Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ characters but I do own Ikuyo and Koyaga.

Opening: Ikuyo, Clarinet Martial Artist

"Ranma?" she asked as she read the letter. "Who's Ranma?"

"Your fiancé." Her father said as he hammered at the silver flute in the kiln.

"I have no need for fiancé's." she said as she crumbled up the letter and threw it in the fire.

Her father threw the music baton at her. She caught it and read the letter attached to it. "Mother now?" she asked.

"She wishes for you to marry and carry on the Instrumental Martial Arts dojo with him." He said.

"I've never even met him though."

"Now, Ikuyo, you mustn't fight this engagement. It was made with his father and we are wonderful friends. Now…you'll be leaving with Koyaga in the morning." He ordered sternly.

"Koyaga?! But I wished to marry him, not this Ranma!" she protested.

"You'll see, you'll grow to love him. Now…I bought a building in town so you can open out Instrument classes. There's an apartment above it so…no need to worry about a house to live in." he said then he pushed her out so she could train.

"Humph. Stupid Ranma. I don't even know him…why do…I have to…be…his fiancé?" she said to herself as she trained in the dojo. "Ranma?" she thought for a moment.

*Flashback*

"Come on Ranma!" Ikuyo called as she ran to the dojo.

"Iku-chan? What are you going to be when you grow up?" little Ranma asked.

"Me?" she asked as she blushed. "I want to be a bride." She said.

"Most girls I've met do." He said quietly.

"Maybe we can marry. We are good friends right, Ranma-kun?" she asked as she looked at him.

"My father said I already had a fiancé." He said sadly.

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"I don't think I've met her but…I wish I could stay here forever." He said as he looked around at the field full of cows.

*End Flashback*

"Ranma." She said as realization drew her face into a thoughtful smile. "Now I remember the sweetie." She said quietly.

"Ikuyo, you in here?!" a boys' voice called.

"Yeah, Koyaga! What is it?!" she called the boy she liked

"Your father said to get you ready for tomorrow." He said. He sounded oddly sad.

She came out and wiped her face on the towel he offered her. "I'll try and come back. He told me that he already had a fiancé."

"That two-timer! I'll kill him if he ever hurts you!" he yelled as he clenched the extra towel in his hands.

She giggled and got her things ready for the journey the next day.

*--*--*--*--*--*

"Ranma! Get back here!" Akane yelled as Ranma ran out of the house and down the street towards Ucchans' for dinner.

"My god. Why doesn't he ever eat here anymore?" she asked herself as she sagged against the wall. "Like I care. Less things to worry about." She said as she shook her head free of the jealousy over her fiancé.

"Akane! Your dinner is going to get cold!" Kasumi called to her.

"Coming!" she yelled as she walked back to eat her dinner.

Stupid Ranma, Stupid Ranma, Stupid Ranma Stupid--, her thoughts were interrupted by the light knocking at the door.

"Hello, anyone home?!" a light voice called in.

"Oh, we have a visitor?" Kasumi said as she got up and answered the door.

A few seconds later she called, "Mr. Saotome! You have a visitor!"

Genma stood and walked out of the room without a word.

"I wonder who it is." Akane whispered as she finished her soup.

"C'mon Akane. You're dying to know too, right? Let's go see." Nabiki said with a wink.

For a second Akane thought about it then nodded.

*--*--*--*--*

"I'm Ikuyo. My father received a letter from you Genma. Long time no see." Ikuyo said.

She had black hair up to her waist and long bangs which fell across the sides of her face and in front of her shoulders. She had a red kimono top on with blue flowers on it which had a red fabric belt tied around her waist to keep up her blue jeans which were rolled up at the bottom so they didn't get muddy (run-on sentence? I care not).

She had a black clarinet on her back and across her chest, in a fashion like Ukyo's own spatulas, she held small wooden reeds.

"Ikuyo. I sent that letter years ago." Genma said politely.

"Uh…well…mail comes slowly out in China." She said trying to regain her composer. "Is Ranma-kun here?" she asked as she looked around.

"Nope. He want to Ucchan's." Akane said gruffly.

"Ucchan's? I've never been here. May you show me the way?" she asked.

"I will." Nabiki said. "For a cheap—"

"Nabiki!" Akane said as she elbowed her sister. "I'll show you the way."

"Thank you…uh…what's your name?" she asked.

"Akane Tendo." She said as she stepped into her shoes and gestured for the girl to follow.

The girl had shoes like Raman's on and when she followed Akane she walked along the fence.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but those shoes help you keep your grip do they not?" Akane asked politely.

"Yeah. I need these shoes because most of the field I live on is cliffs and sharp rocks. We have yet to clear them away." She explained.

"Oh." After a long silence she worked up the courage to ask, "What's your relationship with Ranma?"

"He's my fiancé. We were engaged when we were about twelve years old. We were really good friends and he said he'd marry me." She explained. "You must be his fiancé too. I can tell you're concerned by the shape of your mouth." She said with a wink.

"Am I that obvious?" Akane asked. For some reason she felt comforted with this girl, like she could say anything she wanted to, not like with Ranma's other fiancé's.

"You love Ranma don't you?" Ikuyo asked sadly.

"I-I don't know. Sometimes I think I do then other times I don't. I don't know what I feel." She said as Ikuyo jumped down next to her.

Ikuyo put her arm around her shoulder. "You'll know. Some time you'll know." She reassured her.

"Aren't you going to fight over him like all his other fiancé's?" Akane asked. I feel like a fool for asking that, she thought as she kicked herself.

"Maybe. When I see how he is. I'll fight over him until you tell him your true feelings." She said.

"Thanks. Oh, here's Ucchan's." she said as they stopped in front of Ukyo's Okonomiyaki restaurant. She turned to leave but Ikuyo pulled her in with her.

"Ranma sweetie!" she called in a girlish voice.

Ranma slowly turned around with his Okonomiyaki pancake in his mouth. It dropped onto the plate when he saw who it was.

"Ikuyo." He said slowly.

"Yup. Your nice fiancé here showed me the way to my love." Ikuyo said as she winked down at Akane.

Ikuyo isn't any where near that of Shampoo, Kodachi, orUkyo's jealousy. She seems like she's having fun, Akane thought.

Ikuyo let go of Akane and pushed her to the stool next to Ranma's.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"This morning." She said with a shrug. "Can I have a shrimp Okonomiyaki?"

"S_sure." Ukyo said as she snapped out of her daze.

"How much?" Ikuyo asked while was making.

"I'll be nice. It's on me seeing that you probably don't have any money." Ukyo said with a smile.

"You're right. I spent it on bribing that old man to let me across the border." Ikuyo said as she sat with her hands folded in her lap.

"You're still studying Clarinet Martial Arts?" he asked her.

"Yup. I'm better too. I can beat every boy, guy, and man in the village plus the strongest of the women." She said with a warm smile.

"Clarinet Martial Arts?" Ukyo asked as she finished the okonomiyaki and passed it to the black haired girl.

"It's instrumental Martial arts where you use instruments and their equipment for your weapons plus your own hands and feet." She explained.

"Ran-chan, who is she to you?" Ukyo asked.

"Uh…she's my fiancé." He said hesitantly.

"What?!" Ukyo yelled.

*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*

"Please review for me. I hope some people review. Oh well, even if they don't I'll keep writing until someone does and even when they do I'll still write. Who ever reviews first I'll read their stories, it's as easy as that.

Thank you,

Youkai Taijiya Kihok