[Ranma][Fanfic] A Change of Scene, Chapters 1-50

[KaraOhki]

"A Change of Scene"
1998, June Geraci

More chapters can be found at http:www/fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228
comments to kara...@snet.net

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma 1/2
A Change of Scene

Chapter 1

As Ranma walked along the top of the fence, he kept his attention divided
between keeping his balance and watching his fiancee. Akane hadn't been
herself for some time, and he wondered what was on her mind.

After their return from China the previous year their parents had tried to
force them to marry, and their relationship, which had always had its ups
and downs, had changed completely. At first, they had tried to go back to
the way they'd been - fighting one day and getting along the next - but
things just weren't the same. Too much had happened in China and afterward
for them to ignore.

Ranma had come to realize just how much he loved Akane when he'd nearly
lost her, but had never found the courage to tell her. Even when Akane
confronted him with her knowledge of his affection for her, he'd refused to
confirm it.

Ranma would have felt worse about his actions had it not been for the fact
that Akane had not told him whether or not she loved him. He'd come to the
conclusion that she had agreed to marry him so that her father would let him
have the water he needed for his cure. Her motive was sympathy, not love.

Now that graduation was getting closer, Ranma knew for a certainty that his
parents and Akane's father would soon plan another wedding. They'd always
assumed that he and Akane would obediently do whatever they planned, but
Ranma had no intention of marrying a girl who didn't love him. He 'd spent
the last year bringing up his grades, so that he could get away from
Furinkan by going to college.

Ranma had applied to several colleges, and his counselor seemed to think
that Sanna College in Ube would be most likely to accept him. He liked the
notion, since Ube was far away from Furinkan, and from Akane. It only hurt
him to live in the same house with her. If he were absent, that would give
her the opportunity to find someone else, since she obviously didn't want
him. It would also give him time to learn not to love her.

*****

Akane glanced up at the fence, and Ranma turned his head toward the canal.
She was aware that he'd been watching her, and wondered why.

Akane had been hurt badly the day she and Ranma had almost married. She'd
been willing to marry Ranma, because she loved him, but wondered if she
would have been happy with a husband who didn't love her. Akane couldn't
understand how she could have been so mistaken. Ranma's behavior in China
had seemed to prove to her that he did care, but when she told him that she
knew he loved her, the first words out of his mouth were "I never said
that". Akane had been devastated by Ranma's rejection, and she protected
herself from any more pain by withdrawing from him. She knew that her
father had his heart set on their marriage, and that she 'd had only a
temporary reprieve. After some reflection, Akane decided that her only
option was to leave home long enough to give Ranma an opportunity to marry
one of his other "fiancees". After all, he had more of them than any other
man she knew.

Akane met with her counselor, and began making plans to attend college. She
was confident that she would get a scholarship, and put in several
applications. Several of her friends had already received their responses,
and Akane had a meeting with her counselor that afternoon. Perhaps that
meant she'd received one.

A little voice in her head kept telling Akane to let Ranma know what she
was planning, but she didn't listen. As far as she could tell, he probably
wouldn't even miss her.

*****

That afternoon, Ranma was walking toward his counselor's office when he
spotted Akane approaching from the other direction. She looked
self-conscious when she saw him, and gave him a half smile when she stopped
and knocked on her counselor's door. He waited until she had gone in and
closed the door before he knocked on his counselor's door.

Akane smiled at Mrs. Itayama and sat down, trying not to wonder what Ranma
was doing in that end of the building. It was none of her business.

Mrs. Itayama smiled at Akane, and handed her a letter from Sanna College.

"Congratulations, Akane. You qualified for a two-year scholarship, dear."

Akane was thrilled.

"I really wanted to go to Sanna, Mrs. Itayama. Thanks for your help."

"You didn't really need much help, Akane. You got the scholarship because
you deserved it. I'm sure Ranma will be very pleased."

Akane looked at Mrs. Itayama in confusion.

"What makes you say that?"

"His acceptance letter came in today, too."

Mrs. Itayama watched in concern as all the color drained out of Akane 's
face.

*****
Ranma was so busy reading his acceptance letter that he almost missed Mr.
Makoto's remark to him.

"I'm sure you and your fiancee will have a wonderful time at Sanna,
Saotome."

The letter fell out of Ranma's hands, and he stared at his counselor for a
few seconds before he could speak.

"Akane is going to Sanna? You must be joking."

Mr. Makoto looked very embarrassed.

"I didn't realize she hadn't told you. Perhaps she wanted to surprise
you."

"She succeeded."

Ranma and Akane left their counselors' offices at the same time, and stood
in the hallway, staring at one another. Ranma was the first to be able to
speak.

"We need to talk, Akane. Meet me at your locker after classes."

Akane was waiting at her locker as Ranma had requested, and he grabbed her
hand, led her out of the school, and into the park. They found a bench, and
sat down.

"Akane, why didn't you tell me you were planning to go to college?"

Akane reddened, and answered the question with a question.

"Why didn't you tell me, Ranma?"

"Yeah, right. Well then, why did you choose Sanna?"

"Everything about it, Ranma. It's a good school, and it's far away from
home."

Akane stopped short, wondering how Ranma would react to the latter part of
her sentence. Ranma looked angry for a moment, and then his expression
changed to one she couldn't understand, because he looked rather sad.

"And now you're still stuck with me. Sorry, Akane. I don't mean to bother
you."

Akane struggted with an intense wave of misery, and tried hard to smile.

"You're not a bother, Ranma."

Ranma saw the tears in Akane's eyes, and put his arm around her. Before he
could speak, there was laughter behind them, and then a voice.

"Look at the lovebirds. How cute!"

Ranma turned, to see some classmates approaching. Akane jumped off the
bench, grabbed her bag, and ran off.

"I'm going to be late for work, Ranma."

Ranma realized he too was due at work, and left the park. All of his
careful planning had backfired. Instead of distancing himself from Akane,
she was going to be attending the same college. He just couldn't win.

*****

Akane ran out of the park, and slowed down to a walk. No matter how hard
she tried, she just couldn't get away from Ranma. How could she outgrow
her love for him if she'd be seeing him all the time?

Chapter 2

At dinner, Ranma waited for Akane to mention her scholarship, while Akane
waited for Ranma to go first. Dinner conversation was no different from any
other night, though, and the subject was never brought up.

Later, Akane finished her homework, changed into exercise clothing, and
walked into the dojo to practice. She always worked out when something was
on her mind, and from behind a pile of mats in the corner of the room, a
small pig watched her as she practiced.

After only a few minutes, Akane stopped, turned down the lights, and sat on
the floor, hugging her knees. Normally, exercise helped her to work through
whatever was troubling her, but tonight it wasn't helping at all.

P-Chan started out from behind the mats, and then turned back when the dojo
doors slid open, and Ranma walked in. He stopped short when he saw Akane
sitting there, and turned on the rest of the lights.

"Akane, why are you sitting in the dark?"

"I was thinking."

Ranma looked curious, walked to Akane's side, and sat down on the floor.

"What about?"

Akane hesitated. She was tempted to tell Ranma to mind his own business,
but she needed someone to talk to. Hopefully, he wouldn't say something
insensitive.

"College. I'm not sure how to tell Daddy, Ranma. I don 't know if he'll
approve of my leaving home."

Ranma was surprised. Akane was a strong-minded, independent person, and he
wondered why she was so hesitant.

"If he doesn't approve, Akane, would you change your mind?"

Akane immediately took offense at the question.

"Why? Do you want me to stay home?"

"No, no, Akane. I just didn't think you'd let what your father thought
affect you. If you want to go to college, go."

Akane looked a Ranma a little suspiciously, and then relaxed. He sounded
as if he'd meant what he said.

"Ranma, this is something I really need to do. I'm looking forward to the
whole experience: being away from home, a new town, and new friends."

"Me too, Akane."

"Ranma, I have to ask you a favor. Please don't take this the wrong way."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to be known in Ube as me, Akane Tendo, and not Ranma Saotome's
fiancee. Could we keep our engagement a secret?"

For a moment, Akane thought Ranma looked hurt, but his reply was a
favorable one.

"Okay Akane, if that's what you want."

Ranma hesitated, looking at the relief on Akane's face. Her request had
hurt him, but he could understand her desire for freedom. He took a deep
breath, and gave her more freedom than she'd asked for.

"Akane, if you meet someone you like in Ube, and you want to go out with
him, don't worry about it. I don't mind."

Ranma then got up and walked out of the dojo, leaving Akane staring at his
departing back. She was about to get up and follow him, when a sound behind
her made her turn.

"P-Chan! When did you get here? I've missed you so!"

Akane got up, ran to P-Chan, and picked him up. She started out of the
dojo, then changed her mind and sat down, cuddling the pig. P-Chan heard a
sniffle, and looked up to see Akane wiping her eyes.

"I don't know what to do, baby. I'm just so confused. I wish you could
talk, and tell me everything will be all right."

P-Chan cuddled closer, and for a moment Akane felt as if he understood.

"Let's go, P-Chan. It's almost time for bed."

Akane walked into the kitchen for a bedtime snack, and found Ranma having
one. He saw P-Chan in her arms, and tried not to frown.

"Oh, I see -P-Chan is back. Where have you been lost this time, pig?"

Akane put P-Chan down to open the refrigerator and looked at Ranma
disapprovingly.

"Don't tease him, Ranma. Would you like a snack, baby?"

She got out something for herself, and for P-Chan.

"Don't spoil him, Akane. He 's fat enough."

P-Chan picked up his head from his snack, and growled at Ranma. Akane was
pouring herself a drink, and Ranma quickly knelt down next to the pig.

"Don't get any ideas, Ryoga. You're not sleeping upstairs tonight."

The look in Ranma's eyes was enough to convince Ryoga that this time Ranma
meant business, and Akane was surprised to see him dash out of the kitchen.
She put down her glass and ran after him, only to see him slip through the
half-open door and out into the darkness. Akane turned around and stomped
back to the kitchen. She picked up her glass and glared at Ranma .

"What did you do to P-Chan, Ranma?"

"Nothing, Akane."

Akane sniffed, and carried her glass upstairs with her. She undressed and
got into bed with the drink and a book, but after a page or two put it down
and turned off her light.

She just couldn't understand Ranma at all. It was all right with him
if she saw other men, but he got jealous of a little pig.

Ranma lay in bed, eyes open. He'd planned to leave home to give himself
distance from Akane, and now she would be at the same college. At least
Sanna was a large school. Maybe they wouldn't be running into each other
all the time. Then he wouldn't have to see it if she found someone she
liked. The thought was unsettling to him.

Chapter 3

After a couple of days, Akane came to the conclusion that being afraid to
tell her father she was going to college was foolish, and she told Ranma so
on her way to school.

Ranma had waited to tell anyone of his scholarship and he and Akane agreed
to announce their plans at dinner. They would tell Soun at that time, and
then Ranma would phone his parents. Unfortunately, things did not proceed
as planned.

Ranma was working at a restaurant after school, and left in time to meet
Akane as she was leaving the day care center where she worked. They arrived
at home in time for dinner, and found not only Akane's family at the dinner
table, but Ranma's parents. When they saw Genma holding two letters from
Sanna College addressed to them, they knew they'd delayed a little too long.

"Son, what are these letters about?"

Ranma suppressed his surprise that his father hadn't opened them, and
replied to the question calmly.

"Akane and I both got two year scholarships, Pop."

Genma looked at Akane for confirmation, and when she nodded, turned back to
his son.

"Why didn't you tell us you were planning to go to college? You could have
applied somewhere closer to home, like the community college."

Akane was the one to reply.

"Sanna College has a lot more to offer than the community college, Uncle
Saotome, and we didn't want to tell you until we knew if we would be
accepted."

Soun interrupted, as he got up to hug his daughter.

"I am so very proud of both of you. But we'd better get started making
plans."

"What kind of plans, Daddy?"

"For you to get married before you leave, of course."

"No, Daddy."

Soun stopped short, looking confused.

"Why not?"

Akane looked from her father's face to her fiance's. She knew if she
stated that she didn't want to marry Ranma at all, it would cause a huge
argument.

"I'm not ready yet."

Soun looked like he was ready to argue with his daughter, but Genma
interrupted him.

"Don't, Tendo. Let it be for a while. I would object if Akane was going
away on her own, but Ranma will be there to take care of her."

Akane knew that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and
was ready to tell Genma that, but Ranma pinched her hand under the table.
After dinner, she took him aside to ask him why.

"I could see how angry you were, Akane, but arguing with Pop is a waste of
time. Don't worry about what he said--I won't get in your way."

Akane smiled rather sadly at Ranma, and shook her head.

"Ranma, I'm not trying to chase you away altogether, you know."

She returned to the kitchen to help Kasumi wash the dishes, and Ranma
watched her walk away, thinking that she had already done a very good job of
it.

Soun and Genma went to the dojo to talk privately. Soun was still upset
with Akane, and worried about her leaving home.

"I don't like having my little girl so far away, Saotome. Maybe I
shouldn't let her go."

"It's all right, Tendo. I have a plan."

Soun listened to his friend talk, and his frown turned into a smile.

Chapter 4

It wasn't long before word got around Furinkan High that Ranma and Akane
would be attending college together, and the inevitable teasing began.
Ranma's friends thought it was hilarious that Ranma was going to college
with his fiancee, and wouldn't let him forget it. Akane's friends, on the
other hand, were totally confused. She'd spent the last couple of years
complaining about Ranma's presence, and they couldn't understand why she
would want to go to college with him. When she explained that it was a
coincidence, they wouldn't believe her.

Akane's father had not raised the subject of a wedding again, which made
her suspicious, she tried not to worry about it, being busy enough getting
ready for graduation.

Akane had been saving for a graduation gift for Ranma, and went to pick it
up one afternoon. She'd chosen a watch, and was having it wrapped when she
became aware that someone was watching her. Turning, Akane found Ukyo in
the shop beside her. Ukyo didn't even pretend to be friendly, and came
right to the point.

"How dare you take Ranma away to Ube!"

"Excuse me, Ukyo, but Ranma applied to Sanna College on his own. I didn't
even know about it until he was accepted."

Ukyo snorted, and it was obvious that she didn't believe a word.

"I came to Furinkan to be with my fiance, and I don 't appreciate your
taking him away. Don't think you've won, Akane Tendo. Ranma is mine. "

Ukyo walked away, and Akane turned back to the shop clerk, who handed her
the wrapped package with a sympathetic smile.

*****

Across town, Ranma was having problems of his own. On the way to the
restaurant, Shampoo had ambushed him, accusing him of deserting her.

"Ranma no go to college. You stay here, with Shampoo. Okay?"

"No, Shampoo. I'm leaving. I told you this yesterday, and the day before.
When will you listen?"

Shampoo shook her head violently, and grabbed Ranma's arm.

"Shampoo no will listen. Never."

Ranma shook himself loose, and backed away.

"I have to go to work, Shampoo. Be a good girl, and go home."

Ranma ran off, not looking back.

Shampoo's persistence amazed Ranma. After her behavior in China, and the
havoc she'd caused at his aborted wedding, he would have thought that she'd
realize that he didn't want her near him, but she'd been following him every
day.

After work, when Ranma left the restaurant, he half expected to find
Shampoo waiting for him. He was surprised to find his father and Akane's
father there instead. Ranma felt rather apprehensive as they got on either
side of him, and began to walk with him. His father looked stern as he
began speaking.

"Ranma, have you done anything about a graduation gift for Akane?"

Ranma had been saving for one, and the question didn't surprise him.

"I've been saving for one, Pop. I was looking at some really nice
bracelets."

"Son, don't you think it's about time you got Akane an engagement ring?
After all, you've been engaged for over two years."

Ranma stopped walking, and glared at his father.

"Pop, why do you have to interfere? What I choose to buy for Akane is my
business!"

Genma said nothing, and Soun took Ranma by the arm to get his attention.

"Son, there's more to it than that. Akane is going to a strange town,
where she will be surrounded by men who don't know she's already spoken for.
I would prefer it if the two of you were married before you left home, but
I'm willing to compromise. If Akane is wearing your ring when she leaves,
then other men won't bother her, and I'll worry less."

"But, sir."

"Ranma, listen to me. My mind is made up. You have two choices: Either
marry Akane before you leave, or give her an engagement ring. Otherwise,
she's staying home."

Ranma thought hard. Akane didn't want it known at college that she was
engaged, and this was not going to make her happy. On the other hand, Ranma
didn't want Soun to forbid Akane to go to college. Then he thought of a way
around the problem, and made a decision.

"Okay, I guess you're right. Just give me some time to shop around,
would you? Akane deserves something pretty."

Ranma turned to walk in the opposite direction, but Genma got the last word
in.

"Don't make us wait too long, Son. I expect to see a ring on Akane's
finger soon."

Genma watched Ranma's back stiffen, and expected him to turn and say
something, but Ranma kept walking.

*****

Akane was in a rocking chair holding a baby when the door opened, and Ranma
entered. She glanced quickly at her school bag to see if Ranma's gift was
sticking out, but the flap was closed.

"What are you doing here, Ranma?"

Ranma sat down opposite Akane, watching her rock the baby. He'd seen her
doing so a few times when he'd come to walk her home, and it never failed to
amaze him that a tomboy tike Akane could took so natural with a baby in her
arms. He liked what he saw, and hesitated, not wanting to upset her.

"Akane, something's come up, and you should know about it, but first you
have to promise not to get mad at me. It's not my idea."

"Okay Ranma, I promise. Is something wrong?"

"Our fathers are insisting that I get you an engagement ring."

Akane was so amazed that she stopped rocking, until the baby protested and
she began again. Ranma was surprised that she limited her response to one
word.

"Why?"

"They're under the impression that the men on campus need to see that
you're not available. Your father told me he'd prefer it if we were married
before we left, but he'd accept this as a compromise."

"And if I say no?"

"He won 't let you go."

Akane turned red, and Ranma could see how furious she was, but she remained
calm. Perhaps it was for the baby's sake, for he had fallen asleep. "What
did you tell them, Ranma?"

"I told them I would get you a ring, Akane. I couldn't let your father
make you stay home when you want to go to college so badly."

"What about our promise, Ranma? We were going to keep our engagement a
secret."

"I thought about that, Akane, and I see a way around it. Accept the ring,
and wear it all summer. You can take it off when you leave home, and no one
will know but me. Is that okay with you?"

Akane brightened, and actually smiled at Ranma.

"Okay Ranma, I'll play along. Just do me a favor, would you? Wait until
after graduation. If I show up at school wearing an engagement ring, I'll
never hear the end of it."

"No problem, Akane. I'm having a hard enough time with the guys as it is."

Chapter 5

When Ranma and Akane got home, Soun took Akane aside.

"Did Ranma tell you about the talk we had, Akane?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"And? "

Akane looked annoyed, but restrained herself.

"He's going to buy me a ring, Daddy. Excuse me, I have to change clothes."

Akane walked past her father, pnd up the stairs. She changed her clothes
and sat on the bed, staring into space. It was unfair of her and Ranma's
fathers to back them into a corner like this. Family loyalty was important,
but making it a point of honor to marry a man who didn't love her was going
too far.

*****

Akane and Kasumi were washing the dinner dishes when Kasumi cheerfully
asked her sister what she would be doing that Saturday.

"Nothing special, Sis. Why?"

"How would you like to go shopping?"

"Excuse me?"

"Father gave me some money for you. He said he'd been saving for a wedding
for you and Ranma, but since you've postponed it again, you could use it for
a dress for your graduation dinner, and to buy some of your college
wardrobe. Uncle Saotome is giving Ranma the money he'd been saving, so that
he can buy a suit. After all, he has to look nice when he takes you to the
dinner."

Akane dropped the dishcloth she was holding, then picked it up and put it
on the counter.

"You mean Daddy's given up on a wedding?"

"No, dear. He said he'd start saving again. I think he and Uncle
Saotome ezpect that you'll get married when you come home next summer."

"Oh."

*****

When Ranma emerged from his room the night of the graduation dinner, Akane
was just opening her door. They caught sight of one another, and stopped
short.

Ranma was wearing his new suit, and Akane couldn't recall ever seeing him
look so handsome, not even in the wedding clothes their fathers had forced
him into. Ranma noted that Akane was wearing her favorite color, yellow.
When he'd first met her, Ranma had teased her about her lack of feminine
curves, but there was no reason to do so now.

When Ranma handed Akane the corsage of yellow rosebuds he'd picked up for
her, she looked at it in surprise.

"Ranma, how did you guess I was going to wear yellow?"

"It was easy, Akane. I know what you like."

Soun looked up as the couple came down the stairs, and beamed with pride.

"The two of you look wonderful. One would almost assume you were on your
way to get married."

Ranma and Akane flushed to the roots of their hair, and left the house
quickly . Kasumi watched them go, and then turned back to her father.

"Father, that wasn't such a good idea. We 've all been pushing them to get
married for a long, long time. Maybe it's time to sit back and let them
come to that decision on their own."

"But Kasumi, if we do that, nothing will ever happen."

"Don't be too sure, Father. I've been watching them, and I think they
care for each other more than they're willing to admit right now."

Soun looked thoughtful. Sometimes his quiet daughter could be very wise.

*****

When the couple arrived at the club, many of their classmates were already
there. Ranma and Akane had agreed to go their own way once they arrived,
but at the door they were told that their table was ready. Accepting the
fact that everyone considered them a couple, they went to the table, and
found several of their friends waiting for them.

After dinner, a band started to play, and people began to fill the dance
floor. Akane didn't expect Ranma to ask her to dance, never having danced
with him, and being unsure whether he knew how. She was watching the
dancing when a classmate approached her, looking at Ranma nervously, and
asked her to dance. Ranma just smiled, and watched them go.

Ranma sat watching as a different young man asked Akane to dance every time
the music changed. At first it amused him, since these were the same boys
that Akane used to beat senseless every morning when he'd first met her.
After a while, however, he began to get rather jealous, and got up.

Akane stood on the side of the dance floor, catching her breath. There had
been a break in the music, and she had time to wonder whether she'd have to
dance with every boy in the senior class, and hoped that wouldn't be the
case.

Ranma was trying to decide whether or not to ask Akane to dance with him
when he saw Hikaru Gosunkuji get up and begin walking toward her. That was
enough to help him make up his mind, and he crossed the floor quickly. As
the music began again, Akane felt someone take her hand, and she looked up
to find Ranma beside her.

"It's my turn, Akane."

Gosunkuji stopped short, disappointed, and his jealous eyes watched as
Ranma took Akane out onto the dance floor. He was not the only one watching
them. One of the unhappiest observers was Ukyo, who had gone to the trouble
of getting a lovely gown for the dinner. Ranma hadn't looked her way once.

At first, Ranma held Akane stiffly, and concentrated on his feet. Then his
nervousness faded, and he held her a little closer, enjoying the scent of
the rosebuds she wore, and her nearness itself. Ranma knew that being this
close to Akane was dangerous for him, but he wasn't willing to give up this
last opportunity to hold her. She would be out of his life soon enough.

Akane's reaction to being in Ranma's arms was mixed. He hadn't held her
since the day he'd saved her life in China, and she'd been trying very hard
to forget how good it felt. Now she couldn't decide whether she wanted him
to hold her forever, or to let go. Then Akane gave in to the moment, and
moved closer to Ranma, resting her head on him. She may as well enjoy it
while she could.

Ranma was stunned when Akane moved closer into his embrace, and
instinctively held her tighter. He was enjoying himself too much to notice
the glares from his male classmates, and the look of reproach Ukyo gave him
before leaving the room. When the music stopped, it took them a few seconds
to let go of one another, and then they quietly walked back to their table.

Their friends looked at them, puzzled at their expressions. As one couple
got up to dance, the young man whispered into his date's ear: "Look at
them. You would think they just broke up."

Comments? Flames? Contact me: kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene"
1998, June Geraci

More chapters can be found at http:www/fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228
comments to kara...@snet.net

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 6

The cab driver wondered about the young couple he was driving home. They
sat in the back seat, looking out their respective windows, and did not
speak. Had they had some sort of argument?

No one was downstairs when they got in, but a light had been left on,
and as she was removing her shoes, Akane noticed a new pair in the hallway.

"Look, Ranma. Nabiki is home."

Nabiki had been away in Morioka, attending college, and had promised to
get home in time for their graduation.

"That's good, Akane."

"Ranma, there's something you should know before you see her in the
morning."

Akane had been almost silent since their dance, and Ranma was glad to
have her talking again, no matter what it was about.

"What, Akane?"

"She's probably going to give you a hard time about going to college
with me. I got the impression from her last letter that she thinks it's
funny. Also, she told me something else that I'm having a hard time
believing. "

Akane paused, Ranma saw a wicked gleam in her eyes, and she giggled.

"My sister is dating Kuno. "

Ranma's jaw dropped.

"No way, Akane. How did this start?"

Akane walked into the living room and sat down, Ranma beside her.

"Nabiki's letter said that he'd been following her around campus, the way
he used to follow me in high school. After a while, she agreed to go out
with him just out of curiosity. I guess she likes him, after all."

"You know, Akane, this might be a very good thing. If Kuno is busy with
Nabiki, maybe he won't look for his pigtailed girl."

Before Akane could reply, the light over the stairs went on, and a voice
called down.

"Ranma, Akane, are you down there?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Okay."

His footsteps retreated, and Akane got up.

"It's late, Ranma. I'd better go up. Good night."

Ranma followed Akane up the stairs, and watched her enter her room.
They'd gotten along better that evening that they had in a long time. Too
bad it couldn't last.

*****

When Akane got to the breakfast table the nezt morning, Ranma was
missing. She smiled at her father, and sat down.

"Good morning, Daddy. Welcome home, Nabiki."

Nabiki put down her teacup, and smiled at her sister.

"Thanks, Sis. How was the dinner last night?"

Akane thought about dancing with Ranma, and blushed.

"We had a good time, Nabiki."

"I guess you did. Where's Ranma?"

"He said something about going into the city today. He'll be back later."

"I wanted to warn him in advance, Akane. Kuno is coming to dinner
tonight. Do you think they can spend an evening together without killing
each other?"

Akane looked at the ceiling, and sighed.

"He'll just have to deal with it, Sis. I'll warn him."

*****

When Ranma returned a few hours later, Akane took him aside and told him
about their dinner guest. As expected, he wasn't thrilled about it.

"I guess with Kuno going out with your sister, we'll be seeing more of
him than we want."

"Please don't get into a fight with him, Ranma."

Ranma looked annoyed.

"If we do fight, Akane, it won 't be because I started it. Don't
worry, I'll try to get along with him."

Akane decided to change the subject.

"What were you doing in the city today?"

"Visiting jewelry stores."

Akane was sorry she'd asked the question, reddened, and excused
herself. Ranma watched her walk away, his expression darkening.
*****

When Kuno walked into the house that evening and kissed Nabiki's
cheek, Akane instinctively turned to Ranma, who looked as sick as she felt.
Every time Kuno had tried to come near Akane, she had clobbered him, and
watching him kiss her sister was very disturbing to her.

Kuno greeted Akane with friendliness, but without the overblown expressions
of affection he once used when speaking to her. He and Ranma were civil to
one another, but it would be impossible to characterize their conversation
as a friendly one. After filling the family in on what was happening in
Morioka, Nabiki changed the subject.

"I'm really glad you're going away to college, Akane. I think it will be
good for you."

"I can't wait, Sis."

Kuno had been listening quietly, and turned to Ranma.

"What about your plans, Saotome? I assume you will be teaching martial
arts after you graduate."

"Not yet, Kuno. I'm going to Sanna College also."

Kuno looked at Ranma, and his eyes narrowed. He looked at Akane, and back
at Ranma again.

"I'm not certain whether or not I approve."

Akane felt her face getting hot.

"It's none of your business, Kuno."

She began to get up, but Nabiki motioned to her, and stood up herself,
pulling on Kuno's arm.

"Let's go for a little walk."

"Nabiki?"

"I said, let's go, Kuno-baby."

Everyone watched in amazement as Kuno got up and walked away with Nabiki.

Kasumi stared after them, and turned to her father.

"How does she do that, Father?"

"I'm not sure I want to know."

Chapter 7

The next few days flew by, as graduation day approached. Ranma was
spending as much time as he could in the house, when he wasn't at work or in
school. Shampoo was still annoying him every chance she got, and he was
finding it increasingly difficult to deal with her. Ukyo wasn't speaking to
him at all, which was a great relief. Ranma had been treating her coldly
for the past year, since she helped wreck his wedding, although he was very
much aware that she still cared for him.

As far as Ranma could tell, Akane was avoiding him. Every time he opened
his bureau drawer and saw the little box sitting there, he knew why. If she
felt as uncomfortable about the little act they would have to put on as he
did, then he couldn't blame her.

Akane was becoming increasingly unhappy. She was putting up with a lot
of teasing at school because of going to college with Ranma, and the dance
they'd shared at the party. Ukyo was being as unpleasant as she could, and
Akane had a strong suspicion that she was up to something. As far as Ranma
was concerned, Akane was trying to stay as far away from him as she could.
She was afraid that she would not be able to play the part she was expected
to, and was beginning to regret that she'd made the agreement with Ranma.

*****

The day before graduation, Nodoka arrived at the house to help Kasumi
prepare the food for the party they were giving Ranma and Akane after
graduation exercises. Akane was eager to help, but her offer was turned
down. Nodoka tried to soften the blow by explaining that it was Akane's
party, and she shouldn't have to do any of the work, but Akane knew better.
No one was willing to eat anything she cooked, and they were keeping her out
of the kitchen.

At the graduation, it was difficult to tell who was crying harder:
Soun or Nodoka. Akane's father was crying because his daughter had
graduated and would be leaving home, and Ranma's mother was crying because
she was so proud of him. After the ceremonies were over, the families
walked back to the Tendo home together.

The feast Nodoka and Kasumi had prepared was wonderful, and everyone
surprised the graduates with small presents. Ranma had just opened his
mother's present when his father sat beside him and put his hand on his
shoulder.

"When are you going to give Akane her present, Ranma?"

"In a little while, Pop."

"Well then, why don't you go get it?"

Ranma's eyebrows went up into his hairline.

"Are you nuts, Pop? This is not some kind of a show for everyone to
watch. This is between me and Akane."

Ranma gave his father another look of disgust, got up, and walked to
Akane's side. She stopped talking to Kasumi, and looked up.

"Can you come with me now, Akane?"

"Okay, Ranma."

*****

Akane followed Ranma up the stairs, feeling very apprehensive, She
stopped in her room for his gift, and joined him in his room. Ranma was
sitting on the futon, waiting for her.

Akane sat down and handed Ranma a gift wrapped box. When Ranma opened it
and found his watch, he immediately put it on, smiling at Akane.

"Thanks, Akane. I really like it."

Ranma handed Akane a small box. She took off the bow, and then sat there
with the box in her hand.

"Aren't you going to open it, Akane?"

Akane lifted the lid, and caught her breath. She was looking at a delicate
gold ring, set with a small sapphire.

"Did you pick this out yourself, Ranma?"

"Yes I did. Do you like it?"

"It's lovely."

Akane removed the ring from the box and sat looking at it. Ranma took it
from her, and picked up her hand.

"I guess I'm supposed to do this."

He hesitated, and looked into Akane's eyes.

"This is the strangest way of saying good bye to someone that I ever heard
of, but I guess that's what we 're doing. "

Ranma was about to place the ring on Akane's finger when he heard a sob,
and looked up quickly, to see tears rolling down her face. Ranma dropped
the ring and pulled Akane into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't Ranma, I can't ..."

Akane was unable to continue speaking, and Ranma patted her back awkardly,
trying to calm her.

"Akane, if you can't do this, then don't. It 's not fair to force
you. You stay here, and I'll go tell Pop we changed our minds."

Akane cried harder, and lifted her head to look at Ranma.

"No, Ranma, you don't understand what I'm trying to tell you."

"Try again, Akane. I'm listening."

"I can't say good bye to you, Ranma. Please don't say good bye to me."

Akane buried her face in Ranma's shirt, and held on to him. Ranma held her
tighter, unable to believe what he'd heard. Akane had been pushing him away
for weeks, and now she wanted him to stay? She was the most contradictory
girl he'd ever met, but he loved her, and it was about time he did something
about it.

Akane felt Ranma let go of her, and loosened her hold on him. She was too
embarrassed about what she'd said and done to take her head from his chest,
didn't know what to expect when he put both hands on her face to raise it
up, and was totally taken by surprise when he gently kissed her.

Chapter 8

Ranma's kiss, being something in the way of an experiment, was
extremely short, and he quickly released Akane and sat back, resting his
hands on his knees. Akane sat there with her hand to her lips, eyes wide,
tooking totally confused. Ranma was very surprised when Akane leaned
forward, placed both of her hands over his, and whispered only two words.

"Ranma, why?"

"Because I love you, Akane. I don't want to say good bye, either."

Akane let go of Ranma's hands, and she sat back again. Ranma watched as
Akane's expression changed from confusion to one he'd never seen before, and
she began to cry again. He was beginning to worry that he'd said the wrong
thing when she smiled through her tears, and said what he wanted to hear.

"I love you, Ranma."

Ranma pulled Akane into his arms and kissed her again, not quite so
gently, and this time she returned his kiss. Ranma wanted to go on kissing
Akane forever, but the knowledge that his father was waiting for him
downstairs made him let go after a few minutes, and retrieve the ring from
the bed.

"Akane, you know that I'm not good at saying things, but if you let me
give this to you, it will be for real. Our fathers are expecting us to keep
their promise."

Akane hesitated, and then responded softly.

"No, Ranma."

Ranma looked at Akane, the hurt plain to see.

"What? I don't understand."

"Ranma, are you asking me because of that promise? I can't marry you
if that's the reason."

"Suddenly, Ranma understood.

"No, no, Akane. If I didn't want you, my father couldn't make me
marry you if he held a gun to my head. I need you, Akane. Please don't say
no again."

Akane shook her head, and placed her hand in Ranma's.

"I couldn't if I tried, Ranma. It hurt too much to say it once."

Ranma quickly slipped Akane's ring onto her finger, and held her so tightly
that she found breathing difficult. He kissed her once more, then released
her, and got up.

"Ready to face the family?"

"Not yet, Ranma. I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Would you mind if we waited a while to get married? I'm not ready yet."

Ranma sat down again, taking his fiancee's hands.

"Would you explain that?"

Akane reddened, and looked down.

"I'd like some time to be on my own, Ranma. One of the reasons I
wanted to go away to college was to be independent."

Akane watched Ranma's face, waiting for him to answer. He finally
opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, was interrupted
by his father's voice, which was coming from the other side of the closed
door.

"When are you coming out? We're waiting"

"Just a second, Pop!"

As Genma's footsteps retreated, Ranma got to his feet, puling Akane up with
him.

"We'll have to talk later, Akane. If we don't go downstairs, our fathers
will come up and drag us down."

*****

When Ranma walked Akane downstairs, he found his father waiting at the
bottom. His eyes went immediately to Akane's hand, and he smiled in
satisfaction and brought them to the rest of the family.

"Our children have finally decided to make their engagement official.
Now we have another reason to celebrate tonight."

Ranma and Akane stood there, hand in hand, and watched the faces of
their families. Nodoka immediately jumped to her feet, and embraced them,
followed by Kasumi. Nabiki sat there watching, skepticism obvious in her
expression.

"I don't know who you two think you're fooling, but there's no way
I'll believe this is real."

Genma was taken aback, and looked closely at his son. As far as he
could tell, Ranma looked very happy with Akane's hand in his, and she looked
equally as happy, but Nabiki's words had succeeded in shaking his
confidence.

Soun, who was weeping with happiness, missed the entire exchange. He
finally wiped his eyes and got up, hugging his daughter.

"You have made your father so happy tonight, Akane."

Nodoka and Kasumi began to gather the dishes together, and took them
into the kitchen for washing. Akane followed them in, and chased them out
of the kitchen.

"You did all the cooking. At least let me clean up."

Later, Nodoka came back in with Genma to say good night before they left,
and were surprised to find Ranma helping Akane. Genma raised his eyebrows,
but for once said nothing, and they soon went home. Ranma waited until he
was sure they were gone before turning to his fiancee, and speaking to her
softly.

"There's isn't enough privacy here, Akane. I'll have to think of a
place for us to talk."

*****

Kasumi stood outside the kitchen, listening to Ranma. She went
upstairs to get ready for bed, and sat there, waiting for Ranma and Akane to
come up.

Ranma stopped outside Akane's door, and looked all around. Seeing no
one, he embraced her, and kissed her good night. Neither of them heard
Kasumi quietly open her door, observe them, and close the door again. She
smiled, and got into bed. She'd been right about Ranma and Akane, but had
no intention of telling anyone about it. They were entitled to find their
own
way.

Chapter 9

Akane sat in bed, looking at her ring. She hadn't noticed before that
the color of the stone was the same shade of blue as her fiance's eyes.
Akane sighed, wondering what Ranma thought of her request for time. He
hadn't looked very happy.

A tap on the window made Akane jump, and she quickly got up to open the
curtain. Ranma was outside, and Akane slid the window open.

"What are you doing out there, Ranma?"

"Looking for you, Akane. Let's talk on the roof."

Akane quickly put on her bathrobe, climbed onto her desk, and went through
the window. She and Ranma went up to the roof, and sat down. The moonlight
made it possible for Akane to see Ranma's face, and she was relieved to see
that although he looked serious, he did not look angry.

"I've been thinking about our engagement, Akane. You can look at it
three ways--we've either been engaged for eighteen years, two years, or two
hours."

Akane moved closer to Ranma, and held his hand.

"I couldn't agree with the eighteen years, Ranma. We didn't meet
until two years ago. But two years sounds right to me. What are you
getting at?"

"Two years should be long enough for you to know if you want to marry me or
not."

"That's not the point, Ranma. I do want to marry you. I just want to
be on my own for a while. I was looking forward to it."

Ranma frowned, and looked down. After a few minutes, he looked at Akane,
and squeezed her hand.

"I guess I understand, Akane. I made the same kind of plans myself,
especially since I didn't think you wanted me. I suppose six months would
be long enough."

"Six months?"

Ranma reached over to pick Akane up, and set her down in his lap.

"We're getting married before the year is over, Akane. I won 't wait
any longer than that."

As Ranma began to kiss her, Akane wondered if six months would be too
long.

*****

Akane rose early the next morning, and went to the dojo to practice.

Ranma was already there, and he looked up with a smile when she slid the
door open. They practiced together, and went back to the house for
breakfast, where Soun was waiting for them.

"What do the two of you have planned for today?"

Akane looked surprised.

"I have to go to work this morning, Daddy. So does Ranma."

"But Akane, I thought the two of you would want to be together today."

Akane frowned at her father, and inched away from Ranma. She'd thought
that accepting Ranma's ring would keep her father out of her hair for a few
days, at least, but she'd been wrong. She was trying to find something to
say when Ranma spoke up.

"What for, Mr. Tendo? You wouldn't let Akane leave home unless she
was wearing an engagement ring, right? Well we did what you wanted, didn't
we? That doesn't mean we're happy about it."

Ranma picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, ignoring Akane and
her father. Nabiki had observed the entire exchange, and smiled knowingly.

"I thought something was fishy last night, Sis."

Akane stared at Ranma in shock for a few seconds, and then began
eating her breakfast. His play-acting was very convincing, almost
convincing enough to fool her.

Soun watched Ranma for a while, and then looked at Akane. She was
quietly eating her breakfast, not looking at her fiance. Soun sighed, and
wondered if his daughter would ever accept her engagement. Akane had looked
so happy the previous night, but now it was apparent to him that she and
Ranma had been putting on a show for them, one that had only lasted a couple
of hours.

After she finished eating, Akane carried her breakfast dishes into the
kitchen, Ranma following behind with his. He looked behind him quickly
before whispering to Akane.

"Do you think I was laying it on a little too thick out there?"

Akane giggled.

"With Daddy, you have to. Just as long as I don't believe what you
said."

"You'd better not. It looks like I'll have to pick a few fights with you."

"What about?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could do something uncute."

Akane grinned at Ranma, and raised her voice a few decibels.

"WHO'S UNCUTE?"

"YOU are, you tomboy!"

Soun came running into the kitchen, and got between them.

"Do you two have to fight all the time?"

Akane stomped out of the kitchen.

"It's his fault, Daddy."

Ranma stuck his head out of the kitchen as Akane retreated.

"Says who?"

Akane ran upstairs and managed to get her bedroom door shut before she
began laughing. Downstairs, Soun grabbed Ranma by the collar and dragged
him into the dojo.

"My daughter is probably upstairs crying her eyes out. You shoutd be
ashamed of yourself!"

*****

Akane was dressing for work when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Akane. May I come in?"

Akane opened her door to let Kasumi in. Her sister closed the door
behind her, and sat down on the bed.

"Akane dear, you have to be careful."

"Excuse me, Sis?"

"This game you and Ranma are playing. How long do you think you can keep
fooling Father?"

Akane sank down into her chair.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the two of you in the hallway last night. You can't convince
me that you hate Ranma when I saw the way you kissed him. Why are you
pretending to fight?"

"I'm not ready to get married yet, Kasumi. Daddy wouldn't understand
that."

"What about Ranma, dear? Does he understand?"

"He promised to give me time."

Kasumi looked very confused.

"I just don't understand you, Akane. If you love Ranma, and he loves you,
why won't you marry him?"

Akane looked as confused as Kasumi, and shook her head.

"I'm not sure, Sis. Maybe I just want some time to be me, and I can
do that in college. I won't be Soun Tendo's daughter, or Ranma Saotome's
wife, but just me, Akane Tendo."

But Akane, people will know you're Ranma's fiancee."

"Not if I don't tell them."

------------

to be continued

send comments to Kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene"
1998, June Geraci

kara...@snet.net
More chapters at http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are thecreations of Rumiko
Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 10

Akane found her father waiting for her at the foot of the stairs when she
came down to leave for work. Ranma was standing beside him, looking rather
uncomfortable, which she didn't understand until her father spoke.

"Ranma will walk you to work, Akane. He has something to say to you."

Akane didn't object, and left the house with Ranma. They walked around the
corner, and turned around to look behind them before joining hands.

"What was that all about, Ranma?"

"Your father told me I had to apologize to you for calling you names this
morning. I told him I didn't want to, and let him yell at me for a while.
Then I gave in."

Ranma paused, and squeezed Akane's hand.

"To tell you the truth, Akane, I don't like pretending to fight with you.
It's fun to fight with you, but not if it isn't real."

"Fighting with me is fun? Is that why you fight with me all the time?"

"Sure, Akane. That's one of the reasons why I love you--you 're not afraid
to disagree with me. The other girls I know agree with every word I say,
and they put on such a sweet act they're sickening. They're also boring.
You're always honest with me, Akane, even if it means we get into fights,
and you never bore me."

Akane was shocked into silence for a while, and then couldn't help laughing
at her fiance.

"Ranma, I think I love you because you aggravated me into it, and you never
bore me, either. But I thought you said you weren't good at saying things.
That wasn't bad. Thank you."

Ranma grinned.

"I'm learning."

"I'm glad you don't want to fake fights, Ranma. Daddy would figure it out
sooner or later, and Kasumi is already onto us."

"Kasumi? How did she find out?"

"We weren't cautious enough last night, I guess. Kasumi saw us kissing in
the hallway. Don't worry, she won't tell Daddy."

Ranma didn't comment, and Akane could tell that he was thinking something
through, and let him.

"That's nice of Kasumi, but sooner or later your father is going to catch
on. What if we try this--we could gradually start getting along better, and
let our families get used to it."

"I guess that would work, Ranma. Let's try it."

They continued walking, talking of many things, when Akane suddenly looked
thoughtful.

"Ranma, I thought of something last night that I've been meaning to ask
you--when did you take the entrance exam for Sanna College? I didn't see
you there when I took it."

Ranma's expression hardened, and Akane could tell that he was angry about
something.

"I took it privately, about a week after everyone else. I nearly didn't
get to take it at all."

"Why, Ranma?"

"When Mr. Makoto gave everyone's paperwork to Principal Kuno, he thought
mine was some kind of a joke. Akane, he just tossed it onto a corner of his
desk, and left it there. When my name wasn't on the list for the exam, Mr.
Makoto found out what happened."

Akane's eyes widened in surprise.

"I know Principal Kuno doesn't like you, Ranma, but that was a rotten
thing for him to do. What did you say to him when you found out?"

"I didn't get to talk to him, Akane. Mr. Makoto wouldn't let me near him.
I guess he was afraid that I'd make things worse. Mr. Makoto had to get
special permission to give me the exam late. I'm glad he was on my side."

Akane stopped walking, and turned to take Ranma's other hand.

"Thank goodness he was, Ranma. Otherwise I'd be going away without you,
and I don't know if I could bear to leave you behind."

Ranma couldn't help laughing.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that, Akane."

They'd reached the day care center, and Akane went inside. Ranma continued
on his way to work, unaware that he was being followed.

Shampoo was steaming. Why had Ranma been holding Akane's hands? She would
have followed him further, but was due to start working herself, and vowed
to keep a closer eye on the pair.

*****

That evening when Akane said her good nights to everyone, Ranma caught her
eye, and pointed upward. She gave a quick nod, and a few minutes later met
him on the roof. This began a nightly ritual for them. They met on the
roof to talk, watch the stars, and kiss each other good night.

For the next few days, Ranma walked Akane to work every day. He felt it
was a good way to get her family accustomed to seeing them together, and
they began to accept it. He was unaware, however, that Shampoo was
shadowing them.

One morning, Ranma put on his shoes and ran out of the house, Akane close
behind. He took the street beside the canal, and jumped onto the fence,
running above Akane. She turned toward him, and suddenly joined him on the
fence, following him closely.

"I always meant to try this, Ranma."

Ranma grinned, and continued running.

"Just don't fall in, tomboy."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me, pervert?

Sure, what else?"

Ranma stopped running, turned, and kissed Akane's cheek. She was startled,
and began to lose her balance, and Ranma caught her against him and steadied
her, then kissed her again.

"Ranma, what if someone should see?"

"There's no one around, Akane."

As they continued on their way, Shampoo stayed where she was, watching them
from her perch on a nearby roof. Seeing Ranma holding Akane's hand every
day was bad enough, but she was not about to sit idly by and watch him kiss
her.

Shampoo turned around, and hurried back to the Nekohanten, slipping
upstairs to Cologne's room. She opened the cupboard where her
great-grandmother kept her herbs and tinctures, and began searching for what
she needed.

*****

Later that day, Shampoo climbed over the wall at the Tendo home, and
sneaked in through the bathroom window. She opened the cabinet, and took
Ranma's after shave out. Shampoo removed a small vial from her pocket, and
carefully poured a few drops from it into the after shave, then replaced the
cap.

After putting the bottte back where she'd found it, Shampoo peeked out of
the bathroom window. No one was in sight. She quickly climbed out, turned,
and ran into Mr. Tendo, who did not look pleased to see her.

"What are you doing here, Shampoo?"

Shampoo tried to speak, but only one word came out clearly.

"Ranma."

"Is at work. You know you're not welcome at my home, Shampoo. Please
leave."

Shampoo nodded, and retreated quickly. Soun watched her go, frowning.

"We're home!"

Akane entered the house with Ranma, and they called out together. Soun
walked to them, and greeted his daughter.

"Welcome home, Akane."

Ranma looked surprised to be omitted from the greeting, and then was even
more surprised when Soun glared at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, Ranma. Shampoo was here today looking for you."

Ranma and Akane exchanged glances, extremely surprised. Shampoo hadn't
been to the house since she'd helped wreck their wedding.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I caught her climbing out of the bathroom window. I'm getting sick and
tired of this, Ranma. You're engaged to my daughter, yet you persist in
having your girlfriends here."

"Mr. Tendo, you should know by now that Shampoo isn't my girlfriend, and
that I don't want her here."

"Then don't encourage her."

Akane could see that the scene was going to deteriorate into a full-scale
argument, and put her hand on her father's arm.

"Daddy, Ranma is telling you the truth. I can't count how many times I've
heard him tell Shampoo to get lost. She's just stubborn."

Soun was so surprised to hear Akane defend Ranma that he stopped short.
Then he turned to the hall table, picked up an envelope, and tossed it at
Ranma.

"I sent for this a few days ago, Ranma. The two of you have been getting
along so well that I thought. .. Well, maybe I was rushing things. Dinner is
nearly ready, you should go upstairs and change."

Ranma and Akane went upstairs, wondering what Soun was talking about. They
changed clothes, and Akane joined Ranma in his room.

Akane looked over Ranma's shoulder as he opened the envelope, which was
from Sanna College, and discovered an application for student housing.

"Student housing, Ranma? But we're waiting for dorm assignments."

Ranma looked at the top of the form again, and saw something Akane had
missed.

"It's for married couples, Akane."

He quickly read the form and put it down.

"I guess your father was planning to have us mary before we left for school
after all. This form is for couples who want help finding apartments."

Akane took the form and tossed it into the wastebasket.

"Maybe Shampoo did us a favor by showing up today. Otherwise, we'd have
to start fighting again, and I don't want to fight with you."

Ranma looked at the form lying in the trash, and back at his fiancee.

"And you don't want to get married, either."

Akane flinched as if Ranma had slapped her; ran from his room, and he
heard her footsteps going downstairs. He took the form from the trash, put
it in his bureau, then sat down with his head in his hands.

How could he have said something so stupid? Akane had asked for time, and
he'd promised to give it to her.

Ranma got up to follow her, and heard Kasumi calling him to dinner.

Chapter 11

When Akane got downstairs, she noticed that the dinner table was only set
for four. She sat down, and Kasumi handed her a bowl of rice.

"Thank you, Sis. Where's Nabiki?"

"She went out with Kuno again, Akane."

Ranma entered as Kasumi was speaking, and looked relieved. If Nabiki was
out for the evening, he wouldn't have to worry about her making remarks
about how unhappy Akane looked. Ranma sat down beside Akane, but she turned
her head away, and picked up her chopsticks.

Ranma had endured uncomfortable meals before, but this one was one of the
worst he could remember. Akane barely ate a thing, and Ranma found himself
losing his appetite. Kasumi looked at them with a worried frown, but said
nothing.

Soun was still quietly seething because of Shampoo's intrusion, and spent
much of the meal glaring at Ranma. The tension at the table finally became
too much for Akane, and she got up.

"I'm not really hungry, Daddy. Please excuse me."

She'd only been gone a few seconds when Ranma excused himself, got up, and
followed her. Akane's door was closed, and he knocked on it.

"Akane ? May I come in, please?"

"No."

Ranma knocked again, but this time Akane did not respond. He went into his
room and sat down to think.

Akane undressed and got into bed. It was much too early to go to bed, but
she turned out the lights and closed her eyes. Akane found it impossible to
relax, and regretted that she hadn't let Ranma come in. She was considering
getting up again to go see him when there was a knock on her window. When
she opened the curtain, Ranma was outside, looking very worried. Akane
opened her window to let him in.

"Please come up to the roof with me, Akane. There's something I need to
say."

Akane turned without speaking, put on her bathrobe, and went up to the roof
with Ranma. They sat down, and Ranma took Akane's hand in both of his. Then
he dropped it, and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Akane. Please forgive me--I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Then why did you say what you did, Ranma?"

"I saw the look in your eyes when you threw the form away. It felt like
you were rejecting me."

Ranma had been sitting with his body turned from Akane, and she reached
around him and turned him toward her.

"No, Ranma, you misunderstood. I was angry at Daddy for trying to rush
us. Are you worried that I'll change my mind about marrying you?"

"A little."

Akane threw her arms around Ranma, and held onto him.

"I'm so sorry you got that idea, Ranma. Forgive me. "

Ranma's arms came up to embrace Akane, and they held each other silently
for a few minutes. Then Akane was surprised to feel Ranma shaking, and hear
him laughing.

"What is it, Ranma?"

"We never can stop fighting, can we? But I can think of other things to
do."

Ranma kissed Akane, then lay down on his back, pulling her down beside him,
and resting her head on his shoulder.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it, Akane?"

"Yes, it is."

"It would be perfect, except that I can't stop wondering why Shampoo was
here today."

Akane sat up again, and looked at Ranma.

"Are you worried about that, Ranma? I'm not jealous, you know."

Ranma sat up, and put his arm around Akane.

"In that case come here and kiss me again."

"Ouch!"

"Ouch?"

Akane ran her hand along Ranma's jaw.

"You need a shave."

"Yeah, I guess it's been a few days. I'll take care of it in the morning.
Does this mean you won't kiss me?"

"I didn't say that."

*****

Some time later, Ranma and Akane climbed back through their windows,
unlocked their doors, and met in the hallway. They went downstairs, and
raided the refrigerator. Akane turned to go upstairs, and Ranma stopped
her.

"Akane, will you go running with me tomorrow morning?"

Sure, I'll get up early and make you breakfast."

"Um, you don't have to do that."

Akane sighed.

"Ranma, if we're getting married you have to learn to eat my cooking sooner
or later."

Ranma didn't reply, but looked apprehensive. Later, lying in bed, Akane
wondered if she'd ever be able to cook well enough to please him. Ranma had
been spoiled by Kasumi's excellent cooking, and by his mother's. Sanna
College's brochure mentioned that it offered culinary arts classes. Perhaps
she'd better sign up for one.

As Akane drifted off to sleep, she smiled. If Ranma was going to shave in
the morning, that meant he'd be using his after shave, and she loved its
scent.

*****

Ranma got up a little earlier than usual, and went downstairs to shave. He
tooked in the mirror, and realized that he'd have to start shaving more
often, and that soon it would be a daily necessity. After giving it some
thought, he decided he didn't mind. He'd noticed that Akane tended to stay
close to him whenever he used his after shave. After he finished shaving,
Ranma went to the kitchen, and found Akane there making a pot of tea. Ranma
leaned over to kiss Akane, and found himself flying across the kitchen, and
hitting the far wall. Akane had punched him as hard as she could. Ranma
sat up, rubbing his chin.

"What the heck! What did you do that for, Akane?"

Akane looked down at her fist, and back at Ranma, appearing very confused.

"I don't know. It just happened."

Ranma got off the floor, and left the kitchen.

"If that's how you're going to act, go running by yourself, Akane. I'm
going back to bed."

"Ranma?"

Akane ran out of the kitchen, but Ranma continued walking away, and didn't
look back, even after she called him again.

Akane forgot the breakfast preparations, and went for her run, wondering
what had come over her. She'd have to apologize to Ranma. When she got
back, everyone was eating breakfast, and Ranma was sitting across the table
from her place, rather than beside her as he usually did. He was making it
obvious to her and everyone else that he was upset with her, and left the
table quickly after he finished eating.

Ranma wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge for long, and when Akane
finally got him alone to apologize, he gave in. Akane was relieved, but
still wondered why she'd hit Ranma. He hadn't given her a reason to.

Later in the day, Ranma was waiting for Akane in the hallway when she came
out of her room to go to work.

"Ready to go, Akane?"

Akane blushed, took Ranma's hand, and kissed his cheek. He didn't back
away as she'd feared.

They took a different route that afternoon, passing by Ucchan's. Ranma
stopped dead when he reatized that there was a "Sold" banner across the
window. He had heard rumors that Ukyo had the shop up for sale, but hadn't
believed them. He looked in the window, and saw Ukyo packing. She had her
back to them, and the door was locked, so Ranma tapped on the window. Ukyo
turned, saw that Akane was with Ranma, frowned, and turned away.

"Akane, she hasn't talked to me since the night of the senior party. Guess
she's leaving for good."

It really bothers you, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. Ukyo's been my friend since we were little. I don't want
her to go away mad."

"She 's not giving you a chance to change that, Ranma. I feel bad for
both of you,"

Chapter 12

When Akane climbed onto the roof that night, she found Ranma with a
flashlight in his hand, reading. She sat down beside him, and tooked over
his shoulder.

"What do you have there, Ranma?"

"The brochure from Sanna, Akane. Take a look--these are the classes I'm
planning to take."

Akane took the list, and Ranma held the light for her.

"You're taking a lot of science classes, Ranma. Any particular reason?"

"I've always been interested in science, Akane. I thought you knew that.
I applied to Sanna because the research labs at the college and the hospital
they're connected to are supposed to be the best in the country. I'd love to
be able to work in one of those labs."

Akane looked thoughtful, and Ranma waited for her to speak.

"Ranma, did you make those plans before or after we decided to get
married?"

"Before, Akane."

"Does that mean you don't want to take over the dojo.?"

Ranma looked down at the brochure, and back at his fiancee.

"I don't know, Akane. It's what our fathers have planned for us, and it's
what I know best, but..."

"But what?"

"Pop has never had many students, and neither has your father, What makes
them think we'll do any better?"

"I don't know, Ranma. We won 't know unless we try."

"That's true, Akane, but I don't want to waste this opportunity. I have
two years to learn all I can, and I'm going to use them. What about you?"

Akane had been waiting for the question, but it still made her
uncomfortable.

"To tell you the truth, Ranma, part of the reason I applied to college was
to run away from you."

"I knew that, Akane. What else?"

Akane took the brochure, and turned a few pages.

"These are the courses I'm planning on, Ranma."

Ranma looked where she was pointing, and back at Akane.

"You want to teach, Akane? What kind of teaching?"

"You know how much I love small children, Ranma. I was thinking of
teaching kindergarten."

"You can't qualify for that in just two years, Akane."

"I know. I was hoping for a four year scholarship."

Akane sighed, and leaned on Ranma.

"I'll probably end up using any teaching skills I learn to help teach in
the dojo. I'm going to take some business courses, too."

"Why, Akane?"

"Do you know how to run a business?"

"No, I don't."

"Well neither do I. One of us should learn how, don't you think?"

"No, Akane, both of us should. I'll come with you."

They sat talking until quite late, and Ranma finally stopped talking, and
drew Akane into his arms to kiss her good night.

"No punch this time, Akane? What came over you this morning?"

"I have no idea, Ranma. Please don't ask me."

*****

Ranma and Akane got along well over the next couple of days. There was no
recurrence of Akane's strange behavior, and they didn't talk about it, being
more than willing to put it behind them.

On the third day, Akane had plans to help Kasumi clean the floor in the
living room, and they were going to move the furniture out to do so. Ranma
came out of the bathroom after shaving, saw Akane picking up a table, and
came over to help.

"Here, let me give you a hand with that, Akane."

Akane nodded, and Ranma took a corner of the table. Their heads were close
together, and Akane caught a whiff of Ranma's after shave. She was overcome
with a sense of pure rage, dropped her corner of the table, and whacked
Ranma across the face. He dropped the table and stood there in shock.

"What did I do?"

Akane looked at at the hurt and confusion on Ranma's face, and covered her
mouth with both hands.

"I don't know."

Ranma watched in concern as Akane ran out of the room, and up the stairs.
Seconds later, he heard her door slam shut.

Kasumi had observed the entire sequence, and when Ranma turned to her she
shrugged her shoulders, and held up both hands helplessly.

"You didn't do anything to make her angry, Ranma. I don't understand."

"Neither do I, Kasumi. There's something wrong with Akane. I'd better go
talk to her."

Kasumi quickly reached out and caught Ranma's sleeve.

"Give her a little while to calm down, Ranma. Then talk to her. Meanwhile,
let's move this table."

Kasumi and Ranma leaned over the table, and Ranma found himself being
smacked again. Utterly dumbfounded, he watched Kasumi, who was looking at
her hand in shock. She wasn't used to seeing it as a fist. Finally, she
looked at Ranma, and apologized.

"Ranma, I'm sorry. I don 't know why I did that."

Something clicked in Ranma's mind. If both Akane and Kasumi were hitting
him, then there must be a reason.

"Kasumi, can you tell me what happened just before you hit me?"

Kasumi wrinkled her brow as she thought.

"I leaned over to grab a corner of the table, and you did too. I smelled
your after shave, and then I just was so mad at you that I had to hit you.
That doesn't make any sense."

Ranma held out a hand, to make Kasumi stop talking, and sat down to think.
It was making sense, after all. Akane had punched him three days ago just
after he had finished shaving. Now Akane and Kasumi had done so. This had
started the day after Shampoo had come to the house. Ranma got up, got the
bottle of after shave, and went to see Soun, bringing Kasumi with him.

"Mr. Tendo, I need to try a little experiment. Would you put some of this
on?"

Soun took the bottle, and looked at it.

"It's not my brand, Ranma. Isn't this yours?"

"Yes, sir. There's a reason. Please put on a little bit."

Soun put on the after shave, and looked at Ranma curiously.

"Now what?"

Ranma got close to Soun, and sniffed the after shave. Nothing happened.

"Ranma, you're getting a little weird, here."

Ranma turned to Kasumi.

"Maybe it only works on females. You try it."

Kasumi walked over to her father, and within seconds Soun had a huge hand
print on his face.

"Kasumi? Why did you hit me?"

"I don't know, Father, I just had to. I'm sorry. "

Ranma smiled. He started toward Kasumi to hug her, but stopped short when
he realized that the after shave would have made her hit him again.

"I know why, Kasumi. Shampoo must have put something in the after shave
that angers women. I'd better get rid of this stuff, before Akane kills me.
Mr. Tendo, I'd wash that off if I were you. "

Soun was still looking at his gentle daughter in amazement, unable to
believe that she'd hit him. Eventually, Ranma had to take him by the arm
and lead him to the bathroom, where they both washed. Then Ranma poured the
after shave down the drain, and went to see Akane. Her door was locked, and
he knocked gently.

"Akane, please let me in."

"No, Ranma."

"Akane, I figured out what's wrong. Don't worry, it won't happen again."

Akane slowly opened the door. When Ranma saw her, he realized that she'd
been crying. He quickly went into the room. shutting the door behind him.
Ranma led Akane to the bed, and sat down beside her. Akane moved away from
him, looking frightened.

"Don't come near me, Ranma. I'm afraid I'll hit you again."

"No you won't, Akane. I know why you did."

"What?"

"It was my after shave, Akane. Shampoo must have spiked it with
something that makes women want to hit you. After you came up here, Kasumi
hit me, and that made me suspect something. I had your Dad put some on, and
she hit him, too."

Akane looked at Ranma in disbelief.

"But Ranma, Kasumi never hits anyone!"

"You'll believe it when you see the mark on your father's face. Don't feel
bad, sweetheart. You couldn't help it."

Akane threw her arms around Ranma, and held on tight. She began to cry
again, and Ranma patiently waited for her to calm down.

"I thought I was losing my mind, Ranma. That was a horrible thing for
Shampoo to do."

Then Akane stopped short.

"What did you just call me? Say it again."

******

Kasumi decided to start working on the floor while waiting for Akane, and
by the time she and Ranma returned downstairs, was nearly done. When Kasumi
saw how happy her sister looked, she didn't mind having to do the work
herself. Akane, though, felt that she'd let Kasumi down.

"But Sis, I wanted to help you. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Akane, if you and Ranma want to do the marketing for me, it would be
helpful. I'Il give you a list."

Shampoo got onto her bicycle, and started off. It was time to see how
Ranma and Akane were getting along. According to her calculations, they
should be fighting tooth and nail by now.

Akane and Ranma were walking back with the groceries when they heard a
familiar bicycle bell behind them. Turning, they saw Shampoo racing toward
them. Ranma's groceries hit the sidewalk when Shampoo leaped off her bike
and onto him.

"Ranma! Shampoo so happy to see you!"

Ranma removed Shampoo's hands from him, and stepped back.

"I'm not happy to see you, Shampoo. That was a dirty trick you played on
us."

Shampoo put on an innocent act.

"Trick, Ranma? Shampoo no understand."

"We know what you did with the after shave. Enough, Shampoo--I want
nothing more to do with you. Go home."

Shampoo was devastated. She hadn't anticipated this reaction from Ranma.
She stepped toward him, holding out a hand.

"No, Ranma. Shampoo sorry. Please."

Ranma slapped Shampoo's hand away, and she gasped.

"Shampoo, go away!"

Shampoo burst into tears, jumped onto her bicycle, and sped off.

Ranma began to gather the dropped groceries together, with Akane's help.
She could see that he looked very upset, and he finally turned to her.

"Akane, I've done something terrible. I hit a girl. "

"Ranma, you didn't hit her hard enough to hurt her, not physically, anyway
If you upset her, she deserved it."

"That's not the point, Akane. I don't believe in hitting women. You know
that. Shampoo just pushed me too far."

They resumed walking, and a minute later Ranma heard his name being called.

"Ranma, stop."

Ranma turned, and found Cologne behind him. She looked unusually solemn.

"Ranma, I need to confirm what Shampoo just told me. Did you hit her?"

"Er, um"

"I'm not going to attack you, Ranma. I just need the truth."

"Yes ma'am, I did. I'm sorry."

"Then you cannot marry my great-granddaughter."

Ranma's jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?"

"You broke Amazon law when you hit her. We do not allow wife-beating.
Hitting a woman in battle is permissible. At no other time may a man hit
his fiancee, or his wife. Shampoo knows the law, and now you do. Good bye,
Ranma."

Cologne turned, and walked away, leaving two stunned people standing there.

"Ranma, I can't believe what I just heard!"

"Neither can I, Akane. Neither can I."

Chapter 13

Ranma thoroughly enjoyed the days of peace that followed. For years, he
had been under a constant barrage of attention from women he had no interest
in. Shampoo had been forbidden to see him, and to his amazement she was not
defying Cologne. Ukyo was gone, and although Ranma was still disturbed that
they hadn't settled their differences before her departure, he had to admit
that her asbence made his life less stressful.

Now that Ranma and Akane were able to leave the house without being
harassed, they enjoyed being able to go places together without looking over
their shoulders. Without consciously thinking about it, they had settled
into a routine of spending as much time together as possible, and it wasn't
long before Akane's father began to notice. Strangely, he gave the credit
to Shampoo. Kasumi was surprised to hear this theory one morning after
Akane left the house with Ranma to go running.

"Ever since Shampoo played that trick with Ranma's after shave, I've seen
an improvement in the way he gets along with Akane."

Kasumi knew better, but thought it best to agree with her father.

*****

Shampoo was miserable. Cologne had explained their tradition to her, and
she understood it intellectually, but her heart refused to listen. Ranma
was still the great love of her life, and she didn't want to let go of that
love. Out of respect for Cologne, she had obeyed her and broken off all
contact with Ranma, but she was beginning to weaken. After a couple of
weeks, it became too much for her, and Shampoo decided that she had to see
Ranma, even if was from a distance.

Shampoo had a free morning, and walked to the Tendo home. Knowing that she
would not be welcome if she knocked, she walked to the fence, and climbed
up. When she got to the top, the first thing she saw, to her great delight,
was Ranma. Then she realized he wasn't alone.

Ranma was sweeping the walk and Akane was weeding the flower bed. They
talked as they worked, but Shampoo was unable to hear what they were talking
about. Then Ranma stopped sweeping, and squatted down next to Akane.

"Let's go out tonight, Akane. I'll take you to dinner."

Akane lit up.

"I'd love to go."

Then she stopped, and laughed.

"Daddy is going to pass out, you know."

"I doubt it, Akane. He's getting used to seeing us together."

Shampoo could see that whatever Ranma was saying to Akane was making her
smile, and felt frustrated at her inability to hear. Then she put her hand
to her mouth, and quickly climbed back down and went home, for she saw Ranma
kiss Akane before he went back to sweeping.

"He does not love her, he does not love her."

Shampoo repeated this in her mind all the way home, but she no longer
believed her own words. Worried that Cologne would see her mental distress,
Shampoo stopped before she entered the Nekohanten, and pasted a smile on her
face.

Cologne looked up from her cooking when Shampoo entered, wondering what
she'd been doing.

"Where have you been, Shampoo?"

"Out for a walk, Grandmother."

Shampoo's telltale blush warned Cologne that she was up to more than she'd
admitted, and she worried about it. Shampoo was showing a rebellious streak
lately, and they had a proud history of tradition in their family. Cologne
was not willing to allow Shampoo to be the first in the family to break
tradition. She'd have to keep an eye on her.

*****

When Akane told Kasumi not to cook for her or Ranma that evening. she
looked a little disappointed.

"Nabiki is bringing Kuno to dinner again, Akane. I'm sure they would like
you and Ranma to be there."

"I'm surprised you'd think so, Kasumi. You know Ranma and Kuno irritate
each other."

"You may be right, Akane. Have a good time."

Ranma and Akane left before Kuno arrived. He was surprised to find out
they'd gone out together, and couldn't help saying so to Nabiki.

"They're going out together? Isn't that unusual?"

"It is, Kuno. They've been getting along rather well lately, and I keep
waiting for something to happen. It can't last."

*****

Ranma and Akane were enjoying their evening out, but after a while,
conversation lagged, and Akane wondered why Ranma was looking at her the way
he was.

"What are you thinking, Ranma? Is something wrong?"

Ranma came to himself, and smiled at his fiancee.

"No, not at all. I was just wondering if our children will be as
beautiful as you are."

Akane blushed fiery red, and reached for Ranma's hand.

"You never mentioned children before, Ranma. I wasn't sure if you wanted
any."

"Of course I do, Akane! Just not right away. I want you to myself for a
while, and we have college to think of. We can get married while we're
still in school, but a family would have to wait."

Akane looked down at her plate, and then back at her fiance.

"Ranma, Kasumi told me that our parents are talking about a wedding next
summer. That sounds all right to me. What do you think?"

"No, it doesn't sound all right. Akane, I meant it when I said I wouldn't
wait beyond the end of the year. Is there something holding you back that
you're not telling me?"

Akane played with her wineglass, and thought about it.

"Ranma, I can't answer that question yet. There's something I have to do
first."

Ranma was about to change the subject, to ease the look of tension on
Akane's face, when he heard a clap of thunder, and they both turned to the
window. All of the stars were gone, and within a few seconds, it was
pouring.

"Oh no, Akane. We didn't bring an umbrella."

The restaurant had an awning, and the couple rushed into the taxi without
getting more than a couple of drops of rain on them. However, the run from
the cab into the house was enough to transform Ranma, and the two of them
dripped all over the entryway as they removed their shoes. Ranma was not
happy to see that Kuno's shoes were still there, and wondered what his
reaction would be to the sight of his female self.

Kuno and Nabiki were sitting close together in the darkened living room,
and Ranma and Akane tried to tiptoe past them, but Kuno heard them and
turned. When he spotted Ranma, his expression was strange. It was plain
that he was torn between delight in seeing his pigtailed princess, and worry
that Nabiki would notice it. Unfortunately, she did. Kuno stood up, and
addressed himself to Akane.

"I thought you were out with Ranma, Akane."

"I was."

"Where is he, then?"

"He'll be along in a few minutes, Kuno. Good night. "

Akane started toward the kitchen, Ranma behind her, when Kuno spoke again.

"Pigtailed girl."

"Yes?"

"It is good to see you."

"Thank you. Excuse me."

Ranma turned and quickly followed Akane into the kitchen, where they heated
some water for Ranma to take upstairs with him. A few minutes later, when
they left the kitchen, Kuno was talking with Nabiki, and it was evident that
Nabiki was more than a little upset with him.

Ranma took the hot water into his room, turned himself male again, and
changed out of his wet clothes. He then left his room, and knocked on
Akane's door.

"Akane, may I come in?"

"Just a second."

Akane finished dressing, opened her door, and let Ranma in.

"I wanted to apologize, Akane. I got a little pushy tonight."

Akane sat on the bed, and Ranma sat beside her. Ranma was surprised when
Akane shook her head, and kissed his cheek.

"No you weren't, Ranma. You've been a lot more patient with me than I
expected."

Akane opened her mouth to say something more, then blushed and looked away.

"Akane?"

"Yes?"

"What were you going to say?"

Akane gathered her courage, and tried again, although she found it
impossible to look at Ranma as she spoke.

"What you said before, Ranma. Did you really mean it?"

"When I said what, Akane?"

"That I was beautiful. You always told me I wasn't."

Ranma mentally kicked himself for all the times he'd called Akane uncute,
and hastened to reassure her.

"Well, you are beautiful."

"But Shampoo and Ukyo are much prettier than me, Ranma. And they have such
lovely long hair, and . . . "

Ranma put his hand to Akane's lips to stop her, and then stroked her hair.

"Stop it, Akane. I meant what I said. You are beautiful, and I think
short hair is sexy."

"You do, Ranma?"

Ranmna began to prove his point with actions rather than words, and after a
little while Akane had to push him away.

"Ranma, stop. Please."

Ranma kissed Akane's forehead, and let her go.

"Any more doubts, sweetheart?"

"Not one, love."

Chapter 14

Ranma was dressing the next morning when he heard Akane's door open and
close. When he peeked out into the hall she was on her way downstairs, and
Ranma was surprised to see what she was wearing. He guessed her
destination, and quickly found appropriate clothing so that he could follow
her.

Akane made one stop on the way, and soon arrived at the cemetery. She
visited the well, and brought back some water for her mother's headstone,
then placed the carnations she'd bought on the grave. Akane sat looking at
the grave for a while, and then began to speak softly.

"Mother, I came to say good bye for a while. I'll be leaving for college
soon."

"I'm worried about something, Mom, and I wish I had someone to talk to.
Ranma wants to marry me before the end of the year, and I want to marry him,
but I'm afraid to. I told Kasumi that I needed time to be me, but that's
not the whole truth."

"Mother, I don't know how to be a wife. I was so little when you left us,
and there wasn't time for you to teach me how a husband and wife should
treat each other, or how a good wife takes care of her husband. Kasumi got
to learn some things from you, like how to cook, but I was too young, and I
must be the worst cook in Japan, because no one will touch what I make. I'm
so afraid that Ranma will be disappointed with me."

Akane stopped talking, and wiped away a few tears. She jumped when someone
put a hand on her shoulder, and looked up in surprise to see Ranma place
another bouquet of carnations on the grave.

"I heard what you said, Akane, and you're wrong about not having learned
anything from your mother. I remember something you told me about
her--that she was kind to you. Your mom did teach you something. She
taught you what love is."

Akane didn't respond, being too busy trying to hide her tears. She was
also extremely embarrassed that Ranma had overheard her express her
self-doubt, and wondered what he was thinking. Ranma sat down beside her,
held her hand, and kept talking.

"Sweetheart, don't worry about what you don't know. What do I know about
marriage? I grew up traveling around with Pop. He never taught me how a
husband should treat a wife, but I learned from his example what not to do.
It was wrong for him to desert Mom, and leave her alone all those years, and
it was wrong to take me away from her. Other than that, I'm as lost as you
are, and we'll have to learn together."

Ranma paused, and waited for Akane to say something. When she didn't, he
continued.

"As far as your cooking is concerned, I don 't know what to say."

"I'll take a class, Ranma. I have to learn."

"Okay sweetheart, if that's what you want to do, try it. It couldn't do
any harm. But Akane, you said something else just now that I don't
understand at all."

"What's that, Ranma?"

"About being you. I never asked you to change, Akane. I love you the way
you are."

"That's not exactly what I mean, Ranma. Here in Nerima I'm known as Soun
Tendo's daughter, and Ranma Saotome's fiancee--it's like wearing a label.
At school I'd like to be just me, Akane Tendo, for a while. Then I'd like
to get another student housing form, fill it out, and find a place for us to
live, so that we can get married. I'm sorry I threw out the form Daddy sent
for."

Akane could see before Ranma spoke that he was happy with what she'd said.

"Actually, Akane, I fished it out of the trash and kept it. When you're
ready to fill it out, let me know."

Ranma put his arms around Akane, and turned to her mother's grave.

"No disrespect intended, Mother Tendo, but I'm going to kiss your daughter
now."

Chapter 15

That afternoon Akane took her mail off the hall table, and started waving
one of the envelopes at Ranma.

"Look, Ranma. I got my dorm assignment. Did you get yours?"

Ranma was looking at his mail, and shook his head negatively.

"No, it's not here. I wonder why."

They started up the stairs to their rooms, when Kasumi came out of the
kitchen.

"Ranma, you got a call from Sanna College while you were at work. The
number's by the phone."

Ranma ran to the phone, Akane close behind, and dialed.

"Ranma Saotome here. I understand you called for me."

"Yes, Saotome. We got a letter we don't quite understand. Supposedly,
it's from you, saying that you no longer want to attend, but my secretary
tends to think it's a fake."

Ranma gasped, causing Akane to look at him with concern.

"It certainly is. I've been waiting for my dorm assignment."

"We'll mail it off tomorrow, Saotome. I'll thank my secretary for you. She
was the one who thought to compare the handwriting to your application, and
they're nothing like each other. Also, when we read the letter again, it
was obvious that whoever wrote it uses Japanese as a second language."

"Please thank her for me, sir, and my thanks to you, too."

Ranma said good bye, and turned to Akane.

"I can't believe it, Akane. They got a letter with my name on it saying I
wasn't coming. I think Shampoo sent it."

"Why Shampoo, Ranma?"

"They said the letter seemed to be from someone who wasn't Japanese. Who
else would try something like that?"

"You're probably right, Ranma. I didn 't think she'd give up on you, even
if Cologne told her to."

*****

Over the next couple of days, Ranma and Akane noticed Shampoo following
them. They kept ignoring her, until she made it impossible for Ranma to do
so by confronting him one day when Akane was not with him.

"Ranma, you still leaving?"

"Yes I am, Shampoo. They didn't believe your letter."

Shampoo sighed, and moved closer to Ranma, who started to back away,
holding out both palms.

"Shampoo will miss you. Will visit, okay?"

"No, Shampoo. It's not okay. Cologne wouldn't like it, and neither would
I or Akane."

Shampoo could see that she'd lost the battle, but couldn't bring herself to
admit it yet. Tears began to slide down her face, which she quickly wiped
away.

"Ranma, Shampoo cannot bear to have you far away. Must visit."

She turned and ran off, leaving Ranma feeling very guilty. Despite all the
trouble Shampoo had caused him, he did not like to see her cry.

*****

When Ranma got home, he and Akane sat outside by the pond while he told her
about his encounter with Shampoo. After a few minutes, Akane went in to
get some lemonade for both of them, and when she heard some strange noises,
she hurried outside to investigate. When she got back to Ranma, Mousse was
sitting on top of him, pinning down both of his arms, and holding him by the
throat. Mousse was shouting at Ranma, and Akane caught the end of his
speech.

"How dare you make my Shampoo cry! I know you hit her, Saotome, and now
you're being deliberately cruel. This is unforgivable!"

Ranma managed to croak out "I'm sorry, Mousse", but he was running out of
air, and couldn't continue. His sight began to dim, and then the pressure
on his throat and the weight on his chest vanished.

Girl-type Ranma sat up, choking, with a wet duck beside him. Akane,
thinking fast, had poured both glasses of lemonade on Mousse. Ranma grabbed
the duck, and shook it.

"Mousse, for once in your life listen to me! I've told Shampoo again and
again to give up, but she doesn't listen. I know you want her, and you're
welcome to her! You have no reason to be jealous of me. Are you listening,
Mousse?"

Mousse pecked Ranma's face, and flew off. Akane sat down next to Ranma,
and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I guess that means no, Ranma. When it comes to Shampoo, Mousse can't
think straight."

"Akane, I'm glad we're leaving Furinkan. We need a little sanity in our
lives, and we can't get it with those two around. Thanks for your help,
sweetheart--l'd better go take a bath. Lemonade is sticky."

Ranma kissed Akane's cheek, and she jumped. He'd never kissed her when he
was a girl before, and it felt unnatural to both of them. He saw the look
on her face, and backed away.

"Sorry, Akane. I wasn't thinking. Excuse me."

Soaking in the tub, Ranma had time to think. Akane had agreed to marry him
despite his curse, but he wondered if it disturbed her. He wasn't afraid of
much, but he was afraid to discuss it with her.

Akane went into the house for a piece of bread and sat by the pond,
crumbling it up, and feeding the carp. She wished there was a way to free
Ranma from his curse. She could live with it, but seeing the pain on her
fiance's face was something she found very difficult to bear.

-----------------

more to come, I promise...

Comments? Flames? contact kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene" Chapters 16-20
1998, June Geraci
kara...@snet.net
Previous chapters can be found at
http://www/fortunecity.com/victorian/statue/196

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 16

Akane was still sitting by the pond when Nabiki and Kasumi came downstairs.
Akane noticed that Nabiki was dressed up, and smiling. Akane hadn't seen
her sister smile in days, not since the night she'd argued with Kuno.

"Going out, Sis?"

"Yes, Kuno should be picking me up soon."

"I thought you weren't speaking to him."

Nabiki sat down next to Akane, still smiling.

"He called me to apologize last night, Akane, and I gave him a choice. It
was either me or his pigtailed girl. I won."

Akane laughed, and hugged her sister.

"Good thing. Ranma isn't interested."

"Speaking of Ranma, where is he?"

"Taking a bath. Didn't you hear the commotion before?"

"Yes, but we figured the two of you were fighting again. It wasn't you?"

"No. Mousse came here to beat Ranma up. He thinks Ranma is interfering
with his courtship of Shampoo, and Ranma can't make him see reason."

"That idiot. Shampoo wouldn't take Mousse even if Ranma didn't exist. So
why did Ranma end up in the tub? Did Mousse throw him in the pond?"

"No. I had to pour lemonade on Mousse before he killed Ranma, and some of
it got Ranma, too."

Nabiki looked at her sister suspiciously.

"Why are the two of you getting along so well, Akane? This isn't normal.
Next you'll tell me you love Ranma. That would really amaze me."

Akane could feel herself beginning to blush, and quickly got up and walked
into the house, throwing only one line over her shoulder.

"Fine, then I won't tell you."

Nabiki sat there with her mouth open, and then came to the conclusion that
Akane hoped she would arrive at--that her sister was pulling her leg.

*****

Soun did a lot of weeping a few days later as he put two daughters on
trains going in opposite directions. Nabiki wished her sister well, then
got on the Morioka-bound train with Kuno. Akane kissed her father again,
and joined Ranma on the next platform, where he was waiting for the Ube
train.

It took a while to get to Ube, and the train made several stops en route.
At one station, several young people boarded, and sat near Ranma and Akane.
They struck up a conversation, and discovered they too were on their way to
Sanna College.

One of the young women, Mishi Akamoto, had caught Akane's attention the
moment she boarded. She was tall and lovely, with shiny black hair that
reached to her knees. Akane looked at her hair while they were all talking,
and unconsciously put her hand to her short hair. Ranma saw where she was
looking, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Akane, I meant it when I said short hair was sexy."

Mishi was entering her second year at Sanna, and was a student of fashion
design. Akane could understand that, looking at her dress. She wondered if
Mishi had designed it herself--she'd never seen anything quite like it
before.

When they got to Ube, Mishi offered to show them the way to campus, and
walked with them. When they got to Ranma's dormitory, he hesitated before
going in. Akane had a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite understand,
but which made him want to reassure her.

"I'll see you later, Akane. Do you want me to meet you for lunch?"

Akane looked relieved, and nodded.

"I'll see you at the cafeteria at one, then."

Ranma went inside, and Akane continued walking with Mishi. She silently
scolded herself for being silly. She'd been looking forward to being on her
own, so why was it so difficult to leave Ranma at his dormitory? Akane's
thoughts were interrupted when Mishi spoke.

"We're here, Akane. I'll see you later."

Mishi started to walk away, and Akane stopped her.

"Which is your dorm, Mishi?"

"I'm not staying in one, Akane. I have my own apartment. I need space to
work on my designs, and I prefer the quiet. Sometimes dormitories can be
pretty loud."

And you walked us to campus? That was nice of you. Thanks."

Mishi smiled.

"It was on my way, Akane. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?
We could meet in the cafeteria at noon."

"Sure, Mishi. I'll see you then."

Akane walked in and got her room assignment. She looked on the list for
her roommate's name, and found that she had none. When she inquired, Akane
discovered that her roommate had decided not to attend.

Akane went upstairs, and found that she had an advantage in not having a
roommate. The rooms were on the small side, and she had a hard time finding
a place for everything. On the chance that she'd get a roommate later,
Akane refrained from using the space that would belong to her. After
unpacking, Akane was about to leave her room to go exploring, when she heard
a sound that made her sick to her stomach. It was an extremely annoying
high-pitched laugh. Akane looked out the window, and saw the last person
she'd expected or wanted to see in Ube.

Kodachi Kuno was walking toward the dormitory, carrying her bags. Akane
saw Kodachi walking up the stairs to the dormitory, closed her window and
sat down an her bed. How on earth had Kodachi ended up at Sanna College?

Chapter 17

Ranma opened the door to his room, and it hit something. There was a
suitcase on the floor, and the occupant of the room quickly moved it aside,
and held out his hand.

"Hello. I'm Shiro Hayasuka."

Ranma dropped his bags, and shook his roommate's hand.

"Ranma Saotome."

Shiro and Ranma talked as they unpacked. Shiro was from Tsuyama, and was
going to study botany.

"Tsuyama? My train stopped there on the way. I didn't see you get on."

"Oh, I drove myself here."

That was Ranma's first clue that his roommate was well off. He gathered
the rest of the information from the quality of the things Shiro was
unpacking. By the time they were done, it was early afternoon.

"I don't know about you, Ranma, but I'm starved. Want to find the
cafeteria?"

Ranma quickly looked at his watch.

"I'm meeting someone for lunch, Shiro. Why don't you come along so I can
introduce you?"

*****

After Akane got over the initial shock of discovering that Kodachi was in
Ube, she made a decision. She was not going to allow Kodachi to intimidate
her. She looked at her watch, and realized it was nearly time to meet
Ranma. She'd reached the cafeteria, and was about to enter it when she
heard Ranma calling her.

"Akane. Wait up!"

Akane turned, to see Ranma running up with another young man.

"Akane, meet my roommate, Shiro Hayasuka. Shiro, this is Akane Tendo, my
fia .. friend."

Shiro hadn't caught Ranma's near-slip, and smiled at Akane.

"Nice to meet you."

The three picked up their lunches, and found a table. They were talking
away, and didn't notice when Kodachi entered the cafeteria. Akane was
telling Ranma about her lack of a roommate, when she realized he should be
forewarned about Kodachi's presence.

"Ranma, someone else from Furinkan .. "

"Ranma darling, I'm so glad to see you!"

Ranma turned quickly, and found himself being embraced by Kodachi. Ranma
removed Kodachi's hands from his neck, and frowned at her.

"I didn't know you were attending Sanna College, Kodachi."

"Surprised to see me? When my dear brother told me where you 'd be
attending college, I knew I had to come, too. I'd been accepted at several
colleges, dear, but you helped me make my final decision."

"Kodachi, if you're attending Sanna because of me, you're wasting your
time. You should know by now that I'm not interested."

"Ranma dear, sometimes you're just too shy!"

After Kodachi danced off, laughing, Ranma turned back to Akane.

"Is that the 'someone else' you were trying to tell me about?"

Akane nodded.

Shiro watched Kodachi walking away. He was impressed with her beauty, and
wondered about his roommate. Ranma seemed to be on very comfortable terms
with Akane, who was a lovely girl, and was also being pursued by Kodachi.
Shiro liked pretty girls, and if they were going to be following his
roommate around, that would give him a chance to meet them, too.

They turned the conversation away from Kodachi. All three had campus
guides, and they sat looking them over, trying to figure out where
everything was. After eating, Ranma and Shiro set off together to explore,
while Akane went her separate way.

Ranma and Shiro found the administration building, which Ranma was
particularly interested in seeing. He'd been told that local businesses
posted help wanted ads there, and wanted to find a job as quickly as
possible. Shiro wasn't looking for a job, but kept Ranma company while he
wrote down some possibilities. He and Shiro were reading the listings for
clubs and other activities when Akane walked in and started to search the
help wanted ads.

There was a martial arts group that met in the early morning, and Ranma
made a note of it. He wanted to practice at least two or three times a
week, and it might be fun to do it with a group. He pointed it out to
Shiro, who shook his head.

"Martial arts have never really interested me, Ranma. I took the classes
that were required at school, but that's as far as it went."

Ranma and Shiro left the administration building, and Ranma looked behind
him as he was leaving. Akane was still at the help wanted board. They
would need jobs if they were going to get married, and he wondered if that
was the reason she was job hunting.

Akane watched Ranma leaving, and walked over to the board he'd been
standing at to see what might have interested him. When she found the
martial arts group, she knew what it was. It might be worth looking into.

When Akane got back to her dormitory, she spent some time getting to know
some of the other girls. She had dinner with them, and then excused
herself. It had been a long day, and she was getting tired.

Akane went up to her room, and was going to get ready for bed, but instead
went to her window and leaned an the sill, looking out. There was a
disadvantage to living in a dormitory that she hadn't anticipated. Ranma
wouldn't be waiting on the roof for her. She sighed, and began to move away
from the window, when she saw Ranma approach, looking up. When he saw Akane
looking down he waved, making it plain that he wanted her to join him. Akane
ran downstairs and met Ranma outside.

"Sorry I couldn't meet you on the roof, Akane. I don't think I could get
away with it."

"I 'm just glad you're here."

They walked around the side of the building, holding hands, unaware that
Kodachi was watching them through her window.

*****

Ranma and Akane spent much of the next morning signing up for classes, and
getting their books. The only time they bumped into one another, they were
both carrying piles of books that reached to their chins. They smiled at
each other in passing, and kept moving.

Akane waited outside the cafeteria for Mishi, who waved gaily as she ran
up.

"All set with your classes, Akane?"

"I think so, but I can't believe the pile of books I have, Mishi. How do
you get everything done?"

"You give up a lot of sleep, Akane."

"Mishi?"

Mishi grinned.

"Don't worry, Akane. You can handle it."

The girls went inside, and were soon sitting in a corner with their meals.

"Akane, have you considered joining the drama club?"

"Drama Club? I don't think so, Mishi. I've had some pretty bad experiences
with school plays."

"You don't have to act to be in the club, Akane. I design the costumes.
Maybe you could work behind the scenes, too. We have a great time
together."

Akane thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"Why not? What are you putting on?"

"I'm not sure, yet. We were kicking around a few ideas last term, and of
course the new members will have some ideas. Do you think your friend Ranma
will want to join us?"

"I'll ask him tomorrow at lunch."


Chapter 18

Akane was hoping that Ranma would come to her dormitory again that
evening to say good night, but when it began pouring, she realized that she
wouldn't see him, and went to bed.

Akane spent the next morning writing letters to her father and sisters, and
then walked to the cafeteria to meet Ranma. He had said something about
bringing some friends for her to meet, and she brought along some of her
own.

The group waiting for Akane turned out to be rather large, as was the one
she brought with her. Ranma and his friends had taken a large table in a
corner, and soon everyone had been introduced, and were talking away. Akane
found a seat next to Ranma, and extended Mishi's invitation to join the
Drama Club.

"No way, Akane! Romeo and Juliet was enough for me. Are you going
to act again?"

"No, Ranma. Mishi does costume design, so I'm going to volunteer for
behind the scenes work too. I thought I'd help put the script revisions
into the computer, once we decide on one. Are you sure you don't want to
try something like that?"

"I'm going to be pretty busy, Akane. Some of us just joined the Sci-Fi
club, and I got a job."

"You did? Where?"

"At the university hospital, assisting in the pharmacy."

"What are you going to do there?"

"They're going to have me delivering the medication carts around the
hospital, and whatever else they can teach me."

As he spoke, Ranma noticed that Akane looked a little jealous.

"What's wrong, Akane? No luck yet?"

"I applied for a few jobs, Ranma, but nothing yet. I'm hoping that the day
care center will want me. They said they wanted to get in touch with the
people I worked for at home, but I don't know how long that will take."

"Maybe you should go see them again."

"If I don't hear from them by tomorrow, I think I will."

*****

After lunch, Akane left Ranma for an appointment with one of her
professors. She was a little apprehensive when she walked into Professor
Mori's office and sat down.

"Why did you wish to see me, Miss Tendo?"

"I wanted to tell you in advance that I expect to need a lot of help with
this course."

"Why?"

"I'm an awful cook. My family won't touch a thing I make, and my fiancé
got terribly sick when he ate my cookies."

Professor Mori was a kind person, and refrained from laughing at Akane.

"You're not the first student I've ever had with this problem, Miss Tendo.
Don't worry, you will learn to cook in my class. I'm not promising that
you'll be a great chef, but you will be able to cook well enough to please
your family, and your fiancé. Does cooking make you nervous?"

"Yes, and I tend to rush. Then I make mistakes."

Professor Mori went to his bookshelf, and took down some pads. He handed
them to Akane.

"Try using these in my classes."

"What are they?"

"My special checklists. Let me explain how they work."

Akane felt much better after leaving Professor Mori's office. His
suggestions and comments were very encouraging.

*****

The next morning, Ranma looked in on the martial arts group practicing in
the gym. There were quite a few people there, and he could see that they
were all at different levels of skill. Akane was already there, and they
practiced together. As they were walking out of the gym, a couple of
students stopped them.

"You two are good. Can we join you tomorrow? We'd like to learn some of
those moves."

Ranma and Akane quickly looked at each other, and smiled. They turned back
to the students.

"Meet us here tomorrow, but I think you should know that Akane and I won't
make it easy on you."

One of the young men laughed.

"I can accept that from you, but what can a girl do to me?"

Ranma grinned, and stepped back as Akane stepped forward. The student who
had made the unfortunate statement was still picking himself off the floor
when they left the gym.

*****

Ranma and Akane separated after breakfast, and she walked to the day care
center to check on her job application. Akane was shown in to the
director's office, and couldn't understand the look of annoyance on the
woman's face.

"We expected you yesterday, Miss Tendo."

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I left a message at your dormitory--we wanted you to start work yesterday
afternoon. Didn't you receive it?"

"No, or I would have been here. I'm sorry."

The woman's look changed to a smile.

"I should have known better. Your employers in Nerima gave you a glowing
reference. I guess Miss Kuno forgot to tell you that I called. Can you
start this afternoon?

"What time do you want me here?"

Akane was extremely annoyed with Kodachi, whom she suspected of withholding
her message deliberately, but she decided to let the matter rest. If
Kodachi wanted to be childish, it wasn't her affair.

*****

Ranma was having his own share of difficulties with Kodachi. She'd been
following him around campus since he arrived, trying to attract his
attention. Ranma ignored Kodachi, which didn't discourage her, but aroused
his roommate's curiosity.

"Ranma, why are you ignoring that pretty girl? I'd be flattered if she was
following me around."

"Shiro, if you knew Kodachi better, you'd understand. She is not the type
of girl you'd want to get involved with, trust me."

Shiro looked behind them at Kodachi, who was hovering several yards away.

"If you say so, Ranma. I suppose you prefer Akane? Is she your
girlfriend?"

Ranma hesitated. Akane had moved her engagement ring to her right hand
when she arrived in town, and was having a wonderful time letting people get
to know her as "Akane", rather than "Ranma's fiancee". Ranma hadn't
anticipated it, but he was also enjoying having people think of him as
"Ranma", rather than "Akane's fiancé". Ranma wasn't expecting anyone to
ask him outright about his relationship with Akane, and found that he didn't
want to lie about it.

"Akane is my fiancee, Shiro. "

Shiro sat there silently, looking quizzically at his friend. "

"Why didn't you say so when you first introduced her?"

"Because that's the way Akane wants it for now. It's kind of complicated,
Shiro. Don't ask me to explain."

When Ranma met Akane outside her dormitory that night, he didn't tell her
of his conversation with Shiro. He was rather annoyed, though, when she
told him what Kodachi had done, and how it had nearly cost her the job at
the day care center.

Chapter 19

Akane hurried across campus. Ranma had asked her to meet him early at the
gym, and she wondered why. When she walked in, Ranma was the only other
person there. He saw her enter, and smiled.

"Good morning, Akane."

"Good morning, Ranma. Why are we so early? No one else is here yet."

Ranma put his arms around his fiancee.

"First reason."

He kissed her, and tousled her hair.

"Any excuse to get you alone. Second reason: I wanted to talk to you
about what we're going to teach those guys if they show up. Some of what we
know is for our family only."

Akane looked thoughtful, and then nodded.

"I agree, Ranma. Some of the techniques you've developed are too dangerous
for just anyone to learn. But does that include me?"

"Excuse me?"

"When are you going to get around to teaching me, Ranma?"

"How about now?"

Some time later, the gym doors opened, and several people entered,
including the students they were expecting. Ranma stepped in front of
Akane, and she quickly dropped her hands.

"We'll have to work on this again another morning, Akane, but remember,
this is more mental than physical. You have to focus."

Before Akane could reply, they were joined by their students.

*****

Classes began that day, and Ranma was totally unprepared and a little
overwhelmed when he saw how much reading he'd have to do that night.
Akane's assigned reading was just as heavy, and she found herself at work
with a baby on her shoulder, and a book in her hand. Fortunately, her
employers were used to seeing such sights.

When Akane reached her first culinary arts class the following day, she was
extremely nervous, and finding her fiancé in the classroom didn't reduce the
stress. She took the desk next to his, looking at him suspiciously.

"Ranma, why are you here?"

"For the fun of it, Akane."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, I want to watch you try to cook."

Akane turned red, and glared at Ranma.

"Are you making fun of me? I suppose you think I'm a hopeless case."

Then Akane stepped short, realizing that Ranma was baiting her again. He
saw that she'd caught on to him, and winked.

"Gotcha, Akane!"

"Not again!"

Ranma leaned across the aisle, and whispered to her.

"Want to fight?"

"Maybe later, Ranma. Professor Mori is here."

Professor Mori started by giving the class a brief summary of what he
expected to teach during the course. He then passed out a simple recipe,
and sent them all to separate cooking areas. The purpose, he said, was to
see what his students already knew.

Ranma kept glancing over at Akane while she worked. He couldn't figure out
what she was doing with the pad she'd taken from her bag, or all the little
bowls she had on the counter. Finally, he realized that he'd better watch
what he was doing, and stopped looking.

Professor Mori had given Akane what he called a cooking checklist. Akane
wrote the ingredients on the list in the order they went into the dish,
measured the individual ingredients into the bowls, and checked them off as
she used them. At first, she was worried about all the extra time it took,
and the fact that she'd have more dishes to wash than anyone else, but she
decided not to let it bother her. Having something to follow gave her
confidence, and that was a feeling she never had in a kitchen.

By the time they were cleaning up, Professor Mori was walking around the
room, tasting and taking notes. Ranma watched as he tasted Akane's dish,
prepared to catch him if he should pass out, and was amazed when he didn't.

"Not bad, Miss Tendo. Did you taste this?"

"You have to learn to taste as you go along. Then you can make
adjustments as you need to."

Akane sighed with relief when Professor Mori moved on to the next student.
She'd survived the first day, and so had he.

Chapter 20

By the time the week was over, everyone was (more or less) resigned to the
fact that they would be working harder than they ever had before. When the
group met for lunch on Friday, Shiro had someone new with him, a very pretty
girl named Kaori whom they hadn't met previously, Ranma watched Shiro with
Kaori, and wondered about him. First Shiro had been attracted to Kodachi,
and then it seemed that he was interested in Akane, something that died
quickly when Ranma revealed their engagement. Now Shiro was with Kaori. Who
would be next?

Shiro was enthusiastically telling the group about a restaurant one of his
friends had discovered.

"Anyway, I wondered if we could get a group together and go tonight. Who's
not working?"

It didn't take long to get a group together. They all felt that they
deserved a night out after surviving the first week of classes.

That evening, Ranma picked Akane up at her dorm, and walked with Shiro and
Kaori to Mishi's apartment. The rest of the group was already waiting
outside the restaurant when they got there, and Ranma stopped short at the
door, turning to Akane, who had also stopped. Shiro noticed their
hesitation immediately.

"What's wrong, you two?"

"Shiro, I'm not sure whether or not Akane and I will be joining you
tonight."

"Why not?"

"We know the owner of the restaurant."

As Ranma was speaking, the owner looked through the window, saw him, and
flew through the door. Ranma was holding Akane's hand, and they were
forcibly pulled apart when Ukyo embraced him warmly.

"Ran-chan!"

Ranma looked apologetically at Akane, and gently withdrew from Ukyo's
embrace.

"Ukyo. We wondered where you'd disappeared to."

"Wherever you go I follow, Ranma. You should have that figured out by
now."

Ukyo opened the door to the restaurant, and waved at everyone to enter.

Mishi noticed that Ukyo had totally ignored Akane's existence, and wondered
at it. She'd already dragged Ranma inside, and Mishi remained outside on
the sidewalk with Akane.

"Akane, who is that girl?"

"Ukyo Kuonji. Ranma's known her since they were about six years old, and
she considers herself his fiancee."

"Is she?"

Akane decided to tell Mishi the truth.

"No Mishi. I am."

Mishi was totally taken aback.

"Akane, why didn't you say so before?"

"Mishi, I wanted people to get to know me as me first. I guess it was a
silly idea."

"No, not really, Akane. I understand what you're trying to say even better
than you think. We'd better get inside, though. Ranma looks as though he
needs you."

Inside, Ranma stood red-faced as Ukyo held his arm and gazed at him
lovingly. Akane was going to kill him. He looked through the window, saw
Akane and Mishi talking, and wondered why she hadn't come in. Ranma removed
his arm from Ukyo's grasp, and she looked disappointed. Then the door
opened, and Akane entered with Mishi. Ranma was expecting anger or jealousy
from Akane, as he'd experienced in the past, but Akane did the unexpected.
She walked up to him, took his hand, and kissed his cheek. She'd never
kissed him in such a public place before. Ukyo gasped, and Akane smiled at
her. When she spoke, it was in a firm tone, but not an angry one.

"Ukyo dear, I think you've borrowed my fiancé long enough."

Akane turned away from Ukyo, and looked at Ranma, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Where shall we sit, love?"

Ranma led Akane to a table, and seated her. As he sat down beside her, he
kissed her cheek.

"I think you shocked her, sweetheart."

"She's going to have to get used to it, Ranma."

Their friends joined them, looking a little confused, and they placed their
orders. Ukyo watched Ranma and Akane closely for a while, which made them
uncomfortable, but soon the restaurant was too full for her to do so.

The conversation soon turned to the drama club meeting which Akane had
missed the previous night, as Mishi filled her in.

We're down to two choices for the play, Akane. My friend Yoshimi spent all
summer revising his Sailor Moon script, and it looks pretty good. Some of
the members still want to go with Romeo and Juliet, but I don't think we
want to be that serious. Sailor Moon sounds like more fun."

"Mishi, I'd prefer Sailor Moon, too. My last experience with Romeo and
Juliet was a major disaster."

Ranma's shoulders were shaking, and he laughed aloud. Putting his arm
around Akane, he turned to Mishi, trying to control his laughter.

"Major disaster doesn't begin to describe it, Mishi. It turned into a
fight, with four Romeos and two Juliets."

Mishi looked at Ranma, who had begun laughing again, and back to Akane, who
was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down her face. Akane shook
her finger at Ranma, and wiped her eyes.

"Don't forget the chloroform, Ranma."

Akane would have continued, but Ukyo walked up and started to serve them,
looking extremely annoyed. She wasn't accustomed to seeing Ranma and Akane
getting along.

*****

It was getting late when the group left the restaurant, and started walking
back toward campus. Shiro left the group to walk with Kaori, and Ranma led
Akane away from everyone else to walk her home alone.

"You surprised me tonight, Akane."

"I did, Ranma? How?"

"First when you kissed me, and then when you called me your fiancé. I
thought you didn't want to tell everyone we were engaged."

"I changed my mind, I guess. I'd already told Mishi."

"Did you? I told Shiro a few days ago."

"Why, Ranma?"

Ranma had been holding Akane's hand, and dropped it to put his arm around
her.

"Because he wanted to know if you were my girlfriend. I think he wanted to
ask you out."

Akane stopped walking, and turned within Ranma's embrace.

"I wouldn't have said yes, Ranma. Didn't you know that?"

"I did, sweetheart, but I wanted him to know the truth."

Akane looked down at her hand, removed her ring, and handed it to Ranma.

"Would you put this back where it belongs, please?"

---------------
to be continued

Comments? Send to kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene"
1998, June "KaraOhki" Geraci

kara...@snet.net

chapters 1-20 can be found at
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 21

The members of the drama club finally sat down and put their choices of
plays to a vote. The result was almost unanimous - Sailor Moon - and those
who had voted against it were gracious enough to agree to cooperate with the
majority. Now that the issue was settled, the members sat together with
copies of the script that Yoshimi had written, and a few volumes of the
manga. Some revisions of the script were submitted, and Akane was taking
notes when Yoshimi walked around the table and took a chair next to hers,
looking at her intently. After a while, Akane became uncomfortable, and put
down her pen.

"What is it, Yoshimi?"

"Akane, I know you said you don't want to act, but your resemblance to
Ami - Sailor Mercury - is unmistakable. Won't you reconsider?"

"I'd rather not, really. I'd be much more comfortable behind the
scenes. "

Mishi had been watching the exchange, and spoke up.

"Yoshimi's right, Akane. I'm sure you'd have fun if you tried it."

Akane folded her arms and glared at her friend.

"I said I don't want to act, Mishi. Besides, if you want me for a
resemblance to a Sailor Scout, why don't you try out for Rei? You'd be
perfect as Sailor Mars."

Mishi was silent, and the others at the table began thumbing through the
manga, looking from the pictures to Mishi.

Mishi could see where it was leading, and issued a challenge.

"All right, Akane. I'll do it if you do it."

"You're on!"

*****

Akane laughed silently at herself as she walked across campus after the
meeting. How had she allowed herself to be talked into acting?

Akane got to her room and put her key in her lock, but the door opened by
itself. When she turned on the light, the room was a wreck. Her things had
been scattered everywhere.

Akane spent the next half hour cleaning up, and checking to see if anything
was missing. Nothing appeared to have been taken, and she wondered who had
broken in. She pulled out her reading for the night, and buried her head in
her books, trying not to worry about it. When she finished, she undressed,
and got into bed.

When Akane slipped her hand under her pillow, she encountered something
sharp, and jumped. She turned on the light, and lifted up the pillow.
There was a black rose beneath it. Now she knew who had invaded her
privacy.

*****

Akane was to meet Ranma at the gym to practice the next morning, but she
sat down on the floor with him to talk instead.

"Ranma, there are a couple of things I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I got bulldozed into acting in the play."

"Not Juliet?"

Akane laughed.

"No, we're doing Sailor Moon, after all. Yoshimi insisted that I look
just like Sailor Mercury, and begged me to take the part."

Ranma nodded.

"Well, you do, Akane. Haven't you ever noticed it?"

"Not really. Then when Mishi agreed with him, I told her she looked like
Mars, and we sort of dared each other to try out. Now I guess I'm stuck."

"So do it, Akane. You'll have fun."

"That's easy for you to say, Ranma."

"I'm really glad it's not Juliet, Akane, otherwise I'd have to try out for
the play."

"Excuse me?"

Ranma looked uncomfortable, then began again.

"If you were going to be Juliet, there's no way I'd let anyone else be
Romeo. Do you think I'd let some other guy kiss you?"

Akane looked shocked for a moment, and then began to laugh.

"Are you sure you're the same man who refused to kiss me when we were Romeo
and Juliet in high school?"

"What if I had, Akane? Would you have kissed me back, or would you have
decked me?"

"I don't know."

Akane stopped talking, and looked at the floor. Ranma realized there was
more on her mind, and picked up her hand.

"Something's bothering you, Akane. Tell me."

"When I got back to my room last night, it was trashed. I found a black
rose under my pillow. I don't understand why Kodachi would do that."

"I do, Akane. I got fed up with her yesterday, and told her to leave me
alone. She laughed at me, and said I'd be sorry. I didn't know what she
had in mind, but I didn't dream she'd take it out on you."

Ranma pulled Akane into his arms, and held her close.

"Maybe we should start looking for our apartment sooner, sweetheart. I
don't like having Kodachi near you."

"I can take care of myself, Ranma."

"I know that, Akane. I just want you with me."

"I want to be with you, too. Maybe it's time we filled out that form."

Ranma stood up, and Akane joined him.

"Forget about practice today, Akane. I'll go get the form. Meet me in the
cafeteria in ten minutes. We'll have breakfast together, and fill it out."

Ranma was walking toward the cafeteria, when he heard a cry of joy behind
him. It was a voice Ranma didn't want to hear, and he quickly turned, to
see Shampoo running up.

"Ranma! I found you!"

Shampoo reached for Ranma, but he held out both palms.

"No, Shampoo. Don't."

"But Shampoo misses you, Ranma. Came all the way to see you."

Ranma felt eyes upon him, and turned to see Akane looking at him through
the cafeteria window. Then she was gone, and he knew she was on her way
outside. Ranma turned back to Shampoo, who was standing there with both
hands tightly clasped together. The look on her face told him that she
already knew she'd lost, but had made this journey out of desperation.
Ranma tried to make his next words sound gentle, though he knew they would
hurt her.

"Shampoo, you have to understand. You can't have me. I am going to marry
Akane. I love her. Are you listening to me?"

Shampoo turned pale. She had known Ranma loved Akane for a long time, but
had buried the knowledge deep down, refusing to acknowledge it. Now she had
to. Ranma saw her reaction and stepped to her side, supporting her. Akane
ran up, took her other am, and they quickly walked her to the cafeteria.
Akane sat with Shampoo, watching her, while Ranma brought her some tea.
Shampoo sat looking at the cup without making an effort to pick it up, and
Ranma took Akane aside to talk to her.

"What happened, Ranma?"

"I told Shampoo we were getting married, Akane."

"You WHAT!"

"I had to, Akane. It's funny, though. I think she was expecting it. But
I don't know what to do next."

"I think you'd better think of something, Ranma. Look."

Ranma turned, and realized a complicated situation was getting worse. Shiro
was coming across the cafeteria with a full breakfast tray, and a familiar
look on his face. He'd spotted another pretty girl.

"Good morning, Ranma. Who's your friend?"

"This is Shampoo, Shiro. She's not feeling too well at the moment."

Shiro looked concerned, and sat down. He took his orange juice off the
tray, and offered it to Shampoo.

"Miss, have some juice. It will make you feel better."

Shampoo lifted her head, and her eyes met Shiro's. Out of politeness, she
smiled, and accepted the juice, noting the concern in his eyes. Shiro was
struck with Shampoo's beauty, and the unusual color of her eyes. He quietly
ate his breakfast, watching her sip the juice.

Ranma watched his friend, and realized that he was very taken with Shampoo.
Shiro had an eye for the ladies. He got up, and took his arm.

"Akane, excuse us for a moment. Shiro, come with me."

He led Shiro a few steps away, and talked to him softly.

"Shampoo came from Nerima to see me. She's been following me around for
years."

"But you're engaged to Akane, Ranma."

"Shampoo knows that. She doesn't care. I think, though, that I finally
got through to her. That 's why she's so upset."

Shiro looked back at Shampoo.

"What's she going to do now?"

"I'm not sure."

They walked back to the table, where Shampoo had finished her juice, and
had a little more color than before. She wouldn't look at Akane, who gave
Ranma a questioning look. Then Shampoo rose, shaking a little.

"Shampoo go home now."

Ranma took her arm.

"Are you sure, Shampoo? Will you be all right?"

Shampoo's eyes flashed, and she slapped Ranma, who quickly released her.

"No touch me, Ranma!"

She turned, and bumped into Shiro, who had just left his chair.

"Shampoo, if you like, I'll drive you to the station. I don't think you
are in any shape to walk."

Shampoo's pride almost made her refuse, but Shiro seemed sincere in his
offer.

"Thank you."

Shiro let Shampoo lean on him, and he walked her out of the cafeteria.
Akane watched them leave, and turned to Ranma.

"Ranma, do you think this means Shampoo will leave us alone?"

"I'm not sure, Akane. I'm not even sure why Shampoo came here today. It's
as if she was expecting me to reject her again."

"I can tell you one thing for certain, Ranma. Shiro is in trouble. Did
you see his face?"

"How could I miss it? But he never stays interested in one girl for more
than a day or two. I wouldn't worry too much about him."

Chapter 22

Shiro led Shampoo out of the cafeteria, and started toward the student
parking area. They'd barely reached the sidewalk when disaster struck. It
had rained the previous night, and a passing car drove through a puddle and
splashed them thoroughly. Shiro was dripping, and he felt Shampoo's arm
slip out of his. He was totally unprepared, however, for what happened
next, for Shampoo turned into a small cat.

Shiro had joined the Sci-Fi club for a reason: he believed that there were
things that happened that could not be explained. He never, however,
thought that he'd see one for himself. He squatted down to look at the cat
more carefully, and it mewed at him pitifully.

Shampoo was not frightened, but embarrassed. She thought that the young
man with her would run away in horror, but to her surprise, he got down to
her level, and just looked at her. She mewed at him, and patted his knee
with her paw.

Shiro picked up Shampoo's clothing and shoes, and then held out his hand
for her. She jumped into the crook of his arm, and he walked around the
side of the cafeteria.

*****

Ranma went to the counter and picked up some tea and a couple of muffins,
and he and Akane started to eat. Akane was waiting for Ranma to reopen the
subject he'd started in the gymnasium, and he soon did.

"Akane, if you think I'm rushing you, just say so."

Akane looked down at her teacup, and then back at Ranma. It had been easy
for her to say "let's wait" when they lived in the same house, and she could
spend as much time as she wanted to with him, but now that they were living
apart, it wasn't the same.

"You're not rushing me, Ranma. We've waited long enough."

Ranma pulled the form from his knapsack, and they began to fill it in, when
there was a tap on the window behind them, and they turned. Shiro was
standing there, holding Shampoo-cat in one hand, and her clothing in the
other.

Ranma saw the cat, stood, and backed away from the window. Even though he
recognized Shampoo, his intense fear of cats was too much for him. Akane
quickly turned him around, whispering into his ear.

"Go to class, Ranma. I'll take care of this."

Ranma fought to calm himself.

"Akane, I hate to dump this on you. Can you handle explaining everything
to Shiro?

"I can, Ranma."

Akane turned around and gestured to Shiro to wait. He nodded back.

"Ranma, should I tell Shiro about your curse?"

"Not yet, Akane."

Ranma hesitated again, and Akane gave him a shove toward the door.

"Get out of here before you start meowing!"

*****

Shiro waited patiently until Akane came outside, and was very glad to see
her running out of the cafeteria.

"Akane, I don't know what to do. Why did Shampoo become a cat?"

"It's a complicated story, Shiro, but I'll explain. First, though, Shampoo
needs to get back to normal. Give her to me."

Akane felt awkward when Shiro handed Shampoo to her. She wasn't very fond
of her, and found herself wondering why she was helping her. Shampoo, for
her part, wasn't sure if she should accept help from the woman who had
stolen Ranma from her, but realized that she had no choice in the matter.

Akane walked toward the ladies' room, Shiro following. She peeked inside,
to find the room empty.

"Shiro, please try to keep anyone from coming in here for a little while."

"How am I supposed to do that, Akane?"

Akane lost her temper.

"I don't know. Think of something!"

Akane ducked inside, and ran to a sink. She put Shampoo on the floor
beneath it, turned on the hot water, and let the sink overflow. When
Shampoo became human, she silently took her clothing from Akane and entered
a stall to dress. Akane wiped up the spilled water from the floor and
joined Shiro where he stood outside, looking anxious. Akane smiled when she
noticed that he'd put up a handwritten "Out of Order" sign.

"Can I take this down now, Akane? I've been getting some peculiar looks
from people."

"Go ahead, Shiro. Shampoo is getting dressed."

"Now would you please tell me what's going on?"

Akane took a deep breath, and began.

"Near Shampoo's village in China is a place called Jusenkyo. It has many
springs, and every one of them is cursed. If a person were to fall into one
of them, he or she would take on the form of whoever or whatever drowned in
that spring. In Shampoo's case, she fell into the Spring of Drowned Cat."

"Are you serious, Akane? I can't believe there is such a place."

"Believe it, Shiro. I've been there."

"But if Shampoo fell in a cursed spring, why isn't she a cat all of the
time?"

"The curse is activated by cold liquid--getting caught in the rain, for
example. Even getting a cold drink spilled on you can do it. To get back
to normal, you need a hot liquid."

Akane saw Shiro's expression change, and he nodded his understanding.

"Does that mean you can change back by taking a hot shower, or pouring hot
water over your head, or something like that?"

"That's it, Shiro. I used hot water from the sink."

Shiro was thoughtful for a minute, and then he smiled at Akane.

"Shampoo's awfully cute when she's a cat. I always liked cats."

Akane stared open-mouthed at her friend.

"I can't believe how you're accepting this, Shiro. I thought. . "

"What did you think?"

"I guess I didn't know how you would react. You surprised me."

"Actually, Akane, what surprised me was seeing Ranma's face when he saw
Shampoo. Why did he run off like that? He must know about the curse, too."

"Yes, Shiro, but Ranma has an intense fear of cats--a phobia, in fact."

"C'mon, Akane. I didn't Ranma would be afraid of anything, least of all
a little cat."

The bathroom door opened, and Shampoo emerged. She was surprised to find
that Shiro was still there, and looked down at her feet. Shiro realized
that she was embarrassed.

"Shampoo, my offer still stands, if you want that lift to the train."

Shampoo couldn't believe that Shiro hadn't run for his life, and smiled at
him.

"Thank you, Shiro. You very kind person."

Akane watched them walk off together, feeling very encouraged. If Shiro
was able to handle Shampoo's curse, maybe Ranma's wouldn't upset him,
either.

Chapter 23

Shiro parked the car at the train station, and walked Shampoo inside. The
next train to Furinkan was not for another hour, and Shampoo sat down to
wait. She expected Shiro to leave, but he sat beside her.

"Shiro, will you miss your class?"

"That's all right, Shampoo. I thought you might need some company."

Shampoo inched away from Shiro, frowning.

"Am all right, Shiro. Go now."

Shiro looked disappointed, and was going to protest, but something in
Shampoo's eyes made him get up.

"Okay, I get the hint. Take care of yourself, Shampoo."

Shampoo watched Shiro leave the platform and then leaned back and closed
her eyes. She had accomplished what she had traveled so far to do. It was
time to say good bye to Ranma.

*****

During the course of the morning, Ranma found himself wondering how Shiro
had responded to Akane's explanation of Jusenkyo curses. Sooner or later
Shiro would find out that Ranma too was cursed, and he wondered if it would
affect their friendship. Ranma was angry at himself for his fear of cats,
and wished there was some way he could overcome it. Then he wouldn't have
had to leave Akane with the responsibility of handling the situation
herself.

When lunch time came, Ranma joined the group at the tables they always
staked out in the corner, and found Akane waiting for him. He detached her
from the rest of the group and took her to a smaller table, where they
finished filling out the form while eating lunch. When it was complete,
Ranma put it back in his knapsack and stood up.

"Meet me by the library after classes, Akane. We can go straight to the
student housing office and turn this in. Do you have to work tonight?"

"No, I'm off."

"Me too. I'll take you to dinner."

Ranma leaned over to kiss Akane before he left, and he heard a laugh behind
him.

"There they go again."

Ranma turned to see Shiro.

"Professor Ogawara's lecture starts soon, Ranma. Let's go."

"Shiro's right, Akane. I'd better go."

Ranma followed Shiro out of the cafeteria, and then stopped him.

"What was that about? We have plenty of time."

"I wanted to talk to you about Shampoo, Ranma. Can you answer a few
questions?"

"I guess so."

*****

Ranma dropped his books in his room, and jogged to the library. Akane was
waiting by the entrance. They were walking down the steps when Yoshimi came
up, holding a stack of notices. He stopped to stay hello, and Akane
introduced him to Ranma, and then looked at the notices curiously.

"What do you have there, Yoshimi?"

He handed one to her.

"It's for the play, Akane."

Akane stopped to read the notice, which was for open auditions for the
play. She made a face, and Ranma laughed at her.

"You took the dare, honey. Now you have to try out."

"I hope they find someone they like better."

Yoshimi eyes met Ranma's above Akane's head, and he shook his head
negatively. He wanted Akane for the role, and that was that. Ranma
laughed, and Akane looked up.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Akane. Let's go."

Yoshimi watched them walk off, looking a little disappointed. He didn't
know Akane had a boyfriend.

*****

The woman at the student housing office took the application from Ranma,
and thanked him.

"We'll do the best we can, but you'll have to be patient. There's a
waiting list for apartments right now."

"Are there a lot of people ahead of us?"

"Not too many, but there's a shortage of affordable rooms right now. When
were you planning to get married"'

"As soon as we find an apartment. We were hoping to get something before
the end of the year. "

"We'll try."

*****

Ranma and Akane left the student housing office, and walked downtown to a
restaurant, where Ranma told Akane about his conversation with Shiro after
lunch.

"You wouldn't believe the number of questions he asked me about Shampoo.
He's absolutely fascinated with her."

Akane looked worried.

"Ranma, Shampoo has been obsessed with you for a long time. Today she had
to face the truth--that she can't have you. I hope she isn't going to latch
onto Shiro just because she's unhappy. It wouldn't be good for either of
them."

"Akane, I think you missed the point. Shampoo told Shiro to go away. He's
the one who's interested in her. But Akane, why are you so concerned about
Shampoo all of a sudden? I thought you didn't like her."

Ranma knew he'd said the wrong thing when he saw how angry Akane got.

"Ranma, I'm not completely heartless, you know! You saw how upset Shampoo
got this morning. I don't like to see anyone that unhappy."

"Sorry, Akane. After all the terrible things Shampoo has done to us I
guess I assumed you wouldn't have any forgiveness left. I wouldn't worry
too much about her harming Shiro, though. He doesn't seem to stick to one
girl for very long, and Nerima isn't exactly next door. If Shiro can't see
Shampoo, he'll forget about her."

Chapter 24

Shampoo got home in time to get ready for work. Cologne was busy getting
the restaurant ready to open, and didn't take the time to ask her
great-granddaughter where she'd been. That night after closing, however,
she did.

"Shampoo, where were you all day?"

Shampoo looked very unhappy, and Cologne guessed.

"You went to see Ranma, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"I told you to stay away from him, Shampoo. You can't marry him."

"Shampoo no want Ranma, Grandmother. He happy with Akane."

Cologne couldn't believe her ears.

"What did you say?"

"I said Ranma happy with Akane. They getting married."

"In that case, dear, won't you consider marrying Mousse? He's always been
there, you know."

"I no love him. Shampoo will find own husband."

"That's not our way, Shampoo. I have to approve of your husband."

Shampoo's eyes flashed. She didn't often argue with her great-grandmother,
but this was too important to her.

"We not in China now. Will find own husband."

Mousse stood on the other side of the kitchen door, listening with a smile
on his face. Ranma no longer stood between him and Shampoo. Despite
Shampoo's statement to the contrary, Mousse intended Shampoo to be his wife,
or no one's.

*****

Ranma found Akane eating her breakfast with the newspaper in front of her.
She was marking ads, and he looked over her shoulder.

"What do you have there, Akane?"

"I thought we might be able to find a place on our own, Ranma, but most of
them are too expensive."

Akane handed the paper to Ranma, and pointed out the ads she'd circled.

"These were all I could find. What do you think?"

"We won't know unless we check them out, Akane. Want to go at lunch?"

When Ranma and Akane checked out the apartments at lunch time, they found
them disappointing. It was apparent that people were taking advantage of
the shortage in rooms to charge outrageous prices for what could only be
termed as dumps. Ranma was so disgusted with one of them that he walked
away talking to himself.

"No way would I bring my wife to live in a place like that."

They hurried back to campus for their culinary arts class, but were unable
to get there on time. As they ran into the building Ranma stopped to take
off his coat, and turned to Akane.

"I hope we're making something good, Akane. I'm starved."

"Maybe we should have had lunch, Ranma. It would have been less of a waste
of time than looking at those apartments."

Professor Mori frowned at them when they arrived.

"You're late. We're cooking in teams of two today, and the teams have
already been assigned. You two will have to work together."

Akane looked at her fiance, and paled. The last time they'd worked
together in a kitchen, it had turned into a competition. Ranma caught her
look, and smiled.

"Don't worry, Akane. I'll work with you, not against you."

For the first time, Akane was able to show Ranma what she'd only
explained--how to work with the checklist. They took the recipe given to
them, and started to measure everything out.

"Akane, this makes sense. Everything will be organized before you need
it."

Across the room, one team had started cooking before preparing. Ranma
couldn't help laughing when he heard them starting to argue.

"It's time to put the onions in. Where are they?"

"I thought you were cutting them up."

"I told you to."

Ranma watched as the oil they had heating started to overheat, and burned
the onions once they hit the pan.

"Akane, those two are hopeless."

"Like we used to be?"

"No, Akane, like you used to be. I was always a good cook."

Akane elbowed Ranma in the ribs, and continued working. When they were
done, they had a lunch that was not only eatable, but that pleased Professor
Mori. He complimented them both when he tasted it, and then addressed an
extra comment to Akane.

"Miss Tendo, if your fiance were to taste this, I'm sure he would like it."

Akane beamed at him, and Ranma laughed.

"I do like it, sir. I've tasted a few of the dishes Akane's made in class,
and I think her cooking is improving."

"You are Miss Tendo's fiance, Saotome? I'm glad I teamed you, then. A
couple should be able to work together in a kitchen. I cook with my wife
all the time."

Ranma and Akane devoured what they'd cooked, and ran to their next classes.
After they were done for the day, Ranma walked Akane to the day care center,
kissed her good bye, and left for the hospital. Kodachi stood some distance
away, seething. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't detach Ranma
from Akane.

Akane left work, and went to the cafeteria for dinner. Ranma was meeting
Shiro at the Sci-Fi club after work, and she didn't expect to see him again
until the next day. She went to the dormitory, and picked up her mail.
There was a small box from Kasumi, which she hurried to her room to open.

Dear Akane,
One of your classmates, Hikaru, dropped this picture off for you
this morning. He said that he took it at your graduation dinner, and
thought you would want it. I don't understand why, but he was crying.

I hope that you and Ranma are still getting along well. Father is
still talking about planning another wedding in the spring, and I
wondered how you would feel about it. Will you be ready? Did your
club ever choose a play to produce? Perhaps Father and I can come up to
see it.

Love, Kasumi

Akane smiled at the letter, and unwrapped the picture. It was a framed
photograph of her and Ranma dancing together. Akane sat gazing at the
picture for a long time. She'd have to ask Ranma to take her dancing.

Finally, Akane put the picture on her desk, and took out her books. She
was in the middle of writing a report, and staring at pictures wouldn't help
her write it. She soon was so busy working on it that she barely noticed
that it had begun to rain.

*****

The Sci-Fi club was about to show an episode of Star Trek: The Next
Generation when Ranma and Shiro arrived. Ranma sat down, and turned to his
friend Ichiro.

"Which one is it?"

"Q-Pid. "

"Oh, I haven't seen it. Dubbed or subtitled?"

"Subtitled."

Ranma smiled, and turned around to the television, He preferred the
subtitled versions, since it was helping him with his English pronunciation.
The club was going to show a second tape, but Ranma get up to leave.

"I've seen this one, and it's getting late. Good night."

Shiro joined him, and they started downstairs.

"Shiro, did you notice how many tapes they had on the table? When do they
sleep?"

Shiro laughed.

"I heard that some of them don't. I like sci-fi, but that's ridiculous."

As Shiro finished talking, they got to the door, and Ranma stopped, causing
Shiro to bump into him.

"Why'd you stop, Ranma?"

"It's raining."

"So what? We'll get a little wet."

Ranma looked his friend in the eye, and stood straighter.

"Yes, we'll get wet, and then I'll change."

Suddenly, Shiro understood.

"You have a Jusenkyo curse, Ranma? What will happen to you?"

"Wait here."

Ranma stepped out into the rain, and stood there. Shiro thought at first
that nothing was happening, but then he realized that Ranma had become
shorter. Then Ranma turned around and stepped back into the lobby, and
Shiro realized that he was looking at a woman. She had the same blue eyes
as Ranma, but instead of black hair, hers was red. Shiro couldn't help
staring at her figure.

"Ranma, that's really you?"

"Yes it is. I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl. "

He even sounded female.

"Akane said you become whatever drowned in the spring. Does this mean that
the girl who drowned there looked like this?"

"I don't think so, Shiro. As far as I can figure, if I'd had a sister, she
would have looked like this. I resemble my mom a lot when I'm this way. "

Shiro opened his mouth, closed it again, and looked uncomfortable.

"What were you going to say?"

"Akane said that she'd been there, too. Does she .. I mean."

"No, Shiro. Akane isn't cursed. I'll tell you the whole story once we
get back to our room."

"If you can sneak in, that is. "

The two friends ran across campus, and attempted to enter the dormitory.
They thought they were home free, when Shiro heard his name called.

"Hayasuka, what are you doing?"

"Going upstairs, sir."

"Not with her. You know the rules. No women at this time of night."

Shiro opened his mouth to protest, but Ranma shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Shiro. I'll be okay. "

Before Shiro could reply, Ranma had run off into the rain.

Chapter 25

Ranma walked up the steps to the dormitory, and opened the door. A couple
of girls in the lobby looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything.
Ranma looked at the directory, found his way to Akane's room, and knocked on
her door.

Akane put her books away, and turned on her radio. She'd opened her
dresser drawer and was taking out a nightgown when there was a knock on her
door. She dropped the nightgown on the bed and opened the door to find
girl-type Ranma standing there, dripping.

"Hi."

Akane grabbed Ranma, dragged him in, and locked the door.

"What are you doing here? What happened?"

"Shiro and I got caught in the rain. He tried to help me get in the dorm,
but we got caught. Now they think he was sneaking a girlfriend in."

Akane saw the humor in the predicament Ranma and Shiro had found themselves
in, but held back her laughter. Ranma didn't look amused.

"I'll get you some dry things, Ranma."

Akane was looking in her closet when Ranma picked up the photograph.

"Where did you get this?"

"Kasumi sent it. Gosunkuji took it, and brought it to the house. "

Ranma smiled at the picture, and at Akane.

"We have to dance together again."

"How about now?"

Ranma looked down at his female body, and back at Akane.

"Huh?"

Akane took a pitcher off her shelf, left the room, and returned with some
water. She poured part of it into a teakettle, and plugged it in. When the
water was hot enough, Ranma poured it over himself, turning male.

"We're taking a big chance, Akane. If I get caught in here like this, you
could get in a lot of trouble."

"That's what the rest of the cold water is for, Ranma. After all, if
you're going to sleep here tonight, it will have to be as a girl."

"Right."

Akane stepped into the hallway while Ranma changed into the sweat shirt and
sweat pants that Akane had found for him. When she saw how he looked, she
giggled.

"I guess they don't fit very well, but at least they're dry."

Akane turned to her radio, and started searching for some music to dance
to. When she found it, Ranma held out his arms, and she walked into them.

Dancing with Akane was fun, but Ranma found that holding her was too much
of a temptation for him when he stopped dancing so that he could kiss her.
He let her go and backed away, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Akane. This isn't a good idea."

Before Akane could reply, Ranma retrieved the pitcher of cold water and
turned himself female again.

"Maybe we should just go to sleep, Ranma. It is late."

Akane picked up her nightgown, and Ranma looked at it, and then into
Akane's eyes.

"No, Ranma. I won't wear this in front of you. I'll put it away."

Akane got out two pairs of pajamas, and Ranma took his out to the bathroom
to change while Akane changed in her room. She was already in bed when he
returned and locked the door. Ranma got into the other bed, and settled
down.

"Akane, I ran into a couple of girls in the hallway. They wanted to know
who I was, so I told them I was visiting you. I called myself Ranko again,
like I did when I was hiding from Mom."

Ranma reached for the light, but Akane held something out to him.

"This is the letter I got from Kasumi today. I thought you'd want to read
it."

Ranma read the letter, his expression amused when he found the paragraph
about the planned wedding.

"I'm not surprised our parents are set on another wedding, Akane. Should
we tell him we're planning one of our own?"

"I don't know. Our fathers would want to plan something elaborate again,
and I know they must have spent a fortune last time. Couldn't we make our
own arrangements, and then just find a way to get them here?"

Akane hesitated momentarily, and then spoke again.

"Or maybe we should just elope."

"Akane, tell me the truth."

"What?"

"You can't fool me, Akane. You're worried that what happened last time
will happen again, aren't you?"

"I should have known better. You're right."

"We won't let anything stop us this time, Akane, but I don't think it
would be a good idea to keep our families in the dark. We'll wait until we
have our apartment, and a wedding date, and then tell them. This way
they'll have to keep it simple, because they won't have much time to plan."

*****

Ranma got up very early the next morning, and dressed, watching Akane
sleep. He walked to her side, and gently touched her hair. He was tempted
to kiss her, but didn't want to do so in girl form.

Ranma quietly gathered his things and left the dormitory. He went to the
gym, which was deserted this early in the morning, took a hot shower, and
then went to his room. Shiro was still in bed, but he sat up when Ranma
opened the door.

"Ranma, are you okay? Where did you go last night?"

"Akane's room. She gave me the spare bed."

"You mean you just walked into the dorm?"

"Sure, no one said a word."

Shiro found the situation rather bizarre, and couldn't help saying
something.

"Doesn't this bother Akane, Ranma? I can't imagine a girl wanting to marry
a guy who changes sex."

"That's exactly what she said when we first met, Shiro."

Shiro had hit a very sensitive topic, and Ranma hoped he'd drop it.
Unfortunately, he didn't.

"What about now, Ranma?"

Ranma's tone was less than friendly when he replied.

"She's marrying me, isn't she? Let's talk about something else."

"Sorry, Ranma. You said you would tell me the whole story about your
curse. Will you?"

Ranma was glad to stop talking about how Akane felt about his curse, and
instead spent some time explaining his training trip to China. He threw in
the tale of his contest with Shampoo, and her subsequent trip to Japan to
kill "girl-type Ranma", which held Shiro's complete attention. Ranma
watched his friend's face as he talked, and realized that Shiro was more
interested in hearing about Shampoo than hearing about him.

Chapter 26

It was early enough for Ranma to consider running, but the heavy rains
the night before made running in the street inadvisable, and he joined the
group on the track.

Akane was disappointed to find Ranma gone when she woke. When she saw what
a beautiful morning it was, she decided to go running before breakfast.

Ukyo walked down to campus, enjoying the sunshine. She kept in shape by
running at the track several mornings a week, and was pleased to see Ranma
there. Ukyo began running behind him, and soon caught up. She ran abreast
of him, giving him a bright smile.

"Good morning!"

Ranma was surprised Ukyo was being so pleasant. She'd barely said good bye
to him when he'd left her restaurant with Akane, which was the last time
he'd encountered her.

"Hi, Ukyo."

Ranma kept running, Ukyo at his side. After a couple of laps, she looked
at him again.

"Can I treat you to a cup of tea?"

Ranma realized that Ukyo hadn't given up on him yet. It wouldn't be kind
to encourage her.

"No thanks, Ucchan."

Ukyo looked hurt, and slowed down, allowing Ranma to outdistance her. She
thought for a while, and decided that if the direct approach wasn't working,
maybe something else would. Perhaps she could make Ranma jealous. There
were several young men running and when the next one passed, Ukyo smiled at
him. He looked surprised and smiled back, and on his next lap, ran beside
her, and introduced himself.

Ranma wasn't paying attention. He was too busy thinking about his and
Akane's relationship, It had always been a volatile one, and even now they
still were having their share of disagreements. Complications from Ukyo or
Kodachi were the last thing they needed. Ranma was so deep in thought that
he didn't notice the footsteps behind him until Akane caught up to him and
touched his hand.

Ranma stopped running and walked Akane off the track so that he could kiss
her.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I didn't, but I'm glad I found you. Have you been here long?"

"A while. I was about to quit and have breakfast."

"If you wait 'til I put in a couple of laps, I'll go with you."

They started running again, and Akane soon noticed Ukyo's presence.

"Who's that running with Ukyo, Ranma?"

Ranma looked across the track.

"That's Takashi. He's in the Sci-Fi club. Funny, she was running alone
before."

Akane watched the pair curiously for a while, and then turned her attention
back to Ranma.

"I like the looks of that. If Ukyo has a boyfriend, she won't want to
bother you."

Ranma decided not to tell Akane what had occurred earlier. It would only
annoy her.

*****

Ukyo watched Ranma leave the track holding hands with his fiancee, and felt
frustrated. It appeared that Ranma was uninterested in whether or not she
had another man running with her. Takashi said something, and Ukyo missed
it.

"Excuse me?"

"I said I had to go, Ukyo. My classes start soon, and I haven't had
breakfast yet. What about you?"

"I'm not a student, Takashi . I own Ucchan's. "

"The okonomiyaki restaurant? I've heard of it. You don't look old enough
to be running your own business."

Ukyo laughed.

"I started early, Takashi. Why not come by for lunch? My treat."

Takashi agreed, and left the track.

Ukyo slowly walked back into town, wondering why she'd issued the
invitation. The words had come out of her mouth before she'd thought about
the possible consequences. It wasn't nice to lead someone on.

*****

Ranma was leaving his chemistry class when Kodachi blocked the doorway.
This was the only class they had in common, and thus far she had kept her
distance, but he could tell from the look on her face that today was
different.

"Ranma, dear, will you join me for lunch tomorrow?"

"No thank you, Kodachi."

Kodachi's expression hardened, and her next words chilled Ranma.

"I think you should change your mind, Ranma. Remember that I am a Kuno,
and we are not to be trifled with."

Ranma's eyes narrowed.

"Are you threatening me, Kodachi?"

Kodachi raised her eyebrows, and laughed.

"I wouldn't harm a hair on your head, darling, but that doesn't apply to
Akane."

" WHAT? "

"You see, Ranma, your dear little fiancee needs her beauty sleep, and if
you don't accept my invitation, she won't get it. She'll have to stay
awake, and watch out for me. Think about it. I'll ask you again tomorrow.
"

Kodachi walked away without looking back, leaving Ranma to ponder her words
for the rest of the morning. He wasn't about to let Kodachi intimidate him,
but he was still concerned about Akane's safety. Ranma decided that he had
to get Akane out of harm's way before he dealt with Kodachi.

Ranma waited outside the cafeteria for Mishi at lunch time, and took her
aside.

"Mishi, I need a favor. Can you let Akane stay with you for a few days?"

"Why, Ranma?"

"I haven't told Akane yet, but Kodachi is threatening to harm her. I'd
like to keep Akane out of Kodachi's reach until I figure out how to deal
with the situation."

Mishi nodded, looking worried.

"It's all right with me, Ranma, but I don't think Akane will be very happy
with your idea."

"Neither do I, Mishi."

Ranma wasn't at all surprised when Akane objected violently to his idea.

"I don't like the thought of running, Ranma. Why should I leave the dorm
because of Kodachi? I can handle anything she tries."

"I'm sure you can, love, but humor me, won't you? I'd feel better if I
could stay with you and protect you, but I can't, so I want you as far away
from Kodachi as possible."

Akane sighed, and gave in.

"You win, Ranma. I'll move in with Mishi tonight."

Chapter 27

Ukyo had her back to the door when she heard it open, and turned around to
greet her customer. She looked at Takashi, and did a double take when she
realized he was holding out a bouquet of flowers.

"Please accept these, Ukyo. It's just a small gift, to say thank you."

Ukyo blushed, and waved Takashi to a seat at the counter. She still felt
guilty about giving him false hopes, but then, he was very cute, and his
friendliness was hard to say no to.

*****

From her seat across the cafeteria, Kodachi watched Akane's face as she
spoke with Ranma. It looked as though they were having some sort of
disagreement. Kodachi smiled. Maybe that meant that Ranma was going to
have lunch with her the next day, and Akane was jealous about it.

Ranma could see Kodachi watching them across the cafeteria, and wondered at
the satisfied smile on her face. How could anyone get so much pleasure out
of causing trouble? He was glad to see the smile turn to a frown when
Kodachi saw him holding his fiancee's hand as they walked to their culinary
arts class.

*****

Akane put her checklist on the counter, and began to measure out the
ingredients for the day's lesson. She was still thinking about Ranma's
reaction to Kodachi's threats, and the more she thought, the more upset she
got. This translated over to her cooking, and soon Akane was gazing at a
blackened mess, which she quickly disposed of. This was one dish Professor
Mori was not going to taste.

Ranma had been watching Akane on and off, and knew she was in trouble when
the smoke started to rise from the pan. He hurried to her side in time to
see her expression of chagrin.

"What happened, Akane?"

"Go away, Ranma. I messed up, that's all."

"But Akane, "

Akane glared at Ranma, and waved him away.

"You'd better go back, Ranma. I think yours is burning, too."

Ranma turned around to see a cloud of black smoke rising from his pan and
ran back, but it was too late. He was still cleaning up the mess when he
saw Akane pick up her things and stalk out of the classroom.

*****

Akane considered the rest of the afternoon a waste, as she spent more time
brooding over the situation she was in than paying attention to her classes.
She continued to think at work, and finally came to a decision at dinner.

Ranma and Shiro were in their room studying when there was a knock on the
door.

"Saotome, you have a phone call."

Ranma went to the phone, and found Mishi on the line.

"Ranma, what happened to Akane?"

"What do you mean, Mishi?"

"I expected her a long time ago, but she hasn't shown up, and she hasn't
called. Ranma? Hello, Ranma?"

The receiver hung from its cord, but Ranma was long gone.

Ranma could see light through Akane's curtains when he ran up to her
dormitory. He flew up the steps, and into the lobby, where he was stopped.

"It's past time for male visitors, young man. Who were you here to see?"

"Akane Tendo. Could you call her down, please?"

When Akane got the word that a visitor was waiting downstairs, she wasn't
surprised. She put down her book and walked downstairs, where Ranma grabbed
her wrist and pulled her into a corner.

"What the hell are you doing here, Akane?"

"I'm where I belong, Ranma. I'm not running."

Ranma looked furious as he took Akane by the shoulders and gave her a
little shake.

"But you agreed to this, Akane!"

Akane's eyes flashed, and she removed Ranma's hands from her shoulders and
clenched her fists.

"I am a Tendo, Ranma Saotome, and we don't run from bullies! Why are you
so worried about me? I used to take on the entire male population of
Furinkan High before school every day. I can handle one woman!"

"Akane, I know you can, but"

"Stop it, Ranma I won't let Kodachi think I'm a coward, and"

Akane suddenly stopped talking, her eyes widened, and she grabbed Ranma's
hands.

"I know what she's up to, Ranma, and I won't let her get away with it!"

"What, Akane?"

"Look at us, love. She's got us fighting with each other. Kodachi is
trying to drive a wedge between us, and we can't let her."

Understanding dawned in Ranma's eyes, and he hugged Akane, and then
continued to hold her.

"Kodachi's a clever girl, sweetheart, She knows that if she can get us
fighting, she won't have to do anything physical. But that brings us back
to the original problem. I don't want her to hurt you, and I promised your
father I'd protect you."

"You did?"

"That was one of the last things we talked about before we left. He didn't
have to ask, though. I'll always protect you."

Akane laughed, and kissed Ranma's cheek.

"Thank you, love. Now go to bed. "

"Okay, but please call Mishi before you do. She's still waiting for you."

*****

Ranma was practicing in the gym the next morning when Kodachi showed up.
She'd never been to the morning workouts before and Ranma knew she was there
not to practice, but to see him.

"Ranma, dear, do you have a minute?"

Ranma saw the looks of surprise from his friends when they heard Kodachi
call him "dear", winced, and dragged her to the far end of the gym to speak
with her.

"You've got your minute. Start talking."

"Have you given any thought to our conversation yesterday?"

"Yes, I have. The answer is still no, Kodachi."

Kodachi's eyes flashed, and her hands became fists.

"Don't say you weren't warned, Ranma. Akane will be the one to pay for
your stubbornness."

Kodachi stalked out of the gym, leaving Ranma standing there. He smiled
grimly, and muttered to himself.

"Not if I can help it."

*****

Kodachi followed Akane during the day. She was always in too much of a
crowd to get near, and Kodachi decided to wait until that night. Her room
was pitifully easy to get into. Akane was aware that she was being
followed, and knew that her lack of reaction was annoying Kodachi. Akane
found that she was enjoying herself immensely, and wondered how long Kodachi
would be content with just following her.

That evening, the drama club met in the theater for tryouts. Besides club
members, there were quite a few people who'd seen the notices for auditions,
and were interested. Akane and Mishi were very amused to see an American
student who'd come prepared for the Sailor Moon part. She had long blond
hair, and had gone to the trouble of imitating Usagi's hair style.

"Akane, how did she manage the dumpling head look?"

"I don't know, Mishi, but Anne couldn't have done it better."

To their and Yoshimi's delight, Anne not only looked the part, but could
act. They immediately signed her up for the part. Next, it was Akane's
turn. She took the script, and acting opposite Yoshimi, read the lines he
pointed out to her. She didn't want to admit it, but it was starting to
feel like fun.

"You'll do fine, Akane. You have the part. Mishi! You're up next."

Mishi made a face, picked up her script, and walked onto the stage. Akane
went into the auditorium to watch, took a seat, and Ranma came down the
aisle to sit next to her.

"Have you been here all along, Ranma?"

"Yes, didn't you see me come in?"

"No, I was too nervous."

"You didn't look it, sweetheart. I think you did fine."

They turned their attention to the stage, where Mishi was reading her
lines. Akane was surprised to see that Mishi, despite her reservations, was
quite good. She and Ranma watched as everyone else tried out, and the parts
were awarded. Then Yoshimi stood center stage to make an announcement.

"Rehearsals will start next Wednesday at 7:30. Please read your parts, and
come prepared. Mishi, when do costume fittings start?"

"I'll take some measurements tonight, Yoshimi. Then I'll let you know."

Mishi rounded up all of the cast members, and took the measurements. She
showed them her sketches of the costumes, which were enthusiastically
approved by all.

Yoshimi sat down with the set builders to go over the plans, and everyone
else started to drift out of the theater.

Ranma walked Akane to her dormitory, holding her hand. He hadn't spoken
for some time, and Akane wondered what was on his mind.

"Is something bothering you, honey?"

"Well, yeah, a little bit. "

"What? "

"The school girl costumes are cute, but the Sailor Mercury costume you'll
be wearing is kind of short."

"Well, yes. All of the Sailor Scouts wear short skirts. "

Ranma frowned.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of all the guys in the audience looking at
your legs. "

Ranma, are you jealous?"

"A little. So long as they look, but don't touch, I guess it will be
all right."

*****

Akane sat on the floor of her friend Kaori 's roam, reading the script with
Kaori and her roommate, who were also in the play. They 'd been practicing
for a while, and didn't realize how tired they were until they began to get
the giggles when they tried to read their lines. Akane looked at the clock,
and got up.

"It's awfully late, Kaori. I should go to bed."

"Why don't you stay, Akane? You must get lonely with no roommate."

Kaori pulled a sleeping bag out of the closet, and handed it to Akane, who
accepted it with a smile.

"Thanks, Kaori. I could use some company tonight. "

Kodachi waited until everyone had gone to bed, and slipped out into the
hallway. She let herself into Akane's room, and was infuriated to find it
empty. Not wanting to make it a wasted trip, Kodachi found a piece of
paper, and left a note on the bed.

to be continued

Comments? send to kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene"
Chapters 28-31
By June "KaraOhki" Geraci
1998

kara...@snet.net

Earlier chapters can be found at:
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

Ranma 1/2 created by Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed
by me. This work is for entertainment purposes only, and
not intended for commercial use.

Chapter 28

Kaori opened her eyes to see Akane folding up the sleeping bag.

"It's early, Akane. Why are you leaving?"

"I promised to meet Ranma at the gym. Our students are coming this
morning."

"How are they doing?"

Akane giggled.

"So-so. I think they're afraid of us. Did you know that they've
started to call Ranma
'Sensei' ?"

Kaori chuckled, and closed her eyes.

"Have fun. I'm going back to sleep."

Akane opened her door and found Kodachi's note, which she opened and
quickly read.

She brought it with her to the gym, and was alarmed at the look of fury on
Ranma's face when he
read Kodachi's words:

"Leave my darling Ranma alone, or I will punish you."

Ranma got to his feet, and Akane quickly stood and grabbed his arms.

"Ranma, please don't overreact to this. I found Kodachi's note
amusing. It sounds as if she's been reading Sailor Moon, too."

"Well I don 't find it funny, Akane. I've had it with her. I'm going
to give that girl a piece of my mind."

Ranma searched for Kodachi all over campus, but couldn't find her. He
was frustrated, and worried about Akane, and decided to take another step to
protect her. Before leaving for work, he packed a small bag, and brought it
with him.

*****

Ryoga wandered the streets of Ube. He was rather proud of himself for
having found it.

He hadn't seen Akane since the night she'd found him in the dojo. If Ranma
had given her permission to see other men, now was his chance to tell her
that he loved her. Ryoga wondered where the college was, and how he would
find the right dormitory. He was so busy fantasizing about holding Akane in
his arms that he didn't notice the storm coming on until it struck, and soon
P-Chan wandered the streets, the snow getting deeper.

Akane left work, and stopped at the library for some books. She was on
her way back to her dormitory when she heard a squeal, and turned to see
P-Chan running through the snow.

"P-Chan! How on earth did you get to Ube?"

Akane picked the pig up, kissed his nose, and carried him across
campus. She hid him in her tote bag, and sneaked him into the dormitory.

Akane was studying, P-Chan in her lap, when there was a knock on the
door, and she got up to answer it. Girl-type Ranma stood there, holding his
bag.

"Ranma, what on earth?"

"I'm staying here, Akane. If you refuse to leave, then I want to be
here in case Kodachi tries anything."

Akane folded her arms over her chest, and glared at Ranma.

"I don't need protecting, Ranma! We've been through this."

P-Chan put in his own comment by growling at Ranma, who whirled in
amazement.

"What's that pig doing here?"

"I found him on my way home."

Akane was about to start yelling again, but she restrained herself, and
instead sat down, looking thoughtful.

"You're really serious about staying, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then stay for tonight. I'm not going to let Kodachi make me fight
with you. But Ranma, tomorrow you go back to your dormitory, where you
belong."

"If you'd listened to me and moved in with Mishi, this wouldn't be
necessary."

"I know that, love, but I don't want to give Kodachi the satisfaction
of seeing me run."

P-Chan froze, staring at Akane. What had she just called Ranma? He
sat there in shock as Akane took out her pajamas and bathrobe, and went to
the door.

"I'm going to shower and change, Ranma. Why don't you change while I'm
gone?"

"Akane?"

"Yes?"

"Mishi said her offer still stands. Won't you at least think about
it?"

P-Chan watched the door close behind Akane, and reluctantly turned to
face Ranma, who looked less than friendly.

"Ryoga, you are not going to sleep with my fiancee tonight, or ever
again. You've taken advantage of her ignorance long enough."

Ranma didn't expect a reply from Ryoga - pigs can't talk.

Chapter 29

Akane stepped into the shower and closed her eyes, letting the hot
water soothe her tension. She was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair when
the sound of the door opening made her turn to see Kodachi entering the
room, ribbon in hand.

Kodachi whipped the ribbon at Akane's face, and she tried to dodge, but
the narrow confines of the shower stall wouldn't let her move far. Akane
felt the ribbon slice her, and glanced down quickly to see blood dripping
down her breast. She cried out in rage, and started forward.

Girl-type Ranma was unbuttoning his shirt when he heard Akane's cry,
and ran toward the door. P-Chan was going in the same direction, and Ranma
tripped over him, regained his balance, and ran out of the room, leaving
P-Chan scratching helplessly on the closed door.

Kodachi was pleased with her success in injuring Akane, and laughed.
She swung the ribbon again, but Akane caught it and jerked it sharply,
causing Kodachi to be pulled toward her. As Ranma entered the shower room,
Akane wound up and socked Kodachi in the jaw, sending
her sliding on her rear end across the wet floor. She finally stopped her
slide at Ranma's feet, and he stepped over her and ran toward Akane.

Kodachi rubbed her jaw, looked up, and gasped when she saw girl-type
Ranma.

"Pig-tailed girl What are you doing here?"

Ranma didn't even hear her. He grabbed Akane and pushed her back into
the shower to rinse away the blood. He was relieved to see that the cut on
her breast appeared to be minor, and embraced her, ignoring the fact that he
had stepped under the shower with her, and that the hot water was reversing
the effect of his curse.

Kodachi watched, stunned, as she saw the one person she hated more than
Akane, the pig-tailed girl, transform into Ranma. She screamed once, and
fainted.

Ranma was too busy looking at his fiancee to pay attention. Akane was
standing there in his arms, blushing more brightly than he'd ever seen in
the past, but returning his look without turning away, or trying to free
herself from his embrace.

Akane was vaguely aware of Kodachi's scream, and seeing her collapse,
but she was more interested in what was happening in front of her. Ranma
was gazing at her in a way he never had before, and a thin stream of blood
was coming from his nose.

Despite the predicament they were in, Akane giggled. She'd always
wondered if she could have that kind of an effect on her fiance, and seeing
that she could delighted her. Then she heard voices in the hallway, and
froze.

Ranma abruptly released Akane, stepped back, and handed her a towel,
which she quickly wrapped around herself. Akane turned the shower to cold,
and waved Ranma toward the stall.

"Hurry, Ranma, before someone comes in!"

Ranma had barely enough time to change himself female again before
several young women ran in. Kodachi was just coming to, and she began
screaming hysterically, pointing at Ranma.

"It's a monster, a monster!"

"Calm dawn, Kodachi, that's just Akane's cousin!"

"No, no, I saw her! She's a man, not a woman!"

Looking at Ranma's soaked clothing clinging to his body, the girls
shook their heads.

"That's a girl, Kodachi, not a guy. What's wrong with you?"

Kodachi continued to blubber, and soon the dorm mother came in. She
looked at Kodachi on the floor crying, and then turned to Akane, whose towel
was stained with the blood dripping from her breast. Then she noticed
Ranma's nosebleed.

"What happened here, Miss Tendo, and who is that with you?"

"Kodachi attacked me, ma'am. This is my cousin, Ranko. She's visiting
me."

"And I'm to understand that Kodachi hit you, too?"

Ranma looked mystified.

"Excuse me?"

The dorm mother turned Ranma to the nearest mirror, and pointed.

"Your nose is bleeding."

Akane suppressed another giggle when she saw how red Ranma turned, but
before she could say anything, the dorm mother spoke.

"Miss Tendo, I suggest you take your cousin back to your room, and take
care of each other. I'll see to Miss Kuno."

*****

P-Chan started to squeal when he saw the blood, and Akane quickly
shushed him.

"Don't, P-Chan. You're not supposed to be here."

P-Chan quieted, and watched with concern as Ranma bandaged Akane,
especially noting the way she was blushing. He then jumped when Ranma
picked him up, and opened the door.

"We'll wait outside while you dress, Akane. "

"Leave P-Chan here, Ranma. Someone might see him."

"He's coming with me, Akane."

Ranma had came back in and was changing out of his wet clothes when
there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Tendo, please open the door."

Ranma finished dressing, and opened the door. P-Chan scooted under the
bed.

The dorm mother opened the closet door, and peered inside.

"What are you looking for?"

"Miss Kuno kept saying you had a man here. I put it down to her
hysterics, but she insisted that I come look. Why did she attack you?"

Akane looked at Ranma, blushing.

"Kodachi wants to take my fiance away from me, ma'am. She's been this
way ever since she met him. Is she all right?"

"A couple of girls took her down to the infirmary. I'll check up on
her later. Before I go, though, you'd better explain the pig."

"Excuse me?"

"I saw him, Miss Tendo. You have a pig under the bed, and he has to
go."

"But he followed me from home, ma'am. Can't he stay until tomorrow? I
can send him back to Daddy on the train."

"I'm sorry, but I can 't allow it. "

"Then I'll find somewhere else to spend the night."

Akane packed a few things, and was about to leave the building with
Ranma when she heard her name called.

"Miss Tendo, I just spoke to the infirmary. They had to sedate Miss
Kuno. She kept babbling something about women turning into men. Does she
often suffer from delusions?"

Akane tried not to let her desire to laugh aloud show.

"Not that I know of, ma'am."

"Maybe she hit her head when she fell. "

"I don't know, ma'am. I had soap in my eyes. Good night."

*****

Akane rang Mishi's doorbell, and she opened it, looking rather tired.

"Akane? I was about to go to bed."

"I'm sorry, Mishi. We had to leave the dorm. It's only temporary, I
promise."

Mishi opened the door wider, and Akane entered, Ranma behind her.
Mishi looked at the strange girl curiously, and let her in.

"Who is this?"

"Um, well, this will take some explaining, Mishi. Can my friend use
your shower?"

Mishi just shook her head in confusion, and waved Ranma toward the
bathroom.

"And the pig, Akane?"

"This is my pet, P-Chan. I don't know how he got here from home, but I
have to send him back there."

While Ranma showered, Akane told Mishi of Kodachi's attack on her,
omitting Ranma's transformation. He would have to help her explain his
curse. When Ranma entered the room, Mishi stared at him.

"Wait a minute, what happened to the girl who went into the bathroom?
And how did you get in here, Ranma?"

"You let me in, Mishi. I'm, um, I was the girl with the red hair."

Mishi's eyes widened, and Ranma was grateful that she was already
sitting down, because it looked like she was going to pass out. Akane ran
for a glass of water, and they joined her at the table.

Taking turns, Ranma and Akane explained Ranma's curse to her. She
thought the entire story was incredible, and wouldn't have believed a word
had she not seen it for herself.

"Is there no cure, Ranma?"

"I don't know if one is available anymore, Mishi. What I need is to
bathe in the Spring of Drowned Man, or get water from it somehow. The last
time we went to China, the source of the springs caused all of them to
overflow into each other. Maybe it's been fixed since, but if so I haven't
heard about it."

Mishi opened her mouth to ask another question, but stopped when she
saw the worried expression on Ranma's face as he looked at Akane, and turned
back to Mishi to interrupt her.

"Mishi, do you have a first aid kit?"

Mishi brought it to Ranma, who took Akane's hand, led her into the
bedroom, and closed the door. P-Chan ran to the door, and scratched at it
until Mishi picked him up and sat down at the kitchen table, sighing, and
talking to herself.

"I wonder why I always pick the weirdest friends."

Ranma sat Akane on the bed, sat beside her, and opened the first aid
kit. He started to unbutton Akane's blouse, and she put up a hand to stop
him.

"What are you doing, Ranma?"

Ranma pointed down to a spot of blood on Akane's blouse.

"The cut is bleeding again, Akane. It must be worse than I thought.
I'd better change the bandage."

"I didn't even notice it. It doesn't hurt."

Akane looked down again and blushed. Ranma was seeing more of her
tonight than she was used to revealing. Ranma could see her embarrassment,
and tried to finish what he was doing as quickly as possible. He found it
amusing that Akane buttoned her blouse as quickly as she could once the
bandage had been replaced, but didn't tease her about it. Why was she
embarrassed now, when she had nothing on at all in the shower room?

"Are you okay, Akane? Kodachi didn't do any other damage, did she?"

"I'm fine, Ranma, truly. Don't worry."

Ranma looked relieved, and pulled Akane into his arms, holding her
tight.

"I'm glad I was with you tonight, even if you did end up doing all the
fighting by yourself."

Akane pulled Ranma's face down to hers and kissed him, then got up and
started toward the door.

"We'd better go back into the kitchen, love. Mishi still looked
awfully confused."

Mishi was still holding P-Chan when the pair came back in, and sat down
at the table.

"Are you all right, Akane?"

"I'll be okay, Mishi. It's just a little cut."

"That's good, Akane. Ranma, I was thinking, isn't there a medical cure
for your problem? I don't really believe in curses."

Ranma winced, and looked down.

"I'd look into one, but I'm afraid I'd wind up being the subject of
some sort of research project. I don't want to be looked at like a freak.
As it is, some people think I'm a pervert."

Akane cried out in protest, and he smiled at her.

"Not you, Akane. At least I hope not."

Akane's eyes opened wide in surprise, and she turned to her friend.

"Mishi, would you excuse us for a minute?"

"Sure, Akane."

Mishi retreated to the bedroom, and closed the door.

"Ranma, what's the problem?"

"I need to know, Akane. Does my curse still bother you?"

Akane's look softened, and she reached across the table to hold her
fiance's hand.

"It bothered me a lot when I first met you, Ranma, but it doesn't now.
I used to think you were your curse, but I learned to separate you from it.
No matter what you look like on the outside, I know who the person inside
is, and that's who I love."

Akane got up, and sat down in Ranma's lap, nestling against him.

"I wish there was a way to rid ourselves of your girl side, Ranma,
because I prefer you this way, but even if you never get cured, I'll love
you just the same."

Ranma didn't reply, but he held her tighter, resting his cheek against
her hair. They sat there quietly until Mishi returned, holding blankets and
a pillow.

"I'll take the couch, Akane. You and Ranma can have the bedroom."

Akane sat up straight, and it was difficult for Mishi to determine who
was redder--her or Ranma. Akane opened her mouth to speak, but Ranma was
quicker.

"That's okay, Mishi. Akane and I don't .. we haven't. ."

It was Mishi's turn to blush.

"I'm sorry. Me and my big mouth. Since you're getting married soon, I
assumed . . . here, Ranma, you take these. Akane, I'll get the extra futon
out, and you can share my room."

"I'll be there in a minute, Mishi."

Akane helped Ranma unfold the couch. She still hadn't spoken to him,
and he finally put down the blankets, and embraced her.

"I can't blame Mishi for jumping to conclusions, Akane. She probably
doesn't know too many engaged couples who haven't slept together. The
sooner we find a place, the happier I'll be."

Ranma walked Akane to the bedroom door, and kissed her good night.
Akane looked around for P-Chan.

"Have you seen P-Chan, Ranma?"

"I think he followed Mishi into the bedroom."

Akane peeked into the bedroom, and saw Mishi curled up in her futon,
with P-Chan cuddled up to her.

"That's odd, Ranma. P-Chan never slept with anyone other than me at
home."

"Are you jealous, Akane?"

"Not really. After all, I won't want P-Chan sleeping with us."

Ranma bit back what he really wanted to say, and contented himself with
a milder reply.

"That's true, Akane. Three's a crowd."

Chapter 30

In Nerima, Shampoo had also been having an eventful week. Mousse found
out about her visit to Ube, and of Ranma's upcoming marriage, and was even
more convinced that Shampoo was now his. Despite her repeated rejections,
he persisted in his attentions, which only made her
more annoyed at him.

The day after her trip to Ube, Shampoo received a small bouquet of
flowers. The card on the bouquet read only "To Shampoo, From S". Shampoo
looked at the card, perplexed, andslipped it into her pocket. She put the
flowers in water, and left them in her bedroom.

When another bouquet even prettier than the first was delivered the
next day, Mousse got upset.

"Who is sending you flowers, Shampoo?"

"Shampoo does not know, Mousse."

Mousse glared at her, certain there was something Shampoo was not
telling him. He made it a point to be near the door the next day when the
delivery of flowers arrived, as he'd expected. Mousse grabbed the card
before Shampoo could, and read it.

"S ? Who is S?"

"Shampoo told you, Mousse. I don't know."

Mousse suddenly stiffened.

"Saotome. It must be Saotome. But why would he send you flowers?"

Despite Shampoo's protests that the flowers could not be from Ranma,
Mousse continued to believe that they were from him.

*****

P-Chan woke early, and he slipped out of Mishi's arms and crept off the
futon. Akane hadn't closed the door firmly, and he was able to get out of
the bedroom. P-Chan jumped onto the couch, waking Ranma.

"Ryoga? "

"Kwee!"

Ranma glanced at the clock, and realized it was very early.

"Do you want to change back before Akane or Mishi wake up?"

P-Chan nodded, and Ranma started a shower for him, and gave him
something to wear. When Ryoga emerged from the bathroom toweling his hair,
Ranma noticed a large bruise on his cheekbone.

"Did I give you that bruise when I stepped on you, Ryoga? I'm sorry."

Ryoga looked down, and struggled with his words.

"That's okay, Ranma. It was an accident. Did I hear right? You and
Akane are really getting married?"

"Yes, we are."

Ryoga sighed, and looked out the window.

"I should have expected that it would happen one day. It's obvious
that Akane really loves you, Ranma, but you don't deserve her. You'd better
be sure to make her happy, or you'll answer to me."

Ranma flushed. He'd spent so many years perfecting his tough-guy image
that admitting how he felt about Akane to anyone other than her was very
difficult for him. He felt, however, that Ryoga needed to be assured of his
feelings for Akane.

"Ryoga, I do love Akane. I'll take good care of her."

Ryoga looked relieved, and started toward the door.

"I'd better go before she wakes up."

"Where?"

"I don't know. I lost my things last night when I got caught in the
storm."

"Let me help you."

The two left the apartment together, and started down the street.

"Do you recall anything you saw last night, Ryoga?"

"I passed a building with a white clock tower."

"That's campus administration, There's a police box nearby. Maybe
someone turned in your knapsack."

Ranma walked Ryoga to the police box, and he inquired about the missing
knapsack and umbrella. The officer looked amused, and produced them, also
holding up Ryoga's clothing.

"You wouldn't know who belongs to these, would you?"

Ryoga reddened.

"They're mine, sir."

"I won't even ask what happened to you. The tricks students play on
each other get ridiculous sometimes."

Ryoga put his pack on his back, and started walking away.

"Good bye, Ranma. Tell Akane P-Chan needed to go for a walk."

*****

Akane was rather upset with Ranma when he told her that P-Chan was
gone.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. He scratched at the door, and I followed him
out, but he ran away from me."

"That's because he doesn't like you, Ranma. I hope he'll be all
right."

"Don't worry about him, Akane. P-Chan will probably find his own way
home eventually."

*****

Kodachi left the infirmary before anyone was awake, and went back to
her room. Her roommate, Toshi, was surprised to see her.

"Are you all right, Kodachi?"

"There's nothing at all wrong with me. But I don't intend to stay
here. I'm going to transfer to another school."

Toshi managed to hide her delight, and instead pretended to be
concerned.

"But where will you go, Kodachi? I don't understand."

"I'll transfer to my brother's college. But this isn't over. I am a
Kuno, and my family's honor is involved here. Akane Tendo and her fiance
have made me look foolish, and they will pay."

Kodachi pulled her suitcases out of the closet, and started packing.
Toshi shrugged her shoulders, and got ready for the day's classes. She was
looking forward to some peace and quiet.

Chapter 31

Ranma walked Akane to campus, and they separated for class. Akane was
about to walk into her first class when Toshi stopped her.

"Akane, did you hear about Kodachi?"

"Hear what?"

"She's going to transfer to another college. She was already packing,
but it's going to take a day or two to get the transfer approved, so she has
to stay until that happens."

After the initial shock, Akane began to laugh.

"That's wonderful news, Toshi. Ranma will be thrilled when I tell him.
Thanks."

Akane turned to enter the classroom, but Toshi took her arm.

"Akane, if I were you I'd stay wherever you are until Kodachi is out of
the dormitory. She's been muttering something about revenge."

"I'm not afraid of her, Toshi."

"That doesn't surprise me, Akane, but we'd all be a lot happier if
there weren't any more scenes in the dorm like that one last night."

"Okay, Toshi. Just let me know when she's gone."

*****

Ranma was as happy as Akane expected him to be at the news of Kodachi's
decision to leave Sanna College, although he looked rather serious when she
told him of Kodachi's intention to avenge herself on them.

"I don't like the sound of that, Akane. Are you sure you don't want me
to stay with you at Mishi's until Kodachi is gone?"

"No, Ranma. Mishi likes her privacy, and I feel bad enough that I'm
imposing on her."

*****

Mishi had given Akane a key to the apartment, and she let herself in
after work. Mishi was out, and Akane put her things away and walked into
the living room to listen to some music. Ranma was coming to pick up his
belongings, and to take her out for the evening. Mishi's
drawing board was set up in one corner, and she had it covered. Akane had
been there often enough to know that Mishi didn't usually cover her board,
and she wondered why. After a minute, her curiosity got the better of her,
and she decided to peek. Mishi had drawn several
views of a young woman in various kimonos, all very lovely. Akane did a
double take, and looked more closely. The longer she looked, the more
convinced she became that she was the subject of the drawings. Akane was so
busy examining the sketches that she didn't hear Mishi
come home until she spoke.

"What do you think of my designs, Akane?"

Akane jumped, and looked embarrassed.

"They're lovely, Mishi. I think you're going to be very successful."

Mishi took Akane by the shoulders, and turned her back to the board.

"Look again, Akane. You must know that's you."

"I thought it might be. Why are you using me for a model?"

"What you're looking at are my ideas for a wedding present, Akane. If
you'll allow me to, I'd like to make your wedding kimono."

Akane gasped, and Mishi continued.

"There's only one thing I need from you, Akane. "

"Yes ?"

"Your kimono would also be my class project, so I'd need to borrow it
for a few days after it's finished. I want to turn it in to my professor so
that she can grade my work on it."

Akane hugged Mishi, tears in her eyes.

"I can't thank you enough, Mishi. Of course you can borrow it. After
all, you're making it. You don't need to ask."

The doorbell rang then, and when Mishi opened it to find Ranma there,
Akane quickly covered the board before he could see the sketches, and put on
her coat. Ranma retrieved his belongings, and they began the walk to his
dormitory.

Ranma left Akane in the lobby, and ran upstairs to put his things in
his room. He ran downstairs even faster, waving an envelope at his fiancee.

"Akane, it's from the Student Housing Office!"

Akane looked over Ranma's shoulder as he opened the envelope, and began
to read. An apartment had become available, and the office had set up an
appointment for them to see it the following morning.

*****

Ranma took Akane to dinner, and found Shiro asleep when he returned to
the dormitory after dropping her off at Mishi's. Not wanting to disturb his
roommate, Ranma undressed in the dark, trying to be as quiet as possible,
wondering why Shiro was in bed so early.

When Ranma opened his eyes in the morning, Shiro was gone. Ranma
wondered where he'd gone, but was too busy thinking about the apartment he
and Akane were going to see to give the matter any further thought.

*****

Shampoo set the tables at the Nekohanten, and went into the back to get
the window cleaner. When she returned, there was a knock at the door.
Shampoo had been expecting that she'd get another flower delivery, and was
glad that Cologne and Mousse were out at the market.

Shampoo opened the door, expecting the same delivery man she'd had all
week, and was surprised to see a familiar-looking young man holding a
bouquet of flowers. For a second she couldn't place him, and then she
realized that she'd met him at Sanna College. Shampoo tried, but
couldn't remember his name.

"Hello, Shampoo."

Shampoo hesitated, and then smiled, because she'd remembered the name.
It began with S.

"Hello Shiro."

"These are for you. I hope you like them."

Shampoo took the flowers, and opened the door wider so that Shiro could
come in.

"Thank you. Flowers very pretty. The ones you sent pretty too. Why
you send them?"

"You looked so sad when I left you the other day. I would like to see
you smile instead."

Shampoo didn't smile, but stood there looking from the flowers to
Shiro. She couldn't believe that he'd come all the way from Ube to see her,
and that he'd been sending her flowers all week long. She looked at the
clock, and realized that Cologne and Mousse would be back soon.

"Wait here, Shiro."

Shampoo got her coat, led Shiro out of the Nekohanten, and locked the
door behind them.

She started down the street with Shiro, who waited for her to talk. When
Shampoo continued to be silent, Shiro wondered what she was thinking.

"Are you all right, Shampoo?"

After he asked the question, Shiro was sorry he had. There were
shadows under Shampoo's eyes, and she looked behind her, as if afraid of
something.

"Wait please, Shiro."

They quickly left the Nekohanten behind, and Shampoo led Shiro to the
park. They took the path leading around the lake, and Shampoo finally began
speaking.

"No, Shampoo not all right. Great-grandmother and Mousse want to know
where flowers come from. They think "S" is for Saotome."

Shiro hadn't considered that possibility, and apologized to Shampoo.
He then began to draw her out with questions.

Shampoo hadn't intended to confide in Shiro, who was little more than a
stranger, but she found herself telling him all about the pressure she was
under to accept Mousse as a husband, and
her unwillingness to do so. Shiro listened to her talk, and then ventured
another question.

"Have you ever considered living apart from your grandmother, Shampoo?"

Shampoo looked down and kicked at the pebbles on the path.

"No, Shiro. Shampoo only thought of leaving her if married to Ranma. "

She paused and looked up, pain in her expression.

"Ranma happy?"

"Yes, he is. He and Akane are looking for an apartment. "

Shampoo winced, and Shiro stopped walking.

"I'm sorry, Shampoo. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Is okay, Shiro. Shampoo will be all right. Amazon women very strong.
"

They walked a little further, found a bench to sit on, and continued to
talk. Shiro told Shampoo about his family, and his plans to continue the
tradition of growing flowers that his great-grandfather had started.
Shampoo told Shiro of her home in China, and her years in Japan.

They completely lost track of time, and eventually Shampoo jumped up,
looking at the sun.

"Must get back! Time to start cooking."

"Wait, I'll walk you. "

Shiro walked Shampoo to the Nekohanten. It was a quiet walk, because
Shampoo was deep in thought, and Shiro walked beside her, watching the
different expressions that crossed her face.

Shampoo couldn't understand why she had told Shiro so much about
herself. She was not accustomed to confiding in strangers, especially men,
but she felt very comfortable talking to him.

When they arrived at the restaurant Shiro wanted to go in with her, but
Shampoo told him not to.

"Mousse would not like to see me with you, Shiro."

"I don't understand, Shampoo. He doesn't own you. "

"No, but Mousse think he does."

It was too late, however, because Mousse opened the door and came
outside, followed by Cologne.

"Who are you, and why are you talking to Shampoo?"

Shiro was angry, and didn't let the fact that Mousse towered over him
intimidate him.

"My name is Shiro Hayasuka, and it's none of your business who I talk
to!"

Cologne got between them, and shoved Mousse back inside.

"Mousse, go into the kitchen. Young man, come inside. "

Shiro obediently followed Cologne inside the Nekohanten and sat down
with Shampoo beside him.

"I don't know you. How did you meet my great-granddaughter? "

"At Sanna College, ma'am. I'm Ranma's roommate."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see Shampoo. I was worried about her."

Cologne raised her eyebrows and looked at her granddaughter, but
couldn't read her reaction to the statement.

"Shampoo is just fine. She doesn't need help from you. I want you to
go back to Ube, and forget about Shampoo. We have our own ways and
traditions, and you are not part of them."

"Isn't it up to Shampoo to make that decision, ma'am? With all due
respect, she is a grown woman, and should determine her own life."

Cologne rose, and Shiro sensed a power in her, one that could be
dangerous.

"Go. You are not welcome here."

Shiro's eyes met Shampoo's, and she nodded. He got up, and walked to
the door.

Shampoo also rose, and began to follow.

"Where are you going, Shampoo?"

"To say good bye. Is only polite."

Shampoo followed Shiro outside, and smiled at him sadly.

"Am sorry, Shiro. Grandmother very old-fashioned."

"Does that mean you're going to listen to her?"

"No. Then would have to marry Mousse. Shampoo would like to be
Shiro's friend. Will find a way to see you again."

"Only a friend, Shampoo?"

Shampoo looked at her feet.

"For now. Is all right with you?"

She looked up shyly, and Shiro smiled--she was too adorable to say no
to.

"All right, Shampoo. Now get inside before you get in trouble."

To be continued

Comments? Send to kara...@snet.net

"A Change of Scene" Part 7 - chapters 32-38
Earlier chapters located at http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

1998, June "KaraOhki" Geraci (kara...@snet.net)
The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the creations of Rumiko
Takahashi, and
borrowed without her permission. This story was written for non-commercial
purposes only.

Chapter 32

Ranma and Akane walked up the porch steps of a three story house just
off campus. Akane looked at the house, and felt doubtful.

"Are you sure this is the right address, Ranma? This looks much too
nice."

Ranma handed her the letter.

"This is it, Akane."

Akane rang the bell on the porch, and they smiled at the older woman
who came to the door.

"We're here to see the apartment, ma'am. My name is Ranma Saotome, and
this is my fiancee, Akane Tendo."

"Come in, come in. The apartment is on the third floor. My husband
converted the attic into rooms many years ago, and students have been
renting it ever since."

They followed her up the stairs, and she unlocked the door and let them
go in first. It was easy to tell the place had been an attic, for it still
had slanted ceilings, some of which Ranma had to duck under as they walked
through. The apartment consisted of a large kitchen, a small bedroom, and
bath. There were a table and chairs in the kitchen in addition to the
appliances, and a small bureau in the very tiny bedroom. The furniture was
worn from many years of students living there, but it would do. They did
notice that there was some damage to the walls, and that some of the tatamis
needed replacing. The woman noticed where they were looking, and nodded.

"I'll replace the mats, of course, and if you're willing to do the
painting yourselves, I'll pay for the paint. I made a mistake with my last
tenants."

"What do you mean, ma'am?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I am Mrs. Takai. I've always
rented these rooms to married couples referred by student housing, but I
made the mistake of renting to people the college didn't send. You can see
the damage they did, and the downstairs neighbor was always complaining
about the noise. From now on, I'll stick with the young people the college
sends me. They've always been quiet, well-behaved couples."

Ranma could see without asking that Akane wanted the rooms. He did
too, but couldn't help wondering if they would be able to live up to Mrs.
Takai's expectations, since neither he or Akane had been particularly quiet
or well-behaved. He pushed the thought aside, and within a few minutes Mrs.
Takai was on her way downstairs to get them each a key.

While she was downstairs, Ranma walked Akane to the window to enjoy the
view.

"It's not very fancy, Akane, but I like this place."

*****

Ranma pointed to the shop window, and turned to Akane.

"What do you think of that one, Akane? I think it's the perfect size
for our bedroom."

Akane looked at the futon, and nodded.

"I think you're right, Ranma. So you prefer a futon to a bed?"

"Do you want to drag a bed up two flights of stairs?"

Akane's response was to take Ranma's arm and pull him into the store.
They didn't have a problem choosing a futon, but choosing a covering for it
and curtains to match was a different story, and they had to learn rather
quickly to compromise, especially after the argument they nearly started had
the salesman quivering at the other end of the store. After picking
everything else they needed and arranging delivery, the couple found a place
to have lunch.

"Akane, do you have paper in your bag?"

"Yes, right here."

"Okay, we need to make a list of everything else we need to do."

They sat together making the list, and then reviewed it.

"Akane, it looks like we can be ready by the time we break for the
holidays. We can get married when we get home, right before the new year."

Akane looked troubled, and Ranma wondered what she was thinking when
she didn't reply. Finally, she sighed.

"No, Ranma. I don't want to get married at home. Someone will find a
way to interfere with us again. Can't we find a way to get our folks up
here?"

"Akane! You're getting paranoid about this! If we tell my mother and
Kasumi what we're planning, and let them make very simple arrangements at
home, it will work out."

"Then we can't tell Daddy, Ranma. He'd want to make a fuss."

"So would Pop, sweetheart. We'll keep it a secret a little longer, but
eventually, we will have to tell them."

*****

Ranma had lost track of time, and left Akane at the restaurant door to
go to work. Akane stopped off at the dormitory for her mail, which included
a letter from Kasumi, and returned to Mishi's apartment. Before she could
change her mind, Akane sat down and answered her sister's letter, telling
her about her wedding plans.

Ranma got back to the dormitory late, and found Shiro studying. Shiro
greeted Ranma quietly, and listened while Ranma told him about the rooms he
and Akane had found, and their plans. Ranma could see that something was on
his roommate's mind, and waited for him to speak
up.

"Ranma, I need a favor from you."

"What's up, Shiro?"

"I went to see Shampoo today, and her great-grandmother threw me out.
She doesn't want me to see her."

Ranma's eyes widened, and he sat down quickly.

"Whoa! Back up a minute. You went all the way to Nerima?"

"Yes."

"And Shampoo wants to see you?"

"She said as a friend only, for now. But Ranma, I think she really
needs one. I'd like to write to her, but I can't send letters to the
Nekohanten. Who in Nerima could hand deliver letters for me?"

Ranma had an immediate answer.

"Akane's sister, Kasumi. No one would suspect a thing."

"Why not?"

"Because Kasumi is such a sweet thing that no one would imagine that
she could do something devious."

Shiro saw a hole in Ranma's plan.

"Then wouldn't she say no, Ranma?"

"Kasumi is sweet, but she's also a romantic. I think she'll say yes if
we ask her. You can put your letters to Shampoo into the ones Akane sends
to her sister. We'll talk to her."

Chapter 33

Akane and Mishi sat up late that night, choosing which of Mishi's
designs Akane wanted for her kimono, while Mishi listened to Akane's
concerns about the isdom of having another
wedding at home. Having no idea what had happened the previous year, Mishi
was at a loss to understand why Akane was so worried, but let her friend
talk.

Mishi was sleeping soundly when there was a soft knock on the apartment
door. Akane heard it and quickly left the sofa bed to go to the door.

"Ranma, what are you doing here so early? Mishi is asleep."

"I'm sorry, Akane. There's something I wanted to tell you. Will you
go to breakfast with me?"

Okay, Ranma. Would you fold up the couch while I dress?"

Akane retreated to the bathroom to dress, and soon she and Ranma left
for breakfast. Akane waited until they were served before she asked Ranma
what was on his mind.

"What was so important, Ranma?"

"It's Shiro, Akane. He went all the way to Nerima yesterday to see
Shampoo."

Akane retrieved her dropped chopsticks, and listened wide-eyed as Ranma
told her the rest of the story, and asked her to call Kasumi.

"I think she'll help, Ranma. But you have to admit I was right about
Shiro. He was much more interested in Shampoo than you thought."

"Don't rub it in, Akane."

*****

Kasumi was putting a load of clothes in the washer when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sis. How are you?"

"Akane! I'm fine, dear. Is anything wrong?"

"No, Kasumi.. But you'd better sit down."

Kasumi sat down quickly.

"All right, Akane. Tell me. "

"Ranma and I are getting married."

Akane heard a gasp, and then there were a few moments of complete
silence.

"Father will be so pleased when I tell him."

"No, Kasumi. You mustn't tell Daddy."

"Why not, Akane? He'll want to start planning your wedding. "

"I wrote you a letter, Kasumi. You should get it soon, and then you'll
understand. Let's just say that Ranma and I want to keep things as simple
as possible. But I called because I need
you to do someone a favor."

"Who, Akane?"

"Shampoo."

This time Akane heard a squeak from her sister, and continued before
Kasumi could interrupt.

"Just listen, Sis. Ranma's roommate Shiro is very interested in her,
but Cologne doesn't approve. If I sent you his letters, would you get them
to Shampoo for him?"

Kasumi couldn't speak for a few moments, and then her first comment was
a question, as Akane had anticipated.

"You want me to be a go-between?"

"Right."

Kasumi suddenly laughed.

"I'd love to, Akane. It sounds like fun. I can't believe Shampoo
would be interested in someone other than Ranma, though."

"She knows we're getting married, Sis. Besides, she claims she just
wants Shiro as a friend. I'm not sure whether or not to believe that."

"We'll have to wait and see, Akane. But I want to talk about you and
Ranma. Does his mother know?"

"Not yet. He's going to call her today."

*****

Nodoka hung up the phone and went back to what she was doing, which was
dusting the house. Her hands worked automatically as she went over the
conversation she'd just had with her son. It was about time he and Akane
got married.

Genma walked into the living room, and found his wife smiling broadly
and humming to herself as she dusted.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course I am. Why?"

You don't usually look this happy when you're cleaning the house."

"That's because I don't like cleaning up the fur you shed all over the
place."

*****

"Why did I let you talk me into this, Akane?"

Ranma wobbled onto the ice, and held Akane's hand, trying not to fall
down.

"Just relax, Ranma. You can learn to skate."

"I didn't last time."

Akane looked exasperated.

"That's because all you could think about was beating Sanzenin. This
time it's just us."

After Akane had dragged him around the rink a few times, Ranma felt
confident enough to try a few steps on his own. He traveled a few feet
before falling, and Akane helped him up.

"I don't get it, Ranma. If you can balance on a fence, why can't you
balance on skates?"

Akane had carefully worded her question to sting Ranma in a vulnerable
place - his pride - and he pulled his hands out of hers.

"Just step back, Akane. I'll do it."

Akane leaned on the wall, and watched Ranma concentrate. She knew that
once he'd made up his mind to learn something, nothing would stop him.
Fifteen minutes later, they were skating together, hand in hand.

"I knew you could do it, Ranma."

"Akane, now that I've learned to skate, when will you learn to swim?"

Akane shivered, and refused to meet Ranma's eyes.

"Does it really frighten you that much?"

Akane's response was almost too quiet to be heard.

"Yes . "

"Someday I'll teach you, Akane, and then you won't have to be afraid of
the water."

Akane was spared the task of replying when she heard her name being
called, and turned to see Toshi skating up.

"Kodachi's gone, Akane She left this morning."

Akane smiled at her fiance, and turned back to Toshi.

"That's wonderful, Toshi. I'll move back this afternoon."

Ranma helped Akane carry her belongings back to her dormitory, and she
slept well that night. If she had known that more trouble was on that way,
she wouldn't have closed her eyes.

Chapter 34

Akane climbed the stairs to the apartment, her arms full of packages.

The door was open when Ranma arrived, to find Akane kneeling on the
kitchen counter re-lining the shelves.

"Why did you leave the door open, Akane?"

"I'm trying to air the room out, Ranma."

Ranma sniffed, and wrinkled his nose. "What is that?"

"It's the cleaner I had to use on the cabinets. They looked like no
one's cleaned them in a long time, and I'm not putting my new dishes in a
dirty cabinet."

Ranma looked in the cabinets under the counter and reached for the
cleaner.

"I see what you mean, Akane. I'll take care of these."

Before Ranma could start cleaning, the doorbell rang, and he ran
downstairs to answer it. He came back upstairs a short time later with the
delivery people, who'd brought their futon and the other items they'd
purchased over the weekend. Ranma left everything in the bedroom and went
back to work, only to be interrupted again when the paint Mrs. Takai had
ordered was delivered.

*****

Shiro was in the middle of a letter to Shampoo, and was rather annoyed
when someone started knocking on his door. Whoever was there was pounding
on it as if he meant to break it down. Shiro put down his pen, and opened
the door to find a stranger standing there.

"Where is Saotome?"

"He and Akane are at their apartment."

Shiro watched as the young man looked amazed, and then infuriated. He
grabbed Shiro, and shook him.

"Take me there, now!"

*****

Toshi was on her way out when she noticed a young woman knocking on
Akane's door.

"Akane isn't there. I think she and Ranma are at their place."

"Is this some kind of a joke?"

"No, why should it be?"

The young woman regained her composure.

"Never mind. Can you tell me how to get there?"

*****

Akane opened the box of dishes, and began putting them into the
cabinet. She glanced down at Ranma, but all she could see was the lower half
of him protruding from the cabinet. She smiled, enjoying the view, and went
back to work. Shortly afterward, Ranma emerged from the
cabinet.

"All done, Akane. Do you want the pots and pans in here?"

"Yes, Ranma. I'll help you."

Ranma lifted Akane down from the counter and she turned to the table to
get the pots, but Ranma stopped her.

"I think we need a break, Akane. Did you pick up anything to drink?"

Akane nodded, and pulled two bottles of beer from the refrigerator.
Ranma sat down, and Akane sat in his lap, handing him one of the bottles.

"There are more chairs, Akane."

Akane looked disappointed, and started to get up, but Ranma restrained
her.

"Just kidding, sweetheart."

Akane sipped her beer, glanced at Ranma, and giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Your hair is full of dust, Ranma. It must have been a real mess under
there."

Akane brushed the dust out of Ranma's hair. She began to withdraw her
hand, but changed her mind and put it behind his head, and drew him closer
to kiss him. Ranma took both bottles and put them on the table so that he
could use both arms to hold Akane and kiss her again.
Neither of them heard the footsteps on the stairs, and it wasn't until they
opened their eyes that they realized they weren't alone.

Chapter 35

Kuno and Nabiki stood in the doorway. Nabiki looked utterly amazed,
and Kuno looked furious.

Without asking for permission, Kuno walked in, glaring at Ranma.
Nabiki looked apologetic, and followed him inside. Akane blushed, and
started to get up, but Ranma held her firmly, not allowing her to leave his
lap. Akane stopped struggling, and greeted her sister.

"Nabiki."

"Akane."

Kuno finally got his mouth working, and directed all of his attention
to Ranma.

"What a scene of depravity I have walked in on, Saotome. How could you
take advantage of a young girl's innocence like this!"

Ranma exchanged glances with his fiancee, and sighed. Trust Kuno to
jump to conclusions, as usual.

"Just what do you mean by that remark, Kuno?"

Kuno gestured at the beer.

"Getting her alone up here, and plying her with alcohol. You disgust
me, Saotome, and that's not the only reason."

Kuno looked too furious to continue, and Ranma got impatient with him.

"Do you have something else to say, Kuno?"

"What did you do to my sister, Saotome?"

"I didn't do anything to her, Kuno."

"Don't lie to me. Kodachi arrived in Morioka yesterday, saying that
she was transferring to my college. When I asked her why, she became
hysterical, and said to ask you. What have you done?"

Ranma closed his eyes in exasperation, and opened them again to see
Akane looking at him. There was no need for words between them. Ranma knew
that sooner or later Kodachi would tell her brother what she'd seen, and
felt that it was time for the truth to come out.

"Kuno, please sit down. This may take some explaining. Akane, we'll
need the teakettle."

Akane left Ranma's lap, put the kettle on the stove, and rejoined the
group sitting at the table. Then Ranma began his story.

"Kuno, your sister has been following me all over campus since I
arrived. When I told her I wouldn't go out with her, she threatened Akane."

Kuno looked to Akane for confirmation, and she nodded. He frowned, and
turned his attention back to Ranma.

"The other night, Kodachi attacked Akane, and cut her with her ribbon."

"How do you know?"

"I was there."

Kuno rose from his chair in a fury.

"Don't tell me that you and Akane were. . ."

Akane interrupted.

"No, Kuno."

Kuno sat again, and folded his arms.

"What then, Saotome? I suppose you hit my sister."

"Absolutely not. I don't hit girls. Akane was able to handle your
sister by herself, but Kodachi saw something that upset her, and that's why
she left Sanna College."

Kuno had been following everything Ranma related very closely, but
couldn't understand his last statement.

"What did she see?"

"This . "

Ranma got up, walked to the sink, and ran a glass of cold water. Akane
had guessed what he intended, and was not surprised to see him pour it over
himself, but Nabiki gasped.

Kuno blinked, and then got up. He walked all around Ranma, unable to
believe what he was seeing.

"Pigtailed girl? Saotome, you are the pigtailed girl? No, this is
some sort of an illusion."

Akane picked up the steaming teakettle, and walked to Ranma's side.

"No, Kuno. What you see is real. Watch."

Akane poured the water, and Ranma yelped.

"I'm sorry, honey. Too hot?"

Kuno's mouth fell open when Ranma changed back, and he said nothing.
Nabiki, however, was more interested in what she'd heard her sister call
Ranma, and repeated it.

"Honey?"

Kuno's expression changed, and it was obvious to the girls that Ranma
was in grave danger.

"Saotome, you have deceived me all of these years! You and my
pigtailed girl are one and the same person! How many times did you laugh at
me behind my back? You even allowed me to
tell you that I loved you. You are a monster that does not deserve to
live--I will smite you here and now!"

Akane grabbed Kuno's arm, and made him look at her.

"Please, Kuno, listen to me. Ranma is under a curse--it's not his
fault. Please don't hurt him."

Kuno shook her off impatiently.

"No, Akane. You cannot even consider marrying this pervert. It is bad
enough that he has taken advantage of you, but he is unnatural, a monster!"

He took a step toward Ranma, and stopped. Ranma watched Kuno's
expression change, and wondered what he was thinking. He was prepared to
fight him if necessary, but didn't like to think what the kitchen would look
like afterwards. Then Kuno backed away, looking ill.

"No. I will not dirty my hands on you. This is no place for a member
of the Kuno family. Nabiki, get up. We're leaving."

"No."

"What? "

"I said no."

Kuno looked at Nabiki for a few seconds, and turned his back on her.

"It's obvious to me that the two of you are sick, if you choose to
associate with this, with this thing!"

He left without saying good bye, slamming the door behind him, and they
heard his steps going down the stairs.

Nabiki gasped, and turned pale. Akane quickly went to her side, and
put her arm around her.

*****

Nabiki grabbed Akane's hand, and held it tightly for a few seconds.
Then she took a deep breath, and looked from Akane to Ranma.

"Akane, Ranma, I had to make a choice. I couldn't side with Kuno if it
meant rejecting the two of you."

Akane got her sister a glass of water, placing it into her hands.

"Drink this, Sis. You'll feel better. I'm so sorry Kuno treated you
so badly."

Nabiki sipped her water, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe I'm better off, Akane. Could you imagine my having Kodachi as a
sister-in-law?

Akane smiled. If her sister's sense of humor had survived, she would
be all right.

Ranma hadn't spoken in some time. He'd stood there, and let Kuno abuse
him, and had only listened while Akane defended him. Finally he put his
hand on Nabiki's shoulder.

"Nabiki, thank you for sticking by us. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Ranma, just confused."

"About what?"

Nabiki put down her glass, and directed her eyes to Akane.

"What's this 'honey' business, Akane, and why are the two of you living
together?"

"Excuse me?"

"No excuses, Akane. I heard you. You called Ranma 'honey', and it's
obvious that this apartment belongs to the both of you. How long has this
been going on?

"Since graduation day, Sis. "

"WHAT?"

Akane giggled, and moved closer to Ranma, who put his arm around her.

"You insisted that we were putting on an act, Sis, so we let you think
so, but we're not living here, not yet anyway."

Nabiki looked at Ranma and Akane in amazement.

"I never thought you could fool me like that. But would you explain
the 'not yet', please?"

Ranma sat down next to Nabiki.

"We're getting married at the end of the month."

Nabiki looked hurt.

"And when were you going to tell us?"

"We weren't."

"What? "

Akane hurried to explain.

"Kasumi and Auntie Saotome are making the arrangements at home, Sis.
Can you keep the secret with us?"

"I don't understand why, but I will. I can't say I approve. After
all, Akane, the bigger the wedding, the better the gifts. You'll miss out."

Chapter 36

Shiro stood on the sidewalk, worrying. He'd walked the young man to
Ranma's house, and they had just arrived when a girl came running up behind
them.

"Kuno, wait for me!"

The young man had turned, and looked at her coldly.

"Did you know of this, Nabiki?"

"No, nothing."

The two had gone inside without speaking to Shiro, who remained on the
sidewalk, unwilling to go back to campus. He'd caught the name Kuno, and
realized that Kodachi's brother
had arrived in town. He was also positive that the young woman was a Tendo.
When Kuno came back down and stormed past him, Shiro decided to go up and
see what was going on.

Ranma and Akane were showing Nabiki around the apartment when there was
a knock on the door. Nabiki immediately turned around, looking hopeful.

"Maybe Kuno calmed down and came back."

When Ranma opened the door to find Shiro there, he welcomed him in.

"What are you doing here, Shiro? I thought you had a letter to write."

"I've been downstairs for a while, Ranma. I walked Kuno here."

"Oh. So that's how he found us."

Shiro opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but Ranma stopped him
with a look.

"Shiro, this is Nabiki, Akane's sister. Are you girls hungry?"

Akane nodded.

"I am. What about you, Sis?"

"Me too, Akane. I haven't had anything since Kuno and I had lunch on
the train."

"Come on Shiro, let's go get some takeout."

*****

When they got downstairs, Ranma started talking.

"Sorry to drag you out of there like that, Shiro, but I think Akane
needs some time alone with her sister."

"What happened up there, Ranma? Kuno looked like he was ready to kill
someone."

As they walked, Ranma related the story to Shiro.

*****

"Akane, I still don't get it. Why are you and Ranma planning such a
quiet wedding? Daddy would love to give you a big one, you know that."

"Yes, Nabiki, I know, and that's the problem. You know what happened
last time. Do you think Ranma and I want that kind of trouble?"

Nabiki frowned, remembering the events of the previous year.

"What makes you think it will happen again?"

"I'm just worried it might. The less people that know about it, the
less chance of someone interfering. I tried to talk Ranma into getting
married here in Ube, just the two of us, but he
wouldn't hear of it."

"Why not, Akane?"

"He didn't want to hurt our parents' feelings, and I guess he's right."

Nabiki reached out her hand, and felt her sister's forehead.

"No fever. You must be serious. Akane, when did you start listening
to Ranma? Don't tell me you're going to be one of those obedient little
wives. You wouldn't last a month."

Akane couldn't help laughing.

"Who, me? Trust me, Nabiki, Ranma and I still have our fights. But do
you understand, Sis? I can't bear the thought of going through what
happened last year again. This time, Ranma and I don't intend to be
interfered with."

"I'm not sure, Akane. I think you're making too much of this."

The door opened, and Ranma walked in with Shiro, carrying a couple of
pizzas. Ranma looked at the clock, and then at Nabiki.

"Are you going to stay over at the dorm with Akane, Nabiki? It's a
long ride back."

"I don't think so, Ranma. I can get some sleep on the train. There's
an early morning class I don't want to miss. As it is, Kuno and I skipped
today's classes to come see you."

Nabiki wanted to discuss the wedding, but chose to speak on neutral
subjects as they ate dinner. After cleaning up, they locked the apartment
and went downstairs, where Shiro excused himself.

"I've got to go, Ranma. I want to finish that letter. Good night."

Ranma, Akane and Nabiki started the walk to the train station. Nabiki
didn't wait long to start talking.

"Ranma, I still can't agree with your plans for a small wedding. You
only get married once, and I think you should go all out and have a big
reception."

"Yeah, Nabiki, and then someone would blow it up. Akane could have
been killed last time--doesn't that concern you a little?"

Nabiki was furious at Ranma, and started to yell at him.

"Of course I care, Ranma. Akane is my sister!"

Akane immediately got between them.

"Stop it, you two!"

She turned to Ranma, and took both of his hands.

"Please, Ranma, don't fight with Nabiki."

"Are you taking her side, Akane?"

"Ranma! Just listen, please?"

Ranma restrained himself, and waited to see what Akane would say to her
sister.

"Sis, you're entitled to your opinion, but I'd appreciate it if you
wouldn't try to tell us what to do, Ranma and I looked hard at our options
before we made this decision, and we made it
together. You can't get between us, because we won't let you."

Nabiki was silent, and watched as Ranma, who was still holding her
sister's hands, pulled her close. Her expression softened, and she finally
smiled.

"Okay Sis. You win. Ranma, I'm sorry. But there's one thing I have
to say."

"What's that, Nabiki?"

"You'd better tell Daddy before he finds out same other way, or he'll
be very hurt."

Akane sighed, and looked down at the sidewalk. They'd gone another
block before she replied.

"That's what Ranma says too, Sis. I'll call him soon."

Chapter 37

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief when Nabiki's train pulled out of the
station. Despite her agreement not to interfere in his and Akane's
business, she'd spent much of her visit giving them her opinions.

Ranma had a Sci-Fi club meeting, and talked Akane into accompanying
him. She was tired, and would have preferred Ranma to skip the meeting and
spend some quiet time with her, but he especially wanted to see the episodes
of the X-Files they were going to show. Everyone had settled down, and they
were about to play the tape, when Takashi came in. He too had brought a
guest, and Akane stiffened when she saw Ukyo, and whispered to Ranma.

"I'm sorry we came, Ranma. We had enough of our past haunting us
today."

Takashi introduced Ukyo around, and watched curiously as she and Akane
greeted one another.

"Do you two know each other?"

Ukyo flushed.

"Yes, we went to high school together."

"Then you must know Ranma, too."

Before Ukyo could respond, everyone started to shush them.

"Talk later, the show's going on!"

While they watched the program, Ranma and Akane kept glancing to the
side at Ukyo and Takashi. They seemed intent on watching the program, and
weren't looking back. After a while,
Ranma was too interested in watching the episode to look any more, and
didn't glance over again until they were changing tapes between episodes.
Then he poked Akane.

"Akane, look at them."

Akane glanced over quickly, and then her eyes met Ranma's.

"They 're holding hands, Ranma."

"That's what I wanted you to see, honey."

Afterward, everyone sat around discussing what they'd watched, and
Takashi wandered over to where Ranma and Akane were sitting. He sat down
next to them, making Akane look uncomfortable. After hesitating briefly,
Ukyo quietly joined him. Takashi smiled at Akane, and
gestured at the television.

"What did you think of the program?"

"Strange, I guess, but I liked it."

Another club member sat down with them, to talk to Ranma.

"Who's your guest, Ranma?"

"This is my fiancee, Akane Tendo."

Ranma waited for Ukyo to object, as she usually did, but nothing
happened. In fact, she looked rather unconcerned. Ranma looked at his
watch, and got up.

"We'd better go, it's getting late. Good night."

Takashi also rose, taking Ukyo's hand.

"I'll walk you home, Ukyo."

"You don't have to, Takashi."

Takashi looked at Ukyo, shaking his head.

"It's late, Ukyo, and you shouldn't wander around alone. I'll walk
you."

They all went out the door together, and then the two couples
separated.

"Ranma, Takashi is awfully possessive, isn't he?"

"I'd say so, Akane, considering they just met the day we were all
running at the track."

"How do you know that?"

"I heard him say so to Ichiro."

*****

Ranma and Akane met the next morning to practice, but this time they
met on the soccer field instead of the gym. Akane had nearly perfected the
technique Ranma was teaching her, and
an outdoor practice area was needed. It wasn't light out yet when they met,
and some time later the students in nearby dormitories were awakened by a
flash of light and the sound of a small
explosion.

"Akane, you did it!"

Akane looked at her hands, and at Ranma.

"I'm glad you weren't in the way, Ranma. How could you think I'd use
something like that on you?"

"How can you ask, Akane? The way we used to get along?"

Akane laughed, and linked arms with her fiance, walking toward the
cafeteria.

"I suppose you're right."

Ranma stopped walking to kiss Akane, and then pulled an envelope from
his pocket.

"Would you get this to Kasumi, please?"

"For Shampoo?"

"Yes."

Akane looked at the letter curiously.

"I wonder what it's about."

"That's none of our business, Akane."

Akane nodded, and changed the subject.

"You have to work this afternoon, don't you?"

"Yes, why?"

"So do I. I guess we won't be able to start painting until Thursday."

Ranma looked confused.

"What's wrong with tomorrow evening, Akane? We're both off."

"I have rehearsal."

"Damn, I forgot. Maybe I'll go up to the apartment and get started
without you."

"You don't mind?"

Ranma stopped walking, and Akane could see that he was little bit
disturbed.

"Why should I mind? Don't be uncute, Akane."

*****

Ranma finished going over his notes from the day's classes, and got up
to put on his jacket. Shiro looked up from his studying.

"Where are you going, Ranma?"

"To work."

"Oh, it's a work night? I thought you might be going to your place,
and I wanted to come along."

"Why, Shiro?"

"I noticed that the furniture in your apartment has seen better days.
I wanted to see what kind of wood it is."

"Well it is very old, Shiro. What did you have in mind?"

"Refinishing furniture is a hobby of mine. Maybe we can strip it down
and re-stain it."

Ranma raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then smiled at his friend.

"Can you come with me tomorrow, Shiro? I'm going to start painting."

"Sure, I'll help."

Chapter 38

Akane sat at the kitchen table, studying. She heard footsteps on the
stairs, and moments later Ranma entered the apartment. He kissed Akane, put
his books on the table, and looked at the stove.

"You made dinner? I thought we were getting takeout."

"My last class was canceled, so I had time to cook. It's one of the
meals we learned in class, so it should be okay."

Ranma looked skeptical, until he spotted the checklist on the counter.

"If you used this, it should be non-toxic."

Akane made a face at Ranma, then laughed and changed the subject.

"How did you get so much done last night, Ranma? I can't believe you
painted the bathroom and the bedroom all by yourself."

"I didn't, Akane. Shiro helped me."

"Oh, I see."

Akane got up, and pulled Ranma into the bedroom.

"I wanted you to look at the bureau, Ranma. Do you remember these
scrape marks being here before? Some of the paint is gone."

"Shiro did that, Akane. He's going to re-finish the furniture for us."

"But Ranma, he's already doing too much. He told me he wants to give
us our flowers, and he helped paint. I feel like we're taking advantage of
him."

Ranma held up both hands, and shrugged.

"I tried to tell him that last night, but Shiro said it would be fun.
Working with wood is his hobby. When his sister got married, Shiro made her
kitchen set as a gift."

They walked back into the kitchen to set the table for dinner, and
Ranma spotted something he'd missed before.

"The telephone's here! Now you can call your father."

Akane hesitated, and started to take the dishes out of the cupboard.

"After dinner."

Ranma took the dishes from her, and pushed her toward the phone.

"Now, Akane."

*****

Akane hung up the phone, and reached for her purse. She took out a
bottle of Tylenol, and opened it.

"I should have known, Ranma. All Daddy can talk about is how his
little girl deserves the best wedding he can give her."

"But Akane, I heard you tell him that Mom and Kasumi have everything
under control?"

"Yes, Ranma, but he asked Kasumi for a copy of the guest list, and you
should have heard him when he read it. It sounds like he wants to invite at
least three times as many people as we planned."

"Well, don't worry about it, sweetheart. This time we won't allow
anyone to interfere. Hand me the phone, would you? I have to call Pop."

Ranma ate quietly for a few minutes, while Akane watched him anxiously.

"What's wrong, Ranma? Don't you like it?"

Ranma looked blank for a second, and then looked down at his plate.

"It's not the dinner, Akane--you did a great job. It's Pop. He said
he was going to call your father and help with the plans. He was annoyed
with Mom and Kasumi for not telling them. I don't think either of them will
listen to us."

"Then I'm glad we waited so long to tell them, Ranma. How much can
they accomplish in just two weeks?"

*****

Shampoo was feeling rather down. She hadn't heard from Shiro, and
despite her statement that she would find a way to see him, hadn't thought
of how to do so. She sighed, looked out the window, and realized someone
was looking in. Kasumi smiled at Shampoo, and
by a tilt of her head made it plain that she wanted Shampoo to come outside.

Shampoo didn't want her great-grandmother to know she was going
outside, and left without her coat, shivering a little in the cold.

"Hello, Kasumi. You looking for me?"

Kasumi looked a little nervous, but still smiled.

"Yes, Shampoo. This is for you."

She produced an envelope from her purse, which Shampoo quickly tucked
into her apron pocket.

"From Shiro?"

"Yes."

Shampoo's eyes shone.

"Thank you, Kasumi. How you get it?"

"Akane sent it, dear."

Shampoo's look indicated how amazed she was, and then the pain she
thought she'd conquered returned. It wasn't as devastating as it had been a
few days ago, but it still hurt.

"Shampoo go in now. Tell Akane thank you."

Shampoo had to wait until she could get up to her room to read the
letter from Shiro. It was a short, casual letter, bringing her up to date
on what he was up to. Shiro wasn't pushing
anything further than friendship, which surprised her. Except for Ranma,
who had never shown her anything but disinterest, most of the men she'd met
were very aggressive, like Mousse. The
fact that Shiro was showing respect for her desire for friendship only
surprised her a great deal.

Shiro wrote of Ranma and Akane's success in finding a place to live,
and their wedding plans. Shampoo was surprised that he'd done so, and felt
a rush of gratitude. It was good of
Shiro to tell her rather than allow her to find out through rumor, which
would be more painful.

Shiro concluded his letter expressing concern for her well-being, and
asking her to write him back.

Friday morning, Shiro got a letter from Shampoo. She thanked him for
writing to her, and assured him that she was well, despite having to put up
with Mousse's unwelcome attention.
Then she surprised him.

"Shiro, Shampoo have Saturday off. Am going into city, to visit
aquarium. If Shiro can meet Shampoo there, would like that very much. Will
be there at 10:00."

Shiro re-read the last paragraph of the letter several times. He'd
have to get up very early to get into Tokyo for 10 a.m., but there was no
way he would disappoint Shampoo.

- - - - - - -

To be continued

Comments? send to kara...@snet.net

For earlier sections of this story, see the library
at http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

"A Change of Scene"
1998, June "KaraOhki" Geraci

Part 8 - chapters 39-43

More chapters can be found at http:www/fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228
comments to kara...@snet.net

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 39

Shampoo sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair. There was a knock on
her door, and she turned around.

"Yes?"

"It's Mousse, may I come in?"

Mousse entered before Shampoo could reply, which drew a frown from her. He
ignored it, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Shampoo ducked, and got up
quickly.

"What you want, Mousse?"

"Cologne said you were going into the city. Why?"

Shampoo shrugged.

"Is day off. Going shopping."

Shampoo picked up her purse, walked past Mousse, and went downstairs.
Mousse looked less than pleased. Shampoo's behavior was much too
independent. When she became his wife, that would be the first thing to
change.

*****

It was nearly 10:00, and Shampoo sighed. She'd been sitting on a bench in
the lobby of the aquarium for quite some time, and had concluded that Shiro
was not coming. She was on her
way to the ticket line when he ran inside, somewhat out of breath.

"Shampoo!"

Shampoo smiled, and held out both hands for Shiro's. He squeezed them, and
then continued to hold one as they got into line with the rest of the crowd.

Shampoo and Shiro spoke on neutral subjects as they toured the aquarium, but
finally Shampoo's curiosity got the better of her.

"Your letter say Ranma getting married, Shiro. When?"

Shiro looked down at Shampoo. She was waiting anxiously for his answer,
twisting her hands together.

"Next Saturday."

"Shampoo must go to wedding."

"Why? Are you going to cause trouble?"

Shampoo shook her head violently.

"No, Shiro. Shampoo must...must see for herself that Ranma is happy."

Shiro took Shampoo's arm and continued walking. Shampoo gazed blankly at
the tanks as she passed them, too preoccupied to notice what was in them.
Shiro guided her to a bench, and they sat down.

"Shampoo, you can come as my guest if you want to, but won't it hurt you too
much?

Shampoo smiled weakly as she replied.

"Not if you hold my hand."

*****

Shiro was not the only one to leave the dormitory early Saturday morning.
Ranma met Akane at the soccer field again, and there was another flash and
another explosion, a slightly louder one.

Ranma smiled proudly at Akane, and started walking her toward the cafeteria.

"No doubt about it, Akane. You've got it."

Akane smiled back, and then looked rather solemn.

"I hope it's never necessary to use it."

*****

Ranma and Akane spent the morning at the apartment, where they finished the
last of the
painting, and then Ranma accompanied Akane to the theater for rehearsal.

Ranma was watching from the wings when he overheard a conversation between
two of the set painters, who were spending more time watching the rehearsal
than painting.

"You really think Anne is pretty? I suppose she's all right, but blondes
just don't interest me. Give me dark hair and brown eyes any time."

"You prefer dark-haired girls? In that case, the prettiest would be Akane
and Mishi - who do you like better?"

"They're so different, it's hard to say. Mishi has those fantastic long
legs, but Akane is so cute, with those big brown eyes."

The painters reluctantly tore their eyes away from the girls and went back
to work while Ranma laughed silently. Since the day he'd met Akane, she'd
always had more admirers than he could count. He wondered if she knew she'd
picked up another one.

*****

Shiro and Shampoo had lunch together, and a small argument when Shiro
insisted on paying for the check.

"Amazon woman does not need man to pay for her! Can take care of herself."

When Shiro heard that, he half expected Shampoo to hit him, but he stood his
ground.

"When I go on a date, I pick up the tab!"

"This no date! This . . ."

"Well, Shampoo. What is it?"

Shampoo was still trying to formulate an answer when Shiro snatched the
check and paid the waiter.

Afterwards, they idly strolled the streets, looking through shop windows.

"Are you shopping for something special, Shampoo?"

Shampoo laughed.

"No. Shampoo tell Mousse she going shopping, so must come home with
something."

"In that case, let's try this store."

Shampoo opened the door of the department store they were passing, and waved
Shampoo inside. She wondered what he had in mind, and was surprised when he
took her to the ladies' department and began to look at sweaters.

"I think you should try this one on, Shampoo. The color suits you."

Shampoo couldn't help but agree. If she'd been alone, she would have gone
to that very sweater.

Shampoo entered the dressing room and sat down to think. She didn't know
Shiro very well, and he was showing her a side of himself that he hadn't
before. She'd thought he was just a nice guy, sweet, but not very
assertive. It seemed to her that Shiro was becoming very possessive about
her, and she wondered why she liked it. When Mousse was possessive, it
bothered her.

Five minutes later, Shampoo came out, modeling the sweater.

"It's perfect, Shampoo. You look great!"

Shampoo smiled, and went back to change. When she saw the price tag on the
sweater, she folded it carefully, ready to put it back on the shelf. It was
much too expensive. When Shiro took it from her hands and paid for it, she
made a weak sound of protest, and Shiro narrowed his eyes.

"Don't even try to argue with me. I'm not listening."

Shampoo didn't argue, and soon was back out on the sidewalk with Shiro, one
hand holding his, and the other holding the package.

Chapter 40

Mishi unfolded Akane's kimono and held it up. It was silk, in a soft yellow
shade. Mishi had hand painted it with cranes and flowers, and then added
embroidery and beadwork.

Akane took the kimono from her friend's hands, and caught her breath.
Something this lovely would have been expensive beyond belief if she'd going
shopping for it.

"What did your professor say, Mishi?"

Mishi's smile grew wider.

"She loved it, Akane. There's going to be an exhibition in Tokyo after the
holidays, and she wants me to display it. I told her I'd have to check with
you."

Akane put the kimono down and hugged Mishi.

"I'll bring it to you when we get back from our honeymoon, Mishi. Is it
going to be an
exhibition only, or a competition?"

"Both, I think, but I won't win anything."

"Yes you will."

Akane tried the kimono on, and turned in front of the mirror, looking at
herself from all angles. It was a perfect fit, and needed no adjustments.

"Mishi, I can't thank you enough. Won't you reconsider, and come to the
wedding? There's plenty of room in the house for you."

Akane knew before Mishi replied that she hadn't changed her mind.

"I don't go to weddings, Akane."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm never going to get married. I plan to have a career, and a
husband would be in the way."

Akane didn't respond immediately, and looked thoughtful as she took of the
kimono, and
dressed.

"Mishi, not all men would mind a woman having a career. I don't
understand."

"Akane, when I'm inspired I don't eat, I don't sleep, and sometimes I don't
even get out of my pajamas. I just draw. What would a husband say? I know
how my fianceé felt about it, and that's why we broke up."

"Your fiance?"

"Yes. He thought my plans to be a designer were foolish, and he wanted me
to marry him and stay home. He didn't even want me to go to college. If
that's what a husband would be like I'll stay single, thank you."

Akane thought to herself that Mishi's fiance had been hopelessly behind the
times, but she didn't say so aloud

*****

Ranma followed Shiro's instructions very carefully as he applied the stain
to the chair. Shiro worked away at another chair, and Ranma was going to
ask his friend why he was being so quiet when there was a knock on the door.
Ranma got up and let Mrs. Takai in.

"Good morning. I wanted to see what you were doing with the furniture."

Mrs. Takai looked at the pieces that were already stained, and beamed.

"That's lovely. These things are so old I didn't think anything could help
them."

Mrs. Takai brought her hands from behind he back, revealing a plate of
cookies.

"I thought the two of you might need a snack."

*****

"I wonder if Akane could learn how to make these?"

Ranma took another bite of the cookie, and laughed.

"Yeah, right. I must be dreaming."

Shiro didn't respond, and Ranma realized that his friend wasn't listening.

"Shiro, is something on your mind, or are you just tired? You got in kinda
late last night."

Shiro didn't look at his friend when he replied.

"I met Shampoo in Tokyo yesterday, Ranma. She wants to come to the
wedding."

Ranma turned white.

"No, not again!"

"Just listen, Ranma. I remember what you told me about what she did, but I
think this is
different. Shampoo said she needs to see that you're happy. Maybe this
will help her let go."

Ranma looked closely at Shiro, and realized that his friend wasn't telling
him everything.

"You already told her she could come, didn't you?"

"Um, yes, I did. I'm sorry."

"That's all right, Shiro. Shampoo can come as far as I'm concerned, but you
have to help me explain why to Akane. I don't think she's going to be too
thrilled."

Ranma had been right. When Akane came with their lunch and Shiro
apologetically told her what he'd promised Shampoo, she looked very annoyed.
To Ranma's surprise, though, she didn't protest.

Later, they left Shiro still working on the last chair so that Akane could
go to the final rehearsal before the holiday break. Once they'd left the
apartment, Ranma was able to ask Akane about Shampoo's request to come to
their wedding.

"Akane, are you sure you feel all right about having her there? We can
always tell Shiro we changed our minds."

Akane stopped walking, and glared at Ranma.

"I can't believe you're being so nice to her! How can you, Ranma? She's
been nothing but
trouble since we first met her. How many times has she tried to kill me?
Does that Kiss of Death still count? Am I going to have to worry about her
for the rest of my life? I wish she would just go away and leave us alone!"

Ranma put his arms around Akane, and held her close to him. Akane rested
her cheek on his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.

"I don't think you're in any danger from her, Akane, not that you couldn't
defend yourself.
Shampoo is changing. Yeah, she's still an Amazon, but I think living here
so long is beginning to rub off on her. Cologne won't like that. I'm not
trying to be nice to her by letting her come to the wedding, Akane. I'm
doing it for Shiro. Don't be jealous."

Ranma nearly lost his balance from the force of Akane's shove.

"You think I'm jealous? BAKA!"

Ranma grinned.

"That's better. I've got my violent, uncute, tomboy fiancee back. I was
wondering where you'd gone, Akane. You've been too meek and quiet."

Akane's eyes widened in surprise.

"I have?"

"Yeah, you have. Now should we let Shampoo come, or not?"

Ranma picked himself off the sidewalk, rubbing the back of his head. Akane
hadn't malleted him in a long time. She grinned wickedly, and helped him
up.

"She can come, Ranma. Shiro already said yes to her, and I'm sure that
she'd show up even if we said no. At least we know she's coming, so if
she's going to cause trouble we'll be prepared for it."

*****

Rehearsal was over, and Ranma noticed that all the stage hands and the set
builders were
gathered in the wings, as if waiting for something. Then he realized that
Akane and the other cast members had disappeared, and approached Yoshimi.

"Where did everyone go, Yoshimi?"

"Hadn't you heard? The Sailor Scout uniforms are ready, and the girls are
trying them on."

A few minutes later, the girls left the dressing rooms and gathered on the
stage. There was a burst of applause from everyone assembled, and quite a
few whistles. Then Ranma overheard the student who'd been painting the sets
talking to his friend.

"I've made up my mind. I like Akane best, and I'm going to ask her out
right now."

Ranma started toward him, but the young man had already dashed onto the
stage and up to Akane. Ranma saw him droop, turn around, and walk back to
his friend.

"She's getting married in a few days!"

Ranma looked back toward his fiancee, and realized that she was smiling at
him. He had to admit that Akane looked adorable in the Sailor Mercury
costume, but he still thought the skirt was too short.

*****

Students were beginning to pack up and leave their dorms for the holidays.
Shiro had lent
Ranma his car, and he ran up and down the stairs, loading it with boxes. A
couple of students watched him for a while before stopping him.

"Saotome, are you and Hayasuka moving out of the dorm?"

"No, just me. Akane and I are getting married."

"What, are you crazy?"

Ranma was taken aback, and it showed. When he didn't speak, his friend
continued.

"How old are the both of you?"

"I just turned nineteen, and Akane will be nineteen in a couple of months.
Why?"

"You're too young to tie yourselves down like that. Don't you want to have
some excitement first? You should take time to travel, to see things, to do
things."

Ranma thought back over the past two years, and tried not to laugh, but how
could they know? His friends would never believe him if he told them about
his trips to China, or of the dragon he and Akane had faced, or any of the
other adventures they'd had. He just grinned at them before grabbing a few
more boxes.

"Believe me, I haven't missed out on anything."

When Ranma finished transporting his boxes, he drove to Akane's dormitory
for hers. She
helped him carry them downstairs, and then went back up for a large box
containing several gift-wrapped packages. He looked at it curiously as he
placed it in the car.

"What's this, Akane?"

"Some of the girls threw a little surprise party for me last night. They
made me promise not to open the boxes until we were together."

*****

The kitchen furniture was not completely dry when they arrived at the
apartment, so Ranma and Akane
piled the counter and floor with boxes and spent the next couple of hours
putting everything in its place. They were hungry when they were finished,
but decided to open the box of gifts before they went out. They put the box
between them on the futon, and began removing gifts from it.

The girls had given them practical, pretty things for their home,
accompanied by little notes wishing them happiness. Ranma picked up one of
the boxes, started to pull at the bow, and then noticed a note on it -
"please open last". He put it down and opened something else, but kept
finding his eyes drawn back to the note.

"Who gave us that one, Akane?"

"It was from the whole group, Ranma. It's really light - I wonder what's
inside."

When the mysterious box was the only one unopened, Ranma eagerly pulled off
the ribbon and paper, and lifted the lid. He started to remove the tissue
paper, stopped, and handed the box to Akane.

"This is definitely for you, Akane. Take a look."

Akane looked into the blush and blushed. She lifted the nightgown out of
the box and unfolded it. It was midnight blue, trimmed with ribbons and
lace.

"Hold it up so I can see it better, Akane."

Akane grinned mischievously at Ranma, re-folded the nightgown, and returned
it to the box.

"Nope. You can see it Saturday night."

Ranma looked disappointed for a second, and then his grin matched Akane's.
He got up, held out his hand for hers, and they walked through their two
little rooms, looking at the results of all their hard work.

"What do you think, Akane?"

"I think it looks like home."

Chapter 41

After their families stopped hugging them, Ranma was able to introduce Shiro
to everyone, and they all sat down to dinner. Akane expected the wedding to
be the main topic of conversation, but Genma and Soun had other ideas.

"Akane, it will be so good to have you home again. I've missed my little
girl so much."

"Daddy?"

"Son, I've written up some ad copy to put in the paper. I want you to look
at it."

"Ad copy, Pop?"

"For your classes, Ranma. We've got to start getting students in."

It took a few seconds for what their parents were saying to register, and
the couple looked at each other in shock.

"What makes you think we're staying home to teach, Pop?"

The stuttering coming from Genma told Ranma that his father didn't really
have an answer.
Akane could see her father looking just as embarrassed, and took advantage
of the silence to speak.

"Daddy, we're not going to quit school just because we're getting married.
Taking over the dojo can wait."

Soun didn't respond, but Ranma's sharp ears caught what he muttered to
Genma.

"I told you that wouldn't work, Saotome."

Akane caught the words too, and felt it necessary to change the subject.

"How many people are coming tomorrow, Daddy?"

Soun got up and took a guest list from a nearby table, handing it to Akane.
She and Ranma read it together, and Akane's surprise showed. Very few
people had been added to the list she and Ranma had originally written.

"Daddy! Thank you! I'm so glad you listened to us, and kept things small."

Soun walked out of the room, muttering to himself. All Akane could catch
were the words "damn cowards". She started to speak, but Kasumi caught her
eye, and frowned. Then Nodoka held her finger to her lips. Genma soon
followed Soun, and Kasumi waited until she could no longer hear his
footsteps before she spoke.

"That's not what they wanted, Akane. Father invited nearly everyone he did
last time - except Kodachi, Kuno and Shampoo, of course - but almost
everyone refused to come."

"Why?"

Nodoka responded.

"What do you think, dear? They remember what happened last year. Some of
your friends' parents even said they would be risking the safety of their
children if they allowed them to come. If I were you, I wouldn't mention it
again."

Ranma nodded at his mother, and reviewed the list again.

"We got what we wanted, Akane, but it's too bad that it upset your father.
I wonder what Pop said."

Kasumi flushed.

"I can't even repeat it Ranma."

Nabiki laughed, and winked at him.

"I can. Do you want me to?"

"No thanks."

Nodoka looked at Nabiki, shocked.

"Nabiki! A young lady shouldn't use such language."

Nabiki just laughed, and rolled her eyes.

*****

Kasumi had been quietly observing Shiro, who hadn't spoken much. He seemed
overwhelmed by the conversation in the room. Ranma had warned him that it
might be odd, but this was more than he expected. She could see that he was
uncomfortable, and gently drew him into conversation. Kasumi was curious to
see what kind of man had the ability to attract Shampoo away from Ranma, and
found that she liked him.

After a while, everyone started to drift upstairs to bed. When Ranma stood
up, Kasumi saw him smile at Akane, and make a familiar gesture. She
frowned, and reached up to take his hand.

"No rooftop tonight, Ranma."

"What?"

"I said, no rooftop tonight. We had some snow a few days ago, and I'm sure
it's slippery up there. Besides, it's too cold out."

Ranma looked at Akane's surprised expression, which mirrored his own, and
started laughing.

"How long have you known about this, Kasumi?"

"From the beginning, Ranma."

"Kasumi, is there anything that goes on in this house that you don't know
about?"

"Not much."

Ranma laughed all the way up the stairs as he walked Akane to her room.

"Your sister had me fooled, Akane. There's more going on behind that quiet
front she puts on than we know."

"She surprised me too, Ranma."

Akane put her arms around her fiance, and leaned into his embrace.

"I wish it was tomorrow night, Ranma."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow, Akane?"

"Just a little."

"Don't worry. We won't let anything go wrong."

Akane nodded, entered her room, and closed the door. Ranma stood there for
a few seconds, and entered his own room. He reached into his pocket, pulled
out a letter, and sat down on the futon. For what felt like the hundredth
time, Ranma re-read the letter.

"You will not find the happiness you seek with Akane. I
will not permit you to marry her."

The letter was unsigned, but the postmark read "Morioka". Ranma re-folded
the letter, and placed it in his bureau. What did Kuno have in mind?

Akane sat in bed, reading the letter she'd received from Kuno again. She
started to get up so that she could show it to Ranma, but forced herself to
stay where she was. At least one of them should be able to sleep tonight.
Akane turned off the lamp and settled down, but Kuno's words kept coming
back to her.

"I will not allow you to ruin your life by marrying that man."

Chapter 42

Ranma finished dressing, and left his room. He walked toward Akane's room
to see if she was up, but Kasumi appeared in front of him, carrying a
covered tray.

"Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs, Ranma."

"Great. I'll get Akane."

Kasumi stood in front of Akane's closed door.

"No, Ranma. Akane is getting breakfast in bed, and you can't see her."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't see your bride before the wedding, it's bad luck."

Ranma laughed, and reached for the doorknob, but Kasumi slapped his hand,
and nearly lost control of the tray she was holding. Ranma steadied it for
her, but she wouldn't get out of the way.

"Kasumi, you know Akane and I don't believe in that nonsense! Now let me
past."

"No, Ranma. Maybe if you hadn't barged into Akane's room last year you'd be
married by now. Now go downstairs."

Ranma opened his mouth to argue with Kasumi, and Akane's voice came from
behind the closed door.

"Don't bother arguing, Ranma. Kasumi won't let me out, and she won't let
you in. I told her it was silly too, but she's not listening."

Ranma sighed, and gave up.

"Okay love, let's humor her."

Peals of laughter came from the other side of the door, and Ranma grinned,
turned, and walked down the stairs. Kasumi watched him go, and went into
Akane's room. Akane took the tray, sipped her tea, and picked at her
breakfast.

"You're hardly eating a thing, Akane. Aren't you hungry?

"No, Sis."

Kasumi sat down on the bed, and looked at her sister closely.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Ranma asked me the same question last night. Yes, I am. I suppose that's
normal."

Akane looked indignant, and continued.

"I don't think Ranma is nervous at all. That's not fair!"

"You wouldn't think Ranma wasn't nervous if you'd just seen him, Akane."

Akane made a face at her sister before replying.

"Yes, but you won't let me."

"Eat your breakfast, Akane."

*****

Shampoo rose early and dressed quietly. She carried her shoes down to the
kitchen, took out something to eat, and left the house. Cologne would not
approve of her attending Ranma's wedding, and Shampoo wasn't about to allow
herself to be stopped.

Shampoo entered the dojo with the caterers, and sat in a corner, watching
them set up. She had a rather long wait ahead of her, but she doubted if
Cologne would think to look for her here.

Cologne was annoyed when she found Shampoo missing. Her great-granddaughter
was probably off somewhere mourning the loss of Ranma.

For her part, she was angry at the entire situation. Shampoo had failed to
gain Ranma as a
husband, and would probably be considered outcast when she returned home.

Cologne had planned to avenge the insult to Shampoo's honor by attacking
Ranma's bride, but now that would not be possible. She clutched the court
order in her hand, cursing Nabiki Tendo.
If she even set foot on the Tendo property, she, Mousse and Shampoo would
end up in prison, and Cologne didn't want to spend any more time in Japan
than was necessary. She had been here long enough.

*****

When Ranma went upstairs to change clothes, he found Kasumi making up the
futon. When he looked again, he realized that it wasn't the one he'd slept
in, but a larger one.

"What's this, Kasumi?"

"It's your bed, Ranma. I moved the old one out."

"But we won't be staying tonight, Kasumi."

Kasumi looked momentarily confused, and then nodded.

"I didn't think you would, Ranma, but Father has the idea that you and Akane
will be spending your honeymoon here, celebrating the holidays with us.
Where are you going?"

"If I didn't tell Akane where, Kasumi, I'm not telling you. The only thing
she knows is that it's somewhere in the mountains."

"I guess Father has been assuming too much, Ranma."

Kasumi kissed Ranma's cheek, causing him to turn bright red.

"You two can take very good care of yourselves, I'm sure. Now it's time for
me to help Akane get dressed."

*****

Kasumi and Nabiki couldn't stop admiring Akane's kimono. They were
disappointed that Mishi hadn't come so they could tell her how lovely it
was. There was a knock on the door, and Nabiki opened it to find Shiro
there. He was already dressed in his kimono, and was carrying a large box.

"Akane's flowers were just delivered, Nabiki. May I come in?"

Shiro opened the box, and handed Akane a bouquet of yellow roses and baby's
breath tied up with yellow ribbons. Shiro didn't say anything at all, but
just stood there admiring Akane, and then he turned and crossed the hall to
Ranma's room. Ranma was dressing, and Shiro began to help him with his
kimono.

"I just brought Akane her flowers, Ranma. Wait 'til you see her - she's
going to stun you."

"That uncute girl? You must be kidding."

Shiro's eyes opened wide, and then Ranma grinned at him.

"Just joking, Shiro. 'Uncute' was my word for describing Akane for a long
time."

"If you say so, Ranma. I would have taken you for an eye examination.
Let's go downstairs."

Chapter 43

The Saotomes arrived at the house, and Ranma encountered his mother as she
was coming up the stairs. She took both of his hands and looked at him,
beaming, and then kissed him.

"You look so manly, Ranma! How is Akane?"

"I don't know, Mom. Kasumi won't let me near her. Why don't you go in and
find out for me."

Ranma continued downstairs to join his father, and Nodoka entered Akane's
room. Akane was sitting on the bed with her sisters, and she jumped up to
hug Nodoka.

"Mother Saotome!"

Nodoka stopped short momentarily. This was the first time Akane had called
her "Mother", rather than "Auntie". Then she smiled, and kissed Akane.

"How lovely you look, dear. Are you ready to go downstairs?"

"I think so."

"Then I'll go get your father."

*****

Ranma entered the dojo with Shiro and his father. All of the guests had
arrived, and he moved among them, talking and shaking hands. Shampoo
watched from her chair in a corner of the room, and made no attempt to speak
to him. Then Nodoka came in, and sent Soun upstairs for his daughter. Soun
entered Akane's bedroom, and immediately burst into tears.

"You look so much like your mother, Akane."

"Thank you, Daddy. Please don't cry."

Soun calmed himself, tucked Akane's hand into his arm, and with her sisters
walking ahead of her, went toward the dojo.

The uninvited guest found the gates locked, and scaled them. He took out
his sword and
positioned himself in the hallway, waiting for Akane.

*****

Ranma took his place by the table where the priest was seated, waiting for
Akane's arrival. He had been a little nervous when he got downstairs, but
the longer he waited, the worse it became. Ranma wondered what was keeping
Akane, and then he heard raised voices and started for the door at a run.

Soun: "Get out of our way, Kuno! You have no business here."

Akane: "Please, Kuno. Don't do this."

Kasumi and Nabiki ran into the dojo, and nearly crashed into Ranma and Genma
who were running toward them. Nabiki caught her breath, and grabbed Ranma's
arm.

"Kuno is blocking the doorway, Ranma. He won't let Daddy bring Akane in."

Ranma started toward the door, but Genma restrained him.

"Let me, son. It's time I taught that young man a lesson."

Genma let go of Ranma and put his hand on the door, but a flash of blue
passed him and got through first. Genma and Ranma ran after it, and stopped
dead when they entered the hallway.

Shampoo stood before Kuno, ready for battle. Kuno had his wooden sword
raised above his head.

"What do you want with me, Amazon girl?"

"Kuno no interfere! Let Ranma marry Akane."

"This is none of your affair. Ranma will never marry Akane, not while I
have breath in my body! I will not allow it!"

Kuno suddenly dropped his sword, whirled, and faster than anyone could have
anticipated,
shoved Soun aside and tried to embrace Akane.

"Forget that monster, Akane. Marry me instead. I have always loved you."

Akane twisted out of Kuno's grasp, just as Shampoo grabbed him and tossed
him down the hallway.

"Ranma! Take Akane and go. Shampoo will handle this."

Ranma and Soun quickly took Akane by the arms and pulled her into the dojo,
Genma following.
Akane looked back over her shoulder as the dojo doors slid shut to the sight
of Shampoo and Kuno locked in battle.

Ranma let go of Akane's arm, and she quickly straightened her kimono, and
brushed her hair out of her eyes. She was shaking with rage, and tried to
calm herself as her father led her to the table at the end of the dojo,
where she and Ranma seated themselves. Soun kissed his daughter's cheek,
and sat down.

The priest looked at Ranma and Akane, who both seemed rather breathless. He
had been present at the carnage the previous year, and had experienced some
indecision as to whether or not he was willing to try to marry this
particular couple. The priest shrugged his shoulders, and was about to
start the wedding ceremony when the dojo doors fell in. Shampoo and Kuno
rolled through the opening, clawing at one another. Wedding guests ran in
all directions trying to avoid the fight, while Shiro jumped into the center
of it, trying to assist Shampoo.

Ranma was about to lend a hand when the priest suddenly stood up.

"Evidently we're not going to have a wedding here today. Again. If you
plan to try this a third time, don't bother calling me. I won't come."

The priest walked around the debris and out of the dojo. Ranma hesitated
momentarily, and ran after him.

Akane watched in shock as Ranma ran out of the dojo, got up, and started to
follow him. She had to stop to avoid Shiro's flying body as Kuno threw him
aside, and then was bumped from behind. She heard a familiar voice, and
froze.

"Brother dear, it's time to go home."

Kuno was distracted long enough for Shampoo to kick him, and he flew against
the dojo wall. Kodachi walked out from behind Akane, and picked her brother
up.

"I told you, dear brother. Let them marry. Let them marry, and let them be
miserable! Come, I'll take you home."

Akane watched numbly as Kodachi carried her brother from the room. It was
too late. Once more, her wedding was in ruins. Then she heard he father's
voice.

"I'm sorry, Akane. It would seem that this marriage was not meant to be.
Perhaps Saotome and I were wrong to arrange your engagement. You told me
from the start that you didn't want to marry Ranma."

Akane could not believe her ears.

"But Daddy . ."

"No, Akane. Don't say anything. I realize you were trying to please me by
marrying Ranma, but it isn't necessary."

To Soun's surprise, Akane burst into tears and ran out of the dojo.

*****

"Wait, please!"

The priest was walking toward the front door when Ranma ran up to him,
breathing hard.

"What do you want, Ranma?"

"Please come back. We want to have this wedding."

"We?"

"Me and Akane."

The priest raised his eyebrows, and laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone in Nerima knows how little the two of you
wish to marry one another."

"Maybe that was true at one time, but it isn't now."

The priest looked at Ranma's pleading face, and relented.

"All right."

Ranma heard running footsteps, and a moment later Akane had thrown herself
into his arms, weeping.

"I'm sorry, Ranma. I should have shown you the letter. It's all my fault."

"Letter, Akane? Did Kuno write to you?"

Akane's lifted her tearstained face from Ranma's chest."

"How did you know?

"He wrote to me, too. I told your father, and we locked the house up once
everyone had arrived,
but he got in anyway. It's not your fault, sweetheart. It's Kuno's."

Ranma hesitated, and continued.

"But we should have told one another. I guess it wasn't too smart of us to
keep secrets like that."

Akane nodded.

"You're right Ranma."

The unmistakable sounds of utter pandemonium still echoed from the dojo, and
Ranma made a quick decision.

"Please, come with me."

Ranma led Akane and the priest upstairs, and opened his bedroom door.

"Wait for me here, please. I'll be right back."

Akane and the priest sat down, Akane looking more than a little confused.

"What is Ranma doing?"

Ranma returned to the dojo, which was a little quieter than it had been when
he went upstairs. Some of the guests had gone home, Kasumi was trying to
find a way to clean up the mess, and Genma and Soun were in the corner,
arguing fiercely. Ranma retrieved the box containing the wedding rings as
he listened to the argument.

"How could you think of breaking the engagement, Tendo? We made an
agreement, and it should be honored!"

"Face it, Saotome. Our children don't love each other. Why should we
sentence them to a lifetime of misery?"

Ranma left the dojo and met Shiro in the hallway.

"Where are you going, Ranma?"

"Upstairs. To get married."

Shiro nodded.

"Good move, Ranma. There are people in there saying that you shouldn't
marry Akane. Did you hear the arguments?"

"Not really. I was too busy listening to the one Pop was having with
Akane's father."

Ranma looked troubled.

"After all they went through to plan this, I wish there was a way to get
them upstairs."

Shiro grinned.

"I'll do it, Ranma. Besides, you forgot something."

"I did?"

"You'll see."

to be continued

Questions? Comments?
Send to kara...@snet.net

read earlier chapters at http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

"A Change of Scene", part 9 (Chapters 44-46)
by June "KaraOhki" Geraci, July 1998
kara...@snet.net

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Earlier chapters are online at
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

Chapter 44

"Where is Ranma?", Akane thought, as she sat fidgeting on his futon. When
she got up, the
priest looked at her oddly, and held out one hand.

"Miss Tendo, I need to ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Excuse me? I don't understand."

The priest laughed, rather sarcastically.

"Come now, I'm sure you do. You've always made it plain that you don't want
to marry your
fiance. Why are you doing this?"

In the hallway Ranma held his breath, waiting to hear Akane's response.

"I'm marrying Ranma because I have to."

The priest and Ranma both gasped.

"It's not what you think! No one is forcing me. I have to marry Ranma
because I love him too
much to be separated from him."

The priest nodded, smiling.

"That was all I needed to hear, my dear."

Akane smiled back and stepped into the hallway, where Ranma pulled her into
his arms.

"Thank you, Akane. I needed to hear it, too."

Akane blushed bright red.

Footsteps behind them announced Shiro's return. He was carrying a small
tray with cups and a
bottle of sake, and was being trailed by the photographer, whom he had
intercepted on his way
out.

"I told you that you forgot something, Ranma. Don't you need this for the
ceremony?"

"You're right, Shiro. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now I have to see about getting your family up here. But
it think it would be
best if you just got started without them."

The photographer preceded Ranma and Akane into the bedroom, and began to set
up his
equipment.

Akane sat down, arranged her kimono, and picked up her flowers. Ranma
simply stared at her.
Now that they were finally in a quiet place, it seemed to him as if he were
seeing her for the first time that day, and he was overwhelmed. Ranma had
been somewhat nervous before, but it had
been nothing compared to what he was feeling now, and he couldn't help
wondering why this
beautiful girl was marrying him.

Akane saw the admiration in Ranma's eyes, and blushed again. She was
suddenly the victim of
an extreme case of nervousness, and her flowers began to tremble. Ranma had
always had many,
many girls to choose from. Akane couldn't believe that he'd chosen her.

Their eyes locked, and they sat there, just looking at one another. They
may have sat there
forever had not the priest cleared his throat, causing them to look at him.

"I hate to rush you, but we should get this done before someone comes in and
tries to stop us
again."

Ranma nodded, and picked up Akane's hand. Holding it felt so right that his
nervousness
vanished.

Akane stopped shaking when Ranma held her hand, and any fears she'd had
disappeared.

The priest spoke briefly of the importance of their commitment to one
another, and paused when
he heard footsteps on the stairs. Soun and Kasumi entered the room, and
quietly sat down on the
floor, eyes wide. Shiro had told them what was happening upstairs, but
they'd had a hard time
believing him.

The priest decided to wait, and within a few minutes Nabiki came upstairs,
followed by Genma
and Nodoka. There was no more space available on the bedroom floor after
their arrival, so
Shiro sat on the floor in the hallway behind them, with Shampoo beside him.
The priest looked
at Shiro, and raised his eyebrows.

"May we continue, or is there someone else coming?"

"We're all here, sir."

Ranma and Akane looked extremely relieved. The delay had caused their
jitters to return, and
they reached for one another's hands, holding on tightly. At a prompt from
the priest, they began the recitation of their vows.

Akane smiled as Ranma promised to love her, to be faithful to her, and to
take care of her
forever. She knew that Ranma would always call her names, tease her, and
pick fights with her,
but that was part of his love and she accepted it.

Ranma listened with a smile as Akane promised to love him, to be faithful to
him, and to take
care of him forever. He knew that Akane had a quick temper, would often
disagree with him,
and might very well kill him with her cooking, but that was all right with
him as long as they
were together.

They exchanged rings, shared the sake cup, and sighed with sheer relief when
the priest declared
them to be husband and wife. Soun was already sobbing softly when Ranma was
invited to kiss
his bride. Ranma didn't need a second invitation, and soon the room was
filled with sounds of
approval from family members watching what they had never expected to see.

*****

It had taken a little while for the remaining wedding guests to realize that
none of the Tendo or
Saotome families were in the dojo. They huddled together in small groups,
wondering what to
do. Sounds of laughter made them all look toward the broken doors and the
families re-entered,
with the exception of the bride and groom.

Soun made an attempt to speak to everyone, but his tears choked him, and
Genma took over.

"I have an announcement to make. My son and Tendo's daughter were married a
few minutes
ago, and they'll be downstairs soon. Let's get ready to give them a big
welcome!"

*****

After the photographer finished taking a set of portraits, Ranma waited
impatiently while he got
his things together, and hurried to close the door after he went downstairs.
Akane was standing
at the window, and Ranma took her flowers from her hand and tossed them onto
the bed. He
pulled her into his arms and crushed her against him. Akane held him just
as forcefully,
burrowing her way deeper into his embrace.

"We did it, Akane. Despite everything they threw at us, we did it."

"Even Daddy gave up, Ranma."

"He what?"

Akane pulled back, so that she could look into her husband's eyes.

"He told me that our engagement was a mistake, and I didn't have to marry
you. He was wrong,
Ranma. I did have to."

"Then why didn't you pound Kuno, Akane?"

"What?"

"I saw you, Akane. When he grabbed you, you pulled away, and I could tell
you were getting
ready to send him through the roof, but you just stopped. I would have
stepped in if Shampoo
hadn't gotten there first."

Akane laughed.

"You don't know how much I wanted to, Ranma, but I was afraid."

"Not of Kuno!"

"You've got to be kidding! No, I was afraid I'd rip my kimono, and I want
to keep it forever."

Ranma pulled Akane back into his arms, and kissed her.

"It's beautiful, Akane."

Akane ran her hands across Ranma's shoulders, and down his arms.

"You look pretty wonderful yourself. Japanese clothing rather than Chinese,
or Western. I think
I like it."

Ranma's reply was another kiss, which lingered until they were breathless.
Akane slowly
withdrew from Ranma's arms, and retrieved her flowers.

"We'd better go downstairs."

*****

P-Chan shivered. He was cold, wet, and aggravated. Ryoga had been visiting
his parents, and
had stepped outside to get the newspaper when it had begun to rain. Not
wanting his parents to
see his pig side, Ryoga had run off to look for shelter, and become lost.

P-Chan suddenly looked up and realized where he was. Why was it, he
wondered, that whenever
he got lost he ended up here? The Tendo home was before him.

P-Chan ran around the side of the house and was grateful to see that Mr.
Tendo still hadn't fixed
the small hole in the fence that he always used to get in. He squeezed
through, found his way
into the house, and up to Akane's room. He was soon asleep on her bed.

While the piglet slept, the reception went on at the dojo. Music played
while couples whirled
around the floor, and aside from the destroyed doors, no one would have been
able to detect that
the place had been a madhouse earlier.

Shiro danced with Shampoo, and wondered at the faraway look on her face.
She'd been watching
Ranma and Akane dancing, and he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Shampoo watched the smile on Ranma's face as he looked at his wife. She'd
always wanted to
see that particular smile directed at her, and it had never happened. She
tore her eyes from them, and looked at Shiro. It was at that moment that
Shampoo realized the smile she was looking for was there, but on a different
man's face. She smiled back shyly and stopped thinking about
Ranma, at least for a little while.

*****

Soun had been at first amazed, and then overjoyed when he'd witnessed Ranma
and Akane's
marriage. Then doubts began to assail him. He'd said earlier to Genma that
their children didn't love one another, and he wanted his daughter to be
happy. Soun waited for the music to stop, and took Akane aside.

"Akane, are you sure this is what you wanted? Are you happy?"

Akane laughed, and hugged her father.

"Daddy, this is exactly what I wanted! Can't you see that I'm happy?"

"I had to be sure."

Akane returned to Ranma for another dance, and Soun continued to watch them.
He still
harbored some reservations, but they vanished when Ranma stopped dancing
mid- song, picked
Akane up, and kissed her. Oblivious to the fact that they were in the
center of the dance floor,
Akane clung to Ranma, returning his kiss.

"They must love one another, to kiss in public like that."

Genma had crept up beside his friend, and his muttered remark made Soun
jump. Soun nodded,
looking confused.

"But when did that happen? How could we miss it?"

"I don't know, Tendo."

Genma handed Soun a bottle of sake, and a cup.

"Let's drink to our children, Tendo, and to promises kept."

Akane was sitting with her sisters and Ranma's mother when Ranma approached
her and put his
hand on her shoulder.

"Akane, we have to get ready if we're going to make the train."

Akane held out her hands, and Ranma pulled her to her feet. His mother
smiled, and also stood
up.

"Let me help you, dear."

*****

P-Chan woke from his nap. There was certainly a lot of noise coming from
the dojo, but he'd
been too tired to investigate it before. He was about to do so when he
heard footsteps on the
stairs, and faint voices.

"Where will you be going, dear?"

Akane laughed.

"Wherever Ranma takes me, Mother Saotome. He said something about the
mountains, but that's
all he would tell me."

Nodoka thought for a moment, and smiled.

"I think I might know where, Akane."

"Don't tell me, Mom. I don't want to know."

P-Chan stiffened, his thoughts in chaos. Why was Akane calling Mrs. Saotome
"Mom"? Was
she married? P-Chan jumped off the bed and hid underneath it. When he saw
Akane enter it
wearing a wedding kimono, he knew he'd arrived at the worst possible time.

Nodoka helped Akane change out of her kimono, and P-Chan watched. From the
vantage point
he had, all he could see were her ankles, but that was enough to make him
miserable, since he
knew that now those little ankles belonged to someone else. P-Chan wanted
very much to have
Akane hold him just one more time, and was about to come out from under the
bed when Ranma
came in and Nodoka left to call a taxi.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?"

P-Chan peeked out and was sorry that he had, for all he could see was Ranma
kissing Akane.
Akane had her arms wrapped around Ranma, and P-Chan was beginning to wonder
if they would
ever stop when a strange noise distracted all three of them.

"What the heck was that?"

"It sounded like Daddy, Ranma."

Ranma and Akane ran down the stairs, and P-Chan took the opportunity to
leave Akane's room
and the Tendo house. There was no longer any reason for him to be there.

*****

Akane found her father weaving around the living room, weeping. When Akane
approached
him, the weeping became louder.

"Don't go away, Akane."

"Daddy?"

Soun grabbed Ranma, and shook him weakly.

"Why are you taking my little girl away from me, Ranma?"

Ranma supported Soun, who was barely able to stand, and walked him toward
his bedroom.

"Father Tendo, you've been telling me to marry Akane for years. What's the
problem?"

"You can't take my little girl away. I won't let you."

Soun suddenly collapsed, and Ranma had to carry him the rest of the way.
Akane undressed her
father, and put him to bed. By the time she was done, Soun was half awake,
and clinging tightly
to her hand.

"Don't leave me, Akane. My little girl should be with her father."

"Daddy, I'll always be your little girl, but I'm Ranma's wife now. You have
to learn to share me
with him."

Ranma chuckled at Akane's words, and ran upstairs for the suitcases. Akane
sat patiently,
holding her father's hand as he wept. Soun finally drifted off, and his
grip loosened. Akane
gently withdrew her hand, and tiptoed out of her father's room. Ranma was
waiting for her just
outside the bedroom door.

"Your father was really upset, Akane."

Akane giggled, and hugged Ranma.

"Daddy's plastered, Ranma. He won't remember a thing he said when he wakes
up tomorrow."

Ranma had hoped that there wouldn't be any more delays to their departure,
but it wasn't
surprising to him to find Shampoo waiting next to their bags. Shampoo
hadn't spoken to them at
all since the wedding ceremony, but had hovered nearby, watching them
quietly.

For once in her life, Shampoo didn't know what to say. Then the taxi pulled
up outside, and she
knew she didn't have any more time to think about it. She stepped up to
Ranma, touched his
hand lightly, and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. There was an
incredible look of love and
sadness in her eyes when she whispered to him softly:

"Goodbye, Ranma. Be happy."

Shampoo ran back toward the dojo before Ranma could respond.

Akane watched Ranma standing there, hand to his cheek where Shampoo had
kissed him. When
he finally looked down, she couldn't help smiling. Ranma looked as though
he expected her to
clobber him for letting Shampoo kiss him. Instead, what he heard surprised
him.

"Ranma, do you think Shampoo will be all right?"

"I hope so, Akane."

By the time they got to the station, the rain had turned to snow. Akane
leaned back against
Ranma as she watched the lights of Nerima receding.

Chapter 45

Nearly all of the guests had departed, and Shampoo knew she couldn't put off
going home any
longer. She retrieved her coat, put it on, and found Shiro standing beside
her, buttoning his own coat.

"I'll walk you home, Shampoo."

"No, Shiro. Mousse or Great-Grandmother will see you."

"Then I'll walk you most of the way there."

Shampoo couldn't argue with that statement, and said her goodbyes to Kasumi
and Nabiki, the
only members of the family still present.

P-Chan had been wandering the streets in circles. He'd been trying to find
his way to Akari's
house, but had found himself in front of the Tendo home more than once. It
was not where he
wanted to be, and P-Chan felt that even more strongly when Shampoo emerged
from the house in
the company of a young man he didn't know. The moment she saw him, she
scooped him up.

"Ryoga, what you doing here?"

Shiro looked at Shampoo in confusion.

"Why are you calling this pig Ryoga? Isn't he P-Chan, Akane's pet? She
showed me pictures of
him."

Shampoo spoke to the pig instead of Shiro.

"Is ok to trust Shiro, Ryoga. We go back inside."

Shiro was totally mystified when Shampoo ran upstairs to Ranma's room. She
went through his
closet, and found some old clothing he'd left behind.

"What are you doing, Shampoo?"

"No can guess? This not real pig. Please give him bath, Shiro."

Comprehension came into Shiro's face, and he raced downstairs to the bathing
room. Shampoo
followed more slowly, and son Shiro and Ryoga emerged from the bathing room.
Ryoga was red
with anger, and immediately turned on Shampoo.

"How dare you reveal my curse like that! Who is this guy?"

"Is Shampoo's friend, Shiro. He Ranma's roommate."

Ryoga's face fell, and he growled at Shampoo.

"Not anymore, he isn't."

Shampoo lost her temper.

"Ryoga! Why you follow Akane, when Akari loving you? Silly boy."

Shampoo stopped short, hand to her lips. She'd been describing her own
behavior.

After a few uncomfortably silent moments, Ryoga shrugged, and smiled sadly
at Shampoo.

"You have a point. Thank you."

The three left the house, where Shampoo took Ryoga by the shoulders and gave
him a push in the
direction of Akari's house. She doubted that he would find it, but chose to
hope for the best.

Shiro was quiet as they walked toward the Nekohanten, and Shampoo soon
noticed.

"Is Shiro thinking?"

"Yes, Shampoo. I have to ask you something. Does Akane know that P-Chan is
Ryoga?"

"No."

Shiro couldn't believe it.

"What about Ranma?"

"Yes, but he keep secret, like Shampoo."

Shiro couldn't understand why Ranma would keep Ryoga's curse a secret from
Akane. Why on
earth would he want her to keep this young man as a pet? This was something
he'd have to ask
his friend about.

Shampoo stopped short two blocks before the Nekohanten.

"This close enough, Shiro. You go back now."

She paused, and hugged him.

"Thank you for inviting Shampoo to wedding. Shampoo knows now that Ranma
very happy."

"What about you, Shampoo. Are you happy?"

Shampoo thought about it.

"Yes, Shiro. Shampoo happy."

Shiro's response was to gather Shampoo into his arms and kiss her. When he
released her, she
just stood there, looking startled.

"Why Shiro do that?"

"Because it felt right, Shampoo. I'll be in touch."

Shiro quickly turned around and walked away, wondering what was happening to
him. Since his
senior year of high school he'd gone out with many girls, and had never felt
quite this serious
about any of them. He'd intended to stay unattached until he got his
degree, but whether she
knew it or not, Shampoo was causing him to re-think his intentions.

The Nekohanten was dark when Shampoo entered it. Upstairs, there was no
light coming from
Mousse's door, or Cologne's, and she assumed they were both asleep. Then
Shampoo discovered
her great-grandmother sitting on her bed.

"Where have you been, Shampoo? Mousse looked for you all morning. We had
no one to make
deliveries this evening. It cost us a lot of business."

Shampoo replied in Chinese.

"I went to Ranma's wedding, Great-Grandmother."

Cologne's eyes widened. She'd heard that the wedding had actually occurred,
but how could that
be if Shampoo had been present?

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"I helped, Great-Grandmother! He. . . he . . . Ranma loves Akane, not me.
It was the right thing to do."

Cologne opened her mouth to chastise Shampoo, and changed her mind. There
was too much
pain in her great-granddaughter's eyes already. Tradition demanded that
Ranma marry Shampoo,
but for once, Cologne thought that tradition could be overlooked.

"You look tired, Shampoo. We can talk about it in the morning. Will you be
all right?"

Shampoo didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what to think, or what to
feel. The first man
she'd ever loved had just married someone else, and she could honestly wish
him well. She also
had just been kissed by a young man she barely knew, but who had somehow
found a way to slip
through the cracks in her broken heart.

"I'm not sure. I want to go to bed, I think."

Chapter 46

Akane was deep in a dream. She and Ranma were running on the beach, and
even though they
were splashing through the surf, he was not changing. Akane laughed, and
threw herself into
Ranma's arms. She thought he would kiss her, but instead he took her by the
shoulders, and
gently shook her.

"We're here, Akane. Wake up."

Akane rubbed her eyes, and sat up.

"I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Ranma laughed.

"That's ok. I did too."

It was still snowing when they got off the train, but there wasn't much on
the ground because of
the strong winds coming through the mountain pass. They began walking, and
soon could see
the lights of the inn. The door opened as they were walking up the steps,
and a white-haired
woman smiled, and bowed to them.

"Good evening. You must be the Saotomes."

Ranma smiled, and returned the bow.

"Yes, we are. Good evening."

"Please come in. We've been expecting you."

Ranma and Akane put down their bags to take off their coats and shoes, and a
member of the
staff immediately whisked them away.

"I'll show you to your room."

The followed the woman down the hallway, and she stopped and gestured toward
a pair of doors.

"The baths are here. I thought you might want to take advantage of them
while we make your
dinner."

They continued down the hall, where the woman unlocked the door and showed
them into their
room. It was small - the bed seemed to take up all of it - but flames
crackled from the fireplace, and there was a view of the mountains from the
window.

"Bathrobes and towels are there. We'll have dinner for you in about half
and hour."

Ranma thanked her, and closed the door. When he turned back to his wife,
she was smiling at
him the way that caused his pulse to race, and he pulled her into his arms,
holding her close. Too many people had tried to come between them, to
interfere with them, or to harm them. Finally, Akane was his, and they were
alone, and no one could get in the way.

*****

Akane rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, and immersed herself in the tub.
She watched the
light reflecting off the ripples in the water, and relaxed, letting the last
of the day's tension leave her. After everything that had happened at home,
Akane felt that it was almost miraculous that she and Ranma had been able to
come to this quiet place. It had been very difficult for them to let go of
one another to go to the bathing rooms, and Akane at the wall beside her,
knowing that her husband was just on the other side.

Ranma lay back in the hot water, staring at the ceiling. His wedding day
had come close to being
a disaster, and he was relieved that it was over, and he and Akane were
miles away from Nerima.
Ranma felt uncomfortable having Akane out of his sight. He looked at the
wall beside him. The
women's bath was just on the other side.

"Akane, can you hear me?"

"Ranma?"

"I'm getting out now, Akane. I think our dinner should be waiting for us."

"Give me five minutes."

Ranma stood by the door of the women's bathing room, waiting for Akane. She
soon came out,
wrapped up as he was in one of the robes supplied by the inn. Ranma saw the
midnight blue lace
peeping out at the neckline, and smiled.

When they got to their room, they found a maid turning down the bed, and
another setting out
their dinner on a low table by the fireplace.

*****

Ranma poured two cups of wine, and put the dinner tray outside the room,
locking the door.
When he turned around, Akane was standing at the window, holding both cups.
She had
removed her robe, and the firelight reflected off the satin ribbons of her
nightgown.

Ranma joined Akane at the window, where they sipped their wine, looking out
at the mountains.
The snow continued to fall outside, and the wind howled down the mountain
pass. Akane listened
to the howling and shivered, moving closer to Ranma.

"Come sit by the fire, Akane. It's too cold here by the window."

Ranma sat down on the rug before the fire, and pulled Akane into his lap.
They alternated soft
kisses with sips of wine, and gentle caresses.

*****

Two empty wine cups sat on the table, barely visible by the light of the
dying fire. A short
distance away, a puddle of midnight blue silk and lace lay on the floor.

Ranma gazed at Akane as she lay in his arms, eyes closed, wondering if she
was asleep. They'd
been talking quietly, and she had stopped talking, closed her eyes, and
pillowed her cheek on his
chest.

"Akane."

"Mmmmm?"

Akane opened her eyes, lifted her head, and smiled at Ranma.

"I thought you might be asleep."

Akane's expression changed. She looked anxious, and grabbed Ranma's
shoulder.

"I don't want to go to sleep. I'm afraid you'll disappear."

Ranma lifted Akane's hand from his shoulder so that he could kiss her
fingers.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Go to sleep, Akane."

Ranma fought to keep his eyes open until he felt Akane relax into sleep. He
pulled the quilt
higher around her shoulders, and finally allowed himself to close his eyes.
The last thing he was aware of was Akane's hand creeping up to his pigtail,
and taking firm hold of it.

comments welcome
send to kara...@snet.net

for earlier parts, see http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

"A Change of Scene"
August, 1998, June "KaraOhki" Geraci

kara...@snet.net

earlier chapters can be found at
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228

The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Chapter 47

Ranma moved his head and winced. He opened his eyes to discover the source
of his discomfort. Akane was holding onto his pigtail.

Ranma chuckled, remembering Akane's fear of him disappearing while she was
asleep. Was this her way of making sure he stayed put? He gently disengaged
her fingers, and padded into the bathroom. When Ranma returned, Akane was
curled up on her side of the bed, sleeping peacefully. Ranma lay down close
to her, and went back to sleep.

The first thing Ranma saw when he opened his eyes was a pair of brown eyes
looking back at him. He smiled, and reached out to caress her cheek.

"Good morning, Akane. How long have you been up?"

"About a half hour."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't want to, Ranma, I was too busy looking at you."

"Looking at me?"

"You're still here."

Ranma put his arms around Akane, and held her close to him.

"I told you last night, Akane. I'm not going anywhere. Do you believe
that?"

Akane's kiss was all the answer Ranma needed. His senses were filled with
the feel of her bare skin against his, and he knew that he had to speak now,
before he couldn't.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Akane, and I should have
told you that a long time ago."

"Ranma. . ."

Ranma put a finger to Akane's lips.

"Shhhh. Let me finish, Akane. You know I'm not good at this kind of stuff!
I just wanted to tell you how much I love you, and that I'm not going to let
anyone or anything get between us, not ever again."

Ranma concluded his little speech with a passionate kiss, one that left the
both of them breathless. He opened his eyes to see tears on his wife's
cheeks.

"Akane?"

Akane's laugh was a little shaky as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm okay, Ranma."

"Is this that thing about girls crying when they're happy?"

Akane sniffled, and nodded.

"I am happy, Ranma. And I love you too, more than I can say."

An eager look sprang into Ranma's eyes, and he stopped talking.

*****

The sound of the door woke Akane for the second time. She sat up, to see
Ranma putting a tray on the table.

"Breakfast is here, Akane."

Akane looked down at the floor, saw the puddle of midnight blue, and
retrieved her nightgown. She was very aware of Ranma's intent gaze as she
got out of bed, and put it on.

"I think I like this", Akane thought, as she joined Ranma on the floor.

*****

It was mid-morning in Nerima when Soun finally made his way to the
breakfast table. He accepted some aspirin from Kasumi, and she poured him
some tea.

"Did you bring breakfast up to Akane and Ranma, or are they coming down
later?"

"They're not here, Father."

"What do you mean, not here?"

Kasumi poured herself some tea before responding.

"They left last night, Father. Ranma said he was taking Akane up to the
mountains."

Soun looked rather disappointed, but then his expression cleared.

"I guess I can't blame them, Kasumi. After what went on here yesterday, I
wouldn't have wanted to stay, either."

*****

Shampoo put on her coat and boots, and left the Nekohanten. The snow had
finally stopped, and the sun was shining.

Shampoo wiped the tears from her cheeks. The glare of the sun on the snow
was making her eyes water.

"No!", she thought. "I will not lie to myself." Shampoo's eyes were not
tearing, she was still weeping for Ranma. She'd hardly slept the previous
night, one which had been very confusing for her. Shampoo had wanted to
wallow in her misery, to immerse herself in grief, but something kept
getting in the way. That "something" was the memory of Shiro's kiss.

That memory, and the knowledge that someone cared for her, had prevented
Shampoo from being totally desolate. Maybe it was time to try to forget
Ranma, and move on.

Cologne was waiting when she returned.

"Where have you been, Shampoo? You've been wandering off too often."

"Just for a walk, Great-Grandmother."

"Sit down, we have to talk."

Shampoo sat down, and poured herself a cup of tea from the pot Cologne had
waiting for her. Cologne looked rather solemn.

"It's time to decide what our next move is, Shampoo. Do you intend to
reclaim your husband from Akane Tendo?"

Shampoo flinched. Cologne's words were too close to what she had been
thinking about during the night.

"No, Great-Grandmother. She is Akane Saotome now. I . . . I will not
interfere."

"You said last night that you helped them to marry. What were you thinking
of? You gave Akane the Kiss of Death a long time ago, and you should have
followed through on it."

"No! I will let Akane live."

Shampoo's eyes teared up, but she still looked defiant.

"If I hurt Akane, I'll hurt Ranma. I can't do that!"

Cologne rose from her chair, and started toward the kitchen. After three
steps, she turned around.

"All right, Shampoo. If that's what you want, that's how it will be.
Remember, though, that you will be the one who bears the responsibility for
the consequences."

Shampoo picked up her apron and got to work, wondering what those
consequences would be.

*****

Akane stood to one side of the pond, watching Ranma. He had gathered all of
the children that were playing there, and was dragging them in a long line
behind him.

After being snowed in for two days (and the two not minding it in the
least), the weather had finally cleared. The newlyweds had decided to go
for a walk, and had discovered a group of children sliding around on a
frozen pond. Ranma had immediately pulled Akane onto the pond with him, and
joined the children.

At first, the children were rather surprised when they were joined by people
they considered to be "grown-ups", but they soon found that Ranma and Akane
were just two big kids, intent on having fun.

After watching Ranma for a few minutes, Akane removed her camera from her
pocket and began taking pictures of him and the children. He soon stopped
pulling them around, and took the camera from her. Ranma took several
pictures of Akane, and then entrusted the camera to one of the older
children so that they could have pictures of the two of them together.

The children soon tired of racing, and decided to try out another game.
Ranma had his back to them when something hit him. He turned in time to
duck a second snowball aimed right at his face.

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand, and pulled him off the pond. She didn't want to
have to explain to the innkeeper why she was returning with a woman.

"Thanks for playing with us, kids. See you later."

Akane shivered as she spoke, and Ranma put his arm around her.

"Are you cold, Akane?"

"A little."

Ranma changed direction, and started back toward the inn.

"Let's go back, and get warm."

Akane caught Ranma's grin, returned it with one of her own, and walked a
little faster.

*****

Three days later, Ranma and Akane packed their bags. When Akane was done,
she walked to the window to take in one last view of the mountains they'd
been exploring and Ranma joined her, putting his arm around her waist.

"I can't believe how fast the days went, Ranma. I hate to leave."

"We still have a few hours before we have to get to the train, Akane.
There's one more place I want to take you."

They left their bags with the inn's owner, who handed Ranma a small
knapsack, which he put on before taking Akane out of the inn, and up a trail
they hadn't been on before.

*****

Akane looked back down the trail. They'd been climbing for a while, and she
was beginning to worry that they wouldn't be able to get back in time to
catch the train.

"Ranma, where are we going? Haven't we climbed far enough?"

"We're nearly there, Akane. Just up to that stand of trees."

Akane wondered what was so special about that particular group of trees, but
chose to wait and see. Ranma reached them, and took off the knapsack,
resting it on a large boulder.

"Come look, Akane."

Akane joined Ranma by an old tree, and looked where he was pointing. There
were carvings in the bark, and as she examined them more closely she
understood why they had come.

"Your parents, Ranma?"

Ranma kissed Akane's cheek, and removed a knife from his pocket.

"Yes. They spent their honeymoon in these mountains, too. I want our names
up here, next to theirs."

When Ranma had finished with the carving, he and Akane opened the knapsack,
and removed the lunch he'd arranged for with the inn's owner. The pair sat
together on the boulder, quietly eating. Akane looked very thoughtful as
she re-packed the knapsack, and turned around to look at the tree.

"What is it, Akane?"

"Maybe some day our son will come here with his wife to add to the carvings
in the tree."

"I hope so."

Chapter 48

"Shiro?"

"Shiro!"

Shiro jumped, and looked up. His mother was standing beside his worktable,
arms folded, trying to look stern. She couldn't hold the expression long,
however, and smiled fondly at her son.

"Sorry, Mom. You were calling me?"

"Several times. Mai should be here soon. Come get cleaned up."

Shiro reluctantly left his orchids behind, and followed his mother back to
the house. He'd barely finished washing off the dirt and changing his
clothes before his sister arrived, with her husband and baby.

Mai watched Shiro as he sat on the floor, playing with his nephew. Shiro
hadn't said much to her or her husband, but had instead opted to crawl
around with Nojiri. She let him get away with it for a while, and then
picked her son up and handed him to her husband. When Shiro refused to meet
her eyes, she grabbed his arm and dragged him out to one of the greenhouses.

"Okay, Shiro, tell me about her."

"Sis?"

"I've seen that look on your face too many times not to recognize it. Did
you meet her at school?"

"Not exactly, Mai. Shampoo lives in Nerima."

"Shampoo? What kind of name is that?"

"Chinese."

Mai listened carefully as her brother described Shampoo, and explained how
they had met. He deliberately withheld the fact that she was cursed, not
knowing how his sister would handle the information. When he'd finished
talking, Mai grinned at him the way she always did when he told her he was
in love.

"And how long is this obsession going to last, little brother?"

"Forever, I hope."

Mai's grin faded, and she felt her brother's forehead.

"Well, you're not running a fever, so I guess I should take you seriously.
Can you have Shampoo come up to visit?"

"I wish I could, Sis, but her great-grandmother doesn't want me to see her.
We've been corresponding in secret, and meeting when we can. We went to my
roommate's wedding together."

Mai sat down on the nearest bench, and began laughing.

"Shiro, you are well and truly hooked! She must be very special."

"Yes, she is."

Shiro sat up late that night, writing to Shampoo. She'd surprised him at
Ranma's wedding, first when she got in Kuno's way, and then by her quiet
acceptance of the marriage. Shiro hoped this indicated she was transferring
her affection to him, but was afraid to hope too much. Because he'd never
taken any past romances seriously, he didn't know how to handle this one.
Was he going too fast? Was he pushing too hard? Sometimes Shampoo was hard
to read.

*****

Shampoo had both hands full. She was busy carrying a stack of freshly
ironed tablecloths into the dining room when Mousse entered the Nekohanten.
Cologne was out, and Shampoo had been expecting problems.

In the days that had passed since Ranma's wedding, Mousse had been taking
advantage of every moment they were alone to try to win her over. This time
thinking that Shampoo's full hands would put her at a disadvantage, Mousse
tried to embrace her. Shampoo didn't let that handicap her, however, and
used a foot to trip Mousse, sending him crashing to the floor. She then
quickly put her burden down and took a defensive stance.

"Mousse, I have work to do. Go away."

"Shampoo, don't be so shy. You should know by now how much I love you."

Shampoo didn't bother replying, stomped into the kitchen, and checked on her
cooking.

Refusing to be discouraged, Mousse trailed after her.

"Ranma is married, Shampoo. How long do you intend to mourn?"

Shampoo lifted her eyes from the stove and withered Mousse with her glare.

"I don't want him, Mousse. He's happy with Akane. But I don't want you
either! Go away!"

Mousse smiled at Shampoo, but it was not a loving smile, or even a kind one.
Meaning to repay her for her coldness, he deliberately made his words cruel.

"Who else would want you, Shampoo? At least I understand and accept your
curse."

Shampoo flinched. Then she thought of Shiro.

"Maybe you'd be surprised."

Mousse became enraged, and stepped toward Shampoo, who backed up to the
sink. She quickly turned on the cold water and aimed the sprayer at him,
but did not press the trigger.

"Mousse, I won't say this again. GO AWAY!!!"

Mousse went away, but Shampoo knew that he would return. She sighed with
frustration, and complained to Cologne when she returned from the market.
The response she got was not what she expected.

"We wasted too many years chasing Ranma around, Shampoo. Perhaps we should
think again. Mousse is an Amazon, and knows where he stands in our society.
He loves you, dear. Perhaps it's time you considered marrying him."

Shampoo's eyes opened wide.

"Great-Grandmother! No!"

"I won't rush you Shampoo, but your choices aren't very great any more."

*****

Shampoo sat at her window for a long time that night, deep in thought.
She'd loved Ranma for a long, long time, and had been forced to accept that
he loved someone else.

Shiro was another story. They hadn't known one another all that long, yet
she felt as if they'd been friends forever. At this point in her life,
Shampoo had few friends, and needed them badly.

Mousse? Shampoo couldn't understand Cologne's attitude toward him at all.
It was evident to Shampoo that Mousse, although aware of what his position
should be in Amazon society, felt no obligation to remain in that position.
His treatment of her was evidence of that.

Then she thought again. Mousse's current behavior was only occurring when
Cologne was absent. In her great-grandmother's presence, he was acting in a
very meek and subservient manner. She wondered how long he could maintain
this act, and how to deal with it.

Shampoo rubbed her temples. Her problems were giving her a headache.

*****

The next morning Shampoo made an excuse to get out, and walked toward the
marketplace. She had the feeling that someone was following her, and
glanced into the shop window beside her, to see Mousse's reflection some
distance behind her.

Mousse was far enough behind Shampoo to think that she wouldn't notice his
presence. When she crossed the street ahead of him, a car momentarily
blocked his view of her. When it passed, she was gone.

Shampoo ran through the shop, and out the side door. She'd lost Mousse, at
least for now. Shampoo quickly left the shopping area, and ran toward the
Tendo home. Kasumi was coming around the corner, and Shampoo nearly ran her
down. Kasumi gasped, and caught Shampoo by the arms.

"Look out!"

Shampoo gasped for breath.

"Sorry, Kasumi. Shampoo did not see you. Was coming to your house."

"I was coming to see you, Shampoo. You have a letter from Shiro."

Shampoo nearly snatched the letter from Kasumi's fingers. She smiled at it,
and tenderly tucked it into her pocket. Then, a sudden impulse made her hug
Kasumi.

"Thank you."

Kasumi's motherly instincts were awakened by the look in Shampoo's eyes.
She'd seen that expression often enough on Akane's face.

"Come home with me, Shampoo. I'll make tea."

Chapter 49

Kasumi sipped her tea, while Shampoo continued to talk. At first, her words
had come slowly, and it was obvious that Shampoo was having a hard time
confiding in her, but soon she was speaking freely.

Shampoo told Kasumi of her struggle to let go of Ranma, and her
determination to put him behind her, and get on with her life. Since Kasumi
was already aware of Shampoo's budding relationship with Shiro, she wasn't
surprised when Shampoo told her that Shiro's attentions to her were becoming
warmer. Shampoo stopped to sip her tea, and Kasumi could see that Shampoo
was very concerned about something. Instead of pressing her, Kasumi waited
for Shampoo to continue, which she soon did.

"Kasumi, Great-Grandmother think Shampoo should marry Mousse."

Kasumi nodded her understanding, and thought for a moment before responding.

"Shampoo, did Cologne say that you had to marry Mousse, or did she suggest
it?"

"Was not an order, Kasumi, but Shampoo expected to be obedient to elder."

Kasumi let her gaze wander to the window. Why were Amazons so rigid?
Weren't feelings allowed to matter at all?

"You don't want Mousse, do you?"

Shampoo's answer was anything but hesitant.

"NO!"

"And what about Shiro?"

Kasumi saw that Shampoo found this question harder to answer. She put down
her cup, rested her chin on her hands, and looked out into space. After a
while, Shampoo focused on Kasumi.

"Shiro very very nice. But it too soon for Shampoo to answer that question.
Shiro Shampoo's friend."

"And so am I, Shampoo. Don't let anyone - Cologne, Mousse, or Shiro - rush
you into making any decisions about the future before you're ready. You
need time. And Shampoo, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Shampoo turned very red. She'd never, ever expected anyone in the Tendo
household to be a friend to her.

"Thank you, Kasumi. Must go back now. Great-Grandmother must be looking
for Shampoo."

*****

Mousse was scrubbing the kitchen floor when Shampoo returned to the
Nekohanten, so was too busy to ask where she had been. Cologne was setting
the tables, which was usually Shampoo's responsibility, and frowned at her
when she entered.

"You're late, Shampoo. Where have you been?"

"Walking, Grandmother. Sorry."

"Go change your clothes. It's almost time to open."

Shampoo ran upstairs to change, locked her door, and quickly read Shiro's
letter. In it, he expressed a desire to see her again, and asked where they
could meet. She tucked the letter away with the others she'd received and
ran downstairs, wondering what to suggest.

The restaurant was rather busy that entire day, giving Mousse no opportunity
to talk to Shampoo privately. He waited impatiently, and finally got her
alone when they were cleaning up.

"Shampoo, where were you this morning?"

"It's not your business, Mousse."

"Shampoo, Cologne approves of me as a husband for you. I have a right to
ask."

"I don't agree with that, Mousse."

Shampoo hesitated, and remembered her conversation with Kasumi.

"I need time, Mousse."

This statement took Mousse completely by surprise. It was the first time
that Shampoo had not completely rejected him. He smiled, and nodded his
agreement.

"All right, Shampoo. If you need time, you can have it."

Shampoo continued cleaning up, deep in thought. She'd bought herself some
time to make her own decisions.

That night in bed, Shampoo tried to figure out her options. The only one
that was never going to change was that she could never, ever marry Mousse.
It was too soon for her to know where her relationship with Shiro was
leading, and she wasn't about to rush it.

Eventually, Shampoo would have to tell Cologne of her refusal to marry
Mousse. What would happen then?

Shampoo turned over, and tried to sleep.

*****

Ranma unlocked the porch door and carried the suitcases in.

"Wait here, Akane. I'll be right back."

Akane waited in the hallway, listening to Ranma's footsteps going up the
stairs, and wondering why he'd asked her to wait. She soon found out when
he ran back down and carried her all the way back up and into the apartment.
When he put her down, she gently scolded him.

"Ranma, two flights of stairs?"

"It's a Western tradition, Akane, and why not? You're not heavy."

Ranma carried the bags into the bedroom, and found Akane looking in the
refrigerator when he returned.

"What should I make for dinner?"

"Can't I take you out?"

Akane turned around, and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't start, Ranma! If you keep taking me out to eat I'll never get used
to cooking for you. Besides, we can't afford to go out all the time."

Ranma took Akane by the shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Akane. It's been a long day, and I was afraid
you'd be too tired to cook."

Akane blushed a little. Her temper had gotten the better of her again. She
removed Ranma's hands from her shoulders, and turned back to the
refrigerator.

"I'm not too tired to cook. I want to make something special."

Ranma was glad that Akane's back was toward him. He was having a hard time
keeping a straight face. As long as Akane followed her checklists and
relaxed, she did all right. What did "something special" mean?

Ranma unpacked for both himself and his wife while she cooked dinner. In a
shorter time than he expected, she was calling him to the table. He sat
down, looking suspiciously at the serving dish.

"What's that?"

"It's a recipe your mother gave me. She said it was one of your favorites
when you were little."

"Are you sure, Akane? It looks too weird."

Akane served them, and sat down.

"I know it does, Ranma, but it tastes good. I already tried it."

Ranma looked skeptical, but had to admit that the dish tasted better than it
looked.

"I don't know, Akane. This looked bad, but tasted good. Does that mean if
you make something that looks good, it will taste bad?"

Akane chose to ignore the question.

Chapter 50

Ranma heard the sound of water running, and opened his eyes. Akane was not
beside him, and he left the futon to find her in the kitchen. There was a
pot of miso soup simmering on the stove, the washer was running, and Akane
was sitting at the table, fully dressed, reading. She looked up when he
entered, closed her book, and got up.

"Good morning, Ranma."

Ranma kissed Akane, and continued to hold her.

"Good morning, sweetheart. How long have you been up?"

"About an hour."

Ranma frowned. This was becoming a pattern. Every day, Akane would wake
before him, and wait for him to wake up.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

Akane laughed, and withdrew from Ranma's embrace.

"Classes haven't started up yet, Ranma. Why not sleep in?"

"We're supposed to go practice."

Akane's hand went to her mouth.

"I forgot. I wonder if they lock up the gym during holidays?"

Ranma shrugged, and went to the stove to inspect the soup. He sniffed it,
and tasted a spoonful.

"I think this is ready, Akane. It's pretty good."

"Even without the Water of Life?"

"Even without it."

Akane tasted the soup, and smiled lovingly at her husband.

"Liar."

*****

Miss Murata checked the bottles on the shelf against her inventory list,
looking perplexed. She checked all of the other shelves, hoping to discover
that the missing medications had been stored in the wrong place, but was
unable to locate them. She made a note, locked the cabinet, and went to see
her supervisor.

"There's another shortage, Mr. Nagata. Take a look at these numbers."

Mr. Nagata looked over the list, and picked up earlier reports. He made a
few notes, and showed them to Miss Murata.

"See the pattern? I think I know who may be responsible."

*****

Ranma walked his wife to campus, holding her hand. It was nearly deserted,
since most of the students and staff had gone home for the holidays. The
doors of the gym were locked when Ranma tried them, and he settled for a
long walk with Akane instead of practicing. When he turned back toward
their apartment, however, she pulled him in another direction.

"We need to go to the market, Ranma. There are some things we'll need for
tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"New Year's Eve, silly! I want to get some noodles, to start."

"How about a bottle of champagne, Akane?"

In the empty apartment, the phone rang for a long time. Eventually, it
stopped.

*****

Mrs. Takai was watching for the Saotomes' return, and opened her apartment
door when they arrived.

"Welcome home. There were some packages delivered for you."

Ranma thanked Mrs. Takai, and carried the boxes upstairs. When they saw
that the boxes were from Kasumi, they quickly hung up their coats and sat
down to open them.

The first box contained a letter from Kasumi, explaining that she had
forwarded their wedding presents, which had been forgotten during the
madness of their wedding day.

Akane was reading the letter aloud to Ranma, and put it aside to look into
both boxes.

There were many envelopes with gifts of money, and packages containing
practical things they needed for their home, but hadn't been able to afford.
After looking at everything, Akane returned to her sister's letter.

Kasumi had written of her talk with Shampoo, and Akane kept glancing up at
Ranma's expression as he listened. When she was finished, Akane put the
letter down and waited for him to speak.

"It sounds to me like Shampoo is having a bad time, Akane. I'm glad Kasumi
decided to be her friend, though I have to admit that it surprises me."

"It shouldn't Ranma. You know how softhearted my sister is. What surprises
me is that Cologne is pushing a marriage between Shampoo and Mousse. It's
been pretty obvious all this time that Cologne doesn't think too much of
him.

"It must be some kind of Amazon thing, Akane. Maybe it's traditional to
marry someone from your village, unless something weird happens, like a
stranger defeating you."

"Maybe."

-----------------

to be continued

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