Disclaimer: Ranma doesn't belong to me.

When life is not what you expected

Part 2

By

Dr Facer

-0-0-

Two years later…

Hideyoshi Takai was nervous.

His wife was giving birth to their first child and even when the doctors promised him everything would be fine, he couldn't help but pace around the hospital like am anxious beast inside a cage.

"She will be fine," his mother offered. At her side, his mother in law nodded her agreement.

"You should just go and walk around the hospital, it'll help you calm down," his older brother suggested. "It worked for me."

"If you say so…" Hideyoshi looked at the two women. "Call me if something happens."

"We will," his mother in law promised.

He nodded and walked down the hallway thinking drinking some water or something would help him feel less tense. He heard a voice he vaguely remembered when he turned on the first corner. It took him a moment to identify it, and once he did he headed in the direction the voice was coming from. He knew it was probably a bad idea but he needed to know if it was him.

Hideyoshi followed the voice and ended up outside a room where a couple was tenderly watching a baby boy. He spied from the corner of the ajar door and as he expected, the man was indeed Ryoga Hibiki, and he was clearly incredibly happy. He didn't know the woman, but he imagined the brunette was his wife.

Not wanting to interrupt their private moment, Hideyoshi turned around and tried to leave unnoticed, but Ryoga's voice called his name. The pig trainer swallowed and returned to the room to greet the couple.

"Hello, Ryoga. It's been a long time," he said and respectfully bowed. "How have you been?"

"Better than I could ever hope for," Ryoga smiled, his eyes returning to the woman who held his son. "This is Anna, my wife."

"Greetings," he said and bowed again. "My name is Hideyoshi Takai, nice to meet you."

"It is my pleasure," Anna smiled gently. "Are you a friend of my husband?"

"Yes, I imagine you could say so."

"That's nice, are you here to congratulate us for our baby?" Anna asked, feeling glad at least someone who knew Ryoga had come.

"I'm sure he did my love," Ryoga rejoined as he sat next to his wife and tenderly caressed his son's head. "So… Hide-kun, how's your wife? Ranma Saotome told me Akari was pregnant with a girl a few months ago. I was surprised that she decided to tell Akane about it, to be honest."

"His wife and mine get along very well now, actually," Hideyoshi said, feeling as if he was a small deer in front of a hungry lion. "The Saotomes sometimes visit our farm. As for Akari, she's in labor just now, I was just on my way back."

"What a coincidence," Anna smiled, finding the fact she had given birth to a boy and Akari was having a girl somewhat romantic. "Our children were born almost the same day!"

"Yes, what a coincidence," Hideyoshi agreed politely. "If you both excuse me, I have to go with my wife… feel free to visit us if you want, we will be in room 307."

"I'm sure we'll meet at the nursery," Anna said, still smiling softly. "We'll talk then, Mr. Takai. Go back to your family."

Hideyoshi nodded his thanks and left the room as fast as it was polite to do so.

"Are all of your friends that… peculiar, my love?" Anna asked once they were alone.

"Well, he is a sumo pig trainer…" Ryoga grinned, "But Hideyoshi is quite normal if you compare him to people like Happosai or Tatewaki Kuno, those two are really something else."

"I see… honey?"

"What is it Anna?"

"Wasn't that Akari… you know… your previous wife?"

"Yes, she was, but you already know the whole story Anna. I told you about my divorce before we got married. Why do you ask? Don't tell me you're jealous!"

She smiled and poked at his ribs. "Of course I'm not jealous, you dummy! I know you're mine and only mine. It's… I just pity her, she had you and let you go. That was not very smart of her."

"I don't think so," Ryoga answered. "If she hadn't, I wouldn't have found you again."

"Well, that's true…"

"Anna, I only care about you and our son," Ryoga swore and kissed his wife. "Don't worry about her. Akari is my past. You and our son are my future."

"Excuse me Mr. Hibiki, but I have to take the baby back to the nursery," an old nurse suddenly interrupted.

"So soon," Anna lamented as she handled her son to the other woman.

When the nurse was gone, Anna Hibiki hugged her husband and leaned on his chest. "Thanks for being the best husband in the world, Ryoga."

"Thank you for helping me find a cure to all my problems," he said, feeling very grateful to the woman he held in his arms. Anna's tenacity had been the light he needed so desperately. She had helped him come to terms with and let Akane go. She had helped him forget about Akari and leave the guilt he felt behind. She had even gone with him on a long trip to Jusenkyo where he finally found a cure to his pig and direction curses.

Thanks to Anna, Ryoga had grown and become the kind of man he always hoped to become. A responsible man and, more importantly, a father.

"I love you so much Anna…"

=0=

In another room, a woman found peace in the arms of her husband. She was tired and nearly unconscious, but she had never felt happier. For she was now a mother and the father of her daughter was the man she loved, just as she always dreamed of.

"When did my life start to shine again?" she wondered as she tightened her embrace on her husband. "Was it the night I made the choice to move forward or when I married Hide-kun?"

Akari Takai decided that wasn't important and instead focused on the present. On her family around her and the arms of her husband keeping her safe.

"Thank you Akari, you've made me the happiest man in the world today," Hideyoshi smiled and kissed his wife. "I love you."

"And I love you too," she declared as she closed her eyes, feeling tired but very happy.

Satisfied and convinced her life was now complete, all Akari could feel then was joy and the certainty her future was brighter than ever before.

-End-

Notes:

Anna Brown is an anime only character, she is a teenager who lives in a Wild West style town. She fell in love with Ryoga and is waiting for him to return to her side.

I wrote this fanfic way back in 2001 and decided to revisit it in 2015 to fix the grammar (it was really bad) and I ended up rewriting most of it. The core of the story remains the same but most dialogues are different, several situations have been expanded and a lot of background work, as well as this second part, were included. The result is, I believe, a better work overall which I hope is more enjoyable.

Something else I would like to say is that I have always believed that Akari is too good for Ryoga. Ryoga was never that nice to her in the manga so I imagined how a marriage between them would go and this is the idea I ended up with. I included Anna Brown because using Ukyo would have been too ordinary and I wanted to use a character nobody has ever paired with Ryoga in any story (that I'm aware of). Besides, I felt Anna had potential and good chemistry with Ryoga, I only wish I could have developed her more. Perhaps someday I will write a story where I do just that.

Next: part 3