"WASURERARENAI" (Unforgettable)
An alternative reality fic written by MmeFleiss .
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.
< > are thoughts
[ ] setting or panda signs
**********************************************************************

Prologue
********

[10 years ago. Ryugenzawa]

     "Help me! Somebody help!" a six year old Akane Tendo cried as she
ran away from the giant animal. She had been wandering around trying
to find her family when the thing appeared and started to chase her
with hunger filled eyes.

     She could feel its warm breath against her back urging her to run
harder, but it was no use. She was already starting to tire and a
place to hide was nowhere in sight.

     She felt her legs start to give out and was about to give up when
she noticed that the presence behind her was no longer there. She
turned around and found a boy about her age fighting with it. Many of
the boy's blows were connecting, but the creature appeared unfazed.

     "Go home. Get out of here," he yelled as he leapt up to take
another swing at the monster. It saw him coming and defended itself by
swatting him on his back, tearing the fabric off his shirt.

     The boy landed right in front of Akane. "Get back." He then leapt
up again and hit it with as much force as he could muster, rendering
it unconscious.

     "A-Are you okay?"

     "I'm fine. Just go home. This place is full of monster traps," he
snapped before proving it by stepping on one of them.

     Akane took one look at his semi-unconscious form and carried him
on her back while she talked to him to keep him from losing
consciousness.

     "I'll take you home. Uh... where is it?"

     "There," he replied weakly as he pointed to a nearby clearing.

     "By the way, I'm Akane, Akane Tendo. What's your name?"

     "Shinnosuke."

     "Shinnosuke, thanks for helping me back there."

     He grumbled a reply as she found the cabin and tried to yell for
help, but apparently, no one was home. He was starting to get heavy,
so she set him down right next to the door and hoped than someone
would come and help them soon.

     She worriedly looked at the bumps and scrapes he had received
from the fight. "You're hurt. Are you really okay?"

     "I'm fine. Go on." He then handed her a strange looking object.
"This will keep the monsters from you. Blow into it while you run
away. Hurry up, go!"

     "How come?"

     "You're wasting time. Go on, get out of here."

     She waved goodbye and was about to run off when a shadow appeared
in her path. She looked up and found the creature Shinnosuke had
beaten up earlier, conscious and very angry.

     She felt a quick movement behind her and realized too late it was
the monster trying to attack. She felt something hit her from behind
before she went flying off and hit her head hard against the side of
the cabin. She heard Shinnosuke yell out her name before everything
went dark.

                             *     *     *

     Shinnosuke watched as the little girl in front of him slowly
stirred. His grandfather had just beaten the creature and he wanted
to see if the girl was injured. He wasn't feeling too well himself,
but the condition of the girl before him was more important.

     "Akane, are you okay?"

     The girl sat up and blinked once before looking at him in
confusion. "Akane? Who's that?"

Chapter 1
*********

[10 years later. Nerima, Tokyo]

     Akane and Shinnosuke both looked like they were ready to collapse
from exhaustion as they carried their suitcases down the front
walkway. They had just endured a long train ride and couldn't wait
till they got inside their new home.

     They had only been away for a couple of hours, but they were
already starting to miss Ryugenzawa. Tokyo was so full of people, a
sharp contrast to the forest they had resided in until a couple of
hours ago.

     Shinnosuke looked at his traveling companion and sighed. He could
tell that Akane was already homesick. He wanted to promise to her that
they would go back home soon, but he couldn't. He had no idea how long
they had to stay there.

     Ever since he tried to save Akane ten years ago, his health has
been declining due to an injury he had received. The water of life had
helped for a while, but it was starting to lose its potency.

     His grandfather decided to send them to live with his aunt in
Tokyo, in hopes that the hospitals could find a way to cure him. The
old man insisted he stay in the forest so he could send them the
'water of life' until they found a cure.

     He took another glance at Akane, the girl he had loved ever since
they met. She still couldn't remember who she was, but she felt
responsible for his injury, so she insisted she come along with him.
His spirits lifted up a bit at the thought of how she had fussed over
him on the way and as he realized for the first time that their
situation wasn't so bad since they were at least together.

     Akane noticed him watching her from the corner of her eyes and
smiled up at him. "A yen for your thoughts."

     He was about to reply when a panda with a girl over its shoulder
rushed past them and headed for the house next door.

     "I was just thinking about how much I'm going to miss home, but
from what I've just seen, I don't think I have anything to worry
about."

                             *     *     *

     Meanwhile, a lot of shouting could be heard inside the house next
door. The occupants, a middle aged man and his two daughters who were
expecting a man and his teenaged son were facing a panda and a red
haired girl who claimed to be the son they were expecting.

     The middle aged man, Soun Tendo, fainted as he realized that the
betrothal between the son of his old training partner and one of his
daughters was not going to be possible. The thought that the Tendo
family legacy wasn't secure kept him conscious long enough to make a
mental note to hunt Genma Saotome down and strangle him with his bare
hands.

     When he regained consciousness, he found his elder daughter
Kasumi placing a cold compress on his head while his other daughter
Nabiki grabbed the red haired girl by her breast.

     "How can you engage us to another girl, daddy!" she demanded
angrily.

     "But Saotome said he had a son."

     "And since when have boys had these?" she asked as she poked the
girl on the chest, making the redhead's face flush the same shade as
her hair.

     "Um...could you please stop that?"

     Kasumi gave her younger sister a disapproving frown. "Nabiki,
just because she wasn't who you expected doesn't mean that you should
make her feel unwanted. She is our guest, after all."

     Nabiki looked mildly ashamed as she said, "Sorry."

     The panda, who had been silent during all this time started to
bark at the girl.

     The redhead looked like she was going to protest, but instead
nodded her head. "You wouldn't happen to have any hot water around,
would you?

     Kasumi handed her a kettle filled with lukewarm tea. "Would this
do?"

     The girl nodded as she poured the water over the panda, turning
it into a bald man in his mid forties. She then poured the rest over
her head, turning into a muscular boy.

     Nabiki's eyes widened. "W-Who... what are you?"

     "I'm Genma Saotome," the bald man answered. "And this is my
son..."

     "I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

                             *     *     *

     Akane looked around her new room in awe. She had never had a room
to herself before and she had to admit that the extra privacy was
kinda nice. The room was bare except for a dresser in the corner and a
futon sprawled out in the middle of the floor. She planned on fixing
that tomorrow with a little shopping trip to make it feel more like
home.

     Her mind drifted to Shinnosuke's aunt as she changed into her
pajamas. She was a very friendly woman although a bit forgetful.
During their brief introduction, the woman had forgotten their names
five times. It reminded her a bit of Shinnosuke and she brieftly
wondered if forgetfulness ran in the family before she fell asleep.

                             *     *     *

     A soaking wet Ranma-chan got out of the pond with a glare at her
father. How dare he use her as a demonstrational tool. A glint of
metal caught her attention and a smile appeared on her face as she
realized it was a laundry pail.

     Filling it with the water below her, she got out and splashed the
contents on her father, turning him into a panda.

                             *     *     *

     Akane woke up as a angry yell echoed throughout the neighborhood.

     "Oh no," she groaned as she got out of bed and saw the panda and
girl they saw earlier fighting in the yard next door.

     She went back to bed in hopes that the commotion would end soon,
but when the noise rose in volume with no signs of decreasing, she got
dressed and headed next door to complain.

                             *     *     *

     There was a knock on the front door which was unnoticed by
everyone in the house except Kasumi. She excused herself and went to
open it.

     "Hello?" She asked with a smile that quickly turned into a look
of surprise as she got a better look at the person standing before
her.

     The girl was the spitting image of her long deceased mother from
her long dark blue hair to her beautiful, delicate features.

     The girl bowed. "Hello, I'm your new neighbor Akane. I don't mean
to be rude, but can you please keep the noise down? I'm a bit tired
from a long train ride and wish to get some sleep."

     Kasumi snapped out of her stupor as she apologized. "I'm so
sorry. I'll do my best."

     "Thanks," Akane said with a bow as she walked away.

     "Wait!"

     "Yes?"

     "Why don't you stop by tomorrow? It's always so nice to get new
neighbors."

     Akane considered her offer and was about to refuse until she saw
Kasumi's smiling face watching her expectantly.

     "I guess so." She answered with a weak smile.

     Kasumi gave one final wave before she closed the door. She turned
around just in time to see Nabiki enter with Ranma-chan who was
pouring another kettle of hot water over her head.

     "Who was that oneechan?" Nabiki inquired as she watched Ranma,
trying to calculate just how much money she could make off him.

     "Oh, it was just our new..."

     "Why don't you pick which one you want." Soun interrupted. "She's
your fiancee."

     Ranma gave Soun an incredulous look. "You can't be serious! What
about my curse?"

     "You seem like a manly young man to me."

     Ranma looked at the two other girls for help, but neither looked
well at the moment.

     "Can I at least get some time to get to know them first before I
choose?"

     "Well, I suppose that's not too unreasonable." Soun answered as
he smiled up at his old training partner. "Saotome-kun, at last our
families can be reunited. Let's go to a bar and celebrate."

     The two men ran out gleefully while the three teenagers watched
their retreating figure in dismay.

     Nabiki's demeanor became brisk as she began to speak in a
businesslike manner. "Now, why don't we all sit down and try to figure
out what we can do to get out of this mess."

Chapter 2
*********

     "School?" Ranma asked the next morning. He stopped eating long
enough to give his father a questioning glance.

     "Well, we are going to be here for a while."

     "And you'd better hurry up if you don't want to be late," Kasumi
added as she handed him his bento. "Nabiki left over an hour ago."

     Ranma grumbled as he walked to his room, dressing in an outfit
similar to the one he wore the day before. He was making so much noise
that he failed to notice his father who was leaning against the door
until he was done.

     "Why don't you choose her," Genma suggested. "She would make you
a wonderful wife."

     "I don't love her."

     "So? Your honor is more important than love, and honor requires
you to wed one of the Tendo sisters."

     Ranma decided to ignore him as the livingroom clock reminded him
that he was going to be late.

     Cursing silently, he hurriedly walked on the sidewalk while he
considered his options. The fact that even Nabiki, an intellectual,
couldn't find a way to break the engagement without bringing shame to
either family greatly troubled him. As he thought over the situation
for the third time, he finally came to a conclusion.

     "I'm doomed."

                             *     *     *

     Akane turned around for the fifth time as she asked Shinnosuke if
he was okay. He had developed a fever during the night and she didn't
feel that it was right for her to go to school when he needed her
there to take care of him.

     "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

     "But..."

     "Hey, aren't you going to be late?" he interrupted.

     Akane acked as a glance at her watch confirmed his statement.
With a final glance in his direction, she quickly walked around the
corner and ran into someone.

     The impact sent the two of them sprawling into the ground,
causing Ranma to scrape an elbow and making his foul mood even worse
than it was before.

     Akane's cheeks were red with embarrassment as she slowly stood up
and said, "I'm sorry."

     Ranma's frown dissappeared when he noticed the cute, flustered
girl beside him looking at him a bit worriedly. "I-it's okay. I should
have watched where I was going."

     "I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"

     "Don't worry about it."

     "Um, by the way, my name's Akane."

     "I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome."

     He half listened to her talk about herself, occasionally
answering some of her questions as he tried to pinpoint the source of
the unfamiliar feeling that overwhelmed him the second he had laid
eyes on her. It was filled with joy, but it was also tinged with a
feeling of... loss? he felt like he was being denied something that
was rightfully his. He found the feeling exhilarating and somewhat
scary.

     His train of thought was cut off when he noticed that everyone in
the front yard had stopped talking the minute he and Akane had walked
through the front gate. They were watching them with an intensity that
made him uncomfortable.

     "Did we just grow another head or something?" Akane asked as she
watched the other students warily, keeping a close eye on the one in
kendo garb who watching her, if possible, more intensely than the
rest.

     "Just ignore them," he advised while walking inside and looking
for his homeroom. He found it on the third floor just as the warning
bell rang. He was a bit surprised to find her still standing next to
him.

     "Shouldn't you head to your class?"

     "This is my class."

     "What?!"

     Their conversation was interrupted by the sensei clearing his
throat to catch the students' attention. "Class, today we have two new
students. Their names are Ranma and Akane."

     The two teenagers shyly waved to the rest of the class who were
watching the two of them closely. To be more accurate, all the boys
were staring at Akane, some even drooling, and the girls were giving
Ranma their full attention.

     They headed to the back of the room where their new seats were
located, fully aware of the attention they were receiving. Thankfully,
the stares were replaced by only an occassional glance as the lesson
began.

                             *     *     *

     "Wow. You're so lucky to be friends with Ranma."

     Akane looked up and found two girls from her class standing in
front of her. Both had a dreamy expression on ther faces as they
watched Ranma heading towards the lunch line, having already eaten his
lunch during third period.

     "I guess so."

     Suddenly, the girl with the ponytail glanced back at Akane and
gave her an embarrassed smile. "Oh, I'm so sorry. It's so rude of us
not to introduce ourselves. I'm Sayuri and that," she said, pointing
at the girl with long brown hair standing next to her, "is Yuka."

     "Nice to meet you."

     "So, how long have you two been friends?" Sayuri inquired.

     "Actually, I just met him on my way to school this morning."

     "Man, talk about luck," Yuka commented. She looked up and noticed
that Ranma had bought what he needed and was heading their way. She
quickly straightened up, brushing imaginary crumbs off her shirt as
she tried to make herself look presentable.

     Ranma watched the two girls with Akane start to giggle as he
approached them. "What's so funny?"

     The girl with the ponytail looked at him, a bit startled before
she ran off grinning like maniac. "He spoke to me!" She eagerly
informed the group of girls sitting nearby with a sigh.

     He gave Akane a questioning glance. "What was that all about?"

     She merely shrugged as she continued to eat her lunch.

     They spent the rest of the lunch period eating while Ranma talked
about martial arts, completely oblivious to the group of boys at the
other end of the yard with a handsome kendoist shouting a challenge to
those who wished to date the new girl.

                             *     *     *

     Akane sighed in relief when the final bell rang, signaling the
end of the school day. She looked to her side and gently shook Ranma
awake.

     Ranma pushed her hand aside, mumbling something about pandas and
training later, then went back to sleep.

     "C'mon Ranma," She said, a bit louder than before.

     Ranma slowly stood up and grumbled as he packed up his things.
He followed her outside and jumped into a nearby fence as they made
their way home.

     "What are you doing?"

     "Balance practice."

     "Oh," was the only thing Akane could think to say as she watched
him walk on the fence, matching her brisk stride easily.

     They quickly reached her house and she waved at him a final time,
promising to walk with him again.

     Ranma whistled while he made his way to the house next door, a
silly grin on his face. The day suddenly didn't seem as hopeless as
it did earlier.

                             *     *     *

     A knock on the front door made Ranma look up from the manga he
was reading. Realizing that he was the closest one to the door, he
decided that he should answer it.

     "Can I help..." he stopped when he noticed who the person on the
other side of the door was. "Akane, what are you doing here?"

     She looked just as surprised as him as she answered, "Well, this
girl with long brown hair invited me over last night..."

     "Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Kasumi exclaimed, making her way
into the livingroom. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you, but I'm
busy making dinner."

     "Can I help?"

     "You shouldn't. You're our guest."

     "But I want to. I've been cooking meals for Shinnosuke and
grandpa ever since I can remember, but auntie won't let me near the
kitchen. I need to keep practicing."

     "Okay then, you can help me make the soup," Kasumi suggested as
they headed towards the kitchen.

     Ranma watched their retreating form, unsure if he should follow
them or not. Cooking was women's work and he would normally not be
caught dead spending time in the kitchen, but she was his friend...

     "Boy, what are you doing just standing there? We have to
practice." Genma barked as he headed towards the dojo.

     With the decision made for him, Ranma sighed before he followed
his father outside.

                             *     *     *

     "Kasumi, is dinner almost ready?" Soun Tendo asked when he
entered the kitchen. When he raised his head, he was a bit surprised
to find himself face to face with a pretty young girl he didn't know.
"Excuse me, but uh, who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

     Kasumi hearing the question looked a bit embarassed as she left
the pantry. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce her to everyone
else. Father, this is our new neighbor Ak..."

     "A new neighbor! It's so good to see my eldest daughter make new
friends," he wailed, interrupting Kasumi. "I was so worried that
you..."

     If possible, Kasumi looked even more embarassed as she glanced at
the bewildered Akane. "Don't mind him. He has a tendency to
overreact."

     "Uh-huh."

                             *     *     *

     Ranma watched the table in anticipation, his chopsticks ready as
he watched Akane and Kasumi emerged from the kitchen with plates full
of food.

     He eagerly dived in, for once even faster than his father. He had
eaten half the stuff on his bowl before his senses caught up. His eyes
bulged as he felt his stomach turn and turned an interesting shade of
blue.

     The rest of the household watched in morbid fascination when he
then turned green, right before turning into an unhealthy shade of
red.

     "Anyone wants to make a bet on what color he'll turn to next?"

     "Nabiki!" Kasumi exclaimed in a disapproving tone.

     Genma, meanwhile, was busy looking over his son. "I'm betting he
turns blue again."

     "You think so, Saotome-kun? I think it's more likely that he'll
turn purple."

     "Father! Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi continued with the same tone she
had used on Nabiki.

     The three had enough grace to look ashamed as they apologized in
unison.

     Ranma, through all this was busy drinking all the tea in his cup
to kill the taste. "What are you trying to do?! Kill me?!"

     Akane, who had eaten a small portion of her cooking was biting
her lip. "I don't understand. I've been cooking for ten years, and all
the things I've made have always tasted fine."

     One glance at her troubled expression was all it took for his
anger to be replaced by shame. "It's not that bad," he lied as he ate
the rest of the soup on his bowl, immediately followed by another long
drink, this time, straight from the kettle.

     Akane didn't notice his effort to make her feel better. She was
too deep in thought. "Could it be because I've always used the 'water
of life'," she mumbled, not even aware that she had spoken the thought
out loud.

     "Did you say something?"

     Akane looked up to find Ranma looking at her a bit curiously.

     "Oh, it's not important."

     "If you say so," Ranma answered, but he didn't look convinced.

                             *     *     *

     Akane smiled, unconsciously twirling her heart shape locket as
she looked out the window. The night she spent at the Tendo's was...
interesting. The whole household was almost fanatical when it came to
martial arts, including Kasumi which surprised her a bit. She didn't
seem like the type to be interested in anything that involved physical
violence, although they did own a dojo so she supposed it was
understandable.

     The two Saotome's had fought over their food during dinner, and
then fought again for the right to pick which show to watch on tv.
Ranma ended up winning and picking a martial arts show while the older
Saotome headed towards a corner of the room where he and Soun played
go, cheating at every turn.

     The whole night was fun and she regretted leaving early, but
Shinnosuke was home sick and she had promised grandpa that she would
take care of him. Kasumi had invited her again and made her promise to
bring Shinnosuke. She had quickly agreed, already looking forward to
spending more time in the happy, albeit strange household.

                             *     *     *

     Ranma entered his room, not making any effort to be quiet since
his father slept like the dead.

     As he laid down on the futon, his mind started to run over the
day's events. Who knew that what started out as really bad day, would
turn out so well.

     He certainly wasn't expecting to make his first real friend in a
long time, or to feel this happy despite all the complications in his
life.

     Ranma yawned as sleep started to overcome him and decided to
contemplate his life another day. He cleared his mind until all he saw
was an image of Akane with a smile he knew he would never forget. As
his eyes slowly closed, he smiled back.

Chapter 3
*********

     Ranma and Akane both ran to school, neither one looking winded as
they approached Furinkan's imposing gates.

     "How come you were late coming over my house?" Akane asked as she
nervously watched the longer hand of the clock move towards the six.

     "Ah, there was just a little accident while me and pop were
sparring this morning."

     Akane's tone grew concerned. "Did anyone get hurt?"

     "Oh, no. It was nothing like that."

     She was about to say something else but stopped in surprise when
she spotted a horde of boys in various sporting outfits charging
towards them screaming, "Akane Tendo, prepare yourself."

     "What the..." Ranma muttered as they were quickly surrounded.
"What do you think you're doing?!"

     "Butt out, Saotome. This doesn't concern you," one of the boys
yelled.

     "Like hell it doesn't. You try to attack my friend and expect me
to just stand quietly and watch?"

     "Look, why don't you go grace your fans with your presence while
we take care of her."

     "What are you talking about?" he demanded, stopping as a number
of squeals from a corner of the yard grabbed his attention. He turned
around slowly, reading the huge banner above them.

     "Ranma Saotome... Fanclub?!"

     "Popular, aren't you?" Akane whispered watching the group of
ecstatic girls with a frown.

     "You're one to talk."

     "Huh? What do you mean?"

     "Look," he muttered pointing at the opposite end of the yard.

     "Signups for Akane's attackers?! What kind of school is this?!"

     "What didja do to piss them off?"

     "I didn't do anything!"

     "Of course she didn't do anything wrong!" another one of the boys
interjected as indignant tears flowed freely down his face. "How can
you even suggest such a thing?"

     "So why do you wanna beat her up?"

     "Upperclassman Kuno said the only way to date her is to defeat
her in combat."

     "And you listened to this idiot?!"

     "No one calls a member of the great house of Kuno to be less than
perfection itself and lives!" an angry voice from the far side of the
yard yelled out, catching everyone's attention.

     "So you're Kuno?" Ranma asked as he watched the older boy
strutting towards him with a bored expression.

     "Upperclassman to you, knave," Kuno retorted, charging towards
Ranma. He thrusted his bokken towards the younger boy who
unfortunately seemed to be dodging his attack with ease.

     "Hey Akane, get to class and answer the roll call for me while I
finish this."

     "You dare ignore me in the midst of a fight?!" Kuno demanded as
he used his unbeatable strike pattern. Well, unbeatable until now. His
opponent avoided them with as much ease as before.

     The rest of the student body watched, amazed at the amount of
skill being showed by both fighters.

     The dramatic moment was ruined when the first bell rang, the
students groaning in unison as they headed for class.

                             *     *     *

     Akane ignored the student's going inside, not wanting to miss the
end of the fight. She watched as it slowly moved on into the back of
the school, heading towards the pool.

     "Look out!" she yelled, but was too late as the two martial
artist plunged into the water.

     Akane waited for them to come out, but when no heads bobbed the
surface, she cautiously stepped closer to try to catch a glimpse of
them.

     A red blur suddenly leapt out of the water and headed for the
nearby woods, making her fall on the ground in surprise.

     She slowly stood up and brushed herself off.  With that assumption, she quickly ran towards the same
direction.

                             *     *     *

     Ranma-chan stopped wringing her clothes as she heard the sounds
of approaching footsteps. She looked down from the branch she was
sitting on and sighed in relief when she saw that it was only Akane.

     She jumped off the branch and landed right next to Akane,
surprising the taller girl.

     "Hey, I thought you were gonna answer for me during roll call
today."

     "Huh? Who are you?"

     Ranma-chan silently cursed to herself. She couldn't believe she
had forgotten about the curse in her excitement to see Akane. "*sigh*
I was hoping you didn't have to find out about this, but now I guess I
have no choice."

     "What are you talking about?"

     "C'mon, I'll show you," she replied as she took Akane's hand and
started to drag her towards the the sports equipment room.

     "Hey, where do you think you're taking me? Let go!"

     Ranma-chan simply ignored her, causing Akane's face to turn red
in anger.

     "Help! Somebody! This girl is trying to take advantage of me!"

     Ranma looked at her incredulously as she clamped her hand over
the taller girl's mouth before running towards the room.

     She looked around and relaxed, sighing in relief when she noticed
that they were alone.

     Akane took this opportunity to yank off her hand as Ranma-chan
closed the door behind her. "You'd better have a good explanation for
this!"

                             *     *     *

     Akane's mouth was wide open with shock as Ranma-chan poured a
kettle of hot water over herself for the third time.

     "That's incredible," she whispered, finally finding her voice
while she watched her friend shift back to his original form.

     "So, you believe me?"

     "How can I not? I've seen it with my one two eyes. Besides, I've
seen weirder things than this before."

     "Like what?" Ranma asked a bit skeptically. After all, what could
possibly be stranger than a boy switching genders with water?

     "Well," Akane started, but was cut off as the final bell rang.
"Uh, why don't I tell you later."

                             *     *     *

     Ranma and Akane stepped out the hall, the former careful not to
spill any of the water on his bucket.

     "Sorry I made you late," Ranma apologized, smiling down at her
sheepishly.

     "Nah. Don't worry about it. I've always wanted to know what it's
like to be a delinquent, anyways."

     An uncomfortable silence followed, neither one knowing what say
next.

     Akane, finding it unnerving, decided to break it with a question
she had been meaning to ask.

     "Ranma?"

     "Mmm."

     "You're a martial artist, right?"

     "Yeah, so?"

     "Well," Akane continued, licking her lips nervously, "I was just
wondering if you could... well..."

     "If I could what?" he asked, his brows furrowing as he gave her
his full atention.

     "...if you could teach me martial arts."

     "What?! I don't know anything about teaching that."

     She looked down on the ground in disappointment. "So, I guess
that's a no."

     Seeing her dejected figure, he tried to cheer her up. "C'mon,
it's not like you need to learn it. You have me on your side,
remember?"

     "But you can't always be there to protect me."

     He mulled this in his mind for awhile and gave a defeated sigh
when he realized that she was right. "All right."

     Akane's expression quickly changed into a hopeful one as she
looked up at him. "You mean..."

     "Mm-hm. We start tomorrow."

                             *     *     *

     Ranma ignored the appreciative whistles as he dismounted from the
bar. When he headed back to his seat, he was instantly surrounded by
two boys from his class.

     "Not bad, Saotome," the brown haired one commented while they
shifted their attention to the girls who were in the middle of a
softball game.

     They watched closely as the teams switched, the girls laughing
gaily as they walked towards their destination.

     "Say, aren't you friends with Akane?" the one with black hair
asked, causing a frown to appear on Ranma's face. The two were
obviously only talking to him to get more information about her.

     "What if I am?"

     "Well, we wanted to know what kind of stuff she likes."

     He quickly whipped his head around to face them, angrier than any
concerned friend had a right to be. "Why are you asking me? Ask her
yourself if you really want *urk*" He stopped in mid-sentence when a
softball suddenly became imbedded to his cheeks.

     From the field, a horrified Akane watched as the ball she hit
slowly rolled off Ranma's face. "Oops."

                             *     *     *

     "I'm really sorry about your cheek. Does it still hurt?"

     "I'll live."

     "That's good." She glanced at the door and remembered the group
of girls waiting to see him. "Well, I'd better go."

     "Akane, wait," he requested as he got up from the bed. "I'll walk
you home."

     "But what about them?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the
door.

     "It's not a problem."

     "What do you mean..."

     Akane didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, too shocked to
continue when she found herself cradled in his arms. The expression on
his face indicated that he was just as surprised at his sudden
boldness.

     Ranma's heart pounded loudly in his ears as he held her close to
him. The smell of her shampoo reminded him of the wild flowers he had
encountered on his decade-long training trip, making him feel a bit
nostalgic as he slowly brought his face closer to her inviting red
lips.

     He was brought back to reality when he heard an impatient knock
on the door.

     Akane also heared it, causing her to clear her throat nervously.
"H-how does carrying me get us home? I really doubt clicking your
heels together and chanting 'there's no place like home' would work."

     Trying to hide the blush on his face, he confidently leapt off
the two story window while she stifled a scream as the ground quickly
rushed towards them.

     "You think, maybe, you could let go?" he asked, trying to breath
despite her death grip.

     Akane quickly moved her hands away from his neck, blushing
furiously as she realized just how close they were to each other.

     Ranma, finally able to think clearly, also noticed the closeness
and gently put her back on her feet.

     "Um... c'mon. We still have a ton of homework to do."

     "Hai," Ranma answered as he followed her, filled with regret for
having let go so quickly. 

Chapter 4
*********

     It was a beautiful Sunday morning when Akane headed downstairs
for breakfast. She was a bit surprised to find Shinnosuke already up
and eating.

     "Good morning."

     He looked up at her, obviously confused. "Excuse me, but who are
you?"

     She shook her head while she reached for some soup, used to being
constantly forgotten by her childhood friend. "I'm Akane. I live here
with you."

     "Oh."

     "You're lucky grandpa didn't hear you say that or he'd have given
you a megaton punch for sure."

     "Grandpa? Who's that?"

     The phone chose that moment to ring so Shinnosuke stood up to
answer it. Despite her distance from the phone, she still managed to
hear the hysterical voice on the other end which was so loud that it
knocked Shinnosuke off his feet.

     //HOW DARE YOU FORGET YOUR OWN GRANDFATHER?!//

     Some things just never changed.

                             *     *     *

     Akane was in awe as she watched the Tendo sisters spar with their
weapons of choice. Kasumi was using a broom, similar to the one
Shinnosuke used, while Nabiki opted for... credit cards?! She was
using them like throwing stars and had already managed to tear
Kasumi's gi around the edges.

     She almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Akane
whirled around and found Ranma gazing intently at the two combatants.

     "Not bad, huh?"

     Akane nodded her head, then remembered he wasn't looking at her.
"Yeah. Where did they learn to fight like that?"

     "Well, as you know, we practice anything goes martial arts.
Saotome school of anything goes specializes in unarmed combat, while
the Tendo school specializes in armed combat using unusual weapons."

     "They're very good."

     "They're okay."

     She looked at him a bit incredulously as she watched Nabiki do a
flip to avoid the broom aimed at her legs. "You're kidding. Look at
them."

     "They depend too much on their weapons. Take them away and they
can be defeated quite easily. Now, I'm not saying that having a weapon
is bad. It has its good points. For example, it gives a person greater
reach," he pointed out as Nabiki threw another one of her credit cards
across the room, damaging Kasumi's gi even further.

     They watched the remainder of the fight in silence. It ended when
Kasumi attempted a series of strikes towards Nabiki's head. When she
predictably raised her guard, Kasumi knocked her off balance by
twirling the broom around her ankles.

     Akane clapped her hands appreciatively while the two combatants
bowed before heading back to the house to get cleaned up.

     "Well, what do you think?"

     "Huh?"

     "As someone who wants to become a martial artist, you must learn
to evaluate possible opponent's strengths and weaknesses. So, Akane,
what did you learn from watching that sparring session?"

     "Never get Kasumi angry. Especially if she's holding a broom."

                             *     *     *

     "Are you sure you've never taken martial arts before?" Ranma
asked as he flipped behind her to avoid the inside chop aimed at his
lower ribs.

     "I don't think so," Akane answered, frowning when the elbow
strike also failed to connect.

     "But you seem to know at least the basics of kempo."

     Hearing this, Akane stopped attacking immediately. "Really?"
Could this mean that she was interested in martial arts before she had
lost her memories so many years ago?

     "You're not sure?"

     "Well, I can't really remember things that happened before I was
six. I was lucky that Shinnosuke and grandpa found me since I don't
know who my real family is."

     Ranma looked on sympathetically, not knowing what else to do. It
was times like these that he wished that he had spent more times
making friends. He hated helplessly watching Akane sink deeper into
depression.

     "Well, maybe you'll find them someday."

     "Don't worry. I haven't given up." As she watched her friend's
worried expression change back into a smile, she silently added, "At
least, not yet."

                             *     *     *

     Akane watched the group of boys on the ground with a disgusted
expression on her face. She couldn't believe that they had the nerve
to attack her despite Ranma's threats the week before.

     True to his word, Ranma took care of all the boys that went after
her.

     They were about to go inside when they noticed a blue clad figure
enter the yard.

     "Akane..." the boy said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
The slight breeze dramatically rustled his hair as he walked towards
her. "I shall prove myself worthy of thee. Fight me and lose so that
you may experience the magnificence of Blue Thunder."

     "Shall I assume that you're Blue Thunder?"

     "There is no other. Now prepare to lose so that you may express
your gratitude by dating me."

     Akane saw Ranma moving towards them to prematurely end the
conversation. However, she also had enough of the arrogant boy and
decided to get rid of him herself.

     Akane raised her leg and kicked him in the place where she knew
it would hurt him the most.

     The older boy turned an unhealthy shade of blue and quickly
dropped down into the ground with a slight whimper.

     When she looked up, she saw Ranma standing a few feet away, his
mouth wide open with shock.

     "See? I'm not totally helpless," Akane smiled before they ran
towards their first class. Hopefully, the rest of the day would be
uneventful.

                             *     *     *

     Akane hummed a tune as she walked down the street. Due to
their... popularity, Ranma and Akane decided that it was in their best
of interest to have lunch out of school.

     They were walking on an empty street, both deep in thought as to
what restaurant they were going to.

     The silence was broken by an animal like yell and quickly
approaching footsteps. The two teenagers quickly turned around, Ranma
shoving Akane aside to keep her from getting hit by a red bamboo
umbrella.

     "How dare you run away from our man to man fight!" The newcomer
yelled, glaring angrily at Ranma.

     "Ryoga? Ryoga Hibiki from junior high? What are you doing here?"

     "You ran away from our fight, coward."

     "What are you talking about? I waited three days for you to show
up!"

     "And when I came on the fourth day, you were gone. Now, thanks to
you, I have seen hell!"

     "What?"

     "I heard that you'd run off to China with your old man so I
decided to follow you..." he said quietly, his eyes filled with hatred
as he grabbed a handful of bandannas and hurled them towards Ranma.
"...ALL THE WAY TO JUSENKYO!"

     "You mean you're..."

     "SHUT UP!" he screamed, using Ranma's distracted state to his
advantage.

     Akane watched in amazement as the belt he was holding suddenly
became razor sharp with a flick of his wrist.

     "Ranma, look out!"

     Ryoga, having completely forgotten about her presence, was
distracted when he threw the latest projectile at Ranma.

     Akane screamed as she realized the razor sharp belt was now
heading towards her. The two boys just watched helplessly, too far
away to be of any help.

     Fortunately, survival instincts kicked in, and Akane managed to
move out of the way... but not before it cleanly sliced off a large
chunk of her hair.

     She stood up, and Ranma was immediately at her side.

     "Akane, are you all right?"

     When he didn't receive a response, he waved a hand in front of
her face.

     "I think she's in shock," Ryoga commented.

     "Tell me something I don't know."

     The two boys glared at each other again but stopped as they heard
a strangled cry escape Akane's lips. They quickly turned around just
in time to see her run off.

     "AKANE!"

     Hearing Ranma yell out her name, Akane willed her legs to go
faster, not wanting to face him.

                             *     *     *

     Shinnosuke was just leaving the doctor's office when he noticed a
girl in a Furinkan High uniform run by. At first glance, she didn't
appear to be someone he knew, but when she raised her head to see
where she was, he recognized her instantly.

     "Akane," he shouted as he ran up to her and grabbed her by her
hand.

     Akane slowly turned around to face him, keeping her head bowed,
not wanting him to see her tears.

     As she did this, Shinnosuke noticed for the first time why it
took him so long to recognize his old childhood friend. "Akane... your
hair..."

     A downcast smile appeared on her face as she remembered hearing
him utter a similar line during a conversation she had with him so
many years ago.

                             *     *     *

     "Akane...your hair..."

     "Do you like it?" She asked as she turned around to show off her
long hair which was up in a neat french twist."

     "I thought you were going to get it cut?"

     "Well, remember how I..." Akane stopped when she recalled who she
was talking to. "Sometimes I get brief images from my past... not
enough for any of them to make sense or give me a clue as to who I
really am, but I can see faces..."

     "What does that have to do with this?"

     "Well, when I was on my way to town this afternoon, I saw my
reflection..."

     "So?"

     "I noticed for the first time that I have grown up to look
exactly like my mother. I remember that she had beautiful, long hair
and I thought that if I looked like her... that maybe I'd feel closer
to her..."

                             *     *     *

     "Akane?"

     She wiped away another tear as she looked up, replacing her sad
expression with phony cheerfulness.

     "Er... what?"

     "How did that happen?"

     "Well, Ranma and I were walking down the street when this boy
Ryoga came by and started a fight with him. He was throwing things at
Ranma and one of them..."

     "That bastard!" Shinnosuke exclaimed, his fist clenching in
anger.

     "Shinnosuke, please," Akane pleaded as she put a hand on his
shoulder. "It was just a stupid accident."

     "But you could have been..."

     "I'm fine. Please, just forget it."

     Seeing her expression, he decided to concede. "Okay, but if he
does it again..."

     Relieved that his mind was no longer on revenge, Akane decided it
was time to change the subject. "C'mon. Why don't we go to the salon
so I could get a more decent hairdo."

     "Sure. I always thought you'd look cuter with short hair,
anyway," he mumbled as they started to walk towards the business
district, not noticing the trail of tears behind them.

Chapter 5
*********

     Shinnosuke was about to reenter his room but stopped when he
heard a whimper echo throughout the house. He strained his ears and
heard it again. The sound seeming to have been coming from Akane's
room at the end of the hall.

     He softly knocked at her door. "Can I come in?"

     "Uh, sure," Akane answered, running a hand through her tear
streaked face.

     Shinnosuke found her sitting by the window, her gold necklace
blinding him slightly as he took the seat next to her.

     "Are you still crying over your hair?"

     "Mm-hm."

     "I was serious when I said earlier that it makes you look cute,"
he whispered while he ran his hand through her newly shortened locks.

     "You must think I'm being silly, but when it was accidentally
cut...I felt like I lost my family all over again."

     "But I'm here. Don't you consider me and grandpa family anymore?"

     "Of course I do."

     "Then stop crying. Like you said, it was just a stupid accident.
It couldn't be helped. Crying won't bring it or your family back. Now
sit up and take it like a man."

     "Uh...Shinnosuke?"

     "Yes?"

     "I'm not a man."

     "Oh yeah."

                             *     *     *

     Ranma glanced at the door before him apprehensively, unsure if he
should knock or not.

     From Akane's reaction the day before, he wasn't too sure she
wanted to see him again. He had promised her that he would protect her
against her morning admirers, however, and he was going to do it even
if she hated his guts. He at least owed her that much.

     After a nervous gulp, he rapped his hand against the door, unsure
of what he was going to say or do when he finally faced her.

                             *     *     *

     "I'll get it," Akane yelled as she walked towards the front door.
She was pretty sure it was Ranma and couldn't help but feel a bit
guilty for the way she had acted yesterday.

     She had been mad at him, but after her talk with Shinnosuke, she
had thought it over during the night and she had to admit that it was
indeed not his fault.

     Grabbing her bag from its spot next to the door, she quickly
opened the door and stepped out.

     "You're early today."

     "Yeah...Um, Akane?"

     "Mm?"

     "About what happened yesterday..."

     "Forget it."

     "Then you're not mad about..."

     "Don't be silly. I've been meaning to cut it anyways," she lied.
"Just not that quickly."

     "Oh." Ranma went through his bag and quickly found the object he
had been searching for. "Uh, here's your hair... I thought you might
want it back."

     He looked at her stunned face, the expression she wore reminding
him of the events that occured the day before.

                             *     *     *

     Ranma waved a hand in front of Akane. She still had the same
surprised expression on her face for the last couple of minutes. In
fact, she hadn't done so much as blink since the accident.

     "I think she's in shock," Ryoga had said after a brief
examination.

     "Tell me something I don't know."

     They had glared at each other then. The tension in the air was so
thick that it could have been cut with a knife.

     It would have eventually led to another fight had Akane not
chosen that moment to run off.

     "AKANE!" Ranma had yelled out, ending the staring match. He was
about to go after her when he felt a hand on his shoulder

     He turned around and saw Ryoga sadly shaking his head, the angry
expression of earlier replaced with one of guilt. "Don't. I'm sure
we're the last people on earth that she'd want to see right now."

     For once, Ranma didn't argue, knowing full well that the other
boy was right.

     He walked towards the spot that she had been standing in and
carefully lifted the lock of hair on the ground as if it was the most
fragile thing on earth.

     He sadly ran his hand through it, the silky strands slowly
separating to fall lifelessly in his lap. The same strands that
minutes before had moved gracefully with each turn of her head, but
now... 

                             *     *     *

     "Thank you," Akane replied, carefully placing it in her bag and
snapping Ranma out of his reverie.

     Ranma looked a bit embarassed as he carefully avoided her gaze.
"Ah, no problem."

     He was about to say something more, but he was interrupted by the
first bell. Damn.

                             *     *     *

     The noise in the hallway was defeaning as the students of
Furinkan High headed outside for lunch. Amid the crowd were two
freshmen who appeared to be the only ones not in a rush.

     "Ranma?" Akane yelled so that she could be heard above the noise.
"I was thinking, how would you like to go ice skating..."

     "I'd love to," he replied, a little to eagerly for his liking. He
couldn't believe it, she was asking him on a date. Just the two of
them on the rink skating while the others marvel at their grace...

     Ranma smiled as the image ran through his mind, although he
couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something important.

     "...with Shinnosuke and me?" Akane finished. She turned around
and noticed the dissapointed look on his face. "Is something the
matter?"

     Ranma looked a bit starled that she had noticed his sour
expression. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing!" he exclaimed as he nervously
scratched the back of his head. 

                             *     *     *

     "I can't believe I forgot I couldn't skate," Ranma muttered while
he desperately held on to the wall surrounding the rink.

     They had headed right after school to the skating rink and met up
with Shinnosuke as planned. It had been going great until he stepped
into the ice.

     He glanced up and found the forgetful boy glaring at him again as
he skated next to Akane.

     "What's his problem?" he muttered while he watched the two of
them skate effortlessly around the rink. "For an old friend, he sure
is acting a lot more like a jealous boyfriend."

                             *     *     *

     "Is something the matter?" Akane asked while she executed a
flawless double axel. She had noticed that Shinnosuke had been
distracted the whole time they had been skating. He kept making the
simplest mistakes which was odd for someone who had been skating for
such a long time.

     "Oh, I just wasn't feeling too well this morning."

     "Then why are you here? You know you shouldn't strain yourself."

     "I'm fine. Besides, there's no way I was going to let you go
alone with some strange guy," he said as he continued to glare at
Ranma.

     "He's a friend."

     "You barely know him. For all you know, he cold be a major
pervert who goes out at night to steal women's underwear."

     "Oh, honestly."

                             *     *     *

     Shinnosuke snuck out of the ice and headed towards a table,
grateful that Akane was busy on the rink, unsuccessfully trying to
teach Ranma how to skate. With shaking fingers, he took out the sports
bottle under his shirt filled with the 'water of life'.

     He hadn't been lying earlier when he said he didn't feel well and
almost didn't come. Then he heard that some boy was coming along and
well, what could he do?

     He was about to pour the contents of the bottle on his back when
it was snatched out of his hand by a girl in a pink frilly dress that
looked so sweet on her that he thought he was going to have a
toothache.

     "Marguerite!" she squealed as she hugged the cute sports bottle
against her chest.

     "Hey! You can't..."

     "You're so cute!" she continued, ignoring his protest.

     Shinnosuke looked on helpless as she continued to talk to it. The
sickeningly cute squeals caught Akane's attention as she and Ranma
skated... well, actually it was more like she skated by, dragging
Ranma behind her.

     She recognized the object in the girl's hand immediately and
gasped, stopping abrubtly. Unfortunately for Ranma, the sudden lost of
movement caused him to fall flat on his face in the ice.

     "Y-You give that back to him," Akane demanded as she stalked
towards the girl.

     "No. Little Marguerite is mine!"

     When she had finished talking, a hand snatched the object out of
her hand and placed it on Akanes.

     "I believe this is yours," the owner of the hand, a handsome boy
in his late teens said, giving her his most charming smile.

     "Uh, yeah."

     "Say isn't that the Mikado Sanzenin of the Golden Pair?" a girl
that Akane recognized as someone from her class asked.

     "Indeed," he answered as he ran a comb through his hair. "And
this," he added as he pointed to the cute kleptomaniac beside him
currently hitting him on the head with her ice skates, "Is my partner,
Azusa Shiratori."

     "What's the Golden Pair?" Akane whispered to the girl beside her.

     Mikado looked like he was going to have a heart attack upon
hearing this. "The Golden Pair happens to be Kolkhoz High's champion
freestyle skating team."

     "Oh."

     "But don't worry," he added as he walked up to her and gently
held her cheek, shrugging his annoying partner off. "You're forgiven
for not knowing this. In fact, I decided to show you another thing I'm
famous for." He leaned closer to her and closed his eyes as he
prepared to kiss her on the lips.

     *Crack* Mikado opened his eyes when he felt pain. He found that
the sports bottle that Azusa had snatched back was now imbedded to his
cheeks.

     "This bottle is mine!"

     "No way!" Akane yelled as she grabbed it away.

     "Fine. If you won't give it to me, then I challenge you."

     "So, you want a fight?"

     "Don't be ridiculous. I challenge you to a pairs skating match.
It will be held at my school in three days."

     "Fine."

     "Do you think that's wise?" Ranma asked. "Why don't you save
yourself the trouble and just buy another one?"

     "Because."

     "Well I for one think it's a great idea," a fully recovered
Mikado interjected. "And after the match," he whispered as he held
Akane's hand, "as you wished, you will finally be able to kiss me."

     Akane looked at the bottle in her hand and toyed with the idea of
hitting him over the head with it herself. Unfortunately, he was gone
by the time she had made her decision.

    Source: geocities.com/area51/keep/3956/txt