I'd like to enter this fanfic in the fanfic writing contest.  Thanks!

Dew On The Grass
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction

by Richard E. ( pluck@ihug.co.nz )

This fanfic is meant to carry on from the episode, "Am I... pretty?" in
which Ranma hits his head on the side of the Tendos' pool as he falls in,
and as a result seems to think he's a girl.  I liked this episode a lot,
and wanted to see what would happen if I took it further.  And yes, if
you're an American, you'll no doubt have noticed my usage of 'u' in
words such as favourite.  That's how they're spelled where I live, and
I apologize if it doesn't look right to you.

If you want to check out my web page (which is pretty darn small), feel
free to point your browser at http://www.waxwolf.com/~plucky

I just want to say thanks to Taper Wickel, whose help and inspiration
was invaluable.  Way to go, Taper.  I owe you big time for this one.

C&C is welcome, but I'm going to say right now that if you want to flame
me, well, don't.  I'm open to criticism, and I look forward to hearing
other people's ideas on what's wrong with this story and how it could be
better, I just ask that if you're going to say something bad at least
make it constructive.  Thanks.  On with the show...

---

Akane yawned as she stepped out into the hallway, her Furinkan High uniform
feeling somewhat uncomfortable compared to her warm pajamas.  She walked
down the hall, slowing when she came to a doorway.  She poked her
head through and looked into the room beyond, beginning to speak before
her head rounded the wooden frame.

"Ranko!  Wake up or you'll--" she paused, noticing the futon wasn't
occupied.  She couldn't help but smile, despite herself.

After a fairly interesting time in the previous week, and with the weekend
just ending, Akane was beginning to get used to the unusual circumstances
- well, more unusual than usual, she reflected - around the Tendo
household. When Ranma had first hit his head on the edge of the pool
she'd been worried - naturally - about him.  This had quickly been
replaced by anger as she had come to see that her fiance now seemed to
actually think he was a girl.  They'd tried various things to cure him,
of course, Akane's own mallet 'helping' once, which she now realized was
the wrong thing to do to poor Ranko.  She had come to realize since then
that, until a cure could be found, Ranma was going to be, for all intents
and purposes, a girl.  It upset her to lose her fiance, even if it was
only temporary, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry at Ranko for
it.  Ranko was just an innocent bystander in this - so was Ranma, for that
matter, but she was still furious at him for going and hitting that rock
with his stupid head. It was Kasumi who had suggested that Ranma go by
the name they had chosen for her girl half, and Ranma - Ranko, Akane
corrected herself, had agreed, stating that she preferred the name.

Akane's thoughts left her as she made her way into the kitchen.
Kasumi was busily cooking some ramen as Ranko moved gracefully around
the kitchen in her borrowed uniform, cleaning it with an uncanny
expertise.  Akane shook her head, realizing that Ranko was merely
cleaning to burn off the energy her nervousness was generating.  It
looked like she had burned off quite a sum of energy on cleaning
herself before she had started on the kitchen - her shoes sparked,
her uniform had not a wrinkle in it, and her hair - longer now,
and no longer tied into a pigtail - flowed down just past her shoulders
perfectly.  Like her or not, Akane had to admit that Ranko was a
beautiful young woman.

"Good morning, Akane!" smiled Kasumi as she saw her sister enter.

"Morning, onee-chan," said Akane, leaning against the table, "Still
nervous, huh, Ranko?"  Ranko stopped her rapid rubbing of the kitchen
counter and turned, a quirky smile playing over her lips.  She lowered her
head slightly.

"Good morning, Akane.  Is it that obvious?"

Akane gave a small sigh, and managed a weak smile.  "You've barely been
able to stop all weekend.  You must be worried about school."

"Hai," Ranko agreed, lifting her eyes to Akane, "It will be strange to
be there and not be a - to not be Ranma anymore."

* * *
Ryouga trudged slowly along a gravel path, a warm breeze ruffling his
hair and flapping the back of his headband as he walked.  Tired as he was,
he still appreciated the warmth of the air and the sunlight after an
intensely cold fortnight of training in the mountains.  Sunlight and the
birdsong in the air seemed like strangers to him after the many cold
nights of meditation and training he had been through.

He wiped sweat from his face with a bruised hand and squinted to cut out
the sun's glare and see the details of a city in the distance.

"Is that... Hokkaido?" he wondered aloud.

* * *

Ranko hurried along the street on her way to school.  She didn't want to
be late, but she'd promised Kasumi that she would finish cleaning the
kitchen, and a promise was a promise.  She'd sent Akane and Nabiki off
ahead, saying she would catch up "in five minutes".  However, the kitchen
cleaning had taken longer than she thought, and Akane was nowhere in sight.
She clutched her books tightly against her chest and walked briskly, her
eyes on the road ahead of her, her thoughts, however, wandering near and
far.  She wondered if she would fit in, whether Ranko would be welcomed
at Furinkan, or spurned for replacing Ranma.  She hoped that the student
body would be more welcoming than Akane had been.  She chewed her lower
lip as she thought about Akane.  It was understandable that she would be
upset, depressed, even, about Ranma being gone.  Ranko just wished that
Akane didn't hold her responsible for something that wasn't her fault.

She rounded a corner, so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice
the person standing in front of her until she'd walked into him.

Ryouga stepped backwards to support himself as the red-haired girl walked
into him, placed his hands on her shoulders, and pulled her slightly back
from him.

"Are you alright?"

Ranko's head stayed bowed out of embarrassment.  "Hai," she nodded, "I'm
sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Ryouga laughed a little and scratched the back of his head.  "That's quite
alright.  Maybe you could help me?  I'm a little lost.  Is this Hokkaido?
I'm looking for the Tendo dojo, in Tokyo."

Ranko's eyes widened in surprise.  Why hadn't she recognized the voice
earlier?  She looked up at the person standing before her.  "Ryouga?"

"How did you know my--" Ryouga began, then locked eyes with Ranko.  His
jaw dropped a little bit as recognition set in.  "Ranma!  Is this how
you hope to escape me?  Growing your hair and hiding inside this dress?
Abusing your power and pretending to be a girl to elude me?!  Cowardly
hentai!"

He again gripped her shoulders, not at all gently this time, and shoved
her backwards angrily.  With a shriek, Ranko fell backwards, losing
her balance and ending up on her backside.  Ryouga sneered.  Ranma had
used some pretty devious ploys in the past to fool him, but this one
took the cake.  This time Saotome had gone too far!

"Do you think I'm stupid, Ranma?" he asked, reaching for his umbrella,
adopting a fighting stance as he pointed it at Ranko. "I won't allow
you to hurt Akane like this, hentai!  Face me now!"

Ranko lifted her hands to shelter her face, quivering with fear as she
looked up at Ryouga towering over her.  "Ryouga... p-p...please don't
hurt me."

"Coward!" seethed Ryouga, adjusting his grip on the umbrella as he swung
it backwards, ready to strike, "Prepare to die!"

Tears running down her cheeks, Ranko rose to her knees, and started to
stand slowly, her eyes never leaving Ryouga's.  "Ryouga!  Please... you
don't understand... please...!"

Ryouga gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the umbrella.  Part
of him hesitated - was it possible this wasn't a trick?  No!  Of
course it had to be a trick.  It was always a trick.  One trick after
another, that was what he had learned from Ranma.  He'd been made
to look a fool more times than he could remember.  He wouldn't fall
for it again.  Ranma was hoping he'd turn away and would then strike
him in the back.  It had to be a trick.  The act was convincing, but
that's all it was.  An act.  He saw fear in his foe's eyes as he
started to move in attack, and smirked.  He would give Ranma a reason
to have fear in those eyes of his soon enough.  Finally he would leave
Ranma lying in defeat, as it should be.  He looked into Ranma's eyes
as his arm drew fully back, his anger at Saotome welling up inside
him, giving him strength beyond his own.

Ranko blinked a tear from her eye and watched Ryouga's arm draw back.
Her body knew to prepare, and her sobs stopped, allowing her to hold
her breath.  She looked back into Ryouga's eyes once more before her
own eyes closed tightly.  She braced herself for the impact.

After what seemed like an age, the impact came.  It was far harder than
she had been expecting.  It struck her first near the top of the chest,
the dull 'thud' it made striking her more strongly than the burst of
pain that erupted inside her.  Ryouga must have swung the umbrella
upwards, for the next impact was underneath her chin.  She felt the
cold, hard tip ramming cruelly against her skin, her eyes closing
more tightly as the pain joined the pain in her chest.

The ground left her feet.  She became faintly aware of being airborne,
but that feeling left her as the concrete of the street behind her
struck her back with a force that winded her.  A distant voice cried
out, only adding to her pain as she realized it was her own.

Ryouga watched Ranma land, then stepped forward again.  He raised his
umbrella over his head, and swung it down forcefully.  He watched
Ranma's eyes open slightly an instant before the umbrella struck.
He left it a moment before raising it slowly and placing it back atop
his backpack.   The eyes were once again closed.  He looked down
contemptuously at the unconscious body in front of him.

"Pathetic, Ranma Saotome."

* * *

Akane stormed down the street in a huff.  Ranko was supposed to
catch up with her and Nabiki, and they had deliberately walked
slowly so she could.  After a few minutes, Nabiki had rushed on
ahead by herself, but Akane had not.  She didn't know why, but
she was waiting for Ranko.  And now here she was, walking away from
her school instead of toward it to search for the girl who had
stolen away her fiance.

<No!> she chided herself, <Ranko didn't steal him... he just left.
He's not even gone.  I don't know why I'm worrying, he'll be back
to normal any day now.>  Tofu-sensei had said as much.

So why was she walking away from school to search for Ranko?  She
had probably just stayed behind longer helping Kasumi than she
had intended to.  It was kind of stupid to be doing this.

And yet, Akane continued walking.

* * *

Ranko's conscious mind slowly returned to her slowly with a
thought.  It wasn't really a thought - more of a colour.  Where
there was nothing but unconsciousness before, now there was
blackness.  It was strange, but even the total darkness of her
slumber was welcoming to her.  She wondered to herself why it
was dark and warm.

Slowly, her mind began to work again and faint memories began
to return.  She saw herself.  Was it herself?  Yes, it was -
she recognized herself in the mirror.  That happened this
morning.  Didn't it?  Yes.  It did.  She thought of the house.
Kasumi's bemused expression as she had volunteered to help
clean the kitchen with an energy she'd never had that early
in the morning before.  Her mind had been doing a mile a
minute the entire night - she had been so nervous about
returning to school, she hadn't been able to sleep.  Even in her
befuddled state, Ranko was able to grasp the irony of her current
state - unable to wake, with her mind struggling to do anything.
Kasumi's face was gone, and there in its place was the kitchen
counter, and Akane leaning on the table.  The table she had
just cleaned!  She would have to polish that part again.
That would take longer.  Yes.  It took longer, and
so did mopping the floor again when the soaked panda had come
charging through, being chased by a teary-eyed Tendo-sama.
Probably a dispute about food, or an accusation of cheating at
Go.  She hadn't minded.  It took her mind off things.  Like
Akane being mad at her for taking Ranma away.  Akane.  That
was what she was thinking of.  She had spent longer than she
had intended to cleaning the kitchen, and it was only when
Kasumi pointed out that she was going to be late that she
left the house.

Part of her was scared of facing the students there; the
other part of her was scared of being late.  She had been
very worried when she went outside.  Outside, into the
sunshine.  It had been a nice warm day, the sun had been
shining and the birds had been singing.  Ranma had never
really taken the time to appreciate such things, but Ranko
knew better.  The sunlight was so beautiful in the morning,
the way it made the morning dew glisten on the grass.  She
had hurried over the grass to the street that morning, but
still appreciated its beauty.  It helped her worry less,
although she had still been worrying as she walked along the
street.  Her mind had been busy as she walked, that's why
she hadn't seen him.

Ryouga.  She felt a dull pain as she remembered.  The look in
his eyes as he stood there with his umbrella held back to
strike.  She had understood him as she saw his eyes.  His
anger, his frustration, they were directed at Ranma.  Not at
her.  She knew why he had attacked.  The only thing she
didn't know was why she hadn't tried harder to stop him.
She hadn't stopped him, and his umbrella had crashed angrily
into her, knocking her back with the force of his fury.  She
had felt pain - physical pain, and mental pain also - but as
she soared through the air, her eyes had opened briefly and
caught a glimpse of the sky, and the sun.  She had felt
strange for that instant.  She had paid Ranma's debt to Ryouga,
and she felt free, like her spirit was soaring even as her
body was falling.

Her eyes flickered open slightly, and caught a glimpse
of the same blue sky above her, the same sun shining down
on her.  She felt faintly aware of a pair of arms carrying
her body.  She couldn't move, but she didn't need to.  The
sun and the sky were all she needed.  Slowly, her eyes closed
again.  Even through the pain she felt, she forgave Ryouga for
what he had done to her.  The sun and the sky faded slowly
from her mind as she drifted back to the nothingness.

* * *

Akane looked down at Ranko's face as she carried her to the
house, her limp neck unable to stop her head from bouncing as
Akane ran with her.  Her arms and legs hung uselessly from
her body.

<Ranma no baka,> Akane thought, worry lining her face, <who
did you annoy this time?  Why couldn't you make it through
a day without getting into a fight just once?>  She found
herself frowning down at Ranko, the muscles in her arms
tensing as she grew angry.  Her eyes passed over Ranko's
face again, however, and her anger dissipated as she saw
the bruises and blood on her battered skin.

"Father!  Kasumi!" she cried, rushing through the gates
into the house.  This wasn't Ranma, this was Ranko, and
Akane was afraid.

* * *

Slowly, the nothingness faded away once more.  Ryouga's face
filled her mind once more, his face angry at Ranma... but also
hurt, and vulnerable - lashing out because it's all he knows.
A sharp pain filled her head, and then - with a groan - her
eyes were open.  They squinted shut straight away; the light
was blinding.  They stayed that way for a moment, opening more
only as they adjusted to the light and began to focus.

"Uhhhhh... my head..." she groaned, lifting her hand to her
forehead.  It hurt as she touched it, producing a wince.

"Tofu-sensei!" a voice called, "She's waking up!"

Akane's face moved into Ranko's field of view, and Ranko
felt a hand on hers.  "Ranko... you're awake." she managed,
smiling weakly, a tear running down her cheek, "You had us
all worried."

"I'm sorry, Akane." whispered Ranko in reply.

Akane's heart sank.  Part of her - a selfish part - had
hoped that the hits to Ranko's head would have cured her,
and that part of her was hoping for a smug, "You shouldn't
worry about me, Akane, I can take care of myself" type of
reply.  She bit her lower lip and held her disappointment
in check.  Fortunately, she'd caught it in time.  The last
thing Ranko needed right now was to feel guilty.

"Don't be silly," she said, eventually, "it wasn't your
fault.  What happened?"

Ranko watched Akane, and saw the disappointment that was
hidden a moment later.  Her eyes softened slightly, and
her shoulders slumped.  Ranma wouldn't receive this... pity
from her.  She felt weak and useless.  Turning her head away
from Akane, she whispered, "I was... attacked."

Dr. Tofu's face appeared opposite Akane's.  "It looks like
a staff of some sort was used.  There's a couple of deep
impact points here," he said, pointing but not touching,
"and here.  Who attacked you, Ranko?"

Ranko looked at Dr. Tofu for a moment, then at Akane, and
gulped.  Slowly, her eyes closed and her head bowed down.
She thought for a moment, and reached her decision.
"I... I don't remember."

* * *

Ryouga sat cross-legged.  The grass beneath him was comfortable
even though he'd been sitting, unmoving, for three hours
already.  He inhaled and held it for a moment before letting
it slowly out.  He felt good.  Ranma had behaved disgracefully
and he had punished him suitably.  He hadn't lost to the
pig-tailed boy, and he certainly hadn't been changed into a
pig.  He felt remarkably clear-headed, and satisfied with
himself.

He watched life go by on the street before him, the movement
and bustle of the people milling about in their lives a stark
contrast to his unmoving meditation.  His thoughts were
interrupted as he saw Akane walking along the street.  He
blinked, and shook his head back and forth a couple of times.

"Akane!"

Akane reached up and stroked her hair back over her ear as
she turned towards the source of the voice.  Holding her
hand to shelter her eyes from the sun overhead, she noticed
Ryouga sitting on the grass in the distance.  She waved to
him, and returned her hand to the handle of her shopping basket
to help carry its weight as she made her way over to him.

"Hello, Ryouga.  Back from your training trip already?"

"Hai," he replied, "Shouldn't you be in school today?"

She nodded.  "I should be, but I decided to stay home and
help Ranko recover.  I just came out to buy some antiseptic
cream for her cuts."

"Ranko?"

Akane sighed, and nodded.  "She was attacked yesterday.  It's
a long story..."

* * *

<A girl?  He's really a girl?>

Ryouga stared intently at the grass in front of him, his once
clear head screaming at him with a million thoughts at the same
time.  He'd barely said goodbye to Akane after she'd told him.
She was probably wondering what was wrong with him.  Probably
thought he was concerned for Ranma.  She didn't know the half
of it.

He bought his fist to his mouth and bit down on a knuckle.  What
had he done?  He'd attacked Ran... Ranko.  An innocent,
defenceless girl.  He'd stood over her and hit her as she lay
semiconscious below him.  He had taken pride in doing it.  A
flash of red-hot humiliation ran through him.  What kind of
warrior was he, to attack an unarmed woman?

He closed his eyes and let his head sink down in anger and shame,
his fists clenched tightly.  <Baka!>

What could he do?  He was no warrior.  He was a shameful idiot.
Attacking an innocent girl!  What could he do now?  He wanted
to stand and run, far away from Tokyo, to wherever his legs
took him.  Run and hide.

<No!> he thought, his fist shaking, <My attack on Ranko was
cowardly!  I'm no coward!  I can't just run from this.  I have
to face her again and take responsibility for what I've
done.>

* * *

Ranko sat up in bed, leaning back against the wall behind her.
The pain was fading now; it seemed more of an inconvenience
than anything, and the bed was warm and comfortable for her.
She bowed her head a little to look at the glass of water in her
hands, and felt deeply grateful for the care she had been shown
while recovering.

Akane had never been entirely comfortable with her existence at
all, but even she had been nothing but a gracious caregiver.  This
made Ranko feel a little guilty - a feeling she quickly dismissed.
There was nothing she could do about being herself, and feeling
guilty about it would help no one.  She knew, however, that she
would make it up to Akane somehow.

It had been a long recovery.  She might have been in Ranma's
body, but his techniques for such rapid healing - along with his
martial arts skills - were buried deep inside her mind, out of
her reach.  She thought back to the attack, wondering if it was
merely instinct that made her brace in time for the strike of
Ryouga's umbrella, or if it had been Ranma, exerting some
influence over her from deep inside, in her time of need.

There was a knock at the door.  Ranko sipped at her water, then
placed the glass next to her, on the desk there.

"Who is it?"

Ranko's eyes widened as she saw the door open, revealing her
visitor.  She gripped the mattress below her tightly, and pushed
herself up against the wall behind her.  She gulped, and
involuntary shaking began to set in.  "Ryouga?  What... what
do... why are you...?"

Ryouga turned and closed the door, lowering his head, still facing
it.  "Please, don't be afraid, Ran--," he paused, "Ranko.  I'm not
here to hurt you."

Ranko relaxed a little, but remained on alert.  "Why did you come?"

Ryouga turned slowly to face her.  He stepped towards her again, but
stopped as she tensed up again.  He lifted his head and looked at
her, his expression one of surprise, then sadness.  Slowly, he
lowered himself to one knee before her.  "I came because I...
because I didn't know... I shouldn't have attacked you like
that last week.  I came to apologize for what I did.  I would
have been here sooner, but it took me this long to find the
house.  I'm sorry, Ranko.  I was stupid, I didn't listen."

Ranko relaxed more, the corner of her mouth twisting upwards into
a small smile.  "I had a feeling you'd do this."

"You did?" asked Ryouga, raising his head and meeting her eyes with
his own.

"Hai," she replied, "You were angry at Ranma, not at me.  I knew
you'd find out sooner or later, and I knew you would be angry at
yourself.  You don't have to be, Ryouga.  I forgive you for what you
did."

Tightening his fist, Ryouga jumped to his feet.  "No!  It isn't
that simple!  What I did... was unforgivable!  I have disgraced
myself."

"No, Ryouga... you didn't know." replied Ranko, eyes softening.

"I SHOULD have known, Ranko," spat Ryouga, fist shaking with anger,
"and I didn't.  I know you can never truly forgive me for what
I did, but I'm going to try and earn your trust.

"That's why," he continued, "I vow that I will watch over you,
and protect you from suffering the same at the hands of somebody
else.  I won't let anybody hurt you, Ranko."

Ranko raised her hand slowly to her cheek, unsure of what to
say.  "Ryouga..."

Ryouga bowed slowly.  "I will stand by my promise.  Goodbye,
Ranko."

As he turned and left, Ranko could do nothing else but put her
hand over her mouth.  "Oh, my."

* * *

Soun heard faint footsteps on the stairs and looked up from the
Go board as Ranko stepped into the room.  Genma also looked up,
and Nabiki and Akane both put their books down.

"Ranko?  What are you doing out of bed?" asked Soun.

"Forgive the intrusion, Tendo-sama," replied Ranko, bowing, "but
I was getting restless in bed, and thought I might come downstairs
to stretch my legs and get a drink before I try and sleep."

"You're looking a lot better today, boy!" noted Genma, "Ranma'll
be back to normal any time now, ready to get revenge against
his attacker, eh, Tendo?"  He laughed.

Ranko gave Genma an exasperated look.  "I wish you wouldn't call
me that, father.  My name's not Ranma and I'm not a boy."

"Anyway," said Soun, changing the subject, "I'll have Kasumi bring
a glass of water upstairs for you.  How's that sound?  Kasumi!"

"Thank you," replied Ranko, smiling, "but no.  I'll get it myself,
if that's alright."

"Of course," replied Soun, "help yourself, Ranko."

Ranko nodded, smiling, and made her way into the kitchen.  After
filling a glass of water, she leaned against the kitchen counter
and gazed through the window as she drank it.  The glass was
frosted; there was a chill in the air outside.  There'd probably
be a storm soon, she decided.  Strange, considering the sunny
weather they'd had all week.  Still, it was outside and she was
inside.  She loved the feeling of being inside during the rain;
it made the warm interior of the house feel that much cozier in
comparison.  She pressed her finger up against the glass and
slowly drew a line downwards through the condensation.

It was as her finger finished that she noticed rain beginning
to patter down outside.  She watched as the first drop was joined
by another, and then another.  Before long it was pouring down.
The sound of the rain comforted her somehow.  As Ranma, she had
always hated cold water - it meant bringing about the Jusenkyo
curse.  But now she needn't fear it, and that made her smile.
Almost as if she'd forgiven the rain.

Lightning struck, startling her.  She put her hand on her chest
and exhaled as she recovered from the surprise.  Evidently,
she wasn't the only one surprised by the sudden flash and noise,
as there was a thumping on the roof, faint at first, but followed
by another, and another, and another, louder each time, until
there was a loud one directly above Ranko's head, then no more.
A small black shape fell down past the window, and Ranko was
again startled.

She turned and looked behind her.  Apparently, nobody else in
the house had noticed the noise.  She pulled her robe tightly
about herself and went outside to investigate.

It was raining harder than she had thought, and she was quite
wet by the time she got around to the window she had been
looking through.  She trod quietly, unsure what had fallen
past the window.  She didn't exactly feel up to dealing with
Happosai.  As she drew closer, however, she realized it wasn't
the old man outside the kitchen window.

Standing before her was little P-chan, trying hopelessly to
climb back up the wall to the roof.  <He must have been up
on the roof,> thought Ranko, <watching over the house...
watching over me.>  She felt her heart melt.

"My guardian angel," she said softly, "here to watch over
me."

P-chan heard her and turned around.  Slowly, he started
to back away.  Ranko kneeled, covering the bottom of her
robe with mud.  She patted her lap gently.

"Come here, little P-chan." she said, smiling.  The little
piglet didn't move.

"Come on now," continued Ranko, holding out her arms, "there's
no point staying out here in the cold and the rain.  You
can't very well defend me as a piglet, can you?  Let me
take you inside and dry you off a little."

P-chan took a step toward her, but hesitated.

"You can watch me just as well from inside the house." finished
Ranko, her now-soaked hair dripping water down her face and
onto her already-soaked robe.

P-chan took another step, then stopped.  Ranko sneezed,
and shivered.  "Please, P-chan?"

Slowly, the piglet stepped toward her and hopped up into
her lap.  She wrapped her arms around him and stood.  "My,
you're freezing!  You poor dear.  Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

Akane looked up from her book, and dropped it as she saw Ranko
enter the room again.  The girl who had a few minutes ago been
perfectly clean and wrapped in a warm-looking bathrobe was now
soaked to the skin and covered in mud.  Her surprise gave way
to anger as she realized that Ranko was traipsing mud through
the house.

"Ranko?  What have you been DOING?!" she yelled.  Everyone else
stopped staring at Ranko to stare at her.

"I, uh," replied Ranko, blushing a little, "I heard a bump outside,
so I went out to have a look.  I found little P-chan outside in
the rain, and I bought him inside.  The poor dear was shaking like
a leaf.  It's freezing cold outside."

Akane stammered for a moment, her anger giving way to embarrassment
as she realized Ranko had done that for her pet.  She blushed, and
smiled a little.  "Thank you, Ranko.  Go and dry off, I'll take care
of him."

Ranko held her arms out, but P-chan struggled back towards her
chest.  She giggled a little.  "Sorry, Akane... it looks like he
wants to stay where he is.  I don't think he wants to get you
dirty.  I'm going upstairs to dry off, so if you don't mind I'll just
take him with me and clean him up a bit too."

Akane blinked, and then smiled.  "Sure... take good care of him."

"I will," replied Ranko, smiling down at the little piglet.  She
walked over towards the stairs, holding P-chan in one arm and keeping her
robe up above her ankles with the other.  It didn't help much, though,
as she continued to drip water all over the floor.  As she reached
the foot of the stairs, she turned back to face Soun.

"I apologize for the mess - if you'll excuse me, I'll clean it first
thing tomorrow."

"That's quite alright, I'll have Kasumi take care of it." replied a
bemused Soun, "Now you get dry before you catch a cold.  Good night,
Ranko."

"Good night, Tendo-sama, everyone."

Akane watched Ranko climb the stairs, and frowned.  The pencil she was
holding snapped in half.  <How dare she steal my pig?>

* * *

Ranko stepped into the bathroom and set P-chan down on the sink bench.
Stepping over to the bathtub, she pulled out a changing shade and stepped
behind it.  She pulled her robe off and dropped it into the laundry
basket.  Off came her pajamas, too, and those joined her robe in
the laundry basket.  She wrapped a towel around herself and turned back
to face the wide-eyed pig.  Picking up another towel, she began to dry
her hair.  She half-considered taking a nice hot shower, but that wasn't
really an option for the obvious reason, and she really didn't feel like
a cold shower.  "Wait right here, little P-chan.  I'll be back in a minute."

She left the bathroom and returned again a few moments later wearing
a long white nightshirt.  She only had the one pair of pajamas, since
she'd only needed them since becoming a girl.  Wearing Ranma's tank top
and shorts hardly seemed appropriate anymore.

"This is all I have to wear to bed now that my pajamas are dirty.  What
do you think, P-chan?" she asked, giving a little twirl.  The piglet
*bwee*ed appreciatively.

"You think it suits me, huh?" she asked, with a giggle.  "I'm glad.  Now
come here, let me dry you off."

Picking up a towel, she stepped over to him.  He backed off a little.
She frowned a little, and tilted her head slightly to one side.

"I know you're not exactly comfortable being around me, P-chan, but
please, let me dry you off. You can't stay like this all night."

He sighed to himself and looked down at the bench below him.

"If you need a justification," she continued, "I'll be far too worried
about you to sleep unless you let me dry you off and put you someplace
warm and comfortable to sleep."

With that, he looked up, and nodded slowly.  She smiled as he relented,
and stepped over to the bench.  He stood slowly, and hopped up into the
towel as she held it down for him.  She wrapped it around him and held
him in her arms, stroking gently to dry his wet body.

"You still feel cold, P-chan," she noted concernedly, "I hope you don't
get a cold because of me."

She stroked the top of his little head gently, and smiled as he looked
up at her.  "It was very sweet of you to sit up there and look after the
house, Ryouga.  But please don't go out there again, at least not tonight,
okay?  It's freezing cold outside and I'd feel terrible with you up
there."

The little piglet gave a *bwee* and looked down at himself.  Ranko reached
up and scratched one of his ears gently with a fingertip.  "I know you want
to watch over me.  You can watch out for me just as well from my bedroom as
you could from the roof, right?"

P-chan *bwee*ed again, and rubbed his head against her hand.  She smiled.

"I'm glad we agree."

* * *

Ranko sat on the edge of her bed, with P-chan in her lap.  She scratched
at his ear again and smiled down at him.

"There, isn't it much warmer in here than out on that cold roof up there?"

P-chan nodded in reply.  Ranko smiled, fluffed up a pillow, and placed it
on the desk next to her bed.  Thinking, she lifted the pillow off, pulled
it out of its case, and set it down again.  She placed the little piglet on
it, and covered him with the case as a miniature blanket.  The little guy
looked adorable, and on a whim she bent down and kissed him softly on the
top of his head.  He squirmed a little.  She smiled.  <He must still think
of me as Ranma,> she thought to herself, <I hope he's not mad at me for
doing that.>

"Thank you for watching over me, P-chan.  I feel safe with you here.  Good
night."

She slipped beneath the blanket of her bed and rested her head on the
pillow. Sleep overtook her within a few minutes.  P-chan, however,
remained awake on his pillow, watching her slumber, resting his head on
the pillow as he watched her smile in her sleep, her chest rising and
falling with the gentle breath of slumber.

He sighed to himself as he watched through the darkness.  She looked
so peaceful, so happy.  Part of him was envious of her, that she was
able to accept the Jusenkyo curse so easily.  He did admit that her
circumstances were special, however, and he would hardly like to run
around thinking he was actually a piglet.  Another part of him was still
deeply ashamed and angry for attacking the girl who now slept quietly
before him.  Her smile was angelic - she seemed to have an ever-positive,
always forgiving attitude that he'd only ever seen before in Kasumi.  He
stared at her smile.  Another part of him was joyful that she had
forgiven him, and that she seemed to be offering out her friendship
despite his actions.  He didn't have friends as such; well, there was
always Ranma, but he didn't know if Ranma liked him or hated him, and for
that matter he wasn't sure if there was room within himself for both the
anger at Ranma and friendship too.  Ranma had always been the cause of
his problems.  He was a pig because of Ranma.  He didn't have Akane,
because of Ranma.  A fiery anger still burned inside him for Saotome.  The
concept that such a caring person as Ranko could be inside Ranma was very
difficult for him to accept, despite the evidence he had seen.  He felt
no anger for Ranko; she was a kind, sweet, beautiful young woman who
deserved the same kind of kindness as she gave to others.  But it was
Ranma's body that was now asleep in front of him, and he had to fight his
instincts hard to stop himself from attacking again.  It was a fight he
knew he couldn't lose, for Ranko's sake.  Even if it was Ranma before him,
he wouldn't attack him in his sleep, he decided.  Such a thing would be
almost as dishonourable as attacking Ranko.  Whether he liked it or not,
he had to admit that Ranma was a kindred spirit - a martial artist, a
man - now a woman - of honour.

His angry streak kicked in again and he wondered how a person of honour
could possibly extend friendship toward someone who had behaved as
dishonourably as he had.  Slowly the anger faded away, but the question
did not.  He genuinely began to wonder just why it was that she was being
so nice to him.  Was it just pity for a cold piglet in the rain or was
there more to it?  Could she really have forgiven him so totally; not
just for the recent attack, but for the things he had done to Ranma in
the past?  The concept of forgiveness was so alien to him - all he had
ever known was revenge.  Blind anger and hatred.  Ranma - and now
Ranko - knew that as well as he did, and yet she had forgiven him
in a heartbeat.  Ryouga's mind was racing as he tried to reconcile the
anger and mistrust he had shown Ranma with the kindness and sincerity
that Ranko had shown him.

She shivered gently and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders.
Originally, he had planned to be a simple guardian - keep a detached
distance, and rush in to fight off anyone who thought they'd attack
her.  He hadn't even intended to ever converse with her again, so
great was his shame, but his pig form meant that she was expecting
no words.  He hadn't been able to yell his objections to her kindness
and silence her so he could leave, and she had been able to show him
that her kindness was genuine.  He'd certainly never planned for...
this. He watched her shiver, and nodded to himself.  For the first
time he felt a sense of responsibility rather than revenge.  He knew
that as long as Ranma was Ranko, he had lost an enemy and gained a
friend.  Standing, he lowered his head and repeated his vow to
himself.  He would protect her.  He felt a sense of happiness,
of belonging, as he stepped forward off the pillow.  Maybe she
could protect him, too.

A few hours later, Akane popped her head through the doorway on the way
to the kitchen for a midnight drink of water, to see if P-chan was still
in Ranko's bedroom.  He was curled up in Ranko's arms, her still-smiling
face resting atop his head as the two slumbered together, both appearing
equally happy in the warmth of their embrace.

* * *

Ranko yawned softly, her eyes opening slowly.  Even half-lidded they
could see the warm morning sunlight streaming in through the curtains.
She smiled as she dozed, glad the storm was over.  It felt so warm in
her bed this morning, so much better than the cold wetness of the night
before.  She'd been really chilly at first, from the weather outside,
but had warmed up quickly in bed, and now she felt luxuriously warm and
relaxed.  She stretched out her legs and feet, curling her toes and
yawning again.  Then she felt a movement beside her, and her eyes shot
open.

Her first instinct was to scream, but she supressed it.  Reaching for the
blanket with a hand, she pulled it back slowly, revealing a small black
ball curled up next to her, snoring quietly enough that the blanket had
suppressed the noise entirely.  <P-chan!> she thought, angrily, <Why, that
little pervert!>

She reached down to grab him and throw him out of the bed, but as her hand
touched the little warm ball she found herself not scowling, but smiling.
She stroked gently at his head, and he let out a little squeak of pleasure.
Her smile widened, and she wondered why.  She should have been angry at
him for sleeping in the same bed as her - after all, it was Ranma's main
point of contention with the little piglet, but something about it just
felt right.  She scratched along his ear with a fingertip and he wriggled
about in unconscious joy.  <I don't imagine that Ryouga has happy dreams
very often,> she thought to herself, <the least I can do is let him have
this one.>

She rested her head back on the pillow again and gazed down at his
snoring form.  She draped her arm gently across him and smiled.  It was
very sweet of him to be so concerned for her.  Ranma had always been so
busy trying to throw the little guy through the nearest window that he'd
never really looked closely at the piglet for long before, and Ranko
smiled as she realized he was kinda cute, in a little piglet sort of way.
She couldn't help but giggle as he unconsciously nuzzled her arm, and
it was her soft giggling that woke him.

P-chan blinked once or twice, and yawned as he woke.  As his view
came into focus the first thing he saw was the face of Ranma.  His first
instinct was to run away as fast as he could, because usually whenever
he was awakened to the sight of Ranma's face it meant he was about to
be pulverized.  His muscles tensed, but before he could start to run
his eyes wandered downwards and noticed that it wasn't the usual
frown, but a smile on her face.  Slowly, his muscles relaxed as he
remembered.  Ranko.  He blushed and bowed his head.  He hadn't meant
to sleep quite so long; he'd intended to be awake and outside as a
human again before she woke.

She scratched his head gently as he finished waking.  "Good morning. Got
lonely, huh, P-chan?"  His response was a quiet little *bwee* as his
little cheeks flushed.  She sat up, picked him up, and placed him in her
lap.

"I have to go to school today, P-chan, so I can't sit around here all
day with you.  I'm going to go and have a shower now.  I'll be back
home in a few hours, okay?" she said, and placed him gently on the
bed next to her.  He jumped up and down on the bed, *bwee*ing.  She
smiled at him and turned to leave.

* * *

She sat down in front of the bathroom mirror and began brushing
her hair.  The cold shower had woken her up, but it was a nice warm
shower that she'd really wanted.  A small sacrifice, she supposed.  After
working the knots out of her hair, she stood and straightened her uniform,
and headed out of the bathroom, and down the stairs.  She didn't notice
the little piglet scurrying past her into the bathroom.

As she came to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Akane and Nabiki packing
their books into their bag.  Akane looked up and scowled.

"So," she began, "did you sleep well?  I see you had my P-chan in bed with
you to keep you company."

Soun and Genma's heads whirled around to stare at her as they heard this.
Inside, she burned with embarrassment.  She knew there'd be a difficult time
explaining *that* to her father and Tendo-sama.  Being a girl, they could
handle.  Sleeping with a boy in her bed was probably stepping over the line.
She somehow managed to meet Akane's eyes.

"I, uh... I slept well," she stammered, "and so did P-chan.  I think he
curled up in the first place he could find, it really took it out of him
to be out in the storm last night." she finished, weakly.

"Uh-huh," fumed Akane, hands on hips, "well, it looks like you both slept so
well that you're going to be late for school.  We've already packed our
bags and we're leaving right now.  I suggest you do the same!  Come on,
Nabiki, let's go."

"Smooth move, Ran-chan," smirked Nabiki as Akane dragged her out.

* * *

After much struggling, P-chan had managed to turn the hot water tap enough
to get the water flowing.  After a brief soak, Ryouga stepped out into the
hallway with a towel wrapped around him.  He had tried to tell Ranko that he
didn't want her to leave without him to escort her to school, but his
communication skills as a pig were lacking.  He heard the sounds of people
talking downstairs, and stepped through Ranko's bedroom.  Opening the
window, he leaned out and then jumped through, landing softly on the grass
below.  He crept around the house to search for his clothes.

As he passed by the kitchen window, which was open a little, he heard
Ranko's voice.  He stopped, and leaned up against the wall.  Shouldn't
she have left for school by now?

* * *

"You have a lot of explaining to do, boy!" bellowed Genma, "Allowing
Ryouga to sleep in the same bed as you!  It's a disgrace!"

"Saotome is right!" added Soun, almost in tears already, "What kind of
behaviour is that for the future husband of Akane?"

Ranko stood with her hands clasped in front of her, looking down at the
floor.  She weathered the shouted accusations with a strange calm, politely
waiting her turn.

"What have you to say for yourself, boy?" asked Genma, at length.

"It's all because of the attack," began Ranko.  Outside the window, Ryouga's
eyes widened and his pulse quickened.  Was she going to tell them?  He
would never be able to step inside the Tendo household again!  Is this why
she was so friendly to him, so she could betray him?  He raised his hand
and tightened it into a fist.

"Shortly after the attack," Ranko continued, "Ryouga found out about it.
He was very angry, and offered to watch over me and protect me from any
future harm."

"Last night," she said, more softly, "he was sitting on the roof in the
cold to watch over the house and stop anyone from getting in to attack
me again.  It was very brave and selfless of him, but unfortunately the
storm came, and after he was turned into a pig he fell from the roof.
I went outside and fetched him.  The poor thing was frozen half to death
by then.  I took him upstairs and dried him off, and took him into my
bedroom for the night.  He must have jumped into the bed with me after
I went to sleep, because he was still there when I woke up."

Soun and Genma looked at each other and 'hmmm'ed thoughtfully.  Soun
stroked his chin.

"It is honourable to defend the innocent," he said, nodding, "but didn't
it make you angry to find him in your bed with you?"

She shook her head.  "I was surprised at first, but not angry.  He had
seemed so lonely the night before, sitting up on the roof all by
himself... I really feel for him.  He's dedicated himself entirely to
watching over me, the least I can do is be his friend.  I had thought
about it while I was Ranma, but he was always so angry with me.  He
hates Ranma for knocking him into the spring at Jusenkyo.  But.. looking
back at it now, Ranma considered him a friend.  He always argued and
fought with him, of course, but Ryouga is probably the person Ranma
was closest to.  Well, the non-fiancee he was closest to."

She lowered her head slightly.  "Now that I'm not Ranma anymore, I can
finally get around that hatred and my stupid warrior pride and become
a true friend to Ryouga.  I don't want to pass up that chance."

* * *

Outside the window, Ryouga was breathless.  Here he had been expecting
betrayal and Ranko had again surprised him with sincerity and kindness.
He clenched his fist tighter, angry at himself for continuing to mistrust
her.  She wasn't Ranma, she wouldn't try to trick him.  But why did
Ranma try to trick him?  If what Ranko said is true - and he decided it
must be - Ranma didn't actually hate him.  So why did he always
act so spitefully toward him?

He heard Ranko leave through the front door and realized he didn't have
time to think about things.  Scrambling quickly, he found his clothes
and dressed.  Picking up his backpack, he ran around the house and out
after the red haired girl he could see in the distance.  He wouldn't get
lost this time, he knew.  He had her in sight and he wouldn't take his
eyes from her.  He would protect her.

* * *

"I was wondering if you were going to follow me to school," she said,
not looking back.  She paused for a moment, then added, "I'm glad you did."

Ryouga said nothing, and kept his respectful distance of a couple of
metres behind her.

"You know," Ranko noted, "I almost got into a lot of trouble over
you sleeping in my bed last night."

He looked up at her, and opened his mouth to speak.  However, he wasn't sure
what words to say.  After a few moment's silence, Ranko continued.

"I, uh," she started, beginning to blush, "I did enjoy it, though.  I had
no idea it would feel so nice to be with somebody who is so concerned for
my welfare when I woke up.  Nobody's ever cared about me like that before.
It made me feel... oh, I don't know.  It'll sound stupid."

After a moment, Ryouga broke his silence.  "Please, tell me."

She blushed more, but smiled.  "Alright, I will.  It made me feel special.
Like a princess with her very own guardian angel.  Even if he was a little
piglet."  She giggled softly to herself.

Ryouga looked down at the street below Ranko's feet again.  "...I see."

Ranko stopped suddenly, and Ryouga looked up in alarm.  She turned to face
him, a smile on her face.

<Why is she smiling?  Does she think my curse is funny?> thought Ryouga.

She held out her hand slowly.  <Is he blushing?> she wondered to herself
as she spoke, "Come on, Ryouga.  Just because you're my guardian angel
doesn't mean you have to stay all the way back there.  Walk with me.  It'll
be easier to talk."

He looked at her hand, then at her face, unsure of what to do.  She placed
one hand behind her back and leaned forward a little, extending her hand
further.  "Please?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

<She WAS telling the truth,> thought Ryouga, <she DOES want to be my
friend.> And yet, here he was, doubting her again.  Thinking she was
trying to make fun of his curse.  Why was he finding it so hard to trust
her?  Was he really that bitter?

He looked up into her eyes, her soft smile telling him that she would
forgive him in a heartbeat if he was.  He reached up and took her hand.

"There, isn't that better?" she asked as she pulled him up to her and
turned to continue walking, "It felt like we were a procession or
something, with you following me."

"I, uh..." tried Ryouga, blushing furiously.  His hand began to sweat
as it held hers, causing him to blush more.  He let her hand go and
continued walking and staring at the street.  This wasn't right; he
shouldn't be walking with her, with his eyes too busy looking at
the street to notice any attackers before they could strike.  He
wanted to get his distance back again, he shouldn't be talking to
her after what he did to her...

He thought back to a few minutes ago.  She had said she was glad he
followed her.  She wanted him to be here.  As they walked together,
Ryouga began to realize that he wanted to be here too.

* * *

They were well and truly late by the time they arrived at Furinkan,
but it didn't seem to matter.  The conversation had flowed more
freely in the second half of the trip, and by the time they reached
the gates they were talking like old friends, laughing and
smiling.

"Thank you for walking me to school," said Ranko, turning to face
him.

"It's alright," replied Ryouga, a small smile on his face, "I enjoyed
it."

"What are you going to do while I'm in school?"

"I figured I'd--" began Ryouga, but didn't get the chance to
finish.  There was a loud *thud* nearby, and both their heads turned
to the source of the noise.

"My pig-tailed girl!" shouted Kuno as he stepped away from the
tree he had jumped out of, "My flame-haired goddess!  It is good to
see you after such an extended absence!"

"Uh oh," groaned Ranko.

"I see you have grown your hair to appear more pleasing to me!  I
am greatly pleased by this effort on your part.  As a reward, I,
Tatewake Kuno, will allow you to go on a date with me tonight!"

Ranko closed her eyes and shook her head.  Ryouga noted this, and
stepped forward.  "She isn't interested."

"Ah, who is this?  A rival suitor wishing to challenge me for
the attentions of the red-haired girl?  I accept!" said Kuno cooly,
brushing his hair back with a hand as he held up his bokken with
the other.  "Be warned, the flame of my passion burns bright!  It
is not a mere ember to be trifled with!"

Ryouga turned and put his hands on Ranko's shoulders.  "Stand back,
I'll take care of this idiot."

"Ryouga... I..."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for, isn't it?" replied Ryouga with a grin,
"To protect you.  That's what I'm gonna do.  Don't worry, I'll be
fine."

Ranko nodded, and stepped back.  Ryouga turned back to Kuno and took
up a fighting stance.  "You'll have to get through me if you want
to get anywhere near her."

"I fully intend to," replied Kuno, with a smirk, "ready yourself,
fiend!"

Ryouga ducked as Kuno swung high with his bokken, rolling forward and
punching him sharply in the stomach.  As Kuno bent over, winded,
Ryouga picked him up and threw him backwards.  Kuno sailed through
the air and crashed into a tree.  Ryouga relaxed for a moment, but
tensed again as Kuno got up.

Kuno charged again, but was soon sent sailing back into the tree.
This happened a few more times before Kuno got lucky, and his bokken
connected with the side of Ryouga's head.  Ryouga cried out in pain,
his fist moving up instinctively to punch the bokken.  His eyes
burned with anger as he punched, shattering the weapon into a thousand
tiny pieces.  Kuno backed off a little as his weapon was destroyed, but
there was no stopping Ryouga now.  He screamed in anger and drove his
finger into the ground directly below his opponent.

"Bakusai tenketsu!"

He closed his eyes as the ground beneath them exploded, shards of
rock flying all around, a few of them impacting uselessly against
his chest and stomach.  He was used to this now, it didn't hurt at
all anymore.  Kuno didn't fare so well.  He was propelled into the air
by the force of the rocks striking him, his body unconscious before
it even left the ground.

Ryouga stood slowly, his fist clenched in front of him, his fangs
showing.  He opened his eyes and looked at the crater before him.
It would be a long time before Kuno messed with Ranko again.  Ranko!
He'd been so preoccupied with being furious at Kuno that he'd forgotten
why he was fighting him.  He turned and walked away from the crater.

"Ryouga!  Are you okay?" asked Ranko, rushing over to him.  His fist
loosened as he looked up at her.  He smiled.

"I'm fine, Ranko.  I told you I'd be fine."

She took his head into her hands and turned it slightly.  He flushed
slightly as she saw the mark on his cheek.  "It doesn't look like you're
fine to me.  Doesn't that hurt?"

He reached up and took her hands in his, pulling them down from his
face.  He smiled.  "It doesn't hurt at all."

"It was very brave of you to stand up for me like that.  I really
appreciate what you're doing for me."

"It's nothing," Ryouga replied, "compared to my debt to you.  If anyone
tries to come near you I'll make sure they regret it."

She tilted her head and smiled at him.  He smiled back, wondering why
her smile looked so strange.  It was then that he realized he was still
tightly holding her hands in his, between them.  She squeezed his hands
gently, causing him to blush furiously and let go.  "I, uh, I think you
should probably go to class now."

"You're right, I should." she replied, and started to turn away.  She
took a step away from him, then turned her head to look at him over
her shoulder.  "I'll see you later today.  And... thanks, again, Ryouga."

Ryouga reached up and scratched the back of his head as he watched her
walk into the school building, his cheeks still red with embarrassment,
a strange, bewildered smile on his face.

Nabiki and Akane were among the crowd of students standing in a hallway
two storeys up, watching the fight through the windows.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," noted Nabiki as Ryouga released
Ranko's hands and let her walk off.

* * *

Ranko tried to settle into school for a normal day, but things were
naturally different.  There were students who still thought she was Ranma,
students who were curious as to whether what they had heard about Ranma
thinking himself a girl was true, and students who had heard nothing about
it and were genuinely surprised.  She tried to shrug it off, but after a
while it started to wear her down.  All she wanted was to fit in and be
treated normally but everyone was treating her like a circus side show.
She wished she could go somewhere and have things feel normal again.

It was later in the day, as she sat gazing through the windows, unable
to concentrate, that she saw Ryouga outside, leaning against a wall.  He
was looking around as she noticed him - probably looking for anyone who
might suddenly decide to attack her, she reflected - but after a few
moments he looked inside and saw her staring at him.

She should have felt embarrassed at being caught staring at him, but for
some reason she didn't blush.  She raised her hand in as noticable a
wave as she could risk without being caught by her teacher, and smiled
at him.  A real smile, borne of genuine happiness to see him.  After all
the strange looks and odd comments she had received, she was overjoyed to
see someone who actually *knew* her.  Her eyes shone with that happiness
as he nodded in reply, and - Ranko thought, it was hard to tell from this
distance - managed a smile as well.

Ryouga had indeed smiled, and blushed as well, although Ranko hadn't made
that out.  He had been staring at her for at least 5 minutes before finally
breaking his gaze to look around at his surroundings, and when he'd looked
back she was looking at him.  He'd let out a sigh of relief, glad that he
hadn't been caught staring at her like some pervert.  The first thing he
noticed was her wave - brief, hurried, but out of necessity, not because
it was a quick, polite wave - and her smile.  She really seemed happy to
see him.  She'd looked so depressed a few moments earlier, her head
resting on her hand as she'd looked out through the windows on the opposite
side of the room.  He'd felt sorry for her then; she looked like she was
about to cry.  Her eyes twinkled with happiness now, and Ryouga found his
palms were sweaty as he looked at those eyes.  He tried to smile, but found
it hard to make his face work, and the smile that he eventually managed was
weak and hesitant.  He wondered for a moment why he was having such a
hard time moving his gaze from her eyes, but he quickly stopped caring.
She seemed to radiate happiness with her smile, and before long any traces
of anger from his fight with Kuno earlier in the day were gone, replaced
by a warm happiness that felt wonderful.

* * *

The sun was sinking below the horizon as Ranko walked along the same
street she'd walked to school this morning.  Other than the scuffle with
Kuno, the day had been remarkably free of fights.  Still, it felt good
to be walking away from school, with its constant fights and - lately -
pitiful or disdainful expressions from the other students.  She'd waited
for Akane after the school day had finished, but apparently Akane had
already left, probably in a huff with her over something she'd done that
day.

<No point in rushing when there's a beautiful sunset to enjoy,> she
thought to herself.  She couldn't help but smile at the noise of Ryouga
following her, walking along the fence that ran alongside the street.

"Ryouga?"

"Hm?" he replied, looking at the sunset himself.

"Does your cheek still hurt?"

"I told you already," he replied, scratching the back of his head, "it
didn't hurt at all."

"I know you better than that," noted Ranko, "I heard you yell when he hit
you, and you don't get that angry over something that doesn't hurt."

"What makes you say that?" he asked, wondering if it was true.

"I've known you for a long time.  You don't get furious like that over
stupid things.  Sure, you get a little ticked off from time to time, but
you looked like you were ready to rip Kuno's head off. Every time you've
been that angry it's been after somebody's done something to hurt you."

"Like what?"

"Well, I guess when Kuno hit you it hurt your pride as my protector
that he'd actually managed to hit you.  There are other things, though,
like when Ranma knocked you into the cursed spring," she replied, "when
he was on anything that looked like a date with Akane, things like
that."

"Oh," replied Ryouga, pondering.

"And when you attacked me," she added, without thinking.  She stopped
a moment after she realized what she'd said, and turned to look up at
him.  "That hurt you?"

"I..."  stammered Ryouga.

"It did, didn't it?" she turned away and looked down at the ground.
Ryouga lowered himself so he was squatting on the fence next to her,
unsure of what to say.  He didn't know whether she was angry at him
for something, or not.

"Tell me something," she said, without looking up.

"What?"

"How do you feel about what you did to me?"

"What?" he responded, not really understanding.

"You attacked me.  How do you feel about what you did?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Just tell me, Ryouga," she said, turning to look up at him, "please
tell me."

"Angry, and ashamed.  And..." he trailed off.

"And...?" she prodded.

"And... hurt." he finished, looking down at her.

"I thought so," she said, nodding.  She looked down at the street
again.  "And now you're angry at yourself for what you did."

He said nothing.

"You shouldn't be," she said, barely more than a whisper.

"What?" he asked, confused.  "Why not?"

"Because I'm glad you attacked me."

He was bewildered.  "Glad?  Why?"

"Because if you hadn't attacked me, I wouldn't know you any better
than Ranma did," she began, looking up at him, "and your friendship
has come to mean a lot to me these past few days."

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words to say.

"You're such an angry person," she said, gently, placing her hand
on his, "first at Ranma, now at yourself.  Stop being so angry at
everything, Ryouga.  If not for yourself, then for me.  Make room
in that heart of yours for my friendship, okay?  I want that far
more than any amount of protection."

She looked up at his confused face for a moment, then smiled, and
removed her hand from his.  She turned and carried on walking home,
leaving him squatting on the fence behind her, an expression of
bewilderment on his face.

* * *

Ranko yawned as she stepped into her room, wearing her now-clean
nightrobe.  It had been a long day at school, and helping to tidy
the house and cook dinner before doing her homework had only tired
her further.  She felt like she could sleep for a week.

She drew the curtains, took a sip of water, and sat down on her
bed.  She thought briefly about the day, but was interrupted by
a voice from outside the window.

"Good night, Ranko."

She stood and pulled back the curtain.  There was Ryouga outside her
window, apparently on his way up to the roof.  He waved to her
with one hand and held on with the other.

"You don't have to sit up on the roof every night, you know," she
said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"It's the best place to watch out for intruders," he replied,
shrugging.

"Doesn't it get cold up there?"

"Not really."

"Could have fooled me," she smiled, "the way you were shivering
last night.  Why don't you come inside instead?"

"What, and have Akane find me in your room?" he shuddered, "I think
being on the roof is less risky.  She'd kill me.  And you."

"Yeah," replied Ranko, leaning on the windowsill, a grin on her
face, "but wouldn't the look on her face be hilarious?"

"Maybe, but her mallet sure wouldn't be."

"Come on," she laughed, holding her hand out to him, "she knows
you're here to watch over me."

"But... in your bedroom?" he asked, hesitating.

"You could always sleep in the dojo."

"But I couldn't watch over you from there.  The roof is the
best place,"  he began climbing again.

She watched him climb for a few moments, frowning.  Her face
brightened as she had an idea.

* * *

Ryouga sat quietly on the roof, watching both the twinkling
lights of the stars, and their terrestrial counterparts in
the city before him.  There was a sharp chill in the air that
cleared his mind and helped him to think.

A voice came from behind him.  "I can see why you like it up
here."  He jumped a little; he hadn't heard any footsteps,
and it was not often that happened, espesically on as quiet
a night as tonight.

He turned his head and looked back over his shoulder.  Ranko
stood, her hands clasped together in front of her.  A gentle
gust of wind blew, making her hair sway gently behind her, and
the bottom of her robe flap gently against her legs.  She
reached up and stroked her hair back from one side of her face,
hooking it behind her ear.  She smiled at him, and he gulped.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"I... I..." Ryouga began, then stopped himself.  He paused for
a moment, collected his thoughts, and tried again.  "Of course
not."  He shuffled over and patted the place where he had
been sitting.  She walked over to him - again, not making a
sound as she walked - and sat down, pulling her robe about
herself.

They sat in silence for a while, both watching the lights in
the city, the unmoving lights of the buildings illuminating the
streets below, which were made brighter by the lights from the
seemingly unending stream of cars that ran through Tokyo.

Ranko breathed in the cool night air.  "I can see why you like
it here.  Look!  You can see the dew forming on the grass.
It's so beautiful."

"It's quiet," replied Ryouga, "it helps me think."

She turned and looked at him as he gazed out into the city, not
saying anything in reply.

"When I sit out in the night like this - not just here, but
in the mountains when I'm training, or sometimes in a tree in
a park, or wherever - and it's dark and quiet, I stop being
angry, and I can think to myself."

"What do you think about?"

"Usually I think about my life... the fact that I'm a pig, the
fact that I don't have Akane, the fact that I don't have any
friends, the fact that I always fight with Ranma."

"I thought you said you didn't get angry."

"That's the thing... I don't.  When I'm around other people and I think
about those kinds of things I always get angry and depressed.  But when
I'm out alone on a night like this I can think about them, and it's
like I'm thinking about somebody else, y'know?  Looking in from the
outside.  It's stupid, I know."

She turned her head to look out again at the city.  "It's not stupid."

"It's happening again tonight," he said, a few moments later.

"It is?"

He nodded.  "It's never happened with somebody else with me before."

"So what are you thinking about?"

He said nothing.  After a few moments of silence, she turned her head
back to look at him again.  "Ryouga?"

"Are you my friend?" he asked, simply.

"What?  Yes, of course I am."

"That's what I was thinking about."

"What about it?"

"Well," he began, leaning forward a bit, "you've been friendly to me
lately, but I still can't stop myself from wondering why.  There's
always a little voice inside me that's trying to warn me that you're
about to turn around and stab me in the back.  It's like my mind can't
handle something good happening to me and is trying to find faults
that aren't there."

"So you don't trust me?"

"I don't know," he replied, honestly, "I want to, but I don't know if
I do.  I'm sorry... I must sound like a real jerk.  I hope you're not
mad."

"I'm not mad.  A little disappointed, but it's not your fault." she
replied, and paused.  "I want you to know that I am your friend,
whether you believe it or not."

There was silence for a few moments.  Both of them looked back to
the city in the distance.

"You know what?" said Ryouga, without moving his gaze.

"What?"

"I do believe you."

She smiled, then turned to face him.  "I'm glad."

His head turned to look at her, a smile on his face.  His brow
creased as he looked at her, however.  "You look cold.  You
should go inside."

"I don't want to.  I like it here."

"We can always come back tomorrow."

"I guess you're right," she replied, and started to stand.  "Will
you come with me?"

"Inside?  I don't think I should.  I mean, if someone came in and
saw us both in your room..." he laughed too loud, a nervous laugh.

"I want you to be there.  I want to talk to you tonight."

He looked up at her.  "Akane would kill me.  Or if she didn't, your
dad and Tendo-san sure would."

"Well," she replied, a devious twinkle in her eye, "it doesn't have
to be you in there.  It could always be P-chan.  I'd like to have your
company, even if you can't talk back."

* * *

"The view isn't as nice, but there's sure something to be said for
a comfy bed." Ranko said, smiling across at P-chan on the pillow.  He
nodded.

She lay sideways on the bed, resting her head on one hand and drawing
small circles on her pillow with the other.  "What you said about the
roof was right.  It does make you think, doesn't it?"

P-chan sat up and tilted his head a little.  She looked at him, and
her smile faded.

"It made me think, too.  About my life.  When you get down to it, I'm
only a few days old.  Most of my life is Ranma's.  I don't know how
he feels about me.  I mean, I've stolen his life.  I know nobody
else around here is comfortable with that.  They all want Ranma back
so things can get back to normal.  I feel guilty for taking him from
them."

The piglet lowered himself down onto the pillow again, his ears drooping.

"And what am I?  An accident?  A medical condition that Ranma's going
through?  I don't even know what I am.  I think I'm a seperate person,
but for all I know I might just be a messed up pile of Ranma's memories.
Tofu-sensei said it's only a temporary thing.  It might be, it might
not.  I mean, I could be here to stay, or I could wake up tomorrow and
not be me anymore.  What would I be if that happened?  I don't even know
if Ranma would remember me.  If he didn't, there'd be nothing of me left."

P-chan stood and *bwee!*ed loudly at her.  She looked at him, a tear in
her eye.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I'm just babbling.  Stupid philosophising.
I just got carried away with it.  If I'm meant to stay here, then I will.
If I'm meant to live in Ranma's mind, then that's what I'll do.  If I
just disappear... well... there's not really a lot I can do about it."

The piglet jumped from his pillow onto her bed, and sat down on her
pillow, in front of her face.  She reached up and stroked his head softly,
a tear rolling from her face and hitting the pillow.  "I didn't mean
for that to happen... I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping her eyes dry with
her other hand,  "it's just hard to stop thinking about that once I
start."

He nuzzled her hand gently, and a small smile returned to her face.
She sniffled.  "You know what?  No matter what happens, I'm glad I got
to know you.  If Ranma comes back, I hope he remembers what I think of
you."

P-chan smiled at her, satisfied that she seemed to be feeling better.
He stood, and turned to return to his pillow.  He felt her hand on
his back.

"No... don't go.  Stay with me."

He turned again and looked at her.  He saw lonliness in her eyes;
the same lonliness he felt when he was alone on some mountain without
a soul around for miles.  Her training mountain was far more ominous
than any he had ever climbed, and he knew she must have been feeling
pretty small.  He sat, and he stayed with her.  He sat there for hours,
watching her sleeping form in the darkness.  He knew now what her greatest
enemy was, but he didn't know if he would be able to protect her from it.
After all, he'd succumbed to it years ago.  Even worries like these could
only keep him awake for so long, and as the moon descended toward the
horizon outside, his eyes closed.  His dreams were troubled.

* * *

The two of them sat on a park bench, throwing pieces of bread down to
some ducks swimming at the edge of the lake.  The week had been
relatively uneventful.  School had been downright boring, even, and
the usual fiancee hijinks had been non-existent.  Shampoo, Mousse and
Cologne had been off on some trip to who-knows-where for longer than
Ranko had been alive, so she didn't even know if they knew she existed.
Akane was, well, Akane still.  She seemed more subdued lately than usual.
Probably from missing Ranma, Ranko decided.  Ukyou had been avoiding her,
or so she thought.  She'd come by to say hello after she heard about what
happened, but hadn't been seen since.  She probably didn't want to be
around in case she got mad and started hitting me, Ranko decided.  Who
could blame her?  She knew how much Ukyou cared about Ranma.  Maybe Ranma
would know when he came back.  If he came back.  She tried to sort her
thoughts out and realized she'd stopped throwing bread.  She frowned,
and resumed tearing off small pieces and tossing them.

Ryouga had been quiet today.  And yesterday, and the day before.  She
worried about that as well as the million other things she had to worry
about.  He'd been quiet since the night on the roof.  It obviously had
something to do with what she'd told him from her bed, but she couldn't
know how he felt about it.  He didn't look angry, which was a good thing
at least.  She had worried that he might be angry at Ranma for coming
back and making her disappear.  No, he definitely wasn't angry, she
decided.  He was perfectly calm as he sat next to her.  He'd been calm
like that for a while now.  She wondered whether that was because of
what she'd told him, or because he finally had a real friend, or for
some other reason that she hadn't thought of.

"It's a nice day today," she said, looking out at the lake.

"It is." he agreed, without looking up.  She looked across at him
and frowned, then looked around to her left and right, at the path going
around the lake.  She'd had enough of moping.  For all she knew, this
might be her last minute alive, and she wasn't about to spend it sulking.
She was going to have some fun, and that was that.  She stood, and turned
to face Ryouga.

"Come on.  It's too nice to just sit here.  Let's go for a walk."

"I don't know," he replied, "it seems nice here."

"But it might be nicer over on the other side of the lake.  You'll
never know if we don't look.  Let's go."  She reached down and took his
arm, and pulled him to his feet.

"Alright," he agreed, "let's go."

She smiled up at him, and took his hand in hers.  For the first time
in far too long, Ryouga saw that twinkle in her eyes as he looked at
her face.  The feeling of doom he'd had for the past few days slinked
away into its dark corner as he realized what she was thinking.  He
realized that his best chance of helping her was to be happy himself,
not to be selfish and sulk because it was possible she might leave soon.
She was right, there was no point in sulking all day.  He felt a small
sense of pride in managing to understand what she was thinking, which
made him smile.  He stood and stepped toward her, squeezing her small
hand gently.  She interleaved her fingers with his and pulled him closer
to her as they began along the path.

"You're right, it is a nice day." he agreed again.  She kept smiling,
and so did he.

* * *

The sun had advanced much further in the sky, and its light was reddening
as the two sat down on the opposite side of the lake.  As it had turned
out, this side was nicer, but they'd walked around it three times just to
make sure, holding hands and talking the whole way.  Now they sat at the
edge of the lake, he crosslegged, she dangling her feet into the water.

She kicked her feet back and forth gently, splashing the water around a
little.  "I wish we could go for a swim."

"Me too," he replied, looking down at the water, "it's been too long since
I last did.  One day, I will again."

She smiled, watching the ripples in the water.  "That's a very positive
attitude to take, Ryouga.  I like it."

He chuckled, a smile coming to his face.  "What can I say?  Your habits are
rubbing off on me."

She raised her feet out of the water, wiggled her toes back and forth,
and lowered them back into the lake.  "I'm glad.  I don't like seeing
you sad."

"I guess I'd just been so used to it I didn't know how to do anything else.
I prefer being happy.  It's hard for me to not be sad; I'm so used to it.
But it's worth it."  He looked at her for a moment, then looked back down
at the lake.  They sat in silence for a few minutes, both watching the
reflection of the sun in the lake as it sank slowly toward the horizon.

"We'll be able to see the stars soon," she noted, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding, "we should probably get going.  Your dad and
the others will be worrying about you."

"Nah," she shook her head, "I don't feel like being there tonight.  Let's
stay here a while longer.  It's nice here."

"Okay."

She swung her feet in the water for a while longer, then pulled them out
onto the bank, tucking her knees up under her chin.  The water was a bit
too cold now, and she was feeling a bit cold herself.  She shivered just
a little bit.

Ryouga noticed her shiver, and the goosebumps appearing on her arm.  He
reached out and gently touched her arm, frowning.  "You're getting
cold.  We should go."

"Your hand's warm," she said, looking down at it, "how come you aren't
getting cold?"

"I have thick skin," he said, and smiled, "I'm used to being outside at
night."

"Must be all those training trips," she said.  Ryouga noticed she had
leaned over against his arm.  He could feel she was cold, even through
their clothes.

"Yeah," he replied, and some protective instinct he'd developed made
him raise his arm and place it over her shoulders.  Her back felt cool
to his touch.  She seemed to appreciate the warmth of him, and leaned
her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said, quietly.

He didn't feel the nervousness he usually felt around girls, like when
he was close to Akane.  He felt that he _should_ feel nervous, but even
the dark little untrusting voice inside his head couldn't make him feel
anything but comfortable and happy with her in his arms.  He sighed
softly and tilted his head sideways a little to rest it atop hers.  He
listened to her breathing and closed his eyes, unsure of what to say,
or whether he should say anything at all.  No, he decided, the silence
spoke for itself.  He looked out again at the lake and smiled.  The
stars were beginning to appear as the sun's glare faded.  He held her
in his arm and said nothing.

Several minutes later, he felt her relaxing against him, and heard her
breathing slowing.  Was she falling asleep?  He reached up and gently
stroked her hair back from her face.  Looking down at her fece, he could
see her eyes were half closed.  She looked up at him and smiled, dozing.

He looked at her face, so close to his, and saw the stars reflected
in her eyes.  He stroked her hair gently and smiled down at her.  His
hand wandered to her cheek and stroked her skin, which seemed to glow
white in the light of the rising moon.

<She's beautiful,> he thought, his thumb stroking softly over her lips
as his hand cupped her chin.  How could the girl he held, whose delicate
skin he was touching, be in the body of Ranma Saotome?  His arm squeezed
her shoulders as he looked at her.  She felt so fragile, so soft and
yielding to his hold.  His mind raced, trying to reconcile the images
of his powerful opponent with the innocent girl before him.  How could
they be the same person?

They could not, he realized.  His mind seemed to click into place as
what he had been asking himself for days finally seemed to be answered.
She wasn't Ranma.  Not at all.  She had his memories, yes... but not his
mind.  She was innocent of the anger and egotism and selfishness that
had been Ranma.  She was a clean slate, a new person whom he had grown
to care very much for and - now - to trust.  He looked into her eyes
again and leaned closer in to her.

<He's going to kiss me,> she thought, holding her breath.  The thought
wasn't a normal, clear thought; it ran like a liquid through her mind
as she stared up at him.  She felt so confused, but a part of her wanted
to stay in his arms and let him kiss her, and she felt so safe she
couldn't bring herself to fight it, or even question it.  She felt the
heat of his body and the tenderness of his hand as it touched her
face.  Her eyes softened and she placed her hand on the side of his
face, letting it drift down to his neck.  She could feel nothing of
the cold night air around her, so enraptured was she within the
gentleness of his embrace.

"Ryouga..." she whispered, barely audible, even in the silence of the
evening around them.

He said nothing, unable to speak.  His hand moved from her chin to
her cheek as he moved his face closer to hers, tilting it slightly to
the side as he drew closer.  Her lips parted with a soft sigh and he
felt her breath on his lips.  He stopped - only for a moment, long
enough to enjoy the gentle breath of air from her mouth - before
closing his eyes and moving his mouth toward hers.

Her lips were dry as she sighed, her heart beating faster than it
ever had before.  She became acutely aware of the moisture on his
lips as they drew near; she could feel it, and the warm humidity of
his breath as they breathed together.  She too closed her eyes and
waited for the moment to come.

She tilted her head back a fraction and her mouth moved closer to
his.  He could feel her now, as if she was part of him.  His nose
gently slid against hers as their mouths drew closer, and he felt
a warmth on his lips as they touched hers, almost imperceptibly;
they weren't quite kissing yet, but there was the barest of touches.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb one last time before starting
to--

"This just gets more and more interesting now, doesn't it?" drawled
Nabiki as she watched them.  They both jumped like frightened
rabbits when they heard her voice, their heads both whirling to
see her standing behind them, four eyes as big as saucers staring
at her in utter shock.

* * *

Ranko and Ryouga walked quietly along behind Nabiki, their heads -
faces as red as tomatoes - bowed, eyes on the street.  They both
watched each other in their peripheral vision, but neither could
bring themselves to turn their head and look at the other.  They
both felt supremely embarrassed to have so personal a moment - a
moment that had only just become possible between them - watched
and interrupted by somebody else.  Espescially Nabiki.

Nabiki walked in front of them, looking very pleased with
herself.  "I assume you both had a nice time in the park?  You
certainly stayed there for a long time.  Our fathers were quite
concerned, you know, Ranko."

She said nothing.  What could she say?  They had every right to
be worried.  She had been attacked recently and now she was off
for an entire day sitting in a park with the very person who had
attacked her - she thanked whatever gods were watching that
they didn't know that - and, even worse, was just about to kiss
him.  What would they say?  They would be furious.  Akane would
be devastated, and outraged.  She'd murder them both.  If they
survived Soun and Genma.  The weight of her impending doom weighed
heavily on Ranko's shoulders, and they slumped as she walked.

Ryouga wasn't feeling any better.  He'd sworn to protect her and
now had - through his own selfishness - gotten her into more
trouble than he could even begin to imagine.  How could he have
been so stupid?  He saw her face floating in front of him as
his imagination ran wild, far faster than he was walking and
in totally the wrong direction.  She was so beautiful.  All he
had wanted was to prevent harm from befalling her again, but
things had gotten so complicated.  She'd become his friend.

More than his friend, now.  He wanted to reach out and take
her into his arms, and never let go.  No!  He couldn't.  He
wouldn't.  He had to protect her and doing what he wanted to do
would only hurt her in the long run.  What did he want to do?
He thought about that.  He wanted to care about her, to have
her care about him.  To have someone to share his troubles and
his happiness - rare as it had been, before meeting her - with.
He wanted to love her.  As hard as he tried to stop it, his
heart wondered if it would ever be possible.

"You know," said Nabiki, interrupting both of their trains of
thought, "Father doesn't necessarily *have* to find out about
what I saw in the park."

Ranko looked up at her quickly, clasping her hands together in
front of her chest, elation on her face.  "You're not going to
tell him?"

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't." replied Nabiki, a smirk on her
face.

"What do you want?" asked Ryouga, without looking up.  He'd been
around long enough to know how Nabiki worked.

"Well," she said, leaning her head back casually and looking
up at the stars, "I know neither of you have any serious amount
of cash, so that's out.  I could, however..."

"Could what?" asked Ranko.

"I suppose I could keep it to myself, out of the kindness of my
heart, as a _personal favour_."  The way she said the last two
words sent a shiver down both of the spines behind her.

"I see..." said Ranko, looking down at the street again.

"Of course, it's only fair for me to expect such extreme kindness
to be repaid someday..."

"Well, yes..." replied Ranko, hesitantly.

"...with interest." finished the Tendo girl, a pleased smile on
her face.  An interesting show for her to watch and another two
people on her list of 'assistants' to be called upon when she
needed a favour.  She always did have a long list of those.
All in all, it had been a pretty successful night for her.

* * *

"Have some more rice," said Kasumi, placing some on Ranko's
plate, "you must be hungry if you didn't eat all day."

"Thank you, Kasumi," she replied politely, without looking
up.  Dinner had gone fairly smoothly so far for her, even
with Soun and Genma sitting opposite her, interrogating her
about her day.  They had finished their dinner hours ago,
and Kasumi had to cook another portion for her.

She'd explained to them that she had just been out in the
park relaxing, and had fallen asleep in the grass.  Luckily,
Nabiki didn't object when she told this story.  The two men
seemed more relieved that she was alright than anything else
- after all, her safety meant that Ranma was alright inside
her - and weren't as angry as she had dreaded.

"So you were in the park all day, and so far into the night
too?  A night in the grass, under the stars.  Brings back
memories of our long nights of training, eh, Saotome?" said
Soun with a small laugh.

"Sure does, Tendo," replied Genma.  He didn't mention his
memories of his long nights of training in China with Ranma.
Ranko nearly choked on her rice as she noticed Ryouga sitting
on the fence outside, directly behind Soun and Genma.  Luckily,
she didn't.  Soun and Genma didn't turn around while she
finished her dinner, and by the time she stood, bowed, and
politely excused herself to go up to her room and finish her
homework, he had gone.

* * *

He was squatting on her windowsill as she walked into her room,
as she had been expecting.  She rushed over to him and hugged
him.  She couldn't help herself - a laugh escaped her.

"That was a close one," she said, through her nervous laughter.

"It was," replied Ryouga.  He wasn't laughing.

"Nabiki sure picked a perfect time to show up."

"I wonder how long she was watching before she did."

"I don't know," she replied, stroking her chin.  She hadn't
thought of that.

"Listen, Ranko..." Ryouga began, looking at her, "about
tonight..."

"It was a lot of fun," she said.

"It was dangerous," he replied, shaking his head, "too dangerous.
We shouldn't be doing this.  What would happen if we had been
caught?  If Tendo-san knew?  He'd throw you and your dad out of
here, and everything would be ruined.  You guys would have nowhere
to live, Akane's fiance would be gone for good, and everyone's
lives would be ruined.  It's too dangerous."

"I want to be with you," she said, simply.  He winced.

"I want to be with you too... I wish it was that simple.  You know
it isn't."

She nodded, sadly.  She didn't want to admit it, but it was
true.

"I need some time alone, to think."

"Ryouga!"

"I'll be back later." And with that, he jumped from her window and
was gone.  Ranko leaned out over the windowsill and looked for him,
but he had disappeared into the darkness.  A tear followed him down
from her window before she closed it.

* * *

P-chan found himself sitting in Akane's bedroom.  He hadn't walked
far from the Tendo house before stopping, and had spent at least an
hour out there thinking about what had happened.  He had been so
close to kissing her... if it wasn't for Nabiki, he would have.  He
wanted to again.  He knew that.  He wanted to grab her and kiss her
and never let go.  Never before in his life had anyone cared about
him as much as she did.  And never before in his life had anyone
caused him as much pain.  Not even Ranma.  It wasn't her fault
that she didn't have a body of her own, though, and he could never
be angry at her for that.  He could never be angry at her for
anything, he had realized.  While he found it so easy to be angry
at most anyone else, he could find nothing but concern and adoration
for Ranko.  He had felt sorry for Ranma at that moment; he had never
realized how hard it must be for him to be in the situation he
was in.  Unable to marry any of his fiancees for fear of hurting
the others.  He'd gained a respect for Ranma as he'd sat there in
the street.

He knew, however, that if Ranma ever came back then Ranko
would be gone.  He didn't even want to imagine that.  As difficult
as life felt for him at that point, he couldn't begin to imagine
it without Ranko anymore.  She was the source of all of his problems
now, yes, but she was the provider of his joy as well.  She had
indeed protected him from himself and his lonliness.  He felt
so angry and confused at fate for being so cruel to him.  If it
wasn't for Ranma, Akane, Soun, Shampoo, Ukyou, and everyone else
Ranma knew in Nerima, he would be in Ranko's arms right now
telling her the truth about how he felt.  If it wasn't for Ranma,
however, Ranko wouldn't exist in the first place.  He
felt torn and didn't know what to do.

That was why he now sat by Akane's bed as a piglet, watching
her as she slept.  This was his life as it used to be.  Could
he deal with going back to this after what he had been through
over the last few days?  Did he still feel what he felt for
Akane before all this had began?  He didn't know.  He didn't
even know if he'd felt anything for Akane in the first place
or whether it was just a product of his anger and jealousy
of Ranma.  He wasn't sure of anything as he sat there looking
at her.  He didn't really know why he'd come here.  He turned
away from her and sat again, looking out through the window
at the night sky.

It was another clear night outside and the moon meant his
eyes - now used to the light level - could see outside well.
It looked strange, like it was the middle of the day, in a
way.  It was dark, of course, but the light of the moon
was bright and made sharply contrasting shadows on the
ground outside the house.  It all went dark, though, as
Akane switched the light on.

"P-chan?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, "Where did you come
from?"

He squinted, his eyes not used to the brightness, and looked
over at her.  She patted the bed.  "C'mere, P-chan."

He hopped somewhat reluctantly over.  He really didn't feel
like being cuddled right then.  She picked him up and held him
in her arms.

"Hello, my little P-chan," she smiled down at him, "I've
missed you lately."

He let out a little whimper and looked down.

"You don't seem very happy to see me," Akane added, looking
a little sad at his reaction, "you like being with Ranko,
huh?"

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I don't suppose I can blame you.  She's been much nicer to
you than Ranma ever was."

He felt moisture on the back of his head, and looked up to
see Akane crying.  He felt ashamed, and responsible for
hurting her.

"Oh, P-chan," she sobbed, "I just wish... Ranma would come
back.  He's gone and you like Ranko and I feel so alone.
I miss him so much..."

She squeezed him tightly in her arms, and he looked down
again.  He held his tears back, but inside he was crying
and screaming with shame and anger and frustration.  He
didn't know what to do, he didn't know why this had
happened, he didn't know if Ranma was ever going to come
back or if Ranko was going to stay.  He didn't know if
Ranko loved him, he didn't know if he loved her, and he
couldn't begin to know how he felt about Akane.  He wanted
to scream, he wanted to run away and never come back,
he wanted to punch a hole clean through the planet.  His
mind was pulling him in a thousand different directions
and he didn't know how to stop it.  Eventually he did
cry, but by that time it was nearly morning and Akane had
long since cried herself to sleep, comforted only by the
presence of her pet.

* * *

Ranko walked slowly along the street toward the park.  Ryouga
hadn't come back the night before, and she'd barely slept.
She'd spent most of the day milling around the house, helping
with the cleaning and trying not to think about the problems
she was having.  It hadn't really worked very well, and that
was why she now was walking. She looked around behind her,
hoping to see him following behind her, watching over her,
as she had become accustomed to, but she was alone.  She
sighed and continued walking, now feeling very much unlike
a princess with a guardian angel.

From a distance on the roof of a house on the street, her
guardian angel was indeed watching over her.

* * *

She sat down at the edge of the lake again, memories of
the previous night strong in her mind.  What had happened
that night to ignite their feelings for one another like
that?  And what had gone wrong to make Ryouga run away like
she'd stabbed him in the back?  He'd said he needed time
to think.  How long would that be?  A day?  A week?  Would
she even see him again?  She didn't even want to think
about that.  Picking up a stone, she threw it into the
water.  She watched it sink beneath the surface, knowing
exactly how it felt.

She sat and stared at the lake, its surface unmoving apart
from the ripples she had created.  The cold wind that had
made it ripple so beautifully the night before was gone.  She
stared as the ripples faded, totally unmoving, like the
lake's surface.  She nearly jumped out of her skin when she
felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Ranko."

Her head spun around to the source of the voice in an
instant.  Just the sound of the voice gave her a burst of
energy, and she leapt to her feet, falling against him and
wrapping her arms tightly around him.

Ryouga was surprised as the girl who had been sitting so
quietly had so quickly jumped up and grabbed him.  His arms
went outward at first in surprise, then as he regained control
of them he closed them around her and held her tightly against
him.  He closed his eyes and let his head rest against hers.
For just a moment, as he inhaled the scent of her hair, all
was right with the world.

"Never ever do that to me again, Ryouga!"

He opened his eyes.  "I'm sorry."

"I was afraid you weren't going to come back.  You seemed so
upset.  I waited all night for you."

"I had to get away.  A million things were going on in my
head at the same time and I couldn't handle it.  I still don't
know if I can."

She pulled back slightly and looked up at his face.  "What
do you mean?"

"Last night I ended up in Akane's room."

Ranko's eyes widened.

"As a pig, of course.  She misses P-chan."

She smiled a little, and nodded.  "Of course."

"And she misses Ranma too.  She was crying her eyes out for
hours."

"...oh."

"I feel guilty for taking you away from them."

"What?" she asked, bewildered, "You didn't do that!"

"It feels like it.  They're all miserable.  I feel guilty,
making myself happy with you when they're all feeling awful."

She stepped back from him and turned around.  "Ryouga, I didn't
ask Ranma to lose his memory or whatever he did that made me.
All I did was wake up one day and carry on from there.  I can't
control how I feel.  All I know is that I want to be with you.
It's not fair that Ranma has all these ties with people who don't
even like me and that I can't be with you because of them!"

He stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder again. "I
know it's not fair.  I know it hurts."

She dropped to her knees in front of him and looked out at the
lake again.  "Not fair..." she said again, more quietly.

He sighed softly and knelt down next to her.  He took her hand
into his and squeezed it gently.  Nothing was said.

* * *

Several minutes later, little had changed.  Ryouga now held
her hand with both of his and was looking at her, but she was
still quietly looking out at the lake.  He sighed softly as
he watched, unsure of what to do.

There was a thump as something landed nearby.  Ryouga turned
to look, but Ranko didn't move.

"Nihao, Ranma!  Shampoo back from trip to China!"

Ryouga looked at her, then back at Ranko, who said nothing.

"Aiya!  Why Shampoo fiance ignore Shampoo?  What you do to
Ranma, pig-boy?" she asked, starting to walk toward Ranko.

Ryouga stood and stepped between them.  "You should leave."

Shampoo frowned.  "Get out of Shampoo way, pig-boy!"  Her
hands were suddenly on his shoulders, and before he knew
what was happening, he was shoved sideways.  He stumbled,
trying to regain his balance, but he didn't manage.  He
reached the edge of the water, wobbled back and forth,
and toppled in.  The loud splash seemed to snap Ranko out
of the thoughtful trance she was in and she stood, whirling
to face Shampoo.

"Why'd you do that to him?!" she asked, fuming, "He didn't
do anything to you!"  She clenched her fist, a sudden anger
she'd never felt before taking over her.

"Ranma must be angry, yes?  Shampoo cheer Ranma up!"

"No!  Just go away!" yelled Ranko, fury guiding her thoughts
for the first time since she came into existence.  Unfortunately,
the suggestion wasn't strong enough for Shampoo.  She jumped
forward and glomped Ranko, clinging tightly to her dress.

Ranko tensed up, surprise and anger paralysing her as the
Amazon held on.  She felt herself tipping backwards, and managed
only to flail her arms around as she fell into the lake.

With a splash, she felt the Amazon attached to her disappear,
and as she surfaced she felt a wet furryness on her face.  She
froze, knowing what was there, but was unable to stop her eyes from
opening and seeing the cat hanging onto her head.

Shampoo was no less surprised as the pair toppled into the lake.
She held onto the red hair in front of her with her now-furry
arms, and let out a meow of surprise.

"C-c-c-c...c-c...CAT!" Ranko shrieked, her arms flailing madly
around.  Her eyes glazed over and she let out a long, slow
yowl.  For Ranma, one cat wasn't normally enough to make him
snap; but Ranko - her will weakened by the anger she felt at
Shampoo, the confusion and guilt she felt over Ryouga, and the
terror she felt for the cat on her face - was unable to stop it.

She hissed and batted at the cat clinging to her face, her eyes
following as Shampoo was knocked free and went flying over to
land on the bank.

Shampoo shook the water from her fur and turned back to the lake,
angry at what had happened, but concerned for her fiance.  Her
eyes widened as she saw Ranko crawling out of the lake, her eyes
gleaming with a feral anger.  The wet girl hissed loudly, making
Shampoo's fur stand on end.  She stood, her back arched.  Her
instincts took over, and she lowered herself, claws at the ready.
However, her instinct for fighting lost out to her instinct for
flight as Ranko pounced angrily toward her, and the purple cat was
gone before Ranko landed, a rapidly diminishing rustling in the
bushes the only sign she'd been there.

P-chan had been too busy trying to avoid drowning to notice what
had been going on, and had only just managed to clamber up out
of the water.  He shook some of the water off himself and sat down,
wondering where Shampoo had gone.  He looked over at Ranko, who
was sitting licking the back of her hand, and let out a squeal
of surprise.  She turned and looked at him, then jumped to all
fours again and arched her back, hissing.

<So this is the neko-ken,> he thought to himself, backing off.
He'd never actually seen it before, but from what he had heard
he had reason to be afraid.  He backed away slowly, trying not
to make any sudden moves.  She reared back and let out a yowl,
and he *bwee!*ed loudly in fright, closing his eyes and ducking
down as she pounced.

He waited for her to start ripping him to shreds, but she didn't.
He heard the soft thud of her landing before him, but several
moments passed and nothing happened.  Slowly, he opened his eyes
and looked up.

She sat before him, a strange smile on her face.  It was only
when he made his little piggie noise that she'd recognized
him as her friend, and not a small black cat.  She meowed in
a friendly manner.  Then, much to P-chan's surprise, she
lay down before him and started licking the top of his head.

He shut his eyes, snorting and squealing as her tongue tickled
his head, then let out a louder squeal of surprise as he felt
the ground fall away beneath him.  His eyes opened again and
he saw Ranko's hands alternately appearing beneath him as the
ground bobbed up and down.

Ranko, satisfied that his head was clean enough to not mess
up her face, had leaned forward and picked him up by the scruff
of his neck - or the bandana equivalent - and began trotting
across the park.  He wasn't moving too much as she jogged
with him, and she took that to mean he was comfortable.

* * *

The pair made their way through the busy streets, much to the
surprise and amusement of the people they passed.  It was as
they passed a cafe that P-chan again began to struggle, this
time enough to pique Ranko's curiosity.  She lowered her head
and placed him on the ground, then sat behind him, looking down
at him.  He turned and *bwee*ed at her, then dashed off into
the cafe.  She seemed to understand the message; wait here.
She licked at the back of one hand and stroked behind her ear
with it as she waited.  In her feline state she didn't notice
the shocked stares of the people walking by.

A few moments later, Ryouga emerged.  He sat down by Ranko
and patted the top of her head.  She looked at him and let out
an excited meow, obviously pleased to see him.  She purred
gently and butted her head against his chest affectionately.

"Well, at least you're not trying to kill me anymore," he said
as she settled onto his lap and nudged the top of her head against
the underside of his chin, her slightly damp hair tickling his
neck.  He blushed intensely at the stares of passers by.

"I don't know if you can understand me, but I'm sorry for what
happened back there," he said, placing a hand on her back as
she nuzzled his neck and rubbed her head back and forth along
his shoulder, her purring quite loud now.  "Although," he continued,
"you don't seem to be very mad about it."

He pulled her head out from under his chin and looked down at
her face.  Her eyes looked strange, feline, but he noticed the
familiar twinkle he'd come to love.  He smiled.

"We probably shouldn't stay here," he said, looking around at
the people walking past.  He wondered if her mind was in danger
from the neko-ken.  "I should take you back home, they must know
how to get you back to normal there."

He tried to stand, but she didn't move from his lap.  He stroked
her back again, gently, and used his other hand to tilt her head
up to look him direclty in the eyes.  He gasped as he saw her in her
wide eyes. Her eyes were definitely feline, but he could see her human
mind in them.  His mind reeled, wondering what was going through
the mind of the girl in his lap.  Was she a prisoner inside her
own head or was she an observer, watching with interest what she
did as a cat?  He felt his pulse quicken as he realized it was
the girl he loved sitting in his lap looking up at him with so
awed an expression.

"Ranko..." he breathed, softly.  His hand stroked the side of
her head as he again found himself entranced by her eyes.  This
time there were no stars reflected in them, but the person lost
inside this cat's mind shone just as brightly.  He leaned forward
just a little, but something in his mind made him stop.

He was supposed to be protecting her, and here he was about
to take advantage of her while she wasn't in control of herself?
He frowned at himself for nearly losing control too.  For all
he knew, Ranko might be furious at him for trying to kiss her
when she couldn't control her own body.

"Come on, let's--" he began, as his head backed slowly away
from hers.  He didn't get a chance to complete the sentence,
however, because her head leapt forward and before he could
blink her soft lips were pressing against his in a gentle kiss.
She pulled back and opened her eyes again to look at his
surprised expression, then bought her mouth once again to his.

All conscious thought left him as she kissed him, his eyes wide
in shock as she'd pulled back.  Here he was worried about
making her mad by kissing her, and then she had turned around
and kissed him!  It wasn't the simple gesture of an animal,
either; he'd felt the emotion behind the kiss, and when the
second one came he welcomed it.  He tilted his head to the
side and returned her kiss with equal emotion, his hands
holding her head as he relished the taste of her lips.

<I'm kissing her,> was his first thought as his mind switched
back on, <I'm really kissing her.  It feels so wonderful!>
He could think about nothing else as their lips pressed
together.  Their lips parted and the kiss grew deeper.
His mind melted away again as they sat together, wrapped up
in each other's passionate embrace.  The tangled web of
friendships and engagements waiting for them at the Tendo
household, the anger he felt at Shampoo, the worry he felt
about the neko-ken, all of them vanished from his mind as
his heart poured out all of the love and adoration he felt
for Ranko in one sweet moment of shared bliss.

Sooner or later, however, the kiss had to end, and when
it did it left Ryouga breathless, the sweet scent of Ranko's
panted breath being the first sensation to hit him as he
eventually breathed again.  Gradually his eyes opened and
the first sight to greet them was the face of the girl he
loved, her eyes shining brilliantly as she smiled at him.

He pulled her to him and rested her head against his,
stroking her hair gently.  "Ranko... I have to tell you
something.  I hope you can hear me in there."

He closed his eyes and felt the sensation of bliss again
as the words poured from his mouth.  "I love you."

She pulled away a little, looked up at him, that twinkle
still in her eyes, the smile still on her face - and
started purring.  He smiled down at her.  "It feels
great to finally tell you that.  I should have told
you earlier."

* * *

Ranko felt as if she was watching a TV show through her own eyes.
The last thing she remembered doing was struggling to avoid
falling in the lake, and now she had no control over herself.  She
knew she was lost in the neko-ken.  This sensation of floating
inside her own mind had never happened to her as Ranma.  As she
looked around, she could sense him there with her and the cat.
The cat was in control and Ranma seemed to be... she wasn't sure.
Asleep, it felt like.  She could feel him off to one side, the
cat off to the other.  She felt strange floating between
them, out of place.  The cat, for its part, didn't seem to mind
her being there.  In fact, it seemed glad for the company, and
she was able to communicate with it.  Not with words, but with
feelings and thoughts.

She'd been worried about hurting P-chan with her teeth as she'd
carried him, espescially when he started struggling and she had to
put him down, but as he emerged from the cafe in human form that
worry evaporated.

She was happy to see him back into human form; that happiness seemed
to spill over into her cat-mind, and she found herself climbing into
his lap.

"Well, at least you're not trying to kill me anymore."

His voice sounded strange, distant, with an odd echo.  She spoke,
or tried to speak.  She wasn't sure whether she actually talked to
him, or just thought it.  She could do nothing but think as loudly
as possible and hope for the best.

"I don't know if you can understand me, but I'm sorry for what
happened back there."

"Sorry?  You tried to save me!  I'm grateful, not angry!" she replied,
and her cat-mind responded in kind.  Why did he always blame himself
for every bad thing that happened to her?  She wished he wouldn't beat
up on himself so much.  She cared about him and it hurt to see him
always blaming himself for things that weren't his fault.

"Although, you don't seem very mad about it."

"Good!  You're finally starting to get the message!"

"We probably shouldn't stay here.  I should get you back home, they
must know how to get you back to normal there."

"No, not yet!" she replied, anxiously, "I don't want to!  I want to
stay here with you!"

"Ranko..."

She felt her cat form nuzzling him and shouted at it.  "Kiss him!
Now, before he tries to take me home!"

"Come on, let's--"

She felt herself gasp as he stopped talking, the kiss silencing him.
Closing her eyes, she tried to take control of her body again; she
could not, but as she concentrated she could feel his lips on hers,
and managed to gain enough control of her cat-mind to turn the
affectionate nuzzle of a feline into the delicate kiss of a human.  A
wave of warmth washed over her as she felt the kiss she had waited so
long for.  She felt as if she was on fire; her mind burned with the
most powerful feeling she had ever experienced.  Despite all the
problems her life contained, she felt nothing but contentment and
love as they kissed.

It took her a while to recover after the kiss ended.  She had
never felt that good before.  She jumped as high as she could and
let out a scream of happiness at having finally kissed him.

"Ranko... I have to tell you something.  I hope you can hear me in
there."

"Yes!  I can hear you!" she yelled, watching his face.  She could
hear nothing else.  <Is he going to say it?> she asked herself,
hoping beyond hope that he would.

"I love you."

"Yes!" she cried, delighted that she could finally know he felt the
same way.  "I love you too, Ryouga!  Please hear me!"

She felt an overwhelming sense of hope and joy, and once again
her cat-mind responded in the only way it knew how to - by
making her purr.

"It feels great to finally tell you that.  I should have told
you earlier."

"I wish I'd told you," she replied, "while I still had a human
voice.  I'll tell you as soon as I do again."

* * *

Ryouga walked down the street with Ranko curled up in his arms.
She was a little big for him, but he'd managed to get a hold
on her, albeit a rather awkward one.  She looked anxious; Ryouga
decided she must have been aware he was taking her back to the
Tendo house to end the neko-ken.  That would mean the cat in
his arms would cease to exist, save for in the mind of her
host.  She looked afraid, but she didn't fight him.  The look
in her eyes was more feline now - the twinkle he usually saw
there was gone - perhaps her feline instinct for survival
was kicking in.

"Don't worry, Ranko.  We'll be home soon."  He looked down at
her, and she closed her eyes.

"Your family will take good care of you.  They care a lot about
you. They're sure to know how to get you back to normal.  I'll
be right there and I won't move an inch until I'm sure
you're alright.  We're almost there."

* * *

Ranko felt a fear that wasn't her own.  She knew her cat-mind was
afraid and despite the happiness she felt from the kiss she had
shared with Ryouga, it was hard to ignore the feelings of her other
half.  The other times Ranma had come out of the neko-ken it had
been a surprise, but this time Ranko knew it was coming, the
cat knew it would soon cease to be.

"Ryouga," she said, involuntarily, in a voice she did not know.

"Don't worry, Ranko.  We'll be home soon."

"I'm afraid."

"Your family will take good care of you."

"They won't.  They'll kill me."

"They care a lot about you.  They're sure to know how to
get you back to normal."

"Please don't leave me there."

"I'll be right there and I won't move an inch until I'm
sure you're alright."

"I'm cold.  I can't stop shaking.  Please don't let go of me."

"We're almost there."

"I need you.  Hold me.  Don't let go."

* * *

Ranko sat in the house with a familiar group of people around her.
She trembled quietly despite the faces her human mind recognized.

"So what normally brings Ranma out of the neko-ken?" asked Ryouga,
standing further back from Ranko than everyone else.

"Well," replied Akane, "it hasn't happened often, but usually if
we calmed him down and then splashed him with cold water, he
snapped out of it."

"I don't think it's just cold water," said Genma, looking up from
where he sat crosslegged, "I think it's the shock of changing from
male to female form.  Or the other way around, in this case."

"You mean change her into male form?" asked Akane, turning to look
at him, "You think that'll work?"

"It can't hurt to try.  Before we think about that we have to
calm her down."

"Right, Saotome," agreed Soun, stepping toward Ranko.  She backed
away, and he stopped.  "Akane, see if you can do anything.  Ranma's
always liked you when he was in the neko-ken."

Akane nodded, and stepped gingerly forward.  Ranko's eyes shot from
Soun to her, her muscles tensing anxiously.  Akane stepped forward
again and knelt down, a disarming smile on her face.

"Here, kitty, kitty."

Ranko relaxed a little, but remained on alert.  Akane crept closer,
and carefully patted the top of the cat's head.  Ranko didn't retaliate,
but didn't appear very pleased with what was going on, either.  Akane
patted her lap with her other hand and scratched above Ranko's ear,
but she didn't calm.

"It's not working," she said, frowning, "she still looks like she's
ready to jump through the roof."  She looked at Ranko's face and
noticed her staring over her shoulder; she turned and looked where
Ranko was staring.

"Ryouga?  Could you give this a try?" she asked as she saw him leaning
against the far wall.

"Huh?" he replied, lost in his thoughts, "Uh, I suppose I could..."
He blushed, and stepped forward to where Akane was kneeling.  He
knelt alongside her, and patted his lap gently.  Ranko let out a
loud mew and jumped at him.  He blushed furiously as she landed on
him, nearly knocking him back, but realized this wasn't the time
for embarrassment, and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
She closed her eyes and rested against him, not purring, but
not shaking anymore.

"She's afraid," he said quietly.

"How do you know?" asked Akane, watching her rest against him.

"I don't know how I know," he said, shaking his head, "I just
know that she's afraid.  I can feel it."

"Do you know why?" asked Kasumi, watching with interest.

"She knows what we're going to do to her." he said, frowning.
He stroked her hair gently and snuck a kiss in on her forehead
when nobody was looking there.  She leaned against him and
relaxed.  He closed his eyes and rested his head on hers briefly,
then looked over at Akane.

"She's calm now.  If you're going to do it, now's the time."
He stood, lifting her in his arms, and handed her to Akane.

With the now-docile Ranko in her arms, Akane turned toward the
stairs.  Genma stood and walked over to her, followed by Soun.
They made their way to the foot of the stairs.

"Thank you, Ryouga," said Akane, looking over at him, "aren't
you coming?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head, "I think I'll just wait and
talk to Ranko again when she's back to being a human."  He leaned
back against the wall again, arms folded, head bowed, eyes closed.
This was something he didn't want to watch.

* * *

Akane held Ranko gently as Genma filled the bathtub with hot water.
Ranko's muscled tensed up a little, but overall she still appeared
calm.  Acceptance of her situation must have finally set in, thought
Akane.  She felt sorry for her, in a way.  It must have been very
hard on her to go through this.  Genma turned off the tap as the
bath filled.

Akane watched the steam rising from the water, and looked down at
the mass of red hair in front of her.  Ranko's hands curled around
her arm, gripping it tightly as she stepped toward the tub, Genma
and Soun backing out of her way.

"I sure hope this works, Saotome-san," she said, looking at him,
then back at the tub.  She stepped forward again and extended
her arms out over the tub.  Ranko looked back at her face and
let out a soft meow, then closed her eyes.

Akane let her go.

With an enormous splash, Ranko hit the water.  Her feet went in
first, hitting the bottom of the tub before her face went under.
She let out a loud yowl as the shock of the hot water hit her
feet, but was silenced as her head went under.  The water ran
like black dye through her hair, instantly changing its colour
where it made contact.  Ranko's now-male body thrashed under
the surface for a moment, then stopped moving.  Slowly, it
raised to the surface, water dripping down his face from his
hair as his eyes slowly opened.

They were unfocused, and looked slowly around the bathroom,
seemingly oblivious to the three people standing by the tub.
His mouth opened, water spluttering out as he started to breathe
again.

"Wha...?" he said, his eyes slowly blinking.  He reached up
and instinctively brushed some of his hair from his eyes.
He pushed it back behind his shoulders, and nobody seemed to
notice the speed with which it was growing.

"Ranko?  Are you alright?" asked Akane, hands clasped together
in front of her.

"Where... where am I?" he asked, looking at Akane.  He looked
around the room, then down at himself.  He nearly jumped
out of his skin as he saw the dress he had on.  "ARGH!  What
the heck am I wearin'?!"

"Ranma?!" exclaimed Akane, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Akane, you better have a pretty good explanation for why I'm
wearin' this stupid dress!" he said, his eyebrows creasing in
a frown.  He pointed at Genma and Soun, who were now dancing
together and chanting his name. "And what the heck are those
two idiots doing?"

"RANMA!" Akane cried, jumping forward and grabbing him.  "You're
back!  I missed you so much!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Ranma, squirming around in her arms, "What's
got into you all of a sudden?"

* * *

Nabiki blinked and walked to the foot of the stairs as she heard
a thumping on the ceiling.  She looked up, wondering what all
the ruckus was.

"RANMA!"

Akane's voice carried well and she heard it clearly.  Raising
an eyebrow, she folded her arms in front of herself.  So Ranma
was back?  Her eyes widened as she realized Ryouga was just a
little distance from her, and must have heard it as well.  She
turned to look at him, but only saw his back as he ran out
through the front door.

* * *

Ranma sat, arms folded, as Kasumi cut at her hair.  He'd just
gotten over wearing that stupid dress when he noticed himself
in the mirror.  What had happened to his hair?  He'd looked
like Mousse!  He'd quickly remembered the magic affecting his
hair, and had changed back to his female form - much to the
annoyance of the others in the house - to avoid it growing
out of control.

The others had gradually filled her in over the rest of the day,
and her own - very hazy - memories of the past few days began to
return to her, espescially in her dreams that night.  She'd awoken
with a better recollection of what happened.  What she did remember
was very fuzzy, but she got the general idea.

"I was actually a GIRL?" she said, in disbelief.  Kasumi nodded.
"I went to SCHOOL like that?  And you guys LET me?"

"You seemed perfectly happy as a girl, Ranma."

"But why didn't you just hit me over the head or somethin'?  You
guys musta known something was wrong if I was trying to go to school
thinkin' I was a girl!"

"Believe me," Kasumi replied, laughing, "Akane tried that.  Several
times."

"Oh, yeah," Ranma grouched, frowning, "I remember that, now I think
about it.  She didn't have to hit me so HARD, that tomboy."

"How can you say that, Ranma?!" yelled Akane, from the hallway, "I
was just trying to help you!"

Ranma had only been back a couple of hours and already she was making
her mad.  She clenched her fists and stomped down the stairs.  She
couldn't believe she was being so insensitive after what she'd put
her through!  That jerk!

Ranma fidgeted in her seat as Kasumi finished tying up her pigtail
again.  She was eager to get back to being a guy again, but couldn't
while her hair was untied.

"There!  All done." said Kasumi, smiling.

"Thanks, Kasumi!" she said, as she left the room quickly.  She
headed straight for the bath and filled it with hot water.  He
emerged a few minutes later, wearing his usual shirt and pants
and beginning to feel normal. He felt like he'd been asleep
for weeks.  <In a way, I have,> he thought to himself as he hopped
down the stairs in four easy steps.

Akane looked worried as she talked to Nabiki, who was leaning back in
a chair casually.

"I wonder where he went off to.  He didn't even say goodbye
yesterday.  He'd been so concerned about Ranko."

"Yup.  Looked pretty upset when he left, you know."

"Who?" asked Ranma casually as he walked past toward the kitchen.

"Ryouga," said Akane, turning to look out through the window, "I
wonder why he ran off like that without saying goodbye."

"P-chan?  What was HE doing here?"

"He was the one who carried you here from the park," Akane
replied.

"Wow.  Guess I should be grateful he found the house before I
died of old age."

"Don't be such a jerk," replied Akane, angrily, "he was really
concerned about you."

"He was?" asked Ranma as he returned from the kitchen, chewing
on a piece of bread.

"He was," nodded Akane, turning to face him, "he watched over
Ranko the whole time she was here."

"Gee," replied Ranma, scratching the back of his head, "I guess
I should say thanks for--"

He froze.  The piece of bread he was carrying dropped to the
floor in front of him.  His eyes glazed over in shock, a
flood of memories filling his mind as he thought of Ryouga
watching over him.

"Ranma?  What's wrong?" asked Akane, wondering if he was
lapsing back into the neko-ken or even back into being Ranko.

"Oh, geez..." he breathed, "I can't believe he..."

"What's wrong?" Akane repeated, stepping toward him.  He
looked at her briefly, shook his head, and ran past her.

"I'll tell ya later, Akane!  I gotta go!"

"What?  Ranma!  Where are you going?" she yelled, chasing
him to the door.

"I'd let him go if I were you," noted Nabiki.  "He's got some
business to take care of."

* * *

Ranma sprinted through the streets.  He had to find Ryouga.  He
knew where he would be heading, but with Ryouga's navigational
skills he could have taken any number of paths there.  He
poked his head around corners as he ran, calling out Ryouga's
name.

<I really hope I'm misremembering,> he thought as he ran.
A flood of very fuzzy memories had washed over his mind as
he thought of Ryouga, as if he'd hit the switch to a floodgate
with that thought.  His mind raced through the memories, some
vague, some crystal clear.

He remembered being Ranko, and Ryouga jumping him and attacking.
He felt a vague recollection of fear when he had next
seen him.  He saw a clear image in his mind of P-chan standing
before him in the rain outside the kitchen window.  Another
vague image of the Furinkan gates, and of Kuno.  He saw some
faces of his classmates, but they looked different than the
people he knew, their expressions curious; as if he was a
stranger to them.

A clear image of a sunset came into his mind, and Ryouga on
the fence next to him.  He vaguely recalled a conversation with
him, but the words were far too fuzzy for him to piece together.
He remembered the coldness of the air around him on the roof of
the house, and the brilliance of the stars above him.  The
stars seemed to persist in his mind as another memory replaced
the memory of the roof.  He saw a lake before him, the night
sky reflected in the rippling surface of the lake.  He
saw his feet in the water, and Ryouga sitting next to him.

He stopped running as the next image came to him.  Ryouga's
face looking at him, the bright night sky behind him leaving
his features partially silhouetted.  There was enough light to
see compassion, and wonder, in his eyes.

Ranma blinked as he saw these things in his mind, and shook
his head to clear it.  All he knew was that he had to find
Ryouga.

* * *

Ryouga sat crosslegged in the park, overlooking the lake from
the same position he had with Ranko on previous nights.  He
sighed and closed his eyes.  Akane had sounded so happy.

He supposed he should feel good for her, but he could manage
no emotion but misery.  In his mind he had known that this
day would eventually come, but his heart had never prepared
him for it.  He'd never even gotten the chance to say goodbye
to her.  He would hunt Shampoo down and -- no.  He would not.

If the only way Ranko could live on was through him, he would
honour her memory.  He wouldn't act out of hate and anger the
way he had before he had met her.  She'd taught him so much,
and he hadn't even thanked her for what she'd done.  He
sighed again and mourned for her.  Why did she have to leave
him?  She was so perfect in every way, if only it had been
anyone but her...

He lowered his head, resting his face on his hands.  This lake
would never again bring him the peace and contentment it had
with her.

There was a rustling in the bushes behind him, but he was
too miserable to care.  He heard footsteps behind him.

"Ryouga."

It was Ranma's voice.  He gritted his teeth and frowned.
"Go away, Ranma."

"Look, man," began Ranma, scratching the back of his head.
"I don't know what to say here.  I don't remember the last
couple weeks very well, but I do know you were around to
protect Ranko, and..."

"And what?"

"I wanted to say thanks."

Ryouga clenched his fists in front of him and growled.  Despite what
Ranko had taught him, he felt his rage welling inside and no
matter how he tried to fight it back it kept pushing forward,
taking over him.  He let out a wail of agony as he lost the battle,
and sprung to his feet.

"DIE, RANMA SAOTOME!"

He dived at Ranma, who only had time to blink in surprise before
Ryouga's fist connected with his face.  He flew backwards through
the air from the force of the punch, and stopped only when he crashed
into a tree.

"What'd you do THAT for, you jerk?!"  he yelled in surprise and anger,
getting to his feet again.  He rubbed his cheek with his hand and
scowled, "I was just trying to be nice to you!"

"Shut up!  Shut up!" cried Ryouga, diving for him again.  Ranma dodged
aside, and Ryouga's punch shattered the trunk of the tree he had
been leaning against.  It fell backwards with a creak and a thunderous
crash.

Ranma stepped backwards, holding his hands up in front of him.  "Stop
it, you idiot!  I'm just trying to talk here and you're tryin' to
kill me!  Cut it out, Ryouga!"

Ryouga snarled with fury and dived for him again, fists flying.  Ranma
wasn't back in top form yet after the past couple of weeks, and a
sharp punch connected with his stomach, another with his chin.  Again,
he went flying through the air and landed on his back.  And again, he
sprang to his feet.

"That's it, you jerk!  If you're not going to listen to reason I'll
just have to pound some sense into you!"  He took up a fighting stance,
and eyed his opponent.  Ryouga's fists were shaking with uncontrollable
fury, his eyes glowing with rage as he stared forward.  He lunged forward
again, and Ranma ducked.  He waited until Ryouga was in range, and then
began to stand up.

"Kachuu tenshin amaguriken!" he cried, his fists flying into Ryouga's
stomach with speed and power, over and over again.  Ryouga's advance
stopped as he was winded by the punches, and as Ranma stood, the final
punch of his technique became an uppercut, knocking Ryouga backwards
several metres by his chin.

"Now stop!" yelled Ranma, lowering his fists.  "This is stupid!  I just
want to talk!"

Ryouga lay on the ground, one twitching hand the only sign he was
actually alive.  Ranma lowered his fists and stepped toward him,
his voice taking on a tone of concern.

"Ryouga?  Hey, c'mon, I know you can take more than that.  Get up and
let's talk.  Ryouga?  Hey, Ryouga?"

Ryouga didn't respond.  Ranma started to sweat, wondering if he'd
seriously hurt him.  He took another step forward, and jumped in
surprise as Ryouga suddenly sprang at him.

"Bakusai tenketsu!"

"What the--?" Ranma began, but before he could finish the sentence
a rock fragment hit him in the forehead, knocking his head back as
he was launched into the air by the force of the blast beneath
his feet.  His arms flailed around in circles as he arced through
the air, wailing in surprise as he felt himself slow, and then
fall back toward the earth.

With a loud splash Ranma landed, his fall softened by the water
below him.  He was still dazed from the rock that hit him, however,
and as he began to sink he didn't move.

Ryouga snarled again and dived for him, furious that his opponent
was trying to swim away from him.  He grabbed the slowly-sinking arm
that still poked out above the surface of the water, and yanked
forcefully, bringing Ranma out of the lake and back to dry land.
He grabbed the collar of Ranma's shirt and raised his fist to strike
again, but as he pulled it back he saw the dazed face of Ran-chan below
him.

His arm stopped moving, a scream of genuine terror bellowing from his
mouth as he realized he was about to strike her.  He jumped back
from her and fell to the ground where he landed.

* * *

It was several moments later that Ranma awoke, her mind still swimming
from the rock that had struck her.  She sat up slowly, groaning as she
looked down at herself and realized she was a girl.

<That jerk!> she thought, rubbing her sore forehead, <what did I do
to deserve that?>  A soft sobbing noise nearby disrupted her thoughts,
and she turned to look where it was coming from.

"Ryouga?" she asked, getting to her feet.  He was on his knees next to
a tree, sobbing more loudly as he heard her voice.

"What's the matter, Ryouga?"

"I nearly did it again," he wailed, "I nearly attacked her again."

"Who?"

Ryouga looked up at her, tears in his eyes.  "I'm leaving Tokyo.  I'll
never bother you again."

"Pfft, yeah," she replied sarcastically before thinking, "as if you'll
ever leave."  Regret filled her as soon as the final word left her
tongue.  Ryouga's anguished expression hurt her far more than any of
his punches ever had.  Memories continued to crystallise in her mind,
and her perception of him changed.  She saw not the angry guy that
would attack her at any given moment, but the caring guardian Ranko
had fallen in love with, his heart severely wounded, the tears it
bled evidently obvious before her.

"Ryouga, I... I didn't...mean to..."

"Goodbye." he managed through his tears, and stood.  He looked at her
once more, then turned and began walking away.

"Ryouga... wait!"  she started after him, but he continued walking.
"Wait!  At least tell me WHY, dammit!"

Ryouga stopped walking, his eyes looking at the ground below him.
"Because I made a vow to protect Ranko forever," he turned back
to face her, his tears glistening on his face in the sunlight,
"and if I stay here I can't do that."

"Why not?" she asked, barely managing to get the words out.

"Because she taught me to control my hatred and my anger, and
every time I look at you I feel myself losing that control. She's
dead now, and I won't harm her memory by going against what she taught
me."

Ranma reeled, terrible feelings of guilt - and something else - running
though her mind, threatening to overwhelm her.

Ryouga clenched his fists.  "I really want to hurt you, Ranma," he spat,
then stopped.  "But I won't.  I can't look at you without seeing her."

Ranma's eyes softened, her gaze falling down to the ground in front of
her.

"I hurt her badly by falling in love with her.  I'll never hurt her
again."

Ranma turned away from him, her cheeks burning with shame and
embarrassment as more memories came to her, and a single piercing
conscious thought exploded into her mind.  She knew she would
never live it down if she told him... but knew she had no choice.  He'd
never recover if she didn't.

"You're wrong." she said.

"What?" asked Ryouga, genuine surprise in his voice.

"I remember her now.  When you sat with her by the lake... when she
was a cat... I remember.  You didn't hurt her by falling in love with
her.  She knew you had, before you told her.  But you will hurt
her, if you leave."

Ryouga took a step back in shock.  He scowled, and raised his fist.
"You're lying."

"No, I'm not," she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Ever since I woke up in that bathtub things have been different.
I thought it was just, y'know, disorientation or something at first,
but it didn't go away.  It was like I was looking at things around
me in a funny way.  Don't go thinking I'm strange or nothin', it's
just that... I dunno.  Like when I got up this morning.  I sat
outside and the first thing I noticed was the dew on the grass.  I
mean, that's a stupid thing to think about, but I couldn't stop
staring at it and thinkin' how nice it looked.  Akane teased me about
it so I went inside.  She's such a tomboy, she'd never understand
somethin' like dew on the grass."

"Ranko understood it." said Ryouga, softly.

"What?"

"Ranko loved the dew in the morning.  She told me about it one night
when we were on the roof together."

"What're you trying to say?  I hope it's not what I think you're
tryin' to say."

Ryouga looked up at her, the tears no longer running down his face.
He took a step toward her.  "Maybe she's still..."

"What?  No way!  Don't you go pullin' no weird stuff on me, man!
I ain't Ranko and we both know it!  You try anythin' funny and I'll
break your arm!"

"I know you're not Ranko," he said, stepping over to her, "but
I think... look at me."

"What?"

"Look at me!  Right in the eyes."

"No way!"

"Just do it, Ranma!  Please."

She sighed and looked up at him, an exasperated expression on her
face.  He raised his hand to her cheek and cupped it gently.  She
frowned, her hands clenching into fists.

"I'm not going to do anything.  I just have to see."

He pulled her closer to him, unable to take his eyes from hers.  She
looked surprised, her eyes widening.  He stared deeply into her,
and as her frown faded away he saw the faintest of twinkles there.
He let go suddenly and stepped back.  "She is..."

"She is what?  You better have a good reason for doin' that!  I know
you're sad and all but that's pushin' your luck!"

"She's still inside you.  She didn't die!"  He threw his head back
and looked up at the sky, bringing his hands to his cover his eyes
as he shut them.  "I was so afraid that what I had of her was all
that was left..." he said, looking down at her again, "but she's safe
inside of you!"

"But I ain't her, remember," said Ranma, putting her hands on her
hips, "so don't go thinkin' I'm gonna fall into your arms and kiss
you or anythin' like that."

He nodded, and lowered his hands to his sides again as he looked
down at the ground.  "I know."

"Look, man," she said, "I can't be Ranko for you, and it'll only
make it worse if you think that.  But that doesn't mean we can't
be friends, huh?  I remember that's something she wanted from me.
I'm willing to give it a go if you are."

She extended her hand toward him.  After a moment, he looked up
at it.  He still felt anger toward Ranma, but knew that she
understood how Ranko had felt.  And if Ranko had taught him
anything, she had taught him forgiveness.

Ranma was worried as he stood there for several moments,
thinking he might try to rip her arm off or something, but felt
greatly relieved when he reached forward and took her hand
into his, and shook it.

"Alright.  Friends."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Ranma smiled at him.  "I'm glad.  I
could use a friend from time to time.  But if I catch you sleeping
in Akane's bed, I'm still gonna kill ya."

He looked up at her, a sudden surge of irritation in him, but saw
her smile, and realized she was only kidding around with him.  He
smiled too.

* * *

Half an hour or so of talking later, Ryouga stood up from where he'd
been sitting with Ranma, at the edge of the lake.  He shook her
hand again.

"I'll see you again in a few days."

"Just try not to get too badly lost on your trip."  She smiled,
and so did he.

"I'll try.  Tell Akane and the others that I said goodbye."

"I will.  You take care out there."

She leaned back on the bank and watched him walk away.  She felt glad
he hadn't left in anger, and that he was her friend.  It was good for
him, but it was good for her too.  She'd wanted to stop fighting with
him all the time, but their collective pride stopped them from ever
talking at length.  She felt good that the barrier had finally been
broken down.

He was nearly gone when she remembered something Ranko had buried in
her mind before becoming Ranma again.  She blushed as she remembered
what it was.  She didn't particularly want to tell him, but she knew
Ranko thought it was important.  She got up and ran after him.
As she came up behind him, she yelled out after him.

"Hey, Ryouga!"

He kept walking as he answered. "Yeah?"

"When Ranko was a cat, she wanted to say somethin' to you, but didn't
get the chance."

"What was it?"

Ranma paused for a second, looking at the ground.  After a moment,
her head raised as she put her pride aside for Ranko's sake.

"She wanted to tell you that she loved you."

He stopped and turned a little, looking back at her over his shoulder.
He smiled.

"I know."

---
FIN