Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to the wonderful
Romiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North
America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans.
No copyright infringement is intended.
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Toshi-chan Book II
(Lite version - less angst)
Chapter 1
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by TeW
Last Update 2004-02-17
============================
Ranma clutched tightly to Akane. The glow from the Nanban mirror
surrounded them both. Ranma fought, fought with all his will not to
leave Akane alone.
Normally he would have failed. The nanban mirror was a fragment of the
same magic that made up Pluto's timegate. While its use was limited,
even that limited use required tremendous power. Against that power the
human will was pitifully weak.
However, the mirror had been broken. It now found a destiny for those
that traveled in time, fitting them into the timeline rather than
protecting them from it. This gave Ranma an edge, a weapon to use in
his fight. The mirror started to lose ground to the boy's will.
While not intelligent, the mirror had a limited form of sentience. It
knew it was losing and didn't like it. So it found another way. It
decided to follow Ranma's wish to the letter: Akane would not be alone.
*Any* of the Akane's that might exist in the fractured timelines this
would create. Ranma's body broke into three images, one went forward to
his own time, another went forward into a parallel timeline accompanied
by a ghostly Akane. The last stayed where it was, clutching desperately
to the young girl he loved.
* * * *
Ranma lay half on top of Akane, panting at the effort. He'd done it!
The Nanban mirror hadn't forced him away.
Akane stirred under him. He leaned back and watched as she opened her
eyes. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.
"Toshi? How did we get to my room?" Akane whispered.
"Uh...I carried you back." Ranma answered.
"Oh. Did anyone see you?" Akane sounded worried.
"No. I brought you in through the window."
Akane wrapped her arms around him. "On the second floor? You must be
some martial artist. We should spar some time."
Ranma caught himself just before saying something stupid about not
fighting girls.
Akane pulled him close to her. "I'd love for you to stay Toshi, but you
better go home. When will I see you again?"
Oh great. Where was he going to go? "You'll see me soon, I promise."
Akane kissed him then. It was warm and tender, with just a little touch
of the passion they'd shared earlier. Afterward he held her for a
moment, vowing again that she would not be alone.
He slowly released her and headed for the window. He had to find
somewhere to spend what little was left of the night. He should also go
get the small backpack he'd used in his girl form. It wasn't much, but
right now it contained everything he owned.
* * *
The party had gone to hell. There were a few people wandering around
and picking up trash and otherwise cleaning up a bit. There were a half
dozen people passed out in the back yard and Ranma could see several
others in the house. He felt bad for whoever had put on the party, it
probably wasn't supposed to get this out of hand.
As he picked up the backpack he heard the sound of a girl crying and a
familiar voice trying to comfort her. Ranma jumped up into a nearby
tree and looked into the window above the bathroom. When he saw what
was going on he almost fell out of the tree.
Hiroshi was holding a naked girl in his arms, he couldn't tell for
sure, but the girl looked like Akane's friend Yuka. It looked like he
and Akane weren't the only victims of the spiked punch. It also
explained the weird relationship Hiroshi had always had with Yuka. He
decided he'd only make things worse by trying to interfere and leapt
down.
He'd have to try to track down who spiked the punch and beat them
bloody.
He took a deep breath and thought about what to do next. Eventually
he'd have to go back to the Tendo's and explain everything. For now he
needed a place to sleep and someone to help him decide how to handle
this. So who did he know in this time that could help him? The Tendo's
were out, at least for now. Ucchan still wanted to kill him, Shampoo
was in China, Ryoga hardly knew him yet, his pop was an idiot, and his
mom...
His mom. He'd have to explain the whole thing to her, but she would
help. He'd have to make sure she didn't find out about the curse until
after he explained though. It was a long walk from here, he'd get to
her house a little after dawn.
* * *
Ranma was in good shape. Actually, he was in incredibly good shape.
Despite that he was completely exhausted by the time he got to his
mom's house. Not surprising really, between the time jumping and his
sleepless night it had been a very busy forty hours since he'd last
slept.
His tiredness may explain why, when his mother answered the door, he
had absolutely no idea what to say.
His mother looked at him strangely, holding a housecoat tightly around
herself. "And what can I do for you this early in the morning?"
Ranma scratched the back of his head and tried to think. He didn't have
much luck. Finally he gave up and said the first thing that came into
his head. For once it was just the right thing to say.
"Uh...hi mom. I'm kinda in a lot of trouble and hoped you could help."
His mother's eye's widened. "Ranma?"
Ranma just nodded.
"Come in son! My you have certainly grown up, I'd say you were closer
to seventeen than fourteen."
Ranma's mouth was on autopilot. "I am seventeen mom."
His mother stopped. "My son is not even fifteen."
Ranma sighed. "Not yet he isn't, but I'm from a couple years in the
future."
His mother gave him a skeptical look.
"Please mom? Let me explain everything. I wasn't kidding when I said I
was in trouble."
"All right, come in and have a seat. I'll make us some breakfast."
* * * *
Nodoka stared at her son. His story was completely insane, and he was
years older than he should be, but somehow she just *knew* it was her
Ranma.
Nodoka cleared her throat, incidentally waking up Ranma who had started
to nod off again. "Dear, you still haven't told me what kind of trouble
you're in."
Ranma rubbed his eyes. "I...ah, well I got Akane pregnant." He mumbled.
Pregnant? Well he was quite manly, but he also had obligations, he was
supposed to marry a Tendo. Wait a moment, wasn't the youngest Tendo
girl named Akane?
"Akane Tendo?"
"Yeah mom."
With great effort Nodoka kept from jumping up and dancing around.
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad. You know about the engagement?"
"Yeah, pop told...tells me...when I'm sixteen."
Nodoka nodded. If you accepted Ranma's story of time travel that sort
of made sense. "And is Akane the young Akane or is she older too?"
"Uh...the young one." Ranma sounded rather sheepish. Well, many men
preferred younger women, and the difference was actually quite small in
absolute terms.
"Hmmm...she's a bit young, but obviously not *too* young. How far along
is she?"
"Huh?"
Nodoka frowned. Men could be so clueless about these things. "How long
has she been pregnant?"
"A few hours."
Nodoka almost laughed. Men could be *very* clueless.
"Son." She said gently. "Having sex with a girl does not automatically
mean she's pregnant. In fact it's rather unlikely. In a few weeks we
can have her tested to make sure but I really don't think you have to
worry."
Ranma groaned. "Mom, I'm from the future remember? She *is* pregnant.
It's going to be a boy. His name is Toshi."
Nodoka thought about that. Then she thought some more. Then she decided
to take some aspirin before continuing. The boy certainly did get into
*interesting* trouble.
She was about to ask another question until she saw that the poor dear
had fallen asleep. Akane must be a strong girl to tire out her son like
that. She'd make a wonderful daughter-in-law.
Well, she had things to do. First get her son to bed, then she needed
to find out more about the Tendos.
* * *
Ranma woke in his room at his mother's house. He'd seen the room before
of course, even slept there a few times. Now he wondered if he would
live here full time. He wasn't really sure the dojo was 'home' now. He
moved to the window and looked out. Late afternoon, so it was probably
still Sunday.
Ranma found his way to the bathroom and washed up. His cloths were
missing, but his mother had left a robe for him. He belted it on and
headed downstairs.
His mother was sitting at the table surrounded by books, newspapers,
file folders, and even a few scrolls. She looked up when he came down
the stairs. "Good afternoon son. How are you feeling?"
"Hungry." Ranma admitted.
"I see you take after your father."
Ranma grimaced. "Please don't say that mom. I haven't told you what he
did to me on that training trip."
"I want to hear all about it, but right now we have some other
problems."
Ranma just looked at her. How could things get any worse?
"I've been looking into the Tendo family. I'm afraid they are having
some difficulties. Soun has not been teaching very much since his wife
died, and their finances are strained as it is. Akane's pregnancy may
cause them some serious problems financially."
Ranma just nodded. He'd long ago figured out why Nabiki was such a
money-grubbing bitch. He didn't mind the pictures and betting so much
after that.
"We may be able to help them. Have you been licensed to teach yet?"
"Uh...pop's licensed me for the Saotome school, but Mr. Tendo never
licensed me for Tendo school, and Happosai said I still had a few
techniques to learn before he'd test me for the school as a whole."
"Master Happosai? I thought he was gone." His mother said.
"'fraid not, though he won't show up for a couple years."
His mother tapped a pencil against the table. "Well, maybe Mr. Tendo
could license you soon, then you could teach some classes after school
or on weekends. A few more students at the dojo would help the Tendo's
finances quite a bit."
"It's okay with me. I never liked freeloading."
His mother smiled slightly at that, but her face soon switched to a
thoughtful frown. "Son, please sit down."
Ranma sat down across from his mother.
"I must ask you what is going to happen to the younger Ranma?"
"I'm not sure I understand the question."
His mother's frown deepened. "Right now there are two Ranma's, one
younger and one older. Will that continue to be so or will the younger
Ranma eventually disappear?"
Ranma frowned too. "I've really got no idea mom, but I think there's
going to be two of us. The other me hasn't got any reason to go back in
time if I stick around."
"Then you cannot be 'Ranma Saotome', as there is already such a person.
We need to create a new name for you, as well as some paperwork, and
ensure you are added to the family roles."
Ranma was stunned. He'd never even considered that. His name was one
thing he'd never had to give up. Even when he was playing 'Ranko' it
had always been a temporary thing.
"O-okay mom. I used the name 'Toshi' when I met Akane, maybe that would
work?"
Nodoka nodded. "I suppose, though I was thinking 'Jiro'--that's what I
wanted to name you when you were born. I will get the paperwork started
tomorrow while you're in school. After school I want you to go to the
middle school and meet Akane and walk her home. I will meet you at the
Tendo's."
Ranma swallowed hard. That was going to be an interesting meeting.
"You will need to bring some gifts. I will arrange for them to be
waiting for you outside the dojo gates."
Ranma swallowed again. "Betrothal gifts?"
His mother nodded.
"I hope Akane hasn't figured out that mallet trick yet." Ranma muttered.
* * * *
To his relief Ranma's mother enrolled him at Furenken high school. The
place looked a little different without all the repairs that had been
done thanks to the fights. He didn't really get to spend time with
other students since he spent the day taking placement tests.
He did see Kasumi at lunch. She was eating alone on one of the benches
along the side of the school. He was debating going over and talking to
her when two boys walked up to the bench and sat on either side of her.
Ranma stopped and smiled a little. They were probably trying to
convince her to let them taste her Bento, Kasumi *was* an excellent
cook. He'd be tempted to do the same if he didn't have a bento made by
his mom, the only cook he knew who could rival Kasumi.
One of the boys said something in a low voice and Kasumi frowned. Ranma
was on his feet and standing in front of the bench before he fully
realized what was wrong. Kasumi frowning was enough reason to check to
make sure things were okay.
"Kasumi-san, are these two bothering you?" Ranma growled.
The two boys jerked upright and looked at him. "Who the hell are you?"
one of them said.
"Toshi Saotome. Master of the Saotome school of Anything Goes martial
arts, and a friend of Kasumi-san's sister."
"Uhh..." The first boy said.
Ranma cracked his knuckles and let his battle aura start to show.
"Eeep." Squeaked the boy who'd been quiet so far.
"We were just, umm...going. Bye." The first boy grabbed the second and
they beat a hasty retreat.
Ranma let his aura die down and turned to Kasumi with a bow. "Sorry
Kasumi-san, I know we haven't really been introduced, but it looked as
if those two were causing you some distress."
Ranma suppressed a grin. That had sounded pretty good. Maybe he was
getting the hang of this politeness thing.
Kasumi gave Ranma a warm smile. "Thank you Saotome-san. Am I right in
assuming you are Hitomi-chan's brother? The one my sister met at the
party?"
"Yes Kasumi-san. May I join you for lunch?"
"Of course."
Ranma went to get his bento and sat next to Kasumi on the bench,
keeping a reasonable amount of space between them.
"I must thank you again Saotome-san. Those two have been rather irksome
at times." Kasumi said after he sat down.
Ranma grinned at her. "You should have had Akane beat them up. Being
pummeled by a younger girl, preferably in public, would have kept them
away from you."
Kasumi hid a grin of her own. "Oh my, that would have been rather
cruel. Besides, they are two older boys, I'm not sure Akane could have
handled them."
"She could have, she is quite skilled in the art for her age."
Kasumi and Ranma ate some of their bentos.
After a bit Kasumi set her bento down in her lap. "You know that my
sister is quite taken with you."
Ranma set his bento on his lap as well, staring at it rather than
looking up at Kasumi. He was remembering the night of the party and
didn't want Kasumi to see how bad he was blushing.
"Saotome-san?"
"Kasumi-san, I wish I could tell you what's going on. All I can say is
that I have very strong feelings for your sister, and that you will
find out more tonight." He said.
"Oh my. If you are planning on stopping by the house you might want to
wait. My father is a bit angry at you for keeping Akane out so late."
Kasumi said.
Ranma straightened up and looked at Kasumi. "There is much more to this
than you know Kasumi. It will work out."
Kasumi looked at him with that warm, understanding look she had down so
well. "Does this have something to do with your being a master of the
school of marital arts my family follows?"
"Yes." Ranma admitted.
Kasumi favored him with one of her rare frowns. "And what you and my
little sister did after the party?"
Ranma looked down. Great, Kasumi knew all about it. Ranma should have
realized that Akane would want to talk about it with someone, and who
else would she talk to?
"Yes." He said meekly.
Kasumi nodded at him. "I do not approve of what happened, but I am glad
to hear you will do the honorable thing."
Ranma always hated to be chastised by Kasumi, but this was somehow
different. Kasumi wasn't the older mother-figure anymore. She was close
to his own age. It affected their relationship in a way that Ranma
couldn't really describe. He did know that he wasn't going to let her
get by with it this time.
"Well, since you know that much, I might as well start calling you 'big
sister'."
Kasumi gapped at him.
Ranma laughed. The only other time he could recall having surprised
Kasumi was when she'd first found out he was cursed. After a few
seconds Kasumi giggled too.
They went back to eating after that. Lunch period was almost up anyway.
Ranma hopped up as the first bell rang.
"Got to go. See you tonight big sister."
As he walked away Kasumi stood and put a hand on his shoulder. He
turned around and looked down into her eyes.
"Make her happy little brother. She is a dancing flame, if you take
that away I will never forgive you."
Ranma nodded. A dancing flame...yes that was Akane now, that flame
still lived when he met her in two years, but it was nearly
extinguished. Now though, now he was here to make sure that didn't
happen. "I promise Kasumi."
She smiled at him and dropped her hand. He turned and ran into the
building. He still had more tests to take today.
* * *
Fortunately Ranma finished the tests a little before school ended,
which gave him plenty of time to run over to the nearby junior high and
wait for Akane.
It was pretty weird. He recognized a lot of the students, but they all
looked so young. Many of them gave him a strange look as they walked
by, but no one bothered him.
"Toshi!" Ranma turned around and spotted Akane waving at him. She
quickly came over and grabbed his arm.
"Toshi, I'm so glad you came to see me!" She gushed. "My friends didn't
believe me when I told them about you, and now I can show off my hunky
boyfriend right in front of then."
Ranma couldn't help but smile at the mischievous look in her eyes. She
was so damn cute like this!
"I thought I could walk you home." He said.
Akane's smile faded a bit. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. My father
was pretty unhappy about how late I was out, and my older sister...well
she doesn't really approve."
"I think your father will be okay once he knows who I am. As for
Kasumi, I've already spoken to her."
"You know Kasumi?"
Ranma started toward the dojo at a slow walk. Akane, still holding onto
his arm, began walking with him.
"I met her during lunch at school. A few boys were bothering her a
little, so I chased them away and we had a chance to talk a little."
Akane seemed to get upset at that. "Do you like her?" She asked.
"Hmm...Kasumi? Of course, doesn't everyone like Kasumi?" Ranma answered.
Akane pulled her hand off his arm and stopped. She was in her classic
'angry' pose--arms straight down at her sides body leaning forward and
eyes flashing. "So, did you ask her out?"
"Huh? Why would I do that?" Ranma asked, totally confused.
"Because she's older, and prettier, and sexier, and can cook, and..."
Akane almost shouted.
Oh yeah, Akane was jealous of the way Dr. Tofu went crazy over Kasumi.
He'd never realized it was this bad. Ranma stepped up to her and took
her arm, placing her hand back on his arm and started walking toward
the dojo again.
"Well, she *is* older, and she is a good cook." Ranma said. "But I
don't agree with you on the other two."
Akane, who had looked about ready to clobber him, blushed badly and
looked down at her feet.
They walked together in silence a bit longer until Ranma noticed that
they were quite close to the dojo. He had wanted to talk to Akane some
more before they arrived. Now he was out of time. He'd have to just let
her known something was going to happen, and then try to explain later.
If she let him.
"Akane? We're almost to the dojo. There's a lot I wanted to talk to you
about, but we're not going to have a chance. Things are going to be...a
little weird. Just remember that I really do care for you, more than
you can know."
Akane looked up at him and smiled. "I think you showed me that after
the party."
Ranma stopped. She didn't understand, she *couldn't* understand. He
reached out and cupped her face with his hand.
"Akane-chan, there's so much more to how I feel about you than what
happened that night that I can't even explain it."
Obviously he'd said something right, because her eyes start to sparkle
and her smile threatened to outshine the sun.
"Come on, time to face our parents." He said. She nodded and they
started walking the last block to the dojo gate with Akane's head
leaning on his arm.
* * * *
Ranma took the large cloth bag from the young boy standing at the gate.
The boy bowed to him and ran off.
"What's that?" Akane asked.
"Some gifts I need to bring to your family." Ranma didn't look at her.
Akane stared at the bag. Her quiet 'oh' suggested she had guessed what
the bag held.
"Ranma? Maybe this should wait. My father doesn't know about what
happened between us. We could just not say anything." Akane said.
"Akane-chan, I wish it could work that way. I'd like nothing better
than to just be your boyfriend. To go out on dates and do things
together. But..." Ranma slid his hand down to cover her stomach, he
felt carefully with his ki.
Ranma frowned. He was certain he would be able to feel the life in her.
Cologne had said that even those just conceived had a tiny amount of ki
that was their own, different from either of their parents. He tried
again, using more of his ki. He slowly fed more ki into his search
until he heard Akane gasp.
He stopped immediately and looked at her. Akane's eyes were wide and
she was staring at him.
"What did you do?" She asked.
Ranma was confused, and it showed in his voice. "I was trying to feel
the baby. But it wasn't there. That's impossible, you had to get
pregnant last night or Toshi won't be born."
"What?" Akane asked.
"We better get inside Akane. I don't know what's going on, but we still
have to talk to our parents."
Akane kept staring at him. "Who are you?" She whispered.
"Long story. I'll tell you everything, but we might as well go inside
so I can tell everyone at the same time."
Akane nodded, then took his arm again in a very deliberate way. Ranma
smiled at that obvious show of support. Then they turned and walked
into the house.
* * * *
Ranma sat looking at the silent and still group in front of him. Nabiki
looked like her mind had shut down, his mother looked thoughtful,
Kasumi's smiled seemed a little strained, and Mr. Tendo looked both
confused and angry. He glanced at Akane, who was sitting next to him
and holding his hand under the table. She looked confused too, but she
smiled and squeezed his hand when she caught his eye.
Mr. Tendo finally spoke up. "So you got my little girl pregnant."
Ranma flinched. "Well, that's what I thought would happen, but I don't
think Akane's pregnant. I really don't understand, she should be. The
Nanban mirror shouldn't have been able to change anything."
Ranma pulled the mirror out of his pocket. He blinked a few times in
confusion when he saw it. It was different. The cracks were gone, the
edges of the frame were smoother, and it somehow looked less
substantial than it had before. He looked around, no onions, but he had
a slice of lemon Kasumi had given him with his tea. He rubbed the lemon
into his eye and let a tear drop onto the mirror. Wrapping an arm
around Akane he spoke.
"Take us to see Toshi when he was one and a half years old."
Nothing changed. Ranma bowed his head in sorrow. Had he somehow changed
things so Toshi never existed?
"Toshi! The mirror." Akane said. Ranma looked up at the mirror still
clutched in his hands. The surface of the mirror showed a small but
clear image of Toshi sitting with Nodoka. His mother was pointing at
something and talking to the child. The small boy jumped up and ran in
the direction she had pointed. The image in the mirror followed him as
he stopped in front of the older Akane who was wearing a wedding
kimono. Ranma came into view, also dressed for a wedding and picked the
boy up.
Ranma signed in relief. Toshi was all right, he just somehow wasn't
here yet or maybe would never be here. After all he just saw himself,
maybe he *had* gone back to the older Akane, but somehow stayed too.
Ranma shook his head, he didn't really understand all this.
"Ranma, may I?" His mother asked. Ranma handed over the mirror. His
mother set it on the table so everyone on that side could see it.
Akane squeezed his hand again. "Toshi, was that our child?"
Ranma nodded. "But I don't think he's going to happen here. That's
somehow a different place, where I went back to my own time.
"I..I'm sorry I won't meet him, but I'm glad too. I'm too young to have
children."
"Are you sure son?" Nodoka asked.
"Pretty sure. I can't feel the baby's ki. If Cologne was right, I
should be able to feel it just a few hours after...conception."
Mr. Tendo cleared his throat. "All right son, I won't pretend I
understand what's going on here, but there are a few things I do know."
The Tendo patriarch looked sternly at Ranma and Akane. "There is an
agreement between the Saotome's and Tendo's to join the families and
two schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts. In addition there is your
behavior after the party."
Ranma looked sidelong at Akane. She looked kind of scared. Her grip on
his hand increased to painful levels. Mr. Tendo resumed speaking and he
focused back on the older man.
"You two are now engaged. Given your behavior at the party Nodoka
Saotome and I have agreed that we will decided when when you get
married. Any questions?"
Akane shook her head and looked down at the table. Ranma opened his
mouth, then he too shook his head.
"Good, now that that's settled, let's have dinner. Then I want to spar
with you Toshi. Your mother suggested I license you to teach Tendo
school so you can hold classes at the dojo. We'll see if you really are
that good."
Ranma nodded.
Nodoka cleared her throat. "Son, maybe you should get some hot and cold
water. We still have to show them your curse.
Ranma signed. He was surprised he hadn't been splashed by accident yet.
Maybe all this weird stuff had made him less of a water magnet. Maybe
even the curse was confused by everything that was happening. He sure
was.
* * * *
Nabiki was the worst.
For some reason all three of the Tendo sisters were fascinated by his
curse. It reminded him of the way Ukyou had reacted. Nabiki was more
than fascinated though, see was obsessed.
"Just one more time Ranma? Please?" Nabiki wined.
"Okay, but this has *got* to be the last time. My cloths are soaked as
it is."
His mother smiled and picked her tea off the table for a sip. "I'm
afraid the floor is going to need a good mopping. Where do you keep the
mops Kasumi dear?"
Kasumi looked up just as Nabiki was pouring the cold water onto Ranma
and Akane was giggling, again. Ranma figured Akane would be upset when
she found out he was also his "sister", but she actually seemed to like
the idea.
"Oh dear, I'll get this mopped up right away." She said.
"Please let me do it Kasumi, I haven't had to clean up after children
in far too long. I find the idea of children who always clean up after
themselves rather depressing."
Kasumi smiled at that. "Well then, let me show you the laundry area, we
keep the mops and bucket there."
Nodoka stood and looked thoughtfully at Ranma as Nabiki poured hot
water over him, changing him back to his normal form.
"Ranma dear, maybe you better get out of those wet cloths. I'm sure Mr.
Tendo has a gi around you can wear for a bit. Maybe I can impose on
Kasumi to run those through the wash, you don't have much in the way of
clothing yet and you'll need to wear that to school tomorrow."
"Of course, and you should have a bath too. You don't want to catch a
cold. I'll start the furo, Akane, why don't you find a gi that Ranma
can wear. Nabiki, maybe you better talk to daddy, I think he's a little
shocked by Ranma's curse."
Soun looked up and her. "I'm fine Kasumi. I saw many strange things
during my training travels with Ranma's father." Soun's announcement
would have been reassuring if his long hair wasn't standing straight up.
Ten minutes later Ranma was scrubbing himself in the Tendo washroom. It
was a comforting act, he could pretend that nothing had changed and he
was just washing up after a workout. He rinsed himself with cold water
and settled into the furo with a sigh of satisfaction. A hot soak was
just what he needed.
He only had a few minutes to enjoy it before there was a knock at the
door.
"Toshi? I have a gi for you." Akane called through the door.
"Great Akane, I'll be out in a couple minutes okay?" He called back.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Sure I guess." Ranma said.
The door opened and Akane stepped in, looking at the floor. She moved
over to the tub and sat on the side, keeping her eyes away from him.
"Ummm...." Ranma said.
Akane ignored his sputtering. "Ranma, could you tell me about her?"
Ranma had been sinking deeper into the tub. Now he sat up straight.
Akane's voice sounded very strange.
"Which her?"
"You know, me...when I was older." Akane said.
"Oh." That sort of made senses, she wanted to know what she would be
like, or maybe what she *would* have been like.
"Well, she's a lot like you. I guess that's pretty obvious. She's
older, her hair was longer when we first met but she got it cut short a
few weeks after I met her. She was cheerful a lot of the time, but was
also angry a lot. I used to think it was because of the engagement, but
now I think it's because of what happened with the baby. I guess I can't
blame her for hating guys after what she went through."
"Was she pretty?" Akane asked.
That was a strange question. Akane had always been the jealous type,
could she be jealous of her older self? And he couldn't just tell her
that she was cuter than the older Akane because she was going to *be*
the older Akane. He had the damnedest time with women.
"She was very cute, especially when she smiled, but I already told you
she was a lot like you." Ranma tried.
"Akane smiled and looked at him, then blushed and looked away." Thank
you Ranma. I'll leave and let you get out. Daddy will probably want to
spar with you. I want to spar too, but I don't think we'll have time
today. Soon?"
"Sure, I'd like that." Ranma lied. He was always afraid he was going to
hurt her when they spared.
Akane walked out and closed the door most of the way, then she stuck
her head back in. "Toshi? All this is kind of hard to understand, but I
*am* happy. Being your fiancee I mean."
Ranma smiled at her. "Me too Akane, me too."
* * * *
Ranma faced off with Mr. Tendo. His mother had suggested they wait
until after dinner or the next day, but Mr. Tendo wanted to spar with
him immediately. Akane stood at the side of the dojo watching with an
intensity that Ranma found a little frightening.
"Nothing formal, I just want to get a feel for how good you are." Mr.
Tendo said. "You can start whenever you're ready."
Ranma would have preferred to let the older man start. He always wanted
to see his opponents in action before starting. Still, this was Mr.
Tendo, he'd seen him spar with his dad plenty of times. He started with
a spin kick that he was sure the older man could block. To his surprise
Mr. Tendo ducked under the kick and came at him to grapple.
Ranma took to the air before the older man could in close. He tried a
few more kicks and blows while he was in the air. Again, Mr. Tendo
managed to block them, he'd obviously had experience fighting against
airborne attacks.
Ranma almost slapped himself in the face. Mr. Tendo had trained with
his father. He'd know all tricks his father had taught him and probably
counters to most of them too. Well, he'd have to see if he could turn
that to his advantage. The next time he was blocked while airborne he'd
see if he could get a grip on the blocking arm and try one of those
midair throws his father had drilled into him.
His chance came almost immediately as Mr. Tendo came in low and fast.
He leapt again, flipping faster this time to get his hands facing down.
He could do the throw with his feet and legs too, but he'd have more
control this way. Ranma took his opportunity on the first block, even
though the angle wasn't the best. He grabbed the arm and twisted
himself around, flipping the older man toward the dojo wall. The throw
canceled out his own momentum and he landed lightly on the floor.
Soun was upside down against the dojo wall, his head resting on the
floor. He was staring at Ranma with an unreadable expression.
"Mr. Tendo, you okay?" Ranma asked. He'd overdone the throw, applying
force appropriate to his father's bulk.
Mr. Tendo looked at him for another moment then laughed.
"My boy, it's been years since I was thrown like that. You are
definitely Genma's son." He said as he righted himself. "Now let's try
that again, shall we?"
* * * *
They sparred for two hours. By the time they had finished Mr. Tendo was
completely beat, and even Ranma was a little tired. He was surprised at
how good the older man was. He always seemed so pathetic before...or
after, or whatever you call the past when it's really the future. Akane
had watched until Kasumi had told her she had to go work on her
homework. Nabiki and his mother had stopped in to watch now and then,
but hadn't stayed very long.
Mr. Tendo leaned against the dojo wall and wiped his face off with a
towel. Ranma joined him, also wiping his face, though he didn't really
need it.
"You're very good Son." Mr. Tendo said. "Almost too good, is there
something more you haven't told me?"
Ranma thought about it. He'd stuck to the truth so far, and it seemed
to be working. Why change now?
"Yeah, Mr. Tendo, there's *lots* more. The year I was here with in the
future was really busy. Lots of people coming after me or pops for some
reason. These weird Chinese Amazon's who think I should be part of their
tribe, your and pop's old master coming back looking for a heir, and
lots of other stuff." Ranma glossed over almost everything, but giving
a complete answer would take hours.
Soun picked out what, to him, was the most important of those items.
"The Master is still alive?"
"Yup, the old freak is a real pain too. He popped up about six weeks
after we showed up. That give us almost a year and a half to get ready
for him.
"We will have to...discuss that." Soun said weakly. "Where is your
father now? Maybe he could help us get ready for the master."
"Uh..." Ranma was shocked. He'd never considered the possibility of
contacting his father and the other Ranma. He'd just assumed they'd
show up like they had last time. Because of that he'd been assuming he
would have over a year to figure out how to deal with it.
Ranma cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm not sure that's such a
good idea."
"And why is that, son?" Mr. Tendo sounded suspicious.
"Geez, Mr. Tendo. Don't forget that *I*'m with my pop right now. We've
been calling me 'Toshi', but I'm really Ranma."
"Oh." Mr. Tendo said. "Well, even so, I should probably talk to him. I
think I'll speak with your mother about it first. I assume he doesn't
know about you?"
"He *shouldn't*, but things aren't working out the way I expected. I
think I changed something when I refused to leave Akane alone and go
back."
Mr. Tendo looked at him thoughtfully. "You know Toshi, this is likely
to drive me quite insane." He said seriously.
"Join the club, Mr. Tendo, join the club."
* * * *
Over the next few days they worked out a routine. Ranma went to school
at Furienken, had lunch with Kasumi, then dashed over to the Junior
high after school to walk Akane to the dojo, and then spend some time
sparing and training with Akane and her father. Then he would either go
home and have dinner with his mother, or his mother would come to the
Tendo's and they'd all have dinner there. Then homework and it would be
time to go to bed and start all over again.
It was kind of boring. He didn't even get splashed much. The 'water
magnet' part of his curse seemed to be gone, hopefully permanently. If
it wasn't for Akane he'd probably have gotten a little crazy with how
quiet it all was.
His time with Akane was *different* now. She was insatiably curious
about him, always trying to get him to talk about himself, what he had
done, and how he felt about things. He felt comfortable around her, but
there was also an edge of...something...to everything they did together.
Not just sexual tension, though there was plenty of that, but the
feeling that this was just the beginning for them.
She acted different too. A lot less mature, but also a lot less angry
and cynical. She was nice to everyone, a bit shy sometimes and bit
mischievous other times, and most of all she was *happy*. The older
Akane he'd known was often cheerful, but not usually happy.
And then there was the goodbye kiss. Every afternoon or evening, before
Ranma left the dojo, he and Akane managed to find some time alone and
they kissed goodbye. Akane was *good* at it and seemed to get better
each time. Afterward they would stop and just hold each other for a
moment. Ranma needed that time to recover, and was pretty sure Akane
did too. By unspoken agreement there was never more than one kiss a
night. Neither of them could handle more than that.
This lasted a week before things started to get interesting again.
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