Disclaimer - As before.

Ch. 8: R is for P-Chan

Sango, Miroku and Akane raced anxiously through the forest, looking for any sign of Kirara.

"It's her! I can see her!" cried Sango, quickening her pace.

Akane looked ahead and saw the dull light of the demon cat's fiery paws, just beyond the forest edge. But they also overheard the sounds of a ferocious animal fight. Indeed, as they grew closer, sounds became more intense.

"DIE!"

Miroku frowned. "I think that was Inuyasha!"

"Meeeoooow!"

"R...Ranma!" exclaimed Akane.

Miroku looked sharply at Akane. "What did you say?"

Before she could reply, a loud, angry roar filled the air.

"YOU! Get the fuck back here!"

"MEOW!"

"Inuyasha let him go!"

"No way! He's gonna pay for – OW! ...You bastard!"

"Uh oh. Now he's really dead."

"Ranma you idiot!"

"SIT!"

The trio pushed through the dense leaves and found themselves in a small clearing, surrounded by the forest. The ring of trees were lit with the remaining light of the evening, casting them in a gentle glow. The glade itself was filled with wild grass spread thickly around the area. It was an altogether lovely scene, had it not been for the peculiar sight before them.

Akane couldn't believe her eyes. "R...Ryoga!"

Inuyasha lay flat on the ground, swearing and sputtering furiously, his haori shredded in several places. Kagome stood with her hand on her hips, yelling at him from above. Shippo and Kirara were hiding behind a semi-naked young man who was up till now, bellowing at something in the trees...

The sound of Akane's voice made Ryoga's blood freeze. Every nightmare he had of this moment flashed before his eyes. 'No! NO! This can't be happening!' he thought desperately. Time seemed to slow for Ryoga as he turned and faced her.

"A...A..ka..ne." Ryoga clutched the tiny kimono closer to his body.

"Ryoga! W...What are you doing here?"

Fortunately a loud bang distracted Akane from Ryoga. She looked to see Inuyasha retrieve his fist from a large hole in the ground. Before the hanyou could attack, Kagome grabbed his right arm to stop him. Ranma, however, stood strangely on all fours, hissing loudly.

Miroku stared at the pig tailed young man, bewildered. "Um...We missed something, didn't we?" he asked Kagome.

"Damn right you did!" she replied as she turned back to the hanyou. "Inuyasha stop it! You can't hurt him!"

"That freak came at me FIRST!" he snarled, wrenching his arm away. "He's fucking crazy! Look! He thinks he's a damn cat! Ok? A fucking cat!"

"What!" exclaimed Sango, staring at Ranma while he hissed back at Inuyasha.

His golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm gonna make you sorry you were ever born!" he hollered at the fighter.

Furious, Ranma leapt onto Inuyasha's chest, causing the both of them to tumble and turn into a snarling blur of silver and red.

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"Ranma!"

Their snarling and scratching grew louder and more violent. Suddenly Inuyasha had Ranma flat on his back, pinned to the ground. But the fighter, in his state, head butted the hanyou with a loud CRACK!

The blow made Inuyasha release Ranma, who angrily shoved the hanyou off his front. Roaring with rage, Inuyasha lunged at the fighter and landed a blow on Ranma's side just as he scurried away on all fours.

But the astonished group watched as Ranma quickly regained his balance and launched himself back at Inuyasha. Then they both disappeared into a blur of colour. The others ran towards the fighting duo as they continued, leaping into the trees.

"Ranma is human, isn't he?" asked Miroku, watching the young man leap easily from tree to tree.

Kagome shrugged. "Well, I think so...But since Kirara arrived he's been acting really, really weird!"

"What IS wrong with him?" cried Sango, listening to Ranma 'meow' at the hanyou.

"It...It's Cat – Fu!"

All eyes turned to Akane. "Cat – Fu?" they exclaimed.

She nodded glumly, tearing her gaze from the ongoing fight. "Its...it's Cat-fu!" She began nervously. "See...when Ranma was young, he had a terrible training experience with cats. So...so now he's got a huge fear of them!"

"But what does this have to do-"

"You don't understand!" cried Akane, cutting Miroku short, "Ranma is SO afraid of cats that he turns into one to cope!"

There was a wall of stunned silence.

"R...really?" asked Kagome, not quite convinced she heard correctly. She looked over a Sango, who shrugged.

Miroku shook his head in disbelief. "Does he really hate cats THAT much?"

"Yes!" replied Akane, somewhat frustrated, "Everything from kittens to tigers!"

"So how did he turn into..." Sango's voice trailed off as a small cat with two tails came bounding up to her. "Kirara...I see."

Akane groaned. "Great. Ranma freaks out on demon cats as well!" She sighed heavily. "I knew about Kirara and I totally forgot! I ...I should've warned him."

"It's a little late now!" replied Kagome, anxiously watching Inuyasha and Ranma continue to bicker in the trees above. "Is there any way to snap him out of it?"

"Well, yes, he can be brought back to normal." replied Akane.

Miroku looked over at Sango. "Normal?" he muttered quietly.

"But he needs to calm down!" continued Akane.

All eyes turned back to the two fighters in the trees.

"...and try this ya freak!" cried Inuyasha as he brought his fist crashing through the branch Ranma stood on.

"Meeeooooowwww!" spat Ranma, leaping deftly over the hanyou, kicking his head as he did so.

Akane crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "Ugh, it's hard enough when he's normal to keep him and Inuyasha apart!"

"I know!" groaned Kagome. "Who'd of thought they'd fight like cats and...oh, wait a minute."

"Well, for a mortal, Ranma is doing very well against Inuyasha!" Miroku stated in admiration. "Just look at that speed!"

As the hanyou recovered his balance, Ranma turned and took a vicious swipe at Inuyasha's side, causing them both to tumble off the high branch. And as they fell, they loudly traded a whirlwind of blows and kicks.

"I agree!" replied Sango as they continued to watch the fight. "Ranma's skills are exceptional!"

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" bellowed Inuyasha as he and Ranma broke apart to separate trees. "You think this bastard can beat me?"

Ranma growled loudly from another tree, his claws digging deep into the trunk.

"Stop it!" yelled Kagome. "Please!"

"Inuyasha! We need to get Ranma to calm down!" called Miroku, "It's the only way to bring him back to...um...normal."

"Normal? NORMAL! Feh." He glared across at the young man, "Good luck!"

"Look, will you just stop trying to kill him?" snapped Kagome.

"Hey! He came at me first!"

"Shhhhhh! All of you, be quiet!" whispered Sango, "Akane's trying something..."

They watched the young woman slowly approached the base of the tree. She looked up and saw that Ranma stood on all fours, ready to attack Inuyasha who was snarling from the opposite tree.

'Oh I hope this works!' she thought anxiously.

"Ranma!" called Akane, "Heeeereee Ranmaaaaa!"

At the sound of his name broke Ranma's glaring match with the hanyou. He looked down at Akane kneeling in the grass below. A flicker of recognition flashed briefly in his eyes. Akane, seeing that she had his attention, pulled out a piece of string and wriggled it back and forth.

"Heeere Ranma!"

The young man blinked, his blue grey eyes flashing in excitement. He watched with growing interest at the string, feeling the sudden urge to pounce on it.

Inuyasha looked away, snorted loudly with distain. "Feh. Fucking cats."

Ranma arched his back and hissed in reply.

"NO! Raaaanmaaa!" called Akane. "We need to get him away from Inuyasha so he can calm down!" she whispered to the others.

"Let me try! Raaaaanma! Heeere!" called Kagome, who came to sit beside Akane.

The fighter stopped to look at the girls below, his eyes intently watching the string that Akane waved back and forth.

Inuyasha snorted. "Oi wench! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Trying get Ranma down you idiot!" she whispered loudly, "So don't starting fighting again!"

"Feh. You're wasting your time!"

Ranma broke his gaze and hissed back at the hanyou.

"No! Over here!" cried Akane. She watched Ranma frown deeply, trying to decide whether to continue the fight or give into the temptation of the string.

"Oh no! We need a stronger distraction!" muttered Kagome

"Hey, try this!" Sango pulled the red ribbon from ponytail and sat down beside Akane, who took it and waved it back and forth on the grass. Immediately Ranma focused his attention back to the group below.

"Keep going! I...I think it's working!" exclaimed Kagome.

Now all three girls were calling gently up to the young man. "Raaaaanmaaaa!"

"How does he do it?" remarked Miroku jealously. He stood, frowning, several yards back with Kirara. Since Ranma changed, the demon cat transformed to her smaller state and watched the action from behind Miroku's legs.

Ranma's eyes closely followed the red ribbon as it slithered back and forth on the grass below, mesmerized by its colour.

Inuyasha, however, watched with growing contempt. "Feh. What the hell kind of a moron turns into a damn cat!"

Kagome looked calmly up at the Inuyasha. "Sit."

WHAM!

Immediately the hanyou was silenced with a big mouthful of dirt.

"Grrrr...Wha dah phuk-!"

"Inuyasha. Stop fighting. PLEASE!"

He looked up at Kagome's steely gaze, warning him that enough was really, enough. Inuyasha snorted and sat up, quite cross. "Fine then!" He turned and stomped off to stand beside Miroku.

With his rival silenced, Ranma found that the temptation proved too great. He leapt down and was soon sitting happily among the girls.

"Wow, he's just like a cat!" remarked Kagome. She watched as Ranma rolled on in back with the ribbon tangled between his hands and feet. She let out a small giggle.

"He really likes your ribbon Sango!"

"I know." replied Sango, smiling slightly, "Just look at him go!"

"Yeah, I didn't think Ranma could be so...playful!" remarked Kagome.

"WHAT!" bellowed the irate hanyou, rolling his sleeves back up. Fortunately, Miroku placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just wait Inuyasha." he muttered. "Let's just see where this goes."

"I don't like where this is going!"

"Wait, Inuyasha! Wait!" Miroku looked carefully at his companion. "Look, we need that young man back to normal before we can continue searching for that jewel shard."

"Feh."

Inuyasha scowled, silently admitting that the monk was right. He shoved his hands angrily into his sleeves, but kept a close eye on Ranma's every move.

After a few moments, the pig-tailed fighter had the ribbon firmly between his teeth. Looking tired he padded on all fours over to Akane and plopped himself on her lap. The girls gasped as Ranma nuzzled Akane's cheek before curling up and promptly closed his eyes.

Kagome noted her friend's reddening face. "Does this...um, happen every time?"

"Yeah, he's kinda, well...um, cuddly in this state." she mumbled. "He...He's just being a cat. That's all."

Kagome gave Sango a knowing look. "Oh really?"

But Akane just rolled her eyes, and turned a deeper shade of red. "Yes, he's just being a cat. Just look at this." The girls watched as Akane began to gently stroke Ranma's head. A low, contented growl rumbled from his chest.

"He...He's actually...purring!" said Sango in awe.

Akane nodded. "See? Told you he's just like a cat! Anyhow this is a good sign! It means he'll be going to sleep soon!"

"Is that a good thing?" asked Kagome.

"Yes, once he's asleep, he'll return to normal." They watched as Ranma yawned and snuggled closer to Akane, making her blush even more.

She shifted uncomfortably under their stares. "Um...Anyhow this idiot won't remember a thing when he wakes up." she replied awkwardly, "So for now the best thing is for him to get to sleep."

Kagome nodded. "Well how long will that take?"

"Um, I'm not sure. All I know is the more I pet him, the more he relaxes."

"Well, can we help?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha snorted in protest. "HEY!"

"Yes, if we all pet Ranma, maybe it'll make him go to sleep faster?" suggested Sango pragmatically.

Miroku edged closer. "HEY!"

All three girls turned. "SHHHHH!"

"We're trying to help calm him down." whispered Kagome angrily.

"I don't think he'll be calming down that way!" snapped Inuyasha.

"Sit!"

WHAM!

A low growl rose from the earth as Inuyasha peeled himself off the ground. "I swear I'm gonna tear his fuckin' head off when he comes to!"

"I'll gladly help you!" muttered the monk darkly as they watched the girls caress and pet Ranma.

Infuriated, Inuyasha stomped off towards the forest.

"How. Much. Longer. Do. You. Have. To. Do. THAT!" he demanded, giving the trees a good kick between each word.

"Yes." Miroku crossing his arms impatiently. "How much longer?"

Amidst the chaos, no one noticed the absence of two members who had run off into the woods. The young man appeared to stumble though the trees, immodestly dressed in a small, purple kimono. He was followed, curiously, by an annoyed young kitsune.

"Ryoga! Stop!" Shippo yelled for the umpteenth time. He was trying to keep up with the young man, which wasn't too hard considering Ryoga was half blinded by tears.

"Ryoga! C'mon!"

"No! I...I can't!" he wailed, "A...Akane...!"

But Shippo was growing impatient. "Ryyyoooogaaaaa! We have to get back to the others!"

"NO!" he cried, "...Oh god, what am I gonna do? Oh, Akane..."

"So you want to see her..." he replied quietly, his mouth set in a thin line. The next instant, a cloud of smoke burst onto Ryoga's path and when it cleared, there stood Shippo, transformed into a familiar short haired girl...

Ryoga skidded to an abrupt halt, falling terrified on his knees. "Aaah! A...Akane!"

"Ryoga! What's wrong?" he (Akane)asked with false concern. "Won't you stop and talk about it?"

But her sudden appearance only served to shock the wanderer out of his senses.

"A...A.ka..neee! I'm ss-soooo ssss-sorry!" he stammered, then immediately turned and ran.

"W...Wait! Ryoga! NO! Stop! It's me, Shippo!" Not bothering to transform back, the kitsune ran after the distraught fighter. "Hey! You were suppose to stop!"

However, seeing 'Akane' run after him made Ryoga deaf to reason. "A-Akane! I'm soooo sorry!"

"No! Wait! It's me, Shippo!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Ryooooogaaaaa!"

But the young man kept running, back towards the direction of the glade.

Shippo sighed as he kept up the chase. "I just don't understand these mortals!"

(Back in the glade...)

The first thing Ranma felt was the ground against his back, it was hard and slightly cold. Then he realized that his head was lying on something soft, and that someone was slowly stroking his hair, and his arms, and his legs...

'What the?' He realized that there were several pairs of hands stoking his body. He shifted his legs away, uncomfortable at the idea of some stranger touching him.

"Hmm...that should do it!"

"Hey, I think he's coming around!"

"Ranma!"

He gingerly opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of not one, but three lovely faces peering anxiously down at him.

"Hey, are you ok?" asked Kagome.

"Um...I...I think so." he replied. He had no idea what had happened, or how he ended up on Akane's lap, alive.

But the girl in question smiled down at him. "Idiot."

He was about to return the smile when he heard the sound of someone stomping towards him.

"It's about time damn it!"

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles loudly. They turned and saw the hanyou, looking rather worse for wear, make a beeline towards them. His haori was shredded in several places, his face was smeared in dirt, and his eyes were anything but safe.

Kagome and Sango quickly stood up.

"Inuyasha, just give him some space!" replied Kagome, placing herself between the hanyou and Ranma.

"OH, I'll give him something." he snarled.

Ranma, still very confused, rose instantly to his feet. "What the hell's wrong with you?" he demanded.

"With me? WITH ME?" Inuyasha threw his hands in the air. "You're one to talk!"

"What's wrong with me..." Ranma froze, thinking that his curse was finally out. He fought down the urge to panic. 'Oh.my.god...they know! THEY know! HE knows!'

Ranma cleared his throat nervously. "L...Look, it's not like, um...I mean, ...I'm a GUY! OK!" he sputtered.

But Akane just shook her head. "No, you idiot! It was the Cat-fu."

"C...Cat-fu!" echoed Ranma.

"Yes. Cat-fu!" repeated Akane, giving Ranma a hard look. He returned her gaze, not quite understanding what she meant.

"It was Kirara, unknowingly of course!" added Kagome.

He looked over at Kagome and Sango and spied the small cat-like demon hiding behind the demon hunter's legs. He shuddered inwardly, suddenly remembering the horrible view of this cat on fire running towards him.

"You saw her in her transformed state." replied Sango, seeing the puzzled look on Ranma's face. "She...um, decided this present form would be best for now."

"Oh." was all he could say, silently thanking the heavens that it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Yes, well, fortunately you had three lovely women to look after you." said Miroku stiffly. He stood menacingly beside Inuyasha, coldly grinding the end of his staff into the ground.

"W...What?"

"They were stroking you like you were some CAT." snarled Inuyasha, his eyes blazing dangerously.

"Eh?" Ranma looked over at the girls in surprise.

Akane shrugged. "Since you were in, well, cat mode, petting you would be the quickest way to get you to fall asleep."

He looked at Kagome and Sango, who sheepishly nodded. Ranma then turned to meet the death glares of Inuyasha and Miroku.

'Ooooh, great. And I didn't even do anything.' he thought miserably.

"Good thing your back to normal. For a while it looked like you and Inuyasha were going to kill each other." said Kagome.

"Feh. Hardly."

Ranma frowned. "Say that again?"

Inuyasha raised his fist but the blow never came. Suddenly, out of the woods came a loud wail.

"I'm sooooo soooooryyyyyyy!"

"Ryooooogaaaa!"

Everyone stopped and stared at the young man in the purple kimono running blindly away from what looked like Akane with a large orange tail.

"Shippo!"

"Ryoga!"

They immediately stopped like two animals caught in headlights. Both groups stared at each other in surprise. Shippo, however, recovered his shock quickly.

"Kagome! Whew, boy am I glad to see you!" A loud pop and a puff of smoke later, the young kitsune appeared.

Ryoga's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he watched, dumbfounded, as Shippo made his way over to the group of shocked onlookers. 'If that wasn't Akane...then...' Ryoga's felt his stomach drop as he looked at the real Akane.

Kagome scooped up the kitsune in a tight hug. "Hey! Where have you been?"

"Running after this magical mortal!" he replied, slightly annoyed. "You told me to watch over them! Since you were busy with Ranma – " he glanced suspiciously at the pig tailed fighter. "- um...Anyhow Ryoga's been trying to run away so I chased after him – which was easy cuz he just ran in a circle."

Inwardly, Ryoga groaned, cursing his directionless sense.

"Shippo, what do you mean, magic mortal?" asked Miroku, looking at Ryoga warily.

The kitsune nodded. "Oh yeah, you haven't met him yet! This is the pig demon you were looking for!"

"What?" exclaimed Sango.

"Pig demon?" asked Akane.

Shippo nodded. "Yeah, yeah! This is the demon you were hunting earlier!"

But Akane shook her head. "No, you must be mistaken! Ryoga's a normal human!"

"No he can really change into a pig!" insisted Shippo, "He's not a demon, just a cursed human. He said so himself!"

"Did he?" asked Sango.

"Yes he did! Right Ranma?" Shippo turned to the fighter in question.

Ranma was up to this point still coming to terms with having been petted to sleep by three girls. But now that Ryoga was silently begging him for help, Ranma's mind grew even more bewildered with the circumstances. So he did the only thing he could think of...

"Um...well. I...um...I don't know. I mean, I've never really seen him change into a pig HERE, in this time...um, See..."

Ryoga silently cursed Ranma as he listened to the badly formed cover up. 'You idiot! You've made it worse!'

"B...But you said that cold water can change him into a pig, right?" interrupted Shippo enthusiastically.

"Water..." Akane looked hard at Ryoga, thinking.

Panicking, Ranma quickly added, "Um...wait. Wait Akane! I think Shippo um, meant that water can make Ryoga...um...smell like a pig! Right Shippo?" He gave the kitsune a knowing look.

But Shippo didn't catch on. "No, that's not what I meant!"

Ranma smiled brightly. "Yes. YES you did!" he muttered through his teeth.

But Akane ignored all this and kept staring at Ryoga. 'Cold water...'

She thought through all the things she knew about Ryoga during their friendship over the years, remembering that there was always that something about this young man that she didn't quite get. Was it his hopeless sense of direction? No. Was it his fangs? No, though they were unusual. Was is his hair? His clothes?

Then she remembered his bandana. She had often thought Ryoga's looked similar to the one around the neck of...

The thought clicked, and suddenly, Akane understood.

"P-chan?" she asked slowly.

Ranma inhaled sharply and looked across at the dejected wanderer. 'Ryoga! I am SO sorry.'

Ryoga closed his eyes and wished his would to sink into the ground. He wanted, with all this heart, to be anywhere but here. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened his eyes and found himself, unhappily, still in the glade, with Akane standing right in front of him.

He realized, with sinking clarity, the moment of truth had come. Ryoga sighed heavily, and with all the effort he could muster, looked into Akane's eyes and nodded.

She gasped. "P…P-chan?...You're P-chan?"

Ryoga summoned his courage to speak. "Y...Yes!"

While Akane stood gaping at Ryoga, Ranma was holding his head in his hands.

"Ranma? What's going on?" whispered Kagome with growing alarm.

"Just watch." he replied unhappily. Ranma thought that he would be overjoyed the day Akane found out about her 'P-chan', yet, in reality he was feeling rather worried about his rival.

Miroku frowned, his own instincts warning him. "Ranma, what's wrong with Ryoga?"

"Akane." Ranma sighed, "Akane now knows about P-chan."

"P-chan..." Kagome's eyes widened in realization. "No...HE's P-chan! THE P-chan? Her pet pig, P-chan?"

Sango frowned. "Her pet pig?"

Ranma nodded. "Yep. In his cursed form, he's her pet pig."

Kagome stared at the back of Akane's figure. "No way! Ryoga is the pet pig she wrote about? The pet she sometimes brought to school? The one that sleeps with her in bed!"

Ranma gritted his teeth. "Yep. That's him"

"They slept together in her bed!" remarked Miroku, amazed.

"You don't have to repeat that." grumbled Ranma.

Kagome shook her head. "And...and Akane never knew!"

"Uh oh." replied Shippo.

They all turned back and watched Akane begin to make her way towards Ryoga.

"Um...is Ryoga going to be ok?" whispered Kagome timidly.

"For the next five seconds." muttered Ranma, instinctively taking a step back as Akane neared the miserable young man.

"You're P-chan?" Akane demanded, balling her fists up.

Ryoga meekly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Y...Yes."

She was now marching over to him. "You're P-Chan."

"Y...Yes. Akane I'm so sor–"

"YOU'RE P-CHAN!"

"Akane wait-!"

The others watched in amazement as Akane, with one kick, booted the young man away.

"Wow." exclaimed Miroku.

They stood in stunned silence, unsure of what would happen next.

A/N: Well, I thought this would be a good time for Pchan to be revealed (thanks Dawnlove) and for Akane to come to terms with it. And many, many thanks to The Bog Witch for beta-ing this particular chappy.

It may have seemed rather OC for Akane to be less volatile with Ranma. To explain, this story is set post-manga, after the battle with Saffron where both teens nearly died, as well as having a failed wedding. Lots of emotional baggage to sort though, and yet, here they are, in Feudal Japan, faced with situations more dangerous than either have experienced (i.e. murderous snake demons). On top of this, they have to deal with Inuyasha - which isn't easy considering Ranma's personality. But no matter what, Akane has always helped Ranma through times of trouble.

Lastly, I've had several suggestions that Inuyasha should use the 'Wind Scar' technique on Neko-Ranma but I couldn't, since Ranma's mortal and thus Tesusaiga can't be used against one – not that Inuyasha wouldn't have minded...