[Ranma][FanFic] Childhood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 14: Three Suitors for Ukyo, No Skirts Allowed
jiml...@earthlink.net
Suitors for Ukyo, No Skirts Allowed
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Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
Chapter 14: Three Suitors for Ukyo, No Skirts Allowed
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 1998-1999 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 Modern Dynasty website for
all released CMD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/md
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>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
September 10, 2057
I walked into the main dojo, where Akane should be finishing her
morning exercises if her schedule posted in the system was correct. I
walked into the main workout room and saw Akane fighting with some black
creatures. How could there be Buyierfei in the Compound? I stood there
stunned and watched Akane jumping around the large training room dodging
the black creatures, which seemed to fade into existence randomly around
her.
Finally, I came to my senses and called out to the Compound
systems. "Emergency! Buyierfei in the main dojo!"
Almost instantaneously, holographic tactical maps appeared around
me and displayed the locations of people in the Compound. Most of the
indicators were blue dots representing the Tendo family members and many
were headed for the main dojo. A few green visitor dots were scattered
around as well. Surprisingly there weren't any red dots indicating
enemies, since Tanji had told me the Compound systems could track the
Buyierfei energy signatures during his lecture on how to use the
Compound systems the other day.
I looked around for something I could use to hit the Buyierfei
with, but then noticed, to my surprise, that Akane was standing still,
arms on hips, and just staring at me. More surprising was the fact that
the attacking Buyierfei were just hanging motionless around her. "Huh?"
"James, they are just training holograms," Akane explained, then
called out, "Cancel emergency, all clear. Training system off." When she
turned around to grab a towel, she might have had a smirk on her face,
but I couldn't be sure.
The Compound's system voice responded. "Confirmed, Matriarch."
Akane grimaced at hearing the voice. The various holo-displays that had
popped up vanished along with the dozen or so Buyierfei. I could have
sworn I heard the Buyierfei giggle when they vanished.
"Training holograms?" I relaxed, but was still in shock. These
looked very good for holograms, since I couldn't see any distortions or
data dropouts. Then I recalled what the Compound system had called her.
"Why does the system call you 'Matriarch'? I thought you didn't like
being called that?" I asked.
"The system operators are sadistic little bastards, that's why,"
Akane explained, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"We are not, Matriarch!" a female voice called out from behind me.
I turned around to see a group of concerned people in battle
stances behind me. As they realized that the emergency was a false alarm
they relaxed and filed out of the training room, all except two
teenagers who had been standing calmly in front. The two teenagers
looked almost identical, except for the obvious differences caused by
one being a girl and one a boy. The girl's black hair was slightly
longer and stopped at her shoulders instead of at the ears like the boy.
"James, meet my great-niece and great-nephew. They run the Compound
systems for us. Although I wish they'd get the system to stop calling me
Matriarch."
The two teenagers grinned mischievously and ignored the comment, as
I imagine they usually did. "Hi, Mr. Davidson. I'm Reiko and my brother
here is Reiji," the young girl said, bowing slightly.
"Ah, nice to meet you. You're.... Kasumi's grandchildren, right?"
The boy smirked. "Nope. Nabiki's grandchildren."
"We're also the cutest twins in the Compound," Reiko added, doing a
cute finger on cheek pose.
"Oops, sorry... since someone won't show me a complete family
tree-" I glanced at Akane, who stuck her tongue out at me. "-I still
have trouble figuring out the relationships of everyone. I hope to get
it straight before I die."
Reiko smiled. "Good luck. I don't think anyone around here knows
the whole tree by heart. Even the system has some errors in the family
database that I've tried to fix."
Well at least it wasn't just me then. "Sorry about the alarm."
Akane came up and patted me on my shoulder. "That's okay, James.
Better safe than sorry. Hey, Rei?"
Both of the teenagers answered. "Yes?"
"Maybe you can have the holographic training system put up a notice
outside the room when a session is in progress to avoid this problem in
the future," Akane suggested.
The two Reis perked up. "Piece of cake!" Reiko said.
"Well, we'll have to go into the training init subroutines and put
up a holo sign," Reiji mentioned.
"Have to put up listings for who is using the training room and
what program they are running, of course," Reiko added as the two
teenagers started to fade out of existence, accompanied by a oddly
familiar sparkling effect.
"And add system utilization graphs..." Reiji said, as they faded
completely.
Akane smiled as they left. "They could do a simple sign in five
minutes, but they'll add all sorts of flashy and unnecessary indicators
to it." Then Akane must have noticed the shock on my face, because she
asked, "Is something wrong, James?"
I finally managed to find my voice. "Th... they were... holograms?"
Akane smiled. "Yes. The Reis spend most of their time in the
control center. Of course, they call it their 'bridge'. I sometimes
worry about those two not getting out and enjoying life, but they do
enjoy tinkering with the systems and seem happy."
"I'd love to see that control center sometime," I mentioned.
"So would I," Akane commented, smirking. I made to ask her about
it, but she anticipated my question. "After the two Reis took over
operation of the Compound's systems they moved the control center and
won't tell anyone where it is."
Reiko and Reiji materialized again in front of us. "It's for
security, Matriarch!" the both declared.
Again, I was amazed at how realistic those holograms were. Since I
knew they were holograms now, I looked closer, but could still not tell
while they stood there. "Damn, I've never seen holograms that were so
realistic."
"You may never see them elsewhere, either. The equipment to do
holograms like that is horrendously expensive."
"Only the best for the Tendos, huh?"
"Of course," Akane said, smiling. "Anyway, since Tendo Enterprises
builds most of the world's holographic technology we do get a pretty
good family discount from Nijiko."
"How generous."
"You really should talk to her one of these days, she's an
interesting woman, even if she's a little money hungry."
"So was Nabiki, wasn't she?"
Akane shook her head. "No, not really. She had a weakness for
money, but she found the time for love and to live her life to the
fullest before she passed away. I worry about Nijiko sometimes."
"She never married?"
"Nope." Akane reached over and gave me a peck on my cheek. "Anyway,
thanks for being concerned about me."
"No problem. Can't have you dying before I finish the book, can I?"
"The day a dozen Buyierfei can kill me is the day I die."
I laughed at her joke. "Want to head over to your house and get
started?"
"I have to baby-sit Imoki's twins today, so we'll have to talk at
the East building."
"No problem," I said, then a thought struck me. "You have a lot of
twins in the family?"
Akane smiled. "A few sets." She started walking towards the East
building as we talked.
"Does it have anything to do with Ranma's split affecting his
offspring?"
Akane shook her head. "Nope. The Reis don't have any Saotome blood,
for one thing. We did some research after the Reis were born and
discovered that for the size of family we have, the number of twin
births is normal."
"There's something normal about this family? Wow," I quipped,
smiling broadly.
"Don't act so surprised. Deep down we're a very normal family."
"Normal being relative to..." I raised a questioning eyebrow.
"How about a family of demented sociopaths bent on making life
miserable for all redheaded women in the world?"
"Were the Kunos that bad?"
"No, they were, and still are, worse."
We reached the East building and sat down on the porch. Imoki
greeted us and left her two redheaded twins, named Ranma and Ranko, in
our charge. While Akane cradled Ranko in her arms, I picked up the boy
and watched him fuss. "Looks like he doesn't want to be held."
Akane smiled. "Just rub his belly and he'll calm down."
I started to rub his belly and he did stop fussing. "They've grown
quite a bit since I saw them last. How old are they now?"
"Six months and they are the cutest little twins I've ever seen,"
Akane said, then tickled the belly on little Ranko.
Reiko's voice boomed out from around us. "No they aren't! We are!"
Akane smirked. "Gets them every time." She raised her voice
slightly and said, "Monitoring off." Then she resumed in a normal voice.
"To tell you the truth, the Reis are very cute, but I won't tell them
that until they quit having the system call me Matriarch."
I smiled, despite their hardships and size, the Tendos were a very
close knit family. "You really have to show me a full family tree one of
these days."
"Awwww, that would spoil some of the surprises I have yet to tell
you."
I sighed in resignation. Akane and me had had this argument before.
She has a mischievous streak in her and sometimes doesn't want me to
know the full story until she's ready to tell me. "You are very cruel,
you know."
"Only to those I love."
***********************************************************************
April 1999 - Nerima, Japan
"Pregnant! How on Earth did that happen?!" Ranma shouted after
Akane had told him the news.
"Well, first the male's penis..." Akane began to explain, wearing a
lopsided grin on her face.
"I know that stuff! I mean how could *HE* be pregnant?"
"Do I have to show you his genitals to explain? Or the lack of
genitals, in this case."
"But... but..." Ranma stuttered. Then he suddenly realized what had
happened and scratched his head. "I could have sworn he was a male."
"Me too, but the vet said otherwise. P-chan is a girl and
pregnant."
Ranma shook his head in disbelief. <Ryoga, you dummy. Getting a
female pig to replace you.> Trying to keep the secret a little longer,
he said, "Well, I wonder who the father is?" As he said this, another
thought crossed his mind. <I sure hope Ryoga hasn't been wandering
around here lately>.
Akane cuddled the small black pig she had in her hands. "I don't
know. He... err... she does disappear every once in awhile."
Still unable to believe what was happening, Ranma just played
along. "Well, I guess we'll have a house full of little piggies soon."
<How did Ryoga find a pig that gets lost just like he does, anyway?>
"Yup, I can hardly wait," Akane said, then kissed P-chan on the
snout.
-C- -M- -D-
The next morning, Ranma looked over at Sanma while she dressed.
"Hey, take that off!"
Sanma finished slipping the red Chinese shirt over her head. She
straightened the front, which had an elaborate three-headed dragon
design on it. "You pervert!"
Ranma flinched and then protested. "That's not what I meant! It's
my shirt, you thief! Akane gave it to me for MY birthday!"
Sanma shrugged. "It was for our birthday too. These clothes belong
to all three of us." She gestured to the dresser the three Ranmas
shared.
Ranko rolled over in the futon she was laying on and muttered,
"Yeah."
"I'll share Akane with you two, but I'm not going to share my
clothes with you!" Ranma growled and advanced on Sanma.
"Gee, I'm so glad you care for your clothes more than me."
Ranma looked over to see a miffed Akane standing in the doorway.
"Err... I didn't mean..."
Akane smiled. "I know, I was just teasing you." She turned towards
Ranko and Sanma. "You two had better get ready for our shopping trip, I
want to get going soon."
"Okay," Sanma said, taunting Ranma by showing off the shirt again.
Ranko just grunted.
Akane pulled Ranma outside to avoid a fight that she knew was
brewing.
-C- -M- -D-
A short while later, Ranma was standing in the entry way with
Akane. "I'm not going to wear a stupid uniform," Ranma declared.
"I didn't say you had to wear it, but I need you to pick them up
this afternoon from Furinkan. I'll be busy all day with Ranko and Sanma
and then I have an appointment at the beauty salon," Akane explained.
"Ha! What good could a beauty salon do for you?" Ranma said,
laughing hard.
Akane blinked in disbelief at the insult. She hadn't heard such a
comment from Ranma for quite some time.
Before Akane could react further, Ranma added, "They couldn't
improve on perfection, could they?" He swept the startled Akane into his
arms and gave her a deep kiss.
After the kiss ended, a breathless Akane said, "Close call there...
I was tempted to go for the mallet."
"What, and mess up this handsome face?" Ranma said, striking a
pose. He earned a tongue from Akane for his trouble. "Why are you going
shopping with them anyway?"
"Well, they need to get their own clothes so they can feel unique.
They can't keep wearing your clothes forever."
"Damn right, they can't."
"Be a good boy and you can go first tonight."
"It's about time. You're always so tired by the time I get to you."
"Well, you all have so much energy," Akane said, winking. She gave
Ranma a kiss and left the house to join Ranko and Sanma, who were
waiting at the gate.
-C- -M- -D-
"No way in hell!" Ranko swore.
"Ditto," Sanma agreed, wholeheartedly.
Akane looked down at the bra she was holding. "Come on, you've worn
bras and panties before. What's the big deal?"
"Only when we absolutely needed to," Sanma explained.
"Yeah, our boxers are fine for everyday use," Ranko insisted. "Bras
and panties are for girls."
"True... or for those with women's bodies," Akane mentioned,
smirking. "Look, I know you two are men inside. I'll always think of you
that way, but there are certain realities of life with a woman's body
you both will have to get used to."
"Like what?" Sanma snapped.
"Like wearing a bra so your breasts don't sag. Considering their
size, you really do need to support them."
"I don't want to," Ranko muttered.
Akane sighed. This was probably her fault for making them look at
dresses earlier as a joke. They had ended up buying an assortment of
Chinese clothes like what Ranma usually wore, but that fit their female
bodies better. Akane had complained about the similarity of the clothes,
but Ranko and Sanma insisted on getting what they liked. Of course,
since they were the same person they all had the same taste in clothes.
"I'm not going to force you, but I think we should get some. It doesn't
make you less of a man in my eyes."
Sanma and Ranko complained some more, but eventually gave in.
Later, they were in the dressing room trying on the plainest bras and
panties they could find.
"Here, try this one," Akane said, handing a bra over the top of the
changing stall's door.
"Hey! I said no flowers and bows!" Ranko's voice replied. Akane
stifled a laugh as the bra was flung back over the door.
Sanma walked out of her changing stall in just a bra and pair of
panties. "Akane, how do these look?"
Akane blushed. "Err... they look fine, but you shouldn't walk
around like that out here." She nervously looked around to see if anyone
was looking. They were in a large changing room with doors on the
individual stalls, but the entrance leading to the showroom was open.
"Why?"
"It's just not right. You have to start being a little more modest
about your female body."
"Oh... but do these look okay?" Sanma asked, gesturing to her bra
and panties.
"Yes, they do, but I still think you should get something more
sexy," Akane said, then winked.
"Fat chance," Sanma muttered. She looked at herself in a mirror,
adjusted the cups, and then asked. "Do you think I should go up to a
36D?"
Akane frowned. It was bad enough when Ranma had bigger breasts in
his girl form than she did, but now that Ranko and Sanma were female
full time, it did tend to accentuate her shortcomings in that area.
"Does it pinch?"
Sanma adjusted the bra. "No."
"How do you know about cup sizes anyway?"
Sanma gulped. "Ummm, one of Happosai's 'special training
sessions'."
Akane giggled then reached over and tested the fit of Sanma's bra.
"That feels okay. As long as it doesn't pinch anywhere, 36C should be
fine."
"Okay. What size are you?" Sanma asked, putting her foot in her
mouth.
"Not quite that big, thank you," Akane replied, curtly.
"Oops, sorry, Akane. I like yours just as they are," Sanma
insisted. She leaned over and gave Akane a short kiss, trying to make up
for her slipup about the bra size.
Akane blushed and looked around awkwardly. "Not in public, Sanma,"
she whispered.
Sanma made a hasty retreat to her stall just as Ranko came out of
hers fully dressed. She handed a handful of bras and panties to Akane.
"I guess these will do," she said, not sounding thrilled to be there.
"Okay, grab about a dozen of the same size," Akane said, absently.
Inside she was worried about her reaction to the kiss. She wondered if
it was just the public nature of the kiss, or if the idea of people
looking at her as if she was a lesbian that disturbed her the most.
<Damn, I thought I got over that hurdle.>
-C- -M- -D-
"And that works every time?" an old woman asked another as they sat
on an old porch.
The other old woman cackled. "Yes, every time. Of course, I've been
out of town for a while..." She looked up and saw a head bobbing up and
down out side her fence. "Wait a second... watch this."
She stood up and grabbed a bucket and then raced to the sidewalk in
front of her house, faster than a woman her age should have been able to
move. She casually splashed water from the bucket using a ladle just as
Ranma walked around the corner.
Ranma shook the water out of his hair and gasped. "Damn, that's
cold. Be more careful, will ya?" Ranma continued his walk without
noticing the shocked look on the old woman's face.
The other old woman came up behind the first. "He still looks male
to me."
"I don't understand... every time I used to do that, he would
suddenly turn into a girl with big breasts."
"Have you've been taking your pills, dear?"
And that night the ladle lady passed away as her last reason for
living had vanished.
-C- -M- -D-
Kang walked in to Ucchan's with his giant barbecue fork strapped to
his back. He smiled when he saw Ukyo behind the counter and sat down in
front of her.
"Hi, Kang. What can I get you?" she asked.
"Err... what exactly is an 'okonomiyaki'?" Kang replied, after
looking at the menu items listed on the wall. His father had taught him
to speak Japanese, but Kang had never really gotten the hang of reading
all the different kana and kanji characters.
Ukyo smiled. "Probably not too many okonomiyaki shops in the
outback. Huh, sugar?" Kang shook his head. Ukyo tried to think of
something similar that an Australian would recognize. "Well, it's sort
of a pancake, but it's so much better you'll never want to leave."
"Well with you here, I see no reason I'd want to leave," Kang
replied, gazing into Ukyo's eyes.
"Err... thanks." Ukyo blushed. "Anyway, you can get whatever
toppings you want on it."
"Hmmm, well how about you cook me up an alligator okonomiyaki
then?"
Ukyo frowned. "'Fraid not, Sugar. We're fresh out of alligator.
Will iguana do?"
Kang thought for a second. "Actually, iguana gives me gas."
Ukyo giggled. "How about I just whip you up a combo to get you
started?"
"I place my stomach in your hands, pretty lady." As Ukyo start to
whip up the okonomiyaki, Kang and Ukyo made some small talk. Suddenly,
Kang asked, "How's about we do dinner tonight? I've got a craving for a
good steak and beer."
Konatsu, who was waiting tables, snapped his head towards the
counter and frowned. The tray of dirty dishes he was holding crashed
unnoticed to the floor.
Ukyo was shocked at Kang asking her out, since she had never
thought to look at him like that. Actually, she was so hung up on Ranma
for so long, she never really thought of looking for a boyfriend at all.
Maybe it was time to start. She considered Kang handsome and he was only
a couple years older than she was. Finally, she came to a decision.
"Sure, Kang, that would be nice."
Kang looked at Ukyo and smiled. "Great! I'll come get ya at seven
tonight!"
"That'll be fine. Where are we going?"
"Err... I'm afraid I don't know the area that well. You decide."
"Okay, haven't been back to Mon Canard since Ranma and Ranko
wrecked it. You have something nice to wear?" Kang nodded. "Great, but
you might want to leave the barbecue fork behind."
Kang frowned since he'd never went anywhere without his fork.
"Okay, if you think that's best." Ukyo put down his okonomiyaki in front
of him and he took a bite. "Dang, this is great!"
Ukyo smiled. <This might be just what I need to get my mind off
Ran-chan.> Then another thought struck her about her track record with
men so far. "Um, Kang?"
"Yes?"
"You don't wear dresses or skirts, do you?"
Kang recoiled at the mere suggestion. "No, of course not. Why on
earth would you ask such a thing?"
"Oh, just making sure."
Konatsu looked down at the skirt he was wearing, confused. When he
first started working at Ucchan's he always wore a kimono when he worked
in the restaurant, since that was always what he had served his
step-sisters in. However, he had noticed how well Nabiki's restaurant
had been doing with the short French maid uniforms and decided that he'd
try an outfit like that. So far, it seemed to be helping to increase
business. In particular, there seemed to be more middle age men
frequenting Ucchan's now.
<Is that why Ukyo doesn't like me? Just because of the skirts? Come
to think of it... most of the guys around Nerima usually wear pants.> He
looked at Kang's short haircut. <I wonder if Ukyo only likes men with
short hair who wear pants?> A look of determination crossed his face as
he came to a decision.
-C- -M- -D-
That evening, Ukyo and Kang walked out of Mon Canard and strolled
through the quiet streets. Ukyo was wearing a very nice dress and Kang
wore a nice shirt with a bolo tie. They were both without their usual
giant cooking utensils.
"That was delicious. Who did you say that restaurant belonged to?"
Kang asked. Inside he was trying to figure out how he was going to pay
his hotel bill after the expensive dinner. <Who would have thought that
steak was so expensive in Japan?>
"Akane's older sister, Nabiki. I'm afraid Ranma and Ranko made a
mess of it on opening night, but Nabiki fixed back it up again nicely,"
Ukyo said. She was a little shocked when she felt Kang take her hand in
his.
"Ukyo, you are lovelier than the sunset," Kang said, gazing into
her eyes.
Ukyo blushed. "Um... thanks, Kang." Kang leaned in, causing Ukyo's
eyes to go wide as she realized he was going to kiss her. Before Kang
could kiss her, Ukyo turned her head away. "Um... Kang, in Japan we
don't usually kiss on first dates." She knew that wasn't exactly the
truth, but a part of her wasn't ready to take that step with Kang.
Kang backed off and frowned. "Oh, sorry."
"Don't get me wrong, I like you and enjoyed myself tonight."
"Well, then can we go out again then?" Kang immediately asked.
Ukyo smiled and nodded. <Eager fellow, isn't he?>
They continued walking and chatting, until they reached Ucchan's.
"Goodnight, Kang. See you tomorrow!" Then she decided a little peck
would be okay. She built up her nerve, then reached up and gave him a
peck on the cheek.
Kang held a hand over the spot and said, "I thought you didn't kiss
on first dates?"
"You complaining?"
Kang shook his head and said goodnight as Ukyo went inside. As he
walked away, he dug out a small book from his pocket. As he made his way
to the hotel he was staying at, he flipped through a little book titled
'1001 Ways to Pick-up Japanese Women' trying to find the section on
kissing. He could have sworn that the book said that the Japanese do
kiss on first dates. It even said that almost anything goes when it
comes to the long sought after first date. He was beginning to wonder if
the author, someone named Happosai, really was the 'world's greatest
expert on attracting women' like the book jacket said.
Ukyo climbed the stairs to the small apartment above her restaurant
and stopped in shock when she saw Konatsu standing at the top of the
stairs. Unlike the skirts and other feminine clothes he usually wore, he
was now wearing a very formal looking tuxedo. He held a large bouquet of
roses and a box of candy in his hands. Even more startling was the short
haircut he now sported. Gone was the long flowing hair, which usually
helped make him look very feminine.
"Konatsu?"
"Ukyo, would you do the honor of allowing me to take you to dinner
and a movie tomorrow?" he asked, bowing formally.
Ukyo gasped in shock, but she had known he was going to ask her out
as soon as she saw him in the tuxedo. "Konatsu, I've told you before..."
Konatsu interrupted her. "You never even gave me a chance." Ukyo
frowned. "That big he-man comes along and asks you out and you accept
right away, but me? I get rejected every time I declare my love to you.
Fine, but at least give me a date to show you I can be every bit of a
man as he is."
Ukyo didn't know what to say. He was right, she had never given him
a chance because she was so hung up over Ranma. "Konatsu, I don't
know... you can put on a tux and act all manly, but it's just an act.
It's not who you are." She then recalled that Konatsu also usually wore
panties, because his stepsisters had always treated him like a girl.
"Why... I bet you are wearing panties on under the tux."
"You lose," Konatsu said, dropping his pants and revealed the
boxers underneath. He was thankful now that the salesman who had sold
him the tux had recommended he start wearing boxers instead of the pink
panties he had been wearing during the fitting for the tux.
Ukyo blushed, then started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Konatsu asked, looking to make sure something
wasn't sticking out. Fortunately for him, nothing was.
"Okay, you win. I'll go out with you tomorrow night."
Konatsu's joy overflowed and he hugged Ukyo closely.
Ukyo blushed, then walked towards her room with the flowers in
hand. Without turning around, she said, "Konatsu, next time pull your
pants up before hugging me."
Konatsu looked down and gasped when he noticed something had
slipped out of his shorts. He quickly pulled his pants back up and made
his way to the storeroom where he slept. He was smiling when he put on
his 'manly' flannel pajamas he had bought earlier that day.
-C- -M- -D-
That night after they finished dinner, Ranma went first just like
Akane had promised that morning. He bore down on Akane and pinned her
under his body. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at her.
"You okay?"
Akane smiled. "Yup, almost had you that time," she said, getting
up off the dojo floor. She gave Ranma a kiss and then called out,
"Next!"
Ranko got up from where she was sitting against the dojo wall and
squared off with Akane. Ranma sat down beside Sanma, and Ranko and Akane
began their sparring match.
As the match progressed, Ranma and Sanma muttered to each other
whenever they saw an area where Akane still needed improvement. When
Sanma's turn came, she would concentrate on helping Akane in that area.
This was how most of their sparring matches went and, without them
realizing it, Akane was slowly becoming almost as good a fighter as the
Ranmas.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane and Ranma were already curled up in their futon when Sanma
and Ranko came in. "Gee, start without us, why don't ya?" Ranko muttered
and began undoing her top.
"Calm down, let's get some sleep so we're well rested for the first
day of school tomorrow," Akane said.
Ranma looked over at his sisters and started to laugh.
Sanma glared at him. "What's so funny?"
"I'd never thought I'd see the day when you two wore bras and
panties willingly," he said, still chuckling.
"Shut up, Ranma!" Ranko barked. She quickly finished removing her
bra and slipped a T-shirt on.
"Ranma, it's only for support. It doesn't make them any less
masculine," Akane calmly said.
"If you say so, but the lace doesn't exactly look masculine!"
"Shut up, Ranma. These were the plainest ones they had," Sanma
informed him while slipping her T-shirt on.
"Yeah, you'd think they would have some bras and panties without
lace."
Akane smirked. "Actually, considering all the cross-dressers in
Nerima you'd think they would."
"Hey!"
"We're not cross-dressers!"
Akane smiled. "I know. Come on, pile in."
Ranma, Ranko, and Sanma did what they usually did to determine who
slept on each side of Akane. Namely, they played rock-paper-scissors.
Ranko lost tonight. "Damn," Ranko muttered, then lay down in the futon
next to Sanma. No way was she going to lie next to Ranma.
Ranko stared at the ceiling for a while, then suddenly said,
"Akane? I really like your hair."
Akane smiled, sat up, and looked at Ranko. "Thank you, Ranko." She
ran her hand through her hair, which was now back to its normal
dark-blue color. She had it re-dyed this afternoon after she decided
that two redheads were enough for this family. "Took you long enough to
notice."
Ranma and Sanma looked up and gasped. They quickly added their
compliments.
Akane grinned. "If Kasumi didn't write those reminders on the
ceiling for you three, you'd be hopeless."
The three Ranmas apologized again.
"It's okay," Akane said, then looked at the picture of her and the
three Ranmas they had taken a week earlier. "Guess we have to get a new
picture now that I'm not a redhead anymore and Ranko has a new hair
style."
"Good, idea. Of course, Sanma should have gotten a new hair style
too," Ranko said, glaring at Sanma.
"Oh, give it a rest, already!" Sanma snapped.
Akane interrupted the brewing fight. "Calm down, you both look
great. By the way, you'd better get Kasumi to remind you guys some other
way about that sort of thing. I do see that ceiling too." She winked.
Ranma smirked and pulled Akane on top of him. "I'll have to keep
you on top, then."
"Hey! No getting romantic with Akane when her other two fiances are
in the bedroom!" Ranko snapped, then tossed a pillow at Ranma.
Unfortunately, Sanma got in the way, and retaliated in kind. Soon,
pillows were flying around the room.
When they finally settled down the room was covered with feathers
and they collapsed into a jumbled mess of bodies. They fell asleep in a
tight ball, not caring about whom they were next to.
-C- -M- -D-
After their morning workout, the three Ranmas and Akane knelt down
at the table. As usual, the three Ranmas gobbled down their breakfast
like the world was ending tomorrow.
"Are you all set for school?" Nodoka asked, desperately trying to
get her children's mouths to do something other than eat.
"Hmm... hmmm..." Ranma muttered, without pausing to stop eating.
"Are you going to wear the new uniforms?" Nodoka asked.
Ranma stopped eating long enough to answer this one clearly. "Not
in a million years!"
Ranko and Sanma agreed right away. All three of them were wearing
almost identical red Chinese shirts and black pants. Of course, Ranko
and Sanma's now fit better than they oversized male clothes they used to
wear.
Akane smiled, she knew they would never wear the uniforms. "Well,
at least this year the uniforms are pretty nice looking," she said, as
she indicated the new uniform she was wearing. It consisted of a
knee-length navy blue skirt, with a matching jacket top and white blouse
underneath. Compared to the old 'frock' dresses and then the sickening
Hawaiian dresses that the girls had to wear last year, the new uniform
was stylish and very smart looking.
"Well, you'd look good in anything, Akane," Ranma said softly.
Akane smiled. "Thank you, Ranma."
"Well, thanks so much for stating the obvious, Ranma," Ranko
snapped.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Sanma agreed.
Akane rolled her eyes, but was still smiling. "What do the boy's
uniforms look like?"
"Beats me. Why bother looking at something that I wasn't going to
wear," Sanma explained. Ranma and Ranko nodded their agreement.
Akane smiled, she had assumed that they didn't even look at the
uniforms. Of course, Ranko and Sanma's boxes probably had the girl's
uniforms in them anyway, since they were registered as girls.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane followed behind the three Ranmas. All four of them were
balancing on top of the fence, as they walked towards school.
Ranko looked up at the sky. "Nice day, isn't it?"
Ranma nodded. "Yes. It seems like we've had unusually dry weather
this year."
"Hmmm, yeah. I can't remember the last time it rained," Sanma
added.
"Back in January, I think," Akane remarked. "Now remember what we
agreed to tell everyone about the split."
"Yeah, we know... Since they know about the curse anyway, we tell
everyone the truth about the split and that Ranko and Sanma should be
treated as they would treat me," Ranma recited again, for the millionth
time.
"As men!" Ranko added, quickly. Sanma nodded.
And for the millionth time, Ranma then added, "And treated as men.
Yadda... yadda... yadda..."
Akane heard the chimes of the Furinkan High clock start to ring
out. "We're going to be late. Move it!"
The four dropped to the street and started racing towards the
school. The three Ranmas screeched to a halt and looked in horror at a
group of boys standing in front of the entrance.
Akane stopped when she realized that the Ranmas weren't with her
anymore. She turned around and asked, "What's wrong?" Ranma held up a
shaky hand and pointed at the boys. Akane looked and gasped when she
noticed the new boy's uniforms. "Oh my. This does pose a conundrum for
you three, doesn't it?" She couldn't hold back the grin that appeared on
her face.
The new boy's 'uniform' was composed of a red Chinese shirt and
black Chinese pants. In short, it looked exactly like the outfits the
three Ranmas usually wore and were wearing at that particular moment.
"Shit."
"What does that insane Principal think he's doing now?"
A voice with a thick Hawaiian accent boomed out across the plaza.
"Ah, it seems that Ranma Saotome has finally decided to wear the school
uniform!"
Ranma grimaced and looked around for the Principal, but didn't see
him around. "That damn Principal."
"Hey! These are not uniforms!" Ranko shouted.
"Right! They are completely different!" Sanma added, ignoring the
fact that they looked identical.
"Hey look! Ranma IS wearing a uniform!" a boy yelled out from the
crowd.
"I am not!"
"Yeah! These are not uniforms!" Ranko exclaimed.
"Damn, lets go home," Samna said, and turned around.
"Stop being such babies. What's the big deal?" Akane asked.
"What's the big deal?" Sanma asked, as if she was offended by the
question.
"Yeah!"
"Um... why is it a big deal?" Ranko asked Ranma and Sanma.
"Well... it's not cool to wear ugly uniforms," Sanma insisted.
"Yeah," Ranko chirped.
"That made sense last year, but these uniforms look like the
outfits you always wear," Akane explained.
"Um..."
Akane could see that the Ranmas were having trouble coming up with
a logical reason, so she gave them a way out of their quandary. "Let's
just go to class now. If you like, you can wear different colors
tomorrow."
"But..." Ranko's protest was cut off by Akane's scolding look. All
three Ranmas nodded their heads then began walking towards the school
again.
Akane waved to her two friends, Yuka and Sayuri, who apparently
were being hit on by Ranma's friends, Daisuke and Hiroshi.
Daisuke looked up and saw Ranma. "Hey, Ranma. Looks like you
decided to wear the uniform this year."
Ranma grimaced. "This is not a uniform! That damn Principal chose
the new uniform to trick us. He'll pay for making me look like I'm one
of you conforming drones!" He clenched his fist.
Daisuke grinned and looked at Hiroshi. "Gee, drone number
three-four-eight, do you want to get to class?"
Hiroshi grinned and took up the joke. "Yes, drone number
six-six-six, let us not be late for our learning session."
"Oh, cut that out, you morons!" Ranko snapped.
Daisuke and Hiroshi recognized the voice immediately from their
perverted little dreams. They both looked upwards, wondering if it was
raining. When they looked down again they finally noticed Ranko and
Sanma. They both gasped. "Ranma?" They looked back and forth between
Ranma and the redheaded girls.
Yuka and Sayuri noticed the multiple Ranmas as well, so Akane
started to explain. "Um, guys... Ranma sort of got split into three
different people earlier this year." She went on to explain some of the
events in further detail, but not everything. She avoided talking about
the wedding. Some of their classmates were there, but Daisuke and
Hiroshi had run off at the first sign of trouble and most of the
students followed for fear of being hurt by the invading Amazons.
"So is that why you missed so much school?" Yuka asked.
Akane nodded. "Needless to say this is causing me some problems,
but we're working through them. Please just treat Ranko and Sanma as you
would Ranma," Akane finished, then looked around to see Daisuke and
Hiroshi busy chatting up Ranko and Sanma. Akane's jaw dropped. "Didn't
you just hear what I said?"
"Hey, Ranma! Why didn't you just tell us you had two such gorgeous
sisters, instead of that stupid 'curse that turns me into a girl'
story?" Daisuke asked, then slipped an arm around Ranko.
Whether Daisuke actually thought Ranko and Sanma were Ranma's
sisters or just ignored the fact that they were once men so he could hit
on them didn't really matter to Ranko, she would have reacted the same
way to either. In a flash, she grabbed his wrist and twisted the arm
around the boy's back. "I'm a guy, you jerk!" she shouted, shoving him
into some bushes.
Hiroshi had homed in on Sanma and was trying to be very charming.
This, of course, made him look like a total idiot.
Sanma pounded Hiroshi on his head, causing him to collapse to the
ground. "Listen to what Akane is saying, you idiot! We're men, just like
Ranma is! Just because we have different names and breasts, don't think
we won't pound anyone who hits on us."
Akane sighed. It was going to be a long day.
-C- -M- -D-
The news of Ranma's splits was greeted with one of two reactions.
Some believed Akane's story, some thought that Ranko and Sanma were his
sisters all along and the curse was just a story they made up so the
guys wouldn't hit on them. The boys tended to believe the later, while
the girls believed the former, but weren't too thrilled with the sudden
competition for the boys' attention, Ranko and Sanma's protests that
they were men non-withstanding. Things started to settle down by the
time that first period began. Then, of course, all hell broke loose
again.
"What the hell do you mean we're not all in the same homeroom?!"
Ranko screamed.
The teacher cowered under the vicious glare from the three Ranmas.
"Um.... well... that's what the Principal decided."
"He's dead this time," Ranko muttered.
"Putting the us in different homerooms is one of his sick and
twisted plans," Ranma commented, looking at he assignment chart. Akane
was listed in class A, Ranma and Ukyo in class B, and Ranko and Sanma in
class C.
Just then, Ukyo walked into the classroom wearing a girl's uniform.
The boys took notice of the entrance with wolf-whistles and catcalls.
Ukyo blushed as she approached the three Ranmas and Akane. "What's up?"
"Still wearing the girl's uniform again this year, I see," Akane
said, indicating the dress.
Ukyo shrugged. "Yup, I got used to it last year while I had my cast
on. Looks like your fiances finally decided to wear uniforms as well."
"These are not uniforms!" Ranko insisted.
"Yeah!" Sanma agreed.
Ukyo smiled. When she had first seen the new uniform for the boys,
she knew that the Ranmas would take it badly.
"If you'd all like to go to your homerooms, I'd like to start my
class," the teacher said softly.
Ukyo looked at the Ranmas. "You're not all in the same class?"
Ranma shook his head. "Nope, we were just about to go find the
Principal and beat him up. Care to join us?"
Ukyo smiled. "Sure, sounds like fun."
Akane, Ukyo, and the three Ranmas left to find the Principal,
followed by the rest of the class. They knew a good fight was coming and
didn't want to miss it.
The teacher cleared his throat and addressed the now empty
classroom. "Very well then. Let's start with a roll call." He started
calling out names. Of course, no one replied.
-C- -M- -D-
The group all burst into the little tropical hut that the Principal
used as his office and looked around. Ranma walked over to the desk,
picked up a note, and read it aloud. "Now that Ranma has decided to wear
the school uniform, I have won."
"Like hell he has!" Ranko insisted.
"Yeah," Sanma agreed.
Ranma continued reading. "Now be good boys and girls and go study
in your assigned homerooms."
"It doesn't say where he is, does it?" Akane asked. Ranma shook his
head. "Well then..."
Akane was cut off when someone yelled, "Incoming!".
Everyone ducked as a coconut sailed into the office and landed on
the desk. Everyone dove for cover as it cracked in half. Instead of
exploding, a little tiny doll that looked like the Principal emerged,
walked to the edge of the desk, and began speaking. "All students who
get score of eighty percent or higher on Friday's tests will be able to
select their own homerooms. Thank you very much." The little doll bowed
and then promptly exploded, covering everyone in the office with various
bits of the anatomically correct Principal doll.
"Well, looks like you three have to study hard this week," Akane
said, pulling an arm out of her nose. At least she hoped it was an arm.
"Ranko and Sanma, let's go find the Principal and beat him up,"
Ranma said, ignoring Akane's remark.
Ranko and Sanma agreed and followed Ranma out.
"They never choose the easy way, do they?" Ukyo asked, trying to
untangle a tiny liver from her hair.
"Nope, but that's part of why I love them."
-C- -M- -D-
They never did find the Principal and concluded that he wasn't even
at the school. They had uncovered several remote-controlled cameras and
speakers all around the school. They were no longer functional. In fact,
they were barely recognizable after the Ranmas finished 'inspecting'
them for clues to the Principal's whereabouts.
Ranko and Sanma were hit on repeatedly by various boys during the
rest of the school day. Those boys in turn were hit repeatedly by Ranko
and Sanma. By the end of the day, the boys were starting to get the idea
that Ranko and Sanma weren't interested in having tea, going to the
park, doing the nasty, or any other of the lame suggestions that earned
the boys their bruises.
The last class of the day for Ranko and Sanma was gym. They walked
into the boy's locker room and, of course, became the center of
attention. The boys offered to help them change into their gym clothes,
but were quickly silenced with punches from Ranko and Sanma.
Reluctantly, Ranko and Sanma knocked on the door to the girl's
locker room.
Miuki, a new student that had not been at school last year,
answered it. "Hi, Ranko and Sanma! You'd better hurry up and get
dressed!" She pulled them into the room of naked flesh. Ranko and Sanma
gulped and looked like deer caught in headlights. "What's wrong?" she
asked, as she slipped her blouse off.
"We're guys, of course."
"With figures like that? I wish I could be as gorgeous as you two,"
Miuki replied and removed her bra.
Ranko gulped and looked away quickly. She grabbed Sanma and pulled
her over to the two lockers they had been assigned. "Let's just change
fast and get out of here," she whispered to Sanma, who nodded her
agreement.
As Ranko and Sanma slipped their clothes off, a shout rang out.
"Eeeek! Perverts!"
"We're not!" Ranko and Sanma insisted out of habit.
The other girls ignored Ranko and Sanma and instead started tossing
various pieces of athletic equipment at the window. Realizing that they
were not the reason for the shout, Ranko and Sanma looked around and saw
some guys peeping in the window. Since the glass was frosted this
normally wouldn't be a problem, but they had cut little eye holes out of
the glass. Ranko and Sanma, forgetting that they were only wearing their
panties, jumped at the Peeping Happosais, which is what Peeping Toms had
come to be called in Nerima over the last two years. They smashed
through the window and proceeded to chase the group of six Freshman boys
away. Finally, they turned and headed back to the locker room, only to
walk right into Daisuke and Hiroshi.
"Sorry," Ranko said calmly and walked around Daisuke. She didn't
see the nosebleed appear on his nose or notice when he fainted.
"Allow me to cover you up," Hiroshi said gallantly and covered
Sanma's breasts with his hands. He quickly joined Daisuke on the ground.
He was unconscious not because he fainted, but because of the large rock
that rested on his head.
"Looks like we won't be able to pal around with Daisuke and Hiroshi
anymore," Ranko commented as they climbed back into the locker room.
"Yeah, I figured that those two horny guys might have some problems
with us, but not this bad," Sanma said as she slipped her gym shorts on.
The other girls, most of whom were new to the school, looked on
amazed at the calm way the two naked girls had crashed through the
window, chased the boys off, and then returned as if this was normal.
Which for Furinkan it was, of course.
-C- -M- -D-
"How was your first day?" Akane asked as she walked home with the
Ranmas and Ukyo.
"Horrible," Ranma muttered.
"Tell me about it. We had to beat up or chase boys off all day,"
Sanma explained.
"I don't blame them, you two are just so pretty," Akane said.
"Handsome!" Sanma corrected her.
"Fine... handsome," Akane said, smirking.
"We're going to have to find that damn Principal tomorrow. Separate
classes will never work!" Ranko said, earning agreement from Ranma and
Sanma.
"There is another option," Akane informed the three Ranmas.
"What?" Ranko asked.
"You could study for the test."
"I like Ranko's plan better," Sanma commented.
Akane smiled. "Ukyo, want to come over and study with me and my
three idiots?"
Ukyo looked awkward. "Um, no I can't tonight, I have a date."
The others all stopped short. "Date?"
Ukyo blushed, then said, "Yes, with Konatsu."
"Wow, I didn't know you two were dating," Ranma remarked.
"It's the first time. I think he got jealous when I went out with
Kang last night."
"You went out with Kang?" Ranko gasped.
"Yes, it was fun. What? You thought I was going to pine over you
three for the rest of my life?"
Ranko beat the other Ranmas to a foot tasting. "Of course."
Ukyo rather expected that kind of answer from them, so she smiled.
"Nope. Time for this girl to move on with her life."
Akane started talking about 'girl stuff', as the Ranmas would put
it, so Ranma, Sanma, and Ranko tuned the conversation out. "I thought
you didn't like Konatsu?" Akane asked.
"Well, I like him, but since he's always running around in a dress
I didn't want to get involved with him. Plus I was still hung up on
Ranma when we met."
Akane nodded. "So why now?"
"Well, last night Konatsu was waiting for me in a tux and gave me
some roses. He even got a very dashing haircut," Ukyo explained.
"Wow, for him to give up his life as a girl for you..."
"Yeah, I know. That, and the fact that he looked extremely
handsome, made me decide to give it a shot. What's the worst thing that
could happen?" Akane started to answer, but Ukyo cut her off. "Never
mind. Around here, that's a dangerous question." She started laughing
and was quickly joined by Akane.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo was just zipping up her dress when she heard a knock on her
bedroom door. She checked herself quickly in a mirror and then opened
the door. Konatsu was there; dressed in the same tux he wore last night
and carried another large bouquet of red roses. Ukyo smiled. "Good
evening, Konatsu."
Konatsu handed the flowers to Ukyo. "You look lovely tonight,
Ukyo."
"Thank you," Ukyo said, taking the flowers. She smelled them then
put them in the large vase with the ones from last night. "I may be
paying you too much if you can afford all these roses."
"Only the best for the best."
Ukyo blushed then pulled one rose out to take with her on their
date. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, your carriage awaits," Konatsu gestured towards the stairs.
Ukyo hopped that he hadn't rented a horse drawn carriage as she
walked down the stairs, but she knew she didn't pay him well enough to
do that. They slipped their shoes on and then left the restaurant. Ukyo
stopped short when she saw her 'carriage' parked in front of Ucchan's.
"A limo? Boy, I do pay you too much."
"You'd be surprised what some guys have been tipping me lately,"
Konatsu mentioned as he opened the door for Ukyo.
Ukyo laughed as she walked towards the limo, but stopped short when
she heard a voice call her name.
"Ukyo?"
Ukyo turned around and saw Kang a short distance away. "Hi, Kang,
what's up?"
Kang ignored the hostile glare from Konatsu. "Ukyo, I thought we
had a date tonight?"
Ukyo frowned. "Did we? I know I'd say I'd go out with you again,
but we didn't talk about when."
"Oh, I guess I assumed it would be tonight."
Ukyo looked awkwardly at Konatsu, who was still trying to remain
calm. "Um, I'm sorry Kang, but I'm going out with Konatsu tonight. We
can go out tomorrow if you like."
Kang looked crestfallen, but then took a long look at Konatsu.
"Oh... I didn't know you were gay. Maybe it was best if I not waste your
time then."
Ukyo gasped. "Konatsu's a man."
Kang looked closer at Konatsu. Despite the short hair cut, he was
certain that this was the girl he saw waiting tables at her restaurant.
"She's your waitress, isn't she?"
Ukyo bit back a laugh. "He does work for me at my restaurant, but
he is a man."
Konatsu couldn't remain silent anymore, so stepped forward between
Ukyo and Kang. "One hundred percent man!"
"Where I come from, real men don't wear skirts!" Kang snapped. He
didn't bother to mention Sydney, where men did tend to wear dresses.
"Welcome to Nerima then! Real men wear skirts here!" Konatsu
exclaimed and then threw a punch at Kang, who sidestepped it easily.
Ukyo didn't have time to ponder the significance of Konatsu's
statement before the fight broke out. Kang followed with one of his own,
but Konatsu ducked and swept Kang's feet. Kang fell backwards and landed
on his butt.
Instead of getting up, Kang balanced on his palms. Konatsu moved in
to hit Kang again, but then saw Kang tense his legs. Before he could
react, Kang yelled out "Kangaroo-fuu Kick!" and kicked out with his legs
while balanced on his palms. Konatsu was kicked in his stomach and went
flying against the limo's windshield.
Ukyo tried to get between Kang and Konatsu, but the two men were
oblivious to her cries to stop fighting.
The battle raged for nearly an hour while the two closely matched
combatants traded blows. In the end it was a draw. Ukyo was patching up
their wounds in her restaurant, while at the same time trying to keep
them from fighting again. "Honestly. Why do you guys have to be so
headstrong?"
"Because I love you, Ukyo," Konatsu answered without pause.
"I too, love you, my fair flower of womanhood," Kang interjected
right after Konatsu. He glared at Konatsu, who rose from his chair.
Ukyo put herself between the two men. "Idiots. No more fighting!
I'll decide who I date. I owe Konatsu a date and then I'll decide if I
want to date either of you more.
"But you promised me another date already," Kang remarked.
Ukyo sighed. "Okay." Konatsu made to object, but Ukyo spoke first,
"And I'll give you a second date too, Konatsu."
Konatsu smiled, then looked at Kang and stuck his tongue out. Kang
glared back.
Forgetting about her own pursuit of Ranma, Ukyo sighed and mumbled
something about overzealous males.
After Kang had departed, Ukyo was finishing wrapping a bandage
around Konatsu's wrist. "No more fighting."
"I'm sorry, Ukyo, but something about that guy gets under my skin.
He's just so..." Konatsu trailed off as the words left him.
"Manly? Handsome? Romantic?" Ukyo suggested, not seeing Konatsu
finch at each word.
Konatsu sighed. "I don't have a chance, do I?"
Ukyo paused, then slid next to Konatsu and patted his shoulder.
"Konatsu, I don't know. I have to be truthful in that I have felt
attracted to Kang since we met in Australia, but I wouldn't say I'm in
love with him. I'm not even sure what love is. I thought I was in love
with Ranma, but you know how badly that turned out."
"So is it silly of me to say that I love you?"
"No, it's not silly," Ukyo replied. Neither of them seemed to have
noticed that they were holding hands or sitting very close together
until the moment that Ukyo looked into Konatsu's eyes. Suddenly, they
both grew very nervous as they realized their lips were less than a
half-foot apart. "Konatsu..."
"Ukyo..."
Konatsu leaned closer and planted his lips on Ukyo's. The kiss
lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to them. Their
lips parted and Ukyo backed away, putting her fingers gently to her
lips. They looked at each other silently for several seconds. Then,
without speaking, they separated and made their way to their respective
bedrooms. Neither of them got much sleep that night.
-C- -M- -D-
Late as usual, Akane and the three Ranmas raced towards the school.
They were startled when they saw a mob of boys racing towards them
screaming. "Ranko Saotome! I love you!" "Sanma Saotome! I love you!"
"Marry me!" "Damn, I love redheads!" "Spank me!"
"Crap. Okay, Ranko, let's beat some sense into their heads!" Sanma
shouted and headed towards the mob, with Ranko right behind her.
Ranma made to follow, but Akane restrained him. "Let them do this
themselves."
Ranma stopped. "Um, okay. Nothing that they can't handle, I guess."
"I used to handle my attackers by myself, those two will have no
trouble."
Ranma nodded, but then said, "Yeah, but it looks like they have a
lot more boys after them."
Akane flinched. "You want to rephrase that?" she growled.
Ranma gulped. "Well, there are two of them, so you had a better boy
to girl ratio."
"Nice save." Akane kissed Ranma sweetly.
Sanma stood on a pile of unconscious boys. "Ha! Ten seconds flat!"
Ranko was standing at Sanma's side. "Kings of the hill!" They both
started laughing, but then stopped suddenly when they noticed that the
boy's uniforms were blue today, instead of the red from yesterday. What
made this even more shocking is that the three Ranmas had all worn blue
Chinese shirts today.
"What the..." Sanma gasped.
Ranma surveyed the boys and said, "How can they have different
colored uniforms today, not to mention the same color that we wore?"
Ukyo came up to the group and explained. "The uniforms changed
colors just before you showed up. Looks like the Principal has some way
to change the colors remotely."
Just then, a booming voice called out over the loudspeakers. "Ha!
Ranma Saotome and his sisters have yet again worn the school uniform
like the good students they are and that all of you should be."
"Shit, let's go find him," Ranko said. The other Ranmas agreed and
set off to find the Principal.
Akane called out to their retreating backs. "You could each just
wear different colors tomorrow, you know!" She couldn't help chuckling.
-C- -M- -D-
"So how was your date with Konatsu?" Akane asked Ukyo at lunch.
They were eating alone, since the Ranmas were still off trying to track
down the Principal.
Ukyo fidgeted a little bit. "Um, we never had a chance to go on it.
Kang unexpectedly showed up and he and Konatsu got into a fight over
me."
"Really? Hope no one got hurt."
"Not seriously, but..."
Akane put down the rice she was about to eat. "But?"
"After Kang left, Konatsu and I kissed," Ukyo said, turning away to
hide her blush.
"Ooooooo... Hot and wet?" Akane asked, grinning.
Ukyo blushed more. "No... no... it was a short kiss, but... very
stimulating."
Akane smiled. "Better than kissing Ranko?"
Ukyo gasped. "Maybe... I don't know... I have two nice guys after
me and just don't know how to handle it."
"Well, let me give you just a little advice: Don't let it go on too
long or you'll end up engaged to both of them." Akane started laughing,
and it wasn't long before Ukyo joined her.
"Well, I promised them each two dates and I'd make a decision."
"Sounds fair," Akane said, then took a bite of her rice ball.
"So have you made a decision about YOUR three fiances?"
Akane didn't have time to answer, because the bushes beside them
suddenly erupted and a bandana clad boy burst out. "Where on Earth am I
now?"
"Ryoga?" Akane gasped.
Ryoga looked around and saw Akane. "Akane? What are you doing in
Okinawa?" he asked, not noticing Ukyo behind him.
Akane smiled. "This is Furinkan High School. Nice to see you
again."
Ryoga looked at the school building and nodded. "Perfect!! I need
you to lead me to Ukyo!" Akane opened her mouth to speak, but Ryoga was
so impatient he started talking again. "Please! I have to tell her that
I love her before it's too late!!" He heard a startled gasp from behind
him and turned around to see Ukyo. He immediately started to stammer and
looked very awkward. "Uuuu... ky... ooo?"
"You're in love... with me?" Ukyo asked, as she tried to figure how
and when that could have happened. She never even suspected he had those
kinds of feelings for her. Then again, neither did Akane before he
blurted it out after last summer's trip to the mountains.
Ryoga swallowed hard, the cat was out of the bag now so his
feelings gushed forth like water through a dam blown up from a Shishi
Houkou Dan blast. Ryoga knew this from first-hand experience since he
had blown up a series of dams after finding out that Akari had found
another man. "Ukyo, ever since our accidents in the mountains I have
felt so close to you. I... have missed you and tried to find you again,
but I had some problems with a farmer looking for breeding stock."
Akane looked puzzled by this, but Ukyo knew about his curse and
grinned knowingly. "Ryoga... I don't know what to say... I... Um... What
about Akari?" She had a bad feeling this might be a sign of Ryoga's
fickleness about girls.
Ryoga frowned. "I messed up with her... she's found another man. I
don't want to lose another great woman." Ukyo blushed and Ryoga knelt
down in front of her. They both were oblivious to the crowd that had
formed and was watching the little soap opera with intense interest.
Vendors had even appeared and were selling food to the crowd. "Ukyo,
will you marry me?"
Akane gasped. Ukyo gasped. The crowd ohhhhed and ahhhhed.
All of Ukyo's thoughts that Ryoga just had a crush on her vanished.
He was serious. She fidgeted under the attention from the assembled
students that she had finally noticed. "Ryoga... I... don't know what to
say."
The students started encouraging her to either accept or pound his
face in.
Akane turned and shouted at the crowd. "Will you people please
leave them alone!" The crowd disappeared upon seeing her battle aura
erupt around her. Akane made sure they were gone for good and then left
as well. She took one last peek at the couple before getting out of
sight; a large smile was plastered across her face.
Ryoga was still kneeling and looked at Ukyo with a pleading look in
his eyes. It was an eternity before Ukyo could even speak after seeing
the adorable look on his face. "Ryoga, I can't give you an answer right
now. Um... I sort of have two other guys interested in me right now. I
need some time to sort this all out."
At least it wasn't an outright rejection, so Ryoga didn't explode
on the spot. He did look saddened, but got to his feet and took Ukyo's
hands. "I understand. Um..."
"Yes?"
"Could you make sure that I don't wander off?"
Ukyo grinned. "Sure thing, Pig-boy."
Ryoga kept his cool. "Thank you... Honey."
Ukyo gaped in surprise at Ryoga, then smiled and took his hand so
he wouldn't wander off. "So pork any sweet young piggies?"
"I don't want to talk about it. I didn't, but the thought of what
that lunatic tried to get me to do is too depressing to talk about."
Not wanting Ryoga to grow depressed, Ukyo let the issue slide. She
laughed softly as she walked away with Ryoga in tow.
-C- -M- -D-
"Where's Ryoga?" Akane asked as she walked home with Ukyo that day.
"I took him to my place during lunch," Ukyo replied, absently.
"A nooner, huh?" Akane said, smirking.
Ukyo stopped short. "What?!"
Akane grinned broadly. "Just wanted to make sure that you were
paying attention."
Ukyo smiled, then started walking again. "Sorry, in the past few
days I've gone from having no love life to having three suitors. It's
unnerving."
"Tell me about it. You could always marry all three," Akane
suggested, jokingly.
Ukyo chuckled. "Not likely. You may like foursomes, but I haven't
even had a chance to get to know any of these guys really."
"Well, at least you're not engaged to all of them."
"True, I just can't figure out what to do from here. They all say
they love me and Ryoga actually proposed."
"To tell you the truth, Ukyo, I think you and Ryoga look cute
together. I sometimes wondered about you two after the trip to the
mountains last year. You looked to be quite close and obviously Ryoga
has some deep feelings for you."
Ukyo looked at Akane with a bemused look on her face. "Really? I
guess we did get along, but I always looked at him like a... friend..."
She trailed off as she realized that was what Ranma always told her.
After a pause, she continued. "Just like Ranma always said to me. I
wonder..."
"What?"
Ukyo really didn't want to say that she was wondering if a
friendship could become a romance, she didn't need to rehash the painful
events of last year. "Oh, I was just wondering if I was ignoring the
signs because I was still trying to get over Ranma. I do like palling
around with Ryoga, but is that enough for a relationship?"
"Maybe not enough, but it could be a start. What about Konatsu?"
Akane inquired.
"I don't know. He's a good worker and I like him, but I've really
never had any romantic feelings for him. I thought it was the dresses
and acting like a girl, but now I just don't know. The kiss was nice
last night, but then I haven't had a lot of them to compare to."
"Me either. I've only kissed Ranma."
"And Ranko and Sanma."
Akane smiled. "They're the same. It doesn't feel different. They
all feel the same. Well... their lips. Their bodies are a different
matter altogether." She winked, causing Ukyo to smile. "What about
Kang?"
"Ironically, he's the only man I ever felt any attraction to when I
first met him. I wonder if that means anything."
"Only that you've changed. You had given up your womanhood in order
to get back at Ranma, so you probably were so focused on your revenge
that you ignored anything else."
"Makes sense. It did take me a while to shake off the last of my
feelings for Ranma," Ukyo said, then looked upward. "Damn, why can't I
just have a normal life!"
"I used to ask the same thing, but where would the fun be in that?"
"True. Okay three suitors, guess I can have fun being the center of
attention for awhile before making a choice."
"As long as another one doesn't show up."
"Shhhhh..." Ukyo shushed Akane and looked cautiously around. She
relaxed when another suitor didn't come out of the woodwork. She managed
to take a couple more steps before a cigarette machine accosted her.
"My dear Ukyo, I have come back to you!" the cigarette machine
cried out and glomped onto Ukyo.
"Damn. I don't need another suitor right now, Tsubasa!! Especially
one in a skirt! Get lost!" Ukyo said. She ripped the paper cigarette
machine off the little man dressed in a purple sailor skirt and smashed
him into orbit with her spatula.
Akane looked timidly at the ground. "Sorry about that."
"No, problem. I just wish I could handle the others like that."
"Why can't you?"
Ukyo smiled sweetly. "Unlike that annoying Tsubasa, I like the
others, but I could do without all of them after me at once."
"I'm sure Ranma thought the same thing," Akane mentioned as they
approached Ucchan's.
"True, but I hope to resolve this without blowing anything up." As
soon as Ukyo finished speaking, the front of her restaurant exploded
outward and Konatsu and Kang flew across their path and crashed into the
wall on the opposite side of the street. Akane and Ukyo gasped in
surprise and dropped their respective book bags. "What the..."
Ryoga appeared in the ruins of the restaurant's wall and glared at
Konatsu and Kang. "I won't let you take Ukyo from me!"
Konatsu, who was wearing his female ninja outfit, got to his feet
and tossed a series of throwing stars at Ryoga, who easily avoided them.
"She's mine! I loved her before either of you!"
Kang used his giant barbecue fork to get to his feet. "I don't know
who you are, but you've just made a big mistake!" He charged Ryoga,
brandishing his giant fork in front of him. Instead of impaling Ryoga,
Kang pounded the tines of the fork into the ground in front of Ryoga and
swung around it feet first. "Kangaroo-fuu Tail Kick!" Since Ryoga had
prepared to counter the fork itself, he wasn't prepared for the savage
kick from Kang, who used the fork as a Kangaroo would use its tail to
balance on and then kick its opponents with its hind legs.
The kick sent Ryoga crashing back into the restaurant.
Unfortunately for Kang, Konatsu used this opportunity to toss several
throwing stars at Kang, who barely managed to avoid them. Kang drew his
fork out of the ground and swung it at Konatsu, who leapt into the air
and landed on the end of the fork. Kang tried to shake him off, but
Konatsu used his ninja agility to stick fast. "Get off, you panty
wearing cross-dresser!"
"At least my mother's not an animal!" Konatsu screamed.
"Who are you calling an animal?!" Ryoga screamed, misunderstanding
the insult and whom it was directed at. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" He jabbed
the pavement between Kang and Konatsu and it exploded upward, sending
them flying. Ryoga looked up after the dust settled and saw Ukyo. "Ukyo!
Have you decided?" he asked, forgetting about the fight.
Ukyo just gaped at the ruins of her restaurant and was unable to
speak, so instead Akane stepped forward and spoke for the dazed
okonomiyaki chef. "Ryoga, what are you doing? Wrecking her restaurant is
no way to get her to love you!"
Ryoga frowned as he realized that he had gotten carried away in the
heat of battle. "I'm sorry, Ukyo. They attacked me and I had to defend
myself."
Ukyo still couldn't find her voice, but by the time she did Konatsu
and Kang had gotten back to their feet and attacked Ryoga from both
sides. Ryoga swatted them off, but had to jump to the top of a nearby
building to avoid Kang's fork. Konatsu and Kang followed him to the roof
and the battle left the immediate area.
Ukyo looked at her restaurant and suddenly used some very un-lady
like words. When she finished, she raced inside her restaurant and
returned with her second giant spatula and bandoleer. "Let's go beat the
hormones out of those three before they kill each other."
Akane smiled and nodded. She ran off after the three fighting men
with Ukyo.
-C- -M- -D-
The battle raged across Nerima, causing more of the property damage
that the residents had come to expect and the construction companies had
gotten rich on. Ukyo and Akane followed the trail of destruction and
caught up to the three combatants in a large park. "Akane, Ryoga always
listens to you, so calm him down, while I pound some sense into Kang and
Konatsu," Ukyo said, brandishing her two spatulas.
Akane nodded and made for Ryoga, who was whipping bandanas at the
other two, who were engaged in sword to fork combat.
Kang whipped his giant barbecue fork around in a wide arc to
counter a sword blow from Konatsu. In the process, he grazed Ryoga
across the side of his head.
Ryoga crashed to the ground and then suddenly was trampled by the
Principal, who came running through the park being chased by the three
Ranmas.
The Principal turned around and taunted his pursuers. "Ha ha! Bad
students can't catch me!" He flipped coconut bombs back at his pursuers.
The Ranmas easily deflected the bombs, while Ukyo, Akane, and the
other combatants all paused in astonishment to watch them run through
the park.
Ranma noticed Ryoga only after he ran over him. "Yo, Ryoga! Long
time no see!" he called out without stopping.
Ranko landed on Ryoga's face next. "Ah, lost boy is back!"
Ryoga's jaw dropped. He sat upright and watch Ranma and Ranko run
off. "Two Ranmas?"
Sanma slapped the already stunned Ryoga on the shoulder as she
passed. "Actually, three now. Nice to have you back, man." She then
raced off after the Principal.
Ryoga shook his head. "Damn, must have gotten hit by that fork
harder than I thought." He leapt to his feet and jabbed the ground under
Konatsu and Kang, who were still dazed by the interruption. The ground
exploded sending the other two men flying. He then sent another swarm of
bandanas at the other two fighters.
Akane was using a stick she had picked up to deflect Ryoga's flying
bandanas as she approached him. "Ryoga, stop! You're just making Ukyo
upset!"
"I'm sorry, Akane, but I can't take the chance that Ukyo will
choose one of them. This is my last chance for happiness!" Ryoga
declared, then raised his umbrella and headed towards Kang and Konatsu.
"No it's not! Even if you don't end up with Ukyo, there are other
women in the world!"
"That wouldn't care about my curse? Not likely. Please don't get in
my way, Akane, I don't want you to get hurt."
"Curse?" Akane gasped.
With the sudden realization that he'd let the long held secret
slip, Ryoga skidded to a halt. All thoughts of the battle were forgotten
and he remained motionless, unable to look at Akane.
The other two men and Ukyo had already drifted out of sight in the
course of their battle by the time Akane walked around Ryoga and stood
in front of him. Ryoga quickly turned away from her. Akane pulled him to
face her. "You have a curse?"
Ryoga tried to think of a way out, but knew he couldn't and
SHOULDN'T hide it anymore. He nodded slowly and prepared to accept
whatever Akane did to him.
"What do you change into?" Akane asked, although a few things
started to fall into place in her mind. Ryoga didn't answer, so Akane
took his hands in hers and pleaded with him. "Please tell me. I'm your
friend, it doesn't matter to me. Heck, I fell in love with a cursed
person. It's okay."
"Akane. I... I never meant to deceive you. I... just had never been
the object of love like that before. Please forgive me," Ryoga babbled,
his head bowed to the point that his chin rested in his chest.
That information, plus the fact that P-chan had suddenly changed
gender and was now pregnant, allowed the final pieces to fall into place
in Akane's mind. "You... you're P-chan." She barely saw Ryoga's small
nod. Akane's legs gave out from under her. "No... how could you deceive
me like that?"
Ryoga couldn't move, but looked sadly at Akane. "I'm sorry. To be
loved by someone, even if it was just as a pig, made me do some horrible
things. After a while, I just couldn't tell you for fear of losing you."
Akane still was too stunned to react. "You... let me sleep with
you, cuddle with you, kiss you and you thought that there was a chance
that I could ever love you as a man?"
"I never saw you naked... honest!" Ryoga insisted.
"Who the hell cares about that!" Akane shouted and her battle aura
finally came to life. "You betrayed my trust in you! You took advantage
of me!" She got to her feet, cupped her hands, and formed a chi ball
between them. "You bastard!"
Ryoga was surprised at Akane forming a chi ball, but wouldn't even
think of defending himself against her. He stood his ground, knowing he
deserved everything that happened to him.
The strain of her trying to control her anger could be seen on her
face until she couldn't hold it anymore. Without a word, she released
the chi ball and it impacted against Ryoga's chest, sending him crashing
across the park and into a fountain. Before Akane's eyes, he transformed
into a pig.
Akane frowned when she saw the transformation, walked over to the
fountain, and plucked the squirming pig from it. Ryoga calmed down and
looked up at Akane with tears in his eyes. Akane sighed as she looked at
him and realized that she couldn't do anything else to punish someone
who had to go through life as half a pig. "I forgive you Ryoga." Ryoga
perked up at hearing this, but saddened again when she finished
speaking. "But I don't know if we can still be friends after this. It'll
take me time to sort this out."
She walked off, with the crying pig in her arms. After taking a few
steps, she stopped and held Ryoga further out from her body, having
pressed him into her chest as she normally did with P-chan. As she
continued walking, she started to remember all of the other things she
had normally done with P-chan. This did not help her already bad mood
improve.
-C- -M- -D-
Meanwhile, Ukyo had chased Kang and Konatsu across the park, trying
unsuccessfully to get them to stop. Her bandoleer was empty of throwing
spatulas; in fact several could be seen sticking out of the handle of
Kang's giant barbecue fork, along with some of Konatsu's throwing stars.
Konatsu grabbed a handful of roses from a nearby bush. Ignoring the
pain of the thorns, he ripped the petals off. "I Love Ukyo Rose Petal
Storm!" he called out and sent a blizzard of rose petals at Kang. This
turned out to be a screen for the series of savage kicks and punches
that followed.
"I said, stop fighting!!!" Ukyo repeated, for the umpteenth time.
Kang and Konatsu didn't stop, for the umpteenth time, so Ukyo jumped
between them and swept upwards with her spatulas. Kang's giant fork and
Konatsu's sword went spinning out of their hands. "Twin Spatulas of
Justice!" She followed by pounding each of their heads with her
spatulas. Both men collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"I was never this bad," Ukyo said, knowing she was probably worse
in her pursuit of Ranma. She sat down at the feet of the two prone men.
She looked around when she heard footsteps behind her and found a pig
thrust into her arms.
"Here's your third suitor," Akane said, bluntly.
Ukyo gasped as she realized Akane knew about Ryoga's curse. It took
her a couple of seconds to find her voice. "Oh my... I know he felt bad
about not telling you Akane." She stroked the distraught pig gently to
calm him down.
"Why didn't *YOU* ever tell me?"
"Well, at first I thought that he might win you away from Ranma.
Then after we gave up on both of you, I think it was to avoid hurting
you. We believed giving you the fake P-chan was better than hurting you
with the truth."
Akane nodded. "Maybe it was... but Ryoga should have gotten a MALE
pig to replace him. The replacement P-chan is pregnant."
Ukyo gasped, then started laughing. She looked at Ryoga. "You gave
her a female pig?" The pig looked as surprised as she did. Then a
thought struck her. "You haven't been wandering around the Tendo house
as a pig, have you?"
Akane caught the implication of Ukyo's question and burst out
laughing.
Ryoga just shook his little head, vehemently denying that he was
the father with little uh-uh squeals.
-C- -M- -D-
Later, Konatsu and Kang, both of who had bandages on their heads,
were finishing hanging a plastic sheet over the ruined entrance to
Ucchan's. Ukyo walked into her restaurant with Ryoga still cradled in
her arms. Kang and Konatsu apologized again, promised to pay for the
damage, and made a quick retreat, but not without glaring at each other
first.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Ukyo told the retreating figures.
She put the pig on the counter, then pulled out a kettle and started
boiling water. "Well, at least she didn't kill you, Ryoga."
The pig nodded. Then squealed as Ukyo poured the very hot water
over him. "Hot!!!"
Ukyo tried to look like it was an accident that the water was so
hot, but she wasn't that convincing. "Why on earth did you give Akane a
girl pig to replace you?"
"I don't go around looking at pig genitals!" Ryoga insisted. He
looked around for some of the spare clothes he had stashed around the
restaurant from when he used to live there.
Ukyo smirked. "Why not? Nothing wrong with them as far as I can
see."
"Eeep!" Ryoga quickly covered himself. "Um, I'm sorry about the
fight and Akane. I hope she isn't too mad at you for not telling her
about my curse."
"I hope so too. I wonder how much the three Ranmas will have to
grovel tonight."
Ryoga looked confused, since he had thought that he had just
imagined seeing three different Ranmas earlier that night. "THREE
Ranmas?!"
Ukyo smirked. "Oh that's right, you don't know about the split."
Ukyo started to explain what had all happened in the months since he was
last in Nerima.
After she explained about the split, she started talking about
their encounter with the Buyierfei in Australia. Ryoga was a little
amazed that he almost ran into them while wandering through what he
thought was a desert in China. He had thought that the giant hopping
rats were unusual at the time.
"I think they're called Kangaroos," Ukyo said, chuckling.
-C- -M- -D-
At about the same time, Akane was sitting in the family room with
P-chan nestled in her arms. She stroked the pig's back softly. She
looked up when the three Ranmas came into the room.
"Ha, that'll teach that damn Principal not to mess with us," Ranko
said, as she knelt at the table.
"We're all in the same homeroom starting tomorrow, Akane," Ranma
announced, smiling in triumph.
"You're assuming I'll want to be near you tomorrow," Akane said,
without emotion. The way she stroked the pig made her look like a
villain from an old James Bond movie.
All three Ranmas looked confused. "Huh?" Sanma gasped.
"When did you know about Ryoga?" Akane asked calmly.
"We met him in Junior High, you know that," Ranma explained.
"No. When did you know that Ryoga was my P-chan?"
All three Ranmas went pale. "How..." Ranko gasped.
"Did you..." Ranma sputtered.
"Find out?" Sanma finished.
"A little pregnant piggy told me. Now tell me.... WHEN did you know
Ryoga was cursed to turn into a pig?"
The three Ranmas all looked at each other and then Ranma spoke. "It
was after you first found P-chan and wanted me to take a bath with him.
You know... hot water."
"Yeah, we were sort of responsible for knocking him into the spring
of drowned pig in Jusenkyo, so we promised that we wouldn't reveal his
shameful secret," Ranko added.
"Even when you knew he was deceiving me and sleeping with me?"
Akane asked, bitterly.
Sanma answered this time. "I... we made an honorable promise to
him... unfortunately that was before we knew what he intended to do with
his curse."
"Yeah, we tried to keep him away from you, but..." Ranma was about
to go into a long list of times he had tried to tell Akane about P-chan,
only to be interrupted or hit by Akane before he could.
Luckily for Ranma, Akane interrupted him when she'd decided she'd
heard enough excuses for one night. "I'm going to bed-" She stood up
suddenly. "-ALONE." She walked out of the family room leaving the Ranmas
behind, who wisely chose not to force the issue.
None of the Ranmas got any sleep that night as they tried to find a
way to mend the damage done by the revelation of their long held
deception. Their final solution after nearly four hours was to ask
Nabiki and Kasumi for advice. This turned out to be one of their
brighter ideas.
Truth be told, Akane didn't get much sleep either as she started
recalling event after event where SHE should have figured out P-chan's
secret herself. Almost always, those events included Ranma saying or
doing something that hinted at P-chan's true identity. <How could I have
been so blind?> was Akane's last thought before finally falling asleep.
-C- -M- -D-
Konatsu awoke the next morning and made his way downstairs. He
stopped when he saw Ukyo and Ryoga asleep in one of the booths. They
were curled up in each other's arms. Konatsu looked at the couple and
realized that's what they were, a couple. Even after the kiss he shared
with her, he was never that comfortable with Ukyo. A tear rolled down
his cheek and he went back upstairs.
-C- -M- -D-
Akane awoke to find herself in a field of roses. She rubbed her
eyes. "What?" She looked around and realized that she was in the bedroom
she shared with the Ranmas, but there were roses everywhere. She got up,
smelled the roses, picking one to take with her, and then made her way
out to the family room, carrying P-chan in her arms. She walked in and
found Ranma in a tuxedo while Ranko and Sanma were in French maid
outfits. Instead of the low table that was normally in the room, a high
table was set with fancy dishes. "What is this?"
"Would madam care for breakfast now?" Ranma said, holding out a
chair for her. Akane was so stunned that she sat down without thinking.
"We have a five course breakfast today, madam," Ranko said, laying
a napkin over Akane's lap.
Sanma came over, picked P-chan out of Akane's arms, and put her in
a high chair across from Akane. A dish of vegetables was placed in front
of the pig.
Akane finally found her voice again. "Who are you three and where
are my fiances?"
"Very amusing, madam. First up, we have rice and some miso soup,"
Ranko explained and put down the first course.
Akane realized that they must have had some help in putting all
this together, but it was the thought that counts. Not knowing what else
to say, she decided to enjoy being pampered for a bit. "Thank you. Um,
I really should clean up first."
Ranma snapped his fingers. Sanma and Ranko rushed to Akane's side
and pulled her to her feet. They quickly removed her nightie and
panties, having done so on many occasions previously, although this was
the first time during breakfast. That month at least.
Akane was so shocked that she didn't resist. Within a few seconds,
the two redheaded girls had given Akane a sponge bath and redressed her
in a fancy kimono. They sat her back down again.
"Well, I sort of meant something else..."
Ranma snapped his fingers again. Ranko produced a bucket, while
Sanma held out a roll of toilet paper.
Akane looked at the bucket. "I don't think so." She burst out
laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo awoke and looked up and was amazed to find she was wrapped in
Ryoga's arms. She blushed and pulled away, causing Ryoga to awake.
"Err... Good morning, Ryoga."
Ryoga blinked a few times. "Ukyo?" He gasped and slid away. "Oh no.
What have I done? I have no honor!"
Before Ryoga exploded, literally exploded, Ukyo calmed him down.
"Relax, Sugar, we were just up so late talking we must have fallen
asleep in each other's arms."
"Oh," Ryoga said, for a second sounding almost disappointed.
Ukyo noticed his disappointment, but didn't mention it. They had
gotten so engrossed in their conversation last night that they had
completely lost track of time and fallen asleep in each other's arms.
Not an unpleasant feeling, in Ukyo's opinion.
"I guess we lost track of time," Ryoga mentioned, stretching his
arms.
"Great, you can get lost just talking," Ukyo commented wryly.
"Hey!"
Looking around the restaurant, Ukyo frowned when she saw an
envelope on the counter addressed to her. She picked it up and opened
it. She read a few lines before gasping in surprise.
"What is it?" Ryoga asked.
"Konatsu left. He said he feels too ashamed after yesterday and can
see that..." Ukyo trailed off, not wanting to mention that Konatsu had
said in his letter that he couldn't match the love that Ukyo and Ryoga
obviously had for each other. "Damn. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."
"He may come back," Ryoga offered, not really sounding thrilled at
the idea.
Ukyo shrugged. "Maybe." Inside, Ukyo didn't think it mattered
anymore if he did. She finished reading the letter and then pulled out
two thousand-yen bills from the envelope.
"What are those for?" Ryoga asked.
Ukyo smirked. "It's Konatsu's life savings... to repair the
damage."
"Two thousand yen? That'll barely cover a new tablecloth."
"It's the thought that counts." Ukyo clutched the letter and money
to her chest. <Goodbye, Konatsu. I hope you have a happy life.> She
frowned as she realized she'd have to find a new waitress. <Damn, no one
else would work for as little as he did.>
-C- -M- -D-
Later that day at his hotel, Kang received a letter from Ukyo. As
he read it, he grew very depressed.
"I can't believe she's dumping me for that guy with the stupid
umbrella," Kang muttered. He grabbed his giant fork and began to sharpen
the tines. "Well, at least she didn't choose the cross-dresser."
As he sharpened his fork, he tried to figure out what to do. He had
spent all his money getting to Nerima and had no way back to Australia.
"Well, something will come up."
-C- -M- -D-
Akane ate her breakfast almost silently, while the Ranmas waited on
her hand and foot. A part of her knew she would forgive them eventually,
but that part was still buried under the pain she felt at all the
deceptions. Not only from Ryoga and the Ranmas, but even her own
internal deceptions that made her blind to what was right in front of
her eyes. Of course, that's also why she could never bring herself to
admit her love to Ranma and herself until last summer.
When they arrived at school, the gang of boys were ready to attack
Ranko and Sanma again. Akane held the redheaded girls back and then she
approached the boys herself. "Attention all walking hormones! Ranko and
Sanma Saotome are men. One hundred percent men, despite their bodies.
They are also engaged to me, along with Ranma."
The boys all started to complain and argue. Shouts of "No fair!",
"One to a customer!", "Lesbian!", and "Want to make it a fivesome?"
were heard.
Without any build up, Akane held her hands in front of her and
called out, "Moko Takabisha Rapid Fire!" Dozens of chi balls flashed
from her hands and sent the boys scurrying for cover. The few who
avoided the chi blasts were still unlikely to attack again tomorrow
after seeing Akane's impressive attack.
The Ranmas looked on as Akane blasted the boys, but weren't going
to say anything for fear that they'd get into more trouble with Akane.
They were each happy that Akane seemed to be fighting for them, but
worried about her using a powerful attack like that on mere high school
boys.
-C- -M- -D-
Ukyo hadn't come to school that day, so after school they all
stopped at Ucchan's to check up on her. The front of the restaurant was
boarded up, temporarily repairing the damage done the night before. A
note addressed to Akane was on the front.
Akane took the note down and read it. "Hmmm, she gave up on Kang
and Konatsu, at least until she can find out what her feelings for Ryoga
are." A smile appeared on her face.
"I hope Ukyo likes pigs," Sanma said, but shut up quickly after
Akane glared at her.
"Where are they now?" Ranma asked.
"Went out to dinner, apparently."
-C- -M- -D-
"That doesn't look like Mon Canard," Ukyo said.
"Are you sure?" Ryoga asked.
"Pretty sure."
"Well, want to eat here anyway?"
"I guess we'd better. I don't think I could wait to get back to
Tokyo."
"Huh?"
Ukyo pointed to the restaurant's sign, which read "Ursula's
Bistro-Voted best Italian restaurant in Kyoto."
"Oh, sorry about that."
"That's okay, Pig-boy. At least we didn't leave the country."
***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:
September 10, 2057
"I did enjoy being pampered by the three of them for the following
week, even if I knew it couldn't last."
I smiled. "Well, from what you've told me, they did try to keep
Ryoga away from you."
"Yes, but it's always easier to see that when you're not the one
who'd been nuzzled by a man you thought was just a pig."
"Personally, I'd rather not be nuzzled by either."
Akane smiled.
"So, when did you forgive them?"
Akane's smile turned into a frown. "Well, not soon enough. My anger
over these events probably jaded my decision about the upcoming
wedding." She shook her head suddenly. "No, I'm just using that as an
excuse for making a bad decision."
"I'm sure it was the right decision at the time."
"Nope, it was the biggest mistake of my life," Akane replied,
clutching her chest and looking off into the far distance. "And I'm
still paying for it."
I got up, gave Akane a quick peck on her cheek, and then changed
the subject. "Want to come over to the South Building and have dinner
with Hanaki and me?"
"Thanks, but my husband is due back this evening."
"Oh, okay. I'll see you in the morning then," I said, shutting off
my palmcard.
"Not too early," she mentioned, then winked at me.
"No, of course not," I replied, winking back at her.
-C- -M- -D-
That night, I lay on our futon with Hanaki and looked nervously
around our bedroom.
"What's the matter, James?" Hanaki asked, sliding on top of me.
"Um, well I was introduced to the Reis today," I mentioned.
Hanaki smirked. "Interesting set, aren't they? They used to tease
me mercilessly while I was growing up."
"About what?"
"Err... stuff."
"Come on, Hanaki, tell me," I insisted, caressing her cheek.
"Well, about me getting a crush on a man I only met for a few
minutes." Hanaki blushed.
"Me, huh? Don't worry. I eventually figured out that you got a
crush on me back in 'fifty when we first met. Sorry it took me so long
after we met again two years ago to ask you out. I was a fool to put the
book ahead of you."
"It's okay. We are married now, so I couldn't be happier. Now what
is it about the Reis that is making you nervous?" Hanaki asked.
"Well, they seem to be monitoring everything," I explained my
concern, looking around our bedroom.
Hanaki laughed and started rubbing my chest. "Don't worry, James,
they can't monitor areas designated as private without an announcing
call." She started nibbling on my chest.
"Are you sure? If they control the system... ahhhhh."
Hanaki looked up from what she was doing. "I'm sure. There are
security lockouts on the system that even the Reis don't have. I think
Akane, her husband, and my grandmother are the only ones who have full
security access to the whole system. Maybe Nijiko, but I'm not sure."
"Wait... it that's the case, how come Akane doesn't know where the
control room is then?"
Hanaki grinned. "She does... she just allows the Reis think that
they are fooling her."
That did sound like something the Akane I knew would do. Then
suddenly a thought struck me. "Um, Akane wouldn't spy on us, would she?"
Hanaki chuckled. "A little paranoid tonight, aren't ya?"
I nodded.
"Fine. Just to put your concerns to rest..." Hanaki looked up at
the ceiling. "Open security access panel." A panel slid open on the rear
wall, making me wonder just how much technology was hidden around us.
Hanaki reached over and pulled a small card out of a slot. Hanaki looked
at me and smiled. "There, regardless of their security access level, no
one can monitor us with the relay card out. Satisfied?"
"Lights on!" I called out. The lights remained off confirming the
system wasn't even monitoring for voice commands. I smiled. "Okay, now
I'm satisfied."
"I hope we don't have to do this every night?" Hanaki asked.
"No."
"Good, because I'm not in the mood anymore." Hanaki rolled off me
and pulled the cover over her.
"Huh? Hana, I'm sorry... I..." My pleading was cut off when my wife
turned around and jumped on me. The night that followed was... not going
to be written about in my journal.
[End - Chapter 14]
Coming soon: Chapter 15: Moko Takabisha Wedding: The Wedding IS the
Storm
=======================================================================
The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:
I had planned to have Ryoga show up again in a later chapter (in fact
most of the Ukyo relationship problems were scheduled for later), but
that turned out to be problematic after the events that occur in the
next chapter. I lost a lot of the planned events surrounding the
Principal and the new school year, but they did not have as much to do
with the ongoing story as Ukyo and Ryoga's relationship does, so I
dropped some of the events. I believe this chapter is better the way it
came out, instead of the originally plotted version.
Hold onto your seats, nothing will be the same when the dust from the
wedding storm settles.
I'd like to thank my pre-readers David Johnston, EBJ, Thomas C. Kinnen,
and Jonathan Ng for helping me find and fix problems with this story.
C&C given from FFML members Andrew Norris, Serguei Rocha, Michael A.
Nuckles, Michael A. Chase, Thomas C. Kinnen, and Bert Miller was also
helpful in fine tuning this story. Thank you all. Of course in the end,
any mistakes and botched characters are my fault.
Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (December 15, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (March 12, 1999)
Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (March 24 1999)
Revision 1.0 - Final version (April 9, 1999)
Revision 1.1 - First RAAC posting (April 11, 1999)