Crocodile Tears, by James M. Zema The characters used within this piece of fiction are by no means mine; Rumiko Takahashi owns all of these characters along with Shougakukan Video and Viz Communications. I have the utmost respect for all of her creations and will hopefully not butcher them too horribly within. ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Crocodile Tears ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Ukyou frowned as she stared across the ring at her opponent. Something just... wasn't quite right about him. She shook her head, squaring her spatula and taking an offensive stance. From the first swing, she had a feeling she had gotten in over her head. The pig-tailed boy she was fighting dodged in and out of her strikes with almost frightening ease. "Hold still, damn you!" Ukyou panted, finally jumping back again. "Come on, Ucchan, why are we doin' this?" Ranma replied, "you can't win like this." He jumped towards her with a few testing kicks, eliciting a hasty swipe from her weapon of choice and a quick retreat. Her thoughts boiled as she was quickly forced onto the defensive, her opponents hands coming at her more quickly than she had thought possible. Finally she jumped into the air, tossing a flour-bomb to the non-stick surface of the ring, followed in quick succession by a line of mini- spatulas. She landed just outside the cloud of flour, scanning its contents for a dark patch. "Not there, Ucchan." A shove from behind pushed her into her own trap, forcing her onto the defensive again. All of this was getting rather nerve-wracking, she hadn't expected, exactly, to get a quick win, but at this pace she wasn't going to win at all. She needed to do something different, something which would startle Ranma into making a mistake. She frowned and jumped further back into the cloud, making sure to renew it with another flour-bomb to keep the cover up. Continuing to back away from where she had last seen him, Ukyou didn't register the warm object she backed into until a pair of hands slid around her torso and grabbed her. She froze, her eyes widening in surprise as the hands spasmed once, then began exploring her front tentatively, pushing the bindings down ever so slowly. A small voice emitted an, "Eeep!" as one breast slipped free of the bindings, into a waiting hand which gave it a small squeeze, as if to confirm the discovery. Ukyou stayed still a moment longer, then screamed, a red haze fogging her mind as she yelled, "PERVERT!" Her next swing encountered a distinctly solid mass, and even as the cloud began dissipating from the arena, if not from her dazed mind, the tide began to turn. Slash after slash began to penetrate the defenses of the pervert who had unveiled her secrets, the red shirt he was wearing slowly beginning to disintegrate as multiple tears appeared in it. A gasp from the audience finally penetrated Ukyou's rage, and she looked up just in time to see Ranma turn and bound out of the ring. She frowned, then took off after him at a sprint, only barely taking in the girl who paced her as she tried to run down the person who had ruined her life. It was several minutes later that she finally ground to a halt, bending over, hands on her knees and panting. Her quarry had proved a bit too quick to catch, but, and she smiled slightly, he had left behind a clue. She straightened up and walked over to the tree she had seen the boy bounding through, then jumped up to grab the piece of cloth dangling from a branch. "What the heck..." She stared at the cloth in her hand, her expression more confused then angry now. A quick examination revealed a thick, white strap, very slightly elastic and long enough to be wrapped around one's chest several times over. She had a sinking feeling she knew what it was used for, after all she was wearing something similar herself. She turned, her eyes still on the binding in her hands, and took a few steps before she ran into something, something warm and approximately her height. A quick grab for the spatula, followed by an overhand smash, resulted in an unconscious heap near her feet. "Phew, got hi..." She looked down at the person laying near her feet. "...her, rather." She wondered when Ranma had managed to slip into a school dress, then thought to raise her spatula, sliding it back into place on her back. "Oops." The young woman chose that moment to stir, groaning slightly before raising a hand to her head, a mumbled, "what hit me?" just barely audible. She flopped over onto her back and stared up at the tree limbs blankly. "I...well, I kind of thought you were a pervert," Ukyou began to explain, before she noticed the girl wasn't paying attention. She crouched, her crossed arms resting on her knees. "Hey, are you listening to me?" "Listening...? Yea, listening...Ranma never listens to me." The school girl's smile faded into a pout briefly, her eyes _still_ focused somewhere beyond the trees, then she started humming under her breath. "Hoo boy." Ukyou let out a puff of breath, then slipped her arms under the girl and heaved her into a fireman's carry. "Well, at least you should lead me to Ranma, I'm pretty sure I saw you hanging around him." ; / \ / \ \___/ A few minutes later saw Akane on the edge of the field Ranma and Ukyou had had their duel in, the crowd still milling around restlessly on the sky. Akane blinked a few times, then frowned as she felt the shoulder digging into her stomach, clarifying the odd position of the world. "Hey, you awake back there? Akane, wasn't it?" A voice, that boy Ukyou's she thought, drifted back to her. "Of course I'm awake, you idiot!" growled Akane from her rather awkward, and possibly embarrassing, position. "Put me down, right now!" "If you insist," Ukyou replied, letting go of her legs, which quickly slid over his shoulder. He turned around to examine the girl he had beaned with a dispassionate eye. "So how do you know Ranma?" Akane glared up at him after righting herself. "You whack me over the head, then drag me through the woods and that's all you can say for yourself?" She frowned dangerously at Ukyou. Ukyou held up his hands, and said, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry," in a patronizing tone which put Akane's hackles up. "I'm just wondering how you know that jerk, Ranma, and his, er, her, oh whatever, jerk father." "Ranma's not a...well, maybe sometimes," Akane defended, her mind flashing back to the first time she had found out Ranma was a boy. He had seen her naked and she hadn't even gotten a glimpse of him in revenge! Not that she wanted to of course. "You probably just haven't known the jackass long enough," assured Ukyou, "he hasn't had a chance to ruin your life yet." A glower settled on his face. "I just want a chance at the bastard. So what's your relationship to him?" Akane let the frown fade, then carefully took her time standing up and brushing off her dress, only turning to Ukyou after she had made herself as spotless as possible. "He's my fiancee if you must know." "Good, you can take me to him then." Akane hmmphed, turning away from Ukyou. "And why would I do that?" "Because I'll follow you anyway and get to him that way." Ukyou replied with a smirk. Akane sighed, then gestured for Ukyou to follow. "Come on, we might as well get going then." It's not like Ranma couldn't defend himself, she wasn't sure what had happened earlier, but it was probably a fluke. ; / \ / \ \___/ "I'm home!" Ranma blanched as she heard Akane call out, and practically flew back into her room. "Pops! Hurry, we gotta get going!" Her father turned from his dresser, tossing an armful of clothes to the younger martial artist. "If you had just been more careful..." "Hey!" Ranma exclaimed, "like it's _my_ fault?" She turned to the pack behind her, shoving the clothing in haphazardly. She quickly sealed that pack and grabbed the empty one beside her. Genma rolled his eyes, and opened the last drawer, as he replied, "If you hadn't gotten cocky, girl, we wouldn't be in this mess." He tossed the last few garments to Ranma then headed over to the window, placing one foot upon the windowsill. "Hurry up and get that ready, I'll be down in the dojo with the rest of our stuff." Ranma growled, then said, "Oh no, you're not pinning this on me. This one's your fault, Pop, and if we've gotta go home you're gonna get it," in a harsh whisper before she took a swipe at Genma's receding form and sprinted across the room to the closet. Just as she finished pushing the last item from the closet into her pack a footstep caused Ranma to freeze, pausing the packing process. "Well if it isn't the boy, or should I say girl, wonder," Ukyou drawled, before placing the edge of her spatula against Ranma's neck. "You left so quickly I didn't get a chance to say good-bye." Ranma turned slowly, a sickly smile plastered on her face. "Hiya...Ucchan, Akane." She waved ever so slightly, then shoved her hand behind her back when she noticed the package of trail rations in it. "Going somewhere, Ranma?" Akane scowled down at her from slightly behind and to the left of Ukyou. "M-M-me?" Ranma cleared her throat, then spoke a bit more carefully, modulating her tone. "Why would I be..." Ukyou's spatula drifted down, pushing the pack over and spilling it's contents upon the floor. "Ahh, those." Her already weak smile slowly drained off her face at the expressions upon Ukyou and Akane's faces. Ukyou knelt down, holding out the binding Ranma had lost earlier in the forest, and that had been replaced as soon as she got to the Tendo's. "Care to explain this, Ranma? It should be interesting." The color drained from Ranma's face, her smile vanishing completely. "Well, I...that is, it's just that..." She cast about frantically, her eyes darting almost imperceptibly from side to side before latching onto a picture of her father that had been left behind. "It was all my Dad's fault!" She collapsed, carefully wrought sobs wracking her frame as she covered her face. "I couldn't help it, I just cou-could-couldn't." She screwed her eyes shut, concentrating slightly to produce the necessary tears. Akane and Ukyou both stared as she peeked through the fingers covering her face, confused expressions upon both of their faces. She took the opportunity and sprinted for the futons and pillows they had left out, catching up a pillow and continuing her act with it, only an occasional artful sob escaping from behind it as her body shook. She really should take up acting. Before she did that though she needed a reason for this, or she might not live to explore _any_ career. She continued her display until she felt a tentative hand upon her shoulder, the touch producing a temptation too strong to resist. With another sob she turned and threw her arms around the person, Akane as it happened, and cried into her bosom. After enough time had passed, she reluctantly let the sobs fade away, though she maintained her grip until Akane pulled her up. "Are...you ok, Ranma?" Akane questioned, a blush upon her cheeks as she glanced over tearful girl, presumably towards Ukyou. "What did your Dad do? I don't think I've ever seen a reaction like that. Definitely not from you." Ranma sniffled, her eyes still watering as she glanced back towards Ukyou, noticing a slight softening in her expression, though she was still acting a bit cynical. "I'm just...I mean, I've never ever told anyone this...it's just too..." She brought her head down into her hands again, letting out more sniffles. Akane's arms closed around her, pulling her against her shoulder, a barely heard murmur of, "it's ok, shhh, just let it all out," startling Ranma enough that she almost lost the tears altogether. She hadn't really expected her act to work this well. If at all. She heard Ukyou snort, and could almost _feel_ Akane's glare. Either she felt a lot more towards her "fiance" then Ranma had thought, or she had pretty strong maternal instincts. "I guess you probably already know my...secret." Ranma pulled back, carefully displaying a certain timid shyness as she glanced up at Akane with her head down. She saw her fiancee shake her head slightly, although she did glance at Ukyou, so she at least suspected something. "You're a girl," Ukyou stated, finally putting away her battle spatula. "I guessed when I found that." She tossed the binding on the futon beside Akane, who picked it up with a confused look. "What is it though, Ranma?" she asked, turning the cloth over in her hands, trying to discern its purpose. She looked over at Ranma, just in front of her and fiddling with the ties on her silk shirt. "It's meant for this." Ranma finally opened her shirt, displaying an identical binding, before she began to unwrap it, revealing a pair of relatively small, though pert, breasts. Akane gasped, her hand darting to her mouth before she extended it tentatively, hesitating over Ranma's chest. "But, I mean, you're not in your cursed form, how can this..." Ranma reached out and pulled Akane's hand down, confirming the truth. "I've always been a girl, my cursed form is just a little more...womanly." She smirked involuntarily, though she made sure to banish it after a second. A few minutes of silence, during which Ranma laced her shirt back up, were finally broken by her carefully phrased speech, thought up during the crying. "Father raised me as a boy, and when I began to...develop, he, he..." She buried her face in her hands again, "he made me start wearing this, I'm just lucky I'm not very..." She made a small gesture towards her bosom with one hand, before she brought it back up to her face. Ukyou rubbed her own chest, then suddenly sat down next to Ranma, putting her arm around the "distressed" girl. "I, I know how that feels...Ranchan." Akane stared at Ukyou, finally glancing down and taking in the bulges visible in her boy's uniform after the fight. She pointed. "You're a girl!" she exclaimed, her eyes bulging as she looked back and forth from Ukyou to Ranma and back again. "Well, duh." Ukyou shook her head. "I would have thought you'd have realized that by now." She ignored the glare Akane shot her and turned back to Ranma. "Why did he do it though? I mean I have a reason...though it's obviously that bastard Genma's fault." "He, he wanted an heir I think. I don't know for sure, but I've been learning the Art since before I can remember, so that's probably why." Ranma dabbed at her eyes with her sleeves, her voice hushed and quiet as she stifled the urge to laugh out loud. "Plus, there's the promise of the engagement." "You knew?" Ukyou queried with a surprised look upon her face. "You knew and you still..." She trailed off, removing her arm from Ranma with a hurt look, scooting away. Ranma carefully composed herself, though she didn't need to feign a confused expression as she looked towards Ukyou. "Knew what? Mine and Akane's engagement is pretty much common knowledge." Ukyou put her own head down, her bangs covering her eyes as she said, "We...we were supposed to be engaged. The reason I'm dressed like this...the reason I gave up my femininity, it's because you ran off on our engagement." Ranma sat there, a stunned look, only partially feigned, upon her face. "I...I mean Pops did that to you? I didn't think. I mean...I always thought..." All three girls sat there for a few minutes, sorting out conflicting emotions. Ranma's mind was awhirl, truthfully she had been wondering about Ukyou since the fight, after all it was only every couple of months you met someone who used to be a boy--sort of. "So, I guess you were always a girl?" Ranma asked tentatively, one hand snaking out to rest on Ukyou's wrist. A nod answered her question. "I'm sorry, we, Pops and I, just had to leave. There were, umm, extenuating circumstances." She paused as Ukyou looked up, her eyes widening slightly. Ranma held Ukyou's hand up to her chest with both of her own, looking into her eyes with as much earnestness as she could muster. "You have to believe me, I was as surprised as you were during the battle when I, well, you know." She surprised herself with a blush. At least that part had been true. "I kind of got that feeling," Ukyou supplied, as the hand Ranma wasn't holding drifted up before dropping again. "It was just, kind of unexpected." "I just kind of ran after that." Ranma smiled. "Saotome Secret Technique." She let her hands drop, although she kept a hold on Ukyou's hand, rubbing it gently and fighting the urge to do more. A blank look crossed Ukyou's face. "Secret Technique? What did you do?" She looked over herself, turning and trying to look over her shoulder at her back when she couldn't find anything in the front. Akane giggled, breaking the remaining tension as she answered for Ranma. "The Saotome Secret Technique is running away until you find a way to beat a stronger opponent." Ukyou stared, then began giggling at that, stopping after a minute, looking surprised. Ranma fought down a smirk, thinking about the fact that she had found a way to beat _two_ opponents just now. She shook her head, then looked over at Ukyou with a concerned expression at the silence. "What's wrong, Ucchan?" "I just, don't think I've really laughed like that for a long time," said Ukyou, "it would have brought my secret out." She paused for a minute, then smiled ruefully. "Although there isn't really much reason for me to keep doing it anymore." Ranma let out a real smile, nodding. "I know what you mean, I don't think I actually giggled until I got my curse." Well, except when she was at home, or on a date, or hadn't bothered to disguise herself...but Ukyou didn't need to know that. Examining the hand still in her grip, Ranma slowly apologized, "I'm sorry I deceived you both, I just couldn't stand to have you hate me." She looked up, tears pooling in either eye as she gave a tenuous smile that had worked well in previous spats with girlfriends, or boyfriends. "Akane was just so sweet and kind when we first met," she asserted shyly, "I just couldn't let her down when she was expecting a fiance, and after the time we spent together I just couldn't stand to tell her, and then when Shampoo..." She paled suddenly, all pretense gone for the moment. Akane and Ukyou exchanged worried glances, Ukyou putting her other hand on top of Ranma's and Akane placing a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" they asked at the same time. Ranma pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them as she calmed down slightly. This wasn't a disaster, probably not even life threatening if the old ghoul didn't interfere, but... She buried a smile against her legs. "It's Shampoo...and the Kiss of Death." Ranma rocked slightly as the other girls rubbed her back. "I didn't even think about it when she changed it...but I'm really a girl, what if she finds out after today?" Ukyou frowned. "Kiss of Death? That sounds either really serious or incredibly ridiculous." "I didn't even think about that," Akane inserted, "it could be pretty serious." She looked through the door of the room, as if scanning for an intruder. Ukyou moved her hand to Ranma's knee, getting her attention. "Well, whatever it is, I'll help you, Ranchan. You can count on me." Akane nodded in agreement. "Me too, Ranma." She put her hand over Ukyou's. "I can't put you two in danger," Ranma whispered, "I should just go, before she shows up." She smiled at Ukyou and Akane wanly, pushing herself slowly to her feet. "Oh no you don't, Ranma," Akane said, pushing the girl in question back to the futon. "We're martial artists, too! And it's the duty of a martial artist to help those in need." "It's too dangerous though, Akane..." Ranma paused expectantly, then continued when neither of the other girls said anything. "I mean, what if Shampoo attacks..." Ukyou interrupted Ranma. "You said, 'But I'm really a girl,' right? So what if you're still a "guy"?" She gazed expectantly at the girl being held by Akane. Bingo. "But, both of you know my secret..." Ranma hedged, her gaze a mixture of longing and sadness. She wondered if she should chance more, since Lady Luck was apparently growing quite fond of her. "What secret?" Akane grinned. "Don't worry, Ranma, we'll make sure no one else finds out." Ukyou nodded agreement, then stood up with Akane, both pulling Ranma to her feet and giving her a hug. Ranma looked back and forth between the two once the hug had ended. "I don't know how to thank you." She put a finger to her eye, as if to wipe away a tear and looked down. "You don't need to Ranma," Ukyou reassured, "just let us at that bastard Genma, that'll be thanks enough." Ranma's eyes gleamed, hidden under her bangs, as she pointed towards the dojo and said in a small voice, "please, don't hurt him too badly, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm." She kept her head down as the pressure on her shoulders eased and noncommittal replies came from Akane and Ukyou. A minute later a glance up confirmed that both of them had left. "Heh, serves the old man right, we would have gotten caught by Mom in no time with his plan." She whistled as she began to make her way to the dojo, taking the time to put her binding back on and thinking about a quick stop in the kitchen before hand. ; / \ / \ \___/ Genma yelped and struggled to turn over as yet another little spatula was pulled from places they really shouldn't be on, and in, his body. "Would you be a little more careful, girl! I'm not a practice dummy, you know!" He winced as his daughter bashed him on the head with the newly freed implement. "Coulda fooled me, now be quiet!" Ranma scolded, "just because Akane knows I'm a girl now, doesn't mean we should be less careful. We're still supposed to be playing at me being a boy, remember?" "Yes, yes." Genma rolled back over onto his stomach, holding himself off the floor with his forearms as he thought about how this had happened in the first place. He glared back at the pig-tailed martial artist taking care of his wounds. "What got into those girls anyway?" he asked, "they were positively vicious." Ranma mumbled something, her voice too low for him to really hear. She pulled a baton, presumably left over from Kodachi's last visit, from where it was wrapped around one of his knees. He ignored the pain, sensing a rare advantage against his only child. "Speak up, I can't hear you." She cleared her throat, her hands almost gentle as she wrapped a bandage around his shoulder then cut it when she'd completed several rotations. "I kinda told them you, ahem, kidnapped me and forced me to become a boy. More or less." "You what!?" Genma looked at Ranma in disbelief. "What possessed you to do that?" He tried to turn over, however his "baby girl" held him down with little obvious effort. "You think you would have fared any better if I told them the truth?" Ranma asked pointedly. "Ukyou would have been at least as angry. If not more, since this way you had a reason for taking off on the engagement." "I had a perfectly valid reason for running then," Genma replied with as much dignity as a man being restrained by his own daughter could, "...your mother caught up to us." He still had nightmares about that first time. Ranma shuddered, the memories of the weeks of tea parties and bridal training--at seven no less--vividly etched upon her features. "Ok, ok, you had a good reason. But I don't think Ucchan and Akane would understand, they don't got their Moms no more." Genma nodded, conceding the point. "Still, you couldn't come up with anything better?" Tears suddenly ran down his cheeks as Ranma removed a bokken with a sudden yank. "Big baby," muttered Ranma before she raised her voice, "it was the best I could think of off hand." Genma looked at his daughter suspiciously, then shook his head, wincing at the pain. "Heh, you shoulda seen me though. I was good," Ranma continued, stretching her arms. "You know, if you were just able to _control_ yourself when you fought a girl, you wouldn't need to be "good"." And, Genma thought to himself, he wouldn't be in so much pain. Ranma rolled her eyes, "I know, Pop, I know, I just can't help it though." She snipped a length of bandage and started wrapping it, none too gently, around a gash on his leg. A yell of pain was cut off as a hand pushed Genma's head into the floor with a crunching sound. He took control of himself and raised it, glaring at Ranma again. "You don't seem to have this problem with the boys you fight, and I know you're attracted to them, I've seen you on those dates your mother arranges." "I don't know, it's just...I don't know, easier. There aren't as many temptations." Ranma grinned, flexing her hands before glancing pointedly at her father. "And you've pretty much drilled it into me that _that_ isn't fair game. Besides, most of the guys around here are jerks." Genma shifted uncomfortably, before coughing out, "Ahem, yes, well, there is that, I suppose." He sat up, Ranma having been distracted at last from "treating" his wounds. "You realize it's only a matter of time till your mother shows up now? It's been long enough that she's probably closing in on us--especially now that we're back in the country." "Yea, but...we've got full proof disguises now." Ranma grinned, pausing as she thought about that. "And she won't think to search the same place twice," she finally mentioned, a bit of excitement creeping into her voice. "Think about it, we'll be home free!" A note of longing entered Genma's voice. "Freedom, ahh, yes, I remember it well..." He lapsed into a short dream of lounging about, doing nothing but drinking a nice beer and playing with his tire. Hmm, that didn't seem quite right, actually. Oh well. Ranma continued on when her father didn't seem likely to say much else--or do anything other than drool. "We gotta be careful though, Pops. Plan this whole thing out for when Mom gets here." Genma nodded sagely, his eyes narrowing to slits as he said, "Hmm, yes, you're right." He crossed his arms, resting his chin upon his chest as he thought deep thoughts. "Yes, the perfect plan..." Ranma gazed at her father, expectant at first, then slightly bored, and finally exasperated as she pushed him. "Well!? What are you waiting for? What's your idea!?" Genma paused for a few moments to build up dramatic tension, then answered, "We ask Nodoka if we can stay here really nice. Maybe she'll accept a bribe..." "Argghh! I don't know why I put up with you!" Ranma grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it over Genma, then pounded it down over the resulting panda's head. "I gotta do everything around here." She stalked out of the dojo, muttering to herself as she headed back to her room. Paws outstretched, Genma wandered the, now rather dark, dojo as he protested, "MMhhph, frrmph grmph ffhahh. Rrrrph!" He thought that covered his opinion of the subject rather well. ; / \ / \ \___/ As the pebble she had been kicking for the past hour or so passed through a hole in the fence, and beyond her reach, Ukyou finally took a look around. She didn't recognize the houses around her, or the street number, but she hadn't been in Nerima for long. This would do for a place to think anyway. She sat down and leaned back against the fence, tilting her head back and looking up at the sky. Ranma had given her a lot to think about, he, she hadn't been at all what Ukyou had expected. Though that jerk Genma was even worse then she had remembered. She picked up another pebble and tossed it against the wall across the street. The pebble bounced twice, then lay still and was joined by another a minute later. Ranma had gone through almost the same things she had. Hell, she had even been screwed up by the same source. She pushed herself to her feet and clenched a fist. She'd spent ten years dedicating herself to getting revenge on Ranma and Genma. Trained by the sea to perfect her skills. Tracked them down with almost nothing to go by but rumors. And now it was all over. Ranma had turned out to be a hapless victim of circumstance, and she couldn't really do much more to Genma then she had. She had hoped to go home vindicated, all her demons laid to rest... but it looked like that wouldn't be happening. Heck, she wasn't even sure that was what she wanted anymore. She unclenched her fist, leaning back against the fence. So the question was, what did she want? Ranma came to mind... but the young man she had first seen, and to tell the truth occasionally dreamed about, was a lie. Then again, she was telling the same one. Ranma really made a cute boy though, it would have been nice to have a fiance like that. She turned, looking into the waters of the canal beyond the fence. They were moving pretty fast, kind of like her life as of late. She looked around, then quickly jumped the fence when she didn't see anyone, spreading herself out in the grass and just listening to the water flow. As the clouds drifted by, she tried to categorize them, put a name to the shape she saw. For instance, that one was an okonomiyaki, that one kind of looked like a certain martial artist running, the next the same martial artist jumping, then crouching, this one was swimming...she shook her head. The engagement wasn't really Ranma's fault, in fact, Ranma was pretty nice. She probably would have made a good fiance. Except Ranma _should_ be a fiancee. Ukyou smiled, she knew how that felt, she was probably the only other person in the world who could understand Ranma. And Ranma would understand her. She sat up. "Ranma would understand me." She tasted the words out loud. "She would...know what it's like." They could talk, bond, just...get closer. So what if Ranma was a girl? What mattered was, was...she fell back again. She didn't really know what mattered. Ukyou closed her eyes, then put her arm over them. "This is all very confusing," she said to no one in particular. "I kinda thought so myself," a voice agreed from somewhere behind her. Ukyou's eyes shot open, and she pushed herself up into a leap, reaching back to grab her spatula. She landed facing a rather short red-head, smiling at Ukyou nervously with one hand just under her pigtail. "Hiya, Ucchan," the girl said, taking her hand from behind her head and clasping it in front of her with the other. Slowly lowering her spatula, Ukyou eyed the newcomer warily, then registered the words. "Ranchan?" she asked incredulously. Ranma smiled slightly, then nodded. "Yep, this is my cursed form. Like it?" She turned, her arms up in the air, eventually stopping faced towards Ukyou. Ukyou gaped at her. "You're just so...different." She glanced down, almost involuntarily, as she remembered a comment by Ranma earlier. "I can see where you might have trouble hiding those." She smiled to take any sting out of the comment. Ranma nodded. "You should have seen what happened when I first changed." She winced, holding her chest. "Boy, did that hurt. After that I started using a slightly more elastic binding." She sat down, patting the ground next to her. "So what were ya thinkin' about?" Ukyou walked over and tentatively sat down before answering. "You mainly." She laughed a little. "This whole thing is just...really weird." "Story of my life." Ranma grinned. "Know what I think is kinda weird?" Ukyou looked over at the girl who now sat beside her. "What?" "We both made the same mistake, back when we first met," Ranma replied, "each of us thought the other was a boy. Heck, my pop thought you were a boy. It's why he was willing to get us engaged." Ukyou laughed a little, then asked, "but, what about Akane? I mean, it's pretty clear she's not a guy." Ranma gave her a sad smile which tugged at her heart. "Father has done such a good job, I think sometimes he almost forgets I'm not his son." She curled up, facing away from Ukyou. "Sometimes...sometimes _I_ almost forget." Ukyou reached out tentatively and put her arm on Ranma's shoulder, then scooted over a little, turning it into a light hug. She jumped slightly when Ranma turned to her, putting her own arms around Ukyou's waist, and just resting her head against her side. Frozen, Ukyou searched for something to say, anything to comfort the obviously stricken girl. She finally noticed the sun, setting over the roofs of Tokyo and it's reflection in the canal. "The sun, it's, umm, really pretty, isn't it?" She swallowed, almost as uncomfortable as she had been the few times she'd gone out on dates. Ranma nodded, her head brushing against Ukyou's side lightly, and whispered, "it is, thanks alot, Ucchan." She breathed in deeply, then let the breath out in a sigh which tickled Ukyou ever so slightly. Ukyou finally relaxed a little, at least reassured that she hadn't made a major faux pas. In fact, Ranma fit rather comfortably in her side like this, she had never done anything like this before. It was rather nice. As the sky was painted a brilliant rose, Ranma raised her head slightly and asked, "where are you staying anyway, Ucchan? Did your family move here?" "I'm staying with a distant cousin right now," replied Ukyou, "I was going to leave after I got even with you and Genma, but...I think I'll stay now." She used the hand that wasn't around Ranma to point off towards the commercial district of Nerima. "I found a nice little shop though, that I think I might try and get. I've saved up for a long time, and I think I can afford a few months rent." "Will that be enough?" Ranma questioned, an inquisitive lilt to her voice. Ukyou shrugged, then smiled. "I think so, I bought the grill and things awhile ago, so that time should be enough to let me make some more money." "Oh." Ranma remained still for awhile, then snuggled into Ukyou. Then they both looked at the reflection of the moon in the canal, until Ranma's breathing softened into the regular patterns of sleep. Ukyou smiled down at the petite girl and slowly slipped her arm under Ranma's legs. A soft sigh was the only response she got, as Ranma instinctively turned her head into the curved arm supporting it. A second later, Ukyou was walking as softly as she could in the direction she thought the Tendo dojo was in. ; / \ / \ \___/ Ranma smiled as the window to her room slid shut, her newest catch slipping off into the night. She turned towards the large bulk of her father, pondering waking him up to tell him about her date, then deciding against it. She turned to lie on her back, hands cupping the pillow about her head as she went over the particulars in her mind. It had been a long time since she'd been on a date that intimate. Sometimes it was nice to just be held, rather than being the one to do the holding. Even on the dates her mother arranged, which weren't as bad as she made out, she usually didn't get to be held. Truth be told, she was tall for a girl and it made a difference in how she was treated. This whole vulnerable, injured girl facade could be fun. Ranma twisted around to find a more comfortable position. She wondered briefly if Akane would be more or less inclined to fits of jealousy now, then a yawn caught her by surprise. She closed her eyes, rubbing her cheek on the pillow as she drifted off into dreams of Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyou all feeding her grapes while other vaguely familiar males and females fanned her with palm leaves. ; / \ / \ \___/ Akane gazed out her window the next morning, wriggling her toes in the carpeting before she slipped her feet into a pair of slippers. The rising sun shone upon her body as she stood, taking a few shuffling steps before she paused in the center of her room. Something seemed out of place, missing even. A quick survey of her room located everything in it's proper place: papers from her latest school project strewn about her desk, barbells stacked in the corner, alarm clock ringing on the nightstand... She paused. Alarm clock ringing? She turned and looked at the time, then walked over to the window peering down at the koi pond. "Hah!" She grinned maliciously, before spinning about and looking towards Ranma's room. "I guess that idiot Genma wasn't up to attacking poor Ranma this morning." She tapped her lips lightly with one finger, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "Maybe I can get him to leave her alone entirely for awhile." A sound startled her from her musings and she looked up, just as Nabiki peered around the door, hair still mussed from sleep. "What was that about, Akane?" A teasing quality entered her voice as she smirked at Akane. Akane felt the back of her neck grow damp as she smiled nervously at her sister. "Nothing, I just...umm, was, testing...a line in a play I'm writing. Yeah. That's it." She clasped her hands behind her back, carefully crossing her fingers. "Right..." Nabiki raised an eyebrow and asked, "so when exactly are you going to be presenting this play? You are presenting it, aren't you?" She leaned against the door, her steady gaze seeming to bore into Akane's gaze. Akane shook a little, then took control of herself and said, "Oh, I don't know if I could actually get it done..." She backed up a few steps towards her desk. "I could help, if you want." Nabiki took a few steps forward into the room. "I'm sure if I can see what it's about I can market it for you." "No,no,no,no,no! That's alright, umm, it's not really finished anyway. Not sure when it will be." Akane's voice cracked. "Even if it will be." "Oh? I suppose that's alright then." Nabiki walked back into the hall, then turned towards Akane and said, "you'll simply have to let me read it when you're done though." "Uhh, sure thing," Akane agreed faintly. How hard could it be to write a play anyway, she reassured herself, people did it all the time. "Ok, see you later then!" Nabiki twirled around and headed off bathroom, displaying quite a bit more energy than she normally did in the morning. Akane wiped her brow. "Phew, that was close. Gotta be more careful. Ranma's counting on me." She turned her back on the door and moved over to her dresser, opening a drawer. "Why is that, Akane dear?" her father's voice inquired from the hallway. He walked into her room, gazing around, and finally fixing on Akane in her pajamas...just as a handful of panties fluttered down around her, one landing lightly upon her head, just covering an eye. "Dad!" Akane pushed the panty further up onto her head, then twirled about, running over to her father. "Hi! I was just going to come downstairs to tell you good morning." She quickly interrupted her father as he opened his mouth. "And...give you a big hug!" She suited actions to words, throwing her arms around her father and squeezing. Various popping sounds and a gasp of pain caused her to look up, the pallor of Soun's face quickly making her let go. Akane casually pushed him back a few steps, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and chimed, "see you in a little bit, Daddy." She waved and slammed her door, turning to lean against it and let out a sigh. "I've got to stop talking to myself out loud." She sank to the floor, closing her eyes as her head drifted down between her knees. However, they opened again rather quickly when her head bumped into something on the way down- -a rather wrinkled old man it was revealed a moment later. "I couldn't agree more, my dear," Happosai agreed, "bad habit to get into, why I remember the time I..." He trailed off as the hand which was creeping towards the panties on Akane's head was singed. A low growl came from somewhere deep in Akane's chest, accompanying the fiery aura she emitted as she reached out and grabbed the small pervert. It was a matter of moments before he was flying out the window to smash into the building across the street. "Of all the stupid, perverted, lecherous, dirty..." A head peeked into the room, its mouth opening...then quickly closing as Akane shouted, "WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT!" whipping around to glare at...Kasumi. Her oldest sister let out a small, "Eep!" and quickly darted her head back, pulling the door closed as she fled the room. A blush crossed Akane's cheeks as she listened to the soft patter of Kasumi's hurried retreat. Akane sighed and tossed herself onto her bed again, burying her head in her pillows and absently wondering if she could just sleep through the day. She just wasn't cut out for keeping secrets. Another hour or so, thankfully devoid of interruptions, finally saw her down in the kitchen, washed, dressed, and in a much better frame of mind than she had been earlier. The neat, well-maintained room was usually where one could find Kasumi, but the only person in the kitchen was Ranma, a different problem altogether. She walked up to Ranma hesitantly, holding her hands behind her back and attempting to ignore yesterday for now and just treat her like normal. "Have you, umm, seen Kasumi anywhere, Ranma?" Well, that had been easy enough. "Uhh, not since awhile ago. She told me to get these cookies from the oven and ran out the door," she said diffidently as she popped one of the treats into her mouth. "Want one?" She offered the tray to Akane. Akane looked at the tray filled with little stars, diamonds, and...hearts. She glanced back towards Ranma, then back to the tray again with its hearts, diamonds, and hearts, once more at Ranma, then to the tray full of hearts, hearts, and hearts. Her own heart began to pound, and she didn't quite notice as the tray was set on the table. "Akane! AKANE!" Ranma's voice finally penetrated her daze and Akane jumped backwards, clutching her chest and staring at her fiance. Or was that fiancee now? "W-what is it, Ranma?" Akane asked tentatively. She took a step back as Ranma moved towards her, then firmed herself and stood her ground. Yep, easy, no problem at all. She sighed. "You're acting kinda weird, you get enough sleep?" Ranma questioned, tilting her head to examine Akane. She moved next to her and pulled Akane's hand from it's position over her heart, then put two fingers on her wrist. "Heartbeat's a bit fast." Akane looked down at the hand being held by Ranma, her fingers slightly curled around the taller girl's hand as it held her own still. "I'm..." She swallowed. "I'm fine, Ranma. I was just looking for..." She trailed off, the memory of what she had been looking for slipping her mind. "Kasumi?" prompted Ranma, looking into her eyes with that smile which had caught her heart shortly after he...she had arrived. She nodded slowly, not trusting herself to talk and cursing herself in her mind for her feelings. Ranma gripped her hand more firmly and pulled her along as she walked out of the house. "I'll help you find her then, I think I saw which way she went." Akane nodded again absent mindedly, examining her last thought a bit more carefully. Since when did she have feelings for Ranma? She followed Ranma blindly for a while, mulling over the question. It was just her luck to realize something like this when her fiancee turned into a girl... well, turned into a girl permanently. She paid a bit more attention as they walked down the street--towards the market she thought. Ranma was still guiding her by the hand, something that neither of them, she thought, would have done while they were still actually engaged. One more bit of proof that Ranma wouldn't think of her that way, probably never had and just hadn't wanted to lead her on. She jogged a little to get ahead of Ranma, then turned her head slightly, examining her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't seem different to tell the truth. The hair was the same tussled black, more of a charcoal maybe, without that bluish sheen she knew her own had. The lines of Ranma's face were really no different for knowing they were a girl's, and her eyes were still that stormy, blue-gray. In fact, she would almost-- Akane blinked, a pale blur passing in front of the white and blue background; which slowly resolved itself into clouds and sky, respectively. The next pass of the pale object revealed it to be a hand, which actually went rather well with the voice which was shouting, "Hey, Akane! Akane! Wake up!" A hand, her own she realized, came up a moment later to tentatively touch her nose; the sharp pain which resulted cleared her mind of any remaining haze and she sat up with a groan. "Geeze, what possessed you to run into a lamp post, Akane?" Ranma asked in her usual teasing tone. She tilted her head, then glanced off to the side. "I think the lamp post got the worst of it though, not that I expected anything less." She grinned. "Idiot," growled Akane, gently feeling her face to ascertain the damage. "I'll have you recall you did the same thing at one point." "Yeah, Yeah." Ranma grinned. "At least I was runnin' though, we were just jogging. What were you lookin' at anyway." Akane blushed, and turned away from Ranma, lifting her chin slightly. "Nothing at all I assure you." She pushed herself to her feet, then swayed slightly, a wave of vertigo interfering with her balance. Ranma dropped the mocking grin, examing Akane a bit more closely. "Hey, are you really ok? Maybe we should go see the Doc." She jerked her thumb in the direction of Tofu's clinic. Akane shook her head, and was rather glad for the arms suddenly supporting her as she stumbled. "I'll be ok in a minute, just let me get my bearings." She yelped as the arms suddenly swept her legs out from under her, a brief moment of weightlessness ending as she was caught up in Ranma's arms. "This'll work better," Ranma inserted before Akane had a chance to berate her. She shifted the smaller girl to a slightly more comfortable position for both of them, then leapt to the rooftops. Another leap launched the pair into the air, causing Akane's head to spin. "This," she started as they landed. "Isn't." She paused as they leapt again. "Helping." An abrupt turn made Akane give up on talking, and she just hung on to Ranma's neck, closing her eyes so she didn't have to see the world bouncing up and down. The cessation of vertical movement gave Akane the courage to open her eyes, revealing the marketplace as she had thought. She looked around for Kasumi as she and Ranma walked along, until it occurred to her how this must look to others. Ranma probably wasn't even thinking about it now that Akane knew her secret, and she couldn't let rumors circulate about her. It would just make her coming out when they had dealt with Shampoo that much harder. "Ranma." She waited. "Ranma!" The girl turned her head slightly, but was apparently just looking into a store. "RANMA!" This time she accompanied it with a playful blow to the back of Ranma's head. "Ouch!" Ranma exclaimed, turning to look down at Akane. A small smile crossed her face before she turned it into a mock frown. "Whadja go and do that for?" "I needed to get your attention somehow," Akane said, an exasperated edge to her voice. "Now let me down." She pushed on Ranma's chest a little to emphasize her point, then quickly snatched her hands back as she remembered what was hidden there. Ranma shrugged, then set her down. "Well, why didn't ya just ask?" She rubbed the back of her head lightly. "I did! You wouldn't listen." Akane crossed her arms and turned away from her fiancee, frowning--until she noticed the tall, brown-haired woman who walked behind a fruit stand across the street. "Kasumi! Wait up!" Ranma squawked as she was pulled off her feet by Akane, stumbling and falling as they crossed the street. "Akane, come on, slow down, please?" She seemed fairly startled when Akane actually did just that, immediately fussing over her. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ranma, I didn't mean to, that is..." Akane trailed off, wringing her hands and feeling absolutely despicable. Ranma had been through so much, and she just came along and used brute force on the poor thing. "Uhh, right...no big deal Akane, you've done worse before." Akane's spirits sank even lower. Ranma must think she was some sort of monster, picking on poor defenseless girls. She had done so much to her in the past, well, no more, she'd make it up from this moment on! She would protect Ranma from all those bullies who attacked her all the time, and that she-devil Shampoo, too! She whirled, pulling Ranma's hands into her own and gazing steadfastly into her eyes. "Don't worry, Ranma, it will never happen again. I promise!" She turned and took off after Kasumi again. "Ack!" Ranma sort of hopped and skipped, her efforts barely keeping her steady as Akane charged off towards a Kasumi dimly seen in the distance. ; / \ / \ \___/ "I'm really, really sorry, Kasumi," Akane apologized, again, as they walked home. She likely would have bowed as well if Kasumi hadn't consented to her carrying all the groceries after the fifteenth apology. Ranma rolled her eyes slightly. Kasumi had immediately accepted Akane's apologies when they had finally caught up to her, but apparently Akane had done something really horrendous to the mother hen of the Tendo household. "It's ok, Akane, I was just a little startled, that's all," Kasumi said in a soothing tone. Her expression was as tranquil as usual now, though Ranma would have almost characterized her as skittish when they first caught up to her. Ranma started counting lightly under her breath, reaching about thirty before she heard Akane draw a breath. She timed it as exactly as she could, and as Akane started, chorused, "I'm really, really sorry, Kasumi." She grinned at Akane as the short tempered girl glared at her. Kasumi giggled. "That was really very clever, Ranma," she said, a twinkle in her eye as she glanced over at her sister. Akane stared at her sister in disbelief, then abruptly calmed down and smiled a little ruefully. "I guess I was overdoing it a little. Sorr--" She peered down her nose at the hand over her mouth, then over to Ranma, who was shaking her head. "Don't start that again, Akane." Ranma smirked and removed her hand before changing the subject. "Look, we're almost home." She nodded at a street sign they were passing. Kasumi nodded then placed a hand over her eyes, shading them from the sun as she looked further down the street. "Oh! Isn't that lady near our house wearing an absolutely beautiful kimono?" "Kimono?" echoed Ranma, a chill running down her spine as she repeated Kasumi's actions. All she ccould see of the woman was a glimpse of dark, reddish hair and a rather distinctive kimono. It was enough though, the combination was pretty much unmistakable. "Ahhhh! What are you doing, Ranma!" yelled Akane as both she and Kasumi were scooped up by the target of her comment, a few quick jumps bringing them to the rear of the building. "Shhh! You're going to get me killed, Akane!" Ranma hissed, as she ran--still holding both of the Tendo sisters- -into the kitchen. A quick dash brought her to the sink where she dropped both of the girls unceremoniously and stuck her head under the faucet. The dark color of her hair seemed to wash away as if it were ink upon glass, even as she shrunk considerably. Akane whispered, "what is it, Ranma? Did you recognize that woman?" while she helped Kasumi to her feet. Ranma nodded impatiently, then looked down at herself and frowned. "This isn't going to be enough, I know it." She turned her gaze on Kasumi, then Akane. "Could I borrow a few things?" Kasumi nodded immediately, worry etched upon her face as she watched Ranma nearly panic. Akane was a little slower, but was starting to get caught up in the emotion herself. "Thanks, I'll just need this, and this, and maybe..." Ranma muttered as she started snatching things from a startled Kasumi, and then Akane, placing them on the counter as she pulled them off. She needed something different...a look that spoke of time and dedication to everything Ranma had made an effort to avoid all her life. Hmmm... Ahh, perfect. Akane and Kasumi gaped as Ranma's hands seemed to blur, snatching a scarf here, a hair tie there, Kasumi's earrings. The owner raised her hands to her ears, not having realized they were missing till just then. Each item was placed meticulously, and clothing already in place was artfully rearranged. Akane's breath caught in her throat as Ranma turned to display her work. "Ranma, that's just...amazing." Akane examined the smiling Ranma with something akin to awe. Ranma's hair was elegantly styled; her shirt had transformed itself into a tunic; her pants were now loose, a discernable crease running down each leg; and glittering amongst the artful strands of hair draped over her ears were the earrings she had borrowed from Kasumi. "When did you get your ears pierced though?" Akane asked, "I would have sworn they weren't yesterday." Ranma froze, then began whimpering as she replied, "just now apparently. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Her hands clapped to her ears, Ranma blocked out the pain as she darted over to the door, peering out to check on her mother. "Phew, she's not at the door yet, still have a few minutes." Ranma sighed in relief. At least her mother could always be counted on to move at the most dignified, i.e. slow, pace possible, wherever she went. Well, except when it comes to Dad and I. "Ranma, wherever did you learn to put together such cute outfits?" Kasumi questioned, an enthusiastic smile on her face. Ranma panicked, then calmed herself. She just had to think up a logical reason for skills like that. Logical, logical...or she could take the easy route. She nodded decisively and turned, batting her eyes at Kasumi and Akane. "From watching you two of course!" Kasumi blushed prettily, bowing her head demurely. "Oh no, I never would have thought of something like that. It's very nice of you to say so, though." "You're lucky Kasumi takes most everything for granted, Ranma," whispered Akane. Ranma jumped, startled. She hadn't realized Akane had sidled up beside her, presumably for a glimpse of the front door. "Uh, right, Akane. Good thing." She took another look around the corner and blanched when she saw Nabiki opening it, she hadn't even noticed anyone knocking. "Umm, both of you never knew a Ranma, ok? I'll explain it later, you've just gotta trust me for now. Please?" "Ok, it better be an awfully good explanation though," Akane said, Kasumi nodding as well. Ranma just nodded and ran for the front door, hoping to catch Nabiki before she made all she had just done pointless. She got there just as Nodoka finished asking a question. Nabiki nodded and turned to gesture at Ranma. "Here's Ran- -" "--ko! Here's Ranko," Ranma finished for her, wincing slightly. That was far closer to her name than she would have liked, but there was no helping it now. Of course the fact that she had used the name before didn't help things either. Nabiki looked faintly puzzled. "Ran--" The rest of her sentence was muffled by the hand over her mouth and she glared at Ranma. Nodoka peered at Ranma, her suspicious gaze causing Ranma to sweat a little before she asked, "who are you? I was asking about my daughter, Ranma." "Ranma? No Ranmas here I'm afraid, nope, never has been, probably never will be." She smiled at Nodoka hopefully, an emotion which was dampened more than a bit by Nodoka's next words. "Really? When I asked directions to here I was told there was a Ranma living here." She peered again at Ranma, glancing up a little, as if measuring her height before she shook her head. "Oh! _That_ Ranma. Well, _he_ left I'm afraid, with _his_ father. A..." Not a training trip, not a training trip. "Treasure trip! I mean, treasure hunt. Yes, they're very famous treasure hunters." Ranma gave herself a phantom pat on the back. "Treasure hunters? How fascinating, I simply must meet these two men with the same name as my husband and daughter." Nodoka smiled at Ranma, causing a shiver to run up the young girl's spine. "You hate...!" Ranma protested before she clamped her mouth shut, then continued a bit more carefully, "...have, have nothing to see really. They're not very successful." Next time false names for sure. Nodoka waved her hands dismissively. "Oh, I don't mind. And the Tendo's are old friends of Genma's, I simply couldn't come knock on their door and not visit a bit." A hard smile crossed her face, then melted into a more practiced, pleasant expression. Nabiki watched, no longer even noticing the hand covering her mouth as Ranma swallowed once, then laughed weakly. "Of course, umm, come in I guess. Right, Nabiki?" she implored, her eyes begging the girl to play along as she slowly removed her hand. "Oh surely, Ran_ko_," Nabiki agreed, a slight edge to her voice which made Ranma wince. "Do come in, Mrs. Saotome, make yourself at home. I'll go get Daddy." She started up the stairs, then turned to address Ranma. "Coming, Ran_ko_?" she sang, "I'm sure my sisters can handle Mrs. Saotome for awhile." Ranma glanced back at where the two were sheepishly smiling, their heads peering around the kitchen door. "Yea, I guess." She smiled weakly, then waved at her mother. "Uhh, see you in a little bit." ; / \ / \ \___/ "Ok, Saotome, spill it," Nabiki said when they entered her room, Ranma taking a seat upon the floor and Nabiki making her way to the bed. "Uh, spill what?" Ranma asked, her best "innocent" expression upon her face. Nabiki made a face. "Don't try and pull that on me, you knew that woman." She glanced down towards the front room, questions flying through her mind about recent events. "In fact, I'm guessing that your "new look" is because of her." "Uhh, no it's not. Really." Ranma tugged on a few strands of hair before stretching out on the floor. She turned a few times, apparently trying to get comfortable, then finally ended back in the position she had started in. Nabiki smiled sweetly. "So you're just trying a new look, is that it? Getting in touch with your "feminine" side?" Ranma started, glancing around the room before she focused upon Nabiki again. "Uhh...no? I mean, no, it's nothing like that. There's a good reason, not at all related to that woman." "Really...," Nabiki drew out the word, putting as many hints of mysterious knowledge into it as she could. "So why did she want to know all about you and Uncle Genma, Ran_ko_?" Ranma visibly took a hold of herself, turning over onto her back and putting her hands behind her head. "I'm not exactly an unknown you know, I'm a pretty good fighter, maybe that's why she's looking for me." "Uh uh," Nabiki corrected, smiling like the cat who caught, or at least cornered, the canary. "I'm sure your mother is just looking for you because you're a good fighter." "Mother? What gave you that silly idea?" Ranma's innocent smile was rather wan this time around. "Well, 'I'm looking for my daughter Ranma' does kind of indicate something of the sort," Nabiki argued sweetly, "wouldn't you agree?" She could almost see the beads of sweat accumulating on Ranma's brow as she spoke. Ranma pushed herself up on one elbow, then dropped back again. "Maybe a little." She sighed and started banging her head against the floor. Nabiki grinned, finally making some progress. "By the way, how exactly do you get to be a famous treasure hunter without being very successful?" She laughed a little as the tempo of the banging increased. "Calm down, Ranma. I don't think Mrs. Saotome caught it, or cared if she did. It was pretty blatant as is." She took a reclined position herself, begining her exercises for the night: leg lifts to start, which drew Ranma's attention like a bee to honey, just as she had planned. "So why don't you just tell me why you're hiding from your own mother, then we can work something out and everyone can go back to their happy existences." Ranma's eyes moved up and down with Nabiki's leg as she ventured an absent minded answer. "Uhh, I'm planning a surprise party for her." "Try again, Ran_ko_." She switched her position and began exercising with her other leg. "She's possessed by a demon?" Ranma suggested as her eyes tracked Nabiki's legs. "Nope." Nabiki ignored the way her shorts inched up her thigh, used to using the advantage with Ranma. A deep breath briefly drew Ranma's attention before it snapped back to her legs. "Why don't you try telling the truth." Nabiki let her legs rest for a minute, then changed positions so both legs were in the air, and began scissoring them. Ranma wrenched her eyes from Nabiki and looked down, so she went back to a reclining position. "She's a deranged lunatic who's been chasing after me and my Dad." Sitting up, Nabiki tapped her lips lightly. "Hmm, you almost convinced me there...but not quite." She grinned at Ranma. "Now as much as I like playing this little game, Ranma, my sisters aren't very good at lying. So we might want to hurry this along." Ranma sighed and finally said, "ok, ok, she's trying to drag me home...and...and...I DON'T WANNA GO!" She burst into tears. "Please, please, please help me, I'll do whatever you want!" Nabiki winced at the decibel level, covering her ears and trying, in vain, to drown out the crying by humming. "She'll make me do horrible things, and, and..." Ranma's voice trailed off, Nabiki hesitantly taking her hands from her ears. "There's Shampoo, too, Nabiki," Ranma pleaded, "She'll want to kill me, and I'll be hunted for the rest of my life, and..." "Fine, fine! Just stop crying," Nabiki yelled, covering her ears again as the pitch began to rise. Ranma's tears dried up and she settled for looking piteous, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears and emitting the occassional sniffle. "So you'll help me?" Nabiki growled at herself, some "Ice Queen" she was, one little display of tears and she lost half her bargaining power. "I said I would, didn't I?" She released a sigh and said, "you can stop that already." A thought crossed her mind, and she watched as Ranma carefully dried her tears. "But I want to learn how you do that." Ranma looked up, her eyes widening slightly. "Do what?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, tilting her head at Nabiki as if puzzled. Nabiki sighed and dropped the subject, too tired to pursue it at the moment. "So what's so horrible that you'd risk breaking your cover like this?" "It's my Mom, you just..." A shudder wracked Ranma's frame, though her voice and actions were pretty much back to normal. "Just trust me, you don't want to know. The important thing is that she can't find me." Nabiki shrugged, then asked, "Isn't Akane likely to get a bit suspicious of Nodoka asking about her daughter?" "Akane knows...sort of. Unless Shampoo suddenly declares some hidden clause in Amazon law that lets her marry a girl I think she'll go along with anything we come up with." -------- Author's Notes: This story kind of jumped into my mind while I was reading Genma's Daughter. A lot of the things in that story, though well written, just didn't seem right to me. All of Ranma's fiancees lost their feelings for him, Ranma instantly lost all _his_ feelings for them, the way Ranma let just about everyone in the story push him around... These things and more just kind of piled up in my head, so I decided to write a little parody of it. A short spamfic with my C&C put in afterwards. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I imagine it depends upon the reader, the story didn't quite want to stop there and it eventually grew into what you just read. Anyway, as this did decide it didn't want to be a spamfic, I would appreciate any commentary upon it: grammatical mistakes, flaws in the writing style, whether you liked or disliked it, or any parts which you particularly agreed or disagreed with. I hope you enjoyed the story, and for those of you waiting for Nodoka's Love or Forbidden Feelings, I should be able to get back to working on those now that this is out of my system. (^_^) Acknowledgements: My sister, Jackie, who despite her best efforts, managed to give me some fairly useful advice on how I should deal with Nabiki. ;)