Ranma 1/2: The Insanity Continues

Volume 1 - Trapped

Chapter 4 - Countdown to the Wedding

By: Lord Archive

This chapter contains a couple sexual references and innuendoes, so it 
might be considered Lemon-Scented by some people.

Legal Babble: Characters are own and copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi,
Viz. Video, Shonen Sunday, ect... and are used without permission. I am
only borrowing them. I'll return them... eventually.

--------------------------------------------------------

Ranma and Akane left more than a half-hour early for school since they 
had to give invitations to friends and neighbors.

"I can't believe it. We're actually going to do it today," Ranma said.

"There should be nothing to stop it this time," Akane said.

"The last time they tried it, it was a disaster."

"Yeah, but this time we've handled the problems."

"Are you ready for it? Are we ready for it?"

"Yes and no." Akane sighed. "While I do want this, we still have 
problems that should've handled first."

"Why don't we solve them first?"

"Because the problems I'm referring to might take years to solve and 
thanks to what we did, we can't wait any longer."

"I know, but still. I'm not sure we should go through with it."

"Ranma, we have to. You are just going to have to get over your cold 
feet."

"Who says we have to do this though?"

Akane glared at Ranma angrily. "The baby I'm carrying in me says we 
have to get married. Or do you want to be completely honorless and 
run off?"

"I guess there isn't a choice, but still. I wish we could wait."

"I wish so too, but it's NOT going to happen," Akane said fiercely just 
before walking into  Dr. Tofu's clinic. Ranma followed her inside.
 
"Hello Ranma, Akane. It's been a while," Dr. Tofu greeted.

"Hello. Well, we've been getting along a lot better," Akane answered.

"That and it takes a lot more to hurt me now than it did before," added
Ranma before having Akane stomp on his foot.

"I see. So, what brings you here today?" asked Dr. Tofu.

"Well... we'd like to invite you to our wedding this afternoon," Akane
answered.

"You decided to get married?" Dr. Tofu squeaked in surprise.  

Akane and Ranma nodded.  

"Congratulations! I'd be happy to go. It gives me a perfect chance to
test to see if I've been able to gain some self-control when I'm around 
a certain girl. I've been working on that problem for a while now," 
Dr. Tofu added, starry eyed.

"Good luck, Doc. Hope it works," encouraged Ranma.

"Um... Dr. Tofu?" Akane began, blushing.

"What is it Akane?"

"I was wondering, how far into a pregnancy could a couple still have
sex?" 

Akane and Ranma blushed deeply, both nervous.

"From the cultural standpoint, as soon as it is known that you're
pregnant." 

Ranma and Akane frowned at this. 

"Medically, it depends on the pregnancy. It varies depending on
complications." Dr. Tofu answered.

"Um, could you make a guess on me?" Akane asked.

"It's hard to tell without tests. The earliest would be a couple months
into a pregnancy," Dr. Tofu explained. Jokingly, he added, "Why? Do you
think you're pregnant?" 

"Um... well... yes."

"What?" Dr. Tofu uttered, shocked.

"I am pregnant."

"How? When?"

"It happened a couple days ago. While we were trapped in a magical
prison. Cologne told us I was pregnant after we were freed."

"Ah! I'd like you to stop by after school, Friday, so I can run some
tests. I'd like both of you here, on Saturday, to talk about what to
expect."

"Okay, Dr. Tofu. We'll see you then. We have to go now. Bye," Akane
replied, leaving with Ranma.

Akane and Ranma ran to school with a minute left on the clock. Ranma
stopped in his tracks when he saw Kuno with a bucket of water. In less
than a second, Kuno launched his attack, splashing Ranma. He turned
into a girl in front of Kuno.

Kuno spoke, "So the cunning Tendo Nabiki speaks true that the pig-tailed
goddess of my dreams is but a magical illusion brought on by a heinous
curse. For using the curse to deceive me, I SHALL..." 

Kuno was interrupted by a boot to the head, and went flying over Nerima.

"Argh! My hangover's back," Ranma groaned, holding her head.

"Guess it's your girl form that can't take alcohol," Akane giggled just
as the school bell rung. "OH NO! We're late!" 

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand, rushing to class.

Akane and onna-Ranma arrived at class, nearly running over 
chibi-Ms. Hinako when they entered into the room.

"Akane, Ranma. Why are you late this time?" yelled Ms. Hinako.

"Not so loud!" Ranma howled.

"We're sorry. We were delayed by Kuno and by delivering these," Akane
replied with a smile, handing Ms. Hinako a personalized invitation.

Ms. Hinako immediately opened. Reading the card, she shrieked, "You're
getting married today?!"

"Yes," Akane replied happily. 

Ranma collapsed to the floor in agony. The class surged forward, asking
questions.

"Quiet down, everyone, AND SIT DOWN!" Hinako yelled. 

The class quickly obeyed when she produced a 50 yen coin. The only
exception was Ranma, writhing in pain on the floor.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Ms. Hinako.

"Our dads decided to throw him a bachelor party last night, and his girl
form has no tolerance for alcohol," Akane answered for Ranma.

"Can I get some hot water," said Ranma weakly.

"No. You will go to your seat and sit there," said Ms. Hinako.

"This is cruel," Ranma muttered.

"I know," giggled Ms. Hinako.

The class soon deteriorated as everyone, including Ms. Hinako, asked 
Akane about the wedding. They avoided onna-Ranma for fear of 
retaliation.

--------------------------------------------------------

Lunch hour seemed to take forever to arrive. All of the wedding 
invitations had been delivered. Ranma and Akane were eating lunch under 
a tree. The tree was surrounded by most of the students from Furinkan 
High. They asked all sorts of questions, but were being completely 
ignored.

"I wished Ms. Hinako would've let me changed back. Having a hangover
sucks!" Ranma said.

"If you did, you could have answered some of those questions," Akane
replied.

"Maybe I was better with the hangover." 

Ranma's and Akane's attention was drawn to a large movement in the 
crowd. The crowd separated to reveal Kuno, approached them. He spoke 
over the crowd, "I will have words with you! And I, the Blue Thunder of 
Furinkan High (a loud thunder strike was heard in the background,) will 
show my intentions with this sign of peace!" He tossed his bokken aside 
and sat down.

"If ya want to talk, Kuno-sempai, talk," replied Ranma. The crowd had
stopped asking questions so they can hear them speak.

"Tendo Akane, I wish to know how a goddess such as yourself, can be in
love with this foul demon?" asked Kuno. Ranma scowled at Kuno.

"Ranma may not be a saint, but he's definitely not a demon either. And 
as to why I love him? I... I... I don't know. I guess no one can truly
answer why they love someone. It's something that just happens," Akane
replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Saotome Ranma, do you truly love the fair Tendo Akane and can you say 
as to why?"

"Yes, I love Akane. And I also don't know why. I can say one of the
reasons is that I live for the moments that I see her smile," answered Ranma. 

Akane smiled at him. Most of the girls swooned at the romantic comment.

"One other question, Ranma, why is it you used the magic of your curse 
to deceive I, Kuno Tatewaki?" demanded Kuno. 

The crowd mumbled as they tried to figure out how Kuno finally made the
connection.

"You should've been the first to know that. I've only changed a dozen
times in front of you. You were just too dense to realize it. I even
practically told you," answered Ranma.

Akane shook her head at his words. She knew the same could be said of 
her when concerned with Ryoga. She spoke, more to Ranma than Kuno, 
"Sometimes a person doesn't want to make the connection, as it goes 
against concepts a person holds. So, they make up concepts they are more 
comfortable with. Such as Kuno believing your girl form is a separate 
individual, trapped by your magic. Or me not believing anyone would want 
to be my pet. The deception is not necessarily the fault of the cursed 
individual, but is, in part, our own fault for not wanting to see the 
truth"

The crowd mumbled in shock with the news of Akane's pet being a person
who was cursed. Kuno stood up and shouted, "What devious person would do
such a thing to the great Tendo Akane. I shall smite him!"

"Kuno, I do not want you trying to protect me. I am handling him myself.
Besides, I have more than enough of a protector in Ranma. I would like
you to go and search for someone who loves you, you may be surprised at
who you find," stated Akane.

"I endeavor myself to try to do as you wish. For now, I ask that you 
shall invite me to your wedding," Kuno asked.

"Of course, you can come," answered Akane.

"You can go, as long as ya don't try anything," added Ranma.

"But remember, there shall always be a fiery torch that will always burn
with my love for you, Tendo Akane," Kuno said as he bowed to Akane.

"What about me Kuno-sempai," Ranma said in the most feminine means
possible while in his male form.

Kuno turned green, grabbed his bokken and ran off. Ranma laughed and
Akane backhanded his shoulder, failing to contain her own laughter. 
After a moment she finally could say, "You shouldn't pick on people like 
that. It isn't nice."

"But it sure was funny though," Ranma laughed.

From the crowd, a familiar voice echoed, "I will be taking orders for a
picture of Kuno's reaction. One thousand yen each."

"Nabiki, mark me down for one," yelled Ranma.

"Ranma," Akane growled angry.

"Okay. Make that two," shouted Ranma as Akane punched him in the 
shoulder a bit lightly, almost playful.

"You know that wasn't what I meant." 

"Come on Akane. That picture is a gem, besides how many photos did he 
buy of us," Ranma said with a smirk. 

Ranma's jovial manner made Akane let go of what little anger she had and
said, "Well, his face was priceless. It couldn't hurt to have one."

Ranma noticed the crowd's attention was now focused on Nabiki. "Let's 
get going, while the getting's good," He picked up Akane before she 
could respond and leapt towards the school building as lunch came to a 
close.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang, ending the last class. Wanting to get home as quickly
as possible, Ranma jumped out the second story window with Akane held
firmly in his arms. He proceeded to carry her home, running on the
rooftops.

"Air Ranma, the fastest way to travel in Nerima," Akane giggled, holding
Ranma tightly.

"Yeah, less traffic this way," replied Ranma.

After a moment, Ranma landed at the front door of the Tendo home. He set
Akane down on to her feet.

"It's not so bad to travel that way," said Akane.

"Not so bad for you, but murder on me." Ranma tried to catch his breath.

"Fine, next time I carry you," Akane said playfully, missing the 
possible comment about her weight.

"I'd rather not."

"Why not?"

"How does it look for some girl to carry a guy around town while running
like that?"

"Who said you were going to be a guy at the time?" Akane's started to 
get angry.

Before Ranma could reply Kasumi appeared and said, "Oh good. You're home
already. We need to get you into your wedding dress. Ranma, your suit is
in your old room." She grabbed Akane's arm and rushed upstairs.

"Guess I'd better get ready," Ranma commented to himself, a bit thankful
of not having to finish the conversation with Akane. 

-------------------------------------------------------

Kasumi dragged Akane to her room so she could be fitted into her wedding
dress. Akane was surprised to see Nabiki already there.

"You're finally here," Nabiki said.

"How did you get here before me?" Akane asked as she started to get out
of her school uniform.

"I skipped my afternoon classes after I found out a couple details were
being overlooked."

"What details?"

"Things like dresses for the bridesmaid."

"Bridesmaids? I forgot I needed bridesmaids."

"Don't worry, I'm sure a couple will show up."

"What about you two?"

"Can't. I've got to take photos and make sure the guests behave
themselves."

"I'll be busy to busy with the reception. Why don't you ask your
friends?" Kasumi replied.

"I hope I get the chance to ask someone," Akane said as Kasumi and 
Nabiki helped her put the wedding dress on. The dress was a bit more 
elaborate than the one she wore at the bombed wedding. 

"How come this isn't the same dress I wore at the last attempt?"

"The last one was a rental. This one, however, is yours. I'm pretty sure
you will be married this time," Nabiki replied.

"Well, if this fails, I guess we'll have to elope."

"That's the spirit," Nabiki said.

----------------------------------------------------------

Ranma went upstairs to his old room and found the door locked.  he thought and noticed a sign on the door, "Guys dressing 
room." He shrugged and then knocked at the door. A second later the door
unlocked and opened a little. Ryoga peeked through the door, saw Ranma,
grabbed him, pulled him into the room, and shut and locked the door.
Ryoga was mostly into his tux while Mousse, fully deck out in his tux,
adjusted something under his cloths. A white suit hung neatly in the
nearly empty closet. Ranma spent a minute staring at it.

"It's not going put itself on you," Ryoga said as he started to tie his
bow tie. 

"It did last time," Ranma replied, a bit dazed as the realization hit 
him of what he's about to do.

"That was because it was forced. This time you're doing this because you
want to."

"Uh, yeah. Is everything set up?" Ranma asked.

"Pretty much, your mom is still working on food for the reception. All 
we need now is to get you and Akane ready," Ryoga answered.

"That's good." 

Ranma quickly got dressed in his suit, straightening it out. Ryoga was
still trying to tie his bow tie. 

Ranma saw Ryoga's frustrated look, "Here, let me help you." 

"I can do it," Ryoga snarled.

"Not the way you're doing it. Just let me help."

Ryoga growled, but resigned to let Ranma help him tie it properly. 
"There, perfect," said Ranma with a grin.

Ryoga looked in the mirror. "I guess, but do these things need to be so
tight?" The bow tie was tied tighter than it needed to be.

"With these cloths, looks are more important than comfort," Ranma 
replied.

"You can say that again," Mousse commented, still trying to adjust
something inside his tuxedo. "These things give little room to hide
weapons."
 
"You hid weapons in your tux?" Ranma asked, giving Mousse a confused
look.

"Of course, there is still a good chance hostility will commence and it
would not do for me to be without some of my weapons."

"I guess," Ranma said, shaking his head.

"If your too uncomfortable, you might want to remove some of your
weapons," Ryoga suggested.

"I'll be fine. I'm considering it endurance training," replied Mousse.

"Excellent! With an attitude like that, you'll make a great martial
artist," Ranma grinned.

"But I am a great martial artist," said Mousse

"No, you're a decent martial artist. You're far from being a great 
martial artist," countered Ranma with a grin.

"I'll show you," Mousse growled angrily.

"Later! Right now we have to him married," interrupted Ryoga.  

"Right. I'm hungry, let's go grab a snack," said Ranma.

"Sure!" Ryoga and Mousse replied.

The trio left the dressing room, heading for the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom," Ranma said.

"My, do you look handsome," Nodoka said with smile.

"Thanks, I was wondering if we can grab a snack."

"Certainly. And once you finished, you can greet the guests." 

"Do I have to?" Ranma moaned.

"Someone has to. Besides, what else are you going to do for the next
hour?"

"Fine. We greet the guests," Ranma replied.

After Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse made short work of their snacks, they 
went to the front gate and prepared to meet the guests. As they got there, they saw Ukyou and Konatsu enter the gate. Ukyou wore a tuxedo 
while Konatsu wore a very nice, pink and white kimono.

"Ucchan! It's good to see you. Thanks for coming," Ranma greeted 
happily, though tainted with a touch of sadness since Ukyou looked ready 
to cry.

"It's good to see you too. I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything,
even though I wanted to be the bride," Ukyou replied. This comment 
raised the eyebrows of an elderly couple coming up from behind them. 
"Um, do you think Akane needs any help?" asked Ukyou.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate any help you can offer. She's in her room
getting ready," Ranma replied. After Ukyou left, Ranma turned to 
Konatsu. "How's she taking it?"

"Fine, I think. Until Nabiki stopped by, I thought she was going to shut
down completely and emotionally die. Afterwards, she seemed better, but
still a bit sedated."

"I hope she's all right. You can wait in the dojo for the wedding," 
Ranma said as he prepared to meet the unfamiliar couple behind Konatsu. 
"Hello, I'm Saotome Ranma, can I help you?"

"So you're going to marry our granddaughter," said the elderly man
gruffly.

"Don't mind him," interjected the elderly woman. "He can be rude a lot 
of the time. We're Akane's grandparents and we are here to see the wedding." 

"Pleased to meet you," said Ranma with a bow, thinking, 

"Pleased to meet you," returned the woman with a bow. The man did not
respond. She gave him the evil eye. "I would like to see Akane and help
her if I can."

"Certainly." As the woman left, Ranma turned to look at Akane's 
grandfather who was examining him closely.  
he thought sarcastically.

"What was with that couple before us, and why did you refer to the guy 
in tux as she?" asked the elderly man.

"It's a long story, but the person in the tux is a girl. She was raised
as a guy."

"Why did she want to marry you?"

"Because she loves me, the problem is I'm in love with Akane."

"And Akane loves you?"

"If she didn't, we wouldn't be here now."

"How can we be sure of that?"

"Well, she not screaming in protest and isn't destroying anything."

"She tends to be violent at times?"

Ranma nodded.

The man laughed, "Just like her grandmother." He made a quick move and
grabbed Ranma's jaw, surprising the youth. The man examined Ranma's
teeth.

"What ya do that for?" Ranma yelled as he broke loose of the man's hold.

"Nice teeth, could keep better care of them though."

"What are ya, a dentist?"

"Horse breeder." 

The man left for the dojo, laughing. Mousse was also laughing, while
Ryoga and Ranma apparently missed the joke.

"What's so funny?" Ranma demanded.

"He made a play on your name. For when a person buys a horse, the buyer
checks the teeth to help judge its value."

"Oh funny," Ranma wasn't amused.

"It is funny, wished I knew the joke earlier," Ryoga chuckled.

 thought Ranma as he spent the next several
minutes greeting nondescript friends, a relative, and a couple more
soon-to-be relatives.

----------------------------------------------

Akane had been trying to stand still while her sisters made some
alterations to the wedding dress. Akane was a bit relieved when someone
knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" asked Akane.

"Ukyou," replied the voice from behind the door. Akane and Nabiki 
tensed.
 
"Enter." Akane hoped Ukyou was all right, and was not out to cause 
trouble.

"Hi," Ukyou said meekly as she entered the room.

"Hi. How have you been feeling?" Akane asked with nervous concern.

Ukyou answered, "Lets just say I've been considering asking Ryoga how to
use Shi Shi Hokodan."

"Oh," Akane uttered.

Ukyou asked, "How have you been feeling?"

"Scared, happy, scared, upset, and scared."

"Not to sure about the future are you?"

"Sort of. It's just that so much is changing. I'm afraid I'm going to
lose everything I liked about my childhood. I'm really scared I'll lose
your friendship," Akane replied, nervously.

Ukyou nodded. "I don't want to lose you as a friend either, but it'll be
hard seeing you, knowing it was you who stole my Ranchan's heart."

"I wish that everyone could come out of this happy. But I haven't been
able to figure out how."

"It would've been better if you let me have Ranchan and you took Ryoga."

Akane shook her head. "I know you tried to get me and Ryoga together, 
but he could never be more than a friend. Especially now that I know 
he's also P-Chan."

"Damn," muttered Nabiki. Ukyou looked shocked. 

 Akane thought, scowling at Nabiki.

"No chance of you changing your mind and calling off the wedding?" Ukyou
asked.

"None," replied Akane, testily.

"It was worth a shot. Um, Is there anything I could do to help?"

 Akane answered, "Well I was wondering if you could be my maid
of honor?"

"Me? Why?"

"Because your one of my closest friends, and it would mean a lot to me."

"You want me to be your maid of honor? Despite the fact I've tried to
take Ranchan from you and I helped destroy the last wedding attempt."

"Yes, if Ranma can have Ryoga as his best man despite their past, why
can't you be my maid of honor?"

"I... It would be an honor," Ukyou answered, not sure of the wisdom of
her choice.

"Thank you," Akane smiled.

Another knock was heard at the semi-closed door. "Who is it?"

"Hello, Akane. It's been a long time," said the voice from the now open
door.

"Grandma!" cried the three sisters.

"It has been a long time," said Akane.

Akane's grandmother hugged Akane.

"How are you?"

"Scared mostly."

"We all get scared before our own wedding. Getting married is about
changing your relationship with someone you love. And it's human nature
to fear change, even if, at the same time, we want it."

Nabiki picked up a dress that was on Akane's bed and went over to Ukyou.
She handed Ukyou the dress and whispered something to her. Ukyou left
with the dress.

"Knowing that still doesn't help reduce my fears," Akane said.

"I know, but it helps confront them. I am concerned if it's wise to have
the groom greeting guests at the gate, he might get cold feet decide to
run off."

"Not likely. Ranma isn't one to run away from his obligations nor from
fear."

"Unless it's a cat," added Nabiki, earning an angry glare from Akane.

"From a cat?"

"It's a long story."

"Oh," Akane's grandmother replied. "Um, was the person that was just 
here a girl or a guy?"

"Ukyou is a girl, she's just raised as guy."

"Does her date know that?"

Akane laughed, "That would be Konatsu. He's a guy raised as a girl."

Akane's grandmother blinked and said, "You certainly know some
interesting people."

"You haven't really heard or seen anything yet," Nabiki said.

They went into small talk and worked on getting Akane ready.

----------------------------------------------------------

The moment Ranma had been dreading most arrived in the form of an Amazon
with purple hair and her great-grandmother.

"Hi, Shampoo," said Ranma, failing to sound enthusiastic.

"Hello. Shampoo here to see Ranma's wedding. Shampoo will cause no
problems. Shampoo hope Ranma happy with violent girl."

"Thanks. And thank you for coming. I'm sure I'll be happy with Akane." 

"Shampoo my love, I shall soon prove my worth to be your husband," 
elated Mousse to a nearby bush.

Shampoo responded with her bonbori to Mousse's skull.

"Come granddaughter, we don't want miss getting good seats," Cologne 
said.

"Can we trust them?" asked Ryoga.

Mousse shook his head as he tried to regain his senses and replied, 
"They cannot interfere now. While losing Ranma as a husband will cause 
loss of honor, stopping the wedding or hurting Akane can be severely 
punished because of her situation."

"What situation would that be?" asked Hiroshi as he and Daisuke entered
the gate.

"I think Ranma hasn't been telling us everything that's been going on,"
said Daisuke.

"Uh... he just means that we have admitted our love to each other, 
that's all," Ranma replied nervously. 

Ryoga was confused. Mousse looked away.

"Right," said Hiroshi and Daisuke, sounding unconvinced.

"Well it's nice to see ya here. The wedding is in the dojo, you better
hurry for a good seat," Ranma suggested.

 Ranma thought as yet another unfamiliar 
couple entered the gate.  he thought before he said, "Hi. I'm Saotome 
Ranma, can I help you?"

"So this is our grandson," stated the older man who stood almost as tall
as Genma. He had a similar build, but was not nearly well fed. He had
many wrinkles.

"Hello, you might not remember us, but we're your grandparents," said 
the small woman. 

A big sweet formed on Ranma's head.

"Mom," was heard from the other side of the wall. Genma and Soun 
appeared at the gate and carried a large box. "Tendo take the box in, 
and get Nodoka." Soun nodded and ran into the house with the box.

"Still married to her?" asked Ranma's grandmother.

"O-of course I'm still married to her," replied Genma.

"I thought I trained you better than that. You shouldn't have married so
young if you didn't mean to swindle the girl out of her family fortune."

"Excuse me?!" screeched Ranma. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't even train your son in the ways of the quiet thief," Ranma's 
grandmother said, shaking her head. She looked at Ranma and said, "My 
family is suppose to be trained in the art swindling others out of 
money. To rob potential suitors of all their worth before settling 
down."

"He certainly practiced it," chided Mousse.

"He has?" asked grandma Saotome with a bit of hope.

"Until recently he had three fiancees," Mousse replied.

"Shut up. I did not swindle them!" Ranma yelled.

"Could of fooled me," stated Ryoga.

"I hardly see free food as swindling them," snarled Ranma.

"The way you eat, I'd say it was," retorted Mousse.

"How about the practice of the noisy thief?" asked Ranma's grandfather.

"Noisy thief?" Ranma growled.

"You know the art of distracting the target and steal from them when 
they aren't paying attention."

Ranma shook his head no and thought, 

Nodoka interrupted, "Ah... hello. It's, ah, good to see you again. 
Genma, why don't we show your parents to the dojo?" She thought as she 
guided them to the dojo,  

Ranma closed his eyes and tried to regain some composure.

"H-hello Akari," Ryoga stuttered.

"Hi. It's good to see ya," Ranma said.

"Hello Ryoga, Ranma. I'm as excited as a pig at feeding time. I've never
been to a friend's wedding before," Akari chirped.

"Well, now's your chance," Ranma said, ginning.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" asked Akari.

"You can go upstairs and ask Akane and the others if they need help."

"Thanks," Akari said as she ran into the Tendo home.  

After seeing Akari vanish into the Tendo home, Ranma froze at the sound
of insane laughter. "Hello Ranma-sama, I hear you decided to marry that
violent wench, Akane," Kodachi said as she appeared at the gate with
Sanzenin Mikado.

"I don't remember inviting either of you," Ranma gruffly said.

"A minor oversight, I'm sure. Do not worry, I will not interfere with
this wedding."

"And I'm just here as her date," added Mikado.

"You didn't bring Azusa, did you?" Ryoga asked.

"No, I left her at a toy store where the girl working there had the gall
to slap me."

"Poor girl," said Ryoga and Ranma, thinking of the store clerk.

"All right, you can be at the wedding. But do anything wrong and you'll
be sent to the hospital. Understand?"

"Of course, Ranma-sama," Kodachi said.

"I am not one to cause problems," Mikado said.

"The wedding is in the dojo," Ranma said.

As Kodachi and Mikado left for the dojo, Ranma rolled his eyes at the
sight of the next guest. "The sorrow of losing one's love is great. To
loss her to some evil sorcerer is far worse," Kuno elaborated.

"Be quiet Kuno-sempai, or you'll miss the wedding," snarled Ranma.

"I shall not miss the wedding of Tendo Akane for any reason."

"Then go to dojo and wait, okay," Ranma demanded.

"For the sake of Tendo Akane, I shall do as you say."

"Jerk," mumbled Ranma.

"Aloha Ranma," said the patriarch of the Kuno clan.

"Hello Principal Kuno. It's, ah, good that you could make it."

"I hope marryin' Akane will cure you of your delinquent ways."
 
"Fat chance of that," Ryoga remarked.

"Grrr. The wedding is in the dojo, please go there and wait," Ranma 
said. Once Principal Kuno was out of ear shot, he said, "I can't take 
much more of this."

"You don't have to. It's time to take your places. The wedding is about
to begin," Nabiki announced from the doorway of the Tendo home. She held 
a stack of cards in her hand.

-------------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Thanks to David A Tatum, Byran Neef, the Rams, and Rea Konecki for 
pre-reading this chapter.

It has been noted that Ranma has a little practice in being a noisy 
thief. If you're a thief and someone asked if you were, would you admit 
it? Well, neither would Ranma. Especially when he's only done it to get 
food while training with his dad or applied concepts of it into martial 
arts (Saotome Final Special Attack - Fake an attack, then Run Away!).

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/9061/TIC