Chapter 26

     Ranma felt this sense of fear enveloping him as he paced back and forth
in the waiting room. He remembered having been in this hospital countless
times, but he had never been in the waiting room before. He was usually a
patient, his mother the one in the waiting room, his father most likely
sleeping soundly at home in bed after beating him so badly.
  Akane watched him as she sat in one of the lush sofas. He looked very
worried. It was natural since he had no idea why Ryoga was hurt. But she was
confident that Ryoga would be okay. Ryoga looked like he was a tough
character.
  A doctor walked into the room. He was dresses in a green scrub suit, as if
he had just come out of surgery, a stethoscope hanging from his neck. He was
an old man, roughly around his late fifties.
  "Good evening. My name's Dr. Tanada," the doctor said as he entered the 
room.
  "Hello," he said, bowing politely toward the doctor. 
  "Good evening," Akane said, bowing also.
  "How's Ryoga? What happened to him?" Ranma immediate asked.
  "He's fine" the doctor said, gesturing for Ranma and Akane to follow "He
had received a bullet wound to the shoulder. The bullet had been lodged-"
  "A bullet wound?" Ranma interrupted "He was shot?!"
  "Yes" the doctor said, getting right back onto the subject "The bullet
entered in through his front deltoid, running diagonally toward his
shoulderblade where it got lodged. We managed to get the bullet out"
  "Um, how did this happen?" asked Akane. She had only met Ryoga a few days 
ago, but she felt like she had known him for a long, long time now. She was 
fond of having him for a friend that, naturally, she would be concern for his 
well-being.
  "I'm not too sure," Dr. Tanada said, shrugging his shoulders. He never
liked knowing much about the patients he took care of. Over the decades of
of seeing nothing but grief and suffering, he had became a bit stoic when it
came to his own emotions. Over all those years, after so many needless
deaths, he had only shed tears once. They were for a young boy that he
treated a long, long time ago, when he secretly prayed that he would survive
the night. He shed tears of happiness when the boy had survived. Little did he 
know that the boy had grown up and was now the man standing before him. 
  "Can we see him now?" Ranma asked. The suspense was killing him. He wanted
to know what had happened to Ryoga, wanted to know who would be so low as to
shoot someone and friendly and kind as him.
  "Yeah," the doctor replied, hitting the button for the elevator, the doors
opening immediately "someone's already with him"
  "Oh?" Ranma said, a bit curious. Who would be with Ryoga?
  "A pretty lass," the doctor said, hitting the button for the second floor,
the elevator doors closing "'round your age. And she seems to be here with
her daughter"
  Ranma knew exactly who the doctor was talking about. He was talking about
Ukyo and Miki. He and Akane looked at each other, nodding toward each other.
It turned out that Akane knew who the doctor was talking about also. The two
of them followed the doctor, dodging the other doctors and nurses that were
busily doing their job.
  "Here we are," Dr. Tanada said, "He's inside"
  The doctor walked away, right before saying "If you need any help, I'll be
just down the hall"
  Ranma and Akane were now standing outside of Ryoga's door, which was
closed. They took a moment to gather their thoughts, thinking of what to
ask and what to expect. They both had no idea what was behind that door.
  The two of them opened the door and entered, Ranma holding the door for
Akane. When they first walked in they noticed that there was a definite lack
of light, only a small lamp on in the far corner of the room. There was this
steady beeping noise emanating from an EGK. There were two beds, the one
closer to the door empty. The other bed was hidden behind a curtain.
  Ranma walked up to the curtain and gently scooted it aside and took a peek
in. He was shocked to see what he had just saw.
  Ryoga was sitting upright in his bed, his right shoulder bandaged and in
a sling. His left arm was holding Ukyo, who was sitting on his bed,
sitting right on his legs, as his hand was on her back, pressing him toward
her. The sight that surprised Ranma was the fact that Ukyo and Ryoga were
kissing each other passionately. Both of their eyes were close, both of
them giving each other passionate and loving kisses.
  Ranma immediately regained his composure and quickly scooted the curtain
back in place, careful not to make a noise. He turned around to face Akane.
When he knew she was about to open her mouth to ask what he had seen, he
placed a finger over her lips, indicating for her to keep quiet. He then
gently took hold of her arm as he exited the room, careful to make no noise
when opening the door again, Akane following him out to the hallway.
  "What's goin' on?" Akane asked. She noticed that Ranma looked surprised
when he peeked through the opening in the curtain. She didn't get a chance
to peek in also because when she was, Ranma closed the curtain and turned
toward her, this smirk on his lips.
  "I'm pretty sure Ryoga want to spend some time alone with Ukyo" Ranma
said, smirk still on his lips, "some quality time" He knew Akane would know
what he was talking about. He saw it all along that it would eventually lead
to this. It was just that he wasn't expecting it to happen this quickly. He
had to admit that Ryoga was quite a fast mover, unlike himself, where he
liked to take everything nice and slow.
  Akane understood what Ranma meant. She had secretly wished that it would
happen after she heard that Ukyo had this attraction toward Ryoga. She
wanted the tow of them to fall in love, meaning Ukyo would fall out of love
with Ranma.
  She then realized that the doctor mentioned that Miki was with them, but
she hadn't seen her when she was in the room "Um, where's Miki?" She felt a
little bit embarrassed when she was Ranma walking forward and embracing Miki
in a tight hug, a hug she returned quite willingly. It seemed she was
starting to accept him as her Daddy. The moment was broken when Miki gave a
small yelp in pain.
  "I'm sorry, honey," Ranma said apologetically, concern in his voice. He
never wanted to hurt his children, even if it was accidentally "I didn't
mean to squeeze too hard"
  "It's not you," she said, taking a step back and extending both arms toward
him and Akane, whom was now standing next to him. Her arm had several
bruises, as if she had been hit "It's because of all these bruises. They
haven't healed yet"
  Thoughts raced through Ranma and Akane's mind. Ranma couldn't believe what
he was thinking. Sure, his children had a couple of bruises every here and
there, but they never had some many bruises at once. Obviously, those
bruises didn't come about accidentally. She was hit, hit hard to get those
bruises. 
  Ranma remembered having noticed them, but disregarded them in the beginning. 
Akane had noticed them also, but didn't have enough time to find out what 
happened because Ukyo had left in a hurry, further giving her suspicions of 
her.
  "W-where did you get these bruises?" Ranma had to ask. He had to know. He 
dreaded what the would answer. He never thought Ukyo could turn out to be an 
abusive mother. He knew that he would turn her to the authorities simply 
because he didn't want Miki growing up in a abusive home like he did. He 
didn't want her to go through all the suffering and grief and pain the did. 
She was too young. This could still be avoided.
  Miki hesitated answering. She didn't want to tell Ranma. She lowered her
head not looking at him. She remember having been told to lie about those
bruises to lie that she had fallen. That was what she was going to do, even
if she couldn't look him in his liquid eyes and lie to him "Um, I fell"
  Ranma's jaw clenched. That was the same thing his father told him to tell
the teachers at school if they ever noticed his bruises. Luckily for him,
and his father, most of the bruises were covered with some long sleeve
shirts and pants. He was never allowed to wear shorts.
  "Miki, please tell me the truth," Ranma said. He made his voice very soft 
and caring, hoping it would make Miki comfortable enough to come forth with 
the truth "I won't be angry. Someone's been hitting you"
  His last sentence was a statement, not a question. He knew that she was
being abused, being hit. He felt this anger welting up in him. Akane noticed
this. She noticed that the muscles of his jawline was held taut, that the
knuckles of his clenched fists were white. But aside from those discernible
things, Ranma looked very calm and serene. His voice never betrayed the
anger inside of him.
  At that moment, two officers rounded the corner. They both tipped their
hats toward Ranma and Akane and Miki. The three of them watched as the
and officer knocked on Ryoga's door, and then the two of them entering.
  "What was that about?" Akane asked. She immediately thought that they had
something to do with Ryoga being shot. Maybe they wanted to question him for
some information on who the alleged suspect was.
  "We'll find out later" Ranma told Akane, right before turning his
attention back onto the little girl standing before him. He wanted to find
out what had happened to Miki. Sure, he was concerned over finding out what
had happened to Ryoga, but children always came first in his life. He didn't
even need to give it a second thought. He would gladly give his life for one
of his children. He knew that this was a good chance to find out what had
happened to Miki. He knew that since the officers were here, they could take
Ukyo away for child abuse when he would tell them about what she was doing
to Miki.
  "Miki, please tell me who hit you," Ranma said, his voice still soft. He
had to make sure.
  "Mommy..." she said.
  There was so much anger welted up so much in Ranma, that that one word was
enough to make him blow up. He closed his eyes, fighting back the tears he
had for Ukyo. He wished to God that it wasn't his beloved Ukyo. There had
been this small hope that was inside of him when he realized that it could
have been someone else. But now Miki confirmed what he was hoping wasn't
true. He couldn't help it. He had lied about him not getting angry. He was
now fuming.
  Ranma turned toward Ryoga's door, determination in his heart. He could
hear Miki trying to say something to him, but he wasn't paying attention.
All his senses were unavailable, except for his sight, and all he could see
was red at the moment.
  He didn't care how much Ukyo meant to him. He was not going to allow her
to continue on abusing little Miki. He opened the door and entered the room.
He had never hit a female or even came close to, but right now, he wanted
to. Upon his entrance, he happened to hear a conversation between Ukyo and
a police officer.
  "Yeah," he heard Ukyo's voice through the closed curtains "He was my
boyfriend. He was also the one abusing my daughter"
  Ranma just stood there as he absorbed the conversation.
  "So let me get this straight, ma'am," he heard an officer say in a husky
voice "Your friend here, Ryoga Hibiki, was shot by your ex-boyfriend, whom
happens to be abusing your child. And the cause of this was that he always
had a volatile temper. He shot Ryoga because he saw you with him. And he's
been abusing your daughter also, right?"
  "Yes," Ranma heard Ukyo say. He then heard the officer ask Ukyo a couple
of questions.
  "Why didn't you report to us about him abusing your child?" the other 
officer asked. His voice sounded a bit calm and mellow, as if he had been 
through this kind of stuff before. He already knew what she was going to say.
  "I was scared," Ukyo said, saying the exact words both officers had heard
countless times when they asked other parents why they never reported about
their spouse or mate abusing their child.
  Ranma sat down in a chair as he absorbed everything in. Akane and Miki
entered the room, sitting down next to him.
  "Ranma, you didn't let Miki explain," Akane said in a soft voice. Ranma had
walked away before Miki had a chance to finish her sentence "Miki was trying
to say 'Mommy had a boyfriend. He's the one who's been hitting me'"
  He looked over at Miki and nodded, letting her know that he understood
that it wasn't her Mommy whom was doing the abusing. He just sat there,
leaning forward, absorbed in his thoughts. His elbows were on his legs, his
chin propped up by his hands. He was taking in deep breaths, trying to calm
himself down, him having realized as what he could have done, what he was
capable of doing. He could have made a fool of himself. He was luck that he
had heard what he had heard.
  Miki got up off the chair and walked over to Ryoga's bed, slipping behind
the curtain before Ranma or Akane had a chance to stop her.
  "Hi honey," they heard Ukyo said through the curtain "This is my daughter,
officer, she's the one being abused"
  "Guess what, Mommy," Miki could be heard in a cheery voice "Daddy's here"
  Ranma sat upright in his chair upon hearing those words. She had called
him 'Daddy'. She finally did accept him as her Daddy. He knew he was going
to get through to her, but he wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly.
Little did he know that Miki knew just how much he loved her when she
noticed the pain in his eyes when he realized that those bruises she had
weren't bruises she got by accident. The concern in his eye easily let Miki
know that Ranma loved her unconditionally, and she could at least meet him
halfway by returning his love.
  The curtain flew open, the light from behind it flooding out into the rest
of the room, causing Ranma and Akane's eyes to hurt from the quick change in
light. They eyes adjusted within moments.
  "R-Ranma," Ukyo said, a warm smile on his lips "I wasn't expecting to see
you here" She was grateful that he hadn't walked in on them earlier, because
if he did, he would have seen her and Ryoga kissing each other. When the
officers walked in on them, she was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl
under a rock and cry, and the officers were strangers. If Ranma, a friend
since she was young had seen her, she knew he would never let her live it
down.
  "Um, we just got here," Ranma said glibly. He didn't want to give Ukyo the
idea that he had could have seen her kissing Ryoga. He respected Ukyo and
Ryoga's privacy, and he knew they wanted to be alone. It's not like we saw
you kissing or anything, Ranma thought, a small smile on his lips.
  "I guess you overheard the conversation," Ryoga said, sitting upright,
propping himself up with his one good arm. He was wearing a sleeveless
hospital gown, the muscles of his arm flexing from holding the weight. Akane
and Ukyo couldn't help but notice that he had muscular triceps, striated and
very defined. His arms were very much like Ranma's.
  Ranma and Akane nodded, Ranma speaking before Akane could "Yeah. We heard
everything"
  "I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do," Ukyo started, taking a deep
breath "Before I came here, I was living in Hokkaido, and I was seeing
someone. We were living with him. I left immediately after I found out what
he was doing to Miki here," she patted Miki on here head, "Well, when I found
out, I packed up my bags and just left. We never looked back. I guess he
must have found out I came back to my hometown because he came looking for
us"
  "Yeah," Ryoga added to the story "When he saw her, he saw her with me. He
must have thought that Ukyo here had been cheating on him with me, and that
was what caused him to pull a gun on me"
  "He gets very jealous easily, and he has a short temper," Ukyo commented.
  "It started out as a confrontation," Ryoga continued, "He just walked up to 
me and told me I was to stay away from his girl. I noticed that Ukyo seemed 
very scared for some reason when this happened so I assumed that she was 
scared of the guy. I asked her if it was true, and she explained it to me
that she's no longer seeing him. That seemed to outrage him. He accused me of 
stealing her from him and hit me. There was a scuffle where I managed to have 
him incapacitated, at least I thought so. The next thing I knew, I had been 
shot and the guy was running away"
  "He's still out there," Ukyo said, a bit of fear in her voice. Although she
was looking directly at Ranma and Akane, she was talking more toward the two
police officers. She was now scared for her life. If this man was capable of
shooting someone, who knew what else he could be capable of doing.
  Akane and Ranma just nodded as they absorbed all the information. This
came as a shock to the both of them. 
  Ranma had never known this had happened to her. He wished he had spent 
sometime to be with her, to catch up on the past. Maybe they could prevented 
this. Ranma knew that if he had known this,
he would have immediately went to the authorities, and the incident could have 
been prevented. Akane felt a bit of relief that she found out Ukyo wasn't a 
child abuser. She remembered she asking Ukyo about the bruises on Miki's arm, 
and Ukyo immediately becoming defensive about what had happened, making an 
immediate excuse to leave. But that was understandable. She knew that Ukyo was 
just trying to protect the child by not bringing up memories that she and Miki 
would like to forget.
  "Where're you staying?" Ranma asked, concerned for her. He was concerned 
that her ex-boyfriend might still be looking for her. He didn't want her to 
get hurt. Ryoga was in the hospital, and there was no way he could take her 
under his wing since he was in need of help himself.
  "I have my own apartment," Ukyo said, turning her attention away from
Ryoga and onto Ranma. She was a bit confused why he would asked her
something like that. Then she realized what he was getting at "D-do you
think he might still be looking for me?"
  "There's a possible chance, ma'am," a officer said. He knew that this 
happened often. There had been countless times where a jealous boyfriend would 
stalk a past girlfriend, hoping to kill her so no one else could have her 
"It's best that you not stay home tonight and stay with someone"
  Akane's visage went somber. She realized what Ranma was implying. He
wanted Ukyo to stay at his house tonight. She thought that Ukyo liked Ryoga.
But then again, Ranma was the one who wanted her to stay at his place. Maybe
he still liked her. She never knew that Ranma was actually in love with her,
not Ukyo. She should have picked up on it, especially after that passionate
incident they had in the bathtub.
  "Why not have Ukyo and Miki stay with you?" Ryoga said. He wasn't one bit
perturbed about the fact that Ranma and Ukyo would be spending the night. He
knew that Ranma was a gentleman. It clear to Ranma that Ryoga was interested
in Ukyo as she him, and that he would never do anything that could possible
jeopardize it. Besides, Ranma had much more self-control than people took
him credit for.
  "Huh? Why me?" Ranma said, a bit shocked. He was hoping Ukyo was going to
stay at Akane's house tonight. Not once had it crossed his mind that she
would be staying with him. He knew how awkward it would be to have Ukyo and
Miki around his own home. Sure, he could look after them, but Ukyo would be
alone most of the time because he would be busy working. He figured that
she and Miki could stay with Akane because Akane would always be around, the
dojo just a few yards away from the house they would be staying in.
  "Who did you have in mind," Ryoga said "Akane? She barely knows them both"
  Akane thought about this for a second. If she did let Ukyo and Miki stay
at her place, that meant Ukyo wouldn't be spending her nights with Ranma.
She had spent time with Ukyo and Miki, and it had been quite a nice time.
Ever since her sisters moved out, Akane had never really had another female
to talk to. Sure, she had her students, but they only liked to talk about
self-defense and how to execute moves correctly.
  "I wanna stay with Daddy," Miki said. She had accepted Ranma as her Daddy, 
and she wanted to spend some time with him. Surely, he would like to spend 
time with her. She wanted to get to know him better.
  "We better not," Ukyo said to Ranma, "I don't want to impose on you" She was 
also a bit wary about spending some time with Ranma. He was a very virile man, 
and she knew it. Sure, she was attracted to Ryoga a lot, but she still had 
feelings for him. 
  She really didn't have to worry about Ranma that much, for she had to worry 
more about herself. Ranma was a gentleman. He wasn't in love with her anymore. 
He was in love with Akane. He also had so much self-control that he would 
never make love to her out of lust. She could never evoke those feelings in 
him again. She was kind of glad of it. That meant she didn't have to feel his 
queasy feeling when being around him, this feeling that he would make a move 
on her. He wasn't that kind of guy, and she knew it. She would feel safe 
around him, not the other way around. Maybe this was a good thing.
  "C'mon Ukyo," Ryoga said "Why not?"
  "Uh, don't I have a say in this?" Ranma tried to interrupt. Afterall, it
was his house she was going to be staying in. Surely, he had some say in
this decision. He didn't really want Ukyo staying with him. He knew that
that was going to be trouble. But if she didn't stay, that meant Miki
wouldn't be staying either, and that he didn't want. He wanted to spend time
with Miki, even if it was only at night. He was actually kind of hoping that
he could have Miki stay with him, and Ukyo with Akane, but that would never
happen. Ukyo would never depart with her daughter, just like him with his
own.
  "Okay," Ryoga said, turning his attention to Ranma "You tell Ukyo to stay
with you"
  "That's not what I was implementing," Ranma said, losing the battle. There
was no way around it. It was a dilemma for him. He looked over at Akane, who
just gave a shrug. There was nothing she could do. She didn't want Ukyo
staying with Ranma, but all she could do was observe. She didn't need to
make choices for Ranma, for he was a full-grown man.
  "How about I stay at your place?" Ukyo suggested to Ryoga. She wouldn't
mind spending her nights with him, some passionate nights with him. But she
was fooling herself because she knew the answer.
  "Me, how?" Ryoga said "You heard the doctor, I'll be here for a couple of
days. Besides, I'm living in a hotel at the moment"
  Ukyo sighed before turning to back to Ranma. She was about to say
something before realizing that there could be a chance that she could stay
with Akane "Akane, how about we stay with you?" She felt a bit bad for even
proposing that to her. They barely knew each other. They had only met a
few days ago. It was a long shot, but there was still a chance that she
might accept her offer because Ukyo would not be with Ranma at night.
  "No, I wanna stay with Daddy," Miki said, putting her foot down. She was
steadfast with her choice. She wanted to be with Ranma, and there was no
changing her mind about it.
  Ukyo gave Miki this weird look that screamed 'Please, don't do this to
me'. Miki just shook her head and repeated her words "I wanna stay with
Daddy"
  "I give up," Ukyo said, throwing her hands up in defeat. Little Miki was
stubborn, and it was almost impossible to change her mind about anything,
especially when she made her mind up. Ukyo turned to face Ranma "Is it all
right with you, Ranma? Can we stay at your place for a little while?"
  Ranma looked at Ukyo, this scared look in his eyes. He knew that Akane
would get the wrong thoughts about him. He didn't want her to think of him
as some hentai or anything. But when he looked over at Miki, his heart
melted. She was giving him this puppy-dog look that made him feel weak in
the knees. There was no way he could say no to a child like that. His own
children were notorious for doing that, and it seemed that Miki could do
the same thing also. Maybe that talent ran on his side of the family.
  "I guess so," Ranma muttered, finally giving in. He knew he would never win
against Miki's puppy-dog eyes. Although he never glanced toward Akane, he
could feel her icy gaze on him. He wondered what kind of thoughts were
racing through her mind. Did she think of him as some playboy hoping to
take advantage of a vulnerable Ukyo? Did she think of him as a generous soul
for helping someone out? The latter seemed very unlikely. When he finally
mustered enough courage to actually look at Akane, he noticed that she
was staring at him with unreadable eyes. It made him wonder if that bothered
her, the fact that Ukyo would be staying under the same roof as him.
  "I hope you don't mind," Ranma said to Akane, hoping she wouldn't be mad at 
him. He didn't want Akane to think of him in the wrong way. He knew that he 
would be angry if some man stayed under the same roof with Akane, even if 
Akane wasn't his.
  "What do I care?" she said in an icy voice, which caused Ranma, and even
Ukyo to cringe "It's not like we're seeing each other or anything. I hope
you two have a swell time" She hid the hurt behind those words. She really
did care. She had this sinking feeling in the put of her stomach, and she
didn't really feel that good. She knew there was nothing she could do. All
she could do was to hid behind the walls she put up.
  Ranma's visage sullened. He was hoping he would never hear those words
again. He was hoping that she considered more of him, thought about him
enough to actually care. But she didn't care. Her words confirmed it. She
didn't care about what he did, meaning she wasn't interested in him. He
turned to face Ukyo, his back to Akane. He couldn't look at her. He felt
this overwhelming sense of sadness envelope him. He looked down at the
ground, wishing Ukyo hadn't seen him either.
  Ukyo had indeed seen Ranma's face. It looked like all the color had been
drained from his face, leaving him pale and colorless. He didn't look too
good. She had this brief glimpse of his eyes, and she noticed that they seemed 
very sad and sullen. He had been terribly hurt by Akane's words. 
  Ukyo clenched her hands into fists, wishing she could knock some sense
into Akane. Didn't she know that Ranma had feeling for her? Did she pick up
on the clues, like him staying around her more often, having her spend time
with his children? Why did she have to go out and hurt his feelings? Why did
she have to get all defensive just because Ukyo was going to be staying a
few days with him? 
  Ukyo knew that what Akane had said was said out of jealousy and inner anger. 
She knew Akane was angry that she couldn't do anything to prevent her from 
sleeping under the same roof as Ranma. There was nothing for her to worry 
about, yet why was Akane being defensive? Didn't she know that Ranma was a 
gentleman, and that he would never be, in anyway, unfaithful to the woman he 
loved. Ranma was now faithful to Akane, and she didn't even know it yet. She 
wanted to tell this to her, but she knew that Ranma would have been terribly 
embarrassed if she had blurted out his feelings toward her. She didn't want to 
do that to Ranma. She wanted Ranma to tell Akane his feelings himself.
  "Um, ma'am," an officer said to Ukyo, breaking the silence that had
descended on the room like a fog of despair "There's still this problem about
your ex-boyfriend still being on the loose. Do you know where you're going to
stay tonight?"
  "Yeah," Ukyo said "We'll be staying with Ranma for the next few nights" She
made it an effort to accentuate the 'we'. She wanted Akane to pick up the
fact that Ranma wasn't going to be all alone with just her, that Miki was
also going to be staying with him also. Akane seemed to have picked it up
because her visage seemed to relax. She could have sworn she even heard
Akane sigh. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on Ukyo's part.
  Ryoga yawned, a bit tired "Look, it's pretty late, and I'm dead tired. You 
should all get going now. And don't worry about your ex-boyfriend, Ukyo, 
that's what they're here for," he finished, jerking a thumb toward the two 
officers, both of whom gave her a tip of their hat.
  "We'll get him," an officer said, heading toward the door, skimming over the 
notes he had taken down about the incident. He managed to have correctly 
jotted down how the incident and shooting had come about. He noticed that by 
what Ryoga and Ukyo had said, the suspect was in for some serious jail time if 
he ever got apprehended. No, when he got apprehended.   The officer tipped his 
hat and left the room, the other officer doing the same. Before he left, he 
turned toward Ryoga and said
"Dontcha worry, sit. We'll get 'im. You jus' rest now"
  "Thanks," Ryoga said, lying back in his bed, his eyes now feeling like
they weighed a ton.
  "Well, I guess we better get going," Ranma said reluctantly, turning his
attention back onto Ukyo. He was trying to avoid Akane's gaze. He knew what
she was thinking about him now.
  Ranma held the door open as everyone except Ryoga left the room. As Akane
walked by him, he noticed that she never bothered to look at him directly,
as if staring at something a million miles away. Obviously, she was deep in
thought, which seemed to further depress Ranma. He figured she was thinking
about how much of a dog he was. Little did he know that Akane was actually
thinking about herself. Even though she was still angry, she felt confident
that Ranma wouldn't do something. When Ukyo had made it clear that she
wasn't going to be the only one spending the night at Ranma's, Miki also
going with them, it made Akane feel a bit more relaxed knowing that it
wasn't only going to be Ranma and Ukyo.
  "Can you hold on a sec?" Ranma said, quickly running off down the hallway
toward the doctor, whom was talking to a nurse. He wanted to ask him a
question. He had realized that the girl he had met at the amusement park
that other day mentioned that she worked at this hospital. Maybe she might
still be working at a time like this.
  "What's up with him?" Ukyo asked Akane, which caused her to start. Akane
wasn't expecting Ukyo to be so casual toward her. She was expecting Ukyo to
be all conceited that she was going to be spending the night at Ranma's.
She was expecting Ukyo to gloat about how she had won. But Ukyo talked with
this casualness that made it seem like she and Akane had known each other
for years.
  "I-I'm not too sure," Akane replied. She looked at Ukyo and noticed this
sweet smile on her lips. It was a warm smile, not some smirk.
  "How come you seem mad at Ranma?" she asked abruptly. She wanted to get
something out of the way. She didn't want Akane think anything ill-mannered
toward her Ranma.
  Akane was caught by surprise at the question, "What?"
  "Look, I noticed that you seem mad at Ranma," Ukyo said, knowing full well
that Akane knew exactly what she was talking about.
  "Well," Akane's voice trailed off. She was trying to come up with a good
excuse. She knew that she did seem angry when she found out that Ukyo was
going to be spending the next few days at Ranma's. She had ostentatiously
let Ranma know that she was angry, simply by the tone of her icy voice when
she lied that she didn't care what he did.
  "Look, Ranma knows that I like Ryoga" Ukyo continued, "And he knows that
Ryoga likes me also. Of course, he and Ryoga are best friends. Anyway, you
know he'll never do anything that would jeopardize his friendship with
Ryoga or his friendship with me. We made that mistake many years ago. Now
that it is finally fixed, he would never do anything that could possibly
sever it. You know Ranma. He'll never do something like that"
  Akane just listened as she absorbed what Ukyo was saying as she continued
on "I assume you think Ranma's some playboy because there's hundreds of
girls always flocking to him"
  "I didn't notice it," Akane lied.
  "Yeah, sure you didn't" Ukyo said sarcastically, "If you really want to 
know, Ranma has never been with another woman since his wife left. You can 
easily tell because of the way he acts. Haven't you noticed that he doesn't 
seem at all interested in the woman whom are attracted to him. Anyway, that 
means he hasn't been intimate with a woman in almost 7 years. In a way, he's 
almost a born-again virgin"
  "H-he is?" Akane said, shocked in her voice. She thought he had many
lovers. If he wanted, he could have any woman in all of Japan. She had even
noticed that married woman seemed attracted to him.
  "You probably figured he's sleeping with someone new every week, right?" 
Ukyo said, "He's not the kind of guy you think he is. I've learned a lot about 
him over the years. He's very sweet and caring. He's not some cold-hearted 
person that would sleep with a woman and leave her the following morning. You 
may not believe this, but his children did this to him. There were times where 
I actually thought that he had fallen from heaven. He's that great of a guy. 
But there's one thing about him that disturbs me. He has a lotta secrets. Did 
you know that to this day, I have never seen him cry. It's strange because 
he's very sensitive. Haven't you ever noticed that his eyes always looked like 
they are about to shed tears?"
  Akane nodded. She noticed that all the time.
  "Do you know why he's like that?" Ukyo asked "It probably has somethin' to
with his past" She didn't want Akane to know that Ranma had been abused as
a child. She had known that he had been abused for a long, long time. Ranma
thought he was keeping it as a secret from her, but a female had this extra
sense that could find things he thought he was hiding from her. 
  She wanted to tell Akane about his terrible past, but she assumed that he 
didn't want her to know. Little did Ukyo know that Akane had been told already 
"Anyway, I always notice that his eyes get really close to crying every time 
he's with his kids. I swear that if it weren't for the children, he wouldn't 
be here right now. He would have died a long time ago" She wanted to tell 
Akane that Ranma, although everyone desired and loved him, thought of himself 
as a failure for some reason. There was pretty much nothing for him to live 
for except for his children. Nothing. He just went through his life, living 
one day at a time. It was as if that day was going to be his last. 
  "Died?" Akane said in shocked disbelief. What did she mean by that, she
thought. Did she mean as in suicide? Did he want to die? Was it because his
children were his only ties remaining in this world that he didn't perish?
  Ukyo said nothing. There had been this one time where Ranma had gotten
extremely depressed when he was in the early stages of his marriage. It
wasn't the marriage or even his wife that made him depressed. There was no
explainable reason why he was depressed. He had confided in her that he felt
like he didn't have the right to live. He had even contemplated suicide. She
didn't really know why he was depressed. He had a great wife, a great job,
and he was still young and in the peak of his life. But for some reason,
none of that mattered.
  "Look, Ranma got real depressed several years ago," Ukyo said. She had
received a phonecall from him one night. It was a night she would never
forget. It had been the longest night in her entire life "Ranma called me
one night, and he told me he was depressed. He never really told me why.
Anyway, he gave this subtle hint that he wanted to die, that he had nothing
to live for. I knew that he was serious about dying"
  "So what happened?" Akane asked, her undivided attention on Ukyo. She
wasn't even aware that Miki was listening to the conversation
  "I tried my best to talk him out of it," Ukyo said, a tear forming around
her eyes as she recalled just how close she came to losing Ranma for the
rest of her like "As I listened, I noticed that he mentioned that his wife
was expecting. I used that as his anchor. I told him that he had to live.
Otherwise, the baby, which later turned out to be twins, would be left
without a father. Ranma said 'You're right. Thanks', and then hung up on
me" She didn't bother to tell Akane that that night, she cried all night,
praying that Ranma would not kill himself. It turned out that her prayers
had been answered.
  "What're you talking about?" Ranma asked as he came back toward the group. 
He had heard Akane and Ukyo talking. He assumed that it had something to do
with Ukyo staying at his place for the next few nights.
  "N-nothing," Ukyo said, a bit startled. She hadn't heard him walking up to
them. Maybe it was because every one of his steps were always graceful, not
making a single noise. She seemed a bit nervous, nervous that Ranma had
heard what she was saying.
  Ranma gave her a keen look. He knew they had been talking about him, but
he didn't quite know what it was about. He could see it in their eyes, the
embarrassment the were trying to conceal.
  "We better get going now," Ranma said, changing the subject. 



Chapter 27

     "G'night," Ranma said to Akane in a soft, yet audible voice. He was
gazing into her eyes, his sad eyes meeting hers. The two of them were right
in front of Akane's front door, Ukyo and Miki waiting patiently by the front
gate. Ukyo insisted that she wait by the gate, she knowing that Ranma would
have liked to have been alone with Akane.
  Akane gazed into Ranma's sad eyes, that almost bring a tear to her own.
When she was walking with Ranma and Ukyo and Miki, she had kept quietly to
herself while the others chatted casually. She wished she hadn't heard what
Ukyo had told her. She had never known just how troubled Ranma's past was,
the thought that he would even consider suicide bothering her incredibly.
She had been wondering what had caused him to become so depressed. His
father had died when he was very young, meaning his father couldn't be the
cause. Ukyo had mentioned that his wife wasn't the cause either. So what
remained. His children hadn't been born yet, so it couldn't have been them.
The questions had kept Akane's mind occupied, she not even concerned about
Ranma and Ukyo spending the night together under the same roof.
  "I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning," Ranma added, giving Akane a
small smile. He knew she wasn't paying too much attention to him, her
thoughts elsewhere. He wondered what she was thinking about. He assumed that
she was angry with him because Ukyo was going to be spending the next few
nights at his house. He figured that was why she wasn't bothering to talk to
him, she too angry to form words.
  Akane looked up at Ranma's eyes, not saying a word. She was still
wondering what had made Ranma so depressed. She had this yearning to reach
out and just take hold of him. She wished she could have been with Ranma
back then, to know what had happened. She wanted to hold him right now, to
comfort him on something that happened many years ago. She wondered what
could have happened if he hadn't called Ukyo, or if she wasn't home. Would
he had actually went through with it? The thought sent a shiver down her
spine. 
  Ranma had walked into her life no more than a week ago, and he had
filled this voice that she always had, this loneliness she abhorred. Here
he was, standing before her, yet she was too scared to tell him. Although
Ukyo's words did seem a bit reassuring, reassuring that Ranma wasn't the
man she thought he was, she was still a bit skeptical. She wondered if Ukyo
was lying. There was no need for it, but there was no telling if it was
true. She didn't want to ask Ranma about his past, it being very rude of
her. She was very patient, knowing that he would reveal his past when he
felt it was appropriate.
  The phonecall entered her mind abruptly, out of nowhere. The thought
brought forth all these questions. Who was that woman on the other end?
If Ukyo was lying, could she be Ranma's mistress? What role did she play in
his life? An important one? Who was she in Ranma's eyes? A lover? A friend?
She felt this tiny bit of anger growing inside of her as she started to
think the worst.
  Could this Kodachi be his ex-wife, she thought. She had never been told
Ranma's wife's name before. She only referred to her as 'Ranma's wife'.
Did she want Ranma in her life? She remembered haring this desperation in
Kodachi's voice, this need for him. Could that be why she wanted him,
because she needed him. 
  Akane also had this yearning for him also, except she wasn't aware of it. 
She would think of him, but she never wondered why she would think of him. 
Sure, she felt this attraction toward him, any female would, but she never 
really acknowledged just how attracted she was to him. Sure, she felt he was 
one of the best things to have happened to her, but she had never really 
thought of on why she felt like that. Now that
this Kodachi could be his wife, and there could be this chance that he might 
take her back, Akane felt this heartache she had never really felt before. The 
thought that she might really lose him scared her. She had to know for sure.
  "Um, when you were in the shower," Akane started, not looking at him. She
was scared to see his face light up upon hearing his wife's name "someone
called you"
  "Who was it?" Ranma asked. He was a bit nervous. Women constantly called
his house, always asking him out on dates, all of which he would decline
when he would answer the phone. He was nervous that Akane had heard of the
lewd comments some women would say as soon as someone picked up the phone,
all the women knowing that he was the only one whom answered it.
  "Her name was Kodachi," Akane said. She could remember her desperate, yet
very sultry voice. She could even remember the numbers she had written on
the notepad that was sitting on Ranma's kitchen counter, right next to the
phone. When she said that name, she could have sworn she had heard of it
somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She remembering a
person in school mentioning that he had a sister named Kodachi. As to whom
the guy was, she didn't remember.
  Ranma remembered the name almost immediately. He remembered it belonged to
that woman he had met in at the bookstore earlier today. He had given her his 
number in case she had any problems with her children. He hadn't been 
expecting her to call so soon.
  "Hm, I wasn't expecting her to call so soon," Ranma commented, a bit of
relief in his voice. He was glad that Akane hadn't picked up the phone when
one of his so called female suitors wanted to ask him out on a date.
  "Y-you weren't?" Akane asked, a bit of hope in her voice. Ranma didn't
sound all too thrilled about receiving this phone call from this so called
Kodachi. Did that mean he didn't want to talk to her?
  Ranma could detect something to Akane's voice, this slight contentment upon
hearing his comment. He immediately knew what she was thinking about. She
was happy that he didn't sound all to excited about the call. Actually,
there was no need for him to get excited by her calling "Yeah, I met her at
the bookstore today. I gave her my number because..."
  "Well, isn't that just great?" Akane snapped. She couldn't believe what
she was hearing. He was supposed to go to the bookstore to buy his daughters
some books, and there, he met a woman. He even had the audacity to give her
his number. He was cocky enough to expect a woman to call him, instead him
calling her "I hope you had a great time being with her"
  "Wait a minute," Ranma said, reaching forward and seizing her shoulder "I 
can explain. She had problems with her children. I gave her my number so she 
could call me in case she needed help with her children"
  Akane stood there for a minute, absorbing what he said in. She couldn't
believe she got angry at him for giving his phone number to this Kodachi
person. She remembered hearing two children crying in the background when
Kodachi spoke, asking for Ranma. Was this the reason why she needed Ranma
so much, Akane thought. Is it because she needed help with her children?
She remembered the desperation in Kodachi's voice. She then realized that
she was supposed to give Ranma the message as soon as he'd gotten out of
the shower. She blushed, embarrassed that she was too incompetent at doing
that. It was a simple task, yet she forgot all about it.
  Akane felt bad about doing that to Kodachi. All Kodachi needed was some
help with her children, and she had got angry because she thought Kodachi
was one of Ranma's lovers "Sorry," she said, looking down toward the ground,
disappointed with herself "I shouldn't've jumped to conclusions"
  Ranma gave Akane an odd look "What were you thinking about?"
  "N-nevermind," Akane quickly said, blushing this terrible shade of red.
She was embarrassed to explain why she had been angry. She was a terrible
liar. She knew there was no way she could come up with a good excuse why she
was angry. He would have known that she had feelings for him, that she was
attracted to him. But there was nothing she could find wrong with him
knowing she was attracted to him. Was there? Ranma was a gentleman, at least
that was what Ukyo had told her. But was Ukyo telling the truth?
  "I'm tired," Miki said, holding her arms out so her Mommy could pick her
up. She was very tired and wanted to go to sleep. When her Mommy picked her
up, Miki placed her head up against Ukyo's neck and shoulder, closing her
eyes for sleep to bestow her. She yawned out loud, Ranma hearing.
  Ranma looked over his shoulder and saw Ukyo holding Miki. He knew that
they best be headed toward his home now. He turned his attention back onto
Akane "I guess we better get going now. I hope you're not angry"
  Akane shook her head, looking up, her gaze meeting Ranma's. Upon seeing
his beautiful, yet sad eyes, there was no way she could ever stay angry at
him. She knew that even if Kodachi was one of his lovers, her attraction
toward him would never waver.
  "Yeah, it's getting late," Akane commented looking at her watch. It was
very close to midnight, and it was way past Miki's bedtime. Besides, she was
a bit tired also. She had a big day tomorrow, it being the dojo's bimonthly
progress examination. But the thought that she wasn't going to be doing this
alone made her feel as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders.
Ever since he had been hired, work had been so much easier for her. No, more
like enjoyable. She enjoyed working a lot more now, just the fact that Ranma
would be working along side her made look forward to working every morning.
Just the thought of him being near her made her happy that she had hired
him.
  Ranma said nothing, his gaze steadfast on hers. He broke the gaze from a
moment as he turned his head to look at Ukyo. Ukyo turned around, reading
Ranma's mind, allowing him some privacy. She knew Ranma wanted some time
alone with Akane so he could kiss her goodnight. She smiled to herself as
she ducked out behind the front gates, closing the gates behind her so she
couldn't be seem, so her presence wouldn't disturb the moment.
  Ranma turned his attention back onto Akane, his eyes gazing into hers. He
could feel his heart rate speeding from the thought of kissing Akane. He
remembered how great her lips felt on his when they had kissed in the
bathtub, the delicious taste of her mouth, the intoxicating closeness they
were sharing. The kiss had felt perfect, like it was meant to be. But it had
been spoiled because of his insecurities, him having pulled away. And now,
here he was, with a second chance, a chance to get things right, a chance
where he wouldn't pull away.
  He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, grateful that she didn't pull
away to his touch. She just stood there, gazing into his eyes yearningly. 
She could her body getting hotter and hotter from his touch, his
fingertips sending electricity surging through her entire body, almost
overwhelming her. Her knees felt like they were pudding, she using all her
power and concentration to keep them from buckling below her. She took a
deep breath, embracing herself for his lips. They came so far, and there was
no turning back for the both of them. 
  She closed her eyes, tilting her head upward and bit toward one side, ready 
for his kiss.
  Ranma smiled a genuine smile as he leaned forward, knowing that she was
waiting for him to kiss her. He had been internally grateful that she hadn't
pulled away from his delicate touch. And now, here he was, standing before,
knowing that she was expecting him to kiss her.
  Ranma leaned forward, placing his other hand on the small of Akane's back,
pulling her toward him, their bodies converging into one. Her breasts were
pressed against his chest, their hips touching one another. Even though her
eyes were closed, she could feel Ranma's soft hands touch her cheek, cupping
it. 
  Ranma was staring at her intently, taking in her beauty, cherishing her, 
remembering how she looked. He then closed his eyes and leaned forward, 
tilting his head a bit toward one side, bringing his lips onto hers.
  Ranma could feel the warmth of Akane's body as she saw pressed against him, 
feel her breasts pressed against his muscular chest, feel her tongue explore 
his mouth curiously. Her kiss was like nothing he had ever experienced before. 
It was passionate, loving, caring. He noticed she kissed back nervously, 
unaware of what she was supposed to do. But within moments, her nervousness 
subsided as Ranma's lips ignited a fire within her body.
  Akane had never experienced something as intoxicating as this before. She 
could feel her knees buckling beneath her as she started feeling light-headed, 
his lips like a fine wine to her body. She could feel his
strong arms holding her, keeping her close to him, close to his hot body. She 
could feel one of his hands, the hand that cupped her cheek, slowly gliding 
south, toward the contour of her neck, caressing the underside of her jawline.
  His kisses were slow and very passionate, as if he had been waiting for
this for his entire life, savoring the moment, knowing that he would
remember this moment for the rest of his life. His hands slowly started to
explore body, one of his hands roaming up over the length of her soft back.
  His other hand traveled south, cupping one of her breasts, causing her to
moan from the ecstasy of his sensitive touch, muffled by his lips on hers.
  She was getting aroused, her body groaning with this longing to be
continuously held by him as her tell-tale breasts pressed against his chest.
And her stomach. She gasped as she realized exactly what part of Ranma was
pressed against her stomach, the shock sending her senses into a frenzy.
  The kiss had lasted for moments, but it felt like it lasted an eternity.
Ranma could feel this fire burning within his body, this incredible yearning
to wisp her off her feet, carry her to her bedroom, and then make long,
slow, passionate love to her. 
  He wanted to explore her naked body thoroughly, savor her, to taste her as 
she did the same to him, her hands roaming over his own naked body. He wanted 
to tell her he loved her, that he wanted to be with her ever since the first 
day he had seen her in the park, when they had bumped into each other. He 
wanted to tell her that he wanted to make love to her all night, to tell her 
to cancel tomorrow's day of work so he could make love to her through the 
entire day. But he couldn't. He had his reasons.
  The moment was broken when he heard the gate behind him open and hearing a
small voice "I'm tired, Daddy. I wanna go to sleep"
  Ranma broke the kiss, still savoring the taste of Akane's lips, as he
turned his attention onto his daughter "Jus' one moment, honey" He wasn't at
all embarrassed when he saw Ukyo come through the gate. He was too
light-headed to really care. He felt as light as the clouds, like he was
walking on air. Although it had never been proving, she knew that a kiss
could make one's blood boil.
  "Sorry, Ranma. I didn't think she was gonna go through the gate," Ukyo said, 
causing Ranma to come back into grips with reality, to come into grips that 
little Miki was standing before them, watching them. He gave Akane a reluctant 
look, wishing he could continue the little interlude longer, but he knew it 
would never happen.
   Miki held her arms up for Ranma to pick her up, which he did happily. He 
swooped the little girl up in his arms, causing the girl to giggle a bit. He 
then cradled her gently, letting her rest her head up against one of his broad 
shoulder, stroking her beautiful brown hair "You go to sleep, Miki. I've 
gotcha. Jus' go to sleep" He looked into the little girl's eyes as he smiled 
sweetly before giving her a kiss on her forehead. Miki looked up into his eyes 
for a moment before resting her head back on his shoulder, her face buried in 
the contour of his delicate neck with her arms wrapped around his neck, 
fingers interlaced in the back.
  Ukyo stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, quite embarrassed
that Miki had interrupted their little moment. When she looked at Ranma and
noticed this content look in his eyes, she couldn't help but smile. She
hadn't seen him smile in a while, and she was grateful that he seemed happy.
  "G'night, Akane," Ranma said softly, smiling softly as he turned to her, 
raising an eyebrow "I'll see ya first thing tomorrow morning"   
 "Good night," Akane said, licking her lips as he began to leave, still 
tasting the saltiness of his experienced lips. She felt this giddy feeling, 
like she was lighter than air. She had never felt like this before. Never. It 
was an experience she would never forget, and experience she would remember 
till her dying day.
  She gave him a sweet smile as she entered her house, closing the door
gently behind herself. Once inside, she leaned up against the door, a hand
on her chest. She could feel the fluttering heartbeat within her chest, her
body hot from the flames of passion that was threatening to consume her. She
knew that if the kiss had lasted a split second long, she would have given 
in to her passion for him, told him she wanted him to make love to her that
night. She slumped down to the ground, her back pressed against the door,
her chin resting on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs.
  "Ranma," she said to herself, a stars in her eyes. 

     "I'm sorry about what happened, Ranma" Ukyo said after a few silent
moments. Ranma had been silent practically the entire way back to his house.
The only thing he had said was for Miki to continue on sleeping when she
asked if it was all right for him to continue on carrying her.
  Ranma looked at her, his handsome face accentuated by the moonlight that
was being cast down from the star-clad sky. He looked every bit as angelic
as the little girl he was holding in his arms. He was a bit grateful Miki
had interrupted now that he thought of it.
  "Don't worry about it" Ranma said in that soft voice of his, making the
hairs on the back of Ukyo's neck stand on end. He didn't want to wake little
Miki up, she now sleeping soundly in his arms "It's okay"
  Ukyo was a bit surprised at this "But the moment had been spoiled"
  "It doesn't matter" he looked into her eyes as the continued down the
street "If she hadn't interrupted, I would have broken it. I shouldn't be 
kissing her in the first place," He knew that couldn't continue on kissing 
Akane, no matter how much he wanted it to continue. There was a big difference 
between his thoughts and him acting them out.
  "Why not?" she didn't really know what he was getting at. She thought he 
wanted to spend some time alone with Akane, some time to tell her of his 
feeling and attractions toward her. 
  "Because...I'm still married"



Chapter 28

     As Akane stood in the shower stall, feeling the warm water running down 
the length of her luscious body, her thoughts were of Ranma. Her heart still 
raced from the thought of what had just transpired a couple of minutes ago, 
just outside her front door. She remembered the warmth of his body pressed 
against hers, the warmth much warmer than the water flowing down her body. The 
taste of his lips were still on her lips, the salty taste turning her on. She 
could feel herself getting hot from the thought of him, from the thoughts of 
what they could be doing right now if they hadn't been interrupted. 
  She pictured that Ranma would be in the shower with her, Ukyo and Miki 
downstairs as he would lather her body, stealing kisses on her body as he 
worked her thoroughly from head to toe, being more thorough at the juncture of 
her legs. She wondered how great it would feel to make love to him as the 
shower beat up against their bodies.  And then after that, they would make 
love all night in her bed. She couldn't help but smile at the thought.

  "Y-you're still married?!" Ukyo said, shock in her voice. She couldn't
believe what she had just heard. The thought that he was still married had
never crossed her mind. She though he had been divorced every since his
wife left him.
  "Yes," Ranma said, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, while
using his other hand to hold Miki. He knew it was a perfectly good reason
for her becoming so shocked. He had never told her, nor anyone else that he
was still married. He had never gotten a divorce from her because she had
been gone for all those years that he never had the chance to go through the
paperwork for a proper divorce. The last time he had seen her was the night
before she had left, which was a long time ago.
  "What about your wedding ring?" she asked "How come I don't see a wedding
ring on your finger?" She didn't get it. She had never seen Ranma wearing a
wedding ring ever since Shori had left. Actually, she can't remember ever
having seen him wearing a ring at all.
  "I sent it back to her," he said, "I asked my in-laws for her address. I 
found out she had moved back to her hometown, where she grew up. She traveled 
back to the States"
  "I-I'm sorry to hear that," Ukyo was truly sorry "I never knew that. I just 
assumed you got a divorce and then she left. I never assumed she left before 
the divorce. Is she still livin' back in the States? Do you know how she's 
doing?"
  "I haven't really kept in touch with her," Ranma seemed a bit reluctant in 
saying "I found out that she took over her family business. She's very 
successful now. But the last time I heard from her was a couple of years
ago. I don't know. Ever since I've met Akane, I'm now determined to find her 
so we can have a divorce. I've made a vow to her, you remember, when I played 
that song for her at the wedding, that I would never be unfaithful no matter 
what. I plan on keepin' that vow. Once we're divorced, I'm not longer 
obligated to keep my vows to her. Look, my daughters' birthday are coming up, 
and I'm sure that's the best time for me to see her. She is their mother. 
Sure, she may send presents to them, but if I tell them they want to see her 
personally, that should be enough get her to come pay us a visit. She 
definitely has the money for it. It just depends on how much she really cares 
for her children"
  "What're you going to do?" Ukyo asked. She was wondering how she was going 
to get Shori to come to Japan. She was living halfway across the planet. She 
didn't know much about his wife, but she assumed it would be easier said than 
done since she had no trouble leaving him and her daughters behind while she 
left. She wondered what kind of woman could leave such adorable children, 
especially if those children also belonged to someone as handsome and caring 
as Ranma Saotome.
  Ranma kept silent upon Ukyo's question. He really didn't know how he was
goin to pull it off. All he knew that if there was a chance to get together
with someone like Akane, he would definitely find a way. He remembered he 
still had her phone number lying around somewhere in his house. He would have 
to search for it tonight so he could call her up. That was the best idea he 
could come up with. And while he was at it, he would tell her about Akane. 
Shori may have left him but she still cared for him. She wanted him to be 
happy.
  "You really care for Akane, don't you?" she asked, needing to know the 
answer. She still had feelings for Ranma, even he didn't share the same 
feelings toward her. She wanted to know, just how much he cared for her. She 
had to know.
  "Yeah. I care for her like I used to I cared for you," he said, not looking
directly at her. He cared for Akane as much as he cared for Ukyo back then,
when he was in love with her. He must have been the luckiest man in the
world to had fallen in love three times, first falling for Ukyo, then
falling for Shori, and now falling for Akane. Perhaps that, or he never
learned from his mistakes.
  Ukyo wiped a tear that trickled down her eye as she heard his words. She
now knew that he no longer loved her like she used to. She felt this sadness
envelope her. But it only lasted for a split second when she realized that
she had Ryoga. Ryoga was now in her life. She loved him now, loved him every
bit as much as she loved Ranma back then. She had never realized this, but
her feelings for Ranma weren't as strong as she thought they were. She now
had Ryoga to fill in that void in her heart and he wasn't just a substitute
to Ranma. He was more.
  "Who's looking after your daughters?" Ukyo asked, changing the subject.
She realized that neither Ranma nor Akane had been with the children when
they came to visit Ryoga at the hospital. She wasn't too worried. She knew
Ranma wouldn't be responsible enough to have someone look after them while
they slept. He would never be so irresponsible as to leave them home alone.
  "My neighbor," he replied, a bit grateful that the subject was now off of
him. He didn't really like talking too much about his past. He went into
detail on how his neighbor would take care of his children from time to
time, when he felt Nodoka wanted some time alone. He told her that he would
have let his mother take care of his children tonight except she was
visiting some friends for the past few days, the house being painted, the
fumes being quite nauseating for her.
  The two indulged in a bit of conversation as they headed for his house,
talking about how he planned to throw his daughters a birthday party just
a few days from now. He was telling her that he wanted to buy them a pet for
their birthday present.
  "You do know that they're going to take care of it for a week, and then 
you're stuck taking care of it," she said. She was once got a pet for her 
birthday, and her father eventually ended up taking care of it after a
couple of weeks, when she got bored of playing with it "What kinda pet are you 
going to get them?"
  "I'm not too sure," he said, "I want to get them something that's unusual. 
Nothing like a dog or cat or even a goldfish. I know, I'll get them a pet pig. 
One of them midget pigs. Those pigs that always look like a baby
piglet. They're also neat little things. That means I won't have to worry 
about it making a mess of everything"
  "That sounds like a great idea," she said. She always wondered how it would
be like to have an uncommon pet. She once had a friend whom had a pet
ferret. The ferret was quite an exotic animal to have up in Hokkaido, and
it was so fun being around it. She even remembered the name, 'twinky',
because the ferret looked like one.
  Ukyo and Ranma, whom was holding Miki, had reached their destination. They
were standing outside Ranma's house. They both noticed that one of the
lights were on, causing Ukyo to ask "That light's on cause it's your
neighbor, right?"
  "Yeah," he said, looking up at the window the light was showing through.
The rest of the house was completely dark "That's the window to my music
room. She usually in there when I get home"
  "Oh?"
  "I have a music room in my house. It's practically soundproof. I have a
piano in there. When my kids are asleep, she goes in there to play a few
melodies. She's an excellent pianist, and she teaches piano. She used to
play concert piano solos. She used to teach me a few things, that is,
until my wrists start bothering me again" Ranma said, walking to the front
door and opening it, holding it for Ukyo to enter.
  Ukyo was overwhelmed at just how beautiful his home was. It was vast, yet
it had this cozy feel to it. They both entered the hallway, Ranma silently
closing the door behind him, as they both took off their shoes.
  Ranma gestured for Ukyo to follow him as he walked down the hallway,
turning around a corner, entering his livingroom. She gasped as she noticed
how extravagantly furnished his livingroom was. There were plants that hung
in the corner, giving it this comfortable feel to it. The one thing that
stood out the most, aside from the entertainment system that was in front
of the alcove of windows, was this most beautiful grand piano in one of the
corners of the livingroom, its glossy surface glowing from the moonlight
entering in through the windows.
  Ukyo wished she had a talent to play the piano. The one in the livingroom
seemed to beckon for her to touch its keys, play a soft melody. She walked
up to it, her gaze transfixed on the sheer presence of the instrument.
  "Listen," she heard Ranma say, his voice soft so he wouldn't wake Miki.
  Ukyo stood still for a moment, listening intently. She gasped as she heard
this soft, barely audible, melody permeate the entire house. It sounded like
a classical piece, a complicated piece, a sad piece. It sounded like it was
being played from the heart, not from some piece of paper. She felt this
teary-eyed feeling overwhelming her as she listened. The piece was so sad
that it tugged at her heart.
  Ranma turned to face her, a slight smile on his lips as he spoke softly "I
wrote that. That piece is over ten years old. I wrote when my daughter.."
His voice died at his lips, him unable to finish sentence. When he noticed
that she was about to ask him what he was about to say, he continued on
"N-nevermind. I don't wanna talk about it"
  He gestured for Ukyo to make herself at home on one of his lush sofas as
he walked off toward the stairs "I'll be right back" He walked up the
stairs, coming back down after a couple of minutes. Ukyo watched as he
walked into the kitchen, coming back with a piece of paper in his hands.
  "What's that?"
  "Kodachi, a woman I met while at the bookstore this morning, called me.
This is her number" he replied, sitting down next to her and picking up the
phone that was on the little nightstand next to one of the sofas. He looked
at his watch, noticing that it read a little past midnight. He sighed upon
realizing it was too late to call now "I better call her tomorrow then"
  Ukyo gave Ranma this odd look. Who was this Kodachi person? Why was he
about to call her? She wondered if what she told Akane about him was true.
She told Akane that he was a gentleman, that he would never string along
lovers on the side. She felt this tinge of anger welting up inside of her
upon the thought, the thought that all her words were untrue.
  "Wait a minute," Ranma said when noticed her hands clench "Why do everyone 
get the wrong idea of me? She's not who you think she is. She needed help with 
her children. I gave her my number so she could call me just in case she 
needed some help"
  "Sure," Ukyo said, getting up, picking up one of she sofa pillows. She
believed his words. She knew he would never be that kind of man. She was
actually angry at herself for having thought that. She threw the pillow at
him, smiling inwardly to herself. Ranma was one great guy. There was no
doubt about that. But she wanted to have some fun, tease him a bit "You men
are all the same. You think I buy that? You men would just about use about
any excuse"
  "Huh?" Ranma said, "I'm telling you the truth. I'm not lying"
  Ukyo started giggling, "I know. I just wanted to have some fun"
  "Oh" 
  Ukyo could still hear the beautiful music in the background, its melody
calling toward her. The song was incredible, so soothing, so peaceful, yet
in a sad way. It was too bad the song sounded muffled "That's songs
absolutely beautiful. I'd like to hear it more clearly. I'd also like to
meet your neighbor. She sounds like a very nice lady"
  Ranma smiled as he gestured for her to follow him toward the back of the
his home.
  Ukyo followed. She couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer vastness of
him home. There were paintings the hung on the hallway walls, most of them
of nature in its purest form, very detailed and meticulous. The paintings
were so real it looked like she could step into one of them and find a
whole new world
  "I painted those" she heard him say. She was surprised that Ranma had this
great talent when it came to painting. She had always thought he had hidden
talents, but never expected to see it come so naturally to him. She was also
surprised to hear that he had composed that beautiful music that wafted
throughout the entire house. Ranma was indeed a man of hidden talents.
  He knocked on the door to the music room, the beautiful music stopping 
almost immediately. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal and elderly 
woman "Hello Ranma, you're back sooner than I thought" she noticed Ukyo, 
giving her a warm smile "Well, hello there" She gave Ukyo an inquisitive look 
for a second, wondering what had happened to that other girl she last saw 
Ranma with, Akane. 
  "This is Ukyo," Ranma said to his neighbor, "We know each other from when we 
were very young"
  That seemed to be enough for the elderly lady to hear. She remembered Ranma 
talking about his childhood friend, Ukyo, before.
  Ukyo smiled warmly as she bowed toward the elderly woman. "Good evening. I 
heard you playin' the piano. The song is beautiful" She looked at the piano 
that the elderly lady had been playing, a antique-looking upright. It looked 
like it was several decade old. The keys were worn well, the ivory having this
slightly golden hue from the years and years of constant playing.
  "Thank you," she replied in a soft voice, smiling warmly as she casually
place a wrinkled hand on one of Ranma's broad shoulders "But you should give
Ranma the credit. He was the one whom wrote the piece. I was just playing it" 
  Ranma sat down on the piano bench the elderly lady once occupied after she
had gotten up. She was now sitting in a nearby sofa that Ranma had put into
the room a long time ago in case people wanted to listen to hear him play.
Ukyo, as she stood in the doorway, noticed that the music room was a large
room, roughly the size of an average bedroom. There was one windows in
there, the lighting from moonlight that shown through and the florescent
lights that he had installed when he had put this room as an addition to
his house.
  "Please, have a seat, dearie," the elderly neighbor said, patting the 
cushion next to her. Although she had played piano for all her life, she would 
much rather listen to Ranma play than play herself. His music sounded so 
beautiful that it was without equal. He played his songs with more heart than 
all the students she taught combined.
  Ukyo gently closed the door to the music room, so the music wouldn't wake
the children, as she sat down next to the elderly lady, excited to hear him
play. She had known that he played the piano, but she had never heard him
before.
  Ranma faced her and gave a smile before turning back toward the piano. He
took in a deep breath, hoping his wrists wouldn't fail him. He felt
confident that he could play some more, his wrists not bothering him, even
if he had played till they hurt when Akane was at his house earlier. His
delicate hands caressed the piano, gliding over the keys, bring forth this
almost hypnotic melody. Although his hands struck the keys heavily, the was
very soft. 
  Ukyo listened as he continued to play, the music causing her to envision 
what he was trying to convey through song. She closed her eyes as she let the 
song assail her senses. 
  As she sat there, listening intently, she felt this sadness overwhelm her as 
if Ranma was trying to tell of his past through the piano. The song was so 
sad, causing a tear to form around her eye. She wiped as Ranma's neighbor 
noticed the effect the song had on her. She smiled warmly as she whispered
"Ranma tends to play songs like. I cried the first time I heard this," the 
lady commented, she, too, feeling a bit sad.
  The song lasted for a couple of emotional-filled minutes. The song he was
playing was supposed to last longer, but his wrists were failing him, the
pain becoming unbearable, causing him to improvise and bring the song to a
conclusion.
  "That was beautiful," Ukyo said, wiping a tear. She was almost expecting to
see Ranma turn around see the tears forming around his eyes. The piece was
so emotional. But when he did face her, there were no tears around his eyes.
His eyes still retained this sense of sadness though, and it looked like
they were on the verge of shedding tears, but they didn't.
  Ranma yawned as he felt the heaviness of sleep threatening to overwhelm
him. The day had been pretty rough and long for him, and he was yearning to
go to sleep "Thanks. Look, I'm very tired. I'm going to sleep now" He got up 
off the bench, heading for the door. He opened it and exited, leaving only 
Ukyo and the elderly lady to occupy the room.
  "It's strange," the woman said, "I always expect to see tears around his 
eyes when he would face me after that song, but I never do"
  "Ukyo, I want to show you to your room before I go to bed," Ranma said as 
his head peek back into the room "Miako-san. Thank you for looking after my 
children. You don't know how grateful I am"
  "I'm glad I could be of help," the woman said, getting up off the sofa,
Ukyo giving her hand "Whenever you need me to look after them, just ask" she
then turned to Ukyo, giving her a genuine smile "It was really nice meeting 
you sweetie. Perhaps we'll meet again"
  "Likewise," Ukyo said, getting up off the sofa, noticing that her knees
felt a bit weak. Perhaps the song had more of an effect on her than she
thought "I enjoyed hearing you play"
  Ranma and Miako-san bowed. Ranma and Miako-san then disappeared from view
as they headed for the front of the house. Ukyo was left alone in the music
room, staring at where Ranma had been. She turned to face the upright piano,
awe by the thought that someone could create such beautiful from a single
instrument. She reached a supple finger out and touched on of the keys,
still feeling the warmth it generated from Ranma touch before. She looked at
the music sheet that was laid out before her. Whatever the piece was, she
assumed, it sure looked difficult. She wondered how one played music through
reading.
  After a few moments of wonder, Ranma entered the room, a pillow and
blankets under his arms "Ukyo, I suggest you not sleep in the other
guestroom tonight. The radiator is broken in there, and that room is very
cold. I'd let you sleep in the other guestroom with Miki, but I don't have
any spare futons. You can sleep in my bed for the next few nights. I'll be
sleeping on the sofa in the livingroom. My room's the first one to the right
at the top of the stairs"
  Ukyo turned to face him so she could tell him that she will sleep on the
sofa. She didn't want Ranma giving up his own bed just for her. It was bad
enough that she was sleeping under the same roof as him, which would make
things seem awkward between them, but there was no need for her to have his
bed "I'll sleep on the sofa. It's bad enough I'm imposing on you by spending
the next few night here"
  "Are you kidding?" Ranma gave a small smile "How do you think it'll make me 
feel if I'm sleeping on a bed while you're sleeping on a sofa? You're sleeping 
in my bed. I'm tired, and I'm not going to argue with you about it "
  Before she had a chance to tell him that she insisted on sleeping on the
sofa he disappeared as he walked away from the doorway he had been standing
in, his footsteps echoing in the now silent house. She just stood there,
hearing the echo of his foot steps getting softer and softer as he got
farther away. When she quickly exited the music room to follow after him, she
discovered Ranma sleeping on the sofa in the livingroom, his back facing
her, cuddled up in a couple of blankets. He was already asleep.
  She sighed, "Oh, Ranma. You're such a gentleman"



Chapter 29

     Shori was in her office, looking out one of the open window, her gaze 
toward the buildings, as she enjoyed the cool breeze that blew in through the 
open window. Although a bit chilly, it wind was welcomed into the heated 
office of hers. She was the president of Aido Airlines, making a high seven 
digit salary in American currency, yet she couldn't get that blasted heater 
from heating her office to sauna-type temperatures. She would need to get that 
heater removed. Either that or fixed. 
  The intercom on her desk rang, giving her a start.
  She looked over at the grandfather clock that was in the corner of the room. 
It was now a little past one in the afternoon. And that was a bit odd. She 
wasn't expecting a call. All the meetings and schedule changes had been made 
in the morning.
  She walked over to the phone, wondering who it could be, and clicked on the 
intercom.
  "I'm sorry to bother you, Saotome-sama, but I have a long distance phonecall 
from a Ranma Saotome. He says it's pretty important," her secretary's voice 
echoed through the speaker and into the vast, extravagantly furnished office. 
  Shori's heart skipped a beat. She noticed that her heartrate started to race 
at the sound of his name. Her knees even felt a bit weak. Luckily, she had her 
hands on her desk to keep herself up. She must had been hearing things "D-did 
you say Ranma Saotome?"
  "Yes," the voice echoed, "Would you like me to take a message or would you 
like to take it?"
  "I'll take it," Shori said, noticing that her voice was a bit more eager 
than 
she wanted it to be. She couldn't believe it. Ranma Saotome. Even though she 
hadn't seen him after all these years, she knew exactly what he looked like. 
She remembered his every feature. He was somebody you would never forget.
  Shori clicked a button on the intercom, and then picked up the phone. She 
took a short moment to steady herself, to get herself under control. There 
must be a reason for him to call. Sure, Ranma was the kind of person who 
would call someone just to see how they were doing, but there was no reason 
why he would call her for that, not after what she had done. She was still, 
very regretful for having left, but it was the best choice of action. She 
hoped he didn't hold that against her "H-hello?" 
  Ranma's soft voice could be heard, coming through so clearly Shori could 
have sworn she could feel his hot breath as if he was whispering into her ears 
"Hey, Shori, is that you?"
        
  Ranma was wide awake by the time Ukyo came downstairs, his dark hair
slightly damp from his morning shower. He looked like he must have had the
best night's sleep, radiating this cheery warmth as he gave her a small
smile. 
  "G'morning, Ukyo" Ranma said to her as she entered the kitchen, all the
while cracking an egg into the large, stainless steel bowl on the counter.
There were several small bowls full of chopped onions and peppers and ham
nearby, each ingredient in their own bowls. It looked like he was making an
omelet. And judging by the amount of cracked eggshells in the garbage can,
he was going to make a mighty large one "How was last night's sleep?"
  "Morning," she said, "It was great. I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in
quite a while" Ranma's bed must have been the most comfortable bed she had
ever slept on. It seemed to mold to the curvature of her body, keeping her
comfortable, from twisting and turning all night. But it wasn't how the bed
worked that surprised her but the fact that the bed was no larger than a
regular single bed. It wasn't a king sized bed. That meant there was no way
for other women to spend the night with him.
  "I called Shori late last night," Ranma said, "I woke up to get take a drink 
and decided to call her. Guess what, it seems like she's going to be coming in 
for a visit afterall. I told her about everything, about the party, and even 
about Akane"
  "You did?" Ukyo said, a bit surprised "What did she say?"
  "She said she'll be here for the party," he said, "I'll tell you about it 
after breakfast and dropping off the kids. What would you like to have?" He 
began adding the peppers and ham and onions into the steel bowl, stirring it 
with a large wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together. Ukyo couldn't help 
but notice his arms flexing as he held the bowl in the crook of his elbow.
  Ukyo looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It was only around five.
She was a bit surprised that she had woken up that early in the morning. She
thought it was about eight or so. She looked at Ranma for a second before
answering "I'll have what you're having" She paused for a second before 
changing the subject "Um, why're you up so early. It's just a bit past five"
  "Me? I always wake up early. Meggie and Jessie will be waking up in about a 
half an hour, meaning I have to be up earlier than them so I can fix them some 
breakfast" he continued on stirring as he spoke, "I don't know why they wake 
up so early, but they just do. Most people say that should have drove me nuts 
because of lack of sleep, but it doesn't bother me. Me, I guess I grateful, 
simply because I don't have to go through all the hassles of waking them up 
for school and getting them dressed"
  Ukyo sat down in a chair across the counter from Ranma, observing him "So
what do your daughters do until they have to got school"
  "Don't know. They usually play the piano," he said, not bothering to look
up at her. He was more busy paying attention to the stirring than anything
else. He stopped abruptly when he realized that Miki would be sleeping
while the twins played their little hearts out "Um, what about Miki, when
does she wake up?"
  Ukyo giggled a bit, "Well, she usually sleeps till around nine, which makes 
it quite difficult for me to get her up since school starts at eight" That 
gave Ranma a small chuckle. Ukyo felt this warm feeling upon seeing him laugh 
a bit. Ranma's life had been very sad, and he was the only person in her life 
that she believed deserved to laugh from time to time. Although she rarely 
seen him laugh, she had to admit that Ranma looked like he was the happiest 
person in the world when he laughed.
  "Don't worry about it," Ranma said, confidence acted "I betcha I can get her 
up"
  "I'd like to see you try"

  Akane was wide awake before her alarm clock went off. She casually shut
off the ringer as she went about her business of getting ready. She had
already taken a shower earlier, she having woken up about a half hour before
the alarm went off. She was just finished with her shower when she heard the
ringing from her room. She had casually walked from the bathroom and into
her bedroom clad in nothing but her panties and a towel dangling down from
neck, covering over her bare shoulders.
  After having gotten dressed, she opened the blinds to the window,
squinting a bit from the brilliance of the dawning sun in the far off
horizon. She took a quick minute to admire the beautiful sunrise as she
opened a small gap in the window so she could let some fresh air into her
stuffy room. Sure, the smell of roses wafted through her room, but a breath
of fresh air was much needed at the moment.
  She only shivered a bit when a cold blast of air blew in through the
small opening, grateful that she was fully clothed. She was dressed in long
jogging pants and a thick sweat shirt, she about getting ready for her
morning jog.
  She went downstairs and prepared a quick breakfast consisting of cereal
and toast. As she sat there, chewing on her toast, she couldn't help but
smile as she recalled spending some time in the kitchen with Ranma,
preparing breakfast for his daughters after they had fallen asleep at her
house. She could feel her body getting hot from the thought, and it wasn't
the heavy attire that was doing that to her. She could recall the smell of
his aftershave as he shared the same room with her, the scent having almost
driven her insane with desire. But she had managed to keep a leash on her
desires, which made her wonder what they could have done if she didn't. She
blushed at the thought of him taking her right then and there, on the
kitchen counter.
  What am I thinkin' of, Akane thought, hiding the reddish hue that had
formed around her cheeks with her hands. She was grateful she was alone
because is she wasn't, someone would have known she was thinking of some
licentious thoughts, and they would have asked, which would have made it
even more embarrassing for her because she was a lousy liar.
  Once finished with her breakfast, Akane left the house for her daily
morning jog. Outside, she decided she wanted to change her usual jogging
route for the first time. She wanted to see how the house was coming, to see
how it now looked. It had been very dark last night, and she didn't get a
real good look at the house and all the repairs that had been done on it.
  She smiled to herself as she headed for the house.

  "The house looks beautiful," Mousse commented, taking a step back to
admire the view. He had been at the house when Ranma had arrived to finish
off the painting. It had been just a little past eight-thirty when Ranma had
arrived there to meet him so they could finish off their task. Ranma would
have shown up earlier if it weren't for him having to drop his daughters off
at school and then escorting Ukyo to the hospital so she could spend her
morning with Ryoga. When he had arrived, they immediately began painting the
house, Ranma expected to be at work at ten sharp. When Mousse had asked him
about where Ryoga was, Ranma told him of what had happened. It came to
Mousse as a surprise when Ranma had told him about Ryoga having been shot,
but he took it in stride, always thinking on the up and up, believing in his
fellow police officers in apprehending Ukyo's ex-boyfriend. As Ranma stood
there, he thought back to the time when he had mentioned about Ryoga being
shot.
  "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll catch him," Mousse had said, confidently. He
had been busy painting the top half of the house when Ranma had mentioned
about Ukyo's ex-boyfriend.
  "I hope you're right," Ranma had replied. He had been busy painting the
bottom half, which was already half finished because they had started
painting it yesterday.
  "I can't believe this is the same house," Mousse said, causing Ranma to
snap back to reality. He looked over at Mousse, a small smile on his lips.
Ranma couldn't really believe that this was the same house that his mother
resided in. The house looked totally different. The new layer of paint made
the house look brand new. The shutters gave the home a cozy look, the color
matching the paint. It was a job well done. All that hard work definitely
paid off.
  "Mousse, I'm glad you and Ryoga helped" he said in a soft, sincere tone
"It would've taken me weeks to do this by myself. I wish Ryoga was here so I
can thank him for all he's done. I'll go visit him tonight with Ukyo"
  "No prob," Mousse said, smiling happily, glad to have helped. He was glad to 
have a project like this to keep his mind occupied "Whenever you need 
anything, just ask. I'll be glad to help"
  "Thanks," Ranma replied. He was glad to have Mousse for a friend. Although
they started off on the wrong foot, Shampoo almost leaving Mousse for
him, Ranma was grateful that they managed to amend feelings before the
conclusion of his business trip. Even though Ranma had to go back to Japan,
he and Mousse and Shampoo remained friends.
  "Aren't the twin's birthdays coming up?" Mousse asked, changing the
subject. He remembered seeing Ranma buying a whole bunch of toys while up in
China. When he inquired about why Ranma was doing that, he found out that
Ranma had two daughters, and that their birthdays were coming up. It was
now around the same time as when Mousse had asked several years ago. He
wasn't too sure the exact date, but he knew it was around this time.
  "It's funny that you mention that. I was about to bring that up," he said,
a smile on his lips, "Their birthday is in three days from now and I'm 
throwing them a party. It'll be at my house. I'm not too sure exactly when 
it'll start, but I'll tell you the time when I decide"
  "We wouldn't miss it for the world," Mousse replied. He knew he had to work
three days from now, but he was positive he could get some time off. Shampoo
could do the same thing also. He was well aware that Shampoo had to work on
that day also, but she could get time off also. Besides, there was no way
she wanted to miss their birthday party, for she was very fond of the little
girls "Shampoo'll be there also"
  "That's good to hear," said Ranma, a small smirk on his lips "It's best
that ya start spendin' more time with children, now that there's a chance
there's one on the way"
  Mousse chuckled, "I know. I know" but his visage turned somber "Um, I'm 
quite
scared, y'know, of becoming a father and all. I'm not too sure I'll know
what to do"
  Ranma smiled, "Don't worry about it. You'll do fine. I started off knowing
nothing, and I had to do it alone, yet I managed somehow. You, on the other
hand, have Shampoo to help you out, which'll definitely lighten the burden"
  "I hope you're right," Mousse sighed, "I hope you're right. So, about the
birthday, what're you gonna get your daughters for a birthday present?"
  "I want to get them a pet pig," Ranma said, "A piglet perhaps. Sure, I could
buy them a dog or cat or something, but I want it to be a unique animal for
a pet. Besides, pigs are clean, and I don't want worry about it making a
mess since after a week or so, I'll be stuck taking care of it"
  Mousse chuckled upon the thought, causing Ranma to give a chuckle also. He
then looked over at Ranma and spoke "That's a good idea. We'll get them
something cool"
  "Sure, whatever ya like?" he said. 
  "Well, I best be leaving now," Mousse said as he looked at his watch "I'll
see you in a few days. Later," he smiled to Ranma as he headed off toward
work, disappearing around the corner.
  Once Mousse was gone, Ranma took the time to enjoy the morning sun,
walking up to and sat down in the swinging bench that furnished the front
porch. He laid back and closed his eyes, glad that there was still some time
left before he was expected at work. He wanted to spend some time alone, to
enjoy the warmth of the morning sun, to breath in the fresh air.
  Akane was jogging by the house when she noticed Ranma sitting on the
porch. Her heart leapt to her throat upon realizing that he had spotted her.
She could feel her knees becoming weak upon seeing him getting up off the
swinging bench and walking down the steps, heading straight toward her.
  She wanted to say something but couldn't, she at a loss of words. He
looked absolutely gorgeous. His clothes had some splatters of paint
on it and his hair was slightly tussled, and that gave him a rugged looked.
  "Morning, Akane," he said with a smile warmer than the dawning sun, in a 
voice more sultry than Akane wanted it to be. His voice made her feel weak. 
Her gaze were on his lips as he said those words, the same lips that swept her 
off her feet last night, the same lips that she wanted on her own.
  "M-morning," she replied, quickly regaining composure. She quickly turned 
her
gaze onto the house, hoping to distract herself from Ranma. 
  "What're you doing here?" he asked. He knew Akane always jogged in the 
morning, but he never recalled having seen her jog by his mom's house when he 
would visit her after he dropped his daughters off at school and before he was 
expected at work.
  "Oh, I wanted to see how the house looked," she said, "I didn't get a good
look last night, what with it bein' dark and all. And I must say, the house
looks splendid. This looks nothing like the old one. I can't believe how
much just a little bit of renovations could change the entire look to a
house. I wasn't expecting to see you here"
  "I wanted to finish up," he said as he turned to face the house. He wanted
to admire it from the same point of view Akane was "Mousse was here earlier.
He and I finished up with the painting about fifteen minutes ago"
  "Mousse? Oh, isn't he Shampoo's husband?" Akane asked. She remembered
hearing that name when they were in the coffee shop talking to Shampoo after
they, more Ranma than anyone else, had bumped into her. She remembered this
feeling this spark of jealousy upon realizing that Shampoo knew Ranma from
back then. But when she realized that she was married, she felt this sense
of relief.
  "Yes," he said, "He just left though. You'll see him again. Perhaps at
you'll meet him at the party" When he noticed that Akane was about to
inquire about what party, he continued on "I was about to tell you when I
got to work. Meggie and Jessie's birthday are three days from now, and I was
thinking about throwing them a birthday party. You're invited of course. I'm 
pretty positive they'll really appreciate it if you come"
  "I'd love to," she said. All she would have to do was cancel lessons on the
day of the party. She was sure her students would understand. They would
probably want her to attend the party because she never had any time off
since she had the responsibilities of taking the dojo over "What do you
plan on getting them?"
  "I've been thinkin' of getting them a pet pig" Ranma said. When Akane gave
him a confused look, he continued on "Well, I'm pretty sure they'll take
care of it for a week or so, and then I'm stuck taking care of it. I figured
it'd be nice to get them something that easy to manage since them little
buggers are pretty much one of the neatest animals around"
  Akane nodded. There was no denying logic. She once had a pet dog, and she
took care of it for about a week before she lost interest in feeding it and
all those other responsibilities in taking care of it, her father left to
take care of it as soon as she got bored of it. Her dog ran away not much
longer after he started taking care of it.
  "I've even thought of a name for it," he said. He had thought come up with
the name last night. He wanted to call it P-chan. 'P' as in 'pig', and
'chan' as in 'little'. He knew it would be perfect for a name. He was pretty
sure Akane would like it also, that she would probably come up with a name
like that.
  "What will it be?" she asked curiously. She wondered what kind of silly
name he would come up with for a piglet.
  "P-chan," 

  "I guess we better head on toward the dojo," Ranma said, noticing the time
on his watch. They had about a half hour left before the first session
was scheduled to begin. He was surprised at how much time had passed
already.
  "Don't worry," Akane said, "we still have plenty of time"
  Ranma sighed, wishing he had never told her of the present he had planned
on getting for a birthday present. He and Akane were now standing in front
of a local pet store. Akane had noticed the pet store on her way jogging
route, but had disregarded it until now. When her sight had caught hold of
the store, she immediately headed toward it.
  She casually took hold of his hands as she tried to pull the reluctant
Ranma into the store with her. When her hands touched Ranma's, she could
feel the heat emanating from it. His hands were soft yet strong, and his
touch felt like a lover's caress.
  When Akane had taken hold of his hand, Ranma just gazed at it, wondering
if he should pull it away. He was a married man, afterall. Wasn't it taboo
to be holding hands with another woman since he was still married? But the
question immediately disappeared when he realized that having Akane's hand
in his felt right. It just did. Her hand felt like it belong in his own.
  He gently gave her hand a loving squeeze, enjoying the smoothness of her
delicate fingers as they held his. 
  Akane immediately released her grip of him when he gave it a squeeze, 
knowing that if she continued to hold his hand, she wouldn't be able to think 
straight. She already felt lightheaded from being so close to Ranma as it was. 
She had to have a clear mind now. Now was not the time to be thinking of 
Ranma, even if it took all her willpower to keep him out of her mind.
  A saleslady walked up to Ranma and Akane, "Good morning, would you like any 
help?" She glanced over Akane's shoulder and caught sight of Ranma. She felt 
her heart skip a beat as she laid eyes on him. She had never seen a man like 
him before.
  Ranma gave the lady a sheepish smile, which made her heart aflutter "Um,
yeah, I'm looking to buy a pet pig," He was looking around the store, not
paying much attention to the saleslady. If he had he would have seen the envy
in her eyes as she looked at Akane.
  "We have some pigs in the back of the store," she said, heading toward the
back of the store, gesturing for Akane and Ranma, more Ranma than anyone
else, to head toward the back of the store with her.
  Akane followed the lady, grateful that her back was to Ranma. She was
blushing horribly. She had caught the fiery gaze in that lady's eyes as she
saw Ranma standing behind her. When the lady had looked toward her, Akane
saw jealousy in that lady's eyes, jealousy at seeing Akane with some as
handsome as Ranma.
  "Hey, Akane," Ranma said, stopping in his tracks "Check them out. Aren't
they cute?" he was gesturing toward a cage full of little kittens. He stuck
a finger through the grating to pet one of the cute felines.
  Akane smiled inwardly as she chose her words carefully "C'mon, Ranma, we
have to look for a pet for the girls" she almost laughed as she saw the girl
realize that Akane must have been referring to their daughters.
  Ranma sighed as he followed the two ladies toward the back of the store.
He had considered getting his daughters some kittens, but kittens became
cats, and cats are hard to train.
  When they reached the back of the store, Akane gasped as she caught sight of 
all those cute pigs in the cage. They all looked adorable. There was one pig 
that caught her attention the most. It was a little black piglet in the back 
of the cage. It looked like a midget pig, it being less than half the size of 
those other pigs.
  "That one looks nice," Akane said pointing toward the black one "Can I hold 
it?"
  The lady walked over to the cage and opened the gate, reaching in a taking
hold of the pig, skillfully preventing the other pigs from breaking free
from their confines. She handed it to Akane.
  "Oh, he's so cute," Akane said "P-chan is the perfect name for it. You have
to get it"
  "Lettme see it" Ranma said, taking the pig out of Akane's arms. He gave
the pig a quick inspection "Well, it's a male" 
  The pig gave Ranma a evil look, right before sinking its teeth into one of 
Ranma's forearms.
  "Bwee!"



Chapter 30

     "I can't believe I actually bought that pig," Ranma said as he entered 
the office. It was now a little before noon. It was raining lightly outside, 
the rain pattering on the dojo's roof. Akane was standing by a window when 
Ranma entered the office, her gaze on the distant horizon.
  Ranma was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed. The class he was
training had just ended, leaving him and Akane with over two hours of free
time before the next session was expected to begin. 
  He walked into the room and sat down in a chair that was near where Akane 
was standing, his gaze intent on the pig that was sleeping in the cage in the 
corner of the room. He had known that pig for several hours, and he already 
disliked it. 
  "Are you sure you want take care of it for the next few days?" Ranma asked. 
He wondered what Akane liked so much about that pig. It was just a pig, 
afterall. 
  "Yeah, I'm sure," she said. She was already in love with this pig. 
  Akane turned to Ranma, "I'm going to go to the house to get something to 
eat. You want me to get you something?" She was a little bit hungry, but not 
by much, but just the thought of being able to go to lunch with Ranma gave her 
an appetite. She wanted to spend some time with him. Her morning started off
perfectly ever since she met Ranma at his mom's house. Actually, everyday had 
been perfect ever since she met him.
  Ranma was about to say yes, but he realized that he shouldn't since he was 
still married. He knew that if he went with her to the house, he was doomed 
because they would be in there all alone. Although he was a very patient man, 
he knew he would never be able to resist the temptation to make love to Akane 
as soon as they stepped through the door to the house. Afterall, they had two 
hours before the next class. 
  "I'm fine. I'll stay here. Thanks anyway," he said, getting of the chair and 
leaving the room. He had to find something to occupy his time, to keep himself 
distracted, distracted from thinking of Akane. He had made a vow, and he 
planned on keeping it, no matter what. He was grateful to find one student 
still in the dojo.
  "Sensei," the female student said, "I was wonderin' if it's okay if I stay
for a little while so I can catch up on my practicing" She was one of the
new students that had joined the school. Although young, she definitely had
potential.
  "Sure," Ranma said, "I'll help you out. What would you like help on?"
  Akane stepped out of the office and saw Ranma and the student talking to
each other. At first, she felt a tinge of jealousy grab her. 
  Not wanting to dwell on that thought, Akane quickly left the dojo and headed 
for the house. She had to keep herself distracted. She immediately made 
herself a sandwich to eat. 
  She sat in her kitchen, she knew that when she was finished with that, she 
would begin doing some chores that needed to be done. All she had to do was 
keep herself distracted for two hours. That wouldn't be so hard. If it wasn't 
so hard, then why was her thoughts of nothing but Ranma?
  Once she was finished with her sandwich, Akane looked at the clock and 
sighed. She still had an hour and forty five minutes left before the next 
class started.
  "Just practice that one technique for a few minutes," Ranma said to the
young student "I have to make a phonecall" He remembered about the phonecall
Akane took for him while he was in the shower last night. He remembered
Akane having told him that Kodachi wanted him to call her. He felt a bit
guilty for returning her call so late, but it was better late than never.
He quickly walked over to the lockerroom and fetched Kodachi's phone number
put of his pants and then walked over to the phone and called her.
  "Hi," Ranma said into the receiver "is Kodachi there?"
  "Speaking," came a voice, a very beautiful voice, which made Ranma's blood
tingle "This is she"
  "Hi, this is Ranma Saotome," he said, "We both met at the bookstore"
  "I remember you," Kodachi said. How could she not? There was no way she
would forget Ranma, ever. "How's everything going?" She had forgotten that
she had called him last night. It was probably because she wasn't thinking
too straight at the moment.
  Ranma looked over his shoulder to see his student still busy practicing
the move he showed her "Everything's fine. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back
to you earlier. Anyway, I received a phonecall from you last night"
  "Oh yeah," Kodachi said, "I remember. Don't worry about it. I was having
some problems with my kids, and I needed your advice. But I managed to do
okay by myself" She wanted to ask Ranma whose voice she had heard last night
when she had called him, but she didn't. It was none of her business.
  Ranma talked to Kodachi for a few minutes before he remembered that he 
shouldn't be inconsiderate as to let his student wait for him to finish his 
call "Look, I gotta go now. But before I do, I have one more thing I want to 
ask you. I'm throwing a birthday party for my daughters three days from now, 
and I was wondering, even though we just met, if you'd like to come. I'd like 
our kids to get to know each other"
  "I'd love to," she said a bit zealously. She was eager to see Ranma again. 
  Ranma gave Kodachi the address and the estimated time it was expected to
begin "Well, I have to go now. I'll see you at the party. Goodbye"
  "I'll see you then. Bye"

  "Didn't we meet somewhere before?" Ranma asked as he gazed at the
handsome man standing before him. The man was a bit taller than him,
sporting short dark hair that was akin to Ranma's except it was sans the
pig-tail. He was dressed in casual attire consisting of pants and a
sweater that seemed more expensive than Ranma's entire wardrobe. He seemed
to have this air of sophistication to him.
  "Is Akane here?" Kuno said in a low husky voice, his gaze suspiciously on
Ranma. He wondered who this Ranma was to Akane, what he meant to her? He and
Ranma were now both in the dojo's office. Ranma was finished with helping
the young student when she saw Kuno standing inside the dojo's rear
entrance. When Ranma introduced himself, he suggested that they go into the
office where they could sit down.
  "She went into the house," Ranma replied, eyeing Kuno "She'll be out in
a little while. Is there a reason why you need to see her?" he still didn't
know who this man was. He could have sworn he had seen him somewhere before,
but he could quite remember where.
  "That is of no concern for you," Kuno snapped. He didn't like the way Ranma
spoke of Akane so formally. He spoke her name casually, as it they had known
each other for quite a while. He could feel his blood boiling from thinking
that. Kuno had dated Akane for a short time while they were young, and
although Akane never shared the mutual feeling toward him, Kuno was still in
love with Akane. He was very overprotective, and he didn't want anyone to
get close to Akane because he didn't want her to get hurt.
  "Sorry," Ranma apologized "you're right. It is none of my business. I'll
go get her," he got up off his seat and proceeded toward the door, only to
realize who that man was "I remember you. You were working at that
equipment store when Akane and I came in to buy some bokkens. Akane said
you two went to the school together"
  "We did more than just go to school together," Kuno said cynically.
  Ranma's visage sullened upon hearing that. He realized what this man was
implying  "Oh," 
  He wondered if this man and Akane were still seeing each other.
  Kuno smiled to himself as he noticed Ranma's countenance turn sullen. He
had only known Ranma for a short time, and he already disliked him, simply
because he knew Akane. 
  "I'll go get her," Ranma said, getting up off his seat and heading toward
the door "I'll be back in a minute"
  Kuno got off his seat and left the office, walking onto the practice mat.
His gaze was on the bokkens that were neatly on a rack. He had been into
Kendo ever since he was young. He still practiced it since he didn't really
have to worry about managing his chains of equipment store because they
were self-sufficient.
  He picked up one of the bokkens, giving it a skillful slash at an unseen
opponent. He smiled as he walked to the center of the dojo, bokken in hand.
Since he had to wait, he might as well do a little practicing. He stood in
front of picture of Akane's father and bowed to him out of respect. He got
into his Kendo stance and proceeded to skillfully slash to his heart's
content. His screams of attacks could be heard as they echoed through the
dojo.
  "Hello, Kuno," came a sweet voice, causing Kuno to start.
  He already knew it was Akane by her sweet voice before he even faced her.
He turned to face her, glad that that man wasn't standing next to her. He
blushed a bit, this sudden nervousness enveloping him. He was quite the
ladies' man, but he never had as much trouble being around them as he did
Akane.
  "H-hello, Akane," he said. He hadn't really seen her in quite a while.
Sure, he saw her with that man, but she only spoke to her for a minute. He
hadn't had the chance to spend some time with her since she left before he
had the chance to talk to her.
  Akane smiled sweetly, "What brings you here?" Kuno used to stop by at the
dojo to check up on her from time to time, but had stopped several years ago
ever since he his caught his wife taking drugs. He had divorced her and had
taken full custody of his two sons since his ex-wife was considered an unfit
wife in the judge's eyes.
  "I came here to see you," Kuno said, "I haven't seen you in the longest 
time" When he had seen Akane for the first time since stopped coming to the 
dojo, it made him realize just how much he missed her.
  "That's nice to hear," she said sweetly. She liked the attention Kuno gave
her, even though she never reciprocated. She only considered him a friend
wanted it to remain that way while he wanted to more than just a friend. She
knew what he had implied when they were dating in high school.
  "I would also like to have my sons enroll in your children classes" he
said. He wanted his sons to learn martial arts to help raise their
self-confidence. Ever since he and my wife divorced, his sons had been down
on themselves, thinking that they were the cause of it. At first, it was
very minute, but eventually, over the years, it got worse. Now was the time
he did something about it.
  "Sure," Akane said happily. She would love to teach his sons. She had met
them once before, and they seemed very sweet. How old were they now? Seven?
Eight?  They must have been around Ranma's daughters' age "And speaking of
your sons, how are Yukaso and Keiike? How old are they now?"
  "They seem to believe it was their fault that their mother and I got
divorced. And they're not getting any better. Yukaso is nine, and Keiike is
going to be nine in a month from now" Kuno said in one breath.
  "I'm sorry to hear that they think that," Akane said "But enrolling them in
martial arts is a good way to build up their self esteem. Follow me into my
office"

  Ranma tried to keep himself busy as he paced back and forth in Akane's
livingroom. He felt threatened. Who was that man in the dojo? What did he
mean to Akane? Why did she want to see him...alone? Was what Kuno had said
true? Had they, no, were they more than high school acquaintances?
  He didn't like this feeling of helplessness. There was nothing he could
do. In a way, he felt jealous, jealous of Kuno that he meant something to
Akane. Wanting to keep his thoughts from wandering onto what Akane and Kuno
might be discussing, Ranma sat down in the couch in the livingroom, picking
up magazine.
  He only skimmed it for a few moments before his mind started wandering back
onto Akane. He wondered if Kuno and Akane were seeing each other. It they
were then he should have never have kissed her since she would belong to
another man. 
  Maybe this was all for the better, Ranma thought. Afterall, he was married. 
Maybe it was never meant to be. He was still married to Shori. This was a good 
reason why he shouldn't be around Akane because if he did, he wouldn't be able 
to control his urges, and he would inevitably break the vows that he had made. 
That wouldn't be honorable, and he was a very honorable man, something that 
his mom had always preached.
  "What am I doing?" Ranma said to himself, wishing his mind would be on
anything but Akane. But it was no use. Akane was everything he ever wanted
in a woman, and a whole lot more. Even his daughters liked her. But the
thought that she might be seeing Kuno was tearing him apart. He didn't know
for sure if she was seeing someone. He had never asked. Sure, she seemed
unattached simply because she seemed willing in returning their passionate
kiss in front of the house, but anybody could give in to temptations, 
especially if he were the temptation. Ranma even had married women hitting on 
him, so women with boyfriends weren't off any better.
  Ranma sighed. Akane was the one woman he wanted, yet he couldn't have.
He still had vows to uphold, and he honored those vows. And now that she
might be seeing Kuno made her even harder to attain. That also made her
harder to forget about, harder to leave alone. He should just leave well
enough alone. He didn't want to be the cause if Akane and Kuno were seeing
each other, and Akane breaking up with Kuno because of him. He didn't
want Kuno dumping Akane, thinking she was sleeping with Ranma behind his
back.
  "I better keep my distance," Ranma told himself, not too sure if he could
actually follow through with his comment. He was drawn toward Akane like a
moth to a flame. But he had to try.
  Ranma looked at his watch, noticing that he still had a little more than
an hour before the next scheduled session was set to begin. He knew that he
had plenty of time to go somewhere. He had to get out of this house since
everything in it reminded him of Akane. He quickly walked over to the pile
of bags of new clothes Akane had bought for his daughters the other day. It
was best that he took these home instead of leaving them here in Akane's
house.
  He picked up the many bags, sliding them up to the crook of his elbow.
There were somewhere around ten bags, but it was no problem for him. He
decided to leave a few bags behind. There was no use in him killing himself
in bring all those clothes home. He'd carry the rest of them home tonight.
  Sighing, he left the house, heading toward his own.

  "Well, it's nice to finally be able to sit down and talk you again after
such a long time," Akane said, getting up from her desk, Kuno, whom was
sitting in front of her, getting up also "I'm looking forward to seeing your
sons at our next session"
  Kuno smiled, "Same here" He looked at his Rolex watch "Well, it's time that
I get going now. I'll see you then"
  "Okay," Akane bowed, "Bye now"
  "Goodbye," Kuno said. He wanted to lean forward and give Akane a kiss 
goodbye, like he used to back then, but he didn't. He wasn't too sure that 
Akane wanted that to happen. He figured it was best to play it safe and not do 
what every fiber in his being was telling him to do.
  Without saying another word, Kuno left the office.
  "It's nice to hear that he's doing all right" Akane said to herself,
truly impressed by the goal he had achieved. Kuno had always been wealthy,
but now he was even wealthier, except this time around, he became wealthy
through his own means, not through his parents.
  Akane smiled to herself, wondering where she might be right now if she
had returned the same feelings Kuno had for her. She wondered if she would
be married to him, living in some fancy neighborhood in some extravagantly
furnished mansion. But the thought didn't make her regret not having
returned those feelings. She had grown up all her life in this home,
practiced in this dojo, and there was no way she was going to leave. It
didn't matter how much money he had. She only considered him a friend.
Besides, she realized, if she stayed with Kuno, she probably wouldn't have
needed help maintaining the dojo, and thus, she would have never have met
Ranma.
  Upon thinking of Ranma, she realized that she left him waiting in her
house. She smiled to herself, glad to have someone like him in her life. Her
stomach growled. Although she had eaten  sandwich, she was still hungry. 
Perhaps she could ask Ranma is they could go out to lunch together. That was 
what she was going to do. She was going to ask Ranma out to lunch.
  She waited a second for her heart rate to slow down before she headed
toward the house, intent on asking Ranma out. 
  It was too bad he wasn't there to greet her.

  Ranma entered the dojo just as class was about to start. All the students 
were on the training mat, going through some exercises when he entered the 
dojo. Akane was at the front of the class, her face lighting up when she 
realized he had returned. As he stepped onto the dojo, he casually walked up 
to some of more skilled students and elicited an attack, all of them easily 
defending themselves from his onslaught.
  "You're improving," Ranma said to one of the students "but next time don't
hold back"
  "Yes, sensei," the student said, bowing toward him, Ranma returning the 
guesture. 
  "Would you like me to teach?" he asked her, his voice the same way as Akane 
remembered it, sensuous.
  "Um, yeah. I'll teach the weaponless half of the session, you can teach the 
other half" she said. She wasn't really in the mood to teach with weapons for 
some reason 
  "Um, where'd you go?" she asked after a short moment of silence, checking 
out the time on a nearby clock, noticing that she had about a minute left 
before the class actually started.
  "I went home for a short time," Ranma said, "I wanted to bring all those 
clothes you bought for the twins home. I would have been back earlier, but I 
also grabbed a bite to eat" He would have been back almost a half hour ago if 
he hadn't ate. But he made himself stop to eat. He didn't want to come
back, only to find Kuno still here, talking to Akane. That would have hurt
him terribly.
  "Oh," Akane hid the disappointment in her voice. She had wanted to ask him
out to lunch a short while ago, but he was gone already when she had entered
the house. She even bothered to go out and look for him, returning home
empty-handed.
  "It looks like it's going to rain again," Ranma commented. He had noticed 
the storm clouds forming. It had been raining just for a little bit earlier, 
but it had stopped. "I'm not too sure if my mom'll be back from her friend's 
house, so is it all right if I bring the twins here? They tend to get scared 
of thunder, and they like it when I'm nearby"
  "Sure," she said, "I'd like that"
  Jessie and Meggie aren't the only ones that like you nearby, Akane thought
to herself. She wondered how he would react if she had the courage to say
that to him. She giggled a bit, hoping he would reply with something like.
'Well, it looks like I better stay close to you'.
  "What's so funny?" Ranma asked with a lazy smile. Akane looked like she
was stealing herself a thought. He wondered what she was thinking about. His
face turned sullen when he realized that she must have been thinking of
Kuno. She must have enjoyed his company, and was remembering some joke they
had shared with each other. Wait, maybe she was giggling because she and
had shared much more than a joke...
  "Nevermind," Ranma said, "I don't want to know" He really wanted to know, 
but if she had said what he was thinking, his heart of glass would have been 
shattered. Besides, it was none of his business. Actually, it was best that he 
stay out of her business since he was still a married man.
  Akane was about to tell him that she was thinking about what she had
thought. Her heart almost shattered when he turned around and headed off the
mat, disappearing into the office.
  Akane felt this sense of sadness envelope her when she started to think
of what he meant by those words. Did he already know that she had an
attraction toward him? Is this his way of subtly letting her know that he
wasn't interested in her feelings? Was he trying to avoid the subject? No. It
can't be like that. They had shared a passionate moment together, a moment
that she would remember forever. Surely, he must have felt the same way.
Didn't he?
  Akane was starting to have doubts. Her mind lingered back to that kiss in
front of the house. What did that kiss mean to him? Did it mean as much as
it did to her? She felt this surge of anger enter her as she guessed that it
didn't mean that much to him since he had kissed Ukyo that way in the
restaurant. Akane's mind was too much in a haze that she wasn't aware that
Ranma had never returned the kiss to Ukyo, but rather stood there as Ukyo
kissed him.
  Sighing, Akane turned to face the class, "Okay everybody, it's time to
begin"

  "What should I do, P-chan?" Akane asked softly as she petted the little
black piglet. She was sitting on a bench in the back of the dojo, her gaze
on Ranma as he showed the class the proper way to wield a bokken.
  The pig just gave a squeak, hoping Akane would never stop petting him in
the way she was right now. He seemed to enjoy the attention. He didn't
really understand what his owner was saying, but humored her by squeaking in
understanding.
  Akane sighed, not really knowing what to do. She was madly in love with
Ranma but was scared that the feelings weren't mutual. It would devastated
her if he told her that he wasn't in love with her. There were so many
doubts. Now that Kuno walked back into her life, it would really complicate
things between her and Ranma. When Ranma had entered the house to tell her
that there was someone waiting for her in the dojo, he didn't look at all
concerned at who that man was. Was it because it didn't matter to him on
what Kuno meant to her?
  The phone rang, causing Akane to start.
  "Hello?" she said as she picked the receiver up.
  "Is this Akane Tendo?" came a male voice. When Akane answered, he continued 
on, "Hi, my name is Mousse. You don't know me, but you met my wife, Shampoo"
  "Yes, I remember her mentioning you," she said, holding the receiver
against her ear and shoulder as she gently put P-chan into the cage, much to
his disappointment "Would you like me to go get Ranma for you?"
  "There's no need for that," he said, content in his voice "I just called to
let you and Ranma know that we managed to apprehend the man who shot Ranma's
friend, Ryoga"
  "You did? That's great! How did you catch him?"
  "Well, I assumed the jealousy ex-boyfriend would pay her a visit at her 
place sometime, so I staked the place out. Lo and behold, he showed up this 
afternoon, and I arrested him. I arrested him about a half hour ago" Mousse 
said, confidently, "He's been arrested on the charges of attempted murder, 
child abuse, and resisting arrest. He'll be put away for a long time"
  "I'm so glad to hear that," Akane said happily, truly glad for Ukyo. Now 
Ukyo wouldn't have to worry about walking the streets and being on the lookout 
for her ex-boyfriend "Ukyo must be thrilled"
  "I haven't told her yet," Mousse said, "I figured you and Ranma would like 
to give her the good news. She would probably rather hear it from you two 
rather than me since she doesn't know me"
  "Okay, I'll go tell Ranma now. Thank you for calling," Akane said "Bye. I'll 
see you at the party" She remembered Ranma mentioning that he had invited him 
and his wife to the party.
  "I'll see you then, Bye"

  "Ranma," Akane said, stepping out of the office just as the last of the
students were leaving the dojo, finished with today's session "I just got a
call from your friend, Mousse. He said he caught the person who shot Ryoga.
He caught him about a half hour ago in front of Ukyo's house"
  "Really?" Ranma said, his face showing that of joy, "That's great!!! Ukyo 
and Ryoga must really be happy about it"
  "He didn't tell them yet," Akane said, "He wanted you to tell them"
  "How come?" Ranma asked, a bit confused. If he knew Mousse correctly, he
figured his friend would have told them. He didn't really dwell on that for
a while for his mind immediately went to that of realizing that it would
bring so much relief to Ryoga and Ukyo, Ukyo especially "Well, that doesn't
really matter now. All that matters is letting Ukyo and Ryoga know that he
was finally caught"
  "You want to call the hospital now?" Akane asked. She was hoping he
wouldn't. She wouldn't mind going with him there so they could tell them
personally. She wanted to see how happy the two of them looked when they
heard the good news.
  "Nah," Ranma said as he looked at a nearby clock "I have to go there now
anyway since the girls are getting out of school in about an half hour. I'm
supposed to escort Ukyo to the school so she can pick up Miki. Since your
next class won't start for an hour, and if you're not busy, perhaps we can
both go there now and pick the girls up on the way back"
  "Is that why you asked me earlier if you could bring them by?" Akane
asked, a smile on her lips, catching onto Ranma's plan "Because you were
expecting to pick them up on the way back, and you knew I would say yes"
  "No, it's not like that," Ranma said, "The girls want to spend some time 
with you. They really like you"
  "Really?"
  "Yeah. They told me this morning when they woke up," he said, "They asked me 
to ask you if they could come by. They seem to be very fond of you" They're 
almost as fond of you as I am, he thought to himself, never daring to say 
those words. He remembered what Kuno had said earlier, that he and Akane had
done more than attend high school together. He knew what Kuno had been getting 
at. He and Akane used to date each other back them. But were they dating now? 
His sense of honor told him it was best to play it safe and assume they were 
still seeing each other.
  "Oh," she said, hiding the disappointment. She had hoped that Ranma was the
one whom wanted her to spend time with them, not the girls wanting to spend
time with her. She was, in a way, hoping that he would use his girls to get
closer to her, because he wanted to be with her. But it turned out, the
girls wanted to spend time with her, not Ranma wanting them to.
  Ranma wanted to tell her that he wanted her to spend sometime with his
children because he was hoping she would fall in love with them, and
hopefully, fall in love with him. But now that he realized that she was
probably dating Kuno, it was best for him to keep his distance.
  "Well, would you come with me to the hospital?" Ranma asked. She had never
told him yes or no. Their conversation have veered off.
  "I better not," Akane declined. There was no real reason for her to go with 
him, aside from her attraction to him. Ukyo and Ryoga were his friends, not 
hers. She wanted to go with him more than anything, but she had to stay away 
from him. She didn't want to get hurt. Only his children liked her, not him. 
But what about the time they both kissed in the bathroom and in front of her 
house? 
  It would have probably had happened to anyone in the heat of the moment. 
Since last night, he never made another pass at her. He had never attempted to 
kiss her again. What was holding him back? Did it mean anything to him? In a 
way, he had started to distance himself from her. She could tell. They never 
indulged in those lively conversations they used to have.  
  "Oh," Ranma said. He figured it was for the better. She probably wanted to
spend some more time with Kuno. He wanted to tell her to leave Kuno, so that
he, himself, could be with her. But he wasn't that kind of man. Ranma
clenched his jaw as he turned his back toward her, not wanting her to see
the disappointment in his eyes "I better get going now"
  He leaned forward instinctively to give her a kiss, only to realize what he
was about to do, causing him to pull back. He had lost control twice
already, and he wasn't about to lose it again. He couldn't kiss her. He was
a married man, and he had made vows. He couldn't break those vows.
  Akane's heart leaped when she noticed he had leaned forward to kiss her.
She wanted him to kiss her again, but wasn't too sure he would attempt to do
so. She closed her eyes, holding her breath, waiting, yearning for his lips.
  Except this time, she was never kissed. She opened her eyes to see Ranma
staring at her, this sadness in his eyes. It looked like he was about to say
something, but his words were dying before they left his lips. When he
managed to say something, all he said was
  "I'll be back later,"
  With that said, Ranma left. He wanted to stay, but he had to get away from
her as soon as possible. He had almost lost control again and kissed her.
And he couldn't do that. He had wanted to tell her that he couldn't, that he 
was still married, that he had made vows, but he was too scared to tell her. 
Kuno had popped into his mind at the last second, just as he was about to tell 
her. And telling her that he would b3e back later was all he could muster at 
the moment.
  Akane felt this burden on her heart as she watched him leave. Although she
knew he would be back in a short time, it looked like he was leaving her
forever. She wanted to tell him to stay, but she couldn't. She was scared of
making a fool of herself. His children were the ones who wanted to be with
her. She wondered what she had done wrong. Was the attraction only
one-sided? Was she the only one attracted to him? 
  She walked into her office, gazing out the window at Ranma as he
disappeared around the corner. 

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