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Ranma 1/2:
The Long and Winding Road
Episode One: The Crossroads


Ranma 1/2 - The Long and Winding Road
Episode One:  The Crossroads

by Zen

Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko
Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation 
Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko.
This story copyright 1996 - Jaime Bateman



####  ****  ####

It was the middle of November, and Nerima had been quiet.  Winter 
had come and buried the town in a heavy silence - the sleepy silence 
that the world adopts when muffled by a thick blanket of freshly 
fallen snow.  Every night, more snow had fallen - a fluffy wet snow 
that lay thick on the ground and erased all traces of the previous 
day's activities.

During the days, the snow turned the world into a scene from a 
postcard, the ice coating the bare trees making them into intricate 
sculptures of fine crystal.  Sunlight passing through the ice cast 
rainbow shadows across the pristine landscape.  Traffic noises were 
totally absent, and just occasionally could one hear the crunch of 
boots through the snow.  The deep quiet of an afternoon was 
disturbed only by the playful shouts of children after schools let out, 
when the air was thick with snowballs.  The air smelled sharp and 
crisp, and all seemed right with the world.

Things that appear too good to be true, often are.

####  ****  ####

"OYAJI!!"

Soun and Genma were in the midst of a game of Shogi when the 
shout shattered the silence of the afternoon.  The shoji door to the 
Tendous' living area was slammed aside with such force that it 
nearly left its tracks.  Ranma stood framed in the opening, a long tear 
in his favorite Chinese style shirt, sporting several new bruises and 
bandages.  He wore an expression of such ferocity that Kami-sama 
himself might have thought twice about taking him on.

To say that Ranma looked angry would have been like saying that 
Rally Vincent liked guns a little bit, or that Vogon poetry is of less 
than stellar quality.  Soun took one look at Ranma and decided that 
he didn't want to be anywhere near Genma for a little while.  He fled 
to the relative safety of the next room, and peeked furtively around 
the door frame.

Ranma's voice was low and dangerous.  "Oyaji, just what does the 
name 'Daitokuji' mean to you?" he asked.

"N... nothing..." Genma started to stammer.  "Should it...?"

"Are you *sure* Oyaji?  You don't remember a little transaction 
involving your son and the daughter of the Daitokuji clan?  JUST 
WHAT DID YOU SELL ME FOR *THIS* TIME??!" bellowed Ranma.

Soun growled from his hiding place in the next room.  "Saotome!  Not 
again!"

"Oh, yes, again!" Ranma answered Soun though his gaze never left his 
father.  "But it gets better!  The daughter, Biiko, doesn't *like* boys.  I 
was safe from her... until she found out I'm a *girl* half the time!"  
Ranma's gaze darkened as he asked his father, "Now just who do you 
suppose told her about *that*, ne?  Just what did you get for THAT 
piece of information?"

"Err,"  managed Genma, while doing a fair impersonation of Ferengi 
Cringe number 417.  [This is the one that means "I seem to have left 
my refund slips in my other jacket; excuse me while I go back to 
Ferenginar and get them...]

Ranma was having none of it.  He continued advancing on Genma, 
murder in his eyes.  "Did you know, Oyaji, that she builds Battle 
Mecha for a hobby?  Did you?  Do you know how many of those 
things I had to destroy before I could get away?"

The staccato pop of knuckles cracking was, to Genma's ears, not 
unlike the bark of a machine pistol.  Ranma launched into a spin kick 
that caught his father hard in the side of the head.  Genma was 
dazed, but did not go down.  Ranma continued the attack with a 
series of kicks that Genma was simply not able to block, even if he 
hadn't been too dazed to try.

Ranma shouted, "I... (boot to the head)  AM SICK... (boot to the head)  
AND TIRED... (boot to the head)  OF YOU!! (boot to the head)."

The last kick sent Genma down hard, out like a light.  That did not 
stop Ranma.  He picked up his father by the front of his gi and shook 
him like a rag doll - no mean feat considering that Genma was a head 
taller and outmassed his son by a factor of at least three.  "Why are 
you always screwing up MY life?!"  he yelled.  "You've ruined 
*everything*!"

With those words, Ranma tossed his father out of the house and into 
the garden.  Ranma was disappointed to note that when Genma came 
down, he crashed through the thin layer of ice on the pond.  "Damn," 
he muttered.

"Nice shot, Ranma-kun,"  said Nabiki coming up behind him.

"I was aiming," Ranma growled, "for the rocks."  He turned, and with 
a final glare at Soun in his hiding place, stalked out of the room and 
up the stairs.

When the Panda in the Tendou fish pond finally regained his senses 
(perhaps it would be more accurate to say regained consciousness), 
his survival instincts kicked in and he decided that, for the time 
being, that the cold fish pond was the safest place for him to be, and 
that he'd better not let his son catch him until the boy had a chance 
to cool off.

####  ****  ####

Ranma slammed the door to the guest room and threw himself down 
on his futon.  Damn that old man!  It was said that the sins of the 
father were visited upon the son unto the fourth generation, but this 
was ridiculous.  Things got complicated enough without having to 
wonder what or who was waiting around the next corner wanting to 
pound him, or to marry him - sometimes both.

Imagine!  A man willing to sell his son's future for a bowl of rice and 
a fish! - to arrange a marriage over a single bowl of ramen.  And he 
had done it not once, not twice, but the Kami alone knew how many 
times.  How many people out there were still searching for Saotome 
Ranma with a view towards collecting on one of Genma's promises?  
Ranma shuddered, and rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

 Ranma wondered.    After giving it a 
lot of thought, Ranma eventually reached the conclusion that there 
was only one way to stop all of them.   he mused.  

But how?  With three iinazuke fighting over him all the time; with 
more dropping in and out at the most inconvenient opportunities, 
and fruitbats like Kodachi in the equation, was there a solution?  The 
situation was not one that inspired a great deal of hope.

 thought Ranma, 

That seemed like a sound strategy, but Ranma was at a loss for an 
effective means to implement it.   he thought.    Ranma sighed.  

Ranma rolled over onto his side.  The wall provided no more 
inspiration than the ceiling had.  

Kodachi?  A ghost of a laugh echoed through his memory.  Ranma 
shuddered.  

Shampoo... Shampoo was beautiful, affectionate, an excellent cook, a 
capable fighter...  Indeed, she was everything that a good Amazon 
should be.  Ranma suspected that there was a lot more to Shampoo 
than met the eye.  People often thought of her as a bimbo because of 
the way she talked, but, broken as it was, her Japanese was a hell of 
a lot better than his Chinese.  One thing that a martial artist learned 
was that you never took anything for granted.  To underestimate 
your opponent could be fatal.

On the downside, she had a cruel streak that repelled him when she 
let it get the better of her, and a craftiness that rivaled Nabiki's.  She 
was a cat person.  Then, of course, there was Cologne.  He had learned 
much from the old crone, for which he was grateful, but the thought 
of actually becoming a member of her family left him with an 
industrial strength case of the willies.  He genuinely liked Shampoo, 
but somehow he just couldn't imagine being married to her.

Then there was Ukyou.  Ucchan was his best friend, and it had taken 
her a while to drive it through his thick skull that she wanted to be 
more than that.  At first, he could not bring himself to think of her in 
those terms... after all, she was Ucchan; she was his best buddy!  It 
had come as enough of a shock that she was a girl.

Once that initial shock had worn off, however, it had dawned on him 
that she really was cute.  She was a great cook, and they liked the 
same things... and he was comfortable with her.  She accepted him, 
curse and all.  When he needed to talk, she had listened... without 
trying to knock him into the next week first.

She could be crafty though, just as crafty as Shampoo, in her own 
way.  But the thing that stuck in Ranma's mind most about that was 
that all of her schemes had at least *tried* to make sure that 
everyone got some of what they wanted.  Like that time she had 
tried to set Akane and Ryouga up on a date...

And finally, Akane.  Akane was impatient, short tempered and 
violent.  She had little in the way of domestic skills; if her cooking 
didn't kill you through basic poisoning, it was likely to jump off the 
plate and try to throttle you.  She swam like a hammer.  In fact, 
there was precious little in that catalog to recommend her.

But, when she wasn't busy being angry, she could be so kind, so 
warm and gentle.  When she smiled, she was so cute that it made 
Ranma go all gooey inside.  If only she weren't mad so *much* of the 
time, and more to the point, mad at *him*.  And lately, things had 
been getting worse.  The fights were getting more frequent, and it 
was taking her longer to cool down afterwards.

Ranma remembered the last fight they'd had and shuddered.  His 
head still rang when he thought about it.  Perhaps he shouldn't have 
said what he had about her cooking - but it was no more than the 
truth!  In the kitchen, Akane's hands really *were* deadly weapons.  
Not the most diplomatic of statements to be sure, though diplomacy 
had never been one of Ranma's real talents.  Somehow it seemed that 
he always managed to say just the wrong things.

But did Akane even want to marry him?  He knew how Shampoo and 
Ukyou felt, but Akane and he had never really talked much.  She was 
such a mystery.  Most of the time, she was mad at him - he certainly 
didn't think that she liked him much.  But there were also times 
when there was a tenderness to her that warmed his heart.  Ranma 
realized with a start that he had no idea how she *really* felt.  
Bloody well about time to find out.

Ranma sighed and got up.  He stretched and gathered his bath things.  
No sense waiting.  For better or for worse, the time for decisions had 
come.  He would begin by talking to Akane after dinner.

####  ****  ####

That evening, after the dinner things had been cleared away, Ranma 
sat off by himself trying to decide how best to approach Akane.  It 
was going to be a ticklish matter, and all the more so considering the 
mood Akane had been in all night.  More than once he had 
considered abandoning the idea to wait for a better time, but he was 
not sure that a better time would come, and he had to know.  It had 
taken him too long just to work up the nerve to actually do it.

Akane was the one that his father wanted him to marry - and her 
father.  It was, he had been told many times, a matter of honour.  But 
could honour be served by destroying someone's happiness?  What 
was honour without joy?

Could he even live happily with Akane?  Perhaps - she meant a lot 
more to him than he would ever admit - but it would have to work 
both ways.  If she didn't think that she could be happy with him, 
then there was no point in trying to make it work.  Not for the first 
time, Ranma regretted the adversarial quality of his relationship 
with Akane.  It was not going to make this any easier.  He was going 
to have to be extra careful not to antagonize her.

####  ****  ####

Akane sat in her room, pretending to do her homework while she 
stewed.  She had not been having a very good day.  She had known it 
was going to be bad when she had gotten to school and noticed that 
all of her friends were looking at her and whispering amongst 
themselves.  That was never a good sign.  She had finally gotten 
someone to tell her what it was all about.

Naturally, it had been Ranma's fault.  Yet another iinazuke had 
shown up to stake her claim, based on one of Genma's stupid 
promises.  A new one turned up every so often and each one had 
been weirder than the last.  This newcomer was no exception.

The first thing she did was challenge Ranma to a fight.  Maybe she 
was trying to prove her worthiness, or maybe trying to beat the snot 
out of someone was just her hentai way of expressing affection; 
Akane didn't know, and she didn't much care.  Ranma had come out 
to answer her challenge and she had faced him with a small army of 
Battle Mecha.  Her opening volley had been fired with a water 
cannon.

As Ranma-chan had hauled herself up from that attack, the new girl 
had been delighted - she had been *glad* that Ranma had turned 
into a girl.  For her part, Ranma-chan had managed to destroy the 
Mecha, but that was not to be the end of it.

Ranma's new iinazuke had torn off her own clothing to reveal a 
rather daring suit of battle armor and had continued the attack with 
an impressive array of high tech weapons.  The battle had raged for 
hours before she had run out of ammunition and Ranma-chan had 
been able to make her escape.  The collateral damage had been 
extensive.  It had been more than Akane could take.  Compared to 
this girl, even Kunou Kodachi was the picture of shining sanity.

To make matters worse, Akane had been ambushed on her way 
home by Shampoo.  The Chinese Amazon was still set on driving off 
all of her rivals for Ranma's affections, and Akane was at the top of 
her list.  After fighting and dodging for almost an hour, the two of 
them had ended up in the canal.  Akane booted Shampoo-neko a 
good two blocks before heading home herself, bruised, soaked and 
shivering.

It was enough to ruin her whole day.  There seemed to be no end to 
the trouble and the heartache that Ranma and his father had brought 
her.  If only... If only Ranma's dad hadn't...

Akane's musings were interrupted by a knock at the door.  She took 
a moment to calm herself before she answered.

####  ****  ####

Ranma knocked softly on the door to Akane's room.  For a moment, 
he did not think he was going to get an answer.  Just as he was about 
to turn away, Akane called out.  "Come in, it's open."

 thought Ranma.  He turned the knob and 
walked into the room.  Akane was sitting at her desk with her back 
to the door and several books spread out in front of her.  She turned 
as he came in.  When she saw who her visitor was, her expression 
hardened.  The change was not lost on Ranma.  This was not starting 
out as well as he'd hoped, but now he was committed.

"Oh, it's you," she said.  "Don't you think that you've caused me 
enough trouble for today?"

No, this was definitely not going to be easy.   he thought.  What he said was, "Akane, I...  
we need to talk."

"Talk?" she snarled.  "What could you possibly have to say that 
would interest me?"

"Hey!  What are you so mad about?  What'd I do this time?"

"Do?  What did you DO?  What *haven't* you done?"

"I ain't done NOTHIN'!"  No.  He had not come to fight with her.  This 
was too important for that.  Ranma made an effort to calm himself, 
and sighed.  "You're determined to make this difficult, aren't you?  I 
want to talk to you about this iinazuke thing..."

"What *are* you talking about?!  How many times do I have to tell 
you, we are *not* engaged!"

That hurt.  Ranma figured that he deserved some of it, but he was 
trying so hard to be reasonable.  "Akane - Don't you like me?  Even 
just a little?"

"Like you?!  What's to like?  You're arrogant, rude, you make fun of 
me all the time, you insult my cooking, you don't think I'm cute, and 
to top it all off, you're always running around with other women!  
And you want me to *like* you for it?"

"Akane, I..."

"What, you can explain?"  Akane snorted.  "Don't bother!  The *last* 
thing that I want to hear right now is another one of your lame 
excuses..."

"Lame excuses?"  Ranma shot back hotly.  "They're the truth!  But 
you can't be bothered to listen long enough..."

"And what about that Daitokuji girl?"  Akane went on, "What in the 
seven hells did you do to her?  It must really have been something 
for her to freak out like that..."

Ranma bristled at that last.  "Hey!  There's no way that one can be 
my fault!  I never saw that girl before in my life!  Why is it you 
always think that these things are *my* fault?!"

"Because they ARE!  Before YOU came along, my life was peaceful!"

"Oi!  That's not entirely fair, you know.  You were fighting all those 
guys at school before I ever got here!"

"Yes, but they were the ONLY ones I had to fight.  Now I have to fight 
just about everybody!"

Ranma could feel himself losing control again.  This was getting him 
nowhere.  Ranma took a breath, willing his voice to be calmer.  "No.  
No, you don't.  If you don't want me, you don't have to fight anyone 
on my account."

Akane looked at him coldly.  "And just why would I want you?  Who 
could possibly want a hentai freak like you?"

Ranma opened his mouth and promptly stuck his foot in it.  "Lots of 
people!  There's Shampoo, Ukyou, Kodachi..."

"Don't forget her brother," added Akane nastily.  "If it hadn't been for 
Dad & Uncle Saotome...  I wish I'd never heard of you!"

Ranma was really starting to get angry.  Why was she making this so 
hard?  It took all of his determination to keep his temper under 
control and to keep from hurling insults back at her.  Couldn't she see 
how hard he was trying?  "Do you really feel that way?"  he asked, 
his voice tight.

Akane advanced on her tormentor.  "You bet I do!" she snapped.  "For 
all I care, the others can *have* you!  Why don't you just get the hell 
out of my life?!"

"That would make you happy, would it?"  asked Ranma.  He couldn't 
believe what he was seeing.  He couldn't imagine what he must have 
done to make her this angry.  He had not expected this to be easy, 
but he had not been prepared for *this*.

"It would make me ecstatic," she growled.

Akane's slap caught Ranma totally off guard.  He felt his face begin to 
redden and tasted the familiar metallic tang of blood.  Whatever else 
Akane was saying was lost on Ranma as his hearing went off-line.  
All he could do was stare at her in dumbfounded silence.

She stood in front of him, her face a twisted mask of rage and hurt.  
Ranma tried to summon a mental picture of a smiling Akane - all too 
rare a sight anymore - and found that he could not reconcile that 
memory with the image that stood before him now.  Ranma blinked, 
shocked at the depth of her anger and her pain.

 he thought to himself as Akane 
ranted on, unheard.  

Ranma felt something inside him snap -  he screamed 
silently.  

Ranma was jolted painfully out of his reverie as the book that Akane 
had thrown at him bounced off the bridge of his nose.  He shook his 
head to clear it just in time to be struck by the next volume of the 
set.

"Akane...  Please!" he began.

"Baka!" she roared.  "You're not even listening to me!"

Ranma started to back away, trying to dodge the things that she was 
throwing at him, and perhaps calm her down.  It wasn't working.

"Akane..."

As Akane ran out of books to throw, her projectiles were getting 
larger and heavier.  Ranma tried one last time to get her attention.  
"Akane... Please!  I'm sorry..." but she did not appear to hear him.

Ranma abandoned all attempts at discussion at this point, bolted and 
ran as Akane's desk chair crashed into the wall behind him.  Ranma 
scurried from the dojo, Akane's curses still hammering in his ears, 
burning their way into his memory...  [I hate you! - I wish I'd never 
met you! - I hate you! - Baka! - I hate you! - Hentai! - I hate you! - 
Go off and DIE! - I hate you! - I HATE YOU!!]

Ranma hit an icy spot on the sidewalk and tumbled head over heels 
into a snow bank.  He never even noticed the change as she fled into 
the night.

####  ****  ####

Akane watched Ranma run from her room through a red haze.  The 
nerve of that jerk!  Why couldn't he just leave her alone?  He was 
always calling her names - all the time insulting her - causing her 
trouble.  Akane closed her eyes and made an effort to quiet the 
thundering in her ears.

As her rage cooled, Akane surveyed the wreckage of her room.  
Books and other objects were scattered about where they had fallen, 
usually after having bounced off of Ranma.  Her desk chair lay in the 
hall, and it looked as if one of its legs might be broken.

Akane sighed.  Arguing with Ranma always seemed to bring out the 
worst in her, and tonight had been particularly bad.  Maybe she had 
been a little harsh with him this time, but she just had not been in a 
mood to deal with him, or his questions.   she thought to herself.  She looked 
again in the direction that he had taken.    Sadly, she set about restoring her 
room to some form of order.

####  ****  ####

For what must have been the hundredth time, Ranma-chan hit a bad 
patch of ice and went down hard.  This time, she did not get up.  She 
just couldn't run anymore.  She was tired, and cold, and thoroughly 
miserable.  After a time she managed to work her way into a sitting 
position leaning against a lamp post.  She was not dressed for the 
weather, and she was soaked.  The fabric of her blouse was already 
starting to stiffen as it froze.  A breeze blew across her, and she 
shivered violently.  She looked around to try and pinpoint her 
location.

She was in a commercial district, probably, she thought, still within 
ten miles of the dojo.  All of the storefronts around her were dark, 
their doors locked, their owners snug and warm in their homes with 
their families.  All but one.  Just down the street was what appeared 
to be a small bar.  The name "Cha Cha Maru" was in blazing neon 
over the entrance.  Whatever it was, it looked open, and most 
importantly, it looked warm.

####  ****  ####

Ranma-chan opened the door of the Cha Cha Maru.  It was indeed a 
bar; not too large, but not too small either.  There appeared to be a 
stage at one end of the main area, but it was vacant, for which 
Ranma-chan was grateful.  She was not in the mood for a lot of noise.  
She picked a quiet looking booth in a dark corner, and headed for it.  
What she needed, she reasoned, was some time to think.

As Ranma-chan slid into the booth, a waitress appeared out of 
nowhere, and handed her a menu.  The waitress was also a redhead, 
and pretty, and she would have been beautiful if she didn't look so 
bored.  Ranma-chan thanked her and started to look at the menu, 
mentally matching the prices with the money she had in her pockets.  
Fortunately, this place seemed to have pretty reasonable rates.

After a moment the waitress returned to take Ranma-chan's order.  
After asking for a large bowl of soup and a pot of hot tea, Ranma-
chan settled back to try and get a handle on the turn that her life 
was taking.  No matter what, she decided, it can not go on like this.

####  ****  ####

Akane lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.  After she 
had cleaned up the debris from her fight with Ranma, she had taken 
a hot bath to try and work out some of the tension.  It had done 
wonders.  She had felt so much better in fact, that she had gone 
looking for Ranma so that she could apologize for yelling at him.  She 
had been in an awful mood when he had come to talk to her, and she 
felt badly for having taken it out on him.

Except that it had something to do with their engagement, she still 
didn't know what had prompted the visit; she had been too busy 
yelling and throwing things to pay much attention to what Ranma 
had been saying.  She had, however, noticed that for once, Ranma 
had not been yelling back.  Indeed, he hadn't insulted her so much as 
once.  He hadn't even called her uncute!  It had piqued her curiosity.

The only problem had been that when she had gone looking for him, 
Ranma was nowhere to be found.  He had not been in his room, or in 
the training hall, or even the kitchen.  Akane supposed that he must 
have left the dojo after the fight.  She wondered idly where he was 
at that moment.  She hoped that he was not too upset.  She had been 
kind of hard on him, and said a lot of mean things - things that, for 
the most part, she didn't really believe.

Well, she would get her chance, she thought.  The class trip would be 
a perfect opportunity to find out what Ranma had wanted, without 
having to worry about anyone making things difficult.  Maybe they 
could even manage to spend some time together without trying to 
kill each other.  That would be a refreshing change.

Akane rolled over and sighed.  It took a while, but sleep finally came.

####  ****  ####

Ranma-chan had not realized just how hungry she was until the 
waitress set the steaming bowl in front of her.  The soup was good, 
and it was hot - spreading its warmth through her and helping to 
drive out the chill.  She finished the soup and the first pot of tea in 
short order, and had just gotten a second pot of tea when she once 
more turned her attention to less immediate but more important 
matters.

Akane's last words still echoed in her mind - [I hate you!] -   Ranma-chan wondered.  

There had been times when she could be so kind and gentle - they 
were rare, but they had happened.    
Ranma-chan smiled bitterly at the memories.





Ranma-chan buried her face in her hands and sighed in despair.  "Oh 
Akane... this is never going to work, is it?"  She felt her eyes burn as 
she struggled against the urge to cry.

After a moment or two, Ranma-chan looked up to see the waitress 
standing by the booth with a small tray in her hands.  When she saw 
that Ranma-chan had noticed her, she set the tray on the table and 
slid into the seat on the other side of the booth.  The tray contained a 
warm sake bottle, and two cups.  Ranma-chan gave the waitress an 
inquiring look.

The waitress shrugged.  "It's on the house," she said.  "You looked so 
unhappy - I thought you could use a little help."  She poured hot 
sake into the two cups and passed one over to Ranma-chan.

Ranma-chan smiled weakly at her.  "Thanks..." she said.  "That's very 
kind of you."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really..." began Ranma-chan.

"It'll make you feel better," the waitress said.  She raised a hand to 
forestall Ranma-chan's objection.  "Hey, I won't pressure you... but 
I've seen this sort of thing a lot.  Relationship trouble, right?"

Ranma-chan thought of no fewer than three witty but rude replies, 
but for once, the brain was working faster than the mouth, and she 
uttered none of them.    "You could say that," 
she answered.

"I knew it.  By the way, my name's Akemi.  Roppongi Akemi"

"'Red Haired Beauty', eh?  Saotome Ranma desu.  Pleased to meet 
you."

Akemi smiled and raised her sake cup.  "To redheads!" she said 
solemnly, and drained her cup.

Ranma-chan managed a wan smile and raised her own cup in 
response.  "Kampai!"  The sake burned on its way down her throat, 
but its warmth spread through her with lightning speed.  Ranma-
chan looked critically at the sake bottle and resolved to be careful 
with the stuff.  The decisions that she had to make had to be made 
with as clear a head as possible.  She set the cup down.

Akemi took the bottle and refilled the sake cups.  "So," she asked, 
almost casually.  "Was it a bad fight?"

Ranma-chan looked at Akemi a little more respectfully.    "Bad enough," she answered, staring at her 
own reflection in the sake.  "Nothing unusual, though."

"I take it that you and your spouse fight a lot, then?"

Ranma-chan coloured.  "Iinazuke.  We fight all the time.  It seems 
that we're at odds whenever we're together."

She had been right.  This *was* going to be a good story.  "So how on 
Earth did you two get to be engaged?  It sounds like an awfully 
unlikely match."

"Arranged marriage.  Our fathers are old friends, and they decided 
that we should be married before we were even born."

Akemi was horrified.  "And they expect you to go along with this?  
What losers!"

"I'll say," muttered Ranma-chan.  "That's all they ever go on about.  
They keep pushing us together, but it's been like mixing matter and 
anti-matter."

"Damn.  So, do you care for each other at all?  Is there any feeling 
between you?  Even a tiny bit?"

Ranma-chan drained her sake cup before she answered, taking the 
time to choose her words with care.  "There were times...  There were 
times when I thought there might be.  Every so often, we'd start to 
get along and then... BANG!" she mimed an explosion, and stared into 
space for a moment.  She held out the sake cup.  Akemi refilled it.  
"Bang - one of us would say something... or do something... and we'd 
be at each other's throats again.  Something would always happen to 
spoil it."

Ranma-chan paused and sipped at her sake again.  "I...  I always 
hoped that one day we might at least have been friends.  I figured 
that if we could ever stop fighting long enough, we might like each 
other... at least a little bit.  But it doesn't seem to have worked out 
that way, and after tonight... well, I just don't believe in it anymore."

The sadness in Ranma-chan's voice, and in her eyes made Akemi 
want to cry too.  "It looks to me like you cared alot.  If you hadn't, 
you wouldn't be so upset now."

Ranma-chan sighed.  "It didn't do much good, did it?"

"Guys can be such insensitive jerks," said Akemi knowingly.

Ranma-chan's expression hardened, but only for a moment.  What 
Akemi had said was true enough - Genma, Ryouga, Kunou, all of the 
guys that were constantly chasing after Akane at school - they were 
all classic examples.   
she thought glumly.

Ranma-chan was not willing to take all of the blame.  "Well, girls can 
be pretty insensitive too, you know?"   she thought to 
herself, 

"You mustn't blame yourself, dear."

Ranma-chan looked sharply at Akemi before gazing down into her 
sake cup.    "Why not?  It is, at least 
partly, my fault.  I've really screwed this one up, and frankly, I can't 
figure out any way to fix it.  Family honour and duty be damned, I'm 
certainly *not* going to marry someone if it will make one or both of 
us miserable."  She sighed.  "It's a pity though.  I always thought that 
it would work out in the end.  I had always hoped that it might."

"You know, it sounds to me like your father is a real jackass.  He 
certainly seems to be causing you loads of trouble.  No offense..."

"None taken."  Ranma-chan smiled darkly.  "You have no idea..."

Akemi raised an eyebrow.  "That sounded like a loaded remark," she 
prompted.

Ranma-chan snorted.  "Pop has been screwing up my life since I was 
born - him and all his stupid promises.  This isn't the only 
engagement that he's arranged for me, it's just the one he wants the 
most.  And, thanks to another of his promises, I'll never see my 
mother again."

"She's not..."

"No, no, she's alive.  But if I go to see her, then *I'll* be dead."

Akemi looked confused.

"It's a *long* story, believe me.  You really don't want to hear it."

Akemi nodded.  "So you have more than one iinazuke?"

"At least three, right now.  And no telling how many more that Pop 
hasn't yet seen fit to mention."

"Awkward."

"You have a gift for understatement."

"Why do you put up with it?  At the very least, it might help if you 
got away from your father."

"Yah, I've come to pretty much the same conclusion.  I know for a 
fact that my iinazuke will be a lot happier if I'm not around."  
Ranma-chan shuddered at the memory of Akane's rage filled 
expression.

"Are you sure about that?  It's hard for me to believe that you could 
care so much about a person if they didn't care about you at all."

Ranma-chan's smile was hollow.  "I'm sure.  She made it pretty 
clear."

Akemi's eyes widened.  "She?  Your father really *is* strange." she 
said.

Ranma-chan turned bright red.  "It's not what you think, really."  She 
started to add 'I'm a boy', but decided that it really wasn't worth the 
trouble.  She was spared the need to explain as the door to the bar 
opened, and another weary looking person walked in and took a seat.

"Oh, damn," said Akemi.  "It looks like I'm back on duty."  She sighed 
and slid out of the booth.  She turned back to Ranma-chan.  "I hope 
that you find an answer that will make you happy," she said.  "Is 
there anything else that I can get you?"

Ranma-chan managed a quick grin.  Just a pot of hot water, if it's not 
too much trouble."

"I think I can manage that...  I'll be right back."

"Oh, Akemi?"  The red headed waitress paused. "Thanks.  You were 
right; I do feel a little better."

Akemi smiled.  "No charge," she said.

####  ****  ####

Once Akemi had brought the kettle of hot water, Ranma-chan took it 
and made a bee-line for the restrooms.  There was only the one, 
meant to be used by patrons of either gender.

 thought Ranma-chan.  She locked 
herself in the restroom and took off her still damp clothes.  After 
wringing them out, she put them under the electric hand drier, and 
then poured the hot water over herself.

Ranma dried himself off with paper towels and then put his clothes 
back on.  They weren't perfect, but they were good enough.  Ranma 
left the restroom, and dropped the kettle off by his table.  He paid 
his tab, and waving once more to Akemi, walked out into the night to 
begin the long trek back to the dojo.  At last, he had an answer, and 
the beginnings of a plan.

Akemi and the bartender both stared after Ranma in confusion.  
"Akemi..." the bartender said, "You're so drunk now you've got *ME* 
seeing things."  Akemi favoured him with a nasty look.

####  ****  ####

The dojo was dark and quiet when Ranma returned.  That suited him 
just fine - he was in no mood to talk to anyone, nor did he feel like 
answering any questions about his activities.  If his plans were going 
to work, his timing would have to be precise.

Ranma entered the room that he shared with his father as quietly as 
possible.  There was a panda lying on the futon, buzzing like a saw.  
Ranma sighed in relief.  When his father was snoring like that it 
would take a nuclear blast to waken him.  Still, one couldn't be too 
cautious.

As quietly as he was able, Ranma took his pack from the closet, and 
began to fill it with his things.  His camping gear was already in the 
pack, so that left him with just clothing and personal effects.  For 
once, he was glad that he had never had a chance to amass too much 
in the way of possessions.  Most of the things he did have were small, 
and light.

Aside from a few small items, most of his personal possessions were 
in the form of photographs.  Carefully, he removed these from their 
frames, and placed them in between the pages of his favourite 
manga.  He didn't need the extra weight the frames would add, and 
the book would protect the pictures well enough until he once more 
had a place to display them.

He hesitated for a long moment over a small number of pictures of 
Akane.  He thought about leaving them behind, but decided against 
it.  While they might be a source of pain for him in the times to come, 
he could not simply erase what he had felt for Akane.  Besides, there 
had been good times, and he wanted to remember them.  If only he 
could forget what had come later... what had brought it all to this.  He 
sighed and packed the photos with the others.

Once his pack was secured, Ranma took it downstairs to the kitchen, 
where he planned on raiding the pantry.  He packed some rice, dried 
meat and beans, spices, noodles, and trail mix into plastic bags and 
stowed them in his pack.  Upon reflection, he put his manga and 
matches into plastic bags as well.  After all, it wouldn't do to have 
them get wet, and water seemed to have a way of finding him.

He had just closed up his pack and leaned it near the door when 
Kasumi came down the stairs to start her preparations for the 
morning.  She was a bit surprised to find Ranma of all people already 
up and about.

"Well, good morning, Ranma!" she said brightly - then she noticed his 
pack.  "Oh, that's right!  Today is the day you start that class trip, 
isn't it?"

For a moment Ranma was in a panic.  Class trip?  What class trip?  
Then it came back to him... the trip to Hiroshima!  That was a lucky 
break.  If fortune smiled, that would mask his departure for almost a 
week!

"Yep, it sure is!" he said.  "And today, there is *no way* that I'm 
gonna be late."

Kasumi smiled.  "You must really be looking forward to this trip, 
Ranma.  I hope you have fun."

"It's a trip that I've needed to take," said Ranma honestly.  "Should 
have gone a long time ago.  Anyway, I'm off.  Gotta get a good seat!"  
He hesitated a moment, and turned back to the girl that might have 
been his sister in law.  "Kasumi..." he began.

"Yes, Ranma?  What is it?" she asked.

He gave her a quick hug.  "Thank you... for everything.  You've been 
very kind."  With that he grabbed his pack and bolted out the door, 
running in the general direction of Furinkan High.

####  ****  ####

Kasumi watched Ranma as he trotted off towards the school.    She thought to herself.  
Somewhere in her subconscious an alarm bell rang, but it was too 
faint for her to hear.

####  ****  ####

Even though he had just had breakfast, Saotome Genma was hungry.  
Lunch would not be for hours yet, and there was no snack food in the 
house.  That left him with two options - waiting for lunch or going 
out to get something.  The problem with the first option was that self 
control had never been one of his strong points, never mind self 
denial.  The problem with the second option was that he had no 
money.  While there was no shortcut around the first hurdle, the 
second was easier - he would just borrow a little money from 
Ranma's piggy bank.  He'd have it back to him before the boy was 
even aware that he'd borrowed it.

Genma made his way quietly into the room that he and Ranma 
shared at the dojo.  After satisfying himself that Ranma was not 
there, he went to the cupboard where Ranma kept his meager 
savings.  However, when he opened the door, Ranma's piggy bank 
was nowhere to be found.

"Cheeky boy," Genma muttered to himself.  "He's gone and moved it.  
Well, it has to be here somewhere."  Genma began to search through 
the storage areas in their room, but he did not get far.  When he 
opened the closet where Ranma kept his clothes, it too, was empty.

"Now *that's* odd,"  Genma muttered.  He opened the other closet and 
was disturbed to find that Ranma's frame pack and bedroll were also 
gone.  For once in his life Genma jumped to the correct conclusion...  
that Ranma had run off.  Of course, Genma assumed that Ranma was 
headed for China and Jyusenkyou, but no one can be right all the 
time.

####  ****  ####

Akane was riffling through things in her closet when there was a 
knock at the door.  "Come in," she called, her head still buried in the 
depths of her wardrobe.

The door opened and Genma entered the room.  "Akane-kun, have 
you seen Ranma?"

"Not this morning, no..." came the reply from the closet.  "Why do you 
ask?"

Genma hesitated before answering, but he pressed on.  "Well, his 
pack and his clothes are gone and..."

"Good,"  said Akane as she backed out of the closet.  "When he wasn't 
at breakfast, I was afraid he was going to be late again."  She was 
dragging her own pack out of the closet toward the bed where she 
had clothes and other items already sorted and laid out.

"Late?" Genma asked.  "You mean you know what's going on?"

"Of course I know, Uncle Saotome," said Akane as she started 
transferring material from her bed to her pack.  "Our class is going on 
a field trip to Hiroshima.  We'll be gone about a week."

"Ahh so." said a very much relieved Genma.  "Ranma never said 
anything about it...  I just found his pack missing and..."  He decided 
it would not be politic to go any further into exactly what he had 
been afraid of.  Besides, it obviously wasn't necessary.

As Akane finished packing and filling Genma in on the details of the 
trip, Kasumi walked by and looked in.  "Ahh!"  She said.  "I see you're 
about ready for your trip.  Have a good time!"

"Hai, Onee-chan,"  Akane replied.  "Would you please tell Ranma that 
I'll be ready in just a few minutes?"

"I would, but Ranma left over an hour ago," said Kasumi.  "He seemed 
to be very concerned about not being late..."

"He WHAT?!  That jerk!  You'd think he could have at least waited for 
me!"  Akane said angrily.  She shoved the last few items into her 
pack, sealed it, slung it onto her shoulders and stomped out of her 
room toward the stairs.

Genma watched her go.  He did not envy his son when his iinazuke 
caught up with him.

####  ****  ####

Ranma sat in a kissaten, nursing a cup of cocoa.  He watched from the 
window of the little coffee shop as Akane stalked by on her way 
from the dojo to the school.  He could tell that she was angry.  Well, 
at least *he* wouldn't be making her angry anymore.

As Akane vanished into the distance, Ranma's vision started to blur.  
He reached up to wipe at his eyes and was surprised to find his hand 
came away damp.  "Dammit," he said to himself.  "Guys do *not* cry!"  
He looked one last time in the direction Akane had gone.  "Good bye, 
Akane," he said.  "I wish we could have been friends at least."

Friends indeed.  That possibility, Ranma now realized, had died the 
instant Akane had discovered that he was a boy.  She had been so 
angry after walking in on him in the bath - as if it were somehow his 
fault.  What had she wanted?  How could he have told her?  He'd 
been stuck from the moment she had said she was glad he was a girl.

Ranma hadn't known what to think, or how to handle it all.  He had 
thought that maybe he had found a friend again - it had been years 
since he'd had a real friend - and it had blown up in his face.  Just 
because he was a boy.  It was so unfair!

Worse, she had taken to blaming him for everything.  As if he had 
*chosen* to be cursed - to be engaged to someone against their will - 
to have every fruitcake in Japan after him for one reason or another.  
Did she really think that he *liked* it?  Did she really think so little 
of him?

Nothing that he could do would bridge the gap, either.  Most of the 
time he was not sure that he *wanted* to bridge the gap.  It was 
easier to keep her at arms length - where she couldn't hurt him any 
more.  It had seemed rational at the time, but it had been a mistake.  
She *had* hurt him; and he had hurt her.  Both had lost, and neither 
had been willing to back down.

If she had only trusted him... believed in him... even once, things 
might have been different.  But no, she always assumed the worst.  
Timing was everything, and Akane's was the worst.  If there was a 
bad moment for her to see him, that was when she walked in.  And if 
a girl was involved it got really ugly.

Why would she think he was chasing girls?  Didn't she think that he 
had enough girl problems without looking for more?  As if he would 
even *consider* chasing a girl like Kodachi.  Ranma shuddered.  And 
Shampoo, with her... affectionate and uninhibited nature... had just 
made things go from bad to worse.

At least Ranma had an idea for dealing with Shampoo.  It was not his 
first choice, nor was he particularly proud of it, but it was simple, 
and it ought to be effective.  Ranma dug in his pack for paper and a 
pen and started writing...

Half an hour later, Ranma left the kissaten and headed away from 
the school.  He had a few hours to kill before he could make his next 
move, and it would not do if he were seen before then.

####  ****  ####

Akane stalked through the gates at Furinkan High with a full head of 
steam.  Her irritation with Ranma had grown with every passing 
moment.  They *always* walked to school together.  Why on Earth 
hadn't he waited for her?  She had always waited for him, after all.

Akane still couldn't get over the fact that Ranma had been ready to 
go before she was.  He had never made any effort to get to school 
early before.  Could he really have been that excited about this trip?  
Surely not.  Akane looked around at the groups of students that were 
gathering in preparation for their departure.  She could not see any 
sign of Ranma.

Finally, Akane spotted Hinako-sensei over to one side with a large 
clip board in her hands.  She was marking off names as students 
checked in.  She would know where Ranma could be found.

Ninomiya Hinako looked up as Akane approached.  After scanning 
her list, she put a check mark by the name of Tendou, Akane.

"Ohayou, Tendou-san," she said cheerfully.  "Are you ready to go?"

"Ohayou, sensei," Akane replied.  "Hai!  Tell me, have you seen 
Ranma?"

"Saotome-kun?" Hinako asked.  She checked her list.  "He hasn't 
checked in yet, no.  He's not going to be late again, is he?"

"He shouldn't be...  He left the dojo over an hour before I did!  I can't 
imagine where he could be."

Hinako was surprised.  "Hontou?"  She looked around the clumps of 
students gathered in the school yard.  She could see no sign of Ranma 
either.  "Perhaps he is already at the station - several other students 
have gone ahead.  He may be with them."

####  ****  ####

When the procession from Furinkan reached the train station, there 
was still no sign of Ranma.  A number of students were already at 
the station, waiting for the rest of them to show up.  None of them 
had seen any sign of Ranma.

Akane was vacillating between anger and worry.  Where had the big 
jerk gone?  He had left early so he would be sure to be on time, and 
yet there was no trace of him.  Akane was beginning to worry that 
something had happened to him, but she could not imagine a threat 
that could so thoroughly remove any trace of his passage.  There had 
been no signs of any battles that she had seen on her way to school.  
No, more likely, he had stopped somewhere for a snack and had lost 
track of time.  It would be just like him.

Hinako sensei was also mildly irritated with Saotome-kun.  He was 
not, she thought, setting a good example for the rest of the students.  
In fact, he was again behaving suspiciously like a delinquent.  She 
walked over to where Akane was standing.

"Tendou-san...  Are you sure that Saotome-kun started out so early 
this morning?"

Akane bristled.  "Hai, sensei.  Onee-chan was very specific on that 
point.  I don't know where he could have gotten to..."

"I suppose it's possible that he took the earlier train..." said Hinako 
thoughtfully.  "If he left when you say he did, he could have gotten 
here in plenty of time to make it."

Akane did not look convinced so Hinako took pity on her.  "Don't 
worry, Tendou-san.  He'll turn up.  After all," she added darkly, "He 
knows what I'll do to him if he doesn't."

####  ****  ####

When lunch time came, Ranma headed for the Nekohanten.  As he 
approached the Chinese restaurant, it was doing a brisk business - it 
was a popular lunch spot for its excellent food and reasonable prices.  
Before he had too much time to reflect on the nature of its success, 
Shampoo had spotted him and bounded over with one of her more 
enthusiastic greetings.  For a moment, Ranma felt his resolve waver... 
Shampoo was beautiful, and there was no doubting the sincerity of 
her affection.  She was also his best chance for a cure.  However...  
Ranma summoned the will power to gently disengage himself from 
her embrace.

"Ranma!"  she bubbled.  "You come in and Shampoo make special 
ramen for you, yes?"

Ranma nodded, and followed her into the restaurant.  She led him to 
a table in the corner that was set somewhat apart from most of the 
others.  He set his pack down against the wall next to the table and 
sat down.  Shampoo bounced off to get the food, leaving Ranma with 
a moment at least, to catch his breath and plan his strategy.

Shampoo returned in short order with two huge, steaming bowls of 
ramen.  She set one on the table in front of Ranma, and sat down 
with the other across from him.  She looked pointedly at the pack he 
had set in the corner.  "Ranma going somewhere?" she asked.

Ranma looked guilty for a moment, but recovered with admirable 
speed.  When his mouth was no longer full of ramen, he answered 
her.  "Yah, I thought I might take a little training trip... things have 
been kind of quiet around here lately, and I can't afford to let myself 
get out of shape."

Shampoo nodded knowingly.  "Ranma have fight with Akane again, 
no?"  She was beautiful, but she was not stupid.

Ranma turned red and fidgeted with his food a bit.  After a moment, 
he decided that there would be no harm in telling Shampoo the truth 
- at least a part of it.  Besides that, hhe never had possessed any real 
talent for prevarication.  "Ranma have fight with Akane," he agreed.  
"Ranma tired of fighting with Akane."  Somehow, borrowing 
Shampoo's habit of referring to himself in the third person had made 
that admission a little easier.

Shampoo smiled to herself.  She had been waiting for this for a long, 
long time.  With Akane out of the picture, Ranma would at last be 
hers.  "Shampoo go get packed.  Be right back!"

Ranma grabbed her wrist before she could get up.  "No, Shampoo.  
Not yet.  There are still a few things that I have to do.  A few Mousse, 
er, loose ends that need to be tied up."

Shampoo looked at him inquiringly.

Ranma reached into one of the pockets on his pack and withdrew an 
envelope.  It was addressed to Mousse.  He handed it to Shampoo.  "I 
need you to deliver this for me," he told her.

Shampoo made a show of examining the packet.  "What you send to 
Mousse?" she asked.

"It's a letter of challenge,"  Ranma said.  "The fight between us has to 
be settled, once and for all."

Shampoo looked at Ranma in surprise.  "You serious?  You fight 
Mousse for Shampoo?  Aiyaah!  Shampoo so happy!"

Ranma felt a sharp stab of guilt.  In a few days, Shampoo would not 
be quite so pleased.  He tried hard to push that out of his mind.  This 
was the way it had to be.  It was the only way that it could work.  
But there was no rule that said he had to like it.

Ranma stood up and picked up his pack.  He turned back to Shampoo, 
who was still gloating a bit over her perceived good fortune.  He 
sighed.  "Shampoo..."  She looked up at him.  "Don't be too hard on 
him, okay?  He has feelings too."  Shampoo looked a bit confused, but 
nodded agreement.

With phase two of his plan set into motion, Saotome Ranma walked 
out of the Nekohanten and into the snow-covered afternoon.

####  ****  ####

Shampoo sat staring after Ranma for a long time.  There had been a 
sadness about him that had worried her a bit;  his last fight with 
Akane must have been a bad one.  She knew that Ranma had cared 
for Akane, but she had always been sure that she was the one who 
could make him the happiest.  "You come back to Shampoo soon, yes?  
If you no come back, Shampoo come after you..."  she whispered.

She looked down at the envelope Ranma had left with her.  Of course, 
Shampoo being Shampoo, the first thing she did was open it.  But 
Ranma had learned his lessons from the wily Amazon, and had 
anticipated her.  Inside the envelope, Shampoo found yet another 
envelope addressed to Mousse - and sealed with tape.  There was 
also a note that was addressed to her.  Shampoo looked at it in 
surprise.  The note read simply:

Shampoo-
If you open this one, I will know about it, and I will never speak to 
you again.
-Ranma

Shampoo paled.  She looked for a long moment at the remaining 
envelope, weighing her chances.  Eventually, she decided that it was 
a risk that she was not willing to take.  She gathered up the envelope 
and went off to find Mousse.

####  ****  ####

Mousse had been surprised to get a letter from Saotome.  He had also 
been a little annoyed at Shampoo - she had not been able to resist 
gloating a bit when she had given it to him.  She was always making 
fun of him!  He loved her so much, but she would hardly look in his 
direction.  One of these days, he would show her;  he would show 
them all.

Mousse went back to his room to read the letter.  Shampoo had 
wanted him to read it where she could see it as well, but it had been 
marked 'private', and Mousse was an honourable if obsessive man.  
Besides, it made up a bit for her taunting.  It was a small thing, but it 
made him feel better.  Once he was sure he was alone, he opened the 
envelope.


Mousse-
As you read this, I am on my way out of Nerima - and I am going to 
need your help.  Shampoo has been told that this is a letter of 
challenge, but I'm sure you know that by now.  (Mousse did indeed.)  
In a way, it is.  I challenge you, Mousse.  I challenge you to take care 
of Shampoo and to make her happy.  She deserves someone who can 
be devoted to her without reservation or condition.
Enclosed, you will find a snapshot that Nabiki took of me after a fight 
with Akane.  When the time comes, you can use it as evidence that 
you won *this* fight.
Tell Shampoo that I just couldn't bear to face her after having lost, 
and that I have gone away.  Eventually, she may accept it.
I suggest that you destroy this note.  I've done all I can - the rest is 
up to you.  Be well.

-Saotome Ranma


Mousse read and reread the note several times in sheer disbelief.  
Finally, he looked in the envelope - and sure enough, there was a 
photograph of Ranma, badly beaten and unconscious.  The 
background was non-descript enough, Mousse could not tell where 
the photo had been taken.  It was perfect.  Shampoo would at last be 
his!  Mousse sobered as he thought about Ranma.  He was not sure 
what was going on, but he was determined that Ranma's sacrifice 
would not be a vain one.  He would see to that.

"Wherever you are going, Saotome," Mousse said to himself, "I hope 
you find what you're looking for."

####  ****  ####

Ranma spent the rest of the afternoon tying up loose ends, and 
avoiding people.  He shopped around for a few odds and ends to 
make life on the road easier, and he stocked up on consumables.  He 
spent several hours in another kissaten while he re-packed his 
belongings more efficiently, making sure that he would be able to get 
to the things he would need more easily.

By the time he was finished, evening had fallen, and it was time for 
him to make his final stop before leaving the city.  This was the big 
one - the direction that his future was to take would hinge on this 
moment.  Whether he won or lost, the time had come.

Ranma arrived at the Ucchan about half an hour before closing.  The 
place was packed.  Ukyou, looking a little harried, saw him and 
smiled, waving him over to a corner booth.  Ranma waved back and 
headed for the indicated table.  Ukyou met him there with a plate 
full of okonomiyaki and a pot of hot green tea, which Ranma 
accepted gratefully.  Ranma ate while Ukyou tended to the needs of 
the rest of her customers.  It really was amazing.  Ranma could 
remember a time when there were no tables in the Ucchan, just the 
long counter.

By closing time, Ranma had finished the food, and the tea, and was 
feeling a lot warmer.  Ukyou locked the door after the last customer 
was gone, and Ranma set about helping her clean up.  They worked 
in silence for a time, and the Ucchan was spotless in short order.  
Ukyou put on a fresh pot of tea and they sat down to talk.

For the first time since he'd gotten there, Ukyou took a really close 
look at Ranma.  He looked like hell.  There were bags under his eyes, 
fresh bruises that were just beginning to fade, and he looked like he 
hadn't really slept in a week.  There was also a sadness in his 
expression that she could not quite define.

"Another fight with Akane?" she asked.

Ranma reddened slightly.  "Is it that obvious?"

"To me," she said simply.

Ranma smiled, a little tightly and sighed.  "Yeah, you could say we 
had a fight.  Of course, we were always fighting, weren't we?"  He 
paused for a gulp of tea.  "Well, not any more."

Ukyou did not like the sound of that.  "What do you mean by that?  
What happened?"

Ranma stared at the tabletop for a long moment before answering.  
"It's a long story..."

Ukyou smiled at him.  "I have nowhere to go, Ran-chan."

"As it happens, neither have I," Ranma said.  He took a deep breath 
and started his story.  He told her about the newest iinazuke that had 
turned up, the fight that had ensued, and the fight that he'd had with 
his father about it afterwards.  He did not tell her about the decisions 
that he had reached that afternoon; that would come later.  Then he 
told her briefly about the fight with Akane.  When he looked up, the 
hurt in his eyes was apparent.

After Ranma had finished, Ukyou was silent for a long time.  Like 
Shampoo, she knew that Ranma had cared for Akane, even if he 
would never have admitted it.  "So you're leaving," she said finally, 
indicating the pack.

"Yes."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know that yet."

Ukyou paused for a moment.  "Isn't this kind of sudden?  Shouldn't 
you think about this?"

"Believe me," said Ranma, "I *have* been thinking about it.  This has 
been building for a while now... Biiko was just the last straw, and the 
fight with Akane last night... well, that finally got through.

"Your father will have kittens, you know."

Ranma paled at the mention of kittens, but his expression was hard.  
"Too bad.  A lot of this mess is his fault, and while I can't do anything 
about that, I can at least try to clean up my own messes."

"By running away?  That isn't like you."

Ranma winced.  "What else can I do?  If I stay, it'll only get worse.  
Anyway, I certainly can't stay at the dojo anymore.  If Akane and I 
ever did get married, both of us would be miserable.  Duty may be 
enough to arrange a marriage, but it's not enough to sustain one, and 
I won't marry anyone against her will.  Akane doesn't want me, and 
never will."

"Are you certain of that?"

Ranma smiled grimly.  "Pretty sure."

Ukyou let that slide for the moment.  "What about Shampoo?  She 
wants you - badly."

Ranma had the grace to look guilty.  "I guess she does, but it would 
never work.  I mean, I like her... a lot... but I can't marry her.  She's 
pretty and all, but she can be so catty at times, (Ukyou winced)  and 
she's almost as potion happy as that fruitcake Kodachi.  I have to 
know that my feelings are mine and not the product of one of her 
great grandmother's concoctions.

"She's not going to give up on you easily - you know that."

"I know."  Ranma sighed.  "But I've planned for that as well as I can.  
She's not gonna be happy at first, but it's for the best.  Right now she 
thinks that I'm off training to fight Mousse."

"What'll she say when you don't show for the fight?"

Ranma told her about the note he'd sent to Mousse, and the picture.  
Ukyou nodded thoughtfully.  "It just might work...  for a little while," 
she conceded.  "But one thing I still don't understand.  Why are you 
telling me all of this?"

Ranma took a deep breath.  This was it.  He had spent all afternoon 
preparing for this moment.  "Ucchan... I can't marry Akane because 
she doesn't want me.  Neither of us really wanted that engagement.  
I can't marry Shampoo because... because I don't want her..."

Ukyou's eyes widened.

Ranma swallowed, and summoning all of his resolve, said, "When I 
was six, I told Pop that I loved okonomiyaki more than I loved you.  
I'm not going to make that mistake again.  You were the best friend 
I'd ever had then, and, you're my best friend now.  They say that's a 
pretty good start for a relationship.  Besides..." Ranma smiled a bit 
sheepishly.  "You're the only iinazuke I have left."

"You... You're... You're here to..."

Ranma took her hands in his and gazed solemnly into her eyes.  
"Kuonji Ukyou...  will you marry me?"

Ukyou gaped at him in shocked disbelief.  "Ma... Ma... Marry you?  
Are you serious?"  She stood up so quickly that her chair fell over 
backwards.

Ranma looked down at the table.  "I've been thinking about this for a 
long time... Things just couldn't keep going on the way they have 
been.  It was time, one way or another, to end it."

Ukyou shot a look at the calendar.  November.  She bit her lip.  That 
hurt.  Not dreaming then.  Could it be real after all?  Could it really 
be that all her dreams were starting to come true?  A fierce joy 
flared in her heart as it sank in.  This was reality.  At last Ranma had 
chosen, and he had chosen *her*.

Ranma, still looking at the table, missed her reaction entirely.  He had 
not really expected her to say yes, given the circumstances, but it 
was long past time for decisions, and he had made his.  He sighed 
heavily.  "Gomen ne, Ucchan... perhaps... I'd better be going..."

Before he could move, Ukyou had grabbed him in a great big teary 
hug.  "YES!!  Of COURSE I'll marry you, Ran-chan!"

As her answer penetrated fog around his brain, Ranma felt his arms 
go around her and a wave of relief wash over him.  He had always 
resisted this temptation in the past.  Ukyou was perhaps the only 
real friend he had.  He could talk to her, and he knew he could trust 
her.  He had always been afraid that if he let it become more than 
that, he risked losing everything.  Recent events had taught him 
though, that some risks were worth taking.  After all, if he couldn't 
get along with his best friend, what chance would he have had with 
anyone else?

Gently, Ranma freed himself from her embrace and looked into her 
eyes.   he thought to himself.  
For the first time in days, he really smiled.  His expression turned 
serious again.  The road ahead was still a rough one - a long and 
winding road, with no obvious end in sight.

"Think about this carefully, Ucchan.  The path... the path I've chosen 
is not going to be easy.  This was NOT the way that I'd have done 
things if I had been given a choice.  There are going to be... 
difficulties."

"What sort of 'difficulties' do you think could possibly make me want 
to reconsider marrying you?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I end up as a girl a lot of the time..."

"Feh.  I don't give a damn about that, Ran-chan.  You know that.  I 
would marry you if you were a girl *all* the time.  I've dressed as a 
boy so long, nobody'd even blink!  It's the person you are that I'm in 
love with.  Not the body."

Ranma smiled at her affectionately.

"In a way," she added thoughtfully, "it can even be an advantage..."

"Nani?!"

"Think about it - you are in a unique position to look at things from 
both sides.  It makes it easier for you to understand how a girl feels 
about things from time to time, even if you won't admit it.  Each of us 
can see the other's point of view.  I know the time I spent 
masquerading as a boy gave me a... 'special' perspective."

"I never really thought about it that way," said Ranma.  "I know that 
you've always said the curse didn't matter...  but...  It's just that with 
Shampoo out of the picture, it looks like I might never find a cure, 
and I don't want it to come between us."

"Don't let it bother you.  What other silly things are you worried 
about?"

"I won't be able to stay here - I'll have to leave.  If luck holds, I 
figure I've got about five, maybe six days before Pop and the 
Tendous discover that I'm not coming back.  This is going to make 
some people very angry, and I expect that they are going to come 
after me."

"And your point is?" asked Ukyou.

"I'm not sure when I'll be able to come back for you."

"What do you mean, 'come back for me'?  I'm bloody well coming 
with you!"

Ranma blinked.  "But... but... Ucchan!  What about your restaurant?  
You've been doing great with this place, and I don't have anything to 
give you in its place - I can't just ask you to give all of that up.  It 
wouldn't be fair."

Ukyou smiled.  "Trust me, that's not a problem, Ran-chan.  With 
okonomiyaki, you can make money anywhere.  This time, I am going 
*with* you!  Just give me a day and a half to get ready."

Ranma looked embarrassed.  "But I still don't know where we'd go..." 
He shook his head ruefully.  "It may be a long time before we can 
stop running."

"Dad had a yattai, remember?  (It was Ranma's turn to wince.)  I 
grew up on the road - I don't mind going back to life on the road, 
when it means I'll be with you."

"You're sure about that...  You know what you're getting into..."

"Ran-chan, I've been waiting for this day since I was six years old.  
This place," she spread her arms, indicating the restaurant around 
them, "This place gave me a way to be close to you.  It's done its job.  
I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Ranma's eyes widened at that.  He looked at her closely.  Her smile 
was genuine, and he saw no hesitation in her eyes.  He finally 
allowed himself to start to believe that it might just work.  He smiled 
and chuckled a bit as the tension drained from him.

"What are you laughing about?" she asked him.

"I never realised just how good it would feel to have this decision 
behind me."  he said, smiling at her.

Ukyou's answer had no words.  For a moment, Ranma was too 
stunned to move, but he quickly found himself returning her kiss 
with equal fervor.

####  ****  ####

They had talked late into the night, until Ranma's lack of sleep had 
finally caught up with him.  Ukyou had put him on a futon in the 
spare room over the Ucchan, and set about starting her own 
preparations for their departure.

She got her pack out of storage and began to gather her clothes and 
possessions.  As it had with Ranma, life on the road had taught her 
the value of a somewhat Spartan lifestyle.  Once she had the pack 
ready to go, she set it beside Ranma's along with her large spatula 
and her bandoleers of minis.

There were still a few loose ends she needed to tie up, but they 
would have to wait until morning when people had once more gotten 
into their offices.

For the past six months, one of the more aggressive real estate 
concerns in the area had been after her to sell the shop.  Their offer 
had been very generous, more than three times the actual value of 
the property.  Since the shop had been her primary means of being 
near Ran-chan, she had always refused.  Now, however, that was no 
longer a concern.  In the morning, she would call and tell them that 
she had decided to sell.  The money would pay off the mortgage 
balance, and keep the two of them going almost indefinitely.

 she thought as she looked over the shop once more.  
  
She looked up, towards the back where Ranma - *her* Ranma - was 
sleeping so peacefully and smiled.  

####  ****  ####

The next morning Ranma and Ukyou both slept late.  Ukyou for the 
sheer luxury of it, and Ranma out of need.  But by nine o'clock they 
were both up and once more making preparations for departure.

Ranma had pulled all of the material out of his pack and was re-
arranging, to make room for some of Ukyou's things.  Ukyou noticed 
a plastic bag with a number of wideban in it.  Curious, she opened it 
to look at the manga.  "Caravan Kidd...  Outlanders... what are these?" 
she asked him.

Ranma glanced over at her.  "Oh, those are my Manabe collection... 
Look inside the front covers... I got them autographed at the last 
comic market..."

Ukyou flipped absently through one of the volumes.  "I must say, I 
like his art style.  Ooops!"

Ranma looked up at Ukyou's exclamation to see a number of the 
photos that he had tucked into the manga drifting lazily toward the 
floor.  "Damn!" he said.  "I forgot about those..."  He set about 
retrieving the scattered pictures with Ukyou helping.

"Hey, I remember this!" chirped Ukyou, as she glanced at a photo.  
"Boy!  Was Akane ticked, or what!"

Ranma froze for an instant, and then seemed to deflate.  Ukyou saw 
his reaction and sobered instantly.  "I'm sorry, Ran-chan... I didn't 
mean..."

"It's okay, Ucchan."  Ranma took the picture she handed him and 
looked sadly at the girl in the photograph.  "I was always making her 
mad, wasn't I?  It's no wonder that she hates me."

The sad tone in Ranma's voice cut through Ukyou like a hot knife.  He 
sounded so forlorn at that moment; looked so vulnerable.  It was 
more than she could stand.

Ukyou looked sadly at Ranma.  She wanted this... wanted it more 
than anything... but not at this price.  Ukyou took a deep breath and 
did the hardest thing that she had ever done in her life.  "Are you 
*sure* about that, Ran-chan?"

"I'm sure..."  Ranma sighed.  "She's said it so much, and for so long... 
but I never really believed her... until now."

"Ranma," she said softly.

Ranma looked up at her.

"Ranma...  Akane doesn't hate you.  I think...  I think that maybe she 
loves you."

"She has a peculiar way of showing it..." muttered Ranma.

"Well, you don't have a lot of room to talk there, do you?"  Ukyou 
indicated the picture that Ranma was holding.  "Did you ever tell her 
that you liked her?"

Ranma looked at her strangely.  "What are you saying, Ucchan... You 
don't want me either?"

"NO!  I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life!  
But not like this!  Not because you believe something that isn't true!"  
Ukyou looked at the table.  "There was a time, you know, when I 
would have just grinned, grabbed you and run... but I don't really 
think that I could live with myself if I did that.  Ranma, Akane 
doesn't hate you.  Really she doesn't."

There.  She had done it.  She had given him back to HER.

Ranma smiled sadly.  "I wish that I could believe that.  Hell, maybe 
it's even true."  Ukyou flinched.  "But Ucchan..." Ranma took her 
hands in his, "It doesn't matter."

Ukyou looked up, a surprised expression on her face.  "Na... nani?"

"It doesn't matter, Ucchan.  I've made my decision... and it's the 
*right* decision.  Maybe you're right.  Maybe she doesn't hate me 
now.  But it could never work - we're oil and water, Akane and me.  
We don't mix.  We fight so much that sooner or later she'd say that 
she hated me and she *would* mean it.  Look at me - I almost had 
myself convinced that Akane really was uncute."

"But... but Ranma..."

Ranma put a finger to Ukyou's lips.  "Akane and me... perhaps we're 
just too much alike.  We fight; we say things without thinking - it's 
simply too volatile.  Someday I would say something really wrong, 
and her smile would be gone forever.  I won't do that to her... or to 
myself."

"But... you love her, don't you?"

"As a friend, Ucchan.  As a friend.  It might have been more, once.  
But I've thought long and hard about this," Ranma smiled, "and for 
the first time in my life, I feel really good about the choices that I've 
made."

Ranma paused, searching for the right words.  "This last iinazuke that 
showed up... I should be grateful to her.  She made me realize some 
things."

"What were they, Ran-chan?"

"She made me realize that I had been making a mistake.  I was 
waiting for things to get better before I made this decision.  When 
she showed up with HER claim on my hide, it dawned on me that 
they weren't GOING to get any better.  They COULDN'T get any better 
until this choice was made."

"I'm not sure that I understand..."

"The longer I waited, the more likely it was that something would 
come along and really screw things up.  Biiko was what, the third 
'iinazuke' that's shown up just in the past six months?  How many 
more do you suppose there are out there that Pop hasn't told me 
about?"

Ukyou shrugged.

"Right.  Then there were the 'original' iinazuke to think about.  I had 
been putting this off because I didn't want to hurt people that I 
cared about, but I was still being selfish.  No matter who I married, 
no matter when I decided, someone was going to get hurt.  It 
occurred to me that maybe I was just prolonging the agony.  The 
time to choose was before anyone got hurt more."

Ukyou nodded.  "Go on."

"Of course, there was still the purely selfish reason that the whole 
situation was really starting to drive me crazy.  Not," Ranma added 
sheepishly, "that it would be much of a drive."  He returned Ukyou's 
grin.  "So, I made my choice."

"You chose me..." prompted Ukyou.

"For purely logical reasons."

Ukyou arched an eyebrow at him.  "Indeed?" she said with mock 
gravity.

Ranma shrugged.  "You're my best friend.  I know where I stand with 
you and I trust you.  More than that, I can talk to you... you at least 
listen to me before you beat the snot out of me for doing something 
stupid."

"Well, not even *you* could be to blame for *everything*, Ran-chan," 
she said with a smile.

Ranma laughed.  "Ucchan, do you remember the argument that I had 
with that delivery truck last year?"

Ukyou shuddered.  "How could I forget?  Those were the scariest ten 
days of my entire life."

"But you were still there for me... with me the whole time.  Do you 
remember, just before we left the Medical Centre, how I told you 
that I didn't know what love was?"

"Yes... I think so."

"Well, now I know.  And this time, I'm not letting you go!"

####  ****  ####

That afternoon, once the lunch rush was over, the Realtor came by 
the shop with some paperwork for Ukyou to sign.  They spent half an 
hour going over the contracts, before Ukyou was satisfied that she 
understood all the terms.

With a bit of a flourish, and a grin for Ranma, she pressed her hanko 
to the inkpad and affixed her seal to the documents.  Once the 
paperwork had been taken care of, the Realtor left, promising to 
return the following morning to drop off the check, and pick up the 
keys.

Ranma and Ukyou watched her leave, and turned to each other.  It 
was done.  This chapter of their lives was closing, and a new and 
very different chapter was beginning.

####  ****  ####

Something was wrong - Genma could feel it in his bones.  Akane and 
Ranma had been gone for two days now, so the house was certainly 
quieter than was usual, but there was more than that.  Something 
about the whole situation just did not *feel* right.

Restlessly, he continued to prowl the room he shared with his son.  It 
appeared normal enough, but Genma could not shake the feeling that 
there was something missing.  He searched at random, not knowing 
what he was really looking for, and not sure he would recognize it if 
he found it.

He was going through the drawers in the tansu when he was brought 
up short.  In what was supposed to be Ranma's underwear drawer, 
Genma found a small stack of picture frames.  The backs had been 
removed, and the photos that had once occupied the frames were 
gone.  As Genma surveyed the room once more, he wondered why he 
had not noticed it before... all of Ranma's pictures were gone.  The 
walls were bare.

Genma looked down again at the abandoned frames.  He did not like 
this at all.  It didn't make any sense.  Why would Ranma take all of 
these pictures down for a short field trip?  Why had he taken them 
out of the frames, and where were the photos?  Genma lifted the 
frames out of the drawer and placed them on top of the chest.  He 
would ask Ranma about it when he got back from his class trip.

####  ****  ####

That evening, activity around the Ucchan was heavy.  Ukyou had 
decided to have a massive going out of business sale and celebration.  
All of the menu items were half off, and as word spread, the place 
was packed.

Ranma took a cold shower, and pitched in waiting tables.  Ukyou had 
been a touch surprised at first, but Ranma-chan just shrugged and 
smiled at her philosophically.  "I figured that sales'd go better this 
way," she said.

Ukyou's answering grin and wink warmed Ranma-chan's heart.  
 she thought to herself, 

At one point during the evening, while there was a lull in business, 
Ranma-chan had drawn Ukyou aside.  "Are you sure about this?" she 
asked.  She waved an arm in the direction of several clusters of busy 
diners.  "Look, Ucchan, see what it is you're giving up.  You've really 
built something here - are you *sure* that you want to toss it away 
for life on the road?"

Ukyou had surveyed the restaurant with an air of satisfaction.  "It 
has done rather well, hasn't it?"

Ranma-chan nodded.

Ukyou hugged Ranma-chan to her, and smiled.  "Second guessing 
again, Ran-chan?"

Ranma-chan nodded once more.  "I want you to be sure - I have to 
be sure that you know what you're giving up, and what you're 
getting in return.  I'm... I'm tired of hurting people that I care for - 
and tired of being like my father..."

"Ran-chan!  You're nothing like your father!"  Ukyou paused, 
collecting her thoughts.  "I've told you before that you're the reason 
that I opened this restaurant.  That's the truth.  It's done well 
because I make the best okonomiyaki in the world - but I can do 
that anywhere."

"But I..."

"You... are the best martial artist in the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu.  
Between the two of us, there is nothing that we can't do - nothing 
will be able to stop us."

Ranma-chan looked uncertain for a moment, and finally relaxed into 
a smile.  Ukyou's optimism was infectious; and if she was willing to 
give all this up to go running off into the aether with her, then it was 
time to make sure that faith was returned.  Ranma-chan nodded to 
her iinazuke, and the two of them once more set to the task of 
keeping the last of the Ucchan's customers happy until closing.

Sales did indeed go well, and by the end of the evening, while they 
had not run out of anything, it had been a near thing.  All of her 
regulars had come in, and none of them had been happy to learn that 
the Ucchan would be closing.  They had, however, all wished Ukyou 
well, even though they were sorry to see her go.  No one could guess 
why such a successful restaurant would close its doors so abruptly, 
and Ukyou would not say.

####  ****  ####

It was very late at night when Ranma entered the Tendou compound 
for what in all probability would be the last time.  Even though it had 
been the only real home he had ever known, Ranma had often felt 
like an intruder during the course of his stay at the Tendou's - and 
now that feeling was intensified.

Silently, Ranma slid open the door to the training hall.  Despite all 
that had happened, there had been some really good times here, and 
Ranma felt he owed the spirits of the place a proper good-bye.  He 
moved to the center of the room, and waited for his eyes to adjust to 
the darkness.

Ranma looked sadly around the dojo.  There was damage - more than 
could be attributed to the normal wear and tear on a martial arts 
training hall.  Crude patches covered the walls, more permanent 
repairs having been long abandoned as futile.  Most of the damage 
was his fault, he thought bitterly.  Fights with Akane, fights with his 
father, fights with the almost endless stream of fiancees and foes 
that he and his father seemed to draw like a lodestone draws steel - 
all had taken their toll.

Ranma thought back to all of the fights there had been with Akane... 
so many!  There had been times when she had been so unreasonable 
- nothing Ranma had been able to say or ddo would placate her.  She 
would jump to a conclusion, and there would be no time for 
explanations... no time to get a word in before she was on him, fists 
flying.  Not that she would have listened.

Akane had almost never listened to him, except when he put his foot 
in his mouth - which he did a hell of a lot of the time, he had to 
admit.  He had just never been willing to open up to her again;  not 
after what had happened on that first day.  'Once burned, twice shy,' 
wasn't that how the saying went?  It was stupid, so very stupid, but 
water under the bridge now.

Most of it had been due to the newness of the curse.  His sense of 
self, his identity had been badly damaged, and it had made his ego 
very fragile in certain areas.  By the time he had managed to regain 
his confidence - his center - his relationship with Akane had fallen to 
the force of habit.  It had fallen hard.

He had never wanted to hurt Akane, never wanted to make her 
angry, but it seemed that all he had ever done was cause her pain.  
He had been insensitive and boorish - no great surprise considering 
his upbringing, but Ranma was not inclined to accept that as an 
excuse, let alone as justification.

That would make him all too much like his father, and that was a 
comparison that bothered him alot.  Ranma's worst nightmare was 
that he would end up like his father.  He decided that he'd spend the 
rest of his life as a girl before he'd let that happen.

Ranma turned toward the family shrine that hung on the wall at the 
end of the hall.  After a moment's silent meditation, he bowed 
toward the shrine, and clapped twice.  Taking a last look around, 
Ranma slipped out of the hall as quietly as he had entered, and made 
for the roof, and his favourite thinking spot.

####  ****  ####

Ukyou woke with a start.  She lay for a moment trying to determine 
what might have awakened her, but the silence was absolute.  
Perhaps that was the problem.  It was *too* quiet.  She got up and, 
throwing on a robe, padded down the hall to the spare room.  She 
rapped gently on the door.

When no answer was forthcoming, she slid the door open, and peered 
in.  The futon in the center of the room was empty.  Ranma was gone.

For an instant, panic seized her - but after a moment she calmed 
herself enough to take a closer look.  It was then that she saw the 
note he had left.  She went to pick it up - half of her dreading what it 
might say.

Ucchan-
If you are reading this it means that you woke up before I could get 
back.  Please don't worry - there's something that I need to do.  I'll 
be back before dawn.  I promise.
--Ranma

Ukyou clutched the note tightly, smiling in relief.  Despite what she 
might have told anyone else, she was still a bit overwhelmed by 
recent events and it made it hard for her to believe that it really was 
over - that she had won.

She doubted that she would be able to get back to sleep, so she went 
down to the kitchen and put on a pot of water for tea.  On a hunch, 
she put a second kettle on to heat as well.  Then she settled down to 
wait for Ranma.

####  ****  ####

Ranma stood on the dojo roof staring at the sky.  It had stopped 
snowing and the clouds had passed, leaving the air sharp and clear.  
The stars shone like diamonds - all the brighter for the chill in the 
air.

For once the dojo was peaceful - Akane was with the rest of their 
class in Hiroshima, and everyone else had retired earlier.  There was 
no one to see him, no one to interrupt his train of thought.  Even 
Shampoo thought he was off training.

Ranma treasured the sense of peace - so rare in his life over the past 
few years.  And at last he was thinking clearly - coming to terms 
with the changes that he had made in his life over the past couple of 
days.

All the dreams he'd had about how he and Akane might have been - 
all gone, shattered in that one moment when Akane had finally 
gotten through that thick skull of his that she was never going to 
want him...

But with the death of that hope had come a certain peace.  Finally he 
could let go - could now justify his defiance of his father's wishes - 
could be man enough to let Akane go, and to get on with his life as 
she would with hers.  Just as she had gotten over her crush on Dr. 
Tofu, so he was over her.  At last, there would be an end to the chaos 
and turmoil that had ruled his life since his arrival in Nerima.

He came to accept that he had flubbed his relationship with Akane, 
and his turning to Ukyou.  The thought warmed him.  Good ol' Ucchan 
- she had always been there for him.  Wheen he had needed to talk, 
she had been there.  When he had been hungry, she had been there.  
Whenever he had been hurting, she had been there - and he had 
almost driven her off as well...

Having said his good-byes and made his peace, Ranma left the dojo 
and headed for the Ucchan.  This time, he didn't look back.

####  ****  ####

Ukyou did not know how long she had been sitting in the darkened 
restaurant when there at last came the sounds of someone fumbling 
at the door.  After a moment's scrabbling, punctuated with a few 
choice expletives, the door opened and a fuming Ranma-chan let 
herself in.

Immediately, she sensed another presence in the darkened room, 
and dropped into a crouch.  Ukyou called softly to her, and she 
relaxed.

"So you *did* wake up," Ranma-chan said.  "I was afraid that you 
might."

Ukyou smiled in the darkness.  "Thanks for leaving the note, Ranma.  
It was very thoughtful."

"Yes, well, I *do* learn, believe it or not.  Sometimes it just takes a 
while - and I didn't want you to worry."

"Come on in and sit down - I'll get the tea. - Looks like I was right to 
put on that second kettle.  What happened?"

Ranma-chan moved toward the table and sat down, squelching a bit 
as she did so.  "Hmph," she grunted in response, "some idiot rode a 
motorcycle past me as I was walking back - sprayed slush all over 
the place - me included."

Ukyou returned carrying a tray with the tea, and two kettles.  She 
set the tray on the table and set about preparing the tea while 
Ranma-chan doused herself with the other kettle.

Once more in what he considered to be his proper shape, Ranma 
relaxed and took the teacup that Ukyou handed him.  "He was a 
strange one, too...  dressed up in some kind of formal cape and top 
hat getup with a mask over his face.  It might have been Kunou, 
except he only had the one rose..."  He took a sip of the tea and 
sighed.  "Boy that feels better.  Thanks a lot, Ucchan."

Ukyou smiled.  "And there's not even a full moon.  So, did you get 
everything done?"

"I did.  I just had to say 'good-bye' to the Dojo.  I know that sounds 
weird and all, but..."

"Not weird at all, Ran-chan.  I'll miss it too, and I didn't live there."

The couple sat in a warm, comfortable silence and finished their tea.  
After a time, Ukyou cleared the table, and the two of them went back 
upstairs to their beds, Ukyou directly, and Ranma by way of the 
bath.

####  ****  ####

The morning dawned bright and clear, as Ranma and Ukyou made 
their final preparations for departure.  The belongings that they 
would not be taking with them were packed into a number of crates 
and would be placed in a long term storage facility.  The rest was 
gradually being stuffed into their respective frame packs, and other 
carryalls.  Ranma, for one, was hoping this would be the last repack 
for a while.

After everything else was ready, Ranma carefully removed Ukyou's 
noren from its pole.  He folded the shop curtain very carefully, and 
placed it with some of the other decorations in one of the crates.  He 
hesitated a moment before closing the box.

"Are you sure that you don't want to take this?" he asked her.

Ukyou looked up from the table where she was studying travel 
brochures to see what he was talking about.  When he indicated the 
curtain, she smiled.  "No, not yet, thanks, Ran-chan." she nodded 
toward her pack.  "I have a couple of smaller ones to take along.  
That one... that will be for when we stop."

Ranma nodded and sealed up the last crate.  Ukyou called the transit 
company, arranged to have the crates picked up, and they sat down 
together to study the travel literature, and wait for the Realtor.

The crates were picked up at ten, and the Realtor arrived shortly 
after eleven.  After exchanging pleasantries, she reached into her 
briefcase and withdrew a small envelope, which she handed to 
Ukyou.  Ukyou handed her a set of keys, and the sale was complete.

When Ukyou showed Ranma the bank draft, his eyes nearly popped 
out of his head.  She smirked at him, and said, "See, Ran-chan?  We're 
not giving up anything!"

Ranma shook his head in amazement.  "We'd better get out of here 
before Nabiki hears about this..." was all he could say.

After a brief stop for lunch, the couple stopped at the Tokyo National 
Bank to open a new account and deposit the money from the sale.  
Ukyou arranged for a couple of debit cards, one of which she handed 
to Ranma.  He gave her a curious look, but she just smiled at him.  
Shrugging, he tucked the card into a small interior pocket of his pack, 
and waited for Ukyou to finish.

Once their business at the bank was completed, the pair headed for 
the train station, where they boarded the bullet to Kobe, in Kansai.  
Just a few more loose ends to tie up, and they would be free.  They 
were on their way.

####  ****  ####

The Kansai district was traditionally the trading center of Japan.  
Wandering the streets of Kobe, one of the primary seaports, Ranma 
and Ukyou blended easily into the crowds, despite their packs.  
Travellers were common here.

"So where exactly is this place, anyway?"  Ranma was asking.

"About forty kilometers out, I think.  It's..."

"No no, you moron!  That way!  THAT way!"

The exasperated shout caught Ranma's attention as he and Ukyou 
were preparing to cross the street.  With the instincts born of a 
lifetime of martial arts training, Ranma pushed Ukyou back around 
the corner and flattened himself against the wall as he looked toward 
the source of the shout.

A street merchant was gesticulating madly at someone, and pointing 
in Ranma's direction.  The object of his ire seemed oblivious to the 
emotional state of his benefactor, though he did have the courtesy to 
thank the old man for his course correction.

As the person reversed direction and at last started to travel on the 
indicated heading, Ranma got a good look at his face.  There was no 
mistaking that black and gold bandanna, either.  Hibiki Ryouga.

Meanwhile, Ukyou was getting curious.  "What is it, Ran-chan?  
What's the matter?"

"Shhhh!" hissed Ranma.  "It's Ryouga...  Damn!  Why here, why now?"

At that moment a car shot through the intersection, and hit a large 
puddle of very cold water standing in the gutter - runoff from the 
snow melted by a number of the yattai along the sidewalk.  
Inevitably, Ranma was at the center of the resultant spray.  She 
swore as she changed and the weight of her pack settled onto her 
suddenly rounded hips.

Of course, the splash caught the attention of the other hydrophobe on 
the street as well.  Ryouga looked up just in time to see a dripping 
red-head with a pig tail shaking her fist after the receding auto.  He 
knew that girl...

"Ranma!"

Ranma-chan looked back at Ryouga in a panic.  Damn!  He had seen 
her.  She ducked around the corner, grabbing Ukyou as she shot past.  
"C'mon!" she said, "He's made us!"

Ukyou had to really run to keep up with Ranma-chan.  After several 
twists and turns, down various side streets, Ranma and Ukyou 
dodged into a small storefront and stopped to catch their breaths.  
Outside, they could hear Ryouga, still in pursuit as he began his 
search.

They huddled in the store for a time, waiting for Ryouga to give up 
and go away.  But Ryouga was nothing if not persistent, and after 
looking through every part of the alley that he could, he started a 
systematic check in all of the stores along the street.  Ranma-chan 
and Ukyou exchanged nervous glances - if Ryouga kept this up, they 
would be caught for sure.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Ukyou.

After a moment of cogitation, Ranma-chan slammed her fist into her 
palm, an evil grin on her face.  "Simple," she said smugly.  "I'll just 
walk out there!"

"But he'll see you!"

Ranma-chan was rooting through her pack.  "I know," she said with a 
grin.  She pulled out a hat, and a pair of glasses with large, round 
lenses.  After putting them on, she dropped her pants and readjusted 
her belt.  Her Chinese style shirt, sized for her male form, was long 
enough to look like a short dress on her female form.  Ranma-chan 
gave her 'skirt' a final tug, and winking at Ukyou, sauntered casually 
out into the street.

After a few moments of tense silence, Ukyou heard Ryouga's voice, 
and her heart sank.

"Ranma!" Ryouga bellowed.  "Prepare to die!"

 thought Ukyou...   She prepared to 
go out into battle, readying her spatulas, but held back at the last 
instant - Ranma had not signaled that she needed help, and Ukyou 
had no idea what she had planned - best to wait and see - *then* 
attack.

In the street outside the shop, Ryouga accosted Ranma-chan - 
grabbing her by the arm, and spinning her to face him.  "Ranma!" he 
bellowed again, "Now you will PAY!"

The redheaded girl that Ryouga had grabbed cut loose with a 
piercing shriek.  "Eeeek!  Hentai!  Back off, pervert!  I'll call the 
cops..."

Ryouga tightened his grip on the girl's shoulder.  "You're not fooling 
me this time, Ranma.  I'm wise to your tricks."

Ranma-chan glared over the rims of her glasses at her tormentor.  
"My name's not 'Rhonda'." she snarled.  "Hey!  You're that same 
pervert that was chasing me on Santovasku Street!"  With her free 
hand, she grabbed Ryouga's shirt front, making as if to shake him.  
"Now, who the hell are you, and why do you keep hounding me?"

"Santovasku street?"  But... But... That's in Kobe!"

"So are we, idiot!"

Ryouga looked hard at Ranma-chan - not wanting to believe what 
she said, but too stupid not to.  "But... if you're not Ranma, then why 
did you run away from me?"

"Feh - if some maniac came charging at *you* like a wild boar, 
screaming death threats, wouldn't you run away?

"Wild... boar...?"  Ryouga stammered.

"Hmph.  You are *such* a pig."

"What... what did you say?"  Ryouga let go of Ranma-chan's arm, 
snatching his hand back as if he'd been burnt.

"I said that you're a pig!  A pig!  All men are pigs!"  Ranma-chan 
released her own grip, shoving the dazed Ryouga back a pace in the 
process.  She made a show of straightening her 'dress'.  "A girl ain't 
safe anywhere any more!  Pervert!"

Ryouga was turning bright red with embarrassment.  "Ahhh... forgive 
me, please.  I obviously had you confused with someone else.  Please 
accept my apologies..."

"Hmph.  I should say so."  Ranma-chan softened her expression a bit.  
"Well, okay, but on a condition." she said brightly.

Ryouga looked relieved.  "Anything that I can do," he said gallantly.

"Great!  I'm starved!  You can buy me lunch!"

"Anou... Lunch?" asked Ryouga, twiddling his index fingers... "You 
mean, like a da... a da...  A date?" he managed at last.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Ranma-chan.  "All I'm talking about is 
lunch!  Say a nice bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, or maybe 
some sweet & sour pork - and a nice tall glass of cool water!"

"B... b... bacon?" gulped Ryouga, turning white.  "Puh... puh... Pork?  C... 
cool water?"  Ryouga started backing away nervously.

"That's some stuttering problem you have there," remarked Ranma-
chan.  She paused, and looked Ryouga up and down again.  "You 
know, you *are* kinda cute... in fact, you remind me of a pet I once 
had... I think it's the fangs... I had this little black..."

"Little black what?!"

"A little black dog, you moron!  What did you think I was gonna say?  
A little black pig?"

"S... So... So sorry to have bothered you, miss..." stammered Ryouga as 
he turned and fled down the street, running just as fast as he could."

As Ryouga disappeared into the distance, Ukyou came out to join 
Ranma.  She gazed after the rapidly retreating figure.  "Just what did 
you say to him, Ran-chan?"

"Remind me later tonight, and I'll tell you over dinner.  Let's get out 
of here, okay?"

The pair retrieved their packs and set out once more on their long 
journey.  They both wanted to be well out of town before stopping 
for the night.

"You think he'll catch on once he gets to Nerima and finds us gone?"

"Who knows?  But this'll be his big chance.  Maybe he'll have better 
luck making Akane happy than I did."  Ranma smiled at the thought.  
"I hope so.  They both deserve it."

####  ****  ####

It was, for the Tendou Dojo, and abnormally peaceful evening.  Soun, 
Genma, Nabiki and Kasumi were just sitting down to steaming bowls 
of Kasumi's special tempura udon when a slam and a shout shattered 
the evening calm.

"Ranma no Baka!"  There was another slam as Akane closed the door 
behind her and stormed into the house.  This was followed by 
stomping sounds as she made her way upstairs, another slam as she 
got to her room, and a crash as her pack hit the floor.  A constant 
stream of "baka baka baka baka..." served as an accompaniment.  
After a few moments there was more stomping as Akane came back 
down the stairs.

A number of puzzled looks were being exchanged over the dinner 
table when the shoji was slammed aside, leaving Akane framed in 
the opening.  "Where.  Is.  He?"  she snarled.

Nabiki blinked.  "Where is who?"

Akane glowered at her sister.  "Where is RANMA?" she specified.  
Her tone suggested that she was already past the limits of her 
patience, such as they were, and that it might not be wise to push 
her any farther.

Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged glances, as if trying to decide which of 
them should answer their sister's question.  Finally Kasumi sighed 
and looked back at Akane.  "He went on a field trip with you and the 
rest of your class." she said patiently.  "Isn't he with you?"

Akane purpled and it looked for a moment as if she were going to 
have a stroke; but after a moment her shoulders sagged and she 
seemed to fall in on herself.  When she spoke again, her voice was 
almost a whisper.  "No." she said.  "He's not with me.  He wasn't on 
the trip either.  He never showed up."

"WHAT?" yelped Soun and Genma in unison.

Kasumi got up and led her sister into the room and to the table.  Once 
she had Akane seated, she got her a bowl of tempura udon and a cup 
of tea.  Akane nodded her thanks but made no move to touch the 
food.

"Akane!  What do you mean, he never showed up?"  asked Soun.

"I mean," she said sharply, "that he never showed up.  He never got 
to the school, he never got on the train, he never got to Hiroshima, he 
NEVER SHOWED UP!"

"But he couldn't have missed the train...  he left over an hour before 
you did!" said Kasumi.

For a moment the fury was back in Akane's voice.  "Don't you think I 
*know* that?"  she growled.

It was Nabiki who actually voiced the obvious question.  "Well, he 
hasn't been here, and if he wasn't with your group, where is he?"

No one seemed to have any sort of answer for that.  Soun and Genma 
claimed not to have seen him since dinner the night before the trip.  
That was also the last time Nabiki could say that she had seen him.  
The last Akane had seen of him he had been haring out of her room 
at just under lightspeed followed closely by some of her furniture.  
Only Kasumi had seen him later than that, and then only for a few 
minutes on the morning that the trip started.

"He was acting a little strangely, now that I think about it..." Kasumi 
added.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.  "What did he do?"

"I'm not really sure," Kasumi replied.  "He seemed very... tense...  as if 
he were nervous about something.  When he left, he said good-bye 
almost as if he didn't expect to ever... see... me... again...  Oh my."

A number of expressions raced across Akane's face in the space of 
seconds.  First there was the shock of realization, followed by a flare 
of rage, closely pursued by disbelief that was fading rapidly into the 
lifeless grey mask of depression.  "I see."  she said quietly.  "If you all 
will excuse me, I'm a week behind in my exercises."  She got slowly 
to her feet and shuffled off in the direction of the training hall.

"Akane!" cried Soun.  She left the room seemingly without having 
heard him.  "Saotome!"  Soun turned his wrath on Genma.  "This is 
*your* fault!  Where is that boy of yours?!"

####  ****  ####

Akane knelt in the dojo and stared hard at the concrete blocks.  She 
took a deep breath, tensed for a moment, and struck.  A small cloud 
of dust rose into the air as the blocks shattered under the force of 
her blow.

Akane stared sadly into the rubble.  The trip had been a bad one.  
When Ranma had finally been officially declared as missing, Hinako-
sensei had been furious.  She had made long and impassioned 
speeches about delinquents, and what was likely to happen to any 
that she managed to catch up with.

Akane's own reaction had been more complex.  She had spent half 
the time wondering if something had happened to Ranma and 
worrying.  The other half of her time was spent in a dark rage that 
he could behave so inconsiderately.  Where was that jerk?  How dare 
he run out on this trip!  Already her friends were starting to have 
those whispered conversations that faded so quickly into silence 
whenever she entered the room.  It was extremely embarrassing.

Now that she had gotten home, she was still torn between rage and 
worry.  Ranma seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth.  He 
had never shown up for the trip, and he had not been home either.  
Where could he have gone?  Had something happened to him after 
all?  Or had he just left?

Ten shattered stacks of blocks later, Akane was no closer to any kind 
of answer.  Sitting back on her haunches, she tried to remember the 
last time she had seen Ranma, and what had happened.  The 'when' 
wasn't difficult... there had been a hell of a row after dinner the day 
before the trip.  The other part was more problematic.  It had not 
been a good day, as she remembered it.

That had been the day that hentai Daitokuji girl had shown up to 
claim Ranma.  If that hadn't been bad enough, that Amazon bimbo 
Shampoo had ambushed her on her way back to the dojo.  And then 
there had been that strange fight with Ranma.

Ranma had just come in at the wrong time.  She had been in such a 
bad mood, and she had taken a lot of it out on him.  She had said a 
lot of...

Akane paled.  Parts of the conversation replayed themselves in her 
memory with alarming clarity.

Akane:  "I wish I'd never heard of you!"

Ranma:  "Do you really feel that way?"

Akane:  "You bet!  For all I care, the others can have you!  Why don't 
you just get the hell out of my life?!"

Ranma:  "That would make you happy, would it?"

Akane:  "It would make me ecstatic!"

There had been more, and in the end, Ranma had run from her room 
followed by a cloud of hurled objects and her own curses.  The last 
words that she had shouted at him rang through her memory like 
the tolling of a giant bell...  "I HATE you!" she had screamed.  "I HATE 
YOU!"

True to her 'wishes' she had not seen Ranma since.

Mindlessly, Akane swept up the remains of her victims, and headed 
for the bath.  She had a lot of thinking to do.

####  ****  ####

Nabiki was not happy.  In fact, she was furious.   she fumed.    Ranma's disappearance was going to cause her 
considerable inconvenience.  Worse, it was going to cost her money.

Nabiki took a chain from around her neck, and used the key that was 
on it to unlock a drawer in her desk.  Once the drawer was open, she 
removed a large, squarish box.  The box contained photographs she 
had taken of Ranma in his girl form.  She had been making good 
money from these photos, selling them to Kunou.  The box at present 
was a little over half full.  If Ranma were not found and brought 
back, this would be the last batch of photos she would have.  She had 
to milk them for every yen she could.

Rooting further through the drawer the box had been in, she found a 
small notebook.  Idly, she thumbed through it - it was a record of 
bets that she had taken, on a lot of the fights that Ranma had been 
involved in.  Another lucrative sideline down the tubes.  Nabiki 
snorted in disgust.

Lastly, she dug out another notebook, this one filled with information 
- most of it notes concerning Ranma.  Infformation, she reflected, 
truly was the last great economic frontier.  This book, for example, 
had been worth its weight in gold - It held secrets that she had 
ferreted out - many secrets - Secrets that some would pay her to 
share, and others that Ranma had paid her not to.  Paid her on a 
regular basis, too.

Nabiki shook her head and sighed.  This was not good.  With Ranma 
gone, her net income was going to take a nose-dive.   she thought to herself.  

A wave of guilt passed through her as she heard her sister enter the 
next room.  Well Nabiki knew those sounds - sounds that Akane 
would have denied, even as she dried her tears.  Akane was going to 
be the one who really suffered.  For reasons that Nabiki could never 
even begin to understand, Akane had cared for Ranma - and he had 
abandoned her.

Nabiki started to get angry all over again.  Ranma had hurt her sister, 
and for that he would have to pay.  Nabiki wasn't sure how, but he 
was going to pay.  She would see to it.  NObody could be allowed to 
hurt her family.  Nobody.

After a moment's thought, Nabiki got a fresh notebook from another 
drawer.  She opened it to the first page, and scribbled a date - a little 
over a week old.  That was the day - the day that Ranma had left; a 
day for which she would see to it he was punished.  Grimly, she set 
about beginning her investigations.  Ranma was somewhere, and she 
would find him.  For Akane's sake, she would find him.

####  ****  ####

The next morning, the Tendous and the remaining Saotome were 
holding an impromptu meeting, trying to decide on their next move.  
There was a knock on the door and Kasumi went to find out who 
their visitor was.  She returned a moment later, followed by 
Shampoo.  Shampoo looked angry; very angry indeed.

She looked around the room, eyes blazing, until her gaze settled on 
Akane.  "Where Ranma?" she growled.

Akane matched Shampoo glare for glare.  "What makes you think *I* 
know where Ranma is?" she asked.

"Pervert girl hide Ranma before.  Maybe you do it again!"

"Hide him from what?  Who's after him now?"

"Shampoo after Ranma - Shampoo want to know how Mousse beat 
Ranma in fight!"

"Whaat?" Akane was incredulous.  "Mousse beat Ranma in a fight?"

"That what Mousse say.  Ranma challenge him to fight for Shampoo.  
Mousse come back and say he win.  Give Shampoo picture as proof."  
She held a photograph out for Akane and the others to see.

Akane snatched the photo from Shampoo.  "Let me see that!" she 
said.  Sure enough, it was a picture of a bruised and battered Ranma, 
sprawled on the ground, joints akimbo, eyes glazed, and obviously 
quite unconscious.  Akane fought hard to hide her smile from the 
other girl.  She would not have believed that Ranma could be that 
clever.  The scene was one that she remembered well.

"Maybe you should tell us what happened from the beginning," 
Akane suggested.

Shampoo told the Tendous about Ranma's stop by the Nekohanten 
the previous week, and what he had said about going on a training 
trip.  She also told them that he had dropped off a letter of challenge 
for Mousse - and that she had delivered it for him.  A couple days 
after that, Mousse disappeared for a day or so, and returned ecstatic 
over his having finally defeated Ranma.

Shampoo had asked Mousse where was Ranma, but Mousse had just 
said that Ranma had been unable to face Shampoo after his defeat, 
and that he had gone away.  Shampoo had thumped him to get him 
to tell her where Ranma was, she had pleaded with him, but in the 
end, she was forced to believe that Mousse had no idea where Ranma 
had gone.

The photo had been making the rounds of those present, and had 
finally gotten to Nabiki.  Nabiki's eyes widened as she got a good look 
at the picture.  "Hey!  Isn't this one of..." 

Akane cut her sister off with a hard nudge to the ribs.  "Nabiki... A 
moment, if you don't mind?"  It was not a question.

Nabiki moved off a ways with her sister.  "What is it, Akane?"

"Don't tell her about that photo.  Please."

Reflexively, Nabiki started to reach for her soroban, but Akane 
caught her wrist in a viselike grip.  "Don't even think it." she hissed.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  "You know that silence is expensive..."

Akane smiled darkly.  "Not nearly as expensive as your hospital stay 
will be if I *ever* hear that you've told anyone about that photo."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed.  "That's blackmail."

"You should know."

"What if I tell them about the time you..."

"Go right ahead.  Tell anyone anything you like, just so you never 
mention that photograph."  Akane's grip on Nabiki's wrist tightened.  
"I mean it."

There was a tense moment before Nabiki nodded.  Akane was serious 
about this one.  She smiled.  "Okay sis.  Don't worry.  You have my 
word."

Akane gave her sister a relieved grin and released her to look back 
over at Shampoo.  Kasumi was explaining that no one had seen 
Ranma for the past week, and Shampoo did not look pleased to hear 
it.  If it had been anyone but Kasumi telling her, she probably would 
not have believed it.  But Akane didn't care.  Wherever he was, 
Ranma was not with Shampoo, and that was all that mattered to her.  
There was still hope.

####  ****  ####

<>

Akane fidgeted as she held the phone, waiting for someone to 
answer.  Behind her stood Soun, wringing his hands nervously, while 
behind him, the panda just shook his head and snuffled at her.

"Do you really think this is a good idea, Akane?" Soun asked fretfully.  
"Ranma would never..."

<>

Akane glared at the her father.  "If you have a better idea, I'd love to 
hear it, Otou-san..."

<>  <>  "Hello?"

"Hello?  Mrs. Saotome?"

"Yes, this is Mrs. Saotome...  Akane?  Is that you, Akane?"

Akane sighed.  "Yes, Aunt Saotome... it's me..."

"What's wrong, dear?  You sound upset..."

Taking a deep breath, a bit of a quaver still evident in her voice, 
Akane asked, "Mrs. Saotome, please... Have you... have you heard 
anything from Ranko in the past week or so?"

"From Ranko?  No... no, I haven't.  Is she all right?  What's 
happened?"

"I hope so...  I don't know...  She's run away..."  Akane hung her head.

"Run away?  Oh dear.  A girl all alone like that - whatever could have 
gotten into her?

"We, ah... sort of had a fight...  and, well, it was kind of a bad one..."

"Now, dear... You mustn't blame yourself."  Nodoka paused.  "Akane... 
is there anything that I can do?"

"Just... if you see her... tell her that we'd really like for her to come 
home...  please?"

"Of course, dear.  Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't suppose... wait... yes... yes there is.  If you should happen 
to hear anything from Ranma... please let us know.  We'd like to tell 
him about Ranko, and ask him to keep an eye out for her..."

"Of course I will, dear.  Let me know anything you find out, okay?"

"Hai.  Thank you, I will.  Good-bye..."

Akane hung up the phone, and sighed.  "You were right," she told the 
panda sadly.  "He hasn't gone to see her..."

####  ****  ####

Akane had been wandering listlessly through the halls of the Tendou 
home, lost in thought.  Eventually, she found herself standing by the 
door to the room that Ranma had shared with his father.  After a 
moment's hesitation, she knocked gently on the door.  There was no 
answer.

 Akane chided herself.    Angry with herself, she slid open the door and 
stared into the room.

Like Genma before her, Akane was struck by the aura of wrongness 
that hung over the room.  The difference was that she had been 
expecting it.  Quietly, she stepped into the room and closed the door 
behind her.

She had no idea what she expected to find.  There were no more 
answers for her here than there were anywhere else in the dojo.  The 
room itself was plain enough - the futon was rolled up and stored in 
the cupboard - the bare tatami mats were cool and dry under her 
stocking feet.  Only a few odd items betrayed the fact that anyone 
lived there at all.

As Akane surveyed the room, her eyes fell on the stack of picture 
frames that Genma had left on top of the tansu.  She didn't realise 
what they were until she had taken a closer look - and like Genma 
again, once she knew what they were, she wondered how she had 
missed their absence from the walls.  Here, on the chest, they looked 
lonely and forlorn - like broken toys whose owner had tired of them.  
She repressed a shudder.

So he had taken his photographs with him.  She looked through the 
stack - he had taken them all.  He was not, then, planning on 
forgetting her.  Sadly, Akane did not think that most of his memories 
would be happy ones.

As she headed towards the door, she looked around the room once 
more.  Blank walls stared back at her.  The room looked as empty as 
she felt.  Akane was shivering as she closed the door behind her.

####  ****  ####

Nabiki's investigations had not gotten very far.  It was extremely 
frustrating.  Maybe Ranma *had* dropped off the face of the Earth.  
There was certainly no trace of him that she could find.

None of his friends had seen him, Kunou had no ideas, but did not 
seem sorry to hear that he was gone.  Gosunkugi had none, not even 
Hiroshi or Daisuke had heard anything.

Dr. Tofu hadn't seen him since the day of the fight with Biiko, when 
he had given him some hot water and bandaged a number of cuts 
from the battle.

No one answered at either the Nekohanten, or the Ucchan.  It was 
suspicious, she decided, but totally inconclusive.  She was pretty sure 
that Shampoo knew nothing about Ranma's whereabouts, but if 
Ukyou didn't answer her phone soon, Nabiki was going to go and see 
her in person.

####  ****  ####

That evening Akane was sitting with a couple of her friends in the 
kissaten near the dojo.  She was not paying much attention to the 
conversation - rather, she was staring out into the gathering 
darkness.  It was just beginning to snow again, big fat flakes drifting 
lazily down to join their already fallen kin.  Their dance was 
hypnotic, and Akane was soon lost to the world, drifting in thought.

 she wondered.    Akane sighed heavily, 
her breath fogging the glass in front of her and breaking the spell.

"Akane!"

Akane realized with a start that someone was calling her name.  She 
turned her attention back to her friends.

"Akane?  Are you okay?"  asked the dark haired girl across the booth 
from her.  "It's like you're a million miles away."

Akane grinned a little sheepishly.  "Gomen nasai, Shinobu.  I guess I 
haven't been very good company tonight."

Miyake Shinobu was very pretty - she had dark hair a little longer 
than Akane's own, and a delicate grace - at least until she got angry.  
Like Akane, she spent a lot of time angry.  She was a student at 
Tomobiki High, a school not too far from Furinkan.  Akane could not 
remember exactly where they had met, but they had become good 
friends.

The red head sitting next to her spoke up.  "It's probably Ranma 
again," she said.  "I know that look."

Eiko was new to Nerima - she had transferred to Tomobiki last year.  
She was also a bit of a loner and it had been hard for her to make 
new friends.  There was a subdued quality to her - as if she were 
deliberately trying to keep the world at arm's length.  But she and 
Shinobu had hit it off, and Shinobu had introduced her to Akane.  
The three of them were now quite close.

Shinobu nodded.  "Hai, Eiko-chan.  I do believe you're right."  She 
turned back to Akane.  "Well?"

Akane looked down at the table, and fiddled with her cup of rapidly 
cooling cocoa.  When she finally found her voice, it was quiet, but 
intense.  "I think..." she began, "I think maybe that I've chased him 
off for good this time."

Eiko blinked.  "Chased him off?  I thought that he lived at your 
house, with his father.  Where would he go?"

"I don't know where he went.  He's just gone."

Shinobu looked shocked.  "Gone?  What happened?"

Akane sighed.  "Actually, for once, I think it was my fault."

"Your fault?" her friends asked in unison.

Akane nodded miserably.  "The day before I went on that class trip 
we had another fight."

"So what,"  said Eiko.  "You two fight like cats and dogs all the time.  
What makes you believe this one was any different?"

"I'm not really sure.  At the time it seemed like any other fight, but 
looking back on it, there was something odd about it.  I just can't put 
my finger on it.  Anyway, I yelled at him, and he left, and that was 
the last time I saw him."

"But that was over a week ago!" exclaimed Shinobu.  "You mean to 
say that you haven't even seen him since then?"

"No one has."

Shinobu thought about that for a moment.  "Akane...  maybe this is 
none of my business, but...  isn't this what you wanted?  You've 
always said that you didn't want to marry him.  I mean if he's gone 
then you won't have to."

Akane fidgeted with her cup a bit more before answering.  "You 
know, if you had asked me that before he left...  I might have said 
yes.  Now... now I'm not so sure."

"I thought so," Eiko piped up.  "You really *do* like him, don't you?"

Akane blushed and made a show of studying the table top.  "Like 
him or not, this isn't the way I wanted things to go."

Shinobu nodded sympathetically.  "C'mon," she said.  "Let's go get 
something -special- to eat.  We'll all feel better."

"Right on!"  said Eiko.  She grabbed Akane and the three filed out of 
the kissaten.  "Where do you want to go?"

Neither Akane nor Shinobu seemed to have an answer for that, so 
they picked a direction and started walking.  After a moment, Eiko 
had an idea.

"I know!  Why don't we go to that Okonomiyaki place over near 
Furinkan?  They have really great food!"

Akane started to say something, but Shinobu beat her to it.  "No, we 
can't go there..."

Akane breathed a sigh of relief.  She really didn't feel up to facing 
Ukyou right now.

"...The place closed a few days ago," Shinobu continued.  "Ataru has 
been griping about it ever since."

Akane stopped dead in her tracks.  The sudden tightness in her chest 
was making it very difficult to breathe.  Shinobu and Eiko turned 
back to see why she had stopped, and noticed her expression.

"Akane!" cried Shinobu.  "What's wrong?!"

Akane fought for control of her voice.  "The Ucchan...  the Ucchan is 
gone?!"  she managed to gasp.

Shinobu looked puzzled.  "Hai.  It closed up and disappeared, almost 
overnight.  No one seems to know why.  Even the signs are gone..."

If Shinobu had anything more to say, Akane didn't hear it.  A roaring 
filled her ears, and the tightness in her chest spread to her stomach, 
making her regret the cocoa she had just drunk.  She wavered for a 
moment and the blackness overwhelmed her.  She pitched forward 
into the snow.

####  ****  ####

When Akane woke up, it was dark and quiet and warm.  She was 
lying on something soft, and covered with a thick blanket.  She could 
feel a cool dampness over her eyes.  She moaned softly.

"Akane!"  said a voice.  "You're awake."

The voice was one Akane knew well.  "Kasumi?" she managed.  She 
took a deep breath but it threatened to come out as a sob as her last 
memories came flooding back.  Gentle hands changed the damp cloth 
on her forehead.

"Oh, Kasumi...  He's gone.  He's really gone, and he's not coming back."  
Akane tried not to cry, but the tears just wouldn't stop coming.

"Your friends told me about the Ucchan when they brought you 
home,"  Kasumi said at last.

"I had forgotten about Ukyou..." said Akane tearfully.  "I was just so 
glad that he wasn't with Shampoo... I never stopped to consider 
Ukyou..."

"You don't know for sure that Ranma and the Ucchan are connected."  
said Kasumi gently.

"Don't I?"  Akane sniffed.  "You know better than that, Onee-chan.  
How could they *not* be connected?"

Kasumi reached out to comfort her sister, but there was really 
nothing that she could say.  Akane was right; the chances that the 
disappearance of the Ucchan was not related to Ranma's were so slim 
as to be non-existent.  "I'm... I'm sorry, Akane."

Kasumi sat quietly as her youngest sister cried herself to sleep.  
Eventually, Akane's tears stopped, and her breathing became deep 
and even.  Kasumi watched over her for a long time before getting up 
and heading back downstairs.

####  ****  ####

When Akane woke up the next morning, it was almost nine o'clock.  
She felt a lot better for a few minutes until the events of the past 
evening once more replayed in her memory.

So Ranma had run away with Ukyou.  Why on Earth would he have 
done that?  As soon as she asked herself the question, she had the 
answer - Ukyou loved him.  Ukyou wanted him, and had made no 
secret of it.  Ukyou was his best and oldest friend.  The question 
really was, why hadn't he run away with her before?  What had kept 
him here at the dojo for so long?

For a time, Akane toyed with the idea that it had been Genma that 
had kept him there, but that theory didn't really hold water.  Ranma 
had no particular reason to respect his father or his wishes.  While 
she was sure that Ranma loved his father, she didn't think that he 
liked him much.

More images from the past drifted across her mind's eye.

She remembered the first time she had met Ranma.  She had been so 
relieved that Ranma had been a girl.  She had been certain that 
would put an end to her father's silly ideas about an engagement.  
And when Ranma had proved to be so much better than she was at 
kenpo... the situation at school being what it was, she would not have 
welcomed the thought of a boy being able to defeat her.

But Ranma *had* been a boy - It had all seemed like some terribly 
cruel joke at the time.  Who would have believed in a curse that 
could turn a boy into a girl with just a splash of cold water?  And to 
make matters worse, her father had still been intent on the 
engagement!  It had been a less than ideal start for what could only 
kindly be called a turbulent relationship.

It had been doomed from the start.  Neither she nor Ranma had been 
happy about having someone else choose the person that they would 
marry, and they had tended to take out their frustrations on each 
other.  Neither had been willing, at the time, to so blatantly violate 
their fathers' wishes and tell them to get stuffed, and so an uneasy 
half-truce had developed.  There were numerous border skirmishes 
but it always stopped short of outright war.

When news of their engagement reached school, things had gotten 
really complicated.  It had been very hard on her, having to act like 
she was engaged to Ranma when all she really wanted was to be left 
alone.

She was beginning to see that it had been hard for Ranma too.  In the 
past, it had always been convenient to blame him for her troubles, 
when it was really their fathers who were at fault.  As bad as it had 
sometimes gotten for her, she realized now that it must have been 
even worse for Ranma.

Take Kunou Tatewaki for example.  Kunou-sempai had developed an 
instant dislike for the boy Ranma because he saw him as a threat in 
his quest for Akane's affections, and later, ironically, the affections of 
Ranma's girl half.  Then when Tatewaki's sister Kodachi had entered 
the picture it had become symmetrical.  She hated the girl Ranma, 
since she was obviously trying to take her Ranma-sama away from 
her.  No wonder Ranma had gone a little crazy.

When Shampoo had first appeared on the scene, she had been trying 
to kill the girl Ranma.  When she had attacked Akane for hiding 
Ranma-chan, Ranma - as a boy this time - had thumped her again, 
and let himself in for a whole heap of trouble.  By the laws of her 
tribe, Shampoo had to kill Ranma's girl half, but had to marry his boy 
half.

Akane was ashamed to remember how she had tormented Ranma 
with observations about how cute Shampoo had been.  And when 
Shampoo had taken it into her head to marry Ranma, she had been 
furious.  Her own reaction had surprised her.  She didn't want Ranma 
in the first place, so why should she have cared?  It had all been so 
confusing!  It still made her head hurt.

Still, despite his bluster, whenever Akane had been threatened, it 
had been Ranma that had come to her defence, often over her own 
objections.  But he had never let her down.

She remembered the martial arts ice skating competition in 
particular.  Ranma had told Sanzenin Mikado that she was *his* 
fiancee - in front of a packed auditorium.  Had he meant it?  She 
hadn't thought so at the time.  Then he had refused to let go of her 
during the golden pair's infamous couple cleaver maneuver.  That 
had cost him - and she had rewarded him by calling him a fool.

Looking back on all of it, Akane was forced to the conclusion that all 
of his claims to the contrary aside, deep down, Ranma had really 
cared for her.  He had just never been able to show it.  He had stayed 
for her, and she had driven him away.

Akane shook her head at the memories.  Ukyou had won a long time 
ago; she had just never known it.  After all, it had been Ukyou that 
Ranma could talk to.  It had been Ukyou that Ranma confided in, 
Ukyou that Ranma had trusted.  Ranma had never shared things with 
Akane that way - partly because he could not bring himself to do it, 
but mostly, Akane was afraid, because she had never given him the 
chance.  She had ruined it the very first time she had seen him as a 
boy.

Both had been put on the defensive, and neither of them had been 
willing to be the first to let their shields down and let the other one 
in.  There had been times when they had come close, so painfully 
close; but in the end, the shields had stayed up.   she thought to herself.  

 thought Akane to herself.  

Akane got slowly to her feet.  She wasn't kidding anyone, and she 
knew it.  She cared.  Who was at fault was no longer important - 
there was plenty of blame to go around.  What mattered now was 
that a part of her life was gone, and would likely never come back.  
It was probably beyond recovery, but she had to know for sure.  She 
*had* to know how things might have been different, if only she had 
been willing to listen on that last night.  The hole in her heart was 
never going to heal until she had at least told him that she was sorry, 
and that she didn't hate him.  She needed closure.

It was time that she had a talk with her father.

####  ****  ####

Soun and Genma were playing shogi when Akane found them.  
Genma was in his panda form, his fur somewhat matted.  Her father 
looked like he hadn't slept very well.  Neither really appeared to be 
very interested in the game.

"Otou-san - can I talk to you?"

"Akane!  Don't worry, daughter.  Ranma will be back.  You'll see.  
Right, Saotome?"

{Growf}

"No dad, I don't think so."

"You must have faith!"

"Dad, you don't understand.  The night before I left on that class trip, 
Ranma and I had a fight...  a bad one."

"It's just a stage you're going through.  It will pass."

Akane was getting frustrated.  "Will you listen to me?  He thinks that 
I hate him!  I've driven him off!  He's gone!  He WON'T be coming 
back.  Right now, he's Kami knows where with Ukyou..."

"Akane!"

Akane sat down heavily.  A cup of hot tea materialized on the table 
next to her, as if by magic.  She smiled gratefully at Kasumi who was 
already headed back into the kitchen.  She took a sip of the tea and a 
deep breath before trying once more to explain things to her father.

"Don't you see?  I'd gotten so used to his constant teasing that I 
wouldn't listen to him when he was trying to be serious.  After that 
last iinazuke showed up,"  she paused to glare at Genma, "I was too 
upset to think straight...  I was afraid that he was just going to be 
mean."

Akane stared into the depths of her teacup.  "It must have been the 
fight with that Daitokuji girl..." she continued.  "I've never seen him 
so angry."

Soun remembered well just how angry Ranma had been.  He nodded 
sympathetically.  The panda winced.

"Whatever it was he wanted to say that night must have been 
awfully important to him... so important that even after I yelled at 
him, he didn't so much as call me kawaikunee."  Akane was close to 
tears again.  "I think...  I think he was trying to apologize, but I shut 
him out before he could get a word in.  Now he's gone, and it's too 
late."

Akane smiled bitterly.  "How many times, I wonder.  How many 
times did I tell him that I hated him?  I lost count a long time ago.  
You want to know something funny?  No matter how many times I 
did say that, he never once said that he hated me.  He said that he 
hated tomboys often enough, but he never made it personal."

A heavy silence descended on the room as Akane finished speaking.

Soun longed to be able to comfort his daughter, but he had no idea 
what to say.  After a time, Akane spoke again.  Her voice was quiet, 
but it carried the steel edge of determination.

"I'm going after him." she said simply.

For a long moment, Soun could think of nothing to say.  His dreams, 
and those of his lifelong friend seemed to be in shambles, but here, 
now, was a new spark of hope.  He grabbed for it in true Tendou 
fashion; that is to say like a drowning man grabs for the swimmer 
nearest him.

"That's the spirit, Akane!  You're not beaten yet!  You can bring him 
home again and everything will be all right!"

Akane looked sadly at her father.  "Maybe.  I think it's probably too 
late for that, but...  there are things that I have to know.  Questions 
that only he can answer - if he will."  She got slowly to her feet.  "I'm 
going to go get packed.  I'll leave as soon as I can get a lead on where 
they might have gone."

"How long, daughter?  How long will you follow him?" asked Soun.

"As long as it takes."  Akane replied heavily.  She turned to face her 
father once more.  "Ukyou followed him for ten years.  Ten years!  
Can I do less?"

Soun watched his daughter walk out of the room with mixed feelings.  
His little baby was leaving the nest - he was so proud of her, but it 
was almost more than he could bear to think about.  It was going to 
be different without Akane in the house - as different as it had been 
when Akane's mother had died.  Soun could, of course, forbid her to 
go.  She might even obey him, but he didn't think so.  She certainly 
wouldn't thank him for it.

"What have we done to them, old friend?  What have we done?"

The panda had no answer.

####  ****  ####

TO BE CONTINUED...

####  ****  ####

END OF EPISODE ONE

####  ****  ####

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading!
Please send comments, criticisms, and large dilithium crystals to:

Ayanami@mindspring.com

or Snailmail
c/o Anime*Niacs
244 First Avenue South
Franklin, TN  37064

As with Zen's first fic, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," this story 
takes place some time before volume 34 of the manga - likely before 
volume 30.  There is no Konatsu, and Nodoka still knows nothing of 
her son's... mishap.

This is not exactly a sequel to "Rock and a Hard Place", but it can be 
assumed to take place in the same universe.  Again, Zen expects to be 
charged with an unreasonable Pro-Ukyou bias.  All Zen can say in his 
own defence is that he warned you.  ^_^  Zen hopes that you will/did 
enjoy the story anyway.

Obviously, this was meant to be the start of a series... Zen has no idea 
how long it will run, but a number of events and sub stories have 
been mapped out - At least some of them will actually get written!

There are a few fics in the pipe ahead of it, though... After listening 
to many people (hi, Kun-chan) tell Zen that the only true way is for 
Ranma and Akane, Zen has listened, and written an Akane Gets 
Ranma fic.  Be careful what you ask for.

Zen would like to thank the people that expressed a willingness to 
pre-read this turkey to see that it was reasonably well done before 
being served.  Richard Lawson, Sebastian Weinberg, Venkarel, Mike 
Loader, Cyne/Onnawulf (Mike Noakes), Nicholas Leifker, and James 
"Phoenix" Jones.  Zen greatly appreciates their tremendous sacrifices 
towards this endeavour.  (Zen is assured that Lawson-san will be out 
of the CICU any week now...)

As ever, Zen recommends that you check out their stories...  They still 
write way better than Zen does.

Doumo Arigato Gozaimashita!

Zen the Heretic-
October - 1996

The Long And Winding Road
(Lennon/McCartney)  Lead vocal: McCartney


The long and winding road that leads to your door,
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before 
It always leads me here, leads me to your door.

The wild and windy night the rain washed away,
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here, let me know the way

Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried
Anyway you'll never know the many ways I've tried

And still they lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me standing here a long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to your door

But still they lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me standing here a long, long time ago
Don't keep me waiting here, lead me to your door
yea, yea, yea, yea--


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