newRanma

by C. Jones

Ranma receives a traumatic brain injury that has the potential to change his life and the lives of everyone around him forever.

20. Living

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 20: Living

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

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ranma asked
incredulously.

Akane didn't answer, but stood her ground. For the life of
her, she still didn't know why she'd come. Nabiki's words still
echoed in her ears, however.

"You'll be left wondering for the rest of your life what
you could have had if don't take this opportunity."

"It's very simple, Ranma," Genma said. "We need three
martial artists. It will be good experience for the both of you."

"But... I thought I was getting away from all the--"

"You are getting away," Nodoka said, leaning down between
the two young adults. "The both of you."

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Ranma demanded of Akane.

"It was my father's idea," Akane hissed in protest.

"Quiet, children," Nodoka shushed them. "Here comes
Takamura-san."

Genma explained that Takamura was an old friend from high
school who had gone into geology after graduating. He and the two
men he had with him had happened across a gold deposit in the
jungles of western India. The three had bought the land and its
associated mining rights, but had yet to set up any kind of formal
operation. They were about to literally set up a gold mine, but
were still in planning stages. They were also concerned about
their safety, since they wouldn't be able to afford a dedicated
security force until they were much closer to breaking ground.

"I thought you said you hired three martial artists," one
of the other men asked the Saotomes' client.

"These two were trained by that same panty-freak you and
Tendou hung out with in high school, right?" Takamura asked Genma.

The older man nodded sadly.

"I can assure you that these are three of the scariest
martial artists in Japan," the geologist told his friend. "We've
got nothing to worry about!"

* * *

The plane trip from Tokyo to Bombay left Ranma and Akane
little time to argue or even discuss what had happened or why it
had happened. All the two of them knew was that Genma and Nodoka
both wore very smug expressions for the entire trip and did their
best to shove the two teens as closely together as they could
manage.

Ranma was feeling as if he had been pretty cruelly duped
by his parents. He was supposed to be getting away so that he
could figure out how to fix the problems with his love life, not
dragging them along with him.

Akane felt like the odd man out. She definitely felt like
Ranma didn't want her there, but also that the geologists didn't
think she could do the job the Saotomes had volunteered her for.
It made her angry. It made her want to prove herself. It also made
her wonder what she had gotten into, and if she could handle that
and trying to get along with Ranma at the same time.

Both of them sighed when they heard Genma explaining to
his old friend that his 'daughter' might be joining them from time
to time.

Bombay was a teeming, living metropolis full of people,
businesses, and life, but the group got to spend very little time
there. In fact, just as soon as they had picked up some supplies
and the off-road truck that Takamura and his associates had
reserved, they headed out of the city and eventually reached the
man's tract of land out in relatively un-touched jungle.

The area they were interested in was hilly and thick with
dense vegetation. It wasn't quite like a an adventure movie, but
at one point Genma did pull out a machete to lead everyone through
a thick patch of brush.

Once they got settled in, the geologists' routine was
fairly straightforward. They would place a device on a clear patch
of ground, load a small explosive charge inside it, detonate it,
and then wait for Takamura's laptop computer to analyze the
vibrations the loud bang caused. After a couple hours, they'd do
it again a few hundred meters away.

Besides the big bang every couple hours, it was mind
numbing for Ranma. Once the geologists had gotten used to the
Saotomes' presence, it very quickly became a repetitive procedure.
On the plus side, Genma and Ranma got to spar or lounge around
doing nothing while soaking of Nodoka's cooking in vast
quantities.

Since it rained every few hours in the jungle, Takamura
and the other geologists got to meet the Saotomes' 'daughter' a
few times.

Since she and Ranma still weren't speaking, Akane spent a
little more time with the geologists, picking up a little of the
theory behind what they were doing. She also picked up a few
phrases in Hindi from one of the geologists.

There was very little real security work to do. Ranma and
Genma had to ask a few curious locals to leave the premises of the
research operation from time to time, but these incidents were
usually handled calmly and with a minimum of fuss. There were also
very few animals in the jungle that wouldn't run from Genma's
immense panda form if he growled at them, so their wandering camp
was safe for the most part.

Despite this, when the camp *was* surprised one evening,
those present handled the encroachment in a brutally efficient
manner.

One night about a week and a half after the geological
survey began, a band of about eight highwaymen who had decided to
rob the apparently rich foreigners, and make off with their nice
truck. Three of them were quite surprised to find a redheaded
pigtailed girl lying unconcernedly against a tree.

The tried to rush her, but never did quite figure out how
the girl knocked all three of them out and tied them to the tree.

When Ranma was done with her attackers, she hastened to
the other side of the camp, where a growling panda was menacing
two others. She tied them up as well.

It was then that Ranma and Genma heard the first cries of
pain. The girl followed the noises until they found Akane, who was
raising a dust cloud in her fight with the last three of the
attackers. The robbers were screaming to get away, but couldn't
get a few feet away from Akane before they were violently yanked
back into the altercation.

Huddled together a few feet away, the three geologists
watched in horror as Akane abused her assailants.

"I think they've had enough, Akane!" Ranma shouted over
the din.

"What?" Akane asked, holding one of the men by the collar
of his shirt.

"You broke this man's arm," Nodoka noted, as she walked up
to the group behind Genma. She gestured to one man who was still
trying to crawl away. His arm hung limply by his side, twisted at
a grotesque angle.

Akane chuckled uncomfortably. "Uhhmm..."

After that, the geologists didn't question Akane's or
anyone else's skill at defending them.

The 'job' quickly turned into a vacation after that. The
suspicious locals had learned via word of mouth that the
foreigners were not a danger to those around them so long as they
were not provoked. The nature of the Genma, Ranma, and Akane's job
very quickly changed from providing security to merely being
visible. Some children from a nearby village even started stopping
by every afternoon to watch the martial artists spar.

Akane learned very quickly that Genma did not have Ranma's
prejudice against hitting girls. The older man would knock her on
her ass given the slightest opportunity if she asked him to train
her. Unlike her father, who was a sensei to the core, Genma was
more interested in teaching his students to win in any situation
rather than sharpening their martial arts skills.

Ranma did his best to avoid Akane. He still felt like he
had been duped by his parents deception, and Akane was at the core
of that deception. He wanted to get away from his problems, and he
couldn't do that if Akane was near him all the time.

After a few days, Ranma realized that he was avoiding his
problems rather than meeting them head on. It was easier to think
about his job and sparring with his father than it was to ponder
the painful situation he had left behind him.

Angrily, he did his best to start thinking of possible
solutions to the mess he had left behind, but none of them were
satisfactory.

Sitting in the top of a tree, looking out over the lush
tropical vegetation and distantly listening to a radio that the
scientists had tuned to a nearby pop station, Ranma considered his
problems.

The rains came, but rather than seek shelter, Ranma let
the cool water cascade down over his body, changing him into a
girl.

"My real problem is that I don't know what I want," Ranma
admitted out loud to herself.

Now, when she could be alone, it was easy to admit she
wanted sex-- physical love. But from who, was the question.

Nabiki? Am I in love with her? I certainly thought I was,
Ranma admitted to herself. She had seen her making love to Taiyoko
with her own eyes, however. It was pretty hard to discount
evidence like that.

Nabiki had made it clear to Ranma that as much as she was
attracted to her, Nabiki was attracted to Ranma because she
thought Ranma had become a girl not only in body, but mind as
well. That was a pretty fine distinction, but it was enough take
Nabiki forever away from Ranma. Even if she didn't have Taiyoko,
Ranma was male.

The loss was bitter, but Ranma had no choice but to accept
it.

Shampoo? Shampoo was gone. Ranma suddenly realized that
either through her own devices or her mother's influence, Shampoo
had matured considerably in just a few weeks. Ranma hated to think
that somebody was more responsible than she was, but Shampoo fit
the bill pretty closely. Again, there was no chance, at least for
a very long time.

Kodachi? That was a very real option, Ranma thought,
shuddering a little bit at the memory of the gymnast's lithe body.
She was a beautiful, sensual person. She claimed that her love for
Ranma was as deep as the ocean, but the martial artist wasn't sure
that Kodachi knew what love was any better than Ranma. Even if
there were no other problems with a relationship with Kodachi,
Ranma kept thinking about something that Kunou said. He warned
Ranma not to take advantage of his sister if she didn't really
love her.

Assuming the curse didn't interfere, It would be easy to
accept Kodachi's love. It would be even easier to have sex with
her, sating both their lusts. It would make it only more painful
in the end if Ranma decided that she didn't love her.

What none of that took into account was the fact that
Kodachi was very thoroughly disgusted with Ranma's female body.

Does that matter? Do I want sex as a woman?

YES! was the very firm, tingling response from Ranma's
nether regions as her rain-soaked pants pulled across sensitive
flesh.

But do I really? Some frightening part of me gets turned
on by guys, even though I don't really want that. Is it the same
way with wanting to have Nabiki or Kodachi touch me as a girl? Was
it the same part of Ranma's body or her mind that wanted that?

I could always have Kodachi as a guy and someone like
Ryouga or Hiroshi as a girl, that same treasonous part of Ranma's
mind suggested.

"BLECH!" Ranma said, sticking her tongue out. It was a
weird dichotomy. Her body reacted warmly to the thought of being
held and even fondled by a man. It was hard to feel since she was
already wet, but Ranma was sure that the horrible, terrible
thought of being penetrated by a man's shaft was making her damp
between the legs.

"It would feel good, okay?" Ranma admitted to herself.
"But I don't want guys. I want girls."

Indeed, the thought of Nabiki's gentle caresses did even
more to heighten Ranma's arousal than the thought of being fucked
by a guy. So did thoughts about what *might* have happened with
Kodachi if she hadn't run away when Ranma got a glass full of
champagne poured down her back. The thoughts of the kiss she tried
to steal from Ukyou also enflamed her.

"See?" Ranma said out loud. She hoped no one was listening
to her talk to herself.

The answer seemed to be that she should look for someone
who didn't mind if she was a girl or a boy. For a few seconds, she
thought that someone had been Ukyou, but had been proven wrong. If
anyone could come to terms with someone who changed in appearance
and behavior so easily, Ranma was sure it would have been a
practicing transvestite. When it came down to it, Ukyou really had
no interest in girls at all. Her reaction certainly wasn't as
violent as Kodachi's, but it still wasn't what Ranma wanted.

Ranma might even convince Ukyou to go along with what she
wanted at some future date, but figured it would end up a lot like
the fake date with Taiyoko. She might even be willing, but Ranma
would always wonder if she wouldn't just be lying there, faking
emotions she didn't have just to make Ranma happy.

Am I willing to live with one or the other?

The last option was.... Akane.

"Don't even go there," Ranma said out loud.

* * *

A few days later, the group happened across one of the
small ponds that dotted the vast, hilly property that Takamura and
other geologists were slowly working their way across. Unlike the
other ponds, which were full of muddy, stagnant water, this pond
was cool, fresh, and clear. It was also smelled slightly of
sulfur. It appeared to be fed by a natural spring.

"Or research has hinted that there might be some springs
in the area." Takamura indicated.

"Is that good or bad?" Genma asked.

"Could be either," one of the geologists said. "Hot
springs and gold deposits are sometimes found in the same places,
but it might also mean that we any shafts we try to sink might
flood."

After a few hours, the geologists had declared the spring
safe for human occupation. Nodoka quickly changed out of her
normal clothes and into a skimpy bikini. She dove into the pool
and urged the others to join her.

"I envy you, Saotome," Takamura whispered to Genma within
earshot of Ranma. "When we were in school, I never though you or
Tendou would snag beautiful wives. But your wife looks the way she
does and, if Tendou's daughter is any example, his wife was a
hottie too."

Genma nodded. "It's the martial arts. It does have its
rewards after all."

"All I have to do to send the girls running away in a
panic is tell them I'm a scientist."

"It'll be easier once you're rich," Genma assured him.

Akane didn't wait long before donning a modest one-piece
and diving into the pool after Nodoka. Not too long after that,
the Saotomes' 'pet panda' surfaced from where ever he'd gone
missing and hopped into the water to rejoin his mistress.

Ranma sighed, since the only swim wear he'd ever used
since he was cursed was usually borrowed from one the Tendou
girls.

"You can use my other swim suit," Nodoka offered.

Ranma gulped, realizing how much of his mother's flesh he
could see around the tiny string bikini she was wearing.

Still, their trip had been very hot, and although the
water wasn't freezing by any means, it still looked very
refreshing.

Gritting his teeth, Ranma allowed Genma to create a
distraction for the three scientists who were more or less openly
ogling the beautiful women in the pool. He kicked up a spray of
water from the pond to splash himself.

Once female, she ran back to the group of tents they had
slept in the night before and poked around in Nodoka's bag.

Ranma sweated, wondering exactly how much scanty lingerie
her mother had brought on the trip. There certainly was a lot of
it in the bag.

"I really wish she wouldn't suggest things like this."

The only thing she could find that even remotely qualified
as a swimsuit was about 2 centimeters short of being obscene.
Ranma thought long and hard before trying it on. Even when she did
put it on, she was very concerned about the fact that the thong
bottom slid right in between her buttocks, completely baring her
ass and putting pressure on parts of her anatomy that Ranma
thought that no article of clothing ever should. It was also
really difficult to keep the miniscule bikini top from sliding
down over the tops of her nipples. She wondered how her mother
managed with this suit, since Ranma was pretty sure the woman had
larger breasts than she did.

Highly aware of the 'wedgie' sensation the thong bikini
gave her, Ranma minced back out to the pool. The geologists' eyes
all bugged out. Even Genma looked a little distressed. Nodoka
looked genuinely happy.

"You're so beautiful!" she exclaimed.

Ranma rolled her eyes and jumped into the pond next to her
mother. "My nipples weren't showing were they?"

"No more than usual," Nodoka said.

"What?!"

Nodoka gestured obliquely to the stiffened points Ranma's
nipples raised in the fabric of the bikini top.

"Yipe! Aren't these supposed to have pads or something?"

"I always take those out," Nodoka explained.

Ranma sighed and submerged herself as deeply as possible
without actually getting her hair wet with the sulfurous-smelling
water.

It was only after she soaked for a few minutes that she
noticed Akane had moved to the other side of the pool and was
pointedly looking away from Ranma.

Was she blushing?

Ranma was suddenly torn. She was fairly certain that Akane
was blushing. Her face was red, but lacked the usual actinic glare
that indicated the extreme rage that Ranma was so familiar with.
The scientists they were working for had already quit gawking at
all the feminine flesh. The only other thing Akane could be
embarrassed about was...

"Hey, Akane! Like what you see?" Ranma asked, suddenly
standing up out of the water.

Akane's blush deepened, and her eyes narrowed, giving
Ranma the expression of anger she was more familiar with.

"All I see is an insensitive egomaniac!" Akane shouted.

"Children, please..." Nodoka scolded the pair.

"At least I'm not the pervert," Ranma noted sarcastically.

"No, you're just the tramp," Akane said. "You go through
your harem like kleenex, and then run away just as soon as you're
done with them."

Ranma was about to open her mouth, but was unable to
retort. Akane's comment stung! Was it true? It was at least as far
as Akane saw it.

Akane quickly left the pool, her expression rapidly
shifting.

Not really comfortable in the pool any more, Ranma left
just after Akane was out of sight.

"The girls, they don't like each other?" Takamura asked
Nodoka later, after he and the other two geologists got in the
pool.

"It's very complex," Nodoka sighed.

Ranma resisted the urge to seek out Akane and pick a
fight. She wanted nothing more than to start a screaming match.
Instead she found another high branch on which to doze while
everyone else took a well-earned afternoon off. Still wearing the
ridiculously tiny bikini, Ranma allowed herself to sink into a
deep sleep far up above the clearing.

When she woke, she had a killer 'bite', and had to dig the
thong out from in between her buttocks. It was dark, so she didn't
feel too self-conscious about exposing herself for a few seconds
to undo the binding situation. She wondered why she hadn't changed
out of the bikini before as she leapt down to the ground. She was
about to go back to the campsite when she saw something rather
odd.

It was a naked, redheaded woman riding on a panda.

Ranma rolled her eyes and looked away for a few seconds
before her curiosity got the best of her.

"This way," Nodoka urged, pulling on one of Genma's ears
as she protectively cradled a thermos in her arms.

"GROWF!" the panda agreed.

"Surely they won't mind if we disappear for one night,"
Nodoka rationalized out loud. "Ranma and Akane will still be there
after all."

Ranma sighed and turned away from the spectacle. She was
fairly sure her parents hadn't seen her on their way to whatever
illicit romp they had planned.

It was a funny sensation. It seemed like everyone but
Ranma was 'getting some', including her parents. It was so
frustrating.

Dejectedly, Ranma trudged back to camp with the intention
of getting the hell out of the uncomfortable swimsuit and back
into more normal clothes.

The three geologists were still soaking in the spring
several hundred yards away, so Ranma set up a kettle and stirred
their campfire up a little in order to heat it. Since she had
borrowed the suit from her mother's bags, her clothes had been
left inside the tent Nodoka shared with Akane. Ranma walked over
to the tent, lifted one of the flaps and...

"Oh my," she uttered.

Her eyes wide in panic, Akane quickly jerked her sticky
hand away from her uncovered nether-regions and started to
scrabble around. She grabbed the first thing she could find and
held it over her bared midsection.

Ranma sweatdropped. "Uhhmmm...."

Realizing that she was covering herself with Ranma's
shirt, Akane threw it away and grabbed a sheet to cover herself
with.

She didn't quite manage to cover her feet, or the pair of
lace panties hanging off one of her ankles.

Ranma blinked, the image burning into her mind. For a
second... a very brief second, Akane's face had been ecstatic, her
mouth open in an unsounded moan of pleasure. Her fingers had been
working very rapidly over and inbetween her petals, and there was
a thin, glistening coating of moisture over Akane's entire vulva.

Ranma suddenly realized that she knew exactly how Akane
felt.

"Ah... Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt or anything," she
said lamely.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Akane yelled, still desperately
scrabbling away from the bikini-clad redhead.

Wordlessly, Ranma let the tent-flap drop and strode away.
She sat down on a fallen log and sat quietly, trying to decide if
she was more surprised or amused by what she had just seen.

After a few minutes, Akane came out of the tent, stomping
angrily. Her face was bright red and covered with a mixture of
anger and embarrassment.

Ranma couldn't help but let her eyes follow the hem of the
girl's fluttering skirt, wondering whether she had changed panties
or pulled those she had on previously back up.

Shamefacedly, Akane sat down on the log next to Ranma.

The redhead was doing her level-headed best not to grin
like a maniac.

"So..."

"Please," Akane muttered. "Please don't tell anyone about
that."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'll knock your head off if you do!" Akane
threatened.

Ranma shook her head. "No, I meant why should I tell
anyone? It's not like you were hurting anybody. It ain't any of my
business anyway, right?"

Akane was silent, unable to meet Ranma's eyes. She was
glaring, however. Ranma wondered when the patch of earth the dark-
haired girl was staring at was going to start smoldering and catch
fire.

"That's the second time I've caught you, isn't it?" Ranma
asked. "That's what you were doing-- or about to do-- when I
walked in on you that time when I was sick."

"Shut up!" Akane hissed. "I bet you've never done anything
at all like that, have you?" she griped sarcastically.

Ranma suddenly remembered all her 'long baths'. Her face
turned bright red, and she had to look away from Akane.

"So the sight of me in a bikini was just too much for you
to handle," Ranma said defensively, thrusting her chest out.

"That's none of your business!" Akane said. "This is
pointless. I shouldn't even have bothered talking to you. I
shouldn't even have come on this idiotic trip!"

"Why did you come?" Ranma asked curiously. "It's not like
I asked you to."

Akane's glare softened, and became a look of sadness. "I
guess... I guess I was trying to see if there was any chance at
all for something between us." She shook her head and exhaled
loudly. "I'm not going to inherit the dojo if I don't..."

"That's all it is, huh?" Ranma asked. "I guess your dad
put you up to it."

"That's not all it is!" Akane protested.

Ranma blinked.

"Why don't you just quit bothering me?" Akane asked,
standing and turning back towards the tent.

"Wait a second," Ranma said, grabbing the girl's hand.
"What do you mean, 'that's not all it is'?"

Akane was shaking. "You don't even care, so why should I
bother telling you? You're just going to humiliate me again,
anyway, so I'm going to stay away from you and spare myself the
pain. Thanks very much for ruining my life, Ranma!"

"Who ruined who's life? You were the one who ignored
*me*!"

"After you were fawning all over my sister and every other
woman in Tokyo who would look at you twice."

"I did not fawn all over every woman who would look at me
twice!"

"What the hell do you call it then? Nabiki? Kodachi?
Ukyou? I bet you even made out with Taiyoko, you slut."

"That was because her parents were going to throw... ah
shit."

"You have absolutely no control over your body," Akane
accused darkly before stalking away.

"I had just fine control until *somebody* landed me in the
hospital and gave me a 'get brain surgery free card'," Ranma
retorted, lunging after her. "You think I wanted any o' this? You
think I wanted to be attracted to everyone without knowing how to
deal with it? You think I wanted to have wet dreams about Ryouga
and Kunou and..."

Akane's glare broke, and the corners of her mouth began to
turn up. "You... you had... dreams... about Ryouga?" Her face
contorted as she struggled to keep from laughing.

"Hah hah. It's been a living hell, thanks," Ranma said. "I
am *not* interested in guys. Just like someone else I know..." she
said in a denigrating tone.

"That's not true!" Akane said. "I am interested in guys!"

"Says the girl with 'Tails of Passion' hidden under her
mattress."

"I threw that away!" Akane defended herself.

"Before or after you decided you were interested in guys?"

"ARHGHGHG! I don't even know why I'm still talking to
you!" Akane cried out. "I don't know what I want, so why don't you
just leave me alone?"

Ranma paused, a little taken aback by the dark-haired
girl's words. Hadn't Ranma thought the same thing to herself
earlier in the day when trying to decide what she really wanted?

"You really don't know?" Ranma asked, more curiously than
accusingly.

"No!" Akane said, tears coming to her eyes. "Okay? Is that
enough for you? Are you done tormenting me yet?"

Ranma sat back down on the log and sighed deeply. She
shifted around a little, wishing the bark of the log didn't dig
into her backside so roughly.

"So which was it just now?" Ranma asked more out of morbid
curiosity than anything else. Girls or boys? It wasn't really me
in this awful bikini was it?"

Akane's face turned red again, and she turned back away
from Ranma.

"Oh my god! It was... you were fantasizing about me,
weren't you? But... But I thought you weren't interested in me at
all."

Akane was still silent.

"You just said that the only reason you came on this trip
was to try to keep from losing out on inheriting the dojo."

"I said I don't know, okay?" Akane retorted.

Ranma suddenly realized that the argument was affecting
her oddly. Perhaps it was also the sight of Akane pleasuring
herself, which was still firmly embedded in Ranma's mind. Either
way, she realized that she was more aroused than was appropriate
in such a situation and the thought of Akane fantasizing about her
wasn't really doing anything to help.

She suddenly felt a little short of breath and a little
tingly in her abdomen. Ranma suddenly felt very exposed by the
simple bikini she was still wearing. She struggled to keep from
wrapping her arms around her barely-clad breasts. Doing so would
be admitting defeat, and Ranma refused to let her body push her
around any more!

"So what *do* you know?" Ranma asked curiously. "I mean...
the room full of girlie mags says to me that you've pretty much
decided what you want."

"That was a mistake," Akane admitted, sitting back down on
the log. "Like I said, I already threw most of them away. Just
like everything else, I didn't know when enough was enough."

Ranma nodded in agreement. It was odd to hear Akane being
so forthcoming, but it was also strangely cathartic.

"Only 'most'? You kept some?" Ranma didn't know why she
was being so perverse, but it was difficult to stop. It was like
when she had to try to keep from scratching at her stitches
several weeks previously. "So you think you're going to try to
find a girlfriend like Nabiki, or another boyfriend?" the redhead
asked.

"When did I say I wasn't interested in *you*?!"

"Just now, when you were talking about inheriting--"

"No!" Akane cut Ranma off. "I mean before. Before you
starting trying to get into my sister's pants."

"I thought it was pretty clear cut," Ranma said, not
really feeling that way. "I approached you, but you showed zero
interest in..."

"No! It was because I thought it was wrong! I was doing
everything I could not to kiss you!" Akane shouted.

"Bullshit. You wouldn't kiss me if your life depended on
it," Ranma said raggedly.

Akane's expression narrowed again. Angrily, she leaned in
and grabbed Ranma by the ears. She pushed her lips firmly against
Ranma's and began to kiss.

It was clumsy and inexpert, even compared to Kodachi's or
Ukyou's kiss, but it was fiery.

Ranma had a hard time breathing after Akane pushed her
away. She wiped her wet lips once on her bare arm.

"There, are you happy?!" Akane demanded. "Now you can't
say there's a girl you haven't kissed anymore!"

Ranma didn't answer. She grabbed Akane by the shoulders
and roughly kissed the girl again. She opened mouth against
Akane's, and wrapped her arms around the dark-haired girl's back.
Finally, she let the girl go, satisfied that Akane also seemed to
be having trouble breathing.

"I kiss better than you do," Ranma said.

"I wonder why," Akane deadpanned.

"I just wanted to give you something better to fantasize
about."

"You're such a egotistical jerk."

Ranma didn't resist when Akane lunged back at her, mouth
open. Akane didn't resist when Ranma ran her fingers through her
dark hair, holding Akane in place, or when Ranma thrust her tongue
into Akane's mouth.

It was like a fight. The two were almost grappling there
on the log. Even more was passing between them as they vied for
dominance.

Akane one-upped Ranma's forceful tongue kiss by grabbing
the girl's bikini-clad breast and squeezing roughly.

Ranma's eyes rolled at the painful sensation, but she
would not lose the contest. Instead, she thrust her hand up
Akane's skirt and began to pull at...

Akane wasn't wearing any panties.

She had shucked them when Ranma had caught her, opting to
put just her skirt on for the sake of expediency, the martial
artist guessed. Of course neither one of them thought that they
would be doing what...

What the hell were they doing, exactly?

Ranma discovered that Akane was still quite sticky and wet
between her legs. Of course she hadn't had any time to clean up.

Unable to break free of the kiss, Akane made a sound that
was half-threatening and half-inquisitive.

I'm about to get my ass kicked all over the jungle, Ranma
thought. Akane's going to pound me and put me back in the head-
trauma ward.

Despite her misgivings, Ranma began to slide her fingers
down over Akane's naked abdomen, running them through the girl's
delta. She could feel that Akane was moist and a little sticky as
far up as her navel. Apparently she got into it a lot more than
Ranma usually did.

Akane's painful grip on Ranma's breast lessened somewhat
and started to become more of a kneading sensation.

Ranma realized Akane was trembling as her fingers began to
probe deeper and deeper between the girl's legs.

Gently, despite the apparent contest they were engaged in,
Ranma began to stroke Akane's folds. At the same time, she broke
the kiss slightly, and began to suck on the dark-haired girl's
lips.

Akane began to make quiet, squeaking sounds. Her other
hand came up to wrap around Ranma's waist. She gripped tightly,
crushing Ranma to her.

Ranma pushed her fingers just inside the girl's folds,
seeking out Akane's--

"Ah!" Akane cried out as her legs clenched together,
almost bruising Ranma's hand.

She could feel Akane's muscles tense. The girl's grip,
both on her breast and around her waist, became crushing. Ranma
only barely kept from shouting out in pain.

Finally, Akane relaxed and slumped against Ranma. She
released Ranma's breast and allowed her arms to fall limply
against the log they were sitting on.

After several seconds, Ranma asked, "What did we just do?"

"Oh god," Akane hissed, looking around her. "You don't
think anyone saw, did you?"

Ranma glanced back in the direction of the spring. It was
mostly obscured by thick trees and dense foliage. She supposed
someone could have seen what they had just done from the spring,
but she could only barely see the shapes of the three geologists.
She doubted that they had any inkling of just what went on.

What was even more pressing was the thought of the
burning, needing sensation Ranma still felt. She was fairly
certain that she had just finished what Akane had started for
herself in the tent, but now Ranma felt the need for the same
thing. Was there any way in hell that Akane would do for Ranma
what Ranma had just done for her?

Both teens jerked a little as a whistling noise erupted
from the campfire. Ranma turned and realized her kettle had just
started boiling.

Akane was still shaking, Ranma noticed. For that matter,
so was Ranma.

"You... ah... didn't... uhmm... ah... get anything... just
now," the dark haired girl stammered.

"No, I didn't," Ranma said, gulping. She was nervously
eyeing the hot water out of the corner of her eye, just like she
knew Akane was.

"Err..."

"You said you didn't know," Ranma said after a few
seconds. "Would you like to find out?"

Akane didn't say anything.

Feeling more than a little self-conscious, Ranma pulled
the tiny bikini top off her breasts, allowing them to spring free.
She tried to pull the thong off as well, but had to roll it down
over her hips to get it off. Naked, feeling Akane's eyes on her
back the whole time, she knelt and poured a little bit boiling
water into a bowl. Rather than waiting for it to cool down enough
not to burn, she poured a little bit of cool water into the bowl
until it was almost, but not quite, scalding hot.

Ranma held her breath and splashed herself.

Even the sensation of being splashed with water almost hot
enough to burn his skin couldn't keep Ranma's natural reaction to
arousal from showing almost immediately. He blushed at the sight
of his erect member as it protruded in front of him.

Akane stared in undisguised terror.

"Uhh..." Ranma mumbled uneasily.

"You want to put that thing inside me?" Akane said in
horror. "I'll be ripped apart!"

"It's not that big," Ranma protested. "I've seen a lot
bigger," he said uncomfortably.

"But I've never--"

"Neither have I," Ranma said.

Akane frowned. "I thought you said--"

"I wanted to!" Ranma blurted out. "Even thought I was
going to... but I never actually... uhm... did it."

"You never... not even with Nabiki?"

"Trust me. Nabiki is not even interested in this," Ranma
said, rolling his eyes a bit. "Listen, we don't have to do this,"
he suggested, starting to feel a bit put out.

"No! I mean..." Akane began to wring her hands together in
front of her waist.

Ranma couldn't help but think about what was right behind
Akane's hands. "You want to? You really want to go through with--"

"I have to find out somehow, right?" Akane blurted out. "I
just... uhm... how are we supposed to... you know?"

Ranma frowned. He glanced back over his shoulder at the
spring in the distance. Uncomfortably naked, he grabbed Akane by
the wrist and pulled her back behind the tents. She was strangely
docile as she was pushed up against a tree.

Ranma kissed her again, again letting his fingers run
through her short hair. Akane began to let her mouth move against
Ranma, not nearly so combative as before.

Her blouse was relatively easy to unfasten. Her bra
provided a little more difficulty. Akane resorted to flipping the
cups up and forcefully pulling it off over her head.

"You don't ever do anything the easy way," Ranma noted.

"Like you do?" she asked before Ranma silenced her with
another kiss.

Her breasts were small, Ranma noted, but that didn't make
them any less attractive to him. He didn't want to feel them in
his hands any less, or feel the texture of her hardened nipples
any less.

Breaking the kiss, he let his fingers begin to brush the
lower swell of her left breast, his eyes locked on the sight. His
hand drifted higher, touching her nipple. He could actually see it
stiffen a little more in response.

"Uhhmm... you like that?" Akane asked.

"You don't?"

"I don't know," Akane said self-consciously.

"Uhh... when I'm a girl, mine kind feel good when...
uhm..."

"Well it doesn't feel bad," Akane said. She couldn't blush
any more if she tried. "Maybe you should... Oh!" she gasped as
Ranma began to squeeze softly, gently pinching the girl's nipple.
"That does feel a little... oh... ooohhhh..."

He kissed her again as he massaged her breast, paying
special attention to her nipples all the while. She shuddered
under his ministrations and kissed back harder. She didn't protest
when he let his other hand slide down her back and around her
waist. She even began to buck a bit when he began to slide his
fingers over her nether-lips again.

Akane wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled Ranma
tightly against her. He could feel his shaft being pressed into
her naked stomach.

Akane broke the kiss and took a deep breath. "Do you want
to... ah..."

"Yeah," Ranma replied, gulping.

"Uhmm... which way?" Akane asked, nervously eyeing the
unpleasant-looking jungle floor at the base of the tree. It was
strewn with pebbles, random weeds and other vegetation. The soil
was more than a little damp from the frequent rainfall.

Ranma didn't particularly want to lie down there either.
"We could go get one of the blankets," he suggested.

"We could do it on our hands and knees," Akane said at
almost the same time. "You know... with you behind me. I read it
in one of my books."

Ranma was shaking badly. "Uhm... yeah. Wait a second... I
thought all your books were about girls."

"There was a scene where one girl used a..." Akane gulped
and pantomimed a phallic shape.

Ranma boggled at the implication. Still, he carefully
lowered Akane to the ground. Her knees sunk into the moist soil a
little bit. She placed her hands on one of the exposed roots of
the tree to keep them from getting muddy.

He lifted her skirt, exposing her vulva and muscular
buttocks. For a few seconds he marvelled at the sight. He had seen
it before under various circumstances, but never because Akane
wanted him to. While he had been in a situation to touch those
parts of the feminine anatomy before, especially when that
feminine anatomy was his own, he had never really gotten such a
good view, even of his own female body's nether regions.

Akane's labia pressed closely together as she kneeled,
completely obscuring her clitoris and parting only slightly for
her dark opening. Her tiny anus was visible right above that,
separated from the other orifice only by a thin layer of flesh
that Ranma knew from experience was very sensitive.

Experimentally, he reached out and brushed the region
slightly.

"Ack!" Akane yelped. "What are you doing to my butt?"

"Nothing!" Ranma said apologetically.

"Hurry up, already!" she urged him.

Now how was this supposed to work? The mechanics always
seemed very simple when he fantasized about them, but it was very
rapidly turning out to be a lot more complex than "insert tab 'a'
into slot 'b'". She was quite a bit shorter than he was, even when
he was kneeling too. Should he lean over a little so that he was
at the same level?

That seemed like the best way to do it. Careful not to
knock the girl over, he knelt behind her and leaned over her.
Still, he actually had to grab himself and point his shaft in the
right direction before it lined up with Akane's waiting canal.

"Tell me... before you-- Yah!" Akane yelped, feeling the
pressure of Ranma's shaft for the first time.

"Sorry, I thought you knew."

"I can't see anything. How could I have known?"

"Geez, do you wanna do this or not?" Ranma demanded.

"Yes!"

She wanted to do it!. She wanted him! Was such a thing
possible?

Ranma began to push slightly, trying to slide himself
inside Akane. He felt a slight pressure before him.

"OWWW!"

"What?" He thought at first that he had pressed up against
her hymen, something that Ranma did not have as a girl for one
reason or another. After a few seconds, however, he realized that
she was also lacking her hymen. Akane was just very tight-- almost
painfully tight.

Why didn't Akane have a hymen? Wasn't it supposed to be a
sign of virginity? Had Akane... Surely not, Ranma thought. Akane
was very athletic, even more so than Kodachi, whose hymen had been
intact. It was likely to have torn already for some other reason.

"No, don't stop now!" Akane protested as Ranma froze in
uncertainty.

She was still quite wet as a result of their previous
activity, so Ranma had little trouble pushing his shaft into her.
It was wet... and slick... and oh-so tight. It was an incredible
sensation for Ranma as he worked himself into her.

"Nnnnn..." Akane groaned, her voice catching.

Ranma was afraid that he was hurting her. Akane was still
trembling, but actually seemed eager to continue. She was pushing
against him slightly, driving his rigid cock deeper. Ranma gasped
out loud. He had never felt anything so intense before, not even
in his most desperate battles.

With his hands on her narrow waist, he started pushing
more firmly.

"Yah!" Akane shouted, jerking upright a little bit just as
Ranma started to encounter a little more resistance.

"What?"

"I think that's it," Akane said quietly, touching her
belly with one hand.. "I think that's as far in as it gets. You
hit something."

Ranma nodded despite the fact that Akane could not see
him, and began to pull backwards slowly.

Glancing down, he could see that his member had a little
blood on it despite the fact that he hadn't torn her hymen. Was it
really that traumatic for her?

'Cervix' was a word he remembered from his 'Bodywatching'
book. That's what Ranma had hit inside Akane's body, the bottom-
most part of her womb. He wasn't sure if that was what was
bleeding, but he thought that it was possible.

Ranma thrust slowly again, savoring the feel of sliding
through Akane's tight passage against his length. The girl
shuddered again, but gasped out loud as his member sunk into her.
He rocked back, and slowly thrust again.

"Oohh..."

"Does it feel good?" Ranma asked half in curiosity and
half in dread. He really hoped that he wasn't hurting her.

"It feels... ah..." Akane shuddered a little more. "It's
very full. Oh. Do that again."

"This?" Ranma asked, thrusting again, but not really sure
what Akane was talking about.

"Uhmm.... The front," Akane whispered, pushing herself
more upright. "It's better if you push there."

Ranma shifted his grip so that he was holding her just
below her breasts. He thrust again, a little more quickly and
fluidly. Akane cried out, but her cry descended into a groan at
the last second.

"Again?" he asked.

"Again," she urged him.

Ranma began to thrust again, sliding in and out of Akane
as quickly as he dared. The girl kept crying as if in pain, but
her cries become closer and closer to the cries of pleasure that
Ranma wanted to hear. His grip shifted upwards until his hands
were grasping Akane's breasts, squeezing and kneading them as he
rocked against her. She lost her grip on the tree root in front of
her, but Ranma's strong arms were holding her up.

She kept urging him not to stop and started to urgently
buck her hips if he slowed at all. Her gasps and groans were
coming more rapidly now, but she still bit off the occasional cry
of pain.

All too quickly, Ranma felt like he was about to lose
control. It was a sensation that he was familiar with as a girl,
but had never felt before as a guy. All the muscles in his abdomen
and his legs seemed to want to freeze up. He realized that if they
didn't slow down soon, it would all be over.

Wasn't Akane supposed to finish before that happened? Was
it enough that she had already had an orgasm before they started?

Ranma bit his lip, doing his best to control his body. His
rocking and thrusting motion ground to a halt.

"What are you doing?" Akane asked in irritation.

Wordlessly, Ranma let go of one breast and slid his hand
down her chest and belly, down over her mound and inbetween her
lips. He could feel her engorged, sensitive nub, riding right
below his shaft.

She gasped out loud as he began to slide his fingers back
and forth over the top of it. There was more than enough moisture
to provide a coating of slick lubrication for his motions. Slowly,
he began to thrust again. He could feel the motions of his shaft
pull and stretch the flesh of Akane's vulva as he stimulated her.

"NNNNNN!!" Akane groaned, allowing herself to be supported
against his arm. She covered her face with her hands and started
to scream.

Ranma could feel her start to convulse. Her tight opening
clenched against him over and over again in short, powerful
bursts.

It was too much for him. He began to come as well, the
muscles in his legs locking and his thrusting movements becoming
erratic.

Akane collapsed, breathing heavily. One hand still on her
chest, Ranma could feel her heart pounding. His own heart was
beating almost painfully hard. He could hear the blood rushing
through his ears.

Slowly, unsure of how to proceed, Ranma lifted himself out
of his kneeling position. His rapidly softening member slid out of
Akane easily. It was covered in a thick paste of blood and semen.
The same mixture began to slowly dribble out of her opening,
running down over her lips.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

Akane didn't answer.

A little fearfully, he picked her up by the waist and
helped her to sit down on the tree root next to him. It was
uncomfortable, but probably better than sitting in the mud, he
thought. Not that it mattered. Akane's knees and elbows were
already pretty dirty.

Her eyes closed, she leaned against him, holding her head
against his shoulder. He could feel her rapid breaths against his
naked chest, and was a little surprised at the goose bumps they
raised.

As the two sat there in silence, the enormity of what had
just happened came crashing down on Ranma. Neither he nor Akane
were virgins any more. Indeed, he had just had sex with someone
who he thought he would never deal with again on any level not a
half hour before.

Had anyone seen? Had anyone heard his moans of pleasure,
or Akane's cries? What would Ranma's parents do if they knew?

More importantly, did Akane like it as much as he had?

Ranma clenched his eyes shut, trying to force all the
questions from his mind.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

Akane nodded weakly against his chest.

"What did you think?" he asked, trying to keep the hopeful
tone out of his voice.

Akane exhaled heavily. "It hurt like hell," she finally
said.

Ranma was crushed. Was that it? Was that the only thing
she felt? Why did she keep urging him on, if the only thing she
was feeling was--

"But... it got really good... mostly at the end," Akane
added.

Ranma blinked.

Akane reached down with one hand, probing at her nether
regions. She examined her hand for a few seconds, sniffing
curiously at the sticky mixture of her own fluids, blood, and
Ranma's seed.

"I'm bleeding?" she asked.

Ranma nodded. "I think most girls do," he noted in as
offhand a manner as he could manage. "You... you liked it?" he
asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Akane admitted. "It wasn't what
I was expecting. I was surprised when you started rubbing me
again." She wiped her hand off on her skirt and cuddled close to
Ranma. The martial artist could see the goose bumps starting to
rise on her naked shoulders even in the warmth of the jungle
night. "Weren't we just fighting?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ranma answered. What were they fighting about
again? It was so hard to remember now.

"God, I hope I don't get pregnant," Akane worried.

Ranma felt a sudden clenching feeling in his stomach. They
had indeed just done everything necessary to conceive a child.

"Uhmmm... Isn't there any way to tell?" he asked
nervously.

"Not for a few weeks," Akane noted. "I think there's a
pill I can take to keep it from happening if you're really worried
about it, but I don't know where to get it, especially out here."

Ranma grimaced. He wasn't sure if that worried him or not.
It concerned him, at least a little, he decided.

"So which way did you like it better?" Akane asked him.
"As a girl or a guy?"

"A guy!" Ranma announced wholeheartedly. Then he deflated
somewhat, his familiar defenses lowering. "Well, really, I didn't
get to do that much as a girl," he admitted. "You were squeezing
pretty hard. I think you bruised me," he said, pointing to a spot
over his pectoral muscle that was still red with Akane's hand
print.

"Hmmph! You deserved it, kissing me like that."

"Who kissed who?!"

"I think I remembered what we were fighting about," Akane
said, sighing.

Ranma nodded, rolling his eyes.

"So was I any different... different from the other
girls?" the dark-haired girl asked meekly.

Ranma paused for a second before answering that.

"Well, I didn't actually get to... you know... with the
others. God, I really am a tramp," he said out loud.

"No, you've got no control," Akane said quietly. "I think
there's a difference."

Both teens sighed deeply.

"What have we done?" Ranma wondered out loud, despairing a
little.

"Something pretty stupid," Akane guessed. "We'll probably
regret it later."

"Do you still hate me?" Ranma asked after a few more
minutes of silence, punctuated only by the quiet jungle sounds all
around them.

"I never hated you," Akane whispered. "I hated me... and
what you did to me. I'm angry. I'm especially angry that you made
out with everyone from the moon to Tokyo. But... I don't think
that I could do... do that... with someone I hated."

Ranma nodded in agreement.

"Are you in love with Nabiki?" Akane asked him in return.

Ranma frowned. "I think I might have been," he answered
quietly. "My body was in love with her at least," he said
deprecatingly. "But... that wasn't any good. She was interested in
what she thought I was and not the real me. I guess Taiyoko was a
good second choice."

"That was nice," Akane riposted.

"I'm not the one who tried to kill the both of them,"
Ranma parried. "No... I ain't in love with Nabiki. Even if I was,
I don't think I am now."

"Are you in love with me?" Akane asked in a tone that was
almost too quiet to hear.

Ranma thought for a long time before he answered. For some
reason he suddenly felt like he was back at the Tendou dojo,
standing out in front of everybody just before he decided to leave
with his parents. He felt like he was up on a tight-rope and that
the wrong move would send him cascading down.

"I think... " he took a deep breath. "I think I really
liked what we just did. I liked it a lot. I've been wanting it for
a long time. I think that because of that, my body has been making
me do a lot of stupid things... like making out with Kodachi."

"Well that was honest enough," Akane said, a hint of
despair entering her voice.

"But... I've also been thinking a lot about what I want
other than that. When I kissed Ukyou... I was trying to get her to
kiss me as both a guy and as a girl."

Akane gulped and froze. "Did she?"

Ranma shook his head. "My body tells me a lot of things
now. It tells me that it would be fun to turn into a girl and have
sex with Ryouga and Kunou and every other guy who comes near me.
It tells me that I should try to have sex with the first girl who
comes along, regardless of the consequences."

"So... am I just the 'first girl'?"

"I didn't even think you'd count as the 'last girl',"
Ranma admitted. "Actually, I'm surprised as hell that you haven't
beaten me to death yet for what just happened."

Akane laughed out loud. "Don't count your chickens yet. I
may decide later that I'm upset about it."

Ranma even smiled a little bit. "Mostly, I think that what
I want is to understand what I want. You said earlier that you
didn't know which you wanted. I think that's the case for me too.
I want someone who's not gonna care if I'm always a guy or not. I
want someone who's not gonna be mad at me if I want to be a girl
when... when we have sex."

Several minutes of silence passed between the two.

"That must have been pretty hard to say," Akane guessed.
"Especially for you."

"It was." Ranma took a deep breath. "I think that right
now, my body is in love with you, because you let me do that just
now. I don't know if that means I'm really in love with you, or
I'm just lusting after you. I don't know if that doesn't mean that
I'm gonna get pissed off again or if you're going to start hating
me, or... or... or whatever. More and more, I'm beginning to
realize that I don't know what love really is."

Akane nodded. "I think that maybe I don't know either.
Somewhere in the back of my head, I wonder if there weren't a lot
of other things that made me want to do... that-- have sex with
you. There's inheriting the dojo to think about... beating all the
other girls. I want to do it again, though," she said. "I want to
feel that again... with you. But that's just what you said-- Lust.
I don't even know if I want you to be a girl or a guy when we do
it."

Ranma nodded, smiling. "So despite the fact that we're
risking getting you pregnant, we don't know if girls or boys are
better, and we're not even sure who loves who, we both want to
have sex again."

Akane looked skywards for a second. "Yes. That about sums
it up."

Ranma shook his head. "Maybe I was just born horny. Both
my parents always seem to want to go at it like rabbits. You
should have seen them earlier. Scariest thing you've ever seen--
grown woman riding a panda."

"Ewww!" Akane's face turned green.

"Not like that!" Ranma shouted. "I mean, she was actually
riding him. They were sneaking off into the brush somewhere to get
some time alone."

"Oh... Actually that sounds pretty romantic," Akane noted
wistfully.

"And what did we just do?"

"Uhhmm..." Akane evaded. "We better get cleaned up before
they or the others get back," she said, gesturing to the sticky,
muddy mess they had made of themselves.

Ranma darted briefly back into the front of the camp,
keeping an eye out for any probing eyes. He dashed inside the tent
he shared with his father and quickly located a fresh pair of
boxers and his red Chinese shirt. By the time he came back out,
Akane had refastened her blouse and was cleaning the damp soil off
her arms and legs with the rest of the water Ranma had heated
earlier.

"Listen," he told her quietly. "I'll make you a deal.
Assuming you don't get pregnant and make this all a moot point,
let's be friends... until both of us decide what we really want."

Akane looked at him seriously. She had been smiling just a
second before, but now her expression was open and fearful. He
realized what an incredible power he had to hurt her right now.

"You keep me from letting my body make my decisions for me
like I have been, and I'll help you keep your secret," he offered
sincerely. "You give me time to work things out, and I'll give you
time too. You help me with my problems and I'll help you with
yours. Then... maybe... I dunno. Maybe you can inherit the dojo."

Akane was silent, but a spark of hope flared in her eyes.

"Maybe we'll decide that we can't stand each other," Ranma
amended. "Maybe we'll decide we made a real mistake here, and each
go looking for someone else. Maybe... maybe we just won't know
until we know. Until we do know... friends?"

"Yes," Akane said, reaching out to him.

Ranma grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

"Friends," Akane agreed. "Very close friends," she
laughed, gesturing at her body, which was still quite mussed. "And
then... maybe something more."

"Maybe," Ranma said in a tone that promised her the world.

------------------------------
Epilogue
------------------------------

The customers of Yu Sing's 'Famous Cantonese Cuisine' were
packed tightly into the restaurant. In fact, there had been a line
outside the door for the last few days comprised of both tourists
visiting Hong Kong and locals who lived in or around the bustling
city. Yu Sing, a fat, older man, smiled bitter-sweetly as he
looked over the crowd, knowing his restaurant had never done so
good, and would likely never do quite so well again.

Despite the occasional mouthful of peppered beef or
lightly-seasoned noodles that traveled from plate to mouth, most
of the attention in the restaurant was focused not on the food,
but on the two beautiful waitresses who whirled between tables in
high heels and dresses so short and tight as to be scandalous.

Both women had flaming red hair, but the taller one wore
hers in a bun while the shorter wore hers in a braided pigtail.
Other than that, the two could be sisters. Their routine was so
effortless and practiced that it was like a dance. Indeed, it was
almost silent inside the dining room. The only music to provide
accompaniment to the ladies' elegant routine was the click and tap
of their heels against the hardwood floor.

Eventually, one of the guests made the inevitable mistake.
Someone did it at least once a night, the proprietor thought to
himself. Tonight, it was a balding, chubby Japanese man in a
dress-shirt and too-tight slacks. A tourist or a businessman, most
likely, who had one more drink with dinner than he really should
have.

It was innocent, really, the restaurant owner thought.
Every Japanese man he had met had been inclined to the same thing.
Still, just as soon as the man's hand came out from under the
shorter waitress's skirt, his eyes shone with the uncertainty of
what he had just got himself into.

The waitress screeched and grabbed her bottom where it had
been so roughly squeezed. She allowed the tray of drinks she had
been carrying to crash to the floor. Yu Sing didn't mind. The bulk
of customers it drew more than made up for the expense of the
floor show.

"You!" the girl screeched in thickly-accented Japanese.
"You have put hands upon my body!"

Every eye on the house was fixed upon her.

The other waitress sat her tray down on the nearest table
and began to wail. "Oh, no!" she cried out, perhaps a little too
dramatically. "My poor daughter!"

"Mother," the younger, shorter waitress cried, running
over and burying her face in the other's bosom. "I have been
defiled! I am no longer pure!"

Mother and daughter? It was possible, most of the patrons
thought. The mother seemed awfully young. Still the resemblance
they bore was close enough.

"Who has done this to you, daughter?" The mother demanded.

"That man!" the daughter shouted, pointing at the
overweight businessman who had pinched her almost-exposed
derriere. He was struggling to get out of his seat, waving his
hands to try to distance himself from the incident. "That man is
the one who stole my innocence!"

"Then all is lost!" the mother wailed. She pulled the
bundle from her back that had been otherwise unnoticeable or
overlooked the rest of the evening. Once she pulled the silk scarf
off of it, however, many customers gasped in shock or dread. Those
who had seen this before sat back and watched eagerly as the woman
drew her katana, knowing what was coming next.

"I will not have a daughter who is soiled," the mother
pronounced coldly, leveling the katana at the younger girl. "Your
honor must be cleansed with blood. Either sacrifice your life to
cleanse your honor, or bring me the head of he who has despoiled
you!"

"I will, Mother!" the daughter declared fiercely. She
turned back to the casual molester, who was rapidly trying to
retreat. "You! You must face me in combat so that I may regain my
honor!" she announced, pointing directly at the man.

He was beginning to look for an exit but two of the burly
off-duty cooks had taken up positions by the front door to prevent
him from leaving.

The waitress strode agilely towards him and lifted the
blubbering man by his collar. He hovered in the air, grasping her
wrist, desperately trying to free himself.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" He begged. "I'm sorry! I
won't do it again, I promise."

"Will the apologies of a craven coward cleanse my honor?"
the waitress demanded impatiently.

"Waaahhh!! I don't wanna die!"

Angrily, the waitress threw him at the door. The cooks
stepped aside, opening the door as they did so, providing a clean
trajectory to the street outside. The man landed roughly on the
sidewalk outside and rolled for several meters before staggering
to his feet and running away in abject terror.

The room began to fill with applause.

The two waitresses had the grace not to bow. Instead, they
resumed their normal work. Once the mess had been cleaned up, it
was as if nothing had happened at all. Still, all eyes were fixed
on the two, hoping that someone else would be stupid enough to try
something inappropriate.

It was the same routine ever night, with one or two
variations. If someone made a pass at the mother, then the
daughter would leap to her defense. If the daughter was accosted,
then the mother would demand that she cleanse her honor by killing
her assailant. Either way, Yu Sing lost one terrified customer and
gained twenty more who came to see the beautiful, yet deadly
waitresses.

After the owner closed his restaurant, he went back into
the kitchen, where the two waitresses were helping his two new
dishwashers by drying and stacking freshly cleaned dishes.

"Your performance tonight was wonderful as always,
ladies," he said in near-flawless Japanese.

"Wasn't nothin'" the youngest red-head replied, smiling.
"I love showing guys like that who's boss."

"I don't see why I can't wait tables," one of the
dishwashers, a petite young Japanese girl with short, dark hair
said.

"That's 'cause you always mess up the food, Akane!" The
waitress challenged.

"He's right," the other dishwasher, a tall, bulky man with
a bandanna over his bald head agreed before the girl could start
shouting. "You do tend to mix up the orders."

"Akane's getting better," the older woman said, defending
the girl. "She even helped the cooks cut vegetables this evening.
"She may be ready to wait tables in just a short time."

"Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about," the
restaurant owner said. "Saotome-san, when you all started here,
you agreed to work until you had earned the amount you specified.
As much as I want you to stay, I gather that this is travel money,
correct?"

The shorter waitress, Ranma, grabbed the envelope the man
was holding out. "Whoohoo! It's done. No more waitressing!"

"It was sooner than I thought," Genma announced.

"It's just because Aunty Saotome wouldn't let you eat or
gamble away all our earnings," Akane accused.

"There's that, too."

"Be nice," Nodoka chided the girl. "Still, it will be nice
to get back home."

"I'll take my leave of you, then," Yu Sing told them
sadly. "It has been a most profitable time for me. Any time you're
passing through again, please feel free to come work for a few
weeks, months, or even years."

With a sad chuckle, the man turned and left his now former
employees to their own devices.

"Not bad," Ranma said. "This will be more than enough to
cover our room bill and plane tickets back home. Still, I don't
understand why you didn't keep enough of what the scientists gave
us to do that in the first place!" Ranma complained to her father.

"That was my decision," Nodoka said. "I'm better at it
than your father, but I probably still would have lost a
significant amount of the money, so we decided to have Takamura-
san deposit it directly into the Tendou's accounts."

"Nabiki will have spent it all by the time we get home,"
Akane noted sourly.

"That wasn't very nice, Akane-chan," Nodoka scolded her.
"Besides, I'm certain that Kasumi and your father will reign her
in. I hope."

"Speaking of which," Genma said, "Assuming that the money
is indeed waiting for us when we get home, we need to dispose of
it in a responsible manner."

"No weekend drinking binges for you, at any rate," Ranma
teased.

"Rather. Actually, Nodoka and I have been talking, and
we've been thinking about buying a new house when we return."

"What? No way!"

"We made a great deal of money, Ranma," Nodoka explained.
"Takamura-san paid us very handsomely for our time after he and
his partners located the gold deposit they were looking for. It's
not quite enough to buy a house outright, but I believe that it
will put us very close to that goal without very much financing at
all. We might even be able to do it without a mortgage if we're
very lucky."

"All right. That's pretty cool!" Ranma exclaimed.

"It also means that you have limited time to decide what
you're going to do regarding certain other matters, Ranma," Genma
said as he drained the dish-sink and dried his hands. "There's
still the engagement between our family and the Tendous to
consider... if you've changed your mind at all in the last couple
months. If we did buy a house, would you want to come live with us
until you graduate high-school, or would you want to continue to
train at the Tendou's dojo?"

Ranma was silent. She and Akane locked eyes nervously for
a second, but said nothing.

"I'll let you decide," Genma told his child. "It will
still be a while before we're back home. Just keep in mind what's
at stake either way."

After the two adults had left the kitchen to make
preparations for their trip, Ranma and Akane were left alone for a
short time.

"What do you think?" Ranma asked, a tone of dread in her
voice.

"I'm really happy for you!" Akane exclaimed. "A house...
wow!"

Ranma's shoulders slumped slightly. "I mean..."

"I know," Akane said, her eyes a little wild. "Honestly, I
don't know how I feel about the prospect." She reached out with
one hand.

Looking around to make sure her parents weren't watching,
Ranma grabbed it with both of hers and gave a quick squeeze.

"We'll just have to play it by ear," Ranma told her.

Akane nodded.

Then, careful to make sure that no one could see, the two
shared a brief kiss, Ranma's high heels making up the slight
difference in their heights.

* * *

The next day, Nodoka booked a flight for the four of them
back to Japan on a JAL 747. They left in the early morning and
arrived during late afternoon at Narita International Airport in
Japan. All four were exhausted after the long flight, but happy to
be home after such a long absence. Luckily, Ranma managed to stay
male the entire trip, despite no fewer than three close calls when
klutzy stewardesses tried to spill various drinks on him.

It was as Ranma was coming out of the boarding ramp that
he saw something that surprised him.

It was Makuna-sensei and his lover, Ayanobu. They were
waiting patiently in the boarding lounge, each carrying a large
overnight bag.

Ranma hesitated only for a second before jogging over to
the pair. Smiling widely, he stepped in front of them and waved.
"Hey! You're out of the hospital!"

Indeed, Takedo Makuna was alive and apparently healthy,
although he looked very weak, and even more scarecrow-like than
before.

Both of them eyed him nervously. Ayanobu in particular
seemed to cringe away from him.

"Excuse me," Makuna-sensei said. Much to Ranma's relief,
the man's eyes did not linger on his body."You look familiar," the
doctor continued, "but I don't beleive we've--"

Ranma began to laugh. "Of course not. Here," he reached
into his backpack an pulled out a bottle of drinking water he
brought onto the plane with him. He opened the lid and poured it
over his head.

Both men's eyes widened as Ranma transformed in front of
them, becoming the small red-headed girl they both knew.

"Ranma!" Makuna-sensei laughed out loud. "It's you. The
curse... It was real! Tofuu-sensei told me it was real, but... My
goodness, what an incredible thing!"

"Yeah," Ranma replied happily, not flinching when the
psychologist grabbed her hands.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" he said emotionally. "I
heard you went overseas for a job."

"I just made it back," Ranma replied, thumbing over her
shoulder at the boarding ramp. "Last time I saw you, you were on
your back and hooked up to eight different kinds of machinery."

Makuna nodded and tapped his chest where he had been shot.
"I understand I have you to thank for saving my life."

Ranma shrugged. "Anybody else would have done the same
thing."

"I also understand that you spent quite a bit of time
helping Taiyoko Saiteiki after I was hospitalized. That was very
brave of you. You've done quite a bit for her... maybe even more
than I could. She's very happy now, and she and I probably owe a
great deal of that to you."

Ranma coughed a little uncomfortably. "So, you two are
going on a trip?"

Makuna nodded sadly. "I've lost one of my lungs," he said
forlornly. "And I've had pneumonia a few times since I woke up. As
much as I would like to start practicing again and helping people,
I've simply got to take some time off to rest and build my
strength back up."

"We have a friend in Hawaii who is lending us a beach
house for a few months," Ayanobu added, much happier since the
Ranma he knew materialized in front of him.

"We'll take a bit of a sabbatical," Makuna-sensei
explained. "And then we'll come back and set my practice back up."

"Well don't take too long," Ranma said teasingly. "You owe
me about three or four months worth of head-shrinking sessions."

Makuna smiled widely. "I'll call you just as soon as I
return."

They chatted briefly about Ranma's adventures in India,
and then in China as they worked for travel money to fly back to
Japan.

Ranma waved his parents and Akane over and introduced
Makuna-sensei and Ayanobu to them.

Genma paled a little bit when he realized that the couple
in front of him was openly gay, but there wasn't any
unpleasantness.

Afterwards, Ranma waved to the two as they boarded the
plane that would take them away.

The train ride back to Nerima district was fairly
straightforward. Only a couple hours or so after they had arrived
back in Japan, the group was walking down the street that would
take them to the Tendou dojo.

While Nodoka and Genma were busy chatting, Ranma smiled
reassuringly at Akane, adjusting her pack to cover her quick
indiscretion. The dark-haired girl seemed a little nervous, but
calmed somewhat upon seeing Ranma's expression.

Finally, they strode up the walk to the dojo. Genma rapped
his fist sharply against the door several times.

They were greeted at the door by a tall young woman with
short brown hair. She was wearing a short, low-cut dress and sheer
stockings.

She looked familiar to Ranma, but for the life of her,
Ranma simply couldn't place the girl.

The young woman's eyes widened upon seeing Akane and the
Saotomes.

"Oh my," Genma noted in a whisper tone.

"Akane!" she shouted.

"Kasumi! What did you do to your hair?" Akane asked as she
wrapped her arms around the older girl.

Kasumi? Ranma shook her head. This couldn't be Kasumi. The
Kasumi he knew had long hair and always wore long, conservative
dresses. She certainly never wore anything that displayed that
much thigh.

"Do you like it? I cut it a few weeks ago. As a matter of
fact, I was just about to go out."

"Oh?" Nodoka asked curiously.

"Yes, I was just about to leave for data with my
BOYFRIEND." She turned and shouted the last word back into the
house, as if in challenge.

"Yes, yes," Nabiki's voice drifted back. "We all know
you're going out, Kasumi. Have a wonderful time."

"Oh, but I can't leave now," Kasumi said sadly. "You just
got here and--"

"Nonsense," Nodoka said, urging the girl into the heeled
shoes she had left next to the door. "We'll be here when you get
back. You shouldn't break a date. Is he handsome?"

"Oh yes," Kasumi said dreamily.

Ranma rubbed her chin in thought. She supposed that being
in a relationship might make someone want to change their
appearance, but to do so in such radical fashion was a little
extreme.

After warmly embracing both Akane and Nodoka again, Kasumi
pecked both Genma and Ranma on the cheek and ran off.

"That was surprising," Genma noted quietly.

"I'll say," Akane agreed.

Inside the main room, Soun and Nabiki were waiting.
Taiyoko was sitting timidly behind the table.

"Saotome!" Soun shouted. "I thought I heard my old friend!
How was the trip? And more importantly," he continued, eyeing
Ranma and Akane curiously, "how did our p--"

"Just a second, Daddy," Nabiki interrupted, roughly
shoving her father aside. She poked her finger into Genma's chest
accusingly. "You are in deep trouble, mister. Do you have any idea
how upset I was when twenty million yen just magically appeared in
*my* bank account?"

"Uhhm... I thought..."

"What if we got audited?!" Nabiki shouted. "Do you have
any idea how difficult it would be to explain away that much
money? Have you even paid taxes on it yet?"

"Nabiki, I'm afraid that was my fault," Nodoka said,
trying to get her husband out of trouble.

"Fine. I can see the both of you need a quick dose of
basic finance."

"Nabiki," Soun said, trying to interrupt. "I need to talk
with Saotome for just a--"

"It can wait, Daddy. Now the both of you need to know
exactly when and where to deposit massive sums of money like
this..."

Ranma tuned Nabiki's financial lecture out, and instead
turned to Taiyoko, who was nervously approaching Akane.

"T-tendou-san," the girl stammered. "I'd like t-to
apologize for--"

Akane shook her head and cut the girl off. "No, I'm the
one that needs to apologize. I treated you in a very poor manner
because of something that was wrong with me. I'm sorry."

Taiyoko froze, surprised at Akane's behavior.

"This is where you say it's okay," Ranma prompted her.
"'Cause I want the two of you to get along and not rip each
other's eyes out."

"Yes!" Taiyoko agreed. "It is okay. I accept your
apology," she said sincerely, bowing a little as she did so. "You
two have made up?" she guessed.

"We're not slapping each other around any more," Ranma
said evasively.

"Oh, that's good," Taiyoko said, a little disappointed
that there didn't seem to be any more going on between them.

Akane coughed uncomfortably, unable to meet the girl's
eyes after Ranma's statement.

Taiyoko began to stare suspiciously at the two.

Ranma sighed and rolled her eyes. As bad as she was at
keeping secrets, Akane was worse.

Seeing that Nabiki was raising her voice at the Saotomes,
Taiyoko shifted her stare and began to glare at Nabiki.

"That's not very nice, Nabiki!" she said in a sharp tone.

Nabiki halted in mid-tirade and nodded. Her shoulders
drooped slightly.

"You're right," she admitted, glancing submissively back
at the blonde girl. "Anyway, back before I got mad, I was going to
say that I took the liberty of investing a lot of what you
deposited in low-risk, medium-yield bonds."

"We can count on you to help us keep track of it all,
can't we?" Nodoka suggested. "For a small fee?"

Nabiki's eyes lit up at the prospect.

"I didn't see that one coming," Ranma whispered to Akane.

Akane, too, was surprised at her sister's behavioral
change and apparent submissiveness to the other girl.

"Is Kasumi going out with Tofuu-sensei?" she asked Nabiki
before she could change the subject again.

"I don't know," Nabiki said, caught off guard. "We have
yet to meet this 'boyfriend' of hers. For all I know she's going
to the library and sitting by herself all evening every evening."

"It's probably Tofuu-sensei," Taiyoko added. "She seems
very concerned about his age."

Nabiki nodded. "She's probably a little shy about letting
our poor father know that his teenaged daughter is being kept out
late at night by a man in his thirties."

"I wouldn't mind at all," Soun said from across the room,
where he had finally gotten Nodoka and Genma away from the others.
"Tofuu is a good boy. She could certainly have picked a more
difficult romantic attachment."

Nabiki shrugged. "I think she's just trying to show
Taiyoko and me how 'evil' we're being."

"She is very excited about her new relationship," Taiyoko
said, scolding Nabiki again.

"She's reveling in it," Nabiki added. "You saw how she was
dressed. Daddy cried for two days last month when she cut her
hair."

"She's going out most evenings?" Ranma verified curiously,
her stomach grumbling a little bit. "Who's cooking dinner?"

"Ah, yes," Nabiki replied, grinning. "You missed the
fights."

"Fights?"

Taiyoko blushed, and couldn't quite meet anyone's eyes.

"She still cooks," Nabiki explained, "but we just have
dinner earlier... except when Taiyoko beats her to it. They've
been fighting over the kitchen since you all left."

"We're not fighting," Taiyoko stated weakly.

"You're only person who has *ever* moved Kasumi to
profanity, my dear," Nabiki said. "That's fighting."

Ranma shook her head and did her best to try to keep from
laughing.

Akane was staring in disbelief. "Kasumi swore at you?" she
asked in awe. "I've trashed the kitchen before, and she never
swore at me."

"Well, it's not that I tried to make her angry..."

Ranma listened to Taiyoko try to defend herself, amazed
that he had found someone... anyone whom Kasumi didn't get along
with. Still, they were both human.

It was as Akane and Taiyoko were comparing horror stories
that Nabiki put her hand on Ranma's shoulder. Once she caught the
red-head's attention, she gestured for Ranma to step into the
hallway.

"Hey," Ranma greeted her nervously.

Nabiki frowned, made several false starts at trying to
speak, and eventually said, "I'm sorry, Ranma."

Ranma stared emotionlessly at the girl.

"I just wanted you to know that," Nabiki said. "It's hard
for me to say, so don't expect to hear it again."

"Well, I'm sorry that I... I dunno... misunderstood what
you wanted."

"I'll admit that I took advantage of that pretty badly,"
Nabiki said flatly. "I thought... well, you already know what I
thought. Forgive me."

"I'm sorry too," Ranma told her in reply. "And I'm sorry
that I wasn't what you wanted. For a little while there, I thought
that... well..." the redhead shrugged. "Shampoo told me something
a while back that I think applies here. 'It could have been
wonderful'."

Nabiki nodded and closed her eyes. Ranma was surprised to
see a little moisture start to gather in the corner of her eyes.

"Are you happy with her?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. It's not like I thought it would be," the taller
girl admitted candidly, "but I think we are happy. I think that
both of us have grown up a lot since you left. Father has helped
us and, despite the fact that she's still upset about it, so has
Kasumi."

"I'm glad."

"And how are you doing?" Nabiki demanded of Ranma, trying
to change the subject.

The girl shrugged. "Like I said, Akane and I aren't
slapping each other around any more."

Nabiki stared down her nose at Ranma.

"We may not be honest with everyone else right now," Ranma
clarified, "but we're being honest with each other. I'll let you
know what happens, okay?"

Nabiki exhaled heavily. "That's enough, I suppose. Don't
hurt her, Ranma. Promise me."

"I can't promise you that," Ranma told her.

"Ranma..."

"But I can try. Okay?"

Nabiki bit her lip at Ranma's smile, but nodded in
acceptance.

* * *

After Ranma managed to get away from the Tendous, she
began to take a long walk around the neighborhood. She stopped by
public restroom to get some warm water, and then took off in the
direction of Furinkan high.

Most of the people had already left for the afternoon, but
there were still a few club members around. The soccer team was
practicing on one of the playing fields and the chemistry club was
busy waving smoke out of one of the third-floor windows. Other
than that, nothing was really going on.

It was as he was making his way to the shopping district
near the high school when he was roughly grabbed from behind.

"Ranma!" Ryouga yelled. "You have to hide me!"

"Whoa, P-chan," Ranma tried to disengage himself from the
muscular martial artist. "What's wrong?"

"They've teamed up on me!" Ryouga said, tears running down
his face. "I thought I could trust her but... It's too horrible to
even talk about!"

"Calm down! Now, slowly, tell me what's wrong."

"It's Yoiko," Ryouga blurted out. "She's decided that--"

"Charlotte!" a high-pitched voice called out, audible over
everything else Ranma could hear.

"Oh no. They've found me," the lost boy murmured, his eyes
growing wide in horror. For the first time, Ranma realized that
his rival was wearing a rhinestone-studded collar that was
fastened around his neck with a tiny pink heart.

"She didn't..." Ranma grumbled.

"Come back to Mommy, Charlotte! I'll take care of you."

Ryouga's nerve broke. He simply turned and ran away.

A few seconds later, Azusa Shiratore and Yoiko Hibiki,
Ryouga's little sister, appeared from around a corner, both on
roller skates.

"This way, Amanda!" Yoiko prompted as they both whizzed by
Ranma without recognizing or even noticing him. "You'll catch my
Oniichan yet!"

"Thank you so much, Marienne!" Azusa squealed. "Come back,
Charlotte! Come back! We haven't had our happily ever after yet!"

Ranma shook his head sadly.

"Sorry, Ryouga. There ain't nothin' I can do for you," he
said to no one in particular. The pigtailed martial artist walked
away, shaking his head sadly.

A few minutes later, he was in front of Ucchan's
Okonomiyaki.

Ranma took a deep breath. He had been dreading this for
weeks.

Even though the door wasn't open and the shop curtain
wasn't out, which surprised him a little, Ranma pulled the door
open and stepped inside.

All the tables and chairs were gone.

Ranma clenched his eyes. Was he too late?

"Hello?" Ukyou's voice called down the stairs. "I'm sorry,
but we're closed," she announced.

"Ucchan," Ranma called out. "It's me."

There was complete and utter silence inside the vacant
restaurant. After a few minutes, Ukyou appeared at the bottom of
the stairway. She was wearing a sweater and jeans despite the fact
that Ranma expected to see her in her usual costume.

Her eyes were wide, but she didn't say anything.

"Are you moving?" Ranma queried, trying to break the
silence between them.

"Uhh... yeah. For a little while anyways," the chef
responded.

Despite the exchange, several more quiet seconds passed
between the two. The expression on Ukyou's face shifted rapidly
between anger, sadness, and even hope.

"You're back," she noted quietly.

"Just got back today."

"Did you have a good time on your job?" she queried.

Ranma shrugged. "It wasn't bad. It was hot and sticky out
in the jungle. Then I had to wait tables for a few weeks in China
to get travel money to come back."

"So... I guess I should ask you why you're even here,"
Ukyou said a little more forcefully. "After all, it's not hard to
guess where Akane's been this whole time."

Ranma really didn't have an answer for that.

"I've only had a few months to think about it," Ukyou
continued. "God, Ranma," she growled, rubbing her forehead. "Why
did you do that to me? You put me through so much and then you
took off like a bat out of hell. When Akane turned up missing the
next day at school, I didn't even have to wonder what happened."

Ranma didn't have to ask what 'that' was.

"I was feeling very upset when I came in that day," he
explained quietly. "I've been having some problems. I think I was
trying to get you to show me everything was okay when it really
wasn't."

"So could Akane kiss you when you were a girl?" Ukyou
demanded accusingly.

Ranma couldn't quite meet he eyes.

"God-dammit," Ukyou hissed, turning away from the martial
artist.

"Ukyou, I came to apologize," Ranma said in a clear,
honest tone of voice.

"Apologize for what? Building me up and then knocking me
down so hard that it almost killed me?" she shouted angrily. Tears
began to flow more freely down her cheeks.

"Yeah." Ranma swallowed hard. "Also for letting you
believe something that wasn't true." Ranma took a deep breath. "I
didn't know it when I came in here, but I think I was only running
on hormones that day. I've been changing... a lot. It was because
of the surgery."

Ukyou shook her head, staring at the floor.

"At first I didn't say anything because I didn't know
how," Ranma continued. "Then, when I did start to figure out how,
I didn't want to. I don't know if I was being more selfish or
immature."

"So, that's it, huh? 'Sorry, Ucchan, but you lost out,'"
the chef bit off. "And how the hell am I supposed to answer that?
Sorry, but I couldn't be a lesbian for you?"

Ranma stood still, soaking up the words coming from the
girl who's heart he had just broken.

"Was it really that important to you?" she asked.

Ranma exhaled heavily. "That's the thing. I still don't
know."

"And I suppose Akane's happy with that. It's no big secret
around school any more about her sister. I suppose Akane is the
same way."

Ranma shrugged. "I can't talk for Akane, Ukyou. I can just
talk for me. All I can say is that I'm sorry."

"Tell me one thing, Ranma," the girl demanded, wiping the
tears from her cheeks. "Did you ever feel the same way about me as
I felt about you?"

"No," Ranma said. "And I didn't tell you because I wanted
you to keep being there for me. I'm sorry."

Ukyou deflated. She sat on the bottom step and started to
bawl into her hands.

She didn't protest when Ranma sat down next to her. She
punched in angrily in the arm several times, but didn't actually
demand he leave.

After the storm of tears had passed, Ukyou sat calmly next
to boy she once thought loved her. Staring blearily at the empty
floor, she began to speak again.

"Like I said, I've had a few months to deal with it," she
said quietly. "I just needed to hear it from your mouth. God,
you're an immature jerk."

Ranma was silent. He didn't think another 'I'm sorry'
would significantly help matters.

"So you and Akane are going out now, huh?"

Ranma shook his head. "We're... trying to figure things
out. Things are very complex, and I don't think she's very sure of
anything. I'm not either, really."

"So how far have you been with her," Ukyou demanded.

"Uh..."

"You have to tell me, Ranma," she said. "I need to know."

"We... uhmmm..."

"I think you as much as admitted you kissed her. How much
further did it go than that? How far? 'B' or 'C'?"

"Uhmm... 'C'," Ranma admitted.

Ukyou's shoulders slumped even further. "I thought it
might end up this way," she said calmly after a few more seconds.
"Even before you had that surgery and started acting different. I
just wish that..." she trailed off, apparently unable to continue.

"I don't want you to hate me," Ranma urged her. "I still
want to be your friend. I understand if you don't want that."

"I spent ten years hating you, Ranma," Ukyou said quietly.
"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could start again. I'm
angry... mad as hell really. I think I'm going to kick both your
and Akane's asses the next time I see the two of you. No, I don't
hate you. I don't think I'm ready to be friends just yet."

"I understand," Ranma said, noting the empty room around
him. Ukyou's plans were fairly clear.

Ukyou nodded. "I've known it was coming, so I was planning
to get away. The movers came yesterday, and I was finishing
packing up everything else upstairs. I almost thought I was going
to leave without seeing you."

"Where were you headed?" Ranma asked, more to try to keep
the silence away than anything else.

"My Mom-- don't think you ever met her-- she left my dad
before I ever met you. Hated okonomiyaki."

"That's rough." Ranma suppressed the urge to laugh in such
a serious situation.

"Anyway, she's remarried and living in Hiroshima," Ukyou
detailed. "She offered to help me come and set up shop there so
long as I didn't make her eat any of my cooking."

"So you're leaving pretty soon?"

"Tonight. She's coming to pick me up. I get to meet my
'step-father' for the first time, too. Joy."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "At least you know where your Mom
was when you were growing up. I thought that mine might have been
dead."

"That's true."

"So, maybe later on, we can be friends again?"

"I don't know, Ranma," Ukyou said seriously. "Maybe. Stop
by my new shop some time, and we'll see."

Ranma sighed and nodded.

"Be sure to bring Akane, so I can slap her around some,"
Ukyou chuckled. "Now get out of here before I start crying again.
It hurts too much to see you right now."

Ranma closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him.
Doing his best to comply with Ukyou's wishes, he stood, touched
her shoulder lightly with one hand, and left.

Tatewaki Kunou happened to be waiting outside in his
familiar hakama, leaning against a telephone pole.

"True love is fragile," he said quietly. "Once lost, 'tis
never regained. Love's reward is grief."

Ranma paused, a little stunned.

"Yo, Kunou-sempai."

"Good day to you, Saotome," the kendoist replied, smiling
softly. "Forgive me if I assume too much, but I gather you did not
enter yon restaurant to express your undying affection for its
proprietor."

"No. You got that right," Ranma said in a depressed tone.
"But, I had to do it. I don't think there was any other way."

"There is one other you must talk to, then, either to lift
her heart or to break it."

"I know," Ranma agreed. "I was kinda planning on heading
over to your place and seeing if Kodachi was there. I want to get
this over with."

"I see," Kunou said, his smile fading somewhat. "Well, let
us walk to my family's humble estate, and I will do my best to
deflect the debris when my sister expresses her displeasure with
you."

Ranma nodded and followed silently behind the kendoist.
They arrived at the mansion all too quickly... too quickly for
Ranma to try to decide how he was going to handle the situation.
Kunou led Ranma through the house, past the room where Ranma and
Kodachi had nearly surrendered to each other, to the far end of
the elegant hallway.

"She has been expecting you," Kunou whispered, gesturing
to the intricately scrolled double-door of Kodachi's bedroom.
"Please, be honest with my sister. I love her and I would spare
her as much pain as possible, even if it means hurting her now."

Ranma nodded.

"I'll wait out here," Kunou said. "And I have several
common antidotes ready nearby should you need them afterwards."

"You're really boosting my confidence here."

"I know my sister," Kunou deadpanned. "Good luck to you,
Ranma. You're going to need it."

Ranma took a deep breath and knocked on the door in front
of him.

"Come in," Kodachi's voice called out from inside.

Ranma turned the knob and stepped inside.

Kodachi had prepared herself for him. Her hair was
elegantly curled and her face had been lightly made up. She was
wearing something pretty similar to what she had been the last
time Ranma had seen her, if a little less revealing. It was a
black silk corset, garter, and panty set, each embroidered with
tiny roses. It displayed Kodachi's attributes without baring them.
Over that, the gymnast wore a filmy, diaphanous robe that
descended about as far as the tops of her stockings.

Her expression was full of hope, love, and desire, if more
than a little bit of nervousness. She stared into Ranma's face
honestly and openly.

In one hand, she held a full glass of water.

Everything Kodachi wanted and everything she was prepared
to offer in return was quite clear to Ranma, even though the girl
had said nothing. Every thought she had and everything she had
gone through was apparent.

For a second, Ranma remembered the night they had come so
close to becoming lovers. If not for an accident of fate, they
would have. All else would be moot by now. For a moment, Ranma was
willing to forget everything else that had happened and fall
against the gymnast's lean, beautiful body.

Then Ranma remembered what he had shared with Akane, even
though neither of them were sure they wanted it or knew what to do
afterwards.

He bowed his head to the floor.

Several seconds passed before the glass hit the floor in
front of him, shattering. Most of the glass spread across the
floor, but a few pieces stuck in the legs of Ranma's canvas pants.
Enough of the water splashed up to change Ranma.

It was only a few moments later before she heard Kodachi's
light foot-steps approach her or felt her chin roughly grabbed and
her face lifted back up so that the gymnast could stare into her
eyes. She thought at first that Kodachi was going to try to force
Ranma to kiss her, but was a little surprised to see the girl's
face burning with anger and loss.

"I swear to you," Kodachi hissed, "that this is not over!
I will have you, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks."

"Kodachi--"

"Be still, Ranma-sama."

"Kodachi, I'm sorry."

"Don't say that!" The girl shouted angrily. "I don't want
to hear that! You're the man I've given my heart to, and if you
won't accept it--"

Ranma shushed Kodachi by putting her fingers to the
gymnast's angry lips.

"Kodachi, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I never should have
done what I did."

"That's not good enough, Ranma," Kodachi declared. She
turned away from the redheaded girl and clenched her fists at her
side. "If you cannot be made to see how true my love is, then I
will show you."

"Kodachi, please don't do this."

"That's enough, Ranma," Kodachi said in an eerily cold
tone. "I'm afraid I've become quite vexed. Please leave until I
have devised a new method to win your love back."

Ranma sighed deeply. She was afraid that this might be the
case.

"I'm sorry, Kodachi," she said before turning and leaving.

Kunou was waiting several yards down the hallway.

He grimaced at Ranma and pulled a fragment of glass she
hadn't noticed out of her hair.

"I warned you," he said.

"Problem is, I don't think her heart is all that broken,"
Ranma grumbled in exasperation. "She swore that she'd win me
back."

"I gathered as much. It will be difficult for you, I'm
afraid. It would probably not be a good idea for you to come back
until she's accepted your rejection one way or another."

It was sound advice, but it still felt like a slap in the
face. Ranma nodded sadly.

"However, if you are still willing," Kunou suggested. "I
have been in advance training these last few weeks and I long to
test my skill against a worthy opponent. Perhaps we should meet in
the kendo club room after school one day to duel. We might even
avail ourselves of the Tendou's dojo if you're of a mind."

"Yeah," Ranma said, feeling a lot better. "That sounds
like a good idea."

After Kunou had escorted Ranma from his house, Ranma
started walking slowly back in the direction of Furinkan high.

She didn't really intend for it to happen all at once like
it just had, but there really wasn't any other way it could have
happened. She felt a lot worse after what had passed between her
and both Ukyou and Kodachi. Strangely, she also felt a lot better.

She had only gone a few blocks when a familiar figure was
waiting for her.

"Hi," Akane said quietly.

"Hey, Akane," Ranma said, jogging to a halt in front of
her.

Akane coughed nervously. "I just saw the strangest thing."

"Let me guess. Ryouga being chased by Yoiko and Azusa."

"Yes. You saw too," she guessed.

Ranma nodded.

"I tried to help him, but he ran away as soon as they
caught up with us."

Ranma shook her head. She chuckled despite herself. "Poor
bacon-butt."

"I still don't understand why she calls him 'Charlotte',"
Akane wondered out loud.

"Let it go, Akane," Ranma urged her. "Just let it go. With
those two, it's not even worth worrying about."

"I guess you're right. Anyway..."

Here it comes, Ranma thought.

"Our parents want to talk to you."

"Lovely. What did you tell them."

Akane looked evasively away from the redhead. "I told them
we talked..."

"That's all?"

"Mmmm..."

"And what else did you tell them?"

"Nothing!" Akane assured him. "Still, I think they want an
answer out of you. My dad started going on about who would inherit
the dojo right after you left. I think your parents think we're
still mad at each other, but my dad is convinced that we can pick
up right where we left off."

Ranma shook his head. "He's just pushing you, you realize.
It's not like he's gonna kick the bucket any time soon."

"I know," Akane admitted. "Still, what do you want to tell
them?"

Ranma grinned and placed a mischievous kiss on Akane's
lips.

"Hey, we're in public!" Akane hissed. "And we're both
girls. Anyone could have seen that."

"But no one did," Ranma told her, looking around only
after she had said it.

"Be serious for just a second, Ranma."

"I'm tired of being serious, Akane. I've been serious
about trying to figure everything out for too long now. I want to
relax a little bit."

"Ranma..."

"We'll tell them this... We ain't decided what we want to
do yet. Tell 'em to give the dojo to Tofuu if he really wants to.
I'll bet you anything your dad'll wait until we're ready if we
both push back hard enough. We'll win this yet!"

Akane blushed a little bit. "Say that again."

"What?"

"What you just said. I want to hear it again," Akane
pleaded.

"Give the dojo to Tofuu?" Ranma hazarded.

"No, the next part."

"We'll win this yet?"

"That's it." Akane sighed. She glanced around to make sure
that no one was looking, and pecked Ranma on the cheek. "I think I
like it when you say 'we' like that."

"I like the 'win' part myself," Ranma said roguishly.

"Isn't there anything else you like better than winning?"

"No," Ranma declared firmly.

"Oh?" Akane asked impishly. "We're back in Japan now.
There are certain... precautions... we could take if you'd like to
experiment with one thing you might like better than winning."

"We could've taken those 'precautions' in Hong Kong,"
Ranma countered. "But... maybe you're right. I just might like
*that* better than winning. We'll have to try it again and find
out."

"Are you sure about that?" Akane asked in a whisper tone,
blushing like a beet.

The only response Ranma gave her was a wicked smile.

----------

THE END