[Ranma][FanFic] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 4: Gifts of Love
Jim Lazar
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Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
Chapter 4: Gifts of Love
Ranma 1/2 characters/situations created and copyright by Rumiko
Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty/Fuji/Viz - Used without permission
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and
copyright 1998 by Jim Lazar
An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime.
<Speech text in angle brackets is thought by character.>
"Speech text in double quotes is spoken as Japanese."
E-mail comments and/or criticisms to: mailto:jiml...@earthlink.net
Make sure to check out my Childhood of a Modern Dynasty website for
all released CMD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/childhood.html
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Lime Warning: There are a few scenes in this chapter that are sexual in
nature. Although not that bad, they are very suggestive and partially
descriptive.
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>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
July 10th, 2057
I walked with Hanaki, holding her hand. She had become my personal
tour guide of the Tendo Compound whenever I came over, not that I
minded. We've been dating for almost the entire three months that I have
been collecting information for my new book, 'Childhood of a Modern
Dynasty'. During that time, I have interviewed many different people for
their recollection of events back in 1998 and 1999. The stories weren't
always consistent, so I was having a hard time reconciling them. The
information I got from the Kuno family tended to be extremely suspect,
but since they still blame the Saotome and Tendo families for Tatewaki
Kuno's death that is to be expected.
I attended the wedding of Akane's grandson, Soun, around three
weeks ago. I still grin when I remember dancing with Hanaki at the
reception, what a goddess she was on the dance floor. I wish I could say
the same for myself. Well, I wouldn't want to call myself a goddess, I
just meant that I'd rather be able to dance better.
"My aunt should be finished with her class already. She prefers to
teach in the early morning for some reason. We should be able to find
her at the dojo," Hanaki explained.
"She's still teaching?" I asked, amazed.
"Every now and then. She's the only one around today who can teach
the 'Moko Takabisha' and it's many variations," Hanaki informed me.
"They teach that at the dojo?"
"Only to family. Too dangerous for just anyone to know it."
"Can you do it?"
"Little ones, nowhere near what people with Saotome blood can do,
watch...Target: One hundred meters," Hanaki said. The Compound systems
raised a target from the ground about one hundred meters away from her.
She raised her hands, a small ball of chi energy sparked to life between
her hands, then she shouted, "Moko Takabisha!" The ball of chi energy
flew from between her fingers and impacted against the target. Along
with blackening the entire target, a small hole about three centimeters
in diameter was burned into the center.
"Nice shot. Um...that was a small one?" I asked.
"Yup, Aunt Akane and some of the Task Force members can hit targets
kilometers away, plus cause a lot more damage. I'm sure you heard about
the Golden Gate Bridge incident?"
"Yes. Shame to loose a landmark like that, but it was for a good
cause," I said. Hanaki nodded.
We reached the large dojo where the older Tendos all worked out and
taught their classes. There were also several smaller dojos spread
across the Compound. Personally, I think this is so they can ambush
visitors with kicks and punches and then just claim it was an accident
during training, but my thoughts on that may be biased because it's
happened to me several times. Of course, Akane's great-granddaughter
Daijiko cried out, "Fresh meat!" the first time we met, so I'm pretty
sure that it was not an accident. That meeting was by way of Daijiko's
foot against my head. I wondered where the little munchkin was, since
she hadn't kicked me in over a week.
Akane came out of the main dojo and greeted me with a wave as I
approached. "Morning, James!"
"Good morning, Akane," I replied, then asked, "You doing something
different with your hair?"
She patted her short hair and said, "Nope, it's been pretty much
like this for the past sixty years." She smiled.
"No wonder you look like you're still sixteen."
"Careful, or I'll steal you away from Hanaki," Akane quipped.
"Auntie!" Hanaki protested, pulling me closer to her.
We walked back to Akane's house and sat down on the porch and
Hanaki opened my palmcard for me. "Thank you, Hanaki," I said, smiling.
She returned the smile. I was glad I was sitting, because my knees felt
suddenly week at seeing her beautiful smile.
"What did you want to cover today, James?" Akane asked. She bent
down and fed some lettuce to one of the pet pigs they kept in the
Compound.
I consulted my palmcard's holographic display. "Well, we covered
the summer of 1998 pretty well; Shampoo's death, your injuries, the
wake, and your return to school. I don't have much information after
that."
"Ah, then the end of 1998. Um...how old are you Hanaki?" Akane
asked the young woman who sat at my side.
"I've just turned twenty-three. Look at the gorgeous bracelet that
James gave me!" Hanaki exclaimed, showing off the diamond bracelet she
wore on her wrist. It clashed with the wristtop system she always wore
on her other arm, but she said she didn't mind. I don't suppose she did.
"Hmmm, the first book did do well after all," Akane commented. "I
guess twenty-three is old enough to hear this story."
I raised a questioning eyebrow at her, but Akane's expression
didn't change at all.
***********************************************************************
October-December 1998 - Nerima, Japan; Kirishima forest, Japan;
Kitakyushu, Japan
Ukyo did a flying flip into Ucchan's and landed behind the grill,
startling Konatsu, who was making a pork okonomiyaki. "Mistress?" he
gasped.
"Got my cast off finally!" Ukyo chimed and started to make an
okonomiyaki, extra large. "I missed this grill," she said, then looked
lovingly at it and ran her hand seductively across the side.
Konatsu blinked, then asked, "Would you two like to be alone?"
Ukyo blushed. "Oops, I just missed cooking," she said and flipped
the okonomiyaki, then added, "A lot."
"I know the customers will be happy you're back, they asked about
you all the time."
"If I can't have Ran-chan, at least I have my cooking," Ukyo said
wistfully.
"You have me."
"Thank you, Konatsu, but I've told you many times that I only think
of you as a friend."
"Isn't that what Ranma always told you?" Konatsu suggested.
Ukyo flinched, then ate the first okonomiyaki she'd made herself in
two months. She savored the taste.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma flexed his arm slowly. Dr. Tofu applied his fingers to some
pressure points along his back. Then he said, "How does that feel
Ranma?"
Ranma replied, "It's sore, but it doesn't hurt to move it."
"You'll have to do the exercises I showed you twice a day. And
don't hit anyone with it for a week."
"Sure thing, Doc," Ranma said, but then started flexing his arm and
moving it in a punching movement. Dr. Tofu sighed and left Ranma's room.
Ranma sat in his wheelchair in the middle of his room, cupped his
hands, and then concentrated. A glowing ball of chi formed between his
fingers. He practiced keeping the ball stable as he transferred it
between his two cupped hands. He stared at the chi ball and then flipped
it into the air. He formed another chi ball, then tossed it in the air
as well. Soon, he was juggling three chi balls.
"Cool!" a voice exclaimed from behind him.
Ranma's concentration faltered and the chi balls fell and hit his
lap. He patted the small smoking spots on his pants, trying to keep them
from catching on fire.
"Sorry, didn't mean to distract you," Akane said.
Ranma scratched his head. "That's okay. I was just seeing if I
could still do that trick. I didn't put too much energy into them, so no
harm done," he said.
"When did you learn that one?" Akane asked, as she hobbled to
Ranma's side on her crutch.
"A few months ago. I guess I never showed it to anyone because it
felt like a sideshow act. It's really just a training exercise for the
Moko Takabisha."
"What's it like to use both arms again?"
"Pretty darn good," Ranma replied. Then to prove it he swept her
into his lap and kissed her hard on her waiting lips.
"Wish we could get the leg casts off already. I can't stand the
itching," Akane said.
"Thanks for bringing that up," Ranma said, as he started to scratch
under one of his leg casts.
"Sorry, but within few weeks we should both be cast-less. That's
good news at least."
"Yup, Ukyo's already out of hers; Ryoga's down to just his shoulder
brace, the lucky pig."
"Well, since he got lost as soon as the leg cast came off, he's not
that lucky," Akane said, then looked up to see P-Chan come into the room
and try to get up on her lap. Akane picked him up and scratched him
behind the ear. "How's my little P-Chan?
Ranma just looked at P-Chan and smiled. Yes smiled. Akane was happy
and this was just a normal pig, not a cursed Ryoga. Ryoga's plan to give
Akane a real pig had worked, so far.
"Dinner!" Nodoka called out from outside the room.
"Coming!" Ranma and Akane chorused, stole a quick kiss, and made
their way to the table.
-C- -M- -D-
That night at the table, Dr. Tofu looked on nervously as Kasumi
served him some rice. "Tha...Thank you, Kasumi, it w...was kind of you
to invite me for dinner," he stuttered.
"Oh, it's no trouble, Doctor Tofu. After all, you're going to help
me study tonight, so no reason for you to go home after helping Ranma
with his arm and then come all the way back," Kasumi replied, sweetly.
"How are your studies going, Kasumi dear?" Genma asked, scratching
under his cast. Everyone assumed the cast could come off, but that he
left it on to avoid working. He had broken it back in spring, after all.
"Well, it's harder than I thought. It's been so long since I was in
high school and all. Doctor Tofu has been very helpful in helping me
study. I sometimes worry that he is spending too much time helping me,"
Kasumi explained.
"Oh no, Kasumi, it's my pleasure. It even helps me refresh my
memory on some of the basics of western medicine," Dr. Tofu insisted,
momentarily calm while looking into Kasumi's eyes.
His calmness vanished when Kasumi placed her hand on his. "Thank
you again, Tofu."
"No...urk...problem," he gasped.
Ranma took great pleasure in using both of his arms to eat again.
Akane scowled at his table manners, but before she could say anything,
Nodoka said, "Ranma, I know you're glad that you can use both hands
again, but slow down and eat like a gentleman!" Truth be told, Nodoka
didn't mind it that much, but she caught Akane's look and intercepted
the approaching fight with her own scolding.
Ranma bowed his head and slowed.
Akane nodded her thanks to her future mother-in-law.
Genma suddenly scratched again. Dr. Tofu noticed and said, "Mr.
Saotome, if you like, I can remove your cast right after dinner. It's
been more than long enough."
Genma looked worried. "Well...I think it might need a couple more
weeks."
"Nonsense, your last x-ray showed it was healed. It could have come
off weeks ago."
Everyone looked at each other and nodded knowingly. Then Nodoka
said, "Well. That's great news! Now you can start helping with the
chores around the house again, my honorable husband." The implied threat
of Nodoka's term of address for Genma wasn't lost on the assembled group
of people at the table, who all grinned.
Genma sighed, then nodded in defeat.
"Akane, the rice is great," Ranma mentioned, as he scooped some
more into his bowl.
"Thank you, Ranma," Akane said, a big grin on her face.
"But who made these pickles?" Ranma asked, grimacing.
"I did," Akane said with a noticeable rise in her voice.
"Well, err...nice try."
This seemed to be enough to keep Akane from killing Ranma, for now
at least.
-C- -M- -D-
After dinner, Dr. Tofu removed Genma's cast and told him no martial
arts kicks for two weeks. He gave him some exercises to do as well.
Then Kasumi walked up the stairs to study, followed by a nervous
Dr. Tofu. As she grabbed her books she sat down on her bed and opened
one of the books. "Come and sit down here, Tofu. It's more comfortable,"
Kasumi said, patting the bed.
Dr. Tofu swallowed hard, then sat down next to her. "What are you
up to?"
"Still general anatomy, muscles, tendons..."
"Ah...perfect, with all the practice I've had with Ranma's injuries
I can really help you there," Dr. Tofu leaned over and looked at her
textbook.
<If only he would be this calm when not talking about medicine,>
Kasumi sighed.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo was soaking in a nice hot bath. Like the other walking
wounded, she had really missed the feeling of soaking in a hot bath
while her cast was on.
Her relaxation was interrupted by a shout. "Where on Earth am I?"
Ukyo looked up and saw Ryoga standing in the corner, facing away
from her. <How on Earth did he get in here?> Ukyo thought, then said
aloud, "It's my bathroom, Pig-boy."
"Bathroom?" Ryoga muttered as he turned around and saw Ukyo.
Surprisingly, his nose didn't start to bleed when he saw her naked body,
he just turned away quickly and said, "Sorry...I don't know how I got
here."
"Well, it's nice to see you. I haven't seen you since you got your
leg cast off," Ukyo said. She grinned mischievously and added, "As long
as you're here can you scrub my back?"
Ryoga's eyes went wide and he fought back a nosebleed, then replied
calmly, "Sure."
A shocked Ukyo watched Ryoga turn around and come over, grab a
washcloth with his good arm, and started to scrub her back. Not
believing that this was happening, she just leaned forward and let him.
<What's happened to him?>
"So anything happen while I was gone?" Ryoga asked, calmly. <She's
turned away from me, so this is okay. I won't lose control. I am a man,
not some baby who faints or bleeds at the sight of a naked woman,> Ryoga
thought to himself, trying to keep calm.
"Not much, Ranma got his arm cast off today. They both should be
out of their leg casts within a month," Ukyo explained.
"Ah, that's nice." Ryoga meant the casts being removed; not the
feeling of washing Ukyo's back, probably.
"Where did you end up for the past couple of weeks?"
"Oh, someplace called Milwaukee. Lots of foreigners there."
"Isn't that in America?"
"Could be...but it gave me some time to think."
"About what?"
"Well, I was hoping that even with my casts off that I could stay
here with you. I want to try staying in school and stop my wandering. My
parents' home is too far away to go to Furinkan," Ryoga explained. <If I
could even find it, that is.>
"Well, it's a bit crowded here, but if you help out with the chores
and all, I guess you could stay in the back room," Ukyo said, starting
to enjoy the back scrubbing.
"Thanks Ukyo. I'll try not to be a bother."
"Just wear long gloves and use hot water when you do the dishes,
sugar," Ukyo said, grinning.
"Dishes?" Ryoga blanched at the thought of doing dishes with his
curse.
"Thanks for scrubbing my back, sugar. Can you do the front now?"
Ukyo said, turning around.
Ryoga promptly fainted.
"Thought so," Ukyo remarked and then grinned.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma slept peacefully in his bed. His peace was interrupted by a
deep kiss. Normally he wouldn't mind Akane kissing him like this, but
this felt different. The fact that after the kiss ended maniacal
laughter rang out in the room, made Ranma sure that it wasn't Akane. He
sat bold upright and pushed Kodachi off his body. He screamed, "What the
hell are you doing?!?!"
"Why just trying to make my darling Ranma better with my magic
kisses, of course," Kodachi asserted, then advanced seductively on
Ranma. With his leg casts still on, Ranma couldn't move fast enough to
get away from her.
"Kodachi, get away from me or you'll be sorry!" Ranma yelled, then
licked his lips as he started to worry about what Kodachi might have
drugged him with. He didn't have to wait long for his eyes to start to
water, his mouth to go bone dry, and his eyes to go out of focus.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! No!" Ranma said, as he fought an internal battle with
himself. <I love Akane.> [Kodachi is Akane.] <No she isn't.> [Yes she
is.] When Ranma managed to focus his eyes, he saw a naked Akane standing
over him. He grinned. "Come here, my love."
"I thought you'd never ask," Kodachi said. She kicked her green
leotard off her leg and then sat down on top of Ranma's hips. "Let's
make a beautiful baby, darling." Kodachi grinned, her plan to force
Ranma to marry her after impregnating her was going smoothly so far.
Apparently, Kodachi was getting desperate.
"Oh, my sweet Akane. Give me your body," Ranma said. <I love
Akane.> [Yes you do.] <This is Akane on top of me.> [Yes it is.]
<Akane's never been this forward.> [Yes she has, remember the
waterfall.] <Yes, but that was just kissing.> [You know it was more.]
<Well...I may have touched her breast.> [And you liked it.] <Yeah, it
felt better than touching my own breast.> [Sicko.] <Look who's talking.>
[So's your old man]
While Ranma was still fighting his internal demon in a really lame
battle of wits, Kodachi ran her hands over Ranma's chest and slipped his
muscle T-Shirt off. Then she lay down on top of his chest and started to
kiss his neck, Ranma felt her breasts rub against his chest.
<What?> [What, what?] <What am I doing?> [Making out with Akane.]
<Really?> [Yes, really.] <When did Akane's breasts get so big.> [Err...]
Ranma eyes went wide when his demon couldn't counter his last question.
"Moko..." he began to yell.
"What???" Kodachi gasped, leaning back from Ranma's chest.
"...Takabisha!!!" Ranma finished yelling, and thrust his hands up
at Kodachi. A beam of chi energy pulsed from his fingers and sent
Kodachi crashing through the ceiling.
Akane awoke with Ranma's yell, just in time to see the naked
Kodachi disappear into the night sky. She looked over at Ranma. She bit
back her normal reaction of a half-naked Ranma and also tried to ignore
the green leotard on the floor. "What happened, Ranma?" she asked.
"You came back, Kodachi?" Ranma asked, then not waiting for an
answer, he yelled, "Moko..."
"Stop, Ranma! I'm Akane, not Kodachi!"
"Takabisha!!!" Ranma finished and sent another beam of chi energy
shooting at Akane's head. Akane ducked out of the way and the chi blast
took out the wall to the kitchen...and most of the kitchen as well.
Akane's pajama top was torn as she dodged the chi blast.
"Ranma, please stop!" Akane screamed, then jumped on top of his
chest and hugged him closely. "Please stop...Kodachi is gone...I love
you! Snap out of it!"
"Moko..." Ranma muttered again. <Wait, those feel different.> [No!
It is Kodachi, fry her!] <Who are you anyway?> [Just your inner voice.]
<No...I think you're a result of Kodachi's potion.> [No of course not,
she'd never do something like that.] <Ha!!! Got ya! I know that she
WOULD do something exactly like that! Reverse Moko Takabisha!!!> [Crap.]
Akane was tossed off Ranma's chest as a blast of chi energy
enveloped Ranma's body, after burning brightly around his body for
several seconds it seemed to flow into his body instead of out of it.
When the blast settled, Ranma lay naked in bed, his shorts had been
burned off by the blast. His leg casts lay in cared pieces on the burned
futon. "Ouch," he muttered.
"Ranma, are you okay?" Akane asked, as she pulled herself off the
floor and onto Ranma's futon. The last of her burnt pajamas fell off her
shoulders as she checked Ranma's pulse.
"I'll live, but I may need new leg casts."
Looking down at herself, Akane agreed, "Me too and new pajamas. Let
me find some unburned sheets..."
This was, of course, when the rest of the people in the Tendo house
chose to walk into the room and see what all the noise was. "Oh my,"
came Kasumi's usual refrain.
"Gee, keep it down you two lovebirds!" Nabiki exclaimed, scratching
her stomach. She grinned at the sight of Akane and Ranma naked in bed
together and snapped a quick picture with her camera. <I can't sell this
of course, but someday it'll be a fond memory for them,> she thought.
She sighed as she thought of all the yen she was giving up by not
selling it.
Akane and Ranma started to blush. Nodoka took her robe off and
wrapped it around Akane while Kasumi grabbed a spare blanket and covered
Ranma.
"It was Kodachi! She drugged me into thinking she was Akane!" Ranma
insisted, then motioned at the green leotard that lay on the floor.
"But why wasn't she wearing the leotard?" Nodoka asked.
"I'm not sure, it's all still fuzzy. Can someone call Doctor Tofu?
We're going to need new casts, since I burned the old ones off while
burning the drug out of my body," Ranma asked.
The assembled family members all exchanged various glances. Nabiki
shuffled off in her bunny slippers to make the call.
Nodoka looked back at the kitchen, or where the kitchen used to be,
and mentioned, "Looks like I'll have to call the contractors in the
morning."
Kasumi nodded her agreement. "Yes, we'll have to order out for
breakfast too."
Kasumi and Nodoka sighed in unison.
After their casts were replaced and when they finally got a few
moments alone, Akane asked Ranma, "So...what finally made you realize
that I wasn't Kodachi?"
"Well, you just felt different," Ranma replied.
"Felt different, how?" Akane asked.
Ranma blushed, then looked away. Awkwardly, he said, "Well her
breasts felt bigger on my chest."
Akane blushed, then looked angry, then stopped her mallet
one-centimeter from Ranma's face. She had been learning to control her
anger; the next step was keeping the mallet from moving towards Ranma's
face after she pulled it out.
Ranma blinked, then said, "Don't worry, I prefer the feel of
yours." Then he winked.
Akane blushed again, then leaned in and kissed him. "Why do I love
a pervert like you?" Akane asked.
"The same reason I love a tomboy like you. We don't know any
better," Ranma explained.
"Two baka in love I guess," Akane said, then leaned in and kissed
her baka. They fell asleep in each other arms, thinking for umpteenth
time that they had to come up with better pet names.
Somehow, they forgot to have Ranma transform into a girl before
going to sleep. They'd been doing that a lot lately.
-C- -M- -D-
Happosai was wrapping up his closing speech at the '50th Annual Old
Pervert Convention'. Since he was the founder, all the attendees were
listening closely and taking notes. Happosai orated, "...and that is why
we must always be on our guard against mouse traps in panties, even when
women are still wearing them." As he finished, a naked Kodachi fell from
the sky and landed on top of him. Happosai was smashed flat to the
stage. He had never been happier to be smashed flat in his life.
Kodachi spent the rest of the week evading the two hundred old
perverts.
-C- -M- -D-
The afternoon sun warmed Nabiki as she walked back from Waseda
University. Everything was looking good for her to start there next
year. All she had to do now is to pass the entrance exam. As she crossed
the park between Shinjuku and Nerima, she spotted Mousse feeding ducks
from a park bench. As she sat down beside him, she said, "Feeding your
family?"
Looking up, Mousse saw Nabiki and said, "Oh...hi, Nabiki Tendo.
No...not family, I don't really have any family anymore."
Nabiki looked sadly at Mousse and apologized. "Sorry, Mousse,
didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"That's okay, Nabiki Tendo, you meant well. Somehow feeding the
ducks here makes me feel good."
"Still no sign of Shampoo?"
"Nope, I probably should give up. She's gone."
"That's not the Mousse I know talking."
"Do you really think you know me that well?"
Nabiki cocked her head to one side and counted off the list with
her fingers. "Let's see: You're a master of hidden weapons martial arts,
you transform into a duck, you're handsome, you spent most of your life
pursuing a woman who wouldn't return your love, you're kind to animals,
and you've got a good heart. Need I go on?"
"Maybe you do know me pretty well, but I think she did love me. I
think Amazon tradition kept her from accepting me and my failings,"
Mousse said, then rummaged in his large pockets and pulled out Shampoo's
locket and handed it to Nabiki. "That was Shampoo's."
Nabiki took the locket, opened it, and raised an eyebrow. "Well,
some people just can't admit their true feelings sometimes. Look at how
long it took Ranma and Akane to actually admit their love to themselves
and each other."
"Huh? Did they finally admit their love?"
"That's our guess. They aren't saying anything, but ever since
their training trip in the mountains they have been sneaking out a lot
and spending more time together. They think they are fooling us, but we
can see it," Nabiki said, not mentioning that they hadn't got out that
much since the fight with Shampoo.
Mousse sat silently for a few minutes. Nabiki helped him feed the
ducks, when she looked up she saw that Mousse had tears in his eyes.
Nabiki took Mousse's hand and squeezed it. "It'll be okay, Mousse.
Shampoo wouldn't want you to pine over her for the rest of your life."
"What life?" Mousse asked, then pulled Nabiki into his arms and
just held her. Tears started to drip down Nabiki's back
Nabiki, although startled at first, hugged him back. When the hug
ended, Nabiki pulled back and looked at him. Then on an impulse she
kissed Mousse, full on his lips. Mousse returned the offered kiss.
When their lips parted, they just sat and looked at the ducks float
by. Neither said anything until they got up and parted with a simple
"Good afternoon."
They both had trouble sleeping that night.
Nabiki lay still and stared at her ceiling. Various thoughts
flashed through her head and prevented her from dozing off. <What was
that all about today? Do I really need a man to make me feel so good?
OR...is it that Akane and Kasumi both have boyfriends...sort of. Heck,
Kasumi and Tofu keep circling each other, but I doubt they've even
kissed. And for Akane and Ranma...I don't want that kind of
relationship. Who do they think they are kidding anyway? But then...do I
want to get into a relationship with a guy who turns into a duck?>
Nabiki thought some more then gave herself an answer. "Yes," she
said quietly, then fell asleep.
Mouse tossed and turned. Unable to find a position he could be
comfortable in. <Why is Nabiki being so nice to me? It must be pity. Why
couldn't Shampoo ever pity me that much?>
After tossing and turning some more, Mouse got up splashed himself
with cold water and settled down on a pillow. He finally fell asleep.
Somehow, he was more comfortable sleeping as a duck.
-C- -M- -D-
Several weeks later in the Tendo family room, Ukyo, Ryoga, Akane,
Soun, Genma, and Nabiki all looked on as Dr. Tofu removed Ranma's last
leg cast. "There you go Ranma, flex the leg a bit and tell me if you
feel any pain," he said, while he cleaned off the last of the cast
pieces.
Ranma flexed both of his legs, then declared, "Nope. They feel
fine." He then tried to stand up, wobbled, and fell face first into the
table. He was splashed with a bucket of cold water that had been on the
table. Ranma rose, shook her red hair dry, and then crawled back to her
original position. She looked very embarrassed.
"Careful, Ranma, you'll have to do exercises to build your strength
up again. Take it easy and you should be able to walk around today, but
I don't think you can go roof hopping tonight," Dr. Tofu explained.
Then Kasumi and Nodoka brought out some food and drinks. "Party
time!" Kasumi declared and then helped Dr. Tofu clean up the pile of
cast pieces. Akane slid in beside Ranma and rubbed her legs to help
loosen them up. Ukyo rubbed Ryoga's shoulder. Akane and Ranma exchanged
a glance about Ukyo and Ryoga's closeness and smiled.
"Well...the whole family," Genma said, then added, "and friends,
are now free of their casts! No longer shall we have to carry Ranma
around or get run over by his wheelchair!" Everyone laughed.
"I can still run you over if you like, Pop," Ranma smirked.
"No thank you, Ranma," Genma replied.
"It's been a long time, but it's great to be free of the cast,"
Akane declared, then stood and did a big back flip.
Ranma rose shakily to her feet and tried to do the same, but
failed. She ended up landing on her face.
"Ranma, take it easy. Akane only had one broken leg, so she can
compensate for her weaker leg," Dr. Tofu scolded him.
"Yeah, but she doesn't have to rub it in," Ranma insisted.
Akane regained her position and started rubbing Ranma's leg again,
then asked, "Sure you don't want me to rub?"
Ranma blushed, then shook her head no. Everyone, except Genma, just
ignored the couple and went on with their party conversation.
Genma got up and went upstairs. When he returned, he was carrying a
big box and set it down in front of Ranma and Akane.
"What's this, Mr. Saotome?" Akane asked.
"Just a little present for you two, now that you are out of your
casts," Genma said.
Opening the box, Akane gasped. Ranma swore. Nodoka hit her husband
on the head with a plate. Soun grinned. Kasumi and Nabiki rolled their
eyes. Ryoga and Ukyo tried to ignore the contents of the box.
Overcoming her weak legs, because she was really pissed, Ranma rose
unsteadily to her feet and, with Akane's help, proceeded to pick Genma
up and toss him out into the garden. He hit the far wall, rebounded, and
ended up in the koi pond. The panda rose from the pond then fell down
again. He growled in pain.
Dr. Tofu raced out and examined the panda. "Well, it looks like
your leg is broken again, Mr. Saotome," he declared. The panda started
to cry.
Ranma stood on the porch and yelled, "Serves you right, Pop! We'll
get married when we're ready!"
Nodoka carefully packed the wedding dress, the same one that Akane
wore at the aborted wedding, back into the box. <How could that idiot
ruin the party by pressuring them again?> she thought, as she carried
the box back upstairs. Truth be told, she had started to worry about
when they were going to admit to the family that they had been dating
and accepted the engagement, but decided not to pressure them. Not yet,
anyway.
-C- -M- -D-
Kasumi lay on her bed reading a textbook. She was wearing a pair of
jeans and a T-shirt with bunny rabbits on it. She frowned and paged back
trying to find a reference to something.
"Need some help?" a voice called from the open doorway.
Looking around, Kasumi saw Dr. Tofu in the doorway. She smiled,
then said, "Oh! I'd love some help, Tofu. Did you get Mr. Saotome's leg
set already?"
"Yes, it wasn't that bad of a break," Dr. Tofu explained, then sat
down next to Kasumi with a brief glance at her jeans. "When did you
start wearing jeans, Kasumi?"
"What? Oh...I forgot that I changed after the party. Most of the
girls at the college wear them, so I guess I'm trying to fit in. Plus
they are warmer during these cool fall nights."
Trying not to blush, Dr. Tofu asked, "What are you working on now?"
"Err, sexual reproduction," Kasumi explained, blushing.
Dr. Tofu lost his battle and blushed from head to toe. Trying to
see through his glasses, he stammered, "Why...why...this is so sudden."
"What is, Tofu?"
"Covering that in your first year."
"Oh. Well, we are. I've got the basics down, but all of sudden they
mentioned some terms I don't recall," Kasumi said, then pointed out the
section in question.
"Well, you see the woman's vagi..." Dr. Tofu began, but then passed
out suddenly.
"Oh my."
-C- -M- -D-
That night, despite Dr. Tofu's warning, Ranma hopped onto the roof.
He found Akane up there staring at the sky. "Mind if I join ya?" he
asked.
Looking down from the night sky, Akane smiled and said, "No, of
course not, Ranma."
Ranma sat down beside her and put his arm around Akane's shoulders.
She leaned in and cuddled. "So you missed spending time on the roof
too?" Ranma asked.
"Yup, I always liked spending time up here with you."
"Me too. About what my father did tonight..."
"Don't worry about it. It was only a matter of time before they
started up again."
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to set a date?"
Akane gasped in surprise, then said, "That's nice of you to offer,
but we still have the Kunos to deal with. Probably should get them out
of the way before setting a date."
"I guess, but I'm just always afraid something is going to pop up
and ruin what we have."
"What do we have?"
"Each other."
"Good answer," Akane said, then leaned in and gave him a deep kiss.
-C- -M- -D-
A knock on the door of the Cat Cafe woke Mousse up, he crawled off
his futon, tossed on his cloak, and headed downstairs. Opening the door,
he fought back the urge to shut it again. "Nabiki Tendo, what can I do
for you?" Mousse asked.
"I think you know, Mousse. I want to talk about that kiss we shared
a few weeks back," Nabiki said.
"It was just a passing flirtation, nothing to talk about," Mousse
insisted. He had been avoiding Nabiki for the past few weeks to avoid
this conversation.
"I'll admit it was partially just to comfort you at the time, but
quite frankly I enjoyed it."
Mousse finally met her gaze, and said, "Nabiki Tendo, you are a
beautiful woman. You deserve a full man, not one still longing for a
dead woman."
"Oh, you've given up looking?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
"What do you want, Nabiki Tendo?" Mousse asked, sternly.
"At them moment, I want you to admit that you love Shampoo and
still hope she's alive."
"Fine then. I love Shampoo, always have and always will, but...I
know she's gone."
"Great, then let's go," Nabiki commanded.
"Go where?"
"When's the last time you hit the local animal hospitals?"
"Yesterday."
"I thought you said you had given up looking for her," Nabiki
smirked. Mousse just looked away. "Fine, then today we hit some places
further away."
"Why are you doing this?" Mousse said.
"Because I'm your friend," Nabiki said, then added, "and the only
way I'll get you to kiss me again is to wait for you to get over
Shampoo's death." Then she thought to herself, <Go get what you want,
Nabiki!>
"Now who's giving up hope?" Mousse said, fighting back a smile that
was threatening to show up on his face.
"Just come on, Duck-boy," Nabiki said, then pulled him out by the
arm, pausing just long enough to grab a handful of flyers that were
stacked by the small shrine that Mousse had setup and maintained for
Shampoo.
For some reason, Mousse didn't resist.
-C- -M- -D-
Mouse and Nabiki walked into another animal hospital. They
approached the reception desk and a young woman with short dark blue
hair looked up at them. "Can I help you?" the woman asked.
"Yes, we are looking for this girl or this cat," Mousse asked. He
held out a flyer with pictures of Shampoo and a pink cat with purple
ears on it.
The woman looked at the pictures briefly, then said, "Never seen
the woman before...or the cat. I can tell you for sure that we don't
have any pink cats here."
"She may be white if the dye has worn off," Mousse suggested.
"Nope, no white cats in the hospital either."
"Thank you, very much. Can we put a flyer up on your bulletin
board?" Nabiki asked.
"Sure," the woman replied.
Nabiki tacked the flyer to the board and then turned to leave.
"Ami! Can you help us back here!" a male voice called out.
"Sure, Doctor!" Ami replied, then rushed back to the exam rooms.
Nabiki and Mousse left the animal hospital and headed towards the
next animal hospital on their list.
-C- -M- -D-
"I'm sorry, Mousse. Maybe this was a waste of time," Nabiki said,
as she tossed some breadcrumbs at the ducks in the pond.
Mousse looked down from the night sky. "No, you were right. I
haven't given up hope. Maybe I should."
"No, you shouldn't. Hope is good, but to live the rest of your life
pining away for Shampoo isn't going to do either of you any good,"
Nabiki said, taking Mousse's hand in hers.
"You are most kind, Nabiki Tendo," Mousse said. He leaned over and
gave Nabiki a kiss on her lips.
After the kiss finished, Nabiki leaned back and smiled. <Damn,
Shampoo didn't know was she was missing,> she thought. Mousse and Nabiki
sat quietly and held hands while the ducks went along with their lives.
-C- -M- -D-
Time passed, the physical wounds had healed, but the mental ones
would take longer. Still, life went on for the people affected by
Shampoo's death. Cologne and Aftershave had gone back to China a long
time ago. Mousse was scraping himself out of his depression with
Nabiki's help. Ranma and Akane still kept their love secret from their
families, or thought they were.
December came, Ranma and Akane walked home on a fence. "So, want to
do something special tonight?" Akane asked, balancing behind Ranma.
"Sure, whatever you like."
"Okay, let's get married."
Ranma fell off the fence suddenly, barely avoiding falling in the
canal.
"Just kidding."
"Dirty trick. Try that again and I will marry you," Ranma said, as
he got back up on the fence and started walking again.
"Promises...promises," Akane said then did a flip up and over
Ranma. Ranma walked right into Akane and right into the big kiss that
she gave him.
"If I knew you'd use your training like this, I'd have sparred with
you sooner," Ranma said, after catching his breath from the long kiss.
"I'm glad you finally wised up," Akane said, with a huge smile and
leaned in for another kiss.
Ranma held up a finger and said, "Hold that thought." He turned
around, put his arms together, formed a chi ball between his hands, and
then yelled, "Moko Takabisha!!!" The chi ball flew from his outstretched
arms and hit the little troll who was running away from the horde of
half naked women.
Happosai crashed to the ground, was overrun by the women, and
beaten senseless.
"Now where were we?" Ranma asked.
"Tonight's plans."
"Ah, what are you hungry for?"
"How about Mexican?" Akane suggested.
"Sounds safe enough," Ranma agreed, then finished the interrupted
kiss.
-C- -M- -D-
Nabiki walked down the street, she paused as she heard familiar
blast ring out. <Ranma blasting Happosai or Kuno again, I imagine,> she
thought, then continued walking.
"Nabiki Tendo?" a voice called out from behind her.
Nabiki turned around and saw Mousse standing behind her, she smiled
and said, "Hi, Mousse! What's up?"
"I wish to have dinner with you tonight, Nabiki Tendo."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "You really need to loosen up a bit,
Mousse. It's not like we've just met."
"Is that a no?"
"No...I'll go out with you, but you have to start calling me
Nabiki. After all we've had, what, a dozen dates already?"
"Ten so far, this will be number eleven."
"Okay, but someplace nice."
"Of course, Nabiki."
Nabiki smiled and then gave him a big kiss.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma was trying to figure out how to eat the fajita that was
sizzling in front of him. Akane smiled. "Have any idea how I'm supposed
to eat this?" Ranma asked his fiancee.
"Nope," Akane said, then took another bite of her enchilada.
Ranma shrugged, then used a fork to eat the meat and onions. Then
took a bite of one of the tortillas.
The waiter walked by and noticed Ranma. "Excuse me sir. The best
way to eat fajitas is to place the meat mixture on the tortilla, along
with anything on the condiment plate that you like."
Ranma looked up. "Oh. Thank you," he said, blushing. He proceeded
to take one of the tortillas and put the meat mixture on it. He added
some of the green goop to it and some cheese. He then wrapped the
tortilla up and took a bite. Most of the mixture ended up in his lap.
"Gack!"
Akane chuckled. "Maybe Mexican food wasn't such a good idea," she
mentioned.
"I won't let this meal defeat me!" Ranma declared, wiping his pants
off. He tried again and this time he avoided a major spill.
"I'm so proud of you," Akane quipped. She looked away from Ranma
then ducked down suddenly.
"Wha...ummmp?" Ranma asked, with his mouth full.
Akane pointed tot he door and said, "Nabiki and Mousse just came
in."
Ranma looked and saw the couple waiting at the front for a table.
He ducked down. Then he decided that he had to do something about the
Kunos; he...no...THEY couldn't live life in fear of being discovered
anymore. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to do that. It would be over
a week before he realized the solution.
-C- -M- -D-
Nabiki looked up from her computer when she heard a knocking on the
door, she asked, "Yes?"
Ranma opened the door and walked in, shutting the door behind him.
"Nabiki, I need your help with a gift for Akane."
Nabiki looked at him, then she said, "Okay. How much do you need?"
"Not money. I need your help to get the Kunos off our backs."
Nabiki raised her eyebrow, then asked, "Finally going to propose
and marry my sister?"
"Well, I just want to get them off our backs. Including my girl
side."
"Yeah, right." Nabiki nodded, but knew that he was lying. Then the
businesswoman inside her took over. "It's going to cost you."
"I thought you gave up your money making schemes?" Ranma asked.
"Just the less than above board ones. This will be all above
board...mostly."
"Okay, whatever you want. I'll pay it."
Nabiki patted her chest. "Oh, be still my heart. I'll give you a
discount on this one, since you are almost family." She neglected to
tell Ranma exactly how much she was going to charge him and then
discount. <Well, it's his fault for not asking.>
"Thanks."
"I think I have a plan that will work. I'll get the ball rolling,
you just be ready to go with me tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay. Thanks again, Nabiki," Ranma said, then left the room.
<Looks like he's starting to take marrying Akane seriously. Good,>
Nabiki thought. She looked back to her computer and double-clicked the
file called 'Operation Kuno Family Heartbreak'. She had prepared the
details months ago after the aborted wedding, but was waiting for
someone to pay her to use it. Took them longer than she thought.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma and Nabiki arrived at the Kuno mansion and knocked on the
gate. As they were waiting for an answer, Nabiki said, "Remember, let me
do the talking and ABSOLUTELY NO FIGHTING!"
"Okay, but they'd better not start anything!" Ranma replied,
smacking a fist into his other hand.
Sasuke answered the gate and let them in. He led them to what
looked like a meeting room. In the far corner, a group of statues
depicted the two Kuno siblings, which were obviously there to intimidate
people. The six-meter tall Kodachi was wearing a long flowing dress,
held a bouquet of roses, and looked very much the typical Japanese noble
woman. The Tatewaki statue had an upraised sword in it's hand and was in
a very dignified pose. Two more statues were crouched at his side, but
were covered with sheets.
The real Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno sat at the far end of a long
table, although they looked as stiff as the statues. At least Tatewaki
had a good excuse, since he was still wearing his casts from the
summer's 'accidents'. He was sitting in his wheelchair and hiding the
casts as much as possible under his normal warrior clothing.
Ranma smiled at the sight of the casts, since he was the one
responsible for them.
The five big ugly women lawyers that Nabiki had worked with after
the destroyed wedding were also at the end of the table with the Kuno
siblings. On the end that Ranma and Nabiki sat at, Dr. Tofu and another
professional looking man were seated.
"Good, I see the doctors have arrived. I assume that their
credentials meet with your approval," Nabiki asked the lawyers.
The head lawyer nodded her agreement. "Yes. Let's get started."
"Fine. The purpose of this meeting is to stop Tatewaki and Kodachi
Kuno from bothering Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, or their families,
ever again. This includes the red haired girl that Tatewaki knows as his
'pig-tailed goddess'. I could have just got a restraining order, but I
doubt either of them would had abided by it."
"I shall never give up my fair Akane Tendo or the pig-tailed
goddess!" Kuno declared.
"Nor I my darling Ranma!" Kodachi yelled, then cackled maniacally.
The professional man made some notes.
"Okay, we'll let you rant for now," Nabiki said, earning scowls
from the Kunos. She continued, "First we have a few things to prove to
you both. Dr. Tofu please do as we planned."
Dr. Tofu got up and led Ranma over to Kuno and Kodachi. "Would each
of you please place a hand around Ranma's wrists?" he asked.
Kuno reluctantly did so and Kodachi cut off his circulation with
her vise-like grip.
"You both agree that this is Ranma Saotome and that he is a man?"
Nabiki asked.
Kuno nodded his agreement. Kodachi tried to undo his pants to
confirm the fact, but was stopped by a slap from Ranma. Saddened by
being denied her 'examination of the evidence' she nodded her agreement.
Nabiki nodded for Dr. Tofu to continue.
Dr. Tofu took out a flask and poured the cold water over Ranma.
Ranma transformed into a girl and filled out the shirt she was wearing.
"You can now see that Ranma is now a girl. Your hands never left his
wrists so they are one and the same person," Dr. Tofu explained.
The lawyers all looked shocked. All of them wanted to know how this
was done so they could look more feminine. They all thoughtfully
scratched their stubble. It was doubtful that even if there was any
'Spring of Drowned Girl' water left after Jusenkyo's destruction that it
would help these so-called women.
"My pig-tailed goddess!"
"Where did my darling Ranma go?!" Kodachi asked and looked under
the table.
"I am Ranma, you idots! I'm cursed to switch genders when splashed
with hot or cold water!!" Nabiki shot him a glare that said 'shut up you
stupid macho jerk'. Ranma shut up.
To prove this, Dr. Tofu poured hot water from a different flask
over Ranma's head. She turned back into a man. "I have certified that
this is indeed the same person. Blood types, fingerprints, all sorts of
identification methods...they all match," Dr. Tofu said, then handed a
file to the lawyers.
"It's magic!"
"It's some trick to keep me from my darling Ranma!"
"Tatewaki Kuno, your pig-tailed goddess is a man and he is going to
marry my sister," Nabiki exclaimed.
"Never!"
"Kodachi Kuno, your darling Ranma is a hermaphrodite and a
cross-dressing jerk," Nabiki said. Ranma flinched at this, but Nabiki
completed her statement. "He is going to marry Akane Tendo, because she
doesn't care about his perverted body. Can you say the same?"
"Oh, this cannot be true!"
"Have either of you seen them together at the same time?"
"Come to think of it. I have not. That is most strange, but is a
result of the evil sorcerers magic!" Kuno exclaimed.
Ranma relaxed internally. He had been afraid that Kuno might
remember the time that the mirror version of his girl side was running
around, but then Kuno wasn't the most observant person in the world. If
he was, he'd have figured out that Ranma and his pig-tailed goddess were
the same person a long time ago.
"It is magic, but a magic that curses Ranma to turn into a girl
when splashed with cold water. Try it yourself," Nabiki suggested, then
put two bottles on the table, marked 'hot' and 'cold'. Kodachi and Kuno
took turns transforming Ranma, who was growing very wet and very mad.
"I still don't believe it!"
"I shan't believe it myself, 'tis but a trick," Kuno said, then
started to squeeze Ranma's breasts. Just to make sure they were real
mind you. A nobleman like Kuno would never caress the heaving bosoms of
a young lady for any other reason. Well, that was Kuno's reasoning at
least.
"Stop squeezing me!" Ranma yelled and slapped both of Kuno's hands
away.
"Okay. Whisper something to Ranma, then use the water and he or she
will repeat it," Nabiki instructed.
They both took turns doing so, but were still not satisfied. Ranma
shook his hair dry again. The professional man was keeping busy making
notes.
"Okay...lets try this," Nabiki said. She handed two markers to Kuno
and Kodachi. Then she said, "Now make any mark on Ranma that you want
and we will transform him. Then you will see that they are one and the
same person.
Kodachi made a cute little black rose design, which some might have
considered a brand, on Ranma's cheek. Kuno made a big 'X' over Ranma's
whole face and then wrote 'Ranma Saotome is a heathen' across Ranma's
forehead. Ranma grew angrier, but kept his anger under control. Nabiki
handed a cold water bottle to Kuno and motioned him to pour it. He did
so and Ranma transformed into a girl, the marks were all still there.
"No! This cannot be true!" Kodachi screamed, then ran into a corner
of the room, curled up into a ball and started to cry.
"To think that my beautiful pig-tail girl was the perverted monster
know as Ranma Saotome all this time. How dare you deceive me!" Kuno
shouted, then pulled a bokken out and swung at Ranma. Since Kuno was in
a wheelchair, Ranma was able to disarm Kuno very fast.
"Knock it off! I told you and told you, I even transformed in front
of your eyes many times!" Ranma yelled back.
Nabiki spoke up, "Now then, all we ask that you and your sister
never bother any Tendo or Saotome family members again. Ranma Saotome
will marry Akane Tendo. Neither of them have any interest in either Kuno
sibling, besides avoiding them."
"Right! So leave me and Akane alone already!" Ranma declared.
The Kunos just ranted some more, so Nabiki pulled out a videotape
from her briefcase and put it into the VCR in the corner. She hit the
play button. The screen showed a rather ugly young boy with a pig like
nose and a little girl with a big Barbara Streisand-like nose playing at
the Kuno mansion. They both had huge ears. "I believe that you'd rather
not have this videotape seen by anyone?" Nabiki asked the two Kuno
siblings. This was the same tape that she had used to get the Kuno's to
pay for the damage they did to the dojo during the destroyed wedding.
<Well, I never promised that I didn't have other copies of
it....suckers.>
"It is a fake," Kuno said.
"I never looked like that!" Kodachi screamed.
"Whatever, but it'll still be interesting watching for the
residents of Tokyo," Nabiki implied.
"How dare you blackmail the great Tatewaki Kuno!" Kuno declared.
"You now, Kuno...you really should be used to it by now. All we
want you to do is leave our families alone. Just sign these papers and
we'll leave you both alone. We only ask that you do the same," Nabiki
said, then held out some papers.
The lawyers took the papers and studied them carefully. Finally,
the head lawyer said, "Mr. and Ms. Kuno, as representatives the Kuno
family, we must recommend that you sign the forms and do as they ask. If
you don't we will be forced to protect the Kuno name, as is our
responsibility, and cut off your trust funds."
Nabiki smiled broadly, but inwardly wondered what was so special
about the Kuno name to protect. Everyone in Nerima just laughed at and
ridiculed them anyway.
"You wouldn't! The great Tatewaki Kuno cannot live as a commoner!"
Kuno shouted.
"What use is money without my darling Ranma!" Kodachi cried, from
the corner.
"My love for the pig-tailed girl is pure and unbreakable! How can
my noble self deny it!" Kuno declared.
"Pure?" Nabiki asked, then walked over to the statues and pulled
the sheets off the two crouching figures. Naked statues of Akane and
Ranma as a girl were revealed. They were both kneeling at the sides of
the Kuno statue and looking up at him with love and devotion. "You are
also after my sister as well! Not only are you in love with a GUY, but
also with his fiancee!"
This shook Kuno out of his normally haughty attitude. He started to
sulk in his wheelchair.
The professional man took out another legal pad and made more
notes.
After more posturing, crying, temper tantrums, and declarations of
revenge, both of the Kuno siblings eventually signed the forms, but only
after Nabiki handed over all copies of the videotape. Well, except for
the dozen copies that she had in various safe deposit boxes around
Tokyo, of course.
Nabiki and Ranma left the Kuno mansion fourteen hours after they
entered. They said goodbye to Dr. Tofu and then the professional man
handed Nabiki a set of papers. "You were quite right, Ms. Tendo. If they
bother you again, call me and I'll have them institutionalized for
observation," he said, then departed.
"Institutionalized?" Ranma asked.
"Just insurance in case they break the agreement. They still might
not be convinced that you and your girl-side are the same person. In
addition, they might also seek revenge or just do something crazy. In
fact, it's almost assured they will do something to break that
agreement. I'm just doing my job to keep them away from you," Nabiki
informed Ranma. <If they do break it, I'll be in for a pretty hefty cash
windfall,> Nabiki thought, then smiled.
"Thank you, Nabiki," Ranma said, then asked, "Ummmmm, how did you
know about the statues?"
"Who do you think sold them to him?" Nabiki answered, smiling. <I
just won't tell him how many sets Kuno bought or Ranma might have a
fit.>
-C- -M- -D-
Snow was falling over the Tendo house, covering everything in a
light dusting of white snow. Ranma and Akane sparred in the dojo; Akane
was landing a few choice hits. Her eyes sparkled. Suddenly, Ranma threw
his hands in front of him and yelled "Moko Takabisha!!!"
Akane eyes went wide and she jumped straight up and grabbed one of
the roof rafters. Then she frowned when the expected chi blast never
came. "What did you do that for?" she finally asked, then dropped to the
ground.
"Just checking your reaction to unexpected events. You did good,"
Ranma said.
"Thanks, but you scared me to death," Akane said, then took some
deep breaths.
"Sorry, but I wanted to see what you'd do in that situation.
Besides, I'm going to try and teach the Moko Takabisha to you when we go
on our training trip," Ranma explained.
"Really? Cool!" Akane exclaimed.
"Yup, I don't know if I will be able to, but I'll try."
"Thanks, Ranma," Akane said, smiled and walked over and kissed him.
"I'll do my best to learn it."
"You'll have to do better than your best if you want to learn it."
"I'm up to it!" Akane declared.
<I hope she is, this could really hurt her if she can't handle it,>
Ranma thought as he watched his fiancee glow with excitement. Literally
glowed, since a faint aura of happiness formed around Akane.
"Um...I wanted to give you your gift before dinner. It's something
I'd rather the family not find out about right away," Ranma said, then
went over to the doorway and picked up a package that had been covered
with a towel.
Akane smiled, "You are full of surprises."
"You have no idea," Ranma said. He grinned and handed the large
paper bag to Akane.
Akane opened the bag and pulled out the present. She was amazed at
the sight of it. Amazed at how cheep it was, that is. "A calendar?"
"It's much more than that. It's to pick a date with."
"A date? A wedding date?"
"Of course."
"But...we still have to get Kodachi and Kuno off our backs."
"That is the other part of the gift. With Nabiki's help we've
gotten them to believe in my curse and back off pursuing us," Ranma
informed her, crossing his fingers. "I hope."
"WHAT????" Akane shouted. "You didn't tell Nabiki about..."
"Nope, just that I wanted to get them off our backs. She even
arranged a safety net if they break their promise, which they may very
well do."
"How could you do this to me!" Akane screamed. Her battle aura
sprang to life and she started walking menacingly towards Ranma with
anger in her eyes.
Ranma flinched, then started to back away. Then he said, "I'd
thought you'd be happy. I thought you wanted to get married." Ranma
looked sadly down at the floor.
"I do! But this is going to make my gift to you seem
really...really...lame!" Akane said, then smiled broadly. Her battle
aura disappeared.
Ranma looked up and fell over backwards when he saw the smile on
her face. "Gaaaaa..."
Akane walked over to him and looked down at the twitching figure,
then said, "You okay?"
"Next time just hit me, it's less painful!" Ranma finally managed
to say and got up with Akane's help. As they rose, they held each other
and kissed. "That was really cruel of you."
Akane looked up at him, then said, "I know, but it serves you right
for getting me a gift I couldn't possibly top."
"I'm sure I'll love your gift too," Ranma said. He knelt down on
the floor and opened the calendar, then asked, "When looks good to you?"
Akane knelt down beside him and looked at the calendar, "Well, as
much as I'd like to do it tomorrow...I think maybe we should try the
break before our Senior year. We'll both be eighteen by then too."
"That long, huh? " Ranma said, then flipped the calendar to March
and looked at the dates. "March twentieth, it's a Saturday."
Akane smiled, the said, "March twentieth sounds great. It'll be a
nice spring wedding. Guess we have to figure out where to go for our
honeymoon, too."
Ranma blanched at the mention of the honeymoon, then gasped,
"Honeymoon?"
Akane grinned. "Yes, that's what usually follows a wedding."
"Well, I wasn't really thinking that far ahead."
"Pity, that's the best part of being married," Akane winked. Ranma
blushed.
"Well, I'm already maxed out with Nabiki for credit, so we can't go
anywhere too fancy," Ranma insisted.
"I have a feeling we can get our parents to spring for it. We just
have to apply the right pressure."
"Something along the lines of...'We'd like to get married, but we
just can't afford a honeymoon right now'?"
"Exactly," Akane said, grinning.
"So what is my present?"
"I'll give it to you before dinner."
"I can hardly wait."
"For the present or March twentieth?"
"Both."
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma and Akane walked down to the family room. Ranma was wearing
his present from Akane. It was a hand knitted sweater. It was fairly
good, a few dropped stitches here and there, some extra yarn poking out,
and only one extra arm. Ranma sat down and swung the extra arm around
his neck like a scarf.
"Are you sure you like it?" Akane asked.
"Sure, it's very warm and the built in scarf is a good idea," Ranma
insisted.
Akane knew he was just being nice, but for Ranma, that was like a
bonus present in return. <Damn, he really outdid me in presents this
year. Next year I'll make sure to make him something really, really
good!> Akane thought, the wheels in her mind spinning rapidly. They
knelt down at the table. The entire household was there, plus Dr. Tofu,
Ukyo, Ryoga and Konatsu. A knock was heard form the door and Nabiki got
up to answer it.
"It's not as big as last years party, but it's nice to have good
friends over," Kasumi said, meaning everyone, but was looking at Dr.
Tofu at the time.
"It was nice of you to invite me, Kasumi," Dr. Tofu said.
"Yes, thank you for inviting us too," Ukyo said. Konatsu and Ryoga
nodded their agreement.
Nabiki walked back with Mousse on her arm. Nabiki took great
pleasure in showing off the man that she was dating. They sat down at
the table and then Nodoka brought out the meal.
Everyone dug in and talked about the past year, except Shampoo's
death. No one even got close to talking about that. The dinner was a
celebration, not a wake.
The fake P-Chan walked up to Akane and tried to crawl up on her
lap. She helped him. "Little P-Chan wants some company, don't you?"
Akane said, scratching the pig's chin.
"Careful, Akane, don't let P-Chan see the pork buns," Kasumi
reminded her.
Ryoga stopped eating the bun he was eating. Then with his mouth
full, he said, "Po...mfff bum...mffs?"
"Yes, do you like them Ryoga?"
Ryoga put down the half eaten pork bun, then said, "They are great,
Kasumi." His face didn't match his statement. The people at the table
who knew about his curse couldn't resist grinning.
"So how is P-Chan, Akane?" Ukyo asked.
"He's great. He hasn't wandered off since summer, looks like maybe
he's finally decided this is his home," Akane said, smiling and giving
some lettuce to P-Chan.
"I guess so. Lucky pig," Ryoga muttered, earning him a jab from
Ukyo and a hostile stare from Ranma.
"So, Akane, have you and Ranma set a date yet?" Nabiki suddenly
asked.
Akane's jaw dropped as she looked towards her sister. Ranma choked
on the pork bun he was eating, mostly to taunt Ryoga, then shot daggers
at Nabiki.
Forgetting that they had indeed set a date or maybe just out of
habit, Ranma and Akane both shouted, "No!"
Akane added, "Mind your own business!" Akane and Ranma exchanged
awkward glances, then had to start denying that they had decided
anything about a wedding.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane was packing her backpack for their training trip down south.
It was too cold to use the spot they used in the summer, much to their
regret. Akane opened a pocket in the side of the backpack and found the
unopened box of condoms that Nabiki gave her as a joke before their last
training trip. With a little smile, Akane put them back into the pocket.
"Just in case," she muttered. A knock was heard on her door. "Come in."
"Huh, Akane. I guess we should tell the family soon, before they
drive us crazy," Ranma said, as he came in.
"Let's do it after we get back from our training trip. I guess we
both denied it at dinner out of habit," Akane said, then gave him a
kiss.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I hope you realize it's just for
appearances sake. I'd love to shout from the roof top that I love you
and that we were going to be married," Ranma said.
"Except that you would instantly be attacked by hordes of people,
even if we've dealt with the big problems," Akane suggested.
"True. Sometimes I think we should just elope," Ranma suggested.
"Trying to push the wedding up?"
"No, I just don't want another destroyed wedding."
"Well, let's stick with March twentieth for now."
"Okay," Ranma agreed, then kissed Akane again.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo knocked on the door to Ryoga's bedroom, which used to be
called the storeroom. "Come in," Ryoga's voice was heard from inside.
Ukyo opened the door and walked around the crates of food. "Ryoga,
I just wanted to give you this. Thanks for being my friend this year,
you've helped me get over Ranma," Ukyo said and handed a bag to Ryoga.
Ryoga opened the bag and pulled out the hand knitted scarf, with
the same yellow and black pattern as his bandana. "Wow, this is great.
Thank you, Ukyo. Ummm...I got something for you too." Ryoga rummaged
around in his pack and finally pulled out a small round pin. "I'm sorry
I didn't have time to wrap it," Ryoga said, then looked down shyly.
"That's okay, Ryoga," Ukyo said. She took the pin and examined it
closely. "It's a little okonomiyaki!" Ukyo exclaimed when she recognized
the design. She smiled.
"Yeah, thought it suited you."
"Thank you, Ryoga," Ukyo said. Then hugged Ryoga and then kissed
him sweetly on his lips. She walked out of the room with a big smile on
her face. <What a thoughtful friend,> Ukyo thought, as she attached the
pin to her shirt.
Ryoga just sat back down on his futon and stared at Ukyo's
retreating back. "I love you, Ukyo," he muttered.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma and Akane had spent a good part of their day on a train.
Ranma hated to use the train, but it would have taken too long to hike
somewhere warm enough for their training trip. It was still cold in the
forest that they had hiked into, but not freezing.
After a short workout, Akane and Ranma setup their single tent,
made dinner, and turned in for the night. They took great joy in falling
asleep in each other arms for the first time since their casts were
removed.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane stood and faced the boulder that Ranma had painted the large
'X' on. It was around fifty meters away. Ranma stood by her side and
raised his hands and Akane followed suit. "Okay, Akane. I've perfected
the Moko Takabisha to allow for a beam blast or tossing a ball of chi
energy," Ranma began to instruct Akane.
"Yes, I've noticed you've used both. Not to mention that rapid fire
thingy."
"Yes, but I prefer to call it 'Moko Takabisha Rapid Fire'," Ranma
mentioned. Akane stuck her tongue out at Ranma. "Anyway, it's extremely
draining to form so many chi balls all at once. We'll start with you
forming a single chi ball, since they are a little easier to fire than a
beam. The more energy you funnel into the chi ball, the more damage it
does. If you put enough energy into it, you can actually generate a chi
ball or blast that will reduce anything it touches to ashes. So, you
have to be careful only to focus as much energy as you need to beat your
opponent." Akane nodded her understanding, so Ranma continued, "The Moko
Takabisha is based on confidence. So you have to concentrate on
something you are very confident about, then mentally focus the chi
between your hands. It's kind of like pushing your feelings into your
fingers and then out of them. We'll start with you just trying to get a
ball of chi to form between your fingers."
"Confidence, huh?" Akane muttered. She thought about their wedding
date, but as much as she wanted to marry Ranma, she couldn't be
confident enough that the wedding would actually happen as planned. She
thought about her family, but nothing happened. Then finally, she
thought about her love for Ranma. She willed her confidence that she
loved Ranma into her fingers and then between her hands. A small glowing
ball of chi energy appeared between her hands. She smiled at the sight
and the ball disappeared.
"Lost your concentration. Try it again. This time hold it there for
at least ten minutes. Don't worry about putting large amounts of energy
into the ball, just worry about holding it stable," Ranma instructed.
Akane nodded, then held her hands out, soon a small ball of chi
formed. She concentrated on it and kept it stable for about a half
minute before it flickered and vanished. "Darn."
"That's fine, Akane. I've only been able to keep a chi ball stable
for a few minutes myself," Ranma said.
"Then why did you say ten minutes?" Akane asked.
"To give you a larger goal than you really needed. Sometimes
setting lower goals makes people get lazy."
"Okay," Akane said, then mentally decided that she would try to
beat his time. She grinned.
Ranma noticed her grin and had a pretty good idea what she was
grinning about. The challenge to Akane's ego had worked; she would try
harder now. <Best not to tell her I'd kept one going for an hour
already. No need to put too much pressure on her,> Ranma thought. "Okay,
this time create and hold the chi ball stable, but also you need to
focus more energy into it. Then shout out 'Moko Takabisha' and give the
ball a 'shove' with your mind," Ranma instructed. Then he quickly
pointed towards the boulder with the 'X' on it, and added, "Oh...aim
towards the target."
"Do I have to yell the name out?"
"It's not required, but it helps focus your mind on the direction
of the blast and until you get more proficient at focusing your chi,
you'd probably be unable to focus correctly without it."
Akane built up a ball of chi energy. After it grew a bit in power,
she shouted, "Moko Takabisha!!!!!" The chi ball flew out a couple
centimeters from her fingers, then suddenly it dropped to the ground.
Akane screamed in pain as the chi blast hit her on her foot.
Ranma grabbed Akane as she doubled over in pain. He examined her
foot. It was burnt, but only a minor first-degree burn. He lifted her
into his arms and carried her back to their camp.
-C- -M- -D-
Once back to their camp, Ranma set Akane down on a log, pulled her
pants off, and draped them over her lap. Akane blushed a bit, but it
wasn't like he'd never seen her naked before. He examined the burned
foot and noticed some marks further up her leg. He grabbed a bottle of
water and proceeded to wash the foot and leg, in the process he splashed
himself with the water. "Damn," she cursed, after transforming.
"How does it look?" Akane asked.
"Not bad; looks superficial," Ranma said, shaking her hair dry. She
pulled some burn ointment out of their medical pack. She massaged some
ointment into the burned foot and leg. "How do you feel?"
"Humiliated! I shot myself in the foot!" Akane exclaimed, irritated
at herself.
"Don't sweat it, you did well up to that point. Focusing the chi is
the hardest part. We'll just have to have you work more on your
delivery," Ranma insisted.
"I'll wear shoes next time."
"Good idea, can't have these cute little toes being burnt off. How
does your FOOT feel now?"
Akane was laying back as Ranma massaged the foot. "Great. The burn
still hurts, but your hands feel wonderful. Why don't you do the other
foot now?"
"But you only hurt this one..."
"I know, but I have to milk the injury for as long as I can. And a
foot and leg massage sounds pretty good right now," Akane said, then
held out her other leg.
Ranma grinned. "Okay, I know when I'm licked," she said, then
picked up the other foot and proceeded to massage it as well. It wasn't
long before Ranma was working on her legs. Not long after that, she had
abandoned the legs and started kissing Akane's sweet lips.
"Hmmmm," Akane muttered, running her hand through Ranma's unruly
mane of red hair.
Ranma started to kiss Akane's neck. Her hand slipped down, opened
Akane's gi, and she cupped one of Akane's breasts. This was nothing new
to either of them; they had caressed each other's breasts before during
some of their more adventurous make out sessions, but what followed next
was a new sensation for both of them. Getting lost in the moment, Ranma
kissed Akane's neck and then slid her other hand down Akane's back. Her
lips reached Akane's breasts. Ranma kissed them gently and teased the
skin with her tongue.
Akane moaned in pleasure, not being able to describe what she felt
at that point. They had fooled around before, but this was something
more. It was fantastic.
Ranma felt Akane respond to her teasing and moved to the other
breast. She repeated the teasing there, before applying some suction.
Akane gasped; suddenly she realized what was happening and what it
was likely to lead to. She slid back away from Ranma. "Ranma...I'm
sorry. I'm not ready for that." She pulled her gi closed again.
"I understand," Ranma replied, then apologized, "I'm sorry, Akane."
Silently, Ranma pulled out some gauze and she began to bandage Akane's
burned foot and leg.
-C- -M- -D-
The campfire blazed into the night sky. Ranma, now male again, and
Akane were huddled close to stay warm. "Akane, I'm sorry if I got
carried away earlier," Ranma apologized yet again for the earlier
incident.
"It's all right, Ranma," Akane insisted. "You can stop apologizing
now. The first dozen apologies were enough." She smirked.
"Err...okay. Sometimes it's just so hard to wait for our
honeymoon," Ranma confided, then blushed.
"I know the feeling, but I'd rather not go too far as girls
before..." Akane let her statement trail off.
"As girls? Um...well, I assumed you meant you weren't ready to go
that far period."
"Well...don't get me wrong. I love you, male or female. But..."
"You feel more comfortable with me as a man?" Ranma completed her
thought. <Damn, this curse!>
"Yes. To tell you the truth I was enjoying myself...maybe I
shouldn't have stopped you," Akane confessed, but looked at the ground
and blushed.
"When you're ready just tell me. Just let me know which body you
want me to use, okay?" Ranma asked.
Akane smiled at this and said, "We're going to have a interesting
life if I have to tell you which body to use when we make love."
"Make love...err...I wasn't thinking of going that far this
afternoon," Ranma insisted, even though it did cross his mind. Or HER
mind at the time.
"It's crossed my mind a lot lately," Akane admitted.
Ranma gulped. "Really?"
"Especially since we set the date for the wedding."
Ranma and Akane held each other by the fire for several minutes.
Ranma looked at Akane's eyes that were sparkling in the light of the
fire. He drew Akane close and kissed her deeply.
After the fire had died down to a few small flames, they went into
their tent. As they curled up on the bedroll, Akane leaned over and
whispered to Ranma, "Now that you're a guy...let's pickup where you left
off."
Ranma's eyes went wide; he pulled Akane close and kissed her. His
fingers only shook a little bit when he unbuttoned Akane's pajama top.
He kissed her neck, moved down to her breasts, and repeated the kisses
there.
Akane moaned.
The fire finally died out completely about an hour after Ranma and
Akane turned in for the night. Ranma stumbled out of the tent in his
shorts and dug out the small box of condoms from Akane's backpack. He
walked back to the tent, tripping over a rock on the way. Getting back
up, he entered the tent looking very nervous.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma awoke and felt Akane's breasts against his chest. He smiled
and looked down at Akane. He ran his hand over her hair. "I love you,"
he said softly. He held her in his arms for several minutes before she
finally woke up. "Good morning."
"Morning, lover," Akane said, when she saw Ranma.
Ranma blushed. Then he repeated his earlier statement, this time
while Akane was awake. "I love you."
"Well, three months early, but I guess that counts as our
honeymoon," Akane suggested, teasing Ranma's hair with her fingers.
"Well, then we'll just have two honeymoons," Ranma said.
"Sounds good to me," Akane said, then was silenced by Ranma's kiss.
It was mid-morning before they finally had breakfast. Ranma sucked
down the rice and soup Akane had whipped together. "You've gotten pretty
good at making food that's non-toxic since our summer training trip,"
Ranma complimented Akane.
Well, it was meant as a compliment, so that's how Akane decided to
take it. "Thanks," Akane said, with a lopsided smile. "So...what are we
going to do today? I still can't walk too well on my foot."
"There are some things I can show you that don't require you to be
standing."
"Oh really? Pretty confident after last night, aren't you?" Akane
smirked.
"I was referring to some techniques that help me control the Moko
Takabisha," Ranma insisted. "And YOU always call ME perverted."
Akane laughed. "Nothing perverted about what we did. Just the love
between a man and a woman."
-C- -M- -D-
After a couple more days in the forest, Ranma and Akane sat on a
train headed back to Tokyo. "Wish we didn't have to go home already,"
Akane said, as she snuggled up to Ranma's side.
"Me too, but we couldn't train that hard since you can't do any
kicks or leaps with your foot," Ranma explained, then he added with a
wink, "We also ran out of our protection."
Akane smiled knowingly, the fact that they had run out of condoms
was probably the biggest reason for leaving the forest. Then she said,
"I know. I still wish I could have done better with the Moko Takabisha."
She had managed to throw it only about five meters by the end of the
trip and it still didn't have much power when it hit the ground, so
Akane still had a lot of work to do.
"You did good for your first time. At least you're not shooting
yourself in the foot anymore," Ranma said, grinning.
Akane stuck her tongue out at Ranma, which Ranma took as an
invitation to kiss her. He did.
After the kiss, with a touch of jealously, Akane said, "But you
picked it up so fast."
"Well yeah, but I'm the best!" Ranma declared, puffing his chest
out.
"Are you sure that the Moko Takabisha isn't based on a bloated
ego?" Akane remarked, smirking.
"Ouch. Just be patient and do your best, Akane. These things take
time," Ranma insisted. He didn't want to mention that he thought it
might be because he seems to be able to focus chi better than Akane can.
Akane can make an impressive battle aura, but that's all unfocused
energy. It's mostly for show and to intimidate your enemy. To cause
damage with chi you have to be able to focus it and Akane was having
trouble with the focus part.
"Kitakyushu. Next stop, Kitakyushu," the conductor announced over
the public address system.
Ranma looked up when he heard the voice. He thought for a few
seconds, then he got up and grabbed their packs.
"What are you doing?" Akane asked.
"Well, between the two of us I think we should have enough money
for a hotel,"
"My...my...Mr. Saotome," Akane said, mocking being shocked.
"Besides, it's New Years Eve. We can go to the local temple, then
watch the fireworks."
"And find a drug store," Akane added, winking.
Ranma smiled.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma and Akane were unpacking their backpacks, when Ranma heard
something and looked over at the door of their hotel room. He walked
over and opened the door, then looked out in the hallway.
Akane asked, "What is it?"
"I could have sworn I heard a voice that I recognized," Ranma said.
He closed the door again, walked over, and sat down on a bench with
Akane.
"You're just nervous about spending tonight with me in a hotel
room," Akane suggested. On the mountain or in the forest at least they
were relativity safe from accidental discovery. That was not quite true
of a hotel in a large city like Kitakyushu.
"Yeah, that's probably it," Ranma agreed, then kissed Akane.
-C- -M- -D-
Later, Ranma and Akane sat on the lawn in front of their hotel.
They each wore the kimonos provided by the hotel and held each other
close while they looked up at the fireworks. "Lovely," Akane commented.
"Yes, both you and the fireworks."
"Thank you, Ranma."
When Ranma and Akane finally returned to their room, they snuggled
together on a large futon. Akane purred with pleasure as Ranma nibbled
on her neck, then made his way down her body.
Ranma suddenly stop kissing what he was kissing and swore. "Damn,
I forgot to find a drug store."
"Too late now," Akane said, then slid her hands across Ranma's
chest and started to kiss it.
"Um, Akane. Maybe we shouldn't start anything we can't finish."
"Who says we won't finish?"
"Well, we don't have any...protection," Ranma stammered.
"A splash of cold water will be good enough protection for
tonight," Akane said, looking Ranma in his eyes.
"You mean..."
Akane nodded. She had been preparing herself to take this step
eventually. <No time like the present,> she thought, mostly to keep
herself from backing down.
Ranma swallowed hard.
-C- -M- -D-
Kasumi and Dr. Tofu, both dressed in their best kimonos, walked
down the steps from the temple. "Thank you for accompanying me tonight,
Tofu," Kasumi said.
"It was my pleasure, Kasumi," Dr. Tofu said.
They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Tendo house. At
the gate, Kasumi turned around and smiled, then asked, "Would you like
to come in for some tea?"
"Well, it is late," Dr. Tofu said. Kasumi cocked her head to one
side and just looked at him. Dr. Tofu looked into her eyes, for once his
glasses didn't steam up, then changed his answer. "Actually, I guess
it's not that late. Thank you, I'd love to."
Kasumi led him into the house and to the family room, then she went
in to heat up some water.
They sipped the tea and talked quietly. When they finished their
tea, Kasumi showed Dr. Tofu to the gate. "Well, thank you again for a
lovely evening, Kasumi. I always enjoy your company," Dr. Tofu said,
when they stood at the gate, yet again.
"And I enjoy yours, Tofu," Kasumi said, then closed her eyes and
tilted her head upwards. <Please, Tofu...> she thought, before she felt
his lips against hers. A jolt shot threw her. When the short, but
electric, kiss was over she opened her eyes and met Dr. Tofu's eyes.
"Good evening, Kasumi. I'll see you soon," Dr. Tofu said.
"Yes, I'd enjoy seeing you soon," Kasumi replied. The watched Dr.
Tofu walk away towards his clinic, only hitting one telephone pole on
his way. When he was out of sight, she turned around and walked back
into the house. She didn't fall asleep until the sun rose the next
morning.
-C- -M- -D-
Ranma awoke to the feeling of Akane's breasts against her own.
<Well...that was different. I wonder if Akane feels that good when we...
It almost felt better as a woman. Nawwww....just different.> She
continued to reflect on their night together until Akane awoke. "Good
morning, Akane," she said, then gave her a deep kiss.
Akane sighed pleasurably after the kiss finished. "Have fun?" Akane
grinned.
"Yes, I guess I found one good thing about this curse after all.
Alternate protection."
"Well, that's another hurdle we've jumped over."
"Yes. I love you."
"Me too," Akane replied, then gave Ranma a deep kiss.
The two women snuggled together until the desk clerk knocked on
their door and said, "Checkout time!"
Ranma and Akane both sighed. "No more money, we've got to go home,"
Akane informed Ranma.
"Let's get married on the way home," Ranma suggested, half
jokingly.
"Don't tempt me, but I'd like to have a nice wedding and I've
already promised Kasumi she could be my maid of honor."
"Not Nabiki?"
"After the last wedding? You've got to be kidding. She's still on
my hit list," Akane quipped.
"Didn't you forget a 'S' in that list?"
Akane smiled, then said, "Nope, it's a list of people who deserve
to be hit by me."
"I'm probably on the top of that list."
"Yup, but don't worry...I've found something better to do with you
now."
Ranma blushed. "Well, you deserve a nice wedding. Guess we'll stick
to the March twentieth wedding then," Ranma declared.
"Yup! We'll just have to find excuses to 'train' more often until
then," Akane said, then winked.
"Pervert," Ranma said.
"Tomboy," Akane replied.
"I think we mixed those pet names up."
"What does it matter."
For once, they didn't even think about changing their pet names.
Why bother? They knew they loved each other, that's what mattered to
them.
They kissed some more, until the clerk banged again on the door.
This time very loudly.
***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
I was sweating profusely. I looked over to Hanaki and blushed. She
wasn't even fazed at the very graphic descriptions that Akane had just
given me of the first times that she and Ranma made love. "Could I
please have some water, Hanaki?" I finally asked.
"Sure," Hanaki said, then got up and went to get some water.
"You didn't need to get that detailed Akane."
"Sorry if I embarrassed you, but unlike Ranma, I don't pull
punches," Akane said. She reached behind her, pulled out a photo album,
and opened it.
"I'll have to tone down the descriptions a bit for the book of
course."
"I'd appreciate that," Akane said, then held out the photo album.
"There. That was after Kodachi attacked us."
I looked at the picture and blushed. "Thanks for sharing that with
me, but it's not necessary."
"Now, James. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. I got over my
awkwardness about nudity a long time ago. With Ranma around someone
always seemed to be running around naked," Akane calmly stated.
"Mostly him, if I recall the stories you've told me correctly."
Akane smirked. "Yes, but we all took turns."
"Say...do you have any pictures of you two on New Years Eve?" I
asked casually.
Akane blanched. "Err...no, some things are more private."
"Gotcha!" I declared and grinned.
"Just for that you can't date Hanaki anymore."
"Try and stop me."
Akane grinned mischievously and held her hands out. A ball of hot
chi energy formed.
"Um...err...I was only kidding!" I shouted, backing away.
"Stop it, Auntie. You're scarring him!" Hanaki exclaimed, coming
back with the water.
"Gotcha back," Akane said, then flipped her hands casually towards
the open doors. The chi ball flew out the doors. "Target: Intercept chi
ball," she said calmly.
Outside the house a round target rose from the ground and was
launched into the air. The chi ball hit the large metal target and
reduced it to ashes.
I gulped.
"Don't worry, James, I was only kidding. These days it'd take more
than a little teasing for me to really hurt anyone," Akane said,
smiling. She excused herself and went to the back of the house.
I finally took my water and drank it. "I thought she was serious
for a second."
Hanaki smiled. "She enjoys scarring people like that sometimes, but
only close friends."
"I'd hate to see what she'd do if I was her enemy," I mentioned.
"Yes, you would. You'd be dead. She doesn't pull punches when it's
a matter of life or death."
"Where would you like to go out for dinner tonight?" I asked her,
desperately trying to change the subject.
"Well, I know this great French restaurant," Hanaki said, after
thinking for a bit.
"Not in Paris, I hope?" I quipped, remembering the time she wanted
us to go to Mexico for some Mexican food.
"Nope, it's over in San Francisco. I just got my pilot's license
yesterday, so we can take one of the family jets."
She was serious. "San Francisco?" I gasped.
"Sure, with a quick sub-orbit burn, we can get there in under two
hours," Hanaki said.
"You've soloed before, right?"
"Yup, in my certification flight yesterday," Hanaki informed me.
I gulped. I suddenly knew exactly what Ranma must have felt like
whenever Akane made something new for him to eat. I pitied him at that
moment. I choked back my fear, then said, "Ah, you just want an excuse
to fly somewhere." My first time I drove the family car I had the same
attitude. It didn't matter where, I just wanted to drive. Then I thought
about the accident that I had the first time I drove by myself and I
grew nervous again.
"Maybe. Come on...let's go to San Francisco!"
I never could refuse her anything, so I agreed. "Okay. It's been
quite awhile since I've been there anyway."
Hanaki jumped into my arms and hugged me closely. "Goody! Query:
Available spacejet to San Francisco," she queried the Compound systems,
except for the 'goody' part of course.
A rather normal sounding, if flat, female voice came out of
nowhere, "There is a Tendo spacejet available at the Tokyo spaceport. It
can be prepped in time for flight at thirteen hundred hours. Do you wish
confirm using this vehicle?"
"Yes, confirm," Hanaki replied, then started to drag me off. "Come
on! Let's get to the tube."
"You are very impulsive, Hanaki. Guess that's what I love most
about you," I said and received a kiss. Then I had an impulsive thought
of my own.
-C- -M- -D-
We were airborne, or actually spaceborne since we were skimming the
top of the atmosphere. I looked out at the stars and marveled at the
sight. I had taken spaceplanes before, but only commercial ones. A
private spacejet gave you a much better view. "Amazing!" I gasped as I
saw the sun disappear behind us.
"Glad you like it. It feels good to get out of the Compound every
now and then," Hanaki said, as she adjusted some controls. For a low
Earth orbit spacejet, the controls were fairly simple, but I decided
that I wasn't likely to learn how to fly it.
"Not bored at the Compound, are you?" I asked.
"Nope, but now that I have my license I can see more of the world,"
Hanaki informed me. She didn't say it, but I assume she meant like Ranma
had.
"I can understand that. I've flown all over for my writing."
We spent most of the rest of the flight talking about my travels
and her dreams for the future.
-C- -M- -D-
We ate at the French restaurant, which overlooked the bay. She was
right, it was a great place to eat. After we finished dinner, we walked
hand in hand down the Embarcadero and sat down on a bench that had a
great view of the triple-decker Golden Gate Bridge. It looked similar to
the original, but much bigger of course.
I held her in my arms and looked at her eyes, then asked, "Hanaki,
I'd like you to share my travels with me. Would you do me the honor of
marrying me?"
Hanaki smiled broadly, then she exclaimed, "Yes of course, James!
I'd love to!"
We kissed and then I pulled out the ring and placed it on her
finger. "Where did you get the ring from?" she asked.
"Oh, I've sort of have been carrying it around for the past two
weeks looking for the right time. This seemed like a good time."
She smiled up at me and said, "Nice choice."
[End - Chapter 4]
Coming soon: Chapter 5: Splitting Up is Hard to Do
=======================================================================
The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:
Shitai (pronounced shi-tai, not shit-ai) means 'Task Force' and refers
to an elite force of Tendo family members (not to be confused with the
mob). You will be hearing more about them and what they do as the story
progresses. The full name of the Task Force is 'Shitai Musabetsu' or in
English 'Anything Goes Task Force'. Both the Japanese and English words
will be used in CMD, although Task Force will probably be the most
commonly used way of referring to them.
The mess Ranma made when eating his fajita was similar to my first
attempt, but a lot messier.
There will be more lime chapters in this series, but this one probably
went the furthest in it's descriptions because I felt I had to show how
far Akane would go before stopping Ranma as a girl that first time. If I
decide to get more explicit in the future I will probably do lemon side
stories.
The juggling act was inspired by a piece of artwork from volume 20 of
the manga.
This concludes the first story arc for CMD. I hope you've enjoyed it so
far, the next story starts to build on the foundation laid down in
chapters 1-4. As in these early chapters, there will be some funny
times, some happy times, and some sad times. No one ever said love was
easy, especially not Ranma and Akane's love. Stay tuned, it's going to
be one hell of a ride.
I'd like to thank various FFML members and my pre-readers: David
Johnson, Ryan Erik, Jonathan Ng, and Anthony Pardilla. Of course in the
end, any mistakes and botched characters are my fault.
This chapter written on location in Canyonlands National Park, Utah,
USA. Revised elsewhere.
Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (June 8, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (July 30, 1998)
Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (August 5, 1998)
Revision 1.0 - First RAAC posting (August 28, 1998)