How to See, a ranma fanfic

How to See

Ranma walked resignedly beside his father. A fiancee? He wasn't ready for a fiancee! He sighed softly, noting he didn't feel 'right'. It was the feeling he usually got when he'd changed. "Well, pop, you still want to go there?"

His father responded with a gruff throaty sound.

"Fine..." He mumbled, looking at the ground and he listened to the patter of rain around them. "I'm right behind ya, pop..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"FIANCEE?!" Akane practically screamed. "DAD!"

Nabiki sat silently, her face calm. There were yen signs dancing before her eyes as she thought about another person to exploit of all there cash.

Kasumi sat primly, her face irritated. "How old is he? I don't like younger men, they're so...well, young..."

Akane heard the door opening and harumphed as Nabiki and her father ran towards the door. She wasn't altogether surprised when they ran back and she saw what they were running from. There was a panda with someone thrown over it's shoulder. It set the person down on it's feet and the first thing Akane noticed were the breasts. "Wha...?"

She watched her father hug the girl who called herself Ranma, and then, a short time later, he fainted.

They all sat beside Mr. Tendo, their eyes worried. "Poor daddy, he's so disappointed..."

"HE'S disappointed?! Look at this, some fiancee!" Nabiki reached out and pinched Ranma's breast.

"Um...please, stop that..." Ranma said softly, his eyes blank.

"Nabiki, leave her alone! She's our guest!" Akane stood and leaned over Ranma. "You wanna be friends?"

The face jerked towards her and she noticed how her eyes roamed around. Then, a ghost of a smile passed over the girls lips. "Sure..." She said.

"Meet me in the dojo." She said softly.

"I'm right behind you." Ranma stood up and followed the warmth of the girls aura. *What an aura...it's so beautiful...I can see it, in my mind, it's beautiful...* He suddenly decided he didn't mind the possibility of having her as a fiancee. He sighed.

"You do Kempo, right?"

"A little..." Ranma answered the nice girl. "What's your name?"

"I'm Akane." There was a pause. "Prepare yourself!" She exclaimed, lunging towards her. When she thought she was going to hit the girl hard, the girl ducked under the blow and there were several gentle taps to her chest. Her eyes widened. "You're good..."

Ranma was silent a moment. "You too..."

Akane blushed under the compliment. Then, she lunged at him again. There was a quick combo of hits and kicks all of which the red haired girl dodged. She huffed in frustration. *Dammit, I can't even touch her! Okay, this time, for REAL!* She lunged forwards, preparing to strike the girl. She didn't even see the girl move. It was as if the girl had vanished. She felt a finger on the back of her head after she'd put a hole in the dojo wall and looked behind her, shocked to see Ranma there.

"You're really good!" Akane said. "I'm really glad you're a girl, 'cause I'd hate to lose to a guy." She smiled sweetly, but she noticed the girls smile falter.

"I don't want to lie to you, Akane-san..." The girl whispered. "I am a boy. I fell into a cursed spring while I was in China...and this is my cursed form." A tear fell down the girls face. "I understand if you hate me..."

Akane stared at the girl in shock. "You're a..." Her face turned into an unfamiliar mask. "When were you planning on telling daddy?!" She practically screamed. "HOW DARE YOU TRICK MY FAMILY!" She lunged towards him again, pulling out a mallet from hammerspace. She didn't notice until she was bringing down the hammer, that the girl wasn't moving. She barely managed to pull the blow.

Ranma collapsed under the blow, and then, as he lay on the floor, he curled up into a ball. "So much for friends..." He whispered, then forced himself to stand, while wiping his sightless eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'll try to get Pop to let us go back to mom's..." He walked from the dojo, his smaller, female form trembling. He went into the bathroom and splashed himself with water from the furo. He sunk down to his knees. His face pained.

He'd never even know what she looked like. He blown it. But he'd have felt awful if he'd kept it from her.

Slowly, he stood and felt his way along the wall, till he was out of the bathroom. Silently, he cursed his father for doing this to him. He almost wished he'd been born a girl. Then the girl wouldn't hate him. He walked into the hall and felt his way along. He felt his father and went towards that feeling. Then, he felt Akane's aura and winced.

"Ranma, son, come here."

"I'm working on it, Father." He growled angrily, then sat at the table, beside his father. He closed his eyes and let out a reserved sigh as the daughter's were called. He could feel the middle one, who felt like a vampire, the kind of person who'll bleed you dry. Then, the oldest, a very giving person, and then Akane, the strong, kind one, who hated him because he was a guy.

He let his father explain the curses, and the training trip to the girls, and Ranma silently stood, walking outside and sitting on the porch. He didn't need this right now. He needed his cure. Even if it meant he couldn't 'see' Akane anymore. He stared sightlessly into the night. Then, he heard his father bringing up his blindness. "Dad, don't bring that up, it was your fault!" He snarled, his aura twitching and brightening barely.

"He can't be blind!" Akane objected. "He fought me and knew exactly where I was! No blind person could do that!"

Ranma felt a warmth in his chest, then it fled. "No, I am blind. I can fight because I can sense aura's. I'm blind because my fool father decided to give me a kind of training where the student had to close his eyes. Instead, he blinded me." He glared in the direction of his father's aura.

He could hear the collective gasps.

"Now son, you know that was a mere accident!"

Ranma turned his back on them and closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall of the house. "Tsk, whatever, pops."

Akane frowned. As Tendo tried to talk his daughters into becoming engaged to him, Akane found herself wondering if that was why he hadn't dodged the blow. Because he couldn't see it. She frowned. She didn't like hitting someone that couldn't defend themselves.

She could barely see Ranma's profile against the moonlight. She had to admit, he was cute. And he hadn't lied to her. He'd told her the truth. She looked down at her hands. So he was honest.

Ranma could hear them trying to pawn him off to the daughters. Then, he heard the other daughter's trying to force Akane onto him. He stiffened. No, he wouldn't mind being engaged to her, but he could feel her reluctance. He sighed. "It's her decision." He said softly, standing and feeling his way to his room.

Akane noticed the complete calm on his face as he left. She sighed and looked at the ground. "Since the other's don't want to be his fiancee, it looks like I'm the only one left to uphold the family honor..." She hung her head, resigned. "I'll become his fiancee."

He paused in the hallway, staring back the way he'd come. Slowly, he opened the door to his room and stepped inside. He slid it closed, and sat on his futon. He knew she couldn't want this. She hated guys. He was a guy. He lay down, closing his eyes. His only reasoning behind her decision was to uphold the family honor. He sighed deeply. *Heh, strangers, friends, enemies, and fiancee's all in the same day...* He tried to sleep but couldn't.

*She has the most incredible aura I've ever seen. Rage red sometimes, and lemon yellow others. It's so beautiful. She could be as good as I am if she trained hard enough.* He heard his door slide open and looked towards it. "Akane..." He said softly.

"Umm...it looks like we're engaged now..." She said softly, sitting beside his futon.

He was silent a moment, his eyes staring sightlessly towards her. "Are you sure about this?" He asked softly, his hand gently touching hers.

She blushed at the gentle touch. No guy had ever done that to her, save her father and Dr. Tofu. She sighed, looking down. "I don't know." She said softly. "But you did something for me no one's ever done before. You gave me a choice. You were honest with me, and you didn't look at me like a rack of prime ribs..." She blushed again.

He winced. "I can't even see you..." He said softly. "I can't say it's the way I was raised...the way I treat you has nothing to do with that, it's because even though you don't know it, I know you." He said softly.

She stared at him, shocked. "How...?"

He sat slowly, and reached towards her face, coaxing her eyes closed. "Okay, first, relax. Imagine your entire body is wet spaghetti..." He gently rubbed her neck with the ball of his palm, feeling her muscles slowly relaxing. "Now, just listen to me." He lifted her hand and held his an inch away from it. "Can you feel it?"

"No..." She whispered.

"Concentrate..." He whispered back.

She gasped suddenly, jerking her hand back and letting her eyes snap open. Pictures were floating through her mind. The image of his father coming at him with a laser pointed into his eye, the pit of cats, the fall into Jusenkyo, the amazons. Except she didn't see them, she FELT them. She gasped for breath, her eyes wide as she looked at her hand. "How..." She whispered, looking up into his sightless blue eyes.

He looked down. "Aura's...can tell other's about things we can't say ourselves. That's how I learned of my father's only fear. He's terrified that when we find Mom, she's going to spurn me because of my cursed body and we're all going to have to commit seppuku..." He looked back towards her and his eyes were sad.

"Your father...burned the retina off your eyes?" She whispered in horror. "How could anyone do something like that to their own son...?" She was horrified.

He gently caressed her face, closing his eyes. "You...lost your mother, didn't you..." His eyes were sad as they opened. "A car accident?"

She stared at him, tears filling her eyes. "Yes..." She whispered.

"You don't like guys because of what's going on at school, a proclamation about whoever defeated you could date you, and you're scared that when someone does beat you, he'll be a monster and he'll force you to do things you don't want to do..."

A sob wracked her body. "Yes..." She whimpered. But she hadn't wound up dating a monster, she wound up engaged to a gentle, sweet, nice young man. She threw her arms around him and began to sob into his shirt. She felt his arms go around her, latching behind her back. She could hear soft hushing noises in her ear.

He held her gently as she cried into her shirt. "I would never force you..." He whispered into her ear, squeezing her gently. He felt her grip on him tighten and sighed, stroking her hair. "You're beautiful, you know?" He whispered to her.

She jerked back, surprised. "Wha-? How can a blind-" She saw the hurt on his face and her words screeched to a halt.

"There is more to you than a face..." He whispered, gently taking her hand. "And I can see it. I can see your feelings with your aura. If you're ever afraid, I'll know it. If you're angry, sad, happy, I'll know..." He hugged her again, very gently. "You should go to your room, before our father's find you in here and we're married before the night is over."

Slowly, she stood and walked towards the door. As she slid it open, she looked back at him. To her surprise, there were tears in his eyes, but she didn't think the tears were for himself. Something told her, the tears were for her. She closed the door and walked to her room. For some reason, she wasn't afraid of this boy. Even though she knew she'd never be able to with hold any part of herself from him, it didn't frighten her. In fact, it made her feel warm and fuzzy. She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

She didn't understand. She'd never felt like this towards anyone except their family doctor, Tofu. It was the first time she'd never been afraid of anyone her own age. She hugged herself as she stared at the ceiling. The prospect of being his fiancee didn't seem so scary to her. She slept with a light heart for the first time in over a year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma sat at the table, dressed in a white silk shirt and his trademark black pants. He knew what color the shirt was, because he knew the feel of the shirt. He felt Akane coming down the stairs and felt his face warming, so he looked down into his breakfast, eating fast and stopping his father's chopsticks before they touched his food. He glanced towards her and felt she was smiling faintly.

"Did you sleep well, Akane?" Soun asked, looking at his daughter curiously.

Ranma closed his eyes. She was happy. His breath left him in a whoosh.

"Wonderfully, daddy..." She said, as she began to eat. She watched Ranma and his father sparring over food, and noticed Ranma was merely defending his food. "Saotome-ojisan, please, don't try to steal any more of your son's food." She said, eating calmly, despite the confused expression on everyone's faces.

Ranma almost smiled. Silently, he finished his food and set the bowl down. "I guess I better get my stuff, since I'm going to school..." He said softly, standing and feeling his way towards the kitchen, where by feel, he discovered which bento was Akane's and then, he scooped up his bag. He sensed the greedy one zip out of the door and then, Akane walk in at a much more leisurely pace. He turned and smiled at her.

Akane blushed, feeling her heart speed up just a bit. *That smile could make me turn to mush...* She grabbed her bento and picked up her bag, then felt a hand gingerly take hers. She jumped and glanced back at him.

He smiled at her a bit shyly. "I'll see what I can do about your situation at school..." He whispered, then released her hand.

She was blushing furiously as they made it out of the property. She watched him jump onto the fence beside her and stared at him in shock. "Wow..." She whispered, her eyes wide. "I didn't know you could do that!"

He smiled down at her again, then began running along side her. "I can feel it. It's the same way I fight, I can feel every thing around me." As if to illustrate his point, he jumped over the small old woman, washing the side walk.

She giggled softly, watching him. As they approached the school, however, her muscles tensed immensely. To her surprised, Ranma jumped down beside her and took her hand as they walked into the school. Her long hair tickled her face as she tried to hide the blush on her own face.

Ranma heard the shouts about his fiancee and gently squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about a thing." He whispered. He simply walked, holding his fiancee's hand towards the huge crowd of red aura.

Akane watched to her amazement as the crowd froze, mid attack. Their eyes were focused on the joined hands. Then, their eyes traveled up to Ranma's face, and they lunged towards him.

Ranma released her hand, standing calmly, then, he began to gather his chi, his eyes narrowing on the crowd. "I don't think so..." He said softly.

They stared at him in amazement. Then, they began to backpedal. This was a martial artist of a much higher caliber than they. They ran into the school and Ranma looked down at her, his eyes fond. "Shall we go?"

"One more thing to take care of..." She murmured softly, her eyes on the figure approaching them.

Ranma closed his eyes and felt a aura that was a shade of blue. He frowned, opening his eyes. "Who the hell is that?" He asked softly.

"You!" Came the voice. "How dare you touch the beauteous Akane Tendo?! That is MY woman!"

Ranma felt himself turn to ice. "Akane..." He started. "Is not a possession, you ass hole. And it just so happens we're engaged, so who are you to tell me I can't touch her?" He asked, his voice dropping ten degrees with every word.

Akane blushed, looking at the ground.

The kendoist was fuming. "Akane, is this true?!"

She forced herself to calm. "Yes, it is." She looked up, her face calm.

"I will not acknowledge this outrage!" He cried, lunging for Ranma.

Ranma stood perfectly still. "Akane, get out of the way." He said softly, his eyes burning with something undistinguishable. He waited until the boy was nearly upon him and began dodging the kendoist, ducking under the blade, parrying it with his forarm against the flat of it, jumping over the kendoist and forcing him to spin rapidly. Then, he caught the blade between two fingers, holding it steady as the kendoist tried to slice through his hand. "Face it, you can't touch me." Ranma threw the blade back. "No matter how hard you try."

Akane walked beside Ranma as they approached the school building. He heard the kendoist standing and felt out mentally. Ten feet, five, three, two...that was when he kicked backwards, without even turning, sending the kendoist flying into the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nabiki had watched the entire fight from her classroom. She was amazed to watch the blind Ranma so easily take down her classmate. Kuno was one of the best martial artists in Nerima, if you didn't count Akane. He was within the top five rankings, only preceded by Akane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma and Akane stood side by side in the hallway, Ranma staring blindly at the ceiling. "I wonder how Kuno's going to react when he finds out I'm blind?" Ranma said, smirking a bit.

She was silent. "He wont believe it." She said softly, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He sighed softly, nosing her bangs gently. "You smell nice..." He whispered, nuzzling her hair.

She blushed, then straightened as she heard footsteps running towards them. "Darn, it's Kuno..." She looked down, her face still slightly flushed.

Ranma quickly dropped his buckets, his face becoming quite serious. "What, the wholloping this morning not enough for ya?" Ranma asked, not even looking towards him.

"I will not allow this travesty to continue, come, Akane, come to your love!"

Akane didn't move. "Kuno, I don't know why you don't understand by now, but I don't love you." She said calmly, standing directly beside her fiancee. "You have no choice whether or not Ranma and I remain engaged, that is to be decided by Ranma or I, or our parents." She looked at him, her face showing a great deal of irritation.

"I will NEVER acknowledge this!" He cried angrily.

Ranma grabbed Kuno's shirt, slamming him into the wall. "It doesn't matter whether or not you acknowledge it, it's acknowledged by the Saotome and Tendo clan's..." Ranma said softly, his unseeing eyes lit up with fire.

Kuno noticed something strange. It was almost as though Saotome was staring through him, not at him. It was most unnerving. "Why do you look through me as though I wasn't even there?!" Kuno hissed angrily.

"Because you dumb bastard, I'm blind." Ranma said in a dangerously soft voice.

"Akane, surely you don't want to be engaged to a cripple such as this!"

Akane stiffened and stepped beside Ranma. "This 'cripple' treated me better than anyone I've ever met in my life. He did not force this engagement, he gave me the option of not having it. I chose to be engaged to him. Because he's honest, kind, and he knows ME." She said softly.

The pigtailed martial artist slowly released Kuno. After a moment, he collected himself and straightened. "You do not know her, Kuno. Not like I do. You never will. I can because while her defenses were down, I could FEEL how she felt about certain things...because I am blind, I am more perceptive than you ever will be..." He paused. "You dislike your family. You think your sister is insane, and you hold a grudge against your father because he shaved your head once."

Kuno stared at the boy in shock, his eyes wide. "How could you..."

Ranma suddenly felt a pain in his head and collapsed. "ANGH!" He winced, holding his head between his hands. He felt gentle hands on his shoulder and shook his head. "It'll go away in a sec, Akane..." He whispered, pushing the surge of pain back. *NO! I will not let you come now! DAMMIT, LEAVE ME ALONE!*

Akane looked down at Ranma, her face concerned. "Ranma?" She asked, kneeling beside him and gently lifting his face. She could see a deep inner conflict going on. She held her breath a moment and closed her eyes. She concentrated hard, and was shocked to discover, Ranma had closed himself off to the probing she'd done last night. Pain filled her.

He felt the gentle brush of Akane's fingers and felt her pain. He frowned, understanding why she was upset. Slowly, he lifted his hands to her's, holding them gently. "Not right now..." He whispered. "I can't talk about it..." He whispered. "Not yet..." After it was under control, he forced himself to his feet, then pulling Akane up as well.

Kuno backed away from the boy. There was an imense battle aura surrounding the boy. He slowly walked away. "..." *Akane appears to care for that boy...perhaps I should let her go...* He frowned.

Ranma began walking towards the exit of the school and took Akane with him. "Let's talk about this somewhere else..." He whispered, his eyes becoming haunted slightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akane sat beside Ranma in the park, her eyes on his profile. His face was imensely troubled. "Why did you block me out?" She asked softly.

"It wasn't you I was trying to block out, but a person I met in China. Her name was Cologne and she believed I should marry her great-granddautghter, Shampoo..." He looked at the ground. She is very strong mentally, and I have a hard time fighting her mental controls when she is close. She's comeing to Nerima. She's trying to find me." He looked calm, despite his inner turmoil. "She probably sensed when I dropped my guard last night and let you in..."

Akane looked down, then leaned against Ranma. "Ranma..." She paused, her face a bit frightened. "I...I think I'm falling in love with you." She whispered, looking at the grass.

Ranma's eyes widened and he looked towards her. Slowly, gently, he reached out and cupped her face, lifting it so he could kiss her. "I think I am, too..." He whispered, then, he gently kissed her, nervously, and quickly, before he could change his mind or chicken out.

She gasped softly, staring at him. Her heart beat madly in her chest and she swallowed, trying, unsuccessfully to moisten her throat. "R-ranma..." She whispered, her fingers on her lips.

He blushed, looking down. "I'm...I'm sorry, I had no right..." He looked away.

Slowly she lifted her hand to his face and forced it back to her's, then, she pulled his face down to kiss him. She felt him jump, then, relax, his arms surrounding her, his fingers tangling in her hair. She sighed softly.

He gently caressed her face with one hand, holding her lips to his with the other. He wasn't all to amazed to find she tasted as good as she smelled. He slowly dropped his defenses, letting her in, while he kissed her back.

Akane gasped in surprise as pictures exploded in her head. She felt every memory he had, from the time he was born onwards. She knew he was feeling her's too. She watched the day he'd left his mother behind to go on the trip, the confusion when they'd left Ukyou. She began to cry as they kissed. He had so many pained memories. So much hurt.

Ranma slowly broke the kiss and quickly put his barrier back up, except for a small place he was willing to leave where Akane could get through. But only her. No one else would be able to get in there, because the place he left open for her was his heart, and she was the only one who had the key.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma and Akane walked home, hand in hand. Akane was resting her head on Ranma's shoulder, listening to what his soul had to tell her. She was terrified he was going to leave her, and her feelings were mirrored by him.

He knew he and his father never stayed anywhere very long, they always got kicked out a few days after moving in somewhere. He was afraid Tendo would do that. It scared him because he'd let Akane into the one place he'd sworn he'd never let someone into until he settled down. His life wasn't anywhere near settled.

Before they entered the house, Akane squeezed his hand, then dropped it. "I'll see you in the dojo?" She asked softly.

He smiled sweetly at her, then nodded. He waited until she went inside and heard her ranting. They'd discussed how they'd handle their parents and they'd agreed it would be better if they pretended they didn't get along too well. He walked in a few minutes later, storming upstairs. He dropped his stuff in the room, totally ignoring all the people he passed. When he got into his room, he climbed out of his window and climbed up to the roof, then dropped down in front of Akane's. He hung upside down, his face lit up with a fond smile. She was in there. He could feel her. He heard the window slide open, then warm hands on his face. "Akane..."

Akane giggled softly. "We probably shouldn't practice together after we just had a 'fight', but maybe you could come apoligize to me..." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Me?" He asked softly. "What about you..." He cupped her face and kissed her forhead. "So warm..." He murmered against her skin. "Come up to the roof, I want to talk to you..." He whispered, caressing her face.

She giggled again. "I'll be right up..." She said softly. "Just remember, we're supposed to be angry with each other..." She placed a sweet kiss on his nose and watched as he swang up and disappeared on the roof.

Then, her door opened. "Akane."

Nabiki. Akane cringed, waiting for the price. "Hello, onee-chan..." She said, trying to contain her blush.

"So, you've got the hots for Ranma's bod." Nabiki sounded amused.

"NO!" Akane blushed furiously. "It's not like that, Nabiki..." She sighed, then turned towards her sister. "How much to keep this from the parents?" She asked, her face frightened.

Nabiki stared at her sister in shock. "You're serious about this aren't you, Akane..." Nabiki whispered.

She nodded. "Yes...I am. I love him..." She whispered. "I don't know what I'm going to do..." She hugged herself, her eyes pained. "He treats me like no one has ever treated me before. He doesn't keep a wall up...I KNOW him, Nabiki...his fears, his feelings, what he loves the most, and I think he loves me..." She wanted to cry.

"What's with the big production about fighting with him?"

Akane sighed heavily. "Because, we're not ready to get married yet. If we don't and the parents find out that we really DO like each other, we're at the alter in thrity seconds, IF that!"

Nabiki nodded, her face solemn. "I'll keep this a secret, until you and lover boy 1/2 up there think you're ready to settle down and make me an aunt...or vise versa." She cackled at Akane's shocked expression. "It was a joke, sis, now get up there, before he decides to come down and drag you up."

Akane hugged her sister and ran towards the ladder, climbing up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma and Akane lay on the roof, side by side, snuggled close together. "I love you, Ranma..." She whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth.

He smiled up at her, his eyes happy. "I love you, too..." He murmered, pulling her back down beside him. "You should go to bed, it's late..." He whispered, giving her a gentle squeeze. He sensed her reluctance and smiled sweetly.

"Could I stay here a little while longer?" She whispered.

He smiled. "I wouldn't mind if you stayed here forever..." He whispered back, kissing her lips. "So beautiful..." He whispered sleepily. "Hmm...I think you're very beautiful..." He hugged her, caressing her hair. "What color are your eyes?" He asked, tracing her face with his hands.

"Brown..." She whispered.

"Your hair?"

"Black..."

He smiled. "Like I said, beautiful..." He murmered, hugging her again.

Slowly, Akane pulled out of his warm arms. "I...I should get to my room..." She whispered. She didn't want to go. "Ranma, how long do you think we should wait till we're married?" She asked in a soft whisper.

He shrugged, holding her hand in his own. "I don't know...I...I don't feel ready yet, but I will be...we should marry when we only just met...it's a recipie for scandal..." He took her hand and gently kissed each of her fingers. "Technically, we SHOULD wait until after we graduate..." He murmered.

She leaned over him, her eyes serious. "Ranma, I don't want to lose you, if we get married tomorrow, no one can get between us!" She begged, clinging to his hand. "Please, Ranma...Please..."

He felt her panic and gently hugged her to him. "Oh, Akane..." He whispered. "Alright...whenever you want it, you've got it..." He lifted her tear stained face and kissed her gently. He felt her arms go around him and gently parted her lips with his tounge, not pushing her, but asking hesitantely for entrance, which she granted.

Akane sucked gently on his tounge, digging her nails lightly into his back, then held his head as he held her against him. Suddenly, she heard footsteps on the roof and turned, surprised to see their families standing their, looking cross.

"Eheh..." Ranma bit his lip, sensing his father, and Akane's. "Umm..."

"I hope you kids have a good excuse for being up here this late, making out..." Soun said hopefully.

"There is no excuse. The wedding will be tomorrow. You aren't going to school." Genma said, smirking at the shocked look on the kids faces.

Ranma stood, holding Akane's hand gently in his own. He didn't say anything, he just turned, and walked off the roof. He heard Akane call out to him, but he'd landed neatly on the tree beside her window. He looked up at her and spread his arms.

Akane stared down at him like he was nuts. "JUMP?!" She practically screammed.

He smiled, then nodded. "I'll catch you..." He promised.

She closed her eyes. *It's a leap of faith. I have to believe in him. He'll catch me...* She stepped towards the edge of the roof and felt her father's hands on her back.

"Don't do it, daughter!" Soun sobbed.

She looked back at her father and smiled. "I'll be okay..." She said, and jumped off the roof. She was surprised when she'd barely fell a second when two warm gentle arms went around her, and there was a bone jostling thud as they landed on the branch.

He held her gently and kissed her forhead and cheek, then her lips, brushing across her closed eyes. He opened her window and rested her on the sill. "I love you..." He paused, then added a soft word on the end. "My wife..." He whispered.

She stared at him through wide eyes. Then, she threw her arms around him, holding him closely. She washed his face with tender kisses. "I love you, husband..." She whispered back, hugging him tightly, then letting him drop to the ground and go to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was nervous. He didn't have time to be nervous last night, because as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep, but he felt it now. He stood slowly, then, went to the suit that hung on the wall. He heard the door open and sensed his father and Soun. "Pops...Tendo..." He said with an almost frightening calm.

"Nervous, son...?" Genma asked, slapping the boy in the back.

"Dad, that's a really stupid question. I'm about to get married, of course I'm nervous...you know how my life is! I'm afraid Cologne is going to show up during the ceremony..." He stripped off his shirt and shrugged into the white dress shirt.

"Son, your mother came."

Ranma paused, half-way through with buttoning the first button. He closed his eyes, finishing the buttons, then finished putting on the tux. A sigh escaped him. "Did you tell her about the curse?"

"No...I wont until after the ceremony."

Ranma punched his father. "YOU IDIOT!" He yelled. "Did you tell her ANYTHING that happened on our training trip?!"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

"Then she doesn't even know I'm blind..." He snarled. "I'm going to talk to her. Now." He stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. When he came to the main room, he felt a warm, affectionate aura. "Mom?" He asked softly, his eyes moving around sightlessly.

Nodoka stood and threw her arms around her son. "OH, RANMA!" She cried happily.

Gently, Ranma pried his mother off. "Mom, we need to talk about what happened on the training trip. Before the wedding..." He sat on the ground, crosslegged. "Before we left for China, when dad was trying to train me here, and he had a few really dumb ideas. He tried to teach me how to detect another person's aura, and the book said that the pupil should close his eyes first. However, dad also read that a person who can't see would master it faster..."

"What...? Ranma, what are you saying?"

"First off, I'm blind. Second, dad managed to instill a phobia to cat's in me when I was ten that still hasn't gone away, third, dad engaged me to one of my friends. All this was before we left for China. After we went to China, we met an old woman named Cologne, who led us to some cursed springs...and pop and I fell into two of the springs. Dad fell into spring of drowned panda, and he turns into a panda whenever splashed with cold water. I wasn't so lucky..."

"Ranma?"

"I fell into spring of drowned girl, mom..." He said softly, feeling the anger welling in his mother. "I turn into a girl when splashed with cold water." He paused, his hands shaking. "I had to tell you that before I married Akane, just incase you don't think dad fulfilled the promise...I don't want to be responsible for her death..." He whispered, his sightless eyes lowering.

Nodoka hugged her son. "I am not going to make you commit sepukku, Ranma. You are a man, because you had the courage to tell me these things. You needn't worry about a thing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma nervously played with the ring in his pocket. *What if she doesn't want to marry me? What if I chicken out and hurt her?!* He looked towards the door as the wedding march began and his breath caught in his throat. He knew they hadn't had time to buy or make her a western dress, so she was wearing her mother's wedding kimono. He didn't know what it looked like, but her aura was glowing, so he knew it had to be beautiful.

Akane nervously clung to her father's arm, and noticed Ranma's eyes flitting over to where she stood. A wave of nervousness flitted over her as she reached him and he took her hand. His warm touch made all the butterflied in her stomache leave. She smiled happily and looked up at her husband-to-be.

Ranma sensed her smiling at him and smiled back down at her. He spoke his vows and slid the ring over her finger. He listened to her's and felt the cool metal slip over his finger, then listened as the priest asked if there were any objections and whispered a silent no.

"I OBJECT!" A voice from the back of the room cried. Ranma stiffened.

Ranma held Akane close and looked back at the priest. "Ignore her..." He begged the priest, his eyes nervous.

The priest looked between the groom and the bride, neither of whom looked like they objected. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Then, he collapsed, under a powerful blow from a girl with purple hair.

Ranma cupped the back of Akane's head and kissed her. The families were silent. Cologne stood at the entrance to the dojo, Shampoo stood where the priest once did.

Ranma slowly broke the kiss, holding his new wife to his side. "You're too late, Shampoo. I'm a married man, now...the papers are already at townhall, processed, and Akane has been added to the Saotome family register.

"NO!" Shampoo swung her bonbori at Akane, trying to bring it down over her head. Instead, she hit Ranma's forarm.

Ranma twisted the bonbori out of the purple haired girls hand. "Akane, go over to where our parents are..." He whispered, kissing her temple.

Cologne approached him. "Boy, you defeated Shampoo, you are to marry her, even if she is just second wife." The withered woman commanded.

"No." Ranma said calmly. "Just because your laws say if a man defeats a woman he has to marry her, doesn't mean anything to me. I was a girl at the time, so you may as well just try to kill me, besides, you know your daughter can't touch me."

"Perhaps not. But what about your new bride?"

Ranma began to glow blue. "If you touch her, I'll kill you, then your great-granddaughter, crone." He gathered his chi between his hands and glared levelly at the old woman.

"How could you touch me if you can't see me?"

Ranma threw the chi blast, and it barely missed Cologne's air by half an inch.

"See, boy!"

"If I'd been trying to hit you, I would have..." He said in an ominous voice. He began to gather another one, and watched as the two left the dojo.

"We will return, Ranma Saotome!" The old woman cried as they jumped across the roofs.

When they were gone, Ranma collapsed, letting his mental barriers drop. He felt warm arms go around him and he hugged his new wife. "I love you, Akane..." He whispered agaisnt her hair. "I wont let them hurt you, I promise..."

The people gradually filtered out of the room. When they were alone, Ranma lifted his wife's tear-stained face and gently kissed her lips. "Don't worry, Akane..." He whispered.

She threw her arms around his neck. "That's not why I'm crying, Ranma..." She whispered. "I'm happy, baka..." She caressed his face gently with her slightly calused fingers. "I thought for sure when that lady objected, you wouldn't stop her..." She kissed him. "But you didn't! You had the priest finish the ceremony!"

He blushed a bit. "Akane, I love you, of course I had him finish. I want to be your husband..." He caressed her face. He stood and pulled his new wife to her feet. "Let's skip the reception..." He whispered, staring at her, his eyes shining with mischief.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He led her up to their new room and began to change out of his tux, and into his trade mark black pants and a red chinese shirt. He turned to her and felt her confusion. He smiled sweetly and pulled her into a warm hug. "We're going for a walk, through the park or something, I don't care, but I want to get away from this house for awhile..."

She nodded "Help?" She asked softly.

Ranma realized what she was asking and blushed furiously. "I hope I don't get a nosebleed on this..." He murmered as he gently undid her kimono and helped her out of it. When it fell, he felt her hug him and his heart jumped into his throat. Swallowing damply, he hugged her back, feeling electric tingles running everywhere their skin touched.

Akane shivered slight when she felt Ranma's hands on her back. A sigh escaped her and she pressed her face into his chest. "Could we just stay here?" She whispered. She felt his heart leap under her cheek and looked up at him.

He felt like he was going to panic. "Akane..." He whispered. Slowly, he tilted her face up and kissed her. "We can stay, BUT, I don't think we're ready to go that extra little step in this marraige..." He whispered, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

She nodded, tugging his shirt apart and hugging him again. She felt him shiver and nuzzled his chest. "We don't have to do anything you don't think we're ready for..." She whispered, breathing in deeply.

"Could you put on a night gown or something?" He whispered hoarsely.

She looked up at him confused, then, noticed the panicky, almost frightened look in his eyes. She giggled softly and pulled away from her husband, pulling a nightshirt on over her underwear. When she turned towards Ranma again, she saw he was out of his shirt and on the bed, looking in her general direction, with absolute love in his eyes. She walked towards him and slipped under the covers beside him, scooting as close as possible. She felt him jump, surprised. A sweet smile crossed over her lips. "Relax, Ranma..." She whispered, snuggling up to his side.

Ranma slowly forced himself to relax and put his arms around his wife. "I love you, Akane-chan..." He whispered against her hair. He felt her roll towards him and her arms latch around his waist. "I wont leave you," He murmered gently. "You don't need to worry about that..."

She jumped, surprised. "How-"

He smiled. "You know how, you know..."