Chapter 6. Gymnastics

Akane and Ranma stood on the wall, looking down into the courtyard on the other side. There, they saw a girl wearing a brown school uniform, being menaced by three opponents whose faces were hidden by bandages. Nabiki, in her role of counting the number of times Akane fell while wall-walking, had been following the two in a more normal fashion, along the sidewalk. Noticing that they had stopped, she stopped as well, but was unable to see what had captured their attention. She called up to them for information.

Instead of answering her sister, Akane turned to Ranma, asking, “Do you think we should do something? It is three to one odds.”

Ranma was female, due to having been splashed on the way home by the old woman, the one he had come to think of as the ‘ninja ladle lady.’ He considered Akane's question while he watched the scene playing out in front of him. The way the girl positioned herself, the confidence in her stance, indicated a certain amount of martial arts skill, and she seemed to be very graceful in her movements. He suspected she could defend herself fairly well, and if not, they could intervene easily. He turned to face Akane for a brief moment, shook his head in the negative, then turned back to continue watching.

Nabiki again demanded to know what was going on. She had an instinct for the sort of thing that could be used to earn funds and right now that instinct was telling her that this was something she should know about.

Akane turned to answer Nabiki just as the three bandaged figures pulled out clubs and attacked. The girl snapped out some sort of long ribbon, and used it to beat her opponents off with ease. Akane and Ranma weren't close enough to hear anything that was being said, but they could see it all clearly enough.

The three attackers crouched down, utterly beaten and covering their heads with bandaged hands. The ribbon kept snapping, inflicting further damage on them, despite the fact that they were obviously helpless. Ranma waved Akane to follow, then jumped down into the middle of the one-sided battle, where he grabbed the end of the long ribbon with one hand. He studied the girl at the other end with a quizzical expression.

The girl wielding the ribbon stared back at Ranma, seeing only a girl who had dared to interfere. She spoke, sounding amused despite glittering eyes, “You caught that ribbon as if it were nothing! If you'll forgive me, you seem to be no ordinary girl.”

She seemed to pay no attention to Akane, who had landed just to one side of Ranma. At least, not until Akane laughed and answered, “Yeah, you might say that.”

The girl gave Akane a look of disdain, declaring, “Good, because I prefer not to treat girls with ordinary courtesy!” She moved even as she spoke, using a foot to gracefully flip one of the discarded clubs up into the air. She caught it easily and lunged forward to strike at Ranma's head.

Ranma was no longer there. Although the girl attacked swiftly, without provocation and without telegraphing her intent, he ducked under the blow, and swept his attacker's legs out from under her. She recovered immediately, somersaulting to land back on her feet. Ranma and Akane both shifted into subtle stances, in case she should try to attack again.

As it turned out, she did nothing of the sort. She posed before them, sneering. “You are quite good, but I am the Black Rose of St. Hebereke School for Girls. Kodachi, the Black Rose. Please don't forget it.” A rose appeared in her hand, which did indeed have black petals. With a flick of her wrist she tossed it to Ranma, then jumped away over the wall, laughing maniacally.

Nabiki had spent the entirety of the short fight looking for a gate in the wall and she entered the courtyard just in time to witness this departure. Scowling with frustration, she demanded, “Who the hell was that? What is going on?”

“She said her name was Kodachi,” Akane told her sister, “Kodachi the Black Rose.” She pointed at the flower Ranma was holding. “You know, sort of like old Blue Thunder Kuno. Come to think of it, she talks a bit like Kuno too.”

The three bandaged figures were suddenly kneeling around Akane. “Oh, Tendo-san, you have to help us,” they wailed.

Akane had stiffened at their sudden motion, wondering if they were about to attack, and was slow to relax even after their posture made it apparent they would not. “Wh-What's going on?” Akane stammered nervously. “Who are you?”

They ripped the bandages from their faces, revealing three girls who were in the same grade at Furinkan as Akane and Ranma. “We're the Furinkan Rhythmic Gymnastic Team!” said one.

“We've been so humiliated!” cried another.

“That Kodachi ambushed us!” exclaimed the third.

“She injured all three of you?” Nabiki asked.

“Yes,” answered the first girl. “The entire team is unable to compete. We'll have to withdraw from the match with St. Hebereke.”

“That's why she did it,” the second girl added. “Kodachi is the captain of the gymnastic team at St. Hebereke.”

“Could you take our place, Tendo-san?” the third girl begged. “There's nothing else we can do. The match is supposed to be a martial arts contest. The schools' champions fight with the techniques of rhythmic gymnastics.”

“Well ...” Akane's expression firmed. “Very well. I will avenge you! When is the match?”

“Oh, thank you, Tendo-san!” all three gymnasts cried. “The match is one week from today, at St. Hebereke.”

Ranma, listening to the exchange, felt increasingly dubious about the whole affair. True, Akane was an excellent martial artist by ordinary standards, and was even approaching the qualification of “good” by his standards. A long, long way from being his equal, but then he felt that way about everyone. The point was, in a straight up martial arts contest with this Kodachi, he'd bet on Akane to win hands down.

The problem was, it didn't sound like it was supposed to be an ordinary martial arts contest. They had said something about fighting with the techniques of rhythmic gymnastics, whatever the hell those were. Did Akane know anything about such a sport? He knew that he didn't. This Kodachi had some martial arts skill and, as captain of her team, was probably very skilled at this gymnastics stuff.

On the other hand, Akane had already given her word. Ranma pulled out his pad and wrote, “Akane needs someone to teach her these gymnastic techniques. Are you fit enough to do so?” He showed the paper to the girls.

“Oh, Ranma, it's you!” one of the girls exclaimed. “I forgot about your curse. Yes, I think we can help Tendo-san to learn the techniques.” She looked around at the other girls, who nodded, although they now seemed a little less enthusiastic. “We only have a week so we'll have to practice pretty extensively.”

Akane suggested, “We can use my dojo. Can you come over every afternoon and evening, between now and the match?”

Again the three girls consulted one another by eye, then nodded. “Yes, we'll do it. We have to. We'll show that Kodachi!”

One girl looked at Ranma, her eyes traveling up and down his female form. “You should have a second at the match, and it would help to have a training partner. Could you do it Ranma?”

Nabiki let out a sudden snort. “Don't the contestants wear leotards for these events?” she inquired innocently. “Tight, formfitting leotards? I admit, it'll be interesting to see Ranma, as a girl, wearing something like that.”

Ranma's cheeks colored. The idea of the men in the audience ogling his female form in a leotard was intensely unsettling. On the other hand, Akane needed him. Someone had to be her second, and in his opinion he was definitely the best qualified. It might not be so bad, he tried to tell himself, since Akane would be the one doing the actual fighting and should therefore get most of the attention. He wrote, “I'll do it,” and showed the words to Akane and the gymnasts.

“Great!” one of the gymnasts enthused. “We'll meet you at your house in, say, half an hour?”

“We'll be waiting,” Akane promised.

The training session started out as badly as Ranma had envisioned. He watched in resignation as Akane dropped clubs, broke a hoop, and tangled herself up in a ribbon. He didn't do much better himself.

Thankfully, the girls of the Furinkan Rhythmic Gymnastics Team were patient, and did not become too very discouraged by these initial blunders. He and Akane started doing better once they began listening to advice and worked on mastering the basics before trying the fancy stuff. They had barely reached that point when they had to call a halt so that Akane and Ranma could keep their Tuesday appointment.

Mitaka was generally supportive concerning the match. The audience would mostly be focused on the two opponents in the ring, Akane and Kodachi. As such, Ranma should not be feeling the weight of the crowd's regard so much as to become upset by it, and it might do some good to spend time in a public setting in his female form. She considered the potential problems if something were to happen to Akane and Ranma were to take her place in the match. Mitaka decided not to bring up this unlikely possibility with the two teenagers, but privately concluded that if any such thing did happen, she would insist that Ranma forfeit the match.

The evening session was spent drilling the same basic moves over and over again. Ranma mastered each move first, which Akane found a bit disheartening, but he would then work on it with her until she had it as well. The biggest problem was that the gymnasts who were teaching them were too injured to show them the moves as they were meant to be performed. Some techniques they could perform in slow motion, but for others they had to settle for describing it until Akane or Ranma figured out what they were supposed to do.

None of them saw the figure which appeared atop the wall that surrounded the Tendo property, a figure which silently watched the goings on through the open door of the dojo. Kodachi was amused that the Furinkan gymnasts would ask for help from such untrained girls. Almost she was tempted to let the match proceed, so that she might humiliate the Furinkan “champion” in front of an audience. However, this went against her principles, and she resolved to deal with this girl Akane Tendo in the usual manner later that night.

After the other girls finally left, Akane told Ranma that she was exhausted and went in to soak in the furo for a while. Ranma sighed with relief as he changed back to a boy after having spent most of the afternoon and evening in his cursed form. Left to his own devices, he decided to wander out into the yard, to enjoy the cool night air and the light of the nearly full moon. He spent the time reflecting on some of the things he had discussed with Mitaka-sensei that afternoon. In addition to the gymnastics match, they had talked about the neko-ken training Ranma had been subjected to by his father at the age of ten, and some of the unresolved issues he still had from that experience.

After her bath, Akane went up to her bedroom wearing pajamas. In her fatigued state, she completely forgot that she should find Ranma and tell him that the furoba was now free for his use. She had barely entered the room when her instincts screamed a warning at her, and she dove to one side just in time to avoid the weapon targeting her head.

Kodachi cursed as she dropped to the floor and the large mallet she swung barely missed the Tendo girl. She had been clinging to the ceiling for nearly half an hour since the girl had come back into the house, and was quite incensed that after such a long wait she had failed in her attack.

“Kodachi!” snarled Akane. “So now you're trying to ambush me as well?”

“Ambush?!” protested Kodachi with an air of total innocence. “What a nasty way to put it! I simply believe in fighting in all fairness ... before the match.” She hefted her mallet again.

Akane eyed the other girl warily, prepared for anything she might attempt. Kodachi stepped forward confidently and swung her mallet. Having watched the training session, Kodachi thought she had Akane's measure. This was a mistake, as Ranma could have told the gymnast. As Ranma had realized earlier that day, in an ordinary fight the odds were heavily in Akane's favor.

Akane ducked under the swing, placing herself behind Kodachi as the momentum of the heavy hammer carried her forward. Akane's leg snapped out straight, the heel of her foot driving into her attacker's back. Kodachi flew out the bedroom window, dazed by the blow.

Ranma was standing in the yard below, and had looked up when he heard noises coming from above. In astonishment, he saw a figure hurtle out of the window, in an uncontrolled tumble. Without pausing to think, Ranma jumped into the air. He caught the person in mid-flight, and landed with her on the roof. It was only then that he identified her as the girl he'd seen fighting the Furinkan gymnasts earlier in the day.

Kodachi looked up into the face of the young man holding her in his arms, who had just saved her from a nasty fall. ‹Oh, he's gorgeous,› she thought. ‹I must have him! A little show of fear on my part should encourage my bold rescuer.›

Kodachi threw her arms around Ranma, hugging him tightly, fingers gripping his shirt. “Oh! I was so frightened!” she exclaimed. “How can I thank you?” She was careful to rub certain portions of herself against the young man.

Ranma's sensitive nerves were jangling. He didn't like having some stranger holding him like this, pressing herself against him. He began breathing hard, and tried to detach her. At first his attempt was gentle, but as she continued to cling he became more desperate, causing Kodachi to gasp in pain as she finally released him. He watched her warily, trying unsuccessfully to slow his breathing, to calm down.

‹He's shy. How cute. And so strong!› Kodachi thought, breathing hard herself for a very different reason. ‹I'd nearly given up hope of finding a man to love. To think that such a wonderful encounter was waiting for me!›

Kodachi rearranged her expression into what she imagined to be an appearance of a shy young woman, and asked, “Please, sir, may I ask your name?”

Ranma, having no means to answer, could only shake his head slightly.

Kodachi giggled. “There is no need to be so shy, kind sir. Here, would you please accept these as a token of my gratitude.” From somewhere behind herself, Kodachi pulled out a bunch of black roses and held them forward.

In the room below, Akane was looking out of her window, wondering if Kodachi had run off. She heard voices from above, and turned her face up to look at the eave of the roof. Coming to a decision, she climbed up onto her windowsill.

Ranma, barely starting to recover from his small panic attack and not knowing what else to do, took the flowers from Kodachi. Just as she released the stems, he felt a brief puff of air in his face. It was suddenly difficult to move, and he felt himself falling to the roof tiles.

Kodachi caught hold of him as he fell, and eased Ranma to a reclining position. All of his previous nervousness was suddenly back, full force. The girl explained, “You'll be fine. Just a bit of paralysis gas in the bouquet.”

Ranma looked up at her angrily. This girl was completely insane! He tried desperately to move his arms or legs, but they would not answer to him. Fear started to flood into him as he felt himself flashing back on another occasion when he had been unable to move his arms or legs.

Kodachi straddled Ranma's body, pressing herself against him. She looked into Ranma's eyes from a short distance and in a sultry voice said, “Now, my handsome samurai, be bold, be brave, and take these lips of mine!” She pressed her chest against his and slowly moved her face forward to kiss the boy deeply.

Ranma saw it coming and started screaming inside his head. He was helpless, again! Someone had bound his body so that he couldn't move, and was about to take her pleasure from him against his will, with no concern for what he might want. When she finished speaking and her face began its descent toward his, Ranma once again felt the neko-ken riding upon the terror and pressing into his mind. This time he welcomed it, and the cat roared into him.

Akane jumped up to the roof just in time to see Kodachi pause, her lips a bare centimeter from Ranma's. Both girls had felt the aura explode into existence around Ranma, crackling like static electricity. Ranma's humanity slipped away from his mind as the cat took over, and his mouth opened and released a roar of fury, startling Kodachi, but startling Akane even more. It was the first true sound she had ever heard Ranma voice.

Time had seemed to slow, though only scant seconds passed from the moment the strange aura had enveloped Ranma. Kodachi had begun to react to the roar from the boy below her, but had only moved back a few centimeters when she felt a blow slam into her gut. However, the blow was as nothing compared to the piercing, ripping sensation which tore into her belly.

Kodachi's scream tore through the stillness of the dark night.

Akane had frozen at the sound of Ranma's roar, but now ran forward as Kodachi fell to Ranma's side. Nearby streetlights allowed her to dimly see the dark liquid flowing off of the girl's stomach and starting to run in thin rivulets down the slope of the roof. She heard her family calling out below, asking what was going on, as she fell to her knees beside the gymnast and tried to staunch the flow.

“Ranma, what have you done?” Akane yelled harshly. “Go and get help! Hurry!” Instead the boy came up beside her, on all fours, and she heard a low grumbling coming from his throat. Glancing to the side, she saw him watching Kodachi, with a look which suggested he was thinking of finishing her off.

Several things clicked for Akane, and she realized that Ranma must have used the neko-ken. More, that he wasn't in control, that there was currently no human mind there for her to try to reach. Icy fingers ran along her spine as she wondered whether he might attack her as well. She had little time to spend on fear, however, given the problem in front of her.

Akane called out to the voices from below, which were still trying to pinpoint the disturbance and find out what had happened. “Kasumi, call an ambulance, fast! I'm up on the roof, and there's someone here who's bleeding to death! Daddy, come up here and help me get her down! Ranma's in the neko-ken and can't understand me!”

Akane hoped her father wouldn't choose this moment to break down and get all emotional. She wasn't very worried about it, though, since she herself wasn't hurt. A moment later a ladder appeared at the edge of the roof and Soun climbed up and hurried over. He stopped short, however, when a hissing Ranma jumped menacingly in front of him.

“Oh, damn! Ranma, please!” Akane was nearly ready to start crying. She saw Nabiki's face appear atop the ladder and shouted, “Nabiki, he might let you past. Get over here, please?”

Nabiki finished climbing to the roof and hurried over. It took all of her willpower to scoot past Ranma, who was giving her a look which made her blood run cold. Akane quickly had Nabiki take her place, to press on the four punctures in Kodachi's abdomen, and then she ran over to Ranma. She wrapped her arms around him and started speaking as soothingly as she could manage under the circumstances.

“Ranma, you've got to let daddy help. Please, Ranma, listen to me. Let daddy by. Let us help Kodachi. Can you understand? ...”

She went on in this vein. Soun noted that Ranma seemed to have turned his attention on Akane and slipped past. He hastily assessed the situation, then told his middle daughter, “Follow me down quickly.” With one last look to where Akane was still holding Ranma, Soun lifted the unfamiliar girl into his arms. Praying that he still remembered how to do this, he jumped from the roof, and landed lightly on the ground below.

Soun quickly lay the girl down on the engawa. Kasumi appeared at that moment carrying a towel, and her father ripped open the portion of the girl's leotard where she had been wounded and pressed the folded towel against the injury. He directed Kasumi to lift the girl's legs a little. When Nabiki came in sight, he directed her to go get a couple of blankets.

Up on the roof, Akane was still holding Ranma, trying to soothe him. It seemed to be working, as he didn't seem to be as tense any longer. He looked up at her and made a little sound. It sounded like a cat's meow, vaguely interrogative.

“Oh, Ranma,” Akane said quietly, tears leaking out. “Why did this have to happen?” She looked at him, his eyes regarding her with an innocence free of malice. Ranma lay down on the roof, curling up next to her, and Akane heard a soft rumbling coming from him. After it continued for a minute or so, Akane realized that he was purring.

She smiled down at him. “Well, at least in this state you can speak to me. I wonder how to get you back, so I can ask what happened? You never said how you come out of it.”

A siren approached and stopped in the street outside. Akane listened to the sound of the paramedics working below. “I wonder what daddy told them? I suppose he can honestly say he has no idea what happened. For that matter, he can tell them he doesn't even know who she is. Nabiki knows, but she'll keep her wits about her.”

Before long, the noises below indicated that they were carrying Kodachi away. The siren faded into the distance. A minute later Soun climbed back up to the roof and stared down at his youngest daughter and house guest. “What happened?” he asked wearily.

“That was Kodachi, the gymnast I was supposed to fight next week,” Akane told him. “She was waiting in my room after my bath and attacked me. I kicked her out through the window. When I looked out to see if she was all right, I couldn't see her.

“Then I heard sounds from the roof. When I jumped up, Kodachi was on top of Ranma and at that very moment he went into the neko-ken. I could feel it. It was the scariest thing I ever felt. He punched her in the stomach and ... well, you saw the result.”

“So you don't know what was happening before that?” Soun asked.

Akane shook her head. “No. We'll have to wait and ask Ranma. He seems to think he's a cat right now, just like he told us. Do you have any idea how to bring him back?”

Her father shook his head. A voice came from the ladder, and father and daughter looked over to see Nabiki's head poking up. “Why not pour some ice water on him? If the shock of the water doesn't bring him out of it, maybe the transformation to female will.”

Akane looked over at Nabiki in astonishment, then chuckled. “Maybe that'll work. It's worth trying anyway. Thanks, sis.” She looked up at Soun. “Could you get some ice water, daddy?”

He nodded and climbed back down. Before long he was back with a pitcher of water. As he handed it to her, he complained, “I'm either getting old, or I've let myself get too out of shape. Three times up that ladder, and I'm feeling a little out of breath.”

Akane forbore to comment. She stood up, mumbled a quick prayer, and poured. Ranma leaped into the air, shaking wildly.

He stopped and looked around more slowly. His damp state and female attributes penetrated his awareness, and he saw Akane holding a pitcher. Soun was also standing nearby, and Nabiki was sitting at the edge of the roof looking smug. Ranma dug into his pocket for his pad and pen, pulling them out after a moment's struggle.

“What happened?” he wrote.

Akane pulled her friend into a hug with a happy exclamation of, “It worked!”

Nabiki preened herself over by the ladder. “Well, I thought it might.”

Ranma looked from one to the other, and over to the girls' father who wore a serious expression. He pushed his pad toward Akane again, emphatically, wanting an answer.

Akane squinted to read the words in the dim light which was available. “That's what we'd like to know,” she told him. “But let's get down and go inside where it'll be easier to read what you write.”

Akane and Ranma jumped down to the ground, followed more slowly by Nabiki and Soun who both used the ladder. When they entered the family room they were met by Kasumi, who was already holding a steaming kettle of water. Ranma nodded absentminded thanks as she poured it over his head to restore his male body, but his attention was clearly focused on filling in the blanks of what had happened on the roof.

He quickly summarized what he could remember of how things began, together with how he had felt and his speculations on why it had roused the neko-ken. “The last thing I can remember was her lips about to kiss me,” he wrote. “Then I felt the neko-ken fill me. After that, nothing.”

He paused, then wrote, “Does anyone know if she did kiss me?”

“Why? Did you want her to kiss you?” Akane hissed, glaring at him.

Ranma stared at her, then his brows lowered. He stood up and walked outside. He stopped in front of a tree and seemed to be contemplating it. Suddenly his fist shot out, punching the tree so hard that several leaves fluttered down. After another minute of contemplation he came back in and sat down again.

Lifting his pad he wrote “NO!” and handed her the sheet. The next sheet he gave her contained only the word, “IDIOT.” Akane looked angry, but Ranma was already writing again. “Sometimes I want my voice back just so I can yell back at you.”

When she read that Akane dropped her eyes. For the first time she wondered what it would feel like if she couldn't talk. If she were unable to vent her frustrations verbally, how would she react? Akane prayed that she never found out.

When she looked back up, Ranma seemed to have calmed down a little. He was watching her, a question in his eyes. After a moment, Akane remembered that he had in fact asked her a question.

“Uh, no, she didn't kiss you. She was about to, but then this aura surrounded you. It felt strange, kind of wild and ... and really scary. Then you punched her. After that things happened pretty fast.”

Ranma wrote, “I didn't hurt her, did I?”

Akane stared back. It hadn't occurred to her that since Ranma couldn't remember what happened while he was in that state, he wouldn't know about any of what happened after. She looked around, but no one else was saying anything.

Akane licked dry lips. “Uh, Ranma. You punched her with those chi claws of yours. There were four big holes in her stomach. She, um, bled quite a bit before we got pressure on it. We called emergency, and an ambulance came and took her to the hospital.”

Ranma was staring at Akane appalled. An icy wind blew through his soul at the thought that he had hurt someone so badly, and hadn't even been aware that he was doing it. At least when he had attacked the hentai horde, he had some awareness of what he was doing, and they were physically attacking Akane at the time. With this Kodachi girl, she hadn't been attacking him. Not exactly. He still wasn't happy with what she had done, but still ... that was no excuse for hurting her so badly.

Ranma turned and ran off. Akane jumped to her feet to follow, but Kasumi was standing in her way. “Give him some time alone first,” she told her younger sister. “In a little while you can go and try to comfort him.”

Akane looked worriedly in the direction Ranma had left, but nodded. To give her something to do, Kasumi asked Akane to clean up the blood which had spilled on the engawa. While she watched her little sister do so, Kasumi made plans to have Ranma climb up onto the roof the next day to clean up the blood which would even now be drying there.

It was hard to wait, but Akane forced herself to do so. She heard Kasumi on the telephone, making a special appointment for Ranma to see Mitaka-sensei tomorrow. The younger girl gave a sigh of relief, feeling gratitude toward her big sister for thinking of the need. She wondered why she hadn't thought of it herself.

Eventually the point was reached where Akane couldn't take one more minute of sitting around doing nothing, while worrying abut Ranma and how he was feeling. She got up, carefully avoiding the looks her sisters gave her, and went looking for him. He was easily found in the first place she looked, in the dojo, sitting in seiza in front of the shrine. He seemed to be meditating. She knelt beside him, trying not to disturb him, but close enough so that he would know that he was not alone.

Ranma was indeed aware that she was there, but was too wrapped up in his own misery to acknowledge her presence. That he could have injured someone so seriously, without even being aware that he had done so, was deeply disturbing to him. What might happen the next time the neko-ken took him? What if next time it were someone he cared about in the hospital, someone like Akane?

On top of that, he had been forced to feel helpless again. The circumstances might not have been quite as ... serious, but the memory ate at him. He hated the feeling, and a small part of him was glad that he had sent the girl responsible to the hospital. Which only made him feel worse in the end.

Akane's quiet patience finally paid off. With a sigh, Ranma pulled out his pad and wrote, “Do you know how badly I hurt Kodachi?”

Akane bit her lip, but decided that the truth was best. “Pretty bad. She bled heavily at first. Everything else I know is what Kasumi told me after you ran in here. The wounds were apparently several centimeters deep. The paramedics told Kasumi that she'd need surgery — most of the internal damage was probably to her intestines. They did say she was in pretty good shape considering the sort of injury, that there didn't seem to be much danger that she'd ... well, you know, die or anything.”

Ranma breathed out a surreptitious sigh of relief. Akane noticed it anyway. He then wrote, “What am I going to do? How can anyone trust me after this?”

Akane let some exasperation creep into her voice. He was wallowing in enough self pity without adding hers. “You said that she paralyzed you, and that caused you to flash back. How often is someone likely to do something like that to you? For that matter, in most circumstances if someone did something like that, they'd most likely be planning something where you'd be perfectly justified in hurting them to get away.”

These reasonable words actually caused Ranma's whirling thoughts to slow down for a bit, to consider them. He wasn't entirely convinced, but she had managed to turn him aside from his headlong flight to a conclusion which might have led to his either becoming a hermit or committing seppuku on the spot.

Akane backed off on the exasperation, but kept her tones serious. “I think it would be a good idea if you talked to Mitaka-sensei about all of this as soon as possible. She can probably help you straighten out how you're feeling, maybe even help you understand your reactions better. What do you think?”

Ranma thought about this. On reflection, he felt an almost desperate need to talk to his therapist, who could soothe his emotions much as one of Doctor Tofu's balms might soothe a sore. Besides, she had proved herself able to help him to understand things about himself that he had never realized before, but which were true all the same. Allowing a weak smile to curve his lips, Ranma nodded his agreement.

Akane gave him a real smile. “Good. Because Kasumi already made an appointment for you. You'll be seeing her tomorrow morning. I'm afraid you'll have to miss the first class period.”

Ranma shrugged. Missing the first class was hardly something that would bother him unduly.

“That was the full neko-ken state tonight, wasn't it?” Akane asked next.

Ranma nodded.

“Did you know that you were able to make sounds while you were in it? With your mouth, I mean? You roared, kind of like a lion. And growled. And later, after Kodachi was gone and you calmed down, you sort of ... um ... purred.”

Ranma looked surprised. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but nothing emerged. He became frustrated and wrote, “No change. Still can't talk.”

Akane felt sorry now that she had mentioned it. Feeling embarrassed, she responded, “Yeah, well, we already knew there was nothing physically wrong. I'm sure Mitaka-sensei will help you get your voice back eventually.”

Hoping that she had done some good, and thinking about the need to get him up in the morning and to his therapist on time, Akane said, “It's getting pretty late, and we do have school tomorrow. For that matter, we've got to get up early in order to get to your appointment.”

Ranma nodded listlessly.

Akane essayed a smile. “Okay, then. What do you say we turn in?”

Ranma was about to agree, when he realized he had never bathed after the gymnastics workout earlier. Besides he needed to change to female before he could join Akane in her room. He quickly wrote, “Bath first. Then bed. Won't be long.”

Akane smiled and climbed to her feet, followed by Ranma. “Okay,” she told him, still smiling. “I'll see you in a few minutes then.”

Unbeknownst to Akane, Ranma, or even Nabiki, it was not merely in her speech patterns that Kodachi was related to Tatewaki Kuno. She was his sister. When the hospital called their home to report that she had been brought in with an abdominal injury and needed surgery, Kuno had rushed out of the house before receiving the full report.

He was stymied at the hospital however. Kodachi was still in surgery when he arrived, and he was informed that due to the drugs, he would not be able to see her until morning. He did remain until she left the operating room, giving him a chance to speak to the surgeon. The doctor reassured Kuno that his sister was doing fine, that her injuries, though serious, were not as bad as an external examination might have suggested. Barring unexpected complications, she would be able to go home in a couple of days.

Kuno was back at the hospital as soon as visiting hours started the next morning. One might think from all of this attention that he was truly devoted to his sister. If one did, one would be wrong. In truth, he could barely stand her presence, and she returned his feelings. All the same, someone had attacked a member of the Kuno clan, and this must be addressed.

When Tatewaki entered her room the next morning, Kodachi turned off the news report she had been watching on television. “What are you doing here, brother dear? Have you come to amuse yourself at how I have been laid low?”

Her brother allowed his glance to briefly take in her appearance. Kodachi's color was good, and the only obvious sign that anything was wrong with her was the IV tube in her arm. Perhaps also a degree of fatigue which was unusual in his normally far-too-lively sister. The bandages were, of course, concealed under the sheet which covered her to just below her shoulders.

“What happened?” he demanded. “Who has done this to you? For though the result is worthy, the miscreant must face the vengeance of heaven for daring to so smite a member of my family.”

“Tone it down a bit, Tacchi,” she responded wearily. “I'm not in the mood this morning.”

“The question remains, who did this?” he insisted.

Kodachi looked into the distance. “I was meting out justice to that little tramp, Akane Tendo. You know, that girl you were so obsessed with and couldn't stop talking about. She cheated of course, using her foot to kick me out of a window. A rather handsome man caught me before I reached the ground, saving me from a possible injury. Although he proved to be shy, I attempted to ... show him my ... favor ... but ...”

Her voice trailed off. She had been trying most of the morning to remember what happened next. “I felt something strange. He made a noise, almost an animal sound. Then something struck me, in the stomach. Quite horribly painfully, as I remember. After that ... nothing. I woke up here.”

“Describe him,” her brother said tersely.

Kodachi snorted in a ladylike fashion. Her brother's desire to mete out vengeance was obvious. For a moment she considered telling him nothing, as the young man last night had been quite handsome. But then again, he had apparently injured her, quite seriously. Enough that she would be forced to forfeit the match next week.

“He was about our age. Shorter than you. His hair was tied back in a pigtail.”

“That will do,” Tatewaki said, forestalling any further description. “I know the one of whom you speak. It is that shapeshifting demon. The very one known as Ranma. It must have attacked you with the same demonic powers it used to slice through my blade. For some reason I cannot fathom, the Tendos are allowing it to dwell in their home.”

“Feh!” Kodachi exclaimed softly, turning away. “You and your wild tales of a demon which changes between male and female. Take your childish fantasies away, and allow me to rest, that I may recover more quickly.”

Kuno declared, “Since I have the information for which I came, I will be more than happy not to linger in your presence. Farewell, sister! And fear not! I shall have vengeance and retrieve the honor of the Kuno name.” He turned and strode out the door. Kodachi reached for the television remote, and returned to the news.

The session with Mitaka helped Ranma quite a bit. By the time he left he felt confident that the circumstances under which Kodachi had been wounded had been unusual and weren't very likely to be repeated. On the other hand, he was very nervous and troubled with Mitaka's suggestion that he find Kodachi in the hospital and explain to her what had happened. The idea of revealing any weakness to a potential enemy troubled him deeply, but he agreed that after what had happened his victim was owed an explanation of some sort.

Akane watched Ranma carefully during lunch. She could see that he was thinking hard about something, and she presumed it had to do with the previous night's encounter. Despite the fact that he appeared considerably calmer after that morning's therapy session, she was still worried about him. She hoped that he would come over and talk to her about it, but instead she was left to wonder what was going through his head.

After they got home from school and changed, Ranma informed Akane that he would need to be late for their afternoon training, as he had an errand to run. He refused to explain further. Akane gave a harrumph and stalked off, tossing her hair in apparent disdain, leaving Ranma to slip his shoes back on. However, she returned moments after he left, putting her own shoes on her feet.

Ranma walked down the road toward the hospital surrounded by an air of palpable gloom, hands shoved deep into his pockets. It wasn't just the idea of revealing a weakness which troubled him. It was also his wounded honor, that he had put a girl into the hospital for so little cause. He was worrying himself over what that required of him. He was so deeply absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice the figure trailing along behind him.

Akane stood behind a pillar, watching, as Ranma passed a note across to the woman sitting at the hospital information desk. As this woman read the note, she said aloud, “A girl named Kodachi? Brought in with abdominal injuries last night?” She took a minute to consult her computer. “Oh, you mean Kodachi Kuno? She's in room 315.”

Akane tried to stifle her gasp on hearing Kodachi's last name, she truly did, but a small sound emerged despite her effort. She spun around to make sure that she was fully concealed behind the pillar, only to find herself looking straight into Ranma's eyes. His eyebrows were well up into his hairline.

“R-Ranma! Heh. Fancy meeting you here!”

The boy's mouth pursed in a fashion which made it clear that she'd have to do a lot better than that.

“Well, I ... I was worried about you! You wouldn't tell me what you were up to!”

Shaking his head, Ranma lifted his pad and pen and wrote, “I got to do this. It doesn't involve you. Not really. It's between me and Kodachi.”

Akane huffed. “Okay. Maybe. But I can help. I was there. I saw most of it. I was there for the part that you don't remember.”

Ranma bit his upper lip. There was something to what she was saying, but on the other hand her presence would be a complicating factor he hadn't counted on. If he let her stay, would she understand enough not to interfere? If he told her to go, would she really go, or would she just follow him again? With a deep sigh he motioned for her to follow as he turned toward the elevators.

As the elevator doors closed and they found themselves momentarily alone, Akane turned to Ranma, asking, “Did I hear right? Kodachi's last name is Kuno?” Her companion shrugged, his expression showing that he had been startled to hear the name himself.

When they reached the door with the number 315, Ranma knocked. Upon hearing a voice within call, “Come in,” he opened the door, and the two of them entered the room.

Kodachi recognized Akane first. “What are you doing here, peasant? Do you plan to attack me when I cannot defend myself?”

“Of course not. I'm not you!” Akane told her tartly. “Ranma wants to explain what happened. I came to help him out.”

Kodachi looked over at the boy, finally recognizing him as the one who had saved her last night. And had then apparently put her in the hospital. “So, this is the one whom my brother says is a demon. Who changes back and forth between male and female?”

Akane and Ranma both stared back at her. “So Tatewaki Kuno is your brother?” Akane asked disbelievingly. It was hard to imagine Kuno as being so ordinary as to have a family.

Kodachi laughed gaily. “Well, we might each deny the relationship, but I fear it is so. Yes, dear Tacchi is my brother. What he sees in you I cannot possibly imagine.” She turned to Ranma, not sure what to think of the boy who had both saved and harmed her. “Is it true that you are a demon?”

Ranma gave a snort. He pulled out his pad, wrote, “No. I'm human. But I do have a curse.” He then handed the sheet to Kodachi, who read it.

“A curse, you say?” Her curiosity was piqued. “But why do you insist on writing notes? Are you truly so shy? Are you so overwhelmed by my presence as to be unable to speak to me?”

Ranma's eyes rolled up. Akane stepped in to say, “Ranma can't speak. I'm surprised your brother didn't think to mention that, considering he told you about Ranma changing into a girl.”

Kodachi shook her head, replying in amusement laced with disinterest, “I have long ceased to speculate on how my brother chooses what things he regards as important, or not.”

Akane added. “In any case, he's not a demon. In fact, his father is an old friend of my father.”

Ranma motioned Akane back and she moved back with a frown to lean against the wall, arms crossed, regarding him with concern. He laboriously wrote on his pad and handed the paper to Kodachi.

“I'm not a demon. I was cursed in China, several weeks ago. Cold water turns me into a girl. Hot water changes me back to a boy.”

“I am afraid I find the notion of such a curse difficult to believe,” Kodachi told him with a smirk.

Ranma shrugged, then walked over to the bedside table, where there was a pitcher of water and a glass. He lifted the pitcher and stepped back from the bed, then slowly poured water over this head until the change took him. Kodachi stared at the red-haired girl who replaced the pitcher on the small table.

For the first time in her life, Kodachi was brought up short by the realization that there was more to the world than that portion which revolved around her. She surprised herself by actually managing to speak, though there was a distinct quaver in her voice. “Well, it would seem that my brother was not entirely mistaken after all. You really can change into a girl.”

After another moment, she recognized this girl as the one who had caught her ribbon yesterday, and who had been training with Akane the previous night. Her brows lowered. “So, did you attack me to prevent me from fighting in the match?” Any tendency she had felt to look upon the boy as a romantic figure was quickly evaporating.

Akane couldn't keep silent at this. “You're hardly one to talk, Kuno-san, given how you ‘fought in all fairness before the match’ with the members of the Furinkan gymnastics team. But no, that's not why Ranma ... did what he did. He ...”

She paused when Ranma turned and gave her a quelling look. He began writing again, handing the paper to Kodachi.

“I am deeply sorry for injuring you. I was highly stressed at the time, and not entirely sane.”

“I was taught a flawed martial arts technique when I was younger, called the neko-ken. It involves a special state of mind, where I no longer realize I'm human. I think I'm a cat.”

Kodachi blinked on reading this, befuddled. “A ... cat?”

Ranma nodded, and continued writing. “The neko-ken is triggered by certain kinds of stress. It happened last night, when you paralyzed me.”

“I don't just think I'm a cat. It may sound crazy, but I have claws formed from chi. They can cut. Akane says I punched you with them.”

The girl in the bed cleared her throat. “Yes. I remember that. It was quite ... painful.” She looked the boy up and down, then gave a bitter, scornful laugh. “Claws formed of chi, you say? You are right, that does sound preposterous. Yet as I was the victim of these claws, it seems I must perforce believe.”

The memory seemed to make her belly ache anew. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head back on her pillow. “And then? What happened next?”

Ranma turned to Akane, who took over the tale. “I got up to the roof in time to see you get hurt. I put pressure on the wound while my sister called for an ambulance. My father got you down off the roof while I tried to keep Ranma calm. He still thought he was a cat you see. After the ambulance took you to the hospital, my other sister suggested throwing some water on Ranma. I don't know if it was triggering his curse, or the shock of the water, but he came back to his senses.”

Akane's eyes moved from Kodachi to Ranma, hesitating on him for a moment. Looking back, she added, “He was terribly upset when he found out what he'd done to you.” Ranma sighed, and nodded his confirmation.

Kodachi opened her eyes once more, staring intently at Ranma. Her upper lip curled slightly, as if she were thinking of snarling. “It sounds to me like he, or I suppose she, for the moment, is rather dangerous to be allowed to run around loose. Does she attack everyone who shows her affection?”

Akane wanted to protest at Kodachi describing her own behavior as being a mere show of affection, but Ranma held his hand up to stop her. He wrote some more.

“The neko-ken is only triggered by special conditions. When I can't escape from certain fears. Those conditions should be rare.”

“But you're right. You got hurt. By me. And you shouldn't have been.”

The injured gymnast regarded him with a cool look, her amused demeanor completely forgotten by now. “What conditions? What did I do to warrant such an attack? A little paralysis which would soon wear off? A stolen kiss? Speak! Or ... um, write.”

Ranma looked pained. He had known this subject would likely arise when Mitaka first convinced him to come here to apologize and explain about the neko-ken. But he still clung to a hope that he could avoid it. When he handed the next sheet to Kodachi, she read, “I'd rather not say. Can we just say I was scared, and leave it at that?”

She looked up from the paper, eyes narrowing. “I think that I am owed some further explanation. Wouldn't you agree?”

Ranma sighed and hung his head. After a moment he turned to Akane and gave her the sign for “please.” Akane asked, “You want me to explain? About the original attack as well?” He nodded, the pain in his eyes evident.

Kodachi turned her attention to Akane. “Explain what? What's going on?”

Ranma wandered over to the window and stood looking out, trying to distract himself from the tale Akane would have to tell. Both girls looked at the red-haired girl whose back was presented to them, before turning back to one another.

Akane began speaking. “Ranma said you used some type of paralysis gas on him last night. Something that prevented him from moving. Is that right?”

Kodachi nodded, then smiled. “Yes, although it seems to have malfunctioned. Else I would not be here.”

“Um, yeah,” Akane replied. “You then tried to kiss him, which he was helpless to stop. The problem is, that was a little too close to something that happened a few weeks ago.”

Akane took a deep breath, then continued. “Ranma had an accident a few weeks ago. He — or rather, she, since he was in his cursed form at the time — was left unconscious in an alley, with a concussion. When she woke up, she found she was unable to move. Her clothes had been taken off, she was tied up, and there were these three men preparing to ... to assault her.”

Kodachi's eyes had gone very wide.

“Luckily I had an errand in that part of town, and saw what was happening. I stopped them, freed Ranma, and carried her home. It wasn't until the next day that we discovered ‘she’ was really a boy, and even later before I learned of the coincidence that our fathers knew one another.

“So you see, when you left him helpless and unable to move, when you attempted to ... take liberties with his body, it was too much like that night for him. You made him relive it, and ... that was too much for him. The neko-ken took over to ... to defend him.”

Akane paused at the conclusion of the explanation, then added, “He wasn't in his right mind at that moment. In fact, he doesn't even remember it now. It ... he was extremely upset about it last night, when we told him what he did. His ... well, he's seeing a therapist, to help him with, you know, dealing with everything that happened. His therapist thinks he reacted so dangerously because of the way your ... actions ... made him relive the other experience.”

Kodachi remained silent while a battle was fought inside of her. Her normal approach to human interaction was to take little notice of the people around her; it was their duty to notice her instead. This side of herself dismissed Ranma's suffering as unimportant and focused on her own injuries. But there was another part of her, a more deeply buried part, that was disturbed by the story she had heard. This part was troubled as it considered the emotions Ranma must have felt, when she had merely intended to reward him with a kiss. The silence stretched as she remained undecided about how to respond.

Ranma gave a deep sigh, then turned around with a sad smile. He walked back over to the bed and handed Kodachi a piece of paper, on which he must have been writing while he stood at the window. She read, “I have dishonored myself by my attack on you, which far exceeded any crime you did to me. Anything I may have suffered myself is no excuse. If you demand my life to restore honor, then you may have it.”

That aspect of Kodachi which regarded life as a vast stage on which she was the principal actress was delighted. It was only the natural order of things that she would hold the life of another in her hands. Still looking at the paper in front of her, she cocked her head, considering how to respond, while she imagined the boy kneeling before her, all in white, blade pressed against his belly.

She then looked up into Ranma's sad blue eyes and felt herself shrivel in horror at what she saw there. The paper slipped from nerveless fingers, as the sane corner of her mind realized that he really meant it. That this wasn't make believe. That she need only speak a word, and he would end his own life. She may have inflicted numerous injuries on people over the years, but she had never ... she started shaking her head back and forth, fear over what she could have done tightening her throat.

Finding her voice, Kodachi whispered. “No. I do not want that. I ... well, I will not pretend to be comfortable with all of this. On the whole I think I would prefer not to see you again. But, no, not your life.”

Akane was staring at Ranma, appalled, as she divined what he had just offered. Ranma bowed deeply to Kodachi. Pulling out his pad once more, he wrote, “Then I wish you a speedy recovery. I think I should leave now.”

Kodachi took it and read, then looked up. “Yes. I think you should leave now as well.” She paused, and when she spoke again a trace of the old sardonic amusement was back. “Oh! You had best keep an eye out for my darling brother. He is quite incensed that you have laid hands on a member of his family, and is determined to deal with the ‘demon.’”

Ranma bowed once more, and Akane followed suit. Together they turned and left the room.

When they returned home to find the Furinkan gymnasts waiting impatiently for them, Akane openly wondered if there would still be a match next week. She was reassured that there would indeed, with one of the other members of the St. Hebereke team stepping in to take Kodachi's place. With a disappointed sigh, Akane returned to her training.

The rest of the week and weekend went by quickly. Akane fell off of the wall once more on Thursday morning. Kuno informed Ranma that the demon could expect his vengeance as soon as his own healing was completed. Akane and Ranma continued to train in gymnastics techniques.

Friday evening, Nabiki grumpily handed Ranma his winnings for correctly predicting the number of falls Akane would take her first week walking along the walls. Akane, Ranma and Kasumi attended another sign language class on Saturday, and even more intensive gymnastics training took place that weekend. Akane started demonstrating some proficiency in the use of the implements, although the ribbon continued to give her serious trouble.

On the day of the match at St. Hebereke, Akane and Ranma were embarrassed to discover that they were expected to use the same dressing room. Luckily there was a screen in the room, and Akane changed behind it while Ranma changed in the middle of the room.

After changing, they looked at the bouquet of black roses lying on the table next to an aquarium. The color practically screamed Kodachi. Akane pulled one of the roses out carefully and dipped it into the water. Almost immediately, the fish slowed down and appeared to sleep.

Akane looked at Ranma. “I guess it was too much to hope that Kodachi would suddenly turn into a nice person, huh?”

When Akane entered the ring, she found that her opponent looked at least as nervous as she felt. The reason for this soon became apparent. Although the other girl was able to score several hits on Akane with her ribbon, Akane appeared to have the edge with the hoop and clubs.

The match ended when Akane threw a hoop which caused her opponent to duck. At that moment, Akane was able to grab the other girl's ribbon, and used it to throw her out of the ring. She landed lightly enough on her feet, but definitely on the floor outside of the ring. The referee declared Akane the winner.

“Good job, sis!” Nabiki congratulated Akane afterward. “I made a lot of money off that match.”

“How'd you know that I'd win?” Akane asked, perplexed.

Nabiki gave her a crafty smile. “Well, I couldn't know, of course, and it was your first match of this sort. But I found out that it was the other girl's first match, too. Kodachi usually ambushed the other teams, forcing them to default, and always took the few other matches herself. As captain of the team, she discouraged the other girls from practicing, in order to avoid the chance of anyone stealing her spotlight.”

“And you couldn't have mentioned this before the match?” Akane inquired sarcastically.

Nabiki placed a hand upon her chest and affected an air of innocence. “What, and let you become overconfident? I would never have done you such a disservice, little sister.”

Akane harrumphed, but didn't bother to bandy further words with her mercenary sister. She returned to the changing room, where Ranma had already resumed the clothing in which he had arrived and was standing outside the door waiting for her. He was still female since he had decided to both arrive and leave as female, rather than take the chance of any of the non-Furinkan spectators noticing the change of gender.

On the way to their afternoon appointment with Mitaka-sensei, Ranma had Akane run along a fence which had a flat top about three centimeters wide. She managed this without any slips, and smiled back at him confidently after.

That evening, while changing for bed, Ranma happened to open the drawer containing the bundle of Akane's hair, the portion cut off when Ryoga first appeared. The hair which he had saved, for no reason he could understand. He ran his fingers over it, reflecting on how she really did look better with short hair. In fact, she had been quite stunning at the match in the leotard she had worn. Letting his mind wander back to the last time he had held that hair, Ranma remembered how he had wanted, somehow, to reassure Akane that she was feminine.

He tried to think of some way to do that, without doing something which would give the wrong impression, or make both of them very uncomfortable. Maybe he could take her to get some ice cream, to celebrate today's victory? Except the ice cream shop was more a setting for ordinary, casual clothes. He wasn't sure if that would do the trick.

On the other hand, he had won some money from that bet with Nabiki. Ranma snorted as he remembered her grimace at parting with it, even though he knew she had made a great deal more money than she had lost from other people betting on the same matter. If he took Akane someplace nicer, to a restaurant for dinner, that would give her a chance to dress up, wouldn't it? Then maybe he could compliment her on how she looked. As long as he didn't try to write anything too fancy for the compliment, he should be all right, and for this particular situation he was glad he wouldn't be able to use his mouth and no doubt trip all over his tongue.

He wrote down this suggestion for such a dinner, and handed the slip of paper to Akane when he entered her bedroom. “I'd like to celebrate you winning today. Would you like to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner tomorrow? Someplace a bit fancy? I can pay. I've got that money I won from Nabiki.”

Akane looked up from reading this, and regarded the girl in front of her with an odd expression on her face. “Ranma? Are you asking me out on a date?”

Ranma's cheeks turned scarlet, and he yanked out his pad and started scribbling quickly. “No! No, of course not. This is just a celebration, that's all.”

“Oh.” Akane read his words again. She wondered what the odd feeling inside her chest was. It surely couldn't be disappointment. She looked up and smiled. “Thank you, Ranma. That sounds like it'll be fun.”

Ranma looked down, studying his feet, while his cheeks continued to glow. How could she possibly think he'd try to ask her out on a date? After all, she was ... she was ... and he was just some cursed, gender-changing freak, who couldn't even talk to her. Quietly he climbed into the bed, wondering what life might have been like in another life, if he hadn't been attacked and had been able to speak to Akane. Ruefully he admitted to himself that with his speech habits, he might be no better off.