Akane couldn't help but notice that Ranma was a little bit distracted all morning. She didn't mind that he had something else to do today – after all, it's not as if she could force somebody to go on a date with her. But it did make her intensely curious, and a little bit jealous. Why was she always so prone to jealousy? Right now, an irrational voice in her head whispered to her that Ranma was probably sneaking off to see Takara. But she knew that wasn't true. Probably.

As she observed Ranma walking through the Tendo household, she realized that something was different. Not only was he distracted, but he was a little tense. But it wasn't the kind of body tension that Ranma carried around before a big fight – it was something else. Could he be afraid of something? No – this was vulnerability, Akane realized. Sort of like how he acted right before he would open up about his feelings.

"Hey, Ranma," Akane said.

The martial artist, now in his female form, looked up. "Hmm?"

"What do you have planned today?"

"It's private."

"Private like a date…?"

"No," Ranma said, and rolled his eyes. "It's not a date."

"You're not sneaking out on me to see Ryoga again, are you?"

Ranma's eyes widened with horror. "No! And also, not funny."

"I'm not trying to be nosey," Akane said. "It's just that you look kind of sad. Is something wrong?"

"There's something I've got to do, but I'm really not looking forward to it."

"So, something more like a Doctor's appointment?"

Ranma seemed about to object, but stopped, and thought about it.

"Yeah. Something like that," he said. "But like I said, it's private."

"Okay," Akane said. "Well, take care. And don't forget about tomorrow."

Akane got herself a glass of water and walked back to her room. This worked out in her favor, as it gave her more time to prepare. She didn't want her first gender transformation to be the same day as her date with Ranma – it was probably going to be a strange experience, and she wanted to have already worked through that weirdness. Plus, she'd have to figure out something what clothes she could wear.

Her stomach churned with excitement as she opened one of her three packets of Nannīchuan and stirred it into the glass of water. Her hands trembled, and she slowly lifted the glass to her lips, and closed her eyes.

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself, as she took a drink.

When it came to battle, Ranma loved uncertainty. There was something exhilarating about having no idea what was going to come next and knowing that you'd have to improvise on the spot. That was the very foundation of the Anything Goes Martial technique, after all. He was trained to quickly take in the information before him and launch into the best action available to him as a response, even if it was unconventional, or a little bit wild.

But Ranma was finding that he didn't like uncertainty as much when it came to his personal life. The petite fighter walked down the street with his face to the ground. He wasn't afraid – or at least, not afraid in any way he'd been before. He knew that he wasn't in any physical danger, and the worst possible outcome is that he'd wake up with Shampoo's arms around him. And even then, Shampoo was far more honorable and less creepy than Kodachi. He'd probably be fine.

His vocabulary didn't include the word "existential," but he came about the concept in a round about way. He felt as if he was about to engage in a battle of the spirit and the mind, and he knew that he was a stranger to this arena. He was worried that his opponent – which, really, was just himself –could deliver a knock-out blow that could destroy his world. And while there were certainly lots of things about his world he didn't like, it was his world. The only one he knew.

"Ranma!" Shampoo cried in a sing-song voice as she glomped onto him.

"Get off me," Ranma said. He was annoyed, but too distracted to put up much more than a token fight.

Shampoo looked him over.

"Airen in girl form? Need hot water?"

"I'll be fine."

"Ranma know Shampoo do anything for airen."

Perhaps it was the anxiety that was gnawing at him ,or perhaps his anger had been building up for some time. But at that moment, Ranma snapped, and spoke to the Amazon warrior in a harsher tone than he usually dared.

"I really don't get it. Why don't you just give the whole 'airen' thing a rest?" Ranma asked. "You're not in China. This isn't Amazon land. You're in Japan. You could live anyway you wanted to."

"And Shampoo want be married with you," she cooed, though there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

"You're treating this whole thing like it's destined, or something."

"Yes, is destined. Fate is sealed," Shampoo said, nodding.

"Nah. If there is such thing as destiny, it's something we can fight against. It's just a current you gotta swim against."

At this, Shampoo's eyes fell into sadness. Her eyes darted downwards, and Ranma could tell that she was attempting to assemble all of the Japanese words she knew together into a paragraph.

"Poor, poor Ranma. Ranma no understand," she said, with an unusual air of seriousness. "Ranma try fight destiny, and Ranma is sad. One no fight destiny. Destiny no like water – destiny like wind. Fools try to walk against wind. Fools no walk very far, and fools no walk very fast. Wise people like birds. Wise people stand in front of wind, and let it blow them forward, straight towards goals and dreams."

"You don't have to live by the ways of the Amazon, Shampoo. You can be anything you want to be. You can be anything you want to be," Ranma said.

Shampoo shook her head. "But Shampoo is Amazon, and Shampoo want to be Amazon. Even if choice, Shampoo make this choice. Ranma understand?"

She smiled at him, with hope brimming in her eyes. To Ranma, she had always been a prisoner of destiny, forever entangled in the ways of the Amazon. But maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe Shampoo had found her freedom by embracing her destiny. Was such a thing even possible? Philosophical thinking didn't come to Ranma easily, and pondering such things hurt his brain.

"Shampoo talk wise words with Ranma some other time. Shampoo must make delivery to other side of Tokyo."

She took out a box that labeled "Napkins" in Japanese and stuck it in

"You're delivering napkins to the other side of Tokyo?" Ranma asked, incredulous.

"Four hour ride to. Four hour ride back," Shampoo sighed. "This must be punishment from great grand mother, but Shampoo no understand what Shampoo do wrong."

Dimly, Ranma remembered that Cologne had promised to keep Shampoo out of his hair for the duration of his little spirit quest, but he chose to say nothing.

"Sayonara, my airen," she said before blowing a kiss to him and riding off.

Ranma looked up at the Cat Café and took a deep breath. Yes, he was really going to go through with this. He was going to find these answers no matter how much it hurt and not matter how much it turned his world around.

"Let's do this," he said to himself, and opened the door.

The bell above the door sounded when Ranma entered, and Cologne looked up from the tea she was sipping at the counter. She smiled, and beckoned Ranma to come over to her with a little wave. Warily, Ranma took a seat at a bar stool in front of the old crone.

"Are you ready, son-in-law?" Cologne asked.

"I think so," Ranma said. "I'm putting a lot of trust in you here."

"I can see that, and I promise that it will be a worthwhile investment on your part."

"So, you brewed a potion for me?"

"I don't know if I'd classify it as a potion, sonny boy. But yes, I made the mixture as we discussed. Where would you like to sleep? Both Shampoo and I have are own rooms upstairs, and you're welcome to any of the booths in my restaurant."

Ranma glanced over his shoulder at the booths and winced.

"Just bring me a bedroll. The Floor is fine."

"As you wish."

Folding his arms beneath his breasts, Ranma stood in place, and tried not to fidget. As cologne went upstairs to fetch the bedding, he surveyed the restaurant, and noticed that all of the blinds were closed, and the curtains drawn. It felt as though it had a certain air of privacy to it. He believed Cologne was being sincere, and that he was probably safe. Or at least, as safe as he ever was in Nerima.

After the bedroll had been set up, Cologne disappeared into the kitchen and produced a strange drink and put It on the counter. Stepping up to it, Ranma narrowed his eyes and studied it. He'd never had a crayon the color of the drink before, but if he had to name the shade of green, he'd call it "Toxic Sludge."

"Oh, that looks rancid," Ranma said, as he gagged.

"The mixture is famous for it's poor taste. I added some things to sweeten it up. It should taste like candy apples."

Ranma frowned. "Should?"

"Well, I couldn't it taste it for myself, now could I?"

He reached forward for the drink but found his arm pinned to the table by Cologne's walking staff.

"Before we begin, there's something important I must tell you."

"I'm listening," Ranma muttered.

"Because you're trying to access thoughts and feelings that are repressed, you will first have to break through a barrier to enter the dream proper. The barrier is a metaphorical one, and it could take on many forms. Knowing you, it could take on the form of a powerful opponent that you have to fight, or an athletic challenge, like a mighty chasm for you to leap across. It is imperative that you break through this barrier, or else the whole endeavor will have been for naught."

"Break through the barrier," Ranma repeated. "Got it."

"However, take heed – there will be consequences in your waking life for breaking this barrier. Though it is a metaphor, it represents a part of your psyche. You might find, upon your awakening, that emotions that were buried and hidden will be at the surface and impossible to ignore. If you succeed in breaking the barrier, there will be no going back."

"I ain't backing down, old ghoul," Ranma said.

"One last thing. The flow of time will be different within your dream world, and it will be difficult for you to gauge how much time you have remaining. The world you find yourself in may be strange, but you must focus on your objective."

"Okay, okay! I get it."

She lifted her walking stick up, and Ranma grabbed the glass. He sniffed it first, and while it didn't smell as revolting as it looked, it still didn't seem promising. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then chugged it down. The old ghoul had indeed added some sweeteners to it, and he found the taste surprisingly pleasant. It reminded him of a popsicle his father had stolen for him at a festival when he was very young. He finished the drink and placed the glass on the counter.

And then the most bile and bittersweet aftertaste he had ever experienced assaulted his senses. He put one hand to his mouth and defensively covered his stomach with the other, as if that could fend off the attack happening inside his body.

"I just mopped the floor, boy. Don't go making a mess."

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind as if he were at the start of the battle.

"Now lay down before you fall down."

Slowly, Ranma got into his bedding and passed out just as his head hit the pillow.

It was a dark nothingness – a black void. Ranma was nowhere, and there was nothing to be seen. Cologne had said that there was a barrier waiting for him. Clearly, if he wanted to break into his sub-consciousness, he was going to have to find a way to break through this abyss. He walked forward with purpose, scanning the barren world, but there was nothing.

Until there was something. And that something made his heart race, and he turned around and crouched into a ball. Of course, the barrier would have to take that form, wouldn't it? His deepest fear? He snuck a peak over his shoulder to confirm that he had indeed seen the nightmare he had thought he'd seen.

It was a wall of cats. Cats of all shapes, sizes, and colors were stacked up as far as his eyes could see, and the wall of cats seemed to continue infinitely in both directions. It had no end and it had no beginning – it was just cats.

Ranma's breathing quickly went out of his control, and he could feel himself losing a grip on his mind.

"No, not now," he whined.

In the process of learning the Cat-fist technique, Ranma had acquired a severe phobia of cats. This phobia was so severe that his mind, when overwhelmed by the fear of felines, would break, and he would lose control and take on the persona of a cat himself. But if that happened now, he would probably spend his entire slumber in cat form, and he wouldn't find any of the answers he was seeking. And he would have drunk that nasty concoction for nothing.

He stood up and turned to face the wall of cats again and let out a girlish shriek. Turning around once more, he steeled himself. He had to do this - he absolutely had to do this.

Ranma closed his eyes and let out a battle cry as he dashed at full speed through the wall of cats. He crashed into the cats witht such a velocity that they were sent flying hundreds of feet into the distance. Opening his eyes, he smiled. That was, until he heard the cacophonous sound of a billion cats yowling in fear.

Turning around and risking a glance at the cat tower, he saw that it had knocked enough cats out to throw off the integrity of the entire structure. The wall of cats teetered back and forth and seemed to writhe. It swayed so much that it didn't even seem like a straight line anymore, but it curved about like a slithering snake. Then, the cats started falling. All of them.

Ranma screamed as he put up his arms to block his face. But it wasn't enough to stop the avalanche of distressed cats that rained down upon him. It might have been the force of the blow, or it might have been the sheer terror of the situation – but either way, his world faded to black, and he lost consciousness.

When he came too, he opened his eyes, and through the blurriness, he saw the ceiling of the Tendo Dojo above him. That, and the concerned faces of three women staring down at him. Ranma instantly recognized the worried expression of Kasumi staring down at him, but he was certain that he had never met either of the other two middle aged women. One of them looked hauntingly familiar, though he couldn't quite place her, and the other was either a natural redhead or had a great dye job.

"He's awake," the red-haired woman said.

"Are you in pain? Is there anything we can get you?" Kasumi asked.

"Uhh, no," Ranma groaned. "What happened?"

The familiar looking woman spoke. "It started raining cats outside of our house, and then you came crashing down after them."

Ranma sat up in a panic.

"The cats – are they gone?"

Kasumi put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Saotome chased them all way. There's nothing to worry about."

"So pops is here too, then?" He asked.

"Pops?" The red-headed woman asked, looking startled.

With a little bit of effort, Ranma got to his feet.

"Sorry, let me introduce myself," he said, as he gave a polite bow to the two women. "I'm Ranma Saotome."

The three women gasped. This confused Ranma – surely Kasumi had told them who he was while he was passed out?

"That's impossible. I don't have a son," the red-headed woman said.

"What's that got to do with me?" Ranma asked.

He looked down and realized that he had turned back into his male form somehow. Then, everything clicked in his head. From somewhere deep in the past, the ghost of a memory wafted up into Ranma's mind. He remembered, just before setting out on his training trip, a red-headed woman about a decade younger than this one arguing with his father.

"Mom?" Ranma squeaked.

He couldn't hold back the tears, and gripped his mother in a hug, burying his head in her shoulder. Usually, he wouldn't cry like this, but his restraint was gone. For her sake, the woman returned the hug, despite being visibly shaken. Her maternal instincts overrode all of her shock and confusion, and she consoled the strange dark-haired young man that had fallen into her life.

"I can't believe it," Ranma said, wiping tears from his eyes. "You're dead in my world."

"Your world?" She asked, in awe.

A few quiet moments passed as Ranma's breathing steadied. Dimly, he heard heavy footsteps, as two other people entered the room. With some reluctance, he broke contact with his mother, and turned to see who had entered the dining room. Soun Tendo was standing, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, as well as a version of his father, who looked utterly perplexed.

"Nodoka, do you know this kid?" He asked.

"Was I never born in this world?" Ranma asked, as he turned to his mother.

"Genma, dear, this teenager claims that he's from another world where we had a son instead of a daughter," she said, slowly.

Ranma blinked. "A daughter?"

Genma blinked. "A son?"

"This is Ranma Saotome," Nodoka said, gently.

Genma harrumphed and leaned in to examine the boy. But as he studied Ranma, his demeanor changed, and started to look a little frightened. The bulky man took a step back and folded his arms and cocked his head.

"He looks just like you did when we were highschoolers," Soun noted, quietly. "It's quite uncanny."

"Except I was rocking the shaved head look even then," Genma said.

The two chuckled, momentarily nostalgic for another time.

"Wait a minute," Ranma said, as he turned to the strange women. "If the red-head is my mom, then that must make you – "

He turned and looked at the other woman. There was something unnatural about her appearance. It was almost like she was a perfect blend of Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane, and then aged forward about twenty years. Akane had never shared a picture of her mother, or even told him her name. But this is what he imagined she would have looked like.

"Mrs. Tendo," he said, once more giving a formal bow. "It is an honor to finally meet you."

Mrs. Tendo looked shocked.

"Don't tell me I passed on in your world, as well," Mrs. Tendo said. "I shudder to think what would have happened to you kids without a maternal figure around."

Soun looked as if somebody had punched him In the face. "What would I do without my darling wife?"

"I'm glad that you're around in this world," Ranma said. "And I'm honored to be engaged to your daughter."

"What?" Everybody – minus Kasumi and Mrs. Tendo, who merely gasped –shouted at the same time.

Suddenly, the temperature of the room raised, as did the hostility. Ranma tensed, and he felt himself assuming a defensive stance. Now, Sound Tendo was an even-tempered man, but he could be downright spooky when he perceived a threat to his daughter's purity. He seemed to radiate a darkness, and loom over Ranma at an impossibly height, his face looking almost demonic.

"What did you say about my daughter?" He hissed.

"You and pops arranged a marriage for your future children in order to unite the schools," Ranma said, quickly. "But I guess in this world nobody had a son, so it didn't shake out."

Soun relaxed and turned to his old friend.

"We did talk about that, back in the day," Soun said.

"Indeed. But it was more of an inside joke. It would be pretty backwards to do an arranged marriage in this day and age."

"I wish you two were that reasonable back in my world," Ranma sighed.

"Did he say engagement?"

Nabiki and Akane walked into the room curious to see what all the excitement was about.

"This is Ranma Saotome. He claims he's from another world," Soun said, suspicion once again overcoming him. "And he claims he's engaged to one of my daughters."

Briefly, Ranma wondered if he should explain that this was all a dream that he was having. But really, what was the point? They probably wouldn't believe him if he told them, and if they did believe them, that would really mess with their heads. He decided to stick with the "other world story."

As he pondered this, Nabiki and Akane circled around him.

"You do look like a boy version of Ranko," Nabiki said.

"Ranko?" Ranma repeated the name to himself.

That was the name he'd came up with when blunt-force trauma had locked him into an ultra-feminine persona. Instead of meaning "Wild stallion", it meant "Wild orchard," and was far more feminine name. Hearing the name Ranko gave him pause, as he was a little bit disgusted at how feminine that persona was. Was that his destiny? To be the ultimate girly-girl?

"Your guy form is a stunner, too," Nabiki said. "Right Akane?"

Akane frowned. "I guess."

Ranma had a sneaking suspicion that this dream version of Akane was a lesbian, too.

"So tell us, Ranma. Which of us was the lucky bride to be?" Nabiki asked, with a hint of mischief in her voice.

All eyes focused on him, and he blushed. The various expressions in the room varied from confusion, to bemusement, to a look on the Tendo father's face that could only be described as "murderous." Ranma gulped. It couldn't hurt him to be honest, could it? This was just a dream world.

"Akane," he said, as he turned to make eye contact with her.

Instantly, her gaze shot to her feet, and she blushed with embarrassment. This caused a ripple of amusement in the assembled crowd.

"Yeah, that figures," Nabiki said.

"Does it?" Ranma asked.

"You'll understand, soon enough."

"Shut up. You're stupid," Akane mumbled.

"I'm back, and Takara is here," a high-pitched voice announced loudly.

Everyone turned to see a petite red-headed teenage girl walk into the dining room, as well as a lanky girl with dark hair and a sword at her hip. Takara eyed the newcomer with some confusion, trying to place where she had seen this person before. The tomboyish girl with the red hair noticed that everyone was staring at the teenage boy in the center of the room, and she looked at him with disinterest. He looked back at her with astonishment.

"What, you got a new boyfriend, Nabiki?" The rough young woman asked.

"Nope," Nabiki said. "This is Akane's fiancé."

"What?"

The feisty girl clenched a fist and Ranma noticed the unmistakable look of jealousy gleaming in his female counterpart's eyes.

"In another world," Ranma said quickly. "I'm you, from another world."

"You're me?" Ranko asked, dumbfounded.

"Basically."

"But you're a guy."

"Not always," Ranma said. "Wait, do you have a Jusenkyo curse, too?"

"What?" Ranko asked, wrinkling her nose. "You guys sure this dude isn't crazy?"

"Did you say Jusenkyo?" Genma asked, his voice shaking. "Ranko and I almost went on a training mission there, but we didn't want it to interfere with the start of a new semester for her. That's before I learned how cursed the place was."

"You chose school over training?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Genma said. "The Anything Goes School of Martial Arts is all encompassing. Therefore, every bit of random knowledge you acquire will ultimately help you in your future battles, even if it's use is not immediately obvious."

"My pops took me out of school for a decade to train," Ranma said, looking dejected.

"So you must be pretty dumb then, huh?" Ranko asked.

"Shush," Nabiki said to Ranko. She turned to Ranma, bemused. "I want to hear the part about the curse."

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I fell into a cursed spring. Now I turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and back into a guy when hit with warm water. If you get me some water, I can show you."

Kasumi appeared by his side with unnatural speed with a glass of cold water. Ranma shrugged, and accepted the glass of water, and looked at it with some relief. He'd feel better being in his feminine form, and he had a feeling that he'd fit in better in this world. He closed his eyes, and splashed himself, then opened his eyes again.

"Does it have to be ice water?" Kasumi asked.

"What? No that, was cold enough," he said.

Except his voice still sounded masculine. He looked down at himself and saw that he was still tall and muscular with a flat chest. He told himself that it was only a dream, but it was hard to stem the flood of terror and panic welling up inside of him. In the past, he'd searched for a cure, of course, but he wasn't sure he wanted one now. The thought of being locked in his guy form forever inspired a new type of pain, one that he didn't have a word for.

"It didn't work," Ranma said.

"Maybe that magic doesn't work in this dimension," Takara said, thoughtfully. "When Magical Girl Lightning Blade and her friends had to cross dimensions in the Other World Arc, they found out their magic didn't work. They had to fight with just their swordsmanship."

"This is getting pretty anime-ish," Nabiki deadpanned. "So tell me, Ranma. How did you cross over into our world?"

Focusing, Ranma met her gaze. Nabiki was too clever an opponent, and he really didn't want to reveal the nature of their world to them.

"It was a magic potion, actually. I'll only be here for a little while. I came to find some answers to questions," he said.

"Is the universe at stake?" Takara whispered.

"No. But, uh, I really need those answers."

"Well, that's simple enough," Soun announced. "All you have to do is visit the Tree of Answers."

"Tree of Answers?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, yes, it's a very convenient little thing. Right on the outskirts of Nerima," Kasumi said.

"Tell you what, I'll have Akane take you there," Soun said.

"And Ranko will accompany you," Nodoka said.

Neither of the two teenagers were enthused at this. Ranko and Akane eyed each other.

"But we'll be late for school," Ranko said.

There wasn't a trace of irony in her voice, Ranma realized. His dream counterpart was stressing at the thought of missing classes!

"We'll call you out for half the day. It sounds like this Ranma is working on a time limit, and a martial artist always helps out someone in need."

Both Akane and Ranko knew when they were defeated.

"Mind if I tag along, too? Takara asked.

"Sure," Ranma said. "I don't know how much time I have left, so let's go,"

Ranko, Akane, and Takara headed for the door, and Ranma was about to follow them, when he felt a lump in his throat. He turned once more to look at his mother, and his vision was distorted by tears. Mother and son embraced one more time.

"I'm glad I got to see you one more time," Ranma said.

"Be strong, and be kind," his mother whispered to him.

And then Ranma ran out of the room without looking back.

It was disconcerting. Right as they had exited the dojo, Ranma found himself walking in a backroad that he took sometimes when he went on longer runs. He wondered if he had blanked out on the traveling between the two places but figured it must have been an instance of dream logic. Ranko, Akane and Takara were walking ahead of him, and making small talk. But Takara caught his eyes and turned to him.

"Is it true that you're engaged to Akane in your world?" She asked.

"Yeah. Her and a couple of other girls," Ranma said.

The three stopped in their tracks and turned to face him.

"You're engaged to more than one girl?" Ranko asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "Aren't you engaged to anyone?"

"I'm sixteen," Ranko laughed. "Why would I be engaged?"

"Well, it wasn't my idea, for most of them. My dad arranged two of the marriages – the one with Akane, and one with Ukyo. With Ukyo he basically traded me for a food cart."

"I could kind of see you and Ukyo getting along," Akane said, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, no. Ukyo's just a friend," Ranko said, seemingly repulsed by the idea. "What about the other two engagements?"

"There was Shampoo, this Amazon warrior girl. I beat her in my male form, which meant I had to marry her. And I beat her in battle in my girl form, which meant she had to kill me."

"Shampoo? That hot Chinese girl from math class?" Akane asked, excitedly, before blushing. "Uh, I mean other people says she's hot, of course. I wouldn't know. I'm into guys."

"My Akane just told me she's a lesbian," Ranma said, flatly.

This Akane sighed. "Oh, thank goodness. It gets so tiring pretending to be normal."

"Alright, we're up to three," Ranko said. "Who's the fourth fiancée?"

"Takara," Ranma said.

This admission was met with silence. Ranko and Takara suddenly looked like they'd rather be anywhere else in the world.

"Another arranged marriage?" Akane asked.

"I proposed to her in middle school, actually," Ranma said.

More silence. The three residents of the dream world avoided eye contact with each other, until Akane dared make eye contact with Ranko.

"Did that happen in our world, too?" She asked.

"Would you two excuse me for a minute? I need to have a word with myself," Ranko said.

Akane and Takara walked ahead a little bit, already engaged in a serious conversation.

"You trying to get me killed?" Ranko asked in an angry whisper.

"What? No," Ranma said.

"I don't know what your relationships are like in your crazy harem-dream world," Ranko growled, "But I'm in sort of a delicate situation here. See, I've got feelings for both Akane and Takara. And they both have feelings for me. And I kinda think they have feelings for each other, too? I dunno. But Takara and I had never told a soul about the time I proposed to her. You're going to get me into trouble."

"Sorry," Ranma said. "But it must be nice, not to be actually engaged. You can just take your time and go with how you feel."

Ranko shrugged. "I guess? But I kinda feel like I'm running out of time with them, and that they're gonna lose patience with me. I don't know what to do."

"Listen, Ranko, I'm the last person in the world you should get relationship advice from."

"You don't got any special wisdom from your world?"

"I'm kinda facing the same problem. I think I'm equally in love with both of them."

"It's so confusing," Ranko sighed. "Like, it gets pretty romantic with Akane sometimes, but we fight a lot, and it's hard to open up to her with emotions and stuff. It's kind of the opposite with Takara. I can talk to her about anything, and the feelings are more intense than just being friends, but it's kinda hard to be romantic with her."

"And it's not like we can choose both of them," Ranma said.

Ranko's expression changed, and she looked up at her masculine form.

"Wait, those aren't the answers you're looking for, are they?" Ranko asked. "You're not just going to the Tree of Answers to find our who to date?"

"I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to that one," Ranma said. "But there's actually a bigger question I have on my mind."

"Yeah? Tell me," Ranko said.

"It's embarrassing."

"Well, if what you say is true, I am you, and you are me. So if you can't trust me with the question, who can you trust?"

Ranma fidgeted.

"Ranko, do you like being a girl?" He asked in a voice so quiet it was nearly a whisper.

"Yeah? I mean, sure," Ranko said. "I've never really thought about it, but sure. It feels natural, and I've got no complaints. Well, other than periods and all the cramping, obviously."

"Yeah, those do suck,' Ranma laughed.

"And how do you know?"

Ranma sighed. He supposed that if he would talk to anyone about his most guarded secret, it might as well be himself.

"Like I said, in my world, I have a curse where I turn into a girl," Ranma said. "And – this is so weird. In my world, there's only one person that knows this about me. Kasumi helped me the first time it happened. But she's sworn to secrecy."

"So you have your cycle in your cursed form?"

"Yeah. It's like, time marches forward for my female body just as it does my guy body. And if I turn into my female form during that time of the month – well, I have to deal with it. I usually try to avoid it, if I can. But I've literally studied ninjutsu techniques so that I can hide all evidence of it."

"Wish I could skip it," Ranko said, wistfully. "Wait, that means even your twenty-seven fiancées don't know about your periods?"

"No. Guys aren't supposed to talk to girls about that stuff. And since I'm a guy, I can't talk about it with anyone. And half the time Akane calls me a pervert even when I'm not doing anything wrong."

Ranko whistled. "That sucks. You get the curse of womanhood without the gift of sisterhood."

"It doesn't matter. I can handle it."

Ranko eyed him, unconvinced, and said nothing.

"But wait – what was your question, then?" She asked.

Ranma stared at her.

"Promise not to laugh?"

"To laugh at you would be to laugh at myself," Ranko said. "And I've way too much self-respect for that."

Looking over at Akane and Takara in the distance, Ranma turned away from them. He sat down on the grass and motioned for Ranko to join him.

"I think I might a girl," he said.

Ranko stared down at his crotch.

"You mean your parts are all weird?"

"No!" Ranma huffed. "I mean inside! Inside here!"

He pointed at his head as his hand shook with anger.

"Oh, I get it. Because of the curse. Its messed with your head," Ranko said.

Ranma glared at the petite girl. "Am I always this dense? No wonder Akane always yells at me."

"I don't know, okay? This is all new to me! If you mean something different, then explain it to me!"

Ranma took a deep breath. "I think maybe I was always a girl inside. And maybe my dad could see it, and that's why he worked so hard to make me into a man. And maybe I went along with dad's plans because I was afraid of the girl in me. And when I got the curse, it was scary, because a part of me loved it. And I wasn't supposed to love it. And the fact that I did frightened me. So I tried to deny it."

"Damn," Ranko said. "Sounds like a special kind of hell."

"I kind of don't want it to be real. Well, I wish It wasn't. A part of me is hoping that your Tree of Answers will just tell me it's a teenage hormone thing, and it'll pass."

It looked like Ranko wanted to say something in response to that, but she struggled with it, and kept the words inside.

Takara and Akane appeared beside them.

"Didn't you say you have a time limit?" Akane asked.

Takara snickered. "You two aren't making out over here, are you?"

"No!" Both Ranko and Ranma sang out in irritation.

They got to their feet, and the four of them started walking the trail again. It lead deeper into a forest unlike anything on the outskirts of Nerima. It was pristine and untouched by civilization, and it seemed to Ranma like something out of a fairy tale. That, or they had traveled into the distant past of Japan, before Tokyo became a sprawling cityscape.

"How far to the Tree of Answers?" Ranma asked.

"Don't you have one of those in your Nerima?" Akane asked.

"Nope. Wish we did, though. It'd make life a lot easier."

"It doesn't really have a set place," Takara said. "It sort of appears to you when it's ready."

"Well," Ranma said, as he stretched out his arms and looked to the sky. "I'm ready!"

The forest began to shine, and everything was engulfed by a golden light. Ranma shielded his eyes, but it wasn't enough to block out the radiant light that was washing over him. His senses overwhelmed, all he could see was white. Slowly, his vision cleared, and he was still in the middle of the primeval forest, but something was different. At the end of the path, surrounded by a circle of trees, was a gigantic golden tree that seemed to stretch into the heavens.

"Well, we're here," Akane said.

This was it. He was really going to find the answer. He hesitated

"You okay, Ranma? This is what you wanted, right?" Akane asked.

"Come with me," Ranma said, and the three girls nodded.

Ranma made his way to the golden tree and stood in front of it, looking at it. It was like a single piece of gold had been chiseled with all of the details of bark and wood, and with branches and leaves. It would be impossible for any human to carve a statue like this.

"Can it read my thoughts?" Ranma asked. "Or do I gotta ask the question out loud?"

"You have to ask it out loud," Takara said.

"Really? Can I maybe write it down on some paper?"

"Don't worry," Ranko. "Akane and Takara are cool. You can ask your question."

Ranma nodded, and tried to make eye contact with the tree. Of course, there being no eyes to look at, he chose a part of the trunk and focused on it.

"Am I a boy, or a girl?" He asked.

He heard Akane gasp, and he heard Takara murmur his name. Someone grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He looked down, and saw Ranko at his side, standing in solidarity.

At first, nothing happened.

But then Ranma realized he could hear a faint noise coming from the tree. It started to get louder, and it seemed oddly mechanical – like the clockwork of gears and machinery. A panel of the golden wood slowly slid upwards and revealed a mirror beneath it. Without prompting, Ranma took a few step forwards, until he was standing in front of the reflective glass. But instead of seeing himself in the mirror, he saw a short and busty red-headed girl staring back him, his expression of fear and awe mirrored in her face.

He put his hand on the mirror, and it swallowed up the image of the girl's hand.

"I'm a girl," Ranma said.

The mechanical sounds whirred back to life, and Ranma saw that the panel was sliding back down, to hide the mirror. She kept eye contact with the girl in the mirror until her reflection was once more hidden. The girl In the mirror had been crying, tears streaming down her face, though her mouth didn't even quiver. Though she couldn't see herself, Ranma knew she was crying, too.

Akane hugged him from one side, and Takara from another.

"It's okay, if that's what you really are," Akane said.

"Yeah. We're your friends, and we love you. I'm sure the version of us in your world will be the same," Takara said.

She opened his eyes, and Ranko was standing Infront of her, with her arms folded.

"So," she said, casually. "You've got your answer. Now what are you going to do about it?"

There was no sensation of transition. One moment she was in the dream world, staring at her dream counterpart, and the next moment she was back in reality, lying on the floor in the Cat Café. Thankfully, she was in her feminine form. But she could feel that the tears were still streaming down her face. She couldn't find the motivation to get up.

"You awake, son-in-law?" Cologne called from behind him.

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"Don't get up right away. Your body will be weak for a little while."

"Okay," she said.

Time passed, but Ranma didn't move. The tears continued to silently rain down the contours of her face.

"You're probably safe to walk now," Cologne said, after a time. "Why don't you join me at the counter? I made some tea for you. My special blend."

Somehow, Ranma found the energy to pick herself up, and limped over to the counter. She took a seat and hunched over the counter, slowly drinking her tea.

"I see that your dream took a lot out of you," Cologne said, her voice soft.

Ranma didn't respond.

"Why don't you tell me about your dream?" The older woman asked.

"It's private."

"You can trust me, sonny-boy."

Slowly, and reluctantly, Ranma began to recount the dreams. She didn't have the energy to censor herself. In a flat and gravely voice, Ranma told her everything, starting with the great wall of cats, and ending with the question that Ranko asked him. The only detail she had omitted was the existence of her secret menstrual cycle. Cologne had listened to the story without saying a word. She seemed softer and more maternal than Ranma had ever seen her before.

"There are four types of dreams that the mixture can induce," Colonge said, at last. "The world that you most fear, the world that you most desire, and the world as you truly see it, without filter."

"And the fourth?"

"Well, there's a small chance you'll just have the most intense nightmare of your entire life. But it's a very small chance. And I don't believe that's the dream that you had."

"No," Ranma said.

She'd dreamed of a world where her father wasn't such a bad guy, and had attempted to raise her with love. In this world, she had not been forced into any engagements against her will, and was free to follow her heart in the matters of romance. Her mother had been alive and involved in her life, and even Akane's mother had been around. She'd never gone to Jusenkyo and gotten involved in a world of magic and curse.

And in that world, she had been born a girl.

"Do you understand the meaning of your dream, my child?" Cologne asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I long for a world with magical trees that can answer any question."

Cologne smiled and gave Ranma a playful bop on the head with her staff.

"My child, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For all the times I called you sonny-boy, or son-in-law, or anything masculine. If I had known, I never would have referred to you by the wrong gender."

"Aren't I supposed to be your great granddaughter's husband?"

"The Kiss of Marriage can be given to a person of any gender," Cologne said. "You'd add even more value to our tribe as a woman."

Ranma laughed. "Great. So you're still not going to drop this nonsense?"

"Sorry, little missy."

Ranma took a moment to wipe her tears on her sleeve.

"Would you like me to refer to you with female pronouns?"

"What's a pronoun?"

"Like she and her, instead of he and him."

"Oh. If no one else is around, then yes. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this."

"Would you like me to call you Ranko, when it's just the two of us?"

The overwhelmed young woman nodded and tried to say yes, but she just started crying instead. In defeat, she put folded her arms on the counter and cried into them.

"I know that here in Japan frowns upon this sort of thing. But where I'm from, we're a lot more open minded about the nature of gender. And I swear, Ranko dear, that I will help you anyway that I can. Regardless if you are to become my daughter-in-law or not. It is my duty guide the paths of young warrior women, and I take it very seriously.'

Ranko sniffed, and brought her head up.

"And besides, I've grown rather fond of you," she said.

"Thanks, old ghoul."

Ranko got up and started to walk towards the door.

"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Cologne asked.

"I'll figure something out," she huffed. "I'll figure it all out, eventually."

Her voice was hesitant, but her heart was resolute.