Ranma 1/2 is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain. Its sole purpose is to entertain using the characters and plots developed by Takahashi. ALL rights reserved

Will you listen to the wind as it whispers through the trees? Can you hear what it is saying?

Chapter 7: Weaving Webs

Dai Lin had other things to do besides worry about her future husband, she also had to worry about Ranma's other potential Chinese wife and her great grandmother, Kho Lon. Dai had heard many great things about the famed Kho Lon of the Amazons. She did not however want to disrespect the old Amazon woman in any way. She of all people knew how they could get when angry. Kho Lon might be old but Dai knew that the old woman more than made up for that with her experience. She had seen and done things that Dai could only dream about. Of course, Kho Lon was not a mage...not in the real sense. She did not use magic regularly. She could sense it being used though and she knew how to deal with it in battle. Dai however, did not know what to expect of the old woman or her great granddaughter.

She did not know Xian Pu that well. The only reason she knew the girl was because she had happened to run into her while she was rummaging though the surrounding forests around the farmlands. Xian Pu was not that bad a girl when Dai really thought about it. The only real problem Dai had with Xian was that she was supposed to be one of the next Amazon Princesses. If Xian did become leader, Ranma might in for more then he expected. The leader's husband was supposed to follow her around and set an example for the other men of the village. Dai could not see Ranma acting as a subservient. He was too wild and untamed. No, Xian would not make a good first wife for Ranma.

Dai had to convince the girl to give up her claim but how? She knew little of current internal Amazon politics and if there was one thing that existed within the Amazons, it was politics. Each faction had their own princess and only one princess, the most victorious in battle, was elected leader. The men were not allowed to play a part in the political scheme for various reasons but they were used by the women as image collateral.

Xian already had an impressive image due to Mu Tzu's verbose fondness of her but that was both to his advantage and disadvantage. He was seen as the strongest bachelor available, but his vociferous cooing of Xian was seen as a psychological weakness. The women were responsible for the actions of their men and Mu was just too liable to get his wife into trouble. His complete devotion did at once capture Xian's attention but he had overstepped his boundaries too many times and had been too belligerent in his attempts to protect what he thought was his. What could have been the spark of romance had turned into repulsion when his interference had isolated Xian from the other boys of her age.

Dai knew Xian was drawn to Ranma because of his prowess. He was different to the other Amazon males. He was a foreigner and a good martial artist. If she captured him, she would elevate her position among her peers even higher. There was nothing to be lost from her attaining Ranma and in the isolation of Japan she could do almost anything she wanted to get him and get away with it. The elders might turn a blind eye when outside to behaviours from their charges that would under no circumstances be allowed in the village.

Dai knew where they would be. They were going to open a restaurant to supplement their finances and also as an excuse to make some vital Japanese contacts. She had been told of its location. All she had to do was go there. After a couple of minutes walking, she found herself in front of an old wooden building that, although in the last years of its service, was still usable as a restaurant. She rapped against the wooden doors and a few seconds later Xian emerged.

"Dai, great grandmother expect you."

Dai entered the restaurant and saw that the tables and chairs had been placed for what was to be opening day tomorrow.

"So mage, what brings you to Amazon territory again, or do I have to ask?"

Dai did not respond.

"So I see that both you and my great granddaughter are tracking this boy named Ranma Saotome. I hope you remember your vows when you became a mage. You have no right to be the first wife of any man so by rule, someone else must marry Ranma. Shampoo has agreed to let you be her second. All that remains is for her to capture the boy within the Amazon laws. I also have need to know of his unique curse..."

"Ranma is a girl by day," stated Dai slowly. "He can change at night but during the day, it would take too much power to change him against the energy that has gathered. If I am correct in reading the laws, Xian can only claim him as a man."

"You are very right Dai. We must proceed with caution. We will not fail however. Ranma will be brought into the tribe. The question only is when. His involvement in both marital and magical arts makes him a fine catch. You may go Dai, but remember Dai, do not call Xian in that Japanese slur Shampoo again. She is my next in line and should be treated as such."

"Yes honoured Elder."

"Now go, I must plan."

Dai bowed and left.

Dai sat on the roof of the Tendo Dojo again and pondered. She had seen Xian again and she was not pleased. Kho Lon had planned her approach well. Dai knew what was going on. Kho Lon was treating her as one of the subservient members of the tribe and expected her to follow them. Dai knew that she had almost been ordered by the Amazon matriarch to play a secondary role in any relationship that would develop.

Dai was being played and she knew it. Typical Amazon politics. She would be the second yes, but what would being the second entail. With Xian wanting to portray her trophy, Dai knew that she would not be able to spend any time with Ranma. She was being set up, but at least she knew it and was not playing into their hands.

She had also seen the look on Xian's face. Evidently the girl had been around the Nerima district for some time, though she may have hidden herself from view. Dai had no doubts as to question of whether Xian had seen Ranma in his male form. With Kho Lon as her advisor, the girl had access to thousands of years of Amazon tricks. Xian had seen Ranma and worse yet, she had been impressed. An impressed Xian Pu would be more aggressive than normal. She wondered if the girl had fallen for the male Ranma. If that had happened, Dai knew that she had to put her plan into action as quickly as possible. From her own oaths, she could not take a husband herself, but she could be a second and if she wanted Ranma, she would have to get him married off soon. Dai had already chosen a suitable first wife. She would do. She would definitely do. She liked Ranma already and even if she did not know that Ranma was a boy, Dai was sure that the girl would not mind a marriage to male Ranma. All she had to do was ensure that the girl fell for male Ranma and made her feelings known to female Ranma. Her job would be finished then. She knew the logical course of events would take place.

Unlike the Amazons though, she did not have to overly plot. With her pre-existing bond to Ranma, she could weave any measure of spells in the house and he would not recognise them if he was not looking for them. She would use spells that he did not know though. There was no need to leave any hints to what she was doing. He might not have as sharp a brain as her, but that did not mean that he was dumb. He was smart, very smart under that false stupidity of his. That made him unpredictable and also made him desirable.

Dai moved from her position and hovered near the window of Ranma's room. She peeled in and saw the sleeping couple. She had known from a night before that Akane was no calm sleeper. It was strange though. She observed that night that when Akane sent out some form of offensive movement at Ranma, he was able to subconsciously move into the attack and somehow Akane's attack was able to bring the two of them closer together. Tonight was no exception. Akane held the smaller Ranma-chan below her under the covers, her head resting just above the redhead's heart.

Dai wove her patterns in the air and sent them floating down to Ranma's room. The first one was simple. It was a mixture of a water spell and a fire spell. It settled on Ranma and instantly his body grew from under the covers. Hot water changes him to a man. The second spell was a bit trickier. She had to set it perfectly upon the couple since the presence of the heavy blanket gave her no direct eye contact with her target. She double checked the pattern and sent it on its way. It settled on the blanket and then penetrated. Dai smiled as the blue of Akane's top faded away.

She could not in good conscience interfere directly, but she could indirectly. Mages were sensitive. Ranma was a mage. Akane sleeping with him like this would have profound internal subconscious effects. Dai smirked. She had set the arena. All she had to do was get the Akane girl to work in her favour.

She had thought about letting out Ranma's secret, but that might not work as well as she planned. She would have to do things on the low and let Akane find out another way after she fell for male Ranma. Of course, she could always plan with Akane after and prevent Ranma from gaining the knowledge that Akane knew his secret. Yes, that would work. Dai had not had many friends and she was sure that she would get along with Akane well enough.

The plan was set everything now was up to the girl.

***************
 
 

Ranma Saotome knew as soon as he got up that something had been given to him. Luckily, he was glad that he had been given something because the night's rest had certainly freed his mind up to think in a better perspective. Dai could sense his feelings and he could sense hers once she touched. She was a private person and he was as well so that meant that the chances of her using that technique repeatedly had gone down dramatically. He certainly felt like smiling this morning.

He could feel the dawning of the sun. Actually, he could see it when he had his eyes closed. He had faced the mirror so that the morning light would shine down on him. He could almost feel the sunlight beaming onto his body, but he could not. That was strange! He should have been able to feel it by now. Usually in the morning he would be slightly chilled from the night. This morning however, he did not feel the slight chill, in fact, he felt a bit warm. Why was he feeling warm? He opened his eyes. And saw...nothing. He peered lower down and saw something.

Akane!

At first he wanted to bowl out of bed and deny everything but if he did that, the Tendo's would know of his secret and he didn't want them knowing about his secret as yet. Never maybe! He liked things just the way they were. The sun was rising though and Ranma knew that soon the glare from the sun onto the blanket would make the blankets uncomfortable to sleep in. That meant that Akane would wake up.

First things first though, he would have to change into a girl. He would have done that easily enough except that his hand was trapped under...under something that was warm and round and...uh oh...

In fact, both his hands were trapped! He knew he could not move them without waking Akane. He raked his mind and tried to think about what he should do. There were other ways to do spells. All you had to do was think about the spell and picture it in your mind. You had to picture your hands doing it perfectly because it would only work if the mind's image of the weave being performed was perfect. He had tried before and had almost succeeded. His training in the martial arts made his thinking and action almost as one but he did not do it perfectly, could not do it perfectly! Dai could, she was better than he was by far.

Akane stirred. He could feel her hair brushing against his chest as she moved. She would be waking and soon too.

Ranma tried to picture the weave in his mind. He tried very hard. He concentrated, but he just couldn't do it! Akane was stealing his concentration. He just couldn't keep his mind off her and do the spell. He tried, he really did but his thoughts about her against his body invaded whatever barriers he put up against them. He could see the beams of light now, faint beams from the horizon, striking the glass and being reflected down towards them. It crept slowly up the blankets, which were already too hot for his tastes. Soon the beams were almost up to the top of the blankets. Then it happened.

Ranma felt his body shift as flesh changed to flesh. His body shrank in some places and became more pronounced in others. He had changed into a girl.

How could he have totally overlooked that fact? The sun would do it for him, would change him into a girl. He had forgotten about that for those chaotic moments. He was a girl again. This might have actually been the first time he was relieved for the change. He embraced the change knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it but that didn't mean that he liked changing into a girl. This definitely had to be the first time that he actually wanted it to happen.

Akane stirred again, her head lay on his breast. Suddenly, her hand lashed out from the side and the only thing Ranma could do was raise his head slightly, but it was enough. Akane's hand slipped under his head. Unfortunately, it seemed that this position was not to her liking and she bent the arm around his neck, pulling her up. Now she was face to face with him. Sleeping still, but face to face with him. He should have tried to get her off of him but if he did she would have awoken. He could have tried to weave a pattern, but his hands were still trapped. At least they were not under those soft mounds...uh...oh...not soft mounds anymore...but something worse than that.

He saw a shimmering in the air coming from the window and he knew what it was.

"Dai," he whispered, "I know you're there. Lend me a hand will ya?"

Dai smiled as she uncloaked. He should not have been able to see her. Maybe it was one of the other effects of the spring. She had slept soundly that night with very pleasant dreams. She awoke just before sunrise and would have embraced it but her curiosity for the situation she had engineered had got the better of her. She just had to see what happened.

Ranma was up as she had thought. That was good. At least he wasn't as unpredictable as she had previously thought. It would seem though that he found himself in quite a predicament. His predicament could be her blessing.

"Okay Ranma, I'll give you a hand."

Ranma smiled he could count on Dai.

He saw the pattern descend upon him and only had few seconds to recognise it before it took effect.

"That's not what I meant," he muttered before he was forced back to sleep.

It was Dai's turn to smile. Ranma would have eventually found a way out of that situation. She knew he was resourceful, all he needed was a bit of time and the answer would come to him. She did not want him getting any answers.

The girl. The girl was different. Dai had to make the girl see. It was a challenge and if there was one thing she liked it was challenges. Dai smiled. She knew what she would do. Today was Saturday. That meant no school. She wove some patterns in her mind and let them settle onto the sleeping pair. The temperature of the room began to decrease to Dai's satisfaction. Ranma was not going to fall for that Amazon. She would make sure of it. Yes, this would be a challenge and a good one at that. She would enjoy it too, enjoy it immensely.

Dai made her way through the household. There was a certain matter of terrorising a girl who had irritated her and she also had to protect her investment.

**************
 
 

Kasumi Tendo was always the first up and as usual, she was preparing breakfast when she suddenly felt relaxed. She loved to get up early in the morning just after daybreak. She liked to see the world come back to life again in the mornings. Somehow the birds seemed to chirp more during the morning than at any other time during the day. Ranma was usually up at this time, otherwise she would not be up until late into the day, and they would chat sometimes while she prepared breakfast.

Ranma was not up. She wondered why? The girl had told her that they would try one of those new recipes today. Maybe she would wake Ranma for an early breakfast. She certainly loved to eat and Kasumi knew she would enjoy Ranma's company. The girl seemed to know a lot of cooking recipes from her travels and Kasumi enjoyed trying out a few of them.

She would wake Ranma but first, she needed a change of clothing. Going to her room, she passed by Akane's door. Akane would probably like to be in the conversation too, she supposed. Although her little sister was not that great a cook, she seemed to come alive with Ranma's presence. Many thought that she did not notice, but Kasumi knew that Ranma had injected some life back into her little sister. Since Ranma came, Akane had been smiling more and to Kasumi's delight, her little sister stopped thinking that all boys were perverts.

Kasumi knocked lightly on Akane's room and opened it quietly. Akane was not there.

She had not seen Ranma this morning either. She walked to the guestroom and cracked open the partition. She smiled. They had probably been talking until late last night. Maybe she had best let them sleep in.

Kasumi was walking back to the stairs when she heard a very loud scream from her sister's room. Immediately she rushed to the door and when she peered in she found her sister looking at the mirror. The only thing she could say to what she saw was the phrase: "Oh my!"

************
 
 

Ranma woke up bleary eyed and feeling a bit out of sorts. He always felt a bit lethargic when he got up late and as such, he stayed in bed under the covers. When he finally collected himself, he realised a couple of things.

One, Akane was not in the room with him, two, neither was Dai and three, the room was cool although the sun was shining brightly. That meant only one thing, he had been set up. Dai had set him up. The only question he wanted to know was why. Why had she done those things this morning? If she was trying to get his attention, she certainly was picking a very strange way of doing it.

What time was it anyway?

A brief glance at the clock told him that it was already into the afternoon. His stomach also gave him the same information. He jumped off of the bed intent on racing down to the kitchen when he blushed a bit. Maybe he should take a bath first? Yes, a nice long shower would do him good.

After Ranma finished his shower, he changed quickly and bounded down to the kitchen. Kasumi handed him a plate of food as soon as he stepped into the kitchen. Foregoing manners, Ranma dispatched the food down his gullet in record time. Even Kasumi was amazed. Of course, he had to ask for seconds seeing that he did miss breakfast. Ranma made his way to the living room to watch some TV when he was assaulted by Akane.

"Hey Akane, what's up?" asked Ranma questioningly. What was the girl up to? He had not seen her this morning, in fact, it was strange that he woke up with his clothes on...maybe Dai's spell had worn off. He knew it could only be her.

"Ranma, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer me truthfully..."

Ranma didn't know what Akane was getting at. She did get up first, but nothing had happened that night...right? He would have remembered if anything had happened between them that night when he was male wouldn't he? No, nothing had happened. He was sure of it. He was honourable and he knew that he would remember if he did anything that dishonourable. Dai wouldn't dare make him do such a thing in his sleep, he knew that she had some measure of honour and she would never do that to him because if he ever found out that she did...

"When we were sleeping...did we...did I do anything?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. What was she getting at? Akane hadn't done anything to him. They hadn't done anything! He quickly thought of something to say.

"You mean besides keeping me awake all night with your snoring!"

Akane glared at him.

"Huh..."

Akane pushed him forcefully against the wall bearing her strength against his shoulders and forced him to look into her eyes.

"I'm serious Ranma. Did I? I need to know Ranma!" shouted Akane. "Did I?"

"No Akane. You didn't do anything," replied Ranma with a hint of venom in his voice. In three moves he reversed the hold she had on him and had her against the wall.

"I'm going out," he told her. Not in an unfriendly way but in one that said she should not follow him.

Akane watched Ranma leave. Then her eyes saw her sister staring condescending at her if that was possible.

"I don't know why you did that Akane but I think you had better apologise to Ranma when she comes back."

"Gomen Kasumi," replied Akane. "I didn't mean to be so rough. I...I just wanted to find out."

"I'm sure Ranma will forgive you," replied Kasumi smilingly.

"Yes...she would wouldn't she."

*************
 
 

Ranma Saotome was alone in a wooded area. He had been peeved how Akane had treated him. He hadn't done anything wrong and she didn't have to be that rough. But that was not it, no, the real reason was her eyes. She looked as if she expected him to confirm whatever she was thinking but he was no mind reader. All she had to do was ask and he would have told her what had happened -which was nothing. He didn't even know why she looked so scared. Dai was probably not the best of friends with him but if she did what she did last night for a reason, he knew she would not do anything to hurt Akane. He would have liked to know the reason though.

What had got into Akane? As far as he was concerned, nothing had happened. But the haunted look in her eyes...

Maybe he had done something to her or... that was the only thing that could have happened. He had done something to her but if he had he would have known wouldn't he...he just didn't know. He had to find out though. Dai would know. She probably could sense what he had done too. Maybe he should leave the Tendo's. Maybe he had been there too long. He could just leave word with his father telling him where he would be.

He took a deep breath. He had not come out here to think. He had come for a specific reason.

Ranma breathed in again and took in the calm. The calmness that came with breathing in and out...and in and out...and in and out.

Calmed, Ranma suppressed his previous thoughts. He had come here for a reason.

Ranma stretched his arms forward and traced the pattern in the air. He had been practising bits and pieces of the pattern this would be the first time he tried the whole pattern. It was a complicated thing. He reached out and stretched before him drawing the pattern with his hand and with his mind. He had been preparing for this day. He had been saving his energy. This pattern demanded a lot of energy to bring it to life and Ranma had just enough to do it with. The released the pattern and then charged it with the energy.

He felt the wind gust gently behind him then it gusted gently in front of him. He could feel them now, two gusts of air coming towards him from opposite directions. He could feel the power of the winds increasing until as they opposed each other, they began to complement each other. The winds began to circle creating a cone around him. The cone became alive and strengthened. Strengthened to the point where he could see the trees around the cone bending towards it. The leaves of the trees were stripped by the wind and were spinning within the spiral. The branches began to creak and one by one they began to break, flying into the raging spinning inferno of wind.

Ranma could feel the energy leave him and ebb into the vortex around him. He was emptied quickly and as soon as he was emptied, the winds subsided, leaving him covered in foliage. Tired and awed, he lay there, covered by foliage for a long time. He replayed what happened in his mind. It was a great spell indeed. Magnificent in fact, and very powerful. He knew he had copied what he was shown and tonight he would be faced again with his unknown tutor. For some reason he was eager to learn what she had to show him.

He did not know how long he had been lying there, but it took him minute to realise that someone was staring at him from above. The blue hair was the first thing he recognised and ingrained from years of instinct and a slight suspicion mixed with anger, his leg lashed out striking the person above him at the side of the foot removing her balance.

When the person fell on top of him Ranma reconsidered that that was possibly not one of his better ideas. He reacted quickly though, turning and trapping the person below him.

"Ranma, I didn't know you were this forceful maybe I was wrong about you."

Ranma was a bit confused at Dai's behaviour. The girl was an enigma; he had to admit that. She wasn't going to stop him though even though that smile was wearing his consternation down.

"What did you do to Akane and me?"

"Moi! All I did was help you get to sleep. There isn't anything wrong with that is there?"

"No, not unless I wake up naked next to a naked girl!"

"Oh Ranma Ranma. I told you I didn't mind sharing," replied Dai cheekily.

"Come on Dai, I'm being serious. Akane thought something happened last night and I don't know what it is," pleaded Ranma.

Dai considered his request. She had finally got the girl thinking about Ranma and Ranma thinking about her too. It was all to her liking but something was troubling Ranma and she knew it had nothing to do with what was troubling Akane, it had more to do with him. She thought she knew what though.

"Ranma," she replied seriously. "I swear to you that nothing happened between you and Akane last night while you slept."

"Are you sure?"

"You know me Ranma, I wouldn't do that to you. Not without your permission."

"Yeah, I know...I was just so..."

"Scared?"

"Yes...no," he quickly replied. "I just don't want to hurt her. It's the first time I've ever had anything close to a normal life since pop took me on the trip. I don't want to leave...yet."

She smiled and gazed into his eyes. She knew what he thought had happened. She liked how he thought, how he cared about others.

"Don't worry. I specifically made sure that that would not happen."

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief then Dai smiled and winked at him. Suddenly he was flipped and she was on top of him, keeping him down with her weight.

"Didn't think I could do that did you?"

Ranma was stunned.

"I know a little bit of martial arts too." She lied but she didn't need to tell him. He didn't need to know all the spells she knew.

"What I'm really here for though is to warn you."

"Huh?"

"Xian Pu's back and she brought her great grandmother with her."

"Aww man not again. I hate running from her."

"Yes, you will be running, but not from what you think. She knows that you are a male now..."

"So?"

"So," she glared at him making him shut up. "If a man defeats an Amazon, she has to marry him. Actually, technically, he's already married to her."

"What?"

"Yes, but first she has to give you the kiss of marriage to make it official."

"What is it with Amazons and their stupid laws!" exclaimed Ranma.

"Be careful Ranma, Kho Lon is tricky. She's not an Amazon matriarch for nothing."

"Oh great! More complications. All I wanted was a nice little break and what do I get? An Amazon chasing me again. Dai, is there any way I can get out of it?"

"Actually there is but I can't tell you. I can only tell you about the kiss of marriage since telling you that does not break Amazon law as most men actually want an Amazon for a wife."

"Amazon...wait a minute, you're an Amazon?"

"No, not really, I'm an honorary member."

"So are you going to give me the kiss of marriage?" asked Ranma.

"Nope I like it better when my men kiss me, like this..."

She bent her head forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Hey, I'm a girl!" exclaimed Ranma.

"No, you're a man in a girl's body," replied Dai as she rolled off him into the leaves and got up. "I'll talk to you later Ranma," she shouted at him as she teleported away.

Ranma just lay there internalising all that just happened. First Dai, then Ukyou and now Xian Pu! Three fiancees! Why was this happening to him!

Ranma tried to get up and did so groggily. The spell must have taken out a lot from his reserves. His casting had probably attracted Dai's attention. It would just take him slightly longer to reach back to the Tendo's. He should make it just before nightfall.
 
 

***********

In magic, Dai always had the advantage and she used it to its full potential. She may have been an honorary Amazon but she knew the limits to what she could and could not do. There was something she could do now to make her plans move even more smoothly. She appeared above the Tendo Dojo. She checked some of her spells to gain some information on what had happened between Ranma and Akane so she could use that knowledge to her advantage, and quickly flew to an open window on the second floor. Her target was in the room.

She alighted quietly on the windowsill as the girl read some miscellaneous book on her desk. Stepping into the room, Dai made a quick sweep with her eyes. The room was ordered and contained many personal items. That meant that the girl was not going anywhere soon and would probably stay where she was all her life. This would be an ideal situation for Dai. A permanent home away from home. Her plan was becoming even more pleasing as she thought about it.

"So Akane, how's life?"

Akane's head whipped around.

"You...you have some nerve coming here!"

"Me! I have some nerve. What about you? You were the one who chewed out Ranma for no reason."

Akane could not respond and turned away from Dai. She knew she had hurt Ranma and somehow, she could not bring herself to face someone who knew she had hurt Ranma.

"So something might have happened last night. Big deal! Ranma doesn't think anything happened so therefore nothing happened. From what Ranma said you got really worked up about something and Ranma thinks that h...she caused it."

That caught Akane's attention.

"Ranma thinks she caused..."

"Well let's see now, you asked her what happened and she did not think anything happened which translates into I did something that I can't remember doing. In other words, she thinks that she did something wrong and that you're angry with her."

It was the truth from Ranma's own mouth. She did not have to tell Akane however that Ranma's fears had been relieved.

"You really think she thinks that I'm angry with her?"

"You should ask her, I mean you are her best friend aren't you?"

"Where is she?"

"She's coming soon. If I were you, I'd go downstairs and wait for her."

Akane turned to go downstairs but she thought of something. She stuck out her hand.

"Friends?"

Dai smiled and accepted the treaty. She was really beginning to like thsi girl.

"Friends...and remember, I still don't mind sharing."

Akane looked as if she was caught in a pair of blinding headlights. "Oh come now Akane. I don't think Ranma will be angry," smirked Dai.

Akane began to turn red.

"I'm just kidding, really, but that look on your face..."

Dai felt the surge of energy in the air and knew that staying in the room any longer might have grave consequences for her. She whisked away before Akane could catch her with her mallet.

After Dai's disappearance, the mallet also suddenly disappeared as Akane made a dash towards the living room.
 
 

Ranma was lucky. He had made it back with plenty of time to spare before sunset. He was tired though. The drain had been more than he had ever expected. All he needed was a nice hot shower and a bed. He needed sleep: and food too. Okay, first food, then shower, then sleep. That sounded like a good plan.

He yawned as he entered the Tendo compound and trudged wearily to the house. He was stopped though, as a pair of hands wrapped around him from behind and lifted him off the floor.

"Would ya leave me alone (yawn) I'm kinda tired."

"Not until you hear me out Ranma."

Akane turned Ranma around to face her.

"I'm sorry for what I did today. I should have believed you the first time."

"I told you nothing happened (yawn). Tired (yawn) so tire..."

"Ranma, Ranma!"

Akane shook the girl in her arms but it was already too late. Ranma was already asleep. Akane sighed. Maybe she would apologise again tomorrow. Tonight though, she would have to put Ranma to bed, and change her too. Those clothes were filthy. Both Ranma and Dai said that nothing happened. Akane had thought something happened but maybe in the haze of the morning she had dreamt it. Not maybe, she had dreamt it. Ranma would have remembered something like that. If there was one thing she could count on, it was Ranma's word.

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