Nekoken Is Out Of The Bag!

by Lord Archive


Author's pre-note:
This is a Lemon. There are sex scenes in this even though it has a plot
There are a couple dark scenes.

This story takes place after Manga volume 38.

Legal babble: Ranma 1/2 and all characters in this story are copyrighted
by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, ect... and is used without consent. I am
only borrowing them. I will return them... eventually.

----------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 - The Cat is Out.
----------------------------------------------------
-Monday shortly after school ended.


Akane thought as she ran into Dr. Tofu's newly reopened clinic. She shut
the door behind herself, gasping for breath.

"Hello, Akane. Is something wrong?" Dr. Tofu could see that Akane was
definitely very scared about something.

"Ranma... in Nekoken... can't seem to... control... why can't I...
control... don't understand..." she breathed.

The door shook behind Akane and a "Meowr" was heard.
 
"He's found me!" Akane screeched.

 Dr. Tofu thought as the door stopped shaking.
 
"Is... is he gone?" Akane asked, only to be answered by neko-Ranma's
"Meowr" as he leapt in through an open window.

"Ranma, NO!" she shouted as Ranma pounced on her. Akane's body twisted as
she attempted to dodge but ended up landing face down with Ranma on top
of her. Ranma bit into her hair and his body pounded into hers several
times. He paused, raising himself off of her. He drew back his hand as if
he was going to claw her from top to bottom when Ranma and Akane were
both doused with a huge 'splash.' Dr. Tofu's worried form, carrying a now
empty bucket, was standing over them.

"Wh... What happened?" asked the bewildered onna-Ranma. She looked down
at Akane and immediately jumped five feet away.

"You attacked me!" Akane shouted as she got to her feet.

"What?" Ranma replied.

Dr. Tofu bit his lip. "Ranma, she's right. You... SORT of... er...
attacked Akane while under the influence of the Nekoken."

Ranma realized for the first time that Dr. Tofu was with them. "I...
attacked her? Why would I do that? I mean... she's always been able to
keep me in check me before- why wasn't she able to now?"

Dr. Tofu grimaced. This was not the best way to approach this, but if he
didn't do something soon someone would get hurt. "I think I could explain
it to you, but... you might prefer it if we talked about this in
private." Ranma started to head into the clinic's office as Dr. Tofu
turned to Akane. "Akane, are you going to be all right? Ranma did tackle
you pretty hard..." 

Akane winced as she moved her arm, but tried to hide the pain. "Yeah,
I'll be fine- I doubt I was even bruised." She smiled at him. "It's good
to see you back." 

Dr. Tofu smiled back, a little sadly. "It's good to be back- my research
kept me away for FAR too long." He started to follow Ranma into his
office, and noticed Akane trying to join him. "Er, Akane, I think this
would be easier to handle if you were to stay here for a little while."
Akane frowned, but nodded, taking a seat in the waiting room. From her
position, Ranma could still see her from where he was seated, even after
Dr. Tofu partially closed the privacy curtain. 

Dr. Tofu sighed, studying Ranma's face. "Ranma, do you know why some
people can control you when you're under the Nekoken's influence, and
others are not?

Ranma shrugged, casting a worried glance into the waiting room. "No, not
really." He wasn't really paying much attention, after seeing Akane
absent-mindedly massaging her shoulder where he had tackled her. 

Dr. Tofu decided on the subtle approach. "Have you told Akane you love
her, yet?" 

Ranma screeched, "What?"
 
"Have you told Akane that you love her?"
 
"ME!? Love THAT tom-" He cut himself off when he noticed Akane looking up
in his direction. 

Dr. Tofu sighed- this was going to be difficult. "I take that as a no.
Ranma, this is very important. I will keep this in confidence, if you
want, but, as your doctor, I MUST know how you feel about Akane." 

"You sure you won't spill it if Kasumi shows up?" Ranma eyed Dr. Tofu
suspiciously.
 
Dr. Tofu smiled, tapping his crystal clear glasses. "Part of my research
trip was to help me control myself around her. I think you can trust
me... As I was saying... you DO love Akane, don't you?" 

Ranma blinked. He looked at Dr. Tofu strangely. "Why do you think that I
l... l... er, feel that way about her, anyway? I mean, we always fight,
we insult each other all the time, we-" 

Dr. Tofu decided he'd better interrupt before Akane heard what Ranma was
saying and decided to eavesdrop. "WHILE I was on the research trip, I
came across some... interesting... information on the Nekoken. The
information explains some of why you react the way you do around certain
people..." 

Ranma was getting a little impatient. "So what does that have to do with
this? Why could she control me before, but not now?" 

Dr. Tofu sighed. He'd better get this over with. "In order for someone to
have a calming effect on you like Akane did, you need... well, the person
needs two things from you. They need you to trust them implicitly, and...
they need you to love them." 

Ranma face faulted. When he recovered, he started looking over at Akane,
reading a magazine in the waiting room. "Okay... t-that explains why she
used to be able to control me. But... if I did l... love her, then... why
has she lost that ability?" His face hardened. "Did I stop loving her? Do
I no longer trust her? What?" 

"No, nothing like that." Dr. Tofu considered his next words very
carefully- he wanted to put it as delicately as he could. "When you fall
into the Nekoken, your feelings don't change. If you love Akane as a cat,
you love her as a human. If you love her as a human, you love her as a
cat. However, when you change, your reactions become less human and
more... cat-like." 

"I don't follow." 

Dr. Tofu sighed. It was time to be blunt- but hopefully he could reduce
the damage a bit by explaining things further. "Well, first of all,
Ranma, you didn't MEAN to attack her. Think about how cats behave- when a
male and a female kitten are both kept as pets- and they are close- they
tend to do certain things together. They rub against each other, they
purr in each other's company, they groom each other- they act kind of
like what your cat form used to around Akane. However, as they...
mature... they tend to demonstrate their closeness in other, more 'adult'
ways. In other words..." 

Ranma looked at Dr. Tofu in shock and stuttered, "I... You don't mean
that I... I tried to... to... have... sex... with.... No, I tried to...
to... rape..."

Dr. Tofu nodded. "I'm afraid so, Ranma. In fact, to... lessen... the
possible damage that this could cause, I think you should perhaps tell
Akane about this..."

Ranma stammered, "I-I can't. She won't understand."

Dr. Tofu looked at Ranma sternly. "You have to tell her. You put her at
greater risk if you don't. And I think she will understand."

"I can't tell her this."

Dr. Tofu shook his head, "I don't think it is wise to delay it. You
should really tell her now."

Ranma replied, getting angry, "I can't."

Dr. Tofu insisted, "Ranma, you must tell..."

"I CAN'T," Ranma angrily interrupted.

"Ranma!" Dr. Tofu was himself becoming angry.

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO TELL HER I JUST TRIED TO RAPE HER?!?" Ranma
yelled angrily.

"WHAT?!?" Akane shouted.

Ranma froze. He just yelled what he didn't want to tell her.

Dr. Tofu smirked, "The cat is out of the bag. It's time to tell her
everything."

Ranma nodded dumbly. 

Akane was in Ranma's face now. "What do you mean you just tried to rape
me?"

Ranma tried to look away, but was trapped like a deer in headlights by
her staring at him. He stammered, "I-I... It's just that, well, er, my
cat side, well, it wanted to, um..."

Akane's eyes widen in shock, she could not believe what she was hearing. 

"...m-m-mate with y-you," Ranma finished.

Akane continued to stare at him, unable to really think. "I-is this
true?" she asked.

"Yes it is, Akane," Dr. Tofu answered. "Ranma, now tell her why your 'cat
side' wanted to do that. I'll leave you two alone now." Dr. Tofu left his
office.

Ranma gulped audibly.

"W-why does your cat side w-want to m-mate with me?" Akane asked
nervously.

"I-I can explain. Please hear me out on this."

Akane nodded.

"Remember when I first went into Nekoken here and I kissed you?"

"Yes." Akane wanted to know where he was going with this.

"You got upset because you thought I would've kissed anyone."

Akane looked like she about to interrupt, but Ranma motioned for her to
remained quiet.

"It wouldn't have been just anyone else. I would only do that to someone
that I felt similarly for."

Akane blinked. 

"The feeling I have for someone when I've gone cat are the same feelings
I normally have for them." Ranma took a deep breath, and looked at the
floor, uncertain how she'll respond. "The means to control me is be a
trusted friend that I...I... l...l...love."

Akane's eyes once again widened in shock.  "Ranma, i-if you love me then... why t-the change?"

Ranma closed his eyes. "Because, I guess my feelings for you have, well,
matured. I, er, well, my cat side used to react to you as a kitten would,
but..." Ranma's voice trailed off unable to say anything more. As his
words faded, his face became redder as he blushed.

"Now you respond to me as an adult cat would to his... to someone he
loves," Akane finished.

Ranma nodded, blushing deeper than he ever had before.

Akane sat down on Dr. Tofu's chair. Her mind trying to digest what was
just told to her. Ranma loves her, she knew that since China, even if he
couldn't admit it until now. But, she never considered that if Ranma ever
went into Nekoken, his cat form would try to express that love.

She looked up at him. "Y-you want to have sex with me?" 

"Well," Ranma admitted, "I... er, well, part of me does, at least.
However, I don't really think I'm- er, WE'RE ready for this, yet."

Akane looked at the floor, still trying to figure out what to make of
this.

After a long moment Ranma said, "Akane..."

Akane stood up slowly. "I... Ranma, I think we need to go home now."

She left the clinic with Ranma following closely behind her. Ranma looked
rather down cast, thinking, 

They walked home quietly. Akane was lost in thought over the revelation
of what Ranma told her.  Akane sighed. 

Ranma walked behind her, also lost in thought. He wanted, no needed, to
know how Akane felt about him.

Ranma nervously asked, "Akane, do you l-l... feel the same way about me
as I do for you?"

Akane turned and looked at Ranma with a smile, "How about I tell you on a
date?"

Ranma gave her a puzzled look.

"How does Saturday sound?"

 He looked at her smiling face.
"You promise to tell me."

"Yes."

He couldn’t say no to that smile, so he sighed. "Okay. You can tell me
then."

She giggled and skipped down the street. 

 

He was still a little scared as she hadn't told him how she really feels.
He hoped the idea of the date was to tell him in a romantic setting, but
couldn't get the nagging thought out of his mind that she was going to
tell him she doesn't love him.

-------------------------------------------------
-Monday 7:00 p.m.

Nabiki sat on her bed as she checked over today's earnings. She took a
moment to go over her puzzled thoughts, "Why did Ranma go into Nekoken so
easily this afternoon. Normally seeing Shampoo as a cat just freaks him
out, but today he went Nekoken in just a of moments. Then there was his
odd reaction to Akane. She couldn't control him. She always controlled
him before..." Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Enter," Nabiki said. She saw Akane open the door. "What can I do for
you?"

Akane shut the door, practically skipped to Nabiki's desk chair, and sat
down. She began, "Nabiki, I need your help. I'm going on a date this
Saturday with Ranma, and I want it to be perfect. That means I want no
one interfering."

Nabiki calm demeanor slipped a little as she looked at Akane with her
mouth slightly agape and said, "You're going on a date with Ranma."

Akane nodded furiously.

"It'll cost you."

"How much?" she sighed, hoping Nabiki won't charge her too much for this.

"Do you know why Ranma acted weird this afternoon?"

Akane gave Nabiki a puzzled look, "Er...Yes."

"Okay here's the deal, you will cover all costs, tell me what happened
this afternoon, and give the details of what happens on the date."

"As long as you don't let anyone else know."

Nabiki nodded, "So why did Ranma go into Nekoken so easily this
afternoon?"

"Not sure about that. He was worried or afraid about something."

"That doesn't help. Why couldn't you control him."

Akane sighed, "I used to control him because of his love for me."

Nabiki eyes grew in shock.

Akane mega-blushed, "But now...he-he really loves me. I couldn't control
Ranma because he wanted to show me how he felt... um... physically." 

Nabiki blinked, and then blinked again, "You mean he was trying to have
sex with you!?"

Akane nodded, "I’ve known that he loves me, but I didn't think he felt
quite that way about me. But while in Nekoken his feelings don't change,
he just reacts to them as a cat would."

"So how do you feel about him?"

Akane whispered, "I love him."

"Have you told him?"

"I plan to on the date."

Nabiki leaned toward Akane. "Why don't you tell him now?"

Akane sighed, "The way he told me wasn't very romantic. So, I want tell
him in a way that was."

"Ahh. Should I come up with some ideas to solve his fiancee problem?"

Akane nodded. "Any ideas you have would be a great help. Thanks Sis."

------------------------------------------------
-Tuesday Morning - 8:15 a.m.

It was a rare morning as not only did Ranma and Akane walked to school
without fighting so far, but Nabiki was walking with them. While Ranma
was a bit nervous about finding out how Akane feels about him on the
upcoming date, her jovial mood set him at ease. 

"Dr. Tofu didn't waste much time asking Kasumi out on a date," Akane
commented.

"Nope, but that's why he went on his research trip," Ranma answered.

"Speaking of dates, Ranma, what are the plans for your date, Saturday?"
Nabiki joined in.

Ranma answered in his normal intellectual manner, "Huh?"

Nabiki repeated, "What are the plans for your date with Akane?"

Ranma paled. If Nabiki knew about this, then how many other people did?
"How... how do you know 'bout that?" he stuttered.

Akane answered, "I asked her to prevent anyone from interfering with it."

Ranma relaxed a little, "Oh, I guess dinner and a movie, but I haven't
decided where."

Nabiki got a devious grin, "How about you let me plan it? I'll make sure
it's perfect."

Ranma sighed, "That would be great, but I don't have much money."

Nabiki replied, "Trust me Ranma. I'll keep your financial status in mind
while planning it."

Ranma nodded, but the idea of Nabiki planning the date made him feel
uneasy. Akane's smile, however, grew bigger as she knew that if her
sister planned the date, the less of a chance that interference would
occur. She made a mental note to remind Nabiki later what would happen if
the date turned out bad, something to do with a mallet and a sparring
session in the dojo.

"Ranma, do you know why you went into Nekoken so easily yesterday,"
Nabiki asked.

"Not sure," Ranma shrugged.

"Akane said you were worried or nervous about something before it
happened. Why was that?"

"I... I was going to ask Akane on a date," Ranma admitted.

Akane paled. She had splashed Shampoo for glomping onto to Ranma.  She shook her head. 

-------------------------------------------------
-Wednesday evening

A small white and purple cat approached the Tendo home cautiously. The
cat went over her plans carefully in her mind, 

Shampoo crept though an open window in the back of the house and searched
for Ranma. As she approached the bathing room she could hear that Ranma
was inside.

Ranma was soaking in the bath, muttering to himself, "Why did she have to
get upset about it? I ate half of it before I threw up. Hell, I even said
she had improved." He then noticed neko-Shampoo as she entered the room
and stuttered, "C..C..C...C...CAT!"


Shampoo sauntered toward Ranma and jumped onto the ledge of the bath. She
was about to jump in when she heard Ranma utter, "Meow." Her thoughts
reeled at this,  She did not finish her thought as Ranma sent
her flying into a wall and knocked her out cold.

"Meowr," Ranma uttered as he sniffed the air. He moved to the door and
edged it open and exited. He went upstairs and straight towards Akane's
door. He pawed at it trying to open it.

Akane, hearing what she thought was someone knocking at her door, yelled,
"Go away!" 

Neko-Ranma did not obey, rather he crashed through the door. He looked up
and saw that Akane was clad only in panties and a bra and was about to
put on her pajama top.

Akane had her back to the door and turned to Ranma, starting to shout,
"Ranma! Why did.... OH SHIT!" She now noticed that Ranma was nude and his
stance was indicative of a cat. As if to answer her fears, he uttered,
"Meowr." Her mind raced to figure out what to do.

Neko-Ranma, however, knew what he wanted to do. He took note of the
strange cloth that would prevent him from doing what he wanted, and so
with a swipe of his hand turned Akane's panties into confetti. 

"Ranma NO!" Akane yelled. 

But, Ranma's cat mind was determined to show how it felt, and pounced on
her. She fell face first and was pinned to the floor by Ranma's weight
and there was no means for her to get any leverage.

"No! Stop! DON'T DO THIS!"

Neko-Ranma started nibbling the end of her short hair, like a cat
preening another cat. He forced her legs apart, and jammed his penis into
her dry opening. Akane cried out in agony as her maidenhood was torn
apart. She nearly collapsed in pain as Ranma started to thrust in and out
of her.

 Akane thought. Tears ran down her face. "Please
stop, Ranma... Stop! Bad... bad kitty..."

Akane gave up struggling against him. There was no way to get him off of
her until he finished and his body relaxed, and nothing she was saying
was getting through to him. The only thing she could do was to try and
get at least some pleasure out of this.

Shortly after she stopped fighting, her love juices started coating her
interior and the pain disappeared. She started to feel some sensations
building up in her... but before she could really experience anything,
this hot substance started filling her.

"Damn you! You couldn't even get that right!" She freed her arm from his
now relaxed grasp and swung an elbow behind her, sending him flying
across the room into the wall, head first. He collapsed, unconscious.

She sat there and began cry. She wanted to know why this happened to her.
Why couldn't anything be normal between her and Ranma. Why...

Her thoughts were cut short as she heard, "Meow?!" She was furious when
she saw the source of the noise and gave a bestial, angry shout of,
"SHAMPOO!!" Akane with mallet o' smash in her hands attempted to make
Shampoo a cat pancake. Shampoo decided now was a good time to leave and
dodged Akane's attacks and leapt out the bedroom window.

The release of anger allowed Akane to recoup a little. She decided to
drag Ranma down to the bath so they could hopefully be cleaned up before
anyone got back. She grabbed her gi and a pair of panties first. She knew
she was going to make gravel out of some bricks after she was done in the
bath.

Once in the bathing room, she tossed Ranma under the shower. She returned
to the changing room to take off her bra. She heard Ranma begin to stir.

"Huh. Akane," he said as Akane turned around. He didn't really notice
that she was naked, because of her tear-streaked face. "What happened?"
he asked.

"Sh-Shampoo was here as a cat and..." she began as she looked down.

Ranma noticed now that Akane was not only naked, but had blood mixed with
cum running down her legs. His mind reeled at the sight and looked at
himself and noted his penis was covered in blood and cum.

"Oh, KAMI-SAMA NO! I d-didn't..." he cried, hoping what he thought just
happened didn't.

But Akane replied, "You did."

"I-I-I'm sorry. I.."

"Ranma. Please just clean yourself and leave me alone."

Ranma quietly did as she asked. Once cleaned, he went to the changing
room and started to say repeatedly, "I'm so sorry."

----------------------------------------------
Chapter 2 - The Pain of Love
----------------------------------------------

The sounds of Akane smashing brick after brick was not unusual,
especially on the days she cooked. So, three of the residents did not
notice, nor did it concern them that Akane's door had a hole ripped in
it. These were common everyday events that occurred between Ranma and
Akane. 

Nabiki, however, thought something wasn't exactly right about this,


Nabiki walked toward the dojo. The door was opened and she could see
Akane setting up a stack of several bricks. Out of the corner of her eye
she saw Ranma sitting in a shadow watching Akane. 

Nabiki decided Ranma would be easier to talk to, "So, what happened this
time?"

"Something really bad," he replied without trace of emotion.
 
Nabiki interest peaked, "Care to tell me about it?"

"No."

Akane yelled, "Kyaa!" Yet another dozen bricks were turned to powder. She
looked up and saw Nabiki talking to a shadow. She looked closer and saw
that Ranma had hidden himself in it. She smiled inwardly as Ranma's
hidden presence showed in an odd way that he cared. She was still upset,
though. She had been violated. If the date on Saturday had gone as
perfectly as she wanted, she might have had sex with him then- she might
have even encouraged it, knowing how Ranma felt about 'not being ready.'
But then Shampoo came in... and she tried to seduce him for herself...
and then she sent Ranma into... DAMN HER! Thanks to Shampoo, she would
always remember her first sexual encounter as being one filled with pain,
the man she loved would always feel responsible for it, and neither one
of them would have experienced any sort of pleasure out of it, as Ranma
wouldn't even remember having done it. Akane sighed. The lack of more
bricks to destroy made her realize that it was probably time to go to
bed.

Akane closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, hoping to clear her
thoughts. When she opened them, she decided to approach Ranma and Nabiki.

"Come on Ranma tell me what happened. I promise I won't tell anyone.
Maybe I can help," Nabiki implored. 

Ranma was ignoring her, his eyes focused on Akane.

Akane decided to answer as she passed them, "Nekoken happened."

Nabiki stood there in shock as she remembered what Akane told her and
uttered, "Kami-sama!"

"Did Akane tell you why I acted strangely while in Nekoken?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki shuddered, "Yes." She became VERY concerned for her younger
sister, and decided to try and help her. First she needed to find out
something, "How?"

"Shampoo." 

"She was here as a cat, and you went..." Her voice began to betray her.

He nodded in agreement.

"I-I'll go h-help her," she stammered as she went after Akane.

Ranma nodded and turned his gaze to the pile of concrete dust that sat in
the dojo.

----------------------------------------------------

Akane entered her room and sat on her bed. Nabiki entered shortly
afterward.

"Leave me alone Nabiki," uttered Akane.

"Now Akane, I think you should talk to someone about this," Nabiki replied.

"What is there to say?"

"Well how did it happen?"

She sighed, "Ranma was taking a bath and Shampoo came by, probably to
seduce him. She was a cat at the time and-and it sent him into N-Nekoken.
I was in here changing and then he-he..," Akane began to cry.

After several minutes and Akane's tears stopped flowing, Nabiki asked,
"Do you blame Ranma for this?"

She tensed up and screamed, "YES!" But then she softened and meekly said,
"I mean it was him, but.... it wasn't. This happened because of how he
feels, and... he couldn't really control it."

"So, do you blame him?"

"No, I guess not."

"Do you blame anyone?"

"Uncle Saotome for teaching him Nekoken, and Shampoo for sending him into
it," she said fiercely.

"Do you want me to do anything about them?"

"Oh, no. I want to deal with them myself," Akane snarled as she cracked
her knuckles.

"I'll make sure the medical insurance is paid up."

"You do that. Now I’d like to get some sleep."

"Sure thing, Sis," Nabiki said, thinking, 

----------------------------------------------------

 Kasumi sighed and looked down at the
floor and saw an odd stain in the hallway floor.  

Kasumi bent down and tried to clean the stain. Living with Ranma for
about a year she could tell part of the stain was blood, but the other
part of the stain she couldn't identify. She noticed the stain was part
of a trail that led from the bathing room to upstairs. 

Kasumi decided to follow the trial upstairs, but was sure it was to
Akane's room. 

When she came to the end of the trail she was at Akane's door. She peeked
through the hole in the door and saw Akane was awake and sitting on her
bed. 

Kasumi knocked on the door.

Akane looked at the door, seeing Kasumi's dress through the hole, she
said, "Come in."

Kasumi entered and saw that Akane had been crying. She looked to be on
the verge of tears again. "Akane, what's wrong?" Kasumi asked, concerned.

Akane looked down into her lap and said nothing.

"Did Ranma hurt you?"

"He didn't mean to," Akane answered in a whisper.

"What happened?"

"He was in Nekoken."

"I thought you can control him."

"As his loved and trusted friend I could, but not as his... mate."

"Mate?" Kasumi screeched, stunned.

Akane nodded. 

"You don’t mean he... oh, my!"

Akane nodded again.

Kasumi went over to Akane and sat next to her on the bed. Kasumi was at a
lost for words, but Akane didn't want words at the moment as she hugged
Kasumi tightly and started to cry.

"Why? Why can't anything be normal between us? Why does this have to
happen?" Akane cried.

"I don't know," Kasumi answered. "I wish I did. I wish I did." Kasumi
cradled Akane in her arms. "Do you hate Ranma for this?"

"No. It was caused by his love for me. How can I blame him for that? I've
wished to have proof of his true feelings for me. But the way I got
it..." Akane's words were choked off by tears.

Kasumi could not figure out what to say. She held onto Akane, who cried
herself to sleep in Kasumi's arms.

Kasumi placed Akane carefully into bed. 

----------------------------------------------------
-Thursday morning.

Akane entered the dining area. She was wearing her gi, looking like she
slept in it. Onna-Ranma and Genma were sparring over the pond. Nabiki
watched and tried to keep her calm demeanor.

>*SPLASH*<

"You're getting sloppy boy! Get your mind on the fight!" Genma shouted.

"I'm not in the mood to fight right now. I've got too much on my mind,"
Ranma retorted as he jumped through the open window of his room.

"We're not done yet, boy!" Genma bellowed.

Akane approached Genma. "Uncle Saotome, since Ranma doesn't want to spar
with you, why don't you spar with me." It was more of a statement than a
question.

"It would not be wise. You are not good enough of a martial artist to
fight me."

"Won't know until I try. Besides if I don't spar against better opponents
how will I every be a proper heir to the Anything Goes Martial Arts?"

Genma blinked at this and thought this may be a sign she was excepting
her role which meant she would also marry Ranma, and so decided to
except, "All right, but don't expect me to go soft on you because your a
girl."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Akane said with a malevolent look in
her eyes. She strode over to the other side of the pond, bowed, and began
sparring.

"Akane's sparring with Genma?" Kasumi said as she entered the dining
room.

Nabiki nodded, "You better call Dr. Tofu. I think we'll need him."

*WHAM*

>SPLASH<

"Grrr"

*WHAM*

>SPLASH<

"GROWL"

*WHAM*

/*CRACK*\

>SPLASH<

Kasumi turned and rushed to the phone.

"I thought you said I wasn't good enough," Akane said smugly as she
entered the house. There was neither a drop of water nor sweat on her.

Nabiki approached the panda in the pond, its limbs bent at odd angles.
"Are you all right?"

[No,] read a sign held in the panda's teeth.

----------------------------------------------------

Almost a half-hour later Akane, now dressed for school, stood at Ranma's
door and knocked.

"Yeah," said Ranma.

"Breakfast is ready... Would you please... come down and join us?" Akane
pleaded.

Ranma opened the door slowly and gave Akane a sorrowful look. "Akane, are
you okay?" 

"I'm fine. Now let's go down stairs and get some breakfast."

He nodded and followed Akane. If anyone else asked him to get breakfast,
he would have said no. He wanted to talk to her, but didn't know what to
say.

When he entered the dining area, he noticed that his father's left arm
was in a sling.

"What happened Pop?" Ranma asked.

"Your fiancée proved to me that one should never underestimate an
opponent."

He looked at Akane who had a smug look on her face. This frightened him.
If she severely hurt his father, who else will feel the wrath of her
anger? He nervously asked, "You did that?" 

Akane nodded, "Since you weren't up to sparring with him, I decided to. I
got a little carried away."

Kasumi said, "Akane, you should learn how to control yourself. You might
seriously injure someone if you don't."

Ranma and Akane blanched at her words.

--------

They finished their breakfast in silence and then left for school.

"Akane, I'm really sorry about, you know, yesterday," Ranma said meekly.

"You don't have to apologize," Akane replied, coldly.

"But I..."

"Ranma, it really wasn't you who did it."

"But it was me, if-if... I well... if..."

"If what? If you didn't love me it wouldn't have happened?" Akane asked,
angrily.

Ranma blinked. Part of him wanted to nod yes, but he just stared at
Akane.

"You're asking me to forgive you for being in love with me. Like it is
wrong. I can't do that Ranma, because it is NOT wrong. Do you understand?
It was not you fault."

"You don't blame me?" Ranma said in shock. She always blamed him before
if anything bad happened, even if it didn't involve him. This time he
felt it was all his fault.

"No, I don't," she answered with an icy calm that would do her sister
proud.

"But, you're still upset."

"Not with you. I'm upset with your father and Shampoo."

"Why?"

"Your father taught you Nekoken, and Shampoo induced it."

"So that's why you hurt pop."

"Yes."

"And you plan on fighting Shampoo."

"Yes."

"But Akane, she's better than you."

"Funny, your father said he was better and you saw what I did to him."

Ranma shook his head, while Akane acting like some angel of vengeance was
not new to him. She rarely held a grudge for very long, and somehow he
knew she wasn't going to let this go. Adding that to the fact she blamed
someone besides him for something he felt was his fault, this made Ranma
even more concerned about Akane.

----------------------------------------------------
-Thursday After School

Ranma and Akane entered Dr. Tofu's office.

"Hello Ranma, Akane. What seems to be the problem today?" Dr. Tofu asked.
He knew by the their looks that Ranma and Akane weren't there for a
social visit.

"Hi Doc. Um, I was wondering if you knew how I could be cured or gain
better control of Nekoken?" Ranma asked.

"I'm afraid I don't."

Ranma looked at Akane with a lot of concern. "Are you sure?"
 
"I could refer you to a psychologist that specializes in curing fears. I
don't know if he'll be able to help in your case."

"I'll take any chances. I don't want to hurt Akane again."

Akane backed away and blushed.

"Again?" Dr. Tofu asked, stunned.

Akane sighed, "Last night, Shampoo paid us a visit as a cat while no one
else was home.” She looked down at the floor. “There was no way to stop
what happened."

"Akane, are you all right?" Dr. Tofu asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I just wished something in our relationship would be normal."

"I don't think anything about me is normal," Ranma said gloomily.

Akane placed her hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I guess it's a good thing I
don't want a boring normal life then."

"Huh?"

"A few normal moments wouldn't hurt, though." Akane gave Ranma a
reassuring smile.

"I'll make an appointment for you to see a psychologist," Dr. Tofu said,
not expecting to be heard.

"Akane, I-I'm going to go away for a while. Just until I'm cured of
Nekoken," Ranma said, sadly.

"No. I am not going to let you run off. You need me," Akane said firmly.

"But, I don't want to hurt you."

"I know you don't. While we're working on curing you, we could come up
with some plans to try to prevent last night from happening again."

"I really think I..."

"Ranma, I'm staying with you and that is final."

Ranma still wanted to leave, but her look of determination and her tone
of voice told him that even if he left, she would follow. "Okay. Okay,
I'll stay."

Dr. Tofu returned a moment later to inform them Ranma's appointment was
set for Monday afternoon.

----------------------------------------------------
-Friday - Lunch Period

Akane wandered around the school-yard. Since Monday, when she found out
what might happen if Ranma went cat, she did not like having Ranma out of
her sight. Since Wednesday, when she knew what will happen when Ranma goes
cat, she hated it. Right now, she didn't even know where he was.

"Ranma!" she screamed, looking around for any sort of reply and thinking,


Her attention, and those of many other students, was drawn to an
explosion in the sport's shed. 

A deep dread consumed Akane as she saw a flash of a red and black figure
moving toward her. She could hear it meow.

 she screamed internally.

Her martial arts reflexes took affect and reached behind her and pulled
out a water gun from where she normally hid her mallet. She fired at the
figure, but it dodged. The figure landed right in front of her.

"Meowr?" emitted Ranma, standing on all four limbs.

 Akane thought. She noticed the swimming pool wasn't
too far away.

Akane fired several times at Ranma. He continued to dodge it, acting as
if he was playing some game. She made it to the pool and leapt in,
cannonball style. The splash missed Ranma. 

Akane, thankful for diving into the shallow end, stood up, saying, "You
want me? Then come here."

"Meowr," Ranma emitted as he jumped in.

"What happened this time?" Akane asked as Ranma emerged from water.

Ranma blinked. "Last thing I remember was seeing Gosunguki in the sport's
shed."

Akane became a little worried. She became VERY worried when she heard
someone shout, "Somebody call an ambulance!"

Ranma shook, uttering, "Please tell me I didn't hurt him?"

Akane moved towards a ladder. "Ranma, stay here. I'll go find out."

Ranma nodded as he moved to the edge of the pool.

Akane returned a moment latter. Ranma sat at the edge of the pool. Akane
sat next to him.

"I'm sorry, but it was him," Akane sighed. "He doesn't look badly hurt. I
think he'll be okay."

"I'm losing control," Ranma said, staring into the pool.

"Ranma, there were a dozen cats there. There was no way you could've
controlled yourself."

Ranma looked at Akane, hoping she would understand what he had to say.
"You don't understand. I'm slipping into Nekoken more often. After I
first moved here, it was months before I went into Nekoken, and it took a
tiger to induce it. In the past week it happened three times."

"You slip into Nekoken whenever you're really scared and there is a cat
present. I noticed the cat does not have to be the source of the fear. It
is just the trigger. We can prevent Nekoken by working to reduce your
other fears." She looked into the pool. 

"How can I, when I'm afraid of losing control?"

"Then we have to work on you gaining control."

Ranma shook her head. "Akane, I'm going away now. I can't risk hurting
you or anyone else."

Akane sighed, "How about WE go on a training trip? Mt. Terror doesn't
have any you-know-what running around."

"But..."

"I know it wasn't the date we planned, but it should help."

"I'll go alone. I don't want to hurt you."

"NO! We're going together, and that's final. And... you're not going to
hurt me. In fact, Ranma, I think I-" 

"I can't risk it," Ranma broke in.

"You're right, Ranma." Akane was frustrated. "You can't- but I CAN, and I
will, because I-"

Ranma didn't care about the reasons. "Akane, please, I love you, and I
just can't-"

This time, it was Akane, frustrated at not being able to say something
VERY important to her, who broke in. "I LOVE YOU TOO! I am NOT going to
let you out of my sight, if I can avoid it. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" 

"You love me?" Ranma face faulted into the pool. After the... incident...
he thought he'd lost any chance with her.

Akane pulled Ranma out of the pool and looked into her eyes. "Yes, I love
you. And I'm not going to let you try and do this alone."

Ranma nodded, "Okay, but we leave now." He then left with Akane for home.

----------------------------------------------------

They approached the Tendo home. Ranma was trying to understand how Akane
could love him after what he had done. Akane held onto him, trying to
give him some emotional support. When they arrived home, she let go of
him.

Kasumi was surprised to see the two of them home so early. "Why are you
back from school already?"

"Ranma accidentally hurt someone while in Nekoken, and we thought it
would be best for him to come home," Akane answered.

"Oh my." 

Ranma and Akane went upstairs and started packing.

----------------------------------------------------

"So where are you and Akane going, boy?" Genma said with a goofy grin.

"I notice I'm losing control of Nekoken, so I'm going to train to regain
control."

"Akane's going along in case you slip."

Ranma shuddered, "Something like that. We'll be back sometime Monday."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Ranma scowled, "Don't you mean 'do anything you wouldn't do.'"

----------------------------------------------------

"So, where are you going with Ranma?" asked a teary eyed Soun.

"Mt. Terror, he needs to train on controlling Nekoken. I'm going because
I can control it."

"Maybe someone should go with you?"

"No. It would only put the other person at risk. We need to do this
alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Just be careful. I don't want to lose my little girl." He gave Akane a
bear hug.

"You can let go of me now, Dad," Akane said, embarrassed.

----------------------------------------------------

Ranma and Akane walked downstairs with their camping gear. Kasumi was on
the phone. Genma and Soun waited by the door.

"Thank you. I'll tell him," Kasumi said as she hung up the phone. "Ranma,
that was Nabiki. She says the boy you injured is fine. He only needed a
few stitches and bed rest."

Ranma released a breath he didn't know he held. "That's good. I guess
we'll be going now."

"Now you two be careful, and come back safe and sound." Soun hugged them.

"If you two want to elope, you have our blessing," elated Genma.

Ranma kicked him in the face. "Shut up, old man!"

Kasumi handed Ranma and Akane a bag. "Here is some food for the trip."

Ranma and Akane walked out the door and waved.

Akane said, "Good-bye. See you Monday."

Ranma added, "Bye."

"Good-bye," said Soun, Genma, and Kasumi.

Ranma and Akane raced down the street toward the train station. 

----------------------------------------------------
- Lunch Time at Furinkan High at the same time as Ranma's and Akane's
	pool side talk.

 Nabiki thought as she made her way from the sport's
shed, towards the pool. 

"I LOVE YOU TOO..." Nabiki heard Akane scream. "...NOT..." Nabiki eyes
widen in shock.  "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" 

Nabiki shook her head as they quickly finished their discussion and left.
She noticed, thankfully, only a few people had heard Akane, as most of
the students swarmed around the sport's shed. "Can I have your
attention," Nabiki said in a loud commanding voice, "None of you will
speak of what you just heard. If I find out someone talked about it, I
will be very angry with them." Nabiki knew someone would talk, but the
threat would at least slow the rate of word spreading.

The students shivered at Nabiki's words. Getting Ranma or Akane angry at
you meant a trip to the hospital. Getting Nabiki angry at you meant a
trip trough hell.

---------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Thanks to David Tatum for suggestions and rewrting several scenes.
Also, thanks to my other pre-readers: Willam Jones, Adam Noonchest, The
Rams.

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/9061/nekoken