Ranma 1/2: The Insanity Continues

Volume 2 - Reflections and Changes

Chapter 2 - Martial Arts Press Conference

By: Lord Archive.

Author's note: 
This series takes place after Manga volume #38. Part of this series 
deals with a married Ranma and Akane, so there will be a fair amount of 
sexual innuendoes, but nothing explicit (except in side stories). 

Legal babble: Ranma 1/2 and all characters are copyrighted by Rumiko 
Takahashi, Viz Video, ect... and is used without consent. I am only 
borrowing them. I will return them. (Well maybe not Ukyou ;)

< > represents character thoughts.

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

Intro: Hello Saotome Akane here. Yes you heard right, Saotome. I finally 
married that baka one month after the bombed wedding. It happened after 
I had a nice private talk with Ranma, found out about Ryoga's curse and 
got pregnant. You would think that this would in some part end the 
insanity of the past year and a half, but it didn't.

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

>BRING<
>BRING<
>BRING<

"Huh?"

>BRING<

"Phone. Ranma, can you get that?" Akane asked, still asleep.

>BRING<

She opened her eyes lazily and saw Ranma was dead asleep. She shook him 
in an attempt to wake him.

>BRING<

He hugged her tightly.

"Baka! At least let go of me."

>BRING<

Whoever was calling was persistent. "I have to get the phone," she 
muttered as she tried to remove Ranma's arms from her.

>BRING<

"Guess I have to go with what works," she said, knocking him off the 
bed. His arms still holding her, brought her down with him.

>BRING< 

They landed with a thud and his arms let go.

>BRING<

She got off the ground and ran to the phone. 

>BRING<
>BRING<

"Hello?" Akane said, after picking up the phone.

"About time you answered the phone, Sis," Nabiki answered from the other 
end of the line.

"Nabiki, why are you calling?"

"Two reasons: First, if you set your alarm last night, you would be up 
right now."

Akane looked at a clock. It read, "7:47." She wasn't pleased, they're 
already running late for school.

"Second, I wanted to know how you planned to deal with the rumor horde."

"Um, haven't thought about them," Akane replied with a sense of dread.

"You know you're going to have to deal with them, otherwise, they'll 
come up with some of their own twisted rumors about what's happened."

Akane really didn't like the question she was about to ask, "So, what do 
you suggest?"

"I suggest you two lovebirds hold a question and answer session after 
school today. I can go to school now and set it up so they won't pester 
you two with question until then."

Akane sighed, "It would help, I guess."

"Great, I'll make sure everything is set up. By the way, Kasumi should 
be back before you get home from school and father is staying at 
Auntie's house. The Saotomes and father will be alternating between 
staying there and here. I'll see you at school. Bye."

"Bye," Akane said, hanging up the phone. She sighed, she expected that 
they would come up with that kind of arrangement. She expected their 
parents would stay away for the next month or so. But, when the baby 
comes closer to being due, she wouldn't be able to get rid of them.

Akane rushed back into her room. Ranma was still asleep on the floor.

"Wake up!" she yelled, kicking him in the side.

He rolled over and snored a little.

"Maybe a kiss will wake the Baka Prince," she said with grin.

She kneeled, leaned forward and kissed him. He responded by wrapping his 
arms around her and returning the kiss passionately. 

Akane broke the kiss and said, "Good morning."

It was only now that Ranma noticed he was on the floor. "Huh? What am I 
doing here?"

"You fell off the bed when I went to get the phone."

"Oh," he replied, looking a little confused.  Then he 
looked up at Akane.  

He moved in for another kiss. "Sorry," Akane interrupted, holding him 
away with a hand to his chest. "It's already almost eight o'clock, too 
late for that. We have to get ready for school... and you know if I 
start kissing you, I'm not going to stop for quite a while..." 

"Can't we skip school?" Ranma asked, disappointed.

"And face whatever punishment Principal Kuno would have for us?"

Ranma sighed. "Uh... It probably would be bad. I guess not..." 

"Okay, now let go of me so we can get ready."

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

The cold rain of winter fell upon the students of Furinkan High as they 
made there way to school.

"You understand the plan?" asked a chem club member.

"Tis truly a simple plan for revenge against such a foul sorcerer as 
Saotome, that I, Kuno Tatewaki, can do nothing other than execute the 
plan without flaw!" He turned upon the student. "If it fails, however, 
you shall face my wrath!" 

The student shrugged, how could it possibly go wrong? "Yeah, just lure 
Ranma to the sidewalk slab in front of you and the landmine will do the 
rest."

"I know what to do," Kuno said angrily.

"Here he comes!" shouted another chem club member.

The two chem club members ducked behind some bushes.

"Saotome Ranma, I, Kuno Tatewaki the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, the 
rising star of the Kendo school, challenge you for deceiving me with 
that foul curse."

Ranma stopped several feet in front of Kuno. "I'm too tired to fight you 
right now. Akane has been keeping me awake."

"Ranma! Don't talk about that!" Akane shouted, blushing.

"Come on Akane. It's not like I said anything about our sex life."

"Ranma no BAKA!" Akane attacked Ranma with her school-bag.

Kuno became enraged. "You dare have sex with a pure flower such as 
Akane!"

Akane turned from her attack to look at Kuno disbelievingly. "Um, Kuno, 
we're married..."

Ranma chuckled. "Yes, we are. And, it'd be unnatural if we didn't have 
sex." He sidestepped Akane's school-bag, and playfully stuck his tongue 
out at his new wife. Ranma started jumping back, dodging her angry 
swings.

"YOU SHALL DIE FOR..." Kuno's shout was interrupted as he took a step 
forward.

*>BBBOOOOOMMM<*

"Kuno's into landmines now?" Ranma blinked. Akane once again stopped her 
attack and turned to see the shattered, carbon-stained concrete.

"He WOULD step on it, even if he did know about it," Akane rolled her 
eyes.

"That idiot!" screamed one of the chem club members, "That egotistical 
pervert couldn't get that simple plan right!"

His companion glanced behind him, and started trembling. "Uh, that truly 
great and highly noble student is right behind you..." 

"I'm going to feel such pain as I've never felt before," he said as he 
looked at Kuno. Kuno's bokken at the ready.

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

Ranma's and Akane's last class before lunch was completely silent. The 
history teacher had given a nice, quiet reading assignment so as to not 
wake the two exhausted newlyweds who had succeeded in sleeping through 
ALL of the morning classes without interruption. 

Over by Ranma's desk were a number of male students, each waiting to 
pester Ranma with questions once the bell rang. By Akane's desk was also 
a number of female students waiting to ask their own questions.

The teacher looked at them, hoping one of them would speak before the 
bell, just to enact his own twisted punishment on the students: writing 
20 plus page reports due tomorrow. He would have punished Ranma and 
Akane for sleeping, if Ms. Hinako hadn't threatened him.

Once the bell rang the guys violently shook Ranma in an attempt to wake 
him.

Yuka tentatively shook Akane, saying, "Saotome-chan. Wake up, 
Saotome-chan."

Akane wearily opened her eyes and emitted, "Huh?"
"Wake up, Saotome-chan," repeated Yuka.

Akane slowly blinked her sleepy eyes and sat up, frowning. Hearing 
'Saotome' she started looking around for Ranma, only to see that she was 
surrounded by girls, and they were asking for her. She shook her head, 
trying to clear it. "Saotome-chan?"

"Well, you are Mrs. Saotome now," Sayuri replied.

Akane nodded, "I'm just not use to that yet."

"So, are you going to tell us what's it like?" a girl asked.

"Ah, what's what like?"

"Sex with Ranma," replied a girl, giggling.

Akane blushed, and shook her head furiously. "You expect me to answer 
that HERE? I don't think so! Besides, I thought Nabiki set up a question 
and answer session after school."

"Well, she did. But, she's asking 500 yen admission and not all of us 
can make it."

Akane was still shaking her head, "I'll try to get a transcript of it 
for the class tomorrow."

"Come on, Ranma, WAKE UP!" a guy screamed.

"He fell asleep, too?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, you two must have been keeping each other awake since the 
wedding," answered Yuka.

Akane blushed. "Hmm... How to wake him up?" she asked herself as she got 
up and walked over to where Ranma was sleeping. She got an idea after 
noting what time it was. "Sorry boys, but no questions until after 
school," Akane said. She leaned down next to Ranma's ear and shouted, 
"LUNCH TIME!"

Ranma was immediately standing. "Lunch?" he questioned as he looked 
around room.

"You fell asleep during class. It's lunch hour now," Akane said.

"They didn't wake me up?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Nah, Ms. Hinako threatened the other teachers if they did wake either 
of you two up, she'd drain there chi," answered Hiroshi.

"Either of us?" Ranma looked at Akane.

"You got more sleep than I did," Akane replied and then blushed.

"Oh, right," Ranma laughed nervously.

"Let's hurry up and buy our lunch. We need to talk about what to say at 
the Q&A session."

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

Over a third of Furinkan High showed up at the school auditorium for the 
question and answer session. Ranma and Akane stood off to the side of 
the stage, waiting for Nabiki to finish setting up the microphones. 

Ukyou was among those attending. She was curious about how they would 
answer some of the questions.

"Are you sure about this?" Ranma asked, nervously.

"Would you rather have to answer them a hundred times or just once," 
Akane answered, nervously.

"I'd rather not answer them at all..."

"Oh, you rather let them come up with there own answers? Remember some 
of the rumors they've came up with in the past."

"I guess this is better."

On the auditorium speakers, Nabiki announced, "I thank you all for 
coming here and refraining from bothering Ranma and Akane. They will 
answer most of your questions, but they retain the right to refuse to 
answer certain ones." Several students expressed their displeasure. 
"Ranma, Akane, you have the floor."

"Hello," Akane said, nervously, "We will start taking questions." She 
looked around at several people waving their hands.

"Do you really love that idiot?" some guy shouted.

"Yes, I do," Ranma replied, smirking.

Akane smacked him in the arm. "He was asking me. And to answer the 
question, yes, I love him, even if I can't understand why."

"Did he use a love potion on you?"

"No."

"You're sure?"

"Yes!"

Ranma looked at someone waving their arm. "What's your question?"

"How long have you've been in love with each other."

"I fell in love with her from the start, though she didn't make it easy 
for me to realize it," Ranma answered.

 Ukyou thought 
angrily.

"I wish I could say the same, while I felt something for him at the 
start, my love for him developed gradually," Akane answered.

"Why did you string along your fiancees?"

"In the case of Shampoo, I guess she was a means to delay things. Ukyou, 
however, was more of someone to fall back on if Akane ever left me. If 
different things had happened, I might have married her."

 Ukyou thought, bitterly.

Ranma pointed at one student.

The student asked, "Is Akane as violent in bed as she is in a fight?"

Ranma shook his head in disgust. "Next question."

"You," Akane pointed at a student.

"How long have you two been having sex?"

"Can we please get off the topic of sex?" Akane asked angrily.

"NO!!" replied everyone.

"Why don't you answer some of the general questions?" Nabiki asked. 
"They're going to pester you until you do."

Akane's grip on the podium cracked it. "Nothing specific."

"So, is Akane violent in bed?" 

Ranma looked at Akane who reluctantly nodded. "No, she isn't violent, 
exactly... she's... well, I guess 'imaginative' would describe her..."

"Have you done it girl to girl?"

Ranma backed away a little as Akane replied, blushing, "We will not 
answer that."

Most of the students noted their reaction and assumed they had done it.

"How long have you been having sex?"

"A couple days."

A couple groans and curses were heard from the crowd.

"Did you have sex before marriage?"

"Er... next quetion," Akane said sheepishly.

Mainy students grinned at the non-answer. One shouted, "Was she pregnant 
at the wedding?"

"Next quetion," Akane said sternly.

"I'll answer that question," Ukyou shouted angrily. "Yes! Akane was 
pregnant before the wedding."

Ranma and Akane paled. The crowd went into a roar of commotion.

"U-Ukyou, why?" Ranma stammered, shocked.

"They should know the truth. The reason you married her was because the 
slut seduced you."

Akane started to glow blue.

"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" Ranma yelled. "WE MARRIED FOR LOVE! Her pregnancy 
only moved up the date. It didn't change the fact WE planned to get 
married our senior year. WE decided that even BEFORE having sex. The 
ONLY thing I regret about all of this is the pain I caused you and 
Shampoo. I should have made it clear that you WERE NOT going to marry me 
from the beginning. For that, I cannot apologize enough. I want to make 
this clear to all of you: I LOVE AKANE WITH ALL OF MY HEART AND THAT IS 
WHY I MARRIED HER!"

Akane's aura faded as she heard what Ranma said.

"Come on Akane, I've had it with their questions," Ranma said angrily. 
He grabbed Akane's hand and walked off the stage.

The crowd said nothing, they were stunned. 

Ukyou watched Ranma and Akane leave. She saw Ranma look at her, his face 
showed how hurt, angry, and betrayed he felt. 

"All right time to collect your bets," Nabiki announced.

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

Ranma and Akane walked home in the rain. Ranma muttered to herself the 
entire time. Akane followed closely lost in thought.

"We're home," Akane said absent-mindedly as they entered their home.

"How was school today?" Kasumi said politely.

"School was fine," Akane answered.

Ranma paid them no attention as she went to the dojo.

"Akane, what's wrong? Did you and Ranma have a fight?" Kasumi said 
noting the sorrowful look on Akane.

"No. Ukyou told the school I'm pregnant."

"Oh my."

"I can't believe she did THAT!" Akane screamed angrily.

"Why would she do that?" Kasumi asked.

"Because she's... she's...a vengeful bitch!" 

"Vengeful?" Kasumi asked.

"She upset and hurt because I married Ranma," Akane answered, her anger 
waning.

"You didn't mean to hurt her."

"Does it matter if we meant to or not? She's still in pain for losing 
him."

"Oh," Kasumi said. 

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

Nabiki enter the dining room with her school-bag and a brown paper bag. 
Ranma, Akane, and Mousse were sitting at the table. Nabiki set the bags 
to the side of the room and joined them.

Nabiki looked at Mousse, who was covered with bandages and bruises, 
asking, "What happened to you?"

Mousse glanced at Ranma and replied, "Training."

"Next time fake being sick when Ranma is mad."

"Somehow I don't think that'd work."

"You train through illness. Your enemies don't care if you're sick," 
Ranma said, bitterly.

Akane shook her head. "Ranma, I know what Ukyou did hurt. She did it 
because she's in pain, and we caused it. I can understand why she did 
it."

"Who said anything about her?"

"She's the reason you're upset. You trusted her to keep that a secret, 
but she used it to hurt you because you had hurt her."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Ranma said defensively.

"No, but she is hurt and retaliated at us for causing it."

Ranma looked down at the floor. "You're not upset at her?"

"Of course I'm upset with her, but I understand why she did it. Think of 
what would've have happened if the roles were reversed and you married 
Ukyou."

Ranma thought for a second and then shuddered. "At least a hospital trip 
for me, and you might have said the same thing about Ukyou."

Akane nodded gravely, she had thought about it since she got home and 
came to a similar conclusion.

Ranma, wanting to get off this topic of conversation, asked, "Nabiki, 
what's in the paper bag?"

"Just another present from a secret admirer," Nabiki replied.

"Secret admire?" Ranma squeaked in surprise.

"Of course I know who he is," Nabiki added with a slight grin.

"Who is it?" Akane chirped.

"Why don't I let you figure it out," Nabiki replied. "I'll be back in a 
second."

Ranma and Akane shared confused glances with Mousse. 

Nabiki returned a moment later with a flower vase filled with some 
water, and placed it on the table. She pulled a bouquet of red roses 
from the bag and put them into the vase.

"Tell anyone about this, and I send you through hell," Nabiki warned.

Akane saw a card hidden among the flowers and took it. She read:
 
	Of glorious beauty thou has indeed, 
	and in my heart is placed love's seed. 

	A love from afar, Your Secret Admirer.

"So, he's chasing you again," Akane commented as Ranma snatched the card 
from her hand.

"Looks like it," Nabiki replied.

"This isn't who I think it is?" Ranma asked.

"And who do you think it is?" Nabiki returned.

"Kuno."

"Then you thought correctly."

Ranma started to laugh, "You have my sympathy."

Mousse quickly followed, "And mine."

"So, what are you going to do with him: swindle away his fortune or make 
it clear you want nothing to do with him?" Ranma asked.

Ranma became confused when he saw Akane scowl at him.

"Neither, I'm going to try and make the relation work," Nabiki answered 
matter-of-factly.

Ranma's and Mousse's jaws dropped to the table.

"Find it hard to believe that someone finds him attractive," Akane said.

The guys nodded dumbly.

"What do you see in him?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know. There is something I like about him, and it's not his 
yen. But, that doesn't hurt, though," Nabiki answered.

"That something is love," Akane chirped in, squeezing Ranma's hand.

"What? Me love the dense, egotistical, pervert!" Nabiki denied.

"Gee, that sounds familiar," Mousse commented.

Akane and Mousse started laughing. Ranma shock his head. 

Nabiki glared at Mousse. She wanted to change topics and asked him, "So, 
have you made arrangement on where you'll be staying?"

"Um, not yet. I, er, was going to ask if it'd be all right if I stayed 
here," Mousse answered.

"Of course you can stay here. You can use Ranma's old room, except when 
his parents visit, then we'll come up with some other sort of 
arrangement," Akane answered.

"Thank you."

"You should do somethings for us, considering you're being trained and 
given room and board," Nabiki added.

"I'll help around the house, and I can do some repair work," Mousse 
offered.

"That'll do for now," Nabiki replied.

"Why aren't you staying at the Neko-Hanten?" Ranma asked.

"I can't return until I defeat Shampoo."

"Why not?"

Mousse sighed, "Because Cologne won't allow it."

It was apparent there was more to this, but he also wasn't going to 
talk. They decided not to press the issue as Kasumi brought in dinner.

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

Ukyou returned home late in the evening to find that Konatsu had 
finished cleaning out what was left of the restaurant.

"Where have you been?" Konatsu asked, concerned.

"Wandering around," Ukyou replied, morbidly.

"Did you see Ranma and Akane?"

"Yes."

"So, what happened when you saw them?"

"I told the school Akane was pregnant."

"W-why did you do that?" Konatsu asked, shocked.

"Because I wanted them to hurt, like they hurt me."

"Did it make you feel better?"

"No."

"Revenge never makes someone feel better."

"Sure it can. I felt better after beating the crap out of Genma," Ukyou 
smiled weakly.

"That's because you hate him. You don't hate Ranma."

"But, now he hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Upset at you, probably, but he doesn't 
hate you. They're your friends and they'll forgive you," Konatsu assured 
her.

"Am I? Am I still their friend? I hurt them. Do you have any idea how 
many problems they'll have at school because of what I said?"

"I wouldn't know. But in terms of regaining their friendship, I suggest 
you apologize and try to help them at school."

Ukyou nodded as she walked off to her room. 

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

Ranma laid in bed stroking Akane's hair. "Can love really be that 
blind?" he muttered.

"What was that?" Akane asked.

"I'm trying to figure out why Nabiki is in love with Kuno."

(Unheard by Ranma and Akane, "I am not in love with him," Nabiki 
retorted from her room, wearing headphones.)

"Stranger things have happened. Look at me, I fell in love and married 
someone who changes sex with water, scared of cats, a 'man amongst men' 
which is the type of guy I usually hate, and has super-human abilities."

"Now Akane, you particularly like the first and last one," Ranma said 
with a hentai grin.

"I didn't know that I'd like that until recently," Akane retorted.

("My sister is a hentai!?")

"Still what could she possibly even like about him?"

"Ranma, I've been asked that question thousands of times about you. My 
answer is 'I don't know.' There is something about you that I find 
undeniably attractive, something that goes beyond logical reasons."

"I guess love can be blind. I fell in love with an uncute, macho chick 
after-all."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Akane said with a hentai grin.

("Flattery? She calls that flattery? I'm going to have to talk with 
her.")

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

Author's note:
Thanks to David Tatum and Brent Neef for pre-reading, and thanks to 
everyone who gave me some comments on this chapter.

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