Chapter 6

     "Mr. Saotome," came a voice, a very female voice, which caused Ranma to
start, "do you have a minute?"
  Ranma was standing outside by the main entrance when he was tapped on the
shoulder. He turned around to face an elderly yet very attractive lady.
  It was the principal of his daughters' school.
  "Oh, sure" he said, "Is there somethin' the matter?"
  "Yes, it concerns your two daughters." she said matter-of-factly.
  Ranma's visage turned solemn. Did something happen to his daughters? Are
they all right? A plethora of thoughts raced through his mind.
  "Your two daughters seem to be having trouble in class," the principal
added before Ranma had a chance to say anything "They're becoming a bit
unruly in the classrooms"
  "Unruly? How're they unruly?" Ranma asked dubiously. He would have never
have suspected his two daughters to be unruly. He always suspected his two
daughters acted like little angels, always kind and well-behaved. But then 
again, they might act differently when they were around their Daddy. That 
might explain it.
  "Mr. Saotome, I don't know how to put this gently, bit I best say this
now before it gets worse," she said, "Your daughters should have a motherly
figure in their lives. I know it's hard for you to find to find someone,
what with you having to take care of them both and all, but you have to take
it into consideration that them not having a motherly figure in their lives
for so many years will be bad for them. They need some female contact more
often in their lives. And once that happens, they will turn out for the
better"
  "Uh, thanks for telling me that," Ranma said cordially "I'll definitely
take that into consideration. I appreciate you having told me now before it
was too late"
  "Daddy!" came a bundle of energy as it lumped onto one of Ranma's legs as
another bundle of energy lumped onto his other leg "We're so glad you're
here"
  Ranma gave the principal a weak smile as he and his two daughters headed
for their grandmother's home, Nodoka's home, which was nearby.

  "Oh drats!" Akane said, regarding the broken bokken "Now I have to go out
and buy a new one"
  Akane had accidentally broken her bokken. She was sparring with one of her
higher-ranking students with bokkens when her bokken had broken. It was a
sad sight, what with the force needed to actually break one of them.
  "Is there a martial arts equipment store nearby?" Akane asked one of
her students, the student she had been sparring against.
  "Yes, sensei. There's one in the mall," the student said.
  "Hmm, I might as well go out and buy a whole new set of bokken," Akane
said as she checked out the integrity of her opponents bokken. It was about
time also. Those bokkens were very old, bought by Soun when he was alive and
in his prime many many years ago, before any of his daughters were born.
Albeit the dojo had plenty of spare bokken, Akane wasn't satisfied with
having old ones. She didn't like the fact that the bokkens were older than
her.
  I'll go buy them tomorrow, she thought to herself. I'll buy them early in
the morning. Maybe I can even ask Ranma to accompany me.
  Akane smiled as she handed her student a bokken and grabbed hold of
another spare bokken off of the shelf.
  "Let's continue," she said, bringing her weapon in front of herself, a smile
on her lips.

  It was nice and cool out that night, the sun having set several hours ago.
The streets were quiet and serene, most of Nerima's residents having gone
home already to spend time with their families. The moon was already
gleaming brightly, its shedding light far brighter than the streetlights
that lined the quiet streets.
  The day was finally over. Albeit it was Ranma's first day, it was indeed a
hard day. When he worked as a sensei many years ago, he never worked as
hard teaching his students. It wasn't that the students needed to be taught,
but they wanted to be taught techniques levels beyond what they were
supposed to be executing. Akane's students were so much more zealous of
learning the art than in the school he worked for, which Ranma found very
appealing about working there. He always loved teaching the arts and was
glad to have students as zealous at learning them as Akane's students.
  "Your students really enjoy learning," Ranma commented as he continued
sweeping the mat with a broom. In traditional dojos, the students were
expected to sweep the mats at the end of every teaching session. But this
wasn't a traditional dojo. Akane made it clear that she didn't want any of
the students to sweep the mats simply because she enjoyed doing so. She
like the sense of responsibility of keeping the dojo in proper order. She
had once let the students sweep for her, but they ended up making more of a
mess than there was to begin with.
  "They're your students also," Akane corrected, a smile on her lips "They
really like having you teach them"
  Ranma smiled, saying nothing. He liked being considered a sensei again.
That was where his heart was, had always been, teaching students the arts.
  Akane was also sweeping the mat clean, but was on the other side of the
dojo. As Ranma continued to clean, Akane couldn't help but take some quick
glances towards his direction. Every here and there, when Akane wasn't
looking, Ranma took glance at her also. But their gaze never met. Ranma was
too protective of his daughters to let his defenses down. He knew that was
what led to him going out with someone, only to have them leave when they
realize he had two daughters. But Akane already knew he had two daughters.
Even if that was so, he still didn't let his defenses down. He didn't care
about himself getting hurt, it was his daughters being hurt that always got
to him. 
  "Ranma," Akane said after a few moments of silence. The silence was
unnerving to her. Also, the thought that she was in the same room with a guy
she found extremely attractive and not doing anything about it helped
unnerve her even more. Akane was used to men coming to her and asking for
her attention, not the other way around. She wanted him to notice her. 
Although he acknowledged her being there, he never pressed anything further 
than that.
  "Yes, Akane," he answer, continuing on with his sweeping, purposely not
trying to pay attention to her. He couldn't fall for her because if he did,
and she left, his daughters would go through the same anguish of believing
it was their fault.
  "Um, I was wondering-" she said.
  "Akane, why is there a bokken in the trash can?" Ranma interrupted. He was
finished with sweeping and was about to empty out the garbage can when he
noticed the broken bokken.
  "Oh, that. It broke earlier today when you were out picking up your two
children" she answered. She felt a bit more relaxed now, now that they were
on the subject of the broken bokken. She wanted to ask Ranma if he wanted
to go to the mall with her to go buy a new set of bokkens, what with the
others being so old and all.
  "Maybe I should go out and buy some," Ranma said, regarding the broken
stick carefully, noticing the antiquity of it "I know this martial arts
equipment store in the mall. I can pick some up for you if you'd like,"
  "How about we both go?" Akane suggested quickly.
  "Uh...sure, if you'd like," Ranma said, a bit nervous. He knew where this
was headed, and he didn't want it. He didn't want to get close to anyone
anymore for the sake of his children. But he then recalled what the
principal told him 'Your daughters should have a motherly figure in their
lives'.
  At that thought, Ranma lowered his defenses.
  "I'd like that," he added, a bit more calm now. He couldn't think of anyone
better to spend the morning with other than Akane. She had been the first
woman he'd actually spent time in a long, long time "When should we leave 
tomorrow morning?"
  "We could leave right after you drop off your two daughters" she said
"That'll be the best time because my first class don't start for about an
hour"
  "Fine, I'll be hear once I drop my kids off" Ranma said, smiling warmly,
which seemed to make Akane's heart beat faster.
  "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."



Chapter 7

     As Ranma stood in front of Akane's front gate, about to knock, he
looked up towards the sky, noticing how beautiful and clear that morning
was. The sun shone brightly, its warm light felt and soothing. The vast blue
ocean of the sky above was clear of clouds. But in the far off distant
horizon, there were some dark clouds forming.
  "Hm, it looks like it's gonna rain," Ranma said to himself, noticing that
the dark clouds in the distant horizon wouldn't be there for at least
several hours, plenty of time for him and Akane to go to the mall and buy
some equipment. And while he was at it, he wanted to buy some things for
his daughters.
  He looked at his watch and realized that he was a bit late, but that was
perfectly understandable, what with him being kept busy up this morning
trying to get his daughters to school.
  This wasn't like him, being late. He was always prompt and on-time.
  Sighing, Ranma knocked on the gate. He didn't really want to be there. He
wanted to be away from women, but he couldn't. He knew that he should have
it where his daughters were in contact with a motherly figure.
  Ranma's reluctance disappeared once he got a view of Akane as she emerged
from the door. She was dressed in a yellow dress that hugged her body
tightly, accentuating her curves. The dress extended down to her ankles, the
hem gently fluttering in the mild autumn wind. She was wearing a yellow
wide-brimmed hat, topped off with a red ribbon. Ranma had never seen her
dressed in that kind of outfit outside her jogging clothes and her martial
arts dogi.
  She looked beautiful.

  "Can we stop here first?" Ranma said, quickly heading off towards a
clothing store. Akane watched as Ranma sidestepped and dodged the people
walking to and fro in the mall, heading straight for the store. She noticed
his moves were fluid and graceful, as if he were accustomed to do this. The
mall was crowed that day, its walkways and pathways replete with people
walking back and forth. Akane quickly followed suit, taking a little more
time than it did Ranma to reach the store.
  "Why're we here?" Akane asked, noticing that Ranma was inside a clothing
store dedicated to the female gender where panties and stocking outlined the
back of the store with dresses and skirts outlining the front. Lingerie that
no man should see unless in private was hung on shelves at the side of the
store, extending all the way to the back. 
  Akane's cheeks flushed a crimson hue when she noticed exactly how 
transparent and skimpy some of the lingerie were.
  Her gaze went from the outfits, and onto Ranma, who was walking past all the 
lingerie towards the back of the store. She noticed he didn't pay any 
attention to the clothing that surrounding him. She quickly rushed ahead, 
dodging the other women that was staring at the cute guy who entered the 
store.
  "Ranma, why're we in here?" Akane asked against once she caught up to him.
  "I hafta buy some panties," he said, his gaze on the shelves of underwear
that outlined the rear wall of the store. He wasn't paying too much attention
to Akane, his attention on finding the right set of panties to get.
  "Panties, why do you have to buy panties?" Akane asked, a bit shocked at
Ranma's answer. What shocked her even more was Ranma looked like he knew
what he was looking for. When she noticed that, she automatically figured
him for a pervert who enjoys collecting panties.
  Ranma didn't reply, too caught up finding what he wanted. Instead, he
began searching through the shelves, which seemed to embarrass Akane more
than it did him.
  "Is there something I could help you with.....sir?" a saleslady came by
and asked, a bit surprised she was addressing a male rather than a female
that would usually come in. She was a young lady, about the same age as
Ranma, if not a bit older. Akane noticed the saleslady giving Ranma a good
look over, admiring his physique and build.
  "Uh, yes. I'm lookin' for some panties," Ranma said, still shuffling
through packages of panties, one right after another. He wasn't even aware
that the saleslady was regarding him more that she was supposed to. Akane
noticed it though. But she said nothing, biting her lip. She had no right
to get angry at someone who was regarding someone that she wasn't seeing,
even though she wished she were seeing him.
  "I'm looking for panties for my two daughters," he added, much to the
relief of Akane. Why didn't she think of that in the first place? She
actually starting to believe he was a hentai. His daughters were nowhere in
mind at the time.
  "Is there a certain kind you're looking for, sir?" the saleslady asked.
  "Yes, I need them with the days of the week on them," he replied "They're
for two seven-year-olds"
  "Yes, we have what you're looking for," she said, pointing towards a shelf
adjacent to the one Ranma was searching through "They're over here"
  "Thank you," Ranma said, beginning to search through the shelf, producing
several packages of underwear, each having a different day sewn into the
material. He grabbed two packages of panties per day, one for Meggie, the
other for Jessie.
  "Ranma, each package has three pairs of underwear in them," Akane said,
calculating the amount he was actually buying "That's means you're buying
forty-two pairs of underwear"
  "You don't think that's enough?" he asked, about to grab another handful
of underwear.
  "Of course it's enough," she replied "Why do you need so many?"
  "Wednesday panties," he said, carrying a whole armful of panties towards
the front of the store, where the cash register was located.
  "Huh?" Akane followed Ranma to the front.
  "That's why I was late this morning," Ranma said "Jessie likes to wear
panties that was in accordance with the day. But I couldn't find and of
her panties with Wednesday sewn into them"
  "So, what didja do then?" she asked, a bit curious.
  "What else could I do? I told her to wear two pairs of panties," he
replied, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet "I told her to
wear underwear with a Tuesday and a Thursday sewn into it. That way, it
evened out to Wednesday. I'm buying all of these so I'll never be short of
underwear for any day of the week"
  Akane couldn't help but giggle inwardly. How did he come up with something
like that? It was pure genius. 
  "That's a lot of underwear," the cashier commented, the same lady who
helped out before. She looked at Akane a bit enviously "Are they for you
and your husband's children?"
  Akane realized that the cashier wasn't speaking to Ranma but to herself.
When she heard that, she actually imagined she did have daughters of her
own. She imagined having Ranma as a husband. The thought brought a small
smile to her lips, for she actually believed it for a second.
  "Yes, they are," Ranma said, not paying too much attention. He didn't
exactly hear what the cashier had said. He thought she was talking to him
and his daughters, not him and Akane's daughters.
  The cashier's face frowned, she realizing that he was taken. She was
hoping Ranma wasn't married. 
  Akane couldn't believe what she had heard. She just looked at Ranma, 
wondering if he realized what he had just said. He had indicated that the two 
of them were married and had daughters with three simple words 'Yes, they 
are'.
  "You're one lucky woman," the cashier whispered in low tones to Akane,
which caused her to snap out of her little yet pleasant reverie. Almost
immediately, Akane realized that Ranma was almost halfway out the store,
a bag full of panties in his hand. She was about to quickly follow suit until
the lady continued on.
  "He's quite a catch, right?" she added, once Ranma was out of the store, out 
of earshot.
  Akane didn't say anything as she looked at the lady, noticing the envious
look she was giving her. The lady's eyes looked starry, as if she had seen
someone she knew she was going to fall in love with. But the lady snapped to
when she realized she couldn't have him. Afterall, he was married.
  Akane gave a small smile, deciding to let the charade go a little bit
further "Yes, he is. He is quite a catch"
  With that said, Akane turned around and left the store, leaving behind an
envious lady to wonder about how passionate the nights were between the
couple.

  "Did you know that guy?" Ranma asked, readjusting the crateload of bokkens
that he was carrying. He must have been carrying several dozen bokkens.
  "Yeah, he and I went to the same high school," Akane answered, a bit
crestfallen. She seemed a bit embarrassed. She was talking about owner of
the martial arts equipment store, Tatewaki Kuno. She knew Kuno had become
successful, what with him putting up several chains of stores all over
Japan, but she wasn't expecting to see him working in that particular store
on that particular day.
  "He seems like a nice guy," Ranma commented.
  Akane gave Ranma a weird look, not believing what she had heard. Wasn't he
aware that Kuno was giving him dirty stares when his back was turned. Kuno's
eyes never left Ranma when he and Akane both entered the store.
  "We better head on back now," Ranma said, carrying the heavy crate full of
bokkens as if it was light as a feather. Akane noticed this. She realized
Ranma was a lot stronger than she gave him credit for. She expected him to
lose the martial arts edge, what with him raising two children and all. 
  She watched as Ranma jogged down the walkway toward the mall's exit, weaving 
in and out of the passing people. One thing she did notice was that all the
females stopped to see who the cute guy was who passed them, their boyfriends 
getting angry at the distraction.
  "Akane," Ranma called out, "Come on. What're you waiting for?"
  Ranma was carrying the bokken, carrying his bag full of panties, and was
holding the door for her.
  Akane smiled as she followed suit.



Chapter 8

     Rain gently fell from the sky. The droplets could be heard as it hit
the rooftop of the dojo. The moon was high in sky, already beginning its
descend. The distant horizon of the star-clad night looked splendid. The
mountains could be seen in the far off distance, their peaks reaching up and
beyond the clouds.
  Akane was looking out the second story window of her home, staring off into 
the distance, admiring the beautiful scenery. It was early in the morning,
around two. She was looking out the window of her bedroom, her elbows
propped up against the windowsill. She couldn't sleep, her mind filled with
what she had heard earlier in the day.
  "That's a lot of underwear," Akane recalled the cashier commenting "Are
they for you and your husband's children?"
  "Yes, they are," came Ranma's answer as it echoed in her mind.
  Akane imagined how life would be if she was indeed married to Ranma. She
pictured how life would having him for a husband. She smiled to herself,
knowing that she would be happy. And what about his daughters? She would
like to get to know them, but Ranma seemed a bit overprotective of them.
When she had asked Ranma to bring them to the dojo the other day, he had
declined. He seemed a bit nervous to her when he declined, as if he was
intentionally lying to her.
  Akane's visage turned sullen when she thought of the why Ranma lied to her.
She figured he didn't want himself or his daughter to have anything to do
with her. That was the best reason she could come up with.
  If he doesn't want anything to do with me, she thought, then I'll leave
him and his two daughters alone.
  Akane wiped a forming tear from her eyes. Ranma was the first guy she
actually had some feeling towards, and it was for the wrong guy, a guy who 
wants nothing to do with her. Wiping her eyes one more time, Akane slipped 
under her bedsheets and silently went herself to sleep.

  Ranma silently entered his daughters' bedroom to check up on them. The
room was dimly lit by the moonlight that entered in through the window. It
was a messy room, clothes strewn about everywhere. Ranma smiled, realizing
that he can't even see the color of the carpet on the floor.
  I have to teach them to be neater, he thought to himself.
  His gaze turned from the clothes-scattered floor and onto his sleeping
daughters. The two of them were sleeping peacefully in their own beds.
Jessie's bed was nearest to the window, the moonlight shining on her angelic
face. Jessie, the more outgoing of the two daughters, was sleeping soundly,
dreaming wondrous dreams. Her bedcovers were only partially covering her,
she tending to twist and turn in her sleep.
  Ranma gently readjusted the sheets to cover her all the way up to her
neck. He didn't want his precious daughters to catch a cold. Once he was
satisfied that Jessie tucked in comfortably, he gave her a gentle kiss on
her forehead. Afterwards, Ranma's gaze turned onto Meggie, the older,
quieter of the twins, was neatly under her own covers. She always slept
without twisting or turning. He smiled as he, too, gently kissed Meggie on
her forehead.
  Ranma then sat down in a chair that was in the corner of the room, his
thoughts on his daughters. He leaned back in the chair, relaxing as he got
comfortable. Although his bedroom was adjacent to his daughters' bedroom, he
wanted to always be near his daughters. Now that he couldn't sleep, he might
as well watch his daughters sleep.
  Thoughts of Akane was what kept him awake that night. He was contemplating
on whether or not he should get with Akane. He wanted to be with her, but
was scared that she might leave him like all the other women in his life.
He wanted to get to know Akane better, but couldn't out of fear. He was
scared that Akane wouldn't be able to handle his children, scared that she
wasn't cut out to raise twins. But his twins should have a motherly figure
in their lives. What could he do? He was plagued with doubt. He was unsure
that Akane was good with children. He only knew one person who was, aside
from his mother, Nodoka. It was Ukyo Kuonji.
  Ukyo was a childhood friend of his, a very good friend. She was always
there for him, just like he was for her. But that wasn't as far as it went.
They had become more than friends, and that, he felt, jeopardized it.
  Sighing quietly, Ranma leaned back in his chair, waiting for sleep to
bestow him.

  The grass was moist with dew the next morning, the sun glistening against
the moisture. The streets were slightly damp from last night's rain, the
reflected light almost glaring. The air was cool that morning, even a mild
gust of wind able to produce chilling effects.
  Akane looked up towards the sky, finally finished with her morning jog.
Her breathing was heavy, she having jogged more than twice the normal
distance to clear her mind, to clear her mind of Ranma. But no matter how hard
she tried, she couldn't get him out of her mind.
  "G'morning, Akane" came a soft voice, which caused her to start.
Akane thought she was alone. She turned around, knowing who that sensuous
voice belonged to.
  "Morning, Ranma" she replied, smiling weakly. Ranma looked so gorgeous. His 
hair was matted to his forehead, he having jogged also earlier when he was 
bringing his two daughters to school.
  "You're a bit early," Akane added, looking at her watch, noticing that he
was about a hour before class started "Would you like to come in?"
  "Actually," he said, taking a deep breath, "I was wondering if you would
like to go out for some breakfast with me" He topped off his little
statement with a warm smile that Akane couldn't refuse. His smile made Akane
feel special.
  Akane looked at Ranma in bewilderment, wondering where that came from. She
wasn't expecting him to ask her out to breakfast. Actually, she was
expecting him to refuse her proposal. 
  "Uh, sure" she said, noticing the eagerness in her voice. When she did, she 
took a second to take in a deep breath.
  "Um, I guess I could," she added, a little bit more clam "Where would we
go?"
  "How about this nice restaurant down the block, Pour Deux?" he suggested.
  Akane smiled inwardly, realizing the meaning of the words for that
restaurant. It meant 'For two' in French. She looked up at Ranma, wondering
if he really knew the meaning. She looked at him curiously "Ranma, do you
know what 'pour deux' means?"
  "No, I thought it was just a name," he replied 
  "Nevermind," she replied, a little crestfallen. She was hoping he knew what
those words meant. She was hoping he viewed them both as a couple.
  "So how about it, Akane? Are you up to a little breakfast?" he asked
sweetly, not noticing how glum Akane looked. But when his gaze went to her,
she looked happy. She was actually glad to eat out for a change, even if it
wasn't as a couple. She was happy to be spending time with Ranma.
  "Yeah, let's go"
        
  "Ranma, is that really you?" came a voice from behind Akane.
  Akane and Ranma were both eating at their table, Akane sitting across from
Ranma. They were both sitting at one of the tables located near the center
of the busy room. They had been eating for about ten minutes until they were
both interrupted.
  Akane looked at Ranma for a second, noticing his eyes widening, and then
she turned around to face the person who interrupted their little
conversation. Ranma and Akane were both in a conversation about how
beautiful Nerima was.
  Akane's gaze rested on a beautiful woman with long, flowing mane of
chocolate brown hair. She was about the same height as Akane. Her bangs
partially covered over her gorgeous brown eyes. Her mane of hair flowed down
her back, all the way to her slim waist. She was a very beautiful woman.
  "Ukyo?" Ranma asked, practically ignoring Akane. He hadn't seen her for
several years. Ukyo had moved away many years ago. 
  "Ranchan," Ukyo said, stealthily making her way to Ranma's side.
  Ranma got out of his seat and embraced Ukyo tightly, lifting her slightly
off the floor. Akane watched as all of this happen, a growing sensation
in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't liking what she was seeing.
  "Akane, this is Ukyo...Ukyo Kuonji," Ranma introduced her "She's my best
friend since my childhood"
  "We were more than just friends, Ranchan," Ukyo said with a mischievous
grin, which made Ranma blush beet red.
  "Ukyo, I want you to meet Akane Tendo," he said with the same warm smile
he gave Akane earlier "I'm working for her as a sensei"
  "Nice to meetcha," Ukyo said, bowing respectfully. Akane reluctantly did
the same, not even bowing as low as Ukyo bowed.
  "Um, so how do you two know each other?" Akane asked, getting back into
her seat.
  Before Ranma had a chance to speak out, Ukyo interrupted "We were lovers,"
  Ranma cringed at Ukyo's reply, knowing that it was true, but not really
wanting Akane to know "until Ranchan figured it was best that we both went
our separate ways. This was before he was married of course"
  Ukyo had a starry look in her eyes. She remembered the two of them going
separate their ways. But she had always figured they were meant for each
other and that they would eventually cross paths sometime in the future. And
now that she and Ranma met once again, she figured it must have been fate.
She always thought that she and Ranma were right together.
  "I can't believe we're together again. I always figured we would meet
again," Ukyo said, embracing Ranma again, giving him a passionate kiss on his
lips, much to Akane's displeasure and disappointment.
  "Ukyo," Ranma said, gently breaking out of Ukyo's embrace, blushing
horribly. Ukyo must have been the first girl to have kissed him in years.
The taste of Ukyo's lips on his made him a bit disoriented, made him think
back to the times they were together, both passionately in love. But he
quickly snapped back to reality when he realized Akane was watching "Ukyo,
you have to stop, this isn't right"
  Ukyo looked at Ranma curiously. She didn't find anything wrong with
kissing Ranma "What's wrong with what I'm doin'?"
  "Um, because Akane's here," Ranma said, saying the first thing that came
to mind, even if it meant absolutely nothing.
  "Don't stop on my account," Akane said, a little bit angry. She wasn't even
aware of what she was saying. She, too, said the first thing that came into
mind, her pride doing the talking to save face "It's not like the two of us
are seeing each other anyway. He's just working for me"
  Those words struck Ranma horribly, practically shattering his heart. He was 
hoping Akane viewed him as something more than an employee. His morning had 
been ruined by those few words Akane said, her words having more of an effect 
on him than she had realized.
  "Ranchan, you okay?" Ukyo asked, noticing Ranma's crestfallen visage "You
don't look too well"
  "Yeah, I'm okay," Ranma quickly recovered, taking in a deep breath and
sighing out load. Akane never noticed how crestfallen he looked, for Ukyo
was blocking her view of him. If she had seen his visage change when she
said those few words, she would have realized that Ranma actually had some
feelings for her, for if he didn't, those words wouldn't have had such a
profound impact.
  "Is it all right if I stay?" Ukyo asked, turning her attention to Akane.
  Akane shrugged her shoulders, trying the best to hide her discontent, "Sure, 
if you'd like"

  Ranma looked over towards Ukyo, who was tightly glomped onto his arm. Her
head was resting against his shoulder and her arms were wrapped around his
right arm. She looked like she was staring at something a million miles
away, for she was happy to have met Ranma again after so many years. His
gaze went from Ukyo, and onto Akane. Akane was a few steps ahead of them,
her hands clenched into fists. She was obviously angry, but Ranma was
unaware of it. Although figuring Akane was trying to avoid him, he was
thinking she was avoiding him for the wrong reason. He thought she avoided
him because she wanted to leave him and Ukyo alone, not because she was
angry at him.
  "Ranchan, guess what?" Ukyo said, looking up into his eyes.
  "What?" he asked, not too fond of guessing games, and Ukyo knew that.
  "I'm moving here, to Nerima," she stated "I'm thinkin' of opening a 
restaurant here"
  She had waited a moment before she told him the second part, so he had a
chance to take everything in. It took him a few moments before he realized
what she was saying.
  "Why're you moving here?" he asked. Deep in his heart he wanted Ukyo to
move to Nerima, but didn't want her to move there for the wrong reason, him.
  "Because I want to be close to you," she replied, much to Ranma's 
discomfort. That was what he didn't want to hear.
  "Ukyo, look, we can't do this," he said, sadly. He didn't want to hurt her
feelings, but knew that hurting her now was a lot less painful than hurting
her later on "We're no longer seeing each other"
  "I know, but I want to be close to you anyway," she replied, squeezing her
grip over his arm for more emphasis. She knew that she could never have
Ranma, she knew because she wasn't the one who ended up marrying him a few
years later, but she just wanted to be near him anyway.
  Ranma sighed. He couldn't have this happen. He couldn't have Ukyo move to
Nerima all because of him. It would be all on his conscience if she didn't
like being there. But there was nothing he could do, she was a grown woman
and he couldn't just tell her not to move there.
  Sighing again, Ranma spoke, "Ukyo, if it really makes you happy, then I
hope you'll like Nerima"
  Ukyo's face lit up. She was so happy that Ranma was happy for her. She
passionately embraced Ranma with all her might, practically squeezing all
the air put of his lungs. As Ukyo held him, Akane happened to have turned
around to ask Ranma a question, she getting quite an eyeful of what was
transpiring.
  She was about to yell at him for being the way he was but realized she
had no control over him. It wasn't like she was his girlfriend or anything.
Akane sighed, her words dying before they left her lips. She was losing him,
and she never even had him.
  "Ranchan, I have to get goin' now, but maybe you and I can get together
sometime in the future" Ukyo said, smiling mischievously, "Well, how 'bout
it? I have my own apartment"
  "Ukyo, I can't" Ranma said, "I would've said yes several years back, but I
won't anymore. I have two daughters to worry about"
  "Oh, how are Meggie and Jessie doin'?" Ukyo asked "I haven't seen them in
years"
  "They're fine," Ranma said, glad the subject was now off of him, even if it
was diverted to his two daughters. 
  "Well, I best be goin' now. Tell Meggie and Jessie I said 'hi'" she said,
heading off in the opposite direction "Bye Akane. It's been nice meeting
you"
  Akane gave Ukyo a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. She watched as Ukyo
rounded the corner and disappeared. Her gaze then turned onto Ranma, who was
innocently looking in another direction. After a short while, Ranma's gaze
fell on hers, both of their eyes fixed on each other.
  "Akane, I hope you're not mad," Ranma said, his voice soft, almost meek.
  "Why would I be mad?" Akane responded, a bitter chill in her voice.
Obviously, she was unaware that she was more angry than she assumed. It
wasn't Ranma that she was mad at, but herself. She was angry at herself, but
didn't exactly know why. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't have Ranma.
  Ranma could almost feel the coldness from her voice. He cringed as those
words enveloped him. He knew that Akane was mad, and that she was trying to
conceal it. He looked away, not wanting to look into Akane's beautiful eyes.
  He wanted to tell her that Ukyo was only a friend, and that nothing would
ever happen, but he couldn't. He still had feelings for Ukyo, stronger
feelings that that of a friendship. But that was all in the past now.
  Taking a deep breath, Ranma spoke, "She's only a friend, Akane"
  "Heh, she seems much more than a friend," Akane spat, not even aware that
she was speaking with the pain in her heart. She hid herself behind her
cold words, for that was the only thing she knew how to do. By the time she
realized what she had just said, she was regretful for having said it. She
wanted to take those words back when she saw the hurt in Ranma's eyes.
  As she stared into those lonesome eyes of his, Akane wanted to take those
words back so bad that she was about to, but her words failed her. She
wanted to tell him that she didn't mean what she said. She didn't want to
hurt him. Ranma had only been in her life for a few days, and she could
already picture spending the rest of her life with him.
  I can't have him, Akane thought to herself. He has Ukyo. His life is
probably frustrating enough, what with him having to take care of two little
girls. Now Ukyo walks into his life. There's no way he could make room for
me.
  This'll never work, Ranma thought to himself. Akane doesn't want me. I
betcha she thinks I'm some kinda womanizer, what with Ukyo showing up outta
nowhere. Why would she ever want to be with a womanizer?
  Ranma's gaze fell on Akane, just as she turned her gaze from him. He was
unaware that Akane wanted to be with him, just as she was unaware that he
her.
  "We better head on back" Akane said after a few moments, still not
bothering to look Ranma in his eyes. She felt ashamed of what she said about
him and Ukyo being more than friends. She wished she was Ukyo, wished she
was the one who kissed Ranma, wished she was to one who tasted his salty
lips on hers. But she knew that would never happen. Why would he want her
when he had a woman like Ukyo?
  "Hai" he concurred, noticing that Akane's gaze was anywhere but on him.
His shoulders slumped when he assumed that she didn't want anything to do
with him aside from work. He yearned to reach out and grab hold of her, to
bring her close to him, to tell her that he wanted to be with her. But he
couldn't. Akane wouldn't even look at him, let alone spend her life with
him.



Chapter 9

     Ranma watched Akane as she gracefully when through her kata forms, the
flow of her attire moving as smoothly as that of a gentle river. Her
movements were very feminine yet very powerful, and they were perfectly
in synch with the traditionally forms that her late father had taught her,
every step perfect, exact and precise. As Ranma watched her, he felt a warm
feeling in his heart. It was as if Akane was doing the movements for no one
but him, which wasn't the case for the room was filled with students, all of
them watching Akane attentively.
  As he continued to watch her, he noticed Akane taking a glance towards
him. He slightly blushed, grateful that he was too far away for her to
notice. He watched her for several pleasure filled moments before he had to
turn his eyes from her. He knew that if he continued to watch her, he would
have gotten up from his seiza position and grabbed hold of her, kissing
her like there was no tomorrow. Obviously, this wouldn't go well with most
of the male students in the class.
  Ranma's gaze went around the room. He noticed that several of the students
watched her more attentively than some of the other students. Obviously,
these students must have a crush on her. That was perfectly reasonable. A
student having a crush on a sensei in a dojo was the same as a student
having a crush on a teacher in a school. It was the forbidden fruit that
create such attractions. Knowing that you can't have that person only makes
you want them more. That was how Ranma felt. He wanted Akane so bad. He
wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to show her his feelings for her, to be her
lover. He wanted to be all of that and more. But there was a little voice
inside of him that said it wasn't right, saying that he should never get
involved with his boss.
  As she continued through her kata forms, Akane stole a glance towards
Ranma. Upon seeing him, her heart nearly skipped a beat when she saw him
looking directly at her. She could see a slight hue of red forming on his
cheeks, as if he were blushing. Aside from his blushing, she noticed his
eyes filled with this passionate fire that she had never seen before, as if
he longed for her. That was how she felt. She too longed for him. She wanted
to be close to him, to cuddle with him, to taste his lips on hers, and maybe
even....
  What was she thinking about? How could she even conceive such thoughts?
  But her thoughts didn't seem so uncivilized when she remembered the fire
in Ranma's eyes a second ago. Maybe she too wasn't the only one thinking of
those thoughts. But when she looked towards Ranma again, he was no longer
regarding her, but was rather looking around the room, his attention on the
students rather than her. That felt like a knife through her heart, like
she wasn't even worthy of his attention. She noticed that Ranma was
regarding most of the male students, as if he cared more for the males
rather than the females.
  Sighing to herself, Akane continued on with her kata forms, her attention
now on the picture of her father hanging on the wall. If Ranma felt she was
worth his attention, then she wasn't going to give him her attention either.
  Ranma lifted his gaze from the students, a small smile on his lips. He
knew exactly why those male students were so attracted to the lovely Akane.
They saw her the same way he saw her, beautiful, strong-willed, graceful, 
caring, and most of all, the real reason why men were fond of her kind, 
unattainable. She was the kind of person wanted to have but couldn't, as if
they were reaching for the stars.
  Ranma's smile vanished when he looked towards Akane again. She was no
longer paying attention to him. He noticed that she was now looking at a
picture on the wall.
  Perhaps this is her father, Ranma thought to himself. Maybe that's the
kind man she wanted. Maybe she wanted a man just like her father. That's
what most daughters looked for in a man, a person that was just like their
father. 
  Ranma felt crestfallen. He was probably nothing like Akane's father. Why 
would Akane want Ranma anyway? He had children at an early age, his wife
left him, he couldn't hold down a job for longer than a few years; that
meaning his job as both a sensei and a chief-executive of a computer
engineering company. And that was even half of it. Maybe it was best that she 
stayed away from him anyway. Obviously, a woman who was like Akane shouldn't 
be around guys like him, a womanizer. At least that was how he viewed himself.
  Ranma looked at the clock that hung on one of the walls of the dojo, the
time was nearing when his daughters' school was letting out. Sighing to
himself, Ranma got up from his seiza position and bowed as he stepped off
the mat. Akane turned her attention towards Ranma, she still going through
her kata forms, each movement as precise as the prior one.
  Ranma mouthed the words that he had to go pick up his daughters, and Akane
gave a brief nod, right before turning her attention back onto her forms.
  He headed for the locker room to change, several females watching him 
intently. It seemed that while all the males were paying attention to Akane,
all the females were paying attention to Ranma, much to his unawareness.
  Upon exiting the locker room, Ranma noticed that the students were all
lined up near the front of the dojo, all of them, including Akane, paying
their respects to one another by bowing. The class was coming to a close,
the training session over.
  Ranma decided it was best that he waited, so he could tell Akane that he
was leaving to pick up his daughters, instead of leaving so abruptly.
  "Thank you very much, sensei" the students said in unison, all of them
bowing towards Akane as she too bowed back in return, that signaling the
end of the training session for the day. One by one, the students headed for
the locker rooms, the females heading for the female locker room, and the
males heading for the locker room Ranma just emerged from, some of the
students bowing to Ranma along the way.
  "Akane," Ranma said.
  "Yes?" Akane asked as she walked up to Ranma, wiping some of the sweat
from her forehead with a towel she grabbed from a nearby cubby. Ranma could
smell the slight scent of perspiration on her, and it was intoxication,
making want to grab hold of her and hold her close to him. But he quickly
banished those thoughts from his mind.
  "I have to go pick my kids up, I'll be back in a short time," he said,
smiling weakly. He had to put up some sort of front against Akane, not
wanting her to know just how much he wanted her.
  Akane's knees felt a bit weak when he smiled towards her "S-sure. No
problem. Take your time. The next class won't start for a while"
  "Would you like to come with me?" Ranma asked, swallowing a large lump in
his throat, as if he were asking a girl out on a date for the very first
time. Actually, it kind of felt like he was asking Akane out on a date, and
since he hadn't dated in a long, long time, it felt like he was doing this
all over again.
  Akane was a bit surprised upon hearing those words. She noticed him take a
deep breath before asking her, as if he was trying to rid his nervousness.
She felt a bit flattered when she realized this, when Ranma was nervous
talking to her at the moment. But then she thought about the offer. She just
couldn't. She recalled the scene at the restaurant, when Ukyo kissed him.
She couldn't help but remember that those two seemed perfect for one
another. Akane wasn't the kind of woman who would steal a man from another
woman. But then again, Ranma wasn't Ukyo's in the first place. Yet, for
some reason, Akane could get past that. The fact that Ukyo and Ranma were
once lovers made everything different. 
  "I-I'm sorry....but I can't," Akane declined, not looking in Ranma's eyes.
She knew that if she looked at those beautiful eyes of his, she wouldn't
be able to lie like she just did. 
  "Oh," Ranma said, a bit crestfallen, feeling a bit depressed. He was hoping
she would say yes. He was hoping she would want to be with him, to spend
some time with him. But it was obvious she didn't. She probably wanted
nothing to do with him.
  "Well.....I guess I should get going now," Ranma said smiling weakly,
desperately trying to hide the hurt that was within him, much to no avail.
The only thing that kept Akane from realizing this was that he turned his
back toward her.
  Sighing inwardly, Ranma said as he left the dojo "Bye,"
  Akane watched as he left the dojo, his words echoing in her mind as if he
would never return. That thought disturbed her considerable. Sooner or later, 
he would fall in love with someone else, leaving her behind, wondering what 
could have been if she tried to get to know him. 
  Akane thought of that for a long time, so long that when she finally
decided she would take her chances and open up to Ranma, he was already
gone. By now, the dojo was empty, and she felt incredibly lonely. It wasn't
the fact that there were no students there, but the fact that there was no
Ranma there was what made her lonely.
  Not wanting it to turn out the way she was suspecting, losing Ranma to
Ukyo, and being lonely forever, Akane sought to win his heart. Determined
not to lose Ranma to Ukyo, Akane headed out of the dojo, headed straight
for Nerima elementary school, Ranma's daughter's school.

  Ranma was pacing back and forth in front of the school when Akane arrived.
She stopped a few yards from him, realizing that he hadn't noticed her. She
waited for a few moments, regarding him as he continued to pace, his steps
elegant and graceful with an air of masculinity. She watched him look
impatiently at his watch, anxious to see his daughters. 
  She stood there gazing at him, her heart aflutter from the dedication he had 
towards his two daughters. The thought of meeting someone so committed to 
their children and perhaps spending the rest of her life with him gave her 
this warm feeling.
  "Ranma," Akane called out, stepping forward, smiling warmly as Ranma
spotted her. She had to maneuver past several mothers, whom were also there
waiting to pick up their children. She noticed that several young mothers
were paying Ranma far more regard than she'd like. But there was nothing
she could do. Afterall, it wasn't as if Ranma was her....boyfriend.
  "Akane," Ranma called out, gracefully avoiding all the mothers, noticing
that there were no fathers among the crowd besides himself. He noticed that
several of the young mothers were regarding him desirably, as if undressing
him with their eyes, much to his discomfort. But he had gotten used to it.
Anyone from the opposite sex would considered him an extremely attractive
man, so that was perfectly understandable. 
  He ignored the glared as he maneuvered through the crowd, and he could have 
sworn having felt a hand brush against his backside as he headed towards Akane 
but he disregarded it.
  He wanted to turn around and tell the mothers that he wasn't some trophy.
He wanted to tell them that he was more than just a desirable man, a piece
of meat, a sex object. But he didn't have the time, for he wanted to be
with Akane, to be near her, to be by her side. And the fact that she was
there further justified that she might want the same thing in return.
  "What're you doin here?" he asked, noticing that Akane was still in her
dogi, realizing that she must have left in a hurry to catch him, not even
bothering to change. Even thought she looked very beautiful in the attire she
was wearing, he liked the thought that she didn't really care about her
appearance all that much, unlike some of the other females. He liked
the fact that Akane was more than superficial, as if she knew she was
beautiful and didn't need to put on make up to flaunt it.
  Akane was a bit self-conscious of herself, aware that she must have
looked like a mess, what with her still in her sensei apparel and still
sweaty from teaching.
  What the heck, Akane thought to herself, it's not like it matters. He
knows I didn't have the time, and that I was the one teaching today. She
only made feeble attempt at fixing her hair, combing it back with her
fingers.
  Ranma watched as Akane did that. He just loved the idea that Akane didn't
bother to fetch a comb to use it to fix her hair. It meant that she wasn't
distraught over her looks, which made her look all the more desirable to
him.
  Ranma gestured for Akane to head with him toward the playground, where
there were less people there to eavesdrop in on their conversation. He sat 
down in one of the swings, Akane noticing that although he was in his
late-twenties, he had this boyish look to him when he sat there. He looked
even younger than he already did now that he sat in that swing.
  "I thought you were busy," Ranma said.
  "I was wrong," Akane lied "I thought I was busy"
  She felt a bit guilty about lying to Ranma. But there was a good reason.
She wanted to be with him.
  Akane sat down next to him, in an adjacent swing, memories of her
childhood flooding into her mind as she continued to swing back and forth,
memories of her and her friends seeing who could swing higher.
  "This sure bring backs memories," Akane said, looking up into the clear,
blue skies, not a cloud to be seen.
  Ranma didn't say anything for a moment. He seemed to be distraught over
what Akane had just said "I'd prefer to think it didn't"
  "Huh?" Akane muttered. She couldn't understand why he didn't like think
back to the days when he was young. Childhood were the days where one could
be carefree, free of responsibilities, no longer in need of worry about
anything except when to be home to eat and when to go to school and sleep. 
  "Why not?" she added.
  "That's something I'd rather not talk about," Ranma replied, not looking
directly at Akane, as if very ashamed. He looked thoroughly depressed with
the feelings that the thoughts of his childhood had evoked, and the most
intense of those feelings, shame.
  Akane regarded Ranma intently, noticing how quickly his emotions had
changed. She felt he was ignoring her, but she remembered reading this book
that stated that men tend to become quiet when they have problems, just like
women tend to talk when they have problems.
  "I had a pretty rough childhood" he said.
  "oh?"   
  "I was abused when I was very young" Ranma said suddenly. He had kept this
inside for a long time now. He had to tell it to someone. Anyone.
  Akane said nothing, unable to comprehend all the thoughts racing through
her head. She felt sympathy at first, but then it turned to anger. How could
a person as gentle and loving as Ranma been abused when he was a child? How
could this happen? Why would it happen?
  "I-I'm sorry to hear that," Akane said, genuinely sympathetic. She couldn't
think of anyone that deserved what Ranma had went through. She wanted to
reach out and hold him, comfort him, tell him everything would be okay, but
she couldn't. She had no right to.
  "It was my father," he said, looking at nothing in particular.
  "Oh my!" Akane said. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She
wondered how much turmoil Ranma must have been in, how much he had bottled
up. Obviously, there was a lot more to him than she knew, cared to know. But
she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything about him.
  She wondered how horrible it would feel if her own father, Soun, had
abused her. She wondered if she could cope with it, the thought that her
father didn't love her, the thought that she would dread being a child,
being too helpless to defend herself.
  "My father used to drink a lot," Ranma continued on "Whenever he was drunk,
he would hit me. But after a while, he would hit me, even when sober"
  "Oh god," Akane said. She hated hearing those words. She could bear it. She
felt so much grief for Ranma. He must have had a terrible childhood, dreaded
coming home from school.
  "My father used to beat me so bad that I bled," Ranma heard himself say. He
couldn't really understand why he was telling all this to Akane. He hadn't
even told Shori, his wife. He lived his life with that bottled inside,
no one having known, except his mother, Nodoka. She had watched helplessly
as his Ranma beat him, beating him so hard that he would bleed from his
wounds, sometimes beaten so badly that his fragile bones would break.
  Nodoka had wished, with all her heart, believed with all her heart, that 
Genma, Ranma's father, would come around, finally realizing what he was doing 
was wrong. This went on for a long long time, until Nodoka couldn't stand it
anymore, finally believed he would never change. Not until Ranma had been
hospitalized with a punctured heart, the blow so hard to his chest that
several ribs had been broken, the bone puncturing his heart, did she call
the police.
  "My mom finally called the police when my heart was punctured," he said in
one breath, taking a deep breath to continue on. It was as if he had to tell
her all this "He broke one of my ribs and the bone dug into my heart,
puncturing it. Eventually, it healed, but it never healed fully"
  Akane gasped in disbelief upon hearing those words. She recalled how hard
he was breathing after the two of them sparred against one another, but she
had disregarded it. She remembered he was breathing a lot heavier than her.
She felt so bad, for she was the one who insisted on sparring, even after
he told her he preferred not to.
  Ranma held his chest, indicating that his heart never healed properly.
Even though the wounds didn't show, they still bled. Akane wanted to cry,
for causing Ranma to spar. She never knew he had heart problems, yet he
continued on to spar. What if he collapsed, his heart failing him? What if
he died.........
  Akane made a fist, her knuckles whitening from the tension. She felt very
angry, angry at herself for causing Ranma any pain. She never expected him
to be......fragile. He looked rugged and strong. The thought that he had
heart problems never crossed her mind, never crossed anyone's mind.
  How could a father do this to his kid, Akane thought, anger enveloping
her. She didn't know the man, and she already hated him, hated him for what
he had done to Ranma, poor Ranma.
  Ranma's father, Genma, had been arrested, and he was found guilty of 
attempted murder. He died in jail, serving his life-long sentence. For that, 
Ranma blamed himself for his death, blamed himself for having to go to the 
hospital from the injuries he could no longer sustain.
  "My father died," Ranma continued, his voice almost not his "in jail"
  Akane said nothing. She felt anger towards this Genma, this man she never
knew. But when she looked Ranma, she noticed that he seem to hold some kind
of contempt towards his father. She had no idea it was contempt toward 
himself.
  Why on earth would someone ever hit Ranma? Why? She asked herself those
questions over and over again, coming up with no plausible answer. She
wanted to ask Ranma what he thought about it, on why he would be hit, but
she knew it would make him think more of the past, bring him more grief.
  "I'm glad he died," Ranma said "I hated him"
  But he never hated him. He always blamed himself for his father's death.
It wasn't his father he hated, but himself. From time to time, Ranma would
awaken in from his sleep, dripping in sweat, awoken from visions of his
father suffering in jail.
  His voice is as cold as ice, Akane thought, almost inhuman and uncaring.
But deep down inside she knew he had a very warm heart. She remembered the
fire she saw in his eyes when he was watching her earlier, as she did her
kata forms.
  "But don't worry about it," Ranma added, putting up a wall around him, a
wall of ice. He no longer looked depressed, but rather neutral. His visage
gave way no indication that he was sad, or happy for that matter. He looked
stoic, almost cold, shutting off his emotions, like a robot. It was his
problem, not Akane's.
  "Look," Ranma said, his voice unreadable "no one knows about this, not
even my daughters. Please don't tell them. It'll destroy them to know that I
had been abused when I was their age"
  "I won't say a word," Akane said "I promise"  
  Ranma opened his mouth, about to say another word, but nothing came out.
It was as if he were trying to find the right words to say but came up with
nothing reasonable. It was as if he wanted to tell her more about himself,
but thought otherwise.
  What else is there to Ranma, Akane thought solemnly. What other burdens
is he carrying? He seemed to be doing okay by himself, but there was so
much more underneath, below the surface. He looked like he lived the most
perfect life. But he hadn't. He had married at an early age, his wife left
him, leaving him to rear his twin daughters, and now, Akane found out that
he had been abused, and he never had a father who cared about him.
  At that instant, the school bell rang, its ringing echoing loudly,
bringing Ranma and Akane's conversation to a halt. Akane regarded Ranma as
he got up off the swing, heading toward the front of the school.
  "Are you coming?" Ranma said, his voice warm. It was as if this
conversation had never taken place, as if he and Akane were just chit
chatting.
  "S-sure," Akane said, getting off the swing. She walked up to Ranma and
regarded him when he wasn't looking. She could now see content in his eyes.
She realized it was his children that made him totally forget how tragic
his past was, made him glad it was all behind him.
  She watched as Ranma's girls came running out of the school, their
silk-like hair fluttering in the wind, their legs carrying them as fast as
they could into Ranma's extended arms.
  Ranma picked both his little girls up in his arms, hugging them fiercely
before letting go. He placed them down, asking them how their day at school
was. He listened intently as they went into meticulous detail about how they
had a firedrill today and what they learned in class. He nodded, paying full
attention as they continued to barrage him with how their day went.
  "G'afternoon, Akane" Meggie greeted, remembering the nice lady who helped
her to the bathroom the other day, and who stayed with them for breakfast
shortly after that. She bowed towards Akane, the bangs of her delicate hair
falling forward, covering over her liquid eyes.
  "Hello, Meggie," Akane said, bowing politely toward the well-mannered young
girl. She never met such a sweet thing in her entire life. She wondered how
nice it would have been to raise such a sweet little girl, two for that
matter.
  Ranma looked at Akane a bit curiously. How could she tell the two apart,
he thought to himself. She only met them a few days ago. Everyone, even
Shori, for that matter, had trouble telling them apart. They were identical.
Yet for some reason, Akane knew the difference between them, like night and
day.
  "G'afternoon" Jessie said in a loud and joyful voice, running forward,
wrapping her tiny arms around one of Akane's legs, her little hands tugging
tightly at her dogi
  "I remember you. You're that nice lady who helped my sister," she added in
and equally cheery voice "And you ate breakfast with us"
  Jessie smiled innocently towards Akane, as if they knew each other for a
long long time. Akane felt as if she already knew her and Meggie, the two
daughters making her feel comfortable. She felt this funny feeling, like she
had missed out on something great. She loved the feeling of little Jessie's
arms holding her so lovingly, as if she trusted her life in Akane's hands,
and that felt very reassuring to her. She never had a single person in her
life that acted remotely dependent toward her. It felt like she was taking
care of someone, and the thought made her feel warm inside. The thought of
caring for someone and someone needing her care made her feel needed,
important. But why did this child evoke those kind of feelings? They barely
knew each other. And yet, it seemed like they have known each other all
their live. She felt an immediate attraction toward Meggie and Jessie, as
if she wanted them in her life forever.
  "I'm sorry," Ranma said when he noticed that Jessie was wrinkling Akane's
dogi. He was trying to talk to Akane will simultaneously trying to listen to
Meggie continue to talk about their day "She's a little bit affectionate"
  She was more than affectionate. She was a handful, a bundle of energy,
because she now had her hand in Akane's, pulling her toward the playground.
  "I wanna play in the playground," Jessie said, tugging on Akane's hand. She
was a very smart girl, and she knew that she wasn't allowed out of Ranma's
sight unless she was with supervision. And since Meggie was busy talking to
Daddy, she would have to have Akane escort her to the playground.
  Akane looked at Ranma, not too sure what to do. She wanted to make the
little child happy, but it wasn't her call. Ranma was the one in charge
over whether or not she was allowed.
  A quick nod assured that it was all right. Akane opening obliged and
escorted Jessie toward the playground, which was already filled with mothers
and their children.
  "I wanna go on da swings," Jessie squeaked, tugging on Akane's hand,
signaling her to hasten herself. She couldn't help but wonder where the
little child got her energy from. Even though she was in great shape, Akane
knew she could never compete with a child in terms of energy. She'd be
asleep from exhaustion where the child would be busy asking her to play some
more. Regardless, Akane vowed that she would try her best to keep up.
  "Okay," Akane said, following after the child as she raced for the gate
leading to the playground. It seemed Akane was too slow for the little angel,
and she decided she was better off going by herself. Besides, she wouldn't
be leaving Akane's sight. The swings were directly in Akane's line of
vision, and she would see her as she made a beeline for them.
  As Akane headed for the playground, which Jessie was already in and
swinging on the swings, when Meggie raced by her.
  "They love the playground," Ranma said, placing a hand on Akane's shoulder.
Akane's heart skipped a beat. She could feel the heat from his fingertips,
radiating from him, through her dogi. But he released his hold within moments. 
The familiarity made him do it, made him put his hands on her shoulder.
  "I'm sorry," Ranma said, a bit embarrassed "I didn't mean to do that. It's
an old habit"
  It was a habit. He used to come here with his mother. He would always put
his hand on her shoulder as she watched her grandchildren at play. He had
to. Nodoka was slowly losing her hearing more and more as she got older. She
could still hear, but not all that great. She had trouble making out the
words if she weren't looking at the person directly. Ranma would place a
hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was talking, so she could turn
toward him to see what he was saying. Because she was losing her hearing,
she learned how to lip-read.
  It was a habit, Akane thought, anger starting to rise. She knew what kind
of habit it was talking about. It was an old habit for him to put his hand
on a girl. It was one of those moves that all those playboys use, to make
lonely girls feel wanted. Sure, she live all alone, and she did feel lonely,
but she wasn't going to let him take advantage of that. 
  "It's because of my mother," Ranma added, before Akane had a chance to snap
at him "You see, my mom's going deaf, and I always placed my hand over her
shoulder to let her know I was talkin'. She and I always came to pick up the
kids. Up until recently. It's not like I'm some playboy or somethin'"
  Indeed, he wasn't some playboy. Although hundreds of women asked him out,
he had stayed celibate since Shori left him. He may be very attractive to
the opposite sex, but he couldn't care less. He didn't care about himself.
He only wanted one thing in his life....a mother for his kids.
  Akane felt very embarrassed. She thought Ranma made a habit of putting his
hand on a girl's shoulder, as if he were a playboy. He looked like a playboy
to her. She wondered how many women he slept with before he finally met her.
  "Oh," Akane muttered, not really know what to say.
  "Daddy," Jessie called out from the playground "can ya gimme a push?"
  "Me too," Meggie followed.
  "I'll be right there," Ranma called out.
  He looked at Akane for a moment, a most serious visage showing "Akane, my
kids have no idea of the hardships I've been through. Please, don't let them
know"
  With that said, Ranma ran towards the playground.
  
  "Good afternoon," Akane greeted the elderly mother, noticing how beautiful 
she looked, despite her age. Aside from some crow's feet around her eyes and a
few wrinkles, Nodoka was very beautiful. She had this maternal air to her,
which made Akane think of her own mother. But those thoughts quickly passed
for there weren't that many memories to remember, her mother having died
when she was a very young girl.
  Akane bowed, noticing this warm and familiar feeling Nodoka was generating. 
She looked elegant, like a queen, yet she was very down-to-earth and polite.
  "Afternoon," Nodoka said, bowing respectfully, her auburn hair fluttering
in the passing wind since it had gotten a bit windy that afternoon.
  "I'm Akane," she said in her most well-mannered voice. She felt a bit
intimidated by Nodoka for some reason she was unable to explain. It was as
if she were dating Ranma, and he was taking her to meet his parent, and of
course, she wanted to make a good impression. But why, she wasn't dating
him, and there was no reason to be intimidated. But somehow, she still was,
no matter how many times she told herself to calm down. She could feel her
heart racing.
  Nodoka was probably the kind of woman Ranma loved and obeyed, and the 
thought of Nodoka telling Ranma not to see her, and him actually obeying 
scared her. So naturally, she wanted to get on Nodoka's good side.
  "I'm Nodoka," she replied warmly, regarding the young girl. She noticed
Akane was dressed in a dogi, which seemed odd. But aside from that, she
seemed like a nice girl.
  She seems a bit overly nervous for some reason, Nodoka thought. Is she
always this nervous? She look like a sweet girl, like Ukyo. I think I like
her as much as Ukyo. She's much nicer than that Shori.
  "I see you've met my son," Nodoka said after a few moments, finished with
her assessment of Akane. She liked her, a lot considering to only other
person she liked was Ukyo, which she hadn't seen for over 8 years, since she
and Ranma broke up.
  "Y-yes," Akane said, taking a deep breath. She felt weird as Nodoka regarded 
her, assessing her. Even thought she had dated a few guys, far fewer than a 
girl of her beauty and age, over the years, and they took her to meet their 
parents, she never really cared more about them liking her than the mother 
standing before her.
  "How do you know my boy, Ranma?" Nodoka asked. She wanted to know her role
in Ranma's life. She wanted him to settle down. Maybe Akane was the one.
  "Mom," Ranma said, butting in. He didn't want to be the topic of 
conversation among his mother and Akane. He knew he was the topic of 
discussion among all the girls his path cross, but this was one conversation 
that he preferred not to be involved in.
  "Akane's my boss," he said, pronouncing each word clearly for Nodoka to
read. Sure, she could hear what Ranma was saying, but she found lip reading
a lot easier than trying to discern the mumbling noises that she heard.
  He was not one bit ashamed that he had a female superior. Other males, the
majority of them would have been ashamed of working under a female, where
their masculinity would be questioned. But here was Ranma, proclaiming it,
unabashed. He was secure enough about his masculinity that working for a
female would, in no way, affect it.
  "I'll be back later tonight," Ranma told Nodoka, giving her a kiss on the
cheek. 
  "Bye, Daddy," Jessie and Meggie said in unison, both over them giving him a
big kiss on the lips, causing Akane to wonder just how good his lips would
feel on hers.
  "Goodbye, my little angels," he said, giving them both a group hug, 
reluctant to let go.
  "Bye, Akane," Jessie said, tugging at one the sleeve of her pants,
indicating for her to bring her head down to the little girl's head level.
  As she did so, Akane was caught off guard when Jessie kissed her on her
cheek. She was a bit shocked at the affection this little girl generated.
Ranma must have been a very caring father to raise his daughters up like
this.
  "Bye, Akane," Meggie said, also kissing Akane, but on the other cheek.
  Akane almost wanted to cry. She felt so loved. She never felt like this
before. no one have ever been this affectionate towards her, not even her 
father, and he had loved her with all his heart. She loved the feeling,
reveled in it. She felt as high as a kite.
  "We better head back," Ranma said, ready to leave.
  "Let's go," Akane replied, reluctantly heading off toward the dojo. She
wanted to stay with those children, never leaving. She began to wonder why
on Earth his wife would leave such darling angels behind, would never want
to play a part in their lives. She couldn't help but giggle when thoughts
of herself taking over his wife's part entering her mind, thoughts of
becoming Meggie and Jessie's mother, thoughts of being Ranma's wife.
  "What's so funny?" Ranma asked, a bit curious. He could never really
recall ever having seen Akane laugh. This was indeed the first time she had
laughed in a long long time. As she laughed, Ranma couldn't help but notice 
how much seeing Akane laugh made him happy. Even though she hadn't laughed 
since her father's death so many years ago, it seemed natural. He liked seeing 
her laugh, and he wanted to continue to make her laugh. Perhaps, if she 
allowed him, he could make her laugh for the rest of her life.
  "It's nothing," Akane said, trying to suppress the giggle, much to no
avail.
  "Meggie and Jessie seem to really like you," Ranma said, changing the
subject. He knew that if she wanted to tell him what was so funny, she would
have. If she didn't, it was none of his business.
  "They're really affectionate" she said.
  "Yeah," Ranma commented, matter-of-factly "But they never ever opened up
like this to anyone. You seem to have a knack for my children"
  She liked hearing those words, words from Ranma saying that she was good
with his children.
  Even though Ukyo showed up, maybe Akane still had a chance.



Chapter 10

     Ranma and Akane watched as the last of the students left the dojo, the
training session finally over. The training would have been over sooner if one
of the students didn't ask to remain can continue to train. He was one of
the more advanced students, and him always asking for extra help was what
got him to where he was when it came to training.
  "G'night" the student said, bowing respectfully before leaving.
  Akane watched as the student left, admiring him. He was one of her most
prized students. He was also young and very well-manner. Aside from Akane and
Ranma, he was the best martial artist around. There were times, before Ranma
showed up, where he sparred against his sensei, and gave her a run for her
money every here and there.
  "He's very disciplined," Ranma commented, leaning up against the entrance
door to the dojo. It was meant as a compliment, a compliment on how great a
teacher Akane was.
  "Yes, he's one of my...." Akane said, taking back her words. They were now
their students, not just hers "our most prized students"
  "He's more your student than mine," Ranma said in a soft voice, his gaze up
on the stars. It was a most beautiful night. The winds were blowing yet very
gently, the sounds of the rustling leaves soothing to one's nerves. Just
listening to the leaves as they fluttered against the blowing winds was very
relaxing.
  "I better get going," Ranma said, a bit reluctant. He wanted to stay
longer, but there was no reason. He didn't want to put Akane on the spot by
asking her if he could stay, she might get the wrong idea. Sure, he wanted
to be with her, but he didn't know what she thought of him. He remembered
how mad she looked when she saw him with Ukyo.
  "Don't stop on my account," Ranma recalled Akane saying in an angry tone.
He remembered how she looked disgusted at him "It's not like the two of us
are seeing each other anyway. He's just working for me" her words echoed in
his mind. Was that all she viewed of him, just an employee. But then again,
they had spent some quality time together, with his children. At least he
thought it was quality time. But then again, how could it be quality time if
Ranma was the only one babbling? And why did he tell her about his
childhood? No one around, except Nodoka, knew that he had been abused. 
  He never even told his wife, Shori. Ranma didn't want to believe that he
told her that because he wanted someone to take some of his burdens. He had
lived through so many hardships, hardships one he had to deal with alone.
Maybe that was one reason why he told her, he didn't want to be alone.
  "It's not like the two of us are seeing each other. He's just working for
me" Akane's words echoed through his head again, this time a lot louder and
clearer. If she didn't care about him, then why did she come with him to
pick up his children? Because she cared about her employees, not him. Maybe
she thinks I still love Ukyo.
  "Goodnight, Akane" Ranma said, bowing respectfully, unable to make eye
contact "I'll see ya tomorrow"
  "Goodnight," she said reluctantly. She didn't want him to leave, but there
was no reason for him to stay, aside from she wanting to be in his arms. She
wanted to reach out and take hold of him, never letting him go. He had so
many hardships over his life, and she wanted to take some of his burdens
off. But then an image of Ukyo entered her mind, images of her kissing him,
and him not pulling away. 
  A bit of heat flooded into her body. He had Ukyo by his side to take the 
burden, she thought, her pride doing the thinking. She couldn't believe she 
was falling for another woman's man. She noticed he didn't even look her in 
the eye, as if ashamed of something, ashamed of himself. He had nothing to be 
ashamed of. She should be the one who was ashamed. She was falling for him, 
and she couldn't have him.
  Ranma left without saying another word, leaving Akane behind, all to her
lonesome, alone in to spend her nights in a quiet and lonely home. It was
like a form of symbolism, him leaving her behind, she living alone. That was
what it felt like. It wasn't him leaving her house, but him leaving her that
bothered the most.
  "Ranma," Akane called out, swallowing the lump in her throat "Why don't
you stay a little longer?"
  The her words would go unheard, Ranma already gone.

  Ranma arrived at Nodoka's house late in the evening. The sun had been down
for a couple of hours already. The sky was clear, the stars twinkling
brightly. There was a full moon that night, its light shining brightly,
emanating a silver glow. It was certainly peaceful that night, the only
noise heard were the blowing winds and rustling leaves.
  Ranma stood in front of Nodoka's home, regarding it for a short time. The
house was very old, at least a century old. The roof was weather worn and
needed new shingles. There were several missing shutters from the windows,
several others broken and hanging limply on rusty hinges. The walls were
dull, the paint chipping off. Indeed, the house was old, and it was in
desperate need of renovations. But that wasn't what Ranma was thinking to
himself about. The home brought back memories, memories he preferred not to
remember, memories of his father beating him. This was the home were he had
lived all his life, until he had finally gotten his first job, the job of
his dreams, being a sensei. But that job hadn't lasted long. Due to the
arrival of his daughters, Ranma was forced to find another job, to support
them. 
  And until recently, he stayed there, no matter how much he disliked it,
working harder than anyone else, working even harder when Shori left him and
was forced to rear his twins on his own. Luckily for him, he managed to get
the most perfect hours, working when his children where in school. Actually, 
it was luck. Ever since Ranma's arrival, the company seemed to do whatever it 
could to accommodate his needs. Ever since his arrival into the company, not 
only did company morale increase considerably, especially among the females, 
but Ranma's creative ideas helped the company take off.
  He looked up toward a window on the second floor, the window leading to
his old room. He sullenly remembered spending quite some time gazing out of
if when he was young, looking up toward the sky, wondering when he could
escape from all those beatings his father gave him. He remembered as if they
were yesterday. He would be on the verge of crying as he looked out the 
window, wondering why his father beat him so terribly. 
  Ranma sighed, grateful that he would never have to go through that for the
rest of his life, that it would never happen again. His father was no longer
alive to beat him.
  Ranma rang the doorbell, waiting several moments before it was answered.
  "They're asleep," Nodoka said, opening the screen door for Ranma.
  Ranma nodded in acknowledgment as he entered the house, the floorboards
creaking and groaning under the weight. Even though the house was old, it
still had this cozy feeling to it. 
  Ranma looked at the grandfather clock that was up back against the wall
of the livingroom he had entered. It was located right next to the piano. It
was pretty late, and his daughters always seemed to go to sleep at a
particular time no matter where they were. It had been like this for a
long, long time.
  "I guess I should let them sleep," Ranma said, sitting down on the sofa
after he had removed his shoes, stretching his legs forward to relax his
tense muscles. He wanted to put his feet on the glass livingroom table, but
he knew he would be scold by his mom for such unruly manners.
  "You're going to spend the night" his mom said. It was a statement, not a 
question. She opened a closet door and brought out a pillow and blanket. She 
already knew what he was going to say. It wasn't like he was going to go home 
while his daughters slept her. And it was obviously he was going to wake them 
up so he could take them home.
  "I guess I've no choice," Ranma said, getting up and taking hold of the
pillow and blanket, carefully placing them on the sofa to his liking. He
watched as his mother headed off into the kitchen.
  "I'm going go up and check on Meggie and Jessie," Ranma said, heading for
the stairs at the other end of the room. It wasn't as if his mother would
hear him, but he said it anyway. He gracefully hopped up the stairs,
leaping up two steps at a time. He turned left at the first door he came
up to, the door to Ranma's old bedroom.
  He gently opened the door and entered, careful not to make a noise. He
didn't want to wake his sleeping daughters. The room was almost pitch-black.
The only light was there was the moonlight shining in through the windows,
its silver light shining on Jessie and Meggie's face. They were both sleeping
in the bed together, Ranma's old bed.
  Ranma smiled to himself as he leaned over to kiss his daughters on their
forehead. Jessie's bangs were covering over part of her face, and he gently
moved them aside, to reveal her angelic face.
  "Daddy?" Jessie said in a very sleepy voice. She was barely awake, her
eyes more closed than opened.
  "Shh," Ranma said in a soft voice, so soft he could barely hear it, But no
matter how softly he said it, he knew Jessie would hear. She had excellent
hearing "Go back to sleep. You and your sister have school tomorrow" 
  "Daddy," she said "Do you like Akane?"
  "Huh?" Ranma said, a bit surprised. Why would his daughter ask that all of
a sudden? He was expecting her to say goodnight or something.
  "What do you mean?" he asked.
  "I want her to be my Mommy," she said, still sleepily. After having said
that, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
  "I would like that also" Ranma said quietly, thoughtfully "I'd like that
also"
  Those words made him think. He had truly meant them. He not only wanted
wanted Akane as their mother, but he wanted her as his wife. He had never
met a woman like her in all his life. He wanted to be with her, to cherish
her....for as long as he shall live. Yes, he even wanted to marry her. But
what could he do? She probably wasn't even interested in him. Why would a
girl like her, as sweet and beautiful as her, want to burden herself with
him, burden herself with two daughters? Why would she want extra luggage?
She had to worry about taking care of the dojo. Why should she want to add
him and his daughters to that list?
  Ranma no longer wanting to think about the reasons why Akane would never
want him, gently tucked the blanket up to his daughters' necks, kissing them
again on their forehead before heading downstairs, shutting the door behind
him.
  Downstairs, Ranma turned the livingroom light off, taking his shirt and
pants off, throwing them into a small pile at the front of the table. He then
threw his legs up on the sofa. He was glad the sofa was very large, and that
he didn't have to worry about his feet extending over the one of the ends.
But he was too tired to really care. He had a long day.
  Yawning once, Ranma closed his eyes, sleep bestowing him within moments.

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