The Togetherness Factor Part 2: Learning Together by David Eddy Ranma dumped his futon and pack onto the floor of Akane's room. That was it; the sum total of his worldly possessions were in the pack, and the futon of course had been supplied by the Tendos. Akane put his bookbag and pillow on her bed, and sat down. A breeze stirred the curtains of her room. "Is that it?" she asked. He nodded. "That's everything." "I... I had no idea..." "That I had so little?" He snorted. "When we were on the road, we had to take everything with us, and here, well..." Here, most of his money went to Nabiki one way or another. Kasumi stuck her head in. "The bath is ready, you two; otousan has just finished. Why don't you bathe now?" "Ano... oneechan?" "Yes, Akane?" "Do you have something we can use for blindfolds, oneechan?" Kasumi frowned. "That's not very safe, Akane. You could slip and fall, or trip over something, or even wander too far away from Ranma. Besides, you've both seen each other before; why make a fuss over it?" "But, oneechan..." Kasumi replied after it became clear that her sister was not going to continue her objection. "But what, Akane?" Akane scowled at the floor. "Nothing!" Ranma said nothing as they gathered their bathing things and headed down to the bathroom. He carefully avoided looking at Akane as they went down the steps and walked to the bathroom. In the laundry, which was where one disrobed and put one's clothes into the hamper, Akane put out the "occupied" sign and looked at Ranma, who already had his top off. His head was turned away from her, and that annoyed her although she couldn't quite figure out why. "Ranma." "What is it?" he asked without turning. He did however stop undressing. "I don't want you to look at me! Do you hear me?" Ranma's fists balled. "Like I'd want to look at *you*!" he shot back instinctively. Akane stared at him, stunned. What had happened to the good feeling of only an hour ago, of their declarations of earlier that afternoon? "Err... what's wrong, Ranma?" she asked in a puzzled voice. He said nothing, just stood there, his fists clenched and the muscles of his shoulders and back tight. Akane's anger rose. How dare he ignore her?! "Ranma! Answer me!" She stepped over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, pulling to spin him around. But at the touch of her hand on his skin, she felt a tingling and felt her anger at him drain away. She wanted nothing so much as to take him in her arms, for he was obviously hurting. She watched his hands unclench and his shoulders slump a little as she stood there with her hand on him. "Isn't my sworn oath enough for you?" he asked quietly. "You ought to know I'm very good at keeping them. I swore one to Ryouga, you know, and-- Ah, never mind." He scooped up two long, black cloths from the hamper next to him and held them out to Akane. "Here." "Where did you get those?" He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. She saw that his expression was a little surprised. "They were lying in the hamper." He smiled at her, then tied his around his head with quick movements. Akane watched him as he stood there, obviously waiting for her also to don her blindfold. His expression was neutral, with perhaps just a hint of a upturn in his lips as he stood, strangely alert. She wondered what was going through his mind even as she wondered if Kasumi had been playing some mind game with them. Kasumi? With a sigh, Akane tied the black silk around her head, thoroughly obscuring her vision. "Okay," she said when she was done, relieved to see that her vision was quite obscured. Ranma was relieved to hear her voice, and finished disrobing quickly. He listened to the rustle of cloth, trying to identify her actions by the various sounds. Finally there came two steps, and a slight clunk as she took up her bath bowl, and he knew she was done. "Are you ready, Ranma?" He grunted. "Sure." Walking carefully and slowly, with deliberately-heavy footsteps, he stepped towards the doorway. "Hang on, Ranma." He stopped immediately and heard Akane step towards the doorway. There was a rattle as something -- her hand, he assumed -- collided with the sliding door, but then there was the sound of the door being slid open. He heard her step inside, and felt the slightly-warmer air of the bathroom wash over his skin, bringing the smell of the hot furo to his nostrils. Then the pain started. "Wait, Akane!" He moved as quickly as he dared in her direction. His shoulder brushed the door as he passed into the bathroom, and he took a moment to slide the door firmly closed. "Where are you?" "Over here, Ranma. I'm in the middle of the room." "This is dangerous, Akane. We could easily get separated too far. It nearly happened a moment ago." There was a moment's silence, then Akane sighed. "I know. What are we going to do?" "Turn your back to me. I'm coming over, and I'll try and touch your shoulders." "Then why should I turn around?" "In case I miss." Ranma was a little surprised to hear a giggle come from Akane's direction, but he smiled himself in reaction and followed the noise, his arm outstretched but held softly so he couldn't hurt her. Carefully he walked towards where he last heard her. Then he felt the briefest sensation of warmth in his fingertips, and then there was the slightest of tingles as he made contact with her warm skin. He stopped immediately. "What am I touching?" he asked nervously. "It's all right, Ranma," she replied with a smile in her voice. "You're touching my right shoulderblade." "I'll grab your shoulder, then let's find the taps, shall we?" "Okay. They're right over there." He felt her shoulder move as she pointed, and he shook his head silently as he stepped closer to her and simultaneously ran his hand up her soft skin until it rested on top of her shoulder. "Lead the way," he said. Akane led him the few steps to the shower, and he felt her dip as she knelt down. He followed suit, moving beside her. "I'm sorry, I can't find the stool," she said. "Be careful." He nodded unconsciously. "Sure," he said as he carefully laid out his bath items. Water ran briefly as Akane filled her bucket. "Pass me your bucket," she said. "Here you are," he replied as he carefully held out the small plastic bucket. There was a thump against it as Akane's hand ran into it, then it was pulled from his grasp. Water ran again, and it was thrust back into his hand. Cold water sloshed across his wrist. "That's cold water, Akane," he complained as he took the bucket. The sound of a washcloth being dunked and wrung came. "So? I've got cold water too." "But... nevermind." He doused himself with the cold water, feeling the change wash through his body, and suddenly he was a she. With a sigh, he began to soap his very female body. They soaped and scrubbed in companionable silence, the sound of water echoing through the room. Ranma leaned forward to fill his bucket again to rinse himself off, but instead of a cold wall he was expecting his reaching hand encountered warm, soapy, soft flesh. He snatched his hand back as though from a fire. "Gyaaaaa!" yelled Akane. Her bucket hit him square on the head, and clattered away to finish in a corner somewhere. "Keep your hands to yourself, pervert!" "But Akane, I was just trying to--" "Trying to cop a free feel! I know! Why you--!" Her protests stopped suddenly as she bumped into him. Ranma could feel her skin warm against the coolness of the soapy film clinging to his skin and waited for her to move away and bash him, but instead she remained stock still. Then she leaned into him, her... shoulder?... pushing more firmly into his chest. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I was leaning forward to fill my bucket and I guess you just reached at the wrong time." Hesitantly he dropped his own bucket and wrapped his arms around what he hoped were her shoulders. Encountering her opposite arm and shoulder reassured him, and he hugged her to him, forgetting for the moment his female body. "I should have asked you to fill it for me, Akane, but I didn't want to bother you in case it was inconvenient." He felt the reaction in her body as she nodded and she turned towards him a little. "I guess we're going to have to get used to depending on each other, Ranma." Then her shoulder slipped, lubricated by the soap, and he winced at the slight pain as it brushed firmly over his breast, and then Akane was in his arms, her hands going around his ribs. The sensation of her breasts against his was strange, but comforting and somehow right. Feeling rose in him, feeling for the girl he held in his arms, but the knowledge of his body at the moment held him back even as Akane's head collided gently with his. "Ranma..." she whispered. For a short time he just held her, but then he squeezed and pulled his head back, even as she started to move for a-- "Akane, please wait," he said. "Can we wash off and then do this in the furo? I'd like to be a guy when I kiss you... for real." He felt her start a little, then her body began to shake gently as she began to chuckle. Then she reached for something, and then shockingly-cold water drenched him as she turned the shower head on him full blast. She slipped out of his arms, but the sound of her laughter led him to her. They wrestled briefly for the hose before cooperating and washing off the suds. Then Akane turned off the water, dropped the shower head to the floor with a clunk, and stepped away from him. The sound of rippling water came as she got into the bath, followed by a long sigh. "Well, come on," she said then. "What are you waiting for?" As quickly as he dared, Ranma stepped over to the furo. Bracing himself with his hands, he stepped in and lowered himself into the steamingly-hot water. Quickly he dunked his head, forcing the change, then slid into the water with a sigh of pleasure. A sigh which was cut off suddenly as his feet encountered Akane's legs. "Oops. Sorry." Water rustled anew as Akane moved. He felt pressure waves as she did something in the bath, and was surprised to feel her touch his leg with her hand. "Kneel up," she said. "You're forgetting something." He got onto his knees, and found himself kneeling ribs-deep in hot water... about a foot away from Akane he discovered as he reached out to find her. Fortunately, it was her arm that he encountered. For a short moment, nothing happened. Then Akane spoke again. "Well? I'm waiting." "For what?" "Moouu... you said you wanted to be a guy!" Suddenly Ranma understood. He was somehow surprised at how easy it was to make himself shuffle forward a little and take her into his arms. Now somewhat taller than her, he was expecting the bump when he encountered her forehead with his nose. Her arms around his waist felt wonderful, and he felt oddly confident as he kissed her nose before repositioning himself for the final attack. Carefully he judged the proper angle and height, took a deep breath and began to move forward... And then Akane pushed her face into his, and they were kissing. Long and sweet, they kissed, and when he felt the pressure on his chest from her breasts pressing against him, Ranma just held her to himself all the more tightly. When they finally broke the kiss, Akane rested her head against his shoulder and kept up the pressure of her arms. Ranma felt wonderfully happy, at peace with the world and wondering why he had not seen this side of this wonderful girl before.... *click* Akane gasped in shock, and Ranma's blindfolded eyes focussed unerringly on the source of the noise. "Oneechan! How dare you!" Akane yelled, almost in Ranma's ear. He let her go, falling backwards with one hand over his ear even as he heard a slight snicker before the bathroom door slid shut emphatically. "You forgot to put out the sign!" called Nabiki through the door, taunting.