####  ****  ####

It was very late at night when Ranma entered the Tendou compound
for what in all probability would be the last time.  During the course
of his stay at the Tendou's, Ranma had often felt like an intruder -
and now that feeling was intensified.

Silently, Ranma slid open the door to the training hall.  Despite all
that had happened, there had been some really good times here, and
Ranma felt he owed the spirits of the place a proper good-bye.  He
moved to the center of the room, and waited for his eyes to adjust to
the darkness.

Ranma looked sadly around the dojo.  There was damage - more than
could be attributed to the normal wear and tear on a martial arts
training hall.  Crude patches covered the walls, more permanent
repairs having been long abandoned as futile.  Most of the damage
was his fault, he thought bitterly.  Fights with Akane, fights with his
father, fights with the almost endless stream of fiancees and foes
that he and his father seemed to draw like a lodestone draws steel -
all had taken their toll.

Ranma thought back to all of the fights there had been with Akane...
so many!  There had been times when she had been so unreasonable
- nothing Ranma had been able to say or do would placate her.  She
would jump to a conclusion, and there would be no time for
explanations... no time to get a word in before she was on him, fists
flying.  Not that she would have listened.

Akane had almost never listened to him, except when he put his foot
in his mouth - which he did a hell of a lot of the time, he had to
admit.  He had just never been willing to open up to her again;  not
after what had happened on that first day.  'Once burned, twice shy,'
wasn't that how the saying went?  It was stupid, so very stupid, but
water under the bridge now.

Most of it had been due to the newness of the curse.  His sense of
self, his identity had been badly damaged, and it had made his ego
very fragile in certain areas.  By the time he had managed to regain
his confidence - his center - his relationship with Akane had fallen to
the force of habit.  It had fallen hard.

He had never wanted to hurt Akane, never wanted to make her
angry, but it seemed that all he had ever done was cause her pain.
He had been insensitive and boorish - no great surprise considering
his upbringing, but Ranma was not inclined to accept that as an
excuse, let alone as justification.

That would make him all too much like his father, and that was a
comparison that bothered him alot.  Ranma's worst nightmare was
that he would end up like his father.  He decided that he'd spend the
rest of his life as a girl before he'd let that happen.

Ranma turned toward the family shrine that hung on the wall at the
end of the hall.  After a moment's silent meditation, he bowed
toward the shrine, and clapped twice.  Taking a last look around,
Ranma slipped out of the hall as quietly as he had entered, and made
for the roof, and his favourite thinking spot.

####  ****  ####

Ukyou woke with a start.  She lay for a moment trying to determine
what might have awakened her, but the silence was absolute.
Perhaps that was the problem.  It was *too* quiet.  She got up and,
throwing on a robe, padded down the hall to the spare room.  She
rapped gently on the door.

When no answer was forthcoming, she slid the door open, and peered
in.  The futon in the center of the room was empty.  Ranma was gone.

For an instant, panic seized her - but after a moment she calmed
herself enough to take a closer look.  It was then that she saw the
note he had left.  She went to pick it up - half of her dreading what it
might say.

Ucchan-
If you are reading this it means that you woke up before I could get
back.  Please do not worry - there's something that I need to do.  I'll
be back before dawn.  I promise.
--Ranma

Ukyou clutched the note tightly, smiling in relief.  Despite what she
might have told anyone else, she was still a bit overwhelmed by
recent events and it made it hard for her to believe that it really was
over - that she had won.

She doubted that she would be able to get back to sleep, so she went
down to the kitchen and put on a pot of water for tea.  On a hunch,
she put a second kettle on to heat as well.  Then she settled down to
wait for Ranma.

####  ****  ####

Ranma stood on the dojo roof staring at the sky.  It had stopped
snowing and the clouds had passed, leaving the air sharp and clear.
The stars shone like diamonds - all the brighter for the chill in the
air.

For once the dojo was peaceful - Akane was with the rest of their
class in Hiroshima, and everyone else had retired earlier.  There was
no one to see him, no one to interrupt his train of thought.  Even
Shampoo thought he was off training.

Ranma treasured the sense of peace - so rare in his life over the past
few years.  And at last he was thinking clearly - coming to terms
with the changes that he had made in his life over the past couple of
days.

All the dreams he'd had about how he and Akane might have been -
all gone, shattered in that one moment when Akane had finally
gotten through that thick skull of his that she was never going to
want him...

But with the death of that hope had come a certain peace.  Finally he
could let go - could now justify his defiance of his father's wishes -
could be man enough to let Akane go, and to get on with his life as
she would with hers.  Just as she had gotten over her crush on Dr.
Tofu, so he was over her.  At last, there would be an end to the chaos
and turmoil that had ruled his life since his arrival in Nerima.

He came to accept that he had flubbed his relationship with Akane,
and his turning to Ukyou.  The thought warmed him.  Good ol' Ucchan
- she had always been there for him.  When he had needed to talk,
she had been there.  When he had been hungry, she had been there.
Whenever he had been hurting, she had been there - and he had
almost driven her off as well...

Having said his good-byes and made his peace, Ranma left the dojo
and headed for the Ucchan.  This time, he didn't look back.

####  ****  ####

Ukyou did not know how long she had been sitting in the darkened
restaurant when there at last came the sounds of someone fumbling
at the door.  After a moment's scrabbling, punctuated with a few
choice expletives, the door opened and a fuming Ranma-chan let
herself in.

Immediately, she sensed another presence in the darkened room,
and dropped into a crouch.  Ukyou called softly to her, and she
relaxed.

"So you *did* wake up," Ranma-chan said.  "I was afraid that you
might."

Ukyou smiled in the darkness.  "Thanks for leaving the note, Ranma.
It was very thoughtful."

"Yes, well, I *do* learn, believe it or not.  Sometimes it just takes a
while - and I didn't want you to worry."

"Come on in and sit down - I'll get the tea. - Looks like I was right to
put on that second kettle.  What happened?"

Ranma-chan moved toward the table and sat down, squelching a bit
as she did so.  "Hmph," she grunted in response, "some idiot rode a
motorcycle past me as I was walking back - sprayed slush all over
the place - me included."

Ukyou returned carrying a tray with the tea, and two kettles.  She
set the tray on the table and set about preparing the tea while
Ranma-chan doused herself with the other kettle.

Once more in what he considered to be his proper shape, Ranma
relaxed and took the teacup that Ukyou handed him.  "He was a
strange one, too...  dressed up in some kind of formal cape and top
hat getup with a mask over his face.  It might have been Kunou,
except he only had the one rose..."  He took a sip of the tea and
sighed.  "Boy that feels better.  Thanks a lot, Ucchan."

Ukyou smiled.  "And there's not even a full moon.  So, did you get
everything done?"

"I did.  I just had to say 'good-bye' to the Dojo.  I know that sounds
weird and all, but..."

"Not weird at all, Ran-chan.  I'll miss it too, and I didn't live there."

The couple sat in a warm, comfortable silence and finished their tea.
After a time, Ukyou cleared the table, and the two of them went back
upstairs to their beds, Ukyou directly, and Ranma by way of the
bath.

####  ****  ####

The morning dawned bright and clear, as Ranma and Ukyou made
their final preparations for departure.  The belongings that they
would not be taking with them were packed into a number of crates
and would be placed in a long term storage facility.  The rest was
gradually being stuffed into their respective frame packs, and other
carryalls.  Ranma, for one, was hoping this would be the last repack
for a while.

After everything else was ready, Ranma carefully removed Ukyou's
noren from its pole.  He folded the shop curtain very carefully, and
placed it with some of the other decorations in one of the crates.  He
hesitated a moment before closing the box.

"Are you sure that you don't want to take this?" he asked her.

Ukyou looked up from the table where she was studying travel
brochures to see what he was talking about.  When he indicated the
curtain, she smiled.  "No, not yet, thanks, Ran-chan." she nodded
toward her pack.  "I have a couple of smaller ones to take along.
That one... that will be for when we stop."

Ranma nodded and sealed up the last crate.  Ukyou called the transit
company, arranged to have the crates picked up, and they sat down
together to study the travel literature, and wait for the Realtor.

The crates were picked up at ten, and the Realtor arrived shortly
after eleven.  After exchanging pleasantries, she reached into her
briefcase and withdrew a small envelope, which she handed to
Ukyou.  Ukyou handed her a set of keys, and the sale was complete.

When Ukyou showed Ranma the check, his eyes nearly popped out of
his head.  She smirked at him, and said, "See, Ran-chan?  We're not
giving up anything!"

Ranma shook his head in amazement.  "We'd better get out of here
before Nabiki hears about this..." was all he could say.

After a brief stop for lunch, the couple stopped at the Tokyo National
Bank to open a new account and deposit the check.  Ukyou arranged
for a couple of debit cards, one of which she handed to Ranma.  He
gave her a curious look, but she just smiled at him.  Shrugging, he
tucked the card into a small interior pocket of his pack, and waited
for Ukyou to finish.

Once their business at the bank was completed, the pair headed for
the train station, where they boarded the bullet to Kobe.  They were
on their way.

####  ****  ####

"No no, you moron!  That way!  THAT way!"

The exasperated shout caught Ranma's attention as he and Ukyou
were preparing to cross the street.  With the instincts born of a
lifetime of martial arts training, Ranma pushed Ukyou back around
the corner and flattened himself against the wall as he looked toward
the source of the shout.

A street merchant was gesticulating madly at someone, and pointing
in Ranma's direction.  The object of his ire seemed oblivious to the
emotional state of his benefactor, though he did have the courtesy to
thank the old man for his course correction.

As the person reversed direction and at last started to travel on the
indicated heading, Ranma got a good look at his face.  There was no
mistaking that black and gold bandanna, either.  Hibiki Ryouga.

Meanwhile, Ukyou was getting curious.  "What is it, Ran-chan?
What's the matter?"

"Shhhh!" hissed Ranma.  "It's Ryouga...  Damn!  Why here, why now?"

At that moment a car shot through the intersection, and hit a large
puddle of very cold water standing in the gutter - runoff from the
snow melted by a number of the yattai along the sidewalk.
Inevitably, Ranma was at the center of the resultant spray.  She
swore as she changed and the weight of her pack settled onto her
suddenly rounded hips.

Of course, the splash caught the attention of the other hydrophobe on
the street as well.  Ryouga looked up just in time to see a dripping
red-head with a pig tail shaking her fist after the receding auto.  He
knew that girl...

"Ranma!"

Ranma-chan looked back at Ryouga in a panic.  Damn!  He had seen
her.  She ducked around the corner, grabbing Ukyou as she shot past.
"C'mon!" she said, "He's made us!"

Ukyou had to really run to keep up with Ranma-chan.  After several
twists and turns, down various side streets, Ranma and Ukyou
dodged into a small storefront and stopped to catch their breaths.
Outside, they could hear Ryouga, still in pursuit as he began his
search.

They huddled in the store for a time, waiting for Ryouga to give up
and go away.  But Ryouga was nothing if not persistent, and after
looking through every part of the alley that he could, he started a
systematic check in all of the stores along the street.  Ranma-chan
and Ukyou exchanged nervous glances - if Ryouga kept this up, they
would be caught for sure.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Ukyou.

After a moment of cogitation, Ranma-chan slammed her fist into her
palm, an evil grin on her face.  "Simple," she said smugly.  "I'll just
walk out there!"

"But he'll see you!"

Ranma-chan was rooting through her pack.  "I know," she said with a
grin.  She pulled out a hat, and a pair of glasses with large, round
lenses.  After putting them on, she dropped her pants and readjusted
her belt.  Her Chinese style shirt, sized for her male form, was long
enough to look like a short dress on her female form.  Ranma-chan
gave her 'skirt' a final tug, and winking at Ukyou, sauntered casually
out into the street.

After a few moments of tense silence, Ukyou heard Ryouga's voice,
and her heart sank.

"Ranma!" Ryouga bellowed.  "Prepare to die!"

<Damn,> thought Ukyou... <It didn't work.>  She prepared to go out
into battle, readying her spatulas, but held back at the last instant -
Ranma had not signaled that she needed help, and Ukyou had no idea
what she had planned - best to wait and see - *then* attack.

In the street outside the shop, Ryouga accosted Ranma-chan -
grabbing her by the arm, and spinning her to face him.  "Ranma!" he
bellowed again, "Now you will PAY!"

The redheaded girl that Ryouga had grabbed cut loose with a
piercing shriek.  "Eeeek!  Hentai!  Back off, pervert!  I'll call the
cops..."

Ryouga tightened his grip on the girl's shoulder.  "You're not fooling
me this time, Ranma.  I'm wise to your tricks."

Ranma-chan glared over the rims of her glasses at her tormentor.
"My name's not 'Rhonda'." she snarled.  "Hey!  You're that same
pervert that was chasing me on Santovasku Street!"  With her free
hand, she grabbed Ryouga's shirt front, making as if to shake him.
"Now, who the hell are you, and why do you keep hounding me?"

Ryouga looked hard at Ranma-chan - not wanting to believe what
she said, but too stupid not to.  "If you're not Ranma, then why did
you run away from me?"

"Feh - if some maniac came charging at *you* like a wild boar,
screaming death threats, wouldn't you run away?

"Wild... boar...?"  Ryouga stammered.

"Hmph.  You are *such* a pig."

"What... what did you say?"  Ryouga let go of Ranma-chan's arm,
snatching his hand back as if he'd been burnt.

"I said that you're a pig!  A pig!  All men are pigs!"  Ranma-chan
released her own grip, shoving the dazed Ryouga back a pace in the
process.  She made a show of straightening her 'dress'.  "A girl ain't
safe anywhere any more!  Pervert!"

Ryouga was turning bright red with embarrassment.  "Ahhh... forgive
me, please.  I obviously had you confused with someone else.  Please
accept my apologies..."

"Hmph.  I should say so."  Ranma-chan softened her expression a bit.
"Well, okay, but on a condition." she said brightly.

Ryouga looked relieved.  "Anything that I can do," he said gallantly.

"Great!  I'm starved!  You can buy me lunch!"

"Anou... Lunch?" asked Ryouga, twiddling his index fingers... "You
mean, like a da... a da...  A date?" he managed at last.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Ranma-chan.  "All I'm talking about is
lunch!  Say a nice bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, or maybe
some sweet & sour pork - and a nice tall glass of cool water!"

"B... b... bacon?" gulped Ryouga, turning white.  "Puh... puh... Pork?  C...
cool water?"  Ryouga started backing away nervously.

"That's some stuttering problem you have there," remarked Ranma-
chan.  She paused, and looked Ryouga up and down again.  "You
know, you *are* kinda cute... in fact, you remind me of a pet I once
had... I think it's the fangs... I had this little black..."

"Little black what?!"

"A little black dog, you moron!  What did you think I was gonna say?
A little black pig?"

"S... So... So sorry to have bothered you, miss..." stammered Ryouga as
he turned and fled down the street, running just as fast as he could."

As Ryouga disappeared into the distance, Ukyou came out to join
Ranma.  She gazed after the rapidly retreating figure.  "Just what did
you say to him, Ran-chan?"

"Remind me later tonight, and I'll tell you over dinner.  Let's get out
of here, okay?"

The pair retrieved their packs and set out once more on their long
journey.  They both wanted to be well out of town before stopping
for the night.

"You think he'll catch on once he gets to Nerima and finds us gone?"

"Who knows?  But this'll be his big chance.  Maybe he'll have better
luck making Akane happy than I did."  Ranma smiled at the thought.
"I hope so.  They both deserve it."

####  ****  ####

It was, for the Tendou Dojo, and abnormally peaceful evening.  Soun,
Genma, Nabiki and Kasumi were just sitting down to steaming bowls
of Kasumi's special tempura udon when a slam and a shout shattered
the evening calm.

"Ranma no Baka!"  There was another slam as Akane closed the door
behind her and stormed into the house.  This was followed by
stomping sounds as she made her way upstairs, another slam as she
got to her room, and a crash as her pack hit the floor.  A constant
stream of "baka baka baka baka..." served as an accompaniment.
After a few moments there was more stomping as Akane came back
down the stairs.

A number of puzzled looks were being exchanged over the dinner
table when the shoji was slammed aside, leaving Akane framed in
the opening.  "Where.  Is.  He?"  she snarled.

Nabiki blinked.  "Where is who?"

Akane glowered at her sister.  "Where is RANMA?" she specified.
Her tone suggested that she was already past the limits of her
patience, such as they were, and that it might not be wise to push
her any farther.

Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged glances, as if trying to decide which of
them should answer their sister's question.  Finally Kasumi sighed
and looked back at Akane.  "He went on a field trip with you and the
rest of your class." she said patiently.  "Isn't he with you?"

Akane purpled and it looked for a moment as if she were going to
have a stroke; but after a moment her shoulders sagged and she
seemed to fall in on herself.  When she spoke again, her voice was
almost a whisper.  "No." she said.  "He's not with me.  He wasn't on
the trip either.  He never showed up."

"WHAT?" yelped Soun and Genma in unison.

Kasumi got up and led her sister into the room and to the table.  Once
she had Akane seated, she got her a bowl of tempura udon and a cup
of tea.  Akane nodded her thanks but made no move to touch the
food.

"Akane!  What do you mean, he never showed up?"  asked Soun.

"I mean," she said sharply, "that he never showed up.  He never got
to the school, he never got on the train, he never got to Hiroshima, he
NEVER SHOWED UP!"

"But he couldn't have missed the train...  he left over an hour before
you did!" said Kasumi.

For a moment the fury was back in Akane's voice.  "Don't you think I
*know* that?"  she growled.

It was Nabiki who actually voiced the obvious question.  "Well, he
hasn't been here, and if he wasn't with your group, where is he?"

No one seemed to have any sort of answer for that.  Soun and Genma
claimed not to have seen him since dinner the night before the trip.
That was also the last time Nabiki could say that she had seen him.
The last Akane had seen of him he had been haring out of her room
at just under lightspeed followed closely by some of her furniture.
Only Kasumi had seen him later than that, and then only for a few
minutes on the morning that the trip started.

"He was acting a little strangely, now that I think about it..." Kasumi
added.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.  "What did he do?"

"I'm not really sure," Kasumi replied.  "He seemed very... tense...  as if
he were nervous about something.  When he left, he said good-bye
almost as if he didn't expect to ever... see... me... again...  Oh my."

A number of expressions raced across Akane's face in the space of
seconds.  First there was the shock of realization, followed by a flare
of rage, closely pursued by disbelief that was fading rapidly into the
lifeless grey mask of depression.  "I see."  she said quietly.  "If you all
will excuse me, I'm a week behind in my exercises."  She got slowly
to her feet and shuffled off in the direction of the training hall.

"Akane!" cried Soun.  She left the room seemingly without having
heard him.  "Saotome!"  Soun turned his wrath on Genma.  "This is
*your* fault!  Where is that boy of yours?!"

####  ****  ####

Akane knelt in the dojo and stared hard at the concrete blocks.  She
took a deep breath, tensed for a moment, and struck.  A small cloud
of dust rose into the air as the blocks shattered under the force of
her blow.

Akane stared sadly into the rubble.  The trip had been a bad one.
When Ranma had finally been officially declared as missing, Hinako-
sensei had been furious.  She had made long and impassioned
speeches about delinquents, and what was likely to happen to any
that she managed to catch up with.

Akane's own reaction had been more complex.  She had spent half
the time wondering if something had happened to Ranma and
worrying.  The other half of her time was spent in a dark rage that
he could behave so inconsiderately.  Where was that jerk?  How dare
he run out on this trip!  Already her friends were starting to have
those whispered conversations that faded so quickly into silence
whenever she entered the room.  It was extremely embarrassing.

Now that she had gotten home, she was still torn between rage and
worry.  Ranma seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth.  He
had never shown up for the trip, and he had not been home either.
Where could he have gone?  Had something happened to him after
all?  Or had he just left?

Ten shattered stacks of blocks later, Akane was no closer to any kind
of answer.  Sitting back on her haunches, she tried to remember the
last time she had seen Ranma, and what had happened.  The 'when'
wasn't difficult... there had been a hell of a row after dinner the day
before the trip.  The other part was more problematic.  It had not
been a good day, as she remembered it.

That had been the day that hentai Daitokuji girl had shown up to
claim Ranma.  If that hadn't been bad enough, that Amazon bimbo
Shampoo had ambushed her on her way back to the dojo.  And then
there had been that strange fight with Ranma.

Ranma had just come in at the wrong time.  She had been in such a
bad mood, and she had taken a lot of it out on him.  She had said a
lot of...

Akane paled.  Parts of the conversation replayed themselves in her
memory with alarming clarity.

Akane:  "I wish I'd never heard of you!"

Ranma:  "Do you really feel that way?"

Akane:  "You bet!  For all I care, the others can have you!  I wouldn't
care if I never saw you again!"

Ranma:  "That would make you happy, would it?"

Akane:  "It would make me ecstatic!"

There had been more, and in the end, Ranma had run from her room
followed by a cloud of hurled objects and her own curses.  The last
words that she had shouted at him rang through her memory like
the tolling of a giant bell...  "I HATE you!" she had screamed.  "I HATE
YOU!"

True to her 'wishes' she had not seen Ranma since.

Mindlessly, Akane swept up the remains of her victims, and headed
for the bath.  She had a lot of thinking to do.

####  ****  ####

Nabiki was not happy.  In fact, she was furious.  <How could he *do*
something like this,> she fumed.  <What could he have been thinking
about?>  Ranma's disappearance was going to cause her considerable
inconvenience.  Worse, it was going to cost her money.

Nabiki took a chain from around her neck, and used the key that was
on it to unlock a drawer in her desk.  Once the drawer was open, she
removed a large, squarish box.  The box contained photographs she
had taken of Ranma in his girl form.  She had been making good
money from these photos, selling them to Kunou.  The box at present
was a little over half full.  If Ranma were not found and brought
back, this would be the last batch of photos she would have.  She had
to milk them for every yen she could.

Rooting further through the drawer the box had been in, she found a
small notebook.  Idly, she thumbed through it - it was a record of
bets that she had taken, on a lot of the fights that Ranma had been
involved in.  Another lucrative sideline down the tubes.  Nabiki
snorted in disgust.

Lastly, she dug out another notebook, this one filled with information
- most of it notes concerning Ranma.  Information, she reflected,
truly was the last great economic frontier.  This book, for example,
had been worth its weight in gold - It held secrets that she had
ferreted out - many secrets - Secrets that some would pay her to
share, and others that Ranma had paid her not to.  Paid her on a
regular basis, too.

Nabiki shook her head and sighed.  This was not good.  With Ranma
gone, her net income was going to take a nose-dive.  <That
insensitive, arrogant JERK!> she thought to herself.  <How could he do
this to me?>

A wave of guilt passed through her as she heard her sister enter the
next room.  Well Nabiki knew those sounds - sounds that Akane
would have denied, even as she dried her tears.  Akane was going to
be the one who really suffered.  For reasons that Nabiki could never
even begin to understand, Akane had cared for Ranma - and he had
abandoned her.

Nabiki started to get angry all over again.  Ranma had hurt her sister,
and for that he would have to pay.  Nabiki wasn't sure how, but he
was going to pay.  She would see to it.  NObody could be allowed to
hurt her family.  Nobody.

After a moment's thought, Nabiki got a fresh notebook from another
drawer.  She opened it to the first page, and scribbled a date - a little
over a week old.  That was the day - the day that Ranma had left; a
day for which she would see to it he was punished.  Grimly, she set
about beginning her investigations.  Ranma was somewhere, and she
would find him.  For Akane's sake, she would find him.

####  ****  ####