Nerima's Ending 

Ranma turned pale and leapt backwards, slamming into the wall by the 
door to the examination room, one slender arm covering her breasts as 
she stared with wide, frightened eyes at Setsuna. 

Setsuna arched one eyebrow sharply. "I guess I can take that as a no, 
Ranma?" 

Ranma watched nervously as she sighed then pulled a chair out from near 
the examination table and sat down, crossing her legs. Ranma wasn't sure 
what he was more frightened... err, concerned about... No! I will not be 
like Kuno! I'm frightened, damnit, scared, just like a stupid, silly 
girl, he berated himself. He wasn't sure if the shiver that ran down his 
small frame was from his fear or the thought of being like Kuno. 

A vague feeling of disgust washed over him as it did almost whenever he 
considered Kuno while in this form. Much easier to face someone trying 
to kill him. He forced his mind from Kuno and back to the line it had 
been on when the thought first hit him. Was he frightened because only 
perverts like Happosai liked groping his breasts? Or because the thought 
that she might actually want that from him was battering at his 
self-control? Or was she afraid that she desired this, that she wanted 
Setsuna's surprisingly strong hands on her breasts? 

No, that couldn't be it, she insisted to herself and to her surprise, 
she actually believed it. Even as the thought had occurred to her she 
had sought those feelings of desire that she had remembered but she had 
not found them. 

"Come, sit down, Ranma. I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. We'll 
just talk, until you're ready," Setsuna offered, her hands folded in her 
lap in a deliberately non-threatening manner. 

Ranma fixed her wide blue eyes on Setsuna's face for several long 
moments, looking for the signs that she'd seen on Shampoo's face, and 
Kodachi's. Not finding them, she nodded hesitantly and stepped forward, 
taking a chair. She placed it on the other side of the table, wanting 
the comfort of its presence between them as she faced Setsuna's calm 
mien. 

"N..no," she said softly, her voice a bit husky from the strength of her 
emotions. Without the escape hatch of anger and humour to temper her 
fear and change it into a more acceptable emotion she found her fear and 
uncertainty eating at her as her stomach twisted itself in knots. All 
the attraction she had felt for Setsuna seemed to have fled in the face 
of her fear. 

Setsuna sighed again and Ranma shifted nervously in her seat. She had 
boxers on so the seat itself wasn't bothering her, but the cold metal 
was chilling against her shoulders. 

"I suppose knowing that this is a perfectly normal part of a young 
woman's exam is not exactly going to be reassuring to you considering 
your self-image, Ranma, but it is necessary." 

Ranma grasped at the thought. It would have surprised Setsuna to know 
how genuinely comforting that thought was. Not because it was normal for 
a girl; though Ranma had to a degree come to accept that he might never 
find a cure for his curse, he never felt truly comfortable with it. 
Considering all that had gone wrong in his life because of it, he 
doubted he ever would. No, his relief was simply because it was normal, 
because of Setsuna's calmness, her professional attitude. If this truly 
was a normal part of a feminine exam then that meant he didn't have to 
deal with the frightening situation of having admitted his attraction to 
someone who felt a mutual attraction for him. 

"You have what appears, so far as the examination I've done shows, a 
perfectly healthy female body. I won't say normal, since you are in far 
better physical shape than most young women your age." 

Ranma sat up a bit straighter at Setsuna's comment then froze as she 
realized that the comment and more pertinently her reaction to it was 
exactly the sort of ego-boosting Nabiki had accused her of seeking from 
his fiancee's. 

Forcing his mind away from that line of thought, which he really didn't 
feel up to facing right now, he countered with his new-found verbal 
skills. 

"If I'm so healthy how come you wanna gimme a...," Ranma blushed 
slightly when she realized what she'd been about to say, "another exam?" 

"As a martial artist, Ranma, you are less likely to experience certain 
ailments, such as cancer. At least, that would ordinarily be the case. 
On the other hand, your cells and tissues undergo regular stress from 
this transformation. If that stress manifests as cancer, which it well 
might, it could easily be missed simply because your otherwise excellent 
physique seems to mitigate the need to check for it." 

Ranma's eyes glazed over as he tried to parse her last sentence. "Uh... 
could you..." 

Setsuna smiled softly. "Your curse might be a cancer risk," she stated, 
understanding that he needed more simplification, "If caught early, most 
cancers are treatable. If not checked for regularly, however, it may 
have spread too far to cure by the time it is found. Now that you have 
this curse, you are potentially at twice the risk or more. You have both 
the risk of prostate cancer as a man and the risk of breast or ovarian 
cancer as a woman. Furthermore, if a cancer did develop, we have no way 
of knowing how the change could affect its spread." 

"While cancer is less common here than in some other countries, it has 
been the leading cause of death in Japan since the early 1980s." 

Setsuna considered for a moment. "Admittedly, most forms of cancer are 
much more likely to appear after you reach twenty-five, with the 
probability rising sharply as you age, however, while cancer in the 
young is rarer, it is also more often deadly, especially because it is 
often not caught early enough to be effectively treated due to the lack 
of regular examinations." 

"Technically speaking, the examinations I've done are sufficient for our 
needs, in terms of giving me a baseline for the... procedure. However, I 
feel that you should have a full gynecological examination at least once 
sometime in the near future, even if you are unwilling to do so right 
now. Perhaps once you find a doctor you can feel comfortable with." 

Her words decided him. The very fact that she recommended that he get 
the examination done even if by someone else clearly indicated that she 
was suggesting it for professional reasons and though her words held no 
hint of sadness or reproof he still felt bad that she might think that 
he was unable to trust her. 

"It's okay, Setsuna," Ranma said softly, fumbling her hands nervously 
and looking down with an embarrased flush. "You can... I mean..." Ranma 
bit off her words, unsure of how to give permission without sounding, at 
least to herself, like she was asking for something perverted. Her 
renewed certainty regarding Setsuna's professionalism left her once 
again feeling desire for her and the crinkling of her nipples at the 
thought of the doctor's hands on her caused her blush to deepen as her 
embarrasment rose. She found herself hoping that the doctor wouldn't 
react to her obvious arousal or perhaps just put it down to the cold of 
the metal chair or the room. 

"Alright, Ranma. First, I'll tell you what's involved, so you can get 
used to the idea." 

Ranma grew steadily paler through Setsuna's description but when Setsuna 
finished, Ranma gave a shaky nod then climbed up to sit on the end of 
the exam table. She sat there trying to hold in her nervousness as 
Setsuna visually examined her breasts. She tried to focus on the 
clinical description Setsuna had given of what she was looking for but 
she simply couldn't help her arousal. She flushed again as her nipples 
hardened fully under Setsuna's clinical gaze and struggled to resist the 
desire to cover her breasts with her hands. 

"Alright, Ranma, now place your hands on your hips. Good, now roll your 
shoulders. Again. Now raise, whoa, slowly please. Put your hands back 
on your hips. Alright, now, slowly, raise your arms above your head. 
Mmmhmm. Now lean forward and place your hands on your knees." 

Feeling nervous and self-conscious Ranma moved as Setsuna directed her. 
Setsuna's eyes, fixed to her breasts, focused her own attention on them 
making her aware of each shift and jiggle as she moved. 

"Very good, Ranma. So far, everything looks normal," Setsuna reassured 
her nervous patient. Her effort was largely wasted because her next 
words raised Ranma's tension level above even where it had been before 
her reassurances. 

"Time to lie back on the table, Ranma." 

The words might not seem to be the sort to make someone's fears and 
expectations run wild but in this case Ranma knew what would come next 
from the talk Setsuna had had with her before beginning. This was the 
part where Setsuna would rub her breasts all over, feeling for lumps. 
Palpating, she called it. Of course, that was the same word she had used 
for the muscle massage when Ranma had asked about it the second time 
around. Given that that activity had thoroughly aroused her in spite of 
being on relatively innocuous regions of her body she felt she had good 
reason to be nervous. 

"Now, place your right hand behind your head." 

Ranma did as asked and once again she could not keep her mind off of the 
sensation of her flesh shifting and the momentary sway of her breast as 
it rose up on her chest, pulled upward as her arm moved. Her eyes 
tracked Setsuna nervously as she approached, coming to stand beside 
Ranma. 

Their eyes met for a moment and Setsuna paused waiting until Ranma gave 
a jerky uncertain nod. Despite her intentions and putative 
readiness, Ranma jerked in surprise when she felt Setsuna rest three 
fingers near the center of her chest. She gasped softly when Setsuna 
pressed lightly in a circular motion then drew in her breath sharply 
when Setsuna repeated the motion pressing harder then again harder 
still. 

Setsuna's fingers moved south just a bit before repeated their circuler 
motion with light pressure. Ranma was a bit more ready when Setsuna 
applied more pressure but she was still startled when the vaguely 
pleasant feelings that had been building since Setsuna's fingers first 
touched her fled at the third and hardest pressure. 

Her readiness and her appreciation for the look of focused concentration 
in Setsuna's red eyes and the air of competence it gave her brought the 
sensation of pleasure back with the next light caress. Once again it was 
driven away and Ranma found her curiousity aroused. 

Much though he disliked the old freak and frightened as he was by the 
concept of showing affection, much less sexual desire, for any of his 
admirers, and without the slightest desire to prove himself manly in the 
way his mother would prefer, Ranma still understood that the time might 
come, if he could ever escape the trap his father had woven for him, 
that he might wish to bring pleasure to a girl he liked. If it was this 
easy for a girl to lose the mood then by paying attention now he would 
have a better chance on keeping her interest when the time came. 

She didn't notice the faint glimmer of surprise that flickered briefly 
in Setsuna's crimson eyes when Ranma's face took on a look 
characteristic of deep focus and concentration. 

Her eyes closed as she tried to concentrate on the sensations and so she 
was taken by surprise when Setsuna's palpations reached her areola and 
Setsuna's index finger lightly brushed her nipple causing her to gasp in 
shock as it rose up, firm and ready. Her eyes flew open, unfocused, 
staring into the distance as she tried to deal with the unexpected flood 
of sensation. 

Ranma felt a tingling deep in the pit of her belly, a feeling akin to 
the disturbing sensations she had felt when first learning to harness 
her ki. 

Setsuna took Ranma's nipple lightly between her first and second fingers 
and squeezed gently, watching for any discharge. Ranma gasped 
explosively, her face turning a deep red as her eyes lost all focus, 
staring with an unseeing gaze at the ceiling. 

She slowly came back to herself as Setsuna moved onward, continuing her 
palpations. I never realized, Ranma thought in wonder, that it could be 
that intense. She had been woefully unprepared for the strength of the 
sensations that had flooded through her at Setsuna's touch. 

Her attention was returned to her surroundings when Setsuna's pattern 
ended just beneath her shoulder and Setsuna spoke. "Alright, you can 
lower your right arm now, and raise your left arm to the same position." 

Ranma shivered as Setsuna's fingers began their deliberate massage of 
her left breast and she wondered for a moment how she was going to be 
able to handle the next part of the exam. If Setsuna's hand on her 
nipple had such a profound effect on her, how could what would come 
after not have an even greater effect? 

The answer came to her immediately and when Setsuna completed the exam 
and helped her up, Ranma made no complaint as she was given a gown and 
assisted into it. Setsuna led her from the examination room into another 
room where the centerpiece was a rather disturbing looking chair covered 
with strange devices. Some of the clamps put Ranma in the mind of 
Kodachi's delight in the possibilities of restraint, but she forced the 
thought from her mind. 

Setsuna was mildly surprised by Ranma's willing acquiescence, even when 
faced with the gynecological examination chair. Ranma did not even 
wait for Setsuna's request to drop her boxers, and willingly allowed 
Setsuna to assist her into the chair, placing her feet as directed into 
the stirrups, thereby opening herself to Setsuna's view. 

Setsuna looked at Ranma's face, somewhat concerned that she might be 
harming her chances with Ranma by pushing her too quickly. When she saw 
the life fade from Ranma's eyes, she understood. She was not familiar 
with the technique but she could guess that Ranma had somehow withdrawn 
his awareness. 

She proceeded with the examination as quickly as she could. She prepared 
a tray of warm water, then placed cold metal speculum in the tray and 
waited for it to absorb the heat. 

Picking it up, she dried it with a cloth, then laid it against her arm. 
Feeling no chill, she nodded once, then set it aside and pulled on a 
single thin rubber glove. With her gloved hand, she reached out and laid 
her hand upon Ranma's folds. She felt a blush stain her cheeks as she 
remembered her fantasy and felt a strong desire to lean forward and 
learn what Ranma tasted like. 

Forcing her desire down, she carefully spread Ranma's folds, opening 
Ranma's tight vaginal passage to view. Looking carefully and inserting a 
single gloved finger to be sure, she noted without surprise that Ranma's 
hymen was already gone, doubtless due to her constant physical 
exertions. 

Lifting the speculum in her other hand, she slid it gently within Ranma 
then carefully opened it. With her face on a level with Ranma's mound, 
she looked up Ranma's passage and holding the speculum open, she moved 
it forward until it rested to either side of Ranma's cervix. 

Releasing Ranma's folds with her gloved hand, she slowly inserted two 
fingers. Small as Ranma was, Setsuna was able to reach her cervix and 
apply upward pressure to it. With her other hand, while still holding up 
on Ranma's cervix, Setsuna palpated her abdomen, noting the position of 
Ranma's uterus and ovaries. 

Satisfied that there were no obvious signs of problems, she proceeded to 
use a long swab to collect liquid from Ranma's cervix for a Pap smear. 

Examination completed, Setsuna opened the speculum wider to allow 
Ranma's cervix to pass between without catching, then closed and removed 
it. Standing, she stripped off the rubber glove and placed it in the 
second trash can in the room, the one for potentially contaminated 
materials, before returning to Ranma's side. 

Peering into her blank eyes, she shook her lightly by the shoulders. 
Getting no response, she sat down to wait for Ranma's return. A little 
less than ten minutes later, Ranma stirred and life returned to her 
eyes. 

Setsuna stepped up and helped Ranma out of the chair. Ranma was quick to 
grab her boxers and restore them to their rightful place. Setsuna opened 
the door for her. Ranma turned bright red with embarrassment as she 
scurried across the hall. Setsuna's receptionist had arrived while Ranma 
was being examined and Ranma could see her sitting at the desk down the 
hall. In spite of being covered by the gown she'd been given, Ranma felt 
exposed and ashamed as she reentered the original examination room. 

Pausing above the pile her clothes had made on the floor, she glanced at 
Setsuna for permission. At Setsuna's nod, Ranma dressed with undue 
haste then sat at the table and folded her hands. She waited impatiently 
until Setsuna sat across from her, then fixed her with a wary gaze. 

"Well?" 

"There were no signs of any problems, Ranma," Setsuna reassured her. 
"That'll be more certain when the test results come back. You certainly 
seem fit and I see no signs of any problems. I've got your baseline now, 
so we will have that to compare with once we begin the retraining." 

The wariness left Ranma's eyes to be replaced by a fervent excitement. 
"Can we look at the scroll now, Setsuna-san?" 

Setsuna sighed but smiled, and shook her head. "Not yet, Ranma-kun. I 
have a business to run and my first appointment will soon be here. I 
should be catching up on paperwork even now. Why don't you go on about 
your day. I close the clinic at six. Can you meet me here then?" 

Ranma nodded, grinning. Standing, she gave a deep bow. "Thank you again, 
Setsuna-san. I am glad I had the chance to meet you!" 

"As am I, Ranma-kun, as am I. At six then." 

"Oh, uhm... I kinda, uh, cut school to come here, Setsuna-san, since, 
uh, most of my... problems... would be busy then. Could I get a note or 
something, to explain it to my teachers? I don't really feel like 
getting ki-drained again on top of everything else." 

--- 

Ranma leapt to the roofs the moment he was out of the clinic, wanting to 
spend as little time as possible in incriminating proximity to the 
clinic. The longer he could keep its location a secret from the rest of 
Nerima, the better off he would be. 

Once again he practiced the dual vortex technique, rocketing towards 
Nerima at a considerable velocity. He released the technique just as he 
entered Nerima, well aware that it was still early morning and any of 
his enemies might be watching for him. 

Continuing in the direction of the school, he ignored the lack of his 
books and lunch. Ukyou would doubtless be there again for lunch and as 
for his books, well, though he was getting more out of school these 
days, it was due to careful observation in line with Nabiki's teachings, 
and not from the texts nor the lectures they were meant to accompany. 
The absence of the books would hamper his new knowledge gathering 
pattern very little. Indeed, the reactions their lack would provoke from 
his teachers might prove enlightening in itself. Ranma was curious about 
the effect the Void and the Flame technique would have on 
Hinako-sensei's ki drain. 

Landing lightly on the school fence, he was startled into stillness by 
the figure sitting on the school steps. Why would Nabiki of all people 
be at the school's front door? 

Dropping easily from the fence he walked towards the school. His unease 
grew when he recognized his pack resting against the wall beside her. He 
scuffed his foot against the stone walkway and Nabiki looked up. He 
shivered when for just an instant he caught of look of fleeting pain in 
her eyes before they went cold again. 

"Ranma," she said softly, as he approached. "I'm..." She looked down. 
"I'm sorry, if... if I helped force you to this. I..." She reached up 
and wiped her eye and Ranma's eyes sprang wide as he caught the glint of 
light off moisture on her hand. Was Nabiki... the Ice Queen... crying? 

"All your things are here in your bag, Ranma-san," Nabiki said, a bit 
stiffly, then stood and turned away. "I'm afraid my father is quite 
angry, Ranma-san. He does not wish to see you at our home again." 

Without waiting for a response, she walked inside the school, leaving 
Ranma standing dumbfounded before the doors. He glanced at the bag. 
Force me to this? She must be talking about defending myself from Akane, 
he thought. I guess Akane finally told them... or someone else did. 
Shouldn't have expected it to go over easy with them... well, actually, 
I didn't, I guess I just assumed after nothing happened that first day 
that it would just blow over. Man was I wrong, or what? I thought sure 
Tendo-san would engage me to Nabiki or Kasumi if things ever really fell 
out between Akane and me. Good thing I know Oyaji's Umi-sen-ken 
techniques, 'cause I gotta get those scrolls out of there, even if 
Tendo-san doesn't want me around no more. 

Sighing, he picked up his pack, noting that it was heavier than usual, 
and slung it over his shoulder. Entering the school, he made his way 
quickly to his class. 

When he opened the door, he glanced first at Akane, and was surprised to 
see a brief expression of relief and gratitude there before she looked 
down to her notes. He crossed the space to the teacher's desk, not 
waiting for a reprimand, his excuse held out before him. 

The sensei took it and looked it over, then nodded. "Acceptable. Take 
your seat." 

Ranma stoutly ignored the murmurs of his curious classmates, realizing 
too late that having a legitimate excuse was far more unusual for him 
than causing a disruption. Doubtless his behavior would fuel the rumour 
mill for some time to come. 

He couldn't get his mind of that look on Akane's face, though. It seemed 
clear enough, in light of his earlier thoughts. She genuinely did not 
want to marry him. He had recovered enough perspective to not think that 
her actions, resisting marriage as they were, implied any actual hatred 
or even dislike for him. They were sufficiently explicable if she even 
simply liked him but not enough to want ot marry him. Her look confirmed 
that... if she had truly hated him, then she would not be in the least 
grateful to him for causing her father to break the engagement, however 
grateful she might feel about the end of the engagement itself. If, on 
the other hand, she liked him but didn't want to marry him, then her 
gratitude made sense. He had prevented her from playing her angry role 
and keeping them apart, but he had, in doing so, broken the engagement 
and removed the reason for that behavior, and she had shown relief and 
gratitude. Finally, a Tendo makes sense, he exulted to himself. 

When lunch came around, he deftly propelled himself through the window, 
his pack resting easily against his back. Flipping once, he landed 
lightly then glanced about the yard for Ukyou. Sighting her, he headed 
in her direction then slowed as he took in her sorrowful mien. Shaking 
himself, he resumed his progress, digging in his pants for the money 
with which to pay her. 

Stepping up, he smiled softly in response to her sad gaze. "One 
extra-large pork special, please, Ucchan" he said, holding out his 
money. When he said her name, or her nickname rather, she brightened 
immediately. Taking his money, she immediately poured his batter. 
Slightly worried that her reaction indicated that she had taken the 
nickname as an endearment or term of affection implying that he still 
considered her his fiancee, he accepted the okynomiyaki and said, 
"Thanks, buddy." 

He was surprised when her smile grew wider rather than fading and 
pondered the meaning as he ate. Could she have somehow believed that he 
no longer wanted to even be her friend, after what had happened? What 
had he done that could imply that? He could think of nothing yet he 
could come up with no other reasonable explanation for her reactions. 

After he finished his okynomiyaki he turned back to Ukyou and was 
startled to find her bowing to him, her griddle already cooled and 
repacked. "Ranma-san," she said, her voice choked with emotion, "If my 
actions contributed to your decision and your action, I sincerely 
apologize." Looking up she took a deep breath, she continued, "My father 
has agreed, Ranma-san, that your action resolves my blood-debt 
satisfactorily, but I want you to know, it doesn't change the way I feel 
about you. If I can only be a friend, I will, I don't want to lose you, 
but I'll never stop loving you." 

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she stared at him for a moment, as he 
stood in shock. She bowed again, then turned and ran, her face buried in 
her hand. 

"Foul sorcerer! How dare you..." Whatever remonstrance Kuno had prepared 
was lost as a heavy mallet struck him down. 

"Shut up, Kuno!" Akane glared down at him then released her mallet and 
walked up to stand before the startled pigtailed youth. She smiled 
softly at him and Ranma caught his breath, that one smile recalling for 
him all the times he'd thought her cute. She was, that he could freely 
admit now, to himself at least. It had been a long time since that 
pleasant expression had been bestowed upon him. 

"Ranko-san," Akane began, and Ranma felt a shiver run down his spine. 
Why was everyone being so respectful towards him all of the sudden? "I 
apologize for my unreasonable behavior towards you in the past." Akane 
bowed deeply to him, then rose again. "I hope that we may still be 
friends... and... I thank you for finding a way out of our parent's 
foolishness." 

Ranma glanced around and noted that all of the students within hearing 
distance looked about as stunned as he felt as they and he listened to 
Akane's patently rehearsed speech. Still, the final blow was yet to 
come. 

"Please forgive my family, and especially my sister Nabiki, for any pain 
that we have caused you. I thank you for the restraint that you showed 
with myself and my family. Please accept our sincere apologies, 
Ishida-san." 

Ranma's jaw dropped, as did those of the surrounding student population.