Second Time Around Part 1: Chiisana Negai Dake by David Eddy Last modified: Wednesday, 25 March 1998 A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2. The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the property of Takahashi Rumiko and her licensees. Ranma was on a date. With *Kunou Tatewaki* of all people. He was in his female body, dressed sexily in a cheongsam. It wasn't as though he had a choice in the matter. Kunou had drawn a sword from a rock that had been that way for as long as people could remember. The sword was a wishing sword, and Kunou had wished for a date with "osage no onna"... in other words, Ranma. Still, he had gone willingly enough. He wanted desperately to get his hands on the sword. Through fair means and foul, he had tried to get the sword away from Kunou, but had been balked at every turn. Until.... The ancient sword trembled in Ranma-onna's grasp as he held it before himself. Gathering his courage, Ranma yelled the words. "I wish I was not cursed!" Suddenly the world changed. Ranma's vision was filled with a wall of black and white fur. A hammer blow crashed into his chest and he was falling. Snatches of scenery whirled past as he plunged downwards: Steel-blue sky beneath rugged grey-green mountains; a Chinese man in a Maoist suit frozen in a moment of wild gesticulation; the reflection of the sky in the water below interrupted by the ridged shaft protruding from its centre.... He had time only for a gasp of shocked realization before he crashed ungracefully into cold water. Ranma felt the familiar sensation of the change surge through him. His heart was filled with sick disbelief even as the numbingly-cold water pressed at him. Automatically he began to stroke towards the shimmering, silver surface. He broke it. Gratefully he took a breath, filling his lungs with the cool, clear air of the mountains. Sick betrayal filled him as he realised that his wish had been fulfilled to the letter. "--Take body of young girl!" the Chinese man was yelling. The Guide of Jusenkyou. Ranma ignored the Guide and quickly pulled himself out of the pool. He ignored the way the fabric clung to his breasts through long familiarity. Automatically he looked around and saw his father the giant panda still balancing on a bamboo pole... a pole which was trembling under his weight. Their eyes met, and Ranma could see no apology, only challenge. Hot rage, springing from the dashing of his hopes, crystallised in him and he surged towards his father. "Kuso oyajiiii!" The panda that was her father leaped from the pole and ran off, away from the ponds. Ranma sprinted after him, but quickly trailed to a halt. He hadn't caught his father last time, and probably wouldn't this time. If he stayed here, perhaps Ryouga wouldn't end up being Akane's pet. Snarling at the world, Ranma spun and stalked back to where the guide stood by their packs. The guide watched him nervously, backing away as Ranma took up his pack. "Okyakusama has fallen into the cursed springs of Jusenkyou!" said the Guide quickly, holding up trembling hands. "Hot water will reverse the curse, okyakusama!" Ranma looked at the guide to see that he was sweating bullets. Looking away again, he hitched his gi closed again under his pack straps and picked up his father's pack. "Yeah, whatever," he sneered in his high, feminine voice. "Just lead me to it, old man." The water in the big old kettle in the Guide's hut was nearly hot when Genma, still in panda form, reappeared carrying a small squealing black piglet. Ranma-onna's heart sank as he saw the pig, certain that it was Ryouga. What should he do? Ranma's mind reeled with possibilities. Should he stop Ryouga as he ran out of the hut and try to head off the insane, never-ending series of arguments he knew were coming? He wrapped his arms about his head as he thought, pondering the possibilities. What if Ryouga blamed him anyway? And he wouldn't recognise him as he was anyway, what with his *very* female body. The poor schmuck was just as likely to fall for him, or even worse, get a nosebleed. Yuk. He tuned out the guide's bustling about and broken Japanese as he wrestled with the problem of what to do about Ryouga. Along the way the problem of Ryouga got lost in the realisation that he was *really* here, that somehow the wish had rewound time. His wish had been granted, but in the stingiest possible way. He snorted to himself at the unfairness of it. But it seemed as though he was not stuck on a treadmill -- last time, he had chased his father to exhaustion and still not managed to catch him although he *had* managed to knock Ryouga off the cliff above the pools. Somehow, though, it seemed Ryouga had still managed to get cursed. Ranma's ruminations were interrupted when he heard a scream of pain from within the hut. A naked Ryouga came sprinting out of the doorway and within moments was out of sight. Regretfully Ranma shook his head, knowing that now he would next see Ryouga when he showed up at school attempting to get revenge for his curse, even though Ranma had had absolutely nothing to do with it this time. One opportunity gone. A stream of hot water poured upon his head. "Come on, boy, it's time we were moving. We've got an appointment in Japan." Ranma looked up at his father's grinning face. Loathing filled him, and he fought down the urge to use a serious blow against his father, a killing or maiming blow. A sudden notion filled him. He remembered that the guide would lead them from here into the Amazon village. He decided to kill two birds with one stone, and let the Amazons deal with his father for him. It was a minor struggle to keep a smirk from his face as he stood. Wordlessly, with an angry expression on his face, he handed his father his pack and set out after the guide. * * * "Aaaaa! Okyakusama! What you do?!" Spray from a waterfall had reactivated their curses, and Ranma, in his female form, stood by the Guide watching his father gorge himself on the Amazon prize food. He could not believe that his father had managed to ignore the large, ornate sign that clearly said, "prize". The growling in his belly served only to fuel his gloating anticipation at what his father had coming to him. They had just watched Shampoo win against some old battleaxe fighter twice her size after a brief but savage battle. She was as pretty as ever, Ranma noted. Tall, with a lithe, athletic figure and a springy, erect carriage, she also had good-sized breasts that rode high and firm on her chest. Her long hair shone in the sunlight, flicking about as she fought. Idly Ranma wondered why her withered old great-grandmother Cologne had not taken part, but decided that she was so far ahead of Shampoo in fighting ability she must not be eligible for some reason. Shampoo could never have won if the old bat or anyone else with even some of her skills had taken part. For now, however, Shampoo had been declared Champion of the Joketsuzoku (or so Ranma assumed). She had looked to her prize and, seeing the panda gorging on her food, had screamed something in Chinese. The Guide had gone pasty white and yelled his warning to his father. "Okyakusama! What you do?!" Ranma tried to avoid smirking in anticipation at his old man's predicament. Genma looked up curiously, a melon dangling from the claws of one paw and a fish in his jaws. Shampoo stalked over, but to Ranma's acute surprise ignored the panda and went to him. She yelled something threateningly. "Your pet eat prize, she say," translated the guide helpfully. "You responsible, she say." Ranma-onna backed up and held up his hands. "Hang on there! Oyaji's no one's pet! Tell them we've been cursed at Jusenkyou, and that panda is a person!" "That not good idea, okyakusama." "Tell them! The old bastard can clean up his own mess for a change." Hesitantly the Guide said something to the assembled audience, punctuated by much bowing and fawning. Shampoo's eyes blazed, and suddenly hot water was splashed over them both from somewhere. Ranma decided he didn't much like the ugly murmur that ran through the crowd at the sight of two men appearing where before there had been a girl and a panda. Now, at last, Cologne hopped forward, balancing as usual on a walking stick that was taller than she was. Ranma fought to keep recognition from his face. "You are outsider males who have trespassed on Amazon lands without permission," she said in a cold voice. "You must fight or be enslaved." A chill gripped Ranma's guts at he fully realised what had happened. The Guide! He had always wondered why they had gone this way, when he and his father had not crossed the village on the way in. The hatred between Japanese and Chinese was ancient, and this little trip through the village must have been the Guide's obscure revenge... for what, though, Ranma wasn't quite sure. "Hey! It wasn't our fault! He led us here!" he protested, pointing at the Guide. Cologne flicked a glance at the Guide, who was trying to hide behind Genma. "So what?" She smiled thinly. "What will it be?" Ranma held himself still. He wondered for a moment about the trap that the Guide had led them into, but then pushed that to one side. First they had to get out of the village, preferably without any kiss of death or anything like that. Their only option was to fight, and Ranma scrambled to avoid the problems he foresaw. "Who must we fight?" asked Ranma cautiously. "One of you will suffice," said Cologne, eyeing him contemplatively. "You must fight our champion," she added, indicating the haughty Shampoo with one withered hand. A heavy hand landed between Ranma's shoulder blades. "Go for it, boy. You can take her easily!" Ranma flicked a contemptuous glance at his father. Frowning, he struggled to think his way through this clearly. "I know something of the customs of the Joketsuzoku," he said to Cologne. "There is to be no kiss of death or kiss of marriage as a result of the bout. If I win, we go free without any other conditions." Cologne and several other of the Joketsuzoku stared at Ranma in surprise. A murmur of translation rose within the crowd which was followed by the remainder of the female crowd staring in amazement at the Japanese boy. Cologne's eyes meanwhile turned to slits as she contemplated the upstart boy. "You are in no position to set conditions," she said coldly. Ranma knew that he could not afford to show any weakness. "Nonetheless, I demand it," he said, glaring at Cologne. The silence that followed was broken only by the murmuring of a nearby stream. Cologne's eyes narrowed even further. "I do not argue terms and conditions with one such as you," she said dismissively. She spoke briefly to the crowd, then Shampoo vaulted to the top of the suspended log that had been the contest ground, her bonbori at the ready. Ranma ground his teeth in frustration, knuckles standing out white on his clenched fists. The old monster had backed him into a corner. His blood whispered with the desire to flatten this withered up old husk into the dirt, but the certain knowledge that she would defeat him, easily, held him back. His training by her in the hiryuu shouten ha was still fresh in his memory, and he was uncomfortably aware that she almost certainly had dozens of similarly lethal tricks. Without a word, he vaulted to the log's top. He could see Shampoo's overconfidence at his weaponlessness in the way she weighed her weapons and the minute movements of her eyes and weapons as she planned her first set of attacks. A pity she would never get to execute them. Ranma had fought her plenty of times, and she had a gap in her defense which was, to him, a mile wide. Unconsciously he relaxed, preparing for the fight, steeling himself to make sure that he did in fact defeat Shampoo. Cologne shouted something, and Shampoo rushed towards him. Ranma had time to smile grimly before executing a perfectly-timed basic snap kick which knocked her off the log to land unconscious on the ground ten feet from her bonbori. He jumped easily to the ground and grabbed his pack. "Come on, oyaji, we're goin'," he growled above the rising murmur of Chinese indignation. He stoically ignored the limp Shampoo, instead walking firmly away from the training ground. * * * It was the deep of night. The throbbing of a heavy diesel engine and the susurration of sea water being parted by the passage of the tramp freighter Yamanaka Maru were the only sounds. This late at night, only the dog watch was awake on board, and they kept to their nice warm duty posts. Everyone else was in bed. Ranma had been unable to sleep, however, and finally had come up on deck. The crew didn't bother to light the foredeck since no-one ever went there while they were at sea, and Ranma had an excellent view of the stars, his friends since childhood. He had been unable to sleep because tomorrow they would be in Japan. Tomorrow he would meet his fiancee-to- be, Akane, and he had some serious thinking to do. The milky way spread across the star-sprinkled sky like pale, curdled milk. He could see Akane's face in the sky as he thought. She was smiling, and for some reason his heart was thumping. Tomorrow Akane would become his fiancee. He could of course select one of the other girls, but one way or another he knew the engagement would happen. It had the status of giri, and as such was unavoidable. Ranma tried visualising himself engaged to Kasumi or Nabiki, but he could not. Somehow they always ended up looking like Akane. He briefly considered refusing *any* engagement, but the question of family honour made that a nonsense. He could no sooner deny that than cease breathing. 'Unlike some people,' he thought bitterly to himself as thoughts of his family brought his father to mind. But, what if he did avoid the engagement? It would be easy enough; all he had to do was run off before his father finally got around to telling him. Perhaps he could find his way back to China, find a cure. Briefly, he turned the idea over in his mind. With a disgusted "pah!", Ranma discarded the idea. For some reason, the thought of no Akane made him feel oddly hollow. And if he wasn't there, pig- boy would meet Akane without him to get in the way. The thought of pig-boy getting anywhere with Akane filled him with rage. Jealous rage, he realised. 'I guess... maybe I like her,' he finally said to himself inside the fastnesses of his mind. He wondered if she liked him. It was hard to tell. She had protested that she hated him on more than one occasion, denied the engagement, but she also didn't seem to mind being in his company. It was so confusing. Then a memory from not long ago replayed in his head. Akane was standing over him, her short blue- black hair framing her face, her eyes unreadable... maybe concerned. Happousai had branded him on his back in a tsubo that had robbed him of his strength for the crime of resisting his perverted raids on the nearby female population. He had been immediately targeted by his enemies and had been beaten by them mercilessly now that he could not fight back. Only Ryouga had protected him. Through a series of trials, Cologne had come to teach him the hiryuu shouten ha. It was to be a means of defeating Happousai, to force the old master to give Ranma his last hope for regaining his strength, Happousai's secret chart of tsubo. But now, with Akane standing over him, it was thought lost. In a cruel irony, it had been lost in a device of his own making, his first truly successful hiryuu shouten ha since the old ghoul had trained him. When Akane had been caught up in the whirlwind he had been forced to choose between saving the chart and saving Akane, and he of course had chosen her. Pieces of paper had begun raining from the sky, and his heart had soared in the hope that despite everything, a cure might be found. His schoolmates had gathered 'round, scrambling to search out pieces of the paper, but the vital piece remained missing. A momentary hope raised only to be cruelly dashed. Sick at heart, feeling condemned to a life of weakness and helplessness, he had smilingly thanked everyone for their help and run away. He had stopped to think regretfully about what had happened when a heavy weight had hit him and pinned him to the ground. Akane had tossed his pack at him. "You're just going to quietly disappear, aren't you?" she had said. "Akane," he had said to cover his surprise. "I know you won't give up. But... I'm going with you." Her eyes... her eyes had been filled with concern and determination, and something else he still didn't understand. But now, looking back, his heart lifted. Another time not long after they had first met, at that ice rink when he had protected her from the wall with his body not long after they had first met, he had seen concern for himself again expressed in her eyes as she pled with him not to push himself stupidly. Stupidly, he had ignored her and he had ended up in that pointless battle with Ryouga. His mind, now prompted, supplied images of Akane kneeling or standing over him, concern in her face, in a dozen circumstances. He smiled to the stars. 'Maybe she likes me too,' he told them with a light heart. It occurred to him that he was being given a second chance with Akane. Perhaps he could avoid making her hate him at the start. Looking up into the sky at Akane's smiling face, he thought back to the time they had met for the first time. After initial friendly overtures, she had clearly come to hate him even before they had gone to school. What had caused her to initially dislike him so much? Frowning with concentration, he settled himself in to think. From a cerulean sky, the morning sun blazed hot onto the deserted foredeck of the tramp freighter Yamanaka Maru. Well, not quite deserted; a young man dressed in red and black sat in a lotus seat, arms resting on his knees, head bowed... snoring. The blast of a passing ship's horn jerked Ranma awake and into a defensive position. Looking wildly around, he soon relaxed when he saw he was alone on the deck. To the north and east he saw the gray, ragged skyline that was Tokyo and he smiled as he thought about what was to come that day. * * * Scattered puddles from a passing cloudburst still decorated the street as Ranma, damp and female, watched his father push open the Tendou's garden gate. The familiar tinkle sounded as the gate opened, and as Ranma closed it again he heard running footsteps from inside the house. Soun and Nabiki sprinted out the front door, faces shining -- Soun's with eagerness, Nabiki's with excitement. Genma-panda let out a growf and ran towards Soun, arms extended. Both Soun and Nabiki blanched at the sight of the monster charging at them, the light glinting off its cruel claws, and did a quick about- face. Genma ran after them, and Ranma chased after his father, cursing under his breath. "Hey! You're scaring 'em silly!" he yelled in a soprano voice. His father the panda skidded to a stop in the house's entrance hall, and Ranma tried to squeeze around the huge animal without success. "Are these your friends, father?" he heard Kasumi ask. Nabiki's outraged voice followed. "Why did you become friends with a panda?!" she asked in an accusing voice. "It's unnatural, isn't it?!" Suddenly the panda moved to one side, and Ranma could get to the front. He saw that Soun and the three girls were staring at him. He almost didn't recognise Akane, but he kicked himself as he realised that of course she still had long hair. Seeing her afresh for the first time in several weeks, he reflected to himself that Akane was indeed quite pretty, though her appearance was not enhanced by the dubious look she was currently casting in his direction. Ranma noted that both Kasumi and Nabiki seemed to be angry, though Nabiki's anger was of course understandable because she had been scared. Kasumi's anger seemed at odds with the girl he knew from before, though. There was a pregnant pause as Soun stared at Ranma. The master of the house began to sweat but nothing was said until finally he leaned down and pointed at him. "And you are...?" he asked hesitantly. Ranma turned his head to the side and fiddled with her pigtail in a model of feminine behaviour. He had been hoping to avoid a precise replay of the time when he and Akane had got off to such a bad start, but so far things were going almost identically to last time. "I'm Saotome Ranma," he said at last. "Sorry 'bout this." Suddenly Soun had taken Ranma's slim arms in his hands and was standing upright, grinning. "Aah! So that's what you..." "He's cute, isn't he?" added Nabiki with a grin, her expression eager. "At last you've come!" said Souun as he enfolded Ranma into a crushing embrace. Ranma could feel his breasts crushing against the tall man's firm midsection. Suddenly Soun held him at arms length, staring at him in shock. Nabiki noticed immediately. "Mm?" She leaned forward and poked Ranma in one breast. It hurt a little, and besides, it was embarrassing. "Please stop that," he said politely. "Ranma seems to be a girl," said Nabiki in a sardonic voice. A dull thud announced the collapse of the Tendou family patriarch. Kasumi soon had Soun laid out on the futon in his bedroom, the shoji open to the garden for ventilation. She mopped his brow as tears streamed from his face. The three Tendou sisters were arguing. "Father must have been very disappointed," said Kasumi in an understanding voice. "*I'm* the one who's disappointed!" shot back Nabiki. "What kind of fiancee is this?" Akane said, "Stop it, oneechan! They went to great effort to come here!" "Otousan shouldn't have done it!" continued Nabiki, ignoring Akane. "He should have made sure first!" "He said he had a *son*!" put in Soun, tears still streaming from his eyes. Nabiki reached across to squeeze Ranma's breast again. "What kind of son is *this*?" she yelled. Ranma was getting tired of Nabiki's posturing. He gently pushed her hand away. "Excuse me," said Ranma, "please don't do that." Akane stood and leaned towards Ranma. "Say, would you like to go and look at the dojo?" she asked, smiling sweetly. "I'm Akane. Let's be friends, eh?" 'Finally,' thought Ranma to himself. Still acting the female role, he smiled sweetly at Akane in relief and stood to follow her to the dojo. "Do you do Kenpo?" asked Akane as she led the way into the dojo building. Ranma became acutely uncomfortable. He knew where this was leading. He had decided late, late last night that this was one of the areas where things had gone awry. 'I'm glad you're not a boy,' Akane had said to her that first day, seemingly so long ago. 'I'd hate to get beaten by a boy.' He had decided to try and do something about it... take proactive action for the first time... change the course of history, as it were. "Yes, a little," he said modestly. "But--" "Say, let's have a little bout, shall we?" Ranma noticed that Akane's face was alight. "Eh?" "We'll take it lightly!" she said, taking stance. "It's okay; we won't get serious." "Please wait," said Ranma. "Eh? Why? Don't you want to?" She looked disappointed, and Ranma hastened to reassure her. "Please wait," he repeated. "I'd like to have a bout with you, but there's something you have to know first." Akane's smile reappeared, though her eyes were alight with interest now too. Ranma recalled that at this time Akane had not trained with anyone for a long time, and this bout was her first chance to test her skills against a serious opponent in some time. The boys in the school yard hardly counted. "What is it?" asked Akane. "I... I..." Closing his eyes, Ranma decided to plunge ahead. "I really am a guy. I know I look like a girl at the moment, but I'm really a guy." Opening his eyes again, Ranma saw that Akane was regarding him with a confused expression. The fingers of one hand teased her lower lip. "What do you mean? Are you a cross-dresser, or one of those girls who...?" Ranma took a step back in revulsion. "No!" He held up his hands placatingly. "I can prove it to you. I'm a guy, but I've been cursed to turn into a girl." He gulped, swallowing his pride. "I'm sorry if you feel I've deceived you," he added with a humble bow. He straightened again to see that Akane was frowning at him. Ranma decided to forge ahead with his plan. "So... how about that bout?" The frown erased itself from Akane's forehead, and though she still seemed a little dubious she nodded and took stance. Ranma, too, took stance and waited for Akane to attack her. She didn't have to wait long. Akane advanced quickly, and Ranma noted that technically her form was really quite good even as he gently redirected her punch so it would miss. He had decided not to dodge the way he did last time. Akane's follow-up kick he blocked, hard, and he flashed a hand in to touch Akane on the collarbone. Akane's eyes went wide, and she redoubled her attack, putting a little more power into her movements. Ranma blocked five or six blows and then gently swept Akane's legs. As expected, Akane leaped over Ranma's deliberately-slow move and he trapped Akane with a tap with the ball of her foot to her cheekbone. Ranma recovered from his one-handed handstand as Akane backed off with wide eyes. "Wow... you're really skilled," she said. "I've been training all my life," said Ranma, smiling with satisfaction at the degree of control he had demonstrated. "You're not bad either." Akane smiled. "Thank you." "So who taught you?" "My father. We haven't done much recently for some reason though. I've been teaching myself for a while now." Ranma raised her eyebrows. "I'm impressed," he said. After a pause, he added, "Perhaps we can train together some more." "I'd like that," said Akane with an open smile. They stepped out of the dojo and walked along the walkway connecting it to the house silently. Akane continued inside, but Ranma stayed outside, admiring the spacious gardens. Kasumi called out his name. "Ranma-chan?" Ranma heard her step near to him as she repeated, "Ranma- chan?" Ranma looked inquiringly at Kasumi as she knelt next to him holding out a towel. "Please take a bath," she said. He was taken by surprise even though she should have known it was coming. "Err... no, it's okay." Kasumi frowned and forced the towel into his hands. "No it's not. You've been exercising and you're probably sweating." She shot him a sunny smile to remove any offense from her words and went back inside. With a sigh, Ranma stood and, feeling a little nervous, made his way through to the bathroom. * * * Akane was in her bedroom when Nabiki knocked on her door and entered. "Akane, the furo's hot." "Okay." She felt sweaty and wanted to wash it off, so she gathered her things and went down straight away. She felt happy, though she wondered a little why Ranma hadn't followed her up to her room. She seemed a little odd... well, very odd really, insisting she was a boy... but it was good to meet someone else who was skilled in kenpo. Perhaps they could be friends after all. The offer of training together certainly sounded good. She could hardly believe the skill smaller girl had demonstrated earlier. She closed the changing room door and began undressing. The sounds of washing came from the other side of the door. Taking off her gi, Akane called out, "Ranma, is that you in there? May I come in?" There was a pause, then Ranma's high voice floated hesitantly through the door. "Err.... If you like." Holding her washcloth in front of her, Akane opened the door and stepped inside. Inside, Ranma was sitting on a stool with soap suds dripping off one arm. She was facing away from the door. Akane closed the door and stepped around to Ranma's side so she could talk with her, but Ranma pivoted to keep her back to her. "What's wrong, Ranma?" asked Akane, surprised at Ranma's odd behaviour. "Why are you so modest? We're both girls, aren't we?" Ranma continued to look away. "Please don't be angry, Akane, but I've already told you I'm a guy. You probably think I'm deluded or something, but I'm gonna prove it to you in just a moment." He sighed. "I just didn't want you to think I was peeping, taking advantage." Akane laughed, but stopped short when she saw one of Ranma's fists clench. "You're serious," she said at last. She saw Ranma nod. "You'd better cover yourself, Akane. I don't want you to think I'm a pervert. I'm gonna show you something, and I need to see where I'm goin'." "You've got to be joking," said Akane with a short laugh. "Please, Akane, humour me." Smiling a little, Akane knelt on the tiled floor and draped her washcloth over her front. In this position, it just covered all the important bits. "Okay," she said at last. "So what were you going to show me?" Ranma tipped cold water over herself, rinsing off the soap, and turned to face Akane. From this angle, Akane could see that the other girl was amazingly well- built. "You're no guy," she said with a giggle. "You have a nice body. I wish mine was as nice as that." The look in Ranma's eyes was sad as she quickly hopped into the furo with her washcloth in one hand. "I'm sorry, Akane. Please don't hate me," she said and submerged herself. For a long moment nothing happened, and Akane was beginning to wonder what was going on when Ranma emerged... now most definitely male. Akane almost dropped her towel as she took in his well-defined build, not chunkily muscular but nonetheless powerful. He got out of the furo again, draping his washcloth in front of his groin, watching her as she stared at him in amazement. "Ra... Ranma?" He nodded. "Do you believe me now?" She just stared at him wordlessly, and Ranma decided he'd better leave her alone. "I'm sorry," he repeated at last. "I'd like to be your friend, and I'd like someone to train with apart from Oyaji, but I didn't want you to think..." He waited for Akane to react, but she was just staring into space. Wordlessly, he left. Akane turned her head at the soft sound of the closing door. She was alone now. Absently she sat on the stool Ranma had been using and quickly washed herself. She rinsed herself with cold water and stepped into the hot furo. She let herself relax as she soaked in the blissful heat of the water and mulled over what she had just seen. Ranma, the strange but cute girl she had befriended, had turned out to be a boy. Somehow she was unable to be angry with him. The look in his eyes as he had stepped into the water had been painful to watch. He had been honest with her. He had not once attempted to peep at her. Somehow, she had no problems thinking of Ranma as male. As a female, his speech had sounded just a bit stilted, as if unused to speaking the female forms of the language. Absently she wondered if he still wanted to train with her, and how long he would be staying. Oh no. Ranma was to be *engaged* to one of them. Hurriedly she got out of the furo. * * * Akane had sat quietly in the living room with the others as they had been treated to several demonstrations of the curse's action and a description by Saotome Genma of the events leading up to them falling into the pools of Jusenkyou. As she watched the elder Saotome toss his son into the koi pond twice and listened to events unfold, she began to feel a small sympathy for this boy-child who was confident, brash, and disrespectful. She had watched as even Kasumi-oneechan, the calm rock on whom they all depended, was moved to anger at Genma's actions. "Saotome-ojisama, I'm ashamed of you!" she said, grabbing onto the huge panda's tight-stretched gi and distracting him from the bashing he had been attempting to inflict on Ranma, who was in his female form just then. "That's right," said Nabiki, her arms folded angrily. "How far will you go for the sake of training?" "Why do such a dangerous thing?!" shouted Kasumi in genuine anger, punctuating her question by hitting Genma in the chest with her closed fist. A book slid from beneath the panda as if by magic, and Nabiki grabbed it. Kasumi read the title. "Catalogue of the Training Grounds of China?" "It's a guide map," Nabiki said, handing the booklet to Kasumi after flicking through it. "It's written in Chinese." "Ojisama..," said Kasumi with dismay, "you can't read Chinese, can you?" Akane was amazed to see the panda that was Saotome Genma produce a party favour from nowhere which promptly split open, spilling ribbons and confetti everywhere. "Correct," proclaimed the sign which dropped down from it. Ranma bopped her -- no, his -- father on the head. Akane was gratified to see the panda flap its arms in pain as her father poured freshly-boiled water over him from a large kettle. The panda promptly became human. "So... with hot water you return to your original form, eh?" said Soun to Genma. "Wellll, that water was a *little* hot," replied a burned Genma with a pained smile. Soun turned to Ranma. "With cold water poured on you, you become a girl, but if hot water is poured on you, you return to being male." Ranma skipped out of the way of the freshly- heated water Soun was attempting to pour on him. "Not boiling!" Soun put his arm around Ranma-onna paternally. "Good, good," he said slapping his shoulder in an avuncular fashion. "That isn't a big problem after all." Akane could hardly believe her ears. How could her father be so blase? What happened next was worse, as her father turned Ranma to face her and her sisters. "My first daughter Kasumi, age 19. My second daughter Nabiki, age 17. My third daughter Akane, age 16. Please choose the one you like. She will be your fiancee." The reality of the situation hit Akane as never before. She was stunned to feel both her sisters' hands on her back. "Oh, it's definitely Akane," said Kasumi sweetly. Akane stared at her in disbelief. "Absolutely," said a smiling Nabiki. Akane turned on Nabiki. "This isn't a joke!" she said. "Why is it me who...?" Nabiki put away her grin. "You dislike boys don't you?" she asked. "Happily Ranma-kun is half girl," added Kasumi with a broad smile. Ranma couldn't watch Akane get double-teamed any more. "Hey! I am not half girl!" Nabiki turned to Ranma, and she felt her steady gaze. "What do you call that?" she shot back, poking Ranma's breast again. "Don't do that," he said, pushing Nabiki's hand away. "I know girls who would kill for a figure as good as yours, Ranma-kun" added Kasumi. Ranma tried frantically to think for a moment, but finally habit got the better of her. "I'm a guy! And why are you two trying to railroad Akane into this, anyway?" Nabiki looked at Ranma-onna with big eyes. "Don't you like Akane, Ranma? You seemed to be getting along well enough in the dojo." "Yes I like her!" she blurted. "But what about-- ack!" Ranma's voice was cut off as he was grabbed in a double-team hug by Genma and Soun. Soun was wailing. "I'm so happy, Akane's going to be married, O happy day...!" Nabiki and Kasumi returned their attention to a shell-shocked Akane. "Congratulations, Akane," said Kasumi sweetly. Ranma fell out from between the two fathers and stumbled towards the girls woozily. Kasumi turned to him. "Ara, Ranma-kun, are you all right?" "I'm okay." Akane stepped forward and grabbed Ranma by the collar. "How could you do that to me?" she accused. "Hey, did you want me to say that I hate you?" Akane just looked at the shorter girl rebelliously. Deciding to go for broke, Ranma grabbed the youngest Tendou daughter. "Hey, let me go!" yelled Akane as Ranma scooped her up and jumped outside. With one breathtaking bound, they were on the dojo roof. "What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!" Ranma put Akane down on the tiles. The muscles in his jaw bunched at Akane's words. "Hey, take it easy," he said evenly. "I just wanted to talk to you privately." Akane straightened her clothes defensively. She studiously did not look at Ranma; instead she studied the tiles of the roof. "So talk then," she said. "Look, Akane, I..." Ranma wasn't able to keep going while he was looking at Akane, so he turned his gaze to the tiles, his hand automatically going to the back of his head. "I didn't want this engagement any more than you. You can choose not to believe me, but my old man didn't tell me until we were on our way here from the train station." "About the same time as my father told us, then," said Akane softly. Ranma looked up in surprise. "Really?" Akane nodded, and Ranma snorted. "Figures." She looked away again. "Anyway, I... I'm sorry." Akane looked at Ranma in amazement. "What for?" She shrugged. "For...." Ranma seemed at a loss. "So what did you drag me up here for?" "They were gangin' up on us! We need to talk without all that pressure on us." "What is there to talk about?! As far as I'm concerned, there is no engagement!" "Fine by me." Ranma shifted on the roof, grasping his knees. He swallowed again. "But..." "But what?! You want this marriage, don't you?! You pervert, you just want to-" Frustrated by a combination of his own inability to talk smoothly as he had imagined last night and Akane's name-calling, Ranma clamped his hand over Akane's mouth, his eyes flashing. "Will you just shut up and listen?! I'm tryin' to say somethin'! Man, to think I thought you were cute!" He let her go and turned away from her, fuming. Akane was amazed to see this girl -- no, boy -- turn his back on her and adopt a tight, closed posture sitting on the roof, wrapping his arms about his knees. "So what are you trying to say, Ranma?" she asked eventually. "What did I do to deserve bein' called a pervert, Akane? I ain't one, you know, and I haven't called you names." "You change sexes!" "And how does that make me a pervert?" She looked at Ranma, still sitting with his back to her. Ranma's quiet question made Akane feel terribly guilty. "Sorry," she said, blushing. Ranma decided to try another tack, one that she'd thought up last night as she watched the stars from that freighter. Gathering her determination, she began. "Look, Akane... Akane-kun... I don't like the situation we're in any more that you do," Ranma said. "I didn't ask for this any more than you did. I don't know why you're taking it out on me. I suppose you could say that it doesn't have to be you, but we're the same age and you're a martial artist too, and besides, I guess I kinda like you. You're... attractive and seemed like a... nice person earlier. But if you're looking for someone to blame, why don't you try my dad and yours? I don't blame you, you know. I blame pop." He sighed. "I just wish I could think of a way to get back at him. "Anyway, I figure we've got two choices. We can fight them tooth and nail, refuse the engagement, or we can try being friends and maybe we'll find that we like each other." Ranma clenched a fist. "I've gotta tell you, Akane-kun, when the old man told me about all this I was all set to tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine and head back to China to look for a cure. But... in the end, I couldn't. He told me the *families* were involved, you see. Of course, that probably still means him and your pop came up with the idea one night in a pub," he added darkly. "Either way, Akane-kun, I can't decide on a course of action without asking you. You're in this, too, you know... I guess between what I said earlier and your sisters that's pretty well been decided for us. So I'm askin'." Ranma paused a bit, and continued, her voice now a little pensive. "Besides, Oyaji 'n I've been movin' around quite a bit, always... well, let's not go into that. But... when you asked me earlier whether I wanted to be friends, I... Well, I... figured it'd be nice to have a friend." Ranma fell silent, having said his piece. This was part of his Great Idea... well, all but the last part was. That had had just slipped out, his mouth running away with him as usual. It had come to him last night when seeing Akane's face in the stars that they were fighting each other when they should have been fighting their fathers. Watching the sky gradually lighten, he had settled on a basic plan: Keep from fighting Akane. Try not to annoy her or if possible get her to see him as a friend. Get her not to blame *him* for the engagement. This little speech she had spent three hours coming up with and unlike her earlier attempt, she thought it had come out reasonably smoothly. Now it was all up to Akane. Would things in fact be different this time around? He hoped so. Maybe, if Akane stood at his side, they could make life difficult for those two conniving, weak-willed slackers who played shoji all day. Still, the silence from behind her was unnerving. What was going through Akane's mind? Akane stared at Ranma, her thoughts whirling. Her... his point about not blaming him for the engagement was a good one; really it *was* the fault of their fathers. She could just imagine the two of them in a bar, tipping back sake or beer, sharing a great joke. She had to fight to keep her fists from clenching at the injustice of it all. How dare those two... oooh, words failed her, even in her mind. Ranma's point about how difficult it would be to get out of the engagement was well-taken, too, she realised. It had the status of giri because the promise was between the *families*... but even if it hadn't been, Ranma would inherit a promise made by his father. She looked at the smaller girl, trying to visualise the boy she really was. He seemed like a nice person, though perhaps she -- no, she would think of Ranma as 'him' from now on for the sake of her sanity -- was trying to make a good impression. Ranma had gone out of his way to make sure she didn't make assumptions about him, he had treated her gently during sparring even though his skill level was clearly far higher than hers. There was one odd thing, though. Ranma came across as a mixture of impulsive and thoughtful, a strange combination. Nabiki had trapped him earlier, with his impulsive outbursts in her defense, as easily as a three-year-old... but here on the roof he came across as a thoughtful person. She wondered at the dichotomy. Another point in his favour was that he was actually *asking* her before taking action, rather than just assuming. Not at all like the *boys* at school. She looked up at the cloudy sky, trying to make her decision. But there was really no decision to make, she realised. The engagement was iron-clad, unless she could persuade one of her sisters to take up the burden or their fathers decided mutually to cancel it. Fortunately Ranma seemed to be willing to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, and she liked the idea of putting the pressure on *them* for their stupid idea. Well, why not try being friends, as she had so impulsively offered earlier? She looked at him again, sitting on the roof nervously. Even from this angle, Akane felt twinges of jealousy at the voluptuousness of this *boy's* very female body. She cast her mind back to the moment when he had stepped out of the bath... water glistening on his powerful, muscled limbs. She could just imagine the reception he would receive tomorrow from some of the girls in her class; some of the girls there were boy-crazy. She didn't think she was herself -- in fact, she had ample reason not to be -- but still... She found herself in agreement with Ranma... if they could become friends, perhaps something might come of it, perhaps not, and if not then she was sure she could persuade her father to dissolve the engagement. As an additional benefit, she was certain Ranma could teach her things about the Art that she had never even contemplated. All the more reason to make him her friend. She decided to take it from the top. As lightly as she could, she laid her hand on Ranma's shoulder. He kept still, though Akane felt him twitch, something which brought a smile to her face. "I don't think it's necessary for friends to use -kun with each other... Ranma." The way Ranma turned her head and smiled gratefully lifted her heart. "Thank you... Akane." "So... do you have any ideas for making life difficult for our fathers?" she asked mischievously. * * * Ranma lay awake listening to the grunts and whistles of a sleeping panda. Was grinning. This evening had been everything he could have wanted... his relationship with Akane was off to a smooth start, and she was his ally instead of his enemy. Not, he reflected, that in truth the situation was really all that different in that regard from the way it had been before he had been granted the wish. Before he had been granted his little wish, Akane had been eager to help him, again and again, but... he hoped that perhaps he would enjoy this time around more. He had found that a friendly Akane was *much* nicer to be around than an angry or suspicious one. Now, how *exactly* had the first day of school gone...? He was still jogging his memory when sleep claimed him. * * * "High school?" asked Ranma, unsurprised. Trust his father to leave it until the last minute. "We'll be here for a little while, so you'll be going to high school." "It's the same one that Akane and I go to," said Nabiki from behind Ranma. He turned his head and saw she was dressed in a school uniform, a book bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you there later," she added. "Aren't you ready *yet*, Ranma?" asked Akane, who now appeared from upstairs, also wearing a school uniform. She was frowning. "Come on, it's time to go!" Ranma looked at her bemusedly. Last time around, she hadn't wanted to have anything to do with him. Now... "Well, are you going to just sit there all day and stare at me?!" asked Akane, now quite vexed. "Ah, sure, right," said Ranma with a grin as he grabbed his favourite Chinese top. "Why do you do that?" Ranma looked down at Akane, who was looking up at him oddly. "Do what?" he asked as he continued to step surely along the narrow fence-top. "Walk on the fence." "Oh? Oh, this! Well, Oyaji said once to make everything a balance exercise." Akane gestured at the fence, and by implication at the storm-water drain that lay on the other side. "Won't you fall in?" Ranma smiled and shook his head. "Not much chance of that." "I'll have to try it one day." "Why not now?" "I don't think that would be a good idea," said Akane with a wave of her free hand at her dress. Ranma just looked at her blankly. Slightly exasperated, Akane added, "If I get up there, people could see..." Understanding dawned on Ranma's face. "Oh." He noted the fence was about to end, so he jumped off with a flourish, making a fancy flip over Akane's head to land on her opposite side. Grinning, he looked back at her. "How was that, Aka--" *SPLASH* Akane stared at the suddenly-female Ranma, a smile playing about her lips as she struggled not to giggle. Showing off, Ranma had walked straight into the path of an old lady cleaning the sidewalk outside her home in the traditional way, with a bucket and dipper. For a martial artist of his calibre to be trapped so.... That plus Ranma's decidedly nonplussed expression had her holding her hand in front of her mouth. "How was what, Ranma?" she asked innocently once she had her expression under control. "Your flip, or you walking into..." She trailed off as she noticed Ranma's set expression. Ranma saw the laughter dancing in Akane's eyes, and the frustration that had filled him as he realised he had walked blindly into the old lady's trap melted away leaving him feeling oddly happy. He smiled weakly. "Is there somewhere around we can get some hot water?" he asked, knowing that Toufuu-sensei's clinic was nearby. "Or do I need to go back home and take a bath?" Akane looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. "Our family doctor has his clinic just near here. Come on!" * * * Running towards the school after their visit to the clinic, Ranma - again male - carefully said nothing about the way Akane had reacted to Toufuu's presence. Instead, he pondered what to do about the reception committee he knew awaited them. Should he stay out of it as he had that first time, or should he help her as his instincts were clamouring for him to do? Unable to decide, he tried getting Akane to bring it up. "So... what's Fuurinkan like?" he asked Akane as they ran. As he watched, her expression hardened. "It's *filled* with *jerks*!" she ground out as she picked up the pace. "What do you mean?" he asked, keeping pace with her. Akane spared him a glance as the school gates came into view. "Just stay out of it!" she said as she put on a final spurt of speed. Ranma could hear the shouted exclamations as the crowd inside spotted Akane arriving and rushed to meet her. Ranma jumped to the safety of the top of the school wall and watched, a little disappointed, as Akane dispatched her opponents with efficiency and dispatch. He reflected that while she might not be top-notch against a skilled opponent, she was certainly demonstrating great skill in the fine art of maneuvering a mob of attackers. He shook his head in admiration as time and again she led her nearest opponents around by the nose, so to speak, repeatedly cutting off those who were trying to get closer to her so that she only had to face two or at most three people at once. Suddenly there were no more opponents standing and Akane stood alone in a sea of unconscious boys, broken sports equipment littered all about. Ranma leapt down next to her. "Every morning!" she said, a little exasperated, as she wiped sweat and flicked her long hair into place. Ranma noticed Kunou approaching, confident and with a half-smile playing about his lips. His skin crawled and his hands twitched as the tall boy approached Akane like a panther stalking its prey. Still, he was glad to see him. Ranma had plans for the elder boy. "Really, such a boorish lot," he proclaimed in round, poetic tones. "Each and every one plans, it seems, that on the dawn that he defeats you he shall beg you for your... friendship." Ostentatiously he sniffed at a blood-red rose that he carried. Akane gave Kunou an 'oh, it's you' look and said, "Oh, Kunou-sempai. Good morning." Ranma smirked as he noticed for the first time that Akane had been carrying on her own subtle campaign against Kunou before he had blown into their lives. Kunou flicked the rose to Akane. "Well... Tendou Akane-kun... do you wish a bout?" Automatically, Akane caught the rose. Thunder rumbled as Kunou brought his bokken to a basic guard position. Ranma decided to take a hand in events. "You go through this shit every morning?!" he asked Akane with what he hoped was believable incredulity. Akane directed laser-beam eyes on him. "I told you to keep out of this," she said. "Hey, you!" Ranma blinked bemusedly at Kunou, whose bokken was pointing straight at him. "What do *you* want?" he asked. Thunder again rolled overhead. "You are being over-familiar with Akane-kun," answered the older boy imperiously. Ranma spared a glance at Akane, whose angry expression had relaxed into surprise. Reassured, he looked back at Kunou. "It's no concern of yours!" he said rudely. Kunou reacted as though he'd been jabbed with a cattle prod. "What kind of person are you?!" he snarled. "It is good etiquette to give one's name first! Very well, I'll give my name!" With a sigh at Kunou's hypocrisy, Ranma held out a hand in a 'you first' gesture. "Please." Standing tall, Kunou proclaimed, "Second year, class E, Kunou Tatewaki. Captain of the Kendo Club. The undefeated supernova of hope of the high school kendo world, I am Fuurinkan High School's Blue Lightning!" Lightning ripped through the black sky to punctuate his finishing words. Ranma smirked at Kunou's extravagant verbal posturing. "Well then, let's see...," he said while pretending to compose his introduction. "A house guest at the Tendou Dojo, sec--" "You scum!" Kunou's pupils narrowed to pinpoints. "Under the same roof as Akane-kun?!" Expecting it as he was, Ranma effortlessly dodged the crazed kendoist's wild slash. "Second generation Musabetsu Kakutou Saotome Ryu," he continued as he landed in a nonchalant stance, hands behind his back, "I am Saotome Ranma!" He tilted his head to one said and added insultingly, "And *you* are a fine one to talk about etiquette, Kunou Tatewaki. You interrupt the introduction that you demanded I make by attacking without warning!" He straightened again, his pose now challenging and a superior smirk now present to taunt the older boy. Insultingly, he continued, deliberately leaving off the honorific words Kunou would normally have deserved. "Have you no honour, Kunou Tatewaki?" Lightning ripped through the black sky, accompanied by an ear-splitting crash of thunder. Kunou stood ramrod-straight, glaring at Ranma in hatred, the tip of his bokken trembling. "I, Kunou Tatewaki, am the deliverer of Justice," he ground out at last. "In all of Fuurinkan there is no finer man, none more suited for such a strenuous task." He smirked confidently, moving his bokken to a guard position. "You will pay for that insult, scum. Fight!" Kunou dashed forward to where Ranma stood, the hardwood practice sword he held sweeping down in a simple vertical strike. Nonchalantly, Ranma jumped away without even bothering to put up his guard, allowing Kunou to strike the wall with his bokken. Concrete dust rose from the point of the strike. Thunder rolled overhead as Kunou quickly spun to follow Ranma. A wild stroke split the bark of a nearby tree as once again Ranma simply leapt out of the way. He landed on the ground facing Kunou. "Give up yet, Kunou?" he asked sarcastically. "It's gonna rain and I don't wanna get wet, you know." The smell of ozone filled the air. Screeching incoherently with rage, Kunou charged Ranma once again. This time Ranma did not jump out of the way. Akane watched as instead he struck Kunou's wrists as he stepped inside the taller boy's guard. Time seemed to slow, and as the bokken began to fall, Ranma struck Kunou with a percussive blow to the chest and then an odd-looking blow to the head. Then time sped up again and suddenly the bokken was clattering musically on the paving as Kunou slumped untidily to the ground. Ranma looked to her, a small smile on his lips. "I guess I win," he said. A large dark spot appeared as if by magic on the paving, then another, and another. Ranma looked up in dismay as a downpour began. "Aw, *shit*." Swiftly he scooped up Akane and sprinted for cover. Lightning cracked above and, as if it had caused the change, Akane felt Ranma's arms shift about her and suddenly two soft breasts were pushing into her as Ranma carried her. Then they were out of the downpour and into the deserted corridors of the school. "Aw man, now what do I do?!" asked Ranma rhetorically. He would need hot water again, Akane realised. "That way," she said, pointing. * * * In the homeroom of Second Year, Class E, Kunou stared with great concentration into a handheld mirror decorated on the back with a large golden star. The owner of the mirror stared in amazement at Kunou's forehead. Bruises and scratches now decorated that unlined skin... two katakana, indistinct but readable: A-ho. "That's really something," said Nabiki. "You don't even remember being touched, Kunou-chan?" Kunou jerked his hands down to his sides, the knuckles of the hand holding the mirror going white. "Bah," he spat. "I thought Saotome Ranma had some small skill, but he made a mistake!" He stalked up to the blackboard and, grabbing some chalk, slashed out three katakana: A-ho-u. "That's how you spell it!" Smiling to herself, Nabiki stepped up to the blackboard and in a confident but elegant hand wrote two kanji. "Actually, Kunou-chan, you write it like this." He looked at her levelly. "I hate you," he said. "I'm glad." * * * Ranma and Akane stood side by side in the corridor outside their homeroom. The droning voice of their teacher drifted quietly through the glass windows separating them from their classmates. A bucket filled with water dangled from each hand. Akane was not pleased. "This's your fault," she accused in a low voice. "I told you to stay out of it!" "Hey, I just--!" Ranma cut himself off as he recalled the maxims he had thought up for this second time around as part of his Great Plan that night on the ship, three of which were Don't Piss Akane Off, Don't Let Her Be Unfair, and Be Her Friend. He cleared his throat. "I... I'm sorry, I thought you'd finished." "Kunou *always* shows up!" "How the hell should *I* know that?!" "You could have asked!" Ranma's mouth twisted, but he managed a shrug. "Yeah, well... I almost didn't stay up there at all, you know. I *really* don't like letting my friends get beaten up on." "I can handle them!" With an 'aha!' of inspiration, Ranma saw what Akane's problem was... she was feeling threatened by his skill. "Akane... I've gotta admit, you did a *really* good job with that lot in the yard down there. You've got that multiple opponent stuff down to a fine art." He was rewarded with suspicious look that slowly melted into a smile. "Thank you," Akane said. "Even if you're being patronising... thank you." Ranma shook his head. "I'm serious. I wasn't being patronising." He frowned. "Say, what was all that about, anyway?" The smile fled from Akane's face as she looked away from him. "It was Kunou." She went on, describing Kunou's challenge to the school body. Ranma caught her intense annoyance at Kunou's arrogance and at the bulk of the student body... and at her own helplessness to do anything about the situation. "So why do people listen to a wart like him?" he asked. Akane looked back to Ranma. "Before you came along, he was the best fighter in the school." A reflective look crossed her face. "Though I always seemed to win, for some reason." Ranma managed to control his natural reply. "Interesting," he said with what he thought was a commendably-straight face. "'Interesting?'" Ranma shrugged, the water in his buckets sloshing a little. Akane continued with a thoughtful frown, "You mean how come I'm able to beat him all the time, even though he's the best fighter in the school?" "I guess." Akane looked closely at Ranma. "You have an idea?" she asked at last. "Well..." 'A guy lets up a lot when he fights a girl,' echoed in his head. Frowning, he decided that would *not* be very politic to say that again. "Guys are brought up not to hit girls, so it's real hard to- -" He cut off as he saw Akane drop one bucket and raise the other in a threatening manner with a mischievous smile. "What?" "What if we're both girls?" she asked, preparing to toss her water over Ranma. Ranma was stepping backwards, preparing to dodge Akane's water when he saw Kunou sprint out of the stairwell down the corridor and sprint towards them. "Hey," he said, pointing over Akane's shoulder. "Isn't that him now? I wonder what's got up his nose?" Akane turned to see Kunou still over twenty metres away, his wet pants clinging to his legs. As she watched, more water sloshed out of the bucket he carried onto the dark blue silk of his formal kendo pants. "He looks upset," she said as Kunou pulled up in front of them and made to hurl the contents of his bucket at Ranma. Ranma watched as the trickle of water fell hopelessly short. "What was that for, Kunou?" asked Ranma, contemptuous of the elder boy's pointless effort. "Saotome Ranma, I won't allow it!" Kunou yelled. Ranma *knew* that Nabiki had just told him about the engagement. He *wished* he had remembered to have her keep it to herself. Shit! Mentally he kicked himself for the oversight. "What?" "Your engagement to Tendou Akane! I absolutely do not permit it!" There was a rumbling from inside the classroom, but a shouted "sit down!" from the teacher prevented a ruckus. Sneering at Kunou, Ranma said, "It's got nothing to do with you. Why aren't you in your class, anyway?" Kunou's eyes bulged. "You will pay for your insolence, scum! Fight!" Ranma dodged as Kunou's bokken bashed into one of the buckets he was carrying, splashing water everywhere. He tossed the other bucketful of water into Kunou's face and dropped the bucket to one side. Shaking himself like a dog, Kunou shed water from his face and eyes to see Ranma standing a little apart from Akane, standing comfortably with his hands behind his back. 'He does not even take me seriously?' he thought to himself. 'He will *pay* for his insolence!' He leaped into the attack, aiming a shot at that insolent puppy's collarbone. Then suddenly a wave of pain washed up his front, and the world went black. Ranma landed lightly as Kunou collapsed bonelessly to the wet floor. Akane stared, her mouth open, as Ranma sneered contemptuously down at the unconscious boy. "What did you...?" She looked more closely and saw a series of footprints impressed in the wet cloth of Kuno's clothes, each one precisely over a so-called 'soft spot'. She sucked in her breath in awe... she hadn't even seen the individual strikes. "Sugoi..." she breathed. Ranma shrugged modestly, but kept his mouth shut. He was struck by the contrast with last time. The first time around, Kunou had challenged him and he had led Kunou out a third-floor window, right into a pool. Kunou had chased him out of the pool and they had fought; the crazed kendoist had fallen in love with his female half at that moment. Shuddering in revulsion, he turned back to Kunou and considered him contemplatively. This time, he had defeated him easily. This time, Kunou didn't know about his female half. This time, Akane hadn't had to rescue him from Kunou... and that had to be better than what happened before. Wasn't it? Author's Notes: Well, here it is at last, the full first part of "Second Time Around". The title of this part means, "Just a little wish". It's been a while since I've written anything (or more to the point, published anything) so I'll take a moment to remind people that I use "international" spelling, not USA. Thus "colour" instead of "color" and many other oddities. Commentary is welcome. E-mail will reach me at dje@progress.com. Glossary: Aho: Moron. (Its correct spelling is "ahou".) Furo: A deep hot-water bath used for soaking (*not* washing) in. Giri: Duty/obligation of particular importance. A very difficult concept to explain briefly, so I'll not even attempt it. To abrogate giri is a major dishonour, one that can stain the whole family line. Hiryuu Shouten Ha: One of Ranma's ki attacks, it creates a tornado into which the victim is flung. Kendo: A sport based on samurai sword work. Kenpo: A Japanese form of Kung Fu. It is not greatly dissimilar to karate. Kuso: Shit. Okyakusama: "Honoured guest/customer". Ojisama: Honourable uncle, literally translated. A respectful term for a man not of the immediate family. Onna: Female, or woman. Osage: A braid/pigtail. "Osage no onna" can be translated as "girl with a pigtail" or, more poetically, "pigtailed girl". Otousan: Father. Oyaji: Old man. Used by Ranma to refer to his father, in which usage it is very disrespectful. Tsubo: Pressure point used for acupressure etc.