Ranma's Apartment

by C. Jones

Nerima's best martial artist gets tired of the daily trial that is life at the Tendou Dojo and decides to do something about it, while Akane has to decide what she feels, or lose Ranma forever.

3. Guises

This and all my other fanfiction is available at
http://www.furinkan.net

From ffml-bounce@fanfic.com Thu Oct 12 11:38:07 2000

----------------------------------------
Ranma's Apartment: 3 - Guises

a Ranma 1/2 - Aa! Megami-sama Fanstory
by Chris Jones

revised 10-12-2000
----------------------------------------

"No! Put the pumpkins over there! Do you know how
expensive those were?" True, Megumi thought, Belldandy
obtained them for the party, but they were *very* expensive at
the market. She turned back from where Ootaki and Tamiya were
arranging the decorations to her own task of beautifying the
buffet table.

"So, Sis, do we finally get to meet your roommate?"
Her brother and his girlfriend walked in to the party room
provided by the apartment building.

"Kei-chan! Belldandy! You're here. Now I can put you
to work on the cooking!"

Belldandy looked happy enough at the statement, but
Keiichi scowled a little bit. He could be so grumpy sometimes!
"Silly, I'm just kidding! We'll be catering out of both the
auto-club's and the theater-club's budgets, since this is a
joint party."

"Where are Saotome-san and Tendou-san?" Belldandy
asked. "One should properly greet one's hosts."

Megumi stood and placed her hands on her hips.
"Akane's at home getting her costume ready. She'll be along in
an hour or so. Ranma's..."

For some reason, it bothered her deeply to lie to
Belldandy. Worse than her brother, oddly enough. Maybe it was
the girl's exuberant innocence about the world. Megumi had to
keep from rushing through the prepared line. "Ranma's visiting
his mother tonight. He's still coming to lunch tomorrow,
though."

"That's too bad for Tendou-san," the blonde girl noted
sadly. "When should we change into our costumes?"

"I'm just about to change into mine. The party's going
to start in a little over an hour, so I want to be ready when
the crowd shows up." Megumi pointed vaguely skywards. "We can
change up in my room, if you like."

Keiichi looked over to where his sempai were
struggling to hang a large cut-out black cat on the wall. "You
two go ahead. I'm going to help out here for a bit."

"Wait a second..." Megumi interrupted. "Hey, I told
you two, 'No Cats'! It's important!"

Tamiya and Ootaki withered under her angry gaze.

"Here, give me that!" she scolded, folding the cutout
and leading Belldandy from the room.

Keiichi just shrugged.

* * *

Under the curious eye of her sister, Akane pulled the
red vinyl bodice over her naked breasts.

"Seriously, Akane. That's going to start chafing after
an hour." Lazily, Nabiki let her finger slide down the long
slick surface of one of the matching boots laying next to her
on Akane's bed. "It's going to be pretty uncomfortable."

Akane nodded. "You may be right. I'm a little worried
about the heat, too. The vinyl will be hot no matter what I
do."

She pulled the cups down and wrapped a strapless bra
around her bust before replacing them. She turned to examine
her profile in the mirror. Quite a bit of the bra stuck out
around the edges.

Rubbing the back of the heel on the boot, Nabiki
looked up at her sister. "The place has got air-conditioning,
right?"

Akane smiled knowingly, and pulled the bra out of the
bustiere. Nabiki had been baiting her for the last four
months, desperately trying to figure out where Ranma was. She
even had seen the master chart of all the apartment buildings
in Tokyo Nabiki had in her room.

Finding very little help from her sister, Nabiki had
resorted to a covert form of twenty questions to try to narrow
down her list. Tonight, however, Nabiki was in for a surprise.

"Do you have a costume, 'Nee-chan?"

Nabiki's finger stopped in mid-circle. "Why would I
need a costume, Akane?" she asked anxiously.

Because Ranma had allowed it. After three months of
the most intense training in her life, Ranma said she was
ready to take care of herself if anything or *anybody*
happened. Still, Akane wanted to play it safe.

"You can't tell *anybody* about anything you happen to
see at the party."

Nabiki growled internally. *Damn her!* Akane had
effectively nailed her down. Besides her ongoing search for
the fled Ranma, the Auto-Theater joint costume party was
promised to be the best party of the year.

Nabiki *wanted* to go, even if there was no chance of
finding out about what had almost become a personal crusade
for her. Now Akane was trying to cut off all the other
information Nabiki might overhear this evening. She was
irritated with Ranma for leaving so abruptly, leaving her out
of the loop, so to speak. This, however, was almost an insult!

"Why would I want to go to your party, Akane? I have
better things to do on a Friday night than go to a club
party."

Akane looked hurt, but continued to arrange her
costume. She pulled the long blonde wig over her own short
pageboy.

"Here, you forgot these." Nabiki handed a beret to
Akane. Once she put it on over the wig, the stuffed triangles
on either side made it appear that she had ears like a cat.

"Akane, it's not that I wouldn't go. I just... have
other things to do tonight. Don't feel bad, okay?"

Akane nodded and began to pull on the boots. "You
probably wouldn't enjoy it anyway. Besides Kasumi and Tofu,
it'll just be a bunch of theater and racing people."

And the who's who of their university, Nabiki added
silently. She personally knew of several of the most popular
students in attendance who had begged either Megumi Morisato
or her sister for an invitation to the party.

"What do you think?" Akane asked as she finished the
costume. "I still have to do my makeup, but..."

Nabiki nodded in appreciation. From the hip boots to
the tight bustiere, Akane looked the part. ...except for the
makeup. "So which one are you?"

"Ana Puma." Akane set about applying a *deep* red
lipstick.

"Any one else playing the part of 'Una Puma'?"

Akane nodded and blotted her lips on a tissue. "Just
one of my friends. No one you'd know."

"I'm sure." It *had* to be Ranma. Akane was being so
secretive about the party, there was just no other way! Nabiki
had to go to the party now, even if it meant crashing it in
order to avoid her sister's oath. She needed a plan quickly.

And she needed a costume...

* * *

Ryouga Hibiki was lost. Of course he had been lost for
most of his life, but lately it seemed that his sense of
direction was worse than it had ever been. He couldn't even
make it back to the Tendou home, or the loving arms of Akane.
Instead he had wandered all over Japan. When he did make his
way back to Tokyo, he seemed to be attracted to this large
grey building near one of the school campuses. No matter what
direction he tried to turn, he always ended up circling it
like a vulture.

It had been months, but sooner or later Ranma would
have to cross his path, and when he did...

Ryouga could *taste* his victory over Ranma. It had
been years in the making. After all that villain had done to
Akane, insulted her, taunted her, made her cry when he wasn't
there to.... No! he couldn't think about that! The only thing
that mattered was crushing Ranma's skull into paste. *Just you
wait, Ranma!*

"Urd!," Skuld whispered to her eldest sister. "Look at
that weird guy in the bandanna!"

"The one laughing out loud?" Urd merely shrugged. "You
get people like that on Earth sometimes. There's not a lot you
can do about it. Come on! We're gonna miss the party if we
don't hurry!"

* * *

Something just seemed... *right* about Belldandy's
costume. Megumi wasn't sure if it was the girl's seeming
innocence or her slender face and figure. As Belldandy
attached the little ring of garland to her collar, Megumi
decided that she looked she as if she should be at a Christmas
party instead. Even though the costume was very simple, merely
a long white gown and a garland halo, it looked so elegant on
Belldandy it made Megumi want to...

Kneel? Pray? Was that right? Megumi shook her head.

Her own costume, while quite a bit more complex,
didn't look nearly so perfect. She was dressed as a French
maid, complete with a little feather duster. It was certainly
a nice costume and fairly attractive too, but Megumi just felt
like it didn't measure up. *Oh well, we can't all have figures
like that.*

"I'm ready!" Keiichi came in from Ranma's room.
Belldandy ran over to hug him as he stepped across the
doorway.

Megumi stifled a gasp. Something was wrong here...

Keiichi was dressed all in red, complete with a little
red tail and horns and cape. It made sense, if you thought
about it, that the couple would pick complimentary costumes.
Something about seeing the two of them together however, made
Megumi horribly uneasy. Something was fundamentally wrong
with... what they were wearing and what... they were doing...
and...

The Goddess lovingly pecked the Demon on the cheek.

"NOOOO!!!!"

In the deep, primitive recesses of Megumi's
cerebellum, something snapped. It was something that all
people had, but never have the opportunity to acknowledge. It
was part of a long forgotten survival reaction, one that never
got called on by normal people. What she had just seen was
*not* supposed to happen.

"Megumi?!?! What's wrong?!?!"

Without realizing it, Megumi had fallen to her knees.
She shook her head to clear out the fuzz. The figure holding
her was suddenly her brother again.

"You screamed, Megumi. What's wrong?"

Megumi blinked once or twice and looked into the
worried faces of Belldandy and Keiichi framed by what now
looked like horribly ridiculous costumes. "I must have been
working too hard on the party," she said. "I just got a little
dizzy spell, that's all. I just need to calm down."

Keiichi nodded and put a calming hand to her cheek.
Belldandy leaned down and rubbed her other cheek. For some
reason it made her feel better.

* * *

Tamiya was not happy. He should have been inside
drinking and showing off his 'Rambo' costume to the pretty
girls, but instead, he was stuck out here acting as bouncer.
Bah! That punk Morisato was just hogging all the girls again.
How the runt got away with it, he'd never know. Still, he only
had to stay out in front of the building for an hour until
Ootaki took over. After that, the runt was supposed to take a
turn too.

It was funny, he thought, the way he was supposed to
regulate guests to the party. Instead of a list of people to
be let in, he had a list of people *not* to be let in. It was
confusing, but hey, if the purple haired babe he had been
given a picture of couldn't go in then he might not want to
either!

Belldandy's little sister came out with a drink for
him. Gratefully, he took it from her and sent her back inside
to the party.

*Cute costume," he thought, trying to keep from
staring at the bottom of her short sailor fuku.

A potted pine walked up.

Tamiya took a long draw off his drink before address
the tree. "You here for the party?"

The pine shook its top several times.

"Ummm... Sorry bout dis, but I gotta see your face
before you go in. Make sure you're on the list."

*Damn!* the pine thought. *I was too far behind her.
She's already got people waiting for me.* Grudgingly, she took
the top off of her costume.

*Pretty cute,* Tamiya thought. *Maybe I should try to
spend some time with this one later.*

Sure enough, she wasn't in any of the photos Megumi
and her friend had given him. "Okay, you can go in. Take the
elevator to the second floor, and follow the balloons. You
can't miss it."

*Whew! Akane must not have had time to change the
list.* Replacing her hood, she followed the well muscled man's
directions.

"This must be where Ranma lives. It's a pretty nice
place," Nabiki muttered to herself. "I wonder how can afford
it?"

She pushed the elevator button, and waited for the car
to come down. As she waited, a couple of Akane's friends from
the theater club walked up behind her and started chatting
amiably.

"So did you hear if there's going to be a band?" the
Wicked Witch of the West asked.

Dorothy, who was carrying a little stuffed 'Toto',
shook her head. "I haven't heard anything other than there's
supposed to be some sort of musical entertainment. That could
mean anything from a kareoke machine to Dama-kun's eight track
player."

The Wicked Witch shuddered. "Euuggh! I have heard
enough of the Beegees for one lifetime, thank you!"

Dorothy giggled her assent, and the Potted Pine did
her best to keep quiet.

"You here for the party, too?" The two girls asked
her. Again, the only response she made was to nod.

"What's your name?" The Witch asked.

The Pine maintained her silence.

"Ohh!" Dorothy Interjected. "I bet she's here looking
for a boy and doesn't want him to know who she is!"

*No! That's not it at...* Well, she *was* trying to
pin down Ranma again. Hesitantly, she nodded.

"Ohhh! We won't tell!" They giggled naughtily all the
way to the second floor.

* * *

"Bell-chan?"

"Yes, Keiichi-san?"

"Is there something wrong with my costume?"

"I don't think so."

A passing theater-club member yelped and dropped his
drink as he caught sight of Keiichi and Belldandy.

"It's just... people keep avoiding us. Do I smell or
something?" Of course Belldandy couldn't possibly be driving
people away. At her worst, just after that fight with Fenrir,
he had seen people go out of their way to stand or walk near
her.

Keiichi shook his head. It must have been the lighting
or something.

"Onee-sama?"

Belldandy turned to face her little sister. "What is
it, Skuld-chan?"

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Skuld strode up to the pair and
pulled a knobby looking device with several loose wires out of
the belt of her costume. She adjusted a few of the knobs and
looked back up at her sister.

"You checked this place for mystical problems before
Megumi moved in, didn't you?"

Belldandy nodded, a trace of concern showing on her
angelic face. "Yes I did, Skuld. Is there a problem?"

"Well," the sailor suited goddess began. "I'm not
sure. I'm getting a few strong traces of supernatural energy
from this building, but nothing to indicate a possible threat
or even another goddess or demon. I don't know what to make of
it."

"Hmm..." Belldandy's finger went to her cheek in
thought. "It may just be a passing phenomenon, Skuld-chan. I
would hate to interrupt the party if we didn't have to."

"It would really bring more attention to us than we
need," Keiichi commented. "Why don't you continue
investigating and see if anything turns up?" he suggested.

Belldandy smiled and nodded, laying her head on
Keiichi's shoulder.

Resisting the urge to mallet Keiichi, Skuld turned,
only to run into a nurse and her patient. Megumi, standing
next to them, motioned to the nurse.

"Kei-chan, Belldandy, Skuld, this is Kasumi Tendou and
Tofu Ono. Kasumi is Akane's older sister and Tofu is her
fiancee."

Both girls bowed, Keiichi put an embarrassed hand
behind his head, and Tofu twitched nervously.

"Nice to meet you," Kasumi intoned pleasantly,
flashing her milk-smooth smile.

"Certainly. It's a pleasure," Belldandy sung,
returning Kasumi's smile with one of her own.

*Something odd about that girl's voice,* Skuld thought
as she returned to her investigation.

* * *

How he had gotten to the top of the building, Ryouga
would never know, even years later. He sighed and put one foot
on the ledge.

*The city is beautiful at night,* he thought. *Not a
cloud in the sky.*

It was a bit nippy fifteen stories up however, and
Ryouga didn't particularly feel like spending the night up
there. His search for Ranma and his righteous vengeance would
have to wait until tomorrow.

Glancing around from his vantage, Ryouga spotted a
nearby park. If he kept it in view, he might just be able to
make it there before he got lost again.

That meant not using the building's stairwell or
elevator.

*Can't be helped,* Ryouga thought stoically as he
climbed over the side of the building. He clung to a drain
pipe and shimmied his way down.

There were narrow ledges every five stories, so Ryouga
stopped at the tenth floor to rest his arms and shoulders
before proceeding. While he was confident he could climb down
in one go if need be, he had ample time and didn't want to
lose the park in his haste.

He lowered himself off the ledge and caught his drain
pipe again. He decided to rest again at the fifth story. Still
clinging to the pipe, Ryouga lowered his foot to the ledge.
His arms were getting pretty tired.

It was just as Ryouga had both feet set firmly on the
ledge that a section of the drain pipe came away in his hands
in a cold, muddy splash.

* * *

"Yatta!" Skuld shouted as the display on her
instrument peaked. Now she could set about narrowing down the
causes for the mystic field and find out who was doing what in
Megumi's apartment building. She had a definite morphic
resonance frequency she could search for now.

She pulled out another sensor and set it to scan for
the indicated frequency. If Luck was on her side, and Luck
*did* owe her a favor or two, Skuld would find the source of
the magic within an hour.

Her attention was distracted from the sensor as loud,
rhythmic music started up from the front of the room. The
lights dimmed and someone turned a small spotlight on the
raised platform.

Two young women ran into the room from a nearby
doorway, and took symmetrical poses on the small stage. A loud
synthesizer chord struck up from the back of the room, and the
two girls began to sing.

*Hello girls!* They chanted. *Do you believe in love?*

Skuld did her best to ignore the dance song as she
adjusted the sensor's gain. Sure enough, something was
emitting low-grade mystic energy. Now if only...

"Masaka..." She turned the sensor, pointing it first
towards and then away from the stage. Within seconds, she had
her suspect.

While the potted pine was no more happy than Skuld,
she had quite a different reason.

*Madonna?* She shook her head and sighed out loud. "I
thought Akane had better taste than that." Regardless, the
'Puma Twins' were doing an admirable job of turning almost
every male eye in the room.

From where she was standing near the back of the room,
she could only assume that the girl on the right was Akane
from her costume. She just couldn't see the other girl closely
enough.

She worked her way up through the crowd, edging her
oversized costume around various groups and cliques. On stage,
Akane and the other girl strutted in unison, sending most of
the male tongues hanging.

"Hey, watch it!" a voice shouted from her side.

She turned, trying to see, but the top of the costume
cut off her peripheral vision. Irratatedly, she pulled it off,
and turned to the source of the voice.

"Sorry about that," A young man offered, "But you
nearly bumped into Urd, here!"

"Oh, I'm certain it's allright, Dama-kun. She didn't
mean any harm."

Nabiki looked in puzzlement at the scene before her.
Surrounded by four or five young men was a beautiful gaijin
women in very revealing costume of sheer silk and metallic
lame, lying on a low divan. The divan was simply out in the
middle of the floor and strangely out of fashion with the rest
of the furniture in the room, almost as if it had been somehow
conjured to go with the woman.

The exotic woman herself had unusual markings on her
face. Since they were the wrong color for tattoos, Nabiki
could only assume that they were part of the costume. Oddly,
though, the markings looked far too solid to be makeup,
either.

Irritated, but unwilling to cause a scene, Nabiki
bowed her head slightly. "I was having some difficulty seeing
out of my costume. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." The woman appraised her for a second.
"Trying to see your sister dancing?"

Nabiki nodded. "I didn't think the resemblance was
that noticeable."

Urd shrugged, causing the men around her to goggle at
the things it did to her costume. "You can just tell
sometimes." She paused for a second, further appraising the
girl in the bulky costume. "You look upset. Did your date
leave you?" She winked slyly, motioning to the group of men.
"I think I can spare one if you're in need."

"Oh, no! No!" Nabiki waved her felt covered hands in
front of her. "I'm... looking for someone in particular."

"Ohhh... Maybe I can help!" Urd offered, grinning
speculatively.

Nabiki decided that that was not very wise. "It's not
like that. I'm just looking for a... friend I haven't seen for
several months. I think he lives here and he was supposed to
be here at the party with my sister," she explained, pointing
briefly to the stage, "But I'm not sure he's really coming."

Nabiki was about to continue when she realized that
the white haired woman was no longer listening, chatting with
the hormone crazed men around her instead.

*Figures,* Nabiki thought to herself. She was a little
disturbed by how much she had said though. Regardless of her
frustration and irritation, she had said too much.

Shaking her head, she edged forward a few steps, and
was able to see the dancers more clearly.

She closely inspected the two girls from her new
vantage. Akane was easy enough to pick out from the shape of
her face, but the other girl was a little harder to peg.

She certainly looked familiar, but their dance kept
the long hair in their blonde wigs swirling around so that it
was difficult to get a very clear view of her face.

She squinted. Besides the ultra-feminine costume, the
girl was wearing high heeled boots to balance out the height
difference between herself and Akane. She *was* the right
height, but there were just too many differences. It could
have been an effect of the lighting, but the girl appeared to
be wearing makeup that was every bit as heavy as Akane's. Even
when Ranma was *trying* to look cute for what ever reason, he
never wore any makeup whatsoever. This girl's makeup looked
like a professional job. To tell the truth, it was just a
little bit neater than her sister's.

On they danced, in perfectly choreographed unison. At
least she could be certain that some of Akane's time away from
home lately had been in practice for this evening.

Further study yielded little more. Without a much
closer look at the girl, she just couldn't be sure if it was
Ranma or not!

Nabiki was briefly distracted by an argument behind
her involving the woman she had just spoken with, but returned
to her scrutiny of the dancing pair.

"Onee-sama!"

Urd exhaled angrily, sat up on her divan, and turned
toward her sister. "What, Skuld? What is it?"

"That's where the magic is coming from," the younger
goddess whispered, pointing towards one of the girls on stage.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it, brat?"

Skuld's jaw tightened and she clenched her fists at
the waist of her costume. "I want you to go check it out. What
do you think I want?"

Urd smiled and waved to the group of young men that
was growing around her lounge chair. "Can't you see that I'm
busy?" she whispered from in between clenched teeth.

"You can tease them anytime," Skuld countered. "This
is more important. What if there's a demon or an angry spirit
allowed to roam free in Megumi's apartment building?"

Urd sighed. She didn't particularly want a repeat of
what happened the *last* time Megumi moved into a new place.

Well, if Skuld was going to give her a hard time about
it...

A little angrily, Urd stood, and shooed away the
remnants of her suitors. They would be easy enough to
recapture once she had placated the brat.

With a rousing downbeat, the dance song ended. The two
girls ended their act in a pose, and waited for the lights to
go off before they ran off stage. Almost immediately however,
the two girls were surrounded by a group of young men who
started harassing them for their names and phone numbers.

Urd sighed in defeat. Many of them had come from her
own little entourage. The heart of a man was fickle indeed.

Standing several feet away from the costumed girl in
question, Urd caused herself to be unremarkable. She wasn't
invisible, however no one who saw her would really notice her
or remember she had been there.

She strode over the girl, who was busy trying to get
rid of an admirer and placed a hand on her shoulder to record
her emotional state. While she was waiting, she closely
examined the girl.

Of course she was wearing a wig, so Urd couldn't tell
what color her hair was, but she had deep blue eyes and a
beautiful pouty expression. She was slightly shorter than her
companion, even though she was wearing very high heels to make
up for the difference.

Under the make-up, Urd could tell that this was a very
pretty young woman.

*Ah, it's done.*

She took a few steps back to contemplate her data.
There was some sort of magical field around the girl but...

Urd was rather surprised to find a deep and abiding
attraction in the girl for her companion.

*Will wonders never cease?* she thought to herself.
With a second or two more worth of study, Urd traced the
enormous length and depth of the young woman's affection. Not
unsurprisingly, the goddess found that she feared that the
other girl would be repulsed or offended by any advance she
might make. Her heart was bursting full of love and desire but
she had not attempted to seduce her love for reasons of
anxiety.

With a quick step, Urd moved over to the other Puma-
twin and examined her as well. In the brown-eyed girl's heart
she found a deep loss and anger.

*Ah, the loss of a mother. She's mostly recovered,
though.* A few more seconds search brought her to the girl's
desires.

There *was* a slight attraction to the shorter girl,
but it was horribly overshadowed by a much stronger attraction
to...

The same person?! *What's going on here?!* Urd
thought.

A few more seconds of probing revealed that as well as
extensive physical training together, the two had exchanged
basic intimacies, such as kissing and light petting. This girl
had just as much love and desire as the other. She desperately
wanted something to come of their relationship, and was ready
to take the steps necessary to achieve that. She too feared
the response her partner would make if she offered anything
more physical.

Satisfied with her findings, Urd stepped back away
from the two girls. *These two are *fated* to be together,*
she guessed. *They want each other and nothing but fear is
keeping them apart.* Urd turned her face toward the ceiling,
and spread her arms. *Love is love is holy love, and I must
make it flourish where ever I find it. That is my purpose.*

With a prayer, Urd blessed their relationship. She
materialized two of the cocktail drinks being passed around
and anointed each one with a drop of 'Urd's Own' lovers' sauce
number twelve. It would counter the effect of the alcohol,
leaving them in complete control of their faculties, yet
reduce the two girls' inhibitions just a little. If they truly
loved and desired one another, their bodies would do the rest
of the work.

"Here, have a drink!" she offered

Not really aware of her, both young women took a glass
and sipped.

"Thanks!" The blue eyed girl answered, before
returning to the task of fending off her admirers.

After a few minutes, the girls had managed to dispel
the group. In relief, they turned to each other and smiled.
Urd could suddenly *feel* their blood heating up with long
suppressed passion.

The shorter girl breathed heavily, a fire igniting in
her eyes. The other girl's expression changed to match. They
stood, gazing into each other's eyes for several seconds.

"I think I smell something burning," the brown-eyed
girl excused herself and edged her way out from the middle of
dance floor.

Urd nodded. Something was burning all right!

After a few seconds, the blue-eyed girl took off after
her friend. "Hey, Akane. Wait for me!"

Just a hint was all it took. Urd sighed with the joy
of doing her job. It was one of the finest thrills she got
from life and she was quite proud of it. She stepped away from
the group of slack-jawed young men.

"Now where was I?" she pondered. "Oh yes, Dama-kun?
Where are you?" she called above the crowd.

"Onee-sama!" Skuld demanded.

"What, brat?"

"Did you find out about the magic?" Skuld asked
petulantly.

"Magic? What magic?" She turned and gazed deeply into
the eyes of a nervous young man. "Why Dama-kun, there you are!
You were just telling me about your love of 'retro' music..."

Skuld wanted to cry.

* * *

Nabiki was still not sure, and she *had* to be sure.
She had been watching Akane and her friend very closely when
they abruptly ran off together. You just didn't leave a party
like that so she knew something was up.

She adjusted her pot so that she could walk and took
off after the pair.

After a few minutes, Nabiki found herself out in the
darkened hallway behind the party room. Unfortunately, it was
a long hall and there were about ten doors marked 'storage' in
large type, any of which the pair could have gone into. That
didn't even take into account the nearby elevator and
stairwell.

Nabiki sighed, despairing of ever finding out what was
going on. She was about to go back to the party when she
caught sight light coming out from underneath the door of a
public restroom.

*Damnit!* she thought bitterly as her bladder called
out for attention. She fought to keep focused on her search
but the call of nature became more insistent until it was too
loud for Nabiki to ignore.

After she finished in the restroom, Nabiki was so
disgusted with the whole miserable situation she didn't even
bother to put her costume back on.

The whole evening was going to hell! She had
absolutely no idea who her sister was hanging around with and
couldn't even find her besides. The idiot costume was bulky
and hot and she didn't have a flea's chance in a furnace of
meeting any cute guys in it or--

*THUMP*

Nabiki's sharp ears pointed to the opposite end of the
hallway. Lightly, she ran a few paces, trying to pinpoint
where the sound had come from.

*tap* *tap* *scrape*

There!

The doors were about ten feet apart apiece, so Nabiki
had no trouble narrowing in on the sounds. With expertise
borne of long practice at eavesdropping, she silently edged
the door open and closed it behind her.

*bump* *bump*... *bump*

She crouched. It was even darker in the little room
than it was in the hall. It was also filled with a maze of
boxes and sheet wrapped furniture. Cat-like, she crept over to
the source of the sounds.

Crouching behind a carefully protected sofa, Nabiki
turned her gaze to the source of the sounds.

There, in a pool of moonlight, she saw them. It gave
her a rather nasty shock. She wasn't expecting it at all.

Her wig lying discarded on the floor, Akane was
sitting on the edge of an old, dusty table. Embraced in her
arms, and being caressed by her lips was the girl Nabiki had
seen her with earlier.

Nabiki stifled a gasp at the sight, unable to move
from her position.

The two held each other and kissed passionately for
several minutes. The girl's hands roamed up and down Akane's
back, caressing and stroking every curve. Nervously, she
tugged at the top of Akane's bustiere.

Akane moaned a little bit, and shifted her position
slightly. With a few more tugs, Akane's bodice came away from
her breasts. Springy and pert, they bounced just a bit as they
fell against the top of the red vinyl.

Absently, Nabiki noted that Akane hadn't found another
bra.

The other girl continued to massage Akane's skin with
her quick, delicate hands. Nervously, her hands darted to the
exposed mounds of flesh and squeezed ever so gently.

Akane leaned back and gasped a little, causing the
table to make the thumping noise that had drawn Nabiki in the
first place.

Nabiki was mesmerized by the sight. The two girls'
lips darted over each other and firmly locked as the girl
began to gently knead Akane's right nipple.

Akane's hands were clasped behind the girl's neck
underneath the blonde wig she had somehow managed to retain.

The girl's other hand slid up Nabiki's sister's chest
and began to cup and caress Akane's neck and chin.

Nabiki could clearly see her sister's goosebumps rise
in the pale light as the strange girl let her lips fall to
kiss the flesh just above her collar.

Trembling, the girl went even lower. She bent her
knees slightly so that she could reach, and let her tongue and
lips slide over Akane's now erect nipple.

She didn't know why, but Nabiki found herself
trembling slightly as well.

Akane's sharp hiss startled Nabiki a little bit, very
nearly making her bump the sofa. She cursed silently and
resumed her surveillance.

The girl let her lips work over Akane's stiffened
nipple for quite some time, alternately nursing and lapping at
the taut aureola.

It was Akane, strangely enough, that made the next
move. After her right breast, and then her left had received
the other girl's attentions, Akane took the girl's slender
hand, clasping it with her own.

Both girls were trembling now as Akane guided the hand
toward her stomach. The girl slid her fingers around Akane's
navel as she undid the button and zipper on her vinyl shorts.

With an expectant expression on her face, the girl
once again began to nurse at Akane's breast as she slid her
slender fingers down in between Akane's legs.

"Lower..." Akane whispered. "A little... Ah!" She
brought her legs up and wrapped them around her lover's back
as her fingers began to rock gently back and forth. "There!
Ah!"

Fighting the impulse to stay and watch further, Nabiki
forced her eyes to close and she hurriedly backed out of her
situation. She crept back towards the door and left just as
silently as she came.

There was no doubt in her mind now. This could not be
Ranma. The evidence of the evening was just too overwhelming.
Besides, Akane simply did not trust Ranma that far. And
Ranma... The Ranma Nabiki knew would never allow such a thing
to happen. Ranma would *never* in a million years do what
Nabiki had just seen. There was simply no way.

Shaking, trembling, with an odd burning feeling deep
in her belly, Nabiki ran down the stairwell. Images off all
the times she had bathed with Akane came unbidden to her mind.
How could hew sister do something so... so...

Nabiki shuddered as she reached the front of the
building's lobby. What had just happened was so shocking and
so alien to her that she had to run away. As if she had been
caged, she burst from the apartment building doors and ran out
into the night.

Meanwhile, back in the store room, Akane gasped as two
delicate fingers probed at her.

"Mmmm... Akane..." Her companion whispered as she
toyed with Akane's most sensitive part.

"H-h-hot sh-shower, Ranma?" Akane suggested threw her
nervously chattering teeth.

Ranma only nodded, knocking her own wig to the floor
beside Akane's.

* * *

"About time!" Ootaki shouted as Keiichi opened the
front door.

Keiichi nodded and sighed. "Hai, Sempai."

"What'd I miss?"

Keiichi scratched his chin. "Not much. Tendou-san and
her cousin put on a cute dance number but Tamiya caught it on
video if you want to see it."

Ootaki nodded and headed back into the building. He
left Keiichi with the clipboard and photos of all the people
who weren't supposed to get in.

It was a bit extreme, in Keiichi's opinion, to
restrict only certain people rather than sticking to the
invitation list his sister and her friend had crafted, but
Megumi had stressed to him at some length the damage these
people would cause if they were allowed inside.

What he could do if one of them actually showed up and
demanded entrance, he had no idea.

*Oh, well,* he thought. *It was getting pretty warm
inside, anyway.*

There weren't very many people showing up this late
into the evening. One or two came by, although none matched
the photos.

After several minutes, Sora Hasegawa showed up at the
door in a 'Little Bo Peep' costume. She even had a cute little
stuffed sheep.

"Hello, Sempai. I'm sorry I'm late," she explained.
"But I was having a little trouble getting my costume dry."

"That's okay. You better go on up before Tamiya and
Ootaki eat all the food."

She nodded and smiled, heading for the doorway. Just
before it closed, she looked back at him and giggled. "Cute
costume, Sempai!"

"Hey, thanks!" Now people liked his costume? What was
going on here?!

Keiichi sighed and looked back out over the darkened
city. It had been a strange night.

* * *

The party was progressing pretty decently. Ranma and
Akane's dance number had been a big hit and now other partyers
were taking turns singing kareoke.

After her turn on stage, Megumi bowed to the cheers of
her audience and handed the microphone to the next performer.
She ran down to the small table where Belldandy and Kasumi
were talking animatedly.

Both girls had several pages of recipes they had
already exchanged and were now discussing medicine with the
nervously trembling chiropractor.

"Where's Keiichi?" she interrupted.

Belldandy smiled and made a motion toward the front of
the building. "Keiichi-san is taking his turn at the door."

"Oh yeah." Megumi turned around, surveying the party.
Things were keeping up steadily and as she had suspected, the
catered food was about to run out. She and Akane had prepared
however, and had several grocery sacks full of goodies stashed
in her room. She'd have to get Akane to help her bring them
down...

"Has anyone seen Akane?" She asked.

Kasumi and Belldandy both shook their heads.

"I haven't seen Tendou-san since her dance," Belldandy
offered.

"I'm certain she's around here somewhere," Kasumi
explained. "Akane's a responsible girl."

Megumi turned to Skuld, who was sitting on the floor
behind the table with several computerized gadgets lying
around her. She studied them intently. Every once in a while,
she would make a note or write a number down on a cocktail
napkin.

"Skuld?" Megumi tried to rouse the girl. "Would you
come help me bring some more snacks down?"

"Mm?" The girl answered absentmindedly. She brushed a
long strand of ebony hair out of her face, and adjusted a
lever on one of her devices.

"I've got quite a bit of ice cream if you'll help me
bring it down," Megumi offered.

Skuld's face popped up. "Ice cream?"

"Mmm-mmm!" Megumi put her finger to her chin, thinking
of how best to reel the girl in. "I've got rocky-road, brownie
butter-nut sprinkle, and--"

Skuld's eyes widened and she sniffed the air once.
"Chocolate ice cream?!"

"And triple ripple fudge. Shame, really. It's all just
sitting in my refrigerator when it could be down here."

Skuld took a few painful glances at both her
instruments and the expectantly waiting Megumi.

*Arrgh!* Of course she was in the middle of something
when an opportunity like this came along. Resignedly, she
picked up her field sensor and shoved it into the waist band
of her fuku. She got up, and bowed to Megumi. "Let's go," she
accepted in a defeated tone.

Megumi smiled wickedly as she led Skuld out of the
party room. They walked trough the storage room hallway, and
stepped into the elevator.

On the fifth floor, they got out and opened the door
to Megumi's apartment.

"The refrigerator's over there by the cabinet," she
motioned to Skuld. She picked up a spare laundry basket and
began loading her stockpile of chips, candy, and other
assorted junk food into it.

With an expression of holy lust on her face, Skuld was
carrying all six gallons of ice cream. The stack of cartons
towered above her head but Megumi knew by the little pleasant
noises she was making that Skuld couldn't be happier.

"Ice cream..." she chanted, making her way through the
door and back towards the elevator.

Megumi smiled and scooted the basket out of the room.
She was just turning to lock the door when she heard a noise
coming from the bathroom.

"...get this makeup...Akane..." a muffled feminine
voice said from behind the closed door.

Megumi nodded her head. Ranma was having trouble
removing the makeup Megumi had applied to her face earlier.
Akane was no doubt helping. The two would probably rejoin the
party when they'd finished.

Smiling, she closed the door and caught up with Skuld
who was waiting in the elevator.

Megumi pressed the second floor button.

Just then, the device in Skuld's belt started beeping
furiously.

"What video game are you playing, Skuld?"

"Mg mff mrrr," The girl tried to reply from around the
towering burden of ice cream.

* * *

Akane stood, nervously transfixed as the naked Ranma
scrubbed the makeup from her face.

Almost of its own volition, her hands started moving
to the clasps on her bodice. It just seemed to be so tense and
dry in the tiny bathroom. Akane needed...

Still trembling and breathing shallowly, Akane pulled
the bustiere away from her chest. As it hit the floor with a
little snap, Ranma's face jerked up from the cold water.

Akane's breath left her again as Ranma's eyes sought
out her naked breasts. Her nipples stiffened under the red-
head's inspection.

Trying to keep from jumping out of her skin, Akane
reached into the glassed-in stall and started the warm water
running. Ranma smiled warmly and nodded in approval. She
returned her face to the cool water to finish removing her
makeup.

Feeling warmth rising in her fingertips Akane started
to undo the buttons on her shorts. She pulled the tight vinyl
down over her boots, leaving her self completely exposed
before Ranma. The vinyl was uncomfortable in places, yet
delightful in others, especially those which she had chosen
not to cover with underwear.

Now, when the costume was off, she felt so naked, so
vulnerable...

Finished with the makeup, Ranma stood to her full
height and regarded Akane's nude body with lustful eyes. The
red-head's breath quickened and her hands began to tremble.

The warmth in Akane's hands spread to the rest of her
body. She could feel the blush rising across her cheeks. She
glanced down for a second and realized that it had spread
across her breasts and belly as well.

Ranma exhaled expectantly, her eyes boring into
Akane's face and body.

Trembling, she began to slide the boots down her legs.
Obeying an impulse that she didn't understand the origins of,
Akane did her best to make the movements as slow and
deliberate as possible. By the time she pulled the last boot
off, Ranma was fairly shaking.

Akane noted that the red-head's nipples were, if
anything, more erect than her own.

Not rushing, rather trying to keep those slow, languid
movements, Akane stepped into the running shower. The hot,
spraying water beat down on her body, sending a new wave of
sensation through her already over-sensitive skin. She
shivered in pleasure as the water ran through her hair,
drenching it instantly.

Ranma stepped into the shower.

Her excitement forgotten for the moment, Akane
marveled at the change. She had seen it before, but now as
they were laid bare in front of each other, it took on a
specialness that Akane wondered if she would ever be able to
recapture.

Besides, for the first time, she could see the change
work through Ranma's entire body at once.

The red-head's body 'twitched', filling out almost
instantly into its larger male proportions. Ranma's hair took
a second or so longer to fade from the bright scarlet into its
usual copper-tinted black color.

With a nervous amusement, Akane noted that Ranma's
member was quite flaccid, but rapidly expanding after the
change.

Realizing what she was looking at, the martial artist
'eeped', and turned red with embarrassment.

Akane sighed in contentment, now knowing that Ranma
was every bit as embarrassed as she was. Taking the lead, she
reached out and grabbed his hands, pulling on them slightly to
indicate she wanted him closer.

He complied, taking a quick step toward her. He
enveloped her in his powerful arms, embracing her completely.
Akane's hands found their way to lay against his wide,
powerful pectorals. She could feel his chest brushing against
her supersensitive nipples, as well as the rock hard shaft
pushing up against her navel.

She wondered at the feel of it. How something so...
powerful... could be so gentle as to produce life.

Akane moaned a little as Ranma's lips found that place
just under her ear he had been so fond of in the storeroom.
His hands quickly found her breasts again. With the cool
feeling on her back and buttocks, Akane realized that he was
holding her up against the wall of the shower as he kneaded
her.

Sliding down his sides, she let them come to rest on
the sides of his stone-like buttocks. Gripping them tightly,
Akane squeezed his body closer to hers, clenching his erect
staff even tighter between them.

She wanted to grasp it, feel her hands around it, feel
the warm hardness that almost threatened her in some obscure
way.

As Ranma backed up so that he could suckle her breast,
Akane took the opportunity to reach in between them and grab
it at its base. Holding on tightly, not daring to let go,
Akane felt his balls roll against her palm.

For the first time, she was rewarded as Ranma groaned
against her nipples. Daringly, yet keeping a firm grip, she
teasingly pulled her grip up along the member.

Ranma shuddered and squeezed both her breasts so
tightly it very nearly hurt. In response, Akane increased the
tension on his sac.

Gasping, he broke away from her, still holding her
against the wall by her shoulders. With a determined, almost
cruel expression, he slid one hand down across her breast and
belly until it covered her wet, streaming delta.

He ran his fingers through her tight, dripping curls,
pulling just a little.

An evil grin crossing his face, his slowly slid his
fingers in between her silken lips, spreading them against her
legs.

Akane's eyes went wide as Ranma pinched her clit.
Pulling at it ever so slightly, he sent wave after wave of
pleasure up her belly.

She shrieked involuntarily and scrabbled at the tile
wall as the martial artist masturbated her with short, quick
movements.

Just as her body was clenching, preparing for release,
Ranma slid his hand even further back to push at her opening.

Akane moaned in excited frustration. She pushed at his
hand with her hips, trying to will it back to its previous
location. Instead, she felt an even deeper feeling of pleasure
growing deep inside her.

Bringing his lips up close to her, he kissed her
trembling mouth. He ran his fingers across her opening, trying
to soak up the sensation. His world seemed to be focusing on
that one thing. "I want to taste it," he whispered.

Akane desperately nodded, her hands still grasping at
the wall behind her.

With slow, even movement, Ranma kneeled before her.
Still pushing at her, he kissed the front of her, letting his
mouth move over her lightly furred lips.

At his prompting, Akane spread her legs slightly.
Ranma gripped her buttocks at the base of her spine and held
her up against the wall.

Tenderly, Ranma pushed her lips apart and let his
tongue dart across her clit.

"AaaaaaAAAAA!" Akane moaned through clenched teeth at
the sensation.

Ranma 'mmmed' in response and started to lap at her
folds. Akane leaned back against the wall to present even more
of herself to the martial artist. Seeing the opportunity, he
supported her entirely on his hands, allowing her to rest her
heels against his sides.

All Akane could feel was the incredible pulses of
pleasure Ranma's tongue sent throughout her body. Her head
rolled and a high pitched, continuous moan escaped her lips.

In only a few precious seconds, Akane felt her self
regaining the sensation she had lost. Her toes curled in
anticipation and every hair on her body seemed to be standing
on end.

Ranma pulled his tongue away and flicked it across her
delicate button.

Akane screamed and dug her fingernails into Ranma's
shoulders as her world exploded in pleasure. She rolled
against Ranma's tongue as her orgasm continued, her breath and
body clenching with each new pulse of ecstasy.

Just as Akane realized that the sensation was growing
almost intolerable in its intensity, Ranma pulled his mouth
away from her and lowered her quivering body to the floor of
the shower stall.

She panted for several seconds, trying to fight the
legarthy that was rapidly overcoming her.

Through a haze, she realized Ranma was kneeling next
to her, caressing her cheek. Pushing the sleepiness away, she
lunged wrapping her arms around Ranma's neck and plastering
her lips to his.

Still kissing, Akane heard Ranma feel around for the
shower knob. He turned it off, and gently lifted her off of
the wet tile floor. Her eyes closed, she could feel him
patting her dry with a towel, paying special attention to her
breasts and vulva.

After he finished drying himself, Ranma picked her up
again and took her into the other room and laid her down upon
her futon.

* * *

"I wonder what's taking Akane and Ranma so long?"
Megumi mused, as she watched her brother dance with Belldandy,
and Kasumi try to dance with the wildly gyrating Tofu.

* * *

"Akane..." he began, not really knowing what to say
after such an intense event they had experienced in the
shower.

The girl shook her head and pulled Ranma down on top
of her.

Unspeaking, they simply kissed and ran their hands
over each others's bodies. It was something they had done
before, to a lesser degree. This time there was a nervousness
and an urgency to their movements and touches that left them
both quite breathless.

Akane realized that the length of Ranma's shaft was
still quite erect and pushing up against her. He wasn't trying
to push in, but rather, letting her know that he wanted to.

She began to tremble slightly, her knees rising
involuntarily as Ranma began to gently rock against her waist.
She could feel his breathing start to shallow, and realized
that there was far too much moisture between them than could
be explained by the shower.

Ranma's hands went from caressing her shoulders and
breasts to gripping her hips and rubbing nervously between her
legs. He shifted his position slightly.

Akane's breath caught as she felt his engorged head at
her entrance.

"Ranma, no!" she shouted.

Ranma jerked back as if he had been hit. "A-a-akane?"
he stuttered in a pained voice.

"Not yet," she breathed. "What if I get pregnant?"

Ranma's groaned as his eyes clenched closed in shock
and disappointment.

Akane wiggled out from underneath him and ran across
the room and began to dig in her purse.

Ranma sat up and tried to keep from yelling in
frustration. He had been *so* ready. After all the time he and
Akane had spent together, it seemed like they would never get
*together* like this, no matter how much he wanted it.

He had done so much to loosen up around her. So much
to be more comfortable, and make her more comfortable around
him. This evening's exhibition had merely been the capstone of
his campaign to make them *companions* instead of just friends
or innazuke.

He looked back up when he realized Akane was standing
over him.

He didn't immediately understand what he saw, but the
warm smile on Akane's face brightened his own spirit. The girl
was standing in front of him, her short wet hair still
plastered around her face and still quite naked. In her left
hand she held what looked like a strip of plastic with little
round indentions about...

Ranma's mind froze back up. "R-r-ru-rub-rub..."

Akane nodded. "Condoms... I thought..."

"You were expecting this?!?!" Ranma asked,
incredulously.

"Well... we have been working up to it, haven't we?"
she responded in a pleading tone. "I didn't think it had any
chance of happening tonight, but I wanted it to happen soon."

"You... want this as much as I do."

Akane's blush deepened into a dark purple, but she
nodded her assent. "H-hai... I... want to."

*YES!!!!* Ranma cheered silently.

Realizing that he was still fairly erect, Akane
kneeled down in front of him and tore one of the packets off
of the strip. Still trembling a little, she tore the package
open, carefully trying not to touch what was inside.

Ranma's mind continued to goggle at the quote on the
packet. 'Spermicidally Lubricated for Your Protection'

*And why not?* he thought to himself. *Better safe
than sorry.*

Akane held up the tiny disk of latex. Ranma stupidly
stared as it glistened.

*Does he expect me to put this on him?* Akane
wondered. Ranma stared stupidly at the device, not making any
indication of his intentions. *I've touched it before. Why
shouldn't I?*

With a nervous resolve, Akane reached down and placed
the cap over Ranma's now ramrod straight erection. It seemed
simple enough to roll the plastic down over his flesh, but
Ranma seemed tense enough to explode when she looked back up
at him.

Ranma wasn't really expecting the sensation, and was
simply amazed at how near to the end the simple act of Akane's
trembling fingers pulling the condom down had brought him.

With out another word, Ranma reached behind Akane's
back and laid the girl back down. He started where he had left
off, nibbling slightly at Akane's lower lip and grasping at
her hips.

He could feel Akane's juices running, starting to coat
his firmly muscled stomach.

"Akane?"

"I'm ready, Ranma..."

He took her head in his hand and kissed her as deeply
and as firmly as he could. He braced himself with his other
arm and positioned himself back at her entrance.

He heard Akane gasp as he pushed the head of his latex
covered staff in between her lips. With a firm, slow motion,
he pushed into her, feeling a little tug as he did so.

"T-tight..." he murmured.

Akane gritted her teeth, her head arching back with
the tearing sensation.

"Does it hurt?" Ranma asked.

Her breath coming in short, ragged gasps, Akane
quickly nodded. "Yes, a little, but I was expecting it. Keep
going, and I think it will stop."

Ranma nodded and pulled out slightly and repeated his
motion. Akane's face still showed some pain, but she groaned
with the intense pleasure that was starting to accompany it.

Ranma repeated his motion again and again, until it
became a cycle rather than a pounding. As in the shower, Akane
seemed to lose control of her voice, moaning in a high-pitched
whine.

With lustful wonderment, he discovered that he could
make the moan rise in tone and volume if he tried to thrust up
and in instead of just down.

Ranma realized that he was groaning himself with the
exertion of trying to keep from releasing himself. Each thrust
was eroding his control. The velvety slickness of Akane's
vagina was just too much to bear.

He nearly lost it when Akane kicked and locked her
ankles around his back. Her arms wrapped fiercely around his
neck and she began to yell in short, loud bursts.

"Akane?" he asked, wondering if he had somehow hurt
her. Then he felt *it*. She was clenching down on his member
with powerful contractions. He could feel the tension within
her rise and fall as he continued to thrust.

It proved too much for him. Akane's orgasm pushed him
over the edge into his own. As the hot seed filled the condom,
Ranma realized the pulsing spray matched Akane's contractions
almost perfectly.

He tried to keep pumping, but within seconds, both
lovers were just too exhausted to continue.

Ranma collapsed into Akane's embrace. He noticed that
she was sobbing quietly.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked.

Akane shook her head. "No, it was wonderful... it
was... I've wanted that for so long."

Ranma pulled out of her and rolled over onto his side.
He pulled Akane up next to him and let her bury her face in
his shoulder.

They just held each other for several minutes, their
warmth and joy seeming to be the only thing in the world that
mattered.

"I love you," Akane said quietly.

Ranma nodded and kissed her again. "I love you, too."

His kiss turned into a series of kisses, and then into
more caressing.

Before very long, he realized that she was becoming
wet again as he stroked her clit.

"I'll be right back," he said, laying Akane's head
down on the futon.

"Ranma? What's--"

He held up the used condom. "I gotta get another one
of these, or we can't do it again, can we?"

Her drowsy eyes opened wide with surprise and
nervousness, but Akane couldn't bring herself to protest.

* * *

Ryouga had no idea where he has in relation to either
the park or Ranma. All he knew was that he was wet, cold, and
fifty feet in the air.

*This is all Ranma's fault!* he thought bitterly to
himself. His enraged 'bwee' was lost on the cool breeze.

Bracing himself against the wind, he walked along the
ledge, hoping to find an open window or perhaps someone who
would let him inside. Being close to midnight,most of the
windows were dark and all of them were closed.

After following the curve of the building and turning
a corner, Ryouga finally came across a window that was still
lit. Thankfully, he pushed his nose against the glass and
began to scrape the window with his tiny hoof.

He moved a little, trying to see around the thin
curtain into the apartment.

*Akane?* Sure enough, it was Akane's face he saw
inside the apartment. She was lying face-up on a futon, with a
curious, expectant expression on his face.

From his angle, he could only see her face. After a
few seconds, her arms were thrust above her head, held by the
wrists. Her head arched back, and Ryouga thought he heard her
yell through the thick glass.

Alarmed, Ryouga shifted his tiny porcine body, trying
to get a better angle.

Ryouga saw, and his world shattered.

On top of Akane, who was quite naked, a man with his
back to the window was positioned in between her legs,
violently thrusting at her. He was holding her down, either
unaware of her cries, or uncaring.

Almost insane with grief and rage, Ryouga focused on
the one thing familiar in the situation. The man's pigtail.

* * *

"Do you hear something?" Akane asked.

Spent and exhausted from their continued lovemaking,
Ranma laid down and kissed her, shaking his head.

Akane smiled exultantly and wrapped her arms around
Ranma.

They lay together for some time, partaking again of
the closeness and love between them. Not speaking, Ranma and
Akane gently caressed each other, calmly this time, reveling
in sensation and their nakedness.

After another quarter hour, Akane quietly spoke. "Did
you like that?" She asked.

Ranma nodded. "It was... incredible. I wanted...
you... for so long. It was like... like..."

He exhaled sharply through his nose, not knowing what
to say. Akane nodded, and kissed him again, sending a dozen
little shivers down his spine.

"What about you?"

Akane let her head roll back. "It wasn't like I
expected. I've heard so many stories where its just the woman
letting the man do... things... to her. I never expected it to
be so... so..."

"Yeah."

"Intense?"

Instead of answering, Ranma closed the distance
between them. He kissed the young woman in front of him,
letting his hands reexplore her body. He cupped her breasts,
gently teasing her nipples. He allowed one hand to slide down
her belly and caress Akane's wet, sticky, velvety lips.

She sighed happily. "You realize we've missed most of
the party?"

Ranma nodded. "It was worth it. It was worth
anything."

Akane stretched, and Ranma helped her to a sitting
position. She briefly put a hand to his flagging staff, noting
how soft the skin was against the still-firm tissue
underneath.

"We need to get back, or Megumi will wonder what
happened to us." Akane warned.

Ranma nodded. A little sadly, he got up and went to
the sink to pour a cupful of cool water over his dark mane.

Akane marveled again at the havoc the transformation
played on Ranma's naked body.

In reverse, just as it was in the other direction, the
change was close to, but not quite, instantaneous. Akane could
see the way it shifted the muscle under Ranma's skin. His hips
pivoted as they adjusted to *her* stance. Her buttocks became
more pronounced and rounded. Her shoulders, so wide when he
was a man, slimmed and narrowed. Akane could see the way Ranma
moved her hips and shifted her shoulders slightly to
compensate for her changed center of balance. After only a
second or two, Ranma had adjusted and turned back to her.

Akane had already started to put her costume back on,
but Ranma looked down dejectedly at her vinyl shorts.

"I don't have to put those back on, do I?" She asked.

Akane shook her head. Wearing only the bustiere, she
stood and leaned up against Ranma's now delicate frame.

In the past, she hadn't ever considered touching her
new lover as another woman, actively telling herself that she
would never do such a thing. After what they had shared in the
store room however, Akane was given to wonder.

Impulsively, Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma's
neck and gently bussed her lips. "Not if you don't want to,"
she offered quietly. "You can go naked! It's getting pretty
late anyway."

"Hey!"

Taking the opportunity for more naughtiness, they
dressed each other, savoring each touch and feel. Their
caresses soon turned to tickling, and by the time Ranma was
wearing one of her regular Chinese outfits, and Akane was back
in her bustiere and shorts, Ranma was chasing Akane down the
hall, both of them laughing and giggling all the way.

* * *

Megumi stepped over Dama-kun, who had drank himself
into a stupor after Urd had grown bored with him.

A little tipsy herself, Megumi looked around the room
in satisfaction. They had totally *destroyed* the place! The
food was mostly gone, the decorations had been trashed, and
someone had *eaten* the pumpkins. Most of the couples left in
the room were either making out in secluded corners or dancing
slowly to the soft music. This was one of the best parties she
had ever been to and it was made all the more sweet by her
participation in the planning.

She smiled in satisfaction, seeing Kasumi and the
spastic Tofu dancing together to the gentle strains of an
unknown saxophonist.

"Megumi," her brother interrupted her train of
thought. "I just called a taxi for Masaya-san and her friends.
They were just a bit far gone to be walking home."

"Thanks Kei-chan," Megumi smiled wistfully. Things had
gone so smoothly. It was a shame that both Akane and Ranma
seemed to be missing. They were the hit of the party, but no
one had seen them since their dance number.

As if she had invoked their presence with her thought,
the two young women stepped into the room from the rear
entrance. Both had discarded their wigs, but Akane was still
in her costume.

"Ranm...ko, Akane! Where have you two been?" She
demanded, skipping over to the pair.

"Um..." Ranma stammered for a bit. "We had some
trouble getting my makeup off."

Megumi grinned wickedly. "Ohhhh.... I see."

Ranma didn't understand why Megumi was acting the way
she was, but Akane blushed furiously. *She couldn't know,
could she?* the girl thought to herself.

"Have you met Belldandy yet?" She asked. Ranma and
Akane both shook their heads.

Leading them over to her brother, Megumi introduced
them.

Nearby, Skuld sat in the middle of her sensors,
waiting for *it* to happen again. One more peak would be all
she would need to isolate the frequency range.

Shoveling a large spoonful of melting brownie butter-
nut sprinkle ice cream into her mouth, she made an adjustment
to one of her equations. She had already narrowed it down to
the electromagnetic field induction caused by the shifting
electrons in a hydrogen bond process. For some reason, the
peaks were activated by an energy transfer over a very
specific frequency range on a very specific carrier.

One more peak, and she would have the carrier! Skuld
hooted, and celebrated with a spoonful of triple ripple fudge.
Oh, this was her night, indeed!

"...And that's Skuld," Megumi said. "She likes
computers and robots."

She looked up and waved, seeing the girl she had
detected earlier talking with her sister, Megumi and Keiichi.

With glee, Skuld prepared her equations.

* * *

In room 517, a young man had just let a piglet into
his room from the ledge.

"How'd you get out there, fella? Did you fall out a
window?"

The piglet wiggled out of his grip and ran for the
front of the apartment.

"Hey!" he shouted, chasing after the little animal.

It paused at the front door way, sniffed, and turned,
running into the bathroom. The piglet climbed into the shower
and started grunting angrily at the faucet.

"Oh, you're cold!" Not wanting to burn the piglet, the
young man ran a stream of luke-warm water into the shower.

"Thanks."

After the young man passed out, Ryouga picked up some
clothes from the floor of the apartment. He quickly pulled
them on and ran out the door.

* * *

*BEEP* *PING*

"Yes!" As the peak reading came back from her field
sensor, Skuld threw the last figure into the equation. Within
seconds, she had the carrier frequency. She plugged it into
the emitter and let it charge.

"So will you and Saotome-san still be getting married
any time soon?" Belldandy asked.

Her eyes widening a little bit, Akane looked over at
Ranma. The red head was unresponsive, staring in horror at
Keiichi's costume.

"I think... that if we ever do want to get married, it
will be after we're done with school." Akane answered. "Both
our fathers gave us such a hard time."

"I understand," Belldandy offered in return. Akane
believed she did.

The nervous young man shifted uncomfortably in his
seat and tightened his grasp on Belldandy's hand, unsure what
to do about the frightened glare the girl in front of him was
making.

Shaking her head, Ranma turned away from Keiichi.
"That is a *terrifying* costume, man." She turned to Akane,
shaking her head to try to clear the image. "Yeah, Ranma's dad
is such a jerk. He got him engaged so many times that there
was no way Ranma could--"

She paused as Belldandy's little sister pointed some
sort of device at her.

"What's that?" she asked.

The little girl only grinned evilly in response. She
hit a button on the front of the device.

Ranma suddenly felt a cold, tingling sensation,
followed by a sudden warmth. Before she realized what had
happened, she changed.

In shock, everyone stared at Ranma in horror.

Belldandy was the first to speak. "Skuld! What did you
do to Ranko?!?!"

"I didn't do anything, Onee-sama! This is the magic I
was telling you about. I just triggered it. He's a
shapeshifter! Look!" Skuld hit the button again. Within
seconds, Ranma had changed back to female. Skuld hit the
button a third time.

"Cut that out, damnit!" Ranma tried to grab the
emitter away from Skuld, who dodged back and began to yell in
protest.

"I don't understand!" Megumi shouted. "There was no
water! How did Skuld do that?!"

"You knew about this?" Keiichi demanded.

"Just everybody shut up! All right?!" Angrily, Ranma
stood to his full height. "Just who are you, thinkin' you can
just play around with people's curses whenever you like?" he
demanded of Skuld.

Still in her fuku, Skuld rose and drew her debugging
hammer. "He's got to be a shapeshifting demon." In the most
authoritative tone she could muster with her small frame,
Skuld called out, "I am Goddess of the Future, Second Class,
restricted license, Skuld, and by the authority invested in me
by Kami-sama, I command you BEGONE!"

Kasumi and Tofu stopped dancing and looked over at the
group in surprise.

For a few seconds they just stared around at each
other in shock and confusion. Skuld re-hefted her hammer at
Ranma, once again demanding, "BEGONE!"

"Goddess?!" Megumi and Akane shouted in unison.

A worried expression appeared on Belldandy's face.

"Begone?" Skuld pleaded.

"Shapeshifter?!" Keiichi shouted.

"He's not 'begonning'!" Skuld lamented.

"Hey, everybody! What's up?" Urd asked, just having
left another poor young man in the dust. She draped her arms
over Keiichi and Belldandy's nervous shoulders

*Then* the doors to the party room exploded in.

"RAAANNNMMAAA!!!! PREPARE TO DIE!!!!" An enraged,
heaving figure partially obscured by the dust from the
explosion stood in the wrecked doorway.

"Ryouga-kun!" Akane exclaimed.

"Oh, my," Kasumi sighed worriedly from her position on
the dance floor.

"Yo, P-chan! Long time no see!" Ranma jumped into a
defensive stance just in front of Akane, unfazed by the
attack. He cracked his knuckles menacingly. "So what is it
this time, Pig-boy? You just catch up with me and want to have
it out for last time or have I done somethin' else to make you
mad?"

The wanderer stepped into the room over the wreckage
of the door. His breath came in short ragged gasps, and he
pulled several bandannas off his head and held them loosely in
his hand.

The remaining guests began to leave the room through
the other exits, quietly trying to avoid the enraged man at
door.

Keiichi, seeing the figure in the dim light of the
room, checked the clipboard in his hand again. Aside from the
mismatched clothes, this guy's picture was at the top of the
stack of people who weren't supposed to get in. Quietly he
swore and began to tug on Belldandy's elbow. "I think we
better get out of here, Bell-chan."

Ryouga strode into the middle of the floor, now
whirling the bandannas around his fist. An angry sneer crossed
his face. With a growl he pointed at Ranma.

"You raped Akane, you bastard! Now you burn in Hell!"

"Hey!" Ranma shouted in response, "I didn't--"

"RAPE?!" Akane cut him off. "No, it wasn't like that!
I asked him to do it! Err..." Realizing what she had just
admitted, Akane nervously glanced around the room. Most of the
guests were gone, but Kasumi and Megumi were both staring at
her with supremely surprised expressions.

"Uh-oh," she whispered to no one in particular. An
unwelcome blush covered her face and her ears began to burn as
she looked up at Ranma.

Ranma, on the other hand, seemed not to be paying
attention. His concentration was focussed on the enraged
warrior in front of him.

Ryouga slung the bandannas at Ranma's feet and rushed
the pigtailed martial artist. Ranma hopped over the bandannas,
allowing them to cut through the carpet and padding and embed
into the concrete underneath. Flipping over him, Ranma caught
the other young man by the shoulders and sent him sprawling to
the ground.

"All right, Ryouga. You want to have it out, let's
have it out." Ranma quietly uttered. Then he raised his voice
and shouted, "I'm getting damn sick and tired of your crap,
Pig-boy! This is IT! I was sick of you when I moved out, but
now I'm *through* with you!"

As the bandanna clad warrior rose to his feet, Ranma
slammed a fist into Ryouga's gut, knocking him back several
feet. Ryouga shrugged off the attack and lunged back at his
attacker.

"Ryouga-kun, no!" Akane shouted in terror.

Ranma dodged his outstretched fist and grabbed Ryouga
by the collar. He ran for the entrance of the party room,
dragging the lost boy behind him.

"Let's take this outside before we destroy any more of
my security deposit than we have to," Ranma sarcastically
sniped at his enemy.

As Ranma ran into the stairwell and painfully dragged
him down the rough, concrete and steel steps, Ryouga tried to
twist his body to reach Ranma.

He couldn't quite reach however, and in a few seconds,
Ranma had him outside the building. Ryouga found himself
thrown painfully up against a brick planter. He groaned and
rose to his feet, staring angrily up at the coldly grinning
Ranma in the dim light provided by the street lamps.

"How could you?" he demanded.

Ranma shook his head. "You're as thick as dirt,
Ryouga. Didn't you hear what Akane said? She wanted it as much
as I did, idiot."

"NO!" Ryouga shouted and lunged for Ranma. His fist
grazed Ranma's arm, but the pigtailed young man avoided the
brunt of the attack. "Akane would never want that!"

Ranma countered with several quick jabs to Ryouga's
side. Ryouga huffed, turned and caught Ranma on the thigh with
a quick chop.

Ranma danced away, leapt for the wall of the building
and used it to push off of in a straightforward dive at his
enemy.

"Who says she wouldn't? She loves me, you dolt!"

Ryouga took Ranma's fist in the gut again, but simply
swatted Ranma away in his rage.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" he cried. "AKANE DOES NOT LOVE
YOU!!!! She can't love you!"

Ranma drove several more quick jabs into Ryouga's
body. "Why, 'cause she loves you? Don't think so, piggy.
You're her *pet*, Ryouga, and you'll never be anything else.
Hear me? It's time to get in touch with reality."

Ryouga punched at Ranma, and dug several bricks out of
the planter in the process.

Ranma turned and planted a powerful kick across
Ryouga's sternum, sending him flying across the courtyard.
Ryouga stood, realizing that he had very narrowly missed
landing in a decorative fountain. He snarled and threw a few
more bandannas in Ranma's general direction.

"Do you think turning me into a pig is going to help
you, Ranma? I'll track you to the end of the earth! You're
already dead, Ranma!"

"Ryouga, no!" It was Akane. Ranma spared a brief
glance over to where Akane, Kasumi, Tofu, and Megumi had
gathered with Keiichi and his friends. "Stop fighting!" she
pleaded.

Ranma scowled and narrowed his gaze at the other young
man. "You think turnin' you into a pig means anything to me?
I'd rather you get cured right now! I'm so sick of you I could
puke."

He dodged one of Ryouga's kicks and leapt up on the
planter. "I'm sick of keeping your secrets, I'm sick of
protecting you when I should be kickin' your ass, and I'm God-
damn sick and tired of what you're doin' to Akane. It's over,
Ryouga." He leveled his fist at Ryouga and leapt. "I just quit
worryin' about your curse altogether!" he hissed, striking
Ryouga across the jaw.

He followed with roundhouse kick to the side of
Ryouga's head and finished with leg sweep that sent the lost
boy to his knees.

Ranma jumped back out of his enemy's reach and taunted
him. "You think she'll love P-chan so much when she finds he's
just a pervert with a curse?"

"That'll never happen, Ranma."

"Oh, who's gonna help you out the next time you trip
and fall into the pond. I sure as hell ain't gonna be there to
do it." Ranma crossed his arms.

"Rannnmaaaa!" Ryouga growled, climbing to his feet.
Ranma could see that he was far beyond anything remotely
resembling reason.

The lost boy's hands began to glow as his rage
deepened.

"You're just some freak with a curse, Ryouga." Ranma
continued to taunt. Sensing Ryouga's attack, he steadied his
legs to jump out of the way. "She'll hate you for the rest of
her life if she finds out, Ryouga, and I ain't gonna do a
thing to stop her."

"NO!" Ryouga cried. He held his hands up and gathered
his ki.

"Hey," Keiichi shouted from his vantage by the door.
"Cut it out before someone calls the police!"

Ryouga whipped around to see who shouted at him.

Then he saw... the demon and angel... holding hands.
Something primitive inside Ryouga snapped. What he saw was
*not* supposed to happen. Ryouga gasped and lost control
of the Shi shi houkodan in his shock. Unfettered, it flew
towards Keiichi with a speed borne of Ryouga's shock and
terror.

Ranma's eyes went wide. "Ryouga, no! Don't!"

Belldandy had been watching the fight with a nervous
curiosity, trying to gauge who or what the combatants really
were. If what Ranma said was true, he was merely the victim of
a spell.

Belldandy had to be sure. She also had to be sure the
other young man was nothing but.

Then, he released his ki at Keiichi. Belldandy's world
froze. Calmly, coldly, she stepped in front of Keiichi. The ki
blast hit.

Ryouga, as well as everyone around her, stared in
shock as the Goddess simply absorbed his Shi shi houkodan into
her outstretched palms.

She screamed and re-released it into the sky. With an
furious expression, she then turned her attention back towards
the rampaging martial artist. With an outstretched fist, she
caused him to be lifted into the air and pinned inside
crushing restraint.

"THOU SHALT NOT HARM MY LOVE!!!!" she cried, tossing
Ryouga into the air with her will.

"Wow," Ranma breathed, watching the other martial
artist fall somewhere on the roof of his building.

"And you!" Belldandy shouted, striding up to Ranma.
"How dare you place Keiichi and Megumi in such danger?!?!"

"Hey, lady! It wasn't me! How about you goddesses quit
messin' with my curse? I got enough problems without you just
changing me in the middle o' everything." Ranma retorted. "I
coulda still been wearing my costume when I changed. Now how
would that a' looked?"

Keiichi and Megumi insinuated themselves between the
furious martial artist and goddess.

"Let's all calm down," Megumi prompted as she placed
herself in front of Ranma. "I think we've had just enough
fighting for tonight. Okay?"

Keiichi was shocked at the angry expression on
Belldandy's face. He had never seen her so upset before. She
was so angry tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

"Belldandy," he said, trying to soothe her. "It's all
right now. Everything's okay."

Ranma exhaled and relaxed, letting the fight leave
him. He turned away from the goddess and walked back towards
the frightened Akane.

"All-right buster," Megumi scolded once Keiichi had
managed to calm Belldandy down. "What's the big idea of not
telling *ME* you were dating a real *goddess*.

Keiichi patted Belldandy's shoulder and turned to face
his sister.

"I suppose that asking you why you didn't tell me you
were living in the same apartment as a shape shifting martial
artist is out of the question, then?"

Megumi's face took on a shocked, angry expression.
"How could you say such a thing?"

Keiichi shrugged. "I don't see much difference between
what you did and what I did."

"But... But it is different!"

"How?" Keiichi demanded.

At a loss, Megumi struggled to say something,
anything. She turned her face down in frustration.

"Listen, Megumi," Keiichi offered. "We were both
trying to protect our secrets."

"It was still wrong of you to keep something like that
from me."

"Yes," Belldandy interjected, having regained her
composure. "It was wrong to lie, but Keiichi only wanted to
protect you and me."

With a shamed expression on his face, Keiichi nodded
his agreement. "I'm sorry..." he offered.

"I guess... I'm sorry for keeping Ranma's curse
secret, too. He's been having such a hard time trying to have
a normal life, and I wanted to help."

Urd strode up behind her. "I don't see why, with that
stunt they pulled earlier," she countered, referring to the
dance number.

Megumi shrugged. "Akane and I have also been trying to
get him to lighten up. They had a good time if nothing else."

"I'm sorry I put you in this position, Megumi."
Keiichi apologized. "I worry so much about someone trying to
abuse you or Belldandy that I forgot I was lying to you."

"Well, just don't keep anything like this from me
again, Kei- chan."

Belldandy nodded her agreement at Keiichi, who
hesitantly nodded again. "Only if you do the same thing,
okay?"

Megumi nodded and hugged her brother.

* * *

Ryouga rose from his daze and realized that somehow,
he was back on top of the roof.

"THIS IS ALL RANMA'S FAULT!" he shouted to the dark,
uncaring sky. Well, Ranma's and the weird girl back on the
ground. He screamed his frustration and ran to the edge. Down
below, he could see Ranma and Akane gathered around the
fountain with all the others.

Angrily, he found his drain pipe and began to shimmy
down again. As he promised, *nothing* would stand in the way
of his vengeance. He had almost made it back down to the fifth
story when he remembered that the length of the pipe that had
broken away earlier.

* * *

"What the hell is he doin' now?" Ranma muttered
angrily. He then jumped a little as the drain pipe gave a loud
'snap' and leaned dangerously away from the wall.

"Ranma, he'll fall!" Akane warned, staring up at the
struggling martial artist.

"Oh, my! Ryouga-kun!" Kasumi's clenched her hands in
fear for the young man while the haze that almost perpetually
covered Tofu's glasses these days evaporated away. He pushed
his glasses up on his nose and quickly evaluated the
situation. If Ryouga fell then...

Akane and Kasumi both screamed as the pipe slid out of
its bracket and came away from the wall altogether.

Tofu laid a firm hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "He'll
fall in the fountain," he informed her, watching the young man
drop with a great splash.

Ranma started nervously but then, with a mean
expression, he just crossed his arms and watched. Standing
well away, he observed the others run toward the fountain.
Akane was the first to make it. After a few seconds she
reached in and pulled out a slightly dazed miniature black
piglet.

"P-chan?" Involuntarily, Akane's left eye twitched.

"Oh, my..." Kasumi whispered. Doctor Tofu's eyes went
wide as well. Megumi looked back at Ranma, who only nodded the
answer to her unspoken question with a look of cool
satisfaction.

"How did you get here, P-chan?" Akane cooed to the
piglet. "And where is Ryouga-kun?"

Megumi, Kasumi and Tofu facefaulted. Ranma covered his
face and shook his head in disgust.

Something was horribly wrong here, Akane thought as
she held the wet piglet close to her breasts. With a happy
squeal he wormed his way in between them, nearly dislodging
Akane's bustiere.

She looked around in nervous anxiety, not really
understanding why everybody was staring at her.

Skuld, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She had
finally eliminated all unidentified sources of magic.

"There!" Skuld gleefully shouted, waving her sensor.
"There's another one!" she cried, pointing to P-chan who was
trying to give Ranma a red-eye from his position in between
Akane's vinyl clad breasts.

Akane's eye twitched again. She nervously looked over
at Ranma, and the almost evil grin that was rapidly spreading
across his face. "Another what?" she asked, calmly.

"Another shapechanger! Look!" Skuld adjusted a dial on
her gadget, and a purple flash erupted in Akane's arms.
Dropping the sudden weight, she opened her eyes to see a
completely naked Ryouga desperately trying to cover himself at
her feet.

"Heh..." Ryogua coughed nervously.

Urd put a finger to her chin in thought. "Must be
Jusenkyou. That would explain Ranma's change as well. I never
thought I would see one outside China, though."

Akane's expression blanked in shock.

Ranma gave a low chuckle.

"R-r-r-ryouga?" Akane stammered.

The bandanna clad young man cast about desperately for
something to cover himself. He reasoned that his clothes were
still floating in the pool and that if he could just fish them
out... He 'urked' as an enraged fist closed around his throat.
He stood as he was lifted to his feet.

"Ryouga?" Akane held him at arm's length, occasionally
flexing her fist. "You... Jusenkyou... and... P-chan? *P-
Chan*?! *P- CHAN*?!?!"

Ryouga stared in horror as a holy rage crossed Akane's
eyes. Her eyes widening in anger, Ryouga could very clearly
see her pupils dilating.

Her head snapped to one side. She glared at Ranma.
"You knew about this!" she accused.

Ranma nodded. "Yup."

"Then why didn't you--"

"Tell you?" Ranma calmly shrugged, keeping his eyes on
the situation in front of him. "I swore I wouldn't, but I
tried to let you know a couple different times. All I got for
my effort was a 'quit picking on P-chan'.

And... Akane realized it was true. Ranma *had* tried
to tell her, or drop hints about it on several occasions. All
the half-truths, little clues, exclamations of 'Pig-boy' fell
sickly into place in her mind. Ranma had tried to protect her
at every turn and all she had done was abuse him for it.

With a sick feeling in her chest, Akane stared in
horror at the shamefaced young man in front of her. She just
couldn't believe that...

*P-chan...* she thought.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Almost nauseous with rage, confusion, and guilt, Akane
threw Ryouga to the ground.

"Akane, wait, please--" Ryouga begged. Akane cut him
off with a sharp kick to the jaw.

Unable to bring himself to his own defense, Ryouga
merely pulled his arms up over his face, allowing Akane to
drive enraged kick after kick into his chest and belly.

Tofu stepped in to intervene, but Ranma held his
shoulder. "They've had this comin' for a while, Doc. 'Sides,
Ryouga's too tough for that to hurt him."

"I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU..." she
screamed, over and over again as she struck.

Ryouga tried to rise to beg his apology, but Akane
beat him back down to the ground with wild, angry, overhand
blows. She pounded and kicked at him, relentlessly taking out
her fury and pain.

Finally, she picked him back up by the neck and nailed
Ryouga with a vicious uppercut that sent him flying across the
courtyard.

The lost boy looked back sadly at the still raging
Akane. With a snarl, he turned to Ranma. "THIS IS ALL YOUR
FAULT, RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!"

"NO!" Akane ran across the courtyard and planted the
flat of her boot into Ryouga's naked back. "This is *your*
fault, pervert. Get away from me, I never want to see you
again!"

"Akane," Ranma called.

"If I ever do see you again, so help me, I'll put you
on leash and have you neutered!"

Ryouga blanched and turned green at Akane's
imprecations. He stood, only to be angrily slapped. He watched
for a second as Akane turned away for him and ran into Ranma's
waiting embrace. Burying her face in his chest, she began to
wail like a lost soul.

Ranma only glared at him, shaking his head sadly.
Despairing, Ryouga turned, and walked out of the courtyard.
His pace quickened into a run. He felt so ashamed. Ashamed and
alone.

Ranma watched him go, and turned his attention back to
Akane, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why?!" She demanded in between sobs.

Ranma took a deep breath and began to explain. Kasumi,
Tofu and the others gathered around to hear as well.

"It's my fault," he admitted. "I knocked him into the
spring when I was runnin' around crazy after *I* got cursed. I
didn't even realize I had done it until he caught up with me
here."

Ranma smoothed his lover's hair and continued,
including those around him in his narrative. "When I first
found out, I promised him I would never tell. Honor between
enemies, that sort of thing. Then Akane picked 'em up and made
a pet out of him. I tried to get Ryouga to admit it, but he
had decided he was in love, and wouldn't do anything about
it."

Akane shuddered inside Ranma's embrace. After the
incident with the waterproof soap a few years back, she had
suspicions that Ryouga had a crush on her, but later thought
that he was firmly in love with Akari. To do something so...
sick... and *depraved* to her, simply boggled her mind.

"I sneaked into Akane's room a couple times to try and
get him out, but he always woke Akane up," he explained.

Kasumi nodded, embarrassedly remembering the morning
she had given her sister and Ranma an angry lecture on
propriety.

"Since I couldn't just come out and say anything, I
tried to minimize the damage. I hadn't seen him since me and
Akane started gettin' along better, so I figured the problem
was over. I was wrong, I guess."

Akane continued to sob. "Ranma, please don't do
anything like that again!" she pleaded. "I want-- Promise me!"

Ranma nodded and patted the girl on the back. "I
promise. You're more important to me than that. I wanted to
tell you so many times, but it never came out right."

Akane cried herself out, under the concerned gazes of
her friends and family. After a few minutes, she gently pulled
out of Ranma's embrace.

"I'm sorry about all this. I never wanted to embarrass
everyone like this."

Belldandy bowed her head slightly. "I think that what
happened couldn't have been avoided, Tendou-san." She turned
to her sister. "Skuld, have you apologized to Saotome-san for
invading his privacy?"

"But--" A stern glare from both her sisters, Keiichi
and Megumi cut her off. Dejectedly, she walked up to Ranma and
bowed.

"I'm sorry, Saotome-san."

"Hey's it's okay," Ranma accepted. "Things just got
out of hand. Just don't do it again. I get rained on often
enough without the gods personally interfering," he joked.

Seriously, Keiichi raised his voice. "That's something
else we need to talk about. I'd really rather that Skuld, Urd
and Bell-chan's identities didn't become public knowledge."

Akane and Kasumi both nodded.

"Yeah," Ranma exclaimed, shaking hands with Keiichi.
"We're all *real* good at keeping secrets. Believe me."

Akane sighed and looked around the small group. "I
guess we should get started on cleaning up Ryouga's mess."

Everyone agreed and headed back inside the building.
Just before the door closed, Ranma asked, "Hey, are we still
on for lunch, tomorrow?"

* * *

Epilogue:

As the sun started to peek above the houses, Nabiki
found herself just outside the dojo. Almost in a daze, she had
been walking all night. Her perception of the world had been
altered radically, and she had no idea how to deal with that.

Nervously, she stepped through the gate and walked up
to the house. Planning to try to come to grips with what she
had learned about her sister, she let herself in and started
up the stairs to her room.

Surprising her, Genma and Soun burst out and stopped
her on the stairway.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" she demanded as she re-
caught her breath.

"Tell us!" Genma begged.

"Yes, tell us, daughter." Soun prompted. "Who is
Akane's boyfriend. Is it Ranma?"

"We've been waiting all night to find out," Genma
explained.

Her instincts reasserted themselves, trying to bring
some semblance of normalcy back to her life. She held her hand
out.

"You both know the rules," she chided. "For something
this big, I'm going to have to ask for quite a fee. Uncle
Saotome, 10,000 yen."

The bulky martial artist paled, but pulled out a bill
from his gi.

"Daddy, I'm going to need a raise in my allowance."

Soun's expression broke. "Another one?"

"You do want to find out about Akane, don't you? It
will only set you back another thousand yen a week."

Soun wailed but nodded when Genma slapped him on the
back.

"Okay," Nabiki lowered her voice to a whisper. "The
reason Akane is being so secretive is that she doesn't have a
boyfriend and she wants everyone to think she does."

"She doesn't have... a... boyfriend?" Genma shook his
head in disbelief. "But--"

Nabiki held her hand up to cut him off. "I said Akane
doesn't have a boyfriend. She has a girlfriend instead."

The sound of two jaws hitting the floors reverberated
through the dojo.

Soun visibly paled. "My little girl is a l... l...
l...

"Lesbian, Daddy. Akane's a lesbian. I saw them making
out together at the party last night."

Nabiki noted a light on in the kitchen as her father
and Genma started to wail.

Inconsolably, the two martial artists collapsed
against each other. After a few seconds, Genma pulled Soun to
his feet and dragged him to the door.

"There is nothing for us to do but mourn our loss and
drown or sorrows, Tendou-kun" Genma sobbed.

"Whaaaaaaaa!!!!" Soun bawled like a baby as he was
dragged out the door.

Nabiki turned on the stairway to see Kasumi standing
in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Nabiki-chan. Could you come here for a second before
you go to bed?"

Nabiki pointed a finger at her nose, but reversed her
path down the stairway and walked into the kitchen.

Tofu was sitting at the counter, sipping at a mug of
hot tea.

Kasumi, who looked as if she had just gotten up,
handed another mug to Nabiki.

"Did you have a good time at the party, last night?"
She asked her younger sister.

"Party?" Nabiki denied her sister's statement. "I
didn't go to a party last night."

"Oh, Nabiki, your tree costume was very cute! You
should have stayed for the kareoke. You would have been a big
hit."

Nabiki's eyes widened in shock. "So I guess you know
about Akane, then," She prodded.

Kasumi nodded cheerfully. "Oh yes. Didn't you think
she and Ranma cute in their costumes, too?"

Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "Listen, I may have been at
the party, but I *know* Ranma wasn't there."

"Of course he was," Tofu commented. "You saw their
dance number didn't you."

"Dance... ?" Nabiki shook her head. "That wasn't
Ranma! I checked!"

She suddenly felt unsure of her conclusion as knowing
grins spread across both Kasumi and Tofu's faces.

"People do change when you don't see them for several
months," Tofu explained.

With a shocked expression, Nabiki turned to her
sister. Kasumi nodded her confirmation with a cheery smile.

"But... but..." Nabiki turned in rage. Ranma? Ranma
managed to deceive *her*? Ranma?!?! Poor, stupid, Ranma?
Nabiki stifled the urge to scream.

*I'll sell his address for a thousand yen!* she
thought. *I'll have Kunou, Kodachi, Ukyou, Shampoo, Mousse and
Ryouga all knocking at his door by noon.*

Warned by the angry expression on her face, Kasumi
laid a calm hand on her shoulder. "You will keep your promise
to Akane, won't you?"

"Promise? I didn't make any promise!" Nabiki
exclaimed.

"Oh, didn't you promise not to reveal anything you
might find out at the party?" Kasumi asked, her smile taking
on a steely hardness.

"But I didn't--"

"Nabiki," Kasumi warned. "You *will* keep your
promise. You won't make their lives hard by telling father or
Uncle Saotome, will you?" The way she said it was more of a
statement than a question. Then, nailing the lid down on her
coffin, Kasumi pulled Nabiki into a firm embrace. "I believe
in you, little sister!"

After releasing her, Kasumi and Tofu continued their
quiet conversation about Ryouga.

*My family has conspired against me.* In an angry
daze, Nabiki stumbled out of the kitchen and ran up stairs.
She was going to wake Akane up and give her a piece of her
mind. How dare she--

Akane's bed was unslept in, Nabiki realized as she
opened the door to her sister's bedroom. Aside from the boxes
for her costume, the only thing unusual about the room was a
note left on Akane's dresser.

All it said was, "Nabiki, Don't wait up. Love, Akane."

In shock, Nabiki collapsed on her sister's bed
clutching the note to her chest.

Akane wouldn't! But...

Nabiki realized that Akane probably *had*.

With Ranma.

And Nabiki missed it.

Nabiki sighed, and gently laughed herself to sleep.

------------------------------

Author's Notes - 10-12-2000

The single largest complaint I've received about this story,
*any* of the 'Apartment' stories for that matter is that fact
that Urd spikes Ranma and Akane's drinks. I've had numerous
requests to change it, but I'm not going to.

Like the first two revisions, the *biggest* changes are
grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. There are a few
textual changes, but nothing major.

I'd like to thank everyone who's written me about RA,
including my prereaders for RA4. I'd like to have gotten back
to you by now, but real-life interferes, mostly in the form of
auto problems. I've spent the last two days trying to find a
new car, and have all the stress that goes along with that.

At any rate, RA4 is still going to be posted tomorrow, unless
Second Impact hits. The way my week's been going, it would
almost be a releif.

C.

http://www.furinkan.net/


"When Schrodinger's cat's away, the mice may
or may not play, no one can tell."

- Francis Heaney, Modern Humorist


--
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List---.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@fanfic.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@fanfic.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt ---'