Freewill.  {1/1}


A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Tim Nolan.

e-mail: nomad@cyberverse.com

Ranma 1/2 and all characters are creations of
	and copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi.

Please see the notes following the story.


***************************************************

Freewill


	" I don't ever want to have anything to do with
you again! As far as I'm concerned, the engagement is
off!"
	The cry of rage shattered the tranquillity of an
early Sunday morning. One of the doves settled on the
roof of the dojo flew away from the disturbance since
it had begun to understand what would come next.
	A young man in a red shirt and black pants went
flying through the doors with a thunderous crash. His
forward progress still unabated, he continued sailing
down the covered walkway. If his guess was right, the
next thing in his way would be one of the large rocks
in the garden by the pond since the two missing support
posts that would have been coming up on his left were
not yet replaced. The rock would be easier to deal with
than the scolding he would get from Nabiki for closing
the door and letting Akane knock him through it again.
	Akane had been getting better since they had
started sparring together on a more regular basis, but
he still hadn't been able to figure out just where she
was hiding the damn   hammers. He'd rolled with the
blow from the weapon to avoid being seriously hurt,
but that meant he was off balance and would be knocked
back a greater distance. She was still mad enough at
him that she was hot on his trail in a blind rage.
	Talk about uncute, he remarked to himself while
still in mid-air as he passed what he called the rock
garden. It was a collection of a few dozen small,
rough-edged boulders that ranged from the size of
baseballs to watermelons, and they were strewn in a
contemplative fashion among a patch of painstakingly
groomed gravel. Very Zen, he thought when he had first
arrived at the Tendo dojo.
	He began to frantically twist in mid-air as soon
as the sound of the door reached him. It was too late
for him to completely avoid Kasumi as she stepped out
of the doorway into his path, but he was able to avoid
crashing directly into her. His elbow sent the basket
of wet laundry flying and startled her, but it was
Akane's relentless pursuit that made her sister lose
her balance.
	Ranma had seen what had happened. Akane was
still oblivious to it. Her mind was focused only on
her anger towards him and he didn't have the time to
reason with her. His early training kicked in with
a vengeance as his body reacted without conscious
thought.
	It was like a nightmare in some ways. One of the
really bad ones, actually, where each second is like an
hour and all you can do is watch and scream as it
unfolds. His legs came around and his feet got a firm
purchase on the large rock by the pond. Akane began
to jump up as the prelude for a flying side kick
while her sister waved her arms around in a vain
attempt to avoid the fall. All she was doing was
delaying the inevitable.
	He bounced off the rock, changing the direction
of his momentum. Akane's battle cry was cut short as
his knee caromed off her head and she sprawled out on
the ground with a dazed look on her face. Kasumi had
just begun to fall when he landed behind her and
wrapped his arms around her waist.
	Ranma sighed in relief as time seemed to speed up
again and Kasumi began to tremble. She was very
fortunate that she hadn't fallen. The distance wasn't
much, but she would have been hurt badly by landing
on top of several jagged edges.
	She seemed to realize it as well, for she turned
in his arms and hugged him. He was about to feel
embarrassed when he felt her shaking. Shock, he
realized, recalling his medical training and tightened
his arms around her to keep her from sliding to the
ground. She'd be weak and unable to stand.
	Kasumi.
	Shock.
	His mind rebelled at the idea, unwilling to wrap
itself around the inconceivable. She was the unflappable
one, the one who seemed to be able to take everything in
stride. Upon finding out that one of their guests was a
panda on occasion, she had merely whipped together some
steamed bamboo for Pop's dinner like it happened
everyday. Nothing ever seemed to bother the oldest of
the Tendo sisters.
	" Kasumi," he whispered as he began to feel
genuinely worried. Akane's punch caught him completely
off guard and knocked him to the ground. Everything went
a little fuzzy for the next several minutes due to the
blow to the back of his head. He did vaguely remember
Akane yelling at him for most of it before stomping away.
	The all-too familiar splash of cold water brought
her to her senses as she realized that she was now
female. Kasumi was kneeling over her, and she looked
both apologetic and worried at the same time.
	" I'm sorry, Ranma-chan," she said as she looked
at her. " I started to worry when you weren't hearing
me, so I got some water. I... I forgot that you would
change."
	" That's all right, but did you have to use the
water from the pond?" she complained good-naturedly
while making a face at the taste of the water. She
could see the ghost of Kasumi's usual smile on her
lips. Her face was slightly pale and she was still
breathing a little rapidly, but she seemed to be all
right. A feeling of relief washed over her and she
smiled.
	The older girl saw the redhead smiling and began
to giggle. She joined in a moment later at the look on
Kasumi's face. They stayed that way for a few minutes,
laughing together, and each time one began to calm down
they would look at the other and start up again.
	" Ranma-chan," she eventually forced the words
out. " Are you hurt?"
	" No," she replied, rubbing the back of her
head. " I get worse from Pops most of the time. She
caught me by surprise, though. I was worried that you
were hurt and wasn't paying attention to what she was
doing."
	" Thank you," she responded. " That was very
sweet of you."
	" Kasumi, didn't your father ever teach you how
to fall?"
	" I'm sorry?"
	" Fall," she repeated. " Like in falling down.
I mean, I know that Akane was the one who was into
learning the art, but didn't he even teach you how
to fall down properly?"
	" No," she said, getting a bit distant. " I was
always with Mother during the day and wanted to be
like her, so Father never tried training me."
	Baka, she yelled at herself. You shouldn't
remind her of that. " I'm sorry, Kasumi. I didn't
mean to bring up any bad memories. How about I show
you the basics, then?"
	" But-"
	" No buts," she interrupted, stood and began
to gather up the laundry. Ranma then unleashed one
of her best, sincere smiles. This girl body had some
uses, after all. " I'll help you with this so you'll
have the time."
	" Ranma-chan, I... all right," she sighed and
gave in.
	" Great!" she said and carried the basket
through the kitchen. She set it down in the laundry
room and made a beeline for one of mankind's greatest
and most useful inventions. Well, that's what she
thought of the new spigot on the sink that dispensed
near-boiling water. It was hot enough to cause the
change as long as you didn't let it cool off for more
than a few minutes. Nabiki saw the first gas bill
reflecting the new living arrangements and had
promptly bought the expensive fixture.
	" That's a lot better," he said after dunking
his head under the stream of steaming hot water. He'd
gotten awfully tolerant of hot temperatures recently.
	" Here's a note from Akane," Kasumi called out
while he toweled off his hair and wrung out his
shirt. " She's gone over to one of her friends for
the night."
	" She's pretty mad at me, I guess," he sheepishly
admitted. " I didn't mean it that way. All I did-"
	" Ranma," she gently cut him off. " I'll finish
putting these back in the wash and get changed. Why
don't you go down to the dojo and relax for a few
minutes? We can talk about it then."

********************************************************

	He was surprised when she came in about fifteen
minutes later in a gi with a white belt. It fit too
well to be one of the basic uniforms that Kasumi made
in a few sizes and were sold to the students. Those
were always too large or too small for any given
individual.
	She stopped in the doorway and respectfully
bowed before entering the dojo. She did the same
before stepping onto the mat.
	" Where did that come from?" he blurted out,
and then recovered his composure, got back into his
teacher mode and bowed to her. " I mean, did you have
one of your own?"
	" Yes, I made ones for Nabiki and myself when
I made the first batch for the students. I figured
that if our fathers were going to start training
students again that we all should have them if the
need arises."
	" That was a good idea," he admitted and sat
down to begin stretching. She sat as well but merely
crossed her legs and looked at him.
	" What were you fighting about today, Ranma?"
she asked.
	He sighed deeply before answering. " This was
a really bad one. I said that she'd put on some
weight. I meant it in a good way, Kasumi. She's
been working out more and trying to get stronger,
and I wanted to let her know that she was making
some progress.
	" She took it wrong, and it went downhill from
there. Then it got way out of hand while we were
sparring and... well, you saw the rest."
	" That would explain why she was so mad," she
said while watching him. " I called her at the
Nakatoni's. Akane is going to spend the night there.
It's all right with Sachiko's parents."
	" Our parents are gonna' kill me," Ranma
groaned, put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.
Their fathers would go through the roof at this news.
Neither man was thrilled when anything might disrupt
the planned marriage between Akane and Ranma.
	" Kasumi?" he asked a few minutes later.
	" Yes, Ranma?"
	" Why do we have so many problems? I think
Akane likes me, and I think I like her. We get
along so well one moment and the next thing I know
we're arguing."
	" I'm not sure," the brunette replied. " She
has said that she doesn't like the pressure that
both of you are under."
	" I certainly know that feeling," he nodded and
grimaced. " I think it would have been better if our
fathers hadn't engaged us. They want us to like
each other so much that they try to push us together,
and then we tend to push each other away."
	" That's a very honest admission, Ranma.
Especially as you did say yesterday that you didn't
like her."
	His eyes flew to her face in surprise until he
figured out that she was gently teasing him about
yesterday's argument with his fiancee. She has such
a pretty smile, he realized with a flush of
embarrassment. It was so much like Akane's. Then
his startled mind tried to figure out just where
the hell that observation came from.
	" What do you want me to do first, sensei?" she
asked, reminding him of why she was here in the first
place.
	" Um, lie down like this," he began while
demonstrating and carefully trying to keep his mind
on the matter at hand.

***************************************************

	She stepped into the enticingly warm water
and let it take away the chill from the stream of
cold water she had been standing under. He shuddered
as the change occurred. Even after about three months
he still wasn't used to it.
	He had used the cold water rinse to cool him
off in more ways then one. This had certainly been a
strange day for him. Their fathers were away for a
meeting with several other dojos in the area to
generate some goodwill and establish some ties. The
school of Indiscriminate Grappling was a small one
and they didn't want to unduly antagonize any of the
other schools in the area, regardless of style.
	His own easy victory over one of the local Kempo
instructors at an informal competition last week hadn't
helped matters in that regard, but it had brought in
some badly needed students for the dojo. His father and
Mr. Tendo now had two small classes they taught during
the day along with one three nights a week. Most of
the students would learn only the basics, but there
was still the chance of finding an apt pupil who could
learn the more advanced techniques.
	Nabiki had left early in the day to go shopping
with some of her friends. At least that was what she
had told her father. Privately, he thought she was out
making her rounds. The middle sister had a bewildering
array of connections and contacts, and she was careful
not to let the web fall apart. That meant a lot of
time just checking up on people and keeping her face
fresh in their minds.
	Take the family that Akane was currently
staying the night with, for example. She had been
friends with Sachiko for several years now. Even
though they weren't close, Akane had taken the time
to show her some things she could do if any guy tried
to get too fresh with her. The lessons paid off when
some old pervert tried to steal her purse.
	Sachiko had put up so much of a fight that he
had been delayed to where the police had been able to
arrest him. The girl's father was so grateful that
Nabiki had been able to parlay it into a deal with
the lumberyard he owned for a break on the price of
repairs at the dojo in exchange for continued lessons
for his daughter.
	With Akane gone, that left only he and Kasumi
in the house. She was the reason that he had taken
the cold shower. She had always been like the sister
that he never had. Until today, that's how he'd thought
of her. A sister, or perhaps a surrogate mother since
he would probably never see his own mother again.
	His perception of her had drastically changed
while he was teaching her today in the dojo. She was
certainly pretty, but it was like he had noticed her
beauty for the first time today. He caught himself
staring at her more than once and was relieved that
she hadn't seen him doing it.
	If only Akane was more like her, he sighed. Why
couldn't she be more understanding and patient? He
didn't mean to hurt Akane, but she could make him
so angry at times that he wouldn't be thinking
straight.
	His being so impulsive didn't help at first.
It came with being on the road so much, he guessed.
He and his father had not been home for so long that
he almost didn't  remember his own mother's face. Pops
has never been too much on manners, so he always had
the tendency to do or say the first thing that came
to mind.
	To make matters worse, the training in the art
teaches one to do much the same thing at first. He'd
been trained to react without thinking in some
situations. Certain reactions had to be so fast as to
be instinctive.
	Ever since his father had started showing him
the advanced stuff a few years ago, he had wondered
about the contradictions between his early training
and the newer techniques. He often asked his father
about it, usually right after being knocked down when
the older man took advantage of a pattern in his
defenses.
	Ranma, my boy, he'd bark as he stood over the
fallen boy who was dragging himself to his feet again.
You've got to think before you react. A true martial
artist is guided by his brain, not by his fists. Your
training up until now was to teach your body how to
react properly. Now you need to teach your mind to
control the process.
	He was trying, he knew. He had done a good job
of thinking first most of the times, but he also had
several failures. And, like the one today, the failures
seemed to have disastrous consequences. His mind knew
that he should have simply dodged Akane's attack and
caught her sister.
	His instincts had treated her like an attacker.
It was not the right way to behave towards your fiancee,
he knew.
	The door to the bathing area slid open and Kasumi
stepped in. She was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped
around her midsection. The long hair that was usually
tied back with a ribbon was unbound.
	" Oh!" she softly exclaimed, a faint blush appearing
on her cheeks. " I'm sorry, Ranma. I thought I heard you
upstairs, so I assumed that you were finished here."
	" I... was just about to get out," he began,
realizing the time. He had been in here a while and she
would want a chance to get cleaned up as well. It was
warm enough outside to have made them need a bath after
training.
	" Thank you," she beamed at him and took a seat
on one of the bathing stools so that she was facing away
from him into a corner. " It'll take me a few minutes to
put my hair up, anyway."
	" Okay," he managed to say. To his shame and dismay,
part of him had begun to react to him seeing his fiancee's
sister in such a state of relative undress. The hot water
wasn't helping matters either, and he had left his towel
by the entrance.
	Normally, he was far from being modest. People
still went to the public baths together, and the Japanese
never had much of a taboo about nudity in the bath, but
the thought of her seeing him like this mortified him. The
towel was about ten steps away and would put him into
her line of sight due to a small mirror on one wall she
was using. That way was out. He had just about began to
panic when he saw his hated salvation.
	He slipped from the tub while furiously blushing
and covering himself. Two long, quick steps and he cranked
the cold water on. The spray from the shower did what
he expected and he sighed in relief as he changed.
	" I'm going into the market district to scrounge
up some snacks," she gamely offered up as an excuse. " My
girl body is great for that."
	" Could you hold on about fifteen minutes,
Ranma-chan?" she asked as she turned her head
slightly. " I need a few things from the store for dinner
tonight. I'll make you a list of what I need."
	" Sure," she replied as she wrapped her towel around
her and slid open the door.
	" Oh, and one other thing," Kasumi called out from
the other side of the door, causing her knees to get weak.
Oh, gods, she thought in fear. She'd seen him when he was
getting out of the tub.
	" Would you like some help with your make-up? I know
that you're still not used to putting it on yet."

****************************************************

	" Hey, Pops," he asked the man seated next to
him in the dojo while they stretched in preparation for
their evening workout. " I... I was wondering..."
	" Don't be shy, boy!" the older man barked and
slapped him on the back. " Go and talk to her. You'll
never get back into Akane's favor if you keep on
ignoring her."
	" Uh, thanks for the advice, Pops," he stammered.
Trust his father to have a one-track mind about the
subject. " That wasn't it, though. I was hoping that
we could skip practice tonight. I've still got to
finish an important report for school tomorrow."
	" Ranma, the path of a true martial-"
	" -artist still needs to go through high school,
Pops," he cut off his father as gently as he could. " You
did want me to make it through school, right?"
	" All right, boy," his father consented. " Just
promise me that you will try and talk to Akane about
this."
	" You got it," he said, forcing himself to sound
more enthusiastic. He stood and sketched a short bow
to his father before leaving and heading for the stairs.
It was only a small lie. He did have a report due
tomorrow, but it was long since done.
	It was Thursday and his mind had been in a
turmoil since Sunday afternoon. Akane had returned,
and while she was still mad at him, she was getting
over it. His excuse of being upset about their fight
to explain his recent behavior was wearing thin. He
took a deep breath to calm himself down as he reached
the top of the stairs.
	On one side was the room he shared with his
father and after that the master bedroom where Mr.
Tendo slept. The other side had three doors. The first
one led to the source of his recent problems. Right now,
that wasn't the place to be.
	He walked past the one in the middle and glanced
at the duck on the door. She'd kill him right now if
he admitted what was happening. In her opinion, he had
hit her a lot harder than training called for. That
part was true, he had realized. He tried to explain
what had happened, but she still didn't recall bumping
into her sister.
	No, the third door was the one that offered him
the hope of some degree of peace and comfort right
now. He knocked at the door and entered when she
called out for him to do so.
	" Hello, Ranma," Nabiki said as she worked at
her computer. She finished inputting a few more
lines before hitting the enter key with a theatrical
flourish and turned towards him. " I've been forgetting
to tell you something. You've been a big help around
here lately, and I wanted to thank you."
	" Me?"
	" Yes, you," she smiled and motioned for him to
take her seat while she moved to the bed. She pointed
at the computer terminal. " See that there? Our bottom
line is looking a lot better since you came here."
	He looked, but the jumble of figures was a mystery
to him and he said so.
	" In simpler terms," she went on after giving
him a warm smile. " We aren't losing nearly as much
money now. We might even start turning a profit."
	" The dojo?"
	" Yes, the dojo, and you. Several guys have
asked about you while I was accepting and processing
their payments for lessons. They either want to study
the style of the boy who beat up that Kempo master or
they hope to run into Ranma-chan."
	" My girl body," he growled softly and then
relaxed. He did have a good body as a girl, after
all, but that kind of attention from other guys was
still unnerving. " So that's why you wanted me to
go to some of the training classes as a girl."
	" Some classes, Ranma," she explained. " Not
all of them, just enough to keep them coming back.
That has been a big help, and those fights with Kuno
have made a lot of my old accounts decide to settle
up, too."
	" I though you gave up the loansharking," he
commented, trying to make his voice as dry and
sarcastic as she could at times. She looked down
briefly at that jab before meeting his gaze again. He'd
hit close to home with that remark.
	" I have, Ranma. One month of amnesty from
interest where they could pay back the original
amount and much more reasonable rates thereafter.
That talk that we had along with Akane after the
photography incident really opened my eyes. I hadn't
realized just what I was doing to some of my
classmates and to some of my friends.
	" And to some of my family," she added
softly.
	He nodded in agreement and suddenly looked
down, embarrassed. " That's kind of what I wanted
to talk to you about, Nabiki. This isn't business
or anything, though, but I'm kind of hoping that
you could help me on something about your family."
	" I'm all ears, Ranma," she said to
him. " What's up?"
	" I'm not good at this stuff," he started
after a few minutes of composing his thoughts. He
still hadn't looked up at her, keeping his eyes
locked onto the floor. " I never had a lot of friends
on the road, and I haven't made any yet here at
school. At least not the close ones that I could
talk to about this.
	" It's been keeping me up at nights, and I
can't concentrate during the day.  I think... I
think I'm falling in love with your sister."
	" Ranma, that's great," she exclaimed with
a mischievous grin. " So, you need a loan for an
engagement ring for Akane after all."
	She was about to say more when he raised his
hand to stop her. His eyes slowly came up to meet
hers and she saw the bleak look on his face. " Your
other sister."
	" Oh, my," Nabiki sighed and was silent for
a few minutes. Ranma had gone back to looking at
the floor but occasionally glanced up at her. " I
guess that's why you've been helping her out with
fixing dinner the last few nights then?"
	" Yeah," he admitted. " I've just wanted to
be near her lately."
	" Since the fight with Akane?"
	Ranma sighed and looked guilty at that
remark. " It sounds pretty rotten of me, huh? I
get in a fight with Akane, we have some words and
I go running to her sister. You have got to believe
me, Nabiki, in that I'm not doing this to hurt Akane."
	She could plainly see the confusion and pain
that he was feeling right now. Even though they
didn't realize it, she knew that both her younger
sister and her fiancee were in almost in love with
each other. Their refusal to admit it was going to
be their stumbling block, and not the fact that
they didn't care for each other.
	Ranma was telling the truth, she believed.
Sure, he was often blunt with Akane, but that was
only because he didn't want to say what he actually
felt towards her. He had never been spiteful, so
this wasn't an attempt to get back at Akane. That
meant that his feelings for her older sister were
genuine.
	" Do you think that this is the real thing,
Ranma?" she asked. She didn't doubt him or what she
felt he was thinking, but this problem had to be
clearly defined and resolved before anyone was hurt,
regardless of which way things went. " Do you feel
that you're in love with Kasumi?"
	" I don't know, Nabiki," he confessed. " I don't
even know if I love... or if I loved Akane. All I
know is that I feel good when I'm around Kasumi. I
feel like that about Akane, too, but only when we
aren't fighting, and that seems to be all we're doing
lately."
	" You'd better talk to her then," she decided
and hating herself for doing this to her sister. She
would have to pass the responsibility of dealing
with this on to Kasumi, and Kasumi was doing so
much already. " She's up early on Saturday. Why
don't you get up then, talk to her and see what
she thinks?"
	" I guess," he said and stood before going
on with a more resolute tone to his voice. " I
don't want to hurt Akane, and she will be if I let
this drag on."
	" Thank you,"  she replied, her voice
softening slightly. " Thank you for caring about
her, Ranma."
	He gave her a slight nod and turned. He was
almost to the door when she called out his name
again.
	" It will be tough on everyone if you don't
want to marry Akane," she added in a compassionate
tone. " I know that our fathers won't be happy
about it at first and that they'll be very upset.
The important thing, though, is that you do what
you feel is the right thing. I'll support your
decision, Ranma. No matter what it is."
	He brushed away a tear that was threatening
to form in one of his eyes. " Thanks, oneesan. Thank
you for understanding."
	Ranma turned and left, closing the door behind
him.

***************************************************

	The actual sun would just be coming over the
horizon soon, although they still wouldn't see it
for a while due to the walls surrounding the dojo.
It did make the sky turn to a lighter blue that was
shaded towards a golden-pink in the east as he
stepped out of the kitchen with a cup of tea
warming his hands.
	She wasn't there when he entered, although
there was a pot of freshly brewed tea on the stove
that he had helped himself to a cup of. The hot
liquid did wonders towards setting him at ease.
Right now, he could use about a gallon of it.
	His ears couldn't pick out anyone moving
downstairs, so he walked to the dojo, more out
of a force of habit than any real hope of finding
her here. A quick glance told him that she wasn't
there, either, so he went back along the walkway
towards the house.
	It was only when he heard a tiny splash in
the pond that he realized that she was sitting on
one of the rocks by the pond. She was so still that
he hadn't noticed her. A small bag of the pellets
they fed the koi lay next to her by a steaming mug.
The sound of one of the fish fighting for a pellet
was what had tipped him off to her presence.
	" I like the early morning just before
sunrise the most," Kasumi said softly from her
perch. She took a small sip of her tea. " It
makes you think of all the promise that the
coming day can hold."
	He walked over and sat near her. Not too
close to intrude, but comfortably near.
	" Are you all right, Ranma?" she
solicitously asked. " How did you sleep?"
	" Not well," he admitted. " I've been awake
since about three."
	" Is there anything that I can help you with?"
	He took a deep breath and slowly released
it. " Yes. There is, but I'm so tired and wound up
right now that I probably won't do a good job of
saying it."
	" That's all right, Ranma," she said. " I know
that you mean well and that it's usually just a
problem with how you say it. Why don't you let me
know what's bothering you?"
	" No," he sighed and looked at her until
he caught her eye. " I have to say this right,
Kasumi. This has to be perfectly clear. Do you
remember when we first met?"
	She nodded and he continued. " Your father
and mine had made an agreement. I would marry one
of his daughters and carry on the dojo. You and
Nabiki sort of volunteered Akane for the job and
things went from there.
	" The thing is," he went on after taking a
breath. " I never made my choice."
	" Ranma..." she said in a voice low and
wavering with emotion. Her next words were barely
a whisper. " Please, don't do this."
	He went on, seemingly mindless of her
plea. " Kasumi, what would you say if I decided
that you were the one that I wanted to marry?"
	" I'd," she began, and he could clearly see
tears beginning to form in her eyes. " I'd honor
my father's wishes, Ranma."
	He sighed in relief, moved over to sit
right next to her and put an arm around her
shoulders to comfort her.
	" I'm sorry I had to do this to you, Kasumi,
but I needed to hear you say it so I could finally
make up my mind. I think I've been falling in love
with you recently and I just couldn't let this go
on anymore. The one I want to marry is..."
	She glanced over at him when his voice trailed
off and saw the effort it took for him to try and say
the next words. " I... I don't know. It isn't you,
though, Kasumi."
	" Oh, Ranma," she giggled, feeling the pain
lift away. The years of carefully controlling her
expressions let her hide the pleased smile that was
threatening to break out on her face.
	 He didn't want to admit it, but his not
choosing actually was a choice. Ranma wasn't
close with Nabiki, she knew, and if he wasn't
choosing her, the process of elimination left
only one other choice for him. She had been
worried about them lately because they had been
fighting so much, and here he was doing much of
the work that she thought that she would have to
do in order to get them to understand what they
felt towards each other.
	Still, she should have known better. They
had been fighting, but ever since the day that
Akane cut her hair a few weeks ago, they had
seemed to more aware of the other's feelings.
	He chuckled and gave her an affectionate
squeeze before letting go and turning to slightly
face her. " I'm sorry to have asked you that, but
I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since
Sunday. I wasn't even sure if I did want to stay
engaged to Akane. When I asked you and you said yes,
it finally hit me. I was finally able to understand
what was happening to me. I'd become infatuated with
you, Kasumi."
	" You had a crush on me?"
	" Yeah," he replied and blushed a deep
red. " I heard that 'but' when you said yes to me and
I realized the truth. I know there's a certain someone
with some strong feelings for you, and I know that I'm
not the one. You care for him as well, I assume?"
	" You know about Tofu-sensei?" she asked and
her cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red.
	" He seems to be a good guy, except that he
gets a little crazy whenever you come around the
clinic."
	" He's perfectly fine if it's a professional
matter," she explained, coming to her sweetheart's
defense. " Otherwise, it just takes him a few minutes
to calm down until he's himself again."
	" I hope that you two will be happy together,"
Ranma said with a thoughtful look on his face. He
stood and helped her to her feet. " Wanna' make a
deal?"
	" All right," she replied.
	" This stays between us," he said. " It
would only hurt Akane and give our fathers some
more silly ideas. Deal?"
	" What's in it for me?" she asked, teasing
him for a moment. He pretended to look hurt for
a moment.
	" Oneesan-," he began.
	" Deal," she quickly cut him off and held
out her hand with the pinky extended. His calling
her oneesan was good enough for her right now. It
would be sister in law before too long, she now
understood.
	" Deal," he answered, hooking his around
hers. " Again, I'm sorry about putting you through
all of this."
	" That's all right, Ranma," she smiled in
response. " I think it was best to have gotten
this out into the open before it became too much
of a problem."
	" You know," he added as they turned and
began to walk towards the kitchen. " I think
you're right. Want some help in the kitchen,
but for the right reasons this time?"


The End.



Author's notes.
	1. This is set shortly after the first appearance
         of Ryoga. The Saotomes have been at the Tendo's
         for about two months.
 	2. A few Japanese terms are used in this story.
	   1. oneesan - older sister
	   2. Ranma-chan is used to refer to Ranma in his
            female form.


Special thanks go to...


Rumiko Takahashi, of course

Luna and Artemis for kind words, support, and being
good friends.
  check out their page at
  http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9897/
  for the best Sailor Moon fan-fiction collection.

Chris Davies for inspiration.
  check out his page at
  http://www/ualberta.ca/~cdavies/hmpage.html

Amanda Anderson
and
Andrea Lam for being test readers extraordinaire.



Without all their help, this would not be
nearly as good as it is.





end. Freewill. {1/1}