Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or Inu yasha.
Chapter 3Ranma sat on the porch of the Tendo home. She could hear the sound of someone cooking, and she could smell that it was Kasumi and that she was cooking a vegetable dish for lunch. She frowned, as delicious as it smelled, Ranma was far more interested in meat than any type of greens, but she wouldn't protest. She had just gotten back from halfway across Nerima, after all, and she wanted to relax. This just wasn't her day.
Ranma heard Kasumi behind her, and turned to see her giving her a motherly smile and saying the words she wanted and did not want to hear.
"Ranma, wouldn't you like to take a bath?" she said offering her a towel.
"Ah – well, alright," Ranma agreed hesitantly. I guess they'd find out anyway. She took the towel and left for the bath in the direction Kasumi indicated.
Akane was angry. She was fuming. That jerk didn't stay around long enough to answer any of her questions! And she… he… was probably some kind of pervert! She felt like ripping something, or maybe someone, to shreds. And that was a sign that she desperately needed to calm down.
Akane wasn't stupid. It was a long time ago that she realized she had to try and get a hold on her temper or she really might hurt someone. Needless to say, she hadn't exactly gotten a very good hold on it, but she had improved since she first made an effort. Akane took a deep breath and counted to ten.
It wasn't Completely Ranma's fault that he hadn't answered her questions. If she hadn't sent him flying she might've gotten some more answers. So Ranma is a him now? What else could he be? Akane briefly entertained the thought that perhaps he was both at once, but found that unlikely. He said he wasn't a girl. So, that made him a boy. And that meant she would have to be his fiancé. Not Nabiki, and not Kasumi; Ranma would outlive them and it would never last.
Akane stood from her spot at the shrine and began back towards the house. Ranma had come back and she was going to get some answers out of him. Then, she would find a way out of the engagement.
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The house was quiet, but for the familiar sounds of Kasumi preparing lunch in the kitchen. Akane picked up Ranma's scent and followed it, from the porch, to the furo door. Idiot. Didn't put the sign out. But maybe that meant he wasn't in there. She slid open the door to the changing room, and sure enough she found his scent. Akane looked through the clothes hamper and picked out the chinese style clothing she recognized as Ranma's, noting the absence of feminine underwear. I guess he really is a boy….
Had she left a few moments earlier, she would not have been caught in the possession of Ranma's shirt and pants as he slid open the door that led directly to the furo, looking very much the boy she had guessed him to be in nothing but a towel. As it was she let out a soft 'eep' and stood frozen, while both their eyes went wider than either one of them thought possible. After what seemed far longer than the five seconds that it actually was Ranma's voice broke the spell.
"What… exactly, are you doing with my clothes?"
His only answer was a rushed "meet me in the dojo" and a breath of wind that was filled with her scent as she dashed from the room. Presumably, towards the dojo.
The sight that greeted Ranma on his entrance to the dojo was not an extremely welcoming one. Shattered cinder blocks and broken dummies littered the floor, and in the center of it all was Akane, leaping at what looked like a dummy reinforced with cinder blocks and muttering things that sounded suspiciously like 'jerk' and 'pervert' under her breath. He took it she was in a bad mood and could guess why. She landed one more blow that knocked the dummy over and turned to Ranma, motioning for him to follow her as she left the dojo and headed for the shrine again. They both kept silent until they reached it, then Akane spoke.
"You're really a boy, then," she sighed. Ranma detected a note of regret in her voice and could understand why. "Then the engagement…."
"Well, it's not like it will mean anything," said Ranma. "My old man can't force me into anything."
After a moment Akane asked: "How do you… become a girl?"
"My Pop, he took me to this famous chinese training ground. Couldn't read chinese, turns out if you fall into a pool you 'take the form of what ever drowned there last.' You can guess what happened."
"What? You fell into spring of drowned female hanyou?"
"No," Ranma said, with a wry smile. "But in a way I was lucky. Every spring has its own 'tragic legend' I just fell into the spring of drowned female. Where, supposedly, a female of every species has drowned. So, you become a female when doused with cold water, and change back with hot. That's what the guide said, anyway."
"And your father was the panda."
Ranma grinned. "Yup. I didn't think it was possible, but he actually seems to be bigger and dumber in that form…. Hey, how come you're a hanyou, but your family isn't?"
"Adoption. Not just me, but Kasumi and Nabiki too. None of us are related by blood," Akane said. "Our parents couldn't have children, and Daddy wanted someone to carry on the line, although I'm sure he wanted a son. Nabiki actually does have some demonic blood, but you wouldn't notice unless you were close to her a lot. Kasumi is human… so that's why the engagement will be dropped on me."
"Wait," Ranma said, frowning. "You don't have to marry someone just because your father told you to." Ranma shot her a crooked smile. "Of course if you want to marry me, I can see where you're coming from."
"Idiot," she muttered in response. "So, your mother is a full youkai?"
"Yeah…. It seems kind of strange that your father would build a shrine, having a half demon for a daughter," Ranma said as he glanced around. Akane looked away from him for a moment.
"They don't know," she whispered.
A/N: Bad place to end, I know. Just wanted to get this up fast, Ok, Ranma's curse is weird, but it is that way for a reason. I made akane a hanyou because if I didn't R/A wouldn't work very well. Yes, they are VERY OOC, but this is an AU, so I can change them a bit. R&R Please! C ya.