Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or anything affiliated with it.
Foolhardy Love
Chapter 1: The Confession
"Something isn't right," an aged woman donning a green robe stated as she hopped on her long wooden cane toward the storage room within the Neko Hanten. Sure enough he suspicions were proven correct as she slid open the door just in time to catch a bizarre jewel flying through the air.
"Now, now, Mousse it simply wont do for you to disrupt my well laid plan with such selfishness," the elderly woman with long flowing grey hair stated as she snatched a emerald green jewel out of mid-air just a white duck wearing a pair of coke bottle frames turned to face her with shock written on it's face. Entering the dusty storage room further she noticed that the young navy blue/black haired young woman sitting next to the duck on a well worn mattress seemed to be scowling at her.
"What is it child? Don't tell me you actually have feelings for son-in-law," Cologne stated with a small smile as she slid the door shut behind her. "Well unfortunately it's far too late for you to interfere, within seconds Ranma will confess his love for Shampoo and they will be wed. To be honest, I was originally against their relationship but if he makes my great granddaughter happy, well then I have no choice."
"I don't care what happens to that jerk, but you know that Ranma doesn't really have those kinds of feelings for Shampoo!" Akane snapped as she tried to break free of the ropes constricting her while her navy blue eyes promised pain. However she soon found out that not only were the ropes binding her extraordinarily tight, but her light blue school uniform and white shirt seemed to be practically glued to her skin due to the sweat caused by the heat in the dense room.
"I know. That was one of the reasons I was so against their union. However, there is a small chance that he could actually come to care for her as she cares for him," Cologne stated with a weary sigh as she flipped the jewel in her wrinkled palm. "Like I stated before, she wants to marry him and he does have a considerable amount of skill. With my training he could become a fine warrior and bring great prestige to our village."
Cologne then chuckled to herself, sounding more like a raspy cough, as she pocketed the jewel and glared at the duck, who was still fighting to break out of his own binds. "Besides, I've always wanted a few great great grandchildren," she said with a ghastly smirk as Mousse stopped struggling for a moment and glared at her before once again trying to chew his way out of the ropes but with a greater sense of urgency and intensity.
"Please, you can stop this," Akane began with a solemn expression on her face which actually caused Cologne to pause for a moment. However that moment didn't last long as Cologne shook her head and spoke again.
"No child, you both had your chance. Now it's Shampoo's turn, even if she regrets this for the rest of her life, so I will go along with it for her sake," Cologne stated with an apologetic smile. "Don't tell me you love him," she started before Akane snarled and cut her off.
"Of course not!" she snapped as she glared daggers into the elderly Amazon.
"Well then I suppose you shouldn't really have a problem with him being wed to Shampoo then," Cologne stated with another ghastly smile as she made her way out of the storage room leaving a shocked Akane and a violently struggling Mousse in her wake.
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"Alright, look Shampoo I'm only going to say this once," a young man with long raven black hair braided pigtail stated as he looked over toward a young woman with long, flowing, violet hair, who was currently facing away from him. He could fell his heart beating rapidly under his black tux and the vibrant red roses in his hand were now thoroughly crushed as he tried to force himself to speak four of the most agonizing words he could ever imagine.
At this point Shampoo could hardly contain herself as she impatiently awaited Ranma's confession. After smoothing out her mustard yellow and crimson Chinese dress, she then took minute to make sure her foot was slipping out of her red heels. Meanwhile Ranma continued to struggle with the confession as he drew closer and closer.
As he started to utter the four words that would change his life as strange vision appeared in his head causing him to pause.
"I love you Shampoo," Ranma stated as Shampoo whipped around and smiled deviously at him.
"You said it Ranma," Shampoo replied as the sound of tables flipping over could be heard from behind the couch they were sitting on.
Quickly whipping around Ranma saw a young man with short messy black hair donning a black and yellow bandana, a sleevesless mustard yellow shirt, and black pants smirking victoriously at him. Beside him stood a young man with short dark brown hair who was currently wearing a navy blue gi and black hakama pants, and he was smirking as well.
"We heard that Ranma," the one wearing the bandana stated as he pumped his fist in the air triumphantly.
"With these two ears," the other finished causing Ranma to gasp.
"Ryouga and Kuno!" Ranma exclaimed as he recoiled in shock.
"RANMA!" someone exclaimed from the front door. Quickly turning his head in that direction he saw the one person that he hoped wouldn't have been there.
"Akane!" he gasped as he tried to reach out for her, but she simply snapped her head to the side, clearly hurt for some reason.
"I guess I'm too late," she said more to herself than anyone present as Ryoga spoke up again.
"Akane, Ranma has confessed his love to Shampoo," Ryouga stated casually before he whipped around and snarled at Ranma while pointing a finger vehemently at him. "Ranma, you no longer have the right to call yourself Akane's fiancé!" Ryouga snapped while Kuno nodded in agreement.
Ranma visibly cringed upon hearing those words as he gritted his teeth and glared at Ryouga. Suddenly he felt himself pulled into a tight embrace as Shampoo nuzzled her head into his chest.
"Ranma have Shampoo now," Shampoo stated as she continued to nuzzle herself into his chest while Kuno and Ryouga swooped in beside Akane and grabbed one of her arms each.
"Ranma!" Akane cried out as the two men dragged her out of the establishment.
"Don't worry Ranma, you just leave Akane to us," Ryouga stated in a faux friendly tone as he cast one last glance over his shoulder toward the disgruntled black haired boy.
"Wait, stop it! Akane!" Ranma cried out as he tried to pry himself from Shampoo's arms which only caused her to cling on even tighter. "Akane wait, don't you that I-I-I lo-,"
'What the heck?' Ranma thought to himself with a puzzled expression on his face as he pulled away from the frowning Amazon. 'Why was I just thinking about Akane?' he thought to himself as Shampoo's leg started to bounce up and down in annoyance.
"How long is this going to take you son-in-law?" Cologne muttered to herself as she gazed at the couple from around the corner through the kitchen. 'What could possibly be the hold up? Don't tell me he's thinking about that girl,' she thought to herself with a frown. 'Maybe I should have let them interfere…no, this ends now. She wanted him and now she's going to get him,' she thought to herself as set in to patiently wait for Ranma to tell Shampoo that he loved her.
'What is he waiting for?' Shampoo thought to herself as she started bouncing both of her legs up and down impatiently while starting at him through slanted eyes out the corner of her eyes. She watched as he clumsily rolled the kinks out of his neck and cleared his throat hoping that this would be the moment.
Frowning to himself Ranma turned his attention back toward the Amazon once more. 'Love is a battle,' he thought to himself as his cobalt blue eyes narrowed in determination, 'At this rate I'll lose before I even begin to fight. To heck with it I'll just come out and say it!'
"Shampoo I-I-I-I,"
Five Minute Intermission- Time to check up on Akane and Mousse!
"Can't you chew any faster!?" Akane snapped as she continued to try to wiggle her way out of the ropes that currently bound her. Sweat was currently pouring down her face as she continued to try to force her way out of the constricting material.
Mousse-duck simply squawked at her in annoyance before turning back to chewing through the ropes. Checking his handy work for a moment he noticed that he was about half through a majority of the rope. All in all he had made some good progress, but he was far from getting free.
"Stupid duck! Couldn't you transform into something useful at least?" Akane snapped once again before she felt the ropes finally start to loosen. "Wait! I think I've got it!" she exclaimed as she started wiggling even faster and with more force causing the ropes to shed off her form. She then took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief before jumping to her feet.
"Time to end this!" she exclaimed as she bolted up from the mattress leaving a desperately squawking Mousse in her wake.
Back to Ranma and Shampoo
"I-I-I LOVE YOU!" Ranma bellowed as he finally forced the words out of his mouth while inwardly cringing for some reason. 'There I said it,' he thought to himself as he impatiently waited for Shampoo to reply in kind. However the reaction he received was only half of what he wanted it to be.
"You swear on honor you love Shampoo for real?" Shampoo questioned with a devious glint in her eyes. She knew once the young martial artist swore on his honor there would be no way out of this.
'Wow, I had no idea that my great granddaughter could be this devious,' Cologne thought to herself slightly impressed as she waited to hear what Ranma's reaction would be.
'Although she might be taking this a bit too far. If he swears on his honor there's no way out of this for either of them unless one is willing to sacrifice their honor,' Cologne thought to herself with a frown. 'Think wisely granddaughter, there's still a chance to get out of this if you really want to.'
"Um, uh…." Ranma started as he tried to determine if coming here to win Shampoo's love was a good idea after all.
Shampoo immediately recognized the young man's internal debate and decided to stick one last nail in the coffin. "What wrong Ranma? You scared of promise? Shampoo no know Ranma coward, maybe Shampoo should no waste time," she stated with an even more devious glint in her eyes as she folded her arms over her ample bosom and frowned.
"Heck no I ain't scared!" Ranma snapped as he audibly gulped and uttered the five words that would seal his fate. "I swear on my….honor," Ranma stated with another gulp before he heard the sound of tables flipping over.
"YAY! Congratulations!" everyone roared from behind the couple as white cloth tables flipped over revealing several students from Furinkan High School decked out in suits and dresses of all colors as they fired off multi-colored party streamers.
"W-W-WHAT IS THIS!?" Ranma stuttered out in horror as Shampoo glomped onto himself as buried her head in his chest, while he simply whipped his head around trying to figure out what was going on. "When? How!?" he managed to get out as his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"Very good son-in-law, now that you've confessed your love for Shampoo we might as well get on with the ceremony," Cologne stated with a ghastly smile as she approached the group while bouncing on her cane out of the kitchen.
"Shampoo so happy! Ranma finally be airen!" she exclaimed joyously as she continued to nuzzle her face into his chest while he simply gawked at the Amazon elder.
"Y-Y-You can't be serious!" he exclaimed as his eyes widened and his mouth hung agape.
"I'm afraid not, son-in-law, you swore on your honor that you loved Shampoo. There is no way for you to get out of this now," Cologne stated with an evil grin as was about to continue until she was cut off.
"RANMA WAIT! DON'T DO IT!" Akane exclaimed as she burst through the kitchen door panting for breath and sweating profusely.
"Akane!" Ranma gasped as he stared at the young woman with vacant eyes.
"Ranma?" Akane questioned as she noticed how hollow his eyes looked. Suddenly an immense feeling of dread swelled up in her heart and she reluctantly asked a question she might not have wanted an answer to.
"Ranma please tell me you didn't say that you loved her," Akane all but whispered as everyone in the room quieted down and stared back and forth at the pair expectantly. "Please," Akane stated again as she looked up at him with eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"Akane, I-I-I didn't mean, that is I," Ranma started to stutter out before Akane cut him off.
"Just tell me Ranma, just tell me," she whispered as Ranma stared at her with a horrified look in his eyes.
As Cologne watched the scene she felt a bit sorry for the pair. Funny how in her moment of victory she actually thought she could throw it all away, and be compassionate.
"Tendo-san I'm going to make you an offer," Cologne stated with a weary sigh as the blue black haired girl toward her attention toward the wrinkled Amazon.
"What?" Akane questioned as she cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
"If you can confess that you love Ranma I will annul this marriage and I, along with my great granddaughter, will leave Japan and go back to China never to be heard from again," Cologne stated with a deep sigh as Shampoo started to protest.
"But great-grandmother!" Shampoo started with wide eyes before she was cut off by Cologne's stern voice.
"Shampoo, silence!" Cologne snapped causing the violet haired Amazon to quickly shut her mouth and shrink away. "Now, as I was saying, if you confess that you have feelings for Ranma neither my granddaughter nor I will interfere any longer," the aged Amazon stated as she turned her attention back toward Akane.
"Do it Akane! Then we can get out of here, and it'll be like nothing ever happened," Ranma said as his eyes lit up with new found hope. Not only would he get out of his troublesome engagement with Shampoo, but he wouldn't have to deal with the duck boy or the old hag anymore either. 'This is just too good to be true!' Ranma thought to himself with a grin as he waited for Akane to utter the words that would free him.
For her part Akane felt just as bit as happy as Ranma, but the internal debate warring on within her made her unsure if she could utter forth the four words that would make all of this just a bad dream. 'I have to, otherwise he'll marry Shampoo,' she thought to herself before a contradictory thought entered her mind.
'So what? Who wants that sex changing pervert around anyway? Besides, he insults me in far more ways then I care to remember.'
'But he's also saved me from a lot of people who tried to hurt me. He always comes to my aid when I really need him.'
'But he constantly puts me down as well. He doesn't even give me a chance to prove myself.'
'It's just because he doesn't want me to get hurt though…well most of the time anyway.'
'Ryouga's the same way, and he doesn't even put you down. In fact he's always tried to help you out we he was actually here.'
'But Ranma…I just feel something when I'm near him. As long as he doesn't insult me he's actually a nice guy, and he is handsome. I could do a lot worse as fiancés go.'
'You could do a lot better too.'
'No…I love Ran…'
'Do you really!? Are you sure!? Shampoo's willing to take him off of our hands. Then everything can go back to how it was before. We won't have to deal with all of his problems, which means we won't have to worry about getting abducted and needing his help either. All in all it doesn't really sound that bad to me.'
"Uh, Akane?" Ranma questioned while cocking an eyebrow in confusion which in turn snapped the girl out of her thoughtful state and back into reality.
Taking a deep breath Akane tried to come to a decision one last time as she tried to quiet down the warring factions of her mind. "I-I-I," she started as everyone stood still. The room was deathly quite as all eyes focused in on Akane who was desperately trying to keep her calm.
'Damn it, why do all of these people have to be here?' she thought to herself as she audibly gulped, licked her lips, and tired again. "I-I-I-I," Akane stuttered out again as Ranma inched forward with a broad smile on his face while nodding his head.
"I-I-I-I-I-I…I can't do this!" she cried as tears streamed down her face and she dashed out of the restaurant and down the streets of Nermia, not looking back once.
"AKANE WAIT!" Ranma cried out desperately as she pried himself out of Shampoo's victory glomp and started sprinting toward the entrance of the restaurant only to be knocked over the head with Cologne's cane, effectively flooring him. "WHAT THE HELL YOU OLD HAG!?" Ranma bellowed as he clutched his aching head and tired to stand up again only to be knocked right back down.
"You will not chase after her son-in-law," Cologne stated sternly, "Tendo-san had her chance to get you back. As you can see she decided to flee instead, which means that you and Shampoo are now to be wed. You have only yourself to blame after all, since this is a matter of honor."
Upon hearing Cologne's statement Ranma felt every inch of his body grow numb as his pupils dilated and his mouth hung agape in horror. 'I swore…on my honor!' Ranma thought to himself horrified as he took a good look around the room before turning his gazed toward Shampoo, who had returned to hugging him. Then he did something very uncharacteristic of himself…he fainted.
"AIREN!" Shampoo cried out as she caught the young man and laid him down on the sofa with his head in her lap.
"He'll be fine child, we should simply allow him to rest," Cologne stated as she hopped back on to her stick and stared down at her unconscious son-in-law. 'I gave her a chance, and you sealed the deal with your honor. I truly am sorry, but there is nothing you can do now. You belong to us,' Cologne stated as she watched Shampoo smile down victoriously at the young man.
"Shampoo don't do it!" Mousse cried out as he arrived on the scene causing the guest to turn and face the nude and dripping wet duck boy.
Correcting his coke bottle frames with his index finger and thumb he cleared his throat and took a good look around the room. As he did so a blush slowly crept on to his cheeks and he reached for a nearby table cloth.
Whipping it off and wrapping it around his waist, while once again clearing his throat, he continued. "As I was saying, DON'T DO IT SHAMPOO!" Mousse cried out even more dramatically before he noticed that Ranma was currently lying in his love's lap.
"Shampoo tell me it isn't true! You didn't!" Mousse exclaimed in horror as started inching forward.
"You would be wise to watch your current actions around me boy," Cologne warned as the young man reached into the table cloth wrapped around his waist. "I will not stand for my great granddaughter's husband to be being killed when he doesn't even have a chance to defend himself," Cologne stated as she stepped between Mousse and Shampoo, who was currently looking up at the boy and sticking out her tongue.
"Shampoo tell Mousse Shampoo hate him. Why Mousse no listen?" Shampoo questioned as she started to run her fingers through Ranma's hair while humming happily to herself.
Whether it was them fact that she was running her fingers through Ranma's hair, or if it was the fact that he had finally had enough didn't matter as he whipped out his duck potty training seat.
"DIE SAOTOME!" he snapped with a crazed look in his eyes as he lunged forward to attack the still unconscious Ranma. However, before he could even get mid-air he was immediately knocked out by Cologne's staff and plummeted into the ground leaving a human imprint in the wooden floor amongst the broken floor boards.
"I warned you Mousse," Cologne stated as she landed on her cane and stared down at the unconscious raven haired young man before her. After making sure that he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon Cologne then turned her attention toward the rest of the students who simply stood in awe of all that had happened.
"I would like to thank you all for coming, and I have greatly appreciated you assistance in this matter. Please tell everyone you know about the up coming marriage between Ranma and Shampoo," Cologne stated as she hopped toward the kitchen.
"Unfortunately, my great granddaughter and I have much to do so we will be cutting this party short," Cologne stated as she opened the door the kitchen and received several 'aw's' of disappointment from her guest.
"You hear great grandmother, now get!" Shampoo stated as she led the group out of the Neko Hanten. "Take food, take drink, and go," Shampoo said as she ushered everyone out of the restaurant.
"Well at least we got a good show out of it, huh?" one male student asked as he shuffled out the door.
"Yeah, who'd a thought Akane would just run outta here and leave Ranma like that," another male student stated while someone to his side nodded in agreement.
"Very nice, very nice, keep moving, keep moving," Shampoo stated in an agitated tone as the last of the guest exited the restaurant. Wiping her brow Shampoo muttered to herself, "Shampoo thought they never leave"
"Well now that they are gone we can finally have our little chat," Cologne stated with a small smile as she hopped bag into the room with a tea pot and two cups in hand. Setting them on a cleaner looking table she called her granddaughter over and started filling the cups.
"What this about great grandmother?" Shampoo questioned in annoyance, especially due to the fact that she had almost given up her husband to Akane.
"Are you still mad at me for what I did earlier?" Colognie questioned calmly as she took a sip of her tea. Shampoo simply pouted cutely in response as she looked away from her elder. "I see," Cologne muttered to herself as she took another sip of tea.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, I knew that more than likely she wouldn't, or should I say couldn't, do it. However, I guess there was always the off chance that she might finally break through the barrier of her emotions and confess everything to son-in-law," Cologne stated with tired sigh as she looked over at the violet haired Amazon who was still slightly turned away from her. "You have to understand Shampoo, I don't want to see you hurt. While you can force Ranma to marry you, that doesn't mean that he will love you," Cologne stated sagely.
"Shampoo make Ranma love her then," Shampoo replied childishly as she folded her arms over her ample bosom and refused to look her great grandmother in the eyes. 'Even if he doesn't love me right now if worst comes to worst I can always use some magic powder,' Shampoo thought to herself with a frown forming on her full lips.
Cologne chuckled to herself upon hearing her great granddaughter's last statement before she said, "That's exactly how your grandmother used to think." She knew that this would get Shampoo's attention and would stop her from acting so childishly.
"What you mean?" Shampoo questioned as she turned toward her great grandmother, her interest evident in her mauve colored eyes.
"First of all let us stop using a language that you have yet to master," Cologne stated as she prepared to switch back to Chinese. Now where was I? Cologne thought to herself as she tapped her finger against her chin.
"We were talking about something grandmother did concerning something similar to my situation," Shampoo stated as she stared at the elder Amazon intently while propping her head up with her hands as her elbows rested on the table.
"Ah, yes. Did you know that she too had a husband who did not want to marry her? Cologne questioned, and upon seeing Shampoo shake her head continued. Well to be fair he was an exceptional fighter, with skills that even rivaled my own. He was also incredibly handsome so it was no wonder she immediately became infatuated with him after he accidentally defeated her in combat," Cologne stated before she was cut off by Shampoo.
"How could anyone, no matter how strong they are, defeat an Amazon warrior by accident?" Shampoo questioned as a look of disbelief flashed over her eyes.
"If you would be patient and listen I would tell you," Cologne stated in a reprimanding tone before she continued. "Well your grandmother was a bit tomboyish to say the least, which was one of the reasons she was the best within our village, and he claimed that she resembled one of his arch rivals, who was actually rather feminine in his looks. Anyway, as you could have probably guessed, the man, your grandfather, refused to marry her simply because of our laws. This eventually led to her chasing him all over China and trying to trick him into marrying her, either through various potions or magical artifacts," Cologne said as Shampoo interrupted with another question.
"So I take it she finally caught him, but how?" Shampoo questioned as her great grandmother started chuckling to herself. "Now what was funny about that question?" Shampoo asked as the elder waved off her concern.
"Nothing child, it's funny that you should ask how though, the elder stated with a small smile as she reflected on how it happened. Do you recall the ring that sits within the elder's hall?" Cologne questioned as Shampoo nodded her head, "Well then you know that anyone who wears it immediately falls in love with the first person they see. As long as the ring is not removed, and no the individual wearing the ring cannot remove it themselves, then the effect will be permanent. It was that ring that your grandmother used to ensare that man and get him to marry her. Soon after they had a beautiful daughter, your mother, and everything was perfect as they took their places among the villagers," Cologne stated with a distant look in her eyes as she recalled the times she spent with her daughter and granddaughter.
"I'm sorry great grandmother, but I fail to see the point. You're just reconfirming my belief that I should use some of our magic on Ranma," Shampoo stated as she eyed the grey haired Amazon with a look of puzzlement on her features.
"I'm not finished yet child, be patient," Cologne stated as she took a deep breath and released a weary sigh. "On her death bed your old grandmother called her aging husband to her side and removed the ring from his finger, and thus freed him from it's power. She then asked him if during all of the years he had spent with her had he ever grown to love her. She asked this because the while the ring did make the person it was attached to fall in love with the first person they saw, it also didn't restrict all free will, in fact it allowed most of it as long as it didn't concern the person they were in love with."
"His reply still haunts me to this day," Cologne stated as she took another deep breath and took a sip of her tea. "He told her that he had grown to love her, but he would never be in love with her the way she wanted him to be. He then told her that didn't hate her, but he would also never forgive her for what she did to him. He also told her that he loved their daughter with all of his heart and that he would make sure that she was well taken care of until he himself passed on to the next life."
"I could see that his response tore into my daughter's very soul, but she simply smiled and nodded as what life was left in her was drained from her body. That night she died, the same night you were born into this world. A gift as well as a curse I suppose," Cologne muttered to herself as she stared down at her empty cup with a slight smile forming on her lips.
"They said it was simply a natural death, but I knew that Shing's words were what had really brought about her end. I could tell he felt immensely guilty, but we both knew he shouldn't have regretted telling her the truth," Cologne stated as she refilled her cup and took another sip. "All I'm trying to convey to you is this, you still have a chance to let Ranma go. You still have a chance to try to win his affection genuinely, without the use of tricks or magic. However, if you wish for things to remain as they are I will support you 100 percent."
Shampoo looked thoughtful for a moment as she reflected on her grandmother's tale. Shaking her head slightly Shampoo regarded her grandmother with a warm smile before stating, "We have a wedding to plan for. But don't worry; I won't use magic charms or tricks to get Ranma to love me. I'll make him love me on my own, especially since I have all the time in the world now."
Upon finishing her statement Shampoo bounded up the stairs toward her room, scooping up Ranma along the way, leaving the elder to sit and sip her tea.
"Why do I get the feeling she missed the point of that story entirely," Cologne thought to herself as she poured the cold tea onto Mousse triggering his transformation. Scooping the duck up in her arms she then headed toward the storage room again where she deposited him before heading up to the bath.
'Well at least we can finally return home,' Cologne thought to herself as she peeked into Shampoo's room and watched the violet haired girl lay Ranma in her bed with her. 'He'll be in for a pleasant surprise in the morning,' Cologne thought to herself with a ghastly smirk as she hopped her way toward the bath.
"I'm too old for this," she mumbled to herself as she shut the door and prepared for a nice long soak.
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"AKANE YOU LOOK TERRIBLE!" Soun exclaimed with tears in his eyes as soon as his daughter walked through the front door. Her hair was a completely mess and her eyes were red and puffy. To top it off it seemed to have rained when she was making her way home due to the fact that her uniform was soaked through and through.
"Did that boy do this to you!?" Genma snapped as he approached the young woman with a snarl on his face as he looked for any trace of Ranma behind her. He was going to teach the boy a lesson in regards to how to treat his fiancée…that is if he could actually manage to beat him this time.
Upon Genma mentioning Ranma's name Akane went as stiff as a board and her eyes widened considerably.
"What is it Akane?" Soun questioned as he slowly approached his daughter, his concern growing as she didn't respond. "Did Ranma do something to you?" Soun all but snarled as he looked toward his long time friend who simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Ranma's…gone," Akane whispered to her father with a vacant look in her eyes. Soun seemed to recoil as if slapped as he stared at his daughter in disbelief.
"Do you mean he's dead!? How!? The last time I saw him he was going to confess to Shampoo!?" Soun exclaimed as he felt Genma stiffen upon hearing that his son might have been dead.
"No...Shampoo's husband now. I didn't…help him," Akane whispered as she walked past her father, almost like a zombie, as she made her way up the stairs and toward her room.
"Soun what is it? Is that fool boy dead?" Genma questioned as he approached his friend who simply stared wide eyed at the spot Akane had once occupied. "What is it old friend, tell me," Genma stated as he placed a hand on the mustached man's shoulder.
"Ranma is Shampoo's husband," Soun mumbled in disbelief. 'He actually went through with it,' Soun thought to himself as he tried to tell himself it wasn't true.
"WHAT!?' Genma cried out in shock and horror. "That fool boy!" he snapped as he stomped toward the door.
"Where are you going Saotome?" Soun questioned as he approached his friend while that portly man put on his shoes.
"I'm going to get my miserable excuse for a son back and unite the schools," Genma stated as he stomped through the door and out into the night.
Soun watched his bandana wearing friend stomp forward off of the Tendo estate and nodded. "Be careful old friend," he muttered with a determined look in his eyes. He knew if anyone could bring Ranma back it would be Genma, he would trick him back somehow and when he did they would immediately set up a wedding date so this kind of thing wouldn't be possible anymore.
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"Hey you wrinkled monkey I know you're in there!" Genma snapped as he banged on the Neko Hanten's front door. His response came in the form of a pot of ice cold water which instantly triggered his transformation.
"I knew you would come you fat fool, go home we have no business with you. Ranma has sworn by his honor and now belongs to us," Cologne stated from the second story window as the soaking wet panda pulled out his trusty sign and began writing something.
'What could that fool possibly be writing? I splashed him with water to keep him quiet,' Cologne thought to herself as Genma-panda held up a sign and a flash light so that the elder could read it.
"Give my back my miserable son. Otherwise I'll bust through this door and take him back," Cologne read to herself before she simply shook her head in disgust and headed out of her room and down the stairs. During the time it took her from get to point A to point B Genma-panada seemed to be keeping up with his promise as she heard a loud banging being emitted from the other side of the door.
Sliding the door open, narrowly avoiding a giant paw, the Amazon immediately closed it behind her before hitting Genma-panda over the head with her cane. "I just told you that Ranma belongs to us. However, you and your wife are more than welcome to attend the wedding. I will not begrudge you the opportunity to come to your son's wedding," Cologne stated as the panda seemingly scowled at her.
"I suppose that isn't good enough is it?" Cologne questioned with a tired sigh. "Well unfortunately that is all I am going to offer. I suggest you go home now and consider my offer. Good night," the elderly woman stated as she cocked her cane back and smacked Genma-panda all the way back to the Tendo dojo.
"Slice. I've got to work on my form," she muttered to herself with a frown playing on her wrinkled lips as she went back into the Neko Hanten and prepared to finally get some sleep.
Meanwhile Genma-panda had started on his decent toward the Tendo household while he continued grumbling in panda. After a moment he finally prepared himself for landing in the Tendo's koi pond, and since he was already a panda he had nothing to worry about.
After splashing into the koi pond Genma slowly made his way out, soaking wet, as he trudged toward the Tendo's house. 'Well that didn't go as well as I had planned,' Genma thought to himself as he slid the back door open and stepped into the dining room. Kasumi immediately handed him a pot of boiling hot water which her promptly pour on his head triggering his transformation.
"So how did it go old friend? Will Ranma be back anytime soon?" Soun questioned as he calm sipped on cup of tea, which had just been prepared by Kasumi. Sound watched as his bald friend took a seat at the table and sighed.
"There is something in need to tell you," Genma started as Soun waited intently for the portly man to explain what happened. "It seems my miserable son has sworn on his love to Shampoo. At present there is nothing we can do, but rest assured I will come up with something to get that boy back and unite the schools," Genma stated as he watched Soun start to tear up.
"Oh my! Does that mean Ranma won't be eating dinner tonight?" Kasumi questioned innocently as her father began to ball his eyes out.
"No, but if you've already made enough for him I'll be more than happy to help you with that," Genma stated sternly as he folded his arms over his chest and licked his lips.
"WAHHHH! Now the schools will never be joined!" Soun cried as Nabiki popped her head into the room only to shake it in disgust before heading back to her room.
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'You could have helped him you know?' a voice rang in Akane's head causing her to clutch the black piglet in her arms even tighter as she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. 'Now he belongs to Shampoo, she's going to be his wife and it's all because you could say four little words. I love you Ran-.'
"STOP IT!" Akane cried out as she shot up out of bed, waking the piglet in her arms at the same time. "Stop it, please stop it. I'm sorry, I just couldn't," Akane muttered to herself as tears started forming in the corners of her eyes.
'Why? Is it because you really don't love him? Is it because you were scared? What could it possibly be that made you run out on him like that? Especially when he needed YOU!' the voice in her mind stated causing her to inwardly cringe.
"It's his fault, he should have never said something so stupid in the first place," Akane muttered as P-chan "bweed" in her arms with a sorrowful expression in his eyes as he watched the tears stream down Akane's cheeks. "If only…if only he hadn't been so stupid!" Akane snapped as she tried to choke back a sob and failed miserably.
'You already knew that he was dense when it came to being the best. Don't deny it you left him out to dry. But that's okay, because now you don't have to deal with him or his problems anymore. Let Shampoo deal with it, after all she was practically begging for him,' the voice with the hollows of her head stated.
'You're free now, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Things can go back to exactly how they were before he got here,' the voice stated as Akane hugged her legs to her chest.
"Free," Akane muttered to herself as her empty pools of blue gazed ahead seeing absolutely nothing.
To Be Continued
Author's Note: Alright, I'm trying to revamp my Ranma Crossover, and so far it isn't going well. So I decided to leave it alone for a little while and work on something else I've already gotten planned out. It will also be easier for me to try to keep the characters in character for the most part.
Anyway, I hope this was an interesting start so please review and feel free to flame.