Ranma ½ – Happily Ever After

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko and all those other large corporations that publish and distribute Ranma ½. No profit is gained from this work, just a great deal of enjoyment writing it.

Chapter 48 – Thank You For Being There When I Need You

The intensity of Aka-chan's greeting took everyone in the vicinity by surprise and they stood silently, staring at Aka-chan as she squeezed Ranma and Akane tightly and gave each a kiss. Then she took a step back and asked, "What are you doing here?"

In the next instant she turned to the girl that had retrieved and said, "Mika, this is the couple I was telling you about from this summer."

"When did you get here?" Aka-chan asked turning back to Akane and Ranma. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I have to tell Akio that you're here."

Aka-chan turned back toward the entrance to the room , but quickly turned back to Akane and Ranma and asked, "Does grandma know that you're here?"

She turned back to Mika and said, "I can't believe that they're here. They came all the way from Tokyo." She began to turn back toward the room saying, "I have to tell Akio that you're here. He'll be so happy to see you."

Ranma put his hand on Aka-chan's shoulder as she began to turn and said, "Calm down, Aka-chan."

With Ranma's touch Aka-chan froze in place. She turned back to Ranma and then threw her arms around him, "Ranma I love you."


It took a minute or two for Aka-chan to completely regain her composure and for the crowd to recover from her outburst… but once she did, the questions began.

"When did you get here and why didn't you say you were coming?" Aka-chan asked.

"We got to Kyoto about an hour ago," Ranma replied, trying to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him by Aka-chan's squeeze. "And the reason we didn't say anything was because we wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well you succeeded in doing that," Aka-chan responded. "I never expected to see you so soon. I have to call grandmother and let her know you're here."

"She already knows," Akane said. "We stopped at the inn first to get directions to the school. Kano drove us here."

"Thank you for coming," Aka-chan said with a smile. "I could kiss you for being here… but I could kick you for not telling me that you were coming."

"I think you may have already done both," Mika said.

"Oh! Akane… Ranma… this is Mika Shijuku," Aka-chan said introducing her friend. "She and I were in charge of planning the project for our class."

"Don't let her fool you," Mika said. "She did all of the work. I just nodded my head when it was appropriate and made sure that she didn't plan anything too outrageous."

"And don't let her fool you," Aka-chan responded. "She did far more than she's willing to admit to."

"I hope you don't mind," Akane said. "We brought two of our friends with us. You met them when you came to Nerima to drop us off. This is Miyuki Hozumi and Hikari Rokujo."

"Of course I remember them," Aka-chan said, "and of course I don't mind. I'm pleased to see you again. Have you been keeping Ranma and Akane out of trouble?"

"As much as that's possible," Miyuki answered, "but trouble just has a habit of finding them no matter how hard they try to hide from it."

"Then it doesn't seem like anything's changed," Aka-chan said with a broad grin. "Wait here and let me get Akio. He'll be as happy to see you as I am."

"Akio's here?" Ranma asked.

"He's helping out with our festival since I helped out with his," Aka-chan replied. "I'm not sure he knew what he was getting himself into… Wait, let me get him."

Aka-chan turned and ran into her classroom.

"You're the couple that Akane met over the summer?" Mika asked.

"I guess that's us," Ranma answered.

"I don't know what you did," Mika said, "but she has been a completely different person since the end of summer break. We almost didn't recognize her… Thank you."

"Papa? Mama?" Miyuki said with a cynical smile on her face. "Why do I sense another of Ranma's long stories."

"It's not a long story," Aka-chan has she returned. "I fell in love with Ranma and Akane so I adopted them."

It took several seconds for Ranma and Akane to realize who it was that was accompanying Aka-chan and that it wasn't just another classmate wearing a maid's uniform. It was Akio.

"It's good to see you," Akio said in what seemed like a slightly less than enthusiastic tone of voice.

Ranma did his best not to laugh, but a bit of a snicker leaked out from the corner of his mouth. "It's good to see you too… The outfit looks really good on you."

"Thanks," Akio replied.

"When the idea for the baths got shot down by the principal," Aka-chan explained, "one of the guys in the class suggested the maid café. But the girls in the class complained that they would be doing all of the work."

"So the girls agreed to do it if the guys would wear the maid's uniforms too," Mika said.

"So that's why there are as many girls in line for the maid café as there are guys?" Hikari asked.

"It seems that way," Mika replied. "And it may be because the guys are wearing uniforms with short skirts."

Ranma hadn't noticed before but Akio's skirt was considerably shorter than Aka-chan's skirt and her skirt ended well above her knees. Of course Akio had the legs to go with the uniform. Ranma wasn't so sure that would be true of the rest of the boys in the class.

"I have a uniform that would be perfect for you Ranma," Aka-chan said.

"Maybe later, Aka-chan," Ranma replied wondering if the uniform she had in mind was meant for his male or female form.

'"I have to get back to my table," Akio said excusing himself. "or my customers will complain that I'm not attending to their needs properly."

"And you have crowd control in a few minutes Akane," Mika said.

"I'd love to get a table for you," Aka-chan said, "but as you can see all of the tables will be taken… probably until closing at this rate. I have to work the door for an hour and then I have to work outside and advertise the café."

"I really don't think we need to advertise any more," Mika said. "I'll take them to the break area while you're working the door, then you can show them around the festival until it's time for you to wait tables again. We had some people who said that they would come back when you were back on duty. … Akane… which uniform were you thinking about? There's only one uniform left and I don't think there's any way your friend could fit in it."


Mika led Akane, Ranma, Hikari and Miyuki to an area at the back of the classroom that was partitioned off from the café with sheets and blankets. Along with carafes of coffee and hot water and trays of various pasties there were chairs and tables for the workers to take a break. There were already several people, both boys and girls, in uniform, sitting there taking a break.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Mika said. "I have to find Nahato and have him go and take over for Mai."

"I thought you said that you didn't need to advertise any more?" Akane asked.

"I don't," Mika answered, "but until our teacher says otherwise, someone has to be out there. Once I talk to our teacher, I'll be right back."

Mika bowed and exited from the break area. Hikari, Miyuki, Akane and Ranma sat down at a table together, while the other members of Aka-chan's class who were taking their break looked on. Ranma felt quite out of place and the quiet whispers only reinforced the feeling.

Some time passed and Mika had not yet returned when one of the young ladies approached Ranma and company.

"Excuse me," the girl said. "I don't mean to intrude but… are you the people that Akane met over the summer break?"

"I… I suppose," Ranma answered. "Akane and I met Aka-chan when we stayed at her grandmother's inn for our honeymoon."

The girl smiled. "Then you are the couple that Akane… Aka-chan has been telling us about?"

"I guess," Ranma said, feeling even more uncomfortable and wondering what Aka-chan had been saying about them. "My name is Ranma Saotome and this is my wife Akane. And these are our classmates Miyuki Hozumi and Hikari Rokujo."

"I'm pleased to meet you," the girl replied. "I'm Sumi Aizu and this is Yoshi Hinaiji, Hana Okochi, Chika Zu and Kisho Eguchi. We're all classmates of Akane… Aka-chan. I haven't gotten used to calling her that. Before summer break she would scream at anyone who'd call her Aka-chan. May I get you some tea or coffee and some pastry?"

"It really isn't necessary," Akane said. "We don't want to inconvenience you while you're on your break."

"It's not an inconvenience," Sumi said. "Everything is right here. And Aka-chan has told us so much about you, you're almost legends around here. I'd really like to find out more about you."

"What has Aka-chan been telling you about them?" Hikari asked.

"That you just got married," Sumi answered, "and that you stayed at her grandmother's inn for your honeymoon."

"She told us that you were world champion martial artists," Kisho added.

"I don't know about world champions," Ranma said, "but both Akane and I have won some tournaments."

"Can you really break bricks?" Yoshi asked.

"Both of us can do that," Ranma answered, "but Akane is really good at it."

"And you're gymnasts?" Chika asked.

"Akane is," Ranma responded.

"So am I," Chika said enthusiastically. "What's your best event?"

"My favorite is balance beam," Akane answered.

"Mine too," Chika responded with a beaming smile, "but there are so many people who are so good on the balance beam on our team that I'm lucky if I'm chosen as an alternate."

"That used to be the way it was with me," Akane said. "I didn't get to compete in any big tournaments until the Prefecture-wide tournament this last spring. Usually I was the alternate."

"How did you do?" Chika asked cautiously.

Akane didn't really want to make it sound like she was boasting, but no matter how she tried to word it, that the way it sounded. "I won first place in the balance beam and the all around," Akane replied.

"Wow!" Chika responded. "First place in the all around… I wish I was that good. But I can't do well enough on the uneven parallel bars to even hope to compete in the all around. When I practice they put mats all around the bars because they're never sure which way I'm going to launch myself."

"That sounds like someone else I know," Ranma quietly commented.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed casting an evil eye in his direction.

"That right Ranma," Miyuki said. "We never had to do anything like that for Akane. We knew which way Akane was going… it was usually a matter of how far."

Akane's stare turned to Miyuki for a moment before turning her attention back to Chika. "Don't worry about it. If you couldn't tell, I always had a problem with the bars too, but I just kept after it."

"Now I understand why Aka-chan talks about you so enthusiastically," Hana said in a quiet, mousy voice.

"So you came all the way from Tokyo for our festival?" Sumi asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "Aka-chan wrote to us about it… and we didn't have anything else planned for the weekend, so we decided to surprise her."

"You came all the way from Tokyo for the festival," Yoshi said. "I couldn't convince my parents to stop by even for a minute… and we live less than a kilometer from the school."

"Considering your parents," Sumi said, "are you sure that's a bad thing. All we need is for them to start a fist fight in the café."

Ranma, Akane and Miyuki cast a careful glance at Hikari but there was no visible reaction.

"The real reason they didn't want to come," Chika said sarcastically, "is because they didn't want to see you dressed up like a maid. Your legs are downright scary."

"This wasn't my idea," Yoshi replied, "but it's better than having to wash dishes all day."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"Two of the guys from the class absolutely refused to dress up like maids," Sumi answered, "so they get to wash all the dishes."

"They said that guys who dress up like girls are freaks," Kisho said. "I don't feel comfortable dressing like this, but I don't think I'm a freak."

A long silence followed. Sumi, Kisho, Yoshi, Chika and Hana turned their attention toward Ranma.

"Is something wrong?" Ranma asked

"Well… ahhh…" Yoshi stammered. "Akane was telling us that… I mean… I was… I mean some of the guys were wondering… if what Akane said was true… that… you ahhh… dress up like a girl… sometimes?"

"Well, that isn't exactly true," Ranma replied.

"See," Kisho said. "I told you that she was making that up. She probably said that just to get the guys to wear the uniforms."

"My husband doesn't exactly dress up as a girl," Akane said. "He turns into a girl when he gets splashed with cold water. Sometimes he dresses like a girl when he's a girl, but usually not when he's a guy."

Aka-chan's classmate stared incredulously.

Yeah… Right…" Kisho said sarcastically.

"Do you have any cold water?" Ranma asked.

"Ranma, are you sure you want to do that?" Akane asked.

"My credibility has been challenged," Ranma said with a touch annoyance in his voice. "And more than that, Aka-chan's credibility has been challenged."

"This can't be a good idea," Miyuki said under her breath to no one in particular.

Akane sighed as she turned to Sumi and asked her, "Do you have any cold water here?"

"Not here," Sumi replied tentatively , "but I can get some."

"Why don't you get some," Akane said. "I don't think my husband will be happy until he's made his point… or made a fool of himself."


Sumi returned in short order with a small pitcher of water. "Will this do?", Sumi asked.

"That should be fine," Ranma said. "Who would like to have the honor?"

Yoshi, Hana, Chika and Sumi turned and looked squarely at Kisho.

"You really don't have to do this," Kisho said.

"You were the one who said all along that Akane's stories were too hard to believe," Yoshi said. "Here's your chance to prove the story one way or another."

Kisho's classmates continued to stare at him and Sumi extended the pitcher of water to him. After another moment of hesitation Kisho accepted the pitcher and turned to Ranma.

"What am I supposed to do?" Kisho asked.

"Just pour some of the water on me," Ranma replied. "It doesn't matter where… and it doesn't take very much. No need to make an unnecessary mess."

Ranma extended his hand to Kisho who carefully tipped up the pitcher and poured a small amount of water onto it.

The transformation was an almost every day event for Akane so it didn't startle her at all. Even Hikari and Miyuki (after seeing this very demonstration on several occasions) were not fazed. But Aka-chan's classmates were not prepared for the suddenness of the transformation. Sumi, Chika, Hana and Yoshi were visibly startled. Kisho jumped and fell backwards, splashing the some of the contents of the pitcher over himself and almost knocking over several of the trays of pastry.

"Are you all right?" Ranma asked as he extended his hand to Kisho.

Kisho just sat on the floor and stared at Ranma.

"It's a good thing you don't have the same curse as I do," Ranma laughed, "or you'd be filling out that uniform pretty well."

Kisho continued to stare but finally said, "You… you… really are a girl."

Ranma extended his hand to Kisho again, who took hold of it and stood up. "Yep, all girl. Boobs and all. You can feel them if you like."

"RANMA!" Akane bellowed.


"Akane… really… I was only joking," Ranma pleaded.

He was back in his male form and was following behind Akane, who was doing her best to ignore him. Aka-chan walked along side Akane.

"Please Akane," Ranma continued, "I never expected that he would actually do it."

Akane continued to walk. People who saw the look on her face stepped quickly out of her way.

"Akane, I'm sorry," Ranma said. "It was a stupid thing to do and a stupid thing to say. But Akane that's what I do best. How many times have you told me that?"

Akane stopped short and turned to face Ranma. Following closely behind and unprepared for the sudden move Ranma ran into Akane, almost sending her sprawling.

"That's the point," Akane responded. "You don't ever seem to learn."

Akane turned and walked away down the hallway leaving Aka-chan and Ranma behind.

"She's really mad at you, isn't she?" Aka-chan asked.

"Yeah," Ranma replied as he watched Akane walk away.

"I'm sorry," Aka-chan said, "This is all my fault. If…"

Ranma cut her off. "No it isn't. And I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that."

"But if I hadn't opened my mouth and said things about the curse," Aka-chan responded, "this wouldn't have happened."

"And if my father never took me to Jusenkyou," Ranma said, "this never would have happened… And if my mother had never let my father take me on his stupid training mission, this never would have happened. I can blame all of the people I want but it doesn't change the fact that I did something stupid to hurt Akane. Nobody can take responsibility for that but me."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to wait a little while for her to cool down and then I'm going to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness."

"You aren't actually going to get down on your knees, are you?"

"Probably not… But I am going to apologize and ask her to forgive me."

"You know. Kisho really deserved what you did to him," Aka-chan said after a moment of reflection. "He said that the things I was saying about you was all a bunch of crap… especially after we decided to do the maid café."

"So you told your classmates about the curse?" Ranma asked.

"Not exactly," Aka-chan responded quietly. "I didn't think that there was any chance at all that anyone would believe me if I told them that because of the curse you turned into a girl."

"So you told your classmates that I dressed in girl's clothing," Ranma said looking rather sternly at Aka-chan.

"But I wasn't exactly lying."

"No, you weren't lying," Ranma said with a broad smile. "I have worn a large selection of women's clothing since Jusenkyou, but leaving out the fact that I was a girl at the time, no matter how weird that sounds, makes saying that I dress like a girl sound… well… perverted."

"Sorry," Aka-chan replied, head bowed.

Ranma put his arm around Aka-chan and gave her a gentle hug. "That's OK."

"Do you think Akane will accept your apology?"

"I don't know. She didn't hit me and I'm not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing."


Seeing Nabiki sitting in the parlor took Kuno by surprise. He hadn't expected to see her all day and took the morning to work on some projects that might not of had the chance if he had spent the time with his wife.

"Hi," Kuno said walking over to the chair where Nabiki was reading one of her textbook. He bent over to give her a kiss.

Nabiki had been somewhat engrossed in the material she was reading, so her husband's greeting mildly startled her.

"Oh! Hi," Nabiki said. She marked her page and put the book down on the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

"That's all right. What are you reading?"

"The reading assignment for my business ethics course. We're supposed to have a quiz on the assignment on Monday."

"How are you doing in the class?"

"Some of the things we're covering seem… well… odd. But other than that I'm doing pretty well."

"How are you feeling today?"

"All right. My stomach hasn't felt queasy like it did before."

"I thought you were going shopping today?"

"I was, but there's nobody to go with me."

"I thought Mami-chan was going to go with you."

"I thought so too, but I haven't seen her all day and when I asked the housekeeper this morning she said that she hadn't seen Mami or Isamu-san."

"I could go shopping with you."

"Please don't take this the wrong way honey… but shopping for maternity clothes is not something you do with your husband."


"I'm glad you and Ranma made up," Aka-chan said to Akane as they sat together in the break area. "I felt really bad about you and he fighting. If I hadn't…"

"Aka-chan, don't…" Akane said. "Ranma has a habit of doing things that are stupid… and I have a habit of blowing it all out of proportion. It didn't take more than a minute or two for me to realize that's what happened."

"Ranma felt really bad about what happened."

"I know, We talked while you were on your shift. We worked it out. I gave Ranma my forgiveness… and he's going to give me a giant gooey chocolate ice cream treat."

"Sounds like a fair trade. Did Mika and Kisho give you a tour of the festival?"

"We didn't make it to the elementary school, but the junior high school and high school projects were impressive."

"I'm glad you liked it. The fall festival is a really big event and the money that the classes raise go toward paying for the class trips. And the school matches the money raised yen for yen and the class that raises the most each year get a bonus added to their account."

"That sounds like a good deal. Where will you go for your class trip?" Akane asked. "Usually our school class trip is here to Kyoto, but the principal messed up the arrangements so we never went."

"Each class gets to pick their own destination," Aka-chan said. "I'm trying to convince our class to go to Tokyo so I can come to visit you while we're there. Would you mind if I did that?"

"No, of course not," Akane replied. "You can come to visit any time you like."

"Thank you," Aka-chan said.

"So what do you think?"

Akane and Aka-chan looked up from their conversation. Standing in the entryway to the break area were Akio and Ranma. Akio was still wearing the same maid's uniform but Ranma had changed into a maid's uniform… and into a girl again.

The uniform that Ranma was wearing could not be described as anything but revealing. The skirt was short to an extreme and the neckline of the bodice dipped to show significant cleavage.

"It's ahhh… ahhh… revealing," Akane finally managed to say. "You can't bend over in that at all without showing your underwear."

"I know," Ranma replied. "The boxers showed under the skirt without me bending at all so I decided not to wear anything at all."

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed.

"Don't worry,' Akio said. "He's wearing the panties that came with the uniform. I made sure."

"So did you get a thrill helping Ranma put on the uniform?" Aka-chan asked Akio.

"Why should I?" Akio replied with a grin. "I've seen naked guys before."

"Why did you get a uniform like that?" Akane asked. "You had to know nobody would want to wear it."

"You're right but we didn't have much of a choice," Aka-chan answered. "We got them from a costume supply house. We gave them a list of sizes and they gave us an assortment of uniforms. Most of them worked out OK without too many alterations, but when I saw that one I knew that no one in their right mind would wear it."

"So you thought it would be perfect for me?" Ranma asked.

"Well yeah," Aka-chan said with a smirk, "when you put it that way, it is perfect for you."


"Thank you all for helping out today," Mika said to Akane, Ranma, Miyuki and Hikari as she and her classmates cleaned up after the café closed. "I feel bad putting you to work on a vacation trip."

Everyone had changed out of their uniforms and Ranma had changed back to his male form.

"Don't mention it," Miyuki said. "I can't remember when I've had so much fun working at a fall festival."

"After our lunatic principal showed up," Hikari said, "our festival got pretty lame. Everything had to be a Hawaiian theme."

"There's only so much you can do with palm trees, coconuts and grass skirts," Miyuki added.

"Don't let Aka-chan hear you say that," Yoshi said. "There's no way I'm wearing a grass skirt."

"Let Aka-chan hear what?" came a voice from the doorway to the classroom.

Everyone jumped at the sound of Aka-chan's voice.

"Nothing… Nothing," Yoshi said

"You're almost done cleaning up," Aka-chan said. "I'm impressed… But where is everyone else?"

"The principal came by and drafted everyone else to help break down the stands at the elementary school," Mika replied.

"But everyone knows to meet back here when they're done?" Aka-chan asked.

"Everyone will be back here by eight," Mika replied.

"What happens at eight?" Ranma asked.

"Kano will be here with the inn's bus," Aka-chan replied. "We're going to the inn for a post festival party. Grandma set aside rooms so everyone can stay overnight."

"So, where have you been?" Sumi asked.

"Well, I was at the student council room turning in all of our money and receipts," Aka-chan reported. "The official count isn't in yet, but I think the café made more money than any of the other classes or organizations… for all of the schools."

"That's great," Akane said.

"I think Ranma turned out to be the major attraction for the afternoon and evening," Mika said.

"It's too bad that we couldn't have more tables," Sumi said. "We would have made even more. We ended sending people away when we had to close."

"I tried to get two more tables," Mika said, "but there weren't any more available."

"I think we should be happy with what we made today," Chika said. "We barely had enough pasties and we had to go and buy more tea and coffee."

"You're right," Aka-chan said. "I don't think today could have turned out any better. So we'll have a big all night long party at the inn. I even have a special thank you treat for the guys who dressed as maids."

"What?" Sumi asked. "Razors so that they can shave their legs for the next time?"

"Who said that there will be a next time?" Yoshi protested.


Slowly, as the members of her class finished their various tasks, and reassembled in their classroom. By seven thirty everyone had returned to the room. The leftover pastries were packaged to take back to the inn as snacks and all of the uniforms had been carefully hung in the classroom and readied to be returned on Monday.

"You said something about a special thank you treat for the guys who spent the day dressed up as maids," Yoshi said.

"That's right, I did," Aka-chan said with an impish grin. "Actually, it's a gift for everyone who wore the uniforms today. The rental company said that they don't want the underwear back, so everyone can keep the panties that came with your uniform."

"Great," Kisho said. "That's all I need. A pair of lacey black girl's underwear."

Yoshi shook his head. "The razors to shave our legs would have been a better gift."


As one might expect, Kano arrived with the inn's bus at precisely eight with all of the members of Aka-chan's class (and Akane, Ranma, Miyuki and Hikari as well) waiting for him. Aka-chan pointed out that it was quite likely that Kano wouldn't stop to wait if class weren't there waiting for him. It wasn't a long walk from the school to the inn, but after the long day at the festival (Aka-chan, Mika and Kisho arrived at school at five in the morning) no one was in a mood to walk.

Once everyone was on the bus and seated Aka-chan went over the rules. "My grandmother has set aside the west wing of inn for us to use. Rooms will be set up with food and beverages and three of the rooms have been set up for people who want to play video games or watch movies. No one is going to check on sleeping arrangements, but my grandmother hopes that you will all use discretion in your activities. We have guests staying in the east wing and if you make so much noise that you disturb them, my grandmother will ask you to leave. It won't matter what time it is. Also, I don't know what beverages you may be carrying in your bags and I don't want to know. If you're drinking anything you're not supposed to, do it in one of the rooms and not outside in the courtyard. And smoking is simply not allowed."

"Aka-chan," Mika asked, "is it all right for guys and girls to use the hot spring at the same time?"

"It's OK for you and Kisho to use the spring together," Aka-chan answered, "but you'll have to share it with everyone else, so that might put a damper on your activities.

Both Mika and Kisho began to blush brightly.

"Is Ranma going to change into a girls again," Yoshi asked.

"That's up to Ranma… and his wife," Aka-chan responded, "but please don't bother them too much about it… Are there any more questions?"

Aka-chan's inquiry was greeted with silence so she said, "If that's the case, let's go party."


Yumeko stood outside the front door to greet her grand daughter's classmates and guests.

"Please, come in and make yourself comfortable," Yumeko said as she bowed Aka-chan's friends as they entered. "Please make yourself at home."

Akane, Ranma, Miyuki and Hikari followed at the end of the line and when they reached the door Yumeko extended her arms to Akane and Ranma and hugged them.

"I want to thank you so much," Yumeko said. "I haven't seen Aka-chan this happy since the accident. This is the first time she's ever had her friends from school here. She even called during the day to make sure that I knew that you were here and for me to make special arrangements for you."

"Special arrangements?" Akane asked.

"She had me reserve your room from this summer for you," Yumeko replied. "And the room next door is reserved for you friends."

"That wasn't really necessary," Akane said. "We really don't need any special arrangements."

"Well, Aka-chan seemed to think that you did," Yumeko replied, handing the keys to the rooms to Ranma and Hikari, "… and so do I. Come on, You must be exhausted and hungry after your train ride and spending the day at the festival. I'm sure Aka-chan put you all to work. Come on. I made some snacks for everyone."


Yumeko was right about that. Lunch had been tea and pastry from the café and some snacks that Akane and Ranma had picked up during their tour of the festival, so the idea of some snacks sounded like a real good idea.

But the word 'snacks' was a definite understatement. Banquet would have been a proper description. There was easily as much food as had been at Akane and Ranma's wedding… and there were far fewer people to feed at the party.

One of the guest rooms was dedicated to snacks and beverages that one might associate with a party for a group of teenagers. A second room, though, had an array of traditional Japanese foods including sushi and sashimi.

"I have no idea where to even start," one of Aka-chan's classmates said.

"I know where I'm going to start," Chika said. "I'm going to have an ice cold coffee and I'm going to soak in the hot spring."

"That does sound like a good idea," Yoshi said. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"As long as you don't try anything perverted," Chika replied.

"At this point I'm too tired to event think of anything perverted," Yoshi replied, "let alone try anything.

"Too bad," Chika said with a grin.

"Aka-chan, Ranma and I are going to get settled in our room and get changed," Akane said.

"Your bags should be in your room," Aka-chan responded. "But don't go disappearing into your room. This isn't your honeymoon. I want to get the chance to talk with you tonight."

"Don't worry," Ranma said. "We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Akane, why don't you show us our room," Hikari said, "since it's right next door to yours."

"I reserved room twenty one for Miyuki and Hikari," Aka-chan said. "It's the last room on the corridor. I had Grandma put reserved signs on the hallway and courtyard doors."

"We'll make sure that they don't get so involved with each other that they don't come back and join the party," Miyuki said.

"You're no fun," Ranma said.

"You're right," Miyuki replied, "I'm not."


Ranma unlocked the door to their room and held the outer door open while Akane slid open the inner door allowing Miyuki and Hikari to enter. The room was very much as Akane remembered it… with the addition of a champagne bucket full of ice… and two bottles of champagne… of the same type they had purchased when they were here for their honeymoon… and four glasses.

"So this is where you spent most of your honeymoon," Miyuki commented. "Very nice."

"You make it sound like we never came out of our room," Akane responded.

"Well…" Miyuki said.

"We went on tours and went to the amusement park and went shopping while we were here," Akane protested.

"But you spent a lot of time here too?" Miyuki replied.

"Well, yeah," Akane said. "Ranma and I are married and it was our honeymoon. What would you expect us to do?"

"And does Aka-chan's grandmother know that you're not old enough to drink?" Hikari asked.

"Probably," Ranma said. "Care to join us later?"

"I've never had champagne before," Hikari said.

"I hadn't either until our honeymoon," Akane responded. "But it tastes pretty good."

"Maybe later," Miyuki said, "but I promised to get you back to the party. If we open the champagne I think we'll end up spending the rest of the night here in your room and I'd like to get something to eat and soak in the hot spring. My whole body aches."

"The hot spring will do the trick to fix that," Ranma said. "It worked wonders for me after Akane beat me up in the dojo. Personally I think I'd like to get some food. The pastry only goes so far and I'm starting to run out of gas."

"Food sound like a good idea," Hikari said, "and then a long soak."

"Why don't you get settled in and get changed," Akane said, "and then we can show you around and eat and soak. If you didn't bring yukatas with you, there are probably a few in the closet that you can try."

"We'll do that," Miyuki said, "and then we'll come back and retrieve you."

"Do you really think that Akane and I would get so involved that we wouldn't join the party?" Ranma asked.

"Yes I do," Miyuki replied. "You have five minutes and then were coming in to drag you out."


Akane and Ranma were already waiting in the courtyard when Miyuki and Hikari came out of their room. Akane had changed into her cherry blossom yukata while Ranma wore his dragon yukata. Miyuki and Hikari decided to wear matching yukatas that they found in the closet in their room since they hadn't thought to bring their own.

Akio and Aka-chan were playing host and hostess, so Akane and Ranma decided to get something to eat and catch up with Aka-chan later. Once Miyuki and Hikari had something to eat they decided that a soak in the hot spring would be appropriate while Akane and Ranma decided to mingle for a while before partaking in the pleasures of a long hot soak.

As Akane and Ranma mingled with Aka-chan's classmates, they were very much given celebrity status. A number of people had seen Ranma and Akane's tournament performance on television and wanted to know if Akane could really break boards like they had seen on television. Others asked Akane about gymnastics (Chika had spread the word about Akane's victories on the balance beam and the all around). But the discussion usually focused on two topics… Akane and Ranma's relationship with Aka-chan and the topic of Ranma's curse.

Everyone wanted to know if Akane and Ranma were really related to Aka-chan and what they had done in the time they were at the inn to change Aka-chan's disposition. That they had accomplished that was enough to make Akane and Ranma very special.

And invariably when the topic of Ranma's curse was discussed there was always a desire to see a demonstration of the curse in action (even though everyone had seen Ranma in his girl form everyone still was interested in seeing the actual transformation). Several of the guys asked about Ranma's measurements when he was in his female form (although almost as many girls asked about his measurements when he was in his male form). And of course most asked if Akane and Ranma had sex when Ranma was a girl. Two young ladies went so far as to ask for any pointers that Akane and Ranma could make for people who were inclined to do such things.

Akane and Ranma had no response for that.


"It was like a miracle," Mika said to Akane and Ranma as she and Kisho sat together on a bench in the courtyard. "Before summer break Aka-chan was always so quiet and always stayed to herself. She really didn't make any effort to be friendly with anyone. She would go right home after school and never participated in school activities."

"And she'd beat the crap out of anyone who dared to call her Aka-chan," Kisho added.

"That's your own fault," Mika said to Kisho. "You never know when to give up and keep your mouth shut."

Mika turned her attention back to Akane and Ranma. "But when school started after summer break Aka-chan was a completely different person. She actually smiled and talked with people and she started participating in school activities and when she volunteered to organize the project for the festival I thought everyone in the class was going to faint."

"And the only thing she could talk about was this couple that she met over the summer," Kisho said, "and the fact that she had a boyfriend."

"Nobody believed that until she brought Akio to school one Saturday for one of the planning meetings for the festival," Mika said. "Akio really is cute and he and Aka-chan seem to get along so well."

"We met Akio this summer," Akane said. "Aka-chan was trying to figure out how to tell Akio that she really liked him,"

"And Akio was trying to figure out how to tell Aka-chan that he'd like to be her boyfriend," Ranma added.

The look on Mika's face turned serious. "What happened… I mean… what did you do to get Aka-chan to change like she did?"

"I'm not sure we did anything," Ranma replied.

"Aka-chan and I used to be best friends," Mika said. "Aka-chan and Kisho and I have been going to school together since we started. But after her parents died, she started avoiding me. I mean she started avoiding everyone and for six years Aka-chan hardly spoke to anyone at school. But on the first day back from summer break she came over to me and apologized and gave me a hug. I almost passed out she squeezed me so tight. It was like someone had pulled the old Aka-chan out of storage and replaced the brooding, miserable Aka-chan that everyone had gotten to know over the last six years. You're not actually related to Aka-chan, are you?"

"No," Akane replied. "But Aka-chan said that we reminded her of her parents, but that's about it. She did ask if we would stand in as her parents when she got married."

"Aka-chan is thinking about getting married?" Mika responded.

"No," Akane quickly responded. "I think she's just thinking about the future."

"But that's why she called you mama and papa?" Mika pressed.

"Probably," Ranma answered. "I think it's just like Aka-chan said. She fell in love with us and adopted us."

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Mika said. "Aka-chan has always been my best friend. Even after her parents died and she didn't want any relationships with anyone I still considered her my best friend. Right now I think her feelings are very fragile and I would not want to see her hurt in any way."

"I understand that completely," Ranma replied. "Akane and I would never do anything to hurt her… in any way. It makes me feel good that you feel that way. It's nice to know that there is someone looking after our daughter when we can't be here."


Hikari wasn't quite sure where Miyuki had gone. The last time Hikari saw her she was playing a video game. Miyuki was pretty good at video games. Far better than Hikari… or at least that was what Hikari thought.

Getting away from the crowd was what Hikari needed at the moment. She was feeling completely drained and some time by herself when she could put away her smile seemed ideal.

It was the gentle glow of light had caught her attention and she found her way to the dojo. In the corner she saw the glow of candles on a shrine. Slowly she approached it. Three pictures adorned the shrine and Hikari assumed, at least from what she understood from what Akane had said, that at least two of the pictures were Aka-chan's parents.

Hikari stood and looked at the altar for a few minutes, sighed and was getting ready to move on when she heard a voice say in the stark silence, "Excuse me."

Hikari almost jumped out of her skin.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you," the voice said.

Hikari turned. Aka-chan was standing at the entrance of the dojo.

"I'm sorry," Hikari said. "I didn't mean to intrude but I was looking for someplace to get away from the crowd and I saw the glow of the candles so I came over to check it out."

"That's all right," Aka-chan said as she stepped into the dojo and approached Hikari and the shrine. "I was pretty much doing the same thing. I just never expected anyone to be in here… other than maybe Ranma and Akane."

The two girls stood silently for a moment and then Hikari said, "May I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Aka-chan said with a grin on her face, "but you can ask me another."

"Akane said that your parents died some time ago," Hikari said.

"About six years ago," Aka-chan responded,

It took a few seconds for Hikari to formulate her question. "How long after they died did it take for the numbness to go away?"

Aka-chan thought for a moment and answered, "About six years… until I met Ranma and Akane. I'll assume, based on your question, that one of your parents recently died."

"Both," Hikari answered, "last week."

"Please don't apologize and say how terrible that is," Hikari said breaking the painful silence that followed.

"I wouldn't think of it," Aka-chan said. "I'm sure you've heard that more times than you can stand at the moment."

Aka-chan took a deep breath and continued. "What I was going to say was that that was damned inconsiderate of them to die like that."

Hikari stared in stunned silence.

"I'm sorry," Aka-chan said, "but that was what I was thinking after my parents died. They were supposed to stick around and take care of me, not go off and die and leave me by myself. It just wasn't fair of them." Aka-chan paused and then asked, "How did your parents die?"

"My mother and father were constantly fighting with each other," Hikari explained. "Last week my parents were arguing and my father hit my mother and killed her. He hit my aunt and now she's in a coma. After that my father jumped in front of a train."

"That sucks," Aka-chan said. "So what are you doing?"

"Right now I'm living with Miyuki and her family," Hikari said. "I'll probably do that until I graduate from high school… or until Miyuki gets sick of me… whichever comes first."

"I doubt that will happen," Aka-chan responded. "She seems like a really good friend… kind of like Mika was for me… even though I really wasn't a very good friend back. Sometimes I wonder why she stuck with me."

"She and Kisho seem like pretty good friends," Hikari commented.

"They're about as closed to engaged as you can get without actually being engaged," Aka-chan said with a smile. "They've lived two houses from each other all of their life and they even have the same birthday. And their parents have been making wedding plans for them since they were five. And with all of that they've managed to remain better than good friends."

"That sounds a little like Ranma and Akane," Hikari said.

"Yeah… I guess it does," Aka-chan said after thinking about it for a second. "So, any other family?"

"My grandmother's work takes her outside of Japan," Hikari explained, "like to the United States or Canada or Europe. She took my aunt to the United States for treatment and she wanted me to come with her… but I wanted to finish high school and stay with my friends."

"That was probably a good choice," Aka-chan replied. "Any other relatives?"

"That are talking to me… no. My father's family blames me for my father's death. They didn't even come to the funeral."

"They sound like a bunch of idiots."

"You're being kind. Aka-chan, can I ask you another question?"

Aka-chan nodded her head.

"You called Akane and Ranma mama and papa this morning. I was wondering…"

"That wasn't a very smart move on my part," Aka-chan said shaking her head, "but I was so happy to see them that it kind of slipped out. That's what everyone has been talking about tonight. I'm sure that Akane and Ranma are sick of people asking about it. I hope they aren't angry with me for doing that."

"I doubt it considering how enthusiastic Ranma and Akane were about coming to see you."

"I'm glad to hear that," Aka-chan said. After a moment to reflect she continued, "Ranma and Akane remind me a lot of the way I remember my parents. Maybe that's what helped me get over things. They remind me of all the good things about my mother and father that I'd put out of my mind because I was so angry with them for dying. When I'm around Akane and Ranma I can't feel angry."

"So Ranma and Akane remind you of your father and mother? Did your father turn into a girl when he got splashed with cold water?"

"No, he didn't do that," Aka-chan said with a wide grin. "I'm sure he had some odd quirks that made him special… but he never turned into a girl."

"There you are," a voice said from the entrance of the dojo. It was Miyuki. "I've been looking for you."

"I needed to get away for a few minutes," Hikari explained, "and Aka-chan and I were talking."

"Actually I was looking for both of you," Miyuki said. "Ranma just demonstrated turning into a girl for everyone and Akane was wondering if you have any bricks left."


"Are you sure you don't want to spend time together alone?" Miyuki asked as she and Hikari entered Akane and Ranma's room with them through the courtyard entrance. Ranma was still in his girl form and both Akane and Ranma were carrying platters of food.

"It's not really that late," Akane said, "and we don't have to get up first thing in the morning. Our train home isn't until five in the evening so we can sleep in as long as we want. Would you like to try the champagne?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind," Miyuki said. "I don't think my mother would say anything."

"And my parents certainly won't have anything to say about it," Hikari added.

Everyone stared at Hikari for a moment and then Miyuki said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Akane and Ranma set the platters of food on the table next to the champagne bucket and Ranma said after noticing that the ice in the bucket was not melted, "It looks like someone replaced the ice just recently."

"Probably one of the inn's staff did it," Akane said. "So it should still be nice and cold. Ranma would you like to do the honors?"

"Of course," Ranma replied.

Ranma stepped up to the table to retrieve one of the champagne bottles from the bucket when his foot bumped something under the tablecloth. Ranma reached under the table and retrieved two additional bottles that had been hidden under the table. The were the same bottles of liquor that Ranma had purchased when he had been to the liquor store.

"What are those?" Miyuki asked.

"Those are the same liquors that Ranma bought when we were here for our honeymoon," Akane explained.

"You actually went to a liquor store and bought that," Hikari asked, astonished at the revelation.

"I'm sure it's a long story," Miyuki quipped. "So what are they and why do you have two more bottles?"

"Whoever went to the liquor store must have asked the shopkeeper what we bought and bought the same things," Akane said. "And as for what they are… I'm not sure about what's in the dark bottle. We haven't tried that one yet, but the clear one tastes like mint and burns when it goes down. And the morning after Ranma and I tried that one we woke up on the roof of the dojo… naked."

"Naked… on the roof of the dojo," Miyuki said. "I want to hear more about this."

"We'd tell you," Ranma said, "but honestly we don't remember very much about that night… other than the hangover the following morning."

"Hmmm… mint," Miyuki said. "I like mint."

"Maybe you can come over to the house some weekend when we don't have to get up in the morning and try it," Akane said. "But since the champagne is already on ice, let's stick with that."

Ranma took one of the bottles of champagne from the bucket and carefully removed the cork and poured the four glasses. Akane, Hikari, Miyuki and Ranma each took a glass then Ranma proposed a toast.

"Here's to a better week."

"To a better week," the others responded and they all drank their champagne.


It was very late when Hikari and Miyuki returned to their room. It was difficult to tell who was leaning on who but it definitely looked that if either fell, both would collapse on the spot. Both girls were giggling uncontrollably.

"The last thing I expected was for Akane and Ranma to change into those nighties," Hikari said as they both sat down on the edge of the bed together.

"Once Akane said that she brought them I expected them to change into them," Miyuki said. "What I didn't expect was for them to change right in front of us."

"It's not like we haven't seen Akane naked before," Hikari said. "We take showers together at school all the time. And Ranma is really cute when he's a girl. He's got great looking boobs."

"Yeah, he does" Miyuki said and then after a bit of reflection asked, "So how are you feeling?"

"I think I'm drunk," Hikari replied.

"Like duh! I think we both are. And I think the idea with the champagne is to sip it, not tip up the glass and finish it in one gulp."

"It did taste good."

"Yes it did. I wonder what the mint stuff is like?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out. It looks like we're going to be busy until our break at the end of November."

"Yeah… Gymnastics' practice will be starting on Monday," Miyuki said. "You can bet that Miss Nohina will want to make up for lost time… and then there's the matter of the tournament in three weeks… and the one the week after that."

"You had to remind me about that," Hikari said. "It was nice not to have to put up with her constant comments about you."

"Don't let her bother you," Miyuki said. "It doesn't bother me. She has some issues that she's going to have to deal with… or she's going to be a miserable bitch the rest of her life."

"Even so… Some of the things she says are really irritating… and just not true."

"Thanks. I appreciate your support," Miyuki said with a smile, putting her arm around Hikari and giving her a little hug.

"So… What would you like to do now?" Hikari asked.

"We should probably get some sleep," Miyuki replied. "Even if the train isn't until five in the evening, I think we should try to get up and moving before noon. What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing really," Hikari said quietly. "You're probably right. We should get some sleep."

Hikari sat quietly and turned to Miyuki, "Miyuki…"

"What Hikari?"

Hikari sniffled as tears began to flow from her eyes. "Thank you…. Thank you for being with me."

"And where else would I be. Hikari, you are very special to me."

"Miyuki… May I cuddle up with you tonight. I need to be close to someone tonight. I really need to be close to someone tonight."

Hikari began to cry. "I've never felt so alone in my life. Miyuki please don't leave me."

Miyuki extended her arms to Hikari and embraced her, guiding Hikari's head on to her shoulder. "Of course you can cuddle with me. You can cuddle with me any time you feel you have to. I won't leave you. I won't."

Miyuki gently kissed Hikari on the back of the neck.

"I love you Miyuki."

"I know. I love you too."