Chapter 3. Starting School

Sasuke returned while Kuno was eating his dinner. The little ninja servant waited patiently until the nurse finished feeding his master, then closed the door behind her as she left. “Report, Sasuke!” Kuno called out from his bed.

Sasuke took up position beside the bed and began speaking, wondering how much of what he said would be believed. “In fulfillment of your wish, I went to the Tendo home and observed the premises for a time from a nearby rooftop. Later I made contact with Nabiki Tendo and paid her a substantial amount in exchange for most of the information I have.” He cocked an eyebrow at his master.

Kuno waved for the man to go on. Nabiki might be an infuriating wench, and less than forthcoming at times, but the information she provided in exchange for hard cash was always solid.

Sasuke continued. “The young man who showed up here is named Ranma — no other name is known. He suffered some sort of attack recently, about which Nabiki-sama would give me no facts, but which has apparently left him mute. It seems that after this mysterious attack, the Tendo father invited this Ranma to remain as a guest in their home.” Sasuke paused expectantly.

His master did not disappoint him. “What!” Kuno shouted. “Living under the same roof as Akane Tendo! I forbid it! Bring me my blade! Help me out of this bed! I must smite the foul wretch!”

“Er, perhaps you should wait until your injuries have healed somewhat?” the servant suggested.

Kuno growled, but slowly sank back to his mattress again. His subconscious, which had been hammering for admittance, finally gained entrance and reminded him of the ruined clothing which the nurse had discarded. “Perhaps you are right, my lowly servant. Furthermore, in this case, a frontal assault may not be the best course to pursue. I need to know more. What else did you learn?”

“It would seem that he is a highly skilled martial artist,” the man reported. “Despite Akane Tendo's own skills in that field, he is training her.” He paused once more, but to his surprise, Kuno controlled his emotions and said nothing.

He shrugged and went on, “The strangest thing of all is that he is reputed to have a curse, which I would not have believed had I not seen its effect with my own eyes. According to Nabiki-sama, when cold water is poured upon this Ranma, he undergoes a transformation in which he becomes female. The application of hot water changes him back to male.”

“Oh come now,” Kuno chuckled, “she was surely pulling your leg ... but wait, you said that you witnessed this yourself? Could you not tell if there was some trick involved?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Remember, I paid for this information.” Kuno looked disturbed as he considered that. “I did not understand at first what I saw, since it occurred before I spoke to Nabiki-sama. She and I talked after Ranma and Akane-san went into the dojo.”

He paused, reflecting, and spoke slowly as if he were watching events unfold once more. “I was on a roof diagonally across from a back corner of their property, from which I had a good view of the side yard where their koi pond is located. Kasumi-san was out in the yard hanging laundry to dry. Tendo-san was sitting on the engawa, smoking a cigarette. Ranma and Akane-san walked out of the house and over to the pond, where they sat on two of the rocks. He appeared to be writing something, by which I presumed he and Akane-san were conversing.

“At that moment an object came flying from some distance and landed in the pond. It was later identified as a baseball. I would guess that some person with more strength than aim hit it with a bat from the vacant lot three blocks from their house.” He shrugged. Where it came from was of little matter. “It caused a splash which struck both Ranma and Akane-san. As soon as the water struck Ranma, his appearance changed. The most striking difference that was visible from my position was in his hair color, which changed from black to red.”

“Are you sure of this?” Kuno asked insultingly.

“Quite sure,” was the reply, “although I did not at that time understand what I saw. I then saw him, or her, pull off her shirt and twist it over the pond, wringing water out of it. Her chest ... well, as I said, I did not understand until I spoke to Nabiki-sama later, but for a female it must have been a generous endowment to be so visible from where I lay. Also, Akane-san clearly became wroth, presumably over the public display.”

Kuno lay back, pondering this strange tale. “I must see this for myself before I will truly be able to believe it. And yet ... is it not of a piece with his invisible talons? Surely this is some demon which has insinuated itself into their household. The Tendo family is much too trusting, not possessing my wisdom and ability to see through the demon's external visage. Yet however worthy I may be, I am but mortal. I must take thought on how to expose its perfidy for all to see.”

Once more returning to awareness of his surroundings, Kuno said, “Thank you for your efforts, Sasuke. You are dismissed.”

The little ninja bowed, and left the room. ‹Demons!› he snorted to himself. ‹I just knew he'd see it as something like that.›

Kasumi insisted that Akane escort Ranma to his appointment Friday afternoon to see the therapist. Despite the slowly increasing ease he displayed when he accompanied her on her errands, Kasumi doubted the wisdom of letting him walk around town alone already. It had disturbed her very much when she found him missing the day before. Especially considering the expression on his face when he returned. She hoped that he would not take it into his head to turn vigilante, and try to hunt down men that he believed might be thinking about assaulting a woman.

After they left for the appointment, Nabiki wandered into the kitchen looking for a snack while Kasumi was there working on dinner. Kasumi gave her younger sister a sharp look, finished the task she had at hand and dried her hands, then turned around to face the middle Tendo daughter.

“Nabiki-chan, we haven't been seeing very much of you lately, outside of meals. Tell me, have you been trying to avoid Ranma-kun?”

Nabiki pulled her head back out of the refrigerator and blushed, thanking any watching spirits that her colleagues at school never observed her in conversation with Kasumi. It was beyond her how her older sister made such connections without apparent effort, while always appearing oblivious to events in progress.

“Um, well, I suppose I am,” she replied tentatively. “I mean, you know ... everyone in the family knows what I'm like. Most of the time. Akane's strong enough to take my teasing, even if she does get upset. But Ranma ... I doubt that he's ready to face me like that. And, uh ...” She tapped fingertips together nervously. “I just don't know how to act around him. Sympathetic, I mean. If I tried, that's how it would come across. An act. Something completely unnatural.”

Kasumi leaned back against the counter, nodding slightly in agreement. “Yes. I see. I think you may be underestimating yourself, but I understand how you feel.” She cocked her head slightly, considering, before she continued. “I suggest you try to make the effort, though. For our sakes as well as your own. You don't want us to forget what you look like, do you?”

“I ... I'll try, oneesan,” Nabiki answered guiltily.

Taking that as a promise, Kasumi turned back to her tasks, allowing her younger sister to make her escape. The snack for which Nabiki had come was forgotten.

When Akane and Ranma got to the therapist's office, Akane sat down in the waiting room with her homework while Ranma went in. He was scheduled to remain with the counselor for an hour and, given that he had to write down everything he wanted to say, Akane was confident that he would need to make use of every minute of that time. So she was considerably surprised when he emerged from the inner office a little before the end of the designated period.

At some point during the intervening time, Ranma had also changed from male to female. Worried that something might be wrong, Akane hurriedly put her book off to one side and stood, meeting him halfway across the room. He was holding his pad, and he angled it for her to read the message written on the top sheet. “Mitaka-sensei wants to speak with you. Okay?”

Akane looked up from reading this, blinking at the unexpected request, but she nodded in easy agreement. Ranma stepped aside, gesturing for her to proceed. She expected him to follow, but as she walked toward the door he sat down, oblivious to his female shape, and picked up her discarded textbook to look at curiously. Akane paused for a moment and watched his mouth twist before he dropped the book back on the table, slumped down in his seat, stretched out his legs and crossed his arms under his breasts. With a yawn he closed his eyes, obviously preparing to nap. One corner of Akane's mouth quirked up as she turned away, going inside the office and closing the door behind her.

An older woman was sitting in one of two chairs, pulled together at right angles a conversational distance apart. Her hair was mostly white, and she was writing notes. At Akane's entrance she looked up with a smile and motioned her to take a seat in the other chair.

“Please, have a seat,” the woman told her. “You're Akane Tendo, right?”

“Yes, Mitaka-sensei,” the girl replied demurely, taking the offered seat.

“Just Mitaka-san will do, Tendo-san,” the woman said kindly. “Ranma-san has told me, though not in so many words, that you and he have become friends. Would you agree with that statement?”

Akane blinked, startled. Were they? Friends? She'd known him for less than a week, and he was a boy, wasn't he? Though come to think of it, she had told the horde on Wednesday morning that he was a friend. Had she meant it? She thought about the training they did every day, and how much she enjoyed it despite how hard he was on her. She remembered the notes he had written to her during that stupid American movie they watched last night, which had made her laugh. She thought about the method she had chosen to protect him from his nightmares.

“Yes ...” she answered hesitantly. “I suppose we are friends.”

“You sound as if that surprises you,” Mitaka pointed out, inviting her to expand on her statement.

Akane did so. “I ... well, as a matter of fact, I guess I am a little surprised. I ... umm, well ... I have a pretty low opinion of boys.” She hesitated and gave a weak smile. “Most people would say extremely low.”

Some time passed. Without being quite sure how it happened, Akane found herself describing in depth her opinion of boys in general, the hentai horde in particular, the nature of sexual perversion, and even her relationship with her father. About the only topic they seemed to steer clear of was Ranma, which seemed particularly strange since he was the whole reason they were here.

Akane decided to broach the subject. “Mitaka-san, will Ranma be all right?”

The therapist smiled. “I am quite sure he will be, in time. He has a very strong core. Some of the things which have happened to him in the past ...” The woman paused, shaking her head. She smiled again as she said, “Indeed, he is already healing rapidly, I think due in large part to you.”

Akane blushed, dropping her eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of this statement.

Mitaka continued without pause. “Now I can't reveal too many details without violating confidentiality. He lost his speech due to the trauma, of course, though I can't discuss what was going through his mind at that moment. I am reasonably confident, though not absolutely certain, that he will eventually recover the ability to talk. It is important, however, that he not struggle too hard to do so. Repeated failure too early could reinforce the condition and make it permanent.”

Akane met Mitaka's eyes, nodding to show that she understood. When she looked away again her eyes came to rest on a stack of small papers. Realizing what they must be, she found herself suddenly wondering what she would learn if she could read through them.

Following her gaze, the therapist's lips compressed into a thin line. “As soon as we're finished, I will of course immediately destroy all of the notes which Ranma-san wrote.” Extremely embarrassed to have been caught thinking what she had thought, Akane looked away again quickly.

Putting that matter aside, the older woman tilted her head a little to the side, considering Akane closely. “If you are willing,” she suggested, “I think you could play a significant role in your friend's recovery.”

Akane was confused. “I ... I could? What would I have to do?”

“The most important thing is to continue what you are already doing. Be his friend. Continue your martial arts workouts. Martial arts is very central to his life. I believe that those workouts are doing him a world of good. It is a familiar setting to him, it occupies his mind so he has less time to dwell on unpleasant thoughts, it reinforces the sense of friendship with you, and it is helping to rebuild his confidence. I couldn't have come up with a better therapy for him if I had tried.”

“Oh,” Akane said, not having thought about any of those things before. She smiled. “Well, I certainly want to continue. I'm enjoying the training a lot, and he really is helping me to improve.”

“Excellent,” Mitaka said stoutly in obvious approval. “The other thing you could do, which I would appreciate very much, is to continue to come with him to these appointments. I would like to speak with you for a little while at the end of each session. Could you do that?”

“I ... yes, if you think it would help,” Akane agreed.

“I do indeed,” the older woman replied, with an inner smile. With luck the girl beside her would never realize that she was receiving therapy at the same time as Ranma. “We have arranged to meet on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, at four o'clock. Is that acceptable?” Akane nodded. “Very good. We will decide next Friday if he is ready to start attending classes at school the following Monday or if he should wait a while longer.”

Mitaka steepled her fingers together in front of her. “Now, one last thing before you go. Concerning your sleeping arrangements.”

Akane looked down in her lap. “Was it a bad idea?” she asked timidly. “But his nightmares seem so terrible. And since he can't call out, if he was by himself, we wouldn't know he was having one.”

“Try not to jump to conclusions, Tendo-san. I think it's doing him more good than not, at least for the time being. You're right about the nightmares being terrible. Although some of the things in them might surprise you, such as cats, and a towering image of his father mocking him for his helplessness.”

Akane grew angry. “Actually, I do understand about the cats. As for his father mocking him — how could anyone treat his own child like that?”

Mitaka cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. “Who said that his father would treat him so? That is only an image in his dream. I will admit that Ranma-san does not think highly of his father, whoever or wherever he is — and my patient is being less than forthcoming about that.” She scowled briefly. “But he does not believe that his father would behave so terribly in reality. Rather, it is an expression of his own difficulty in accepting that he was truly helpless. His subconscious is punishing himself.”

“Oh,” Akane responded meekly. “I see. So ... I should continue letting him sleep with me, then?”

The therapist watched her closely. “First, I would ask how you truly feel about it? Even though it is a girl's body sharing your bed, Ranma-san is unquestionably still male inside that body. Does that thought bother you? Please be completely honest.”

Akane thought carefully before answering. “It does bother me a little, but ... not because I'm afraid he might try something. Oh, I was the first night, or two, but ... when I put my arms around the red-haired girl and I feel her relax, I get this sense of ... of vulnerability from her. Last night, I don't remember worrying at all that he'd try to take advantage.”

She looked away, feeling her face growing hot again. “What bothers me is the way I feel. I do know that he's male inside, and it ... makes me feel funny, knowing that in some sense there's a boy in my bed. The first night, I was kind of scared about it. But last night, um ... uh ...”

Mitaka smiled at her kindly. “Did you have some sexual thoughts about him? It's perfectly natural.”

“But I don't ...! He isn't ...! We aren't ...!”

The older woman sighed. ‹Teenagers,› she thought to herself. ‹Always so very worried what everyone thinks of them.›

Out loud, she spoke soothingly. “Please calm down. I'm not thinking that anything is going on between the two of you, or that there's anything wrong with you, or that you've done anything naughty, or whatever else you're afraid of. You're a healthy young woman. I'd be shocked if you didn't have a few thoughts of that sort. It doesn't mean anything, beyond the fact that you're normal.”

“I ... I am?” Akane asked, plaintively seeking confirmation, looking up with moist eyes. “It's just ... sometimes I'd think about the horde ... it made me feel sick ... but ... there's also this doctor I know ... it felt good then ... I'm sorry. I seem to be babbling.”

The therapist kept her expression as kind and gentle as she could. “Try not to let it trouble your heart so much, child. Everyone thinks such things. Even things which they would never want to happen in reality. Perhaps we could talk about this more next Tuesday? I think you may have been worrying yourself unnecessarily about ordinary things, and it may do you good to talk about it to someone who understands.”

“I ... maybe.” Akane was unconvinced that she'd be able to talk about such things with anyone.

“Well, we'll see,” Mitaka replied noncommittally. “But going back to the topic of sharing a bed. For now, I think it is mostly to the good, provided he is not a boy when you do. It would cause both of you far too much mental stress if he were male. For now, it allows you to deal with his nightmares, which as you point out might be difficult if he were alone, given his impediment. It gives him a source of comfort, which is important right now. It gives him a chance to feel safe while he is in his female form, which is also of benefit. After he has recovered somewhat, we can see about having him start sleeping by himself once more.”

The woman then fixed Akane with a stern look. “However, you must be careful that you do not become a crutch for him. Do not allow him to become emotionally dependent on you, no matter how much it appears to be helping him or how good it makes you feel to have him dependent on you. You would be doing him no favor. In truth, I don't think the risk is very great, given his basic personality. Still, it is something you should be wary about.”

She paused, but professional concern forced her to continue. “Also, you are not to engage in any sexual contact with him while the two of you are in bed together.” Akane gasped and began to stutter an incoherent protest but the therapist overrode her attempts at denial. “Now, I don't believe for a moment that you plan to do any such thing, but it is best I make it perfectly clear from the start. If the situation changes and you feel any temptation beyond a few harmless thoughts, it would be better to have him start sleeping alone again. The stress of dealing with such matters would, at this time, be more harmful than suffering through the nightmares.”

Akane was certain her face must resemble a tomato. “I'm sure that nothing like that will happen,” she whispered. “Not ever!”

“Very good, my dear.” Mitaka stood up to walk Akane to the door. “Then I'll see you and Ranma-san back here on Tuesday afternoon. Remember, the best thing you can do for him right now is to be a friend. I'm not sure that he has ever had a real friend before. The few people he described as friends ... well, they didn't exactly fit my definition.”

“I'll try, Mitaka-san,” she promised as she stepped out through the door.

Ranma rose to meet her. He wrote quickly and held out the pad. It said, “You were in there a long time. About me?”

Akane shook her head. “Actually, no. We barely talked about you at all until the end. When we did, I think she mostly wanted to make sure that I was okay with letting you sleep in the same bed.” Akane paused and thought for a moment, then added, “I think that since we're spending so much time together, what with training and everything, that she probably wanted to reassure herself about me. What kind of person I am.” She made a wry face. “My moral character.”

Ranma nodded. This seemed to make sense. They left the building and walked home together.

The weekend sped by, with few problems aside from some water related accidents. Nabiki made an effort to talk to Ranma and, although she did come across as extremely stiff, they managed to make some progress.

Sunday night was bad, however. After darkness fell and the streetlights started coming on, Ranma realized that the attack had been exactly a week ago at about that time. He started trembling uncontrollably, while cursing himself for his reaction. He excused himself, and went to bed early.

When Akane looked in on him a little later, she found him in his female form, still awake and looking distressed, as he fought occasional trembles which shook his body. Without speaking, Akane picked up her pajamas and left the room to change. When she came back, she slipped into bed and held him, one girl giving comfort to another, until they both fell asleep.

The next day when Ranma came in from the afternoon session with Akane, he was pounced on immediately by Kasumi. She pushed a change of clothes on him and hurried him into the hallway toward the furoba, saying, “Ranma-kun, your homeroom teacher, that is, the one who will be, just arrived and is speaking with daddy. You need to hurry. Go bathe, and change back to a boy. Then you can join them.”

Ranma hesitated, uncertain of the protocols involved. He wrote, “Need to hurry? Should I just change back, skip the bath?”

Kasumi shook her head, frowning. “You've been exercising and you are sweating. You will bathe before meeting your teacher. Just hurry, please.”

He nodded his surrender. Taking the clothes, the pigtailed girl walked down the hall quickly. He rapidly stripped, entered the furoba, and went through the motions of bathing. As he took a brief dip in the furo to become male, he had the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.

In the midst of stepping out of the furo, he not only discovered that he had indeed forgotten something, but what it was. The door slid open and Akane stepped into the room, undressed and ready for her bath. Both teenagers froze in shock, staring at the other's fully exposed body. A lifetime passed in a few seconds. Ranma had time to think, ‹Oh crap. I forgot to put up the ‘occupied’ sign.› Then Akane's face changed.

Ranma's eyes had been helplessly fixed on lower sights, but he noticed her expression change, and his eyes lifted and locked with hers. Akane had the same look she had when he had revealed his curse. The look which declared that she was staring at a boy who was without honor, a boy who cared about nothing but his own perverted desires, a boy ruled by his own lust. He would throw her to the floor, tie her up, gag her, ask her if she was ‘ready to play’ ...

‹No!› he screamed inside his head. He fell to his knees, bent over the side of the furo, pressing hands to his eyes. He started pounding a fist on the tiled floor, shouting to himself, ‹No! No! No!› over and over again. Tiles shattered, their shards cutting the side of his hand. He didn't seem to notice. ‹I'm not like them! I'm not!› Droplets of blood started flying.

Akane now stared in horror, frozen anew, her anger forgotten. She saw a spurt of blood shoot from Ranma's arm, and then another. “Oh shit!” she cursed. She ran over, heedless of her nudity, her towel lying forgotten on the floor by the door. “Kasumi!” she screamed as loud as she could. She grabbed Ranma by the wrist, struggling to keep him from pounding further, fingers seeking for the cut she knew was there.

She found it and pressed her fingers over the wound just as Kasumi came running through the door. Akane spoke rapidly, choppily. “I walked in. I got mad. He freaked. He started hitting the floor. One of the pieces cut his wrist.”

Kasumi nodded. “I'll get bandages and call Doctor Tofu.” She ran back out. There was the sound of hurried voices outside the changing room. She was back in just a couple of minutes.

Kasumi was carrying two robes. She threw one over Akane and the other over Ranma. Holding a piece of adhesive just above Akane's fingers, she taped the edges of the slice together the instant Akane moved her hand. She then slapped on a pad and taped it in place. Akane had taken a moment to slip her hands into the sleeves and tie her robe closed, and pressed on the pad once more.

“Daddy insisted on being the one to call Tofu-sensei. Anyway, he's coming right over,” Kasumi now took the time to tell them. “I spoke to father and your teacher. I explained that Ranma-kun fell in the furoba and cut himself, badly. Your teacher said he was very sorry to hear about it, and will try to come back tomorrow or the next day.”

Both Kasumi and Akane were watching Ranma, worried that he seemed so unresponsive. Akane chewed on her lip, and struggled to sort through her tangled feelings, pushing down on her instinctive anger. “Ranma ...? I'm sorry I got mad. It was just an accident. I know you didn't really mean to ... see me like that. I just ... it was the shock, you know?”

She had no idea if he even heard her. He certainly gave no sign of doing so. She watched Kasumi begin cleaning up the broken tile and blood. It didn't take long.

“Kasumi?” Akane spoke quietly. “Could you call Mitaka-sensei and tell her what happened? Our appointment's not until tomorrow, but ask her if she thinks we should come in today. That is, if she can fit us in. I'm ... I'm worried.”

Kasumi nodded and left. Barely a minute later Soun escorted Tofu Ono into the room. The young doctor quickly took stock of the situation, sending Akane out to get dressed while he dealt with Ranma. She felt strangely reluctant to leave, but had to admit that Doctor Tofu had matters well in hand, and she could hardly hang around wearing a thin robe and nothing else.

With Soun Tendo's help, Tofu finished the job Kasumi had begun by cleaning up the wound, then put several stitches in Ranma's wrist. He also put a couple of stitches along the side of the boy's hand for good measure, bandaging everything up when he was done.

The repairs complete, Tofu and Soun helped Ranma get dressed. It was like they were dressing a large rag doll, not exactly dead weight, but Ranma wasn't precisely helping them either. Once he was decent, Tofu made him get up and walk out to the family room, mostly on his own.

Akane was already there, waiting with worried impatience. She jumped up when Ranma appeared, then took a half step back. It looked like Ranma, but it didn't seem that he was home behind his eyes. Kasumi also chose that moment to step into the room in order to announce that Mitaka-sensei would stay late that day to see Ranma. However, they needed to start on their way immediately in order to get there on time.

At the sight of the eldest Tendo daughter, Tofu spun around a turn and a half until he was facing the fan near the table. Bending toward it and referring to the fan by the name of Tendo-san, he made the suggestion that it might be best if Soun were to go with Akane and Ranma, since it appeared that Ranma wasn't entirely himself.

On their arrival, Mitaka escorted Ranma alone into the inner office, leaving Soun and Akane to sit out in the waiting room for a long time. Akane fidgeted beside her father in nervous silence, wondering whether the maternal therapist was helping her friend. Finally the door opened and he walked out, his eyes looking alive once again if more than a little troubled. He held out his pad to Akane on which he had already written, “Can you forgive me?”

Akane felt tears appear in her eyes. “You baka! Of course I can. I already have, okay? Well, I'm maybe still mad about one thing. Do you know you forgot to put the sign up, dummy?”

Ranma nodded, ashamed.

Akane sighed. “But I know you didn't mean anything bad, and you were just as surprised as me. Let's try to forget it, okay?”

He nodded again, looking a little less depressed.

Mitaka was standing at the inner door, watching this exchange with an inscrutable expression on her face. She now called out, “Akane-san, may I also speak with you for a while?” Akane looked at her in surprise, but nodded and followed her in. The door shut behind them.

Mitaka invited Akane to take a seat before sitting down in the other chair. She paused a moment then said, “I've already had a description of what happened from Ranma-san. But I would like to get your perspective. Could you please tell me about it?”

Akane briefly described events, starting from when she stepped through the door, nude. She was careful to be honest about her thoughts and how she reacted, even though it was all terribly embarrassing. She was worried about Ranma's reaction, and if Mitaka-sensei thought this would help, then she needed to tell her about it.

When Akane finished, the older woman gave her a weary smile. She said, “Well, everything that happened is understandable. It is unfortunate, however. The effect on Ranma-san was ... not beneficial. He felt himself identified with the men who attacked him, and turned his hatred for them upon himself. I have his permission to tell you this, by the way.”

Akane looked down at her feet. “It's my fault, isn't it?”

Mitaka responded sincerely, “No, child, no. The situation you went through at school has caused you to react in certain ways to certain stimuli. Ranma-san understands that, and does not blame you. Intellectually, he knows that you do not regard him as being like his attackers. The problem is with the tricky underside of the brain, which doesn't always listen to what we know intellectually.”

She frowned and tapped her fingers for a bit before continuing. “The problem is what we do about it. For the most part, you should go on as you have. Any change in routine might reinforce the subconscious notion that you see him as a ‘pervert.’ Try not to treat him any differently right now.

“Over the next few days it might be useful if you make it clear to him that you see him as a boy, yet still like him. Now, I certainly do not mean that you should try to respond to him in a sexual manner, or by telling him he's handsome, or things like that. What I mean is, if you spot any tendency for him to delay changing back to male outside of training or sleeping, then encourage him to be male. And when he is male, be careful to be just as willing to spend time in his presence as when he is female.”

Akane thought about this. The statement about ‘making it clear she saw him as a boy’ had inspired frightening images about trying to kiss Ranma, and she had been quite relieved by the further explanation. “I'll try very hard, Mitaka-san,” she promised. “Is ... is he going to be okay?”

The woman frowned but then nodded. “It is a step back, I'm afraid, but let's not make it out to be worse than it is. Some of the progress he has made, such as interacting with strangers, should not be much affected. What damage occurred was mostly to his self image, yet even so he's still better off in that regard than he was immediately after the attack. It may take a day or so, but he'll regain the ground which was lost.

“However,” the therapist informed her sternly, “that assumes there are no further, similar incidents. Therefore, there is another thing that we, meaning you and I, must deal with. As I said, you are not to blame for your reactions, because those reactions have been, in a sense, trained into you. They have become automatic. Which is unfortunate because your friend has come to admire you, your strength and your moral core. If there are any further accidents of the sort which might trigger such a reaction in you, if he should see you looking at him again in that way, as if he were some sort of pervert, it could hinder his recovery significantly.”

“But what can I do?” Akane protested. “I don't know how to stop thinking like that!”

Mitaka gave Akane a look as if she were deliberately missing the obvious. “Tendo-san, I am a counselor. Unless you have some reason why you wish to continue to distrust all boys, then you could talk to me about these issues. Will you let me help you? You may find some of the topics we discuss very uncomfortable, but I think the end result will be worth it. What do you say?”

Akane wanted to protest, “But I don't need therapy! There's nothing wrong with me! It's the boys who are sick!” She bit back the words with an effort. In just two sessions she had already come to trust the gentle, mature woman in front of her. If Mitaka-sensei felt that she could help her in some way, then Akane would make the effort to try. When she finally spoke aloud, it was to say, “I guess it couldn't hurt.”

As the time passed with no sign of Akane, Ranma found himself glad that her father had come with them. The two were each wrapped up in their own thoughts, but the man's simple presence was a comfort. Quite a change from his initial reaction to the Tendo patriarch, Ranma realized. In any event, he did not really want to be by himself at the moment.

A full hour passed before Akane finally came out of the room. Ranma noticed in confusion that her eyes were a little red and puffy, and wondered if something had upset her. At the same time, she was smiling when she came out, so whatever it was couldn't have been too bad, could it?

Mitaka stepped out as well. “I'll still expect to see both of you tomorrow for your scheduled appointment. Understand?”

“Yes, Mitaka-sensei, we'll be here,” Akane answered. “I'm looking forward to talking to you some more.”

Ranma also nodded his agreement. They both bowed, then turned to leave. Soun began to follow them, then stopped and called out that he would catch up in a few minutes. He turned back to the therapist.

Soun stumbled over his words a bit. “Do you think ... should we ... keep sharp objects away from Ranma-kun?”

Mitaka smiled ruefully and shook her head. “That won't be necessary, Tendo-san. He didn't try to cut himself on purpose, and he doesn't strike me as being the least suicidal. I am actually fairly pleased with his progress, although of course this little incident was a bit of a setback. I assure you that there is no need to worry about anything like that.”

Soun sagged a little, as a tension left him which he hadn't realized he was feeling. “Thank you,” he told her, then left to catch up to his daughter and ... he paused in his thoughts. What was Ranma to him? More than a guest, he realized. He chewed on the ends of his mustache as they walked, worrying over this unexpected idea.

When they reached the Tendo home, Ranma breathed a covert sigh of relief. Then he frowned. He hadn't realized until that moment that he considered this place, this house, as a sort of sanctuary, a haven where he could shut the rest of the world out. That just wouldn't do. It was a weakness, and all of his training screamed that any weakness which could be overcome must be. Ranma resolved to start spending more time out and about town. In fact, he wanted to try to be ready to start school next week. Not that he was looking forward to the classes. But he had hopes that being forced to deal with a school full of people his age would get him back to normal much faster.

Thinking about this, a pained expression crossed his face. ‹If I really plan to start school next week ...› With a heavy sigh, he went looking for Kasumi, to reluctantly ask if she would give him more tutoring in algebra after his evening session with Akane.

Akane sighed as she soaked her sore muscles in the hot water of the furo. The evening practice had been less fun than usual. Ranma had refused to spar with her, writing that he was too tired. Akane knew that wasn't true, but she suspected that he couldn't admit that he felt too fragile to risk fighting so soon after what had happened. Instead of sparring, therefore, he had several times run her through the latest kata they had been working on, then made her spend the rest of the time on speed training exercises. All of which was incredibly tedious and boring.

She sighed deeply, thinking once more that she deserved an equal share of the blame for what happened. She looked over the edge of the furo at the missing tiles on the floor and grimaced, realizing that she was able to acknowledge that much only due to the long talk she had with Mitaka-sensei. True, Ranma had forgotten to hang the ‘occupied’ sign, but he hadn't done it on purpose. She was the one who had failed to notice his clothing in the changing room.

She thought about Ranma sitting in the family room with Kasumi right now, working on math. He seemed determined to be pronounced ready to start school next week. She wondered if some of the rumors would die down once people got to know him, or if they'd only get worse. An unbeckoned image of Ranma standing in the furo appeared to her mind's eye, only to be angrily banished. Akane focused on the horror she had felt when she had realized ... how much of herself Ranma was seeing. Then she pushed that thought away as well, remembering that it wasn't a good idea to dwell on it.

In bed that night, with the sleeping Ranma lying beside her, Akane found herself remembering again how Ranma had looked in the furo. She tried to stop, but it proved difficult. She licked her dry lips. ‹It doesn't mean anything,› Akane reminded herself, ‹just that I'm normal.› She found herself sleepily imagining the scene once more, except in this image Ranma did not notice her entrance, and continued to climb out of the furo and dry himself off.

It was a busy week, with a lot happening both at school and at home. To start with, a scandal involving a couple of teachers captured the attention of most of the school gossips. Akane was relieved to find that this distracted the other students from pestering her so much about Ranma. She still had to put up with an occasional inappropriate question from a few girls at lunch, but little more. Akane also finally realized something to which her anger over the rumors had blinded her the last few days. After Ranma's attack, the boys had taken to treating her as if she were radioactive. They were scared to do anything which might offend her. She considered this to be a less than ideal development, but still an improvement over their previous behavior.

In their Tuesday session with Mitaka, the therapist discussed with Ranma his desire to begin school soon versus continuing private tutoring at home for a while. Ranma was vehement about starting as soon as possible. He was equally determined that his curse be kept secret. Mitaka argued with him on this point, insisting that at the very least his teachers should know about it, although also expressing concern over what might happen if he were to change by accident and without forewarning in front of his fellow students. In the end she accepted his argument to hide it for a time until his schoolmates could be conditioned to think of him as a male, in exchange for his agreement to reveal the curse to the teachers. This pleased Ranma at having won what he saw as a concession on her part.

As a result of this decision, when the homeroom teacher made a return visit to the Tendo home the next day, Ranma demonstrated the transformation several times for the man. He changed back and forth between his male and female forms until the teacher was finally able to accept the evidence of his eyes. The shaken man agreed to relay the information in confidence to the other teachers.

Ranma managed to get over his bout of nervousness in regard to how to act around Akane in the dojo, and so sparring was once again a part of their training sessions. On Wednesday before school, he asked Akane if he might go along with her on her morning jog. On receiving her permission, he accompanied her that day and every day thereafter, always pushing her to go a little faster and farther.

Later in the week, Kasumi privately told the other family members that in addition to these jogs and walking with herself to places like the market, Ranma was also going out for long walks while Akane and Nabiki were in school. According to Kasumi, he usually looked a little shaky when he returned, but he would go out the next day again regardless.

Also on Wednesday, Kuno returned to school, but Akane barely saw him. In fact, on those occasions when she did spot him, he always seemed to be going in some other direction, and in a hurry to reach his destination. One might almost conclude that he was avoiding her. It was certainly unexpected, but Akane decided she wasn't going to complain.

Kasumi and Akane developed a habit of discussing Ranma during the dinner preparations, once the two younger teens were done with their afternoon training session and he was in the bath. Akane rationalized these talks to herself by claiming that she was just gathering information for her discussions with Mitaka. But when Kasumi happened to mention that she was coming to look upon Ranma like a younger brother, it forced Akane to try to sort out her own feelings.

She knew she considered Ranma to be a friend, but not a friend like Yuka or Sayuri. He was a boy, but maybe that wasn't so terrible after all. Sometimes he annoyed her, especially when he was showing off his martial arts skills which were still so much better than hers. Sometimes he would tease her deliberately, write things that poked fun at her and she would start to get upset. Then there were times that he seemed quietly happy just to be spending time with her. In the end, Akane decided that thinking about it made her head hurt. The only thing she was sure of was that she didn't think of Ranma as her brother.

Nabiki was making progress of her own. She no longer looked uncomfortable when Ranma entered a room she was in. On several occasions she even managed to converse with him normally, such as the sarcastic and joking comments they both made, his written, concerning the contestants in an athletically oriented game show the family watched on television Thursday night.

On Friday afternoon at the conclusion of their session, Mitaka pronounced Ranma ready to return to school on the coming Monday. But with one exception.

“Under no circumstances will you be permitted to participate in gym class,” she stated in uncompromising tones. “Not until I decide you're ready. I've already told your gym teacher at Furinkan.”

Ranma's jaw dropped in impotent outrage. He immediately began scribbling down a protest, the force of which caused a couple of small rips in the paper. “But that's the one class I'd be good at!” he wrote.

“You might be an excellent athlete, but have you really thought it through?” Mitaka looked him in the eye unwaveringly. “Students wear special uniforms for gym. I think it would be a very bad idea to have you changing clothes in a locker room with all of those other boys. Frankly, I think you would have a hard enough time with that alone, but consider what might happen! Suppose that you were splashed with water under such circumstances, while partially undressed.”

Ranma winced at this image. After thinking it over for a minute, he slowly wrote a response and proffered it to her with a hopeful expression. “I could change in the restroom.”

Mitaka smiled regretfully and shook her head. “Do you truly wish to be singled out in that way? You will already be set apart by being mute. How would you explain that you won't change clothes with the other boys? Not to mention putting up with the gossip any such explanation would cause.”

She sighed. “Besides, that's not my only concern. By its very nature, gym encourages contact sports, especially between males. Even those sports which do not intentionally involve contact, such as basketball, are not free of it. The other boys would be making rapid movements near you, brushing up against you, accidentally running into you. I don't think you are anywhere near ready to deal with such occurrences. Do you?”

Ranma could just picture it. He pictured some boy tackling him while horsing around in gym, as he remembered happening a few times in middle school. He then pictured what he would do as a result, followed by the image of the ambulance in which the boy would ride to the hospital afterward. He shook his head glumly in answer to his therapist's question, unhappily agreeing with her assessment.

The weekend passed by. Sunday night was almost as bad as the one a week ago. Between the two week anniversary of the attack which had robbed him of his speech and confidence, and his natural worries about starting at a new school the next day while still in the process of piecing himself back together, Ranma could not settle down at all. Akane held him close for a long time, soothing his long red hair back from his face and crooning lullabies she barely remembered, before he finally fell into a troubled sleep.

Monday morning began for Ranma with familiar routine. Sparring in the dojo first, followed by a morning jog with Akane, and then a delicious breakfast. Things diverged after that. He dressed in the new school uniform, picked up the school bag containing his textbooks and other supplies and went downstairs. There Kasumi handed him a bento, one which was noticeably larger than Akane's and Nabiki's. Slipping on his shoes, he left the house with the two younger sisters.

Nabiki and Akane chatted a little as they walked. Both girls tried to include him in the conversation, but unfortunately it wasn't very convenient to write on his pad while strolling down the street. He jumped up onto the first fence they reached and continued walking, as much at ease as he had been on the sidewalk. More so, in fact. From up there he had a much better view of his surroundings. He was completely oblivious to the effect his action had on Nabiki. The normally phlegmatic mercenary middle Tendo daughter stopped short and stared at him in astonishment. Akane stopped after a few more steps and looked back at her sister, then looked up to where Nabiki was staring at Ranma. She, of course, was quite used by now to Ranma's habit of seeking the heights, although her reaction had not been so different from Nabiki's the first time he'd done it on the way to the appointment with his therapist.

“Oh!” Akane exclaimed, in a tone of enlightenment. “I guess you haven't had a chance to see Ranma walking up on the fences yet. He does things like that all the time. He says it's important to constantly train your sense of balance, to keep it in top shape.” She cast a slightly envious look toward Ranma, where he had stopped to wait. “He also claims that in another week or two, he's going to make me start doing things like that as well. Although he promised to start with walls which are a little wider than that fence.”

Nabiki had finally managed to close her mouth, and chuckled at the last part of what Akane said. “You mind if I take bets on how often you fall down the first week?”

A piece of paper fluttered down past Nabiki's nose, and she snatched it out of the air. It said, “Put me down for three times, one thousand yen.”

Nabiki looked up at the boy above them. “You sure?” she choked out. Ranma nodded. “Okay ... and thanks. That'll help me set the odds.”

Akane pouted. “I can't believe you two are betting over me like that. Now come on, I don't want to be late today.”

Ranma jumped down at an approaching intersection. He saw a familiar gate coming up. ‹She's not going to get me today,› he told himself firmly. He approached the gate slowly, extending his senses. He poked his nose around the edge. No sign of her. He looked all the way around, carefully, while Akane and Nabiki stared and wondered what he was doing. Finally, with an air of relief, Ranma walked on. And was promptly nailed by a splash from the ladle.

The red-haired girl spun around and glared at the old woman. ‹I swear, she must have been trained as a ninja,› he groused. Unable to properly vent his rage on one of her advanced years, Ranma turned back around and stomped off toward Tofu's clinic, as he had on each of the previous occasions when this happened during his walks. Every time he passed that particular gate. No matter what time of day, or which direction. Every time.

Nabiki saw no reason to wait for him and end up late for school, so she continued on her way. Akane, however, accompanied Ranma to Tofu's clinic, for the splash of hot water which allowed him to become male again. Then they ran for school, arriving shortly before the bell rang. Akane thought with relief that it was a good thing the hentai horde and Kuno no longer attacked her in the morning, or else they would have been late for sure.

Ranma saw a sign reading “1-F” outside the classroom door they entered. Akane marched up to the boy sitting at the desk beside hers and spoke a single word, “Move.” He looked up at her face, then gathered his things and went to sit at a previously unused desk. Akane motioned Ranma to sit where the other boy had been, then took her own seat at the desk to his right.

When the teacher entered the classroom a few seconds after the bell, he looked over in Ranma's direction. “Ah, yes. Class, we have a new student joining us today. If you could please stand and introduce yourself?”

Ranma stood, but gave the teacher a disgusted look. Akane said, “Sensei ...” in a tone that caused the man to flush in embarrassment.

“Oh. Sorry. I'm afraid I forgot,” he apologized. “Tendo-san, perhaps you could introduce him?”

Akane also stood. “This is Ranma-kun. He is staying as a guest at my house. He's a skilled martial artist, as some of you have good cause to be aware.” Several of the boys flinched. “He is also, unfortunately, unable to speak. He can hear and understand you perfectly well, but he must write things down to communicate with you.”

“Thank you, Tendo-san,” the teacher said. “Please resume your seats, and everyone take out your textbook and turn to page ...”

The classes were as boring and tedious as Ranma had envisioned, and he had trouble staying awake. Lunch came as a welcome relief. He grabbed his bento and headed outside, then hesitated. He saw Akane sitting down with some other girls, and felt that he shouldn't intrude.

A couple of boys saw him standing there, and waved for him to come over and join them. With a sense of relief he did so, hoping they would prove to be okay guys, and not the sort of perverted jerks that Akane complained about. He opened his bento, then delighted his taste buds with the results of Kasumi's efforts.

As the food disappeared, one of the boys leaned over and asked, “So are you and Tendo-san a couple? Man, you are sooooo lucky. Have you gotten to second base with her yet?”

Ranma froze, and the boy who had not yet spoken edged away as he realized that the new kid was glowing. Striking like a snake, Ranma grabbed the front of the first boy's shirt, and stood up, lifting him off his feet. The collar tightened around the boy's neck, choking him.

“Sorry ... sorry ...” he managed to gasp out.

Half the school population was out in the yard, and all eyes turned to where Hiroshi was dangling several centimeters above the ground, with his face slowly turning blue. Akane cursed, making a pretty good guess about the sort of thing Hiroshi might have said, and ran over.

“Ranma! Ranma, stop it! Whatever he said, it's not worth it!” Ranma looked at her, stubbornly, his arm not wavering. Akane grabbed his arm, not budging it. “Dammit! Listen to me! Hiroshi, whatever you said, take it back!”

“I ... take it ... back,” the boy choked. “Never ... say it ... again.”

Ranma glared at him, then put him on his feet and spun him around to face Akane. Hiroshi gasped in air, but found that iron hard fingers were holding his arms, preventing him from fleeing. Akane looked puzzled as she realized that Ranma was forcing Hiroshi to face her. She looked at the boy and said, “Ranma seems to want you to say something to me.”

Hiroshi flushed, and panic made his knees weak. How the hell had he gotten himself into this? The fingers dug into his arms, painfully. “I ... I'm afraid ... I said something stupid. I'm very sorry. I promise that I'll never say anything improper about you again, Tendo-san.”

Akane sighed. While she herself might be prone to violence where the jerks at school were concerned, Ranma's reaction was a little too extreme. She resolved to speak to Mitaka-sensei about it at their appointment the next day. “Your apology is accepted, for now. I strongly suggest you not repeat your mistake.”

Hiroshi shook his head violently from side to side. Ranma finally released him, and the boy ran off as fast as he could. Akane gave Ranma a long look, then shook her head, and went back to join her friends.

Ranma sat back down, then raised his eyebrows as the other boy sat beside him again. Daisuke figured that, by sheer dumb-ass luck, he was in the clear. Hiroshi had stuck his foot in it before he himself had a chance to speak. His curiosity won out over his fear, as he figured he was safe so long as he didn't say anything inappropriate about Akane.

“So ... Ranma?” Daisuke began. “You have any name besides Ranma? I'm Daisuke by the way, and the jerk you choked was Hiroshi.”

Ranma shook his head. He pulled out his pad and wrote, “Just Ranma.”

“Where'd you live before you came here?” Daisuke asked.

Ranma wrote, “All over. No permanent home. Four months in China before Nerima.”

“China? Cool!” After a moment he asked, “Are you really that good at martial arts?”

Ranma smiled and wrote, “I'm the best.”

Daisuke cocked an eyebrow. “Even better than Akane, er, Tendo-san? I mean, she's really, really good.”

Ranma thought about this before writing. “Tendo-san is very good. I'm training her.”

The boy beside him exclaimed, “Wow! Everyone's gonna be interested to hear that, I'll tell you.” He paused, then went on hesitantly. “Now, I'm not gonna say anything bad about Tendo-san, and I don't want to make you angry, but ... are you and she a couple?”

Ranma shook his head and wrote, “No. Just friends.” He hesitated, then wrote more. “She is special. No one better say anything wrong about her. Tell them for me.”

Daisuke looked around. Many people were watching them nervously. “I, uh, kinda think they already got the message.”

That afternoon on leaving school, Ranma had to expend considerable effort trying to cajole Akane out of her apologetic mood. She kept looking at the bandage on his face and wincing. He had already explained that it wasn't her fault. Yes, she had hit the ball which had struck him in the face while he was sitting out the gym class on the sidelines, but he should have been more alert and dodged or caught it.

Akane finally started to listen to him and settle down while she sat in the clinic watching Doctor Tofu treat the injury. Unfortunately, this was shortly followed by Ranma's first opportunity to witness the doctor in full-blown Kasumi-induced insanity, to which he fell unfortunate victim. His head remained bent at an unnatural angle for over an hour until one of Akane's blows got through during sparring and happened to straighten it out.

School sorted itself out much faster than either Akane or Ranma had feared. The other boys did get the message, and carefully avoided certain topics in Ranma's hearing. Kuno kept his distance, which Ranma hoped meant the older boy had chosen the better part of valor, but the truth was that Kuno had not yet decided how he would attempt to deal with the “demon.” The other students were fascinated by Ranma's martial arts skills, and plied him with safe questions on that subject, along with requests for demonstrations.

In spite of the care he took, there were a couple of accidents at school involving Ranma's curse. But as there were no direct witnesses Akane was able to do some fast talking on both occasions to keep people from becoming suspicious. They might have worried a little more if they knew that Kuno had put his own interpretation on the incidents.

Ranma also had to concentrate hard to maintain a calm facade in the middle of the press of people at the school. Luckily, no one twigged to his small nervous twitches when boys made sudden motions around him. Ruefully, Ranma had to concede that Mitaka had been right that he wouldn't have been ready to handle participating in gym class.

Nabiki had, teasingly, threatened to sell the information at school that Ranma and Akane were sleeping in the same bed. She had nearly wet herself at suddenly finding Ranma's eyes two centimeters in front of hers, with a low grumbling growl coming from deep in his throat. She had hastily explained that she was, of course, only joking, and would never do anything like that to her dear little sister. Akane said nothing but she knew better and resolved to keep a very close eye indeed on her dear older sister.

Unfortunately for the mercenary middle Tendo, it was only the next day after this incident that Ranma learned from one of his classmates that Nabiki had been selling photographs of Akane to the boys at school, including Kuno. He immediately sought her out, extracted a stack of unsold pictures which were still in her possession, picked her up with one arm around her stomach so she was dangling horizontally above the ground, and carried her all the way home. He dropped her in front of Kasumi and held out the photographs he had confiscated, as both an explanation and a condemnation. Turning on his heel, he went back to school, leaving Nabiki to the very thorough and well-deserved scolding she had earned.

Much later, alone in her room and in disgrace, Nabiki found herself feeling most thankful that the photos of Akane she had sold were all reasonably decent. Just shots of her working out, wearing a gi. She was even more thankful that she had not yet made up her mind about selling some of the photographs she had taken of Ranma's girl side. She quietly destroyed those, with no one the wiser.

The last bell had rung on Thursday of that week, and students were pouring out of the school. Hiroshi was the first one out of the gate, barely in advance of the crowd, when a hand picked him up and pushed him against the wall, trapping him there. The arm holding him was attached to a boy of about his age, heavily muscled and covered in dust. Hiroshi moaned, thinking that this just wasn't his week.

“You there!” said the one holding him in a voice devoid of patience. “Can you tell me where I might find Furinkan High School?”

Hiroshi blinked, then turned his head to the side to confirm that yes, he was being held right beside the sign which read, “Furinkan High School.”

“Um, this is Furinkan High School,” he got out.

“Yes, at last I've found it!” The strange boy shouted this to the heavens and barked a grim laugh, a light of anticipation in his eye. He turned back to Hiroshi. “And can you tell me where I might find Ranma Saotome?”

Hiroshi answered, “Um, there's a new kid named Ranma, but I don't know any other name for him. I've never heard the name Saotome.”

His assailant snorted, “It must be him! Where is he?”

Hiroshi turned his head to look the other way, through the gate. He pointed. The other boy's eyes followed, and a fanged grin appeared. Hiroshi found himself dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

Ranma was walking beside Akane toward the school gate when he sensed imminent danger. He shoved her to the side, then jumped away himself just before a boy landed atop an umbrella where Ranma had been standing. The ground exploded under the impact, leaving a crater.

People stopped and stared. The unknown boy stood up, closed his umbrella, and pointed it at Ranma. Ranma stood with fists clenched in front of him. This jackass might have hurt Akane!

The boy holding the umbrella spoke loudly. “At last I've found you! Because of you, I've seen hell! Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!”

Akane's eyes swiveled around from the stranger to Ranma in shock. ‹Ranma Saotome? Wasn't Saotome the name of daddy's friend, the one who's supposed to have a son named Ranma? What's going on?›