The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
While this is story is part of the Bindings ("Kasumi's Fate") continuum, it's not necessary to have read any of the previous stories. You do need to know a few things to enjoy the story:
1) Ranma and Akane are happily engaged as a result of their own choices and have matured somewhat – they more or less act their proper ages now. They are within a couple of months of their nineteenth birthdays.
2) Kasumi and Tofu are formally engaged.
3) Ryoga and Akari are formally engaged. Ryoga has also matured. Akari has matured further as well. They are frequent visitors to the dojo now.
4) Ranma and Ryoga have buried the hatchet (and not in each other's skull).
5) Tofu is a powerful mage.
6) Tofu is teaching Ranma and Akane Martial Arts and more Arcane Arts as well as the teenagers have proven to be a Wind Mage and a Fire Mage respectively. Ryoga is an Earth Mage, but he has another teacher. Kasumi is also learning Magic from Tofu, but her power is somewhat of an unknown.
Anything else isn't important to enjoy the story (although, please feel free to read the other stories). For those following the Continuum, this story occurs some time after "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome" ends.
Ranma looked at the results in the mirror. It had been several days despite his dark hair, but it was finally showing well – his mustache was coming in. Ranma had started to grow it when he overhead Soun say to Nodoka that the nominal head of the Tendo family was 18 when he grew his mustache. Ranma was curious to see if he could now as well and what it looked like. Truth be known, he wasn't that impressed by it. "Maybe I'll let it stay for a few days," he thought.
Akane knocked on the bathroom door. "Ranma!" she called out. "I need to brush my teeth. Can I come in?"
Ranma smirked to himself at the change of address. Ever since they had started dating and then decided to actually get engaged for real, the 'idiot' and 'dummy' exclamations from Akane had dropped off tremendously. She still used them occasionally, but only for teasing these days – rarely in anger. Truth be known, Ranma had also dropped all the insults as well. The only one he kept was "Tomboy", which was more a term of affection. The couple still fought now and then – but no more than any other couple. "Yeah, Akane – the door is unlocked," he called back.
Akane let herself in and glanced at Ranma. She started to smile at her fiancé who was standing there in his sweat pants and T-shirt, but her expresssion changed to a frown when she looked at Ranma's face. "Ranma," she said, "You forgot to shave."
"Nah," he answered. "I'm trying to grow a mustache. I want to see what I look like with it." He felt a sudden chill enter the room, and a feeling of foreboding ran up his spine.
"No, Ranma. You forgot to shave," Akane repeated.
"What?" Ranma said turning to Akane. "No, I am growing a mustache…" Ranma started, but Akane cut him off.
"No, Ranma. You forgot to shave," she said again.
Ranma looked at Akane. Her eyes were flat and emotionless. There was no spark of passion about them. Given that she was usually such a dynamic person, this was starting to freak Ranma out. Still he tried again: "Hey! It's my face! I just want to see what it looks like."
"No, Ranma. You forgot to shave," she said mechanically. She reached toward the sink to grab Ranma's razor and a tube of shaving cream (he didn't like the canned stuff).
Ranma reached to grab her wrist and was surprised when he couldn't stop her from picking up his shaving gear. Akane grabbed his wrist with her free hand and held tight, surprising him further. "Hey! Wait a minute, Tomboy! Can we talk about this?!" he half-shouted.
"No, Ranma," Akane stated. "You forgot to shave."
Ranma saw Akane's expression change to one of cold determination. Immediately, he knew he was going to lose, but he wanted to find out why first and there was nothing rational in Akane's face right now. He broke her grip and immediately invoked the Umisen-ken and then ran outside.
Akane was trying to track him though. He and she were spiritually linked by all their trials and tribulations. As a result, the Umisen-ken only sort-of worked when they pulled this on each other – it was a delaying tactic at best. He ran silently into the dojo and stopped to think a moment. "O.K., that was weird. I've never seen her like that about anything before," he thought. "What the hell is going on? It's just a bit of hair. She can have her opinions about it, but there are easier ways to go about this. She could simply say she wasn't kissing me until I shaved – I'd cave by this evening." He looked out the window. Akane was standing on the pathway between the two buildings. As Ranma watched, she placed herself into a trance. "Crap! I have to move or she'll home in on me."
Ranma ran out of the dojo and took the long route to the house. He could feel Akane's thought still trying to find him. He ran into the kitchen where Kasumi and Tofu were sitting. "Doc!" he called out. "I need a Shield now!"
Ranma felt Tofu's magic shield slide over him. It would buy him a little more time. "What's wrong Ranma?" Tofu asked, his voice full of concern.
"I don't know!" Ranma said in a harsh whisper. "I think Akane's possessed or something!"
Kasumi looked at Ranma and said: "Oh my, Ranma. You forgot to shave this morning."
"What?" he said confused. Then he followed on with: "I'm growing a mustache, but that's not important right now!"
"Oh no, Ranma. You forgot to shave this morning," Kasumi said calmly. "You are not growing a mustache. You forgot to shave this morning."
Ranma looked at Kasumi in disbelief. As he watched, the same emotionless quality he saw with Akane appeared on the eldest sister's face. "Doc? What's happening?" he asked.
Tofu looked at his life-mate. "Love, are you all right?" he asked.
"Oh yes, I'm fine, but Ranma needs to go shave right now," she answered.
Tofu now looked as confused as Ranma. The doctor said: "Ummm… while this may be a subject for discussion, it is Ranma's face. I think he should have some say – Umph!" Tofu's voice was cut off as Kasumi shoved the better part of a loaf of bread into his mouth.
Kasumi turned to Ranma again. "You need to shave, Ranma, and you need to shave now," she said emotionlessly. As she started forward, Ranma fled the kitchen. The doctor made a gesture as Ranma ran out the door and the young man felt Tofu's shield spell keep up with his movements.
"What the hell?" he thought bolting to the family room. He found Nabiki and Nodoka there. "Something's wrong with Akane and Kasumi!" he shouted out to both of them.
Nabiki turned to Ranma with a long suffering face. "And what is the family drama now? Are we being in-" she started and then cut off.
Nodoka looked from Ranma to Nabiki in concern. "Nabiki?" she asked. "Are you all right?"
"Ranma, you forgot to shave," Nabiki stated flatly.
"Really?" Ranma groaned.
Nodoka looked at Ranma with some puzzlement. "Well, a mustache doesn't really suit you, son. Still what's wrong with Kasumi and Akane?"
"Ranma, you forgot to shave," Nabiki stated again. Nodoka turned to look at Nabiki.
"That!" Ranma said while pointing at Nabiki. "All three of them now have flipped out just like that! Akane is actually hunting for me with my razor and shaving cream."
A harsh tone began to creep into Nabiki's voice: "Ranma, you need to shave now."
"Okaay," Nodoka said with confusion and then tried a soothing voice on the middle Tendo sister. "While I agree the mustache should go, a little discussion is in order, don't you think dear?"
"Akane!" Nabiki yelled out in answer. "Ranma is in here!"
"Crap!" Ranma said hoarsely and bolted, after having to dodge Kasumi who ran in from the kitchen.
Ranma ran out of the house and around to the front. He saw Ryoga and Akari with Katsunishiki, the giant Sumo pig, entering the dojo grounds. Ryoga noticed him as well and yelled in greeting: "Yo! Red-head! What's up?"
"Ranma, you forgot to shave this morning," Akari noted.
"Not you too!" Ranma said exasperated.
"Huh?" she said. "I was just teasing by mentioning the mustache. It doesn't really suit you though."
"Apparently not, since all three Tendo sisters are trying to get rid of it!" Ranma said hurriedly.
"O.K., I know you and Akane are properly engaged now," Ryoga said. "But, that's a little presumptuous."
Ranma was about to say something when he felt Akane break Tofu's Shield. "Oh hell," he moaned as Akane ran out from between the dojo and the house. He tore off the other way. Akane passed by Ryoga and Akari without saying a word.
Ryoga looked on in shock as the young woman raced by, then turned to Akari. "Do you know what is going on?" he asked.
"Actually, I might," she sighed. "Come along – there's only one way this will end." She motioned for her two companions to follow her to the back yard.
Ranma had been tackled by Akane, but he was trying to break her hold without hurting her. Kasumi dove in to try and pin Ranma's arms down. While he was the better martial artist, he was at a numerical disadvantage; even more so since he felt he needed to restrain himself against them. Nabiki had grabbed the razor and the cream – she was trying to apply the cream to his face but was having a tough time.
Akari took in the situation and sighed again. She motioned for her sumo pig to follow her over to the wrestling match. She watched for a few moments and chose an appropriate instant. Then pointed at Ranma and yelled:
"Katsunishiki! SIT BOY!"
Akari sat around the kitchen table with Ryoga, Nodoka, and Tofu drinking tea. Ranma was in the dojo, probably sulking (not that he didn't have a grievance). The Tendo sisters had shaved Ranma's face properly while Katsunishiki sat on him and then dragged him off to the bathroom and washed him as well, leaving him keep his boxer shorts to maintain what little dignity he had left. They had heard Kasumi humming as she went to get clean clothes for him. Now the sisters were in the bathroom getting cleaned up.
"I'm really, really sorry about this," Ryoga said ashamedly.
"I'm afraid this isn't really your fault anymore," Akari said.
"She's right," Tofu agreed. "You confessed, apologized, got beaten to within an inch of your life several times, and then were forgiven. You've been trying to make amends ever since."
"While I still think you deserve a few more dope slaps, you did grow up," Nodoka said gently to Ryoga. "I'm no better mind you, but I've grown up too. Both of us have taken responsibility for our past actions. Soun has not. While his present actions have improved, until he confesses to Akane that he knew your secret and didn't throw you out, the girls will always harbor resentment towards him, whether they admit it or not."
"It may be more than that too," Tofu added. "Soun was not what you'd call an attentive father – the incident with Ryoga was probably just the icing on the cake." The doctor sighed. "Ranma and I will have to be careful for a little bit," Tofu said. "Neither of us can mimic any of Soun's distinguishing characteristics. Fortunately, that's not hard - I don't want to smoke or run for Town Council. I'll be keeping my ponytail and Ranma better keep his pigtail. Ranma's safe as far as his occupation goes – her mother ran the dojo too, so Akane won't relate to it as Soun's job. As time goes on, it will get easier; eventually, the girls will never see us as anything other than we are."
"It's interesting," Akari said. "I've heard that some girls have 'Daddy' issues. They look for a replacement father-figure. Others admire their fathers and look for men who have similar behaviors and/or looks. The three sisters have the opposite reaction – they look for someone who is nothing like their dad; and heaven help the man who does develop Soun's characteristics…"
Ranma sat in the dojo regaining his inner balance. That had been one of the weirdest experiences of his life. The girls had restrained him (with Katsunishiki's help) and shaved his face with great care. Then they had carried his slightly flattened body into the bathroom and proceeded to strip him down to his shorts while he was still winded and wash the mud off of him. Actually, Akane had done all of the stripping, washing, and drying – Nabiki had dumped buckets of warm water over him and Kasumi had carefully washed and re-braided his hair (thank heavens he no longer needed the dragon whisker). Then Kasumi had gotten him clean clothes and they placed his towel-wrapped body in the changing room while they took over the bathroom for themselves.
Ranma had quietly recovered and changed clothes. Then he had gone to the dojo to try and figure things out. "Obviously, the mustache set them off – all three. But why? I grew it out of curiosity…I just heard Soun discussing his…Oh crap," he thought. "This has nothing to do with me, this has to do with Soun. But what and why? I don't understand…"
He sat there for the better part of an hour pondering until Akane opened the dojo door and let herself in. She was dressed in her gi and was barefoot. She smiled shyly at Ranma and then locked the door, startling Ranma a little.
"Are you back now?" he asked warily.
Akane blushed and gave an embarrassed nod while continuing to smile shyly. "Yes, Ranma. We are back in our right minds and we are sorry – me especially. It is your face and we had no right to do that. I am apologizing for me, and Nabiki and Kasumi will apologize later." She sighed then and said: "Ranma, I am very sorry for treating you like that, and I won't let myself do it again." She bowed to Ranma with the apology.
Now Ranma felt embarrassed, so he said: "Fine, you're forgiven, but you owe me one later, maybe an ice cream treat or something."
Akane straightened up and the shy smile came back. "Deal," she replied. She paused for a bit and a worried look appeared on her face. She said: "But I have to ask: if you have to grow something on your face, let it be a full beard or sideburns or a goatee – not a mustache by itself. I'd rather you didn't grow anything, but I'll deal with the others quietly if it makes you happy."
"So, you don't want me to grow a goatee?" he asked.
"No, I find you extremely attractive as you are. I'm not into facial hair on men." She shrugged then and said: "Still, it's your face, and you should be happy with it. I love you for who you are, not how you look. But could you please throw me a bone? Pretty please? No mustache without a beard or goatee?"
Ranma sighed. "Well, no female in the house liked it, and I'm not attached to it. Both my Mom and Akari said that it didn't look good. Since you're the only one I'm trying to impress, I guess it would be stupid to grow anything. I was just curious…" He shrugged his shoulders.
Akane's smile grew a little and she walked over to sit down next to him. "You don't have to impress me, Ranma. You already succeeded in that. I love you as you are," she said.
Ranma smiled a little in return and said "I love you too." Then he paused and asked, "Does this 'no mustache' thing have something to do with your dad?"
"Yes, it does," she said in a quiet voice. "Can we just say that I am not looking for someone like him and leave it go at that?"
Ranma heard the pain in her voice and decided he knew enough. Since he could only come up with stupid things to say, he just nodded his head instead. She'd tell him more when she was ready. At his head nod, Akane moved closer to him and leaned into him. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer. She smelled very good. Akane looked up at him with mischievous eyes and he gave in then and there. He promptly skipped a few steps in their normal courting dance, and jumped to the good part by kissing her.
When they finally stopped, he said in a teasing voice: "All right, if I keep shaving, what's in it for me?"
"You'd have a very happy fiancée," she chimed back.
"Admittedly, that counts for a lot, but there should be more on the table," he returned.
"Hmmm…" Akane said in mock thought. Then she stood up and undid the gi's belt. With a smooth motion, she threw off the top and dropped the gi pants. "I could wear this outfit more often, I suppose?"
Ranma's jaw nearly bounced on the floor. His prudish tomboy was dressed in a pair of cutoff jean shorts with the leg cut high enough that he could see her long legs from the toes all the way to the lower swell of her cute bottom. Her short tank top T-shirt did nothing to hide her flat stomach. In fact, from the angle Ranma had from sitting on the floor, the tank top did nothing to hide the fact that Akane wasn't wearing a bra right now.
In the past, Ranma's brain usually would have seized right about now, and he would have passed out. But he was a healthy eighteen year-old (nearly nineteen year-old) male. He had come a long way from that awkward teenager who had shown up long ago in the Tendo house. He had chosen of his own free will to be engaged to this wonderful girl, and she had done likewise. Instead of fluttering madly, his heart hit a strong steady beat. The playful look in Akane's eyes made him grin.
"Mate!" the Cat inside him shouted silently.
"No, Play!" Ranko corrected firmly. Ranma noticed that Akane had taken the precaution of tying a soft rope belt, heavily knotted, through her shorts. The belt was tight enough that it would not slip past her hips, protecting against "accidents".
"Good enough," Ranma thought. He remembered Akane locking the dojo door. Out loud, he began growling at Akane as he started to move forward on the floor: "It's definitely playtime…"
Akane grinned back and said "You have to catch me first." She blurred as she tore off across the dojo floor, and Ranma followed in close pursuit.