Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or anything associated with it. All rights to Ranma ½ belong to Rumiko Takahashi and the other proper entities.

Summary: Sometimes a small shift makes all the difference. This is the world of Ranma ½ if the engagement hadn't been forced on them straight away, and Ranma, Akane, and their assorted suitors and rivals had actually been reasonable. "Against Genma's wishes, Soun had decided to wait and see which one the boy seemed the most suited to before he engaged one of his daughters to him."

Rating: T, for language

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Pairings: Ranma/Akane

A Shift In the Wind

Chapter Five

The walk was pleasant. They didn't really speak about much—Akane took the opportunity to point out various offices and residences as she led him down the route to the market, giving Ranma an impromptu tour of their area of Nerima. He asked the occasional question, but was mostly happy to let her talk; it was a far cry from their argument that morning.

Akane completed her purchases feeling much better than she had when she set out. In truth, there wasn't nearly as much to carry as Kasumi had made out, but Ranma still insisted on carrying everything for her. They'd had a brief spat about it before Akane realised he was just trying to be nice. A little red in the face, she handed the bags over before she said or did something stupid, like suggest that he was questioning her strength. To make up for almost losing her temper at him, she bought him a packet of potato chips on the way out, selecting an ice cream for herself.

"Don't tell Kasumi about this." She warned him as they continued along the street, eating their treats. "She'll complain that we've spoiled our dinner."

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "This ain't even gonna make a dent and you know it."

Akane laughed. "I know that. But try telling Kasumi."

Ranma eyed her as she led him along a different path homeward. He didn't get it. He could have sworn she was going to wallop him one earlier, during that fight with the bags. She said she didn't get how he could forgive her so easily for losing her temper—he didn't get how she could be irate one moment and then perfectly nice the next. She was the most contrary girl he'd ever met. Most girls he'd come across in his life had been one of two things: Girly-girls who were concerned with hair and clothes and, of all things, shoes, or macho martial artists intent on keeping up with the boys. Before Akane, he'd never met a girl who seemed to be both. She was too macho to be girly, but she was also too feminine to be boyish. He didn't get it.

"Ranma?" Her voice started him with its timidity. "Why did you get involved yesterday?" She asked, shooting him a wary glance. "I could have taken Kuno on my own, you know. I beat him every other morning."

Ranma looked away. "Well, yeah, but…" he fished around for the right words. Even when he settled on what to say, he had a sinking feeling it was going to be the wrong thing. "Kuno, though… I bet he lets up when he fights girls."

Akane growled a little, confirming his suspicion. "Are you calling me weak?" She demanded hotly. "You think I can only beat someone when they go easy on me?"

"No!" Ranma put a few steps between them, in case she decided to lash out. "Those guys at school, they go all out all at the same time and you crush 'em. Even if they ain't very good by themselves, it's still hard to take on that many at once. I just mean, a guy like Kuno, he don't take you seriously. If he did, he wouldn't attack you after everyone else. That's tryin' to take advantage. After you fight all those guys, it'd be no surprise that you're tired, and he wants to use that to beat you. Even if he is holding back. That's not honourable, or takin' you seriously."

"You don't take me seriously, either." Akane's voice betrayed her hurt. "At least, not as a martial artist. You wont even spar with me properly."

"Aww, Akane, it ain't that." He shook his head. "I saw the damage you dished out yesterday. You're better than a lotta people, and you got some serious power, but you got no control." He met her irritated gaze head-on. "I mean it. You get mad, like you did today, and you just sorta snap and start throwin' punches. Maybe in a crowd it does you good, but it don't help in a one-on-one fight. I just don't wanna hurt you or nothin'."

Akane sneered. "Why don't you try me for real, sometime?" She dared him. "I'm not some weak, prissy little girl, you know!"

Ranma snorted. "Believe me, I know." He waved her off airily. "You wallop hard enough. But there's more to it than just strength."

Akane growled, taking a step toward him. This was different than losing her temper, she told herself. This was her trying to get him to take her seriously. She darted forward with a punch that he evaded easily. Quicker than she could blink, he was inside her guard, poking all her vulnerable spots with a single finger, one by one. "Wha—?" She backpedaled into the chain link fence behind her, shocked beyond words. The book she'd been holding fell to the ground.

Ranma planted the fist that wasn't holding the groceries on his hip. "See what I mean?" He asked, frowning at her. "You get mad and leave yourself wide open. You ain't fast enough. You lost your balance at the end, too. You focus all your trainin' on offense, but your defense is pretty bad, and you're slow. You defend yourself against your Pop easy enough, but it's the sensei's job to fight at a level that only just challenges his student." He paused. "Unless it's my old man. He'll pretty much just try to kill you."

Akane bent to pick up the book, blinking back angry tears. "I get it." She hoped he wouldn't hear the wobble in her voice. "I'm not a challenge to you, so I'm not worth your time."

Ranma groaned, moving to fall into step beside her as she set off again. "Look, don't cry or nothin'." He tried to calm her, starting to panic. "It ain't nothin' you can't work on. Maybe you should try askin' your Pop about it later."

Akane wiped at her eyes, cursing the tears. "Daddy says he doesn't have the time, with all the work he has to put in for the council. I don't see him doing much work though. I think he just doesn't want to train me anymore." She sighed. Her father had, once upon a time, taken her training very seriously. Over the course of the past few years, though, since she hit puberty, he'd been taking less and less time to work with her. Now, their weekly sparring sessions seemed to be about it. Most of the time, Akane trained on her own. "Can't you help me? While you're staying with us?" She asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He backpedaled immediately. "I dunno that that's a good idea, Akane." He shook his head nervously. "I dunno how to train someone the normal way. My pop… he's got some funny ideas about trainin' and stuff. I've been doin' it most of my life, so I can put up with his crap. But I don't think most people could."

"Are you sure you're not just making excuses so you wont have to hit me?" The words were accusatory, but the tone was sad as she averted her gaze.

Ranma frowned. "No, I'm not." He paused for a beat. "You wanna know how he taught me to take a fall?"

"How?" Akane asked, curious despite herself.

"He started throwin' me off stuff." Ranma scowled as he recalled all the injuries that he'd suffered from that particular 'training'. He'd broken both arms and a leg, and had suffered several sprains over the course of the year that his father had insisted that Ranma needed to learn to fall properly. "At first it was just like a foot off the ground, but by the end he was tossin' me off of roofs and stuff."

"You're joking." Akane didn't sound like she believed him, but at least she'd been startled out of her tears. "What kind of man would do that to his own son?"

"Get to know my old man a little better and you can see it." Ranma shrugged. "I mean, c'mon. This is the idiot who took us to Jusenkyo. But not all his trainin' was total bullshit. Walkin' on fences and running on your hands, that stuff was almost normal. I dunno that I'd stick someone on a tiny little bit of dirt surrounded by a pit filled with cactuses, though. Fallin' off that crap gets painful."

Akane shuddered. "Was that for balance, or the handstands?" She asked, morbidly curious.

"Both." He shrugged. "My pop's insane, but that don't mean he ain't lazy. If he could, he'd even make me set up my own trainin' ground with some other kind of trainin'." He shuddered as a particular memory came to him. "He made me dig a huge pit once, when I was a kid. Said it was for strength and endurance. When I was done, he used the pit for—somethin' else." He shied away from the topic of the neko-ken. There was nothing in the world that could ever make him admit to that.

"You're right." Akane shook her head. "I don't want to go through that kind of training."

Ranma grinned. "Hey, it ain't all bad." He thumped himself on the chest. "I'm the best there is, after all."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Obviously none of it ever hurt your ego." She muttered. "But that doesn't mean you can't spar with me, you know, or give me a few tips here and there. Even if you hold back, aren't you looking to adjust to your female body? I can help with that!"

He just laughed. "I dunno about that." He cut her off as she opened her mouth to argue. "Look, I might be able to help with your balance, and maybe even a little bit of defense." He shrugged. "But the rest, you really should ask your old man. He'd be better at trainin' you than me."

"He's just going to say no." Akane grumbled. "You don't get it. I've been trying to get him to train me for ages. He just says he doesn't have the time."

Ranma was frowning. "Tell you what." He didn't stop to think about what he was saying, knowing he'd chicken out. "I'll see what my old man did that wasn't too crazy, and maybe we can try some of that stuff. Nothin' too big straight away. I ain't gonna toss you off the roof or make you dig a pit or nothin', but there's gotta be somethin'. Just, not right now." He cut her off as she opened her mouth to thank him. "You gotta work on your balance, first."

"And how should I do that?" Akane asked, all eagerness. "I've done all the balance training stuff my Dad has written down."

"I dunno. Gimme a few days and maybe I'll think of somethin'."

They arrived at the clinic just as Doctor Tofu was seeing out his last patient of the day. The older man recognised Akane with a smile as they stepped inside, bowing in greeting to the old man on his way out. "Good evening, Akane!" The doctor greeted her. "You haven't been by lately. No new injuries, I hope?"

It did not escape Ranma's notice that Akane was now suddenly acting all meek and shy. She bowed deeply to the doctor, a blush that had nothing to do with anger or humiliation spreading across her face. "Good evening, Doctor Tofu!" She greeted, a little too enthusiastically. "And no. I… I haven't been doing anything that might get me injured…"

Tofu laughed good-naturedly. "That's always good to hear." He turned to Ranma. "And who's this?"

"Oh, this is my friend, Ranma Saotome." Akane introduced him. "He and his father are staying with my family for a while. Ranma, this is Doctor Tofu. He's a chiropractor."

"It's nice to meet you, Ranma." Doctor Tofu bowed politely. "That's an awful bruise you've got there." He observed. "Did you come to get it looked at?"

Akane shook her head. "Oh, no. We were just returning this." She held out the book with both hands.

"Ah, thank you, Akane." Tofu took the book. "Why don't you both come inside for some tea?" He offered. "I could take a look at that jaw of yours, too, Ranma, if you'd like."

"Nah, s'ok." He shrugged, but followed them inside anyway, eyeing Akane with interest.

Tofu took them back into his examination room, replacing the book on a shelf behind a desk in the corner. Ranma looked around, noting the hospital cots lining one wall. There was a pair of crutches in one corner, and there seemed to be a second bookshelf on the other side, packed to the brim with both medical texts and old, fraying books in languages Ranma couldn't read. Tofu set about making some tea before Akane stepped forward. "Here, let me." She offered, reaching out for the pot.

"Thank you, Akane." Tofu surrendered the task to her. "Now, let me see that jaw of yours, Ranma."

Ranma protested, even as the doctor's fingers began gently probing the bruised area. "It's fine, doc."

Tofu was frowning. "This is a very deep bruise. What kind of thug did this?"

Ranma noticed Akane stiffen. "My old man nailed me on Thursday night." He admitted.

"It looks more recent than that." Tofu argued. "I'd say this was done today. Maybe last night, at the earliest."

Akane choked on her own saliva. That didn't stop Ranma from answering with "Yeah, well, it probably didn't help that a violent tomboy clobbered me this morn—"

"You shut your mouth!" Akane had turned and shoved him off his seat.

Ranma sprawled on the ground, frowning up at her. "That's exactly what I was talkin' about outside!" He admonished. Akane had the grace to look deeply ashamed of her actions. Ranma frowned as she glanced at the bemused Doctor Tofu, fidgeting under the doctor's gaze.

"Akane… were you the one who hit him?" He asked in tones of deep concern.

"Well… I… that is… it's not…"

Ranma rolled his eyes at the sweet and innocent act as he pushed himself back onto his seat. "Yeah, she punched me this mornin'." He stuck his tongue out at her behind the doctor's back.

"I thought so!" Tofu laughed. "See, the position of the bruise," he turned Ranma's head to show Akane. "That's about where I'd expect you to hit, Akane; I've seen a lot of boys with bruises in this exact position."

Ranma laughed. "You're jokin', right?" He pulled his head out of the older man's grasp.

"Ah, but there's nothing wrong with being active, now. It's a sign of good health." Tofu nodded sagely, turning back to Ranma, oblivious to Akane's distress. Her face was almost glowing, now.

"Yeah, well, she whacked me, but my pop really did get me good in the same spot on Thursday." Ranma rolled his eyes. "She can't take all the credit."

"Aah, that would explain the depth of the bruising." Tofu muttered, turning back to his patient. "Yes, this area here is healing nicely. It's definitely older than the bit at the bottom." He probed the very top of the bruise, just under Ranma's ear. "I would advise—well, not getting hit there again." He chuckled.

They stayed only a little while, just long enough to finish their tea; Kasumi was still waiting on her groceries, after all. When their mugs were rinsed and sitting in the sink, Ranma and Akane said their goodbyes.

"Take care, Akane." Tofu bid her farewell. "Ranma, a moment?" He put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Looking quizzically between them, Akane continued out the door and over to the gate to give them the privacy that Tofu seemed to want. When she was well and truly out of earshot, Tofu turned to Ranma with a serious expression. "You've known Akane for a few days now, so I don't think I need to tell you how much trouble she's been having with the boys at school, do I?" The doctor began seriously.

Ranma shook his head. "I saw it for myself, yesterday." He admitted. "Wait, how d'you know about that?"

Tofu gave him A Look. "The Tendo family have been patients of mine for a quite some time now. I've known Akane since she was six years old." As Ranma did some adjusting to his estimate of the older man's age, Tofu pressed on. "The last time I've heard of Akane referring to any boy as her friend was well over three years ago."

Ranma shifted uncomfortably. "She said somethin' like that, yeah."

"The reason I'm telling you all this," he seemed to come to the point, "is that I think it would be good for Akane to have at least one male friend." He paused for a beat. "I know she can be a little temperamental; I've treated far too many of the boys in her school not to have heard exactly what's going on." Tofu patted Ranma's shoulder. "But I think it'll help her to have at least one boy she can rely on, to show her that not all boys will treat her badly."

"So… you want me to be nice to her?" Ranma guessed.

"You seem like a good kid, so I don't think I really need to ask you that. Though," he grinned, "you seem to enjoy pressing her buttons, and that's fine, to a point. But Ranma, yes, do try to be a friend to her."

"It's not like I pick fights with her or anythin'." Ranma glanced at the girl by the gate, who was watching them curiously. There was no way she could hear them, though. "She just gets mad and whacks me."

"Ah, but she's such a sweet girl." Tofu countered.

Ranma shrugged. "Has her moments, I guess."

Tofu laughed. "Alright then, I suppose that'll do for now." He patted Ranma's back. "Off you go."

"See ya, Doc." Ranma waved over his shoulder as he joined Akane out on the street.

They set off together, Ranma letting Akane lead the way. She waited until they were out of sight of the clinic before she spoke. "So, what'd Doctor Tofu want?"

Ranma shrugged, stuffing his free hand into his pocket. "Nothin' much." He fibbed, refusing to elaborate when she pressed.