*    *    *


                        Ranma Ichibunnoni
                        Episode Fourteen

                     "Stay With Me Tonight."

                           *    *    *

     "RANCHAN!" came a shout from outside.  
     Akane turned, a reflex action.  She was in a unique position
to see Ranko's face as it lit up in a smile that was blinding in
its sheer intensity.  When she smiled like that, her beauty shone
through, despite her tattered clothes and bedraggled look.  It was
like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, a metamorphosis
into a thing of beauty where before only potential had existed.  
     "UCCHAN!" yelled Ranko joyously.  Ranma absently caught the
rose out of the air.  His sister ran forward, tears of happiness
falling down her cheeks.
     The stranger ran in, arms outstretched.  Akane noticed that he
was quite handsome, his long hair flowing as he ran.  
     Ranko ran towards him. 
     He ran towards her.  He was crying too.
     Time slowed down, and Ranko opened her arms, still running
towards him.
     He ran past her, not even slowing down slightly.  Akane ran
that through her mind again.  What?
     Time sped up.  
     "RANCHAN!" he yelled, furiously hugging a rather surprised
Ranma.  
     Ranko stopped.  She turned around, ever-so-slowly, her eyes
wide as saucers (1).  Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came
out.  
     Akane looked at Ranko, then back at the stranger.  He was
still hugging Ranma and crying on him.  Ranma, for his part, was
staring in shock with his jaw open.  Akane frowned at the sight. 
True, the twins looked a lot alike--especially since Ranko had, up
until a minute ago, been dressed like Ranma (2).  But she rather
thought that it would be easy to tell which twin was which at the
moment because Ranko had only a bare modicum of modesty covering
her chest and Ranma hadn't taken to wearing D-cups (3).  Or, for
that matter, since the stranger seemed to be crying right into
Ranma's chest.  
     Ranko stepped forward shakily.  "Excuse me," she whispered,
barely audibly.  
     The stranger didn't reply.  Ranko didn't seem to have the
strength to try again.  Akane's sympathies flew to her, but she
held back from reaching out to Ranko.
     Ranma, recovered at last from having a strange boy leap into
his arms, pushed the boy away with both arms.  At this, the
stranger looked up, anger and surprise written on his face.  
     "Excuse me," Ranma said without much sympathy in his voice. 
He spun the boy around until he was facing Ranko.  "But I think
*that's* who you're looking for."  He gave the boy a push forward. 
     The boy gave a start, then whirled around to face him.  "Are
you trying to tell me I don't know my own fiance?"  Behind him,
Ranko's heart shattered and crumbled into pieces.  Tears were
streaming down her face; Akane didn't know if she'd ever stopped
crying at all, or just changed from tears of joy to tears of
anguish.
     "Well..." said Ranma, "Yes."  He spun the outraged boy around
again.  
     Ranko looked at him hopefully.  He sneered at her and turned
back to Ranma.  "You think I can't tell a boy from a girl?  How
could *she* be my husband?"  
     Ranko felt her hopes get smashed.  She started feeling faint,
like there wasn't enough air to breathe, except she wasn't
breathing, she was lying on the floor, and oh my wasn't the ceiling
beautiful?  And then everything mercifully went black (4).


(1)  Which isn't as difficult to do in an anime as it might be
otherwise.  

(2)  Something that had yet to be explained to Akane.  One might
wonder what her reaction might have been had this new stranger not
appeared providentially.  Alas, that's a story for another writer.

(3)  As far as Akane knew, anyway.  She wouldn't put it past him.

(4)  I have since had it pointed out to me that when people pass
out they fall *forward*.  I claim Ranma Physics as my excuse.  You
know, that same physics that allows people to change direction in
midair, make standing jumps onto two-story buildings, and have
Ryoga shatter walls with one finger?

                           *    *    *

     Akane ran over to where Ranko had fainted, worried.  Ranma
turned to the stranger angrily.  "Look what you did!" he yelled. 
"How *dare* you treat her that way!?"  
     The stranger pulled himself to his full height.  "Look what
*I* did?  I don't even know her!"  He stared at Ranma, baffled and
angry.  "Ranchan, have you forgotten the promise we made to each
other?"  
     Ranko moaned.  Akane smiled, though something deep inside told
her she should be crying instead.  "Hey there," she said softly to
the broken girl.  "Glad you're back in the land of the living.  We
were getting worried about you."  
     Ranko opened her eyes, and they immediately filled with tears. 
"Akane..." she said weakly.  
     Akane tried to blink away tears that threatened to form in her
eyes.  It wasn't working.  "It's okay," she soothed.  "I'm sure
he's just confused."  
     The stranger frowned.  "He?  He who?"  
     Akane whipped around and glared at him.  "You, you jerk!"  
     He stepped back a foot.  "But..."  
     Suddenly, he leapt out of the way.  Half a second later, the
ground where he was standing was little more than rubble.  Ryoga
stood up, shaking in anger.  "HOW *DARE* YOU?!" he yelled.  
     The stranger cocked his head.  "Do I know you?"  
     Ryoga slammed both his fists down on the ground next to the
stranger, who nimbly leapt out of the way.  "Any man who treats
Ranko-chan that way deserves to die!!"  
     The stranger looked confused.  "Any man?"  He shook his head,
as if to clear it.  "But I'm not a boy."  He undid his shirt and
showed them all the bandage over his chest.  "I'm a girl."  
     Ranko fainted again.
     The stranger turned back to Ranma.  "Don't you remember?  I'm
Ukyou Kuonji...your fiancee!"  
     Ranma stared dumbly.  "Not *mine*," he said, pointing at
Ranko, "*hers*."
     Ukyou shook her head.  "That's stupid.  Why would I want to
get married to a girl?"  
     "Because you're a boy, you idiot!!"
     Ukyou frowned.  "I thought I'd already proved that I was a
girl.  Do I have to expose myself to you?  Ranchan, I don't
understand.  Why are you doing this?  Are you in love with her?"  
     Ranma started shaking.  "SHE'S MY SISTER!!" he yelled.  
     Ukyou blinked.  "Really?  I never knew you had a sister," she
said.  "Older or younger?"  
     Ranma was red.  "MY *TWIN* SISTER!!"  
     Ukyou shook her head.  "Now that's silly.  If you had a twin
sister, you'd be triplets.  Where's your brother?"  
     Ranma was beginning to look dangerous.  "THAT *IS* MY
BROTHER!!" 
     Ukyou looked at the unconscious Ranko and back up at him. 
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think that's a girl."
     Ranma nearly hit her.  "I KNOW THAT!!"  
     Ukyou belatedly realized she was in danger and took a few
steps backwards.  Ranma didn't look remotely safe to be around. 
Akane realized she had never seen him this angry before.  She
started stepping back too, but she realized that would mean leaving
Ranko alone.  She turned back to the unconscious girl and tried to
wake her.  
     Ranma tried to control himself.  He took deep, measured
breaths.  He had to think of happy thoughts.  Like killing Ukyou. 
     Ukyou tossed her hair.  "Look, why don't you just calm down?" 
She smiled at Ranma.  "I think we've just had a slight
misunderstanding.  I'm sorry I hurt your sister.  But it's just a
simple mistake.  Nothing to stand in the way of our marriage,
right?"  
     Ranma turned purple.  Something inside him snapped.  He had
never particularly liked hitting girls, but he had nothing against
it, either.  Especially when they deserved it.  In his opinion,
Ukyou deserved it.  
     Ranma punched a surprised Ukyou hard in the face.  She flew
backwards into the table.  "You were my sister's hopes!  Her
dreams!  How *dare* you treat her that way!!"  
     Ukyou stumbled to her feet, fear in her eyes and blood on her
lips.  She got out a wicked-looking knife that Akane was surprised
to realize was really a spatula of some kind, but Ukyou didn't use
it.  "Ranchan," she begged, "please don't be angry.  I've come so
far, been waiting so long, just to see you smile again..."
     Ranma kicked her.  She took it mutely.  "How *dare* you be a
girl?!" he yelled.  
     Akane splashed cold water over him.  Instead of a raging bull,
he had become the equivalent of a wet and annoyed bull.  He calmed
down slightly.  Very slightly.  Akane put herself in between Ukyou
and him.  "Ranma," she said sympathetically.  "I understand how you
feel.  But hurting her won't make it any better."  
     Ranma snarled and tried to push past her.  Ukyou stood there,
waiting, wide eyes showing complete and utter surrender.  She
didn't understand.  Akane touched his arm.  "Please," she said
quietly.  "Please, don't be like this."  
     Ranma looked at her, and at Ukyou.  He deflated somewhat,
still angry but ashamed, too.  "Ukyou," he said slowly.  "I'm
Ranma.  She's Ranko.  We're twins.  And you're not engaged to me. 
You're engaged to HER."  
     Ukyou frowned.  "You keep saying that," she said.  "But I
don't think you know what it means."  
     The door opened and a familiar panda walked in.  Ukyou's jaw
dropped open.  Ranma saw and turned.  He grabbed his father by the
neck.  "Pop," he said.  "You've got some explaining to do!!"  
     The panda frantically held up a sign.  'I'm innocent!'  Ranma
hit him on the head.  Akane was already boiling hot water.  She
splashed it over the panda.  It turned into Genma.  Ukyou's jaw
couldn't drop any further, but her mouth stayed open.  The water
woke Ranko up, too.  
     "Well, well," Genma said nervously.  "If it isn't little
Ukyou."   
     Ukyou looked at him and blinked.  Then she blushed and bowed
low.  "Yes, sir.  How do you do?  I have come to hold you to your
promise."  
     Genma grinned nervously.  "Promise?  What--oh, *that* promise. 
That's all right.  You don't have to, really!  Hahaha!"  
     Ranma punched him in the head.  Ranko sat up, staring blankly
at the wall.  Ryoga sat down in front of her.  "Ranko-chan?" he
asked.  She didn't respond.  He touched her shoulder tenderly. 
"Ranko?" he tried again.  Nothing.  He frowned, then grabbed a
glass of water and left the room.  A second later, the sound of
splashing came from the other room.  Ryo-chan walked in and jumped
into Ranko's lap.  She grabbed him and hugged him to her, still
staring blankly into space.  
     Ranma grabbed his father by the shirt.  "What's the deal,
Pop?" he demanded.  
     Ukyou turned to Ranma's father, surprised and angry.  "Mr.
Saotome?  Didn't you even tell him about the engagement?"  
     Genma turned pale.  "Er, yes, of course I did!" he said
quickly.  Meanwhile, Ryo-chan wondered if jumping into Ranko's lap
had been such a good idea.  She was hugging him rather tightly.  He
was beginning to see stars.
     Ranma shook him.  "Yeah, but it was between RANKO and Ukyou,
old man!"  
     Genma frowned.  "Come to think of it, I think you're right,"
he said, scratching his head.  "Wait a second, and I'll get the
contract."  He started to leave.  
     Akane stood in his way.  "Why don't you tell me where it is,"
she suggested, "and I'll get it for you.  No sense having you get
lost."  Her face didn't match the sweetness in her words.  Nor did
the large rolling pin she was carrying in her hand.  Genma nodded
nervously and told her.  
     Ukyou turned to him.  "You married me to a GIRL??  How could
you do such a thing?"  
     Genma squirmed.  "It wasn't like that," he said.  Akane came
back in, carrying a document with her.  
     "Let me see that," said Nabiki, taking it from her.  She
started reading through it.  Everybody was silent.  "Let's see...
The party of the first part declares that the party of the second
part shall be...standard legal document...let's just skip a few
paragraphs...the aforementioned party shall...ah!"
     She looked back up, smiling.  Everybody waited.  "I've got
it," she said.  So not to ruin the dramatic tension of the moment,
she decided to bill them later.  "It says here that Mr. Kuonji is
to marry his child to Mr. Saotome's child.  Names aren't given." 
     Genma frowned.  "Well, yes, but I always assumed his *son*
would marry my daughter..."  
     Nabiki shook her head.  "No mention of gender in it at all." 
     Ranma hit his father on the head.  "Stupid father!"
     Ukyou frowned.  "Excuse me," she said.  Everybody looked at
her.  "I'm sorry, but what seems to be the problem, exactly?  Could
somebody explain to me what you're all talking about?"
     Nabiki smiled.  "Well, it seems that everybody *here* thought
that you were a boy--including Ranko, the person you're in love
with.  And the one Mr. Saotome engaged you to."  
     Ukyou stared at her, then at the girl sitting quietly in the
corner.  Then she looked back at Nabiki, horrified.  "WHAT?!?"  
     Nabiki pointed to Ranma.  "HE," she said, "is the other twin. 
As in, *not* the one who you're in love with.  And not the one
you're engaged to."
     Ukyou's gaze snapped back to Ranma, horror-stricken.  "What?"
she asked again.  
     Ranma nodded.  "Uh, I think that's about right," he agreed.
     "What?" asked Ukyou again, brokenly.
     "Do you ever say anything else?" asked Nabiki.
     "What!?" demanded Ukyou, still looking at Ranma and Genma, who
were fighting.
     "You stupid old man!" raged Ranma, "This is all your fault!" 
He kicked Genma in the stomach.
     "Calm down, boy!" said Genma, blocking a punch thrown at his
face.  "I tell you it's not my fault!  Besides, I never expected to
see Ukyou again!"
     "WHAT?!?" she yelled.  Genma and Ranma stopped and looked at
her.  Genma turned pale.  Ranma's eyes grew wide.  Ukyou grabbed a
huge spatula from her back and slashed at them.  "HOW *DARE* YOU
MAKE A FOOL OF ME THAT WAY?!?"  
     Ranma dodged upwards, Genma downwards.  The spatula cut clean
through the middle, slicing through a chair.  She swung again.  "DO
YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH??" she demanded, attacking
furiously.  Ranma twisted and turned as he realized the kitchen
wasn't designed for mid-air martial arts.  Pots and pans fell down
to the ground, creating a horrible racket.
     "Oh my," said Kasumi.  "I do hope nothing breaks."  
     Ukyou gasped for breath, letting her two targets breathe as
well.  "Do you know," she gasped, "what torture I've faced?"  She
took out five small spatulas and threw them like shuriken, nearly
slicing off Ranma's pigtail as he dodged out of the way.  Ukyou
swung towards Ranko.  She raised her spatula again, but the sight
of Ranko huddled on the floor made her pause.
     Ranma took advantage of her momentary lull and jumped down in
front of her.  He grabbed the handle of her spatula and kicked her
into the refrigerator.  "Stop that!" he said.  "Look, I'm sorry,
okay?  But you're not the only one hurt by this!"  
     Ukyou stood back up and grabbed her spatula back angrily. 
Ranma sighed.  "Tell me, what could you have possibly gone through
to make you want to kill me?"
     Ukyou's eyes glittered with rage.  "I..." she said, "have been
through HELL!!"  She smashed the dishes along the wall as Ranma
ducked under her attack.  
     He suddenly popped up in front of her face.  "Now you sound
like Ryoga," he said.  "And that doesn't answer my question." 
Ukyou yelped and fell backwards.  By the time she slashed upwards,
Ranma was gone.  
     "Damn you," she snarled.  "Ever since you ran away and left me
alone, I've had to dress like a boy!"  
     Ranma shrugged.  "Even *before* we left you dressed like a
boy.  Hey, wait.  What do you mean, ran away?"  
     Ukyou charged him.  "You were supposed to take me with you,
you jerk!"  The table fell into two pieces as she sliced cleanly
through it, Ranma agilely leaping above it.  "And not just dressed
like a boy--I've had to *be* a boy!"  She hit him with her spatula
as he landed.  He smashed into the wall.  "And it's all *your*
fault!"  
     Ranma quickly ducked and tripped her.  She flew into his arms,
surprised.  He turned her around and pointed her at Genma. 
"Waitasec," he said.  "HE'S the one you should be angry at, not me. 
I was only six at the time!"  
     Akane covered her face.  "Oh, *that* was just great, Ranma." 
     Ukyou looked at Genma.  He smiled nervously, backing away. 
She leapt forward.  "YES!" she screamed.  "You will DIE!!" 
     Genma put his hands in front of him.  "Wait!  Wait!  I'll make
it up to you!"
     Ukyou grabbed his shirt and put her spatula's edge to his
neck.  "I'm waiting," she said darkly.
     Genma sweated.  "Well," he said nervously, "Uh...the contract
only said children, right?"  He glanced at Nabiki, who nodded. 
"You wouldn't happen to have a brother, would you?"  
     Everybody facefaulted.  Amazingly, Ukyou managed to do this
without losing her grip on him.  "No!" she shouted.  "I'm an only
child!  And now I'm going to make *your* children into orphans!" 
     Genma sweated even more.  "Well...er..."
     Ukyou's grip tightened.  Akane stepped forward.  "Wait a
second, Ukyou," she said.  "Would you kill a defenceless man?"  
     Ukyou turned to her thoughtfully.  She looked back at Genma. 
He smiled nervously at her.  She turned back to Akane.  "Yes," she
said, then returned to throttling him.  
     Akane grabbed her hand.  "Stop that!  Have you no honor?"  
     Ukyou spun around, dropping Genma, who quickly slid under a
portion of the table that was still standing.  "What do you mean?"
she asked.
     Akane pointed at the contract.  "Well," she began, "If you
kill him, you'll be violating the contract."  
     Ukyou shook her head.  "That contract was invalid since the
day it was signed."  
     Nabiki cheerfully walked in between them.  "Nope, I'm afraid
it's all quite legal."
     Akane nodded smugly.  "There, see?"
     Ukyou let go of Genma and laughed bitterly.  "I have to marry
a girl?"  
     Genma shook his head even as he breathed in the sweet air. 
"Of course not.  All you have to do is marry Ranma."  He smiled.  
     Akane smiled, too.  "See?  All you have to do is marr--"  She
stopped.  Then she grabbed Genma by the throat.  "What do you mean,
marry Ranma?" she said in flat tones.
     "I have two children!  Ukyou can marry Ranma!" said Genma,
trying to avoid being strangled again.
     Ranma paused.  "Hey," he said uncertainly, "Wait a second..."
     Ukyou looked at him, then back at Genma.  "And *that's*
supposed to make it up to me?"  Genma sweated.  "After all I've
been through?"  
     "...you can't do that," Ranma finished.  
     Nabiki shook her head.  "Sorry, Ranma, he can.  It's all right
here in the contract."   
     Akane started throttling Genma.  "How can you sell your own
children like that!?"
     Nabiki raised an eyebrow and smiled.  "But Akane, I didn't
think you wanted to marry Ranma."
     Akane stopped, blushing.  "Wait--it's not that--"
     Ranma butted in.  "Yeah, and who'd want to marry a kawaiikune
tomboy like her anyway?"
     Akane grabbed him by the shirt.  "I was trying to *help* you,
you baka!"  
     Nabiki ignored Ranma's yell of protest as she turned to Ukyou,
who was looking at this with a confused expression on her face. 
"You see, Ukyou, there's nothing you can do about it."  
     Ukyou glared menacingly at her.  "Says who?"
     Nabiki smiled, not intimidated by her in the slightest. 
"Girl, calm down and think about it.  You came here looking to
marry Ranma, right?"  
     Ukyou paused, trying to work out her feelings.  She nodded
hesitantly.  Nabiki went on before the confused girl could change
her mind.  "And you're going to marry Ranma if this works out,
right?"  Ukyou nodded, even more hesitantly this time.  "So what's
the big deal?  Just forget this last half hour ever happened!
     Ukyou stared at her.  "But Ranma's NOT Ranma!"
     Nabiki gazed at her cooly.  "Do tell," she said.
     "I mean, that Ranma's not MY Ranma!" said Ukyou.
     "He will be if you agree to this," said Nabiki.
     Ukyou's mouth opened and shut again.  "That's not what I
mean!" she said.  "I want my Ranchan!"
     Nabiki pointed at Ranko.  "Well, if your tastes run to that
sort of thing, we could work something out..."
     "NO!!" screamed Ukyou.  "I...WANT...MY...RANCHAN!!"
     Nabiki shook her head.  "Ukyou-san, look.  We're both women of
the world.  You're mature enough to realize that you can't always
get what you want.  Your 'Ranchan' doesn't exist.  But does it
really matter?"  Her voice had lowered to the dark tones of a
conspirator.
     "Of COURSE it matters!" said Ukyou.
     "How?" challenged Nabiki.
     There was a long pause.
     "Er...well..." said Ukyou, "It's not the same."
     "How is Ranma different from the Ranma you wanted?"
     "He..." said Ukyou.  "I..." she tried again.  "It's just not
the same," she finished weakly.  
     Nabiki tch'ed and shook her head again.  "That's a defeatist
attitude.  You've got to think positive.  The only difference
between your expectations and the real Ranma is that Ranma hasn't
been in love with you, and Ranko has."
     "There!" exclaimed Ukyou brightly.  "I knew there was a
difference!"
     "But does that really matter?" asked Nabiki.  "I mean, it's
not as if you knew anything about him anyways."
     "But I..." said Ukyou.
     "And he hardly knows anything about you, either.  So the
obvious thing to do is to get to know him better."  Nabiki smiled
at her and clasped her hands together.
     Ukyou frowned.  "Well..." she said, then stopped.  "I...guess
so," she said finally, sounding as if the words were being dragged
out of her.  Her hands dropped to her sides.  Genma breathed a sigh
of relief.
     Mr. Tendo walked in.  "What's all this noise?!" he demanded.
     Ukyou looked at him, then at the remains of the kitchen.  "Oh,
hello.  You must be Mr. Tendo?  I'm Ukyou, Ranma's fiancee.  Thanks
for the hospitality--sorry about the house."
     Mr. Tendo looked at what his kitchen had become.  "Oh, I see,"
he said.  "Well, at least you're polite about it."  Then something
clicked in and he spun on Ranma.  "FIANCEE?!?" he screamed.  
     "Um," said Ranma hesitantly.  That was all the answer Mr.
Tendo needed.  He grabbed at Ranma.  Ranma dodged out of the way
and into the hallway, running.  Mr. Tendo chased after him.
     Ukyou turned to Nabiki.  "Why is he upset?" she asked her.  
     Nabiki smiled.  "Long story.  You see?  Just forget this ever
happened, and everybody has a happy ending, right?"
     "Not everybody," said Akane quietly, looking at a girl crying
in the corner, and feeling her own heart sinking along with the
spirits of the girl she'd thought would never cry.  

                           *    *    *

     Ranma tiredly walked up to his room.  He didn't appreciate
being nearly killed several times in one day.  Or, for that matter,
even once in a day.  He wearily tried the door.  
     It didn't open.  
     Ranma frowned.  He tried again.  Stuck.  He knocked.  "Hello?"
he said.  
     Genma walked up behind him.  "It's no use, boy.  Ranko's
locked herself in there.  We'll just have to climb in the window." 
     Ranma turned to his father and kicked him down the stairs. 
Akane walked past him blithely on her way upstairs.  Nobody was
really sympathetic towards Mr. Saotome tonight.  
     Ranma sighed and turned to Akane.  "Akane, can we talk?"  
     Akane blinked.  "Sure, Ranma.  Come on in."  She led the way
to her room, closing the door behind him.  She sat on the bed.  He
looked around for a chair.  There wasn't any.  He blushed.
     "What's wrong, Ranma?"  
     "Uh...do you have a chair or something I can sit on?" he
stammered.     
     Akane's eyebrows went up.  "Why don't you just sit here, next
to me?"  Had he changed his mind about her?  So Ukyou was cute.  So
what?  Or maybe...maybe she'd read too much into his words, last
time.  
     To her great relief, Ranma sat down next to her.  If anything,
he looked even more nervous than before.  
     "So what's up?" asked Akane, trying to put him at ease.
     Ranma sighed unhappily.  "It's Ranko," he said.  Akane nodded. 
She'd have been surprised if it hadn't been.  "I...I don't know
what to do, Akane," he admitted.
     Akane blinked.  "Well...you know her better than I do, Ranma." 
     Ranma frowned.  "That's just it.  I know her too well."  
     Akane blinked again.  "What are you talking about?"  
     Ranma sighed.  "Akane, I...look.  I've always known she's been
having a tough time.  There was nobody there for her when she
needed it most, in a way.  I was the only person she could count on
to be there...but a lot of the time, I couldn't help her.  Like,
well..."  Ranma blushed a deep red.  "...like her first period. 
Neither of us knew what it meant.  She thought she was dying. 
Nobody ever told her otherwise.  She told me a lot of things then."
     Akane reached out and took his hand in mute sympathy.  "She
put too much of her soul into him, Akane," he said.  "Into her. 
Ukyou, I mean.  Too much of her hopes and dreams.  I think she knew
she'd be disappointed, but she sorta thought she could forge the 
dream she saw from the reality she got with enough work.  I think
she could'a withstood him being just about anything--a scoundrel,
a liar, a cheat--anything but this."  He sighed.  Akane touched his
shoulder in mute sympathy.  
     He suddenly looked up at her.  "You ever wonder why her
attacks are so wild?  Why she never really focuses in combat?"  He
smiled crookedly at her.  Akane blinked again, confused by his
sudden change of topic but feeling his pain, letting him talk out
his problems.  
     "No, Ranma," she said.  "Why?"  
     He smiled bitterly.  "She used to love the wilderness.  Hiking
and camping and even swimming...in pools, I mean--the indoor type,
without any fish in 'em.  Which helped--I mean, since we did so
much hiking and camping anyway.  But now that she's cursed--she
can't swim any more, and there's something about the dew on the
grass in the morning or something that she says makes her change if
she's not wary when she wakes up.  Even just being outside when it
rains is out, and we can't afford to stay indoors, so we're stuck
here with you.  I mean...it's not that you're bad people or
nothing...it's just taking charity that bugs her...and me, I
guess." 
     Akane nodded and made encouraging noises.  He sighed. 
"There's a lot of things she loves that she can't touch anymore. 
She's had to live with frustration.  Like being surrounded by water
and not able to drink it."
     Akane didn't know enough about the curse to know if that was
a figure of speech or a literal problem.  "That's terrible," she
said.  
     Ranma sighed.  "I used to think she put too much of herself
into her fiance--and me.  I always worried what would happen if he
turned out to be a real jerk."
     Akane frowned.  "But I thought you said you were friends with
him."
     It was Ranma's turn to frown.  "When did I say that?  Oh,
well, it doesn't matter.  Yeah, sure, I guess you could say we were
friends once--but it was more that she liked him, and I love her. 
What else could I do about it?  But...well, I had to give him a
hard time--I mean, he was gonna marry my sister, right?  Of course
I had to."  
     Akane smiled, something clicking in her mind.  "And that's why
Ranko was so hard on me?"  
     Ranma looked up, startled.  "What?  What're you talking about,
Akane?"  
     Akane's smile grew mischievous.  "Don't worry about it,
Ranma," she suggested.  "Go on."  
     Ranma looked suspicious.  "Uh, sure," he said.  "I guess...I
dunno.  I always hoped nothing bad would ever happen to her.  But
it kept happening.  I should have stopped it, or at least made it
better."
     Akane hit him on the arm.  "Ow!" he complained.  "Whaddya do
that for?"  
     Akane looked him in the eye.  "Ranma, that's the stupidest
thing you've said yet."  Ranma started to protest.  "Shut up and
listen, Ranma!" she said.  "You can't help what happens to her, any
more than you can help it if it rains!  Things like this...this
*thing* with Ukyou, or the curse, they aren't your fault!"
     Ranma snorted in disbelief.  "You haven't heard the whole
story yet, Akane."
     Akane's hands balled into fists.  "Look, Ranma--if someone
beat her up, would that be your fault?"
     Ranma looked at her, surprised.  "Of course not.  I mean, she
can take care of herself.  Heck, she can beat me half the time!" 
He quickly amended himself.  "Well, maybe a quarter of the time. 
Tops.  But that's good for a girl."
     Akane smiled in triumph, ignoring the indirect insult. 
"Exactly!  She can take care of herself!  And she does, too. 
Better than most people I know, Ranma.  And she takes care of you
too, when she can.  But it's not her whole life!  And she shouldn't
be yours."  Her tone softened.  "Right now, the only thing...the
best thing you can do for her...is be there for her when she's
ready to ask for help."  
     Ranma looked surprised, then nodded.  "But...er...she's locked
herself in the room."
     "Oh.  Well, I guess now isn't the right time.  She probably
doesn't want any company right now.  Well... maybe you should wait
until tomorrow, then."
     Ranma nodded wearily.  He stood up.  Then he sat down again.
"Ack!" he said.  "I don't have anywhere to sleep!"  
     Akane hesitated.  "Um, Ranma..."
     He looked up at her.  "Huh?"
     She smiled tentatively.  "You could, um, sleep *here*...I
mean, if you want to..."
     Ranma recoiled.  "What?!?"  
     Akane got defensive.  "I didn't mean it like that, you
pervert!  On the floor!  On a sleeping mat!"  
     Ranma was as far away as he could get from her.  "Hey!  It's
not that!  Who'd want to sleep with a kawaiikune tomboy like you,
anyway?  You are *so* uncute!"
     Akane winced.  "I thought...I mean...well, I was hoping we
could avoid that again."  She took a deep breath and looked down,
blushing.  "Ranma...I'm sorry I called you a pervert.  Couldn't we
make up and try to get along?"
     Ranma blinked.  "Uh..."  He looked at her.  Could it be?  Was
she actually...cute?!?  "Sure," he concluded.  Akane smiled.  "Man,
what's got into you, Akane?" he asked.  "You're so *nice*.  What
did you do with the real Akane Tendo?  You know, the one who can't
cook, who's dumb as a--" 
     "Ranma!"  Akane shook.  "What about everything you said?"  
     Ranma blinked.  "Everything I said?"  
     Akane sighed.  "I'm sorry, Ranma."  
     Ranma cocked his head at her.  "Are you feeling all right,
Akane?  You just apologized twice in a row."  
     Akane glared at him, exasperated.  "Look, Ranma.  I've been
thinking about what you said..."
     Ranma opened his mouth.  "But--"
     Akane put a finger on his lips.  "Wait.  Don't say anything. 
Hear me out.  Please?"
     Ranma stilled.  Akane smiled and took her finger away.  "I've
been thinking about it, and what you told me.  And I've decided."
     Ranma opened his mouth.  "You've decided?  Akane--"
     She put a finger on his lips again.  "I know.  But I have to
do this."  She took a deep breath.  "I'm sorry, Ranma.  But it's
not enough."  She started crying.  
     Ranma was taken aback.  "Akane, what the heck are you talking
about?"
     Akane sniffed, still crying.  "I'm sorry, Ranma.  But I need
more than that.  I need you to be nice, and think of me, and...I
don't know.  But it hurts when you insult me!  Over and over and
over!"  
     Ranma blinked.  "Uh..." he said wittily.  "Akane...I never
knew you felt that way."  
     Akane smiled thinly through her tears.  "What, didn't me
beating you to a pulp tell you anything?"  
     Ranma shrugged.  "Well, yeah, sure, but you never *said*
anything."  
     Akane stared at him incredulously.  "NOBODY could be that
stupid," she concluded.  "Not even you."  
     "Hey!" yelled Ranma.  "Wait," he said, reconsidering.  "Was
than an insult or a compliment?"  
     Akane smiled.  "That depends.  Will you try to be nice to me?"
     Ranma paused, nervous.  "Uh...but...Akane...I mean...ah..." 
Akane smiled, waiting for his answer.  He turned red.  "Sure, I
*guess* so, I mean, I'll *try*, but I--"
     Ranma was cut off as Akane kissed him.  
     Akane sat back and opened her eyes.  "Mm," she said.  "That
was much better than last night."  
     Ranma didn't say anything in return.  His eyes had a glazed
look to them, Akane noted.  She waved a hand in front of his face. 
"Ranma?" she asked.  He didn't respond.  "Ranma, are you okay?" she
asked again, getting worried.  She grabbed his shoulders.  "Ranma? 
Speak to me!"  
     Ranma puffed out his breath.  "Wha--" he managed, then fell
silent.  "Akane?" he tried again.  "Guh," he commented.  He shut
his eyes, then opened them again.  "I...uh...think maybe I should
go," he said.  
     Akane grabbed his arm.  "Oh, no.  Not again," she said. 
"Ranma, I know you can't give me everything."
     Ranma looked at her.  "You do?"  
     She smiled tenderly.  "Of course I do, baka."  He frowned. 
She sighed.  "I'm sorry.  I'll try not to call you that."  
     His frown deepened.  "What?"
     Akane ignored him.  "After you left, I started crying, but I
couldn't figure out why.  Later on, I realized it was because you
left so abruptly, almost as if you hated me for it.  I wasn't sure
you really meant it.  Please stay with me tonight."
     Ranma frowned.  "If it's staying here overnight that bothers
you, don't worry," said Akane.  She sighed.  "I thought you'd
changed, Ranma.  If I was wrong, I'm very sorry."  
     Ranma looked at her oddly.  "Akane," he said, "I--".  Then he
shut up.  "First things first," he said.  She looked up at him
quizzically.  "I guess, I wouldn't mind staying here...if you don't
mind, I mean," he finished in a hurry.  
     Akane blinked.  "I invited you to--of *course* I don't mind!"
     Ranma shrugged embarrassedly.  "Um, right.  Well...about the
rest?"  Akane looked at him, searching for something.  He coughed
nervously.  "Um...Akane.  I guess...um...I'm glad you said...what
you did," he said.  She broke out into a smile.  "And I guess I can
get along with you."  Her smile grew.  "But could you do me a
favour?"  
     She nodded happily.  "Of course, Ranma!  What?"  
     Ranma leaned in closer, with eyes that searched hers.  "Tell
me what *else* I said to you last night.  Every...last...word."  

                           *    *    *

     Ranko sat back up on her futon.  Ryo-chan nervously poked her
with his snout.  She smiled at him, a weak, timid smile.  Her eyes
were red-rimmed, the product of hours of crying.
     Ranko sighed.  "I keep wanting to wake up and realize this has
all been one big nightmare."  Ryo-chan squealed.  "You're right." 
She sighed.  "It's real, and I have to face it sometime.  But why
not later?"  
     She sighed again.  Her tears were all long since spent.  "I
keep feeling like everybody's betrayed me.  Ukyou, Father, Mother,
Ranma, Akane, everybody."  
     "I was hoping for a knight in shining armour on a white
charger, and I got Maid Marian."  She didn't bother laughing at her
own joke.  It wasn't particularly funny to her, anyway.  "I can't
help feeling like I've wasted my whole life.  Like if I were to
just disappear today, nobody would notice."
     She sighed.  Ryo-chan rubbed against her.  She absently
stroked him.  "And the worst part is, I'm all alone.  Not right
now...alone in the world, I mean.  Before, I had my brother and my
father and my fiance.  My brother is going to get married, my
father's been keeping secrets from me, and my fiance isn't the man
I thought he was.  Or even a man at all.  I'm all alone.  Nobody
loves me."
     Ryo-chan squealed to show her she wasn't alone, that *he*
still loved her.  She laughed. "If I can't count on anybody else,
you're still here for me, aren't you?  That's sweet of you."  She
kissed him, shutting him up.  Then she sighed.  "Nobody else *is*
there for me, are they?"  
     Ryo-chan tried to squeal a negative.  She sighed.  "Well...
maybe Ranma.  But...not like before.  He's changed.  We've both
changed, but...this time, we've grown apart."  She sighed.  "I
guess I could count on Akane if I had to...but he cares about her
more..."
     Ryo-chan made an inquisitive squeal.  She smiled at him.  "I
know, but it's true.  He saved her, and not me.  He had a choice
between her and me in that fight, and when it came down to it, he
chose her.  His gut instinct.  He didn't have time to think about
it.  I've already lost him.  That stupid Ryoga!"  Her hands shook. 
Ryo-chan squealed a sad little squeal, his piggy shoulders
drooping.  
     Ranko looked at him in surprise.  "Oh, not *you*," she said. 
"Ryoga.  The big one."  Ryo-chan tried to smile.  He failed
miserably.  Luckily for him, Ranko wasn't an expert at interpreting
porcine facial features.  
     She sighed, and fell back onto the futon.  "Well...I guess it
wasn't his fault...I mean, it's not like he was trying to hurt me
or anything.  And he was so apologetic, afterwards.  I suppose it
had to come sometime...sort of like finding out your best friend is
dating your boyfriend."  
     Ryo-chan would have raised an eyebrow if he had one.  Instead,
he squealed a sort of questioning squeal.  Ranko threw a pillow at
the wall.  "ARRRGH!" she yelled.  "I *hate* my life!"  She fell
back, exhausted.  Ryo-chan walked on top of her and nuzzled her
face.  
     She sighed.  "Oh, don't worry, Ryo-chan.  I'm not *that* badly
off."  She smiled at him, a wan, tired smile full of pain.  "I just
wish sometimes that I had never been born.  It seems like life
would be a lot easier that way."  
     She sighed again.  "And maybe Ranma wouldn't have so many
problems.  You know, I bet if I left him he'd be married to Akane
before the month ended."  She smiled at that picture.  Then her
smile faded.  "But not with me here."  
     She looked at Ryo-chan.  "What should I do, Ryo-chan?"  Ryo-
chan tried to put all the sympathy he could muster into his squeal. 
She smiled, and he felt gratified.  
     "You're right," said Ranko.  "I should run away."  Ryo-chan
facefaulted.  Ranko ignored him and continued.  "Everybody would be
better off.  And I wouldn't be hurting anybody."
     Ryo-chan squealed in protest.  Ranko ignored him.  She yawned,
finally having set her mind at ease.  It had been a long night. 
"Sure," she murmured sleepily, "That's what I'll do.  Run away.  In
the morning.  I'll go..." she yawned "...to the school, first, and
get my stuff.  Nobody'll expect me to go there on a Saturday..."
     Ranko felt her eyes closing against her will.  It was like a
dam had burst, and suddenly she felt more tired than she ever had
been before in her life.  She drifted off to sleep, knowing but
somehow not caring that she'd have a kink in her neck when she woke
up.  
     And over her, a small black piglet stood silent vigil.

                     End of Episode Fourteen