Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video.

This story takes place in an alternate Ranmaverse, where Akane is a year younger than Ranma, and they have never met. Neither have their families. There are no curses, no fiancées… All in all, you should just totally forget what you know about our regular Ranmaverse. This fic, however, does try to prove a point I'm particularly interested in, in any universe… So expect OOC portrayals. If you're looking for accurate characterizations, you won't find them here!

Chapter Two: To Acknowledge

The day was over and Ranma pitied those who had to stay for the first carnival meeting. They were going to be at it for at least two hours, easy.

The carnival could be fun, he thought, if they decided to include a martial arts show or something. Maybe he should sign up to help build the stands, to keep busy.

In the meanwhile, he had plenty to think of. First of all, he needed to do something about that chemistry test, or it would look really bad on his report card. Second, he needed to send letters to several colleges before the open enrollment period ended. His mother wanted him to live at home and attend a college in Tokyo to reduce expenses, but he wanted to move out and have a little bit more freedom. He knew they weren't exactly rich, but he wanted to get away from his family for a while. Third… was more personal.

His mind had frozen in its tracks when he saw that pair of beautiful hazel eyes staring at him.

He had liked that stare a lot. That girl hadn't been flirting with him, or batting her eyelashes, or trying to be coy. She hadn't been smiling either. She'd worn a serious expression that had intrigued him.

Then her friends had noticed her attention and turned to look at him as well. When it had been just the one girl looking at him, he could handle it because she wasn't showing off. The other two had immediately started the usual primping and gossiping, and he'd gotten embarrassed… He had to admit that he was probably the shy type.

He wondered how much longer he could have held that girl's gaze if her friends hadn't noticed.

They had started to tease her, and it was a good thing Daisuke and Hiroshi hadn't noticed him staring at her, or he would have probably received the same treatment. He smiled as he remembered her blushing face.

'Pretty…' he thought.

He spotted his home a couple of blocks away, and suddenly remembered the fourth thing he had to worry about. He slapped his forehead with his right hand. Hard.

'Ranko!'

He started to run. 'I hope she ain't mad at me for keeping her waiting.'

In a couple of minutes, he reached Furinkan Elementary School, and his eyes scanned the schoolyard.

"Niichan!" cried a little redhead.

Ranma turned his head and saw his seven-year-old sister running toward him. He could see she had been crying. Damn, he should have known he would upset Ranko if he were late. He didn't have much time to think. Ranko latched onto his leg and started crying again.

"Come on, Ko-chan, I'm here just like I said I would be."

"But it took you so long!" Ranko said between sobs. "I came out and waited and waited and then everybody was gone and I was alone and you wouldn't come and I thought you had forgotten… I'd rather have mom pick me up… She never forgets…"

Ranma patted his little sister on the head and knelt down in front of her.

"But she couldn't come today… I'm very sorry, Ko-chan. I promise it won't happen again."

"Really promise?"

"Yes, Ko-chan. Have I ever broken a promise?"

"No…"

"Look, I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Ranko's eyes lit up at this.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really."

Ranko put an index finger to her lips, and the other hand on her hip. Her face was suddenly serious. She was pondering very important matters. Ranma smiled at this, and stood up. It was going to be an ice cream or the park, or maybe both.

"Do you have some money?" Ranko asked. Aha! Ice cream it was; but he wanted to go to the park so that he could sit down and think.

"Only enough for half an ice-cream cone. I don't think they sell any of those, you know…"

Ranko's face fell at this. The she was serious again. After a while she spoke her final word.

"I have decided we must go to the park," Ranko said very seriously, turning her head up so she could look Ranma in the face.

"Okay," was Ranma's response, which was enough for Ranko to smile.

"And you'll play with me too…"

"Um… Okay, but only 'cause I was late…"

Ranko put her hands together to her chest, and batted her eyelashes.

"And I also want a piggy-back ride." Ranko said smiling sweetly.

Ranma looked down at Ranko as she smiled at him. She was a walking flirt, he decided. He couldn't say no to those big, watery blue eyes…

"Okay, Ko-chan. Fine."

He smiled at his little sister's celebration of success. Moments later they were on their way to the park.

His sister could be very demanding, Ranma thought. She had inherited that from their mother. But she was also very sweet, which was the main reason why she always got her way with him.

Still, It didn't really matter if she had him wrapped around her finger. He liked being responsible for her. Ranma was sure Ranko knew this and took advantage of it. She was a smart girl, which she had also inherited from their mother… his very smart mother.

He wondered how on earth could she have ended up married to his father.

Genma Saotome was basically an airhead, and cowardly too, but underneath that he was a good man who worked hard for his family. He tried to run his business the best he could, even if he needed his wife's advice more often than not. Ranma also appreciated the fact that his father had taught him the Anything Goes school of Martial Arts since he was very little. His mother hadn't wanted little Ranma to learn it, and she'd been distressed when he announced his intention to teach Martial Arts as his career. She was certain that he wouldn't be able to make a very good living at it.

Ranma himself wondered if he would be able to earn enough to support a family. His decision had been based on his love of the Art, not any reasonable expectation that it would pay well. The dojo masters he knew were all a fairly threadbare lot; even the successful ones were only middle class by any other professional standard. Ranma wasn't worried about himself, though. He was used to getting by without much money.

His father always seemed to have to work hard to keep his business afloat, but the family always drew closer together when times were tough. That was not to say that they needed to save very single yen; they always had enough money for the necessities, and even had a little extra left over for the occasional luxury. He guessed every family must have its ups and downs.

'A family.' Ranma thought.

He started to daydream, and imagined Ranko was his own child that he was carrying to the park.

It wasn't as if he was weird or something. Sure, he liked spending time with his friends looking at girls or playing the latest PlayStation game all night. Or even making up stories on how cool they were around girls. Okay, so maybe the word 'girl' was a major topic in Ranma’s life, but he sure knew that couldn’t be all there was to it… was it? Somehow he couldn't help but picture himself living a great life doing what he wanted, AND having a family by his side. A family he could work for. A family he could support. Maybe not soon… Okay… not soon at all, but he definitely wanted the wife, the children, the works… On some level he couldn't quite understand, the thought made him warm inside. It wasn't as if he was weird or something. Maybe that's why his mother thought of him like such a grownup, 'cause he thought of the future…

Ranma smiled sadly. What if he never met the right girl? He had this sort of preferences list, which girl he liked the most, but when it came down to it, he was never all that interested. Maybe he was gay…

Vigorously shaking his head, he deftly changed that train of thought… Maybe he WAS picky, after all.

Then he snorted at himself. He was at it again. He should stop worrying about that kind of stuff. He was only eighteen, and right now he needed to worry about was living his life…. And making it into a good college… Make that just college…

But he did wish that he had someone to share his dreams of the future with.

He thought of the girls he knew as friends, and of the few he'd dated. It was rare for most Japanese kids to have boyfriends or girlfriends while they were in school. The few girls he'd gone out with were mostly nice, pretty ones that had been interesting for a while, but had soon turned out to be more childish than he could deal with. The one time he'd gone out with an older girl, she had gotten bored with him. It had been a devastating blow to his ego, and it made him wonder if the kind of mature girl he wanted would want him.

'Argh, this is getting me nowhere.'

Ranma didn't like to think a lot about that failure. It depressed him all over again.

His heart suddenly ached when he remembered that girl he'd seen at school.

'I wonder what her name is?'

This was plain stupidity. He had seen her look at him for a couple of minutes. That was it. But yet, he had felt compelled to talk to her. He knew that he would blame himself for the rest of his life that he hadn't tried. He couldn't even put his finger on why he felt that way. Maybe it was her eyes, or the way she had looked at him; not a flirty sort of thing, but a strangely analytical appraisal.

"Niichan! It's the other way!"

Ranma came out of his reverie with his sister bouncing on his back.

"Sorry…" he said quietly, turned around, and headed for the park.

He'd better forget about her. She wasn't even in his class, and he was leaving school this year. It was nonsense to put effort into a relationship that was doomed before it could begin.

'Talk about a fatal attraction. Only it would just be the relationship that would die,' he thought as he smiled.

He shook his head and lowered Ranko to the ground when he realized that they had arrived at the park.

Ranko started running around at random as Ranma scanned the area. There weren't that many people around. He sat down on a bench to think again.

'I wonder what her name is?'

"Niiichaaaan!" Ranko was dashed towards him, gasping and out of breath from running. Ranma smiled at his sister's enthusiasm.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Come… play… hide and seek… with me…" she said between gasps.

"Okay." Ranma was in a passive mood. He let Ranko take his hand and lead him towards a big tree.

"Here, you count and I'll hide." Ranko said in a demanding voice.

"Okay." Ranma turned to face the tree and started counting. However, Ranko was disturbed. Her brother would have normally made a big show of protesting that she count first before giving in to her.

"Niichan?" Ranko pulled at Ranma's shirt. He looked down at her.

"What? Wanna count first after all?"

Ranko shook her head.

"What is it then?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you aren't acting normal and I don't know why, so I thought maybe something's wrong."

"No, Ko-chan," Ranma smiled, touched by his sister's concern, "I just have a lot in my mind, that's all. But it's all right, you know. Go hide now."

"Okay." She turned around and ran away as Ranma started to count again.

When he reached 100, he turned around, and started to search for Ranko. As he expected, he was able to find her quickly. Her choices of hiding places were fairly predictable. As he also expected, Ranko insisted that he count again, because he 'hadn't really given her a chance to hide'. This was almost a ritual, and he gave in good-naturedly.

Ten times or so he counted and looked for his sister, but eventually he found himself thinking of the girl from school again.

'I wonder what her name is?'

"Niichan!" Ranma turned around and looked at Ranko, who was standing with her arms crossed.

"Huh? Don't you wanna hide anymore?"

"No, that's not it." Ranko replied coldly, pouting at him. Ranma sighed. It was funny and touching that the little girl was so concerned about him.

'Ah,' he thought, 'might as well cheer the both of us up.'

"What's wrong then?" Ranma asked resting his hands on his hips.

"This is boring 'cause something's wrong with you. You're just standing there with a dumb look on your face."

Ranma kneeled down in front of his sister.

"Really?" he asked in a mocking voice. Ranko nodded. Ranma smiled as something occurred to him.

"Maybe you're bored of hiding all the time. Let me hide now."

Ranko twisted her lower lip before yelling. "No! I want to HIDE!"

"Oh! But you've hidden so many times. Let me."

"No."

"Ko-chan, I'll tickle you if you don't let me hide."

"No, you won't." Ranko said as she took a step back.

"I will." Ranma said smiling now, leaning forward a bit.

They stood poised for a couple of seconds, then Ranko choked back a giggle and started to run as fast as she could, followed closely by her brother. After a while, Ranma caught Ranko by her arm and started to tickle her. Ranko squirmed on the ground as she giggled uncontrollably.

"St… Stop it!"

Ranma's mood improved. He always liked to play with Ranko since it reminded him his own childhood. Suddenly he remembered what time it was and that their mother would probably start to worry about her daughter.

"Okay, imouto-chan, that's enough." Ranma said standing up, and leaving a gasping Ranko on the ground.

After a while, Ranko stood up, straightened her dusty clothes, and looked at her big brother with a wide smile on her face.

"One more time, Ranma."

"Okay, but you count this time."

Ranko's smile wasn't quite as wide anymore. "But I can never find you!"

"Only one time."

"No."

"Fine. Catch me then. If you catch me, I'll count again."

"No."

"Yeah, whatever." He said taking a step back. "You just aren't up to the challenge." Ranma grinned.

The Saotome blood started to boil in Ranko's body. "Course I can!" she yelled.

"Fine. Catch me, then." Ranma repeated softly, in a teasing voice.

Ranko made fists with her hands. Her eyebrows met on her forehead. Ranma couldn't help but smile to himself; he knew his sister well. She was just like him, unable to say no to a challenge. He knew just which buttons to push to get her going, because they worked on him too.

"Catch me." Ranma could feel it coming.

"Oh, you bet I will!" Ranko yelled as both of them started to run.

As he ran, Ranma laughed out loud, even though he felt a little guilty about manipulating his sister.

In a very short time, Ranma felt his troubles leave for a while. He started to run faster and faster, jumping over benches and rocks, and dodging around the people. He forgot why he was running. He ran because he wanted to, faster and faster, because he wanted to feel the wind on his face and let the sun and the effort warm his body. It was good to be young and healthy, able to run and breathe and laugh, and to enjoy life.

And then he remembered that girl again.

Beautiful, deep hazel eyes studying him. His heart started to beat faster. It disturbed him that just a few minutes of looking at someone he didn't even know would have such an effect on him. He couldn't think of a logical reason for it.

Then he faintly heard someone calling after him. Was that a child? A little girl…

"Niichaaan!"

'Ko-chan!' Ranma snapped back to reality.

"I don't… like this… … I wanna… hide…"

"C'mon Ko-chan! I told you it's your turn now!"

He swiftly climbed a tree and waited for his sister to catch up to him. She was tired. In times like this, he noticed how much of a difference his martial arts conditioning made.

"If no one has anything else to contribute, I'd say this meeting is over today.” Silence followed the last few words, so the remaining students of Furinkan High headed to their respective homes. Akane wasn't happy. She had been given the supervisory role after all, which meant she would have to know everything that was going on and make sure that everything was in place and working properly. To her disappointment, only three seniors had actually volunteered. She had hoped that at least her older sister Nabiki would have signed up. She really knew how to run things. She had hoped for more when she'd heard that seniors would be on the committee. Even worse, none of them had any desire to lead the organizing, so she would have tons of work to do after all.

'Oh, I can't believe how stupid I am! I just spent two hours worrying about all the things I have to do instead of getting anything done.'

'Strange how quiet everything is,' she thought as she looked around her. The schoolyard was empty, the streets were almost deserted and there was not a bit of wind blowing.

"Day's over!" she said to herself stretching her arms above her head. It had been a hard day, especially after lunch. Yuka and Sayuri hadn't stopped teasing her about Ranma.

'Ranma…' she thought.

She had been thinking of him constantly for the past few hours. It annoyed her a great deal that she didn't know why. Sure, he was handsome, but that had never been reason enough for her to fixate on someone.

She replayed the few times she had seen him in her mind. The first had been that morning. He had been standing in the yard. She mentally kicked herself for not paying more attention to him.

Then she had seen him at lunch. She could feel her heart fluttering again. It had been strange. She had been staring at him for something like five minutes when he noticed her… and then they'd just stared at each other.

Akane didn't realize she had stopped walking. Her face was hot. She was imagining his eyes looking back at her.

'Something's seriously wrong with me,' she thought as she continued to walk slowly. 'I just looked at him for a couple of minutes, and now I can't get over the guy.'

Akane had tried to keep her mind busy, but she couldn't. She had been daydreaming and grinning foolishly since lunch. Her friends' behavior hadn't helped matters, either.

'Oh well. No sense worrying about it, I guess.'

So she continued her way home quietly, a satisfied look on her face. Akane was happy and relieved that the day was finally over.

She was so busy thinking that she was almost home before she realized it, passing by the local playground. It was a very large park with big trees and lots of greenery. It was unusually large for such a crowded city, where land was so expensive. She spotted an inviting bench partly in the shade of a big maple tree and sat down. She turned her face towards the sky with her eyes closed and let the sun warm her face.

'Since I'm already late because of the meeting, I may as well doze off a while.' She laid her backpack next to her on the bench and stretched, leaning back lazily. 'Mmm, working hard is worth it when you can relax like this.'

There weren't many people around, so she dared to keep her eyes closed and let the sun warm her. She was abruptly shocked into awareness when she heard someone yell nearby.

"C'mon Ko-chan! It's your turn now!"

'Argh!' Akane thought snapping her eyes open. 'That scared the heck out of me!' She sat up and looked around.

'Oh my God, that's Ranma.' Akane thought as her heart beat furiously and her stomach filled with butterflies once again. In the back of her mind, she wondered about the effect that Ranma had on her, when she didn't even know him.

She watched him as discretely as she could. Ranma was running around the park smiling broadly. There was a little redhead who was half Ranma's height, with the same pigtail hairstyle he wore, who was trying to catch up with him.

'Ko-chan.' Akane thought in a flash.

Ranma effortlessly dodged around the trees and rocks and benches. The little girl was having a much harder time of it.

'Martial artist,' was Akane's thought. 'Much more experienced than I am.'

Akane studied Ranma's face. He was enjoying himself, and it showed. Akane held her breath, almost as if it might interfere with her thoughts. She wanted to remember every single feature.

Ranma finished up by leaping into a tree, leaving the redhead behind on the ground.

"Niiiiichaaaan! Come down!"

"It's your turn now, Ko-chan. No cheating." He said from the heights.

"But I wanna hide!"

"You've hidden ten times already!"

"But you always find me!" Ranko was not happy.

In a swift motion, Ranma was standing next to the girl. Akane was amazed by the display of skill. She smiled inwardly.

"Look, Ko-chan. I'd like to hide, too, before we go home. I'll hide now, then you can once more, and then we go home, okay?"

"Only if you piggy-back ride me…"

"Fine, Ko-chan, fine."

"Okay, then."

The little girl started ran towards a tree and started to count with her back to Ranma, who didn't lose a second looking for a hiding spot. He found a rock big enough to shelter him, and sat behind it, his back towards his sister. He turned his head so he could see around the rock and keep an eye on her. The little girl turned around, and Ranma ducked back completely behind the rock, his head still turned to listen for her footsteps.

Akane's heart was thumping. Ranma was so close to her. If he turned his head just a little, he would see her.

Akane felt jittery all of a sudden. He had stared at her at lunch for so long. What if he didn't pay any attention to her now? What would she do if he came over to talk to her? She didn't have time to think of anything else. Ranma turned his head and saw Akane. His eyes widened in surprise.

'Ohboyohboyohboy…' To say Akane was nervous was a gross understatement. What should she do? She didn't want to look away, because he might ignore her again. She was blushing furiously and having a hard time breathing, and she was sure Ranma could tell.

'Such beautiful eyes…' Akane thought. 'What's with his face? He's blushing, too? Nah, couldn't be, boys don't do that kind of thing. But they never play with little girls either and this one does. I wonder if I should go and talk to him. Oh god, he's still looking at me. I'm nervous, I'm nervous, I don't know what to do. This is stupid! God, I'm pathetic. I never knew I was so stupid…'

"GOTCHA!"

Akane was confused. Ranma turned around to look at the little girl and started to talk to her. Akane didn't dare try to listen to their conversation. She found her shoes so much more interesting…

'I better leave.'

She rose to her feet and turned to walk away.

"Akane-chan! Wait up!"

That scared the hell out of Akane. Did Ranma call out to her? How did he know her name? She took a moment for her to recover and realize that it was a female voice…

"Kasumi-oneechan!"

Akane ran towards Kasumi, who was carrying shopping bags, and on an impulse hugged her big sister fiercely.

Kasumi was confused. Akane was an affectionate child, but this was a total surprise. Being unable to return the hug because of the bags, all Kasumi could do was to look around for a cause of this uncharacteristic display. Ah, ha! There was a handsome young man watching them… and more specifically, watching Akane.

"I'm so glad to see you, Kasumi-oneechan!"

"Akane, if you'd let me breathe a little, please…"

Akane let go of her sister.

"Is something the matter?" Kasumi asked her sister with a sweet smile on her face.

"No, not at all." Akane answered in a rush that completely denied her words.

"Are you sure?" Kasumi's smile turned sly. "Could it be because that boy is staring at you?"

Akane tensed. "Is he?" she asked in a small voice.

Kasumi only nodded.

"Are you headed for home now?"

Kasumi nodded again.

"Let me walk with you; I'll tell you then."

Akane heard Ranma again.

"Ko-chan, wait up! Come back here!"

Akane didn't dare to turn around. She was trying to decide what to do when she felt a tug at her skirt.

"Niiiiichaaaan! Come down!"

"It's your turn now, Ko-chan. No cheating," he said from the heights.

"But I wanna hide!"

"You've hidden ten times already!"

"But you always find me!" Ranko was not happy.

'Boy, can she be stubborn!' Ranma thought with a hint of annoyance. He jumped from the tree to go stand by his sister.

"Look, Ko-chan. I'd like to hide, too, before we go home. I'll hide now, then you can once more, and then we go home, okay?"

"Only if you piggy-back ride me…"

"Fine, Ko-chan, fine."

"Okay, then."

And they were at it again. Ranma ran and hid behind a rock, and stared at Ranko

'Good thing she's bored, too. Mom should be worried by now.' With that, he realized Ranko had stopped counting, so he turned to hide completely… and stared straight into the eyes of the girl from lunch. Ranma could feel his heart speed up.

Not knowing what to do, Ranma could only stare back at her. Her eyes were very wide, and she was blushing— probably just as much as he was, he realized.

'Man… What do I do? I should go talk to her? But then again, she hasn't come to talk to me either… She looks so beautiful with her cheeks flushed, I wonder what she thinks of me? I must look pretty stupid sitting here in the dust… her eyes are beautiful, I hope I didn't scare her, but why should she be scared anyway? I wonder what her name is? …I guess these are what they call chaotic thoughts…'

Then his mind went totally blank. It was good just to look at her…

"GOTCHA!"

Had there been a roof, Ranma would have probably crashed through it.

"Boy, you scared me!" Ranma said looking up at Ranko.

"I know." The girl said smiling. "It was VERY easy to find you this time."

Ranma turned his head to look at the girl again. She wasn't looking anymore. Ranma sighed. His heart started to calm down.

"I was distracted, you know." He said to his sister, not looking at her.

"What were you looking at?" Ranko asked curiously.

"Her." Ranma said in a whisper, his gaze never leaving the girl. Ranko turned her head to follow Ranma's gaze, and smiled.

"What's her name?"

Ranma was about to tell her he was asking himself the same thing, when he noticed the girl was standing up in a hurry. Was she leaving? He felt a little disappointed. "Akane-chan! Wait up!" There was a young woman looking in her direction. He noticed how she tensed up. Then a smile lit her face.

"Kasumi-oneechan!" She answered back.

'Akane…' Ranma thought. 'Her name's Akane…'

"Niichan?" Ranko asked again. "What's her name?"

"Akane…" Ranma said softly, speaking his thoughts aloud.

"Aha!" Ranko smiled, turned around, and started to walk around, paying close attention to the ground.

'Huh?' Ranma was confused. 'Oh, well.'

He turned his attention to the women. Akane was hugging the other girl— Kasumi was it?— who had a confused look on her face. Damn it. She seemed so familiar…

'I wonder where I've seen her before…' He thought. He was sure he'd seen her before. Just the thought of having a connection of sorts with the girl— Akane, he reminded himself— lit his soul up a bit.

He looked at Ranko, who picked a pretty flower from the ground and headed towards Akane. He stood up in a hurry. His sister would kill him with surprise someday…

"Ko-chan, wait up! Come back here!"

Akane looked down and saw the redhead next to her, smiling and holding her hand behind her back.

"Konnichiwa, Akane-san!" and the girl bowed politely. Akane was speechless.

"My name is Ranko." Said the girl. Akane shook her head and smiled at her.

"Hello, Ranko-chan." Akane said kneeling down to face her. "What do you want?"

Ranko smiled and pulled her right hand from behind her back to reveal a single flower, which she presented to Akane.

"It's for you." Ranko said.

Akane could feel Ranma watching her. She was self-conscious, and wanted very much to make a good impression with Ranma's sister, so she tried to look calm and gracious as she accepted the flower. She held it to her nose and sniffed at it.

"Mmm. It's very beautiful, Ranko-chan. Arigato."

With this, Ranko bowed again, and then turned around and ran towards her brother.

Akane stood up and walked to the bench where her bag lay, carefully avoiding Ranma's gaze. He was standing just a couple of yards away from her. She picked up her bag and walked back to Kasumi.

"Shall we go now?" Akane's tone was anxious. She didn't wait for an answer. Taking one of Kasumi's shopping bags, she started to walk towards the dojo.

Kasumi was amused. What had that little play been all about? Akane wasn't normally so studied in her actions. She looked towards the boy again, and watched him as he also walked away holding the little girl's hand. He seemed flustered.

'Well. It's about time, Akane-chan!'

Kasumi turned around and hurried after her sister. Akane didn't stop when Kasumi caught up with her, so Kasumi just glanced at her little sister. Akane was pretending to ignore the rest of the world.

They walked in silence towards the dojo, but Kasumi was inwardly smiling.

"You didn't have to do that, you know!" Ranma said.

"Wai, I just gave her a flower, and I can do that anytime I want!" Ranko said crossly.

Ranma was silent, almost cursing under his breath. Ranko was definitively going to kill him someday from shock, because her boldness was so unlike most little Japanese girls. She was wearing an angry expression.

"Don't look at me like that," Ranma said quietly, looking straight ahead. "That was very embarrassing for me."

Ranko's expression twisted into a wicked smile.

"It's so funny when you're mad!" She started to laugh. Ranma only sighed.

"C'mon, Niichan! Piggy-back ride!"

Ranma didn't say a word as he let her climb on his back.

To be continued.

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007