Chapter 7: The Bedroom Shuffle...
	It wasn't until a week later that Ryouga was even anywhere within the
vicinity of the Nerima district. Or Tokyo for that matter.
	"Hey, Akane, Ranma!" Kodachi called out to them at the courtyard.
	The two Tendo siblings turned at the same time to look at her. Ranma
smiled happily and Akane looked curiously.
	"Hi, Ko-chan," Ranma said cheerily.
	She winked at him and smiled back, "Hi, Ran-chan, Hi, Akane. Have you guys
got group-mates for that classical lit project we have to submit?"
	Ranma slapped his forehead, "I totally forgot about that!"
	"Me too..." Akane said a little worriedly. She'd immersed herself a little
too deeply in the running of Furinkan's dynamic little economy that she'd
forgotten about most of her school work. And it was an easy way to forget
that she and Nabiki still hadn't spoken to one another since last week.
	Kodachi smiled, "Well, I don't have a group either, the two people the
teacher assigned to be my group mates decided they were more than happy to
let me do all the work. So you guys want to help me out?"
	"Sounds good," Akane said, "But isn't it due in two days?" she added after
a moment.
	"It is? Aww man... we're gonna have to stay up all night for the next two
days to finish this!" Ranma did not look at all happy about the prospect.
	"Do you guys want to sleep over at my house tonight?" Kodachi asked, "We
can get some of the research done using Tatchi's books... and I'm sure
father will allow us to use his computer to type it up with."
	Ranma's face suddenly brightened, "That sounds great!"
	Akane nodded, "Sure. We'll just tell daddy where we'll be staying tonight
at the house and pick up some change of clothes..."
	Kodachi clapped her hands, "Great! Come around eight, I'll have Sasuke
make dinner for us."
	And as the three departed the school grounds, the bedraggled figure of
Ryouga stepped out of the bushes, looking disoriented.
	"This doesn't look like Nagasaki..." he muttered to himself. Overhead the
clouds began gathering and a distant rumble seemed to promise rain. Ryouga
stared worriedly up into the sky, pulling his umbrella from its straps,
just in case.
- - -
	Akane stretched back luxuriantly in the Kuno family bath. Quite frankly,
it wasn't large enough to qualify as a swimming pool, but it would do in a
pinch. It was HUGE. The water was heated just right and there was a
generous amount of steam all around. It was a great place to be especially
on such a cold and miserably rainy night like this one had turned out to be.
	Kodachi smiled at Akane, relaxing a bit and allowing the warm water to
ease her tense muscles.	
	"Who would've thought they'd assign something as... well... interesting as
the Tale of Genji for a report," Kodachi smiled.
	"Mmm-hmm..." Akane said lazily, as distant thunder rolled, "We should be
glad its not as dry as some of the other stuff they could've given out."
	"Well, Father has always been of the opinion that learning should be fun
for the students," Kodachi replied with a giggle, "So he's made it a point
that the readings be of... that nature."
	Akane echoed her giggle, "Yeah. Furinkan's the first school I've ever gone
to that included the Pillow Books as a possible resource material."
	"Oh, Mother suggested that," Kodachi smiled, "She's one of those
progressive thinker types."
	"An aggressive modern woman, hmmm? I knew there was a reason why I liked
your mom so much." 
	"Wasn't that because she always baked you cookies when we used to visit?"
	"That too," Akane agreed.
	After a few long moments, Akane said, "I love this bath."
	Kodachi winked, "Yeah. Anytime you want to drop by and use it, feel free."
	"You mean it?"
	"Sure. And don't forget to bring Ranma with you too," Kodachi added with a
slight blush.
	"Oh..." Akane grinned, "Well, I'm not one to stand in the way of true love."
	Kodachi's blush deepened, "Akane..!"
	"Hey, you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Akane said seriously
after a moment.
	Kodachi glanced at her, "Not at all. Feel free."
	"How are you and Ranma doing?"
	"Ahh... it's rather... we're okay. I'm not sure I understand the question
though..."
	"Well..." Akane spoke, "You two have been dating for... what, a month now?
Have you two decided to make it official yet or something?"
	Kodachi replied hesitantly, "Oh. We... well... we never really talk about
that... as such..."
	"Oh." Akane nodded.
	"And what about you and Tatewaki..?" Kodachi ventured.
	"Huh? What do you mean?"
	"It is kind of hard to ignore all of the rumors I've been hearing... about
al the time you two have been spending together... and how maybe you're
thinking of stealing him out from Nabiki."
	Akane tsked, "Vicious unfounded rumors. I'm just... you know... pretending
to be interested in him for the plan, remember? To keep our parents happy
until they can dissolve the engagement without loss of honor to either side."
	Kodachi lowered herself into the water even more, glancing thoughtfully at
Akane, "So you and Nabiki aren't fighting over him?"
	Akane reddened slightly, "Where did you hear that?!"
	"Well... Ranma and I do talk. A lot..."
	Akane muttered, "Can't keep his mouth shut to save his life."
	"Don't blame him, I was sort of curious after I'd heard the various
rumors. Not to mention the fact that I haven't seen you two talk this past
week..."
	"Course not! I've just been busy." Akane said with a slight bit of
defensiveness in her voice.
	"Ahh."
	They spent a few minutes in uncomfortable silence before Kodachi rose to
her feet, reaching for one of the towels placed on a high rack, "I'll get
going to bed, Akane..." she said.
	"Okay," akane replied, sinking a little lower into the warm water when the
door suddenly slid open.
	"I have you now!" cried out a voice triumphantly as a muscular figure
burst through the door way. It was Ryouga.
	There was a long, long moment of silence as everyone stared at everyone
else. Akane gave Ryouga a slow annoyed glare. Kodachi stared at Ryouga in
shock. Ryouga meanwhile was wondering why this Tatewaki Kuno person wasn't
in his bedroom and why there was all of this white tile and steam in the
area. His eyes for some reason were refusing to focus properly on something
pale and pink right in front of him... silhouettes of human figures...
female silhouettes...
	Kodachi finally recovered enough of her wits to scream piercingly. In her
panic, she dropped the towel she was reaching for and was forced to do her
level best to cover herself with her hands. 
	Ryouga's eyes, prompted by the sudden scream finally focused and it
occurred to him he was in fact looking at a rather well proportioned view
of a naked screaming female. He slammed his eyes shut, "Ahh... er... it's
not..! I didn't mean... It was an accident!"
	"Ryouga, get out!" Akane shouted at him.
	He managed to tear his gaze away from Kodachi or where he would be gazing
if his eyes were open and looked, or rather turned his ead in Akane's
direction. He opened his eyes just a crack to see that Akane was still half
hidden by the water, but was starting to rise, "Out!" she shouted even louder.
	"A-a-a-akane! It's not what it looks like! I mean really..! Er..." he
glanced around desperately seeking the exit when his eyes happened upon
Kodachi's towel. He reached down, averting his gaze, "Erhm... miss, your...
um... t-t-to-towel... you should cover..!"	
	Kodachi stopped screaming just long enough to gather a new breath for a
fresh bout of screaming. He managed to stand up straight, holding the towel
out stiffly to her, the corner of the towel touching her hip, which only
caused her already piercing screams to go supersonic.
	Ryouga's eyes blinked open at this point as he winced at the screaming,
"Hey, quit that... I'm going alrea--"
	It was at this precise point in time that Tatewaki Kuno burst into the
bath, a bokken held awkwardly in both hands, "Who goes... You!" he shouted
as he saw Ryouga.
	"You not only insult Akane Tendo but also seek to assault my sister with
your base lusts?!" he raged at Ryouga, his body tensed and for the most
part not noticing the scene except for the fact that in their current
positions, Ryouga looked as if he'd just torn the towel off of Kodachi's
body. 
	Ryouga whirled on him, "I didn't come here to do that! I came here to
destroy you!!" he cried, cracking his knuckles loudly.
	"Then why," Tatewaki asked pointedly, "Are you standing so close to my
unclothed sister?!"
	"Whu?" Ryouga turned around and got a good, long, clear look at Kodachi's
body... with a spurt of blood out of his nose, Ryouga dropped into a dead
faint.
	Tatewaki blinked in surprise as Ryouga fainted. Only then realizing that
Akane Tendo was likewise in the bath and was in a similar state of
undress... on the other hand she was making no move to cover her nudity,
unlike Kodachi who was already grabbing quickly at the towel which was
pinned under Ryouga.
	Tatewaki Kuno got a quick glance at first Kodachi... then at Akane... his
eyes glazed over... a thin trickle of blood leaked out of his nose... and
he keeled over, also unconscious.
	Ranma leapt through the door, "Who was screaming?!" he shouted, worriedly
looking around.
	Kodachi who'd barely managed to cover up her front with the towel bit back
a scream. "That... um... that was me."
	"But why..?" Ranma started to ask and noticed the unconscious forms of
Ryouga and Tatewaki, "Oh."
	He glanced at the two of them, registering that they were in fact naked,
but not being unduly affected by it, save for a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, you guys better put some clothes on. It's kinda cold outside. I'll
bring these two out. I'm gonna want to hear about this."
	Kodachi blinked at Ranma as he levered Ryouga then Tatewaki onto his
shoulders, then looked at Akane as he walked out, "He... didn't faint?"
	Akane smiled playfully, "Ranma's used to female bodies."
	"Ah... you don't say." Kodachi said slowly.
- - -
	Akane knelt next to the sleeping Ryouga, lightly stroking his hair, "You
idiot," she muttered. She'd said it in a tone which could only be described
as half annoyed and half fond.
	"So this is your boyfriend?" Kodachi said thoughtfully next to her, eyeing
the couple.
	"Yeah. It really isn't his fault. He's got a lousy sense of direction,"
Akane replied weakly.
	"I suppose. Anyone really intent on being a pervert wouldn't have fainted
after just one look," Kodachi conceded, "How's Tatchi?"
	"Oh, Ranma tucked him in. He's out like a light."
	"So... um..." Kodachi glanced over her shoulder at the door.
	"Ranma's turned in. He gets worn out easily by too much studying." Akane
said with a smile.
	"Do you mind if I sleep in with you guys in the guest bedroom? I mean
there's a couple of extra futons in the closet... I don't really like the
idea of having to walk all the way back to my room in the dark." Kodachi
aid apprehensively.
	Akane chuckled, "Well, it's your home. I don't mind," she gave Kodachi a
wink, "And I doubt Ranma would either."
	Kodachi nodded, yawning, "That's... good. I'm just glad he didn't wake mom
and dad up... I can just imagine them calling the police to haul him away."
	Akane shook her head, "No... I don't think we'd like that to happen."
	"Yah," Kodachi murmured her eyes already beginning to close.
	"Hey, why don't you go catch some sleep?" Akane suggested, "I'm not tired
yet, I'll just stay here with Ryouga for a little while in case he wakes up."
	"You sure?"
	"Course. You get some sleep. I'll be fine."
	Kodachi gave a sleepy nod, rising to her feet. "Okay..." she muttered as
she stepped out of the door.
	Akane watched Ryouga sleep silently for a few more minutes. Just watching
his breathing, continuing to lightly stroke his hair.
	She said softly, "Your sense of timing never was so great either, you
great big lumox."
	And with that she leaned down, kissing him tenderly on the lips, her
fingers continuing to lightly caress his face.
	"Why couldn't you have caught up with us sooner?" she asked him softly. No
answer was forthcoming.
- - -
	Ranma was having trouble sleeping. He had his eyes shut, definitely... he
was doing his best to relax his whole body and was doing a pretty good job
of that as well. The futon he was on was relatively comfortable and he even
had a couple of nice throw pillows, comforters and sheets.
	Unfortunately, an essential element was missing. He tossed uneasily,
shoving the pillows he'd piled on his chest to one side. It just wasn't the
same. For one thing it was all nice and cozy but not... warm enough. They
also didn't weigh enough... And he was used to having something soft to
cuddle up against. The pillows, exceptionally gifted with soft
qualifications, were severely lacking in the cuddle department.
	With a sigh, he opened his eyes, glancing around. He knew he and Akane
were supposed to be sharing the guest bedroom, but exhaustion, while enough
to send him to bed, wasn't enough to get him to sleep. His eyes finally
accustomed themselves to the dim half-light and could vaguely make out a
female form sleeping easily on the next futon. He smiled inwardly, "Boy
Akane must be really exhausted to drop off to sleep so fast... must've been
seeing Ryouga..." he said to himself.
	He glanced at the closed door, making certain to himself that no one was
likely to burst in on them... after all, he knew their behavior wasn't
entirely... acceptable to some people for two teenagers. Especially not for
brother and sister. Even if he was adopted. He shrugged, shoving the rest
of that debate to the back of his mind as he crawled over to the sleeping
figure, crossing a futon laid out between his and hers... and slipped into
it. 
	He gave a happy sigh as he snuggled against her, his arm wrapping easily
around her waist from behind. He nuzzled her neck lightly, his
half-sleeping mind not entirely registering the fact that the girl's hair
was loose, and not in the expected braid...
	She squirmed slightly, sleepily in his grasp. Pressing against him with a
soft half-dreaming giggle. Her hands intertwining with his.
	It is difficult, if not impossible for someone to sleep with someone else,
every night for six years and not be able to identify them by any one of a
thousand different means. The shape of the body, the texture of the hair,
the way they move, but most importantly, scent. It's a pity Ranma was too
exhausted to do any sniffing at right about this point. 
- - -
	Akane had gotten a little turned around. The Kuno household, large as it
was proved to be exceedingly difficult to negotiate in the dark, especially
for someone unfamiliar with its outlines. She'd fallen asleep next to
Ryouga and she wasn't certain how long she'd been sleeping... she'd stepped
out to look for the guest bedroom, intending to curl up with Ranma and had
gotten promptly lost. She knew more or less what the door to the guest room
looked like... but then again, drowsy as she was it would've been very easy
to mistake one door for another... like so.
	She stumbled into a large room... not really paying attention to her
surroundings. She blinked blearily and for a moment she thought she was in
her own room back at the Tendo Dojo... and there was Ranma on the bed
already... lucky stiff. How dare he go to sleep without waiting for her?
She gave a contented sigh as she lifted the sheets up and crawled in with
him, her arms encircling his neck as she climbed on top of him... she
snuggled against him sleepily, handily ignoring the fact as her mind
swiftly drifted off to complete sleep, that he was taller than usual.
- - -
	Ryouga snapped awake with the usual questions going through his mind.
First of course was "Where in the world am I now?", which was followed in
quick succession by "What am I doing here?", "How did I get here?", and "Is
there somewhere else I should be?"
	Of course the first question was, as always never an easy one to answer,
especially for a Hibiki. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he could
vaguely recall he'd been awakened by the cold. He was pretty sure he was
warmer a while ago.
	He sat up and glanced around. It looked like a bedroom... small... dark...
kinda expensive furniture. Totally unfamiliar.	That wasn't entirely
surprising either. He shrugged. He had a pretty good idea that he was
supposed to be looking for Tatewaki Kuno. The man who'd stolen his
girlfriend and ruined his life. 
	His face was creased by a frown as he began to wake up fully. Yes. He was
here to destroy Kuno. Wherever the heck here was. With a resolute attitude
and a stern gaze he got to his feet and started looking for the way out.
	It was an hour later when he finally found the only door. It had been at
the foot of the futon. What a silly place to put a door.
- - -
	Kodachi was sleeping happily. She was having a very nice dream of her and
Ranma, snuggling in bed... she knew it was a dream... it was so very warm
and cozy. She never had dreams like this before... it was almost...
scandalous. She didn't realize her sub-conscious had gotten such... such...
bold thoughts about Ranma. This was even more embarrassing than that one
dream when she kissed him. On the cheek.
	She felt lips brush against her cheek for a moment and she smiled again in
her sleep. She could most definitely get used to this... her eyelids
fluttered for a moment as it occurred to her that she COULD feel arms
around her... she leaned back again, savoring the warmth of the embrace for
a moment when it occurred to her that she was supposed to be dreaming
this... but those felt like real arms... 
	With a protesting sigh, she managed to bring herself up all the way to
consciousness. Only to find that she was in pretty much the same situation
she'd been in in her dream. She turned her face slightly to find Ranma was
holding her closely to him. Sound asleep. She blushed immediately in the
darkness, eyes wide. She was in total shock... how could she have imagined
that he was so... so bold!
	He pulled her a bit closer to himself in his sleep, his face rubbing
slightly against hers and she stiffened in panic. This... was too much! He
was so close! Too close! It was positively scandalous!
	She squirmed trying to get out of his grip, turning slightly so she could
pry his arm off of her. With some difficulty, she managed to lever his arm
off... it came up stiffly, pushing him away from her a little as well...
but her hand slipped and as his arm came back down on her, his body pivoted
onto her also, his lips brushing against hers suddenly.
	Kodachi's blush deepened even more as his lips pressed against hers in
that inadvertent kiss. She gasped involuntarily as she felt a bit more of
his weight press against her and his lips pressed closer still... she
allowed herself to savor it for all of five seconds, almost, but not quite
relaxing into the kiss... accidental as it was... before the reflexes her
father and mother had ingrained into her suddenly kicked in. 
	Her free arm pulled back without warning, and swung forward with
considerable speed, slapping Ranma powerfully on the cheek and sending him
flying to the other side of the room.
	He blinked awake at the sharp pain, "Hey! Ow! What did you do THAT for?!"
	Kodachi sat up, primly arranging her sheets to cover her bare legs, she
said hesitantly, "Sorry... I... um... you kissed... and I... well... um..."
	"Kissed you?" Ranma asked blearily, "No I didn't..."
	"You were asleep at the time..." Kodachi added, obviously embarrassed and
unable to look at him directly.
	"Asleep? What're you... but..?" Ranma blinked.
	"Now, I know we've been getting kind of close these past few weeks again
and, yes I do feel very strongly about you... I really like you but... um..."
	"Oh... um... really..?" Ranma blushed.
	Kodachi continued as though she hadn't heard him, "I really... really
think we should wait after marriage if you... you know... like me that
much... I mean you want to do THAT... and you can wait, right..? I mean
we're still young and its stuff... and yes, I do... I well... that is to
say want... but not want... you get what I'm saying?"
	"Not a word." Ranma admitted.
	Kodachi's face had gone well beyond a blush... "You know... that... the
stuff they taught us in biology... with the... um... you know..." she
looked at him suddenly resolved, "Not til we're married and that's final."
	"Are you proposing?!" Ranma asked unbelieving.
	"No! That's not it!"
	"Ahh... then what..?" Ranma groped around mentally, trying to locate
Kodachi's train of thought, but the station it'd left from... he blinked in
surprise as he glanced around, "Hey... where's Akane?"
	Kodachi looked around, "Not here, I guess..." she breathed a sigh of
relief at the change in topic.
	Ranma looked alarmed, "She's not? But I could've sworn..." he looked right
at Kodachi, "Erhm... was that what you were talking about?"
	"Akane?" Kodachi asked, baffled.
	"Ahh... no, I mean... was I... you know... um... had my arms... or me,
rather... somewhere I wasn't supposed to be..?"
	Kodachi nodded quickly.
	"Ack! I can explain! Honest!" Ranma said quickly, "I was... I... um...
dreaming, yeah, that's it..."
	Kodachi's face looked a little disappointed, but she rallied
spectacularly, "You mean you didn't crawl into my futon with me to... um...
try anything?"
	"No!" Ranma said shocked at the idea... and VERY embarrassed that he'd
obviously crawled into the wrong futon... where had Akane gone?
	Kodachi breathed a sigh of... well... let's call it equal parts relief and
disappointment, "Oh."
	Ranma mentally ticked off their conversation in his head... "Did you think
I was trying to... um... you know..?"
	"Um... kind of... sort of..." Kodachi said, acutely embarrassed.
	Ranma blushed, "Well... I wouldn't do that! I mean... not... if... you
know... you... didn't... want..."
	"Well..." Kodachi blushed even deeper as she admitted, "Well... um... I
might've... it IS you... and... but..." she took a deep breath, "Not til my
wedding night. I want it done properly." She said firmly.
	"Ah." Ranma nodded. He nodded slowly thinking over her precise wording,
"So... you... um... considered me for a possible..."
	Kodachi looked away, the blush on her cheeks still burning furiously.
	Ranma looked down, also blushing and very flattered... "Er... um... maybe
we should get some more sleep... okay?"
	"Um... yes, right," Kodachi said, laying back and pulling her covers tight
around her.
	"Right," Ranma said after a moment, going back to his now cold futon.
	The two of them spent long minutes feigning sleep before Kodachi finally
said, "Do... do you want to share the futon? Just... just to sleep," the
darkness hiding the fresh blush on her face. She shivered... she never
imagined she could be so... improper!
	Ranma looked at her across the room, also shivering in his cold sheets but
more from the cold than anything else... the invitation was welcome,
certainly... and he'd never be able to sleep otherwise. He smiled shyly and
wordlessly in the dark. He slipped under the covers with her. They snuggled
for a few moments and before too long, both had drifted off into a deep
pleasant slumber.
- - -
	Tatewaki was driven awake by a combination of two sensations. Sort of.
First was the total lack of sensation in his arm from the shoulder down.
There is nothing quite so unpleasant as to wake up to find that you'd
fallen asleep with your arm pinned... or as pleasant as finding a warm
lithe body snuggled up next to your side, which was in fact the body which
had fallen asleep on the arm in question.
	He blinked sleepily trying to wake himself up... there was someone
sleeping next to him on the bed. Whoever it was (she... definitely a she...
he could feel... well, he didn't want to think about that... you know...
against his chest) was keeping his arm pinned. 
	He glanced at the face only to find Akane's upturned face looking back. Or
she would be looking back if she were awake. She was sleeping quite
peacefully, her lips slightly parted. He could only blush.
	She moved a little in her sleep, her arms snaking around his torso as she
pressed even closer against him. Unable to get any leverage, Tatewaki found
himself on his back, his arm freed, but now Akane was pinning him to the
bed with her own body. Not to mention that she had her hands pressed
against his back. 
	His face was a mask of panic as he realized her face was now only inches
from his, her lips all but touching his face. Her body, definitely touching
his body and producing... much to his chagrin... reactions. Definite...
rock-solid... reactions.
	He had no idea why she was there and was not in any mental shape to think
about it... a majority of his attention was devoted to trying to keep as
little of himself from touching her. Especially the parts which were...
reacting.
	His arm was in agony as the sensation of pins and needles washed up and
down its length... this was just the thing to get his mind off of... his
other body parts. With his other hand he tentatively began trying to push
her off... which was about as effective as poking at barnacle with a damp
noodle. She stayed on top of him. 
	She gave a sleepy moan, shifting herself slightly on top of him. Causing
some of her to rub against... here... and there... oh, and most especially
THERE. Tatewaki found himself thinking desperately of waterfalls and the
Antarctic. And the latest baseball results, only he didn't really follow
them so that was little help. A less than entirely successful tactic, but
enough to stay relatively sane.
	Akane nuzzled against Tatewaki's neck and it was almost too much to
bear... no longer caring about the consequences, because quite frankly, he
had to get her off of him NOW. He reached a tentative hand up to shake her
by the shoulder. She smiled slightly in her sleep and cuddled closer
against him.
	Tatewaki's face was a mask of panic... he had to get her OFF! No, not like
that! Off of him! Out of his bed! Out of his room! His face had already
gone beyond the blush of mere minutes ago. He had to keep himself... chaste!
	Desperately, Tatewaki put his hands on her shoulders and tried his best to
shake her, calling her name softly, "Akane... Akane... Akane..!"
	She gave a soft moan... possibly in protest. But it sounded like a very
definite moan.
	Ryouga who had spent the past hour negotiating the Kuno household, and
incidentally, entering the same bathroom twelve times in a row. He was
already wondering why there were so many bathrooms in this place, and had
decided it must be some sort of expensive public bath. So, he boldly opened
another door, fully expecting to see nothing more than another bath. It was
the precise scene described above which he found himself staring at.
	Akane on top of Kuno, both covered somewhat by the sheets, at least from
the waist down... Kuno, calling out Akane's name softly as she rocked on
top of him, moaning. Use your imagination. Kuno was too concerned with
awakening Akane to notice the door opening... Ryouga was too shocked to do
anything unfortunate to Kuno... but his hand closed on the doorknob,
crushing it in his grip.
	Ryouga quickly turned away and ran down the hall...
	As the door shut, Akane slowly awoke. "Whu..? Ranma? Oh, Tatewaki? What am
I doing here?"
	Tatewaki gulped nervously, "I don't know! Um... would you mind awfully,
releasing me?"
	"Oh... sorry." Akane said sheepishly, getting off of him, "I must've
gotten the rooms mixed up."
	"Quite..." Tatewaki replied weakly, doing his best not to cringe away from
her and simultaneously keep his hands and the sheets covering his... reaction.
	"Um... could you show me how to get to the guest room?" Akane asked
tentatively, "I don't want to get lost again."
	"Certainly." Anything to get you out of my room, Tatewaki added to
himself, as he levered himself awkwardly out of bed, doing his best to
maintain concealment. It was perhaps the longest walk of his life.
	Akane stepped into the dark guest room just as Tatewaki quickly turned on
his heel and walked stiffly back to his room. Still doing his best to
hide... the as yet obvious reaction. Akane giggled quietly at his
retreating back. So cute. 
	She yawned, spotting Ranma near the opposite wall... and his braid... she
locked the door behind her, and slid gratefully into the futon. She kissed
him on the cheek and murmured, "You'll never guess where I've been."
	Her arm moved around his waist to embrace him. Her sleepiness was suddenly
driven away as she realized there was someone ELSE in this futon, besides
Ranma.... she looked over his shoulder and found Kodachi snuggled up
against him. Akane's jaw dropped. She knew they were getting close, but she
didn't realize just how close... she shut her jaw with an audible snap as a
small smile ceased her face. One should never waste an opportunity, she
told herself as she slipped out of the futon to root through her bag... she
was certain she had her camera with her. She never left home without it.
She'd just have to risk turning a light on to get a better picture.
- - -
	Ryouga grit his teeth as he tore down the hall, doing his level best to
keep from screaming out his anguish. This bathhouse was so hugely difficult
to maneuver in that he still couldn't find the exit. He opened a door to
find yet another bathroom. Or so he thought. Actually this made the thirty
first time he'd looked into this particular bathroom. He'd been doing his
best to keep from just tearing through a wall to get out, but his mounting
anger and frustration were getting harder and harder to control.
	He screamed out, "Why?! How could she betray me?!" as he drove his fist
into the wall. This has never been a particularly recommended tactic for
relieving stress. As in the case of most people, this merely results in
corporeal damage to the person involved (ie. you hurt yourself). In
Ryouga's case it was the opposite. He usually carried some extra emergency
money on his person for accidental damage he caused to things he bumped into.
	His fist rammed hard into the wall, shattering it. And the pipe just
behind the thin layer of cement. Ryouga winced and bit back a scream as the
cold water sprayed him. He stepped back in surprise, slipping on the now
wet floor, and hitting his head rather sharply on the edge of the bathtub. 
	It is fortunate that the Hibiki head is constructed quite solidly against
sudden impacts, but it can only take so much... she was out cold.
- - -
	Kuno finally managed to make it back to his room. He was NOT a happy
camper, but at least he'd managed to get himself under control again. As it
were. He blinked sleepily at his doorknob, wondering how long it had had
that kind of damage... not to mention those looked like finger marks... He
shrugged it off and shut his door... he knew he'd definitely have trouble
falling asleep again, especially after THAT... so he brought out his
journal and started writing.
- - -

Chapter 7: Lost girls...
	Morning. The birds were chirping. The sun was shining, people were waking
up. Some of them anyway. 
	Ranma awoke feeling, while not entirely terrific, greatly refreshed. He
had to admit it had been the best night's sleep he'd had in a long time. He
smiled and opened his eyes intending to turn to look at Kodachi. It was
only when it hit him that BOTH his arms were pinned down, that he was on
his back, and that there was a whole lot more weight pressed against him
than normal that he realized that something unexpected had occurred in the
night.
	He blinked and glanced down to his right... Kodachi was snuggled happily
against his side, her head resting on his shoulder, her hand on his chest.
He glanced to his left... there was Akane, she'd more or less entangled her
legs with his left leg, her head resting mostly on his chest, and one of
her hands had slipped under the bottom of his tanktop and her fingers were
resting lightly on his abdomen. 
	He wondered how he was going to untangle himself when he heard a soft
voice call through the door, "Kids? Are you up yet? It's time for school."
	It was Auntie Nodoka's voice.
	The knob turned...
- - -
	Kochou Kuno hummed a merry little tune as he walked down the hall towards
the family bath. He'd just finished his morning workout and was quite
looking forward to a nice long soak in the tub before he had to go to
school. He usually had the car drive him there, and while he often invited
the kids to ride with him, his wife had been very firm that they learn to
get along just like all the other kids, and hence they walked to school
most of the time.
	As he got to the door, he was surprised to find that the door was ajar and
that the area of the hall at the door was quite wet. He poked his head into
the bath and was even more surprised to find a young girl... sixteen if he
was any judge of it, out cold on the floor... she had a pretty nasty bump
on the back of her head that he could see quite clearly.
	He knelt down and gently shook her.
	Her eyes snapped open, took one look at the elder Kuno's large, bluff
face, screamed piercingly and slapped him right into the wall where the
thin trickle of water was still flowing from the cracked pipe and cracked
wall.
	It was a very good scream. A loud scream. One that managed to make itself
heard all over the house.
- - -
	Nodoka started in surprise when she heard it. she turned in the direction
of the scream, her hand falling away from the door knob. It sounded as if
it had come from the bath. She hurried off in that direction, gathering her
kimono around her.
	Behind her, in a rush, Ranma, a newly awakened Akane and the still half
asleep Kodachi stumbled out of the door. It was a good thing they'd been
jarred from their sleep as they had. The distraction kept Kodachi from
noticing, much less commenting on the night's sleeping arrangements.
	Ranma and Akane easily managed to outdistance Nodoka despite her lead.
Reaching the bath well ahead of the Kunos. They found a rather attractive
girl sitting up in a largish puddle of water, a very confused expression on
her face. Her hair was a startlingly bright shade of red, held back by a
spotted yellow and black bandana. Her eyes were green and were looking
around the place, baffled. She was quite petite, but with a surprisingly
well endowed figure for her age. It was rather difficult NOT to notice when
one considered that her coarse linen tunic was thoroughly soaked, and
clinging quite fetchingly against her body. It was also not that difficult
to ascertain she wasn't wearing a bra.
	Ranma skidded to a halt, then slipped on the wet floor, skidding off into
the bath, right next to the girl, "Agh!"
	She screamed again.
	Akane noticed the water immediately and gave it wide berth. Especially
considering the occasional squirts of what must've been cold water from the
shattered wall, where the elder Kuno was still more or less plastered to,
only half conscious.
	"Hey calm down!" Akane said.
	The girl managed to catch her breath, edging away a bit from the stunned
Ranma, "Um... okay..."
	"Who're you?" Akane asked.
	The girl stared at her expectantly, "Um... don't you know?"
	It only took a moment for Kodachi and her mother to catch up. Nodoka took
in the entire scene in one long sweeping glance. Then said firmly,
"Alright... everyone up and out of the bath. What's going on here?"
	Kochou groaned as he peeled himself off the wall, "I was going to take a
bath... then I found her here..."
	"Ow." Ranma grunted as he tried to get to his feet.
	"I tried to wake her up then she slapped me into the wall," Kochou added
with a thoughtful sniff as he traced the hole in the wall, "Pretty good
backhand at that. Tight swing, no effort wasted, lots of power," he nodded
slowly.
	Nodoka sighed, then turned to the girl, "And you dear, how'd you get here?
Who are you?"
	"I..." the girl started hesitantly, "I don't know. I just kind of woke up
here..." she reached up to hold the back of her head, "My head hurts..."
	Nodoka knelt next to her, unmindful of the water as she gingerly touched
her head, "Oh my... that's quite a nasty bump you have there... you must've
hit your head on something."
	"Could be amnesia or something..." Akane chimed in.
	Nodoka nodded, "Possibly. Well, we'll just get some ice for you, then
dear... and you're soaked! You must've been out in the rain all night.
Although how you got into the house..." she shook her head as she helped
the girl up.
	"I heard screaming, what's happening..?" Tatewaki asked indistinctly as he
finally arrived, large eyebags under his eyes.
	The redheaded girl gave a sudden snarl and pounced at Tatewaki. Only
Ranma's sudden grab for her shoulders kept her from him. He staggered back
cowering she extended her hands clawing at the air to get at him... she dug
in her feet, managing to drag Ranma along with her as she stalked closer.
	"Ack!" Kuno managed to cry out. His parents blinked in surprise at the
girl's reaction.
	Akane looked closely at the girl a second time. Her fangs were flashing as
she screamed and incoherently ranted in Tatewaki's direction. Akane stepped
in front of the girl, blocking her view of Tatewaki and asked clearly,
"Your family name wouldn't happen to be Hibiki would it?"
	The girl snapped out of her rage and blinked at Akane as if she were
mentally trying the name on for size, "Yeah..." she said slowly, "Yeah, I
think that sounds like it... I'm a Hibiki..."
	Akane nodded.
	"How did you know?" Ranma asked.
	Akane shrugged, "Well, it kinda stands to reason she's got the Hibiki
family's strength, same teeth, Ryouga always wore a bandanna like that... I
wouldn't trust her with a map either, if I'm any judge," she added in an
aside to Ranma.
	"She must've wandered in accidentally like Ryouga did." Kodachi said.
	"Who's Ryouga?" Nodoka asked.
	"Er... he was here last night," Kodachi said.
	Tatewaki frowned, "Where is he?"
	"Ryouga..." the girl said slowly... "I think... my name's Ryou... Ryouko?"
she said uncertainly, "Ryouko Hibiki. I think that sounds right."
	Kochou glanced at his watch, "We can talk about this over breakfast.
Otherwise you kids will be late to school."
- - -	
	"So you've got absolutely no idea who you are or how you ended up in the
Kuno bathroom?" Akane asked.
	Ryouko shook her head, "Nope. No idea. Although I think you're right,
though. I can sort of vaguely remember some stuff, and about my parents...
and someone named Ryouga, so I guess I must be his sister."
	"You must've been with Ryouga when he went into the house the other
night," Kodachi said thoughtfully, "Kinda irresponsible if you ask me.
Bringing your sister along on a mission of vengeance. Honestly."
	Akane looked over her shoulder at Kodachi and rolled her eyes a bit.
Kodachi giggled, "Sorry."
	"Well, I guess Ryouga'll turn up sooner or later," Ranma said.
	"I'm just curious, though," Kodachi asked, "I mean if you were living at
the Hibiki's for as long as you did, why didn't you recognize Ryouko?"
	"Well..." Ranma said a little uncomfortably, saying it quietly to Kodachi,
"You know their sense of direction. Its sorta possible she was lost the
whole time we were staying there."
	Kodachi glanced up the road as they walked, "Well she and Akane seem to be
getting along quite well."
	Ranma nodded glancing at Akane and Ryouko walking a little ahead of them,
chatting easily. "She still doesn't know why she attacked Tatewaki like that?"
	"She has no idea," Kodachi replied, "Although you should hear some of the
theories dad had," she giggled.
	Ranma smiled weakly. He'd heard a few of them. Tatewaki was sulking as
they'd left and he'd decided to ride with his father for a change instead
of walking with them. Auntie Kuno was quite insistent. He'd looked pretty
sleepy too. Probably up all night again, she mentioned.
	There was a brief interval as Ranma dredged through his limited store of
small talk, "Um... It was awfully nice of your Auntie and Uncle to offer to
let Ryouko stay at your place."
	Kodachi smiled, "Yes. Although I think dad was more impressed by how she
walloped him into the wall than by anything else. Did you see the damage? I
guess he probably figures she's a natural for the Kuno school."
	"Although its kinda strange how he practically shoved her into our class
at school. I mean, she's got amnesia and all, you'd think he'd let her have
a day or two to rest."
	"Well, the doctor said there wasn't anything physically wrong with her,"
Kodachi replied, "She's quite healthy. And... well... father does tend to
be a bit enthusiastic when it comes to academics. It was easy enough for
him to have her enrolled at Furinkan, he IS the principal after all."
	Ryouko looked over her shoulder during a lull in the conversation with
Akane. She smiled warmly at Ranma and gave a small wave. Ranma blinked and
waved back sheepishly.
	Kodachi's eyebrow twitched slightly. She felt once more that twinge of
jealousy. She'd been feeling it a lot more often nowadays. Practically
anytime he was in the near vicinity of another woman she felt it. She
glanced over to Ranma and said, "You know... I think she rather likes you,"
Kodachi ventured.
	Ranma blinked at her, "Hey, where'd that come from? All she did was wave
at me!"
	Kodachi nodded and added a little pointedly, "And she was staring at you
through most of breakfast."
	"Maybe my face looked familiar! We had photos we left behind at the
Hibikis. Besides, she was staring at Akane, too you know," Ranma replied.
	Kodachi humphed and took Ranma's hand in hers, "Well don't you dare
encourage her, Ranma."
	"I wasn't! Honest," he said weakly. He sighed, giving Kodachi's hand a
slight squeeze, "You'd think you knew me better than that, Ko-chan."
	"Yes, I suppose, Ran-chan." Kodachi said finally, staring at Ryouko's
back. She squeezed Ranma's hand a bit more as they continued walking to
school. Although she still felt that she didn't quite know him as well as
she once had.
	Akane meanwhile kept looking thoughtfully at Ryouko as they talked...
there was something odd about her. Something Akane couldn't quite place. 
- - -
	Tatewaki caught up to Nabiki just as she stepped through the gate. He was
resolved. He'd spent the entire night thinking it over and quite frankly,
he had to have some peace of mind. He couldn't take it much more.
	"Nabiki-san..." he called out.
	She whirled on him her eyes narrowed and suspicious, "Yeah, what do you
want?"
	"Um..." Kuno flinched under her stare, "I need to talk to you. Would it be
alright?"
	She thought it over, noting how meekly he held himself. And at the same
time she knew perfectly well how fierce he could be when he lost his
temper. At least so she'd heard, regarding the Ryouga incident at school.
Of course that could've just been for Akane's benefit, and she didn't know
why, but that last thought made her feel a little guilty. She sighed and
snapped, "Alright. I guess."
	"Excellent," he took a deep breath, preparing to say something when he
chanced to glance around. The other early students were watching the two of
them rather intently. They never knew. In the continuing soap opera that
was Furinkan High School, any time the two of them got together was certain
to a ratings sweeper. Or to mix metaphors another way, the rumormongers
could certainly smell a fresh brewed story when they saw one, "Not here.
Too many people," as he grabbed her by the wrist and led her off behind the
gym.
	Nabiki gave a squawk of protest as he dragged her off, but did not resist
too much.
	This raised even more eyebrows.
	Nabiki tore her wrist from his grip as they disappeared around the corner,
away from prying eyes, "Stop pulling me already!"
	"Sorry," Tatewaki said, "I just rather this stay private. It is something
of a delicate matter."
	Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Delicate matter? Okay, I'll bite. What've you
got to say and make it quick, we don't want to be late."
	Tatewaki took a deep breath, "I... I just think perhaps that we should
abandon Akane's plan... and simply take the time for both of us to speak to
both of our parents. Perhaps they will see reason."
	"Well, I hate to admit it, but for once I agree with you," Nabiki replied
glumly.
	Tatewaki heaved a sigh of relief, "Excellent."
	"What brought this on, though? I thought you were enjoying all of that
attention she was giving you," Nabiki asked pointedly.
	He gulped adjusting his glasses nervously, "I... that is... well...
perhaps I think she may be taking her role as the... erhm... other woman
MUCH too seriously."
	"You don't say."
	"The attention is quite, quite flattering, she is certainly an attractive
girl..." he continued.
	"Yes..?" Nabiki prodded, her voice low and thoughtful.
	"There's the matter of her old boyfriend who is something of a ruffian. I
would like to have words with him at that..." his eyes were hard for a
moment, "But... well... also I am not certain how much more of your
simmering malevolent disposition I can take!"
	"What did you say to me?!" Nabiki snarled, rushing forward, lifting Kuno
up by his lapels. Quite a feat when one considers that she was half a head
shorter than he was.
	"Er... ah! What I... that is... what I meant to say was that missed the
days when you simply treated me with your quiet disdain for simply being a
member of the male half of the human species! Now I have been singled out
for your animosity and it is quite frankly wearing my patience to the limits!"
	Nabiki snorted, "So what?!"
	"So what? So what?!" Kuno snarled back, managing to kick his way free of
her grip, "Nabiki... it is not my fault that I have been chosen by our
parents to be engaged to you! Nor is it my fault that you are so beautiful
that men willingly break their bodies against your fists just for a chance
to be on a single date with you! If you must hate all men feel free to do
so, I certainly am not one to try and impose my will on others, but for
goodness sake, I should think I deserve better treatment than to be hated
and reviled in their place! If you must hate me at least make certain its
for what I've done rather than on general purposes!"
	Nabiki was surprised by the intensity of emotion Tatewaki had put into his
statement. He was usually so mild mannered, that this entire discussion
took her by surprise. Everything he'd said had kind of made sense... and
she did feel a little flattered about that beautiful bit... but she was not
going to let anyone... ESPECIALLY not a man get away with shouting at her.
	She poked him in the chest, "So you want me to stop hating you?! Is that
it?! You want me to be mad at you for good reasons?! Fine, I've got GREAT
reasons for hating you!" she took a powerful swing at him, which he leaned
back avoiding easily. This only served to infuriate her even more. So she
started chasing after him, fists swinging. With some difficulty he managed
to evade all of her strikes, but he was breathing hard. He ducked under
another roundhouse and stood up well inside her guard. He poked her hard on
the forehead and snapped, "Fine! Name them!"
	"..." Nabiki was taken aback... she'd lost her temper and HAD been going
all out against him. And he'd still managed to hit her first. It wasn't
much of a hit, but she'd still been tagged! She tried to think of something
to say, some fault for which she could hate him for. She couldn't think of
a single thing... perhaps for hugging Akane? No, Akane had hugged him at
least by all reports... no... it wasn't his fault their parents had engaged
them... acting too meek? That always annoyed her about him... no, wait, he
certainly wasn't acting meek now... dammit! He'd been more or less a
perfect gentleman... she couldn't find a single fault in his behavior! "How
dare you be so... so..." she struggled, looking for something to fault in
him, "... nice," she finished weakly, slightly deflated.
	"What..?"
	Nabiki sighed, "Fine... right. Okay. I can't think of any reason why I
should be mad at you. Other than maybe you dragging me off now and probably
starting even more rumors about us."
	"Oh... sorry," Kuno replied. He then said thoughtfully, "They would
nevertheless find something to make gossip of us soon enough, regardless of
what we do."
	"Yeah," Nabiki said, smiling a little.
	"Alright.... can we now... please, please, please try to get along? For
our sakes? I mean hating every man you see all the time surely must wear
you down."
	"I guess," she shrugged.
	Tatewaki hazarded a small smile, "Good."
	"Good."
	"Great."
	Nabiki nodded, "Great." 
	The bell rang.
	"Ack! We gotta get to class!" Nabiki cried out, running for the main
building.
	Tatewaki's mouth snapped shut and chased after her, "Right you are. Um,
say..."
	"What?" she called back as they ran.
	"Would you like to have lunch with me later?"
	"Hey, we usually eat together anyway..." she answered.
	"No, no, no... I meant, just us. Let's see if we CAN get along without our
siblings attempting to defuse the situation. I'm certain our parents would
appreciate it."
	Nabiki considered this all the way to the door of the main building. She
grinned then shrugged, "Okay. But its your funeral if you piss me off."
	He called back, "Understood. Now, up the stairs!"
	"I'll race you!" she called to him.
	"Hey! There's supposed to be no running in the halls!" as he struggled to
catch up to her.
- - -
	Furinkan High School. Lunch. Akane and Ryouko were sitting at the usual
tree, eating happily.
	Ryouko shyly accepted the food Akane proffered to her as she said, "So...
let me see if I get this straight. You're by brother's girlfriend... right?"
	Akane nodded, "And he's been looking for me for the past two years."
	"Couldn't you have written back to him or something? Or him to you?"
	"I did write back," Akane replied, "Couple of times. I guess he just
wasn't home when the mail arrived."
	Ryouko conceded, "Okay... but still two years. And now he's mad at you?"
	"Yeah. Kind of," Akane said slowly, "He caught me and a good friend of
mine kinda during an unguarded moment... so I guess it must've looked
really bad."
	"Unguarded... moment?" Ryouko twitched slightly.
	"Yeah," Akane sighed, looking wistfully off in the distance, "He was
hugging me because I'd given him this book that he'd been wanting for a
long time now."
	"It was a present?" Ryouko asked curiously.
	"Not really... more like a working incentive. One of the perks of the
job," Akane replied.
	"Job?"
	"Yeah, he works for me, sometimes."
	Ryouko blinked, "What... kind of work?"
	"Oh, just writing love letters and stuff..." she giggled, "Most of the
guys in this school couldn't be bothered to write their own, so they retain
the services of a professional like him. Through me of course. Plus my
nominal cut on the fee." 
	Ryouko just stared at her, "You've got to be kidding."
	"Nope, no joke."
	"Okay, okay... so my... brother... saw you two hugging and got mad?"
	"Yeah," Akane replied, "He's always been the jealous type, but I expect
you know that... or not..."
	Ryouko smiled a little embarrassed, "Okay. But there wasn't really
anything going on between you and the guy, right? So once Ryouga
understands that, everything should be okay?"
	Akane started to nod but caught herself, "Well... yeah... I... um... there
isn't anything... I mean he's engaged to my sister and all..."
	"Ah. So Ryouga has nothing to worry about?" Ryouko pressed.
	"Er... yes," Akane said finally. Her gaze had gone distant and thoughtful
once more. She squinted a bit through her glasses as she noticed two people
approaching the tree, "Hey, it's the two lovebirds."
	"Lovebirds?" Ryouko glanced in that direction.
	"Yeah, my brother and Kodachi," Akane smiled.
	As the two approached closer, they waved to the two at the tree. Ranma and
Kodachi were holding hands, smiling happily. As they neared, there was a
sudden rustling from the outer edges of the tree as a rather large student
popped his head out of the foliage, "Whassa passwoid?"
	Ranma and Kodachi both took a step back, startled, "Sho! I don't need a
password to sit down with my own sister!"
	"Miz Akane does not wish to be distoibed," the dangling thug rumbled at
Ranma."
	Kodachi and Ryouko both stared at the other student. Ranma was glaring at
Sho and starting to roll up his sleeve.
	Akane rolled her eyes, "Hey, Sho, let them through. When I tell you I
don't want to be disturbed that doesn't include my brother or the Kunos,
alright?
	"Sorry ma'am," the embarassed thug smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of
his head, "I'll go tell da boys..."
	Akane nodded.
	Sho suddenly roared, "Youse heard da boss you big dumb lugs! You let her
bruther and da Kunos thru widout da passwoid!"
	Other parts of the trees foliage swayed in response, "Got it!"
	"Sure thing, boss!"
	"What wuz da passwoid?"
	"Huh? I thought you knew what da passwoid was!"
	"We don't know the passwoid?!" Sho roared at the rest of the tree.
	Akane sighed and hung her head, "It's so hard to find good help these days."
	"Escuse us a minute boss while we um... conference," Sho called down to
Akane before his head slipped back into the cover of the tree and there was
a continued muted rustling as an argument regarding what the password was
precisely filtered its way quietly down through the tree.
	Kodachi glanced up into the tree and murmured, "Well... you've certainly
got... security."
	"I don't know how secure I'd feel with those guys hanging around all the
time, though," Ranma replied, glancing up as the out of sight argument got
more and more heated.
	Akane shrugged, "Actually, I'd rather they didn't do it, but they start
moping if I don't give them something to do. And they like guarding me,"
she grinned mischievously.
	Ryouko waved shyly to Kodachi and Ranma. They both waved back, although
Kodachi regarded her a little coolly.
	Akane noticed the slight undercurrents and spoke to help diffuse the
situation, "You guys eaten yet? Ryouko and I are nearly done, but we can
hang out with you guys for a while.
	Ranma sat down next to Akane at the tree, leaning his back against it,
"Nah, we've eaten. But we saw something really, really weird just a while
ago, that we figured we should tell you about."
	Kodachi nodded as she took her usual place next to Ranma, "Very strange."
	Akane pushed her glasses up her nose a little and smiled, "Really? What
was it?"
	"Tatewaki and Nabiki are having lunch in the cafeteria," Kodachi said.
	"What's so weird about that?"
	"They're at the same table," Ranma said quietly, "And they look like
they're actually enjoying themselves."
	Akane blinked, "You're kidding."
	"No joke," Ranma and Kodachi said together.
	Akane suddenly looked up into the sky, scanning it beyond the foliage of
the tree...
	"What're you doing?" Ranma asked her pointedly.
	"I'm looking for the four horsemen..." Akane muttered vaguely, "The end of
the world must be at hand.
	Ryouko blinked worriedly as Ranma hit Akane's arm, "Quit joking like that.
I just thought you might want to hear about it."
	"This I HAVE to see for myself. Let's go Ryouko!" as Akane surged to her
feet. There was an odd expression on her face, and much as it would've
pained her to admit it... there was a certain tiny bit of jealousy in her
eyes as she moved.
	"But we haven't finished lunch yet!" Ryouko said mildly.
	"Worry about that later! This is a news event!" as she rushed to the
cafeteria, dragging Ryouko with her.
	After much more rustlings from the tree, four heavy set students dropped
out of it like overripe fruit and gave chase to their boss.
	Kodachi snuggled up to Ranma as the last of Akane's goon squad gave chase,
"Alone at last."
	Ranma chuckled, "Almost like it'd been planned or something."
	"Or something." Kodachi agreed.
- - -
	Akane sat glumly at the Tendo porch, watching the koi pond. Her expression
was distracted and quite frankly, she wasn't feeling particularly chipper.
	Ranma rounded the corner and smiled at her before he plopped down at the
spot next to her, "Hey, sis. What's that matter?"
	"Nothing."
	"Don't give me that, Akane."
	Akane sighed, sinking a little lower as she rested her chin on her
forearms, "I don't know... I just feel kind of... weird about seeing
Tatewaki-sempai and Nabiki together."
	Ranma raised an eyebrow, "I'd've thought you'd be happy. I mean if they
start getting along this means we won't have to go through with your
cunning scheme to convince dad and Uncle Kuno to cancel the wedding."
	"That's not the point, Ranma," Akane replied with a sigh.
	He rested his chin on one hand and leaned against the table, "So what is
the point? I don't usually see you moping around like this."
	"I'm not sure... I think... I think I feel jealous," Akane said tentatively.
	Ranma blinked, his hand slipped out from under his chin as his face fell
onto the table, "You're what?! You mean you really do like Tatewaki?!"
	"Maybe... I don't know... I think... something..." 
	"But what about Ryouga?"
	"Nah... it's just... I really don't know. Seeing Tatewaki-sempai with
Nabiki... and... I mean, I've been thinking about that... and well...
there's Ryouga who's never around... but says he still loves me... and...
it's really confusing..."
	Ranma put a sympathetic arm around Akane, "Hey... there, there... relax,
it can't be that bad."
	Akane continued on, not having noticed what Ranma said, still staring in
the distance, "On the one hand, there's Ryouga... sure he's lost all the
time and he's got a nasty temper, but he's so nice, so sweet, so romantic,
a great athlete... buff as hell... and the tightest buns I've ever see..."
	Ranma coughed.
	"Except for yours of course, bro." Akane added with a wry smile. She
sighed and continued, "On the other hand there's Tatewaki, who's very
intelligent, articulate, well read, very sweet even if he is a little
reserved and shy... not to mention he's from a good family, and
ridiculously rich."
	Ranma mumbled to himself, "I knew that'd come in somewhere..."
	Akane sighed again, trying to sink even lower into the table. She suddenly
clenched both fists and hopped to her feet, "Whichever shall I choose!?!"
	Ranma blinked at her, "Hey, calm down, sis it's not exactly like you've
got a--"
	Nabiki walked in with a wry expression on her face, a slight frown creased
her features as she looked at Akane, "Choose what, Akane?" she asked.
	Akane whirled on her, her own face moving into a frown, "Oh. Hi, Nabiki.
Finally speaking to me?"
	Nabiki shrugged, "Well, it seemed kind of ridiculous for us to not talk
over HIM of all people."
	"You don't say," Akane snapped before she could stop herself, "This have
anything to do with your having lunch with Tatewaki?"
	"Not really... I mean..." Nabiki seemed a little puzzled by Akane's
reaction, but her own annoyance was beginning to flare slightly as well,
"What's with the third degree?"
	"Did you have a nice time with him?" Akane prodded.
	"Actually yes, he's actually pretty good company." Nabiki replied,
frowning at Akane now.
	"How nice. I could've told you that."
	"What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Nabiki's voice rose.
	"Nothing. Nothing at all."
	"Oh, really?"
	"Yes, really."
	Ranma noticing that the conversation was reaching critical mass had
learned his lesson from the last time and quietly slunk away.
	He headed out, shaking his head in disbelief. He never thought he'd see
the day. Akane hadn't lost her temper like that in a long time... she was
usually so in control of herself. More often than not she'd just content
herself with getting revenge some other way at a more opportune moment.
Course, she could probably still be sore at Nabiki from before. That
could've been it. 
	So wrapped up was Ranma in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed
Tatewaki standing just inside the front door. Until he'd bumped into him.
	"Ack!"
	"Ow!"
	"Oh, Tatewaki-sempai... I didn't notice you."
	"It's alright, Ranma... I... um... I was just walking Nabiki home and she
insisted on getting me something to drink before I left." Tatewaki replied
a little hesitantly. He blinked curiously, trying to see around Ranma, "Is
anything amiss? I can hear people arguing..."
	"Oh, that," Ranma replied glancing over his shoulder, "Um... that's
nothing, just Akane and Nabiki having a kinda heated discussion... why
don't you stay here, and I'll go get that drink for you?"
	"Oh... only if it's no trouble..." Kuno averred.
	"No trouble... honest..." as he turned to head for the kitchen... he was
mentally working out how he was going to get the two of them to keep quiet.
It wasn't seemly to have people arguing when there was a guest in the house.
	Just before he could round the corner though, Nabiki's voice suddenly rose
loudly enough to be heard clearly. Quite possibly all the way to the next
neighborhood, "I am NOT in love with Tatewaki and I am NOT interested in
him in that way! I'm already in love with someone else!!!"
	Ranma skidded to a halt. Whoo-boy, Akane must've pushed the right buttons
he mused. No way Nabiki would've admitted to that unless she were really
pissed. He heard an odd half strangled sound behind him and he turned to look.
	Tatewaki had fallen to his knees. His eyes behind his glasses were glazed
and staring.
	Ranma moved next to him quickly, "Hey, Tatewaki... Tatewaki, you okay,
man? Speak to me."
	"She's... in love with someone... else?" Tatewaki managed to force the
words out slowly.
	"Er... well... yeah... kinda..."
	Kuno blinked at Ranma, "You knew of this?"
	"Er... sorta. She told me to keep it a secret..."
	Kuno continued to stare blankly for long moments as the distant argument
began to taper off to silence.
	"This..." he spoke slowly and deliberately, "... will NOT do." His flat,
dead tone indicated a passion Ranma had never seen in Tatewaki before. His
fists were clenched and his eyes furious.
	"Dude... stop that you're scaring me..." Ranma said slowly.
	Kuno looked up at Ranma and said quickly, in a more or less normal voice,
"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Ranma-kun. I really must be on
my way. Kindly convey my apologies to Nabiki that I could not wait," and
with that, he hopped quickly to his feet and dashed for the door. Ranma
could almost swear he heard Kuno muttering under his breath, "Someone else,
eh? We'll see about THAT!"
	"What was that all about?" Ranma muttered.
- - -
	Ranma yawned sleepily as he waited for Nabiki to step out of the bath.
	"Oh, Ranma," Nabiki nodded to him as she opened the door, "Bath's free if
you want to take one."
	"Thanks, sis," Ranma smiled, "Er... you okay?" he asked gently.
	"Hmmm? Oh, fine, fine. Just me and Akane fighting again." Nabiki shrugged,
"No big deal."
	"You sure?" Ranma prodded.
	"Yeah. I'm not even sure what we were arguing about," Nabiki flashed a grin."
	"But are you guys talking?" Ranma asked.
	"No," Nabiki said flatly. She then realized something and looked around,
"Where is she? I thought you two always took a bath together."
	"Yeah, we do usually, but she wanted to blow a little steam off so she's
at the dojo." Ranma said without thinking.
	Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Ah. Maybe I'll join her," she smirked as she
turned and stalked down the stairs. Ranma shrugged, a little sleepily and
stepped into the bath, intent on getting himself relaxed. 
	It was an hour later when Ranma and Akane cuddled sleepily in bed.
	"Are you two talking again?" Ranma asked tiredly.
	"Kind of. We worked things out in the dojo," Akane replied sullenly.
	"Yeah, I noticed you were favoring your left leg a while ago," Ranma
murmured.
	"She's got that vicious roundhouse kick..." Akane sighed, "I don't know
what it is about Nabiki that keeps pushing all the wrong buttons with me.
I'm not usually so... out of control."
	"Yeah, I know," Ranma replied, tightening his arms around her. They stayed
silent for long moments before a thought occurred to him, "By the way...
what happened to Ryouko?"
	"She got lost on the way to cafeteria. If we need any more proof that
she's a Hibiki, that was it," Akane added with a slight grin.
	"You know, you and Nabiki can't keep this up," Ranma said, steering the
conversation back where it should be, "If Kasumi finds out you two have
been fighting again, she's going to need another lie down."
	"I know, I know... quit bugging me about it. I'll apologize to her
tomorrow, okay?" she sighed, "I just realized how stupid we are for
fighting over Tatewaki of all people..."
	"Yeah... he looked really spooked when he heard you two arguing," Ranma
replied.
	"He heard us?!" Akane half sat up, alarmed.
	"Turned out he'd walked Nabiki home and he was still there while you and
big sis were fighting. He was kinda freaked out towards the end there..."
	Akane sat up, taking Ranma's hands in her own, "Alright, Ranma... tell me
every detail," she said in her sharp precise tone as she put her glasses
back on, "Don't leave anything out."
	Ranma blinked then smiled in the darkness. This was more like it. This was
the Akane he knew. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek
before he started telling her everything that had happened earlier in the
afternoon. Every single detail. Before Ranma stopped talking Akane was
already wearing a very blank expression on her face...
- - -


=====
TimeRunner's Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482

icq: 7153134 (Keiichi)
=====

"The story grew in the most convoluted way, as many people will be
surprised to learn. Writing episodically meant that when I finished one
episode I had no idea about what the next one would contain. When, in the
twists and turns of the plot, some event su
ddenly seemed to illuminate things that had gone before, I was as surprised
as anyone else."

--- Douglas Adams, "A Guide to the Guide"

"Mos people who want to be writers don't really want to be writers. They
want to HAVE BEEN  writers."

--- James A. Michener