STANDARD DISCLAIMERS:

I OWN NOTHING. tHANKS.

Mature themes and situations ahead. Please read at own risk.

Ranma grinned as he and Akane walked down the street towards the open air market. Kasumi had asked them to pick up some fresh ingredients for that nights supper, and Ranma was finally feeling stable enough to leave Tendo-ke. He'd spent the first two weeks after the surgery too embarrassed by his bodies new reactions that he'd refused to go beyond the walls of the compound. He'd stuck near the house and dojo, quietly training and trying to deal with the thoughts, feelings, and sensations he was now experiencing.

The first few days had been disorienting, and he'd felt unnarturally week and unbalanced. It hadn't helped that his body reacted in new, and slightly startling ways whenever Akane or one of her sisters got too close to him. He'd even had the reaction when his mother approached him, and even he knew that there was asomething off about that. So he'd tried to avoid any contact with the women of the household. Except Akane sought him out to get his help with training or with cooking, and Nabiki seemed to delight in teasing him by causing him to react to her presence even from across the room. She'd always been rather . . . openly seductive but now she'd taken it a step further, taking pains to deliberately flash him with a variety of peeks at her body. She'd also taken to walking in on him while he tried to bath, and when he was preparing for bed in his room.

She was careful not to be seen by Akane or Kasumi, and especialy not by their fathers, though Ranma suspected she had his mother's aid in tracking his daily movements. His mother and Akane were still having a private war over him, and he felt unsure what to do about it. He'd mentioned it to the psychiatrist who'd been stopping by daily to speak to him. He'd been embarrassed the first few sessions, talking about what was happening to him, but hte doctor really seemed to understand. He was glad though, that they had chosen a male doctor, as he knew he'd never have been able to speak to a woman about his current state of life. He was just barely able to talk to Akane or Kasumi about any of this, he'd never have been able to talk to a stranger about any of it.

Akane had been very understanding, ignoring the obvious nature of his body's condition, instead taking pains to treat Ranma as normallly ,well not for them ,but a normal couple, as she could. She'd held his hand, and been embarrassed for him the many occassions he'd lost control, though she never made him feel bad about it, just gently reminding him that this was expected and that they had to work through it together. She had even related several stories to him about times she had experienced similar reactions, including the real reason she'd been so scared the first time she'd seen him in the tub and why she'd always accused him of being a pervert since she was constantly assailed by intense and sometimes perverse images of him in both his forms.

The psychiatrist had timidly explained to Ranma that there were several means to . . . control those reactions. Ranma hadn't understood what the doctor was hinting at until he'd said the magic wrod: masturbate. Ranma had been hugely embarrassed at first, but by the end of the first week, he'd already woken a dozen times to the odd sensations and was getting desperate. So he'd taken the doctor's advice and tried to . . .handle the problem. He'd woken only twice since then, and his body was not as out of control as before but it was still not something he was comfortable with. He doubted he would ever be comfortable with that solution, so he decided to try a variety of meditation techniques.

He'd finally felt balanced enough that morning to go for a short jog around the neighborhood while waiting for Akane to return. During his jog, he'd thought of Akane and felt the now familiar, and still unwelcome stirring. He'd managed to control himself though, and had been very proud of himself when he'd returned to the house, but a little more tired then he'd expected so he'd taken a nap.

Akane had returned home to find him, and the two had worked for a while on some new stances for Akane. She was getting much better a lot faster then he would have expected and he suspected that it was because she had stopped trying to think about what she was doing and was just doing what her body was capable of. Her problem had always been that she thought too much and reacted too slowly. She tried to constantly think not only about possible moves to perform on opponents, but also about how she needed to do those moves and what the possible counters were and what she might need to do to counter those counters.

Now, with Ranma's help, she was letting her training think for itself and instead of focussing on the individual movements she was thinking of strategies and trying to get her opponent to do what she wanted instead of trying to predict what they were planning to do. It was helping her pick up the moves faster then she ever had before and she knew it, appologizing again for not understanding what he had tried telling her so many times before.

Ranma grinned as he recalled the hug he'd received after she'd managed to perform a kata he'd shown her perfectly after only a few hours. He smiled down at his fiancee as she walked beside him, close but not quite touching. Hesitantly, he reached out and grasped her hand, feeling his face darken in a blush at the startled look she threw him. The blush only deepened when she squeezed his hand and moved closer so that their shoulders would touch as they walked.

They ignored the odd looks people gave them, as they basked in the peaceful presence of the quiet day and each others company. They had not seen any of their rivals in days, and Ranma was grateful for that. He'd been unusually aggressive towards his father and Mr. Tendo the last couple of weeks, alternating between ignoring them completely and snarling at their very presence. He'd even snapped a couple of times at his mother and Kasumi.

He hadn't understood just how much his personality would change when he'd had to forcebly restrain himself from snapping at Akane when she mentioned wondering wher eRyoga was. The very thought of the lost boy was enough to set his nerves on edge and have him grinding his teeth. He could feel the anger start to grow and struggled to put it aside. He did promise himself the next time Ryoga tried to cuddled up to Akane as Pchan, he'd get a huge surprised. Akane was his fiancee and Ryoga was dishonoring her by making her a part of their feud in the way he did.

"What's wrong, Ranma" Akane asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh? Nothing, really, just thinking about a few things I need to settle once I'm back off those restrictions the doctors gave me."

"Anything I can help with" she asked gently, knowing how much Ranma hated to admit to needing help.

Ranma started to deny her help, but a thought came to him. "Ah, well. It would help if, the next time you see Pchan, would you bring him to me? There's something I need to tell you, and I'll need his . . . help."

Akane smiled brightly, causing Ranma's heartrate to increase. "Sure, Ranma. Just don't go hurting the little guy."

"I can't promise I won't do something to hurt him, but I promise I won't physically hurt him unless he attacks me first."

"Okay then. Now, Kasumi said she wanted us to pick up some tofu, wasabi, shark fin, and teriyaki sauce. She also wanted us to get some flour and eggs for a cake she wants to make."

The two wandered the market, stopping at several stalls to make their purchases. They were able to get good deals, especially since the stall owners recognized Akane as Kasumie's sister, and also seemed to recognize, and be wary of Ranma. Ranma felt a surge of pride and annoyance that his reputation had spread as far as the noncombattants of Nerima, but he just wished they wouldn't look at him like he was a thug or a threat to them. He would never attack someone who couldn't defend themselves or who had not attacked him first. He received several foul looks behind Akane's backs, and he felt the anger he had controlled earlier rise again in him.

He was able to control himself though, and didn't snap at any one. Instead, he would give a smile, not quite a smirk, as he enjoyed the day. By the time they'd gotten all they'd been sent for though, he was gald that the day was almost done. His head was throbbing, and he felt a faint quiver in his legs. This was the longest he'd been on his feet since the surgery and he was starting to feel the ache of the enforced inactivity.

"When's your next appointment with Dr. Yosami, Ranma" Akane asked as they started back towards home.

Ranma frowned as he thought of his next visit to the hospital and the machines that would scan his brain. "Next Thursday afternoon. He'll tell me Saturday whever I can stop using the soap or if I need to wait another month. Not that I want to go back to turning into a girl whenever I'm splashed with water, but I do kind of miss it, you know"

Akane grinned. "So there are good things to being a girl, Ranma? No plans to get cured anymore"

Ranma grinned and shook his head. "Nope, not since Saffron, Akane. Like I told you then, it's a part of me, and I couldn't give it up anymore than I could stop practicing martial arts. It's helped me learn a lot about myself, even though I couldn't understand some of the lessons until now." He looked around and seeing no one nearby, elaned closer to her. "Besides" he whispered into her ear"It will help me hide some of my reactions." Catching her eyes, he glanced down at his body, which had once again gotten out of control.

Akane's eyes followed his and she blushed as she realized that she was now staring at Ranma's groin. She glanced away, a blush spreading across her face.

They stopped talking, content to just relax around one another without having resorted to insults. They'd spent much of the last two weeks alone together, either in the dojo practicing, or in Akane's room working on schoolwork that she brought for him. At first, Ranma had been mistrustful of the way Akane had taken to treating him, since she had not once insulted, belittled or malleted him no matter what stupid thigns had come out of his mouth. Instead, she had been relaxed, calm, and listened to what he was trying to say without taking offence.

They were almost to tt he gates, when a loud squealing came from behind them. They turned to see the little black piglet running towards them. Akane beamed happily while Ranma scowled furiously as the pig leapt from the ground and into Akane's arms, snuggling against her as she hugged him to her chest.

Ranma felt his anger turn to rage and he snarled under his breath. With an intense effort, he manged to ground out a complete sentence. "Akane, remember what I asked earlier"

Akane paused, sensing the barely controlled anger in her fiance's voice. She was worried that Ranma might hurt her pet, but she had promised him. And she had promised herself that she would trust her fiance. So with a little reluctance, she held her little friend away from her and looked it in the eye. "Go with Ranma, Pchan." she cooed to the little thing before handing him over, wincing as Ranma roughly held the piglet by the bandana it always wore.

"Thank you Akane." Ranma said gently to the worried girl, knowing how much trust she was putting in him. "Can you bring the bags in to Kasumi please and get the kettle"

Confused, Akane nodded. "Okay Ranma. I'll be right back." Seeing no one else around, and wanting to give Ranma a further proof of her feelings. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek, starling him and causing Pchan to squirm angrily in Ranma's grasp. She turned and hurried inside, her eyes travelling her fiance's form without concious though, bringing a small smile to her face as she noted the reaction that was a result of her kiss.

Ranma watched Akane hurry into the house, his eyes drawn to her gently swaying hips. He almost forgot about Ryoga until the stupid pig's teeth grazed his hand.

"Stop that, Ryoga. You remember our deal? Will now it's time to renegotiate. I'm sick of you, Ryoga. I'm tiredo f you constantly trying to force yourself on MY fiancee. Akane is MY fiancee, Ryoga. And you are going to stop lying to her and using her in your sick games. I'm not lying for you anymore, pervert. I'm going to show Akane exactly what she's been cuddling up to at night. And if you try to deny what you've been doing, using her to try and get at me, then I will break every damn bone in you body, do you understand"

Ryoga snarled as much as he could and tried to squirm free, but Ranma's grip was to strong. Every few words Ranma would shake Ryoga, which only caused the pig to be even more confused and angry. "BWEEWWE"

"No more, Ryoga" Ranma hissed angrily, his eyes flashing a dark red. His aura burst into existence around him and Ryoga stilled as his body was filled with the need to run from the source of danger holding him. He couldn't ever remember seeing Ranma so angry, not at Haabu, not at Happosai and not even at Saffron, and that scared him into silence. "You will do nothing. When Akane gets back I am going to dump the kettle on you and then you are going to explain everything, EVERYTHING to her. How you lied to her and used her. How you tricked me into lying for you. How you used this form to try and keep us from being together. You will keep your misguided opinions to yourself and tell her only the truth, or I . . Will .. .Hurt . .. you! You getting cursed was an accident, Ryoga, and I'm sorry it happened. But it was not my fault. It was not my fault that you felt the need to follow me to China, and it was not my fault you fell in the spring. You will take whatever punishment she gives and then you will leave. If she tells you she doesn't wish to see you again, then you will not return. You will do whatever she feels you need to to appologize to her for your heinous actions. Got it"

Ryoga nodded wildly, just wanting the world to stop shaking. Ranma was right though, as much as it pained him to admit it. He needed to tell Akane the truth, not the perverted version Ranma was stating, but the real truth. About how he had loved her since he first met her, and how he had tried to protect her from being forced to marry a man she hated. How he had tried to show her how evil and sick Ranma was, and how she was too good to be forced to endure his presence in her life. Why, just look at all the times she had nearly been killed by people looking to hurt Ranma. Surely, she would see that he had only wanted what was best for her. And what that meant was that she needed to get rid of Ranma.

Staring at each other, they waited for Akane as the sun slowly lowered in the sky, both knowing that their futures rested in the hands of a girl they both loved and a kettle of simple, everyday hot water.