Chapter 2:

A Curse Like No Other

The black-haired boy sighed slightly as he leaned against the side of the tub, the water felt nice, the surroundings fairly unfamiliar. Details were sketchy, but he had a rough idea of what had been going on. That woman had brought him here, likely under a false sense of honor towards that fool of a father. He himself had suffered for his father's death, that he was responsible, that much he still hadn't fully accepted. Perhaps it was for the better though, he could have his own life, and he wouldn't have to deal with Genma.

He took another deep breath before standing. He had to force her memories out, so that he could play along with whatever game she was playing. He always hated this waking process, it seemed to take longer each time, more time he had to waste to understand what had happened while that woman had been in control. Still, as he dried, some of her recent memories surfaced, and he was able to understand the situation. "A fiance huh? Maybe this will be a good thing afterall." He smirked slightly, then dressed himself and headed back downstairs. By then he'd regained enough of her memories to play along, so far the Tendos had been friendly, perhaps that was a blessing in itself, he ha dworried that Soun would have been more like his father.

"Please understand, I made a pact of honor with my closest, dearest friend. I won't force you into this, but I'm asking, to honor Genma's memory, that you consider this." Soun sat across from three girls, his daughters, Ranma had assumed as he reached the doorway. His memory was still slightly fuzzy, but he seemed to recall the long, brown hair of the oldest looking girl from before. Soun looked up with a slight smile, then motioned to the place next to him at the table. "Ah, there you are Ranma, I was just explaining the situation to my daughters. Now, Ranma, these are my three daughters. Kasumi, my eldest, is nineteen years old.." He motioned to the long, sandy brown-haired girl, Ranma recognized her this time completely, though she appeared to have not known he was the girl from before. Perhaps that would work out best for now.

Soun's hand continued to the girl in the middle. A slightly more mischievious looking girl, with short, deep brown hair. Her eyes seemed analytical in nature, and there was definately something troublesome behind her cold, almost calculating stare. Ranma felt something of a kindred spirit in her, and almost let out a smirk, as if he'd made a choice on choosing her. However, there was something else about her that rubbed him wrong, sure, she seemed most like him, but at the same time, that could prove quite troublesome. "This is Nabiki, she's seventeen." Ranma made a mental note of that, she was still slightly older then he.

And then Soun's hand came to rest upon the third girl before he settled it at his side. This one was easily the most beautiful, with long, nearly jet black hair, a cute face, and an obvious attitude. Ranma could tell by looking that as far as martial arts went, she was the only one in the family with any real skill, she was also the one who seemed to be most active. He decided, before even hearing her name that she'd be the one he'd choose. "My youngest daughter, Akane, she's sixteen."

Ranma quietly nodded, to be polite. He couldn't seem too eager to choose any of the girls, afterall, that might scare them off. Instead, he hesitated a moemtn, then looked at Akane again before feigning a smile. "I think Akane would be best, she's closest to my age, right?"

The two older girls let out sighs of relief as they watched the young man, and then thier sister with interest. The youngest seemed mildly disturbed, and only slightly angry. Ranma pieced it together that none of them were comfortable with the idea of an arranged marriage. He couldn't exactly blame them, he wasn't too fond of the idea himself, however, it was advantagious to him to accept this. For the time being, it was likely he'd be allowed to stay here, be offered food, and he could do as he pleased so long as it didn't interfere with the Tendos.

"Well then, that's settled, You'll marry Akane, boy. In the mean time, make yourself at home, you're part of the family now." Soun smiled looking at his daughters, then to Ranma. "I'll have Akane show you to the guest room."

"Thank you Mr. Tendo." Ranma continued the polite act, if nothing else, he'd been right about his father's friend, he was a fool who still lived by the old codes, and it served Ranma best. He had a place to stay and guaranteed food. He stood up slowly, and focused his eyes on Akane, watching her carefully as her two older sisters quickly stood themselves and left the room.

Akane let out a long, labored sigh before standing, then motioning Ranma to follow her. "This way." She seemed less then happy about the situation, but far more excepting then Ranma could have imagined. He simply followed her quietly, biding his time.

She opened the door to a drak, dusty room on the edge of the household, the furthest edge away from everything else. It was easily the most secluded room in the Tendo household, and it sparked Ranma's interest. To think, he was left alone in a secluded portion of the house with a woman who more or less had no choice but to marry him. As Akane stepped into the room to show Ranma around, he sprung into action. His left arm slipped tightly around her neck as his right arm grabbed and restrained the girl's right. She had been caught completely offguard and had no way to defend, nor could she scream due to his left arm.

Akane gasped in shock and flailed about with her one still free hand. She'd had no reason to be on guard, her father had told them to trust the boy, he was the son of thier father's oldest friend. It had been explained that Ranma had recently lost his father, she'd seen him appearing to be broken, solemn, like she had been years earlier after her mother passed from this world. She had not expected to be attacked like this, so quickly, so flawlessly. She clawed at his left arm, but that clearly became futile as the air seemed to leave her breath and the world started to go dark.

Ranma threw her to the ground as he felt her body start to go limp, then sat atop her staring into her half closed eyes with an almost psychotic look. "Remember how easily I broke you, remember, you're mine now. If you think to tell anyone, then next time, I'll kill you."

That was the last Akane could remember before the world went completely black. She awoke several hours later, the room was mostly dark, but she could still make out the details, including Ranma who was sitting against the wall near the door, staring at her coldly. She sat up slowly, feeling wobbly from the earlier forced sleep she had endured. She could feel Ranma's eyes following her as she moved, knowing they were trained on her like a sniper's rifle. She slowly backed away from him, towards the far corner of the room in terror. She'd never met anyone who could take her out so quickly, so easily. She was fearful, and broken.

Ranma stood and approached her slowly, then knelt next to her. The light was minimal, but Akane could sense and see something different. Ranma placed a hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes before speaking, the voice blatently more feminine. "I, I'm so sorry Akane."

Akane was again shocked, and watched Ranma, blinking a bit furiously as she tried to find words. Something was definately going on, something strange. Why did Ranma sound like a girl? "Wh-what, what happened?"

"I, I was careless, I let him out again. I, I should have known better." Ranma threw her arms around Akane and hugged her tightly. The black haired girl was shocked once again, then felt warm tears start to soak through her shirt.

"W-who are you?"

"I, I'm Ranma Saotome. It's a long story." The girl leaned away from Akane and stared at her quietly through tear-stained eyes. "I need your help, I can't let him come out again."