Akane worriedly brushed at Ranma's face as the sound of the ambulance was heard outside. Ranma was having troubles keeping awake now, but whether that was blood loss or just normal for Ranma, she didn't know for sure. Akane was distracted when she was showered with cold water. He looked up in surprise to see Kasumi holding a glass. "Kasumi?" Akane sputtered, confused. "What was that for?" "The same reason I insisted you be male for Ranma's doctor's appointment," Kasumi said as she headed for the door. Akane would have responded, but then she was gone. "She's in here." A pair of men in paramedic uniforms came into the hallway with a stretcher. Akane and Ranma both tensed, the redhead waking up a little as they appeared. As they moved to pick up Ranma and put her on the stretcher, she sat up. "Don't touch me," Ranma said wearily. "If you think you can move," one of the paramedics said, glad that she felt like moving. Ranma shifted herself over to the stretcher and lay back down. "Are you her boy..." "We're married," Akane said hastily. "Okay, can you come with us?" the paramedic asked as they picked up the stretcher. The looks they received said that in no uncertain terms that he was coming. "Yes," Akane answered verbally. "If it is possible, I shall come as well" Kasumi added. "Perhaps I could ride up front?" "Can't take time to argue with them," the second man said. The first nodded resignedly and turned back to Akane as they moved out to the ambulance. "Okay, we're going to ask you some questions," the paramedic continued, walking towards the front door with Akane following. "What's happening to me?" Ranma demanded. They carried him into the ambulance with Akane alongside. "How many weeks are you?" The paramedic chose to ignore Ranma's question. Ranma's confused look wasn't giving him much information. "She's nine weeks pregnant," Akane said, suddenly aware of what was happening, and surprised he hadn't considered it earlier. Ranma nodded and frowned at the answer. "How long have you been bleeding?" the paramedic asked. He wrapped Ranma's arm in a blood pressure monitor. The reading was low, but not dangerously low. "I don't know," Ranma answered irritably, making an obvious attempt to stay awake. "At least fifteen minutes," Akane said worriedly, gripping Ranma's hand to comfort her. "Probably longer." "Are you feeling fatigued?" came the next question. "What is happening to me?" Ranma demanded again. Before the paramedic could repeat the question Ranma continued. "I've been tired a lot recently. What's happening?" The man nodded and continued his procedures. "It's a miscarriage, Ranma," Akane said, softly. "You're losing the baby." He added the next quietly. "If it's bad enough, you won't be able to have any more kids." Akane wasn't really certain of that, but he'd heard it somewhere, and it would provoke the appropriate fear in Ranma. He winced at Ranma's suddenly terrified face. No child would mean she'd be a girl forever. "Is that true?" Ranma asked desperately. "Modern advances have made that unlikely, mis-, ma'am, but we need you to answer these questions to properly help you." The man gave Akane a thankful look before he continued. "Is there any pain or cramping?" Ranma nodded. "For how long?" "Hour...hour and half," Ranma said shakily, gripping Akane's hand. The paramedic looked at her in surprise, but Akane merely groaned. "Ranma," Akane whispered. "When something hurts, tell people." Ranma smiled with a little embarrassment. The paramedic decided not to comment on how he expected the woman to be complaining quicker and the guy to insist on toughing it out. "When did it start?" the paramedic asked. Ranma glanced nervously at Akane. "When I used the Shi Shi Hokodan," Ranma said quietly. Akane gasped and paled. "What's that?" the paramedic asked. "A drug of some sort?" Ranma snorted. "It's a martial art technique," Akane explained irritably, sitting at Ranma's head. He leaned forward and kissed Ranma's forehead. "Ranma." The redhead gave a sort of embarrassed shrug and yawned. "Did you have an accident in performing it or something?" the paramedic asked, confused. Ranma shook her head. "It's...a suicide maneuver," Akane said, not actually aware of how accurate that description was. The paramedic nodded. "Is there anything unusual about the pregnancy?" the man asked. Ranma's only answer was a quiet, bitter laugh. "No," Akane answered. ~Not the way you mean.~ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Kanzo watched as the coroner's wagon pulled away. Then he turned to the still somewhat dazed Ukyou and sat down across from her. "You saved at the very least two lives today," he said. "Yeah," Ukyou said. "That wasn't what I thought it would be." "Killing?" Kanzo asked. Ukyou nodded after a hesitation. "Kuonji-san, I need to take a statement." "I thought so," Ukyou said. She glanced back down the counter to Konatsu. The ninja gave her a hard look, but nodded. Kanzo glanced back at the ninja as well. "Might as well get it over with, then." "Where did you come from?" he asked. Ukyou turned around and pointed to the storeroom. "There's a window I can get inside quietly enough," Ukyou said. "Do you usually come in through the window?" Kanzo asked. Ukyou shook her head at the sarcasm. "I saw Mousse through the door," Ukyou pointed out the front. "He's been tearing up the place recently. Spreading rumors, trashing homes, tossing about curses." "What made you think of curses?" Kanzo asked. "He didn't mention it." Ukyou shrugged. "He apparently tried it before with Ranma and Akane," Ukyou said. "And what with Shampoo being trapped as a cat." She smirked, narrowing her eyes. "Sounds like what he'd do." "So he's tried this before," Kanzo repeated. Ukyou nodded. "I think so, yeah," Ukyou said. "Sounds like a good way to get rid of a body, too." Kanzo gave her a look, and Ukyou wondered if she'd gone a step too far. "Why do you think he tore apart the Kuno estate?" Kanzo asked. "To get back at the Kunos for Shampoo I guess," Ukyou said. "Couldn't do anything to the actual bastard, so tear apart the house." Ukyou shrugged. "So you knew that Tatewaki was dead," Kanzo commented. "Yeah, Nabiki told me yesterday," Ukyou said. "Eaten by something, right?" "Detective," a crime site officer called out. "This fell out of his robes. Is it what you were looking for?" The man handed him a box in a sealed plastic container. Kanzo accepted the baggy and looked over the box. "Assorted curses," Kanzo said and returned the box with a shiver. "It's been opened. Okay, check it for fingerprints." He checked Ukyou's reaction as he said that. She seemed to glance over his shoulder. That could have been just to look at the box, but her waitress was also standing in that direction. "One-shot curses?" Ukyou said, surprised. "Guess the Amazons wouldn't let him get anything else." "You know what those are?" Kanzo asked. "Yeah," Ukyou winced a little. "Ranma and Akane were using them to get married...and stuff." "Ah, I see," Kanzo said, he closed his notebook and stood up. "Well, we'll be calling if we need anything else." "No problem, detective," Ukyou said, tired. She glanced at the blood pool and turned pale. "Say, I can clean that up now. Right?" "All the evidence taken?" Kanzo asked. The technician nodded as he began to pack up his equipment. "Go ahead." He watched her for a moment. "Something wrong, detective?" Ukyou asked. "Nothing I can prove," he said. Ukyou felt like answering the challenge almost, but instead gave him a confused look. All those years of acting like something she wasn't were paying off. "I hope we don’t have to meet again, Kuonji-san." "Same here," Ukyou said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nabiki calmed down as the police officer took her statement down. It gave her a task to focus on, something to distract her from what could have happened. She flexed her hand and grimaced a little at the numb feeling that the local anesthetic had filled her arm and shoulder with. "If we need anything else," the officer said, "we'll call you." "Can you tell me what might happen to Ukyou?" Nabiki asked. "Sounds like a justifiable slaying to me," the man said. "She probably won't have much of a problem." Nabiki nodded. Three, no, four, four Neriman martial artists and a cop. All that and she had still almost been...in someone's power. Again. Granted it was another Neriman martial artist and he had surprised them, but it did not make her feel any better. Nabiki turned to look for Ryouga, and noticed the officer who had been talking to him was writing some notes and getting ready to leave. "Excuse me, do you know where..." Nabiki started. "Your boyfriend." Nabiki twitched. "Went to call your family." "He's not my..." Nabiki stopped. "He did what? Did you see which way he went?" "No, sorry." The officer shrugged and flipped her notebook closed. Nabiki clenched the fist of her good hand and scrunched her eyes closed. "Baka," Nabiki growled. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey, Nami, wasn't that Ranma they just wheeled past?" the speaker was a high-school-aged girl with a volunteer button. Her friend, another volunteer, quickly looked to the retreating gurney and nodded. "Yeah it was," she said. "I wonder what happened?" "Akane hasn't hit him or anything for a while," the first girl said. "Maybe she finally blew up." "I don't know, Hideyo," Nami said. "I think they're really past that." Hideyo seemed to think about it a moment. "If you don't tell anyone," she whispered. "I can get us into the property room when they put his stuff there." "We could lose our jobs," Nami protested. "We don't get paid anyway," Hideyo noted. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Where are they all?" Ryouga asked, confused and irritated. "Come on! Answer already!" "Ryouga-kun?" he heard Kasumi's voice say. The phone on the other end of the line rang again. "Kasumi?" Ryouga said, staring at the receiver. "How are you talking to me while the phone's still ringing?" "I'm right behind you, Ryouga-kun," Kasumi said, sounding tired. Ryouga blinked and turned around to see Kasumi standing there. "Kasumi?" Ryouga blinked. "How'd you know we were here?" Kasumi sighed and sat down, shaking her head. "I didn't," Kasumi said. "I came with Ranma and Akane." "Oh no! Did Mousse attack them first?" Ryouga demanded. "What?" Kasumi asked. "What are you talking about?" "Mousse attacked us at Ucchan's," Ryouga explained hastily. "Kodachi and Nabiki are in the emergency room." "Oh my," Kasumi gasped, voice cracking. "H...how bad is it?" "Nabiki's collarbone was broken," Ryouga said. "And Kodachi was electrocuted, the paramedics said she should be fine. Nabiki just needs to wear a sling for a few months. Ukyou killed Mousse." "And where were you!" Kasumi demanded angrily, surprising Ryouga by grabbing the front of his tunic and shaking him. "You seem perfectly healthy!!" "I...I...I..." Ryouga swallowed. "I was a pig, Mousse...s...splashed me right off." "A pig?" Kasumi repeated. "Splashed? You are...!" Kasumi slapped him, and then again. She was about to a third time but Ryouga caught her hand. "I'm sorry!! Okay?!" Ryouga snapped desperately. "I'm going to tell Akane...just Nabiki told me not to yet..." "Nabiki, told you not to tell," Kasumi repeated. She thought about it. "I...I suppose there is something to say about dealing with problems one at a time." Kasumi relaxed, and Ryouga hesitantly released her hand. The older Tendo-sister slumped forward, leaning her face into her hands. "One crisis at a time. At this point I would accept two or even three at a time as a relief." "Kasumi," Ryouga said hesitantly. "Are you okay?" It was a stupid question. If Kasumi were okay she wouldn't be angry. "I will be fine," Kasumi said, collecting herself. "I merely need some rest. Life has been...wearing me thin of late. Tell me, how is it that Ranma has never told anyone about your curse?" Ryouga sighed. "He..." Ryouga started, "promised on his honor not to tell..." "Before or after you became Akane's pet," Kasumi asked tightly. Ryouga swallowed. "Before," Ryouga admitted. Kasumi gave him a clear look of disapproval. "He tried to tell anyway that first day, but nobody believed him." Kasumi was still glaring at him, or as close to it as she got. "I'm a coward...okay...no one had been nice to me in a long time." Kasumi shook her head, but nodded in understanding. "We shall have to deal with this soon, Hibiki-san" Kasumi said, emphasizing the more formal name. "And your intentions toward my other sister?" "Nabiki scares the hell out of me, actually," Ryouga said honestly. Kasumi smiled weakly. "I seem to remember another girl," Kasumi said, humor fading again. "Someone named Akari?" Ryouga grimaced. "She doesn't want to see me again," Ryouga said. "I told her about P- Chan and the Koi Fishing Rod, a couple of other things..." Ryouga's voice trailed off. "She didn't like being a substitute for...ummm...Akane." "I see," Kasumi said, and Ryouga was uncomfortably reminded of Nabiki. "And Kodachi?" "I found her trying to kill herself in the ruins of her family shrine," Ryouga said. "Mousse wrecked her home, killed her alligator..." He shrugged. "Oh my, the poor girl," Kasumi said. "She's apparently my cousin," he grimaced as he said it. "Don't know what to think of that, but if it keeps her from plunging a blade in her stomach..." He shrugged again. "Besides, she's one of us. And I just...Kuno, Shampoo, Mousse. Ranma is cracking, Kodachi too...Enough of us are gone as it is..." He thought back to the early part of the conversation. "I suppose I understand," Kasumi said. "Do not expect a warm welcome from me for some time, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you did not intend offense." "Ummm...thanks, I think," Ryouga said hesitantly. "What happened to Ranma and Akane?" Kasumi sighed. "Ranma had a miscarriage," Kasumi said. "He...lost the baby?" Ryouga said. Kasumi nodded. "They're keeping her...him overnight to make sure he is all right." "Does that mean he's a girl forever now?" Ryouga asked. "No," Kasumi said. "The doctors say he...she in this case, is still able to bear children. There are even indicators that she might be more fertile than average." "So he has to get pregnant again now?" Ryouga asked. "Who's going to be the father?" He thought back to the conflict at the Nekohanten and Nabiki walking home with a box of instant nannichuan packets. "Akane?" Kasumi nodded. "She's already been using the packets for some time now," Kasumi said. "A week or so ago the curse became permanent." "Akane's c...cu...cursed?!" Ryouga gasped. Lovely, cute, kind, gentle Akane, Ryouga reminded himself that thinking like that was what had mostly set Akari off, had willingly become male. Ryouga wished he hadn't freaked out for the last bit of the conflict at the Nekohanten. "If Ranma was already pregnant, why were they using the packets?!" "I do not know," Kasumi said tightly. Though she suspected it had to do with the pamphlets on family planning she had found. "That is Ranma and Akane's business." "Okay, okay," Ryouga said quickly. "Now I know you're related to Nabiki and Akane." Kasumi briefly produced a strained version of one of her normal smiles. Then she sighed and leaned forward again. "You would not know how to find where Nabiki is," Kasumi asked. "Or Kodachi. Would you?" Ryouga started to think about it, but Kasumi stopped him. "No, I do not suppose you would." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Ranma," Akane sighed, gripping the redhead's hand. "The Shi Shi Hokodan?" She shook her head, depressed herself. You keep getting worse." The redhead shifted in her sleep curling up and clutching tightly at Akane's hand. He brushed at Ranma's bangs and kissed her forehead. As he sat back up he saw Ranma's eyes open and staring at him. "Why do you keep me?" Ranma asked quietly. Akane could see the rest of the question in Ranma's eyes. Why did he "keep" an honorless, ruined, vagabond slut? "Keep you?" Akane repeated, wincing at the word choice. Ranma nodded. "I don't keep you. I stay with you." "There's a difference?" Ranma asked in confusion. "You talk like I own you or something," Akane said. ~Kuno shattered him, but how much of this is his father? Or me?~ "Do you want to stay?" Akane asked nervously. "...Yes," Ranma said quietly. "Why do you want me to stay?" "I've told you," Akane said patiently. "I love you." Ranma looked thankful and relieved, but still somewhat unconvinced. Akane continued, somewhat exasperated. "You're brave, talented, beau...attractive, you've saved my life several times, and you are one of the most caring and forgiving people I've ever met." He sighed. "And I love your smile," Akane added with his own smile, and brushing at Ranma's hair. Ranma smiled back hesitantly and frowned again. "What's wrong?" Ranma shrugged. "I'm just tired," she said wearily, already falling asleep. Akane shivered, dispelling the chill in his spine. Akane brushed at her hair again, and kissed her forehead. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ukyou rubbed her eyes and looked to the ninja staring at her. She sighed in frustration before returning to scrubbing at the floor. "What's your problem?" Ukyou asked. Konatsu didn't say anything, Ukyou rolled her eyes. "Permission to speak freely." She said sarcastically. "What?" Konatsu asked. "Something I got from a movie," Ukyou said. "Spit it out." Konatsu still hesitated. "I didn't know you were going to kill him," Konatsu said. Ukyou shivered, but Konatsu wasn't sure if she was just acting again or not. "I wasn't planning on it," Ukyou said. "But, he just went far overboard what I was expecting." Konatsu nodded cautiously. "That is true," Konatsu admitted, he turned to look back at Ukyou. "And if you had it to do over again?" "I wouldn't have let him in the Ucchan's," Ukyou asserted. "Forget planting that stuff on him. Oh kami, I thought Kodachi was dead." "And the ronin?" Konatsu asked hopefully. Ukyou glanced at him and thought about it. "He hurt Ranma," Ukyou said simply, cooly. "If he had done that to me, would you have done differently?" "I guess not, Ukyou-san," Konatsu said. Ukyou noted the change of address, but didn't push the issue. Konatsu released a breath and changed the subject, slightly. "Mousse picked the packets right up as soon as he noticed them, I didn't even have to slip them in. The only fingerprints on it should be his." "Thanks, Konatsu," Ukyou said. "I promise you we won't have to do this again. My spatula is going up on the wall. Only cooking from here on out." "Are you certain that's wise?" Konatsu asked, now worried for his employer for a whole other reason. "I'll defend myself, or someone else, Konatsu," she insisted. "That's all." "As you wish, Ukyou-san," Konatsu said. Ukyou glanced at him and resumed scrubbing. "This isn't ever coming out," Ukyou growled. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Ewwww," Nami pushed aside a pair of pants, along with some shorts, boxers and finally panties. All of them were stained with blood, and she wondered why Ranma would wear so many layers of clothes. "What did Akane do?" Hideyo asked, wrinkling her nose. "Check the pockets." "Do you do this often?" Nami asked, nervously. She reached into a pocket and found some change and a simple card. She pulled it out and stared at it. "Not really," Hideyo said. "Every once in awhile. I don't take anything." "Oh kami," Nami gasped. "I think I know what's wrong with him. Let's get out of here." "Huh, what did you find?" Hideyo asked as they quietly left the property room. Nami handed her the card, and she blanched. "Oh my." "It makes sense," Nami said. "The change of clothes, how odd she's been acting. How protective people are of her." "So what are we going to do about it?" Hideyo asked. "We need to make some calls," Nami said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Tendo Nabiki, call for you at the administration desk," the call rang out. Nabiki looked up in surprise and walked to the desk. "Tendo-san?" The nurse asked pleasantly. "Yes," Nabiki said. She took the offered phone and held it to her ear. "Hello? Kasumi? Where are you, they couldn't get you at...You found Ryouga. How fast can you get here?" She glanced around to see if anybody were listening and then spoke quietly into the phone. "I'm...I just need some company, and Kodachi's still unconscious." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kasumi considered what Nabiki had just said. She glanced at Ryouga for a moment. Nabiki was asking for company, she must have been very scared. "Should I bring Ryouga?" Kasumi asked. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Yes!" Nabiki said. "I...I want to be able to keep an eye on him. Thanks, Kasumi." She handed the phone back to the nurse after Kasumi had hung up. Kasumi had been holding something back, but she could ask her about it when she got there. Already Nabiki felt somewhat better. She didn't have to wait long, Kasumi and Ryouga arrived only a few minutes later. Nabiki felt a lot of the tension fade away and waved at their approach. Kasumi looked even more out of sorts than she had been, and that concerned her. "How'd you get here so fast?" Nabiki asked as they approached. "We..." Ryouga didn't get to finish telling her that they were only a floor or two away. "That doesn't matter," Kasumi said. "We'll talk about that and other things later." She hugged Nabiki, cautious not to squeeze her shoulder. "How are you feeling?" "Better now," Nabiki said quietly, she glanced at Ryouga and something of her normal demeanor returned. "Don't go wandering off again." "Okay," Ryouga said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma snapped awake, sweating and out of breath. Daylight filtered in through the window, telling Ranma that she had slept pretty much straight through. That was almost unheard of recently. She hugged her knees and glanced at Akane asleep in the chair next to the bed. He looked terrible, probably had stayed awake as long as possible to watch over her. Akane, Kasumi and Nabiki. All of them were driving themselves ragged for her sake. Then there was Ukyou. Ranma couldn't seem to do anything but cause pain to those she loved. Or those she was supposed to protect. She slid a hand to her stomach and sobbed once. She hadn't been ready to lose the baby. She wasn't certain if she ever would have been. Ranma glanced at Akane again, tempted to wake him up. She wanted him to hold her, rock her, and tell her that everything would be okay. Ranma shook her head and turned away from Akane, letting him sleep. She looked towards the television and froze. A large plastic balloon admonishing her to "get well" was tied to a chair. "Nani?" Ranma asked quietly, feeling very vulnerable now in her hospital slip. She glanced around the room to find any more surprises and then slipped off the hospital bed. She felt a slight chill upon realizing that someone had been in the room without her knowing it. Ranma examined the balloon cautiously, half-expecting it to explode in her face. She quashed that thought, she didn't even want to think about what must have happened when she was unconscious last night. Someone had to have cleaned the bleeding and undressed her, and it probably wasn't Akane. She glanced at the table and saw a pair of envelopes, and then glanced about to find anybody watching. She was about to grab one of the envelopes and hesitated, poking it first. Nothing happened, so she gingerly picked the envelope up and cautiously opened it. Ranma pulled out a colorful card marked with an upbeat, hopeful message and silly looking characters. Ranma held the card, staring at it for several seconds before she actually started to read it, eyes tearing up. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Akane woke to the sound of crying and instantly snapped to alert. Turning to the bed and finding it empty, he almost panicked. Akane quickly found Ranma across the room and sitting at the small table, underneath a get well balloon. "Ranma, are you okay?" Akane asked, standing up and walking towards the redhead. He kneeled down in front of Ranma and noticed that she was reading a card. Ranma nodded and looked up to meet Akane's eyes. A small smile graced Ranma's face even as it was marred by tear tracks. "What is that?" "They were here when I woke up," Ranma said shakily. She handed the card to Akane and moved to pick up another one. Akane read through the card, silently amazed. "Where did these come from?" Akane asked. Ranma brushed a long strand of hair behind her ear and looked at Akane curiously. "They were just here," Ranma said. "Wasn't it Nabiki or Kasumi?" "I guess it could be," Akane said. "I haven't seen them." Ranma's smile faded as she glanced back down at the get well card in her hand, thinking of its origin. "Nobody even knows I'm in the hospital right?" Ranma asked, uncertainly. "Itai!" a voice cried out beyond the room. "I can't see where I'm going." "Shh," another voice added. "They might be still asleep." The blood drained from Ranma's face as she realized that the get-well cards were real. Ranma and Akane turned toward the entrance as two girls in Furinkan uniforms walked into the room cautiously. One of them was carrying a thick arrangement of flowers that obscured her face. The other was held a box of chocolates. "What are you doing?" Akane asked. The two girls froze and stared at the table and its occupants. "We're bringing another batch of cards and things," one of them said hesitantly. Ranma bit her lip nervously and looked down at the ground, paling at the word "batch." "Who told you?" Ranma asked quietly. Akane heard her starting to sob and shifted her position to hug her comfortingly. A little maneuvering and Akane was sitting in the chair and holding Ranma in her lap. The two girls shuffled uncomfortably at the sight, unsure about Ranma being intimate with an apparent guy. "We saw you come in last night," one girl mentioned, cautiously moving to set down the flowers she was carrying. Ranma looked up with narrowed eyes. "Did you hear why?" Ranma asked. One of the girls hesitantly set down the flowers and dug into her pocket. "You...uh...dropped this." She hesitantly reached into a pocket and drew out the support group card and handed it over. Ranma looked over the card and frowned, breaking into full crying. "Did you tell anybody?" Akane asked angrily as Ranma buried herself in Akane's shoulder. One of the girls nodded reluctantly. Akane sighed and held Ranma as the redhead tried to calm down. "We thought," one of them started, "that it would make her feel better." Ranma sobbed again, but managed to briefly get a hold of herself. "Thank you," she said, sobbing. "I...thank you." Ranma broke into crying again and buried her face back in the crook of Akane's neck. "You're welcome," the girl with the chocolates said nervously, setting down her load. "Could you please go now?" Akane asked, pleading. The girls nodded and slipped out of the hospital room quietly. "We're going to be late for class," they said before vanishing. Akane turned his attention back down to Ranma. "Are you okay?" he asked. Ranma nodded, still sobbing. "They don't hate me," Ranma wept. "I killed my baby and they still don't hate me." "Sshhhh," Akane whispered, rocking the redhead. "Nobody hates you." "Oh my, what is all this?" Kasumi asked as she came in the room. Akane looked toward her and saw Nabiki enter behind her. The site of a sling holding his sister's arm certainly surprised him. Ranma tried to get a shaky hold of herself to turn and look at the door. "Nabiki?" she gasped, visibly trying not to cry. "Wh...what happened?" Nabiki grimaced. "Talk about it later," she said, turning a slightly reproachful look towards Kasumi. "Kasumi just told me what happened. Are you okay?" "I..." Ranma caught her breath and then shook her head, turning back to Akane. Kasumi had walked over to the table and was looking over the cards and flowers. "Are these all from your classmates?" Kasumi asked. Akane snorted and nodded. Nabiki frowned upon hearing that. "Somebody saw us come in last night," Akane said, rubbing Ranma's back. "Can we just go home?" Ranma asked. "Certainly," Kasumi said with a tired smile. She didn't look like she had gotten much sleep. "We should just collect Kodachi before heading out." "Kodachi?" Akane repeated. "What happened to you guys?" "Mousse," Nabiki said simply. Ranma whirled around to stare at her. "Gomen, I...should have," Ranma stopped short of saying she should have been there to protect them. She looked down at the floor, clutching at Akane's arms. "Don't worry about Mousse right now," Akane whispered, trying to decide if the sudden listlessness was a bad sign. "Mousse is not a problem for anybody," Nabiki added. Ranma looked at her again and sniffed. "Ukyou?" she asked quietly. Nabiki and Kasumi looked at her openly surprised, and the redhead nodded, looking down. "I want to go home." "All right," Kasumi said. "Let us get you checked out. Do you want us to bring these flowers and cards?" She asked the last as Ranma and Akane were standing up. "Hai," Ranma nodded quietly. "You can have the chocolates though." Kasumi nodded and smiled slightly as she collected the cards and flowers. "I suppose it is time you got dressed," Kasumi added. "I brought you both a change of clothes. While you take care of that, Nabiki and I will see about getting you discharged." Kasumi hugged the small redhead and then started walking out the door. "Not the reaction you were expecting," Nabiki said pointing at the cards that Kasumi was carrying. Ranma smiled slightly. "Me either. See you in a little bit, Ranma." She waved at them and followed Kasumi. Ranma slumped as the two elder Tendos left. Akane hugged her and kissed the redhead's forehead. "Are you okay?" Akane asked. Ranma looked up at her. "Gomen nasai," Ranma said, about to break down again. "I should never have eaten that ramen." "Please stop that," Akane said. "None of this is your fault." Ranma sighed and nodded, reluctantly. "Let's get dressed." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kodachi winced as she bent her bandaged arm to try and eat her food. She had been lucky to get off with second-degree burns. The chain could have grounded out the charge enough to be much more serious. "Do you need help?" Ryouga asked. Kodachi glared at him. "I am not going to be spoon-fed like some child," Kodachi insisted. She winced again as she returned to the task at hand. "Are you sure?" Ryouga said. Kodachi glared at him and spitefully ate a spoonful of pudding. "Did Kasumi-san ever explain why Ranma and Akane did not come with her?" Kodachi asked, continuing the painful process of eating. "Ummm..." Ryouga scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure I should say." Kodachi looked at him curiously and was about to ask a further question when Kasumi entered the room. "Kodachi, Ryouga," Kasumi said, fatigue still obvious. "We are ready to leave. You are certain you wish to be discharged, Kodachi?" "Yes," Kodachi insisted. "Did something happen to Ranma or Akane?" Kasumi glanced between her and Ryouga and then nodded. "Yes," she admitted. "Ranma...had a miscarriage." Kodachi stared for a brief moment. "Ranma was pregnant?" she said, disbelieving. "Yes," Kasumi said. "But s...he seems to be taking this quite hard, so please do not mention it." "Hai, Kasumi-san," Kodachi said, she paused to take another bite, wincing again. "Do you need help?" Kasumi asked politely. Kodachi gave a resigned sigh and glared at Ryouga who had had the temerity to smirk briefly. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma lay back in the hot water and sighed. She was tired. It was the only word for it. Tired, soul deep exhaustion, and sleep brought no rest, only terrors. She briefly wished for everything to just be over. Every time she thought it couldn't get any worse, something happened. She rubbed her stomach and stared at the far end of the tub. Ranma glanced up at the balloon she had taken from her hospital room with a mixture of fear and relief. More cards had come in since they had gotten home that morning. Her secret was public now, no matter what she did. "Everybody knows about me now," Ranma said. There was a knock on the door and Ranma glanced in that direction cautiously. "Hai?" "It's me, do you mind if I join you?" Akane said. Ranma relaxed back into the tub. "Ranma?" "Come in," she answered. After a moment Akane-kun walked into the bathroom, watching Ranma carefully. "How are you doing?" Akane asked. Ranma looked down and frowned, partially to avoid seeing Akane disrobe. "This time it is my fault," Ranma said. "I killed the kid." Akane sighed in frustration as he slipped into the warm water, and changed back with a sigh of relief. That was the longest she had yet spent as a guy. Ranma looked back at her as she moved to sit next to the redhead in the water. "Maybe this is for the best," Akane suggested. "We were planning on it anyway." Ranma shuffled uncomfortably for a moment. "I don't know what I would have done," she said quietly. "Did you...did you want to have that baby?" Akane asked. "Doesn't matter," Ranma said. "I already killed...it. I didn't even know what kind of kid it would be." "It was an accident, Ranma," Akane said. "You didn't know that would happen." "What if it happens again?" Ranma asked desperately. Akane hugged her. "You'll make sure it won't," Akane assured her, she kissed Ranma on the forehead. "Everything gets better from here, Ranma." "Are you sure?" Ranma asked, thinking of Ryouga's curse. She wanted to tell Akane right then, get it over with. Swing the knife now, cut the anchor loose, let it sink. "You have to believe that," Akane said, hugging Ranma. "If you don't believe it can get better, it won't." Ranma looked at the balloon again. "Those girls told people what happened to me," Ranma said, quietly. "And they sent...get well cards?" Akane shuffled uncomfortably, not mentioning the two obscene cards they had weeded out of the mostly well-wishing ones. "I guess more people like you than you thought," Akane said hopefully. "Yeah," Ranma agreed, quietly. She looked up into Akane's face and hesitantly kissed her. "I love you." Akane blushed before leaning down to kiss Ranma back, the redhead was a lot more affectionate when Akane was female herself. "I love you too," she whispered. "Don't forget that." "I don't," Ranma said. "I just don't understand it." ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Nabiki, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Kasumi asked nervously. "Relax, I'm not going to try to cook," Nabiki said. "I'm not Akane. Besides, it would be a little difficult right now anyway." She indicated her arm with a smirk. "Oh." Kasumi gave a sigh of relief. "Then what do you want?" "We need to alter the division of labor a little," Nabiki said. "Pardon?" Kasumi asked. "I do the budget, you do the housework, Dad fronts." Nabiki shrugged. Kasumi noted Nabiki's façade was firmly in place. "That's what we've been doing. But it's not working right now. You need some rest." "Well, what do you suggest?" Kasumi asked. "Let Ranma cook some nights," Nabiki said. "And we can all help with the housework a little more. We won't be as good at it as you, but it will give you a chance to sleep." Kasumi thought about it a moment. "It would probably be a good idea for Ranma as well," Kasumi agreed. "All she does is train, go to school and...well, nothing." "Yeah, that too," Nabiki admitted. "And Kasumi, let's order out tonight. All of us need a break." "Do we have the money for that?" Kasumi asked. "Actually, yes," Nabiki said. "I suppose that is all right then," Kasumi agreed reluctantly. Nabiki nodded and started to leave. "We shall have to talk to Akane about Ryouga, soon." Nabiki winced. "Yeah, we will," Nabiki said after a moment. "We're just prolonging Ranma's mistake otherwise." "Do you trust him?" Kasumi asked. "He tried to fight Mousse even after being changed to a pig," Nabiki said, she paused. "I trust him." Kasumi remembered her intercom conversation with Nabiki the night before, and how visibly Nabiki had relaxed when she had arrived with Ryouga. "I see," Kasumi said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "I thought you were going to stay with Ukyou," Ryouga said. "I had considered it," Kodachi admitted, still maintaining her dignity. "But there is no love lost between us two, it would not be a good situation." She didn't mention the fact that someone had just been killed there. Looking around at the austere, in her experience, surroundings she didn't know how to feel. Everything was alien to her. The Tendo dojo had no traps, it was small, in places it needed repair. Upon first glance it was most definitely inferior to her own home. Then again it had something that was missing in her own home. Life. The dojo was alive with sounds. What to the long time residents sounded quiet and melancholy was bustling with sounds to her. It seemed that everywhere there were footsteps or the breath of some other person. Activity just seemed to flow around her, but she was not really a part of it. There were undertones that flitted just out of her reach, things which only the residents really understood fully. She sighed wistfully. "Something wrong?" Ryouga asked. "What would your family..." Kodachi's question was cut off by a knock on the door. "Dinner is on its way," Nabiki said looking in. "You two all settled? Sorry, can't provide much of what you're used to Koda-chan, but the cleaning crew said they should finish your house fairly soon. Day or two at most." "Even so, I hope you do not plan for me to share a room with this lout," Kodachi said, returning to her normal behavior. Nabiki shook her head. "Ryouga is sleeping in the dojo," Nabiki insisted. "Didn't he tell you?" "Isn't that where I am?" Ryouga asked. Kodachi and Nabiki stared at him. "Of course," Kodachi said. "I had not considered that." "What?" Ryouga asked. "I'm going to have to get the leash again," Nabiki muttered. Kodachi's eyes widened as she looked between the two. Nabiki flushed slightly. "Not what you're thinking Koda-chan." "What?" Ryouga asked again. "Nothing," Nabiki insisted. "Come on, Hibiki, lets get you to where you're supposed to be." "Umm, okay," Ryouga said nervously, standing up to follow her. After they left, Kodachi glanced about the empty room listening to the muffled sounds of the house. She smiled. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Thank you for your help, Ukyou," Kasumi said as she opened the door. "Hey, whatever I can do," Ukyou said, smiling. "I'm sorry to call you so soon after yesterday," Kasumi repeated. "Don't worry about it," Ukyou said. "I needed an excuse to come see how you guys were doing anyway." Kasumi blinked as Ukyou smirked at her, apparently having guessed the real reason behind her call. "It is good to get out of the restaurant as well," Konatsu said quietly from behind Ukyou. Ukyou sobered briefly and nodded. "Are you okay, Ukyou?" Kasumi asked. "It must have been horrible to have to do that." "It’s the last time," Ukyou said firmly, looking to Konatsu. Something about the statement bothered Kasumi, but she couldn't pin it down. "I'm not fighting unless I have to any longer." "Gomen nasai," Kasumi said quietly. "I should not have mentioned it." "Don't worry about it," Ukyou waved off the apology. "Let's just get on with dinner. And you let me and 'Natsu-chan take care of everything, Sugar. You look dead on your feet." "I did not sleep much last night," Kasumi admitted. "Again, thank you." "Hey, hey," Ukyou said. "I said anything I could do for you guys. Now sit down and watch TV or something and let me get to work okay?" "As you wish," Kasumi said, shrugging. She let Ukyou past her through to the dining room and sat down, where she could watch Ukyou attend to her customary domain. She noted with some amount satisfaction that Ukyou did not take over her kitchen and had brought her food with her. "We talk to her tomorrow then?" Ryouga's voice carried up from the hallway. Kasumi turned to look in that direction, but didn't hear Nabiki's response, though it was obvious that she was irritated that he had said that so loudly. Kasumi agreed with her. Ukyou looked up from her and Konatsu's preparations and sort of glared. "Hey, Mr. P," Ukyou said coldly. Virtually everybody looked at her cautiously. "Ukyou-san." Konatsu almost whispered. Ukyou glanced at him and smiled reassuringly. "It's being handled," Nabiki assured Ukyou. "Gotcha, Sugar," Ukyou said. "Just wanted to make sure he knew I didn't like it." Ryouga grimaced and scratched the back of his head. "I think he is pretty sure that nobody approved," Kasumi said. "Ukyou-san," Konatsu cleared his throat and gestured to the boxes of food. "Right. Now back to work," Ukyou said. "Do you guys know what happened to Kodachi? I offered to let her stay at my place." "I am right here, Kuonji-san," Kodachi said, coming in behind Ryouga and Nabiki. "I suppose that I should apologize." Ukyou grimaced, and started placing the food boxes out of the way. "No problem," Ukyou said. "We probably wouldn't get along anyway." Her back was turned as everybody sat down and Ranma and Akane came in. "Ukyou?" Ranma asked, surprised as she saw the chef in the dining room. "What are you doing here?" "Kasumi called and asked if I could bring some food over," Ukyou explained. "So you're all here then?" Ranma said quietly. "All the survivors of Nerima." "We're all here," Akane insisted instantly, as she and Ranma sat down. "We're all here." Ranma sighed and nodded. "Survivors of Nerima." Ukyou shook her head. "Sounds like a support group." There was a brief laugh and silence reigned as people turned to look at Ranma and the already vanishing smile. "We're all here," Ranma agreed, albeit reluctantly. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Akane?" Ranma asked nervously. The tone of voice sent both a thrill and a chill through Akane. A thrill because they hadn't done anything beyond making out since theday before Ranma had broken down at school. The chill came because Ranma's tone of voice was asking Akane to take her. To own her so no one else could. That tone of voice hadn't popped up since a little after the duel. Now it was back. "Ranma..." Akane started, sitting up. Ranma leaned up and cut her off with a kiss. As Ranma leaned against Akane and pulled herself up onto the larger girl's lap, Akane was reminded of several things. Ranma's soft skin, the silky red hair down between her legs, the taste of her lips and things more private. Akane hadn't expected to be so easily aroused by Ranma's female form. She guessed that memories of this woman in her arms were stronger than her imaginings of the man she used to be. "Ranma, you're supposed to be taking it easy," Akane said, hesitantly pulling away. Ranma slumped and leaned her head against Akane's shoulder. Ranma shifted so that their breasts pressed against each other, separated by the folds of their pajamas. Akane felt heat rising in her cheeks. "Okay," Ranma said resignedly. Akane hugged her tightly and bent down to kiss her. Ranma responded eagerly, until Akane pulled away again, and Ranma looked at her, confused. "It's not that I don't want to," Akane said. "So why not?" Ranma asked. Akane rubbed her back and lay back down in bed, guiding Ranma down with her. "I don't want to hurt you," Akane said. "I heal fast," Ranma said quietly. Akane brushed at her hair and released her breath. Briefly she closed her eyes and imagined Ranma passed out then opened them again. "Ranma..." Akane started, then paused. She looked at Ranma for a couple of seconds, biting her lip. "We'll compromise, okay? If you want, you can ha..." she closed her eyes and edited out the possessive "...make love to me." Ranma sat up and looked down at Akane, surprised. "Huh?" Ranma blinked before continuing hesitantly. "Wh...what do you mean?" Akane leaned up and kissed Ranma again. After a few moments Akane turned up her chin, exposing her neck, like Ranma usually did. Ranma pulled back, startled. Akane sighed dropped her head before looking back up at Ranma. She unbuttoned her pajama tunic and let it slip off her shoulders. Ranma paled, finally understanding. "You want me to do that," she asked. "To you?" "You let me do it to you all the time," Akane said quietly. "But that's different," Ranma protested. "I'm already..." Akane leaned forward and brushed at Ranma's hair. Ranma flinched back, noticing uncomfortably as Akane's tunic fell completely away. "I want to be with you," Akane whispered, emphasizing the word "with." "Not with anyone else." She moved cautiously forward. "You don't have to if you don't want to, we can just go to sleep." "Why do you want me to?" Ranma asked, confused. "It's...it's..." Akane placed a finger on Ranma's lips. "It's not supposed to be like that," Akane said, shaking her head. Akane moved closer to Ranma, gently took her hand and kissed the palm. Akane guided Ranma's hand to her breast, watching the redhead's face the whole time. "Do you want to be with me?" She emphasized the "with" again. Ranma looked where Akane was holding her hand, she could pull it away any time she wanted, but she hadn't yet. Her face was pale, and she was biting her lip. Akane sighed and released Ranma's hand. "Gomen nasai, Ranma," Akane said. "I guess you're not ready for..." Akane looked down noticing that Ranma still hadn't taken her hand away. "Do you really want to?" Ranma asked. Akane smiled and cautiously closed the space between them. She reached back to undo Ranma's pigtail and kissed the redhead gently. "Yes, Ranma," Akane said. "I do." She turned up her chin, exposing her neck, again. This time Ranma hesitantly kissed the soft flesh. Akane felt Ranma cautiously massaging her breast as well, and sighed pleasantly, lying back. Ranma's other hand reached underneath Akane to rub her back. Akane let Ranma proceed at her own pace, holding herself in check for fear of startling Ranma. She waited, letting show how she was enjoying Ranma's tentative ministrations, until Ranma seemed to be engrossed in the act. Ranma felt a hand slip into her pajamas and over her breast. She looked up from Akane's chest to glance at her in surprise. The hand on her breast, Akane's, she assured herself, tensed slightly. "Do you want to take over?" Ranma asked quietly. She had expected Akane to just lie back and let her do what she wanted. The boys' talk made it sound like that's what the woman did. It was what she always did with Akane. "No," Akane whispered. "Ranma, please don't stop." Ranma nodded, looking confused. She lowered herself back down, kissing at Akane's breast. She gasped and paused briefly as Akane's hand smoothly moved to her back and snapped her bra loose. Looking up to Akane's face Ranma saw the dark haired girl giving her an encouraging look. She blinked and lowered herself again, acclimating herself to the feel of Akane's hand on her back. Eventually one of Ranma's hands found its way in between Akane's legs. Akane again had to insure Ranma that she wanted this. In the midst of the distraction offered by attending to Akane, Ranma found it much easier to hold down the memories aroused by what the other woman's hands were doing to her. There was even a little present pleasure streaking through the remembered fear. Ranma found a part of her wishing that Akane would move from her chest and back, down lower. It was a small, very small, part of her, but it was growing more vocal. Akane was finding it more difficult to hold herself in check. Ranma was hesitant, but she didn't really have anything to measure it against. It was completely different from when she was a man with Ranma. The sensations were more than she expected, and she had to bite down several cries for fear of scaring Ranma. Mostly she was ecstatic that Ranma was actually doing something beyond initiating sex. Ranma shifted up Akane's body and kissed her, crushing their breasts against each other. Ranma gasped as Akane's leg came up between hers. She paused to try and send away the memories invoked by the feeling of Akane's thigh rubbing her womanhood through a layer of silk and another of thick cotton. "Please," Akane gasped, her voice helping cut through the fear threatening to swallow Ranma again. "We're almost there." "Hai," Ranma said tightly. She returned to kissing Akane concentrating on what she was doing, and letting the present mercifully obscure the memories. It wasn't a thick shield, but it was a shield nonetheless. Ranma and Akane were kissing, legs intertwined and hands wandering when they finally climaxed. Their backs arched and each bit down a cry before they slumped against each other, catching their breath, Akane's arms wrapped around a shivering Ranma. "Is that the way it's supposed to be?" Ranma finally asked, her voice tiny. Akane saw her shivering slowly coming to an end, but there was no sign of that awful faint that had characterized the aftermath of sex in the first two months of their marriage. "Yes," Akane whispered in answer, kissing Ranma's forehead. The redhead tried, for a moment, to imagine what it would have been like without the memory of her...rape. She could think the word now. She couldn't weed out the memories, though. Ranma broke into quiet, exhausted sobs, face buried in Akane's shoulder. It was several minutes before Ranma shakily spoke again. "You broke the buttons on my pajamas," Ranma whispered, with a shy smile. Akane laughed briefly and kissed her on the forehead again as they both drifted to sleep. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma woke up and quietly got out of bed. She glanced at Akane, still sleeping, still not entirely certain over how she should take last night. She considered that as she walked to her and Akane's dresser. She drew out a large T-shirt, printed with Lina Inverse's eternally cheerful visage, along with a pair of panties and some sweatpants. Ranma padded quietly out into the still dark hallway. Her eyes were cast towards the floor as she slipped down the stairs and to the furo. She was standing in front of the toilet before she realized she didn't need to be there. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kasumi woke up and gathered the things for her morning toilet. She thought that Nabiki would be a little upset with her for waking up early as usual. After all, she was supposed to be taking things a little easier. She couldn't really help it though, she always woke up at this time. Kasumi heard the crying as she came in front of the furo and hesitated briefly before walking into the changing room, and then the furo. Ranma was curled around the slowly deflating get-well balloon and sobbing. "Ranma," Kasumi said quietly, the redhead looked up at her. Then she sighed and looked back down. "I woke up...a...a...and came down here," Ranma said. "B...but I didn't..." she broke at crying again. "My baby...I killed my baby..." Kasumi sat down next to the redhead and hugged her briefly. "It was not your fault, Ranma," Kasumi said. "No one told you that would happen." "Akane said that," Ranma said, letting the balloon drift across the floor away from her. "I should have known better." "How would you have known, Ranma," Kasumi asked. "How much do you know about pregnancy?" Ranma sobbed quietly. "How many women in the world can channel chi?" "I don't know." Ranma shrugged. "Maybe a thousand." "The only one we know with much experience is Cologne," Kasumi noted. "And she is thankfully out of reach. Who could have warned you?" "It's my fault," Ranma sighed, rubbing her abdomen. "There's always something you could have done differently," Kasumi sighed, then hesitantly continued. "Have you told Akane that you didn't want to end the pregnancy?" Ranma's face whirled to look at her. "But I..." Ranma sighed giving up the denial. "It doesn't matter any more." "You should not keep secrets from your spouse," Kasumi told her. "It hurts you both." Ranma looked at her cautiously for a moment. "You know about Ryouga?" Ranma asked nervously. Kasumi nodded reluctantly. "Are we finally going to tell her?" "Yes," Kasumi said after a moment. Ranma hugged her knees to her chest and sighed. "Thank the heavens," Ranma whispered. She stared at the get well balloon wearily blowing across the floor. "She's going to hate me." "She'll be angry," Kasumi admitted. "But I don't think she'll hate you. Do you want to be absent when we have Ryouga tell her?" Ranma shook her head. "No," Ranma said. "I'll be there." She watched the balloon. "I don't have any secrets any more." Kasumi looked at the person in front of her. She was still Ranma, but the loud, boisterous pigtailed boy had become this quiet, fragile, young woman. Even the pigtail was gone, Ranma's red hair was falling wildly around her shoulders. "Ranma, do you want to help me with breakfast?" Kasumi asked. "Sure, I guess," Ranma sighed. She blushed and looked down. "But I need to finish changin'." "Oh, certainly, Ranma," Kasumi said, standing up. "Please inform me when you are finished. I need to freshen up myself." "Hai," Ranma nodded. "I won't take long." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Akane woke slowly at first and then snapped awake upon finding Ranma out of the bed. She sat up and looked around, noting the discarded pajama tunic. Akane knew Ranma sometimes woke up really early, but she was usually back in bed before Akane ever noticed. Akane quickly got out of bed, pausing only to grab a t-shirt to cover herself. She would have put on her own tunic, but buttoning it would have taken too long. She stepped out into the hallway and glanced back and forth. The dojo was where Ryouga was. Ranma had said she would be safe with Ryouga, but she was still very hostile to him recently. More hostile if less violent than she had been before. Akane had been wondering if it was just because Ryouga was male, or if whatever it was they were always fighting about had gotten worse somehow. At any rate, Ranma would not have gone to the dojo with Ryouga there. Akane nearly ran down the stairs and to the furo. Ranma's pajamas were in the hamper, but there was yet no sign of the redhead. She heard Kasumi preparing breakfast and hurriedly headed for her elder sister. She stopped and froze, breathing a sigh of relief, as someone walked out of the kitchen with some dishes. Ranma set down the pile of plates and brushed back her free hair away from her face. She looked up saw Akane, and tensed. Ranma's hand was frozen in the act of pushing her hair back and rested on the back of her neck. "Akane?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?" "No," Akane said quickly. "No, everything's fine. I was just...a little worried is all." Ranma sighed and looked down. "Oh," Ranma said wearily, starting to put out the plates for breakfast. Akane walked up the table and started helping. "Are you really okay with last night?" Akane whispered, glancing over her shoulder for Kasumi. Ranma stopped again and then looked at Akane with a shaky smile. "Yeah," she said, then the smile faded again. "You didn't put your hair back in a pigtail," Akane noted curiously. Ranma's hand went back to her hair. "I didn't really think I had time," Ranma explained. "I can go fix it right now." She started for the stairway, but stopped when Akane wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. She tensed again and looked up and back to see Akane's face before relaxing. "Do you want to?" Akane asked. "Because I..." she blushed and bit her lip. "You look...cute." Akane could hardly believe she was saying that. That she was encouraging Ranma to be more feminine. "You want me to keep it loose?" Ranma asked. ~No more pigtailed girl.~ Ranma thought with a mixture of grief and relief. Another step away from that day. Another step away from who she used to be. "Only if you want to," Akane said. Ranma reached up to twirl her hair around her finger, she nodded quietly. She turned around in Akane's arms and leaned into Akane wearily. "You need to sleep more." "I'm getting enough," Ranma whispered, eyes closed, and hugging Akane in return. Not just clutching at Akane desperately, but actually hugging her. Akane smiled in relief, kissing Ranma, as usual, in the center of the forehead. "Ranma have you finished setting the t...Oh!" Kasumi smiled at the touching sight. There was a subtle difference in the embrace that took Kasumi a few moments to pin down. When she did, she smiled further. Hopefully whatever had changed would help with the quickly approaching revelation. "Good morning, Akane. Am I interrupting anything?" "I'm almost finished," Ranma said quietly, hesitantly pulling away from Akane to finish setting the table. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Akane asked. Ranma and Kasumi froze. "Actually," Kasumi said. "Could you see about waking everybody else up? Kodachi might need help getting to her feet from the floor, and there are things we need to discuss after breakfast for which the rest of us must be present." Akane could almost feel Ranma shrivel, and that made her nervous. "Okay," Akane said. She paused to kiss Ranma on the cheek, hoping to reassure her, and then left back to the rooms. "Everything will be all right, Ranma," Kasumi assured her. Ranma looked after Akane wistfully. "I hope so," she said and returned to setting the table. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nabiki blinked awake, and had to sit up to look at the door without rocking on her injured shoulder. Somebody was knocking on her door and asking her to wake up. It sounded like Akane, that relaxed Nabiki. She stood up and shuffled to the door, opening it and glancing wearily out at Akane, her hair a mess. "tss Sunday," Nabiki drawled. "Arm hurts. Lemee go sleep." "Sorry Nabiki," Akane said apologetically. "Kasumi asked me to wake everyone up. She said we all needed to talk about something." Nabiki stared at her blankly for a full minute. "Do you know what she's talking about?" Akane actually felt hopeful of getting something. Nabiki was a formidable keeper of secrets usually. Nabiki first thing in the morning, however, was running on fumes. "'bout 'yoga?" Nabiki asked. "What about Ryouga?" Akane asked. Nabiki grimaced as she realized her mistake. "Don worry, 'kane," Nabiki paused to yawn. "I'll wake him." "Is it about why Ryouga and Ranma used to fight all the time?" Akane asked, she received a reassuring wave as Nabiki headed for the dojo. "Later." Nabiki yawned. Akane sighed and went to wake up Kodachi. Nabiki was alerted now, Akane wouldn't get anything else out of her. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "He better be here," Nabiki muttered as she walked out to the dojo. "If he got lost already. I hope he doesn't expect me to explain it for him..." She hesitated at the dojo hearing the sounds of someone moving quickly over the wooden floor and relaxed again. He was there. Nabiki slid the door and grimaced at the sight of Ryouga wide-awake and running katas. Another morning person. Nabiki was virtually plagued with morning people. "Get ready, Hibiki," Nabiki said. She smirked at the startled look he gave her. Ryouga knew about her, she had told him in blunt language, yet she could still make him nervous. "Are we going to talk to her now?" Ryouga asked, fidgeting. Nabiki shook her head. "After breakfast." She yawned. "Nabiki, did you get enough sleep last night?" Ryouga asked as he hesitantly walked towards her. Nabiki glanced at him curiously. "Why are you asking that?" she asked quietly, mind awake even her body was protesting it. "Because you didn't sleep at all while we were in Kodachi's room," Ryouga pointed out cautiously. "I was a little wound up, that's all," Nabiki said. Ryouga was about to point out that she still hadn't answered the question when another voice intruded into the hall way. "I can walk, Akane," Kodachi noted. "It is my arms that were burnt, not my legs." There was a hesitation. "But, my thanks regardless." Nabiki and Ryouga stopped, also hearing Akane stop on the steps, as Kodachi continued on down. "Uh, you're welcome," Akane said, as surprised at the hesitant gratitude as anybody else. "Hurry up, Ryouga," Nabiki said, walking along as she recovered from the surprise. "Or you'll get lost on the way to the table." Ryouga hurried to catch up. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kodachi felt the undercurrents of the breakfast keenly. Something was about to happen, and she wasn't sure if she should be present when it did. It seemed to be a private matter, except that it involved one who was at least technically related to her. She wasn't overly surprised to see Ranma barely picking at her food. Occasionally the redhead would touch her stomach or glance at Akane nervously when she thought Akane wasn't watching her. The guilt was written plainly on her face. Every time Akane touched her it flared briefly, but brightly. Still Ranma seemed resigned to some coming punishment. Her cousin, on the other hand, was a surprise. The death meal aura hanging about Ranma was over him as well. He was sweating, and looked ready to bolt. He was avoiding looking at Akane, though occasionally he would glance at Kodachi or Nabiki. His concern was somewhat endearing, and a touch amusing to Kodachi. Akane seemed scared as well. She was trying to visibly comfort the depressed Ranma, and was obviously confused by the reaction her touch had on Ranma right now. She was watching everybody pretty much the same as Kodachi. Nabiki herself paid close attention to her meal and seemed to get flustered every time she noticed Ryouga looking at her. Granted that was just conjecture for Kodachi. Still she thought she caught Nabiki fidgeting once. Kasumi was mostly the normal charming hostess she expected. Though her politeness and manners were frayed around the edges. She also seemed to be behaving rather coolly toward Ryouga. That alone made Kodachi curious as to what her cousin had done. She suddenly remembered how that vile gaijin had removed Ryouga from the battle early on. A spray of water and Ryouga had become a small black pig. Her eyes widened, and she turned to face Ryouga, shocked. He had been masquerading as a pet, and they were planning on telling Akane. Kodachi angrily took another bite from her plate, finishing the meal. She then fought down the desire to denounce Ryouga immediately. She had seen enough to know that he was too shy and naïve to be a real pervert. She would wait for the explanation to come. "Well, I suppose this finishes breakfast," Kasumi said finally. Akane looked down at her plate and thought about protesting that she was still hungry. She wasn't certain she wanted to know what was coming. "Ranma can you help me gather the dishes?" The redhead looked up in surprise, and blinked. "Sure." "Leave the water glasses," Kasumi said pointedly. Ranma nodded. Ranma gracefully stood up and moved to help Kasumi, they had the table cleared around two minutes. Ranma moved to go sit next to Akane, but Kasumi gently stopped her and sat down between them. Ranma guiltily looked to Akane and then down at her lap. Whatever it was, they expected Akane to be angry about it, and Kasumi was protecting Ranma just in case. Akane would have been angry at that alone if it weren't for the memory of seeing Ranma cringe when she yelled. If it weren't for the fact that it was her blow that had put him in the pool in time to meet Tatewaki. Akane had been cruelly shown what an enemy blind rage could be. "Kodachi," Kasumi started. "We are about to discuss family business." "I know what is coming Kasumi-san," Kodachi said sharply. She glanced at Ryouga. "And he is my cousin." She said the last a little guiltily, Ryouga winced at the tone. "And I would hear an explanation before I judge matters." Kasumi considered that. "I suppose that would be fine then," Kasumi said, out of reasons to stall herself. She turned to a pale-faced Akane. "Akane, Ranma and Ryouga have been keeping a secret from you for quite some time." Akane paled further, Ranma and Ryouga had been sharing a secret. What could they possibly know that would make her angry if it were told to her. "A secret?" Akane repeated. Ranma nodded shamefacedly, not looking up from the ground. What could she have done that she would be so ashamed of? "Ranma was honor-bound not to say anything," Kasumi explained further. "And Ryouga," she glanced at Ryouga disapprovingly. "Ryouga was too afraid to say anything apparently. And recently Nabiki." Here Nabiki winced at Kasumi's tone. "Wanted them both to keep quiet until things had calmed down some, but that does not appear to be happening." "What is it?" Akane asked. She had a series of disturbing images flashing through her mind. In general each was worse than the one before. Akane always did have a good imagination. "Ryouga," Kasumi said politely, if coldly. There was no hint of a request in the word. "I'm...uh," Ryouga dithered briefly. Akane saw Ranma tensing up. "You're what?" Akane asked. "Say it, Lost boy," Nabiki almost whispered. "Get it over with." Ryouga sighed and looked down at his lap. He grabbed his glass of water. "Akane," Ryouga started again. "I'm P-Chan." Akane stared at him blankly as he poured his water out over him. Her eyes popped wide, and she blinked several times as she started to compare this with the various scenarios she had imagined. "Akane?" Ranma said quietly. "I..." Then Akane burst out laughing to the surprise of everyone at the table. "Huh?" Nabiki asked intelligently. Everybody else just stared. "Akane, are you okay?" Ranma asked nervously. Akane nodded and caught her laughing under control releasing a long relieved breath. "I thought," Akane said breathlessly. "I thought..." She shook her head and broke into laughter again. "You don't want to know what I thought." "You're not mad?" Ranma asked cautiously. "There was more build up to that than when you told me about...you know." Akane glanced nervously at Ranma and was relieved to notice that Ranma hadn't noticed the reference. "After all that," Nabiki said. "You're relieved that he's been sleeping in your bed and peeping at you all this time?" Ryouga winced at Nabiki's tone. "If you could see some of the things I was thinking." Akane shivered. "I mean, I've never even changed in front of P-Ch...Ryouga." Granted, if they had just told her out of the blue with no preparation, or even with this preparation, before Ranma's rape, then she would have been enraged. Not now though, she could think of worse things. "You don't mind that we kept this secret so long?" Ranma asked cautiously. "Yes," Akane snapped. "I mind! It's just not as bad news as I thought it would be. You were my pet?! That is so pathetic!" Ryouga, still a pig, winced. "And Ranma calling you P-Chan all the time, it should have been so obvious!" Nabiki winced. Akane glanced at Ranma but held off on any comments about her honor. Kasumi noted this with a smile as she stood up to get prepare some hot water. Akane had apparently found a revenge that didn't involve a mallet. "How many times did P-chan show up dragging along expensive souvenirs from far off places?" Akane asked. "And the bandanna!" Nabiki winced twice, getting the picture strongly. Ranma seemed to be calming down somewhat as Akane continued. "Oh and Azusa!" Akane laughed loudly at the decidedly embarrassed pig. "Oh dear," Kodachi said suddenly. "I just remembered my match against you, Ranma. Was he that pig I handcuffed to you?" "Yeah," Ranma said cautiously, looking between everybody. "I had ta use him as a weapon." Ryouga flinched. "What a priceless joke," Kodachi said. "It is unfortunate that I did not know the extent of the situation." Akane and Kodachi were both laughing now, Kodachi's laugh sort of eliciting a wince on its own. "You know, they probably both took more pains hiding it," Akane said. "Than they would have got for revealing it." Ryouga and Ranma both flinched. Akane paused laughing and watched Ranma, biting her lip as the redhead's shoulders remained hunched. Kasumi came back with a kettle of hot water, with an amused smile, and picked up Ryouga. Akane watched the severely embarrassed pig be taken away along with his clothes and laughed again. She cautiously moved to sit next to Ranma and sat down next to the bewildered girl. "It's good to know I rank higher on your priorities than your honor," Akane whispered, leaning in close. Ranma turned to look at her and it seemed vaguely like a weight slipped off her shoulders. Akane wrapped an arm around her. "You should have told me directly when I never caught on," Akane added reproachfully. Ranma slumped a little and nodded. "Gomen nasai," Ranma said quietly. Akane hugged her tightly and kissed the girl to reassure her before getting back to the business of needling people. "Even Azusa figured it out. Eh, Charlotte?" Akane smirked as Ryouga was led back to take his punishment like a man. He looked bright red. Nabiki's eyebrow started to twitch. "Why do you refer to him as Charlotte?" Kodachi asked. "What is the story behind that?" The sound of a quiet, crystal laughter drew eyes toward Ranma, smiling shakily. "Azusa collects cute things and renames them," Ranma said, quietly shifting to sit on Akane's lap. She gripped the other girl's hand, their fingers interlocking. "She collected Ryouga." "Oh dear." Kodachi imagined this. "That must have been embarrassing." "She still chases me, damn it," Ryouga muttered. Then he smirked. "But then again, she really decked Sanzenin." Ranma's smile vanished at being reminded of her first kiss, then flickered back in the face of the warming conversation. "She can't be all bad," Ranma agreed. "Just stupid. Though that hits all of us." Everybody glanced at her cautiously. She smiled shyly and laughed once. Akane's needling shifted quickly into a general reminiscing, and for a brief time the tension faded. Thoughts and feats of the outside world could be shoved in the background for a brief time. Ranma looked around at the people talking around her, occasionally clarifying a comment or adding another quiet laugh, though she rarely provided more than a shy smile. Ranma glanced at her fingers intertwined with Akane's. For the moment she was just one of them, sharing old memories. For the moment she wasn't poor little Ranma, she was just Ranma. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "That was...unexpected," Nabiki said dryly after the discussion had ended. "Yeah," Ryouga agreed, still red from embarrassment. It seemed as if he had done something stupid in every adventure. If it weren't for the fact that he had expected to be hammered into the ground, he'd have been very depressed. "Is that it then?" "Akane seems satisfied. You're free to go," Nabiki said after a moment. "Whenever you like." "I should probably stay," Ryouga answered, he scratched the back of his head. "Why?" Nabiki asked warily. Ryouga laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I believe he is taking our blood tie a little seriously," Kodachi put in looking up from the table for a moment and smirking at the two. "Yeah," Ryouga said quickly agreeing. "Have to keep an eye on her." "Really?" Nabiki asked doubtfully. Then she sighed and shook her head amusedly. "How are your arms?" Kodachi lifted them and did a little to bend them, wincing at the stretching of blistered flesh underneath the bandages. "They shall heal," Kodachi said. "How is your shoulder?" "Irritating," Nabiki said, grimacing. The pain was starting to become noticeable in her demeanor, but it was not yet unbearable enough to cause her to actually take another pain pill. She had had no nightmares last night, but how easily she went out with the pill scared her a little more. "What is there to do now?" "I hadn't thought of anything past telling Akane about P-Chan," Nabiki admitted. "I usually just hang around on Sundays, what about you?" Kodachi looked at them briefly, no longer amused, and then back down at the table. "I had my garden and Midorigame," Kodachi said quietly. Nabiki flushed a little at forgetting that, perhaps that one pill wasn't completely out of her system. She couldn't think of any other distraction. "Well, maybe there's a movie playing or something," Nabiki said. "Go to a movie?" Kodachi repeated surprised. "Like a com...hmmm...I suppose that would be acceptable." "Do you want to come, Ryouga?" Nabiki asked. After a moment's pause she addded: "To make sure Kodachi is fine?" "Uhh...sure," Ryouga said. Kodachi did not bother to complain about the babysitting. "Good," Nabiki said, looking down at her pajamas. "I just need to change." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma ran through the kata smoothly, making no sound more noticeable than a slight flutter in the air. Or maybe a soft pad on the floor as she connected briefly. It had been good to talk about happier times, about her past victories. It had been even better to tell Akane about Ryouga's curse, to finally cut the anchor free. And learn she wasn't it. She felt... She felt not so tired. Ranma hit the end of the kata and stepped back to watch her afterimage for the few seconds it would remain. Looking at the trick of light and speed, she paled slightly. Ranma reached out a hand to touch the image as it completely vanished. "Is something wrong?" Akane asked, hugging her comfortingly. "It just made me wonder..." Ranma shrugged and shook her head in disgust. She crossed her arms over her stomach and watched the place where the specter had been following her every step. "What is it Ranma?" Akane asked, turning around in front the redhead and catching her eyes. Ranma flashed a look back to the ground. "I..." Ranma continued quietly. "Didn't want an abortion." ~Don't argue,~ Akane told herself. ~It's a moot point.~ She sighed and hugged Ranma as the other girl broke into soft sobbing. "It wasn't your..." "I didn't need it." Ranma interrupted, sobbing. "I was just showin' off...The Mouko Takabisha...sparked out, but I...it showed...I didn't need to...I didn't need to..." "Shhh," Akane whispered, rocking Ranma gently. "It was an accident." "Yeah, I couldnna known," Ranma agreed still sobbing. "But whatta 'bout next time?" "You won't let it happen again," Akane said. "Showin' off like a damn student," Ranma muttered, still crying. "Ranma," Akane said firmly, and the redhead looked up to her. "You'll be a wonderful parent." "You think so?" Ranma asked. There was a knock on the dojo door before it slid open to reveal Nabiki. "Do you need me to go?" Nabiki asked. "No," Ranma said shaking her head and wiping at her eyes. She turned around in Akane's arms to face Nabiki. "We're fine." Akane gave her sister a brief reproachful look, nodded agreement. "We're thinking of going to a movie," Nabiki said. "Are you two interested in coming, or would you prefer to lay low for today?" Ranma and Akane glanced at each other. "Do you want to go?" Akane asked Ranma. "Everybody's going?" Ranma asked, hesitantly. "I haven't asked Kasumi yet," Nabiki said. "But mostly, yeah. Kodachi, Ryouga and I." "I guess so..." Ranma said quietly. "Great," Nabiki said smiling. Then looked irritated. "Akane, can you help me get changed?" She indicated the sling on her arm. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "What exactly is this film about?" Kodachi asked as they waited in line to buy refreshments. Most everybody else looked at her in blank surprise. Kasumi had decided to stay home, promising to at least get some sleep while they were out. "You are Japanese," Nabiki said. "Aren't you?" "I appear to be, yes," Kodachi responded dryly. "But I fail to see what that has to do with this American movie." "You've never seen a Gojira movie?" Akane asked. "No, I cannot say that I have," Kodachi answered. "I've only ever seen one," Ranma admitted weakly. "Only one?" Ryouga repeated, he had seen quite a few before starting on his quest to find Ranma. Mostly by accident, but he had seen them. Ranma shrugged. "Never had much money or use for movies on the road," Ranma said. "No one has answered my question," Kodachi noted as they reached the counter. The discussion didn't get any further. A girl behind the counter looked up towards the approaching discussion. Her face shifted from the expression of a tried patience into one of rabid disgust as she recognized the group. ~Rape her?~ the girl wondered as she poured a drink for the last idiot. ~Why would anybody need to, Akane, Kuno, Shampoo, that mystery guy at the hospital. She fucking spreads her legs for anybody. And Akane, all that talk about kill all perverts, and there she is feeling up that fluff in public. I don't have to take this.~ Ranma saw it coming. The girl behind the counter lifted the large drink she was pouring. Ranma closed her eyes and shifted in front of Akane so that the soda washed all over her. "Hey," the man next to them shouted. "That's my drink!" Ranma opened her eyes in time for the girl to spit in her face. "Slut," she snapped angrily, eliciting a wince from Ranma. ~How dare that pervert even make such a stupid claim.~ "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Akane roared moving around Ranma to grab the girl's collar. Kodachi was standing there fuming and clenching her fists, obviously wanting to do something. Ryouga stood between her and the scene, frowning grimly himself. "Jin, what's gotten into you?" another of the staff asked. "Let go of me or I'm going to call the manager," Jin snapped. It was easy to see that she was scared despite her demeanor. "Please do," Nabiki said, she turned to Ranma after shooting her own glare at the counter girl. "Are you okay, Ranma?" "Yeah, it's just soda," she said, shaking a little and looking down. "It was my soda," the other customer reminded everybody. Ranma felt her hair being matted to her head and glanced at the soda all over her jacket. Did it matter to him that his soda had been poured all over her? "Iwata-san!" Jin called out, the angry edge of her voice obviously shaky now. "You..." Akane growled. She pushed the girl away from disgustedly. "You're not worth it." "All this time sharing a locker room with rug-munching pervert." Jin sneered, courage somewhat restored. "Did you get an eyeful of me, Akane?" Akane almost went over the counter at the girl, but was stopped when Ranma put herself between Akane and the girl. "Akane, don't," Ranma insisted, gripping Akane's arms. "Iwata-san!" Jin shouted, obviously terrified now. Akane stopped and looked down. Immediately Ranma let go of Akane, seeming embarrassed. "Gomen. I...I...just don't want to see you get in trouble over me," Ranma said quietly. She looked down at the ground so she wouldn't have to see the looks she was getting from the crowd. "Ranma," Akane sighed, and hugged the girl comfortingly, ignoring the already sticky feeling of soda drying on her clothes and skin. Ranma hugged her back, not wanting to turn around. If she had to look at the hateful face again, she was afraid that she might lash out. "Why don't you and Ranma go into the restroom to get cleaned up," Nabiki suggested, glancing at the approaching manager. "We'll take care of things here." Jin noticed the approaching manager as well and took confidence in that. "Some man among men," she said, laughing. "Ask your little piece of fluff about the other people she spreads her legs for, Akane." Ranma winced again and Akane could feel Ranma clenching her fists behind her back. "Bitch," Akane said simply, spitting back at the girl and escorting Ranma away. "What is going on here," the manager asked as Akane and Ranma left. "That freak attacked me!" Jin snapped pointing at the departing Akane. "Everybody saw." She looked around for support, almost everybody was passing by with no more than a glance at the situation. Nobody wanted to be associated with the situation on either side. "She just attacked you out of the blue?" the manager repeated, he watched Akane slip into the restroom with Ranma, obviously comforting the other girl. He couldn't tell for she, but he thought that the redhead looked like she was wet. He turned back to the other three. "What happened." "Your serving girl tossed a drink in our friend's face and called her a slut," Kodachi growled. Ryouga was still between her and the scene, wondering if it would be possible to restrain Kodachi without hurting her should she decide to attack at this point. "And there were some other comments," Nabiki said bitterly. "That didn't happen," Jin insisted. "Who saw that?" The manager, Nabiki and Jin all looked around. The attendant right next to Jin shook his head. "I don't know what got into her, sir," she said. "She just tossed a drink at that girl and then went off on a tirade." "That's what happened," the complaining man confirmed. "You're taking their side?!" Jin said in disbelief. "They're a bunch of freaks." "You going to take care of this...Iwata-san?" Nabiki was not asking. "Akada-san," the manager said coolly. "Please leave the premises, you're fired." "Fine!" Jin snapped. She glanced at Kodachi and sneered. "I'll bet she let you eat her out along with your brother, didn't she." Kodachi looked about ready to finally leap and then there was a ringing sound as someone slapped the girl. "That's plenty," Ryouga said, looking at his hand embarrassed. The girl touched her cheek in semi-shock and started away from the group, recovering quickly and putting her nose in the air. "Thank you," Nabiki said coolly, glaring after the girl. "What about my soda," the other customer demanded. "I'm going to miss my movie." The other counter attendant quickly filled up a drink, one size larger than it had been, and handed it to the man. "About time." The man walked off without so much as a glance at the other three. "He's going to throw us out," Ryouga whispered to Nabiki as the manager started to turn around. Nabiki glanced at him curiously, but didn't have time to say anything before she had to cut off the manager. "I'm sorry, Iwata-san," Nabiki said. "I'm afraid we cannot stay here, as soon as our friends are through in your restroom, we're leaving." "If that's what you want to do," the manager said after a moment's stunned silence. There was a relieved note to his voice. "There are other theaters," Nabiki said. "With less bigoted staff. I wonder how people ever choose to come here. Such behavior in the staff would not generate much business." The manager winced at the threatening tone. "I insist we make up for Akada-san's faux-pas," the manager said suddenly. "A faux-pas is using chopsticks to eat gourmet European cuisine," Kodachi snapped. "This was an out and out insult." "We shall apologize then, by putting your tickets and drinks on the house," the manager said quickly. "Is that fair?" "I shall have to check with Ranma," Nabiki said. "But it should suffice." "Very good," the manager bowed. "I'll see about collecting your refunds." "How'd you know?" Nabiki asked Ryouga as the manager left. "You wander around enough," Ryouga said, shrugging. "You know when someone's going to toss you from a place." "Fortunate for him that you convinced him otherwise," Kodachi said tightly. "I doubt it would prove much trouble to purchase this enterprise." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Akane worriedly helped Ranma clean out most of the soda from her hair, using hot water. Akane was thankful that they were the only ones in restroom. It was quite one thing for Ranma to tell herself that everybody was going blame and hate her. It was quite another for someone to actually do it. The redhead was shaking visibly and she could hear Ranma crying under the flow of the water. She was worried that Ranma was going to break down again. If that girl, Akane vaguely remembered her from her PE class, had the girl commented on the miscarriage she felt sure Ranma would have done just that. "Don't let someone like that get to you, Ranma," Akane whispered, rubbing Ranma's back, and kissing the back of her neck. "She called me a piece of fluff," Ranma spoke tearfully into the sink, still trying to wash the last vestiges of soda out of her hair. "It doesn't matter what she thinks," Akane whispered. "Damnit," Ranma snapped. Ranma's hand formed a fist and slammed the counter of the sink. It was a light tap for Ranma, the counter didn't crumble, but a small spider web of cracks radiated out through the marble. Akane stepped back in surprise and Ranma pulled her head out from the sink and turned to face Akane. She was still crying, but there was a glimmer in her eyes Akane was glad to see, even if it made her nervous. "Does she actually think I would let that bastard..." Ranma hesitated and looked away for a moment, clenching her eyes closed. She turned back to Akane and continued quietly. "Let him...rape...me. That I would enjoy being...raped!?" She winced as she said the word. Ranma closed her eyes tightly and angrily gripped the edges of the counter. Her shoulders shook as she broke into full weeping. Akane hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead and comforting her. The dark- haired girl felt some guilty relief as Ranma clutched at her and sobbed. Ranma was embarrassed. She was scared of what people might think. She was hurting very badly. But Ranma was angry. ~Finally,~ Akane thought, kissing Ranma's forehead again. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Let's go before the movie gets started," Ranma said shakily, drying her eyes. She glanced at her soda stained sweater jacket and shivered. "I guess I have to take this off, it's gonna get icky." "Are you sure, Ranma?" Akane asked. Ranma nodded and slowly slipped the drenched and sticky jacket off to reveal the Lina Inverse T-shirt again. Ranma looked shyly up at Akane as she balled the jacket up and then gripped her arms and rubbed them as if cold. "I ain't gonna let that girl drive me off," Ranma said, a determined light coming into her eyes, though she was still shivering. "The Americans probably really messed it up you know," Akane said as they walked out of the restroom, still hugging. Ranma shrugged as they walked out to meet the other three. "Do you want to go home?" Nabiki asked as they walked up. Her eyes glanced at the balled up jacket under Ranma's arm and arched an eyebrow. "I'm gonna stay," Ranma said after glancing at Akane. "Are we too late for the movie?" "No, we're still early," Nabiki assured her. "What happened out here?" Akane asked, scanning the lobby for any sign of the girl. "The manager of this establishment had the good grace to fire her," Kodachi said. Akane nodded satisfactorily. "Good," she said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The seats had armrests that folded up in a way that allowed Ranma to lean back against Akane while a giant iguana half-destroyed New York. She paid as much attention as she could to the movie, but she was thinking about other things. When she went to school again, which would there more of. Get well cards, or sodas and spit in the face? Who else would call her a slut? She thought of her empty womb. Or a murderer? And she still wondered if they were right. Ranma gripped Akane's hand tight and was comforted by the feeling of Akane kissing the back of her head.
Back to Lost Innocence Index - Back to Ranma 1/2 Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction