Call of the Night: Epilogue
Since so many of you have been asking for me to finish this series the rightway, I will. Again, I do not claim under any circumstances that I own the characters used in this story, I am only borrowing them and will return them when I am finished. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Please leave a review if you wish.
-------------------------
And so life goes on in Nerima. After learning Akane was pregnant, Ranma didn't know what to do next. They talked it over extensively the next day and decided it was better that they tell their families now than wait around a few months when they would have no choice but to explain why Akane's stomach has grown so big. At first their families where skeptical of the news, not really believing the teens could be so far when they haven't shown signs of being a couple let alone having sex and making babies. The only one that didn't react that way was Kasumi, for she already knew that the two teenagers were secret lovers though she hasn't told anyone that she found out because it would ruin her sister's happiness and that was something she would try to avoid any way she could. Only after Dr. Tofu performed some tests and confirmed that Akane was indeed pregnant with Ranma's child did they believe it. Soun and Genma were hysterical. They couldn't have had their plan go any better. When the teens asked what plan they were talking about the old men were forced to explain.
"It has been our dream that the dojo would continue after our time," started Akane's father, "And an heir would be born to run it."
"But we thought an heir would never come with the way you two have been acting towards each other. This pregnancy solves the entire thing. An heir will be born soon and he or she will run the dojo one day, after the proper training from the grandparents of course," added Ranma's father.
"We're not letting you two near our baby," said Akane hotly.
Ranma agreed with her, "We'll be the ones that will do the training, not you."
"But..." began Genma, before Nodoka cut him off, "Dear, I think we should let them decide since it's their child." She began to play with the hilt of her katana and her husband caught it out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, dear," he said in a defeated kind of way.
"Thanks, mom," said the boy.
"Oh, that reminds me," continued the woman, unsheathing the sword and pointing it at her son nonchalantly, "Isn't there something else you want to say?"
"Um..." started Ranma, keeping his eyes on the point of the blade, "You've kinda got me at a lost, mom."
Sighing, Nodoka said, "I was wondering if there was something you wanted to say to Akane before anything else is done today."
The boy looked around to the others for help, but got clueless looks from both fathers, a happy smile from Kasumi and another smile when he looked at Akane. Only after glancing at Nabiki, who was pointing to her ring finger, mouthing the words, did he realize what his mother was talking about.
"Oh!" he gasped, adding, "Well we haven't really talked about that yet, mom."
"I think the time for talking is passed, Ranma. Actions speak louder than words," replied his mom with a smile.
The boy gulped. "Um....uh..., do I have to?"
"If you want to do it right, you will," said Nodoka, giving her only son a serious look.
Laughing uneasily, the teen turned towards Akane and slowly got to one knee. He took a glance at the sword in his mother's hands before trying to spit out, "Akane.....will you......that is, um...."
Before he could finish she smiled at him and said, "You don't have to say it. I will."
"Okay," he replied breathless, exhaling what little air he had left in his lungs.
"Thats better," said the woman, returning her sword to its sheath, "Now, we have a wedding to plan."
--------------------
And with that the two teens were married by the end of the week just as Ranma predicted they would. Of course the other suitors didn't like the news, but when they heard that Akane was also pregnant to boot, it was the last straw. Ukyo, though heartbroken, was the first to accept it. In a way she knew she had to accept the fact that Ranma only saw her as a friend and decided it was for the better if she didn't fight it.
Kodachi and Tatewaki didn't want to hear it, they thought it to be some kind of trick that was being played. The Black Rose and The Blue Thunder continued to believe that until the evidence was overwhelming and Akane was nearing the due date with every passing day and the signs she was showing only provided them with the truth that she was indeed pregnant. With heavy blows to their pride, both Kuno siblings couldn't deny it any longer and at last they believed they had lost a battle that had gone on for far too long.
Ryoga, nowhere to be found for the first few months, came back to the Tendo home as P-chan only to find Akane and Ranma sleeping in the same bed. Horror-struck, he came to learn later in the day that the teenagers were married and she was expecting his baby. With his depression weighing heavy on his heart, the lost boy slowly walked away, a black aura surrounding him, never to be seen or heard from again, at least for some time until he wandered back into town in the future.
Shampoo took it the hardest, not wanting to believe it in the least, even after seeing Akane's progress firsthand. The marriage of Ranma and Akane she could barely live with, but the pregnancy was something she couldn't stand. After all she had done to try and steal him away from her, it was all in vain. Defeated in every plan she ever tried, and even in some she never got to try, the amazon warrior had no choice but to return to China empty-handed.
--------------------
Closer and closer the date was arriving and with each new day a new experience for the expecting parents. It seemed Akane was built for pregnancy, she didn't complain as much as Nodoka said she would, though the swelling of the ankles and the pain in her lower back being the worst of it. Knowing she was going to have a new mouth to feed, the girl had a renewed focus on her cooking. If she was going to be a successful mother she was going to need to know how to cook properly. Every day she would take lessons from both Kasumi and Nodoka that is until she couldn't move around very well as the due date was getting very close.
Ranma on the other hand had no choice but to find a way to support his new family. At the behest of both fathers the boy opened up the dojo to anyone that wanted to be taught for a price. His lessons were easy to understand and he helped anyone that needed it. He taught every day after school and on the weekends.
And that was another thing: school. Akane had to go through the ridicule of being teased for getting pregnant before graduating next year. Luckily for her she had her friends' support through the rest of this year. Sayuri and Yuka were understanding and stuck by her when she really needed it. Ranma in some ways had it worst. He kept getting congratulated by the other guys as if getting her pregnant was a badge of honor or something. The only ones that didn't do that were his friends, though they did ask him what it was like to have sex, but he didn't tell them. Daisuke and Hiroshi would tell the other guys to lay off of him whenever someone would start again. When the school year ended, Akane was showing the signs of being pregnant, and lucky for her she didn't have to wear her school uniform anymore for it was starting to get tight around her mid-section. If luck remained on their side, she would have the baby before school started again in the fall.
With school over for the year Ranma was able to teach more lessons and in turn was able to bring in more money for his soon-to-be growing family. Then came the talks about where they were going to live. They had just started to look in the papers at apartments close to the Tendo home when Soun offered to them the deed to the house. They wouldn't take him up on the offer, but he insisted and wouldn't hear another word in argument over it, saying with ownership of the dojo came the house along with it. The teenagers reluctantly thanked him, though both were wondering how to get him to take it back.
Not wanting to feel left out both Kasumi and Nabiki threw their sister a baby shower and invited a few of the girl's friends. Akane was surprised by the atmosphere of the party, all the girls were excited for her and what was to be coming soon. Brought along with them were the expected gifts of baby clothes, bottles, a stroller and the like with the most unexpected coming from the sisters. Kasumi offered her services while Akane was in school and vowed to take care of the little one as if she or he was her own while Nabiki gave up her room as a nursery for the baby. When asked where she was going to sleep the middle Tendo sibling let it out that she was moving into an apartment so she can be closer to the college she had been accepted to. Blown away by such generous tokens, Akane couldn't help but to cry though it could have been her mood swings working.
The day of the baby's arrival was looming ever so closely as was a new school year, the former closer than the latter, and both Ranma and Akane were getting nervous, but you couldn't tell who was more. From the way Nodoka described it labor didn't sound so bad, but the girl felt the experienced mother was leaving some major details out of her explanations. There were long pauses when she'd talk about it and Akane guessed it was just Nodoka remembering how it felt. Ranma on the other hand was getting all kinds of advice from both Soun and Genma, but could only take it at face value despite how much experience they had in the field. And sometimes their advice would be contradictory to itself, one would tell him something only to be told something different by the other. In the end both teens decided that even with all the talking and advice that was being given they would have to play it by ear and let things go where they will.
When the blessed day came it was half expected, but they still weren't totally prepared. They had gone through all the details of how it would go, but when it came right down to it everyone ran around in a hurry. It had been decided that Dr. Tofu would deliver the baby, but on his advice they went to the local hospital instead of his little clinic to have the delivery. By the time they got to the hospital Akane was already going through the intense pains of contractions and was cursing every minute she had to endure. Of course Ranma wouldn't leave her side and held her hand everytime one would come, though he wished he didn't because each time it happened it felt like she could break his fingers in her hold. The rest of the family settled in the waiting room as the expecting parents were whisked away to a hospital room to wait until she went deeper into labor. With her contractions getting closer and closer it wouldn't be long until the bundle of joy would be welcomed into the world.
--------------------
Akane Saotome went through 18+ hours of labor and their child, a boy, was greeted happily into existence. Back in her room the new parents waited with their little blue bundle for the rest of the family to usher their way into the room. The young woman layed in the bed, sitting up, with the baby in her arms as Ranma stood over her looking down at what he and his wife created.
"He's so beautiful," she said, smiling at the baby and then up at her husband, gently shaking the baby up and down in her arms.
"Yeah he is," agreed the young man, smiling back.
"Look at us," she commented, "We actually were able to pull this off."
"Yeah, now comes the hard part, we're gonna have to learn to care for the little guy," added Ranma.
"Let's hope we do alright, for all our sakes," she replied, "You wanna hold him?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," said the young man, taking the little blue bundle from his wife, "Hey little guy, how you doin'?" he asked his new son, holding him as softly and gently as he could, "I feel like I could break him."
"Just mind the head and you'll do great," she reminded her husband.
It wasn't long until everyone else came into the room, all of them happy for the new parents. And like a hot potato the baby was passed around the room with the last one to hold him being Nodoka. The one that looked the least sure or herself was Nabiki. When she had hold of the baby she looked completely out of her element.
"Will someone take this baby before I drop him," she commented before handing him over to Kasumi.
"I'll take him," said the eldest Tendo daughter.
In her capable arms Kasumi looked as much if not more like a mother than did her little sister. Akane knew her baby would be in able, caring hands when she'd be away at school.
"Have you two decided on a name?" asked Nodoka when she was ready to hand the baby back to the mother.
"Ryo, actually," answered the young woman in the bed, taking the baby in her arms, "It just came to us after we saw him."
"I thought for sure you'd name him after one of us," said Genma.
The comment resulted in an angry glare from Akane and the old man retreated behind his wife for cover.
"I guess we should leave you three alone now, we'll just head back to the waiting room for now," mentioned Nodoka as she and her husband left the room.
Without saying anything, Naboiki nodded to her sister and brother-in-law and left the room as well. Kasumi and Soun lingered in the room but they too left after awhile, leaving the couple alone with their child.
Smiling at his wife, Ranma said, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling good right about now. It feels to me that this little guy is gonna have a great time growing up in this family."
"You maybe right," agreed the girl, "If not he'll sure be loved that I know of."
Ranma sat down on the bed next to Akane, wrapped an arm around her and looked down at the little blue bundle in her arms, "Welcome to the family, Ryo."
"You know what would make this moment better?" she asked.
"What?" he wondered.
"Absolutely nothing," she answered, giving him a big smile.
The young man leaned in and gave his wife a kiss, "I'm sure we'll think of something to add later on down the road, like in another year."
"I think I know what you're talking about, " she laughed, kissing him back, "But we'll have to see, won't we? And next time I want a girl."
"Anything you want," he chuckled, giving his wife and sideways hug.
--------------------
Sure enough she got her wish 2 years later. They welcomed a little girl, Midori, into the world after high school and have been living happily ever since. The dojo has been running great without any problems whatsoever. The cooking lessons have paid off and things have never been better. It may have been rough in the beginning for the couple from Nerima, but as you can see their story does have a happy ending after all.
The End
--------------------
Editor's Notes: I hope you people that have told me to continue this are happy. Not that I'm saying I didn't want to do this, I'm just saying that I wasn't planning on doing this when all this was suppose to be was just some fun little series where Ranma and Akane could get down and dirty, have some sex and not have to worry about what it would mean if someone found out or if Akane got pregnant from it. Just a harmless little sex romp was all it was intended to be, but now it's been blown into a series ender of a story. Again please leave a review if you wish and whether it's a flame or a praise I'll take it. Thank you for taking the time to read this and don't be a stranger when I get to posting more stories for everyone to read.
~Ranmano1fan
