Disclaimer: I make no claims at ownership of any copyrighted characters, places or events used herein. The only thing I make a claim to is this fic, which originated in my head and any original characters created by me herein. The following was made for public consumption at zero profit, and is not for sale except to the owning companies. Yes, I dream big.

Ranma ½: Aijou Aitou (Love Regret)

Chapter 20: Rise and Shine

Original Concept by: JohnnyG

Continued/Edited by: Driver Jim Ohki

Note: This is a super chapter, well over twenty-two thousand words. Personally, I prefer ten to fifteen but I needed to get all of Johnny’s written chapters in before I begin writing my own. From the end of this chapter on will be all me, so let’s see if I can do this right the first time.

--

Cherry blossoms.

Ranma found himself in the middle of a field, amidst a few cherry trees. He was seated on a red and white checkered blanket, with a basket of food next to him. The scent of cherry blossoms was in the air. Ranma breathed in the aroma and found it to be quite refreshing.

Hearing a small noise behind him, Ranma slowly turned around, noting as he did so that he felt no danger, merely a serene presence. Standing behind him, wearing a modest dress that only slightly enhanced her figure, was Kasumi. A light wind caused her dress to flow more closely against her body, giving more of a hint of what lay beneath. The breeze also forced her hair to sway a bit, and the pink and white leaves from the cherry trees floated gently down around her. It was, quite simply, one of the most beautiful images that Ranma had ever seen.

Soon, Kasumi had joined him, and the two were enjoying a fabulous meal together. They chatted, the conversation flowing freely, never once feeling forced. They joked and they teased, but also spoke about their hopes and dreams, but most importantly, their feelings. Before long, Ranma found that Kasumi was in his arms and he was looking into the brown pools of her eyes. He bent forward, and soon the two kissed.

It began slowly and gently. Both seemed completely relaxed as they let their lips communicate the depth of their emotions; this time without words. As the kiss progressed, the intensity of it began to flare. Ranma began to feel a heat spread from his heart to his entire body, and he found that his arms wrapped even more tightly around Kasumi, as if he couldn’t hold her close enough. He felt her arms tighten as well, and soon they became consumed by the fire that the kiss had ignited.

Just before it could intensify any further, Ranma pulled back. Kasumi opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly.

“Are you sure?” he asked softly.

Rather than answer with words, Kasumi leaned forward and began kissing him again. Soon, both of them were lost in one another.

--

Ranma’s eyes slowly blinked open, and the first thing he noticed was the slight scent of cherry blossoms. In his hazy condition, he couldn’t quite grasp where the fragrance was coming from. As he became more aware, several things began to filter into his mind.

First, he felt something tickling his nose. As his eyes focused, he found himself looking at a head full of brown hair. He faintly remembered that Kasumi used a shampoo that was scented with cherry blossoms, and he figured that the head of hair must belong to her.

Once comprehension hit, many other things became all too apparent. He suddenly realized that he was lying down next to Kasumi in his tent. Just before he was able to go into full panic mode, Ranma remembered that Kasumi had been the one to recommend that they do this. This helped ease his mind somewhat, but not entirely. His dread began to rise again when he realized that they were now in the exact opposite position from where they started. They were still in a spoon-like position, but she was now facing away from him while he was pressed into her back.

This wouldn’t have been too bad, but unfortunately the situation produced two unfortunate side effects. One was that he had his arm draped over her, and Ranma found that his hand was grasping onto something that it shouldn’t be, something quite soft. This was bad enough, but he also realized that he was experiencing that common problem most men have when they wake up, and that it was currently jabbing Kasumi in the posterior.

‘Oh dear kami! She’s gonna kill me!’ The fact that he was going to die a happy man was small comfort to Ranma at that moment in time. Again, he was about to panic, but there was something about Kasumi’s presence, and the comforting position he was in, that helped soothe him. ‘Okay, I gotta think this through. If I just jump away, she’s gonna wake up and realize what’s goin' on. But if I slowly move away, she won’t wake up and everything should be fine. Okay,’ he thought, psyching himself up, ‘that’s what I’m gonna do.’

The way Ranma saw it he had three objectives. First, he had to stop poking Kasumi. Second, he needed to slowly remove his hand from her chest. Third, once they were no longer in contact, he needed to slowly move away. Concentrating on his first goal, Ranma began to slowly scoot his hips away from Kasumi. After a few moments, he was no longer in contact with her backside.

Letting out a tiny sigh of relief, he began to move to the second phase of his plan. However, before he could start to move his hand, a gentle voice totally derailed both his mind and motions.

“Are you finally awake, sleepyhead?”

--

As Kasumi woke from her nap, she felt quite refreshed and relaxed. For some strange reason, she also felt wholly comforted. It took her a few moments, but she suddenly understood the reason why. She felt Ranma holding her tight, his arm draped over her in a protective gesture. His steady breathing, which caused his chest to press into her in a rhythmic pattern, left her feeling quite peaceful. For several minutes, she just laid there enjoying the sensation, before she realized exactly what Ranma’s hand had a hold of.

‘Oh my! This really isn’t proper, even if it does feel nice.’ Kasumi tried to quash that feeling, knowing that he shouldn’t have his hand there, and was about to wake Ranma up, when she paused. ‘Well, it’s not like he’s doing it on purpose. Besides, the poor dear must be exhausted from all his training. I should just wait until he moves himself and then I can get up without waking him.’

For the next ten minutes, Kasumi tried to avoid feeling guilty about the fact that she was immensely enjoying being held by her fiancé in such an intimate manner. It wasn’t as hard as she would have thought, because she felt so warm... so safe... so... so... cherished. She couldn’t prescribe a greater description to the feeling; it wasn’t love, at least not yet, but it was easy to see how it might be heading into that direction.

Thoughts of Ranma’s training brought home to her the immensity of exactly what it was he was doing for her. ‘He’s going through all of this to protect me. He could just marry Shampoo and then I would be safe, but instead he’s going through the hardest training he’s ever done... for me.’

That line of thinking caused Kasumi to consider the relationship she and Ranma were slowly developing. ‘He’s still very rough around the edges, but at least he’s trying so hard when he’s around me. I know a lot of that will be undone when we’re back home and he’s around everyone else, but at least some of it will certainly stick.’

Knowing she would still have her work cut out for her, she considered whether it was worth the effort in the long run. “Yes,” she whispered to herself without hesitation. ‘Despite all his faults, he’s still one of the most honorable and noble people I have ever met. He’s also warm, caring, and considerate; to me at least. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s incredibly handsome, that it’s a lot of fun kissing him, and it feels so wonderful when he holds me. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Ranma will encourage me to pursue whatever dreams I may have.’

Her contemplation was cut short as she felt her fiancé suddenly stiffen up behind her. ‘I wonder if he’s finally woken up?’ she asked herself. The question was answered shortly when she felt Ranma slowly, yet deliberately, move his torso away from her. It wasn’t until that moment that her mind truly understood what had been pressing against her. ‘Oh... OH MY!’ The small, relieved sigh Kasumi heard allowed her to understand that Ranma must be just as embarrassed, if not more so, than she was feeling. She decided to defuse the situation before her poor fiancé became totally unnerved.

“Are you finally awake, sleepyhead?” she asked gently.

--

“Uh,” was about the only coherent response that Ranma could form. ‘She don’t sound angry like Akane or nothin', but she’s gotta be pissed.’

“I asked if you were awake,” she said. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I’m sorry! It was an accident, I swear!”

Whatever Ranma was expecting, the small giggle that Kasumi let out wasn’t it. “Don’t worry about it Ranma, I know you weren’t doing anything on purpose. And after all, I was the one who recommended that we rest together.”

The relief that Ranma felt was palpable, in fact he was sure it was coming off him in waves. ‘Man, if only Akane woulda listened to me like this, who knows what coulda happened?’ He was about to thank her for being so forgiving, when her next words disrupted everything.

“Of course, I think it would be a good idea for you to remove your hand from my chest now.”

“Gah!” Ranma yanked his hand away as if her torso was made of molten lava. Immediately afterwards, he jumped away from her and nearly knocked the tent down onto both of them. He prostrated himself on the ground and began repeating over and over, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

When Kasumi giggled even louder than before, Ranma peeked up from where his head was bowed to the floor and noticed the radiant smile on her face. “I told you it was alright Ranma,” she said, once she had her tittering under control. Ranma took in her expression and began to breathe a small sigh of relief, which caught in his throat as she began speaking again.

“However...” she said in a chiding tone, “I expect that we’ll need to have a more solid commitment between us before you make a habit of touching me there again.”

“Ack!” Ranma sat up straight and began making warding motions in front of him with his hands. “I didn’t mean nothin',” he insisted. “You gotta believe me!” Internally, he couldn’t help but berate himself, even if part of him was trying to tell him that it was an honest mistake. ‘Jerk! Pervert! Akane was right about you. This is Kasumi for cryin' out loud! Yer worse than the old letch.’

“It’s okay Ranma,” he heard Kasumi repeat once again. To emphasize this, she reached forward to place her hand on his cheek. Unfortunately, all of his time at the Tendo’s home had conditioned him too well. He immediately equated this action to pain, and his instinct forced him to close his eyes while he cringed.

‘I deserve this,’ he thought, believing in his heart that it was true. ‘It don’t matter that I didn’t mean it. It still happened.’ After several seconds of not receiving a beating, Ranma hesitantly opened his eyes and looked at his fiancée. The frown she was directing towards him made him feel even worse, at least until she began to speak.

“Ranma,” she said quietly. Her voice was low like a deadpan, devoid of her usual cheerfulness as well as the anger Ranma would have expected in this situation. In fact, it sounded rather exasperated. “Do you truly think that I’m going to hit you for this?”

Moments ago, Ranma was absolutely sure that she was going to do just that. Now, he wasn’t quite so sure. “Umm, I guess,” he said weakly.

“Do you truly think so little of me?” Kasumi asked. The hurt that crept into her voice and was beginning to manifest on her face tore at Ranma’s heart.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Ranma evaluated the question. He considered the circumstances that led up to this encounter. ‘Kasumi asked ta rest with me. I was asleep when we ended up like that, so I didn’t do it on purpose or nothin'.’ He thought about what Kasumi had said after waking up. ‘Even Kasumi said it wasn’t my fault. I just couldn’t help it because I’m so used ta being hit when somethin' like this happens. But this is Kasumi. The only time she ever hit me was when I nearly killed myself for her. Because she was... worried... about me. Because she really does... care for me.’

The entire concept shocked Ranma to the core. ‘When was the last time someone cared about me? I think pops did before even the Neko-ken training, but I ain’t even sure of that. And how could my mom care if she let pops drag me off like that for ten years. Plus, she wants to make me commit seppuku if I don’t turn out the way she wants. Mr. Tendo only cares about me upholding that stupid pledge. Nabiki only seems to care about makin' money off me.’ He understood that the last thought might not be entirely accurate, but he wasn’t going to argue with himself at the moment.

His thoughts then turned to the girls who were after him. ‘To all of 'em, I ain’t nothin' but a piece of property. Kodachi couldn’t care less about what I want. Shampoo expects me ta honor her stupid laws and be her trophy husband. Maybe she does really care, but if she did she wouldn’t treat me the way she does. U-Chan is my friend, but she still always held that agreement over my head, not carin’ one bit whether or not I loved her in the same way. And Akane...’ Ranma had the equivalent of a mental sigh. ‘Akane always calls me a jerk and a pervert and said the engagement wasn’t real and that she didn’t want me. But she always blew up when another girl was nice ta me or I was nice ta another girl. Again, she didn’t care about what I wanted or how I felt.’

Finally, Ranma’s thought turned to his latest fiancée. ‘Kasumi... she is the most caring and gentle person I know. She’s kind, and sweet, and beautiful. She doesn’t force herself on me, and she always considers my feelings. Plus, she worked it out so that when the engagement was transferred to her that we had a way out, rather than try and trap me like the other girls woulda.’ Once again, Ranma was struck with what an incredible person she truly was. As he looked at her again, where she sat waiting for him to answer, Ranma couldn’t keep his thoughts from drifting into the inevitable direction.

‘I don’t deserve her.’

--

Kasumi sat there and watched the myriad of emotions play across Ranma’s face. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, and she was beginning to feel bad the way she had asked him the question. ‘It’s not poor Ranma’s fault. He’s just been conditioned to be this way. We’ll have to work on it.’

“I-I’m sorry Kasumi,” her fiancé said, breaking Kasumi out of her reverie. “You... don’t deserve ta have people think of you like that. You deserve someone better than that.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “Someone better than me.”

The utter conviction in his voice tore at Kasumi’s heart. ‘He can’t believe that! He can’t!’ Before he had a chance to react, Kasumi lunged forward and grabbed him in a fierce hug. “Don’t you ever say that!” she cried. “Don’t even think it. You are a wonderful person. I don’t want you to doubt that for a second.”

“But...” Ranma said, and she could feel him begin to choke up. “You’re so much better that I-”

“Stop,” Kasumi interrupted. “Please. I think you’re one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Are you suggesting that I’m lying to you about that?”

“N-No. It’s just... I mean...”

“Shhh,” Kasumi said. “Please... just believe me. Okay?”

Feeling Ranma nod slightly, Kasumi loosened her embrace enough so that she could look into his eyes. She saw the disbelief that was still there, but at least it had lessened somewhat. ‘Since actions seem to have such an effect on him, I guess that’s the best way to show him how serious I am.’

Keeping her eyes fixed on his, she slowly moved her face towards him. She tried to project as much love and acceptance as possible, and even though she moved slowly, she never hesitated.

Finally, her lips were pressed against Ranma’s, and she proceeded to demonstrate what she felt. After she insured that Ranma was beginning to get into it as much as she was, she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

After several minutes, Kasumi broke away slightly and adjusted their position to make them both more comfortable. She then continued kissing her fiancé. The amount of time this went on was hard to estimate, but Kasumi figured they had been at it at least twenty minutes when she finally pulled away.

She sat back a little and looked into Ranma’s eyes. “Now,” she said sweetly, “do you believe me when I say that I think you’re a wonderful person?”

“Yeah,” Ranma said, with the barest hint of a silly grin on his face. “I still don’t get why, but I do understand.”

“Good. Whenever you begin to feel differently about yourself, I want you to remember how I feel. Can you do that for me?”

“O-Okay,” Ranma said. He thought the matter settled, but then his grin diminished and he looked down at his lap.

“What’s wrong Ranma?”

“Well... It’s just... I mean...”

Kasumi watched as he wrung his hands together. ‘Why is he so nervous?’ she wondered. She thought about prodding him for information, but decided it would be best if he worked out whatever was bothering him on his own. After several minutes of this though, she considered changing her mind and prompting him, but he finally took a deep breath and spoke.

“While we’ve been out here,” Ranma said, finally raising his head to look at her again, “I’ve been thinkin' a lot about our engagement.” When he paused, Kasumi smiled at him and nodded her head, and he continued. “I’m really glad ya worked in those deals with our dads, but I’m real worried about how ya said it, and knowing those two jerks, they’re gonna hold ya too it.”

Cocking her head to one side, Kasumi gave him a questioning expression. “I don’t follow you Ranma.”

“Well, ya told 'em that if I decided I wanted ta marry you, that I would hafta. But you never said anything 'bout you.”

“I’m still not sure I understand,” she said, though mentally she figured where he might be going with this. ‘This is going to end up like that same conversation that I had with Nabiki.’

“Kasumi,” he said softly, and reached forward to take her hands in his. “Ya only said that I had ta wanna marry you, and not the other way around.” He took another deep breath and she could see him steeling himself for something big. “It’s just... In the short time we’ve been engaged, it’s been... wonderful. I know we still have a long ways ta go, and I don’t think we’re really in l-love or nothin', at least... not yet. But by the time I’m outta high school, I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t wanna marry you. Hell, what idiot in their right mind wouldn’t?”

The eldest Tendo daughter found herself simply glowing at his words. ‘It’s amazing how he can force himself around that foot in mouth disease to come out with something truly as heartwarming as that.’

“But, here’s my problem,” he continued. “Ya say all these nice things about me right now, and you might even believe 'em when I graduate, but that don’t mean you’ll wanna marry me then. And there’s no way I’m gonna let you force yourself into that; agreement be damned.” He held up one hand to forestall her from saying anything. “Now, I know what you said about honor and all, and I believe you one-hundred percent, but my honor will not allow you ta marry someone you don’t love. So what I’m sayin' is this... If, when I graduate, you don’t wanna marry me, I’m gonna tell our pops that I don’t wanna marry you. Yes, it’ll probably be a lie on my part, but there’s no way in hell I could live with myself if that happened.”

‘It’s just like I told Nabiki,’ she thought again. ‘I knew he would never force me into anything. He’s much too honorable and noble. It feels so wonderful to have someone care about me so much again, it’s been a long time.’ The warmhearted feelings seized her, and she found herself starting to cry.

“Ack!” Ranma cried. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean whatever it is that I said that made ya cry.”

‘Poor Ranma,’ Kasumi couldn’t help but think while he squirmed. ‘We really need to work on how he interprets other people’s emotions.’ She let out a giggle amidst the tears.

“It’s okay Ranma,” she said. “This is one of those good cries.”

“Oh,” he replied, placing one hand on the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I didn’t realize I said anything that would make ya so happy.”

“And that, my dear fiancé, is one of the traits about you that I admire so much. You simply speak from the heart, not hoping to gain anything from it, but merely telling things the way you see them. That makes them all the more special.”

“Umm,” he said, with a nervous titter in his throat, “if ya say so.”

“I do,” Kasumi said and then giggled some more. “In fact, I’ll do more than tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Without waiting for a response, Kasumi dove forward and tackled him on the floor of the tent. She then proceeded to give him the most passionate kissing session the two had to date.

---

In a place far removed from all romantic intentions, one Kodachi Kuno sat on the small bed of her cell and contemplated her revenge. It was after ten at night, and in the background a few of the inmates were still awake, screaming out obscenities or making many other unpleasant noises.

‘Fools,’ she thought, ‘don’t they understand that they are only prolonging their stay here?’ It’s true that when she was first brought here several days ago, she acted in much the same way.

‘How could it be helped though? They told me that I cannot see my beloved Ranma and that I must spend my time in this kami-forsaken place.’

It hadn’t taken her long to realize the futility of struggling, at least until she was ready. Therefore, she immediately forced herself to be calm, and had made it a point to do everything in her power to lull the guards and other staff into a false sense of security. She didn’t work out while they were around, but rather waited until after lights-out to do so.

She had just finished her workout minutes before, and was spending this time planning before going to sleep. ‘I shall continue to feed these doctors whatever drivel they wish to hear. I will also continue to palm the medicine that they are trying to give me in an effort to dull my mind. I will be courteous and friendly to the guards, not too great a feat since I had to act that way towards my brother and father on occasion. Then, once they believe that I am completely under their sway, I will strike.’

Kodachi had no illusion that she might have to seriously injure some people to escape; in fact she was quite willing to do much worse. In her mind, staying in this place would mean that Ranma would fall under the spell of the eldest Tendo girl and be lost to her forever. Consequences no longer mattered; only taking vengeance against those who had wronged her and rescuing Ranma were even considered these days.

‘Once I escape, I shall go home to obtain my gymnast’s tools. Should I deal with Sasuke and my family then?’ She pondered the question for a few moments. ‘No, it’s possible that they might escape and then the alarm will be raised too quickly. I shall disconnect the phone lines from the house first so that they won’t receive any calls about my escape. Then I will gather what I need. Afterwards, I will immediately make my way to the Tendo house. I will kill the oldest one to prevent her from ever getting her claws into my darling Ranma again.’

Her imagination allowed itself full reign as she imagined Ranma gathering her up into a great hug and giving her a passionate kiss as a reward for rescuing him. Then the two could escape and live together, planning their revenge against everyone who had kept them apart. They would strike from the shadows without mercy, and once done, they would be able to live happily ever after.

The raven-haired gymnast nearly let out one of her infamous laughs, but managed to catch herself in time. She found that for some reason it caused the doctors and guards to be more on edge around her, and she couldn’t image why.

‘They are probably just jealous of how happy I am. Well, they shall also feel our revenge Ranma darling, since they are trying to keep us apart as well.’

Settling for a wide grin instead of a laugh, Kodachi laid back in her bed and was soon asleep; dreaming dreams of her beloved and the happy life they would lead together.

--

Ukyo sat in her bedroom, which was situated above her Okonomiyaki restaurant, not even bothering to restrict the tears that were pouring down her face. In her hands was the letter she had received from Ranma earlier that day. When she had first received it, she had been in the middle of serving a customer. She had been tempted to throw everyone out and rip open the letter, but as she imagined what it contained, she managed to refrain.

Therefore, Ukyo had closed the restaurant at the normal time, locked up, performed her normal cleaning routine, got ready for bed, and then finally sat and read the letter in her room. At first, she had fought the tears, but then realized how futile it was and let herself go. After several minutes, she forced herself to read through it one more time.

“Dear Ukyo,

I can only hope that you’re doing well. After the way I treated you, it might surprise you just how much I want you to be happy. I told you the truth that day in class, I would do almost anything for you, but as I said, marriage just can’t be one of those things. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but if there is anything else I can do to make up for what I’ve done, please tell me. You are my best friend, and no matter what, I don’t want that to change. I hope that you’ll be able to forgive me in time.

“Anyhow, I’m sure you’ve heard by now what’s going on. If not, please keep this to yourself. Because Akane canceled our engagement, I am now engaged to Kasumi. I challenged both Kodachi and Shampoo in an effort to get them to leave me alone and to protect Kasumi. I won against Kodachi, but I still don’t trust her. Nabiki is continuing to work on things from that end. I can only pray that she finds some way to deal with that maniac.

“As far as Shampoo goes, I have been training non-stop with Mousse and Ryoga. Things have been going well, but I’m still worried about what the old ghoul might do. I have developed one new special technique and will be focusing on a few more before we come back from our trip. If you are able to attend the match, and aren’t still angry at me, I would like to have you there for support. It would mean a lot to me.

“Well, I need to go. I still have homework to do (Kasumi is quite the task-mistress). Remember, I will always consider you my friend, even if you hate me for what I’ve done.

Love always,

Ranma”

‘Jackass,’ Ukyo couldn’t help but think. ‘I know he means well, but it still hurts damn it. It doesn’t really help that he obviously had Kasumi help him write this thing. It might mean something more if he actually wrote the whole thing himself.’

Again, she wanted to be so angry with Ranma, or even Kasumi, but in either case, she was having difficulty mustering what it took. ‘How the hell can I be angry at Kasumi? And even though he’s a jackass, Ranma did tell me constantly that I was just a friend. Of course, that doesn’t help when I’m going to have to deal with my family.’

The fact that she hadn’t been in contact with any of them in the last five years meant that she wasn’t overly concerned with what they thought. Her whole quest for vengeance had been more for herself than her family honor. While she found family honor important, she had begun to realize that her own personal honor, and being true to herself, were much more important.

With that in mind, Ukyo folded up the letter and set it next to her futon. After crawling under the covers, she stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. Before finally managing to fall asleep, she muttered something under her breath that she wouldn’t likely remember the next day.

“Ranma, you jackass.”

--

Akane laid in her bed, contemplating the rather interesting pattern on the ceiling of her room, in an effort to ignore the maelstrom of emotions that she was feeling. On the one hand, she was elated at the training she was undergoing now that her father had agreed to instruct her again. The warm feelings that she was experiencing revolved several aspects of that fact.

‘It feels really good to actually spend some decent time with dad again. Also,’ she thought with a rueful chuckle, ‘it’s nice that he’s finally starting to act like a grownup again. The best part though, is that it’s great to finally have someone help me improve in my martial arts. Especially since that jerk Ranma wouldn’t...”

This immediately led her into the other predominant emotion she was undergoing; extreme sadness. Contrived situations of what was happening at a certain campsite kept surfacing to torment her. Ranma eating and immensely enjoying Kasumi’s cooking, while he complimented her on what a great wife she would make. Ranma sitting by the firelight holding Kasumi’s hand. Ranma and Kasumi kissing under the stars...

“Argh!” she grunted. ‘There’s no way Kasumi would let that pervert do that.’ It didn’t take long for Akane to remember that, with Nabiki’s help, she had already determined that Ranma was not, in fact, a pervert.

‘Old habits die hard,’ she thought with a sigh. This led her back to the conversation she had with her father not too long ago in which she agreed to treat Ranma better if they became engaged again. ‘Can I really do it? Can I stop hitting first and asking questions later? Can I give him the benefit of the doubt?’

These questions were not easy for her to answer. A small consolation was that Ranma wouldn’t have Ukyo or Shampoo hanging all over him anymore. ‘That’ll certainly help. The same goes for Kodachi.’ This caused her to shudder. ‘I’m glad that psycho is locked up. At least we don’t have to worry about her for a while.’

As her thoughts continued to swirl, Akane realized that she was doing exactly what she had been trying to avoid. Apparently her ceiling wasn’t interesting enough to distract her from her problems and she found that her distress over Ranma was actually winning out over all else. This had the unfortunate effect of leaving her more depressed than when she had first laid down.

Breathing out another sigh, Akane turned her lights off and rolled onto her side in an effort to get to sleep. It took a long time, but throughout, one thought kept circling through her mind.

‘I hope they hurry up and get home.’

--

Ryoga laid in his sleeping bag and regarded his tent, once again thanking all that was holy that he had purchased the highest quality one available and that it did such a good job keeping the water out. It had stopped raining before dinner, but he really didn’t want to have to worry about puddles on the floor of his little shelter. He really had no interest in spending any more time as a pig than necessary. The only exception to this had been when he was masquerading as Akane’s pet. This train of thought managed to leave him quite depressed, not enough for a Perfect Shi-Shi Hokodan, but still enough to be very impressive.

‘Damn it, it’s all Ranma’s fault that I became P-chan in the first place. If that hadn’t happened, I... that is...’ It was no use though. The verbal tongue lashing that Kasumi had given him several days before still haunted him. ‘Even if she’s wrong and it wasn’t my fault for following Ranma, I still didn’t have to be Akane’s pet. I also could’ve told her myself instead of waiting for it to come out like it did.’

The words from Kasumi, as well as those from Akane and Mousse, and Ranma to a lesser extent, continued to force themselves into his conscious mind. ‘If it was just Ranma, I could say it’s a load of crap and leave it at that. But Akane and Kasumi told me it’s my own fault. Even Mousse, jerk that he is, thinks it’s my fault. If that’s true, then I really did dishonor Akane.’

Fortunately, Ryoga was able to remember that things weren’t nearly as bad as Akane had portrayed them when she found out. ‘I never did watch her u-un-undress,’ he thought with a gulp. ‘And I never tried to take advantage of her physically. But what is it she said to me? 'You listened to all my secrets and then used them against me.' What did she mean by that?’

It was difficult for Ryoga to understand, but he did his best to apply his meager intellect to the problem. ‘I never told anyone her secrets. And the only time I ever reacted to any of them was when she was talking about her relationship with Ranma. But what does... that... have...’

For poor Ryoga, the answer hit him like a lightning bolt. ‘No! It’s not possible. She couldn’t have meant that! That would mean that she l... lo...’ The thought was too much for him to even finish. He tried to deny it, but too many one-sided conversations between Akane and P-chan came to the fore. Talks where she would let out her frustrations regarding Ranma, only to have Ryoga go and try to hurt his pig-tailed nemesis, or at the very least where he would try to convince her, when he was human again, what a jerk Ranma was. Or talks where she was particularly happy with Ranma, where Ryoga would then go and try to outdo him in an effort to win Akane’s love.

Try as he might, Ryoga was unable to come up with another explanation for what Akane had been referring to. ‘She really did lo... care for him.’ He tried to blow it off though. ‘It doesn’t matter, that jerk doesn’t deserve her. But if that’s true, then why don’t I care that he’s with Kasumi? Is she less of a person than Akane?’

The answer was an immediate no, and this line of thinking brought back the memories of his conversations with Mousse earlier in the day. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, he was forced to ponder the question that Mousse had posed. ‘Did I really think that Ranma wasn’t good enough for Akane? Or was the only reason I got so upset because I wanted her for myself?’

“No,” he whispered without as much conviction as he would have liked. “That can’t be the truth.”

Closing his eyes, Ryoga did his best to focus on something else, anything else, in an effort to avoid looking further into that vein of thought. He was able to partially succeed, and soon found himself in the middle of a troubled sleep.

--

Off somewhere in the mountains, in the opposite direction from Nerima where Ranma and his companions were currently residing, an old woman cackled with glee. She sat by the firelight performing two tasks simultaneously. The first was watching as her granddaughter trained. It was amazing how far the girl had come. Her determination was beyond commendable, and the vast knowledge of 3000 years of Amazon martial arts techniques was shining through. Cologne had no doubt that at the pace they were proceeding her granddaughter would win her match against Ranma.

A small noise from the fire drew her to her second task. Amongst the troves of lore that her tribe possessed was a formula for a potion that would allow someone to remain awake for an indefinite period of time. This meant that she was able to train Shampoo all day and all night. Unfortunately it had a few drawbacks. First, the ingredients were very difficult to acquire, and this trip was going to exhaust her entire supply. It would likely take a training journey of a year or more to replenish them.

‘Well,’ the old crone thought to herself. ‘I can make that one of the first things that Shampoo and Ranma do together after their married. It will make an excellent honeymoon.’ She let out another shrill sounding laugh at that.

The other drawback to the potion was that long-term use could have lasting harmful effect. Fortunately, a month wouldn’t cause too much trouble. To be safe though, she would use shiatsu points to force Shampoo to sleep for two full days right before they were to return. This would make sure that she was in absolute top form for the duel.

A flash of light drew her attention away from the concoction. She looked up in time to see her granddaughter finish one of her new special attacks with the exceptional, and quite distinctive, set of bonbori that Cologne had provided for her.

‘With those bonbori, the new special techniques I’ve taught her, and all of the training she’s doing, son-in-law won’t know what hit him.’

Chapter 21: It's all in the ki

“Uh uh. No way,” Ranma said. Her jaw was set firmly, her arms crossed over her breasts, and her eyes were narrowed. “Ain’t gonna happen, Kasumi.”

The eldest Tendo daughter blew out a long-suffering sigh in response. “Ranma, this is for your own good.” The two were in her tent, where she had just brought Ranma for a little talk.

“Look,” Ranma replied, her body tensing like a coiled spring, “I understand that ya mean well and all. But there just ain’t no way.”

Kasumi looked down at the item in her hands that was causing this unbelievable stubborn streak in Ranma and shook her head. ‘I know he’s had some bad experiences before,’ she mused, ‘especially because of Happosai, but does he have to be so obstinate?’

“Let me explain it again for you,” she said, her tone leaking exasperation. “Your lower back is hurting because-”

“I remember everything ya already said, Kasumi,” the redhead interrupted, “but that still ain’t gonna change my mind. I’ll just deal with the pain. It ain’t like I haven’t had to before.”

The words ‘pig-headed’ and ‘mulish’ were on the tip of Kasumi’s tongue, but she held them back by clamping her mouth closed with an audible click. She took in her fiancé’s countenance fully and asked herself rhetorically, ‘I’m not going to change his mind, am I?’

“Fine,” she said after contemplating for a few moments. “How about a compromise?”

“Compromise?” Ranma asked hesitantly. Her body loosened up a bit, as did her jaw, and Kasumi fought to keep a small smile from slipping onto her face.

“Since you won’t wear this...” Kasumi held the bra up closer towards Ranma’s face, causing the younger girl’s face to redden a bit. “How about we just bind your chest instead?”

“Uh... what’s that mean?” the redhead wondered aloud. Her face reddened further and she took a half step backwards.

‘Probably because the bra I’m holding in front of her is one of mine.’ It was an item they had not bothered to shop for, and since their cup size was roughly comparable, Kasumi figured that using one of hers would be adequate until their next trip into town. ‘Even though that’s not the reason why he won’t wear it, it’s still kind of cute to watch him squirm when looking at one of mine.’ A small smirk vanished almost as fast as it appeared as she focused on the question her fiancé had asked.

“It means we use the elastic bandages that I brought along to secure your breasts into place. This will have a similar effect as a bra; in that your back will hurt less, and they won’t cause you as many balance problems.”

“I dunno Kasumi,” Ranma replied doubtfully. “I mean, Shampoo’s boobs are almost as big as mine, and she don’t wear a bra or nothin'.”

“Oh?” Kasumi replied. Her voice was even, but the half-lidded stare she was giving Ranma was indicative of her developing mood. “How would you know that?”

Not at all grasping the dangerous ground she was treading, Ranma’s mouth ventured forth. “Well, I’ve seen her fight enough times. And it’s really easy ta tell with the way those things bounce all over the place. Plus, when she glomps on ta me and rubs 'em all over, you... can...”

Kasumi wasn’t sure why Ranma finally stopped, but she figured it had something to do with the amount of anger she was generating. This was confirmed a moment later when Ranma’s eyes doubled in size, she backed away a step, and started waving her arms in front of her frantically.

“I didn’t mean nothin' by that. I swear. It’s just kinda hard not ta notice 'em. I mean... That is... Crap. I’m... I’m just gonna shut up now.”

“That would be a wise idea Ranma,” Kasumi hissed between clenched teeth. The older girl mentally counted to ten and took several deep breaths. “I would also suggest that you don’t talk to me about Shampoo’s breasts anymore. Or anyone else’s for that matter. Do we understand one another?”

If Ranma wasn’t better trained, she might have gotten whiplash by the way she nodded her head so quickly. For now, since Ranma really needed to get to her training, Kasumi decided to let it go. ‘But I’ll be giving him a stern talking to later.’

“Now,” she said, taking advantage of the fact that Ranma was going to be putty in her hands for a while, “you are going to let me bind your chest. Right?”

Ranma almost looked hesitant again, but a mild glare from Kasumi stopped that in its tracks. “S-Sure, Kasumi,” she answered quickly. “Whatever you say.”

“Good. Now I want you to face away from me, take your shirt off, and I’ll get the bandages.”

Once again, Ranma seemed uncertain, and once again, Kasumi merely had to narrow her eyes a bit to nip the reaction in the bud. She heard the redhead sigh as she turned away and took off her shirt.

As she grabbed the bandages, Kasumi decided that the next time they were in town they would need to pick up a few sports bras for Ranma. ‘They don’t look like real bras, and as long as they’re plain enough, he shouldn’t balk.’ She tapped one finger against the side of her mouth and grinned. ‘Of course, I’ll make sure that I don’t use the word 'bra' in conjunction with them. Hmm, athletic support. That sounds much less feminine.’

Kasumi chuckled as she bound her fiancé’s breasts. The giggling only grew louder as Ranma squirmed under the contact.

--

‘The eye of the hurricane.’

Nabiki, in talking to one of her factors, had once called herself that. “Nerima is like a giant hurricane,” she’d said.

“Ranma-baby is the wind that fuels the chaos, while my sister, the Amazon’s, Ukyo, Ryoga, the Kuno’s and the rest are the rain that batter everything around them. The ordinary citizens and property are the land that gets caught up in storm. Me, I’m the eye. Undeniably part of the hurricane, but a center of controlled calm that is unaffected by the all the other components.”

Of course, if that were completely true, then she would have a hard time explaining her actions over the past several weeks. The manner in which she tried to assist Ranma with his female problems without milking him for all he was worth, her maneuvering to get Kasumi to go with Ranma on his trip, and her attempts at comforting Akane; none of these events lined up with the carefully created image that she’d enacted over the years. However, knowing herself as well as she did, it only took Nabiki a moment of contemplation to understand why.

‘I love my family.’

Thus it was, she found herself standing in front of the gates of Furinkan High ten minutes earlier than her norm, speaking with Akane’s friends Sayuri and Yuka.

“Is everything all set on your end?” Nabiki asked the girls.

“Yes,” Yuka replied. “We invited everyone on the list.”

“We also made sure to tell them to keep it a secret,” Sayuri interjected.

“Excellent,” Nabiki said. “I’ve arranged for all the food and made sure to get my father and Mr. Saotome out of the house for the night.”

“Do we even want to know?” Yuka asked with a small smile.

“Nothing sinister,” Nabiki said with a smirk. “I just arranged a night at a hot spring with a lot of drinking.”

“Ouch,” Sayuri said. “With the way Akane describes their drinking, it sounds like it’ll cost a fortune.”

“Nah,” Nabiki said, waving her hand in dismissal. “We already budget about two weekly drinking binges for those two. They usually revolve around Akane and Ranma. Either because they thought the schools would be joined, or the opposite.”

Both of the younger girls scrunched up their faces. “Speaking of Ranma, have you heard from them at all?” Yuka asked.

“Yes. Every Saturday, Ranma and Kasumi go into town for supplies. I’ve received two postcards from Kasumi so far.”

“And?” Sayuri prompted.

“Well, let’s just say that Akane’s chances of getting back together with Ranma aren’t looking very good.”

“Even though I feel sorry for Akane,” Yuka replied, “I’m almost relieved. I know she really cares for Ranma, but I really don’t know if those two would’ve ever been able to work out their problems.”

“True,” Sayuri said. “Before this whole thing blew up, we always kinda figured that everything would end up okay. But since then, with things finally quiet, it’s easy to look back and see just how messed up their relationship was.”

“I know.” Nabiki sighed. “That American saying about hindsight being 20-20 certainly applies here. Anyhow, I did have one other question for you both. What do you think about me inviting Ukyo to the party?”

“Why?” both girls asked at the same time.

Nabiki explained how Ukyo had agreed to help out with Kodachi. “Also, even though she would remind Akane of Ranma, Ukyo and her have always been friendly rivals. Nothing like Shampoo or Kodachi. Besides, even though Akane might not stand much of a chance now because of Kasumi, Ranma made it clear that Ukyo has exactly a zero percent chance.”

“With the pressure off,” Sayuri said after a moment of contemplation, “I think that those two probably could become great friends. It’s certainly worth a shot.” Yuka nodded in agreement.

“Okay then, I’ll ask her today.” Nabiki looked around. “Uh oh, Akane’s probably going to be here any second. We better break this up before she sees us and gets suspicious.”

With a wink, Nabiki left the younger girls to wait for Akane, while she moved off to talk with her factors.

--

Ryoga sat at the campfire, slowly eating his lunch. Well, slow in comparison to his pigtailed nemesis, who still made the habit of inhaling her food at light-speed.

“Ranma!” Kasumi admonished. “How many times do I need to tell you to slow down?”

“Sorry Kasumi,” the redhead replied with a sheepish grin. “But I gotta finish fast so I can get back to training.”

Despite everything that had happened between them, Ryoga couldn’t help but be impressed with Ranma’s eagerness when it came to training. ‘It’s amazing. Mousse and I get to tag-team him, and neither one of us do all the exercises that he’s doing before breakfast and after lunch, but while we’re worn-out, he’s still raring to go. I mean, I know Mousse and I like to train too, but Ranma is insane.’

“I think,” Mousse responded before Kasumi could, “that you can afford an extra minute or two and eat like a civilized person.”

“Nobody asked yer opinion, duck boy,” Ranma snapped.

Kasumi frowned at her fiancé. “I happen to agree with him. Are you saying you don’t want my opinion?”

After swallowing her current helping, Ranma responded moodily, “I didn’t say that.”

“Also,” the eldest Tendo girl continued, “what have I told you about insulting people?”

“Ah, c’mon Kasumi. You know it’s part of my fighting style.”

“But you’re not fighting right now,” she pointed out.

“I gotta keep in practice though,” Ranma replied with her cocky grin.

“Ranma.” Kasumi’s voice was teetering somewhere between frustration and exasperation.

“Fine,” the redhead replied with a “humph”. “I’ll just save it for when we spar.”

Everyone ate in silence for another minute, with Ranma eating at a decidedly slower pace, before Ryoga spoke again.

“Ranma. I know you have your new chestnut kick attack, and your speed, strength and stamina have all improved a lot, but have you thought about any other kinds of attacks? We have less than two weeks left.”

“Well,” she replied, after finishing off the rest of her stew and handing the bowl to Kasumi for another helping. “Up till now, I wanted to accomplish several things. You already mentioned some of them. I also have been working with Mousse to develop counters to the most dangerous of the Amazon Wu Shu moves. I also had him fighting mainly with maces, since that’s Shampoo’s best weapon. With that, and fighting you unarmed, I think I’ve had a lot of time to prepare.”

“True,” Mousse agreed. “But you’re going to need to come up with some tricks of your own.”

“I’ve got my new chestnut kick,” Ranma countered. “Plus, even as a male I was faster than Shampoo. My female form was already way past her, and now the difference is even greater.”

“I’m sure she’s going to be faster from her training as well,” Ryoga said. Ranma looked ready to argue the point, but after thinking about it, she merely nodded. “Actually, I was wondering if you should develop a new ki attack to go along with everything else.”

“Why?” Ranma asked. “What’s wrong with the Moko Takabisha?”

“Several things actually,” Ryoga replied. “First, I think you need an attack that’s at least as powerful as a Perfect Shi-Shi Hokodan to counter anything Cologne thinks up. Second, they are already familiar with the attack, so giving Shampoo something new would keep her off balance. Lastly, your Moko Takabisha is based on confidence. What happens if they pull out something that shakes your confidence? Your attack would just be weaker.”

Ranma snorted and was about to rebut, however Kasumi spoke first. “I agree with him Ranma. All of his points are quite valid.”

Ryoga watched as Ranma looked at Mousse, who nodded as well. The pigtailed girl rolled her eyes for a moment, before scrunching up her face in concentration. About a minute later, she spoke.

“Not that I’m agreeing with ya,” she said, “but I guess it couldn’t hurt to have another ki attack.”

This time it was everyone else’s turn to roll their eyes, but since Ranma agreed, nobody said anything. After Ranma finished, Ryoga watched as she went and strapped on her barrel, which by this point was nearly full of water, and took off for her afternoon jog.

--

Ranma stood bent over, with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She, Mousse, and Ryoga had spent half the morning performing their standard routine. She was now at the point where she could keep up with the two of them tag-teaming her constantly.

They normally began by her merely dodging for the first hour, with the two guys changing spots every fifteen minutes. The second hour was almost the same, except she would be able to perform normal attacks in return. The third hour consisted of a free-for-all with both guys attacking Ranma at once, with her being able to retaliate in any way she could. Then they would break for lunch, after which Ranma would perform her hour-long run with the barrel on her back, while Ryoga and Mousse would rest. Then they would go back to another rigorous schedule of training in the afternoon, until it was time for Ranma to cool down and train Kasumi, and finally dinner and studying.

Today, however, they reduced the morning hour-long segments by half so they could spend the rest of the morning working on Ranma’s new ki attack. Fortunately, Kasumi was back at camp. The distance would be adequate to protect her from any wayward bursts of energy.

“Okay,” Ryoga said, after he took the necessary time to catch his own breath. “Have you decided what emotion you want to try?”

“Well,” Ranma said as she stood straight and massaged the back of her neck, “no matter how hard I try, I know that I’ll never be able to get as depressed as you, porky.”

“Too bad stupidity isn’t an emotion,” Ryoga scowled, “otherwise you’d have the most powerful attack in the world.” He looked ready to start pounding on the redhead, but managed to hold himself in check.

Ranma was about to retort, but Mousse interrupted. “We don’t have time for your petty squabbling. We need to work on this.”

As she saw Ryoga back down, Ranma couldn’t help but shrug off his comment and grin internally. ‘Since I can’t insult them with Kasumi around, I gotta take the chances where I can get them.’

“Anyhow, what about anger?” Mousse asked.

“Hmm,” Ranma said. “I dunno. Gettin' angry in a fight is usually a really bad idea. But, I guess it’s worth a shot. Let’s give it a try.”

Mousse and Ryoga moved away from the direction Ranma was facing in order to avoid getting hit by the attack. Once the pigtailed martial artist was also sure she wasn’t facing towards the camp, she closed her eyes and began to focus.

‘Angry,’ she thought to herself. ‘What makes me angry? Well, Shampoo and Cologne and those stupid Amazon laws. Kodachi always trying to drug me. Akane and that stupid mallet, and how she never listens to me and always assumes the worst.’

Her thoughts then turned to the one person who angered her more than any other. ‘Pops. That stupid bastard. Taking me away from Mom. Jusenkyo! The Amazons! All that damn torture he put me through. The stupid contract with Mom! The C-Cat Fist!’ That final thought conjured up other emotions, but she forced them down.

As these memories flashed through her mind, Ranma’s anger percolated towards the top of her consciousness and began to spread throughout her body. It was a hot, uncontrolled rush that continued to build upon itself until Ranma felt that she would be totally consumed. Once she was sure it had reached its peak, she placed her hands forward and tried to focus all that wild energy between her hands.

It wasn’t easy. Ranma had never been one to remain angry. This was a good thing for those around her. If she had allowed himself to focus on anger, it’s likely that people like Genma, Akane, Ryoga, Mousse and others would have been on the receiving end of a wrath the likes of which they might not have survived.

Now, she was purposefully trying to cultivate that anger.

‘Concentrate,’ she demanded of herself. ‘Don’t let it go outta control. Pull it all together and compress it.’ Once she felt she couldn’t control it any longer, Ranma opened her eyes, got into a loose stance, and gave the collected energy a strong push.

“Tengoku Doki!” she screamed, as the discharge of hot ki shot forth from her hands.

The blast was impressive, or at least it would have been to the uniformed. However, to Ranma’s eyes, its level of power was slightly below that of his Moko Takabisha attack. Formidable to be sure, but not really what they were looking for.

Ranma turned to look at the others. Mousse regarded her with a raised eyebrow. “Heaven’s wrath?” he snorted. “That’s a little presumptuous, even for you.”

Ryoga, however, took a less tactful stance. He dropped to the ground and was rolling around in uncontrolled laughter. “That... that sounds... like something... Kuno would come up with.”

“Pffft, whatever,” Ranma responded indignantly. “It’s the best I could come up with on the spot.”

After a few minutes, Ryoga finally managed to contain himself and stand up, wiping tears from his eyes after that healthy chuckle. Then he began his critique. “I could certainly feel the anger behind it, but it was too unfocused. The result wasn’t bad, but it would never stand up to a regular Shi-Shi Hokodan, let alone a perfect one.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that. I just have a hard time holding onto anger. Always have.” She merely shrugged.

“Well,” Mousse said, “knowing you, I can’t think of any emotion that you might feel more than the confidence you use for your Moko Takabisha. Anger was the only likely candidate that seemed reasonable.”

Both Ranma and Ryoga nodded in agreement. For the next ten minutes, the three just stood there lost in thought, trying to come up with a potential solution. Ranma tried a few time to focus on other emotions, but nothing seemed to work well.

‘Happiness didn’t work,’ she thought to herself. ‘I’ve never had much of it during my life. And even though I’ve been happy with Kasumi recently, it’s not enough to base a ki attack off of L-Love,’ she gulped a bit, ‘is the same way. I know I-I’m heading in that direction with Kasumi, but it’s nowhere near powerful enough yet. What else is there?’

One emotion did make its way to the fore, but Ranma tried to immediately dismiss it. ‘No way! I ain’t afraid of nothin'.’ Try as she might though, while honestly evaluating her thoughts, she couldn’t deny it for long.

‘Okay,’ she admitted reluctantly, as she closed her eyes once again to concentrate. ‘I am afraid that something might happen to Kasumi. And I guess I’m a little anxious that I’ll get stuck in that stupid Amazon village for the rest of my life. Of course, the worst thing of all is those little slit-eyed, furry demons that were created in the bowels of Hell!’

Slowly, almost against her will, thoughts of being repeatedly thrown into the pit of starving cats began to flood into Ranma’s mind. The pain of the claws, the hissing and howling as they attacked, the panic that his father might leave him there; all these came out in a rush.

Since Ranma was focusing on it in an effort to harvest the emotion, she found that she had to fight to keep herself from actually falling into the Neko-Ken. It wasn’t too difficult since there were no cats around, but it wasn’t easy either. As she allowed the terror of that time to coalesce throughout her being, Ranma could feel the emotion like an inky, black oil all over her skin. Using every ounce of concentration she possessed, Ranma let it nearly boil over before thrusting her arms forward and condensing the fear between her hands. Once she was certain that she could contain it no longer, she let it tear loose.

“Neko-Ken Bakufuu!” she roared, as a huge discharge of ki shot forth. After a good ten seconds, the blast was gone and she turned to look at the others. Both were gaping at her.

“How’s that?” Ranma asked in a subdued tone. The blast had left her feeling... well, dirty would be the best description.

“That was... uh, good,” Mousse said lamely.

“Uh, yeah,” Ryoga agreed, before shaking his head as if to clear it. “That was nearly as powerful as the perfect Shi-Shi Hokodan.”

“Yeah, right,” Ranma grunted, starting to feel a little better as her confidence and other more normal emotions resumed control. “I’d say it was at least as powerful, if not more so.”

Ryoga looked like he was ready to retort, but Mousse cut him off. “The Cat Fist Blast huh? I take it you somehow managed to harness the power of the Neko-Ken and project it into a ki attack.”

“Uh, yeah,” Ranma said nervously. ‘No way in hell I’m telling these two that it was based on the fear that drives me into the Neko-Ken.’

“Fine, whatever,” Ryoga said in dismissal. “Now that you have another ki attack to work with, let’s get back to practicing. I say we should return to our normal schedule, except you should take the final hour of practice in the afternoon to focus and control the blast. You should do that every day that we have left.”

Ranma thought about it for a moment, and finally agreed the idea was sound. She was, however, not looking forward to revisiting those emotions every day. ‘But if it’ll help win this fight...’ her thoughts trailed off as she contemplated what it would mean to lose. ‘I ain’t gonna lose!’

With that, the three returned to their normal routine.

--

Kodachi tried to suppress a shiver as she felt the hands roam over her body, but she wasn’t as successful as she’d hoped. It was obvious that it had been noticed despite the fact she was bound to her bed.

“Getting excited, huh?” a male voice inquired from beside her.

‘More like trying to keep myself from retching,’ she thought disgustedly. However, for her plan to work, she had to continue to appease the orderly who was currently groping her.

“Yes, Karou-sama,” she replied with a throaty moan.

“Good girl,” he replied. A very small amount of light filtered into her room through the shatterproof plastic windows that overlooked the courtyard. She examined the man whose gaunt looks reminded her of that peasant Gosunkugi Hikaru, except that Karou was taller and had lighter hair.

He was sitting next to her bed, using his cold, clammy hands all over her lithe form, while he watched out the window. The building had an angular C-shape and he was watching the same floor across the court.

After a minute or so, his hands were underneath her clothing and Kodachi wanted to scream. She wanted to strangle this man who was violating her in a way that only Ranma should. But she bit back any promises of vengeance, closed her eyes, and pretended to enjoy it.

“Damn,” she heard him say shortly thereafter. Kodachi opened her eyes and then followed his gaze out the window. There she saw the head of security walking on the same floor, heading in the direction that would lead him back to this ward.

“Stupid prick,” Karou muttered, “can’t even take his time when on break.” The orderly withdrew his hands and sighed. Then he turned a toothy grin to Kodachi. “Don’t worry, love. Tomorrow night he won’t be on duty, and the other guy takes hour-long breaks. That will give us plenty of time to do what we want.”

‘Finally,’ Kodachi thought, struggling to maintain her glee, ‘I’ll be able to get out of here. Now, how to handle this?’ She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before speaking.

“I can’t wait, Karou-sama,” she said in a breathless whisper. “I look forward to being able to having enough time to treat you properly.”

Karou, obviously not understanding what was really in store for him, simply grinned even more. “Yes, Daichi-chan, tomorrow we can finally be one.” With that, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her mouth.

She purposefully contained her displeasure and tried to respond as enthusiastically as she could. To do so, she focused her thoughts on two things. ‘Tomorrow I will free my darling Ranma, and at the same time I will rid the world of that trollop who has ensnared him.’

--

Kasumi lay inside her sleeping bag, staring at the roof of her tent. She was desperately trying to get to sleep, but thoughts of Ranma kept invading her mind. From the time they had practiced together, until they said goodnight, she had felt there was something wrong with him. He felt so... distant. So sad. But no matter what she tried, he wouldn’t open up to her.

‘What could it possibly be?’ she wondered. ‘He wasn’t like that this morning, so something must’ve happened while he was training with Ryoga and Mousse. Was there an argument or something? He said he was able to develop a new ki attack. Does that have anything to do with it?’

As she pondered the different possibilities, Kasumi suddenly heard a strange sound. At first, it was nearly too low to make out, but as the seconds ticked by, she began to make out the sounds of someone whimpering.

Sitting up, she tried to determine who it was. However, it wasn’t loud enough for her to tell. After another minute, Kasumi was finally able to make out something in Ranma’s voice.

“No,” she heard. “No papa. Don’t throw me in again. Please, no!”

As Ranma continued, his voice began to get steadily louder. ‘It sounds like the Neko-Ken dream,’ she thought angrily. There wasn’t much that could upset the eldest Tendo daughter, but thoughts of how Genma had treated Ranma while growing up, and especially the Neko-Ken, left her fuming.

A small cry from Ranma ripped into the night air, and Kasumi bolted out of her tent as fast as she could. ‘I have to stop him before the others wake up, or he’ll be terribly embarrassed.’ As she rushed to his tent, Kasumi’s hands absently ran over herself in an effort to ensure that her pajamas were covering everything properly, before finally reaching her destination and unzipping the opening.

Swiftly ducking in, she zipped it up behind her and knelt next to Ranma. He was thrashing around and was completely entangled in his bedroll. His moans were rapidly getting louder, but she knew better than to try and just abruptly wake him up.

Leaning down, she softly said his name. It didn’t seem to have an effect, so she tried again, this time a little louder. His body seemed to relax a small bit, but the cries continued. She gently placed her hand on his face and began to caress his cheek. This had a more positive impact and he was reduced to whimpering once again.

‘Poor dear,’ Kasumi thought. She shifted her position so that she was sitting behind his head. She carefully lifted his head and then scooted forward, allowing it to rest in her lap. She than began to softly sing a lullaby that she remembered having sung to Akane shortly after their mother had died. All the while, she was stroking his face, or running her hands through his hair.

After ten minutes or so, Ranma finally quieted down and stopped struggling. Kasumi continued her ministrations for several more minutes beyond, just to be safe. Once she felt he was okay, she gradually removed herself from underneath him as gently as she could. However, she didn’t quite succeed and Ranma’s eyes blinked open. They took a moment to focus, but they finally settled on her.

“Kasumi?” he asked, his tone one of bewilderment. “Wha... what’s goin' on?”

“I didn’t mean to wake you Ranma,” she said quietly. “You were having a nightmare and I came in to calm you down.” She almost expected him to deny having the nightmare; they weren’t manly after all. She was pleasantly surprised when he just nodded.

“Yeah,” he said thoughtfully, before he sat up and turned to face her. “I was in the pit again, and it was as terrible as always. But then I heard you singin' and all, and once I started focusin' on yer voice, the rest of the dream faded away.”

Kasumi nodded, and her expression became contemplative. “By any chance does this have to do with why you were so distant tonight?”

“No!” Ranma growled vehemently. “I ain’t afraid of nothin'”

‘Now we’re getting somewhere,’ Kasumi thought. “I never implied that you were Ranma.”

The pigtailed youth had the grace to look sheepish after realizing the error he’d made. “Uh... I meant I wasn’t distant tonight or nothin'.”

“Ranma,” Kasumi said with a hint of disapproval in her voice. “You’re not being honest with me or yourself. And that hurts.”

Her fiancé cringed at her words, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he lowered his head and stared at the floor of the tent.

Kasumi reached forth both hands and placed them on his cheeks, tenderly lifting his face to meet hers. Once she was able to look into his eyes, she spoke. “Ranma, please don’t shut me out. We talked about how important it is to communicate in a relationship. If you don’t tell me what’s bothering you, not only can’t I help you, but your actions begin to bother me as well. Is that what you want?”

The two stared at each other for a few minutes. Kasumi decided she’d said her peace. If Ranma didn’t respond tonight, she would approach him again in the morning. This was too important to just let go.

‘I care about him so much,’ she thought. ‘I need him to let me in if things are going to work out between us.’

Finally, Ranma let out a deep sigh. “I... I’m sorry, Kasumi,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt ya. Yeah, it’s the Neko-Ken that’s been bothering me. I used it today to form a ki attack. It’s at least as powerful as Ryoga’s Perfect Shi-Shi Hokodan, but I had to place myself back in the p-pit to make it work. A few times while practicing, I thought I was going to slip into the Neko-Ken. So I guess I’m... well, anxious would be the best word.”

“Thank you for telling me Ranma,” she said as she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She felt him shiver a bit. “Do you have to use it? Isn’t there something else you can use to create a ki attack?”

“Nothin' powerful enough,” he responded, and she felt him shrug slightly “At least nothing that would be powerful enough by the time of the fight. I need this as one of the aces up my sleeve to pull out on Shampoo.”

“I see,” Kasumi responded. She tightened her hold for a minute before pulling back. However, she left her hands on his shoulders and caught his gaze again. “Then tell me what I can do to help. Do you want me to sing to you at night when you’re trying to get to sleep? Do you want to take some time in the evening to talk through it? So that I can reassure you that you’re safe.”

“I...” Ranma began, then halted and looked at her searchingly. “Why, Kasumi? Why would you do that?” His voice was choking a bit, seemingly on the emotions that were welling up inside him.

The question surprised her somewhat, but not as much as she would have expected. ‘The poor dear probably hasn’t had a single healthy relationship in his life.’

“Because when you care for someone, you try to help them,” she replied, as if it were the most basic concept in the world. “And I care about you quite a bit Ranma. More and more each day I’m finding. I want to help you. It’s that simple.”

Something that looked suspiciously like tears were beginning to form in his eyes, but he steadfastly held them back. Finally, he just blinked his eyes a few times and nodded.

“I’d like that Kasumi. All of it. Thanks. I...” He didn’t bother with any more words, and swiftly moved forward and claimed her lips with his own. The boldness of the action surprised her greatly, but she immediately allowed herself to begin enjoying it.

The two stayed that way for some time, enjoying one another’s company in as intimate a fashion as their current level of relationship would allow. Finally they, in one of the moments while taking a break for air, yawned at nearly the same moment, which caused them each to break out into giggles.

“I think that’s our cue,” Kasumi said. “Did you want me to stay here until you get to sleep?”

“Nah,” Ranma responded. “I think I’m okay for tonight. Thanks a lot, Kasumi.”

“You’re welcome,” she said happily. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the nose, before standing and moving to the opening of the tent. After she had unzipped it and stepped through, she leaned her head back in for a moment.

“Goodnight, Ranma,” she said comfortingly. “I hope you have more pleasant dreams.”

“Thanks Kasumi. After you cheering me up just now, I think I will.” He gave her a cheeky grin, which caused her to blush slightly. “Goodnight.”

She nodded, zipped up the tent, and slowly made her way back to her own.

Chapter 22: Consequences

--

Kasumi’s eyes blinked open just as the first light of dawn began to infiltrate her tent. Ever since her mother died, she had forced herself to wake up with the sun, and now the habit was second nature. Against her will, her mouth widened in a jaw-cracking yawn, and the eldest Tendo daintily placed a hand in front of it, despite the fact that nobody was there to see.

She then took a few moments to compose herself before sitting up. Almost immediately, Kasumi felt a cramping sensation in lower stomach area. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought. ‘I shouldn’t be experiencing this now, I’m not supposed to have my period for another two weeks.’

Like her sister Nabiki, she had been blessed with a very regular menstrual cycle. Her pre-menstrual symptoms always started exactly a week before her period, and her period was very easy to chart. Also, as was common for women who lived together, their period tended to come within a day of each other; though Akane’s was unfortunately all over the place, likely due to the stress in her life.

‘Maybe that’s why my PMS is starting early; because of the stress of the past few weeks.’ As she started preparing for her day, Kasumi rummaged through her packs and pulled out a container of dong quai, an herb she used to brew tea that was very useful in controlling her symptoms.

Once dressed, she headed outside and began to build a fire that she would use to boil water and make breakfast. When it was at a reasonable level, she took a teakettle and another pot and headed towards the river. As she walked, she reviewed all her actions from the previous day. The reason for this was simple, if she did not start the dong quai tea soon enough, her two primary PMS symptoms, cramps and irritability, were certain to shine through. Normally it would not be an issue, but with her cycle apparently off, she was starting her treatment too late to dull the symptoms completely.

‘Well, last night went well,’ she thought, having reached the river and filling her containers before walking back. ‘I was a little aggravated with Ranma because he wouldn’t share his problems with me, but we worked through it without me losing my temper. The afternoon was fine, and the morning...’ As she contemplated, she remembered her argument with Ranma about the bra, but more importantly, how she had snapped at him when he fumbled over his mentioning of Shampoo’s breasts. In retrospect, it amazed her how silly the whole thing had been.

‘Oh dear. I really shouldn’t have done that. Poor Ranma doesn’t know any better, though I will have to help him learn better etiquette when talking to his fiancée. It’s not like he was purposefully trying to upset me, or even saying that he enjoyed her attention. I guess I should apologize about that, and ask him to try not to do it again.’ Just being aware of her irritability was apparently not enough for her to completely subdue it.

She placed the kettle and pot over the fire using a metal cooking rack. Afterwards, she separated the ingredients for the morning meal and began cutting up a few vegetables. While she was doing that, she heard the zipper of a tent and saw Ranma stepping out into the crisp, morning air.

“Mornin', Kasumi,” he said, his mouth wide open in the middle of a yawn.

Kasumi fought a sigh and decided not to address his manners this morning. “Good morning, Ranma. How are you feeling? Did you get to sleep okay after I left?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, and she felt amused as his cheeks took on a pink tone. “Um, about kissing ya like that and all, I’m sorry if-”

“Ranma!” Kasumi interrupted, a little more sharply than she meant to. “Don’t you dare apologize. I’ve been waiting for you to take more initiative in our relationship, and I don’t want you thinking it was a bad thing. That is, unless you’re saying you didn’t enjoy kissing me.”

“No! No! Nothin' like that. I just didn’t want ya to be angry with me.”

“Well, I’m not. So please come here and give me a ‘good morning’ kiss.”

It did not take more than a second for a wide smirk to adorn Ranma’s face. “You just can’t resist that Saotome charm, eh?”

Since their engagement, Kasumi had worked to not only loosen Ranma up physically and emotionally, but also tried to get him to joke more. This was obviously an attempt at the latter.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she said dramatically, “Of course not! Who could? Now, come and kiss me, my manly man.”

Confidently striding forward, Ranma knelt next to her and planted his lips upon hers. They stayed that way for a few seconds before breaking apart. Kasumi found that she enjoyed the kiss, despite the fact that both of them had bad morning breath.

“That’s better,” she said. “Now, no more attempting to apologize for kissing me. In fact, I would like it if at least once a day you took it upon yourself to initiate a kiss, or at least hold me in some way. Okay?”

Ranma looked unsure for a moment, before finally nodding. “I’ll do my best, Kasumi.”

“Good. Now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to apologize to you about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Ranma asked, cocking his head to the side. “What did ya do that would make ya have to apologize?”

“Well, I was a little cranky about the whole bra thing. But more than that, I know you didn’t mean anything when you were talking about Shampoo, but I still reacted badly. So I wanted to say I was sorry, though I would appreciate it if you’re more careful about talking about how other girl’s breasts feel when talking to me.”

“That was acting badly?” Ranma was incredulous. “Kasumi, that’s nothin' compared to what one of the other girls woulda done to me. So ya got nothin' to apologize for.”

“Even if that’s so, it was still something I wasn’t proud of. I don’t like using my monthly visitor as an excuse, so, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive ya; even though I still don’t think you did anything wrong. And what do ya mean, monthly visitor?”

Kasumi opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. ‘Maybe he’s just not familiar with that term. Surely he knows what a period and PMS are.’

“I was referring to PMS, Ranma. Normally my cycle is very regular, but this month it appears to be off.”

The complete and total befuddled look on Ranma’s face did nothing to reassure Kasumi. “PM-what?” he asked. “What cycle are ya talkin' about?”

‘He’s pulling my leg,’ she thought. ‘He has to be.’

Unfortunately, he was not laughing, not even the slightest trace of a smirk. ‘Must not think bad thoughts about Mr. Saotome and his idiotic means of raising Ranma.’

“Well, Ranma,” Kasumi said, trying to think of tactful way to respond to his question, or even begin for that matter. “Hmm. Obviously you’re aware of the physical difference between men and women, probably more than most.”

“Oh yeah,” Ranma replied with a snort.

She gestured toward his waist with one hand. “When in your female form, have you ever bled down there?”

Ranma’s eyes moved to where she was pointing, and he began blushing. “Umm, bled? Whadda ya mean?”

“Your vagina, Ranma,” Kasumi said, her irritability and embarrassment over the situation overriding her patience. “Have you ever noticed blood coming from there?”

The question seemed to blow a gasket in Ranma’s mind, since he simply stood there blinking at her. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Finally, just before she was about to give in to her irritation and snap at him, he cocked his head to the side. His expression became more introspective, though the blush never left his face.

“Uh, well,” he finally began, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, “there was one time a few days after I got my curse. I was doin' a really complex kata involving kicks and then I felt this sharp pain... umm... down there. I worked through it, but not too much later I had ta go to the bathroom and I noticed blood there. That’s the only time I can think of.”

‘He must’ve broken his hymen. Maybe his transformation isn’t as complete as everyone thinks. Or maybe his cycle resets every time he turns into a girl.’

“Ranma,” she said, “what’s the longest you’ve ever stayed a girl?”

“That’s easy,” he replied instantly. “It was when the old ghoul used that Phoenix pressure point on me.”

“And how long was that? It was about three weeks, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’m really glad I was able to change back, because I started getting these awful cramps the last two days. But ya know me; I can work through any pain. It was just really annoying.”

“I see,” Kasumi replied. ‘Yes, it sounds like he was just starting to experience the first signs of PMS when he was cured. If it had lasted another week, it sounds like he certainly would have gotten his period. It’s almost too bad that he didn’t. I doubt he’d make comments about girls being weaker if he knew what they had to go through every month.’

“So, uh, how does that tie in ta what we were talkin' about earlier?” he asked.

“Well, it’s like this, Ranma,” she said, before cutting off as she heard a zipper opening and saw Mousse getting out of his tent. She looked back to her fiancé. ‘He’ll be terribly embarrassed to talk about this in front of one of the others.’

“Let’s talk about it later, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “I’ll tell you about it this evening.”

“Uh, sure, if that’s what ya want. Well, I’m gonna get my run in before breakfast.” With that, he headed towards the washing barrel to take it down to the river to fill up.

“Okay,” she replied, while internally dreading the conversation she was going to have with him later that night. Kasumi looked down at the container she had brought out of her tent.

‘I think I’ll need to get a double dose of dong quai tea today.’

--

As Ranma sparred with Mousse, her mind kept going back to her earlier discussion with Kasumi. ‘I still don’t think she’s got anything to apologize for, but I ain’t really gonna complain.’ She jumped back as Mousse snapped a kick her direction, and set herself in a defensive position.

‘Still, I ain’t too sure about that other discussion she wanted ta have,’ she thought, parrying two quick strikes Mousse made with the clubs he was wielding, before attempting a kick of her own against the Amazon.

‘After all, she wants to talk about what happens... down there.’ That line of thought caused Ranma to blush slightly, but also had the unfortunate effect of breaking her concentration momentarily. This allowed Mousse to connect a solid blow to the side of the pigtailed youth’s head.

The hit caused Ranma to stagger somewhat, but she quickly recovered and jumped back to gain some distance. This allowed her a few seconds to clear her head while she waited for Mousse to press his advantage. The Amazon wasted no time and rushed Ranma.

A complex set of motions nearly caused Ranma to get hit again, but she managed to dodge or deflect them all before retaliating with her Chestnut Fist technique. Another thing that Ranma had been practicing was keeping herself from calling out her techniques when using them. When first learning any new technique, this was necessary to help focus chi correctly. But once she had mastered a technique, she really did not need to call it out anymore. In fact, against a worthy opponent, it was almost as bad as telegraphing your moves.

Obviously, Mousse had still not gotten used to the speed of the attack, or perhaps she had not expected it because Ranma did not call out the name. Regardless of the reason, at least fifty of the punches made it through his defenses and caused the young man to fall back on his butt.

Ranma could have pressed the attack like Mousse had done to her, but instead she backed off and waited. If this had been the real fight with Shampoo, she would not have let up until the other girl was unconscious. But here, she did not want one of her sparring partners to be out cold for the rest of the day.

While she took a moment to breathe, she berated himself for getting distracted earlier. ‘Sure it’ll probably be as embarrassing as hell ta talk with Kasumi later, but that’s later. Right now I gotta focus or one of them might get a serious hit in.’ The pain such a hit might cause meant almost nothing to Ranma. However she would be pissed if she lost almost a day’s training because of carelessness.

Therefore Ranma pushed thoughts of her upcoming conversation out of her mind and focused all her attention on Mousse. Once the other boy rose and got into a defensive position, Ranma shot forward and began a series of attacks.

--

It was early evening as Akane walked towards her home with Yuka and Sayuri. The three girls had gone shopping, as well as just hanging out, and were now heading towards the Tendo residence to study together. There was a test coming up in several days that they decided to get ready for.

‘Well, that was a bust,’ Akane thought. She was really grateful that her two friends had taken her out in an attempt to cheer her up, but unfortunately there had been a lot of couples at the mall that day. Every time she had seen one with their arms around each other, or holding hands, or even just smiling at one another, she had felt a pain well up in her chest.

‘That should be me and Ranma,’ she thought bitterly. The bitterness, unfortunately, was directed within. ‘Of course Ranma could be a jerk a lot of the time, but he didn’t deserve to get beaten by me because of it.’

As she imagined Ranma and herself walking around, holding hands and chatting together, she couldn’t help but wince when the dream inevitably led to Ranma saying something inappropriate or him attempting to perform some gesture that she viewed as perverted and the pounding that would follow. That was always the end of such wishful thinking.

Then her traitorous brain supplied images of Ranma and Kasumi walking around. First they started by holding hands, and then Kasumi leaned in and said something to Ranma that caused a smile. Her sister then maintained that closeness and soon Ranma wrapped one arm around her shoulders while Kasumi’s arms encircled his waist. Then the two looked into one another’s eyes, and Akane wasn’t sure who initiated it, but their bodies began leaning forward until their lips-

“Akane!”

The blue-haired girl in question stopped short, jerked her head up, and looked at her companions. “What!” she snapped.

Both girls took a step back and Akane let her shoulders slump a bit. “Sorry,” she muttered. “What’s up?”

“Um,” Sayuri said, “you were doing that weird, glowing thing and looked really pissed.”

“Yeah!” Yuka piped in. “And you were clenching your fists so tight they were starting to turn white.”

The youngest Tendo looked down and noticed that her fists were still balled up. She sighed and let her hands relax, and she felt them tingle a bit as the blood rushed back in.

“Sorry,” she repeated, giving a rather weak smile to her friends. “I was just thinking about...”

“We get the idea,” Yuka said, waving off the apology. “You don’t have to tell us. What can we do to take your mind off him?”

“Probably nothing,” Akane replied. “Let’s just get to my house and get studying.”

As they continued walking, Akane allowed her mind to drift to a fantasy that she had thought up a few days ago. In it, Ranma decided that Kasumi was too domestic for him, and that he found her to be more like a sister or mother figure. Then, having dealt with all other engagements, and since Nabiki was obviously not interested, Akane would take her rightful place by his side and the two would live happily ever after.

Of course, the dream had too many irregularities that she could not reconcile. First and foremost, she could not see Ranma, or any sane and rational man, not falling in love with Kasumi. Her older sister was a womanly ideal that Akane herself had striven towards for years. Kasumi’s serenity, and amazing skills around the house were things that she had always secretly envied.

Naturally she did not want to be exactly like Kasumi, since she wanted her martial arts and possibly a career, but the core of her ultimate goal was based off her sister.

In addition, even if Ranma made such a decision, the agreement that he and Kasumi had struck with their fathers meant that he was under no obligation to become her fiancé. Oh, she had no doubt that the fathers would try to trap him into it somehow, but he now had an honorable way out of the agreement.

‘That means I’d have to compete against every freaking girl in the ward, and probably beyond,’ she thought bitterly. ‘And most of them wouldn’t try to beat him if he said something stupid or did something perverted.’ That thought made her wince. ‘Now that I can think about it more calmly, I know that Ranma wouldn’t do anything other than what would be expected of people dating or engaged. There’s nothing perverted about it at all. I really need to stop thinking that way.’

Lastly, her dream of living happily ever after with him almost made her laugh bitterly. ‘Even if I did manage to get engaged to him, I have a hard time believing it would magically become smooth sailing.’

The concept of magic made her think about Ranma’s curse, and what expectations he might have regarding intimacy when in that form. That was a topic that Akane still had a really hard time thinking about, and she sighed in relief as her house came into sight.

‘Well, I can always think about it later.’

As Akane entered the house, she called out that she was home and proceeded to take her shoes off. She received no response, which seemed a little strange, but she paid it no mind. After her friends had removed their shoes as well, the three made their way into the family room.

“Surprise!”

Akane literally jumped, as eight girls seemed to pop out of nowhere and yelled their greeting.

“Wh-What’s going on?” she asked, once her heart had settled down.

Nabiki stepped forward and gave her best ‘cat that got the canary’ grin. “Well, sis, we know things have been rough for you lately, and none of us seemed to be able to break you out of your funk. So we decided that a party with your friends from school might be the best way to help out.”

The youngest Tendo looked around at all her friends, and then back at Yuka and Sayuri who both gave her a big smile. “Thanks you guys,” she said to everyone. “I really appreciate it.”

“Well, come on,” Nabiki said. She came and stood behind Akane, leading her towards the dining room. “We’ve got a lot of food and drinks, and lots of party games to play. Let’s get to it.”

“Sure,” Akane replied, feeling some of the tension from the past few weeks lift off her as she joined in the festivities.

--

Ukyo shifted her weight slightly to help adjust the food containers she was carrying towards the Tendo home. As she walked, she noticed that the sun was setting and it was beginning to get darker out. Being in school, she never kept her restaurant open past the evening dinner rush, so she had time to study, as well as chase after Ranma.

‘Well, not anymore,’ she thought bitterly. She was still angry; at Ranma, at herself, at the whole world. Fortunately, her anger had lessened somewhat and now it felt more like a dull ache that refused to go away.

As she continued towards the party, she could not help but feel a bit of gratitude towards Nabiki. ‘I’m glad she invited me. It’ll be hard seeing Akane, since she’s just one more reminder of Ran-chan, but at least she and I won’t have to fight about it anymore. Maybe we can even be friends now. Perhaps start the ‘Ex-fiancées’ club or something.’ She snorted in derision as her destination came into view. Pushing all negative thoughts aside, Ukyo kept walking.

It only took her a minute to reach the front door, and once she did Ukyo knocked and waited patiently. In a few moments, the person who had been kind enough to invite her opened the door.

“Heya, Nabiki,” Ukyo said.

“Hi, Ukyo. I’m glad you could make it. Oh, it looks like you brought some extra food as well.”

“Yeah, I had some extra ingredients that I didn’t feel like sealing back up, so I figured I’d make some quick Okonomiyaki in case anyone was hungry.”

Nabiki gave her a friendly smile, something that surprised Ukyo greatly. The chef was used to smirks coming from the other girl, not anything that resembled warmth and kindness.

“Thanks,” Nabiki said as she stepped back to let Ukyo into the house. “We have plenty of food, but I know how much everyone enjoys your Okonomiyaki, so it’ll be a nice treat.”

Ukyo stepped into the home and took off her shoes, doing her best to keep from making any kind of sarcastic comment lest it cause Nabiki to revert back to her normal self. Once her footwear was removed, the two made their way into the living room. In it, there were two girls sitting together on the couch watching a romance movie and bawling their eyes out. The chef shook her head and snickered as she and Nabiki continued into the dining room.

On the table, Ukyo saw all kinds of different foods and drinks. She also noticed various groups of girls standing around and talking. Apparently they were all aware that she was coming, because they simply gave her a wave or a verbal greeting, and none of them seemed surprised in the least.

Well, except one.

The moment that Akane laid eyes on her, the youngest Tendo appeared to freeze in place. After a good thirty seconds of being stared at, Ukyo was getting a little flustered, so she placed her food containers on the table and walked over to her one-time rival.

“Hey, Akane,” she said in greeting, while also giving a nod to the two girls that Akane had been talking to. The two girls greeted her in return, and then politely excused themselves.

Ukyo was aware that even though the conversations were continuing in the background, all eyes in the room were likely on the two of them.

Another minute passed without Akane saying anything, but Ukyo was able to see a variety of emotions flashing across her face. Confusion, anger, and sadness were the predominant ones she could make out. Finally, the Okonomiyaki chef could not take it anymore and spoke.

“Look Akane. I know the pain you’re going through; better than anyone else, in fact. I had kinda hoped we could, you know, put all the crap of the past behind us and maybe even be friends. It doesn’t look like you’re ready though, so I’ll just head out.”

As she turned to leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw the hand was connected to Akane. Ukyo did not say anything, but merely tilted her head to the side in question as the girl brought her arm down.

“Please don’t go,” Akane said in a slightly pleading tone. “I’m sorry. Seeing you just brought it all back too fast. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“No problem,” Ukyo said with a small, sad smile. “I know what you mean. Sometimes, someone will say something, or I’ll just see something, and it will all come crashing down on me. It’s slowly getting better, but it still hurts a lot.”

“I know what you mean.”

Akane looked past her, causing Ukyo to turn. When the rest of the room was caught staring, they immediately found other things to focus on.

“Come on,” Akane said, placing her hand on Ukyo’s shoulder again. “Let’s get some food and then we can find a place to talk quietly.”

A few minutes later, both girls were sitting in a corner with plates full of different types of food.

“Umm,” Akane said with a satisfied groan, “have I mentioned how much I love your Okonomiyaki?”

“No, but since you always ate it when Ran-chan was around, I can assume why you didn’t say anything.”

Ukyo watched the other girl flinch slightly and decided to speak to it. “Look Akane, the only way we’re ever gonna get over this is to face it head on. I know you love him, and don’t try to give me one of your pat answers, so I understand completely how difficult it is. Besides, it’s not like you still don’t have a chance.”

“What?” Akane asked, shocked. “What are you talking about?”

“As far as I understand it, you broke the engagement to him, not the other way around. It’s not like me, where he basically told me I had a zero percent chance; that he’d rather kill himself than be forced into marriage with me. Being able to look back on things now, I’ve been able to see that he really cared about you more than the rest of his fiancées. So, once he’s back, you still have a chance.”

“I... I don’t think it’s that simple. Yes, I broke the engagement, but one of the conditions Kasumi set when she took it up was that if they decided not to get married, that Ranma would be free of the agreement. So no matter what, he’ll either end up with Kasumi or he’ll be able to look for someone else... someone he actually cares about.” It was hard to see the pain on the other girls face, and Ukyo figured it looked much the same as hers when she said the part about Ranma committing seppuku instead of marrying her.

“Akane,” Ukyo said, placing one of her hands on the other girls.

“He does care about you. I know he does. You know, whenever he would come over to get something to eat, he would always go on about you. Usually it was about what he thought you were doing wrong, or that you were being unfair to him about something or another, but his concern was always what he could do to fix things up between you two. It always pissed me off, but it certainly sounded like he cared about you, and I doubt that’s changed.”

“I... I guess,” the other girl said as she wiped away a few tears that were developing. “Thanks. You might be right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still have to compete with Kasumi over him. She’s taking the engagement seriously, which is something I never really bothered to do. I honestly don’t think I have a chance against her.”

"Well, I won’t lie and say it’ll be easy. But who knows what might happen. They might decide they don’t like each other that way, or any other number of possibilities. But if you give up in advance, then you’ll lose no matter what.”

“You’re right,” Akane said, her eye looking determined again. “I still have a shot. But,” her eyes dimmed a little, “I’ll still be prepared for the worst. I don’t really want to set myself up for full heartbreak again.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Ukyo said.

“By the way, I know what Ranma did to you hurt a lot, Ukyo, but I think it was more about Kasumi than it was about you.”

The Okonomiyaki chef sighed. “Yeah, I kinda figured that out already. But did he really think I would’ve done something to her?”

“I doubt it. He was probably more worried about you getting caught up in some stupid plan that Shampoo or that bastard Ryoga set up. All of us fell into those damn schemes at one time or another.”

“True,” Ukyo agreed, though she was not really mollified that much. “Speaking of the bastard, has he dared to show his face around here?” She knew from the letter that Ranma sent her that Ryoga was supposed to be training with him, but who knew whether or not the boy got lost and ended up back in Nerima?

“No,” Akane growled, “and he better not. I’ll castrate the pig if I see him again.”

“If you want, Sugar, I’ll hold him down for you.”

Ukyo imagined herself holding down Ryoga while Akane used a mallet to ensure his inability to ever procreate again. Looking at the youngest Tendo, it was easy to see she was thinking along the same lines. When their eyes met, they both broke out into grins and could not stop the giggles that followed.

--

Kodachi stiffened as she heard the siren of a police car. She was hiding in a tree about a block from the Tendo home, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Thankfully, the sound was disappearing into the distance, and she allowed herself to relax slightly.

She had been observing the house for nearly half an hour. Apparently, there was some kind of party happening within. ‘They are probably celebrating my incarceration,’ she thought venomously. ‘I should go in and kill them all!’

It was tempting, oh so tempting. When she had snuck towards the house earlier to cut the phone lines, she had overheard that the Tendo and Saotome patriarchs were gone for the evening. Though both men were old fools in her mind, she also knew they were both formidable opponents. Their absence would make things much easier.

The gymnast also heard the voice of Akane Tendo, as well as another familiar one she could not identify. It did not matter though. Nobody was going to stop her from saving her Ranma, and killing the girl that dared claim him as her own.

Actually killing the girl was going to be much easier than she imagined; mentally at least. The fact that she had already taken two lives that evening while making her escape from the mental hospital, and felt absolutely no regrets whatsoever, only emboldened her.

First had been that orderly who had dared to lay his filthy hands upon her noble personage. He had visited her that night, just as he promised. It was obvious that he still didn’t trust her, because he had not removed her hands from their restraints, only her legs. After he had then removed her panties and started to place his face towards that special region that belonged to Ranma alone, she had struck.

Faster than most could follow, her legs snapped up and her feet grabbed the man’s head. One quick and powerful twist later, and he had a broken neck. Then, using the flexibility and dexterity developed through years of intense Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, she was able to use her feet to remove the keys from his belt and unlock the restraints.

Once free, she stripped the man of part of his uniform to give herself better covering. Then, she used the keys again to let herself out of the room. Unfortunately there was no easy way to get off the floor, so she had to wait for the security guard to come around. As the orderly expected, the man had taken a much longer break than was normal, so Kodachi had been very impatient when he finally arrived.

She positioned herself in the rafters above the security door, and the moment the man began to walk through she dropped on him. It took only a moment for her to repeat the process of killing, the only exception being she used her hands to break the man’s neck instead of her legs. Once he was down, she grabbed his electronic keycard, his keys, as well as the stun gun he had been carrying, before dragging his body into her room and locking it in there with the orderly.

Her escape afterward had been without incident. She had then made her way to her house, where she had taken her brother, father, and their servant Sasuke by surprise. She did not kill them, merely used a paralysis power she obtained from her greenhouse and made sure the men were tied up securely. Then, she made her way to the Tendo’s.

Now, she was simply waiting for the perfect chance to strike. With the phone line cut, no news of the breakout would reach the household, so they would have no warning that she was coming.

Kodachi reviewed her plan one more time. ‘I’ll wait until the party is over and everyone goes to bed. Then, I’ll sneak up to the house, place paralysis powder into each of the rooms upstairs through the windows, since I know that’s where the three lowborn bitches sleep, and after I’m sure they’re out I will sneak in and kill the oldest harridan, and probably the youngest as well. Then I will find my darling Ranma, who will want to thank me profusely for saving him, and he might even try to...’

A blush found its way onto her face as she imagined all the perverted things he would do to her. However, she pulled herself out of the fantasy. ‘Alas, I will need to ask him to be patient while we make our escape. Then, we will have to make our way to a nice hotel where we can hide and... express our love, and wait for my family’s lawyers to clear up the whole mess. After all, I am a Kuno and the lives of these lowborn commoners means nothing. It will all blow over soon, and then my dearest Ranma and I can get married and live happily ever after.’

The young woman lost herself in erotic fantasies while she waited for the party to break up.

--

If Ranma had a mirror handy, he was sure that looking into it would reveal a face as red as the hair of his girl form; especially if the full-body blush on Kasumi was any indicator.

His caring fiancée had been quite generous in sharing all she knew about periods and PMS, and how they affected things like a girl’s fertility.

It was easy to tell how embarrassing it was for her. For him, well, he felt like crawling under a rock somewhere. Fortunately, Mousse and Ryoga were in one of the tents playing a card game, and he and Kasumi had been speaking quietly, so the other boys would not know about his embarrassment.

‘And thank the kami Kasumi isn’t the kind of girl ta tease about stuff like this,’ he thought. ‘I don’t think I’d deal with that very well.’

“So, Ranma,” she asked, “did you have any questions?”

“Uh, no,” he said as he grabbed his pigtail and pulled on it. “I think ya covered that real good.” Ranma then paused for a minute. “Um, actually, I do have one question. You say ya think my, uh, hymen was it? You said ya think it broke early on because of my training. Does that mean... I’m not a... v-virgin anymore?” It was at this point that his mortification exploded even more and it was all he could do to keep himself from fleeing the scene.

“No,” Kasumi said gently. “It doesn’t mean that at all. The only way to lose your virginity is to have sex. Nothing more, nothing less. And we both know you will never have sex in your girl form, at least not with a man.”

“Hell no!” Ranma yelled, before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He really did not need either of his sparring partners coming out at this point. He then lowered his voice and said, “There ain’t no way in hell that’s gonna happen.”

“Language, Ranma,” Kasumi admonished. It was easy to tell she was still somewhat irritable, but it was still a far cry from the pigtailed youth normally dealt with when it came to the other females in his life. In fact, Ranma almost found it somewhat refreshing to be on slightly familiar ground, and not having Kasumi be so totally passive.

“Sorry,” Ranma muttered, though he honestly was not too repentant. “It’s just that, the thought of doing that with a guy...” He shuttered involuntarily.

Up until that point, the two had been sitting near the fire, facing one another. Now, Kasumi had him turn to face the fire, moved behind him, and proceeded to wrap her arms around him while wrapping their customary blanket around both.

Ranma enjoyed the warm comfort his fiancée was providing, as his mind sought to banish thoughts of perverts like Kuno getting their hands on his girl side. While doing so, his mind strayed to a comment made earlier by the girl holding him.

“Uh, Kasumi,” he said quietly. “I have a question. You said somethin' about me not having sex in my girl form, but said somethin' like ‘at least not with a guy’. What did ya mean by that?”

He felt her stiffen behind him, and after a few moments she relaxed slightly. She did not answer right away, so Ranma was not sure if he had said something wrong. However, rather than panic like he would have not too long ago, he took Kasumi’s lessons to heart and simply waited for her to respond in her own time. After a minute or so, she finally spoke.

“Ranma, I’ll be frank with you. You know how I’ve kissed you in your girl form several times to help you understand my acceptance of it?” He nodded. “Well, it’s not unheard of that two girls might have... sex... together.”

It took over a minute for Ranma’s mind to wrap itself around the concept. He remembered a few hentai magazines that the guys at school had shown him, and his blush returned full force. “That would make them... uh, lesbians, I guess. Right?”

“That, or bi-sexual,” Kasumi answered calmly, though he could tell her voice was straining a bit. When he tilted his head to the side, she explained further. “Someone who is bi-sexual doesn’t care whether they have sex with males or females.”

“Ah, okay. I guess I get it,” Ranma said. “I still don’t understand what that has ta do with me.”

Kasumi let out a sigh, the kind that Ranma was beginning to associate with her when she was quickly becoming exasperated.

“Ranma, someday you will marry a woman. That woman might be me, or someone else you choose. People who are married get... intimate. You have a curse that turns you into a female. Your wife will be a female. So there are times when you and her might...” She trailed off suggestively.

It barely took a second for Ranma to finally understand the implications, and when he did, it was all he could do to keep himself from fainting on the spot. Then, as if his traitorous mind was working against him, he started envisioning himself, or rather herself in his mind’s eye, performing various acts of lewdness with Kasumi. The moment he pictured their naked breasts mashed together, it was finally too much and his brain shut itself down.

“...ma. Ranma. Ranma!” The pigtailed youth in question slowly came to senses, and realized he was no longer sitting up and facing the fire. As his vision became less blurry, he realized he was lying on his back, and it appeared his head was in Kasumi’s lap. Looking up, he first noticed her beautiful eyes, but then his eyes strayed to her chest, and he felt himself overheating again.

Any chance of him losing consciousness again dissipated when he felt a light slap on his cheek. It was not painful, nor was it meant to be, it was obviously an attempt to keep him awake.

“Don’t faint on me again,” Kasumi said dryly. Ranma bristled slightly at the comment, but managed not to snap considering whom he was talking to.

“By the way,” his fiancée continued offhandedly, “were you thinking naughty things about me a moment ago?”

An overpowering survival instinct kicked in, and before he could even consider what he was doing, or whom he was doing it to, Ranma was off her lap in a flash and kneeling before her in the “Crouch of the Wild Tiger”.

“I’m sorry!” he repeated over and over, with his forehead pressed against the ground. The musical laugh that followed caused him to lift his head and glance at the smiling face of Kasumi. He was relieved to not see any anger there, and mentally berated himself.

‘Idiot, she’s been trying to get you to open up and be honest, so of course she’s not gonna get too pissed if you tell her the truth.’ It was a tough concept for Ranma, but he knew he was slowly making progress.

“Well, I guess your reaction is all the answer I need,” Kasumi said. Her laugh had trickled down to a giggle, and her eyes shone with a mischievous gleam.

“Um,” Ranma said, getting back into a sitting position and facing her, “so does that mean yer not mad or nothin'?”

The brown-haired girl reached forward with both hands and placed them on his cheeks. Ranma felt damn proud that he did not flinch. A week ago he would have, but the constant reinforcement by Kasumi was weaning him away from that reflex. All he had to do was focus on the person touching him; in this case, the gentlest person he knew.

“Of course I’m not angry,” Kasumi said tenderly. “First and foremost, I’m the one who provided details on the topic that I’m sure you were thinking about,” this caused Ranma to redden again, “so I can’t very well expect you not to imagine what I was saying. Second, even though neither of us is anywhere near ready to progress our relationship to that level, it’s perfectly common to have fantasies about the person you’re dating or engaged to.”

“Really?” Ranma asked. He was quite skeptical since he had always been yelled at or hit whenever it was even suggested he might be thinking about something intimate. “You don’t think it’s... perverted or nothin'?”

Kasumi leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “No, Ranma, I don’t. In fact, if you didn’t have such thoughts occasionally, I would be worried about you. Just don’t let them rule your life, because then it probably would be perverted.”

“O-Okay,” Ranma replied, still unsure about the topic. “But... what about, ya know, what we were talkin' about a minute ago.”

“You mean about us both being girls when things happen?” Kasumi asked.

Ranma nodded and watched as she reached over to the canteen sitting next to them. She proceeded to open it and pour the water over Ranma’s head. Then, after setting it aside, she slowly moved forward, her eyes gazing into Ranma’s the entire time. Kasumi then kissed her with an intense passion, squeezing the, now, redhead as close to her as possible, and Ranma felt their breasts force together like they had in the quick daydream that knocked her out.

The only thing keeping her awake now was the feeling of Kasumi’s tongue sliding into her mouth. It was another first in their relationship, and Ranma could not begin to even process how intense it made her feel. The redhead was also aware of how her silk shirt was rubbing against her nipples as the two rocked gently during their fervent make-out session, and how indescribably wonderful the sensation felt.

They continued on for some time, neither really caring how long. When they finally broke apart, both were quite flushed and had large grins on their faces.

“Now,” Kasumi said, once she regained her bearings, “I realize that wasn’t fully what we were talking about, but I hope that if I do things like this often enough, you’ll understand that it’s you I care about, and what’s in here.”

She placed a hand over Ranma’s heart, and the redhead felt a little lightheaded by the fact that it was so close to her, now, very sensitive breasts.

“I’m not a lesbian, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “I don’t even really consider myself bi-sexual; because in all honesty I could never do things like this with another girl. You, however, are not a boy or a girl to me. You are Ranma Saotome, the person I’m slowly coming to love more each day, and I don’t care what form you happen to take.”

“I...” Ranma started, but any further words were choked off as she let out a sob. She felt tears coming to her eyes, and instead of falling into old patterns and fighting them off, she allowed them to come. Kasumi had told her repeatedly that it wasn’t unmanly to express your emotions, even to cry; and her statement just now, one of total acceptance regarding her curse, was something that Ranma had long hoped for from someone.

Anyone.

Ranma lurched forward and buried her face into the crook of Kasumi’s shoulder, and also wrapped her arms around the older girl. She began to let out small sobs that quickly increased in intensity. Kasumi pulled her up into her lap, and managed to wrap the blanket around both of them. One of her arms was wrapped around the redhead, while the other was running through her hair.

“Shhh,” the eldest Tendo daughter said soothingly. “It’s okay. Just let it all out.”

And let it out she did. All the pain from the rejection she had received in her life and the self-loathing over a curse she never wanted. The regret and fear she felt at having to hide from her mother. Everything came out in a rush. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Ranma Saotome, man among men, cried himself, herself, to sleep.

--

Nabiki waited patiently in the living room as she sat with Akane and Ukyo. Earlier, when the party had still been going on, she had suddenly gotten a bad feeling; something just was not right.

Now, being one of the foremost businesswomen of her generation, Nabiki knew that her gut feelings were almost always spot on. When she went to call a few of her people to see if anything in general was happening around town and discovered the phone to be dead, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was going to be trouble, and she guessed that it was going to take place right at their house.

As surreptitiously as she could, she had gone to Akane and Ukyo and told them what was happening. She did not have any proof, but they both knew it would be wise to heed her warning. They didn’t want anyone to panic, so Nabiki calmly took one of the girls aside on the pretense that she was being sent out to pick something up. Sakura only lived a few blocks away, so she was the easiest choice.

She was given instructions on how to get a hold of Soun and Genma, and also told the exact wording to use. “Tell my father that I said we’re in danger, and that both his little girls need him immediately. That will break him out of whatever drunken state he might be in, and get his ass here as fast as possible.”

After the girl was gone, Nabiki began to slowly wind down the party. If something was going to happen, she did not want all these innocent bystanders to get caught in the crossfire. So, as the girls began leaving in groups of twos and threes, Akane and Ukyo quietly walked around the house to see if anything was amiss.

Now, all the other girls were gone, and the three remaining could only hope that their message had made it to the fathers. ‘They may be wastes of skin most of the time,’ Nabiki thought wryly, ‘but Mr. Saotome is damn powerful when he wants to be, and when Daddy is in full protective mode, he can be pretty scary.’

Several minutes before, the three girls had gone up to the upstairs bedrooms and made it seem like they were turning in for the night. Nabiki wanted to lull anyone who might be watching into a false sense of security. So, after rummaging around in the rooms a bit with the lights on and the curtains closed, they shut the lights off and snuck back downstairs. They also made sure all the doors were locked, though none of them expected that to really stop anyone who would dare to attack the home in the first place.

The three sat there, hardly even bothering to whisper. Instead, they strained their ears in the hopes of catching any noise that seemed out of place. Ukyo was holding her battle spatula loosely in her hands, and when Akane was upstairs, she had changed into a gi, her preferred clothing to fight in.

After nearly half an hour of waiting, both Akane and Ukyo were fidgeting. ‘They probably think I’m wrong,’ Nabiki thought. ‘I’m not though. My gut feeling is getting worse.’

Then they all heard it, a light scraping sound on the roof. The two fighters of the group immediately straightened up. They all listened and could only occasionally make out very faint sounds that barely registered as being out of place.

“Whoever they are, they’re good,” Ukyo whispered. Both other girls nodded.

For another minute, nothing happened, until suddenly something came crashing through the patio door. It took Nabiki a second to recognize what it was, a large rock with a flower bouquet attached to it. Unfortunately, that second of inaction cost them all.

“Gas!” she screamed, as a white, powdery substance came shooting out of the flowers. They all covered their mouths and tried to jump away, but each inhaled some to a degree. Nabiki, being the slowest, inhaled the most and found herself suddenly paralyzed. She fell face forward onto the ground.

Akane and Ukyo each only fared slightly better. They breathed in less, but it was still enough to slow down their movements considerably. The dust quickly settled, and Kodachi imperiously strode through the door she had thrown the rock through.

Nabiki, who only had a functioning head and neck at the moment, looked up at the girl in horror. The fact that she was here, and the manic glee in her eyes, led Nabiki to a frightening conclusion. ‘If she escaped, that means she probably... Oh kami! This whole thing has finally sent her completely and totally off the deep end.’ She strained to turn her head towards her two allies, and was dismayed at their condition. ‘We’re so dead.’

“Did you bitches think you could fool me with such a cheap trick?” Kodachi snarled. “You ignorant peasants obviously don’t know who you are dealing with.” Her screeching laugh filled the air.

‘Even her laugh sounds crazier,’ Nabiki thought desperately. ‘There’s gotta be something we can do.’ At the moment, the only thing she could do was stall the girl while she tried to come up with a plan.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” the middle Tendo said as dryly as she could. She was trying to maintain her calm and aloof demeanor in an attempt to keep the insane girl off balance. It did not seem to be working though.

“I don’t like having my time wasted,” Kodachi said, narrowing her eyes. The girl pulled a ribbon from behind her. “Now, after I incapacitate these two whores, you’re going to tell me where your other whore sister is, as well as the redheaded slut and my Ranma darling.”

Quicker than lightning, her ribbon struck out twice. Nabiki watched in horror as it first sailed towards Ukyo, where it sliced right through the handle of her battle spatula and then connected with her chest. The girl fell backwards with a big red stain spreading on the front of her clothing. Then the ribbon retracted and sailed towards Akane, where it hit her in the stomach, also causing a red stain to appear on her pristine, white gi. The youngest Tendo managed to stand for a few moments, clutching at the wound, before she too dropped to the floor. Both girls were still conscious, but Nabiki did not think they would last long in their current state.

“Now,” Kodachi said as she strode forward, her voice eerily calm, “you will tell me what I want to know.”

“Why should I?” Nabiki snapped, fearing for her life for the first time ever. “You’re just going to kill me anyway.”

“Oh no, my dear mercenary. You were one of the few I did not plan to kill. You never really stood in my way when it came to getting my Ranma, so I was going to let you live. However...”

The girl knelt down right in front of her and placed a hand on Nabiki’s cheek. “I certainly wouldn’t want to have to damage that pretty face of yours. Imagine what kind of jobs would be open to you if I simply left you in a deformed state?”

‘Shit! What am I going to do?’ Nabiki was growing panicked beyond her wildest imagination. ‘I can just tell her part of the truth. It’s not like she would be able to find Kasumi and Ranma out in the wilderness. Then maybe I can bargain with her.’

“If I tell you,” Nabiki said, using her ‘business-only’ tone, “will you guarantee to leave the rest of us alone?”

“Why should I do that?” Kodachi asked. “It’s not like you have any real bargaining power. I know I will manage to drag the information out of you whether you want to give it to me or not. Maybe you do not think I am serious. Perhaps we need to remedy that.”

Once again reaching behind her, Kodachi pulled forward a sack that Nabiki had not seen yet. From it, the gymnast pulled one of the clubs she used for her martial arts. She pressed a button on the bottom, and Nabiki watched in horror as spikes jutted out from the head of the instrument.

“Well, to show you how sincere I am,” Kodachi said patiently, “I think I will start by leaving really nice scars on your chest. It will not affect your ability to have a career, though I think if you ever even try to have a love-life it will be hampered. It’s just too bad you cannot feel pain below the neck right now.” The girl actually pouted at the thought, and Nabiki closed her eyes as she was rolled over onto her back by Kodachi, and prepared for the worst as the club was drawn back.

Abruptly, Kodachi was no longer standing there and Nabiki heard a crash against the wall. She tilted her head back and found her father and Mr. Saotome standing there panting. The former had his fist extended, and was glaring menacingly in the direction it was pointing. Nabiki looked that way and found Kodachi imbedded in the wall, apparently unconscious. Then her father exploded into action.

“Saotome, go make sure that bitch is out and then tie her up using one of the master’s techniques so she doesn’t escape. Then tend to the Kuonji girl while I look after my babies.”

Nabiki was surprised to see the heavier man obey without question, and the look of anger on his face made him look every bit the formidable martial artist she knew he could be. As he extracted her from the wall, he was none to gentle and Nabiki thought she heard some bones breaking in the process. ‘Good.’

“Are you alright, daughter?” her father asked, where he was hovering above her. The look of concern on his face, and the fact that he saved her, almost made her cry.

“I’m fine daddy, I just can’t move at the moment because she used some kind of gas on us. You really need to bandage up Akane though, she’s got a stomach wound that’s bleeding.”

“Okay,” the man replied gravely, as he made his way over to the youngest Tendo.

‘He... he actually came to me first.’ Ever since their mother died, Nabiki had been the most neglected of the Tendo sisters. Her father always fretted over Akane, or paid attention to Kasumi. At times, it did not even seem like she existed to him. For him to check her first...

‘I will not cry,’ she told herself firmly. And she did not. Though it was a close thing.

Shortly thereafter, Akane and Ukyo were bandaged and Mr. Saotome had gone to one of the neighbor’s houses to call the police and an ambulance. He also said something about getting Dr. Tofu. Her father was worriedly checking back and forth between her and Akane, and even paying attention to Ukyo’s condition. The other two girls were currently unconscious.

“Are they going to be okay, Daddy?”

“Yes, they’ll be fine. Saotome and I know a lot of first aid from our time under the master. They just lost some blood and their bodies are coping with it now. They’ll be okay.”

“What happened?” he asked. “We got the call and rushed here as quick as we could, but we didn’t know anything. How did that... girl get here.”

Nabiki told him everything she knew. The man absorbed it all, and surprisingly did not cry once. This person, her father, was finally turning into the man she always wanted him to be.

“Daddy,” she said hesitantly.

“Yes, Nabiki-chan?” he replied warmly. That finally broke the dam and tears began streaming down her face as the stress of the night, as well as her emotions regarding her father exploded within her.

“I... I love you,” she said, her voice barely about a whisper.

He looked surprised for a moment, and then she saw his eyes began to water as well. However, they were not the famous crocodile tears he was infamous for, but rather genuine tears of happiness.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” Soun said as he scooped her limp form up into his arms.

The two stayed that way until Dr. Tofu and Mr. Saotome arrived back, followed shortly thereafter by the police and an ambulance.

--

And thus concludes the work of JohnnyG. From this point on, it’ll be all me. Here’s to hoping I don’t fumble! Oy.