A/N - I don't own Ranma ½.

-Chapter 4-

It was a week before Akane received her letter for the competition.

It was an unusually hot day out, and by the time Akane made it home from class all she wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep. It was while she was depositing her keys and books that she noticed it.

The envelope was plain and white, her name scrawled out in red ink in Mousse's neat handwriting. With shaking hands she opened it, pulling out the folded paper. She sat on her bed, staring at the seemingly innocent sheet of paper in her hands, almost willing it to disappear, if only to save her from certain embarrassment and misery.

With a deep breath she opened it, her brown orbs scanning the letter. It read:

Battle for the Ultimate Fiancée

In this competition to be the rightful fiancée of Ranma Saotome, a board of judges has been set up and has set the guidelines and rules for upcoming event. The judging panel consists of Nodoka Saotome, Ranma Saotome, Kasumi Tendo, Dr Tofu Ono and I, all of which are neutral parties. A week before each contest, I shall send each competitor a letter detailing what the next challenge will consist of. Each judge has chosen a subject they believe is crucial in a bride. This competition will go on for five weeks. You will find out what the next week event is once the previous contest is over.

Challenge 1:

The first competition for Ranma's hand is to be held on Saturday, May 15 at noon in Furinkan High School. Each competitor is to master one dinner dish and dessert. All ingredients shall be supplied by the judges, so all competitors must send in a recipe and stick to it during the challenge. Any "special" herbs or potions will automatically count as cheating and get you disqualified. Meddling with a challenger's food shall also get you disqualified.

Good luck ladies.

Mousse.

Akane bit her lip, worried about what she was going to do. So far the only upside was that there was a fair judging panel. She was so worried about what she should do that Akane nearly missed the small print the very bottom of her letter. It was a tiny note, in regular black ink and Ranma's familiar tiny, messy hand writing.

Don't worry tomboy, I'm rootin for ya!! You can beat these girls no problem!!

Ranma

She smiled, some of her anxiety melting away. Exhaustion decided to once again make itself known and with that Akane dragged herself up the stairs for a long overdue nap.

--

The next morning Akane set about researching a simple and delicious meal to make for the upcoming challenge. Sitting on the veranda she was surrounded by cook books, some Kasumi had collected over the years, others her mother once owned.

That was how Soun found his youngest daughter a few hours later, a notebook balanced precariously on her knee as she scribbled diligently. He smiled gently and went inside, coming back out a few moments later carrying a tray of cookies and milk, a tattered notebook tucked under his arm.

Placing the tray between them, he took a seat beside her and picked up the plate of cookies, holding them beneath her nose. He smiled at Akane's startled look and gestured to the morsels of chocolate chip goodness.

It was while they were sitting there, munching on the amazing cookies Kasumi had made that he finally called attention to the notebook. He placed it between them and nudged it in her direction. She took the hint and picked it up, gently turning it over in her hands for a moment, studying it. It was more like a journal than a notebook; the cover was made out of a worn but well loved brown leather that was soft to the touch. She opened it and took in the aging pages covered in a small, neat script that was vaguely familiar. She pushed the thought aside and flipped through the pages, realizing that this was a book of recipes.

She looked up at Soun, confusion blending with gratitude. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he held up a hand to silence her.

"It was your mother's. She spent years filling it up, putting all of her favorite recipes in it, and as soon as she had you girls, adding a few your favorite dishes as well. I figured you might like to have it, and maybe it'd be able to help you in some way…" His voice trailed off, choked with emotion. Akane gave her own watery smile before lunging at him, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Thank you, daddy." He just smiled and dropped a kiss on her head.

"Anytime."

--

The day of the challenge came faster than Akane would've liked. The entire trip to Furinkan High School, she couldn't help but bemoan her fate and the fact that she would undoubtedly lose Ranma in the process.

Lost in her thoughts, she quickly made her trek to the high school and the sight of the familiar structure looming above her made her nervous in a way it never had before. Taking a deep breath, she silently made her way into the building and through the halls, her mother's recipe book clutched tightly in her arms.

She paused outside the home ec room, part of her hoping to wake up from this dream soon. Taking another breath, she raised a shaky hand to open the door when another grabbed hers. Turning sharply towards the offender, she came face to face with none other the Nabiki Tendo herself. With a loud squeal, she launched herself into her sister's arms. Nabiki just looked amused.

"What're you doing here?! Summer isn't for a few weeks yet!!!" Nabiki just laughed and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder, guiding her into the classroom. They stopped at the station with Akane's name on it.

"I told all of my professors that I had a family emergency and they let me take my finals early…with a little gentle persuasion of course." The two girls giggled a bit (well, Nabiki really just smirked) before Akane sobered up. She looked down at her feet, shuffling a bit in a nervous gesture for a few seconds.

"I'm scared, Nabiki."

Before Nabiki could get a word in edgewise, chaos erupted. Simultaneously, Shampoo burst through the wall, spraying debris all over the Tendo girls as Kodachi came in through the window in a flourish of black rose petals. Making a much calmer entrance, Ukyo strolled in using the door.

Exasperation with the amazon and crazy gymnast consumed Akane as she tried to brush the dust and petals off of her. She shared a look with Ukyo as the taller girl passed by before realizing what she was doing and quickly pretended she was just scanning the room.

With a frown, Akane noted that all of her rivals were in battle garb and she couldn't help but look down at her own attire in worry. Should she have worn her gi instead of her dress? She voiced these worries to her sister, but the only response she received was a snort of amusement as Nabiki gave her a quick hug and a quiet "Good luck" before she excused herself.

It wasn't long before the judges entered the room, Ranma and Nabiki in tow. They were huddled in a circle, and Akane took that time to steal a glance at her fiancé. He noticed and shot her a quick smirk before turning his attention back to whatever it was that Mousse was saying.

Five minutes later and the competition was well underway, all five judges walking around each station, even peering over their shoulders to ensure no cheating was occurring. They were so serious about the cheating that Nabiki and a few of her associates were walking the perimeter, video cameras in hand, taping everything.

--

An few hours later and Akane found herself walking home with Nabiki, shock emanating from her in waves. She hadn't come in last and that fact alone amazed her. She was so oblivious of her surroundings that she would've walked past the dojo gates if her father and Mr Saotome hadn't jumped her, demanding results.

Blinking back her surprise, she shrugged her shoulders and walked past them leaving Nabiki to answer their endless supply of questions. She ran up the stairs, pausing only to slam her door shut before throwing herself down on her bed, arms spread out. She lay like that for a beat before sitting up straight, looking around her bedroom suspiciously. It was then she noticed the smirking face of her fiancé sitting in her chair, feet propped on top of her desk. She rolled her eyes, barely managing to hide the smile that so desperately wanted out.

"What're you doing here, Ranma?" Her words lacked the old sting as she stood up and

walked over to him, shoving his feet off her textbooks.

"What? Can't a guy visit his favorite fiancée?" Akane scoffed and not-so-gently rapped

him on the head.

"Why are you really here? You know the rules, baka." He shrugged and dodged her

attempt to hit him again. She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest in response.

Giving her a cocky grin, Ranma wrestled one of her arms free and laced their fingers

together, eyes softening just so.

"I wanted to say congratulations. I don't think anyone saw that coming."

She smiled shyly at him and took a small step closer to him, giving his fingers a gentle

squeeze as she did. His free hand found its way to the back of her neck and he pulled her

even closer, closing the gap between their bodies.

It was barely a moment that seemed an eternity and she decided she could kiss this

man forever. She pulled back before the kiss could get too deep and rested her forehead

against his. They stayed that way for a bit, just enjoying the other's presence and attempting to make up for lost time spent fighting and denying their feelings.

With a sigh Ranma stepped away and gave Akane his trademark smirk. He moved to the window and turned back to her, surprised to find her lips on his once more. Gone as quickly as they came, Ranma merely shook his head and smiled before jumping to the ground below.

She may not have won the competition, but 3rd place was certainly better than nothing. Who knew all that poison actually improved Kodachi's cooking?

A/N- It's been a while since the last update and it's not the best, but I'm trying people!! I promise the next one will (hopefully) be better!