Many Roads, One Path 2

 By Lord Overon

 

Akane and Nabiki entered the house and were assaulted with the aroma of freshly baked pastries. Having now returned from the trip, they wandered into the kitchen to find Kasumi and the girls already seated there. Muki and Megumi were Kasumi and Tofu’s two little girls. They were the apples in their grandfather’s eye though Soun always kept hinting to the pair that they should try for more. No doubt he hoped the next would be a son.

That was also the reason why he was anxiously awaiting the marriage of his other two daughters. If he got Akane married off that would be another chance of an heir to the Dojo for the next generation. That would also leave Nabiki to fulfill the pledges he had made when he was younger. A perfect set-up that should ensure the life of the school long after his passing.

That was not in the mind of his two youngest though, as they saw the pastries laid out on the table. A wink from Kasumi was all the affirmation they needed before they grabbed a handful. Kasumi was indeed the best chef they had ever had the pleasure of having sampled. Even some of the restaurants Nabiki had eaten at could not compare to her sister’s finesse in culinary delights. Tofu had persuaded Kasumi to send in a couple of samples to the local chefs and now besides being a housewife, Kasumi had a catering business on the side. Nothing big since she did have two children to take care of, but enough to make her happy.

The two children saw their aunts and bounced off the chairs Kasumi had seated them over to their aunts. After the hugging, kissing and coddling, the pair of girls returned to their seats under their mother’s watchful eyes to finish their supper.

Before Nabiki could broach any subject, Akane cut in with a question of her own. Namely, what had her two favorite nieces been up to. That was all the prompting a mother needed. Kasumi wasted no time in embarrassing her daughters in front of their aunts. Nabiki knew her news would have to wait until after Kasumi completed her bi weekly report. She listened attentively though. She did so love her nieces. Nabiki noted that she would have to add a little information about their trip afterwards.

 

Kasumi was in the middle of her speech when the doorbell rang. Kasumi stopped momentarily, deciding whether or not to answer the door. Nabiki headed to answer it ending Kasumi’s indecision. A few seconds later, she returned with a FedEx box. That was strange. The mail system in the area was very good, not to mention that they knew the postmaster personally so all their mail was routed directly to them. They never received care packages because of the efficiency of their mail service.

“It’s for Akane,” announced a bewildered Nabiki. Akane hardly ever received mail, much less a package.

Akane accepted the box from Nabiki and held it at arms length as if it was ticking. She had never received a courier-serviced package before. Reading the instructions, she found the tear and ripped the strip off with a grating sound. She popped open the top and poured the contents out. There was another box inside and a card attached. Akane wondered what it all meant. The others were becoming impatient with her momentary lack of action.

“Well open the letter,” prompted Nabiki.

Akane peeled the taped envelope off and using a knife that was close at hand, she sliced the top of the envelope. There was a message inside written on fine rice paper, though Akane did not know how rare that paper was.

‘Akane, I thought I should send you a little memento. Love, Mother Nodoka.’

Piqued, Akane found that the box was self-sealing since there was no tape around its edges. Holding one side. She slid the ends of one holder out and then the other. The box was open but the lid still remained on top. Akane set it on the table and lift the cover off. They all gasped at the site. As the surprise wore off, shock appeared on Akane’s face, a smirk on Nabiki’s and pure bliss on Kasumi’s. Nabiki knew that she would not be doing any explaining tonight.

“Akane!” exclaimed Kasumi as she crushed her sister in a hug. “Why didn’t you tell me!”

Akane could only sputter a few words as she stood in shock.

 

 

 

 

 

In another Tokyo district, a woman wearing a kimono was waiting patiently with a friend in the garden behind her home. The walls in the back of the house were very high, to keep prying eyes out. What they also hid was a series of small pointed stakes that protruded from the ground at regular intervals. They even intruded on the rock garden though their presence did not remove any of the inherent aura of peace in the garden. The neighbors knew each other very well, although because of the lack of access, the lots behind the houses were vacant. The two sat still meditating until the guest disturbed the silence.

“Do you think she’s the one?” he asked

“I don’t know,” replied the woman truthfully. “But I do like her and there are connections between our families.”

“That may be so, but you know where I stand,” he reminded her.

“Yes, you wish no more pain on your student. That’s ironic considering the pain he had to endure through your training.”

“Amazon techniques were not created to be easily conquered,” he countered.

“You’ve never told me where you found these techniques of yours.”

For once the man’s voice wavered slightly indicating a slight trepidation on his part about the said artform.

“Just be satisfied that he’s perfected them,” the old man replied with finality to his voice. “When will she arrive?” he asked trying ingenuously to change the topic. The woman was not impressed by his lack of skill in the verbal battle but she conceded to his wishes.

“I don’t know.”

 

 

 

“Akane, have you been holding out on us?” asked a thrilled Kasumi.

“I uh…” Was she really…had she really…did she really look like that when she was dancing?

Kasumi found another target, finding her youngest sister not responsive to her probing.

“Nabiki you knew about this all along didn’t you?” accused Kasumi lightheartedly. “And you didn’t want to tell me because you wanted it to be a surprise,” Kasumi concluded before strangling Nabiki in a hug. Akane was still staring at the picture before Kasumi startled her when she tugged the frame away from her. Akane reflexively pulled but as she turned, she saw the pure bliss that adorned her sister’s face. Not the kind smile that Kasumi held for everyone, or the broader smile that she sometimes gave to her family. No, this was the full-bodied Kasumi bliss that only Kasumi could exude. Akane remembered the experience from when she had seen Kasumi with her baby girls suckling at her bosom. Frozen, Akane released the picture, captured by Kasumi’s pure happiness. It was the first time Akane had even had that directed towards her, and it melted her every resolve.

“Oh, he’s so handsome,” remarked Kasumi as she stared at the picture. “When are we supposed to meet him?” she asked.

“Uh…next week,” Akane replied, allowing some of her plans to come to the fore though she was still a bit frazzled by her sister’s reaction.

Kasumi turned the picture over and was curious as she found a note attached to the stand. It was folded and tucked into the slot. She slowly eased it out of the slot and opened the fine paper.

‘Akane, I would love if you come over to my house tonight. Ranma should be home by around six. Mother Nodoka.’

Kasumi played the name over and over in her mind. Ranma, the wild horse. He sounded like a person who had crept into Akane’s life. A wild horse for an angry girl, a strange combination indeed. So Ranma’s mother knew Akane and approved of the relationship. That was a plus. What was also interesting was that Ranma told his mother when he would be at the house. He obeyed his mother. That meant that he had to be a good boy.

“Akane, Ranma’s mother left you another note,” informed Kasumi.

Akane stared at her sister and blinked.

“She said that you should come over to her house by six.”

Akane blinked again.

“That means you only have four hours to get ready,” Kasumi clarified and as her sister didn’t make a move, Kasumi raised her eyebrow a little. “You only have four hours to go see Ranma,” Kasumi whispered into Akane’s ear. “Or do you not want to go see him.”

Something clicked in Akane’s mind and she realized in a few seconds that she hadn’t taken a bath since the day before, she was sweating something fierce from all that walking, and she hadn’t picked out what to wear yet. With a yelp she was out of the kitchen and racing up the stairs. Kasumi soon heard the hum of the pump outside as Akane took to the shower.

“Nabiki,” called Kasumi sweetly. Nabiki was stopped in her tracks. She had been busily creeping away from the kitchen without arousing suspicion. Her older sister though turned towards her.

“Sit,” Kasumi asked pleasantly. Nabiki did as she was told, with her sister it sounded more like a command than an invitation. “Nabiki you wouldn’t happen to know anything about this would you?” Kasumi asked.

Nabiki crossed her arms defiantly. “I didn’t know anything about this before the trip,” she replied truthfully. “Which can only mean one thing. Akane is lying and Ranma is helping her.”

“Why would she do that?” asked Kasumi innocently.

“To get away from her engagement to Kuno,” Nabiki replied. Kasumi was confused and her face mirrored her emotions. “Daddy promised Akane to Kuno if she is incapable of developing a serious relationship within the next year,” explained Nabiki.

“Oh dear,” muttered Kasumi with understanding.

“Yes, I can’t believe he would do that either. Ranma also had Kodachi Kuno, the girl who ambushed Akane for the Rhythmic Gymnastics match, well she was chasing after him also. I think they came up with a plan to get rid of the Kunos.”

“So this is all a hoax,” murmured Kasumi.

“I think… no, I know it is,” Nabiki responded confidently.

“You could be right but it does not explain this,” Kasumi countered and showed Nabiki the picture. Nabiki gasped as she saw her sister and Ranma with their arms around each other, dancing. That alone was a surprise but Nabiki knew how to read people. It was part of her business skills. She did not care too much about Ranma but she was studying her sister. She had never seen Akane dancing, or with her hands around any boy unless she was about to unleash her fury. His hands were around her though and her arms were bent behind her body reaching the back of his head. From the angle, it was clear that she was leaning on him and not only that, but her face was tilted towards his and she was smiling. She was smiling and her eyes were glittering like crystals.

“At least they’re not kissing,” rued Nabiki. Then she shut her mouth at the slip hoping Kasumi did not hear that.

“They’ve been kissing?” Kasumi asked Nabiki, staring her directly in the eyes.

Now Nabiki was trapped. To twist the tale a little when telling the truth was easy, when there was a tale. But Kasumi was not asking for a tale, she wanted a simple one-syllable answer. It would have been easy for her to say something erroneous and just exasperate her sister but the pleading could easily be seen in her sister’s eyes. Akane owed her for this.

“Yes...” she replied.

“I knew it!” Kasumi explained. “Details…”

“Details?”

“You have seen them haven’t you?”

“Well only once…”

“And…”

“Okay, okay. I was confronting Akane about it when Ranma knocked at the door. He came inside and kissed her.” Nabiki paused.

“And…”

“Akane kissed back. She even lost her footing and held onto him.”

“Oh my!”

Kasumi leaned back against her chair.

“This is serious.”

“Duh, Akane’s trying to fool us.”

“No not that,” replied Kasumi.

“Huh?”

“I think Akane is falling in love,” Kasumi concluded.

“Preposterous. Akane?”

“Would the Akane we know ever dance like that with a guy, much less kiss him?” questioned Kasumi. Nabiki remained silent. They both knew the answer.

“Oh dear,” responded Nabiki.

“Indeed,” replied Kasumi.

“What should I do about this?” Nabiki asked.

“Nothing.”

Akane was dressed in a pair of jeans and crisp white blouse as she bounded down the stairs sometime later.

“I’ll be home later,” she called as she left.

Nabiki and Kasumi watched her leave in a flurry. Inwardly Nabiki was frowning. Kasumi, Kasumi was for once feeling the weight of caring for her youngest sister disappearing. She never had to worry about Nabiki much. She had her head screwed on right and maybe just a bit too tight. But Nabiki knew what she was doing. Akane was different. Akane needed protection. She needed to be watched and helped along the way. She had cared for Akane more like a mother than a sister most of the time but Akane was finally taking a step in the right direction even if she didn’t know it. She smiled. Now all she had to do was meet this Ranma fellow and see what he was about.

 

 

 

Akane found herself hours later in front of the wooden gateway that stood at the beginning of the path-stones that lead towards the door of a traditional Japanese house. She silently walked towards the door as she gazed at the beauty around her. The lawn was well kept around the house and showed signs of new growth. The flowerbeds were free of weeds and boasted of their bountiful beauty. Blossoms from some of the trees were scattered around in their colorful hues and on others, small fruit were hiding between the leaves. Akane reached for the door and was surprised to find a little doorbell there. Traditional with a few modern conveniences, she thought. She pressed it lightly.

She was surprised when she heard chiming from inside. The door opened.

“Akane, so good of you to come. Ranma will be so surprised. Come on in,” ushered Nodoka. Akane noticed the chimes as she entered. They were still singing as she walked past. “I’m sure you would you like something to drink. Would you join me in the kitchen?” Akane nodded.

Nodoka poured her a glass of juice in the kitchen as she focused her attention back to the food she had been preparing. Nodoka wore an apron around her waist. It protected her very well since Akane could see no stains on her kimono.

“Would you like to help?” Nodoka asked. “I’m sure you are a great cook.”

Akane flushed a little as she spoke. “I can’t cook very well,” Akane confessed. Nodoka raised an eyebrow.

“Really, you’re just like cousin Kaeri, I know just what to do. Believe me, when she started cooking, she didn’t even know table salt from Epson salt. It was rather funny when she sent us all to the bathroom.”

Akane still had not moved from her seat.

“Come dear, you can take an apron from the kitchen closet.” Akane did what she was instructed and put it on. Now just slice a few of those vegetables for the salad while I finish with this. As Nodoka tinkered with the bird in front of her, Akane patiently sliced the vegetables in front of her. For some reason she did not want to disappoint the woman in front of her, nor did she want to embarrass herself. She slowed down just as Kasumi had told her, making each cut evenly. Just as she finished the lat one, she heard the snap as the oven sealed shut. She walked over and produced the goods for Nodoka to inspect.

“Now the first lesson in cooking is presentation. Presentation is the key,” Nodoka inferred sagely. Akane nodded. Nodoka took a large lettuce and with a flick of a knife, removed the stem. Then with a finger and thumb, she snapped out the center. With the larger outer leaves, she formed a circle on the platter. Taking the thinly cut vegetables, she set them, in the center of the platter. Then she grabbed a few cherry tomatoes and began decorating the sides.

“See Akane, it’s all in the presentation,” concluded Nodoka. Akane nodded. “Now for desert, you are going to bake a cake.”

“So where do we start?” asked Akane.

“How do I start,” Nodoka corrected her. “Now get that bowl out from that cupboard…” Akane knew it was going to be a long day.

Thirty minutes later, Akane plopped down in her seat. Finally she had finished. If she had thought that Kasumi was a hawk, she was a pigeon compared to Nodoka. She told Akane exactly what to do but that was not the only thing she did. She thoroughly questioned Akane’s every move and measurement and Akane was fast becoming annoyed with the constant corrections and directions. She sucked in her distaste though and continued listening and obeying. Thirty minutes later, here she was sitting down finally to have a rest.

“That was very good Akane. We’ll make a cook out of you yet.” Nodoka took off her apron and placed it back in the closet. “Now let’s go wait for Ranma.”

Akane followed her to the back of the house where there was a small shrine. Near it was a garden that had been newly tended. What piqued Akane’s curiosity were the poles that were sticking up from the garden and surrounding lawn.

“You must be Akane,” commented someone from her side. Akane jumped slightly as she was startled. She never felt him or detected him. He must be a martial artist and she bet that he knew Tofu’s techniques.

“I am Tamake Igara.”

“Tendo Akane, Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.”

“Oh, a master?”

“My father passed on the title when I inherited the Dojo.”

“I see, any special techniques?”

“A few, I’m still training.”

“We’re always still training,” corrected Tamake before he was whapped on the head.

“Stop pestering the girl,” scolded Nodoka.

“I wish you would stop doing that,” he growled.

“Then you would be a menace to society,” Nodoka replied as she wagged her finger in front of him. Akane giggled at the scene.

“Akane, this little troll of a man is one of Ranma’s teachers. He might not look like much but he’s very good at the martial arts.”

“Can he beat Ranma?” Akane asked.

“He used to be able to, but Ranma never loses to him now.”

“Hey,” retorted Tamake, “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Yes but can you still beat him,” taunted Nodoka. The man grumbled and the women giggled. “Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t mind when I rattle him a little bit.”

They sat on the steps leading to the garden when something interrupted Tamake from his meditation. “Ranma’s coming,” he told them.

“Ranma?” questioned Akane.

“He knows about these things,” Nodoka told Akane as she answered the girl’s unasked question.

Akane waited patiently staring at the entrance from the house, waiting for Ranma. Tamake got up from his seated position and walked to the garden, alighting on a pole as he balanced. Seconds later, there was a cry from above and Akane turned quickly to find Ranma flying from over the roof towards Tamake who deftly blocked the kick. Ranma vaulted upwards and landed on another pole a few feet away.

“So old man, ready for another lesson in humility?” smirked Ranma.

“Any time young pup,” Tamake remarked. The two met in a flurry on punches that Akane could not follow then as Tamake landed he hastily jumped out of the way as Ranma kicked at the pole he was standing on. The pole exploded into splinters and Ranma backed away following where Tamake had landed.

As the two stood on their respective poles, Akane noticed that Ranma was breathing very deeply while Tamake was still calm. The allotted time for relaxing was over the minute Ranma moved towards Tamake. Like a gust of wind, Ranma crossed the distance quickly and had Tamake defending for his life. Every move Ranma made was blocked but it was easy to see that Tamake was being pushed beyond his comfort level. Deciding that he had had enough, he allowed one attack in then launched his own offensive. True to Tamake’s expectations, Ranma allowed him no openings and defended solidly. Suddenly Tamake heard a thud as one of his attacks landed then the ground fell from beneath him. To the sidelines, Akane stared as Ranma flipped with the blow landing on top on his former sensei. The pole his sensei had been standing on was now reduced to kindling as Ranma traded the blow for a victory. The goal accomplished, Ranma helped Tamake up. The old man glared at him and then grinned.

“Why don’t you fight your girlfriend for a change,” he taunted.

“Huh?”

“Akane, she right over there and she’s a master of your school.”

“You know, that might be fun,” Ranma replied. “Hey Akane!” Ranma called. “Want to spar?”

“Sure,” she replied and walked over to meet him.

Ranma jumped on top one of the poles.

“First one to touch the ground loses,” he told her.

“Fair enough,” she replied.

They took their stances but it was already clear to Nodoka and Tamake that Akane was already out of her comfort zone. She did not look at all confident on the poles.

“Have you ever done this before?” Ranma asked as he balanced on the tip of his toe.

“Done what?”

“Fought on poles.”

“No, never tried it.”

“Well let’s get some training in instead. Try to do what I do.”

As they balanced, Ranma led Akane through a series of exercises that tested the extent on a person’s ability to balance their weight. Akane fell off a few times but Ranma told her it was all part of the training. Luckily they were training over the lawn or Nodoka would have had a few choice words for them had they fallen on her garden or flower bed. After the exercises Ranma had her balancing on one side with him.

“Now you have to learn to run with the poles. I should teach you on a fence, but that would make it too easy. Watch and follow,” he told her, then he ran towards the other side of the compound using the poles as stepping stones.

“Come on Akane, you can do it,” he told her. Akane growled and concentrated. A little part of her mind was telling her she couldn’t do, she couldn’t do it if her life depended on it, but she knew that she could. She could if she tried. With that in mind, Akane growled and with a loud shout she jumped to the first one. As she touched down with one foot, she jumped off with that foot and landed on the other. With the momentum she started she began to run. She was amazed that she was actually doing what Ranma had done when he was quickly looming right in front of her face, on the pole that she wanted to land on. Then she realized there was something she had not learned. That was how to stop. As the revelation hit her Akane flapped her hands as she saw Ranma’s warding gesture, trying to stop. She was unable to however and slammed into Ranma. Ranma fell backward into the grass with the wind knocked out of him, but recovered quickly enough. He felt heavier and could hear deep breathing. He opened his eyes and found Akane gasping for breath as she had fell on top of him.

“I guess I have to teach you how to stop,” he told her.

“When you two have stopped making out, supper’s ready!” shouted Nodoka from the steps. Both were confused until they recognized their position. Akane hurriedly climbed off Ranma and as an afterthought, gave him a hand up. Together, they walked into the house and were greeted by Nodoka at the door. She handed them towels and ushered them quickly to the bathroom door.

“You two better get cleaned,” she told them as she closed the door on their faces. Ranma chuckled at Akane’s bemused face.

“That’s my mom,” Ranma told Akane. “She’ll do anything to get me to be manly.”

“Manly? What’s that?” asked Akane.

“Basically, anything a pervert does, like take a shower with a girl.”

“What do you…oh?” Akane responded, as she understood what he was saying. Nodoka had ushered them both into the bath together.

“You can change while I turn my back,” Ranma told her. “Just keep the shower running when you get out, we have impressions to keep up.”

Akane nodded then he turned around. She struggled as she tried to come up with a way for her to change without letting him see any of her body. The towel was wide enough to hide her but the only problem was taking off her bra while she had the towel on. Sighing in frustration, she took off her blouse and bra, then tied the towel around her shoulders allowing her to remove her other pieces of clothing. Luckily, the shower and furo were separated from the changing room so there was no real possibility of Ranma seeing her unless he really was a pervert.

“You can turn around now,” she told him. He turned and appraised her. “You look good in a towel,” he told her as he grinned. She punched him lightly for the remark and then she felt the tension in the tuck above that shoulder fade. The tuck had loosened; the towel would fall off her mind told her. But before any of that could happen though, a hand shot forward and held the towel in place tucking it in where it had loosened from its perch.

Akane felt the touch of his fingers against her skin as he held it in place. ‘Would it be so bad if the towel did fall away?’ part of her brain asked her. The other part of her mind was not ready for the rest of that answer. So with her heart fluttering and her skin flushing, Akane retreated behind the partition to the shower.

Ranma watched her go, and even though there was no shadow against the paper-thin partition, he still stared in the direction he knew she would be. He fought to control his emotion and the rapidly pacing heart. Then, he silently sat down and meditated.

He heard the sliding of the partition minutes later and out stepped Akane. With her out, Ranma jumped into the other room, having already changed into his towel. Minutes later, he was out of the shower and standing with Akane.

“I think mom will leave clothes in my room,” Ranma told her.

“Why would she do that?” Akane wondered.

“The manly thing,” he replied.

They opened the door and were uncontested as they walked to Ranma’s room. They found underwear on the bed for Akane. Ranma knew without looking that they were multiples. His mother had been waiting for this moment for a long time. It was not as if she was trying to embarrass him but she was doing a good job of it already. With Akane distracted Ranma slipped on a pair of boxers and then some pants quickly. Him alone in a room with Akane only covered with a towel was making the hentai part of his brain overactive. As he threw on a shirt, Ranma searched his closet for some clothes and finding some that would be the right size, he set them down next to the underwear.

“You can wear these,” he informed her as he set the clothes down. Completely embarrassed, he hastily exited the room allowing Akane to change.

With Ranma gone, you could see the dark red line of embarrassment fade a little from Akane’s face. Here she was in a boy’s room changing her clothes. Not only that, he had given her the clothes while she had been holding underwear in her hand. She had found her size a moment ago and now with Ranma gone, she slipped on a panty under the cover of the towel. That accomplished, with her paranoia, she scanned the room for holes or a camera. Then she scolded herself. This was Ranma, not some boy off the street. He could be trusted. He hadn’t tried anything funny during the weekend. She was hesitant though but she let the towel drop on the bed as she put on the bra. The clothes that Ranma had set out for her were a bit loose at the waist but roomy everywhere else. A pretty good fit. She walked over to the door and let Ranma in.

“Hey you look good in those,” Ranma told her.

Akane smiled. “I’m almost ready,” she replied. “All I need to do is dry my hair.”

“Let me give you a hand.”

Akane handed him her towel and after beckoning her to sit on his bed, he began to dry her hair. As he moved his hands up to Amaguriken speed and began massage her hair while drying it, Ranma employed another one of those techniques he learned that was supposed to revitalize a person’s spirit. As Ranma continued, Akane’s eyes grew heavy as she was lulled into a haze. Moments later, she leaned backward and fell into Ranma’s hands.

Surprised, Ranma just held her in his arms for a few minutes staring at her as she slept. He felt compelled to do something so he bent down and kissed her on the crown of her head.

“Akane, wake up,” Ranma called. She had only been in a daze and responded.

“Huh, what happened,” she asked as she righted herself.

“You were falling asleep,” he told her.

She yawned and looking at the mess her hair was in the mirror, she asked him for a brush. Minutes later the two were downstairs eager for a meal.

 

Ranma was a Saotome and he was also named a horse. Almost fittingly, he ate like a horse too. The table manners were there but he ate so quickly that by the time Akane had finished one plate of food, she was sure that Ranma had had four. The way Nodoka shuffled in and out with dishes though, she wasn’t too certain. When she had finally finished the last plate before her, she found that Ranma was also done. Nodoka again entered, carrying a cake that had just been iced. Ranma bit into it and had a second helping when he was finished. Akane too had a second helping.

“That was really good,” complimented Ranma.

“You should tell that to Akane too,” added in Nodoka, “She made the cake and the salad.”

“Really,” remarked Ranma. “It was really good too.”

Akane blushed in embarrassment.

 

As they sat in the living room to allow the food to settle, Akane saw Nodoka bringing in a box from her room.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Monopoly,” Ranma replied with a little fear in his voice. “My mother’s a demon in monopoly.”

“How nice of you to say that dear,” retorted Nodoka.

“Just kidding,” replied Ranma and stayed silent for a few minutes. He helped her set it up, and the game began in earnest.

As the turns flew bye, Akane began to understand what Ranma had said about his mother and monopoly. At the moment they were both heavily dependent on passing GO in order to stay in the game. Nodoka was not in as bad a situation as them and Akane wondered how the woman was so fortunate to land on every single property that she wanted to buy.

“I have an idea,” offered Nodoka. “Akane why don’t you and Ranma combine your money and property. That will make it a bit more interesting.”

“Oh, and what do we have to do in return?” asked Akane.

A few hours later, Akane and Ranma were helping Nodoka to pack up the game. Nodoka left for the kitchen to prepare some tea allowing the two young adults to talk behind her back.

“I can’t believe your mother beat us so badly,” Akane remarked.

“I told you she was a demon at Monopoly,” Ranma responded. “Only two people have ever beaten her: Grandpa and Ucchan, but not regularly.”

“Wow, she’s really good.”

“Yeah…”

“I can’t believe that she made me sit down on your lap when we combined our properties,” she again remarked although this time there was a hint of blush on her face though it was very hard to see in the dim light of the room.

“I told you about my mother and her manliness ideas,” Ranma reminded her. “I think she just wanted to see us together.” The game had taken a longer time than he had expected. With their combined property and money they stood a chance for a little while. He still couldn’t believe that Akane had accepted his mother’s proposition so readily. Having Akane sit suggestively in his lap did not do any miracles for his decision-making capabilities. But he did have fun, especially since he had to hold Akane while they were playing. Holding her had felt wonderful.

“So what does your mother normally do?” Akane asked. “And how does she keep the garden so fresh?”

“I don’t know, you have to ask her,” replied Ranma just as his mother returned with a pot of tea. Just as they all settled down to have a sip, someone was at the door. Nodoka answered it.

“Oh hello dear, what can I do for you?” she asked the person at the door.

Neither of the young adults heard what the person said but Nodoka responded by saying, “Just come on in.”

Akane and Ranma were aghast to see Kodachi Kuno in a dress waltzing into the house.

“Ranma-sama how are you?” she asked cordially, “And Akane you look very beautiful,” Kodachi greeted. The glare Kodachi gave Akane dispelled any reservations Akane or Ranma had about Kodachi’s visit.

“Hello Kodachi, why don’t you sit and have some tea?” invited Ranma much to Akane’s disdain. How could he invite such a troll to tea?

“Why thank you!” Kodachi squealed much to Nodoka’s approval as she joined them. A black shadow followed her into the room. Akane wanted to know if the woman remembered what had happened the last time they had been together.

While having tea, Nodoka invited Kodachi to describe herself and Kodachi did her best to improve her image. Akane squirmed as she had to stay through the woman’s tirade. One false word and Akane would have blown her top, but Ranma was right next to her and his arm had snaked across her waist. After the tea, Kodachi motioned for Sasuke to come forward and the old ninja produced a slightly chilled bottle.

“I don’t think that Akane has had a victory celebration after the match,” Kodachi informed them slyly. “So I thought that I should graciously give her a token in remembrance of her victory.”

A slight pop reverberated around the room until the haze of a freshly popped bottle of bubbly cascaded from Sasuke’s right hand.

“I’ll get the glasses,” Ranma offered.

“No need Ranma darling,” replied Kodachi as with a snap of her fingers, Sasuke produced four glasses. With practiced ease the ninja filled the four glasses and Kodachi handed them out being careful to pass Ranma the glass with the glistening silver edge. The all took a sip and then Nodoka excused herself for a minute, bringing some snacks for them to munch on, while placing the snacks on the table though, she just happened to bump into Ranma and Akane for a few seconds. Apologizing profusely, she sat down to enjoy the rest of the company.

They all had another glass before, Nodoka thanked Kodachi for her thoughtfulness before ushering the woman out. Kodachi tried to convince Nodoka to have her stay for a few more minutes by initiating conversation but Nodoka was against the idea and politely guided Kodachi in the direction of the door as she ushered her out of the house. Kodachi did not mind though as she had backup plans for the night.

Nodoka completed her pleasantries as Kodachi’s form retreated. Inside she found Ranma and Akane giggling at each other. Nodoka smiled and her eyes gleamed with a not so saintly light.

“Why don’t you two go to bed?” suggested Nodoka to the two who where laughing at some unspoken joke.

“Okay mom, just let me walk Akane home…”

“Nonsense, it’s very late, she should spend the night. There are some extra supplies in the changing room.”

As the two retreated to the upper floor, Nodoka cleared the table handling the glass Akane had been drinking out of carefully. She took a little blotting paper and wiped the rim of the glass where there was no film from Akane’s lipstick. She walked up to her room and opened a little box. She added a bit of silica crystals to the to the blotting paper and after carefully dusting the paper with more silica, she wasn’t surprised to find a sheen on the blotting paper as she held it up to the light. Wasn’t this interesting! She smirked as she threw it in the garbage, very interesting.

She had seen a hint of a difference on the glass and a slight change in her son’s behavior after drinking. Although her son was not capable of heavy drinking, one glass should not have any effect on him. This was oh so interesting.

She heard the shuffling of feet and she slid open the door to find the pair giggling like children as they stumbled to the guest room. So something was happening she concluded. She led them both to the room instructed them to change and get into bed then closed the door to give them their privacy. Nodoka grinned like a maniac when she closed the door. She returned minutes later and slid the door open just enough to push her hand in and flick off the lights. She returned to her room and picked up that book she had been reading earlier.

An hour later, Nodoka was still reading, when she heard a shuffling noise outside her window. She did not make a move to defend herself, instead, she pulled up another waiting chair that she had purposely placed in her room that night. As the window cracked open and the person entered, Nodoka was not surprised to see the thin black netting on the leg that entered the room.

“Come in Kodachi,” invited Nodoka. The leg stopped for a second as if the person was reconsidering her decision then reentered the room. “I was expecting you earlier but I see you are a patient woman.”

“Hello Saotome-san,” greeted the woman as she entered the room dressed in her lingerie.

“I guess that was for my son,” concluded Nodoka.

“As you can see Saotome-san, I regard Ranma-sama as the ideal man.”

“Thank you,” replied Nodoka as she accepted the compliment. “I see you are very determined and you are very resourceful,” Nodoka complimented. Kodachi blushed slightly from the compliment. “You did make a few mistakes though.”

“Oh what were those?” Kodachi queried.

“Well the glass you gave Ranma was marked with a silver lining. I figured it contained something since there was no silver lining after he drank. I wonder what it was?”

Kodachi smiled. This woman was growing on her. She had never received many compliments for her pharmacological work. The woman was also her Ranma-sama’s mother and it seemed she also had a vast knowledge about the ways in which to capture a man.

“It was a little mixture of aphrodisiac and sleeping powder,” Kodachi responded.

“Ahh…yes I see,” Nodoka commented.

“So was that my only mistake?” pried Kodachi. This information would be helpful in case she needed to persuade dinner guests to agree to her terms in a discussion.

“Oh no, you see you also did not pay enough attention to what was going on around you,” responded Nodoka. Kodachi raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Evidently you did not see when I switched Ranma and Akane’s glasses.”

Kodachi raised her hand to cover her gaping mouth.

“You’re still a novice compared to me,” Nodoka informed her. “Now leave, I do not wish further audience with you.”

“No, Ranma-sama is mine!” declared Kodachi. “Where are he and that witch of a woman!”

“Already asleep.”

“NO, I’ll kill her!” Kodachi shouted as she pulled out her whip. She made no move to go forward though as she felt a sharp edge of cold steel touching her neck.

“Now that I have your attention, I’ll ask you to leave for the night. It is rather dishonorable to enter a person’s home once the owner has asked you to enter for the night. Your pursuit of Ranma is very endearing but you cannot remove you competition. That would make you less of a woman. Now be gone, an older woman like me needs her beauty sleep.”

Kodachi slowly retreated out of the room and into the night while Nodoka held the family katana at the ready. The sword slid back into the compartment and Nodoka grinned. Putting on her slippers, she scampered around to Ranma’s room and listened at the door. All was quiet. In the darkness, she sneaked into the room and stumbled about almost cursing as she bumped her foot on various pieces of furniture. She could hardly see anything in the room and could barely make out Ranma and Akane as they slept. She wasn’t here to spy on them though. She was here to remove his alarm. She found the curtains and pulled them, covering the windows of the room. She smiled mischievously as she crept out of the room and slid the door shut.

Ranma had been trained to wake with the morning sun. She had been annoyed when she found out that he had arranged to be awoken after she found that little secluded room at the retreat. With those heavy drapes though, there would hardly be any light filtering through. She just hoped the sleeping powder would throw off his internal clock enough to make sure that he didn’t get up early. She walked to the phone and left a message for the
Tendos on the phone. After pouring herself a last cup of tea, she went to sleep thinking about grandchildren.

 

 

Akane woke up and found herself snuggling up to a warm pillow. That was different from the cold bed she was accustomed to. She didn’t even mind the tough skin that lined the pillows. That was when she thought the situation a bit strange. She ignored her impulse to wake up until she was sure that she just felt her pillow move. Confused, she did crack her eye open. The image was blurry and the darkness around her did not help. Groggily she made her way to where she could se a crack of light and pulled the shade open, flooding the light with room. Momentarily blinded, she stumbled backwards and tripped over something. She braced as she fell backwards when she felt two arms catch her.

The person who caught her mumbled something then lay back down on the bed. Relieved and feeling very comfortable where she was she pulled the hand protectively over her chest. She smiled as she felt a warm body embrace her from behind. Warm body!

She jumped off the bed, as did the other person who had come to the same realization.

“Ranma!” she shouted.

“Akane!” he shouted.

Akane looked around to cover herself but nothing was available until Ranma threw a robe at her. Akane grabbed it out of the air and hastily put it on as Ranma pulled on a pair of jeans over his shorts.

“What happened!” Ranma exclaimed as sat down on the bed pleading for Akane to give him and answer. Akane just stood shocked as she heard him. He was asking her what happened. Did that mean that he was as confused as she was?

“Oh, you’re up already!” remarked Nodoka as she popped her head in. “Breakfast is ready when you are,” she told them. “I hope you both enjoyed Kodachi’s present.”

The two were frozen until Ranma whispered, “she knew.” Akane almost jumped over the bed in her haste to reach the door and met Ranma there. He allowed her to pass and the two of them rushed downstairs to the kitchen. The met a laden table and Nodoka bid them to sit down.

“Eat first talk later.”

Akane gobbled her food in haste but Ranma had already beaten her by the time he was finished. Nodoka sat down at the opposite end and began her story.

“Yesterday when Kodachi visited, she drugged Ranma’s glass with a blend of aphrodisiac and sleeping powder. I knew something was amiss when Ranma started acting a bit stranger than usual.”

“Like what?”

“Well he would continually stare at you when you were answering a question and did not take his eyes off you,” replied Nodoka. “So I switch your glass with his and the same thing happened to you. You were both stumbling about and flirting with each other so I sent you both to bed. It’s not as if you haven’t slept in the same room together.”

Akane was about to blow her top when Ranma answered, “it’s alright mother,” and grabbing Akane’s hand he pulled he up the stairs to his room.

“Why that dirty, no good…and your mother I can’t believe...”

Ranma shushed her with his hand. “I told you about my mother already. I don’t know about you but I can hardly remember anything about last night. At least we know nothing serious happened.”

“I guess so,” she replied. She had her panty on when she woke up and Ranma had his boxers on so she knew they had not crossed that boundary. She could vaguely remember a feeling of euphoria the night before when she and Ranma had been kissing as thy entered the room but she could remember nothing after that. Looking on the floor, she found her and Ranma’s clothes strewn about. Uneasy with each other’s presence after what had happened they both walked around the room picking up their clothes. She slipped on a pair of pants while Ranma wasn’t looking and Ranma retreated from the room while she put on the rest of her clothes.

“I need to go,” Akane told him. I have classes to teach.”

“And I’m late for work.”

“I’ll call you later to set up that thing with your dad,” Ranma informed her.

“Okay,” she replied as she followed him to the door. As she exited the house she saw that Ranma was going to follow her. “You don’t need to walk me back home,” she told him as he stepped closer to her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Oh Akane, there you are,” interrupted Nodoka as she stepped outside. “I took the liberty of packing you a little of that cake. Here you go.”

Akane graciously accepted the gift then waited a few seconds for Nodoka to go inside. Instead of retreating to the house though, Nodoka simply began tending some of the small shrubs around the area.

“She’s waiting for us to kiss,” Ranma whispered into her ear as he bent down. Akane was conscious of the fact that he was very close to her and she began to feel uneasy. This morning had her feeling very strange especially since she had felt so comfortable sleeping next to him in her near nude state. It didn’t help that he looked so handsome in the morning light.

“What?” Why was he telling her this? She just wanted to go home and escape from him for a little while. Just to calm her nerves a little. She really needed to calm down from excitement earlier.

“You know, she’s waiting to see us kiss goodbye.”

“Well just kiss me then,” she whispered fiercely not really paying attention to what she had said. She did feel the results of her words though. She felt the results all over her body. Slightly dazed, she returned home and was able to take a cold shower before she readied for lunch and the afternoon classes.

 

 

Akane was very glad to reach home that day and as she did she went directly for her cold shower. It did not help much though as she could still feel his lingering touch on her lips. She could even remember a little from this morning and where his hand had touched when he had hugged her.

She knew that he was fast becoming a lot more than a friend and almost the real deal as opposed to a farce. She did not know why he caused her to feel like this. Was this what all the other girls felt in class when they were around the other boys? She just didn’t know what to make of it. The warm flushes whenever she thought about him. The spikes of energy when she was asked about him. She just had no idea what was happening to her.

She had to control herself though. She told Ranma all she wanted to be was his friend. That was all she could manage at the moment. She was too young to be getting into a real relationship with anyone. She just needed to slow down she repeated to herself. Maybe she was thinking about this too much. Last night was just an accident after all. It could have happened to anyone. That did not snuff out the memories of how much she had enjoyed it though.

No, it really was all a mistake, a misunderstanding, and it was all Kodachi’s fault. Nodoka had told them that they had been drugged the night before. Okay so maybe she was attracted to Ranma just a little but she would have never slept with him like that. She needed to forget about it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Soun Tendo was confused which usually did not mean a lot. He was a man and he had raised three girls. He was more confused than most of us. However, some of his confusion was newly founded. For the past four days, his daughter had been more hyper as she had been in her younger years. She was running about the place and was smiling so much that he thought she was Kasumi on the odd occasion. He had even caught her humming once, a pastime that he associated with his eldest. That wasn’t the only change in her behavior that caught his attention. She practically hovered over the phone at night, even chasing Nabiki off. Then when the phone would ring, she could talk for a least an hour. It was a mystery to him why that was happening.

She was also preparing for something too. She was going out later that night and he didn’t know with whom. Perhaps it was those girls again. They did go out every so often. He sighed when he saw her leave in a long black dress that Friday night.

“Don’t wait up daddy, I’m going out,” she told him as she left. Soun sighed and waved goodbye. Why couldn’t he have had boys?

 

Akane got out the taxi and walked into the diner. She was supposed to meet Ranma there and it would be the first time she would see him after the kiss. They had talked over the phone and rationally discarded the night as something that that happened because they were drugged. Ranma noted that he was glad that it was her rather than Kodachi, who knew how far Kodachi would have taken it if she had crept into his room that night. Akane had to agree with him. From what she had heard, Kodachi was an opportunist in the very sense of the word. After talking to him for the rest of the week the incident had been downplayed and Akane felt that she would be comfortable around him once more.

Kuno had popped by one afternoon decked out in a penguin suit and offering to take her away from the sorcerer. She had applied the tried and true method of deacking him then asking questions later. Ranma had laughed when she told him what she had done. She was really beginning to like hearing him laugh.

Ranma was already at the diner talking to someone who was sitting down with him. The girl sat across from him and wore a light blue top with a black skirt. As Akane walked towards the both of them from Ranma’s blind side, she debated where she would sit. Next to Ranma, or next to this girl? Well she was pretending to be Ranma’s girlfriend. As she reached the table she sat on Ranma’s side.

“Hey Akane, you’re here already. Meet Ukyou Kuonji, my best friend.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Tendo,” replied Ukyou. Akane felt the vigorous handshake given to her but did not what to make of it.

“I’ve been talking to Ukyou about our plan to get you out of your engagement.”

“You told her!” exclaimed an appalled Akane.

“Of course I did,” replied Ranma. “She’s better at these sort of things than I am, plus if she didn’t know then mom would get suspicious.”

“Alright then, but only because you think it’s best,” conceded Akane as she pouted.

Ranma grinned at her and then Ukyou pulled them in closer.

“Okay here’s what you have to do. Since both of you have to act like a couple, you have to do certain things, holding hands and kissing are a must. And you two have to make it look like you are enjoying yourselves when you are together. The more intimate you make yourselves look, the easier it will be to pass you off as a couple. After they buy it, then you both break off all contact with each other for at least a month. Say it was a fight; they’ll believe that. After that, you can both do whatever you want.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Ranma replied as he nodded his head at the logic. Akane nodded her appreciation too. She could have come up with that, but these days sometimes she couldn’t even think straight.

Ukyou winked at them. “Good, so now it’s my turn to collect. Unfortunately Ranma, you know who isn’t here as always, so you have to treat me.”

“Moi, do tell?” asked Ranma confused though he knew of whom she was speaking.

“Dancing of course, I haven’t been dancing since the last time we went. Do you believe Ryouga always get lost every time we go dancing.”

“Yeah, but where shall we go?” Ranma asked.

“Oh right across the street is a little family place I helped set up a few months back, I’m sure they’ll be happy to have us,” she suggested.

“Hey Akane, you ready?” Ranma asked. Akane was still staring straight ahead. “Yo Akane, Akane!”

“Huh, what?”

“You ready to go dancing?”

“S…sure. Where to?”

“Lead the way Ucchan.”

“Come on you two.”

After paying their bill, they walked a block away and came to a newly opened small restaurant: Pearl Salmon.

“What’s with the name?” asked Ranma.

“The specialty is seafood, so they named it Pearl Salmon.”

They walked in and took a seat, when the person behind the bar saw them, he immediately rushed over and bowed.

“Kuonji-san, I’m so happy to see you. Order anything, anything you like…”

Ukyou bowed and smiled. “That’s quite all right. Ranma as always will have some juice. I’ll have a little tonic. Akane what would you like?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she responded, thinking of what she would like to have.

“I know let her have a little ‘white water’, oh, I almost forgot do you still have that case I gave you?” she asked.

“Of course you do,” she answered herself, “no one asks for it, plus you can’t really get it around here,” Ukyou informed Ranma and Akane.

“What is it?” asked Ranma.

“You know how you didn’t like Bacardi when you tasted it.” Ranma nodded. “Well, I met this couple in Hong Kong, they were on vacation from the Caribbean. They gave me a bottle of rum, it’s called Premium White Rum. It’s from Trinidad. You wouldn’t believe how good it tastes. I tried to get a bottle there but no one carries it. So I asked the distributors to send me a case.”

The man returned with a bottle and a tray on it. The drinks were there as was the rum. They were all surprised at the sweet aftertaste that remained instead of the sour bitterness of Bacardi.

“That was really good,” complimented Akane. Ranma agreed as well. When the lingering taste faded they had the other drinks on the tray. Suddenly as Akane was sipping her ‘white water’ she had an urge to use the Ladies’ room. After giving her apologies, she scrambled to the room. Ranma knew something was up. He turned to face Ukyou when she slid her chair around to bring them face to face.

“Look Ranchan, I’m going to be very frank with you. I don’t like this. I’m your friend. I’ve been trying to get you to go out, but not like this.”

“It’s okay Ucchan, I can handle it.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Ukyou sighed. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Hurt?”

Ukyou shook her head. “I know you better than you know yourself Ranma. Just promise me one thing. Everything else aside, if you’re going to pretend to be her boyfriend, promise be you will have some fun.”

“Some fun?” he questioned.

“She’s getting something out of this arrangement, then you should also get something too. Just a bit of fun, just a little kissing if you know what I mean.” Ranma shook his head. Ukyou sighed again, sometimes he could be so thickheaded. “Look you have to do those things to convince her family right, so just make sure you enjoy it.”

“I think I can manage that,” Ranma responded.

“And don’t let her push you around,” Ukyou warned.

“Hey I never let anyone push me around!” defended Ranma.

“Oh, and what about you dad?”

“That’s a different story…”

“And me…”

“You?”

“I could make you do almost anything when we were dating, all I had to so was sniffle and you would go all soft on me.”

“You know I can’t stand to see a girl cry.”

“I know Ranma. It’s very sweet, but it’s so easy to take advantage of.”

“Well it’s not going to happen.”

“That’s good…and what about the chain?”

“It still works, though I have to let her out during the day,”

Ukyou spied Akane coming back from the Ladies room. The live entertainment was still going strong.

“I believe I’ll have this dance,” Ukyou told him as she offered her hand.

“Indeed my dear, I shall make you dear boyfriend jealous tonight.”

“Yeah, if he could just find the place,” she sarcastically remarked.

As Akane returned the two took to the dance floor. Akane sat down and watched them. They pranced around the floor completely familiar with each other’s skill making her jealous of them. They were laughing and having a good time as they danced and Akane noted how well Ukyou seemed to complement Ranma as they whirled around on the dance floor. She grew angry as she continued to watch them dance. She shouldn’t be sitting here watching them; she should be out there in that woman’s place. Damn it, Ranma was her man!

As soon as the thought popped into her head she chided herself. What the hell was she thinking! Ranma was just a friend; that was all he was. That was all she wanted. He could do anything he wanted, anything. So why was she feeling so depressed as she watched him and Ukyou dance on the floor. She remembered when she had been learning to dance with him. She had really had a wonderful time. It was the first time she had really allowed herself to enjoy dancing. In school, she had to be weary of the boys when they asked her to dance. They always had an ulterior motive. She had to be cautious and reserved. Ranma wasn’t like them though; she liked being with him and he had yet to take advantage of her, even in his own house.

As she watched them dance, her own consciousness began to challenge her. ‘Ranma is your date,’ it told her. “He’s supposed to be dancing with her, not you.’ ‘I can’t do anything about it,’ she groused. ‘Ever heard of cutting in?’ was the reply.

“Don’t look now, but I think your jealous girlfriend wants a turn. Remember Ranma try to have some fun…”

“Ukyou, may I cut in?” Akane asked as soon as she was within range.

“Of course,” Ukyou replied. “You kids have fun now, I’m going home. I still have a business to run.”

“Bye Ucchan,” Ranma waved as she left. “Now you have me all to yourself,” he smirked.

“Then I better make the best of it,” responded Akane.

Although Akane got what she wanted, she was a bit apprehensive at first as Ranma was holding her hands. She began to remember the night they had slept together with his hands around her. She chided herself for those stray thoughts though and began to concentrate on the present and having fun.

They danced as the band played and even after the band called it a night, they were dancing to the previously recorded music. They were not alone in their endeavor, as several other couples had chosen to spend the night at that particular establishment. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, it was time to close. With the crowd dwindling, Ranma and Akane left.

 

 

 

Soun usually did not wait up for his daughters when they came in late, especially in the case of Nabiki. But this was his baby girl. Akane going out in a dress was different. When she went out with her friends, she usually dressed in pants, not in a dress. That realization had hit him during the night. The television was on very low and he had fallen asleep at various times during the night. Thank goodness though for the modern convenience of alarm clocks. It was four in the morning now and his daughter had yet to show. Then, he heard the little trap he had set outside. He knew he shouldn’t but it was in case he did fall asleep. He had, but the alarm went off at two and his baby girl was not home, he knew something was going on.

The dry sand crackled under his daughter’s steps and Soun hid when he saw the door opening. Then he spied the television. Fiddling with the control he was somehow able to turn the infernal contraption off before his daughter stepped inside. He briefly remembered the times with Genma hiding from the master. Those thoughts were chased from his head though when the door opened sufficiently for him to see that Akane was not alone. Someone else was with her and from the voice, it sounded like a boy. Akane with a boy? ‘That’s impossible!’ he thought. But his ears were not deceiving him. Cautiously he peeked out a bit further. He could not see the boy’s face but he knew the boy had dark hair pulled behind his head. ‘Thanks for a great night,’ he heard his daughter tell him then he almost gasped as his daughter kissed the boy on his cheek. She kissed him; she actually kissed him. That was the first time he had ever seen his daughter do anything romantic. It must have been Kimikio’s work. His dear wife had been looking after her daughters.

As the door closed, he could hear Akane humming and giggling as she made her way up the stairs. Soun silently slid from his position and sat in the dark on his chair. His daughter was apparently seeing someone but who was it? Could it have been because of his ultimatum? The person sounded nothing like Tatewaki Kuno. Maybe Akane had been hiding this boy from him all the time, afraid of what her father might say. He wondered who this boy was, if he was good enough for his daughter. The thought of asking her crossed his mind but he knew how headstrong she was. If he asked, she might never tell him. He guessed he would have to wait until she was ready to tell him. Yeah right! This was his house and as long as he was master of the house he would no everything that happened under its roof. Now how could he say that without making his daughter angry…

 

 

Ranma Saotome sat on top the roof. It was very late but he did not feel like sleeping, not yet. Clad only in his boxers, he enjoyed the wind as it blasted his bare back. The cool wind was refreshing and almost soothing as it ran across his skin. The roof had become one of his more favorite places to think because he could also lay back and stare at the stars.

He was not thinking about the stars though. In fact, he was thinking about a topic not remotely similar to the stars except in a poetic sense. His mind was concentrated on the image of Akane. For some reason, he could not forget the one image his mind had remembered from the morning when he had woken up with her. That was the image of Akane nearly in all her glory as the warm sunlight glowed on her skin. She looked absolutely radiant and appealing in the warm sunlight.

He had never felt this for any of the girls he had seen in the nude. For them he felt almost a primary instinct, but for Akane, the first thing that came to his mind was holding her. All he wanted to do was hold her and then after do something else. And kiss, so far he had enjoyed almost every kiss they had together. Such sweet bountiful lips…

 

 

 

Saturday Kasumi was over early in the morning, invading the house with the two kids. Unfortunately, Akane was not that receptive to the early morning interference. When Kasumi tried to wake her she just bundled deeper into the covers. Only when she turned around did Kasumi spy the black dress that had been tossed on the chair in the room. Akane had a late night out Kasumi presumed and Kasumi could guess just who had taken her sister out last night. There were very few occasions Akane would wear a dress and for Akane to wear a dress to impress this young man told Kasumi much more than Akane would truthfully express.

As the kids tormented their grandfather, Kasumi settled into the kitchen. It was no longer her kitchen but it was barely used to do what it was capable of any more. Akane could cook now, but she was limited. Late that morning, Akane was heard in the shower and sauntered down the stairs minutes later. She was surprised to see Kasumi and the kids there.

“Tofu had to go out of town today so I decided to visit for the weekend. So when am I going to meet Ranma?” asked Kasumi. “It’s not nice keeping you sister in the dark,” Kasumi chided lightly.

“I was thinking of having him come over tomorrow,” Akane replied, her finger reaching for one of the sister’s famous pastries.

“That’s great, Tofu will be back in the morning,” notified Kasumi. “Then we can all meet him. Have you told father?”

“I was hoping to surprise him,” Akane responded.

Kasumi smiled. “Now would you care to help me in the kitchen.”

 

 

The next day, Akane left early in the morning to meet Ranma in a designated place. From there, they went over the plan, or at least Akane did. Ranma just smiled and nodded. He was content to just try and wing it. It was what he had done at most of those meetings with his cousin and it had worked. The two walked to the Tendo Compound idly chatting until they reached the door.

“This is it,” murmured Akane.

“Don’t worry,” soothed Ranma, “Everything will be okay.”

When Akane opened the door, she was startled when all the talking from inside stopped. She was surprised to see almost the entire family waiting for her. Involuntarily, she stepped back into Ranma’s embrace as his arms circled her waist prompting her forward.

“Oh Akane, he’s more handsome in person,” exclaimed Kasumi as she took him by the hand. Then she walked around making introductions. Nabiki nodded and Tofu gave him a handshake. The girls hid behind their father’s legs, but still waved meekly. During the commotion, Soun had entered wondering what was about when he heard the introductions. He spied the young man being tugged around by Kasumi.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“This is Ranma,” introduced Kasumi. “Akane’s new boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? My baby girl has a boyfriend!” he wailed and then ran directly to Akane, crushing her in a hug. After a few moments of gathering his wits, Soun turned on Ranma.

“So boy, who are you?”

“I am Ranma Saotome.”

“Saotome! Any relation to Genma Saotome?”

“My father,” replied Ranma. “What had the old man done now?” asked Ranma irritably.

“So he didn’t tell you about the…” Soun would have finished if Tofu had not quickly prodded a small spot causing him to cough suddenly.

“Father wanted to know if you had heard of any arrangement between your family and the Tendos.”

Ranma scratched the back on his head in confusion. “Nothing I can think of. Then again, mother had him committed to a shrine after my grandparents found us. Did him some good too. He’s changed since then, and the courts nullified his debts and arrangements seeing that he was never the head of the clan anyway.”

“What, how’s that?” asked Tofu in bewilderment.

“Seems that pops overlooked the clause in the marriage contract that gives mother matriarchal control of the clan.”

“So all his promises were annulled,” asked Soun.

“Him stealing and stuff did not help his cause too greatly.”

Soun plopped down in one of the sofas. The promise could not be fulfilled. Genma had no rights to his son. Then he looked at his youngest and Ranma. They were seeing each other weren’t they? That meant they still had a chance. But first he had to make sure this was Saotome’s son.

“So Ranma,” he asked. “As Genma’s heir, can you defeat Akane?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Hey!” shouted Akane as her skill was deferred so easily, “You can’t beat me that easily,” she challenged.

“You sure about that?” Ranma asked.

“Positive,” Akane replied, after all, she had to defend her pride.

Less than a second later, her hands were being held behind her back as Ranma appeared behind her. As he pulled her at an angle she was given no room to maneuver.

“Akane, just say I win,” whispered Ranma silently. “It will impress your father.”

Akane almost felt like telling him that she had little room to move when she realized that he thought she could get out of that hold easily. It almost amazed her that he thought that much of her skill. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing though.

“I yield,” she croaked out.

Immediately her hands were free and she found herself once again being embraced by Ranma. ‘It’s so nice to have a warm body next to you,’ she thought idly.

“So Ranma, I see you are as good as your father, come both of you sit down,” ushered Soun. He was eager to make Ranma feel welcome. This boy was truly a better suitor than Kuno.

“So you’re interested in my daughter,” broached Soun tactlessly. All three daughters were alarmed at their father’s brusqueness. “Since you are Genma’s son then you are practically family. How is Genma?”

“He’s teaching children. It is part of my mother’s punishment.”

Soun nodded though he did not understand.

“You can rightfully have my daughter’s hand,” Soun said slowly.

“But daddy, what about Kuno,” interjected Nabiki.

“Oh him? But Akane and Ranma…”

“Have just announced this to us,” added in Nabiki. “Surely we need to make sure that they have been seeing each other for at least a month before we break the engagement. It might look dishonorable if we don’t.”

“An excellent suggestion,” nodded Soun sagely. “That sounds fair enough. So Ranma tell me about yourself.”

Kasumi saw the little ploy Nabiki was using. If Ranma and Akane were the real deal then another month should mean nothing to them. If it were different however, this would ensure that Akane was given enough time to fall in love with Ranma.

Nabiki’s ideas were far different from her sister’s though. She knew this was a charade. Even if Akane kept it up, one month was the minimum for a serious relationship. That way, their family honor would not be slighted if the two did break up. Nabiki idly wondered if Ranma was using this engagement to his advantage. He did not seem to be the richest of people. Could he just be interested in the family for that purpose?

Akane however was delighted by her father’s decree. A whole month with Ranma. That should be a cinch, especially since Ranma was already her friend. All they had to do was act lovey-dovey a little bit and the engagement would be history. Ranma was already doing a pretty good job of it already. He only had his arm around her shoulder and she was leaning into him a bit but wasn’t that what normal people in a relationship did? They would of course extend it a little over the month just to be safe and a week had already passed. Three more weeks to go for a month.

She had come to accept the night they had as an incident caused by Kodachi and was comfortable being around Ranma once again. She didn’t get that flushed feeling any more, in fact, she felt more comfortable in his presence now than when he was away.

As Ranma was interrogated he answered a few of Soun’s questions. Soun had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Ranma had been training Nabiki. Finally that girl was getting back into the art. He knew Kasumi practiced daily with Tofu. As Ranma continued Nabiki disappeared from the house and Kasumi pulled Akane away into the kitchen for some gossip and to prepare lunch.

The discussion moved towards the martial arts and the men were engaged in a serious training ground discussion when they were called for lunch. With the girls by their grandfather, lunch was a less than formal affair. And the discussion continued well after lunch into supper. After supper, Kasumi and her family took their leave as the kids were getting a bit cranky. That left Soun alone with the couple.

Soun had to excuse himself for a few minutes to find an old relic to show to Ranma. It had come up in a discussion and Soun was proud of his old travels. He did want to brag a bit as he reveal his adventures with Genma to Ranma. Ranma was obviously intrigued by the adventures he was describing. Akane decided that was the time for her to snuggle a bit closer to him. After all, she had to convince father. When Soun returned though, he carried with him sake and three bowls.

“I’ve been saving this for a special occasion,” Soun told them and poured the sweet heated liquor into the bowls. Akane was feeling a bit thirsty so she readily accepted. As the day lingered on, Soun said his goodnights and stumbled back to his room. Ranma stared at the two bottles on the table. He hadn’t drank a lot but he knew that Soun was celebrating. He was trying to woo the man so he hadn’t paid too much attention to Akane. After a few bowls, he knew Soun had had enough but he was content to let the man enjoy himself. He was in his own home. Unfortunately Ranma knew without a doubt that Akane had also had a few too many. He didn’t think that Akane was the drinker like her father. The said girl was currently sleeping with her head leaning on his shoulder.

She moved slightly and her head fell softly into his lap. He cradled her for a few minutes as the television droned on. Finally as he too began to feel the effects of the day, he effortlessly picked her up and carried her to her room upstairs. It was easy to find since it had a duck in the front with her name in kanji. He opened the door expecting to find a normal girl’s room. Instead he found nothing of the sort. There were no pictures of half naked men on the walls; in fact, except for the strange yellow the room had been painted it was an okay looking room. He narrowly missed tripping over a dumbbell as she silently glided towards the bed. Throwing off the covers, he placed her down then tucked her in giving her a kiss on her forehead. He inspected the room once more, amazed to not find any sappy stuff he had always seen others girls with. Even Ukyou had one guy poster in her room. He smiled and closed the door then he let himself out.

 

 

 

Another week of phone calls, short meetings and the occasional Kuno beating had passed when the weekend arrived. Kyonno had decided to ask her uncle to carry her to the zoo, so Akane agreed to go along with him. Ranma met Akane at her door with Kyonno around his neck. She had seen the koi pond so her first ambition was to go watch the fish. She tried to catch them but Ranma just wagged his finger and she stopped. Instead, she began chasing a large butterfly that had fluttered in. Akane packed a few things to add to the bag Ranma was carrying and soon they were off.

At the zoo, Kyonno was insatiable. As little children were prone to a lot of energy, she was more like a buzzing bee than a human. She fluttered from cage to cage looking at the birds. She liked birds she told them repeatedly. Reptiles did not seem to capture her interest. In fact, she spent most of that time hovering around Ranma and Akane legs.

Her real awe though, came at the cages of the big cats. These cages were well protected and there was absolutely no way for anyone to get in without making a complete spectacle of themselves. The high fence on the outside was coupled with a deep pit that served as a very good barrier against any of the cats escaping.

The lions were lazing on the ground not paying any attention to anyone. Kyonno ran around the fence looking for each one and trying to count all the lions. She returned to Ranma and Akane telling them the number she counted. After that, it was time for the tigers. Tigers were different from lions. They were not safari animals but instead preferred to remain hidden in the thick undergrowth of the Indian hills and plains. They were nocturnal hunters at times and as such, most of these tigers were content to hide in the coverage that was provided. That did not mean that they could not be seen though. Kyonno craned her neck every which way to look for each hidden tiger. She was quite startled when one of the stated beasts yawned in her direction, bearing its huge teeth and a gaping mouth. She stepped back and was glad when she felt Ranma’s hands pick her up and place her on his back for a piggyback. She did not desire to go roving about the cats’ cages anymore. The panthers and jaguars were in the trees, their eyes a mysterious color. After the cats, they saw other herbivorous animals that were enclosed in a large grassy area.

They walked up and down pointing out various animals to Kyonno. She jumped up and down, peeked high and low before finally she complained that she was feeling hungry. Taking the hint, Ranma and Akane found a spot they could have a picnic. Ranma threw out a checkered cloth and began pulling out sandwiches that he had packed. Akane too pulled out some of hers. While Kyonno decided what she wanted to eat, Ranma hurried off to buy some drinks. When he returned, Kyonno was finishing her second sandwich. Lunch took a bit of time since Kyonno had found that birds were attracted to bread crumbs and threw a piece of bread out to the birds, watching in fascination as the birds tore into the bread, reducing it to scraps in seconds. Kyonno then hounded the adults as all little children do. She wanted to go back to the animals. She pouted until they were ready but as soon as they were up and moving again she was back to her old self, fluttering among their feet.

 

 

Armed with his digital camera he had been given, the elderly gentlemen scanned the crowd. His interest in photography had done him good, landing him this job in his retirement, not that he needed it mind you, but it was as good an excuse as any to get out of the house. That wife of his would drive any man nuts if they staying in the house with her all day. The zoo today however was filled with the wrong kind of folk for taking the perfect picture- at least in his eyes. Kids with their hair in all sorts of hideous colors and styles or older people like himself out relaxing. Sometimes a few groups of friends passing bye. He was not finding the picture he wanted. It was Saturday though and the better crowd was usually on Sunday when families had their outings. He was about to go chasing off in another direction when he spotted his target. A very young man and woman laughing as they had a picnic and a little girl chasing away a few of the birds that she had attracted with her bread.

This was a good opportunity, now, just to get that angle. Walking around he found just the right angle that showed the parents and the little girl in the picture. He took a few and discarded the pictures he did not want. A few minutes later, they were packing up. He decided to follow them to see where they would lead him.

This was the ideal picture for advertisement. A young couple and their child in the zoo. Pictures like those always enticed people to come, if only to see others enjoying themselves. Certainly the older generation would just come to see the children. Now if only he could get that man and his wife together to pose for a photo with their little girl.

 

 

Ranma waited to introduce Kyonno to this section last. It was a mini aquarium. Kyonno looked stupefied as she viewed all the fish in the tanks surrounding her. She knelt next to the tanks and began viewing the fish eagerly pointing out various ones to Ranma and Akane who were behind her.

“Hello there,” interrupted a man from behind them. “Would you like me to take your picture,” he asked. “It’s free of charge,” he added, “since we will be using these pictures for advertising purposes.”

Ranma looked at Akane. She shrugged.

“It’s fine by us,” replied Ranma. “But you have to get Kyonno away from the tank,” Ranma bargained. The old man laughed.

“I had three girls,” he told them. He asked his assistant to toss him something. It was a plush colorful little fish.

“Kyonno,” he coaxed, “Would you like this?”

Kyonno’s eyes lit up as she saw the fish. She rapidly nodded her head.

“Well all you have to do is take a picture with mommy and daddy and it’s yours,” the old man told her. Ranma and Akane blushed brightly at his statement but neither began to object to his statement. “Okay, dear why don’t you hold the girl,” he instructed Akane. “And sir, stand behind you wife…yes just like that,” he confirmed as Ranma moved. “Now hold her from behind…yes that’s good. Now smile!”

He took several pictures of the three of them there then came forward and handed Kyonno the fish. “That’s for being a good girl,” he told her, “and I have something else.” He handed her a little box of chocolates which she rapidly devoured. The man turned his attention back to Ranma. “Now sir, can I have your name?”

“Ranma Saotome.”

“Saotome, good. I’ll just be a minute,” he told them and hurried away. Kyonno was still staring at the fishes and chasing them with her eyes when the man returned five minutes later with a manila folder.

“These are your pictures,” he told Akane as he handed them to her. “It’s been a pleasure Mrs. Saotome,” he told her then hurried away as he caught another prospective ad. This was his lucky day.

 

Ranma was still watching Kyonno as she ran around following a particular fish. They were in an enclosed semi-oval. The man’s words echoed in Akane’s mind. ‘Mrs. Saotome,’ he called her. The name for some reasons sent pleasurable shivers up her spine. Then she caught the sensation of a hand around her waist. Ranma had been holding her all this time and she had not even noticed. He shouldn’t be doing that but she could not summon the courage to move his hand because it felt so comfortable having it there around her waist. Why was she so comfortable with this? Why was she so comfortable with Ranma? And why did she like the sound the Mrs. Saotome so much?

 

Ranma himself was perturbed by his own behavior. Was he letting himself get too close to Akane? It didn’t seem like it to him but the man had called them a couple; a married one at that. Akane had raised no objection so neither did he, but that had him worried. Worried because he almost felt pride when he heard the man call her his wife. His wife…he would have to get a girlfriend before he could get a wife and even that was causing him a lot of problems.

Ranma asked Kyonno is she wanted to go see something else. The girl shook her head vigorously as she watched some tuna swim by. He had bought some ice cream in cup from a moving vendor a while ago and was surprised when she ignored it in favor of the tank. She had never refused ice cream before.

Ranma and Akane shared the cup with the single spoon they had with Ranma annoying Akane by insisting that she be spoon-fed as he grinned at her. Akane growled at him and glared while he taunted her with phrases like ‘open wide please’ and ‘does liddle Akane want some more.’ Ranma enjoyed teasing her even though he knew it was gradually getting on her nerves. Ukyou did say to have some fun. Both Akane and he were thoroughly surprised when Kyonno came between the both of them and yawned, indicating that she was finally ready to go. Ranma held her in his arms as she refused to go on the floor and minutes later, she was asleep.

Ranma was quietly seeing Akane back to her door with Kyonno in his arms when Akane invited him in.

“Kyonno’s asleep,” he told her, “I should carry her home.”

“Well why don’t you spent the night,” Akane offered. “That way you wouldn’t have to worry about her.”

“I don’t want to be any trouble.”

“Trouble! I don’t want to hear you saying that in this house,” Akane scolded and took him by the arm. “Come on, let’s put her to bed.”

Akane led him to her room and while Ranma undressed Kyonno, Akane found a shirt for Kyonno to wear as a nightdress. Then they tucked her under the covers and surrounded her with pillows. Closing the door lightly, they retreated downstairs.

“So where are you going to sleep?” Ranma asked her.

“On the couch. I’ve done it before.”

 “Yeah, like last night,” Ranma quipped. Akane blushed. She didn’t remember falling asleep and Ranma hadn’t told her anything but from what she had pieced together she figure that he had put he to bed.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“You should have seen yourself doing a striptease, I never thought you had it in you,” Ranma taunted.

“I never did any of that!” Akane defended while blushing fiercely.

“You didn’t, I clearly remember…”

Akane covered his mouth with her hand bringing her face next to his.

“Did I actually do any of that?” she asked in a hushed tone. That was partially because she could still remember the contours of his body from the weeks before and she knew that she was attracted to him. In the past she remembered times when Kasumi mentioned that she had come down the stairs and had a conversation with her late at night. Akane could never remember those discussions or that fact that she had stepped out of her room that night. She was a sleepwalker and it was possible that she could have done what Ranma was alluding to.

“No,” Ranma replied truthfully, “But I did have to put you to bed.”

“Oh my...”

“Don’t worry about it, it seems that you only get tired when you drink.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Well, would you have preferred doing a striptease for me?”

Akane blushed and was about to say something when…

“Don’t stop on account of me being here,” interrupted Nabiki.

Akane whirled around and spied her sister, she was about to move when Ranma held her by the shoulders and brought her down on his lap.

“I was just out renting a movie. You two lovebirds can continue I’ll just watch the movie in the meanwhile.”

“What movie is it?” asked Akane as she subconsciously slipped her hand around his. All the while she knew she had to do something to keep her sister off edge. It was a lesson from Nabiki’s own rule of negotiation: keep the other person guessing and they will not press you beyond their comfort zone.

“The Thomas Crown Affair,” Nabiki responded.

Akane turned to Ranma and whispered into his ear. “Just lie down and follow my lead.”

Akane got up and allowed him to lie down, then she lay to his side and pulled his hands around her to hold her tight. Akane knew that her sister was not accustomed to seeing any sort of romantic gestures. Tofu and Kasumi were reserved and waited until they were home. Akane knew she had never done anything in the past so the mere fact that she and Ranma were lying on the sofa together would have her sister on edge.

“Why are we doing this?” whispered Ranma.

“I won’t give Nabiki the pleasure of finding us out,” Akane replied.

“If you two lovebirds are done whispering, the movie’s about to start,” Nabiki informed them. She blanched at the fact that Akane had Ranma holding her. She had never thought her sister would have taken the charade that far but if anything, Nabiki was patient. She knew it would not last. It was strange how comfortable her little sister seemed to be while snuggling up to Ranma.

 

Half way into the movie Nabiki began to feel the munchies. The spared a glance at the couple and was surprised to find the pair sleeping blissfully. “No stamina at all,” she remarked and walked up to the closet to find a blanket for them. After the movie, she turned off all the lights and kissed Akane on the forehead.

“I hope you know what you’re doing Akane,” Nabiki whispered and then headed to her room.

 

 

Akane woke up the next morning in pain. This pain was being caused by a little girl who though it would be fun to wake up her favorite uncle by jumping on him. It was something that Ranma had some to expect when Kyonno was spending the night over, Akane was experiencing it for the first time. Apparently, Kyonno had awoken and finding herself in a strange place decided to investigate. That investigation had led her to creep down the stairs and find her uncle sleeping.

Ranma was awake on the second jump, and finding one arm trapped, he grabbed the giggling girl with the other. Akane was fighting in the blanket to get the demon off her. With a punch, she fell off the couch onto the ground. Someone was snickering in the background and Akane turned to find her father staring at them with a pipe in his mouth.

“Good morning Akane, Ranma. Had a good night’s sleep?” he questioned.

Akane glared at him and he laughed. Ranma sat on the couch while Akane tried to prop herself off the floor.

“Akane, I think it’s time to get going. Mother must be worried. I didn’t call her last night.”

“Nonsense,” replied Soun. “It’s early enough for breakfast. And you can call your mother,” he instructed pointing at the phone. Soun’s appraisal of Ranma was getting even better by the moment. The boy had obviously not taken advantage of his daughter and the first thing that came to his mind was his mother. Ranma obviously had a good head screwed on. “And who is this little girl?” asked Soun.

“My name is Kyonno,” the little girl giggled.

“And what would you like for breakfast?” asked Soun.

“Pancakes!” shouted Kyonno.

Soun looked a bit downtrodden. He didn’t know how to cook those.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll cook up some,” Ranma offered.

“Excellent, Akane will give you some help.”

While Soun had his hands full with yet another child, Ranma and Akane took to the kitchen.

Under Ranma’s instructions, Akane retrieved the ingredients from the cupboard and placed them in front of him. Minutes later, Ranma was whipping up a batter while Akane eyed him.

“Have you ever made pancakes before?” he asked.

“Uh, no,” Akane replied.

“Well, there’s never as good a time as now,” Ranma told her and handed her the eggs to whip. She continued to do that as Ranma searched for and measured other ingredients. In went some vanilla flavoring and some other good stuff, then came the body of the pancakes: the flour. Ranma poured in a cup full and was satisfied as the batter became thick and creamy but not hard to mix. That was just about the right amount. It was almost time to cook them he thought. He picked up a stray bottle of oil that had been lying there unaware of its leaking bottom, and placed it to the side. He would need that space for the food. He spied the cup that had a little bit of flour in it. Mischievously, he sauntered up to Akane and threw a pinch into her face. Akane growled at him.

“Why you…”

She took some from the side of the bowl and flicked it at him. He returned fire. She took a step to chase him when she slid forward, catching him by the arm as she fell. Ranma fell with her as did the batter. With his free hand Ranma miraculously caught the bowl out of the air. He was unable to move though as someone was on top of him.

“Would you mind getting off?” Ranma asked.

“Why?” asked Akane. “I still have to get you back for the flour.”

“Oh, and how are you going to do that?”

“By employing my most famous attack that has never been beaten… Tendo Submission Attack, Tickle Surprise!”

Taken by surprise, Ranma had no immediate defense to Akane’s ruthless tickling. He was reduced to a laughing bundle on the floor.

“Do you give up?” asked Akane as she let up for a second. That proved to be her undoing. As Ranma gained enough control, he attacked using his own version and soon Akane was wriggling in laughter above him. In her spasms, she slid off to the floor, evading Ranma’s prying fingers. She then began tickling him too as the two traded and blocked each other’s fingers on the floor.

“So this is how you make breakfast,” commented Nabiki as she found the laughing pair. Both stared at her like deer caught in front of a pair of headlights. “I don’t mind all the commotion but some of us are hungry,” berated Nabiki. Akane and Ranma saw Soun and Kyonno’s head peeking from behind the doorway. Kyonno was grinning while Soun’s face looked as if it was in a war deciding whether to celebrate or to run from his daughter. He chose the latter, taking Kyonno with him. Akane wondered why her father had a miniature teacup in his hand though.

As Akane got up, she reached for the table pulling herself up. As she took the first step though, she fell back and was caught by Ranma.

“You know, for a martial artist, you sure don’t have a great sense of balance,” Ranma told her. “Let’s see if we can fix that.”

Ranma held onto her tightly as he stood straight up. Taking a knife, he spread the oil along the floor.

“I want you to keep walking there until the pancakes are finished,” he instructed.

“Are you crazy? That’s impossible!” Her idea was quickly shot down as Ranma comfortably and quite easily walked across the spilled oil towards her.

“Impossible you say,” he taunted.

She harrumphed and began the exercise. As Ranma poured the batter on, the plate containing the pancakes began growing higher and higher. The aroma alone attracted the rest of the residents.

“Just wait a minute and they will be done,” Ranma informed as he kept a watchful eye on the slipping Akane. Ranma gave the full plate to Nabiki and began to clean up the oily mess around him. He would definitely need a bath when this was over and a new pair of pants, he didn’t think even the miracles worked by his mother would get those oily stains out. Armed with a roll of paper towels, Ranma carefully wiped up the mess backing away into a corner and occasionally throwing the soiled towels into the trash on the other side of the room. As he backed up, he gave himself and Akane even less room to move until they were both backed up into a corner. Throwing a towel down, he wiped under his feet and then set Akane on the counter as he wiped hers. Akane volunteered to wipe up the rest of the mess.

Outside, Soun was already finished when he spied the soiled Ranma walking out of the kitchen. “You need a bath,” Soun commented. “Go take one, I’ll bring some clothes in later.”

Obediently, Ranma climbed the stairs to the bathroom and threw his oiled clothes to the side. They would more than likely have to be thrown away. He opened the sliding door and entered. The once spacious room was a bit crowded as Ranma read the labels on the boxes to the side. ‘Nabiki Tendo: Bathing supplies order,’ the tag read. So Nabiki had been stocking up. He wondered what kind of business the girl had on the side. Akane had told him that that guestroom was full of boxes too. He guessed the girl stored them anywhere she could. Ranma noticed the soap on the floor. Evidently someone had recently taken a bath and from the looks of things he guessed it had been Kyonno. He would have to thank Soun for that later though he guessed that it would more likely have been Nabiki. She did look like she had just taken a bath. Ranma slipped a little on the floor and fought to regain his balance. He held onto the furo as he reached it. Talk about an obstacle course. The furo was still warm and he was eager for a soak. After rinsing off, he eased into the water, sighing as the warmth embraced him.

 

 

Akane threw the last rag into the hamper. “Daddy, I’m going for a shower. Tell Ranma to eat without me.” Soun nodded his head, listening to the girl in front of him as she explained why the tooth fairy left a coin under her pillow.

 

 

Ranma was comfortably soaking when he felt something prodding his leg in the furo. Bringing it up, he saw a half emptied bottle of liquid soap. That would explain the mess on the floor. He eased himself out of the furo when the door slid open and Akane entered, subconsciously taking the first step forward. As she did so, she slipped on the soapy ground and trying to gain control, she slid forward slamming into something and going into the furo.

So noted the water was warm and was beginning to relax when she felt something akin to the rippling muscles on Ranma when he had swam them to sure. They sure were hard. Then it suddenly came to her that she was not alone in the furo. She looked up to find herself staring Ranma in the face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked stupidly. Ranma scratched the back of his head.

“Taking a bath?” he offered. Akane nodded then plopped back down to her previous position on Ranma’s chest, her mind in denial and shock. Ranma was having a really bad feeling about this whole thing. Akane had yet to say anything about the situation they had found themselves in.

Suddenly she sprang up and looked at him then looked at her state. She shrieked and slapped him in the face. “You pervert!” she cried and hopped out of the bath. She forgot about the slippery floor though and as soon as she stepped out, she slipped and hit her head on the wooden floor with a loud bang. Immediately Ranma forgot about his painful cheek and rushed out of the furo. Pulling a towel that lay at the side, he wrapped it around his body and carried her to the outer room being careful to keep his balance. He found the first aid box and his clothes. Taking both, he rushed out of the bathroom and into Akane’s room before the footsteps could reach the top of the stairs. He opened the bottle of smelling salts and Akane came to, coughing all the way.

“Hey you okay?” he asked her.

“Ranma? Where am I?”

“Your room, you fell and hit your head on the floor.”

“I did?” she looked down and yelped. “I’m naked!” she cried as she unsuccessfully pulled one of her pillows to hide her nudity. Ranma saw a robe hanging and threw it to her while looking the other way. He grabbed the pair of pants he had brought with the first aid kit, pulling them on. They were loose in the waist but he wasn’t complaining.

“You can turn around now,” Akane told him. “What happened to your face?” she asked as she could see the outline of a red angry handprint.

“You slapped me!” he told her.

“Me?”

“Yes you walked in on me while I was in the bath and called me a pervert,” he accused her. “Then you slapped me for no good reason.”

“You were peeping on me,” she accused him.

“No way, plus I had the occupied sign on the door,” he affirmed.

“Well it’s my bath,” she retorted.

“So you were peeping on me!” exclaimed Ranma. The shock and embarrassment had been purged from his system. The fact that Akane had on clothes also helped. Now he was back to his old irritating cocky self.

“I was not!” she defended.

Suddenly the door burst open and Soun began the waterworks.

“My daughter was peeping on a man!” he wailed, “My little baby is growing up.” Nabiki was at his side trying to disappear as she held a cup to where the door used to be. Kyonno was trying to look around her to see what was going on.

“Nabiki!” Akane growled.

“Just checking for termites,” Nabiki stuttered as she nervously grabbed Kyonno and hurried away. Soun was still bawling and was treated to an angry Akane kick before she slammed the door closed on his face.

Akane turned to face Ranma but he was no longer there. She was left staring at the open window.

 

 

 

Ranma was patiently eating breakfast when Akane joined him. He had not said a word to her for five minutes and it was getting to Akane. Especially since he was paying her no attention. Inwardly Akane fought a battle against her pride until finally one side won out.

“I’m sorry,” she grumbled. Ranma turned to the side to face her.

“I’m sorry could you repeat that again?” he asked.

“I said I’m sorry,” she grumbled again.

“Apology not accepted,” Ranma stated calmly and began eating again. Ranma was good really good, noted Nabiki as she listened in.

“What! How can you say that! I said I’m sorry already!”

“You didn’t mean in,” Ranma stated calmly. “If you did you would have at least given me a kiss by now.”

“Now why would I…”

“Because I’m our boyfriend,” he stated simply.

“I’m not…” Akane would have finished but Ranma was pointing to two things that grabbed her attention. He pointed to the doorway, and there she could see a tuft of hair that could only belong to her father and on his pancake he had scrawled the kanji for ‘Kuno’.

Akane growled at him. Ranma smiled and opened his arms. “How about it?”

Akane shuffled closer. “Okay, only a tiny peck?” she warned him.

Ranma obliged her with a tiny peck at the beginning but then his arms wrapped around her and Akane felt herself falling into a passionate embrace that she could not and did not want to fight. She joined in the war of tongues and stopped when they heard a loud thunk on the floor. As the kiss broke, Akane saw her father passed out in the doorway. Nabiki was giving her the thumbs up. Kyonno just looked confused.

“Well it’s time to be going,” Ranma told Akane and giving her a kiss on the cheek, he picked up his niece and was out the door. Akane sat there in stone silence as Nabiki tried to wake Soun up. Minutes later she came to a revelation, “I kissed him.”

 

 

Between phone calls the next week, Akane learned that Ranma could not see her since he had a project to complete. It seemed he would be tied up in work from Friday to Monday but she wondered what kind of work a trainer had to do to keep him that occupied.

Her father had suggested that he should start teaching all the weekend classes on a permanent basis. She dismissed Soun’s proposition however. She had responsibilities just like he had. The Dojo was her responsibility. Although she was thankful that her father would graciously take the weekend classes off her hands if she planned anything with Ranma, the running of those classes were still her responsibility.

 

That weekend as Akane finished the last class on Saturday, she was surprised to hear someone at the door. She ran to answer it. Maybe it was Ranma and he was here to surprise her. She could expect that from him. When she opened the door it was quite a different person.

“Ukyou?”

“Hello Akane, I was just passing through and thought I’d pop in.”

“Come in, come in. Can I get you anything?” Akane offered.

“Yes, something cold,” Ukyou replied and Akane plundered the kitchen for a soda.

Ukyou voiced her appreciation for the cold beverage.

“So this is where you live,” announced Ukyou. “It’s a very lovely house.”

“Thank you.”

“I was just passing bye to talk to you about Ranma.”

“What is it?” asked Akane. She wondered what this girl was on about. She had not done anything to Ranma.

“The month is coming to an end. I just want you to let Ranma down softly. I don’t want you to end up hurting him.”

“I would never…”

“I never said you would intentionally hurt him,” interrupted Ukyou. “But I know that you two are going to call it quits in a couple of days. Ranma likes you and I don’t want you to keep him hanging around.”

“What do you mean keeping him hanging around?” sputtered Akane indignantly. Just what was Ukyou trying to imply. That she would just use Ranma.

“Okay that was probably not the best thing to say. All I’m asking is that when you break up, you break up for good. That’s all.”

“Well that’s exactly on what we plan on doing,” Akane informed her.

“This is good to know,” Ukyou replied then handed her the glass. “It was nice talking to you but my business here is done. I’ll see you next week.”

Akane was a bit shocked from the woman’s rapid change of direction.

‘Oh…okay…bye,” she told Ukyou as she let her out of the house. What a strange woman?

 

 

The next week passed by unbearably slowly for Akane. Thankfully she had been invited to the Saotome House again for a little get together with Ranma’s family. She guessed that was what Ukou had been talking about. Akane missed seeing him that weekend. She missed him all the time these days. She just felt so relaxed around him. Almost a month gone bye now; almost a month. Their time was almost up, and she would not see him again for another month at least if they were to stick to the plan.

She was dreading the idea of not seeing him

 

 

Akane heard that it would be a semi formal occasion so she was currently wearing one of her kimonos that father had bought with the money after they had reopened the Dojo. With the Dojo open and Nabiki working, they were able to build the trust fund back up to a respectable level. Akane knew she was there early since it was still morning but she wanted to get there early to impress Nodoka. What she hadn’t expected were the various women that were cooking in the house. The kitchen looked swamped with women, even Ukyou was there helping. Nodoka spied her. Akane looked in wonder upon the woman. Instead of the pristine state that she was accustomed to, the woman had many stains on the old worn kimono that she was wearing.

“Akane you’re early,” she exclaimed. “I thought I told you to come later.”

“Well yes, I…”

“Hmm you’d better change. Come follow me,” ordered Nodoka as she climbed the stairs. In Ranma’s room, Nodoka leafed through some of Ranma’s clothes before finding what she was looking for. “You can wear this,” she told Akane as she gave her the clothes. Minutes later when Akane returned to the hustle and bustle downstairs Nodoka spied her and pulled her into the kitchen. For the next few hours, Akane had her hands full as she became the assistant chef to all the capable women in the kitchen while she was taught a million cooking lessons from at least a dozen chefs.

After the feast had been created, Akane finally asked the question. “Where is Ranma?” she asked.

“Oh, those men are outside building again,” muttered someone.

“Building?”

“A dojo, in the vacant lot behind.”

Akane had noticed that a lot of refreshments had been prepared that disappeared minutes later.

“Can I go see?” she asked

“Sure dear, let me take you.”

Akane walked outside into the backyard and was surprised to see a towering structure being put up. “Is this why Ranma was away last week?” Akane asked.

“Well he did go on a trip on Friday, but then came back to put in the foundation,” Nodoka replied.

“How big is it going to be?” Akane asked.

“I don’t know,” Nodoka replied truthfully. “Ask the architect.”

“Where is he?” asked Akane.

“Later,” reminded Nodoka. “We have to go feed all those men in a few minutes.”

An hour later when everything was prepared, Akane noted that some of the dishes were missing. That was when she noticed that everyone was taking something and heading outside with it. Minutes later, with two trays in her hand, Akane found a new gap in the fence. Passing though, she came upon a large wooden table where the food was being set. There were a lot of men there and she saw Ikaru.

“Hello,” she greeted.

“Akane how nice to see you. Nodoka was telling me that you were interested in the plans. What do you think?” he asked as he showed her the floor. She still had not seen the top of the structure since the large trees blocked most of her view. As she moved out of the shade however, she gasped at the height. The thing was towering above them and the walls were not made of planks of woods. No, poles had been driven into the ground. Very tall poles at that. Notches had been made where beams would be placed. And the beams were mostly fitted into their slots. She recognized Ranma as he limbered at top holding a long heavy piece of timber with someone else as they knocked it into place.

“Ranma will be a couple more minutes,” notified Ikaru. “He wants the frame up before we start lunch.” Akane nodded and returned to the house, helping the others as they busily ferried food to the table. Finally as the last beam was set in place, the frame was complete and the men started to come to the table for lunch. Akane waded through them looking for Ranma and when she finally saw him she succumbed to the urge to rush and hug him.

“You okay?” he asked her.

“Baka,” she replied. Then she spied someone out of the corner of her eye.

“What’s he doing here?” she spat.

“He who?” asked Ranma perplexed.

“Ryouga,” she growled.

The said person heard his name being called and stopped walking, prompting the person leading him to stop. “Akane,” he replied with a bit of fear to his voice.

“You know each other?” asked Ranma and Ukyou at the same time.

“She’s the girl who beat me up,” stuttered Ryouga as he looked desperately for a place to hide. Ukyou held him tightly too.

“He deserved it too,” Akane fumed. “He turns into a pig.”

“So?” asked Ranma.

“He took advantage of me when I found him. He even slept in by bed! I wouldn’t have known anything if I hadn’t spilled some tea on him.”

“You slept in her bed!” screamed Ukyou into Ryouga’s face. Ryouga meekly nodded.

“Why you dirty little,” Ranma blanched at the violence that was dished out to Ryouga by Ukyou. Ryouga lay dazed on the floor before Akane came up and gave him a kick just to make sure he was feeling enough pain.

“Just leave him to me Akane. I’ll get the whole story out of him.”

Akane shook her fist at Ryouga and then taking Ranma’s hand she led him to the table.

“Say about that curse.” Ranma broached nervously.

“Do you turn into a pig?” Akane asked.

“Uh…no.”

“Then there’s nothing to talk about. Just keep that creep out of my sight.”

Lunch was a nervous affair for Ryouga who had two women glaring at him the entire time. Strangely enough, the only support he received was from his one time rival. Akane took to refilling Ranma’s plate as the food disappeared and soon almost all was gone and it was time to go back to work. Somewhere between glaring at Ryouga and eating, Akane and Ukyou struck a tenuous friendship.

Under a tarpaulin, planks were revealed for the second stage. Ranma and Ryouga with some others climbed to the top to begin on the roof while the women gathered at the bottom with the kids. Some took in the dishes back while others attended to knocking in the planks into their grooves in the poles and supports. Each plank was checked for it’s groove and then a corresponding one was cut into the poles. That was the traditional way of building.

The roof was laid quicker than expected as the men worked tirelessly. Hours later, the roof was finished and most of the planks were up except for the ones at the top. That was fixed a few minutes later and as everyone gazed up, the Dojo was complete. It was a very large Dojo, considerably larger than the Tendo Dojo. Akane wondered what it was for.

Nodoka had disappeared for the latter part of the day and as Ranma and her were walking to the house, she saw Nodoka talking with a heavyset man. After giving him a kiss, the man left. Akane thought nothing of it. It wasn’t her business.

As the day ended, Akane wondered why she had even brought the kimono, she hadn’t used it for the whole day. Ranma took a quick shower before he returned. Nodoka handed him and Akane a cup of tea she had been brewing. They were idly chit chatting before the day’s work had Nodoka sleeping on herself. She gave them her apologies and went to bed.

Akane and Ranma stayed up a little later as they watched a few comedies while commenting about the acting in them. Then later, Ranma showed Akane a few more balance exercises on the poles in the yard. After exhausting her, they returned inside and Akane went to the guest bedroom while Ranma went to his.

 

 

Ranma once again found himself on the rooftop a day during the week. Their little plan was now scheduled to come to an end. He would no longer be able to see Akane or even talk to her for at least a month. That was the plan they had agreed to and the clock was ticking. Only a few more days remained. After that, he would not see her again. He knew he would miss spending time with her. He would miss all the laughter and fun they seemed to have when they were together. It would be a hated time in his life but he would be doing Akane a favor by just leaving her alone. After this she would be able to find the prefect person for her. He was only sad because he knew that he wasn’t the perfect person she was thinking about. He didn’t mind being her friend though, since that was all she would even think of him as, her friend.

He knew that after all this time he had spent with her that she meant more to him that just a friend. A lot more than just a friend. He also knew that she had an aversive reaction to the curse that Ryouga had to constantly live with. Before it had been a problem for him. It wasn’t so much of a problem now as it had been but it was part and parcel of his life and he doubt that she would understand. He had overheard his mother when she told Ikaru that it would take a woman with a huge heart and an open mind to ever regard him as lifelong material. He had to agree with his mother on that point. Only a very select few remembered or knew about his special condition especially since his mother had made the arrangement that he attend school with the other girls that she knew. His mother was a very special person, but she knew what she was talking about. Akane had a normal home and a normal family to some extent. She was part of the burgeoning group of talented young women who were becoming independent in Japan and from his talk with her, he could see that her life was not one full of chaos. Compared to his, hers was downright boring except for a few episodes. No, she was a normal girl and had a normal family and he doubted that there would be any room in her life for the extraordinary. His whole life was mostly chaotic and definitely not as traditional as he knew she wanted her life to be. He knew he would have to live with the fact that Akane could be his friend and nothing more. He would have to find someone else. He seriously doubted that there was anyone else in the world like her but he could always hope.

 

 

A week later, they were meeting at a small restaurant in the middle of Tokyo. Akane was very nervous. They had been talking about this for the whole week on the phone and both knew what had to be done. Akane slipped into the seat opposite Ranma.

“So it’s over now?” he asked her.

“Yeah, dad rescinded the agreement. I’m no longer engaged to Kuno.”

“So this is it, no talking for the next month, agreed?” He offered his hand to her.

“Agreed,” she replied and shook his hand. Ranma got up, threw a bill on the table and left. Akane stood there watching him go and for some odd reason she could not fathom, a tear trickled down her face.