The birthday girl took a deep breath, squinted at her elder sister in anger, and was about to place her hands on her hips, as a sudden thought seemed to strike her. She quickly averted her eyes from those of her sister, daring a quick side glance at her fiancé, who was idly shuffling his feet and looking at the ceiling. Crossing her arms, the young girl then rather decided to shoot the perpetrator a scornful look than to look directly at Kasumi, who had followed this surprising change of heart with a raised eyebrow.

"She took a photo of me in my bed," she accused her sister. "And now I'd like to have her camera, so I can get rid of it!"

"Lying does not become you well, my dear little Akane," remarked the devil on her sister's shoulder with a grin, before she had the chance to comment on the situation. "Now, it wasn't just a picture of you in your bed, was it?"

Blushing a redder shade of scarlet at both her sister's twisted words and the resulting implication as well as her fiancé's kind gestures, the young woman tried to defend herself against the disapproving look of the new devil's advocate; however, all her heated denials were stuck in her throat and Ranma turning pale was no real help either. In her desperation, Akane grabbed the sleeve of her friend's red shirt and gave it a tug, urging him to say something in her stead, yet gaining nothing but another, even more strongly disapproving look by her sister.

"Put two and two together, sis," Nabiki said in a whisper, waving her camera at the open window. "Why do you think they want the camera so badly? Why won't your dear little sister, who's always so eager to yell at her fiancé, defend herself? Why is she blushing?"

"Ranma?" Kasumi demanded in her sweetest, frighteningly calm voice that seemed to be able to cut a swatch of ice through the ever burning fire of the young pair's hearts. "What did you do with my little sister?"

"I didn't do nothing!" he exclaimed shocked.

In the wake of the ensuing chaos, Nabiki seized her chance and turned around to the open window. Quickly checking whether the three adults were still arguing about the non-existent incident, the brown-haired demon handed the camera to seemingly nobody. For a few seconds, the apparatus dangled uselessly in the air. Suddenly, however, a small figure appeared out of nowhere, clad in black robes and kneeling before the young girl.

"You knew I was here?" the personal servant of the Kuno household asked in surprise.

"I hoped you were here," she answered truthfully, urging him to take her camera. "Then again, where else would you be? Both of your masters seem to have taken an unhealthy interest in the persons living in this house, haven't they?"

"That they have done," he agreed with her, bowing his head in respect. "What shall I do with this? Is it a gift for my master?"

"No, it's not," she said, quickly turning around to see whether she had any time left. "I need you to do me a solid. Please develop the pictures on the film and bring them back to me. It is a birthday present for my little sister. Under no circumstances are you to give them to one of your masters or anyone else .Can you do that for me? "

"Of course," Sasuke bowed. "It will only take me a minute. You know how a solid works, though?"

"Yes," Nabiki sighed. "What do you want in return?"

"I would highly appreciate it if you could try and get along with my master, as you would phrase it," he said. "I think a steady and good, eh, influence would become him very well and hopefully make his orders seem less suicidal."

"I can try," the young woman agreed with a slight smile on her lips and looked at her watch. "Speaking of the devil, I thought he would be here by now in order to congratulate my little sister."

"I think he will be here momentarily," he answered with another bow and left the scene as quickly as he had entered it. "Farewell!"

The brown-haired woman turned around to her sisters again and tried to stifle a laugh as she saw the blatantly obvious defensive body language of the otherwise proud and fearless martial artists. While Kasumi appeared to lecture them, the blushing youths seemed to be awfully eager to clear up the misunderstanding. Seeing that it was her baby sister's birthday, Nabiki decided to intervene and tapped Kasumi on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kasumi. I just took a picture of Akane having breakfast in bed," Nabiki told her and turned to her other sister next. "Don't look at me like that, Akane. The camera is already gone - and I promise I won't sell the picture. I just want to have it as a memento. Which reminds me: if you want to avoid an all too exaggerated present by your most outspoken admirer, you could do worse than go for a walk now. "

The mighty wings of the brisk, but bland wind wafted a single feather of the majestic plumage of a brilliantly white dove that seemed to merge with the vast sea of ​​clouds in the far distance, while a ray of pure sunlight broke through them and asked the fading dove for a dance on its way to blissful oblivion. Its single feather floated through the devastating gray of the city towards a small channel, an invigorating oasis of life and nature amidst the barren concrete of the city's suburbs. As though it were a stroke of fate, the breeze abated for a moment, driving the feather towards a small path next to the channel and into the raven hair of a certain martial artist.

The young man, who had just been saying something to his companion, stopped walking and talking to get the feathery object from his hair, but instead raveled it further into it. Just as he groaned, though, he felt the gently touch of fingers on the back of his hand, silently asking him to let them do his work. The puzzled man turned around and found the gorgeous hazel eyes of his fiancée twinkling at him, while a charming smile enlightened her bright features and her fingers combed through his hair.

Every touch of her smooth fingers felt like a drop of hot water running down his spine, pouring down a warm and fuzzy feeling through every pore of his very being. His heart beat fast than ever as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the intense feeling of the wind on his skin and the electrifying touch of his companion. Then, after a few seconds or minutes or hours - the young man could not tell what amount of time had passed - the birthday girl took the feather out of his hair and put it back in vertically.The martial artist opened his eyes again and looked at her questioningly.

"I think it suits you," she answered his unspoken question with a smile. "By the way, thanks again for taking me out for a walk. I really didn't want to face Kuno this early in the morning."

"I know what you mean," he sighed as an answer, rolling his eyes. "That guy really gives me the creeps sometimes. I mean, talk about obsession."

"Right on," she agreed, laughing wholeheartedly. "Talking about obsession: aren't you normally obsessed with walking on the fence rather than walking beside me?"

"Nah, it's got nothing to do with you, it's just training, plain and simple," he answered, putting his hands behind his head. "I figured I could skip it just this once. It's not like I'm gonna need it anymore or something."

"You consider this training?" Akane asked incredulously.

"Hey, cut me some slack! It's harder than it looks from down there," he defended himself automatically. "Why don't you try it for a change and see how well you do? I bet you can't make it halfway to school before you fall down."

"Pshaw! You're on!" Akane sneered and got ready to climb the fence, as her fiancée's hand stopped her, his face averted from hers.

Blind rage clouded her vision at first as she heard his poisonous words. Could he not at least refrain from insulting her at her birthday? But soon she realized that he was not mocking her; he was serious and her fury quickly turned to bitter disappointment. Did he really think so poorly of her as a martial artist? Did he really think that she could not even take a few steps on a fence? After his behavior following their adventure in China, after his gestures this morning she thought she had gained his respect. She would not talk let alone think about love, because she knew that she could never be his equal, a challenge, but she thought she had gained his respect.

"On second thought," he told her, "you may wanna postpone that bet till you got something appropriate to wear."

Akane swiftly dismissed her thoughts and looked down at herself. She wore her favorite white dress and the silky fabric of the light skirt barely covered her knees. Imagining how she walked on the fence, her skirt getting caught in a slight breeze, the young girl blushed. After a moment, another idea struck her.

"What if you walk behind me on the fence?" she asked. "I mean, there's no one around this early in the morning and we won't have to worry about anything, right?"

And soon enough, the young woman was standing on the small fence, her fiancée a couple of feet behind her. Cautiously she took the first few steps on the uneven and unfamiliar path, gaining confidence due to the seeming easiness of the task. Then, having taken a few steps, Akane walked more quickly until she broke into a light jog, dismissing the warnings of the young man behind her. The dazzling feeling of being above everything, of being above all others, the taste of freedom clouded her judgment. She jogged even more quickly, ran as fast as the wind, and misplaced her right foot. Akane knew that her speed and the momentum of her slipping left foot left her no chance to balance herself.She knew that she would fall and that it would hurt. She knew that she should have heeded the warnings and braced herself for the unavoidable fall, as she felt two strong hands on her hips, holding her right in place.

"I told you so!" he sighed. "It's not as