Disclaimer: I do not, repeat do not, own Ranma ½. It is the property of its
creator and if you think otherwise you need help.
Introduction:
The setting for this story is the early nineties, around 92' or 93'. I base this on the manga where there are no PC's or cell phones in use and Nabiki uses a 35 mm camera rather than a digital one. But there are CD players, so it is fairly modern.
This story is set at Ranmas' eighteenth birthday. The springs in China have been destroyed by the PRC* military, so there is now no cure for the curses. The local tribes of Amazons, Musk, and Phoenix people have been discovered by the government. Nothing has been done about them but they are being watched. Cologne has sent Mousse back to keep her appraised of the situation in China. ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
Ranma OneHalf: Prolog.
Ranma Satome was one very unhappy camper, and with good reason. It was his eighteenth birthday and it was ruined. A very important day for him, and the people in his life, the people you'd think would respect his wishes and just stay away had come along and totally blew it.
It had started well enough, with just him and his parents along with the Tendos celebrating in private at Dr. Tofu's. Or so they had thought.
Ranma thought he had opened all of his presents when Soun spoke.
"Wait, there is one more present left, and Akane has the honor of giving it to you."
"Eh?" was Ranmas reply.
Puzzled, he watched as Akane got up and walked over to a box that was sitting over by the wall. Opening it, she pulled out a bottle of ...liquor?
Head cocked slightly to one side, Ranma pointed at the bottle. "What is that, sake?" he asked.
Akane shook her head. "No, it's a bottle of water from the spring of drowned man you dummy." she answered.
Ranmas' jaw dropped in surprise. Working his jaw up and down, he found his voice.
"But how? The old ghoul said Jusenkyou was destroyed by the Chinese..." he said.
Akane shot a look at Genma, who shrank back. "Kasumi found it while she was cleaning a closet. Apparently your father had decided to have a back up supply for himself for after the wedding." she explained.
Ranma scowled at his father, but decided the beating could wait for later. After all, it was his eighteenth birthday and for once things were going right in his life.
Crack!
Ranma jumped at that sound. He knew what it was - the sound of plaster cracking. That sound presaged the arrival of -
CRUMBLE!
"Arien!"
- Shampoo.
"Crap. Why now?" Ranma asked himself as he got braced himself for a glomp. Fortunately he was saved by the arrival of -
"Happy birthday, Ranchan!"
- Ukyo.
"Shoot me." Ranma muttered.
"Why Spatula Girl here? Ranma Shampoo's Airen." Shampoo said with a slight scowl.
"None of your business, ya stupid Amazon bimbo! And Ranchan's my fiance, not your's" was Ukyo's angry retort as they faced off.
Ranma sighed as he recognized another "Ranma's mine!" fight. He got up to put a stop to it, but was interrupted by Akanes shouting at them
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE?" Akane screamed, shaking with rage as she stomped towards them.
Shampoo turned to face Akane, maces drawn.
"Akane be quiet." Shampoo said as she swung at Akane overhand.
Akane saw Shampoo swing at her and reacted like any martial artist would do: she stepped to the side and swung her right arm up and out in a fan block to redirect the blow. Normally this would have worked, but Akanes' anger made her forget that she was holding the bottle of spring water in her right hand.
So she deflected the blow, but Shampoos mace smashed the bottle open. Akane got hit with the contents of the bottle. There was a ripping sound and Akane was decidedly male. For a moment, everyone was too stunned to speak. The moment passed.
"Hmpf! Now Akane Pervert Girl!"
"Looks like now I'm now the cute fiance!"
Shampoo whirled to face Ukyo.
"Violent Spatula Girl not cute!" she snapped.
"Am too!" Ukyo snapped back.
"That's it." anything further was cut off by Ranma.
He was standing in a loose stance, hands open and at his side.
"I've had enough of this shit. Every time there's something special going on in my life, someone comes along and screws it up. Well this was the last straw." Ranma said quietly. Flaring his battle aura, he continued. "Since everything else I've tried didn't work, maybe this will."
Faster than they could react, Ranma snapped his arms forward as he fired twin chi blasts. Fueled by his anger the blazing red chi blasted the two women through the hole made by Shampoo. Such was the power of his ki that the two women were blown across two whole blocks, smashing through everything in their way.
Powering down his aura, Ranma went to Akane. Looking into her - now his - eyes, Ranma spoke.
"Akane it'll be okay, I'm here." he said softly.
"Ra-Ranma..."he stammered. He opened he mouth to say more, but the arrival of more members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew interupted.
"Ohohohohohoho! Ranma, my darling!"
"Satome, prepare to die you foul sorcerer!"
The untimely arrival of the Kuno's snapped Akane back to reality, and whirled to face them.
"Kuno..." Akane growled as his battle aura flared to life.
Ranma started to step forward to stop Akane, but decided that Akane needed to vent the anger that she was feeling. As he stepped back Ranma remembered how angry he had been when he was cursed and almost felt sorry for the Kunos.
"Mental note: Beat the stuffing out of the panda tomorrow." Ranma reminded himself as Akane tore into the Kunos with a berserkers fury.
As he stood and watched, his mother crept up next to him.
"Son, don't you think that you should stop her?" Nodoka asked in a worried tone.
"It's okay. Akane just needs to get rid of the anger." Ranma explained as he listened to the screams of pain, wincing at a particularly high pitched one. "I don't think he's gonna want to use that training sword again." Ranma added. His mother nodded in reply. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
Several hours later, after everyone had been taken care of. They had returned home. Ranma knocked lightly on Akanes bedroom door.
"Go away." came the muffled reply.
"Akane, it's Ranma, I want to talk." Ranma said, voice tight.
"I said go away!" Akane replied with more force.
With a sigh, Ranma slumped his shoulders and leaded his head against the door. "Akane, listen, I know what your going through, and I can help. So can't we just talk, please?" he said.
Ranma stood there for several seconds in silence before sighing again and turning to leave. He stopped at the sound of the door being unlocked. Turning back, he saw the door slide open. Akane was standing there in her regular form, looking as if she had been crying her eyes out.
"C-c-come in." she stammered.
Stepping in, Akane slid the door shut after him and locked it as he sat down on the bed. Joining him, they sat there in silence for a few minutes. Ranma was building up his courage to say something when Akane spoke first.
"I-I'm sorry." she said with a small voice.
That took him by surprise.
"What for?" he asked.
"For ruining your last chance for a cure." Akane said as she looked down at her hands.
Blinking, Ranma shook his head. "Don't be. With those two around, it would've been a matter of time before it got broke." he answered.
This time it was Akane who looked up in surprise. "Y-your not mad?" she asked.
"No." Ranma answered. "Why should I, it was an accident. They happen." he continued.
Akane only sniffled in reply. Frowning, Ranma bowed down and looked into her eyes. Meeting hers he spoke.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, I think. This is a lot to take in, and it hasn't sunk in yet." Akane answered.
"Okay." Ranma answered. "If you need help, just ask. Believe me, I know what it's like." Ranma added with a slight chuckle.
"Baka." Akane said as she gave Ranmas head a playful swipe.
"Hey, you're feeling better already." Ranma said with a grin as he got up from the bed. Looking at the clock, he noticed the time. "And it's late, so we should be getting some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"Ranma.." Akane asked as he started to open the door.
"Yeah?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
"About what you said today, about how you've had enough of this, what did you mean?" Akane continued.
"I meant that I had enough of them, and their shit. You are my fiancé, not them, and this time they went too far." Ranma said before stepping out into the hall.
Akane sat on her bed in shock for the second time that day. It wasn't Ranmas admission that he considered her to be his fiancé, but that he said "this time they went too far". Akane realized that he was becoming serious about the engagement and their future. Head spinning, Akane got up and got ready for bed.
As she turned out the light and climbed into bed Akane realized that whatever may come, she knew who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
The next morning started like it usually did, with Ranma and his father doing their morning sparring. Genma got shot-put into the koi pond and turned into a panda. Ranma got splashed by Genma getting dunked and turned into Ranma-chan. And it ended with them vacuuming up breakfast.
It was only when he was getting his bag that Ranma realized what was wrong: Akane hadn't come down yet. Zipping upstairs he went strait to her room. Leaning against the door frame he knocked on the door.
"Yo Akane, you in there? We're gonna be late." he called out.
In her room Akane looked up at his knock and checked the clock, and realized just how much time she had wasted looking at her school uniform. Quickly she crossed her room and opened the door.
"Hey, why aren't you dressed yet - ack!" was all he got out before Akane pulled him into her room and shut the door.
Standing there slightly confused Ranma looked at Akane standing in her bathrobe with her arms crossed. Tilting his head to one side, Ranma looked at her quizzically.
"Akane, what's up?" he asked.
Akane looked up and stared Ranma square in the eye. "Last night you said that you'd help me, and, well, I need your help." she said.
"With what?" Ranma asked.
"With that." she answered, pointing to the bed, and the school uniform laid out on it.
"That's a school uniform. You wear it to school. What's so hard about that?"Ranma asked.
"I change into a guy now, remember?" Akane reminded him.
"Ah!" Ranma said, smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Of course. That is a problem." he continued.
"Yeah. I can't wear that, if we get splashed you'll turn into a girl and I'll be a guy wearing a dress." said Akane.
Frowning, Ranma thought about the problem posed by their curses. "Hmmm..." Ranma said as he pondered.
"Any idea's?" Akane asked.
Looking down at himself, Ranma brightened. "Yeah. You can wear some of my clothes." he said.
Holding up his hand, he forestalled the inevitable outburst. "Akane, listen. Why do you think I wear them? They dry quick, you can adjust them quickly, and they don't rip when you change size." he explained. Closing her mouth, Akane conceded that Ranma had a point. But there was one issue.
"What about underwear? I'm not going without a bra and I'm definitely not wearing boxers." she argued.
"Wear a sports bra. It'll stretch and not show when you're a guy, and you'll be okay when you're a girl. As for panties or boxers, you'll find out soon enough." Ranma explained.
Akane wondered at his last comment, but forgot it as he turned to the door. "C'mon, you gotta pick out what you want to wear, and we're running late." he said.
Shaking her head, Akane followed Ranma out the door to the guest room.
A few minutes later they were out the door and running to school. Akane was fuming.
"I can't believe her! How does she do that?" Akane fumed.
"Dunno. I've been tryin' to figure it out for two years. What I'd like to know is how she managed to nail the both of us." Ranma answered.
Akane was wincing with every step as she ran. Scowling she looked up at Ranma. Glancing down Ranma saw the look she was getting from Akane.
"What?" Ranma asked.
"You could've told me!" Akane snapped.
"You said you didn't want to wear boxers! And I thought you woulda remembered when you changed from yesterday!" Ranma said defensively.
"I was in shock yesterday! And besides, I'm a girl! How would I know this would happen?" Akane shot back.
Rolling her eyes, Ranma hopped off the fence and landed next to Akane. She nudged Akane in the side.
"Hey, Tofu's clinic is coming up. We can change back there." she said.
"But we're late-!" Akane started to protest- but was cut off by Ranma.
"We'll be late, but we'll be in our right forms, and trust me, you don't want to sit down while wearing girls underwear as a guy." Ranma explained.
"Okay." Akane muttered under her breath.
A splash of hot water at Dr. Tofu's and Akane and Ranma were in their correct forms. Scooping up Akane, Ranma roof hopped all the way to school, making it just in time to beat the bell.
All morning at school Ranma and Akane were dogged with questions about her school attire, and the rumors about what happened to Ukyo. When lunch came around they managed to make a break for it and get some peace.
Sitting on the roof of the school, Akane and Ranma ate lunch. Gulping down the last of her bento**, Akane sighed.
"What a morning. I couldn't go five minutes with out getting bugged by someone about my clothes. Good thing I've managed to avoid getting splashed. I don't even want to think about what my curse would do." Akane said as she put away her bento box.
Swallowing, Ranma nodded.
"Sounds like my morning too." he agreed.
"Ranma..." Akane asked. "Why is everyone asking us? I thought Nabiki would have sold everyone the info by now."
Ranma smiled. "Oh, Mom asked her not to." Ranma explained.
Akane frowned. "But how would that stop Nabiki? She isn't intimidated by anyone." she asked.
"Mom had the katana*** with her." Ranma explained, his smile turning into a smirk.
"Oh." Akane said as she picked up her juice.
As she sipped it she thought about Nodoka Satome with the family sword and shivered. She felt sorry for her sister and Akane hoped Nabiki had learned from it.
The ringing of the school bell signaled the end of lunch, and they got up to go back to class. As they walked to the door Ranma stopped and took her shoulder.
"Hey Akane, you up to a little roof hopping tonight?" Ranma asked.
Akane nodded. "Yes. Why?" she asked.
Calling on the Soul of Ice, Ranma took a deep breath and spoke.
"I-I want to talk and I don't want anyone spying on us." he said, desperately trying to keep from blushing.
Surprised, Akane nodded.
"Okay." she said. As they went inside Akane wondered about Ranmas behavior. "Maybe that baka is starting to grow up." she thought. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
That evening Ranma bounded over the rooftops of Nerima carrying Akane. Landing in the schoolyard he ran to the school. Using an inside corner he triple jumped up the roof.
"Whew." Ranma said as he put down Akane. "That was harder than I thought."
"Sure." Akane said sarcastically.
"Well it was!" Ranma defended. "It's different when you're carrying another person!"
Rolling her eyes Akane looked out at the lights of the city.
"Well, now that you've dragged me out here, what do you want to talk about?" Akane asked.
"Huh?" was Ranmas reply.
Frowning, Akane looked at Ranma. "Earlier today you said you wanted to talk. Remember?" she reminded him.
"Oh, yeah. Right" Ranma said.
Calling on the Soul of Ice again, he tried to keep control.
"I-it's about our schools." he said.
"Yeah. We get married and join the schools." Akane said. Ranma nodded.
"Yeah. That's the thing." Ranma continued.
"Huh?" Akane asked, puzzled.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma let it out before speaking.
"Akane, before I tell you something, you gotta promise not to get mad." he said.
"Why?" Akane asked, eyes narrowing.
"Promise. It's important." Ranma repeated.
Sighing, Akane nodded. "Okay, okay, I promise I wont get mad." she said.
Ranma steeled himself before continuing. "Akane, if the schools are to be joined each side would have to be a master, right?" he asked.
"Yes." Akane agreed, clenching her fists.
"I am a master of the Satome school, but..." Ranma trailed off.
"But..." Akane said.
"You're not." Ranma finished.
Akane nearly lost it then, but clamped down on her anger. Ranma waited until she had regained control until continuing.
"But I could train you." he said hesitantly.
Akane blinked in surprise at his last statement. She was silent while for several moments.
"You'll train me?" she asked finally.
"Yes." Ranma answered.
"And you'll not hold back?" she asked.
Ranma nodded. "Yes."
"Will we be going on a training trip?"
Ranma nodded again. "Yeah. To America."
"Why?" Akane asked, confused. "What could I learn in America that I couldn't learn here?" she added.
"I'd be teaching you what I know. In America I could teach you without all the crap that goes on around here interfering." Ranma explained.
"Okay." Akane said. "But for how long?" she asked.
"Well, it took me ten years to get to where I am. Of course I had my old man teaching me, so with me it'll wont be as long. And you can send postcards home n' stuff." he said.
Akane said nothing for a while. Ranma put his hand on her shoulder.
"Akane, what I'm asking is huge. We'd be leaving everything behind. I'm not asking for a decision right now, just that you think about it." he said.
Biting her lip, Akane nodded. Looking up at him she spoke. "Okay. When I decide, I'll let you know." she said. "In the meantime, I want to go home. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted." she said.
Nodding, Ranma scooped up Akane and bounded back home.
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
Two months passed. In that time Akane turned eighteen. Her birthday was without incident. Finals came and went and they both passed. Ranma barely, Akane with flying colors. They began to go through the motions of looking at colleges.
Early one morning (three AM to be precise) Ranma was awakened by a hand shaking him gently.
"Huh? Whazzit?" he asked sleepily.
"Ranma, roof, now." whispered Akane.
"Huh-Okay." he answered, brain on auto pilot.
On the roof Ranma sat in front of Akane.
"So where's the fire?" he whispered.
"I have the answer." Akane whispered back.
Ranma tensed as he remembered what she was referring to. "And?" he asked.
"It's yes." Akane told him.
In the dark Ranma couldn't help but smile.
*PRC: Peoples Republic of China. **Bento: Japanese school lunch. When prepared by Akane it can be lethal. ***Katana: Japanese sword. Very sharp.
Introduction:
The setting for this story is the early nineties, around 92' or 93'. I base this on the manga where there are no PC's or cell phones in use and Nabiki uses a 35 mm camera rather than a digital one. But there are CD players, so it is fairly modern.
This story is set at Ranmas' eighteenth birthday. The springs in China have been destroyed by the PRC* military, so there is now no cure for the curses. The local tribes of Amazons, Musk, and Phoenix people have been discovered by the government. Nothing has been done about them but they are being watched. Cologne has sent Mousse back to keep her appraised of the situation in China. ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
Ranma OneHalf: Prolog.
Ranma Satome was one very unhappy camper, and with good reason. It was his eighteenth birthday and it was ruined. A very important day for him, and the people in his life, the people you'd think would respect his wishes and just stay away had come along and totally blew it.
It had started well enough, with just him and his parents along with the Tendos celebrating in private at Dr. Tofu's. Or so they had thought.
Ranma thought he had opened all of his presents when Soun spoke.
"Wait, there is one more present left, and Akane has the honor of giving it to you."
"Eh?" was Ranmas reply.
Puzzled, he watched as Akane got up and walked over to a box that was sitting over by the wall. Opening it, she pulled out a bottle of ...liquor?
Head cocked slightly to one side, Ranma pointed at the bottle. "What is that, sake?" he asked.
Akane shook her head. "No, it's a bottle of water from the spring of drowned man you dummy." she answered.
Ranmas' jaw dropped in surprise. Working his jaw up and down, he found his voice.
"But how? The old ghoul said Jusenkyou was destroyed by the Chinese..." he said.
Akane shot a look at Genma, who shrank back. "Kasumi found it while she was cleaning a closet. Apparently your father had decided to have a back up supply for himself for after the wedding." she explained.
Ranma scowled at his father, but decided the beating could wait for later. After all, it was his eighteenth birthday and for once things were going right in his life.
Crack!
Ranma jumped at that sound. He knew what it was - the sound of plaster cracking. That sound presaged the arrival of -
CRUMBLE!
"Arien!"
- Shampoo.
"Crap. Why now?" Ranma asked himself as he got braced himself for a glomp. Fortunately he was saved by the arrival of -
"Happy birthday, Ranchan!"
- Ukyo.
"Shoot me." Ranma muttered.
"Why Spatula Girl here? Ranma Shampoo's Airen." Shampoo said with a slight scowl.
"None of your business, ya stupid Amazon bimbo! And Ranchan's my fiance, not your's" was Ukyo's angry retort as they faced off.
Ranma sighed as he recognized another "Ranma's mine!" fight. He got up to put a stop to it, but was interrupted by Akanes shouting at them
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING HERE?" Akane screamed, shaking with rage as she stomped towards them.
Shampoo turned to face Akane, maces drawn.
"Akane be quiet." Shampoo said as she swung at Akane overhand.
Akane saw Shampoo swing at her and reacted like any martial artist would do: she stepped to the side and swung her right arm up and out in a fan block to redirect the blow. Normally this would have worked, but Akanes' anger made her forget that she was holding the bottle of spring water in her right hand.
So she deflected the blow, but Shampoos mace smashed the bottle open. Akane got hit with the contents of the bottle. There was a ripping sound and Akane was decidedly male. For a moment, everyone was too stunned to speak. The moment passed.
"Hmpf! Now Akane Pervert Girl!"
"Looks like now I'm now the cute fiance!"
Shampoo whirled to face Ukyo.
"Violent Spatula Girl not cute!" she snapped.
"Am too!" Ukyo snapped back.
"That's it." anything further was cut off by Ranma.
He was standing in a loose stance, hands open and at his side.
"I've had enough of this shit. Every time there's something special going on in my life, someone comes along and screws it up. Well this was the last straw." Ranma said quietly. Flaring his battle aura, he continued. "Since everything else I've tried didn't work, maybe this will."
Faster than they could react, Ranma snapped his arms forward as he fired twin chi blasts. Fueled by his anger the blazing red chi blasted the two women through the hole made by Shampoo. Such was the power of his ki that the two women were blown across two whole blocks, smashing through everything in their way.
Powering down his aura, Ranma went to Akane. Looking into her - now his - eyes, Ranma spoke.
"Akane it'll be okay, I'm here." he said softly.
"Ra-Ranma..."he stammered. He opened he mouth to say more, but the arrival of more members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew interupted.
"Ohohohohohoho! Ranma, my darling!"
"Satome, prepare to die you foul sorcerer!"
The untimely arrival of the Kuno's snapped Akane back to reality, and whirled to face them.
"Kuno..." Akane growled as his battle aura flared to life.
Ranma started to step forward to stop Akane, but decided that Akane needed to vent the anger that she was feeling. As he stepped back Ranma remembered how angry he had been when he was cursed and almost felt sorry for the Kunos.
"Mental note: Beat the stuffing out of the panda tomorrow." Ranma reminded himself as Akane tore into the Kunos with a berserkers fury.
As he stood and watched, his mother crept up next to him.
"Son, don't you think that you should stop her?" Nodoka asked in a worried tone.
"It's okay. Akane just needs to get rid of the anger." Ranma explained as he listened to the screams of pain, wincing at a particularly high pitched one. "I don't think he's gonna want to use that training sword again." Ranma added. His mother nodded in reply. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
Several hours later, after everyone had been taken care of. They had returned home. Ranma knocked lightly on Akanes bedroom door.
"Go away." came the muffled reply.
"Akane, it's Ranma, I want to talk." Ranma said, voice tight.
"I said go away!" Akane replied with more force.
With a sigh, Ranma slumped his shoulders and leaded his head against the door. "Akane, listen, I know what your going through, and I can help. So can't we just talk, please?" he said.
Ranma stood there for several seconds in silence before sighing again and turning to leave. He stopped at the sound of the door being unlocked. Turning back, he saw the door slide open. Akane was standing there in her regular form, looking as if she had been crying her eyes out.
"C-c-come in." she stammered.
Stepping in, Akane slid the door shut after him and locked it as he sat down on the bed. Joining him, they sat there in silence for a few minutes. Ranma was building up his courage to say something when Akane spoke first.
"I-I'm sorry." she said with a small voice.
That took him by surprise.
"What for?" he asked.
"For ruining your last chance for a cure." Akane said as she looked down at her hands.
Blinking, Ranma shook his head. "Don't be. With those two around, it would've been a matter of time before it got broke." he answered.
This time it was Akane who looked up in surprise. "Y-your not mad?" she asked.
"No." Ranma answered. "Why should I, it was an accident. They happen." he continued.
Akane only sniffled in reply. Frowning, Ranma bowed down and looked into her eyes. Meeting hers he spoke.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, I think. This is a lot to take in, and it hasn't sunk in yet." Akane answered.
"Okay." Ranma answered. "If you need help, just ask. Believe me, I know what it's like." Ranma added with a slight chuckle.
"Baka." Akane said as she gave Ranmas head a playful swipe.
"Hey, you're feeling better already." Ranma said with a grin as he got up from the bed. Looking at the clock, he noticed the time. "And it's late, so we should be getting some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"Ranma.." Akane asked as he started to open the door.
"Yeah?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
"About what you said today, about how you've had enough of this, what did you mean?" Akane continued.
"I meant that I had enough of them, and their shit. You are my fiancé, not them, and this time they went too far." Ranma said before stepping out into the hall.
Akane sat on her bed in shock for the second time that day. It wasn't Ranmas admission that he considered her to be his fiancé, but that he said "this time they went too far". Akane realized that he was becoming serious about the engagement and their future. Head spinning, Akane got up and got ready for bed.
As she turned out the light and climbed into bed Akane realized that whatever may come, she knew who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
The next morning started like it usually did, with Ranma and his father doing their morning sparring. Genma got shot-put into the koi pond and turned into a panda. Ranma got splashed by Genma getting dunked and turned into Ranma-chan. And it ended with them vacuuming up breakfast.
It was only when he was getting his bag that Ranma realized what was wrong: Akane hadn't come down yet. Zipping upstairs he went strait to her room. Leaning against the door frame he knocked on the door.
"Yo Akane, you in there? We're gonna be late." he called out.
In her room Akane looked up at his knock and checked the clock, and realized just how much time she had wasted looking at her school uniform. Quickly she crossed her room and opened the door.
"Hey, why aren't you dressed yet - ack!" was all he got out before Akane pulled him into her room and shut the door.
Standing there slightly confused Ranma looked at Akane standing in her bathrobe with her arms crossed. Tilting his head to one side, Ranma looked at her quizzically.
"Akane, what's up?" he asked.
Akane looked up and stared Ranma square in the eye. "Last night you said that you'd help me, and, well, I need your help." she said.
"With what?" Ranma asked.
"With that." she answered, pointing to the bed, and the school uniform laid out on it.
"That's a school uniform. You wear it to school. What's so hard about that?"Ranma asked.
"I change into a guy now, remember?" Akane reminded him.
"Ah!" Ranma said, smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Of course. That is a problem." he continued.
"Yeah. I can't wear that, if we get splashed you'll turn into a girl and I'll be a guy wearing a dress." said Akane.
Frowning, Ranma thought about the problem posed by their curses. "Hmmm..." Ranma said as he pondered.
"Any idea's?" Akane asked.
Looking down at himself, Ranma brightened. "Yeah. You can wear some of my clothes." he said.
Holding up his hand, he forestalled the inevitable outburst. "Akane, listen. Why do you think I wear them? They dry quick, you can adjust them quickly, and they don't rip when you change size." he explained. Closing her mouth, Akane conceded that Ranma had a point. But there was one issue.
"What about underwear? I'm not going without a bra and I'm definitely not wearing boxers." she argued.
"Wear a sports bra. It'll stretch and not show when you're a guy, and you'll be okay when you're a girl. As for panties or boxers, you'll find out soon enough." Ranma explained.
Akane wondered at his last comment, but forgot it as he turned to the door. "C'mon, you gotta pick out what you want to wear, and we're running late." he said.
Shaking her head, Akane followed Ranma out the door to the guest room.
A few minutes later they were out the door and running to school. Akane was fuming.
"I can't believe her! How does she do that?" Akane fumed.
"Dunno. I've been tryin' to figure it out for two years. What I'd like to know is how she managed to nail the both of us." Ranma answered.
Akane was wincing with every step as she ran. Scowling she looked up at Ranma. Glancing down Ranma saw the look she was getting from Akane.
"What?" Ranma asked.
"You could've told me!" Akane snapped.
"You said you didn't want to wear boxers! And I thought you woulda remembered when you changed from yesterday!" Ranma said defensively.
"I was in shock yesterday! And besides, I'm a girl! How would I know this would happen?" Akane shot back.
Rolling her eyes, Ranma hopped off the fence and landed next to Akane. She nudged Akane in the side.
"Hey, Tofu's clinic is coming up. We can change back there." she said.
"But we're late-!" Akane started to protest- but was cut off by Ranma.
"We'll be late, but we'll be in our right forms, and trust me, you don't want to sit down while wearing girls underwear as a guy." Ranma explained.
"Okay." Akane muttered under her breath.
A splash of hot water at Dr. Tofu's and Akane and Ranma were in their correct forms. Scooping up Akane, Ranma roof hopped all the way to school, making it just in time to beat the bell.
All morning at school Ranma and Akane were dogged with questions about her school attire, and the rumors about what happened to Ukyo. When lunch came around they managed to make a break for it and get some peace.
Sitting on the roof of the school, Akane and Ranma ate lunch. Gulping down the last of her bento**, Akane sighed.
"What a morning. I couldn't go five minutes with out getting bugged by someone about my clothes. Good thing I've managed to avoid getting splashed. I don't even want to think about what my curse would do." Akane said as she put away her bento box.
Swallowing, Ranma nodded.
"Sounds like my morning too." he agreed.
"Ranma..." Akane asked. "Why is everyone asking us? I thought Nabiki would have sold everyone the info by now."
Ranma smiled. "Oh, Mom asked her not to." Ranma explained.
Akane frowned. "But how would that stop Nabiki? She isn't intimidated by anyone." she asked.
"Mom had the katana*** with her." Ranma explained, his smile turning into a smirk.
"Oh." Akane said as she picked up her juice.
As she sipped it she thought about Nodoka Satome with the family sword and shivered. She felt sorry for her sister and Akane hoped Nabiki had learned from it.
The ringing of the school bell signaled the end of lunch, and they got up to go back to class. As they walked to the door Ranma stopped and took her shoulder.
"Hey Akane, you up to a little roof hopping tonight?" Ranma asked.
Akane nodded. "Yes. Why?" she asked.
Calling on the Soul of Ice, Ranma took a deep breath and spoke.
"I-I want to talk and I don't want anyone spying on us." he said, desperately trying to keep from blushing.
Surprised, Akane nodded.
"Okay." she said. As they went inside Akane wondered about Ranmas behavior. "Maybe that baka is starting to grow up." she thought. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
That evening Ranma bounded over the rooftops of Nerima carrying Akane. Landing in the schoolyard he ran to the school. Using an inside corner he triple jumped up the roof.
"Whew." Ranma said as he put down Akane. "That was harder than I thought."
"Sure." Akane said sarcastically.
"Well it was!" Ranma defended. "It's different when you're carrying another person!"
Rolling her eyes Akane looked out at the lights of the city.
"Well, now that you've dragged me out here, what do you want to talk about?" Akane asked.
"Huh?" was Ranmas reply.
Frowning, Akane looked at Ranma. "Earlier today you said you wanted to talk. Remember?" she reminded him.
"Oh, yeah. Right" Ranma said.
Calling on the Soul of Ice again, he tried to keep control.
"I-it's about our schools." he said.
"Yeah. We get married and join the schools." Akane said. Ranma nodded.
"Yeah. That's the thing." Ranma continued.
"Huh?" Akane asked, puzzled.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma let it out before speaking.
"Akane, before I tell you something, you gotta promise not to get mad." he said.
"Why?" Akane asked, eyes narrowing.
"Promise. It's important." Ranma repeated.
Sighing, Akane nodded. "Okay, okay, I promise I wont get mad." she said.
Ranma steeled himself before continuing. "Akane, if the schools are to be joined each side would have to be a master, right?" he asked.
"Yes." Akane agreed, clenching her fists.
"I am a master of the Satome school, but..." Ranma trailed off.
"But..." Akane said.
"You're not." Ranma finished.
Akane nearly lost it then, but clamped down on her anger. Ranma waited until she had regained control until continuing.
"But I could train you." he said hesitantly.
Akane blinked in surprise at his last statement. She was silent while for several moments.
"You'll train me?" she asked finally.
"Yes." Ranma answered.
"And you'll not hold back?" she asked.
Ranma nodded. "Yes."
"Will we be going on a training trip?"
Ranma nodded again. "Yeah. To America."
"Why?" Akane asked, confused. "What could I learn in America that I couldn't learn here?" she added.
"I'd be teaching you what I know. In America I could teach you without all the crap that goes on around here interfering." Ranma explained.
"Okay." Akane said. "But for how long?" she asked.
"Well, it took me ten years to get to where I am. Of course I had my old man teaching me, so with me it'll wont be as long. And you can send postcards home n' stuff." he said.
Akane said nothing for a while. Ranma put his hand on her shoulder.
"Akane, what I'm asking is huge. We'd be leaving everything behind. I'm not asking for a decision right now, just that you think about it." he said.
Biting her lip, Akane nodded. Looking up at him she spoke. "Okay. When I decide, I'll let you know." she said. "In the meantime, I want to go home. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted." she said.
Nodding, Ranma scooped up Akane and bounded back home.
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____
Two months passed. In that time Akane turned eighteen. Her birthday was without incident. Finals came and went and they both passed. Ranma barely, Akane with flying colors. They began to go through the motions of looking at colleges.
Early one morning (three AM to be precise) Ranma was awakened by a hand shaking him gently.
"Huh? Whazzit?" he asked sleepily.
"Ranma, roof, now." whispered Akane.
"Huh-Okay." he answered, brain on auto pilot.
On the roof Ranma sat in front of Akane.
"So where's the fire?" he whispered.
"I have the answer." Akane whispered back.
Ranma tensed as he remembered what she was referring to. "And?" he asked.
"It's yes." Akane told him.
In the dark Ranma couldn't help but smile.
*PRC: Peoples Republic of China. **Bento: Japanese school lunch. When prepared by Akane it can be lethal. ***Katana: Japanese sword. Very sharp.