Ranma sighed as he watched Akane talking with Kasumi in the kitchen. It hurt to know that they were still having problems. He had met her three years ago. They had been through a lot during those years. Lately, however, the pressure was getting to be worse than ever. Especially since Shampoo and Ukyo were no longer fiancee's and Kodachi was getting some much needed help at a hospital in the US.

Everyone was trying to pressure him into marrying her, including Akane. And while he did think he loved her, he was only 17 and didn't really understand what love was. He wanted to finish school and try once more to find a cure before he thought of getting married to her. He just couldn't make her understand. He wanted to be able to provide for his family. He did not want to be like his father and freeload off of his family and friends.

Reaching a decision, he leapt off the dojo roof to the back entrance of the Tendo home. He slid open the doors and stepped inside. He changed into his house slippers and padded silently towards the kitchen. Pausing, he listened for a break in the conversation before entering. ********************************************************************* "It's just so hard, Kasumi!" Akane stated, her spoon swirling around her ice cream. "I do love him, and want to marry him. But he keeps insulting me and I get mad, and we fight."

Kasumi held back a sigh, as she dipped some more ice cream into her own bowl from the carton. She had been listening to this, and comments like this from her youngest sister for years. At least now that most of Ranma's suitors were no longer in the running, they weren't as angry. Now, they were mostly filled with longing and sorrow. Though the anger did flash now and again when Akane learned that Ranma had spent a few hours with his "sister" Ukyo and "cousin" Shampoo. 'I really must thank Khu Lon for finally admitting her relationship to Nodoka's family. It has really freed up some time for me and money for the family.'

"Tell him that Akane." Kasumi glanced at the door behind Akane, noting that it was slightly open. The tail-end of a black braid stuck into the air, letting her know who was there.

"I don't know if I can." Akane whispered, dropping her head.

"Are you still worried about the other girls, Akane?"

"A little, I guess. Even though Shampoo is his cousin, it's not like it's close enough to really mater. People a lot closer related have been married in order to preserve bloodlines. And I know Ukyo is still trying to get him. She might act like a daughter and sister when Auntie is around, but when she isn't, she acts the same she used to, trying to seduce him."

Kasumi noticed that the pigtail shot straight back and hid a smile by taking a drink of her tea. "And this angers you?"

"Of course it does! Ranma is my fiance. I love him. I think he loves me. I just don't know. He still acts like he used to, denying everything. If even just once, he would thank me when I cook for him, or treat me like a martial artist and spar with me."

"Why do you think he doesn't spar with you?"

"Because he think's I'm not good enough. That I should just stop altogether. He's always saying how bad I am and how I'll never be good enough to really spar with him." Her spoon angrily churned the melting remnants of her comfort snack.

Kasumi sighed. "Akane, you have to accept that Ranma is better than you. He will always be better. Yes, he is rude and insensitive. But think, really think about how he was raised. He was raised by his father, a man who, let us be honest, is a crude and insensitive pig. He has no idea how to behave with others. His father taught him only how to fight. He forced Ranma to lie, cheat, and steal in order to get such basic things as food and shelter. He sold Ranma a dozen times over to satisfy momentary bouts of greeds. He told Ranma that showing his emotions made him weak and girly. He held that damned contract with Nodaka over Ranma's head, forcing Ranma to bury a part of himself, the part that allows a person to show their feelings and to understand them. In many ways, Ranma is still a child. He still needs to learn what it truly is to be a man, not the type of man his father tried to make him, or that his mother wants."

"What do you mean, Kasumi?"

"Genma tried to make Ranma into a warrior, not a man. Genma's idea of a man is tied entirely into his skill as a martial artist. He neglected Ranma's education and social development in order to make him a tool, a living weapon. Nodaka's idea of a man is just as skewed. Nodaka sees Ranma as little more than a tool to continue the family line. She may care for Ranma in some way, but she cares more for the continueation of the Saotome line than anything else. Nodaka would like nothing more than if Ranma was running around with all the girls who are after him, since that would give a greater chance of his producing heirs for the family."

"You mean she wants Ranma to chase after girls?" Akane asked, her temper starting to rise. "She wants him to . . . to . .. . do that with those tramps?"

"Yes. Ranma, however, does not see it that way. This is were what I mentioned about him still being partially a child comes in. Since he did not grow up around any females he does not know how to act around them. He was always told that girls are weak, emotional babies who weren't worth anything except to take care of the home and have babies. When he started to express his emotions, Genma would call him a weak little girl since that is the worst insult he knows.

"So Ranma started to surpress that part of himself. He concentrated only on his martial arts. And when he finally came to live here, surrounded by girls and women, he didn't know how to respond to them, so he was stuck. He treats you the way a very young boy treats all girls. He is rude and insulting because that is all he knows. Genma was always rude and degrading towards him, so he thinks that's how you treat people. When he insults your skills, he is trying to goad you into proving him wrong. He is trying to make you better.

"Whether he really knows and understands it or not, Ranma is very much in love with you. He has been for almost as long as he's known you. Think about the way he treats you and the way he treats the others. Yes he insults you and laughs at you, but he is polite to Ukyo since she was an old friend and tries to ignore Shampoo. Kodachi is insane and he always avoids her. Despite his superior skills he allows you to hit him constantly. He never strikes at you, under any circumstance."

"But he does that to everyone!" Akane stated angrily.

"Not the way he does to you, Akane. Ranma has, on occasion struck other girls, despite his claims to the contrary. It's you, that he has never struck."

Akane gripped her teacup tighter. "And what does that say about what he thinks of me? He thinks I'm not good enough to hit, even in sparring. How am I supposed to get better, if he refuses to teach me."

Kasumi put down her bowl. "Have you ever asked him to teach you, Akane? Or have you only tried to scream and hit him into fighting you? Ask him calmly, Akane, and I'm sure you'll be surprised by his reply. As I said, he thinks you're playing with him the way boys and girls do when they are young. Since you've never really asked him to teach you, only to hit you during a sparring session, it hasn't occured to him to actually volunteer to help you get better."

"Ranma still thinks like a little boy? Do you think. .. do you think there's something wrong with him?" Akane asked in a small voice. "You know, physically? Because he's hit in the head a lot even when it's not me."

Kasumi thought for a moment. "I don't know. But I would hate to say one way or the other without knowing more about some of Saotome-san's training. Given how quickly the rest of him heals I really don't want to guess. I suppose to really know, we'd have to get him to agree to some tests. I know of a few things that could affect him like that."

Ranma shoved open the door and stomped into the room. "There ain't nothing wrong with me and I ain't a little boy!"

"I am not saying you are not an excellent martial artist Ranma, and you are a fine specimen of manhood. I am simply saying that you are not able to think like a fully mature man."

"Huh? What's all that mean?" He asked, his anger vanishing in his confusion. Confusion was a state with which Ranma was very familiar.

"It means that when Shampoo would hug you and rub against you, or Kodachi ould expose herself to you you would not react physically the way a mature man would." Ranma still looked like he had no clue what she was saying, but Kasumi could see that Akane was catching on. She nodded at the questioning look that appeared on Akane's face. 'That's right, sister. Ranma does not react like any man or teen boy does.' She hid a grin by taking a sip of tea. Akane was just know getting what she had been trying to say for the last few minutes.

"It means that instead of being aroused when Shampoo or the others jump all over you, you freeze, not knowing what you're supposed to do but knowing that there is something you should be doing."

"What's aroused? Is it like angry? 'Cause I hate it when they grope me and grab me." Ranma was trully confused. He had heard the word before by some of the guys at school, but he had been too nervous to ask what they were talking about or what they were saying meant.

Kasumi couldn't help a small grin. "Well, sometime arousal can be related to anger but it's not the healthiest way to express either. Arousal is . . .well its a feeling and a physical state people get when you look at someone you really like and want to spend time with."

"So what you're saying is that even when I'm with someone I like, I don't get . . .aroused?" Ranma asked, his face still showing confusion and embarrassement. He had a hard time expressing himself in any way other than agression due to his father's training methods.

Kasumi gave a gentle smile. "That's right. And that's all I meant when I said you were still a boy. You treat people the way young children treat others that they like but don't understand how the feelings are different from the ones they have for parents or siblings."

Ranma frowned. He thought about hte conversation he had overhead, wondering what it all meant. He had a vague understanding of the differences between boys and girls, thanks to his curse. He had a vague notion that it took a man and a woman doing something together to make a baby, but he had never really understood what his friends were talking about when they whispered things in the locker rooms and hidden area's at school. He would play along, not wanting to stick out, and deny anything when they mentioned him and Akane or one of his other fiancee's even though he didn't understand what he was denying. He knew that it had something to do with being a pervert, but he couldn't understand what made something perverted.

"Could. . .could Akane be right? About me being hit in the head making me like this?" he asked. He knew that sometimes when he tried to think about things, his head hurt more than usual and his mind was pretty foggy. He had trouble concentrating on anything and that's why his mouth spouted off things he knew would end up with him getting smashed by Akane. The only time he really had a clear mind was when he was a girl. He gulped and continued. "I . .. have trouble thinkin'. It's like my mind is foggy. I can't stop myself sayin' things I don't wanna say. It's a little clearer and easier when I. . .. when I'm a girl." he finished in a whisper.

Akane felt her heart swell with conflicting emotions. She knew, more than anyone else, how much such an admission would cost her fiance. She reached out and hugged Ranma, who stiffened at her touch. She held him until he relaxed, slowly and fearfully placing his own arms around her.

"I'm sorry Ranma. I'm sorry I was so mean to you." she stated, holding her fiance tightly.

"Uh. .. you weren't ever mean to me, Akane." Ranma replied, looking over to Kasumi for help. She simply smiled at him through her watery eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"No you're not, Ranma! You father did stupid things to you in the name of training, things that did something to your head. And since the day you've got here, I've been adding to the problem by hitting you everytime you said or did something I was scared of."

"Nothin' wrong with that, Akane. Pops always hitting me when I do something bad."

"That's not right, Ranma! It's not right to hit people because you're angry!" Akane stated, unconciously repeating what Kasumi had said to her sometime ago. "I've been mean to you. I had promised Kasumi that I would stop hitting people. .. that I would stop hitting you when I got angry. But I . .. couldn't stop either. I was just so scared of loosing you to one of those bimbos. They were always throwing themselves at you, touching like I wanted to but couldn't." Akane moved a bit away from Ranma, one hand reaching up to carress his handsome face. "I love you Ranma. I have for a long time. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you."

Ranma was in shock. He had known that Akane had cared for him, but he didn't know how. He wasn't sure what to say, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from Akane's eyes. "I ...I think I love you too, Akane, but I don't know nothin' about love. I . .. think maybe I should go and see the Doc. Maybe he can help?"

Kasumi smiled and finished her cup of tea. She had waited for some time for a moment like this. "I think that is an excellent idea, Ranma. He'll be able to get you tested in both forms without too much trouble."

"Huh? Why would I need to be tested in both forms?" he asked.

Kasumi lowered her smile a notch or two. "You did say that things were clearer when you are female, Ranma. By testing both forms, they might find out more quickly what is wrong, if anything. We don't know if something is really wrong, or if its just the way your father raised you, after all." She leaned back on her heels a little, nervous about his reaction to her next question.

"When you're a girl, aside from thinking more clearly, have you noticed anything else different between your reactions?"

Ranma frowned and subconciously squeezed Akane tighter. He wasn't sure exactly what Kasumi was asking, but he thought it might have to do with the feeling he got when he was around Akane and sometimes when the others would grope him. "Ah, I don't really know what you mean." he confessed. He looked at Akane to see if she had a clue about if Kasumi meant what he thought.

Akane was a little quicker at getting what Kasumi was asking and eased out of Ranma's arms, her cheeks blushing. "She means does your female body do anything you don't really understand."

Ranma's blushed soon matched hers. "I guess. Sometimes, when I look at you and you're smillin' and happy, I get this fluttery feeling in my stomach and I get this weird, wet feeling down there. And when you touch me, my boobs feel weird and the tips get hard and start poking into my shirt." He looked around guiltily before finishing in a whisper. "It feels kinda good."

Kasumi nodded as though she had expected him to say that. "That is arousal, Ranma. That feeling that you want to touch and be touched by someone, especially someone you care for. Your nipples getting hard are usually a sign of excitement, but it also happens when you get cold. The erm, the wet feeling is how a woman's body reacts to excitement. The more excited you get, the wetter you feel there." 'God, how did I get myself into this? Having to explain all this to Akane was bad enough, but now explaining it to Ranma with Akane right here?' she wondered to herself.

Ranma's scowled. "So I get aroused as a girl, but not a guy? How would I tell when I'm a guy?"

Kasumi giggled and Akane had to face away. "Believe me Ranma, you would notice if you were aroused as a man."

"uh, if you say so, I guess."

Akane had a question for him. "You said that when I touch you, your nipples get hard. Is it only me that you makes you feel that way?"

Ranma gulped. His danger sense had just spiked through the roof. Even he was able to see that this was a trap of some kind. "Yeah, mostly. Sometimes when the others do it, I'm thinking about you before they grab me."

"Even when the others are gropping you and rubbing against you and kissing you? You only react when you think of me?" Akane asked in disbelief.

Ranma reached up with his left hand to fiddle with his pigtail. "Uh, yeah. I hate it when they do that. It makes me feel like a toy or a piece of meat. I like it more when you hit me than when they grab me."

Akane started. "You like it when I hit you?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Sure, a little I guess. I'd much rather have you hitting me with your mallet then have them grabbing me. You think Shampoo's bad when you're there, you should see what she does when she catches me alone."

Akane's anger started to reach critical. "What does that hussy do?"

"She's always grabbing my crotch and squeezing hard. It hurts a lot, but she just says that she'll make me be a man. She shoves her hands into my pants to grab me sometimes. I don't really understand why she grabs me there." He looked at them, a strange look crossing his face. "Is it because that's what changes when a guy gets aroused? Hiroshi and Daisuke are always shoving hentai pictures in my face and asking if I'd done whatever was in the pictures."

Kasumi reached out and placed a hand on her sister arm, restraining her from leaving to attack Shampoo for touching Ranma. "Yes Ranma. When a man is aroused, his asoko will get stiff and grow longer and wider." Seeing the questioning look on his face, Kasumi continued. "It gets like that so that it can be pushed into a woman's mizaki."

Ranma's face took on a green sheen. "Is that what all those perverts want to do to me? To Akane? They want to shove it inside us?"

Kasumi was blushing almost as furiously as Akane now. "Yes Ranma. That wet feeling you mentioned? That's how a woman's body gets ready to have an asoko pushed in. Otherwise, it's very painful for the woman."

Ranma looked disgusted. "But I don't get like that for anyone but Akane! And she doesn't have a ...a penis! So why do I get like that?"

Kasumi sighed. "It's a reaction to your feelings for someone, Ranma, not a statement that you want to have a man inside you. Just because your body reacts that way, doesn't mean that you neccessarily want a penis inside you, just that you want the person you love to touch you and bring you pleasure."

"Pleasure? But you just said that it hurts!"

Kasumi rubbed her eyes and looked at Akane to see if she would be of no help. Catching the look on her sister's face Kasumi realized that she was on her own.

"Ranma, it hurts if the woman isn't ready. She isn't ready if she isn't excited enough. Being excited means her body will produce a fluid, a lubricant, to make it easier for an asoko to slid in her. But it doesn't mean that a woman can't receive pleasure from something other than an asoko. In fact, most woman have a difficult time getting pleasure from penetrative sex." She held up a hand to forestall his questions. "That means that they while they might; I stress that they might, receive some pleasure from an asoko inside them, most woman can't orgasm from that alone. And before I explain what an orgasm is, I think we should stop this discussion until after you talk to Dr. Tofu. I think he'd be able to explain all this better than I have."

Ranma was confused but more than ready to end the weird conversation. He had come into the house to find Akane and explain that he didn't even like the other's who were always chasing him, and that while he thought he loved her, he didn't really know what love was. He was going to ask her if she could wait a little until he understood what love was before they tried any more weddings. Somehow, this had turned into a discussion regarding him being a child and then an explaination about sex, which he still had a hard time understanding despite Kasumi's explaination. "I guess that's a good idea. I need to think about all this." He realized that he was still holding Akane and that she hadn't bashed him and he let go, praying that she wouldn't hammer him.

Akane giggled at Ranma's reaction. "Don't worry, Ranma. I promise I'll try to control myself from bashing you. I was just so scared that you didn't care about me at all." She looked at him with her big smile and watery eyes, a combination that never failed to make him feel better.

Ranma fiddled with his pigtail. "Ah, do you want to go train some? I promise I'll try to hit you, but I won't hit you hard. You ain't Ryoga or Mousse. I don't want to hurt you by accident."

Akane's smile grew even bigger and Ranma felt a strange feeling in his chest. "Sure! I'll go get in a gi and meet you there." She stood and started out of the room, coming back a moment later and throwing her arms around his neck. She kissed him soundly. After a few breathless moments, she let go and ran up to her room, giggling all the way.

Ranma stared at the place she had just vacated, his hand coming up to his lips. 'Wow.' he thought to himself. 'I don't know what that was but I hope it happens again.'

Kasumi smiled happily at her soon to be brother. "Ranma, why don't you go to the dojo? I'll call Tofu-san and set up an appointment for you. Is tomorrow alright?"

Ranma's head snapped to face her. "Um, sure. Tomorrow's fine. After school or should we skip it?" He had a feeling that the tests would be long and boring and he wasn't really looking forward to them.

"I guess I'll try for after lunch. That way you and Akane can go to school in the morning at least." she answered as she stood and glidded over to the phone.

"Okay then. When Akane comes down, tell her I'm in the dojo." Ranma walked out of the room, his mind still puzzling together the odd discussion. Most of it was still beyond him, though he was clearer on some things then he had ever been before. Unfortunately, his new clarity simply served to make him more confused then ever.