****Authors note****

9-13-99 Ok, another rewrite. With the help of Brian Drozd, I’ve gone through and corrected many grammatical errors. English was never my strong point. Well, I hope this is much better, but if there’s still anything wrong, don’t hesitate to bring it to my attention.

http://www.oocities.org/CollegePark/BookStore/7706/

“speech”

< thought >

*****End of notes.*******

***Disclaimer****

Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon belong to their respective owner. I'm only borrowing the characters to write this fic for entertainment value only and make no profit.

*****

FIRST KNIGHT

CHAPTER 1

It was a typical day in Nerima. It’s had been two weeks since the failed wedding fiasco of Ranma and Akane. Even after the incident, the insanity in Ranma life continued to plaque him like nothing happened. The Saotome’s home have been repair and Nodoka returned to live there while Ranma remained here with his fiance, meaning Akane. Genma said he had to stay there to make sure Ranma stayed fit and not loose his edge. Again, Nodoka was left to live at the Saotome’s house by herself.

Ranma lied on the rooftop of the dojo thinking about the day events. His mother came over to see her son and spent the day with him. He noticed how happy she was and he was just as happy to see her. After being away for so long, it was good to be with her. In the beginning, it was a little awkward since he didn’t know how to interact with his mother. Not only that, his only contact with her was ‘Ranko’ and she always tried to make him more ‘lady-like. <I’m so glad I was able to tell her the truth about my curse. Even better, yet, was when she accepted my curse and still called me her son. It felt like a large weight had been lifted off my chest. Still, there are times when I’m scared to be with her. I don’t want to live with this fear when I’m with her. I don’t ever want to be afraid of my own mother. But how?>

Ranma clasped his hands behind his head and stared upward at the stars as if expecting an answer. <The school year is almost over and only another year left till graduation. I could transfer to the high school in Juuban and live with my mom for the last year. If I did that, what would Akane say? How would she react to it? I really want to spend more time with my mom, but I don’t really want to leave Akane. Listen to me talk about Akane like I love her or something. Oh man. What am I saying? I know I love her. I’ve known that for at least a year now. Too bad I’m such a coward I can’t to tell her. If I’m going to stay with mom, I need to tell her or I might loose her. The latter is not an option. Now, how do I break the news to her? I could ask her out and tell her, but then the others will interrupt and everything will be in chaos. I hate to do this, but I’m going to need Nabiki’s helps.> Ranma shuddered slightly at the thought.

Standing outside the door of one of the Tendo’s sisters, Ranma straightened his posture and took a long deep breath. <It’s been a week since I’ve decided to ask Akane out and get help from Nabiki. I knew that she is a mercenary and extremely good at it. I’ve been replaying the conversation in my head over and over again till it hurts. It’s strange to stand here and prepare myself for battle and knows I’m outwitted. There’s not any physical fights I can’t handle, but when it came to verbal or planning, I’m outclassed. Just think, ‘soul of ice.’>

Slowly knocking on the door, Ranma called out “Nabiki?” with an attempt to make his voice manly but ended with a squeak.

“Come in,” echoed from inside the room.

Slowly, Ranma entered the room and closed the door behind. He noted the calculating face and even heard the grinding of gears already turning before the door even closed. Ranma had little doubt she already knew what he was going to ask and was only waiting to strike at a moment notice. He took one last deep breath and prepared for battle.

“Soul of Ice,” he whispered the mantra in his head.

“Well Ranma, what is it? I don’t have all night you know?” she grinned.

“Nabiki, I, er, need your help,” Ranma demanded quietly.

She blinked once. “I’m sorry, Ranma. But could you repeat that again? I didn’t quite hear that right.”

<Stay calm. She’s just teasing me. It’s best to play along.> “I said, I need your help,” he repeated.

“Alright, where’s the hidden camera?”

“I’m serious!” he shouted, somewhat annoyed.

“You really need my help?” she asked, still in disbelieving.

“Yes!”

“Well?”

He gathered his control and calmed down. “Ummm…I want to setup a date with Akane and, well, I don’t want any interruption.” He stared at the floor, blushing.

“Oh really,” she said in an amused voice. “This is going to cost you, a lot,” she emphasized on the last part. “And I know you don’t have much.”

“Look, Nabiki. Just this once, can’t you at least do it for free?”

She snorted, “Nothing is free, Ranma.”

“Only you would think that,” he said under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” he replied quickly. “Look, if you do this then I’ll do something in return.”

Curious, “Oh? Like what?”

“I’ll leave,”

Her business like demeanor faltered for a microsecond. “What was that?” she asked cautiously.

“Ya death or something? I said I would leave. I’ll go and live with my parents.”

“What about Akane?”

“That’s why I need the chance to talk to her. I ain’t gonna let it happen like the last time. So….. I just need that chance.”

Nabiki eyed him hard for a moment and said, “You’re serious.”

He nodded.

“Why?”

He shrugged and leaned against the door. “I want to spend time with my mom. I hardly see her at all and that’s only when she visited. The last few weeks she stayed here while the Saotome’s home was repaired was great.” He looked out the window and said softly, “But, I was still kinda nervous around her. And I don’t want that. I…I need… I just need to be with her right now.”

Her features softened a bit, “I see.”

“So, will ya help or not?”

“Do you plan to come back?”

He opened his mouth and stuck his foot in, “Why do you care?” and regretted.

“Like it or not Ranma, I have my own reason and if you must know. I do care about my family and if you think I’m going to let you hurt Akane, I’ll make you’re life hell.”

Ranma waved his hands defensively and said, “S-Sorry… I-I…didn’t mean ‘nything by it.”

“Whatever,” she said, dismissing the topic.

“Look, I ain’t goin to hurt Akane. I just want a chance to explain to her… That’s all,” he pleaded.

“Fine, but you owe me Ranma.”

Smiling, “Thanks, Nabiki,” and quickly exited the room.

******

Early the next morning, the same routine replayed itself like any other school day. It began with Ranma and Genma sparring in the dojo, breakfast, and Akane running to school with Ranma in tow.

By lunchtime, Ranma became very nervous. For the first time an awfully long time, he didn’t fall asleep in class. All morning long, he had glanced over at Akane while she wasn’t looking, at least he thought she wasn’t. For the umpteenth time this morning, he peaked at the clock and sighed in relief. <It’s almost lunch time.>

Akane was surprised to say the least. All day, Ranma had been nice to her and haven’t insulted her. At first, she thought it was strange and that Ranma was up to something. She quickly dismissed the idea and to gave him a chance. She likes this Ranma.

The bell rang indicating class was over and time for lunch. Ranma ran out of the room, grabbed his lunch box and went outside looking for Akane.

Akane sat the by a tree where they usually sat for lunch, he made his approach quietly. Ranma sat down next to her and proceeded with his lunch. He had a hard time eating and placed his lunch aside, and turned to look at Akane.

“Umm…Akane?” his voice shook as he asked.

“Yes, Ranma?” She looked up from her lunch, slightly annoyed. When she noticed that Ranma didn’t finish his lunch, her expression turned to concern.

“Can you come with me for a little bit?” He asked nervously.

“Well, I guess so,” Akane said after closing her lunchbox. Getting up she followed after Ranma up to the roof of the school.

Akane saw Ranma scanning the area and became suspicious. “Ranma, why did you bring me up here?”

Ranma looked back at Akane, but didn’t look at her face. Instead, he stared at the ground, “Well….”

Her eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hip. “You’re not going to try something perverted are you?”

“No!” Ranma shouted as his face shot upward to face Akane. Quickly looking around to see if anyone had heard and sighed with relief when he didn’t. “No, ain’t nothing like that,” Ranma continued. Pausing for a few moments to gather his courage, “I just wannaaskyououtonadate,” he blurted.

Akane blinked once. “Can you repeat that again?” Akane asked. She thought she heard the words ‘wanna’, ‘ask’, and ‘date’ in a single sentence. However, she had to make sure before getting her hopes up. This was Ranma, and anything was possible. For all she knew, he could be asking to borrow a book or something.

Ranma knew this was going to be difficult. It was worst than fighting Saffron. “I just wannaask you out for tonight.”

Akane’s eyes shot wide and round like giant saucers. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming this conversation or not. She quickly pinched herself. <Ok, I’m not dreaming. That meant Ranma did asked me out. Does he really mean that?> “Do you really mean that?” she asked suspiciously, but held her breath.

“Y...Yeah.” Ranma replied weakly.

<Kami-sama. Ranma really asked me out on a date> She released her breath as her heart jumped with joy. She felt the smile reaching from ear to ear. Since the fail wedding and Ranma’s denial of him telling her he loved her, she had been waiting for him to make his move. To say it was frustrating was like saying Mt. Fuji was just a hill. To have him actually asking her on a date on his owns free will was like a miracle come true. She quickly moved closer to Ranma and took his hands in hers and saw his eyes focus on hers. She knew that once she looked into his pale blue eyes, she would loose herself. It’s one of the things she loves about him.

Not hearing Akane a reply, he was beginning to doubt himself and his heart began to sink. “Yeah. That is if you wanna go…”

She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster and whispered in his ear. “Of course I want to go.”

“R-Really?” Ranma asked as he jerks his head back in surprise.

“Yes. Now why don’t we finish our lunch up here before class starts,” Akane said sweetly.

“S-Sure.”

Both Akane and Ranma finished their lunch while exchanging small talk.

*****

Later that afternoon, Nabiki was busy with her plans to keep the suitors occupy. She had gotten Kuno order a lot of ramen from the Nekohanten thinking that it would make his two ‘loves’ jealous. Which, coincidentally kept Shampoo very busy. She enlisted Mousse help to make sure Kodochi would not interfere. As for Ukyou, she just asked Kunatsu to keep Ukyou busy for the few hours. He happily obliged. All that left was Ryouga. It was hard to track him, and since he hadn’t been around for a week, she could only try to catch him first and kept him busy. That was an easy task in all aspect.

After school, Ranma quickly grabbed Akane and jumped out of the window to avoid the crowd and any suitors who might want to talk to him. After some distant away from the school, he lowered Akane and walked beside her.

“Akane, I have gotta take care of something. I’ll meet with you at home later ok?”

“Where are you going?” “You better not be going to the other fiancées!” she thought darkly.

“Just somewhere. I’ll tell you about it later. Bye” Ranma quickly leaped away before she asked anymore question.

“Ranma, wait.” She shouted at the retreating form. <Baka. You could at least asked me to come along. Baka.>

As soon as Ranma left Akane, he ducked around the corner to make sure no one was following him. When he was certain, he ran to the shopping district.

Scanning through the display case, he gapes at the price. <It’s a good thing Mom gave me money to spend. I can’t believe how much she gave me though. I never expected Mom to have this much. She gave me like it was nothing. Oh well, I can’t really complain about it. It’s really handy in this case. Now to find that gift.> He spent three hours finding the right gift.

By the time Ranma returned, Akane was in her room waiting and very irritated.

<Where is that baka? If he ran off with someone, I’m going to kill him!> Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She rushed to the door and hoped that it’s Ranma.

<Ranma!> Her heart leaped when she saw him. “Umm…hi,” she said softly and looked down shamefully.

“Akane, are you ready?”

“Umm…. Not yet. Just a little be longer.” <Kami-sama, I spent most of the night blaming Ranma, I forgot to get ready. It’s his fault anyway. Well, maybe.>

“Ok. You might want to hurry before our fathers become suspicious.”

“Sure.” Akane hurried back inside and changed into her dress. She felt really guilty for blaming Ranma, but promised to make it up on their date.

Ranma left and waited in his room. He took out the gifts and played over the list of things he wanted to say to Akane but was soon interrupted by a knock and quickly hid the boxes. Opening the door, he was shocked into silence by the stunning display before him.

<Wow. She looks incredible in that blue dress. Absolutely beautiful.>

“H-How do I look?” *Please say something nice, Ranma.*

“Umm… you… l….look very cute,” he stuttered rather than what he meant to say “beyond cute is more like it. Gorgeous.” Ranma was blushing big time.

“R-Really?” <I can’t believe he just said that> She felt her heart dancing rapidly. For Ranma to say something like that was like him telling her she looked better than a Goddess. Before long, Akane was blushing as red as a tomato. Then suddenly, the floor became the center of attention for both teens.

Ranma just nodded a reply.

“Thank you, Ranma.” She grabbed Ranma and started to drag Ranma downstairs, but Ranma stopped.

“What’s wrong, Ranma?” she asked a little confused by the sudden change.

“I don’t want to go downstairs.”

“Why?” she asked, irritated.

“Well, because if our fathers saw us right now, we would be tied and brought in front of a minister. I just wanted to have a night without someone interrupting.”

Akane just smiled in understanding. <I know what you mean. And you’re right. Though, I wouldn’t mind having a wedding with you at all> “Ok, so how do we get out of the house?”

“This.” Ranma swooped her in his arm and ran back to his room and jumped out the window.

Akane was speechless, but didn’t complain. She enjoyed being held by Ranma and tightened her hold around his shoulders. She kept her head against his shoulder and listened to the systematic rhythm in his chest.

Before reaching the restaurant, Ranma lowered Akane and walked the distant holding hands.

In the restaurant, Ranma told the waiter the name of the reservation. He and Akane were seated in the corner table. *This is perfect, Ranma thought, less chance of someone seeing us.*

Through out the diner, they talked about their friends and whom they were seeing. After diner, they walked to the park. At the park, Ranma stopped in the middle of the bridge, above his favorite thinking spot, and took both of her hands and faced her.

“Akane, er, there’s something I have to tell you. I want you to promise first that you’ll listen to everything I have to say before acting.”

Akane was confused by the serious look in Ranma’s eyes. She didn’t know if she should be scare or jumping with joy. So she just nodded.

He looked away from her and stared along the river, while only holding one of her hand. “Akane, you know that the time I’d spent with you and the Tendo’s were the longest time ever spent in one place. It’s the first time I can call a place home. It’s strange that after traveling for ten years, I finally have a home.”

<No, he can’t. He’s going to leave me. He just can’t. I don’t want him to go. Please, Ranma, don’t leave.>

She felt tears welled in her eyes, but kept them in check. She wanted to say something, but could not. She didn’t know what to say. Her throat was like a desert, not a drop of moisture. It seems that all the water was drained to fuel her tears. She no longer heard the words spoken by Ranma. Everything became a blur and his voice echoed incoherently in her mind.

“It’s really hard to believe, but all of you have been like a family to me and I don’t want to loose it. But I need to spend sometime with my Mom as well. I haven’t been with her for so long. Akane, please understand that I need to do this. I want to know my mother and her to know me. The real me, not the Ranko she knew in the past, but Saotome Ranma.”

“But.” She only made out a few words in his speech, ‘Ranma’, ‘leave’, ‘live’, and ‘Mom’. “But, I don’t want you to leave. Please, don’t leave me,” she wanted to say.

“Shhh… Please let me finish. Akane, a while back, Mom asked me to come live with her, but I refused. I didn’t give her a good reason. I could see the hurt in her eyes at my refusal. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t know why back then, but I do now.”

Her knees felt weak at the lost of his hands. Her stomach churned over the diner and it felt like it was about to run up her esophagus. Tears flowed slowing out of the corner of her eyes.

“Akane, for a very long time I’ve known whom my heart belonged to. I just couldn’t admit to myself or to her because of my pride and I was scared. Well, just a little scare… Er, any way, the reason I didn’t stay with my mom back then was because I wanted to stay close to the one I l-love more than anything in the world.”

<H-He’s leaving me. H-He found someone else. That’s why he’s leaving. No, he doesn’t love me. He loves someone else. This whole thing was to break up with me. Oh God, why? Why? I don’t want to loose him, I love him so much. Why didn’t I say it before? Why can’t I say it now?>

Ranma released her hand bends down on one knee and stared straight into her eyes.

He gulped before continuing. “A-Akane, w-will…will you marry me?” Ranma asked almost choking on his own tongue. That was the hardest thing he had ever done. He had played his moment thousands times in thousands of different possibilities. He had done everything he could and was at the end of his courage. Everything up to this moment depends on one word. He desperately wants to hear the word from her. He prayed that he didn’t make a mistake.

Akane was shocked to say the least. She was at a lost for words. She stared down at her fiancée and tried several times to say something, but nothing coherent came. All she wanted to say was one word, but couldn’t. Her thoughts were tossed in a blender. She was caught completely off guard and nothing she thought previously made any sense.

Worries began to etch its way up his mind and he felt his chest tightened. At the moment, he would rather have Akane shouted at him or even mallet him. Anything was better than this silent treatment.

Akane did the next to best thing she could think of to answer him. She kneeled down with Ranma, leaned forward and kissed him. At first it was a light kiss, almost a peck, but as time passed, she deepen it with as much passion as she could muster and to let him know how much she loved him. After a moment, she felt him returned the kiss with the same passion.

<He got the message. I love you too, baka.>

After a very long moment, they broke the kiss before they faint from the lack of oxygen.

“Is that a yes?” Ranma asked jokingly.

“Baka. Of course it is.” Akane still had some tears trailing down her cheeks. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly while sobbing on his shoulder.

Once Akane calmed down, they sat down beside each other. Akane leaned on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Akane, would you mind wearing this then?” he asked and presented her the gift he brought earlier.

Her eyes widen as she saw the gold ring. “R-Ranma, it’s beautiful. How were you able to buy something like this?”

“Mom gave me some money to spend.” He took her right hand and carefully places on her finger.

Akane stared at the ring as it glittered under the full moon. She still can’t believe all that had happened. She thought that Ranma was going to break up with her and then ended up proposing. <It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe how perfect it looks.> She turned and gave him a kiss. It’s not anywhere as long as the first, but it was enough.

“I love you, Ranma. I love you so much!” she said happily.

“I love you, too,” he whispered in her ear.

<There’s no way I’m going to loose him now.> Then something struck her. “Ranma, what were you saying about your Mom?” she asked, almost frowning, when she recalled bits and pieces of the conversation earlier.

Ranma turned to face Akane again. Ranma looked down at her and gave the ‘didn’t-you-listen-at-all’ look before he continued. “I want to stay with my Mom for the next school year.”

“B-But, what about me?” she asked in a strained voice. She felt the tears building again.

“Akane, you mean everything to me, but I need to spend sometime with my Mom as well. If I don’t take the chance, then, well, I won’t be able to see her much until after college and all. Please understand that I need to do this.”

“I know how you feel. If I had the chance to spend some time with my mom, I would as well. But you’ll be gone for a whole school year. That’s several months,” she shouted her objection. “I don’t think I can spend a few days without you. How am I going to handle several months?” she added with tears flowing freely.

Ranma looked at her and smiled.

“I know. I don’t think I can either. I love you too much to stay away. That’s why I stayed the first time. That’s also why I want you to come with me.”

Akane froze at the last request. She couldn’t help but laughed at her herself for jumping to conclusion.

“I would love to. I’ll go anywhere with you.” Akane quickly wiped the tears away and snuggled against Ranma’s chest.

With that, they kiss again until they ran out of air.

“Ranma, what about the other fiancées,” she finally asked.

“We’ll have to take care of them. I have a few ideas, but I’m going to need your help.”

“Anything,” she said in delightful manner.

“First, we need to take care of the Amazon. They’re the most dangerous and persistent. I need to go on a training trip this summer to prepare myself. I might end up be fighting the Old Ghoul and I don’t want to take any chances and I’ll win ‘course,” he smirked at the last statement.

She decided to allow him a moment of ego but will remind him if it got too inflated. “Can I come also?”

He looked at her sadly, “I’m sorry Akane, but I can’t take you. If I do, they’ll become suspicious and come looking.”

“But…”

Ranma lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. “Please Akane, I need to do this. Don’t worry, we still have a month before summer. I want to train you during that time. That way, you will be able to defend yourself against Shampoo.”

“You’re really going to train me?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yep. I’ll train you so good, you’ll wipe the floor with her.”

“I can hardly wait,” she snickered at the thought of seeing Shampoo’s face begging her.

“There’s something else. Before I leave, I’m going to pick a fight with you.”

“Huh? W-What do you mean?” she asked slightly confused by the comment.

“I need to make them believe that I’m leaving you for good. I’m not of course,” he quickly added. “But, I need them to believe that we broke up. Even if our fathers end the engagement, we are still legally engaged since I did asked you to marry me and you did say yes.”

“Ok. But, I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you to. When the time comes, remembers that whatever I say, I don’t mean them, and that I love you with all my heart.”

“I know. I love you, too. Just don’t go overboard with the insult ok?”

“What? Can’t I even tease my favorite kawaiikunai otemba?”

“Ranma!” she shouted while hitting him softly on the shoulder.

Ranma giggled lightly. “I’m just kidding. Jesh, can’t I even joke about my favorite otemba.”

“And you’re my favorite hentai. What about your Mom?” she said through her giggles.

“Oh, everything has been taken care of. She said everything will be ready when we move in.”

“You mean, you had this planned out,” she said unbelievingly. “How did you know I was going to say yes?”

He shrugged his shoulder. “I didn’t really, I was only hoping you did.”

She gave Ranma a nudge on his rib. “I’ve been hoping you ask me for the last six month.”

He laughed nervously, “I’m sorry I took so long. Here, let me make it up to you.”

“Oh, how?” she asked with a devious smile.

Ranma took out another gift.

“I want you to have this.”

Akane gathered the gift with shaking hands and opened it slowly. Inside there was a silver necklace.

“R-Ranma, I can’t accept this. You’ve given me so much already.”

“Akane, don’t worry about that. I want you to have it. It’s also good for hiding the ring until we move out.”

“Hide the ring?”

“Yes, our fathers and the suitors?” he reminded her.

“Oh!” She continued in sad voice, “I wish I didn’t have to. I want so much to run around shouting that you’re my fiancée and future husband.”

“I know, but we really need to keep this quiet until everything is taken care of. It also means that on occasion, I’ll insult to you.”

“I guess you’re right. That’s ok, I’ll just hit you for them,” She said while giggling.

“Heh? Just don’t hit too hard ok?” He frowned at the aspect of seeing her mallet up close and personal. He knew it really hurt when she hitted him, but they had to keep this a secret.

Ranma removed the ring and slid it on the necklace. He then brushed away some of the hair to place the necklace on Akane. While behind Akane, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

It had been the perfect night. The date went without interruptions. They were officially engage. Also, one of the most important phrase tonight seemed to role from their tongue with greater ease. It still felt a little strange to say them, but they would never stop saying it to one another.

“We better head back.”

“I guess so.”

Ranma and Akane walk back holding hands until they reached the gate. Before entering, Akane quickly gave Ranma a peck on the lip.

“I could get use to this,” he thought wishfully. “Baka otemba!” He gave the shocked Akane a wink before running into the dojo.

Akane realized what Ranma was doing and ran after shouting.

“Ranma no baka! Get back here you hentai and take your punishment.”

Before long, Akane had made a small dent on the ground with Ranma’s head, though not as hard as her usual. The others shook their heads with disappointment. “When will they learn?” was the common thought.

In Akane’s room, Akane stared out the window with dreamy eyes. She was replaying the events over and over in her head until a sound on the window interrupted her. Ranma was hanging upside down. Akane opened the window and let him in.

“How’s your head?” she asked with concern.

“It’s ok. Don’t worry about it,” he assured her.

“Good, because I don’t really want to hurt you even if we have to play this scheme.”

“I know, we’ll just have to do our best.”

They exchanged a series of kisses until it was time to go to sleep.

Part of Akane wished Ranma could spend the night with her.

For the rest of the month, Ranma and Akane continued to play act their fights. The only unusual thing was Akane spending more time with her friends after school. At least she said she was. Most people thought she was trying to stay away from Ranma. Which suited everyone just fine, especially their suitors. However, Ranma had also been disappearing after school for long period of time. He usually came home for dinner while other time he wasn’t home till bedtime. Most of the time, Ranma and Akane came home fighting while other time Akane came home alone fuming, irritated, angry, or disgusted.

For the most part, Ranma and Akane have been training after school. Though Akane did spend sometime with her friends, it was only for a short period. The rest of the time she was training. During their training, Ranma sent Akane through a various technique to improve her speed, stamina, strength, and power. One thing that had been consistent in their routine was every night, Ranma would entered Akane’s room via the window and gave her goodnight kisses which always lasted several minutes.

Though their acting were fooling a lot of people, Nabiki becane suspicious after only a week. Ranma and Akane decided to talk to her. They might need her help later on, after all.

[Flashback]

It had been a week since the night Ranma proposed to Akane. Though they try to make their acting as convincing as possible, tricking Nabiki was still difficult.

Ranma sat on Akane’s bed and held her on his lap. “We need to talk to Nabiki. If she sells any information about us, it will get nasty and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I can take care of myself,” she said in an irritated voice.

After years of jamming his foot in his mouth, he had learned considerable control. “I know you can, but you’re not ready to face both Shampoo. You should do fine against Ukyou, but Shampoo has a lot more experience. Even though she hadn’t been practicing, she is still dangerous. I need to make sure that you can beat her hands down. But if they work together, you would have a hard time.”

“I guess you’re right,” she sighed in defeat.

“Let’s go talk to Nabiki.”

Ranma prepared to get up, but Akane stopped him. “Ranma, I think it’s best that I talk to her alone.”

“Ok.”

Akane entered her sister room and closes the door behind her.

“Nabiki, we need to talk.”

Sitting up from her bed, she asked, “Oh, about what?”

“Sis, I need you to not sell any information you find on me and Ranma, please.”

“And why not?”

“Because of this.” She pulled out the necklace and showed Nabiki the ring hanging inside.

“You mean to tell me that Ranma proposed to you and you didn’t tell me?” Nabiki asked while staring at the ring.

“Yes,” she said with a large smile as she quickly plays the night over again.

“You know how much money I could have made with this kind of information to the right people!”

“Yes, and how much of our live would you be willing to ruin to make that money Nabiki?”

Nabiki was startled by the coldness in Akane voice. What’s more, Akane wasn’t angry, but in control of her temper. She was calm, which means she could be dangerous. Nabiki thought for a moment.

Before she spoke, Akane beats her to it. “Nabiki, I know you like to make money, but does it have to always involve hurting Ranma in the process?”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked innocently.

“You know what I’m talking about. You have continuously used Ranma to make money. I don’t want to see that anymore. He proposed to me and I said yes. We will get married. I don’t want to see him hurt. I hated myself every time I hit him in the past and it hurts me to remember that it was my fault. Even now that we are acting, it still hurts. We are trying to make things right between us. We still have a lot of things to iron out and I know we will fight some time. But I do know this, I love him. I love him with all my heart and I know he feels the same way. So I’m asking you now as your sister, will you not sell information about us?”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I will no longer call you my sister.”

“You can’t be serious,” stuttered the shocked Nabiki.

“Yes, I am! I love you sis, but if you come in between Ranma and me I will choose Ranma. He means everything to me and I will not loose him. He’s trying to fix the problems with the fiancées. Though it’s not all of his fault for the situation created by his worthless father, he is trying to correct it. If you sell out on us, you’ll not only put him in danger, but me as well. You know what the others are capable of. If they knew he has chosen me, they would become more desperate and who knows what they will do. So, I ask you again, will you keep this quiet?”

Though Nabiki had no intention to sell the information when Akane first asked, she had been curious to know how Akane would respond. Surprise was an understatement. She would never expected Akane to go as far as disowning her own sister for the man she loves. Part of her was in disbelief while the other envy. She never knew anyone who loved each other so much. Maybe their parents had. She knew Akane was very serious even before she spoke the first word.

“Don’t worry about it sis, my lips are seal.”

“Thanks sis.” Akane goes over to give her a hug.

“Now give me the details of what happened.”

Akane smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Well it started with the date about a week ago…”

Some time later.

“….then he told me about his plans and what we needed to do. Though, I don’t like hitting Ranma, I know it’s for the better. There are times when I want to run into my room and cry after hitting him. He knows I don’t mean it, but it still hurts.”

“You really had us fooled you know. Not many people can do that, especially to me. And to be fool by Ranma, of all the people. He really surprised me. I never expected him to be able to come with a descent plan, much less a working one. Maybe I shouldn’t have given him back to you back then.”

“Nabiki!!!!”

She smirked at her little sister reaction. “I’m joking. Now, how will he take care of the others?”

“I’m not sure. He said something about having the Kunos committed. But he’s not sure what to do with Ukyou. He asked Auntie Saotome for suggestions. I think Auntie will be helping when it comes to that.”

“Now, when is the wedding?”

“As soon as we rid of the suitors. Ranma wants to wait till we graduated at least,” she said with a hint of disappointment.

“You’re really moving?”

“Yes. I’m going to miss everyone here, but…”

“You’re going to miss him even more. Don’t worry, I understand. I’m going to miss you too.”

“Thanks sis. There’s something we want to ask you.”

“Go right ahead.”

“Well, it has to do with Amazons and the Kuno. Ranma wanted your help in drafting a legal document that will prevent the Amazons from harming us and press charges against the Kuno if they try anything. The Amazons are the more important one. When Ranma leaves to go train, we have to make sure to miss lead everyone. If Ryoga shows up, we have to ask him to stay and help. I could tell he’s pretty jealous of Ryoga even after I told him not to be. He would agree only if I don’t let P-chan sleep in my room.” Akane shakes her head. “I know he’s jealous, but of P-chan!? Sometime, I think he’s overprotective of me.”

“Would you prefer that he wasn’t?”

“Well, part of me gets frustrated at the thought, but I know he just wants me to be safe and that he only does it because he loves me. I can’t blame him. Though it’s strange, I agreed not to let P-chan sleep with me.”

“Back to the legal document.”

“I’m not entirely sure what Ranma wants on it, but he said he’ll talk to you after me.”

“Well, get him in here so we can get started.”

“Thanks you sis.”

“Consider it your wedding gift in advance.”

Akane quickly left and returned later with Ranma.

“Well Ranma, you’re certainly full of surprises.”

“Er.… Thanks Nabiki.”

“Ok, what kind of document do you want?”

“Well, the Old Ghoul always talked about their Amazon’s laws and how I can’t break it even though we’re in Japan and not China.”

“So you want to know how to use ours against them.”

“Exactly. You have a good idea of all the tricks, drugs, and spices they used on me to make me marry Shampoo. I’m sure some of those things could be considered illegal.”

“Ranma, it’s brilliant!” Nabiki almost lost her neutral face in place of an excited one. However, she quickly recovered. It wouldn’t do her reputation any good if that were to happen, would it? “Why I didn’t think of it before is beyond me.” She eyed Ranma and raised her brow. “So, where is the real Ranma?”

“Heh? Nabiki, I’m serious. I’ve just been thinking about a lot of things on my own. Can you help me with this or not?”

“Of course. Do you want to do the same against the Kuno?”

“Yes, except we can’t export them,” Ranma frowned. “I just want them committed. Especially Kodachi.’

“Don’t forget the numerous times she tried to drugged you,” Akane added.

“Now, writing this up is no problem, but I don’t have any close contacts with the government. It would really help because they can make it affective immediately rather than waiting for it to get through the proper channels.”

“That’s not a problem. My Mom has contacts in the government. I didn’t know until I talked to her about it two weeks ago. She said that she can have it done within a day if needed. She also has friends in the police department and other agencies. It seem that my Mom side of the family comes from very high rank officials.”

“Really?” Nabiki asked gleaming.

“Yeah, well, there’s one more thing I need to give you.”

“What would that be?”

“My debt.” Ranma pulled out a wad of bill and handed it to Nabiki. “I told Mom that I borrowed some money from you over the year. She gave me some money and said to use whatever I need to pay for my loan and keep whatever left.”

Akane didn’t believed her sight. Ranma just gave Nabiki a few hundred thousand yen like it was nothing. Nabiki’s eyes went wide at the amount of money in her hands. She can’t believe Ranma just handed her this much money and not even worry about it. “I’m going to have to check the financial record of Auntie,” she added mentally.

“Ranma, don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of your loan and invest what ever is left.”

“Umm….”

“Don’t worry little brother. I’ll let you know how much you have left and you can withdraw any amount from that.”

“Only if I get 30% of what ever profit you make from the money left over.”

Nabiki didn’t expect that. <Well, I better not under estimate you next time little brother.> “Ok Ranma, you got yourself a deal.”

“Great. When will you have it done?”

“By the end of the day tomorrow, I should have the documents ready.”

“Great. Then I’ll give it to Mom and she’ll take care of the rest.

Ranma and Akane left Nabiki, who have a wide grin on her face while she was counted the yen, and headed for Akane’s room. They sat on the floor while leaning against the bed.

“Akane, there’s one other thing Mom and I talked about.”

“What is it?”

“It’s Ukyou.” Ranma could see the slight twitch of the eyebrow when he said the name. He reached out and brought her on his lap and held her. “Akane, you don’t have to be jealous of her. I don’t love her the same way I love you.”

“I know, Ranma. It’s just that sometime I’m just scare of loosing you.”

Ranma planted a firm passionate kiss on her lips. “Akane, I’m more scared of loosing you than anything.”

“What? Why would you?”

“Well, take Ryoga for instance. You’re always friendly with him and it drives me nuts.”

“Ranma, he’s my friend and nothing more. You have nothing to worry about it. There’s no way I can love him like I do you. Believe me, Ranma, you’re the only one I love and no other. Ryoga will always be a friend and nothing more. I love you and you alone.”

“I love you too, but it just some time I see him so close to you and I can’t stand it. It’s also one of the reason why we fight.”

“Ranma, my jealous pervert. Stop worrying,” she said while giggling at Ranma discomfort. “What could Ryoga possibly do that could make you so jealous? Yes, I’m friendly around him, but that was before. Back then, I was only trying to make you jealous. Now that I know how you feel, I don’t need to do it anymore.”

“You..You mean, all those time was to make me jealous?” Ranma shook his head as he wondered how he could ever understand what’s going in her head.

“Yep,” she said cheerfully.

“Well, you certainly succeeded. You don't have to be so cheerful about it.” he grumbled and then said, “Akane, Ukyou is the same way with me.”

“What do you mean? You been using her to make me jealous?”

“No! No, that ain’t it. What I meant is that she’s my friend and only my friend. The only love I have for her can only be described as from a brother to sister.”

“Oh,” she leaned back and stretched her legs along side with Ranma while still sitting on his lap.

“Well, I talked to Mom and, well, suggested that, um… we,” she looked around nervously.

“We what?”

“That Ukyou can be my mistress and concubine,” he said quietly.

Akane sat there in silent for a moment and then shouted, “WHAT? AND YOU AGREED?”

“NO! ‘Course not,” he denied hotly.

“What else?” she asked dangerously.

“Mom and I also talked about adopting Ukyou into the family. It will satisfy her honor and is the best option. I-I just hope she takes it. If she accepts the offer, she might be living with Mom and us. Will that be ok with you?”

“I-I don’t know. It’ll be strange, but I think we can manage. You know that she might try to use that closeness to get in between us.”

Sighed, “I know. But it won’t work. We…we will be sleeping together by then….” Ranma blushed deep red.

“Yeah, we would,” she blushed and then stopped. “W-What do you mean by that? We wouldn’t be marry by then.” Her eyes widen and her face turned crimson red, easily matching Ranma's red silk shirt.

Blushing deeply, “Umm… you see, Mom thinks that, er, since we’re officially engaged. W-W-We can d-do whateverwewantedincludingthat,” he explained.

It took a moment before she realized what Ranma had said in the jumble sentence and blushed very deeply. <Ranma and me sharing the same room. That means we will be sharing the same bed and ….Oh Kami-sama.> If possible, she began to radiate such intense heat that it could have mistaken for a nuclear meltdown.

“Since you put it that way, I guess it would be ok. At least we will be getting away from all the craziness,” she said softly, refusing to look at Ranma.

Glad for the change in topic, he said, “That’s true, but I heard that Juuban has their share of strangeness as well.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” asks the confused Akane.

“I saw a few news report while I was with Mom about group of girls fighting monsters and stuff. I think they’re just exaggerating the whole thing," he said absently. It wasn't long before his knew jerk reaction kicked in, "Of course who would believe that a bunch of girls fighting monsters. I mean, what could a bunch of clumsy we....”

"RANMA!" she growled and began to glow a different shade of red.

Ranma laughed nervously and decided it was best to shut up. It was one of his best decision he made tonight.

Akane continued to glare at him for a moment longer before settling down next to him. After a while, she decided it was best to continue on with other topic.

"Ranma, if there are such things as monsters, I want you to promise me something," she said quietly.

"Heh?" he said after realizing it was safe again.

Akane turned and looked at Ranma with concern and fear in her eyes. “Ranma, promise me you won’t go around fighting those monsters. Please, promise me.”

“Ok, Akane. I promise I won’t go looking for monsters to fight, but if they attack us then I won’t hold back. Or if they attack someone while I’m there and I don’t see anyone around to help, then I’ll fight. Will that be ok?”

“I guess it will have to do. Just come back to me safely. We been through a lot together and I don’t want to loose you. If that ever happens, I don’t ….”

Ranma placed his finger over her lips and gently wiped the tears always. “Akane, there’s nothing in this world that can stop me from returning to you. You mean everything to me. I love you and promise to return no matter what happens. I also want you to take care of yourself. Promise me you won’t do anything that would put you endanger.”

“Only if it doesn’t involves you. If you’re endangered or hurt, then I’m coming after you no matter what. “

Ranma started to protest, but Akane interrupted.

“No ‘but’ Ranma. We do this together. If anything happens, it happens with us together. I will not let you do things alone.”

“I guess there’s no arguing with you when you’re like this.”

“None what so ever. Take it or leave it.”

“Well… hmm….” Ranma grinned as he noticed Akane becoming frustrated at his indecision.

“Well?!?” Her eyes widened and narrowed as she glared at Ranma.

“I don’t know.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN Y….” Akane raised her arm and prepared to pound Ranma.

Before she finished, Ranma pulled her close and kissed her.

Akane wanted to stay angry at Ranma for taking so long to decide, but with him kissing her like this, all her anger, frustration, irritation, or any other negative emotions she might have had at the time just melted aways.

After some time, they released and looked at each other smiling.

“How’s that for an answer?” Ranma asked smugly.

“Hmm….maybe you should answer like that more often, love.” Akane smiled when she saw Ranma flinched. “Just kidding, love.”

*‘Love’ huh? I like that. Two can play this game.* “As you wish, dear,” he replied with a goofy grin.

Akane’s smile grew even more, if that was possible, when she heard Ranma called her ‘dear’. She gave him another kiss for the compliment. Reluctantly, they pulled away some time later.

“I better leave.”

“I wish you didn’t,” she responded sadly. Then she had an idea. “Umm.. Ranma, maybe you can come back in after everyone’s asleep. You know, just so we can spend a night together.”

He face faulted when the words dawn on him. He asked nervously. “Y-You really want me to?”

“Y-Yes, I do. We just have to be careful though.” She felt her capillaries working on overdrives.

“Er…About what?”

She eyed him for his lack of knowledge concerning the obvious. “Baka. I meant that we shouldn’t get carry away with…. You know, our passion,” she said in a very sheepish manner while still ruby red.

After a moment, Ranma realized what Akane was referring to and ran through several shades of red from head to toes. His knee became weak and collapsed on the floor. His eyes widen in realization. “O-Oh, that,” Ranma replied sheepishly.

“Y-Yes that,” Akane turned even redder, if that’s even possible.

“umm…O-Ok, w-we’ll just…just have to be..be… careful,” Ranma stuttered the whole way.

“I-I’ll s-see you later… then.”

“B-Bye.”

Later that night, Ranma crept back into Akane’s room through the window. Akane was lying in bed fully awake when Ranma arrived. He walked stiffly over to the bed and Akane moved over so Ranma could slip in. Both were pretty nervous at the situation. Neither really knew what to do or how to act. After a little while, Akane cuddled herself against a shocked Ranma. Once Ranma recovered, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer.

“G-Goodnight, love.”

“G-Goodnight, dear”

Moments later, both fell asleep with each dreaming about the other.

Early the next morning, Akane woke to the numbness of her left arm. She tried to remove, but felt something heavy pinning it down. She then realized that her pillow was moving in an up and down motion. “That’s strange,” she thought. Though it wasn’t soft like her pillow, it was incredibly comfortable and relaxing. Straining to open her eyes, she saw a blur of someone in bed with her. She immediately recoiled causing the person to be thrown off the bed. She blinks a few times to focus. She then heard a moan on the floor where the person landed. <Some pervert was sleeping in my bed! How dare he?> Quickly, she pulled her trusty Mallet over her head as she prepared to bash whoever it was.

“Ummm…. Akane, the next time you decide to wake me up, could you do it more softly?” Ranma groaned.

<Oh Kami-sama. I just threw Ranma off.> “Oh Ranma, are you ok? I didn’t mean to. I just thought it was someone else and reacted.”

He waved his hand dismissingly. “It’s ok, Akane. I need to get back to my room anyway.” Ranma got up, but still saw the concern face of his lover. *Strange. Lover. What a new concept? A few weeks ago, we could barely talk with each other and here we are spending the first of many nights together. Incredible how thing changes when I said those words to her.* He leaned forward and gave her a short firm kiss on the lips to reassured her that he was fine.

Akane smiled at her future husband. <Oh, Ranma. I hope we will always be together like this. Maybe I should get him to come in more often. I think I better talk to Nabiki about getting some birth control pills. I don’t know how long I can hold out if we spends more nights like this together.>

After Ranma left, Akane fell back on her bed thinking about the dream she had last night. She couldn’t help but hug herself at the feeling of being near Ranma. She felt wonderful as if she could just jump out of the window and soar through the sky without a care in the world. Ranma was hers, heart and soul. *All that’s left is the body* She blushed crimson red at the thought.

After Kasumi called her to breakfast, she quickly grabbed her school uniform and headed down stairs to take a bath. As she got there, she quickly removed her clothing. When she slid the door opened and saw Ranma stood up from the furo. Both stared at each other and quickly turned around to hide their embarrassment. Both flushed several shades of red. Ranma took the towel near the furo and tied it around him while Akane used towel she was holding to cover herself.

Then Ranma slid the door open and approached Akane from behind. Akane still refused to face Ranma because her heart was beating loudly and her breathing shallow and short. Ranma placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned forward and joked, “Next time, just ask.” Akane was startled to say the least and completely missing the tone. She turned and faced Ranma. Staring into his eyes, she lost herself like she always did. Without provoke or hesitation, they leaned toward and began the kiss.

The kiss was more electrifying than usual. Possibly due to the fact that they were nearly naked and their hormones were in high gear. Without realizing it, Ranma led Akane back into the room and closed the door while never breaking their kiss. Before long, both of their towels were on the floor. Lost in their passion, their hands roamed each other automatically. Suddenly, Akane felt something hard pushing against her thigh. At first she wasn’t completely aware, but then realization dawned. She immediately, though reluctantly, stopped the kiss and pushed Ranma back, hard. Ranma was confused and disappointed at having stopping.

“R-Ranma, w-we can’t. N-Not yet. P-Please, I want to do this as much as you do, but we can’t. I might get pregnant and I’m not ready for that,” she stuttered in between breath.

“P…preganant?” he stuttered. He looked down and realized he was completely naked and so was Akane. He quickly spun around and stared at the floor. <I can’t believe what I, what we, were about to do. Akane’s right, we can’t do this yet. That was close. I had no idea how much I wanted this. I’ll just have to control myself.>

Akane smiled at Ranma reaction. She can’t really call him a pervert. She picked up the two towels on the floor and handed one to Ranma. After wrapping herself she turned Ranma around.

“I just want to let you know that I wanted that as much as you do, but I’m not ready for that responsibility. Please, will you wait till I’m ready?”

“Er…I…I’m not ready to be a father either. S-So, hehehh… sure. I’ll wait till we’re both ready before… you know.”

“Don’t worry Ranma, you don’t have to wait very long. Now get out before I pound you,” she giggled at Ranma flinched to the comment.

“Yes, dear.”

“I love you, love.” <That was a close call. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to stop it. I better talk with Nabiki soon. I don’t think he can wait very long, especially if we sleep together. I don’t think I can either. I’m more a pervert than I thought. I just hope Ranma doesn’t realize that any time soon. Still, it felt great with his body pressed against mind like that. Kami-sama, how am I going to stop thinking about this today. Ok, just take the warm baths and calm down. I better hurry though.>

Soon Akane joined the others at the table. She sat very close to Ranma. It was really hard controlling herself. Several times, she wanted nothing more than to hold Ranma in her arms or even feel his soft lips. Soon they made their way to school. Once there, they did they best to act their part. It became harder every day. She recalled numerous instances where they stole kisses at school while no one was watching. They had to spend lunch in different places so others would not find them. Lately, they spent most of their time on the roof or the tower.

Though they did their best to act like nothing were between them, a few were becoming suspicious, especially Ukyou. Even with Nabiki’s help, Ukyou continued to become more annoying than ever. Every chance she had, she would pushed her way between Ranma and her.

Shampoo became more desperate as well. Every morning on the way the school, she tried to glomped onto Ranma. Akane hated that, and knew Shampoo enjoyed rubbing it in. The only thing that prevented her from pounding the Amazon was the memory of them sleeping together every night since the first time. They still haven’t done the deed yet.

The week before finals, Ranma and Akane spent most of their time preparing for it. When school was over, she and Ranma stopped by an ice cream parlor.

“I wish I could take you with me, but for this to work, I need to do this alone.”

She frowned at the thought of not having Ranma around. “I know, I just don’t like the idea of spending the summer without you.”

“Neither do I. But look at it this way, once I get back, we can be together without anyone interfering.”

“I like that.” The thought did help, but didn’t lift her spirits completely.

“I’m glad. Now, we have to plan for my departure.”

“What do you have plan?”

“Simple. I’ll just have you cook diner two nights from now.”

“What!?” Akane’s temper flared to life.

“It’s so I can insult your cooking. Then I need you to hit me towards the school. I have something packed and hidden near there. From there, I just disappeared while Nabiki mislead the others of my where about.”

She knew she couldn’t cook very well, but she wanted so much to make a good meal for him. “Ranma, do you dislike my cooking that much?”

Ranma saw the hurt in her eyes, and cursed himself for the comment. “Akane, you’ll improve a great deal.”

“Then, what’s wrong with it?” she asked, almost desprate.

“Akane, it’s just that you try too hard.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

“It’s like martial arts. You’ll have to start at the beginning and work you way up. If you just slow down and be careful rather than rushing into it, you’ll be able to cook as well as anybody with practice.”

“Y-you really mean that, Ranma?” Her eyes lit to life.

“Absolutely. Just slow down and take one-step at a time. It’s like when you first learn how to do kata. Once you learn the basic, you then build on that one step at a time.”

“I…I haven’t thought of it that way.” Turning to face Ranma. “Do you think it will help?”

“Sure…Why don’t you surprise me when I get back?”

Her mood completely changed and she nodded her head. “I’ll work on it and I’ll make the best meal yet.”

Ranma chuckled at her ranting. “Just remembers to slow down and work at it.”

“I promise.”

“Now let’s get back to what we were talking about.”

“Oh… Ok.”

“I’ll be gone for the summer and I’ll move around quite a bit so no one can follow me. I’m going to visit one of my sensei who first introduced me to ki when I was young.”

Akane gave him a quick hug and whispered, “Just hurry back, love.”

“Just make sure that you take care of yourself while I’m gone and remember our agreement about P-chan.”

“I still don’t know why you’re so jealous of P-chan. It’s not like he’s Ryoga or something.”

He stammered as he tried to find an excuse. “Ah…heheh… right.”

It was the night before Ranma planned to leave for his training. Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki sat in Nabiki’s room to discuss what will happen tomorrow. Akane had a sad expression on her face.

“Ok, Ranma. I have everything you need at Dr. Tofu.”

“Thanks, Nabiki. I’m glad we were able to ask Dr. Tofu to help. I was able to learn some of the shiatsu point over the week before finals.”

“Yeah… I’m sure it will be handy against Cologne.”

“Heheh…Anything would be useful against the old ghoul.”

“Anyway Ranma, tomorrow, Dr. Tofu will take Kasumi to a movie. Our fathers don’t know about it so they will be home when all of this happens. We need them here to make a good impression.”

“Yeah…I hope this work.”

“With me in charge little brother, of course it will work.”

“Nabiki, do you have all the documents ready?”

“Of course. All of that was done long ago. The important thing will be when Ranma return. We have to make sure that the Amazons do not suspect Ranma’s intentions. he will go talk with Ukyou first about ending the engagement and offer to repair her honor. She will refuse no doubt. Then Ranma will offer to adopt her into the family and if she still refuses, then there’s nothing to done.”

Ranma looked dejected. “Wish there was a way to help her.” He felt a squeeze from Akane and smiled.

“Not unless she’s willing to be your best friend.”

“I guess so.”

“Just hurry back, Ranma. I can keep them from following only for so long.”

“I’ll try, Nabiki. And thanks.”

Ranma and Akane left the room and once more spent the night together without the knowledge of their parents. Inside, Ranma and Akane comforted each other. They knew that after tonight, they would be apart for at least month. They’ve been together for three weeks now.

“Akane, are you ok?” asked Ranma with concern.

“I don’t know, Ranma. I just can’t imagine spending the night without you near by.”

“I know…but it will be over soon. I promise, I’ll make it up to you some how.”

Akane smiled mischievous, “Oh, I think I can think of some way of punishing you.”

Ranma gave her a peck on the lips. “I’m sure you can.”

The next day started out as usual. Towards lunch, Ukyou and Shampoo made their entranced in the house with offering of food. Of course, Akane reacted in her usual manner and mallet Ranma away while the two girls were fighting. Both glared at Akane, but she simply ignored them and left the room. Nabiki took the food and dumped in the trash after they left. Better safe than sorry. Later that evening, Soun and Genma were playing shogi when Dr. Tofu arrived.

Dr. Tofu glasses fogged and his arms straightened by his side. “K-Kasumi-san. I-It’s so n-nice to s-see you h-here.”

“Oh, Dr. Tofu. Thank you for coming. I will be ready in a moment.” Kasumi left to get her things from the living room.

Both Soun and Genma watched curiously. When Kasumi returned in an evening gown, the father rushed to the elder sister.

“Kasumi, where are you going daughter?” asked a worried father.

“That’s right. What about diner?”

“Oh, father. Dr. Tofu asked me to accompany him on a date.”

“Whhhaaaattt?” interjected the two fathers.

“Oh my. Did I forget to mention it?”

The two men nodded their head fiercely.

“I’m sorry father. You don’t have to worry. Akane is cooking diner.” Kasumi turned away from the two men who just turned white. She approached Dr. Tofu and he escorted her outside.

Ranma came into the room just as Akane shouted, “Diner is ready.” Both fathers gulped at the thought of what Akane considered to be food. Ranma stared at Akane and gave her a small nod. She gave him a small smile in return.

“Er…A-Akane, d-did you cook?” asked Ranma pretending to be as scare as he could. Fortunately, it didn’t take much when it came to Akane’s cooking.

“Yep. Kasumi asked me to cook since she’s going out with Dr. Tofu.” Smiling brightly. “Isn’t that great?”

Akane placed the various plates on the table and sat down waiting for the men to eat.

“Well?” She asked feeling the frustration built.

“Akane, are you trying to kill us?”

“What?!” Akane jumped to her feet and towered over Ranma.

“Ah come on, Akane. You know you can’t cook. Sheesssh… How can a kawaiikunei otemba like you can cook anyway? I mean, it’s not like you can catch a husband if you’re going to poison him.”

“RANMA NO BAKA!” Akane screeched at the top of her lungs. Immediately she pulled out her mallet and prepared to pound Ranma.

Both fathers quickly rushed to Ranma and forced him to apologize the Akane.

“Why should I? It’s not like I’m going to marry her or nothing…. Who want to marry a otemba anyway?”

Akane lowered her mallet and spoke to her father. “Fine. If that’s how you feel, then I want to end our engagement.”

Genma attempted to pound Ranma, but he sidestepped the attempt. “Boy, apologize to Akane immediately.”

Soun’s demon head shouted, “You will apologize to my daughter.”

“Sheeesh….see if I care. There’s no way I’m doing anything because of your stupid engagement.”

“Ranma no Baka!” In one full swing of the mallet, Ranma was sent flying towards Dr. Tofu office. Once Ranma was out of sight, Akane ran up stairs and slammed the door shut.

Nabiki stood in the background and watched the whole predicament. She knew Sasuke was near by and soon Kuno would be arriving. She was amazed to see the hurt in their eyes as they played their part. It was hard believe how much they love each other. There were still people to take care of before she could rest though. She made her way to the phone and dialed the clinic. After receiving conformation, she made other calls. Once done, she waited for the arrival of samurai moron. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Fear not for I, Tatewake Kuno, shall rescues the fair Tendo Akane from the dept of despair with my undying love.” Kuno entered the gate and walked briskly to the front door.

Soun ignored the raving poet and wailed at the thought of the two families never joining. Genma was in panda form and rolled on his back.

Nabiki approached Kuno.

“Ah, Tendo Nabiki, where might I find the fair maiden Tendo Akane?”

“Kuno-baby. Akane doesn’t want to see you.”

Stunned, but undeterred. “How can that be? She is free from the vile clutches of the evil sorcerer Saotome. I shall show her true love like no man can imagine.”

“I’ll say this again Kuno, she doesn’t want to see you.”

“You are mistaken, Tendo Nabiki. I can not believe such words could be spoken from thy fair sister.”

Before Nabiki said the next word, Akane stepped from behind her and smiled at Kuno.

“Ah, fair Akane. I shall allow you to date me.”

Akane didn’t say a word and pulled mallet back and swung full power at Kuno’s chest.

“My Akane, you really got him hard that time.”

“Ah…I feel better though.” Akane smiled, but then frowned again.

“Come on Sis, let’s get something to eat.” Nabiki and Akane left the house.

At a restaurant nearby, Nabiki, Akane, Kasumi, and Dr. Tofu sat at a round table.

Dr. Tofu pushed his glasses and asked Akane with concern, “Akane-san, how are you feeling?”

“I-I don’t know. A small part of me is angry with him. Another part is hurt and the other misses him already.”

Smiled gently, “Don’t worry, Akane. You must remember that you’re doing this to make things better.”

Sniff.

“I know, but it still hurts.”

“I know it does, but you must work towards his return. You must believe it’s for the best.”

“B-But I miss him already. How can I wait for him to return.” At that, she broke down crying.

“Akane-san, would you accept a little advice from me?”

Akane just nodded her head.

“The best way to continue on is to hold what you had together. Try to remember the times you spent together and keep those memories alive. Also, try to think of new memories you’ll have when he returns. And he will return.”

Sniffling a little bit less, she said softly, “Y-You’re right, Dr. Tofu. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So Akane, have you and him done it? You did ask for those pills after all.” Nabiki grinned wickedly as she saw Akane lit up like a red light bulb.

“Nabiki!” chastised Kasumi.

Everyone at the table giggled at Akane as she attempts to hide her blushing face while making an impression of a fish.

Nabiki couldn’t help but continued, “Is that a yes or no?”

Akane shook her head fiercely while her face was about to explode from embarrassment.

“You can’t be serious, Sis,” she said with a smirk. “In the three weeks you were together, neither of you did it?”

Again, Akane just shook her head.

The others enjoyed the laugh, much to Akane discomfort. It really helped her mood and gave her the courage she needed to make sure the plan was successful.

Later that night, Akane lay on her side and faced the empty space where Ranma usually slept. She closed her eyes and focused on the image. A smile emerged and she fell asleep thinking about the one she loved.

[5 Weeks later]

“Kiya” echoed in the early morning hue of the dojo. A girl in yellow gi stood in the middle of the dojo hitting concrete blocks. She laid another stack of bricks and repeated the process. Once done, she took a broom and cleared the floor. Putting the broom away, she moved through intricate kicks, punches, and leaps that blend together like a river. She continued to do this till she was interrupted by a sound of someone intruding into the dojo.

“Daughter, I would like to speak with you,” said the man in mustache.

“What is it, father?” asked the girl in uncaring manner.

“We must speak about your engagement,” he said sternly.

Turning swiftly to face her father, she said dryly, “Dad, I told you already. I’m not interested in getting engage to anyone.”

“But we must have an heir to carry on the school,” Soun tried to reason.

“Look, Daddy. Let me choose who I want to marry. I don’t want you to engage me to someone I don’t know or don’t like,” she protested.

Sound smiled as he patted her on the back. “Why won’t you accepts the engagement to Ryoga?”

From behind the door, another man entered the room. He wore a yellow shirt with black pants. He carried a red umbrella. When he smiled, you could see the fangs.

Akane looked behind her father and shook her head. “For the last time, Tendo Soun. I AM NOT INTERESTED!”

Startled by the outburst, he tried to draw strength in the fact that he was doing what was best for his daughter, but wilted under the glaring of his daughter that resembled so much like his late wife when she was angry and quickly left the dojo

Sometime later, Ryoga entered and closed the sat on the floor. Since Ranma disappeared, he had been spending most of his time here. He never left if he could help it. He made several attempts at asking her out, but she refused all of them. He tried to get her to forget about Ranma. He was positive he had succeeded, but Akane still didn’t want to be engaged to anyone. He just didn’t understand. He thought that with Ranma gone, she would gladly accept an engagement to someone else, like him. Pulling his courage together, he cleared his throat.

Akane continued working on her kata after her father left the dojo. She had had enough of her father trying to arrange marriage with all sorts of people. She couldn’t believe he had been willing to engage her to Kuno, of all people. Thanks to help from Nabiki, they were able to force Kuno away and made dad break the engagement. Since Ranma left, Ryoga had been staying here a lot longer.

At first, she didn’t mind the company. After the first a week, he tried to ask her out which she kindly refused. She had told him that she’s not ready to date anyone. A few days later, he asked her again. He did that for two straight weeks. Then, he had the nerve to tell me to forget about Ranma in saying that Ranma had no honor and was not worth thinking about. At that moment, she had been about to pound him. It was a good thing Kasumi had interrupted. Since that day, he had hinted her on how he was better than Ranma and how he would always protect her. Protect me? It was more like hounding me. Then, a few days ago, Ryouga suggested to her father that maybe Akane would be happier engage him instead. She had flat out refused and stormed away. Since then, she refused to speak to either one if she could help it.

Akane stopped her kata when she heard Ryoga cleared his throat. Turning to him, she asked flatly. “What is it, Ryoga?”

“Um…W-Why don’t you want to be engaged to me?” he asked quietly.

She sighed, but continues, “Look Ryoga, your very nice, but I don’t like force marriage.”

“I-It’s not like anything before.”

Akane raised her brow, “How so?”

“I mean, you’re not engage to that coward Ranma,” Ryoga said with a smirk.

Immediately, Akane felt her temper ignited. “It’s still force, Ryoga.”

“B-but, it’s not to Ranma.”

Akane smiled. “So, if I’m engage to anyone else other than Ranma, then it’s ok?” Akane asked with a grin.

“Er… yeah,” he said quickly.

“What if it’s Kuno?” Akane inquired.

“K-Kuno! It’s not the same!” Ryoga protested

“But you just said that anyone else other than Ranma will be ok.”

“Well….I mean. You should be engage to someone better than Ranma,” Ryoga said with confidence.

“And who would that be?” Akane asked irritated.

“Umm… I am,” standing up quickly, Ryoga approached Akane and held her hands.

Akane flinched at the contact and tried to pull back, but his grip was much stronger.

“Akane-san, please hear me out.” Taking a deep breath, Ryoga continued, “I-I l…l-love you. I-I always have…and…and I’ll always be there for you.”

Akane was taken back by the approach, but soon found her control. “Ryoga, how can you always be there when you get lost all the time?”

“I-I’ll stay by your side all the time.”

“I’m sorry, Ryoga.”

“B-But, why? I’m better than Ranma. I won’t hurt you or insults you. I’ll do anything you say. Why won’t you be engaged to me? You were engaged to that honorless coward Ranma for over a year, why not me?”

Akane felt her temper went into warp drive. In the past several weeks that she spent with Ryoga, she had found so many things about him that she hadn’t seen before. She didn’t know why. Before, all she noticed was Ranma and Ryoga fighting and usually blamed Ranma for it. Now, she wasn’t sure any more. Now, she saw someone who liked blaming other people for his problem and it was always Ranma. It was always the same thing over and over. ‘It was Ranma’s fault because of this’, ‘It was Ranma’s fault because of that’, or ‘It’s all Ranma’s fault’.

She needed some fresh air to clear her thought before things got out of hand. She took a deep breath and walked out of the Dojo. It didn’t surprise her when Ryouga followed closely behind, almost looming over her as if she a piece of meat under a gaze of a vulture. She clenched her fist and quickened her pace until she was outside and next to the Koi pond. It was strange that Ryouga always left her alone when she came near the pond. Just as well, she thought. As long as he remained away from her, she was fine.

She glanced at him at the corner of his eyes and wondered. Here was someone she didn’t know anymore. She thought he was better than this. She thought he was a good friend. Someone who was kind but found out that whenever something went wrong, he would blame Ranma. Ranma hasn’t been here for several weeks. When she came back after hearing about the engagement to Ryoga, Nabiki told her that Ryoga blamed Ranma for her running out. He blamed Ranma for my misery. “Who are you Ryoga?” she asked herself.

After several minutes, she decided it was time to take her shower. There were times when she wanted to take P-chan with her so she could pour out her problems on her pet pig, but dismissed it because of her promised to Ranma. She would keep her promise as she knew he would keep his. With a sigh, she got up and left the pond only to be stop by Ryouga at the door.

“Ryoga, please let go,” Akane demanded firmly.

“B-But Akane-san, please. I love you. I would never hurt you like Ranma. I would protect you better than Ranma. I would never make you cry like Ranma did. P-Please m-marry me.”

“Ryoga, please let go of me,” Akane repeated louder.

“B-But why?”

“Because she asked you to, Ryoga,” a voice said from above wall surrounding the house.

******

[End of chapter 1]

***Author's Notes***

I've finally finished the first chapters of the Ranma/SM crossover. There were many revisions and rewrites before I decided on a course of action that has a good steady pace. In the beginning, many of my pre-readers complained about the fast pace of the story. Originally, I only planned on making a short series and wanted to cover as much ground as possible. Well, I thought about it and decided to take things slower and stretched out the series. This will give me more time to concentrates on the characters. Though, I'm not very good at describing action sequences, I'll do what I can to give an elaborate details of what's happening. Please send any C&C to xile@crosswinds.net. Thanks