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 4. Together in Japan
The panda bear and teenaged girl slipped over the side of the ship and snuck ashore under cover of darkness, a few hours before dawn. It didn't take long to find a public bathhouse which was open all night, and for a few yen a worker inside was convinced to bring a pail of hot water out to them. He watched in amazement as the young woman poured the water over both the bear and herself, and two men took their places. The younger one handed back the pail with a smile, and they headed off, leaving the employee behind still trying to lift his chin off of the pavement.
Akane had stressed the importance of arriving at her house with Ranma in his male form. At her suggestion, he went into a store and purchased a thermos, in which water could be kept hot for a period of time. Ranma was kicking himself for not having thought of something of the sort back in China, when passing through one of the towns which was big enough that they could have found something similar.
He came out of the store in time to see Genma slipping out of the local post office, looking shifty. After some initial hemming and hawing, the older man finally admitted to sending a postcard to his old friend to let him know that they were on their way, and could be expected some time tomorrow. Ranma shrugged, knowing there was something more to it than that but unwilling to pursue it at the moment. He was more concerned with Akane. She was silent but clearly worried, realizing how close she was to seeing her family again, and yet how far they would remain apart.
Later that morning, the two of them were crouched and clinging on the roof of a train, headed in the direction of Tokyo. Genma had never considered purchasing tickets and Ranma, accustomed to his father's ways, hadn't even bothered to remark on it. A little later still, after a brief cloudburst, a panda and a girl crouched on top of the train instead.
They camped overnight in a park in central Tokyo, choosing a discrete location where they hoped not to be spotted. In the morning Ranma prepared their breakfast, and filled the thermos with hot water. Genma had decided that they would not spar that morning, and that they would hike across the city to Nerima instead of trying to use the public transportation any further. They reached Nerima late in the morning, and Genma called a halt so that they might prepare their lunch.
When they were done and their lunch gear cleared away, Genma signaled for his son to remain seated, and then turned to face him squarely. He pushed his glasses up with his forefinger, and gave Ranma his most serious expression. Naturally, this started alarm bells ringing inside the boy.
Genma's first words did nothing to calm Ranma's worry, either. "Now, boy, I need to tell you a couple of things about our visit to Soun Tendo."
Ranma replied warily, "What are you up to, old man?"
His father ignored the question. "In the first place, we're not going there for a short visit. We won't be there for you to study a new martial arts technique. We will be staying there permanently."
‹What!› Akane shouted inside the boy's head.
Ranma wiggled a finger inside of his ear, and implored her silently not to shout so loud. Of his father, he asked, "Exactly why will we be staying there permanently, pop?"
"Tendo-san has three daughters, close to you in age. A long time ago, before you were even born in fact, he and I made a pact. The two branches of Anything Goes Martial Arts will be united in your generation, when you marry one of his daughters and take over his dojo. We are going there so that you can meet your fiancée."
‹What!› Akane shouted even louder than before.
"Are you crazy, pop!" Ranma was shouting now too. "What makes you think that you can pick out a fiancée for me? I've never even met them! You've gone completely out of your mind, you know that?"
‹I thought that I was daddy's heir,› Akane was wailing. ‹And all along, you were supposed to come in and take over?›
‹Listen, I didn't know nothing about it,› Ranma tried to tell her.
Genma continued speaking. "You'll do as you're told, you ungrateful boy. This is a matter of honor, understand? It's your duty to marry one of these girls and take over the dojo."
"Like hell I will!" Ranma jumped up, grabbed his pack, and ran off. His father leapt quickly to his feet and gave chase.
‹So you were supposed to come here and get engaged to me, huh?› Akane was snarling. ‹I was right all along, you are just like all of the other boys. Just another pervert like all of them.›
‹I said I didn't know nothing about it!› Ranma snarled right back. ‹For that matter, what about you? Are you gonna try to tell me that your father never mentioned this before?›
‹He didn't!› Akane protested. ‹No one's every told me about any of this!›
‹Well no one's ever told me, either, so what the hell are you yelling at me for?› His mental shout died down to grumbling as he concentrated on running, aware that he hadn't managed to lose his father yet.
‹You swear you never knew?› Akane demanded.
Ranma snapped back, ‹Dammit! Yeah, I swear. I didn't know. Now do you have any bright ideas? Because pop is managing to keep up with me. You know this town, don't you? Any thoughts on how to lose him?›
None of them had noticed the increasing darkness as they ran. At that moment there was a huge crack of thunder and the skies opened up. The girl continued to run, splashing through the puddles, with a panda bear hot on her heels. Fifteen minutes passed, and then the rain stopped, but the chase continued.
The panda had closed the distance considerably, and attempted a diving tackle. Ranma managed to leap above the grasping paws, shouting, "Yo! Cut that out!" Passersby stopped to stare at the strange pair. Ranma managed to land a solid kick, sending the panda skidding down the street on its back, a spray of water shooting out to either side.
Genma stood back up, and dragged a paw across his mouth. He turned his head to the side, and spat ostentatiously, while the spectators gawked. He lifted his paws into a ready stance, then attacked.
Ranma defended, treating the watchers to the curious sight of a young woman holding her own against the massive bear. The girl grabbed a paw and fell backward with a heave, throwing the panda into the ground with a mighty crash, smashing a road sign in the process. He looked down with contempt and informed his father, "This whole thing sucks! Picking my fiancée for me, without even asking! I'm leaving."
He turned his back and picked up his pack, preparing to leave as he had said. Genma stood back up, contemplating the turned back. He hefted the sign which had fallen underneath himself, lifted it up and down a couple of times to get a sense of its balance, then whanged his female son heavily across the back of the head. The teenager dropped bonelessly.
Consciousness returned muzzily. They were lying on their stomach, bouncing around awkwardly. Their head hurt. Gradually they started to take notice of their surroundings. There was a mountain of fur underneath them.
"Hey pop! Lemme down, dammit!"
‹Ranma!› Akane screamed. ‹This is my street! We're almost to my house!›
"Aw, damn! Pop I need to get down and get into my pack! They can't see me like this!"
His father ignored him completely. Akane screamed again as her front gate came into view. Ranma grabbed desperately for his pack, a strap of it slung across the bear's other shoulder. On the second try, he manage to snag it. To the tune of Akane's mounting cries to hurry, he managed to pull open the top flap, and started rummaging inside. His hand found the thermos just as Akane announced that they were at the gate. Unscrewing wildly, he lifted and poured.
The water shifted both father and son back to their original forms just as they came through the gate. The sudden difference in mass and body size left Genma unbalanced, and they tumbled to the ground in a heap, Ranma on top. As he climbed off of his father, he gave the man a swift kick and complained, "Why wouldn't you listen to me, pop?"
Genma rolled over and climbed to his feet. "You sound like a girl. I wasn't about to give you a chance to run off again." He lifted both packs, so that the boy couldn't grab his own and flee. "Now let's go inside and meet your fiancée."
At that point a tall man wearing a dark brown gi, with long black hair and a mustache, came running out of the house. "Saotome, old friend," he shouted, clasping Genma in a bear hug. Looking to the side, he said, "And this must be your son, Ranma."
Ranma collected himself and bowed, saying, "It is good to meet you, Tendo-san." Inside of his head, Akane had only said the word "daddy" and had then started crying.
"As you can see, we're here to carry out our agreement, Tendo," Genma was saying.
A cloud passed across the other man's face. "Yes, well, there has been a slight complication. Nothing that will prevent the engagement," he hastened to assure his old friend. "But my family has recently experienced a grievous tragedy. So your son has fewer choices for whom he will marry."
"I ain't planning to marry anyone," Ranma answered, practically snarling.
Soun slapped Ranma on the back. "Nonsense, my boy. Now you just come inside and meet my daughters. I assure you that they are most eager to meet you."
Akane sniffled, but said, ‹He's lying about them being eager to meet you. At least a little. I can always tell when he's lying.›
The three men stepped inside, then walked down the hall to a family room. Kneeling at the side of a low table were two teenage girls, who bore a slight resemblance to the face Ranma saw in his reflection when he was in female form. At the end of the table was a photograph, showing that exact same familiar face. As he looked over the two girls, Akane gasped inside of his head, and it wasn't hard for Ranma to guess why.
One of the girls appeared to be a little older, with long brown hair tied by a ribbon and falling across the front of her right shoulder. Although her eyes were downcast, he could see how red they were, looking as if she had not been sleeping properly. She gave off a sense of fatigue, of someone who has been carrying a burden for too long.
But the real reason for Akane's gasp was the second girl. She also had brown hair, cut much shorter. She was wearing a formal black kimono, and the circles under her eyes were so dark they looked bruised. If the first girl gave off a sense of fatigue, this one seemed barely to be alive. Her eyes were also downcast, and she looked as though she had not slept a wink for weeks.
‹My God, Nabiki!› Akane sounded stunned. ‹I ... I expected everyone to be sad, but ... What happened to her?›
Soun ushered his two guests over to the table, and pushed them gently down. Ranma studied the photograph again, but said nothing right away. Kneeling himself, Soun announced, "Daughters, this is my old friend Genma Saotome, and his son Ranma. Saotome-san, Ranma-kun, these are my daughters Kasumi, age nineteen, and Nabiki, age seventeen. Ranma-kun, please pick the one you wish to marry."
"Father," the girl identified as Nabiki spoke in a whisper, and even so her voice sounded broken. "We all know that Akane was intended to be your heir. I therefore feel it is my duty to accept this engagement." She glanced up for a moment and tried to give the boy across from her a smile, but didn't even come close to making the expression convincing.
‹What's happened to her?› Akane asked inside Ranma's head, sounding ready to fight someone. ‹Did Kuno hurt her as well, somehow? I'll kill him if he did.›
‹Damn it, we've got too many questions, and I want some answers,› Ranma thought caustically. ‹I'm gonna go ahead and reveal the curse to 'em right now, and then get them to tell us what's been going on.›
Akane told him sharply, ‹Remember, you're not going to tell them that I'm really here!›
‹Stop worrying,› Ranma replied, sounding frustrated rather than soothing. After all, they'd discussed this often enough on the way here. ‹I'm just gonna show them I have a curse that makes me look like the girl in the photo. Then I'll ask them to tell me what happened to her. Besides, you know I need to deal with it soon, before I get splashed by accident.›
Akane still wasn't happy about showing her face to her family. Her sisters' obvious grief only cemented her conviction that she had died, and her foremost wish at the moment was to leave as soon as possible without causing them further pain. However, it looked like they couldn't get away immediately, and Akane knew that Ranma was right about the likelihood of some accident. Her family would be even more upset if they saw her suddenly without any preparation.
"Tendo-san," Ranma spoke up. "Before we discuss engagements that ain't gonna happen, could I ask who Akane is? I think that was the name she mentioned." He nodded toward Nabiki. "And I'd also like to know whose photograph that is over there." He pointed at the framed image.
Everyone looked at the photograph. The three members of the Tendo family all looked sad, while Genma suddenly started in recognition. He turned and gave his son a long, puzzled look, then opened his mouth. Ranma reached out and touched his father on the upper lip before the man could speak, saying forcefully, "Hold that thought, pop. I want to hear this first."
Soun started to cry, and told the boy sorrowfully, "As you may have guessed, that is a photograph of my youngest daughter, Akane. There was a terrible tragedy a couple of weeks ago. She ... she ..."
"She was very badly injured in a fight a couple of weeks ago," Kasumi filled in with her soft voice when her father appeared to be unable to continue. "I'm afraid that my little sister is lying in a coma in the hospital. The doctors say that, since she hasn't begun to recover yet, it's likely that she will never wake up."
‹I'm not dead?!› Akane's voice sounded like she was going to fall over in a faint, except that Ranma's body wasn't cooperating.
‹Sounds that way,› Ranma told her.
‹Yeah, but ... if I never wake up, does it really make any difference?›
‹Dunno,› he told her. ‹But while your body's alive, maybe there's a chance. We can worry about that later. First we need to show them the curse before pop pops off.›
Ranma cleared his throat. "The reason that my pop and I are feeling kind of shocked about that photo, is 'cause of something really strange that happened to us a couple of weeks ago. I guess that would make it just around when your Akane was injured. Could you bring me some water? Both cold water and hot water please?"
Everyone was now staring at him. After several long seconds, Kasumi rose to her feet and left the room. A couple of minutes later she returned with a pitcher and a kettle. She stumbled a little, but Ranma had been watching for the possibility of some accident, and leaped out of the way. Some of the water from the pitcher spilled over his father, transforming him instantly into a giant panda.
The Tendo's exploded away from the table.
Ranma tried to calm them. "That's still my pop. He's been cursed to take the body of a panda bear whenever he gets splashed by cold water. Pop, take out your sign and show them."
The bear gave his son a furious look, but pulled a sign out of nowhere and wrote, "It's really me, Tendo."
Soun looked on, ashen-faced. "How?" was all he managed to choke out.
"If you'll pour some of that hot water on him, he'll change back," Ranma suggested. Kasumi poured, and Genma hastily rearranged his gi around himself. Ranma went on with his explanation. "A couple of weeks ago, pop led me to this valley in western China called Jusenkyo. Lots of pools of water all over the valley floor, and every one of them cursed."
His father growled. "My guidebook said it was a training ground, boy."
Ranma answered acidly, "Yeah, and by now we both know how well you can read Chinese. Anyway, pop got knocked into one of the pools, and came out in a panda's body, with the curse you just saw. Anybody who falls into one of those pools comes out cursed like that. Cold water changes them to a different form; hot water changes 'em back."
He paused, took a deep breath, then went on. "The idiot panda knocked me into one of the pools." His father growled, while everyone else's eyes went wide. Kasumi's mouth opened.
‹She's gonna say 'oh my,'› Akane predicted.
"Oh my," Kasumi said. "What type of animal do you change into?"
"Well, that's the thing," Ranma replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously, and fiddling with his pigtail. "The guide said that I fell into the pool they call the 'spring of drowned girl.' Anyone who falls into it takes the form of a girl. And I do. Turn into a girl that is."
He paused again, noticing the skeptical looks despite having seen his father change into a panda a moment ago. "Thing is," Ranma plowed on, "I don't change into just any girl. I don't pretend to understand why, but when I change into a girl, I look just like the girl in that photograph."
"Impossible," Soun Tendo grated.
"I'm afraid it's true," Ranma told him seriously. He picked up the pitcher and lifted it over his head. "Sorry 'bout this," he said, and then poured.
While Soun and his oldest daughter Kasumi both turned white on seeing Akane's face in front of them, Nabiki's eyes rolled up and she fainted. Ranma was just in time to catch her before she hit the floor.
‹I suppose that went pretty well, all things considered,› Akane commented. Ranma couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not.
Several minutes later, Kasumi was reviving Nabiki while Ranma was saying to the Tendo father, "... I'm telling you, I don't know how, or why, the magic gave me that body. All I know is what I've told you." Genma was sitting back, eating something.
Nabiki took in Ranma's words as she returned to consciousness, her eyelids fluttering open. The magic he had encountered had given Akane's body to him, and there had to be some reason! She tried to jump up from where she was lying, although it turned into more of a controlled stumble. She ended up holding onto Ranma's arm, looking up into his once-more-male eyes in wonder.
"You're coming to the hospital with me," she told him, her voice cracking. "You're coming to the hospital with me right now!"
"Eh, what?" Ranma responded intelligently.
"Nabiki?" Her father's tone suggested that she should explain herself.
"Don't you understand?" Tears started running down her cheeks, and she had to pause to control a sob. "I'm responsible. It's my fault that my little sister is lying there in the hospital. That she won't wake up. Now some kind of magic has made you look like her. It's a sign. It has to be. You're meant to wake her up!"
‹Nabiki? How is it her fault?› Akane's voice was puzzled. ‹It was that idiot Kuno who hit me.›
Ranma shook his head. "I don't understand. What do you expect me to do? I don't know anything about how to wake someone up who's in a coma."
Nabiki started tugging on his arm, trying to get him to move toward the door. "Maybe you don't have to. It's magic, don't you see? You've got to come. Please?" She turned her swimming eyes up to look directly into his. "I'm begging you."
Ranma looked around helplessly. His father was no help, obviously dismissing her as nothing more than an emotionally overwrought girl. Kasumi looked at her father and gave a small nod. The older man sighed, then said, "Very well. We'll go over to the hospital. Are you coming with us, Saotome?"
Genma considered, then said, "Sounds a lot of foolishness to me, Tendo, and I've already walked across most of Tokyo this morning. Take the boy by all means, if you wish. I'll stay here and unpack. Is the guest room still in the same place?" At Soun's nod he hefted both packs and left the room.
Ranma soon found himself walking across Nerima in the company of the two girls and their father. Akane was extremely nervous about the idea of going to see her comatose body, and tried to mask it by keeping up a running commentary to Ranma, pointing out all of the sights as they passed.
It wasn't long before they entered the hospital, and made their way to the ward where Akane was being kept. As they trooped in, Ranma and Akane found themselves looking down on a familiar body, but one that seemed strangely lifeless. There was a massive bruise on her temple, with numerous stitches holding the skin together. The eyes were sunken, and the skin waxy. There was an IV tube running into her arm, and several monitoring devices hooked up to her. Her breathing was regular, and her heartbeat was strong, but she did not stir as the four gathered around her.
Ranma walked up to the bedside, and took a small but calloused hand in his own. The skin was warm, but the fingers did not grip back. Somehow it felt both strong and fragile at the same time.
Ranma sighed, and looked at Nabiki sympathetically. "I guess ... just being here isn't enough. I'm sorry, but I don't know what I should do."
Nabiki was chewing her lip, thinking hard. Her convictions had carried her this far, but now she felt unsure. Minutes passed, while everyone stood and stared down at the poor girl lying in the bed, unmoving.
The silence was broken when Nabiki suddenly said, "You kiss her."
Ranma's response was a panic-stricken recoil across the room. His attempted shout of "What?!" came out in a shocked squeak.
Nabiki looked at him and said firmly, "It's magic, right? In all of the stories about magic, where the princess is cursed to sleep, she wakes up when the prince she is destined to marry kisses her. Your father brought you here to marry one of us ..."
"But ..." Ranma started to protest.
"Shut up," she told him, showing for the first time a little of the personality her family expected from the middle of the three sisters. "Your father brought you here to marry one of us, to carry on the dojo. Akane is the same age as you, and she's the one who's always been most interested in martial arts. Hell, up until she was injured, since daddy had never told us about this arranged marriage, we assumed she was the one who would get the dojo one day. If this hadn't happened, the two of you would be engaged."
"But ..." he tried again.
"Shut up I said. She's the princess, our daddy's heir. You're the prince, the one who is supposed to marry her. Magic is clearly involved. You're going to kiss her, and you're going to wake my little sister up, or else. Do you understand?"
‹Akane?› Ranma asked plaintively.
Inside of him, Akane was struggling not to give in to anger. Part of her wanted to explode and yell at Ranma for getting into this situation where he was expected to kiss her, and a couple of weeks ago she was sure that she would have done precisely that. Now, however, she thought about the boy she had come to know so closely over the last couple of weeks. The boy she had come to think of as a friend. The boy who was so far from being a pervert that it had been a struggle to talk him into touching his own female body. She gritted mental teeth as it occurred to her that he was also the boy who, if she did wake up, everyone was going to think she was destined to marry. She let out a sigh. Living again would be worth it, right? Assuming it worked.
‹Ranma, it's okay,› she told him. ‹I can't say I'm happy about getting my first kiss like this, but I know you're not doing it for any perverted reason. And if it works, well, it would be nice to be back in my own body again. You probably wouldn't mind being alone in your own head again, either.›
Everyone else watched, waiting, as Ranma seemed to have a brief internal debate with himself. Then he gave a nod. Looking around at Akane's family, he realized he couldn't possibly bring himself to kiss her while they stared at him expectantly. To cover up, he said, "Uh, if this works, she's going to wake up to find a guy kissing her. That's probably bad enough, but it'll be worse if all of her family are standing around staring."
Kasumi nodded her agreement. She pushed her father and Nabiki a short distance away, then took hold of a curtain and pulled it around the bed, leaving Ranma alone with Akane's real body. The boy looked down at the girl very nervously.
Akane's voice came with a note of asperity. ‹Try to relax, Ranma. I won't bite you. At the moment, I can't do anything to you.›
Ranma shook himself, then started to bend over. He straightened up again. ‹You know, if this is about magic, then it's my cursed form that looks like you. Maybe I should change first, then kiss you.›
Akane said ‹baka› without any emotion, then went on. ‹Tell you what. Why don't we try it this way first, since I'd really prefer that my first kiss was with a guy rather than a girl. If it doesn't work, then we can try it the other way.›
Ranma leaned forward again, but then stopped halfway. He was staring at the girl's lips, realizing that this was it, he was really about to kiss a girl for the first time. At least, if he didn't pass out first. He leaned forward ever so slowly, his lips touching hers almost imperceptibly, then drew back hurriedly.
"What's taking so long in there?" Nabiki called.
‹Ranma!› Akane growled, and he got a distinct impression that she was trying to tap a foot. ‹If this works at all, it will be because it's all about magic, right?›
‹Uh, right?›
‹So, I expect the magic requires a real kiss. What's the matter with you anyway? I've given you permission. So kiss me for real, already!›
Ranma swallowed hard, then leaned down again. This time he didn't give himself time to think, but pressed his lips firmly against the girl's. They yielded slightly, but felt warm and firm against his, and the thought ran in circles through his head that he was actually kissing a girl. He felt a sensation like a breeze inside his head, or at least that was the best way he could describe it. It mounted quickly to a strong wind, and it felt like it was blowing through his head and down into the body of the girl below him.
Akane, experiencing everything that Ranma did, had felt their lips pressing against her own body below them. After a moment, she started to feel like she was being lifted off of her feet and was twisting around. She realized after a startled moment that she was now in control of those lips, and pressed against the other lips even more firmly, trying to make the magic work. It was several moments before she realized that the other lips were actively pressing against hers, that she was facing upward, not down, and that there was a firm pressure all along her back. She also realized that with the exception of the fire running into her body from her lips, that she didn't really feel all that great.
Ranma slowly realized that the lips of the girl below him were moving against his of their own will. He drew back hurriedly and stared. ‹Akane?› he whispered mentally. There was no answer. The eyelids of the girl on the bed fluttered open. This time Ranma whispered out loud, "Akane?"
She nodded, and tried to lick her dry lips, but had no saliva with which to do any good. She mouthed the word water, and he nodded, saying, "I'll get you something, just a sec."
He then yanked the curtain back, and exclaimed, as quietly as he could since it was a hospital. "She woke up! She really did! She's awake now!"
Ranma realized that one of the monitor's was making a new sound, and stepped away from the bed to look for a doctor or nurse. Akane's father and sisters had swarmed around her bed, all three of them crying in happiness, and touching her to reassure themselves that she really was back. Akane was trying to smile at them.
Nabiki spun back around and grabbed Ranma in a hug, crying happily, saying, "You did it! You did it!" She suddenly put her hands on both sides of his face and kissed him soundly on the lips. Ranma froze as he received his second kiss from a girl mere seconds after the first one. Nabiki released him almost immediately and turned back toward Akane's bed.
A nurse came hurrying up, took one look, and said, "I'll go get a doctor." She turned and left as quickly as she had arrived.
Ranma managed to get his brain working and looked around for some water, but saw nothing. A couple of minutes later, the nurse returned with a harried looking doctor. As he stepped up to the bedside, Ranma stopped the nurse and explained that Akane wanted some water. The nurse took a look at the girl, nodded, and walked off again.
Ranma stepped closer to the bed, and Akane's eyes locked onto him, their expression unreadable. It felt so strange not to have her inside of his head anymore, and he suspected that she was feeling equally strange to be back in her own body again. He also realized at that moment that her body had seen little use in the last couple of weeks, and she was probably going to need some time to recover. Ranma tried to imagine himself unable to move, to run, to fight. He suppressed a shudder.
The nurse returned and held a covered cup with a straw up to Akane's lips. She managed to suck some of the liquid in, but then lay back looking fatigued. The doctor turned to the family and said, "It's an amazing recovery, I can scarcely believe it. I need to examine her now, and then we'll move her to a semiprivate room. You can come and see her again then. It will probably be a little more than half an hour."
Both of her sisters and her father stepped up and kissed Akane on the forehead before turning and walking toward the door. As Ranma turned away, he heard a whispered call, "Ranma?"
He turned and walked back, with a questioning look on his face. He leaned down so that he could hear her easily without the girl needing to try to raise her voice. Akane's lips curved into a smile, and she whispered, "Thank you."
Ranma reached down and gripped her fingers, squeezing gently. "You're welcome," he told her.
The next words were soft, but were accompanied by a glitter in her eyes. "I'm still not planning to marry you, you know."
Ranma smiled at her, while the doctor and nurse looked on, puzzled. "I know. No more talking now." He turned and headed off in the direction her family had taken.
It was an hour later, and the four of them were gathered around Akane's bed again, but this time in a smaller room with far fewer instruments. The other bed in the room was currently unoccupied.
After the obligatory remarks from everyone about how good it was to see her awake again, Akane turned to look in Ranma's direction, and cocked an eyebrow. She asked, "So who's this oaf here, anyway? I could swear that I woke up from a dream in which he was kissing me. At least it better have been a dream, or as soon as I'm stronger, I'm going to break every bone in his body."
Ranma suddenly felt nervous, wondering whether she remembered the previous two weeks or not. Then he remembered her comments upstairs after she awoke and felt reassured. Well, a little reassured anyway. Just a bit.
Soun was starting to weep. "His name is Ranma Saotome, and he is your fiancé. The two of you are to be engaged, and one day soon you will marry, and then the Tendo and Saotome schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts will be united!"
Akane gave Ranma a long look, then sighed and looked away again. "Don't hold your breath, daddy. But we can argue about it later. I don't feel up to arguments right now."
Nabiki was looking back and forth between Ranma and her sister with a strange look on her face. There was a mischievous gleam in that look, but also more than a touch of awe. She told Akane, "As for the kissing, that wasn't a dream little sister. There was some magic involved, and we decided that a kiss might do the trick and wake you up. And before you decide to pound him for it, please try to keep in mind that it worked."
Akane turned toward Ranma again, and gave him an evil look, but the boy could almost have sworn that he saw something playful in it as well. "Okay, that's something else that we will ... discuss ... at length, once I'm feeling stronger. What do you mean there was magic involved?"
Kasumi answered her. "Ranma and his father received a curse when they were in China. It sounds like it may have happened at the same time that you were hurt. When Ranma is splashed with cold water, he becomes a girl, and looks like your identical twin. Because of the resemblance, we thought that maybe the magic of the curse intended for him to somehow be the one to wake you from your coma."
Akane had turned toward Kasumi as she spoke, but now turned in Ranma's direction again, and this time he couldn't mistake the wicked look in her eye. "You do realize that I can't possibly believe that unless I see it? You said cold water causes the change?"
Ranma frowned at her, letting a slight growl escape. However, Soun decided that his youngest daughter really should see this. He picked up the water pitcher on the nearby table, and proceeded to dump the contents over Ranma's head.
The boy yelped at the sudden cold, wet assault, his voice shifting from baritone to tenor midway through. Unfortunately, the Tendo father had not taken the time to be careful, and a considerable amount of the water fell on Akane as well. Her matching yelp shifted from tenor to baritone at the midway point. Ranma, in the process of rounding on Soun Tendo with an imminent explosion on his lips, stopped partway around staring down at the bed.
At himself.
Everyone else was staring as well, and the room had gone very quiet. Akane lifted her hands in front of her face, noting that they looked larger now. They were hands with which she had gained a measure of familiarity in the last couple of weeks. She lowered them to her chest, confirming that the small mounds of flesh were no longer present, only hard muscle. Looking up into her own worried, female face hovering over her, Akane asked in a trembling voice, "Do I look like who I think I look like right now?"
"That depends, sis," Nabiki said softly. "If you think you look like Ranma right now, then you're right." Ranma just nodded.
"Oh my!" Akane started to giggle as she realized she had managed to duplicate her oldest sister's intonations exactly. The giggling rapidly got out of control. Ranma reached down and took hold of Akane's hand, squeezing gently. She looked up at Ranma when she felt his touch, eyes begging to be told that there was some mistake. She saw sympathy in his eyes, together with an understanding of exactly how she felt at this moment. The giggling stopped, but then Akane started crying instead, which was a rather disturbing image for Ranma as she currently looked just like himself. Or rather, didn't, since he currently looked just like her. Or something. It felt like his head was spinning.
Kasumi leaned over and embraced her sister, trying to comfort her. Eventually the tears subsided, and Akane whispered, "Thanks, Kasumi." She wanted to ask Ranma if he had any clue as to why this had happened, but knew that he would have no better guess than herself. Besides, whatever the reason might be, it was likely to have something to do with the two weeks she had spent inside his body after he was cursed, or maybe just the fact that she was there when he was cursed. She still didn't want her family to know about that.
Nabiki looked curiously at the figure of her younger sister standing beside her. "You know, Ranma-kun, I think I would very much appreciate it if you never kiss me."
Ranma stared at her, not understanding at first, but then grimaced as her meaning sank in. "My curse ain't some kinda contagious disease! You were the one who wanted me to wake her up by magic! Well, you got your wish, but the magic must of brought the curse with it."
Nabiki tilted her head to one side, then relented. "Maybe. I hope so, anyway, for your sake. And my sister's."
Kasumi gave the elder of her younger sisters a strange look. "Nabiki, didn't I already see you kiss Ranma? A little while ago? Right after Akane woke up?"
Nabiki's face paled as if she'd seen a ghost, and a slight whimper escaped her lips. Moving very slowly she stepped into the adjoining restroom and filled a cup with cold water. Staring into the mirror above the sink, her movements growing ever slower, Nabiki lifted the cup above her head and poured. The young woman nearly melted in relief to see that she was still a young woman, still herself. She came back out into the room with her pulse gradually slowing once more and in a strained voice said, "Looks like you were right, Ranma-kun. I guess you're not contagious." She added in a whisper, "Thank God!"
Meanwhile, Akane had regained a tentative emotional balance. As Kasumi stood back up from where she had been hugging her, the younger girl looked at the surrounding faces and inquired sadly, "I don't suppose that anyone has some hot water available to change me back?" She wondered why Ranma suddenly squinted his eyes closed.
Nabiki answered that when she asked, "Uh, sis? How'd you know about changing back with hot water?"
Akane looked startled, then suggested, "Didn't somebody mention it when you were explaining about Ranma's curse?"
Nabiki just shook her head from side to side.
Akane closed her eyes. "I don't know then. If nobody mentioned it around me, then I've got no idea how I knew about it. Maybe my subconscious was just making an educated guess when you told me that cold water was what changed him."
Nabiki considered this, then nodded. "Could be at that."
Akane tried not to look too relieved when Nabiki accepted this. Ranma had slipped into the restroom during the exchange between the two sisters, and now emerged as a boy once more, holding a cup of hot water and a towel. He handed the cup to Kasumi, then gently raised Akane's head and spread the towel on the pillow below her. The sheets and her gown were already wet from her father's accident, but he figured there was no sense in making things worse. When these preparations were complete, Kasumi gently poured the water onto Akane's head until her form suddenly shifted back to female. She then took the towel back out, and used it to dry her sister.
Akane opened her eyes again, noting thankfully the return of her female attributes. In a tired voice full of pain, perhaps speaking only to herself, she remarked, "So. Now I've got some sort of weird curse that turns me into a boy." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "Don't stories about magic usually say that there's a price to be paid? Is this the price I have to pay for magic giving me my life back? I ... think that's something else I want to wait to think about. I can't face it right now."
Akane took a deep breath and released it slowly. Her voice grew stronger again, as she determinedly changed the subject. "Right now, I'd like to know what's been going on."
"What do you mean, Akane?" Kasumi asked.
The girl on the bed looked up at her and said, "I know I'm pretty tired. In a few minutes a doctor is probably going to come in and say I have to rest. But before you leave, I'd like to know what's been happening since, well, since I was hurt. Otherwise it's going to be nagging at me, and I won't be able to get any rest."
Her eyes looked off into the distance. "I remember slipping and seeing Kuno's bokken about to hit me in the head. What happened after that?" Her eyes refocused on the middle sister. "Why do you look so terrible Nabiki? I mean, I understand you'd be upset about what happened, or hope you would, but isn't this ...," she waved her hand around vaguely in Nabiki's direction, "... a little excessive?"
Kasumi looked at Nabiki as well. "As you witnessed the fight, little sister, it would perhaps be best if you were to answer that. And for other reasons as well."
Nabiki chewed on her lower lip, but nodded and took a deep breath. She found that she was unable to look Akane in the eye as she started speaking. She began slowly, "Well, I was watching your morning battle from the second floor window as usual ..." Her voice choked a little on the next words. "Taking bets as usual. I saw you slip and go down, and Kuno's blow hit you in the head. I didn't realize how hard he'd hit you, except ... he didn't start dancing in celebration. Instead he knelt down beside you, and he didn't look happy. Then I saw ... I saw a red pool spreading on the ground, where your head lay.
"I don't remember how I got down there. Maybe I teleported. I don't know. I called for an ambulance before I realized I had my cell phone in my hand. When I reached you, um, ..." Nabiki paused, her hands twisting over each other, looking extremely embarrassed. "I'm not sure where the mallet came from, but they told me afterward that Kuno flew at least twenty meters when I hit him."
"Good for you," Akane proclaimed softly.
Nabiki hesitated, remembering. "I didn't know what to do. I remember checking your pulse. I was so glad when I found it! You were still bleeding." She shook her head. "So much blood! I know that scalp wounds bleed a lot, but ... knowing isn't the same as seeing. I was so scared. I stayed at your side until the paramedics arrived. I only left because they pushed me out of the way. Even then, I didn't go very far. I stayed nearby while they worked, until they took you away. I wanted to go with you, but they wouldn't let me."
Nabiki's eyes still seemed to be focused on events from another day, rather than anything in the room. "The police arrived before they even put you on the ambulance, they were all over the place. A little later, people started showing up from the Board of Education. The police took Kuno off in handcuffs." She paused, remembering the scene. "He wasn't protesting. He looked dazed, like he was unaware of his surroundings."
"They arrested him?" Akane asked, startled. Her expression brightened at this unexpected boon. "Good!" she snapped vindictively.
Nabiki's eyes refocused on the room, and looked down at her sister in the hospital bed. "Kuno's still in jail at the moment, but from what I've heard, it's not certain that he'll stand trial. There's talk of him having a psychiatric evaluation first. As for everyone else ...
"They agreed to a plea bargain for the other boys who attacked you every morning. They were suspended from school for a week, they'll be serving detention until the end of term, and they'll be on probation for the next two years. Any assault on anybody during that time and they go to jail.
"The school's vice principal has been fired for failing to notify the school board that the principal has been absent from his office for the last three years, not to mention allowing the morning fights to continue. It turns out that the principal is Kuno's father, and the rumor is that he's been in Hawaii all this time. Anyway, he's been fired too, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him in case he should return, on the basis of child abandonment."
Nabiki gave a bit of a smile. "Kuno has a sister, same age as you, name of Kodachi. She was attending St. Hebereke. After finding out her father was gone, and that her mother died years ago, social services was about to step in. But the extended Kuno family dealt with it first. She's moved in with an aunt and uncle down in Osaka, and my sources tell me she's attending an even more prestigious and exclusive school there. I've also heard that the other students at St. Hebereke breathed a sigh of relief at her departure. Apparently she was as nutty, in her own way, as her brother."
"That's a little hard to believe," Akane commented bitterly.
Nabiki shrugged. "Anyway, the school board has sent a new principal and vice principal, who took over this week. They're a bit ... more strict ... than the old administration. I got called into his office a few days ago to be informed that my various little enterprises were to be shut down."
Akane smirked. "I suppose I should attempt to express some sympathy about that."
Tears started sliding down Nabiki's cheeks again, and she looked down at her feet, shaking her head. "No," she said quietly. "I told him that I'd already shut everything down. That first night, when we visited you in the hospital, and the doctor told us you were in a coma and ..." Her voice choked, and it took her a moment to get it under control again. "... and might never wake up again, I went a little crazy. I stepped out of the room, not really seeing anything. I found a knife somewhere, and tried to slit my wrist."
Nabiki held out her arm, and pushed the kimono sleeve up a little, showing some stitches of her own. "Somebody saw what I was doing and stopped me, then called for help. I spent the night here myself, in restraints. They let me go the next day, once they were sure I wouldn't try it again."
"But why?" Akane asked. She sounded extremely confused.
Nabiki still wasn't looking at her. "Because it was all my fault! I'd been selling photographs of you to the boys. Especially Kuno. They weren't ... perverted, just action shots of you in the dojo. But I knew the boys were obsessing over them, making them even more determined to beat you in the morning fights. Gods, I was even happy about that. I was making a lot of money from both the photos and the bets."
She paused in her recitation to sniff hard, before continuing. "I thought you'd been killed! Or the next thing to it anyway. And all because of my scheming. All to make some money. I had sacrificed my baby sister for a profit. I wanted to die myself. I was praying for someone to take my life, and give you back yours. I came back to my senses a bit by the next morning, but I swore a vow that I'd never put money ahead of my family again. It seemed like it was too late, though. ... Two weeks, with no sign that you were ever going to recover."
Nabiki finally looked up again, her eyes swimming. "Then Ranma here showed up today, with some kind of magic that made him look like you. I was convinced that I was being given another chance, that you were being given a chance to live again. So we dragged him here, and ... and ... you came back ..." She broke down completely, sobbing, and threw her arms around Akane. The younger sister patted her on the back awkwardly, looking up to Kasumi for guidance, but the latter just gave a small smile.
Akane swallowed a lump in her own throat, completely unaccustomed to such displays from Nabiki. "It's okay, sis, I forgive you. I am annoyed to find out you were doing that, and it might have been unhealthy for you if I'd learned about it a few weeks ago. But you couldn't have foreseen this. Let's ... forget the past, okay?"
Nabiki stood back up, sniffling, and nodded. Kasumi smiled and then said, "Now I think what Akane said earlier about needing to rest was wise. We should all go away and let you sleep, little sister, but we'll return for another visit later. Before you know it, you'll be back home with us, and going to school with all of your friends again."
"And you can get to know your fiancé," their father said happily. Then he wilted under the combined glares from Akane and Ranma, as well as the milder frowns of his other two daughters. He and Ranma left the room first, then Kasumi and Nabiki each gave Akane another hug and followed the men out.
Alone in her hospital room, Akane reflected on all of the trouble she'd been sharing with Ranma over the last couple of weeks as he tried to cope with his curse. She wept over the fact that despite her life being given back to her, she would still have to live with the curse. A memory suddenly popped into Akane's head. Back in China, Ranma asking her how she would like to be in his place, knowing that she'd be spending the rest of her life shifting back and forth between a girl's body and a boy's. Her answer that she'd just have to get on with her life and make the best of it now seemed far too lacking in sympathy.
Akane's tears gradually slowed, and she tried to stop dwelling on the curse for the time being. After all, there were a couple of good things to think about, right? She was alive, actually alive! After spending two weeks thinking that she was dead. It was a wonderful feeling. Then there was the fact that she had Nabiki instead of the Ice Queen as her sister again, and wasn't that going to take some getting used to? Contemplating these gains, Akane tried to decide whether she felt that the price had been too high. Eventually she drifted into a troubled sleep.
Author's note:
Akane comes home from the hospital in Chapter 5, "Together Under One Roof."
Let's all have a round of applause for my lovely pre-reader (to whom I happen to be married), whose efforts help to considerably improve the quality of my stories.
I have changed the working title for the sequel. It used to be Beyond Togetherness. Now it is Side by Side. Of course, it's possible it might change again before I start posting. There will probably be a significant length of time between when I complete Togetherness and when I post the first chapter of the sequel.
In case you haven't noticed before, I'd like to point out that most of my replies to readers' reviews may be read on my web site. Just go to my fan fiction page and click on "Reviews" for the appropriate story. These pages are usually updated within a week or so of when the review is first received.
Finally, I'd like to note the addition of The Silent Horse to the queue of upcoming stories. Once posted, it will be my longest story to date, approximately fifty percent longer than Sendai. For the list of upcoming stories, see my profile page, or the Planned Stories chart on my web site.