Chapter 10: The Midnight Hour (Ryoga and Akari)

From the middle of Nerima Memorial Park, one could hear the laughter of a couple, reflecting on their day. "Well, I must say, Mr. Hibiki," Akari laughed. "The day ended much better than it started."

"Oh, I'm sure she will forgive me eventually…" Ryoga said.

Ranma was working through his katas when he suddenly hit the floor. Two whirling bandanas flew through where he had been. "Not good enough pig-brain!" he yelled out. He then rolled to the left and narrowly avoided his brother trying to smash a rib.

"Good morning lover-boy!" Ryoga shouted. "Did you remember to kiss your sweetie this morning? I got mine, but your still out in the cold, aren't you?"

Ranma swung his legs around in a side kick, but Ryoga dodged easily. The Lost Boy counter-attacked with another rib strike. Ranma pushed himself into the air with his arms and was on his feet launching a kick at Ryoga's head. Ryoga had no choice but to block.

"I'm not in the cold - mine's just too hot to handle some times. There will be time this evening," Ranma countered.

The two martial artists began trading kicks and punches faster than the eye could follow. The bantering still continued, but neither one wanted to make more than a few comments about the other's girlfriend or the status of their respective relationships. Neither one of them was that stupid – should a girlfriend actually hear a comment, it would be repeated to the other and then both young men would be in trouble (no matter who made the original comment). Instead, they discussed intelligence, family genetics, evolutionary status, and marital status of respective parents in relationship to one's birth. All-in-all, it was a satisfying meeting of the minds (and fists). When the clock chimed half-past the hour, both fighters stopped mid-swing and immediately ran through several katas together to cool down. They finished with a five-minute meditation.

Ranma nodded and they rose together. "What brings you to town a day early?" he asked Ryoga.

"The obvious. Akari and I asked the Doc if we could help out a few days back. He said it would be much appreciated," Ryoga responded.

"Hey, thanks! That's great!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Yeah, I figure family should stick together," Ryoga said.

"You'll get the Queen Mother on your side yet," Ranma teased.

"Ah, I figure if Kimiko didn't grind me into sausages when we first met, she should give me a decent grade when we meet again. I just hope her daughter forgives me by then," Ryoga added.

"Is Akari here right now?" Ranma asked with a sly look.

"Yeah, she went into the kitchen to see Kasumi. Why?" Ryoga asked.

"Akane didn't go to see Yuka this morning as usual. Yuka and Sayuri were coming here instead," Ranma explained.

Consternation broke out on Ryoga face, "Oh Shi-"

A sweet voice chimed out: "Good morning P-Chan!"

***SMASH***

Ranma could hear a moan of "oowww" drift up from under the head of the large mallet. Ranma's tomboy fiancée looked very chipper as she said "I just live for that moment of dawning realization." She turned to Ranma and said sweetly: "Lunch will be in a little bit. You'd better start to clean up." Then she bent down to Ryoga, "You too, dear brother-in-law-to-be." With that, she left doing a little side-to-side dance back toward the house.

Ranma removed the mallet from Ryoga and helped the Lost Boy stand up. "Well, that wasn't too bad. I think she's actually starting to forgive me," Ryoga commented.

Ranma grinned and said: "Today's the first day she made a joke about it. I think you'll be out of the woods by the end of the month, but you'll still need to be on best behavior for a while. Besides, she wants to be good friends with Akari. It's hard to do that if she's regularly beating you up."

Ryoga shook his head. "She doesn't need to worry about that. Akari already likes her, and Akari is quite content with the punishments. I had to talk very fast to get Akari to forgive me and do a lot of explaining. As it was, Akari made sure I suffered for a bit as well – if it wasn't for the fact that I had changed, I would be hanging in a butcher shop somewhere."

Akari said, "Yeah, you're also lucky I know what a prude you are." Ryoga blushed at that. "If I thought you'd been using your curse to watch Akane get undressed, you would be hanging in that butcher shop. You're also lucky Akane knows what a prude you are – she once told me that if you had looked, you would have died from a nosebleed." She gave Ryoga a very direct look and tapped his forehead. "Actually, you have to be the luckiest person on earth, Mister 'I've seen hell…'. You're lucky that your offense happened before we met, and you're lucky that Akane is actually a very forgiving soul when all is said and done. I'm not sure I could ever forgive you if I had been in Akane's shoes."

Ryoga looked down and sighed. "Yeah, I was pretty horrible, compromising her trust like that, but I'm not the same person anymore and I'm trying to make amends."

Now Akari sighed, "That's good love, because I don't think I could have fallen in love with that person – not for real anyway. Once my little pig-infatuation was over, you'd be history; promise or no promise."

Ryoga nodded his agreement, and then changed the subject slightly. "Actually, your pig-infatuation had me worried for a while – I wasn't sure if you loved me or loved my curse."

Akari laughed at that. "Really?" she asked. At his nod she continued, "Ryoga, I'm human and I like being human. I have never felt the urge to mate with a pig." She laughed more as his face burst into flame. "When have I ever asked you to change your form for me? Haven't I always found hot water as fast as possible?" He nodded again, so she continued on: "But I'm a sumo pig farmer. It's in my blood. I cannot change who I am, and I don't want to. Whoever I marry will have to accept that and be willing to be a farmer, at least part of the time. If you live on a farm, you're going to participate in its upkeep – there's no way around it." She paused for a second and then looked down shyly. "I just thought that with your curse, you might understand that – especially since we raise pigs to compete, not for slaughter generally. But it is a farm – life and death are part of that cycle and many of the pigs do end up on a dinner plate. I cannot sugar-coat it either."

"Admittedly, I've lost my taste for pork with my curse," he responded. "But I do understand the concept of a farm… and I'm not a pig either. I'm a human being who's also a shape-shifter. I also have a preference for working with the Earth. I don't know where that came from, but I've learned over the last few months that it's there. I'm always going to be more interested in the crops than the pigs, but I will help." He raised his eyebrows at her. "However, when it's time to ship the rejects out to other farms, I'm going to be hiding at the Tendo Dojo. Not for any sentimental reasons – I just don't want to risk ending up on a truck."

Her eyes sparkled at his comment. "No fear", she replied. "No truck will leave the farm, not even for a competition, unless I know where you are for sure. Even now we make sure to hit all the pigs with hot water." They both laughed at that, and then Akari's eyes widen. "Oh dear," she said, raising her clasped hands to her mouth. "Do you realize that we just had our first conversation about the future?" she asked.

Ryoga raised a hand behind his neck while his face reddened. "Yeah, I sort of noticed that. It's probably not the last conversation we are going to have either." Ryoga was very proud that he managed to say all that without stuttering. Akari's eyes began to get wet, and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Be a man," he told himself as he dropped his hand and reached out for her hands. Taking her hands in his own, out loud he said: "As I said, I was worried for a while about whether you really loved me or not, but I stopped worrying a couple of months ago. I've told you 'I love you' many times, but I've only recently started to really understand the word 'love' and how deep it goes. Even with my new understanding, the words 'I love you' are still true for me. I do love you, Akari, and I always will." Tears were leaking from Akari's eyes, but Ryoga understood tears better than Ranma, so he kept going: "We've been dating for over a year now. When we first met, I wasn't sure where things would end up, but I've grown a lot in that time, and so have you. I'd like to keep growing with you." Ryoga dropped to one knee and moved a hand to his pocket.

Akari's eyes began streaming and a small "Ooohhh" escaped from her mouth. She began to shake.

Ryoga was shaking as well, but he forced himself to keep moving. "I know we are a little young, and we need to wait a couple of years, but…" Ryoga removed an engagement ring from his pocket and held it up. "Akari Unryu, will you do me a great service and consent to be my wife? I understand what it is to be a friend now, and I think I understand what it is to be a boyfriend. I'd like to understand what it is to be a husband, to you and only you."

Akari was speechless. She'd hoped this day would come, but she thought Ryoga would have to grow up a bit more first. Somehow, he had defied her expectations and grown up faster than she thought possible. The question was, had she? She thought about her life, and the burdens she had to assume on the farm – much earlier than any of her contemporaries. Maybe her childhood had been a little abbreviated, but she didn't feel cheated. Akari then looked at herself and into her own heart. Somehow, someway, she was ready for the next step in her life and she wanted it to be with Ryoga. Akari couldn't speak, but she nodded her head 'Yes'.

Ryoga's smile was like the sun coming up. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and rose off his knee. Akari closed the distance and kissed him. It was a long time before they stopped….

In the distance, a tall blond man stood watching the couple from the shadows. He was careful not to be seen. The couple thought they would meet him at the entrance to the park in another thirty minutes, and he had no wish to correct them. He smiled tightly to himself. "Score another call for the Doc," he thought.