Ryoga felt the place cold and distant. Darkness fell everywhere he looked and he wasn't able to see where he was going since a fog as thick as the foam on the ocean decorated his surroundings. There was one thing he was certain of . . . . . He felt two mounds on his chest and the bulge, males usually have under the waist vanished.
The now girl tried to calm down and to do so, she began to touch the edges of her body, not the intimate ones, but her hair which she felt to be as long as her waist, it felt straight and thicker by the second she ran her hand alongside her head. Her mid section was petite and she wondered how "thin" she could have gotten. "I wonder if I'm as slender as Ranma, wait no . . . she is slender but her breasts make her look full . . . Mine feel about average . . . I think." After speaking to herself, the girl tried to put in practice the relentless training her sister made her go through before now.
"Ok feel something . . . . Anything . . . . ." Ryoga focused on any kind of feeling or sensation that could linger on what it looked like a dark Japan. Faintly in the horizon she was able to feel something . . . . No, someone . . . . Three heartbeats in the distance. From the intensity and palpitation the sounds resembled those of people barely out of the childhood stage . . . Maybe teenagers. In that moment she remembered her sister and began to walk towards the feelings.
She kept walking for an undefined amount of time and distance with the sensation that she wasn't advancing at all. With the urge to meet these people crawling like a snake on her, the girl did the next best thing. "HELLO . . . . .! . . . Anyone over there! ! . . . ." In the distance, faint and muffled sounds were heard . . . She did make contact and instead of going ahead, the girl stood her ground waiting for the lot to come her way.
"RYOGA . . . .!" . . . . . "MOM, WHERE ARE YOU . . . . .!" The girl understood the shouting's and thought the first voice belonged to Akira, but the second sentence was the riddle she wanted answered as soon as possible. After some waiting she heard steps closing on her, the anticipation was eating her alive, and when she saw them she felt the joy of meeting a known face after what she thought was her demise.
"Aki-chan . . . You are here, but . . . . How?" The little redhead arrived at her side accompanied with another two teens and a grown woman. "Oh . . . Hi . . .!" The girl bowed and finally managed to see her surroundings and herself. "Silver . . .? . . . .My hair is silver and long. . . .Why?" The teenagers laughed at the confused girl and Akira talked her through.
"The Hibikis that have this ability are born with the treats of our mothers or female ancestors. Believe it or not my mom was a redhead as I am, and the weird thing about all of your "selves" is the hair treat from grandma. Your hair is not silver, but platinum . . . A variation of the bright blond one our grandmother had."
The conversation wasn't done when the woman interceded. "And still am. . . .Aki-chan, even in limbo manners must prevail." The new girl stared at the blonde carefully and after a few tries trying to recognize her she jumped and ran at her. "Grandma . . . It is you . . ."
"Of course my Dear. . . .You think I would let your sister find you all on her own . . . Besides, I want the privilege to present you to two very special persons." The older blonde woman moved aside and on her back another two teens bowed at the girl.
Ryoga smiled and bowed just in the same polite way. "And who are these well mannered young ones?" The boy walked at the girl and smiled, lost on her face. Ryoga blushed at the intense stare and tried to look to the side nervous by the boy about her same age. "Hello, my name is Yoshiro Hibiki." The boy had red hair and ported a pigtail just like the one the girl recognized from someone else.
The little girl bowed next and after the polite move, she jumped and fell on the bigger girl's arms. "Mom . . . it's me, Aiko . . . Your daughter. . ." The girl had the same platinum styled hair and when Ryoga looked at Akira only one thought was in her mind. "No . . . . It can't be . . . ."
The girl giggled at her mother's response and held her at arms length. "Yup Mom . . . I was born "from" you, while Yoshi came from our pops. . ." The girl tried desperately to faint or hyperventilate, but without a body it was more work than she thought. At the last moment she just fell to the floor in a heap, composed herself and sat on her legs Indian style. "But. . . .But . . . How . . . I mean, I'm a man on the real world . . . This is an illusion from this place isn't.?"
Akira shook her head and patted the girl's back. "Sorry Ryo, but when I stabbed you with the sword I activated the Gaia's mark before time. When you come back to earth, you will be in girl form . . . As of today the piglet curse has been erased."
The girl pondered every detail. She would have to go through the same hell Ranma went. She would be ridiculed by other males; seduced by guys with the wrong intentions and worse of all . . . The manliness in Ranma is even stronger when he is a girl then Ryoga at his full time man side. "Oh no . . . I don't like this. If Ranma acts so manly even in girl form, he is going to torture "me" if I end up being the girl of the marriage."
The silver haired girl approached Ryoga and whispered in her ear. "Mom . . . . You have no idea . . . ." The girl smiled and the long platinum haired girl sweat dropped. "You know? . . . I didn't need to know that . . ." The rest of the presents laughed at the moment.
Ryoga stood once again and looked around trying to make sense of where she was. "So, this is Limbo?" Akira tried to go on with her story, but their grandmother talked next. "Yes dear, this is the place before heaven or hell . . . In this place many facts happen. The people who die are able to come back "IF" they know how. Many demons from hell patrol some areas in hopes to "recruit" more lost souls, and the exchange of higher beings are present here . . . You could say this is a neutral ground for gods and goddesses."
The girl nodded, understanding the situation, but when she did that she kept looking on the kids . . . They were focusing one hundred percent on her and that made her even more nervous. "So . . . Ahem . . . You two are our kids. . ?" The boy stared serious and nodded then he kept looking at her. The other girl nodded giddily and happy, she kept hugging her arm and playing with her fingers. "Yes mom . . . it's an honor to finally meet you . . ." The girl rested her head on Ryoga's shoulder.
The fanged girl gave a glimpse to her grandmother asking for help but the old woman just shook her head. "Dear . . . These two are you unborn children. They decided to come to Limbo and help you train all the way, but I warned them it was dangerous . . . A lost soul from heaven is a treasure for demons here."
Ryoga frowned at the new information and something erupted from within her. "Is this true. .? Did you break out of heaven and into this damn place . . .?" The scolding meant to scare the children, but the two teens were thrilled and smiled at her mom. Yoshiro and Aiko ran even closer to her and smothered her with their hugs.
"We know mom . . . We know, but we had to see you. . . .We've been waiting forever and we are tired of just waiting for when we'll be born . . . ." Their happy faces denoted the urgency to get along with Ryoga and the girl felt a sensation she never did before in her life. "Grandma . . . What is this I feel . . . Is . . . . Strange." The matriarch smiled and rested her hand on the girl's head. "That my darling is motherly love . . . We all have it, but there are some males who develop it faster and greater than others . . . I guess you were born to be a mom after all."
The girl blanched at the news. She always knew about her weakness with compassion and the way she had her feelings so exposed, but from that to be a mother, she considered a big stretch . . . Then again . . .
"Grandma, can I learn to master this feeling . . . Is so . . . Fulfilling." The old woman brushed the long hair on the girl in acknowledgement. "Yes dear . . . That will be one of several lessons in this place." Ryoga sat again on the floor and the two kids sat on her sides. The silver haired mom kept playing with Yoshiro's right ear in a motherly manner. Aiko rested her head on the girl's chest and the new mom stroke the girl's hair in a calming way. When the trio was comfortable enough, their grandmother and Akira began to explain how everything worked in that place.
"Ok first of all, Ryoga-chan." The girl winced at the name but she let it slide. "You need to remember the way for us to travel in here. We don't move or use the other corporeal senses, we use the feelings a soul produces. In here you can recognize a demon by the blinding rage and thirsty desire for death. If you find feelings of fear or dread, it means a lost soul is near by . . . They are afraid in this place since they feel lost. And then there are us. We are the common ground, the feelings that fuses us with our auras; those are the sensations that cannot be duplicated or confused."
"When you felt us and shouted at us, you did because you felt our auras. You weren't sure who we were but you recognized me at some point. In the same way when we travel to Hell and look for your other alternate, you need to focus on your own aura since your alternate will share the same "wavelength". Now this is the disturbing part of the mission and I won't tell it to all the participants . . . Just you."
The smaller redhead moved forward making this part sound as the most important of the lecture. "Ryo-chan. . .There will be many auras in this hell . . . The monster we are confronting imprison them on this realm. Like I said before. . .there are lots of Ryoga's who did many terrible things on their worlds. . .well, many of those who did and died were trapped in one of the nine circles of hell, and you will be the only one capable to help them and journey through the circles without any of us getting stuck in them."
The girl trembled at the weight of the responsibility but her children held her in place. "Don't worry mom . . . don't feel threatened . . . We are coming with you on this mission. . ." The girl shook even harder and her eyes brimmed with tears. "No. There is no way in . . . . Well. .hell . . . That I would take you with me. .I will not endanger my children." Yoshiro smiled in a smug way and Aiko hugged her closer. "Don't worry mom, the mission is too hard to take alone . . . You will lead but there will be other "selves" with you."
Akira continued. "Yes Ryo. . .Yourself from the future is coming and so are these two brats from the future as well. I have another five couples ready to go with you . . . They all will be alternate "selves" from other worlds. I got a couple who already died and is the one who taught me how to survive on this place. A couple who ended up as a happy marriage. The first Hibikis and Saotomes are with me guiding me on a special chamber . . . They are coming too. You and your sons are the fifth group and lastly a Ryoga I haven't worked yet . . . I still need to visit him on his world and work him on the mission."
This time Ryoga felt better, she wasn't alone and knew the reliance of her other alternates fitted a job on the main group. "Aki-chan. . .What's the point on each group?" The little girl closed her eyes ready for the explanation.
"Sis . . . The couple who died needs to pass through this. They were stuck in their own limbo, living as ghosts in the Tendo house. They need to redeem themselves since the Ryoga alternate committed suicide . . ." All the presents kept silent at that.
"The next couple found their happy ending, thanks to a magical artifact Ranma was able to separate himself from the redheaded girl curse and they became two different persons. They accepted willingly to accompany us as that's their duty as martial artists."
"The other couples are the first born 1,500 years ago. The redhead girl is the one who drowned and got stuck on Jusenkyo; the boy . . . Her soul mate is Ryota Hibiki the one who owned the Seteki Ranko. They and Setsuko and Tetsuo Saotome are the ones helping me with all the good Ryogas first."
"The last one is a Ryoga who drives through sheer conviction, this one is like Ranma but he went hardcore and is a boy with very strong character and attitude. Him, I'm going to recruit last."
"And than it's you and your children. Together with your future self are going to lead the expedition. So as you can see you are not alone after all." The girl stared at all the help and marveled at the manpower coming her way. "Well then, since I'm a girl I guess is time to get started on my training. . ." Everyone accepted the proposition and mom and children stood up and began to explain the way to behave on Limbo. Before the group left, Ryoga asked something to Akira. "Sis . . . Are you able to travel back to my world?" The girl nodded and the platinum girl requested a favor. "Please tell Ranma I'm ok. . . ." The girl bowed at her and began to walk backwards and disappearing in her time tunnel.
On this side of the world everyone arrived to Nerima. The Tendos visited frequently Ranma and her mom and dad. The three lived on Ryoga's parent's house since the terrible incident. Ranma tried to go on with her life but it was hard on the girl, she never went back to her male form after her husband's death . . . She just didn't feel like it.
"Common Honey . . . A bit of fresh air will do you some good. . ." Nodoka tried her best to keep her busy, but the girl kept dosing on and off like a zombie. "Boy . . . you're getting slow and lazy . . . c'mon, we need to practice the art . . ." The bucket of water intended for the girl fell from the father's hands and when Ranma swept him from the floor, the patriarch slid under the path of the falling water. The panda kept scribbling on his signpost but the redhead was gone into the kitchen.
Ranko stared at the dishes, especially at that silver platter with the reflection of her male alter ego. "Ranma, I miss him . . . What if? . . ." The reflection tried to jump out of the dish and knock some sense on the girl. "We've came this far and we ain't giving up yet . . . He promised us he'd be here, and he will deliver . . ."
The redhead moved to the wall and sled down to the floor. A few months back she learned to express her most intimate feelings through tears, she accepted another guy as her husband and she let him die for the sins of her parents and the promises made on her behalf.
Nodoka grabbed a chair and joined the moping girl. "Daughter cheer up, I promise you he'll be back sooner than you think and that piece of heaven you two forged will come to this house." The Satome parent sighed after the giant steps her son in law did to protect them. The redheaded girl broke down again in tears and her roll as a mother came into play.
"Ranko-chan . . . Why are you so down. You have comeback from worse and from what Akane told me so did he." The girl tried to stop, but her tears ran without her permission. "Mom . . . He made me care for him. I missed you all the time I was away with Pops and he made me care just as much . . ." Mother and daughter comforted each other while a somber shadow circled the girls.
"Why? . . . .I don' understand I raised my boy to be the best. . . .What made him turn into "that" weak thing . . .?" Genma walked away, disappointed by the display and preferred to take a walk outside. When the old man overviewed the neighborhood he saw Akane in the distance.
The girl looked flustered by something. He tried to find out from what, but when the Tendo kept walking the man noticed a young man a few years older than the girl. The talked nonsense about school and books he didn't care to understand, but the closeness on the couple made his skin crawl.
"She is moving on with her life . . . . This ain't good for my boy and our real pledge." The loud comment made Akane turn to see him and she shoved the other boy aside from her. "Mr. Saotome, what are you doing here?" The girl's nervousness was evident and the sneaky man closed the gap, getting closer to the girl.
"Akane-san, how nice for you to study so hard. . . .Say . . . Who is this young man?" The girl looked around and noted the boy getting up. "Oh . . . He is a friend from school. We are trying for the same University in Tokyo and we were comparing notes on it." Genma knew when two people coincide with a daily routine; sparks tend to fly between them.
"Well hello there young man, my name is Genma . . . Genma Saotome." The boy bowed to the elder and smiled at his last name. "Saotome? . . . .Are you Ranma's father?" The man's chest expanded in pride. "Yes indeed, I am Ranma's father, master of the art and mentor." Akane accepted the offer from Ranma's dad to escort her back to the Tendos. When the boy wave goodbye, Akane waved back while closing her eyes from the embarrassment. The boy used this to quickly move in and kiss her on the cheek.
The girl giggled nervously and walked away. "So . . . Do we have a new boyfriend?" The girl slumped from the rain of questions she knew were coming her way. "Yes Mr. Saotome . . . . I may have had feelings for your son, but he went to the other side and left me alone. I am free to pursuit other candidates."
The Saotome patriarch gave hundreds of excuses trying to convince the girl. "Akane-san . . . The boy is confused. He thinks he knows what's in his head, but I know the best and I will prove it." The Tendo girl wanted to know how would he do that, but was afraid to ask. She walked by his side, accepted all the crazy chat and bowed goodbye at her house. The man left her and went back to his family.
It had happened almost three months ago and the atmosphere felt gloom. There was no more drive or wishes for challenges. The girl sat by the kitchen table and sighed at her life, when a loud thud hit the opposite wall and a lot of utensils and pans alerted the family someone was in the backyard. The three Saotomes ran out of the house and they found Akira getting up from the mess.
"Who keeps pans outside . . . Damn it . . . . That hurt!" The girl brushed the dirt from her pants and wobbly walked at the kitchen door. "Mom . . . I'm home!" Everyone cheered for the girl and Ranma took her into the living room. "What happened Aki-chan . . . Where is he . .?" The girl made sure Ryoga's body was safe and well guarded on his original bedroom. When she made sure, she came back to the living room.
"Everything is fine . . . Ryoga is practicing with grandma and the children on Limbo. . . "She" should be able to comeback pretty soon." Ranma tilted her head doubting what she heard. "So . . . . Ryoga is a "she" and what about some children. . ?"
"Did I say "she" . .? . .No! .I meant "HE" is fine and he is practicing the Limbo environment there. When "HE" master his way there, I'll teach him how to comeback here." Ranma skipped from happiness and Nodoka saw life once again in her daughter.
"Why did it take you so long to come . . . .? . .Is almost three months since his death. .I thought I lost him for good." The girl remembered about time and space and hit her open palm with her other closed fist. "Oh I remember there is no time on that place . . . A day or two there is like months in here. . ." Ranma forgave her after such reasoning. But she didn't let go of all the conversation. "And what about the children . . . .?" Akira frowned angry at her detailed memory. "Can't you let it go? I just arrived from Limbo, don't I deserve a good breakfast at least. ."
The girl walked away from the redhead and Nodoka happily went with her to prepare some food, which is until Ranma grabbed her by the hair and gently pulled her back. ". . . . . Well . . . .?" The girl sighed in desperation and looked at her mom expecting some leeway. The Saotome matriarch smiled and went into the kitchen. When the girl looked at the father, he shrugged his shoulders. "Don' look at me girl . . . I learn to stay away from my daughter a long time ago," and returned to the kitchen with his wife.
Ranma wasn't amused and began to tap the floor. "We can stay here all day for all I care, but I want to know who they were . . ." Akira cleared her throat and said it as low as she could muster. "What! . . . .I didn' hear a thing . . . . This time louder please . . ." The redheaded girl closed the gap and set her ear next to the smaller redhead's mouth. "You're . . . . Children . . . . Yoshiro and Aiko . . . . ."
Ranma slowly walked back a few steps and stared firmly at the girl. "My children? . . . You mean Ryo's and "My" children . . . ?" The girl moved her head up and down in a slow motion, confirming the redhead's question. "I tried to avoid this but it has to be always your way . . ." Ranma smiled and ran for her Mom.
"Mom, ya hear . . . I got children with Ryoga! . . . I got child . . . ." Then she stopped on her tracks and reached for her stomach. "Oh no . . . . I got children . . . . How in the hell am I going to have children! . . ." Nodoka laughed at her daughter's antics vividly. "Well daughter you see . . . . When a boy and a girl love too much, they "get" together and. . . ." The girl hyperventilated and stopped her mother right there. "Ok . . . OK I get the jest . . . Please don' keep goin' . . ."
Nodoka grabbed her hands and screamed at her husband. "Hear that Genma Dear, we will be grandparents soon! . . . ." Father and daughter looked at each other and a queasy sensation over took them, rushing into two different bathrooms and emptying their respective breakfasts. Akira and Nodoka stood in the living room and laughed at the panicked pair.
Ranma kneeled besides the toilet with her mind going through it. "Fine . . .I let that jerk get me with the cryin' stuff, then I let him see my open soul and lastly I tried to touch him tenderly like a woman treats a man . . . .what the hell is wrong with me . . .since when did I become such a girl . . ."
Still inside Ranma heard the sound of steps going in her direction. The girl tried to open the door but something was on the other side. "Mom . . . . Akira?" The voice turned low and male. "No M'boy . . . it's me."
"Pops . . . What you are doin' . .? . . . Let me out." The man held the door locked from the outside. "Ranma, before you come out of there I want you to think about something." The girl kept silent for the time being. "Son . . . . Is time for you to take your place? Ryoga might be the greatest of guys, but you aren't a girl. You may convince yourself otherwise, but deep down you know you love Akane."
The girl accepted Ryoga fully and there were no doubts in her mind. "Sorry pops your loosin' your time. I told you once an' I'll tell you again. My husband is Ryoga and I belong to him." The father fumed by the declaration. "Listen to yourself . . . Do you accept "defeat"? . . . . . Do you deny you are a "man among men"? . . . If that's the case I don' only lost a son, but my ex-son lost his pride before dying."
That was the terrible weight Ranma forgot to counter when learning to develop Ranko. He let the "girl" in him go and accepted all the rewards that came with the change. Inside him a third voice raised from the ashes. "No . . . like hell I lost . . . . Ranma Saotome never looses!"
The father knew that last personality. "Good m'boy . . . You are my true heir and when the time comes I'm sure you won't disappoint." Like a flash the girl came back to reality and tried again to open the door. "Hey! Who's got the door locked?" Genma made sure his plan worked when he saw the change on the girl. "Sorry daughter I was trying to go in, but you were busy." The man let go and the girl exited like nothing had happened.
The girl came out of the bathroom and held her hand on her stomach, rubbing it while thinking on how pregnancy affects a woman. Nodoka met her and stared at the scared girl. "Dear, is not that hard . . . After all I had you . . ." The redhead looked tense at the situation and when raising one of her fists, she stared at it with determination. "I was a man . . . That jerk weaken me, made me feel for him . . . I opened and let him in my heart." She then began to tremble. "I learned to love him and I cried . . . And . . . And . . ." Her mom slowly walked at her side and hugged her firmly.
"Yes daughter . . . that's what love does to you, but you did all that because you care and not only because "he" made you. . ." The mother kneeled and held her head higher. "Daughter . . . Now we know you have two beautiful children, and I know Ryo-kun would never force you to take that path if you're not ready . . . Think about it . . .hasn't he showed you his love and respect at you in both of your forms?"
The girl smiled at the advice from her mother. She was right. If she would be a mom it was because she chose to be one . . . Ryoga doesn't have the heart to impose on anyone even when it's his right. "Your right mom . . . Maybe I want that . . . . Maybe being a mother is the next step on learning my female side." Her mother patted her on the back of the head and smiled at her thinking.
"Well . . . wouldn't you like to know the details of your children . . . Aki-chan is still with us eating, you know." The redheaded girl nodded and walked decidedly into the kitchen. Another smaller redhead was stuffing her face with pancakes and honey.
"Akira-san . . . ." The smaller girl knew this was a serious matter when called in a serious suffix. She turned and tried to stuff herself with more food but Ranma stopped her before doing so. "Oh no, you don' . . . ." The two redheads fought over the food but Ranma managed to take it away. The younger girl chewed away and looked into the roof as if something was suddenly interesting.
Ranma stared at the childish attitude and smiled on her own tricks. She moved close to the girl's ear and firmly spoke in a commanding voice. "Akira-chan, I know you're very old, but you're stuck at fifteen. . . .I'm seventeen in this world which makes me . . . . .?" The smaller redhead rolled her eyes, turned to look at the commanding redhead and swallowed all the food in her mouth. ". . . . . You are my elder . . . ."
"And what do little girls do when an elder sister asked them something . . . . .?" The girl blushed in rage, she was being forced to respect and obey her because she grew with that mentality. "Please . . . I don't want to say more . . . I could get in trouble . . ." Ranma cared for what Akira thought, after all she was her family too.
"Akira . . . Please I want to know my children . . . ." The big, round and trembling puppy eyes on the older redhead melted any complaint from the younger one. " . . . .Oohhh . . . Fine, but promise me you won't ask me about how they came to be born . . . . . Deal?" The anxious girl nodded and hugged the smaller one enthusiastically.
"Well . . . . Yoshiro has red hair and for some reason he dons your same pigtail . . . Not sure if it's the style or there's a meaning on it. He is very serious, just like Ryoga before all this mess started, you know, quiet and to himself. Aiko is more like you in your old female form . . . Carefree and open to anyone she deems friendly even if it's a stranger. She has platinum hair like a very bright blond variation. . . . And that's pretty much all I can say for now."
"So, I got a girl and a boy . . . . Is the boy the first born?" The smaller redhead shrugged in ignorance and set a foot outside the table ready to run. Unfortunately Ranma read her moves and she ran first in front of the girl. "OK . . . Here we go again . . . . Is my boy the first born . . .?"
Akira stared between what to do next and answering her. The girl took too long and the older redhead shook her head in expectancy. "You better answer . . . . Or we'll be here all night . . . ." Akira rambled exasperated at the interrogation. "Yoshiro is second."
"And is he cursed like me?" The time traveler rubbed her head from the headache. "I don't know. In Limbo they were souls who ran away from heaven with the only excuse to help their mom learn to survive there." If there was something Ranma was good at were the memorization of the smallest details. "Ahem . . . . . ."help their mom" . . . .?"
Akira turned red, purple and lastly white. She tried to run desperately from her sister in law, but the Saotome girl blocked the entrance from the kitchen to the living room. "Wait . . . Don' please . . . I just want to understand . . ." Akira ended up right in front of her elder sister. "Please . . . This is so embarrassing for my brother and I don't want to humiliate him anymore." The pleading blue eyes of the girl tortured Akira without any compassion.
"Aki-chan . . . I miss my husband . . . Please, end my hell." The girl knew this would come and bite her in the future but knew she was cornered. "Ok Ranko-chan . . . you've got to swear here and now that you won't reveal any of this information to anyone. . . .Swear it!"
Ranko did as promised and the girl sighed in defeat. "Yoshiro is born from you, but before that Aiko comes into life from her mother. She has beautiful long platinum hair and transform into the most awkwardly male I have ever met."
Ranma gasped at this. "Well . . . Ryoga in female form . . . . That pretty much evens things out." The smaller redhead reminded her from the oath. She complied and sat on the table snickering at the turn of events. After a while she felt she needed more.
Ranma was full of questions but knew the girl couldn't answer for the sake of future events; anyway she kept daydreaming about it when her mother came in the kitchen alerted by the screams. "Mom . . . What do you think . . . Do we have a platinum haired woman in the family . . .?" Nodoka looked pensive and shook her head negatively. "No daughter we don't have anyone like that on our family, maybe its Ryoga's side . . . . Remember his grandmother was blonde . . . . And platinum is a variation of the blond hair color. . ." Ranma agreed with her and decided to stay close to the other redhead for a moment.
Genma was the most confused of the three. "My boy . . . A mom . . . Inconceivable! Yet. … Children and one of them a boy willing to learn the art and go in training missions with his old grandpa sure sounds great. The Saotome girl stared back at the soon to be panda. "In your dreams pop . . . All this started from your damn exploration y'know . . ?"
The patriarch stared at the girl attentive. "Dream all you want little girl, but thanks to my Umi-sen ken I was able to sneak from view. . . . . . . So, the boy turns into a girl too? . . . .When the time comes you, M'boy will be my greatest instrument in this doomed relationship." The father tried to get closer on Ranma's good grace. The closer to his son the better.
Genma stared at his daughter and the same devilish smile adorned his face. "And you "regret" that now . . . ?" The girl caught the meaning of the question and after thinking on all what she gained, smiled at her father. "Not in your life pop . . . . I told you once and I'll tell you again. .I love him and he is my husband and nothing will change that . . ." Finally she was sure of her feelings and the valor to express them in the open.
The girl left her parents and went upstairs to the sanctity of her bedroom. In there the girl laid on her bed while pulling a hidden photo from inside her pillow. In it Ranko and Ryoga posed for a photographer in Hokkaido . . . After their wedding.
The girl prayed for her family. Her alter ego supported her and in the end, where light never reached, a dark and selfish person chuckled silently knowing of the plans to destroy such happiness.
Ranma: "Don' worry sis . . . they'll be back soon."
Ranko: "Ryo . . . Be safe an' take care of my children Ok . . .?"
Evil Ranma: "Soon everyone will grasp the power of Ranma Saotome . . . The undefeated!"
On the other side of the world, away from life and vivid colors, a tired soul began to look around while shaking her inner ear with a finger. "Do you hear that . . . .? I swear I heard someone calling me. . . .Ah. .ah . . .achoo! . . ." The blonde girl sneezed and wondered about allergies in Limbo but regarded the thought meaningless. "Either I'm getting a cold in this place or someone is talking about me." The children grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her into the darkness.
Aiko kept a strong grip on her while Yoshiro ran away. Ryoga worried about the safety of her children and when the little boy left her sight, her feelings for him sparked a line of sight that she could easily follow. The line vanished and she worried again looking for the boy and making it appear again. The practice made her adapt to the darkness and the navigational skill she was mastering. For a second she felt Ranma and stopped from moving, she kept looking away and into the chasm.
Aiko looked at her fascinated with their identical image. "She is my mom all right!." The girl floated back at her mother and grabbed her from her hand. "C'mon mom the training needs to keep going . . .you almost got it!."
Miles and places away, but near Nerima the girl with the most suitors walked to the library. Akane Tendo left her house cautiously when she received a call from Daisuke. The boy found a personal interest on the girl when rumors hit the school. He heard from reliable contacts about the decision Ranma took to become a girl and accepting her proposed marriage to the Hibiki guy.
"Daisuke . . .hi!." The girl looked nervous at the boy thinking perverts would believe what she was trying to hide." The boy helped her with some books and they went into the building. "Akane-san, I'm so happy that you accepted my invitation here. . . .I badly need a tutoring and since you are trying to enter the University in Tokyo I decided on follow your steps."
Akane received a letter of recommendation from the place. Apparently a teacher who previously visited Furinkan high school as part of a behavioral exercise with the students marked the idea on the Tendo girl about psychology. The boy got interested on social studies and took the chance to get close to the girl.
" Well Daisuke-san I talked with one of the teachers there, and she told me I would be able to study as her intern. I'm very excited about this and am sure the experience will help me further my career." The girl walked ahead of the boy and when he grabbed her by the waist, she smiled in an uncomforting way. The boy let go of her thinking he went too far and apologize.
"Akane-san, I hope I did not make myself a fool for trying that terrible stunt." Daisuke sweated before her. "Good thing Ranma didn't see that or I'd be dead. The girl scoffed at his comment and grabbed him by his hand. "Ranma made his choice and "she" is living with it. I am on my own and I can choose who I am with."
The young man smiled excited at the girl. The study, talked about Ranma's problems from a stranger's standpoint and when the session ended the boy sat closer to her. "Akane . . .would you like to go out with me some time?" The girl felt wrong leading him like that, but she wanted to be free from pledges and arranged marriages.
"Daisuke-kun. I will accept a date with you, but I'm still hurting from what Ranma did. If you are ok with it we can try . . . .yes, we can try. . ." The girl wanted this, but she still loved that fool after all. "Ranma . . . . ."
When the boy took Akane back home he met Genma again, staring at the girl, she told him to ignore him, and the boy was invited to enter. Finally Diasuke got to know the Tendo's house from the inside not as a guest but as a possible relative.
Soun stared quietly at him and the boy bowed before the elder. Kasumi brought cookies and tea while he waited for Akane downstairs. The youngest Tendo girl change clothes and the sound of pebbles hitting her window made her look that way.
On the ground Genma kept throwing small rocks at her window. Akane opened it and asked him about his behavior. "Mr. Saotome. What are you doing here?"
"Akane-san . . .Ranma misses you. Like I said, he knows what he did is a mistake and he wants to comeback!." The girl grabbed tightly the window's curtain and confronted the disgruntled man. "And what makes him think he can comeback to me?"
"Because you still love him." The girl stepped back when hearing that. "Is that true? . . .do I still feel something for him? . . . . .No! I don't want to but I do. . .I think I still love him." The girl rubbed her eyes threatening to cry but her indecision from "that" future and the boy downstairs made her quiver with doubt.
"Daisuke might not be a fearless master in the art, but I want a smart man who can help me create a family. Ranma will, but what about the family sustain. If I share job and family with Dia-kun we could live happy, but what can I expect from a macho like Ranma . . . ." The girl wrestled with the ropes of her life. Whether she chose Ranma or this boy, everything still rode on their decisions and she knew what Daisuke thought about her.