"Don't Panic," a voice said.

When she regained consciousness, she realized that she was blind. Well, no, that wasn't true - that was just the first conclusion her mind jumped to as it tried to make sense of things. There was something covering her eyes, she realized. A ribbon? This was a wonderful strategy that she had personally employed in the past to avoid looking at guys while out and about. The fact that someone had gone to the trouble of putting this on her meant that there was probably still a guy in the vicinity.

"Akane is still here in the next room," Takara whispered. "Don't worry about your glasses. They're somewhere safe."

Kei had spent enough time blindfolded that she had enhanced her other senses. She calmly stood up from the bedroll and faced the direction that her friend's voice was coming from.

"Akane? Was that the one that made me faint? "

"Shh," Takara implored. "I told them that sometimes you get a sensory overload. I didn't mention anything about gender."

"Doesn't he know his own gender?" Kei said.

Takara leaned against the wall and folded her arms. On the surface, this was a question that should have an easy answer. Memories of the last few days filtered through her head, and she tried to piece her thoughts together.

"See, I don't know what's up with Akane," Takara said with a sigh. "She didn't like it when I complimented her body on being feminine, she wondered if there was any lingerie that could make her look masculine, and she got excited when she thought I had transferred my boy-curse to her. Though Akane said she only wanted it to help Ranma explore his curiosity for guys. Don't repeat that last part, of course."

"These are all signs of gender dysphoria," Kei said with a sagely nod.

"Okay, you know I don't know these words. Is this another one you made up?"

"Not this time. But gender dysphoria is a sort of pain that a person feels when their physical sex and their internal gender don't match. Things can set it off – like you pointing out his body is feminine. That would have made him think of –"

"Let's not use the male pronoun for Akane just yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, we aren't actually sure if your little superpower is the real deal."

"Trust me, my body knows when it's seen a guy," Kei said as she reflexively rubbed the back of her head. How many times had she fainted today? There was no way that could be good for somebody's health.

"And second, it's kind of rude. Until Akane announces to the world she's a guy, we should assume she wants us to use her girl pronouns."

"Perhaps Akane will find it freeing to be referred to with masculine terminology."

"Maybe. And how insulted do you think she'll be if they don't?"

"Hmm," Kei said, seeming to consider it. "What about Ranma? Do they know they're a girl?"

"Again, you're jumping the gun here," Takara said, an honest hint of anger in her voice. "But I think Ranma is starting to realize that their relationship with their gender is complicated."

"Maybe my insight will help them along their journey," Kei said.

Having said that, Kei felt the iron grip of a hand on each of her shoulders.

"You can't just go up and shout at someone that their perception of their own gender is wrong. That's not how it works, Kei."

"Of course not. I won't shout - I'll have a conversation with them about it."

"Kei, raise your ribbon a little bit," Takara commanded. "Look at me."

Confident that her friend wouldn't make such a request if it wasn't safe, she lifted the ribbon around her eyes. Takara's face was stern. Not stern like a schoolteacher about to discipline a student, but stern in the way a lover acts when defending the honor of their beloved.

"I love Ranma, and I – well, I care about Akane," Takara said slowly. "If you hurt them, our friendship will be hurt as well. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

It was obvious when Kei was processing this statement, as her eyes sort of unfocused and there was a pause in her speech. Takara was confident that her friend had understood the words she had said and the weight they carried. But she was surprised when Kei met her gaze. The shorter girl stood up a little taller, her posture a little straighter, and she seemed to glow with a strength incongruent with her small size.

"I do understand you, Takara. But I think this is something I have to do."

Takara frowned. "And why is that?"

"Because this ability to sense gender has done nothing but cause me pain, but here is a way I can potentially use it to help people. And I've rarely ever been much help to anyone. Usually I'm just in the way, or in the background. But this is something I can do. And I think I have to."

The taller girl closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine. We'll try it your way. Follow me."

Kei smiled as she lowered the ribbon around her eyes once more. She followed the sound of her taller friend's footsteps into the next room."

"They're going to worry about us," Akane said.

There wasn't a phone anywhere in Aunt Ruby's apartment, and her own father was too old fashioned to invest in any cellular phones. Or too cheap, perhaps. Of course, it had been her own idea to stay until they were certain that Takara's petite friend was alright. Some of it was simply due to her empathy that often got the best of her, and some of it was due to her guilt. Takara had told her that her friend gets visually overstimulated sometimes, but Akane still felt some responsibility in the matter.

"They'll manage," Ranma said.

His voice was feminine. While Akane had finished putting the cold foods into the refrigerator for temporary storage, Ranma had excused himself to the bathroom. Akane knew that his apartment had warm water, as she had rinsed off some vegetables in the sink. But having both cold water and hot water at his disposal, her fiancé had elected to the use the water that would turn him into a buxom young woman.

"I suppose," Akane said.

It felt weird to be waiting in the apartment like this. There wasn't any furniture besides some of the appliances that had come with the place. All there were some toiletries in the bathroom and two bedrolls. But Akane supposed it made sense that Aunt Ruby and Takara would have so few possessions. They had spent the better part of the last decade wandering Japan by foot, after all.

"It's weird being around Takara again," Akane said, her voice low.

"Yeah. Things have gotten complicated."

"I'm, sorry, Ranma," she said. "For what I did."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I suppose I should fess up, too," Ranma sighed.

This caused Akane's eyes to narrow and her internal temperature to rise.

"Fess up? To what?"

The redhead knew that the longer she kept her friend in this state, the more explosive her anger would be. So, it was best to just get the truth out there as quickly as possible.

"I kissed Ryoga," Ranma said.

The two looked at each other.

Akane blinked.

"Ryoga?"

Ranma nodded.

Akane blinked several times more.

The blue haired martial artist burst into a fit of giggles. The laughs came harder, and she fell onto the floor, holding onto her side, guffawing. For once, Ranma wished that the temperamental girl next to him had responded in anger. That was something that Ranma could understand, at least. But people laughing at him? That made his blood boil.

"This is serious," Ranma said.

"I'm sorry – it's just, Ryoga?" She said as she sat up and wiped a tear from her eye. "I mean, I guess he's got a toned body, and he's such a sweet boy. But he's sweet in the way a cute little animal is. Like a puppy-dog, or something."

"I should've known better than to bring it up," Ranma grumbled, as he turned away.

The radical change in his tone sobered Akane's mood, and she put a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me," she said. "Please, Go on."

Ranma turned to face her again, and scowled, before sighing.

"I was wondering if I was attracted to guys, and Ryoga just wandered by, so…"

"Did you like it?" Akane asked.

"Not really," he said. 'But I was attracted to Takara's boy form. I'm not sure what that means."

"Maybe you're not into Ryoga," Akane. "Maybe some other boy would catch your interest."

Another wave of laughter threatened to spring up, but Akane repressed it, and managed to squeeze it own into a small and soft smile.

"Well, I don' think kissing Ryoga counts, so I won't hold that against you," she said.

She placed her hand on top of her fiancé's and let their fingers intermingle.

"According to dad, liking boys is like the worst thing I could possibly do."

There was so much pain in his voice.

"Well, screw him," Akane said, firmly. "He's an old dinosaur with dinosaur ideas."

Ranma smiled a little, but it was a wistful smile.

They both heard the footsteps and pulled their hands apart. Embarrassed, they tried to look as nonchalant as possible, but they were radiating a nervous energy that was hard to miss. The sword wielding girl walked into the room followed by her shorter friend, who now wore a thick blue ribbon across her eyes.

Clearly, they had interrupted a moment, but Takara knew that the polite thing to do was to pretend not to notice. That would make the following conversation easier to get through as well. It frustrated her that she was somehow jealous of both Ranma and Akane at the thought of them sharing a tender moment with each other. But Jealousy was not going to be helpful, and one should always expunge unhelpful thoughts before a battle.

"Hey guys," Takara said. "Kei's up again, and she wants to say a few words."

Kei bowed to them. Or at least, she attempted to. Takara spun her around so that she was properly facing the two martial artists.

"My apologies if I gave you a scare," she said. "I can assure you, I'm quite fine."

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Akane said.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Kei said slowly, before considering her words. "Takara told you that my sense get overstimulated sometimes. But that's not entirely true. There's a very specific visual stimulus that causes me to faint."

She didn't say anything and seemed to be waiting for a prompt. Akane seemed to drink in the dramatic pause, but the theatrics irritated Ranma.

"Well, what is it?" Ranma said at last.

"Oh, you're in your girl form? I'm intrigued, but I shouldn't risk a look right now."

"I'm easy on the eyes. But let's get on with this."

Kei nodded.

"Due to the conditions in which I was raised, I faint whenever I see guys."

Takara had slipped into observation mode, determined to put a stop the conversation if she saw either of her friends become too distressed. The implication in the genius girl's words seemed to have sailed past Akane entirely, but then comprehension dawned across her face. She looked at Ranma with worry. Ranma, for their part, looked deeply uncomfortable. But Takara had known them long enough to know when they were putting on a brave front. Though he didn't have a poker face in the literal meaning of the word, he was quite skilled at hiding his emotions.

"Oh, so seeing Ranma in his guy form made you faint," Akane said.

"No, that wasn't it," Kei said carefully. "I fainted after I saw you, Akane."

This time, the red-headed girl wasn't quite able to hide their panic, and snuck at a look at Akane. Ranma's hand clenched into a fist, and they looked like they were just about ready to jump in to defend their friend. But the information had the opposite effect on Akane, who once more became puzzled. She looked lost.

"Well, it was getting dark," Ranma said, quickly. "You probably couldn't see too well."

Akane thought of it. "Yeah, it was dark. And you had your glasses knocked off, right?"

"I had already put my glasses back on before looking at Ranma. Or you."

The two betrothed teenagers locked eyes. Ranma had managed to raise his defenses once more, and the gears in Akane's head were clearly spinning at a furious speed.

"Well, I am a tomboy. And I was wearing a karate Gi, which isn't exactly girly. I'm not sure why you wouldn't have recognized Ranma as a guy, though," she said.

"Maybe you were disoriented," Ranma offered.

Ranma locked eyes with Takara, and she knew that her longtime friend was trying to read her. While their social skills weren't exactly polished, they were quite skilled at reading the intentions of an opponent, as their recent sparring session had reminded her. She tried to look neutral, but she was aware her body language was tense and stiff, and Ranma could probably recognize her own discomfort.

"Listen, do you guys know the difference between sex and gender?" Kei asked.

Ranma and Akane exchanged a glance.

"They're the same thing. It's just that gender doesn't sound as dirty," Ranma said.

"See, that's a common misconception. Sex refers to the physical nature of a person's body, but gender is something deeper, and more personal. Most people have a gender that matches their sex, but some people don't."

Both martial artists standing in front of her were intrigued with this information, but unsure of where it was going.

"So?" Akane asked.

"Earlier today, I saw Takara naked, in her boy form," Kei said.

Now Akane and Ranma's attention snapped onto Takara, who felt her face flush.

"It wasn't like that," she said. "It was a chain reaction of stupid events that lead to an even stupider event."

"Sounds like my whole life," Ranma laughed.

"It was not sexual, no, but let's focus," Kei said. "The takeaway here is that I didn't faint when I saw her in her boy form."

"So," Akane said slowly. "You don't always faint when you see boys."

"In her natural form, Takara Is a girl both on the outside and the inside. The Jusenkyo curse changes her sex to male, but it doesn't affect her gender. I believe that due to my heightened phobia of boys, I actually faint when I see someone of the male gender, and not the male sex."

The room became cold and silent. Ranma's face deepened into a frown, and Akane didn't seem to know how to handle the emotions bubbling up inside her, whatever they were.

"Well, that's obviously crazy," Akane said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "You've just a got a theory, is all. I've slept through enough science classes to know that you got to have a lot of data to prove a theory. And right now you've got some of those things in the mix. You know, things that can change, or mean other things."

"You mean Variables?" Kei asked.

"Right," Akane said, picking up on Ranma's thought process. "And sometimes you throw out points of data anyway, because they're so extreme."

"You mean outliers," Kei said.

Whether they were aware of it or not, Ranma and Akane had formed a united front, and were attacking Kei with what little they knew about the scientific process. Takara looked down at her friend, but it was hard to read her mood with her eyes covered. Funny how much of the soul is exposed by the eye. Kei's face was always so serious and it her expression didn't seem any more or less serious than usual.

"I know this could make you uncomfortable to hear, but I wanted to tell you. I thought that maybe hearing this would help you embrace you true gender identity, and – "

"We do appreciate the thought," Akane said, as she put a hand on Kei's shoulder. "And you're obviously very intelligent. Maybe the smartest person I've met. But I think you're over thinking things here."

"And Takara did say you fainted a bunch today. Maybe you hit your head," Ranma said, helpfully.

"Ranma!" Akane turned and batted his arm.

"Not to be rude," Ranma said, trying to save face. "But, you know, more variables? Maybe?"

"I admit that what you say may be true, but I still don't believe that I am wrong," Kei said.

Neither Ranma nor Akane seemed to know what to say to that.

"Wait! Of course!" Kei said, excited. "We can test the theory right now! All I have to do is – "

She reached her hands up behind her head, and everyone in the room realized she was about to untie the ribbon that blocked out her vision.

"No!" Ranma, Akane, and Takara shouted in unison.

Kei froze and faltered in her resolve.

"But – "

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day, anyway," Takara said.

"And our folks are probably wondering where we are," Akane said.

"Or at least, where the food is," Ranma deadpanned.

Kei wasn't stupid. She could read the emotions of other people, and she could certainly read a room. With a sigh, she put her hands to her side. She wasn't going to be able to get through them. The battle was lost.

"Well, it was nice to meet you," Kei said, weakly. "And, um, sorry. If I ruined your evening."

The two martial artists mumbled pleasantries and assured Kei that there were no hard feelings. But the atmosphere had darkened. Takara and Kei helped them gather their groceries and showed them to the door. For a moment, Takara made as if to move to hug Ranma, but then realized she'd squish whatever groceries that got caught in the way. She settled on a wave. Once the two teenagers had left and the door had closed, she turned to face her friend, wordlessly.

The shorter girl bowed.

"I'm sorry, Takara. Perhaps you were right," she said quietly. "I hope I didn't ruin things for you."

Deep in thought, the swordstress turned to face the door almost as if she could see through it.

"They were defensive, but they didn't seem offended. I think they'll be able to brush it off."

Silently, Kei untied her ribbon and held it in her hands. She struggled to make eye contact with her new friend but did look up in her direction.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked in a tiny voice.

"No," Takara said, with a decisive shake of her head. "I believe that your intentions were pure."

"Well, perhaps now you can see why I was the least popular girl at St. Hebereke's."

"No. None of that. That school was full of jerks, and this was just you trying to be helpful."

Once again, the shorter girl didn't know how to respond. It was obvious that few people had tried to build her up in her lifetime, and kind words were a foreign to her.

"Let's not worry about that for now. Let's unpack our things," Takara said.

Her tone was soft, but Kei still couldn't quite shake the feeling she had failed her friend.

As Ranma and Akane walked home, they kept up a pleasant conversation, but neither of them were truly present in the moment. They were both lost in their own respective heads. And for once, Ranma found himself wondering what was going on inside her head. The things that Kei said had inspired a strange response in the tomboy, and he wasn't sure why.

He knew why the tiny brainiac's words had terrified him. There were these thoughts and feelings that he had been struggling with – he could still barely admit them to himself, even in the privacy of his own mind – and it felt like this strange little girl had looked right through his skull and read his thoughts. She had thought that he was a girl when they had first met, and even after he'd corrected her, she hadn't fainted. But she had seemed utterly convinced of the words she was saying, as if she was reciting rote facts from a textbook she had read several times over.

Could it be that he really was a girl?

He dared to ask himself the question, and just as quickly, darted away from it. This was something that he was going to work on tomorrow, anyway. Cologne had some weird potion that would put him to sleep, and he'd find his answers in a dream. Hopefully. Although a small part of him hoped it was just another trick in the batty old Amazon's arsenal, and he'd wake up none the wiser.

But right now, he was curious about Akane.

It had been so strange the night before. In the middle of their little quarrel, she had asked him if he would be more attracted to her if she was a boy. At the time he thought it was just a weird jealous reaction of hers, but Kei's words made him look at her in a different light. She was a super tomboy alright. And she had kind of been changing the last few days. Like she had been the one in control of the situation when she felt him up, and usually the guy was supposed to lead that dance. And she'd just asked him out on a date. Either she was getting really good at playing the guy's role, or Ranma was getting worse at it.

Could it be that Akane was going through that thing Kei had mentioned – gender dystopia? Maybe Akane was actually a boy on the inside? Perhaps was asking herself questions similar to the one that haunted Ranma.

"You awake over there? I said I wondered when school was going to start again," Akane said.

"Psh. I don't. I'm enjoying this random little break," Ranma said.

He put those thoughts aside. It had been a long day, and he couldn't wait to go to bed. He longed for the sweet embrace of a sleep devoid of answers to wash this day away and sweep him into tomorrow.

The neighborhood had quieted down and most of the people had gone inside for the night, so there was no one to witness a large sheep dog letting herself into an apartment. It might have raised some eyebrows. Not that Aunt Ruby would have carried what anyone thought. As she entered her newly leased home, her nose alerted her to the fact that there were other humans nearby. One of the scents was familiar and clearly that of her niece, but the other one seemed to be a girl in her mid-to-late adolescence.

Aunt Ruby walked into the room and relaxed when she saw her niece sitting on the floor next to another teenage girl. They were using a long flat box as a makeshift tea-table. Takara noticed her entrance and went to fetch her a cup of hot water, which she splashed onto her. Aunt Ruby was taller than the strange girl sitting cross legged and sipping tea, but quite a bit shorter than Takara.

"Well, Takara, what brings you to my apartment? And who's this?"

"This is my friend. She got kicked out of her place, and it's sort of my fault, so I said she could stay here…"

"I am Kei Ogawa," The girl with classes said as she gave a polite bow. "It Is an honor to meet you, Ruby. I'm afraid I was never told how to pronounce your surname."

"My surname is quite a bit easier to pronounce than Takara's," the middle aged woman said with a chuckle. "But you can just call me Aunt Ruby."

Kei looked to her friend. "Perhaps we should explain the events of today."

With hands folded in her lap, Aunt Ruby listened closely to the story that the two girls told her. It seems that Takara's first day at Hebereke's had been a rather dramatic one, to the say the least. The story eventually tied Ranma and Akane into it, but the girls were a lot less forthcoming with details about that part of the day, and Aunt Ruby knew she wasn't hearing the full story. But all that teenage melodrama wasn't crucial to the matter at hand, anyway.

With the story concluded, she stood up.

"Rise, my niece," she commanded.

Nervously, Takara stood to her full height and tried not to let her anxiety show.

"Takara, it is family tradition for the girls in our line to attend St. Hebereke's. And out of all of them – dating back to the founding of the school – you are the very first to be expelled from that prestigious institution."

Tears were starting to form in Takara's eyes. She bowed her head in shame.

"I couldn't be prouder," Aunt Ruby said.

"What?" Takara made eye contact with her aunt.

"My sister and I tried hard to get expelled. As did the women who came before us. But that God of theirs was full of forgiveness, and the most we ever got was detention or suspension."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm absolutely serious," Aunt Ruby with a smile. "Oh, to think, that's all it took. To do something scandalous with a boy. Your mother was a late bloomer, and I was never interested in that stuff, so we never thought of a plan so simple."

"But you and I had a deal – "

"The spirit of the deal was that you got yourself a high school diploma. I don't really care which school hands it out," Aunt Ruby said with a shrug. "Though, I think if you get kicked out of St. Hebereke's, there's only one place in town that will take you in."

"Furinkan High," Kei said with a shiver. "I've heard so many horror stories."

"It can't be that bad if Ranma and Akane go there," Takara said.

"Kodachi's brother goes there," Kei countered. "And the principal is obsessed with Hawaii."

"It's true that the school has a reputation. I won't deny that. But it might be one of the few places in Nerima that can tolerate our little eccentricities," Aunt Ruby said. "And let's face it, we're an odd bunch, the three of us."

Kei smiled. "So you'll let me stay?"

"As long as you need, sure. Though I can't offer you anything fancy, and once I make my arrangements, I'm heading off to China for a time."

"Oh, my parents give me a monthly stipend for expenses, so I won't be a drain on your resources. And maybe I can even help out some."

"Wonderful. And I'd ask that you look after my Takara while I'm gone," Aunt Ruby said.

Takara snorted. "I'm the one fights with a sword, Aunt Ruby."

"Still, this one can be rash sometimes, and she could use someone grounded like you in her life."

"It would be my honor," Kei said, as she bowed.

Takara rolled her eyes.

It was a one-bedroom apartment –- and it was a small bedroom, at that. Aunt Ruby had offered the bedroom to Kei, as she was the guest, but Kei had deferred the honor to her elder. So, the two teenagers ended up spreading out their bedrolls in the main room. It's not every day you get kicked out of a private Catholic Girl's school, and for good reason: It was exhausting.

"Feels kinda like a sleep over," Kei said, as she nestled herself beneath her blanket.

"Umm, I never had one of those. Or went to one."

"Me either, actually. Though probably for different reasons."

"We're supposed to like, watch movies, and talk about boys, and stuff, right?"

"Well, there's no TV or VCR here. So I guess we'll have to skip straight to the second part."

"I've already told you about my love life," Takara sighed. "What about you? Is there somebody you fancy?"

"There is," Kei said dreamily.

"Oh? Really?"

Takara hadn't expected that answer and she felt her curiosity grow.

"Yes, and he's a boy."

"Go on! Don't stop there!"

Kei's eyes filled with stars and she put her hands over her heat.

"He's the most amazing man I've ever met."

"Okay, spill it, Kei!"

"His name is…"

"Yes?"

"Ranma. Ranma Saotome," She said, slowly stretching out every syllable.

Takara sat up straight and glared at the other girl.

"Get out of here!"

"Relax! I'm kidding," Kei said. "Actually, as we established, I'm amoremsexual. It's a girl who stars in my every fantasy."

Laughing at both Kei's joke and herself, Takara did relax a bit, and gently sank back into her bedding.

"Oh, yeah? Tell me about her."

Shyly, Kei turned to look at her.

"She is compassionate to a fault, has a steely resolve, and has dedicated her life to her Art on the battlefield," Kei said before letting out a sigh. "Though I don't think she even sees me."

Uh-oh, Takara thought to herself. She'd only known two people at St. Hebereke's that fit that description, and one of them was Kodachi Kuno. The other was herself. Suddenly, her chest filled with dread. Couldn't she just have one friendship that wasn't complicated by romantic or sexual feelings?

"Who is it?" Takara asked

"Akane Tendo," Kei said, drawing out every syllable.

"What!?" Takara said as she bolted up again.

Kei just giggled.

"I'm kidding. That was just my impersonation."

"Of who?"

"Every teenager in Nerima, apparently."