"You have GOT to be the craziest father on Earth. I am NOT going to marry some guy whom I have never even met!" the girl screamed, throwing furious glares at the long haired man sitting opposite her on the tatami mat.
"Please, Akane, you've got to understand, it's for the clan-"
"Clan schman," the girl interrupted. "You didn't even consider my feelings, Dad!"
The man, Soun Tendo, knew he was in the wrong but he also had to honour the promise he made to his wife about bringing pride and fame to Tendo Associations, a group his wife and he had started. And to fulfill his promise, he'd taken the first step, and that was to make Kasumi fall in love with the affluent Ono Tofuu, which ended in an extravagant wedding and a honeymoon lasting a whole year. Even after their family had gotten a bigger base and a newer and larger mansion, courtesy of Tofuu, Soun, along with his youngest daughter, had refused to move out of their small but cozy home. Nabiki gave up on convincing them to move out and had instead shifted to the larger Tendo Mansions, situated behind the new base of Tendo Associations.
He had to take the next step now. He cleared his throat. "Akane, you will marry the boy in a few weeks time."
"Dad-"
"You will marry him and that's that," he said in a firm voice. Akane stared at him, eyes filled with tears ofbetrayal and then stormed out of the room.
Soun gave a tired sigh.
Throughout the ride to one of Japan's most lavish hotels, Akane sulked whereas Sayuri sat beside her, squealing excitedly as the car sped past every famous monument, dog, bank, mall and practically everything you can find in a city. Soun sat at the front of the car, eyes glued to the road as he carefully drove. Nabiki had phoned to inform them that she was already at Krystar, a five-star hotel.
Akane crossed her legs, ignoring her father's lecture on how she should have worn a dress instead of a T-shirt and long black pants with a navy blue jacket thrown over. Akane scowled as Sayuri started talking about how Akane's future husband would look like. She was still upset over her helplessness in this situation and that her father, who'd always doted upon her, seemed to have long made up his mind. Disagreeing to his order was not even an option.
When the car was handed over to a tall, skinny valet with a Hitler-like moustache, Akane was so sick of Sayuri's chattering that she thought of running into the males' washroom to escape her incessant rambling. At the lobby, Akane noticed several black suited men walking around in perfect synchronisation, looking as if they were from the army or something.
She heard her father conversing with the receptionist; saying something about a private lounge in the west wing. Before she knew it, her father was guiding her through a wide hallway with fancy lamps hung alternately on the walls. Doors occupied both sides with the door number labelled on the wall. She made a left turn at the end before turning right and facing huge double doors with interesting inscriptions on the edges of the door. A female... maid? Housekeeper? Whatever job description fitted the pale skinned woman, she was standing outside the door, as if guarding it. When she saw Akane's father, she bent over in a polite bow and gestured to the door, allowing them to pass through. At this point, Sayuri gave a girly giggle in all the seriousness. Honestly, she didn't know how to act in such a situation. Sayuri's best friend was about to get married against her will and all she could do was giggle!
Soun knocked twice and the doors opened from the inside. Bright light illuminated from the room, blinding Akane for a few seconds. She felt her father's hands pull her inside. "Akane, this is the final moment," Sayuri whispered from behind her. "Good luck," she added, although the occasion did not call for it.
"Good afternoon, Tendo-kun. How have you been?" a deep, throaty voice greeted from her right. When her eyes cleared, Akane could see that she was in a huge room. There was a huge aquarium behind the wall carrying a few dangerous fish species. There were three couches, all three-seater, all placed perpendicularly to each other to form a square with a missing side.
"Saotome-kun!" Soun cried, running to the middle-aged man sitting on the couch on the right. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
Saotome gave a weird sort of laugh and shook hands vigorously with Soun, who sat down beside him. Akane sat awkwardly down in the centre couch which was empty.
"This is my daughter, Akane. Where's your son?" Soun asked as Sayuri jabbed Akane in the ribs.
"Look at all these... men." she pointed to five or six men standing on the edge of the room grimly. They were dressed in black suits similar to the ones on the other men Akane had seen moments earlier. "They look like they're part of the yakuza or something," she let out another giggle.
Akane nodded solemnly as a blonde in a maid's uniform walked in and served the newly arrived guests tea.
Soun and the Saotome guy lowered their voices when there was an extra presence. Akane was too upset to touch the tea whereas Sayuri instantly gulped hers down before asking for a second helping.
After a few minutes of small talk between Akane's father and his friend, muffled noises could be heard outside. The thick walls prevented Akane from hearing what was going on. Suddenly the doors caved in; somebody had kicked them. There was dust floating about in the air and Sayuri could be heard coughing.
Akane could gradually make out the figure of a boy standing in the doorway with a limp figure over his shoulder.
"Ranma!" the Saotome guy sounded furious. "Explain yourself!"
The boy gave a boyish grin and threw the unconscious man on his shoulders down onto the cold floor tiles. He stepped in slowly, his light brown T-shirt with the words 'I am Big Guy Jr.' emblazoned across it had turned greyish as the dust landed and settled on it.
The Saotome guy shouted again, his voice trembling with restrained anger. "What is your problem, boy!"
Ranma's grin stayed on his face as he pointed a revolver straight at Akane. His azure blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "That... is the problem."
Author's Note: So... is it okay so far? I hope so. Review and let me know how you feel. Flame me- I don't care.