Operation: Lovebird Rescue!

Earlier that same morning, over in the Tendo household, Nabiki was observing her family eat breakfast – and she was concerned with what she saw. She had witnessed Ranma enter the room, blanch at the sight of Akane, and then loudly proclaim that he wasn't hungry and leave. Her father hadn't even looked up from his newspaper at this turn of events and Mr. Saotome volunteered to eat his son's plate with gleeful abandon. Meanwhile, Akane was eating very slowly, picking at her food, and only occasionally taking a bite.

Nabiki made eye contact with Kasumi from across the table and saw that her sister was every bit as worried as she was. While Kasumi wasn't usually as observant to small details as Nabiki, she was deeply attuned to other people's emotions. Tt was obvious that a rift of unknown magnitude had formed between the two would-be fiancés overnight. Unless you were her father or Genma Saotome, apparently. The two old friends acted like it was the start of any normal day.,

She stood up, took her plate with her, and walked by her older sister.

"Care to join me in the kitchen?" She asked in a neutral tone.

"Of course," Kasumi said, evenly.

Their interaction was subtle enough that it went unnoticed by the other people in the room. Once they were in the kitchen and far away enough from the ears of their family members, the two dropped their guard.

"Something is wrong with Ranma and Akane," Kasumi said.

"Yup," Nabiki said between bites of food. "They had a fight last night."

"I couldn't hear much of it."

"I could," Nabiki said. "I can't help it, I swear. But what really concerns me is that they weren't yelling and screaming. There was anger, but it was measured."

Nabiki noticed a slight tension in Kasumi's left eyebrow and recognized this as a sign of irritation. She could read Kasumi like a book, even if most of the other lugheads in the house were oblivious to the subtlety of her signals. Apparently, it was rude to eat while talking to someone. So, she put her plate down on the counter and wiped her mouth before continuing the conversation. Her older sister's irritation died down and she relaxed again.

"But wouldn't that be better than all-out yelling?" Kasumi asked.

"For most people," Nabiki said, smoothly. "But for Ranma and Akane, this means that their feelings are so strong that they can't even explode out of them. And these two are experts at exploding."

Kasumi nodded, thoughtfully.

"I doubt it's a relationship-ender. But I get the sense they're approaching a pivotal point in their relationship, and I'd like to see them standing on stable ground before they get there."

"Agreed."

"I take it you'd be willing to meddle in their affairs a bit?"

"I wouldn't want to meddle," Kasumi said demurely. "But as Akane's sister, I do feel as though it's my duty to look after her. And Ranma too, for that matter. He's basically family now, even if he never marries our Akane."

Nabiki smiled. "Excellent. So – I'm thinking I'll talk to Ranma, and you talk to Akane."

"Do you think Ranma would be receptive to what you have to say? He can be so guarded. Perhaps it would be better if I spoke to him."

"I know how to get through to Ranma. His emotions are easy to manipulate," Nabiki said, before smiling. "But Akane – well, I'm not sure Akane would listen to me."

"She loves you very much."

"I know. But I don't think she even really gets it when I'm looking out for her. She either thinks I'm criticizing her, teasing her, or trying to trick her into something."

Nabiki noticed that Kasumi's expression had changed. Her gaze became unfocused and it was apparent she was lost in thought. No doubt she was already planning on a way to bring her and Akane closer together. That was Kasumi, empathetic to a fault. It's not like every sister relationship had to be super buddy-buddy. Nabiki knew her love languages were from a different hemisphere than Akane's, and she was secure in their bond.

"Kasumi, focus!" Nabiki said, snapping her sister back to attention. "It's time for Operation: Lovebird Rescue."

Kasumi nodded, accepting the mission.

Akane was in the Tendo Dojo, practicing all sorts of moves and attacks. Kasumi watched her quietly from a distance – it was almost as if her youngest sister was battling an invisible enemy. She watched for a time, waiting for the right moment to make her presence now. Her chance came when Akane stopped to catch her breath and became aware of her sister's presence in the room.

"Hey," Akane said.

"Are you alright?" Kasumi asked, her voice obvious with worry.

"My life is getting so complicated, Kasumi."

"Oh, dear. What happened now?"

"I think I'm in love with Ranma, but I kinda screwed things up."

"What did you do?"

Akane turned to face her oldest sister and looked into her eyes, while her own eyes were dimmed with uncertainty.

"I made out with Takara."

Kasumi tilted her head to the side. The statement was difficult for her to parse, until she remembered that Takara had a Jusenkyo curse on her as well.

"Oh! When Takara was in his boy form."

"No. I made out with Takara in her girl form."

The older sister concentrated and attempted to process the information.

"Oh, I've heard of these sorts of romantic relationships before," she said at last. " It's sort of a safe way for girls to experiment with sexuality, before moving onto experimenting with boys. A Class-S relationship, I think it's called."

"No, it's not that," Akane sighed. "Kasumi, I'm a lesbian."

The word didn't immediately register for Kasumi, and when it did, her eyes went wide.

"You're a homosexual?" She asked.

"I always said that I hated boys. Well, it turns out that I love girls."

"Oh, my."

The younger sister turned to face her sister with a defiant look on her face. She walked up to her until she was standing right in front of her older sibling – a gesture that might have been more intimidating if she wasn't the shorter of the two by far. Her eyes welled with tears, but her expression stayed fixed with grim determination.

"Well? What do you have to say to that?"

"But you said you got to second base with Ranma," Kasumi said, puzzled.

"He was in his female form, and I felt him up."

Kasumi blushed, and averted her gaze.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"If you hate me, I understand," Akane said, at last.

"No!" Kasumi said, lifting her eyes again. "It's not that! You're my sister, and I'll always love you. It's just that this is all so sudden. And it's so far away from anything I know. Just give me time to wrap my head around it, alright?"

"I guess you're not so perfect after all, sis."

"What?"

"Everyone always looks up to you as being all wise and all knowing. Like you're a saint, or something. But you're not."

"Oh, of course not, Akane. Of course I'm not perfect. Where did you get that idea?"

"Everyone thinks it!" Akane said, almost shouting.

"Do they? Or is that just how you see me?" Kasumi asked softly. "We oftentimes romanticize our elders and the adults in our life. But as we grow up, we begin to see how complicated people truly are. Their flaws become obvious to us."

"Geez," Akane muttered under breath. "You're so wise, even when you're telling me you're not."

"I'll always be there for you, Akane. But I admit, you're venturing off into territory I know nothing about. I might not have any answers for you anymore. But I'll always love you, and I'll always listen."

And the two hugged.

And Akane cried.

Inwardly, Kasumi was disappointed in herself, and almost felt as though she had failed her little sister. The notion of women being attracted to other women was a strange and perplexing one to her. The thought of it scared her a little bit, but she knew that fear had more to due to it being a new concept to her. Certainly though, it couldn't be that scary or bad of a thing if her Akane was a lesbian. Right?

Perhaps Operation: Love Bird Rescue was a poor idea. Kasumi hoped that things were going better for Nabiki.

Nabiki found Ranma sulking by the big rock next to the Tendo koi pond. He was sitting in a very feminine pose, with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them tightly. The femininity was further heightened by the fact that he was, in fact, in his female form. She'd noticed that Ranma had been in his female form a lot recently – she'd only seen his male form once when his father splashed him in anger. That was fascinating bit of data, but she had to put it into the back of her mind, as she had more immediate concerns.

"Hey, how's Mr. I'm-Not-Hungry doing?" Nabiki called.

Ranma glanced over at her and scowled. His anger faltered for a moment as he realized that Nabiki was carrying an entire plate of breakfast food. There was a chance that it was even still warm – though, having lived so much of his life on the road, he was fine with cold food, too.

Nabiki walked towards him with a devilish smile.

"Or should I say, little Ms. I'm-Not-Hungry?"

Oddly, Ranma didn't react to this gendered barb.

"Selling left-overs from breakfast, Nabiki? That's kind of low."

"Is it?" Nabiki asked, as she feigned surprise. "Or is it merely supply and demand?"

"I'm almost broke. And I'm not in the mood to do any photo shoots."

"Well, it's your lucky day. I'm not actually looking for money. I'd be willing to trade this here plate of food for one conversation with you."

Ranma squinted. "This some kinda trick?"

"Nope. A simple transaction - no tricks."

"Fine. But I don't want to be blabbering on for hours."

"Ten minutes, tops. And I'll let you eat first. But I Expect you to talk and not just grunt every now and then."

Ranma grunted in acknowledgement, and Nabiki handed the fiery redhead the plate of leftovers. She noted that he ate with his usual swiftness – a bad habit that he had picked up after a lifetime of his old man stealing his food if he ate too slowly. When he was finished, he handed the plate back to the brunette, and stood up to face her.

"Ten minutes, then."

"The walls are thin, and due to the placement of my room, I can sometimes overhear conversation in Akane's room," Nabiki said plainly.

The petite redhead's body folded into a slouch.

"How much did you hear?"

"Not all of it. But I think I Got the gist of it. Akane's made at you for cuddling with Takara, and you're mad at her for making out with Takara."

"So you know that Akane is – "

"I've long suspected it, yes. But that's not what I want to talk about."

"Well, what is it then?"

"You have the means to stop all of this, Ranma. You've always had a means to end the madness that surrounds you."

"What?" Ranma asked and stared blankly at her.

"Girls show up and throw themselves at you. Four of them claim to be your fiancée. All you have to do is make a choice. One definitive choice – an answer with no ambiguity. Do you understand?"

"Pick a girl?" Ranma asked in a half-whisper.

"That's right, Ranma dear. You pick one girl – and stand by it – and it's over. It will sink into the other girls' thick skulls, and that's the end of the story."

"I don't know if that would stop them."

"Well, right now you're giving all of them false hope by being so damned wish-washy. Eliminate the hope and one by one they'll all move on."

Ranma's eyes widened as he tried to grapple with this.

"But what if – what if I want to be alone?"

Nabiki leaned in close, looming over Ranma.

"Do you really want to be alone, Ranma Saotome?"

"…No."

Nabiki straightened back up and smiled.

"Then make a choice. There are many roads to walk down, Ranma, but in the end, you can only pick one."

"I don't know…"

"Don't know what?"

Ranma looked up at the taller girl and tried to speak, but found himself faltering.

"My feelings," he started shakily, but couldn't complete the sentence.

"Yes, Ranma! You have feelings!" Nabiki clapped her hands. "Well done! What progress we've made! How self-aware we've become!"

Ranma was irritated by this outburst, but he ignored it, as he tried to hold onto the slippery train of thought in his head.

"I wouldn't know who to choose," Ranma said at last.

"Then figure it out. Otherwise the madness will continue into infinity, and you and Akane will keep getting mad at each other every time you remember you're not officially dating."

Nabiki looked down at her wristwatch.

"Under eight minutes," Nabiki said, pleased with herself. "See? That wasn't so bad."

Nabiki turned and went back into the Tendo household and congratulated herself. She knew that she had successfully planted the seeds in Ranma's little head that could help him put his life into order. And knowing Kasumi, she had probably soothed over their little sister with some overly saccharine words of wisdom and encouragement. Operation: Lovebird Rescue was a smashing success.

"I'm not sure how much help I was to Akane," Kasumi said.

The eldest of the Tendo sisters looked crestfallen. For a moment, Nabiki was taken aback, but she regained her composure just as quickly. It was surprising to hear that Kasumi hadn't succeeded in the endeavor, but it's not like she was perfect or anything.

"Did you know that Akane Is a homosexual?" Kasumi asked quietly.

"I figured as much," Nabiki said.

"Isn't that a little bit," Kasumi asked, as she struggled to find the right word. "Strange?"

"Strange?" Nabiki laughed. "How about Jusenkyo curses? Our future brother-in-law turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. Grandfather Happosai has a magic mirror that lets you go back in time. And the concept of 'Chi"? Absolutely ridiculous! It is a mockery to the concept of physics. The thought of somebody preferring to have sex with the same sex is tame in comparison to all that nonsense."

"Oh," Kasumi said, as she put a hand to her mouth. "That's a fair point."

"You're a traditional gal, but you're a sweetheart. I'm sure you'll get used to it fast. But I think it's best if our father and Mr. Saotome don't know."

"Agreed."

"They'd blow a gasket if they thought the joining of their precious school was in danger. And besides, if it doesn't work between Ranma and Akane, one of us is going to get stuck with him."

"Ranma's not that bad."

"You can be the designated back-up bride, then," Nabiki huffed. "Speaking of nuptials, did you tell our little Akane that she had to make a decision?"

"A decision?"

"Yeah. About whether she and Ranma were dating."

"No," Kasumi said. "I hadn't thought of that."

Internally, Nabiki realized she should have briefed her sister on the mission a little bit more before sending her out into the field. She'd managed to successfully plant the seeds of an idea in Ranma's head – maybe that would be enough?

"Has Akane left?"

"I believe she's still in her room," Kasumi said.

Kasumi kept thinking about things about her youngest sister as Nabiki went upstairs. If Akane was a lesbian, and was pursuing a romantic relationship with Ranma – well, wouldn't that only work if Ranma was in his female form? She realized that she had barely seen Ranma in his male form the past few days, and that coincided with the night when they had become physical with each other. Could it be that Ranma was staying in his female form for her little sister's benefit? That was oddly romantic, in its own way. But something about it seemed unbelievable. Ranma was capable of being selfless, but giving up your birth sex to be with your partner? That was a little too generous for Ranma.

Perhaps he was doing research into the life of a young woman to better hone his social skills? He did seem to have matured a bit lately. Or maybe he was just becoming more comfortable with his feminine side? Kasumi thought it must be so strange to change between two forms – but perhaps if you did it often enough, it started to feel normal. In the end she decided Ranma was probably doing it for his own inscrutable reasons, and he'd share them if ever felt like it. Kasumi put the thoughts out of her mind and went back to her chores.

Nabiki knocked on her younger sister's door and hoped she hadn't just missed her.

"Hey sis, are you in there?"

"Yeah."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure. Door's open."

Nabiki let herself in and took a seat on the younger girl's bed. Her sister was standing in front of the mirror combing her hair and wearing her training gi. Now, in Nabiki's mind, this always made her look a little butch, but she wasn't about to rain on her little sister's parade. She noticed that her sister was especially concerned with her hair today – she kept adjusting it and was clearly unsatisfied with the results.

"Something wrong with your hair?"

"I'm thinking of it cutting it shorter."

"Shorter?" Nabiki asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Is my little sister about to enter into a punk phase?"

"No."

"Good. Because you bet your pretty little behind I'll take pictures."

"I just think it might look cool."

"Hmm," Nabiki hummed in a non-committal tone.

Akane turned to face her finance-minded sister and folded her arms.

"Did you need something? I was actually about to head out."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

Akane narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"I had some sisterly advice for you."

"My yen is already spoken for, sorry."

"That's fine. I give out free samples every now and then to remind you of the quality of the services I provide," Nabiki said smugly. "It's about last night. I heard some of the fight you and Ranma had."

Akane's face soured. "I don't know if it was a fight, really."

"Not all fights involve yelling and mallets, dear sister."

"How much did you hear?"

"I got the gist of it. You made out with Takara, Ranma cuddled with Takara. Both of you are kind of mad at each other for that."

Akane's eyes flared open and her face blushed.

"So you know that I – "

"Oh, come on, sis," Nabiki said with a laugh. "I saw that little plot twist coming a kilometer away. And frankly, I don't care who you take to your bed. I just want my little sister to be happy."

"Umm…"

"Which leads me to my point: This situation could have been avoided if you made one decision."

"And what decision would that be?"

"To decide if you two are exclusive or not."

"Well, we're engaged."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Are you? Two dumb old men set you up, but I never heard one of you propose to the other."

Akane looked down, as though she might find the words she needed to say scattered somewhere on the floor. There was tension in her face, but it was not one of anger or sorrow – rather, it born from concentration. Nabiki smiled to herself – she'd gotten through to her little sister.

"You figure that out, and I promise, your life will be 70% less stupid," Nabiki said with pride. "And that concludes your free sample. Just remember, your older sister's words are worth every yen."

"Thank you, Nabiki," Akane said softly.

Nabiki smiled an extra wide smile. It probably made her look a little extra devious, but she couldn't help it – she was happy. Mentally, she gave herself a pat on the back as she left the room.

Akane knew that her sister had a point. In a way, Akane had come to the same conclusion herself the night before on an intuitive level, but she couldn't have put it into words quite as succinctly as Nabiki had. She'd already formed a plan in her mind. Instead of waiting around like some passive lovestruck girl, she would take the initiative, and ask Ranma out on a date. The two of them had never gone on a real date together, and she had an idea on how to make things exciting.

Her little plan required her to acquire one little item. Well – maybe a few of them, just in case. Luckily, it was another beautiful day in the Nerima ward and she didn't mind the long walk to her destination. It was good exercise and gave her time to let her mind wander so that she wouldn't be nervous when she arrived and made her request.

When she neared the Cat Café, she found Shampoo placing containers of food into the basket of her bike. She was wearing a cute white maid's apron over her red figure-hugging pantsuit. Well, she didn't have to lie to herself anymore about her attraction to Shampoo. The Amazon had a body that inspired both envy and lust in the young martial artist. Shampoo didn't notice the other girl's approach until she looked up from securing her cargo.

"Ni hao," Shampoo said. "No time to fight. Many orders, must go very fast."

"Actually, is your great-grandmother in?" Akane asked.

"Yes, great-grandmother behind counter," Shampoo said as she rode off.

Although she felt a twinge of trepidation, she took a deep breath and entered the Cat Café. Akane and the Amazon elder had a cordial relationship, when you considered she was obsessed with her great-granddaughter marrying the person with whom she was engaged. The older woman didn't seem to ever hold it against Akane her.

Cologne caught sight of Akane as soon as she walked into her restaurant. Actually, Akane suspected that the ancient Amazon master probably sensed her even before then, but that could be her own paranoia. It was hard to say what exactly the old lady was capable of.

"Ah, Akane," Cologne's dry voice rasped, "What a pleasure. What brings you down to the Cat Café?"

"Actually, I have a request of you," Akane started, uncertainly.

"No need to be so formal, child. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you had any packets of instant-Nannīchuan?"

The packets had some mysterious ingredients that contained the essence of the curse of Jusenkyo. You sprinkle it in water ,and it becomes a mini Spring of Drowned Man. It was just an echo of the original curse, however, and was only temporary, and easily reversable by a splash of water.

"Hmm. I might have some of those lying around," Cologne said, after some thought.

"I'd be willing to pay, of course."

"There's no need for that, child. I make plenty of money off of this here restaurant. And it's not like I'm going to use them anytime soon."

She hopped onto the ground – apparently, she had been standing on a stool – and walked into the back of the restaurant. It only took a few for her to return and toss three packets with Chinese writing on them.

"I assume this is for my future son-in-law," Cologne said.

"Yes," Akane said.

It was definitely for Ranma. Ranma had expressed some interest in guys, after all, and he'd be able to indulge his curiosity with Akane when she was in boy form. That would be the grand surprise that would elevate her little date to a grand date. There weren't any other reasons for Akane to plan this – and if there were, she was not aware of them in the least.

Akane bowed to her elder, said her thanks, and then left.

To a casual observer, it looked like Ranma was sprawled out lazily in the garden with his arms folded under his head as a pillow. Such a person might use words like peaceful or serene to describe the sight of the young woman in repose. But beneath that fiery red hair and behind those blue eyes, he was facing inner turmoil.

Why is it so hard for me to just choose a girl, he wondered to himself. Weren't feelings supposed to be obvious? Especially love? Well, maybe it wasn't that he couldn't find his feelings, but rather that he had far too many feelings to keep track of brewing below the surface. And he wasn't sure what to do with them, anyway. All his years of masculine socialization had taught him to hide his emotions, but of course, that didn't make them go away.

And why was enjoying spending so much time in his female form? This was an even harder question for him as when he reached inside for an answer, he always felt something pushing him back. He knew the answers were lurking inside of himself somewhere, but they were proving to be elusive.

It was frustrating. A "Man among men" should know who he is, and what he wants. Or at least, an adult should. Isn't that one of the things that separated children from adults – truly knowing yourself, and what you want out of life?

The truth was, Ranma needed help. He didn't feel comfortable talking about Akane about any of this – the chaos of their early relationship had built up some walls that he wasn't yet able to bring down. Takara would probably be someone to confide in, but she was off at school that also contained Kodachi Kuno. Dr. Tofu, maybe? Ranma didn't think he was trained in counseling, but he might know somebody.

Except, well, Ranma didn't want to do counseling. Talking to a stranger about all your problems? He wanted to be able to look inward and figure this out for himself. Maybe meditation, then? His old man had tried to teach him meditation, but he was farily certain that his father used those meditation sessions as an opportunity to doze off.

"The Old Ghoul," he mumbled to himself.

Cologne had taught him all sorts of techniques in the past, and it was unlikely that she had lived to her advanced age without learning about meditation. Course, it did mean that he'd have to talk to the lady – and she was probably going to try pushing Shampoo onto him, either subtlety, or directly. But he couldn't really think of a better idea.

So, he hopped up, did a little stretch to liven up the muscles, and then set out for the Cat Café.

"Sonny boy," Cologne said with a slight trace of alarm in her voice.

Ranma, in his female form, was walking right up to her with his hands ins his pockets. Akane had only left about fifteen minutes prior. Was she stepping into the middle of a lover's spat? Or was Akane planning some sort of surprise party? The older woman decided to play it cool and see how things turned out.

"Did I startle ya? Sorry 'bout that," Ranma said as he took a seat at the counter in front.

"I think I can guess why you're here," Cologne said. "You're looking for some instant-Nannīchuan. Am I right?"

"Hmm? No," Ranma said. "Actually, I was going to ask you a favor."

Cologne relaxed a little – the two encounters were probably unrelated.

"Well, sonny-boy, it depends on the favor. What do you need?"

"I want to learn meditation," he said.

"Meditation?" Cologne asked, and blinked her wide eyes.

"Yeah."

The Amazon erupted into laughter. She nearly fell over backwards in mid-cackle. Ranam stood up and balled his fists.

"What's so funny about that? I'm being serious here!"

"I'm not teaching meditation to a teenage boy," she said, still chuckling. "And you're an especially bad candidate. Impatient, quick to anger, and unaware."

Ranma crossed his arms beneath his breasts and delivered a very feminine look of resentment.

"Well, I'm trying to be more aware," he said.

"Really? And what exactly are you trying to be aware of?"

Cologne noticed Ranma's façade slip a little bit, and she saw a bit more vulnerability than she usually saw in her future son-in-law. There was uncertainty, and a touch of fear. She hadn't expected that. Usually, Ranma was game for a little bit of gentle ribbing – perhaps he truly was being serious?

"I need to figure out some things."

"Such as…?"

"I need to know who I am, and what I want."

Cologne steepled her hands beneath her chin and considered this. Something had changed in her future son-in-law since the last time they had met. He had matured a little bit. Perhaps not in action, or speech, but he was thinking deeper than she had ever witnessed before. For once, his little monkey brain was thinking of existential things like identity instead of just ways to get stronger and new fighting techniques.

"Well, Ranma, I hate to disappoint you, but meditation isn't an easy out. It's not a short cut. It takes dedication, and patience – "

"I can do it, old lady! You name it, and I can do it."

"You didn't let me finish," Cologne said, annoyed. "I have another idea. I can actually offer you a short cut."

"Really? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, in the olden times, we might have called it a spirit quest," Cologne said with a chuckle. "But I'm not the dinosaur you think I am. It's more probable that you are communing with your own sub-conscious. I can make a mixture that puts you into a deep sleep, and you'll have a vivid dream. There's a few different things they can mean, and I can help interpret the dream for you."

Ranma wasn't sure. "Deep sleep, huh?"

What terrible things could Shampoo and the old bat do to him while he was out cold?

"Oh, don't worry about that, son-in-law. I'll send out Shampoo on a long errand and we'll make up a bed in the back for you. No funny business, in that regard."

"That don't sound so bad," Ranma said cautiously. "What'll it cost me?"

"I'll take it as an investment in my grand-daughter's future, and I won't charge you a single yen."

"Alright. Let's do it."

"Not so fast. I'll have to gather the ingredients, brew it, and then let it sit over night. You come back tomorrow and I'll have everything ready."

Ranma bowed and said, "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

The diminutive red head turned and left the restaurant. Cologne mused on what a strange day it had been. Clearly, both Akane and Ranma were up to their own little separate schemes. But by helping Ranma delve into his sub-consciousness, she might get a better insight into her future son-in-law…and how best to turn his romantic attentions to Shampoo.

She chuckled to herself as she made a mental list of all the ingredients she would need.

When Ranma got home for dinner, he was shocked at the scene that awaited him. Without even thinking, all of his muscles tightened, and he assumed a battle stance. The Dojo Destroy – a hulking behemoth of a man – was squeezed between Mr. Tendo and Ranma's father at the dinner table. There were a multitude of plates in front of him and everyone seemed uncomfortable.

"You looking for a rematch?" Ranma said.

The dojo destroyer looked up and finished slurping up some noodles.

"One of these days, I'll challenge this dojo again. But tonight, I am a guest of my fellow practitioners of the art, Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome."

"See? Sometimes we invite guests that are closer to our own age," Mr. Tendo said with an awkward smile.

After everything that had happened, Ranma had forgotten how he had planted the seeds in both his father and Mr. Tendo's heads that the neighborhood thought that they were gay. They had attempted to invite Dr. Tofu over to show that sometimes they had guests over, and Ranma had said people might think they were inviting a younger man to spice up their relationship. Ranma smirked and gave into his devilish side take over.

"Yeah, that's great," he said. "But I hope the neighbors don't gossip about how you only invite male visitors over."

Genma paused, mid mouthful of food, and his eyes bulged, while Soun Tendo fell over backwards. But just as quickly, they recovered their composure. From the across the table, Ranma saw that Akane gave a slight smile, before averting her gaze.

"Bah, who cares about gossip?" The Dojo Destroyer said as he continued shoving food in his mouth. "Hey, wasn't there a black-haired boy here?"

Genma paled as he eyed his son who currently looked more like a daughter.

"He hasn't been around lately," he said in a half-growl.

The dinner went better than expected. Once you got past the Dojo Destroyer's revolting table manners—and that did take some work - he was an interesting guy with a lot of tales. No one at the dinner table would have guessed he funded his martial arts career by running a successful bakery, for example. Or that, out of college, he had been on a local news team as a boom operator until he got angry one day and knocked out somebody being interviewed. Mr. Tendo swore he'd even seen that newscast when it was broadcast live.

But while the family had an amusing dinner, Nabiki wasn't entirely pleased. Ranma and Akane had only made eye contact once during the meal and hadn't said a word to each other all day, as far as she could figure out. They still needed to break the ice and start talking again.

She went into the kitchen to find Kasumi looking through the cupboards with a frown.

"They call him a dojo destroyer, but he sure destroyed our pantry," she said, softly.

Nabiki snorted. She might be the only one in the house that caught her sister's subtle sense of humor. But the smile faded, and she returned to business.

"I'm still a little worried about Operation: Love Bird. They didn't talk at all during dinner, and I'm pretty certain they spent the day apart."

"Maybe we shouldn't rush them," Kasumi said as she examined what remained in the fridge with a frown.

"Usually I'd say that too," Nabiki said. "But these boneheads? They keep grudges, and grudges grow over time. Best to get them to make up quickly."

Her father popped around the corner, his face flushed with merriment and too much alcohol.

"Kasumi, bring another sake!"

"They're all gone," Nabiki said.

"You look in the back of the fridge?" Genma called.

"They're. All. Gone."

"Ah, shame. Maybe someone should do a grocery run," her father said as he dipped back into the dining room.

"That's it!" Nabiki said.

Kasumi turned to look at her.

"Sake? I don't believe getting them drunk will – "

"No, send them out to fetch groceries. We've got a legitimate reason to force them to be together. They'll have to talk to each other!"

"Hmm."

"Also, I want breakfast tomorrow. Write a list, I'll fetch the love birds."

The short redhead held the grocery list in his hands, and he stared at it with some awe. Akane stood a good two meters away and folded her arms as she looked away from her older sisters. Despite the physical and emotional distance between the two, Kasumi's smile radiated the warmth of the sun.

"Why don't you make the old men do it?" Akane asked.

Kasumi looked towards the dining room. "I fear for our father's ability to walk safely without falling. And I'm not sure anyone could wake up Mr. Saotome right now."

"They're soused," Nabiki said, with a laugh.

"Why don't you two do it, then? You two could use some sisterly bonding," Akane said, trying to keep a casual air.

The two older Tendo sisters exchanged a look. Kasumi looked a little bit afraid, as if the game was up, and Nabiki struggled to hold back laughter with a well-placed smirk.

"Kasumi and I, we're not big strong fighters like you two. We're positively dainty," Nabiki said, at last.

"It is a pretty long list," Ranma said, as he finally looked up. "It's gonna be heavy."

"Fine," Akane said. "I'll wait outside."

The young woman, clad in her karate gi, stormed out of the room.

"Uh, this might take awhile," Ranma said.

"Oh?" Kasumi asked.

"I'm, uh, banned from the closest grocery stores," Ranma said, sheepishly. "And it's really not my fault. Lots people think they can just get the drop on me in the middle of a store, and obviously, I'm gonna defend myself."

"Take your time," Nabiki said with a serene smile.

"Right. Later, then."

Ranma and Akane were holding three bags each. It wasn't taxing their strength by any means, but it was an awkward encumberment as they tried to keep a tight grip without squishing the contents. Looking over the bags, Akane noticed that the person next to her had turned back into his male form. For the first time in that little shopping incursion, she spoke about something other than the mission at hand.

"When did you turn back into a guy?" She said.

"Some guy dressed like a chef bumped into me and spilled a pot of hot water," Ranma said. "I swear, sometimes I think I have more curses on me than just the Jusenkyo thing. I always get splashed when I don't wanna."

"Maybe that's a part of the curse?" Akane asked.

"Nah. I think there's just a dark star up there burning against me," Ranma said, before letting out a massive sigh. "And now I sound like Gosunkgi. Great."

This caused the girl next to him to laugh softly. They both relaxed a little.

"Ranma, let me take you on a date," she said.

"W-what?" Ranma stammered as stopped in his tracks.

"We've never gone on a real date. And I was thinking, maybe we should. Maybe it'll help us see what we really want, and if we'd really be any good together."

Well, that might actually help out my little dilemma, Ranma though to himself. But there was a foreign sense of guilt that bubbled up in him.

"Shouldn't I be the one taking you on a date?" He asked. "After all, I am the guy."

There was an element of resignation in his second statement – or was that sadness? Either way, Akane knew that she would have to play it cool to work her away around Ranma's ego.

"Isn't that a lot of pressure to put on the guy? Maybe every now and then the girl should ask the guy out."

Ranma thought about it. "Yeah, that does sound fair."

"So you'll let me take you on a date? I'll plan it, and pay for it, and everything."

"Sure," Ranma said, and found his mood perking up a little.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow," Akane said.

"One, we live in the same house. Two, I've got plans tomorrow," Ranma said.

"Oh. Sunday, then?"

"It's a date."

The tension finally dissipated between the two of them. It wasn't as though any of their problems had been solved, or anything had changed, really. But there was an openness – a sense of hope that added a spring to their step. Maybe their relationship wasn't some enigmatic and insurmountable issue, but something that could be figured out, and something that could even be fun?

But amidst this sense of elation, Ranma and Akane had stopped paying attention to where they were going. Ranma collided into someone and two of the bags he was holding tumbled onto the ground. The third bag, however, flew into the sky, and rained down cans and vegetables and a long baguette onto the ground blow. Startled and annoyed, Ranma turned to see the person who had barreled into him.

"Watch it!" A familiar voice said in a huff.

The voice belonged to a tall teenage girl wearing jeans and a black anime T-shirt who had landed on her behind. She looked up at the figure before her and her scowl faded.

"Ranma?" The same voice asked, this time in a less combative tone.

"Takara?" He blinked away the surprise and reached out a hand. "Here, let me help you up."

As he helped his old friend to his feet, Akane put her own grocery bags down and started scooping up some of the items that had scattered onto the sidewalk. Looking around, Ranma could see that Takara had been carrying some boxes, too – it looked like some books and clothes maybe? Was she still moving things into her dorm? But if that were true, St. Herebeke's was in the opposite direction…

"What are you doing here?"

Takara blushed, and said, "Err, my roommate Kei and I just got kicked out of St. Herebekes."

And with that, Takara gestured at a much shorter girl who was in the process of picking her glasses off the ground. She wasn't much to look at – a bowl cut, a plain face, and wearing nothing but a generic uniform from St. Herebeke's. Once her glasses were back on her nose she stood up and looked Ranma over in a thoughtful but analytical manner.

"Ranma Saotome, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Kei Ogawa."

"Uh, same," Ranma said.

He was a little put off by the way the shorter girl was studying his body. What exactly was she looking for, and what exactly was she seeing? She finished her examination and made eye contact with him again.

"Takara had already told me of your curse. But I must say, I had pictured your female form quite differently."

Lost, he looked to Takara, who also looked a little confused.

"Whaddya mean?" He asked, at last.

"Well, women's bodies come in many different forms," she said cheerfully, "and I had imagined your female form to be more traditionally feminine. As it is, it's still rather masculine."

Ranma narrowed his eyes in confusion. Did she think this was his female form?

"Uh, this is my guy form," Ranma clarified.

For whatever reason, this shocked the bespeckled young woman.

"What? Really? But – "

She looked up at Takara, but the taller girl's mood had changed. Ranma wasn't sure what the relationship between the two was, but Takara looked ready to deck her companion if she said the wrong thing. So the quieter girl shut her mouth an didn't say another word.

By this point, Akane had finished picking up the errant groceries, and finally turned to look at Takara and the new girl. She had rather purposefully taken her time in this endeavor. She wondered why the universe was always like this – why couldn't she just enjoy the high she had been experiencing from successfully asking Ranma out on a date without running into a romantic rival? And why Takara, out of all of them?

"Takara," she said, straining to keep her voice neutral.

"Good to see you again, Akane," Takara said warily.

That's when the girl who had introduced herself as Kei let out a high pitched and blood curdling scream, before falling woozily to the sidewalk with a thud. Ranma was too shocked to do anything, and Takara seemed to take it in stride – why was it Akane always had to be the sensible one? She got down on her knee and took the girl's pulse.

"Is your friend okay? Should we call for help?"

The swordstress seemed to struggle with something internally as she looked from her fallen friend to Akane and back.

"She'll be fine. Certain things just make her faint, is all."