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The characters of the Ranma 1/2 universe are the creation and possession of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Shogakukan Inc., Kitty-Fuji TV, Viz Communications Inc.)

No copyright infringement is intended.

With a yawn and a stretch, Nabiki made her way out of the bathroom. Some how, she had again managed to piece together the complicated mess of cloth that was the Furinkan School uniform. Her hair was still a mess, but that was why she still absently held her brush in her hand.

She plopped down at the breakfast table with a sigh that fought against another yawn.

A morning person, she was not.

Nabiki blinked back the morning blurries and looked up at the quiet couple sitting opposite her.

"What's with you two this morning?" Nabiki quipped. "Akane keep you up too late last night?"

"Nabiki!" Akane half screamed.

"Is Auntie not going to be joining us this morning?" Kasumi asked cheerfully as she began arranging the serving dishes.

Nabiki just couldn't understand what she did to deserve being surrounded by so many morning people.

"Naw, she wouldn't budge a bit when I tried to get her," Ranma rambled on.

"Wait a minute," Nabiki said.

She looked up and verified that Ranma was male.

"Auntie who?" Nabiki asked.

"Auntie Nodoka," Kasumi replied.

"And Ranma didn't go girl?"

"She knows," Ranma said.

That was enough to jumpstart Nabiki.

"You told her!" Nabiki squealed. "Just what were you thinking?"

Visions of Ranma kneeling before his mother flashed through her head. Not that Nabiki had ever thought Nodoka was serious about them committing seppuku, but the thought that Ranma would suddenly tell her sounded warning bells in her head.

"He didn't tell her, she already knew," Akane said.

"Huh?" Nabiki responded as her brain attempted a quick morning reset.

"It was already late. We had just finished feedin' Himiko when she came. She grabbed a hold of me an' called me Ranma and just collapsed. And I was still a girl at the time," Ranma explained.

"She collapsed? Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Me and Akane put her up in mine and pops room and she seemed to be restin' alright this morning," Ranma said. "At least she didn't look hurt or nothing," Ranma added after a moment's consideration.

Even with the soul searching, old habits can be hard to break. Nabiki gathered her thoughts and schooled her emotions before putting her next question to Ranma.

"Are you going to school today, or are you staying here?" Nabiki asked. With Ranma's usual dress, one could never be certain.

As Nabiki figured it: If Ranma stayed, she would have the chance to get ready for Ranma's return, but she'd be left out on the mother-son-granddaughter reunion, and she wanted to make sure that went okay. If Ranma went to school, that'd at least give Kasumi and maybe Tofu a chance to talk to Nodoka but would be throwing Ranma to the wolves, so to speak.

"I," Ranma began to answer.

"I think you've already missed a lot of school and shouldn't miss any more if you can help it," Kasumi suggested.

"But mom...," Ranma began.

"Will still be here when you get back," Kasumi finished for him.

Nabiki hopped up, having eaten her morning fill, and rushed off to finish brushing her hair. She knew that once Kasumi had made up her mind, the out come was a forgone conclusion.

= = = = = = = = = =

Akane glanced up at the fence for about the three millionth time. Yes, Ranma was still there.

Despite the late night, Akane felt more awake than she had for the past month.

"Ranma, I was thinking," Nabiki said from her spot ahead of them.

Nabiki stopped and turned to face them as Ranma and Akane stopped just short.

"Perhaps you ought to put off school for one more day."

"Nabiki, what are you trying to pull?" Akane asked challengingly. She wasn't about to let Ranma out of her sights.

"I could of used your help back with Kasumi, if ya think I should of stayed home," Ranma replied with a snort.

Akane felt an indescribable warmth encompass her chest when Ranma referred to her home as home. She felt a little choked up as she looked up at him.

"That isn't what I was suggesting, Ranma," Nabiki said.

"You think we should just skip school? And do what?" Akane said.

"I didn't say ‘we should'," Nabiki responded.

Akane felt the burning at her checks, but she fought the urge to look away.

"Anyway, about your mother," Nabiki continued on. "She might know about your curse and she might not. Any thoughts on how she may have found out?"

"I doubt pops said anything, if that's what you're getting' at," Ranma said off-handedly.

Akane watched Ranma closely. He sounded sure, but something made her think different. Not that she felt she could read her pig-tailed iinazuke.

"If she does know, I bet she'll have lots of questions for you. Some of them will probably be very embarrassing."

"So what do you suggest I do? Go on another camping trip?" Ranma said with as much distaste as he could. There was no doubt what he thought of that idea.

"No, but you don't know what she knows or what slant was put on that knowledge. Letting Kasumi talk to her, and maybe suggesting to Dr. Tofu that he stop by might alleviate a possible bad situation."

Ranma hopped down off the fence and gave Nabiki a long penetrating gaze.

"You really think that would help?"

"You don't like talking about your curse," Nabiki paused for a second to take a breath. "They can't and wont answer all of the questions she'll have, but I can't think of two other people I'd rather have her talk to before you two get together."

"Hey," Akane said, the sting of accusation hitting deep.

"Little sister, as his iinazuke she'd expect you to have nothing but good things to say about her boy," Nabiki said placatingly.

"Yea, with you there to talk, I'd be dead by…."

"Ranma!" Nabiki barked.

Akane flinched and looked down.

"That's enough," Nabiki said.

"Anyway, what makes ya think she'll listen to Kasumi?" Ranma asked.

"Kasumi is our big sister. She'd definitely have an opinion about whether you were good enough for her little sister or not."

"Like when ya pawned off a total stranger onto her?" Ranma countered.

"Yeah," Akane echoed. The total betrayal by her family had been a final straw of sorts that hurt her still.

Nabiki looked at Akane.

Flashes of that day, of her father praising Ranma for sneaking into her room and bed against her will, of Nabiki watching impassively as dozens of boys attack her, of Nabiki cheerfully admitting to selling pictures of her and Ranma to Kunou, and other times spun around Akane's head.

Nabiki quickly turned away.

"If it wasn't for Kasumi, you two would have been married that first night," Nabiki said tightly.

"Like our fightin' didn't have anything to do with that," Ranma said bitingly.

"Has your fighting ever stopped those two from trying?" Nabiki countered.

"Ever since mom died, Kasumi took on the role of matriarch of the house," Nabiki explained. "In that role, she was able to persuade father to put off the wedding. If you have been engaged to her that day, she wouldb't have been anything more than an errant daughter complaining rather than motherly influence she was, and the wedding would have been that night."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other.

Nabiki checked her watch.

"We should at least move this along, or we'll be late," Nabiki said.

"Okay, but why Akane," Ranma asked as he caught up with Nabiki.

Akane flinched. Did he like her sister more?

"I mean, with all the problems she was haven' at school and everything," Ranma finished.

Akane shot Ranma an astonished gaze.

"Before you arrived, I was kind of interested," Nabiki said.

"But I turned out to be a freak," Ranma interjected.

"You are not a freak," Akane answered back while grabbing Ranma's hand.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to make of you, Ranma," Nabiki said. "But Akane was Kasumi's best bet to putting off the wedding. And the only thing she knew of Akane's problems at school was that she was getting into trouble for fighting boys."

"What!" Ranma exclaimed.

"She gave me a lecture that first day when I got home," Akane said softly. "That hurt so much, I didn't even bother trying to explain."

"The school called and told her you started the fight," Nabiki said.

Akane squeezed Ranma hand as she tensed up.

"But she didn't even want to heard my side," Akane huffed.

"I know what that's like," Ranma mumbled.

Akane shot him a glare before the guilt hit home.

"Why didn't you ever do anything to stop it?" Ranma asked Nabiki.

"I don't have as much power over the school as you seem to think I do," Nabiki said.

"You certainly seem to be able to do whatever you want," Akane answered back.

"But you two get away with a lot more than I ever have," Nabiki returned. "Ever wonder why?"

Ranma shrugged while Akane snorted.

"Kunou."

"Yeah, right!" Ranma laughed.

"Ranma, you dropped out of school before finishing junior high and never even took the entrance exam."

"So?" Ranma replied. "Me getting in had nothing to do with Kunou."

"You think so?" Nabiki said. "What you've got to understand is Furinkan isn't a public school. It's a private school owned by the Kunou's."

Ranma took a misstep, but quickly caught himself.

"When father called the school and threatened to remove Akane, suddenly the administration had no problem admitting you."

"Daddy threatened to pull me from school?" Akane asked. High school might not have been a requirement in Japan, but it was one of the few things she remembered their father putting his foot down about before the Saotome's arrived.

"They both wanted you in the same school. When the school said they couldn't accept Ranma, he asked about schools that might accept both Ranma and you transferring."

Akane could only stare disbelievingly at her sister.

"The reason I can get away with the stuff I do is the same reason the school never put a stop to those fights, because everyone is afraid of losing their jobs. If Akane left Kunou would have been upset, so they admitted you."

"But if Kunou really has that much power..." Akane began to ask.

"Kunou wasn't always this bad but, between becoming the captain of the kendo club our first year and the way the school officials treated him when they heard his name, he came to think of himself as a respected samurai instead of the feared school bully he is."

Akane became lost in the thought of ‘what if.' What if daddy had transferred her and Ranma to a different school? A school without Kunou. A new chance to make friends.

"Why's everybody staring like that?" Ranma asked, breaking into Akane's thoughts.

Akane glanced around and noticed that with the nearness of Furinkan the streets had begun to fill with students. Most of them were openly staring away while others were whispering among themselves with the occasional surreptitious glance their way.

"Part of the reason I thought you should put off school for a day," Nabiki answered.

"You never did explain that," Ranma pointed out.

"After you left, a number of rumors started flying about," Nabiki said.

"I wonder who started those," Ranma replied dryly.

"I had nothing to do with them," Nabiki replied harshly. "A lot of students thought you ran off after getting Akane pregnant," Nabiki whispered loud enough for the three to hear.

"What!" Ranma shouted after recovering from a stumble. "Why'd they think something like that!"

"Well, you did disappear quiet suddenly," Nabiki pointed out.

"But that was because…"

"And Akane was seen looking through baby books in quite a number of stores around town," Nabiki interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Ranma. I guess I didn't think," Akane said as she cast her gaze at the ground. She felt like the biggest idiot.

"Why'd ya do that for?"

"Oh, I don't know Ranma," Nabiki replied sarcastically. "She's just been running herself ragged taking care of a certain Himiko."

"Oh," Ranma replied.

Akane just kept her gaze down. She couldn't help but think of her experiment with kangaroo care and how Himiko had picked up a huge rash from being handled so much. She felt like she couldn't do anything right.

"Well, I didn't run off. There's no way I got Akane pregnant so I could careless what they think," Ranma said defiantly.

Akane winced, feeling another jab in her heart.

"Ranma, you will probably be accused of worse things too. Are you sure you're up to this?" Nabiki asked.

"I can take anything," Ranma declared confidently.

As they rounded the gate to enter the schoolyard, Ranma's grip on Akane's hand tightened.

Akane looked dumbly at their hands, still interlocked wondering just how long they had been doing that. Glancing up, Akane opened her mouth to say something, though she wasn't quite sure what.

Ranma wasn't looking at her though, as his eyes were locked at something up ahead.

A tall blond haired man stood proudly in the middle of the courtyard. His green eyes sparkled like highly polished emeralds as they darted back and forth across the passing crowd. His shoulders where broad and powerful looking, Akane could almost imagine the washboard abs hidden beneath his Chinese tunic. His arms bulged with strength even as he stood apparently at ease. His stance was strong and powerful, yet simultaneously at easy and unguarded.

His apparent power was not lost on the other students either, as was evidenced by the large space everyone left him as they walked around to get to the school. Neither the glares of the other boys, whom never-the-less kept their distance, nor the continuous shower of feminine sighs of all the girls as they would come through the gate and catch their first glimpse seemed to effect him.

Had this been a year ago, Akane might have passed him by with little more than a contemptuous glance and perhaps a guarded walk. A warm quiver shot through her when their eyes meet for a moment before they continued their seep.

Before Akane could consider anything, Ranma let go of her hand.

Akane turned to Ranma to ask why he let go when she saw his eyes. The normal clear blue that marked her iinazuke's normal mood had deepened to a dark stormy blue hinting at some emotional tempest.

"Really," Akane breathed out. All she had done was look and he was all jealous. It wasn't like she knew him or they were all over each other like a certain Amazon they both knew.

"Shampoo?" Nabiki said from Ranma's other side.

Akane turned back to see Shampoo touch down from somewhere.

"Razor," Akane thought she heard Shampoo say and the man turned toward her. She couldn't make out his reply, but it didn't sound friendly.

"Ranma don't do it!" Nabiki said.

Akane turned to back to find Nabiki standing in front of Ranma.

"Think about Akane and Himiko. If you fight him now, you're going to have to kill him," Nabiki hissed warningly. "Otherwise you'll just be staring the whole Amazon thing over again. And you do not want that!"

Akane blinked, confused. Looking back at Shampoo and the stranger she noticed that his clothes did seem to be in a similar style as Shampoo's, more so that just being obviously Chinese. Given that and that the two seemed to know each other it was easy to guess that he was from her home.

"Sounds good," Ranma said between grit teeth.

Akane looked back at Ranma with wide eyes. She hadn't seem him this mad since Mikado kissed him. Akane's thoughts trailed off there and she glanced back to Shampoo, the man, her sister, then finally Ranma.

"Ranma?" Akane said softly.

"He doesn't know about your curse. If you fight him now, your secret will get out. Kill him and you'll spend the rest of your life in jail. Is that what you want, Saotome?" Nabiki said getting in his face.

= = = = = = = = = =

Well, Chapter 19 is done. And Razor finally shows up, but before this fight I think we'll need a little distance.

I hope you all enjoy. Next Chapter: Distance.