********************************************************************* Akane woke feeling better than she had in weeks. Though little had been resolved, she knew she was a step closer to her goal. Ranma had admitted that he had some problems thinking and reacting like other boys his age should. This meant that he wasn't a pervert. It wasn't his fault that all those bimbos and sluts were throwing themselves at him. He couldn't help being so strong and handsome that a smile from him could make a girl leak from 50 feet away even when he was smiling in the other direction.

As she stretched her self, she noted a damp, sticky sensation and blushed in the faint light of her room. She rolled out of bed and quickly felt her sheets. She was ashamed at the pleasure she felt that she had not wet all the way through to the mattress. She still blushed when she remembered waking up the morning after a series of dreams caused her to drench her mattress so much that she had to wring it out like a pair of socks. She was glad no one knew about that. Her reactions to her dreams had gotten so bad for a while that she had started wearing two and even three pads to bed. They weren't all that comfortable, but she had not had to sleep on the floor because her bed was too soaked to sleep in.

She quickly removed her soiled pj's and undergarments. She discarded the pads into the trash bin near her desk. She savoured the feeling of air moving on her damp skin for a moment before wiping herself with a towel and patting her netherregions dry as best she could. She opened her drawer and noted she was low on clean panties. A feeling of mischief struck her and she grabbed the oldest pair. She had been wearing these that first morning at school and they were the first pair of hers that Ranma had seen. She finished dressing in her uniform, but as always stuffed a couple of extra pairs of panties and a bra into the bottom of her satchel. She checked her box of pads and the date and noted that she would need to pick up some more in the next few days. Her cycle was due to start soon and unlike her sisters, she absolutely would not use tampons. There were few things she ever considered placing in there and none of them were disposable by any stretch of the imagination.

She made her way to the table and sat to wait for the others. She could hear Kasumi humming as she brought out a few of the dishes for breakfast. She felt a twinge of envy at the casual display of mastery inherent in Kasumi's simplest dishes. She so wanted to be able to cook. She wanted to be able to do such a basic tenant of femininety and self reliance. She could not understand how her meals turned into such disasters. She decided to try and see if Ranma would be willing to help her with that when he started training her. She felt his presence behind her and smiled as he took his place next to her. Her smile fell as Nabiki wandered in, still in her nightwear, her tooth brush hanging out of one corner of her mouth and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Okay Kasumi, why'd you make me get up?" she asked as she took her seat across from Akane. She placed her toothbrush down next to her chopsticks, wondering what her sister wanted.

"If I hadn't you'd be late for school." Kasumi stated as she too sat at the table. She started serving the others, loading Ranma's plate higher than usual.

"We ain't gonna' wait for Pops and Tendo?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi brow quirked downward for a moment. "Not today. They are too exhausted from their excursions last night."

"Whmat exclkjeursion?" Ranma asked as he started shoveling food into his mouth.

Kasumi debated whether to tell them or not and decided that they needed to know. "They saw the two of you on the couch watching the movie last night." she admitted, finally serving a portion of the meal to her own plate. "They went to the bar after and returned late."

Ranma swallowed his mouthful. "So that's why the panda smelled like smoke. They went drinkin' and he must have been dunked in the beer, the smell is so bad."

Nabiki was not a morning person so it was with relief that Akane realized her sister had missed part of the dialogue going on around her. Otherwise, she would be pestering them about what the parents had seen that could possible encourage them that much.

"Have you had a chance to call for the appointment?" Ranma asked, stuffing another riceballs into his mouth.

"Oh, yes. I called right away. Dr. Tofu will be waiting at you at his clinic at noon and he will drive you into town to visit the specialist." Kasumi smiled, her own chopsticks lifting several grains of rice daintily into her mouth.

Nabiki did not miss this however. "Specialist? Why you going to a specialist Saotome? Having problems corraling the stallion?"

Akane glared at her sister while Ranma looked blank. Before Akane could retort, Kasumi spoke to forestall her outburst.

"It's not that kind of a specialist, Nabiki. Ranma's going to have a catscan and some xrays done. Since he doesn't know his way around Tokyo too well, Akane and Dr. Tofu are going with him."

"Why's he getting those done? Something wrong in the head?" Nabiki asked, the sleepyness fading as she sensed a chance to earn some yen.

"He's helping Dr. Tofu's colleague with a theory regarding martial artists and the way their brain waves and muscle density differ from those who are less active." Kasumi stated as she calmly took a sip of tea.

"You getting paid for this, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, a different set of yen going through her head.

"Naw, the doc asked and I said okay. Then the tomboy heard and asked if she could do it too. The doc said okay, and I thought it was a good idea. They need someone who isn't a true martial artist to test the stuff on before they test the real ones like me." Ranma stated, stuffing some rice into his mouth.

Akane was shocked to find that she felt no anger at her fiancee's casual cruelty. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him wink before stuffing his face. Then she remembered that she should be angry or Nabiki might get suspicious. She gathered the little anger she felt and reacted.

"RRRAAANMA! NNOOO! BAAKAAA!" she yelled as she pulled out a mallet and bashed her fiancee into the ground. She then took a stance over him and checked the directions. "FORE!" she cried out as she swung. She watched as he flew through the air out the doors of the engawa and into the distance. If she judged it right, he'd land near his favorite bridge. She posed for a moment as she watched him. She could just make out that he had managed to hold onto his plate and was calmly eating the rest of his breakfast as he flew towards what would be a lethal landing for anyone of lesser talents.

Nabiki clapped sardonically. "Way to go sis. You should think about trying out of the LPGA. That must have been a 600yd drive. Just imagine what you'd do with a ball that only weighed as much as Ranma's brain."

Akane sighed and put away her mallet. At least the bridge was in the same direction as the school, though not the same way they usually took to get there. "I don't think so, Nabiki. I can't putt very well, and I tend to slice a little to the right. I might hit the greens in 1 stroke on the long holes, but I'd do horribly on Par 3's or any of the shorter courses." She finished the last of her rice and grinned sunnily. "Besides, I prefer baseball."