Disclaimer:

See chapter 15

"Hold still, Mousse. This won't work if you don't stop flinching."

"I know, Kasumi-san. But I can't help it. I've been fighting to long that if something touches me like that, I think it's an attack to hurt me!"

"Ara... Just try to relax."

Mousse sighed. "Hai."

touch

Mousse flinched and somehow managed to get another foot of distance between him and Kasumi.

Kasumi sighed. "Mousse..."

"I know, I know... it's just a reflex, not that I don't want this."

"It's the fifth time we've tried since we got back. Please, stop jumping so much."

"Gomen nasai, Kasumi-san... I don't mean to-"

"-jump away like that," Kasumi finished for him. "I have an idea."

"Ok..."

"On your back."

"Kasumi-san?"

"Trust me, now, on your back, please."

"Alright..."

Once on his back, Kasumi straddled him.

"If you have nowhere to jump to, you can't flinch away, you see?"

"You amaze me. I should have gotten to know you a long time ago."

Kasumi blushed a little. "Thank you. Now, are you ready?"

Mousse nodded.

touch

crack!!

Silence.

"Ara... you've broken the floor."

"Gomen... I... I..."

"Wait here, for just a moment, I'll be right back. Do not get up." There was a trace of disappointment in Kasumi's voice.

"I'll... wait."

Kasumi slowly walked out of her room. She saw Nabiki sitting at the table, sharing tea with Mrs. Saotome and Cologne. Ranma's mother had an eye cast on the Shogi board that her father was squinting at, trying to discern his next move and a way to avoid Nodoka's roving eye. Nabiki herself was working in the dojo's finances.

"Nabiki-chan, can I borrow you for a moment?"

Nabiki looked up. "Of course, Kasumi." Soun took the moment Nabiki was between him and Nodoka to slip another piece onto the board. Nodoka frowned.

"Soun, are you cheating?"

"Mrs. Saotome, on your husband's honor, I would never do such a thing."

"Soun, are you aware it is impolite to swear upon things that do not exist?"

That dialogue had become their routine.

There was a weak groan from the top of the staircase. Nodoka whirled to face it. "I DIDN'T SAY YOU WERE ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE ROOM!! GET BACK IN THE ROOM, NOW!!"

A weak groan, sounded like "food..."

"ONLY IF YOU BEHAVE!! BACK IN THE ROOM!!"

Another weak groan, and the sound of a body dragging itself down the hall. A door shut a moment later. Soun slipped another piece onto the board.

"I must commend you on the way you have trained your husband. It makes an old Amazon woman proud."

"Thank you, Elder Cologne."

Soun chuckled. Nodoka slipped a piece onto the board. They both drank some tea, and Cologne slipped pieces for both of them onto the board.

Nabiki rolled her eyes as she followed her sister. "What do you need help with?"

"Overcoming a martial artist's reflexes."

"Nani? Shouldn't you ask Ranma or Akane for help like that?"

"I don't think it is wise to make Ranma-kun do much at the moment, and Akane-chan is taking a bath."

"Hmm, true. So, how can I help?" And I wonder what you need that kind of help for, big sister...

"He won't stop jumping away," Kasumi said, sliding open her door, revealing Mousse on the floor, still on his back.

"Um... Kasumi-san?"

"Don't worry, Mousse, we'll figure it out. Ne, Nabiki-chan?"

"What am I being dragged into here?"

"Kasumi-san?"

"You hold him down, Nabiki, I'll be the one who does it."

"I should be charging for this..."

"Kasumi-san?"

"It's ok, Mousse. We'll figure out a way to get your contacts in."

Mousse began to wonder if it was worth it.

Ranma, now a girl, flung herself from roof to roof, keeping an eye out for people she knew, to avoid them, an eye on the sky, in case of weird rain, and all her other senses alert to her path. She had visited the flower shop like always, but had avoided looking in the direction of the girl behind the counter. When asked, Ranma had managed to make himself say he didn't want to look at anyone right at the moment, since he was very upset. It was the truth, but leaving out certain reasons was close to lying as he seemed to be able to make himself get.

In one hand was the white rose he always bought ("It was her favorite before she died.") and in the other were two small containers, one of warm water, one of cold.

With a sigh, she dropped into the cemetery, and poured the warm water over herself, triggering the curse, after making sure no one else was around.

Five minutes passed. Ten. He kicked himself, then dropped to one knee, and placed the single white rose on the tombstone.

"Hello again, Mrs. Tendo. I meant to come by earlier, but the past few days have been kinda weird and busy, even for me. Gomen nasai, but you've probably heard me talk enough to last for a very long time, and I would not be surprised to learn that you're getting tired of listening to me complain about everything. I'm not sure where to begin exactly... I think I'll start at Shampoo's 'apology'..."

In her room, her bath finished, Akane waited for Ranma. She knew where he had taken off to, but she wondered if she should tell him that she would be more than willing to listen to his problems from now on.

"... Mousse is on our side, and even helped us with Kuno, oh, you'll like that, listen to this..."

Maybe he would have come to her, but Akane knew what would have happened. Probably something along the lines of "BAKA!!" and loud smashing sounds.

"...Gomen nasai, but I had no control. I did not mean to touch her like that. I know she started it, but it is still my fault, even if we can joke about it now. Gomen nasai, gomen nasai..."

But she'd be here for him now, even if she didn't always understand...

"... so we're together. I was convinced it was someone impersonating her at first, because I didn't believe it was possible, that Akane might... might... love me .She loves me..." The words were spoken as though by a dying man, lost in the desert, having just found an oasis full of water. "She loves me... it hurt so much to be near her, but that pain is almost over now..."

And no matter what, she would never leave him. Not after everything they had been through together. Not after all he sacrificed for her.

"...if you had any part in helping us get together..." Ranma bowed low to the ground, placing his forehead against the backs of his hands. "Domo arigato..."

She couldn't pretend that she wouldn't lose her temper, or that she might not misunderstand sometimes, but, if he would have her, she would never stop being there for him. For her Ranma.

"I guess I'll be going now. Thanks for always listening to me, even if I complain so much. I'll try to find happier things to talk about. I think... I might have some, next time..."

Now all she had to do was wait for him to come home to let him know.

Smiling, Ranma stood up. "If there's any help you can give, I'd gladly welcome it. I'm still not sure what else I can do. I'll see you again, another time."

Ranma hadn't gone ten feet from the grave when I warm wind kicked up, stirring the leaves in the trees. What kind of wind is this? It's not normal...

But Ranma didn't think any more thoughts along those lines, because he suddenly had an idea. A great, wonderful, completely obvious idea. Dropping the cold water, and completely forgetting what he was doing, Ranma threw himself up into the trees, and began roof-hopping as fast as he could back towards the Tendo dojo.

On top of the gravestone, the lone white rose had vanished.

In space, a small unmanned resupply craft, for no reason that could be determined, began to descend towards the earth. It fell, faster, streaking through the atmosphere, until, some time later, it landed on the outskirts of Tokyo, softly hitting the earth, thanks to the in-board parachute in case it was used as an escape pod. A small figure in purple groaned, and staggered out, and then left, in search of women and their unmentionables.

Inside the craft, on a small instrument panel that held the piloting controls, a white rose rested. There was a warm wind, and it vanished.

She was going to help her daughter's fiancée.

Ranma shot over the roofs fast enough that running silent was no longer an option. Instead, several occupants of many homes were startled at the loud slams that raced across their rooftops. With a roar, Ranma landed in the yard of the Tendo's, a few feet from the dojo. He tied the blindfold around his eyes, and turned to face the outside wall.

In her room, Akane heard the unmistakable sound of Ranma bounding across the roof, to land in the yard outside. With a smile, and the intention of letting Ranma know she was going to be there for him, she pulled open her window, only to be met with Ranma's voice-

"HAPPOSAI!!!"

Ite! Akane thought. Ranma was yelling loud enough to be heard in Okinawa!

"HAPPOSAI!!!"

"Ranma, what are you doing?!" Soun yelled, trying to be heard from the back porch. "Saying the name will only summon the Master!"

"HAPPOSAI!! WHERE ARE YOU?! I CHALLENGE YOU, OLD MAN, FOR THE TITLE OF MASTER OF THE ANYTHING GOES SCHOOL!!"

"He's lost it, utterly lost it," Nabiki complained. She was in a slightly foul mood; it had taken her and her sister ten minutes to get Mousse's contacts in, with him fighting them against his own reflexes.

"Ara..." was all her older sister said.

"What is he thinking, starting a fight in his condition?" muttered Cologne.

Then a small, purple-clad old freak, with a bag over his shoulder, and a bra on his head landed in the yard. "So, my young pupil, you think you can challenge me? And blindfolded, no less?"

"Ranma, what are you doing?" Akane whispered to herself, watching him from her window.

Something brushed against Ranma's arm. By reflex, he caught it. It felt familiar... kind of like... He brought it up to his face, and the faint scent of a white rose drifted to him. He smiled, and threw it to the ancient master of Anything Goes. "You know, I think I can."

Happosai raised an eyebrow as he looked at the rose. "Eh?"

"I challenge you, Happosai of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, to your title of Grandmaster."

Happosai laughed. "I accept, but if you lose, you're gonna be wearing a lovely set of matching red lingerie."

"All right, old man, let's get started." Ranma jumped at his father's master, and pulled the blindfold off his head in mid-air.

A/N

I know, short chapter, but I just kinda felt like writing, and cutting it off right there. It seems like a good place to do it. Biiiii!