As always, all rights to Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi and
Shougakukan

Equal Halves
By Deborah Goldsmith <dgoldsmith@mac.com>
Chapter 4: Lovers and Other Strangers 

*****

Hibiki Ryouga regarded the rather attractive redhead who had run into
him; she was taking an awfully long time to rise from her bow. "Miss?
Are you all right?" 

The girl took a deep, shuddering breath, as if she'd been holding it,
and finally straightened up. Ryouga blinked; she looked as if she were
struggling to hold back tears. She appeared so overwhelmed that it took
a few seconds for him to notice who it was. "R-ranma?!" His face
hardened and he made a disgusted noise. "Showing your true colors again,
I see. How can you do this to Akane? Don't you know how she feels about
it? You're disgusting!" 

Ranma flinched as if she'd been slapped. "Ryouga... Ryouga, I'm not..." 

"I give up on Akane, and this is how you behave, now that you don't have
a rival? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I can't imagine why Akane
would want to be engaged to a pervert like you." 

Ranma turned ashen. "R-ryouga..." 

"If I wasn't seeing Akari right now, I'd show Akane what a real man is
like!" 

The next line in the script was for Ranma to start blustering about her
manhood. She didn't follow the script. "A... Akari? W-who is Akari,
Ryouga?" She looked to be terrified of something. 

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "What do you mean? You know
Akari! You practically pushed us together!" 

He stared; Ranma was literally trembling. "Is she... is she your... your
girlfriend?" 

Ryouga couldn't make any sense of what Ranma was saying. "Of course she
is!" he growled. "Have you gone off the deep end or..." he trailed off;
tears were running freely down Ranma's cheeks, her chin was quivering,
and she had a wild look in her eyes. It suddenly penetrated his anger
that Ranma looked like she was about to break down and cry, and sure
enough, she did. She buried her face in her hands and keened, the sound
of someone who'd had her heart ripped in two. His heart lurched; it
would have to have been made of stone not to. He knew Ranma was in pain;
no one was a good enough actor to cry like this. 

She stood there, wailing, while Ryouga boggled, not having the faintest
idea what was going on, or what to do. Why was she calling him by his
name instead of "P-chan" or something similar? Why hadn't she responded
with her usual taunts? Why was she crying like some lovesick girl
instead? 

A couple of middle-aged women stopped, and glared daggers at Ryouga. One
of them looked him up and down, and said "You ought to be ashamed of
yourself. What did you do to your girlfriend to make her cry like that?"

He grit his teeth. "She is /not/ my girlfriend! I wouldn't date her if
she was the last... woman on Earth!" He started when Ranma's wails
increased in volume. 

The two women moved off, muttering. "Boys these days... animals..." 

Other passersby were glaring at him, too, and he awkwardly put a hand on
Ranma's shoulder. "Hey quit it, will you? People are staring at us!" 

Ranma tensed up at the contact, and kept crying. 

Ryouga rolled his eyes. "Will you /stop/ it? What the hell's gotten into
you?!" 

Ranma looked up at him, and Ryouga saw a familiar look in her eyes, a
look he had thought he would never see again. A look he never, ever
/wanted/ to see again. The look she'd had in her eyes after he'd snared
her with the koi fishing rod. /Oh, Kami-sama... maybe she wasn't
completely cured./ 

Suddenly, it all made sense; she'd become a girl the last time, just to
please him. An intense wave of guilt rose up and tried to overwhelm his
intrinsic perception that everything that happened was Ranma's fault,
and partly succeeded. He swallowed. 

Her dress was cut low enough that he could see the spot where the mark
had been, and it was still gone. If she was acting this way without it,
was it permanent now? It did seem less intense than before; during the
earlier episode, if he'd told Ranma to stop crying she would have
complied instantly, just to please him. Still, if he hadn't used the rod
on Ranma, she wouldn't be like this. 

Ryouga stared, mesmerized, at the redhead who was looking up at him,
sniffling and hiccuping and with tears running down her cheeks. If he
hadn't known it was Ranma, he would never have imagined this wasn't a
real girl, and seeing a girl cry this way was painful. Hell, it was
painful even though he /did/ know it was Ranma. Especially since it was
his fault. 

He groped desperately for something to say. "Look, why... why don't we
just take you home, OK?" She nodded, still crying, and turned. 

Ryouga cleared his throat. "Ummm... isn't it this way?" He pointed. 

She looked back at him, and her face screwed up in pain, her tears
flowing more freely. She wordlessly shook her head. "Uhhh... OK." He
moved to walk beside her. 

She cried for the entire ten minute walk to the Tendou home. Ryouga
noticed that the looks of the passersby had changed from anger to
compassion, but didn't realize it was because the same change had taken
place on his own face. 

He watched Ranma the whole way. Her body language--her entire
demeanor--was female. He cringed. The last time, she'd only shown hints
of feminine behavior, and then only after he'd told her that he didn't
want to be mooned over by another guy. She was pretty far gone this
time. Waves of guilt started to lap at his heart. Had the rod slowly
turned Ranma into a girl, just to make him happy? He shivered. 

They turned into the Tendou compound's front gate, and Ryouga suddenly
realized that Akane was not going to be at all happy with him for doing
this to Ranma. It was too late to run off now, though. He sighed. 

Ranma slid the door open, and called out, "T... t... tadaimaaaa..." and
trailed off into sniffling and hiccuping again. 

Akane came running down the hallway. "Ranko, are you all right? What on
Earth happened to..." She spotted Ryouga and trailed off. "Oh no..." 

Ryouga blinked. /Ranko?/ 

Ranma suddenly surged up from the genkan, not even noticing she was
still in her shoes, and threw herself into Akane's embrace. She buried
her face in Akane's shoulder, and started to wail again. Akane hugged
her gently, rubbing her back, and looking at Ryouga not in anger, but
with worry etched deep on her face. 

Ryouga heard another set of footsteps come pounding down the hallway,
and another voice. A very familiar voice. "Hey, did somethin' happen
to..." Ranma came into view, and stopped. Nodoka and Kasumi arrived a
few steps behind him. 

Ryouga looked wildly between the redhead who was crying into Akane's
shoulder and Ranma, who stepped forward, balling his fists. "What the
hell did you do to her?" 

Ryouga wasn't capable of speech at the moment. "R... R... R..." was all
he could manage. 

"If you hurt her I'm gonna make bacon outta you, pig-boy!" His stance
grew more threatening. 

"No!" shouted the redheaded girl. She pulled away from Akane. "Don't you
dare hurt him! I won't let you!" She started to cry again, and returned
to Akane's arms. 

Ranma relaxed his stance, confused. "What? Why not?" Akane bit her lip. 

Ryouga finally managed to blurt out, "Will someone please tell me what
the hell is going on here?!" He looked back and forth. "Why are there
/two/ of you?" 

Akane looked around; Ranma and Ranko were too upset to explain properly.
"Ryouga, this is Ranko. She's another Ranma from a parallel world,
except she's a girl, a real girl. She was /born/ a girl." 

Ryouga tried to ask an intelligent question, but what came out was
"What... how... why..." 

"We don't know how or why she came here. We're still trying to figure
out how to get her home." 

Ryouga felt his brain overloading as it tried to grasp this bizarre
concept. So, if she was a real girl, that explained the dress and
behavior. But if she was from another world, why had she been looking at
him like that? Come to think of it, how had she even known who he was? 

Ranma still looked angry. "What happened?" 

Ryouga managed to find his voice. "I met her by accident, and I... I
thought she was you. I said... I said some of the things I... I usually
say to you." He blushed. "But she didn't really start to cry until I
mentioned Akari." As if to illustrate the point, Ranko's crying grew
louder. Kasumi gasped and looked to Nodoka, who nodded. 

Ranma's anger faded into confusion. "Why would she care about Akari? I
mean, she's just your..." Ranma trailed off. Akane closed her eyes and
waited. 

You could almost hear the gears grinding. Ranma was a bit clueless when
it came to matters of the heart, but he wasn't deaf, dumb, and blind.
/Wait a minute... she hears about Akari, and she starts cryin'. She says
she won't let me hurt P-chan here. Her fiance back home is a martial
artist, and she didn't wanna tell me who he is./ He swallowed heavily.
/Oh, Kami-sama.../ "I... I don't feel so good." 

Akane sighed. He was actually taking it better than she'd expected.
Ranko had stopped crying, and turned around to watch, her eyes wide.
Akane kept a comforting arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. 

Ryouga looked around. "What? Why?" 

Ranma looked him in the eye, and shivered involuntarily. His skin was
crawling. "She's got a boyfriend back home in her world. They're
plannin' on gettin'..." he swallowed again, "married." 

Ryouga blinked. "So? That's nice, I guess." He supposed he could
understand why Ranma was uneasy about the idea, given some of the
situations his curse had landed him in. He'd almost wound up a bride
himself on several occasions. 

Akane glanced over at Ranma; he looked too queasy to elaborate. "Ryouga,
Ranko's world is almost identical to ours, except that she and her
cousin Hiromi are girls instead of boys." 

Ranma felt even more queasy. /Hiromi?/ 

Akane continued, "We haven't been able to find any other differences. We
all exist there: my family, Ranma's parents, Ukyou, the Amazons, Sayuri
and Yuka, the Kunous, /everyone/. Including... you." 

Ryouga boggled. "So there's another /me/ in this parallel world?" Akane
nodded. He couldn't help smiling; in this other world, there was no
Ranma for Akane to be engaged to! Maybe he had won her heart there, and
never met Akari. Ranko certainly wouldn't have been a rival; she was a
girl herself, after all! A girl... and she... she had a... boyfriend...
and... 

Insight hit him between the eyes like a two by four, and he went white
as a sheet. His eyes found Akane's, and she nodded. His eyes moved on to
the redhead in Akane's embrace. She bit her lip, and nodded too. And she
had /that/ look in her eyes again. His eyes moved on to Ranma; he was
still looking queasy. 

Ryouga swallowed. "I... I don't feel so good either." 

*****

Ryouga didn't think that making your fiancee cry on her birthday was
actually classified as a war crime, but he was sure he couldn't feel any
lower if it was. 

Granted, technically, she wasn't /his/ fiancee. But it didn't matter; to
/her/, she was. And he'd certainly had his heart broken enough times to
know what it felt like. 

He'd wanted to blame everything on her, because she /was/ Ranma, after
all. But she was also a girl, and that played havoc with Ryouga's mental
categorizations. What's more, she'd been in pain, genuine pain. He knew
what that felt like, too. Compassion and his dislike of Ranma had
warred, and compassion had won. And so he felt guilty instead. 

She'd even apologized. /Ranma/ had apologized to /him/. Even if it was a
female Ranma from another world, the very concept made his head hurt;
Ranma was supposed to be a jerk. 

She'd explained that even though she knew he was a different Ryouga from
hers, the thought of him being another woman's boyfriend had hurt
terribly. She'd explained that they just loved each other too much; they
were going to get married, start a family. She'd explained that in her
heart, she felt they already /were/ married. While she'd meant well,
none of these were things he particularly wanted to hear. 

Ranma himself obviously hadn't wanted to hear them, either. Both of them
were looking rather more uncomfortable at the end of Ranko's apology
than at the beginning, and for the same reason. The idea of being
engaged to each other--and /willingly/--was about as attractive as being
engaged to Kodachi. Maybe less attractive. 

Which explained why the whole family was gathered around the dining
table to listen to Ranko's story, because the one question on everyone's
mind was, how in Kami-sama's name could Ranma--/any/ version--and Ryouga
fall in love? 

"You told me it started when you felt sorry for me, after attacking me
on the beach in Ibaraki." She pursed her lips and lowered her gaze to
the table. 

"Why did he... why did I attack you, if you were a girl? For that
matter, how did we even meet? Ranma and I met in junior high, at an
all-boy school." 

She blushed. "We met there, too. I... I was a boy when I met you." 

"Wait a minute... I thought Akane-san said you were born a girl?" 

"I was. I was turned into a boy, sort of by accident, when I was a
little girl. My father raised me as 'Ranma', and by the time I was eight
or so I'd forgotten I was a girl. Being a boy still hurt, but I didn't
know why. It hurt a lot..." She paused, her eyes moist, and Ryouga found
compassion winning his internal battle again. 

"It wasn't until my mother found me here that I found out who I really
was, and I started to explore becoming a girl again. While I was doing
that, I went to a cottage in Ibaraki with my mother, Akane, Ucchan,
Sayuri, and Yuka. Just to get away from it all, but you managed to find
me anyway." She smiled. 

"You attacked me, and I was losing badly because I hadn't practiced
martial arts much in weeks. Akane and Ucchan rescued me, and then I told
you what was going on. You told me later that when you heard about my
life, you felt that I'd suffered worse than you had, and you couldn't
hate me any more. It kind of wiped the slate clean between us." She
decided to ask this Ryouga about P-chan later. /He'd better not still be
doing that to Akane.../ 

Ryouga fidgeted nervously; that was kind of the way he was feeling about
her right now. "And then we fell in love?" 

"Oh, no. It took a couple of months, and it was just you at first. You
told me that it kind of grew slowly on you, and then all of a sudden, a
couple of months later, you heard me play my violin, and it hit you like
a ton of bricks. You confessed to me the next day." 

Ryouga decided to ask about the violin later. "And you said you loved me
too?" 

She giggled. "No. I was kind of doubtful about the whole thing. I mean,
given our history and all. I wanted to be your friend--I'd wanted that
for a long time, even when I was Ranma--but /love/? I wasn't ready for
that, especially with you." Everyone was too busy watching Ranko to
notice the slightly guilty look on Ranma's face. 

Ranko sighed. "But you loved me /so much/. I still remember what you
told me: that you loved me more than you thought it was possible to love
another person. It just floored me, the way you expressed your feelings
and how vulnerable you were. I didn't want to hurt you. So when you
asked me to give it a try, just one teeny little date, I said yes." The
other women were all smiling. 

"And...?" asked Akane, who was smiling the most of all of them. 

"And he kind of grew on me, too. I didn't really notice it as it
happened, but we just got closer and closer. And I started to feel
claustrophobic; I'd only just gotten out of all these engagements, and I
felt hemmed in again. Then I met his parents, and they just adored me.
His mother kept telling me how I was practically a member of the family
and asked me to call her 'Mother.'" She sighed. 

"Sounds like Mom, all right." Ryouga sighed himself. 

"It was sweet of them, really, but it pushed all the wrong buttons. I
freaked, big time. I told him I needed some space. We had a fight, and I
was a mess for days. That's when I realized that I loved him, too. We
made up, and we haven't looked back since. We're not formally engaged,
but... we might as well be." Again, her heart ached, and she wondered
why she'd been so obstinate about an engagement. She had to turn away
from Ryouga; right now, looking at him was too painful. 

Ranma was looking glassy-eyed. "How the hell could you fall in love with
/him/?" 

Ranko and Ryouga both glared at him. "I would have said the same thing
when I was Ranma. But after he stopped being mad at me, we started to
get along really well. I stopped teasing him and he stopped... doing
things that annoyed me. I never saw it before because we fought so much,
but he's a really sweet, generous guy. He's kind, gentle, and caring.
When he fell in love with me he stopped being depressed all the time,
and now he smiles a lot. He dotes on me. He even said he'd help take
care of our children and the household chores so I can be a violinist.
Not many guys would go that far for the girl they love." Akane started
glaring at Ranma, too, and he shrank a bit from their combined
onslaught. 

Ranko smiled. "/I/ think he's wonderful. I'm glad I fell in love with
him." Her gaze couldn't help going to Ryouga, and that love was plainly
visible in her startling blue eyes. 

Something took Ryouga's heart, put it in a blender, and turned it on set
to "puree." Wildly conflicting emotions of all different kinds mixed
together into an unidentifiable mess, then exploded, splattering all
over his insides. 

He didn't feel any better receiving Ranma's confession of love than he
had the first time, when she'd been under the influence of the koi
fishing rod. This was still Ranma, after all. But this love was the real
thing, not some magically-induced fever, and this Ranma was a real girl,
not a cursed boy. Some part of his brain was trying to point out that a
very beautiful woman was declaring her undying love for him, but he
tried hard to ignore it. 

Something of his feelings must have been visible in his eyes, because
Ranko blushed and looked down. "I'm sorry. This must all be overwhelming
to you. Here's this strange female version of Ranma from another world,
and she's going on and on about how she's going to marry you." She
sighed. "/I/ know you're not my Ryouga, but my heart doesn't. And... and
I miss him..." She blinked back sudden tears and shook herself. "There I
go again. I'm sorry." 

Ryouga's emotional blender got turned up a notch. "It's... it's OK,
Ranko-san. I'm sorry I said those things to you when we ran into each
other." She nodded and smiled a little, and Ryouga smiled back. He tried
to imagine how he could possibly love this girl the way she had said his
other self did, and couldn't. 

She turned to Ranma. "I know it bothers you, too, but you don't know him
as well as I do." She looked between the two of them. "You two could be
friends if you wanted to, you know." Ranma and Ryouga eyed each other
with suspicion, and Ranko sighed. 

She turned back to Ryouga and tried to smile. "I think I'll be all right
now. Can... can we be friends while I'm here? That would help." He
nodded slowly, and she brightened. 

Her eyes fell on the canvas bag sitting next to Akane, then went to the
clock. "Oops, I almost forgot. We have a little time left before the
guests arrive, Ranma. Do you still want to try some scales?" 

Ranma tried hard to push the whole Ryouga thing to the back of his mind,
though he was pretty sure he was going to have nightmares about it. "Uh,
sure... I guess. Just a sec, lemme go change." He rose and headed into
the kitchen. 

Ranko rose as well. "I'll go get my violin. I'll be right back." 

Ryouga blinked. "What's going on?" 

Akane smiled. "After watching Ranko play the violin, Ranma decided he
wanted to try it out, too. She's teaching him." 

Ryouga boggled. /Ranma/, learning the /violin/? He shook his head.
"What's with Ranko and the violin? Is it a hobby?" 

Akane shook her head. "No, she's planning to be a violinist. She's
really good at it, and she's already attending a top fine arts school in
addition to Fuurinkan. She chose the violin over martial arts." Ryouga's
jaw dropped. 

Ranma returned from the kitchen, female, and Ryouga looked her up and
down. "Why are you a girl?" 

Ranma blushed slightly. "I wasn't makin' much progress in my guy form.
It's easier for me to pick up what she's showin' me this way." She held
up her hands. "Small hands help, too." Ryouga saw a chance to needle
Ranma about her manhood, but decided to let it pass. He just wasn't in
the mood right now. 

Nodoka frowned slightly. 

Ranko returned, carrying her violin case. Ryouga looked rapidly between
the two of them; they really were... identical. 

"Do you want to practice in the dojo again?" 

"Yeah. Don't wanna bug everyone with my screechin'." Everyone laughed. 

Ryouga blurted out, "Can I watch?" 

Ranko smiled like the sun coming up, and Ryouga stared, mesmerized.
"Sure! But no making fun of my first student, OK?" He nodded and rose,
as did Akane. 

As Ryouga followed the three of them out, careful to keep them in sight
at all times, the thought passed through his mind that Ranko sure was
cute when she smiled like that. 

*****

"No, that's an E flat. You wanted an E there." 

"Gotcha. Lemme try it again." 

Ryouga watched and listened as Ranma once again launched into "Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star." This time, it was flawless. 

"That was wonderful! It was nice and musical, too." Ranko and Ranma both
smiled broadly; it was clear they were enjoying themselves immensely. 

He and Akane had watched this for the past half hour. Ranma had quickly
mastered the scale, and Ranko had decided to try her twin on a simple
composition. It had taken Ranma about ten minutes to pick it up by
watching Ranko and imitating her. He could see why Ranma was doing this
as a girl; it made it easier to mimic Ranko exactly. 

Ranko had been fascinating to watch as well. She was so bright, open,
and enthusiastic. She'd been a patient teacher throughout the whole
exercise. Ryouga found it hard to believe that she was really Ranma,
other than the obvious physical aspect; she seemed to have a sweet,
caring disposition. There didn't seem to be an ounce of arrogant jerk in
her body. And her love of music shone forth luminously. He was starting
to see how his other-world self could have fallen in love with her.
Ranko seemed nothing like the Ranma Ryouga knew. 

Except... seeing the two of them next to each other, taking turns at
playing the same music, interacting with one another... it was apparent
just how much they had in common. Ranma was clearly a guy, despite her
current body, and Ranko was clearly a girl. Their behavior was
different. But they reacted to things in such similar ways. The same
love of music--and the same gift for it--was apparent. 

Ryouga /knew/ Ranma was a jerk... but... today, she seemed more relaxed
and happy than Ryouga had ever remembered seeing her. She wasn't being
arrogant at all. She was freely admitting her mistakes and making
self-deprecating jibes about her own ability. Her mouth seemed to be
remarkably foot-free. Today, /Ranma/ seemed different from the Ranma
Ryouga knew. Why was that? Was she changing, or was she just showing a
different part of herself, with Ranko's help? Would she revert to her
old ways after Ranko left? 

Things were passing strange today. Ryouga wasn't about to join a fan
club, but he started to wonder if there was more to Ranma than he had
thought. 

Akane spoke up. "Guys, I hear voices coming from the house. I think the
guests are starting to arrive." 

Ranko nodded. "I guess we'd better stop here." Ranma reluctantly handed
over the violin, and Ranko started to put it away. She smiled as she
did; Akane's birthday idea seemed likely to be a success. 

Just as Ranko was closing the case, the door slid open, and Ukyou was
standing there. She looked around and spotted Ranma. "Hey, Ranchan,
who's this 'Ranko' Kasumi was talking about? She's not another
fiancee... is... she..." She trailed off as Ranko stood up and turned to
face her, and started looking back and forth between the two redheads,
her open mouth making her look a little like a fish. 

Ranma and Ranko said "Hi, Ucchan!" simultaneously. They blinked and
looked at each other. 

Ukyou took a half step towards them, still looking back and forth.
"Ranchan?" she asked tentatively. 

Both redheads said, "Yes?" It sounded eerily like an echo. 

Ukyou groaned. "Which one of you is the real one?" 

Ranma and Ranko looked at each other again. Ranma slowly raised her
hand. "Well, we're both real, but I guess I'm the one you know." 

Ukyou nodded slowly, and her gaze went to Ranko. "So what is /she/?" 

Ranko flinched slightly, and Ranma frowned. "Ucchan, she's me, too.
She's another me from a parallel world." 

Ukyou's brow furrowed as she tried to assimilate this. A part of her
mind reflected sadly that that was a whole lot easier than it ought to
be. Even the White Queen would have trouble keeping up with Ranma; she'd
only managed to believe /six/ impossible things before breakfast.
Amateur. "So if she's another you, why is she dressed like a girl?" 

"Maybe," drawled Akane, "it's because she /is/ a girl. Her name is
Ranko, and she was born female." Akane felt guilty; she was starting to
enjoy this process way too much. But it was so much fun to watch
everyone's eyes bulge... 

Ukyou didn't disappoint; she stared wide-eyed at Ranko, who grew
uncomfortable. "Ucchan?..." 

Ukyou found her voice. "You... you know me?" Ranko nodded. "So... so
what kind of relationship do we have in your world?" 

Ranko smiled. "You're my closest friend, except for Akane." 

Ukyou felt a little hurt. She chided herself for being jealous; this
Ranma was a girl, after all. She tried to put on a smile to take the
sting out of her question. "Even though we've known each other longer?" 

Ranko shook her head. "In my world, Akane and I were raised together
from birth. Even though we were separated when we were four and a half,
we never lost that." Ukyou nodded in understanding. "She's practically
my sister." 

Ukyou sighed. Even with Ranma a girl, she'd lost to Akane. Again she
kicked herself; she was being stupid to think this way. Ranchan did tend
to bring out that side of her... 

Ranko seemed to read her thoughts. "Ucchan... I... I love you, too, you
know." She blushed. 

Ukyou felt the world swim around her. She'd longed to hear those words
from Ranchan... too bad this one was a girl. Still... she'd take what
she could get. 

The room sank into an uncomfortable silence; Ukyou tried to think of
something to lighten the mood. "Well, at least you didn't have the whole
fiancee mess our Ranchan had!" She grinned, but it faded as she noted
the bright pink tinge on Ranko's cheeks. "You're... you're kidding..." 

Ranko shook her head, unable to make eye contact. 

"But you're a /girl/! What was your idiot father thinking... wait,
scratch that. He was thinking about stealing my father's yatai, that's
what he was thinking." She sighed. "I can't believe it! On top of
everything else, he lied to my father about you being a boy, too!" Ranko
turned an even brighter red, and Akane and Ranma looked uncomfortable as
well. 

Ukyou slowly took in all their expressions. "There's something /else/,
isn't there?" 

Ranko nodded, her eyes still on the floor, and spoke in a tiny voice.
"Actually... I was /born/ a girl, but..." 

*****

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you..." 

Ryouga sang along, grinning, as Kasumi carried the cake in, candles
glowing brightly. He was grinning--as were many others--because the look
of breathless anticipation on Ranko's face was priceless. She hadn't had
a birthday party in thirteen years, and the wide eyes and even wider
smile were worthy of any five-year-old. Even Nabiki was smiling
indulgently as she snapped pictures. Ranma looked a little embarrassed
by the proceedings, but Ranko was lapping it up eagerly. 

Kasumi set the cake down, and like the banner over their heads it said
"Happy Birthday Ranma and Ranko!" Nodoka beamed at Ranma, her own son,
and Ranko, her alternate-reality daughter. "Go ahead and blow them out
together, dears." 

The other teens present--Akane, Ukyou, Yuka, Sayuri, Hiroshi, and
Daisuke--counted together: "One, two, three!" and Ranma and Ranko blew
together, easily extinguishing the eighteen candles on the cake. The
girls cheered, and everyone applauded. Ranko looked around the room, her
smile and the tears in her eyes conveying her feelings in a way that
words couldn't. 

Her eyes found Ryouga's, and her smile changed slightly; it became a
special, private smile that was just for him. She probably didn't even
realize she was doing it, but all the same Ryouga's heart lurched like
an airplane making a difficult approach in bad weather. Her smile was
the smile of a woman for her husband, and it spoke volumes; it made
/him/ feel like they were already married. He tried to calm the
butterflies in his stomach. 

The tableau was broken by Akane. "I hope you like the cake. I worked
really hard on it." Instantly, a hush fell over the room, and a lone
crow could be heard cawing outside. 

As Ranma--who'd forgotten the genesis of this particular birthday
cake--struggled to find something to say that would not get him
malleted, Ranko shocked everyone (except Kasumi) by saying, "I'm sure
it'll be delicious, Sis." 

Desperate hope lit Akane's eyes. "R-really?" Ranko nodded confidently. 

Sayuri wondered if Ranko's Akane was a good cook. If so, the poor girl
was in for a rude shock. 

Kasumi beamed. "Why don't you two go ahead and cut it?" She passed a
large cake knife to Ranma. He placed it on the cake, and his eyes went
to Ranko in invitation; he motioned with his head. She put her hand on
top of his, and together, they pressed the knife down. 

Nothing happened. 

Ranma and Ranko eyed each other nervously, and pushed down harder. Still
nothing. They put their backs into it, and were rewarded when the knife
slowly started to move down through the cake, making a crumbling,
crunching sound not unlike that of tearing cardboard. The cake seemed to
have the consistency of toast that had been forgotten for an hour or
two. They repeated the process, and shortly two slices of... cake were
produced. They each took one. 

Ranma screwed up his courage, and managed to chip off a bite. He and
Ranko raised their forks to their mouths, and started to chew. There
were loud crunching noises reminiscent of those given off when chewing
ice. Akane looked distraught, and everyone watched, deathly silent,
waiting for the inevitable conclusion of one of her cooking experiments:
violence. 

Except that Ranko said, "It's pretty good, Sis." Everyone stared at her;
Ranma wondered if she'd gone insane. Was she eating the same cake he
was? Maybe the cake had addled her brain, and he was next. 

Ranko observed the color. "Chocolate?" 

"Vanilla," said Akane, blushing in embarrassment. 

"Oh." said Ranko. "Well, they're easy to confuse sometimes." She beamed.
"Thank you for baking a cake for me and Ranma." 

Ranma, who had been wondering why Ranko was bothering with this charade,
suddenly knew: Akane's face lit up with one of the most luminous smiles
that had ever graced her features. For a moment the only sound he heard
was the beating of his own heart. /She's so beautiful when she smiles
like that... I wish I could make her smile more often./ 

He looked back and forth between Akane and Ranko as they smiled at one
another. It was clear from Akane's raised eyebrow and affectionate smile
that she knew that Ranko was lying through her teeth about the cake. And
it was clear from Ranko's "who, me?" grin that she knew that Akane knew
that. But there was a truth behind the lie that transcended it: Ranko
was not saying she liked the cake, not really. She was saying something
much more important. Watching his other-self go through this exercise
was more enlightening than ten thousand lectures from his parents about
how he should treat his fiancee--or an equal number of malletings. 

He hesitated for a long moment, then cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's
pretty good. Thanks, Akane." Everyone's jaws dropped, and the sounds of
one or two bodies falling over could be heard. 

Akane stared at Ranma, incredulous; then, suddenly, tears were running
down her cheeks. "You're... you're welcome, Ranma. I'm glad you... liked
it." She lowered her head, overcome. 

Unnoticed, Ukyou did much the same thing. 

Ranko looked Ranma in the eye, and he understood her silent message:
/"Well done."/ Suddenly, Ranma was glad that Ranko had come to their
world. Because she was him, they understood each other, and because she
was a girl, she and Akane understood each other. Ranma had been sleeping
in class when they had learned about the Rosetta Stone, but he would
have appreciated the analogy. 

Ryouga had watched all this in silence, and gazed at Ranko intently.
/You know... she's a wonderful girl. I can really see why that other me
fell in love with her./ He shook his head. /Not that *I* would, of
course. She's still Ranma, after all./ 

Ranko set about cutting more slices of cake (no mean feat) and placed
them on plastic plates that Kasumi had provided. Akane noticed that
aside from Kasumi, Nodoka, and Ryouga, no one took any, but today... she
didn't care. She was still glowing from Ranma's remark. 

Kasumi took a bite of her piece, chewed noisily, swallowed loudly and
with some difficulty, then spoke up. "Why..."--she coughed a few
times--"Oh, excuse me. Why don't I go fetch the other snacks? Then we
can start in on the presents." She rose and headed into the kitchen,
Nodoka following her; they returned with trays of mochi and o-nigiri.
Akane sighed as everyone scrambled for those. 

Rather than dwell on that, she headed over to the pile of presents
stacked in one corner, and started ferrying them to the table. Ranko
watched forlornly as Akane lay presents in front of Ranma, until some
started landing in front of her as well. She gasped, and her face lit
up. "For... for /me/?" 

Akane nodded and smiled. The look on Ranko's face made all the running
around the previous day worthwhile. "How could we not get a present or
two for the birthday girl?" Ranko giggled, and for a moment looked like
a five year old again. 

Ranma was poking at a large, oblong package. "Geez, this one's pretty
big." He hefted it. "Hmmm." 

Akane smiled. "Save that one for last, OK?" She eyed both of them.
"Well, what are you two waiting for?" She had to laugh as Ranma and
Ranko tore into their presents with equal ferocity. 

In short order Ranma uncovered some new wrist bracers (from his father),
some more of his trademark silk Chinese shirts (from his mother), some
aftershave (from Ukyou), and... something... handknit from Akane. He
held it up to Ranko, a somewhat desperate look on his face, and after a
few moments' study, she mouthed the words "Sweater... I think." This
turned out to be correct, and Ranma was rewarded with another smile from
Akane. 

Ranko had only a handful of presents, but not having expected any at all
she was delighted. She received a pair of earrings from Sayuri, who
wondered why Ranko seemed amused when she opened them. 

She received a hair ornament from her mother, the kind that goes with a
kimono. In response to her mother's query, she confirmed that she indeed
had a kimono, purchased for this past New Year's holiday by... her
mother. 

From Akane, she received a charm bracelet. It was a beautiful silver
band, and from it dangled little metal kanji: the character for Akane's
name, and the character "ran," from "Ranma." She laughed, even as her
eyes grew teary. 

Akane looked puzzled. "What is it?" 

Ranko shook her head and sniffled. "I'm sorry, Sis. It's a /wonderful/
bracelet; I love it. It's just that this 'ran' is the wrong one. It was
in my name when I was Ranma, but it isn't now." Akane tilted her head,
still not understanding. "When Mother showed me my birth certificate, I
found out that I was named 'Ranko' with the 'ran' meaning 'orchid,' not
'disorder.'" An "Ahhhh..." of comprehension ran around the room. Nabiki
nodded; she'd seen Ranko's student ID. 

Ranko smiled, her wet eyes crinkling. "I wasn't exactly thrilled by it
at the time, but now I think it's pretty." Nodoka smiled, and Ranma once
again silently thanked Kami-sama that he'd been born a boy. He didn't
want the character for "orchid" /anywhere/ in his name. 

Akane grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't think of that." 

Ranko shook her head. "Don't worry, Sis. I know what you meant to say.
Thank you; this 'ran' will remind me of the time I spent here in your
world, and who the bracelet came from." Akane nodded, and felt a cloud
pass over her. 

Ranma hefted the large package again. "So, can I open this one yet?" 

Akane smiled and nodded, her strange sadness dissipating. "I hope you
like it." 

Ranma tore the wrapping paper off to reveal... a towel. He looked over
at Akane, confused. 

"I didn't want the shape to give it away. Unwrap the towel." 

Ranma complied, and grew more confused. "I don't get it. Why'd you put
it in a violin case?" 

Akane laughed. "Why don't you open the case and find out?" 

He did so, and his eyes widened. "A... a /violin/? For /me/?" Akane
nodded, and Ranma's face lit up. He gently took the violin out, and the
bow as well. He turned the violin over and over, looking at it from all
angles. "Wow..." 

Akane clapped her hands together and laughed; she loved the all too rare
occasions when the little boy in Ranma made an appearance. Everyone in
the room smiled, even Ryouga. 

Ranma looked up from his examination. "Thanks, Akane. I think this is
the best birthday present I ever got. I mean it." They were simple
words, but they came from the heart. 

Akane nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're very welcome,
Ranma. You should thank Ranko, too; she went and picked one out for me.
That's what she was out doing earlier when she ran into Ryouga." She
blushed. "I'm afraid it's a rental. I couldn't afford to buy one
outright." 

Ranma shook his head and smiled. "That's OK. I... I wouldn't want ya to
spend that much money on me anyways." His eyes strayed involuntarily to
the dress Ranko was wearing. After a moment, his eyes traveled up to her
face. "So I gotta go pay a rental charge?" 

Ranko nodded. "If you decide to stick with it. Once a month, at Nishi
Music on the main shopping street. After two years you'll own it." She
blushed. "Ummm... I'm really sorry about this, but... you need to go as
a girl." 

Ranma's jaw dropped. "Huh? How come?" 

Ranko was still blushing. "I said it was a gift for someone else, but
Nishi-san wanted me to bring you in to try out the instruments yourself.
So I said you were my twin sister and I could try it out for you. That
was OK with him, but now he's expecting a girl to come make the
payments." She giggled. "Don't worry, I told him you were a real
tomboy." 

Akane snickered. "Now who's the tomboy, Ranma?" Everyone laughed as
Ranma blushed himself. 

He was about to reply that at least he was a /cute/ tomboy, but
something stopped him. A little-used corner of his mind, which had
moldered unused for years until Jusendou, told him that that would hurt
Akane's feelings. That little part of his mind had gotten a lot of
exercise the past day or two, from watching Akane and Ranko interact. 

Akane, in the absence of a retort, felt a twinge of guilt. /I should
have been nicer about that./ She smiled apologetically at Ranma, and his
blush faded. "So, are you going to try it out?" 

Ranma blushed all over again. "All I know is 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star.'" 

Ranko smiled. "Wait a minute while I get my violin. I have an idea." She
rose and scurried up the stairs. A minute later she returned with her
own instrument. "Give me yours for a second so I can tune it up. I'll
show you later how to do that yourself." 

Ranma nodded. "OK. I gotta... go change, anyways." He rose, handing the
violin to Ranko, who proceeded to start tuning it. He headed into the
kitchen, and returned moments later, slightly damp and thoroughly
female. 

Genma asked, "Why did you switch to your cursed form, Boy?" There was an
undertone of accusation. 

Ranma glared at her father. "'Cause I learned to play this way, by
watchin' her. When I get better at it I'll do it in my guy form, but for
now it's easier this way." She looked him up and down. "Considerin' how
much time you spend bein' a furball, I don't think you oughta be
chuckin' any rocks, Pop." The elder Saotome shut up. Nodoka, who had
been about to add her own comment, refrained. Her son had a point. 

Ranko had finished with Ranma's violin and was tuning her own. Ukyou,
Hiroshi, and Daisuke, who hadn't seen her play before, watched in
fascination. 

Ranko turned to Ranma. "OK, here's what I had in mind. You just keep
playing 'Twinkle, Twinkle,' over and over, and I'll play around you."
They both lifted their instruments. "Ready?" 

Her twin nodded. "Yup." 

"1, 2, 3..." Ranma began her one and only piece, and Ranko launched into
a fugal counterpoint. Everyone watched, fascinated, as Ranma played the
simple nursery rhyme on her violin, and her double turned it into a
complex piece of music. 

Ranko watched Ranma carefully, and smiled as she noticed that the other
redhead was watching her just as closely. She wasn't the least bit
surprised when, after a minute, Ranma started to tinker with the melody
herself. She copied simple elements from what Ranko was doing, and Ranko
responded by incorporating even more variations. Ranma stayed very close
to what she knew, but the little bit of extra variety on her part
transformed what they were playing into something that sounded more like
a duet for two violins than a child's song. 

No one breathed a word; the room practically crackled with the
electricity of their playing, even though Ranma flubbed an occasional
note. Nodoka had had her doubts about Ranma taking up the violin as a
hobby, but these fled her mind as she watched her two redheads. Ranma
clearly had the same gift that Ranko did. And it was the same gift they
both applied to martial arts: adaptation and improvisation. 

After a few minutes, Ranko felt she was running out of ideas, so she
gradually brought the counterpoint back to where she started. Ranma got
the hint, and they finished with a flourish. 

Everyone burst into applause, but Ranma and Ranko hardly noticed; they
were too busy grinning at each other. For just a moment, the gender gap
between them faded away, and each saw herself in the other. 

Ukyou spoke up, her earlier melancholy forgotten in the glow of seeing
Ranma so happy. "Wow, Ranchan, that was great! You could be a violinist,
too!" 

Ranma opened her mouth to respond, but Nodoka did it for her. "I'm sure
Ranma will enjoy it as a hobby, but he's to continue the Saotome school
of martial arts." 

Ranma snapped her mouth shut in irritation. She'd been about to say more
or less the same thing, but once again, her parents had taken matters
out of her hands. Ranma didn't want to give up martial arts for the
violin, but it sure would have been nice to make the decision herself.
She was overtaken by a sudden flash of envy; Ranko clearly didn't have
the same pressures and obligations she did. Sometimes, Ranma wished she
could just run away from being herself, and be someone else instead. 

Her eyes went to the other redhead, and her mouth fell open. Her twin
was doing a credible imitation of a volcano about to erupt; her battle
aura was showing brightly. Ranma looked to Akane, whose jaw was also
hanging open, and as one they went over to Ranko. Akane put her arm on
Ranko's shoulder, and the shorter girl's anger subsided, though not
before Nodoka noticed. Ranma was somehow comforted by the fact that
Ranko had gotten angry on her behalf; it was just what she would have
done for someone else. 

Yuka, who'd been watching all this, blurted out, "Ranko-san, I'd like to
hear you play something solo. I enjoyed listening to you so much
yesterday. Would you mind?" Akane and Ranma both glanced at her, their
eyes saying /"Thank you..."/ 

Ranko relaxed further. "Sure... I guess." She looked around. "If that's
OK with everyone..." There was a chorus of agreement. Ranko furrowed her
brow, deep in thought. 

After a moment, Akane asked, "Is something wrong?" 

Ranko shook her head. "No, I'm just trying to decide what to play." Her
family had already heard the Bach Partita the other evening; she wanted
to play something else. She wanted something short, too, so she wouldn't
overshadow Ranma's birthday party. 

"Is that a problem?" 

Ranko laughed. "A little. There actually isn't a lot of music for solo
violin; it's not like the piano. There's the Bach Partita, but I already
played that the other night. Bach has other solo violin works, and there
are a few works by other composers, but I haven't learned them yet. 

"The things I'm working on right now are mostly advanced practice
pieces, and they're not as much fun to listen to or play for an
audience." Her mind raced, and lit on the recital coming up in a month.
"That might work... Kasumi-neechan, do you still have that old cassette
player in the kitchen?" 

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, I listen to tapes sometimes when I'm cooking." 

Ranko smiled; she'd expected that. "I'm working on the Beethoven Violin
Sonata number 2 at the moment. Another student and I are going to
perform it in a recital at the University in about a month. I've only
finished learning the first movement, so if you don't mind hearing just
that..." Everyone voiced enthusiastic assent. Ranko nodded, and turned
towards the stairs. 

Nodoka asked, "Where are you going, Dear?" 

Ranko turned and smiled. "It's a piece for violin and piano. I have a
tape with just the piano part that I use to practice at home. It's in my
portfolio." She headed up the stairs, and a minute later returned with a
cassette tape. She went into the kitchen, and came out with a somewhat
battered looking cassette player. She plugged it in, inserted her tape,
and picked up her instrument. 

She took a moment to run over the first movement in her mind, then
pressed the play button on the cassette player and lifted her bow; the
room grew silent. Professor Murata's voice came from the machine,
counting "1, 2, 3..." for her cue, and she began to play as piano music
emanated from the speaker. 

It was a bright, cheerful piece, but quite difficult in spots, and Ranko
grit her teeth as she navigated these rocky straits. She still needed
more practice before next month, not to mention the other two movements
she was still working on. Still, it was a lot of fun, and she thoroughly
enjoyed playing it. 

Everyone listened attentively, captivated by her performance. She would
have been well worth listening to if she had been a stranger, but she
was /Ranma/, and that made it even more fascinating. 

Akane glanced around the room, and smiled; Ukyou, Hiroshi, and Daisuke
were looking slightly stunned. She remembered feeling the same way the
first time she had heard Ranko play the Bach Partita. Her eyes found
Ryouga, and she blinked. He was staring at Ranko, his mouth slightly
open, his eyebrows raised. His gaze never wavered from the redhead's
face. He looked utterly entranced, but there was something more in his
gaze... 

Her mind flashed back to what Ranko had said: /"you heard me play my
violin, and it hit you like a ton of bricks."/ 

Akane bit her lip. /Uh oh./ 

*****

The party had broken up into small groups. Ranma, Hiroshi, and Daisuke
were in a corner, laughing about something. The fathers were playing
shogi, and Kasumi and Nodoka were chatting about recipes. Nabiki had
gone off to change the film in her camera. 

Akane, Ukyou, and Yuka were listening as Ranko tried to persuade Sayuri
to take up the piano again. She described Sayuri's performance of "Fuer
Elise" at the Fuurinkan talent show in her world, and how well she was
doing in her lessons with Kobayakawa-sensei. Sayuri was listening
intently, and looked like she was on the verge of giving in. 

Akane looked around the room briefly, noting what everyone was up to.
Her eyes stopped on the porch, where Ryouga was sitting by himself,
staring off at the koi pond. She watched him for a moment, then excused
herself and rose. 

Ryouga's eyes were pointed at the pond, but they were seeing other
things; his thoughts were a confused jumble. He wasn't sure how long he
had been sitting there when he heard a voice behind him. "Do you mind if
I join you?" 

He turned, and Akane was standing there, her hands clasped in front of
her. "Ummm... no, I guess not." He turned back to the pond as Akane sat
down beside him. 

She watched him for a few moments; he had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Ryouga-kun... it's Ranko, isn't it?" 

He winced, and lowered his gaze. "Yeah." 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

He sighed. "I was telling myself the whole time that there was no way I
could develop feelings for her. She's /Ranma/, and I can't stand Ranma."
His eyes unfocused again. "Or at least, that's how I've felt about Ranma
for a long time." 

He grew silent, and after a time Akane said gently, "But..." 

Ryouga smiled sheepishly. "But when she was playing her violin, I caught
myself wondering how long it was going to be before she returned to her
world. I caught myself hoping she'd get stuck here." He snorted. "When I
first found out about her being my girlfriend in this other world, I
thought there must be something different about this other me, something
weird that let him fall so deeply in love with her. I guess I should
have known better. She's just... there's something about her..." 

Akane felt a chill run up her spine. This could get very ugly very fast.
"What are your feelings for her?" 

Ryouga peered over at Akane for a moment, then looked back to the koi
pond. A koi leapt out of the water, then fell back with a splash. The
fish were starting to get more active now that the weather was getting
warmer. "I'm not deeply in love with her, if that's what you're asking."
His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "Not yet." 

Akane relaxed a little. "Go on..." 

Ryouga sighed and his shoulders slumped. "But I can't say I don't have
feelings for her. And they're getting stronger; I can see it coming.
Another few weeks with her and I'd be hooked, but good. Then where would
I be if she leaves? And I can't try to keep her here; that other me, and
that other you, and her whole family and all her friends are all waiting
for her, worrying about her. Maybe you and I are sitting on this porch
in that other world right now, and you're crying for your sister, and
I'm wondering where... where the woman I love is." Akane felt a strange
disquiet at the image he painted. 

"And it's /Ranma/, of all people! I'll never be able to look at his girl
form the same way again. Girl form, hell, I'll never be able to look at
/him/ the same way again. Kami-sama..." He put his head in his hands. 

The koi pond and Ryouga's words led Akane's mind back to the koi fishing
rod incident. She wondered again why Ryouga had tried to snare Ranma if
he felt that way about him, but decided not to pry. "And... what about
Akari?" 

Ryouga winced. "That's what I've been thinking about the most. I can
already see that my feelings for Ranko are different from what I feel
for Akari. Akari worships me, and I care about her, but this..." He
shook his head. "This is different. This is like something from a
storybook. I've never felt this way about anyone." /Even you, Akane./ 

He sighed, and regarded the pond for a long time. "I'm going to have to
think hard about Akari. Maybe I'm just seeing her because she's the
first girl who's said she cares for me. Maybe not; maybe it's more than
that. And if Ranko were stuck here..." He didn't finish, and was quiet
for a while. "Already I'm wondering if I'm ever going to be able to feel
this way about Akari. Or about any woman." He frowned. 

"What are you going to do?" whispered Akane. 

Ryouga lifted his eyes and looked beyond the horizon. "I'm thinking...
that I'd better leave before I get in any deeper, and try my best to
forget her. That's going to be hard with Ranma's curse." 

Akane's heart ached for Ryouga. "Do you want to just leave now,
quietly?" 

Ryouga shook his head. "No. I can't hurt her like that. I already hurt
her once today." He rose with a heavy sigh. "I've got to say goodbye." 

He turned around and gazed at the redhead in the white sundress, who was
laughing about something with the other girls. "I... I hope she's gone
the next time I come back. I don't think I'll be able to say goodbye to
her twice." 

*****

Ranko hurried to the genkan, Akane on her heels. As she turned the
corner, she slowed to a halt. Ryouga was standing there, wearing his
pack, his combat umbrella strapped to the top. 

She looked him over. "You're leaving?" 

He nodded. "Yeah." 

"But... but you just got here! Won't you stay for a little while?" She
looked up at him, pleading with her eyes. 

He closed his eyes for a long moment; when he opened them, he was
smiling. "I wish I could... but I know I'd regret it." 

She blinked. "Regret it? Why?" 

"Because it's not going to get any easier to say goodbye to you forever
when you go back to your world. So I'm doing it now." 

She looked confused for a moment; then her eyes widened in realization.
"Oh, Ryouga... I'm so sorry. I... I didn't mean to hurt you." Her eyes
grew wet and she lowered her gaze. "Gomen..." 

He shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll be OK." /I hope./ 

"I've been selfish. It... it was so nice to see you... even if you're
not /my/ Ryouga." She looked up at him. "Ryouga, I... I..." 

He interrupted her. "Please... please don't say it." 

She bit her lip, then nodded slowly. "All right." She swallowed. "Take
care. I hope... I hope you and A-akari are... happy together." 

/Damn, she's making this hard./ "Thanks. Good luck getting home." He
smiled. "Take care." He turned, slid the door open, and was gone. 

Ranko bowed her head, tears running down her cheeks. Akane put an arm
around her. "Ranko..." 

Ranko whispered, "I want to go home..." 

Akane nodded. "I know." She gently guided Ranko back towards the living
room. Suddenly, the redhead stopped short. 

"What is it?" 

Ranko groaned. "I forget to tell him to get a pocket GPS receiver. My
Ryouga has one, and he doesn't get lost any more." 

Akane smiled. "I'll tell him the next time I see him, I promise." She
paused. "Maybe it's just as well you didn't tell him now." 

Ranko smiled a tiny smile through her tears. "Maybe." She turned to
Akane and hugged her. "Thank you, Sis." 

Akane hugged her back. "For what?" 

Ranko pulled away and smiled. "For... for being you. For being friends
with me while I'm here. For supporting me; I've needed it." 

Akane shook her head and smiled. "What else could I do?" 

Ranko nodded, and the two just smiled at each other for a moment. 

Ranko took a deep breath. "I think we should get back to the party."
Akane nodded, and watched as the redhead turned and walked back down the
hall; after a moment, she followed. 

/Oh Ryouga, I wish I could run away like you. This is going to hurt./ 

*****

"Had enough yet, old man?" 

Ranma stood with his arms folded as his father once again peeled himself
off the floor. They had come out to the dojo to practice once the party
guests had left. Ranko had started her own practicing immediately
thereafter, wanting to get several hours in even though it was her
birthday. Ranma had wanted to stay and listen--and most of all,
watch--but Genma had insisted that he work out some rather than "waste
more time on music." 

As a result, Ranma had not been kind to his father. Genma was a superb
martial artist, but the last year had indeed made Ranma the finest
martial artist of his generation. He'd defeated a god; how could you top
that? Genma decided he couldn't; every muscle in his body ached.

"I think we've done enough for today, Boy. I just need to make sure you
don't get too soft!" 

Ranma said nothing, but merely snorted. "I'm goin' back to the house."
He turned and left as Genma staggered to his feet. 

As he walked in the door, he was pleased to hear that Ranko was still
practicing. He decided to put off his bath and catch the end of her
practice session. He entered the family room and plopped down; the rest
of the family was there, save Kasumi and his mother, who were in the
kitchen working on dinner. Ranko acknowledged him with a smile, without
breaking stride. 

At the moment, she was working on the second movement of the violin
sonata she'd played earlier; it was in rather rougher shape than the
first. Ranma watched closely, fascinated, trying to absorb as much as he
possibly could from her while she was still there. 

He wasn't quite sure how much time had passed when a voice called out
from the genkan; it was the mailman. Kasumi hurried out of the kitchen
and down the hall, leaving Nodoka to hold down the fort. 

She returned a moment later, with a rather large bundle of mail in her
arms. She came into the family room with it, and started to sort through
it. "Ranma-kun, there are some birthday cards for you here!" Ranko
paused her practicing, and she and her other-self turned to face Kasumi.
She lay her violin down on the table. 

Kasumi sorted through the pieces, handing the birthday cards to Ranma,
who read the return addresses as he collected them. "Aomori... must be
from Hirosuke and Auntie... Ucchan..." He held up a pitch black
envelope. "Gehhh. This one's from Kodachi. I'd better open it in the
chem lab at school, under a hood." Everyone laughed. 

Kasumi was just about to hand him a curious-looking red and black
envelope, but paused, and reread the address more closely. "Ranko-chan,
you said you had the character for 'orchid' in your name, didn't you?" 

Ranko nodded. "That's right, Oneechan. 'Orchid child.'" 

Kasumi seemed nonplussed. "This card appears to be for you." She handed
it to Ranko as the entire family watched, awash in curiosity. 

Ranko examined the envelope. "I can't read the return address. My name
and address are in Japanese, but the return address is in Roman letters.
They're in some kind of fancy form I can't recognize." 

Nabiki came over to kneel beside Ranko. "Here, let me have a look."
Ranko handed the envelope to Nabiki, and she peered at the return
address. "It's calligraphy; no wonder. Let's see..." She blinked
rapidly. "Ranko, do you know a 'Prince Wilhelm von Dittersdorf'?" Ranko
shook her head vigorously. Nabiki handed the envelope back. "That's who
it's from. There's no address, just the name." 

Ranko opened the envelope and pulled the card out; it appeared to be
handmade. It said "Happy Birthday!" in English on the front. Below that
was a rather credible likeness of herself, drawn in the super-deformed
manga style, blowing out the candles on a cake. She smiled; whoever had
drawn it was a decent artist. She opened the card, and found the inside
was written in Japanese. A moment later, she gasped, and her face grew
pale. 

Everyone leaned forward, concerned; Nodoka came hurrying out of the
kitchen. "What is it, Dear? What's wrong?" 

Ranko tried to find her voice, but couldn't. After a few seconds, Nabiki
took the card from her unresisting hands, and read it aloud. "'My dear
Ranko, a very happy seventeenth birthday to you. Please accept my
deepest apologies for the cavalier fashion in which I have spoiled your
birthday plans and pressed you into my service. Rest assured that it is
all in a good cause, and your involuntary servitude will soon be at an
end. Your humble servant, Willie (the rock formerly known as a
prince).'" Nabiki lowered the card in shock. "He must be the one who
brought you here, Ranko." 

Ranko's head was awhirl. "Do... do you think this means I'll be going
home soon?" No one had an answer. 

Something took Akane's guts and twisted them into a pretzel; she felt
numb. She looked up at Nodoka, and the older woman's face was ashen.
/Oh, Kami-sama... why did I let myself get so close to her?/ But she
knew the answer: they had already been close when Ranko had arrived.
Akane would never have been so uneasy about her otherwise. 

The whole family sat in silence for a moment, digesting the news. Kasumi
shook herself and resumed sorting through the mail; perhaps there was
another piece for Ranko. There was. "Ranko-chan, here's another card for
you, but your name is written with the same kanji as Ranma's." 

Ranko eagerly took the card from Kasumi and scanned the return address
"Kobayashi..." Her shoulders sagged in disappointment, even as she
chided herself. "It's from Sayuri. No wonder the name is wrong. She must
have mailed it yesterday." She opened the envelope and smiled; the card
had music notes swirling all over the front, and inside they circled the
phrase "Happy Birthday." There was a short note inside: "We hope you
make it home before you get this, but if you're still here... a big
birthday hug from both of us. Sayuri and Yuka." She blushed and smiled
quietly. 

Meanwhile, Kasumi had finished with the mail. "Ranko-chan, I'm afraid
that's it. There isn't any other mail for you." Nodoka ducked quickly
back into the kitchen to rescue dinner, and Kasumi followed her. 

Ranko sighed a long heavy sigh. "He drops a hint that I'll be going home
soon, but doesn't say anything else! What are we supposed to do?" 

Nabiki was still examining the card from "Willie." There was a red and
black coat of arms below his signature; it matched the colors of the
envelope. "We wait, Ranko. We wait for the other shoe to drop." 

*****

End Chapter 4 

Saturday, January 13, 2001