I would like to enter this fanfic into your fanfic writing contest.
Thanks!

Symmetry
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction

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

Notes:

This fanfic is a sequel to my earlier work, "Dew On The Grass".  It won't
make a whole lot of sense unless you've read that, so I suggest that if you
want to read this one you go and read that one first.  If you can't find it
just send me an email and I'll be more than happy to mail a copy to you.
Alternatively you could just grab it from my fanfic page, which is located
at:  http://www.waxwolf.com/~plucky

Thanks and stuff:

Thanks to the folks who preread the story and provided useful comments:
Reispirit, Prince Frog, Kevin D. Hammel, R. Alexander Spoerer, Ross Ledlie,
and anyone else I forgot (in no particular order).

Extra special thanks to Dot and Taper.  If it wasn't for you guys I
wouldn't have been able to write anything at all.  Thanks a million!

C&C is welcome, and encouraged.  Let me know what you think!
---

Ryouga sat quietly on a tree branch, overlooking the forest at the base
of the mountain he was halfway up.  He wasn't exactly sure where he was -
but then, that was nothing new to him.  The distant sun began to set on
the horizon, seeming to set the sky on fire as he watched it sink
slowly.  The once-blue sky faded, only to be replaced by a spectacular
fiery orange-red aura around the sun, the clouds looking like smaller
flames tumbling through the sky.  It looked chaotic and peaceful at the
same time.  He smiled as he watched, the red of the evening sky a stark
contrast to the greenery of the trees below him.  Forest birds flew around
below him, their silhouetted forms drifting gracefully between him and
the sun, their cries and the noise of crickets the only things between him
and silence.

He dangled his legs down over the branch.  They were still tired from
all the walking he'd done that day, and for the past week since leaving
Nerima.  At the time he'd felt an overwhelming compulsion to leave Tokyo
and get away from the situation there, but now he was high on some nameless
mountain somewhere in Japan and he felt a longing for Tokyo.  He'd never
felt it before, and he knew exactly why he did feel it.

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a small leather wallet.  Its
edges were worn - it was bumped around a lot in his backpack as he
ran around - but other than that it was in good condition.  The black
leather was good and strong, and other than the edges it showed no
signs of wear.  He pulled it open and peered inside.  It was a simple
picture wallet; he had no need for a money wallet, he never had much
in the way of cash.  He had, however, had enough money to buy the
wallet from a merchant in Tokyo.  It had cost him almost all of the
money he'd had at the time - which wasn't much, the wallet wasn't his
only expense that time he was in Tokyo - to buy it, but a glance
at its still-excellent condition reminded him that it was worth the
extra money.  A cheaper wallet would have been worn out in his backpack
by now and would soon need replacing.

Akane's face looked out at him from behind the transparent plastic
window in the leather.  Nabiki had sold the picture to him after he'd
overheard her talking to Kuno about them.  He'd been intrigued at the
time - it was shortly after she had adopted P-chan as her pet.  He'd
questioned her, trying to disguise his real intentions by appearing to
disapprove of her selling photos.  Eventually she showed them to him;
he reasoned that she wanted to show him that they weren't tasteless, but
he had a feeling that she knew his real reason for talking to her about
them.  She was smart like that.  At the time the thought hadn't crossed
his mind, however, and after a short time browsing he picked one and
parted with his money.  Nabiki had appeared amused by his choice of
picture.  Unlike Kuno, who tended towards pictures of her in a gi,
practicing her martial arts, Ryouga had chosen a much different type of
photograph.  It was a simple waist-and-above shot, one that Akane had
actually agreed to.  She was wearing her Furinkan uniform, smiling
pleasantly at the camera - a really cute smile, he reflected - and
holding P-chan in her arms.  She looked happy and carefree with her
pet.

He sighed as he looked at her face.  He'd been so smitten by her
then.  So angry at Ranma any time he said anything the least bit
disrespectful.  It felt so good to be around her.  He was sure it
was true love, if only he could convince Akane to love him as a
person and not a pig.  A small chuckle escaped him.  Looking back,
he felt embarrassed to have done the things he had.  He knew Akane
liked him as a friend, but nothing more.  The events of the last
few weeks had convinced him of that.

His gaze shifted to the other side of the wallet.  He had to turn
the wallet, as the second photo was taken sideways.  He hadn't
known Nabiki had taken it, and if he had known at the time he
probably would have destroyed the camera.  As he gazed down at it,
he was glad he didn't know at the time.  It had cost him an
enormous amount of money - enormous by his standards, anyway.
Nabiki had agreed to let him buy it on credit terms of a sort,
which surprised him.  She knew as well as anyone else how often he
wandered away from Nerima and wasn't seen again for weeks, but
she had agreed nonetheless.  Perhaps she knew how important it
was to him.  Perhaps she enjoyed earning interest.  The photo
was probably originally intended as expensive blackmail
material, so the latter was probably more likely the case.

Whatever its past and original intended use, Ryouga was glad to
have it.  It was a close-up shot of himself and Ranko on the
night Nabiki had interrupted them at the lake.  She must have
taken it only moments before emerging from the bushes; in the
photograph their lips were just beginning to touch.  It wasn't
a kiss, but it sure looked like one.  He gazed at her beautiful
face and sighed quietly to himself.  She looked so... enthralled
by his presence, as he did by hers.  The starlit night sky behind
them framed their faces perfectly as their slightly open mouths
touched tenderly.  It was such a magical moment, he reflected,
and he was glad to have this small memento to remind him of her.
He felt it especially important to keep every one of his memories
of her as clearly in his mind as he could.  This was true love, he
knew.  To be so smitten by the mere memory of a girl; he wondered
if he would ever get over her.  The dull ache in his chest told
him that he probably wouldn't.  The way his hand tightly clutched
the wallet told him he probably didn't want to.

Closing the wallet, he returned it to his backpack and looked
again at the sunset.  He'd loved her so; she was angelic.  So
kind, caring.  Forgiving.  She never got angry, she never yelled,
she listened to him, she told him things he wanted to listen
to.  She appreciated his company, she appreciated the scenery
in a park, she appreciated a sunset just like this one.  She'd
appreciated every moment of her sadly short life.  And now
he appreciated her memory, he appreciated the scenery of the
forest, and he appreciated the sunset.  He smiled a little
as he watched a bird dive down toward the treeline.  He felt
he had grown emotionally and mentally in the short time he'd
known her.  He was a stronger person, a more stable person
as a result of her.  The fact that Ranma had been able to
bring him down from the raging fury of his attack that day in
the park was a testament to that.

He closed his eyes, realizing that he was trying to convince
himself that he was fine without her.  He knew it was foolish to
try.  He loved her with all his heart and she was gone.  It hurt
him far more than anything had ever hurt him before.  The horror
of turning into a pig paled into insignificance compared to this.
It _hurt_ him... but he would survive.  That was perhaps Ranko's
kindest gift to him.

He opened his eyes again, and hopped down from the branch.
After landing, he stood and began to walk.  He didn't bother to
think about what direction he was walking in.  He wanted to go
to Tokyo, to visit Ranma.  It was only by returning to his
previous habits that he would stop moping about, and talking to
Ranma again would be the best way to start.  He walked, and
continued walking.  He wanted to go to Tokyo.  He didn't know
which way he was going, and he didn't know how long it would
take him to get there; but he knew he was moving, and that
was enough for him.  He would make it eventually.

* * *

Akane chewed on the end of her pencil absentmindedly.  She'd
taken to writing her thoughts down in a diary each morning a
few days after Ranko had arrived, and was trying to keep
herself in the habit.  She wasn't sure why she'd started doing
it, really;  perhaps she felt the need to converse with the
diary after finding herself unable to talk to Ranma anymore.
No, that couldn't be it, she thought, it wasn't like she
talked to Ranma a lot without using the words 'baka' or
'hentai'.  Hardly the stuff of engaging conversation and deep
thought.  She wasn't sure why she wrote in the diary, but she
seemed to enjoy it, and that was a good enough reason for her.
She had almost two months worth of entries in it now, and
it was nice to be able to look back on them.

She looked down at the scribbled form of her mental wandering
in the pages of the diary.  It looked even more confusing on
paper than it did in her mind.  She found herself smiling.
Life was confusing; it had been ever since Ranma had first
shown up.  At least some things didn't change.

Her relationship with Ranma was something that had changed,
however, and she found her thoughts turning to it.  She'd
been thinking about it a lot lately, and the previous pages
of her diary were filled with idle thoughts and ponderances
from the last few days.  Ranma was still his usual annoying self,
she noted, but something seemed... different about him.  She
thought back to a conversation earlier in that week.  She'd
been trying on a new dress, and Ranma had noticed.

"Hey, that's a nice dress," he'd said.  She thought she had
known what was about to come next.  She'd turned to face him,
and looked at his face.  Usually after saying something like
that he would start grinning and ask what a macho jock chick
like her was doing wearing it.  She'd come to expect it over
the past few months, and moving to punch him, or kick him into
orbit, was almost a reflex action.

"You think so?" she'd asked, incredulous.  The insult always
followed, and then came the table, the frying pan, or whatever
blunt object she felt like hitting him with.  But that time,
things had been different.

"Yeah.  Makes you look, y'know... kinda cute," he'd replied,
followed by a smile.  Not a grin, not a laugh, but a smile.
A kind smile.  It had surprised her so much that she had no
idea what to say.  Her dumbfounded expression must have looked
amusing, but he didn't laugh, he just turned and walked away.

She'd often imagined him smiling like that before, and it always
looked wrong on his face.  But when he'd actually done it, it
looked like it belonged there.  It looked familiar, in a way.

She smiled at the memory.  He was kind like that now, sometimes.
His mood seemed to swing back and forth almost at random; at
times he could say kind things, at others he was the jerk she'd
come to know.  The kind moments didn't come very often, and
didn't last very long, but she knew it was better than nothing.
Maybe Ranma was growing up.

"Hey!  Cut it out, Pop!"

Or maybe not.  Akane leaned forward and looked out through her
window at the garden below.  Ranma and Genma were sparring as
usual.  Genma seemed to have the upper hand.  A kick sent his
son flying backwards, and Genma stepped forward to stand over
him as he sat on the grass rubbing his chin.

"You're getting slow, boy," he said, a hint of annoyance in
his voice, "I could have gone, eaten breakfast and come
back in the time you had to duck that kick."

Suddenly, Genma was in the air.  He arced through the air
and landed, naturally, with a splash in the koi pond.

"Maybe.  Doesn't look like you coulda made a stupid boast
in the time you had to duck THAT kick, though." Ranma replied,
getting to his feet.  "Stupid old fool."

With a loud growl, Genma sent a wave of water crashing toward
Ranma.  It hit him full in the face, with the usual results.

"What'd you do THAT for?" Ranma shrieked, annoyed, "Now I
gotta change back again!  Geez, don't be such a sore loser."

Akane leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes.  Another
typical day was starting at the Tendo dojo.

* * *

"Oh, my," said Kasumi as Ranma's dripping form entered the
kitchen, "I've got some water heating up for you, Ranma."

"Uh," replied Ranma, scratching the back of her head, "yeah,
thanks, Kasumi."

"Well, it will take a little while to boil, and breakfast is
ready," came the reply, complete with smile, "why not put
some dry clothes on, and you can change back afterwards?
You've got enough time before school."

"Yeah, sure."

She always felt embarrassed when Kasumi had to go away and
boil water to get her back to normal after her fights with
her dad in the mornings.  Kasumi never said anything out of
the ordinary, of course, but Ranma suspected she didn't
approve of the immature squabbling that happened every morning
in the garden.

Immature?

Ranma scratched her chin as she walked up the stairs.  It
wasn't immature.  It was martial arts training!  It was her
life.  Why had the word immature come to her mind?  It wasn't
immature.  Was it?

<Maybe it's a LITTLE silly,> she thought to herself as she
pulled off her shirt and pants.  After all, it's not like she
learned much by throwing Genma in the pool every day.   But
hey, it was fun!

She frowned and started pulling on some clothes.  It used to
be fun, but lately she was just irritated with Genma for bugging
her every day.  He knew he was going to lose, so why did he
start the fight in the first place?

Her frown stayed on her face as she walked back into the hallway
and headed back toward the stairs.

"Hey, Akane!" she called out as she walked down the hall, "Hurry
up with that diary writin', will ya?  Breakfast ain't gonna be
around for long with Pops down there, ya know!"

* * *

Akane closed her diary as she heard Ranma's voice call out, and
placed it into a drawer in her desk.  She didn't want to miss
breakfast; she was hungry this morning.  She closed her door
behind her as she left her room, adjusted her uniform slightly
as she walked down the hall, and turned to the stairs.  It had
only been a few moments since Ranma had called her; there should
be a fair amount of food left, even with him and Genma both
devouring it with their usual gusto.

As it turned out, she was both right and wrong.  Right in the
fact that there was a fair amount of food left, but wrong in
that Ranma was the only one eating.  Akane scratched the back
of her head as she looked over at the table.

Soun and Nabiki were both sitting silently, staring at Ranma.
Genma wasn't eating, as Akane had expected, but also sitting
in silence, holding up a sign that read "What are you doing, boy?".
She wondered what he meant, as Ranma was sitting in the usual
position at the table, eating heartily as usual.  It was only
when Kasumi wandered in carrying a kettle that her mind clicked.

"My, you're looking nice this morning, Ranma!" Kasumi chimed,
"Does this mean you won't be needing the hot water?"

"Huh?" replied Ranma, around a mouthful of food, "Of course I
need it!"

Akane looked at Ranma with wide eyes, blinking slowly as she
walked toward the table.  "Uh, Ranma...?"

"What?" replied the red-haired girl without looking up from her
food.

"Uh... what... are you wearing...?"

"Huh?" Ranma replied, looking up, "What kinda stupid question
is that?"

Akane said nothing, merely looking down at the clothes in
question.  Ranma looked at her quizzically for a moment, then
looked down as well.

"YAAAAH!"

Ranma's food went flying as she jumped straight up in the air,
squealing wildly.  As surprised as everyone else had looked
a few moments ago, Ranma's expression of shock managed to beat
them all.

"What the heck am I wearin'?!" she cried out in dismay.

"I may be mistaken," drawled Nabiki, "but it looks like a
Furinkan High girl's uniform to me."

"I... wha...?  How did...?  Why... but... I, uh..." blubbered
Ranma, her face scarlet with embarrassment, "I didn't put
these clothes on!"

"Who did, then?" asked Akane, folding her arms.  She was
confused, and angry, but Ranma looked kind of funny blubbering
around like that.

"I... uh... I *guess* I put them on... I musn't have been
paying attention or somethin'..."

"Yeah, happens to me all the time," replied Nabiki with a smirk,
"you have no idea how many times I've accidentally put on a
black silk evening dress instead of my school uniform."

Ranma's confusion and embarrassment had by this time turned
to anger.  She fumed as she walked from the table, muttering
to herself about getting changed again.

"Ranma?" asked Kasumi as Ranma neared the stairs.

"What?"

"Do you want the hot water?"

* * *

Ranma frowned as he ran along the fence.  Akane was trying to
keep up with him, but he wasn't in the mood to talk.  He was
angry at her for embarrassing him at breakfast.

<Well, it wasn't really HER fault,> he thought to himself, <but
it sure wasn't MY fault.>  He'd just gone upstairs and changed
clothes.  He must have been distracted or something.  VERY
distracted.  He couldn't shake the image of himself wearing that
dress out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.  It continued
to haunt him as he carried on running.  He didn't notice how
much he'd slowed down until Akane's voice broke his line of
thought.

"Hey, you jerk!" she yelled, panting, "Why were you running so
fast?"

"Aw, geez, Akane," he replied, angrily, "don't start.  I ain't
in the mood right now."

"Why are you mad at ME?  What'd *I* do?"

He stopped running, turned, and pointed an accusatory finger at
her.  "You.." he began, but paused as he realized that it wasn't
her fault at all.  Her demanding stare told him, however, that
he had better come up with a good reason for running away from
her.  He frowned, lowered his gaze a little, and mumbled a few
words.

"What?" asked Akane, folding her arms.  "What was that?"

"I said, you were gonna laugh at me!"

"What?  I was not!"

"Yeah, whatever." he snorted, "I saw your face.  You looked like
you were gonna fall on the floor and laugh your head off."

"I was NOT, you baka!"

He hopped down from the fence and started to walk away.  "See?
You can't help it.  You always gotta poke fun at me."

"Ranma, stop it!  You're not being fair!"

He stopped.  For a moment, he stood perfectly still.  Akane
wondered what he was thinking, what he was about to do.  She
was furious at him for making such stupid assumptions, but
worried about him as well.  He didn't run away like this over
stupid little arguments.  What happened this morning must have
really embarrassed him.

<Or really angered him,> she thought to herself, looking down
at his hands, hanging limp at his sides.  They were shaking
quite visibly.  <Or maybe really scared him...>

She said nothing more; she wasn't sure what to say.  Part of
her wanted to yell at him, point out what a total idiot he was
being, but she had a feeling he already knew.  His head lowered
slightly, and he turned to face her.

"Akane... I'm sorry."

"Ranma, it's all right... but what happened this morning?"

"I don't know.  I just... got dressed like normal.  I wasn't
even payin' attention, I just threw some clothes on and
came downstairs."

"You can't just throw a dress on, Ranma," she replied, a smile
coming to her face as she thought it through, "it takes more
than that, doesn't it?  You have to put it on properly and
make sure it's zipped up in the back and everything.  It's
not exactly the kind of thing you do accidentally!"

"I know," he replied, simply.

"What were you even DOING with a girl's uniform anyway?  I'm not
sure if I even want to know!"

"I borrowed it back when I was... y'know."

"Oh..." replied Akane, quietly.  Ranko had borrowed one of Kasumi's
old school uniforms, since they were the only ones that fit her. "But
didn't you give that back to Kasumi?"

He shook his head.  "I didn't even think about it after... what
happened.  I kinda forgot about it... 'til today, that is.  I mean,
it's not like Kasumi needed it."

"You must have been pretty embarrassed."

He nodded.

"Don't worry, Ranma.  Nobody thought it was funny."

"Except Nabiki," he snorted, "I guess I should count myself
lucky she didn't have her camera with her."

"Well... you know what she's like."

"I know," he began, and looked up at her.  The expression on
his face was one Akane instantly felt familiar with.  Her mouth
opened slightly, but no words came out.  They stared at each
other in silence for a few moments, before Ranma decided what
he wanted to say.  Or, at least, what he didn't want to say.

"I'm goin' to school now."

"O...okay." replied Akane.  She watched as he turned and walked
away.  Chewing her lip, she thought back on what he said, and
the expression on his face.  It was several minutes later that
she too began walking toward school.

* * *

As the day went on, Akane's thoughts about Ranma were pushed to
the back of her mind by the more immediate academic problems being
presented to her.  She concentrated and worked hard; it had, like
her diary writing, become something of a habit lately.

Ranma was also quiet; he seemed to be working just as hard as she
was.  This made her somewhat curious, but she put it aside and
continued with her work.  She'd felt, a few weeks back, that her
studies were playing second fiddle to her martial arts practice;
with her recent improvement in study habits, she felt that her
physical and mental development were more balanced, and that was
important to maintain.

The lunch bell came quickly for her.  However, it seemed Ranma
was anxious for its arrival; as soon as the bell rang he rushed out
through the door.

<He must be hungry,> she thought to herself as she stood, <although
I can't imagine HOW, after the amount of food he ate this morning.>
Picking up her books, she walked toward the door.  Ranma was nowhere
to be seen as she poked her head out into the hallway.  <I sure wish
he'd thought to wait for me.  He's so inconsiderate sometimes!>

* * *

It was several minutes later that Akane finally found Ranma, in
female form, sitting beside a tree in the school grounds.  She
seemed to be watching a softball game that was happening nearby,
and chewing on a sandwich.

"Hi, Akane," she said, smiling, as she saw Akane's approach.  She
shuffled over a little and patted the grass next to her, "Come sit
down with me.  Do you want some of this sandwich?  It's really tasty."

"No thanks," replied Akane, sitting next to her, "I'm not really hungry.
Where'd you run off to in such a hurry?"

"Did I?  I don't.." Ranma began, then stopped and put her hand to her
mouth.  "Oh, that's right!  I was in a hurry, wasn't I?"

Akane nodded, giving Ranma a strange look.  "You were... are you feeling
okay?"

"Hmm?  Oh, yes!  I'm fine.  You shouldn't worry about me so much!  I was
hungry, that's right... I remember I was in a rush because I was hungry."

Akane blinked a few times, but said nothing.

"I ran around a corner," Ranma continued, "and ran into a boy standing
in the hallway with a bucket of water.  Poor thing looked like a scared
rabbit.  I was sort of mad at him, but he looked like he was afraid I'd
bite his head off.  Silly, really."

Akane remained in silence, staring at the Kasumi-like smile on Ranma's
face as she told her story.

"He seemed genuinely frightened of me!  He tried to back away and fell
over the bucket.  I helped him up, of course, and apologized to him for
running into him.  His teacher came out to see what all the noise was,
and I explained what had happened. I was embarrassed - it really was
quite clumsy of me - but after I told him what had happened, he looked
just as timid as his student did.  I didn't really understand why they
were so surprised; none of my business, I suppose.  I apologized again
and left.  By that time I wasn't feeling very hungry anymore, so I went
and dried myself off, bought a sandwich, and came here to enjoy the
sunny weather.  Then you came along!  How about you?  How has your
lunchtime been, Akane?"

Akane shuffled backwards, staring at the girl before her.  She searched
for words, but none would come to her.  Slack-jawed silence was all she
could manage.  Her wide-eyed expression of surprise didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you all right, Akane?"

"R..Ranko?" Akane finally managed to stammer out, as the power of speech
returned to her.

Ranko smiled and laughed softly, putting her sandwich back into its bag,
folding the bag, and placing it neatly on the grass below her; all in a
manner befitting Kasumi. "Of course it's me, Akane!  Who were you
expecting?"

"But I... we... the neko-ken..."

"Oh, my," Ranko replied, an expression of concern coming over her face,
"you  sound confused, Akane.  Are you all right?  Perhaps you should see
Dr. Tofu this afternoon."

Suddenly, Akane jumped to her feet.  Ranko, startled, looked up at her in
surprise.  The expression of surprise was gone from Akane's face, replaced
by a mixture of anger and determination.

"No.  We're going to see Dr. Tofu RIGHT NOW.  C'mon, you're coming with
me!"

* * *

"Physically, she's fine," said Dr. Tofu, scratching his chin.

Akane sat in front of his desk, shaking her head as she rested it on
her hands.  How could Ranko be back?  She'd gone... faded away when the
neko-ken bought Ranma back.  She hadn't been heard from since!  Why
did she suddenly come back?  What forced the change?  Would she have
to wait it out again like last time?  And would it happen again?

These and a million other questions raced through her mind, but she
knew she had no answers, and it didn't look like Dr. Tofu did either.

"When did the change happen?"

"Earlier today," Akane replied, her voice quiet, "he was fine this
morning, but when I caught up with him at lunchtime... he was like
that."

"Was he behaving any differently than usual before that?  Since
Ranko last left, I mean?"

"Well... yeah, kinda.  Sometimes.  He's been more patient, sometimes
he says nice things without turning them into jokes, things like
that.  I assumed it was just him finally growing up."

"Hmm... interesting.  I've talked to her, asked her about herself.
Other than a bit of confusion over why I was asking her such things,
she looks and sounds like a perfectly healthy young woman."

"Young MAN, Tofu-sensei!  He's a guy!"

The doctor shook his head.  "Right now, Ranma wholeheartedly believes
she is a girl.  And, quite frankly, the physical evidence is quite
hard for her to ignore."

"So just splash him with hot water!"

"No," he replied, again shaking his head, "I don't know what that
kind of shock would do to her right now.  Mentally she's somewhat...
volatile.  She's confused, and probably afraid at what's going on.
In fact, the only thing she DOES know for sure is that she is a
girl.  It seems more strongly etched into her mind than any other
thought."

"So what do I do?  Do I have to wait it out?  What if it happens
again?  What if it's permanent?  There's got to be something you
can do!"

"Right now, I don't want to do anything.  Her mental condition
is still fragile; at a guess I'd say that's because of the shock of
the changeover.  What she needs most right now is to be treated
normally."

Akane looked up at him in silence.  She didn't know what to say;
she wanted to say something that would make him turn Ranko back into
a guy and give Ranma back to her, but she knew there was nothing she
could say to do that.  Her eyes softened, and her gaze returned to
her lap.

"In a day or two, we can look at her again and try to find out what
exactly is going on inside her mind.  I don't know if I'll be able
to do much, Akane - I'm a chiropractor, not a psychiatrist."

"So - what now?  I just take him home?  That's it?"

"No... there's something I'd like you to do before you go."

* * *

Ranko looked around the doctor's office.  It had certainly been a
long time since Dr. Tofu had left.  He'd asked her a lot of questions;
she wondered why, since it was Akane who seemed so confused.  He seemed
like a nice enough man, but why had he left her in here for so long?
She felt herself growing irritated.  She wasn't sure why, but she
could definitely feel it inside her; like a small spark growing into
a flame.  She frowned at herself.

In an attempt to take her mind off things, she thought back to more
pleasant times.  The past few weeks had been so steadfastly ordinary,
she thought to herself.  The usual routine.  Schoolwork and homework.
Her life had been so exciting at first...

<I sure wish Ryouga was here,> she thought to herself, wistfully.
<He'd make everything all right.>  She closed her eyes and sighed,
a smile coming to her face as she remembered him.  Life had been
so exciting; her love for him, his love for her, the happiness they
shared in their moments together, the warmth he had brought to her
life.  He'd left to go on a training trip several weeks ago.  She
respected the martial arts he believed so highly in, but it saddened
her to be without him for so long.  Sadness wasn't the only emotion
she felt as she thought about that; she felt the irritation she'd
been trying to forget flaring up again.

With a suddenness that surprised her, her fist slammed down on the
table in front of her.

"Why is he TAKING SO LONG?" she asked of nobody in particular.  It
was a moment later that she realized the door had opened, and Dr.
Tofu was standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry for the wait, Ranko," he said, one eyebrow arched.

"Oh!  Tofu-sensei!" she gasped, jumping to her feet.  Her face
burned bright red with embarrassment at her outburst.  "I... I'm
sorry!  I didn't mean to lose my temper.  I don't know what came
over me."

"That's quite all right," he said, stepping into the room, Akane
behind him, "no need to apologize."

He looked more interested than angry or surprised, Ranko noted
as she sat down again, bowing her head.  "Thank you.  I... I
won't do it again."  With her gaze fixed firmly on the table
in front of her, Ranko didn't notice the sadness in Akane's
eyes.

"I've been talking with Akane," Tofu said as he and Akane sat
down in front of her.

"Is she all right?" Ranko asked, looking up, her eyes showing
genuine concern.  "She seemed to be acting strangely this
afternoon."

"Yes, she's fine," Tofu replied, "but I'm a little worried about
short term memory loss.  What I'd like you to do is tell her what
happened today, to see how much she can remember."

"Of course!  I'll be glad to help Akane," Ranko answered, her
smile returning to her face.  "Where would you like me to begin?"

"At the beginning, if you would."

"Certainly," Ranko replied, her happy expression spreading from
just her mouth to her whole face.  She was happy to help and felt
useful in helping Akane remember the day.  "Well, let me see..."

"Don't go into too much detail, Ranko," noted Tofu, "just tell us
the major things."

"All right," Ranko nodded, clasping her hands together in her
lap, "I woke up this morning, washed, and dressed as usual."

"Did you have a bath this morning?"

"Of course not," Ranko replied, laughing softly, "the furo had
hot water in it, and..."

"And...?"

"And, well," Ranko continued, starting to blush, "I can't bathe
in hot water... because of... you know."

"The curse, of course," Akane replied, nodding.  Ranko smiled and
nodded.

"Yes, the curse!  I have to wash with cold water." Ranko said,
glad to see Akane remembered.  "After my wash I dressed in my uniform
and went downstairs for breakfast."

"But if you dressed in your school uniform," Akane interrupted, "why
aren't you wearing it now?"

"It's kind of embarrassing..." Ranko began, blushing.

"Go on, it's all right," replied Tofu, encouragingly.

"Well... I was eating breakfast as usual, but then I noticed everyone
was staring at me.  I didn't know why at first, but when I looked down
I noticed a huge spider was crawling across my lap!  I'm not usually
frightened of spiders, but it just gave me such a surprise..."

Akane's blank look told her she should continue.

"It surprised me so much I jumped straight up in the air.  I knocked
the table, and food went flying everywhere," she continued, blushing,
"including on me.  My uniform was a mess, so I went upstairs and
changed."

Tofu looked over at Akane, who hesitantly nodded.

Ranko looked down at the silk shirt and black trousers she was wearing.
"These aren't ideal clothes; more like the kind of thing Ranma would wear,
but all of my dresses were waiting to be washed; I was going to help
Kasumi do the laundry after school, in fact."

"Then what?" asked Tofu.  Akane was feeling better now, after hearing
Ranko mention Ranma.  At least that didn't mean she'd totally forgotten
him.

"Well, after that we left for school.  I was embarrassed to walk with
Akane because of my accident at breakfast, but she didn't laugh at me,
and I was glad for that.  It was such a lovely morning, I was happy that
I didn't spoil it by spilling breakfast."

"What then?  What about school?" asked Akane, quietly.

"Well... classes were no different to usual.  I enjoyed the trigonometry
we did this morning.  For some reason I was really quite hungry by
lunchtime, though; probably because I spilled half of my breakfast
instead of eating it," Ranko said, with a small laugh.  "It's really not
been my day today - two accidents by lunchtime.  I was rushing toward the
cafeteria; I shouldn't have been running in the hallway, but I was really
quite hungry.  I came around a corner, and accidentally ran into a boy
holding a bucket of water outside his class..."

* * *

Akane walked slowly alongside Ranko, who seemed to be gazing peacefully
ahead.  She wondered what was going on inside the redheaded girl's mind.

Dr. Tofu had been impressed by the complexity of the memory that Ranko's
subconscious had created; it allowed for each of the major events of the
day in a perfectly logical fashion - bending the circumstances and events
to make them logical if Ranko had been there instead of Ranma.  Ranko
herself still seemed a little... out of it; she hummed gently to herself
as the pair walked home.  Delusional was the word Dr. Tofu had used to
describe her.  She certainly seemed in a world of her own.

<At least she remembers Ranma,> Akane thought to herself as she looked
over at Ranko, <that's got to be a good sign.  Tofu-sensei said to treat
her normally... I'd better take her aside somewhere while I explain
this to Father.>

She sighed softly and returned her gaze to the road in front of her;
Ranko didn't seem to notice.  Clutching her schoolbag more tightly, Akane
found herself scowling.  <Why did this have to happen AGAIN?>

* * *

Ryouga rubbed his stomach idly as he walked through a nameless street.
His supply of money was running pitifully low - not that he'd be able
to buy a meal in the small hours of the morning, anyway.  Food would
have to wait.  The city around him looked familiar; then again, he'd
been through most cities often enough for them all to have a certain
degree of familiarity.

The noise of his footfalls on the concrete below him was the only
thing penetrating the silence.  He pondered idly how strange it was
to be in such a large city and to hear no sounds.  He'd been through
deserts and ice fields that made more noise than this.  Somewhere
off in the distance, a cat wailed; a dog barked loudly a moment
later.  Another dog joined in, then another.  They seemed to take
turns, barking one after the other.  A few shouted requests for
quiet from annoyed homeowners disrupted the canine conversation,
however, and soon it was silent again.

The cold night air reminded him of his treks across mountaintops,
and he turned his head to the sky, wondering if he could catch a
glimpse of the same stars he'd spent hours gazing at from the
rocky peaks.  A thick veil of dark clouds hung low over the
city, however; there would be no stargazing for him tonight.  In
fact, he pondered, he would need to find shelter soon.  Umbrella
or no, he didn't enjoy walking in the rain.

<Great,> he thought to himself with a sigh, <out alone, in the
cold.  No food to eat, no place to sleep, and it's about to
rain.  Just great.  At least in the forest there's always food
to eat... damned cities.>

Such negative thoughts quickly left him as he caught sight of
something familiar.  He was lucky to have noticed it - he'd
only seen it in his peripheral vision.  If he hadn't been
looking up to see the sky at the time, he might have missed
it entirely.

He had been looking up, however, and he had seen it.  Rushing
over to it, he held his arms up toward it and let out a
silent laugh of triumph.  Even without the light of the moon
to see by, it was light enough for him to clearly make out
the writing on the sign.

<At last!  The Tendo dojo!>

* * *

Outside the dojo, Ryouga peered in.  He had been careful to be
quiet as he crept around the house, and it seemed that nobody had
heard him.  He was glad; he didn't really want to explain why he
was sneaking around there in the middle of the night.

Ranma slept, facing away from her observer.  He was in female
form, Ryouga noticed, which struck him as a little odd.  Ranma
hated to be in his female form; Ryouga wondered why he hadn't
changed back before going to bed.

Ranma rolled over to face him, and a gasp escaped him.  He mentally
cursed for allowing himself to make the noise; he was lucky that he
hadn't woken her and her father.  His anger quickly passed, however,
and he stared at her face - the reason for his gasp.  It had been
weeks since he'd seen her in person, but she was even more beautiful
than he remembered.  Even the photograph he had barely did justice
to the beauty that seemed to radiate from her face.

<My Ranko,> he thought to himself, a smile coming to his face.  It
was quickly replaced by a frown.  Shaking his head, Ryouga tried
to move such thoughts out of his mind.  Ranko was gone; only Ranma
remained.  He didn't love Ranma.  He couldn't ever love Ranma,
even if he had the body of his beloved Ranko.  However, as he
stared at her, lost in peaceful sleep, he found himself having
difficulty focusing on the difference between the two.

She pulled her blanket over her shoulders, and Ryouga noticed she
was clutching a pillow tightly in front of her.  She squeezed it
tightly, resting her head on the corner nearest her face.  As he
peered more closely, Ryouga noticed she was rubbing her head up and
down against the fabric of the pillow; a strange gesture, but one
he found immediately endearing.

<She's so beautiful,> he thought to himself, gazing longingly at
her.  His instincts told him to rush in and hold her tightly in
his arms, to kiss her and tell her how much he missed her.

<How much I still do miss her,> he thought to himself, with a mental
sigh.  <Ranko is gone, and this isn't helping.>

He stepped back from the dojo into the garden, and realized he was
holding his breath.  He exhaled; his breath condensed as it combined
with the air around him.  Turning from the dojo, he began to walk
away.  Waking Ranma in the middle of the night would not be a
smart move; waking Ranma in the middle of the night by kissing
him would be a suicidal one.

No, he decided, he would come back later and talk to Ranma.  In
the meantime, he had to find somewhere to sleep; preferably not out
in the cold night air.  A drop of rain hit the back of his neck.
Instinctively, he reached for his umbrella and pulled it open above
his head.  Rain.  That definitely ruled out sleeping outside.  He
walked out through the front gate, the sounds of his footfalls on
the concrete and the patter of the rain on his umbrella the only
sounds penetrating the silence.  He would return later.

* * *

The sky brightened as the sun began to peek over the horizon.  There
was a moderate fog on this particular morning; the night had been
long and cold.  As the sun's rays crept inevitably forward to embrace
Tokyo, they bought warmth with them; soon the fog began to lift.  It
would be gone by the time anyone was awake.

Almost anyone.  The door of the Tendo dojo had been left slightly
open by the visitor of several hours ago, and a thin crack of light
extended slowly across the floor as the sun rose through the sky.
Ranko was laying directly in its path; slowly, eventually, it crept to
her face and across her eyes.  The change in light was enough to
wake her; her eyes squinted almost immediately upon opening.  They
did not need to squint for long, however.  Within seconds of waking,
Ranko sat bolt upright, her eyes wide, her hand over her mouth.

"Oh... my."

* * *

Akane's diary remained unopened as she dressed - this morning, there
were more important matters to tend to.  She had written in it last
night.  It was the first time she'd ever written twice in one day.

She'd read over it before going to sleep the previous night.  The
second entry was more similar to the first than she had initially
thought.  Both contained more questions than answers.

Zipping the back of her dress, she leaned over her desk and looked
out through the window.  The garden was empty this morning; there
was no sparring session.  Naturally.  Part of her had hoped there
would be - it would mean this was all just a dream.

* * *

Breakfast was a solemn affair.  Ranko was not present - Genma mentioned
that she was sitting in the dojo when he checked in on her, and had
refused to come with him for breakfast.  Refused was probably too
strong a word, he'd added, she'd merely looked at him and said she
didn't feel like breakfast.  She'd smiled afterwards, of course; Ranko
always did.  But even Genma could see that something was wrong.

After Genma's initial comments, breakfast passed in silence.  Afterwards,
Akane watched Soun and Genma move over to the shogi board as usual, but
neither of them seemed to be in a particular hurry to make a move.  She,
on the other hand, did make a move.  Stepping through the kitchen, she
walked out toward the dojo, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

* * *

"Ranko?"

"Good morning, Akane," came the reply.  Akane whirled to see Ranko sitting
in a corner of the dojo, her legs pressed up against her chest, arms
wrapped around her knees.  She looked upset, but even so, had been polite.
That was just her way.

Akane stepped over to her.  "How are you feeling this morning?"

Ranko didn't look up.  Instead, she continued to gaze at her knees.  Akane
noticed goosebumps on Ranko's arms, and a slight shiver in her body.  The
sun warmed the air outside, but inside the dojo it had remained cold.

"When did I come back?"

The suddenness of the question surprised Akane.  Her own question had been
ignored, and she hesitated in her reply.

"Please, Akane.  The truth," added Ranko, noticing Akane's hesitation.

Akane bit her lip, remembering Dr. Tofu's words.  He'd warned her about
talking about it too early, but she felt somehow that telling Ranko the
truth about it was important.

"Yesterday.  Yesterday, at lunch," she answered, at length.

"I... I don't..." Ranko tried, then closed her mouth and sighed.

Akane, noting Ranko's apparent distress, kneeled down in front of the
girl and placed her hand gently on the cold skin of one arm.  "You
don't what?"

"I don't... remember very well... so cold in there..."

Bringing her hand down to Ranko's, she squeezed gently, comfortingly.
Ranko lifted her head slightly and looked at Akane, her face a mask of
confusion.

"You were... gone, for over a month.  What do you remember?"

"Yesterday... kind of hazy.  It was like I woke up suddenly; there was
a boy there, holding an empty bucket.  He looked so scared - I didn't
know why.  Then it hit me, just like that, I knew I'd run into him...
but it wasn't me, was it?  It was..."

"Ranma." Akane finished.

"Yeah... Ranma," Ranko nodded.  Realization seemed to flash in her eyes,
her hands grabbing Akane's and gripping tightly, "Ranma!  Oh... Akane!
I'm sorry!  I didn't... I didn't mean to take him from you!"

Akane looked down at the floor and said nothing.  She wanted to say it
was all right, but she *was* angry; if not at Ranko, then at Ranma for
disappearing in the first place.

"It's not your fault," she said, at length, "don't feel guilty about
it."

"I..." Ranko began, then stopped.  Her eyes caught Akane's, and for
the first time that morning, she no longer felt cold.  "I'll try
not to."

Akane managed a smile, and stood.  "C'mon.  We should probably
see Tofu-sensei."

"Akane," replied Ranko, looking up.  She reached up and brushed
her fringe from her eyes, but made no motion to stand.  She looked
down at herself, then looked up again, clasping her hands together.
"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure," replied Akane, curious.

"Has..." Ranko began, stopping as she felt her cheeks begin to
flush.  She looked down again, her face reddening slightly as she
thought the question through.  Eventually, however, she managed
to ask.

"While I was Ranma did Ryouga... come back?"

* * *

Akane turned to look behind her, folding her arms.  She was trying
not to get angry, but she couldn't help it.  They'd left home well
over ten minutes ago and were barely a quarter of the way to Dr.
Tofu's clinic.  They'd started out all right, but soon Akane found
Ranko lagging behind, and from that point on she'd had to turn
every few moments and remind the redheaded girl that it wasn't
a sightseeing trip.

This time, Ranko was leaning on a fence, looking out over the
city.  She seemed deep in thought, and didn't respond to Akane's
calls.  Akane frowned, and walked toward her.

"Hey, Ranko!" she called, stepping up to the fence, "Come on!  At
this rate the clinic'll be closed before we even get there."

"Sorry, Akane," Ranko replied, her gaze not moving, "I don't mean
to dawdle.  It's just so beautiful, I can't help but stare."

"What is?" asked Akane, looking out over the fence, "It's just some
buildings."

"Try spending a month in a room painted entirely in black and see
if you say the same thing." replied Ranko, the corner of her mouth
twisted up in a bitter smirk.  It quickly disappeared, and Ranko
looked over at Akane.  "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that.  It
just came out before I could think about it."

"That's all right," replied Akane, giving a small smile, "I understand."

"I'd almost forgotten how wonderful it is here," Ranko stated, after
a pause.

"Wonderful?"

A nod.  "The sights, the sounds.  The way the birds sing in the
morning.  The sunlight reflecting off the water of the koi pond.  The
sound of someone's voice.  It's all beautiful in its way."

Akane said nothing, merely looking at Ranko's face.

"The sunlight feels so warm, and the fresh air... it feels wonderful.
And the morning dew," she said, with a smile, "when we left the dojo
I saw it again.  Beautiful."

Akane began to smile, and placed her hand on Ranko's.  "You're right.
I guess it's easy to take stuff like that for granted."

"Too easy," Ranko said, nodding, "people seem to forget about it.
They get so caught up in their lives they never stop to smell the
roses.  Tokyo is a beautiful place; it's a beautiful day.  Even the
people who rush around working so hard all day are beautiful too,
in their own way.

"And you're beautiful too," she concluded, turning her head to look
at Akane.  She smiled warmly, a smile that made Akane both flush
with embarrassment and smile with happiness.  It amazed Akane how
Ranko could be so positive after what she must have been through.
She wished Ranma was able to say such things.  She wished Ranma
was _with_ her to say such things.

Ranko turned to look out over the fence again; the moment passed.
Akane gripped Ranko's hand more tightly and tugged.  "C'mon, we
should get going."

"All right," said Ranko, with a smile, "let's go."

She turned and took a step away, but felt herself being pulled
back.  She frowned a little as she realized Ranko wasn't walking
with her.  She pulled again, but still Ranko didn't step away from
the fence.

"What's with all the tuggin', Akane?  You tryin' to pull my arm
off or something?"

Akane blinked, then whirled around.  Ranko stood before her, one hand
in hers, the other on her own hip.  The smile that had been there a
few moments ago was replaced with a curious frown.

"Ranma?!"

* * *

"Aw, geez, Akane, I wish you'd quit goin' on about it."

"Doesn't it WORRY you?!" exclaimed Akane, in disbelief.  She jogged
forward a couple of steps to pull ahead of Ranma as the redhead walked
along the fence.  It had happened so quickly; one moment she was
talking to Ranko, the next Ranma was there looking disdainfully at
her.  Just like that.

And Ranma didn't care!  Akane thought that Ranma of all people would
be very worried about actually *being* a girl part of the time.  At
least the Jusenkyo curse left him in control of his body, but this
was different!  She should be having to rush to keep up with Ranma as
she raced to Dr. Tofu's office, but here she was walking with her
as she marched nonchalantly away from that very place.

"Why would it worry me?  It was just, I dunno, an aftershock or
somethin'."

"I can't believe you're being so flippant about this!"

"Geez, Akane, quit makin' such a big deal outta it!  Forget about it.
I'm fine."

"You idiot!" she cried, throwing her arms up in exasperation, "You've
got another person living inside you and you're just shrugging it
off?  That is STUPID!"

"Akane, would you--"

"And SELFISH!"

"Akane!" Ranma yelled, turning to face her.  She jumped down from
the fence and glared, "Just shut up!  Shut up!  All right?  I don't
wanna hear about it!  It ain't got nothin' to do with you!"

Akane stared at her, wide-eyed.  She was surprised by the outburst,
and could feel anger building inside herself.  What was this
idiot DOING?  Why was Ranma being so defensive?

Ranma's face softened; she looked down at the ground, then back
up at Akane's face.  Placing one hand on her hip, she reached
back and scratched behind her head.

"Look, Akane," she began, softly, "I'm sorry for yelling like
that.  It's just... I don't think what happened is very important.
And right now all I wanna do is go home, change back into my proper
body, and sit down for a while.  Okay?"

"But..."

"Just give me some peace for a while, okay?" she said, and sighed,
"I guess we can talk about it later if you really gotta."

Akane nodded.  Ranma did have a point.  It wasn't really fair to
hassle her so much about it so soon after changing.  "All right."

Turning, Ranma continued walking toward home.  Akane had only been
concerned about her, and she'd responded by lashing out.  She
shouldn't have, but she did.  She was indeed worried... very worried.