FFML Note: Originally posted a while back, it since
has been revised and 'focused' a bit, so here we go
again. I'm looking to finish the revisions and call
the piece completed soon. Hopefully this post will
recieve a bit more response than my last; I'm a little
envious whenever I see a wonderful analysis of other
works by Brian Randall, Richard Lawson, or any of the
countless others. 
I realize I don't post or critique much, which no
doubt hurts my following, however as this is my first
story, I'd prefer to feel out the Mailing List's
response to my writings before throwing my weight
around, as the saying goes. 

I personally think it's worth reading, and hope you
agree. Thank you!


-----

I know two people I'd like you to meet. One's
named Ranma, the other Akane. They may be a bit
different than the ones you already know, and they
certainly don't know or care about you, but you
should meet them anyway. They're a little strange,
but they have pure hearts of gold.

-----

Prologue

The door to the Tendo dojo forcibly slid open, and
a redhead stepped inside. Her dark expression
paled the violence of her entry. With an equally
loud crack, the door slid shut. Inside, Ranma
Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes school of
Martial Arts, decided she wanted to hurt
something. Lacking any living targets, she settled
for one of the training dummies that resided in
the Dojo's storage space. After bringing out the
least destroyed target, and angrily sliding yet
another door open and closed, she relaxed her
body, took a deep breath, and sighed. Her tranquil
composure quickly shattered, as her body uncoiled
in a vicious thrust towards the hapless dummy. A
satisfying thwack resounded. And then another.
Finally, Ranma ended the barrage with a
consummating smack. She stood there, her rasps
forcing their way into the oppressive silence. She
seethed at the tattered dummy and her life, the
tears and rips in both screaming at her. In a
burst of anger, she threw one final punch at the
target, which went right through its straw
insides, leaving her arm caught in the stomach of
the vengeful victim. Snarling in obvious
distemper, Ranma arched a kick towards the middle
of her captor, freeing her arm. Stupid dummy.
Stupid parents. Stupid life!

Ranma shook her head, and though she tried so
earnestly to hold on, her anger slipped away. She
knew Genma wasn't stupid; she knew Nodoka wasn't
stupid. She knew her life shouldn't be stupid.
What was it about the visits that left her feeling
drained, exhausted; what poverty inspired them to
leech elsewhere? It was just another visit, the
bits and pieces of talk they shared together
useless and random. The weather. Ranko had
mentioned the weather. Nodoka responded with a
polite smile. Ranko brought up a crowd of
particularly memorable drunken salarymen. Nodoka's
counter was another unforgettable story about the
exploits of the inebriated. And both accounts,
spectacular and amazing, humorous and revealing,
already had blurred beyond recognition. No matter
how delicate, how precious the snowflake, it melts
to water. Her mother had said that, during Ranma's
first time in the snow, a long, long time ago, and
it stayed with her to this day, still burnt in her
mind. The day was clear, and the sun glistened
against the white ground; the pure intensity of
the light unequaled in Ranma's memory, now or
then. The details had long since disappeared, like
the fuzzy edges of an aged photograph, but the
feeling, the emotion, the indelible mark of her
mother remained. But the woman who dropped in from
time to time wasn't that emotion, wasn't even the
same person. Not to Ranma, anyway. She had been
given broken shards of a crystal glass, and now
tried so desperately to taste water that had once
spilt over in brimming abundance.

Once she had looked forward to the visits with a
childlike exuberance, as if through sheer desire
the years that separated them could be wished
away. But the sporadic and abrupt meetings began
as though the previous had never ended, and ended
like the previous had never began, and the routine
became, she knew, established, permanent and
futile. Her hopes approached blasphemy; as if her
impossible demand by its very nature defiled the
holiest shrine of the memories they had shared
before he had been taken away to train. But her
folly remained, despite her self-disgust. She
often envisioned one of Nodoka's winter visits,
where they would embrace amidst the fresh, pure
snow, whispering and laughing in the same breath.
She never knew what would be said during that
meeting, and outside of dreams, snow only prompted
Nodoka to bring a heavier coat. She didn't know
what she wanted and she didn't know why she wanted
it, but she intuitively believed the stagnant
times spent with her unwitting mother to be the
only possible fount.

But already the point was growing moot. Though her
will proved unable to break the expectations she
had for her mother, time could. Failed hopes die,
deadening the soul, whether others are ready to
take its place or not; if Ranma's life had taught
her nothing, she knew that for certain.

Akane, her steps purposively noisy, entered the
room with teakettle in hand. Ranma gratefully
broke from her thoughts to face the sound.

"I figure its safe now, Ranma, so here you go."
She walked over to Ranma, and set the kettle down
on the hard wood. "Your mother stayed late, so I'm
probably just gonna' go and get ready for bed. I
figured you didn't want to wait for me to get done
with my bath."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Who woulda' thought drunks
would make her so excited?" Akane looked
expectantly at Ranma, gauging whether her attempt
to cheer the dark-faced Ranma was successful.
Ranma returned an obligatory smile.

Akane always tried during times like this,
although she knew her efforts were never enough.
Her world always had seemed slightly off after her
mother left, and for Ranma to lose hers again and
again, in such a charade...

"Good night, Ranma." Akane turned to exit the
dojo. Ranma intensely gazed upon her retreating
form. As Akane walked through the doorway of the
dojo, she turned and noticed Ranma's expression.

"Something on your mind?"

Ranma froze for a moment, but the words came out
eventually. "No, no, not at all. Thanks, but I'm
fine, Akane."

"Okay." Her tone doubted, questioned, as if it had
predicted the response and foretold its fallacy,
but the door to the dojo neatly slid into place
regardless and Akane was gone from that solemn
eternity.

In the silence of the dojo, the perpetually clean
floor marred only by the remnants of a beat up
training aid and an ignored kettle, Ranma stared
outside, at the rain that consumed Nodoka mere
minutes ago...the rain that beat down over the
quiet city, over Ranma's quiet heart...over
everything.


*****

The Rising Tide
S. Ostler - haxchan@yahoo.com

*****


Forget, for a moment, all you know about physics.
Forget about velocity as a vector of change in
position over change in time. Forget about
acceleration. Forgot about all that, and don't
even think about mentioning Super-string theory.

Just imagine, will you, that a bunch of martial
artists from Nerima were lost in a presumed finite
forest. Imagine they were angry with their leader,
a Soun Tendo, who accidentally went the wrong way
a few hours back and didn't bother to let that
accidentally slip until this point. Picture that,
if you can.

Now pay attention to one small principle of
physics, which is that any body moving at any
speed, even an infinitesimal one, will eventually
reach a point along a finite path. This was the
rule that Soun believed in, and used to justify
his continued leadership, despite the fact that he
really had no clue what he was doing and everyone
knew it. Soun had once heard that a room of
monkeys would type the entire works of
Shakespeare, and this sounded like a good idea to
him.

The rest of the family didn't share his optimism,
and in fact had some rather different opinions,
which they were mostly keeping to themselves. Even
Kasumi was noticeably frowning. The family was
trying to find a sea-side cabin that had been lent
to them by an old school friend of Soun, someone
who had found their way into a good deal of money,
and decided to repay a favor for his old friend in
a very removed, safe fashion. And so, after
getting off the train at the local village, the
family had set off with high hopes, that, at this
point, seemed pretty dang unwarranted given the
quality of current leadership.

Meanwhile, Nabiki was hot, Nabiki was tired,
Nabiki was angry. All children have an instinctive
belief that their daddy is the smartest man ever,
and for Nabiki, that had ended long, long, long
ago. In her opinion, Daddy fell between good-
natured incompetency and sheer idiocy; today was
carving out new territory in the latter direction.

"Daddy, don't you think we should go back to the
fork?" This was not the first time Nabiki had
asked this.

"No, Daddy knows there must be a short-cut around
here...somewhere."

"Um...we could just go back to where we know it is
technically possible to reach our goal, Daddy."

Soun looked around. He saw the same dirt path with
trees, a path that looked very familiar, seeing as
they hard already trodden it. Many times. Even
Kasumi joined in the fray. "Daddy, the food might
spoil unless we get it to a refrigerator."

Soun was adamant. "Now now, girls. Don't you have
a little faith in your Daddy?" The birds chirped.
Soun nervously chuckled.

Through the stupid ordeal, Ranma had said very
little. Now, though, exasperation and a bit too
much time in the sun inspired action. "I'm going
to the cottage, pop. See you there." He abruptly
walked off into the brush, followed by a reluctant
Akane.

"Ranma! Where are you going?" Akane knew she just
asked a stupid question. Ranma just said where he
planned to go. Nonetheless, something had to be
said, and that seemed better than nothing.
Apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I probably should
follow Ranma."

Shifting her suitcase to her other hand with a
determined look, she shouted. "I'm coming with
you, Ranma!"

As Ranma crashed off the trail, Soun shrugged his
shoulders with a look of defeat. "It should have
been right ahead. I just don't understand it. Take
heart girls! Ranma'll bring us there!" He faced
Genma. "Let's get after your son then, eh?" They
made their way through Ranma's new trail.

***

Ranma stood at the top of a tree. Below, a
concerned Akane looked up expectantly. The view
was very nice, despite the overcast sky. He could
see the town they had left; where the forest they
were in met the ocean; and a small marina bustling
with the evening gang of local fisherman. What
really excited him was a small little roof less
than a kilometer away, right on the water. It was
dark, solitary, and abandoned. It invited him.

"I think I see it, Akane!"

"Are you sure it's the right one?"

The ever-present silence. "I guess we'll find
out."

Akane looked down at her feet. She'd said the
wrong thing again. No wonder Ranma kept getting
ticked...despite the fact it wasn't really a bad
thing to say, not in her opinion.

Ranma looked down at his fianc�, almost angry with
Akane. He knew he shouldn't be, and he had long
ago denied his indignation at her free will. It
was just that things could have been so perfect,
if Akane had done things right from the first day,
like he had so fervently dreamt. But intensity and
desperation meant nothing, another of life's
lessons free of charge. Why was it that free
things always cost the most? But this train of
thought was pointless. He'd followed it to its
destination so many times before; he knew every
stop along the line, but he knew the end of line
best. Derailment.

"Alright, let's go then Akane." Ranma jumped down,
picking up his discarded backpack. Well, what
other cottages were around here? It had to be the
right one.

Akane could see by Ranma's facial expression what
Ranma was thinking, and after a few minutes of
walking, replied. "Well, I just didn't want to end
up at the wrong cabin." She felt both stupid for
making the comment, and stupid for having to
defend it. In the distance, she could faintly hear
the rest of the group chatting merrily.

"Akane, don't worry about it." He sharply turned
his head to face his insolent fianc�e, while
maintaining his brisk, eternally impatient pace.
"We'll be just fi-"

And as he walked off a cliff, he stopped talking
and started screaming. He landed in a rocky stream
with a splash and a newly pained expression. Akane
peered over the edge before gingerly climbed down
the bank, dropping her suitcase to the ground
below. It landed next to a facedown Ranma, who was
clearly in pain.

For once, she was glad she landed in water. Her
head was turned so that she could breathe out of
her nose, and even as the water rushed by her
closed eye, the coldness helped to numb the pain.
Of course, the rocks jutting out weren't
pleasurable. One in particular was smashing
against her chest, causing no small amount of
discomfort. Cursing temporary womanhood in
general, she stood up, or did her best attempt at
it, only to crash back down. Her backpack was
still on top of her, compounding the small gray
matter in her left breast. She could fondly
remember a time, a minute ago no less, when her
chest wouldn't have been a problem.

 After a moment of pained reflection, she realized
what happened. When she felt herself falling, she
tried to put her arms and legs down to take the
shock. She even planned to do a roll, proving she
was of hardy martial arts stock. Sadly, however,
it didn't matter, because the backpack caused a
minor problem, and put her on her stomach and in
pain. Musing on life, she hoped the college
deserved the struggle.

Akane looked up at the abandoned structure that
had been their target, obviously well maintained,
standing mere meters away. "Well, Ranma, looks
like you were right. Here it is. Looks nice and
roomy." Akane didn't hear Ranma's usual sharp
reply, and turned around to find an unmoved Ranma
getting wetter.

"Ranma! Get out of there!" A softer voice found
its way out. "Are you okay?"

"Of course! Geez, Akane, I'm fine!" How Ranma
managed to talk while face down in a river
impressed Akane, but Ranma's situation showed no
signs of improving after another escape attempt
left Ranma in an even more intimate position with
the rock.

"ARGHH!!!" In what Ranma hoped sounded like a
battle cry, she attempted to rise again, and only
managed to submerge her mouth. She frantically
jerked her mouth above water, and, shifting her
position back, became reacquainted with the all
too familiar rock.

"Akane? About that help?" Ranma tried in her
meekest voice.

"No problem, Ranma." She lifted the wet backpack,
freeing Ranma's arms. As Ranma struggled to get
up, Akane chided him. "You don't have to be a
macho-woman, Ranma. Let me." With that, Ranma was
lifted into Akane's arms. Ranma yelped out,
realizing exactly how undignified her position
was.

"Don't worry, I'll get you in the cabin, just
relax." Akane started walking the 50 or so meters
to the cottage. Halfway through she stopped to
gaze at the ocean, taking in the gray clouds that
presided over the limitless expanse. Ranma also
gazed skyward, taking particular interest in where
the clouds obscured the faint presence of the sun.
A small golden highlight in the sky was all that
marked the presence of the Sun's golden rays. It
was almost as if the sun was gone, almost as if
the gray clouds that bore down upon the land and
ocean were all there was to see. But somehow, to
the lone pair, it seemed enough, or, at the very
least, that it should be enough.

"Look, Akane. Look how the tide rises so quickly.
Seems like the entire beach'll be covered- the
rocks will all be hidden. Wouldn't that be a
sight?" An honest smile formed on her face.

"We'll see this all tomorrow Ranma. I have a
feeling this'll be a good vacation." She looked
down at the redhead in her arms, and smiled. Ranma
looked back, and slowly reflected Akane's curled
lips, her mind dropping the matter of the
impetuous rock. Akane, nice girl that she was,
brought the matter up again, as Akane's eyes
lowered their glance.

"Ranma! Your shirt!" They saw the rock's effect on
Ranma's traditional red Chinese shirt. There was a
gaping hole in a rather indecent place. As Akane
blushingly poked her finger in the hole, she felt
something warm on her fingers. It was red, to
match the scarlet that Ranma and Akane shared on
their face.

"You're bleeding." Akane said this in a flat tone,
almost offhandedly. Sheepishly, Ranma looked up at
Akane, and then started to squirm.

"I'm fine, Akane! It's just a cut!"

"Ranma, be quiet!" Akane wasn't going to let this
pass as 'just a cut'. It occurred to Akane that if
the gouge was big enough, Ranma'd have to bind her
breasts with a bandage. Fighting to keep from
breaking out laughing, she didn't even notice h.

"What?" Ranma tried to get out of Akane's arms, so
Akane started moving towards her goal again,
hoping to give the impression that she was doing
something important. Reaching the cottage, she set
Ranma down on a porch bench, and carefully took
off Ranma's shirt, to avoid further stains on the
mutilated shirt. She was glad she wasn't in the
middle of Tokyo right now, or any other large
metropolitan areas, for that matter.

"Wait here, okay? I'll go get our bags." Akane ran
back, and slinging the backpack on her back and
taking her suitcase, quickly set back towards the
damaged Ranma. She thought she could hear the
family crashing through the brush. She hoped
they'd watch for abrupt elevation differentials.

Setting down the stuff on the porch, she saw a
placid Ranma looking down at a growing red stain,
spreading over her upper body.
Ranma raised a hand to prod the hurting breast.
"This is really kind of sick."
Akane looked at Ranma, noticing the odd expression
on the redhead's face. That face was a new one for
Akane.

"Ranma? Are you okay?" Akane's eyes were fixed on
the pool that now slowly slid itself down to her
stomach, and dripped down her torso, falling down
on the porch.

"I think I'm a lot better, thanks to you."

Akane stared. "Okay...I'll just clean you up.
Where's your First Aid kit?"

Ranma raised one of her eyebrows exactly one and
one third centimeters, giving Akane 'the look'. It
was a 'look' that even Nabiki would marvel at. In
one look, Ranma told Akane that she was crazy to
ask, crazy to expect an answer, insane for even
thinking about it, and for good measure, just
generally off her rocker.

Akane rescinded her folly, "Right. You're Macho-
Ultra-Tough-I Can't Bleed Saotome-san."

"Strength is for those without options, I
suppose." Ranma, looking at her chest, smiled.
Akane frowned.

The cottage was certainly nice, very chic,
spacious, and filled with appropriate earth tones-
but not sterile. Spying the bathroom, she picked
up Ranma. She noticed with chagrin that apparently
Ranma wasn't done bleeding yet.

Akane tilted Ranma so that the blood pool ran off
onto the porch. Some one was going to have to do
something about that, Akane decided. After
balancing Ranma to avoid any blood spills while
carrying her through the house, she brought Ranma
to the bathtub, where she unceremoniously dumped
her ward.

"Alright Ranma, there you go. You can wash now."
Akane started to draw the curtains closed, when a
hand stopped her by wrapping around her wrist.
Akane looked down as Ranma looked up, their eyes
met once again.

"Akane, I feel strange."

"Ranma. You just fell like 15 feet."

"No, it's not that." Her hand dropped leaving
Akane's free. But Akane's hand remained.

"Maybe I'm just tired. Maybe I need some rest."
Ranma's words caused Akane to frown.

"Can you help me Akane? I just want to relax. I
don't want this blood." Ranma leaned back against
the bathtub's walls, with that same blasted smile.

"Ranma! There's nothing funny about this." Akane
leaned away from Ranma. "Why?"

"I dunno'. Everything's right, except a little
thing. It's funny, ya' know. You won't help me,
but you did before. Why? I dunno." Ranma slowly
looked up. "Help me. I think it's important." She
looked around. "It's a shame that there isn't a
furo like we have at home."

Akane stood in the doorway of the small bathroom.
She took it all in, simple wooden walls, a mirror
on a wall, over a counter with sink. And next to
the counter, there was a bathtub, with Ranma; she
was red in both hair and blood. Akane didn't want
this responsibility, but Ranma's trusting face...

"What can I do?"

"Help wash me." Ranma's request met with success.
Akane found herself mechanically walking over to
Ranma, and slowly, carefully, taking off her
pants. She started the water in the bathtub, and
washed the already thickening crimson off of
Ranma. She washed the cut well, using warm water
to cleanse the effects of the rock. It wasn't real
bad, Akane reflected. Ranma's breast was bruised
around the cut, a bit swollen, but the actual
injury was small and mostly clean, considering a
jagged rock made it. Akane managed a small smile,
but she knew it was different than the ones she
had recently seen on Ranma's face.

"I think I'm done." Akane'd used soap; that caused
Ranma to wince, but no other reply escaped. Still,
the blood had stopped, and the cut already looked
better. "You can get out now." Akane stood Ranma
up, and toweled her off. She led Ranma to a
mirror, to let her see the damage.

"It looks good. Thank you, Akane. I wonder how
many days it would have bled..."

"How many days?"

"Yeah, when I was on the road. You know, with Pop.
It was always a game, whenever I had something
like this, to see how long it would go before
healing. Kinda' silly, I guess, but Pop would
always go easy on the training when I was hurt.
You know, even though he caused em', he always
cared about my injuries."

Akane didn't want to think about that, she didn't
want to think about anything. Only action could
stop this progression, and so she forced herself
to wrap a towel around Ranma's middle. "There. Now
you're presentable. To whom, I'm not sure." With
that, Akane hung up the extra towels and Ranma's
clothes, still wet from the river.

Akane made the mistake of looking at Ranma. She
froze, and then abruptly, exploded with force.
"Our family will be here soon. Dress." Akane
turned to face the door. Opening it, she stormed
out of the bathroom, paused and turned back to
Ranma. "I'm glad you're okay."

"You're not the only one." A pause. "Did you
really not want to do that?"

Akane opened her mouth, as if to say something,
then stopped, her mouth slightly ajar.
She thought, deciding between the two answers. "I
don't know." Akane saw Ranma take a step to bridge
the gap between them.

"Akane...No one wants to do anything they hafta'.
I never did, but it didn't matter. You get used to
it. Well, you think you do, but it's the same
thing. There's only one thing I've really wanted
ta' do, for real." Ranma's overly slow, overly
precise slur stood as a stark contrast to the
usual impulsive barks.

"Did you get to do it?"

Ranma said nothing.

"Why won't you answer me?" Akane's voice was
tinged with rising emotion.

Ranma continued to stare at Akane.

"Just stop, okay! This is all some big perverted
joke! Just forget about the whole thing. I never
helped you, and I don't care about your chest. At
all!!" Akane turned and marched indignantly out of
the bathroom, into the middle of the cabin. She
hesitated, and broke her composure, hanging her
head slightly. Akane immediately tensed again, as
she felt arms close around her waist. She felt a
familiar, feminine body push into her back.

"That's okay. Who needs these things anyway?"
Ranma leaned against Akane, who tensed, frozen in
place. Ranma's hand roved over Akane's blouse,
rhythmically stroking the small indentation of
Akane's navel.

Aside from her hand, Ranma didn't move, and after
a while, Akane relaxed, causing Ranma to lean even
more against her.

"It's not so bad, is it? To be like this, I mean?
Don't worry." Ranma smiled, contentedly, as she
continued to stroke Akane's stomach with her
hands, her arms clinging to Akane's middle.

It was this scene that the rest of the party was
treated to moments later, as Soun pushed the door
slightly ajar, unnoticed.

It had been a long way to the cabin, even with
Ranma's trailblazing help. Soun unsurprisingly
didn't want Nabiki or Kasumi to have to jump down
the bank, so he made sure they went the safe way,
which was, of course, the long way. The *really*
long way. But it was a way that got them where
they were at that point. Soun wished the walk had
been much longer.

The reason Soun feared such an inexplicable scene
was that it could mean any number of things. The
position he found himself in afforded him a full
view of a topless Ranma pressing against Akane.
They seemed accepting of the embrace, and Ranma
even seemed...mildly content? Happy? Soun shook
his head. And if Ranma's position was dubious,
Akane even more so. She had a thoughtful look on
her face, that almost equated to Buddha-like
serenity as she stood there, mildly swaying. Ranma
also rocked in time with Akane. Or was Ranma
leading? Any number of things...

Genma, not as overly concerned by possible
consequences of this embrace closed the door
slowly, giving the two lone bodies privacy. He
eased it closed with skill, and reflected on the
well-oiled hinge that kept hidden the presence of
the voyeurs.
Finally, he forced it into its resting place, as
it finally closed, with a satisfying click, that
didn't go unnoticed by the young two martial
artists.

Even as Akane craned her head to see what caused
the suspicious noise, Ranma just held Akane,
unmoved and unmoving.

"Ranma!" Akane whispered. "I think they're here."

Akane could feel the gentle pressure Ranma's
nodding made against her shoulder. The dark-haired
girl twisted the other way to look at Ranma; she
noticed a lack of movement from the body beside
her. Ranma stood motionless, eyes shut and mouth
closed.

Is this all she wanted? To go to sleep? Akane sat
down and laid Ranma on a couch after changing the
embrace that bound the two. Ranma silently lay
there, as Akane gently played with the red pigtail
that innocently protruded from behind the larger
mass of red, and Ranma made no attempts to stop
her.

In Akane's hands, the pigtail twirled. She brushed
it softly against her hand, and leaned her face in
and rubbed it against her cheek absentmindedly,
reveling in its soft, subtle appeal. The perkily
bright red pigtail, a stark contrast to its
reclined owner, was dropped from Akane's mind, but
not her hands while she contemplated her
situation.

The first thing she needed to do involved Ranma's
lack of a top, and she quickly scoped out one of
five futons that lay on the floor. Five?
Apparently Aizawa didn't know of the Saotomes. She
set Ranma down on one, making sure the bleeding
had stopped. It had, so Akane drew up the blankets
to Ranma's neck. She lightly toweled Ranma's
cheek; was that a brief smile she saw on Ranma's
face?

Akane silently walked over to the door, and
abruptly flung it open. On the other side, Kasumi
smiled. Confused, Akane looked 90 degrees to the
right, where Nabiki, Soun, and Genma were peering
inside through a window. Only Nabiki seemed to
notice her angry sister.

"Oh, hi sis. So, looks like you and Ranma made it
okay, right?" Nabiki smiled in what she hoped was
a reconciliatory grin. "We were just...making sure
not to disturb you." Nabiki was doing her best to
hide a camcorder that was innocently pressed
against her back.  "We wouldn't want to disturb
anything. Right daddy?" This statement was aimed
at the two aging peepers, still wondering where
Akane had went after disappearing from their line
of sight. As soon as Nabiki kicked them, they
knew.

"Why hello there, uh, Akane. Very good to see you
in good spirits." This was Soun's attempt to start
things off in a good way.

"Um, yes, Akane. Just checking in on my, uh, boy,
you know."

"I bet." Akane's eyes were practically slits. The
intrusion and blatant lies quickly channeled the
embarrassment into anger.

"Well, the boy appears to be resting." Genma was
trying to see Ranma, which was hard due to a couch
being in the way. He could see some red locks that
were peaking over the top, which told him more
than enough about how his 'boy' was doing. "And
I'm assuming the blood is from him." He glanced
down at the murky pool indifferently.

"Uh, yeah. He had a nasty fall on our way here."
She pointed to the bank where Ranma had fallen.
Nabiki winced.

"That must have hurt." Nabiki solemnly intoned, as
she stepped inside the cottage, to be joined by
the remainder of the group. She glanced over at
Ranma, an inquisitive expression registering on
her face.

"A martial artist's life is fraught with peril".
Genma solemnly intoned.

If Ranma had been awake, he would have said
something pithy about stupid fathers with fluff
for brains being fraught with idiocy. Nabiki was
almost expecting Ranma to say this anyway, being
comatose notwithstanding. Without Ranma, Nabiki
felt strange, she felt different, she felt
incomplete. She felt bored. She had more feelings
for Ranma than people thought she did, just not by
a whole lot.

"Oh my! What about dinner?"

"Don't worry, Kasumi. Aizawa-san was good enough
to stock the kitchen with modern appliances, so
you can just unpack the food and start cooking. He
really is an upstanding morally strong citizen."
As Soun's eyes took the cottage in, his eyes
bulged over a small stack of magazines with very
colorful and interesting covers. Quickly, he hid
them under a couch cushion.

 "Look at all this stuff! We're going to have a
great meal." Cooking was a passion that gave
complete rapture.

Back in the more or less real world, people were
settling in. Bags were unpacked, futons were
claimed. The group was short one futon, and it
occurred to Genma, who was studying this with
great care, that if Ranma had bedding, and the
girls had to have bedding (as Soun would have no
less), and Genma had already plopped his way into
possession of one, the odd one out was Soun. This
presented Genma with no ethical problems; he had
gone without proper bedding more than enough
times, in his book. Time for Soun to share in the
joy.

Outfits soon filled dressers, toothbrushes invaded
the bathroom, and soon food filled dinner plates.
At the small table yet smooth and finely grained
cedar table, the entire family gathered for a
slightly late meal, and Kasumi's latest creation
became the hot topic. For all but Akane, who still
tried without success to simultaneously understand
Ranma and sizzle with anger at her peeping family.
She started at the sleeper, who dozed contentedly
in what got chosen to be Akane's bed. This
occurred to Akane as she realized all the other
futons were claimed.

"Umm...Daddy, where am I going to sleep?"

"Oh, why Akane! Wherever you want!" Akane looked
up with a surprised look. "Assuming, that is, you
want to sleep there." Soun looked pointedly at
Ranma.

"So in other words, it's not really 'wherever I
want'?" The anger at her family's impositions
reawakened with a vengeance.

"Well, Akane, Aizawa must have thought it was me,
you girls...and mother." Soun swallowed, with some
effort. "But now, looks like someone's going to
have to share."

Akane lowered her gaze.

Nabiki decided to break the silence. "And this
way, if Ranma decides to impale herself on a rock
in the middle of the night, you can join in the
fun!" Nabiki smiled at herself. It wasn't what she
said that made her clever, she reflected, but how
and when she said it.

"Thanks for the idea, Nabiki." Akane wasn't in a
good mood, and that last comment put her even
further from crawling into the same bed as Ranma.

"Just looking on the bright side of things, sis.
Well, I'm going to bed. Early to bed, early to
tan, I always say." With that, she went into the
bathroom. Tomorrow was going to be fun, she was
sure of that.

Kasumi, already washing dishes, looked up. "We
should all be going to bed soon, actually. Soon as
this is done, I think I'll be joining Nabiki."

"A good idea, Kasumi." Soun rose.  "Should we
finish this last game of Shogi?" What Genma
responded with wasn't a yes. It wasn't a no
either. It was nothing, which was incidentally
what Genma was doing, already snugly sleeping in
his futon. Genma certainly could be fast, Soun
reflected with a note of surprise. Take your eyes
off him for one moment, and he'll go to sleep on
you.

Soun looked at his sleeping friend, and then at
the game board. Genma probably flipped things
around, while Soun was eating. Time to restore
things to their natural state, which he did while
chuckling evilly. Unlike his friend, Soun fought
the good fight.

And Ranma just lay there, gently rising and
falling in rhythm to her deep breathing. Ranma
might as well sleep here, Akane decided, now ready
for bed, most anger forgotten. She looked down at
the cute little cat PJ's that were just about to
be put on, and it occurred to Akane that all Ranma
had on was a partially damp towel. Well, Ranma's
just going to wake up with some pajamas on, Akane
decided with resolve. Good thing she's sleeping,
as she might not like the pink hearts that adorned
the particular pair that Akane was about to
impart. Oh well. The hearts matched her red hair
well, and, as Akane firmly gripped the overly cute
sleepwear, a girl was *nothing* if not color-
coordinated.

She knelt by Ranma's sleeping form, and held
Ranma's arms up. Akane slipped the pajama tops on,
noting that they were too tight, especially in two
rather prominent places. Such is the life for last
minute packers, Akane mused.

It always struck Akane as unfair that Ranma didn't
want the figure that any girl would die for.
Martial arts training burned a bit too much fat in
certain places, at least for Akane. She had never
really minded before Ranma came along, and the
idea of developing a chest for an unwanted
fianc�e? Ridiculous. Nonetheless, Akane was
partially jealous of Ranma's tone, curves, and
size. Plus, Ranma could cook. But at the moment,
Akane had trouble staying angry with the
unfortunate redhead, and she broke into a smile as
Ranma mumbled something about some phantom
sukiyaki being just the perfect temperature.
Ranma's gluttony was already quite well known to
the entire Tendo household, but it struck Akane as
endearing and... possibly even cute right then.

Now, the matter of the PJ bottoms. She had her
work cut out for her, Akane knew, as she untied
the towel and let it loosely cover certain body
parts without restricting her plans, and rolled up
her sleeves. The first step, Akane reflected, was
to start from the feet. Fortunately, her sisters
were busy in the bathroom, and Daddy and Saotome-
san were sleeping. And certainly Ranma wasn't
going to complain, at least not tonight. Akane
quickly worked them up to her knees. Akane could
see the outlines of scars on Ranma's legs, from
the fall, and from her many training adventures.
She ran her hand over the smooth skin, feeling
where deep red scratches marred a light cream. She
really hoped Ranma didn't wake up. Lightly lifting
Ranma's legs off the ground, Akane continued to
edge the PJs up, bit by bit.

Akane giggled. Getting kicks from pulling Ranma's
pants up? Akane scoffed at the thought.
Nonetheless, she was glad to be able to do this,
perhaps due to maternal instincts, or perhaps the
incredibly silly position Ranma was in; she was
naked (although some sensitive parts *were*
covered by a towel and pajama tops), and her legs
were both spread and not touching the ground.
Finally, she snugged the pastel pants to Ranma's
hips, and removed the towel, guiding the bottoms
to their home around the waist. They were a little
snug, but they'd have to do.

She'll thank me in the morning. Akane chuckled at
the idea, as she got up to change into her own
pajamas.

*****

Akane's thoughts rambled as she returned, clad in
her cat-adorned sleepwear. She was moments away
from going to bed with Ranma. Of course, Ranma was
a girl, and wearing those pink PJs, looked awfully
like the antithesis of masculinity. Akane could
even undo Ranma's braid... If she did that, they'd
probably look similar. Akane did that, and as
Ranma's short cascade of hair fell down, Akane
internally felt a little bit better about her
bedmate.

Lightly, Akane rubbed Ranma's cheek. Martial arts
*do* make for strange bedfellows, as her father
once said. Akane slipped in the futon, glad that
the blanket was big enough for the two girls. How
was Ranma, anyway? Did her wound heal all right?
Akane stretched the fabric of the shirt down just
a bit. It was low cut, and only required a little
tug to show Ranma's still raw and pulverized skin.
Objectively looking at Ranma, she saw see that the
wound, not only a long way from being healed,
seemed to be in its worst state right now. A tint
of red graced her cheek, matching Ranma's hair and
chest. Akane concentrated on the wound.

Akane stroked the small scars that had been
ingrained into Ranma's skin after long hours of
training, but they were pale and mundane next to
the big one, and Akane tentatively reached out to
dab her finger at the rock's handiwork. It felt
sticky...Ranma didn't need this to happen. No one
did, really, but somehow because it was Ranma, and
she was a girl, it was worse. Akane wondered how
the skin would contract when hot water was
applied...It would probably hurt, leaving Akane
wondering as to how Ranma would enjoy staying as a
girl for a few days. Nothing new for him, to be
sure, but it always made things a little
interesting. With these considerations superceding
the world around her, she absentmindedly rubbed
around the wound, avoiding direct contact. In the
background, she could hear her sisters settling
into their sheets.

Nabiki also heard something; the rustling of
sheets in Akane's direction was faintly audible.
"Don't have too much fun now, Akane" Nabiki
whispered into the darkened room. "You're not
married yet, remember?" Nabiki snorted with self-
absorbed glee and felt no shame whatsoever. She
loved herself.

Akane did nothing, rising above the obvious bait.
She settled down into the downy fabric of the
quilt they both lay under and lightly pulled
Ranma's body against her own, leaning her head
next to Ranma's ear. She felt their clothing
rustle, and imaged how silly the clashing hearts
and cats looked juxtaposed as Akane was sure they
were.

Ranma's methodical, deep breathing filled Akane's
ear, its warmth passionately caressing her cheek
as it floated by. It reminded Akane of when Ranma
was in her cat state, Akane decided detachedly.

Impulsively, she ran her hand through Ranma's
hair, and gently scratched just behind Ranma's
ear. Ranma's breathing stayed even, but Akane
thought she could hear a quiet sigh. Satisfied,
she kissed Ranma on the cheek, and leaned
backwards until she lay flat against the bed,
contentedly watching Ranma naturally fall against
her body. Akane tried to remember exactly why she
kissed her, but soon sleep set in, and impossible
questions melted into thoughts of two girls
playing on a beach, one dark haired, one red.

*****

Ranma had built a temple to his memories, a
sacrifical alter to forever distant dreams, upon
which he was the lone offering, immolated by his
most potent fears and indomitable convictions.

But his holy chapel was finally breaking, joining
the long dead world it was built for. The Purest
reality gaily babbled through the lonely memorial,
the force of its cascades breaking down the sacred
pillars and solemn statues.

The holocaust was a stunning tribute to
destruction, heedless of the temple's substitute,
if anything existed that could even begin to
replace the grandeur of that false, fallen
sanctuary. Ranma stood amidst the decimation; she
saw himself laughing with a passion that
transcended words, an intensity that only they and
Akane alone could understand. But the two girls
walked away from that blasted landscape, forever
abandoning the madman to the eternal echo of his
hollow cackles.

Under a brilliant moon and tranquil sky, the two
clans slumbered on.

*****

Every morning is a combination of regrets and
hopes, sorrows and joys, departures and returns.
As the reborn sun gently entered the cabin, it
glided over the wooden floors, the polished tables
and cabinets. The morning light, muffled by the
ever-present clouds, streamed in through the many
windows. Accenting the haphazardly laid out
futons, squeezing between the three couches,
couple of chairs, and pooling on the untraditional
coffee table that presided in the middle of it
all, it bathed the room in a subtle and mysterious
glow. Ranma slowly woke to the early morning.

Akane was very close, Ranma couldn't help but
notice. Her body lay against her fianc�e's, and
Akane's arms were wrapped around her waist. Her
head was gently nestled between Akane's upper
chest and head. Ranma could feel Akane's chest
slowly and methodically rise and fall, soothing
and seductive. It was wonderful.

Ranma opened her eyes and saw skin; it was smooth,
firm yet soft, and very close. Ranma realized her
head was resting between Akane's left shoulder and
chest, thus affording an excellent view of what
lay above the V-neck of Akane's pajamas. Next to
that wide sea of pink, Ranma could also see the
overwhelmingly cute creatures on Akane's
overwhelmingly cute sleeping shirt...they appeared
to be cats with creative liberties taken,
especially on each of the two tails.

It a burst of activity, Ranma freed her arms, and
pushed herself up on her hands. Ranma was sure her
father would at any moment arise and bemoan the
absence of her discipline, or lack of motivation,
or whatever the current derision happened to be.
But the feeling of Akane's touch came to her at
once, and her anger subsided, leaving apathy as
the sole remnant. Ranma tried to defend her
father, for at least they talked together, trained
together, tried to live together. But there was no
way to justify him, desolate and despicable. She
glanced over at the two fathers, subtly shaking
her head.

She moved to be face to face with Akane. Ranma
felt her energy fade away, and she studied the
curve of Akane's nose, the pout of the lips, and
the gradual, full outline of face that unknowing,
slept. Ranma knew that she was gently falling back
into Akane, whose arms even now intoxicatingly
pressed Ranma back into that blissfully warm quilt
and body.

Consciousness flitted away, capricious and
unwelcome.

*****

Akane's eyes opened slowly, aware of an unusual
pressure against her chest. Ranma. She slept so
peacefully, reflecting a serenity that had no
parallel during Ranma's wakeful hours. Except,
Akane thought with sudden clarity, yesterday.
Akane suddenly felt a desire to rise, to escape
the terrible suffocation of Ranma's loose, limp
grasp. She sat up abruptly, and Ranma started
sliding, only stopped by her newly tensed arms.

"Whad? Whad's happning?"

"I'm getting up Ranma, let go of me."

Ranma snapped awake. "No! You can't!"

"Yes I can! Now get off!" Akane's arms tried to
slip out of their entanglement, failing as Ranma
just as frantically tried to reposition them.

"No!"

"Ranma!" The two looked up. The family was awake
now, watching them intently. Soun's voice
continued. "How dare you do that to my daughter!"

"Boy, you disgrace me." Ranma shuddered; her
father almost spoke in unison with Akane's. She
looked from face to face. Kasumi's face brooked no
anger, but subtly shook
from side to side in sorrow, with a grandfather's
clock careful precision. Nabiki only smirked.

Ranma dropped her now limp hold on Akane. She
slowly rose, heading for the bathroom's refuge.

"Sorry." She closed the door behind her.

Even through the door she could hear Nabiki's
sharp reply.

"Oh, don't be too upset. Daddy does this for
anyone molesting his daugther." Nabiki was
rewarded by a very loud and violent thump. The
family was surprised to hear anger, newly
converted from sorrow.

"Nabiki, maybe you shouldn't tease Ranma so much."

"Right, Kasumi."

***

Akane angrily looked on as the family got up.
Nabiki was munching on an apple, lovingly left by
one of Aizawa's assistants, while Kasumi, still in
her nightgown, started the morning's feast. As a
contrast to Kasumi's productivity, Father and
Saotome-san focused intensely on yet another game
of Shogi. Akane watched as Father swiped another
piece. If they spent as much effort playing as
they did cheating...it occurred to Akane to wonder
where the board came from. Was it the same board
they used at home? For all of the times Akane saw
the board father used at home, she couldn't
conjure up any details about it.

Would Ranma know? He probably would, and he'd tell
her any good martial artist would observe their
natural environment. But she wouldn't have said
that last night, she wouldn't have said anything
of the sort. Last night, it was as if Ranma
suddenly...suddenly...

She had no idea, and Ranma never seemed prone to
volunteer information, especially about himself.
With a furrowed brow, Akane sat, all thoughts of
the Shogi board lost.

***

In the only other room of the getaway, Ranma
looked down at the cooling water that she had
filled the bathtub with, while playing with her
loose hair. Stepping into hot water had become one
of her favorite pastimes, but now a steaming pool
had little appeal for Ranma and her chest, and as
such, the bath consisted of statically oriented
lukewarm water. Angrily, she marched herself into
the tub, feeling a now familiar rage, the aimless
protest against everything, against a shapeless
army of sorrows.

As she stepped into the water, she could almost
feel her curves being stripped away as they had
been so many times before, even knowing that
improperly heated water simply couldn't. One idea,
one word resounded through her harried mind.

Idiot.

She was such an idiot. Ranma knew there was no
escape from that.

She knew that staying angry, something she
ordinarily took solace in, simply was impossible
now. Akane...Every day between them that didn't
get better got worse. That's nothing new. But
today had to get better, it simply had to. What
just happened couldn't be it. How could the world
ever be right again, how could the wishes of years
and years ever come true, unless through today? In
the still eternity of the water, Ranma's fiercely
trembling fist made the tiniest of ripples, that
crashing against the sides of the bathtub, were
forever silenced.

***

Time slipped away unmissed for both troubled
martial artists. Ranma finished her bath, while
Akane watched the morning meal come into
existence, observing every move Kasumi made, more
for habit's sake than actual gain. She had once
thought that by watching a master cook at work,
the skills would transfer by osmosis; the
impossible tricks would become second nature,
almost as if cooking ability was in the very air
that Kasumi exhaled.

Of course, that wasn't true, and Akane soon found
herself even more exasperated by how Kasumi always
knew exactly when a soup was done cooking, or
instinctively picked out a perfect pinch. What's
the difference between a dollop and a smidgeon,
and how did that occult knowledge come to Kasumi?
It seemed to Akane that the superiority of
Kasumi's cooking came from a ludicrously sustained
streak of luck that had lasted since about age
fourteen, and showed no signs of petering out. A
lucky streak that Akane showed not even the
slightest trace of. Kasumi certainly tried her
best to inform her enthusiastic disciple, but as
Akane came to see it, the problem lay less in the
subject matter and more in the student: Akane was
simply clumsy. And, when Ranma came, she learned
that not only was that clumsiness painfully
apparent in culinary matters, but that it also
manifested in martial arts as well. Ranma's eased
proficiency in two of the most important parts of
Akane's life always seemed incredibly and
cosmically unfair.

But after yesterday, the injustice was reduced to
a mere inevitability. Neither of them could help
the differential in their fighting or cooking
skills, nor did it matter, at least not in the
end. Little did. Her righteousness was crumbling,
and with it, came a dulling acquiescence that
begged immediate resolution.

By this time she had already walked over to the
table, where the rest of the family had already
gathered around. With a visible lack of interest,
she set into the morning fare.

A few moments later she was treated to a still
female Ranma, who mumbled a thank you to Kasumi
and sat down at the spot clearly reserved for her;
her still untied hair causing more than a few
stares from the family. With little more vigor
than Akane, she also started upon the meal. But if
the family noticed this lackluster performance
from either of them, they said nothing. Nabiki and
Kasumi busied themselves planning the agenda for
the day, lying in the sun, while Soun and Genma
instead reminisced over some long forgotten
exploit, involving two large bowls of sukiyaki and
a fire alarm.

Finally, Ranma's chopsticks neatly clicked against
her plate, and after locating her shoes, she
meandered outside. A few moments later, Akane also
finished and followed her fianc�. Just as she
suspected, Ranma was near the stream. Martial
artists just couldn't pass as self-reliant, all-
powerful, immortals, as Akane had said to herself
ever since her family had lost a member. It was
Ranma who always tried to forget this. She walked
over to Ranma, noticing how the fog hung over the
ocean, and a lighter mist rolled over the forest,
but Akane's frequent trips to the ocean told her
both would soon be burnt away by the morning sun.

Akane could see where Ranma was focusing. Her
fianc� was looking out at the ocean, the horizon,
and the sand. She stood, mesmerized by the nearby
river, and how it ran through the rocky beach. The
beach was covered by smooth, worn rocks,
diminished by time and weather. Her gaze followed
the contour of the shore to where the beach was
overwhelmed by the cliffs of a familiar bluff, a
buttress against the waves, it's sole charge to
safeguard a gnarled tree that stood on the cliff.
It hung precipitously hung over a watery doom, but
was anchored into the rock. The stony cliff that
supported it was barren, and rocky...even grass
was absent, only the lone tree persevered in its
loneliness. But from Ranma's view, she could see
where the ocean's tide dashing against the rocks
had left its mark, and she could see the cliff
already receding, leaving only a thin overhang to
safeguard its solitary ward. Eventually, the rock
would retreat further, leaving only an abandoned
tree to crash to its grave. What would happen to
the rock? She looked down at her feet, covered
with the ancient rocks, ground down. Were all of
these once cliffs? Was she standing on a graveyard
of thousands of once-majestic bastions of
unyielding strength, made casualties of the harsh
water? She picked up a rock...it was useless,
small, refined...but, she mused, almost soft to
the touch- and appealing to look at. She idly
recalled that Akane had a few rocks like these on
her desk, something to look at and feel during
idle moments, or maybe during a long night of
studying. Ranma watched Akane walk up, and she
threw the rock into the river. It made a small
splash, but the ripples were soon washed away by
the river's unceasing flow. She could throw
another rock, but the results would be the
same...the inevitability of the river's victory
over the rock seemed so unfair, but...for once,
oddly fitting. She tensed slightly, as if bracing
for Akane's words. They came, as expected, but
Ranma's preparations were still woefully
inadequate.

"Ranma..." Silence. Akane tried again. "Ranma, is
it still hurting?"

"Not much." She turned her head to face Akane. "If
it was, you'd be hearing about it. " Ranma smiled.
"You know, I can't even remember which rock it
was." She vaguely gestured towards the river.

"I think it was that one right there." Akane
pointed at one rock in particular, noteworthy in
how it extruded out of the stream into the morning
air, any blood long since born away by the eternal
rush of water.

"Ah. Thank you Akane. It's not like I want to
forget about it or anything." Akane knew better
than to take offense. Silence again, but less than
before. Ranma turned to face Akane.

"Umm, Akane, about last night and today..."

"Yes Ranma?"

"Just...just don't worry 'bout it, okay?" Ranma's
inability to meet Akane's eyes told that she
herself was unable to do what she had just
requested. "Don't go thinking that I'd wanna'
touch an..." Her voice, originally choked, tapered
off into nothing. She turned away from Akane,
favoring instead the expanse of overcast ocean.

"An...an uncute tomboy like you." Ranma finished
her statement. Akane could barely hear the final
words, but could fill in the rest of the well-worn
phrase by herself, without straining to hear.

Ranma looked out at the misty waters. The gray
subdued the ocean, but couldn't suppress its
appeal. The endless whitecaps, stretching out
further than she could see, seemed to have a
beautiful order to them, almost as if the rows of
random ebbing and flowing were together chaotic in
unison.

"The ocean is beautiful today. I can't point to
anything about it, but somehow, I can just feel
it."

"Ranma, the sun isn't even out. It'll be even
better when the clouds are gone."

"It's pretty now, with all the mist, isn't it?
Especially where the ocean meets the rocks right
there...where the gray water meets the gray
stone." Ranma gestured to where she had been
looking previously.

"I guess so..."

"I dunno why I like it, but...I do."

"Ranma, I'm sorry about the pajamas."

"Akane, it's fine. They did look kinda' cute, I
guess."

"On you, they did."

"Akane..."

"Will you be changing back?"

"I'm sorry for this morning, Akane."

"Ranma, its okay-"

"I...shouldn't have acted like I did."

"No, really Ranma, it's fine."

Ranma sighed. "There's nothing more I can say."

"What?"

"I don't have anything else I can tell you." As if
to end the encounter, Ranma sat down next to the
stream, staring out to the ocean.

"Ranma, I came over to talk to you."

Ranma gave Akane a pleading glance. "And you did."

"So you want me to leave, is that it?"

Ranma looked at Akane without speaking. But she
didn't have to. Need was a language they had both
became fluent in. Akane punctured the silence with
a sharp breath and sat down next to Ranma.

"I...know you don't."

Ranma looked over at Akane, and smiled wanly.

"Well...I guess not entirely."

They sat, wordless, until Ranma softly spoke, "My
butt's getting cold."

Akane grinned. The chill was mutual.

"Well then, Ranma, let's move somewhere."

"Okay." She looked up expectantly at Akane, who
hesitated, then boldly stood up. Ranma followed
suit.

"See that trail over there?"

Ranma wordlessly nodded her assent, and followed
Akane as she made her way to where the sand gave
way to dust, and a short meter away, sprung into
an impenetrable wall of forest. Akane guided them
to a small opening in the dense green, and soon a
pair of heads was bobbing along an overgrown path
through a sylvan expanse. Despite the many
obstacles in the path, Ranma smiled as she looked
at the leafy masses. Akane, on the other hand, was
fervently cursing how the undergrowth seemed to
invade the trail with ever-increasing success.

The trail gently loped to the right, and Ranma and
Akane followed the contours, even as the path
shrunk more and more, and tree trunks and shrubs
openly made war on the cleared walkway.

"I'm sorry Ranma. Seems like my trail idea was a
bust." Akane kept walking, but it became more and
more difficult.

"Aww, Akane. I wouldn't say that." Ranma cocked
her head to look at Akane. "Maybe the trail hasn't
been worked on for a while, but-" Once again,
Ranma's voice broke off into a scream as she
plummeted and hit the ground with a thud.

"Damn it! What the hell is this? What's with all
these damn cliffs?" This time, Ranma had landed on
her hands and knees, her facing several inches
above a river. The river. She got up, and Akane
could see the words Ranma was mouthing to herself.
Akane blushed, and jumped down, with an
understandable sense of d�j� vu. She gingerly
lifted Ranma in her arms, and walked over to a
large clump of ferns.

"Akane, I'm fine! No really! Maybe I wasn't last
time, but now I am! Damn it, Akane!"

"God, your charm dazzles me. You sound like a
sailor."

"Ohhh...Akane-chan, I'm sorry to-"

In one smooth motion, Ranma stuck her legs out,
locked them around Akane's and pulled. Akane's
knees buckled, and she lost her balance. Ranma
quickly shot her arm up to slow her descent, and
Akane was gently lowered into the ferns as well.

"-disturb you." Ranma gave Akane her best cutesy-
girl smile, and when Akane pushed herself to her
hands and knees and felt her face covered with
fern pods and dew, she burst out laughing at the
sight of Ranma's grin. Ranma placed a hand on
Akane's cheek, a look of concern on her face.

"Here, Akane-chan, it seems your face got a little
green. Let me help."

"Oh, thank you ever so much, Ranma-chan, how shall
I repay you?" As Ranma moved to exaggeratingly
wipe some green speckles off, Akane sprung on top
of Ranma, pushing the two of them deeper into the
foliage patch.

"You!"

The trees played in elegant rhythm, swaying to the
wind's graceful lead, under the clouds that
forever denied the sun's maternal embrace.

***

Amidst peals of frantic giggling, Akane had won.
Ranma was pinned flat on her back, and Akane, the
exultant victor, leaned forward to impart her
message to her vanquished foe. Both girls were
gasping for air.

"Well, Ranma-chan, I think this settles things,
doesn't it?" She rolled off Ranma, face up, her
neck tickled by the rough ferns. By now, patches
of sun broke through the tree's canopy, and shone
upon their faces. Ranma lazily stretched, content
in her makeshift bed, lightly touching Akane. But
then a disturbing thought came to her, and quickly
forced articulation.

"Not yet, Akane, I...wanted to apologize-"

"For this morning?" Akane's conciliatory phrase
was intended to end the matter. "Hey, those things
just sort of happen."

"They happen because-" Ranma swallowed. "I made
them happen, and-"

"Ranma, just leave it alone. It's over, and I'm
done with it."

"But Akane-"

"Ranma! Stop!" Akane paused. "There's nothing to
talk about!" Akane's outburst caused Ranma to look
away, but only added to the trouble Akane saw on
her face.

The birds chirped their ditties in the background,
the sun continued to shine down upon them. But
Ranma lay there, the rise of her chest the only
evidence of activity. The wistful, almost dejected
smile on Ranma's face was hauntingly familiar to
Akane, and she instinctively felt its importance.
But try as she might, she couldn't place where
that particular expression had broke through
Ranma's usual grin before.

Time drew on until, for comfort's sake, Ranma
turned so that one fern in particular wouldn't
poke her in the neck. Akane found she was directly
looking into Ranma's eyes. And Ranma was looking
at hers. Akane suddenly realized where that
flicker of recognition she felt had came from,
from the dinner table, with Auntie Saotome. It was
when Auntie was talking about Ranma, about the
times they shared before Ranma left to train...
and Akane had lightly passed her eyes over Ranma,
only to be riveted by the expression she saw. It
was the same, it was...

It was the look on Ranma's face when he had
arrived from China, the look of someone so tied to
a past life and lost memories that they had been
driven away by life's unceasing flow, the look of
someone longing to cut themselves loose. Akane
only now saw how brazenly accepting Ranma had
wanted to be, ever since their very first time in
the dojo. Neither of them had understood it. They
shouldn't have been so courageous, Akane knew, but
there was no time for remorse.

"Ranma..." Akane's call roused Ranma, her reverie
halted, her eyes once again focusing on those of
Akane.

"Akane?"

"Are you okay?"

"After last night? Sure, no problems. Not one, not
at all." Despite Ranma's words, Akane heard the
uncertainty in her voice, the terror, but also
the...

Akane put her hand on Ranma's shoulder, loosely
clutching. "No, I'm not talking about that." She
propped herself up on her elbow.

"Our fight this morning? Yeah, I'm...fine..."

"No Ranma..." Akane gently moved her hand from
Ranma's shoulder to lie lightly across Ranma's
waist. They were both oblivious to the world
around them. "I mean you." Ranma 's only response
was to allow her jaw to drop ever so slightly,
parting her lips and letting her jaw hang in rapt
oblivion. Akane tightened her grip around Ranma's
waist, and was rewarded by a short gasp from
Ranma. Ranma's face was conflicted, a look of
helplessness etched.

Akane lowered herself off her elbow, preferring
instead to place her arm around Ranma's other
shoulder. Ranma was frozen, petrified in that
static pose. Akane gently pulled with both hands,
so that Ranma's face hovered above her own.

"Please tell me Ranma. Are you okay?"

"I..." Ranma looked close to tears. "I..." Akane
saw Ranma bow her head in resignation, her
breathing heavy and almost labored. "No,
I'm...not..." Ranma hung her head in shame. But
suddenly, her eyes were lit by an intense passion.
Ranma jerked her head directly above Akane's.

"But I want to be!"

Akane on impulse closed her eyes. Akane sensed
Ranma's breath, and a moment later, Ranma applied
a soft, sensual pressure from her lips to Akane's.
She immediately tensed. Her eyes sprung open, to
see Ranma's face amazingly close, her eyelids shut
so strongly that they quivered, her breath held in
apprehension. But Akane understood. Ranma, after
Akane's silence, raised her head in concern,
opening her questioning eyes. That tragically
innocent face, that vulnerable look was enough to
make Akane aggressively pull Ranma down again, for
a more passionate embrace, one that would leave no
doubt. Akane could swear she heard Ranma sigh in
relief, and saw Ranma's eyelids, still shut, drop
their tension.

"Akane..." Ranma ended the kiss, voicing her
fianc�'s name.

"Ranma..." Akane, for once, responded with the
same tender tone. Ranma looked at her, smiling so
perfectly. Akane fell back into the ferns, taking
Ranma with her.

The oppressive sky rolled overhead, unchallenged
and forgotten.

***

The lunch the family ate was notably one of the
more pleasant they'd had for quite a time. If
Nabiki had wondered why Akane & Ranma had taken
over four hours to finish their walk, she said
nothing. If Kasumi had wondered why their clothing
was covered with specks of green, from the bottom
of their pants to the tops of their shirts, she
made no sign of it. And if Genma or Soun had
wondered why the girls had come in giggling over
some secret obscurity, they certainly showed far
more interest in the admittedly deserving lunch,
now extinct.

Which is what made the tryst in the ferns so
delicious, Akane reflected as she sat on a couch,
looking out at the ocean. Ranma lay sprawled over
the same couch; her head reclined in the warmth of
Akane's lap, a blanket covering her body. Her
family had been oblivious, content to revel in the
pathos of a recent Shogi game, revealed by the
enthusiastic fathers to the amused sisters. But
really, this came to Akane as no surprise; her
family would disinterestedly watch the end of a
world, even her own, she knew. Because her father
could only ask how his girls were, and her sisters
could only tell about an odd dream, or an
interesting article in a magazine. Or any of the
other millions of directionless tidbits in a life,
devoid of meaning and purpose. That's how it had
always been, ever since the loss of Akane's
mother, and she usually would join her sisters in
that idle family distraction. She could have told
a joke that would have made them all chuckle, as
she'd stored a few good stories from school, just
for this vacation. But as she sat on the couch and
stroked Ranma's crimson locks, she knew she could
do something more important now, a thing in one
moment essential and fleeting. And so she did.

"Akane?" Ranma's gaze was locked on the rolling
waves, still thrashing the sky against the
overhanging clouds.

"Hmm?" Her response was both a question and an
affirmation.

"I think I know why the ocean is so beautiful."

Questioningly, "It might be better later...you
know, maybe after the clouds burn off."

"You're right, of course, it could always be
better. But for the first time in as long as I can
remember, I dunno' how."

And as they gazed and smiled, dreaming of a
wakeful slumber, they heard distant echoes of
their family in careless abandon outside on the
surf; they heard the thunderous, rising tide crash
down upon rocks and seashells alike.



*******
The End
*******

Please do whatever with whatever C&C you
have...email me at haxchan@yahoo.com, post it to
FFML...And be as critical as you want about
whatever you want. No matter how idiotic your
suggestions are, I'll listen to them. And if
they're *good*, so much the better.

Props to Sunny Day Real Estate. The Rising Tide is
a song (and album) of theirs. Also, their lyrics
provided some inspiration for some of the scenes,
and the following lines are used...without permission.

And for you musical infidels,
they *did* go on to become the Foo Fighters.

SDRE Quote In Fic:
"I wonder how many days I'll bleed" - Fool in the
Photograph

Others
"My Righteousness is crumbling" - I Just Threw Out
the Love of My Dreams, Rentals
"You should try not to be so courageous" -
Courage, Alien Ant Farm

Thanks to Sam Brown (www.gameart.com/4ca) for his
3ft program line parser that gives me an excuse to
muck around with w2k's command line. Righteous.

Thanks to my pre-readers, JefferyD@epimp.com (of
Take Off Your Clothes fame...interesting title,
exceptional quality) in particular for his kindly
worded 'no Monty Python jokes' advice and initial
encouragement. And thanks in advance to whomsoever
decides to contact me.

And last but most, thanks to Rumiko Takahashi. It
always worries me that out of such a wonderful
tale as Ranma, I mostly picked sorrow. But perhaps
that's why I write in a basement, and she writes
in the spotlight of the world.


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