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                     YOUR BODY, MY MIND
                         Chapter Four
       
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     They were settling themselves down to eat when Kasumi
reappeared. "Ranma, you have a visitor."
     The two exchanged a startled glance. "What now?" Akane
grumbled, jumping to her feet. 
     "Yoohoo!" A bright cheery voice called. Ukyo herself
appeared a split second later. She hurled herself at Akane. "Ran-
chan..."
     Akane looked to Ranma for help but he was busy stuffing his
face. Twin spots of red stained his cheeks. I guess I'll have to
handle this by myself, she thought in exasperation.
     Ukyo was pulling her arm insistently. "Ran-chan come. I've
prepared a special okonomiyaki."
     She shook her head. "I can't Ucchan." The pet name was drawn
out of her with a grimace. "I'm eating breakfast." She gestured
at the spread on the table.
     Ukyo pouted and shoved the okonomiyaki box under her nose.
"But I made it just for you." 
     Despite herself, Akane's mouth watered as the delicious
smell wafted up her nostrils. Maybe she should...after all what a
waste... "Let's take this outside," she murmured dazedly. 
     Ukyo grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way." She linked her
arm through hers.
     They walked out into the yard, where they sat on a bench
placed underneath a large elm. Akane racked her mind for
something to say, even as Ukyo opened the box and prepared to lay
the Japanese pizza on top of it. 
     Curse this curse, she reflected bitterly, watching Ukyo's
motions out of the corner of her eye. Then, a thought suddenly
occurred to her. But it doesn't have to be...                    

     Yesterday, Ranma had hurt Ryoga's feelings by pretending to
be her. Maybe she could do the same thing to Ukyo. Not hurt her
feelings pettily but...break things between her and Ranma gently.
The way Ranma should have done from the start.
     Her eyes shone with her newfound mission. She faced Ukyo
resolutely. "Ucchan," she began firmly. "We need to talk."
     For a moment, she thought she saw a look of panic flit
through Ukyo's warm dark eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it
had come. Ukyo shoved the huge slice of okonomiyaki she was
holding into Akane's open mouth.                  
     She sighed and stared out into the distance, a wistful smile
on her lips. "Ran-chan... Do you remember when we were young and
we used to play together?"
     Akane, her mouth full of pizza could not reply. She almost
choked trying to. 
     Ukyo laughed lightly to herself, a light breeze blowing her
long hair behind her. "I recall that, one day, when we were
playing near my father's okonomiyaki cart, you accidentally fell
over and knocked one of Dad's sauces out. The bottle broke and
the sauce was everywhere. We were so scared of being caught
because he particularly liked that one better than the others.
     "Finally you stood up and ran away and I thought you were
leaving me to face his anger all alone. I swept up the broken
pieces of glass and wiped all trace of the sauce away, fuming
that you would abandon me like that. Then you came back, and you
were carrying a bottle with a liquid sloshing inside that
resembled the sauce. You said we could use this to replace the
one we'd broken and Dad would never know the difference. Were you
ever wrong! Like you usually are," she added fondly.
     "Dad came back exhausted and tired. He mumbled that all he
wanted to do was make himself a good meal and go to bed. So he
made himself an okonomiyaki just like always. We were both
pretending to be napping when we heard him yelp and gag. I
thought he was going to die! He was so green. It turned out that
the "sauce" we had put was your father's foot ointment." 
     She chuckled at the memory. Then she stopped and glanced at
Akane, who was still chewing okonomiyaki. "Oh I'm sorry," she
said, wide-eyed. "You were about to say something, weren't you?" 

     Akane gulped down the last piece. She looked thoughtful and
something almost akin to sympathy flashed through her eyes.
With a slight smile she replied, "Nothing really."
     She could have sworn Ukyo appeared relieved.

     Ranma ambled up to her a few minutes later, just after Ukyo
had left. He carried a glass of water which he proceeded to dump
on her. "How'd it go?"
     Akane sighed. "Can I be honest? I tried to tell Ukyo
off...while pretending to be you."
     He leaned down eagerly, wondering whether he was rid of one
fiancee or not. "Well? What happened?"
     She looked away. "I...I didn't have the heart." She turned
back to face him, confusion written on her face. "Ranma, I...I
think she knows or already suspects. Because when I tried to talk
to her about it, I could have sworn she panicked, if just for a
moment. Then she interrupted and started to ramble on about the
adventures the two of you had while you were kids... I just
didn't have the guts."
     He nodded and sat down beside her. "Now you know why it's so
hard for me to break it off with her and Shampoo, but especially
with her. She used to be my best friend, my only friend for a
long time. I just don't want to hurt her."
     The silence weighed heavily on them both. Akane tentatively
reached out and smiled. He smiled too and they got up. "Come on,"
she said. "Let's go tell them we're going on a picnic."
     "You tell 'em. I'll go grab a basket." He scurried off
before she could get in another word.
     She shook her head at him. She knew the reason why he was
suddenly so eager to retrieve their picnic basket. Their family
would undoubtedly speculate why they would suddenly go off for a
picnic alone, especially after yesterday's ruckus. Still, they
had no choice, not if they wanted to be deluged with unexpected
visitors again.
     She sighed and went in. Kasumi was clearing the plates from
their table, Nabiki was watching a fitness program on TV, and
Soun and Genma were playing shogi. "You guys," she announced.
"Akane and I are going on a picnic."
     As she had anticipated, there was a round of teasing all
around. She thought her father and Mr. Saotome looked definitely
misty-eyed, and Nabiki was shooting her a knowing look which made
her squirm. Thank heavens for Kasumi who just smiled same as
always, and told her to enjoy themselves. Ranma appeared and she
joined him outside gratefully. 
     "That bad huh?" He observed her flushed face and pink ears
quietly.
     She said nothing and they set out. Ranma swung the picnic
basket to and fro as they walked. Funny how light it seemed. He
wondered what exactly was inside. He lifted the flap and peered
in. He gawked at what he saw and sputtered. He closed his eyes
and shook his head. He took a look again. Mouth hanging open in
disbelief, he caught up with Akane, who was walking ahead. He
tapped her on the shoulder. "It's empty!!!" he gaped.          
     She stared at him in shock. Then she grabbed the basket and
took a look for herself. She tilted the basket upside down but
nothing came out. "That's impossible!" she cried.
     "I didn't do nothing to it! Didn't we always just pick it up
and there was food inside?"
     She stared back at him, as puzzled as he. Then she started
laughing. "Of course! That's because Kasumi was the one who
always prepared the basket! Don't you get it? We always went on a
family picnic, so she was there to take care of it. This is our
first picnic alone together."
     He continued to regard her gloomily. "Now what are we
supposed to do?" 
     "Excuse me but have you looked around?" She pointed to a
building behind him. His eyes bulged in surprise when he spotted
the sign: Sandwiches and other snacks for sale.
     "But that would mean spending money," he protested.
     "Come off it." She sauntered into the store. "Really, you're
beginning to sound like Nabiki."
     Ranma glared at her. "Hey take that back," he said, hurrying
to catch up. 

     They found a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. They
spread out a checkered cloth and sat down on it. Akane sighed in
contentment. The grass was green and the sun was shining. Not
even being displaced in someone else's body could spoil the day.
     "Isn't this the life?" she murmured.
     Ranma stared out into the lake in sulky silence. 
     Akane turned on him, her expression suddenly serious. "Let's
forget our problems for now, okay, Ranma?"
     Ranma shrugged, indifferent. "Well at least you have the
curse."
     Akane shot up. "That's it!" she cried. "Why didn't I think
of it before?" She grabbed Ranma by the collar, forgetting again
that he was in her body. "Ranma go for a swim."
     "Huh?" he said, not comprehending.
     "See what it feels like not to change when you get wet,
dummy!" she cried out in exasperation. She was more than
compensated when she saw the look of pure joy flicker across his
face.
     "Well I -" Ranma fidgeted, trying to appear cool and
collected. He shifted from one foot to another. "Your body
doesn't know how to swim."
     Akane rolled her eyes in exasperation. "The water's only up
to chest level." I think.
     He just stood there.
     "Go on in, stupid," Akane whispered.
     That was enough for him. He dove in whooping, not bothering
to strip, which Akane was grateful for. He came up for air,
grinning and laughing like a madman.
     Akane laughed along with him, delighted that he had that
chance. Her features softened...very feminine. She didn't know
it, but if anyone had come across her like that they could have
saved her all the trouble and told her: You're in love.

     Ranma sighed as he lay on the grass; letting the sun warm
and dry his clothes. He idly pulled up tufts of grass and threw
them up into the air.
     "Hey." Akane almost hated to intrude on the mood. "Snacks
are ready."
     He sprang up in response and began devouring a peanut butter
sandwich. Akane munched at her own, lost in her thoughts. From
out of nowhere, she heard Ranma mumble, "Having a picnic was a
good idea, Akane."
     She blushed, in reality more flattered that he'd
complimented her than at the compliment itself. "Maybe we should
do it again some time," she murmured.
     There was an awkward pause.
     Akane felt her cheeks burn in humiliation. How could she
have said that? she thought to herself. "I'm sorry. That was a
dumb thing to say." She began clearing the plastic bags and empty
paper cups away.
     "No," she was surprised to hear him say. "It wasn't dumb."
     She glanced at him shyly, knowing how hard that must have
been for him to say. Their eyes locked. Both felt a heightened
awareness of the other that hadn't been their before. Ranma
looked away, something clearly troubling him.
     Akane watched, concerned.
     "It's just-" He turned to face her, his expression intense.
"Why did you wish for my body?"
     Akane shifted her eyes uncomfortably. She had trouble
answering. "I didn't wish it on purpose. You know that."
     Ranma nodded impatiently. "But what brought it on?"
Akane lowered her eyes, ashamed. She took a deep breath to steady
herself before answering. "I could say it was because of the
volleyball game or the frisbee or even my tripping on the table
but I'd be lying." She paused, then continued. "When I was young,
I always felt that Daddy was secretly disappointed in me. I was
no good at cooking like Kasumi or managing money the way Nabiki
did. So I tried to find something I could excel in. It turned out
to be martial arts and I got really good at it. When my sisters
did something fantastic I always had something to fall back on.
Then you came along. Everything changed overnight. You were
better than me and everything I'd done before looked like child's
play. I lost the crutch I'd had for so long." She hung her head
and Ranma saw that she was struggling to keep the tears from
falling. He bowed his head.
     He knew she had revealed to him her innermost thoughts and
he felt obligated to do the same. He wanted to comfort her and
himself as well. He spoke softly. "Sometimes... sometimes I think
you're stronger than me where it really counts." He saw her lift
her head in surprise. "You're better at dealing with people, with
showing your emotions. Same goes for your sisters. Kasumi's
angelic...but she's oblivious to what's really going on around
her. Nabiki hides her feelings from everyone. I'm sure your
father appreciates that about you. You're more...real."
     Akane tried to chuckle. "Sometimes I think I show my
feelings too much," she reminded him. But inside, she was touched
at his words beyond belief. They rang true. That it would come
from him of all people was ironic...but right.
     "Besides," Ranma added. "Look at me now." He stopped. "No,
not now but you know what I mean. I'm half a man." He closed his
eyes at the pain. "That body is cursed, Akane. You'd have been
better off wishing for another one."  
     Akane put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at
her. "It isn't cursed, Ranma. I mean...it's all right with me. I
could live with it."
     He smiled and the spell was broken. But the words that
they'd exchanged remained. He noticed that the sun was setting
and he held out his hand. "We better be heading back."
     "Just a minute," she said, stopping him. "Let's at least
watch the sunset." Ranma hesitated then nodded his assent.
Tentatively their fingers found each other and, holding hands,
they watched as the golden orb sank lower and lower to finally
disappear from the sky in a brilliant display of light. Without a
word, they turned around and went home.

     Later that night, Akane lay down on Ranma's futon to sleep,
but she knew she'd be awake for a long time yet. They had decided
it wasn't worth it to sneak into their respective rooms and risk
another day of teasing. Anyway, Akane instinctively knew she'd
wake up in her bed the next morning. She had an idea that the
bodies remained where they were and the souls switched.
     The rest of the night had passed without further incident.
They had traded the wrong insults again but no one seemed to
notice - or care. It had been hilarious when Ranma had been
forced to help Kasumi with the dishes. Again. Of course, she
would have to pay for all the dishes he'd broken, but the
expression on his face - her face technically - had been
priceless.
     She warmed all over when she recalled their conversation
earlier. It had been perhaps their most intimate yet. No doubt
the switch had had something to do with that. When she'd poured
out her sorrows, she'd felt like she was talking to herself
instead of Ranma - to her reflection in the mirror so to speak.
     Almost with reluctance, she slipped her hand beneath the
pillow and turned to the left. "I wish things back to normal,"
she said out loud. Inwardly she thought, But I'll never forget
this day for as long as I live...

     Meanwhile, Ranma was in Akane's bed, as sleepless as she. He
put his hand underneath the pillow and turned to the left. "I
wish my Jusenkyo curse was gone," he said. Then he shook his head
in disgust. "As if life would be that kind," he muttered.
