Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're used
here without permission.

This story contains some adult material. Reader discretion is
advised.

------------------------------
newRanma 12: Falling

by Chris Jones
------------------------------

"Man, I have spent way too much time in hospitals lately,"
Ranma lamented.

Daisuke, who had his feet propped up on his desk while he
read a sports magazine, nodded his head. "How's whatsisname
anyway? The shrink."

"Makuna-sensei. Still in a coma, last I heard" Ranma said.
"I was gonna go see him again today after school, but it's getting
kinda depressing."

"I can believe that," Hiroshi agreed. "My grandpa was in
the hospital for about a month a few years ago. Of course we had
to go every day. By the end of the month, I just wanted the old
fart to die so I wouldn't have to go anymore."

Ranma chuckled. "This is the guy who ran in the Tokyo
marathon last year, right?"

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "A guy has a heart-attack, and
suddenly he turns into a health expert. Well, it's better watching
him jog than choking down greasy food all the time."

"Speaking of food, what do you wanna do for lunch today?"
Ranma asked.

"You ever stop thinking about your stomach, Saotome? I
dunno. It's still a few hours away, so--"

"Guys--" Hiroshi bolted into the classroom and came to a
sudden stop in front of his friends. "C'mere."

"What?" Daisuke asked.

"Just... come on," Hiroshi urged. "Before it's too late."

A little sleepily, Ranma stood and stretched, arching her
back slightly. "What's the big de-- HEY!" she cried as Hiroshi
grabbed her hand and pulled her from the classroom.

"Hiroshi has gone baibai," Daisuke noted, following after
the pair.

"This way," the youth said, dragging Ranma along.

"Let go of me!" Ranma shouted, slapping at Hiroshi's hand.
Before she could do anything to get free, Hiroshi had dragged her
into one of the school storage rooms. Daisuke followed in behind,
looking curiously at the pair.

"I sear to God, Hiroshi," Ranma warned. "If you don't let
go of me right now--"

"Okay, we can hide in those closets. There are slots to
look out of and--"

"Hiroshi, have you had your medication today?" Daisuke
asked. "What the hell is going on?"

"Trust me!" Hiroshi pleaded. "If you're ever gonna trust
me, then get in the closet."

Ranma was rubbing at her wrist. She hadn't liked being
grabbed so roughly at all. Worse, she hated the way it made her
body respond to Hiroshi's. Still, Hiroshi had an almost fervent
expression on his face. She nodded and followed Daisuke into the
closet on the other side of the storage room.

"Okay," Hiroshi whispered in the darkness of the supply
closets. He spoke in a tone that was just barely audible even in
the quiet of the storeroom. "I overheard something that I was
*not* supposed to. They're gonna be here in a few minutes and--"

"Who's gonna be here?" Daisuke asked.

"We gotta be quiet," Hiroshi urged his friends.

Ranma grimaced, about ready to get up and leave. The
closet was dark and cramped. It was hot, and she was uncomfortably
close to the two boys as well. If her body had started becoming
aroused when Hiroshi had grabbed her wrist, having him leaning
over her to look out the small vent holes in the door was even
more intense.

After a few minutes, she began to feel Daisuke's breath on
her neck. She gulped, suddenly worried that this whole thing had
some sort of pretext to get her alone in a private, vulnerable
situation. Her mind rebelled against the thought. Still, part of
her couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if the two boys
did try to grab her and start taking off her clothes and putting
their hands on her--

Ranma shook her head, unwilling to deal with the images.
She shifted positions slightly so that she was not so close to
either one of the boys. Ranma swore mentally that if either one of
them tried for so much as an illicit pinch, she'd beat the both of
them bloody, medical restrictions or no.

"There..." Hiroshi whispered.

Ranma's attention was torn away from her predicament to
the front door of the storage room. The handle turned, and the
door opened, admitting a young woman in a Furinkan uniform. Ranma
recognized her as one of the eleventh graders, one of Nabiki's
acquaintances. She thought the girl's name was Miyako or something
similar.

She glanced around the room suspiciously. For a second,
Ranma was afraid they'd be detected. The girl continued to glance
around the room, looking around all the corners. After a second,
she took a step toward the back wall and pulled the blinds down,
making sure that no one would accidentally see in from outside.

Glancing around the room once more, she found a long,
cracked mirror. She picked it up and carried it over to the
closets.

Ranma, Hiroshi, and Daisuke froze. Neither one of the
three made any sound or breath while the girl was so close. For
several seconds, all they could see out the vent holes in the door
was the girl's waist.

She deposited the mirror against the doors and made her
way back towards the middle of the room.

A few seconds later, there was another noise at the door.
This time it admitted a man Ranma recognized as one of the student
teachers, Hanimaru-sensei. He was tall and broad shouldered.

"You came," the girl said, her voice just above a whisper.

"We could both get in big trouble for this," the man said.
"I could lose my job or be kicked out of school or worse."

"It's okay," the girl replied. "Nobody knows. I can't wait
any longer, Sooya-chan," she said, leaning up against him.

Ranma's eyes widened in realization.

The student teacher's eyes flashed. His sour expression
dissolved, and he returned the girl's embrace. Their lips met in a
passionate kiss.

"Quickly," she urged him. "We don't have much time."

He nodded, and began to work the zipper on the back of the
girl's dress. She pulled his tie off and began to unfasten the
buttons on his shirt.

Ranma began to tremble as he watched the two lovers
disrobe each other. In just a few seconds, they were both almost
completely naked. Their mouths moved over each others' bodies.

"Hurry," the girl urged. She knelt down in front of the
man, facing the mirror she had placed against the closet door. She
prostrated herself, spreading her knees apart and almost touching
her face to the floor. The teacher knelt down behind her, his
hands running all over her naked, vulnerable body. Finally, he
placed his hands on her hips and--

The girl cried out and--

It felt unreal to Ranma to see such a private, intense
scene. She knew all the words that described the act, but they
didn't seem to convey the reality. It looked uncomfortable, but
both the man and woman had expressions of sheerest ecstasy on
their faces. The girl's mouth was open, and a low, continuos moan
escaped her mouth as she was rocked from behind. The student
teacher's face was contorted, as if in pain, as he thrust against
her.

He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor.
She was supported across his hips.

Ranma and her friends could clearly see the man's engorged
cock penetrating the girl's swollen, red vulva. Their bodies moved
together.

After just a few minutes, their actions became fevered and
jerky. The girl cried out, clutching her hand to her mouth. Her
lover groaned deeply through clenched teeth.

Giggling, she slumped forward. Moving awkwardly, she
climbed down off of her lover and stood, leaning against him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wearily getting to his own feet.

"Hai," she said, pecking his cheek. "That was great."

"Ecchi. Setting up a mirror like that. God, what if
someone had seen?"

"I would have taken the blame," she assured him, grinning
up into his guilty stare.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't be thrown out of here on my
ass. The entire school is on edge after what happened to the
principal."

"I know," the girl replied, trying to get dressed. "I wish
it didn't have to be like this, but it's still more than a year
until I graduate."

"I know," he said, pulling his pants back up.

Ranma watched the two dress and exchange small talk in the
wake of what just happened. The two had left the room before Ranma
realized that she was shivering despite the heat.

After a few minutes, Ranma and her friends silently left
the supply closet and walked back to class.

Ranma felt like her panties had soaked through. They were
wet and sticky between her legs. She couldn't help but notice that
both her friends had noticeable bulges. Both boys pulled
uncomfortably at their pants, trying to relieve the pressure.

They were late back to class, of course, and had to stand
in the hallway, but neither of the three seemed to really mind.

It was almost twenty minutes into their punishment when
Daisuke spoke.

"Hiroshi. I love you, man. You're like a brother, you know
that?"

"Yeah," Hiroshi replied. "Did you see--"

"We all saw," Ranma noted. Her emotions were warring
inside her. She felt guilty for witnessing something so private.
At the same time, she was aroused to the point of misery. What she
had seen was... undescribable. Not only had she witnessed the
physical component of something so intense, but also the emotional
byplays between the two lovers. The combination was powerfully
arousing. If she were at home, Ranma would run off to take a 'long
bath' or do something... anything else... so that she could be
alone for an hour or so.

"I thought there would be more... fluid," Hiroshi
admitted. "They always make it look so wet and messy in
doujinshi."

"The videos I've seen are pretty much like... what we saw.
Well, not like what we saw. The actresses are all... bigger for
one thing, and it's not so real and..."

"We get the point," Ranma noted.

There were another few seconds of silence between the
three.

"I think," Ranma said, "That if we ever told anyone what
we saw, it could really hurt those two."

Hiroshi and Daisuke nodded seriously.

"So, I think we should promise to never talk about what
just happened ever again," the redhead continued.

"Agreed," Hiroshi said.

"Agreed," Daisuke seconded.

Even if she never spoke about it again, Ranma realized,
she'd never be able to forget what she had seen.

* * *

The three were subdued at lunch, despite the fact that
Shampoo had prepared a veritable ramen feast for the entire group.

"You okay, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked as they sat underneath
the trees on the Furinkan grounds.

"Yeah, just tired," Ranma said. She couldn't help but
imagine what Ukyou's body would look like supported across her
male body's thighs. What would it feel like? Would it be hard to
do? Would it be slippery and wet? Would it be soft?

Ranma suddenly realized she was shivering again.

"You must be tired, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said, leaning over
Ranma and pushing her hand against the girl's forehead.
Incidentally, her breasts were pressed against Ranma's shoulder.

The newness and uncertainty of the desire had faded. It
had been replaced by a familiar longing and need. More than
anything else, Ranma wanted to grab Nabiki's wrists and throw her
down on the ground. She wanted to kiss Nabiki as passionately as
she had seen the two lovers in the storage room kiss. She wanted
to squeeze and knead Nabiki's breasts in her hands. She wanted to
suck on the girl's nipples. She wanted to--

"Ranma?" Akane said, leaning over the shaking girl. "Are
you okay?"

Guilt washed away all of Ranma's arousal. The sensation
was almost painful. Crying out, the girl lurched to her feet and
ran away from the group.

"Akane do something to Ranma?" Shampoo asked, although not
as angrily as Akane expected her to.

The dark-haired girl shook her head in confusion.

"What on earth was that?" Ukyou wondered out loud.

Nabiki grimaced as she watched Ranma disappear into the
school.

Hiroshi and Daisuke were silent.

"The pigtailed girl is in distress," Kunou noted, rising
to his feet.

"Kunou-chan, wait..." Nabiki urged. It was too late, since
Kunou was already sprinting after Ranma. "Oh hell."

"What's wrong?" Akane asked. "Why did Ranma run off like
that?"

* * *

Ranma found herself hiding behind the restricted shelves
of the library. Her body was shaking and her mind was in turmoil.
The reality of her situation had finally come crashing down on
her.

Her body was starting to make decisions on its own. It
didn't seem to care about her engagements or anything else.

She was cowering in the corner, trying to figure out some
way to make it all go away, when she heard a quiet rustling.

Ranma looked up. Kunou was standing above her, his face
full of concern and worry.

"Are you injured, beautiful one?" he asked in a quiet
voice. Ranma felt his words hammer into her body.

"Go away, Kunou," she warned.

Instead, the kendoist knelt down next to her. Ranma wanted
to lash out at him, force him to leave, so she couldn't--

"Are you sick?" he questioned her in a whisper tone. "Do
you feel ill?"

He was so close. Ranma could smell the musky scent of his
cologne and the clean, leafy smell of his shampoo. Her shaking
increased.

She could do nothing but close her eyes as he reached out,
ever so gently letting his fingers caress her forehead, and then
her cheek.

"Kunou, don't--"

He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers.

It would be so easy, Ranma realized as Kunou's tongue
invaded her mouth. She could kneel in front of him, like the girl
in the storage room. She could just open her shirt and let him do
the rest, she thought. Her arms wrapped around his back seemingly
of their own accord. She could pull her pants down just a little
and she would be able to feel everything she wanted to. She just
had to--

Ranma pushed Kunou roughly away and slapped him across the
face.

"What?" the kendoist demanded, rubbing at the bruise on
his cheek. "Did I hurt you? Did I--"

"Just... shut up, Kunou. I don't want this. I ain't
interested in this. I like girls, okay? You know that," she said,
covering her face with her hands.

"My beautiful goddess... Ranma," he said, reaching out to
her. "Please--"

"NO, KUNOU! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed.

The librarian's assistant poked her head into the room,
startled by Ranma's voice.

"Saotome-san? Are you okay?"

Ranma stood and ran past the woman, leaving Kunou behind.

The kendoist wilted under the burning hot glare the
librarian gave him.

"What did I do?" he wondered out loud.

* * *

By the time Akane caught up with Ranma, the red-head was
in the girl's showers behind the locker room. She was in the stall
furthest from the door. Akane could see her canvas pants under the
privacy divider.

She walked around to the front of the stall. Ranma was
curled up directly underneath the spray, her arms wrapped around
her legs and her face buried in her knees. Her water-logged
clothes hung limply over her arms and legs. From the feel of the
spray, Akane could tell that Ranma was being drenched with
freezing-cold water.

"Are you okay?" she asked, noting Ranma's quiet trembling.
She wasn't sure if the girl was upset or shivering from the cold.
Getting no answer from her fiancee, she crouched down as close as
she dared to the cold water, balancing on her toes. "Did Kunou do
something? I don't think I've ever seen him so upset before."

Ranma remained silent.

"What happened, Ranma?" she demanded.

"You don't wanna know, Akane. Trust me," Ranma mumbled in
response, her voice muffled by the web fabric of her pants.

"I do wanna know," the dark-haired girl retorted. "So tell
me, okay?"

"You say that, but then you're gonna get all mad like you
always do and pound me when I tell you."

"I said I wouldn't do that," Akane assured the redhead,
doing her best not to prove the girl right. "It's okay. I won't
get mad. I promise."

"I kissed Kunou," Ranma said.

*CRACK*

Water still running down her face, Ranma stared in horror
at Akane's left hand. The dark haired girl had just crushed a
large portion of the privacy divider.

"You... what?" Akane asked, her tone unbelieving.

"I don't know what came over me," Ranma croaked out. "It's
like my body is doing whatever it wants to despite what I want. I
couldn't help myself when he touched me. I almost let him...
let..."

"What the *HELL* were you thinking?" Akane demanded.

"I wasn't thinking!" Ranma protested.

"WITH KUNOU?" Akane screeched.

"Not just Kunou. It coulda been anyone," Ranma said, her
voice shaking. "Ryouga, Hiroshi, Daisuke, Ukyou, Nabiki--" the
girl gulped. "You. It's... God, I hate this! I hate my stupid,
fucked-up body. It doesn't do anything right anymore!"

Akane was taken aback by the Ranma's expression. It was
obvious to her that at least some of the droplets running down
Ranma's face were tears. Her anger at Ranma's admission fled.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Akane asked in an
emotionless tone.

"Oh, I'm just supposed to go and tell my fiancee, 'Hey,
I'm getting turned on by everybody I meet. What do you think I
oughtta do about it?'." Ranma paused for a second. "Tofuu's still
got your mallet, right?"

Akane blushed slightly. "Yes, not that it matters. Why?
Why haven't you told anyone that you... that you're... that you've
been having... feelings... like this?"

"Why do you think I've been going to a shrink three times
a week? It's not like it really matters that I can't see him
anymore, since all he does is tell me I'm perfectly normal and
shouldn't worry about it."

"But why Kunou?" Akane asked, her face twisted in
confusion.

"Because he was close," Ranma admitted, her face turning
red, even under the cold water. "And he touched me... softly.
And... GYAHHH!! I hate this!"

Akane stared at her fiancee in exasperation.

"I was in the library," Ranma started to explain. "He
kneeled down in front of me, and touched my face. Then he kissed
me. It was all I could do to keep my pants on."

Akane closed her eyes, the scene Ranma described playing
over and over in her head. Kunou was pretty pushy, she had to
admit. Ranma probably hadn't done anything to invite the kiss,
but...

"So you like guys now?" Akane asked quietly, dread filling
her heart.

"NO!" Ranma protested angrily. "But my body doesn't seem
to know that," she amended in defeat. Her voice was barely audible
over the hiss of the shower.

Akane knelt down next to Ranma doing her best to stay out
of the cold water. Allowing one arm to get wet, she put what she
hoped was a comforting hand on the miserable girl's knee.

"So, if it had been a girl..." she suggested.

Ranma shuddered. "And what am I supposed to do then? Force
a girl to kiss another girl? I know you're not interested in that
sort of thing!" she said, laughing humorlessly. "I'm stuck in
between a rock and a hard place, and I can't get out."

Akane jerked at Ranma's words as if she had been slapped.
Sighing, she leaned closer to Ranma, letting the cold spray
trickle down her face. With one arm, she reached back behind Ranma
and began to turn the shower knob. Within seconds, the deluge of
freezing cold water stopped.

"Well, I'm not interested in kissing girls," Akane
admitted. "But... kissing my fiancee..."

Ranma's eyes went wide. She suddenly realized how close to
Akane she was. The girl's warm breath was raising goose-pimples on
the cold flesh of her neck.

Akane could hear Ranma's breath speed up. She was suddenly
very aware of how close her face was to that of her fiancee. Their
lips were inches apart. Ranma's were blue and trembling.

Her eyes closing, the redhead began to lean forward.

"Hey, are you in here, Akane?" Nabiki's voice came from
the door of the locker room.

Ranma's eyes popped open to see Akane jerk away from her.
She hurriedly backed away from Ranma. Her face was full of shame.

To Ranma, it felt like somebody had stabbed her in the
gut.

"We're back here," Akane called out.

"So are you two ever going to get back to class, or... Did
I interrupt something?" the girl asked, seeing the odd scene in
front of her.

"No," Ranma said darkly. "Nothing at all." Then, she
paused for a second, an odd expression on her face. "*ACHOO*," she
sneezed.


* * *

By the time Ranma got home that afternoon, her nose was
running, and her throat was starting to get sore from the constant
sneezing. Her eyes, reddened from sitting under the cold water,
never did seem to clear up. She seemed to be running a low grade
fever.

To make matters worse, when she stopped to use the
restroom after getting back to the Tendou's house, there was a
long, red smear in her panties. She swore at length, cursing her
body, her mother, and any female relatives she may or may not have
had. As she reached into the cabinet near the porcelain basin for
a pad, she also cursed her own stupidity for sitting under a cold
shower for so long.

Ranma had a hard time sleeping that night. She tossed and
turned the whole time, her sneezes and sniffling keeping her
awake. She was awake the next morning when Kasumi came in and
called her down to breakfast. When the older girl asked if Ranma
wanted to stay home from school, Ranma agreed readily.

* * *

"So Ranma had a fever?" Ukyou asked curiously as she,
Shampoo, and Kunou met Akane and Nabiki after they walked through
the school gates that next morning. "That's why he was acting so
strangely?"

Akane nodded, her mouth closed.

Nabiki sighed. Her sister really was a horrible liar.

"Is... the pigtailed girl... okay?" Kunou asked, a guilty
expression decorating his face.

"She's fine!" Akane assured him, not quite meeting his
eyes. "It's just a little cold. She'll be over it in a few days."

"It's not like my Ranchan to get sick," Ukyou speculated.

"It happen before. Shampoo should go make sure Ranma...
Airen has plenty to eat. Old amazon saying, 'is best to feed
fever'."

Akane glared angrily at the purple-haired girl, but
couldn't think of any way to counter her suggestion.

"Yeah," Ukyou agreed. "Ranma will need lots of protein and
carbohydrates to fight off an infection," Ukyou said. "I could
whip up some stamina okonomiyaki and..."

"That would be a bad idea," Nabiki argued as the chef
trailed off. "Ranma feels like hell. She didn't even come down to
dinner last night. Do we really want to put her through the stress
of having visitors?"

"Do you think Ranma would mind if I sent flowers?" Kunou
asked Nabiki. The girl winced at the guilt in his voice.

After a few seconds of thought, Akane shook her head. "I
don't think she'd mind."

"Well, let Ranma know that I'm saving his seat by the
counter," Ukyou reminded her.

Nabiki nodded and waved as the girl trudged away from the
group.

"Maybe Shampoo bring over dim-sum platter tomorrow,"
Shampoo said.

Akane grimaced, but nodded her approval.

Nabiki inclined her head. "Good idea. There's no sense in
spreading her cold around after all," she concluded.

After the group dispersed, Akane turned to her sister with
an appreciative expression. "Thanks, Nabiki. I don't know how
Ranma would feel if everyone barged in on her today."

"I'll put it on your tab," Nabiki said. "Now what's the
deal with Kunou? I thought he was over his guilt thing."

Akane rolled her eyes. "It happened yesterday. He forced
Ranma to kiss him," she explained.

"Wait a second. Forced? Forced our Ranma?"

Akane looked away again, suddenly unable to meet her
sister's eyes.

"You're not telling me the whole story, either, are you?"
Nabiki guessed.

* * *

Ranma's fever rose slowly but steadily throughout the day.
She slept for a few hours in the morning, but rose to eat lunch.

"You're burning up!" Nodoka fretted, feeling her child's
forehead after they ate.

"I know," Ranma sniffled. "This sucks. I ain't supposed to
get sick!"

"Ranma rarely gets sick," Genma noted. "But when he does,
he always runs a fever like a bonfire."

"You should get back in bed," Kasumi prompted. "I'll call
Tofuu-sensei, and see what he thinks we should do."

A few hours after lunch, Kasumi brought the portable
television into Ranma's room so that she could watch 'Nurse
Academy'.

Ranma stared emotionlessly, her fever making the scene
seem unreal, as an actor and an actress worked their way into the
dense plastic foliage.

"This way," the grounds-keeper, Sifuru, said, leading one
of the nurses, Kakeri, by the wrist.

He took her into the gardening shed, but once inside, he
hung his gardening shears on a pegboard. The hook shifted down
under the weight, and the floor of the shed began to descend.
Sifuru and Kakeri both had to duck as a false floor slid into
place over their heads.

When the secret elevator stopped the pair was surrounded
by high-tech yet cheesy looking electronic equipment.

"What is this place?" the nurse asked, half in curiosity,
half in dread.

"This is where I conduct surveillance on the hospital for
the Ministry of Intelligence," the groundskeeper admitted. "Every
surgery, every treatment, every conversation. It all comes through
here. No one else would ever be permitted to have this knowledge,
but I feel I can trust you now," he said, letting his hand close
on her waist.

The nurse leaned into the grounds-keeper's body, her eyes
half-closing. "Oh, Sifuru," she whispered in a breathy tone.

"Okay, this is creepy," Ranma said out loud, her voice
echoing in her ears.

On the screen, the groundskeeper wrapped his other strong
arm around her back. Ranma could see that he was breathing on the
nurse's neck. "I trust you, Kakeri," he said. "I trust you enough
to risk it all--"

*click*

Ranma changed the channel, having decided that she had had
more than enough of 'Nurse Academy' to last a lifetime.

The channel she had switched to displayed a rather
effeminate-looking young man talking to a reporter in a dress
suit.

"Once again, we're talking with Naota Takara," the
reporter said, "son of the man killed in a police hold-up last
week after he shot and critically wounded Tokyo psychologist
Takedo Makuna."

Ranma's eyes popped open in surprise and disbelief. She
sat upright and turned the volume up on the television.

"I understand that you were one of Makuna-sensei's
patients," the reporter prompted the pretty young man.

"That's correct," he replied, shifting in his chair. "But
not for quite a while. I saw Makuna-sensei while I was in high-
school. That's really when all this started."

"Please explain what happened," the reporter said. "Give
us any insight you can into what caused your father to commit such
a brutal crime."

"Well, to put it bluntly, I'm homosexual," Naota replied.
"When I was fourteen, my father caught me reading a certain
magazine."

The reporter made an understanding noise.

"He was very upset, and beat me severely," Naota
continued. "My father had always been very physically violent,
even abusive, so I thought it was just another beating.
Afterwards, he started trying to drill into me how evil
pornography and homosexuality were. I never really understood why
he was so upset, but I did try to keep my secrets away from him at
that point. It was about that same time that he started collecting
illegal guns. It's also about the same time that he started
fighting with my mother.

"After a few years, he saw me kissing one of my close
friends. I was beaten, of course, but when I tried to apologize,
he just told me how sick I was. The beatings continued. He
threatened me with his guns several times. Eventually, he decided
that I 'needed help' and sent me to Makuna-sensei.

"What Makuna-sensei told me was that I was normal, if in
the minority for Japanese society. It was quite a revelation for
me. I had grown up thinking I was some sort of monster, but I
understood how badly I was being abused. After about a year of
treatment, I left home and finished high school in Hiroshima.
Later, my mother left my father and moved into an apartment near
mine. It wasn't until I learned that he killed himself that I
returned to Tokyo. I believe that my father blamed Makuna-sensei
for my departure."

"How did you learn about your father?" The reporter asked.

"Police in Tokyo contacted me and asked me to identify my
father's body after the shooting."

Ranma started guiltily, suddenly aware why the police had
not called her back after she promised to help identify the body
of Makuna-sensei's assailant. She was glad that they hadn't called
her, but now she felt guilty that someone else, the man's son no
less, had to perform such a gruesome task in her stead.

"How do you feel about your father right now?" The
reporter asked. "Are you saddened by his death?"

"I'm more saddened by the fact that he chose to take his
anger against me out on one of the few people who ever helped me,"
Naota answered. "I'm very sad my father is dead, but after I left
home, I didn't have much love left for the man. I'm more sad that
he died before he got the help he needed."

"What was your relationship to Makuna-sensei?" The
reporter queried, as typically sensitive as most television
journalists.

"My relationship with Makuna-sensei was strictly patient-
doctor," Naota replied, heading off the reporter. "I believe that
my father thought that I was... intimate... with Makuna-sensei,
but nothing could be further from the truth. I have never met a
finer, nor more ethical person."

"Can you tell us anything about Makuna-sensei's
condition?" The reporter questioned, obviously reading from a list
of questions.

"No. I wasn't able to see him when I tried to visit the
hospital."

"Thank you for answering our questions, Takara-san. Is
there anything else you'd like to say before we break?"

"Yes. I have found out that one of Sensei's patients
witnessed the attack by my father and stayed to perform CPR. I
don't know if I'll ever meet you, but I want to thank you for what
you did."

Ranma blinked in shock as the reporter thanked Naota again
and the television screen switched to display a soft-drink
commercial.

Ranma felt weak after seeing the interview. She turned the
television off and laid flat on her back. Was human life worth so
little that it was reduced to television sound-bites? Still,
Natoa's last words echoed in her head. They buoyed her up
somewhat. With those words echoing in her head, Ranma drifted off
to sleep.


* * *

Ranma woke again when Akane came into her room. Her head
was spinning with fever the entire time. She felt out of it, not
sure for a little while after she woke if she was dreaming or not.

"What?" she asked, unsure of what Akane said.

"I said," Akane repeated herself. "Would you like some
more blankets?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever."

Ranma zoned out for a little longer, but woke again after
she realized that Akane had bundled her up like a burrito. She was
burning up, but couldn't bring herself to move.

Akane brushed the girl's head with her slender hand. Ranma
loved the feel of it. It was so cool. The expression on Akane's
face was tender and kind.

Ranma managed to free one hand from the pile of blankets
Akane had wrapped her in and brushed her fingers against the
girl's arm.

She was surprised when Akane jerked away.

"What?" Ranma mumbled.

"Kasumi is going to have dinner ready in a few minutes,"
Akane said coldly. "Do you feel like eating."

"Nnn... I dunno," Ranma groaned. She did her best to put
Akane's weirdness down to her fever, but it still weighed on her.

She didn't remember Akane leaving, or dozing off again,
but she woke a little while later.

"I heard you weren't doing well," a light, feminine voice
came from the doorway of her room. It was Taiyoko. Nabiki was a
few steps behind her. Both girls were dressed fairly nicely.
Taiyoko was wearing a short skirt, while Nabiki was wearing a
pantsuit.

"Hey. 'S good to see you."

"I came over t-to go... shopping with Nabiki," the blonde
girl said. "I thought that I should check on you if you weren't
feeling too good."

"Ah, I'll be better in a few days. It takes a hell of a
lot more than a cold to keep Ranma Saotome down for long."

"Well, you rest then," Taiyoko said.

"I's... funny. You're pretty enough to go on a date,"
Ranma mumbled semi-deliriously.

Taiyoko blushed deeply and ran from the room. Ranma was
asleep again before she made it from the doorway. She wasn't sure,
but later thought that the girl might have kissed her forehead
before she left.

A little while later, there was another visitor.

"She has a fever of 104," she heard Tofuu's voice. "I
don't think it's meningitis, but if it gets any higher or it
doesn't break by tomorrow, we'll do a spinal tap just to be sure."

"Is there anything you can do for my son?" Ranma heard her
mother's voice echo out.

"With a fever this high, I'm fairly certain that it's a
bacterial infection. I'll give her some antibiotics."

Ranma marvelled at the distorted sound of their voices.

"Ranma, I'm going to give you an injection now," Tofuu
said.

The girl nodded, letting him know she was ready.

"Do you need a painkiller?" he asked afterward.

"Yeah," Ranma hissed, her throat dry and scratchy. "I've
been crampin' up."

Tofuu chuckled. "It sounds like your throat is pretty
sore."

"A little," Ranma admitted. "Mostly, I got a headache."

Ranma felt the doctor's fingers at her lips. She swallowed
the pills he proffered, and sat up on one elbow to sip at the
glass of water her mother offered.

Not knowing or caring what time it was, Ranma turned over
and went to sleep.

* * *

The fever dreams seemed to start fairly quickly.

Ranma was tied down the table once more, but this time,
Genma was just beating her senseless rather than raping her.

There wasn't a lot of difference in terms of the trauma
either way, but Ranma was doing her best to try to ignore the
situation as irrelevant. After a few seconds, she drifted through
the table and into a pair of strong, masculine arms.

"Oh, thank God," Ranma breathed. "It's Kunou."

"Verily, pigtailed girl," the kendoist said, whispering
into her ear. His breath tickled her neck.

"Wait a second," Ranma mumbled as the man's hands trailed
down her belly. "This isn't right."

"Isn't it?" Hiroshi and Daisuke asked as they undressed
her.

"Can't be," Ranma said, lifting her arms so that Daisuke
could pull her blouse off.

"You're just not thinking clearly," Hiroshi told her as he
pulled her skirt from around her ankles. His hands ran up her
legs, and gently pushed her thighs apart.

"You're right. I'm supposed to be doing this with girls,
not guys!" Ranma protested. Wearing only a pair of socks, she ran
away from the two.

"T-t-this way!" Taiyoko urged, gesturing to her. Ranma
changed directions and ran past the stuttering girl, directly into
Nabiki's bedroom. Inside, Nabiki was lying naked on her bed. Her
legs were propped up against the wall, and her head hung off the
side of her mattress. An expression of ecstasy decorated her
features.

Indeed, Nabiki's hands were hard at work in between her
legs.

"It feels good, doesn't it," she asked Ranma.

The redhead nodded, unable to take her eyes off of the
spectacle.

"I can't seem to stop anymore," Nabiki said. "I do this
whenever it's too much to bear. I must be sick. Do you think I
need to go to a hospital?"

"Haven't you spent enough time in hospitals lately?" Akane
asked, poking her head into the room.

Ranma found herself in a clearing in the wooded park near
Furinkan High school. She was wearing her nurse's uniform again,
but didn't appear to be in a hospital setting of any kind.

"Please, no more Nurse Academy. I swear to God, I'm never
gonna watch any more soap operas ever again!"

"That's good, because you've got more important things to
do," Nabiki said, holding out a long, slightly curved magical wand
to Ranma. It was pink, and had bells dangling off of it.

"And just what the hell is this supposed to be?" the
redhead asked, pulling at the hem of her too-short skirt.

"It's your holy wand, Nurse Angel Ranma," Kunou said as he
pulled on his boots. He stood to his feet, revealing that he was
clad almost entirely in European-style plate armor. The only
eastern concession to the outfit was the kanji for 'Kunou'
embroidered into his surcoat. He unsheathed his sword with steely
hiss. "Use it to heal the world of evil influence."

"How girly," Ranma complained. "Can't I get a sword? Or
how about a magic cup like those two?" she asked, pointing to Soun
and her father, both of whom were clad in pirate costumes. The two
men did indeed have magic cups. Genma's was a wooden chalice,
inset with metal studs. It overflowed with strong-smelling sake.
Soun's was a tall tankard that seemed to be eternally full of pale
beer. Accordingly, both men were roaring drunk.

"Boys get grails. Girls get wands," Nodoka informed her as
she was adjusting her own nurse costume.

"Huh? I don't get it."

"It's symbolic, you moron!" Akane said, holding up her
Henshin wand. She spun around a few times and was suddenly clad in
a bright red stylized sailor fuku.

"The beauteous Sailor Akane speaks truly," Kunou indicated
as he buckled a shield to his arm. "A woman could pour water from
a grail just as easily as a man could give birth! Verily, a
feminine touch is best for coaxing magic forth from a wand."

"I don't get it."

"Of course you do, Ranma," Nabiki said. She was now clad
in a black leotard with a deep, plunging neckline. Her breasts
were almost entirely exposed, and the points of her nipples were
visible through the thin cloth. She wore stockings patterned with
bat shapes, and appeared to have two large bat-wings protruding
from her back. "It's your dream after all."

"Think about it for a second," Kasumi urged her.

Ranma did so. "Ewww!" she yelled, dropping her wand. "I'm
a guy! Gimme a sword like Kunou's!"

"Are you?" Hiroshi and Daisuke asked in doubtful tones.
Both young men were wearing tuxedos and masks. Each held a long-
stemmed rose.

"Do I look okay, Nabiki?" Taiyoko asked. She was also clad
in a bat-girl outfit. Ranma couldn't help but notice that both
girls were carrying white lilies.

"You look fine," Nabiki assured her, using one finger to
gently stroke the long, oval-shaped pistol in the center of her
flower. She tore her gaze away from the two girls, only to see
Kunou, who appeared to be having some difficulty getting his sword
back into his scabbard.

"Pick up your wand, Dear," Nodoka chided her child. "How
else are you going to heal?"

"I'm not touching that thing!" Ranma protested. The pink
wand lying on the ground was suddenly looking less and less like a
little girl's toy, and much more like something that Ranma would
see in the boys' locker room. She wanted no part of it!

She was angry! How dare they try to force her to be
something she was not? In outrage, she grabbed Daisuke's rose, and
held it in the air above her. She called down lightning, which
struck in the center of the clearing. All there were burned away
instantly. Shampoo and Ukyou both begged her to stop, but it was
too late for that. Ranma screamed, the anger and madness becoming
all consuming. The burning-white light filled the world around
her, cleansing and destroying everything.

After a time, the white light faded to grey and finally to
black. Ranma was left alone in an inky darkness. She hunched over
and wept, the feelings of anger and hatred replaced by sadness and
loss. Her anger had destroyed everything. Now she was left with
the consequences.

Ranma was suddenly in her own futon. Her face was wet with
tears and perspiration. She felt like she was in an oven, so she
kicked the blankets away, leaving her damp flesh exposed to the
cool night air.

Was it a dream? Had she truly woken up? She no longer felt
the chills that indicated a fever, but the world around her still
seemed distorted and unrealistic.

She staggered to her feet and to the doorway of her room.
She hoped it was real, because she really had to use the bathroom.
Ranma didn't really remember relieving herself afterwards, but she
did have vague memories of changing her pad and washing her hands.
After that was taken care of, Ranma's stomach chose to remind her
that she had skipped dinner.

Trying to will away the loud grinding noises coming from
her midsection, Ranma made her way downstairs and into the
kitchen. Once she was inside, the refrigerator seemed to call out
to her. Ranma drifted over and pulled the door open. The white
light bathed her in its radiance, revealing a veritable cornucopia
before her. Ranma began to feast.

* * *

Akane lay awake, her face buried in her pillow. It was
well after midnight, but she knew how often Nabiki stayed up late
to read or work out. Kasumi might be up late as well, but she was
more likely to have gone to sleep.

Ranma wasn't likely to be up and about since she had been
sleeping all evening anyway.

Akane's thoughts were a whirlwind. They had been for
several days, really. Ever since... Ever since Ranma said...

After deciding that the absence of noise from next door
indicated that her older sister was asleep, Akane reached up to
turn on the lamp next to her bed. She reached in between her
mattress and boxspring, and pulled out several glossy magazines.

She had to be quiet so she didn't draw any attention to
herself, but Akane was becoming experienced at that. She was
almost shaking when she opened the first of the magazines.

* * *

The horrible maw in her stomach filled for the time being,
Ranma stumbled back up the stairs and towards her room. Her head
was pounding slightly, and everything around her still seemed to
be surrounded in a nebulous haze. Her balance was off, and she
felt incredibly light, as if each step threatened to push her off
into the stratosphere.

Drawn to the light spilling out from underneath it, she
opened the door to her room and stepped inside. Only, it wasn't
her room.

"Akane?" Ranma asked in a raspy tone.

The girl was standing in front of the long dressing mirror
near her desk. She was wearing a lace bra, gloves and thigh-high
stockings, but no panties. Her hips were titled suggestively and
one leg was propped up on a chair. In the mirror's reflection,
Ranma could clearly see the girl's lightly-furred delta and her
narrow cleft.

A chance glance at Akane's bed revealed that there was a
magazine open to a page displaying a large-busted model in almost
exactly the same pose. The lace panties that matched Akane's bra
were concealing the next page.

Akane blinked at Ranma's intrusion and opened her mouth in
horror. She wrapped her arms around her lace-clad torso and bent
over try to shield her body. She almost fell over trying to get
out of her seductive pose. Her mouth worked open and closed, but
Akane was beyond speech. Expressions of fear, embarrassment, and
anger alternated across her face.

"Ohhh," Ranma cooed dreamily, her eyes not quite focusing
on her fiancee's almost-naked body. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm
still dreaming. Normally I'd stay and we could mess around or
something, but I'm not feeling too good."

"R-ranma?" Akane stammered as Ranma reached out for her.

The exhausted-looking girl gently brushed the tips of her
fingers across Akane's cheek.

"Man, you look really cute. It's a shame that you're not
like this in real life."

Ranma shuddered and swayed on her feet for a second.
"Nnn..." she groaned. "I gotta get back to bed so I can wake up,"
she yawned. The girl turned on one heel and staggered out the
door. "You can tell Nabiki and my dad to leave me alone too. And
I'm especially not interested in seeing Kunou," the redhead
muttered. She left Akane's room and closed the door behind her.

Akane blushed to her waist and dived under her covers,
scattering the magazines into the floor.

* * *

Ranma woke the next morning feeling significantly better.
The fever seemed to have broken, and while she felt shaky, Ranma
felt ready to return to regular life.

"Do you think you're going to go to school today?" Nodoka
asked her just after Ranma had bathed and dressed.

"I think so," Ranma replied, her voice still a little
scratchy. Staying at home was nice, but Ranma craved a return to
her active lifestyle.

"Tofuu-sensei said that you shouldn't be contagious, so I
suppose it's okay if you want to go," Nodoka said.

Ranma nodded happily as she stepped out into the hallway.

Akane was just coming out of her room, clad in her
Furinkan uniform. Upon seeing the redhead, her jaw clenched and
her eyes widened. She darted back into her room and slammed the
door shut behind her.

Ranma grimaced, wondering what could be wrong with the
girl. She had some vague, fever-colored memories of the dreams she
had the night before, but nothing that she thought could possibly
have affected Akane.

She went down to the main room and sat down in her
customary place. Smiling, Kasumi dished out a generous portions of
rice and miso. Ranma set about eating eagerly.

Kasumi cleared her throat to get Ranma's attention.
"Ranma-kun?"

"Hey, this is really great, Kasumi."

"Thank you, but I was planning on serving baked fish as
well."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Kasumi informed her. "It wasn't very nice to clean
out the refrigerator without permission, Ranma."

"Uhh..." Ranma smiled apologetically. She did have vague
memories of eating the night before, but was almost certain that
she had dreamed it. "Sorry."

"I have trouble tasting anything in the morning anyway,"
Nabiki mumbled, her eyes still half-closed as she ate. She took a
long sip of tea.

"Uh... you and Taiyoko went out shopping last night, huh?"
Ranma asked.

Nabiki very nearly choked on her tea. "Yeah," she said
after catching her breath.

"Good," Ranma smiled, ignoring Nabiki's unintentional
outburst. "I'm glad she's starting to make more friends."

* * *

Ranma's day at school was long and miserably boring. She
had missed a surprise math quiz the day before and was made to
stand in the hall while the instructor went over the problems on
the test with the rest of the students.

Worse, Hiroshi and Daisuke both looked like she felt.
Neither boy seemed to want to talk much. A chance remark from
Hiroshi indicated that he was feeling pretty guilty about spying
on the pair the trio had watched earlier in the week.

Ranma nodded. She had been very excited about what she had
seen, but couldn't think back about it without feeling a fresh
wave of guilt.

Compounding everything else, Akane wouldn't even look at
her, let alone talk to her. Ranma ate the extravagant lunches that
Shampoo and Ukyou provided, not even caring if Akane was glaring
at her or not.

The last thing Ranma felt like she needed when she
returned home that afternoon was the cacophony of her parents'
raised voices.

They were arguing loudly in the room they shared upstairs.
Downstairs in the main room, Soun was doing his best to ignore the
two while reading a newspaper. Kasumi had on a pair of headphones
as she dusted the room. Her face was still pensive.

"--And then you didn't have the decency to come back!"
Nodoka yelled as Ranma topped the stairway.

Akane looked at Ranma for the first time that day with a
speculative expression.

Ranma shook her head, indicating that Akane should
probably not interfere.

"Do you know how long ten years is, Genma? Ten, long,
lonely years that I spent all by myself?!" Nodoka yelled at the
top of her lungs. Ranma could hear her voice clearly through the
closed door. "When you did finally come back, you didn't have the
kindness in your heart to let me know that you had returned. What
was I supposed to think? Your letters had just stopped! For all I
knew you and Ranma were dead... or worse!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Genma answered her guiltily.
"Just come home and let you chop our heads off?"

"Do you really think so little of me?" Nodoka asked
incredulously. "Do you really think I would have forced my own
darling son to commit seppuku when I hadn't seen him for over a
decade?"

"You sure as hell could have fooled me!" Genma snapped
back. "This kind of inconsistent behavior is why I had to take
Ranma away in the first place! I shudder to think--"

"Ranma would have been perfectly fine if you had left him
with me!" Nodoka countered. "I certainly haven't been completely
ignoring him for the last two months!"

"WHAT?!" Genma bellowed. "What nonsense are you spouting
now, woman?"

"Your only son who loves you and depends on you has had
the worst crisis of his life, and you can't be bothered to lift a
finger to help him or say a word to comfort him. You're a horrible
father, Genma!"

"I'm a wonderful father!" Genma shouted. "I raised Ranma
as best I knew how and--"

"Did you have any clue," Nodoka interrupted him, "that
your son... your *daughter*... had her first period last month?"

Ranma felt her face turn red, still acutely aware of the
sanitary pad she was currently wearing. She started to open the
door.

"Mom, Dad--"

Nodoka and Genma both whipped around, suddenly standing
shoulder to shoulder.

"Get out!" Genma shouted.

"This doesn't concern you, Ranma," Nodoka warned her.
Ranma's eyes darted to the hilt of her katana, where Nodoka had
loosened the blade in its scabbard.

Ranma gulped and hastily backed out of the room, shutting
the door behind her.

"See!" Genma yelled, still loud enough to be heard
throughout the rest of the house. "Your only son *fears* you! How
can you call yourself a mother when he fears a psycho like--"

"Are you saying that my son is a coward!?" Nodoka cried
out.

"He's certainly been acting like a pansy for the last two
months!"

"My son is more manly than--"

"See!" Genma blurted out. "You ask why I had to take him
away! That's why! You would have jumped to his rescue every time I
tried to discipline him."

Ranma felt sickened, even on top of her cold. There was
nothing she could do. If it were a fight, she could just pound
Genma, but that wouldn't stop the arguments.

Ranma ran out of the house and into the dojo, not wanting
to hear any more. A few minutes later, Nabiki stepped in as well,
and watched Ranma perform a calming kata.

"Domestic disputes are messy," Nabiki said.

"Fat lot you know about it," Ranma quipped.

"You should see Taiyoko's parents," Nabiki countered. "You
think they're mean to her? You should see what they do to each
other."

Ranma nodded in concession, not abandoning her kata.

Nabiki sat down and pulled her hair back over her ear.
"The worst part is that if anyone tries to interfere, even to help
out, a husband and wife will still defend each other to the death,
even if they hate each other."

"Yeah, it's okay if they yell at each other all day,"
Ranma said. "But if you try to say anything to help..."

"Just... stay out of it, okay?" Nabiki said. "They'll deal
with it themselves. I think that a lot of what Taiyoko has gone
through is because she's usually caught in all the middle of her
parents' bickering. I've seen it happen before, and I'd hate for
it to happen to you."

"I'll try," Ranma conceded.

* * *

Ranma skipped dinner for the third time, preferring the
rumbling in her gut to facing her parents again. She stayed out in
the dojo for some time, practicing katas and reading manga.
Footsteps on the stone walk outside the dojo let her know that it
looked like Akane and Nabiki had opted to go out as well.

Ranma wondered if the two girls would stop by the dojo to
invite her, but they walked away from the house without passing by
the dojo. In fact, it didn't even sound like they were talking.

Complaining to herself, and desperately wondering what she
could do about the distance and anger growing between her parents,
Ranma curled up in the middle of the dojo floor. It felt like her
whole world was falling down around her!

Doing her best to let the unpleasant feelings wash over
her, Ranma napped briefly, and was woken by footsteps outside the
dojo.

The door slid open, and Akane stepped inside.

Still not meeting Ranma's questioning stare, she kicked
off her dress shoes and walked over to the martial artist. She sat
down in front of Ranma, her stocking feet crossed behind her. Her
gaze was fixed on the floor.

"Man, my life has been weird lately," Ranma said.

"Weirder than bird-princes and Chinese curses?" Akane
asked quietly.

"Good point," Ranma conceded. "I don't know what to do
about this. Nabiki says that I should just stay out of it, but I'm
not so sure that's the best way to act. What do you think, Akane?"

"Your parents, you mean?" Akane said.

Ranma nodded.

"I honestly don't know. I don't ever remember my mother
and father fighting. I could haven been too little, but..."

"It's okay. I didn't expect you to be a relationship
expert or anything," Ranma said. "It's not like we gotta real good
relationship, and we're supposed to be engaged."

"About that..." Akane gulped, still staring at the floor.
"About... our... our... relationship."

Ranma felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Akane's mouth was working wordlessly. Ranma suddenly
remembered something that she though had been part of one of her
dreams. Akane's semi-naked body, clad in white lace. At first she
was staring lustily into the mirror, but then was hunched over in
embarrassment and shame. What had really happened?

"About what you said, in the locker room," Akane
explained. "You've been... You said I was..."

"What is it, Akane?" Ranma asked, realizing how close the
two of them were together. She could easily reach out and touch
Akane. With just a short motion, she could draw the girl in for a
kiss, or more.

"Back when... God, this is hard for me. Back when you were
first injured, I started worrying about you. What would happen to
you... and me... if you decided that you liked being a girl more
than being a boy."

Ranma nodded seriously, leaning in close to Akane. She
could hear Akane's rapid, shallow breathing. "But that's not the
case," she said, quietly enough that no one but Akane could hear.

"When you kissed Kunou, I thought it was," Akane said.
"When you said that... When you said that your body didn't know
the difference, I thought that... that... everything I was afraid
of had come true. But then, we started talking about kissing
and... and..."

Ranma could feel her heart speeding up. Their faces were
so close. All she had to do was turn a little and...

"So?" Ranma prompted, inhaling deeply.

"Like you said," Akane replied. "We don't have a very good
relationship. Not what you'd call 'romantic' by any means. But...
if you want... if you... if you want our relationship to be more,
then maybe it can be."

"Akane..." Ranma breathed.

The dark-haired girl stared up into Ranma's eyes. She was
shaking and trembling. There was an expression of panic on her
face, but there was something else there as well. Akane closed her
eyes, and leaned a little closer to Ranma. Did she want what Ranma
wanted? Could it be? Ranma leaned over, her body tense. Suddenly,
Akane jerked away, her eyes going back to the floor.

"So... After you change back-- " Ranma jerked to a halt,
stopping herself cold before kissing her fiancee. Akane's eyes
were darting around nervously, never quite stopping on Ranma.
"After you change back, maybe we can... I don't know... maybe try
a few dates or something?"

Ranma allowed her body to relax and did the best to keep
the conflicting emotions from filling her eyes with tears. She had
been so *sure* that Akane wanted to kiss her and be kissed! How
could she have been so wrong?

Akane started to her feet, and walked toward the door. She
slipped on her shoes and ran from the dojo.

"Akane, wait!" Ranma shouted, running after her.

The two met again in the kitchen, where Akane was frozen.

Ranma stared in confusion at her fiancee. "What did you
mean, when I change back?"

Akane put a finger to her lips, and looked around. Ranma
realized that she could hear the sound that had startled Akane,
too.

"It's that old pervert!" Akane hissed. "He better not be
in my room or I'll--"

"I don't think it's him," Ranma said. "Maybe it's a
robber. It's coming from my Mom and Dad's room."

Akane nodded and silently followed Ranma up the stairway
and down the hall.

They were almost to the doorway of Genma and Nodoka's room
when they heard a sharp, feminine squeal.

"Mom?" Ranma whispered in shock. She realized that the
door was standing very slightly ajar. Curious, but dreading what
she might see, Ranma stepped up quietly and peeked through the
door.

Nodoka was laying on her back, completely naked. Her legs
were up in the air, held by Genma's strong fists. The bulky
martial artist was behind her, thrusting wildly against her has he
held her legs aloft. His pants were missing, of course, but his
gi-top was still half-way on.

Nodoka squealed again, this time muting her scream by
biting her hand. The other hand was clenched into a fist.
Occasionally she beat it into Genma's broad, muscular thigh. This
seemed to spur the man on, increasing the speed of his thrusting.
The two were bouncing around like a jackhammer. It was amazing
that they were making as little noise as they were.

"Oh my..." Akane whispered. Ranma realized that she was
peeking into the room just below her.

Ranma was stunned. She never imagined her father in such a
position, let alone her mother. It looked so awkward, and yet so
compelling.

Akane started to shake, shivering against Ranma.

Nodoka was writhing more and more wildly, bucking against
Genma with a wet, slapping sound. She covered her face with both
hands, screaming into them. She whimpered audibly afterwards and
nodded at her husband. "Now!" she groaned.

Genma nodded and picked up the pace of his thrusting. His
face was contorted in a horrible expression. After just a few
seconds, he groaned loudly, and ceased his wild motions. He sighed
deeply and slumped backwards.

"Nnn... No-chan..." he groaned, falling back.

Taking a deep breath, Nodoka lifted herself backwards off
her husband, rotating her legs over her head in the process. She
produced a handkerchief from inside her kimono which had been
discarded nearby, and began to dab gently between her legs.

"You always make such a mess of me," she chided quietly.

Ranma had no idea that her mother was so flexible.

Genma's member, huge and erect, stood straight up,
pointing to the ceiling. Nodoka leaned over, and began to gently
wipe it with her cloth, cleaning it of the residue of their love-
making.

After a few seconds, she lay down on her side next to her
husband, her hand resting on his broad chest.

Ranma decided that she needed to leave. She felt guilty
enough about spying! She started to back away, but ran into
Akane's tense arm. The girl had a death grip on the door facing
and was still peering intently into the room.

"It's been so long," Genma noted quietly.

"Not since before you left," Nodoka agreed. "Do you
remember? You stained my green dress... just before the nuns
showed up."

Ranma blinked in shock.

"I thought I would never find my pants," Genma reminisced.
"And there you were, trying to convince that one old bag that you
were doing gymnastic exercises."

"It had been three years since I graduated and she still
bought the story," Nodoka said, smiling. "I always thought that
she must have mistaken me for one of the students."

"Heh... wonderful times."

"Of course you and Ranma left not long after that," Nodoka
noted sadly.

"I can't say it was the wisest thing I've ever done,"
Genma admitted. "And I've done some pretty stupid things. More
than anything, I wanted to train him up so that he could one day
defeat Happosai."

"I was so lonely afterward. Saying those horrible things
this afternoon made me remember all that. I can't tell you how
sorry I am, Darling. I only wanted Ranma to have a normal life and
grow up like any other boy. I very much wanted to pamper him and
spoil him, just like you were afraid of. I thought that by
threatening you with that stupid contract, I could keep the both
of you at home."

"And I took the bluff," Genma admitted, "just like I
always do. At the time it was better in my mind than the
alternative."

"And we both know what that bought us," Nodoka seconded
after almost a minute of silence between the two.

"Do you still want a divorce?" her husband asked her.

Ranma felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Were they
really considering such a horrible thing? Were two people who had
just made love serious about parting?

Nodoka turned over, lying on her stomach. She kicked her
bare feet up in the air while resting her chin on her hands.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I'm not even sure I
meant it when I said it this afternoon. But then..."

"How long will it be?" Genma finished for her. "How long
until you start acting shrewish again or I start panicking? How
long before one of us starts obsessing again?"

He turned over and leaned up against her, beginning to run
his hand up and down her naked back. It trailed back over her
round buttocks, and down one thigh.

"Do you want to be apart?" Genma asked quietly.

"I've thought about it," Nodoka conceded. "Many times.
There are so many bad feelings between us. There has been so much
time lost. I honestly wonder if it wouldn't be better to try to
find someone else and start over. Even if..."

"Even if?"

"Even if I still love you."

Ranma was shaking. She had so few memories of her mother
growing up that it was like the woman was a ghost to her. Now that
her family was back together again, she was going to go away?

"I love you too, Wife."

"I think--"

"I think that I am not a very good man," Genma
interrupted. "I think that I have made a great many mistakes. I
often try to do my best, especially where the boy is concerned,
but you can see how well I've done there. Even though he's
exceeded my wildest expectations, I've hurt him more than all his
enemies put together." He paused to gently caress the woman's
naked calf. He squeezed her foot, smiling. "I think that I would
like to stay together, even if we continue to argue. I would like
to see Ranma mature. I would like to see... my family continue to
grow. Even if it means making... arrangements."

"I have considered that as well," Nodoka seconded. "I
wonder how it would affect Ranma? She... he is more observant than
in the past. I do not think that any... arrangements... we made
would go unnoticed."

"You can say that again," Genma guffawed. "And you can bet
that Tendou's girls will notice. The last thing I need is Akane
beating me in the head for being 'unfaithful'."

Nodoka giggled cutely. "Perhaps we should proceed slowly.
We can take the challenges as they come."

"Challenges?"

"Like this," Nodoka indicated. "Are you up to the task?"

"Well, that sounds like a challenge to me!" Genma said,
nuzzling against his wife's neck.

Ranma was startled as she was pushed away from the door.

"What?" she whispered as Akane pulled on her arm.

"Don't you think we should give them some privacy?" Akane
asked in embarrassment. Ranma noticed that her fiance was still
trembling. She wondered why Akane had just now decided that they
needed privacy.

"Yeah," Ranma conceded. "I guess so. God..." She was
deeply affected by the intensity of what she had seen. How could
two people who loved each other so much have so much animosity
between them?

"I didn't know that they were having so many problems,"
Akane said quietly.

"I guess I did," Ranma admitted, cocking one ear back down
the hall as the creaking sound began to emanate from the room
again. "I didn't want to think about it before, but... Hey, what
did they mean by 'arrangements'?"

Akane blushed. Ranma could see her face and neck turn red,
even in the darkness.

-----

~to be continued...

My apologies to everyone who never thought they'd read through a
lemon scene featuring Genma.

A note on fever dreams...

I am probably one of the least immune individuals I know. This was
partly due to a childhood fraught with illnesses and partly due to
an overzealous dermatologist who decided to treat my teenage acne
with Euyrithrominicin (SP?), a powerful antibiotic. At any rate, I
got strep-throat several times as a child. My mother never took me
to the doctor until I was "really" sick, by which time my mild
streptococcus infection had progressed into a life-threatening
case of Scarlet Fever. This happened no fewer than 4 times while I
was growing up. When I started breaking out with acne in my teen
years, the doctor overprescribed antibiotics for me until every
bug in my body was immune to them. Needless to say, I've had my
share of high fevers. The last really high fever I had was when I
got a round of booster shots when I started school at UT. I took
several live-culture and dead-culture vaccines, and ran a 104
degree fever for several days after.

The unifying feature of all the fever dreams I've ever had was the
scene at the end of Ranma's dream sequence in which she is
overpowered by anger, rage, and then sadness and remorse at having
destroyed everything. The emotions themselves are overwhelming to
the point of hallucination. I was certain that the rage I felt had
destroyed everything around me. It was only after I woke up that I
realized it wasn't the world that was burning up, it was just me