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Second draft of first fanfic - Murphy's Law

By Andy Searls

Characters are creations of Rumiko Takahashi

"spoken lines"
*thoughts*

I promise that this is not a dark fic.  Ok, maybe a bit shadey, but not too
dark.  Technically, it is an alternative story line that just starts out a
bit on the dark side.

NOTE: My father's printer ran out of ink and my sister's printer stopped
feeding paper while trying to print this story.  I feel the title might fit
a bit too well.  I have not tried to print it out on my printer.  Consider
yourself warned...

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So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below.

And I laughed at myself
As the tears roll down.
'Cause it's the world I know.
It's the world that I know.

  - Collective Soul, "The World I Know"


===========================================================Prologue:
Anything that can ever go wrong will.

(Consider the first episode of the first season to be the prologue.  Genma
and his son, Ranma, visit the Tendo's home in their cursed forms of a panda
and a girl, respectively.  Cold water activates the curse, while hot water
returns them to their normal bodies.  The Tendos, not aware of the curse,
are confused.  Akane quickly makes friends with Ranma as a girl, and they
have a friendly sparring match in the Tendo Anything Goes Martial Arts dojo.
Akane walks in on Ranma as he is soaking in the warm water of the furo
(bathtub), once again a boy.  Enraged, Akane walks into the dining room and
picks up the table to attack.  Ranma, clothes back on, steps into the dining
room behind her.)

Akane pivoted around, holding the table over her head, to look at the source
of the sound behind her.

"I'm Ranma Saotome....sorry about this."  *Man, I sound like a broken
record*

The all-too familiar looks of shock filled the room.  There was a bang as
Akane let the table drop onto her head.  Each person, excluding Genma, had
the face of three big "O"s.  Genma, arms folded, just shook his head.  Ranma
had seen it all before.  Genma started his little show, which always struck
Ranma as a sympathy plea for himself, rather than understanding or even pity
for his son.  Ranma tuned him out.  He just needed to wait for the story to
be told.  The Tendos would begin to get over the shock, and he would get a
first impression of what they really thought of him.

"I guess I should begin..... with this!"  Genma grabbed Ranma and threw him
into the koi pond.  Ranma twisted in the air to land feet first.  He had
also managed to get a good breath, so she didn't choke and cough too much
when she stood up.  She opened her eyes and saw a koi on one of the
bordering rocks.  Her splash had sent the koi out of the pond.  Now, it
thrashed about and gulped at the air.  The only sounds were the constant
chirping of the crickets, the drips of water from her clothing landing in
the pond, and the helpless slapping of a fish out of water.

"Hey, don't just stand there, you jerk!"  Akane angrily marched up to the
pond, "I like those fish!"  She gently nudged the koi back towards the
water.  The fish gave another thrash before rolling down the side of the
rock and splashing into the water.  Ranma still hadn't moved from where she
stood.  She just looked at Akane, who was a completely different person from
the Akane she had sparred with in the dojo.  She waited for Akane to smile
and laugh like she had before, but she just spat out "Baka!" as she turned
and marched away.

Ranma watched Akane walk back to the house.  She saw everyone else stare at
her.  Even Kasumi was speechless.  She felt her face get hot yet again.
Then she saw Genma.  His arms were folded, and his eyes were closed.  "I
can't bear to see my son like this," Genma sighed before turning his back.
Ranma's knees shook, either from her father's dismissal or from being wet in
the cold evening air.

Without saying a word, Ranma stepped out of the pond, and walked straight
out the front gate.


===========================================================Chapter 1:  The
light at the end of the tunnel is the headlamp of an oncoming train.

Kasumi recovered before turning to her youngest sister.  Akane was still
steaming,  "I can't believe that insensitive, perverted jerk!"

"Akane."

Akane deflated at the sweetness in Kasumi's voice, "Yes, oneechan?"

"Could you clear the table for me?  I'm going to make Ranma's bed for him.
He might be tired when he comes back."

Nabiki let out a doubtful humph, "_If_ he comes back."

Genma opened his eyes, "If my boy knows one thing, it's how to defend
himself."

"Mr. Saotome, I don't think Nabiki was afraid for Ranma's safety," Kasumi
suggested, "Would you like to see your room?"

"It's been a long day," Genma agreed, "I could use some rest."  Soun and his
younger two daughters watched silently as Genma casually stretched and
followed Kasumi upstairs.

  **  **  **

Ukyo followed the Saotomes into town and waited outside the Tendo's wall.
Once she had heard that the Saotome's were back in Japan, she grew excited
at the prospect of getting her revenge.  She climbed up to the top of the
wall and peeked into the yard.  She wanted to see what they were doing there
before she challenged them.

On the side of the house, the door was open.  She saw a young man step to
the doorway and say something.  It looked like Ranma.  She could not make
out the discussion from her distance, so she craned her neck to get a better
view.  Suddenly, Genma grabbed Ranma and threw him out into the koi pond in
the side yard.  Ranma stood up, and Ukyo stifled a gasp as she saw that
Ranma's hair had changed to a brilliant red.  *What did he do to his hair?*
she thought.  Ranma stood there in silence for a moment before a girl with
long dark hair walked up to him, yelling at him.  The girl flicked what
looked like a fish back into the pond before storming back into the house.
*Things are definitely not all as they seem,* Ukyo conceded as she watched
Ranma stalk out of the pond and through the front gate.  *Is it my
imagination, or is Ranma smaller now?*  After looking back to the house to
see that no one else came out, Ukyo followed at a safe distance.

She followed Ranma up to a bridge that spanned the drainage canal.  The
water in the canal was still rising and churning from the recent rain.  Ukyo
stopped at a convenient hiding place as she saw Ranma stop in the middle of
the bridge.  Ranma put his hands on the railing, regarding the swirling
current below.  Suddenly, he swung a leg over the railing.  Ukyo caught a
breath and ran around out towards the bridge.  Ranma swung his other leg
over the railing and stood on the narrow ledge.  Ukyo started to run faster.
She released her breath as Ranma sat down on the railing, legs dangling over
the edge.  He did not move as she approached.  As she neared, she realized
that the person in front of her was not the Ranma she knew.  He looked
smaller.  His shoulders were hunched over in despair.  His red hair wet and
mussed from his recent landing in the koi pond.  This wasn't the Ranma she
had sworn revenge over.  He looked like he had already seen more trouble
than she intended to give him.  He reminded her of the Ranma she had first
met.  A Ranma that needed a friend.  She stopped a short distance from him
and called him, not entirely successful in keeping her voice from cracking.
"Ranma?" *What the heck is going on here?*

Ranma didn't move. "Go away."  His voice had the same pitch of the young boy
she had met so long ago....

"Ran-chan please, I want to help.  It's Ukyo."

Ranma didn't move.  Ukyo took a careful step closer. *Dare I get too close?*
she wondered, "Don't you remember your friend?"

"I ain't got no friends."

Ukyo took a chance and stepped directly up to Ranma to give him a hug.
"Ran-chan, that's not true.  You know... what?"  Something felt different as
she hugged Ranma from behind.  She didn't feel the hard, muscular chest that
she remembered.  Ukyo could feel Ranma tense up as she gasped.  Ukyo
carefully put her hands on his arms, ready to grab him if he leaned
forward...."Ran-chan, please tell me what's going on."

"I'm not the little boy you made friends with."

"I can see that," Ukyo tried to keep the surprise out of her voice, trying
to be soothing and pleading instead. "Please tell me what's happened."

"I've been cursed."

*Now I'm getting somewhere.* "Is that why your hair's turned red?"

"Feh, the hair's nothin'."

"What about the rest of y..." Suddenly, Ukyo realized what she had felt
before. "Are you...a g...a girl?"

Ranma remained silent.  Her shoulders dropped even more, and she began to
lean forward.  Ukyo wrapped an arm around Ranma's stomach and pulled her
back, "Ran-chan, no!"  Ranma offered little resistance, but remained silent,
still staring at the churning waters below.  Ukyo pulled her back on to the
railing, "Ran-chan, I don't care if you're a boy or a girl.  Please come off
the railing."

"Y....you really mean it?  You don't care?"

"I care about _you_," Ukyo confessed. "Maybe we can find a way to get you
switched back."

Ranma looked up to the shore on one side of the canal. "Warm water works
fine."

Ukyo blinked. "If you can change back, it's not so bad then, is it?"

Ranma looked back down to the water. "The way everyone treats me, it's bad
enough."

"I think you are one of the best friends I've ever had," *-and a fiance that
I want to keep.* "Please, _please_ come back off the railing."

Ranma stared into the churning waters a few moments more before taking a
deep breath and allowing Ukyo to take her back onto the sidewalk.  Ukyo
smiled and wrapped her arm around Ranma's shoulders, "Good, now lets go back
to that house and see if we can't straighten things out."  Ukyo took a step
forward, but Ranma didn't budge. "I'm not going back there."  Ukyo looked
up.  Ranma's face was hard to see through the red, wet bangs.  She still
wouldn't look up.  Ukyo took a deep breath, "Okaaaaay, we won't go back
there.  We need to find a place to stay, then."  Ukyo started walking again,
and this time, Ranma followed.  "We also need to get you out of those wet
clothes and warmed up before you get sick."

  **  **  **

Akane simmered in the kitchen, noisily banging the plates and cups around
the sink.  *How dare he stare at me like that?  The pervert!  Why did he
just sit there and watch our fish suffer on the rock?  That insensitive
jerk!  Why did he run off?  Spineless wi..*  A crash and tinkle stopped her
short.  In her anger, she had hit two of the plates together a bit too
roughly, and they had shattered.

"Oh my," a voice said behind her. "Did the plates do something to anger
you?"

"I'm so sorry," Akane gasped.

"That's okay," Kasumi soothed as she stepped up and held Akane's shoulders,
peering over her shoulder at the pieces. "At least they were just plain
serving dishes, and not one of mother's good bowls that we had out tonight."

Akane paled as she looked into the sink at the bowls she had been angrily
clanking together.  None of them looked damaged.  Kasumi stepped beside
Akane and held her hand.  "Akane, what made you so upset tonight?"

"That pervert saw me with nothing but a towel."

"Did he apologize for walking in on you?"

"Well, um, I sorta walked in on him."

"And you're mad a him for that?"

"I didn't know it was Ranma.  All I knew was that some weird guy was
stepping out of our bathtub."

"He didn't answer when you knocked?"

"Well, um,  I didn't.....really... knock."

"So, why are you mad at him?"

"Well.....," Akane hesitated, "I think I mainly got mad because I thought I
had this new friend, and it turns out that he's just another _boy_!"

"Do you not like boys?"

"I _hate_ boys.  They're all the same."

"What do you mean, 'They're all the same'?"

"They all want to beat me up so that they can date me."

"Oh my.  Have the boys at school been beating you up?"

"No, I've always won."

Kasumi thought for a moment, but decided to put that issue off for later.
"So, Ranma wants to beat you up so that he can date you?"

"Well,.... no, but Dad and Mr. Saotome pushing him on us as a fiance is just
as bad."

"And you're angry at Ranma for how he feels about this?"

"Um..." Akane was getting more sheepish by the minute. "Actually, I don't
know how he feels."

"So," Kasumi sighed, trying not to sound too exasperated. "Why are you angry
at Ranma?"

"I.....I don't know."  Actually, Akane thought she did, but the answer
bothered her.

  **  **  **

"Just a minute," a muffled voice said from inside the restaurant.  She and
Ranma waited patiently for an old man to shuffle up to the door.  He opened
the door, and looked the two girls over before saying, "I don't suppose you
two know I'm closed."

Ukyo bowed deeply, "I'm really sorry to bother you. I'm Ukyo, and this is my
friend, Ranma.  We're not here for okonomyaki."

"Oh, then why are you two here?"

"Well, we're kinda out without a place to stay.  I happened to notice your
'Help Wanted' sign in the window.  I was hoping we could stay here for a
while.  I can cook and help out with your restaurant in return."

The old man looked over at Ranma, "How about you?"

Ukyo spoke up after Ranma said nothing, "She's pretty depressed right now,
and we're both from out of town.  Please, I wouldn't ask if there was
somewhere else we could go."

The old man looked back at Ukyo. "You say you can cook?  I see you have your
own spatula."  He regarded the pair of girls at his door for a moment,
"Well, I can't have you two out on the streets overnight.  You can stay in
my guest room upstairs for tonight.  We'll see what to do about a job and
the rest in the morning.  My name is Asaoka Nobuyoshi"

Nobuyoshi held the door open as he stepped back to let the girls inside.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Asaoka" Ukyo said as she stepped inside.  Ranma
followed with a whisper, "Thank you."

  **  **  **

Akane rolled over in her sleep.  She began murmuring in a dream.

She was kneeling in an open field, admiring a small flower, when a raven
landed on her shoulder and began pecking on her back.  The pecking wasn't
painful, but it was very annoying.  She brushed the bird off.  Just as she
was stepping away, a sparrow landed on her shoulder and began pecking at her
head.  "Ow, that stings."  She pushed the second bird off.  The raven was
beginning to approach her again when a small peacock landed in the field and
shooed the raven away.  The raven squawked "Nevermore!" and flew off.  The
peacock walked up to Akane and began pecking at her knees.  Akane kicked the
bird, which spread its wings as it lofted into the air.  The peacock landed
softly, and began walking back towards her.  Yet another bird landed on her
arm and began pecking at her shoulder.

She felt something brush her foot as she turned to run.  She looked down and
saw an egg.  The egg was a bit larger than a chicken egg, definitely too
large to belong to the blue jay that was now pecking at her back.  She
picked the egg up.  It was half black and half white, the border between the
two colors forming a wavy pattern around the egg.  There were four birds
pecking at her when the peacock stepped up and started pecking at Akane's
knees again.  She began to get angry at the egg.  "Leave me alone!" she
yelled, throwing the egg.  The birds jumped into the air, but returned
immediately and resumed their nipping.  The egg, however, hit the side of a
bridge, its contents spilling into the water below.  Akane looked around and
noticed that the field she was walking in was really a sand bar in a
drainage canal.  The birds continued pecking, but she suddenly didn't care.
She watched helplessly as bits of egg shell dropped from the impact of the
bridge and fell into the water, floating away.  She had destroyed the
innocent egg out of her anger at the birds.  Her vision of the bridge
blurred as tears filled her eyes.  She tried to say "I'm sorry", but a lump
was forming in her throat, and no sound came out.  More birds were coming
and pecking all over her, but she no longer cared.  She saw herself,
standing in the field, as nothing but a mass of pestering birds.  A mass
with no heart.

  **  **  **

Kasumi hummed to herself as she prepared breakfast.  The song reminded her
of her mother.  She was concentrating on simple and happy thoughts so that
she could be her best for the family.  Last night was difficult for all of
them.  At least most of them.  Who knows what today would bring?

Akane walked in, yawning.  Her hair was a mess, and her pajamas were
wrinkled up.  "Oh my, " Kasumi chimed. "You're up awful early this morning.
Have a good night's sleep?"

Akane rubbed her eyes. "No, I kept having these strange dreams."  Akane
walked up to Kasumi, who put breakfast down and turned to her sister.

"What is it, Akane?"

"I feel bad about last night.  Is Ranma up yet?  I'd like to talk to him."

"Akane," Kasumi wiped her hands on her apron and held Akane's shoulders,
"I'm afraid that Ranma didn't come back last night.  I looked in the guest
room this morning, and his futon is still made up."

Akane's mouth opened and closed a couple of times while the news soaked in;
then she ran out of the kitchen. "Oh no!  I've got to go find him!"

"Akane!" Kasumi yelled after her. "Don't you think you should have some
breakfast first?"  Akane was already out the front gate.

  **  **  **

"Sugoi!"  Nobuyoshi smacked his lips between bites, "You really know how to
cook okonomyaki!"

"Oh, stop it!" Ukyo giggled.

"Tell you what, I'll give you a shot at the lunch rush.  If that turns out,
we'll see what kind of working and living arrangements we can work out."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Asaoka.  I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will.  Please, call me Nobu."

"Thank you, Nobu."

"So, how is your depressed friend doing?"

Ukyo deflated a bit, "H�she's still sleeping.  She's had a rough night."

"Looked like she was at the bottom of her bucket."

"I..... found her at a bridge not far from here.  She was ready to jump into
the storm run-off.  We were childhood friends, and it's hard to see her this
way."

"Well, I'm glad to see that one of you is feeling better, now."

  **  **  **

Genma growled a panda-ish growf as he came down the stairs.  He spied Kasumi
stepping out of the kitchen.  "Well, what's for lunch?"

Soun, who was reading the paper, looked up at his old friend.  "Genma, did
you know that Ranma didn't come back last night?"

"I didn't notice him in my room." Genma rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I'm
sure he's all right."

"Are you sure he isn't in some sort of trouble?" Kasumi asked.

"My son is a great martial artist," Genma proudly stated. "He can take care
of himself."

"It seemed just last night that you were ashamed of him." Soun put his paper
down. "I'm having difficulty recognizing my old friend, Saotome."

"If I have changed, it is because of the difficulties of making a man out of
my son." Genma folded his arms.

"Oh yeah," Nabiki deadpanned. "That Ranma is _all_ man."

"Don't say that, Nabiki!"  Everyone turned to the entry way, where Akane
stood.  She was still in her pajamas, and her hair was even worse than
before.  Her face around her eyes was wet, red, and puffy.  "We were mean to
him!  He was our guest and we hurt him!"

She took a few steps into the living room when Kasumi gasped, "Oh my!
Akane, your feet are bleeding!"

"I don't care!"  Akane huffed, tears forming again. "I was mean to our
guest, and he ran away."  Akane ran upstairs to her room.

"Nabiki," Kasumi finally said, "could you clean up the blood on the floor
while I go take care of Akane?"

Nabiki sighed and stood up from the table. "Sure thing, sis."

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Chapter 2:  The toast always lands butter-side down.

"Is your cute new chef here a permanent fixture?" a happy customer asked on
his way out.

"She's my prot�g�, taught her everything I know,"  Nobu joked.  *Just wish
I'd have met her some sixty years ago.*  He sat down on a barstool to survey
his restaurant.  The lunch rush went as well as any other he had dealt with.
He had a much easier time and was much less tired with the new help, and the
compliments came much more often.  *No doubt about that,* he chuckled to
himself, *this one is an asset to the business.*  He grabbed a jar beside
the register as he walked over to Ukyo, who was cleaning the cooking area.
"Here's your cut of the tips," he said, handing the jar to her.

Her jaw dropped at the sight of the contents of the jar. "Oh no, I couldn't
take all that."

"Nonsense, you've definitely earned it.  Besides, you're going to need to
buy yourself some groceries if you want to stay here."

Ukyo dropped her spatula and hugged Nobu, "You really mean it?!"

"Oh goodness, yes," laughed Nobu. "Now, let the old man get a breath.  It's
not everyday I get a hug from such a kawaii young girl."

"Thank you, Nobu!" Ukyo blushed and turned away. "I can't wait to tell
Ranma!"

"You go on ahead, I'll take care of the tables."

"Thank you again."  Ukyo pecked a kiss on Nobu's cheek.  He laughed.  It was
his turn to blush.

Ukyo ran upstairs to the guest room.  She leaned against her folded futon as
she gently shook Ranma, who was still sleeping on her own futon.  Ranma
rolled over and blinked.  "I've got some good news," Ukyo beamed as she
rubbed Ranma's shoulder. "Nobu is letting us stay here."

Ranma managed a weak grin before she sat up.  "Umm, Ukyo.....I
just.....um.....I...........uh..."

Ukyo sat down beside Ranma and gave her a hug. "Anytime, sugar.  Just don't
go swimming without talking to me first."

"Heh, I think I'll stay away from water for a while."

"Do you feel sick or anything from staying wet so long last night?"

"No."

"Would you like something to eat?"

Ranma looked thoughtful for a second before answering. "Yeah, I guess so."

Ranma was biting into her breakfast at the counter just as Nobu was
finishing cleaning the last table from the lunch rush.  He walked up to her
just as she had a big mouthful. "Well, I see my other kawaii young one is
feeling better today, ne?"

Ranma nodded as she finished chewing the mouthful and swallowed. "Yes, thank
you for taking us in."

Nobu sat down on a barstool beside Ranma.  "You know, over in Fukuoka, I
have a granddaughter about the same age as you two.  She's a real kawaii
one, giggles a lot."  Ranma snorted, almost losing the next bite.  "I hear
you were about to end your troubles last night."  Ranma dropped her head,
her only other answer was a deep sigh.  "Well, as I see it, you have a roof
over your head, now, something to eat, and two people who want to see you
sticking around.  Things can't be all that bad, can it?"

"Things don't seem that bad right now," Ranma admitted, "but last night,
things seemed really hopeless."

"Some sort of boy troubles I suppose?"

"(snort) No!"

"Trouble with the law?"

"No sir."

"Trouble with family."

No answer.

"Well, you can relax here with us as long as you'd like.  If you want, I can
go with you to see them sometime and we can try to sort things out, ne?"

"I....I don't think I wanna ........try that.....for a while."

"No pressure.  Ukyo is doing well enough for the both of you, so you just
concentrate on healing, right - in - there."  Nobu tapped on Ranma's chest
above her heart.

Ranma swallowed before whispering back, "Domo arigatou gozaimasita."

Nobu chuckled as he stood up, mussing up Ranma's hair even more with his
hand, "Rest well, magomusume."

  **  **  **

Akane, casual clothes on and hair brushed, was rushing through her lunch.
She almost forgot to chew the last bite before swallowing and jumping up
into the hallway.

"Akane," Kasumi warned, "you really should let your feet heal."

"Nabiki helped me wrap them up.  They're not as bad as they look.  Besides,
I really need to find Ranma."

"You should wait.  In a minute, your sister and father will be down and you
can search for him together."

"We'll have better luck if we split up anyway."

"She has a point," Nabiki stepped away from the stairs. "If we don't find
him today, then Akane and I will be too busy at school tomorrow to find
him."

"Splitting up will be fine." Soun came down the stairs behind Nabiki. "You
two just be careful."

"Yes, Dad," Akane and Nabiki chimed in unison.

Soun stepped up and put his hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "Just keep the home
fires burning, we'll be fine."

Kasumi nodded. "Hai."

Akane ran ahead of her father and elder sister.  Having no other ideas, she
headed towards a place that had been on her mind, the drainage canal.  She
looked under the bridge, noticing a sand bar similar to the one in her
dream.  She shivered.  There were no birds nearby, though.  Feeling
encouraged, she looked around in the nearby shops.  There were a batch of
restaurants she knew of just around the corner of the other side of the
bridge.  She headed that way, hopeful that her dream was more than her
conscience giving her a hard time.

After going past most of the restaurants and finding them mostly empty, she
was beginning to think that her dream was less than she hoped.  Her run
around the neighborhood that morning was also taking its toll.  Her feet
were really beginning to feel sore.  The rising temperature of the day was
making her tired. The next store, an okonomyaki place, had a red head
sitting at the counter.  *A red head!*  "Ranma!" Akane yelled as she burst
through the door. "I'm so glad I found you!"

Ranma choked on her bite.  Ukyo looked up from the cooking surface to see
Akane running up to her fiancee.  Ranma recovered enough to swallow her
mouthful before looking up at Akane.  Akane shuffled her feet, thinking
about what she should say for the first time. "I....... uh...........Ranma,
I didn't..........um........."  Ranma merely blinked.  "Darn it, Ranma.  We
want you back home.  We've been so worried about you."

"I'm.......fine,"  Ranma lied.

"Well, we've all been worried sick about you.  You're father....... has been
up all night."

Ranma snorted. "Now I know you're lying."

"I'm just trying to get you to come back with me, you dolt."

"I don't wanna go back."

Ukyo stepped from behind the counter to stand beside Ranma. "She's had a
rough night."

Akane blinked at Ukyo. "Who are you?"

Ukyo put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I'm a friend."

Akane was feeling teamed-up against, and didn't like it. "Well, your father
is waiting for you back home, so let's go home."

Ranma calmly stood up. "I'm not going anywhere, and I have no father."
Ranma quietly walked around the counter and upstairs.

Akane, mouth agape, stared at the empty stairs for a few seconds.  Ukyo
stood, hands on her hips, watching as Akane blinked and looked back.  The
two faced off for a moment, before Ukyo sighed. "You know, she's had a bad
night, and I think there's more than just last night on her mind.  I think
she needs some time to heal and think."  Ukyo glanced behind herself to see
Nobu step into the back room. "In the meantime, you know where we are, but I
think Ranma needs some time to himself."

Akane's eyes widened. "Yes, I suppose..._he_....does.  I just-"

Ukyo cut her off. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it would be good for you to
spend much time here.  Not for a while."

Akane's shoulders slumped as she sighed.  "I...I guess you're right."  She
trudged over to the door.

"Oh, ah..."

"Akane."

"Akane, I'm sure his father will want to know that he's all right."

Akane silently nodded and then walked out the door, bumping into a man in a
suit as he was walking in.  He stepped around her and walked up to Ukyo.  He
looked around the nearly empty restaurant. "Is Asaoka Nobuyoshi in?"

Ukyo bowed to the newcomer. "Hai.  I will go get him.  Who should I say is
asking?"

"Asagoro.  I have an appointment to discuss a legal matter with him."

"I will get him right now."

"Arigatou."

  **  **  **

Ukyo was rubbing Ranma's back in the guest room while Asagoro talked to Nobu
downstairs.  "Akane knows about your curse."

"I know." Ranma quietly regarded his feet.

"I haven't said anything to Nobu."  Ukyo felt Ranma tense up.

"I.....don't want him to find out....if I can help it."

"So, you want to stay a girl?"

"For now."

"You want to change back eventually, right?"

"Not for now."

"Is warm water the only thing that works?"

"Yes."

"Well, we can try to avoid that problem, then.  Ranma, I will do what I can
to help you.  I promise."  Ukyo took her silence as acceptance, and
continued massaging her shoulders.

A few minutes later, Nobu knocked on the door.  Ukyo called for him to come
in.  "My visitor is gone, you are welcome to come back downstairs and help
me prepare for dinner."

"I'm coming," Ukyo acknowledged before turning back to Ranma. "You OK,
sugar?"

"I'll live."

Ukyo went downstairs and looked at Nobu a moment.  He was busy with
preparations.  Ukyo hesitated before asking, "May I ask why that man was
here?"

Nobu looked up at Ukyo and patted her on the shoulder, smiling wistfully.
"Nothing you need to worry about right now.  Could you get some dough ready
for me?"

"....Hai."

  **  **  **

"Oh my, you're back so soon."  Kasumi was folding laundry as Akane walked
in.

"Yeah," Akane sighed. "I found Ranma."

"You don't seem very happy about it.  Is Ranma all right?"

Akane plopped onto the couch beside the laundry pile and began picking at a
shirt absent-mindedly. "He's not coming back here, at least not yet."

Kasumi could see that Akane was disappointed. "I'm sorry, Akane.  Maybe when
he feels better, he might give us another chance to show him how we usually
treat our guests."

"I don't think that's the whole problem."

Kasumi blinked, and she put down the school dress that she was folding.

"He...she is staying at a restaurant near the bridge.  One of the cooks said
she thought that Ranma is upset about more than last night."

"I wonder if something besides the curse has happened on their training
trip."

"Where is Mr. Saotome, anyway?"  Akane stood up angrily.  "He sure didn't
seem too upset when Ranma left."

"I think he's in the dojo, working out."  Kasumi put a hand on Akane's
shoulder.  "I think we should wait for your father to return.  Besides, I
need some help putting the laundry away."

Akane's anger deflated, not standing a chance against a request from her
eldest sister.

  **  **  **

Ukyo sighed with relief as the last few customers walked out.  The dinner
rush had been busier than lunch.  More than one customer had mentioned that
a friend had talked about the cute new chef and even better food that had
been enjoyed at lunch.  Nobu sat down on a barstool and surveyed the mess.

The cooking area was surprisingly neat and tidy, despite the amount of food
that had been prepared there.  All the tables had plates, cups, and napkins
that needed to be cleaned off, but not much uneaten food.  Nobu had enjoyed
spending time talking with some of his regular customers, something he
hadn't had much of a chance to do before.  He even gave Ukyo a couple of
customers to handle at the register when he felt a bit winded from serving.
The whole evening had been a pleasant change from being stuck behind the
counter all the time.

"Can I help you clean up?"  Ukyo stepped up to Nobu once she had finished a
little straightening at the grill.

"You can clean the dishes, and I'll clear the tables."

"No problem."  Ukyo cheerfully bounced into the back room.

Nobu shuffled over to the tray he had placed on the counter.  *Sure wish I
could have a bit of that energy.*  He picked up the tray and, with a deep
breath, shuffled over to the first table.

"Um, Nobuyoshi sir?"

Nobu turned to see Ranma, her hands clasped in front of her, her head still
hung low.

"What can I do for you, Ranma-chan?"

"Actually, I was feeling like a fifth wheel here.  I was wondering if
there's something I can do."

Nobu smiled warmly.  "Why yes, dear.  You can help me clear the tables."

"Thank you."  Ranma bowed her head a bit before she stepped over to the next
table.

"When we're done,  I'd appreciate it if you could sweep and mop the floor."

"I'll do that."

Nobu kept an eye on Ranma as they cleared the tables.  *Getting her mind off
of her troubles seems to be doing her some good,* he chuckled to himself.
*She's holding her head up enough that I can actually see her face.*  Ranma,
with a pile of dishes in her arms, met eyes with Nobu as she walked past him
to the back room.  *Was that a grin I saw?*

They finished clearing the tables much more quickly than Nobu was used to.
He stepped behind the register and began going through the days receipts.
At this rate, they would be finished earlier than he could remember.  Ranma
put the chairs on top of the tables at an astonishing rate, usually lifting
two chairs at a time.  Nobu wondered at the hidden physical strength while
she swept the floor quickly and thoroughly.  As she walked back to the
counter with the broom, Nobu noticed that she wasn't winded in the least.
"Where can I get the mop and bucket?"

Nobu pointed to a closet in the back room.  "Same closet I got the broom
from.  You can get some soap and hot water from the sink."  He noticed she
eyes widen at the mention of hot water, and she stood there for a moment.
Something seemed to be frightening her.  "If that's a problem, I can-"

"It's not a big deal," Ranma gently interrupted, "I'll do it."  She trudged
into the back room, obviously dreading what she was going to do next.  Nobu
was curious about what Ranma could be scared of, and after a minute or two,
he put the receipts down and walked into the back room.  Ukyo was filling
the bucket for Ranma, who was standing a small distance away.  Once Ukyo
finished, Ranma stepped up and lifted the bucket.  As she reached over for
the mop and took a step, her foot slipped on the wet floor.  Ukyo caught
Ranma by her shoulders.  Ranma went white, holding the bucket out at arms
length like it was a deadly weapon.

"Are you two all right?" Nobu stepped up and took the bucket from Ranma's
hand, noticing that he had to struggle against her white-knuckle grip.  "You
almost had a bad spill there."  Ranma paled even more, eyes wide at Nobu.
Nobu, still puzzled, attempted to sort out this little event.  *She's not
really that afraid of falling.  There's something about this bucket of water
that's got her upset.*  He looked into the bucket, seeing nothing but soapy,
warm water before asking, "What's wrong with the water?"

Ranma eased herself up from Ukyo's grasp, still nervously eyeing the bucket.
Ukyo silently pretended to scrub a plate.  Ranma finally managed to whimper,
"It's warm water."

Nobu's confusion was getting worse, not better.  "So what's wrong with a
bucket of warm water?"

Ranma looked over to Nobu with wide eyes, and saw a calm old man who was
mildly curious about the incident.  She couldn't think of what to say, and
only kept whimpering, "I.....it's just.....don't like....."

Nobu looked at the frightened girl in front of him.  His heart went out to
her, and he put the bucket on the floor and smiled.  "Don't worry about it,
Ranma.  You don't have to tell me.  I'll mop the floors."

Ranma didn't relax, tears began to fall.  "No.... I said I would.... you
don't have to..."

"Nonsense.  Ukyo saved you a bit of dinner.  Why don't you set yourself on
that crate over there and take a break."

"But I said I would-"

Nobu stepped over to her and wiped one cheek with his hand.  "Don't worry
yourself over it."

Ranma smiled back through her tears, no longer whimpering.  "Arigatou
gozaimasita."

  **  **  **

"I told you my son was fine," Genma stated over his game of Go with Soun.
"We've been through the wilderness, living off the land.  He's made it
though tougher times than this."

"A martial artist's training is often fraught with peril," Soun agreed.
"Still, I am relieved to hear that your son hasn't done anything brash."

"He's one of the best I've had the pleasure of training, my friend."

"You must have trained many."

"Well, ......um........not exactly.  Our training took us everywhere.  We
didn't stay at any one place for long, so we didn't deal with the same
people for more than a day or so.  But, we never had problems with road
bandits or even wild animals.  I tell you my son has made me proud more than
once taking on a large boar on his own and defeating it.  At times, we ate
more from the animals that were stupid enough to attack us than from our own
rations."

"I'd love to hear about your adventures." Kasumi smiled brightly.

Genma thought for a moment before beginning his story.  "Right after
Jurisenkyo, we stumbled upon a village of Chinese Amazons.  We were hungry
from our journey, and low on rations.  The Amazons had a feast ready, but it
was reserved for the champion of a martial arts tournament that they were
holding.  Ranma, even in his hunger, took on the challenge and bested their
champion so that we could eat."

"Oh my."  Kasumi sounded genuinely surprised.  "Didn't that make the
defeated champion angry?"

Genma carefully avoided answering the question by leading into another
story.  "Another time, before Jurisenkyo, we came across a traveler and his
daughter.  He cooked the best okonomyaki I've ever tasted, but he was also
well versed in the martial arts.  Ranma and I challenged him and his
daughter for a meal, and won."  Genma avoided mentioning anything about the
second marriage arrangement, or running off with the cart and leaving Ukyo
behind.

"Glad to hear that your training trip always went so well," Nabiki
deadpanned.  "I can see why Ranma is such a happy guy."

"Not everything went as well as planned," Genma conceded.  "My son's
training didn't always go smoothly, to be sure.  Before we left for China, I
felt my son could get to the next level of training if I could get him to
understand the Nekoken."

Soun, not realizing that he was still holding a Go piece through Genma's
stories, dropped the tile on the floor.  "You tried to teach Ranma the
dreaded cat-fu?"

"It wasn't easy..." Genma related yet another tale.  This time, he told most
everything that happened.  The preparation of the chamber of hungry cats.
Wrapping his son in sausage, or fish, or other meats.  Placing his son in
the chamber.  Hoping that while attempting to defend himself from the large
number of attackers, his son would learn how to draw on the feral fighting
instincts of a cat.  The repeated failures, including the last attempt
ending in a psychotic episode where Ranma actually believed he was a cat.
"�Only one of our neighbors, a gently old lady, was able to coax him down
from the tree and bring him out of his state."

The room was quiet when he finished.  The crickets could be heard chirping
outside.  Kasumi's folded apron dropped out of her hands, and she managed to
squeak out, "Oh my."

  **  **  **

A week had gone by, and Nobu's was now one of the busiest restaurants on the
street.  Ukyo's cooking was the talk of the town, and Nobu's regular
customers were more than happy to spread the word for their old friend.
Nobu himself seemed to be enjoying a kind of second wind.  Not being tied
down behind the counter all the time changed his spirits for the better.
The fact that Ranma now regularly bussed tables and cleaned dishes made all
three of them feel better.

That Sunday, exactly one week after Ukyo started working at Nobu's, the
dinner rush had almost escalated into a big party.  A friend had brought a
portable stereo which was pouring out cheerful music.  Ukyo spun and flipped
the okonomyaki, making decorative designs with the toppings.  Nobu bounced
from the register to the tables, smiling and joking with everyone.  Ranma
still avoided talking to anyone, but Ukyo caught her tapping dishes to the
beat of the music more than once.

Ranma was clearing another table when a young man walked up to her.  He had
his hands in his pockets as he shyly spoke, "Um, excuse me, miss......?"

Ranma looked up at the man and blinked.  "Uh, Ranma."

"Ranma....?"

"Just Ranma."

Now the man blinked, but he was not discouraged.  "I was wondering if you
might want to ..........um ..........see a movie .........when you get off
work."

Ranma nearly dropped her armful of dishes.  She stood there a few moments,
mouth and eyes wide open.  "You're ��asking me on a �.date?"

"Yeah, ..........if that's all right."

Ranma took a couple of deep breaths before answering, "I'm .....uh... sorry,
but that's not possible."

"It's not?  Why is-"

"I just can't, I'm sorry."  Ranma bowed her head, looking down at the dishes
in her arms.

The young man put his finger under her chin and gently lifted her head.  He
could see that something he said had made her upset.  "Don't worry about it,
I'll live, I guess."  He flashed her a smile and walked away.

Ranma carried the dishes towards the back room.  Ukyo put her spatula down
for a moment and met Ranma at the end of the counter.  "Did he just ask you
out?"

"Yeah, I just got asked out by a guy."  Ranma wrinkled her nose at the
thought.

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't get yourself stuck as a guy, then," Ukyo
laughed.  "You'd be fighting all the gals off right and left." *As long as
you weren't pushing me off as well,* she added to herself.  Ranma threw Ukyo
a grin before going back to the sink to unload the dishes.

As Ranma was walking out, an older song started to play.  The song was
lighthearted and happy.  Nobu caught Ranma's eye and walked up to her.  "I
would be so grateful if you would have this dance with me."

Ranma gaped again before stammering, "I....can't.....dance."

Nobu looked thoughtfully at her for a moment before turning to Ukyo.  "Would
you have this dance?"

Ukyo looked at Ranma, who was suddenly very relieved, before finishing an
order and stepping around the counter.  "I'd love to."

A couple of customers stood up and moved their tables at Nobu's request to
make a small clearing as the three walked up.  Ranma leaned against one of
the tables as the other two began to hop and prance, hand in hand.  The
customers quickly began clapping in time with the music, and Ranma found
herself clapping as well.  Ukyo beamed happiness to Ranma as she turned with
Nobu.  Ranma smiled back, and Ukyo began to laugh.  The song ended,
seemingly too soon, but Ukyo was winded as she stepped up to Ranma.  The
both of them with large smiles for each other.  Nobu shuffled up to the
pair, breathing heavily.  "Whoooeee (puff).  I haven't (puff) had that much
(puff) fun (puff) since (puff) my daughter's (puff) wedding."

Ranma giggled despite herself and put her hand on Nobu's shoulder.  "So,
where does your daughter live now?"

Nobu's smile faded.  "Ah, (puff, puff) she doesn't (puff) come around (puff)
much anymore."  He bent over, putting his hands on his knees and tried to
control his breathing.  "They moved (puff) away
(puff).....(puff)....(puff)...."  Nobu looked up at Ranma, his face suddenly
pale.  His expression made Ranma gasp.  Ukyo merely blinked.

The sounds of the customers and the radio faded out of Ranma's mind as she
noticed that Nobu was no longer puffing.  She squeezed Nobu's shoulder
gently.  "N....Nobu?"

Nobu's eyes rolled up as he fell backwards.  Both girls cried out, "Nobu!"
in unison, getting the attention of everyone in the restaurant.  Ukyo helped
Ranma catch Nobu as he fell.

Ranma sat down on the floor and cradled Nobu's head in her lap.  Tears
blurred her vision as she shook his shoulders.  "Nobu, don't you dare leave
me!"

His eyes fluttered, his voice was raspy and weak, but Ranma could hear over
the suddenly silent crowd, "Ranma, don't dwell on things that bother you.
Enjoy the good things you have."  Ukyo, kneeling beside the two, put a hand
on Ranma's shoulder.  "Tell, Ukyo to read the letter Asagoro helped me
write.  It's in the top drawer of my desk."  Nobu's voice sounded very
tired, and his face was very calm, as if he was talking in his sleep.  "I
guess even too much success can be a bad thing, ne?"

As Nobu's last breath escaped, Ranma buried her head in his chest.  Ukyo
bent over the two, wrapping her arm around Ranma's shoulders.  She could
hear Ranma's muffled whimper, "No...not you too..."

===========================================================
Chapter 3:  The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, in
the opposite direction.

"Ohayu, students, settle down, I have a new student to introduce to you."
Akane looked up as her teacher waved a dark-haired Ranma in from the
doorway.  He looked drained.  Even though he was in boy-form, he didn't seem
any taller than his girl-form.  The teacher patted him on the back and
continued, "He's lost a family member a few days ago, so I would like all of
you to help him feel welcome here."

Akane raised her hand and stood when the teacher nodded at her.  "If it's
all right with you and Ranma, I'd like to sit next to him."  She waved at
the empty desk next to her.

"That's very nice of you, Akane," the teacher praised.

Ranma stared at her a moment before he slowly shuffled up to the desk.
Akane looked at his face as he approached.  She couldn't make out any
emotions.  Even his eyes had no expression.  She held a hand out to him,
"I'm very sorry about your father."

Ranma looked sharply at Akane, a couple of expressions flickered across his
face, too quickly for her to make them out.  He turned back to the teacher,
who nodded back.  After a quiet moment, Ranma walked across the room to an
empty desk by the window and sat down, looking out at a nearby tree.  Akane
sighed and sat back down.

As the teacher went through the lesson, Akane kept looking over at Ranma.
He held the same, expressionless gaze at the tree the whole time.  For a
short while, she stared at him to see if he was even blinking at all.

  **  **  **

At lunch, Ranma picked at bits of his food under the shade of a tree.  Akane
sat down beside him and leaned against the trunk.  "I think I'm beginning to
understand why you don't like your father," she started.  He continued to
poke at a piece of pork in his rice.  "He's told us a bit about your
training.  I've never heard of anyone putting a student through some of the
things your father has done to you."

"He's not my father.  I don't have a father."

"I can imagine how you feel."

Ranma didn't sound like he believed her.  "Can you?"

"When I lost my mother, I was angry for a while that she had left me."

Ranma sighed before snatching a small piece of pork to his mouth.  "I don't
know my mother."

Akane was unsure what to say about this when a shout startled both of them.
"SAOTOME RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!"

Akane jumped up and saw a young man.  He had dark pants that were tied off
at the bottom, a yellow shirt, and a yellow bandanna with black squares.  He
was also brandishing a red umbrella as if it were a weapon.  She looked back
to Ranma, who continued to pick at the pork in his lunch.  She turned back
to the newcomer, asking, "Who are you?"

"I, Hibiki Ryoga, have come to seek revenge against this fiend for the
anguish he has caused me!"

There was a pregnant silence as Akane and Ryoga watched Ranma quietly poke
at his rice.  Ryoga swung his umbrella back, yelling a kiai as he swung his
umbrella with full force.  The umbrella impacted with the trunk of the tree,
inches above Ranma's head.  The trunk sustained a sizable notch where the
umbrella hit it.  Ryoga pulled his weapon back.  The tree creaked and
groaned in the wind before finally falling over, snapping and splintering at
the notch.  Ranma put a few grains of rice in his mouth and slowly chewed.
Ryoga stared at Ranma for a minute.  Somewhere in the distance, a dog
barked.  Ryoga shouldered his umbrella and looked over to Akane.  "What's
with mute-boy here?"

"He's been through a lot lately," Akane quietly explained.  "He's recently
disowned his father and run away from home."

"That is nothing compared to the horrors that I've been through!"  Ryoga
impatiently tapped his finger on his umbrella.

"Just what have you been through, Ryoga?"  Ranma quietly asked, still not
looking up.  "Some silly bread-feud?"

"You accepted my challenge," Ryoga accused, "and then never showed up at our
agreed spot."

"I was there," Ranma looked up at Ryoga.  "I waited for three days for you
to show."

"And when I arrived on the fourth day, you were gone."

"Wait just a minute," Akane stepped between the two, holding a hand up to
Ryoga.  "It took you four days to get to this challenge spot?!  Where was
it?"

Ryoga nervously kicked at a few blades of grass.  "Well, it was an abandoned
lot beside my house."

Akane was incredulous.  "It took you four days to get to the lot next
door?!?"

Ryoga nudged an innocent rock with the tow of his shoe.  "It took me four
days to find it."

Ranma snickered.  "You never did have the best sense of direction."

"Saotome!"  Ryoga sneered, pulling his umbrella back into a ready stance.
"Prepare to def-"

Akane stepped up to Ryoga, thoughtfully putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Just a minute, I don't understand something here.  You got yourself lost on
the way to meet your challenge, and you blame Ranma for it?  Ranma didn't
get lost.  He didn't break his promise."

Ryoga was undaunted.  "Yes, but I followed him to try to regain my honor.
The horrors that I went through while I did were just......just...."

"Just what?"

"Terrible."

"Let me guess, you kept getting lost and into trouble."

"Well, um, yeah, and it's all Ranma's fault!"

"It's Ranma's fault you kept getting lost."

"Well, um, not exactly."

"So," Akane attempted her older sister's deadpan, "what you're saying is
that you're trying to kill Ranma because he caused you grief over some bread
and what else?"

Ryoga's mouth opened and closed a few times, and no sound was coming out,
but he was making a good impression of a goldfish.  Finally, he stammered,
"I....he....well.... I wouldn't have followed him if he hadn't made me angry
enough to challenge him."

Ranma plopped his lunch to the ground and stood up.  "Fine then," he said,
dropping into a ready stance.  "Let's get your silly challenge out of the
way here and now."

Ryoga pushed Akane to one side, hefting his umbrella again, "Fine by me,
Saotome."  Ryoga swung his umbrella back and made a strike at Ranma's head,
but Ranma wasn't there.  Ryoga looked up to see Ranma land on his umbrella.

"By the way," Ranma said, "I am no longer a Saotome."

"What?"  Ryoga said.  He didn't get an answer, as Ranma's foot connected
with his head, knocking him out.  Ranma landed easily as Ryoga's umbrella
fell to the ground beside the unconscious lost boy.

Akane stood there, astonished.  Finally, she managed to gasp, "Wow, you were
so fast."  She met Ranma's eyes.  "You're really good."  Ranma returned the
stare for a moment before flashing a small grin and walking back to his
lunch.

  **  **  **

Ukyo was preparing the shop for the dinner rush by herself when Akane and
Ranma stepped inside.  Ranma walked up to the counter and sat down, looking
over at Ukyo.  "How was the lunch rush?"

Ukyo took her eyes off Akane to smile at Ranma.  "Not bad.  Some of the
customers were kind enough to clear their own tables."  She looked back to
Akane.  "There's a lot of nice people in this town."  Akane shifted
uneasily, but bit her tongue.  Ukyo looked back to Ranma again.  "How was
school?"

"You were right," Ranma admitted.  "It was better to get out of here and do
something."

"Ranma accepted a challenge fight and beat the guy," Akane offered.

"It was a fluke."  Ranma dismissed the praise with a wave of his hand.  "He
was confused and I caught him off guard."

"Well."  Ukyo grabbed Ranma's hands over the counter.  "At least you're
definitely feeling better, then."  Ranma held her hands, nodding in silent
agreement.  "Ran-chan,"  Ukyo asked as she let his hands go.  "Could you go
in the back for me and clean up the dishes from lunch?  We're going to need
them for the dinner rush."

"No problem."  Ranma stood up, swinging his backpack under the counter.  He
stopped at the doorway to the back room and turned to face Akane.  Akane had
stood up to leave, but hesitated when Ranma turned around.

"Akane."

"Yes?"

"I.....uh........Thank you,........ for trying to stand up for me."

".........Anytime."

Ranma went into the back room and started cleaning the dishes.  Akane picked
up her pack and took a step towards the door.  Ukyo put her towel down to
talk, "Excuse me, Akane?"

Akane stopped, unsure what Ukyo wanted.  "Um, yes........?"

"Ukyo.  I wanted to thank you for helping Ranma out at school.  He really
needs a good friend to stick up for him."

"I felt I owed it to him."  Akane twisted the strap on her pack, not looking
at Ukyo.  "You see, our fathers have arranged Ranma to marry one of us - me
and my sisters.  We took it kind of hard.  Ranma seemed to have a harder
time than we did.  Not that I helped."

"Wait a minute, Ranma is engaged to one of you?"

"Actually, I think, to me, since we're about the same age."

"That can't be right."

Akane's anger flared.  "What do you mean, 'That can't be right'?!  You don't
think I know my own father?"

"No, that's not what I mean.  Mr. Saotome promised _my_ father that Ranma
and _I_ would be married.  He got my father's cart as a dowry."

Akane's anger disappeared to be replaced with shocked recognition.  "A cart?
An onkonomyaki cart?"

"That's right, sister.  What's it to you?"

"Well, it's funny.  Mr. Saotome told us about your father and the cart, but
he said he fought your father for food.  He didn't mention an engagement."

Ukyo became thoughtful.  "Well, that explains a little of why Ranma is so
angry at his father."

"Um..."  Akane bit her lip a moment before continuing, "Ukyo, you like
Ranma, don't you."

Ukyo nodded.  "What about you?"

"I... I dunno.  I misjudged him before."  Akane looked sorry for a moment
before brightening.  "He is definitely cute when he smiles."

Ukyo regarded Akane. "Well, when the time comes, I think we should give him
a chance to say how he feels."

Akane nodded before hefting her pack to her shoulder and walking out.

  **  **  **

"Saotome!"  Soun's voice rang through the Tendo home.  "Kasumi, have you
seen Mr. Saotome?"

Kasumi shook her head, noticing how her father addressed his old friend.
"No, father, not since dinner."

"If you see him, let him know I wish to speak with him."

"Hai." Kasumi bowed her head before going back into the kitchen.

Soun stepped out of the house to look in the dojo when he saw a wet panda
bear sitting next to the koi pond.  If he didn't know better, he would have
thought the panda was trying to whistle casually.  "Saotome," Soun addressed
the panda.  "I will speak with you at my table."  Soun walked back into the
house without looking back.  The panda sighed before getting up and
shuffling into the house.

As he stepped into the room, a hand appeared over him with a kettle of
boiling water.  The hand tipped the kettle to pour the water over the panda.
"Yeow!"  Genma yelled.  "It needn't be _that_ hot!"

Soun, without a word, lowered the kettle and placed it in the center of the
table before sitting down on the far side.  Genma sat down opposite.

Soun silently regarded his old friend before speaking, "Why did you put your
son through the Nekoken?"

Genma relaxed a little.  "He is a martial artist.  I was trying to help him
reach the next level-"

"What else happened at the Chinese Amazon village?"

"What?  Nothing, we-"

"Why did you promise your son to Ukyo after you had already promised him to
one of my daughters?"

"I...... they.....we were starving, " he stammered.  "That cart fed us for
days."

"Why did you leave Ukyo after accepting the cart?"

"Ranma said he liked okonomyaki better than-"

"You abandoned your future daughter-in-law because of the feelings of a
starving, young boy?"

Genma fell silent, mouth open.

Soun closed his eyes.  "I cannot tell you how to raise your own son, though
I must say that I am thoroughly depressed at the thought that any father can
treat his own child in such manner."  Soun gave Genma a chance to answer.
Genma remained silent.  Soun opened his eyes.  "You engaged your son to
another after you had promised to join our families for the sake of the
Anything Goes School."  Again, Genma offered silence.  "You have broken your
promise to me and my family.  I do not know who you are.  You are not my
friend.  Do not place a shadow over my home with your presence again."  Soun
turned to face away from Genma.

>From the top of the stairs, Akane watched Genma stand up and bow deeply to
Soun, his voice cracking, "I only hope to find my honor, and your
forgiveness, my old friend."  Genma then quietly walked out of the Tendo
home.

Akane failed to suppress a smile of hope.

  **  **  **

Akane could hardly wait for lunch the next day.  She thought she saw Ranma
actually look at her during class.  At least he wasn't staring out the
window anymore.  When lunch finally came, she quickly ran to the tree stump
where she and Ranma had lunch the day before.  Ranma wasn't there, but he
was sitting under the shade of another tree nearby.  She noticed with a
frown that his lunch this time was a miniature okonomyaki.  She didn't
notice that he had stopped eating to watch her approach, so she was a little
startled when he greeted her, "Hi, Akane."

"Hi, Ranma."  she smiled warmly.  "Mind if I sit with you during lunch?"

"No problem."

Akane sat down beside him, noticing that the toppings of his lunch were
arranged in some sort of decorative fashion.  It looked as though the
noodles had actually been placed to have a message, but all Akane could make
out was ".....nma".

"Ranma?"

"Um hm?"

"Ukyo.....made a nice lunch there for you, ne?" Akane added to herself, *I'm
such a chicken.*

"Yeah, she's helped me a lot since I came to Nerima."

"You.....must really.....like her."  *That's better.*

Ranma nodded.  "She's been a really good friend."

Akane let her breath go and tapped on her unopened lunch box.  "Ranma?"

"Um hm?"

"Father.....Mr. Saotome was banished from our home last night.  Father
refuses to speak to him anymore."

Ranma stopped eating and looked at Akane for the second time.  "Why?"

"Because we found out about Ukyo and the cart.  Because he broke your
engagement with me.  He broke his promise to my father."  Ranma stopped
eating to think about what he just heard.  "You know, " Akane offered, "you
are still welcome in our home."

Ranma put his lunch down.  "Akane, Ukyo saved my life.  She's been there for
me more than once.  She needs help with the restaurant she's inherited."
Akane blinked back tears as Ranma turned to face her.  "I can't stay with
your family .....because I can't leave Ukyo."

"I understand," Akane finally sniffled, before standing up and walking away.
She spied a trash can through her tears and tossed her unopened lunch box in
it as she walked past.

===========================================================
Chapter 4:  Attempts to prove Murphy's Law will always fail.

Ukyo hummed to herself as she prepared a special dinner for Ranma.  The song
reminded her of her father.  She expected Ranma to be back from school in a
few minutes, and the okonomyaki, complete with the message "S'ki da,
Ran-chan", was going to be perfect and fresh off the grill for him.  Just as
she was lifting the food off the grill with her spatula, Ranma walked
through the door.  He smiled as he walked over and sat down on a barstool.
"Hi there, U-chan."

"Hi there, Ran-chan."  Ukyo smiled as she slid the dish in front of him.  "A
special dinner I made just for you."

Ranma read the message on his dinner and his smile disappeared.  "Um, Ukyo?"

"Is something wrong?"  Ukyo tried not to frown, but there was a nagging
feeling in the back of her mind that told her she didn't want to hear what
he had to say.

"We need to talk...."

  **  **  **

Kasumi walked upstairs to tell Akane that dinner was ready.  She walked up
to the door, smiling a little at the little yellow wooden duck bearing the
English letters "Akane".  She could hear sobbing sounds coming from inside.
She paused for a second, took a deep breath, and knocked.  Between sniffles
and sobs, she heard Akane mumble, "Come in."  Kasumi slid the door open to
see her sister laying on her stomach in her bed.  Her hair was a little
mussed, and her eyes looked as though she had been crying nearly all day.
Kasumi fought back a tear at the sight of her sister.  She quietly stepped
across the room and sat down beside Akane.  She began to gently rub her
little sister's back.

"Oh, oneechan," Akane sobbed.  "I blew it."

"Is he....still angry about that night?" Kasumi asked quietly.

"I don't think so.  He's been nice to me sometimes at school."

"So, he doesn't hate you."

"No, he smiled at me."  Akane rolled over and pulled her knees up.  She
wrapped her arms around her legs and put her chin on her knees.  Kasumi
shifted closer to her sister, putting her hands back on Akane's shoulders.
Akane looked at Kasumi before muttering, "I told him about Mr. Saotome."

Kasumi silently continued massaging her shoulders, letting Akane tell her at
her own pace.  Akane took a deep breath.  "I told him he's welcome here, but
he told me that................. he can't leave ....Ukyo."  Akane buried her
face in her arms, shoulders heaving again.

Kasumi waited until Akane calmed down again.  "Akane."  She waited a second
for her sister to look up.  "Do you remember Mom being in the hospital?"

Akane stared into space for a moment before shaking her head.

Kasumi nodded.  "You were pretty young.  I remember you kept asking when she
would come home."

Akane nodded thoughtfully.  "I remember that."

"Even after she passed, you were still asking when she would be back."

"I remember not understanding what had happened.  Then there was some book I
read at school or something that made things click."

Kasumi smiled.  "I remember you coming home from school that day.  I was in
the kitchen, feeling lonely and sorry for myself.  I was angry that I was
going to be stuck doing chores in the house all the time instead of going to
school and meeting boys."  Akane snorted a little.  Kasumi smiled again,
then continued, "I wasn't even really making dinner.  I just threw some
stuff around, wondering what I was going to do with myself."

Akane smiled a little.  "I remember wondering why the kitchen was such a
mess."

"You walked in and asked if I needed help making dinner.  At first, I
thought you were asking me to teach you some household duties so you could
be a better wife."  Kasumi looked at Akane apologetically.  "I just laughed
at you."

Akane's brow gently furrowed.  "I don't remember that."

"I asked you why you wanted to bother, and you said that Father and Nabiki
were probably getting hungry."  Kasumi put her hands on Akane's arms.  "It
was then I realized you just wanted to help your family feel better."
Kasumi paused again, taking a deep breath.  "That was when I told myself
that my family's happiness and well being was more important to me than
anything else.  I decided that taking care of you and Nabiki and Father was
the greatest honor that I could wish for."

Akane let go of her legs, and held Kasumi's hands.  "I'm glad that something
good came out of that disaster."

Kasumi chuckled quietly a little.  "I remember Nabiki saying something
sarcastic about you trying to kill the rest of us off.  I was afraid that
that remark was going to break your heart.  Then I saw you laughing at the
joke."

"I cried the next few days.  I missed mom so much."

"We all did, but you had the strength that night to laugh at dinner, and
after you cried you had the strength to heal your heart and move on.  What
I'm trying to say is that no matter what happens between you and Ranma, I
know that you are strong enough to be able to bounce back."

Akane smiled, and hugged Kasumi, whispering, "Thanks, mom."

  **  **  **

Ukyo had mechanically handled the dinner rush.  A few concerned customers
said they hoped that she would feel better.  Ranma bussed tables quietly, or
stayed in the back room washing dishes.  As the last customer left, Ukyo
flipped the "closed" sign and locked the door.  Ranma stepped out from the
back room to clear more tables.  "Ranma," Ukyo's voice cracked, making him
stop in his tracks.  "This is driving my crazy.  We can finish up here in
the morning.  I need to know what you need to tell me."

Ranma silently nodded and followed her upstairs to the master bedroom.  Ukyo
sat down on the edge of her bed, and patted beside her.  Ranma hesitated.
He held up his finger, saying "Just a minute," before going back downstairs
for a moment.  Ukyo heard a muffled splash, and was even more curious when
Ranma came back in to her bedroom as a girl.

She just stood in the doorway for a moment before looking up at Ukyo.  "For
some reason, I find it easier to talk about mushy stuff when I'm a girl.  I
hope it isn't too weird for you."  Ukyo quietly shook her head, and Ranma
stepped over and sat down on the floor.

Ranma sat down cross-legged and grabbed her ankles.  She looked down at her
hands for a few seconds, gathering her thoughts.  She looked up to Ukyo and
spoke quietly, "One thing I learned from the old man on our training trips,
something other than martial arts, is that if you have something you want to
deal with regarding someone, you take care of it while you can.  You never
know when you'll be leaving, or they'll be leaving."  Ranma sighed.  "I was
reminded of that again last week."  Ukyo nodded, shedding a silent tear for
Nobu.

Ranma took a deep breath.  "I want to tell you how I feel about you."  Ukyo
wiped the tear from her eye and nodded again.  Ranma looked up.  "You saved
my life, I'll never forget that.  You've been there for me several times,
and I can only hope to be there for you sometimes as well."  Ranma looked
away to the wall before continuing.  "I....I...remember meeting you at your
father's cart.  I thought you were a boy.  We became such easy friends, I
didn't give it a second thought.  Even when you found me on the bridge, I
remembered you as a boy."

Ranma looked back at Ukyo and laughed a little.  "I must have really been
out of it.  It didn't click to me that you were a girl until we were
giggling about that boy asking me for a date last week.  Later, I was angry
with you because I felt you had been lying to me about who you were."  Ranma
swallowed hard before speaking again.  "Then, I realized that that was how
people must have felt when they found out about my curse.  I'd try to hide
it from them, afraid of what they might think.  And then they'd find out and
they'd be in shock, and they never looked at me the same way again.  But you
just accepted me, as I was.  You helped me as if I was part of your family."
Ranma got up on her knees and put her hands on Ukyo's knees.  "What I'm
trying to say is that even back at your father's cart, you were honest and
accepting and treating me like family.  And I felt like you were part of my
family.....like.......like a sister."

Ukyo closed her eyes, her face pale.  Ranma closed her eyes as well.  "I'm
very sorry, Ukyo, but I can't love you as more than a sister."  Ranma
watched helplessly as Ukyo took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh.
Suddenly, Ukyo's expression changed to confusion, but only for a moment,
before it was replaced with a kind of peace.

Ukyo opened her eyes and smiled at Ranma.  "When you said I was like family,
I began to realize that that's how I've been feeling for you.  I feel like
you are already family.  The whole engagement thing made me think that what
I felt was to have you as a fiancee, a boyfriend."  Ukyo put her hands on
Ranma's.  "I just realized that Mr. Saotome's disgrace means the engagement
is no longer valid.  Getting that out of my mind, I saw that I really see
you as....a brother.....er....sister."

Ranma giggled for a moment, then the laughter of two little women rang out
through the restaurant.

  **  **  **

Akane slowly stepped through the door at Nobu's.  The lunch rush had not yet
begun to pick up.  Ukyo looked up from her preparations and smiled
cheerfully.  "Konnichiwa, Akane.  Ogenki desu ka?"

Akane noted Ukyo's happy mood and shuffled over to a nearby barstool.  She
stared down at the counter, almost mumbling, "I haven't seen or talked to
Ranma much at school the past few days.  I stopped by right after morning
class to ask you how he was doing."

"He's been feeling much better," Ukyo chimed.  "We had a little talk a
couple of days ago.  Now we're just a happy little okonomyaki family."

"I see," Akane muttered.  "Sorry to bother you."

Akane quickly went back to school.  Ukyo allowed herself a few thoughtful
moments before returning to pre-lunch preparations.

  **  **  **

Akane slowly trudged down the sidewalk towards home.  She hadn't eaten lunch
when she got back to school.  She ignored her stomach's muffled rumblings
all through evening class.  She almost didn't hear the shy voice behind her
say, "Um....A.. Akane?"

She stopped and stared straight ahead for a few seconds, wondering whether
to dare to recognize the voice.  Slowly, she turned to see Ranma scratching
the back of his head.  "Ranma?  What is it?"

"Well.... I wanted to ask ...you...something....."

"Yes?"

"Well, I just wanted to see if.....you.... maybe
wanted.....uh.....sometime........maybe we could.......ya'
know.......um.......go see a movie....or something.....sometime?"

Akane's mouth hung open for a while, before she managed to get something
out, "What about Ukyo?"

Ranma looked confused for a moment.  "Ukyo?  Oh, yeah...heh.  She and I had
a talk a bit ago.  We're just good friends."

"She said you were family."

"Well, yeah.  She's my new sister, but we're also good friends."

Akane stared, trying to understand what she was hearing, not sure whether to
believe her ears.

"So, um, is it OK, then?"

Akane took a couple of deep breaths before closing her eyes.  "Yes,.....
yes, I'd love to!"

Ranma relaxed. , "Great.  I gotta work for dinner rush tonight, but maybe
after we can get some ice cream or watch a movie?"

"That would be just fine."

Ranma stood there, unsure what to do next.  "Great...... yeah.....um," he
held his elbow out, "walk you home?"

Akane gratefully took his arm, sniffing back a tear.  "Sure."



Epilogue:

"....Happy birthday to Ranma, happy birthday to you!"  The song could be
heard out on the street in front of the restaurant sporting a new sign
"U-chan's".

Ranma smiled as he looked around the crowd.  The Tendo sisters were
giggling.  A couple new friends from school were smiling and laughing.  One
of them was constantly looking over at Nabiki, who pretended not to notice.
Some of the regular customers had stuck around after dinner to bring good
tidings.  Ukyo sat next to him with a hand on his shoulder.  She was
laughing at his expression of the okonomyaki in front of him.  The toppings
formed a profile of Ranma's face, the seventeen candles outlining his hair,
complete with ponytail.

"I'm a chef, not an artist," she giggled.  "Now make a wish."

"I wish for...." Ranma closed his eyes for a moment.  "....I'm not gunna
tell ya'."  He leaned forward and quickly blew.  The flames and smoke went
quickly out, and a couple of the candles fell over from the gust.  Ranma
grabbed a knife and began to cut slices.

Ukyo pulled a letter out from her pocket.  She eyed it thoughtfully before
speaking, "Um, Ranma?  I got this letter this afternoon.  It's from a
Saotome Nodoka."

Ranma stopped cutting.  "From Mom?  Ukyo, could you serve out some slices so
I can read it?"

Ukyo held the letter out.  "No problem, atoto."

Ranma opened the envelope and looked over the note inside before reading
aloud:  "My dearest Ranma, After my husband's return, I feared that we had
lost our only son.  I visited with the Tendos to see if I could find out
more about what had happened during your trip.  I was glad to hear that you
have been taking good care of yourself lately.  It makes me very proud that
you have been able to overcome so much.  My only wish is that someday you
might forgive your father for his empty headed attempts to help you grow,
and that you might forgive me for allowing him to take you away.  We live
quietly with the hope that someday we will have the honor to be able to call
you 'son' again.  All my love, Saotome Nodoka."

Akane stepped over and gave Ranma a hug from behind.  Ranma put the letter
down solemnly.  He sighed and smiled at Ukyo and Akane.

Ukyo dropped her knife on to the table.  "Oh drat!  I forgot the ice cream!"

Ranma put a hand on her shoulder as he stood up.  "No problem, I'll get it."

Akane watched for a moment as he headed to the back room.  "Um, I think I'll
give him a hand."

"K'mon, Ukyo," Nabiki whined.  "We're starving."

"All right."  Ukyo finished serving out the slices.  It wasn't too long
before she was cooking up second helpings.  As she finished serving that
out, she looked over towards the back room.  "How long does it take for him
to find a box of ice cream?"

She walked through the door to the back room, noticing first that the door
to the freezer was closed.  On the other side of the room, she found Ranma
and Akane holding each other.  Ranma had just whispered something, and they
pecked each other a kiss on the lips.  They smiled at each other before
kissing again, this time a bit longer.  Akane put her arms up around Ranma's
neck, pulling him closer to kiss him a third time.  This time, it was much
longer, and Ukyo could see that their mouths were open.  She waited a few
seconds, then a few seconds more, then, just a little longer, before happily
chiming, "Hey guys, there's got to be an easier way to get some desert
around here!"

Ranma and Akane jumped.  Ranma took a few breaths before smiling back to
Ukyo.  "Yeah, but this way works for me!"

===============================================

The End.

Well, that about wraps it up for my first fanfic.  I've written stories
before, but I'm used to developing my own characters.  I figured making an
alternate timeline was relatively safe in case I stepped a bit far OOC.

I'm already forming an idea for a second episode.  Ryoga wants a re-match,
and Shampoo and Cologne get introduced...

C&C are welcome at searlsa@jps.net , flames will be ignored.
www.jps.net/searlsa

-Andy Searls