Chapter Fourteen – Hide and Seek
Akane
"AUGH!"
Lashing out, her heel tore through the trunk of a massive tree like sandpaper, flickering with the strange energy both she and Ranma generated sometimes when they got mad enough, shards of wood and bark flying into the shadowed underbrush of the mountain trail. Akane held her kick out for a long moment, panting, then screamed again.
No solutions! Nothing to do! Nothing has changed! She wanted to throw Ranma off the mountain!
Ahead of her on the trail, Ranma dropped the morose look he'd been wearing all week for long enough to smirk at her. "So, how are you going to tell your therapist about this one?"
"RANMA SAOTOME!"
Ranma yelped and started scampering back up the trail. "Okay, okay! Less talking, more hiking. Got it."
My therapist doesn't need to know shit about this, Akane thought darkly, stomping off after Ranma. She'd already gotten enough flak for going hiking alone with Ranma – Soun had burst out into loud tears, Kasumi had smiled brilliantly at the both of them the entire time they were packing up their belongings, and Genma had muttered something about how 'it's a damn good thing the boy started acting proper for once.' Akane didn't want to entertain the thought of what Genma thought was proper.
If nothing else, I can sick Ukyo on the panda…
"Akane?"
She came out of her thoughts; Ranma had slowed down and was keeping pace with her. She glowered at him, with his pink shirt and mousy brown hair and his stupid beautiful face. "What."
Ranma frowned. "Look, I know you wanna kill me 'n all, but… What are we gonna do? It's been a week! Sooner or later, Ucchan-"
"Don't call her that," Akane growled.
"Right, Ukyo, he-" Ranma received a smack and winced. "She's gonna come to school and then we're screwed!"
An old mossy grave carved from stone sat on the side of the trail. They paused before it, admiring the masonry for a minute. "You could tell her," Akane suggested, more than a hint of bitterness in her tone.
"And then what? She tries to marry me?" He shuddered, shaking his head. "I- I can't, 'Kane, we've had this discussion."
"And why not?"
The wind blew warm down the serene mountainside, where nobody was around to disturb their talk. Ranma was right – they had had this conversation before, and not once had Ranma been able to come up with an answer to that question.
The steps on the trail were well-hewn, covered with dirt or gravel so the stone underneath only poked out at the edges and the best-trod bits. Every morning, a runner in an orange jacket carried supplies up and garbage down from the lesser-known shrine nestled at the top. Beyond that, few made the trek – some locals, mostly, but not enough for a crowded feel. Akane had walked this trail before with her mother when she was small. It was the perfect place to get away, to be alone, to escape her sisters and the dojo, just for a little bit. Ranma, at least, seemed to appreciate the significance; he kept quiet for the most part, somber, drifting to and fro. Their energy came out in different ways. Every now and then they would get close enough for their skin to brush together and they would spring apart, jolted by some static electricity. When Ranma was far, Akane would reach her hand out for a ghost, only to grasp nothing. Whether she reached for her mother or her fiance, she didn't know.
The trail twisted here. It passed under a tori there. For three bends, they were silent.
"I would rather-"
Akane looked up at Ranma, pulling a stray leaf from her hair. "You'd rather what?"
Flushing, Ranma crossed his arms and looked up. The shrine had come into sight. "It's nothing." He took the next few steps two at a time; how his legs weren't on fire after hiking five and a half miles uphill, Akane had no idea.
"No, tell me."
"I would rather go to school as a girl than tell Ukyo 'bout the curse."
A passing hiker shot Ranma a curious look. Akane closed her eyes and took a long breath, exhaling into the wind. "So that's that, then," she finally said, resigning herself to more chaos. "It's not like it's impossible. You know Genma and Sis aren't gonna like it, though."
"You're not going to argue with me?" Ranma asked, surprised.
Akane rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what I've been doing all week?"
"No, I just thought-"
They reached the top of the trail, stopping under another tori to look at the shrine, a small outcropping looking out over the open-air view of the scenic woodland below. The offering hall was old and worn, yet well-maintained. Aside from a sleeping child in the omamori window, a young couple stood at the outlook and an old lady had finished praying and was hobbling back to the trail. It must have taken her all morning to make it up to the summit.
"Some view, huh?" Ranma said. He looked a little starstruck at the view, unable to tear his eyes away from the outlook. He cracked his knuckles as if to punch something. Akane recognized it as nerves. "Pops and I must've passed a thousand of these in China – not the shrines, views – but we never, I dunno, stopped to look at them."
Akane sighed. "I'm not angry at you, Ranma," she murmured, shifting closer to Ranma. He started a bit when she took his hand, but didn't let got. "I'm angry at Ukyo and everyone else for making this a stupid problem. If you say we're not gonna tell Ukyo, we won't."
"Thank you," Ranma muttered back under his breath. Never one to linger on gratitude, he immediately pivoted away from the vista to the shrine. "Hey, let's go pray. I love doing the clapping thing! Plus, this time we don't even have to steal the coins!"
He skipped ahead to wash his hands, leaving Akane behind muttering dark curses at Genma under her breath.
Akane's mother used to tell her tales about each shrine they visited, the people who found their way up the mountains to pray. She told her about the spirits; how tories were the gates to the world of spirits and the sacred. Even though Akane was old enough to see the human side of the shrines, she still imagined spirits every time she went. How could she not with how close magic had touched her life? Ranma wasn't religious, yet he seemed so much lighter on the mountain top, flitting from station to station, less weighed down and burdened and more free. Magic sings to magic.
Ever since Ranma had arrived, Akane always made a trip to their local shrine in Nerima once a week.
Letting Ranma enjoy his fun, she washed her hands in the temizuya and went to pray. The temple itself was simple, devoid of the fancy decorations from temples in Tokyo, adorned with simple wooden panels that reminded her of the simplicity of the forest. Akane bowed and clapped. Please make everything with Ranma work out, Kami-sama. Her palms pressed tight together over her heart. Help him realize what he wants and save him from his curse. I want nothing for me, only for him. Oh, and tell Mommy I say hi. Thank you, Kami-sama.
Bowing again, Akane turned away and walked back out under the shimenawa, feeling a little bit lighter. Ranma was waiting by the outlook with a cheesy grin. She was instantly suspicious. "What did you do?"
From behind his back, Ranma held out something to her. "For you, 'Kane."
For me? Akane reached over and took what he was offering her, nearly dropping it when she realized what it was. She couldn't bite back her gasp. "You got me an omamomi?"
The omamori was beautifully handmade with red and golden thread, plus a pale pink bead tied to the end of one of the strings. The kanji for 'good gortune' were embroidered on the front. Ranma smiled, a hint of pink rising to his cheeks, and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uh, yeah. I dunno, you like comin' to the shrines and all, so I figured… who doesn't need good luck?"
We both do. Over Ranma's shoulder, the girl manning the stall swooned at them. Akane averted her eyes and blushed, smiling back at Ranma. The charm felt warm curled up in the palm of her hand. "I'll treasure it," Akane told Ranma, meeting his eyes. The sunlight fell soft on his cheekbones; he glowed in the sunlight. Akane wanted to remember that moment forever. "Thank you."
That was what Akane loved about Ranma, what made him her best friend. In those moments, she didn't have to care about her temper or her manner. He didn't care either. She could step into his hug easily and never worry about the consequences, what other people would think. There was just Ranma, holding her on top of the world. In moments like these, if the engagement lasted forever, Akane didn't think she'd mind at all.
They didn't walk back down the mountain for a long time.
Ranma
Ranma wasn't sure what happened, exactly. Was it something I did? All he knew was that something with Akane had clicked, and their constant argument over Ukyo melted away into mutual agreement. Together, they suddenly became a flawless unit – in class, in the dojo, at home. Ranma found himself learning from his spars for the first time since the training trip. The persistent sense of wrongness he'd been feeling still lingered, but it was relegated to the background. Ranma had found equilibrium, and he was determined to cling to it for as long as possible.
(And he'd be lying if he said seeing Akane's good luck charm dangling from her backpack didn't make him smile every time he saw it.)
The peace lasted four days before taking a hard u-turn back into total chaos.
At eight in the morning, the class buzzed with gossip and discussion in anticipation for the day to come. Ranma and Akane had fought off the usual hentai horde and were in their usual seats in front of Yuka and Sayuri, deep in conversation.
"So, Yuka," Sayuri began, giving Yuka an evil look. "How was your date with Hiroshi this weekend?"
Akane snicked. Yuka flushed bright red and looked down. "Oh my god, stop. It was great, okay? He's just so perfect..."
"He's not bad at kendo," Ranma mused. "But I could take him."
Rolling her eyes, Akane waited for the other girls to stop laughing. "Honestly, Ranma, all you care about is how good other people are at martial arts. I'm sure Yuka had something more… intimate in mind."
Sayuri howled in laughter. "Oh yeah?" Yuka shot back. "If that's what Ranma wants, then I bet you're pretty well off!"
Identical red expressions crossed Ranma and Akane's faces. Before Akane could stop spluttering long enough to put together a coherent sentence, the teacher had come back into the room and cleared her throat. Everybody shut up and sat at attention; a flurry of motion came from people getting their books out at the last minute.
"Alright, class!" the teacher announced. "Before I take roll today, I'm pleased to announce that we'll have a new student touring our school today. She'll be joining our section, so please welcome Ukyo Konji while she shadows today!"
Ranma didn't think – he just dove under Akane's desk with his papers and bag in hand, utter panic flooding his thoughts. No! I can't let her see me! "Hide me!" he hissed, and Akane kicked her bag in front of Ranma, prodding his leg under the desk.
"This is bad!" Akane hissed back. At the front of the room, Ranma watched through a crack in his bag fort as Ukyo walked into the classroom to polite applause.
"Hiding in plain sight is a Saotome hidden technique!"
So Ranma focused on calming his breathing and remaining motionless, willing himself to melt into his surrounding and be hidden from sight. It also helped that Akane grabbed Yuka and Sayuri's bags and shoved them in between Ranma and Ukyo.
"Akane, what the heck?" Yuka whispered. Akane shushed her. Ranma winced at her knees digging into his back, the room turning their attention to the front.
"Hello, my name is Ukyo Konji." Ukyo's voice made Ranma flinch. "Thank you for letting me transfer into your class!"
More polite applause. There hadn't been a new student since Ranma, and the gossip mills were already turning. Whispers followed Ukyo down the aisle as she walked to sit down. Not my seat, Ranma prayed. Not my seat, not my seat.
"Um… Tendo?"
Akane dug her knees deeper into Ranma's back. He gritted his teeth in pain but leaned in to listen closer, lifting his head as high as he dared, trying to catch a glimpse of Ukyo's face. All he saw was her skirt from a very flattering angle (maybe hiding under the desk was bad idea.) "Yes, Konji?" Akane bit back. Ranma knew Akane's moods well enough to hear how dangerous her tone was.
Ukyo shifted her feet. "Would you mind if I sat here?"
Damn it!
Above Ranma, Akane took a sharp breath. "Of course not."
Hopefully Akane was the only one who heard Ranma slam his forehead into the floor. He withdrew in on himself, cursing himself for not justtelling Ukyo the truth. Why am I doing this?! Why is it easier to hide under a desk than tell her I'm a g- boy! The idea of revealing himself now, though, was physically repulsive. Eyes flickering between Ukyo's shoes and the sweet, sweet escape of the window, Ranma slunk deeper into the shadows and settled in for a long class.
Fifty minutes later, the bell rang, freeing Ranma from his private hell. The moment Ukyo got up from her seat and left the room, he crawled out from under the desk and stood up. Ow…
As it turned out, crouching under a desk for an hour made you pretty sore.
"Ranma? What the hell?" Yuka asked, giving him an incredulous stare. Her arms were crossed in annoyance. "What was that?!" Sayuri said nothing, but her look was piercing. Ranma got the uncomfortable feeling she knew what was going on with him better than he'd have liked. Wincing, he turned to Akane for help.
Akane was staring at him, biting her lip, eyes heartbroken. "You've got a problem, Ranma," she whispered.
A rush of defensiveness flared up in Ranma's chest. It was a fragile feeling – his hands balled up and he lifted his chin, as if to fight. "You know why, 'Kane," he said, trembling a little bit. Does she? "I had no choice."
"I know."
Stepping forward, Akane flung her arms around Ranma, hugging him as tight as possible. "Woah!" Ranma exclaimed, flushing bright red. "Did I do something? Wha-" Reaching onto her tiptoes, Akane pressed a chaste kiss to Ranma's forehead, shutting him up. His mind went blank. Ranma searched Akane's face for any sign of an explanation when she drew back, but all he could find was sadness. "Akane?" he murmured.
Akane put on a brave smile. "We'll fix this."
"Fix what?!" Yuka cried.
Uh… Akane looked to Ranma. Ranma shook his head, looking down. "The new girl, she and Ranma have history," Akane explained. "Martial arts stuff. If she found out Ranma was here..."
Sayuri frowned. "What martial arts stuff is bad enough to make Ranma hide under a desk?"
"It's nothing, okay?" Ranma whipped around to glare at Sayuri, his pigtail smacking the side of his face. Sayuri recoiled. "I ain't gonna let her get at 'Kane or anyone else, so I gotta- I gotta-" Hissing in annoyance, Ranma stomped out of the classroom, glaring at nothing ahead in his path.
"Was it something I said?" Sayuri asked Akane as he left.
"It's not you. It's sorted, guys, okay? Don't worry about it."
The hallway outside loomed large. Rivers of people trailed past, talking, laughing, unaware that Ranma's life sat on a precipice, ready to fall on a knife's edge. How could they know? Ranma barely knew himself. His trembling hands refused to listen to his discipline, a discipline that didn't seem so strong anymore. He had let himself become weak since he had woken from his coma, since he had gotten the curse. The curse had made him weak. He hated it with all his heart. Yet, why didn't there seem to be a choice? Ranma wanted for all the world to shed the awful feeling of wrongness that had been plaguing him, leave his desk-hiding girly-crying days behind him forever, to go back to the pure artistry of Pop's training trip, a moment when his only worries were training and his next opponent, not the curling oily darkness that made his chest tight and froze him before the stupid challenges of his stupid female body. The madness felt endless. He had already made up his mind, though, and when Ranma made his mind up, not much would ever change it.
I can't come back here as a guy. Ranma's gaze floated over the faceless boys he didn't know hurrying to class. There was a distance between them that felt unreachable. Not until I can figure out how to solve Ukyo.
Excuses, that little voice whispered. You're making excuses?
Ranma shook his head, looking down at his male body. "Excuses for what?" he whispered. The answer was unexpected.
"Ranma," someone urgently whispered into his ear. Ranma, in his surprise, let himself get dragged into a nearby alcove between lockers, and found himself face-to-face with Nabiki. Nabiki frowned at him. "We need to talk."
"I don't wanna talk to you," Ranma growled, tense, eyes narrowing.
Nabiki shook her head. "Look, I know you haven't forgiven me for- for what I did. That's fine. But I heard about your class today, and I know what your problem is with Konji-"
"You know?!"
"You and Akane haven't exactly been subtle about being in a bad mood." Shrugging, Nabiki flashed a little smirk. "Seriously, what do you take me for? I'm not one to pass up easy information. The point is, I want to help you."
Keeping an eye on the hall, Ranma crossed his arms, glowering at Nabiki. He didn't trust Akane's sister for one second, not after treating him like an object to be used. He felt violated every time he thought about those photos. "At what price?"
"Nothing," Nabiki said forcefully. "I mean it, Ranma. Nothing." She paused, a desperate edge entering her expression. "I just want my little sister back. I… I can't handle our family being so torn up, not when everyone else but me is so happy. I hate watching you and Akane and Daddy in the dojo with the kids and Kasumi getting ready to apply to university and not being a part of it! And if that means you and Akane are a package deal, then- Fine! You have my- my blessing, or whatever. I need to be a part of my own family again."
Ranma stared at Nabiki. He was completely taken aback by her desperation, and more than a little confused by her 'blessing.' I don't-
"Please, Ranma," Nabiki begged. "Just hear me out. I have a plan. I have to be helpful, it's what I do."
I don't want to hear her out.
Not that what Ranma wanted seemed to matter anymore. He felt just as desperate as she was.
"Okay," he murmured. "What do you got?"
A fierce glint entered Nabiki's eyes. "So, here's what we're going to do..."
[A/N] I'm so excited – we're so close to Ranma presenting female, and it's going to be so much fun to write. I've had this planned since like 2017, guys. Can't wait. Also, being a young writer in an old fandom is awesome. You guys give bomber feedback and writing here with my more erratic updates is so much more forgiving that my other fandoms. Mad kudos to everyone who reads this story!
Thank you to Beedok, The Keeper of Worlds, dialga9182, Hermione Blackwood, Siatru, FireInLife, James Birdsong, Binaryrecord274, and elusivetruth for reviewing!
Much love, Allie