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The FFML Refugee List

OOC: This is the continuance of Lost Innocence.
Actually it is only part of it.  It started getting a
LOT longer than I expected so I am posting the first
part of this to show that I am writing and not just
vegging.  The rest is coming along fine.  For those
curious, the gender of Ranma's kid (or twins will be
possible) will be chosen either by dice roll, or if I
get enough mail convincing me of X choice.

*********

Ranma stood up from the toilet and shuffled to the
sink and ran some water to wash the taste of bile out
of her mouth.  She grabbed a towel and dried her face
off, without raising her eyes to meet the reflection
in the mirror.

The red-head padded lightly out of the restroom
hoping to get back before Akane noticed her gone.
Opening the door she almost ran into her mother and
Soun Tendo in the hallway.  All three of them froze.

"Mom," Ranma said finally.  "Whatcha doing here?"
She eyed the bundle on Nodoka's back cautiously.
Nodoka glanced once in the direction of her child's
gaze and then quickly handed the wrapped katana to
Soun.

"Are you feeling okay Ranma?" Nodoka asked, moving to
hug Ranma comfortingly.

"I've been sicker," Ranma said.  She hugged her
mother back, but she was hesitant.  Nodoka felt Ranma
tense up in her arms.  The older woman leaned back and
looked into her child's face, brushing her bangs back.

"I'm sure Ranma," she smiled slightly.  "Are you
feeling better?"

"I...think so," she said.

"Is Akane treating you well?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes," Ranma said with a hint of reproach.  "All of
them are treating me great."

"That is good," Nodoka said, she stroked Ranma's face
gently.  Ranma tightened more as the hand neared the
jaw line where the flesh curled down to her throat and
Nodoka pulled back, standing up, as she noticed.
"Excuse me, Tendo-san.  I shall join you shortly."

"Of course," Soun said leaving Nodoka alone with
Ranma.

"Come over here and sit with me for a moment," Nodoka
said, leading Ranma to one of the sofa's.  Ranma
hesitated but only for a moment.  The signs of
approaching dawn could be seen outside in the
courtyard, but it was still very early.

Nodoka's eyes briefly surveyed the thick pajamas Ranma
had thrown on when she got up to go to the toilet.
Soun had told her about Ranma's nightmares.  Before
they had been more frequent than the average, but
still only occasional.  Now, Ranma had nightmares
almost every night.  Soun, and occasionally Kasumi,
were her only source of information on the matter.
Akane and Nabiki outright distrusted her still, and
Ranma didn't talk about it with hardly anybody unless
forced.

Nodoka watched Ranma fold her arms across her chest,
and cross her legs as she sat down.  It was a
completely instinctive action that Ranma generally
only deviated from when she was sitting with Akane.
Nodoka had to keep herself from crying as she
carefully placed an arm around her child.

"What's up?" Ranma asked calmly.  She glanced at Soun
walking towards the door with a couple of packs.  "You
and Tendo-san goin' somewhere?"

"That...is not important right now, dear," Nodoka
said.  "I can't begin to know what you are going
through right now, Ranma, but I have faith that you
can survive it.  And you have help...if you allow it.
Akane is there for you, Kasumi and Nabiki...me...I
hope..."

"Mom..." Ranma started quietly, but Nodoka moved
ahead and interrupted her.

"And soon, you probably won't want to hear this right
now, but you should," she gingerly placed a hand on
Ranma's stomach.  She knew the signs, morning
sickness, swollen breasts.  Nodoka knew her child was
pregnant.  The red-head winced and almost seemed ready
to bolt, but made a visible effort to calm down.
"Soon you'll have a child of your own.  Someone that
depends on you for everything.  A little one that will
hold nothing but love for you.  You'll have to be
strong for that, avoid making the same mistakes your
parents made."

"You can be sure I ain't gonna engage the kid to
anybody," Ranma muttered quietly, looking down at her
stomach.  ~Not if I just kill it, like we plan.~
Nodoka mistook the source of the guilt in Ranma's
voice.

"It was not your fault, dear," Nodoka said quietly.
Ranma flashed her a look, seeming almost as if she'd
explode into tears right there before the expression
vanished.

~It ain't my fault I trusted that little pussy,~
Ranma thought to herself.  ~Ain't like she's drugged
me before.~  She added harshly to herself, but she put
on a slight smile for her mother's benefit.  "I know
that, Mom."  Nodoka looked at her doubtfully, but
assented.  Trying to force this issue any further
wouldn't accomplish anything.  Soun reappeared in the
door and cleared his throat.

"Well, I suppose we should be going then," Nodoka
said.  She stood up reluctantly, after hugging Ranma
once more.  "You should probably get back to bed and
get some sleep, Ranma."  Ranma noted the slight
emphasis on sleep and shuffled slightly in her seat.

"Ranma," Soun said sharply.  The red-head looked up
at the older man, watching him cautiously.  Soun
hadn't said much of anything to him since the...event.
 "I'm leaving my girls in your hands, I'm sure you're
capable of keeping them safe."  Ranma blinked in
disbelief.

"Uhh...sure, Tendo-san, I won't let anything happ'n
to them," Ranma said flustered.  ~He still trusts me
to protect them?  He doesn't think I'm too weak?~
Ranma stood up and bowed clumsily, still confused.

"We shall be gone for quite some time," Nodoka said,
shaking off her own surprise at the statement.  "But
we shall be back no later than two months from now,
excepting surprises, of course."

"Okay," Ranma smiled, hesitated a moment, and then
moved forward to hug her Mom goodbye.  "Whatcha doing
anyway?"

"Nothing to be concerned about yet, Ranma," Nodoka
said.  "Now off to bed, you need to rest more often."
Ranma wanted to press for more information, secrets
were usually bad things in her experience, but her
mother had backed off her, and she returned the favor.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, turning back towards her
room.  "Laterz."

"Oyasumi, Ranma," Nodoka waved back as Ranma shuffled
off to her and Akane's room.  As the red-head vanished
she turned to Soun.  "Thank you Tendo-san, that was a
surprise."

"Excuse me," Soun said, hefting a pack.  "I am not
sure what you are talking about."  Nodoka picked up
her own, smaller pack and smiled.

"Certainly, Tendo-san," Nodoka said quietly.

The sun began to peak over the horizon several
minutes later, and Kasumi awoke to begin her morning
rituals.  It would be another hour or two, with the
sun firmly above the Earth, when the rest of the
household would awaken.  At least that was her
experience, she was more than a little surprised to
discover a small hand-written note in her kitchen.

"Nodoka and I are gone to look for Genma," the note
read.  "It shall be sometime before we return."
Kasumi looked at the note perplexed, unsure how to
take the news.  She set the note in her pocket and
continued her morning preparations.  She would have to
worry about it later.

*********

Kodachi woke up and stared at the ceiling for several
minutes before sitting up and getting out of bed.  Her
alarm clock buzzed on for several minutes more as she
dressed and collected her school things.  She checked
the time once before stepping out of her room.

As the door shut behind her, Kodachi was reminded of
one of the disadvantages of a sound proofed room.
Sound couldn't get in, but neither could get out.  She
was left alone in the halls with the echoing sounds of
her footsteps, and those only because she chose to
make noise.

Kodachi walked down the empty halls trying to
remember the last time they had had guests in the
manse.  Real guests, not treasure seekers, not forced
to the place out of blackmail.  Not the weekly maid
service.

"Mother's last birthday," she said finally, coming to
the entrance to her rose garden.  "That nomadic family
of hers."  Despite the haughty tone of voice a small
smile graced her face.  "Such a loud group."

She walked through her garden, scanning for anything
that needed immediate attention.  This was her morning
ritual, something she had done virtually everyday for
several years now.  She always woke up with plenty of
time to check on the garden, even with the recent
addition to her ritual.

Kodachi came to a desk in the middle of garden and
sat down in front of the tools of her particular love.
 Sitting in the mortar and pestle's normal central
position was a single vial of a translucent red
liquid.  She picked up the sheaf of papers next to
that vial and checked it over yet again.

"The clan is dead," she whispered setting down the
document and picking up the vial.  "We just didn't
want to admit it."  Kodachi watched the liquid in the
vial swirl around.

Kodachi closed her eyes and imagined the sensation of
numbness as it would travel from the pit of her
stomach outward.  The cool feeling would spread
quickly.  Within minutes she would be painlessly
asleep, all alone among the roses.  This wasn't St.
Hebereke's locker room, she would have her privacy.

"This time..." she whispered.  The red swirl suddenly
brought to mind Ranma stumbling out of her brother's
room.  Red shirt torn, her hair as wild as usual.
Kodachi reluctantly set the vial back down, suddenly
glad that she had failed the first time.

"Midorigame must be hungry," Kodachi said suddenly.
"I should not be wasting my time with these fancies."

Kodachi stood up and strode to the moat house and
opened the meat locker inside.  As the giant alligator
came up to eat the steaks she was throwing at the
bank, Kodachi moved to lovingly scratch at the
reptile's scales.  She smiled at the pleasant sounding
growl the alligator elicited as she scratched.

Kodachi almost thought that perhaps the stupid animal
might possibly care for her.  Silly thought as it was.
 No she couldn't leave just yet.  Her garden needed
her, Midorigame needed her, and Ranma needed all the
friends she could get.

"You love your Mother, don't you pet?" Kodachi asked
the alligator as it ate.

Passing the alligator a few more steaks before
leaving, she smiled, trying to ignore the silence.
Kodachi strode gracefully down the street, not
noticing the figure that dropped out of the trees
behind her.

*********

Akane tensed as Hinako walked up to where Ranma had
fallen asleep.  The teacher, currently in her child
form, hadn't harassed Ranma for a while now.  Akane
prepared to move if it looked like Hinako was about to
try anything.  Across the room, Ukyou tensed for
action as well.

"Saotome-san." Hinako reluctantly jabbed at Ranma
with her pencil.  Hinako waited half a second before
deciding she wasn't waking up.  She took a deep
breath. "SAOTOME-SAN!"  Ranma snapped awake with a
gasp and flinched away from the hyperactive teacher.

"Teach?" Ranma asked nervously, rubbing her arm where
Hinako had been jabbing her.

Actually Hinako's habit of waking her up in class had
been something of a blessing recently.  It usually
came about when she was starting a nightmare.

"This is not a bedroom, Saotome-san," Hinako reminded
her.  "You might not care about your educational
future, but at least don't make hard for everyone
else.  We can barely think through your snoring."  The
three martial artists waited for Hinako to go for her
coin.

"Uh, sorry Teach," Ranma said nervously.

"Just try to pay attention," the child-like teach
stared up with begging eyes.  "Please."

Ranma nodded and swallowed nervously at Hinako's
unpredictable behavior when she was in her child form.
 The teacher, meanwhile, walked back to the front of
the class to continue teaching.  All three of the
martial artists breathed a sigh of relief.

*********

Ranma hesitated at the door to the small room and
turned to look at Nabiki questioningly.  She glanced
around again looking for anybody that she might
recognize.  Her current mode of dress would have made
it rather difficult to recognize her.  She had
acquired quite a few baggy, form-concealing clothes,
her Chinese clothes were mostly buried in a corner of
her drawer.

"You know, I haven't lost it since the duel," Ranma
said.  "Do you really think I need to do this?"

"I still go," Nabiki said simply.

"Why couldn't Akane come up with us?" Ranma asked.

"She'd be a comfort to us," Nabiki said.  "But would
you like one of these people bringing their family
along?"

"I guess not," Ranma sighed, her shoulders slumping.
Nabiki laid a hand on the red-head's shoulder and gave
a comforting smile.

"She's right outside the building if you need to
leave," Nabiki reminded her.  Ranma nodded once and
reached out to open the door.  She swallowed as the
door opened and she walked into a room with six other
women, all of them older than him by at least four
years.

"Are you here for the group?" one of them asked

"Umm, hello," Ranma said weakly, before any of them
could respond she continued.  "I uh...must have the
wrong room."    She turned around and saw Nabiki
closing the door behind her.

"Ranma, do you want me to introduce you?" Nabiki
asked.  Ranma sighed and turned back to the other
people in the room.  The red-head found a seat and sat
down looking down at her feet, apparently trying to
hide her face.  "Ranma?"  Ranma looked to her side as
Nabiki sat down next to her.

"If she just wants to listen," somebody started to
say.

"I don't know why I'm here," Ranma said suddenly.
"So I was a little hysterical there for awhile.  I'm
fine now."  Ranma stood up again and moved to the
door.

"Ranma, you can at least give it a try," Nabiki said,
watching her go.  Ranma glanced over her shoulder,
still trying to obscure her face.

"Hey, I just don't need it, okay," Ranma said.
"Thanks and all, but I'm going to see if Akane wants
to do anything, okay?"  She reached for the door
again.

"You're welcome back anytime," one of the women said.
 "Even if you just want to listen."  Ranma hesitated.

"Thanks," Ranma said and then left the room, almost
vanishing.

"Stubborn," Nabiki shook her head, and sat back down.

"She'll be back," one of the women said.  "I don't
think any of us were much different."

"Point taken," Nabiki said, remembering her own
reluctance.

*********

Akane wasn't overly surprised as she saw Ranma walk
out of the community building.  She stood up as Ranma
spotted her and made a beeline for where she was
sitting.  The red-head reached her quickly and circled
an arm around Akane as if she were a buddy.

"Hey Akane," Ranma said, leaning against the taller
girl in a definitely more than buddy manner.  "Isn't
there like a new movie out or something?"  Akane
looked down at the smaller girl and stroked her hair,
smiling.

"Sure, Ranma," she said.  "I'm sure there's
something."  Ranma nodded and started walking down the
street, releasing Akane and placing her hands in her
pocket.  Akane noticed the red-head averting her face
from anybody else she saw, and reached out to grab
Ranma's hand.  The red-head whipped to stare at the
hand in alarm and then glanced up at Akane and sighed
in relief.

"Thanks Akane," she said quietly, lightly squeezing
Akane's hand as they walked along.

*********

"Tadaima," Nabiki called out as she entered the
house.  She reached the family room in time to see
Kasumi come in from hanging the laundry.

"Welcome home, Nabiki," Kasumi said, crossing over to
her sister and placed an arm around her shoulders.
Nabiki colored a little in frustration as Kasumi sat
her down and her elder sister put herself down right
next to her.  "How are you feeling?"

"Kasumi..." Nabiki sighed and gave up, it was a
little nice to be pampered.  "Thanks for the thought.
Nothing much happened at today's meeting, except..."

"Except Ranma I suppose?" Kasumi asked.

"He didn't stay," Nabiki sighed.  "He walked into the
room and then turned around to run to Akane."  Nabiki
allowed her fa�ade to break and leaned her face into
her hands.   "Kami-sama, I feel like I'm watching
myself go through the whole thing again."

"I'm certain he'll be all right," Kasumi said.  "I
suppose it is lucky for him though, that we found out
about it so quickly."  Nabiki glanced at her sister,
noting the mild reproach in her voice.

"Yeah," Nabiki said finally.  "I was probably being
stupid, but with Ranma and everything else..." Nabiki
shrugged.  "It was easier to not say anything.  And I
was busy keeping an eye on Akane.  I didn't even think
about watching Ranma's back."

"None of you are to blame," Kasumi said gently.

"Kasumi, I fed that...that...bastard's obsession over
Ranma," Nabiki snapped, she turned to face Kasumi, her
eyes tearing up.  "I made MONEY off it."

"Nabiki..." Kasumi started.  Nabiki laughed once
amongst her sobs.

"You'd think I'd bring this up in the group," Nabiki
said, drying her eyes.

"And why don't you," Kasumi asked gently, hugging her
sister.

"I don't know," Nabiki said.  "Maybe they won't be as
forgiving as Ranma is.  Every time he looks to me for
protection..."  Nabiki shook her head.  "I'm not going
to let him see me breakdown, not yet."

"Nabiki," Kasumi said reproachfully.  "You do not
control everything, and you are not responsible for
everything."

"That's easy to say," Nabiki said, then released a
long breath.  "Has Ryouga gotten back from wherever he
disappeared to?"  Kasumi gave her a look at the
subject change, but let it pass.

"No, he has not been by recently," Kasumi said.  "Do
you miss him greatly?"

"There is nothing going on between me and RYOUGA!"
Nabiki snapped, Kasumi leaned away from her sister in
surprise.  She sighed.  "I'm losing my nerve here, I
think I need to take a bath to relax."  Kasumi smiled
and hugged her sister again.

"That is a good idea," Kasumi said.  "And then
perhaps a cup of tea."  Nabiki smirked.

"The Kasumi cure-all," Nabiki said dryly.  "A nice
cup of tea."

"It's not so much the tea itself," Kasumi said,
standing up.  Nabiki shrugged as she stood up,
completely drying out her eyes, and starting for the
furo.

"Where's Daddy?" she asked finally.

"Oh, Father and Auntie Saotome are tracking down some
leads as to Saotome-san's whereabouts," Kasumi
explained.

"Why even bother?" Nabiki asked snidely as she
continued toward the furo.

*********

Ukyou looked up at the sound of the bell on her door
and put on her customary smile.

"Welcome to Ucchans'," Ukyou said as she turned.  The
smile dropped a little as she recognized the new
customers.  "Hey guys, how are you two doing?"  Ranma
and Akane sat down at the counter at their usual spot.

"I'm doing fine," Ranma said smiling slightly.  Ukyou
watched the red-head pointedly and glanced at Akane.
Her friend and formal rival gave a non-committal
shrug.

"That's good to hear," Ukyou said, starting a pair of
okonomiyaki for her friends.  "By the way, I got some
stuff for you from the Nekohanten, been trying to get
it to you for a while now."

"Yeah," Akane said.  "I'd heard that there'd been an
accident of some sort."  Ukyou smirked at the
congratulatory tone in Akane's voice.

"What stuff are you talking about?" Ranma asked.
Ukyou bit her lip and glanced at her okonomiyaki
before turning around to grab a pair of boxes from
under her counter.  Akane blushed as she recognized
the boxes.  Ranma stiffened for a moment, and shut her
eyes briefly.  By the time either Akane or Ukyou had
turned to face the red-head, she was blushing as much
as Akane.

"Wait a minute," Akane said.  "Assorted curses?"
Ukyou blinked and turned away from the stove for a
moment.

"It's been opened," Ranma said and she glanced at
Ukyou in confusion.

"Oh, wait a minute," Ukyou said, depositing an
okonomiyaki each in front Akane and Ranma.  Then she
took the box and set it back under her bar and came up
with another box.  "Wrong box."  She laughed
nervously.

"What are you doing with the other box?" Ranma asked.

"I'm not planning on doing anything with it," Ukyou
said, starting on an okonomiyaki for one of her other
customers.  "But maybe they'll come in useful
sometime."

"Its already open," Akane pointed out.

"Your food'll get cold, Akane," Ukyou said firmly.
Akane narrowed her eyes and shivered at something she
felt in Ukyou's tone.  Then Ukyou's manner relaxed.
"I wanted to see what the assorted curses were,
there's stuff like hawk, snake, and wolf.  A bunch of
things.  Oh yeah, there was this too."  She set
another lone packet of instant nannichuan on the
counter.

"Thanks Ucchan," Ranma said reluctantly.  Ukyou
glanced at Ranma and frowned at the half-eaten
okonomiyaki in front of the red-head.

"Hey, Sugar, not hungry?" she asked.  Ranma looked
down at the okonomiyaki and flashed a small smile,
before starting to eat again.

"Sorry, you just surprised me," Ranma said.  Ukyou
arched an eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

The three chatted on safer issues for several
minutes.  Ranma tried to keep up with the
conversation, but she kept finding herself phasing
out.  After some time she was hearing the voices, but
not really understanding what was being said.  Then,
despite all her attempts to fight against it, she
finally fell asleep, leaning against Akane.

Ukyou sighed wistfully as Ranma passed out against
Akane's shoulder.  That could have been her Ranma was
leaning against, if it weren't for Tatewaki and
Shampoo.  Or at least she could have told herself that
if she hadn't just handed over proof of Akane's love
for Ranma.  She was Ranma's best friend, and she had
to settle for that.

"I've seen him do that in class," Ukyou said out
loud.  "But not while eating.  What's up?"

"He tries not to sleep," Akane said sadly.
"Nightmares."  She didn't have to say what the
nightmares were about.  "He fades out every once in
awhile.  He doesn't dream when he does this."  Akane
circled her arm around the sleeping red-head, a
further proof against Ranma falling off her stool.

"Bastards," Ukyou spat harshly.  "Both of them."
Akane nodded silently, stroking Ranma's hair.

"We should go," Akane said.  "Nabiki'll be home by
now and they'll start to get worried about us."  She
shook Ranma awake lightly, wishing she didn't have to.

"Huh?"  Ranma muttered, blinking awake.

"Come on, Ranma," Akane said.  "We should get home."
Ranma stretched out and nodded, stepping off her stool
lightly.

"Thanks for the food Ucchan," Ranma said waving.

"Anytime, Ranchan," Ukyou smirked.  "Both of you are
always welcome here."  As Akane and Ranma walked out
of the restaurant Ukyou turned her attention to the
television in the corner of her restaurant.

"...the body was discovered in these woods,
apparently killed by some sort of wild beast," the
reporter was saying.  Ukyou paled slightly as she
recognized the scene and the reporter continued to
ramble about how the damage to the corpse had made
quick identification impossible.

"No way," Ukyou whispered before returning her
concentration to her cooking.

*********

"Tadaima," Akane and Ranma called out as they entered
the Tendo house.  Akane and Ranma slipped off their
shoes and walked into the living room, setting down
the bag they had gotten to hide the boxes of insant
nannichuan.  Kasumi looked up from where she was
preparing the table for dinner and smiled.  Kasumi
walked over to join them, still smiling gently.

"You're just in time for dinner," Kasumi said, she
gently circled an arm around Ranma and lead him to the
table to sit down.  Ranma turned back a helpless
glance at Akane, who tried not to look amused.  She
sat down next to the red-head a moment later as Kasumi
made a quick trip back to the kitchen.

"Does she have to do that?" Ranma whispered to Akane.

"If you asked her," Akane answered back.  "I'm sure
she'd stop."  Ranma considered this for a moment and
then shook her head.

"Nah," Ranma said.  "I couldn't do that to her."

~And maybe you need a little mothering,~ Akane
thought behind her answering smile.

"So what did you two do all day?" Nabiki asked as she
entered the room.  As her middle sister sat down at
the table across from them, Akane glanced around,
noting her father's absence.

"We went to a movie, stopped at Ucchans', nothing
much," Ranma said, not looking Nabiki in the eyes.
Nabiki rolled her eyes slightly.

"One of these times I'll have to join you guys,"
Nabiki said pleasantly.  "If you don't mind that is."

"Maybe you could double with Ryouga then," Kasumi
said as she stepped out of the kitchen and started
setting down dishes.  Nabiki slapped her hand to her
face in frustration.

"Hey, where's dad?" Akane asked.  Kasumi opened her
mouth to answer while Nabiki shook her head irritably.

"Mom and Tendo-san left this morning," Ranma said
simply.  "Said they plann'd to be back by two months."

"Where in the world would they be going for two
months?" Akane asked irritably.

"Don't know, Tendo-san said I should protect you guys
though," Ranma said in a neutral manner.

~Daddy pulls off a good one,~ Nabiki thought.  Akane
and Kasumi seemed equally surprised.

"What?" Ranma asked nervously glancing around.

"It is just a surprise," Kasumi said.  "Father is
usually rather obsessive about protecting us himself.
He has a lot of faith in you."  She emphasized the
last statement strongly and watched Ranma.

"Yeah," Akane agreed.  "I didn't think he could do
that."  Ranma shuffled nervously under the scrutiny
and looked at the food.

"Can we just eat please?" Ranma asked.

*********

Ranma leaned against Akane-kun, catching her breath.
The red-head shivered slightly in his arms, her face
buried in the crook of Akane's neck.  The act of
making love with Akane, in either form, always
exhausted her.  Too much went on for her to simply
shove it aside with any meditation technique.  This
was perhaps the first time she hadn't fallen asleep,
passed out was a more accurate term, immediately
afterwards.  She wondered if that was an improvement.

Ranma wondered if anybody knew how near a thing her
control was.  She had so far managed to keep memories
from overwhelming her.  If she knew for certain that
this was all due to her strength of will she would
have been a lot more confident.  Unfortunately she had
a certain drug's side effects partially to thank for
her capability to tolerate sex.

Akane held the redhead and stroked her hair as they
both caught their breath.  The dark-haired boy had
also noted that Ranma had not yet fallen asleep.  He
couldn't miss the mild shivering coming from her
spouse.  He leaned down to kiss the side of Ranma's
head, the red-head turned to face him and smiled in
response.

"I'm fine," Ranma said.  Her face scrunched in
confusion as Akane's look turned doubtful.  "What?"

"I didn't ask," Akane said simply.

"You didn't?" Ranma said.  "But..." She shook her
head clear.  "I'm fine, I am FINE."  She buried her
head back into Akane's shoulder.

Ranma looked up over Akane's shoulder and caught a
glimpse of the empty packet of nannichuan.  She
frowned.

"I don't trust those things," she said.  Akane
glanced in the direction she was staring and saw the
same packet.

"Ranma...are you really okay with this?" Akane asked
hesitantly.  Ranma sighed in resignation as she
realized that she hadn't managed to change the
subject.

~Everything's the same subject now,~ Ranma thought.
~Ranma needs help, Ranma's weak.~

"Ranma?" Akane repeated, the red-head shook her head
clear.

"I..." Ranma stopped and took a deep breath.  "I just
don't trust 'em.  They're Jusenkyo."  Ranma recalled
what her mother had told her about a child that would
depend on her.  She turned to Akane, looking at her
spouse nervously.  "Ya know we probably don't need
'em..." Akane shifted uncomfortably as she considered
where that was going.

"Do you want to have Kuno's baby?" Akane asked,
hesitantly.  Ranma turned her face away from him.

"I...guess not," Ranma said.  Then she stayed quiet.
Akane held her until she fell asleep and then quickly
went for some hot water, feeling sick for some reason.

*********

Akane blearily walked into the bathroom to wash up
for the morning.  Ranma was still asleep, and she
intended to let her stay that way as long as her
dreams and time would let her.  Akane yawned as she
lifted the wash bucket over her head, and felt a now
familiar change.

"Oh no," Akane whispered, noticing his deeper voice.
He hastily scooped some hot water out of the furo and
poured reversed the change.  Then hesitantly she took
the spray nozzle and poured cold water over...himself.
 "Oh hell, no!"

Akane reversed the change again and quickly got
dressed.  She rushed back to her room and started
looking over the packets over Instant Nannichuan.

"What the hell is going on here," Akane muttered,
glancing at Ranma to make sure he didn't wake up.  She
picked up one of the packets and read it over
carefully.  She growled angrily as she found the fine
print.

"Something wrong?" Ranma muttered.

"No, no," Akane said hastily, glad that Ranma
probably wouldn't notice how agitated she was.  "Just
go back to sleep."

"I need to do my katas," Ranma said wearily, without
enthusiasm.  Akane sobered down at the sound.  Ranma
was still training regularly, no sparring, but she
still filled the day with as much training as she
could.  The difference was that she wasn't taking much
pleasure from it any more.

"Okay," Akane said.  "Uh...I need to talk to Nabiki
about something.  Are you okay?"  Ranma nodded as she
sat up and stretched.

"Yeah..." Ranma suddenly looked uncomfortable and
stood up, walking quickly out the door.  "Gotta go."
Ranma said the last shakily.  Akane heard the bathroom
door open and close a moment later.

Akane shook her head and grabbed a blouse and pair of
slacks.  She quickly redressed in the more androgynous
clothes before moving towards the dining room and
finding Nabiki yawning as she ate breakfast.

"Nabiki," Akane whispered, a fact that attracted her
sister's morning befuddled attention.

"Why are you whispering?" Nabiki asked.  "Is
everything okay with Ranma?"  Her older sister blinked
and grimaced.  "And why aren't you wearing your
uniform?"

"This isn't a problem with Ranma," Akane said
hastily.  "Not yet anyway.  Read the fine print."  She
handed Nabiki the packet of Instant Nannichuan, and
her sister frowned before reading it.

"Will not permanently cure cursed customer, 5% chance
of making un-cursed customer into cursed customer?!"
Nabiki gasped, Akane shushed her.  She tossed the
packet away as if it were a snake.  "Gah.  Wait,
blouse and slacks.  Oh no, Akane...how...how did you
think to check for this?"  Akane's face fell.

"I...I think I'm cursed," Akane said.  "When I washed
up this morning, I changed.  What do I do Nabiki,
Ranma will think its his fault.  He kept saying he
didn't trust the packets."

"You don't think you're going to keep this secret do
you?" Nabiki asked.  "You're together all the time,
and you're probably a water magnet now too."

"What is happening?" Kasumi asked as she came in with
a plate for Akane.  "Akane, why aren't you in your
uniform?"  Akane glanced at Nabiki with a stricken
look and sighed.

"I don't want to wear a dress in case I," Akane
paused.  "Change."

"You mean what Nabiki shouted earlier?" Kasumi asked.
 Akane nodded.  "Does Ranma know?"

"Not yet," Akane said.

"Then you should tell him before he finds out on
accident," Kasumi said.  "Right now."  Akane nodded
resignedly.

*********

Ranma pulled her pajama bottoms back up to her waist
as she stood up from the toilet.  She frowned,
everything just seemed to run through her recently.
She had mentioned it to Kasumi and the older girl had
told her that it should go away soon, and then had
stopped talking about the issue.

"Ranma?" Akane called out hesitantly from the other
side of the door.

"I'm here," Ranma said.  "I just had to take a piss."
 Akane opened the door and walked in, wearing slacks
and a blouse.  There was a scared expression on her
face that rose Ranma's hackles.

"There's something I need to tell you," Akane said,
she looked down.  "Or show you."

"S...show me?" Ranma said nervously.  "Show me what?"
 Akane hesitantly walked to the spray nozzle and held
it over her head.  Ranma started shaking her head even
before Akane turned the water on and became a man.

Ranma's legs fell out from under her and she fell to
the ground.  She was staring at Akane trying to deny
the evidence of her eyes.

"You were right about the packets, Ranma," Akane said
quietly.

"A...ka...ne?" Ranma gasped.  She slumped and started
shaking.  "I'm sorry...I...I...Oh my..."

"No, Ranma, No!" Akane said quickly, he moved forward
and grabbed Ranma's hands, rubbing them comfortingly.
"You didn't trust them, remember?  I cursed myself,
not you."

"But..." Ranma protested.  "But...ih...ih...it's my
fault..."

"Don't say that," Akane insisted.  He smiled
hesitantly, "At least this makes some things easier."
His amusement faded as Ranma winced.  "I'll need some
new clothes though."

"If you had never met me," Ranma whispered, looking
down.  Akane sighed in frustration.

"Would you listen to me!" Akane yelled.  Ranma curled
in on herself and closed her eyes, one hand raised
over her head.

Akane frowned, angry with himself for the slip.  Ranma
did that on all the few times he lost his patience and
yelled.  He wished that he had gotten a shot at
Shampoo for doing this to...

Akane felt a chill as he finally recognized the
position.  Ranma had been doing that for a long time
now.  That reaction had started long before Tatewaki
had raped her.

After a few moments Ranma cracked open an eye and
relaxed a little.

"You're not mad?" Ranma asked hesitantly.

"Ranma, what have I done to you?" Akane asked
quietly.  "Oh kami, I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Ranma blinked, confused.  Akane shook his head
clear and hugged Ranma.

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said.  "I promise, I'll
never hit you again.  I haven't for a while now, have
I?"

"No," Ranma said hesitantly.  "What do you mean
sorry, I...I...just cursed you."

"Listen, Ranma," Akane said.  "I'm not happy by any
means that I'm cursed, but it is.  Not.  Your.
Fault."  Ranma seemed hesitant to accept that.  Akane
smiled slightly and brushed at Ranma's bangs.  "Let's
skip school today, I need a new wardrobe."  He glanced
at the tight sleeves.  "Clothes that fit."

"Okay," Ranma agreed quietly, looking confused still.
 "I...just need to do my katas."  Akane smiled,
looking on the verge of crying and hugged Ranma
tightly again.

*********

Akane came into the kitchen timidly while Kasumi was
putting together her own breakfast.  She did a double
take when she saw Akane standing in the hallway.
Akane saw a brief flash of worry in Kasumi's eyes
before she spoke.

"Akane?" Kasumi asked.  Akane nodded and Kasumi
relaxed, before looking over her...brother.  "Perhaps
you should borrow some of Ranma's old clothes for the
time being.  Those fit a little too closely."

"Kasumi," Akane said hesitantly looking toward where
the dojo was.  "How long has Ranma been afraid of me?"
 Kasumi sighed and set down her cooking.  She handed
Akane the kettle she had been heating for tea.

Akane stared at the kettle for a moment and sighed
resignedly before dumping the contents over himself,
bringing the welcome sensation of shrinking back into
herself.  She stared at the kettle again and slumped.

"You have a quick temper, Akane," Kasumi said
soothingly, wrapping an arm around her sister.  "But I
don't think it is as serious as you believe."

"I yelled, he got ready to be hit," Akane protested.
"It was a reflex."

"Ranma has been jumping to that reaction somewhat
quicker than before," Kasumi admitted.  "But Ranma is
likely to be...moody right now.  What Kuno did only
makes it much worse."

"I'm not going to hit him again," Akane said.

"That is a good idea, Akane," Kasumi agreed.  "As
long as you don't make the same mistake Ranma does."

"What do you mean?" Akane looked to Kasumi confused.

"At some point he is going to have to train you,"
Kasumi said.  "How effective will that training be, if
neither of you is willing to attack the other?"

"Oh," Akane slumped further.  "I don't want him to be
afraid of me."  Kasumi hugged her sister close.

"It will be all right, Akane," Kasumi said.  "How are
you?"

"How am I?" Akane repeated.  "What do you...oh the
curse."  She sighed.  "I...don't know, I've gotten
kind of used to it already, but I've only really done
one thing as a guy.  It was under control before."
Akane blushed and looked away.

"Oh my," Kasumi blushed herself and then cleared her
throat.  "And now?"

"I don't know what it'll be like when I change outside
the house," Akane admitted.  "I guess we'll see today,
won't we?"

"Today?" Kasumi repeated.  "I didn't think you'd be
going to school yet."

"I'm not," Akane said.  "I'm doing some shopping for
my guy form."  Kasumi nodded.

"As long as you're out," Kasumi led Akane out of the
kitchen to the phone, and picked up the receiver.  "I
believe it is time for Ranma to be tested, perhaps a
general check-up as well.  It would be a good idea for
Her husband to be there for that.  As young as he is
there will be enough stigma already."  Akane almost
protested, but Kasumi was already dialing the doctor's
office.

"It'll be a woman doctor right?" Akane asked,
resignedly.  Sometimes Kasumi could be rather
aggravating when she just went ahead with things.

"Of course," Kasumi said.  "I do not want Ranma to be
any more uncomfortable than necessary.  Nabiki gave me
a name for this."

*********

Akane-kun looked down to where Ranma was holding onto
his arm and smiled a little.  The redhead usually
spent anytime they were on the sidewalks looking down
and almost hiding behind Akane whenever someone made a
cat call or comment.  After the first mile, however,
she began to look up from the ground.  By the next
half-mile they were walking more or less like any
other young, if morose, couple.

"You're feeling better," Akane said hopefully.  Ranma
looked up and nodded.

"Nobody's looking at me," Ranma said, smiling a
little.

"What?" Akane asked.  "I don't understand what you
mean."

"Usually people stare at me," Ranma said, smile
fading.  "Disgusted ya know," she looked down again.
"Like they know what I did."  Akane frowned at the
comment.  He brushed Ranma's wild hair back over her
ear, and hugged her.  Ranma leaned her face forward
into Akane's chest, and sobbed once.

"You didn't do anything," Akane whispered rubbing
Ranma's back.  "You keep saying that you did, but you
didn't."

"Why do they stare at me?" Ranma asked.  Akane
laughed nervously and kissed the top of her head.  He
glanced around for anybody within hearing.

"Ranma, we've both been women," he said.  "And you've
never had much of a poker face."

"Huh?"  Ranma looked up.  "What's that mean?"

"The people who were staring," Akane said.  "They can
tell we're...intimate."  He saw Ranma was still
staring at him confused and sighed.  "They thought we
were lesbians."  Ranma's eyes widened.

"Oh!"  Ranma blinked.  She sighed and looked down
embarrassed.  "I'm being stupid again."

"Don't let a few idiots get to you," Akane said
encouragingly.  "Come on, I'd like to get something to
wear before we go to the doctor's office."  Ranma
shivered at the mention of the appointment.  She
looked at Akane, wearing one of her Chinese outfits
and felt another chill run down her spine.

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Ranma agreed.

*********

Ranma waited just outside the dressing room, keeping
her eyes moving while she waited for Akane.

"How's this look," Akane-kun asked as he stepped out
of the dressing room wearing a sky blue and forest
green outfit with a small black vest.

"Umm, it's a little girly," Ranma said quietly.
Akane nodded in response.

"Well, that's sort of the point," Akane said.  "I
want clothes that will look nice when I'm a woman too,
I'm not going to be a guy if I can help it."

"Then why are you trying them on as a guy?" Ranma
asked, squinting with a confused look.

"So that I know they fit of course," Akane said.  "So
does this look okay?"

"I guess," Ranma said.

"How about when I'm a woman?" Akane asked.  Ranma
shuffled a little uncomfortably.

"You're always nice looking anyway," Ranma said.

"Doomo arigato, Ranma," Akane said brightly, bringing
a smile to the redhead's face as well.  "Now I just
need to try a few more outfits."  Ranma sighed in
resignation as Akane went back into the dressing room.

*********

"Saotome Ranma," the nurse called.  Ranma snapped to
look nervously at her smiling face.  Akane, patted her
hand and smiled encouragingly.  "Saotome-san, it is
time for your appointment."

"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked.  Ranma looked at
him wide-eyed and nodded a little frantically.  "Are
you sure?"

"No," Ranma said desperately.  Kasumi's description
of what an examination involved was quite literally
the stuff of Ranma's nightmares.  The nurse walked
around to where they were sitting, drawing Ranma's
attention to her.

"Don't worry, dear," the nurse said, soothingly.
"You'll be fine."

"H...She doesn't seem to be ready," Akane said,
putting a protective arm around Ranma.

"I...I...can do this," Ranma said.  She stood up
hesitantly, glancing at Akane.  The nurse smiled
reassuringly and gestured for Ranma to go through the
open door.  Akane gave the nurse a warning look as
Ranma nervously walked into the back.

"Don't worry, sir," the receptionist said.  "They'll
take good care of your girlfriend."

"We're married," Akane said.

"Oh," the nurse said surprised.  "My apologies, you
both seem rather young."

"It was arranged," Akane explained.

"People still do that?" the nurse asked.

"Our parents are old-fashioned, but I would have
married Ranma without that."  He smirked.  "Actually,
I might have married Ranma quicker without the
arranged marriage."  The nurse chuckled in response to
the joke.  Akane glanced at the door Ranma had
disappeared behind.

"She'll be fine, sir," the receptionist assured her.

*********

"Good Afternoon, Ranma," the doctor said as she
entered the room, reading over the forms Ranma had
filled out while waiting.  "I'm Doctor Inohara.  I'll
be performing your exam and the pregnancy test."  She
looked up from the form to get a look at Ranma.  "I'd
like to ask a couple of questions first if you don't
mind."

"Wh...what do ya want to know?" Ranma asked, sitting
on a stool with her legs crossed and her arms across
her chest.

"Is this your first time," she asked, examining
Ranma's position.  The redhead nodded.  "Has anybody
explained what happens?"

"Kasumi," Ranma answered, staring at the table.  "My
sister-in-law.  She...uh...she did."

"Okay, good," the doctor walked calmly towards her.
"You know about doctor-patient privilege right?"

"Ummm...what's that?" Ranma asked.

"It means that it is illegal for me to tell anything
I learn about you as your doctor," she explained.
"Unless you say I can.  If I do tell something, I can
lose my license, okay?"

"So?" Ranma asked nervously.  "Why do I need to know
that?"

"I recognize your address," she said, gesturing with
the clipboard before setting it lightly on the
counter.  She approached a little closer and patted
Ranma's arm soothingly, noticing the redhead flinch.
"My other patient who lives there is...a special case,
and I assume she referred you to me.  So I have to ask
if you are a special case as well."

"Special case?" Ranma repeated.  Then she paled and
slumped.  "Is your other patient...Nabiki?"  The
doctor sighed and nodded resignedly.

"Yes, that's her," Dr. Inohara said.  Ranma looked
down at the floor.

"Yeah, I'm a...special case...too," Ranma said
quietly.

"I'm sorry," Inohara said soothingly.  She drew out a
small business card from a drawer in the counter.
"Has Nabiki already given you one of these?"  Ranma
looked at the card and nodded.

"Yeah...Umm...were you...umm..." Ranma stuttered.

"No," Inohara answered.  "I just keep these on hand.
I had hoped to never need them.  Are you okay to do
this?  First time is bad enough."

"Is that stuff about cancer and diseases true?" Ranma
asked.

"Yes, those are possibilities," Inohara said.  Ranma
sighed and shivered.

"I don't get sick," Ranma said, she took a breath.
"But I didn't lose either."  She stepped down from the
stool and started toward the table as if approaching a
guillotine.

"If you want I can get a sedative for the exam," the
doctor suggested.  Ranma's head flashed up and she
looked directly at the doctor.

"No drugs!" Ranma insisted.

"Is that what happened?" Inohara asked, Ranma's panic
faded back into shame.  "Did the man who raped you
drug you?"

"Somethin' like that," Ranma said quietly.  The
doctor patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"No drugs then," Inohara said, smiling comfortingly.
"Are you ready?"

"Hai," Ranma said softly.

*********

Akane studied his hands.  He had done this before
when he had first started using the instant nannichuan
packets.  He had never expected, when he started, that
he would be stuck with those hands for longer than a
year or two.  Now, here he was, dressed in male
clothes and waiting in the lobby of a gynecologist for
his wife.

The world had gone right past shades of gray and just
flipped into a negative of itself.  He had an image of
Ranma as a meek little housewife and shivered.  He
couldn't do that to Ranma, Ranma was meant to fly not
be kept in a cage.

Akane looked forlornly at the door to the doctor's
office and continued waiting.

*********

"Everything seems healthy," Inohara said quietly
after running all the tests.  Ranma was sitting on the
table, arms wrapped around her knees.  "How are you
feeling?"  Ranma shot her a look.

"Like shit," Ranma snapped.  Ranma fumed for a couple
of seconds before calming down again.  "Gomen ne,
I...I..."

"I'm not offended, Ranma" the doctor said.  Then she
pulled a stool over to sit next to the redhead and
leaned forward cautiously.  "There is one more thing."

"I know," Ranma said, ashamed.  "I'm gonna have a
kid."

"You already knew that," Inohara said surprised.
Ranma nodded.

"We just needed to know for sure," Ranma said.

"Have you considered your options," the doctor asked.

"Yeah, sort of," Ranma said.  She shuffled
uncomfortably.  "Can I go now?"

"If you want," the doctor said.  "But I would like to
talk to you and your family about this sometime soon."

"Pop left when he heard," Ranma said, looking down.
The doctor's face darkened slightly when Ranma said
that, but the redhead wasn't looking.  "And Mom won't
be back for a couple of months.  I think she went
looking for Pop."

"Do you have any other family?" Inohara asked.  "The
young man you came in with?  Nabiki maybe?"

"Yeah," Ranma said.  "But I just want to go home
right now."  The doctor smiled comfortingly.

"We're done for today then," the doctor said.  "Let
me just give you some brochures and information
packets to read, okay?"  Ranma nodded before sliding
off the table and shuffling to the door, keeping the
doctor in her sight as she moved.

*********

Akane stood up as Ranma walked out of the doctor's
office with the doctor.  The redhead was clutching a
collection of brochures and assorted free literature.

"If you decide you need one, I am an obstetrician as
well," the doctor was saying.

"What's that?" Ranma asked, confused.

"It's a doctor that handles pregnancies, Ranma,"
Akane explained as she walked up to her.  The redhead
sidled close to him and grabbed Akane's hand tightly.

"Oh," Ranma said.  The doctor turned to look at
Akane, investigating him.

"I hope to see you both again, soon," the doctor
said.  She let the world fade off, inviting Akane to
introduce himself.

"Saotome Akane," Akane said.  "I took Ranma's family
name when we married."  The doctor looked at her
surprised.

"You're both a little young," the doctor said.

"Our parents arranged it," Ranma said a little
angrily.  Then she muttered under her breath.  "Only
good thing Pop ever did."  The muffled comment brought
a smile to Akane's face, banishing the hurt look from
the first angry comment.

"I see," the doctor said.  "I'll make an appointment
for you two weeks from now, this same time. is that
fine?"

"Hai," Akane said.  "We can do that."

"Good," Inohara said.  "No more of these surprise
appointments then."  She smiled to show she was
kidding.  "Take care of her, she's a brave woman."

"More than you know, doctor," Akane said, she hugged
Ranma tightly.

"Can we go home now?" Ranma asked, clutching at
Akane's hand.

"Okay, Ranma" Akane said nodding.  "Doomo arigato,
doctor, we'll see you two weeks from now."  He walked
out with Ranma walking quietly by his side.  Doctor
Inohara watched them leave and sighed resignedly.

*********

"Tadaima!" Akane called out as he entered the genkan
with Ranma.  They slipped off their shoes and walked
into the house quietly.

"O-kaeri," Kasumi called back.  The sound of
footfalls was heard as they entered the living room,
and they turned to see Nabiki walking down the stairs.
 She stopped when she saw Akane, and tensed until she
recognized Akane's male form from the marriage.

"Hey, little...brother," Nabiki said smirking.  "Are
you doing okay?"

"I'm doing okay," Akane said, frowning and blushing a
little at Nabiki's teasing.  He turned to Ranma.  "I'm
going to get some hot water, okay."  Ranma nodded and
moved to sit down on the couch.  Nabiki came off the
stairs and sat down across from Ranma.

"Are you okay?" Nabiki asked quietly.  "You went to
my doctor right?"  Ranma nodded, and pulled her knees
up under her chin.

"Yeah," Ranma said.  "She figured out you sent me."
Nabiki patted Ranma's shoulder.

"She's..." Nabiki hesitated.  "She's a gentle touch.
Better that than some random doctor just doing a job."
 Ranma shivered at the thought.  Akane walked back in,
female again, and adjusting her clothes to her new
body size.  Kasumi came in behind her.

"Ranma, are you sure you're okay?" Akane asked as she
saw Ranma's position.  Akane sat down next to Ranma,
and the redhead quietly climbed into her lap.  Akane
wrapped her arms around Ranma and held her lovingly.
Ranma blushed furiously, but smiled shyly for a
moment.

"Yeah, I didn't like it at all," Ranma said.  "But
sh...she was really..."  Ranma glanced at Nabiki and
nodded once.  "...umm...gentle about it."

"What did the doctor say?" Kasumi asked.

"Everything's healthy," Ranma said.  She leaned her
head into Akane's arm and sighed as the other girl
kissed her hair.  "A...and Cologne was right.  I'm..."
Ranma's hands circled her stomach.  "I'm pregnant."
Akane hugged Ranma a little tighter.

"We're supposed to go back in two weeks to talk to
the doctor," Akane said.  "She gave us some
brochures."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Kasumi asked.

"She said she wanted to talk to my family," Ranma
said.

"Do you want to talk about it right now?" Kasumi
asked.  Ranma shook her head and cuddled in tighter
with Akane.

"I'm tired," Ranma said.

"That's understandable," Kasumi said.  "Let's have
dinner and then you can get some sleep."  Ranma winced
at the mention of sleep, but relaxed as Akane held her
tight.

"Hai," Ranma said quietly.  Akane kissed the side of
her head, and Ranma smiled shyly before looking up and
kissing Akane's cheek.

*********

"Stealing my look, Sugar?" Ukyou asked as Akane and
Ranma walked through the gates.  Akane was wearing a
boy's school uniform, a couple sizes too large for
her.

"Not by choice," Akane muttered.  At her side, Ranma
turned red and stared down at the ground.  Akane gave
Ranma's hand a companionable squeeze.  By agreement
they had, to date, kept their relationship fairly
toned down at school to minimize rumors.  And while
Ranma's "poker face" was pretty much non-existent, the
students of Furinkan High were among the most
unobservant individuals in existence.

"What, you get cursed or something?" Ukyou asked
jokingly.  Ranma shuffled uncomfortably.

"Those Jusenkyo packets are fucked up," Ranma said
angrily under her breath.  They glanced around at the
students in the courtyard as they walked to class.
"They can't cure you, but they can curse ya."

"Man, Akane," Ukyou said, shaking her head.  "That's
rough."

"I've been changing willingly for a while now," Akane
said.  "Can't be much worse than that."  Ranma winced.
 "And it was my choice to risk it."  Akane pointed
out, looking at Ranma.  The redhead nodded reluctantly
and lifted her head.

"Who's that with Ukyou and Ranma," Yuka asked
pointing across the courtyard as the three walked to
the school.

"It looks like," Sayuri started.

"Akane?" Yuka said in disbelief.  "What in the world
is going on?"

*********

"There were some clothes and a wallet found near
where the body was discovered," the officer told
Detective Kanzo.

"Who's name is in the wallet," Kanzo asked.

"A Kuno Tatewaki," the officer said.  "Such a person
was removed from the Kuno clan lists recently."

"We'll have to speak to his family then," Kanzo said.
 "What killed him?"

"They say it looked like the damage could have been
done by a giant bird," the officer said.  "Funny thing
is, there were parts of an owl found with him.  The
coroner said it was like something exploded in the
owl's stomach."

"What," Kanzo asked.  "Are you saying that this Kuno
was shrunk, eaten by an owl, and then regained his
normal size when he died?"

"Huh?" The officer blinked.  "That's impossible sir."

"I was being sarcastic," Kanzo said, but he was
beginning to wonder.

*********

"Kuno Kodachi?" the detective asked the schoolgirl in
front of him.  He sounded surprised.  "The head of the
Kuno clan?"

"Yes," Kodachi said irritably.  She had been pulled
from her chemistry class to see this man.  "That is I.
 Why do you seek me?"

"A body was discovered a few days ago in the woods,"
he said, after a long, measuring pause.  "We think we
have identified it as your brother..."

"You must be mistaken," Kodachi interrupted.  "I have
no brother."

"He was recently removed from your family's list,"
the policeman said.  "But there was a Tatewaki born
into the Kuno clan."

"You say he was removed from the list, but you still
call him my brother," Kodachi said.  "How modern."

"About your former-brother then," the policeman said,
trying to avoid sounding irritated.  "We'd like you to
come with us to give a positive identification of the
body."  Kodachi appeared to think about it for a
moment.

"Yes," Kodachi said.  "It would be a good thing to
know of the fool's status.  I shall accompany you."
She paused for a moment, crossing her arms.  "Please
show me the way to your vehicle."

The detective bowed sharply, in sarcasm obvious to
anybody aside from a Kuno, and proceeded to lead
Kodachi to the car.  He glanced back over his shoulder
towards the haughty girl.

"Why did you have your brother removed from the Kuno
clan, anyway?" he asked her in an off-hand manner,
just something to kill the time.  Kodachi noted the
ploy easily, and frowned at the content of the
question.

"Tatewaki was or is a lecherous fool with dangerous
delusions," Kodachi answered, being as vague as
possible.  "His actions have done tremendous harm to
the honor of our family."

"What actions were those?" he asked.

"It involves others beyond the Kuno clan," Kodachi
answered.  "It is not my place to say."  They reached
the car and Kodachi regarded the small vehicle with a
heavy amount of distaste.  "This is your car?"

"I have a small paycheck," the detective explained.

"Indeed," Kodachi said, stepping into the car as the
door was held open for her.  As the detective took a
seat in the driver's side Kodachi asked her own
question.  "Is there anything else you wish to know,
Officer?  Or is this interrogation at an end?"

"When was the last time you saw you..." he paused as
Kodachi arched an eyebrow.  The detective muttered
something about aristocrats and then continued.  "When
was the last time you saw Tatewaki."

"The day he was banished, perhaps two or three weeks
ago now," she answered.

"And he was alive when you left him?" The detective
pressed.

"Unconscious," Kodachi said.  "But alive.  He
attacked one of the friends I had with me, and she was
forced to defend herself."  It was a small lie.

"He attacked your friend, but not you?" The detective
noted.  Kodachi silently cursed herself for letting
that out.  "She is perhaps the reason you exiled him."
 Kodachi held her tongue.  "I'll take that as a yes."

"As you wish," Kodachi said.  She refused to answer
any further questions the detective asked her.  It was
a short ride to the police station, then Kodachi was
escorted down towards the morgue.  She hesitated at
the doors to the morgue and shivered visibly.

"Is there something wrong, Kuno-san?" the detective
asked her politely.

"I've had to do this before," Kodachi explained.
"Some fool had prescribed my mother something that
conflicted with another medication."  It was a strong
part of why she was so interested in chemistry and
drugs.  There was no way she was going to get caught
in a similar situation.  She smiled at the irony of
that thought.  The detective looked at her
quizzically, he'd skimmed some of the file they had on
this girl already.

"You were less than ten when your mother died," he
said.  "Wouldn't your father have done the
identifying?"

"Father was on a business trip," she explained.  It
had been the elder Kuno's first exposure to Hawaii,
and the prelude to his longer departure in the
following years.  "And that left Tatewaki and I."

"Are you okay to do this now?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes," Kodachi said.  "This time it may actually be
good news."  It was the detective's turn to shiver at
the hatred the girl was radiating.  He proceeded her
into the morgue and led Kodachi down sterile white
halls to the identification booth.

Kodachi watched with interest as the corpse was
wheeled out into the room for her to see.  These rooms
were obviously designed to give as much separation
from the body as possible to the parties identifying
them.  Kodachi was glad for this.  Seeing her brother
dead certainly came as a shock to her, and contrary to
her statements she could not truly say it made her
happy.  She shoved whatever remaining affection she
had for her brother away and then proceeded to coldly
analyze what she could see of the corpse.

"He appears to have been partially...digested,"
Kodachi said with a sneer.  The corpse, in several
pieces, was an ugly thing, and she was making a
visible effort to hold the contents of her stomach
down. "It is hard to tell from here, and it seems that
it was in the open for quite some time."

"But is that Tatewaki, formerly of Kuno clan?" the
detective asked.  Kodachi rose a hand to her mouth and
finally turned her eyes away from the corpse.  She
nodded an affirmative and staggered to the door.

"Excuse me," she muttered before stepping outside.
Kodachi had planned to head for the restroom she had
seen earlier, but reconsidered on seeing the trashcan
conveniently outside the identification room.  Kodachi
grabbed the edge of the container and bent forward as
she vomited.

"Not so callous as you seem," the detective said
behind her.  Kodachi caught her breath and vomited
again before she answered.

"We did...have the same parents," she admitted
weakly.  Then she stood up straight and sat down on a
chair in the hallway.  "I had thought from your
questions that my brother was killed by another
person.  Why investigate this, he was obviously mauled
by some tremendous beast, and spit back out when the
taste obviously did not suit the monster."

"I'm afraid it is my job," the detective laughs.  "It
seems at times that they pay us to be paranoid."
Kodachi smiled briefly, patting at her lips with a
handkerchief that soon found its way into the
trashcan.

"I imagine so," she agreed.  Then she stood up
appearing rather paler than before.  "I must take
leave of your presence."  She bowed slightly and
started walking down the hallway.  As soon as she was
out of sight the detective picked up the cell phone at
his hip.

"This is Kanzo," he said.  "That girl I brought here,
she's leaving the station on foot.  Put a tail on her,
see where she goes."  He hung up the phone started
walking up to his desk.  By the time he got there
someone was waiting for him.

"We lost her outside the station," the other
policeman said.

"Lost her!?" he snapped.  "How did you lose that
quickly?"

"She jumped to the roof and by the time anybody got
up there she was five rooftops away," he answered in
embarrassment.

"The building is three stories high!" Kanzo declared
in disbelief.  "And you're saying she leaped it?"

"That's right sir," he nodded.  Kanzo sat down
roughly and shook his head in disbelief.  He had
planned to see whom Kodachi talked to after this, but
that appeared to be impossible now.  There was
something funny about this case, and he wanted to know
what it is.  "Put a bulletin out on her, observation
only.  Maybe we'll get lucky."

*********

Kodachi landed and immediately her feet parted to
compensate for the shift in balance the sudden stop
produced.  She checked herself over and dusted off her
clothes before turning to look at the Tendo gates.
She hesitated before moving forward.

~Ranma said we could be friends,~ Kodachi reminded
herself, though she really didn't understand what
friends did.  Whatever it was, it was more than
Kodachi believed she deserved.  ~I should never have
asked.~

Kodachi took a deep breath and leapt over the wall,
translating the landing into a graceful stride towards
the front door.  She rang the doorbell and was
satisfied, a few moments later, to see Kasumi answer
the door.

"Why, hello Kodachi," Kasumi said cheerfully, opening
the door wider and stepping to the side.  Kodachi
seemed to consider her choice of actions, and Kasumi
noticed.  "You are always welcome here."  She gestured
mildly with her hand.

"You say that now," Kodachi whispered.  Then she
stepped into the Tendo dojo after bowing deeply to
Kasumi.  She had placed the Kuno clan in service to
the Saotome's and Tendo's.  Kodachi needed to remind
herself of that.

"Now, I know school is still in session," Kasumi said
in her normal motherly fashion as she closed the door
behind Kodachi.  "And you know that Ranma has again
been attending classes, so why are you here?"

"I spoke to the police today," Kodachi said, she
turned to face Kasumi.  "They wanted me to identify a
corpse, which I did."

"Was it..." Kasumi started quietly, and then stopped
when she saw Kodachi's nod.  She gestured Kodachi to
the dining area and sat her down.  "I'll be right back
with a pot of tea."

"My thanks, Kasumi-san," Kodachi said as Kasumi
floated away.  She was back a few minutes later with a
steaming pot of tea and a pair of cups.  "I am sorry
Kasumi-san, but I must admit, seeing him dead does not
make me happy."

"There is no reason to be sorry," Kasumi said
lightly, sipping her tea.  "I would not expect it
too."

"There is something else, Kasumi-san," Kodachi said.
"I fear I may have let slip that there was an
altercation between Tatewaki and one of my friends.
He was definitely killed by an animal, but they are
investigating the death."

"That could be a problem," Kasumi admitted.  "But
we'll deal with that when it comes, but please let me
inform Ranma."  Kodachi glanced around apprehensively
and set down her cup of tea.

"I should go," Kodachi said, standing up.  "I am
sorry to have disturbed you Tendo-san."  She was
surprised by the firm grip Kasumi placed on her arm.

"Please sit, Kodachi," Kasumi said with a smile.
"There is no reason you need to apologize."

"If you are certain..." Kodachi said slowly, Kasumi
nodded and the gymnast sat down.

"I saw Ranma's injuries before they healed," Kasumi
said.  "Including the bruising around the throat.  You
saved his life."

"It was the only thing I could do," Kodachi said
simply.  "Perhaps she would prefer it if I had not
arrived before he killed her."  Kasumi shifted closer
to the noble girl and gave her a comforting hug.  She
ignored Kodachi's choice of pronoun for Ranma, though
she did wonder when Kodachi had started referring to
Ranma as a woman.  The Kuno girl had not been doing
that when Kasumi last saw her.

"Akane thinks it's her fault because she wasn't
there, Nabiki thinks it's her fault because she
encouraged Kuno, and Ranma thinks it's his fault for
being too weak," Kasumi said.  "It is none of their
fault, and it is not your fault."  Kodachi sighed.
Kasumi released the other girl, and sipped her tea
again.  "Would you like to stay and help me in fixing
a meal."

"Are you certain, Kasumi-san?" Kodachi asked.  Kasumi
smiled brightly at her.

"Of course I'm certain," Kasumi said.  "You are quite
pleasant company when you aren't tossing about
poisonous flowers, and perhaps you can do something
with my sisters and Ranma afterwards."  Kasumi
finished her cup of tea and stood up.  Kodachi glanced
at her curiously.

"Kasumi-san," she said.  "Who do you go to for
comfort?"  Kasumi paused and thought about it.

"I speak to my mother," she said simply.  Kodachi
shook her head in confusion as Kasumi vanished into
the kitchen.  She was certain that the Tendo matriarch
was dead.

*********

"Akane, we need to talk to you," Sayuri said, she
glanced at Ranma with narrowed eyes for a brief
moment.

"Fine," Akane said without standing up.  "What about?"

"Alone," Yuka said, supporting the other girl.  Akane
saw the suspicious glance toward Ranma this time and
started to get a little angry.

"Don't let me stop you," Ranma said before Akane could
open her mouth.  Akane turned to look at the red-head.

"Are you sure?" she asked.  Ranma pulled her legs up
and rested her head on her knees, appearing to be more
or less relaxing, and nodded.  Akane reluctantly stood
up and turned to follow her two friends with a dark
expression.

"I don't believe you, Akane," Sayuri said once they
were out of earshot.  "He's actually got you asking
for permission to talk to your friends!?"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Yuka added.
"I wouldn't believe it.  You even making sure not to
leave his sight!"  Yuka gestured back to where Ranma
sat against the tree.

"He wasn't giving me permission," Akane said angrily.
"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"We're worried about you," Sayuri said.  "You're
acting strangely.  When was the last time you wore a
dress?  And you're avoiding us.  And you and Ranma
haven't fought once since you came back."

"Did you know he's been going to the girls restrooms?"
 Yuka asked.

"Yes," Akane said.  They looked at her in disbelief.
"Do you expect him to go to the guys room when he's
stuck as a girl?"

"Well, he is a boy..." Sayuri started.

"After everything we've been through?" Akane said in
disbelief.  "Ranma is a man, not a boy."

"He looks more like a woman to me," Yuka said,
crossing her arms.

"So what's wrong with him going to the women's
restroom, then?" Akane asked.

"Well, duh," Sayuri said.  "He could peek, not all of
us know about the curse you know."

"Ranma isn't like that," Akane said, she glanced back
at the red-head with a worried expression.  She
visibly relaxed upon seeing Ranma wave an okay to her.

"He's got you checking in with him," Yuka said,
exasperated.  "Are you going to let that misogynistic
jerk control your life."

"He's not misogynistic, at least not any more.  And
actually I'd like to see him take more control," Akane
said, turning back to her friends.  They gasped in
surprise and glared angrily back at Ranma, who tried
not to wince.

"Are you crazy?" Yuka asked.  "He's got you jumping
through hoops as it is."

"Did you know there were rumors that you two had done
the deed already?" Sayuri asked.

"So what else is new?" Akane asked dryly.

"As girls?" Yuka added.  Akane shrugged.  "That
doesn't bother you?"

"No, it doesn't," Akane said simply.  "I've heard
worse, much worse.  I've heard rumors about me and my
own SISTER, and you think I'm going to worry about
rumors about me and Ranma?"  She glanced toward Ranma
and noted, with a sense of dread, that Hiroshi and
Daisuke were approaching the red-head.

"So have you...?" Sayuri let the question trail off.
"You know?"  Akane, turned back toward Sayuri and
narrowed her eyes at her friend and considered how to
answer that.

*********

Hiroshi glanced over at the tree where Ranma was
sitting and contemplated going over to talk to his
friend.  He had his chance now with Akane engaged in a
conversation with her friends and the other two of
Ranma's guards were busy elsewhere.

Hiroshi shrugged and went back to eating his lunch.
He had to feed his stomach before his curiosity.  The
boy was a little distracted by his friend's
activities.  Daisuke, for lack of anything better to
do after finishing his small lunch, was poking around
the thick bushes at the edge of the field where they
had set there lunch up for the day.

"What are you doing?" Hiroshi asked irritably.

"What's it look like I'm doing," Daisuke answered.

"You know I'm trying to eat here," Hiroshi said.  "And
that'll be hard to do if you scare up every insect in
the field."

"Its not my fault we can't get close enough to Ranma
to talk him about what happened," Daisuke reminded him
 "So...hey what's this?"

"We can get close enough," Hiroshi pointed out.
"Akane just walked over...are those a pair of pants?"

"Yeah," Daisuke said.  "They were under these leaves
her, looks like they've been here for weeks."

"The groundskeeper hasn't done his job right for a
while now," Hiroshi said shaking his head in
disappointment.  "Of course, who can blame him with
the way of property damage around here?"

"Hey, these are some of Ranma's black pants," Daisuke
said.  "Maybe we should take them to him, are you
finished with your lunch yet?"

"Yeah, just a second," Hiroshi said, finishing off his
bento and standing up.

*********

Ranma watched the girls argue, well aware that she was
the probably subject of the conversation.  Of course
Sayuri and Yuka wouldn't like her, she was the king of
the perverts as far as they were concerned.  They
might have placed Happosai further on the list than
she was, but she wasn't certain of that.

Ranma heard Hiroshi and Daisuke approaching and tensed
up.  Neither of them were intentionally offensive, but
they both had that same habit of hanging all over
people.  She really didn't want to deal with that
right now. If, however, they held their distance, she
didn't want to act funny if she could help it.

"Hey, Saotome," Daisuke called out as they neared the
curled up red-head.  Ranma raised her head from her
knees and turned to face the approaching pair.  She
immediately leaped back and away as some piece of
cloth flew towards her.  Ranma readied herself for a
further assault and then glanced at what had been
tossed her way.

"What's up with you?" Hiroshi asked, shocked.  "You
act like we're out to get you or something."

"Wh...where did you find those?" Ranma asked in a
shaky voice, pointing at the black pants warily.

"Huh?" Daisuke stooped to pick up the weather-beaten
pants.  "They were up in the bushes over there."  He
pointed back to where they came from.  Hiroshi and
Daisuke watched in shock as the color drained from
Ranma's face as he recognized where they were
pointing.

"That's..by the pool," Ranma muttered backing away.
"You..y..yo..you have to pass it ta get to the
K...K...."  She took another couple steps back and
tripped to the ground.  Ranma immediately scrunched
her eyes closed and started crawling backwards away
from the two.

"Hey man, are you all right?" Hiroshi asked, edging
forward.

"Go away!" Ranma snapped.  She stopped crawling and
curled up into a visibly shaking ball.  "Go away!"

*********

Akane ceased wondering how to answer Sayuri's rather
blunt question at the sound of Ranma yelling.  She
whirled to see Ranma curled up in a ball while Hiroshi
and Daisuke stared and watched confused.

"Oh, kami-sama," Akane gasped and rushed to her
spouse's side.  She paused only a moment to glare at
Hiroshi and Daisuke.  "What did you say to him?!"
Without waiting for an answer she gathered Ranma up in
her arms.  Almost immediately Ranma struggled to get
away, before she opened her eyes and saw Akane.

Then Ranma latched her arms around Akane, holding on
desperately and still shaking from the effort of
holding in her tears.

"We were just returning these pants of his," Daisuke
said indicating the messy cloth in his hands.  "They
were up in the bushes there."  The other teenager
sounded terribly confused.

"Akane, what are you do...?" Sayuri asked as she
joined the party.  "What's wrong with Ranma?"  Sayuri
asked, subdued as she realized that Ranma and Akane
weren't making out in public.  As she asked, the last
of Ranma's control broke and the red-head proceeded
from restrained sniffles to full weeping.

"Just take that out of here!" Akane snapped glaring at
the two boys.  "Burn it or something."  Hiroshi and
Daisuke stumbled back a few feet before obeying the
command and leaving.  Akane turned her attention back
to Ranma and hug the smaller girl tight, stroking her
hair and back.

"I can't..." Ranma sobbed.  "I...can't...lose it."
Akane shook her head and continued to sooth him.

"Just let it go, Ranma," Akane whispered, Ranma shook
her head once more, but continued to cry
uncontrollably.  She turned to her friends.  "Can you
leave please?"

"Uh..sure, Akane," Sayuri said, grabbing Yuka and
dragging her away.  The other girl seemed only
partially aware of being dragged away.  Sayuri stopped
before Ranma and Akane were out of sight and looked
back at the couple.  Ranma was still clutching at
Akane and she was still soothing the redhead.

"He just fell to pieces," Yuka said, in shock.

"Come on," Sayuri said, blinking.  "Lunch is almost
over."  Yuka nodded and followed Sayuri, walking
completely on her own volition this time.  Both girls
glanced back over their shoulder once more.

*********

"Tadaima!" she heard Akane call out, followed by some
quiet, reassuring words that she could not make out.
Kodachi walked cautiously toward the entranceway and
saw Akane leading a listless Ranma into the living
room.

"Did something happen?" Kodachi asked nervously,
Akane looked up and noticed the gymnast.  For a moment
she frowned, but it faded to a neutral expression
quickly.

"Yeah," Akane said.  Kasumi came around and saw Ranma
sitting down in the living room and gasped.

"Kodachi," Kasumi said.  The noble girl turned
quickly to the elder Tendo.  "Get some fresh cups from
the kitchen and bring the tea back with you."

"Hai," Kodachi said and immediately moved to obey,
without considering her social station.

"What happened?" Kasumi asked, kneeling in front of
Ranma and looking her over as Akane sat next to Ranma
and hugging her tightly.

"It was stupid," Ranma whispered.  Kodachi returned
with the tray of tea things.  Kasumi took an empty cup
and filled it, handing it to Ranma.  Ranma took the
cup and then looked towards Kasumi, who was next to
Kodachi.  "There ain't nothing in this, is there?"

"I've done nothing like that since even before..."
Kodachi started to retort, Kasumi lifted a hand to
forestall her denial.

"He is talking to me.  Not this time, Ranma," Kasumi
said.  "It is just tea."  She poured herself a cup to
reassure the red-head.  Ranma waited for Kasumi to
calmly to take a sip of the tea before drinking some
herself.  Kodachi looked confused.  "What happened?"

"Hiroshi and Daisuke..." Ranma started, then shook
her head again.  "It was stupid, it ain't nothing."
Ranma took another sip of her tea.

"Ranma I had to carry you half-way here," Akane said
softly, though a little irritably.  She turned to
Kasumi.  "It was our 'friends' at school."

"What were these friends' names," Kodachi asked.
Everybody looked at her cautiously.

"Let's not be hasty," Kasumi said, looking at
Kodachi, and then turning toward Akane.  "Most people
don't know about what happened, I'm sure, whatever
they did, they did not mean any harm."

"Of course," Kodachi said, after a long second's
hesitation.  There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Do you need anything, Ranma, Akane?" Kasumi asked.
Akane shook her head and looked to Ranma.

"I'm feeling a little hungry," Ranma said quietly.
The elder Tendo reached out to pat Ranma's hand gently
and smiled.

"Kodachi was just about to help me with lunch,"
Kasumi said.  "Why don't you go take a nice long soak
in the bath while we fix something?"

"Hai," Ranma nodded, finishing off her tea.
"That...sounds good."  Ranma stood up quietly and
started walking to the bathroom, Akane followed behind
watching Ranma carefully.

Ranma quietly undressed and set herself down into the
water.  Akane followed in cautiously watching Ranma as
she sat down next to the red-head.

"I'm pathetic," Ranma whispered.

"No you're not," Akane said firmly, hugging Ranma
tightly, and kissing her forehead.  "You've just been
hurt."

"I freaked over a stupid pair of pants," Ranma said.
She squeezed her eyes closed and started to curl up
again.  "Stupid.  Stupid..." She turned toward Akane
and buried her face into Akane's shoulder and started
to sob again.

"Shh, I'm here," Akane said.  "No one's going to hurt
you."  Ranma gave a choked laugh.

"I can't even talk about it," Ranma said.  She turned
to face Akane.  "What's wrong with me?"

"Because you have a few nightmares and cry a lot?"
Akane asked, trying to put her at ease by waving it
off.  "Who wouldn't be a mess after...what happened?"
Ranma sighed and buried her face back in Akane's
shoulder.

"Nabiki," Ranma said quietly.

"Uh," Akane considered that.  After all, if it hadn't
been for Ranma, Nabiki probably would have never said
anything.  Then they'd never have known about her.
"I'm not certain about that Ranma, you know she spends
a lot of time by herself.  You should talk to her."

"I guess," Ranma said quietly

*********

Nabiki rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked
through the stack of homework she had collected for
Ranma and Akane.  A small crowd was approaching her,
it was hardly the first time since lunch.  She turned
around to give the denial speech.

"Don't even bother with the wall..." she paused as
she recognized the people around her.  "Oh, you.  Are
any of you responsible for this?"

"Uhh," Daisuke looked nervous.  Nabiki glared at him.
 "What?"  Nabiki shook her head.

"What's Ranma up to?" Sayuri demanded, obeying the
inherent need to keep things in a realm they
understand by hanging on desperately to the belief
that Ranma had pulled something on them.  Certainly
all this had to be a plan of his somehow.  Nabiki
stared at her in disbelief for a moment.

"Let me get this straight," Nabiki said and held up a
finger.  "Ranma gets himself stuck as a girl, obtains
an almost completely new wardrobe, avoids contact with
anybody except his family and Ukyou, and you think
it's some sort of plan?"  Sayuri blushed and turned
away embarrassed.  "To do what?"

"Peep at us in the showers and restrooms," Sayuri
said hesitantly.

"While there's no one there," Nabiki said coolly.

"It doesn't sound likely when you say it that way,"
Sayuri admitted quietly.

"Really?  I hadn't thought of that," Nabiki said
sarcastically.  She stood up shaking her head.  "I'm
not going to bother with asking you what happened or
what you did."

"Aren't you even going to give us a price," Hiroshi
asked.  Nabiki glared at him and silence reigned for a
moment.

"The information is not for sale," Nabiki said.
"Ranma needs friends right now, not interrogators."
She faced Sayuri and Yuka, then turned back to the
boys.  "Understand?"

"Y..yes," Daisuke said, Hiroshi nodding fervently
next to him.  Nabiki walked toward the door.

"Something really bad happened," Yuka asked.  "Didn't
it?"  Nabiki paused for a moment before continuing out
the door.

"Ask Ranma," Nabiki said.  "It's his choice to tell
you."

*********

"Tadaima," Nabiki called out.

"Hello," Kasumi called back.  Nabiki took that as a
sign that things were not too terrible as she slipped
off her shoes and walked into the living room.  She
saw Ranma sitting with Akane on the couch.

"I have your homework," she said, gesturing with the
stack of papers.  "I'll have it in my room when you're
ready."

"Thanks Nabiki," Akane said.  Ranma stood up and
turned to Nabiki.  She held tightly to Akane's hand as
she stood up.

"Uh, Nabiki can I talk to you?" Ranma asked, she
looked down at Akane who nodded encouragingly.

"Sure," Nabiki said, pausing.  Then she smiled
encouragingly.  "Come on."  Ranma hesitated and looked
down at Akane.  Her spouse patted her once and nodded
again.  Then the redhead moved to stand next to
Nabiki.

"Thanks, Nabiki," Ranma said quietly.  Kodachi
appeared in the living room, wearing an apron, drawing
a cautious and curious look from Nabiki.

"Kasumi-san and I will be finished with the meal
shortly," she said, then noticed Nabiki.  "Oh, hello
Nabiki-san."  With that she vanished back into the
kitchen.  Nabiki frowned as she wondered what Kodachi
might be doing there, but shrugged it off and returned
her attention to Ranma.

*********

Nabiki set the stack of homework papers on her desk
and sat down on the bed.  She gestured toward the desk
chair, silently inviting Ranma to sit down.  Ranma
nodded and sat down, staring at the floor.

"Did you want to talk about what happened today?"
Nabiki asked.  Ranma snapped her head up at that
question and Nabiki cursed herself.

"They told someone, didn't they," Ranma said angrily.

"I couldn't say," Nabiki fudged.  "The whole school
is talking about it.  I'd say your and Akane's friends
weren't the only witnesses.  You're a big draw,
Ranma."  Ranma shrank up into herself.

"Why can't everybody just leave me alone?" Ranma
asked.  "When does it stop?"  She leaned forward into
her small hands and tried to keep from crying again.

"Stop?" Nabiki said as Ranma put her face into her
hands.  She moved leaned forward closer to her in-law
and hesitantly hugged her comfortingly.  "The
harassment and gossip?  Someone like you will probably
get that all their life."

She didn't really think that's what Ranma was talking
about, but Nabiki wanted to buy some time.  She wasn't
surprised when Ranma started shaking her head, still
looking down.

"No," Ranma whispered.  "I...I lost it today.  Feh.
Everybody knows that by now."  She sat up straight and
looked at Nabiki, frustration and anger boiling over
in Ranma's blue eyes.  "Do you know what set me off?
Huh?  A fucking pair of pants!"

Nabiki released Ranma as the red-head stood up and
started pacing the room.  She watched the girl pace a
few more moments before she flopped down in the desk
chair again.  She watched in concern as Ranma went
from angry to depressed again in a heart beat.  If
Akane were in the area there might have been a few
pleasant emotions in there as well.  In any case it
would have been extreme, and the mood swings had the
elder girl worried.

"How do you do it?" Ranma asked quietly.  "Or am I
really that weak?"  Nabiki sighed and looked away,
wondering if her decision to keep up a face for Ranma
caused more harm than good.

"Ranma, I..." Nabiki quavered a moment, but collected
herself.  "I've been scared."  Ranma looked up at her
confused.

"You're scared?" Ranma said hesitantly.

"If you hadn't shown up," Nabiki said, smiling.  "I
might have run away.  Disappeared to somewhere no one
knew me."  Ranma watched her as if seeing her for the
first time.

"Why?" Ranma asked, staring in morbid fascination.
Nabiki, who had always been a pillar of reason since
Ranma arrived, was scared.

"It happened once," Nabiki said quietly, hugging
herself.  "It can happen again."  Ranma softly moved
to sit by Nabiki.  "What if they guy I sent to jail
comes back?"

"I won't let him get you if he comes," Ranma asserted
firmly, hesitantly holding the larger girl, trying to
copy what people had been doing with her recently.
She was finding it somewhat difficult, and only
partially due her small size compared to Nabiki.  ~I
couldn't even protect myself, how could I...~

"Arigato Ranma," Nabiki said, steadying herself.

"Nabiki," Ranma said.  "I..."

"I'm a better actor than you," Nabiki cut him off.
"And I've had help.  Just because I can put up a good
front doesn't mean I don't have nightmares."

"Then...I'm fine," Ranma asked.  Nabiki shook her
head in frustration.

"You are not fine," Nabiki said.  "You think this
soul of ice thing is going to keep you going forever?
What happened today is going to happen again and again
if you keep on this way."

Ranma winced at that thought and Nabiki softened her
tone.  "Just please come with me to the group
tomorrow.  You need to talk about this or you'll go
crazy."  Ranma nodded and sighed reluctantly.  "Come
on, let's see what's to eat."

The mention of food brought an instant, if slight,
smile, to Ranma's face and she followed Nabiki out to
join the rest of her family.

*********

Ukyou frowned as afternoon came and went without
Ranma and Akane showing up.  They usually stopped by
on her work permit days at least once to say hello.
She frowned and walked to the phone as soon as she had
a break.

*********

Dinner at the Tendo dojo had, of late, become a
rather solemn event.  Conversation, especially, was
subdued.  Ranma's appetite was still strong, but there
were times she didn't want to eat at all.  In any case
she still didn't eat with her accustomed speed.

Ranma was sitting next to Akane and smiling as the
food was laid out on the table.  Akane calmed down a
little at the sight of that smile, though the relief
was tempered by the fact that Ranma was gripping her
hand tightly under the table.

Throughout the meal Nabiki shared Ranma's melancholy
mood.  She poked at her food half-heartedly and gave a
reassuring smile whenever someone else shot her a
concerned glance.  In addition to this she cautiously
eyed Kodachi over the table, and frowned as she tried
to figure out the reason for the Kuno's presence.

The uncomfortable silence was broken by the sound of
the telephone ringing in the hall.  Kodachi glanced at
Kasumi nervously, and the elder girl gave a calming
gesture.  Neither of which went unnoticed by Nabiki.

"Oh, we didn't stop by Ucchan's," Ranma said,
snapping her fingers as Kasumi stood up and moved to
the phone.  "That's gotta be her."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kasumi said.  She
picked up the phone.  "Hello?  Oh yes, Ukyou-chan."
Kodachi immediately relaxed.  "They are here.  I shall
ask.  Ranma, Ukyou wants to speak to you, is that all
right?"

"Umm, yeah," Ranma said.  "Just a sec."  She stood up
and hesitated, glancing at Akane.  Then she was at the
phone.  "Yeah, sorry Ucchan, I...something happened.
Sorry."  Nabiki watched to Kasumi sitting down again.

"What is going on?" she asked quietly.  Akane turned
away from Ranma for moment, confused at the question.

"It seems that..." Kasumi hesitated for a moment,
checking to see that Ranma was still talking on the
phone across the room.  "That person is dead."  There
was silence.  From everywhere.

*********

"Ranchan?" Ukyou asked as Ranma stopped in
mid-sentence.  "Ranchan are you okay?"  The redhead's
voice sounded shaky as she answered.

"I'll...have to call you back," Ranma said.  Ukyou
heard a clatter on the other end of the line, but the
ambient noise didn't fade.

"Ranchan?"  When Ranma yelled she set herself to
listen.

*********

In the Tendo dining room the sound of the clatter
attracted everyone's attention back to Ranma.  The
receiver hung down from the phone by the cable.

"Dead?" Ranma asked hesitantly.  "For sure?"

"I did not mean..." Kasumi started.

"You're. Sure!?" Ranma demanded loudly, most everybody
stared at her in surprise.  Akane rushed to her side
and embraced the smaller girl in a comforting a hug.
Ranma was shivering as she reached out to clutch at
Akane.

"You don't have to worry about it," Akane said.  "You
didn't kill him."

"I...need," Ranma started.  "Is he dead?"

"Mauled by an animal," Kodachi said, still in shock.
Ranma tensed.  "I saw the body."

"Ranma!" Akane cried out as the redhead collapsed in
her arms.  "What's wrong?"  Nabiki blinked and then
nodded, before moving to where Akane was holding
Ranma.  She quietly rubbed Ranma's back and leaned
down comfortingly.

"There's no cure for that," Nabiki whispered.  "He
won't ever hurt you again."  Ranma broke down for the
second time that day breaking into loud crying.  Akane
rocked Ranma, feeling only a little less confused by
the situation.  Kodachi looked on, paler than usual.
Any trace of guilt for Tatewaki's exile and death
vanished as she watched Ranma curl into a ball in
Akane's arms.

"I think Ranma has had enough for today," Kasumi said
quietly.  She walked over to where Nabiki and Akane
were comforting Ranma.  "Let's get you to bed, okay
Ranma?"

"N..no drugs," Ranma said without turning her face
toward Kasumi.

"No drugs," Kasumi agreed.  "Akane?"  The
short-haired girl nodded and stood up carefully,
trying not to disturb Ranma more than she had to.
Nabiki shook her head as she left.

"I didn't think Ranma's ears were that good," Nabiki
said.  "Apparently neither did Kasumi."  She walked to
the phone and picked it up.  "Are you still there,
Ukyou?  Yeah, Kodachi's here, I think she brought the
news."  Nabiki glanced at Kodachi and frowned.  "It
just all came to a head today from the sounds of it.
I'll give you a progress report.  I swear, Ukyou.
Goodbye."

Nabiki hung up the phone and turned to look at
Kodachi's shock filled face.

"I had no idea," Kodachi said quietly.  "When we
spoke on the phone and at the duel she seemed
perfectly fine."  Nabiki snorted.

"Ranma is good at that," Nabiki said wearily.  Nabiki
sat down at the table across from Kodachi and looked
at her food morosely.

 *********

Ukyou hung up the phone and took a breath to steady
herself.  She had listened to Ranma fall apart in
virtually no time.  It was horrifying.

"Ukyou-sama," she heard Konatsu ask behind her.  "Are
you okay?"

"Yeah," Ukyou said, sniffing as she stood up straight
away from the wall and wiped away the beginnings of
some tears.  "I just was talking to Ranma."

"Oh," Konatsu said, with a little worry.  The ninja
understood that Ukyou had given up on chasing Ranma,
but that had to have been difficult to do.  He did not
know what had motivated the change, though, but it was
something serious.  He had seen the way people were
walking tenderfooted around Ranma recently, even if he
hadn't been able to overhear the reasons.

"Hey, enough standing around," Ukyou said.  "We have
customers to feed."

"Hai, Ukyou-sama."  Konatsu bowed and waited for
Ukyou to return to the grill before moving.

*********

Akane sat down on the bed next to her spouse,
glancing once at the door Kasumi had closed behind
her.  Ranma lay curled up in the blankets.  She didn't
understand Ranma's reaction to the news.  She would
have thought Ranma would be relieved, maybe even
happy.  She turned to brush at Ranma's hair, the other
girl's face was hidden in the pillows.  Ranma flinched
as Akane touched her.

"Don't touch me," Ranma snapped.

"Ranma, what's wrong?" Akane tried to give her
shoulder a comforting squeeze, and the red-head merely
backed herself further into a corner away from Akane.

"Don't touch me," Ranma said again, without looking
at Akane.  Akane watched as Ranma started weeping into
the pillow.  Akane hesitated only a moment before
lying down in the bed next to Ranma.  "I don't deserve
you."

"What?" Akane gasped rising up on an elbow.  "How can
you say that?"

"I'm not...clean," Ranma sobbed, Akane flinched as
she saw a green glow limning Ranma.  "I...I..."

"Ranma, stop it," Akane pleaded.  "Look at me!"
Ranma's weeping paused for a moment.

"I..."

"Look at me, please!" Akane pleaded.  Ranma turned
face to look at Akane, tear streaks marking her face.

"Find someone who isn't a murdering slut," Ranma said
quietly.  Akane watched her in shock as Ranma curled
back into the blankets.

"You can't really believe...," she stopped, realizing
that Ranma could believe that.  She laid back down,
and tried to snuggle closer to Ranma.  "Did you kill
Kuno?"  She asked.

"I wanted him de..."

"Did you kill him?" Akane repeated.  "Ranma?"

"No..." Ranma said slowly.  "But..."

"Not buts," Akane said.  "You did not kill him, and
it was self defense if you had."

"But I did...do that..." Ranma's voice trailed off.

"He raped you," Akane said forcefully.

"There had to be something..." Ranma said hesitantly,
but she peeked out of the pillows.

"You were drugged," Akane said quietly.

"I cursed..." Ranma tried to protest.

"No you did not," Akane said.  "You didn't know about
that, neither did I, you even warned me about them.
It is not. Your. Fault."  She was finding herself
saying that sentence a lot recently.

Akane moved forward and kissed Ranma on the forehead.
She hesitated to continue.  There was a chance Ranma
would take this the wrong way, but Akane wanted her to
know that she accepted Ranma regardless.

"I'm not letting anyone insulting my wife," Akane said
softly.  "Even if it's my husband doing it."

"Wife," Ranma muttered.  "Be a good little girl,
Ranma, lay back and..."

"Ranma, stop it!" Akane insisted.  "You are not a
little girl."  Ranma turned her face away from Akane.

"What do I look like?" Ranma asked.  Akane brushed at
Ranma's hair.

"Please Ranma," Akane said.  "You're beautiful."

"I don't want to be beautiful," Ranma whispered.

"Ranma, damn it!"  Akane snapped, Ranma started to
cry again.  "Oh, Kami, Ranma.  I'm sorry."  She hugged
Ranma, rubbing her back.  "You just have to know, man
or woman, I love you."

"Akane, arigato," Ranma whispered.  "I love you too."

Akane cautiously climbed under the blankets with Ranma
and hugged her again.  Ranma hesitantly returned the
hug, burying her face in Akane's chest.  Akane stroked
the still weeping redhead until Ranma fell asleep in
her arms.

*********

Kasumi came down after a minute and saw Kodachi and
Nabiki staring at their food.

Kasumi's nerves were seriously frayed after these
last months.  She was used to dealing with crises on a
semi-regular basis.  For nearly ten years she'd had to
take care of her sisters and her father, almost alone.
 Father hadn't been very useful since mother had died.
 She was not used to dealing with so many problems at
once, even since Ranma's arrival.

Kasumi waited before stepping into the tearoom and
joining the quiet meal.  There was one thing she had
learned in the ten years of running the household.
She could not appear to be panicked.  Nabiki and Akane
looked to her for stability.  Right or wrong, Kasumi
had to be calm, collected, and serene, but she was
wondering if she was beginning to push the limits of
her serenity.

A long time ago Kasumi had given Akane a lecture
about acting like a boy.  The result was that Akane
had stepped down her training, which was good for
neither her or their father.  She remembered
rationalizing Nabiki's irrationally malicious behavior
toward Ranma.  She thought about Ranma and the way her
father seemed to use her as a bargaining chip and
Kasumi wished she had put her foot down about it.  She
thought about all the games about the engagements and
girlfriends.

So many mistakes, was it right to let them think she
knew how to handle everything?

There was some shouting upstairs, but only a moment.
By the time she returned to Akane's room she could
tell from the muffled conversation that Akane had
everything in hand.  That left the two girls
downstairs.  She took a deep breath and proceeded
downstairs.

"How is she?" Kodachi asked as soon as she saw
Kasumi.  Nabiki looked up, mask of ice firmly in
place.  Kasumi could see the cracks though.

Nabiki and Ranma were so much alike in ways.  If
Kasumi hadn't known better she would think that Nabiki
was Ranma's blood sister.  It was always about
self-control with both of them, and they had both had
it taken from them in the same way.

Kasumi walked to the table and moved her plate so
that she could sit between the two girls.  She turned
to Nabiki.  "Are you okay?"  Kodachi blinked,
surprised.

"I'm fine," Nabiki said.  Her eyes flickered to
Kodachi and back to Kasumi.  The elder Tendo nodded,
understandingly.

"Akane is taking care of Ranma," Kasumi assured the
Kuno girl, turning back to her.  "Apparently Ranma is
feeling guilty."  Nabiki snorted.

"Only Ranma," she said.  "It's like 'love thy enemy'
is hardwired in his brain."

"I thought she had recovered," Kodachi said, quietly.
 "Ranma is always so...resilient."

"He's too stoic for his own good," Nabiki said,
Kasumi glanced meaningfully at Nabiki.  Nabiki
conceded the point.  "He's not the only person I know
like that."  Kodachi's eyes narrowed and flicked
between the sisters, aware of some subtext that she
wasn't being let in on.

Kasumi looked down at her food and ate a little
trying to figure out what to do.  It wasn't fair, none
of it was fair.  She shouldn't have to deal with these
things, much less all of them at once.  Why did Nodoka
leave her alone with this mess?  She'd even accept
help from that woman's sometimes questionable ethics.

"I just can't do it all," Kasumi whispered.

"Pardon, Tendo-san," Kodachi asked, looking up from
her pecked meal.  Nabiki looked shocked herself at the
comment.

"Nothing," Kasumi said quickly, horrified that she
had let her self-doubt slip out.  "I was just
considering matters."

"Oh," Kodachi said.  "I see."  She blinked confused.


Nabiki looked at her elder sister a little more
carefully.  There were loose strands in the normally
perfect hair, her dress was less than perfectly
ironed, and Nabiki could see signs of sleep
deprivation.  Looking down at her plate, Nabiki
realized that the food, while good, was not up to
Kasumi's normal standards.

Nabiki did not want to think about what would happen
if Kasumi were to crack.

*********

Ranma's eyes were shut.  It didn't matter, she could
see through her lids.  Even if she couldn't, she knew
where she was.  The Pit.

Ranma looked hurriedly around, peering into the
darkness.  The cats were there.  She could see their
eyes glittering in the darkness as a larger shape
passed in the darkness behind.  A slash of blue cloth
here, a hint of purple fur there.

"Go away," Ranma said, curling down into the small
square of light at the center.  It used to work.  She
could stare at the ground and the cats would leave.
"Go away!"

The first mewing cry of "airen" sent Ranma to curl in
on herself, protecting her chest, face and.  And.  Her
womanhood.  The cats swarmed over her, clawing,
licking, hunting.  She cried as the cats surrounded
her, angrily aware of what was coming.

"Please!  Just go away!"

Ranma was roughly pulled out of her defensive
position and thrown on her back.  The cats had already
turned her clothes into strips.  What remained fell
away as she was tossed.  She kept her face turned away
as she was pinned to the ground.

"Pig-tailed girl," a crazed voice whispered.

"No, please," Ranma pleaded, cringing as she was
kissed in a twisted mockery of tenderness.  "NO!"
Ranma's hand snapped upward into the unseen face of
her attacker, breaking the grip that held her down.
There was a sickening crack and the body on top of her
fell limp.

Ranma curled up again, trying to ignore the fact that
her shelter from the cats was a cooling dead body.
She kept her ineffective eyelids tightly closed and
her face in the dirt, weeping, occasionally screaming,
to keep out the sound of the cats trying to get at
her.

*********

Ranma snapped awake, biting down a scream.  She
slowly opened her eyes to see Akane still holding her.
 She snuggled in closer to the sleeping girl, and
sighed as Akane unconsciously held her tighter.

"Saotome final technique," Ranma muttered, tears
streaming already down her face.  "I h..hate the
Saotome final technique."


=====
"Caffeinated Kender?  What's that, a berserk spell?" -
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
"God has to have a sense of humor, it's the only explanation for sex." - my
father
"I have to write a how-to paper for class, so I'm writing a paper on how to
be psuedo-evil." - my brother

http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html

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