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YOUR BODY, MY MIND
Chapter Four
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They were settling themselves down to eat when Kasumi reappeared. "Ranma, you have a visitor."
The two exchanged a startled glance. "What now?" Akane grumbled, jumping to her feet.
"Yoohoo!" A bright cheery voice called. Ukyo herself appeared a split second later. She hurled herself at Akane. "Ran- chan..."
Akane looked to Ranma for help but he was busy stuffing his face. Twin spots of red stained his cheeks. I guess I'll have to handle this by myself, she thought in exasperation.
Ukyo was pulling her arm insistently. "Ran-chan come. I've prepared a special okonomiyaki."
She shook her head. "I can't Ucchan." The pet name was drawn out of her with a grimace. "I'm eating breakfast." She gestured at the spread on the table.
Ukyo pouted and shoved the okonomiyaki box under her nose. "But I made it just for you."
Despite herself, Akane's mouth watered as the delicious smell wafted up her nostrils. Maybe she should...after all what a waste... "Let's take this outside," she murmured dazedly.
Ukyo grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way." She linked her arm through hers.
They walked out into the yard, where they sat on a bench placed underneath a large elm. Akane racked her mind for something to say, even as Ukyo opened the box and prepared to lay the Japanese pizza on top of it.
Curse this curse, she reflected bitterly, watching Ukyo's motions out of the corner of her eye. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her. But it doesn't have to be...
Yesterday, Ranma had hurt Ryoga's feelings by pretending to be her. Maybe she could do the same thing to Ukyo. Not hurt her feelings pettily but...break things between her and Ranma gently. The way Ranma should have done from the start.
Her eyes shone with her newfound mission. She faced Ukyo resolutely. "Ucchan," she began firmly. "We need to talk."
For a moment, she thought she saw a look of panic flit through Ukyo's warm dark eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it had come. Ukyo shoved the huge slice of okonomiyaki she was holding into Akane's open mouth.
She sighed and stared out into the distance, a wistful smile on her lips. "Ran-chan... Do you remember when we were young and we used to play together?"
Akane, her mouth full of pizza could not reply. She almost choked trying to.
Ukyo laughed lightly to herself, a light breeze blowing her long hair behind her. "I recall that, one day, when we were playing near my father's okonomiyaki cart, you accidentally fell over and knocked one of Dad's sauces out. The bottle broke and the sauce was everywhere. We were so scared of being caught because he particularly liked that one better than the others.
"Finally you stood up and ran away and I thought you were leaving me to face his anger all alone. I swept up the broken pieces of glass and wiped all trace of the sauce away, fuming that you would abandon me like that. Then you came back, and you were carrying a bottle with a liquid sloshing inside that resembled the sauce. You said we could use this to replace the one we'd broken and Dad would never know the difference. Were you ever wrong! Like you usually are," she added fondly.
"Dad came back exhausted and tired. He mumbled that all he wanted to do was make himself a good meal and go to bed. So he made himself an okonomiyaki just like always. We were both pretending to be napping when we heard him yelp and gag. I thought he was going to die! He was so green. It turned out that the 'sauce' we had put was your father's foot ointment."
She chuckled at the memory. Then she stopped and glanced at Akane, who was still chewing okonomiyaki. "Oh I'm sorry," she said, wide-eyed. "You were about to say something, weren't you?"
Akane gulped down the last piece. She looked thoughtful and something almost akin to sympathy flashed through her brown eyes. With a slight smile she replied, "Nothing."
She could have sworn Ukyo appeared relieved.

Ranma ambled up to her a few minutes later, just after Ukyo had left. He carried a glass of water which he proceeded to dump on her. "How'd it go?"
Akane sighed. "Can I be honest? I tried to tell Ukyo off...while pretending to be you."
He leaned down eagerly, wondering whether he was rid of one fiancee or not. "Well? What happened?"
She looked away. "I...I didn't have the heart." She turned back to face him, confusion written on her face. "Ranma, I...I think she knows or already suspects. Because when I tried to talk to her about it, I could have sworn she panicked, if just for a moment. Then she interrupted and started to ramble on about the adventures the two of you had while you were kids... I just didn't have the guts."
He nodded and sat down beside her. Now you know why it's so hard for me to break it off with her and Shampoo, but especially with her. She used to be my best friend, my only friend for a long time. I just don't want to hurt her."
The silence weighed heavily on them both. Akane tentatively reached out and smiled. He smiled too and they got up. "Come on," she said. "Let's go tell them we're going on a picnic."
"You tell 'em. I'll go grab a basket." He scurried off before she could get in another word.
She shook her head at him. She knew the reason why he was suddenly so eager to retrieve their picnic basket. Their family would undoubtedly speculate why they would suddenly go off for a picnic alone, especially after yesterday's ruckus. Still, they had no choice, not if they wanted to be deluged with unexpected visitors again.
She sighed and went in. Kasumi was clearing the plates from their table, Nabiki was watching an fitness program on TV, and Soun and Genma were playing shogi. "You guys," she announced. "Ranma and I are going on a picnic."
As she had anticipated, there was a round of teasing all around. She thought her father and Mr. Saotome looked definitely misty-eyed, and Nabiki was shooting her a knowing look which made her squirm. Thank heavens for Kasumi who just smiled same as always, and told her to enjoy themselves. Ranma appeared and she joined him outside gratefully.
"That bad huh?" He observed her flushed face and pink ears quietly.
She said nothing and they set out. Ranma swung the picnic basket to and fro as they walked. Funny how light it seemed. He wondered what exactly was inside. He lifted the flap and peered in. He gawked at what he saw and sputtered. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He took a look again. Mouth hanging open in disbelief, he caught up with Akane, who was walking ahead. He tapped her on the shoulder. "It's empty!!!" he gaped.
She stared at him in shock. Then she grabbed the basket and took a look for herself. She tilted the basket upside down but nothing came out. "That's impossible!" she cried.
"I didn't do nothing to it! Didn't we always just pick it up and there was food inside?"
She stared back at him, as puzzled as he. Then she started laughing. "Of course! That's because Kasumi was the one who always prepared the basket! Don't you get it? We always went on a family picnic, so she was there to take care of it. This is our first picnic alone together."
He continued to regard her gloomily. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"Excuse me but have you looked around?" She pointed to a building behind him. His eyes bulged in surprise when he spotted the sign: Sandwiches and other snacks for sale.
"But that would mean spending money," he protested.
"Come off it." She sauntered into the store. "Really, you're beginning to sound like Nabiki."
Ranma glared at her. "Hey take that back," he said, hurrying to catch up.

They found a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. They spread out a checkered cloth and sat down on it. Akane sighed in contentment. The grass was green and the sun was shining. Not even being displaced in someone else's body could spoil the day.
"Isn't this the life?" she murmured.

Ranma stared out the lake in sulky silence.
Akane turned on him, her expression suddenly serious. "Let's forget our problems for now, okay, Ranma?"
Ranma shrugged, indifferent. "Well at least you have the curse."
Akane shot up. "That's it!" she cried. "Why didn't I think of it before?" She grabbed Ranma by the collar, forgetting again that he was in her body. "Ranma go for a swim."
"Huh?" he said, not comprehending.
"See what it feels like not to change when you get wet, dummy!" she cried out in exasperation. She was more than compensated when she saw the look of pure joy flicker across his face.
"Well I -" Ranma fidgeted, trying to appear cool and collected. He shifted from one foot to another. "Your body doesn't know how to swim."
Akane rolled her eyes in exasperation. "The water's only up to chest level." I think.
He just stood there.
"Go on in, stupid," Akane whispered.
That was enough for him. He dove in whooping, not bothering to strip, which Akane was grateful for. He came up for air, grinning and laughing like a madman.
Akane laughed along with him, delighted that he had that chance. Her features softened...very feminine. She didn't know it, but if anyone had come across her like that they could have saved her all the trouble of indecision and told her: You're in love.

Ranma sighed as he lay on the grass; letting the sun warm and dry his clothes. He idly pulled up tufts of grass and threw them up into the air.
"Hey." Akane almost hated to intrude on the mood. "Snacks are ready."
He sprang up in response and began devouring a peanut butter sandwich. Akane munched at her own, lost in her thoughts. From out of nowhere, she heard Ranma mumble, "Having a picnic was a good idea, Akane."
She blushed, in reality more flattered that he'd complimented her than at the compliment itself. "Maybe we should do it again some time," she murmured.
There was an awkward pause.
Akane felt her cheeks burn in humiliation. How could she have said that? she thought to herself. "I'm sorry. That was a dumb thing to say." She began clearing the plastic bags and empty paper cups away.
"No," she was surprised to hear him say. "It wasn't dumb."
She glanced at him shyly, knowing how hard that must have been for him to say. Their eyes locked. Both felt a heightened awareness of the other that hadn't been their before. Ranma looked away, something clearly troubling him.
Akane watched, concerned.
"It's just-" He turned to face her, his expression intense. "Why did you wish for my body?"
Akane shifted her eyes uncomfortably. She had trouble answering. "I didn't wish it on purpose. You know that."
Ranma nodded impatiently. "But what brought it on?" Akane lowered her eyes, ashamed. She took a deep breath to steady herself before answering. "I could say it was because of the volleyball game or the frisbee or even my tripping on the table but I'd be lying." She paused, then continued. "When I was young, I always felt that Daddy was secretly disappointed in me. I was no good at cooking like Kasumi or managing money the way Nabiki did. So I tried to find something I could excel in. It turned out to be martial arts and I got really good at it. When my sisters did something fantastic I always had something to fall back on. Then you came along. Everything changed overnight. You were better than me and everything I'd done before looked like child's play. I lost the crutch I'd had for so long." She hung her head and Ranma saw that she was struggling to keep the tears from falling. He bowed his head.
He knew she had revealed to him her innermost thoughts and he felt obligated to do the same. He wanted to comfort her and himself as well. He spoke softly. "Sometimes... sometimes I think you're stronger than me where it really counts." He saw her lift her head in surprise. "You're better at dealing with people, with showing your emotions. Same goes for your sisters. Kasumi's angelic...but she's oblivious to what's really going on around her. Nabiki hides her feelings from everyone. I'm sure your father appreciates that about you. You're more...real."
Akane tried to chuckle. "Sometimes I think I show my feelings too much," she reminded him. But inside, she was touched at his words beyond belief. They rang true. That it would come from him of all people was ironic...but right.
"Besides," Ranma added. "Look at me now." He stopped. "No, not now but you know what I mean. I'm half a man." He closed his eyes at the pain. "That body is cursed, Akane. You'd have been better off wishing for another one."
Akane put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "It isn't cursed, Ranma. I mean...it's all right with me. I could live with it."
He smiled and the spell was broken. But the words that they'd exchanged remained. He noticed that the sun was setting and he held out his hand. "We better be heading back."
"Just a minute," she said, stopping him. "Let's at least watch the sunset." Ranma hesitated then nodded his assent. Tentatively their fingers found each other and, holding hands, they watched as the golden orb sunk lower and lower to finally disappear from the sky in a brilliant display of light. Without a word, they turned around and went home.

Later that night, Akane lay down on Ranma's futon to sleep, but she knew she'd be awake for a long time yet. They had decided it wasn't worth it to sneak into their respective rooms and risk another day of teasing. Anyway, Akane instinctively knew she'd wake up in her bed the next morning. She had an idea that the bodies remained where they were and the souls switched.
The rest of the night had passed without further incident. They had traded the wrong insults again but no one seemed to notice - or care. It had been hilarious when Ranma had been forced to help Kasumi with the dishes. Again. Of course, she would have to pay for all the dishes he'd broken, but the expression on his face - her face technically - had been priceless.
She warmed all over when she recalled their conversation earlier. It had been perhaps their most intimate yet. No doubt the switch had had something to do with that. When she'd poured out her sorrows, she'd felt like she was talking to herself instead of Ranma - to her reflection in the mirror so to speak.
Almost with reluctance, she slipped her hand beneath the pillow and turned to the left. "I wish things back to normal," she said out loud. Inwardly she thought, But I'll never forget this day for as long as I live...

Meanwhile, Ranma was in Akane's bed, as sleepless as she. He put his hand underneath the pillow and turned to the left. "I wish my Jusenkyo curse was gone," he said. Then he shook his head in disgust. "As if life would be that kind," he muttered.

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