Zen <Databank@mindspring.com>

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

by Zen

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


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

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

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

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

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

"OYAJI!!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<So how do I get out of this mess?> Ranma wondered.  <How can I get
all of these people to leave me alone?>  After giving it a lot of
thought, Ranma eventually reached the conclusion that there was
only one way to stop all of them.  <Only trouble with that one is, I'm
kind of fond of living,> he mused.  <Still, there has got to be a way to
at least slow them down.>

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

<Well,> thought Ranma, <Maybe it'll help if I think of it as a battle
plan.  I can't fight directly - there are too many of them, and I don't
know where all of them are.  Definitely a target-rich environment. 
So, if I can't eliminate the fighters, I gotta take out the objective.>

That seemed like a sound strategy, but Ranma was at a loss for an
effective means to implement it.  <Huh.> he thought.  <Looks like the
only way to solve this problem is to go on and marry one of them
after all.  Now *there's* an irony.>  Ranma sighed.  <I'm not ready for
marriage yet!  Still, I have GOT to do something.  I just can't go on
like this.  It's driving me crazy!  One way or another, I have to settle
this once and for all.>

Ranma rolled over onto his side.  The wall provided no more
inspiration than the ceiling had.  <If I *were* to marry one of them,
which would it be?  How am I supposed to make a choice like that? 
It's been driving me crazy for the past year!  But, what choices do I
really have?>

Kodachi?  A ghost of a laugh echoed through his memory.  Ranma
shuddered.  <I think not.>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No, this was definitely not going to be easy.  <Maybe I should come
back another time...> he thought.  What he said was, "Akane, I...  we
need to talk."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Akane, I..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It would make me ecstatic," she growled.

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

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

<Is this what I've done to her?> he thought to himself as Akane
ranted on, unheard.  <Am *I* the reason that she's so angry all the
time?  Do I really make her that unhappy?>

Ranma felt something inside him snap - <No!> he screamed silently. 
<This is NOT what I wanted.  I never wanted to fight you!  I don't
want to hurt you!  I want to see you smile!  You can be so cute when
you smile!  Why can I never make you smile instead of making you
cry?>

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

"Akane...  Please!" he began.

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

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

"Akane..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Akane sighed.  Arguing with Ranma always seemed to bring out the
worst in her, and tonight had been particularly bad.  Maybe she had
been a little harsh with him this time, but she just had not been in a
mood to deal with him, or his questions.  <Funny time for him to be
asking about our engagement,> she thought to herself.  She looked
again in the direction that he had taken.  <Ranma, why do you have
to make things so difficult?>  Sadly, she set about restoring her room
to some form of order.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

####  ****  ####
END PART 1/5



BEGIN PART 2/5
####  ****  ####

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

Akane's last words still echoed in her mind - [I hate you!] - <Can it be
that she really means it?>  Ranma-chan wondered.  <I know we fight
all the time, but I thought... I honestly thought that she liked me just
a little...>

There had been times when she could be so kind and gentle - they
were rare, but they had happened.  <That was an Akane that I really
liked - an Akane that was beautiful when she smiled...>  Ranma-chan
smiled bitterly at the memories.

<If she hated me so much, then why did she get so upset when the
others started showing up?  If she was that unhappy about being
engaged to me, you'd have thought that she'd have been *glad* to
have Ucchan or Shampoo or someone else free her from it.  I just
don't get it.>

<Of course, I should have been nicer to her, too.  Why shouldn't she
hate me?  All I've ever done is make fun of her...  tease her about
her cooking, or her looks.  And she *is* cute...  I've botched every
chance that I've gotten to try and make things better.  Just when I
start to think that I'm making some progress, I say that one thing too
many and spoil it all.  Yep, that's me;  Saotome Ranma - the fastest
mouth in all of Japan.>

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

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

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

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

"Do you want to talk about it?"

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

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

Ranma-chan thought of no fewer than three witty but rude replies,
but for once, the brain was working faster than the mouth, and she
uttered none of them.  <After all, she's only trying to be nice. 
Besides, what can I possibly have to lose?>  "You could say that," she
answered.

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

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

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

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

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

Ranma-chan looked at Akemi a little more respectfully.  <How had
she known?  I guess it's true, bartenders really do handle this sort of
thing all the time.>  "Bad enough," she answered, staring at her own
reflection in the sake.  "Nothing unusual, though."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ranma-chan was not willing to take all of the blame.  "Well, girls can
be pretty insensitive too, you know?"  <Still,> she thought to herself,
<a lot of it *is* my fault...>

"You mustn't blame yourself, dear."

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

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

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

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

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

"She's not..."

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

Akemi looked confused.

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

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

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

"Awkward."

"You have a gift for understatement."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Akemi smiled.  "No charge," she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kasumi watched Ranma as he trotted off towards the school.  <Now I
wonder what he meant by that?>  She thought to herself. 
Somewhere in her subconscious an alarm bell rang, but it was too
faint for her to hear.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shampoo looked at him inquiringly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

####  ****  ####
END PART 2/5


BEGIN PART 3/5
####  ****  ####

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

-Saotome Ranma


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Another fight with Akane?" she asked.

Ranma reddened slightly.  "Is it that obvious?"

"To me," she said simply.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know that yet."

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

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

"Your father will have kittens, you know."

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

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

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

"Are you certain of that?"

Ranma smiled grimly.  "Pretty sure."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ukyou's eyes widened.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ranma smiled at her affectionately.

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

"Nani?!"

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

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

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

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

"And your point is?" asked Ukyou.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Still,> she thought as she looked over the shop once more.  <There
have been some good times here.  I will miss this place.>  She looked
up, towards the back where Ranma - *her* Ranma - was sleeping so
peacefully and smiled.  <But not much!>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ranma," she said softly.

Ranma looked up at her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But... but Ranma..."

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

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

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

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

"What were they, Ran-chan?"

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

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

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

Ukyou shrugged.

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

Ukyou nodded.  "Go on."

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

"You chose me..." prompted Ukyou.

"For purely logical reasons."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes... I think so."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ukyou's answering grin and wink warmed Ranma-chan's heart. 
<Maybe,> she thought to herself, <just maybe, this curse isn't so bad
after all.>

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

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

Ranma-chan nodded.

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

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

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

"But I..."

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

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

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

####  ****  ####
END PART 3/5


BEGIN PART 4/5
####  ****  ####

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ranma!"

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

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

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

"What are we gonna do?" asked Ukyou.

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

"But he'll see you!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"So are we, idiot!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Little black what?!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nabiki blinked.  "Where is who?"

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

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

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

"WHAT?" yelped Soun and Genma in unison.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ranma:  "Do you really feel that way?"

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

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

Akane:  "It would make me ecstatic!"

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

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

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

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

Nabiki was not happy.  In fact, she was furious.  <How could he *do*
something like this,> she fumed.  <What could he have been thinking
about?>  Ranma's disappearance was going to cause her considerable
inconvenience.  Worse, it was going to cost her money.

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

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

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

Nabiki shook her head and sighed.  This was not good.  With Ranma
gone, her net income was going to take a nose-dive.  <That
insensitive, arrogant JERK!> she thought to herself.  <How could he do
this to me?>

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

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

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

####  ****  ####
END PART 4/5

----BEGIN ORIGINAL HEADER BLOCK----
From: Zen <Databank@mindspring.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.creative
Subject: [Ranma] Long & Winding Road - Pilot 5/5
X-Moderation-Queue-Date: 20 Nov 1996 07:12:23 GMT
Organization: MindSpring Enterprises
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime.fandom
-----END ORIGINAL HEADER BLOCK-----

BEGIN PART 5/5
####  ****  ####

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You should know."

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

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

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

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

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

<<Ring>>

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

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

<<Ring>>

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

<<Ring>>  <<click>>  "Hello?"

"Hello?  Mrs. Saotome?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Baka> Akane chided herself.  <There's no one here.  What am I
knocking for?>  Angry with herself, she slid open the door and stared
into the room.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Ranma, where are you?> she wondered.  <Why were you asking me
all those questions?   Just what were you trying to get at?  Why, oh
why didn't I pay more attention?>  Akane sighed heavily, her breath
fogging the glass in front of her and breaking the spell.

"Akane!"

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

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

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

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

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

Magami Eiko was new to Nerima - she had transferred to Tomobiki
from Graviton High last year, and it had been hard for her to make
new friends.  But she and Shinobu had hit it off, and Shinobu had
introduced her to Akane.  The three of them were now quite close.

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

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

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

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

Shinobu looked shocked.  "Gone?  What happened?"

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

"Your fault?" her friends asked in unison.

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

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

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

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

"No one has."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Both had been put on the defensive, and neither of them had been
willing to be the first to let their shields down and let the other one
in.  There had been times when they had come close, so painfully
close; but in the end, the shields had stayed up.  <And now he thinks
that I hate him> she thought to herself.  <Of course he's with Ukyou. 
I'd have done the same a long time ago if I'd been in his shoes.>

<Who cares?> thought Akane to herself.  <Shinobu's right.  I've always
said that I didn't want to marry him, and now I don't have to.  So
why do I feel so empty inside?  Dammit Ranma, couldn't you at least
have said 'good-bye'?>

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Growf}

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

"You must have faith!"

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

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

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

"Akane!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The panda had no answer.

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

END OF EPISODE ONE

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

TO BE CONTINUED...

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

Author's Notes:

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

Ayanami@mindspring.com

or Snailmail
c/o Anime*Niacs
PO Box 158392
Nashville, TN 37215

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doumo Arigato Gozaimashita!

Zen the Heretic-
November - 1996

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

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

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

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

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

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