DISCLAIMER: Ranma Nibunnoichi is the property of Takahashi Rumiko,
Shogakukan Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video. It is used without
their permission and is not intended for profit but only for the
enjoyment of fans of the Ranma series. All characters within this fic
that are not the property of the above mentioned are copyrighted to the
author, Joseph Kohle, January 1997. This work of fiction is the result
of the author's hard work and is for the enjoyment of others. Please do
not change, modify, or use any segment of this story without the
author's knowing and written consent. Feel free to archive this work.

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

                       Meiyo Ai soshite Nikushimi

                       A Ranma Nibunnoichi Fanfic
                            by Joseph Kohle

       		        Part IV: Separate Paths
                    Chapter V Transient Foundations



                              -- 1 -- 

                       
     Lifting the glass, Nabiki rotated her wrist in a gentle loop and
watched the dark liquid roll within the glass. Bringing the glass to her
lips, she let a small sip of the dark liquid touch her tongue and roll
around her mouth. She savored the sharp bitter taste of the wine, swal-
lowing just before the tingling disappeared from the surface of her
tongue. Continuing to roll the liquid in the glass, she kept a watchful
eye on the darkened interior of the restaurant, the same one she had met
Yoshioka in the previous time.
     This time she was the one who had arrived early. In truth, Yoshioka
was running late, nearly a quarter of an hour late. The delay was fray-
ing Nabiki's already taut nerves. Although she had been ecstatic after
she read the letter his son had delivered to her, Nabiki's enthusiasm
had cooled like a coal taken from the fire. Her initial confidence had
been crumbled as if the coal were crushed beneath a foot. 
     The quickness of his reply, at first vindicating her work, had
become shadowed with doubt. It was rare that anything was ever acted
upon with that amount of alacrity in the business world, unless it was a
refusal. Any proposal had to be debated and looked at from several
angles before it could become an acceptance. It depended on who Yoshioka
was forced to go through to get approval. Her best hope was that only he
was required to look at the proposal himself, but the chances of that
were as good as the chances of winning by betting on Gosunkugi.
     The possibility that the deal might fall through had terrifying
consequences for not only Ranma but now her younger sister. Even if she
hadn't been tricked into doing this by Ranma, her sister's pregnancy
forced her to do everything within her limited abilities to ensure
Ranma's safe return. If the deal fell through...
     Grinding her teeth in frustration, Nabiki took another sip from
her glass and placed it on the table. Her sister's pregnancy angered
her. It was one more thing added to an already heaping platter of
troubles for both herself, her family, and her estranged and reluctant
future brother-in-law. No, she corrected herself. Ranma was no longer
engaged to Akane, and so a slippery and delicate situation was made even
more untenable. 
     Lifting her glass and downing half the contents, Nabiki returned
to her sister's pregnancy. What could have possessed her sister to get
pregnant? Nabiki shook her head. That was an unfair and callous ques-
tion. Pregnancy was the last thing on Akane's immediate goals. But
couldn't her sister have made at least a pretense at trying to prevent
Ranma from coercing her into sex? And Ranma could have had the common
sense to know when it was going too far. But, she realized even those
wishes were being unfair. There was nothing either of them could have
done to prevent what had happened. 
     Nabiki knew that her younger sister and Ranma were people who were
invariably ruled by emotion instead of reason. When it came to each
other, however, they instinctively denied everything and so it was
allowed to build and fester. At some point, they both, like the pressure
building beneath a fault line, needed a release which generaly took the
form of their fights or Ranma's fights with others. When the violent
reaction had been beyond Ranma, the quake had become an earth-shattering
outpouring of love. 
     In her own way, Nabiki understood what had happened. She rarely
allowed herself to feel anything. When she did, it was only around her
family and then it was a feeling of comfort or annoyance. Her emotions
were kept tightly in hand, like the horses of a chariot, only allowed to
deviate a few steps left or right from her center. Some days, however,
the disappointments and stresses built upon her like snow upon the
mountain until it became overwhelming. It only took a small thing for an
avalanche to begin, but when it did, it was all she could do to make it
to her room and turn up the music on her stereo before her world
collapsed around her. There, she would curl up on her bed and cry, her
body-racking sobs muffled by her pillows and heavy blankets so that no
one would hear her weakness. It didn't happen often, but Nabiki couldn't
count the number of times it had happened since her mother's death on
her fingers.
     The same thing had happened with Ranma and Akane. Too much had been
placed on them in a short time to be able to deal with it on any level
other than a very physical one. She could not blame Ranma for his
actions anymore than she could blame her sister. Even without blame, the
situation was stressful and dangerous. The fact that Akane was trying to
hide it was only making matters worse. Rubbing a fingerover her temple,
Nabiki finished off the wine. The subtle complexities of the situation
and the far reaching effects were giving her a headache.
     "Heavy thoughts and worries do not become you, Nabiki-san." Blink-
ing, Nabiki glanced up to see Yoshioka Satoru standing opposite her at
the table, a slightly amused smile on his thin lips. "I believe I prefer
you as the parka that sheds its worries like water." 
     Bowing her head at his words, Nabiki set her glass on the table as
she switched her track of thinking and slipped into a business manner.
Focusing on one thing, to the exclusion of all others, was a trick she
had picked up a few months after she had taken over the responsibility
of the family accounts. Now, it came in handy to keep her calm and
collected within any situation. Gracefully rising to her feet, Nabiki
bowed to the older man. "Konban wa, Yoshioka-san," she said. "Thank you
for inviting me here once more. I hope it is an omen of what is to
come."
     Inclining his head, Yoshioka motioned at the table. "I should be
greeting you and asking forgiveness for my tardiness, but let us relax
first and get something to eat and drink." Nodding in agreement, Nabiki
knelt down on the plush, silk-covered zabuton adorning her place at the
table, while Yoshioka settled onto his zabuton and unbuttoned his dark
blazer. Motioning for the waitress, Yoshioka spoke a few words to the
serving girl and then sent her off. She immediately returned with a
martini for him and another glass of wine for Nabiki. "I hope you don't
mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for you."
     Nabiki frowned mentally. She was perfectly capable of ordering for
herself, but she wasn't about to insult him by saying that out loud.
"That was very kind of you."
     "But you don't like it, do you?" Satoru asked with a half-smile.
     "I never said that."
     "Of course you didn't, but you are very independent. It is one of
your most admirable qualities. It is rare to find your spirit combined
with your intelligence and refinement in a woman these days. Most are
either forced into their roles in the home, or they find they must prove
themselves in the world by working against it. Maybe it is an affliction
of our society, but to find one such as yourself, confident in your own
means, ambitious, but tactful, is a rarity that I find compelling and
interesting. It is one of the reasons I asked you here tonight."
     "And the other is?"
     "Why don't we talk about that over dinner and some sake?" Satoru
suggested. "It is the most appropriate way to celebrate our new business
arrangement, Tendou-san."
     Nabiki felt the tension that had been in her shoulders run off like
melt from a glacier. They had come to an agreement. Even her sister's
pregnancy disappeared as a giddy feeling of accomplishment washed over
her. "I am honoured, Yoshioka-san."
     "It is what you deserved." Yoshioka-san shrugged. He glanced
around, observing the restaurant. Turning back to her, Nabiki found him
to be serious once again. "It will be some time before our meal arrives.
Why don't we discuss the arrangement now, before we begin celebrating?"
     "That would be the appropriate course of action," Nabiki agreed,
sipping at her wine as she kept a tight rein on her emotions. She knew
her face was as calm as ever, but just underneath the surface she wanted
to shout out in jubilation.
     "First let me say that my company, Mishimata Incorporated, is very
interested in your proposal, but only on a few conditions." Yoshioka
reached into his dark suit coat and pulled out an envelope. Opening it,
he withdrew a thick sheath of folded paper and unfolded it, laying it on
the table.
     "You were actually lucky to get even this agreement, Tendou-san.
Although I was going to endorse the agreement between us for my own
reasons, I thought it prudent to check with my supervisor. He, in turn,
passed the proposal up the line until it reached the vice president of
Mishimata Division of Land and Holdings." Clearing his throat, Yoshioka
picked up the top sheet and began to read from a section: "'In matters
of business, it is confusing how the key to a hard sought after treasure
can fall into one's hands through sheer happenstance. It is such with
this proposal. For nearly four years, the property the aforementioned
establishment stands on has interested our company, and not only this
property but the surrounding three city blocks in addition; however, due
to zoning ordinances, which have recently changed, and the reticence and
oftentimes stubborn reluctance of the owners, we have been unable to
purchase no more than five properties. 
     "'The aforementioned property lies at the apex of all five of these
properties and gives Mishimata a solid hold within the district. We
would ask that you pursue this in any manner you see fit, so long as the
property that is in question becomes the sole property of the Mishimata
Division of Land and Holdings.'"
     As Yoshioka read part of the memo, Nabiki's mind was whirling in
possibilities. Not only had she gained the deal, but she had maneuvered
Yoshioka into a corner. He would lose more by not gaining the property
than she would by having the deal fall through. Yet, why had he divulged
that information to her? He had compromised his position in the deal,
giving her the upper hand. She was unable to fathom his reasoning for
doing such a thing, but there had to be one. The problem was that she
could see no advantage. Sighing, she took the bait. "So what is your
company prepared to offer me, Yoshioka-san?"
     "Nothing," Yoshioka stated plainly.
     "Nothing?" Nabiki whispered in disbelief. How could they offer her
nothing? She was the one who had brought the deal to them. But, as
Yoshioka began to answer her question, she realized the mistake she had
made. It was with a sinking feeling, that she watched her hard work and
her hopes begin to funnel down the drain like so much wasted bath water.
     "You made one fatal mistake in your dealings, Tendou-san,"
Yoshioka explained evenly. "You never had any rights to selling the
property you have mentioned. You also have no insurance that you can
guarantee a sale. More than that, my company could approach this owner
on our own and make a deal as good as yours, without all of the hoop
jumping and subtle intrigue. Those are impediments to any deal, and it
is unwise and dangerous for any company to participate in them. In a
purely business sense, you don't have a foot to stand on."
     "You are saying I have nothing to offer you? Not even the reduction
of the debts your son owes me?" Nabiki stated.
     Taking a sip of his drink, Yoshioka folded his hands on the table
in front of him and leaned forward. "My son's debt is his concern. He
has squandered his money on risky ventures, and I will make no
reparations for him."
     "I see you've made your decision." Nabiki began to stand up.
     "One second, Nabiki," Yoshioka said, motioning her to sit with his
hand. "I told you this was a celebratory dinner, and it is." Nabiki
blushed a little. In the moment of the disappointing news, she had
completely forgotten that he was here to conduct some business. "I'm
sorry if I led you astray with my previous words, but they are true, and
you needed to know about it before I make you my offer."
     "No, it is my fault," Nabiki stated. "I should never have lost
sight of the big picture. This deal means a lot to me and my family
though." Her nerves were still jumping like oil on a griddle. She was
embarrassed about forgetting his initial words. She was flustered and
ashamed because of the blunder she had made, but the new hope she was
finding in his words was trying to form a foolish grin on her face, in
vain but it was trying.
     "Although I do not understand the full particulars of this
situation, I understand that your family has a large stake in it. It is
one of the reasons I decided to work with you. Also, I find some benefit
to be gained from associating with you."
     "If I may be so presumptuous," Nabiki said, "may I ask you what
your willing to offer?"
     "Always to the point. It is one of the things I admire about you,
Nabiki-san. And you are right, you need to know the terms. But, before
we discuss that. I want you to know that I am going out a limb for you.
My company authorized me any means necessary and these are the ones I
have decided upon. My superior agrees fully with my proposal. I'm sorry,
but the terms I am offering cannot be negotiated. It is a simple yes or
no. Do you understand?"
     She knew what a deal like that meant. She could gain some serious
losses just to make sure her ends were met, but the ends always justi- 
fied the means. She was willing to do almost anything for her family.
So, she straightened her back and set her shoulders, preparing for the
worst and stated, "I understand." 
     Yoshioka Satoru reached into his blazer again and pulled out
another, thinner envelope. This he handed to her, and placed a pen on
the table between them. Nervously, Nabiki broke the seal on the enve- 
lope, and pulled out a few sheets of paper with the Mishimata crest and
watermark emblazoned on them. Against her will, her eyes found the first
line and began to read through the agreement. Half way through, her
hands began to shake, and it required all her will power to remain in
control and hold onto the contract as she finished reading it.
     As she finished, she gently placed the papers on the table and
stared at Yoshioka. For the first time in her life, she was truly and
uterly speechless. 
     "Is something wrong with the contract?" Yoshioka asked.
     Nabiki shook her head. 
     Yoshioka missed her movement as he reached for the papers. "It
seems to be everything you need. My company will make a bid for the
restaurant and then have our sister company make a second bid. We will
continue the bidding for as long as you deem necessary and then settle
at a price we deem reasonable. In exchange, we will allow you to act as
mediator and to keep a five percent commission on any deal we make with
the only provision being that you become an employee of Mishimata upon
graduating from your school in the last week of June. We will of course
give you two weeks hiatus to report to your job."
     Nabiki found her voice quickly as Yoshioka finished his explana-
tion. "I never expected anything like this. Of course I have no problem
with this." Nabiki smiled a little, some colouring returning to her
cheeks. "Of course, I don't think I'll be any good with real estate.
You might be losing something on this deal."
     Smiling, Yoshioka handed her the document back. "You won't be
working in the Division of Land and Holdings, Nabiki-san. My supervisor
and myself have much more profitable plans for you."
     "But why?" Nabiki asked as she read a subclause in the contract she
had missed the first time. "You're starting me with a salary most four-
year employees only dream of. And, there is no statement of what I'll be
doing. I could end up a secretary for all I know."
     "Nabiki-san, do you think I'll let that happen," Yoshioka stated
simply. "And if you must know, I've told you several times that I see
great potential in you. It is not uncommon for high school graduates to
be picked up and trained by companies. The recruiters cull through the
graduating classes and even start in earlier classes, looking for
students who might be potential assets to their company. For every high
performer they find, they gain a bonus and prestige within the company.
I expect you to go far, and as your mentor, I'll gain a great deal of
prestige within the company when you do, not to mention a substantial
raise for my performance."
     Nabiki understood all of this. The concept of plucking the school
virgins was not a new one, but it was becoming more common after a small
hiatus. In the past few months, she had been approached by a dozen
companies, each offering her a different type of position and a decent
salary for any starting employee, but this offer was beyond her wildest
dreams. They were offering her a starting salary nearly twice the
highest offer she had seen given to any student at Furinkan. She also
understood Yoshioka's position. If she performed well, he was in for a
very promising promotion in the near future, something that might double
his yearly take on his commissions.
     "So are you going to accept, Tendou Nabiki?" Yoshioka asked in a
soft voice, his eyes following her every move in a way that made her
blush slightly and her heart start beating fast in her breast.
     "How can I not?" she asked. "I'd be a fool to pass this up." She
smiled at him and reached for the pen and quickly signed her name at the
bottom. For some reason, that single act made everything she had ever
done in her life seem worth it. Everything she had gambled and given up
to become who she was became right and proper with only a few strokes of
her hand as the heavy pen with gold inlay left a trail of dark ink that
formed the kanji of her name.
     As she finished signing, she looked up to see Yoshioka Satoru
regarding her with a speculative look. It was a look that offered more
than friendship and a mentor, and Nabiki found herself oddly excited by
the prospect. Nabiki met his gaze evenly with a hint of challenge in her
own and lifted her glass of wine in a small toast. Yoshioka lifted his
drink and clinked it against hers. "To a long partnership," he said.
     "Hai, a long and profitable one," Nabiki added, and then took a
sip of her wine. Yoshioka finished off his drink and called for another
as he smiled over at Nabiki, who quickly finished off the rest of her
wine and called for something a little stronger. They were both enjoying
themselves immensely when the food arrived at their table. 



                                -- 2 -- 

                       
     The hazy remnants of the day's smog and the bright glare of the
city lights blocked the view of the stars from the world, but Saotome
Genma still watched the night sky. It didn't matter if he saw the stars
or not, it was the memories that came with the activity that he found
most comforting. There had been a time when he would lie next to his son
and watch the beauty of the night sky unfold in front of their eyes,
Ranma's quiet voice questioning in his ear. Even now, he could hear it,
nearly eight years later.
     "What's that one, Otousan?" Ranma asked, pointing at a group of
stars.
      For a moment, Genma followed his son's pointing finger and frowned
at the stars before he could discern their form. He knew none of their
names, but it was of little consequence. He made up the names and fit
them to what his son saw. "That's Ryukaze, the Wind Dragon. See the five
stars that line up and the three above and the three below. The five are
its body and each set of three its wings."
     For a moment, his son was silent and then he spoke again, "I see
it! It does look like a dragon, but why is it attacking the one that
looks like a cat."
     "That's the Tiger, and he and the Wind Dragon have faced each other
since the beginning of time."
     "Why?"
     "Because they are rivals. When the kami created the floating world,
they put many creatures upon it and they all vied to be the most power-
ful. So they fought for their places, and in time many found their place
in the world. The Crane was the noblest, it's carriage of the emperor,
and the Fox was the most clever."
     "But what about the dragon and tiger?" Ranma asked impatiently.
     Genma smiled at his son and continued to make up the story as he
told it. "They both wanted to be masters of the world, and so they
fought across the floating world. Neither could become the stronger
though. The Tiger was the master of the shadows. The lurker who waited
in patience and stalked his prey with cunning. The Dragon was free and
powerful, striking boldly at his enemies. They're equal because of their
differences and still war to this day, but the gods have forbade them to
fight on the earth, so people fight for them."
     "Who do we fight for?" Ranma asked.
     "We have always fought with the Dragon because he is like our
style, power within grace, beauty in function. But if there is one thing
to remember it is that Ryukaze walks the world in plain sight, letting
all the people judge him and see what he does, both good and bad. You
must become what is good and show those around you by your example. Do
not seek to be like the Tiger who walks alone in the darkness, stalking
and hunting what he most desires. That is not our way."
     "I'll always follow Ryukaze, Otousan," Ranma promised. "He is how
Okaasan wants me to be, and I can't disappoint Okaasan."
     "No, son. You must never disappoint your okaasan," Genma whispered.
     Lifting his hand, Genma traced the path of stars where Ryukaze
should have been. He had never learned the real name for the constel-
lation, and didn't think there was one. But, Ranma had always watched
those stars and promised his father to be like Ryukaze. He himself had
not followed that star though. He had turned to the Tiger long ago. He
wished he could say it was done to give his son everything he deserved,
but the truth was not so self-effacing. Not even his tutelage under
Happousai had placed him on the wrong path, he'd already begun to tread
it when he left his father's house to find himself.
     It had been a noble quest. He was going to wander Japan and train
his body and soul in the Art, become one with the Art and thereby become
the best martial artist of his time. Then, he would carry on his
family's school with honour and flair, but at some point the dream had
gone awry. He had not found the truth. He had found the debauchery of
the soul in his travels, stealing and tricking to gain food, women, and
the other things he desired. He might have fallen if Soun had not found
him one night, drunk in a tea house, moving the pieces about the shogi
board as he played himself. Soun had taken a seat and began to play him.
Drunk, he found himself losing, and so did the natural thing and
cheated. Soun caught him and they began to argue, their voices and words
growing louder and more insulting with each epithet cast back and forth.
It was not long after that he found himself facing off with Soun, the
game and the drink forgotten.
     A friendship had been formed that night. They had found respect for
the other when neither could gain the upper hand in their duel. Instead,
Soun had brought him to his home and showed him his dojo. Both of them
had been young men in their early twenties then. They were obsessed with
the adventure of being a martial artist, and they pursued that adventure
with the relentless tenacity of a wolf tracking it's prey. With Soun as
his friend, Genma began to find the path he had originally set upon, one
of honour and self-sacrifice. Yet that was not to last. 
     In time, they found Happousai and fell in with him. His promise of
teaching them the true arts was too tempting a fruit to let pass by.
Eagerly, they joined, and in the years that followed they came to regret
their decision, Genma more than his friend. Under Happousai it was easy
to revert to his old ways, for his master was of the same mindset. Genma
tried to walk the straight and true for his friend's sake, but once they
sealed the fool away, they separated. Soun to marry Kimiko, and Genma to
wander the world once more.
     Only his courtship and marriage to Nodoka had broken him of his
self-destructive habits like a twig from a branch. Her influence waned
over the first years, and the twig became a cutting. When he had found
his roots once more, he took his son away from her to continue the quest
he had begun as a young man. It was no longer a quest for his own
improvement, but for his son. He tried to make his son everything that
he had failed in over the years. And despite all of the setbacks, the
failures, the underhanded dealings, and treacherous ways he had exposed
his son to, somehow his son had followed the star of Ryukaze over the
years and become what Genma had never become, a truly honourable man. 
     He was not perfect, but then Genma knew that was his fault as much
as anyone's. He would never admit it to anyone. His failure was hidden.
Many knew him to be a cheat and horrid parent. Others had accused, often
justly, of even worse. Ranma was his only success in his long and dark
life. In Ranma, he was able to come out from underneath the shadowed
trees and look upon the world as an equal because he had made Ranma who
he was. 
     Genma clenched his fist in anger, knuckles cracking painfully in
the tight grip of his heavy hand. He could never take credit for his
son's successes. They had been gained through his son's hard work and
his son's dedication to the Art. If anything, Genma was only responsible
for the faults within his son. And now, his son had run because he had
made the wrong choice for him once again. He didn't care what Tendou
said or his daughter begged of him. He had betrayed what his son held
most precious, and that had caused him to run.
     Raising his back from the grass, until he was resting on his hands,
Genma watched the reflective surface of the koi pond. He was a meddle-
some father who should have never been allowed to raise a child. He
truly deserved to become the panda that the Jusenkyo springs had so
aptly cursed him with. Or maybe it wasn't so much of a curse, as a
blessing for him. As a panda, he could escape his follies as easily as a
child hides from the darkness by running to his parents' bed. 
     Standing up, he walked to the pool and looked deep into the dar- 
kened depths, the pool appearing to be bottomless in the darkness of the
night. When his son had been unconscious, fighting for his life, he had
refused to become the panda that allowed him escape. Nothing of such
magnitude held him now, but he felt as if he were betraying his son as
he reached and submerged his hand in the water. Maybe if Ranma came back
some day, he'd change his ways and make Ranma a better man by not allow-
ing him to make the same mistakes he had, but until then, he wanted
nothing to do with the real world or Ryukaze.



                                -- 3 --


                       
     Sipping her tea as she knelt at the low table, Kasumi watched as
Saotome-ojisan slinked in from the garden as a panda. He gave her a
grunt in acknowledgment before he disappeared down the hall to the guest
room. Kasumi smiled a little in return, but his back was already turned,
his massive, furred shoulders slumped as he shambled out of the dining
room. For a moment, Kasumi wondered why Ranma's father spent so much
time in his cursed form. During the time Ranma had been under that
horrid curse, he had stayed a human as much as possible, but now he was
spending more and more time as a panda. Sometimes, she preferred him as
a panda. As a human, he had become despondent and uncommunicative over
the past few days. It was depressing to a house that had seen little to
smile about in the past weeks. 
     No matter how bad Saotome-ojisan's problems were, Kasumi found them
minuscule and unimportant next to her own dilemma over her sister's
pregnancy. Ever since Nabiki had figured it out earlier in the night,
Kasumi had been unable to get the subject from her mind. It was not only
the fact that Akane was pregnant, it was the guilt she felt for not
approaching her sister earlier. She had known something was wrong with
Akane, but had dismissed it as side-effects of Ranma's abrupt departure
to locales unknown. Even if she had not put the clues together, she
should have noticed that Akane's moods in the past week had been too
extreme for merely missing someone.
     She was also angry and disappointed, not at herself but at Akane.
She was angry because Akane had not told her about such a life changing
situation, and she was disappointed in Akane for even allowing herself
to take a chance at becoming pregnant. Both emotions were confusing to
her. She knew Akane was not wholly at fault, but she couldn't bring
herself to exonerate her youngest sister completely. This dichotomy
added to her guilt like a stream to a river.
     Although she had every right to be angry with Akane for hiding her
condition, she realized that Akane had most likely acted out of fear and
tried to keep everything in close confidence until she could understand
and deal with it. It was a dangerous path to tread, but Kasumi knew she
would follow the same one if their places had been reversed. If the
truth were to be known, she would have terminated the pregnancy. Despite
her deepest desire to be a mother and have a family of her own, the
shame that would be brought on her family by being an unwed, teenage
mother would make her choose that course. That had to be the reason
Akane kept her pregnancy hidden, but it still didn't excuse her for
getting pregnant.
     Kasumi silently berated herself. Akane had done nothing wrong. The
fault lay in herself. As the care giver, it should have been her duty to
instruct Nabiki and Akane in the facts and risks of having sex. She had
explained to them all about their periods and what it meant and had gone
into a little detail about sex, but she felt uncomfortable discussing
and warning her sisters about something she herself had never exper-
ienced. So, she let them discover on their own. Besides, there had not
been much risk of either of them becoming serious with anyone. Even when
Ranma came to live with them, Kasumi had found his presence to be a non-
threatening one. He and Akane fought too often and too violently for a
moment of intimacy to take on the proportions needed for them to become
physically intimate with the other.  
     Yet it had happened, and now the consequences had to be faced and
dealt with. But how did she approach the situation? Was she supposed to
simply give Akane the love she needed and let the rest pass? No, she
couldn't do that. She had to give Akane love and support but make it as
clear as daylight that she was disappointed in her, if not for becoming
pregnant, then for at least hiding the truth from her family. It was
knowing that Akane had not trusted her and hidden the truth from her
that hurt the most. Akane had never kept anything from her before. 
     What had happened to them, she asked herself silently. Sighing in
frustration, Kasumi set down her tea. Worrying over it now was tanta-
mount to trying to recook burnt fish. She had to talk to Akane and help
her. She just didn't know how to approach her. Nothing she had ever
encountered had prepared her for this moment of her life. She was
terrified that she would do something wrong, that she'd come down more
like a hammer than a comforting quilt. She didn't want that. She wanted
Akane to trust her again.
     The sound of the front door opening and the creak of floor boards
distracted Kasumi from her thoughts. "Akane," she called out hopefully,
"is that you?"
     There was only silence and a few more steps in response, and then
Kasumi heard a small voice, but she couldn't make it out. "Hello?" she
called, a little fear in her voice.
     She was about to call her father when Nabiki stumbled into the
hallway and began to walk down the hallway, her steps unsteady. "Konban-
wa, O...nee...chan," Nabiki stated her eyes traveling the room like an
errant butterfly before latching onto Kasumi. A smile broke across her
face like the new morning sun and Kasumi found herself in her sister's
arms as she hugged her tightly and then pulled her to her feet. 
     "Nabiki?" Kasumi asked inquisitively, curiosity and worry vying for
prominence.
     "He said yes!' Nabiki stated and then laughed as she hugged Kasumi
tightly again. "He's going to help me, and he gave me a job. A dream
job, Oneechan!"
     "Nabiki, you're drunk, aren't you?" Kasumi observed as she caught a
whiff of Nabiki's breath.
     Dropping her sisters arms, Nabiki shrugged and sank to the floor.
"Just a bit. I didn't drink that much, but I've never felt this good."
Nabiki smiled again, and for a moment Kasumi thought she was seeing
Akane's bright face. Their personalities were so different that even
Kasumi sometimes forgot how much Akane and Nabiki actually looked alike. 
     Nabiki's enthusiasm, much like Akane's, was infectious, and Kasumi
found herself smiling at her sister. "I'm glad you're happy, but you
still shouldn't drink so much."
     "O-nee-chan," Nabiki tsked, pushing herself back to her feet,
"always trying to make sure we don't do anything wrong. I was just
celebrating. It's not everyday a girl gets offered a once in a lifetime
deal...besides Satoru-san was buying." Nabiki grinned and headed for the
stairs. "I think I'll go work on some of my books. I don't think I'll
get any sleep tonight."
     Before Kasumi could think of a response, Nabiki hurried up the
stairs and then disappeared into the hallway that held their rooms.
Shaking her head, Kasumi returned to the table and her cooling tea. At
least, someone in the house was having their life go right for a change.
Although she was curious as to the source of Nabiki's joy, she knew
she'd find out tomorrow, when she was back to her normal, collected
self. 
     Glancing once more at the stairs, Kasumi stood up and went into
the kitchen where she began to heat the water in the kettle. Like
Nabiki, she wasn't able to sleep, but for very different reasons. She
still didn't know what to do about Akane and knew she'd be up most of
the night trying to decide.



                                -- 4 --


                       

     "I'm home!" Akane called out as she closed the door behind her and
slipped out of her tennis shoes. Walking down the entry hall, she
frowned as only silence greeted her. "Hello?"
     "In here."
     Stepping quickly, Akane turned into the main hall and went to the
dining area. Her father was sitting outside, watching the clouds dally
in the brilliant, blue sky. "Ohayo, Otousan," Akane greeted her father
in a bubbling voice.
     "Ohayo, Akane-chan," Soun nodded his head and then smiled. "You
are in good cheer this morning."
     "I had a great time at Mio's last night, Otousan," Akane explained.
"She makes all my problems just disappear." Seeing no one else in the
house that she could share her happiness with, Akane went outside and
knelt beside her father. From the corner of her eye, she saw that her
father was watching the sky with a distant, speculative gaze. A slight
breeze brought a hint of his cologne to her nose. It was the same one he
had worn since she was a child, the same cologne she had loved to smell
when she wrapped her arms about his neck and kissed him good morning
before her mother died. 
     In a moment of nostalgia, Akane unwound her legs from beneath her
and leaned against her father's side, feeling the soft weave of the
cotton gi he wore when instructing his few students. She was surprised
when he draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer until
her head rested against the right side of his breast, the distinctive
odour of sweat informing her that he had just finished his morning
workout. For a time, she relished the closeness.
     "None of this has been easy on you, has it?" Soun asked quietly,
his eyes never leaving the sky.
     "Hai," she whispered in response. The gentle rise and fall of his
chest lulled her senses, reminding her of being held gently in Ranma's
arms as his voice caressed her ears with meaningless affections.
     "I pushed you into this," Soun said in a thoughtful voice. "I
wanted so much for one of you girls to marry Ranma. I wanted to preserve
this house and the school forever. Maybe I should've thought more about
what you felt, instead of what I felt. Or I should have cared more for
your good than the good of the school."
     "Otousan..."
     "Shh..." A finger on her lips silenced Akane's denial. Soun turned
his eyes downward as Akane glanced up in surprise. "Despite what you
might think, I would have let you out of the engagement at anytime, if
you had protested enough. But I always thought you didn't mind and
fought with Ranma only because you were being forced and desired me to
see that."
     "I really didn't like him at first."
     "But?"
     Akane smiled and dropped her eyes from his loving gaze as she
settled into his arms again. "But what?" she asked impishly.
     "You love him, don't you?" It wasn't a question, and when Akane
kept her silence, it was answered in spite of that. Akane felt the back
of her father's rough hand caress her cheek. His fingers brushed an
errant strand of hair into place. "When Cologne cursed Ranma, I saw that
you cared deeply for him. It was the first time I had. Before, I only
saw your fights and hoped that they just hid the truth, but it had been
going on so long. I was going to let the promise go, but when you stayed
by his bedside when he was in the hospital, and again when he was slowly
dying, I knew I had been right in making you stay engaged to him."
     "Thank you," Akane whispered. "I just wish he was here."
     "You made the right choice, Akane. He didn't deserve to die. I was
so proud of you. The way you fought for him, and made Saotome-kun see he
was wrong." His hand cupped her chin and lifted her eyes to his. "You've
always made me so proud of you." Kissing Akane's forehead, he hugged her
tightly once more before releasing her and rising to his feet. "Would
you like to spar?" he asked Akane as she watched him with wide eyes on
the verge of tears.
     She could only nod her head and then smile as he did. "I'd love
to, Otousan. Just let me get changed."
     "There's no rush," Soun said. "We can spar after lunch." But Akane
was already rushing up the stairs and she didn't hear her father's
words. She was running on air as she bounded up the steps. Her night
with Mio had washed most of her fears and cares away with both tears and
laughter. Even being sick in the morning hadn't broken her mood, and now
her father's offer to spar on top of a heart-to-heart talk that she'd
never had with her father before was making her giddy with excitement. 
     She barely looked around her room as she rushed into it and began
to throw off her clothes as she searched for her gi. She found it
quickly and pulled it on, tying the black belt around her waist as
quickly as she could. She was ready in under a minute and was heading
for the door when her sister's voice halted her.
     "Akane-chan? Can we please talk?"
     "Oneechan!" Akane exclaimed as she spun around. Kasumi was sitting
on the edge of her bed with a serious expression. "I didn't even notice
you."
     "Then you don't mind if we talk?" Kasumi asked, smiling a little.
     Akane started and then shook her head. "I'd like to, Oneechan, but
I was gonna spar with Otousan." Akane didn't want to talk with her older
sister. It was difficult for her to explain why. She felt uneasy and
guilty because she was keeping secrets from her sister. At some level,
she knew that the tightly held secret of her pregnancy would slip from
her tongue faster than Ranma could talk himself into a corner.
     "I think Otousan won't mind waiting for you. He just finished his
workout, and he probably needs a little rest."
     "Hai," Akane answered, unable to think of a conceivable excuse to
get her from the room. Placing a carefree smile on her face, she walked
over to the bed and sat down next to her sister. "What did you want to
talk about?"
     "I just want to talk, Akane-chan," Kasumi said, a smile painting
itself across her face. "You don't seem to want to speak with me any-
more. I worry about you. Especially, when I know you are having some
problems, and you won't talk to me about them." Akane started at
Kasumi's words as her eyes snapped to Kasumi's face and encountered a
sad expression. Guiltily, Akane lowered her eyes. "I just want to know
what is happening to you. Is everything okay, Akane-chan?"
     Akane stared at her hands which were clasped in her lap. Telling
her sister that everything was okay would be useless, and she did not
want to lie outright to her beloved sister. Akane knew that Kasumi had
held her the night she came back from her meeting with Tsujimura-sensei.
She had probably even noticed her discomfort in the morning and her
withdrawn moods. Denying everything was the wrong course, but she was
terrified of telling the truth. "I'm scared, Oneechan. I can't stop
thinking about and worrying about him." It was not a lie. She had been
thinking of Ranma a lot in the time since he left, but for different
reasons.
     A prolonged silence fell between them. Akane watched her hands,
trying to memorize every line and curve of them. She could hear Kasumi's
light breathing. From the next room, she could hear Nabiki moving around
and getting dressed. Her sister's stereo suddenly began playing some
music and then became garbled before settling into a single signal as
Nabiki found an acceptable station. The music drowned out every other
sound, and so the silence was bearable for Akane.
     "Did you know I talked with Ranma before he left?" Akane shook her
head. "I was making breakfast when he came in to get some food. Do you
know what he told me?" Again Akane shook her head, though she had a
glimmering of what he might have said. "He told me he was going to make
sure Cologne couldn't hold him to that promise. He also told me that he
talked to you about it, Akane-chan. I'm sure he made sure you under-
stood, isn't that right?"
     Akane nodded her head. 
     "You didn't like it though?"
     Akane was silent. Ranma had a reason for leaving, a very good one.
She understood that and, in a way, accepted it, but that didn't mean she
liked it. With him gone, it left her alone to deal with her problem. She
wanted him by her side to help her through this and give his blessing on
her decision to keep the child. It was easy to allow anger to replace
the emptiness she felt, and as she dwelled on Ranma's departure while
trying to answer Kasumi's question, that anger grew and coupled with her
frustration and emotional instability to give birth to her outburst. "He
could've stayed!" she shouted. "I don't care about his honour. I just
wanted him to be here. I did everything I could. It was the only way to
save him!" She clenched her fists tightly, twisting her skirt. "I was
willing to give up everything!" For a moment she paused and then
whispered softly, as if to herself, "Why can't he?"
     "Is he really not giving up everything, Akane?" 
     Nabiki's voice brought Akane's head snapping upwards. Her sister
was standing in the open doorway in her usual cutoffs and t-shirt. "What
are you doing here?" she asked in a surprised voice which quickly became
guarded. "Could you please leave us alone, Oneechan? I..."
     "Don't want me to hear your secret?" Nabiki said with a small quirk
in her lip. Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her and took a
few steps into the room. "Well, if you don't keep your voice down, then
I don't have to be here." Nabiki was intentionally prodding her younger
sister. Her anger from the last evening had slowly turned into a gut
wrenching worry that had kept her up despite her slight drunkenness. She
wanted her sister to see how stupid and dangerous keeping secrets like
this was. 
     "Nabiki," Kasumi said quietly, "I think Akane is right. This'll be
easier with just one of us."
     Nabiki turned on Kasumi her eyes wide. "You haven't told her!" 
     Kasumi shook her head as Akane glanced back and forth between her
older sisters, confusion on her face. "Told me what? What's going on?
It's not about..." She didn't finish the thought as a weight descended
on her heart like a landslide smashing into a stand of trees. 
     Kasumi reacted quickly, her arms pulling Akane close and whispering
comfortingly into her ear while giving Nabiki a hard glare. "Nothing has
happened to Ranma, Akane-chan. Nabiki's talking about something else." 
     Nabiki cringed under her sister's glare. She was used to people
throwing her looks that would make most grown men shiver, but the disap-
proval in Kasumi's eyes was more like a physical blow. She took a step
back to the door, deciding that it was easier to let Kasumi handle this.
If she tried to deal with it, she knew she'd just hurt Akane more than
she already was. 
     "Wait," Akane said, her eyes wet with unshed tears, stopping
Nabiki's retreat. "What did you mean? What do I have to be told?"
     "Why don't you tell us?" Nabiki snapped without thinking, ignoring
Kasumi's urgent motion to desist as she continued with her accusation.
"You're the one keeping the secret."
     Akane's eyes went wide as saucers and began darting about for an
escape route, her expression that of a cornered animal. "How? I didn't.
I didn't know how...didn't know what to do," she whispered in a
horrorfied voice.
     "So you did it this way?" Nabiki said. "You could get yourself in
trouble. You could have been hurt. Or maybe left alone. Did you want
that?" Akane shrank under each accusation, pulling herself tighter
against Kasumi who wrapped her arms about Akane. Nabiki missed it. She
was seeing her sister alone trying to care for a child so her family
wouldn't be hurt by it. The stupidity of Akane's pride, much like
Ranma's, infuriated her, and she was letting that anger show. "Well, I
love you too much to let that happen!"
     "Nabiki!" Kasumi's voice, crisp like the snap of a whip, brought
Nabiki short as she took in a breath for her next string of accusations.
For the first time, she saw Akane holding tightly onto their older
sister, silent tears spilling down her cheeks.
     "I-I-I" Akane never finished as she began to sob softly into
Kasumi's shoulder. 
     Each sob wounded Nabiki because she knew that they had been caused
by her and her alone. She took a hesitant step forward. "I'm sorry, sis.
I didn't mean to say it. I was just so mad when I found out. We were
both so worried about you." Nabiki put a hand on her sister's shoulder,
feeling it shudder beneath her touch. "But I still love you."
     "We both do," Kasumi assured Akane softly. 
     "I-I was afraid," Akane said between gulps of air. "Afraid you'd
be mad at me and disappointed in me. I'm sorry. I just didn't know what
to do! I didn't want Ranma to hate me."
     "I doubt he'd do that," Nabiki stated glibly. "He'd do anything for
you. I know. He even tricked me into doing his work here for him."
     "Really?" Akane asked, her eyes sparkling and her voice incredu-
lous. "He tricked you?"
     "Don't spread it around," Nabiki stated miserably. "He pulled a
fast one. It's one of the reasons I figured out you are pregnant. And
that is why we're here to talk to you. Trust me when I say Ranma's
coming back, but you're more important right now. We can't do anything
for him, but we can help you. Ne, Oneechan?"
     Kasumi nodded and smiled at Nabiki. The obvious concern and
affection Nabiki had for her younger sister was heart warming to Kasumi.
For some reason, that little exchange had told her that she had not done
as bad a job as she had thought in raising her sisters. "Hai, we'll be
here for you, Akane," Kasumi stated as she turned to face Akane. "That
doesn't mean I'm not displeased with you. You shouldn't have hidden this
from us. You're part of this family, and I don't want you pushing us
away."
     "You're not mad?" Akane asked hopefully.
     "I wish you would have waited or taken some precautions," Kasumi
sighed. "I'm not mad at you, Akane-chan. But I do want to know what
you're planning to do."
     She gave her younger sister a pointed look, waiting for an answer.
Akane bit her lower lip in indecision, trying to decide how to answer
the question. She didn't want to lie to her sisters, but she hadn't had
time to decide what she ultimately wanted to do, so she decided to tell
the full story. "I went to see a doctor about an abortion," Akane
replied, keeping her eyes downcast so she missed her sister's surprised
expressions.
     "So you're getting an abortion?" Nabiki asked, a hint of approval
in her voice. 
     "Iie. I wanted to, but I can't. I want Ranma to make the decision
too." She glanced up and turned to Kasumi, looking for vindication. "I
don't want him to hate me. If I have the abortion and he wants the
child, he'll hate me forever. I can always have one later if he doesn't
want the baby."
     "I think this is your decision," Nabiki said, Kasumi nodding in
agreement. "Ranma will do anything for you. If you want the kid, he'll
care for it no matter what, and he'll probably reinstate your
engagement." Nabiki smiled. "He's stubborn that way."
     Akane shook her head. "I want him to decide. I'm not going to
force him to do something he doesn't want." She was silent for a moment
and then spoke in a whisper. "I want him to love me, not be honour-bound
to be with me for the rest of his life. If he can do the same for me,
then I can do the same for him." 
     Wordlessly with a tear in her eye, Kasumi kissed Akane's forehead.
"I'm so proud of you, Akane-chan. You are finally growing up."
     Akane smiled a little at the compliment and then her face took on
a look of pure terror. Nabiki noticed and asked her, "What's wrong?"
     "Does Otousan know? You haven't told him, have you?" There was a
note of panic in her voice.
     "Do you want us to tell him?" Kasumi asked. "I think he'll surprise
you."
     Akane violently shook her head. "Iie. I can't let him know. Not
now. Not until Ranma comes back. I-I-I..." She gestured obscurely,
trying to make a point she didn't understand but only felt.
     "I'll let you tell Otousan when you're ready," Kasumi promised.
     "Well, for a small fee..." Nabiki said then put her hands up in a
defensive position as Akane clenched her jaw in anger. "Just kidding,
sis. I won't tell anyone. I'm not going to let you get hurt over your
small problem. Of course, you're on your own with Kasumi."
     Akane gave Nabiki a questioning look and then turned to her older
sister, who was smiling. " You need to learn some things if you're going
to be a mother," Kasumi stated and then smiled. "Namely how to control
your temper and how to do a few more domestic things, like cooking and
managing a house."
     Akane's brow darkened and then a smile lit her face as she grabbed
Kasumi in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I won't
disappoint you. I promise!"
     Nabiki decided to make a hasty retreat before her sister decided to
share her enthusiasm, but before she could, Akane scampered from the bed
and grabbed Nabiki in a tight hug. "Thanks, sis."
     "No prob," Nabiki said, trying to keep her composure. She felt her
ribs creak under her sister's brute strength. "Ugh, Akane..could you...
uhh...loosen...erp...your grip!" she managed in a last explosion of
breath. The pressure loosened, and then Akane was looking at the ground
sheepishly. 
     "Gomen," she apologized, "I sometimes get carried away."
     Nabiki just smiled as Kasumi spoke again. "Didn't you say you were
going to spar with Otousan?"
     "Oh! I almost forgot!" Akane quickly checked herself to make sure
she was fully dressed and then headed for the door. As she opened the
door, she looked back into the the room. "Thanks!" she cried, and then
she was out the door, her light steps a flutter on the stairs before she
hit the floor and continued outside.
     Inside the room, Nabiki watched the door, and then turned to
Kasumi, who had a worried frown on her face. "Sometimes she's so much
like a little girl," Kasumi said softly. "I wonder if she is ready for
this."
     "No," Nabiki commented, "she's not ready, but you can help her.
You did a good job with us." Then Nabiki was gone, leaving Kasumi
staring in stunned pleasure, a few tears of happiness glistening on her
cheeks.



                                -- 5 --

                       

     Sugiera Mio rinsed the last bowl and set it in the drying rack
before she turned off the water and dried her hands on a towel. Turning
her back on the sink, she packed her two younger half-brothers' bento
boxes. For some reason, they had insisted on rice balls and some sweet
pastries for lunch. Like always, her father had given in to their whims,
and she had been forced to stay up late and make them. She didn't hold
it against her younger brothers, but her step-mother, who refused to
take any of the responsibilities around the house, and her father's
insistence that his wife had enough work to do with her own job.
     Closing the bento boxes, Mio placed them on the side of the counter
and washed her hands again before shucking the apron and hanging it on a
hook in the closet. Loosening her hair from the braid she put in when
cooking, she shook out her fine brown hair and sighed. "Ryuichi! Taichi!
Get up!" she called into the main house. "Your lunches are on the
counter. I'm heading off to school. Ja matta!" 
     She heard some mumbled replies from the hallway on her right. It
would be at least ten minutes before her brothers were ready to go to
school. Grabbing her school bag, she began to make her way to the door
when he father's voice stopped her. "Musume." Mio flinched slightly. She
knew she should have been used to it by now, but she had always hated
it. Her father refused to use her given name and had only called her
'daughter' since she entered puberty. "Your mother is busy this morning.
Take your brothers to school."
     Sighing in defeat, Mio's shoulders slumped as she responded, "Hai,
Otousama." There was no acknowledgment and Mio slowly made her way to
her brothers' rooms. Without a doubt, she knew there'd be trouble and
she'd end up being late for school. Her brothers would be fighting or
would refuse to listen to her. It also didn't help that their grade
school was in the opposite direction of Furinkan.
     This had happened before and she knew what to expect. What made it
worse was that it had nothing to do with her step-mother's job. She
worked in the afternoon and evening. No, this meant her step-mother was
either recovering from a hangover or her father had decided that this
morning was a good time to reacquaint his wife with her marital duties.
Mio made a perfect scapegoat to indulging in either of those. 
     Entering the short hall where the bath and her room and her
brothers' rooms were, she walked to the oldest's door. Taichi was eight
and she knew he'd be playing video games. Opening the door, she wasn't
surprised to find both Taichi and Ryuichi playing a fighting game on
their Sony Playstation, both still in their pajamas. 
     Mio wanted to scream in frustration, but she knew it was useless.
If she lost her temper, she would be the one to get in trouble, and she
was not about to give her father any reason to discipline her. She had
to do it another way. 
     "Ohayo, Neechan," Taichi said as he glanced up from the game and
then back to it, finiding it more interesting than his older sister.
     Mio walked into the room. She just wanted to get to school where
she didn't have to deal with her family. She just wanted out of her
home.
     It took Mio nearly fifteen minutes to get her brothers dressed,
and another ten to get them out the door. By the time they had reached
their grade school, the boys only had three minutes to spare, which
meant she was already late. Dropping them off, Mio slowly made her way
to Furinkan, unable to summon the energy to make herself get their
earlier so she could hold buckets of water for that much longer.
     She arrived three-quarters of the way through her first class and
walked into the room and up to the teacher. "Gomen nasai, Sensei," she
said bowing her head. "I am truly sorry for being late."
     The teacher turned to face Mio, his dark eyes barely acknowledging
her as he nodded his head, making his unruly hair flop to one side. "I'm
sure you are. Now go stand in the hall." 
     Sighing, Mio went to get two buckets. As she left the room, she
glanced in into the corner and saw Akane staring at her with a panic-
stricken look on her face. To Mio, it appeared as if Akane was about to
start crying. That was not like Akane, but Mio didn't have time to
wonder about it as the door shut behind her. She promised herself to ask
Akane when the teachers switched classes.
     Of course, when the bell rang to signal the end of the first
period, Mio was pulled aside by the sensei, who wanted to know why she
had been so late. She gave her explanation and he nodded and told her he
wouldn't put it on the attendance record. Sighing in relief, Mio walked
into the room and settled in her seat behind Akane, but the bell rang
before she could talk to her friend. 
     When she had walked into the class, she had noticed that most of
her classmates were snickering and talking under their breath to each
other. Yuka, one of Akane's closer friends, was keeping her face buried
in a book, but from the look of it, Mio doubted she was reading. It also
worried her when Hiroshi, the one guy she actually respected, caught her
eye and motioned imperceptibly towards Akane.
     Turning to look at her friend, Mio had to force herself from rush-
ing to Akane's side. She was a wreck. At least to Mio, she appeared to
be a wreck. They had known each other so long, that they recognized the
other's moods automatically from the smallest hints. Akane was seriously
troubled, her eyes darting around looking for a way out, even though she
kept her head down. 
     As the class progressed, Mio could hear the constant whispering,
and saw a few notes passed to Akane. She generally read them and then
crumpled them. Only one, sent by Hiroshi, she actually kept, folding and
placing it in her schoolbook. Mio sent Akane a note trying to find out
what was wrong, but she got no answer from Akane, who only shook her
head as she read the note. 
     Toward the end of the second period, Akane received another note.
She let it stay on her desk for several minutes before she finally
opened it with trembling hands. A moment later, Mio heard a strangled
sob from Akane, and the people around them began to titter quietly, the
teacher oblivious at the board. Akane turned away from the class to
stare out the window, her shoulders shaking. Worried out of her mind,
Mio leaned forward and saw the note lying open on the desk. Even from
this distance she could make out the large characters, and it made her
sick as she read it. 'Every slut gets knocked up once.' 
     Anger filled Mio like a raging fire that burned across a grassland
in minutes. She turned to face the class, her eyes blazing. She had
never been this angry before, and most of the class that was looking at
Akane cowered under her gaze. Only Raiko didn't turn away. She was
watching with glee in her eyes. As she saw Mio staring at her with
daggers in her eyes, Raiko grinned like a Cheshire cat and then winked. 
     Mio turned away, and silently reached around the side of her desk
and fumbled for Akane's hand out of sight from the others. As she
grasped it, Akane squeezed her hand tightly, and Mio silently tried to
give her friend as much support as she could. "I'll always be here for
you, Neechan," Mio whispered, her words full of the love she had always
held for Akane. For a moment, she feared her whisper had been to low for
even Akane to hear, but two reassuring squeezes on her hand cast aside
her doubts like the worry-induced paranoia they were.
     To Mio's intense delight, Akane underwent a metamorphosis before
her eyes. Straightening herself in her desk and lifting her head to look
straight ahead, Akane calmly swept the note from her desk like so much
rubbish. Though Akane's face was hidden from Mio, it was without doubt
that Akane was facing the world with an expression more appropriate on
Nabiki than her own. Despite Akane locking herself within the confines
of her mind to banish the incessant whispers around her, Mio knew each
titter, each off-colour joke whispered just loud enough for Akane to
hear twisted the knife that her love for Ranma had placed in her fragile
heart.
     It was apparent to Mio that Akane was suffering. During the break
between classes, her words were cordial, nearly verging on her normal
bubbling exuberance, but her eyes could hide nothing from Mio. She saw
the forlorn, hopeless expression in her friend's face. She wanted to
pull Akane into her arms and comfort her. More than anyone she knew the
pain from being considered less than dirt, a burden on the family, a
laughing stock. Her father treated her that way. Her father who had
never given her a kindly word in her life. 
     Before the thin thread of resistance broke within her, the bell
forced Akane to resume her stony aloofness and endure the last two hours
before the lunch bell gave her the freedom that Akane desired and Mio
desired even more just so she would not see that wretched look ever
again. 
     It was an eternity, burning in the flames of the classroom, before
the noon bell gave her relief like water did a man in the desert.
Standing and gathering her books, Mio turned to find Akane watching her
with an expression that would have brought a blind man to his knees in
compassionate tears. As their eyes met, Akane gave Mio a sickly smile to
reassure her friend. 
     "Would you like to get some lunch?" Akane asked and then, as an
afterthought. "Off campus?"
     Mio nodded her head. Although it wasn't allowed, most students
could slip away, and Mio was less than enthused about staying at
Furinkan for lunch. "I'd love that, Akane." She gave Akane a radiant
smile and stepped up next to her, ignoring the smirk on Raiko's face as
they both left the room. 
     They walked in silence, Mio unwilling to say anything that might
cause Akane to do something she wanted to avoid. Mio admired the
strength it took her friend to walk calmly through the halls of
Furinkan, her head held high as the rumours spread around them faster
than gasoline takes a flame. Akane was in control. Her raging emotions
held beneath a stony exterior of disdainful haughtiness and ignorant
oblivion. To many it appeared as if a queen had condoned to walk among
the filth that littered her streets. To Mio, it was a nightmare. She was
seeing Akane nearly nine years earlier, walking from the room her mother
had just died from, sitting quietly through the eulogy three days later
and never once uttering a sound, never once letting fall one tear.
     They traveled the grounds, avoiding everyone. It was several long
minutes later that they were both walking down the bustling streets of
Nerima. Around them the world played out its daily ballet of life, each
player weaving in an out in a delicately balanced dance of life and
death. Birds trilled from telephone poles, and people talked around
restaurant fronts, their voices filling the air with an indecipherable
babble of noise. Several times Mio tried to add Akane's and her own
voice to that babble, but each time she began to call her friend's name,
Akane would shake her head slightly. Finally, they came to a place Mio
had only been a few times, Toufu-sensei's clinic.
     On a burst of inspiration, Mio pulled Akane inside. She knew Toufu-
sensei was her family doctor, besides she needed to talk to Akane, and
she knew what was going to happen when she did. Akane would never
forgive her if that happened in public.
     Akane neither protested nor encouraged Mio as she was dragged into
the comforting warmth of Toufu-sensei's waiting room. Once inside, Mio
smothered Akane against her, wrapped her arms about her, and whispered,
"I'm so sorry, Neechan."
     For a time, Akane only held tightly to Mio, and then the words
flowed forth in a torrent. "It's not fair," Akane whispered. "It's not
fair. Why are they doing this? Why!?" Her voice rose with each word and
Mio backed away until Akane was at arm's distance.
     Mio loved Akane more than anyone who had ever entered her life. If
there was a doubt on whether Akane returned those feelings, it had never
surfaced. Akane would never hurt her intentionally, but that did not
mean she was reckless enough to run the gauntlet of Akane's anger. She
had witnessed first hand the collateral damage brought about by Akane's
deepest rages against Ranma and Kunou.
     "Do they understand!?" she screamed. "None of them do. How can they
do this to me? How!? I hate them!" Her face twisted into a burning mask
of anger and berserker rage. From the corner of her eye, Mio saw the
door to the examine room open and Toufu-sensei step into the room. "I
never did anything to them! Nothing! It's not fair." Her voice broke
and the anger disappeared in a wail as she lurched forward and latched
tightly onto Mio. "I didn't want this. Can't they see that?" Her voice
broke into incoherent sobs and Mio lowered them both to the ground,
rocking Akane as the storm of her grief and anger surrounded her.
     "They're all laughing, looking at me, talking about me. They've
always talked about me. I just wanna be left alone. Why can't they leave
me alone? It wasn't my fault!" Mio turned her face up in a pleading
entreaty as she sought out Toufu-sensei. "I didn't do anything wrong.
Nothing. I just loved him. Only loved him and he left."
     "He didn't leave you," Mio assured her.
     "It doesn't matter. He's gone, and now they're laughing. I hate
them...hate them so much...hate myself...I just wanna die." 
     Shock and anger vied for control as Mio heard those words. She
didn't know what to say, what words would soothe the suffering and agony
that was consuming Akane like logs thrown on the fire. She only knew one
thing, that Akane didn't deserve this. Throughout her life with Akane,
she had seen her only trying to fit in with her peers, to become one of
them instead of the outsider she had always been. She never tried to be
special, she just was. Her unassuming nature and her inability to be
anything other than who she was drew people to her like a herd to a
drinking hole. Like the saint who worked for only the good of God, she
didn't want the attention and following she received. The countless boys
following her she detested. Yet the female population of Furinkan did
not see it that way and allowed their petty jealousies to ferment and
age like a fine wine until it was opened and intoxicated the entire
school.
     They had only needed the one spark to ignite the fires, and Ranma's
departure and Akane's pregnancy had given them the ammunition needed.
Mio hated them. Could they not see the truth behind the matter? They did
not see the anguish Akane endured, the heartache she had suffered. They
did not see the beauty behind a tragic story of love. Did they feel
compassion? Only a few, and the rest, in their oh so human way, saw only
a weakness that they could use to vindicate their imagined insults.
Akane was right it wasn't fair. Not to her. She did not deserve the pain
of the whispered taunts, searing more than acid splashed across the
face. Mio understood. Mio knew the pain Akane felt in her heart. She had
lived with it for her entire life. That feeling of emptiness, loneli-
ness, the feeling that no one cared for you or wanted you. Only Akane
loved her. She was all Mio had, and to hear the words, "I wanna die,"
burned in her with the intense heat of a star's core. 
     "Don't say that. Never say that." Mio demanded sharply. "They're
all wrong. They don't understand. Who cares about them anyway? You're
all that matters, Neechan. Your family loves you. Ranma loves you. I
love you. What about us? We need you. I need you. Do you want Ranma to
come back and just find a silent grave! Do their words mean that much to
you?"
     Akane shook her head. "Iie, but it still hurts. It makes me feel
worthless. Like I did something wrong."
     "You did nothing wrong, Akane-chan." For a moment, Mio was
surprised. She had meant to say those words, but it was not her voice.
Glancing up, she noticed Toufu-sensei standing over them both like a
protective awning, his hands gently holding Akane's trembling shoulders.
"You did nothing wrong. Neither you or Ranma. It might not be the best
decision, but it is not the wrong one. I'm sorry if I made you think
that, Akane-chan."
     "Arigato," Akane whispered, still holding tightly to Mio. "It's
not your fault. It's just not fair. It's none of their business."
     "I know," Toufu answered, "but that doesn't stop them from making
it their business. You just need to put it behind you. Trust in your
friends and your family."
     "It's so hard," Akane nearly whimpered. "I can't stop from hearing
their words. I can't stop wondering if they're right."
     "They aren't!" Mio snapped. "Don't listen to them, Neechan. They're
nothing. I believe in you. That's all you need to know. Toufu-sensei's
right. It's only your friends and family that matters. They're not your
friends. They've never been. They treat you like they treat me. Just
some interesting plaything."
     "Maybe. I just thought..."
     "I know, Neechan. Betrayal always hurts. Come back with me and face
them. Show them you don't care," she pleaded with Akane.
     Akane shook her head. "I can't. Not now. I...I need some time to
think. Please just go back without me."
     Mio nodded her consent. She thought it was a mistake, but she knew
it was nigh impossible to change Akane's mind on any given subject. If
Akane stayed away from school without a reason, the rumours would spread
even more, but she wasn't going to force her into facing the same
gauntlet she had faced that morning. Akane was strong enough to overcome
the standing she had lost that day. She needed to find her strength
again, though, before she could do it.
     "Toufu-sensei?" Mio asked tentatively. "Could you give me a note
so that Akane has an excuse to miss class. Just so no one can take it
wrong."
     Toufu was silent for moment and then nodded his head in acceptance,
adjusting his glasses on his nose as he backed away. "I'll think of
something. Besides I need to talk to Akane for a while. It'd be better
if she stayed here with me."
     "Arigato," Mio and Akane responded at the same time, Mio's more
enthusiastic than Akane's soft whisper.
     "Let me get that note," Toufu said and walked to the reception desk
as he began to write out an excuse slip.
     As he did that, Mio bent down to Akane and hugged her reassuringly.
"I'll make sure Raiko gets what she deserves. I just know she started
this. I'll find a way to make her pay." Akane only nodded her head, her
eyes distant as f she were searching for someone. Sighing, Mio gave her
friend a quick squeeze and stood up as Toufu-sensei returned with the
note.
     "This should excuse her for a few days, if she wants to take the
time off." He handed the note to Mio who folded it and slipped it into
her bookbag. Bowing to Toufu-sensei, Mio gave Akane a reassuring smile
and left the clinic, fully intent on making sure that Raiko got what she
deserved.



                                -- 6 --


                       
     Nabiki twirled the pencil through her fingers before stopping it
with thumb and forefinger and snapping it in two. Her gaze, cool and
calculating turned on her two assistants, Kumi and Yoko. "Who started
these rumours?"
     Yoko shook her head, the dark braid of her hair swaying slightly
from the barely perceptible motion. 
     Kumi, on the other hand, spoke up. "It's hard to tell, Boss. There
are about twelve different rumours, and each leads back to a different
person. The other problem is that people aren't talking much to me or
Yoko. They all know we work fro you. I had to push several people to
even tell me who they got it from. The only definite thing I know is
that the three with any semblance condening realtionship originated from
Sakura, Masuka, and Kaneda. I haven't been able to talk to either of
those three."
     "Sakura, Masuka, and Kaneda..." Nabiki tapped one of the pencil
halves on the table the three of them were seated around. She knew those
three well, but they didn't hang around with each other too often. In
fact they all more than disliked the other, so who was their common
link? Sakura hung around with Nagai Raiko most of the time, but Raiko
detested Masuka. Masuka had stolen her boyfriend three months ago, but
before that they had been very close friends. Kaneda on the other hand
was unrelated to any of them. He spent most of his time hanging out with
Yoshioka and the other jocks. There had to be a connection between them.
The only one she could think of, though, was that they all disliked her
younger sister. 
     "Nabiki?" a tentative voice asked from behind her.
     Although she was startled, Nabiki slowly turned around to see who
had interrupted her meeting. To her surprise and relief, she saw her
sister's friend Mio standing a few feet from her table. For a moment,
Nabiki watched Mio and then frowned. She had meet the girl many times,
but knew little about her. The one thing she did know was the Mio was
very shy and rarely made her presence known. She was supposedly the most
even-tempered student at Furinkan. On acount of this, as she examined
the girl, Nabiki was struck by the rage-filled determination she saw in
Mio's eyes. It reminded her of the look Ranma had worn when she had
consented to help him.
     "What can I do for you, Mio?" Nabiki asked, sitting down on the
table. "I'm a little busy, but I can make time for my sister's friend.
So what can I do you for?"
     "I want you to humiliate Nagai Raiko," Mio stated in a matter-of- 
fact tone.
     "Humiliate?"
     "I don't want her to ever be able to show her face in this school
without being laughed at and derided by everyone!" Nabiki backed away
from the cold rage in Mio's words. For a moment she knew that if Raiko
had walked up to them, she would have been torn limb from limb by the
gentlest girl in the school.
     For a moment, Nabiki wondered what had brought this on, but it only
took her a moment to figure it all out. "Is this about Akane?" Nabiki
asked carefully.
     Mio nodded. "She started this. She's the one who spread all of the
rumours. She just did it because she hates Akane. She just wanted to get
back for that thing a few weeks ago. Raiko deserved that! Akane doesn't
deserve this. She hurt Akane. I want her to hurt ten times more than
what Akane is feeling right now! I want her to know what it feels like!"
Tears spilled down Mio's cheeks as she spoke, her voice rising with each
word.
     Nabiki could understand the feeling. When she first heard the
rumours that morning, she almost slapped the person who mentioned it.
She had restrained herself, holding herself instead to doubling every
interest rate in her books and giving no leniency for anyone who came
close to her during the morning. The fact that she couldn't find out who
had discovered the truth simply infuriated her more. "I'm listening,"
Nabiki said grimly.
     "I don't care what it takes, or how much you ask," Mio said softly.
"I want her to be an outcast. I'll give you anything. Anything! Just
make her pay."
     "Anything?" Nabiki asked, raising her eyebrow quizzically. 
     "Hai," Mio answer in a confident voice.
     "I could ask for anything, and you'd have to meet my terms."
     "I understand," Mio said her voice trembling a little. "I'll do
anything for Akane-chan."
     Nabiki smiled. "I guess I can't refuse a deal like that, can I?"
Nabiki turned to stare at her two silent partners.
     "It's a once in a lifetime deal," Kumi said.
     "A veritable fortune on a platter," Yoko added with a smile.
     "True, but I don't want money. I want you to do something for me."
Nabiki turned back to Mio. "You'll do anything, ne?"
     "Anything," Mio whispered, her eyes lowering.
     "Then never tell anyone that you asked me to do anything, and go
take care of my sister."
     Mio's head snapped up in surprise. Though she knew that Akane loved
Nabiki, she had expected to be charged for Nabiki's unique services. For
the first time in her life consorting with the Tendou's, she had one of
her firmly held beliefs shattered. But wasn't it always the distant
ones, like herself, who kept the deepest pools shrouded behind
protective shells?
     "Arigato," Mio said. "Arigato, for Akane."
     Nabiki gave a dismissive wave of her hand, a small quirk on her
lips. "She's my sister," Nabiki said, as if those words explained
everything. "Ja mata."
     "Ja mata," Mio said and walked away. 
     As Mio disappeared from sight, Nabiki turned to face Yoko and Kumi.
"I want everything you can find on Nagai Raiko. I want a way inside Miss
Pretentious' defenses. I don't like ti when people mess with my family.
Especially my sister."
     "Consider it done," they both said in unison. Yoko immediately
stood up and left, her face filled with determination. Kumi, however,
remained behind. Nabiki had already turned away and was chewing on one
of the ends of her broken pencil. She had not noticed Kumi yet, so the
girl coughed to get her attention.
     Nabiki turned her head and gave her partner an irritated and
disapproving stare. It passed quickly though, and Nabiki took in a deep
breath and slowly exhaled it. "What is it, Kumi?"
     "I wanted to know, Boss, about the rumours. You know...if they are
true." 
     "Does it matter?" Nabiki asked.
     "No and yes,"
     For a moment Nabiki smiled at her partner's evasiveness. It fell
from her face quickly though. "They're true."
     "Then why..."
     "Why do I do this when I do things just as bad?" Nabiki finished.
     "Hai."
     "Have I really ever done something that was permanent to anyone?
Have I destroyed their reputation for no reason other than I didn't like
them? Did I ever do it to someone who didn't deserve it?"
     "Ranma"
     "He's different. He doesn't match any game or any rules. My sister
does though. Besides this entire thing is different. You know I kept
quiet about Sachiko's and Kaori's abortions, don't you? Even though they
owed me nearly twenty thousand yen a piece? People might think what I
give out is life-threatening, but it isn't even important. They think it
is. This is important. The way they're treating my sister is going to
affect her for the rest of her life. Who cares about a girl that dumps a
boy because he was cheating on her and I told her? Who cares if I catch
you stealing?  Who cares if I make you pay your gambling debts? That is
just junk, Kumi, and you know it. This is different. My sister is having
a baby. She wants it, and is keeping it because she loves Ranma. It
sickens me that Raiko would use something like that to hurt my sister,
and to do it by fabricating almost all of the story from what little she
knows. Do you understand?"
     "Hai, Boss. I understand perfectly." Kumi gave Nabiki an eager
smile and then turned and started to walk away, her gait easy and fluid.
"I'll find something that will make her suffer for the rest of her
life," she promised.
     "I'd like that," Nabiki whispered with an evil glint in her eye,
but Kumi was already out of ear shot and missed what her boss said.


Author's Notes:

--Translations-- 
Relations:
Otousan/otousama  - father
Okaasan - mother
oneechan/neechan - older sister
ojisan  - older man or uncle
obasan  - older woman or aunt
obaba  -affectionate name Shampoo oves to her grandmother
hiibachan  - grandmother
musume  - daughter

Others:
Soo-desu  - It is so
Hai  -  yes
Iie  - no
zabuton  - the pillows that Japanese kneel on when they are at a table
or in many seiza positions
seiza  - position of kneeling
shoji  - rice paper doors, light and airy.
Shogi  - Japanese form of chess
gomen/gomen nasai  - sorry
arigato  - thank you
ne  - a term similar to Right? Or eh? Or huh? Denotes question basically
ja mata  - well, again... sort of like  see ya later'

     I didn't use all of them, but I m trying to compile a section of
commonly used words in my fics...                  


Comments:

     At this time I now declare my rambling about life, the unvierse,
and everything, including this story, open and on a full swing.Of course
it would be more helpfull if I actually had something interesting to
say. It has come to the point where mty writing doesn't need
explanation. Does that sound arrogant? I'm sorry if it did, I just find
that evertyhing is explained rather well in this chapter. Oh sure there
are loose ends, but it wouldn't be me writning without loose ends. Hw
many plots do I have floating around? Heck I can't even count them, I
just know how it fits together. Sort of like a blind man putting a
puzzle together, ne? 
     Well i'm not completely blind, though if I keep staring at this
computer screen I'll probably go blind. Hopefully it won't become as bad
as Mousse. That'd be bad since I work construction. I can see it now.
"Hand me a hammer...." I pick up a flamingtorch and hand it to him./..
Oh god the worker's comp on that one...ouch.  Anyway, that isn't
important. What is important is that I got another part to this story. I
swear it is groing in size faster than a cancer... I do see and end
tomthis chapter though. Three, maybe four mor parts and I'll be on to Ch
6, then we're off and running again. Oh stop groaning. I've told you.
I'm using this fic to improve my writing skills. I won't give up until I
find a decent ending, which I already have, I just have t get there, and
my writing becomes spotless...or a sspotless as possible without
suddenly learning every grammatical rule and exception within the
English language. Anyway, I'm going to be signing off now. Maybe I'll be
able to step up production on this. I don't know for sure.
     School starts soon, and I might have more time then, but then
again, I have a lot that I have to deal with. 

     Note: The Legacy is just sitting on the backburner. I've just not
had time to look at it recently. I'll get to it though. Don't worry.
     Until next time
     Joseph A. Kohle

     Watch for the Next installment of MASN.
     Chapter 5 Separate Paths Part 6 Divergent Crossings

     You notice my titles make less and less sense. Transient
Foundations? Divergent Corssings? What next, Glowing Darknesss?

   ----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----
   All rights and priveleges to Ranma Nibunnoichi       
   belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The characters of her        
   series are used without her permission for the       
   purpose of entertainment only. This work of fic-
   tion is not meant for sale or profit.                    
                                                                         
   All original characters are the creation of the
   author. All copyright privileges to these chara-
   cters are reserved for the author.

   This story is a product of the author's hard work    
   and imagination. Do not modify, add to, or make 
   use of any part of this work without the author's 
   knowing and written consent. Please feel free to archive 
   this work.                             
            
   Comments and criticism are welcome.                   
   Written by Joseph A. Kohle, (c) 1997.                 
   Send all comments to Ashira@worldnet.att.net
   Find some of my fanfics at 
   http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/6184/index.html