Forbidden Feelings by James M. ZemaThe characters used within this piece of fiction are by nomeans mine; Rumiko Takahashi owns all of these charactersalong with Shougakukan Video and Viz Communications.  Ihave the utmost respect for all of her creations and willhopefully not butcher them too horribly within.  I'mcurrently placing this just before the trip to the beachwhere the love pills Happosai stole came to light.  Ukyouis pretty much settled in and a regular part of Nerima.Anyway on with the fan fiction.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>Forbidden Feelings: Chapter 1><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>Ranma whistled casually as he jogged down the street,ducking his head periodically to avoid the satchel beingswung at his head.  He sighed as thoughts of today's eventspassed through his mind.  His big mouth had once againgotten him into trouble with Akane, sort of.  He hadn't_meant_ to insult her, in fact he didn't think he had, butshe had started chasing him after school anyway.  She wasprobably bored, and it wasn't like running away from hertook a lot of effort, so he didn't mind too much.  He interupted his thoughts for a quick check on Akane'sprogress and noted she was begining to look tired, so hebegan searching for someplace to stop.  Luckily, Ucchan'swas just down the street, they could get some food and restfor awhile there.  A calculated misstep on his part allowedAkane to hit him, the force sending him through the doorand right to a stool.  It would have been perfect if hehadn't been upside down.Even as he righted himself a cry of "RAAANMAAA!!!" camefrom outside the restaurant and he could almost _see_ hisfiancee chasing after him.  Not a pleasant thought, well,not entirely anyway.  Akane pushed her way through thedoors just as Ukyou handed a deluxe okinomiyaki to him, theyoungest Tendo's brow furrowed and her breath coming inshort gasps.  Ranma just rolled his eyes and tried tofinish his meal before the chase started again."We're not done yet, Ranma!" growled Akane."C'mon Akane, can't we just drop it?" asked Ranma after ashort pause to swallow a mouthful of okinomiyaki.Akane sputtered slightly in disbelief.  "Why should I dropit you, you, you...""Incredibly handsome?" supplied Ukyou."Amazingly strong?" suggested Ranma."Devastatingly attractive?""Immensely skilled?""Compassionate?""Heroic?""Virile?""Manly?""Sexy?"Shaking her head, Akane said in a droll tone, "I was goingto say egotistical pervert, but I guess I don't need to."Ranma grinned at Ukyou and winked before he said, "Ahh,you're just jealous, Akane, what with me being such a greatguy and all.""I could care less how good you _think_ you are,Ranma...and you're not helping either, Ukyou," Akaneretorted.Ukyou stuck her tongue out at Akane.  "Am too, I'm helpingmy Ranchan.""Puffing his head up is more like it," replied Akane witha shake of her head, "and I thought _Ranma_ was a pervert,I think you take that dressing as a boy a bit tooseriously.""Whatever it takes, sugar."  Ukyou winked at Akane whileher eyes wandered over to Ranma, her lips forming a silentwhistle."You two deserve each other," Akane said with a glint inher eyes, "Of course, Ranma isn't in the right form atall."  A glass of water on the counter quickly remedied thesituation, soaking Ranma quite thoroughly despite the smallamount of liquid in the glass.Ranma-chan stuck her tongue out at Akane and shook herhead, the water her fiancee had used to change hersprinkling over the counter but doing little damage to hermood.  A mischievous smile crossed her lips as she decidedto make this a little more fun.  "Oh, you mean it, Akane? I can have Ukyou for my very own?"  Ranma-chan swoonedagainst the counter, her hands clasped under her chin andeyes widened.  Judging from the low growl coming fromAkane's direction she didn't think her first fianceeappreciated her efforts."Jerk."Ranma-chan turned her head slightly so that she waslooking at Akane.  "Well, you _did_ suggest it," shereminded her, a grin crossing her face."Don't remind me."  Akane sniffed, then turned away fromthe boy turned girl, looking out the window just in time tosee a pig walking down the street.  "P-chan!""Oh great, it's Ryouga, the wonder pig," Ranma-chanmumbled.  She just knew that he was going to cause hertrouble, just when she had finally gotten Akane calmeddown, sort of, too."What was that about Ryouga?" Ukyou asked, "I didn't hearall of it.""Ahh...I said, 'so late, it's like Ryouga, that wanderingpig'," Ranma-chan said nervously, "P-chan gets lost just aseasy as bandanna boy, and causes me twice as much troublewhen he shows up."Ukyou looked out the door towards Akane and her petcuriously, then asked, "What's so bad about Akane's petpig?" while she served another customer.  "He doesn'texactly look like a big threat.""It's nothin', the stupid, little porker just doesn't likeme, he's always gettin' me in trouble," Ranma-chan replied,"I think he does it on purpose, too."  Actually she knew hedid, this was Ryouga they were talking about after all."Well, he's coming in here, maybe if you give him somefood he'll behave around you," Ukyou said, "That alwaysworks for me with animals."Ranma-chan grinned slightly, "Maybe you're right, haveanything fit for a pig...?"  A moment later she wasprepared with food in hand and a nearly emptied bottle ofhot sauce beside her as Akane walked back into therestaurant, P-chan in hand.Akane looked at her smiling fiance suspiciously, and thensat down next to her.  "You better leave P-chan alone,Ranma, I don't want you teasing him like you normally do.""It's all that littl...I mean, I won't, Akane.  I even gothim this food to make up for all that.  See?"  Ranma-chanheld out the small bits of dough and other discarded bitsof okinomiyaki, displaying the peace offering.  And whenRyouga spit out her "gift" he'd be the bad guy, leaving itobvious as to who really started all their fights.  Usually.The pig in question eyed the food in front of him warilywhen Akane set him down by it, his squealing protestseliciting nothing but cooing from his "owner".  Utteringone last, "Bwee," he quickly gobbled up the food,determination clear in his features--as clear as thefeatures of a pig could display emotions anyway."P-chan...?" Akane questioned after a minute or so ofalmost absolute stillness upon the pig's part, "What'swrong, baby?"  The rumbling sound coming from thetransformed Ryouga was rather ominous to tell the truth. Before she could grab him, he shot forward, making abeeline for Ranma-chan."Hey, ya stupid pig," shouted Ranma-chan, "leave me alone!It's your own fault."  Dodging a second pass by the irate,rumbling pig she dived behind the counter.Akane and Ukyou both watched, somewhat bewildered, as theminature pig and petite girl jumped around the restaurant,wincing occasionally as a dish broke or the black blursmashed through the thin paper screens near the windows."Ranma, leave P-chan alone, you bully," yelled Akane,doing little to stop the two."Umm, it looked to me like your pet pig started this tome, Akane," mentioned Ukyou, "he is the one who attackedRanchan, after all."  Ukyou winced as P-chan was senthurtling back towards the front of the shop, hitting theextra battle spatula she kept mounted above the grillbefore falling into Akane's arms.  "Well, at least that'sover."Akane glared at Ranma-chan, remaining silent as themartial artist made her way back to the front of the shop."Could I have some water, Ucchan?" Ranma-chan asked,cradling her hand where P-chan had gotten a lucky bite in."Sure thing, Ranchan," said Ukyou as she filled a cup andhanded it to Ranma-chan.  She then leaned down and openedone of the cupboards. "Actually, I've got some bandages inhere if you want them."  She rummaged through the contentsfor a few minutes before trying to stand up abruptly, aloud crack sounding as her head hit the counter.  "Owww..."Her groans of pain nearly hid the loud snap coming fromsomewhere above her."Watch out, Ucchan!" yelled Ranma-chan as Ukyou finallystood up, her hand rubbing the back of her head.Unfortunately her fiance's warning did nothing but causeUkyou to grab the spatula on her back--leaving her headclear to be smacked by the one falling from the wall.Akane stared at the spectacle, looking slightly bemusedeven as Ranma-chan jumped over the counter, checking thestill standing Ukyou for vital signs.  "Is she all right,Ranma?" she asked in a concerned tone."I don't know," responded the redheaded girl, "I thinkshe...woh!"  The chef's limp body fell into her fiance'sarms, leaving Ranma-chan at a loss for how to handle thesituation.  "That's probably not a good sign.""You don't say." Akane rolled her eyes, her tone dry asshe continued, "and here I've always thought fainting wasan advanced martial arts technique, its secrets lost totime.""Actually, there is this technique I know..." startedRanma-chan, then shook her head, "I don't think Ucchan'sever been to Korea though."  She stared down at her "cute"fiancee, silently willing her to wake up but not terriblysurprised when it didn't work.  "Why don'tcha head homeAkane, I'll just put her to bed and watch the place tillshe wakes up.  Make sure you bring that pig with you, too.""I guess..."  Akane cradled her unconscious pet to herchest before getting to her feet and starting towards thedoor.  "Are you sure you don't want me to stay though? I'llmake sure P-chan doesn't act up, although I still think youdid something to him."  She looked towards Ranma-chan, herexpression an odd mix of concern, sympathy, and anger.Akane was probably the only person in the world who couldmanage it."I didn't do nothin' to that pig," growled Ranma-chan,fingers crossing briefly, "it's not my fault the littlebrute doesn't have anything better to do than try and biteme."  She wiggled the fingers of her injured hand slightly."Want me to run over to Dr. Tofu's then?" pressed Akane,her eyes drifting down to the unconscious girl in Ranma-chan's arms."Nah, it's probably not serious," Ranma-chan said, "mightas well not bother Dr. Tofu.  I can get him easier myself,if its worse than it looks I'll do it when Ucchan wakes up.""Hmmph!  Fine then...  If you need help though, call, ok?"Akane turned and headed towards the door, pausing justinside it and waiting expectantly.Ranma-chan smiled slightly, "Yeah, yeah, I got it covered,no problem." She shifted Ukyou slightly, getting her into amore comfortable, and secure, position.Akane nodded then stepped out into the street.Ranma-chan watched her till she was out of sight thenturned towards the back of the restaurant.  "Now which roomdid Ukyou say she slept in...?"><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Later that evening, Ranma-chan slumped down on one of thestools; exhausted as she gazed around the once more clean,and now empty, restaurant.  "What _was_ I thinking.  I just_had_ to send Akane home..." she trailed off.  Anotherglance around the restaurant, this time imagining groaningcustomers lying on the floor, reminded her why she had senther home.  Not that she had said that in so many words toAkane.  "Well, maybe she wouldn't have insisted on cooking.Still, better safe than sorry."There were still a few things which would need to bereplaced rather than fixed, but they were mainly fairlycheap dishes.  Their absence hadn't done to much to hurtbusiness, at least she didn't think it had.  Maybe she'dtry and help Ucchan out for a couple of days to make up forthem, she was fairly popular as a waitress.  "Nah...well,only if she really needs the help.  That was a pretty nastybump she took there.  I wonder if she's awake yet."As if in answer to her question a low moan emanated fromupstairs.  "Guess that answers that, I'd better go checkand see how she's doing."  She quickly shucked the apronshe had been wearing and bounded up the stairs, stoppingjust outside the door and knocking rather lightly on theframe before she stepped into the room.Ukyou had propped herself up against the back of the bed,and was tentatively feeling the bump on her head.  "Ouch,what in the world hit me?""Your spatula," replied Ranma-chan.Ukyou jumped, then barely restrained a yelp, alternatingher hands between maintaining pressure on the front andback of her head.  "You startled me," she said after aminute or so, "I didn't see you come in."A smile passed over Ranma-chan's features as she walkedover towards Ukyou with a quick, sure stride.  "Are youokay, Ucchan?" she asked, "that was a pretty nasty bump,well, two bumps, you got there.""I...ow...think I'm okay, Ranchan," replied Ukyou, "I'mjust feeling a little dizzy."  She muttered something elsethat Ranma didn't catch in a cross tone, then flinched. She moderated her voice a bit, "I can get back to runningthe shop anyway."Ranma-chan felt Ukyou's forehead, and otherwise fussedover her for awhile before replying.  "I don't know,Ucchan, I don't think you're ready to be up and about.You've already slept past closing time anyway, I locked upthe shop for you.""Past closing time?" exclaimed Ukyou, a bit more softly,taking heed of the pain from last time.  "I was unconsciousthat long from a little bump on the head?""Well, it wasn't that little, and you did get hit twice ina pretty short time period.  Maybe that had something to dowith it," suggested Ranma-chan."Some martial artist I am," muttered Ukyou, sliding downto a more reclined position.  "I should have seen thatcoming.  Ryouga will pay..." her mutterings quickly trailedoff, becoming incoherant.Ranma-chan looked down at Ukyou with an odd expression onher face, a bit confused by the last part.  "Maybe I shouldstay and make sure you're ok, Ucchan.  You seem a bit...outof it.""S-stay, h-here?  With me?  I-I'd love that, R-Ranchan,but don't you think it's a little, well...you know...earlyfor that?" Ukyou stammered, a bright blush begining tocross her cheeks.  "I mean we aren't even m-married, yet,not that I don't want to marry you!  I mean, we arefiancees, and you're just so..."  Stopping abruptly shepeered up from beneath her bangs at Ranma-chan's stillform, her breathing increasing in tempo and a flushcreeping up her neck.Ranma-chan flushed a bit herself under the scrutiny, thepenetrating gaze reminding her of the boys at school aftershe had been splashed--right before she pounded them.  Sheshook her head, clearing it of the odd thought and laughingat her foolishness.  "You do have a guest room, Ucchan, soit's not like I'd be sleeping in your bed.""Oh, well, of course, I mean, it was just with your roomand mine and...I don't know what I meant, I'm just a bitconfused I guess.  Sorry."  Ukyou blushed again, her facehad apparently decided she looked good in red.Ranma-chan fidgeted for a few minutes, then asked, "Umm,do you have any pillows and blankets I could use?  I'lljust get settled down, then come back and we can...talk orsomething for awhile."Ukyou smiled happily then jumped up and said, "You don'tknow..?  Oh well, I'll show you, most of it's in your room.I guess I hid them too..."  Her explanation came to anabrupt end as her face rapidly lost its color and her eyesfluttered shut.  Quickly slipping her arms around Ukyou's waist before shecould fall, Ranma-chan tried to set Ukyou on the bed.  Itwas only a second later that Ukyou came to, however, andsnuggled against the soft "pillows" still supporting herhead, causing Ranma-chan to squirm a little.  "Umm,Ucchan..." she started then stopped, not sure how toapproach this situation.The sudden cessation of any movement on Ukyou's part wassomething of a relief to Ranma-chan.  Ukyou winced as shelifted her head, slowly this time, and moved it backagainst the real pillows on her bed.  "I'm really sorry,Ranchan," apologized Ukyou as she turned her wide, soulfuleyes towards Ranma-chan, "I didn't mean to, really!  Theywere just _sooo_ comfortable...""Umm, yeah, that's ok, I guess..." Ranma-chan reassuredUkyou, "let's just forget about it."  A muttered, "I knowI'm going to try to," slipped out under her breath as shepushed Ukyou back under the covers, tucking her into bedand making sure she wasn't going anywhere beforewhispering, "Just lie down for now, I can get myselfsettled in and you need the rest."Visibly trying to fight the lure of sleep, Ukyou mumbled,"ok, sure thing, Ranchan.  No trouble...at..." she yawnedbriefly, "all."  She trailed off as she faded into apeaceful sleep, smiling and mumbling under her breath for afew minutes before silence claimed the room.Ranma-chan smoothed a little bit of her erstwhilefiancee's hair from her forehead before standing up.  Ukyouseemed a lot more peaceful while she was sleeping, thelittle signs of anxiety you didn't really consciouslynotice dissappearing.  She really was cute, probably almostas cute as Akane while she was sleeping.  She brieflywondered what Shampoo looked like while she was sleeping,then banished the thoughts from her mind and slipped outthe door.A short while later, Ranma-chan found herself situated forthe night; futon, blanket, and pillows laid out in onecorner of the guest room and the majority of her clothingpiled in another.  "I could really go for a nice soak,wonder if Ucchan has a tub."Clad only in her boxers and a tank top, Ranma-chan paddedout of the room, searching for the bathroom.  Checking thedoor that didn't lead into Ukyou's bedroom, all she foundwas what was apparently a storeroom or something.  Grabbingan extra pillow, she turned and wandered back into the roomshe was using.  It was as she was about to turn and headdownstairs that she noticed another door on the far side ofthe room, slightly obscured by a plant."Wonder why she put this here?" Ranma-chan wondered as shemoved the fern out of the way.  "Must use this room forsomething else normally."  A quick check confirmed that thedoor led into the bathroom, unfortunately there was nothingbut a shower in the corner.  At least she could change intoa guy again.As the water began to warm up, Ranma-chan glanced aroundthe bathroom.  While it wasn't small, it wasn't overlylarge either.  The shower took up the far end of the room,with the toilet only a small distance away.  Next to thatwas a small sink and mirror, a brush and a haphazard pileof simple white ribbons next to it.It was a matter of moments once the water finished heatingto spray her, now him, self and return to his propergender. The short trip back to the guest room was spentprimarily yawning, and it was with a grateful sigh that hesettled down into the futon and drifted off to sleep,ignoring the distinct feeling that he was forgettingsomething.  ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Ranma came awake all at once, his altered surroundingsstanding out glaringly after his time with the Tendos. Noting nothing around him to suggest any danger, he slowlystretched, a luxury he didn't often have with his fatheraround.Standing up, Ranma slowly made his way out the door, overto Ukyou's room and eased her door open.  Scanning the roomslowly, he noted the rumpled covers on her bed had a markedbulge in the center, though they were pulled up to thepoint where they covered even the pillows. "Good, she'sstill asleep," he whispered to himself, sliding the doorshut.  "I'll bet I can get a quick shower, even hop over toTofu's without waking her up."As he got ready, tidying up the futon and other bedding,thoughts of the odd day he had had yesterday passed throughhis mind.  Ukyou's odd behavior really stuck out, smallinconsistencies playing out for him as he stripped off hisboxers and tank top, gathering those and his other clothesin his arms.  It wasn't really so much how she had acted,though that was kind of weird too, it was little things shesaid which seemed odd.  He put it out of his mind as henudged the door open with his foot, stepping into the roomjust as the humming registered in his mind."Morning, Ranchan," greeted Ukyou cheerfully, "theshower's all ready, all you have to do is get in and turnit on."  She stood up, toweling a few wet spots dry beforeshe picked up the basket her clothes were in and walkedover to Ranma.  "Ranchan?""..."  Ranma just stared as Ukyou, his arms extended, andhis mouth open slightly, trying to respond."Don't worry about it, Ranchan."  Ukyou smiled.  "I knowyou're not a morning person.  Here let me take those."  Shescooped up the clothes in his arms, deftly placing them inthe basket and finally eliciting a response from Ranma."Hey, wait a minute.  I need those!" yelped Ranma, thesurprise evident in his voice."Oh come on, Ranchan, I can do the laundry just as well asyou can, I used to do mine and my Dad's all the time,"Ukyou responded, gently turning him towards the shower. "You have more clothes in our closet, and these are dirty.""But, but, but...""Don't worry, I won't walk in on you, I'll be downstairs."She smiled again, though it seemed a bit more strained thistime.  "I even left a bucket of cold water out to warm up alittle, so you can change back after your shower, Ranchan. I'll see you downstairs for breakfast."Ranma sighed slightly as Ukyou walked out of the room,closing the door behind herself.  As he looked down athimself, then moved towards the shower the thought flashedthrough his head that he should probably be vaguelyoffended about now.  At least Akane had had the decency toacknowledge the fact that he was male when she saw himnaked.  Although she might have chosen a better method."I _really_ need to go see Dr. Tofu...I'm not sure if it'sfor Ucchan or my bruised ego now though."><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Ranma-chan walked down the stairs about a half hour later,tugging on the shirt she had picked out from Ukyou'swardrobe. It wasn't that it was terribly feminine, but shestill felt awkward in it and the leggings she had pickedout.  The choice between this and a boy's school uniformhadn't been difficult though.As she reached the bottom of the stairs, an absolutelydivine scent reached her, her stomach rumbling in response.Ranma's mouth watered as she jogged into the restaurantproper and called, "Ucchan!  That smells great!""Come on and sit down, I'll make you one," Ukyou repliedwith a smile.  Swiftly suiting actions to words, she pouredsome batter on her grill, initiating a sizzling sound asthe food cooked.Ranma-chan nodded and sat down on one of the stools,watching Ukyou cook for a minute or two before asking, "Sohow's your head today?  Feeling better?"Ukyou nodded, smiling as she said, "Yep!  All better, I'mall set for the weekend crowd.""That's good, so umm..."  Ranma-chan searched forsomething to say, preferably not touching upon what shereally wanted to talk about.  "How long till my clothes arewashed?""Oh, I put those with the rest of the clothes, I'll dothem tomorrow or something.  There wasn't really enough togo to the laundromat," Ukyou said as she flipped theokonomiyaki. "You've got plenty of clothes though, and youcan always borrow mine if you need more.""What do you mean?" Ranma-chan asked with a confusedexpression, "most of my clothes are over at the Tendo's."Ukyou mirrored her expression.  "The Tendo's?  You stillhaven't gotten all your clothes from Akane's house?  Ithought you took care of that a week ago?""Umm...nope, I must have forgotten.  In fact, I think I'llgo take care of that right now."  Ranma-chan got up, edgingtowards the door and calling back over her shoulder, "I'llbe back, don't go anywhere!" as she reached it."Ranchan!  You forgot your breakfast!" Ukyou yelled,holding up the plate she had just deposited saidbreakfast on."I'll eat it later!" Ranma-chan shouted before waving andfinally escaping the restaurant.  A minute or two to orientherself, and she was off towards Tofu's clinic by the mostdirect path possible--a straight line across the roofs.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Upon reaching the clinic Ranma-chan hopped down to streetlevel then entered the comfortable doctors office, urgentlycalling, "Doc?  Doctor Tofu, are you here?"Coming out of the backroom Doctor Tofu wiped his handsbriefly on the gi he wore and asked, "what can I do for youRanma?"  Peering closely at the young woman who had enteredhis office, he gestured for her to go into the back room.Ranma-chan gestured wildly, bouncing up and down on hertoes. "Doc!  Something's horribly wrong with Ucchan!" "What is it, Ranma?"  Tofu frowned again, clearlyconcentrating upon Ranma-chan's words in an attempt todiscern the problem.  "What's wrong with her?""She didn't react when she saw me naked!"Tofu slipped, nearly falling before he steadied himself onBetty-chan.  Rubbing his temple with one hand, Dr. Tofumentioned, "That's not exactly a life and death matter,Ranma.  Maybe she was just distracted."Ranma-chan blushed slightly, but explained, "she wasn't,but, I mean that's not the only thing that's happened. She's been acting really weird since she woke up yesterday.""Weird how?" Tofu questioned, gesturing for Ranma-chan toprecede him as they entered the examination room.Ranma-chan searched for words, trying to think aboutexactly what it was which was setting off alarms in hermind.  "Well, there's this for one thing."  She plucked atthe sleeve of her shirt."I noticed that, it looks nice on you actually."  Tofunodded, "the cut works well.  Not that I'm a fashioncritic.""You think so?" Ranma-chan asked, craning her head to tryand look at herself.  She beamed for a second, thenrealized exactly why she was smiling and slapped herselflightly."Yes," the doctor replied, "so what's so strange about it?"Ranma-chan placed her hand behind her head, smilingsheepishly.  "Well, I kind of needed to borrow some clothesfrom Ucchan after she took mine.""She took yours?"  Dr. Tofu paused for a moment, one eyebrowraised in inquiry, then continued, "why in the worldwould she do that?""I think she thinks I live with her, at least that's whatit sounded like," Ranma-chan said after a little pause. She scratched her head.  "That's why I was initially goingto come over here, actually.""That is a bit odd."  Tofu nodded, gesturing for Ranma-chan to take a seat as he did the same.  "Was thereanything else?""Well, she didn't seem to remember how she got knockedunconscious...""She was knocked unconscious?"  A frown crossed the youngdoctor's face.  "Why didn't you mention that earlier?""I was tryin' to, but the other thing seemed moreimportant, and you didn't let me finish," Ranma-chananswered, glowering at Tofu before she sighed.  "Anyway,I'm beginin' to think something's really wrong."Doctor Tofu sat for a few minutes, his hands folded infront of himself and his eyes closed.  "You might be right,although it would be a good idea if I took a look myself." He stood abruptly, walking over to a small book and leafingthrough it.Ranma-chan asked, "when do you want to go, Ucchan's justrunning the store right now, so she should be there forawhile.  'Less she gets worried about me or something."Tofu nodded, then closed the book.  "Well, I could goright now if you wanted too."  He walked around his office,collecting a few instruments and several books as he did so."That'd be great, Doc! Thanks," Ranma-chan said, "we cango whenever you're ready."  She headed for the door, thensmacked her fist into her palm.  "Oh yeah!  We've got tostop at the Tendo's, too.  I need to get some clothes.""Why," asked Doctor Tofu, "would you need clothes for anexamination of a friend?""That's kinda the excuse I gave Ucchan, I told her I wasgoing to go pick up some clothes from Akane's house,"replied Ranma-chan, "it shouldn't really take me long, whydon't you head over there and I'll swing by to get someproof."Tofu nodded, allowing Ranma-chan to slip out the door,into the waiting room and then the street, before takingoff forthe Tendo's at a breakneck pace.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Upon arriving at the Tendo's(Set up date when Ranma is alerted to Ukyou's problem,couldn'tfit in earlier)The conversation then turned to the actual problem for therest of the journey with Ranma-chan talking and Tofulistening and before long they were standing outside theempty restaurant.  Ranma-chan quickly unlocked the doorwith the keys she had liberated from Ukyo the night beforeand let in the doctor and herself.  Gesturing for Tofu tofollow she quickly bounded into the kitchen and headed forthe stairs, only to be intercepted by an ecstatic Ukyou."Ranchan, you're back!" exclaimed Ukyo as she swept hersurprised fiancee off of her feet and started twirling heraround."Ucchan!" Ranma yelled, slightly embarrassed at beingmanhandled by Ukyo in front of Doctor Tofu, "I broughtDoctor Tofu to look at you after that bump Akane left youwith, he's the one who I told you always takes care of meafter I get injured."Ukyo sighed as she looked on the tall doctor and muttered,"all right, if you really want him to look at me he can.I'm really all right though, I mean would I have been ableto spin like that if my head still hurt?"  Still holdingonto one of Ranma-chan's hand she asked, "so where do youwant to do this, Doctor?"Doctor Tofu glanced at the uncomfortable Ranma-chan beforeturning to Ukyo and saying, "well, do you have a bed or acomfortable couch you could lay on?  That would probablywork the best."Ukyo, very careful not to move too much so Ranma-chanwouldn't remove her hand, answered, "Yes, its right uphere."  She then started up the stairs and was rathersurprised when her fiancee merely followed along withoutjerking her hand free.  Not one to look a gift horse in themouth however she decided to just accept and enjoy it andsmiled happily as she led the way upstairs to her bedroom."Why don't you lay down on the bed," directed Doctor Tofuas he moved to the side, ready to begin practicing hiscraft."Ok, if you insist," responded Ukyo before reluctantlyreleasing Ranma-chan's hand and making her way over to thebed.  "I don't need to strip or nothing, do I?" she askedin a rough manner before sitting on her bed and thenturning parallel to Tofu and resting her head upon thepillows.The young doctor chuckled then said, "no, no, I don'tthink that will be at all necessary Ukyo," before beginninghis examination of the okinomiyaki chef and her chi.  Hecontinued his study for nearly a half hour then finallystood up and turned to Ranma-chan, "if you'd step outsidefor a minute, I'd like to talk to you.""Sure thing, Doc," replied Ranma-chan as she followed himout into the hall which Ukyo's room was in.  Moving towardsthe open window overlooking the street she sat on the ledgeand asked in an anxious tone, "so what's the diagnosis Doc?How do we cure Ucchan?"Doctor Tofu raised his head ever so slightly, the sunlightbriefly gleaming off his glasses and giving him aninscrutable and wise appearance.  Obviously about to revealthe cure he stayed in this pose for a second and thenstated, "there is no cure."  At the resounding crash whichresulted from his statement he ran over to the window andlooked out and down at the sprawled out body of Ranma-chan."Hmm, perhaps I should have stated that a bit differently,"he said to himself before he turned and headed outside topick up the unconscious martial artist.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><Groaning slightly, Ranma-chan sat up in her futon and puther hand to the back of her head.  Feeling a shot of painat the touch she quickly moved her hand back and lookedaround the room.  Taking in the Doctor sitting next to hershe asked, "what happened?"Doctor Tofu chuckled and stated, "well you had a slightlyadverse reaction to the news on Ukyo, or rather what youthought was the news.  You made a rather precipitous exitfrom the room before I could finish my diagnosis."Ranma-chan sighed as the recent events in regards to Ukyounfolded in her mind anew.  "Wait!" she exclaimed as shesat up, "does that mean that Ucchan isn't going to be likethis forever, Doc?"Doctor Tofu smiled briefly before resuming his seriousdemeanor, "I can't say for sure that she will make arecovery, as their isn't really any set method of dealingwith what appears to be her problem, however there is adecent chance that she will come out of it on her own."Twisting the blanket slightly in her hand Ranma-chanasked, "so what exactly _is_ her problem, Doc?  As youmentioned I kind of missed that part last time you wereabout to tell me." She grinned wryly as her normal humorkicked in briefly then listened carefully as the youngdoctor began to explain."Well, I said before 'what appears to be her problem' andthere was a reason for that, as I'm not entirely sure whather problem is.  I can however make a few educated guessesbased on what I saw when I was examining her," the doctorbegan, "the most likely reason for her behavior is analtered form of amnesia..."Ranma-chan broke in briefly, "I thought when you hadamnesia you forgot everything, Doc?  She sure seemed toremember me, and for that matter she knew Akane's name too-though something seemed kind of odd about that..."  Shebriefly thought about that before discarding it asirrelevant to the current situation, "so it couldn't reallybe amnesia, could it?"The doctor continued after a slight pause to store thisnew information and said, "actually it can be, you saidthat for the ten years previous to this she has beenattempting to forget, and make people forget, the fact thatshe is actually a girl. Ten years of continuallyreinforcing this fact within herself isn't broken offeasily, though it appears as if she's trying, thus when shewas hit the amnesia took a slightly different form and shewas finally successful in convincing herself that what shehad been saying was true.  Your presence actually helpedslightly with this as it provided both the means, a curse,and a reason for trying to accept this 'curse', yoursupposed appeals and attempts to help her accept this."Ranma-chan sat slightly stunned as it sunk into her headthat not only had she been the one to get Akane mad,deliberately near the end, it was also her presence nearUkyo which had made her sick.  Very likely was _still_making Ukyo sick.  She sighed softly and said to DoctorTofu, "I guess I had better leave then, if I'm the onewho's making Ucchan sick I can't very well stay here, evenif I mean well."Doctor Tofu placed a hand on Ranma-chan's shoulder, "Ididn't say that you had made Ukyo sick, Ranma," hecomforted, "all you did was change the nature of whathappened to her.  If you hadn't been here then it wouldlikely have been amnesia of the normal, incapacitating Imight add, sort.  Or she might have had the same sort ofthing happen without any reasoning, leaving her as a manstuck in a woman's body without any hope. Or she mighthave...""Ok, ok, I get it, Doc," Ranma-chan's laughter had aslightly bitter edge to it, "it wasn't necessarily my faultthat it happened."  <Although that isn't completely truesince I was the one who provoked Akane,> she thoughtmorosely before continuing her speech, "if I left thoughshouldn't she snap out of it faster?""Not really, Ranma," the doctor answered thoughtfully,"right now you seem to be a major part of her life in bothreality and what she has made up.  And generally the bestmethod of dealing with amnesia of any form is to keep thepatient in a stable atmosphere and try and avoidadministering any shocks." The doctor paused for a secondas a thought struck him, "in fact if you left that wouldlikely be a rather large blow to her, or rather his, self-esteem and confidence. Right now, having you as her fianceeseems to be one of the high points in a life turned upsidedown by her 'curse', something I'm sure you can sympathizewith."Ranma-chan thought about what it might have been like tohave someone who actually knew what it was like to talk toabout her curse when she got it.  All told it might havebeen rather nice to have someone around other than herstupid Pop, although now that she thought about it Ukyowouldn't even have that much if she left.  And her cursewasn't even as bad as what Ukyo thought she had when shefirst got it, since she could at least get back to her maleform."All right, I guess I should stay then," she said as shesmiled a bit, "I can't just leave Ucchan all alone, now canI?"  Having come to a conclusion she smiled at Doctor Tofuand asked, "so is there anything else I can do for herbesides this?"The doctor in question shook his head briefly beforeanswering, "not at the moment, I'll look through my booksand see if I can't find something else but your best bet iswhat I've already outlined."  Doctor Tofu stood and beganto walk towards the door, only turning his head as he said,"oh yes, and Ranma you might want to consider calling theTendo's, I'm sure they're worried sick."Looking upon the doctor as he moved out of sight, Ranma-chan bent her head and muttered, "yea, right."  She thenstood up decisively and followed the lead of Doctor Tofuand headed towards the door, though she turned not towardsthe exit but in the direction of Ukyo's room.><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><