Ranma ½ is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain. Its sole purpose is to entertain using the characters and plots developed by Takahashi. ALL rights reserved

Shadows of the Land   Volume II :   Family Ties

Chapter 10: Intricate Designs

They were sitting on the peak overlooking the city. It was strange how the setting sun made the whole area seem so peaceful. Even the metropolitan mountain that attempted in vain to reach the heaven seemed majestic as they stared onwards holding each other. Over the past year it would have been strange to see them so comfortable around each other as they were at the moment but strange was a relative word and all things were relative when it came to certain relationships in a certain district of a certain city.

It was different for them to be this close to each other but they would not have traded it for anything. As the last clouds faded from their orange haze to a dull purple they were forced to stir from their places each weighted with the knowledge that it was time to return.

************

Madame Padar wearily shook her head to rid herself of all that chatter she was receiving because of her daughter. Why did she have children? She wondered why people ever decided to have children. All they had were big mouths and could speak a lot for no reason whatsoever. Her daughter was one of those and could she quarrel. Geez…

"Shut up!" she shouted finally. Quieting the room. Her husband just peered over the book he was reading in a questioning glance but said nothing. He knew better.

"You young lady and going, and no more chat from you is going to stop that."

"But ma…"

The steely gaze she received told her that she wasn’t supposed to answer. She deflated pretty quickly after that. She did not want to be the one to go but what else could she do. When her mother’s mind was made up, her mother’s mind was made up. She sighed and hefted the bag her mother had packed for her. No doubt she had no more choice in the matter as her father had when it came time to cook dinner.

She sighed again and followed her mother out the house. Why did she always get picked for these boring trips?

************

They stood outside the gates staring into the hall.

"This is it."

"Yeah," replied Akane.

They had one last soft kiss and then Ranma began to run into the compound after Akane gave him a head start. A small tear escaped from Akane’s eye. It was good to be home again.

The slamming of the door and Ranma trying to hide gave the situation away as he startled Soun, Genma and Nabiki in the living room. Before Ranma had any time to react he was besieged by Soun who was crying rivers of tears when he realized who it was. Then he realized that there was only one person.

"Oh no my daughter’s lost in the woods!" wailed Soun to the amazement of everyone else. Then as it dawned on him what he had said. He changed suddenly from wailing to the demon head. "Ranma where is my daughter!"

Ranma shied away and pointed fearfully to the door where a more ragged looking Akane entered. "Oh my daughter’s home!" he shouted and began to wail and he dropped Ranma unceremoniously on the floor and suffocated his daughter.

Ranma smirked at the scene until he saw his mother walk in with Kasumi at her side.

"Uh…hi mom," he greeted.

"Ranma!" exclaimed a delighted Nodoka. "I’m so glad my manly son is back with his fiancee. Now we can finally carry on with the wedding."

"What!" he replied, "I ain’t marrying that tomboy."

"Not you," berated Nodoka. "We will talk about that later. I am referring to Kasumi and Tofu."

Both Akane and he peeked into the kitchen and saw the Tofu and Kasumi talking together without Tofu going bonkers. There was a combined, "Oh my!"

After Soun had fully emptied his tear ducts on his daughter, he finally let her go to her room. He watched Akane and Ranma as they returned to their respective rooms hoping that something had changed for the better after three weeks of training. When the insults began afresh though he hung his head disappointed. How was he going to get those two hitched? His eyes met Genma’s as they stared at Ranma and Akane. Then they stared at Tofu and Kasumi, then they smiled.

The day went smoothly except for more staged fights by Ranma and Akane and the occasional pop up by a fiancée. The first had been Kodachi. Both shivered when they remembered that event. It could be summed by Ranma running away from Kodachi as fast as he could while she followed with her ribbon twirling. Akane followed behind at a less than decent clip. No need to advertise that she had been training.

The run around Nerima was soon joined by Shampoo who narrowly missed Ranma on her bicycle. Naturally Mousse followed shouting after Ranma to release his hold on his beloved. Ukyou soon picked up on the festivities and strangely enough Ryouga somehow managed to find his way from Akari’s to Nerima and joined in the chase.

It was a return to the insanity or almost. Mousse’s special attack was used on ‘Ranma’ who was really Ryouga, who began to attack Mousse, and the flying cat (literally) that appeared from Mousse’s robes along with the dog chasing it, managed miraculously to land softly on Kuno’s head as he passed by (Kuno's head being Kuno's head). Kuno charged in and so the three-way combat between the boys began.

The girls had somehow cornered Ranma and were all intent on giving him a little bit of lovin’ when they realized that all their competitors around them had the same idea. Kodachi tried to trip Ukyou and Shampoo readied her bonbori and a strange girl jumped into the fray with a rather long braided ponytail in a red sari. Strangeness was just attracted to Nerima or was it just Ranma?

Ranma himself just blinked at the mess but caught sight of a figure watching down from one of the buildings above. Using the Invisible Wall while everyone else was engaged, he disappeared from view.

Akane sat and watched the melee when two hands wrapped around her. Startled she tried to flip away and kick the person behind her. The person behind her had taught her that move though and she found herself turned around and staring into two soft beautiful orbs.

"Missed me?" he asked. She just smiled and turned around, allowing him to hold her.

"They’re quite active down there," she noted.

"Yeah, you should keep looking at Shampoo’s style though. Know your enemy. The girl in the red shirt thingy ain’t that bad either."

"I’ve never seen her before, have you?"

"Nope, the style isn’t familiar either. Looks like she’s fighting with flowers and some string."

"Hello Ranma," greeted a voice behind them. That startled Akane, but Ranma was not disturbed.

"Hi Cologne, what’s up?"

"I wanted to ask you and your…mate, if anything happened while you were on your training trip. Some strange things happened here in Nerima."

"Strange?" asked Akane. "Like what?"

"Several of us including your family fainted at the same time during the day. I was wondering if there was any connection."

"There is," replied Ranma. "But I can’t tell you…yet."

"Suit yourself," shrugged Cologne, "but I hope you have insurance. My great grand daughter has missed you and she wants to collect on lost time."

Cologne pogoed away on her stick leaving Ranma and Akane watching the match from a distance.

As the night drew on Ranma and Akane left and took different paths home in order to escape being caught together.

************

Nabiki was being sneaky and rifling through Ranma’s stuff as she tried to find out exactly what had happened. They had evaded her too well. Something had to have happened and the clues had to be around somewhere. Her best bet was Ranma's bag. She knew he was careless and he could leave evidence lying about that would surely tell her what he had been up to.

She continued digging until the bag was empty. Everything was as she had expected it to be. She knew exactly what he carried right down to the 't'. There wasn't anything extra. It was time to change tactics and go for Akane's room. She had to do that another time though when she knew that Akane might not come back. She could always manipulate Ranma but Akane was a different story. She could embarrass Ranma but she had to be a little more wary of her little sister. Though, that had never stopped her in the past.

Everyone else was asleep. She had taken care of that. They had been expecting Ranma and Akane's return and Tofu had offered the Saotome's his upstairs residence. They had accepted leaving her the only person upstairs at the moment. Tofu and Kasumi were downstairs and father had gone to sleep. Her contacts had told her of an ongoing fight between Ranma's fiancées and his rivals somewhere in Nerima. She had expected that and she silently wondered where she should place the bug in Ranma's room. After placing it, she disappeared into her room to start recording.

Akane entered the house before Ranma, and Kasumi motioned for her when she entered to follow her into the kitchen. Tofu clicked on the television and when they heard the noise Kasumi rushed over to Akane and hugged her sister tightly.

"Akane, congratulations," cheered Kasumi though her tears.

"You too Onee-chan," replied Akane.

"Now sit down, I need to hear all the good stuff from your training trip," grinned Kasumi. Akane smiled and wondered what she could tell her sister about the training trip that wouldn't have her sister dying of envy.

Minutes later, Ranma arrived and seeing the women in the kitchen sat down next to Tofu who was strangely enough watching a martial arts movie. Ranma was almost delighted when he caught the doc off guard. It was almost payback for the first time they had met.

"Ranma!" he exclaimed. "Glad to see that you made it back from your trip in one piece."

"Well Akane cooked but I ate the food somehow." Ranma didn't like the attention on him so he quickly changed to topic. "So doc when did you and Kasumi…you know. Most of us thought it'd take a miracle for you to get over your tantrums."

"Well it did…sorta, but first let's talk about you and Akane, your wife."

Ranma’s mouth hit the floor.

"I hope you aren't too mad, but Kasumi told me and I remembered."

"Nah," shrugged Ranma. "You’re one of the few other people I know around here who I could trust but I was kinda hoping that I could sort out the fiancée thing before everyone else found out."

"So what happened?" asked Tofu. "I know this didn't come from just one training trip together."

"Nope, where to begin (and what to leave out)…"

Somewhere through the explanations Ranma and Tofu entered the kitchen and found Akane and Kasumi talking and both couples sat together talking. The younger married couple was exchanging information with the older unmarried one. They remained undisturbed as the noise and static from the television blurred all of Nabiki's toys.

A lot later that night Tofu left and the three remaining teenagers went to their respective rooms. Ranma undressed for bed and while checking through some of his stuff he got that familiar sensation he recognized from Cologne’s training. She was an old bat but she knew some really nifty stuff. With the knowledge that something was around and with previous knowledge of where Nabiki liked to hide her toys, Ranma found it easily enough. He smiled at the little bug and pulled out a little glass of liquid. He dropped it in the liquid and let it settle. He would replace it in the morning after he got a good night’s rest.

Akane woke up in the middle of the night after hours of tossing and turning. She had slept in that bed for many years but she just could not get comfortable at all. She had only been gone for three weeks and already it felt foreign to her. She knew what it was though. She was missing Ranma. She turned over in her sleep again debating what she should do. Ranma should be in her room with her, not in the guestroom by himself. What should she do? She needed rest and she knew she wanted to be with him too. She had not seen him for a little while and she was already conscious of that fact. In a few seconds, her mind came up with a simple plan. She hopped out of bed and quietly opened her door and peeked out. No one was in the doorway. She crept to the bathroom and once inside searched for what she was looking for. Eventually she found it. It was a little powder with the remnants of something left by one of Ranma’s fiancées. They had kept it just in case. Akane felt this was a serious enough situation for her to use it.

Akane crept back out of the bathroom and passed her room to stop in front of Nabiki’s. Silently she slid the door open and entered her sister’s room. She opened the little bottle and pinched a little of the powder onto Nabiki’s nose. The powder was very fine and Nabiki breathed it in without waking. Akane smirked. She had finally pulled something on her sister. She closed the door and crept to the guestroom.

Inside she could make out the outline of the futon as she entered and just as she entered she heard the rustle of the cover and it was tossed off.

"What took you so long?" asked Ranma.

"Me?" asked Akane incredulously. "What about you? You could have come to my room."

"I could have," he replied as she came closer. "But I wanted to see if you would come."

Akane huffed a bit before she lay down next to him. After a few seconds she found what she had been missing on her bed: that little niche on his shoulder that she always slept on. His hands circled around her in a loving embrace and before she knew it, she was happily sleeping with extremely pleasant dreams.

The next morning, Jham knocked the clouds from his mind as he got up from the cot he was sleeping in. He didn’t remember when he had been knocked out but he guessed that it was nice of Ukyou to put him in a cot after she put him in a coma. Still a bit dazed he woke up to the smell of food and was intrigued to find the woman who plagued his brain and surrounding skull more than anyone else, cooking for her customers. Having nothing else to do he grabbed some dishes to help out. At least after that he could have breakfast with a clear conscience and then leave.

The same kind of traffic was occurring at the Tendo house except this time it was Soun trying to convince his daughter to have a bigger wedding and her strange ability to make his guilt slide off her like oil on water. Try as he may, no matter what he said or how loud he pleaded, he was unable to budge his daughter. Tofu had wisely stayed out of the conversation and in fact seemed to be hiding behind Ranma.

So it came pass that despite the bawling and quite convincing display by the Tendo patriarch not to mention a disgustingly pathetic display according to the middle daughter, Tofu and Kasumi were to be married the next day in the Dojo with only a few of the friends they knew attending. It was just how they wanted it to be and both were eager for the next day. Soun and Genma’s attention was not focused on the marrying couple though. Instead it was focused on the other couple that they had long tried to bring together. How were they going to get those stubborn children of theirs hitched?

The same question was being address at the same time by another member of the household, one Nodoka Saotome. Something had happened between Ranma and Akane and she knew it. She had seen people try to act before and she knew they were acting. Something had to have happened to them during the trip.

Since they had been back, at times they would fight like cats and dogs and minutes later when one sat down, the other sat very close. The second part interested her the most. The superficial things meant nothing, the subtle things were what counted. She could tell from the way they acted sometimes that they did care for each other. It was very easy to see. They could not restrict how they wanted to react subconsciously and Nodoka knew they liked each other from those subtle moments.

Ranma would look at her and she at him when the other was not looking. They would wait on the other, not too far in front but just within distance so that they were able to keep the other in sight. She had seen this from the beginning but now it was very different.

Before they would not sit down very close together unless they were forced to out of custom. Today they had sat next to each other without being asked twice. During breakfast they were sitting closer to each other than they had ever been. They were practically almost touching! Then at one moment during the day they had been sitting next to each other on the cushion: something that had never been done before. Usually Akane would sit there and Ranma would lean against the wall somewhere at a close but safe enough distance away from her. Today they were there together. Something had happened but Nodoka was keen not to press. Too much inquiry and she might break whatever fragile agreement they had come to. She would just have to make sure she kept and eye on her witless husband had his friend. Men did not know how to manipulate people, that, was a woman’s job. They could however make her job harder than it was supposed to be.

With the ruckus over Ranma went to the Dojo and after a few minutes Akane followed. She met him there where he waited for her while he practiced some katas. As soon as he saw her though, he stopped and walked over.

"I’m going to see Ucchan," he stated.

Akane nodded. She knew he would have to sooner or later.

"I don’t think I should tell her yet though. I still have to think of a way to let her down easily. I don’t want any bad blood between you two."

Akane smiled looked around and kissed him softly. "Don’t worry, we’ll think of something," she whispered.

Seconds later he left the Dojo intent on reaching Ucchans.

The normal crowd was gathered in the restaurant as he entered. He looked around and the first thing he saw was an Indian boy helping out at the restaurant. That was weird? What was he doing there? He never knew Ucchan had taken a trip to India. He easily spotted the cook where he knew she would be.

"Hey Ucchan!" he shouted over the din and waved.

"Hi sugar!" she shouted back and returned the wave as she flipped a half-done okonomyaki in the air.

Ranma plopped himself down in the usual place and stuck a finger out to the waiter. "Who’s he?" he asked.

"Just someone I met a while ago. He’s a real pain sometimes but he decided to help me today so I let him. There’s nothing like free waiters."

"What about Konatsu?" asked Ranma.

"I finally got him to take a day off. Unfortunately he’ll be back tomorrow. The kid needs to learn to relax."

"So how’s business?" asked Ranma nonchalantly.

"Same, a bit slow but that’s not to be expected since school’s out."

With the okonomyaki placed in front of him Ranma began to eat but kept an eye on Ukyou. He still had no idea how to tell her. He knew that she had wasted a considerable portion of her life searching for him and living within the intent of getting him back but how was he was supposed to tell her that he had married Akane, the woman he loved and that he loved her dearly but as a sister and not as a wife. And that she was now legally his sister and a member of his clan. There were too many things to be said and if he did it the wrong way he feared that he would have his best friend hating him for all eternity and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. He could take a couple of weeks or months where slowly, things would get back to how they were but he did not think he could last if she hated him. He had so little friends as it was already.

"Hey you okay?" asked someone.

He turned around.

"Oh its you. How come you don’t have your apron on?"

"That’s cause I just worked for my breakfast and its time to leave this loony bin." With that the boy hefted his bag onto his shoulder and walked out of the restaurant. It only took Ranma a couple of minutes to realize something. Nerima had been a loony bin and he hadn’t been home for three weeks. This bore looking into.

Ranma found the boy outside walking.

"Hey, what’s been going on around here?"

"Here? Nothing usual. It's just that Ukyou there keeps mistaking by head for a punching bag. Either that or she running me into the ground. That’s the nastiest tomboy I’ve ever met."

Ranma stood there shocked then burst out laughing. Jham stared at him wild-eyed.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Jham incredulously. It took Ranma a while to compose himself.

"Ukyou, a tomboy. Wait till Akane hears this…"

"Akane…or so then you must be Ranma."

"Yep, I’m Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything goes Martial Arts."

"Yeah you’re Ranma Saotome alright. Tofu said you’d be very confident."

"...and who are you?"

"Me, my name is Ramesh Jhamersinghe, but everyone calls me Jham."

"Well Jham," replied Ranma as he clapped him on the back. "It’s a pity to see you going since Tofu’s supposed ta be getting married tomorrow."

"Tofu’s getting married, why didn’t you say so! Let me guess. Kasumi right?"

"How’d you know?"

"Let’s just say that the walls around here talk a lot. Well, that and some of the customers too."

"Hey Ranma!" shouted someone in the distance.

"Akane!" he shouted and waved back then pulled down his hand quickly and looked around. No one had seen him. That was a close one. He had forgotten.

Akane ran quickly towards the two of them and stopped just short of touching Ranma when she arrived. It seemed she had to use a great deal of self-restraint from doing that. Jham just stared at them wildly.

"You’re, you’re both…" They stared at him wondering what he was on about or what he was on. "You’re one!" he exclaimed eventually. "You’re really one. Amazing, now I’ll really have to stay. Grandfather would be jealous." Jham rubbed his hands in glee.

"Uhh…scary…" replied Akane as they backed away from him slightly.

Jham saw their scared expressions and calmed himself down.

"Sorry, it just that...well you’re married, totally and completely married and still young!"

Ranma and Akane stared at him with puzzlement evident in their eyes.

"Okay...you know how old people tend to be able to know when something is wrong with the other or where the other is at times..."

Ranma and Akane nodded.

"Well tradition has it that marriage causes up to lose a little of ourselves to our partner and after a long period of time so much of us has been lost to the other and the other to us that we become essentially the same with two halves."

"Oh?" replied Ranma and Akane while confused enticing an excited Jham to continue.

"Usually this takes a very long period of time but you two are already there."

"So you’re saying we’re married," replied Ranma while scratching his head.

Jham crossed his eyes slightly annoyed. "Yeah, that’s what I mean." He guessed that not everyone was as quick to pick up on what he meant.

Ranma and Akane stared at each other. Were they really that obvious?

"Jham could we ask you a favour?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Could you not tell anyone that we are married? We have to sort things out first."

Jham pulled at his little beard, as he was accustomed to doing when he wanted to plot. "Okay, but you have to do me a favour."

"What’s that?"

"I have to be there when you’re intimate."

(slap)

"What was that for!" exclaimed Jham.

"There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you watch when Ranma and I..."

Jham got the gist of what she was trying to say. "That’s not what I meant!" he defended. "I only want to be there when you cuddle or hold each other or something like that. What, do you think I’m a pervert or something!" he accused.

Akane was slightly ashamed. Maybe she had reacted a bit too quickly.

"Sorry."

"It’s okay," he replied. "I’ve had worse from the demon spatula girl."

"Does he mean Ukyou," whispered Akane to Ranma.

Ranma nodded and Akane began to giggle.

"What’s she giggling about?" asked Jham.

"Oh just the fact that you called Ukyou a demon. Ukyou usually refers to Akane as a demon."

"Oh, I get it," replied Jham, "you are the uncute tomboy!"

(wham)

Jham found himself imbedded in the pavement. Ranma helped extract him from the concrete. Akane still hefted her mallet in her right hand.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "But no one but my Ranma is allowed to call me an uncute tomboy."

Ranma stared at her through the corner of his eyes. Jham noted this as he massaged the area where she had hit him. It was definitely going to bruise.

"Is she always like that?" whispered Jham questioningly just out of earshot of Ranma.

"No," he replied. "Usually I'm on the receiving end..."

"Weird," commented Jham as he carefully eyed the girl walking in front of them. She still hefted the mallet in her hand. Ranma knew better than to say anything this time. He just nodded hoping Akane did not see that either.

If Jham thought that was the end of the excitement on the road he was mistaken. Unlike where he had traveled before, he was in Nerima, Tokyo and around Ranma Saotome. Those two words alone uttered in the same sentence could send everything in chaos.

A shout was heard in the distance and Ranma saw something coming towards Jham and him from behind. It flew in their direction and exploded sending fine dust in the air that would blind anyone but thankfully Ranma’s training with Cologne had also helped him in that regard. He pushed the boy out of the way and held out his hand to stop the red thing approaching quickly from front of him. He was completely surprised when the thing folded around him wrapping him completely. He had barely any room to move or breathe and he found himself being dragged away.

He gritted his teeth and flexed his muscles. In a flash of ki, he shredded two cuts in whatever was around him and popped out much to the amazement of his captor.

"You’re not Ramesh!" she exclaimed.

"No, but he’s a friend of mine. What do you want with him?" asked Ranma. He did not like the looks of this and hopefully she was not here to kill him or marry him again. This time he would make sure not to defeat her in case wherever she came from had laws like the amazons. He was already happily married for goodness sake!

"Ramesh is husband, you tell where Ramesh is please?" pleaded the girl.

The dust had settled but Ramesh was nowhere to be seen and Akane just looked more perplexed than anything else.

"Okay…" replied Ranma while scratching the back of his head.

"You tell Ramesh that Ameena wait too long already for him to come home."

"Yeah…no problem," he replied with great uncertainty in his voice. Then the girl flashed him a smile and ran off.

Akane walked up behind him. "That’s strange, since when are the girls not after you?" she asked.

"I dunno…hey you should be happy…"

Akane pinched his cheeks. "Hush…my lickle babwie…I just have something special planned for the next one who tries." From the battle aura she was beginning to produce, Ranma did not think it would be healthy for any other girls to try getting his attention.

"Is she gone?" asked someone softly.

Ranma and Akane whirled around to see Jham cowering behind one of the large rubbish containers. The only thing that saved him from looking like a complete fool was the fact that he was behind the container and not in it, but seeing how some of the trash overflowed, he wasn’t saved from being very pathetic by much.

"Yeah, hey why were you hiding from her anyway? She said you were her husband," asked Akane irritated at Jham's lack of backbone.

"Well she is sorta. I’ll tell you the story another time. Bye…" and for one of the few times in his life, Jham was actually sprinting away from the scene ducking every so often behind other pedestrians to make sure no one would be able to see him. Or so he hoped.

Ranma and Akane had barely taken their focus off of Jham as he disappeared around the corner when Ranma was assaulted by two fathers dragging Tofu in tow. It was obvious by Tofu’s reluctance to go with them and the fact that they had both his arms in a vice grip between them that this wasn’t his idea.

"Akane…taking Ranma…out for a boys night," informed Soun as they rushed by. One minute Ranma was next to her, the other he was well…captured would be the best word, by the two fathers and if you haven’t figured out what they were up to by now…you’ll just have to wait until later to find out.

Akane just huffed and knew that she would get back at her father later. She had been planning to do something with Ranma that afternoon: maybe ice cream or the park where they would not be seen. She was getting quite annoyed with the notion of having to hide from her family but she knew it was not time to tell as yet. First they had to get Ukyou to accept that they were married then, they would probably have to force feed that information to Kodachi and Shampoo. Mousse would probably welcome the news and she was sure that Ryouga would be happy for her. If it were up to her she would have just told them plain in their face that they were married but she knew that wasn’t the best choice.

She knew that the best way for Shampoo to accept the marriage was for her to challenge Shampoo for the right and win. If she did win then Shampoo would not be able to challenge her unless she agreed and Shampoo would be forced to obey the amazon law and let Ranma go. The only problem was how to do that without humiliating Shampoo. If it were martial arts combat then Akane would have to fight Shampoo based on skill alone and no special techniques, which were outlawed in spousal fighting. Ranma did not think she was ready for Shampoo yet. He did not think that she was good enough to beat her in an all out contest and Akane grudgingly knew he was right. Shampoo had been training all her life while she had just begun. The odds were heavily on Shampoo’s side.

Akane walked into the house where she was intrigued to find Kasumi, Nodoka and Nabiki sitting around the kitchen table, sipping tea.

"Akane, I was waiting for you!" exclaimed Nodoka when she entered. Akane noticed the slight blush on Kasumi’s face.

"Why, what’s going on?"

"I was just going to explain to you sister how to pleasure a man and how to get a man to pleasure you. Since you will be marrying my son I think you should also hear this." The way Nodoka phrased and the way she offered Akane a chair next to her showed that the woman was serious and Akane wasn’t getting out of this one. Nabiki grinned under her expressionless face. She would enjoy watching her sisters' squirm under Auntie Nodoka’s instruction.

"And I guess I’ll have to do a little husband hunting for Nabiki too," added Nodoka as an aside. "I know she likes handling money," continued Nodoka out loud. "I wonder if Kuno-san has engaged his son yet."

That unexpected statement caused Nabiki to gasp quite unnaturally. She was the ice queen but her would be mother-in-law had just caught her by surprise. Akane and Kasumi could not help but grin a bit as Nabiki also inwardly squirmed under Nodoka’s smile.

While the cats were away the mice did play but not the way that was previously intended. Akane and Kasumi got the lecture of their life. It was not as brief as they had hoped and Auntie Nodoka’s memory of anatomical pieces and their uses were vast. She made sure to emphasize the ‘how a baby is made part’ to Akane and Kasumi, and both knew exactly what she was hinting at. It was plain and simple. Auntie Nodoka wanted grandchildren and she made no mistake about making that fact well known.

She moved from the copulation education class to the fertility class and there, Akane had one of the greatest shocks of her life. Auntie had every kind of tea for every kind of sexual ailment. It seemed she had a lot of time to collect them over the years and the sheer variety she knew and could get within a week’s notice was amazing. The woman was rightly shameless about her encouragement to her would-be daughters-in-law and Nabiki was downright horrified at how straightforward she was being. She was expecting Akane and Kasumi to be embarrassed but Auntie had focused most of her explanation on her and not on them. Nabiki for one of the few times in her life could not find an exit from the constant attack and had to bear the torture of having her aunt lecture to her about the importance of timing and how she could go about capturing Tatewaki. Around that time Nodoka had allowed Akane and Kasumi to slip away from the discussion while Nabiki squirmed in her seat.

Akane and Kasumi slipped away to Kasumi’s room where hopefully their aunt would not disturb them for some time to come. Laid out on the bed was the wedding kimono: a simple, yet elegant design that simply said ‘Kasumi’. Kasumi held the rack and hung it from her wardrobe and continued to stare at it as she sat on her bed.

"Feeling nervous?" asked Akane.

"A little," replied Kasumi.

"Well I was nervous and scared during the first wedding attempt and a little nervous at the second."

"I wouldn’t have known," replied Kasumi. "You were radiating when you were married."

"I was?"

Kasumi nodded. "I doubt anything could have tore your gaze off Ranma. You were not nervous then."

Akane smiled when she remembered her wedding.

"I guess I wasn’t."

Kasumi plumped down on her bed and passed her hand over the fabric. "I miss Tofu already. Father and uncle took him out this morning and I haven’t seen him since then."

"They did? That’s why they took Ranma with them!" exclaimed Akane in understanding.

"Well they should have brought him back by mow," grumbled Kasumi enticing a giggle from Akane. She had always had Kasumi comforting her but now it was her turn to comfort Kasumi. "I wouldn’t worry too much. Ranma will look after him."

"Yes I guess so," replied Kasumi. They talked for a little until they heard auntie calling them. Hopefully not another bride-talk again!

When they climbed down they were surprised to find a banquet in front of them and a smiling aunt waiting. Nabiki was not smiling very broadly but that was to be expected.

"I know what my husband is doing with the boys tonight," spoke Nodoka, "So while they are out we can have a little celebration of our own ne?" Akane and Kasumi smiled at the mouth-watering treats in front of them. It was time to have a little celebration.

Late that night as Akane slept, she felt a presence in her room. She kept quiet and wondered if it was Shampoo or Kodachi this time. True she had not been attacked in her room in a long time but she left nothing to chance. She had not been sleeping very comfortably and in all probability she knew she would not have slept as soundly as she had the night before. She promised to make a little panda-pancake in the morning. Of course it would have to be by accident. She removed that little irritation from her mind and focused on the person trying to get into her room through the window.

The person made little of the latch on the window. Akane did not know how they managed to pull the latch up from the outside but she did not take any chances. She tensed and waited but after a few seconds she recognized the aura of the person entering and relaxed.

"Here Ranma, let me help you," offered Akane as she helped him down from the sill.

"Thanks, almost didn’t make it. I think pop has gotten better."

"What do you mean?" Then she smelt his breath. "You haven’t been drinking, have you?" she asked. Ranma wondered if she wanted an answer for that one. The answer was so obvious he wondered why she asked the question at all. Now he knew what his father was talking about when he was describing marriage. Of course, his father was drunk at the time.

"Duh!" he replied. "But I got lucky. I kept pouring back most of the sake back into pop's glass. Tofu didn’t catch on quite as quickly."

"You didn’t let anything happen to him did you?" asked Akane with a little concern.

"No, I got them back to the clinic okay, but he’s gonna have one major hangover in the morning. Anyway, got some of this for you?" He held out a bag for her. She opened it and found a bottle inside.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Sake," he replied. She furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Hey it’s the good kind. I figured you would like a taste since with Kasumi getting married tomorrow you might not get a taste after pops and your dad get started. Plus I heard that pops has some plan of getting us drunk tomorrow and trick us into getting married." Akane stared at him. He shrugged his shoulders, "Pops talks a lot when he's drunk."

"So why did you bring this?" she asked again.

"Cause I'd thought you’d like some," replied Ranma with some irritation. What was it with women and their questions? He thought he had gotten rid of that side of Akane on the training trip. Evidently he was wrong.

She studied him for a second but could not find anything but sincerity.

"Let me get a glass then and some hot water to heat it up."

"Don’t bother," replied Ranma as he produced a glass out of nowhere and placed his hand on the bottle. His hand glowed softly and when it dimmed the bottle was a warm rich temperature perfect for serving sake. Akane smiled as he took the bottle from her and tipped some in the glass. On her first try she almost swooned. She drank a bit too much too quickly and suddenly felt dizzy.

"Woah, hold on Akane. Not so quickly. Here, sit on the bed for awhile."

She did as he said and as she sat he poured another for her and one for himself. Then he undid the pigtail and let his hair flow down freely. He slowly undid his shirt and placed it on one of the hangers behind Akane’s door, then returned to Akane’s side.

"Okay this time take it slowly and try to taste it. It’s potent stuff," Ranma showed her by example.

"How do you know all this?" she asked.

"Oh, pops tried to teach me drunken fist fighting once and I think I learned it though I can’t really remember. Afterwards while pops was passed out, the bartender showed me about drinks and what mixed well and how to drink without getting drunk."

"Really. It that why you’re not drunk like the others?" asked Akane with interest. Ranma shook his head. "Nope it’s like I told ya, I kept on giving pops mine and he’s too greedy to wonder why his glass suddenly became half-full again."

After four glasses to Ranma’s one, Akane found herself feeling a bit tipsy. Okay maybe she should have listened to Ranma when he told her not to drink too quickly. He had gone to bed while she stayed up to read a little and was sleeping lightly on her bed in his boxers. When she walked towards the bed she wondered how she accidentally bumped into the bed-frame so hard. She rubbed her knee but when she bent down, she hit her head on the bedside table. She almost fell with that blow but two arms caught her.

"You drank too quickly didn’t you?"

Akane nodded and blinked to clear her vision.

Before she knew it, Ranma had her dressed for bed in her pajamas and under the covers with him. She lay there with him her mind still swooning a little from the alcohol. She knew about being drunk from others, enough to know that she was not drunk as yet but on the way. She lay there next to him and felt something was missing. Then when he turned around and hugged her she knew what it was that had her so irritated and uncomfortable.

She began to caress his lips with her fingers and then she kissed him lightly. Not getting as great a response as she had initially wanted, she stepped up her attack. Two hours later, a satisfied Akane slept peacefully nestled against her husband as they glowed from their midnight exercises.

Morning cracked and the Tendo household was semi-alive. Nodoka and Nabiki were well into the decorations while Kasumi who had checked on Akane told her aunt that Akane was feeling a bit out of sorts. Nodoka had not understood but she figured Kasumi knew best for her sister’s welfare. In the room with the yellow duck on the door, Akane and Ranma woke up bleary-eyed and sneaked into the bath for a cold wake up. After all, there was a wedding to get underway.

After few hours at midday, the Dojo looked acceptable for a marriage ceremony. Ranma dusted his hands. His mom and Nabiki had done the initial work but he was proud that his martial arts training did give him an advantage in readying the Dojo. Akane also gave a welcome help in the Dojo when Nabiki and Nodoka went back inside to help with the cooking and dressing Kasumi. Of course, they made sure to finish the job quickly and hid behind the Dojo to steal passionate kisses that were sweeter than normal due to the fact that they knew their chances of getting caught were higher. That did not stop them though and they had to pry themselves from each other to make sure that things did not go too far where they were sure to be caught.

That was taken care of however by a short shower of rain that reduced Ranma to a five-foot plus redhead.

"I'm really getting annoyed when that happened," quarreled Ranma.

"Oh shush!" replied Akane as she patted his face and kissed him lightly. "Let's go see how Kasumi's doing."

Ranma nodded and followed his wife while pushing some of the damp bangs from his face. The food had already been prepared and Ranma's stomach growled in expectation. He knew better than to eat at the moment since he knew that eating would probably make his mother angry and his wife too. That did not stop him from swiping a little appetizer though. He followed Akane to Kasumi's room and Akane knocked to make sure Kasumi was decent before she let him enter. When they did though, their faces hit the floor.

Kasumi was not wearing a veil but the kimono graced her body and accentuated her curves so as to highlight her natural beauty. Her face was lightly touched by the mastery of Nodoka's hand. One had to admit the woman had a certain talent for making a person look absolutely stunning. While Ranma tried to pick his jaw off the floor where Akane would not see him, Akane was busy giving her sister the once over.

"Kasumi you look amazing!" exclaimed Akane.

Kasumi blushed and smiled lightly.

"Just wait until Tofu sees you, he'll fall like a blabbering…"

Akane never finished the sentence as Kasumi covered Akane's mouth faster than Ranma could have with the Amaguriken.

"Shhh…Akane. Just in case, I don’t want to jinx him."

Akane nodded thoughtfully. Ranma blinked and realized that he did not want to be there.

"I'll go see if Tofu's okay," he said quickly causing Nodoka and Nabiki to raise their eyebrows speculatively.

"Baka," responded Akane. That also raised eyebrows. The way she said it made it sound like a term of endearment.

"So Akane are you going after Ranma to make sure he doesn't run into any of his fiancées?" probed Nabiki. Akane growled lightly but did not bite Nabiki's bait instead she turned towards her sister. "Kasumi, who's your bridesmaid?"

Ranma used those feet and exceptional skills god gave him to sprint away from the Tendo's to the clinic. He covered the distance very quickly and when he arrived at the door of the closed and quiet clinic, he wondered if they had left already. He had not seen them while he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, then again he had not been paying much attention.

As he opened the creaking door, most noticeable was the absence of light. He opened the windows an when he did, he stood there is disbelief. The three of them were still passed out on the floor. Angrily, Ranma kicked his father and Soun to the wall to try and wake them up. With Tofu he was a little less aggressive. He settled for a bucket of ice cold water. That had Tofu up in a jiffy.

"Huh...what the….oh Ranma?"

"Hey Doc. It's time to get up!"

"What time is it?"

"Around half-one."

"Half-one? But isn't the wedding…"

Ranma nodded.

"Ahhh….." shouted Tofu as he disappeared into the room he lived in to get dressed. It wouldn't be good for the groom to be late for his own wedding now would it?

Ranma smirked then settled for beating his pops awake before he himself got dressed. He wondered when his mom had found time to fit one for him but he had to admit that he did look good in a suit.

While Tofu busied himself in the bathroom, Ranma used force to get the fathers' ready for the celebration. Finally after a good bit of pummeling and shiatsu techniques the fathers were ready and minutes later Tofu emerged from the bathroom still looking a bit frazzled. He took a swill of something in his cabinet and minutes later he looked 100% better. Ranma wondered if Tofu would lend him some of that stuff he assumed was a hangover cure.

Finally the party accompanying the groom was underway.

Akane and the others were waiting in the Dojo when they arrived. Ranma entered first and sat next in the best man's position while Akane sat as the first bridesmaid. Genma came in being helped along by Tofu. Evidently, his hangover was still on his mind. Soun could not be seen as was expected.

Nabiki flipped on a remote control switch in her palm and the wedding march began…

Tofu nervously stood in front of the Dojo shrine waiting for Kasumi to arrive. The Shinto priest was already there and waiting and the wedding march made him even more nervous. He stood waiting and waiting and waiting and the music played on. Where was she?

There was a glint of black, then Tofu saw his would be father-in-law as he turned the bend into the Dojo then attached to his hand as he escorted her, was Kasumi. One look at her and his eyes glazed over. Radiant was only word that came to his mind before he began to lose control and began to jabber incomprehensible words.

"Tofu-san? Is that Kasumi?"

He was thankful for the momentary distraction as it pulled him from the trance. It was that woman again, sitting next to his mother. The same one Nodoka had introduced him to.

"Tofu-san, do you feel the water?" The water…the water …Kasumi. He turned his eyes back to her as she walked up the aisle with her father and suddenly all his nervousness went away and he was filled with calm. Calm as he saw her smile and he saw the waterfall, as he saw water falling off her face the last time he had seen her wash her face in the sink after baking.

He smiled and suddenly for some reason he felt confident. Confident that this was what he wanted. Confident that this was right.

Kasumi entered the Dojo and from that point she did not know who was leading whom. Her father was still suffering from his hangover and when she entered the Dojo to see the small crowd of some of their friends, she felt overwhelmed. Her march into the Dojo was feeble in her mind and she was self conscious of every step she made. She faltered a little in the high heel shoes she wore. She didn't know why she wore them, only that she remembered seeing her mother wear them when she was smaller. She had seen those shoes when father had carried them out somewhere when they were younger and she had been captivated by how they glimmered in the light. Soft pearly white shoes that shone. She had always dreamed of them and she kept them in immaculate condition as she had all of her mother's things.

She half-stumbled again and corrected herself quickly. She looked around desperately to make sure no one had seen her falter. She was relieved to know that her veil covered her face well enough so that no one would see her anxious eyes. She was not enjoying herself in the least. She had not seen him since yesterday morning and she was almost annoyed with her father because of that. Sighing softly, she looked up and saw him standing there watching at her with a smile.

Suddenly her step felt sure as she smiled back. All the faces around her disappeared and were replaced only by his. She was there and he was there and she could see no one else around her. She did not even feel her father as he struggled a little to keep up with her slightly quickened pace. She was transfixed and stared at his face and into his eyes and she briefly acknowledged when her father released her. However, she was too focused on his face and on the warmth that spread through her when he took her hand. The veil felt uncomfortable against her face and she pulled it back slightly so that it did not itch her anymore. She stared at him and was so captivated by him and he her that the priest had to tap them slightly on the shoulder to get their attention.

That done, he fumbled for a second with the microphone before he clicked it on. Satisfied that maybe unlike the last time this ceremony might actually be completed he have an appraising glance at the couple in front of him. He had been a spectator at the last wedding and luckily had escaped without injury due to his basic knowledge of the art. Those two, who were the best man and chief bridesmaid sat to the side on the raised platform. It was funny how the bridesmaid's dress was a pale white. He dismissed it and began his prepared speech.

"Dearly beloved…."

That was unfortunately as far as he would get before…

"Hold it! Stop everything! There's no way I'm going to let Ranma marry Akane before he tells me that his stupid baka father isn't making him do this," shouted Ukyou from the entrance to the Dojo. She was armed for a fight but she had remembered not to bring the bombs this time. She would save her Ran-chan without making him too angry. He would surely be grateful if she saved him from the situation and then, hopefully, they could be together.

"How did she find out we were planning to get Ranma and Akane married…" then the fathers who were sitting close together realized six sets of eyes were staring at them in disbelief, including Kasumi.

A little ninja dropped in from the roof. Nabiki saw him and knew what that meant. Akane was glaring at her but for once, Nabiki knew that she had not started this one. Someone else must have. Whether of not her sisters and family believed her innocence had her troubled. This was something right up her alley and it unnerved her that she could be blamed for something she did not do. Surely they realized that she would not hurt family!

"Akane Tendo, I have come to save you from the black magic of the Sorcerer Saotome. After I vanquish him, we can thence be married," intoned one of the other less than sane inhabitants of the Nerima area. On hearing that proclamation everyone groaned. What was worse was what came after.

"Ohohohohohoho…dear brother. Do not speak of my Ranma-sama that way or I may be forced to hurt you."

"Sister you would not dare attack me in my honorable quest!" replied an enraged Kuno.

Ranma and Akane stared at each other. The same thing was passing through their minds…how were they supposed to stop this one?

Of course they both arose, getting up from behind Kasumi and Tofu. The expensive clothes they were wearing really put doubt into the mind of the three wedding crashers especially since Akane was wearing a shade of white and Ranma a tux.

Soun glanced at his eldest daughter and saw the betrayal and hurt plastered over her face. She tried to hide it, but he could see though her disguise. He gave a silent message to Genma who strangely nodded his head. Through years of plotting against the master they had forged a silent communication technique. The two of them wordlessly got up, and ran out the door.

Akane, Ranma and all the others were surprised by their cowardice but a second later there was a loud explosion and smoke filled the room. Ranma was taken by surprise when this happened, as was everyone else in the room. What remained where Kodachi and Kuno were standing were two lumps trapped under a tangled net. For some reason the net was marked 'Operation Drug Marriage'. Everyone eyed the two speculatively. Genma grinned having for once done something right, until he saw the tag. While trying to act normal he ripped off the tag, attracting a lot of attention and began to whistle as he crumpled the piece of paper up in his hands.

'Pathetic,' the word Nabiki used, summed it all up.

(Wham)

Spatula made intimate contact with head and head did not win the battle contrary to what happens in the WWF. Ukyou was accustomed to smoke and haze and had not been captured by that pathetic attempt. Seeing the tag had verified what she had first thought. She stood there over the fallen Genma. Kicking his body slightly.

"Ran-chan, tell me you didn't agree to this wedding," pleaded Ukyou.

Ranma scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"He did," answered someone else.

She turned around and found Jham dressed in an Indian style suit.

"You're lying," she spat. "He would never agree to marry Akane!"

"I don't know about that, but this is Tofu and Kasumi's wedding," he stated simply.

"Tofu and…" She stared to the front of the Dojo and sure enough Tofu and Kasumi was there. She had never quite seen that expression on Kasumi's face. It looked like…it was almost…almost a frown…almost. Ukyou shuddered.

Ukyou's face turned crimson with shame. "Sorry," she apologized meekly.

"I always knew you were violent," muttered Jham. Unfortunately that was within hearing range of Ukyou who promptly knocked him out and dragged him to the side where he was sitting before. She trussed him up against the wall and sat dawn while the others continued to watch her.

"What!" she exclaimed as she sat. The people around her turned their attention back to the stage partly because they knew the wedding was about to begin again and partly because they were a bit afraid for their well being.

The priest rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Tofu Ono and Kasumi Tendo. If there is any in this room that hath objects, speak now or forever..."

That was of course when someone crashed in through the room and made a three point landing while pieces of wood fell around her body.

"I said speak…not smash through the roof," quarreled the priest but sighed as he realized that no one was paying attention to him any more.

Shampoo saw the clothes being worn by Akane and Ranma and pulled out her sword. "Shampoo Ranma wife not tomboy. Tomboy is obstacle, Shampoo remove obstacle."

Shampoo charged at Akane who was reading herself to dish out some serious pain but was stopped as a mass of chains encircled around her, snagging the sword and tripping her unceremoniously onto the floor. Then the chains yanked her back as Mousse pulled. Mousse charged in to finish the job.

"Finally Saotome, I have vanquished you and I will free my love from your clutches." Then he put on his glasses. He clutched his head in agony, "Oh no what have I done!" he cried, dropping the weapon he had in his hand that would have finished off Shampoo. "Shampoo my love speak to me!"

Whap

Right-cross met face and Mousse went sprawling into the wall.

"That musta hurt," commented Jham who had seen the action as he removed some of the cobwebs from his head. It seemed to him that with the exception of Akane, all of the fiancées he had heard about were violent maniacs. He saw Ukyou gripping her oversized cooking utensil again as she watched the fight and backed away into a little corner. He promised himself that he would try to stay out of this one.

Shampoo removed the rest of the chains that bound her and her aura once again flared in anger. "Now Shampoo remove obstacle," she stated with a tone of finality. Unfortunately that was the time when Genma and Soun's handiwork awoke and Kuno saw the prowling Shampoo with her aura and Akane at the other end of the room preparing to defend herself. Needless to say that was all he needed. With a deceptive show of skill, he sliced through the net and charged at Shampoo bokken outstretched.

Kuno may have been one of the better practitioners of Kendo but against a seasoned Amazon warrior he could have as well been a tree. His attack was met with firm resistance and he was sent flying into the wall. The only things that could be called the strengths of Tatewaki Kuno were his resistance to poisons and potions courtesy his sister and his resistance to pain and physical violence courtesy a newly married couple. As such, Kuno was hardly that fazed by slamming into the wall, he had taken much much harder from Ranma and Akane. He sprung up immediately bokken raised. That was all the delay necessary for Kodachi to be revived by her faithful ninja.

With a torturous laugh and a twirl of her ribbon she was once again in the spotlight where she knew she belonged. Seeing the Chinese harridan made her blood boil and she reached for the nearest projectile. Unfortunately the object she found was a person now wandering into the Dojo. She threw the person at Shampoo and Shampoo dodged. The person slammed into the wall and almost immediately he rebounded off and cracked his knuckles. Ryouga entered the fray.

To end the desecration of the ceremony, Ukyou who was close by also entered the battle. And Ranma and Akane? Ranma was furious but he did not want to jump in. The reason was simple. Cologne was nearby and she had shook her head. She had advised him to stay out of it and he knew she was over a hundred years wiser than he was. For once, he took the advice of his elders. That did not stop him from clenching his fists though.

Akane waited on Ranma to give the signal but he was waiting. What was he waiting for she wondered? Those idiots were ruining her sister's wedding! She wasn't going to jump in though, no matter how much she wanted to. If he wasn't jumping in, there had to be a reason. She would chew him out later if this turned out bad in the end. All she could do at the moment was wait and watch and grit her teeth in frustration.

They were not the only people who were angry and frustrated at the situation. Tofu and Kasumi might not have shown it but they were losing their patience with the whole fiasco. Nabiki and Nodoka had already passed that threshold and were literally fuming. All their preparation was going to waste and they did not like it one bit. This had been one of the reasons the martial artists had been omitted from the festivities. Well most of them anyway. Ukyou had been sent an invitation but it seemed that the invitation had not arrived in time.

Sasuke who usually stayed on the sidelines tried to assist his employers but was soon blasted out of the fracas by Ukyou who was trying her best to push everyone away from the stage. It was working for a while too, until she was forced back by one of Kodachi's trick clubs. Luckily as she stumbled backwards she fell back on a soft cushion.

"Hello?" asked a girl in a red sari. "What's going on?"

Ukyou saw the cushion that she fell on and then stared at the light brown girl in front of her.

"Who, who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ameena," she replied. "I'm looking for Ramesh. Do you know where he is?"

"Ramesh? I don’t think so…"

"He's a little darker than me. Last time I saw him he still had that little goatee that he's so proud of…"

"Oh you mean Jham, he's hiding behind there!" pointed Ukyou before she entered the fray again. This time she was not alone as the parents decided to help. Unfortunately they did not do much and Ukyou was as reluctant to fight with Genma as she would against Ranma. She remembered what she was fighting for though and with their combined efforts they pushed the melee back towards the entrance of the Dojo.

Ameena ran towards Jham and before he could run, he found himself cornered in by ornately designed fabric. He forgot that she had mastered the art of Martial Arts Embroidery when she was but a child.

"Hello Ameena…" greeted Jham nervously.

"Jham, why are you running away from me?" she asked getting straight to the point. She was not one for chatter.

Jham stayed quiet as he tried to come up with a logical answer.

Ameena took his silence to mean something that she had been brooding about for a long time. No answer meant yes to that question. If she were an actress she would have won an Oscar, as her face did not betray what she was feeling. He had been promised to her and she he. She had known him from since they were small and when they were younger neither of them had objected to the match when their parents had made the arrangement. That had been four years ago. Two years he had been gone from the village and any word from him had been few and far between. She knew why now. He had been hiding from her. He did not want her anymore. It was as simple as that. He had either found someone else or did not find her desirable as a mate. He continued his silence and she turned away to see what was going on behind her.

Jham sighed in relief as she turned around. He had escaped from answering that question but as she turned around he saw something coming towards her. He did not recognize what it was, only that she screamed and brought her hands up to ward off whatever it was coming towards her. It was a reflex action and it was ineffective as the object hit her and glanced off her head. She fell backwards into his hands as he reached desperately to catch her. He held her and brought her to the floor. He tried to wake her up but she refused to answer to his call. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow and ragged and his breathing became deeper with every passing moment as his mind became saturated with anger.

Who would dare do this to his Ameena: the girl promised to him! Who would dare! Ranma, Akane, Cologne and all the others who were not involved in the fight turned towards him as his battle aura flared brilliantly. Years of meditation had focused his ki to heal and to aid others but anger had saturated his every pore as he watched her fallen body. Energy crackled around him as the most devastating element of his arsenal was brought to the fore. His body glowed with energy and as he felt it reach a max, he released it on those who were fighting.

There was no flash of light. No extraordinary phrase or pose that accompanied Jham's attack. Ki attacked ki and suddenly all the combatants had their energy drained completely. They fell to the floor like flies to everyone's amazement. Jham breathed in heavily as he glowed surreally and slowly the glow around him dissipated.

He didn't care to see the faces of anyone around him. He just returned to the body on the floor.  Jham cradled the body in his lap as he watched her recover from her little spell. He had not seen her in so long. He was still afraid of her but that did not mean that he would just lie back and watch someone hurt her. He was her husband in a way. Not yet, but almost. She tossed a little in his lap until her put his hand around her. He felt her hand grasp his and suddenly he felt an overwhelming wave of calm. She was semi-awake now. He could tell. He surprised even himself by not moving. For some reason he could not move and for another unfathomable reason he did not want to move anymore. He did not want to run anymore. He just wanted to stay there…holding that hand. 

Everyone left Jham and Ameena alone as they took the combatants and put them in slightly more comfortable positions. Shampoo and Mousse were not in the least comfortable though as they were trussed up with Mousse's own chains. Ryouga was not tied down but he was too tired to do or say anything. Most of his strength had just disappeared to his disbelief and he could barely talk.

"Dearly Beloved," began the priest for the third time, "We are gathered here to unite Tofu Ono and Kasumi Tendo in matrimony."

That statement was heard loud and clear by the Kuno's and the Amazons whose faces turned red with embarrassment. Those who valued their honour knew how much they had lost when they started that battle.

"If anyone believes that this marriage should not continue speak now or forever hold their peace…"

"Ssweeeto!" shouted someone from the back of the room. The two people who were at the front of the stage stared at him they did not glare at him but something happened then and the old pervert froze to the bone in fear. He stood there like a statue and fell with a splat on the ground. Kasumi smiled nervously at Tofu and Tofu at Kasumi and they both nodded. The priest viewed this as a sign to continue as he said the relevant prayers and produced the cup of sake.

They drank deeply but their eyes were transfixed onto each other and at the end of the ceremony all the guests erupted in a cheer as Tofu wrapped his hands around Kasumi and kissed her. The flashes from the cameras continued for a long time afterwards and Kasumi still held onto Tofu as their friends and family congratulated them.

Jham could say that he had been there at the wedding but when he saw the faces of the married couple he knew that he hadn't been at the wedding. He could see the bond begin to grow. It was a special bond between man and wife when they loved each other. It was a gift that had been given in the beginning. He had not seen it when it started its fledging life but he had seen it before and like others he had an intuition that this one would also blossom like others he had seen.

The other couple behind them was of note as were some of the older people in the group. He could see Soun's bond. It was very strong and the end fizzled out and finally disappeared. Jham knew what that meant. Soun had not learned to control it with his loss but Jham could not criticize the man because of it. Indeed to forge something of that nature was an achievement in itself. He watched as some of the surrounding chairs were turned to the side as the Dojo was transformed before his eyes.

He looked down and saw her smiling face. He could not help but smile back as they rose to join in the celebration. Life was made of intricate designs and he wouldn't have it any other way.

In seconds the Dojo was transformed from the uniformed arrangement of a wedding hall to a place worthy of hosting a reception. Minutes later everyone was gathered around a central dance floor as a requested piece of music began to play. It was soft, tantalizingly so, and Tofu took the new Mrs. Ono in his hands and guided her as they danced. As the others recovered from Jham's draining more people joined in. Nodoka forced Genma onto the floor as Nabiki did with Kuno, charging him a small fee of course since she had to lead. He had not recovered that much as yet. Ranma and Akane sat apart from each other and felt that longing as they stared at Kasumi and Tofu. They wanted to be there too in the center with them dancing. Dancing together, as man and wife.

Maybe it wasn't to be as they sat opposite each other and tried not to act too bothered about their disposition. Ryouga struggled up to Akane to talk to her and Akane asked him to dance. Ryouga's face became livid and Akane was a bit scared at how lost his mind appeared to be. That and he wasn't an extremely good dancer. Being lost didn't give him much time to practice his moves. She had to keep her feet from getting squashed and Ryouga apologized profusely after he got over his initial euphoria of actually dancing with Akane. Akane accepted it a first but became slightly annoyed as he continued to pour on apology after apology. It was a sweet gesture at first but became more annoying as he went overboard with the apologies.

Ukyou finally felt strong enough to ask Ranma to dance and she was extremely excited when he said yes.

Ranma danced with Ukyou. He didn't have much in the way of dancing but he held his own. At least he could keep in rhythm with the music. Ranma and Akane passed close and Nodoka saw the looks that passed between them. She released her husband whom, finally relieved of his duties, disappeared to find some food. Dancing definitely wasn't on his list of favourite things to do.

Nodoka parted the two couples under the pretense of asking Akane and Ranma to help her bring some things out from the kitchen. It was actually partly true. She inadvertently pushed Ukyou and Ryouga together. They stared at each other hard, then Ukyou shrugged and moved closer to him.

"Look Ryouga, I'm going to help you dance. That way you can dance Akane off her feet and that will leave me with Ran-chan."

"That sounds good…" He replied without too much forethought.

"Okay…ooowiiee! Sugar, you need help and I'm just the person for the job."

Ryouga was nervous. He had been having a glorious time with Akane mainly because that had been one of his dreams: to dance with Akane. After the dance though, he was again troubled. Akari kept forcing her way into his thoughts and it was driving him crazy. Every where he looked he thought he could see her there, he could carry her there, she would look good in that… even when he wasn't thinking about her she popped up. He couldn't stop it. Maybe Ranma could help him? After he beat him to a pulp of course. It was the only fair way to ask Ranma for something. He could see himself victorious in his mind.

Ukyou saw the smirk on Ryouga's face and shook her head slowly. When would that boy pay attention! She stifled another yelp. She should have brought work-boots!

Ranma and Akane returned with the trays of refreshments as the bride began her dance with the guests. Soun had his as did Genma and Kasumi gently nodded towards Ranma for his turn. Ranma nervously scratched his head and obeyed. Tofu smiled and offered his hand to Akane. She accepted and soon both pairs were dancing. Jham and Ameena joined them. The pair seemed to have wings on their feet as they fluttered around the dancing circle. Even Ranma had to admit that they were good.

Originally the plan was for the celebration to extend way into the night. However, the plans were brought short when a luminescent circle appeared on one of the walls. It shone brightly attracting everyone's attention, halting the festivities. From the light someone stepped out.

It was a girl.

"Where are Ranma and Akane?" asked the girl in rough Japanese.

"What do you want with Akane?" asked Ranma while taking a defensive stance. This did not feel right for some reason. He had never seen the girl before and he did not detect a strong aura but he wasn't taking chances anymore.

"I…we need your help," she said nervously.

"Our help?"

"We need your help to fight the Shadows," she replied regurgitating what she had been told to say.

Everyone gasped. They had become quite familiar with that name after the battle in Aina. Everyone had hoped they would never hear the word again.

Ranma clenched his fist. He had felt that evil once. He had defeated that evil once. It was his duty as a martial artist to help those in need.

"I'll go," he stated simply.

"So will I," added Akane as she stood next to Ranma.

Murmurs of agreement began to spread around the Dojo.

"What are these Shadows?" asked Jham, who was lost in the proceedings.

"They are the evil of the second plane," replied the girl.

"Evil?"

"They are in a sense the essence of the evil of man."

"Then I'll come too," he added. It would be interesting of find out what this essence was and he would be able to keep and eye on Ranma and Akane.

"And so will I," added another voice behind him.

"No…you stay here," replied Jham forcefully. There was no way he was going to stand back and let her come. He didn’t even know where he was being taken for goodness sake.

Ameena crossed her hands. "You are not my guardian," she told him in no uncertain terms. "I go where I please and I choose to go with them," she stated in a fierce voice.

"But…" pleaded Jham. She turned away and refused to acknowledge his presence. He sighed knowing the battle had ended. Maybe he should have married her, that way...

Martial artists were always ready and this time like soldiers to the march, they followed the girl into the circle after saying their good-byes. Strangely enough Nabiki went with them also after packing a small bag of goodies. Another person sneaked into the circle while no one was looking. He felt the magical energy there and knew that he wanted to go with them. A part of him was frightfully scared but that did not stop him. This was his one chance, maybe his last chance.

As they all stepped out into a desolate and dark landscape, the girl stretched out her hand at their surroundings.

"Welcome to First World!"

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