What if Akane got lost when she was very little, only to be found by Ryoga?
"Ranma, boy, meet your new fiancée: the youngest Tendo, Nabiki- age 17."
"WHAT?!?!" The pig-tailed boy's mouth hung wide open in shock and indignation. Soun and Genma celebrated in the background, as Kasumi cheerfully poured tea for everyone.
Nabiki smirked. He was cute.
Ranma and Nabiki were walking home from school on a beautiful autumn afternoon. They had been engaged for exactly 1 ½ months- and already they knew it wasn't going to work out. It wasn't that they hated each other and constantly quarreled. No, it was the fact that they hardly talked. Each simply accepted the engagement. Nabiki- knowing she would be able to get out of the engagement eventually, and Ranma was a good source of income for the meanwhile. The fact that all the girls at school were in love with Ranma didn't hurt either, but he was just too immature and naïve for her. And Ranma- because he was honorable and dumb. Nabiki was nice and pretty enough by all means, but they just never clicked- what could he say? They were just two different. But he got food, shelter and an education (not that he really wanted or needed school), so he couldn't complain. Besides the weekly reminders of a wedding that their fathers bombarded them with, the reminders that they constantly ignored and put off- it was almost as if they weren't fiancées. Life was boring, until-
"RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!!!!" A deep male's baritone cried out. A flash of yellow darted in front of Ranma and Nabiki, a handsome boy with a yellow bandana and a red umbrella appeared before them.
"HUH?" Ranma replied intelligently staring in recognition at the newcomer. Nabiki simply took a few steps back and calmly took out her camera. "Ooh, he's cute," she said to herself clicking away with her camera.
Without warning the boy swung his umbrella down at Ranma with another cry of "RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!" Dodging the blow, Ranma suddenly remembered. Happily he cried out, "RYOGA! It's great ta see ya! Where ya been man?" as a storm of yellow bandana darts followed by a howl of "AFTER ALL THE HELL YOU'VE PUT ME THROUGH YOU SAY WHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!" came at him.
A little confused, Ranma stopped mid battle. Another "huh?" escaped his lips. Ryoga infuriated at his opponents lack of enthusiasm at their fight, began to get angrier (if that was possible,) and began attacking furiously. He was rewarded when his fist finally connected with the face of the carelessly dodging Ranma.
Standing over his newly fallen opponent, Ryoga began to laugh insanely. Nabiki, a few feet away, was still taking pictures when she turned her head sharply at sound of a very feminine voice.
"RYOGA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!?! I hope you didn't kill him.. we're not murders you baka." A girl clad in a blue bandana, a blue long- sleeved American style T-shirt that proudly displayed the logo "LOST", and jean shorts appeared, promptly hitting the boy Ryoga, over the head with a long wooden pole.
"Ow.. Akane.." the boy protested rubbing his sore head of dark brown hair. "I told you not to follow me! You could get hurt!"
The girl ignored his protests, bending over Nabiki's unconscious fiancée and asked, "So this is him?" Ryoga nodded. Suddenly, the girl Akane bounced up and down happily, her long dark blue hair falling freely about her shoulders and the pole lay forgotten on the floor, "This is THE Ranma Saotome? WOW Ryo-chan!!!! We finally found him!!!" Then, her dark brown eyes clouded over with hatred, growing cold and hard, "This is the one that caused us so much pain."
Ryoga nodded grimly. Brown eyes met dark brown eyes, and the two promptly began kicking and punching Ranma's unconscious form giggling hysterically. Nabiki, running out of film in her camera, decided it was about time to intervene, before the pair destroyed her, inwardly she groaned, fiancé.
"Excuse me, but I do believe this is my fiancé you two are beating up," she said dryly. The two promptly stopped and stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time, (which they were). A moment of silence followed, where they just stared at each other. Nabiki in amusement, and Akane and Ryoga in shock. (Shock from finally finding Ranma Saotome and beating the crap outta him. And shock that they didn't notice this sarcastic girl with the brown hair and tight fitting clothes, even with their martial arts training and instinct. They each made a mental note to train harder.) Nabiki cleared her throat deciding to introduce herself. "And I'm Nabiki Tendo. His fiancée."
The silence between the two was then broken with a burst of laughter from Ryoga and a look of sympathy from Akane. "May I express my deepest condolences at that," she said gravely. "I'm Akane Hibiki, and this is Ryoga Hibiki." The boy with the umbrella nodded cordially.
"Well, I suppose I could offer you two dinner at the Tendo Dojo, in exchange for helping me to drag that," she pointed to Ranma's body on the ground, "home. Oh," she said smiling cheerily for the first time they saw her at the thought of more prospective money, "And you can tell me why, exactly, you were beating up my fiancé."
"Sure," the boy said amiably. Ryoga bent down to pick up Ranma's crumpled body, carrying him over one shoulder, (but not without giving him one last kick.) Akane picked up her wooden pole, as well as Ryoga's umbrella and pack, and the three of them walked back towards the Tendo Dojo. (But not without quite a few dead ends and wrong turns, thanks to the Hibikis.)
That night at dinner
Ranma glared at the pair sitting across the table from him. His head still hurt from the beating they'd given him. Not taking the earlier fight seriously, he was quite easily knocked unconscious. He remembered the pair now. Well no, Ranma remembered Ryoga now- vaguely. Boys' school, bread, duel. die ranma die. Ranma continued to glare, so he had taken Ryoga's bread back in elementary school, but, it was bread, and no reason to chase someone for 8 years, and beat them up over. But the yellow clad boy simply glared back, and the girl with the blue-hair simply smiled at him. Who was she- well she seemed pretty friendly with Ryoga- and therefore deserving of a glare too. But at the smile, Ranma's heart beat a little quicker- which he promptly shrugged off and went right back to glaring and eating.
The atmosphere at dinner that night was very tense- and all could sense it. Nabiki had introduced Ryoga and Akane Hibiki to her father, Mr. Saotome and Kasumi- explaining that they helped her with Ranma, (never mentioning the fact that they were the ones that beat him up in the first place.) And so- they were warmly welcomed at the Tendo table. But still, even Kasumi could tell there was a certain rivalry or intensity between the two boys. The girl, Akane, Kasumi thought was quite sweet and pretty. In fact- she almost reminded her of -
"So, Ryoga, Akane, what brings you two youngsters to Nerima?" Soun suggested, interrupted. Ryoga looked warily at Akane. She shrugged and went back to eating.
"Well- ok. Hehehe.." He laughed nervously with a hand behind his head. Nabiki watched with interest and Kasumi sat down politely to listen. Ranma kept glaring- and the panda in the corner simply kept eating.
Then suddenly with a newly acquired boost of confidence- from who knows where, he began. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. Akane and I are not related." Ryoga ignored the curious glances from the Tendo family and Ranma. "But we both have no family- and a horrible sense of direction. When I was 5 I lost my family. (They didn't die. I just. lost them- they have horrible senses of direction as well.) So I began to wander on my own, traveling hither and thither- and that was when I met Akane. I somehow ended up in Ryugensawa when I found her. She was lost and alone, looking for her family. So, we decided to travel together in search of our families. That was 10 years ago, when we were both 6."
"What does that have to do with you beating me up? HUH? RYOGA? THE STUPID BREAD FEUD?!?!" Kasumi and Soun looked confused. Beat up? Bread? *I can make bread* Kasumi thought smiling to herself.
Ryoga's eyes grew dark. An yellow glow around him, as he stood up. "YOU SHUT UP RANMA!"
Akane quickly rushed to her childhood friend's side, putting her arms around his waist trying to calm him. When she finally did. She glared at Ranma- the source of Ryoga's anger, and continued.
"What Nabiki didn't tell you- was that Ryoga came here to kill Ranma- but I wouldn't let him. I told him to just be you up." With that comment, she smiled brilliantly at Ranma. His heart thumped again as he wondered whether he was supposed to be grateful for her saving his life, or mad, that she wanted to beat him up. "You could at least say thank you ya know." Akane huffed when Ranma didn't say anything. *Well I guess that answers that.. * he thought to himself. "But you would have to hear the whole story to understand why. And its not the bread feud," she said pointedly at Ranma. *I can make bread.* Kasumi thought once more, but this time, something in the back of her mind was greatly troubling her. Something she felt was very important.
Flashback. 8 years ago.
Ryoga and Akane finally showed up at the empty lot behind their house- 3 days late.
"HE'S NOT HERE!!" Ryoga howled, throwing his hands up towards his head in despair.
"Ryo-chan, we are three days late.ya know. I guess you can't expect him to wait that long for us." Akane bopped him on the head with her pole. (AN: Yes, this is like her equivalent of Ryoga's umbrella and the replacement for her mallet. It's a hiking stick people. You know how they get lost a lot, and travel a lot.) "HAHAHA what am I talking about? That dishonorable fiend. It was a matter of honor- and he couldn't wait!?!?!"
"Us? It was my fight Akane. You were the one that wanted to tag along." This comment earned poor Ryoga another bop on the head with Akane's pole.
"So bite me for caring. Besides I can fight too. I've beaten you 4 ½ times you know!!!"
"Yea, yea.. hey what's this?" He picked up a note.
Ryoga
Pop has taken me to China for a training trip. I guess we won't be able to have our duel. NYAA I would've won anyways. Ranma
"HOW DARE HE! HE RAN AWAY FROM A DUEL FOR A STUPID TRAINING TRIP TO CHINA!!" Ryoga raised a fist at the sky. "RANMA SAOTOME! I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH AND DEFEAT YOU!"
"Hmm.." Akane ignored Ryoga's overly dramatic display of honor, taking the note from his hands. "China. OOOH!! Ryo-chan! Are we really gonna follow him to China? How fun!" 8 year old Akane bounced up and down.
"It's a matter of honor- we must." Ryoga silenced Akane's happy giggling with a grave stare.
"Yes Ryo-chan."
Time Elapse- 4 months
"WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE NOW?!?!?!?!" A dirt-covered, travel-weary Akane and Ryoga straggle out of a cave just in front of the famous training grounds of cursed springs- Jusenkyo.
"Welcome sir and madam to famous training grounds of cursed springs- Jusenkyo." A chinese man wearing a commi uniform popped out of nowhere. "Welcome to China."
"China! We're here Akane! We made it!" Ryoga grinned gleefully showing his fangs.
Akane smiled back triumphantly, "I told you we had to cross the ocean, and go over the mountain, and crawl into that cave and make a left."
"What would I do without you. I'd still be in Italy wouldn't I?" Akane nodded at Ryoga's recognition of her improving directional skills. She was still beaming when Ryoga asked the guide, "So where's Ranma?"
"I no know what you is talking about sir. But let me tell you all about famous training grounds of Jusenkyo. Here is the famous Nan-"
"No I really don't think that's necessary," Ryoga began walking away, with Akane in tow when, WHAM!
"RANMA BOY! FASTER BOY FASTER!! DO YOU WANA GET TO JUSENKYO OR NOT?" Out of nowhere, Genma and Ranma rammed into Akane and Ryoga. The four of them flew off in separate directions. Ryoga and Akane towards the springs, and Genma and Ranma into the cave where they proceeded to roll down, down and down into the depths of the cave.
But out under the sunlight, a worse fate lay in store of Ryoga and Akane, SPLASH! SPLASH!
"Oh sir, you fall in lannichuan. The spring of drowned wolf, where wolf drown in spring 1,367 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of wolf." The Jusenkyo guide then ran over to the spring Akane fell in.
"Poor madam. You call in maunichuan. The spring of drowned cat, where cat drown in spring 5,481 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of cat."
Two cries of horror and fury erupted from the two springs. Ryoga was now a light brown wolf, and Akane a dark blue cat with white tipped ears and tail. Taking one look at each other- the two promptly fainted.
"Poor sir and madam." The Jusenkyo guide looked on in pity. "More victims to famous training ground of cursed spring- Jusenkyo."
End of flashback
".. and we've been seeking revenge on he who caused all this in the first place ever since. You would not believe the horrors we've gone through because of you Ranma." Akane stared gravely at Ranma before flashing him a cheerful grin. "But we've forgiven you." With their tale of woe told, Ryoga and Akane looked around expectantly at the Tendo family and Ranma. Expecting tears, pity and their deepest condolences. But there was none.
"Oh- is that all?" Nabiki asked with a bored expression on her face. In the corner the panda had fallen asleep. Soun was reading his newspaper and there was not even an "Oh my" from Kasumi.
"Um.. Did you guys here us?" Ryoga asked warily. "We're cursed. We turn into animals." He was pleased to see that at least Ranma was remorseful for what he'd done, for Ranma was beginning to act strange.
"You turn into a c-c-ca-cat?!?!?" fear crossing his handsome features.
"No, but Akane does." Ryoga said matter-of-factly. "Geez. you guys are really bad listeners."
Turning to Akane Ranma asked. "You turn into a c-c-cat?"
"Why yes," she said sweetly. "YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!?!?!?!" the next second her pole was up and ready to smack Ranma over the head with it.
"THAT'S IT!" Everyone momentarily stopped, and looked at Kasumi who was smiling cheerily at them. "I just remembered. Daddy- don't you remember? We lost a sister named Akane 10 years ago. And look," she took out a picture of the 6 year old Akane- grinning toothlessly at the camera, covered in mud, and her short dark blue hair a mess. "Don't they look alike?"
The picture was passed around and when it reached Akane, she exclaimed, "You think that's me? AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Realizing that she was laughing alone, she stopped and passed the picture to Ryoga. "It doesn't look a thing like me. Why, she looks silly and stupid."
"Uh.. Akane?" Ryoga tapped her on the shoulder. "That's what you looked like when I found you."
"NANI?!?" She bopped him over the head with her pole. "RYOGA! HOW COULD YOU!?!"
Before she could further beat Ryoga up- they were interrupted by a loud eruption of tears from Soun (which even woke up Genma).
"MY BABY GIRL HAS RETURNED!!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" He promptly moved over next to Akane with his arms wide open. "GIVE YOU DEAR FATHER A HUG!"
"YOU PERVERT!" Akane bopped him on the head with her pole, getting only more wails from Soun.
"WAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! MY OWN LONG LOST DAUGHTER WON'T GIVE ME A HUG!!!! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!! SHE CALLED ME A PERVERT!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! AKANE HIT ME!!!!! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Seeing her mistake, Akane promptly apologized. "Sorry Mr. Tendo, but you can realize how weird this is for me. I mean- I've lived my whole life on the road and now suddenly, you whom I've just met tell me that I'm your long lost daughter. I mean- I can't possibly be. could I?" She glanced at Ryoga who shrugged.
"Akane- that is you in the picture. I mean- we've been searching for our families for more than 10 years now. You might have just found yours. If I were you, I'd stay with them a while to find out for sure."
"But Ryo-chan- what about you?"
"He'd be welcome in our home of course," Soun interrupted, stopping abruptly from his crying. "He is like a brother to you right?" he looked at them two of them skeptically, (protectively at Ryoga.)
"OOOH!! RYO-CHAN!!! WE CAN ACTUALLY SETTLE DOWN!!!" Akane bounced happily around the room. "No more sleeping on the ground, no more bathing in rivers, no more digging tunnels, no more eating Ryo-chan's cooking, no more -"
"HEY!! And what's wrong with my cooking? It's better than yours!" earning him another bop on the head.
Nabiki who had stayed silent all this time (Ranma too, who was dumb and still in shock of Akane being able to turn into a cat,) finally spoke. "And as my newly found, long-lost sister. You can uphold the family honor by fulfilling the engagement to Ranma!" she smiled connivingly.
"HUH?!" Akane, Ryoga, and even Ranma, coming out of his shock long enough to process what had just been said stared blankly at Nabiki.
"OH WHAT A GREAT IDEA!" Soun began to cry again. The panda having awoken from all the commotion held up a sign that said -hurrah hurrah- "You two are the same age! I felt so bad having to ask Nabiki to marry someone younger than her. Now, Akane, you can marry Ranma."
"HOLD UP HOLD UP HOLD UP. Who said ANYTHING about Akane marrying Ranma?" Ryoga roared. "We have more than half of our life chasing that filth for what he did to us- and on the day we find him, you ask Akane to marry him?!?!?!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!?!"
"Ryo-chan right. Nobody is marrying anybody!"
"YEA!" Ranma said.
"Ok- nobody's marrying anybody, but you two are still engaged." Nabiki said smoothly.
"YEA!" Ranma and Akane and Ryoga agreed. And in a split second, Soun and Genma grinned at each other congradulatorily and raced out of the room before the two newly engaged fiancés found out what they just agreed to. Nabiki smiled slyly as she slipped out of the room.
"Oh my.." said Kasumi. "Oh yes, you two will also be going to school tomorrow with Nabiki and Ranma."
And 10 seconds later, a loud "WWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!" erupted from Tendo Dojo.
"Ranma, boy, meet your new fiancée: the youngest Tendo, Nabiki- age 17."
"WHAT?!?!" The pig-tailed boy's mouth hung wide open in shock and indignation. Soun and Genma celebrated in the background, as Kasumi cheerfully poured tea for everyone.
Nabiki smirked. He was cute.
Ranma and Nabiki were walking home from school on a beautiful autumn afternoon. They had been engaged for exactly 1 ½ months- and already they knew it wasn't going to work out. It wasn't that they hated each other and constantly quarreled. No, it was the fact that they hardly talked. Each simply accepted the engagement. Nabiki- knowing she would be able to get out of the engagement eventually, and Ranma was a good source of income for the meanwhile. The fact that all the girls at school were in love with Ranma didn't hurt either, but he was just too immature and naïve for her. And Ranma- because he was honorable and dumb. Nabiki was nice and pretty enough by all means, but they just never clicked- what could he say? They were just two different. But he got food, shelter and an education (not that he really wanted or needed school), so he couldn't complain. Besides the weekly reminders of a wedding that their fathers bombarded them with, the reminders that they constantly ignored and put off- it was almost as if they weren't fiancées. Life was boring, until-
"RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!!!!" A deep male's baritone cried out. A flash of yellow darted in front of Ranma and Nabiki, a handsome boy with a yellow bandana and a red umbrella appeared before them.
"HUH?" Ranma replied intelligently staring in recognition at the newcomer. Nabiki simply took a few steps back and calmly took out her camera. "Ooh, he's cute," she said to herself clicking away with her camera.
Without warning the boy swung his umbrella down at Ranma with another cry of "RANMA PREPARE TO DIE!" Dodging the blow, Ranma suddenly remembered. Happily he cried out, "RYOGA! It's great ta see ya! Where ya been man?" as a storm of yellow bandana darts followed by a howl of "AFTER ALL THE HELL YOU'VE PUT ME THROUGH YOU SAY WHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!" came at him.
A little confused, Ranma stopped mid battle. Another "huh?" escaped his lips. Ryoga infuriated at his opponents lack of enthusiasm at their fight, began to get angrier (if that was possible,) and began attacking furiously. He was rewarded when his fist finally connected with the face of the carelessly dodging Ranma.
Standing over his newly fallen opponent, Ryoga began to laugh insanely. Nabiki, a few feet away, was still taking pictures when she turned her head sharply at sound of a very feminine voice.
"RYOGA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!?! I hope you didn't kill him.. we're not murders you baka." A girl clad in a blue bandana, a blue long- sleeved American style T-shirt that proudly displayed the logo "LOST", and jean shorts appeared, promptly hitting the boy Ryoga, over the head with a long wooden pole.
"Ow.. Akane.." the boy protested rubbing his sore head of dark brown hair. "I told you not to follow me! You could get hurt!"
The girl ignored his protests, bending over Nabiki's unconscious fiancée and asked, "So this is him?" Ryoga nodded. Suddenly, the girl Akane bounced up and down happily, her long dark blue hair falling freely about her shoulders and the pole lay forgotten on the floor, "This is THE Ranma Saotome? WOW Ryo-chan!!!! We finally found him!!!" Then, her dark brown eyes clouded over with hatred, growing cold and hard, "This is the one that caused us so much pain."
Ryoga nodded grimly. Brown eyes met dark brown eyes, and the two promptly began kicking and punching Ranma's unconscious form giggling hysterically. Nabiki, running out of film in her camera, decided it was about time to intervene, before the pair destroyed her, inwardly she groaned, fiancé.
"Excuse me, but I do believe this is my fiancé you two are beating up," she said dryly. The two promptly stopped and stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time, (which they were). A moment of silence followed, where they just stared at each other. Nabiki in amusement, and Akane and Ryoga in shock. (Shock from finally finding Ranma Saotome and beating the crap outta him. And shock that they didn't notice this sarcastic girl with the brown hair and tight fitting clothes, even with their martial arts training and instinct. They each made a mental note to train harder.) Nabiki cleared her throat deciding to introduce herself. "And I'm Nabiki Tendo. His fiancée."
The silence between the two was then broken with a burst of laughter from Ryoga and a look of sympathy from Akane. "May I express my deepest condolences at that," she said gravely. "I'm Akane Hibiki, and this is Ryoga Hibiki." The boy with the umbrella nodded cordially.
"Well, I suppose I could offer you two dinner at the Tendo Dojo, in exchange for helping me to drag that," she pointed to Ranma's body on the ground, "home. Oh," she said smiling cheerily for the first time they saw her at the thought of more prospective money, "And you can tell me why, exactly, you were beating up my fiancé."
"Sure," the boy said amiably. Ryoga bent down to pick up Ranma's crumpled body, carrying him over one shoulder, (but not without giving him one last kick.) Akane picked up her wooden pole, as well as Ryoga's umbrella and pack, and the three of them walked back towards the Tendo Dojo. (But not without quite a few dead ends and wrong turns, thanks to the Hibikis.)
That night at dinner
Ranma glared at the pair sitting across the table from him. His head still hurt from the beating they'd given him. Not taking the earlier fight seriously, he was quite easily knocked unconscious. He remembered the pair now. Well no, Ranma remembered Ryoga now- vaguely. Boys' school, bread, duel. die ranma die. Ranma continued to glare, so he had taken Ryoga's bread back in elementary school, but, it was bread, and no reason to chase someone for 8 years, and beat them up over. But the yellow clad boy simply glared back, and the girl with the blue-hair simply smiled at him. Who was she- well she seemed pretty friendly with Ryoga- and therefore deserving of a glare too. But at the smile, Ranma's heart beat a little quicker- which he promptly shrugged off and went right back to glaring and eating.
The atmosphere at dinner that night was very tense- and all could sense it. Nabiki had introduced Ryoga and Akane Hibiki to her father, Mr. Saotome and Kasumi- explaining that they helped her with Ranma, (never mentioning the fact that they were the ones that beat him up in the first place.) And so- they were warmly welcomed at the Tendo table. But still, even Kasumi could tell there was a certain rivalry or intensity between the two boys. The girl, Akane, Kasumi thought was quite sweet and pretty. In fact- she almost reminded her of -
"So, Ryoga, Akane, what brings you two youngsters to Nerima?" Soun suggested, interrupted. Ryoga looked warily at Akane. She shrugged and went back to eating.
"Well- ok. Hehehe.." He laughed nervously with a hand behind his head. Nabiki watched with interest and Kasumi sat down politely to listen. Ranma kept glaring- and the panda in the corner simply kept eating.
Then suddenly with a newly acquired boost of confidence- from who knows where, he began. "I guess I'll start at the beginning. Akane and I are not related." Ryoga ignored the curious glances from the Tendo family and Ranma. "But we both have no family- and a horrible sense of direction. When I was 5 I lost my family. (They didn't die. I just. lost them- they have horrible senses of direction as well.) So I began to wander on my own, traveling hither and thither- and that was when I met Akane. I somehow ended up in Ryugensawa when I found her. She was lost and alone, looking for her family. So, we decided to travel together in search of our families. That was 10 years ago, when we were both 6."
"What does that have to do with you beating me up? HUH? RYOGA? THE STUPID BREAD FEUD?!?!" Kasumi and Soun looked confused. Beat up? Bread? *I can make bread* Kasumi thought smiling to herself.
Ryoga's eyes grew dark. An yellow glow around him, as he stood up. "YOU SHUT UP RANMA!"
Akane quickly rushed to her childhood friend's side, putting her arms around his waist trying to calm him. When she finally did. She glared at Ranma- the source of Ryoga's anger, and continued.
"What Nabiki didn't tell you- was that Ryoga came here to kill Ranma- but I wouldn't let him. I told him to just be you up." With that comment, she smiled brilliantly at Ranma. His heart thumped again as he wondered whether he was supposed to be grateful for her saving his life, or mad, that she wanted to beat him up. "You could at least say thank you ya know." Akane huffed when Ranma didn't say anything. *Well I guess that answers that.. * he thought to himself. "But you would have to hear the whole story to understand why. And its not the bread feud," she said pointedly at Ranma. *I can make bread.* Kasumi thought once more, but this time, something in the back of her mind was greatly troubling her. Something she felt was very important.
Flashback. 8 years ago.
Ryoga and Akane finally showed up at the empty lot behind their house- 3 days late.
"HE'S NOT HERE!!" Ryoga howled, throwing his hands up towards his head in despair.
"Ryo-chan, we are three days late.ya know. I guess you can't expect him to wait that long for us." Akane bopped him on the head with her pole. (AN: Yes, this is like her equivalent of Ryoga's umbrella and the replacement for her mallet. It's a hiking stick people. You know how they get lost a lot, and travel a lot.) "HAHAHA what am I talking about? That dishonorable fiend. It was a matter of honor- and he couldn't wait!?!?!"
"Us? It was my fight Akane. You were the one that wanted to tag along." This comment earned poor Ryoga another bop on the head with Akane's pole.
"So bite me for caring. Besides I can fight too. I've beaten you 4 ½ times you know!!!"
"Yea, yea.. hey what's this?" He picked up a note.
Ryoga
Pop has taken me to China for a training trip. I guess we won't be able to have our duel. NYAA I would've won anyways. Ranma
"HOW DARE HE! HE RAN AWAY FROM A DUEL FOR A STUPID TRAINING TRIP TO CHINA!!" Ryoga raised a fist at the sky. "RANMA SAOTOME! I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH AND DEFEAT YOU!"
"Hmm.." Akane ignored Ryoga's overly dramatic display of honor, taking the note from his hands. "China. OOOH!! Ryo-chan! Are we really gonna follow him to China? How fun!" 8 year old Akane bounced up and down.
"It's a matter of honor- we must." Ryoga silenced Akane's happy giggling with a grave stare.
"Yes Ryo-chan."
Time Elapse- 4 months
"WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE NOW?!?!?!?!" A dirt-covered, travel-weary Akane and Ryoga straggle out of a cave just in front of the famous training grounds of cursed springs- Jusenkyo.
"Welcome sir and madam to famous training grounds of cursed springs- Jusenkyo." A chinese man wearing a commi uniform popped out of nowhere. "Welcome to China."
"China! We're here Akane! We made it!" Ryoga grinned gleefully showing his fangs.
Akane smiled back triumphantly, "I told you we had to cross the ocean, and go over the mountain, and crawl into that cave and make a left."
"What would I do without you. I'd still be in Italy wouldn't I?" Akane nodded at Ryoga's recognition of her improving directional skills. She was still beaming when Ryoga asked the guide, "So where's Ranma?"
"I no know what you is talking about sir. But let me tell you all about famous training grounds of Jusenkyo. Here is the famous Nan-"
"No I really don't think that's necessary," Ryoga began walking away, with Akane in tow when, WHAM!
"RANMA BOY! FASTER BOY FASTER!! DO YOU WANA GET TO JUSENKYO OR NOT?" Out of nowhere, Genma and Ranma rammed into Akane and Ryoga. The four of them flew off in separate directions. Ryoga and Akane towards the springs, and Genma and Ranma into the cave where they proceeded to roll down, down and down into the depths of the cave.
But out under the sunlight, a worse fate lay in store of Ryoga and Akane, SPLASH! SPLASH!
"Oh sir, you fall in lannichuan. The spring of drowned wolf, where wolf drown in spring 1,367 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of wolf." The Jusenkyo guide then ran over to the spring Akane fell in.
"Poor madam. You call in maunichuan. The spring of drowned cat, where cat drown in spring 5,481 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of cat."
Two cries of horror and fury erupted from the two springs. Ryoga was now a light brown wolf, and Akane a dark blue cat with white tipped ears and tail. Taking one look at each other- the two promptly fainted.
"Poor sir and madam." The Jusenkyo guide looked on in pity. "More victims to famous training ground of cursed spring- Jusenkyo."
End of flashback
".. and we've been seeking revenge on he who caused all this in the first place ever since. You would not believe the horrors we've gone through because of you Ranma." Akane stared gravely at Ranma before flashing him a cheerful grin. "But we've forgiven you." With their tale of woe told, Ryoga and Akane looked around expectantly at the Tendo family and Ranma. Expecting tears, pity and their deepest condolences. But there was none.
"Oh- is that all?" Nabiki asked with a bored expression on her face. In the corner the panda had fallen asleep. Soun was reading his newspaper and there was not even an "Oh my" from Kasumi.
"Um.. Did you guys here us?" Ryoga asked warily. "We're cursed. We turn into animals." He was pleased to see that at least Ranma was remorseful for what he'd done, for Ranma was beginning to act strange.
"You turn into a c-c-ca-cat?!?!?" fear crossing his handsome features.
"No, but Akane does." Ryoga said matter-of-factly. "Geez. you guys are really bad listeners."
Turning to Akane Ranma asked. "You turn into a c-c-cat?"
"Why yes," she said sweetly. "YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!?!?!?!" the next second her pole was up and ready to smack Ranma over the head with it.
"THAT'S IT!" Everyone momentarily stopped, and looked at Kasumi who was smiling cheerily at them. "I just remembered. Daddy- don't you remember? We lost a sister named Akane 10 years ago. And look," she took out a picture of the 6 year old Akane- grinning toothlessly at the camera, covered in mud, and her short dark blue hair a mess. "Don't they look alike?"
The picture was passed around and when it reached Akane, she exclaimed, "You think that's me? AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Realizing that she was laughing alone, she stopped and passed the picture to Ryoga. "It doesn't look a thing like me. Why, she looks silly and stupid."
"Uh.. Akane?" Ryoga tapped her on the shoulder. "That's what you looked like when I found you."
"NANI?!?" She bopped him over the head with her pole. "RYOGA! HOW COULD YOU!?!"
Before she could further beat Ryoga up- they were interrupted by a loud eruption of tears from Soun (which even woke up Genma).
"MY BABY GIRL HAS RETURNED!!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" He promptly moved over next to Akane with his arms wide open. "GIVE YOU DEAR FATHER A HUG!"
"YOU PERVERT!" Akane bopped him on the head with her pole, getting only more wails from Soun.
"WAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! MY OWN LONG LOST DAUGHTER WON'T GIVE ME A HUG!!!! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!! SHE CALLED ME A PERVERT!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! AKANE HIT ME!!!!! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Seeing her mistake, Akane promptly apologized. "Sorry Mr. Tendo, but you can realize how weird this is for me. I mean- I've lived my whole life on the road and now suddenly, you whom I've just met tell me that I'm your long lost daughter. I mean- I can't possibly be. could I?" She glanced at Ryoga who shrugged.
"Akane- that is you in the picture. I mean- we've been searching for our families for more than 10 years now. You might have just found yours. If I were you, I'd stay with them a while to find out for sure."
"But Ryo-chan- what about you?"
"He'd be welcome in our home of course," Soun interrupted, stopping abruptly from his crying. "He is like a brother to you right?" he looked at them two of them skeptically, (protectively at Ryoga.)
"OOOH!! RYO-CHAN!!! WE CAN ACTUALLY SETTLE DOWN!!!" Akane bounced happily around the room. "No more sleeping on the ground, no more bathing in rivers, no more digging tunnels, no more eating Ryo-chan's cooking, no more -"
"HEY!! And what's wrong with my cooking? It's better than yours!" earning him another bop on the head.
Nabiki who had stayed silent all this time (Ranma too, who was dumb and still in shock of Akane being able to turn into a cat,) finally spoke. "And as my newly found, long-lost sister. You can uphold the family honor by fulfilling the engagement to Ranma!" she smiled connivingly.
"HUH?!" Akane, Ryoga, and even Ranma, coming out of his shock long enough to process what had just been said stared blankly at Nabiki.
"OH WHAT A GREAT IDEA!" Soun began to cry again. The panda having awoken from all the commotion held up a sign that said -hurrah hurrah- "You two are the same age! I felt so bad having to ask Nabiki to marry someone younger than her. Now, Akane, you can marry Ranma."
"HOLD UP HOLD UP HOLD UP. Who said ANYTHING about Akane marrying Ranma?" Ryoga roared. "We have more than half of our life chasing that filth for what he did to us- and on the day we find him, you ask Akane to marry him?!?!?!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!?!"
"Ryo-chan right. Nobody is marrying anybody!"
"YEA!" Ranma said.
"Ok- nobody's marrying anybody, but you two are still engaged." Nabiki said smoothly.
"YEA!" Ranma and Akane and Ryoga agreed. And in a split second, Soun and Genma grinned at each other congradulatorily and raced out of the room before the two newly engaged fiancés found out what they just agreed to. Nabiki smiled slyly as she slipped out of the room.
"Oh my.." said Kasumi. "Oh yes, you two will also be going to school tomorrow with Nabiki and Ranma."
And 10 seconds later, a loud "WWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!" erupted from Tendo Dojo.