Child of Innocence
By Lord Overon
Part VIII
Time was always an element of the universe that was held precious. It was something not to be messed with and interfering with time was not taken lightly by the powers that be. That was why it was protected and coddled at all cost. One of the servants called to this duty was refraining from peeking into time for exactly that reason. He knew where his interests lay and after one brief trip he had not ventured into time or dimensional travel further. It was true that he was nowhere near his previous strength but travel did not take as much out of him as one would think. Especially since he did have some extra time to recuperate.
"Are you still worried?" she asked him, though it sounded more as a statement as they sat in the hammock overlooking the beach. The sea breeze was refreshing, as were the occasional dips in the ocean. That, along with the ample shade provided by the coconut trees littered upon the sandy beaches of the coast of Tobago, the revered Isle of Crusoe, would be a paradise capable of whisking away anyone’s troubles. However, that was not the case for the two adults on the beach. Their worries were far more difficult to ease.
"I can’t stop worrying. In a sense they are both my children," he replied as he hugged a small bundle in his hands.
She kissed him softly on the cheek. "It’ll be okay," she reassured him softly.
"I hope so."
"You worry to much," she whispered.
"You seem confident," he replied. She almost felt like giggling at the remark since it was coming from a person whom she suspected never had a lack of that attribute.
"I have you again…with me. That gives me confidence."
He smiled. Her words had soothed his troubled mind slightly. He knew she was also worried but it seemed she had better control of the darker emotions than he had. No that was wrong, she simply had better control for a few of those emotions. He never could hide when he was worried about something. He hated that feeling of helplessness that came with waiting, knowing that there was nothing you could do to aid the child you had raised for over sixteen years.
"Besides," she continued. "She's more like you in the Art. Confident, unrelenting..."
"And as stubborn as her mother," continued Ranma earning him a jab on the arm.
"You should listen to your wife more often," responded an amused voice.
Both heads swiveled around.
"T’hania!"
"It’s nice to be so well known," she giggled. Then she saw the stern serious faces of the two. "What?"
"Well…" responded Ranma with great annoyance. "What happened!"
"Hmm…Sano died, then the demon died and now No-chan has gone after Sano."
Ranma let the words sink in having learned in the past to digest information before reacting. "Thank goodness…" he sighed in relief much to Akane’s shock. She could not believe that he could be so callous.
"Your son is dead and you’re happy!" asked Akane incredulously.
"Yes," replied Ranma simply. "He did not belong there so he went back where he belonged."
"What!"
"He belonged to another world so he went back to his home."
"You mean he’s not dead?" she asked, a little confused as the meaning of his words was totally over her head.
"No, he’s dead in the pocket dimension that they went to. Pocket dimensions don’t exist in the real-time plane unless you are directly connected to a spiritual being. He was not connected so he’s been ferried back home."
Akane’s eyebrow’s raised in her complete confusion. Ranma smiled. Maybe he should just tell her in simple terms.
"He’s alive…and No-chan has gone after him."
"Oh…okay," she replied. She did not understand most of what he had said previously but she understood the underlying message: they were alive and the danger was gone.
Ranma hugged her tightly and took a deep breath to calm his rampant emotions. He kissed the crown of her head then extended one hand and created a small portal in front of them. "Let’s go see how they are doing."
He was just about to go in when Akane held his arm preventing him. He turned to her completely confused as she vigorously shook her head. Ranma raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Remember when we were younger we were never given any privacy?"
Ranma nodded, though he still did not understand her actual intentions. She nudged him in the ribs.
"We should give them a little privacy."
"Oh…(smile) I knew I married you for a reason," he quipped. She punched him tenderly on the arm then took the bundle away from him once again. As she prepared, he realized it was that time again.
"Ranma, I’ll see you later," promised T’hania before she disappeared. Ranma nodded then turned to his wife. "When should we visit them? I doubt they can get back by themselves."
"Oh I think in a few hours. That should give them enough time to get reacquainted."
Ranma chuckled a little then sat down to assist his wife whom, although she did not need any help, did not mind her husband’s doting, nor the presence of his warm hands.
**************
She fell to the ground and rolled with the impact. After all the kinetic energy dispersed, she let her senses run free, searching for that little ki signature she knew would be in the area. She felt it roughly to her left and she sprinted away, using the source of ki as a beacon. She knew that aura anywhere. She had memorized its signature a long time ago.
In seconds she had closed the distance and then suddenly stopped as she reached a small clearing that was filled with leaves and flowers. She dove into the pile sending the flowers and leaves airborne and as soon as she found her target she pulled him out with yank. In seconds she had diagnosed his condition. From what little she knew if he had returned to his home world after being killed, the spirit ferrying his soul would sustain his soul in his body for only so long.
She checked his vital signs. He was not breathing but his heart was still beating, though faintly. There was still time to bring him back. She took a deep breath, pinched his nose, pried his mouth open and began to give him resuscitation.
Five minutes later she was still continuing her repetitions while checking his pulse intermittently when suddenly he coughed. Surprised she released him for a second then realizing what had happened she turned him onto his side. Somehow he able to cough and, in one huge heave, he vomited out an unsightly tide of semi-clotted blood.
After a few more coughs, he tried to turn onto his back, but Nodoka held him and pulled him into her lap raising his head to rest on her shoulder. She waited for him to wake up for he had yet to open his eyes then, as she continued to hold him, his breathing changed to a slow continuous rhythm. She continued to cradle him in her lap as she waited for him to recover.
As usual, since she was not a morning person, she awoke with a slight bit of vertigo. Thus, she missed her state of dress or the fact that she had her arm draped over something warm. Heedless of this fact, she continued to lie in that semi-conscious state until an errant beam of sunlight managed to strike one of the handheld mirrors on the scantily decorated dressing table. The said beam was then reflected onto the bed and as the wind suddenly gusted, the drapes that had covered most of the window, parted. The result was a blinding stream of light being forced onto the faces of the two sleeping occupants of the bed.
One yawned and stretched while the other did not budge. Mostly awake, Nodoka was pleased to find herself in her old room after a brief scan, and yawning again she slid off the bed. Groggily she walked into the living room of the house. It was not a big house, and all the rooms were connected to a large central living room. There she found both parents in the kitchen as she peered around.
"Mom?" she called, and when both turned their heads she briefly tried to remember what she had previously decided to call them. Which one was mom, and which one was dad again? Fortunately she was saved from having to make an on the spot memory recall.
"What’s that smell?" asked Sano as he propped himself on the doorway.
"Sano!" exclaimed Nodoka, "You should be in bed!"
"I’m okay. I’m just hungry," he answered as he shrugged off her attempts to usher him back to bed leaving her slightly annoyed. She voiced her disapproval quite clearly.
"Look I don’t care how good you feel. You need your rest and you’re going back to bed," she told him in no uncertain terms and she wagged her finger in front of his face.
He screwed up his face at her and turned to Ranma. "Dad what do you think?"
Ranma-chan shook her head disapprovingly. "You kids quarrel too much. You don’t see Akane and I quarrelling so much do you?" she posed. She shook her head again and sighed as the two continued their miniature battle of wills. "Come here Sano," she ordered. He obeyed and followed her to the kitchen. "Here drink this," she told him as she handed him a cup of tea.
"Uhh…that’s awful," he replied as he took the first sip of it.
"No one ever said medicine had to taste good," responded Akane as she made the final touches to something she had been working on earlier that morning- with Ranma's help of course. (Remember, miracles don't happen overnight so neither can Akane cook edible food all by her lonesome. Murphy's law forbids it.)
Sano grimaced slightly then closed his eyes and drank all the liquid in one swig. He screwed up his face once again before Akane ushered them both to the table.
"Now you two sit and eat," she told them. They complied and were soon eating some of the food Ranma had cooked since Akane’s cooking still lacked taste. Akane's was edible but not really the sort of thing you wanted if you felt for real food. Soon Sano and Nodoka were scarfing down food at unfathomable rates while Ranma and Akane entered another room. The pair of teens didn't even notice Akane's beam when they unknowingly devoured her dish. Though Ranma's food might have given it a bit of taste when mixed in.
When all the food (a considerable amount) had disappeared from the table, Sano burped loudly and quickly covered his mouth while Nodoka just rubbed her stomach and smiled.
"Nothing like mom’s cooking to start the day," noted Nodoka.
"I know what you mean," he replied lazily. Then, he heard a strange gurgling sound. That was something new…
"Hey, do you have any animals that make high-pitched gurgling noises?" he asked Nodoka.
"Me? No…why?"
"Cause I just heard something from that room," he replied as he indicated the room with a shake of his head.
"That’s the room mom went in," added Nodoka pushing her chair back.
"Uh…maybe we should leave them alone."
A little squeal came from behind the closed door to the room and as soon as Sano saw Nodoka’s eyes, he somehow knew that he had no chance of changing her mind. In the end he did not even attempt to sway her. With a sigh he followed her as she marched to the door and pushed it open. He did not expect what he saw inside.
Ranma (male) was sitting against the wooden wall of the house with Akane lying in his lap. That was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was the little child that sat on Akane’s chest trying to catch a floating sphere that bounced to and fro dodging his attempts to catch it. The little child squealed in delight as it moved to dodge his attempts and as the color of the sphere change every so often to produce a dazzling light show. Akane giggled as she tried to keep the little baby from falling off her chest as it attempted to catch the ball. It tried vainly to get to its feet but it was no where ready for that step in development, so instead, it got up and then fell back down again numerous times, with Akane’s hands making sure it fell without harm.
"Oh No-chan," exclaimed Ranma. "This is your little brother, Shintaro."
"I have a little brother….I have a little brother!" she shouted, then she took Sano and hugged him before she danced a little jig. Sano flushed red as Nodoka took him in her hands, then she dropped him brusquely on the floor and hurried over to her little brother. She took him in her hands, hugged him then twirled him around and around. Shintaro did not seem to care whose hands he was in since he laughed as Nodoka started to play with him. When Nodoka took him into the living room Sano sighed.
"I take it she likes children?" Sano asked Ranma. "Yep," he replied. "You don’t know how many times she tried to get me to go out."
"Did she?" asked Akane suddenly interested. Sano made a quick escape. Ranma weighed his options.
"Uh…yeah, of course I didn’t."
"Of course you didn’t," replied Akane slightly. "And if you want this discussion to disappear you had better kiss me." It did not take Ranma a very long time to employ her suggestion.
Soon they came out of the room and when they appeared they were in full dress. "Are you guys getting ready?" asked Ranma.
"Mapa!" called Shintaro as he reached for his father.
"Mapa?" exclaimed Nodoka then she saw the logic in it. "Oh I see…"
"What are we getting ready for?" interrupted Sano.
"To go dancing…" replied Akane.
"Dancing?" exclaimed Sano and Nodoka simultaneously.
"Of course," replied Ranma. "We have to celebrate, isn’t that right Shin-chan?"
The little baby gurgled another time as his father spoke and reached to pull Ranma’s hair. Ranma did not move to stop him and when he turned his attention back to the teenagers they were still there.
"Are you two going to change?" he asked.
Both looked at each other and ran for Nodoka’s room, Sano never had a chance and met the door head on. As he picked himself up from the floor, Akane showed him to his room.
"How long will it take for them to get ready?" asked Akane.
"Don’t know?" responded Ranma as he entertained his son.
Late that night, all four walked into the restaurant and returned to the table they had sat at the previous night. Shintaro was asleep in Akane’s arms while Ranma pulled out a chair for her to sit. Sano followed his father’s example and pulled out a chair for Nodoka to sit. Both women smiled as they sat and light conversation flowed as the night continued. Soon enough, the tables were moved for the second part of the evening.
As the music began and the people flowed in, Ranma and Akane pointed to the balcony they would be in as they left the teens alone. Nodoka still had recurring memories of what might have happened in the other dimension and Sano had less than a microsecond to reply to Ranma before Nodoka pulled him onto the dance floor. For some reason she just felt she needed to be close to him.
The parents paid hardly any attention to the pair as they squeezed through to the balcony. Nodoka had however, pulled Sano to a corner of the room just under one of the speakers and put her hands around his waist. Sano however, with his limited exposure to being intimate with woman was more conservative in his actions, especially since he was dealing with a woman whose whims and rapid emotional changes had him thoroughly confused. So, he placed his hands, one under her shoulder, and the other around her back. Then he began to dictate the pace of their dancing. At first they danced sprightly to the pace of the music but as the DJ intended, the music slowed ever so slowly to entice those dancing into a romantic mood. It worked as Nodoka and Sano were soon dancing at a crawling pace, Sano’s hands having fallen to the small of Nodoka’s back and Nodoka’s head resting comfortably on his shoulder. Both had their eyes closed and Sano rest his head upon hers breathing in the scent of her shampoo and perfume.
Nodoka was lost in her thoughts as the soft soothing melodies lulled her into a contemplative trance. As warms hands encircled her, her thoughts drifted back to those warm hands as they encircled her body on the bed and as they kept her from harm in the wasteland. Then her thoughts drifted again and she remembered the sword flying towards him. She looked in horror as it pierced his body and there was nothing she could do to help him. She remembered holding him in her arms as he tried to stop the bleeding, as he pushed her hands away as he died in her arms.
Sano felt her tensing in his arms and saw the tear that appeared in her eye.
"Nodoka, what’s wrong?" he asked softly.
"Just hold me…" she replied softly.
He wanted to say something else but he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just kept quiet and held her as she asked. After a few tense filled moments she raised her head and stared into his eyes.
"Sano…I…I have something to say…."
Sano was completely taken aback by her. She was acting very strange at the moment. She actually looked a bit fearful as opposed to her normal overconfident self. That really was strange. Had their adventure affected her this badly?
"I…I think…I’m in…I think I like you…"
Sano was frozen for a second as Nodoka waited for an answer. Getting no response she turned to move away but as she made her first step to move she felt two arms encircle her waist and the hot breath of someone behind her ear.
"I think I like you too," he whispered softly into her ears. She turned around in his arms, her eyes glittering even in the dim light and wrapped her hands behind his neck pulling his head down slightly. He though, didn’t need any instigation as he was already slowly bending his head down to meet her. Eyes closed their lips brushed each other. The dry skin of their lips clung to each other as they held each other and at the break of contact, Nodoka almost began to open her eyes. Before she could though, she felt something wet against her lips and gave in to the pleasure from that contact. They did not part for quite some time.
"What are you doing now?" asked Akane as she breast-fed Shintaro who had decided to wake up. She was comfortably hidden from the public’s eyes on the deserted balcony. "Oh just saving a moment for the future," replied Ranma cryptically. "Somehow, I don’t think you’re telling the truth," remarked Akane. Ranma flashed her one of those smiles that set her heart thumping again. "You’ll see it, if No-chan ever let’s you."
"And why wouldn’t she want her father to see whatever you just did?" asked Akane as Shintaro finished his suckling. "Let’s just say it’s the same reason why I’m not getting involved when she tells you she wants to get married."
Akane wagged her finger at Ranma after she tucked Sano into a little crib. "Now I know there’s something you’re not telling me," she told him as she folded her arms in front of her chest. Ranma took her in his arms.
"Let’s just call it mother’s intuition."
That caused Akane to give Ranma an evil glare. Ranma looked a bit miffed but both knew that they were acting, and as Ranma started to ward her off as she approached him, begging her not to hurt him, or turn him into sushi, she could not help but giggle. Unfortunately for her, he did not stop there. He fell on his knees begging her not to feed him to her pet piranhas, tigers, bears or lions. With every word he crawled closer towards her on his feet. She did not pay him any attention, and that was her greatest downfall. As soon as he reached her, he began to tickle her in places usually reserved for their late night fun. Unable to resist his attacks, she fell into a bout of uncontrollable laughter and Ranma soon had her to her knees. She had to give some kind of struggle and Ranma was winning until he felt a slight tap on his head. Looking up, he found a creeping Shintaro laughing and play-hitting him on his head. His moment of distraction proved his downfall as Akane flipped him over and sat on him. Then she placed Shintaro on his chest. Ranma couldn’t help but laugh as his son still continued to tap him on his chest, a baby version of punching. Akane couldn’t help but smile too and she began to tickle Shintaro’s feet. Shintaro screamed in delight and tried to beat his father while evading his mother’s fingers. Unsuccessful in his attempt, he turned around as he sat on his father’s chest and began to beat his mom. Akane did him a favor by lying on top of Ranma stomach making it easy for her son to tap her on the face. Shintaro wasted no time in beating up his mom who encouraged him by play-acting that she was hurt.
"Akane, is that you?" asked someone.
Akane twisted her head slightly to find a familiar person staring at her, actually two people.
"Nabiki! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Akane scrambling off Ranma with the baby in her hands.
"Oh, just dancing with, my husband. After all I don't see him as often. But what about you? It seems that you have been hiding out on me. Who is this man, that child and what did you do to your hair?"
"Oh well I just grew it a bit longer. I think it looks more stylish that way...this little child here, well, he's your nephew...and that man is your brother-in-law," replied Akane. She had learnt how to speak deceptively after meeting all those deities who liked to create a bit of chaos.
Nabiki and her husband froze for a second
"Y...you're married!' exclaimed Nabiki totally surprised for the first time in her life. But then, this did not make sense. If Akane had a child, Nabiki would know of it since she had lived on and off in the Dojo over the years. "That's impossible!"
"Well, maybe for you Nabiki, but not for me," answered Akane. "Let me introduce my husband." Ranma stepped forward. "Nabiki, this is Ranma, I think you know him from before," she quipped.
Ranma made a little bow in front of Nabiki. "It's a pleasure to meet you Nabiki."
Nabiki could only stare stupidly. Her jaw dropped and her mouth remained opened in her daze. Akane giggled as she pictured Nabiki capturing flies in her gaping mouth. Nabiki caught herself after a few minutes.
"R...Ranma, is that...is that really you?" she asked.
"Hai."
"Oh Ranma it's so good to see you!" exclaimed Nabiki as she grabbed him and hugged him tightly. Ranma's face turned blue from Nabiki's hug. Then as quickly as she hugged him she pushed him away and slapped him in the face.
"Nabiki!" shouted Akane indignantly. Nabiki however never heard her.
"How dare you leave like that! Why didn't you tell us something! Do you know how much pain you put us through!"
Ranma stepped in between the sisters as anger flared on Akane's face.
"Nabiki..." he began softly. "Believe me when I say that I didn't want to leave, but I had to. I had to if I wanted to keep you, Akane, and all the others safe."
Nabiki folded her arms as she contemplated what he had said. Her expression did not change one bit but after a few seconds she seemed ready to talk again.
"Ranma, the only reason I won't kill you is because my little sister seems to have forgiven you. But, I want an explanation now!"
Ranma smirked slightly. "Not now," he said. "When the time is ready I will tell."
Nabiki was about to reply to that when she felt her sister's hand on her shoulder. Akane was slowly shaking her head. "Now is not the time."
Nabiki looked ready to argue but then gave up with a little sigh. Ranma put his arms around Akane once again when Nabiki stopped him.
"Remember Ranma, I still want that explanation."
"Soon Nabiki, soon."
"Then I guess you will be coming to the Saotome house next week?" asked Nabiki.
Akane gasped in surprise. "Oh dear, after all this time I forgot?"
"Forgot what?" asked Ranma.
"Ukyou’s wedding."
"Ucchan’s getting married?"
"Yes…"
"When?"
"Next week."
"That’s perfect then."
"Perfect? Ranma…what are you thinking?" asked Akane before Nabiki could question him.
Ranma just smiled.
"I think it’s time for us to return to Nerima," he replied. "After all, you’ve got classes to get back to and I think I’ve got a family to meet."
Akane wagged her finger in front of his face. "You’re planning something. I can see it in your eyes."
Nabiki raised her business voice.
"What do you mean by return to Nerima? Akane, how can you forget about your best friend's wedding? And you still haven't explained the little detail of my nephew. Did Ranma have a child with another woman?" asked a flustered Nabiki as she tried to keep her cool.
"I assure you that Shintaro here is definitely Akane's child," replied Ranma. "He even has his mother's strength," he added and received a light jab in the stomach for his efforts. Akane pouted slightly and Ranma grinned. Nabiki tapped her foot rapidly on the ground. She hated being in the dark and it annoyed her that her little sister had actually pulled something on her.
What worried her too was the presence of Ranma. The face looked a bit like Ranma of old and that smirk she had seen a few minutes ago was Ranma in print, but this person did not act the same way as Ranma. Neither did Akane for that matter. Something fishy was definitely going down. The well-oiled machinery of Nabiki's gray matter began grinding away once again as possibilities fluttered across her conscience. She barely noticed that Akane and Ranma had passed her, moving back into the building.
"You're thinking too much," whispered her husband into her ear.
"Huh?"
"Nab-chan, you still can't back down from a puzzle can you?"
Nabiki replied with a slight frown but her husband would have none of it as he grasped her hands and led her to the dance floor. Dancing through the crowds, they found Ranma and Akane near a strategically placed sofa. They were dancing while holding Shintaro between them. It seemed almost impossible to hold him between them without actually holding him but they were doing it and from the looks of it, Shintaro was ready to call it a night. He yawned every so often as he lay draped across his mother's shoulders.
Nabiki shook her head in wonder until her husband pulled her back to reality by placing his hand in an area that only he had permission to touch. No one ever draped a hand around her back unless she told them to.
"Are you dancing with me or them?" he quipped.
Nabiki gave him a teasing pout then rest her head on his shoulders. Sometimes it felt good being told what to do when all you did most of the day was order people around.
In the wee hours of the morning the group finally returned to the Tendo house. From the garbage lying around, Soun had been home earlier and was probably asleep. Nabiki guided her husband to her room while Akane prepared a room for Sano. The night before they had left them together because of Nodoka's uncanny vice grip on his clothes. Tonight though they would do it the right way and separate the teens. Thankfully for Akane's sake, neither teen objected since Ranma had made it clear to Akane that she would have to deal with Nodoka and boys. Finally, after feeding Shintaro, Ranma and Akane got some rest. They had already sent messages to everyone to meet at the dojo the next day.
The next day the house fluttered with activity. Soun was still down for the count as was his prerogative, but Akane woke the two teens very early. Sano went with Akane to help around the house while Ranma-chan handed Nodoka an apron in the kitchen. Nabiki and her husband were solicited to purchase some groceries for dinner. One wondered how much money Nabiki was going to save on this trip.
As the day progressed, Ranma and Nodoka were still finishing up in the kitchen while Sano and Akane were preparing the Dojo. Nabiki and her husband were also helping tidy up. By the time Soun was awake, Nabiki had pushed him out sending his to the Saotome's with her message. She wasn't one to let her sister take the whole spotlight and planned to release her news too, that way she wouldn't have to schedule another meeting like this. Plus, her announcement might just take the heat off he little sister. Somehow they all finished their tasks at the same time and met in the living room. Nodoka took Shintaro away from Akane and tried as best she could to keep the little boy occupied. He still smelled like the grass he had been rolling around in.
Nodoka popped in the bath first then the others, with Ranma-chan being the last as she opted to take Shintaro with her. The minute she stepped in the bath, the guests started to arrive.
Ukyou was as usual the first on the scene.
"Tadima! Akane are you there?" called Ukyou while tenaciously holding her fiancee's hand. For her the wedding jitters had begun. Only one more week. One more week!
"Ucchan, over here!" called Akane as she laid she refreshments out.
"Akane?" asked Ukyou thoughtfully as she approached her best friend. Akane was looking different. A lot different. Her hair was longer than before. That was something that struck Ukyou greatly for she knew Akane had kept her short-cropped hair in remembrance of Ranma. Her face was different too, more filled out and mature, and she walked with a little more poise and grace, as if someone had been teaching her a little etiquette. But that was not the greatest difference.
Her aura. Ukyou could feel her aura from all the way across the room. She had never ever sensed Akane this calm or contented in her life. Something was definitely up. Akane had not passed by in a little while but Ukyou expected that because she knew Akane's feeling about weddings. Was Akane hiding behind that smile and that aura? Was she trying to deny her emotions? Ukyou did not know, but she would definitely have to talk to Nabiki about this later.
By the time she had exchanged greetings with Akane however, Kasumi and Tofu entered with the children. The two young boys just over a year apart hugged their parents' legs as they walked in. The younger was walking though Ukyou still wondered why Kasumi had given him those large shoes to wear. She figured it was something she would learn about after she got married.
The Saotome's were a bit late, and as usual the tardiness was caused by the two men. The only reason they actually made it was the women who were with them. Ukyou wondered what it would take before Soun decided to actually start courting Hinako properly.
With everybody back, they all retired to the Dojo without Akane as she went searching for her husband. She thought she knew where she would find him and sure enough he was there on their bed staring at Shintaro as the rested.
"It's time," she told him.
"I know," he replied. "I heard. I was waiting for him to fall asleep."
"No, you should bring him to meet his grandparents."
"I don't know how they will react. I going to tell them the whole story."
Akane gasped. "Are you sure? Even I didn't believe it when T'hania first told us."
"No more hiding Akane."
Akane walked up and sat on the bed next to him.
"I love you," she whispered into his ear. He smiled and whispered back the same. Then, after a soft kiss, they began their journey to the Dojo.
Nabiki was working the crowd as she eavesdropped on some of the discussions. Almost everything centered around Akane which did not surprise her lightly. Akane was behaving very differently from earlier that week. Nabiki was still trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle but the only problem was that she knew Akane and Ranma were hiding some of the major parts. Then she saw them and she conveniently sat at the front of the Dojo. She had talked this over with Akane and knew this way was best for all concerned.
As Nabiki sat, others began to sit also, with Akane and Ranma taking a seat at the front. Luckily Ranma was holding Shintaro in such a way that the boy was shielded from being seen by anyone else. The little child slept peacefully in his father's arms.
Nabiki cleared her throat and Nodoka the younger began serving tea to the family.
"I guess you all are probably wondering why I called you here today. Well I guess I should introduce someone."
A man who was sitting behind them all walked up to the front to sit with Nabiki, facing the family.
He bowed and began to speak.
"My name is Hito Otahkawa. I'm a professor at the Tokyo Institute for Social Research and I recently married Nabiki."
There was a hush around the room then the wailing began. "My little girl's married," wailed Soun as he ran forward and grabbed Hito in an embrace, almost crushing his lungs. Hito had been forewarned and was glad he had practiced super-glomps with Nabiki, although hers were usually for quite a different reason.
Nabiki herself was surrounded by Kasumi, Nodoka, Ukyou and Hinako. As they congratulated her and then mildly berated her for not inviting them to the wedding. This was Nabiki of all people and they knew she was not and would never be a traditional woman. This was something that was surprising coming from her -no one thought she would ever get married- but it fit in with her personality perfectly.
Hito himself was having a hard time defending from the onslaught of the males, then the females began congratulating him and welcoming him to the family.
"So how did you two meet?" asked Ukyou and everyone quieted down as Nabiki opened her mouth.
"I would tell you where we met. But not now, Akane had something to tell you."
Eyes shifted to the seats previously occupied by Nabiki and Hito to find Akane and a young man sitting there with a child in his hand.
Almost automatically everyone found a seat. Nodoka the younger walked up and sat on the floor to the side of Ranma. Sano sat down next to her and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze. She squeezed back, but at the moment her eyes were transfixed on her mother. It was finally time for her mother to tell the whole story.
Everyone saw the man sitting at the front with Akane. He had a slight resemblance to a person they knew a long time ago, but the traditional pigtail was not there. The hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. The clothes were also different, a blue shirt and black trousers instead of Chinese clothes. Everyone wanted to say something but they couldn't because in their hearts, they knew who this was. They all had their doubts except three people: Hito, Nabiki and Genma.
"I am Ranma," he said, eliciting a gasp from his audience. "Before, I anything else though, let me begin from the start." Nodoka rose to say something then felt a tug on her hand. Looking down she saw her husband glaring at her mouthing the word 'sit'. She refused and tried to open her mouth once again before she felt a sharp pain from her wrist. Genma was glaring at her, telling her to sit down. She froze for a second as the others around her briefly turned her way. This was the first time Genma had shown a backbone in a while. Inwardly she fumed but held her tongue. She still had her honor and her pride.
"I think I owe you all an explanation and I'll start with the reason why I left. Three weeks before I left you'll remember that I was living with mom and decided to pop in to visit Akane....
**************
5-6 years ago...
Akane was, for the first time in a while, feeling lonely. With the Saotome's in a new house that was some distance away there were no more arguments and the old habits before the Saotome's had arrived were surfacing again. Kasumi was outside in the garden doing whatever it was she did with the trees and everything else. Akane wondered why her sister liked doing that boring stuff.
Lying back on her bed, she sighed. There was absolutely nothing to do. What could she do, what could she do... Hmm...well she could go out. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. She grabbed a coat and pulled it on. It wasn't cold outside but it might get chilly later.
"Kasumi, I'm going out!" Akane shouted.
"Okay, be back in time for dinner," was the reply. Akane didn't hear most of it though as she was already sprinting down the paved road.
Time passed quickly and Akane found herself alone again as her friends all went home. She was walking not very far away from her house when she saw an old woman crossing the road. The woman dropped something with a clank. Akane stared at the little bottle on the ground and took a step closer to the woman. The woman turned her face to look at her and Akane froze. The face was a mass of warts, moles and scars. Akane gasped and held her hand to her mouth as she back peddled away from the woman. She felt someone touch her on the shoulder from behind and jumped.
"Oh, sorry to scare you," the boy added.
"Ah...no no problem," stammered Akane as she caught herself. Who was this boy? She had never seen him around here. But he did look familiar, almost like the photo of grandfather.
"She is rather ugly isn't she?"
Akane unconsciously nodded as she saw the face again in her mind then she felt something slimy grab her feet. She looked down and saw tentacles grabbing her.
What was this thing! She beat against it as it sneered against her and opened her mouth to scream when she felt something being pushed into her mouth.
"I Ymamaans made her like that. She's a nice little pet don't you think?"
Akane tried vainly to struggle free.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to do that to you," it told her as the former face melted. "But I am here to give you a little gift."
Akane felt something being pushed down her throat and she was unable to stop it. Then the slimy hand retracted and Akane was left coughing and gagging and covered in goo.
"Now let's see what your true horror is..."
The oily blob just looked at her amusedly waiting for something to happen and after it did, the blob disappeared into the sewer.
Ranma watched the area intently. He could almost feel the tension in the air and knew instinctively that Shampoo was about. He had to give the amazon one thing. She had honed those tracking techniques of hers down to a tee and she was as elusive as ever. He expected nothing less though. He felt it in the air again, that slight sensation that told him she was near. It was a little gift he had received as part of the Neko-ken training. The only gift as far as he was concerned. He hated the insanity that went with it. Stupid pops...
"Have you made up your mind yet?"
Ranma jumped in fright and almost fell off the roof.
"What're you doin' here!" he asked.
"Waiting for an answer," she replied calmly.
"I already told ya I ain't gonna do it. I know Nabiki put ya up ta this and I ain't falling for one of her traps again. She just wants ta take pictures of my girl form."
"As you wish Ranma Saotome, but today you will see the true path," she replied. Ranma scratched the back of his head trying to understand what she had told him. He glanced to the right at some movement that caught his attention then as he turned she had disappeared. Ranma shrugged his shoulders once again. That little girl had been bothering him for the last week. Checking again, he could not find any trace of Shampoo. He thought that was a bit strange but continued on his way to the Tendo's.
Ranma touched down safely at the front of the house and walked in.
"Hi Kasumi!" he greeted as he saw her in the kitchen.
There was no answer. That was strange.
"Kasumi?"
"Oh hello Ranma. I didn't hear you."
"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked.
"Oh yes everything's fine with me... but I think Akane's sick."
"She's sick?"
"I was cleaning and heard the kettle whistling and as I was about to go inside Akane's flew out the other door and ran to her room. When I tried to talk to her she wouldn't let me in," reported Kasumi worriedly.
"Don't worry Kasumi, I'll ask her. I'm sure the tomboy was just fired up about something."
That was so nice of Ranma, always thinking about his fiancee. "Okay Ranma-kun, Why don't you take this to her?" She gave him a tray with two glasses of water and a box of tablets. "Just in case."
"Uh...yeah, okay."
Kasumi smiled as Ranma walked up the stairs. He was such a good fiancee. She just hoped he didn't drink any of that water. She mixed something in it to help Akane sleep. It had been useful in the past. She returned to kitchen and found a lovely carnation near the stove. She couldn't resist taking a smell. Wow...that was powerful stuff! Feeling dizzy, she meandered across the house until she found the sofa and decided to take a little nap.
"Hey Akane, you in there!" asked Ranma as he began to push open the door. Suddenly it was shoved back in his face sending the tray flying and we all know what happened to the water.
Ranma-chan removed the glass from on top of her head.
"I coming in there!" she told Akane and tried shoving the door open. It was locked. Stupid tomboy. Ranma considered her options. She could leave without giving the stuff to Akane but that would make Kasumi angry. An angry Akane she could deal with, an angry Kasumi... She thought about breaking down the door but decided against it. She vividly remembered how much trouble Nabiki gave her the last time. There had to be another way. Ranma-chan snapped her fingers as an idea came to her.
Hanging from the roof by her feet, Ranma flipped and made a perfect landing on the meager inches of room on the sill that was not shut by the window. Luckily it was still open by a crack. Having not made a sound as yet, Ranma silently pried it up and entered the room.
"Hey Akane, Kasumi's worried about ya," Ranma-chan informed as she hoped in the room and got her first look at it. This was the first time Ranma had even seen Akane's room untidy. Books were strewn haphazardly around and the closet had been dumped of most of its possessions. Akane's vanity table was covered with various things. The only thing missing was Akane.
Ranma gingerly reached down and picked up a frame lying on the floor. Turning it over, he remembered that picture. It was a miracle to have gotten them all in one picture but it had been done. Ranma-chan wiped it on her shirt and placed it back on the spot it used to be after moving some items that had no right to be there on Akane's table. Now where was Akane?
A quick scan on the room showed no sign of Akane. That wasn't right. Akane should be in here. The tomboy was too clumsy to slip away. That meant she was hiding. There were realistically only two places she could hide: under the bed and in the closet. Ranma chose the closet. She gingerly walked up to the closet and placed her ear near the door. She could hear rough breathing inside. She held the knob of the door and pulled.
The door opened explosively as Akane pushed it open on Ranma sending Ranma flying across the room. Ranma shook her head and for the first time she got a good look at Akane's position.
While Akane kept her hand raised to hide her face, Ranma observed many things. The clothes Akane was wearing were huge for Akane's normal size but somehow were fitting her. They seemed to be the same oversized clothes for one of the characters in the Romeo and Juliet play. Ranma-chan approached Akane and then she realized something. Akane was looking much too muscular and too broad and those clothes were actually fitting her.
Akane tried to swipe Ranma away while blocking her face. Ranma slipped under the wild swing and ended up right next to Akane, but she was too close and Akane's other hand hit her hard on the side. Ranma went flying once more ending up on the floor as Akane approached; hand concealing her face. Akane's foot slipped on some of the strewn clothes though and fell in an awkward position on top of Ranma. Akane's hand fell to the side in support and Ranma confirmed her suspicions.
"Akane..."
"No Ranma don't make me look at you," he replied and the hand returned to cover his once closed eyes.
"Akane what happened. Who did this to you!" demanded Ranma as she placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to shake the answer out of him.
"Ranma! Go! Leave me alone!" shouted Akane as he tried in vain to avoid Ranma's gaze. Ranma pried Akane's hand away and they made eye contact. Ranma opened her mouth to say something when she felt something on her body.
Thick green goo covered the parts of her hands where she had touched Akane and Ranma watched as a little slime ball rolled up her hand. Ranma had no defense though and was totally taken unawares when the moving blob suddenly shot into her mouth. She fell to the floor coughing and gagging. After a few seconds she could no longer feel it in her throat. That was weird she thought, until she felt the arms around her body. Akane was holding her. Akane had done that many times, but why was the skin under the fabric where Akane was touching her feeling so warm? She had never felt that way before.
She took a deep breath and shrugged off the feeling as she opened her eyes. She felt a huge difference though as she made eye contact with Akane again. She saw his eyes as she had seen them before and she noticed the outline of his cheeks and lips. This time she couldn't for some reason stop looking at him. She suddenly felt very warm and Akane's hands, that were holding her, felt like fire against her skin. She realized that their faces were not as far away as she previously thought and for some reason her mind was telling her that she wanted to touch those lips.
She screamed in her mind with all her will and scrambled out from Akane's embrace. No, she was a man. That little girl had something to do with this. 'She was not going to do this! She was not going to be a pervert!' she mentally repeated in her mind.
Akane saw her there across the room where she had retreated, far away from him. He could feel it as he had felt it when he changed. As soon as he recognized the change in the street the thing's words came back to haunt him: 'let's see what your true horror is...'
Akane had always hated boys and she had feared Ranma because he was a boy who could change into a girl. She still hated other boys, now she was one.
He had stumbled around before finally learning how to walk on his feet. Then, he ran home as he found his equilibrium. He felt very different when he ran. He saw images flashing in his mind of the various girls he knew including his sisters and something happened to his body that alarmed him greatly. Even more so, when his mind fell upon a certain nude redhead that he had seen many times as a girl. For some reason he could not shake her image and that nude image of her made him feel lightheaded and out of control. Some great force was compelling him to seek her out and do unmentionable hentai things to her. He had to resist! He just had to.
Remembering Ranma's curse, he had run into the kitchen and searched for the kettle putting water to boil. As soon as he heard the whistle he dumped some of it on his hand forcing him to cry out a little from the pain. Then he heard Kasumi's voice and the visions assaulted him again. He shook his head to clear them and failing to do so he ran to the only room he knew he would have privacy in: his room. Those damn hentai ideas kept on saturating his mind!
In there he rushed about trying to find something that would fit him. He did not like this feeling of vulnerability and his near nakedness enhanced that feeling. Where was it, where was it? After minutes of frantic searching he finally found it in a box on the top shelf. He was amazed when it actually fit him. It should have been at least a couple of sizes big!
Why did Ranma have to torture him? Ranma's male voice was there, but there was no way he was going to suffer the humiliation of letting Ranma see him like that. Then he heard her voice and his heart, among other things, fluttered. Why did she have to be here? He brainstormed trying to think of a way to get away from her. She was covering the door and he had never jumped from the window before. Then he heard a foot on the roof above his window and backed away to the closet, hiding himself behind the door but still able to peek though the crack around the hinges. He marveled again at the tanned cream color of her skin as he saw her foot as it landed on the sill before he forced himself to hide in the closet, closing the crack. It was the only place he could fit. He would fight it, he had to fight that urge...
She was in his room and he could almost see her through the closed doors. He knew how she moved, could somehow feel every single movement of her body, then he heard her stop in front of the door. As the door opened, he surged forward. He heard her startled exclamation as she fell back. He approached her, hands raised to prevent him from seeing her body. He didn't know what would happen if he did but he did not want to know the outcome. He walked forward and after a few steps, he found his balance gone and he fell. Instinctively his hand shot out, protecting himself from the fall but as he looked up, he saw her there. Her eyes, so blue, so sexy. He had to get her away. Those lustful thoughts were beginning to invade his mind once again and he did not want anything to happen.
She was quiet suddenly and when he heard her gagging he had to help even if that meant he had to touch her. For some reason his mind was telling him where to touch her and how to touch her but he did not obey it. He was glad he could not see her face and he only placed his hand on her back, almost as if he was hugging her although he wasn't. Then she turned around.
His eyes met hers for a second and he could almost feel his vision being clouded and his will leaving him. Those beautiful eyes stared back at him. He had thought male Ranma's eyes were beautiful but now all he could think about were those eyes in front of him. They seemed to be calling him, taunting him, telling him that he needed to touch her. He moved his hand to touch her face, just a little touch, but before it could get there, she scurried away.
He was amazed at the blue aura that sprung up around her as she tried to stay away. He turned his eyes away from her for a little while but the lusting built up inside of him. Longing just to see her lithe frame or the sparkle in her eyes. He just wanted to see her. There wasn't anything wrong with that was there? No, he could see no evil in that. He succumbed to the temptation.
He turned and was captured. He saw the small droplets of water playing on her damp hair and the little trickle that stopped just under her chin. He saw the way those few lines of water converged at her chin. His gaze fell lower and lower as he took delight in the sight of her red silk shirt as it clung tantalizingly to her chest. He tried to turn his head but it would not obey. Instead his gaze fell even lower to her slim waist and the curves of her legs as they hid something that for some reason he was longing to see. Legs that were smooth and slender yet perfectly formed. He almost could recall them by memory. She turned her face to look into his and it dawned on him that he had just walked over towards her.
Her hand came up and he caught it easily. His mind was focused on that little drop of water that marred her otherwise perfect face. He stared at that drop until he could take it no longer, and pressed his lips to it.
Realizing his daydream, he was thankful of Ranma's reaction to his approach. Ranma had always been strong and he was glad of her strength at the moment. Akane fought against those impulses once again and brought himself under control to some extent. But even that control was not very great as those thoughts kept invading his mind. With his eyes closed, he did not see the shadow as it approached the room falling like a black carpet on the ground. Like darkness creeping in with the sunset, the shadow stretched along the floor until it covered part of Akane's body. Then the battle was lost as it diffused into him.
Ranma struggled to keep that control that was vital to all her training but it was hard fight. She was winning though. She had not looked at him yet. He was so close. She had this intense desire to be held in his arms, to feel his warm body melded next to hers in a close embrace. She had to resist she had too...
This was not right. She was a man damn it. She was a man. She was not attracted to men. The mere thought of it repulsed her. It was so...ughh... She couldn't shake it thought. The desire was there and it was getting stronger. She had to hold it in. It wasn't right. Then she felt a warm breath not that far away from her face. She impulsively looked up and saw him, standing, in front of her. She almost gasped at their proximity. No, she had to get away.
Her hand came up to punch him or push him away. For one of the few times in her life she had no plan for this fight. She wasn't startled when he caught it and warmth spread down her hand from where he touched her. She still fought but it became more of a mental fight than a physical one. She concentrated to try and find the center so she could tear her eyes away from him. So thorough was her concentration that she failed to notice the think green slime that began to ooze out from Akane's skin and migrate towards her where it was somehow absorbed into her body. She pushed him away forcefully, sending him careening into the desk.
She didn't even bother to see what had happened to Akane as she fought the surge of hormones in her body that she could feel as she had felt during her training. But the hormones were not the adrenaline she was accustomed to. She would not allow it to control her thoughts. This was not right. She tried to concentrate and something told her to open her eye. When she did, she saw the shadowy thing worming its way across the floor and into her body. With a cry of alarm she tried to shake away the thing but whatever it was she could not let it go. It just swirled around her kicks and punches as if it was just air. Not focused enough she could not form a ki blast to fight it away. She felt the change as the thing entered her and she tried vainly to keep it back as it attacked the recesses of her brain. She rued the fact that she had never taken mental martial arts seriously. She fought as best she could but with no idea how to defend her consciousness she knew that it would only be a matter of time before she succumbed to the desires of the shadow.
He found her again but this time, whatever the shadow did, had removed all his doubts and revulsion of the ideas floating around in his mind. He almost stalked across to her, knowing now exactly what he wanted and not really caring of the consequences as the thoughts of the shadow permeated though his brain.
His fingers were not wrapped tightly around her wrist but she felt compelled not to resist as his fingers caressed her delicate skin. More emotions overwhelmed her body suddenly and she fought against the tide to remain in control. She fought by repeating the mantra that she was a guy. That she hated the very idea of this. That this was what she had feared the most when she got the curse.
With his arm he pulled her even closer, then she felt his lips against her cheek. Unconsciously she moaned as a wave of pleasure overcame her senses and without even thinking, she arched her back slightly, revealing her neck. Akane closed his eyes as an unknown hand led his lips down the side of her cheek down her neck to the tip of her cleavage and back up to her chin before he felt her two lips against his.
She never saw him, nor he her as they continued to savor the sweetness of their contact with closed eyes as their emotions overran them. As the shadows took control, there was a slow rip as Ranma-chan's small hands tore the shirt Akane was wearing in half. The remnants of the shirt were discarded with a swift pull and the ties of Ranma's shirt were easily disposed of in one swift motion. Still in lip-lock, the feeling of flesh against flesh drove them even further in their lustful passion.
***************
The presence smiled at her handiwork. The goddess had a plan but she was not one to wait around for goddesses. Those slow do-gooders would never get anything done. She had waited for a long time for this child in front of her to come to fruition.
This boy turned girl was the only one she could find who could handle the insanity of the cat-fist. She chuckled as she remembered the boy's father cowering before her. She had struck him with fear that first time. She knew he was scared of her, she could smell it on him. It was she who had given him the book of forbidden training grounds and told him that they were the best to create a man among men. It was hardly a challenge as the man easily fell for the trap. The mother too was easy to manipulate. A few words here and there in the novels she loved to read, and ideas sprung into her mind. The contract was one of them; the other was the boy's little journey.
Idly she covered the two girls with a blanket. The little job she had given the blob had worked. With all those hormones in their system it was impossible for them to resist those primal urges. It did not surprise her when they did though. After all, that was why she had picked them. They had both resisted but their resistance had been futile when she had ordered some of her minions to hypnotize their consciences into submittance. Nothing was going to stop her! As she waved her fingers, the shell around the boy began to crack and then finally crumbled, leaving two sleeping girls under the covers. She thought of leaving the one called Ranma with the violent one but even now that could be dangerous. Her whole reign and the balance of power now lay on that girl. With a snap of her fingers, Ranma arose and then disappeared into the guestroom. With another snap, Akane was fully clothed and comfortably tucked in her bed while the room reverted to its state before Akane's entrance.
Smiling at her handiwork the demon smirked. If this went well, The child borne of their innocence in the matter would do what was required of it in the future. She would have to keep a closer eye on that redhead. Nothing would come between her and her rightful power with the fruit of this union.
**********
Ranma-chan awoke with a start. She was covered in sweat causing the clothes she was wearing to cling to her body tenaciously. Her face was partially frozen in disbelief and in fright. The first because her mind accused her of doing that with a boy! The second because her dreams reeked of cats. She could still hear some sort of purr in her ears. The second was easily suppressed while the very thought of the first made her sick. She would never do anything that that with a boy. Where did that dream come from? She had never dreamt of anything like that before. But wait, the boy was Akane? No way! This was getting too creepy for her. Something was wrong though. She always felt this way just before crap happened. Akane! Something was going to happen and she would bet her last yen that it had something to do with her fiancee. That tomboy could get herself into any kind of trouble! She wondered what it was this time... probably another prince. At least if that was the case she would be able to get a good workout.
Ranma-chan kicked off the cover and almost forgot to slide open the partition in her rush. She reached Akane's room in record time and pushed open the door. When she got inside, she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled back Akane's covers to find a sleeping girl there. Then the girl awoke and stared at her.
"Ranma what do you think you're doing in my room!" shouted Akane before bringing up her ever-friendly mallet. As Ranma-chan sailed, she sighed in relief. It was probably only the bad karma from that bad dream.
She hoped she would not see that girl again. Jeez that girl was unrelenting. There was no was she was ever going to do what that girl suggested. No way! Even if the girl said that it was fated to happen. There wasn't any way she would get him to do that!
***********
Present...
"When we were still engaged after we left the house, Akane was drugged with a very potent passion potion. The demons changed Akane into a man..."
"Oh my!"
"...and when Kasumi asked me to check on her in her room, I was drugged also, and since I was a girl at the time, we consummated out relationship. After we woke up, Akane had been turned back into a girl and did not remember anything that happened before. I thought I had a bad dream and when I burst into Akane's room, I think you know what happened...."
"That still doesn't explain why you left Nerima sugar."
"Let me get to that in a minute..." added Ranma. He glanced at his mother, but again she just stood there as stoic as ever and never gave any hint that anything he had said affected her. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts though so he continued.
**********
The Past...
Ranma sat her desk staring out into space. Questions had been asked by both parents but she had replied that she was training for some martial arts contest that required her to be a girl and had borrowed a bar of the waterproof soap from Shampoo. That response had satiated their minds and had worked for just over two weeks. During that time she had only visited the Tendo's three times and that was only because she had to. She did not want to see Akane at that moment. It did not help when Akane got mad at her for just ignoring her. Ranma did not feel like dealing with Akane's temper. She had enough problems on her mind.
Ranma knew that if she could tell and she was by far one of the least ki-trained people in Nerima. The others would find out easily enough. She was just sitting on a bomb waiting to go off. She had actually planned something to say at the Tendo's.
When they arrived there she was going to say something to them albeit she had not worked how exactly she was going to broach the subject but as soon as she opened her mouth, chaos ensued.
Ukyou called from the door and after a smash, Kodachi apparently had missed him too and had come looking, as did her brother. As least it had not gotten any worse. The girls had become so caught up in their own battles that Ranma had managed to slip away from them. Akane was always one to defend her interest, whatever Akane's interest was...
Nothing had gone right that night and that was why she was at her desk. Dinner would be soon, or at least a late dinner considering that the food at the Tendo's had been abused during the girls' activities.
She heard her mother's call and slowly pried herself from the table and began to walk down the stairs. She still had to break the news.
Dinner as always had been a quick affair with Genma managing to steal a lot of Ranma's food much to his surprise. He put it down to all that extra training he was doing as a panda with the beach ball. Nodoka though did not see it that way.
"Ranma, is something the matter?" she asked. Ranma-chan had barely touched the food in front of her.
"Hm...oh...nah nothin's wrong?" replied Ranma-chan as she picked at the remaining bean in her bowl. "Just thinkin'," sighed Ranma.
Her thoughts fell back to that fateful day.
**************
Before....
After reaching home, Ranma felt like a nap. After hitting the old man into unconsciousness, she made a beeline for her room and plopped down on the futon in her room. She was asleep within minutes.
Her wake up call was not as pleasant as earlier during the day as Genma in all his wisdom decided to get his son back for knocking him out earlier that day, after a good lunch that is. After stuffing his mouth, he climbed the stairs, found the redhead, and pitched her though the wall with a powerful throw.
To her credit, Ranma-chan awoke and flipped to meet the ground feet first. She did not have any time to reflect though as she was immediately on the defensive.
"You're getting lax in your training boy!"
"Says you old man. I can take ya on any day."
Nodoka watched on as her two men fought in the backyard. She had phoned Kasumi and heard of her son's manly exploits that night. No doubt Ranma had stayed with Akane for most of the night to soothe her.
After depositing the old man on the floor, hard, Ranma did not wait for him to get up and instead turned towards the bathroom and sprinted inside. Ranma-chan opened the taps with the hope of a nice long hot bath to soothe that muscle that was giving a bit of trouble. She watched in anticipation as the furo filled and as soon as it was full, she turned off the tap and dove in. She surfaced with a soothing sigh and placed her hands at the back of the head. Then Ranma-chan opened her eyes and found some thing that should not be there. She was still a she. She screamed.
Ranma-chan's aura flared and literally boiled the water around her away. Instinct had told her something had happened and she was still a girl. She could think of only one person who would do this to her again.
"Cologne!" she screamed and in microseconds she was dressed and dashing across the rooftops to Nerima.
When the furious redhead burst through the doors of the Nekohanten. Cologne was surprised but not phased. These youngsters were too emotional for her. At least they provided good entertainment in her old age.
"Old Ghoul! What did you do to me?" screamed Ranma.
"Son-in-law," she replied calmly, "I haven't done anything to you."
"Oh yeah? What's this then?" she replied sarcastically before emptying a cup of tea on herself. Cologne raised one of her thinning eyebrows in mild interest. Maybe this would be another way for Shampoo to get Ranma. Too bad she and Mr. Part-time were out on deliveries.
"Well son-in-law, I can tell you that I had nothing to do with that and as for Shampoo, she was here all night."
Ranma-chan grumbled and her anger deflated. Cologne would have owned up if the amazons had done it. If she hadn't done it, then who? The question was immediately answered as a shriveled up old pervert came to mind. Ranma-chan's aura flared again and Cologne noticed a slight imbalance in her aura. That was strange. She couldn't have anything happening to her prime breeding stock.
"Come here son-in-law, let me see what I can do," she told him quickly.
"What's it gonna cost me?" Ranma asked off the top of her head. Cologne frowned. Maybe Ranma had been spending too much time around that mercenary girl.
"A date with Shampoo," replied Cologne almost jokingly.
"Okay," she replied after little thought. Anything to be a man again.
Ranma-chan followed her into a room at the back of the Nekohanten and her wandered until it came to a little amulet that glowed as she passed it. That was cool she thought and approached the amulet. It glowed a bit brighter as she approached.
Cologne pogoed back with a couple of vials in her hand when she saw Ranma starting at the amulet.
"So son-in-law, I see you found that little trinket. It's what I will...tell me when..." Her words became slurred and she stopped speaking altogether. This was not right. This could not be right. But the amulet was never wrong. It had been used for over two thousand years and it had never been wrong.
"Hey ghoul, you okay. You look a bit paler than normal."
Cologne blinked and forced herself out of her stupor. This was the first time she had truly been surprised. Yet she knew him well enough to know that this was an impossibility. The evidence was there though and if she trusted anything, it was the knowledge that had been handed down from the ancestors.
"Ranma, you had better sit down," she told her.
"Huh, whadd'ya mean sit down? What're ya talking about?" Ranma-chan asked.
"Ranma, you're pregnant," Cologne stated flatly, with a taint of trepidation. Ranma froze for a second as the words seeped in, then Cologne saw the marked fall in the color to Ranma's face as it became pale and bloodless. She could also feel Ranma's aura beginning to burst at the seams. Ranma-chan's aura was growing exponentially and when she tried to call Ranma out of her stupor, Ranma did not respond. Cologne did the only thing she could think of to keep Ranma from destroying her and the surrounding area in an explosion of ki. She surrounded herself in an insulating wall of energy and knocked Ranma out with a few pressure points. As she looked upon the child she felt energies that she had not felt for a long time. There was or had been something else inside Ranma. She could feel the traces of negative energy within. That definitely was not a good sign.
*******
" ...so we were possessed by demons and well I got pregnant after that. Then things went downhill from there," continued Ranma. When he looked up, he found Genma holding a paralyzed Nodoka-senior in his hands. Ranma figured his baby girl could take this. She was old enough even if his instincts told him that she should not let her hear this.
"So what happened after that?" asked Ukyou.
"Well ...when I finally learned from Cologne I was pregnant, I kind of zoned out and she had to knock me unconscious. Turns out that I kind of went into a combative coma and was really unstable. That wasn't the hard part though, the hard part was telling pops and mom. Pops was shocked but mom, mom didn't react too well," replied Ranma shaking his head. "I have never seen her draw a katana so fast and if wasn't for my training, I would have been beheaded. After that, she threw me out of the house. Pops found me though, and gave me an address in the mountains where I could stay. It was a place he used to train before he met Happosai."
"It was the least I could do for my only child," Genma replied much to the amazement of everyone in the room.
"Thanks pops."
"Father," Genma corrected.
"Pops," stressed Ranma.
"Pops," Genma reminded himself.
"So your mother disowned you," muttered Nabiki.
"No not disowned," answered Ranma as he overheard her. "She just could not face the fact that the manly son that she was telling all her friends about and the manly son she expected was now a pregnant girl."
"So Genma helped you?" asked Ukyou unbelievingly.
"More then you know. While stuffing his gut," noted Ranma as he grinned at his father. "T'hania had contacted him somehow and told him that he had to try and train me to be the best martial artist in the world. That's why he carried me on the training trip and strangely enough, that's why he was always engaging me to martial artists. He knew that women scorned fought better than anyone else so he knew that would give me the best chance to become the best."
"And the curse?" asked Kasumi meekly.
"The curse was fate. That was why they chose me. And if you're wandering about Akane, it seems that the Tendo's are close descendants of a minor god-ling."
"So what you're saying is that this was all planned."
"Uh...no. There is no plan."
As they brewed over this Nodoka was still slumped over Genma's lap. "I'll take Nodoka home," volunteered Genma.
"That's a good idea," answered Tofu.
Genma took his dazed wife who had been put to sleep by a couple of pressure points from Tofu.
As Genma walked out, Akane just thought of something.
"Oh my they left. I wanted to introduce them to Shin-chan. After all, he is their grandson."
"Grandson!" Soun woke up from his previous stupor, forgetting everything that he had blocked out from his mind. It was a technique he had master while training with the master. With that, he picked up the little boy gurgling at him and started waving him through the air.
"Finally the schools have been joined!" he shouted.
"Actually, No-chan is also our child," reminded Ranma but Soun was in his own zone. That is, until he felt some liquid running down his hands. When he looked up and saw what was running down his hands, he held the child away at arm's length.
"Um...I think he needs changing," noted Soun.
Everyone broke out laughing.