"Nabiki-chan?" Tofu asked with uncertainty. "Why are you defending this
monster?" He asked, the last words coming out venomously at Ranma.
Seeing the pigtailed man flinch Nabiki glared at Tofu. "Ranma-kun is not a monster, sensei." She said forcefully.
"What? But your father said..." Tofu stammered out, now confused instead of angry. The Tendo patriarch had been quite clear in his description of the event. If so why was Nabiki, Kasumi's sister, defending Ranma?
"Nabiki-san..." Ranma began.
Only to be interrupted by Nabiki as she placed a hand over his mouth. She turned back to the confused doctor. "I don't know what my father said to you, sensei." She knew exactly what Soun must have said, but decided it wasn't important right now. Especially with Ranma in hearing range. He could do without listening to that. "All you have to know is that my sister was saved by Ranma-kun." *In more ways than one.*
"But Akane-chan can take care of herself..." Tofu protested, but he knew Nabiki wasn't referring to the youngest Tendo.
Ranma was still impressed with how quickly Nabiki could take care of a situation by keeping a cool head on her shoulders. Yesterday in the dojo she was just an spectator, ruled by her emotions, but here she was in the spotlight. The pigtailed man decided something was especial about the middle Tendo sister. She always seemed to have an angle in every situation.
Nabiki saw the anger still in Tofu's eyes diminish, but not completely. She knew Tofu wasn't the most stable person in Nerima. *Heck! Look how he acts around Kasumi.* Even if he normally was a gentle and caring person she wasn't sure what could happen if he lost control over his own emotions. "My sisters are fine. Both of them." Another half-truth. Kasumi was physically fine, but was in serious need of emotional help.
Ranma sighed and stepped over to his backpack. He hung it on his shoulders with ease and turned to Tofu. "The next time you attack me like this you'll be sorry."
Nabiki's eyes widened at the threat. She turned to Ranma, who was glaring at Tofu. "Ranma-kun. He was only acting like that..."
"I know." Ranma interrupted her, then turned his blue-green eyes back on Tofu. "But he attacked me without even telling me why, much less listening to my side of the story."
Tofu took advantage of the fact that Nabiki had her back to him to glare right back at the pigtailed man. In his eyes he was somehow affecting Nabiki, since the middle Tendo sister never acted like this. "I reacted to what Tendo-san told me."
"And you took it upon yourself to become my executioner." Ranma accused. "You decided I didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt and attacked me based on what one man told you."
"Enough." Nabiki said firmly. "You two are gaining nothing from this." With that she turned to the doctor, who schooled his features to look calm. "I'll talk to you later, Tofu-sensei. I need to have a few words with Ranma- kun."
Tofu nodded. "Have a good day, Nabiki-chan." He said with a friendly smile.
Ranma remained silent as he followed Nabiki, his attention not leaving Tofu until they were out of sight.
Once they turned around a corner Tofu's smile vanished from his face to be replaced by a fierce scowl. "You won't get near Kasumi again, monster." He said before turning on his heels and returning to his clinic.
-----
"What was that back there?" Nabiki demanded once they were alone. She was still walking, with Ranma following close behind.
"What was what, Nabiki-san?" Ranma asked calmly.
Nabiki stopped walking and turned to face Ranma. She studied him closely, looking for any signs of anger left in him. "Why did you threaten Tofu- sensei like that?" She found none.
Ranma looked away. "He attacked me."
Nabiki snorted. "I don't see any bruises."
"That's not the point." Ranma protested. "He didn't give me a chance."
Nabiki's gaze softened at that. She understood what Ranma was talking about from personal experience. Not many people gave her a chance either, not with her reputation. "You left the house."
Ranma didn't protest the change of subject. "I did. I don't want to cause any more trouble in your family, Nabiki-san."
The middle Tendo sister frowned. "That's just the point. Why won't either of you see it?" She asked tiredly. "It wasn't your fault."
Ranma wiped some sweat from his forehead. "It's for the best, Nabiki-san. You should probably head back to your house."
Nabiki frowned upon seeing that. She had never seen Ranma sweating before. "Kasumi told me you have a place to stay." She was good at reading people, and it was obvious Ranma wouldn't answer any questions right now. Forcing the answers out of him didn't sound like a good idea.
"Yeah." Ranma answered. "I would walk you home, but your father wouldn't appreciate it."
"This is not over." She said poking Ranma's chest with her index finger.
"I know."
With that they parted ways. Nabiki didn't ask where he was staying. She thought it would be fun finding out, making a bet with herself as to how long it would take to for her to know.
Ranma went over the day's events in his head. Even if it couldn't qualify as a good day, it wasn't as bad as the day before. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and saw he was sweating profusely. "Damn."
-----
Hinako, in her girl form, was happily working in the kitchen. She really hoped Ranma liked her cooking. She was well aware that she wasn't much of a cook, but hopefully it wouldn't matter to him.
Her day at school was a bad one. One of her students was sent to the hospital. When she confronted the Tendo girl, she was surprised by Akane's words. 'He deserved it for being a pervert.'
It wasn't that Hinako approved of the morning fight. Quite on the contrary. The only reason she had not interfered before was that it was an edict made by the principal's son, and the fact that Akane stated it was a challenge she had to answer to.
But no one had been that badly injured before. Even if Akane did beat some of the boys rather bad, this attack had a viciousness to it that Hinako didn't approve of, no matter the reason for the fight.
*The worst part is I can't do a thing about it.* She thought. If the boy's parents pressed charges it would never work. Akane was daily attacked by a mob of boys, it was clear self-defense.
Hinako shook he head at the ridiculousness of it all. How something like this had more than a year happening she didn't know.
The sound of the front door opening was heard and she smiled. "Welcome back, Ranma." The door closing was heard, followed by two heavy noises.
Startled she took the food out of the fire and made her way to her living room. "RANMA!" She cried as she rushed to Ranma's side, who was down on the floor covered in sweat.
As soon as Ranma arrived and closed the door behind him he let his backpack drop. He took two uneasy steps before collapsing down. He looked up when he felt someone turn him over and saw Hinako's worried face. The small part of his brain not focused on fighting down the agony wondered how she managed to turn him over in her child form.
Hinako knelt next to Ranma, her eyes tracking his body for any kind of injury. She gasped when she touched his shoulder with her hand. *He's burning with fever.* She thought frantically as she turned him over so he was on his back. He was heavy, but her worry made her ignore that fact.
When she caught sight of his face, of his expression of suffering, she panicked. It wasn't like the time he was losing himself. It was even worse. "Ranma!" She yelled, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him to get a reaction. His eyes focused on her for a brief moment before he groaned and clutched his chest with his arms.
"N-n-no...doc...t-t-tor." He managed out from within clenched teeth.
"What do you mean no doctor? You need help!" She frantically said as she stood up. She stopped when she felt someone take a firm hold of her wrist. A burning sensation made her to cry out in pain and try to pry herself free, but she grip was too strong. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned. She saw Ranma's face once again, contorted by the pain.
"No doctor." He growled before letting go of her arm, his focus returning to fighting down the pain.
Hinako reflexively took a hold of her released arm, staring incredulously at Ranma. After a moment of silence she nodded, aware that he wouldn't see the gesture but needing it to convince herself.
She stood up and rushed to the kitchen. She needed to get some ice to fight down that horrible fever.
-----
Nabiki stared incredulously at one of her informants, who was giving her the daily report during lunch break. "Are you sure?"
The girl nodded. "Hinako-sensei called the office to report herself sick this morning."
*That's odd.* Nabiki thought. Never before had it happened, and Nabiki had thought it never would. Hinako seemed like one of those persons married with work. Her devotion to her duty was almost as blind as Kuno's fixation on Akane.
Putting that aside for later, but she would definitely look into it, Nabiki continued with the day's activities.
-----
He opened his eyes slowly, his entire body feeling familiarly lethargic. *Again.* He thought in resignation. It had happened so many times that he had learned to live with it, but he would never get used to it.
"Good morning." Came a subdued voice from the side that startled him. He turned his head slowly and blinked a couple of times to adjust his sight.
"Hinako-san." He said with guilt. The girl sitting next to him obviously didn't get any sleep the entire night. She had huge bags under red eyes. His guilt increased even more when he saw the tear marks on her face.
They both remained silent for a long time. Ranma averted his eyes, not able to meet Hinako's own.
"What happened?" Hinako finally asked. She was relieved now that Ranma was awake, and with no obvious signs of pain. His temperature returned to normal some time during the night, but that did little to suppress her anxiety. She really thought Ranma was going to die.
Ranma kept staring at the floor as he answered. "I don't know."
Hinako could tell Ranma was lying. It was so obvious she didn't think anyone was dense enough not to see it. "Please, Ranma. You can trust me." She said placing her hand on his shoulder.
Ranma smiled faintly when he felt the physical contact. He turned to face the teacher who was being so nice to him even if she had only known him for less than a day. In the way his eyes caught sight of a bandage in Hinako's arm.
Hinako tried to retrieve her hand when Ranma frowned at the sight of the bandage. She understood enough about the pigtailed man to know that if he saw it he would blame himself.
Ranma took a hold of her arm and sat up, concern starting to show on his features. He ignored her protests as he carefully removed the bandage, fearing what he would find.
She hissed when the cool air of the morning came in contact with the sensitive skin. But the pain was the least of her concerns. When she saw Ranma wince she knew her fears were justified.
The pigtailed man couldn't help wincing in guilt at the sight. Hinako had a very painful looking burn on her wrist. The shape was easily recognizable as a hand. *My hand.* "I'm sorry." He whispered as he brought his other hand to cover the burn.
Hinako shook her head. "Ranma, it wasn't..." She trailed off when Ranma started glowing softly. Only seconds later he retrieved his hand, and Hinako's eyes widened in shock. "What?" Her skin was completely healed, as if nothing had ever happened.
Ranma sighed and let go of her arm. "I'll be going now." With that he stood up.
Hinako examined her wrist carefully, noticing her smooth skin had none of the signs of ever being burnt. As she did this Ranma's words registered in her mind. "Leaving?" She jumped to her feet. "You can't leave." She said as she rushed after him.
Ranma stopped next to his pack, his head lowered. "I can't stay here. Not after hurting you."
Hinako took a hold of his arm with her hands. She pulled with all her might but found he didn't budge even an inch. "You can't go. Not like this!" She pleaded, an unexplained fear overwhelming her. From her eyes tears were leaking again.
Ranma felt his eyes watering. Hinako almost sounded helpless and he was doing nothing but furthering her despair. He bit down whatever words of comfort he could give, knowing they would only hurt her even more in the long run. He forcefully made Hinako release her hold on him and reached for his pack. "STOP!" Hinako's voice was hard and commanding now, but tints of fear were also recognizable. The pigtailed man slowly turned around. To his surprise Hinako was pointing a coin at him. "I won't let you leave." She said with determination.
Ranma shook his head and turned back to his pack.
"HAPPOU GO EN SATSU!" Came the cry from behind. Ranma could feel Hinako's attack trying to latch unto his chi. He knew she wouldn't succeed. His eyes suddenly widened when he felt another energy in him start to get drained, though.
"Hinako, stop!" He yelled as he turned around. But it was too late.
Hinako ignored Ranma as she continued the drain. She couldn't let things end like this. She knew something was wrong after a few seconds of draining him. The energy simply felt 'wrong' somehow. *What's this?* She asked herself as she instinctively cut the drain. Or tried to. She screamed in agony when she felt herself burning from the inside out. She tried to drain Ranma the way she drained the delinquents at school, but Ranma's energy was too many times more powerful. The quantity she drained from him almost made her explode, added to the fact that the intruder was attacking her own weak chi.
Ranma rushed to Hinako's side. The girl turned to her adult form but he ignored it, seeing as she was yelling for it to stop. He took a hold of her shoulders just before she collapsed, but the draining continued. *I have to do something. She'll die if she continues to draw more energy.* But all he could do was wait and hope she somehow survived the ordeal.
Hinako's body finally stopped absorbing energy. The coin had melted during the drain.
Ranma laid her limp body on the floor, thankful that she was still breathing. When he looked at her face he found something he didn't like, though.
A male scream of anguish was heard all around the block. Followed by a couple of hard impacts.
Back inside Ranma had his fist imbedded in the floor. Tears leaked from his eyes freely.
By his side Hinako was resting on her back, her open eyes glazed over. Blue- green eyes.
-----
A woman stared astonished at the spectacle. She remained unmoving at the beautiful sight. She stood on what looked like a cliff, while down a few meters a bright river of blue energy flowed with a majestic grace. Looking all around she could see hundreds of such rivers, all of which raged with that very same energy. An energy her advanced chi senses told her was life.
She stared at the sight for a long time, which had little meaning in this place. As she took two steps forward she stumbled, being out of balance, and fell to her knees. She curiously looked herself over, wondering what was wrong with her. For starters she found out she was naked. What she found made her blink a few times, trying to confirm if her sight wasn't playing a joke with her.
After she was convinced what she was seeing was right she studied herself more carefully. She was an adult, but not the adult she was used to being. She was used to being tall, strong and voluptuous. Instead she found herself to be short, thin and weakly looking. "What happened to me?" She asked herself, and immediately took a hand to her throat. Her voice also sounded different. More like a whisper than the strong and secure voice her adult body had.
"I'm sorry." A male voice was heard from behind. A voice that sounded a little different from what she remembered, more guttural in a way, but she still recognized as Ranma's.
She hugged herself and refrained from looking back. She didn't want him to look at her, not the way she looked now. "Ranma, what happened?" She looked at the beautiful rivers flowing to distract her mind from the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her.
"When you used your draining technique you latched onto something different to my chi." He answered miserably. "That energy nearly killed you. Right now you are in something like a coma. Your body is fine, though you'll be sore for a few days, but your mind suffered too great a trauma."
Hinako swallowed. "What is this place?" She asked. "It's so beautiful. So full of life."
"This is our planet's lifestream. You can think of it as the planet's own chi patterns." The pigtailed man said.
She nodded, still marveling at the beauty of it. Not just the sight was wonderful, but the feeling she got from it. Her chi senses were tingling with pleasure. "Why are we here?"
"The lifestream carries more than just energy. It also carries the memories and feelings of everything that has ever lived on this planet. When you came into contact with my energy you came into contact with the lifestream itself. Since you couldn't drain it your essence was taken here." Before she could ask her next question he continued, already knowing what it would be. "As to why you look different, in this place we are shown for what we truly are. What we look like outside is but a shell of our true selves."
Hinako nodded. "Then I'm really only a weak girl, not strong enough to face reality." There was no pain in her words, just resignation.
Ranma's next words soothed her. "You're much more than that, Hinako. You can grow into so much more. The lifestream isn't a constant." He chuckled. "Besides, your gentle nature is also revealed in this place. You just can't see it without a mirror."
Hinako brought a hand to her face, understanding the meaning to Ranma's words. Her face also felt different. She couldn't tell what she looked like, but she trusted Ranma's words. When she started to turn she stopped when Ranma spoke again.
"Please don't turn around."
Hinako smiled. "I want to see you, Ranma." When no further protest was heard she turned around completely, no longer caring Ranma could see her naked. If what he said was true they were looking into their very selves, so this wasn't real flesh. She did her best to keep from gasping at the sight before her.
"Now you know." Ranma said without meeting her gaze.
-----
She sat up and groaned a little. She had one hell of a headache. Turning to her side she could see Ranma's still sleeping form. They were both in her living room, and a quick look at the clock told her they had been out for the entire day.
Deciding that she needed to get up to see about getting dinner she turned to Ranma and softly caressed his cheek before standing up and making her way to the bathroom. Once there she went to the sink and splashed her face with cold water to fully wake up. Once she dried herself with a towel and looked herself in the mirror she gasped. Ranma's final words before they returned coming to her mind. "You'll never be the same again. You've been touched by the lifestream."
-----
Nabiki watched with distaste as her sister continued bashing boys left and right. *Why those idiots keep this up is beyond me.* She thought wondering just how stupid the males of Furinkan could get. Sure, they were making her money, but that still didn't explain their actions.
Nabiki suddenly caught sight of Hinako as she walked into school grounds and made her way to the school building. The teacher, as usual, didn't interfere with the morning fight. What was unusual was that she was in her adult form. *Wonder who she drained.* Nabiki thought before returning her attention to the fight.
As she walked through the yard she did her best to ignore the morning fight. Today she had an easier time of doing so because of the many things in her mind. Yesterday was just so eventful. *At least I managed to convince Ranma to stay.* It hadn't been easy, but the teacher eventually did succeed in her original objective. She made Ranma realize that she didn't care for what he was, but rather who he was. *And so far he's the only person to treat me like a person.* With yesterday's revelations she had discovered why she latched onto Ranma so stubbornly and in so little time of knowing him. He didn't care about her condition and treated her as a person regardless of the form that she was currently in.
As she entered the doors of the building and made her way to her first class she smiled a little. Actually moving through her everyday motions brought some sort of comfort to her. She knew she wouldn't be the same after what happened. If what she suspected about her condition was true then things were definitely going to change. But doing what she usually did reassured her that even with the changes she was still herself.
"Now I only have to convince Ranma of that." She muttered. He had somehow managed to blame himself for everything that happened. After yesterday it was even more obvious that he needed help, but it also became obvious that help couldn't come from just about anybody.
She finally entered the classroom and waited for the late bell to ring. Once it did she started calling roll.
The students barely managed to answer to their names, all of them fixated on their teacher.
Hinako decided this would be a very long day. *Oh well. At least they're not staring at my breasts.* The blue-green eyed teacher thought.
-----
"I'll see you at home, Akane. I've got business to take care of." Nabiki said as they left the school grounds.
Akane just shook her head. "I'll see you later, Nabiki." With that she walked away, not wanting to get mixed up in her sister's latest scheme.
Nabiki watched her sister's form until she turned around a corner before turning back to the school. "I guess I lost that bet." She said to herself as she waited. She had bet on an odd number of days to find Ranma. But she found him on the second day.
When she heard the rumor about Hinako wearing contacts she knew it was somehow related to Ranma. Akane not making the connection turned out to be a big surprise for the middle Tendo sister. It was too much of a coincidence not to be. *How did he manage to get involved with Hinako- sensei? I'm surprised she didn't drain him after listening to my sister babbling about how she would find that 'monster' and kill him for what he did to Kasumi.* Why Hinako's eyes had suddenly changed in color was something she didn't know, but that and the fact that Hinako had drained no one and still retained her adult form were too outstanding to ignore.
It didn't take very long for the students to all go home and leave Nabiki waiting alone. She patiently waited for Hinako, since she knew the teacher always stayed in school a little longer than the others.
Sure enough, after about half an hour Hinako finally emerged from the school. Nabiki idly noticed that she was still in her adult form, yet she hadn't received any report about her draining some student. *They were all too concerned with her eyes to do anything else.*
Hinako wasn't surprised when she saw Nabiki waiting at the school gates. She would've been surprised if she wasn't there. "Good afternoon, Tendo- san." She greeted as she approached the girl.
Nabiki inwardly shuddered when she locked gazes with the adult teacher. Something about those eyes was simply unnerving for her. "Hello, Hinako- sensei. Nice look."
The teacher looked at Nabiki calmly. "What can I do for you, Tendo-san?"
The girl smirked. "Could we talk about this some place else?"
Hinako shook her head. "I'm sorry but I must get home."
Nabiki nodded with a knowing look. "Of course. You don't want to keep Ranma- kun waiting."
If she was expecting a reaction from Hinako she was disappointed. The teacher remained calm when she spoke. "Please refrain from informing your sister of his whereabouts. I may be forced to ignore her antics at school, but I won't stand to see her act that way in my property."
Nabiki lost the smirk at the open threat. Even if Akane deserved those words she was still her sister. "Don't worry, sensei. Akane won't hear it from me." As Hinako started walking home Nabiki kept pace with the woman. "I noticed you haven't reverted to your child form."
Hinako almost missed a step with the comment, but recovered quickly. Since she still didn't know how she was staying in her adult body, or if she would ever take her child form again, she didn't know what to answer, thus she remained silent.
The girl studied Hinako's face as the teacher walked. She could tell the teacher was nervous, maybe even scared, about what had happened. *I guess I can't blame her for that.* "So how much did Ranma-kun tell you?" She asked, knowing maybe Ranma had opened up to Hinako more than he did in the Tendo dojo.
The teacher turned her eyes to Nabiki. "That will remain between Ranma and me, Tendo-san. It's not for me to reveal what he told me."
"'Ranma?' You're getting really personal with him, aren't you?" Nabiki asked waiting to see a reaction. She knew Kasumi and Ranma had something especial between them, and she thought she should know if Hinako had done something with him. When Hinako didn't react at all she didn't know what to think. Either they were only friends so far or they had gone all the way.
They finally reached Hinako's house and the teacher turned to Nabiki. "Ranma is a little sensitive about what happened to me. Please refrain from bringing that subject up."
Nabiki nodded, understanding Hinako's message perfectly. Something happened and Ranma blamed himself for whatever it was. *The guy really needs to relax.* She thought with a sigh as Hinako opened the door and invited her in.
END PART 4
Author's notes: Well, those of you that suspected the crossover must have confirmed it in this chapter. I'm back in school and writing probably will come a little slower now, but I'll continue working and LAB is next in the list. I just couldn't stop writing this chapter until was done.
Seeing the pigtailed man flinch Nabiki glared at Tofu. "Ranma-kun is not a monster, sensei." She said forcefully.
"What? But your father said..." Tofu stammered out, now confused instead of angry. The Tendo patriarch had been quite clear in his description of the event. If so why was Nabiki, Kasumi's sister, defending Ranma?
"Nabiki-san..." Ranma began.
Only to be interrupted by Nabiki as she placed a hand over his mouth. She turned back to the confused doctor. "I don't know what my father said to you, sensei." She knew exactly what Soun must have said, but decided it wasn't important right now. Especially with Ranma in hearing range. He could do without listening to that. "All you have to know is that my sister was saved by Ranma-kun." *In more ways than one.*
"But Akane-chan can take care of herself..." Tofu protested, but he knew Nabiki wasn't referring to the youngest Tendo.
Ranma was still impressed with how quickly Nabiki could take care of a situation by keeping a cool head on her shoulders. Yesterday in the dojo she was just an spectator, ruled by her emotions, but here she was in the spotlight. The pigtailed man decided something was especial about the middle Tendo sister. She always seemed to have an angle in every situation.
Nabiki saw the anger still in Tofu's eyes diminish, but not completely. She knew Tofu wasn't the most stable person in Nerima. *Heck! Look how he acts around Kasumi.* Even if he normally was a gentle and caring person she wasn't sure what could happen if he lost control over his own emotions. "My sisters are fine. Both of them." Another half-truth. Kasumi was physically fine, but was in serious need of emotional help.
Ranma sighed and stepped over to his backpack. He hung it on his shoulders with ease and turned to Tofu. "The next time you attack me like this you'll be sorry."
Nabiki's eyes widened at the threat. She turned to Ranma, who was glaring at Tofu. "Ranma-kun. He was only acting like that..."
"I know." Ranma interrupted her, then turned his blue-green eyes back on Tofu. "But he attacked me without even telling me why, much less listening to my side of the story."
Tofu took advantage of the fact that Nabiki had her back to him to glare right back at the pigtailed man. In his eyes he was somehow affecting Nabiki, since the middle Tendo sister never acted like this. "I reacted to what Tendo-san told me."
"And you took it upon yourself to become my executioner." Ranma accused. "You decided I didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt and attacked me based on what one man told you."
"Enough." Nabiki said firmly. "You two are gaining nothing from this." With that she turned to the doctor, who schooled his features to look calm. "I'll talk to you later, Tofu-sensei. I need to have a few words with Ranma- kun."
Tofu nodded. "Have a good day, Nabiki-chan." He said with a friendly smile.
Ranma remained silent as he followed Nabiki, his attention not leaving Tofu until they were out of sight.
Once they turned around a corner Tofu's smile vanished from his face to be replaced by a fierce scowl. "You won't get near Kasumi again, monster." He said before turning on his heels and returning to his clinic.
-----
"What was that back there?" Nabiki demanded once they were alone. She was still walking, with Ranma following close behind.
"What was what, Nabiki-san?" Ranma asked calmly.
Nabiki stopped walking and turned to face Ranma. She studied him closely, looking for any signs of anger left in him. "Why did you threaten Tofu- sensei like that?" She found none.
Ranma looked away. "He attacked me."
Nabiki snorted. "I don't see any bruises."
"That's not the point." Ranma protested. "He didn't give me a chance."
Nabiki's gaze softened at that. She understood what Ranma was talking about from personal experience. Not many people gave her a chance either, not with her reputation. "You left the house."
Ranma didn't protest the change of subject. "I did. I don't want to cause any more trouble in your family, Nabiki-san."
The middle Tendo sister frowned. "That's just the point. Why won't either of you see it?" She asked tiredly. "It wasn't your fault."
Ranma wiped some sweat from his forehead. "It's for the best, Nabiki-san. You should probably head back to your house."
Nabiki frowned upon seeing that. She had never seen Ranma sweating before. "Kasumi told me you have a place to stay." She was good at reading people, and it was obvious Ranma wouldn't answer any questions right now. Forcing the answers out of him didn't sound like a good idea.
"Yeah." Ranma answered. "I would walk you home, but your father wouldn't appreciate it."
"This is not over." She said poking Ranma's chest with her index finger.
"I know."
With that they parted ways. Nabiki didn't ask where he was staying. She thought it would be fun finding out, making a bet with herself as to how long it would take to for her to know.
Ranma went over the day's events in his head. Even if it couldn't qualify as a good day, it wasn't as bad as the day before. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and saw he was sweating profusely. "Damn."
-----
Hinako, in her girl form, was happily working in the kitchen. She really hoped Ranma liked her cooking. She was well aware that she wasn't much of a cook, but hopefully it wouldn't matter to him.
Her day at school was a bad one. One of her students was sent to the hospital. When she confronted the Tendo girl, she was surprised by Akane's words. 'He deserved it for being a pervert.'
It wasn't that Hinako approved of the morning fight. Quite on the contrary. The only reason she had not interfered before was that it was an edict made by the principal's son, and the fact that Akane stated it was a challenge she had to answer to.
But no one had been that badly injured before. Even if Akane did beat some of the boys rather bad, this attack had a viciousness to it that Hinako didn't approve of, no matter the reason for the fight.
*The worst part is I can't do a thing about it.* She thought. If the boy's parents pressed charges it would never work. Akane was daily attacked by a mob of boys, it was clear self-defense.
Hinako shook he head at the ridiculousness of it all. How something like this had more than a year happening she didn't know.
The sound of the front door opening was heard and she smiled. "Welcome back, Ranma." The door closing was heard, followed by two heavy noises.
Startled she took the food out of the fire and made her way to her living room. "RANMA!" She cried as she rushed to Ranma's side, who was down on the floor covered in sweat.
As soon as Ranma arrived and closed the door behind him he let his backpack drop. He took two uneasy steps before collapsing down. He looked up when he felt someone turn him over and saw Hinako's worried face. The small part of his brain not focused on fighting down the agony wondered how she managed to turn him over in her child form.
Hinako knelt next to Ranma, her eyes tracking his body for any kind of injury. She gasped when she touched his shoulder with her hand. *He's burning with fever.* She thought frantically as she turned him over so he was on his back. He was heavy, but her worry made her ignore that fact.
When she caught sight of his face, of his expression of suffering, she panicked. It wasn't like the time he was losing himself. It was even worse. "Ranma!" She yelled, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him to get a reaction. His eyes focused on her for a brief moment before he groaned and clutched his chest with his arms.
"N-n-no...doc...t-t-tor." He managed out from within clenched teeth.
"What do you mean no doctor? You need help!" She frantically said as she stood up. She stopped when she felt someone take a firm hold of her wrist. A burning sensation made her to cry out in pain and try to pry herself free, but she grip was too strong. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned. She saw Ranma's face once again, contorted by the pain.
"No doctor." He growled before letting go of her arm, his focus returning to fighting down the pain.
Hinako reflexively took a hold of her released arm, staring incredulously at Ranma. After a moment of silence she nodded, aware that he wouldn't see the gesture but needing it to convince herself.
She stood up and rushed to the kitchen. She needed to get some ice to fight down that horrible fever.
-----
Nabiki stared incredulously at one of her informants, who was giving her the daily report during lunch break. "Are you sure?"
The girl nodded. "Hinako-sensei called the office to report herself sick this morning."
*That's odd.* Nabiki thought. Never before had it happened, and Nabiki had thought it never would. Hinako seemed like one of those persons married with work. Her devotion to her duty was almost as blind as Kuno's fixation on Akane.
Putting that aside for later, but she would definitely look into it, Nabiki continued with the day's activities.
-----
He opened his eyes slowly, his entire body feeling familiarly lethargic. *Again.* He thought in resignation. It had happened so many times that he had learned to live with it, but he would never get used to it.
"Good morning." Came a subdued voice from the side that startled him. He turned his head slowly and blinked a couple of times to adjust his sight.
"Hinako-san." He said with guilt. The girl sitting next to him obviously didn't get any sleep the entire night. She had huge bags under red eyes. His guilt increased even more when he saw the tear marks on her face.
They both remained silent for a long time. Ranma averted his eyes, not able to meet Hinako's own.
"What happened?" Hinako finally asked. She was relieved now that Ranma was awake, and with no obvious signs of pain. His temperature returned to normal some time during the night, but that did little to suppress her anxiety. She really thought Ranma was going to die.
Ranma kept staring at the floor as he answered. "I don't know."
Hinako could tell Ranma was lying. It was so obvious she didn't think anyone was dense enough not to see it. "Please, Ranma. You can trust me." She said placing her hand on his shoulder.
Ranma smiled faintly when he felt the physical contact. He turned to face the teacher who was being so nice to him even if she had only known him for less than a day. In the way his eyes caught sight of a bandage in Hinako's arm.
Hinako tried to retrieve her hand when Ranma frowned at the sight of the bandage. She understood enough about the pigtailed man to know that if he saw it he would blame himself.
Ranma took a hold of her arm and sat up, concern starting to show on his features. He ignored her protests as he carefully removed the bandage, fearing what he would find.
She hissed when the cool air of the morning came in contact with the sensitive skin. But the pain was the least of her concerns. When she saw Ranma wince she knew her fears were justified.
The pigtailed man couldn't help wincing in guilt at the sight. Hinako had a very painful looking burn on her wrist. The shape was easily recognizable as a hand. *My hand.* "I'm sorry." He whispered as he brought his other hand to cover the burn.
Hinako shook her head. "Ranma, it wasn't..." She trailed off when Ranma started glowing softly. Only seconds later he retrieved his hand, and Hinako's eyes widened in shock. "What?" Her skin was completely healed, as if nothing had ever happened.
Ranma sighed and let go of her arm. "I'll be going now." With that he stood up.
Hinako examined her wrist carefully, noticing her smooth skin had none of the signs of ever being burnt. As she did this Ranma's words registered in her mind. "Leaving?" She jumped to her feet. "You can't leave." She said as she rushed after him.
Ranma stopped next to his pack, his head lowered. "I can't stay here. Not after hurting you."
Hinako took a hold of his arm with her hands. She pulled with all her might but found he didn't budge even an inch. "You can't go. Not like this!" She pleaded, an unexplained fear overwhelming her. From her eyes tears were leaking again.
Ranma felt his eyes watering. Hinako almost sounded helpless and he was doing nothing but furthering her despair. He bit down whatever words of comfort he could give, knowing they would only hurt her even more in the long run. He forcefully made Hinako release her hold on him and reached for his pack. "STOP!" Hinako's voice was hard and commanding now, but tints of fear were also recognizable. The pigtailed man slowly turned around. To his surprise Hinako was pointing a coin at him. "I won't let you leave." She said with determination.
Ranma shook his head and turned back to his pack.
"HAPPOU GO EN SATSU!" Came the cry from behind. Ranma could feel Hinako's attack trying to latch unto his chi. He knew she wouldn't succeed. His eyes suddenly widened when he felt another energy in him start to get drained, though.
"Hinako, stop!" He yelled as he turned around. But it was too late.
Hinako ignored Ranma as she continued the drain. She couldn't let things end like this. She knew something was wrong after a few seconds of draining him. The energy simply felt 'wrong' somehow. *What's this?* She asked herself as she instinctively cut the drain. Or tried to. She screamed in agony when she felt herself burning from the inside out. She tried to drain Ranma the way she drained the delinquents at school, but Ranma's energy was too many times more powerful. The quantity she drained from him almost made her explode, added to the fact that the intruder was attacking her own weak chi.
Ranma rushed to Hinako's side. The girl turned to her adult form but he ignored it, seeing as she was yelling for it to stop. He took a hold of her shoulders just before she collapsed, but the draining continued. *I have to do something. She'll die if she continues to draw more energy.* But all he could do was wait and hope she somehow survived the ordeal.
Hinako's body finally stopped absorbing energy. The coin had melted during the drain.
Ranma laid her limp body on the floor, thankful that she was still breathing. When he looked at her face he found something he didn't like, though.
A male scream of anguish was heard all around the block. Followed by a couple of hard impacts.
Back inside Ranma had his fist imbedded in the floor. Tears leaked from his eyes freely.
By his side Hinako was resting on her back, her open eyes glazed over. Blue- green eyes.
-----
A woman stared astonished at the spectacle. She remained unmoving at the beautiful sight. She stood on what looked like a cliff, while down a few meters a bright river of blue energy flowed with a majestic grace. Looking all around she could see hundreds of such rivers, all of which raged with that very same energy. An energy her advanced chi senses told her was life.
She stared at the sight for a long time, which had little meaning in this place. As she took two steps forward she stumbled, being out of balance, and fell to her knees. She curiously looked herself over, wondering what was wrong with her. For starters she found out she was naked. What she found made her blink a few times, trying to confirm if her sight wasn't playing a joke with her.
After she was convinced what she was seeing was right she studied herself more carefully. She was an adult, but not the adult she was used to being. She was used to being tall, strong and voluptuous. Instead she found herself to be short, thin and weakly looking. "What happened to me?" She asked herself, and immediately took a hand to her throat. Her voice also sounded different. More like a whisper than the strong and secure voice her adult body had.
"I'm sorry." A male voice was heard from behind. A voice that sounded a little different from what she remembered, more guttural in a way, but she still recognized as Ranma's.
She hugged herself and refrained from looking back. She didn't want him to look at her, not the way she looked now. "Ranma, what happened?" She looked at the beautiful rivers flowing to distract her mind from the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her.
"When you used your draining technique you latched onto something different to my chi." He answered miserably. "That energy nearly killed you. Right now you are in something like a coma. Your body is fine, though you'll be sore for a few days, but your mind suffered too great a trauma."
Hinako swallowed. "What is this place?" She asked. "It's so beautiful. So full of life."
"This is our planet's lifestream. You can think of it as the planet's own chi patterns." The pigtailed man said.
She nodded, still marveling at the beauty of it. Not just the sight was wonderful, but the feeling she got from it. Her chi senses were tingling with pleasure. "Why are we here?"
"The lifestream carries more than just energy. It also carries the memories and feelings of everything that has ever lived on this planet. When you came into contact with my energy you came into contact with the lifestream itself. Since you couldn't drain it your essence was taken here." Before she could ask her next question he continued, already knowing what it would be. "As to why you look different, in this place we are shown for what we truly are. What we look like outside is but a shell of our true selves."
Hinako nodded. "Then I'm really only a weak girl, not strong enough to face reality." There was no pain in her words, just resignation.
Ranma's next words soothed her. "You're much more than that, Hinako. You can grow into so much more. The lifestream isn't a constant." He chuckled. "Besides, your gentle nature is also revealed in this place. You just can't see it without a mirror."
Hinako brought a hand to her face, understanding the meaning to Ranma's words. Her face also felt different. She couldn't tell what she looked like, but she trusted Ranma's words. When she started to turn she stopped when Ranma spoke again.
"Please don't turn around."
Hinako smiled. "I want to see you, Ranma." When no further protest was heard she turned around completely, no longer caring Ranma could see her naked. If what he said was true they were looking into their very selves, so this wasn't real flesh. She did her best to keep from gasping at the sight before her.
"Now you know." Ranma said without meeting her gaze.
-----
She sat up and groaned a little. She had one hell of a headache. Turning to her side she could see Ranma's still sleeping form. They were both in her living room, and a quick look at the clock told her they had been out for the entire day.
Deciding that she needed to get up to see about getting dinner she turned to Ranma and softly caressed his cheek before standing up and making her way to the bathroom. Once there she went to the sink and splashed her face with cold water to fully wake up. Once she dried herself with a towel and looked herself in the mirror she gasped. Ranma's final words before they returned coming to her mind. "You'll never be the same again. You've been touched by the lifestream."
-----
Nabiki watched with distaste as her sister continued bashing boys left and right. *Why those idiots keep this up is beyond me.* She thought wondering just how stupid the males of Furinkan could get. Sure, they were making her money, but that still didn't explain their actions.
Nabiki suddenly caught sight of Hinako as she walked into school grounds and made her way to the school building. The teacher, as usual, didn't interfere with the morning fight. What was unusual was that she was in her adult form. *Wonder who she drained.* Nabiki thought before returning her attention to the fight.
As she walked through the yard she did her best to ignore the morning fight. Today she had an easier time of doing so because of the many things in her mind. Yesterday was just so eventful. *At least I managed to convince Ranma to stay.* It hadn't been easy, but the teacher eventually did succeed in her original objective. She made Ranma realize that she didn't care for what he was, but rather who he was. *And so far he's the only person to treat me like a person.* With yesterday's revelations she had discovered why she latched onto Ranma so stubbornly and in so little time of knowing him. He didn't care about her condition and treated her as a person regardless of the form that she was currently in.
As she entered the doors of the building and made her way to her first class she smiled a little. Actually moving through her everyday motions brought some sort of comfort to her. She knew she wouldn't be the same after what happened. If what she suspected about her condition was true then things were definitely going to change. But doing what she usually did reassured her that even with the changes she was still herself.
"Now I only have to convince Ranma of that." She muttered. He had somehow managed to blame himself for everything that happened. After yesterday it was even more obvious that he needed help, but it also became obvious that help couldn't come from just about anybody.
She finally entered the classroom and waited for the late bell to ring. Once it did she started calling roll.
The students barely managed to answer to their names, all of them fixated on their teacher.
Hinako decided this would be a very long day. *Oh well. At least they're not staring at my breasts.* The blue-green eyed teacher thought.
-----
"I'll see you at home, Akane. I've got business to take care of." Nabiki said as they left the school grounds.
Akane just shook her head. "I'll see you later, Nabiki." With that she walked away, not wanting to get mixed up in her sister's latest scheme.
Nabiki watched her sister's form until she turned around a corner before turning back to the school. "I guess I lost that bet." She said to herself as she waited. She had bet on an odd number of days to find Ranma. But she found him on the second day.
When she heard the rumor about Hinako wearing contacts she knew it was somehow related to Ranma. Akane not making the connection turned out to be a big surprise for the middle Tendo sister. It was too much of a coincidence not to be. *How did he manage to get involved with Hinako- sensei? I'm surprised she didn't drain him after listening to my sister babbling about how she would find that 'monster' and kill him for what he did to Kasumi.* Why Hinako's eyes had suddenly changed in color was something she didn't know, but that and the fact that Hinako had drained no one and still retained her adult form were too outstanding to ignore.
It didn't take very long for the students to all go home and leave Nabiki waiting alone. She patiently waited for Hinako, since she knew the teacher always stayed in school a little longer than the others.
Sure enough, after about half an hour Hinako finally emerged from the school. Nabiki idly noticed that she was still in her adult form, yet she hadn't received any report about her draining some student. *They were all too concerned with her eyes to do anything else.*
Hinako wasn't surprised when she saw Nabiki waiting at the school gates. She would've been surprised if she wasn't there. "Good afternoon, Tendo- san." She greeted as she approached the girl.
Nabiki inwardly shuddered when she locked gazes with the adult teacher. Something about those eyes was simply unnerving for her. "Hello, Hinako- sensei. Nice look."
The teacher looked at Nabiki calmly. "What can I do for you, Tendo-san?"
The girl smirked. "Could we talk about this some place else?"
Hinako shook her head. "I'm sorry but I must get home."
Nabiki nodded with a knowing look. "Of course. You don't want to keep Ranma- kun waiting."
If she was expecting a reaction from Hinako she was disappointed. The teacher remained calm when she spoke. "Please refrain from informing your sister of his whereabouts. I may be forced to ignore her antics at school, but I won't stand to see her act that way in my property."
Nabiki lost the smirk at the open threat. Even if Akane deserved those words she was still her sister. "Don't worry, sensei. Akane won't hear it from me." As Hinako started walking home Nabiki kept pace with the woman. "I noticed you haven't reverted to your child form."
Hinako almost missed a step with the comment, but recovered quickly. Since she still didn't know how she was staying in her adult body, or if she would ever take her child form again, she didn't know what to answer, thus she remained silent.
The girl studied Hinako's face as the teacher walked. She could tell the teacher was nervous, maybe even scared, about what had happened. *I guess I can't blame her for that.* "So how much did Ranma-kun tell you?" She asked, knowing maybe Ranma had opened up to Hinako more than he did in the Tendo dojo.
The teacher turned her eyes to Nabiki. "That will remain between Ranma and me, Tendo-san. It's not for me to reveal what he told me."
"'Ranma?' You're getting really personal with him, aren't you?" Nabiki asked waiting to see a reaction. She knew Kasumi and Ranma had something especial between them, and she thought she should know if Hinako had done something with him. When Hinako didn't react at all she didn't know what to think. Either they were only friends so far or they had gone all the way.
They finally reached Hinako's house and the teacher turned to Nabiki. "Ranma is a little sensitive about what happened to me. Please refrain from bringing that subject up."
Nabiki nodded, understanding Hinako's message perfectly. Something happened and Ranma blamed himself for whatever it was. *The guy really needs to relax.* She thought with a sigh as Hinako opened the door and invited her in.
END PART 4
Author's notes: Well, those of you that suspected the crossover must have confirmed it in this chapter. I'm back in school and writing probably will come a little slower now, but I'll continue working and LAB is next in the list. I just couldn't stop writing this chapter until was done.