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CHAPTER SIX

	Ryouga sat by a log as he idly stoked the dying embers of his campfire. He
looked up to the stars  The stars shone on a velvety background. The moon
was out tonight, its wan, pale yellow brilliance outshining that of the
stars. He sighed and made a silent wish. He closed his eyes; his thoughts
once again embroiled in pondering his feelings for Akane and Ukyou. Each of
whom had taken a small portion of his heart for herself. What did he feel
for the okonomiyaki girl? For that matter,  what did he feel for Akane whose
heart belonged to his nemesis/friend, Ranma.
	It was just after that hell-raising trip to that accursed Tunnel of Love
that opened his eyes – somewhat – to Ukyou. Sure, he knew she was beautiful
but it was only then did he realize just how lovely she was. She possessed
the same fire Akane had, though this was tightly controlled at all times. 
	He sighed. This feeling sucked. He felt very much like Kunou trying to
decided between Akane and his ‘pig-tailed’ goddess. 
	So what did he actually feel for her? His mind came up with some but hardly
bases for him to fall in love with her. The more analytical part of Ryouga’s
mind – the part that usually told him just how lost he was – argued that
this ‘feeling’ he felt was akin to the one with Akane. 
	Ryouga somehow felt the need find some place to unwind. Still, that would
do no good. He’d probably loose his way again. 
	Not that it was a problem! 
	 He silently cursed the heavens for his current misery. He closed his eyes
once again and tried to think of something else other than girls. His
thoughts wandered to the girl he had saved weeks ago. Whoever she was, he
had no idea save for what Ranma had secretly told him.
	He pulled the covers tightly around himself as the cold November winds blew
all around the yellowing trees of the forest. Tomorrow would bring him
closer to Akane. It was time for him to find the girl as well.
	He hoped.

* * * * * 


	The girl watched him sleep. She had tailed him since he was discharged from
the hospital three weeks ago! Only after a while did she find out -- much to
her annoyance -- how hopelessly incompetent he was with directions. Now, her
she was, atop a tree with only her clothes to warm her in this cold winter
night. She dared not use Luna AD. Her energy signatures would be a beacon
for any of her enemies in this forest. She sighed as she made up her mind to
reveal herself to him tomorrow morning.

* * * * * 


	Ryouga woke up just as the sun revealed itself in the pre-dawn sky. His
instincts instantly brushed away any trace of sleep in him. Someone was
standing behind him. Ryouga whirled around to find the little girl warming
herself near the embers of his campfire.	
	She waved at Ryouga who approached her cautiously.
	"Uh.. How did you find me?" he inquired.
	"I followed you." was her reply.
	She walked up to Ryouga. Now that he had a better look at her, he
reassessed his thinking of her. Those eyes held intelligence far beyond her
years dictated. The innocence of those eyes unnerved him somewhat. She
definitely wasn't what she seemed to be.
	The girl thrust something in his hands. He looked at it curiously. It was
some sort of medallion shaped in the form of a crescent. He wondered what it
was for.
	As if sensing his  thoughts, the girl supplied him with the answer," It'll
help you find your way around." She giggled. "Considering how bad you're
sense of direction is, you'll definitely be needing it."
	"Uh... Thanks." Ryouga said to her, not knowing what else to say.
	She shrugged. 
	Her eyes held a look of determination as she began her own tale....

* * * * * 


	Somewhere far, far away from Nerima….
	It was a Friday night. It was raining outside. 
	She was lonely and very depressed.
	Nabiki sat by the window of her apartment. The smell of cooking reminded
her how late it was already. She sighed. Barely three months had passed
since her boyfriend had disappeared.  No matter how much Professor Miyabi
apologized, it did nothing to bring back the only man she ever  loved. She
resented Akane for, at least, she had somebody she liked; even if she denied
it to  herself. Nabiki hated the bitter irony of that. She loved him but was
lost to her. Akane had Ranma whom her sister believed she despised. Nabiki
knew better, of course.
	"Is this how 'love' works?" she wondered out loud.
	Yuriko popped out of the kitchen and looked worriedly at her roommate.
"What's that, Nabiki?"
	"Huh?" Nabiki looked around and found Yuriko staring at her. "Nothing,
really." She gave a tired sigh. "Just talking to myself."
	Yuriko made an audible 'oh' sound and left her to her thoughts. Depressions
like this made her unproductive and most of the money she had left with her
covered the final three years of her tuition. She had to find means to make
some much needed cash. However, the loss affected too deeply. It would take
a long, long time for her wounds to heal and for her to  forget him -- if
that's even possible.
	Yuriko went back to her work in the kitchen. she was concerned about her
friend. She knew the reasons behind her moods. She had to admit, losing him
affected everyone he was friends with, particularly her. Already, she was
surpassing everyone in the special class with her talents. Professor Miyabi
even hinted that she was considering making her as one of her inner circle.
Still, that paled to nothing. She would trade everything to see him again.


	"You mean there's no way for you to get him back?" Yuriko asked a
distraught Prof. Miyabi
	She looked away from her. A sure sign that what she said was true. Yuriko
felt the world around her spinning all around her. She could not believe
that her friend was gone.
	"How was it possible, Professor?" she demanded of her, eyes glistening with
tears.
	It took a long time for the other woman to answer her. Her voice sounded
dull and hoarse from crying. Her eyes, now that she looked at it, was also
red. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who felt like crying.
	"He saved us all by sacrificing his life to close the portal that had
opened during the ceremony." She paused, unable to even continue.
	"Why?" was all Yuriko could ever say.
	The door of the apartment banged shut. Yuriko whirled around to she an
enraged Nabiki stalking towards Miyabi. Her eyes were wide with barely
controlled anger.
	"Why!" demanded Nabiki of the woman. "Why did you have to take him away
from me? Why!" The last came out as a scream. "Why!"
	That day  marked the end the old Nabiki Tendo she knew.


	Yuriko was roused from her musing when a hand snaked out and grabbed her.
She found  herself being lifted effortlessly into the air. Her unknown
assailant proceeded to strangle her. She tried hard to incantate a spell but
to no avail. Black spots began to appear in her vision. Her last coherent
thought was that of Nabiki before darkness claimed her for its own.

* * * * * 


	Ranma sat rock-still in front of his mother. She wore her yukata like some
judge ready to pass sentence on a criminal. Ranma felt like one under her
intense scrutiny. His sister sat on one corner of the room. The Tendos are
conspicuously absent in this family meeting. Ranma lifts  his head up to
look at his father who sat beside him. Pestering his dad late last night
proved a futile effort as ever. Today, his mother would pass her judgment
upon them. Failure to meet the promise earned him a quick death by the blade
of their family. Said blade was held by Nodoka who had it in front of her.
The horror of yesterday's ordeal was too much from him. 
His cheeks  still burned in shame as he recall passing the day crying in
Akane's lap like a kid. Bad enough that he did it. But doing it in public
shamed him to the core. Still, what bothered him the most was Akane. Doing
what he did should have earned him a beating. Alas! The last thing he
expected her to do was to comfort him. But she did! That disturbed him_ a _lot. 
A whole lot.
	His thoughts returned to what was at hand.
	Today was the time for the atonement of his failures. He steeled his emotions. 
	He knew what awaited him. He would meet it with courage and acceptance.
That was all he could ever do now.
	He awaited his mother's sentence of death.
	For her part, Nodoka could not bring herself to totally abandon her role as
a mother. True, both father and son had violated their individual oaths to
her; honor demanded that both be made to commit seppku. Even now, she
remained undecided on what course to take.
	Does honor outweigh her role as a mother? Her training demanded strict
adherence to custom.  Yet motherhood demanded something else of her. She
looked sadly upon her son's face. In his eyes she saw her soul. A soul that
was torn between two decisions.
	Ranma. Her son and heir to her family's honor and title. A man who was
cursed for all time. A curse that made him turn into a young girl. A girl
whom had introduced herself as Ranko. A girl whom she had considered to be
her own.
	What did she feel about all this. A part rejoiced at seeing her son;
another was hell bent on demanding reprisal for her stained honor.
	True, she had a son who embodied everything good in a man. Now, she must
contend with  another side of her son. The female side of him. A side that
broke everything of his oath. How does a mother deal with this? How does one
handle such a situation?
	She looked once more at her son's handsome face. Indeed he was as handsome
as he was  beautiful in his female half. She sighed. A decision must be
reached -- whether she liked it or not.
	"Ranma...." she began slowly as she made up her mind.
	Ranma sat ram-rod straight at the sound of his own name. His mind was
filled with dread t the coming pronouncement. His father beside him wailed
in utter misery.
	Nodoka gathered her breath. "As much as it is difficult for me to...." A
terrified wail interrupted her; but was swiftly silenced by the sword she
now held in her hands. "As I was about to say before your father started
wailing, I wanted to say that as much as honor is a part  of our lives,
Ranma, some things are more important than that. And being your mother is
one. I love you, my son. No matter what has happened to you, I cannot hold
you to your oath."
	Ranma was wide-eyed in astonishment at this pronouncement. He remained
speechless for quite a while.
	"However," Nodoka continued, "It is now my belief that you be put under my
care for awhile." She inclined her head to Genma. "Your father is not what I
would call the greatest role model for you, having associated himself with
the lecherous old man, Happosai. Thus, I have decided to stay her
indefinitely until such time that I deem it right for you to leave my care.
I have my reasons, Ranma. You’ll just have to figure them out for yourself."
	This pronouncement made him sigh in despair. Akane would definitely make
his life miserable while his mother stayed here. Still, it was a_ whole _lot
better than committing ritual suicide. At the very least, he could finally
get to know his own mother.
	"Hai." Ranma accepted the proposal.
	"I bow before your wisdom." Genma acknowledged, bowing his head.
	Mizuki could not help cry at this. Once again, their family was whole.
	"Now, Ranma, we must do some shopping!" declares Nodoka to them.
	Everyone fell flat on the floor.

* * * * * 


	Ranma-chan stepped out of the ladies' fitting room wearing feminine wear.
Her eyes wore a resigned look held in check by the presence of her mother.
She absolutely hated it. The saleslady complimented on how sexy she looked
in them. Nodoka added her own approval of it. This made Ranma-chan even more
depressed. She could not believe anything could be worse than death. Now she
knew better.
	"I wish I was dead." she muttered.
	A gleam in Nodoka's eyes warned Ranma not to pursue that line of thought.
She suffered  in silence as her mother proceeded to force her to try the
dresses she had chosen for her to wear.
	"You need respectable clothes she says." Ranma said to herself.
	It took a whole lot of self-control for Ranma-chan not to walk away from
here. Already she had tried on dozens of female stuff. she wondered how many
more she was expected to try on.  She looked enviously at her little sister
who seemed to be enjoying herself playing dress-up.
	Finally, her mother had finished selecting her clothes and left the shop
just an hour before dark. She could not believe it took the whole day just
to pick half a dozen pairs of clothes for her to wear from time to time.
Nodoka hinted something about training her in female propriety and other
feminine stuff since she was spending part of her life as one. She repressed
a shudder. She certainly did not expect to be spared from death only to take
a crash course on how to act female.

* * * * * 


Ranma-chan entered the dojo a bit hesitantly. Dressed the way she was, she
did not wish to confront anyone having had her fill with the men who
practically drooled all over the bus as they leered at her. She hated it
all. She kept reminding herself she was a guy; but, somehow, being in this
form affected her mind as well as her body.
	Akane and the others stood waiting by the entrance of the house dressed to
go out. She sees Akane glowering at her for some reason.
	"Now what's gotten into her?" Ranma asked herself. "Bad enough I have to
wear this dress but having to wear the bra and the panty was unbearable."
she told herself as well.
	For her part, Akane felt a stab of jealousy run through her upon seeing
her. Ranma wore a blue sleeveless blouse that had frills on its shoulder and
collar. It hug her torso a bit  loosely but did not hide the excellent
contour of her body too much. The long black skirt covered slim legs which
enhanced them and making them appear longer than they really were. Her hair
was without its usual pigtail. Instead, it was cut in a feminine style and
draped loosely over one slender shoulder. Akane understood the feeling well.
How she envied Ranma for having such  a body like that!
	"Hello, everyone. Shall we go now?"
	"Ready when you are, Mrs. Saotome." replied Kasumi who was dressed in a
simple one piece silk dress shaded a light yellow and black.
 	Akane tried to avoid looking at the now female Ranma. She noticed her
father staring at Ranma with interest. Akane acted and elbowed here father
on the stomach. The intended result pleased her. She found Ranma's younger
sister, Mizuki standing in front of her. She noticed the brief look of
sadness in those eyes.
	"Akane?"
	"Yes?"
	"We need to talk." was all she said to her before leaving her side.

* * * * * 


	"Well?" asked Akane impatiently.
	"You hate my brother more because of how he looks being female."
              The surprise on Akane's face was more than enough proof. 
She continued, "Do you really think that how he looks as a woman have any
meaning at all? You and him are betrothed to each other already. It's not
like he'll abandon you for some cute guy, you know."
	Akane shook her head. "It’s not that I worry about!. I hate him because he
does not realize how hard I try to please him. Everything I try and do for
him always ends up wrong." Akane felt hot tears trickle down her face. "Then
there's Shampoo and Ukyou to worry about. Both of them surpass me in beauty.
And then, there's Ranma himself who flaunt his female body to me saying how
feminine it is compared to mine." She looks at Mizuki, tears in her eyes.
"How can I even think of competing against such odds as that?" she wanted to
know.
	"You love him then?" Mizuki asked in a low voice.
	"Yes." answered Akane hoarsely.
	"Then make him understand, Akane. The only way the two of you can actually
get together is if one of you abstains in trying the hurt the other. The two
of you are so alike that it drives you so apart. Each of you has pride. Too
much high pride. That pride will destroy both your chances of actually
finding out how much you love one another. One of you must give ground for
love to have a chance."
	"Why me then?" she wanted to know.
	"I..."
	Her words were cut off when Ranma popped out of nowhere and asked if they
still were coming with them.
	"Ranma! Glad you're here. Akane was just asking me to look for you." she
lied masterfully. Ranma gave her a suspicious stare but said nothing. Mizuki
quietly left both of them alone while she stalled everyone else.
	With her gone, the defenses both of them put up around each other came up
once more. Both tried to avoid looking at each other. Suddenly, Mizuki's
words came back to Akane. Could she actually let herself step out of her
walls to confront her true feeling for Ranma? It was a challenge she was
uncertain to partake.
	For Ranma, she was torn between fulfilling the promise Mizuki she made or
not. What she felt for Akane was difficult to understand in the best of
times. Ranma loved her but somehow could never give voice to it. Could she
be the first to give Akane a chance? 
	"You..." she struggled to say something. "You look pretty tonight, Ranma."
she finally said to him. This pronouncement was greeted by a low snarl from
Ranma. This was not what she  had expected.
	Ranma took firm control her rising temper. She warred with her inner self
as her sister's reminder rang loudly in his mind. "Please, don't say that to
me already, Akane." She turned to face Akane. "It's not that I'm angry or
anything," She noticed Akane's mood begin to lighten, "I already had enough
men drooling all over me at the bus to last me a lifetime."
	Akane gave a soft laugh which sounded very much like wind chimes swaying in
the wind. Ranma never realized how sweet she sounded when she wasn't angry.
It was something to treasure at the moment.
	Akane left out a sigh.
	"Ranma," she began, trying to sort through her mind for the proper words to
say to her, "Let's start all over from the beginning shall we?"
	Ranma gave a shocked look but was quickly masked behind a calm face. He
smiled at her-- for once. "Fine with me, Akane."
	Akane gave a surprised gasp as a hand wrapped itself around her shoulders.
It was Ranma's arms doing the deed. She restrained herself from bashing him
senseless. His arms felt surpassingly gentle and it felt good around her!
	Behind some bushes, a camcorder recorded everything transpiring between the
two. As luck would have it, a full moon shone brilliantly above, giving the
camera ample light to record that treasured moment.
	Unknown; however, to the two lovebirds, someone had seen to it to invite
Ukyou Kounji and the Chinese amazon, Shampoo, to this special occasion. Both
were in attendance but in a different way. They lay helplessly bound head to
foot somewhere within the Tendo residence watching a live feed of the events
transpiring between the two outside through the TV.
	"Mm..mph! Rmm..muuhhhh!" cried Ukyou through the duct tape that sealed her
mouth.
	Shampoo's eyes were filled with venom as she stared at the TV in front of
them. She cried out Ranma's name as well as she witnessed both Akane's and
Ranma's lips  finally meet... in full zoom <100x magnification!>
	"Eeeeyiaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!" both women scream at the top of their lungs.
	Behind the bushes once more, Mizuki stifles a snicker as she imagined how
enraged both women were in the Tendo's basement. She turns the power off the
camcorder and left  the two  behind to join her parents to wait.
	Mizuki chuckled to herself. Ranma may be an ass most of the time but he
definitely had a lot of respect for honor. True, that kiss was done because
she had managed to sucker her brother into it. Still, Ranma did it even when
he finally figured that out. 
	At least there was something she could be proud of with her brother.
	"Things seem to be looking up!" she congratulated herself. She prided
herself at her well executed plan. For at long last, Ranma and Akane were
together.

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