Okay, here's where I grovel and beg your indulgence.  I know you're all
going "What?!  *Another* 'Akane is mute' Story?  What the ????"  Well, it
seems three of us got the bug at the same time (Blame Chris!), and we all
decided to write a continuation on the theme.  I started this in November,
and spent a long time researching and hashing out a plot line, sketching
out scenes, etc (yeah, and drawing pictures, too :P).  I'd like to think
I've got something good going here, and I'm sure someone out there will
think so as well.  I'd also like to hear from the rest of you. :)  I was
good and I ran it through my spell-checker, my proof reader (Thank you
June!), my beta-reader (Thank you Donald Mc!), and my poor, tormented
husband (who had to put up with my teeth-gnashing and hair-pulling whenever
he found something wrong).  This is not my first fanfic, but it is my first
for this list.  I hope you like what I'm doing.

-Deb "SabreBabe" Matthews



Author's notes: Once upon a time there was a nice author by the name of
Chris Jones who wrote a nice little one-shot called "Curse of Silence -or-
Time to Think".  It had the unfortunate side-effect of distracting me from
what I was currently writing to obsessively thinking about the 'what-if
Akane couldn't speak' idea.  How would things have gone different in the
Ranmaverse?  Well, since I can't work on the other story I was working on
until I do something about this, I'm gonna continue the story.  Kinda.
Some things will be familiar, but the rest, well, I'm gonna go ahead and
blend it with the story I was originally working on and get both done at
the same time.  And yes, the characters will seem OOC.  This is a What-if,
and it sets them in an entirely different beginning situation.  And having
had worked with physically and mentally challenged folks (as well as being
one myself), I thought I'd give it a shot.  I mean, the worst that could
happen is getting kicked off the list for really, really bad writing,
right?  It would be a good idea to run off to Chris' website at
http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic/ranma.html to read the original "Curse of
Silence" if you already haven't.  It's a damn good story by itself and I
don't want to rehash Chris' fine works here.

As for the title: it's taken from "People Are Strange" by The Doors.  It
reflects the entire story very well, I think.  Both Ranma and Akane are
"strangers" (or oddities, even) in a country that demands conformity.  No,
this is not a Darkfic, no, it's not WAFFy nor is it a comedy.  But it will
be a bit of everything, I hope.  (crosses fingers and toes)


Disclaimer: Yeah, I wrote this.  No, most of the characters aren't mine.
In fact, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi, without whom, Ranma and all his
friends wouldn't have seen the light of day.  And the world would have been
a much poorer place.  All Hail Takahashi-sensei!

More odd bits:

"..." = vocal speech
'...' = signed speech
{...} = somebody's thinkin'

C&C is most appreciated and even groveled for.

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

"When You're a Stranger"




Akane rushed past Ranma and lightly bapped him on the head with her tablet.
 He looked down at her as she bounced around him.

'Hurry up!  You're making us late for school!  We still have to get you
registered before class!' Akane scribbled before she ran on.

"School?!  I ain't going to school!  I don't even have supplies!" he
protested.  Genma threw an empty schoolbag at Ranma.

"Well then son, you'll just have to pick some up when you get registered,
right?"

"What?  Hey!  I don't have any money for supplies, Oyaji!  You think
they're just gonna hand 'em to me for free?"  Ranma hit his father with the
satchel just as Nabiki interrupted.

"Here.  You can have some from my stock of supplies.  I'll bill you for
them later.  Now you better get going before Akane has a fit.  She really
hates to be late.  Ta-ta!"  Nabiki left for school before Akane ran by
again.  

Clutching her satchel and two bento boxes, Akane grabbed her tablet and
Ranma, dragging him through the house at breakneck speed.

"Hey! Waitaminute!  I can walk by myself, y'know!" Ranma sputtered.  Akane
dropped him at the door and slipped her shoes on.  She scribbled while he
put on his.

'I just don't want to be late for class, that's all.  We have a lot of
paperwork to get through first.'

"We'll get there just fine, okay?  I just don't really see why I gotta go
to school and all," he grumbled as they walked.  Akane handed him her
tablet just before he jumped up onto the fence.

'You're going to school because it's the law, and I don't want an
uneducated idiot for a finace,' she wrote.  He looked down to say something
and saw her gawking back at him.  She gestured her hand at the fence and up
to him.

"Uh, why am I walking on the fence?" he guessed at her question.  Akane
nodded.  "Oyaji says it's good balance practice.  He doesn't want me
getting soft, so I gotta be doin' stuff like this all the time."

Akane started to gesture again slowly, but then she suddenly looked
frustrated and waved frantically at the writing board Ranma was still holding.

"Huh? Oh yeah, heh, sorry 'bout that," he said, handing the board back as
he jumped down to walk next to her.

'I'd like to try that sometime, when we're not in a hurry.'

Ranma looked at her and smiled.  "Yeah, it wouldn't be such a good idea
with you wearin' a dress and all.  Folks'd see up yer skirt," he turned his
head and blushed.

Akane raised an eyebrow and quickly scribbled.

'Well, I could always wear my gym shorts underneath,' 

"Yeah, that could work, but ya might wanna change yer shoes, too.  I mean,
I think mebbe yer gym shoes would be better to start with than yer dress
shoes."

Akane nodded.  

Ranma was fending off his bout of blushing.  {Man, she is cute!  I can't
believe Oyaji doesn't like her, just 'cause she ain't got a voice.}  He
snuck a quick peek at Akane.  {Yeah, she's pretty cute.  And nice too.  I
hope...} 

**Splash!**

"Damn."  Onna-Ranma looked at the little old lady watering down her
pavestones.  Akane had a hand over her mouth in shock.  "Well, so much for
getting to school on time today.  I'm gonna go back home and take a bath."

Akane shook her head and grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her.

"What?  I ain't goin' to school as a girl!"  Akane shook her head again and
pointed to a clinic further down the block.  When they arrived, Akane
handed him the tablet once again.

'Dr. Toufu is a friend of the family.  We can get hot water here any time
we need it.  Just wait a minute and I'll get some.'  Onna-Ranma nodded,
leaned against the wall and waited for Akane to return with hot water.

{What a way to start my first day of school.  I don't even have any decent
school supplies.  Not that Oyaji would ever cough up the money for them.
And how am I gonna explain this curse?  Mebbe I should just go back...}

"Pardon Me!"

Onna-Ranma jumped straight up and landed on the top of the wall as the
skeletal hand touched his shoulder.  {What the hell??  I never even heard
him comin' up behind me!}

Dr. Toufu smiled as Onna-Ranma climbed back down the wall.

"I'm sorry about that.  I'm Dr. Toufu and this is Betty-chan, my skeleton.
I didn't mean to scare you.  Are you waiting for someone?"

"Uh, uh, yeah, I'm here with..." Onna-Ranma started to say as Akane came
around the corner with a kettle.

"Oh, hello Akane.  Is she a new friend of yours?"

'Yes, Dr. Toufu,' Akane signed slowly, handing Onna-Ranma the kettle.  'His
name is Ranma, and he has a little problem with cold water.'

Dr. Toufu raised his eyebrows as he watched Ranma change from female to
male. {This...this is incredible!  I'd never have believed it if I didn't
see it for myself!  I wonder if Ranma would let me examine this phenomenon
later on...} 

"Uh, I'm Ranma Saotome.  Sorry 'bout this."

Ranma watched in fascination as Akane's hands danced in front of her, her
fingers twisting and fanning in delicate gestures.  Dr. Toufu nodded and
put his hands on their shoulders.

"Well, you two better get going then.  It's been very nice meeting you
Ranma.  I'd like to spend more time chatting with you, but Akane says
you're both in a hurry this morning.  Have a nice day at school." (I'm sure
Akane will be bringing him by again, given the kinds of trouble that
usually follows her around,} he thought sadly as he went back into the clinic.

{Huh? Akane said...?} "Hey Akane!  Wait up!  What was that thing you just
did with your hands?"  Ranma chased after her.

Akane pulled out her tablet again.

'It's called Sign Language.  It's how deaf and mute people talk without
having to write all the time.'

Ranma thought on it for a minute.  "So you can talk with your hands?"

Akane nodded.

"And that Dr. Toufu, he can read your hands when you do that?  Wow, that's
pretty cool.  I can see how that would be useful, being a doctor and all.
He's a martial artist, isn't he?"

Akane nodded again.

"Heh, I could tell, I didn't even feel it when he snuck up on me with that
skeleton of his."

Akane made a sound that could have been quiet laughter. 

'He does that a lot.  I think he does it to keep in practice.  He's very
nice though.  He used to patch up all my cuts and scrapes when I was little.'

"And he don't anymore?"

'I don't get hurt as much anymore.  At least, not so bad that I need to go
see a doctor.'

Ranma smiled.  "Yeah, I know what ya mean.  Now I get to go to the doctor's
office when I turn into a girl.  'Hey doc?  I've turned into a girl again.
Ya got any hot water?'"

Akane made another quiet giggling noise.  {Kami-sama! I wish all boys were
as nice as he is.  I'll bet it's his curse that makes him not be a pervert.
 And he is kinda handsome...  Gah!  Listen to me!  Yuka and Sayuri would
have a fit if they knew I was thinking these thoughts about a boy!
Still....}  She smiled and gave Ranma a sidelong glance before they turned
the corner towards Furinkan High.

{Wow,} Ranma thought. {I didn't know her laughter would sound so...strange.
 But it's not really as freaky as I thought it'd be.} He thought about the
scar running across her neck and shivered.  {I guess it's not so bad,
really.  But when she smiles like that, she's really cute!}

Akane looked ahead and shuddered as she saw the crowd collecting near the
gates.  Her arms stiffened and her fists clenched.  Ranma, still watching
her, noticed the sudden change.  

"What's the matter, Akane?"  He looked ahead as he heard her teeth grind.
Akane's eyes darkened with violent emotion as she slowed down to a forced
stiff-legged pace.  "Akane?  Hey, what's going on?  Is there some kinda
problem I should know about?  Can I help?"

Akane shook her head and kept her eyes low, not wanting to make any kind of
eye contact with the mob of boys at the gate.

{Damn.  She's really upset!  And there's a lot of heavy vibes being put out
up there.  I wonder what's going on?  A fight maybe?  But Akane is upset
about it....}  Ranma went on the defensive, his fighting and survival
senses kicking into high gear. He took in everything around him and noted
the movements of everyone in the courtyard.  Ranma stepped a little closer
to Akane and kept pace with her to the gates.  {Don't worry Akane, I'm
right here, I won't let anything happen to ya.}

"Hey Akane," he whispered, "let's keep close. I don't wanna get lost in
that mob and try to find the office without ya."

Akane looked up at him suddenly with wide eyes. He was struck by the fear
and anger he saw in them.  She blinked, clearing her thoughts, and gave him
a wan smile and nodded.

{Ranma's a really good fighter, but I can't let him get involved in this
mess.  He's right, though.  We should just get straight to the office.  We
don't have time for this this morning, and I don't want to have to try to
explain it all to him now.}  Ranma jumped a little as he felt her battle
aura flare to life, surprising him.  {I've got to get through this quickly
and get him out of here.}

"Akane, I have a bad feeling about this."

Akane grabbed Ranma's arm and quickened her pace, trying to drag him
through the gauntlet at the gates.  The taunts and hazing began almost
immediately.  Ranma was shoved back as a dozen boys converged on Akane,
groping and grabbing at her, making profane suggestions and gestures,
eventually shoving her back and forth between themselves in a perverse game
of Hot Potato.  Ranma's temper flared and he broke up the ring with a few
quick shoves as he rescued Akane from the mob.

"What the hell is going on here, Akane?  I've seen you fight, why didn't
you just mop up the floor with these guys?"

"Because fighting ain't allowed here, pus-for-brains!  Now let go of the
freak and go back to mommy before you get hurt!"

Akane shook with anger, grabbed Ranma's arm before he could respond and
tried to drag him off to the office once more before their trip was
interrupted again.

"You know what you have to do to get them to stop this, Akane."  A tall,
well-dressed young man stepped out from behind a tree. He leaned back
against it with his hands placed in the pockets of his neatly pressed
trousers. "You can put a stop to all of this, if you wanted to.  I don't
see why you persist in playing these stupid, childish games."

"Who's the fruit?" Ranma whispered.  He read her tablet.

'Upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno.  He's got a few problems with reality.  And
his ego.  His father's very rich and has the principal in his wallet.'

"Lemme get rid of these guys, Akane.  They'll never bug you again."  Ranma
started cracking his knuckles.

Akane shook her head furiously. 'No.  I'll explain later!'

"But..."

"And who is this trash who thinks he can just come up and talk to you
without my permission?"  Kuno sneered, pointing at Ranma.

"Me?"  Ranma pointed to himself.  "I'm..." He looked at Akane, who was
shaking her head vigorously.  "I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo.  Akane's
father and my old man are old friends.  And..."  Ranma said, scooping up
Akane, "we are late for some important business."  Ranma leapt over the
crowd and ran into the building with Akane in his arms.  Once inside, he
set her down.  She promptly bopped him on the head with her tablet.

"Ite!  Whadja do that for?  I was tryin' to help you out y'know!  And
what's with this deal about not fightin' those jerks anyway?  You coulda
taken 'em all without breakin' a sweat."  Ranma scampered after Akane as
she stormed down the hallway.  She tossed him the writing tablet.

'There's a new rule here: No fighting.  At all.  Any fighting is grounds
for immediate suspension.  I don't need that on my record.  You can't
afford it either.  You've already missed too much school as it is.  Kuno
had his father pay off the principal for that one.  It's all my fault,
really.  Sorry.'

Ranma, reading the tablet and not looking where he was going, plowed into a
door.

"Ite!  Hey, Akane!  Whadda you mean it's all your fault? I mean, it'd be
self-defense, right?  It's not like those guys can't fight, can they?"

Akane sighed and her shoulders slumped.  She took back her tablet and wrote
some more as they entered the office.

'I'll tell you about it during lunch.  It's a loooong story.  Let's just
get you registered for now, neh?'

"Uh, okay.  Sure."  Ranma fidgeted as he waited for the huge pile of forms
he knew his old man 'neglected' to fill out.

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

"Nakamatsu!"

"Yes, Kuno-Sempai?"

"Get me Nabiki Tendo. I want to know more about that peasant who is staying
at the Tendo Dojo.  He is a little... too familiar with Akane.  I'd like to
see that ended.  Immediately."

"Yes, Kuno-Sempai."

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

"Just take your time, Saotome-kun.  This paperwork should have been filled
out prior to your coming to school, but since you're here now, you might as
well fill them out properly and legibly."  Ranma grunted something
unintelligible and nodded his head.  The secretary, Mrs. Fujihara was very
patient with him and she seemed to get along well enough with Akane.

"Your clothing, however, will have to change.  You are required to wear a
uniform at this school."  She paused as Ranma looked up at her and then
looked back down at what he was wearing.  He cringed at the thought of
suddenly changing into a girl while wearing a boy's uniform.

"Well, I uh, kinda outgrew the last uniform I had, and Oyaji hasn't
bothered to buy me any new clothes since we went to China.  It was kinda
like pullin' teeth even then just to get what I got to wear now."  Ranma
blushed and put a hand behind his head, remembering how his father had
'procured' Ranma's last school uniform.  {There's no way in hell I'm gonna
tell him I need uniforms!  I ain't wearin' stolen clothes to school again!}

"Well, we do have some used uniforms that we can give you for now.  Stand
up and let me see if I can find something in your size."

Ranma stood up and Mrs. Fujihara looked him over before running off to a
back room.  He flopped back into the chair and went back to filling in
thousands of blank lines.  Akane had taken some of the forms and copied the
important information off of sheets he had already finished, leaving Ranma
just a few bits on each page to finish.  Akane poked him in the arm and
wrote a message.

'You didn't fill in your mother's name and address.'

Ranma hesitated.

"I... I don't remember my mother.  I don't even know her name." He
whispered.  "I can barely remember her face."

'I'm sorry.  Did...' Akane doodled for a second. 'Did she die?'

"No.  At least, I don't think so.  I've been on the road training with
Oyaji since I was six years old.  She might still be alive somewhere.
Oyaji doesn't talk about her."

'Maybe we can find her now that you've settled down for a bit.  I can ask
Nabiki.  She's good at puzzles.'  Akane smiled and gently pushed the last
of the paperwork in front of him.

"That would be great!" Ranma smiled at her.  "I'd like to see my mother
again.  Even if she was dead, I'd like to know.  You know what I mean?"

Akane smiled sadly.

'Yes.  Yes, I do know what you mean.'

Mrs. Fujihara returned with a large pile of clothing in her arms.

"I pulled a few different sizes, just in case.  You look like you're about
ready for a large growth spurt, and it would be inconvenient to outgrow a
uniform a few weeks after getting it, neh?"  Akane hid her smile behind her
hand and Ranma just smirked openly.

"Yeah, Oyaji had a few choice words about my last growth spurt.  He was
gonna let me run around in just my boxers until I stopped growin'." He
grinned.

"Here.  There's a small bathroom in the back you can use."

"Thank you." Ranma took the pile and Akane grabbed up the rest of the
paperwork and followed him to the back of the office.  "Hey, you're not
gonna come in here and watch me dress, are ya?"

Akane smacked him with the pile of papers and her tablet.

'Hentai!  No, I'm going to sit here and finish filling out your paperwork
legibly so we can get to class before lunchtime! Your handwriting is
horrible!'

"Oh." Ranma cringed. "Okay, I, uh, I s'pose I'll just try this stuff on and
see what fits."  

Several minutes later, Ranma peeked out the door and waved over to Akane.

"Psst!  Hey, Akane!  C'mere a minute!"

Akane met him at the door and gestured inquisitively.

"I think this one fits pretty good and there's room to grow, but..."

Akane waved her hand for him to continue.

Ranma leaned closer and whispered.

"What if I get hit with cold water?  I'll be swimmin' in these things!  My
girl form is a lot smaller, and my pants'd end up on the floor!  There's
nothin' to tie 'em up with!"

Akane's eyes got wide then scrunched nearly closed as she thought about it
for a bit.  Ranma was nearly blinded by the lightbulb.  She ran off and
returned with Mrs. Fujihara.  The secretary looked Ranma over and liked
what she saw.

"Well, you cleaned up very nicely.  That uniform looks very good on you.
Akane seems to think there's a problem, although I can't see why."

"I, uh, I need a belt or something, in case my pants fall down."

Mrs. Fujihara tugged at Ranma's waistband and checked it for fit.  It was a
little loose, but in no immediate danger of slipping any lower than his hips.

"Well, yes, they are a little big, but I don't think your pants are in any
danger of slipping off.  I can see if we have any belts, but I'll tell you
now that most of them are in pretty sorry shape."

"I'd really appreciate that very much." Ranma bowed and waited for her to
return.  

"I hope I don't have to find out just how really big this uniform is gonna
be, Akane.  I don't want everyone thinkin' I'm some kinda pervert or
nothin'," he grumbled quietly.

'Maybe we should let her know about your curse.  She might be able to help
getting you a uniform waiver or something,' Akane wrote back.

"I can't go around tellin' everyone I got a curse!" he hissed.  "Then
they'd really think I was a freak!"

Akane put her hand on his arm.

'I don't think you're a freak.  Just a poor baka that ended up with a
cursed panda for a father,' she smiled at him.

Ranma smiled back at Akane as she took back her tablet.

"Ya got that right."

Mrs. Fujihara returned with a few well-worn belts, all too small save for
one that could have been owned by a Sumo wrestler.

"Well, you can always buy one after school.  I think your trousers will
hold until then," she smiled.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other nervously and fidgeted.  Their nervous
glances did not go unnoticed.

"Is there something you two aren't telling me?"  Mrs. Fujihara was one of
the nicest, most understanding people working at Furinkan High.  She was
also one of the toughest.  Not much escaped her notice.   If anyone ever
asked who was in charge of Furinkan High, they would be pointed to the
principal's office.  If anyone asked who actually ran the school, they
would be directed to Mrs. Fujihara.  There wasn't a bit of red tape nor any
crisis she couldn't deal with.

Until now.

Ranma's shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh.

"You might as well find out about this now.  Akane, can you get..." Akane
waved him off as she made a beeline for the coffeepot on the other side of
the office.  When she returned with a styrofoam cup of steaming hot water,
Ranma recited the tale (much abbreviated, of course) of how he got cursed.

Mrs. Fujihara peered down at the two through her bifocals with an
incredulous look.

"And what has this fantasy tale have to do with your uniform?"

Ranma scooted back into the small bathroom and turned on the cold water.
Akane handed him a spare cup and moved in to cut off any other viewers from
seeing what was going on in the bathroom.

"I'm tellin' ya this 'cause it's a problem I got and I don't know how to
deal with it yet."  With that, he upended the cup over his head.  Ranma's
tall male form shivered, twitched and suddenly shrunk down to a small,
albeit well-proportioned red-haired female form.  Ranma found herself
holding up her pants to keep them from visiting her ankles.  Akane handed
Ranma the other cup of water.  "Ya see? I really do have this curse.  And I
turn back into myself when I get doused with warm water," she said with a
quiet feminine voice.  She dumped the hot water over her head and the
transformation reversed itself.  With a twitch, Ranma was tall, dark and
male once again.

Mrs. Fujihara blinked, blinked again, then put her hand to her chin and
blinked a third time.  {This is odd, even for Nerima.  But then again, this
is Nerima.}

"So, are you really a boy or a girl?"

"I'm a boy!" Ranma all but yelled.  He quickly composed himself and tried
to wipe some of the excess water off of his shirt.  "I'm a boy." He quietly
reiterated.  "I got thrown into the 'Spring of Drowned Girl' and now
whenever I get hit with cold water, I turn into a girl.  I hate it, and I'm
not a pervert!" he growled menacingly.

"I'm not accusing you of anything perverted young man.  I just need to know
how to register you for your classes.  You can't just go running into the
boys' locker room if you're really a girl, you know.  And what about your
extra-curricular classes, hmm?  Some are boys-only and others are
girls-only."  She let him soak in the information before continuing.  Akane
looked down at the floor, remembering what happened the last time someone
tried to cross the line of gender-based courses.  "Well, since you are
adamantly a boy, and I presume your birth certificate and other school
records will back this up?" she paused and Ranma nodded vigorously.  "Then
you will be enrolled as a boy and your curriculum will reflect as such.  I
don't want to hear any reports of you trying to sneak into the girls'
locker room in your girl form, though.  Are we clear on that?"  Ranma
nodded again while looking very relieved.  "Now, about this belt problem..."

A few modifications later they had a respectable belt cut from the huge
one, and added extra holes for Ranma to tighten when he was a girl.

Mrs. Fujihara made a few notes in Ranma's records and began filling out a
couple of tardy passes for them to get into their next class, as well as
Ranma's locker assignments and class schedule.

"I'm going to put you in many of the same classes as Akane-kun, since you
two seem to know each other well enough.  I want you to let me know if
there are any problems with any of your instructors regarding your
unique...condition.  As for the other students, you will have to deal with
their antics on your own.  I trust Akane-kun has told you about the "No
Fighting" rule here at Furinkan?"

Ranma looked at Akane then nodded.  

"Yeah, she gave me a quick run-down on it as we come in through the gates."

Mrs. Fujihara nodded in understanding.

"Very well. Akane-kun, I expect you to show Ranma-kun around and instruct
him on all the rules and regulations here at Furinkan.  You will have to
share books until we can find some extra for Ranma-kun to use.  Ranma-kun,
you will have to get a gym uniform as well, but I think you can get away
with using your everyday clothes today.  The coach is rather generous with
talented students," She winked at him, knowing full well from his build
that he was most likely a martial artist, if not a gifted athlete.

{Whoa!  How did she know that gym's my best class?}

"Well, you two should get off to your class now.  I'll call you in if there
is anything else we need."  Mrs. Fujihara finished.

Ranma and Akane gathered up the small pile of uniforms, their bento and
their satchels and made their way to class.  Ranma showed Akane the slip of
paper with his locker assignment, and she pointed it out when they got
close to it.

"Damn.  I forgot about gettin' school slippers," Ranma cursed as he shoved
everything into the cubicle.  Akane shrugged and pointed to his well-worn
Chinese slippers.

"You think I can get by with wearin' these today?"   Akane nodded her
reply.  Ranma shrugged as he fidgeted in his school uniform, the shirt
feeling a bit stuffy.  {At least I don't have to wear the jacket,} he thought.

'This is our homeroom,' Akane pointed out to Ranma.  

He was amazed at how fast she wrote, erased and rewrote to imitate speech
patterns.  What impressed him more was how neat her handwriting was in
spite of the speed she wrote.  He nodded as Akane softly knocked on the
door, waited a moment, then stepped into their classroom.  The teacher
reached out for their tardy notes.  After reading them, he nodded and stood
up.  

"Class, we have a new student today, his name is Ranma Saotome, and he has
just returned from China.  Let's all make him welcome here at Furinkan
High.  Saotome, there is a seat in the back next to Miss Tendo.  You may
sit there."  Ranma nodded and wove his way through the faces of swooning
girls and angry guys to get to the back of the room.  He collapsed
gratefully into his chair.

{Man, I've never had anyone look at me like that!  I felt like a side of
beef! And what's with the guys in this class anyways?  They looked like
they were gonna fry me on the spot!}  Ranma mused on his new situation
while the teacher droned on for another forty-five minutes.  His daydream
of last nights' pleasant conversation with Akane was interrupted when he
noticed that a note had materialized on his desk.  It was in Akane's neat
handwriting.

'Ranma, you should at least get out your paper and pencils and pretend to
pay attention.  You don't want to get detention!  We can't spar after
school if you're here sitting in detention!
							-Akane'

Ranma sat up and, stuffing the note into his satchel, dragged out a pencil
and notebook Nabiki had given him.  Sold to him, really.  {Man, now I have
to get a job, just so I can pay back Nabiki for all the school stuff I'm
gonna need.  I don't wanna know how much books are gonna cost!}  He looked
at Akane and smiled.

"Mr. Saotome!  Is there something particularly interesting about Miss Tendo
that you'd like to share with the rest of the class?  Or would you rather
just continue staring at her?"  Ranma jumped up out of his seat, standing
ram-rod straight.

"Uh, No sir, I mean, we, uh, we gotta share our books, that's all!  I don't
have any books yet..." Ranma sputtered out.

"Ah, I see where that would be a problem.  Very well then, Mr. Saotome, I
trust you will be getting your own books soon, then?"

"Uh, Yessir!  As soon as I can, sir."

"Good.  You may sit back down"  {Poor kid must have gone to an all-boys'
school before coming to Furinkan.  Has all the classic trauma signs...} The
teacher shook his head and went back to the problem on the board.

Ranma collapsed back into his chair again, beet-red with embarrassment.
Akane was just as red, but smiled back at him anyway.  She scooted her desk
a little closer to his and offered her book.  She waved off some of the
quiet snickers and stares.  

Two girls sitting near Akane simply looked bug-eyed at Akane sharing her
books with Ranma.  A Boy!  This was definitely prime gossip material, and
Akane had been holding out on them!  Yuka and Sayuri nodded to each other
and prepared to pounce as soon as the bell rang signaling the end of the
class.

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

"Nabiki, Nabiki, Nabiki Tendo.  Whatever shall I do with that sister of
yours?"  Takewaki Kuno spoke quietly as Nabiki stepped up to speak with him.  

"Your lackey said you needed something, Kuno?"

"I do not have 'lackeys', Nabiki.  And the only thing I need is for your
little sister to stop playing her little games."

"Her little games?  Oh, you mean the 'I don't want to date you or mess with
your lackeys' game?  Or the game that 'I can beat you at any of your little
games and make you look worse than you already are' game?"  Nabiki smirked
an ice-cold grin.  Tatewaki Kuno did not impress nor intimidate Nabiki
Tendo, and they both knew it.

But he still tried.

"Nabiki," he leaned in closer, growling.  "Your sister arrived today with
someone.  Someone I did not give permission to go near her, let alone speak
to her.  You do know what the penalty is for breaking those rules, don't you?"

"Of course.  It's standard fare around here.  You're gonna scare the poor
slob into wetting himself and make him beg for your forgiveness, then he'll
leave Akane alone and never associate with her again except to bring her
messages from you," Nabiki recited with a half yawn.  "Really Kuno.  It's
all been done before.  And I don't think it'll really work at all this
time." She smiled enigmatically.

"Really.  And you know who this peasant is?  Where he is from?  His
parents?  If he is even worthy of being in the same town as Akane?"

"Of course I do.  And you know I do, otherwise, you wouldn't have called me
here to waste good breathing air."

"Then why haven't I been told already?"

"Because it's none of your business," Nabiki said coolly, examining her
fingernails.

Kuno glared for a moment, then continued.

"You are the most difficult bitch I've ever had to deal with."

"Why, thank you!" Nabiki smiled a disgustingly sweet smile and batted her
eyes.

"And you will tell me what I want to know.  Or..."

"Or what?  You'll sic your dogs on me?  You'll beat me into a pulp?  You'll
scare me so bad I'll have nightmares for a week?  I don't think so.  It
hasn't worked yet, and I doubt it'll work anytime soon."

"What do you want, then?"

"You know what I want, Kuno-baby.  Make it real, and you'll get what you
deserve."

There was a long pause before Kuno replied.

"I don't think so.  Tell me what I want to know and get out."

Nabiki smirked again, then went back to polishing her nails.

"Fine.  His name is Ranma Saotome.  His daddy and my daddy are old friends.
 You could say they went to school together.  They're staying at the Tendo
Dojo as our guests for the time being while Ranma continues his education."
 With that, Nabiki turned and left the room.

"Wait!  That's it?  That's all?  He's staying at your dojo and you know
nothing more about him?"

"You get what you pay for, Kuno-baby!" Nabiki's laugh rang out through the
hall.


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


Ten minutes later, Ranma was beginning to think that maybe math wasn't
quite as hard as he originally thought.  Then again, he never had a pretty
girl sit quietly beside him and walk him through each problem, complete
with little diagrams and notes on how she got to each answer.

{Hell, some of these problems even make sense!}  Ranma started the next
problem with a little prodding from Akane.  

Fate, on the other hand, decided Ranma had had enough fun for the day and
the class bell rang just as he was getting a handle on the basics of
geometry.  Both Akane and Ranma found themselves being forcibly dragged,
chairs and desks included, apart from each other and surround by small mobs.

"Akane!  Are you crazy..." Yuka started.

"Or just suicidal?!"  Sayuri finished.  "He is sooo gorgeous!  How did you
get him to walk with you with Kuno around?  Are you dating him?"

"Does he even know his life is on the line here?  Where did you meet him?
Is he rich?"  Yuka was bouncing on her toes with excitement.

Akane, for her part, blushed deeply and waved at her two gossip-sisters in
embarrassment.

"OOooOOO! Lookit her!  She's blushing!" Sayuri squealed.  "It must be
something juicy!  C'mon Akane!  Spill!" Both girls leaned in closer as
Akane started writing on her tablet.

Ranma found himself in the middle of hostile territory, for the most part.
He recognised a few of the faces from the crowd that harassed Akane at the
gate that morning.  Looking through the menacing crowd he saw Akane quietly
chatting with only a couple of excited girls.  The rest of the class had
left for lunch.  Akane caught his eye and waved her bento at him and
pointed to the door.  He opened his mouth to respond, but someone behind
him had taken exception to being ignored.  Ranma felt a sudden painful yank
on his ponytail and his head lurched backwards.

"Look here, you asshole!  I asked you how you knew Akane.  Don't you know
that she's 'Off-Limits'?  You gotta go through the proper channels and pay
the right people to be allowed to talk with Akane.  And live."  The rude
boy hissing in Ranma's ear had the sound of Ranma's teeth grinding as his
only warning.

{Nofightinginschool...nofightinginschool...nofightinginschool...} marched
through Ranma's head as he slowly straightened his neck and stood up to
face the mob.

Akane's eyes grew to the size of saucers when Ranma's hair was pulled.  The
teacher returned to the room to retrieve a forgotten folder in time to
watch the scene unfold.  He hoped and prayed the new kid wouldn't try
anything.  He really didn't want to see the young man expelled after a half
day in the new school.

Ranma slowly and deliberately reached behind his head to grab the offending
hand that was, incredibly, still trying to yank his head back down. Two
fingers around a wrist, a twist and a yelp of pain dropped Hissing Boy to
his knees.  Ranma still held onto his wrist, turning it just a little more
while trying to keep a lid on his temper.

"Is there a problem here?" Mr. Fukizawa asked, knowing something was
happening and hoping it wouldn't escalate.

Ranma looked up and gave him a goofy smile.

"No, Sensei.  This guy here just got his hand caught between the desk and
chair.  I think he hurt his hand tryin' to get it out, though.  Ya wanna
come take a look?"  With a last twitch, a tiny snap and another yelp let
Ranma know that the wrist was sprained and he let go.  Mr. Fukizawa nodded
and helped the unfortunate lad to the nurses' station, glad that the new
kid was able to hold his own without causing a scene.

"C'mon Akane, let's get some lunch."  Akane nodded and they walked out of
the room, side by side.  Yuka and Sayuri scampered after them, holding back
just enough to give the couple their privacy, but hoping to catch any
little bit of conversation that they might overhear. 

Hiroshi and Daisuki watched the entire scene with quiet, morbid
fascination.  The new kid could hold his own, and he was talking to and
maybe even dating Akane Tendo.  And he was even in their classroom.  Which
meant that Kuno would be expecting a full report from them immediately, if
not sooner.  That is, if they wanted to keep their girlfriends safe and
sound.  They looked at each other and sighed.

"Well, let's catch up with the girls.  Maybe they got something out of
Akane that we can tell Kuno that he'll be happy with," Hiroshi suggested.

"Kuno? Happy?  Akane is seeing another guy, who doesn't have the good sense
to be running in terror.  No he's not gonna be happy, no matter what we
tell him." Daisuke shook his head sadly as he retrieved his bento and
wandered out to the lunch hall.


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

Ranma and Akane sat under a tree for a quiet lunch.  Akane pulled on
Ranma's sleeve and gave him a serious look.

"Uh, am I okay?" he guessed.  Akane nodded.  He smiled and Akane's face lit
up as she gave him a nod with a hand gesture that imitated the one he had
used earlier on the hand that offended his pigtail.

"Yeah, just a simple, basic move.  I was tryin' not to get thrown out for
fightin', like ya said," he mumbled through a mouthful of chicken stir-fry.
 "I guess it really paid off to not lose my temper and clock the guy."

Akane nodded and scribbled on her template.

'That's how it's been for me, too.  I've got a rotten temper, and knocking
the idiots through the wall used to work for me until this stupid rule was
put in.' Ranma's eyes boggled.  'Now I have to check myself all the time.' 

Ranma nodded in agreement.  {This is gonna be a tough school if I can't
take out those idiots with my fists.  Which reminds me...}

"So, what's with this 'No Fighting' rule?  And why is it yer fault anyway?"

Akane stopped chewing and nearly choked. {Damn.  I was hoping he'd forgot
about that.}  She swallowed, sighed, and started writing.

'Well, the short version is that Kuno is obsessed with me. When I got here
last year I wanted to join the Kendo Club...'

"Why would ya want to do that?  It's a pretty lame martial art, if ya ask
me," Ranma interrupted.

Akane smacked him in the arm. 'I didn't ask you, and I didn't ask Kuno and
that's probably what got me into this situation, okay?'  She resumed her
story.

'Anyway, I'm good at Kendo...'

"You're better at Kempo, though.  It's a better Martial Art and..."

**Thwack!**

Akane nearly cracked her tablet hitting his head.

"Ite!  Why'd ya do that?  I was just complementin' ya!"

'I thought you wanted to know why there's a No Fighting Rule?'

Ranma nodded as he rubbed the lump on his head.

'As I was saying, I tried to join the Kendo club last year, but Kuno
wouldn't let me because he didn't think that it was appropriate for girls
to be fighting, even if it's just sparring.  It didn't matter how good I
was, I still wasn't allowed to join.  They wouldn't even let me show them
how good I was.  So, the next week, I showed up at tryouts in full gear, so
they couldn't see who I was.  I passed with flying colours.  Kuno even took
me on, "Just for fun".'  Akane paused for Ranma to finish reading so she
could clear the board and continue.

'He challenged me alright.  He went full out and tried to seriously hurt
me.  I'm not sure why, but you'd think the president of the Kendo Club
would have more restraint then that.  He was crazy.  I only won because I
just outlasted him in endurance.  When I took off my mask...' Akane stopped
writing when her hands began to tremble.  

'He hated me.  Everyone in the club hated me.  You could see it on their
faces.  They started throwing things at me and telling me to get out, to go
back to the kitchen where I belonged.  I didn't belong with them.  I wasn't
ever going to be good enough to join their club, so stop trying.  I
couldn't believe it!  I mean, my daddy owns a dojo!  I've been training and
practicing since I could walk!  How could I not join a martial arts club?'
Akane's shoulders slumped.

'Kuno has always been pestering my family.  He used to have a crush on
Kasumi, many years ago.  He "got over it" when she graduated and stayed at
home to take care of us full-time.  Then he had a crush on Nabiki, and that
lasted until I pulled that stupid stunt with the Kendo Club.  Now he's just
been obsessing over me.  He wants to "conquer" me, or something like that.
He even tried to grab me and carry me off to his house!'  Akane stopped
when her hands started shaking again.  Ranma, on the other hand, had
stopped eating altogether.

"You mean this idiot has been stalking you?  He sounds seriously deranged
Akane!  Why hasn't anyone done anything about him?"  Ranma forced himself
to relax before he broke his chopsticks.

'I used to beat the crap out of him.  That was a great deterrent until he
got his father to have the principal to put in a "No Fighting" rule at
school.  OF course, it applies to everyone except Kuno.  And the principal
can't make the rule stick outside of the school grounds.  So he used to
attack me on my way to school or to the bus stop.  Nabiki put a stop to
that this year with a few protection orders and a new police route.  Kuno
can't come near me, even at school since we're in different grades.'

"Okay then, what about the mob every morning?"  Ranma asked.

'Kuno's lackeys.  Since he can't harass me himself, he gets others to do it
for him.  Most of those guys are in the Kendo Club.  I guess I hurt their
pride or something.  A freaky crippled girl showed them all up a year ago
and they still want their revenge, I guess.'  Akane shrugged and nibbled at
her lunch.  'Still, it was a lot easier when I was allowed to fight back
and knock them through the wall,' she lamented.

"Did ya really punch them through the wall?" Ranma asked dubiously.

Akane pointed to the front wall where it had been patched several times and
smiled around a cheek full of riceball.

"Whoa..." Ranma whispered approvingly.  "Cool.  They deserved it."  He
smiled as he dug into his lunch.  "I wish I woulda been here to see it."

'Nabiki used to place bets.  Mostly on how long it took for me to cream
them all before I made it into the school.  Some would actually bet against
me.  Nabiki made a lot of money off of those idiots.'

Ranma nodded.  "So, all we gotta do now is come up with a away to get these
boneheads off your back without beatin' them up?  And what about Kuno?"

'Yes, and I don't know.  I've been thinking on it for a few months now as
it is.  Nabiki's done pretty good with the restraining orders and the
police watch, but I have to deal with the rest on my own.'

"No, you don't gotta deal with them on yer own, Akane.  I can help.  Hell,
I'm supposed to be yer iinazuke, remember?  I can't just sit around and let
you take these guys on!  That's my job!" {Uh-uh...} Ranma saw Akane's face
darken.

'You don't think I can take care of myself?  Is that it?  I need some guy
to protect me?'  Akane's handwriting looked nearly as bad as Ranma's.

"N-no, that ain't what I'm sayin'!  I'm just sayin' that you don't gotta do
it by yourself!  I mean, what would I look like if I sat back and let my
fiancee get picked on all the time and didn't do nothin' about it?"

Akane blink-blinked a second, and allowed herself to calm down when his
words settled in.  'Oh.  I'm sorry Ranma.  I guess I misunderstood.'

"That's okay, Akane," He nodded and fished around in his bento, glad he
wasn't going to be wearing it.  "I don't always say what I wanna say the
way I wanna say it sometimes, y'know.  All I had was my old man to talk to
for the last 10 years, and he's no good with words at all."

Akane nodded and ate a little more of her lunch as well while she thought
about the mess her life had become since the car accident that took both
her voice and her mother's life.  Creases formed on her forehead.  {It
seems that Kuno's been a pest in our lives just about as long...} she mused.

"Mmmm," Ranma hummed to himself while he ate. "You know, Kasumi makes a
really good lunch!  I could get used to going to school just for the lunch,
you know."

Akane smiled and nodded, and wrote some more.

'Be glad I don't fix lunch.  I burned down a corner of the Home-Ec room
last week trying to make a cheese sandwich.  I'm not a very good cook.  But
I can boil water!'  She smiled wanly.

"Well, not everyone can be a good cook.  My old man only cooks when he has
to and even then I'm the one ending up doin' most of the work."

'Sounds like my father.  I don't think he knows how to cook anything other
than rice and cabbage.'

"Really?  That's all my old man cooks, too!  No wonder he wants me to marry
Kasumi..." {Kuso!  I shouldn'ta said that!}  Ranma swallowed what he had in
his mouth and looked sidelong at Akane.  {Ohmanohman I gotta say something!}

'He really said that?  Is he making your decision for you?' Akane wrote
stiffly.

"Well, it was more his opinion.  He's always thinkin' of his stomach over
everything else.  I guess it's kind of a no-brainer that he'd want Kasumi
for a daughter-in-law."  Ranma hoped he'd said the right thing.

Akane looked off into the distance for a bit, then shrugged. 'I guess it
makes sense.  Kasumi is the Perfect Wife looking for a husband.  All she
does is take care of us.  She never does anything for herself.  It's a bit
sad, I think.  She should get out more.'  Akane's handwriting looked a
little squiggly near the end.

"Uh, don't worry about it Akane.  Bein' able to cook isn't no big deal.
Not with us Martial Artists anyways.  Hell, we can eat anything!"  He
pointed his chopsticks into the air for added emphasis.  Akane looked at
him warily and then smiled.  She waved her hand at him to behave and not
embarrass her.

{Good, she's smiling again,} Ranma inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Besides, The Art is pretty much all we need, right?  I mean, if we're
gonna be the ones running the dojo and all, we don't need to worry about
too much else, right?"  Ranma chased the few last grains of rice around the
bottom of the bento.

Akane shook her head and wrote for a bit, stopping every so often to grab a
bite to eat.

'No, we'd still need all the math for the bookkeeping and tax records and
stuff.  Not to mention all the basics in biology and first-aid for all
injuries, the history to be able to pass on all the history of the Art and
of weapons and techniques, and then there's the Phys Ed. Degree needed from
college nowdays just to open up and run a respectable dojo, and the...'
Akane ran out of space on her tablet as Ranma read over her shoulder.  He
rolled his eyes.  He knew he wasn't going to get out of school any time
soon with all her crazy ideas for running a dojo.

"Yeah, I can see where you'd need some of that. But history? Really? And
English? C'mon!  And you can't tell me Home Ec. is gonna help you run a dojo."

She gestured and smiled a little.

'Well, it might keep me from burning it down.'

Ranma chuckled at the thought.

"Well, we got a year to figure this all out.  We don't even have to be the
ones to 'Unite the families', y'know."

Akane nodded, and started to get from her spot when she noticed the Hentai
Hoarde heading their way.  She smacked her forehead and pulled on Ranma's
sleeve at the same time.

"What?  Oh, great.  Didn't they get the hint already?"

'No.  They never get the hint.'  Akane saw Ranma drop into a relaxed pose
as she glanced at the clock tower.  She pointed to the clock.

"What?  Lunch is almost over, I know that, Akane.  Let's just see what
these losers are up to..." he stopped when he saw her shaking her head.
"What?"

He read.

'They're going to make me late for my bus!'

"Bus?  What bus?"

She bapped him with the tablet.

'I go to another school in the afternoon, remember?  I have to catch a bus
to get there.  It's across town.'

"Oh yeah, that bus."  The mob was positioning itself between Ranma and
Akane and the front gate, daring them to cross it.  "They do this every
day?" he asked.

Akane nodded and grabbed bookbag and bento.  She started walking swiftly to
the mob, a grim look of determination on her face.  Ranma watched her walk
across the courtyard and frowned as she was slowly stalked by the enclosing
mass of perverts.

{Fuck this.}  Ranma grabbed his bento and ran for Akane.  Reaching her just
as the circle closed in on her, he scooped her up into his arms as he did
that morning and jumped over the gate.  Her long hair flowed into his face
as he landed, smothering him with a gentle caress scented with peaches.
His thoughts were derailed from anger to something a little...nicer.

"Uh," he said as he set her down.  His hand went behind his head as he
started to blush.  "I thought that, uh, maybe if they couldn't touch you
gettin' through the gate and all..." he sputtered.

Akane blink-blinked and stared at him, then at the screaming crowd, and
then back to Ranma.  She realized what he had done, in front of everyone
(again) looked down as she too felt the full blush hit.  Then she hit him
with her tablet.

"Ite!  Whad'ya do that for?  I was just tryin' to help..." she wrote
quickly and handed him the tablet.

'And just how do you thin you're going to get back to school now?  They
aren't going to let you in without a fight, and they won't leave until you
are good and tardy.  And then you'll be on bucket-duty for the rest of
class.  They're very good at this.'

Ranma looked back at the mob, then to Akane.  Then he had an idea.

"Well, I guess you just got an escort to your afternoon classes then." He
took her satchel and started walking down the sidewalk.  He stopped when he
noticed she wasn't following him.  He jogged back to a rather
stunned-looking Akane.  "Uh, aren't you gonna be late for your bus?"  She
continued staring at him and pointed in a different direction from where
Ranma had wandered.

"Oh, heh, sorry.  C'mon Akane, let's go catch that bus."

Akane shook herself out of the stupor and followed him.  She handed him her
tablet again.

'Are you sure you want to do this?  I go to a very... different school in
the afternoons.  You might feel a bit out of place.  And thank you.'

"I feel out of place already at Furinkan.  All I need now is for them to
find out about my curse.  Then I'll really be a freak.  And, well..." he
blushed again.  "You're welcome." he said softly.

'This is sometimes a hazardous walk if Kuno is out on the loose.  He's not
allowed near me, but I'm allowed to beat him senseless if he does since
we're not on school property anymore.  It's nice to have someone to walk
with, though.'

Ranma nodded as they approached the bus stop.  He kept an eye out for
anyone that looked like they were going to be trouble.  He was good at
trouble.  It usually followed him everywhere he went.  He just wasn't used
to walking into someone else's trouble, but it felt good being able to do
something about it.

Ranma grinned as they got onto the bus.  He felt kind of heroic looking
after Akane like this.  It made him feel good inside.  

{But I'm not gonna say a word to her about it, no way.  She'd prob'ly pound
my head in, saying she can take care of herself.  She's one helluva tomboy,
I'll give her that.}  Ranma settled into a daydream about Tomboy Warriors
punching out Hentai Hordes and smiled his way to Akane's afternoon classes.

Akane wondered what the hell made Ranma so happy.


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


Ranma at Akane's afternoon classes.  Is he really ready for the "Special
Education" school?  Is he ready for Akane's other batch of friends?  Are
they ready for him?  All this and more in the next chapter of "When You're
a Stranger"!


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


More Author's Notes:   (Just can't get enough of them!)  This is a Draft,
and only a Draft.  If this had been the real thing, it would have been much
longer and taken the story further along.  But this is only a Draft,
because the author has a bad head cold and it hurts to stare at the monitor
too long.  But the rest is coming along nicely.  After 30+ pages of notes
and outlines, it had better be coming along nicely...

-Deb "SabreBabe" Matthews





Author's Notes: Yes!  I *told * you I was still working on it!  I hope
Chapter 3 doesn't take as long…

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Yeah, I wrote this.  No, most of the characters
aren't mine.  In fact, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi, without whom, Ranma
and all his friends wouldn't have seen the light of day.  And the world
would have been a much poorer place.  All Hail Takahashi-sensei!

Another disclaimer: This is a continuation of Chris Jones' "Curse of
Silence", which can be found at: http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic/ranma.html . 

C&C is appreciated and even groveled for!

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

"When You're a Stranger", Chapter 2
by Deb "SabreBabe" Matthews



Ranma was jolted out of his happy daydream when Akane suddenly nudged him
in the ribs.  Looking around, he noticed that the bus was slowing down and
that Akane was fussing with her bookbag.  

{It doesn't look like we're in Nerima anymore,} he thought. When the bus
stopped, he hopped up, grabbed Akane's bookbag and held his hand out for
her.  He smirked when she looked at him like he'd grown a tree on the top
of his head.  Akane waved him off and they got off the bus. As the bus
drove out of sight, Akane hit him in the arm.

'What were you doing back there?  Trying to embarrass me?' she scribbled
hastily.

"Uh, no.  I dunno, it just seemed like the thing to do.  Sorry, I wasn't
tryin' to embarrass ya or nothin'."  Ranma replied.

Akane frowned for a second, then scrunched her face as she thought of
something.  She turned away from him and waved from him to follow her.
Ranma noticed that Akane would start to write something, then erase it and
start to write again.  After a few tries, she seemed to give up and tucked
the writing tablet under her arm.  Ranma tugged on his pigtail nervously.

"Uhm, yer not mad at me or nothin', are ya?" 

Akane slowed and looked at him. Then she shook her head 'No'.  She looked
back to where she was walking and started to write again.  

'I want to say something, but don't know what to say.  I'm just confused
right now.  Sorry.'

{Confused?} Ranma thought.  {What is she confused about?  Argh!  I'll never
understand girls!}

He handed the writing tablet back to Akane.  {Okay, I'll ask...}  He
swallowed the lump growing in his throat.

"What're you confused about?  Can I help?"

Akane wrote slowly, taking time to look up to make sure she wasn't walking
into anything.

{She looks pretty distracted...} Ranma thought.

Meanwhile, the chaos factor in Akane's brain was at an all-time high...

{WHY IS HE BEING SO NICE?  Calm down Akane... now isn't the time to freak
out over this.  He's allowed to be nice, isn't he?  BUT HE'S A BOY!  But
boys can be nice, right?  I mean, Dr. Toufu, he's nice, right? And the
other guys in your afternoon school, they're nice, right?  Ranma isn't from
around here, so he doesn't have to be a jerk, right?  HE'S TRYING TO TALK
TO ME AGAIN!  WHAT DO I SAY???  Just calm down, you can think of something
without sounding stupid, right?  Sure, I can do that.  Not a problem.  Right.}

Akane sighed as she finished writing and passed the tablet back to Ranma.

'You've been really nice to me since we met and I'm just not used to that.
Most of the guys from Furinkan are jerks and you're obviously not a jerk.
I guess I don't know what to think.'

Ranma raised his eyebrows at the off-hand compliment.

"Uhh, thanks, I think."

She smiled at him and turned back away before he could see her blush.

As Akane stopped at the next corner, Ranma had a chance to really take in
his surroundings.  To Ranma, it looked like they had wandered into a fairly
upper class neighborhood.  Up ahead sounds of children laughing and play
were coming from a nice looking compound of brightly painted walls and
fences.  As they got closer, Ranma could see a series of single-story
buildings, looking new and bright and very well maintained.  Since they
were heading towards the compound, he wondered if this was the school Akane
went off to every afternoon.  It looked nothing like Furinkan.  In fact, it
looked nothing like any school he had ever been to.  It looked
like...like... he didn't know anything to compare it to.  It seemed very
pleasant, from what he could see of it.  Only the tall multi-storied
building on the next block seemed to loom over the complex, casting a
slightly cold and sterile feel.

Walking through the gates was, for Ranma, a completely different matter.
Akane simply strolled through the gates and greeted the many children and
adults on the playground.  The playground itself was beautiful, full of
bright colours and a variety of equipment that only the very best parks
had.  But Ranma found a sudden twinge deep in the pit of his stomach when
he saw the happy children playing.  These weren't the kinds of children he
was used to seeing.  He remembered Akane's words from the night before
about handicaps.  'I've seen worse,' she had said.  And here they were.  He
snapped his head suddenly away from the scene so that he was only looking
at the back of Akane's head, trying not to stare morbidly at the children
playing.  

{I know this feeling ain't right.  It's not their fault they ain't...
aren't normal.  They're happy, it's okay for them to be happy, and I
shouldn't stare, 'cause it's rude, but why can't I stop looking at them?}

Akane looked back at Ranma and smiled at him.  A kind of 'Don't worry,
everything's gonna be okay' kind of smile.  Ranma just wished it would be.
He felt suddenly very out of place and stomped hard on the urge to turn
away and go home.  Akane stopped at the double doors and wrote on her
tablet again.  Ranma looked down and fumbled with his fingers.

{I wonder what she's thinking?  She looks comfortable here.  I don't wanna
get her mad at me, but what do I do? I don't wanna stare, either...} Ranma
fretted deep in his thoughts, all while maintaining a neutral face.

Akane handed him her tablet.

'Do you want to go on home now? You are welcome to stay if you want.  They
don't mind if we have visitors in class, as long as you don't make a
nuisance or disrupt the class.'  Ranma took a deep breath, trying to clear
his mind.

{No, I gotta stay.  I can't let something like this throw me off! I'm a
Martial Artist, dammit!  If Akane can do it, so can I!}  While Ranma
struggled with himself, Akane watched his face.  She could see he was
thinking.  Thinking a lot harder about more than hanging out with her for
an afternoon.  She touched his arm and snapped him out of his thoughts.

She gestured.  Ranma had seen that gesture before.  It was pretty obvious.

'Are you okay?'

"Uh, yeah, I'm okay.  I'm just thinking... uh, just thinking about classes
and stuff," he lied.  Unfortunately, Ranma was a terrible liar.  

Akane took back her tablet and gently pulled him over to a bench on the
grass near the doors.

She looked him in the eyes for a minute, then wrote.

'You're not comfortable here.  I can see it.  Is it because of the school
itself, or are you disturbed by the deformities you see?'

{Damn, she's blunt!} Ranma thought.  He swallowed hard.  He didn't want to
admit that he had been bothered by the children's various physical
handicaps.  He didn't want to admit that Akane's scar gave him the same
cold lump in the pit of his stomach.  But she knew.  She knew and she was
confronting him on it now.

{I... I don't wanna hurt her feelings, but I don't wanna lie to her either.
 Oh manoman, and we were just getting' ta be friends, too,} he lamented.

Ranma took a deep breath, looked sidelong at the playground, and slowly
released his breath as he nodded.

"I... I, uh, geez, this is hard," he said in a whispered voice.  "I don't
wanna feel like this, but they, they all kinda spook me, y'know?"  He
couldn't look her in the eye.  "I feel all weird inside, and I don't know
why.  I don't like it, feeling like this, you know?"  Ranma started to
babble and he didn't notice Akane take the tablet back to write again.  He
was playing with his fingers when Akane handed the tablet back to him.

"Hunh?"

'Have you ever been around people with severe physical handicaps?  I
wouldn't think you have, since you've been on the road with your father for
the last ten years.  True?'

Ranma looked at her and nodded again.  "It's true. I ain't seen much of
anything unless it had to do with Martial Arts and special training
techniques."

Akane gently took the tablet from Ranma and wrote again, her other hand
unconsciously fingering the scarf that covered the scars on her neck.

Ranma noticed, however, and cringed.  {I can't tell her that.  Not that.}

'Then why don't we pretend this is a new training exercise?  When you walk
into a dark room, it takes time for your eyes to adjust, right?  I think
you'll find it's a lot the same.'  When Ranma finished, Akane erased the
board and began writing again.  

'I remember feeling the same way you do now when I first came here.  I
thought it was a horrible thing that I had to be sent away from my family
and friends because I wasn't "like them" anymore.  And I was scared of the
other kids here.  But after a few weeks, I wasn't having that horrible
feeling in my stomach anymore.  The same feeling you're having now, right?'

Ranma sat back, stunned that she really did know about that horrible
feeling he was having.  He felt ashamed and relieved at the same time.
Ranma nodded to her while she continued to write again.

'It's a normal reaction, Ranma.  I'll bet you had the same feeling when you
were little and had to learn a new technique that looked pretty scary, or
when you went to a new dojo and had to meet bigger and tougher opponents,
right?'  Ranma reluctantly nodded and she began writing again.  

'It's okay to be afraid.  It's NOT okay for you to run from it or to let it
make decisions for you.  You understand?'

{She can't be right.  This isn't fear!  I'm not afraid of nothin'!
But...she's right.  It does feel like I'm a little kid again...just before
the... the..c-cat pit.  No!  It's NOT like that!  It's stupid!  This is
something different!  It has to be!  I'm a Martial Artist and I'm not
afraid of these people...these kids... they don't scare me!  At ALL!  Not
at all!  They can't scare me...}

Ranma nodded unconsciously and handed the tablet back to Akane.

{Oh Ranma, you're thinking about this so hard.  Anyone can see it's
bothering you, even if you're trying not to show it.  How can I get you to
understand it's not so bad if you don't dwell on it so much? I mean, I was
so busy learning to sign I never had the time to...Wait!  That's it!}

Akane stopped what she was doing, composed herself, putting the tablet down
in her lap.  She finally turned and faced Ranma.  She had to turn his face
to her, so they were looking directly at each other.

"Akane, wha...?"

Slowly, deliberately, Akane began to sign.  Using large, simple gestures
that looked nothing like the delicate dance of fingers (that he had seen
earlier with Dr. Toufu), she first pointed to Ranma, to herself, then back
to him, she gestured between them, them turned and pointed to the doors of
the school.  Ranma was bewildered.

{What the? Why isn't she using the board?  What's she want...wait...}

"You're...yer asking me something?  A question?" he paused.  She nodded. 

{C'mon Ranma, you can do it...}

"Yer asking me... if I wanna come to school with you?" he finished slowly,
not sure if that's what she said.  He was rewarded when she lightly touched
her nose, then his, and gave him a smile.  She began to sign slowly again.

{Yes!  He's doing it!}

Again she pointed to each of them, between them, then slowly pointed
towards the gates, trailing off towards the bus stop.  Then she put her
hands on top of her head like a tent before putting them back in her lap,
signaling she was finished.

{Why is she doing this?} Ranma asked himself.

"Yer asking me if...  if I want to go back?  Back... home?"

{Yadda! Close enough!} She smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yer asking me if I want to stay or go home, right?  Why didn't you just
use the tablet?" he started complaining.  "Hey... waitaminute...that thing
with your hands, can I... can I learn that here?"

{He fell for it!  Yes!} Akane silently cheered.

She nodded slightly, trying not to betray her excitement.

"Uh, Today? Now?" 

Akane smiled brighter and nodded more enthusiastically.

"Cool!  I wanna learn that...thing you do with your hands!  Like you did
with Dr. Toufu, not what you just did with me, though.  I can learn that
here?" he babbled excitedly.

Akane nodded and smiled some more, glad she had taken his mind off of what
worried him and gave him something more interesting to think about.

{I hope this works,} Akane thought.  {I hope he doesn't get mad about me
distracting him like this.}  She crossed her fingers and, standing up, led
him into the school.

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

Tatewaki sat back in his chair, gazing at the nervous boys in front of him.
 That's all they were, really, just boys.  They had no idea of what it
meant to be a man, especially one of his stature and breeding.  They never
would, either.  But he knew their girlfriends secretly wished for him.
They all did.  Just like She does.  She always did.  She was just playing
her childish games with him, to fend off her glorious step into adulthood a
little longer.   But, to the matter at hand.  An interloper has sought to
take his rightful place as Her paramour.  And these boys before him knew
something about this...! This...!  

Tatewaki took a calming breath so as not to unleash the fury building
within.  It would not do to lose him perfect control in front of the
commoners.  He was their Lord and Master, and he was their inspiration.
Control was his.

He watched as Daisuke and Hiroshi fidgeted.  Tatewaki met Daisuke's gaze
and locked in on him.

"So, Daisuke-kun.  What will you tell me about this Ranma Saotome?"  Kuno's
eyes bore holes into Daisuke's mind, frying his already frayed nerves.

Daisuke looked down to the floor to compose himself.  His hands were
already shaking and clammy from apprehension, his lips and mouth dry in
contrast.  

{This really sucks,} he thought.  Reporting to Upperclassman Kuno had to be
one of the worst things to happen to him.  Having Sayuri find out would be
worse.

(Definitely worse.}

"Well?"

Daisuke shifted and glanced at Hiroshi before starting to speak.

"Uhm, well, his name is Ranma Saotome, and he just returned from a training
trip in China.  He's staying with the Tendo's and he seems to get along
pretty good with Akane-san."  Daisuke congratulated himself on remembering
the honorific Kuno demanded for Akane.  No one referred to her as anything
less than Akane-san (within earshot of Kuno, of course).  But then, Daisuke
had recently been "re-educated" on "Akane Etiquette" and still had the
bruises and healing scars to show for it.

"I already know that much, Daisuke-kun.  I want to know what else you know.
 You are in his class, are you not?"

"I, uh, I think he's something of a martial artist," he squeaked out
through parched lips.  "I mean, he broke Kano-kun's hand with just two
fingers!"  Daisuke hoped that would be enough for Kuno to chew on.  It wasn't.

Tatewaki glared.  

"I know that, as well.  Tell me, did you learn nothing about this
interloper while he sat in your classroom?  He sits next to Akane, correct?
 I hear they even shared her books.  Am I incorrect in this?"

"N-no, Sempai, you are correct.  Akane offered to share her books with him,
since he didn't have any of his own.  His uniform looked, uhm, borrowed,
too.  It wasn't new."

Kuno's eyes narrowed as he slammed his fist on the desk.

"So!  This low-born peasant cannot afford his own books, let alone his own
uniform!  And he dares to date with my Akane-san!" He looked back at
Daisuke, who was staring at an interesting bit of lint on the floor.

"Is there anything else that you will tell me about this Ranma Saotome,
Daisuke-kun?"

"Uh, uhm, not that I can think of at this moment, Kuno-Sempai.  I haven't
really had much of a chance to talk to Sayuri yet.  Akane probably told her
all about Ranma-kun."

"If this is true, then perhaps I should be speaking with the lovely Sayuri
than with you.  I'm sure she would be pleased to meet with me tonight and
discuss things over dinner."

Daisuke and Hiroshi glanced at each other and paled at the thought of Kuno
dating Sayuri.  There would most definitely be more than dinner and talking
involved, if the rumours were true.  Hiroshi opened his mouth to say
something, but Kuno as glanced at him, his mouth snapped shut and Hiroshi
looked away.  It was not his place to say anything.  Only to witness it.
He unconsciously rubbed his arm where he had the reminder of that lesson
learned.

Daisuke gulped for air. 

"S-sempai, I haven't had a chance to speak to her yet.  I'm sure I can talk
to her before the end of school and report to you immediately after
classes..."

"No, I think I will be asking her myself.  I will enjoy such pleasant
company tonight, and I have you to thank for it."  Kuno waved his hand,
dismissing them.

Daisuke felt his guts turn to ice.  This was bad.  Way bad.  Deep into Hell
bad. His shoulders slumped as he turned to Hiroshi to leave.  Hiroshi
didn't look much better.

"Man, there's got to be a way we can warn her," Hiroshi whispered to
Daisuke once they got out into the hall.

"I dunno.  She's already hung up on the whole 'Kuno's so suave and
debonaire and romantic' hook.  I don't know why she can't see him for the
creep he is.  He's got half the girls falling for him all the time!"
Daisuke complained in a hushed voice.

Kuno came up behind them and slapped Daisuke on the back.

"I wouldn't worry about your little girlfriend, Daisuke-kun.  After all,
she'll be with me.  I'll show her a wonderful time, one that she'll never
soon forget,"  he said, grinning like a shark.

"By the way, you haven't made a woman of her yet, have you Daisuke-kun?"
Kuno said, still grinning.  Tossing his head back and running his fingers
though his hair, he left with parting words.

"Not to worry.  I'm sure I can take care of that for you.  Think of it as a
small favour, from me to you."

Daisuke and Hiroshi were left standing in the hall, Dai shaking with rage
and terror for his girlfriend.  Hiroshi stood mute, the witness to it all.


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

Akane led Ranma through the brightly-lit halls to an office.  She pointed
to the door and gave him the tablet.

'We're stopping in the office to get you a Day Pass.  This will let the
instructors know you're a guest.'

Ranma nodded and followed.

A few minutes later, they were on their way to Akane's first class.

"Gee," Ranma stated.  "That was pretty quick.  Do they always let guests
into the school like this?"

Akane nodded and wrote.  She stopped and erased half of what she was
writing before handing the tablet over.

{Oop!  I don't want to remind him about why no one wants to come to visit...)

'We don't get many guests, and the majority that do show up are usually
family and friends anyway.'

{Wow!} Ranma thought excitedly.  {She thinks of me as a friend!  Cool!} He
grinned a cocky grin as he handed the tablet back to her and nodded.

Akane turned off the main hall and into a hall that was obviously for the
youngest children.  Bright colours and cartoon characters danced on the
walls creating a very cheery atmosphere.  There were clouds painted on the
upper walls and ceilings, the lights themselves creating the sunshine.  The
coat hooks were about waist high to Ranma and had little cubbies underneath
for shoes and papers.

{We gotta be in the wrong hall.  Akane ain't in Kindergarten here, is she?}
 He reached out and touched her arm, hoping to find out why they were in
the wrong hall.  Before she could answer, Akane was suddenly mobbed by
several small kids, each tugging and waving at her, vying for her
attention.  Akane tried to sign back to them but she had to juggle the
tablet in her hands.  After struggling second, she handed the board to
Ranma (who was now totally confused), and knelt down to greet each child
individually.  One pulled at Ranma's shirt and slowly signed unfamiliar
gestures to him.  Ranma could only shrug his shoulders and grin.  He
pointed to the tablet in his hands.

"I can't talk to you like that, kid.  I don't know how."

The child tipped his head and knitted his little brows.  Then he pointed to
his ear and turned his head, showing Ranma his hearing aid.

{Great, and the kid can't hear me, either!} Ranma grumbled to himself.
{What have I gotten myself into?} Ranma felt his shirt tugged on again.
The kid pointed to the tablet Ranma was holding for Akane.  Ranma handed it
to him.

The little boy sat down on the floor, and very slowly wrote out a sentence
in sloppy Kindergarten Kanji.  Ranma knelt down to read over his shoulder.

'my name is tomeo.  What you name?'

Ranma smiled and wrote on the board.

'My name is Ranma.  Glad to meet you.'

Tomeo smiled, stood and bowed.  Ranma did the same.  Tomeo gestured at
Akane, then back to Ranma.

"Friends?  Are you asking if me and Akane are friends?"

Tomeo wrote again.

'you akane friend?'

Ranma smiled as he looked at Akane greeting the other children.  He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Akane's friend."

Tomeo looked at Ranma, at Akane, then back to Ranma and got a mischievious
gleam in his eye.  Ranma wasn't sure he liked the look of it at all.  Tomoe
kissed the palm of his hand, pointed to Ranma then to Akane and giggled.

Ranma jumped back, hands in warding positions and started babbling loudly.
Unfortunately, other children noticed and Tomeo was only too happy to tell
them all that Akane had brought her "Boy Friend" to class with her.

Ranma suddenly found himself surrounded by a mob of waist-high terrors all
making kissing noises and gestures at him.   Akane turned to see what was
happening and saw Ranma pinned up against the wall by little kissing bandits.

{What has he gotten himself into?!} She thought.  {And do I even want to
know?}

Just as she started to break up the fun, another student, much closer in
age to Akane and Ranma wandered out into the hall, obviously looking for
the missing Kindergarteners.  She tapped Akane on the shoulder.

'I kind of figured it was you out being held hostage by the ankle-biters.
Hey!  Who's the hunk?'  She pointed to Ranma trapped against the wall.  

Ranma just looked at Akane and mouthed "Help!"

'What are they saying... waitaminute...' she looked at the kids, to Ranma,
then to Akane.  'You're kidding!' She signed excitedly.  'He's you're
boyfriend?  Akane!  You little minx you!'

'No, Oyuki!!' Akane signed back  'No!  He's not my boyfriend!  He's,
he's...'  Akane stopped signing and put her head in her hands.  {I can't
believe this is happening!}

Oyuki would have nothing of it.  She pulled Akane's face back up and signed
quickly.  'He's what, Akane?  Who is he?  He's such a babe!'

Akane sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat.  'He's my fiance.'
Oyuki's eyes got very large.  She broke out into a smile and shifted into a
relaxed stance, contemplating the whole scene.

'Damn!  He's a serious stud-muffin!  You sure lucked out, Akane?  Where'd
you pick him up?  He looks like he's good with kids, too!  Does he have a
brother?'

'Arranged marriage,' Akane signed as she waded into the mob to rescue Ranma
from further embarrassment.  She retrieved her writing tablet from him and
bopped him on the head with it, which sent the children into more fits of
giggles.

"Wha'd ya do that for?"  He complained.  "I didn't do nothin'!  I was just
talkin' to this kid and he starts actin' all weird on me!"  

Akane put her hand over his mouth before he could dig himself any deeper
than he already was.  

Suddenly, the lights went out, and all the children scampered into the
classroom with Oyuki quickly running behind leaving Ranma, Akane, and an
adult alone in the hall.  Akane removed her hand from his mouth, and Ranma
whispered, eyeing the teacher.

"Why are the lights out?"

'It means we're tardy,' Akane wrote and she led him into the classroom.

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

Nabiki sat and watched the crowd growing around the gate.  She knew that
the usual gang of idiots would stop to harass Akane as she tried to meet
her bus.  This was old news, happened all the time.  What was new, was that
Ranma was with her today.  And after the scene they made this morning,
Nabiki wasn't about to put any bets out on them this afternoon.  The
variables were too unpredictable.  For the moment.  She would reconsider
them once she got to know their new houseguest and Akane's reactions to her
sudden engagement.

>From her vantage point, Nabiki could see the whole courtyard.  Ranma and
Akane were quietly sharing their lunch under a tree, oblivious to the gang
at the gate.  They seemed deeply engrossed in their conversation.

{Hmm, and those two were up pretty late in the dojo last night, too. Akane
says they were 'just talking'.  Better make a note to check into these
'conversations'.  I know a few folks who'd pay quite a bit for Akane's
quiet conversations with a boy,} she grinned to herself, mentally
calculating the increase of her bank account.  

{Then again, with a few subtle alterations, I could rake a mint out of Kuno
with it, too.}  She shook her head.  {No, as much as I could make off of
that idiot, I'm not going to sell my sister out to him.  He's been the
cause of too much of our troubles lately, and I won't cater to him.}

Tapping her pencil on her ledger, she scanned the grounds for a few other
faces.  

{Hmm, Hi and Dai are missing. And since Kuno isn't here making a scene
about Akane and Ranma sitting together, I'd bet my money that he's grilling
them for information.  Which means he'll probably end up going after one of
their girlfriends, since Akane is friends with Sayuri and Yuka...} She
thought hard for a moment.

{It'll be Sayuri.  She's prettier and is more likely to fall for Kuno's
flattery games.  Guess I'd better get a move on, if I want to nip this bomb
before it goes off.}  Nabiki stood up and swept off her skirt.  Scanning
the crowd, she started off in the last known direction of Yuka and Sayuri.
Since they weren't eating with Akane today, they were probably in the
cafeteria.  

{You owe me another one, guys.}  Nabiki wandered off, mentally tabulating
Hi and Dai's ever-growing debt.



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

Akane and Oyuki quickly settled into their respective corners, each paired
with a long table and small chairs.  Ranma followed Akane, but stopped,
looking around nervously.

'What's the matter?' Akane wrote.

"Where do I sit?" Ranma whispered, so not to interrupt the teacher taking
attendance.  "I don't really wanna sit in one of these little bitty chairs!
 I might break it or somethin'!"

Akane pointed to a chair along the back wall.  Ranma retrieved it and
pulled it alongside Akane's.  

"So," he asked quietly, "why are you and that other girl in a little kids'
class?"

Akane smiled, set out her tablet and wrote out her answer.

'Oyuki and I are Teacher's Assistants.  We help out with the younger kids
to practice their signing.'  Ranma looked up and nodded for her to
continue.  Akane erased the board and started again.

'It's easier to split them up into smaller groups so they don't get bored
or distracted.  They learn better this way, and we can keep better tabs on
their progress.'

Ranma looked at the odd equipment on the table in front of them.  Akane
caught his gaze and gestured.

'These?'

Ranma nodded.

Akane erased and wrote.

'Those are for the kids with hearing aids.'  She pointed to the phone jacks
and the power cords.

'They plug the hearing aide into here, and it helps to save on their
batteries.  In some it helps to amplify the sounds, making them clearer.'

Ranma thought a moment.

"But aren't all these kids, uhm, deaf?  They can't hear, right?"

Akane nodded, then gestured and wrote some more.

'The ones with hearing aids are mostly deaf.  They have a small bit of
hearing, but not enough to make them hear very well.'

Ranma still looked confused.  He started to say something, but stopped, not
quite able to put his thought into words.

Akane thought for a moment, and tried to fill in the gaps.

'Like being blind, or mostly blind.  You can see, but only light and dark,
and only some rough shapes, but not well enough to make sense of what's out
there. It's like that with some Profoundly deaf kids. You understand?'

Ranma nodded and smiled.

{Yeah, I think I can understand that...}

"Like, like hearing things underwater, right?"

Akane gestured her 'Kinda right' gesture.

'But even more muddled.  Maybe even quieter.'

Ranma nodded again, but as he was about to say something else, the teacher
released the children to Oyuki and Akane for their practice sessions.

Ranma pulled his chair off to the side so he wouldn't get in the way of
Akane's lessons.

{Man, this is gonna be so boring!} Ranma fidgeted a little while Akane
greeted each of the four children under her care.  All had hearing aids of
one sort or another.  He watched them with a quiet fascination, wondering
what it would be like to not hear the world around him.  

{How can I be a martial artist if I couldn't hear?  Hell, my old man beats
me senseless if I don't hear him sneaking up on me now as it is, but if I
couldn't hear him at all...} Ranma grinned wryly.  {Then again, I wouldn't
hafta listen ta him piss and moan about every little thing, either.}

Looking around the room, he saw Oyuki signing to her group of students.
She had a couple more in her group, but none of them seemed to have hearing
aids.  The teacher had the largest, and possibly the oldest group.

{Okay, so maybe this isn't exactly Kindergarten.  Mebbe it's a beginning
class?}  He looked back to Akane for confirmation of his hunch.  She was
slowly signing, making large, deliberate gestures, and having each child
repeat them.

{That don't look much like what she was using outside earlier.  But it
don't look much like the signs she used when she was talkin' ta Dr. Toufu,
either.  Kinda like a little of both,} Ranma mused.  He continued to watch
Akane, only to discover his hands wouldn't stay still.  He tried to mimic
the gestures discreetly, but suddenly one of them made sense.  He knew what
it meant, and his hands responded accordingly.  He felt like a man who had
learned to read for the first time, which in all actuality, he was.  He
could hardly sit still from that point on.  

Akane watched him from out of the corner of her eye and smiled. 

{Good!  He's distracted enough to learn without being weirded out by the
people around him.  I hope this holds for the rest of the day,} she mused.

{This is so cool!} Ranma watched the gestures very carefully.  He was
certain he could pick out a few more before the class was over.  {I know
that one was to ask for more... rice?  Soup?  I'm not sure, but it was more
food, I just know it!}

Ranma scooted his chair in a little closer, just to make sure he wasn't
missing anything.


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

Meanwhile, back at Furinkan...


Daisuke sat back in his chair and thrummed the desk nervously, waiting for
the teacher to turn her back to the class.  

{All I need is just a second to get this to Sayuri.  She has to get this, I
can't let her get trapped into a bad situation with Kuno.}  His eyes
narrowed.  He leaned forward and nearly pounded his desk in frustration.
{I can't believe that pompous ass!  Who the hell does he think he is,
telling me he's doing me a little favour by doing Sayuri?!  I oughta beat
the crap out of him,} he sighed, his shoulders slumping.  {Shyeah, right.
Like I'm a fighter.  Like I can even come close to beating Kuno.  Huh, like
I need to get thrown out of school and into the canal.  Probably with
cement shoes and left for fish food.}

The teacher finally turned to write on the board, Dai took the chance to
toss the badly mangled note onto Sayuri's desk.  Her eyebrows disappeared
under her bangs, then looking over to Dai, she smiled and blushed prettily.
 Daisuke sighed, remembering to release the breath he'd been holding. 

{Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease, let her listen to me this time!} Dai sulked
behind his textbook, knowing full well that this little 'liason' probably
wasn't going to work out the way he wanted it to.

Sayuri discreetly opened the note.

'Sayuri,
Please, please, please, pay attention this time!  Kuno-sempai is gonna ask
you out tonight.  He wants to ask you questions about Ranma and Akane.
Please say no and don't go out with him!  I'll tell you more during break.
					
					-Daisuke'

Sayuri gasped and clutched the note to her chest.

{Kuno-sempai's going to ask me out!  I can't believe it!  It's a dream come
true!}

Daisuke heard the gasp and knew she wasn't going to cooperate.  He dreaded
the note that would come.  Sure enough, a few minutes later, a neatly
folded packet with hearts drawn all over it was plopped onto his desk.  He
scooped the note into his lap as he looked up from his book to make sure
the teacher hadn't noticed.  Sayuri's flowing script was filled with excess
curls and little hearts dotting the I's and j's.  But the content didn't
warm his heart at all.

'Dai,

I can't believe it!  Kuno-sempai is really going to ask me out?  Really?  I
hope you're not jealous, but he's just dreamy!  I've always wanted to go
out on a date with him, just once!  I'm so glad you two are friends!  I
never thought you'd do this for me!  Oh, thank you!  Thank you!  (glomps
and kisses)

					-Sayuri

P.S.- I'll talk to you during break!  -S'

Dai groaned and bashed his face into the book on his desk.

{She didn't listen.  Now Hi and me gotta try to talk her out of this.  I
hope Yuka will help.  She's not as flakey...} Dai was beginning to regret
dating a girl who thought with her hormones.  {Okay, granted, I hoped I'd
get lucky, but somewhere along the line, I kinda fell for her.  Dammit
Sayuri!  Get your head outta those stupid romance novels and pay attention
to what's happening around here!  Can't you see what a bastard Kuno is?} 

Hiroshi looked on as his pal quietly banged his head on the desk.  Shaking
his head, he started writing a note to Yuka, hoping she'd help talk some
sense into her friend.


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

Ranma practically bounced to Akane's next class.

"That was fun!  I didn't know it was that easy to learn sign language!  Can
we learn some more?  Today?  What's your next class? Will there be more
sign language there?"  Ranma's hands were reciting the few gestures he had
learned over and over.  Akane had to stop him a few times and correct his
"pronounciation", but for the most part, he had them down correctly.  She
was smiled broadly, happy that he was able to forget about his earlier
apprehension.  But he was going to be in for a big surprise in her next
class.  Akane handed him the tablet.

'My next class is English.'  She tried to hide her grin.

Ranma stopped dead in the hall.  

{English?  Ew!}

"Whadda ya mean, English?  Ya can't talk, why do ya have to learn English?"

Akane bopped him with the tablet, then continued to write.  Ranma glared.

"Wha'd ya do that for?  I was just askin'..."

She handed him the tablet and started walking down the hall again.

'Just because I can't speak it doesn't mean I can't read or write it.  And
I can sign, so I have to learn to sign in English as well.'

Ranma tried to read and follow Akane at the same time, all while dodging
various other students coming and going from different classes.  Most
looked like they were carrying athletic gear.

"Wait, sign in English?   You mean you have to learn to sign in a different
language, too?  How the heck do you do that?"

Akane began signing to him in English.

{It looks the same ta me,} Ranma thought.  He shook his head, not
understanding.

Akane waved him on, pulling him towards another classroom.  This one was
full of older students, mostly their age, some quite a bit older.  This
time, Akane took a seat with the rest of the class and Ranma pulled up a
chair next to her.

"Okay, how is this sign language different from what you were teachin' in
the other class?" he whispered.

Akane slid the tablet over to him.

'We have to learn a whole bunch of new signs to sign in ASL.'

Ranma wrinkled his nose.

"What's ASL?"

Akane scribbled quickly as the instructor came into the room.

'American Sign Language.'

The teacher started with a volley of gestures, his hands quickly dancing
before the class responded with a similar exchange.  Ranma was stunned at
the pace.  It was much, much faster and far more intricate than what he had
just been practicing with in the last class. 

{Man, I'm outta my league here.  I'm havin' trouble just tryin' ta see if I
know any of the signs.  Nothin' looks familiar.  Mebbe this isn't what I
wanna learn after all.}  Ranma groused to himself.  

Akane noticed Ranma looking downcast and lost, so she slipped a book out of
her bookbag and passed it to him along with her tablet.

'You're sitting in an advanced class.  That's why it looks so hard.  Go
ahead and practice what we were doing in the other class.  It'll help keep
you from getting too bored.'

Ranma looked at the Primer and smiled.  It had lots of pictures and basic
instructions for each sign.

{Now this I can understand.  Wait, she said this was an advanced English
class?  Just how good is she anyways?}  Ranma pondered Akane's scholastic
abilities for another minute before shrugging it off.  The book in front of
him was much more interesting than any of the books at the other schools.

{This is so cool!}

Ranma's hands slowly and carefully began forming each of the gestures
pictured in the book, while Akane continued her English lessons at
breakneck speed.


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

Hiroshi caught up with Yuka at her locker on their way to gym class.

"I got your note, Hiroshi.  I can't believe Sayuri is actually going to
consider dating with that egotistical backstabbing bastard. I thought she
had a better head on her shoulders than that." Yuka grumbled.

"I know, I know," Hiroshi replied.  He looked at the floor and shuffled his
feet a bit, trying to decide what to do.  "But she's you're closest friend,
and all Kuno wants to do is get information from her about Akane and this
new guy, Ranma."  He hesitated.

"And get into her panties," he whispered.

"What?  What did you say?"

"Look," he whispered, pulling Yuka aside.  "Kuno wants to break Sayuri in,
as a 'favour' for Dai.  Dai is freaking out, trying to get that ding-bat
girlfriend of his to get her head out of the clouds and pay attention to
what's going on around her.  We gotta get to 'Yuri before Kuno does, or
she's gonna be inna world of hurt, understand?"

Yuka's eyes got large and she fell back against her locker, taking in the
news.

"Geez, Hi, I always knew he was a creep, but this is even worse than his
usual, isn't it?"

"No, Yuka," he whispered.  "This is about par for the course."

"Look, I'll tell you everything Akane told us, and you can tell Dai, and he
can tell Kuno after school, so then 'Yuri'll be of the hook, right?"

"I dunno.  Kuno won't let her go that easily.  You see how bad he's going
after Akane.  But tell me everything about Saotome anyways.  It's always
good to have a bargaining chip."

"'Kay, look, I'll meet you after gym.  I'll try to talk some sense into
'Yuri during class and we can meet up after school and work from there. Okay?"

Hiroshi nodded again and picked up his gym bag.  

"Yeah, it'll have to do for now.  I'll let Dai know what's going on.  See
ya later."

"See ya."

Yuka banged her head against the locker.  {I cannot believe my best friend
is this dense!}  She grabbed her gym bag and headed off to class, her brow
furrowed with worry.

Around the corner, an upperclassman with a hand-held tape recorder stepped
out, looking down the hall where Hiroshi and Yuka had run off.  Switching
off the recorder, he hit a few buttons on his pager.

{Kuno-Sempai is going to be very happy to hear this.}

Further down the hall, a student finished snapping off a roll of film.  The
camera with the telephoto lens was rather expensive, but had been worth the
investment and was already paying for itself with compromising photos.
Nabiki grinned like a shark.

{If Kuno and his lackeys think they're going to ruin a girl's reputation
just to get to my little sister, they have another thing coming!}



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

Akane looked more than a bit frazzled by the end of class.  The class was
grueling, but necessary if one wanted to become fluent in ASL.  Ranma, one
the other hand, still had his nose stuck in the Primer she had given him an
hour ago.  He was now following behind Akane, half looking where he was
going, half plowing through students trying to scamper out of his way.  His
free hand was slowly forming new gestures as he learned each new sign.

Akane had to reach out and grab his shoulder when she turned a corner and
nearly lost him to the flowing crowd.  She pointed to a set of double doors
at the end of the new hallway.

"Huh, whuzzat?"  Ranma looked up from the book long enough to get his new
bearings.  Akane pulled the book out of his hands and stuck it back into
her bookbag.

"Hey!  I was still reading that!" he complained.

Akane pulled out a pair of sneakers from her bookbag and pointed to the
double doors again.  Ranma's eyes lit up.

"You mean it's time for gym?"

Akane nodded.

"Cool!"  He jogged down the hall to the doors.  "I'll meet ya on the other
side, okay?"

Akane nodded and waved, then headed for the girls' locker room.

Ranma happily bounced through the double doors, then suddenly came to a
dead stop.  The gymnasium he expected was not what he got.  He was brutally
reminded why these kids went to this particular school, and it wasn't
because they couldn't talk.  Many other students already there, several in
wheelchairs, some with arm or leg braces, and some without arms or legs at
all.  Some had assistants working with them, some were helped by friends.
The room itself looked more like a huge rehabilitation center, rather than
a gymnasium.  There were more mats than he had ever imagined in a single
space, and some mats were so thick they could qualify as a western-style
bed!  Huge balls, blocks, small sets of stairs, and other odd appliances he
couldn't understand the use for. 

Off to the side, separated from the rest, were gymnastics equipment. 

{Now those I understand,} he thought.  The balance beam, the tumbling mats,
the horse and the uneven bars, that was familiar territory.  There were
only a few students working out there, watched over by a dark gaijin girl
with a long black braid.

{She kinda reminds me of one of those American Ainu,} he noted.

In the back, behind a huge heavy grey curtain, he heard more familiar
sounds of a ball being chased, the sound of sneakers hitting the floor, the
shouts of outrage and cheers of victory.  But to get there, he would have
to pass through the area with all the other...students.  The ones that made
him feel awkward.  The ones that made him nervous.  He stood at the doors,
frozen, until someone else tried to come through and slammed into him.

"Oh, sorry!  I didn't see you there.  You really shouldn't stand in front
of the doors like that.  You might get hurt.  Are you new here?"  She
signed quickly, not sure if he could hear her.

Ranma nodded.

"Yeah, new.  I-I'm here with Akane.  I'm just waitin'..." He handed over
his day pass.

"Ah, I understand now.  C'mon, away from the door before you get hurt."
She pulled him away from the door and into towards the gymnastics corner.
Just in time, since no sooner than he moved then Oyuki plowed through the
doors just ahead of Akane, who was still pulling on her sneakers.  Ranma
smiled.  Akane had changed into a yellow t-shirt, bright red gym shorts and
had pulled her long hair into a ponytail.  She didn't have her scarf around
her neck, but he was still stunned by the overall effect.

{Wow, she is cute!  Even when she's dressed like a tomboy!} He decided to
call out to her before she took off without him.

"Hey, Akane!"

Akane turned to his voice, smiled and waved.  She signed briefly, rolled
her eyes and threw her hands up in the air.  Then, she gave him the "Just a
minute" gesture, and took of after Oyuki.   Ranma blinked and shrugged to
himself. 

{At least I'm not standin' in the middle of the crippled kids' space.} He
winced.  {Aw, man, I don't wanna think like that!  It's just, it's just...}
he couldn't finish the thought.  {I guess I dunno what I feel.  I wanna
feel bad for 'em, but they look pretty happy.}  He turned away and looked
towards the small gymnastics group beginning their warm-ups.  Ranma watched
them go through their paces, trying to figure out why each of them
"belonged" in a school like this.  For the most part, they looked normal.

{But somethin' ain't quite right.  Those two might be siblings, 'cause they
got the same thing wrong with their faces,} he thought.  Noticing that
their instructor signed as well as spoke, he guessed the others couldn't
hear.  {'Cause if they were like Akane, she wouldn't need for the teacher
to be signin' to her.  So they must be deaf.}  He congratulated himself on
being able to "guess what's wrong" with the kids, then he immediately felt
bad about it.  

{Aw, man, I can't go on thinkin' bad things like this about people!  It
ain't their fault!}  He looked up again in time to see the kids lining up
at a corner of the large tumbling mat.  Or, rather, their instructor was
trying to get them all in one corner.

One young girl was bouncing around on the tumbling mat, full of confidence
and ready to spring into her routine.  What struck Ranma the most is that
she was missing half of her left arm.

{How can she do gymnastics with only one arm?} He thought.  {It's tricky
enough with both as it is.}

Suddenly the little girl set off to her corner, turned and sprung into the
air, twisting, turning, cartwheeling, flipping, and twisting as though she
were immune to the forces of gravity.

"Whoa...!"  Ranma was speechless.  The missing arm wasn't even a factor in
her ability.  As soon as she took off, he was instantly (albeit
unconsciously) gauging her abilities as a Martial artist.  "She's seriously
flyin'!" he whispered to no one in particular. "But at this rate, she's
gonna land hard.  She's got too much speed and power goin' and not enough
focus."

Sure enough, as she came in for her finish, she landed with way too much
inertia, bounced and ended up being thrown back onto her butt.  The others
giggled a little but clapped enthusiastically.

Ranma found himself smiling and clapping as well as Akane came up next to
him.  She nodded at the girl who was giving her bows and clapped as well.
The girl with the braid waved to Akane and then turned back to her charges,
giving them new instructions to work on.

"She's got some great aerial moves, don't she?" Ranma asked. 

Akane nodded, then pointed to herself and Ranma, then over to the big grey
curtain that had piqued his interest earlier.

"Is there a ball game goin' on back there?" he asked.

Akane nodded and regestured.

"Yeah, I'd like ta go play."  Akane smiled and jogged over to the curtained
off area with Ranma in tow.

Behind the curtain was a fast and furious game of Anything-Goes basketball.
 Or, at least, that's what it looked like.  There wasn't even any way to
determine who was on who's team.  Just whoever had the ball tried to make a
basket while everyone else tried to stop them.  Ranma grinned.

"This is my kinda game!"  

Akane rolled her eyes and smiled, signing to the nearest player that she
and Ranma wanted in on the game.

Tamaki was the first to see them and alerted the rest of the mob to the
newcomers.

"Hey, Akane!  C'mon in!  We could use some better players around here!"  He
"nyaa'd" and stuck his tongue out at one of the other players.  His taunt
was returned with the ball bouncing off of his head.  He laughed with the
others and waved Akane and Ranma in.  Ranma noted that Tamaki slurred his
words a little and had the same facial features as the two smaller kids at
the gymnastics mat.

{Hmm, he must be their big brother or somethin'.}  His thought was brought
up short as the ball came near him.  Actually, the ball was still halfway
across the court, but Ranma felt it was close enough to go for it.

Ranma found it disturbingly easy to dodge and avoid the others coming in to
steal the ball from him.  The one with the leg braces bothered him the most.

{Why is he playin' ball with the rest of us?  Don't he know he's way out of
his league?}  Unfortunately for Ranma, he was blindsided and bodychecked
into the wall as Akane flew past and swiped the ball from him.  She grinned
wildly, looking for an out when she was suddenly surrounded by the others.
Ranma watched the standoff as Akane adapted her responses to each of the
other players.  Eventually, she did a simple slow "duck-and-weave" maneuver
and made a basket.

{She- she's holdin' back!  She's just playin' with them!} Ranma felt anger
grow at Akane's apparent slight against the other kids.  As he watched,
everyone continued to laugh and tease each other, no one really trying to
go "full out".  Ranma blinked.

{They're all just playin'!  They're just...playing!  It's just a game to
them...} A new thought dawned in Ranma's head.

"It's just a game,"  he whispered to himself.  He let himself be drawn back
into the mob of laughing, shouting youth.

It wasn't long before the others figured out Ranma was a ringer, and he
quickly found himself being targeted for more and more creative plays.
Eventually, the entire game degraded to a free-for-all round of "keep away"
alternating with "Dog Pile on Ranma".  After a few rounds of total
insanity, Ranma found himself dragged to the floor by the sheer mass of
kids hanging off of him, trying to keep him from the basketball net.  He
tossed the ball as he fell, only to see Akane bat it down from the air and
bounce off aimlessly into a corner.

"Aw, man, Akane, that woulda made it!" Ranma groused.

She stuck her tongue out at him and smiled as the others pulled themselves
off of the pile.  Her hair was glistening with sweat.  Even though she
didn't seem to push herself that hard in the game, she did put all her
effort into having fun.  Ranma looked up as she shook out her hair, sending
out droplets of sweat all around.

{Woah, I take it all back,} He thought about his earlier comments about her
being cute.  Akane was flushed and shimmering in the gym lights.  {She's
beautiful!}

Akane caught him staring at her with a big goofy grin on his face.  He
looked mesmerised.

{Why is he staring at me like that? Oh No!  He better not be thinking those
kind of thoughts about me!  He better not be a pervert!  I just spent all
this time with him!  What will people think??} Akane started to work
herself into a nice tizzy as she glared down at him.  Ranma snapped out of
him warm fuzzy fantasy long enough for his Danger Detectors to go off.

Looking up, he saw the object of his growing affection glaring and glowing
down at him.

"Uh, Akane?  You okay?  You look fit ta be tied...  Did someone hurt you?"
he asked as he stood up.

Akane thought about punching him.  Really, she did.

{But he looks so concerned...} Her face softened as he held his hand out
for her.   {Maybe, maybe he is a little different from the other guys.  He
seemed to have a lot of fun here today...  Not like the other jerks at
Furinkan!}  Her features hardened again.  Ranma noticed and he stepped back
involuntarily.

{Damn!  I never know what she's thinking!  I though for a minute there she
was gonna belt me or somethin', then she gets nice, then she's back ta
looking like hell on earth again.  I gotta learn to talk to her better!}

"Uh, Akane...?"

Akane snapped out of her current Baka-Bashing train of thought and noticed
that Ranma had stepped away from her.  She felt suddenly disheartened.

{Ohno!  I've scared him off!  He doesn't like me because I'm too much of a
tomboy, I just know it!  He thinks I'm ugly!  He thinks...}

"Hey, Akane..." Ranma grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her out of her
thoughts.  "Are you okay?  You didn't get hit in the head or nothin',
didja?"  He hovered close to her, making sure she wasn't going to fall over
on him.  "You ain't gonna faint on me, are ya?"  He said with an unsure grin.

Looking up into his eyes, Akane saw that he really was concerned about her,
and not just trying to cop a feel or peek down her shirt.  He was meeting
her eye to eye, and treating her like a real person.  Not like a freak, and
not like a prize to be won.

{Maybe he really does like me...as a person!}  Akane shook her head,
clearing her thoughts and pulling her eyes away from his hoping he wouldn't
see her blush.  She took a deep breath, then smiled back at Ranma.  She
slowly used one of the new signs he learned earlier that afternoon.

'Drink?'

Ranma blinked.  

{Hey, I know that sign!}

He slowly repeated it to her and spoke at the same time.

"A drink?  Am I thirsty?"

Akane smiled broadly and nodded.

"Yeah, I am, actually. Where?"

Akane pointed and walked towards the wall to a water fountain.  Ranma
groaned inwardly, knowing that if he got too close, he'd end up sharing his
worst secret with the a bunch of people he had just met.  He followed
Akane, admiring her lithe and powerful form.

{Man, I got it bad!  And I've only known her for a coupla days!} He shook
his head, trying to clear his head before the thoughts wandered off into
areas better left unexplored.  For now.

{I sure hope the water behaves itself this time.  This has been the best
day I've had in ages and I don't wanna have it get messed up 'cause of this
stupid curse!}  He hesitantly approached the water cooler and Akane handed
him a paper cup.  

{Cool!  A cup!  This'll keep me from havin' ta lean over too close to the
fountain.  Mebbe I'll get lucky this time.}  Ranma filled his cup and
smiled as he drank down the cool water.  Although the game had barely taxed
his resources, it sure was nice to sit back with a cool drink, a pretty
girl and a few new friends.  Ranma winced.

{Geez, did I just think that?  I sound like a beer commercial!)  Ranma
refilled his cup and leaned against the wall, watching as the other kids
filled their cups and caught their wind.  Tamaki came up and softly punched
Ranma in the arm.

"You play a good game, Ranma-kun!  Are you going to be going to school here
with us?  I heard you are Akane's boyfriend." He smiled at the last part,
looking across the room at Oyuki, who was making funny faces in their
direction.  Ranma blushed and rolled his eyes and looked back at Akane.
Akane blushed and stuck her tongue out at Oyuki, who fell over in a fit of
giggles.

"Uh, well, Akane and me, we, uh..." He looked over to Akane for support.
She nodded and signed to Tamaki.

'We're engaged.'  She finished.

"Engaged?  Like, you're gonna be married?"

Ranma nodded.

"Yeah, if we agree at the end of a year, we'll be m-married," Ranma blushed
and looked more than a little nervous.

"You don't look to happy about it, Ranma." Tamaki pointed out.  Akane
scowled and turned away.

"Th-that's not it!  Really!  I mean, it's our parents idea!  They kinda
engaged us without tellin' us about it first.  We just made a deal with 'em
that if we still like each other after a year, then we'll agree to the
marriage."  

Akane's ears pricked up.

{'If we still like each other...' He likes me?  He really likes me now?
Oh, Ranma!}

Akane spun around just in time to see the basketball come flying right at
them.  More accurately, at Ranma, who was still holding his cup of water...

Akane gestured frantically at Ranma, who noticed she was in distress.

"Akane?  What's wr-..."

**Splash!**

"Oh no!"

Akane rushed to his side, her hands over her mouth in shock, not knowing
what to do for him.  Ranma-chan felt her world crash around her and waited
for the laughter and/or screaming to begin.  Tamaki simply looked stunned,
as did the others around them.

"Uh, forgive me, Ranma-san, but you just turned into a girl," Tamaki
pointed out very politely.  The others concurred and nodded and looked back
to Ranma-chan and Akane for the explanation.  Oyuki came bounding over to
see what had caused the sudden bout of silence.

Ranma-chan gulped, as all eyes were on her and they wanted an answer.  She
looked to Akane, who looked just as upset as she felt. 

"Uh, Akane, could you get some hot water, please?"  Akane nodded and ran
out of the gym at breakneck speed.

"Why do you need hot water, Ranma-san?" Tamaki asked.

"It's, uh, it's hard to explain this," he pointed to his now-feminine form,
"without it."  He sighed and looked down at the floor.  "This is really
awkward, you know."

He felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.  It was Oyuki and she began signing
to him.  The girl with the braid had come up to see what the commotion was
and quickly translated for her.

"We don't mind, Ranma-kun. You don't have to tell us anything if you're not
comfortable.  But you don't seem very happy about...whatever just happened.
 If you want to talk about it, this is the best place to be."  The girl
with the braid grinned.  "And my name is Wren.  Wren Loonsfoot.  I hear
you're Akane's fiance, right?  Glad to meet you."  She held out her hand.
Ranma-chan blinked at the sudden change of topic and lack of reaction to
his sudden gender change.  He hesitated, then shook her hand just as Akane
came back with a kettle of hot water.

"I'm Ranma Saotome.  Sorry 'bout this."

Akane stepped up with the kettle and poured a bit on his head.  Instantly,
Ranma was himself again, and the rest just stood and stared.

"I guess an explanation is in order," he said meekly.

Akane signed, allowing Wren to translate.

"I can tell them for you, if you want.  You don't have to go through with
this.  I know how much you hate it..." 

Oyuki didn't let her finish.  Wren kept pace with them without hesitation.

"He should tell us, Akane.  Everyone here is dying of curiosity, even if
they're too polite to ask him about it.  And if it's something he's not
comfortable with, talking about it with others will help."

"But I don't want to get comfortable with it!  I just want it gone!" Ranma
shouted.  "Gomen.  I didn't mean to shout.  I just want to be a guy again,
not some half-guy freak."

Wren stepped in.

"Why don't you tell us what happened, so we can understand what's wrong.
We'll be better able to help you out if we know more about your condition."
 Ranma looked seriously at Wren, then to Oykui, then to Tamaki, and to the
others, finally ending with Akane.

{No one's laughin' at me.  Nobody's freakin' out.  No one's tryin' ta grab
me or nothin'.  Are they waitin' for me to turn my back or somethin'?}
Ranma decided to take a chance.  

{After all, it ain't like I have ta come back here again...}

He leaned against the wall and told him the tale of how he and his father
traveled to the Cursed Training Grounds of Jusenkyo and how he got cursed
to become a girl with cold water.

There was a lot of excited chatter at the end of his tale, especially when
Akane poured cold water on him, then hot water, to demonstrate the curse.
Wren merely smiled enigmatically to herself, and Oyuki appeared to be deep
in thought.  Tamaki retold the story to others who were outside of hearing
and demonstration range, and a few just wandered off, content with the
explanation as it was given the first time.  Akane sat near Ranma, her arm
tentatively across his shoulder to give him comfort.  Ranma, for his part,
was still confused by the lack of attention his curse demonstration was
bringing.  But one little boy from the gymnastics group pretty much summed
up everyone's overall impression.

"That's a pretty cool trick!  Would you do it again, please, Ranma-san?"

Ranma blink-blinked.

{Boy, today's just been full of surprises!}

"Oh, uh, sure.  Okay.  Akane, can you get..."

Splash!

"...the cold water.  Thanks."  He wiped his wet hair from his eyes and held
his pants up with his other hand.  Akane smiled broadly, happy that Ranma
wouldn't have to worry about his curse at this school.  She had secretly
hoped that this would be the case, but doubt had nagged at her.

Ranma reluctantly withstood a few more demonstrations of his curse for
others who were late showing up for the initial surprise.  Word got around
fast in the gym, and before long, everyone who was interested in the
spectacle had their curiosity satisfied.  Yet no one teased Ranma about his
"unusual talent".  Lots of comments, mostly to the tune of "Wow" and
"That's pretty cool!" and "Can you teach me to do that?".  Eventually, the
warm water ran out and Ranma didn't want to head home as a girl.

"That's okay, Ranma-kun.  It's the end of the day anyways.  We won't keep
you here any longer.  Why don't you and Akane head home now?  We'll see you
tomorrow, yes?"  Wren asked.

"Uhm, well, we'll see," Ranma hesitated.  He wasn't sure he wanted to come
back to this school again but with Akane around, it had been more fun than
any other school he'd been to in ages.  Akane led him out to the hall, then
pointed to the girls' locker room and to her gym clothes.

"Oh, yeah, I understand.  I'll wait here for ya then." He leaned against
the wall next to the door and reflected on how his whole day went.

{Well, I guess it could have been worse.  I didn't get in any fights.  I
didn't get detention, and I learned a few new signs today.  And my curse
didn't freak anyone out.  Yet.} He shuddered at the last thought.  He knew
it was just going to be a matter of time before he changed at the wrong
time in front of the wrong people and all hell would break loose.  It was
just the sort of thing the Kami liked to pull on him.  

Akane came out of the locker room and looked at her watch.  Her eyes got
big and she pulled on Ranma's arm and pointed out the front doors before
she started jogging.

{Ah, hell, I'll bet we're late!} Ranma groused.  {It's all my fault.  If I
hadn't had ta stand around and explain ta everyone about this stupid
curse...} he rambled on as he jogged out the doors after Akane.  They broke
into a run when they got outside, barely making it in time to catch the bus
back to Nerima.


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


Ranma and Akane made it home late in the evening, long after everyone else
had already been home from school.  For Akane, this was normal.  For Ranma
on the other hand...

"Oh, hello Ranma!  I thought you would be home much earlier.  But it was
very nice of you to escort Akane to her afternoon classes.  Did you have a
nice time?"  Kasumi greeted them both at the door with a tray of juice and
biscuits.  Ranma all but pounced on them, Akane rolled her eyes and waited
until they got to the table and she had unloaded her homework for the evening.

Genma had been pacing like a caged animal ever since Nabiki had come home
alone hours ago.

"Boy!  Where have you been?" He made a dive for the tray, which Akane
quickly pulled out of his path.  She remembered his eating habit from the
night before.

"Not to worry Saotome!"  Soun appeared behind Ranma and smacked him on the
back.  "Ranma here was just looking out for his fiancee!  I'm so happy! Our
schools will be joined at last!"  Soun started in on the waterworks as
Genma glared and growled at his wayward son.

"Hey!  Don't look at me like that, Old Man!  It ain't my fault there's some
creep out there out ta get Akane hurt!  And besides," he went nose to nose
with Genma.  "Akane told me last night that she goes to a different school
in the afternoon.  It ain't like it woulda killed ya to ask somebody where
we were!"

"Oh dear.  Is Tatewaki-kun still bothering you, Akane?"  Kasumi asked.  Her
brows were furrowed and she was looking rather un-Kasumi-like.

Akane glanced over to Ranma, then sighed and nodded as she set out her
books and notes.

"Well, I certainly hope he gets over himself and leaves you alone, Akane.
This obsession just isn't healthy!" Kasumi finished before going back to
the kitchen.  Akane nodded to herself while Ranma and his father continued
their staring contest.  Soun continued a silent weeping for his daughter as
he strolled back to the shogi game.

"Come, Saotome, let's finish this game now that Ranma and Akane are home
safe and sound.  After all, I'm sure they have plenty of homework to do
before dinner anyways."  Ranma smirked, knowing full well that, even though
he hated homework, his father hated him doing it even more.  If it didn't
have anything to do with The Art, then it was a waste of time.  But if it
gave Ranma a chance to be a burr in his father's backside...

"Yeah, Old Man.  I'm already behind in school from that stupid training
trip in China.  How'm I s'posed to catch up with my studies if ya don't let
me do my homework?"

The soft clinking of shogi tiles and bottle of warm sake was the clincher.

"Alright, Boy, have it your way.  But if you think I'm going to let you get
lazy with all this bookwork, you're in for a surprise!"  Genma retreated to
the shogi game and a comforting cup of sake to soak his worries in.

{That girl is going to make Ranma soft!  Look at him!  He spends the
afternoon babysitting her and now she's got him doing bookwork!  I've got
to find a way to break up this insane engagement up before too much damage
is done to the boy.}  Genma mused, so deep in thought he missed his turn
twice.

{Man, I really hate doin' homework.  How come Akane makes it look like
fun?} Ranma, deep in his own thoughts, had stopped writing in exchange for
simply staring at Akane doing her work.  Unfortunately, Akane had noticed
that he wasn't writing in his notebook anymore.  She peeked sidelong to see
what he was up to, and saw him staring at her, a glazed, faraway look in
his eyes.

{Oh great!  He's daydreaming!  He better be thinking about this homework
and not having perverted thoughts about me!} She grumbled to herself.  

{And what if he is thinking about you, then what?}  Akane set her jaw and
nearly snapped her pencil.  

{Then I'll have to pound him into paste!  The pervert!  And I thought he
was a nice boy!}

SNAP!

Akane's pencil broke, snapping them both out of their respective daydreams.

"Akane!  You okay?  You broke yer pencil.  You havin' trouble with one o'
the assignments of somethin'?"  

Akane looked up and into Ranma's face and saw only concern.  Not a sign of
any of the alleged perverted thoughts crossing his face.  She released the
breath she had been holding and shook her head.  Akane pushed her writing
tablet over to him after scribbling out a quick response.

'No, nothing like that.  My brain wandered off and I followed it too far
along, I guess.'

"Uh, yeah.  I do that sometimes too.  Homework's pretty boring stuff, innit?"

Akane gave him a wry grin and nodded.  Rewriting a bit on the tablet, she
fished out another pencil and went back to her homework.

'Yeah, it's boring, but I'll be happy to spar with you when we get done
with it, okay?  There wasn't a lot of homework today.'

"I'd like that, Akane.  I just don't like doin' homework.  I only do it
'cause the Old Man gets his panties inna bunch when I do." He grinned
evilly at Akane.  Akane looked back at the two old men playing shogi and
grinned back at Ranma.  She gave a 'Thumbs-Up' and pointed back to the
books.  Ranma nodded and set to his own notebook.

They made good time finishing up the assignments.

{Wow, it's a lot easier having someone to study with,} thought Ranma.  {And
she's helpin' me catch up on a lot of stuff, too.  If I'm lucky, I won't
have to get stuck in summer school again, like always.  Pop hates it when I
gotta go to summer school, but it's all his fault anyways!  If he didn't
drag me all over the place during school I wouldn't miss so much and get so
far behind!} Ranma sighed.  {Then again, I wouldn't be the great martial
artist I am if I wasn't always training and learning new techniques.  Wish
there was a way I could be a great martial artist and not fall behind in
school...}  

Akane pushed her tablet over to him as she packed up her schoolbag for the
night.

'Why don't you get changed?  I'll meet you in the dojo in a little bit
after I put this stuff away and get my gi.'  

Ranma smiled and nodded to her as he bounded up the stairs to the room he
and his father shared.  His new school clothes went flying into a corner as
he rummaged for a clean gi to wear.  After he was dressed, Ranma gave his
poor school uniform another glance.

{Aw, man!  I didn't bring the rest of them home from school!  I'll have to
wear this one again tomorrow.}  He picked it up and tried to straighten it
out and smooth out some of the wrinkles and smudges from the ball game
earlier.  He frowned.

{Okay, mebbe I can ask Kasumi ta wash it tonight, if it ain't too much
trouble...}  Grabbing the rest, he went in search of Kasumi.  

Kasumi had just answered the phone as he got down the stairs, so she was
easy to find.  Akane and Ranma met just outside the kitchen.  Akane
gestured to his laundry and raised an eyebrow.

"I kinda left the other one back at Furinkan.  We left inna hurry,
remember?  I was gonna ask Kasumi if she could wash these for tomorrow."
Akane nodded in understanding.  Kasumi relayed the message to Akane.

"Oh, Akane, that was Mrs. Suzuki.  She needs you to go to the store for her
tonight.  She knows it's kind of late notice, but she really hopes that you
would be available?"  Kasumi's soft voice really didn't leave Akane much of
a choice.  Mrs. Suzuki was very old, and shouldn't really be living on her
own.  But Akane made money on the side by running errands for many of the
elderly around the neighborhood, and they had grown dependant on her.  Her
shoulders slumped and she nodded.  

'Be there in a few,' she signed to Kasumi.  Kasumi smiled and returned to
the phone.

"She'll be right over, Mrs. Suzuki.  Yes, she's a wonderful girl.  Yes, I'm
sure she'll make someone a wonderful wife.  Good-bye Mrs. Suzuki."  Ranma
blushed profusely as Kasumi hung up the phone.

"Isn't Akane a nice girl, Ranma?"

"Uh, yeah.  Nice."  He stammered.  "I'll be waitin' in the dojo!"  He
scampered off as fast as his feet would carry him.

Akane left as soon as she got changed back into some street clothes.

"Borrow Nabiki's bike," she signed as she ran out the door.

"I'll let her know, Akane!  I'm sure she'll be glad to lend it to you!"


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


Much later, a weary Akane stumbled in.

'I'm back!'  She signed to no one in particular.

{Not that anyone can hear me anyways,} she groused.  Mrs. Suzuki was a
particular old bird who always waited to the last minute to ask for help.
And it was usually Akane she asked for.  Tonight had been particularly
grueling, since she had waited until her larder was nearly empty before
asking Akane to do the shopping for her.  As it was, Akane had to make two
trips (by bicycle) to get all the required groceries back to Mrs. Suzuki's
home.  And then, of course, Akane needed to put them away, since poor Mrs.
Suzuki couldn't lift and bend as well as she used to.  But all in all, Mrs.
Suzuki was a nice lady who paid Akane well to run her errands for her.  And
she did fix Akane something to eat for her efforts.

Akane pulled on her house slippers and went to the dojo to see if Ranma was
still interested in sparring a bit before going to bed.

{It'll sure feel good to stretch out all these sore muscles.}

Akane heard the ruckus of Smack! Thump! and a variety very rude insults
coming from the dojo long before she got there.

{Ranma and his father must be sparring already.}

She peeked in through the doors when she got there, to make sure everything
was all right before entering.  Instead, what she saw stunned her.

Ranma and his father were bouncing around the dojo like ping pong balls,
colliding in mid-air, breaking apart and ricocheting off of the dojo walls
and ceiling for a string of continuous attacks.  It was something out of a
manga, or even a popular anime movie she'd seen on tv.  It was unreal, the
levels of martial arts that Ranma and his father were sparring at.  Akane
collapsed to the ground outside in shock as waves of self-doubt raced
through her mind.

{They- they're so good!  Ranma must have been seriously holding back when
we sparred!  I- I'm nowhere near that good.  I'll bet he's probably
laughing at me behind my back at how slow and clumsy I am!  He's like a
force of nature and I'm- I'm just a turtle!} She sighed deeply, stood up
and walked back to the house.  

{It's better that he's sparring with his father anyways.  I'd just hold him
back in his training.  No wonder Father wants him to inherit the dojo by
marrying me.  I'm just a novice compared to him.}  Akane stopped when she
got to the furo and collected her things for a bath.

{I suppose I was never really was Daddy's heir.  I mean, even though I
learned the Art better than anyone else here, I didn't do nearly as good a
job as Ranma did.}

Akane quietly went through her bathing routine, still deeply nursing the
doubt eating away at her heart.  Finally, she sunk into the furo, letting
the heat of the water ease the tenseness in her muscles. 

{You know, it's always been said that you arrange marriages for your ugly,
unwanted daughters because they are so hard to get rid of.  Is that what
Daddy was thinking?  Oh, Kasumi and Nabiki went through their little "Good
Daughter" routines, but everyone knew I was supposed to be the heir to the
dojo.  What good is an instructor if he can't talk?  And even worse if it's
a girl, right?  So, I get to marry Ranma to help Daddy save face and save
the Tendo family from dishonour.} Akane rolled over and rested her chin on
her arms over the side of the furo.

{I wonder if Ranma's in on all of this?   I wonder what he's thinking about
this whole arranged marriage thing?  I know we had that long talk last
night, but was he being sincere?  And his curse!  I know he doesn't like
it, but it's a thousand times better than being a girl who can't talk.  I
might as well not even be alive sometimes.}

Akane stood up and tried to shake off her growing depression.

{Argh!  Alright, that's it!  Now I'm getting depressed again.  Dr. Toufu
said it was this kind of thinking that would keep me stuck in the dark
ages!  I have to change my attitude in order to change everyone else's
perceptions of me.  I have to show them I'm definitely the Heir to the
Anything-Goes Tendo Ryuu!}

She slumped her shoulders as she dried off and dressed for bed.

{Okay, I'll show them first thing tomorrow.  After I've had a good night's
sleep.}


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


"Yeow, that's cold!" Ranma-chan griped as she soaked herself down for her
bath routine.  She was sporting several new bruises and a really, really
sore leg.

{Hmph!  The Old Man wasn't fooling around tonight.  He's really pissed off
with me, just 'cause I spent the day at school and did my homework like a
normal student.  And now he's got this crazy idea that Akane's gonna make
me go soft or somethin', like I'm gonna lose my edge just 'cause I'm
spendin' time with her.  Dammit!  We're engaged!  Ain't an engaged couple
s'posed ta spend time together?}  Ranma scrubbed extra hard, trying to get
the creepy feeling off of himself.  For some reason, listening to his
father rant about "That girl" and "how she was nothing but trouble" freaked
him out.  He even refused to call Akane by her name.  Ranma-chan shivered
again, although she was unsure if it was from the cold water or from the
battle in the dojo.  As she sank into the furo, she became male again, and
he stretched out and luxuriated in the delicious heat of the steaming
water.  This was a rare treat for him.  Ranma was used to a long, hard life
on the road, and baths were usually taken in a river or a lake.  A public
bath was "a waste of money" and hot springs were even harder to come by.
Ranma sank down to his nose, bubbled in the water for a few moments, then
came up for air.  He rolled over, resting his chin on his arms crossed on
the edge of the furo.

{I wonder where Akane is now?  I didn't see her in the house, but Nabiki's
bicycle was parked out back again.  I wonder why she didn't come out to
spar with me like she said she would?}  He drummed his fingers and thought
some more.  {I mean, she didn't even stop to say good-night or nothin'...
Oh man!} He suddenly slammed his fist on the tile.  {What if she overheard
the Old Man pissin' and moanin' about me and Akane bein' together?! Oh,
man, I'd run off and not say goodnight too!}  

Ranma quickly hopped out of the furo and dried himself off.  He thought
about what to say to Akane and what kinds of knots he was going to tie
Genma into when he got back from the bar later.  {It'd serve the Old Man
right if she went and told her father.  I mean, who's stupid enough ta
insult yer host's daughter?  That's askin' ta be thrown out...} Ranma
suddenly got a cold lump in the pit of his belly.  

{Does that mean they'd throw me out, too?  I mean, we did kinda agree ta
marry.  Sorta.}  Ranma shook his head, trying to derail where that train of
thought was headed.

{I'll just find out if Akane's okay.  I'll apologise if I have to, and beat
the Old Man for it later.}

Ranma stopped outside Akane's door and stared at the wooden duck that
served as the nameplate.  He kept trying to knock, but always held back at
the last second.

{Man, apologisin' is a lot harder than it looks!  Okay, this is it!  Fer
real this time!}  He took a deep breath and knocked as softly as he could.
He pulled his hand away as if the door burned his knuckles and held it
behind his back.  His other hand played with his pigtail nervously.  No
answer.

"Uhm, Akane?" He asked quietly.  After a few minutes of arguing with
himself, he finally gave in and cracked the door open and peeked inside.
Akane's room was dark, save for the moonlight streaming in through the
window over her desk.  He could see the moonlight shining off of her
blue-black hair which was splayed all over her pillow and fell streaming
across her shoulder and onto her blanket.  Ranma let out the breath he had
been holding and sighed.  Akane was asleep, and looked as though she had
been for a while.  She had a sad smile in her sleep, causing Ranma to
wonder what she had heard while he was "sparring" with his father.

"Wow, she's so cute!  I wish I knew what to say.  I hope she'll still be my
friend in the morning..." Ranma whispered to himself.  He quietly left her
room, gently closing the door behind him.  

Flopping down on his mattress in the spare room he spared with his father,
Ranma stared at the ceiling and wondered what tomorrow would bring, and if
he would have to be back on the road again before lunch.

{I hope not.  I think I'm startin' ta like it here...}


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


Meanwhile, over on the Furinkan soccer field...

"Where the Hell am I now???"

A lone figure staggered as though he'd been walking for several days
without end.  He had barely made his way across the field when the evening
timer on the sprinklers went off.

"Ack! No!  Bweee!!!"



End Chapter 2


"Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?"

-Deb "SabreBabe" Matthews (ICQ# 699595)
SabreBabe's Maniac House
http://members.xoom.com/sabrebabe



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