As the morning light crept up the eastern horizon, piercing battle cries shattered the peace. This however was normal in this neighborhood, for this is the Tendo dojo, and the morning training sessions of the Saotomes' has long since been ignored by the rest of the neighborhood.
      "Come on Ranma!! You can do better than that!" Genma yelled as he smoothly blocked a punch.
      "Grrr.. Try this!" Ranma ducked low and tried a leg sweep.
      "Hah! Try again boy!" Genma taunted again as he jumped over the attack. As this battle raged on, a different battle was being waged... in the kitchen.
      "More flour right?"
      "That's salt Akane. No, that bag there, that's right!" Kasumi gently tries to train her younger sister in the fine art of cooking. Kasumi's seemingly impenetrable calm was visibly strained as Akane enthusiastically grabbed at random ingredients.
      Akane and Kasumi both looked out the window as they heard a splash.
      "Looks like Ranma is going to need some hot water soon." Kasumi smiled and turned to put the kettle on.
      "That idiot, he should be better than that by now," Akane muttered to herself as she continued to try to make breakfast, "Kasumi, are you sure you don't add soy sauce to this?" she muttered absently as she dumped half a bottle into her concoction.
      "Now your dead old man!" Ranma-chan yelled as she leapt from the pond and continued to attack her father in a frenzy.
      "Remember your focus Ranma! If changing into a girl causes you to lose focus, maybe we should start tomorrow's session with you as a girl" Genma grinned at the look of anger his 'son' showed, then slowly faded into a calm expression as she reformed into a proper stance again. "That's better boy! Now, lets break for breakfast!" As he started to walk into the dojo, he felt two small hands grab his doji and hurl him into the pond.
      "Maybe you should focus some more pops" Ranma-chan gloated as her father resurfaced as a giant panda.
      "Growrf" was about all he could manage as he climbed out of the pond.
      "Mr. Saotome, Ranma! Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi called from just inside the house. "I've also got some hot water for you two!" She smiled sweetly at them as she held up a kettle.
      After Ranma and Genma had changed back and dried off, they gathered around the table for breakfast. Nabiki and Mr. Tendo joined them a few seconds later, Nabiki still looking only half awake, but she quickly woke when she noticed the food siting in front of her.
      "Hey Kasumi, who made breakfast this morning?" she asked with a bit of dread starting to creep in as she continued looking at the ...food.
      "Well," Kasumi smiled "I did make most of it, but Akane made some of the dishes"
      "Oh great, pick and choose your poison" Ranma groaned as he looked at the dishes.
      "Watch it Ranma, I tried really hard to make this so you had better eat it and like it!" Akane glared from her seat as Ranma eyeballed the food, trying to pick out something that he thought Akane didn't make. "Are you gonna eat it or not?" Akane practically screamed at them. At the sound of her voice, everyone grabbed some food at random, not daring to pick and choose. Ranma looked at the substance at the end of his chopsticks warily and took a bite. Almost immediately his eyes watered and his gut twisted into knots. Akane glared at him balefully as she slugged him.
      "Come on Ranma! It can't be that bad!" The hit bowled him over. He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. He clutched at his throat desperately. Akane scowled at him again. "I thought I told you to stop hamming it up!"
      "Oh my! He's choking!" Kasumi half screamed. Akane fell backwards as Genma leapt over the table and repeatedly slammed on Ranma's back.
      "Breathe boy! Dammit, breathe!" he bellowed. Ranma's face started to turn blue, and Genma swore under his breath as he gave one more mighty hit to his son's back. Ranma frantically grabbed for a glass of water. Kasumi gently closed his hand around it and helped him drink. There was an agonized second of silence before Ranma gasped quite audibly before he collapsed in a heap. Only the rise and fall of his chest prevented further panic.
      Akane looked stunned at his prone form for a full minute before she crawled over to where Ranma lay still.
      "Are you okay? Ranma?" Ranma squinted and saw that it was Akane that was kneeling next to him. ::She's concerned? How long was I not breathing?:: he thought, but all he could manage was a nod.
      "Good one Akane," Nabiki deadpanned, "It's a good thing we let Ranma take the first bite."
      "Nabiki, that wasn't very nice" Kasumi scolded her sister, "Akane tried very hard this morning to make a good breakfast"
      "Son, are you all right?" Mr. Tendo spoke for the first time that morning, the only response he got was a kind of strangled groan. "Akane, help me get him to his room." Without waiting for a response from his daughter he started lifting one side of the barely conscious Ranma. Akane blinked a couple of times, and then moved to help her father.
      ::What did I mess up on it this time?:: Akane thought, ::I thought I did everything right... That idiot, why does he always have to overreact like this, I mean it can't be that bad, can it?:: They dragged Ranma into his room, and laid him down on the futon. Kasumi came in a few minutes later with a small basin and a washcloth. As she gently placed the cloth over his forehead, Mr. Tendo quietly left the room. Akane stood there trying to figure out what she did wrong with the recipe.
      "Don't worry Akane, Ranma will be just fine," Kasumi completely misread the expression on Akane's face.
      "It's not like that!" Akane snapped, but her face suddenly softened. ::What if he doesn't recover from this? Oh what do I care anyways, that insensitive jerk.:: Despite her own thought, tears welled up in her eyes. Akane looked over at Ranma again and sighed. "Umm Kasumi?"
      "Yes Akane?"
      "I... I'll take care of him. Really, it's my fault," she sighed, "You better go and make breakfast for everyone else." Akane knelt next to Ranma's still form, not watching her sister leave, or even noticing that she had shut the door behind her. All that was apparent in her world right now was Ranma's still form, the tears running down her cheeks, and the guilt racing through her mind. ::I should have tasted it first, I should.....:: A million things that she could have done differently raced through her head. She had cooked for him before, and somehow something always went wrong. But all the other times, Ranma was at least awake and moving about, now he just lay there, still and pale, just barely breathing.
      "Ranma," Akane barely whispered, "I wish that just this once you would pop open one of your eyes and call me un-cute, or a tomboy, anything just let me know your alive...."
      "Tomboy." Ranma croaked out as he opened one eye and looked for Akane. Akane's face suddenly went bright red, and she looked down at the floor.
      "You were awake?"
      "Not really," he gasped "the only thing I heard was that you wanted me to call you a tomboy or something" Akane smiled a little bit at this, "I just wish you'd learn how to cook and quick, another meal like this will be my last..." he flinched as Akane's aura sprang into a blinding glare.
      "Ranma you jerk!" Akane screamed as she slapped him. She then looked at Ranma before she rearranged him on his futon and put the washcloth back on his forehead.
      "Huh, what happened? Akane?" Ranma stuttered into silence as he slowly realized that this would be a good time to keep his mouth shut.
      Out in the hallway, Kasumi smiled and ushered two old men away from the door. "Let them be Father, just let them be." She gently scolded them. Neither one of them had the heart to ignore that gentle admonishment.
     
      Several days later, an advertisement showed up in the newspaper.
      "Look! A fair! This is great!" Mr. Tendo gushed, "You'll take good care of my daughter at the fair won't you son?" Mr. Tendo glared at Ranma.
      "Aww come on... Why do I gotta take her to some dumb fair?" Ranma objected, oblivious to the bright blue battle aura that was starting to form around Akane.
      "You will take her to the fair Ranma!" Mr. Tendo yelled, changing into his demon-head mode, startling Ranma and breaking Akane out of her battle aura, "She is your fiancee, this fair is a perfect opportunity for you two to go out and have some fun, and maybe, just maybe not fight!" his face alone was enough to discourage even Ranma from talking back. "Now, do you understand, son?" Ranma's only response was to nod his head.
      "You'll do fine boy!" Genma said as he moved pieces to his favor on the board, "After all, it's up to you to carry on the Saotome School of Anything goes martial arts!"
      "All right all ready! I'll go I'll go!" Ranma held his hands up in surrender to this. Akane was too stunned to even react when her sisters suddenly stormed her.
      "What'll you wear?" "I should trim your hair a bit to make it look nicer.." "What an opportunity! You'll have so much fun" "Maybe the black kimono with the flower?" "No the....." Ranma stared after them as they hustled Akane upstairs, still talking excitedly. He sighed to himself. Why couldn't anyone make a fuss over him, without trying to marry him? Just a little depressed by that, he vowed to himself to really try to get along with Akane while they were at the fair.
      When it came time to go to the fair, Ranma and Akane hurried away from their parents. The last minute paternal advice as to the best spot for couples to be alone had caused both of them to blush furiously.
      "Geez you'd think they'd mind their own business" Ranma grumbled as he walked next to Akane. He was wearing a dark blue yukata, with a very detailed red dragon on the back and deep red scrollwork embroidered around the edges. Akane was wearing a black kimono with a bright yellow sunflower on it. Ranma recognized it as the one that she wore at the Doll inn.
      Ranma may have been grumbling at their parents, but inside he was smiling. ::Wow, I'm glad she chose that one, it sure makes her look so cute! If only she could be like this all the time....:: Akane, for her part was pleased that they got a chance to be alone. ::Now if only he'll keep his big mouth shut, we might actually have a good time.::
      Once they reached the fair, Ranma and Akane wandered around for while, and then they started to play the games. Ranma won several large fluffy dolls for Akane at the ball throw, and was actually a little embarrassed at the way she hugged them all and squealed with girlish delight. ::Man she sure can be cute when she's not angry...:: Ranma thought. The more they wandered the fair, the more they began to enjoy each other's company.
      "Akane, we're running a tad low on cash," Ranma spoke as he poked around in his coin purse for any more change, "We might have to leave soon."
      "No way!" Akane grinned, "I've still got all my money remember? You don't have to pay for everything you know."
      "I just thought, well uh..." Ranma was at a loss for words, he never expected that they could get through a trip to the fair without getting splashed, or having multiple fiancees or rivals showing up. A chill ran down his spine, and he looked nervously around, expecting to see Ryouga charging him or something.
      "What's the matter Ranma? Cat got your tongue?" Akane grinned viscously at Ranma as he shivered.
      "Geez Akane, don't kid around like that," he muttered something else under his breath.
      "What was that Ranma? I couldn't hear you?"
      "Stupid Tomboy" was Ranma's unthinking response. To his surprise, Akane didn't hit him, in fact she wasn't paying any attention to him at all. Grateful for small miracles, he relaxed, and then tried to see what she was looking at. "Hey Akane, whatcha looking at?"
      "Look over there, What's that?" Akane pointed to a crowd gathered around a tent in a dark corner of the fair. The tent seemed out of place at the fair, but the crowd around it suggested something special.
      "Dunno, want to find out, Akane?" Ranma said as he tried to read the sign from where he was, relieved at the same time that she hadn't heard him.
      "Sure, who knows, it could be something fun!" Akane smiled and started walking towards the booth. They both were shocked when they could finally read the sign.
      "The world's only earthbound angel?!?" Akane read in surprise.
      "Aw come on Akane, it's probably just some doll that you hafta look through a little hole to see." Ranma shrugged, "There's no such thing as angels anyways...."
      "Right, and there's no way to change from a boy to a girl with just water either." Akane shot back. Ranma looked hurt for a second and then just turned back towards the counter. There was a considerable line, and as they waited they over heard snippets of conversation, mostly centered around whether or not the 'angel' was real or not.
      "Come one come all, see a real live angel!" A positively evil looking man yelled to the crowd, "It's only 300 yen fer a couple, she's shy so only two at a time!" The man waved a cane at the crowd as he took money from the next couple. The man had a scar running down one cheek, a black eye patch and what looks like some sort rash along his neck and up the other side of his face. Whenever he smiled, he showed gapped yellow teeth. All in all, he appeared to be the sum total of the worst in human life. He gleefully took money from each couple and stuffed it into a locked box, and practically pushed them into the tent with a brusque wave of his cane.
      "Come, come see the angel! Feel her mighty presence!" he droned on and on, his voice sounding an awful lot like gravel being poured across a washboard. Ranma and Akane tried to ignore his rambling speech and his horrid appearance and tried to think of more pleasant things. They were trying so hard to ignore him, that when it came time for them to pay to get in, they almost didn't give him any money. A quick poke from the man's cane made Ranma react instantly, he knocked the man's cane out of his hands, caught it, and held the end against the man's throat.
      "Don't ever poke at me again, got it?" Ranma growled at him as he passed him the money. The startled man just looked at him and sweated. Ranma grunted at him and walked into the small, brightly colored tent, still grumbling about it when Akane's gasp made him pay attention to what was in the tent.
      A beautiful young girl was sitting on something, they couldn't tell what because of the huge white wedding style dress completely surrounded it. The lacy white material practically glowed in the dim light of the tent, and embroidered patterns of flowers could be seen. She had large emerald green eyes and extremely long red hair that cascaded down her bare back with an indeterminable amount on the ground. Ranma and Akane didn't notice any of this, all they could see were the huge, deep purple wings that merged with her back seamlessly. She wasn't paying any attention to them, and sighed as she shifted her wings to what may have been a more comfortable position.
      "Wow... Are those real? Are you really an angel?" Akane gasped as she walked towards her, the 'angel' started and looked at Akane and gave her a wan smile.
      "Yes they're real," The girl flapped her wings a few times, causing Akane's hair to swirl, and the dust on the floor whirled into tiny dust devils. Akane gaped a little, but Ranma was skeptical. Ranma looked closely at her face, and noticed some faded bruises that were mostly covered by makeup. He felt his fists clench involuntarily.
      "If you're an angel, why don't you just fly off or something, instead of being miserable here? I mean that guy don't look like he's the type that earned heavenly favor." ::Not to mention he's beating the crap out of you!:: his angry thoughts seared through whatever enjoyment he had of that evening. Now he had a powerful urge to hurt someone.
      "Hey you in there, move along quickly!" The man shouted from behind his counter. Ranma turned and walked towards the man, cracking his knuckles, who paled a bit and quieted down. ::Heh, one wrong move dirtbag and you'll be wishing I'd just up and kill you....::
      Feather noticed this and smiled a genuine smile. She leaned forward to whisper to Akane, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm not really an angel, just a poor girl who can't leave.." she started to look hopeful as she pleaded with Akane using her expressively large eyes.
      "That's sad, why can't you leave? Too poor? The guy's you father, what?" Akane asked, realizing that the girl was miserable here. Giving another empty smile, she lifted the dress and revealed that her leg was chained to a large iron ball. "Ranma!" Akane hissed, "Get over here!" she beckoned to him, and started to get angry when he didn't move quickly. "Hurry up stupid!! This is important!!"
      "I was just glaring at that guy again, seems he wanted to get us out of here when you started talkin' with her." Ranma grinned, "I think he's still a little scared of me, now watcha want?"
      "Can you break this?" Akane asked pointing to the leg iron. Ranma looked over the cuff, and then tested the chain.
      "Piece of cake Akane, I'm surprised you didn't try first, after all you're such a mac...." He was silenced by a firm application of Akane's fist.
      "Shut up you jerk, fine then...." Akane knelt down and with a brief shout, she chopped at the chain. A couple of the links on the chain shattered from the blow. The girl quickly stood up and hugged Akane.
      "You don't know how many times I've wished I could do that, but I've been so weak for so long, I just couldn't......oof!" Her breath exploded out of her.
      "Worry about that later, we gotta get out of here!" Ranma yelled as he grabbed both girls around the waist and started to run... fast. Akane struggled for a second until she head the loudest noise she had ever heard, which was followed by a meaty THWOCK.
      "What was that?" Akane screamed as she shook her head, trying to clear the bells out of her ears.
      "That was a gun, I ain't crazy enough to tangle with that guy with you two around, a stray shot could ruin my life without ever hitting me...." Ranma ground out as he ran, ignoring the pain in his leg so he failed to notice Akane's blush.
      ::Man, Akane's gonna have a fit when she notices how close that bullet came to hitting her...:: More shots rang out, but from a fading distance, and a few whizzed past their ears. "Akane can you see him?"
      "No, wait there he is, he's searching the bushes, he doesn't see us right now." Akane said after a short pause to look around.
      "Good, we're ducking in here" Ranma suddenly turned right, and then turned left, right into an empty looking house. "I hate to break in, but we need a place to hide, what the?!?" Ranma was startled to discover that the door was unlocked. "Lucky break, it's open" was all he said before he pushed the girls inside and, after glancing around outside again, shut and locked the door.
      "Hey who's there?" a familiar voice shouted. Akane looked up in surprise and shock.
      "Ryouga! Leave the lights off, It's me and Ranma!" Akane yelled. Unnoticed behind her, Ranma slumped to the ground.
      ::Why would Akane want me to leave the lights off? Oh well, it's amazing enough that I made it home, but now Akane shows up minutes after I do?!? It must be fate!:: Ryouga continued in those happy thoughts until he realized something, Akane had sounded scared. The gears turned in his mind, ::Akane needs me!:: was the only conclusion he reached, and amazingly, the lost boy made it to his front door in a matter of minutes.
      "Akane What's wrong?" he practically shouted, then he noticed the blood that soaked her kimono, "Akane are you hurt?" Ryouga was next to her in an instant, looking for injuries, or obvious tears in her kimono.
      "I'm not hurt Ryouga..." Akane started to talk, but she choked on her words.
      "Excuse me, but I don't think he's doing that good right now.." the winged girl interrupted, as she pointed to the unconscious Ranma.
      "RANMA!!!!" Akane scream practically shook the house "I must call Dr. Tofu, Ryouga! Stop the bleeding, please you got to help! He's your friend!" she dashed out of the room, trying desperately to remember where she saw a phone from last time she was there. Ryouga looked mad for a second, then turned to Ranma. ::If he dies, then Akane will be mine, but where is the honor in that? He got hurt helping Akane, and I should be the one to send him to the gates of hell, without the help of some base coward who hides behind a gun!:: Ryouga pulled the cloth of the yukata away from the wound and methodically ripped the material into strips. ::My bandannas aren't long enough to make a tourniquet for his leg, but this'll do the trick...:: Ryouga quickly twisted the strips tight and noted when the bleeding stopped. Absently he noted that there was an exit wound.
      "Akane I've stopped the bleeding, but he's lost a lot of blood, and there's two holes in his leg." Ryouga shouted over his shoulder, "Tell the doc to hurry" ::After all, I still need to kill him in a duel of honor.. WHAT THE?:: Ryouga had finally noticed the girl standing nearby, looking altogether frightened. That wasn't what startled him though, what had were the wings that were coming out of her back. "Who the hell are you!" Ryouga shouted, jumping up and backwards, slamming into the wall, denting it slightly.
      "My names Feather, please I'll tell you more later, he needs help!" she was practically in tears as she said this, as Akane entered the foyer.
      "We saved her from this guy who forgot that slavery is illegal. He was using her as an attraction in a freak show." Akane ground her teeth in anger as she returned from calling Dr. Tofu, "This same guy is also the one that shot Ran.." Akane bit off her words as someone knocked at the door. She looked at it apprehensively...:: What if he followed a trail of Ranma's blood here? What'll we do?:: Then she noticed that Ryouga was already opening the door. "No!" she screamed!
      "Aha! There ya are!" The evil looking man grinned as he pointed his handgun directly at Akane, "Now Feather, be a good girl and come back with me, or your friends are all gonna die!" He fired a shot that trimmed a bit of hair from Akane's head. Akane screamed in terror as Ryouga charged the man. The man pointed the gun at Ryouga, and was about to shoot, when suddenly Ranma grabbed his ankle and pulled him off balance. The gun went off, but it missed Ryouga cleanly whose aura suddenly started glowing a bright yellow.
      "You dare to shoot at Ryouga Hibiki, and Akane?!? SHI-SHI-HOKKODAN!!!!" Ryouga yelled as he released his chi at the man. The chi-blast hit the man squarely in the chest and threw him backwards and dropped him onto the lawn, out cold. "Akane you ok?" Ryouga turned to her, all she did was nod.
      "Good going man!" Ranma spoke weakly from the floor where he was slowly pushing himself into a sitting position, "but you better go tie him up, he might wake up soon and he'll be waving that gun around again." Ryouga almost objected, but he went outside and tied the man up with quite a few bandannas.
      "Heh, I tied them all really tight, so he's going to be real uncomfortable when he wakes up." Ryouga grinned maliciously when he returned.
      Dr. Tofu showed up shortly after that, along with the police. While he was examining Ranma, the police asked everyone questions about what had happened. Akane told them about how they found out about Feather being enslaved and used as a freak show exhibit, and what they did about freeing her. She also told them about the frightening chase through the streets with a wounded Ranma carrying both of them to hopeful safety. Feather recounted her tale of slavery and abuse at his hands, how he wouldn't even feed her half the time, and insisted on only giving her the leftovers from his meals. About how he beat her if they had a slow day, and many other things. Ryouga told them what little he knew about what happened, and couldn't keep a look of rage off his face when he heard everything that had happened to her.
      "Akane, Ryouga?" Dr. Tofu said after the police carted off their unwanted guest, "It looks like Ranma will be just fine, it was only a flesh wound, but he lost a lot of blood, so he still needs to go to a hospital for a transfusion."
      Akane couldn't take any more, and just broke down crying in Dr. Tofu's arms. Ryouga went in search of the phone so he could call the Tendo's and tell them what happened, and he promptly went into the closet. An ambulance came and took Ranma to the hospital. Akane stayed behind, she couldn't bear to even look at Ranma as he was right then. She seemed frozen in place, tears running silently down her cheeks. ::His face looked just like it did after breakfast the other day...My cooking is as bad as getting shot!:: was the only thought in her mind at the moment, and she couldn't get rid of the image of Ranma laying on the floor, his life slowly ebbing out of his body, pooling in a dark red circle around him. Ryouga chose this moment to find his way out of the closet. He decided to forget about the phone, and just try to get Akane and her new friend back to the dojo. An idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.
      "Dr. Tofu! I need to get her and Feather over to the Tendo Dojo right away!" Ryouga looked a little sheepish, "But I need you to lead me there....I don't think I could find the way there before next month..." he looked down and fidgeted a little bit. Dr. Tofu laughed a bit, and nodded. Ryouga absently put his pack on his back and picked up Akane, "Feather, we're going to Akane's house, you'd better come along," Ryouga did a double take, because now he couldn't see any wings on the redhead. "How in the?!?"
      "Oh, my wings?" She said as she pointed to her back, "I can make them come and go as I please. It makes sleeping on my back a heck of a lot easier don't you think?" she tried to smile, but couldn't.
      Dr. Tofu led them straight to the dojo, and excused himself at the gate.
      "I'd love to come in, but it's late and I shouldn't impose. Besides, I need to go check on Ranma at the hospital," He waved as he left. Ryouga looked over at Feather, and saw that she was practically dead on her feet.
      "Come on, a few more steps and we'll be there" He tried to encourage her with a smile, but with Akane being unresponsive in his arms, and the general look of gloom of the small group, he sighed and led them into the dojo. Amazingly enough, he didn't even stray off course in the slightest.
      "Oh my! Ryouga please come in! Where's Ranma at?" Kasumi greeted them at the door, "And who's our guest?" she added as Feather stepped from behind Ryouga.
      "Please ma'am, my name is Feather, and I'm sorry to be the cause of all this...trouble." Feather barely spoke loud enough to be heard.
      "What happened to Akane?" Kasumi gasped as she noticed that Akane was still crying in Ryouga's arms.
      "Let's just get her to bed, and then I'll explain everything." Kasumi couldn't keep her patented smile for long once she saw that everyone was splattered with blood.
      "No, take her to the bathroom and I'll clean her up, you'd better tell father about this." Ryouga nodded and followed Kasumi into the bathroom. He put Akane down as gently as he could, and then tried to find the living room again. After wandering the house for a few minutes, he found the living room just as Feather was finishing her tale for rest of the Tendos and Genma.
      ".....and that's what happened, I'm so sorry for being a trouble." Feather was kneeling in front of Mr. Tendo, who was wailing at the injury to his son in law, and how Akane was lost in her own world.
      "Cheer up Tendo," Genma whispered into his ear, "An experience like that is sure to make them closer, after all, Ranma tried to take that bullet for Akane...."
      "So, what your saying is that for the last ten years that guy has had you chained to a chair, and charged admission for each one that wanted to see you?" Nabiki asked. When Feather nodded, Nabiki smiled dangerously. "Why don't you sue him for all the money he made off of you? Ten years worth would be a fortune, and it would get you on your feet. I can arrange for a good, but affordable lawyer... for a fee of course." Nabiki's eyes changed to yen signs when she thought of exactly how much she could make from this. Nabiki was mildly surprised when Feather prostrated her self before her, and spoke.
      "I would appreciate it, your generosity is overwhelming,"
      "Don't mention it, we'll negotiate the percentage later."
      "Umm, shouldn't we go and see how Ranma's doing?" Ryouga surprised everybody, including himself, by saying. "I mean, he does need to know if Akane made it home safe, and Kasumi's taking good care of her.." Ryouga stopped talking, embarrassed, and wondering why he felt the need to visit Ranma.
      "I'll stay here to help with Akane," Nabiki said, "After all, Kasumi can't carry Akane by herself." The others nodded, while Mr. Tendo just continued to wail. Genma and Ryouga ushered Mr. Tendo out the door, while Feather followed nervously. Nabiki looked thoughtful, ::Hmmm, looks like things are going to get even more interesting around here. I wonder if Feather is going to fall for Ranma just like every other girl that comes to this town....:: At this point, Kasumi called for someone, breaking her chain of thought. ::Better go see what she needs.:: Nabiki thought as she stood up.
      Somewhere on the way to the hospital, Mr. Tendo stopped crying. When they reached the hospital, they had to wade through a host of reporters, all of which wanted interviews with the family of the young man who single-handedly took down a slaver. Ryouga tried to fend them off with a fierce look, then he settled for just pushing them out of the way. ::Don't these people have anything better to do than to harass people trying to visit someone in the hospital?:: Ryouga thought as he pushed another photographer over. Suddenly, most of them broke through. "Hey, where's Feather?" Ryouga said looking around at the group.
      "There she is! She's being swamped by those reporters!" Genma said, pointing to a knot of reporters. A red ponytail could barely be seen over the horde. Ryouga jumped into their midst, surprising them into backing up a step.
      "Come on Feather, we're getting out of this mess," Ryouga scooped her up in his arms and jumped over towards the door. He set her down again, and they proceeded to follow Genma and Mr. Tendo into the hospital. Inside, they ran into sporadic groups of reporters in the hallways that slowed their progress. Eventually they reached Ranma's room, and gratefully closed the door against yet another group.
      "Well boy, you don't look dead yet." Genma grinned at Ranma, who was sitting up in bed.
      "Yeah well, Akane's cooking is great compared to all this." Ranma looked sourly at his father, "Speaking of which, where is she?"
      "Kasumi and Nabiki are taking care of her. She's a bit shaken up by what happened," Mr. Tendo was inwardly pleased that Ranma was looking for Akane. "How are you doing son? I understand you got shot, are you all right?"
      "Yeah, the doc says that it was a really minor wound, barely took any stitches. Lost a lot of blood though 'cause I was running as fast as I could carrying Akane and that winged girl.... oh hi there," Ranma looked just a tad nervous when he noticed Feather was in the room. "Didn't see you there. Name's Ranma Saotome, what's yours?" ::Geez, I hope she doesn't decide to go for me, I have enough fiancees as is!:: he thought inwardly.
      "My names Feather, and I'm terribly sorry that you got shot trying to get me out of there...." Ranma's curt wave cut her off.
      "Don't mention it, I can't stand it when people pick on those weaker than themselves. If he didn't have that gun, or you and Akane weren't there, I would have beaten that sorry fool to a pulp!"
      Right after Ranma finished saying this, a doctor entered the room. "Mr. Saotome?" He asked Genma. When he nodded, the doctor continued, "Your son received a minor flesh wound in his thigh. It's not bad, and he has full use of his leg right now. He shouldn't strain himself by running, jumping, or fighting with anyone right now, as the amount of blood he lost was considerable. He will have a healthy appetite for a few days, as his body will need more materials to produce replacement blood. Bring him back in about two weeks to get the stitches out, or you could take him to Dr. Tofu to take care of that." The doctor turned some forms towards Genma, "These are the discharge papers, we need your signature as his legal guardian to release him. As for the bill, the police department decided to pay that, ostensibly as a favor to you and the brave young man. Personally, I think they are doing it for some good publicity." Genma signed the papers, greatly relieved that someone else was footing the bill for this one.
      "Well Ranma, looks like your getting out of here quickly," Ryouga said while he leaned against a wall.
      "Hey Ryouga, thanks for your help back there," Ranma said as he started to get out of the bed.
      "I....It was nothin'... really..." Ryouga stammered while he rubbed the back of his head self consciously. Ranma was handed a cane by the doctor, and instructed on how to clean the stitches along with other advice on what he shouldn't be doing while his leg healed. It wasn't long before they were wading through the reporters again. This time they pressed in so tight, Ryouga and Feather got separated from the others.
      "Get out of my way!!" Ryouga roared at them. A few paled and backed up, but more pressed in, all asking questions. "Let's get out of here!" Ryouga grabbed her hand and worked his way through the crowd. They found themselves back at the entrance to the hospital. "How'd we get back to the door?"
      "I don't know, I was following you," Feather said, trying to fight the weariness that was starting to overcome her. Ryouga spotted a clear spot in the crowd and made his way into the streets, still holding onto Feather's hand. Once they were away from the crowd, Ryouga proceeded to try and find the way. Feather, on the other hand, was slowly blacking out.
      "Ryouga!" she panted as they made another turn, "I can't keep up anymore," black spots were swirling in front of her eyes. Blackness overcame her suddenly, the last thing she saw was the concerned expression on Ryouga's face.
      Ryouga was silently cursing himself. He was lost again, and now he had an unconscious girl on his hands... one with splatters of blood all over her dress. If he ran into any kind of authority, they may ask awkward questions. Ryouga rummaged around in his pack until he found his traveling cloak. He wrapped Feather in the cloak, to keep her warm, and to cover the blood stains on her dress. He picked her up and carried her away into the darkness, not realizing that he was no longer in Tokyo...
      Meanwhile at the Tendo dojo, Akane had finally fallen into a fitful sleep. Kasumi sat by her bedside in concern, while Nabiki had sought her own bed some time ago. Kasumi was worried about Akane, it just wasn't like her to get so upset whenever Ranma got hurt. She rose silently and headed for the kitchen to make some tea. ::The others should be back soon, they might want some tea when they get back::
      She tried to keep herself uninvolved with Ranma and Akane's love life, other than a gentle nudge now and then. But it was obvious to her for the longest time that they loved each other, just too stubborn to admit it to each other. What Akane was going through just cemented that belief into Kasumi's mind. Even so, it was interference from others that seemed to make them distance themselves. Each hid behind a wall of pride, but when push came to shove, they were there for each other.
      A loud noise distracted Kasumi from her reverie. Poking her head out of the kitchen she saw that the others had made it back, with Ranma.
      "Welcome home everybody! I'm happy to see that your out of the hospital Ranma!" Kasumi smiled again, then looked about, "What happened to Ryouga, and Feather?" she asked.
      Genma grunted as he sat down, "It looks like he got lost again in that crowd of reporters, Feather was with him last time I saw them. By the time we got free of them, I couldn't spot either of them anymore," Ranma winced at his fathers words, "I hope that she can take care of herself, if she's following Ryouga, it may be months before we see her again."
      "Oh my," was all Kasumi could come up with.
      "If she's still with Ryouga, she'll be perfectly safe," Ranma said as he started to limp towards his room, "He may be a jerk most of the time, but he knows what's right and wrong. He'll make sure she's all right, even if it kills him. Especially since he'll know that it's because of his sense of direction that she is lost as well." Ranma said goodnight to everyone, then made his way towards his room. His leg was aching by the time he finished climbing the stairs, however he was set on not asking for help from anyone at this point. Ranma peeked into Akane's room briefly, just to make sure she was asleep, before he continued on to his bed. Gratefully he collapsed on his futon, and quickly fell asleep.