Ranma stood up from the toilet and shuffled to the sink and ran some water to wash the taste of bile out of her mouth. She grabbed a towel and dried her face off, without raising her eyes to meet the reflection in the mirror. The red-head padded lightly out of the restroom hoping to get back before Akane noticed her gone. Opening the door she almost ran into her mother and Soun Tendo in the hallway. All three of them froze. "Mom," Ranma said finally. "Whatcha doing here?" She eyed the bundle on Nodoka's back cautiously. Nodoka glanced once in the direction of her child's gaze and then quickly handed the wrapped katana to Soun. "Are you feeling okay Ranma?" Nodoka asked, moving to hug Ranma comfortingly. "I've been sicker," Ranma said. She hugged her mother back, but she was hesitant. Nodoka felt Ranma tense up in her arms. The older woman leaned back and looked into her child's face, brushing her bangs back. "I'm sure Ranma," she smiled slightly. "Are you feeling better?" "I...think so," she said. "Is Akane treating you well?" Nodoka asked. "Yes," Ranma said with a hint of reproach. "All of them are treating me great." "That is good," Nodoka said, she stroked Ranma's face gently. Ranma tightened more as the hand neared the jaw line where the flesh curled down to her throat and Nodoka pulled back, standing up, as she noticed. "Excuse me, Tendo-san. I shall join you shortly." "Of course," Soun said leaving Nodoka alone with Ranma. "Come over here and sit with me for a moment," Nodoka said, leading Ranma to one of the sofa’s. Ranma hesitated but only for a moment. The signs of approaching dawn could be seen outside in the courtyard, but it was still very early. Nodoka’s eyes briefly surveyed the thick pajamas Ranma had thrown on when she got up to go to the toilet. Soun had told her about Ranma’s nightmares. Before they had been more frequent than the average, but still only occasional. Now, Ranma had nightmares almost every night. Soun, and occasionally Kasumi, were her only source of information on the matter. Akane and Nabiki outright distrusted her still, and Ranma didn’t talk about it with hardly anybody unless forced. Nodoka watched Ranma fold her arms across her chest, and cross her legs as she sat down. It was a completely instinctive action that Ranma generally only deviated from when she was sitting with Akane. Nodoka had to keep herself from crying as she carefully placed an arm around her child. "What’s up?" Ranma asked calmly. She glanced at Soun walking towards the door with a couple of packs. "You and Tendo-san goin’ somewhere?" "That...is not important right now, dear," Nodoka said. "I can’t begin to know what you are going through right now, Ranma, but I have faith that you can survive it. And you have help...if you allow it. Akane is there for you, Kasumi and Nabiki...me...I hope..." "Mom..." Ranma started quietly, but Nodoka moved ahead and interrupted her. "And soon, you probably won’t want to hear this right now, but you should," she gingerly placed a hand on Ranma’s stomach. She knew the signs, morning sickness, swollen breasts. Nodoka knew her child was pregnant. The red-head winced and almost seemed ready to bolt, but made a visible effort to calm down. "Soon you’ll have a child of your own. Someone that depends on you for everything. A little one that will hold nothing but love for you. You’ll have to be strong for that, avoid making the same mistakes your parents made." "You can be sure I ain’t gonna engage the kid to anybody," Ranma muttered quietly, looking down at her stomach. ~Not if I just kill it, like we plan.~ Nodoka mistook the source of the guilt in Ranma’s voice. "It was not your fault, dear," Nodoka said quietly. Ranma flashed her a look, seeming almost as if she’d explode into tears right there before the expression vanished. ~It ain’t my fault I trusted that little pussy,~ Ranma thought to herself. ~Ain’t like she’s drugged me before.~ She added harshly to herself, but she put on a slight smile for her mother’s benefit. "I know that, Mom." Nodoka looked at her doubtfully, but assented. Trying to force this issue any further wouldn’t accomplish anything. Soun reappeared in the door and cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose we should be going then," Nodoka said. She stood up reluctantly, after hugging Ranma once more. "You should probably get back to bed and get some sleep, Ranma." Ranma noted the slight emphasis on sleep and shuffled slightly in her seat. "Ranma," Soun said sharply. The red-head looked up at the older man, watching him cautiously. Soun hadn’t said much of anything to him since the...event. "I’m leaving my girls in your hands, I’m sure you’re capable of keeping them safe." Ranma blinked in disbelief. "Uhh...sure, Tendo-san, I won’t let anything happ’n to them," Ranma said flustered. ~He still trusts me to protect them? He doesn’t think I’m too weak?~ Ranma stood up and bowed clumsily, still confused. "We shall be gone for quite some time," Nodoka said, shaking off her own surprise at the statement. "But we shall be back no later than two months from now, excepting surprises, of course." "Okay," Ranma smiled, hesitated a moment, and then moved forward to hug her Mom goodbye. "Whatcha doing anyway?" "Nothing to be concerned about yet, Ranma," Nodoka said. "Now off to bed, you need to rest more often." Ranma wanted to press for more information, secrets were usually bad things in her experience, but her mother had backed off her, and she returned the favor. "Yeah, I guess," she said, turning back towards her room. "Laterz." "Oyasumi, Ranma," Nodoka waved back as Ranma shuffled off to her and Akane’s room. As the red-head vanished she turned to Soun. "Thank you Tendo-san, that was a surprise." "Excuse me," Soun said, hefting a pack. "I am not sure what you are talking about." Nodoka picked up her own, smaller pack and smiled. "Certainly, Tendo-san," Nodoka said quietly. The sun began to peak over the horizon several minutes later, and Kasumi awoke to begin her morning rituals. It would be another hour or two, with the sun firmly above the Earth, when the rest of the household would awaken. At least that was her experience, she was more than a little surprised to discover a small hand-written note in her kitchen. "Nodoka and I are gone to look for Genma," the note read. "It shall be sometime before we return." Kasumi looked at the note perplexed, unsure how to take the news. She set the note in her pocket and continued her morning preparations. She would have to worry about it later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kodachi woke up and stared at the ceiling for several minutes before sitting up and getting out of bed. Her alarm clock buzzed on for several minutes more as she dressed and collected her school things. She checked the time once before stepping out of her room. As the door shut behind her, Kodachi was reminded of one of the disadvantages of a sound proofed room. Sound couldn't get in, but neither could get out. She was left alone in the halls with the echoing sounds of her footsteps, and those only because she chose to make noise. Kodachi walked down the empty halls trying to remember the last time they had had guests in the manse. Real guests, not treasure seekers, not forced to the place out of blackmail. Not the weekly maid service. "Mother's last birthday," she said finally, coming to the entrance to her rose garden. "That nomadic family of hers." Despite the haughty tone of voice a small smile graced her face. "Such a loud group." She walked through her garden, scanning for anything that needed immediate attention. This was her morning ritual, something she had done virtually everyday for several years now. She always woke up with plenty of time to check on the garden, even with the recent addition to her ritual. Kodachi came to a desk in the middle of garden and sat down in front of the tools of her particular love. Sitting in the mortar and pestle's normal central position was a single vial of a translucent red liquid. She picked up the sheaf of papers next to that vial and checked it over yet again. "The clan is dead," she whispered setting down the document and picking up the vial. "We just didn't want to admit it." Kodachi watched the liquid in the vial swirl around. Kodachi closed her eyes and imagined the sensation of numbness as it would travel from the pit of her stomach outward. The cool feeling would spread quickly. Within minutes she would be painlessly asleep, all alone among the roses. This wasn't St. Hebereke's locker room, she would have her privacy. "This time..." she whispered. The red swirl suddenly brought to mind Ranma stumbling out of her brother's room. Red shirt torn, her hair as wild as usual. Kodachi reluctantly set the vial back down, suddenly glad that she had failed the first time. "Midorigame must be hungry," Kodachi said suddenly. "I should not be wasting my time with these fancies." Kodachi stood up and strode to the moat house and opened the meat locker inside. As the giant alligator came up to eat the steaks she was throwing at the bank, Kodachi moved to lovingly scratch at the reptile's scales. She smiled at the pleasant sounding growl the alligator elicited as she scratched. Kodachi almost thought that perhaps the stupid animal might possibly care for her. Silly thought as it was. No she couldn't leave just yet. Her garden needed her, Midorigame needed her, and Ranma needed all the friends she could get. "You love your Mother, don't you pet?" Kodachi asked the alligator as it ate. Passing the alligator a few more steaks before leaving, she smiled, trying to ignore the silence. Kodachi strode gracefully down the street, not noticing the figure that dropped out of the trees behind her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane tensed as Hinako walked up to where Ranma had fallen asleep. The teacher, currently in her child form, hadn't harassed Ranma for a while now. Akane prepared to move if it looked like Hinako was about to try anything. Across the room, Ukyou tensed for action as well. "Saotome-san." Hinako reluctantly jabbed at Ranma with her pencil. Hinako waited half a second before deciding she wasn't waking up. She took a deep breath. "SAOTOME-SAN!" Ranma snapped awake with a gasp and flinched away from the hyperactive teacher. "Teach?" Ranma asked nervously, rubbing her arm where Hinako had been jabbing her. Actually Hinako's habit of waking her up in class had been something of a blessing recently. It usually came about when she was starting a nightmare. "This is not a bedroom, Saotome-san," Hinako reminded her. "You might not care about your educational future, but at least don't make hard for everyone else. We can barely think through your snoring." The three martial artists waited for Hinako to go for her coin. "Uh, sorry Teach," Ranma said nervously. "Just try to pay attention," the child-like teach stared up with begging eyes. "Please." Ranma nodded and swallowed nervously at Hinako's unpredictable behavior when she was in her child form. The teacher, meanwhile, walked back to the front of the class to continue teaching. All three of the martial artists breathed a sigh of relief. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma hesitated at the door to the small room and turned to look at Nabiki questioningly. She glanced around again looking for anybody that she might recognize. Her current mode of dress would have made it rather difficult to recognize her. She had acquired quite a few baggy, form-concealing clothes, her Chinese clothes were mostly buried in a corner of her drawer. "You know, I haven't lost it since the duel," Ranma said. "Do you really think I need to do this?" "I still go," Nabiki said simply. "Why couldn't Akane come up with us?" Ranma asked. "She'd be a comfort to us," Nabiki said. "But would you like one of these people bringing their family along?" "I guess not," Ranma sighed, her shoulders slumping. Nabiki laid a hand on the red-head's shoulder and gave a comforting smile. "She's right outside the building if you need to leave," Nabiki reminded her. Ranma nodded once and reached out to open the door. She swallowed as the door opened and she walked into a room with six other women, all of them older than him by at least four years. "Are you here for the group?" one of them asked "Umm, hello," Ranma said weakly, before any of them could respond she continued. "I uh...must have the wrong room." She turned around and saw Nabiki closing the door behind her. "Ranma, do you want me to introduce you?" Nabiki asked. Ranma sighed and turned back to the other people in the room. The red-head found a seat and sat down looking down at her feet, apparently trying to hide her face. "Ranma?" Ranma looked to her side as Nabiki sat down next to her. "If she just wants to listen," somebody started to say. "I don't know why I'm here," Ranma said suddenly. "So I was a little hysterical there for awhile. I'm fine now." Ranma stood up again and moved to the door. "Ranma, you can at least give it a try," Nabiki said, watching her go. Ranma glanced over her shoulder, still trying to obscure her face. "Hey, I just don't need it, okay," Ranma said. "Thanks and all, but I'm going to see if Akane wants to do anything, okay?" She reached for the door again. "You're welcome back anytime," one of the women said. "Even if you just want to listen." Ranma hesitated. "Thanks," Ranma said and then left the room, almost vanishing. "Stubborn," Nabiki shook her head, and sat back down. "She'll be back," one of the women said. "I don't think any of us were much different." "Point taken," Nabiki said, remembering her own reluctance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane wasn't overly surprised as she saw Ranma walk out of the community building. She stood up as Ranma spotted her and made a beeline for where she was sitting. The red-head reached her quickly and circled an arm around Akane as if she were a buddy. "Hey Akane," Ranma said, leaning against the taller girl in a definitely more than buddy manner. "Isn't there like a new movie out or something?" Akane looked down at the smaller girl and stroked her hair, smiling. "Sure, Ranma," she said. "I'm sure there's something." Ranma nodded and started walking down the street, releasing Akane and placing her hands in her pocket. Akane noticed the red-head averting her face from anybody else she saw, and reached out to grab Ranma's hand. The red-head whipped to stare at the hand in alarm and then glanced up at Akane and sighed in relief. "Thanks Akane," she said quietly, lightly squeezing Akane's hand as they walked along. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Tadaima," Nabiki called out as she entered the house. She reached the family room in time to see Kasumi come in from hanging the laundry. "Welcome home, Nabiki," Kasumi said, crossing over to her sister and placed an arm around her shoulders. Nabiki colored a little in frustration as Kasumi sat her down and her elder sister put herself down right next to her. "How are you feeling?" "Kasumi..." Nabiki sighed and gave up, it was a little nice to be pampered. "Thanks for the thought. Nothing much happened at today's meeting, except..." "Except Ranma I suppose?" Kasumi asked. "He didn't stay," Nabiki sighed. "He walked into the room and then turned around to run to Akane." Nabiki allowed her façade to break and leaned her face into her hands. "Kami-sama, I feel like I'm watching myself go through the whole thing again." "I'm certain he'll be all right," Kasumi said. "I suppose it is lucky for him though, that we found out about it so quickly." Nabiki glanced at her sister, noting the mild reproach in her voice. "Yeah," Nabiki said finally. "I was probably being stupid, but with Ranma and everything else..." Nabiki shrugged. "It was easier to not say anything. And I was busy keeping an eye on Akane. I didn't even think about watching Ranma's back." "None of you are to blame," Kasumi said gently. "Kasumi, I fed that...that...bastard's obsession over Ranma," Nabiki snapped, she turned to face Kasumi, her eyes tearing up. "I made MONEY off it." "Nabiki..." Kasumi started. Nabiki laughed once amongst her sobs. "You'd think I'd bring this up in the group," Nabiki said, drying her eyes. "And why don't you," Kasumi asked gently, hugging her sister. "I don't know," Nabiki said. "Maybe they won't be as forgiving as Ranma is. Every time he looks to me for protection..." Nabiki shook her head. "I'm not going to let him see me breakdown, not yet." "Nabiki," Kasumi said reproachfully. "You do not control everything, and you are not responsible for everything." "That's easy to say," Nabiki said, then released a long breath. "Has Ryouga gotten back from wherever he disappeared to?" Kasumi gave her a look at the subject change, but let it pass. "No, he has not been by recently," Kasumi said. "Do you miss him greatly?" "There is nothing going on between me and RYOUGA!" Nabiki snapped, Kasumi leaned away from her sister in surprise. She sighed. "I'm losing my nerve here, I think I need to take a bath to relax." Kasumi smiled and hugged her sister again. "That is a good idea," Kasumi said. "And then perhaps a cup of tea." Nabiki smirked. "The Kasumi cure-all," Nabiki said dryly. "A nice cup of tea." "It's not so much the tea itself," Kasumi said, standing up. Nabiki shrugged as she stood up, completely drying out her eyes, and starting for the furo. "Where's Daddy?" she asked finally. "Oh, Father and Auntie Saotome are tracking down some leads as to Saotome-san's whereabouts," Kasumi explained. "Why even bother?" Nabiki asked snidely as she continued toward the furo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ukyou looked up at the sound of the bell on her door and put on her customary smile. "Welcome to Ucchans'," Ukyou said as she turned. The smile dropped a little as she recognized the new customers. "Hey guys, how are you two doing?" Ranma and Akane sat down at the counter at their usual spot. "I'm doing fine," Ranma said smiling slightly. Ukyou watched the red-head pointedly and glanced at Akane. Her friend and formal rival gave a non-committal shrug. "That's good to hear," Ukyou said, starting a pair of okonomiyaki for her friends. "By the way, I got some stuff for you from the Nekohanten, been trying to get it to you for a while now." "Yeah," Akane said. "I'd heard that there'd been an accident of some sort." Ukyou smirked at the congratulatory tone in Akane's voice. "What stuff are you talking about?" Ranma asked. Ukyou bit her lip and glanced at her okonomiyaki before turning around to grab a pair of boxes from under her counter. Akane blushed as she recognized the boxes. Ranma stiffened for a moment, and shut her eyes briefly. By the time either Akane or Ukyou had turned to face the red-head, she was blushing as much as Akane. "Wait a minute," Akane said. "Assorted curses?" Ukyou blinked and turned away from the stove for a moment. "It's been opened," Ranma said and she glanced at Ukyou in confusion. "Oh, wait a minute," Ukyou said, depositing an okonomiyaki each in front Akane and Ranma. Then she took the box and set it back under her bar and came up with another box. "Wrong box." She laughed nervously. "What are you doing with the other box?" Ranma asked. "I'm not planning on doing anything with it," Ukyou said, starting on an okonomiyaki for one of her other customers. "But maybe they'll come in useful sometime." "Its already open," Akane pointed out. "Your food'll get cold, Akane," Ukyou said firmly. Akane narrowed her eyes and shivered at something she felt in Ukyou's tone. Then Ukyou's manner relaxed. "I wanted to see what the assorted curses were, there's stuff like hawk, snake, and wolf. A bunch of things. Oh yeah, there was this too." She set another lone packet of instant nannichuan on the counter. "Thanks Ucchan," Ranma said reluctantly. Ukyou glanced at Ranma and frowned at the half-eaten okonomiyaki in front of the red-head. "Hey, Sugar, not hungry?" she asked. Ranma looked down at the okonomiyaki and flashed a small smile, before starting to eat again. "Sorry, you just surprised me," Ranma said. Ukyou arched an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. The three chatted on safer issues for several minutes. Ranma tried to keep up with the conversation, but she kept finding herself phasing out. After some time she was hearing the voices, but not really understanding what was being said. Then, despite all her attempts to fight against it, she finally fell asleep, leaning against Akane. Ukyou sighed wistfully as Ranma passed out against Akane’s shoulder. That could have been her Ranma was leaning against, if it weren’t for Tatewaki and Shampoo. Or at least she could have told herself that if she hadn’t just handed over proof of Akane’s love for Ranma. She was Ranma’s best friend, and she had to settle for that. "I’ve seen him do that in class," Ukyou said out loud. "But not while eating. What’s up?" "He tries not to sleep," Akane said sadly. "Nightmares." She didn’t have to say what the nightmares were about. "He fades out every once in awhile. He doesn't dream when he does this." Akane circled her arm around the sleeping red-head, a further proof against Ranma falling off her stool. "Bastards," Ukyou spat harshly. "Both of them." Akane nodded silently, stroking Ranma’s hair. "We should go," Akane said. "Nabiki'll be home by now and they'll start to get worried about us." She shook Ranma awake lightly, wishing she didn't have to. "Huh?" Ranma muttered, blinking awake. "Come on, Ranma," Akane said. "We should get home." Ranma stretched out and nodded, stepping off her stool lightly. "Thanks for the food Ucchan," Ranma said waving. "Anytime, Ranchan," Ukyou smirked. "Both of you are always welcome here." As Akane and Ranma walked out of the restaurant Ukyou turned her attention to the television in the corner of her restaurant. "...the body was discovered in these woods, apparently killed by some sort of wild beast," the reporter was saying. Ukyou paled slightly as she recognized the scene and the reporter continued to ramble about how the damage to the corpse had made quick identification impossible. "No way," Ukyou whispered before returning her concentration to her cooking. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Tadaima," Akane and Ranma called out as they entered the Tendo house. Akane and Ranma slipped off their shoes and walked into the living room, setting down the bag they had gotten to hide the boxes of insant nannichuan. Kasumi looked up from where she was preparing the table for dinner and smiled. Kasumi walked over to join them, still smiling gently. "You're just in time for dinner," Kasumi said, she gently circled an arm around Ranma and lead him to the table to sit down. Ranma turned back a helpless glance at Akane, who tried not to look amused. She sat down next to the red-head a moment later as Kasumi made a quick trip back to the kitchen. "Does she have to do that?" Ranma whispered to Akane. "If you asked her," Akane answered back. "I'm sure she'd stop." Ranma considered this for a moment and then shook her head. "Nah," Ranma said. "I couldn't do that to her." ~And maybe you need a little mothering,~ Akane thought behind her answering smile. "So what did you two do all day?" Nabiki asked as she entered the room. As her middle sister sat down at the table across from them, Akane glanced around, noting her father’s absence. "We went to a movie, stopped at Ucchans’, nothing much," Ranma said, not looking Nabiki in the eyes. Nabiki rolled her eyes slightly. "One of these times I’ll have to join you guys," Nabiki said pleasantly. "If you don’t mind that is." "Maybe you could double with Ryouga then," Kasumi said as she stepped out of the kitchen and started setting down dishes. Nabiki slapped her hand to her face in frustration. "Hey, where’s dad?" Akane asked. Kasumi opened her mouth to answer while Nabiki shook her head irritably. "Mom and Tendo-san left this morning," Ranma said simply. "Said they plann’d to be back by two months." "Where in the world would they be going for two months?" Akane asked irritably. "Don’t know, Tendo-san said I should protect you guys though," Ranma said in a neutral manner. ~Daddy pulls off a good one,~ Nabiki thought. Akane and Kasumi seemed equally surprised. "What?" Ranma asked nervously glancing around. "It is just a surprise," Kasumi said. "Father is usually rather obsessive about protecting us himself. He has a lot of faith in you." She emphasized the last statement strongly and watched Ranma. "Yeah," Akane agreed. "I didn’t think he could do that." Ranma shuffled nervously under the scrutiny and looked at the food. "Can we just eat please?" Ranma asked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma leaned against Akane-kun, catching her breath. The red-head shivered slightly in his arms, her face buried in the crook of Akane's neck. The act of making love with Akane, in either form, always exhausted her. Too much went on for her to simply shove it aside with any meditation technique. This was perhaps the first time she hadn't fallen asleep, passed out was a more accurate term, immediately afterwards. She wondered if that was an improvement. Ranma wondered if anybody knew how near a thing her control was. She had so far managed to keep memories from overwhelming her. If she knew for certain that this was all due to her strength of will she would have been a lot more confident. Unfortunately she had a certain drug's side effects partially to thank for her capability to tolerate sex. Akane held the redhead and stroked her hair as they both caught their breath. The dark-haired boy had also noted that Ranma had not yet fallen asleep. He couldn't miss the mild shivering coming from her spouse. He leaned down to kiss the side of Ranma's head, the red-head turned to face him and smiled in response. "I'm fine," Ranma said. Her face scrunched in confusion as Akane's look turned doubtful. "What?" "I didn't ask," Akane said simply. "You didn't?" Ranma said. "But..." She shook her head clear. "I'm fine, I am FINE." She buried her head back into Akane's shoulder. Ranma looked up over Akane’s shoulder and caught a glimpse of the empty packet of nannichuan. She frowned. "I don’t trust those things," she said. Akane glanced in the direction she was staring and saw the same packet. "Ranma...are you really okay with this?" Akane asked hesitantly. Ranma sighed in resignation as she realized that she hadn’t managed to change the subject. ~Everything’s the same subject now,~ Ranma thought. ~Ranma needs help, Ranma’s weak.~ "Ranma?" Akane repeated, the red-head shook her head clear. "I..." Ranma stopped and took a deep breath. "I just don’t trust ‘em. They’re Jusenkyo." Ranma recalled what her mother had told her about a child that would depend on her. She turned to Akane, looking at her spouse nervously. "Ya know we probably don't need 'em..." Akane shifted uncomfortably as she considered where that was going. "Do you want to have Kuno's baby?" Akane asked, hesitantly. Ranma turned her face away from him. "I...guess not," Ranma said. Then she stayed quiet. Akane held her until she fell asleep and then quickly went for some hot water, feeling sick for some reason. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane blearily walked into the bathroom to wash up for the morning. Ranma was still asleep, and she intended to let her stay that way as long as her dreams and time would let her. Akane yawned as she lifted the wash bucket over her head, and felt a now familiar change. "Oh no," Akane whispered, noticing his deeper voice. He hastily scooped some hot water out of the furo and poured reversed the change. Then hesitantly she took the spray nozzle and poured cold water over...himself. "Oh hell, no!" Akane reversed the change again and quickly got dressed. She rushed back to her room and started looking over the packets over Instant Nannichuan. "What the hell is going on here," Akane muttered, glancing at Ranma to make sure he didn't wake up. She picked up one of the packets and read it over carefully. She growled angrily as she found the fine print. "Something wrong?" Ranma muttered. "No, no," Akane said hastily, glad that Ranma probably wouldn't notice how agitated she was. "Just go back to sleep." "I need to do my katas," Ranma said wearily, without enthusiasm. Akane sobered down at the sound. Ranma was still training regularly, no sparring, but she still filled the day with as much training as she could. The difference was that she wasn't taking much pleasure from it any more. "Okay," Akane said. "Uh...I need to talk to Nabiki about something. Are you okay?" Ranma nodded as she sat up and stretched. "Yeah..." Ranma suddenly looked uncomfortable and stood up, walking quickly out the door. "Gotta go." Ranma said the last shakily. Akane heard the bathroom door open and close a moment later. Akane shook her head and grabbed a blouse and pair of slacks. She quickly redressed in the more androgynous clothes before moving towards the dining room and finding Nabiki yawning as she ate breakfast. "Nabiki," Akane whispered, a fact that attracted her sister's morning befuddled attention. "Why are you whispering?" Nabiki asked. "Is everything okay with Ranma?" Her older sister blinked and grimaced. "And why aren't you wearing your uniform?" "This isn't a problem with Ranma," Akane said hastily. "Not yet anyway. Read the fine print." She handed Nabiki the packet of Instant Nannichuan, and her sister frowned before reading it. "Will not permanently cure cursed customer, 5% chance of making un-cursed customer into cursed customer?!" Nabiki gasped, Akane shushed her. She tossed the packet away as if it were a snake. "Gah. Wait, blouse and slacks. Oh no, Akane...how...how did you think to check for this?" Akane's face fell. "I...I think I'm cursed," Akane said. "When I washed up this morning, I changed. What do I do Nabiki, Ranma will think its his fault. He kept saying he didn't trust the packets." "You don't think you're going to keep this secret do you?" Nabiki asked. "You're together all the time, and you're probably a water magnet now too." "What is happening?" Kasumi asked as she came in with a plate for Akane. "Akane, why aren't you in your uniform?" Akane glanced at Nabiki with a stricken look and sighed. "I don't want to wear a dress in case I," Akane paused. "Change." "You mean what Nabiki shouted earlier?" Kasumi asked. Akane nodded. "Does Ranma know?" "Not yet," Akane said. "Then you should tell him before he finds out on accident," Kasumi said. "Right now." Akane nodded resignedly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma pulled her pajama bottoms back up to her waist as she stood up from the toilet. She frowned, everything just seemed to run through her recently. She had mentioned it to Kasumi and the older girl had told her that it should go away soon, and then had stopped talking about the issue. "Ranma?" Akane called out hesitantly from the other side of the door. "I'm here," Ranma said. "I just had to take a piss." Akane opened the door and walked in, wearing slacks and a blouse. There was a scared expression on her face that rose Ranma's hackles. "There's something I need to tell you," Akane said, she looked down. "Or show you." "S...show me?" Ranma said nervously. "Show me what?" Akane hesitantly walked to the spray nozzle and held it over her head. Ranma started shaking her head even before Akane turned the water on and became a man. Ranma's legs fell out from under her and she fell to the ground. She was staring at Akane trying to deny the evidence of her eyes. "You were right about the packets, Ranma," Akane said quietly. "A...ka...ne?" Ranma gasped. She slumped and started shaking. "I'm sorry...I...I...Oh my..." "No, Ranma, No!" Akane said quickly, he moved forward and grabbed Ranma's hands, rubbing them comfortingly. "You didn't trust them, remember? I cursed myself, not you." "But..." Ranma protested. "But...ih...ih...it's my fault..." "Don't say that," Akane insisted. He smiled hesitantly, "At least this makes some things easier." His amusement faded as Ranma winced. "I'll need some new clothes though." "If you had never met me," Ranma whispered, looking down. Akane sighed in frustration. "Would you listen to me!" Akane yelled. Ranma curled in on herself and closed her eyes, one hand raised over her head. Akane frowned, angry with himself for the slip. Ranma did that on all the few times he lost his patience and yelled. He wished that he had gotten a shot at Shampoo for doing this to... Akane felt a chill as he finally recognized the position. Ranma had been doing that for a long time now. That reaction had started long before Tatewaki had raped her. After a few moments Ranma cracked open an eye and relaxed a little. "You're not mad?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "Ranma, what have I done to you?" Akane asked quietly. "Oh kami, I'm sorry." "Huh?" Ranma blinked, confused. Akane shook his head clear and hugged Ranma. "I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said. "I promise, I'll never hit you again. I haven't for a while now, have I?" "No," Ranma said hesitantly. "What do you mean sorry, I...I...just cursed you." "Listen, Ranma," Akane said. "I'm not happy by any means that I'm cursed, but it is. Not. Your. Fault." Ranma seemed hesitant to accept that. Akane smiled slightly and brushed at Ranma's bangs. "Let's skip school today, I need a new wardrobe." He glanced at the tight sleeves. "Clothes that fit." "Okay," Ranma agreed quietly, looking confused still. "I...just need to do my katas." Akane smiled, looking on the verge of crying and hugged Ranma tightly again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane came into the kitchen timidly while Kasumi was putting together her own breakfast. She did a double take when she saw Akane standing in the hallway. Akane saw a brief flash of worry in Kasumi's eyes before she spoke. "Akane?" Kasumi asked. Akane nodded and Kasumi relaxed, before looking over her...brother. "Perhaps you should borrow some of Ranma's old clothes for the time being. Those fit a little too closely." "Kasumi," Akane said hesitantly looking toward where the dojo was. "How long has Ranma been afraid of me?" Kasumi sighed and set down her cooking. She handed Akane the kettle she had been heating for tea. Akane stared at the kettle for a moment and sighed resignedly before dumping the contents over himself, bringing the welcome sensation of shrinking back into herself. She stared at the kettle again and slumped. "You have a quick temper, Akane," Kasumi said soothingly, wrapping an arm around her sister. "But I don't think it is as serious as you believe." "I yelled, he got ready to be hit," Akane protested. "It was a reflex." "Ranma has been jumping to that reaction somewhat quicker than before," Kasumi admitted. "But Ranma is likely to be...moody right now. What Kuno did only makes it much worse." "I'm not going to hit him again," Akane said. "That is a good idea, Akane," Kasumi agreed. "As long as you don't make the same mistake Ranma does." "What do you mean?" Akane looked to Kasumi confused. "At some point he is going to have to train you," Kasumi said. "How effective will that training be, if neither of you is willing to attack the other?" "Oh," Akane slumped further. "I don't want him to be afraid of me." Kasumi hugged her sister close. "It will be all right, Akane," Kasumi said. "How are you?" "How am I?" Akane repeated. "What do you...oh the curse." She sighed. "I...don't know, I've gotten kind of used to it already, but I've only really done one thing as a guy. It was under control before." Akane blushed and looked away. "Oh my," Kasumi blushed herself and then cleared her throat. "And now?" "I don't know what it'll be like when I change outside the house," Akane admitted. "I guess we'll see today, won't we?" "Today?" Kasumi repeated. "I didn't think you'd be going to school yet." "I'm not," Akane said. "I'm doing some shopping for my guy form." Kasumi nodded. "As long as you're out," Kasumi led Akane out of the kitchen to the phone, and picked up the receiver. "I believe it is time for Ranma to be tested, perhaps a general check-up as well. It would be a good idea for Her husband to be there for that. As young as he is there will be enough stigma already." Akane almost protested, but Kasumi was already dialing the doctor's office. "It'll be a woman doctor right?" Akane asked, resignedly. Sometimes Kasumi could be rather aggravating when she just went ahead with things. "Of course," Kasumi said. "I do not want Ranma to be any more uncomfortable than necessary. Nabiki gave me a name for this." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Akane-kun looked down to where Ranma was holding onto his arm and smiled a little. The redhead usually spent anytime they were on the sidewalks looking down and almost hiding behind Akane whenever someone made a cat call or comment. After the first mile, however, she began to look up from the ground. By the next half-mile they were walking more or less like any other young, if morose, couple. "You're feeling better," Akane said hopefully. Ranma looked up and nodded. "Nobody's looking at me," Ranma said, smiling a little. "What?" Akane asked. "I don't understand what you mean." "Usually people stare at me," Ranma said, smile fading. "Disgusted ya know," she looked down again. "Like they know what I did." Akane frowned at the comment. He brushed Ranma's wild hair back over her ear, and hugged her. Ranma leaned her face forward into Akane's chest, and sobbed once. "You didn't do anything," Akane whispered rubbing Ranma's back. "You keep saying that you did, but you didn't." "Why do they stare at me?" Ranma asked. Akane laughed nervously and kissed the top of her head. He glanced around for anybody within hearing. "Ranma, we've both been women," he said. "And you've never had much of a poker face." "Huh?" Ranma looked up. "What's that mean?" "The people who were staring," Akane said. "They can tell we're...intimate." He saw Ranma was still staring at him confused and sighed. "They thought we were lesbians." Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh!" Ranma blinked. She sighed and looked down embarrassed. "I'm being stupid again." "Don't let a few idiots get to you," Akane said encouragingly. "Come on, I'd like to get something to wear before we go to the doctor's office." Ranma shivered at the mention of the appointment. She looked at Akane, wearing one of her Chinese outfits and felt another chill run down her spine. "Yeah, that'd be cool," Ranma agreed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma waited just outside the dressing room, keeping her eyes moving while she waited for Akane. "How's this look," Akane-kun asked as he stepped out of the dressing room wearing a sky blue and forest green outfit with a small black vest. "Umm, it’s a little girly," Ranma said quietly. Akane nodded in response. "Well, that's sort of the point," Akane said. "I want clothes that will look nice when I'm a woman too, I'm not going to be a guy if I can help it." "Then why are you trying them on as a guy?" Ranma asked, squinting with a confused look. "So that I know they fit of course," Akane said. "So does this look okay?" "I guess," Ranma said. "How about when I'm a woman?" Akane asked. Ranma shuffled a little uncomfortably. "You're always nice looking anyway," Ranma said. "Doomo arigato, Ranma," Akane said brightly, bringing a smile to the redhead's face as well. "Now I just need to try a few more outfits." Ranma sighed in resignation as Akane went back into the dressing room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Saotome Ranma," the nurse called. Ranma snapped to look nervously at her smiling face. Akane, patted her hand and smiled encouragingly. "Saotome-san, it is time for your appointment." "Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked. Ranma looked at him wide-eyed and nodded a little frantically. "Are you sure?" "No," Ranma said desperately. Kasumi's description of what an examination involved was quite literally the stuff of Ranma's nightmares. The nurse walked around to where they were sitting, drawing Ranma's attention to her. "Don't worry, dear," the nurse said, soothingly. "You'll be fine." "H...She doesn't seem to be ready," Akane said, putting a protective arm around Ranma. "I...I...can do this," Ranma said. She stood up hesitantly, glancing at Akane. The nurse smiled reassuringly and gestured for Ranma to go through the open door. Akane gave the nurse a warning look as Ranma nervously walked into the back. "Don't worry, sir," the receptionist said. "They'll take good care of your girlfriend." "We're married," Akane said. "Oh," the nurse said surprised. "My apologies, you both seem rather young." "It was arranged," Akane explained. "People still do that?" the nurse asked. "Our parents are old-fashioned, but I would have married Ranma without that." He smirked. "Actually, I might have married Ranma quicker without the arranged marriage." The nurse chuckled in response to the joke. Akane glanced at the door Ranma had disappeared behind. "She'll be fine, sir," the receptionist assured her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Good Afternoon, Ranma," the doctor said as she entered the room, reading over the forms Ranma had filled out while waiting. "I'm Doctor Inohara. I'll be performing your exam and the pregnancy test." She looked up from the form to get a look at Ranma. "I'd like to ask a couple of questions first if you don't mind." "Wh...what do ya want to know?" Ranma asked, sitting on a stool with her legs crossed and her arms across her chest. "Is this your first time," she asked, examining Ranma's position. The redhead nodded. "Has anybody explained what happens?" "Kasumi," Ranma answered, staring at the table. "My sister-in-law. She...uh...she did." "Okay, good," the doctor walked calmly towards her. "You know about doctor-patient privilege right?" "Ummm...what's that?" Ranma asked. "It means that it is illegal for me to tell anything I learn about you as your doctor," she explained. "Unless you say I can. If I do tell something, I can lose my license, okay?" "So?" Ranma asked nervously. "Why do I need to know that?" "I recognize your address," she said, gesturing with the clipboard before setting it lightly on the counter. She approached a little closer and patted Ranma's arm soothingly, noticing the redhead flinch. "My other patient who lives there is...a special case, and I assume she referred you to me. So I have to ask if you are a special case as well." "Special case?" Ranma repeated. Then she paled and slumped. "Is your other patient...Nabiki?" The doctor sighed and nodded resignedly. "Yes, that's her," Dr. Inohara said. Ranma looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I'm a...special case...too," Ranma said quietly. "I'm sorry," Inohara said soothingly. She drew out a small business card from a drawer in the counter. "Has Nabiki already given you one of these?" Ranma looked at the card and nodded. "Yeah...Umm...were you...umm..." Ranma stuttered. "No," Inohara answered. "I just keep these on hand. I had hoped to never need them. Are you okay to do this? First time is bad enough." "Is that stuff about cancer and diseases true?" Ranma asked. "Yes, those are possibilities," Inohara said. Ranma sighed and shivered. "I don't get sick," Ranma said, she took a breath. "But I didn't lose either." She stepped down from the stool and started toward the table as if approaching a guillotine. "If you want I can get a sedative for the exam," the doctor suggested. Ranma's head flashed up and she looked directly at the doctor. "No drugs!" Ranma insisted. "Is that what happened?" Inohara asked, Ranma's panic faded back into shame. "Did the man who raped you drug you?" "Somethin' like that," Ranma said quietly. The doctor patted her shoulder comfortingly. "No drugs then," Inohara said, smiling comfortingly. "Are you ready?" "Hai," Ranma said softly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane studied his hands. He had done this before when he had first started using the instant nannichuan packets. He had never expected, when he started, that he would be stuck with those hands for longer than a year or two. Now, here he was, dressed in male clothes and waiting in the lobby of a gynecologist for his wife. The world had gone right past shades of gray and just flipped into a negative of itself. He had an image of Ranma as a meek little housewife and shivered. He couldn't do that to Ranma, Ranma was meant to fly not be kept in a cage. Akane looked forlornly at the door to the doctor's office and continued waiting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Everything seems healthy," Inohara said quietly after running all the tests. Ranma was sitting on the table, arms wrapped around her knees. "How are you feeling?" Ranma shot her a look. "Like shit," Ranma snapped. Ranma fumed for a couple of seconds before calming down again. "Gomen ne, I...I..." "I'm not offended, Ranma" the doctor said. Then she pulled a stool over to sit next to the redhead and leaned forward cautiously. "There is one more thing." "I know," Ranma said, ashamed. "I'm gonna have a kid." "You already knew that," Inohara said surprised. Ranma nodded. "We just needed to know for sure," Ranma said. "Have you considered your options," the doctor asked. "Yeah, sort of," Ranma said. She shuffled uncomfortably. "Can I go now?" "If you want," the doctor said. "But I would like to talk to you and your family about this sometime soon." "Pop left when he heard," Ranma said, looking down. The doctor's face darkened slightly when Ranma said that, but the redhead wasn't looking. "And Mom won't be back for a couple of months. I think she went looking for Pop." "Do you have any other family?" Inohara asked. "The young man you came in with? Nabiki maybe?" "Yeah," Ranma said. "But I just want to go home right now." The doctor smiled comfortingly. "We're done for today then," the doctor said. "Let me just give you some brochures and information packets to read, okay?" Ranma nodded before sliding off the table and shuffling to the door, keeping the doctor in her sight as she moved. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane stood up as Ranma walked out of the doctor's office with the doctor. The redhead was clutching a collection of brochures and assorted free literature. "If you decide you need one, I am an obstetrician as well," the doctor was saying. "What's that?" Ranma asked, confused. "It’s a doctor that handles pregnancies, Ranma," Akane explained as she walked up to her. The redhead sidled close to him and grabbed Akane's hand tightly. "Oh," Ranma said. The doctor turned to look at Akane, investigating him. "I hope to see you both again, soon," the doctor said. She let the world fade off, inviting Akane to introduce himself. "Saotome Akane," Akane said. "I took Ranma's family name when we married." The doctor looked at her surprised. "You're both a little young," the doctor said. "Our parents arranged it," Ranma said a little angrily. Then she muttered under her breath. "Only good thing Pop ever did." The muffled comment brought a smile to Akane's face, banishing the hurt look from the first angry comment. "I see," the doctor said. "I'll make an appointment for you two weeks from now, this same time. is that fine?" "Hai," Akane said. "We can do that." "Good," Inohara said. "No more of these surprise appointments then." She smiled to show she was kidding. "Take care of her, she's a brave woman." "More than you know, doctor," Akane said, she hugged Ranma tightly. "Can we go home now?" Ranma asked, clutching at Akane's hand. "Okay, Ranma" Akane said nodding. "Doomo arigato, doctor, we'll see you two weeks from now." He walked out with Ranma walking quietly by his side. Doctor Inohara watched them leave and sighed resignedly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Tadaima!" Akane called out as he entered the genkan with Ranma. They slipped off their shoes and walked into the house quietly. "O-kaeri," Kasumi called back. The sound of footfalls was heard as they entered the living room, and they turned to see Nabiki walking down the stairs. She stopped when she saw Akane, and tensed until she recognized Akane's male form from the marriage. "Hey, little...brother," Nabiki said smirking. "Are you doing okay?" "I'm doing okay," Akane said, frowning and blushing a little at Nabiki's teasing. He turned to Ranma. "I'm going to get some hot water, okay." Ranma nodded and moved to sit down on the couch. Nabiki came off the stairs and sat down across from Ranma. "Are you okay?" Nabiki asked quietly. "You went to my doctor right?" Ranma nodded, and pulled her knees up under her chin. "Yeah," Ranma said. "She figured out you sent me." Nabiki patted Ranma's shoulder. "She's..." Nabiki hesitated. "She's a gentle touch. Better that than some random doctor just doing a job." Ranma shivered at the thought. Akane walked back in, female again, and adjusting her clothes to her new body size. Kasumi came in behind her. "Ranma, are you sure you're okay?" Akane asked as she saw Ranma's position. Akane sat down next to Ranma, and the redhead quietly climbed into her lap. Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma and held her lovingly. Ranma blushed furiously, but smiled shyly for a moment. "Yeah, I didn't like it at all," Ranma said. "But sh...she was really..." Ranma glanced at Nabiki and nodded once. "...umm...gentle about it." "What did the doctor say?" Kasumi asked. "Everything's healthy," Ranma said. She leaned her head into Akane's arm and sighed as the other girl kissed her hair. "A...and Cologne was right. I'm..." Ranma's hands circled her stomach. "I'm pregnant." Akane hugged Ranma a little tighter. "We're supposed to go back in two weeks to talk to the doctor," Akane said. "She gave us some brochures." "Do you want us to come with you?" Kasumi asked. "She said she wanted to talk to my family," Ranma said. "Do you want to talk about it right now?" Kasumi asked. Ranma shook her head and cuddled in tighter with Akane. "I'm tired," Ranma said. "That's understandable," Kasumi said. "Let's have dinner and then you can get some sleep." Ranma winced at the mention of sleep, but relaxed as Akane held her tight. "Hai," Ranma said quietly. Akane kissed the side of her head, and Ranma smiled shyly before looking up and kissing Akane's cheek. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Stealing my look, Sugar?" Ukyou asked as Akane and Ranma walked through the gates. Akane was wearing a boy's school uniform, a couple sizes too large for her. "Not by choice," Akane muttered. At her side, Ranma turned red and stared down at the ground. Akane gave Ranma's hand a companionable squeeze. By agreement they had, to date, kept their relationship fairly toned down at school to minimize rumors. And while Ranma's "poker face" was pretty much non-existent, the students of Furinkan High were among the most unobservant individuals in existence. "What, you get cursed or something?" Ukyou asked jokingly. Ranma shuffled uncomfortably. "Those Jusenkyo packets are fucked up," Ranma said angrily under her breath. They glanced around at the students in the courtyard as they walked to class. "They can't cure you, but they can curse ya." "Man, Akane," Ukyou said, shaking her head. "That's rough." "I've been changing willingly for a while now," Akane said. "Can't be much worse than that." Ranma winced. "And it was my choice to risk it." Akane pointed out, looking at Ranma. The redhead nodded reluctantly and lifted her head. "Who's that with Ukyou and Ranma," Yuka asked pointing across the courtyard as the three walked to the school. "It looks like," Sayuri started. "Akane?" Yuka said in disbelief. "What in the world is going on?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "There were some clothes and a wallet found near where the body was discovered," the officer told Detective Kanzo. "Who's name is in the wallet," Kanzo asked. "A Kuno Tatewaki," the officer said. "Such a person was removed from the Kuno clan lists recently." "We'll have to speak to his family then," Kanzo said. "What killed him?" "They say it looked like the damage could have been done by a giant bird," the officer said. "Funny thing is, there were parts of an owl found with him. The coroner said it was like something exploded in the owl's stomach." "What," Kanzo asked. "Are you saying that this Kuno was shrunk, eaten by an owl, and then regained his normal size when he died?" "Huh?" The officer blinked. "That's impossible sir." "I was being sarcastic," Kanzo said, but he was beginning to wonder. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Kuno Kodachi?" the detective asked the schoolgirl in front of him. He sounded surprised. "The head of the Kuno clan?" "Yes," Kodachi said irritably. She had been pulled from her chemistry class to see this man. "That is I. Why do you seek me?" "A body was discovered a few days ago in the woods," he said, after a long, measuring pause. "We think we have identified it as your brother..." "You must be mistaken," Kodachi interrupted. "I have no brother." "He was recently removed from your family’s list," the policeman said. "But there was a Tatewaki born into the Kuno clan." "You say he was removed from the list, but you still call him my brother," Kodachi said. "How modern." "About your former-brother then," the policeman said, trying to avoid sounding irritated. "We’d like you to come with us to give a positive identification of the body." Kodachi appeared to think about it for a moment. "Yes," Kodachi said. "It would be a good thing to know of the fool’s status. I shall accompany you." She paused for a moment, crossing her arms. "Please show me the way to your vehicle." The detective bowed sharply, in sarcasm obvious to anybody aside from a Kuno, and proceeded to lead Kodachi to the car. He glanced back over his shoulder towards the haughty girl. "Why did you have your brother removed from the Kuno clan, anyway?" he asked her in an off-hand manner, just something to kill the time. Kodachi noted the ploy easily, and frowned at the content of the question. "Tatewaki was or is a lecherous fool with dangerous delusions," Kodachi answered, being as vague as possible. "His actions have done tremendous harm to the honor of our family." "What actions were those?" he asked. "It involves others beyond the Kuno clan," Kodachi answered. "It is not my place to say." They reached the car and Kodachi regarded the small vehicle with a heavy amount of distaste. "This is your car?" "I have a small paycheck," the detective explained. "Indeed," Kodachi said, stepping into the car as the door was held open for her. As the detective took a seat in the driver’s side Kodachi asked her own question. "Is there anything else you wish to know, Officer? Or is this interrogation at an end?" "When was the last time you saw you..." he paused as Kodachi arched an eyebrow. The detective muttered something about aristocrats and then continued. "When was the last time you saw Tatewaki." "The day he was banished, perhaps two or three weeks ago now," she answered. "And he was alive when you left him?" The detective pressed. "Unconscious," Kodachi said. "But alive. He attacked one of the friends I had with me, and she was forced to defend herself." It was a small lie. "He attacked your friend, but not you?" The detective noted. Kodachi silently cursed herself for letting that out. "She is perhaps the reason you exiled him." Kodachi held her tongue. "I’ll take that as a yes." "As you wish," Kodachi said. She refused to answer any further questions the detective asked her. It was a short ride to the police station, then Kodachi was escorted down towards the morgue. She hesitated at the doors to the morgue and shivered visibly. "Is there something wrong, Kuno-san?" the detective asked her politely. "I’ve had to do this before," Kodachi explained. "Some fool had prescribed my mother something that conflicted with another medication." It was a strong part of why she was so interested in chemistry and drugs. There was no way she was going to get caught in a similar situation. She smiled at the irony of that thought. The detective looked at her quizzically, he’d skimmed some of the file they had on this girl already. "You were less than ten when your mother died," he said. "Wouldn’t your father have done the identifying?" "Father was on a business trip," she explained. It had been the elder Kuno’s first exposure to Hawaii, and the prelude to his longer departure in the following years. "And that left Tatewaki and I." "Are you okay to do this now?" he asked cautiously. "Yes," Kodachi said. "This time it may actually be good news." It was the detective’s turn to shiver at the hatred the girl was radiating. He proceeded her into the morgue and led Kodachi down sterile white halls to the identification booth. Kodachi watched with interest as the corpse was wheeled out into the room for her to see. These rooms were obviously designed to give as much separation from the body as possible to the parties identifying them. Kodachi was glad for this. Seeing her brother dead certainly came as a shock to her, and contrary to her statements she could not truly say it made her happy. She shoved whatever remaining affection she had for her brother away and then proceeded to coldly analyze what she could see of the corpse. "He appears to have been partially...digested," Kodachi said with a sneer. The corpse, in several pieces, was an ugly thing, and she was making a visible effort to hold the contents of her stomach down. "It is hard to tell from here, and it seems that it was in the open for quite some time." "But is that Tatewaki, formerly of Kuno clan?" the detective asked. Kodachi rose a hand to her mouth and finally turned her eyes away from the corpse. She nodded an affirmative and staggered to the door. "Excuse me," she muttered before stepping outside. Kodachi had planned to head for the restroom she had seen earlier, but reconsidered on seeing the trashcan conveniently outside the identification room. Kodachi grabbed the edge of the container and bent forward as she vomited. "Not so callous as you seem," the detective said behind her. Kodachi caught her breath and vomited again before she answered. "We did...have the same parents," she admitted weakly. Then she stood up straight and sat down on a chair in the hallway. "I had thought from your questions that my brother was killed by another person. Why investigate this, he was obviously mauled by some tremendous beast, and spit back out when the taste obviously did not suit the monster." "I’m afraid it is my job," the detective laughs. "It seems at times that they pay us to be paranoid." Kodachi smiled briefly, patting at her lips with a handkerchief that soon found its way into the trashcan. "I imagine so," she agreed. Then she stood up appearing rather paler than before. "I must take leave of your presence." She bowed slightly and started walking down the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight the detective picked up the cell phone at his hip. "This is Kanzo," he said. "That girl I brought here, she’s leaving the station on foot. Put a tail on her, see where she goes." He hung up the phone started walking up to his desk. By the time he got there someone was waiting for him. "We lost her outside the station," the other policeman said. "Lost her!?" he snapped. "How did you lose that quickly?" "She jumped to the roof and by the time anybody got up there she was five rooftops away," he answered in embarrassment. "The building is three stories high!" Kanzo declared in disbelief. "And you’re saying she leaped it?" "That’s right sir," he nodded. Kanzo sat down roughly and shook his head in disbelief. He had planned to see whom Kodachi talked to after this, but that appeared to be impossible now. There was something funny about this case, and he wanted to know what it is. "Put a bulletin out on her, observation only. Maybe we’ll get lucky." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kodachi landed and immediately her feet parted to compensate for the shift in balance the sudden stop produced. She checked herself over and dusted off her clothes before turning to look at the Tendo gates. She hesitated before moving forward. ~Ranma said we could be friends,~ Kodachi reminded herself, though she really didn't understand what friends did. Whatever it was, it was more than Kodachi believed she deserved. ~I should never have asked.~ Kodachi took a deep breath and leapt over the wall, translating the landing into a graceful stride towards the front door. She rang the doorbell and was satisfied, a few moments later, to see Kasumi answer the door. "Why, hello Kodachi," Kasumi said cheerfully, opening the door wider and stepping to the side. Kodachi seemed to consider her choice of actions, and Kasumi noticed. "You are always welcome here." She gestured mildly with her hand. "You say that now," Kodachi whispered. Then she stepped into the Tendo dojo after bowing deeply to Kasumi. She had placed the Kuno clan in service to the Saotome's and Tendo's. Kodachi needed to remind herself of that. "Now, I know school is still in session," Kasumi said in her normal motherly fashion as she closed the door behind Kodachi. "And you know that Ranma has again been attending classes, so why are you here?" "I spoke to the police today," Kodachi said, she turned to face Kasumi. "They wanted me to identify a corpse, which I did." "Was it..." Kasumi started quietly, and then stopped when she saw Kodachi's nod. She gestured Kodachi to the dining area and sat her down. "I'll be right back with a pot of tea." "My thanks, Kasumi-san," Kodachi said as Kasumi floated away. She was back a few minutes later with a steaming pot of tea and a pair of cups. "I am sorry Kasumi-san, but I must admit, seeing him dead does not make me happy." "There is no reason to be sorry," Kasumi said lightly, sipping her tea. "I would not expect it too." "There is something else, Kasumi-san," Kodachi said. "I fear I may have let slip that there was an altercation between Tatewaki and one of my friends. He was definitely killed by an animal, but they are investigating the death." "That could be a problem," Kasumi admitted. "But we'll deal with that when it comes, but please let me inform Ranma." Kodachi glanced around apprehensively and set down her cup of tea. "I should go," Kodachi said, standing up. "I am sorry to have disturbed you Tendo-san." She was surprised by the firm grip Kasumi placed on her arm. "Please sit, Kodachi," Kasumi said with a smile. "There is no reason you need to apologize." "If you are certain..." Kodachi said slowly, Kasumi nodded and the gymnast sat down. "I saw Ranma's injuries before they healed," Kasumi said. "Including the bruising around the throat. You saved his life." "It was the only thing I could do," Kodachi said simply. "Perhaps she would prefer it if I had not arrived before he killed her." Kasumi shifted closer to the noble girl and gave her a comforting hug. She ignored Kodachi's choice of pronoun for Ranma, though she did wonder when Kodachi had started referring to Ranma as a woman. The Kuno girl had not been doing that when Kasumi last saw her. "Akane thinks it's her fault because she wasn't there, Nabiki thinks it's her fault because she encouraged Kuno, and Ranma thinks it's his fault for being too weak," Kasumi said. "It is none of their fault, and it is not your fault." Kodachi sighed. Kasumi released the other girl, and sipped her tea again. "Would you like to stay and help me in fixing a meal." "Are you certain, Kasumi-san?" Kodachi asked. Kasumi smiled brightly at her. "Of course I'm certain," Kasumi said. "You are quite pleasant company when you aren't tossing about poisonous flowers, and perhaps you can do something with my sisters and Ranma afterwards." Kasumi finished her cup of tea and stood up. Kodachi glanced at her curiously. "Kasumi-san," she said. "Who do you go to for comfort?" Kasumi paused and thought about it. "I speak to my mother," she said simply. Kodachi shook her head in confusion as Kasumi vanished into the kitchen. She was certain that the Tendo matriarch was dead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Akane, we need to talk to you," Sayuri said, she glanced at Ranma with narrowed eyes for a brief moment. "Fine," Akane said without standing up. "What about?" "Alone," Yuka said, supporting the other girl. Akane saw the suspicious glance toward Ranma this time and started to get a little angry. "Don't let me stop you," Ranma said before Akane could open her mouth. Akane turned to look at the red-head. "Are you sure?" she asked. Ranma pulled her legs up and rested her head on her knees, appearing to be more or less relaxing, and nodded. Akane reluctantly stood up and turned to follow her two friends with a dark expression. "I don't believe you, Akane," Sayuri said once they were out of earshot. "He's actually got you asking for permission to talk to your friends!?" "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Yuka added. "I wouldn't believe it. You even making sure not to leave his sight!" Yuka gestured back to where Ranma sat against the tree. "He wasn't giving me permission," Akane said angrily. "Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" "We're worried about you," Sayuri said. "You're acting strangely. When was the last time you wore a dress? And you're avoiding us. And you and Ranma haven't fought once since you came back." "Did you know he's been going to the girls restrooms?" Yuka asked. "Yes," Akane said. They looked at her in disbelief. "Do you expect him to go to the guys room when he's stuck as a girl?" "Well, he is a boy..." Sayuri started. "After everything we've been through?" Akane said in disbelief. "Ranma is a man, not a boy." "He looks more like a woman to me," Yuka said, crossing her arms. "So what's wrong with him going to the women's restroom, then?" Akane asked. "Well, duh," Sayuri said. "He could peek, not all of us know about the curse you know." "Ranma isn't like that," Akane said, she glanced back at the red-head with a worried expression. She visibly relaxed upon seeing Ranma wave an okay to her. "He's got you checking in with him," Yuka said, exasperated. "Are you going to let that misogynistic jerk control your life." "He's not misogynistic, at least not any more. And actually I'd like to see him take more control," Akane said, turning back to her friends. They gasped in surprise and glared angrily back at Ranma, who tried not to wince. "Are you crazy?" Yuka asked. "He's got you jumping through hoops as it is." "Did you know there were rumors that you two had done the deed already?" Sayuri asked. "So what else is new?" Akane asked dryly. "As girls?" Yuka added. Akane shrugged. "That doesn't bother you?" "No, it doesn't," Akane said simply. "I've heard worse, much worse. I've heard rumors about me and my own SISTER, and you think I'm going to worry about rumors about me and Ranma?" She glanced toward Ranma and noted, with a sense of dread, that Hiroshi and Daisuke were approaching the red-head. "So have you...?" Sayuri let the question trail off. "You know?" Akane, turned back toward Sayuri and narrowed her eyes at her friend and considered how to answer that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hiroshi glanced over at the tree where Ranma was sitting and contemplated going over to talk to his friend. He had his chance now with Akane engaged in a conversation with her friends and the other two of Ranma's guards were busy elsewhere. Hiroshi shrugged and went back to eating his lunch. He had to feed his stomach before his curiosity. The boy was a little distracted by his friend's activities. Daisuke, for lack of anything better to do after finishing his small lunch, was poking around the thick bushes at the edge of the field where they had set there lunch up for the day. "What are you doing?" Hiroshi asked irritably. "What's it look like I'm doing," Daisuke answered. "You know I'm trying to eat here," Hiroshi said. "And that'll be hard to do if you scare up every insect in the field." "Its not my fault we can't get close enough to Ranma to talk him about what happened," Daisuke reminded him "So...hey what's this?" "We can get close enough," Hiroshi pointed out. "Akane just walked over...are those a pair of pants?" "Yeah," Daisuke said. "They were under these leaves her, looks like they've been here for weeks." "The groundskeeper hasn't done his job right for a while now," Hiroshi said shaking his head in disappointment. "Of course, who can blame him with the way of property damage around here?" "Hey, these are some of Ranma's black pants," Daisuke said. "Maybe we should take them to him, are you finished with your lunch yet?" "Yeah, just a second," Hiroshi said, finishing off his bento and standing up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma watched the girls argue, well aware that she was the probably subject of the conversation. Of course Sayuri and Yuka wouldn't like her, she was the king of the perverts as far as they were concerned. They might have placed Happosai further on the list than she was, but she wasn't certain of that. Ranma heard Hiroshi and Daisuke approaching and tensed up. Neither of them were intentionally offensive, but they both had that same habit of hanging all over people. She really didn't want to deal with that right now. If, however, they held their distance, she didn't want to act funny if she could help it. "Hey, Saotome," Daisuke called out as they neared the curled up red-head. Ranma raised her head from her knees and turned to face the approaching pair. She immediately leaped back and away as some piece of cloth flew towards her. Ranma readied herself for a further assault and then glanced at what had been tossed her way. "What's up with you?" Hiroshi asked, shocked. "You act like we're out to get you or something." "Wh...where did you find those?" Ranma asked in a shaky voice, pointing at the black pants warily. "Huh?" Daisuke stooped to pick up the weather-beaten pants. "They were up in the bushes over there." He pointed back to where they came from. Hiroshi and Daisuke watched in shock as the color drained from Ranma's face as he recognized where they were pointing. "That's..by the pool," Ranma muttered backing away. "You..y..yo..you have to pass it ta get to the K...K...." She took another couple steps back and tripped to the ground. Ranma immediately scrunched her eyes closed and started crawling backwards away from the two. "Hey man, are you all right?" Hiroshi asked, edging forward. "Go away!" Ranma snapped. She stopped crawling and curled up into a visibly shaking ball. "Go away!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane ceased wondering how to answer Sayuri's rather blunt question at the sound of Ranma yelling. She whirled to see Ranma curled up in a ball while Hiroshi and Daisuke stared and watched confused. "Oh, kami-sama," Akane gasped and rushed to her spouse's side. She paused only a moment to glare at Hiroshi and Daisuke. "What did you say to him?!" Without waiting for an answer she gathered Ranma up in her arms. Almost immediately Ranma struggled to get away, before she opened her eyes and saw Akane. Then Ranma latched her arms around Akane, holding on desperately and still shaking from the effort of holding in her tears. "We were just returning these pants of his," Daisuke said indicating the messy cloth in his hands. "They were up in the bushes there." The other teenager sounded terribly confused. "Akane, what are you do...?" Sayuri asked as she joined the party. "What's wrong with Ranma?" Sayuri asked, subdued as she realized that Ranma and Akane weren't making out in public. As she asked, the last of Ranma's control broke and the red-head proceeded from restrained sniffles to full weeping. "Just take that out of here!" Akane snapped glaring at the two boys. "Burn it or something." Hiroshi and Daisuke stumbled back a few feet before obeying the command and leaving. Akane turned her attention back to Ranma and hug the smaller girl tight, stroking her hair and back. "I can't..." Ranma sobbed. "I...can't...lose it." Akane shook her head and continued to sooth him. "Just let it go, Ranma," Akane whispered, Ranma shook her head once more, but continued to cry uncontrollably. She turned to her friends. "Can you leave please?" "Uh..sure, Akane," Sayuri said, grabbing Yuka and dragging her away. The other girl seemed only partially aware of being dragged away. Sayuri stopped before Ranma and Akane were out of sight and looked back at the couple. Ranma was still clutching at Akane and she was still soothing the redhead. "He just fell to pieces," Yuka said, in shock. "Come on," Sayuri said, blinking. "Lunch is almost over." Yuka nodded and followed Sayuri, walking completely on her own volition this time. Both girls glanced back over their shoulder once more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Tadaima!" she heard Akane call out, followed by some quiet, reassuring words that she could not make out. Kodachi walked cautiously toward the entranceway and saw Akane leading a listless Ranma into the living room. "Did something happen?" Kodachi asked nervously, Akane looked up and noticed the gymnast. For a moment she frowned, but it faded to a neutral expression quickly. "Yeah," Akane said. Kasumi came around and saw Ranma sitting down in the living room and gasped. "Kodachi," Kasumi said. The noble girl turned quickly to the elder Tendo. "Get some fresh cups from the kitchen and bring the tea back with you." "Hai," Kodachi said and immediately moved to obey, without considering her social station. "What happened?" Kasumi asked, kneeling in front of Ranma and looking her over as Akane sat next to Ranma and hugging her tightly. "It was stupid," Ranma whispered. Kodachi returned with the tray of tea things. Kasumi took an empty cup and filled it, handing it to Ranma. Ranma took the cup and then looked towards Kasumi, who was next to Kodachi. "There ain't nothing in this, is there?" "I've done nothing like that since even before..." Kodachi started to retort, Kasumi lifted a hand to forestall her denial. "He is talking to me. Not this time, Ranma," Kasumi said. "It is just tea." She poured herself a cup to reassure the red-head. Ranma waited for Kasumi to calmly to take a sip of the tea before drinking some herself. Kodachi looked confused. "What happened?" "Hiroshi and Daisuke..." Ranma started, then shook her head again. "It was stupid, it ain't nothing." Ranma took another sip of her tea. "Ranma I had to carry you half-way here," Akane said softly, though a little irritably. She turned to Kasumi. "It was our 'friends' at school." "What were these friends' names," Kodachi asked. Everybody looked at her cautiously. "Let's not be hasty," Kasumi said, looking at Kodachi, and then turning toward Akane. "Most people don't know about what happened, I'm sure, whatever they did, they did not mean any harm." "Of course," Kodachi said, after a long second's hesitation. There was a collective sigh of relief. "Do you need anything, Ranma, Akane?" Kasumi asked. Akane shook her head and looked to Ranma. "I’m feeling a little hungry," Ranma said quietly. The elder Tendo reached out to pat Ranma’s hand gently and smiled. "Kodachi was just about to help me with lunch," Kasumi said. "Why don’t you go take a nice long soak in the bath while we fix something?" "Hai," Ranma nodded, finishing off her tea. "That...sounds good." Ranma stood up quietly and started walking to the bathroom, Akane followed behind watching Ranma carefully. Ranma quietly undressed and set herself down into the water. Akane followed in cautiously watching Ranma as she sat down next to the red-head. "I'm pathetic," Ranma whispered. "No you're not," Akane said firmly, hugging Ranma tightly, and kissing her forehead. "You've just been hurt." "I freaked over a stupid pair of pants," Ranma said. She squeezed her eyes closed and started to curl up again. "Stupid. Stupid..." She turned toward Akane and buried her face into Akane's shoulder and started to sob again. "Shh, I'm here," Akane said. "No one's going to hurt you." Ranma gave a choked laugh. "I can't even talk about it," Ranma said. She turned to face Akane. "What's wrong with me?" "Because you have a few nightmares and cry a lot?" Akane asked, trying to put her at ease by waving it off. "Who wouldn't be a mess after...what happened?" Ranma sighed and buried her face back in Akane's shoulder. "Nabiki," Ranma said quietly. "Uh," Akane considered that. After all, if it hadn't been for Ranma, Nabiki probably would have never said anything. Then they'd never have known about her. "I'm not certain about that Ranma, you know she spends a lot of time by herself. You should talk to her." "I guess," Ranma said quietly ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nabiki rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked through the stack of homework she had collected for Ranma and Akane. A small crowd was approaching her, it was hardly the first time since lunch. She turned around to give the denial speech. "Don't even bother with the wall..." she paused as she recognized the people around her. "Oh, you. Are any of you responsible for this?" "Uhh," Daisuke looked nervous. Nabiki glared at him. "What?" Nabiki shook her head. "What's Ranma up to?" Sayuri demanded, obeying the inherent need to keep things in a realm they understand by hanging on desperately to the belief that Ranma had pulled something on them. Certainly all this had to be a plan of his somehow. Nabiki stared at her in disbelief for a moment. "Let me get this straight," Nabiki said and held up a finger. "Ranma gets himself stuck as a girl, obtains an almost completely new wardrobe, avoids contact with anybody except his family and Ukyou, and you think it's some sort of plan?" Sayuri blushed and turned away embarrassed. "To do what?" "Peep at us in the showers and restrooms," Sayuri said hesitantly. "While there's no one there," Nabiki said coolly. "It doesn't sound likely when you say it that way," Sayuri admitted quietly. "Really? I hadn't thought of that," Nabiki said sarcastically. She stood up shaking her head. "I'm not going to bother with asking you what happened or what you did." "Aren't you even going to give us a price," Hiroshi asked. Nabiki glared at him and silence reigned for a moment. "The information is not for sale," Nabiki said. "Ranma needs friends right now, not interrogators." She faced Sayuri and Yuka, then turned back to the boys. "Understand?" "Y..yes," Daisuke said, Hiroshi nodding fervently next to him. Nabiki walked toward the door. "Something really bad happened," Yuka asked. "Didn't it?" Nabiki paused for a moment before continuing out the door. "Ask Ranma," Nabiki said. "It's his choice to tell you." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Tadaima," Nabiki called out. "Hello," Kasumi called back. Nabiki took that as a sign that things were not too terrible as she slipped off her shoes and walked into the living room. She saw Ranma sitting with Akane on the couch. "I have your homework," she said, gesturing with the stack of papers. "I'll have it in my room when you're ready." "Thanks Nabiki," Akane said. Ranma stood up and turned to Nabiki. She held tightly to Akane's hand as she stood up. "Uh, Nabiki can I talk to you?" Ranma asked, she looked down at Akane who nodded encouragingly. "Sure," Nabiki said, pausing. Then she smiled encouragingly. "Come on." Ranma hesitated and looked down at Akane. Her spouse patted her once and nodded again. Then the redhead moved to stand next to Nabiki. "Thanks, Nabiki," Ranma said quietly. Kodachi appeared in the living room, wearing an apron, drawing a cautious and curious look from Nabiki. "Kasumi-san and I will be finished with the meal shortly," she said, then noticed Nabiki. "Oh, hello Nabiki-san." With that she vanished back into the kitchen. Nabiki frowned as she wondered what Kodachi might be doing there, but shrugged it off and returned her attention to Ranma. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Nabiki set the stack of homework papers on her desk and sat down on the bed. She gestured toward the desk chair, silently inviting Ranma to sit down. Ranma nodded and sat down, staring at the floor. "Did you want to talk about what happened today?" Nabiki asked. Ranma snapped her head up at that question and Nabiki cursed herself. "They told someone, didn't they," Ranma said angrily. "I couldn't say," Nabiki fudged. "The whole school is talking about it. I'd say your and Akane's friends weren't the only witnesses. You're a big draw, Ranma." Ranma shrank up into herself. "Why can't everybody just leave me alone?" Ranma asked. "When does it stop?" She leaned forward into her small hands and tried to keep from crying again. "Stop?" Nabiki said as Ranma put her face into her hands. She moved leaned forward closer to her in-law and hesitantly hugged her comfortingly. "The harassment and gossip? Someone like you will probably get that all their life." She didn't really think that's what Ranma was talking about, but Nabiki wanted to buy some time. She wasn't surprised when Ranma started shaking her head, still looking down. "No," Ranma whispered. "I...I lost it today. Feh. Everybody knows that by now." She sat up straight and looked at Nabiki, frustration and anger boiling over in Ranma's blue eyes. "Do you know what set me off? Huh? A fucking pair of pants!" Nabiki released Ranma as the red-head stood up and started pacing the room. She watched the girl pace a few more moments before she flopped down in the desk chair again. She watched in concern as Ranma went from angry to depressed again in a heart beat. If Akane were in the area there might have been a few pleasant emotions in there as well. In any case it would have been extreme, and the mood swings had the elder girl worried. "How do you do it?" Ranma asked quietly. "Or am I really that weak?" Nabiki sighed and looked away, wondering if her decision to keep up a face for Ranma caused more harm than good. "Ranma, I..." Nabiki quavered a moment, but collected herself. "I've been scared." Ranma looked up at her confused. "You're scared?" Ranma said hesitantly. "If you hadn't shown up," Nabiki said, smiling. "I might have run away. Disappeared to somewhere no one knew me." Ranma watched her as if seeing her for the first time. "Why?" Ranma asked, staring in morbid fascination. Nabiki, who had always been a pillar of reason since Ranma arrived, was scared. "It happened once," Nabiki said quietly, hugging herself. "It can happen again." Ranma softly moved to sit by Nabiki. "What if they guy I sent to jail comes back?" "I won't let him get you if he comes," Ranma asserted firmly, hesitantly holding the larger girl, trying to copy what people had been doing with her recently. She was finding it somewhat difficult, and only partially due her small size compared to Nabiki. ~I couldn't even protect myself, how could I...~ "Arigato Ranma," Nabiki said, steadying herself. "Nabiki," Ranma said. "I..." "I'm a better actor than you," Nabiki cut him off. "And I've had help. Just because I can put up a good front doesn't mean I don't have nightmares." "Then...I'm fine," Ranma asked. Nabiki shook her head in frustration. "You are not fine," Nabiki said. "You think this soul of ice thing is going to keep you going forever? What happened today is going to happen again and again if you keep on this way." Ranma winced at that thought and Nabiki softened her tone. "Just please come with me to the group tomorrow. You need to talk about this or you'll go crazy." Ranma nodded and sighed reluctantly. "Come on, let's see what's to eat." The mention of food brought an instant, if slight, smile, to Ranma's face and she followed Nabiki out to join the rest of her family. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ukyou frowned as afternoon came and went without Ranma and Akane showing up. They usually stopped by on her work permit days at least once to say hello. She frowned and walked to the phone as soon as she had a break. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dinner at the Tendo dojo had, of late, become a rather solemn event. Conversation, especially, was subdued. Ranma's appetite was still strong, but there were times she didn't want to eat at all. In any case she still didn't eat with her accustomed speed. Ranma was sitting next to Akane and smiling as the food was laid out on the table. Akane calmed down a little at the sight of that smile, though the relief was tempered by the fact that Ranma was gripping her hand tightly under the table. Throughout the meal Nabiki shared Ranma's melancholy mood. She poked at her food half-heartedly and gave a reassuring smile whenever someone else shot her a concerned glance. In addition to this she cautiously eyed Kodachi over the table, and frowned as she tried to figure out the reason for the Kuno's presence. The uncomfortable silence was broken by the sound of the telephone ringing in the hall. Kodachi glanced at Kasumi nervously, and the elder girl gave a calming gesture. Neither of which went unnoticed by Nabiki. "Oh, we didn't stop by Ucchan's," Ranma said, snapping her fingers as Kasumi stood up and moved to the phone. "That's gotta be her." "I suppose that makes sense," Kasumi said. She picked up the phone. "Hello? Oh yes, Ukyou-chan." Kodachi immediately relaxed. "They are here. I shall ask. Ranma, Ukyou wants to speak to you, is that all right?" "Umm, yeah," Ranma said. "Just a sec." She stood up and hesitated, glancing at Akane. Then she was at the phone. "Yeah, sorry Ucchan, I...something happened. Sorry." Nabiki watched to Kasumi sitting down again. "What is going on?" she asked quietly. Akane turned away from Ranma for moment, confused at the question. "It seems that..." Kasumi hesitated for a moment, checking to see that Ranma was still talking on the phone across the room. "That person is dead." There was silence. From everywhere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Ranchan?" Ukyou asked as Ranma stopped in mid-sentence. "Ranchan are you okay?" The redhead's voice sounded shaky as she answered. "I'll...have to call you back," Ranma said. Ukyou heard a clatter on the other end of the line, but the ambient noise didn't fade. "Ranchan?" When Ranma yelled she set herself to listen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the Tendo dining room the sound of the clatter attracted everyone's attention back to Ranma. The receiver hung down from the phone by the cable. "Dead?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "For sure?" "I did not mean..." Kasumi started. "You're. Sure!?" Ranma demanded loudly, most everybody stared at her in surprise. Akane rushed to her side and embraced the smaller girl in a comforting a hug. Ranma was shivering as she reached out to clutch at Akane. "You don't have to worry about it," Akane said. "You didn't kill him." "I...need," Ranma started. "Is he dead?" "Mauled by an animal," Kodachi said, still in shock. Ranma tensed. "I saw the body." "Ranma!" Akane cried out as the redhead collapsed in her arms. "What's wrong?" Nabiki blinked and then nodded, before moving to where Akane was holding Ranma. She quietly rubbed Ranma's back and leaned down comfortingly. "There's no cure for that," Nabiki whispered. "He won't ever hurt you again." Ranma broke down for the second time that day breaking into loud crying. Akane rocked Ranma, feeling only a little less confused by the situation. Kodachi looked on, paler than usual. Any trace of guilt for Tatewaki's exile and death vanished as she watched Ranma curl into a ball in Akane's arms. "I think Ranma has had enough for today," Kasumi said quietly. She walked over to where Nabiki and Akane were comforting Ranma. "Let's get you to bed, okay Ranma?" "N..no drugs," Ranma said without turning her face toward Kasumi. "No drugs," Kasumi agreed. "Akane?" The short-haired girl nodded and stood up carefully, trying not to disturb Ranma more than she had to. Nabiki shook her head as she left. "I didn't think Ranma's ears were that good," Nabiki said. "Apparently neither did Kasumi." She walked to the phone and picked it up. "Are you still there, Ukyou? Yeah, Kodachi's here, I think she brought the news." Nabiki glanced at Kodachi and frowned. "It just all came to a head today from the sounds of it. I'll give you a progress report. I swear, Ukyou. Goodbye." Nabiki hung up the phone and turned to look at Kodachi's shock filled face. "I had no idea," Kodachi said quietly. "When we spoke on the phone and at the duel she seemed perfectly fine." Nabiki snorted. "Ranma is good at that," Nabiki said wearily. Nabiki sat down at the table across from Kodachi and looked at her food morosely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ukyou hung up the phone and took a breath to steady herself. She had listened to Ranma fall apart in virtually no time. It was horrifying. "Ukyou-sama," she heard Konatsu ask behind her. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Ukyou said, sniffing as she stood up straight away from the wall and wiped away the beginnings of some tears. "I just was talking to Ranma." "Oh," Konatsu said, with a little worry. The ninja understood that Ukyou had given up on chasing Ranma, but that had to have been difficult to do. He did not know what had motivated the change, though, but it was something serious. He had seen the way people were walking tenderfooted around Ranma recently, even if he hadn't been able to overhear the reasons. "Hey, enough standing around," Ukyou said. "We have customers to feed." "Hai, Ukyou-sama." Konatsu bowed and waited for Ukyou to return to the grill before moving. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Akane sat down on the bed next to her spouse, glancing once at the door Kasumi had closed behind her. Ranma lay curled up in the blankets. She didn't understand Ranma's reaction to the news. She would have thought Ranma would be relieved, maybe even happy. She turned to brush at Ranma's hair, the other girl's face was hidden in the pillows. Ranma flinched as Akane touched her. "Don't touch me," Ranma snapped. "Ranma, what's wrong?" Akane tried to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze, and the red-head merely backed herself further into a corner away from Akane. "Don’t touch me," Ranma said again, without looking at Akane. Akane watched as Ranma started weeping into the pillow. Akane hesitated only a moment before lying down in the bed next to Ranma. "I don't deserve you." "What?" Akane gasped rising up on an elbow. "How can you say that?" "I'm not...clean," Ranma sobbed, Akane flinched as she saw a green glow limning Ranma. "I...I..." "Ranma, stop it," Akane pleaded. "Look at me!" Ranma's weeping paused for a moment. "I..." "Look at me, please!" Akane pleaded. Ranma turned face to look at Akane, tear streaks marking her face. "Find someone who isn't a murdering slut," Ranma said quietly. Akane watched her in shock as Ranma curled back into the blankets. "You can't really believe...," she stopped, realizing that Ranma could believe that. She laid back down, and tried to snuggle closer to Ranma. "Did you kill Kuno?" She asked. "I wanted him de..." "Did you kill him?" Akane repeated. "Ranma?" "No..." Ranma said slowly. "But..." "Not buts," Akane said. "You did not kill him, and it was self defense if you had." "But I did...do that..." Ranma's voice trailed off. "He raped you," Akane said forcefully. "There had to be something..." Ranma said hesitantly, but she peeked out of the pillows. "You were drugged," Akane said quietly. "I cursed..." Ranma tried to protest. "No you did not," Akane said. "You didn't know about that, neither did I, you even warned me about them. It is not. Your. Fault." She was finding herself saying that sentence a lot recently. Akane moved forward and kissed Ranma on the forehead. She hesitated to continue. There was a chance Ranma would take this the wrong way, but Akane wanted her to know that she accepted Ranma regardless. "I'm not letting anyone insulting my wife," Akane said softly. "Even if it's my husband doing it." "Wife," Ranma muttered. "Be a good little girl, Ranma, lay back and..." "Ranma, stop it!" Akane insisted. "You are not a little girl." Ranma turned her face away from Akane. "What do I look like?" Ranma asked. Akane brushed at Ranma's hair. "Please Ranma," Akane said. "You're beautiful." "I don't want to be beautiful," Ranma whispered. "Ranma, damn it!" Akane snapped, Ranma started to cry again. "Oh, Kami, Ranma. I'm sorry." She hugged Ranma, rubbing her back. "You just have to know, man or woman, I love you." "Akane, arigato," Ranma whispered. "I love you too." Akane cautiously climbed under the blankets with Ranma and hugged her again. Ranma hesitantly returned the hug, burying her face in Akane's chest. Akane stroked the still weeping redhead until Ranma fell asleep in her arms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kasumi came down after a minute and saw Kodachi and Nabiki staring at their food. Kasumi's nerves were seriously frayed after these last months. She was used to dealing with crises on a semi-regular basis. For nearly ten years she'd had to take care of her sisters and her father, almost alone. Father hadn't been very useful since mother had died. She was not used to dealing with so many problems at once, even since Ranma's arrival. Kasumi waited before stepping into the tearoom and joining the quiet meal. There was one thing she had learned in the ten years of running the household. She could not appear to be panicked. Nabiki and Akane looked to her for stability. Right or wrong, Kasumi had to be calm, collected, and serene, but she was wondering if she was beginning to push the limits of her serenity. A long time ago Kasumi had given Akane a lecture about acting like a boy. The result was that Akane had stepped down her training, which was good for neither her or their father. She remembered rationalizing Nabiki's irrationally malicious behavior toward Ranma. She thought about Ranma and the way her father seemed to use her as a bargaining chip and Kasumi wished she had put her foot down about it. She thought about all the games about the engagements and girlfriends. So many mistakes, was it right to let them think she knew how to handle everything? There was some shouting upstairs, but only a moment. By the time she returned to Akane's room she could tell from the muffled conversation that Akane had everything in hand. That left the two girls downstairs. She took a deep breath and proceeded downstairs. "How is she?" Kodachi asked as soon as she saw Kasumi. Nabiki looked up, mask of ice firmly in place. Kasumi could see the cracks though. Nabiki and Ranma were so much alike in ways. If Kasumi hadn't known better she would think that Nabiki was Ranma's blood sister. It was always about self-control with both of them, and they had both had it taken from them in the same way. Kasumi walked to the table and moved her plate so that she could sit between the two girls. She turned to Nabiki. "Are you okay?" Kodachi blinked, surprised. "I'm fine," Nabiki said. Her eyes flickered to Kodachi and back to Kasumi. The elder Tendo nodded, understandingly. "Akane is taking care of Ranma," Kasumi assured the Kuno girl, turning back to her. "Apparently Ranma is feeling guilty." Nabiki snorted. "Only Ranma," she said. "It's like 'love thy enemy' is hardwired in his brain." "I thought she had recovered," Kodachi said, quietly. "Ranma is always so...resilient." "He's too stoic for his own good," Nabiki said, Kasumi glanced meaningfully at Nabiki. Nabiki conceded the point. "He's not the only person I know like that." Kodachi's eyes narrowed and flicked between the sisters, aware of some subtext that she wasn't being let in on. Kasumi looked down at her food and ate a little trying to figure out what to do. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair. She shouldn't have to deal with these things, much less all of them at once. Why did Nodoka leave her alone with this mess? She'd even accept help from that woman's sometimes questionable ethics. "I just can't do it all," Kasumi whispered. "Pardon, Tendo-san," Kodachi asked, looking up from her pecked meal. Nabiki looked shocked herself at the comment. "Nothing," Kasumi said quickly, horrified that she had let her self-doubt slip out. "I was just considering matters." "Oh," Kodachi said. "I see." She blinked confused. Nabiki looked at her elder sister a little more carefully. There were loose strands in the normally perfect hair, her dress was less than perfectly ironed, and Nabiki could see signs of sleep deprivation. Looking down at her plate, Nabiki realized that the food, while good, was not up to Kasumi's normal standards. Nabiki did not want to think about what would happen if Kasumi were to crack. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ranma's eyes were shut. It didn't matter, she could see through her lids. Even if she couldn't, she knew where she was. The Pit. Ranma looked hurriedly around, peering into the darkness. The cats were there. She could see their eyes glittering in the darkness as a larger shape passed in the darkness behind. A slash of blue cloth here, a hint of purple fur there. "Go away," Ranma said, curling down into the small square of light at the center. It used to work. She could stare at the ground and the cats would leave. "Go away!" The first mewing cry of "airen" sent Ranma to curl in on herself, protecting her chest, face and. And. Her womanhood. The cats swarmed over her, clawing, licking, hunting. She cried as the cats surrounded her, angrily aware of what was coming. "Please! Just go away!" Ranma was roughly pulled out of her defensive position and thrown on her back. The cats had already turned her clothes into strips. What remained fell away as she was tossed. She kept her face turned away as she was pinned to the ground. "Pig-tailed girl," a crazed voice whispered. "No, please," Ranma pleaded, cringing as she was kissed in a twisted mockery of tenderness. "NO!" Ranma's hand snapped upward into the unseen face of her attacker, breaking the grip that held her down. There was a sickening crack and the body on top of her fell limp. Ranma curled up again, trying to ignore the fact that her shelter from the cats was a cooling dead body. She kept her ineffective eyelids tightly closed and her face in the dirt, weeping, occasionally screaming, to keep out the sound of the cats trying to get at her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ranma snapped awake, biting down a scream. She slowly opened her eyes to see Akane still holding her. She snuggled in closer to the sleeping girl, and sighed as Akane unconsciously held her tighter. "Saotome final technique," Ranma muttered, tears streaming already down her face. "I h..hate the Saotome final technique."
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