Chapter 10. At the Beach

Akane ran through the gate and into her house, pausing only long enough to kick her shoes off just inside the door. Kasumi, making some tea for herself in the kitchen, heard the door slam and called out. Akane ignored the querying note in her sister's voice, running up the stairs and into the safety of her room, where she shut the door firmly behind her. Stumbling across the floor, she tossed her bag toward the desk, without even looking to see if it landed there. Akane flopped down on her bed, sitting with her back against the wall, staring in front of her without seeing anything, doing her best to keep her mind absolutely blank.

Unfortunately, no amount of determination to shut down all thought could erase the memories of what had happened, nor prevent her mind's eye from replaying those events. Akane blushed, her breathing becoming shallower and more rapid, as she flashed back to Ranma lying on her lap and then the sudden pressure of his lips on hers. All while many of their classmates and other students watched.

‹Why? Why did he kiss me?› she finally asked herself, unable to bear the mental silence any longer. ‹He ... he wasn't even himself. He thought he was some sort of cat. All those people saw him kiss me. By tomorrow morning, everyone at school will know about it. They'll all think we ... oh God, why did he do it?›

‹I'll ... I'll pound him!› Akane told herself. ‹As soon as he gets home, I'll break every bone in his body!›

Akane paused, realizing that she was starting to hyperventilate, and struggled to get herself under control. Over the course of several weeks, she and Mitaka-sensei had shared many discussions concerning her tendency to react to confusion with anger. Unhappily, she realized she was doing it again. With more than a little regret, Akane went through a mental exercise which she had learned from the therapist, releasing the anger so that she could think rationally. She couldn't help but think that it was a lot easier to simply thrash the source of her confusion.

It took a while to calm down, but eventually Akane reached an uneasy mental balance. ‹All right. Now why did Ranma kiss me? He thought he was a cat. Did he know what he was doing? Did he think I was another cat?› After a moment, she rejected that idea. ‹Does he ... does Ranma maybe really want to kiss me, deep down, and his human mind wasn't there to stop him? Or maybe he's been planning to try but hasn't worked up the nerve? We have gone out together a couple of times, but those weren't dates. We were just ... out together. As friends. Could ... Ranma think that they were really dates after all?›

Akane sighed. ‹I bet he didn't even know what he was doing. Maybe he was drunk on the catnip. Can catnip make humans drunk? He acted like it anyway. I wonder if Ranma himself knows the answers to these questions. Probably not.›

‹What answers do I want to hear?›

Akane picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest, drawing her knees up against it. Before Ranma had arrived in Nerima, the word “date” was associated with boys trying to beat her up. The concepts of “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” were something her friends chatted and giggled about, but which had no relevance to Akane's own life. The only boys who had shown an interest in her were the hormonally crazed members of the horde, who had no concern whatsoever for what she wanted. Mitaka-sensei had helped Akane to recognize the scars they had left, was helping her to heal those scars, but Akane still found such thoughts a bit frightening.

Finally, very reluctantly, Akane asked herself the question she had been avoiding the most. ‹Why did I kiss him back?›

Was it just instinct? A natural reaction of her body? The kiss had felt ... good, during those few moments before any other thoughts intruded. Was there some part of her that wanted to kiss Ranma? She couldn't deny that she had imagined doing so, just once or twice ... well, maybe a bit more than that. While lying in bed at night, trying to get to sleep. But she had just been letting her imagination run a little wild, right? She hadn't really meant to do so for real! Sure he was handsome, and she liked him, but ... he wasn't her boyfriend! He wasn't!

Distantly, the distressed girl heard Kasumi call out a greeting of, “Welcome home, Ranma-kun!” He must be aware of his humanity once more, Akane thought, and then wondered how much he remembered of what he had done, if anything. Part of her wanted to confront him immediately, to demand to know why he had done what he had done. Another part was scared to death of where such a confrontation might lead. Frozen by indecision, Akane simply sat on her bed, hugging her pillow, unmoving.

Ranma stared after Nabiki's retreating form, puzzling over her words, wondering why he was supposed to be in trouble. He had no idea why he was freezing cold, dripping wet, female — naturally — and unaccountably outside. Trying to recall what had happened, he found nothing until his thoughts returned to the tiger under the stage. At that point he realized that he must have gone into the neko-ken.

‹Oh man! I didn't need this,› he thought to himself. ‹I hope I didn't hurt anyone. Not again.›

He worried over this possibility while concentrating on the scene which had taken place under the stage. Ranma remembered that when he had felt himself losing his battle with the cat in his mind, he had attempted to make use of his partial mastery of the state to retain some degree of control. It apparently hadn't worked ... or had it? As he thought about it, some vague memories surfaced. He seemed more spectator than participant in those memories, but he could in fact remember a few things. He had destroyed Kuno's bokken, and had considered leaving more direct marks of his displeasure on the boy's hide.

Ranma tried, with little success, to ignore the students who were staring at him. People always stared, and no doubt always would, whenever his curse turned him into a girl. Mitaka-sensei claimed that he would eventually grow accustomed to it, and he was trying, but right now he was too busy trying to chase down elusive memories and didn't need the distraction. He jumped up to the gym roof, and from there to the roof of the school proper, in order to get away from the stares and give himself time and space in which to think.

Now what had happened next? Ah yes, Akane had shown up, and said something to Kuno. Ranma shook his head, unable to bring up a memory of the words she had spoken. Then had come a tantalizing aroma, and he had followed Akane to the door. Something had made him forget Kuno. Something to do with that scent? He remembered playing with something which had made him dizzy with pleasure. What had it been?

Then Akane again. Ranma blushed as he remembered the catlike desire to rub against her legs and be petted. He could remember looking into Akane's eyes, from an impossibly close distance. A memory of emotions rose up, like bubbles from the depths, Akane's beauty, a longing for her, a desire to express his feelings, the sensation of her lips pressed against his ...

‹Oh kuso! Akane's gonna kill me!› Nabiki's warning that he was in trouble suddenly seemed a terrible understatement.

Ranma jumped down from the roof, but then hesitated. Part of him seriously considered running away. He had taken something from Akane to which he was not entitled. Performed an act which should only have been shared by mutual consent, consent which she had not given and he had not sought. That he was not precisely himself at the time made it no less dishonorable. But to run off would be the act of a coward, piling dishonor atop dishonor. With a heavy heart, Ranma turned and slowly walked toward the Tendo home.

When he entered the house, Kasumi greeted him cheerfully enough but paused immediately after, taking notice of his woebegone expression. She added this to Akane's explosive entry a short time ago and came up with a sum that spelled trouble. “Did something happen between you and Akane?” she asked quietly. Ranma nodded unhappily.

Kasumi remained outwardly serene although she winced internally at the naked emotion in his eyes. She told him, “Akane came home a little while ago, and went straight upstairs. She's in her room if you want to talk to her.” Ranma gave a ghost of a smile, nodded again, and turned toward the stairs.

Ranma knocked softly on Akane's door. For a minute or two there was no answer, then a quiet voice said, “Come in.” Was it his imagination, or was there a trace of fear in that voice? God, he hoped not! The idea that Akane might be afraid of what he would try to do to her ... the thought alone made his heart feel like it was being ripped in half.

Ranma pushed the door open and went in, head hanging, feeling as though he were walking toward some terrible doom. He stopped a couple of meters from Akane's bed where, still not looking at her, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head until it was nearly level with her mattress.

Akane stared at him, trying to puzzle out what was going through his head. Whatever reaction she had been expecting from Ranma, this wasn't it. “Um, Ranma?” she asked tentatively. “What are you doing?”

He pulled out his pad and wrote on it. Tearing off the sheet, he handed it to her without ever looking up. Akane read, “I forced myself on you. I'm lower than scum. I'll pay any penalty you demand. Or leave forever if you want.”

Akane sucked in her breath. It seemed that Ranma was seeing things from a slightly different perspective than hers. One question at least appeared to be answered. “So, then, you remember what happened?”

Ranma wrote, and handed her another sheet. “Sort of. Not very well. Tried to control the neko-ken when it started, but failed. Did have a very slight awareness. Know I kissed you against your will.”

Had it been against her will? She certainly hadn't asked for it or expected it. She was very unhappy about the spectators and the rumors they were likely to spread. However, what really bothered Akane was the state of confusion into which it had thrown her. Not so much because he had kissed her, although that was cause enough. No, what truly troubled her was the crystal clear memory of pressing her lips back against his, and that it had felt, well, pretty darn good, at least until good sense had reasserted itself.

Now, for all the work their therapist had done with her, and even given that she had calmed down enough to think rationally, Akane really thought that Ranma deserved some retribution for ambushing her like that. On the other hand, she was deeply disturbed by the obvious self-loathing he was expressing. It sounded as if he were tearing himself up inside. ‹It's almost as if ... he couldn't be ... imagining himself as some sort of molester. Could he?›

Picking over her words slowly and carefully, she finally answered him, “You know, Ranma, I don't think it's right to say that you forced yourself on me. You surprised me, certainly. You also shouldn't have done it. But if you had really tried to force me, you'd have a black eye or two right now.” She paused briefly before adding, “At least.”

Hearing the evident sincerity in her voice, Ranma finally looked up. He searched Akane's face, seeking reassurance, while he considered her words. At last he nodded and gave her a weak grin. He wrote, “Guess you're right. Still feel bad though. Want to give me a black eye anyway? Might make me feel better.”

Akane snorted when she read this. “What makes you think I'd let you off that easily?” Ranma started looking scared again on hearing this, and Akane's eyes narrowed. “Now I want an answer from you,” she went on. “Why did you kiss me?” She kept her features stern, praying that he wouldn't think to ask her why she had kissed him back.

Ranma looked down again while he gathered his thoughts. He started writing slowly. “I don't remember very much. My mind was mostly a cat at the time. A cat who didn't think the same way I would.”

Akane tried to swallow a huge lump in her throat as she responded, “So you're saying your cat mind wanted to kiss me, but your human mind didn't? I suppose you'd have kissed any girl whose lap you happened to be lying in at that moment?”

Ranma, failing to hear the underlying pain in her voice, almost allowed this to stand, thinking it was safer than the truth. But he owed Akane too much to lie to her about something so important. Hoping that he wasn't making a mistake, he wrote some more.

“Said I don't remember much. But I do remember some. I wouldn't have kissed just anybody.”

“My cat mind knew you're a friend. Knew that I care about you. Knew you're very important to me, more than anyone else.” Ranma was squirming as he wrote this, hoping she wouldn't take it wrong.

“It wanted to show you. If I told you I knew why the cat decided a kiss was the best way to show you, I'd be lying.”

“As a human, I know I shouldn't take a liberty like that. There wasn't enough of the human me present to try to stop the cat.”

“I'm really, really, really sorry. I know I shouldn't have done something like that.”

Akane gave a small, relieved sigh on reading all of this. If she could believe what he'd written, and she thought she could, it didn't sound like Ranma had been secretly wanting to kiss her. Which avoided a set of complications she didn't want to contemplate. She was definitely glad to have that cleared up and all, but ... then there was that bit about how important she was to him. Of course, that had to mean “important” as a friend. Because there was nothing else it could possibly mean.

Akane took another, deeper breath and let it out slowly, nodding her head in something approaching satisfaction. More relaxed now, she said, “Very well. I forgive you for what happened. But I'm going to ask Nabiki to make an announcement to the entire school, explaining a little bit about the neko-ken, how you weren't exactly aware of what you were doing. I expect you not to object, understood?”

Ranma nodded, not exactly happy about the thought, but conceding the need to protect Akane's reputation. Still feeling worried about the whole matter, he very nervously wrote, “Are you sure you don't want to send me away? What about the next time? What if I try it again, and I don't stop at a kiss?”

The same thought had occurred to Akane, and it did worry her just a little. After all, Ranma was pretty strong. Then again, she was no weakling herself. She very carefully avoided looking into the corner of her mind which was wondering with interest what it might be like if such a thing did happen.

“I've got two things to say about that, Ranma. First, it was only a kiss. Now I don't mean that a kiss isn't something special, because it is.” Akane was blushing faintly as she said this, remembering how the kiss had felt. “But you said that your cat mind knew that you cared about me. I don't think you'd do something that would hurt me, even when the cat mind is in control. It might be a good idea to discuss it with Mitaka-sensei though.”

Akane took a long, slow breath, then fixed Ranma with a steely look. “Second, what makes you think I'd let you get away with anything more? I'm no fragile flower. Okay, I admit you caught me off guard today, but it was only for a second, and then I shoved you away. If you had tried anything more, I'd have knocked you into next week! Got it?”

Her ferocity both amused and relieved him. Ranma gave her a real grin, as well as a thumbs up. He quickly wrote, “That's the spirit. Ready to head out to the dojo? Just to be on the safe side, I think I'll start working with you on techniques to break various kinds of holds.”

Akane agreed happily with this plan, and Ranma left so that she could change into her gi.

The announcement Akane had suggested was duly made the next morning at school, although upon Kasumi's and Nabiki's advice it was toned down. Nabiki explained that under conditions usually unlikely to be encountered at school, Ranma sometimes suffered flashbacks to a training accident which produced a mental state in which he was not fully aware of events. She also informed everyone that if it were to happen again, she would be taking account of the people responsible for causing it. Any curiosity among some of the other students over whether they could push Ranma into an encore performance quickly died upon hearing these words.

The following Friday, after her weekly meeting with Ranma and Akane, Mitaka put down her notes from the session which had just ended. She rubbed her aching forehead briefly before picking up the cup of tea she had been nursing along, hoping that the pain relievers she had swallowed would kick in soon and do something about the pounding inside her skull. She reluctantly lifted her notes again to begin expanding on them.

The elderly doctor shook her head with a sigh as she was forced to reflect on the most recent near-catastrophe her young patients had described. It never ceased to amaze her how many awkward and unlikely situations those two teenagers could find themselves in, almost as if Fate itself were determined to upset the delicate balance of opposing forces which made up their current relationship. Mitaka remembered a recent documentary she had watched on American rodeo. She imagined that trying to ride a wild horse must be something like treating Ranma, trying to guess which way the horse would jump next and to prepare for it, hoping you weren't going to be painfully surprised. Then she snorted uncontrollably over the direction her thoughts had taken, as she remembered the meaning of Ranma's name.

Ranma going into the neko-ken state at school was worrisome, but the situation was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. No one had been injured this time, and he had come out of it safely and fairly quickly. The only unfortunate aspect, in terms of the boy's recovery, was the kiss. Despite Akane's reassurances to him, Ranma was still deeply upset about “forcing” himself on Akane. They had spent a great deal of time during today's session exploring the feelings which had given rise to the kiss, in order to give him a little confidence that he wouldn't try anything “worse” if it happened again. Unfortunately, this had meant dancing around the edges of feelings he had for Akane which Mitaka didn't feel that Ranma was ready to admit, and which she didn't want to push him into acknowledging yet.

Then there was Akane. She had been unnerved by the incident, and had been well on her way to worrying herself into a wreck over the fact that she had kissed Ranma back, however briefly, before pushing him away. Even worse, from Akane's point of view, when she had gone to bed that night she had fantasized about kissing Ranma, except in her fantasy he wasn't in the neko-ken and they had been someplace a little more private where they could continue without being interrupted. Akane kept searching for some interpretation of why she was reacting like that, so long as the interpretation she found had nothing to do with having any romantic feelings for Ranma.

On top of that, Akane was now full of worries about how Ranma felt about her. Did he just think of her as a friend? Was he starting to think about her as a girl, and if so, was he going to start acting like the other perverted jerks at school? Or was he not thinking of her as a girl, and if so, why not?

Mitaka spent some time exploring these questions and getting Akane to think about the possible answers. Then she herded the girl into reaching the inescapable conclusion that the only person who could answer these questions was Ranma, and it was very likely that he didn't know the answers himself. The only way to get the answers was to allow the passage of time to slowly reveal them. She pointed out that in the meantime, there was no reason to expect any sudden changes in the way they behaved around each other.

Mitaka made a couple of more notes. Ranma had not harmed either of the boys who had been responsible for his being in the neko-ken, and this despite the fact that he had dredged up the memories of the assault in an attempt to retain control over that state. Also, Akane reported that Ranma had again made a definite and deliberate sound while in the neko-ken, some sort of howl. It was good to have another definite sign that Ranma could still vocalize purposefully. She wondered, not for the first time, if the key to recovery of his speech lay with this strange neko-ken state or the events that surrounded his learning the technique.

She leaned back in her chair, contemplating Ranma's current state of mind. He was coming along nicely, much less emotionally raw, and the frequency of bad dreams had dropped considerably. He was handling conflicts better. His participation in gym class, and presence in the locker room, were going fine, despite a couple of incidents. Or rather, it was expected that there would be some incidents, and he was handling them fairly well. There was still a lot of help she could give him, but aside from his continuing inability to speak, Ranma was well on the road to recovery.

Akane was also doing well. She had controlled her first violent impulse regarding the unexpected kiss, and had taken the time to sit back and think. She had even rationally and calmly discussed the whole matter with Ranma, never once resorting to insults or physical violence. It was clear that Akane saw Ranma as a friend, a good friend, and despite his male gender and strange curse, she was disinclined to label Ranma automatically as a pervert. The impulsive and public intimacy in the schoolyard had certainly provided her with an excellent opportunity to so label him, and yet she hadn't.

For that matter, from the things she'd said without thinking about it, it was apparent that Akane was interacting with all of the boys at school on a more civil basis these days, now that they had stopped attacking her. She had spoken of her disgust at catching one Hiroshi Yanaka reading a hentai manga, but had not given in to any explosion of temper, restraining herself to a few scornful words.

Mitaka nodded in resolution. Next week was the last week of the school term. After that, she would cut back their appointments from twice a week to just once per week, on Fridays. She would also reconfirm what she had told them before, that Ranma should start sleeping by himself full time at the end of the school term, so this Sunday would be the last time he would sleep in Akane's bed. She sighed quietly, wondering if they might actually put up a fuss about that.

Not being one to worry unduly about problems which might not arise, Mitaka pushed the thought aside and closed the notebook. She then pulled out a notebook for one of her other clients. Opening it, she began to review the case notes within.

Kuno once more challenged Ranma, for a duel after school on the Wednesday of the final week of the term, as his cast was due to come off on that Tuesday. This time he succeeded in fighting with his intended opponent, and suffered no worse injury than a lump on his head where Ranma knocked him unconscious. Undaunted, on both Thursday and Friday mornings Kuno handed Ranma a letter of challenge at the beginning of the school day, to meet him after school. The results on these days were in no way markedly different from the first day.

As they walked out of the gate Friday afternoon, leaving Kuno behind snoozing under a bush, their hearts felt lighter. It was summer break at last. With any luck at all, they wouldn't have to see the pompous kendoist again until the second term began in September.

On another Friday evening a week later, the family was sitting around the table just finishing dinner. It had been one of those hot, still days, and the doors were open to the outside in the vain hope that a stray breeze would find its way in. It was the kind of weather which could easily make people irritable. This was, in fact, Kasumi's first thought when Nabiki turned to Akane, fanning herself, and asked, “So do you two have any plans for tonight?”

Kasumi opened her mouth to immediately chide Nabiki for making trouble, but then paused, reconsidering. In truth, she hadn't heard anything teasing in the question. For once the middle sister had sounded sincere. Still, she glanced warily in Akane's direction, worried how the youngest sister would take the question.

Akane had her doubts about Nabiki's intentions as well, but controlled her initial response and after a moment's thought decided that it might be safe to answer. “Yes, we do have plans. We're going out to a club tonight. Ranma suggested that since we went to the trouble of taking those lessons, we might as well put them to use. So we're going dancing for real. Besides, for any sort of training, if you don't practice it once in a while then it won't do any good.”

Nabiki managed to keep a straight face, fully aware that Kasumi had an eye on her. “Right. Well, enjoy yourselves, then. I mean, after all, no reason you can't have a little fun while you're at it.”

Akane gave Nabiki a hard look, wondering whether this could be taken at face value or if there were some underlying message. Finally, she decided to accept it, hoping that her sister meant well. “Thanks, Nabiki. We'll try.” Beside her, Ranma nodded.

As Nabiki fought to hold in additional comments which were trying to force their way out, Kasumi decided it might be a good idea to change the subject. So she made the announcement she had already been planning to share. “We'll be taking our trip to the beach in two weeks. I've made the reservations for a cottage.”

Akane clapped her hands in pleasure, crying out, “Oh, wonderful! I can't wait!” Nabiki was also smiling. Soun was behind his newspaper, and from his lack of reaction might not have even heard Kasumi.

Ranma's hands made a sign which requested more information. Kasumi answered him. “We go to the seashore every summer for a week. There's a small town a little over a hundred kilometers to the north where we always stay. It's a very pretty place, and usually isn't very crowded, at least not for a seaside town in the summer. The cottage isn't right on the beach, but is only about a kilometer inland.”

“It really is nice,” Akane enthused. “It's got a great beach, but there's other good points too. The town is so ... quaint. I could spend hours just walking around enjoying it. It's got a lot of good places to eat, too, which ought to make you happy.”

Ranma held up his hands in surrender, smiling. He signed, “Sounds nice.”

Nabiki's face grew animated, eyes shining, as she announced, “We'll have to go out shopping for new swimwear!”

Kasumi pursed her lips. “My suit from last year will do just fine, thank you. You don't really need a new one either, Nabiki. Akane will, however. She has grown a bit in the last year.”

Nabiki waved the frugal suggestion away. “It isn't a matter of need, oneechan. Going shopping for a new suit or two is half the fun of going to the beach.”

Akane was looking down at her food, blushing slightly over Kasumi's comment about having grown. Truthfully, though, she was also looking forward to going shopping for a new suit. Kasumi looked upon her younger sister with a smile which suggested she could read her thoughts, but then turned her gaze on Ranma.

“We'll also need to buy a couple of swimsuits for you, Ranma,” Kasumi declared seriously.

Ranma looked up at this, then shrugged, not understanding the excitement over shopping. He pulled out his pad and wrote, “Don't need to. I have some shorts that'll do.”

Kasumi read this then gave Ranma a sad smile. “Are you forgetting, Ranma? Shorts won't do once you touch the ocean.”

Ranma's jaw dropped, his chopsticks hanging forgotten halfway between table and mouth. With his curse, he would have no choice but to be female the entire time that he was on the beach itself. All of a sudden he wasn't looking forward to the trip nearly as much, or even at all. Putting down his chopsticks, he wrote, “Maybe I could stay here while the rest of you go?”

Akane's face fell. “Oh, come on, Ranma,” she pleaded. “It isn't so terrible, is it? It, well ...” Her cheeks grew rosy. “You've almost become like part of our family. It wouldn't be right to leave you behind. Won't you come with us?”

“I agree, Ranma-kun,” Kasumi said softly but firmly. “We're your family now, and you deserve a vacation as much as the rest of us. Also, we wouldn't be happy thinking of you back here all by yourself. Besides, as Akane said, there's more to the town than the ocean. If you absolutely don't want to go to the beach, you'll still be able to enjoy yourself. But I hope you'll come to the beach as well.”

A disembodied voice came from behind the newspaper. “I also agree with my daughters, Ranma-kun. You should get out of Nerima for a while, and have some fun. May I also suggest that you should discuss with Mitaka-sensei your feelings regarding your curse and going out on the beach itself?”

Nabiki was following the discussion with interest, although she didn't seem to feel the necessity of voicing her own opinion. Ranma seemed to waver in indecision, but at last he gave a sigh, smiled weakly and nodded his acceptance. Akane, beaming, returned to her dinner.

Kasumi quickly considered logistics. She had to head her sisters off from going shopping for the swimsuits this weekend, or Ranma's reluctance would prevent him from joining them. They were going to the beach in two weeks, and his next appointment was a week away. If Ranma's therapist could talk him into giving the beach a try, he might be barely willing to get a swimsuit next week. Thus she cheerfully suggested, “Very well, Nabiki, we'll all get new swimsuits. Unfortunately, I'll be too busy this weekend to manage a proper shopping expedition. Shall we plan on going next weekend?”

Nabiki shrugged her agreement, and Akane nodded, her mouth full of rice. Ranma was also rapidly moving chopsticks between bowl and mouth, and didn't really pay heed to what Kasumi said, having already suppressed the idea of himself and a girl's swimsuit. Reasonably satisfied for the moment, Kasumi changed the subject once more, asking questions about the training Ranma and Akane were now doing, which had increased in intensity after the end of the school term. The discussion centered around martial arts for the remainder of the dinner.

A couple of hours later, Akane was smiling and laughing, as Ranma found ways to mix signs in with his dance movements in order to manage something like a conversation. Her dress flared about her thighs as she spun, before Ranma's arm once again encircled her waist. They ended in a picture perfect pose on the last beat of the song.

As Ranma led her to a table for a short break, Akane suppressed a twinge of jealousy, shaking her head ruefully. It just wasn't fair that Ranma was able to master everything so quickly. She knew that she was doing fairly well at the dancing herself, but Ranma already looked as if he'd been doing this for years.

By the time they sat down, Akane's good sense had reasserted itself. While it was true that Ranma learned anything athletic or martial rapidly, this wasn't necessarily true of other things. Through her and Kasumi's efforts, Ranma had ended the school term with decent grades, but certainly nothing to get excited over. Some of Kasumi's attempts to teach him civilized behavior had also had mixed results. Akane suppressed a grimace over the thought of the effort it had taken to teach him basic competence at the simplest form of a tea ceremony.

Which thought led Akane to reflect over all of the events which had transpired since the night she had found Ranma in that alley, and how much things had changed in her life in less than three months. Her martial arts skills had increased by a significant degree in that time, and she looked back with chagrin over how she had considered herself to be at the peak of excellence before Ranma's arrival. Now she was fiercely determined to get much, much better than her current level.

But a much greater change was in her whole ... attitude, the way she felt about her life. Before Ranma she had felt like she was angry all of the time, deeply unhappy about the situation at school, not understood even by her friends. Since then, Ranma had become a friend who understood her in a way that no one else ever had. Between Ranma and Mitaka-sensei, her temper had calmed considerably, though she was forced to admit that it was hardly gone. Still, she was no longer inclined to fly off the handle at the least little thing any more.

And she was happy. That sounded such a small thing, but the reality was enormous. Not so long ago her days had all been bleak, the only respite her jogging and training, in which she could lose herself for a while. Even that had been filled with loneliness, when not even her father seemed to care about her training any longer. Now, Ranma jogged and trained with her, giving her company and making those activities much more enjoyable. He did other things with her as well, the dancing, ice skating, eating out, things which helped to remind her that she was more than a martial artist. He had even brought a new interest to her schoolwork, as she struggled to help him with it.

Akane looked at the young man sitting beside her and gave him a grateful smile, startling him and causing him to look vaguely puzzled. Then she turned back to her drink and resumed watching the dance floor beyond. Doing things like this with Ranma made her happy, made her feel good. She wondered for a moment if this sort of feeling were anything like what it felt to have a boyfriend, how it would be to go out on dates with a boy you cared about.

Akane pushed the thought away, but it wouldn't stay pushed. This thought had been sneaking up on her more and more frequently of late, making her feel very uncomfortable. She wasn't ready to think about boyfriends, she firmly reminded herself. Ranma was a friend, and she liked it like that. A boyfriend would expect to do things. If Ranma were to change into a boyfriend, would he suddenly expect to ... to ... touch her? More? Akane shuddered. Some of the things the other girls talked about doing with boys, well, frankly it was more than a bit scary. Equally scary was how, alone in her bed at night, Akane sometimes found thoughts of such things popping up in her imagination, almost as if she couldn't help herself.

Besides, Akane reminded herself, Ranma himself couldn't be ready for any such thing. After the attack, it surely must be some time yet before he could bring himself to get into a relationship of that sort with anyone. Although he did seem to be doing fairly well in a lot of ways. Was it possible he might be more ready than she thought?

Perhaps ... perhaps it would be a good idea to talk about all of this with Mitaka-sensei. They had of course previously discussed her attitude about boys, their perverted desires, the morning attacks, and even the sort of things couples might do when they loved each other. But Akane was beginning to think that she might now have a new perspective on the whole issue of dating, and that it might be a good time to revisit her concerns, hopes and fears on the subject.

With a slurp, the last of the soda vanished from her cup. As she turned back to Ranma, Akane saw a girl walking past who looked at her with undisguised envy. No blush colored Akane's cheeks as a result; over the last several weeks she had become accustomed to people mistaking herself and Ranma for a couple. She gave him her hand as the two of them stood gracefully and headed back out to the dance floor.

The following Saturday saw the three daughters of Soun Tendo walking down the street in company with a scowling Ranma Saotome, in his female form. They were on their way to purchase swimsuits, and Ranma was imperfectly reconciled to the idea of buying a girl's suit for himself. He remembered the entire conversation with Mitaka-sensei on the subject, remembered agreeing to give the beach a try, to a degree even looked forward to it. All the same, part of him felt like he was going along with the idea only to prove to everyone else what a disaster it would turn out to be.

Akane had also been closeted with the therapist for a long time the previous afternoon. Afterward, Ranma had noticed her giving him an occasional approving glance, and wondered just what it was that she and Mitaka had been talking about. As a matter of fact, that discussion had mostly centered around Akane's views about dating, and in particular, boys' expectations from girls they dated. Using Ranma as a hypothetical example of such a boy, Akane was brought to an admission that maybe there were, after all, some boys who would not pressure a girl into doing things which said girl did not wish to do.

“We're here!” Nabiki announced gaily, and disappeared into the store. Her two sisters followed more sedately, while Ranma looked like he was being dragged by a rope tied around his middle.

At first the three full-time girls just looked over the choices, picking up first one and then another, comparing several together, discussing the relative merits of one design over another, colors and textures. They occasionally threw simple questions at Ranma to which he could sign answers, but half the time his answers indicated that he hadn't been paying any attention. He was finally forced to pay a little more heed when it came time to picking out possible suits for him to try on. At this point he rejected several of the possibilities, although Nabiki surreptitiously picked a couple of them back up to make a fresh attempt at the changing rooms.

There was a relatively modest, two-tone one-piece of which Ranma found he actually approved. The front displayed the disgusting phrase “Boy Toy,” one word above the other, but Kasumi assured him that she could remove or hide the lower word. This would leave him with a suit which proclaimed his gender status as “Boy.” He set this one aside for purchase.

Nabiki seemed to favor two-piece suits. Very brief two-piece suits. Akane and Kasumi on the other hand were mostly trying one-piece suits, much like Ranma's. Even so, they had both been talked into trying on some of the two-piece suits. Ranma looked away from the sight of Kasumi in one of these, feeling very embarrassed, as if he had accidentally intruded on the oldest sister's privacy. He also averted his eyes when Akane came out wearing one of the revealing swimsuits, but managed to watch her out of the corner of his eyes. All three sisters were aware of his scrutiny, and Akane blushed in embarrassment as she wavered between a desire to pound him and a hollow feeling in her stomach, from knowing he was looking at her.

Akane had her revenge when Nabiki produced one of the skimpy suits and suggested that Ranma give it a try. He refused at first, but the three Tendos ganged up on him forcing him to give in at the last. The red-haired girl finally emerged from the dressing room blushing furiously. Akane blushed as well, and finally turned away after purposefully staring for a minute to make sure that Ranma knew what it felt like.

On exiting the store, Ranma collided with a boy wearing a bandanna, nearly knocking both of them down. They each immediately reached out to grab hold and steady one another. The boy apologized, saying, “Excuse me miss, I'm afraid I wasn't watching where ... Ranma?”

Ranma, equally startled, stared at Ryoga, who appeared to have been walking with his gaze fixed on something engulfed in his large hand. Akane spoke up for him, eyeing the sometime pig warily. “Ryoga-kun, what are you doing here? Are you ... um, lost?”

Ryoga looked around at the four pairs of female eyes fixed on him, and the sympathetic regard contained in them. He flushed, feeling embarrassed under this attention. “Er, no. No. I'm, uh, running an errand for my mom. She asked me to come pick up some things she ordered from a store down the street.”

“Is that safe?” Akane asked. “I mean, it seems pretty amazing that you found your way here. Are you going to be able to find your way back by yourself all right?”

Ryoga's face grew even more red as he shook his head from side to side. “It's okay. My uh, uh, uh ...” His voice dropped to a whisper, “therapist ...,” then rose in volume once more, “helped me to get this.” He held out what appeared to be a cell phone, whose display showed a street map with an arrow on it.

“It's a telephone,” Ryoga went on, “with a built-in GPS module. I can give it an address, and it shows a map with an arrow on it. The arrow points in the direction I'm supposed to be walking in. I also have saved addresses for a few places like home, school and my,” again the word was whispered, “therapist's office.”

Kasumi smiled cheerfully. “Goodness. That sounds like a very useful thing for you to have.”

Ryoga wished that he could stop blushing, especially with Ranma standing right there watching him, even if his rival was currently female. “Uh, yeah. It also has saved phone numbers for home and my, uh, therapist in case I get into some kind of trouble where I need to call someone.”

“And do you still blame Ranma for your curse, and everything else in your life?” Akane inquired seriously. The look on her face suggested that he had better consider his answer carefully.

Ryoga felt a light sweat breaking out on his forehead. “I, uh ... we're working on it. I'm ... trying.” His face scrunched up, before he blurted, “It ain't that simple, all right! Why should he have it so easy?” His finger was pointing at onna-Ranma.

This was met by a look of disbelief from Ranma, and indignation from the others. Even Kasumi frowned briefly. The oldest sister held out a hand to stop Akane before she could launch into a tirade, and spoke calmly, as if she were tutoring a small, errant child.

“Ryoga-kun, I'm afraid that you don't know what you are talking about. Have you forgotten Ranma's own curse, even though he is standing right in front of you? Have you forgotten that he can no longer talk? Has he ever shared with you any stories of how his father trained him? Please do not whine to me about how Ranma-kun has had an easier life than you, because I'm afraid that I know better.”

Ryoga looked like a puppy being chastised by its owner for having an accident on the carpet. “I'm, er, s-sorry,” he got out, unable to meet Kasumi's eyes.

Ranma pulled out his pad and started writing something. Everyone waited while his pen scratched away, then he pulled off the sheet and handed it to Kasumi to read. “Don't worry about it, Ryoga. Tell you what, we're going to the beach in a few days, but after we get back, how about you come over to spar with me? We can take out our frustrations on each other. If you don't have the address, Kasumi can give it to your mom.”

Ryoga turned to face Ranma with a gleam in his eye. “So, I'd be free to pound on you, eh? Sounds good to me.”

Ranma opened his mouth in a silent laugh, then wrote some more and handed the sheet to Ryoga. “Just so long as you realize I'm going to be pounding right back.” Ryoga looked up from the sheet to see Ranma cock an index finger at him, then pound a fist into his other hand.

Akane spoke up. “Hey! I hope you don't think you're going to leave me out of these sparring sessions! After all ...” She turned to give Ryoga the evil eye. “I still need to pay this pervert back for ...” She suddenly remembered that she had never told Kasumi and Nabiki all of the details of that night. “... for, uh, coming by to fight Ranma at night while we were all trying to sleep.”

Ryoga looked at the fire in her eyes and gulped, wondering if this might prove more dangerous than he initially thought. A memory came back to him and he asked, “Um, didn't you threaten to, uh ...” He swallowed hard. “Didn't you threaten to make me regret it if you ever found me at your house again?”

Akane looked him over, then sighed, banking the flames of her anger a little. “Yes, I did. It still goes if I ever find you in my house at night or without an invitation. But it's okay if you've been invited over to spar.”

Akane's eyes narrowed a bit more as she reflected once more on the reason for her threats. She took a step closer and, in a quiet voice which encouraged him to lean over a little, whispered, “Besides, I'm assuming your therapy sessions are doing you some good. You won't ever use your curse to crawl into a girl's bed without her knowledge again. Will you?”

Ryoga shook his head from side to side violently.

Akane nodded. “Then I suppose that I can forgive you. Not that I'm likely to forget, and not that I'm going to suddenly start trusting you without a lot more evidence that you can be trusted. Like I said, you're only welcome if you've been invited.”

Ryoga also nodded, sheepishly. “Okay. I, uh, I'd better be going. I hope you have a good time. At the beach, I mean.” He looked at Ranma, and sighed, looking up at the sky rather than at the cute figure he cut. “All of you.” He gave a small wave of his hand, then headed down the street in the wrong direction. He turned his attention back to the device in his hand, gave a small curse, turned around and passed them going the other way.

The family walked together from the train station to the rented cottage, Kasumi and Nabiki leading the way while Ranma, Soun and Akane carried most of the luggage. Akane was grumbling mildly because Ranma had insisted that she carry more than her fair share. Actually, that wasn't the problem. Her real complaint was that he insisted she carry the luggage while simultaneously walking along the tops of fences. Ranma allowed her to get away with the grumbling as long as she kept it reasonably inaudible.

Before long the family arrived at the small house they had rented, and stepped up onto its large front porch. Kasumi unlocked the door and immediately began opening windows to let in air and let out the heat. Inside the house was a living room with a small kitchen area separated from it by a counter, two bedrooms, and a small room containing a toilet and sink. Observing the facilities, Nabiki commented, “Looks like we'll be making use of a public bathhouse this visit.”

It was quickly decided, with no debate, that the three sisters would share the larger bedroom, and Ranma and Soun would share the other. They dumped their luggage into the rooms accordingly, and Kasumi started unpacking some of the things she had brought for the kitchen while making plans to visit the local market. Nabiki disappeared into the bedroom to change into her swimsuit, saying that she was headed straight to the beach. Hoping to delay that experience himself, Ranma suggested to Akane that they go out for a walk around the town, to which she readily agreed.

Thus Ranma and Akane found themselves walking alone together through the quiet streets of the town, breathing in the salt tang of the air, listening to the cries of gulls nearby. Without even thinking about it, Ranma's hand had reached over and encircled Akane's, and she had accepted his grip. A steady breeze was blowing off of the ocean and up the hills, causing Akane to reach for her hat more than once to make sure it remained on her head. It was peaceful, and Akane gazed around with delight, while Ranma divided his attention between the scenery and the girl beside him.

They ended up at a little shop where they were able to buy some ice cream and then sit down at a table outside to eat it. There was a good view down the hill of the ocean, with several passing ships visible, although the beach itself was hidden from view.

Akane turned to Ranma with a smile and chirped, “It's beautiful, isn't it?”

He nodded in response. Then, daringly, he signed, “You're more beautiful.” Ranma was pleased with the blush this raised on her face, even though he knew his own had grown rosy at the same time. Both teenagers turned their attention industriously to their ice cream.

An hour or so after they left, Akane and Ranma returned to the cottage. They found that Kasumi, having recently returned from the market, was more than ready to take a break and head down to the ocean. Akane was quite willing to accompany her, but Ranma was rather less so. With considerable effort, they finally persuaded Ranma to join them, and he reluctantly splashed himself with some water from the sink to transform into a girl. After donning their swimsuits, the three females walked down the road to the beach.

The trio collected quite a number of looks from the unattached males they passed, not to mention several covert glances from the attached ones. It made Ranma feel distinctly uncomfortable, and he kept worrying whether he might be showing more than he intended. Several times his fingertips brushed lightly along the leg openings of his suit, to confirm that the fabric was where he expected it to be.

Nabiki was nowhere to be seen, but they did find a nice clean patch of sand well above the waterline on which to spread out the large blanket which Kasumi has thought to bring. Ranma opened the beach umbrella and stuck it into the sand to one side, placing the cooler he had carried with him in its shade. The girls then lay down to soak up some sun while Ranma sat hugging his knees beside the cooler, hiding in the shade of the umbrella.

Ranma's only memories of previous trips to the beach involved learning how to fight with sandy footing, or in the surf. He shot envious glances at the two girls, noting the smiles on their faces as they lay there in the sun. After a short time he came out from under the umbrella to sit beside Akane. As the minutes ticked past, he gradually leaned back, supporting himself on his arms, legs stretched out in front of him.

Ranma was surprised at how good it felt to simply sit there like that, allowing the hot sun to warm him. With his eyes closed, he was eventually able to forget, temporarily, that there were other guys around staring at his female body.

After a relaxing period of time, Ranma reached over and pulled a drink out of the cooler. The movement attracted the attention of the two sisters and on their request, he passed out additional bottles to both Akane and Kasumi. The cool liquid felt good, and Ranma pressed the sweaty bottle against his forehead. He cast a greedy eye at the mild surf, and tossed the rest of the drink down his throat quickly.

Turning to Akane, he signed, “We swim.” Not receiving an immediate enthusiastic response, he added an interrogative, “Okay?”

Akane looked down, smoothing out bumps in the blanket. She cleared her throat a couple of times before admitting, “I, uh, can't swim very well.”

Ranma signed, “I with you. Watch you.”

Akane grew even more nervous, twiddling her thumbs. “Um, the truth is, I ... can't swim at all.”

Ranma stared at her, looking very surprised. His hands asked, “Why you not say before?”

Akane squirmed, then said hotly, and rather loudly, “Because I was too embarrassed, okay?! All my friends can swim, but I've never learned! Every time I try, I just sink!”

Ranma's head tilted to the side, considering her words. The girl he faced was indeed very muscular, and likely would have some trouble floating. Even so, there should be no fundamental reason she couldn't learn to swim. Finally he signed, “After back home, I teach you swim. Wait.” He stood and walked off.

Akane's eyes followed him nervously. He walked up the beach a ways, then negotiated with a vendor to rent a couple of inflated tubes, mostly using gestures and displays of a few yen. Carrying the tubes back, he put them down, then signed, “We stay close to beach. I watch carefully. Okay?”

Akane gave an unreassuring titter. “I ... I guess.” She picked up one of the tubes and followed Ranma down to the water.

It took a while, but Akane gradually relaxed as nothing terrible happened. The water was cool, even chilly after the hot sun on the sand. It felt very refreshing. Akane was even able to unwind enough to engage in a little horseplay, splashing Ranma. When the pigtailed girl finally indicated that he was ready to get out of the water, Akane was surprised to feel a small sense of disappointment, but reassured herself with the thought that they were going to be here for several more days.

After a typically wonderful dinner prepared by Kasumi, all five of them trooped off together to the nearest bathhouse. On the way there, a thought suddenly occurred to Ranma, stopping him cold in his tracks. When the others paused, looking at him curiously, Ranma pulled out his pad and wrote.

“How am I going to do this? The cold water will make me a girl. I don't want all the men in there to see me like that.”

“Oh my,” Kasumi exclaimed. “That hadn't occurred to me.”

“Well I hope you don't think you're bathing on the women's side,” Akane told him pointedly.

Ranma waved his hands at her in exaggerated negation, then wrote, “Of course not. Besides, the hot water would change me back to a guy.”

“Maybe they have a coed facility here,” Nabiki suggested. “I'm sure that Akane wouldn't mind keeping you company.”

“Nabiki!” Akane yelled, face reddening. Ranma was scowling at the middle sister as well.

Soun, taking note of the stares they were attracting, intervened between his daughters for once. “For goodness sake, they have hot water faucets as well. Ranma, you'll just have to wash and rinse yourself with hot water, and try very hard to avoid being splashed by any of the other bathers. That should allow you to remain male.”

This plan was followed and although it almost worked, Ranma did get splashed. In fact, it was Soun who was at fault, tripping over someone else's pail. He apologized profusely, trying not to look at the nude girl, while Ranma quickly grabbed his pail of hot rinse water and dumped it over his head. Luckily, he had been just about ready to rinse anyway. Ranma immediately walked over to one of the tubs and sank into it, allowing the hot water to wrap him in a feeling of security, safe for a short period from changing gender.

Everyone enjoyed themselves equally as well the next day, with one exception. Ranma pouted for a couple of hours after Akane won a martial art melon splitting race which they both entered. Ranma got so involved with splitting the watermelons held by the other contestants that he forgot the point was to be the first one across the finish line with an intact melon. Akane seemed to have a permanent grin plastered across her face the rest of the day over having beaten Ranma at something labeled as a “martial art.”

The next couple of days passed without any crises, and Ranma found that he was actually enjoying himself. Of course the best parts, to his mind, were the times that he and Akane spent sightseeing or just walking around the town, when he could remain male. But as he became accustomed to the men looking at him on the beach, he found that he was able to ignore them, and take pleasure in the various things they did — sitting in the sun, swimming, eating ice cream. One day he and Akane constructed an elaborate sand castle which was more than two meters in diameter.

For her part, Akane was happier than she had ever been before. She found her thoughts turning more and more toward the boy who had so thoroughly become a part of her life, all of the things they enjoyed doing together, wondering if maybe they weren't “just friends.” Wondering what they were. Wondering what, if anything, she should do about it.

On the fourth day after their arrival, Ranma was negotiating with a vendor over the purchase of two ice cream cones. He and Akane were at the beach by themselves for the moment, and she was some distance away, still lying on the blanket. As he was preparing to pay, a young man walked up and said, “Here, let me get that for you. My treat.”

The red-haired girl turned to regard her would-be benefactor. He was tall, wearing only a brief pair of swim trunks, relatively muscular and well tanned. He looked to be about nineteen, with finely chiseled facial features just slightly reminiscent of the ice skater Mikado Sanzenin. Not a plus in Ranma's book. Still, if this guy wanted to save him the cost of the ice cream, who was he to argue? He gave a small smile, and nodded his head.

Ranma turned away as the boy paid the vendor, but he quickly caught up and began walking beside the teenage girl. “My name's Takumi ... Takumi Fujiwara. What's yours?”

Ranma glanced to the side, but tried to hide his annoyance since this Takumi had just paid for his ice cream. He opened his mouth wide and reached up to point a finger into it, while shaking his head.

“Oh.” The boy looked a little disturbed. “You, uh, can't talk, huh? Gee, that's too bad. Must be kinda rough.”

Ranma gave a little sigh, wishing his new companion would take off. He shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he was grown more or less used to his mute condition, and was not particularly seeking sympathy for it. They were getting close to where he had left Akane. Ranma sought for some way to politely convince the boy to go pester someone else.

Takumi put an arm around Ranma's shoulders, pulling him in close. “Well, I think you're really brave to not let it bother you any. Tell you what, my blanket's just down the way a little ...” He pointed. “Why don't you come over and join me? I could put some more suntan lotion on you if you like, and maybe later we could go out together for some dinner?”

Ranma stopped dead still, causing Takumi to stumble slightly as his feet tried to continue moving forward while his arm on Ranma's shoulders was unable to do so. Ranma knew that the boy had offered to buy the ice cream for what he saw as a cute girl, but the remaining implications were only now penetrating. ‹This slimeball is hitting on me! He wants to take me out on a date!›

Ranma gave a shudder, and Takumi looked at her in concern. “Is ... is everything all right? I haven't offended you, have I?” He pulled back his arm hastily. “I mean, you just seemed like a nice girl and ... I ...” His voice trailed off as Ranma turned burning eyes on him, hands clenching into fists.

Luckily they had stopped fairly close to Akane, who had observed the final stages of this encounter. Just as lucky, Akane's emotions were not directly involved in anything which had happened so far, so she was able to manage a degree of objectivity. She leaped up and threw her arms around Ranma before he could do anything devastating.

“Whoa, Ranma! Calm down!” Akane urged in a fierce whisper. “Unless he said something terrible, I didn't see him do anything bad.”

Despite his pinned arms, Ranma managed to sign, “Wants a date.”

Akane's lips quivered, but she kept her expression serious. “He didn't know. All he saw was a cute girl, without a boy nearby, and thought he'd see if you might like to get to know him.” She had a little trouble saying this, as she was feeling like a hypocrite. In Ranma's place, Akane might well have decked the guy herself. A few months ago, she certainly would have done so.

Akane turned to the boy who was staring at them in obvious confusion. “She had a bit of trouble with a guy not so long ago, and isn't exactly rational about such things yet. You'd better go while I can still hold her.”

Takumi blinked his eyes, not comprehending what was wrong. Nonetheless, he took in the red-haired girl's agitation and clenched fists, and decided to leave before she grew any more upset. Shaking his head over the missed opportunity, he walked off down the beach.

After a moment or two more, Ranma took a deep breath and relaxed his tensed muscles, prompting Akane to release him. He looked down sorrowfully at the two crushed cones lying in the hot sand, their contents already almost entirely melted. Akane patted him on the shoulder and told him, “Go ahead and lie back down. I'll buy some more ice cream.”

Several minutes later the two teenagers were sitting on the blanket, eating their ice cream, while watching people sporting in the waves. Ranma was still visibly upset, but was slowly calming down. Akane was trying to think of something she could say that might help, but most of the ideas that occurred to her were more likely to make it worse.

Then Akane had an idea. Her eyes widened as it occurred to her, and her pulse sped up. There were several potential difficulties, but the biggest was whether she had the courage to even make the suggestion. She bit her lip, worrying, wondering how Ranma would react if she dared. It would be necessary to drop her defenses, and Akane knew that if she was even the slightest bit wrong about how Ranma might react, then it was going to hurt terribly.

Ranma sensed the attack of nerves going on beside him, and cast a concerned look toward Akane. With an effort he tried to put aside his lingering disgust over what had happened, in order to deal with whatever was troubling his friend. However, before he could raise his hands to ask a question, Akane turned to look directly at him. Her eyes seemed to hold fear in their depths.

“Ranma,” she began, her voice sounding hoarse. She stopped and licked her lips before continuing. “Do you remember that restaurant we passed last night while we were walking? The one with the little fountain out in front? That we thought might be a nice place to try?”

Ranma nodded to show that, yes, he did remember it. He was very puzzled, wondering what this had to do with the state she was working herself up into.

Akane was now having trouble meeting his eyes. “I was, uh, wondering if you might like to go there tonight. Just the two of us. To go out together.” She looked back up to see his response.

Ranma wondered what was bothering the girl beside him so much. It couldn't be what she'd just asked. They'd gone out to eat together several times now. There had to be something else. Nonetheless, the answer to the question he'd been asked was obvious. He smiled, and nodded his head happily.

Akane considered his reaction carefully, and realized that she would have to be more explicit. “I don't just mean, go out to eat together. I mean ... a date. You and I ... go on a date.”

She knew that she'd finally got through to him as she watched understanding dawn, and panic fill his blue eyes. Ranma's throat moved in several convulsive swallows, and his hands suddenly had two death grips on the blanket beneath them.

Ranma felt absolutely petrified, and was struggling mightily to get his thoughts moving again. Akane wanted to go on a date? With him? He had been fighting for some time against thinking of Akane that way, certain that he could never be more than a friend to her, that neither she, nor indeed any girl, could possibly be interested in a cursed freak like himself. Yet she had indisputably just suggested that they go on a date.

‹Say something, jackass!› he wailed silently inside his head. ‹Before she thinks that your answer is no!›

One finger at a time, Ranma released his hold on the blanket, and slowly raised his hands in front of himself. Moving with exquisite care, he formed the signs, “I would like. Very much.” He watched as Akane sagged in relief.

Then another panicked thought struck him, as he remembered things he had overheard other boys saying, about dates they had been on. Terror on his face, his hands rapidly made additional signs, ending in an interrogative. “Need to kiss?”

Akane took a moment to remember the meaning of the sign for “kiss,” then waved her hands violently in front of herself. “No! No, no kiss. Not, uh, not on a first date. We'll just eat there, and then go back to the cottage.”

It was Ranma's turn to sag in relief. He may have kissed Akane by accident while in the neko-ken, but he wasn't ready to contemplate doing it deliberately. Calming down, he tilted his head, looking off in the distance for a moment, then signed, “How different? Eat at restaurants before.”

“How is this different from other times we ate out at restaurants?” Akane asked to confirm his question. Ranma nodded. She thought about it for a moment, then answered. “The difference, well, it's the reason why. The other times weren't dates. This time is. We know it's a date, and that makes it different.” She paused, thinking some more. “What will happen, what we'll do, will probably be pretty much the same as the other times. But it will feel completely different.”

Ranma thought about what she'd said, and realized that it made sense to him. He still couldn't believe that she really wanted to go on a date with him, but was glad that she'd had the courage to ask him, because he was certain that he could never have suggested it first. He blinked, as he suddenly became aware of his rapid heartbeat and breathing, and then castigated himself for his lack of control. He focused his attention inward, forcing his body's processes back to optimum states.

His attention was not wholly internal, however. His hand reached out and came to rest on Akane's, where it was placed on the blanket. His fingers curled around, taking hold of her hand, and he felt her return his grip. Both teenagers smiled, their cheeks glowing softly, realizing that the handclasp had a new meaning to them.

Ranma didn't even realize that he had completely forgotten about the episode with the other boy.

In the girl's bedroom later that day, Akane was brushing her hair while getting ready to go out. Nabiki looked up from where she was doing exercises on the floor. “So, are you sure now? This time, it really is a date?”

Akane rounded on her sister, but instead of anger, her eyes looked sad. “Oneechan, please ... please don't tease. I'm nervous enough already. Don't make it harder.”

Nabiki sighed, grumbling slightly, but let it drop. After all, Kasumi was sitting on the bed, looking straight at her. Nabiki remembered quite clearly the scene when Akane and Ranma had come home, and her little sister had announced that the two of them were going on a date that night. Moving with a speed no one knew she possessed, Kasumi had stuffed their father's mouth with two entire rice balls before he could utter a single word in response to the announcement.

By the time Soun was able to swallow and had his mouth free again, Akane and Ranma had vanished into the bedrooms to change out of their swimsuits. Kasumi had taken the opportunity to whisper sternly into his ear for several minutes, and then had insisted he accompany her while she did some shopping. He had seemed very subdued on their return.

Akane's and Ranma's dinner was not very different from the other times they ate in restaurants, although they were both more nervous and conversation, such as it was, didn't seem to be as easy. They did settle down a little by the end of the meal. A spilled water glass accompanied by a change of gender just before paying the bill proved only a minor hiccup in the evening, and Ranma returned from the restroom as a male to escort Akane back to the cottage.

They held hands as they walked along. Ranma decided to delay their return a little longer and turned aside, leading Akane to a point where they could look out over the ocean below. The sun had set behind them so that the sky in front of them and its reflection in the water were fairly dark, except that the moon just above the horizon cast a pale streak across the waters. They stood there quietly and enjoyed the view while the lingering light faded out of the sky behind, allowing the path of moonlight across the sea to grow clearer. Akane leaned against Ranma, prompting him to nervously lift an arm and put it around her, holding her close. The moon was considerably higher before the two silently turned and continued on their way.

By the time the five of them were on the train heading back to Tokyo, Kasumi felt like a nervous wreck. She had been required to expend enormous effort to keep their father from saying anything which might damage this delicate new stage of Akane's and Ranma's relationship. At least Nabiki had gotten the message right away, and had confined herself to slipping in numerous casual references to Ranma as being Akane's boyfriend. This had annoyed both of the younger teens a little, but they seemed to brush it off without becoming unduly upset.

Kasumi cast another worried look at her father. Now that her little sister and Ranma admitted they were dating, Soun seemed almost unable to control himself, wanting to push Akane and Ranma together far faster than they would be willing to accept. Kasumi had lost count of how many times she had explained to him that doing so might break them up instead, and if he really wanted them together, he would be far better off letting things progress as they were. Each such lecture caused the Tendo patriarch to back off for a while, but it was never more than a temporary reprieve.

Kasumi made a fervent wish that her father would come to his senses before doing anything foolish. She also hoped that things might remain peaceful for a while, so that her attention wouldn't be distracted by any further complications.

In China, a man in a filthy gi wearily hiked east out of the Bayankala Mountains. He had waited in Jusenkyo for several weeks, but his foolish son had never shown up. Genma had finally been forced to conclude that, whatever Ranma's plans had been, they had not involved an immediate return to the place where they were cursed.

So it was time to head back to Japan and see if he could pick up on Ranma's trail. He needed to find the boy and drag him to Tendo's, get him safely married, before Ranma's mother Nodoka found out about the curse. He sighed in something like despair at the thought of the cold trail he would be trying to follow.

A couple of men he was passing stopped to stare at him. Genma stared back until they averted their gaze and continued on. He gave a soft snort, remembering how he had spent the time looking for, and finally finding, the Spring of Drowned Man. He had a crystal clear memory of the event, certain he was about to be cured, diving into the pool.

Two boys herding sheep came slowly down the road. When the first one caught sight of Genma he stared for a minute, jaw hanging. Then he giggled and nudged his companion, pointing as the other boy looked up. They both collapsed to the ground laughing, forgetting their sheep. Genma ignored the pair, trying to look dignified.

He didn't pull it off very well. It's hard to look dignified when you're a middle-aged man with the ears of a panda bear.