know you enjoy doing, and I want to enjoy it with you. If you want to... have fun sparring, like you used to with your sister, well, that's what I want, too.

"If you're willing to train me seriously at least once a week, then the rest of the time, we can just relax and enjoy it, not trying to push so hard. I'll try to hold back my... temper and not keep insisting that you hit me harder, if you'll just let go and not worry so much about me getting hurt. If you just want to make it a little tap, that's fine as long as you don't let me get bored."

"Oh, I bore you, do I?" Ranma grinned, as he could tell Akane was teasing him.

Akane grinned back, but then her expression became more serious. She put her hands on his chest, as she stared into his eyes, pleading."If you'll try to hold back just a little bit less, Ranma," she said. "I'll try to hold back a little bit more. Do we have a deal?"

"You got it, tomboy."

"So let's try sparring some more." Akane's smile turned challenging, but as she stepped into her stance it was more relaxed, less determined. "But let's just have some fun with it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." A bit cautiously, Ranma began to strike at her, but her smile widened, and she started to block him, not putting any more into it than he was. In a few minutes, they were trading blows, not seriously, but gradually building up their speed and energy.

As Ranma twisted inside a punch, however, he heard a roll of thunder in the distance. That brought Akane's attack to a stop, as she stepped back to look up at the mountains. A few raindrops fell on Ranma's skin, and he grumbled at the interruption.

"Looks like we won't get to do much more training after all," Akane started to say. Then, very suddenly, the few raindrops became a massive downpour. Ranma and Akane both shrieked and covered their heads, Akane with only one arm since her broken arm was still throbbing a little.

The unexpected shower ended just as quickly as it began, leaving behind only a light drizzle. The damage was already done, however, as Ranma was once again in female form, her clothes turned baggy on her now slender body. She looked down at herself, scowling.

"I wasn't even a man again for a whole night!" Ranma complained, shouting her protest to the sky. Akane couldn't help herself, and burst out giggling.

"I guess we better get to sleep, then," Akane said. Then she took the scowling Ranma in her arms and kissed her. "But I'll still be right here in the morning when you get up, girly girl." She looked into Ranma's turquoise eyes for a moment, stroking her softer and rounder face. "I'm not going anywhere..."

She kissed Ranma again, and then set a kettle of water on to heat. Then she went to her tent to sleep, while Ranma ducked into hers to get out of the drizzle. After giving the kettle enough time to warm up, Ranma managed to dart out quickly and fetch it, and then returned to his male form in the shelter of the tent.

"Take that," he muttered to the rain, as he listened to it pattering on the fabric above his head. Smiling in satisfaction, he settled down to go to sleep.


The light rain that trickled down on Ranma's camp was just the edge of a much larger storm coming in from the west. As this storm passed over the distant range of the Hida Mountains, many miles from the camp, the rain came down on a small cave. Mysteriously, this cave was blocked, by a large boulder which had been rolled over the cave's mouth.

It was obvious this boulder was not a natural feature, as it was covered in wards, strung all around the huge stone. The rain pouring down had soaked the wards, although they had clearly endured the elements for years, and held firm. A stray bolt of lightning came down and struck the boulder, however, and despite their soggy condition, the wards caught fire.

The fire was unnatural, as if fed by some evil presence. After a time, the line of the wards was broken, and suddenly the boulder exploded. The flaming wards sputtered out as they were flung outwards, along with shards of rock. From deep within the darkness of the cave, the presence stirred. Glowing eyes could be seen in the darkness.

A small, twisted figure made it way out of the cave. It crawled to its feet, free of its prison, and began to laugh in triumph. A second bolt of lightning then struck the figure, as if to silence it. The gnarled shape was thrown to the ground, smoking.

Even this did not seem to contain the evil spirit that fate had set free. After several long moments, the shaken figure once again pulled itself to its feet. Chuckling under its breath, it shakily made its way away from the mouth of the cave, and down the mountain.


Author's Notes:

Okay, I know I said that I had no more soliloquies left, but I forgot about this one. So no more soliloquies AFTER this one. Maybe... :)

I want to make it clear that I do NOT think that the canon Ranma necessarily feels this way. I think it explains a lot if he does, not just his reluctance to spar with Akane, but why, despite never saying that he is unwilling to kill, he only does so with Saffron, and only as a last resort. He may not even be consciously aware that he feels this way, or may not feel it that intensely. Ranma is certainly aware of when people are hurting, he is not heartless, so this could just be a matter of degree.

My concept here is very much based on two other fanfics; "Genma's Daughter", and Richard Lawson's "Thy Inward Love". Ranko in "Genma's Daughter" is certainly different from Ranma, not only did she grow up differently, but even at the age of four, she was described as "a sensitive child" especially compared to the more aggressive Akane. She ends up rejecting the martial arts lifestyle in part because she realizes that she's come to hate herself for ignoring this sensitivity.

In "Thy Inward Love", Ranma does not reject martial arts, but it is his martial arts that rejects him, when his conscience tells him that he is in the wrong. (Thus explaining why he can't dodge Akane's attacks when she's mad) Again, Ranma concludes he is a bad person based on this realization, and has to be reminded of the good he has done.

I sort of combined the two concepts for my version. I think that I have established that this Ranma is more sensitive than in the canon, both in his closer relationship with Ukyo, and in understanding when Akane is hurt by his actions. He is more comfortable apologizing, and opening up about his feelings in such situations, because he has experience growing up with Ukyo. Thus, he recognizes something about himself that he probably would not have even noticed if he didn't have Ukyo there to make it obvious to him.

If nothing else, this explains why my version of Ranma has so much trouble forcing himself to spar with Akane and Ukyo, when he clearly does not believe as firmly in his father's teaching that "women are weak". You can decide if you think the canon Ranma shares these feelings, or if there's another reason.

Anyway, that wraps up the Bakusai Tenketsu arc, and what a long arc it has been. :D This was way longer than most other arcs of the story, at 9 chapters. (And making the whole Cat's Tongue arc 18 chapters) I realize that there was a lot more character dialog and drama than action in this arc, but really, it had to be that way. Each of the character developments in this arc had a part to play in the final conflict, from Cologne and Akane discussing berserkers to Ukyo triggering her curse to win the Dojo Destroyer fight. Believe me, I was trying to cut it down as much as I could. :D

Hopefully, the final arcs of this story will be much shorter and more manageable. I'm not done, and there will be much more to come. (I may take a break of a week before the next chapter, but it will depend on how much I can get written)