A/N: This is a continuation of the 'Fragile' storyline. If you have not read that one first, STOP HERE! you will be VERY confused. Go back and read 'Fragile' if you haven't, and this'll make a whole lot more sense!

Now, on with it!

MattSaotome

Prologue

'What if I say you're not like the others?

What if I say your not just another one?

In your place, You're the pretender,

What if I say that I'll

Never Surrender?'

Sleep: Torture in fast motion with the occasional forgiving side effect of forgetfulness upon waking. It was the latter that Ranma was silently, if not consciously, hoping for as he tossed and turned restlessly in deep slumber.

The events of the past week had been erratic at best, even if they had ended with him feeling all warm and pleasant. Perhaps the reality of the matter was that he could no longer escape the power that was surging deep inside himself. He'd thought that after what had happened between him and Akane he could finally find some inner peace, but that was rapidly being denied him.

He ran through a corridor in his mind; a long, dark tunnel, with only the sight of the exit at the far end driving his feet beneath him. The pace he ran at could easily match that of a cougar, and yet the light came no closer to him. In the darkness behind, he could hear them; thousands of little voices driving his greatest fear before him. They sounded so small and helpless, but Ranma knew better. He felt the familiar panic beginning to take hold. Yes, he was all too familiar with what now lurked in the unseen shadows around him.

"Get away from me!" He hollered over his shoulder as he ran, hoping that, even if it hadn't worked the first few hundred times, somehow this time would be different. Instead, a set of claws swept out at his ankle, leaving behind three long, ugly gashes.

Ranma cried out as he felt the deep fear within him surged out of control. His cry became feral almost instantly, his eyes quickly changing, becoming distinctly cat-like. The speed at which he fell into the Neko-ken made Ranma's head spin as the last traces of human thought were ripped from his grasp, and he lost all control. The sounds of pursuit inexplicably vanished, leaving only the dark echoes of the blackness that surrounded him as Ranma crouched down and began to sniff the air.

"Mrrowr?" The alpha male was confused by his surroundings, looking left and right quickly as he tried to make some sense of the void surrounding him.

Strange the lithe feline thought. No humans… no threats… only light.

Ranma cocked his head to the side as he regarded the glow before him. With a mind now full of endless curiosity, he finally rose to his haunches and began to walk forward, staying on all fours the entire time.

The distance between himself and the light closed easily, seeming to react positively to him now that he was Neko. He noticed something solid beginning to form and take shape around the glowing white light. It took only seconds for him to see that it was a door, the hard white light nearly bursting through each and every crack. His curiosity gave way to caution temporarily, and he set to smelling the door, searching for some kind of scent that he could identify.

Unfortunately the results of his efforts only succeeded in confusing him even more. There was no scent that he could recognize coming from the door. In fact, the door itself was not something he could even identify. The unexplainable phenomena left Ranma baffled, quickly setting off some kind of an internal warning. He scowled deep, bearing his fangs at the door with a hiss.

"Go away!" a voice from behind the door cried out, quickly followed by a sob. Ranma's expression shifted from defensive to curious once more.

"Nyaow?" he asked the door, wanting it to reveal its secrets hidden within.

It's a door, stupid. Ya slide it open.

Ranma spun around with a jump, looking to identify the voice that had suddenly pierced the darkness. Instead, his head began to throb as images suddenly flooded through his brain; images that showed him how to work the knob, allowing him to open the door.

Ranma couldn't understand the words the voice had echoed out around him, acknowledging only that it bore a striking resemblance to his human side. The Neko seemed to derive some sort of comfort in at least being able to understand the slumber state his body was actually in. Still, the world created by his body's mind deserved attention, and an explorer's fancy should never be denied.

Using the images he'd been shown, he turned back to the door once more, lifting a paw up to the canvas and slowly sliding it open. The light inside barreled out at him, and his keen eyes were hindered temporarily. Raising the same paw up in front of his face, Ranma hissed again, until the hot-white glow began to gradually subside in its intensity. Slowly, he lowered his limb once more, and saw that though the light had faded, it still consumed the entire space on the other side.

Reluctantly, he began to understand that the only way to find his way out was to proceed. Puffing up his chest so as to properly intimidate any threat that could possibly be present inside, Ranma donned a look of dominance and slowly crept into the abyss…

Three Days Earlier...

"I'm not sure how much longer I can hold onto him!" Ryouga's voice was frantic as he hollered out to anyone who was listening. Around him, the guest room was all but destroyed, the sunlight beating in mercilessly through the now shattered windows. The dresser was tipped over and now lay face down on the floor, its contents littered across the room. The closet doors were hanging off their hinges, and now sported several long gashes running down their once beautifully decorated wooden surface. It was only mid afternoon, but if you asked anyone present, they would have said that it felt as if they had been there for days already. Around Ryouga were Genma, Soun and Kasumi, each of them desperately trying to hold onto a limb and keep their frantic target hostage.

"Dammit, doesn't this Neko-Ken thing come with a fuckin off switch?!" Ryouga was sitting on the floor, his arms curled behind Ranma's head in a classic headlock. The feline boy's flailing was rocking him hard from side to side, often accompanied by heavy jerks as every so often Ranma would try twisting in some new direction that shouldn't have been physically possible.

"Yes, but she's not back from school yet," Kasumi replied, worry etched over her beautiful face as she upended yet another glass of cold water over Ranma's head. The change was, as always, instantaneous. Ranma's form quickly became smaller, his jet black hair seeming to melt into stark red as his cursed form overtook him. Yet, as had been the situation the last three times Kasumi had tried this, Ranma continued to buck and heave in any direction she thought would allow her to escape their clutches.

Kasumi was not to be deterred, giving a huff of determination; she lifted the kettle and once again poured it over Ranma's drenched form. The hot liquid inside quickly transformed Ranma back to his male form, yet the young martial artist's mental state remained unchanged.

Ranma turned to look in Kasumi's direction. His eyes met the oldest Tendo sister's for a brief moment, before settling on the kettle she still held in her hands. Ranma narrowed his eyes upon it, recognizing that it held what his kind dreaded most. He immediately shot a look in Kasumi's direction that promised severe pain and suffering if she tried to inflict such torture upon him again.

Ranma felt a sudden tug at his leg that held much more force than it had before. It quickly grabbed his attention, and with a feral cry of pain, he shot a glare down his body at the man responsible for the added force. Genma (the unfortunate recipient of this obvious hostility) gulped hard as Ranma opened his mouth wide in a feral snarl, bearing his now inch-long fangs at the old man with a spitting growl.

Recognition sparked in Ranma's eyes, as the feline persona took in Genma's identity; something that it had been unable to do up until now. His growl began to grow higher in pitch, the yowl becoming longer, more drawn out as his rage, born out of disdain, steadily increased. In the chaos of his feline mind, Ranma's own persona swam a little closer to the surface, managing to add some of the feelings he had towards his father to the cat's conscious thought.

Bald human is enemy, Neko Ranma thought. Fat worthless idiot is cause of most of our problems!

Choosing to ignore the earlier warning glare she'd received, Kasumi upended another glass, this time full of cold water, over Ranma's already irritable form, her logic seeming to lean more towards the 'If I do this enough times, it's bound to work' approach. The instant the cold water made contact with Ranma, she let out a screech of rage, bucking and kicking even harder than she had before. For a moment, Ryouga was almost dragged to his feet by the now female Ranma's sudden burst of strength, as she increased her struggle tenfold.

With lightning speed, Ranma's arm lashed out in Kasumi's direction, effectively shredding the kettle full of water the eldest Tendo was about to pour over her head.

"Oh My!" Kasumi quickly backed up two steps as Ryouga doubled his efforts to hold Ranma down. Increasing his pull and practically hanging all his weight off of her collar bone, Ryouga worked diligently at getting Ranma back under control.

"Dammit all, Kasumi!" He roared. "Enough with the fucking WATER! Can't you see it's not working! It's only making him MADDER!"

And the more upset he gets, the stronger and faster he gets! Ryouga thought to himself silently.

"Now Ryouga," Kasumi quickly scolded, shooting her darkest scowl in the lost boy's direction. "It's not polite to use that kind of language in front of a lady!" This however went completely unnoticed by Ryouga, who merely continued in his struggle with Ranma instead.

The increased pressure and additional effort quickly had Ranma swinging her arms in a backwards motion, frantically trying to get at whatever was holding her with an inordinate amount of hissing and yowling.

Again the voice of Ranma's persona made contact, obviously eager to get her hatred for Ryouga across to her feline counterpart. The lost boy causes our pain! We must stop him! Neko-Ranma saw these thoughts streak by her and grinned inwardly. There was only one way to interpret that… He MUST let us go!

"Aaugh!" Ryouga screamed out with pain as Ranma's ki 'claws' sliced through his tender flesh. Three long gashes now ran down Ryouga's left cheek, which quickly spread open and began to bleed fast.

"Brilliant!" Ryouga snarled. "He's got his claws out, people!"

"Why isn't the change working?!" Genma hollered in frustration. He was using almost all of his weight, and could just barely hang onto Ranma's left leg.

"I don't know, Saotome!" Soun replied, doing his best to keep hold of Ranma's other leg. "Perhaps that solution was only temporary to begin with. WAAUUGGHHH!"

With a tremendous kick, Soun was thrown back against the wall sharply; the impact instantly rendering him unconscious. He slumped down the wall like a rag doll, falling into a heap on the floor.

"FATHER!" Kasumi cried out, running to his aid in a panic.

We must find our mate! Neko-Ranma's thoughts were beginning to rush out frantically now. Why are they keeping us from her? She may be in danger! We MUST get FREE!

"I'M LOSING HIM!" Ryouga's cry was a desperate plea for help, as each person in the room knew full well what Ranma was capable of doing to him or her while in the Neko-ken. Sure enough, Ryouga's hold was faltering and, in the lithe form of his cursed state, Ranma was gradually slipping free.

Suddenly, Ranma's intent changed from pulling free of Ryouga to simply pullingRyouga. With a sudden burst of frantic strength, the feline lunged forward, hauling a stunned Ryouga onto her back.

"WHAT THE F-WWWOOOOAAAAHHH!" Ryouga cried out, his chest slamming against Ranma and momentarily knocking the wind out of him.

We can DRAG the lost pig if it becomes necessary, but the fat idiot MUST let us go!

It was immediately obvious who the cat was leaping for, and Ryouga prayed silently that, despite his feelings for the fat bastard, Genma would have the common sense to let go of Ranma's leg and -

"RUN!" He hollered out an instant too late. Genma's cry of unadulterated agony was loud enough to have made any actresses on the movie 'Scream' proud as he let out a gut wrenching shriek at the top of his lungs.

With hatred blazing the hottest fire in her eyes, Ranma gradually pulled her jaw away from Genma's now badly bleeding and already swelling arm. A slow evil smile began quirking up the corners of her lips, tainted now with the fresh mark of her quarry. Her eyes still locked with his, she hesitated only seconds before making a final lunge forward, this time to snap viciously at his neck.

Stupid old man, Neko-Ranma's thoughts hollered in frustration. Release us NOW!

"GENMA!" Ryouga hollered. "Don't try to fight him, you idiot! Just RUN ALREADY!"

With a burst of adrenaline and a determination all his own, Ryouga summoned every ounce of strength he had and, with a long cry of exertion, pulled and dragged as hard as he could. Eventually his efforts slowly began to pay off, as Ranma was once again dragged to the floor.

Sweat fell from his brow like a river now, and he bitterly noted that, other than a slight dampening of her bangs, Ranma showed no sign that she'd been overly exerting herself. Pushing the resentment aside for the moment he turned his attention toward Genma, who was carefully cradling his arm.

"Are you OK?" he asked quickly. Genma nodded.

"Yes, I think so."

"Good, cause I'm gonna kick the CRAP outta you for being that STUPID the INSTANT we're done here!"

Deep in the back recesses of her mind, Ranma was whooping for joy and rooting Ryouga on, effectively causing her feline side a small amount of confusion which was just as quickly disregarded for the more urgent matter at hand: Freedom!

For the second time that day, Genma gulped hard as he resumed his position at Ranma's feet.

"I'm home." An all too familiar voice sounded from downstairs. The three remaining conscious people in the room all flashed each other looks of sheer relief as they realized who was now downstairs.

"AKANE!" They all called out together.

"GET UP HERE, FAST!" Ryouga bellowed. "RANMA'S GONE NEKO!"

There was a loud thump from downstairs that could only be Akane's book bag hitting the floor, followed by her rapid footfalls up the stairs. Not two seconds later, she whipped around the entrance to the guest room, urgent worry painted over her soft face. She took only a second to survey the scene around her, turning first to Kasumi, who was still tending to their father and trying her best to wake him up.

"Is he OK?" Akane asked, quickly ducking down beside her sister for a second.

"I think so," Kasumi answered softly.

"What happened?!" Akane whirled on Genma now, giving him a look that said she suspected this was somehow all his fault.

Genma grimaced, silently resenting the implication. "The boy spent almost all day asleep," he grunted out, still fighting hard to hold onto Ranma's left leg while attempting to get the right one under control. "He woke up when Ryouga got here, but to our surprise he was already in the Neko-ken! OOF! A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!"

Akane stepped over to them and knelt beside Ranma. Taking hold of one of the girls arms, she gave it a firm but gentle tug.

"Ranma!" She spoke calmly, resolutely, instantly bringing the young martial artists attention to her. "Ranma, look at me. It's Akane."

There was dead silence throughout the room as Ranma stopped moving, locking her limbs where they were in case she needed to resume her struggle. Akane saw the change in her behavior instantly and gently slid her grip down Ranma's arm until she and the panicked girl had locked hands.

M… Mate? Neko-Ranma was uncertain exactly when Akane had arrived, and was obviously a little confused by her sudden presence in the room. She is here… She is safe?

"It's OK, Ranma. I'm here now. See?" She smiled warmly, bringing the hand that she was holding up to her chest and pressing it firmly against the place where her strong heartbeat could be felt. Ranma stared at her hand for a moment, just letting Akane's steady heartbeat drum softly back up her own arm, bringing with it a steadfast reassurance. Gradually she let the girl's sweet scent fill her nostrils, her gaze slowly moving up to Akane's face. The panic began to instantly dissipate, and she gradually began to relax her muscles.

"It's working…" Ryouga whispered. "He's relaxing."

Akane's smile grew a little. Holding the young girl's hand now, she reflected on the beast she had just tamed, and how easily Ranma seemed to trust her. Even in her current form, Ranma's appearance lost none of its menacing qualities. Her inch-long fangs that Akane could only assume were formed somehow by the energy in the lithe red-head's body were matched by the occasional flash of light just past Ranma's fingertips; a sure indication that her ki 'claws' were present. Everything about Ranma's appearance bore striking resemblance to a panther that had been captured in the wild; fighting for its right to remain where it wanted to be. Her expression softened at these thoughts as she realized that, in her own way, Ranma could say so much to her while in the Neko-ken without needing to speak at all.

"That's good, Ranma." She looked over at Ryouga who was still holding lightly onto Ranma, anticipation of another struggle keeping him firmly in place. Akane gave him a single nod, indicating that Ryouga should let Ranma go. The lost boy eyed Akane warily for a second before closing his eyes in acknowledgement and releasing his hold. Genma instantly followed suit at Ranma's feet without hesitation.

As she felt herself being released from her captors, Ranma turned to face Akane, a warm expression slowly gracing her face.

She is safe. We can rest now.

She drew her gaze upward, her eyes locking with Akane's as she slowly removed her hand from the other girl's chest and moved in closer. A light purring sound began to erupt from her throat, and she gave a gentle rub of her head against Akane's cheek before silently curling into a ball on the floor just in front of her. Finally, she rested her head in Akane's lap, making absolutely sure she wouldn't suddenly disappear again, and there she slept.

Ryouga let out a deep huff, more in disgust than in aggravation or anger. He shot one final look of loathing at Ranma before averting his eyes to the floor as he stood up.

"I'll be downstairs," he grumbled, making his way towards the door.

Kasumi had gone and collected a cold cloth as fast as she could, and was now applying it to her father's head as she continued trying to coax him back into consciousness. Genma cradling his damaged arm, quickly excused himself from the room as well so he could go clean up and dress his wound.

After Genma had made his departure, Kasumi took a break from her efforts to move carefully to Akane's side. Her younger sister took practically no notice of this, as she was too engrossed in stroking Ranma's red hair lovingly while she cooed soothing words to her fiancé. Kasumi watched with wonder at the obvious affection her little sister was displaying, and couldn't help the small smile that made its way across her face.

"Akane?" she finally whispered. After another moment's hesitation, Akane looked up from the sleeping form of her fiancée to meet Kasumi's own gentle stare.

"Yeah?"

"Does it ever…" Kasumi paused for a moment, considering how to word her question without sounding like every other person trying to pry into Akane and Ranma's relationship. Realizing there really was no way to do so, she decided the direct approach was the best, and to hell with the consequences.

"You enjoy doing this, don't you?" Kasumi asked with gentle, almost motherly, prodding. Her eyes shone with tenderness and just a hint of curiosity, as she waited patiently for Akane to give her an answer, hoping almost diligently that she'd get an honest one.

Akane was somewhat wary of Kasumi's eager interest in what she might feel for Ranma. After all the times her family had tried to push them together she couldn't really trust that the question didn't have some ulterior motive behind it. Still, she thought of the kiss she'd shared with Ranma in the dojo, how good it had felt, how right,and wanted nothing more at that moment than to confide in her sister.

The truth was that Akane did enjoy it. The fact that no one else could control Ranma when he was in the Neko-ken was a source of great pride for her. That he would trust her that much simply amazed her. She grinned inwardly as she thought of how many times Shampoo and Kodatchi had tried to get Ranma's cat side to submit to them. Each time, the results had been the same: Lunch delivered to them at the hospital the very next day! At her own thoughts, Akane gave a little giggle unable to help herself.

Kasumi raised her eyebrows inquisitively at her sister's sudden display of mirth, and Akane quickly found herself being held captive by the innocent' way Kasumi was looking at her. It was as if her gaze seemed to scream 'please you HAVE to tell me because I'm your sweet older sister and you know you really want to anyway. A brief second passed as she processed this, and then Akane found herself giggling once again. There was no use resisting that look, and if she were being honest she didn't really want to.

"I… Dunno, Kasumi." She quickly shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I think… I think I do, actually."

Kasumi's face quickly melted into a full blown smile, a bit of color rising into her cheeks as she felt herself flush with happiness.

"You really do like him!" she intoned quickly, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.

It was Akane's turn to blush, as she opened her mouth to reply. Before she had a chance to respond to or (in Kasumi's worried mind) begin protesting her comment, the older girl had quickly collected herself from the floor and disappeared from the room, pulling their father's unconscious form out the door by his arms, and leaving her little sister to contemplate her statement. Not a second later, the door had closed behind them, and Akane was left alone in the room with Ranma.

What was that all about? She wondered, shaking her head slightly. She couldn't help but smile at her older sister's antics, as they didn't really seem to bother her like they would have before. In fact, after what had transpired between her and Ranma in the dojo, the thought of Kasumi trying to get her to realize her feelings for Ranma only made the younger Tendo sister giggle. It was nice to know she had the kind of family that cared so much, even if they were overbearing at times.

Pushing the thought aside for now Akane took a moment to survey the remains of the guest room. Things were, for all intents and purposes, completely destroyed. The slight breeze that the now shattered window was letting in was not unpleasant, but would certainly become increasingly colder as the night drew closer. She could only imagine the struggle it must have been to get Ranma under some sort of control. It was obvious that he'd been furious. She also took in the fact that he was soaking wet, a sure sign that they had tried to snap him out of it by inducing his curse, which clearly hadn't worked. She wondered why. She shook her head, whatever the reason she was just glad that she'd been able to help. With a contented sigh and a soft smile, Akane looked back down at Ranma, slowly running soft fingers through her hair once more.

My Baka, Akane thought, almost lovingly.I wonder what goes on in that head of yours when you're like this?

A moment of silence passed in the still of the room, then with a twitch of her left ear, Ranma's voice suddenly and shockingly filled Akane's head in response.

Think many things. Think of sunlight and trees, also of hunting and playing.

It took Akane a few seconds to comprehend that what she was hearing were actually Ranma's current thoughts, and that it was his cat persona that was expressing them. But how was that possible? How could she and Ranma be holding a telepathic conversation? Did it have something to do with the state Ranma had been in when he went into the Neko-ken? The same state that he was now in, in fact? Before she could question the reality of it any further, however, another thought from Ranma ripped through her mind, tearing her attention away.

Think of Mate.

Akane didn't even have time to contemplate this statement before the jealous side of her took over full force, and her thoughts suddenly jumped to their own conclusions.

Mate?! Who's your mate!? When did this happen?!

The answer she received was fast and sure. The sheer honesty and sincerity behind it flooring her into immediate silence, effectively wiping any further anger and jealousy from her mind.

The short-haired one; she has great strength and courage. Feisty and spirited, she fights the strange stick-wielding man alongside us at times. Other side calls her 'Akane'. Must protect mate… love her…

Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing, her eyes doubled in size, and she just stared at the back of Ranma's head for a few minutes in stunned silence. Did he really think that way? Again, the incident in the Dojo came rushing back to her. Maybe Cologne had been right, after all. Maybe Ranma's feline persona actually considered her to be its mate. Even after the kiss they'd shared she'd held onto her own private doubts, not wanting to open herself up to hurt and disappointment, but now those doubts had all but been erased from existence. He had actually used the word love… With a sigh of confusion that, to her surprise, was easily mixed with relief and even sheer happiness, Akane slowly let her head fall until her chin was resting comfortably on Ranma's head. She wondered absently if he would even remember any of this, as she closed her eyes with a quiet moan.

"Now what…?"

Ryouga paced roughly about the dining room downstairs. To say that he was unhappy would be an understatement. To say that something was bothering him would be simplifying things too much. Ryouga's mind was in only one place right now, and that was back upstairs in the room he had just left Akane and Ranma in.

What were they doing up there? It almost seemed as if Akane had enjoyed taking care of Ranma. But that couldn't be! Could it? He quickly shoved this thought away, his contemplation ending when he heard Genma slowly move into the room, and head for the back yard. Only seconds before, Kasumi had come downstairs, saying that she had put Soun to bed for the time being. This of course meant only one thing to Ryouga, and he quickly stepped outside to confront Genma with it.

"You left her up there alone with that FREAK?!" he nearly hollered. Genma stared straight back into the lost boy's eyes, his own thinning into a tight scowl. The hand attached to his good arm shot out faster than Ryouga could counter. He was on the floor in an instant, with Genma quickly grabbing the lost boy by his collar and hefting him up, until Ryouga could feel the older man's heated breath on him.

"Who are you to call my son a freak?!" he quickly retorted, shaking the boy slightly in his outrage. Before Ryouga could gather his wits and give his anger filled reply, they were both interrupted by the sound of Kasumi's voice as she called out to them urgently.

"Ryouga-san! Mr. Saotome! Stop it, please!"

Genma held his position over Ryouga for another moment, growling low for good measure. Gradually, his hand loosened its hold, and Ryouga fell to the floor with a thud. He recovered quickly, rocketing into a standing position right in front of Kasumi. He gave her a sheepish grin, his face flushed with guilt as he began bowing repeatedly, saying only 'I'm sorry' to her over and over again at high speed.

"I forgive you," Kasumi reassured him. "But I'm sure Mr. Saotome doesn't enjoy hearing his son being called names like that, Ryouga-kun.'

Ryouga's bowing came to an abrupt halt, a single sweat drop running down his face as he considered this. He was certain that he had heard Genma call Ranma several names in the past, most of them pretty cruel considering they were coming from his own father. The fact that Ryouga had done so now should not have bothered him in the slightest, and yet…

And yet it had. It was baffling to Ryouga. The old man had never stuck up for his son before, so why now? What had changed? He shook his head in wonder as these thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a very angry Genma, almost as if he'd read the lost boy's mind.

"Actually, it's that word!" he spat almost harshly. "I don't appreciate Ranma being referred to as afreak. How would you like it if I called you that, Ryouga!? Aren't you a freak as well?"

At the accusation Ryouga forgot his earlier contemplation. He spun around to face Genma again, his fist raised angrily in front of him, his eyes blazing with defiance.

"At least I can keep from losing my mind!" The lost boy shot back. "Ranma falls to the Neko-ken every time he sees a cat! I suffer from nosuch handicap!"

Genma's closed his eyes, his head sinking down slightly as he began to chuckle. At this Ryouga's gaze narrowed, his anger and frustration mounting, as he quickly stepped closer to Genma.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

Genma shook his head once before looking back up at Ryouga.

"'Handicap', eh?" he chuckled some more. "Tell me, Ryouga; If the Neko-ken is such a detriment to Ranma, then why do you have three razor sharp slash marks across your cheek?"

On instinct, Ryouga's hand flew up to his face, probing the wound lightly. He'd forgotten all about it, but Genma was correct. The scratches were deep enough at some points that they went straight through all the layers of skin, leaving the tender flesh underneath exposed. For the first time since it had happened, Ryouga hissed as he felt the sting of the wound once more, his attention to it seeming to renew the pain.

"And if, as you say, the Neko-ken is such a handicap," Genma continued. "Then why is it that three of us failed to hold him down?"

Ryouga blinked dumbly at Genma. He could think of nothing to say. The fact that Ranma knew nothing of what he did while in the Neko-ken didn't necessarily make it a handicap. It was in fact a lethal weapon. He couldn't deny that. The fact that Ranma was holding it in his stack of cards, also made Ryouga uneasy to say the least. If he ever finds a way to take control of it… he shuddered inwardly at the thought.

Genma observed Ryouga's silence and took it as an affirmation. Knowing he'd won this particular verbal war, he turned lithely around, heading towards the back yard once again.

Ryouga watched him go. He realized then that he'd simply been lashing out in his frustration. That the real reason for his anger stemmed not from Ranma's peculiar ability, but from the way Akane could so easily tame it. The way she even seemed 'happy' to do so, as if it were meant to be somehow, and if it did, then where did that leave him?

"Akane will be fine, Ryouga," Kasumi assured him, breaking though his thoughts. "She's the only one of us that doesn't have to worry about Ranma attacking her when he's like this."

Ryouga let out a small frustrated growl. That's what I'm afraid of. He raised his fist once more before turning on his heel, and walking further into the house.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it…" he muttered under his breath before disappearing from the room. Kasumi stared after him with obvious worry, as her mind went over the whole series of events and what the consequences of them might bring. When she had finished reviewing the facts, she breathed out a heavy sigh, having only one thing to say that could sum it all up as accurately as possible. And in true Kasumi fashion that one thing was…

"Oh my…"

And so it begins...

MattSaotome