Togetherness
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Two teenagers, strangers to one another, find themselves forced more closely together than they could possibly have imagined.

Chapter 3. Together through China

The next dawn, Ranma awoke sputtering as a cascade of water washed over his head. He jumped out of his sleeping bag and was reminded of his curse by the extra weight bobbing on his chest. "Whaddya go and do that for, pop? I wanted to spar as a guy this morning!"

"Don't shriek like that," his father told him, tossing a pail aside. "It makes you sound like a girl."

Ranma placed his hands to his chest, cupping his breasts. "I gotta news flash for you, old man! Just at the moment I am a girl!"

‹Ranma!› Akane yelled. ‹Don't treat my chest like that, you pervert!›

Ranma dodged his father's initial attack, and sent Genma sprawling into the dirt with a well-placed foot to his posterior. ‹Aw, lighten up Akane. I was just trying to get the old man's goat.›

Their sparring continued for an hour. After the first half hour, Ranma managed to knock his father into the stream from which the pail of water had come, changing the man into a panda. He thought that would end the fight, but it turned out Genma wasn't half bad at martial arts even in the shape of a panda bear. After they finished, Ranma put some water on to heat, and started preparing breakfast. Some good had come from the visit to the Chinese village, at least. They would be eating much better this morning than they had for the previous couple of weeks.

As they ate, Ranma was thinking. ‹Okay, the day before yesterday, I get some girl's spirit stuck in my head. Not that I blame her for that.›

‹How kind of you,› Akane remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ranma ignored her. ‹I also fall in a pool of water that curses me to turn into a girl whenever I get wet. Then yesterday I beat some Chinese chick who gives me a Kiss of Death, and then starts chasing me so she can kill me.› He looked up at the sky contemplatively. ‹So I wonder what Fate has in store for me today?›

Akane asked, ‹Oh, come on! What's the worst that could happen?›

Ranma shuddered. ‹I'm not sure I want to ask that. I just hope I don't end up with any more girls trying to kill me. One is enough.›

Akane giggled. ‹So maybe you're due for something from the other extreme. I know. Your father will introduce you to the girl with whom he made an arranged marriage for you while you were still an infant.›

Ranma snarled. ‹Don't even joke about something like that! Can you imagine what sort of girl my pop would pick for me?›

Akane laughed outright. ‹The mind boggles, as the saying goes. Maybe you're due for a day off, instead. I hope so, anyway. After all, whatever happens to you, happens to me as well.›

Genma decided that he wanted to press on that day, so they didn't bother to stop for lunch, but just ate some food from their packs as they walked. Late in the afternoon a rain shower passed over them, changing them into a girl and a panda bear. The mountainside along which they were walking had no convenient streams or pools of water which had collected, and they did not wish to use the water they were carrying to heat and pour over themselves in order to change back.

While they walked, Ranma and Akane were becoming much better acquainted. She had described her sisters and father and what she could remember of her mother. Ranma had been rather wistful at these descriptions of a reasonably peaceful family life. Akane also talked about her friends at school, and the local doctor who healed all of her injuries. For some reason, though, she seemed a little shy when talking about the doctor and didn't really tell her host very much.

Ranma had then started telling Akane about some of the things which had happened in his life.

‹You're kidding! You actually slept up in a tree?›

‹Yeah, it was either that or be a wolf's dinner. After all, there were three of 'em. I was still too young to think about taking on a wild animal like that, and my pop wasn't about to take on three at once when he didn't have to. Mind, he's good enough he could have handled one pretty easily, I think, and might have even been able to deal with all three if he had to. But there wasn't any need to risk it.›

‹Anyway, I've slept in trees several times over the years. There are times when it's a lot safer than sleeping on the ground.›

‹But isn't it, you know, uncomfortable? Not to mention what happens if you roll over.›

‹I don't have many memories of being comfortable. I've slept outdoors a good bit of my life, and sleeping in a tree ain't much more uncomfortable than sleeping on rocky ground up in the mountains. As for rolling over, you sorta sleep with one eye open. I'm not quite sure how to explain it.›

‹I just can't imagine living like that.›

Ranma shrugged mentally. ‹It's the only life I've ever known. Except the times we stayed at a dojo somewhere. Those times were a luxury, though.›

Shortly before evening they spotted a cluster of huts higher up on the mountainside. Genma pulled out his sign and wrote, "Climb up there and see if you can get some hot water, boy." Ranma grumbled, but decided to go ahead and do so, not really wanting to stay female himself. He found a trail leading up the steep hillside and started to climb.

As he made his way up the steep slope, Ranma was thinking about the light lunch he had eaten and how hungry he was getting. His pop was probably going to insist on waiting until dark to make camp and prepare supper. His mind thoroughly occupied with thoughts of food, he barely heard the shout from behind, Chinese words which he had come to recognize. "Stop, thief!"

The neo-girl spun around, while thinking, ‹Thief? What has my fool pop done this time?›

He saw two Chinese men, one chasing the other. The one in front was bald, with a manic look on his face, and was carrying a bowl of something. He was shouting in Chinese, which if Ranma had understood the language, would have meant, "Mine! All mine!" The one behind was trying to say something as well.

Ranma thought, ‹Food? Gimme.› Just as the thief was about to run by, Ranma's kick caught him in the chest and sent him flying. Ranma caught the bowl, and wasted no time pouring the contents into his stomach. Dragging the back of his hand across his mouth, he thought to himself, ‹Rice porridge. Man, that was good.›

‹Ranma!› Akane's voice was full of exasperation. ‹Didn't you say the other man called that one a thief? You just ate the porridge that he stole.›

In times of hunger, Ranma had little shame. The other Chinese man came up and looked into the empty bowl, then stuttered, "You ... ate it ..."

Not understanding, the only reply which Ranma made to this was, "More please."

The man was now looking at Ranma in horror. After a few moments a look of suspicion crossed his face, and he reached out to grab hold of the top of Ranma's gi. He yanked the two sides apart, exposing the female breasts of his cursed form. The man gave a huge, relieved sigh, saying, "A girl. Good thing." He had apparently also taken note of Ranma's nationality, since he spoke in Japanese.

‹Pervert!› shouted Akane. Naturally, the Chinese gentleman did not hear this.

Ranma did though. With a leg sweep he laid the man out flat, then stepped on his head. While closing his top and tightening the belt around it, he asked, "What exactly do you mean when you say it's a good thing that I'm a girl?"

Although still angry with the pervert, Akane felt it necessary to point out, ‹I don't think he can answer you with his face shoved into the dirt.›

Ranma grimaced, but took his foot off. "So what did you mean?" he asked.

The man climbed back to his feet. "If you're still hungry, my restaurant is back that way a short distance. Come in and I'll get you something to eat while I explain."

Once Ranma was sitting at a table with a meal in front of him, the man began his explanation. "That rice porridge is this restaurant's secret item. The stock was made with dragon's whisker."

"Dragon's whisker?" Ranma asked, sounding disbelieving.

The restauranteur nodded. "A powerful ingredient for medicinal cooking. It has no effect on women, but should a man eat it ..." He shook his head, indicating some terrible fate. "Well, it fulfills a certain ambition. Many a bloody battle has been fought over that porridge. It's truly lucky that you're female ..."

In the meantime, Ranma had grown tired of being in this female body. Listening to the older man with half an ear, he walked over and lifted a kettle of water which was heating. He poured the water over his head just as the Chinese man was saying how lucky it was that Ranma was female.

Ranma sighed in relief to find himself male again, but then felt something odd crawling down his back. As he reached behind himself to brush at it, he felt something slither along his arm. Pulling his arm back, he saw a mass of black hair. The boy then spun around, and saw hair already spreading on the floor and growing quickly.

The restaurant's owner couldn't help laughing grimly. "So you're a man after all!"

Ranma lifted quantities of black hair in his arms and held them out. "Hey! Is this what you meant by ambition?!" Inside of his head, Akane was laughing herself sick. Ranma lost his temper and pounded the other man over his head several times.

The man climbed back up off the floor groaning. "Until the effect of it runs out, you can use this as a seal." He held up what appeared to be a piece of string. "Tie this around the end of your hair, and it will prevent any further unnatural growth. Otherwise your hair will grow until your life's natural allotment is used up. After that you will be bald."

Ranma's eyes went wide as saucers, as he pictured himself wearing a bandanna like his old man. "Ack! Don't just stand there! Tie it around my hair, fast!"

Akane was no longer laughing. She too was picturing them walking around with no hair on his head. Furthermore, if his original form lost all of his hair, would he have any when his curse made him female? She pictured her body with no hair and gave a mental shudder. Ranma of course was overhearing these thoughts, and gave a weak chuckle at her discomfiture.

Meanwhile the restaurant's owner had gathered the hair closest to Ranma's head and pulled it back tightly, then used the dragon's whisker to tie it off at a length of around thirty centimeters. Grabbing a knife, he quickly hacked off the hair below this tie. With a degree of contrition in his voice, he said, "For stopping the thief, and because I was not quick enough to warn you, I will let you keep the dragon's whisker to protect your hair. However, be warned. If any man who is bald should learn of its secret, great trouble will befall you."

Ranma snorted. "Yeah, right. So whatever I do, I don't tell pop about it."

Ranma filled a canteen with some of the leftover hot water, then said good-bye to the owner. As he made his way back down the trail, Akane was trying to be sympathetic. ‹I'm sorry about your hair, Ranma. Of course, since your father's bald, you'll probably go bald yourself some day anyway.›

‹Did you intend that to be comforting?› Ranma wanted to know, annoyance clear in his tone. ‹'Cause if so, you missed the mark.›

Genma used the hot water to change back to a man, not questioning the length of time his son took, nor even noticing how the boy's hair was tied differently. The two of them continued on until near dark, then made camp where a landslide had carved a scoop out of the mountainside, and a small thread of water was trickling down.

It was fully dark by the time they finished dinner, and the two of them arranged their sleeping bags on either side of their small fire. Before Ranma could climb into his bag, Akane decided that she had put off a certain lecture long enough.

‹Ranma,› she started. ‹I know you don't like being female, but would you mind changing for tonight? There are some things I ought to tell you about, that I'm not sure you ever learned. It'll be easier for me if you're in a girl's body. Although the fact that it's also my body will probably make it a bit harder. Even so ...›

The boy sighed. ‹Do we have to do this tonight?›

Akane's response was firm. ‹Have to? No. But we ought to soon. It's not very late yet tonight, nobody's attacking you, it's pretty peaceful. Do you want to count on having as good an opportunity tomorrow, or the next day?›

Ranma had to admit that she made a good point. With a barely audible grumble he made his way over to the trickle of water, and stuck his head under it. After several seconds the curse triggered, and he walked back to his sleeping bag as a female. He decided to take the opportunity to pull the dragon's whisker off for a minute, and retie his hair into a tighter pigtail. Once this was done and the whisker tied at the end again, Ranma pulled off his shirt and pants, and climbed into his sleeping bag. Finally, he gave Akane his full attention.

‹So first of all ...›

The next morning, Ranma was awake before his father, and he lay quietly, staring at the sky as the day gradually dawned. He was still female, and he now knew a good deal more about what that meant than he had yesterday. He tried to remember a more embarrassing experience than the, er, hands on tutoring session which Akane had given him last night, but failed utterly.

Akane had lost her temper with him more than once during the talk because of his ignorance, not to mention stumbling to a halt due to her own nervousness several times. However, all things considered, he was amazed at how patient she had been with him. She had quickly passed on for those things it turned out he already knew, filled in the gaps of what he didn't know, and corrected a large number of misconceptions he had managed to accumulate.

For her part, Akane had been just as embarrassed as Ranma. It had been especially bad because it was her own body that she was explaining to the boy, and more than once she might have given up if it weren't for the fact that she was going to have to live in that body with him. One thing that she had learned from the experience was that Ranma certainly wasn't a pervert. In the first place, there had been so many gaps in his knowledge that it had been a little difficult for him to have truly perverted thoughts. In the second place, it had taken considerable coaxing to talk him into touching the parts which differed from his male body so that he could learn about them.

There was a touch of regret in Akane's voice as she told him, ‹You know, Ranma, I almost wish that we could have met while I was still alive.›

‹What do you mean, Akane?›

Akane struggled with the words, even now finding it a little difficult to admit. ‹It's just ... you're the first boy my age I've ever met who wasn't a pervert.›

‹Wasn't that you calling me a pervert the other day?›

He felt her stick out a mental tongue at him. ‹That was before last night. It became pretty obvious while we were, um, talking, that you don't have a clue how to be a pervert.› The regret reentered her voice. ‹It might've been nice to have been friends. Maybe even ... well, too late now.›

Ranma considered her words. ‹Well, it doesn't seem like you're going to be disappearing anytime soon. I suppose we could still be friends, in a 'we'll never meet in person' sort of way. At least, I hope we can be friends. Could get kind of rough sharing my head with someone who isn't friendly.›

He heard Akane sigh, then give a little laugh. She felt his concern, and told him, ‹Don't worry about it, Ranma. And yes, I hope we can be friends too. Like you said, it's beginning to look like we're going to be together for a long time.›

Ranma was determined to spar with his old man as a male this morning, so he crawled out of his sleeping bag and fetched some water to heat. As soon as the water was hot enough, he poured it over his own head and transformed back to his original body. Then he walked around the fire and poured what was left over his father's head, gleefully taking revenge for all too many rude awakenings. Instead of leaping gracefully out of his own sleeping bag, the spluttering and indignant man got tangled up in it. It took him a couple of minutes to extricate himself, with Ranma standing off to the side and laughing the entire time.

This time they managed to stay both human and male through to the end of their morning workout, probably because there were no significant bodies of water, or even puddles, into which they could fall. While Ranma was fixing their breakfast, and doing his best to ignore Akane's suggestions for how to "improve" it, he decided to ask his father a question which had been puzzling him.

"Hey, old man! How were you thinking of getting us back to Japan anyway?"

Genma gave his son a quizzical look. "The same way we got here, of course."

Ranma sighed, reminding himself that his father was no mental giant. "You mean walk to the coast and then swim back to Japan?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," the older man said with only half of his attention, the other half being given to anticipation of the meal his son was preparing. A trickle of saliva slid down his chin as he watched.

Ranma shook his head, deciding to be blunt. "So pop, just how good a swimmer is a panda bear, anyway?" He couldn't keep a smile off of his face as his father suddenly looked like someone had struck the man between his eyes with a large, blunt object. "I ain't all that sure about my own cursed form, either. It's pretty strong, but I haven't used it enough to know if it's got the endurance for that kind of swim. Unless you've figured out a way for us not to transform once we dive into the cold ocean?"

‹Uh, Ranma?› Akane spoke up tentatively. ‹I, uh, don't know how to swim.›

The boy smiled. ‹That's okay, Akane. I know how to, and I'm the one controlling our movements. I'm sure I can swim in that form, but I don't want to get halfway to Japan and then discover I don't have the strength to get any further.›

He felt Akane shudder deep inside of himself. There was a good deal of nervousness in her voice as she responded, ‹We definitely don't want to risk that. The idea of drowning ... well, you'll probably find out one of these days, that's another nightmare I sometimes have.›

As Ranma removed the food from above the flames to serve himself and his father, Genma finally started to recover from his daze. The man said, "I'll have to think about that, boy. It would be good training for you to make the swim in your cursed form, but as you suggest, a panda bear might not be able to make it. I'll consider alternatives before we reach the coast. Just don't expect me to buy you passage across on a ship."

"Don't worry, pop," Ranma replied with a snort. "I'd never have been stupid enough to expect that of you."

By late morning, the pair were finally coming down out of the mountains. Another passing rain shower had transformed them into panda and girl again, and Ranma was grumbling about how the weather patterns seemed to be targeting them. They stopped briefly for lunch before continuing on their way. Around midafternoon they came over the crest of another hill to find a small town in front of them, nestled beside a small river which came down out of the same hills as themselves. The river emerged several kilometers off to the south, before bending toward the town. Taking in the view from the top of the hill, Ranma estimated the population at about four thousand souls, give or take.

In addition to the houses and a couple of factories along the river, Akane noticed that there were some stores in the town. ‹Ranma, there are stores down there. We can probably pick up some things, if you have any money. A bra for one thing.›

‹I don't wanna wear no bra!› he told her vigorously, breasts heaving with the anger of his response.

Akane sighed, wishing she could rub her face with her hands again. ‹Ranma, please listen. I'm ... uncomfortable ... walking around so much without a bra on. It isn't so bad when the only other person around is your father, especially if he's a panda bear at the time. But the closer we get to the coast, the more we're going to be around other people. Do you want guys to be leering at your chest?›

‹I'll get some hot water in town and change back,› he told her. ‹Then there won't be anything to stare at.›

‹And what about tomorrow?› she asked reasonably. ‹If it rains on you again, or you get splashed by some puddle, or someone spills something on you? What about the next day, and the day after that? Hot water isn't always going to be conveniently available to change back. I'm only suggesting that you have a bra available to wear for those times when you're going to be stuck as a girl for a while.›

They had started down the hill during this internal conversation, and would soon need to decide whether to skirt around the town or proceed through it. Ranma gave no further answer to Akane at first. He sure as hell didn't want other guys looking at him like that. He had to admit though, that whether he liked it or not, they probably were going to stare at him. Also, Akane probably had a point that it was going to be worse if he didn't wear a bra at those times. On the other hand, wearing a bra would amount to a major admission that he really was a girl when he changed, and not just a guy whose body happened to temporarily look a little funny. He wanted to scream that he really was a guy, and have that somehow magically prevent him from ever needing to consider his curse again.

Ranma waited until his father started to turn aside to go around the town, and then called for the panda to wait. In his presently female form, he squatted down and thought hard for a few minutes, realizing that he did need to make a decision here. Mercifully, Akane kept silent and let him work it out for himself. It wasn't just the bra, he knew. There were other things he should pick up as well, things which they had discussed during that highly embarrassing nighttime lecture.

‹Okay, dammit,› he berated himself, ‹whether I like it or not, and I don't, eventually I'm going to have to do this. If I avoid it right now, then all I'm really doing is delaying that moment. So why am I insisting on avoiding it?›

The panda was looking at him quizzically, and holding up a sign asking what the delay was. Ranma ignored him, and looked inward for the answer. ‹I guess ... it's just that I feel so humiliated to be a girl, when I know I'm a guy. It ... scares me. Crap. It does, it scares me. I worry that I might decide I like it, or that I might start looking at guys that way. It makes me sick to think of them looking at me like that.›

Akane offered, ‹From where I'm sitting, I don't think you need to worry very much. I don't see any chance you'll start acting like a girl. If anything, you're too damn macho.›

Ranma groaned softly. ‹Thanks, I think. I suppose ... I shouldn't put this off. I should face it now. It'll probably just get harder the longer I wait.›

He turned to his father and said, "Pop? I think I ought to go into town and pick up a couple of things. Besides, maybe we can find some hot water and change back."

The bear held up his sign, which now read, "What sort of things? We don't have much money."

Ranma grinned at him evilly. "Female things, pop. And before you object, just remember that it's your fault that I'm a girl half the time now."

The panda's sign now read, "Nonsense boy. You don't need such things."

Ranma undid his shirt and pulled it open, exposing his breasts, causing Akane to snarl. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not a boy right now. I'm a girl. And some damn rainstorm or something is gonna make me a girl again tomorrow, and probably every day after that. Not to mention that we need to cross an ocean of cold water. Now either give me some money and follow me into that town peacefully, or I'll run into it screaming about a rabid panda bear that's chasing me."

His father growled at him, but finally shrugged off his pack and set it on the ground in front of Ranma. The teenager rummaged around in it and located some of the money, taking a small quantity which he thought would be sufficient. The bear lifted the pack again, and they turned their steps in the direction of a nearby path which led toward the road into town. Genma hung behind and followed his son, trying to act the part of a trained animal, hoping that he looked relatively harmless.

Quite a few people stared at them as they walked down the road. Ranma tried to ignore them, since he realized that it was a very unusual sight to see a panda bear strolling upright behind a teenage girl, not to mention that it was wearing a large pack. They quickly made their way to the street where the stores were located, and stopped in front of one which sold clothing. Ranma turned to his father and said, "Wait out here pop," then opened the door and went in.

The store was small, with only a single employee, an elderly man standing behind a counter with a cash register. Ranma made his way over to where the women's underwear was located, then stood looking a little helpless. ‹What next?› he asked his passenger nervously.

Akane tried to keep her voice gentle, not wanting to spook him. ‹Hmm. Shoot! They don't seem to have any sports bras, which would have been my first choice for you. Okay, we'll stick with something simple and basic, I think. You don't want anything in an interesting color, or lacy, or like that. Just plain white cotton. Look over to your left a bit.›

‹These?› he asked, pointing.

‹Yes. The size you want is 85B. Notice the tags along the side straps? The size should be printed there.›

Ranma started rummaging through the bras, feeling highly embarrassed just to be touching these garments. He pointed out a 90B, then an 85A. Akane assured him that those would not be acceptable substitutes, and she took a minute to explain to him what the size designation meant. He finally found one the right size, and tried scrunching it up in his hand, as if trying to hide it from sight.

‹I only need to get one, right?› he practically begged her.

Akane was starting to get a little tired of trying to sound sympathetic, but managed to keep it up a little longer. ‹Yes, one should do for now. We can get more later if it looks like you need to wear this one more than expected.›

Ranma breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and turned toward the counter behind which the man was standing who had been watching him since he came in. Before he could take a step, however, Akane said, ‹Now you need to pick up some panties.›

Ranma paled. ‹You didn't say anything about that earlier! Why?›

Akane tried not to snicker. ‹Do you remember what I told you that night about periods?›

He didn't really want to remember, and didn't see any immediate connection, but answered, ‹Yes ...?›

This time Akane sounded a little embarrassed. ‹Well, I ... uh ... was due for mine ... in less than a week, back on the day you got cursed. And it's been a few days since then. Given that your cursed form seems identical to my body ...› She left the sentence hanging.

Now Ranma sounded horrified. ‹You mean I might go through that in just a couple of days? You said it only happened once a month! I thought I had more time!›

Akane thought to herself that he sounded rather like a six year old who was told that he was going to the doctor for a check-up, only to discover when he got there that he was going to get a vaccination and the doctor had just pulled out a huge needle. She tried to remind herself that it was a rather shocking situation for a teenage boy to find himself in.

This time she tried a slightly more stern tone. ‹First of all, Ranma, I don't know that it will happen that soon. It may be that the passage of time for that only counts when you're in your cursed form. But it would be best to be prepared, don't you think?›

He hung his head low, earning a curious glance from the store's employee. ‹Oh man ... why me? Okay, but why do I need to have girl's panties?›

She continued sternly. ‹I explained about the pads to you, Ranma. They won't work very well with boxers. Now be a man and pick up a package over there, the plain white ones, no, over to your right, those are the ones. Yes, those, good. That one you picked up is even the right size.›

‹There are three pairs in this package,› he reported a little dubiously.

‹If you need them, you'll need to change them a little more often than you'll need to change a bra. Now come on, go and buy them, and then let's find a drugstore or something similar.›

Blushing furiously, Ranma made his way to the counter and purchased the undergarments. He then quickly stuffed them out of sight deep down in his pack. Opening the door, he found his pop outside on his back, all four paws in the air, tossing a ball into the air and catching it repeatedly. Several children were standing around watching.

"What gives, pop?" he asked.

The bear tossed the ball to one of the children, then pulled out his sign. He wrote, "This body likes to play like that."

Ranma shrugged. "Okay, whatever. I got another stop to make." He looked around, then spotted a likely store a few doors further down. "Be back out in a few minutes. Try not to get into too much trouble, okay?"

They went into the next store, and Akane directed him to the feminine hygiene products. This time he didn't even try to argue, figuring it would only lead to greater embarrassment. He picked up what Akane told him to pick up, paid for it, secreted it as far down toward the bottom of his pack as possible without taking everything out, and then tried hard to forget it was there.

When he came out of the store, Ranma saw the panda sitting with its back to a wall and its eyes closed. "Yo, pop!" he called. When this got no response, he walked up and kicked the bear, causing it to snort and then turn angry eyes on him. "Come on, pop. There's a little café over there. I can order some tea and get some hot water." His father shambled to his feet and shuffled after.

The café owner raised an eyebrow at the tame bear who sat down at the table with the teenage girl, but for some reason made no comment. Ranma asked for two teas and some hot water, and the man disappeared through a doorway. The pair took a look around, noticing that they were the only customers at the moment.

The serenity of the moment was shattered an instant later as a wall bulged inward and then exploded. Both of them stared in shock at the purple-haired Chinese girl standing revealed in the hole, and also at the huge mace she was carrying. She pointed at Ranma and announced, "You I kill!"

Ranma gave a high pitched squeak, and sort of stood in his chair causing it to fall over backwards in such a way that he landed standing on the floor. He managed this an instant before the mace splintered the table at which he had been sitting. His father had also succeeded in rolling out of the way just in time, but their attacker paid little heed to the bear.

"Can't we discuss this, Shampoo?" Ranma begged. The girl he addressed only growled at him, then rushed forward to attack again. He dodged the blow, then grabbed his pack and ducked through the hole she had made. He ran down a street, then around a corner into a narrow lane. With a prodigious display of skill, he leapt against the wall on one side, then across the lane to the wall on the other side, and then finally onto the roof on the first side.

He ducked down quickly, then peeked out just in time to see Shampoo run by underneath. After waiting several minutes and hoping that the coast was clear, he jumped down to the ground and ran back to the café as fast as he could. The panda bear was standing outside the hole in the wall, sipping at a cup of tea. Ranma grabbed his father's paw, then started running down a road in a direction opposite the one Shampoo was last traveling and at a right angle to their original path through the town.

This quickly brought them to the river, and Ranma did not even hesitate. He jumped in, pulling the panda after him, and the two of them swam to the other side. They quickly disappeared into some trees standing on that side, and made their way up and over a hill. They paused for a moment to catch their breath, then hurried on.

"Dammit! I thought we'd lost her!" Ranma complained to no one in particular.

His father's only answer was a "Growf!"

‹She must be pretty good at tracking, Ranma,› Akane commented. ‹Somebody will probably be able to tell her which direction we took out of town. After that ... well, even I can see the footprints and pawprints, and the damage to the undergrowth that we're leaving behind.›

Ranma agreed with her. ‹Yeah, you're right. We're not going to lose her like this. Still, for the moment I think we'd better concentrate on putting some distance between us. Then we need to start looking for a road or stream or something like that, where we won't leave a trail, and where there's nobody around to see us and tell her which way we went.›

‹Sounds like you've done this before,› Akane suggested.

Ranma shrugged. ‹Travel with my old man for awhile, and eventually you're gonna find yourself running from somebody. So yeah, we've been on the run a time or two in the past. Not something I'm proud of, y'understand? There are times when I wish I really could beat some sense into him, but beating on him never seems to help.›

Whether by luck or skill, they saw no more of Shampoo for the rest of that day. After night fell and they made camp, Ranma told Akane more stories of his past, such as one from when he was twelve.

‹So pop had stolen this necklace from a statue and hidden it in my pack. Well, that night this spirit, or something, appeared and said it would punish me. All of a sudden I was floating about ten centimeters above the ground. It said the punishment would be removed when I returned what I had stolen, then it disappeared.›

‹You're joking, right? I mean, you were floating?›

‹Yep. Couldn't touch the ground. Would you believe at first my pop tried to figure out some way he wouldn't have to return the thing? Of course, once you get to know my pop, it ain't that hard to believe.›

‹I'm beginning to see why you weren't more upset to suddenly have some strange voice talking to you in your head.›

‹Heh. Not the strangest thing that's happened to me, like I said. So we made kind of a bizarre sight, him walking back to the temple towing a rope tied around my waist, while I slowly rotated around my center of balance. No way to stop myself from spinning, y'see.›

Akane was snickering over the image he described. ‹Any particular reaction when you got back to the temple?›

‹The priest there gave pop a real knowing look when he walked up, and held out his hand. The moment the necklace was in the priest's hand, I suddenly dropped back to the ground. Right on the backs of pop's legs, 'cause he was kneeling right then.›

Akane laughed, then declared, ‹From what I've seen, he hasn't really learned his lesson, though.›

Ranma's response was a little sad. ‹No, I'm afraid he hasn't.›

Shampoo proved to be a very skilled tracker indeed. She caught up to them again the next day, as they were hiking down a farm lane. As soon as they caught sight of one another it turned into a running chase. Shampoo grabbed a pitchfork from a farmer who stood aside watching them run past, and threw it. Ranma was nearly knocked to his knees when it thudded home into his pack.

That chase continued for an exhausting three hours before a stroke of luck occurred. They came around a thick stand of trees to see a wagon parked by the side of the road, with a steaming pot of tea on the seat. There was a man, presumably the driver, standing behind some bushes answering a call of nature. Without pausing for thought, the panda grabbed the pot and dumped the hot tea over himself and his son.

When Shampoo ran up a moment later she stared at the pair suspiciously, as well as the man returning to the wagon. When she asked, in both Chinese and broken Japanese, if they had seen a panda and a girl, the Chinese man just shook his head, while the two Japanese men pointed into the trees. She nodded her thanks and tore off into the trees to continue the hunt for her quarry.

The day after, Ranma and his father were passing through a large city, once again in their cursed forms, when by a stroke of luck they spotted Shampoo before she spotted them. The city offered numerous hiding places, and they hid behind a vendor's goods in a market while they watched the girl walk by trying to spot them. They waited there for quite a while after Shampoo passed, and then left the city in a different direction.

It was a couple of days later, and the pair were traveling down yet another farm lane. The time was approximately mid-morning, and so far there had been no rain or accidents with water, so both men were still human and male. Genma happened to have strolled ahead, perhaps ten meters in front of Ranma.

Ranma ignored his father while he and Akane were thoroughly engaged in an intense, internal conversation concerning martial arts training. The two had been doing a great deal of talking over the last several days, there being little else that Akane could do, and a fast friendship was developing between them. Akane still hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that it was possible to be friends with a boy.

While they walked, there was a slight rustle in the grass at the side of the lane, and Ranma looked over quickly. A rabbit or some other small animal would be a welcome addition to their diet, and he slid closer as stealthily as he could. Then a demon's face emerged from the tall grass.

Ranma backpedaled furiously, and Akane felt an intense wave of terror washing over him. Nor was she completely immune to it, since she was sharing his body and everything it felt, and the amount of adrenaline pouring into his bloodstream was astonishing. She looked again at the creature which had emerged at the side of the road, wishing she could blink away the superposition of images she saw.

On the one hand, she was seeing a perfectly ordinary cat, just past kittenhood. It was black, with white paws and a white nose, and its eyes were a greenish-yellow. On the other hand, its eyes were glowing red, its mouth was filled with fangs, and its paws were armed with curving scimitars. The latter image was quite frightening, particularly the malevolent intelligence lurking behind the glowing eyes.

‹What is that thing?› Akane asked, trying to control her own fear. ‹I thought at first it was just a cat. Is it some kind of demon?›

Ranma broke, then turned and ran off the opposite side of the road into a field. He finally tripped over a scarecrow and fell on his face, then just lay there in the dirt trying to get his breathing back under control. It finally occurred to him to answer Akane.

‹It was a ... c-cat. A nasty, evil c-cat. They want to b-bite, to claw. Can't get away. ...›

‹What's going on, Ranma?› Akane wanted to know. ‹Are you saying that was just an ordinary cat?›

The boy shuddered, still not getting up or even looking up. He started pulling together the tattered shreds of his normally excessive self-confidence. He didn't want to answer, he felt ashamed of the way he always reacted. Still, he supposed that she ought to know, since she was stuck in here with him.

‹I'm scared of cats,› he started to tell her.

‹No kidding?› she responded primly.

‹Do you want to hear this or not?› he said rather hotly. She didn't answer that, but the quiet felt just a tad apologetic, and he went on. ‹My pop tried to train me once in a supposedly unbeatable martial arts technique, called the neko-ken. He didn't bother to finish reading where it said that only an idiot would make the attempt. The training consisted of tying me up, wrapping me in fish sausage, then throwing me into a pit of starving cats. So that's what he did, for three days in a row.›

‹That sounds pretty ... nasty,› she replied after a moment. ‹But wouldn't something like that have left scars?›

‹You mean aside from my fear of cats?› he asked with bitter humor. ‹Yeah, I have some if you know where to look, but most of them have faded since then.›

‹How long ago was this?› she inquired, startled.

Ranma thought for a moment. ‹About six years,› he finally told her.

‹Six ...! You'd have only been ten years old!› Akane's voice was filled with outrage.

Ranma rolled over onto his back and shrugged. ‹That's right. 'A martial artist's life is fraught with peril,' is what my pop would say.›

‹That's ... that's ... oooh ... I wish I wasn't trapped in here. I want to beat the stuffing out of him! How could he do that to a child that young?!›

Ranma chuckled weakly. ‹Not a question I've ever been able to answer, myself. I suppose I should warn you about the rest.›

‹You mean there's more?!› Her voice sounded if possible even more shocked.

‹Yeah,› he replied in a monotone that hinted he was controlling his emotions. ‹You see, I really did learn the technique, only it isn't quite what pop was expecting. This time I was okay 'cause I was able to get away. When I can't get away, I forget that I'm human and think I'm a cat. When that happens, I really am pretty dangerous. When it's happened before, I recovered after I went to sleep and woke up again.›

After a minute Akane said, ‹That's just unbelievable!›

Ranma scowled. ‹You think I'm lying to you?›

He felt her mental wince. ‹No, no, that's not what I meant. I was just expressing disbelief, you know, shock, that anyone could do that to his own son. I just ... can't understand someone doing that.›

‹Yeah, I know,› Ranma said wearily.

He slowly climbed to his feet, and saw Genma making his way through the field in his son's direction. As he got closer he called out, "Well? Hurry up boy. We don't want that Chinese girl to catch up to us again, do we?" The older man then turned around and started hiking off again, confident that his son would follow. After a rebellious twinge, Ranma did so.

Shampoo did catch up to them a couple of more times before they reached the coast, but each time they managed to make good their escape. As the two men traveled further east, they came across more roads, towns and cities. This provided them with more opportunities to throw Shampoo off of their trail, particularly with a judicious application of hot water.

Ranma had found himself wearing his new bra on more than one occasion. The first such occasion came when they passed through a small village where some farm workers ogled him quite openly, and a couple even tried to grope his female body. He left them unconscious, and with the expectation of considerable pain when they awoke, but he had decided that until he could get a chance to heat some water that perhaps it would be best to give in. This had not stopped him from grumbling considerably, particularly as Akane talked him through adjusting the straps for a better fit.

One morning after their sparring session, when Ranma was bathing in the river beside which they had set up camp, he came to a realization. ‹Hey, Akane. I just noticed. The last few times I bathed, you haven't warned me not to peek. It ain't bothering you anymore?›

He heard Akane sigh. ‹I guess I've pretty much accepted that we're going to be this way from now on. It's not really my body anymore. Your old body and my body ... they're both yours now. Or yours and mine both, since we're stuck in them together. Sharing your first experience of a period also made me reevaluate some of my feelings. After a while it started seeming stupid to keep complaining about you looking at the body you need to wash and otherwise take care of.›

‹Oh.› He thought about that. ‹I suppose you're right. I still ain't too happy to think of your body as mine. To me, my body is my male one, and it's gonna be a long time, if ever, before I can think of your girl's body as mine too. It'd feel a bit like a kind of surrender. All the same, I'm glad if you don't mind so much anymore. It's a lot easier to do things if I don't have to worry about trying not to look at myself.›

He heard Akane murmur an agreement, although she didn't sound so cheerful about it. ‹I've been going through the same thing, you know,› she told him. ‹You always pour hot water on yourself after you bathe, before you get dressed, which has treated me to a number of looks at your male body. Not to mention, uh, 'calls of nature.' Whether I like it or not, I'm starting to get used to looking down and seeing 'that.'›

Ranma smirked, and almost teased her about her word choice, but decided he didn't want to start an argument. Their arguments always left him with a headache, which was an incentive to avoid them. Instead, he called out across the screening bushes, "Hey pop! How much further y'think we are from the coast?"

After a moment's thoughtful silence, Genma replied, "About a day, I think. Then there's the question of whether we need to move up or down the coast. I wanted to arrive in Shanghai, but avoiding Shampoo has us off course a bit, and I'm not sure at the moment whether we're too far north or south. If we were going to swim, it wouldn't matter as much. Since we're not planning to swim, we're going to need some sort of boat which is going to Japan."

Ranma finished dressing and joined his father. Genma had cooked breakfast that morning, and both Ranma and Akane looked unhappily at the mess in front of him. With grim determination, he started to eat.

Three days later the two men were stowed away aboard a freighter headed to Japan, and the ship was finally putting out to sea. Shampoo had caught up with them again in Shanghai and Ranma had been forced to fight to hold her off while the panda made its escape with their packs for the ship they had selected. Ranma had won the fight when he kicked the Chinese girl into an open sewer, and her howled imprecations were the last sound he had heard of her. Unfortunately, this occurrence meant that they had snuck aboard in their cursed forms, and they had no access to water other than that which they had brought with them, nor any means to heat that water.

As they got out onto the high sea, Ranma quickly discovered that swimming in the ocean was quite different from the rocking motion of being aboard a boat out on the ocean. To his immense chagrin he found himself feeling seasick at first, and his only consolation was that Akane was experiencing it with him. Actually, that wasn't any consolation, since her temper got pretty nasty. Things weren't helped by the panda writing malicious comments about food for its own amusement, until Ranma threatened to take the sign away and smash it.

After several hours Ranma finally started to find his sea legs, and the feeling of nausea diminished. Since this also meant that Akane started feeling better, the two were able to converse civilly again. They started trying to make plans for what they would do on their arrival in Nerima.

The biggest question they discussed was whether or not to inform the Tendo's that Akane's spirit was now living inside of Ranma and that he could speak to her. It hadn't taken them long to decide that they weren't going to be able to hide the curse itself, so it came down to whether they should try to pass off the similarity of appearance as a coincidence, or reveal its connection to Akane's presence. Ranma tried to argue that her family should know that their daughter and sister wasn't completely lost to them, and that it was possible to talk to her with himself playing the role of translator.

However, Akane didn't accept this. She admitted that the question of convincing her family that she really was there was not insurmountable. Ranma could describe for them any number of things that no one other than Akane should be able to know, which ought in sum to be fairly convincing. The problem was more that she didn't want their pity, and didn't want to see their faces as they thought about her being present while not being fully there. She decided that it would hurt too much to be able to talk to them in a sense, while not being able to truly be with them.

Eventually Akane convinced Ranma that, in her opinion, it would be best if her family continued to think of her as dead. They would visit Nerima for a short time, as his father intended, then move on. It would be too cruel, to both her family and herself, to bring her back into their lives, but only in this partial sense where they could never fully have her again, and where she was destined to leave again when Ranma did.

The night that she made this decision final, a few hours before they were due to dock in Japan, Ranma listened to Akane crying inside of his head. He could think of no words of comfort to say to the young woman whose spirit now accompanied him everywhere.

Author's note:

Stay tuned for Chapter 4, "Together in Japan," when we will finally learn what happened to Akane.

I want to thank PPMKatie for naming Togetherness her choice for March Fanfic of the Month on her "Barry's Island" Live Spaces page.