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.

This story is the second part of "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome". If you haven't read "Ignition", I'm afraid "Combustion" will not make much sense. However, the tone of "Combustion" will be much lighter and there will be more humor and less "high drama".

Note on rating: I've been debating whether this story should be rated "T" or "M". After reviewing other stories, I've decided on "T" for now – the language is very indirect (it's actually more indirect that many of the "T" stories out there). If I get much pushback, I'll raise the rating and possibly put out a "K+" version as well for those who do not read "M".

Chapter 1: The Spy

With a little help from Toshio Kuno, Tofu had managed to grab an unused operating room and get everyone moved there. Between the police, the three patients (Ryoga, Akane, and Ranma still stuck as Ranko), Nodoka and Akari (who left only very briefly to see to Katsunishiki), at least one doctor (Tofu or Isamu), one nurse (or office manager), Nabiki and Kasumi (who were there more often than not), and at least two visitors at any given time, there was no other room in the hospital capable of handling the crowd.

The three patients were now in normal bedtime garb with robes rather than hospital gowns. They would experience discomfort if any member of the trio was gone for more than a few minutes, but that time limit started to stretch a little by the end of the first day (not by much, but some). They frequently finished each other sentences, which drove them all wild. They would snip and snap at each other, causing Akari to have to play peace maker frequently. Akari often fell back on reminding the trio that they couldn't run away from each other. Also, the three would occasionally spontaneously blush all at once and avoid each others' eyes. The blushing seemed to be caused by random conversations, but Nabiki couldn't figure out why some perfectly innocuous words would trigger it. By the start of the second day, the behaviors began to drop off as each of them found that their mind was more and more their own again, much to Akari's relief. None of the trio had realized what private people they really were. Tofu had music playing constantly in the room which seemed to relax the patients.

The individual couples were frequently seen holding hands with their significant others, even if they were fighting with each other (as was often the case with Ranma/Ranko and Akane). This familiar behavior only increased as the incarceration lengthened (although the fighting dropped off dramatically during the second day). Teasing the couples did not change their behavior, much to Nabiki's annoyance (she was on a short holiday from college). Often, it would only cause the targeted couple to nestle together and respond to the teasing as a team.

Despite this constant togetherness, Nabiki noted there were some significant conversations in the room:

Tofu and Ojima:

"Inspector, I just had a talk with Shizuka. How long has this been going on?" Tofu asked quietly.

Ojima winced. "Let's just say I had a rough childhood. I learned to keep my mouth shut early in life," Ojima replied.

"You knew who I was then. Why didn't you come talk to me?" Tofu quizzed.

"Because, at first, I saw what you were, and that gave me some concerns," Ojima answered. Nabiki's secrets detector went off from where she was eavesdropping. Tofu looked pained. Ojima saw the look and followed quickly with: "I'm sorry about that. Then I saw you were trustworthy and I also saw what you were doing to alleviate the trouble in this town. Let' just say I saw how much you were doing and I didn't want to add to the load."

"All right," Tofu agreed. "But did it ever occur to you that you might deserve some peace too? Or that if you allowed me to help you, I might allow you to help me?"

"You?" the Inspector said with surprise. "An all-powerful magic user? What use can I be to you?"

The doc rubbed his eyes and said wearily: "I'm not a god, Ojima. You already know that. I'm quite mortal and I frequently hit the wall. I do lose battles and I have to deal with that, just like you. Maybe if we join forces, we can lose fewer battles. You're quite powerful on the mortal plane and not bad on the spiritual one. And it's always better to have allies and friends."

Ojima snorted a little and then said: "Yes, you're right there. I've lost way too many battles."

"Me too," Tofu agreed tiredly. "But there's one coming up that none of us can afford to lose."

The Inspector thought a little about that. "All right, I'm in," he said finally. "What do I have to do?"

Tofu pulled out an appointment card and wrote a time on it. "My Sunday class is full. You'll need to see me during the week for that chronic pain in your shoulder." He handed Ojima a card.

Ojima nodded and took the card. "Done. See you on Thursday." The inspector nodded again and then walked away as his phone began to ring.

Tofu's hand shot through the curtain behind him and pulled Nabiki through: "Not one word, young lady," he warned her.

"Hey, would I say anything?" she protested innocently. At his look, her face grew serious. "I don't blackmail anymore Tofu, and I've *never* disrespected cops. Beside, he's one of us now."

Tofu smiled at her grimly: "More than you know Nabiki. More than you know…"

Ukyo and Akane:

About 10 AM or so on Tuesday, Nabiki became concerned as Konatsu and Ukyo walked into the room. "How did they get past the reception desk?" she wondered. Her concern became surprise when Ukyo burst into tears and yelled "Akane! I'm so sorry!" The chef ran over to Akane and grabbed the surprised young woman in a fierce bear-hug – a lesser mortal would have been crushed to death. Ukyo totally ignored everyone else in the room, including Ranko. Even Konatsu (dressed in his waitress uniform) was caught totally off-guard.

"I was your rival and yet you never blamed me! You tried to make me feel welcome and I would plot against you! I'm an idiot! You made sure the girls treated me nicely and I paid you back by trying to blow up your wedding! I'm so sorry for that! I tried to come between you and Ranma and you never stopped caring…" Ukyo blubbered on and on and on.

Eventually, Akane's shock wore off and she anxiously returned Ukyo's hug trying to get Ukyo to calm down. Akane would mutter "It's O.K." or "We are fine" (the subject of the word 'we' changed every now and then) to Ukyo.

Ranko moved away and looked at Dr. Ando with confusion. Ando just shrugged and said: "Confession is good for the soul. Let them be for a little bit. Ukyo obviously came in peace." Finally, Ukyo wound down after thirty minutes and the two young women just talked. Ranko and the others just moved away and let them have their space.

The conversation went well until Ukyo said, "Once you get out of here, Sugar, we have to teach you to cook. After all if you are going to feed that monstrous appetite Ran-chan has…"

"Now, wait a second!" Akane stopped her. "I'll admit my cooking was pretty bad, but it's been over a year since…"

"Oh please, honey! I'll admit you probably made some improvement, but from where you started…" Ukyo cut back in.

The argument got immediately started after that.

Nabiki watched the two verbally fight. Ukyo and Akane never shifted away from each other during the fight. In fact, they actually drew closer to each other. Nabiki immediately recognized what was going on and let them be. They'd spar for a while and cool down once the emotions wore out. Then they'd probably cry on each other shoulders and be back to being friends again once this was all done. Nabiki almost exploded in laughter when she saw the two actually hold hands as they were yelling.

Meanwhile, Ranko was standing against a wall with Konatsu, Ryoga, and Akari. "I don't understand them at all," she said.

"Ah, they just have a lot to sort through and everything has stewed through the last seven months. If you had any sort of brain you'd see that," Ryoga told him.

"What?" Ranko yelled. He was on edge from listening to Ukyo and Akane. "Now listen up pig-brain!..."

The fight got immediately started after that with Konastu making sure it stayed verbal.

Akari took in the two exchanges. Then she sighed to herself and walked away to sit alone. Nabiki watched as Kasumi noticed Akari and walked over to her student. "Are you all right, Akari?" Kasumi asked sitting down and placing an arm over the younger girl's shoulder. "Akane has enough love in her heart for everyone you know."

Akari gave a start at that. "Oh no, Kasumi! I don't begrudge Ukyo restarting her friendship with Akane!" Then her face turned wistful. "But…"

"But?" Kasumi prompted.

Nabiki had to shove her hand in her mouth again to stop from laughing as she saw Akari point at the two quarrels and ask plaintively: "Kasumi? When do I get to be the child?" Kasumi laughed in sympathy as she enfolded the young woman in a hug.

Ojima and Nodoka:

Nabiki quietly drifted over to were Nodoka and the Inspector were talking.

"I have to know, Inspector," Nodoka said in a hushed voice. "It's part of the disease. Where is the sword now?"

"Judge Sanu confiscated it after reading Ranma's file. His office has a large safe in it for keeping confidential documents. He pulled out several drawers and the sword is there now," Ojima said just as quietly. "For what it's worth, I trusted you."

A look of pain crossed Nodoka's face and then she smiled briefly. "Four months ago, I wouldn't have been worthy of that trust." She shrugged then. "It doesn't matter anymore. Ranma is the owner of the sword now, not me. He's the Saotome heir – he's passed all the tests. His twentieth birthday was just a formality. I'll have my lawyer contact the court and file a petition to return the sword to Ranma on his twenty-fifth birthday."

"Why the five year delay?" the Inspector asked gently.

"I have caused tremendous emotional pain to my son with that weapon. I took the family heirloom and poisoned it. I'd like time for some of the poison the drain out," she whispered.

"I had to place that information in Ranma's file," the Inspector told her. "I needed Kasumi to have a legal right to see Ranma and I have to tell the truth, Mrs. Saotome. That's my disease."

Again, Nodoka smiled briefly. "Don't expect me to take you to task for protecting my son, Inspector. Besides, you didn't banish me from him, and you gave me an excuse to stay in the Tendo residence. They are the closest I've had to a real family. Soun's like my brother and I'd love to consider his daughters mine, except I never want to even try and replace Kimiko. At least they let me call them my nieces."

"Did you ever meet Kimiko Tendo?" he asked.

"Twice. Both times she absolutely blew me away. Soun once compared her to a tsunami – a very apt description. She was definitely like a wave from the sea – she absolutely overwhelmed you and knocked your feet out from under you," she answered.

"What was she like?" Ojima asked curiously.

Nodoka smiled mischievously this time: "Take Kasumi's grace, Akane's power, and Nabiki's mind – merge them into one woman. Then add Kasumi's love of family, Akane's temper, and Nabiki's mischief. That was Kimiko – her daughters do her justice."

"The poor beggar never stood a chance," the Inspector laughed.

"Soun?" Nodoka quizzed and then shook her head. "No, he never stood a chance against her. She marked him as hers and it was all over for him. She was larger than life despite her average size. I only spent a total of eight hours with her, and I can remember every minute. Sometime soon, I need to sit down with the three sisters and tell them about those meetings…" her voice trailed off then and the two sat in silence, much to Nabiki's frustration.

Ranko and Akane:

After lunch, Nabiki saw Akane and Ranko sitting on the floor off in an alcove partially blocked by curtains and decided to drift over and see what the lovebirds were discussing. While Nabiki was behaving herself more and more these days, old habits died hard, especially where family was concerned.

"It's starting to fade now," Ranko commented.

Akane nodded her head. "I can no longer hear what you are going to say before you say it."

"That was weird," Ranko admitted. "I could mind-speak with Ryoga before, but that wasn't much different than talking since we had to work to project the thoughts and had to be right next to each other anyway. Eavesdropping on someone else's thoughts just felt wrong."

"Well, it wasn't so much their thoughts as their emotions, but I know what you mean," Akane replied. "By the way, I don't think I said 'Thank You' for showing me how to build the Dream Temple. That made last night's dreams much easier to share."

"It does allow us to have some privacy from each other," Ranko agreed, and then she grinned at Akane. "By the way, Temple?" she asked. "That was more like the Museum. Who knew you were quite that creative?"

Akane laughed a little and gave Ranko a tap on the back of the head. "Oh, and you're one to talk. You had to have three Temples," she responded.

"That's not my fault," Ranko smirked and then sobered up. "Ryoga's suggestion not to merge the Temples was a good one though. That decision somehow feels right. So does your suggestion to build the plaza and place a wall around the Three. Linking the Temples with a covered walkway was another good suggestion. I don't know why, but things feel stronger somehow."

Akane nodded and then seemed to remember something. She let her head roll back and tap the wall behind her. "Thank heavens you showed Ryoga how to build the Maze," she said with remembered relief. "I almost felt I was going to have a nosebleed with those statues of his!"

"Man," Ranko groaned. "I'm not sure who I felt more sorry for – him or us."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Private fantasies are not meant to be shared," Akane said. "I think Akari would die from embarrassment if see knew what lurked in her fiancé's mind."

Ranko thought about that for a minute and said: "I'm not sure that's true from what we learned. She's not quite as naïve as she appears and I'm getting the feeling that she's the one setting the pace."

Akane snorted: "I'd almost feel sorry for him, but not quite – good for her. He needs a firm hand."

Ranko rolled her eyes and replied: "Apparently he's getting one."

Akane looked at Ranko and then she asked a little pensively: "Do you really think Akari is pretty?"

Ranko sighed, "Oh gods. I'm going to put my foot in this, but I'll give it a shot anyway - Listen up Miss Insecurity: Of course I think she's pretty – she *is* pretty. But I think you're gorgeous. Doesn't that count for something? And it's not like you didn't evaluate the men around you either."

Akane bristled and then winced at Ranko's words as she caught herself. "I couldn't exactly stop it, part of my brain just runs amuck like that sometimes. I shut it down as quickly as I can."

"Yeah, well so does mine and I do the same. And as insecure as you feel about it, keep in mind that you're at least in a shape I'm attracted to right now. My male shape is still locked away for another week or so. I have to rely on your memory for me to compete with the guys," Ranko told her sharply.

"Now that's not fair! I don't love you because of how you look!" Akane fired back. "I love you because you have a big heart even though you are a dummy."

"Oh, I can feel the love now," Ranko said sarcastically. "And do you really think it's all that different for me? Do you really think I love you just because of how you look?" Ranko clamped her mouth shut for a few seconds. Nabiki guessed Ranko was about to compare Akane's physical attributes to other girls (or herself) and stopped before swallowing her foot whole; apparently Tofu's coaching was having some effect. Instead, Ranko said: "I love you for who you are – a very sweet girl despite that Force 10 temper."

Nabiki saw Akane's mouth open and then shut as her temper had the rug pulled out from under it. Nabiki grinned as she recognized what was happening to her little sister: Akane could either hotly deny Ranko's argument, which would prove Ranko's point, or acknowledge that he/she may be right. Fortunately for Akane, Kasumi had been coaching her as well. Instead, Akane pressed for reinforcement: "Hmph. Do you really think I'm a sweet girl?" she asked snippily. Nabiki was actually proud of Akane for that little bit of manipulation.

Unfortunately, Ranko was still Ranma. Nabiki winced as the red-head pulled Akane into a head-lock and began tapping (lightly) on the blue-black head with the flat of her fist. "Duh!" Ranko said a little loudly. "I said it, didn't I?"

Akane elbowed Ranko, freeing herself, and turned away from Ranko, crossing her arms over her chest. "Idiot. Did it ever occur you that a kiss might be more appropriate it?" Again, Nabiki was proud of her little sister – this time for keeping her temper.

Ranko looked flabbergasted for a moment and Nabiki knew why – she was a little surprised herself. Despite some of the mean rumors at school (which were never brought to Akane's attention – especially if the speaker valued their life), everyone knew Akane was attracted to men – just not the idiots at her school. Akane's past crush on Tofu was not a secret, despite what Akane thought. Also, Akane had been caught a number of times looking at Ranma by Sayuri and Yuka when Akane thought no one was about and this was before the couple had been dating. The two girls had made sure to tease Akane about those times (especially in public which helped counter the other rumors). Nabiki had also caught Akane looking at Nabiki's hidden stash of magazines. Despite the denials, the middle sister knew that Akane had a healthy curiosity.

Finally, Ranko reached out and yanked Akane backwards so Akane's head fell into the red-head's lap. Ranko then leaned forward and gave Akane a very solid kiss. Nabiki was slightly amused that there was no revulsion emanating from Akane – quite the opposite. Akane slid her hands around Ranko's neck pulling the sitting girl deeper into the kiss. When they finally stopped, Akane reached up and tapped Ranko lightly on the forehead. "Better," Akane said. Ranko looked at the girl in her lap with confusion. Akane spoke again: "Ranma, do you know your scent never changes even though your shape does?"

"I don't understand…" Ranko started and then trailed off. Nabiki was starting to understand though – apparently Akane was a bit more perceptive than Nabiki gave her credit for. Her little sister could see past the surface of things…

"No, I suppose you don't yet, but you will," Akane answered rolling her eyes a little. "Let's put it on this footing: Ranma? Did you just enjoy that kiss?"

"Hell yeah!" Ranko answered with a smile.

"Well, so did I," Akane returned. Ranko looked confused, so Akane spoke again after a minute: "And you are waiting for what?"

Ranko still didn't really understand, but she did understand the invitation well enough and leaned forward again.

Nabiki smiled to herself and decided she heard enough. She moved away quietly and let the couple be…

Kasumi and Akane:

Nabiki went up to the hospital roof looking for her sisters. As she opened the access door and walked out into the garden on top of the roof, she saw her sisters sitting off to one side. Slowly she crept up to listen.

"I've been meaning to ask you this: how are you feeling, little sister?" Kasumi asked Akane. "I haven't been able to talk to you separate from Ranma."

Akane blushed at this. "Sorry, we haven't been able to separate until after lunch today," she said.

"Not that you wanted to be separated," her sister teased her.

Akane turned a deep red, much like her namesake. "No," she admitted. "I'll also admit that I wish he could change back to his male form though."

Kasumi looked amused. "I've seen the two of you kissing anyway," she said with that serene smile.

Nabiki didn't think Akane could turn much redder. "I'm not really into girls, but he is still who he is," Akane confessed. "With my mind, all I see is Ranma, both the Yin and the Yang, and he's definitely male."

"So, you can still 'find' him then," Kasumi said with satisfaction.

Akane nodded her head and the blush began to fade. "Stronger than ever. He's also starting to 'find' me as well. We have stopped living inside of each other's head (which was a bit annoying), but we know where the other is now."

"And how do you feel about that, Akane?" Kasumi asked.

"Huh?" was Akane's intelligent response.

"You and Ranma have never really had a chance to determine your own destinies. You were tossed together at age 16, told you were going to get married, and your opinions were ignored causing a lot of hostilities. Now, you can't even separate your spirits, removing even more of your free will. How do you feel about that?" Kasumi pressed.

Annoyance flashed across Akane's face. "Kasumi," she started sharply. "Do you really think I would marry Ranma just so he could have a magic cure?"

"Sometimes, I do wonder…" her big sister said.

"No, Kasumi. Marriage is a forever promise – at least it is suppose to be. Something you better keep in mind before New Year's rolls around," Akane scolded.

Kasumi's eyebrow shot up at the turning of the tables. Akane went on: "I was willing to marry Ranma because I loved him and I believed that he loved me. Turns out that he did, even if he couldn't admit it at the time. I know now that getting married then would have been a mistake, but only because we were immature and setting ourselves up for a rough time. Eventually, we would have been all right, but the delay has allowed us to grow a little more and see that the marriage would have worked out – again, eventually."

"And how could you possibly know that, little sister? You are not married now," Kasumi pointed out.

"Ever since Ranma and I started dating formally, I figured out that love is not enough to make a marriage work. Romantic fools say love conquers all, and I suppose there is *some* truth to that, but it's easy to fall in love. Staying in love and working together is a lot harder. You need to have common goals and be willing to compromise. Ranma and I want to be martial artists – it's who we are. Ranma is not a chef, or a house-husband, or a fancy sort of servant. I'm not a meek housewife," Kasumi laughed at her while Akane just glared and went on: "Nor am I some hostess or an actress. I am a martial artist – it's all I want to be. And I want to teach it and pass it on. So does Ranma. We also both want a family eventually. Ranma wants me to learn to cook. I want him to go to college. I've agreed to learn his way so long as he doesn't think I'll be doing all the cooking. He's agreed to go to college, but he wants me to complete two years before he'll go. The compromises go on and on. Had we married back in February, I'm confident we would have gotten there eventually, but it would have been more painful and taken longer to even get to this point."

"Oh my. It seems my little sister has thought about this a good deal. So when is the wedding?" Kasumi challenged causing Akane to blush again.

"Ranma is planning to propose sometime in the New Year – that's all he'll tell me, and that's all the commitment I need from him right now," Akane said. "I want my courtship, and Ranma's willing to 'walk the path' so to speak," the younger woman said defiantly. "That's something Daddy never understood."

Nabiki cut in then. She walked up behind Akane and put her arms around the sitting girl. "So, am I forgiven for sabotaging the wedding then?" Nabiki asked archly.

"How the hell do you do that?" Akane asked in frustration. "I couldn't detect a thing."

"Language, Akane," Kasumi scolded

"We all have our secrets little sister. And you didn't answer the question," Nabiki said.

Akane looked up at Nabiki with annoyance, "Yes, you are forgiven Nabiki, but I'm not forgetting either. When I get married next time, I'm having you tranquilized, stuffed in your Bridesmaid dress, and tied to a post near the altar."

"Well, almost forgiven," Kasumi murmured.

Akane glared at Kasumi. "You'd better be taking notes, Kasumi," Akane warned her. "Your wedding is coming up in under four months. You should have Nabiki under constant surveillance starting about now and get Tofu to start planning the medications to dope Daddy."

Kasumi laughed at the sparkle of mischief in Nabiki's eyes and the look on Akane's face. "And the games go on and on…" all three women thought.

A/N: Next up - The Spy and Herself

A/N: Corrections added 5/6/14. Thanks to Pursemonger and Saggit for the corrections.