Most characters and situations in this story are the
property of Takahashi Rumiko and are used without consent
but without the desire to give offense.

In order to keep from having to mail out previous sections
to another half dozen people, I'll just post the whole story
so far.  It isn't that long yet.  Just skip over the parts 
don't want to re-read.   

For Every Action...

A wishing well.  Or at least, that's what the sign claimed.  "Wonder
whether Nabiki set this up?"  Ranma mused aloud.  *After all, the
sign doesn't say you'll actually get the wish, just that you get to
make one if you throw a coin in.  That's her kind of honesty.*  He
grinned for a moment and then shrugged and tossed a coin in.
"I wish...  Man, am I desperate or what?  Even for thinking
about doin' it... I have to be nuts.  And even if it was real,
you know it'd turn out goofy, same as every 'cure' I try.  I'm probably
lucky it's a phoney."  He turned his back, "Wish I knew why it always
turns out wrong."

                        *******

"What's so bad about being a girl!" snarled Akane, fists already
clenched as she glared at Ranma.  As ever, he was dumbstruck at
the idea of explaining how he felt about that or anything.

"Now, that's an interesting question."  Both turned to face the short
man with bright blue eyes.  "Tell me, Tendo Akane, are you interested
in the answer, or are you just picking a fight?"

"Uhm, do I know you?" Akane asked, distracted from the quarrel
by her questioner's appearance from nowhere.

He tossed a 5 yen coin into the air and caught it again.
"No, but I know a fair bit about you.  I'm actually here to fulfill
a wish that Ranma made last night.  He asked for the answer to a
question.  Since I'm feeling generous, I'll toss in an answer to
your question as well."

Ranma looked puzzled, "I asked a question?"

"Yes, you asked why your cures always seem to go awry..."  the little
man paused dramatically until Akane snapped, "WELL!?"
He grinned, "Just trying to build a little suspense.  The answer is
that magic is a conserved quantity, like mass and energy.
 It cannot be created, or destroyed, only altered and transferred.
 Thus, attempts to nullify your curse conceal it for a time, or twist it
into a different curse, but they all fail because they fail to dispose
of that force within you, fighting it, instead of releasing it."

"Ah man, how'm I supposed to do that?"  Ranma groaned.

"There are some ways, but magic has a way of demanding prices you may
not wish to pay.  Now, Tendo Akane, about the answer to your question,
you accuse Ranma of insensitivity to your feelings, but what of your
insensitivity to his?"  The little man tossed his coin again, but this
time at the apex of it's flight, it flared and vanished.  His
voice became more dramatic in it's tone:

   "Saotome Ranma, I grant you respite from your curse
   Tendo Akane, I give you the gift of comprehension
   For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
   For every question, there is a matching explanation
   When you grasp the cost and the worth of the gift you recieve
   You may accept it or not, as you please."

Water erupted from the ground in a ice cold geyser under their feet,
sending them both sprawling before either recognised a threat.  "AAAH,
COLD!  Akane are you-"  Ranma stopped, horrified at the sight of a
muscular boy slightly taller than him, dressed in Akane's school 
uniform.
Akane looked back at him for a moment, puzzled by an expression she'd
never seen on his face before.  Then she looked down and screamed.

"RANMA!  This is all your fault!"

Part 1 ends here.

_____________________________________________________________________
Most characters and situations in this story are the
property of Takahashi Rumiko and are used without consent
but without the desire to give offense.



"Ranma this is all your fault!"   Some might say that Akane was 
being unfair in not giving any blame to the little man who had 
actually transferred a version of Ranma's curse to her, but Akane 
had a practical disposition and preferred to blame people who were 
available as opposed to those who wisely jump into the river and 
vanish after doing their dirty work.  "If you hadn't made that 
stupid wish-!"

"Hey!  I didn't wish for that guy to give you a curse.  He just 
did it!"

"But it works out pretty conveniently for you, doesn't it?"

"Oh sure, that's just what I want for a fiance.  A guy in a dress!"

"..."  Akane stopped, mouth open.  "Wh-what if I'm stuck like this 
forever?"

"C'mon Akane, it's gonna work the same way it does for me.  You 
changed when you got hit with cold water.  All we have to do is 
get some hot water, change you back and get to school.  After 
school, we'll track that guy down and make him undo it."  Ranma 
reached out to take hold of of... him... then stopped and said, 
"Let's run to Doctor Tofu's.  We've still got time before school."

*He doesn't even want to touch me when I'm like this*  Akane 
quelled the painful thought and concentrated on sprinting faster 
than she ever had ever had before putting just enough stress on 
her shoulders to let her left shoulder seam separate.  *Oh just 
what I needed to make the day perfect*  Fortunately, this body 
didn't cry as easily as hers.  She really didn't want to start 
crying in front of Ranma in male form.  "Umm, Ranma?"

"What?"

"Could you go in and get the water and some needle and thread?"

"We don't have time, we're-"  *Oh yeah.  Akane and Tofu.* "Right." 

As soon as she had reverted to female successfully, Ranma quickly
stitched up her tear, grabbed her and lept for the schoolgrounds.  

"Saotome, release the fair Akane before you feel my-  What's this
that my keen vision does espy?  Have you dared to damage her 
apparel with your lascivious gropings?"  True, this was an 
unreasonable conclusion but Kuno has a dirty mind.  

"It's not like that at all!" Ranma protested indignantly and 
automatically, as he stepped back to avoid the new form leaping 
toward the two of them.  

"Hello, Ranma, Tendo Akane, nice to see you.  Kuno, you dog, how 
dare you betray Nabiki by flirting with her sister!"  Yamazaki 
Kentaro and his brother had been the latest entries in Ranma's 
fiance sweepstakes thanks to the usual kind of identity confusion.  
Surprisingly to many, once they were convinced that Ranma was male, 
they'd both switched their attentions to wooing Nabiki, with no 
noticeable success.  This, however, was a new twist.  Ranma 
mouthed "Kunou and Nabiki?" and Akane just gestured her confusion.  
They avoided the developing new argument and headed inside.  
Where of course, they were late.  

"I am disappointed to see the two of you reverting to your old 
tardiness after your improved performance in the last month.  
You know where the buckets are."  

Standing out in the hall, Akane remembered Ranma's first day.  
She'd half-jokingly threatened to throw her bucket at him.  It 
didn't seem funny at all in retrospect, holding something that 
with a touch could turn her into a joke for the whole school.  
She shifted her position slightly and froze as it seemed as if 
the water sloshed just a little bit more than it should have.  
"Yeah," commented Ranma quietly.  "It's almost like it's alive."  
This was going to be a long day...
  
________________________________________________________________
End of Part 2

Yes, they're short.  I'm new at this, give me a break.  
The Yamazaki brothers were the subject of my first attempt 
at writing which mysteriously vanished before I could post it.  
I suspect everyone.  Someday I'll rewrite the saga of the brothers 
Yamazaki and post it.  

______________________________________________________________
For Every Action, Part 3

Most characters and situations in this story are the
property of Takahashi Rumiko and are used without consent
but without the desire to give offense.


"So, what's with your brother and Kunou?"  Akane asked Yamazaki 
Kouchi in the hall at the start of lunch.  Ranma-chan's other 
"fiance" was a delicate-looking boy whose appearance and rather 
feminine mannerisms belied his considerable martial arts skills.  
Ranma despised the younger Yamazaki for a variety of reasons, 
but Akane rather liked him.  

Kouchi looked up from the water fountain he'd stopped at, to
reply,  "Oh, Nabiki said something that suggested her affections 
were already engaged, so Ken-chan decided to find out with 
whom.  Apparently she and Kunou-sempai meet together fairly 
regularly sooo-"  Kouchi shrugged daintily.  

"But thats just so she can sell him stuff!"  Akane protested.

Kouchi smiled a little, "That's comforting to hear, but who 
among us really knows what goes on behind Nabiki's eyes?  It 
is that mystery about her that fascinates me.  My brother on 
the other hand-why speak of the devil!  Ken-chan you look-"

"Die, you sneaky underhanded little freak!"  Kentaro braced 
himself to attack the smaller boy.  Having been tricked into
fighting Kuno just so Nabiki could manipulate the odds in the
school betting pool with Kouchi's help, Ken's fuse was burning 
short.  

Kouchi rolled his eyes, "You are in SUCH a mood today."  
Kouchi was short on power and stamina but every bit as fast 
as Ranma.  In a blur of movement he zipped out of the way 
and Kentaro's blow struck the water fountain, sending it 
exploding apart in a spray of water.  

"Now look what you did.  You frightened Akane.  You think
that's the way to impress Nabiki-san?"  Both brothers looked
at a pale Akane, gasping for breath after just managing to 
scramble out of the blast zone.  

"Please forgive me Tendo-san.  I did not mean to alarm you."

"And I apologise for having a brother who is a jerk."

"Who are you calling a jerk!"  

Figuring that a little of the Yamazaki sibling rivalry went 
a long way, particularly while water was still spraying, Akane 
took advantage of their mutual distraction to leave.  

"I'm not going to make it, Ranma," Akane moaned as they ate 
lunch outside.  "The day's only half-over, and I haven't been 
to Home Economics yet.  Somebody's going to spill something cold
on me, I just know it."

"Relax Akane, I can duck getting wet at school most of the time 
and so can you.  Just hold out for a couple of periods, then go 
home before Home Eck.  Tell the teacher you ate something you 
cooked and she'll excuse you...."  After she hit him she felt 
better, not just because of the frustration outlet, but 
because if he was making jokes about her cooking, that probably 
meant he was starting to feel comfortable around her again.  

Two hours later, Akane was in agony.   She'd taken Ranma's
advice, more or less, and headed home early, only to be caught
by another of those instant rain showers that had become so much
more common with Ranma's arrival.  She'd taken the precaution of
switching into her gym shorts and top but her feet were killing her. 
They'd almost been at Doctor Tofu's the first time she'd transformed
so she hadn't noticed much, but the walk back her house had made it
painfully obvious that her feet got larger with the rest of her.
She sat down to slip off her running shoes then sighed in relief
and wiggled her toes.   

    Standing, her eyes met Yoiko's, a neighbour and former classmate 
of Kasumi's who'd married straight out of high school.  Yoiko had 
apparently just come back from shopping, but the look in her eyes 
and the direction of her gaze suggested something other than 
domestic matters might be occupying her thoughts.  Yoiko
blushed, giggled and scurried past.  *She was checking me out!  
That's disgusting!  And she's a married woman too!*  Akane suddenly
felt self conscious again...and curious.  She slowly looked down.  A 
muscular, partly bare midriff met her gaze, and a pair of shorts 
that were tight enough to leave nothing to the imagination.  *I 
wonder what Ranma would think if I pointed out that I'm now the 
better built one.*  A vivid picture of Ranma crushing her with 
the living room table popped into head.  *At least I know how to 
keep my mouth shut.  I feel like such a pervert.  I have to get 
home and change back.*

Kasumi hummed quietly to herself.  She loved her family, and 
actually enjoyed observing their frenetic activity from a safe
distance, but she needed moments like these, just alone doing
some peaceful housework, to help stay centred and calm.  Her 
father was in the dojo, Mr Saotome was at his part-time job, 
and the rest of her excitable family were still in school.  Done
for the moment.   Perhaps she'd take a little walk before 
everyone got home.  She opened the door and looked at the startled
young man in front of her.  *Oh my!  I wonder how old he is?*.
Kasumi smiled and said, "Hello, are you one of Ranma's friends?"
The young man looked surprisingly nervous as he answered "Uhm, yes,
I'm...Ranma's friend."

___________________________________________________________________
Part 3 ends here.

No.  This not going to become a lemon.  Just in case you
wondering.   

___________________________________________________________________

For Every Action Part 4

In terms of timing, this story occurs not long after Ukyou's
arrival in Nerima.  I keep forgeting to mention that critical
commentary is welcome.  If you can help me fine tune this
story in anyway, I won't mind at all.  

Kasumi did her best to make "Kaneda" feel at ease, supressing all
sign of her disappointment that the tall boy turned out to have
been in the same class as Ranma with practised skill.  Meanwhile
Akane burned with guilt.  She'd almost never lied to Kasumi, and
never about things that were really important.  She couldn't 
even figure why she'd lied this time, except...   Kasumi was such
a girl.  Whenever Akane was actively trying to be feminine, Kasumi
was her inspiration.  This was sort of the ultimate failure to be
feminine.  

Ranma got home after an hour or so, calling "Akane?" as soon as
he got through the door.  "I'm sorry Ranma," Kasumi answered.  
Akane isn't here.  But your friend Kaneda is."  

"My friend who?" Ranma caught sight of Akane, winced, and covered, 
"Oh right, Kaneda, long time no see buddy.  Lemme show you around
Nerima."  He grabbed "Kaneda" by the arm and just about hauled her 
outside.   "What were you doing in there?"

"Kasumi caught me trying to come in and get some hot water and what
is your problem anyway!"  

"Well excuse me for worrying about blowin' your secret.  You don't 
exactly make a convincing guy you know." 

"I do..."  Akane suddenly realised this was an argument she really
didn't want to win.  "I don't want to make a convincing guy."

"So that's settled.  Let's go by where the wishing well was, and see
if we can find that little jerk there."  The wishing well was still 
there, but a small "out of order" note had been pasted on top of the
the sign.  "Oh, this guy's a riot."  Ranma bitterly snapped.  

"Thank you.  I love it when people appreciate my sense of humour."  
Ranma and Akane jerked reflexively at the sound of the little 
man's voice right behind them.  They spun around as the man took
a careful step back out of arms reach.  "Yeah, well, jokes over.
Change Akane back."

"No problem."  He raised his hand and a cloud of warm mist flowed
out of it, transforming Akane back to her (damp) natural form.  

"It's that easy?" Akane questioned, half-hopefully.

"Oh, you meant permanently?"

"That isn't funny!  Change her back for real or I'll-"

"That sounds like a challenge, boy."  There was a look in those 
blue eyes that reminded Ranma unsettlingly of Cologne.  "Well, 
far be it from me to keep you from trying to solve your problems 
with your fists instead of your brain or your heart.  I am Mizu, 
and I accept your challenge."

Ranma paused to size up his opponent.  Mizu's pose was 
languidly, almost insultingly relaxed.  *I've got a bad feeling 
about this.*  Ranma took it slow, with a few experimental low 
power punches.  Mizu just swayed to the right, the left and then 
stepped back out of the way.  "Don't you have a meal in a 
couple of hours?"  *All right then* Ranma snarled at his smug
opponent and lashed out full strength and speed...only to have
his momentum smoothly redirected, sending him flying into the
"wishing well".  Ranma was back on his feet immediately, lashing
out with a more complex series of punches, feints and kicks. 
None of them connected, Mizu redirecting them with prescient 
ease, drawing Ranma's guard offline and then using the opening
to deliver a powerful punch.  *He's not that fast, but he's 
anticipating my moves like I'm following a script he wrote, and
his moves seem to come from nowhere.  Let's change the script.*
He took to the air, leaping over Mizu's head, tumbling in mid air
to lash out with a powerful kick at the back of Mizu's head...
which cut through thin air as the water man rolled away.  *An 
opening!*  Ranma lashed out at maximum speed while Mizu was still
off balance, coming back to his feet.  *Blast!  Only grazed him.*

Mizu laughed "You tagged me, must be getting careless.   I 
don't often fight human opponents of your calibre.  You are 
good, but to misquote a former student of mine, you're a few
centuries too early to get the better of me!"

End of Part 4.

________________________________________________________________

Mizu means "water", I think.  Kouchi means "cunning".  Kentaro's
name is from some Gatchaman fanfic and I have no idea what it
means, but it sounds like a tough guy to me.  

________________________________________________________________