"They're… they're gone!" Ranma cried, looking down at himself in astonishment. His sense of joy was short lived, however, as he quickly realized Ryoga's presence behind him. Suddenly, he was terrified to turn around, to let Ryoga see him as he truly was. But, at the same time, he knew he couldn't possibly continue this charade. He had thought about running, but Ryoga would surely chase him, still believing he was Ranko. There really seemed to be no way out of this situation, except the hard way. And, with that in mind, Ranma turned slowly around to face his rival.

Ryoga saw him; his eyes went wide, his face turned pale. To Ranma, it was obvious he just couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stammered for a long while, as if trying to find the words to properly express his bewilderment. Finally, all Ryoga could say was, "Ranma! How did you…?"

Ranma simply shrugged.

"Ranma! How dare you…!" Ryoga shouted suddenly, trembling, his face going from pale to red. Then, he lifted Ranma up by the collar of his keikogi, ready to clobber him.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!" Ranma screamed. Seeing the wild look in his opponent's eyes, he feared for his life.

"I believed in that girl!" Ryoga growled through gritted teeth. "I cared for her! Now, I find out she was just a lie, just you, playing this sick joke at my expense!"

"It was an accident!" Ranma exclaimed. "I never meant for this to happen!"

"Shut up! Ranma, I shall never forgive you for breaking my heart!"

"I saved your life, remember?"

Somehow, what Ranma said seemed to get through to him, as the hardness in his eyes seemed to soften ever so slightly. Then, just as quickly, he let Ranma go.

Without another word, Ryoga walked away, slowly back down the mountain, leaving Ranma standing there at the spring. But, just as he turned away, Ranma thought he saw tears in his eyes.

Then, it started to rain, and Ranma was shocked to discover that, just as hot water seemed to change him back into a guy, cold water did the opposite.

So, there she stood, annoyed and disgusted to have felt the joy of being a man again, only to have it stolen from her by the rain. Ironic, Ranma thought suddenly, that she, having never suffered a defeat, could be done in by something as simple as water.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, she went to change her clothes. Drying herself off with a towel, trying to wipe away the humiliation, she reached into her backpack, and pulled out a fresh shirt and pants. While the pants were nothing special, the shirt was one of her favorites, a Chinese-style tunic in a very strong red, a color Ranma thought contrasted nicely with her black hair. However, soon as she put them on, the shirt felt miserable across her chest, and the pants dug painfully at her hips. Nothing fit as comfortably as it used to. And, in the end, nothing, not even fresh clothes, could make her feel better.

"That Ranma..." Ryoga muttered to himself miserably. He was still so angry he couldn't stand even to think of him, angry because he'd been tricked. Angry because, though Ranko turned out to be a fake, the feelings he had felt for her were not. Abruptly, Ryoga wondered if there were more girls like Ranma out there, real girls, who were athletic, tomboyish, and strong.

Meanwhile, unknown to Ryoga, there was just such a girl, complete with keikogi, breaking boards at the Tendo dojo.