Akane watched Ranma intently as he stood
motionless before her. After what seemed like
eternity, his fist flew straight toward her face
without any apparent warning. She thought she could
dodge it. Ranma thought she could dodge it. She
tried to dodge it. She didn't dodge it.
She flew backwards in a graceful arc. It was
really quite perfect for a photograph. It was
really quite sad that Nabiki wasn't around with a
camera. Ranma jumped and barely caught her before
she hit the floor, rolling nimbly with her encased
in his arms until they stopped several yards away.
Ranma stared down at her dazed expression with a
worried glint in his baby blues. Then he went
flying. He lay motionless for several moments
before slowly sitting up and rubbing his jaw.
She was biting her lip. Her shoulders shook
once, twice, then she burst out with a triumphant
cheer as she jumped to her feet.
"I did it!"
Sansha and her brother poked their heads into
the dojo's door. She cocked hers and asked in her
heavy and unusual accent, "Vat did you do, Akane?"
Akane ran over and grabbed her friend's hands,
still bouncing. "I caught Ranma by surprise! I
took the majority of a punch on purpose. Then, when
he was leaning over me all worried and everything, I
socked him!"
Sansha began hopping with Akane at this point as
Ranma shrugged. "Geez, Akane. It ain't that big of
a deal."
Akane sent Ranma a skeptical look. "Yeah, right
Ranma. I suppose you think you're easy to
surprise?"
He shook his head and stood easily in one fluid
movement. "Nah, and to tell ya the truth, I
wouldn't recommend surprising me too often.
Remember the soup incident?"
Akane sighed and Sansha looked very confused.
"I know, but this was different. Your element is
fighting, and I caught you off guard."
He nodded, "Yes, and you learned something
important from it too. You have to know when to
take sacrifices in a fight. You took a blow, but
you gave at least what you got. Good job. Now,
what do you two need?"
Sansha, still grinning, opened her mouth a
second behind her brother. He shot his cackling
sister a disgraced glance before answering Ranma.
"We were sent by zee lovely Miz Kah-zumi to tell you
two of dinner."
Ranma blinked once. "OH. We'll be down once we
clean up then."
The twins nodded and scampered off, apparently
to find Soun and Nabiki with the same message.
Ranma turned and smiled down at Akane.
"I really am proud of you, Akane."
She flushed a little and looked away. "Oh, it
wasn't that big of a deal. I just got carried away
in the moment."
Her eyes rolled over and up to meet his, her
face still tilted away slightly from his own. Without
thought, he reached out with a finger to tilt her face
up to his. He leaned forward and kissed her.
Akane was shocked, but pleasantly, as he kissed
her much deeper than he had the night of their date.
She sighed as he pulled away, and they smiled at
each other. Then he took a step back and his finger
fell slowly, regretfully from her chin.
"We'd better get cleaned up. You can go first."
He gestured in the general direction of his private
bathroom.
She nodded, her face adorably pink, and
scampered from the room. Ranma watched her go with
some regret, wanting to follow her. He sighed and
turned to the wall lined with mirrors. It wasn't
very traditional, but it came in handy sometimes
when you were training alone to be able to see
yourself.
Now he studied his face and wondered what he
should do with his life.
Akane touched her fingers to her lips before
entering the dining room a few minutes later. She'd
changed out of her tank top and shorts, and into a
simple blouse and skirt. With a pleased smile, she
opened the door and walked in.
"Hello, every—"She stopped dead as she noticed
Kasumi talking to the lavender haired woman. "—
one."
The two women looked up and smiled. Kasumi
cocked her head in her usual cheerful manner and
said, "Good evening, Akane. Did you have a good
work out with Ranma?"
The other woman raised a questioning and vaguely
disapproving eyebrow at Akane; hinting that maybe
She and Ranma had been engaged in some scandalous
acts. Akane blushed, "Uh, yeah Kasumi, it was
great. I managed to catch Ranma by surprise with a
punch and sent him flying across the room. He
almost hit the bedroom door."
The woman had been relaxing, but had the nerve
to look scandalized again at that last sentence.
Akane blushed even more furiously as she realized
her mistake. She was saved, however, as Nabiki came
in.
"Hello everyone, if you'll excuse me—"
Ranma was walking through the doorway behind
her. He placed one hand on her back and steered her
over to her usual seat at the table with a smile.
"You'll be staying right here, Nabiki. I have
an important message for the entire household." He
pulled out her chair and had gently guided her into
it before she'd realized it and gathered herself
enough to comment.
"I'm sure I can get the minutes from your
secretary when I get home. I have a meeting with
some people from school."
Ranma waved a dismissive hand and took his own
seat at the head of the table. "Actually Nabiki, my
message pertains to your schooling. Now, who are we
missing? He scanned the table, but Kasumi glided
into the room with the last of the dishes. She took
her seat, and Ranma smiled before resuming his scan
of the table's occupants.
Soun, as head of his household, was to Ranma's
right. To Ranma's left was Akane. Kasumi and
Nabiki sat next to their father. Sansha was next to
Akane, then Marco by her. Saya had taken the last
chair, the one at the opposite end of the table from
Ranma. Noting that everyone was here now, Ranma
tapped his glass.
When everyone's faces turned to him, he stood
and smiled. "Everyone, I believe that most of you
know Saya? For those of you who don't, she was my
private tutor for awhile when I was younger."
Akane blinked.
"I've told you all that there are certain
dangers that come with living with and being around
me. As a result, I thought that Nabiki and Akane
continuing to go to a public school while some of
Jaxom's men are still on the loose is far too
dangerous for my comfort."
He smiled down the table Saya. She had her
hands folded in her lap and a serene half smile on
her lips. Akane wondered if her face was capable of
stretching into a full smile.
"So, I've asked Saya to come here and give you
girls the same education that she gave me." He
turned to the Keller twins, "And of course the two
of you are included as well. It's much safer if you
all remain here where I can be sure of your safety.
It will also be safer for Saya, since she worked for
the Roses as well."
There was a collective blink from everyone
except Ranma, Saya, and of course, Kasumi. Nabiki
stood stiffly and stared blankly at the wall before
her for a moment.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room making
some very important phone calls."
"Oh my," Kasumi muttered.
They all watched her leave and Ranma sighed.
"Don't worry; I'll have a talk with her after
dinner. I've already had all of the paperwork done;
you'll be going back to your school tomorrow for the
last time until Jaxom's rings of hitmen have all
been uncovered."
As soon as it was politely excusable, Ranma
wiped his mouth on his napkin and stood. "I'm going
to go straighten a few things out with Nabiki."
He was perfectly calm both inwardly and
outwardly as he walked up the stairs and through the
hallways to the room that Nabiki had claimed while
he'd raced to China to save her sister. He paused
in front of the door and heard a soft conversation.
He knocked on the door before opening it and walking
in.
Nabiki was sitting in front of the vanity in a
dark green robe. She stopped mid-sentence and
turned to look coldly at him over her shoulder. She
turned back to the vanity and scribbled a note on
the notebook in front of her. "I'll call you back."
She turned around but remained on the stool.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
Ranma looked around but the only seat was the
bed. "I know why you're mad."
She glared coldly at him. "I told you how
important my business at the school was to my
family. Now we'll have no income whatsoever."
Ranma held up one finger and slowly shook his
head once. "Not quite. Since our conversation in
the Library I've done a little research on you.
You're good, Nabiki. You're a natural with numbers.
I thought, if you accept of course, that you would
do much better handling my money than the three
people I have currently under my employ for the
job."
Nabiki blinked and sat up a little taller than
she had been. She quickly ran through the mental
list she'd been keeping of the priceless antiques
and artworks she'd managed to identify in the house.
She cocked her head and drawled, "Please, go on . .
."
Akane had taken her time with dinner. After
Ranma left, she and Kasumi had crossed gazes. With
a nod, Akane had silently agreed to go check on
Nabiki later. She waited patiently for three full
minutes after Ranma left before she stood. Her
father was crying over the generosity of his future
son-in-law.
She walked slowly up the stairs, pausing on each
step for half a heartbeat. She made her cautious
way down the halls to Nabiki's room. She froze as
Ranma walked out of Nabiki's room with a self-
satisfied smirk. He didn't seem to notice Akane,
going in the other direction as he left the room.
Akane frowned in confusion, but was more worried
about her sister at the moment.
She ran up to the door and thrust her head in.
"Hey, sis!"
Nabiki waved casually, staring blissfully off
into space. "Hi."
Akane walked over and waved her hand in front of
her sister's face.
Akane's face was the epitome of a perplexed
teenager. "Okay, so he's paying for us to have a
private tutor and for you to handle his money
because he feels guilty for making us lose money by
being engaged to me?"
Nabiki nodded, still in a state of dazed bliss.
Akane threw her hands into the air. "That doesn't
make any sense!"
Finally coming back to her senses, Nabiki
winked, "It does when you know the entire context.
Look around you Akane, think about all of the money
he must have! I bet that's why he made the
stipulations." She placed a thoughtful finger to her
chin.
Akane frowned again. "What stipulations?"
Nabiki waved a distracted hand, "Oh, only that I
couldn't tell anyone how much he had, make any
transactions over a million dollars without his
approval, or see any of his records older than two
years without his permission."
Akane yelped. "Are you kidding me?"
Nabiki suddenly looked like a very content
kitten with a gallon of cream and a pound of tuna.
"Nope, isn't it wonderful?"
Akane woke up feeling more rested than she had
in months. She stretched happily, wondering how she
felt so rested when Kasumi hadn't even woken her up
yet. She glanced over at the clock and yelped. She
should have been up fifteen minutes ago!
She was bathed, dressed, and finishing drying
her hair when she remembered. She was going to
school today, but she wasn't attending school. She
wasn't sure how she felt about having a private
tutor, but she knew that she hated that tutor. Now
frowning, she started to storm out of the room.
Then an idea struck her faster than even Ranma
could.
Akane scanned her reflection in the mirror,
biting a contemplative lip. With a slow nod she ran
to the bathroom.
Sansha growled as the knocking continued to
disrupt her sleep. Grumbling to herself she was up
and opening the door before she realized it. She
flung the door open as a lock of hair fell over her
right eye.
She blinked a few times before she noticed that
Akane had swept into the room with an armful of
stuff. Stuff was the perfect word for the hodge-
podge of miscellaneous objects in Akane's arms.
Sansha sighed as said stuff was flung in a pile onto
her bed.
"Akane, my dear friend, eet eez far too early
for you to be out of bed with such abounding
energy."
Akane giggled with a determined and yet blissful
grin. "No, we need an early start. I have the
perfect plan for getting Ranma's attention." She
spun around and Sansha just now noticed that her
hair was arranged carefully in loose curls with a
bit pulled back from either side of her face.
"You look nice."
Akane smiled, "Thanks, I tried to pay attention
when you did it for that night out with Ranma. It
took me a lot longer than it did you, though."
Sansha, still half asleep, finally blinked and
gasped in comprehension. With a gleam in her eyes
she grabbed the brown mascara and a sheer pink
lipstick.
Akane studied her reflection carefully. "I
don't know, you can barely tell a difference."
Sansha giggled, "But Akane, that eez zee point!"
Akane turned a disbelieving eye to meet her
friend's eyes in the mirror. "I don't quite follow
you."
Another giggle, "Akane, if you went miraculously
from tomboy to supermodel overnight, people would
notice. However, if you wear just enough natural
looking make-up to enhance what is really you,
you'll just look like a natural beauty."
Akane looked skeptical, but shrugged. "If you
say so; but I'm really getting hungry."
Sansha saw the girl stand and shook her head.
"Not quite yet."
Akane followed her friends gaze and blinked down
in confusion. She glared down at her school
uniform. "I suppose I should change, since this
ruins the effect."
Ranma left his room after his morning ritual of
work out and bath. He went downstairs and into the
dining room to his usual seat. Soun was reading the
paper and Ranma smirked in triumph. He'd had to
wait for Soun to finish with the paper everyday for
weeks. Finally, he'd given in and ordered a second
one to be delivered each morning.
Ranma picked up his copy and turned to the
business section. He read the parts that were most
relevant to his own business ventures before putting
the paper aside to eat the food Kasumi was placing
in front of him.
"Thank you, Kasumi."
She smiled and bustled back to the kitchen as
the door to the hallway opened up. Ranma looked up
to see which of his guests was finally waking up.
He started to mutter a greeting, but froze.
Akane was standing halfway through the door, one
hand still on the frame. Her eyes caught him first;
a playful, secretive gleam in them that called out
to him. Her hair was curled slightly, exactly as it
had been the night they went out. She was wearing a
pale yellow silk blouse without sleeves and a crisp
collar. She had two buttons undone, and wore the
same gold chain she had the other night. She wore
fine, tailored black slacks that were just tight
enough to be alluring without appearing trashy, and
black leather ankle boots.
He swallowed as she smiled sweetly at him. She
looked more mature than she usually did as she
walked comfortably to her seat. As she sat down,
she shot him another smile. She started to eat as
he studied her. He couldn't place it, but something
was definitely different about her. She was Akane,
but she wasn't. He smiled.
"Good morning, Akane. Did you sleep well? You
look nice this morning."
Her cheeks turned pink and she put down the
glass she'd just sipped from. "Thank you, yes I did
sleep well. And," she shot him a glance, "Thank
you."
He smiled as she continued to blush. "I believe
your sister is up in her room. Kasumi says that
she's already had breakfast, so we can head off as
soon as you're done."
She nodded and took another bite of her food.
Nabiki was first out the door that morning as
she and her sister were heading out to the drive
where Ranma was waiting with the car. He was
standing in the open driver's side door. He watched
as Nabiki walked to the car and grabbed the
passenger side handle. Their eyes met and he raised
one eyebrow slightly. She smirked and climbed into
the backseat. Ranma shook his head with a grin as
Akane sprang down the steps. She smiled at Ranma
and hopped into the front seat.
Ranma grinned and sat down himself. He turned
the car on and started to put it in gear when he
paused.
Turning to smile at the girls he said, "How
about we put the top down?"
Akane laughed but Nabiki just rolled her eyes.
Ranma smirked and hit the switch. A few minutes
later, they were zooming down the road with the top
of the sportscar down. They pulled into the school
gates a little bit later. Ranma shut the car off
and jumped across the hood to open the door for the
girls.
Akane shot him another alluring smile and he
shook his head slightly to clear it as she started
waling toward the school. Nabiki gave his
expression a quick look before chuckling and
following her younger sister. Ranma slammed the
door and followed after them, locking the doors with
the keychain remote over his shoulder as he schooled
his expression and caught up with them. He paused
only slightly when he realized that he was angry.
He blinked once. How could he be angry with himself
for finding his fiancée a little attractive?
Akane looked over her shoulder. When she caught
his eyes she giggled a little and held back to grab
his arm, "C'mon, silly, let's get this over with."
He groaned mentally, okay, he found her very
attractive. He followed the Tendo girls inside and
they went through the formalities of withdrawing the
two girls from the school. He spent the majority of
the time standing back with his hands in his pockets
and keeping a bored outward expression while he
tried not to stare at Akane. He couldn't put a
finger on the change. Sure, she was dressed
differently and her hair was fixed, but that wasn't
enough to explain his sudden notice of her.
After a little paper signing and records
exchanging, the girls were told that they could go
up to their classrooms to gather any belongings
there. Nabiki and Akane split off and Ranma
followed Akane with a shrug. He kept his eyes on
her, er, back until she knocked on her classroom
door. His eyes jerked up as the teacher called for
them to enter.
Akane seemed a little puzzled by the female
voice. Ranma thought it sounded like a typical
woman's voice, but he didn't know what her teacher
usually sounded like. Akane opened the door and
stepped in to see a woman with long brown hair in a
short yellow dress. The woman was standing at the
desk with a frown of annoyance at her class being
interrupted.
"Yes, are you two new students? I haven't heard
anything about getting two new students."
Akane smiled and Ranma noticed that every boy in
the class was drooling. A few of them even fainted.
"Actually, I'm Akane Tendo. I withdrew a few
minutes ago and I've been sent to get my stuff from
my desk."
The woman was glowing with barely-checked rage.
"Are you some delinquent drop out?"
Ranma's eyes narrowed as the woman started to
reach for something. He noted that a few students
cringed.
Akane shook her head with a confused frown.
"No, I'm going to have a tutor at home, now. Ranma
here—"
The woman's disbelieving eyes turned to Ranma.
"You are a tutor? You can't even have finished high
school yet!"
Ranma was a world famous martial artist with
millions of fans and dozens of rivals that were
regularly making tries on his life. He'd survived
on his own for years in the wild, in the streets,
and in the clutches of the greatest crime boss on
this side of the planet. He did not like the scorn
in her voice, nor the way she said it while looking
down her nose at him.
He smirked.
"Actually miss, I probably have more education
than you do. I'm Ranma Soatome, also known as Ryo
Tome." He snorted, "I was also known as another
name, but I won't share that in front of the
children. I have to my credit degrees in
engineering and computer programming. However, I
will not be the tutor for the Tendo sisters; I am
merely paying for the tutor."
The woman just stared blankly at him for a
moment. Ranma used the break to gesture to a
stunned Akane to go get her belongings. Before the
teacher, he never did learn her name, could question
him again Ranma and Akane were walking down the
hallway. They met up with Nabiki, who was puzzled
by the pair of them. They ignored her, however.
Nabiki was waiting by the door for her sister
and her fiancé. When the two of them came around
the corner, Nabiki blinked. Ranma was genuinely
laughing and Akane was giggling ecstatically as she
hung off his arm. Akane threw back her head and
gave a brilliant blast of laughter as Ranma smiled
down at her with sparkling eyes.
They laughed together once more before settling
down as their eyes fell on Nabiki, her right eyebrow
raised slightly. They shared a conspiring glance
before erasing their expressions and calmly walking
out to the car. Nabiki rolled her eyes and
followed.
Ranma and the two girls returned home after a
little grocery shopping to help Kasumi make lunch.
Nabiki expertly hinted that perhaps Ranma and Akane
would like a light workout before lunch. Ranma was
inwardly a little confused that Nabiki was so intent
on sending her little sister away, but the two elder
Tendo girls would easily be able to handle a little
lunch for six, and he did want a little exercise.
So Akane smiled and ran off to change. Ranma
paused and shot Nabiki a questioning glance. She
mouthed, "I'll explain later," and turned to chop
vegetables. Ranma shrugged one shoulder and
strolled up to his room to change. He went into his
rather large closet and grabbed the a set of Chinese
clothes he found and stripped. He had his pants on
when his bedroom door flew open.
"Ranma, I—"
She stopped and stared at him. He was
tightening the drawstring of his pants and didn't
have a shirt on. She turned bright red and took a
step backward.
Ranma exhaled slowly through teeth that were
grinding in an attempt to reign in his emotions.
Her hair was in its usual loose ponytail, the curled
ends making the dark strands harder to restrain, so
a few locks had fallen loose to curl around her
face. He couldn't help but notice that her gi's top
was gaping open just enough to make him want to peek
like a naïve little boy. He fought to keep from
frowning at his own odd behavior and smiled at her.
"Perfect timing, Akane, c'mon in."
She looked up hesitantly as he slipped the shirt
on, leaving it unfastened. She took a cautious step
into the room and closed the door. She gave a
small, strained smile and he wanted nothing more at
the moment than to walk over and kiss her until she
couldn't not smile.
Instead, he kept his smile on and walked over to
her. He gave his cocky half-smile and he was
secretly amused that she seemed unable to draw her
eyes from his bare chest. He kept walking closer
until she looked ready to bolt. At that exact point
he stopped and studied her face for a moment.
"You know, I wasn't kidding this morning. You
look absolutely stunning today. Not to say that you
usually don't." He paused and cocked his head.
"Actually, I would say that you usually look more
'cute' than anything; especially when you smile."
She blushed and looked away, "Oh, I just wore a
little make-up today, that's all."
He smiled and held a finger to her cheek.
"Well, you should do it every day. It really
emphasizes your wonderful features. Just don't do
what most girls do and cake on layers of bright
colors that just hide their faces."
She blushed again and Ranma was charmed. She
smiled and glanced quickly to him and away. "Thank
you, Ranma."
He nodded his head and caressed her cheek before
drawing his hand away. "No problem. You know,
you're so different from most of the women I've
known."
She looked up questioningly and he sighed. "I
suppose you want to hear all about it, don't you?
All women are alike in a few ways I suppose. Well,
have a seat." He gestured to the couch that was
against one wall. She giggled and ran over to it.
She leaned against one armrest and pulled her legs
beneath her.
He smiled at her and sat next to her. "Well,
take Lilly for example. She was one of my trainers
when I went to work for Chad. She was supposed to
teach me how to shoot. I told Chad that I hadn't
used guns very much so he assumed that I didn't know
how to shoot. So when I showed up to my first day
of job training, in walked Lilly with a few big guys
following her with big crates of guns. She told me
to pick one and fire at a target."
Akane giggled at his smirk. "How'd you do?"
"Well, Nishiguchi's men had made sure I was an
excellent shot. I just prefer fists or daggers to
guns so I never use them. So I picked some handgun
that looked just like the ones I was used to (I have
no idea what it's called) and after a score of
perfect bull's eyes, she got miffed and tried me at
some moving targets. Of course, a hitman is no good
if he can't pick off a moving target so I got those
too. I eventually explained everything to her, and
we became friends."
Akane laughed as she pictured Lilly glaring at a
big red and white target with a hole in the exact
center. "Who else do you know?"
He smiled and decided he should humor her more
often if she would laugh like that. "Well, there
are dozens of beautiful women with too perfect
figures, painted faces, and a doze plastic surgeons
in their address books. When I was around twelve of
course I loved beautiful older women flinging
themselves at me. After awhile though, you get so
used to outward beauty concealing women so stupid
that they can't hold a conversation, or even worse."
She frowned and grabbed a throw pillow to hug to
her chest. "What do you mean, 'worse'?"
He waved a hand and stretched his legs out in
front of him; his body angled toward Akane and his
legs crossed at the ankles. "Well, when I was
almost fourteen this beauty I met at a club came on
pretty strong. Things were getting pretty heated
when she pulled a knife on me."
Akane reached out a comforting hand at his
obviously pained expression. "I'm sorry Ranma, you
don't have to tell me these things if you don't want
to."
"Oh, it's okay. It just taught me to look for
more in a woman than a pretty face." He turned and
scanned her up and down once quickly, "Of course,
that helps."
She looked down at herself, her sad expression
searching for whatever flaw he apparently saw.
"Ranma, am I ugly?"
Ranma blinked and asked in a startled tone,
"What ever made you ask that?"
"Well, you're a lot wiser about the world than
the stupid little boys in Nerima. What do they
know? Just because a few of them have a little
crush on me—"
He held up a hand and she stopped. He smiled
and shook his head before reaching out and grabbing
her hand. He looked deeply into her eyes and said
softly, "Akane, you are pretty. In a couple of
years you're going to be a knockout. You're
different than the girls I've had previous
relationships with, but you're also a few years
younger than most of them. But, you have things
they never did."
She looked a little unsure about whether or not
she should believe him. "Like what?"
He smirked, "Well, first of all, you have a
personality. When you walk into a room, you get a
glance because you're pretty. But then the eyes
stay on you because you have a fire of life in you."
He froze and leaned toward her with concern
troubling his eyes when he noticed her eyes
sparkling with tears.
"Oh, Ranma, that's the sweetest thing I've ever
heard!"
She threw herself at him and flung her arms
around his neck. He turned his head slowly in
confusion to study her ear as she cried softly into
his shoulder. He wondered how he managed to go from
a friendly chat with his student/friend to having a
pretty young girl wrapping her arms around him and
sitting on his lap.
He cleared his throat and gently put his arms
around her. "Uh, are you okay?"
She pulled back to look into his eyes, but kept
her hands clasped loosely behind his neck. "Ranma,
I've never been happier. Do you really mean it?"
"Well, yeah."
She sighed, "That was so beautiful."
"What, that? You should hear me when I'm trying
to be poetic."
She giggled and then froze. She blushed
slightly, and tried to pull away. However, he had
different ideas and leaned forward for a kiss. She
was startled at first, but gave in with very little
encouragement.
It was several moments later that they came up
for air. She had a very dazed expression and she
melted against his chest. "Ranma, do you like me?"
He snorted, "I kissed you, didn't I?"
"No, I mean do you like me." She looked up at
him with an expression so blank that Ranma could
have learned from it.
Ranma sighed and gently pressed her head back to
his chest where he began to stroke her hair.
"Akane, I don't know if I want to marry you, but I
would love it if you would continue to go out on a
few dates with me."
He felt her tense slightly and was afraid that
he'd said something wrong. Then she looked back up
at him again with tears.
"Ranma, you don't have to do that. I'm not
going to be insulted if you want to dump my family
back off on our front stoop as soon as it's safe.
You've done more than you needed to already. But I
will not let you lead me on. If you think I'm
beneath you or just plain don't want to date me,
please tell me."
She pulled back a little from him, but he didn't
let her go. "Akane, I'm not exactly sure what it is
about you, but you're the most interesting person
I've ever met. I would be honored to take you out
again."
After another kiss and a few soft words, they
split and went downstairs for lunch.
Nabiki dressed quickly the next day and padded
barefoot down the hall to the room that had been
designated the new school room. She stretched her
arms over her head and walked in to find Akane
sitting at a table with schoolbooks in front of her.
Akane had a dazed but happy expression as she stared
at the globe in front of her.
"Hey, sis, what's up?"
Akane looked up, "Oh, not much, but Ranma and I
are going out again tomorrow night."
"That's nice." Akane and Nabiki both looked up
to see a smiling Saya in the doorway. "I'm glad you
two are getting along well. Ranma's always been
like a son to me, and I'm happy that he's found
someone he can enjoy being with."
Akane didn't seem to thrilled to hear that she
had the other woman's blessing, which Nabiki filed
away. In the mean time, she mentally prepared the
perfect wording to a sentence that she then sent
toward her new tutor.
"I'm sure that Ranma's mother would be glad to
hear that."
Saya blinked, and then looked quite sincerely
sad. "I know I could never be a true substitute for
his late mother, but I tried to be a good influence
on him."
Now Nabiki was a little confused, but she didn't
show it. "Why, whatever do you mean? Mrs. Soatome
is still quite living."
Saya froze and turned her tense face slowly to
study the middle Tendo daughter. "I think you need
to explain."
Akane stood and her chair went flying from her
sudden movement. "Wait a second, you mean Ranma
hasn't even talked to his Mom this whole time he's
been holed up here in the house hiding from Jaxom?"
Saya blinked and looked extra flustered. "Ranma
told me years ago that his mother was dead!"
Nabiki shook her head. "No, Daddy and Auntie
Nodoka have talked a few times over the years since
they found out that Genma—well, you know."
Saya bit her cheek and studied Nabiki for a
moment. "I think we need to have a long talk with
Ranma."
Ranma stared blankly at Soun's face for a long
moment. "My mother is . . . alive?"
Soun nodded gravely, "Yes, my boy, I would have
told you earlier except that, well, I assumed that
you knew."
Ranma reached into his desk drawer and pulled
out a pad of paper and a pen. "Do you know her
address?"
He scribbled a few precious lines before running
to the front door. He had his hand on the knob when
he looked down at himself. He'd been working out
when Saya had knocked on the dojo door. He was
mussed and sweaty. He wanted to see his mother, but
he wanted to make a good impression even more. He
was running upstairs to his room before he could
form a single other word or thought.
He flung open his closet door and ran a questing
hand down each rack. He heard a knock on the hall
door and answered without thought. A moment later,
Akane poked her head into the closet door.
"Ranma, what are you doing?"
"Making a good impression, that's what, is a
suit too much? No, it will show that I've grown up
and that I'm mature, I think."
A moment later, Akane was rushing from the room
with a bright red face. Only then did he realize
that he'd started undressing in front of her. He
shrugged and slipped into a navy pinstriped suit
that he particularly liked. He grabbed a red rose
from the arrangement in the front hall and tucked it
into his lapel. Then he grabbed the rest and tied a
piece of stray twine around the stems.
The next thing he knew, he was pulling up to a
small house. He got out of the convertible and
clutched the bouquet tightly. He started walking to
the door but paused and looked to the corner of the
house just before a pretty woman in a kimono walked
around it with a basket of fresh vegetables. She
was humming and looked up at him with a slight
start.
Nodoka scanned the garden once more for any
stray vegetables that were ripe enough for picking.
Seeing none, she grabbed the basket and straightened
the sword strapped to her back. She began to hum
softly to herself and made her way around to the
front of the house. She turned the corner and was
surprised to see a young man standing there with a
large arrangement of beautiful roses.
He was quite handsome, and dressed nicely in a
tailored suit. His dark shades hid his eyes, but
there was something very familiar about him . . .
"Can I help you, young man?"
He swallowed and turned to face her fully. He
cocked his head as if studying her for something
unknown. "I'm sorry, but are you Nodoka, Genma
Soatome's widow?"
Her throat tightened. She hadn't heard her
husband's name in years. Her hands clenched around
the handle of the basket. Numbly, she nodded, "Why
yes, but I haven't heard that name in years. Can I
ask what brings you here?"
An exultant smile slowly spread across the young
man's face and he took a halting step toward her.
She nearly shrank back, but told herself that was
silly. He reached up and took his shades off and
she was surprised to see that he was crying. Then
she noticed the deep blue of his eyes.
He smiled so sweetly, "There are some who have
called me the White Dragon, others have called me
Ryo Tome, but you and father named me Ranma Soatome
over sixteen years ago. Mother, I'm home."
Within four hours, Nodoka had been told all
about her son's life. Now he was comforting her,
and she him, and they were crying their final tears.
He pulled back and smiled lovingly into her face.
"I always thought you were dead. I never had
any reason to think otherwise—" She watched doubt,
then anger cloud his expression. "That scoundrel
must have known . . ."
"Ranma, what do you mean?"
He sighed, "Never mind, mother, I'll explain
later. Now, how long will it take you to pack
enough to last you a couple of days?"
She blinked once, "What do you mean, son?"
He smiled proudly, "Mother, you're moving in
with me."
She blinked, "Oh Ranma, I can't just yet. I
have a dear old friend coming to see me tomorrow.
Besides, I couldn't dare impose on you."
Ranma glanced around the adequate, yet sparse
accommodations. "Mother, this place is far beneath
you. Trust me, I can more than afford one more
houseguest."
She cocked her head, "What do you mean, one
more? Who is living with you, son?"
He slapped his forehead, "Oh yeah! Apparently
you know the Tendos?" She nodded mutely, so he
continued, "Well I found out that Pop had engaged me
to one of them, so they're staying with me. I can
explain everything else later, but that's the basic
story."
"Oh, dear me, the whole family is staying with
you?"
"Yup, now c'mon, come live with me."
She smiled and cupped his face with one of her
hands. "My son, I have a few loose ends to tie up.
Tomorrow evening I will come see your home. If I'm
satisfied that you can afford for me to live with
you, I'll come. Can you come pick me up at this
time tomorrow evening?"
He nodded, but wasn't happy. "Fine, but go
ahead and have an overnight bag ready. Then I'll
have some people sent over the next day to get all
of your things. You can choose what you want to
keep and throw away once it's all at my place. I
want you safe at my place as soon as possible."
She chuckled, "Oh, Ranma, it is so good to have
you back."
It was very late indeed when Ranma got into his
car and drove back to his place.
Nodoka had just finished packing her overnight
bag the next morning when she heard a knock on the
front door. She was humming happily as she took the
bag with her. She dropped against the wall as she
opened the door. A man with black hair and a silver
streak smiled serenely at her.
"Hello, Nodoka, it's been too long."
She smiled, "Oh, Chad, it's only been a week.
Come in, I have good news!"
He followed her in and sat across the table from
her. "That's nice, what's your news?"
She smiled and turned to gather the tea
implements. "I just learned that my son is alive
and I'm going to see him again tonight! He just
showed up last night without warning!"
By the time she had turned to set those things
on the table, he'd schooled his features into a
suitably happy smile.
Ranma showed up at his mother's house just after
she'd eaten dinner. She'd let him in happily and
excused herself to put up her dishes. He picked up
her overnight bag and took it out to put in the
trunk. By the time he made it back to the front
door, she was opening it to come out and meet him.
He smiled at her, recognizing her features from
his own. She smiled sweetly up at him and started
to open the passenger door. He grabbed her hand and
smirked.
"Not yet, mother, I want it to be a surprise."
He pulled out a black blindfold and she laughingly
allowed him to tie it snugly around her eyes. Then
he carefully helped her into her seat. He didn't
feel self-conscious driving so fast either if she
couldn't see it.
He made it back home quickly, smiling the whole
time. As he parked, he saw a face disappear from a
window. He ran around the car and helped his
stumbling mother from the car. He turned her to
face the house and prepared to take the blindfold
off.
"It's nothing compared to my bosses house, but
I'm kinda proud of it." He removed the cloth with a
flourish.
Nabiki strolled into the parlor where the entire
household was waiting. "They're here." She sat on
the couch between Kasumi and her father. Akane and
Sansha were on the other couch, with Marco sitting
next to Saya on the loveseat. It was a few minutes
before Ranma opened the parlor door.
Nodoka Soatome was in a formal Kimono with a
Katana strapped to her back. She was smiling up at
her son and saying something about the house when
she noticed the people in the room.
"Oh, are all of these people your guests,
Ranma?"
He smiled and everyone stood to be introduced.
"Well, I believe you know Mr. Tendo. These are his
older daughters, Kasumi and Nabiki. Sansha and
Loren Keller here are the children of an old friend
of mine; and I'm training them right now. This is
my childhood tutor, Saya Nishiguchi." The two women
smiled and clasped hands, somehow feeling an instant
kinship.
Ranma turned and gestured for Akane to come
over. She did slowly, blushing slightly when she
realized what was coming. Ranma put an arm loosely
around her waist and smiled at his mother.
"This is Akane Tendo, my fiancée."
Author's Notes:
Whoo, what a relief. Okay, first off, I want to send my deepest thanks to everyone that reviewed/emailed me. I never expected such a response. I tried to email a few of you back, but I've been pretty swamped lately, and thought it would be a better use of my time to just buckle down and make a couple changes that were requested.
I have more chapters up on my website, but I've been having problems withe insufficient bandwith lately, as I'm sure some of you know. They haven't been revised yet though. I went back in and tried to add some more in about the curse, without it looking like I was adding stuff in. Not easy, and this means I'm now even further behind on my homework, but what's a girl to do? Next line of business, rework the last couple of chapters. They'll be a lot more involved, cause that's where most of the plot is, but I've been wanting to do it for ages anyway.
To those of you who've reviewed, thanks again! To everyone else, keep 'em coming!!
motionless before her. After what seemed like
eternity, his fist flew straight toward her face
without any apparent warning. She thought she could
dodge it. Ranma thought she could dodge it. She
tried to dodge it. She didn't dodge it.
She flew backwards in a graceful arc. It was
really quite perfect for a photograph. It was
really quite sad that Nabiki wasn't around with a
camera. Ranma jumped and barely caught her before
she hit the floor, rolling nimbly with her encased
in his arms until they stopped several yards away.
Ranma stared down at her dazed expression with a
worried glint in his baby blues. Then he went
flying. He lay motionless for several moments
before slowly sitting up and rubbing his jaw.
She was biting her lip. Her shoulders shook
once, twice, then she burst out with a triumphant
cheer as she jumped to her feet.
"I did it!"
Sansha and her brother poked their heads into
the dojo's door. She cocked hers and asked in her
heavy and unusual accent, "Vat did you do, Akane?"
Akane ran over and grabbed her friend's hands,
still bouncing. "I caught Ranma by surprise! I
took the majority of a punch on purpose. Then, when
he was leaning over me all worried and everything, I
socked him!"
Sansha began hopping with Akane at this point as
Ranma shrugged. "Geez, Akane. It ain't that big of
a deal."
Akane sent Ranma a skeptical look. "Yeah, right
Ranma. I suppose you think you're easy to
surprise?"
He shook his head and stood easily in one fluid
movement. "Nah, and to tell ya the truth, I
wouldn't recommend surprising me too often.
Remember the soup incident?"
Akane sighed and Sansha looked very confused.
"I know, but this was different. Your element is
fighting, and I caught you off guard."
He nodded, "Yes, and you learned something
important from it too. You have to know when to
take sacrifices in a fight. You took a blow, but
you gave at least what you got. Good job. Now,
what do you two need?"
Sansha, still grinning, opened her mouth a
second behind her brother. He shot his cackling
sister a disgraced glance before answering Ranma.
"We were sent by zee lovely Miz Kah-zumi to tell you
two of dinner."
Ranma blinked once. "OH. We'll be down once we
clean up then."
The twins nodded and scampered off, apparently
to find Soun and Nabiki with the same message.
Ranma turned and smiled down at Akane.
"I really am proud of you, Akane."
She flushed a little and looked away. "Oh, it
wasn't that big of a deal. I just got carried away
in the moment."
Her eyes rolled over and up to meet his, her
face still tilted away slightly from his own. Without
thought, he reached out with a finger to tilt her face
up to his. He leaned forward and kissed her.
Akane was shocked, but pleasantly, as he kissed
her much deeper than he had the night of their date.
She sighed as he pulled away, and they smiled at
each other. Then he took a step back and his finger
fell slowly, regretfully from her chin.
"We'd better get cleaned up. You can go first."
He gestured in the general direction of his private
bathroom.
She nodded, her face adorably pink, and
scampered from the room. Ranma watched her go with
some regret, wanting to follow her. He sighed and
turned to the wall lined with mirrors. It wasn't
very traditional, but it came in handy sometimes
when you were training alone to be able to see
yourself.
Now he studied his face and wondered what he
should do with his life.
Akane touched her fingers to her lips before
entering the dining room a few minutes later. She'd
changed out of her tank top and shorts, and into a
simple blouse and skirt. With a pleased smile, she
opened the door and walked in.
"Hello, every—"She stopped dead as she noticed
Kasumi talking to the lavender haired woman. "—
one."
The two women looked up and smiled. Kasumi
cocked her head in her usual cheerful manner and
said, "Good evening, Akane. Did you have a good
work out with Ranma?"
The other woman raised a questioning and vaguely
disapproving eyebrow at Akane; hinting that maybe
She and Ranma had been engaged in some scandalous
acts. Akane blushed, "Uh, yeah Kasumi, it was
great. I managed to catch Ranma by surprise with a
punch and sent him flying across the room. He
almost hit the bedroom door."
The woman had been relaxing, but had the nerve
to look scandalized again at that last sentence.
Akane blushed even more furiously as she realized
her mistake. She was saved, however, as Nabiki came
in.
"Hello everyone, if you'll excuse me—"
Ranma was walking through the doorway behind
her. He placed one hand on her back and steered her
over to her usual seat at the table with a smile.
"You'll be staying right here, Nabiki. I have
an important message for the entire household." He
pulled out her chair and had gently guided her into
it before she'd realized it and gathered herself
enough to comment.
"I'm sure I can get the minutes from your
secretary when I get home. I have a meeting with
some people from school."
Ranma waved a dismissive hand and took his own
seat at the head of the table. "Actually Nabiki, my
message pertains to your schooling. Now, who are we
missing? He scanned the table, but Kasumi glided
into the room with the last of the dishes. She took
her seat, and Ranma smiled before resuming his scan
of the table's occupants.
Soun, as head of his household, was to Ranma's
right. To Ranma's left was Akane. Kasumi and
Nabiki sat next to their father. Sansha was next to
Akane, then Marco by her. Saya had taken the last
chair, the one at the opposite end of the table from
Ranma. Noting that everyone was here now, Ranma
tapped his glass.
When everyone's faces turned to him, he stood
and smiled. "Everyone, I believe that most of you
know Saya? For those of you who don't, she was my
private tutor for awhile when I was younger."
Akane blinked.
"I've told you all that there are certain
dangers that come with living with and being around
me. As a result, I thought that Nabiki and Akane
continuing to go to a public school while some of
Jaxom's men are still on the loose is far too
dangerous for my comfort."
He smiled down the table Saya. She had her
hands folded in her lap and a serene half smile on
her lips. Akane wondered if her face was capable of
stretching into a full smile.
"So, I've asked Saya to come here and give you
girls the same education that she gave me." He
turned to the Keller twins, "And of course the two
of you are included as well. It's much safer if you
all remain here where I can be sure of your safety.
It will also be safer for Saya, since she worked for
the Roses as well."
There was a collective blink from everyone
except Ranma, Saya, and of course, Kasumi. Nabiki
stood stiffly and stared blankly at the wall before
her for a moment.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room making
some very important phone calls."
"Oh my," Kasumi muttered.
They all watched her leave and Ranma sighed.
"Don't worry; I'll have a talk with her after
dinner. I've already had all of the paperwork done;
you'll be going back to your school tomorrow for the
last time until Jaxom's rings of hitmen have all
been uncovered."
As soon as it was politely excusable, Ranma
wiped his mouth on his napkin and stood. "I'm going
to go straighten a few things out with Nabiki."
He was perfectly calm both inwardly and
outwardly as he walked up the stairs and through the
hallways to the room that Nabiki had claimed while
he'd raced to China to save her sister. He paused
in front of the door and heard a soft conversation.
He knocked on the door before opening it and walking
in.
Nabiki was sitting in front of the vanity in a
dark green robe. She stopped mid-sentence and
turned to look coldly at him over her shoulder. She
turned back to the vanity and scribbled a note on
the notebook in front of her. "I'll call you back."
She turned around but remained on the stool.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
Ranma looked around but the only seat was the
bed. "I know why you're mad."
She glared coldly at him. "I told you how
important my business at the school was to my
family. Now we'll have no income whatsoever."
Ranma held up one finger and slowly shook his
head once. "Not quite. Since our conversation in
the Library I've done a little research on you.
You're good, Nabiki. You're a natural with numbers.
I thought, if you accept of course, that you would
do much better handling my money than the three
people I have currently under my employ for the
job."
Nabiki blinked and sat up a little taller than
she had been. She quickly ran through the mental
list she'd been keeping of the priceless antiques
and artworks she'd managed to identify in the house.
She cocked her head and drawled, "Please, go on . .
."
Akane had taken her time with dinner. After
Ranma left, she and Kasumi had crossed gazes. With
a nod, Akane had silently agreed to go check on
Nabiki later. She waited patiently for three full
minutes after Ranma left before she stood. Her
father was crying over the generosity of his future
son-in-law.
She walked slowly up the stairs, pausing on each
step for half a heartbeat. She made her cautious
way down the halls to Nabiki's room. She froze as
Ranma walked out of Nabiki's room with a self-
satisfied smirk. He didn't seem to notice Akane,
going in the other direction as he left the room.
Akane frowned in confusion, but was more worried
about her sister at the moment.
She ran up to the door and thrust her head in.
"Hey, sis!"
Nabiki waved casually, staring blissfully off
into space. "Hi."
Akane walked over and waved her hand in front of
her sister's face.
Akane's face was the epitome of a perplexed
teenager. "Okay, so he's paying for us to have a
private tutor and for you to handle his money
because he feels guilty for making us lose money by
being engaged to me?"
Nabiki nodded, still in a state of dazed bliss.
Akane threw her hands into the air. "That doesn't
make any sense!"
Finally coming back to her senses, Nabiki
winked, "It does when you know the entire context.
Look around you Akane, think about all of the money
he must have! I bet that's why he made the
stipulations." She placed a thoughtful finger to her
chin.
Akane frowned again. "What stipulations?"
Nabiki waved a distracted hand, "Oh, only that I
couldn't tell anyone how much he had, make any
transactions over a million dollars without his
approval, or see any of his records older than two
years without his permission."
Akane yelped. "Are you kidding me?"
Nabiki suddenly looked like a very content
kitten with a gallon of cream and a pound of tuna.
"Nope, isn't it wonderful?"
Akane woke up feeling more rested than she had
in months. She stretched happily, wondering how she
felt so rested when Kasumi hadn't even woken her up
yet. She glanced over at the clock and yelped. She
should have been up fifteen minutes ago!
She was bathed, dressed, and finishing drying
her hair when she remembered. She was going to
school today, but she wasn't attending school. She
wasn't sure how she felt about having a private
tutor, but she knew that she hated that tutor. Now
frowning, she started to storm out of the room.
Then an idea struck her faster than even Ranma
could.
Akane scanned her reflection in the mirror,
biting a contemplative lip. With a slow nod she ran
to the bathroom.
Sansha growled as the knocking continued to
disrupt her sleep. Grumbling to herself she was up
and opening the door before she realized it. She
flung the door open as a lock of hair fell over her
right eye.
She blinked a few times before she noticed that
Akane had swept into the room with an armful of
stuff. Stuff was the perfect word for the hodge-
podge of miscellaneous objects in Akane's arms.
Sansha sighed as said stuff was flung in a pile onto
her bed.
"Akane, my dear friend, eet eez far too early
for you to be out of bed with such abounding
energy."
Akane giggled with a determined and yet blissful
grin. "No, we need an early start. I have the
perfect plan for getting Ranma's attention." She
spun around and Sansha just now noticed that her
hair was arranged carefully in loose curls with a
bit pulled back from either side of her face.
"You look nice."
Akane smiled, "Thanks, I tried to pay attention
when you did it for that night out with Ranma. It
took me a lot longer than it did you, though."
Sansha, still half asleep, finally blinked and
gasped in comprehension. With a gleam in her eyes
she grabbed the brown mascara and a sheer pink
lipstick.
Akane studied her reflection carefully. "I
don't know, you can barely tell a difference."
Sansha giggled, "But Akane, that eez zee point!"
Akane turned a disbelieving eye to meet her
friend's eyes in the mirror. "I don't quite follow
you."
Another giggle, "Akane, if you went miraculously
from tomboy to supermodel overnight, people would
notice. However, if you wear just enough natural
looking make-up to enhance what is really you,
you'll just look like a natural beauty."
Akane looked skeptical, but shrugged. "If you
say so; but I'm really getting hungry."
Sansha saw the girl stand and shook her head.
"Not quite yet."
Akane followed her friends gaze and blinked down
in confusion. She glared down at her school
uniform. "I suppose I should change, since this
ruins the effect."
Ranma left his room after his morning ritual of
work out and bath. He went downstairs and into the
dining room to his usual seat. Soun was reading the
paper and Ranma smirked in triumph. He'd had to
wait for Soun to finish with the paper everyday for
weeks. Finally, he'd given in and ordered a second
one to be delivered each morning.
Ranma picked up his copy and turned to the
business section. He read the parts that were most
relevant to his own business ventures before putting
the paper aside to eat the food Kasumi was placing
in front of him.
"Thank you, Kasumi."
She smiled and bustled back to the kitchen as
the door to the hallway opened up. Ranma looked up
to see which of his guests was finally waking up.
He started to mutter a greeting, but froze.
Akane was standing halfway through the door, one
hand still on the frame. Her eyes caught him first;
a playful, secretive gleam in them that called out
to him. Her hair was curled slightly, exactly as it
had been the night they went out. She was wearing a
pale yellow silk blouse without sleeves and a crisp
collar. She had two buttons undone, and wore the
same gold chain she had the other night. She wore
fine, tailored black slacks that were just tight
enough to be alluring without appearing trashy, and
black leather ankle boots.
He swallowed as she smiled sweetly at him. She
looked more mature than she usually did as she
walked comfortably to her seat. As she sat down,
she shot him another smile. She started to eat as
he studied her. He couldn't place it, but something
was definitely different about her. She was Akane,
but she wasn't. He smiled.
"Good morning, Akane. Did you sleep well? You
look nice this morning."
Her cheeks turned pink and she put down the
glass she'd just sipped from. "Thank you, yes I did
sleep well. And," she shot him a glance, "Thank
you."
He smiled as she continued to blush. "I believe
your sister is up in her room. Kasumi says that
she's already had breakfast, so we can head off as
soon as you're done."
She nodded and took another bite of her food.
Nabiki was first out the door that morning as
she and her sister were heading out to the drive
where Ranma was waiting with the car. He was
standing in the open driver's side door. He watched
as Nabiki walked to the car and grabbed the
passenger side handle. Their eyes met and he raised
one eyebrow slightly. She smirked and climbed into
the backseat. Ranma shook his head with a grin as
Akane sprang down the steps. She smiled at Ranma
and hopped into the front seat.
Ranma grinned and sat down himself. He turned
the car on and started to put it in gear when he
paused.
Turning to smile at the girls he said, "How
about we put the top down?"
Akane laughed but Nabiki just rolled her eyes.
Ranma smirked and hit the switch. A few minutes
later, they were zooming down the road with the top
of the sportscar down. They pulled into the school
gates a little bit later. Ranma shut the car off
and jumped across the hood to open the door for the
girls.
Akane shot him another alluring smile and he
shook his head slightly to clear it as she started
waling toward the school. Nabiki gave his
expression a quick look before chuckling and
following her younger sister. Ranma slammed the
door and followed after them, locking the doors with
the keychain remote over his shoulder as he schooled
his expression and caught up with them. He paused
only slightly when he realized that he was angry.
He blinked once. How could he be angry with himself
for finding his fiancée a little attractive?
Akane looked over her shoulder. When she caught
his eyes she giggled a little and held back to grab
his arm, "C'mon, silly, let's get this over with."
He groaned mentally, okay, he found her very
attractive. He followed the Tendo girls inside and
they went through the formalities of withdrawing the
two girls from the school. He spent the majority of
the time standing back with his hands in his pockets
and keeping a bored outward expression while he
tried not to stare at Akane. He couldn't put a
finger on the change. Sure, she was dressed
differently and her hair was fixed, but that wasn't
enough to explain his sudden notice of her.
After a little paper signing and records
exchanging, the girls were told that they could go
up to their classrooms to gather any belongings
there. Nabiki and Akane split off and Ranma
followed Akane with a shrug. He kept his eyes on
her, er, back until she knocked on her classroom
door. His eyes jerked up as the teacher called for
them to enter.
Akane seemed a little puzzled by the female
voice. Ranma thought it sounded like a typical
woman's voice, but he didn't know what her teacher
usually sounded like. Akane opened the door and
stepped in to see a woman with long brown hair in a
short yellow dress. The woman was standing at the
desk with a frown of annoyance at her class being
interrupted.
"Yes, are you two new students? I haven't heard
anything about getting two new students."
Akane smiled and Ranma noticed that every boy in
the class was drooling. A few of them even fainted.
"Actually, I'm Akane Tendo. I withdrew a few
minutes ago and I've been sent to get my stuff from
my desk."
The woman was glowing with barely-checked rage.
"Are you some delinquent drop out?"
Ranma's eyes narrowed as the woman started to
reach for something. He noted that a few students
cringed.
Akane shook her head with a confused frown.
"No, I'm going to have a tutor at home, now. Ranma
here—"
The woman's disbelieving eyes turned to Ranma.
"You are a tutor? You can't even have finished high
school yet!"
Ranma was a world famous martial artist with
millions of fans and dozens of rivals that were
regularly making tries on his life. He'd survived
on his own for years in the wild, in the streets,
and in the clutches of the greatest crime boss on
this side of the planet. He did not like the scorn
in her voice, nor the way she said it while looking
down her nose at him.
He smirked.
"Actually miss, I probably have more education
than you do. I'm Ranma Soatome, also known as Ryo
Tome." He snorted, "I was also known as another
name, but I won't share that in front of the
children. I have to my credit degrees in
engineering and computer programming. However, I
will not be the tutor for the Tendo sisters; I am
merely paying for the tutor."
The woman just stared blankly at him for a
moment. Ranma used the break to gesture to a
stunned Akane to go get her belongings. Before the
teacher, he never did learn her name, could question
him again Ranma and Akane were walking down the
hallway. They met up with Nabiki, who was puzzled
by the pair of them. They ignored her, however.
Nabiki was waiting by the door for her sister
and her fiancé. When the two of them came around
the corner, Nabiki blinked. Ranma was genuinely
laughing and Akane was giggling ecstatically as she
hung off his arm. Akane threw back her head and
gave a brilliant blast of laughter as Ranma smiled
down at her with sparkling eyes.
They laughed together once more before settling
down as their eyes fell on Nabiki, her right eyebrow
raised slightly. They shared a conspiring glance
before erasing their expressions and calmly walking
out to the car. Nabiki rolled her eyes and
followed.
Ranma and the two girls returned home after a
little grocery shopping to help Kasumi make lunch.
Nabiki expertly hinted that perhaps Ranma and Akane
would like a light workout before lunch. Ranma was
inwardly a little confused that Nabiki was so intent
on sending her little sister away, but the two elder
Tendo girls would easily be able to handle a little
lunch for six, and he did want a little exercise.
So Akane smiled and ran off to change. Ranma
paused and shot Nabiki a questioning glance. She
mouthed, "I'll explain later," and turned to chop
vegetables. Ranma shrugged one shoulder and
strolled up to his room to change. He went into his
rather large closet and grabbed the a set of Chinese
clothes he found and stripped. He had his pants on
when his bedroom door flew open.
"Ranma, I—"
She stopped and stared at him. He was
tightening the drawstring of his pants and didn't
have a shirt on. She turned bright red and took a
step backward.
Ranma exhaled slowly through teeth that were
grinding in an attempt to reign in his emotions.
Her hair was in its usual loose ponytail, the curled
ends making the dark strands harder to restrain, so
a few locks had fallen loose to curl around her
face. He couldn't help but notice that her gi's top
was gaping open just enough to make him want to peek
like a naïve little boy. He fought to keep from
frowning at his own odd behavior and smiled at her.
"Perfect timing, Akane, c'mon in."
She looked up hesitantly as he slipped the shirt
on, leaving it unfastened. She took a cautious step
into the room and closed the door. She gave a
small, strained smile and he wanted nothing more at
the moment than to walk over and kiss her until she
couldn't not smile.
Instead, he kept his smile on and walked over to
her. He gave his cocky half-smile and he was
secretly amused that she seemed unable to draw her
eyes from his bare chest. He kept walking closer
until she looked ready to bolt. At that exact point
he stopped and studied her face for a moment.
"You know, I wasn't kidding this morning. You
look absolutely stunning today. Not to say that you
usually don't." He paused and cocked his head.
"Actually, I would say that you usually look more
'cute' than anything; especially when you smile."
She blushed and looked away, "Oh, I just wore a
little make-up today, that's all."
He smiled and held a finger to her cheek.
"Well, you should do it every day. It really
emphasizes your wonderful features. Just don't do
what most girls do and cake on layers of bright
colors that just hide their faces."
She blushed again and Ranma was charmed. She
smiled and glanced quickly to him and away. "Thank
you, Ranma."
He nodded his head and caressed her cheek before
drawing his hand away. "No problem. You know,
you're so different from most of the women I've
known."
She looked up questioningly and he sighed. "I
suppose you want to hear all about it, don't you?
All women are alike in a few ways I suppose. Well,
have a seat." He gestured to the couch that was
against one wall. She giggled and ran over to it.
She leaned against one armrest and pulled her legs
beneath her.
He smiled at her and sat next to her. "Well,
take Lilly for example. She was one of my trainers
when I went to work for Chad. She was supposed to
teach me how to shoot. I told Chad that I hadn't
used guns very much so he assumed that I didn't know
how to shoot. So when I showed up to my first day
of job training, in walked Lilly with a few big guys
following her with big crates of guns. She told me
to pick one and fire at a target."
Akane giggled at his smirk. "How'd you do?"
"Well, Nishiguchi's men had made sure I was an
excellent shot. I just prefer fists or daggers to
guns so I never use them. So I picked some handgun
that looked just like the ones I was used to (I have
no idea what it's called) and after a score of
perfect bull's eyes, she got miffed and tried me at
some moving targets. Of course, a hitman is no good
if he can't pick off a moving target so I got those
too. I eventually explained everything to her, and
we became friends."
Akane laughed as she pictured Lilly glaring at a
big red and white target with a hole in the exact
center. "Who else do you know?"
He smiled and decided he should humor her more
often if she would laugh like that. "Well, there
are dozens of beautiful women with too perfect
figures, painted faces, and a doze plastic surgeons
in their address books. When I was around twelve of
course I loved beautiful older women flinging
themselves at me. After awhile though, you get so
used to outward beauty concealing women so stupid
that they can't hold a conversation, or even worse."
She frowned and grabbed a throw pillow to hug to
her chest. "What do you mean, 'worse'?"
He waved a hand and stretched his legs out in
front of him; his body angled toward Akane and his
legs crossed at the ankles. "Well, when I was
almost fourteen this beauty I met at a club came on
pretty strong. Things were getting pretty heated
when she pulled a knife on me."
Akane reached out a comforting hand at his
obviously pained expression. "I'm sorry Ranma, you
don't have to tell me these things if you don't want
to."
"Oh, it's okay. It just taught me to look for
more in a woman than a pretty face." He turned and
scanned her up and down once quickly, "Of course,
that helps."
She looked down at herself, her sad expression
searching for whatever flaw he apparently saw.
"Ranma, am I ugly?"
Ranma blinked and asked in a startled tone,
"What ever made you ask that?"
"Well, you're a lot wiser about the world than
the stupid little boys in Nerima. What do they
know? Just because a few of them have a little
crush on me—"
He held up a hand and she stopped. He smiled
and shook his head before reaching out and grabbing
her hand. He looked deeply into her eyes and said
softly, "Akane, you are pretty. In a couple of
years you're going to be a knockout. You're
different than the girls I've had previous
relationships with, but you're also a few years
younger than most of them. But, you have things
they never did."
She looked a little unsure about whether or not
she should believe him. "Like what?"
He smirked, "Well, first of all, you have a
personality. When you walk into a room, you get a
glance because you're pretty. But then the eyes
stay on you because you have a fire of life in you."
He froze and leaned toward her with concern
troubling his eyes when he noticed her eyes
sparkling with tears.
"Oh, Ranma, that's the sweetest thing I've ever
heard!"
She threw herself at him and flung her arms
around his neck. He turned his head slowly in
confusion to study her ear as she cried softly into
his shoulder. He wondered how he managed to go from
a friendly chat with his student/friend to having a
pretty young girl wrapping her arms around him and
sitting on his lap.
He cleared his throat and gently put his arms
around her. "Uh, are you okay?"
She pulled back to look into his eyes, but kept
her hands clasped loosely behind his neck. "Ranma,
I've never been happier. Do you really mean it?"
"Well, yeah."
She sighed, "That was so beautiful."
"What, that? You should hear me when I'm trying
to be poetic."
She giggled and then froze. She blushed
slightly, and tried to pull away. However, he had
different ideas and leaned forward for a kiss. She
was startled at first, but gave in with very little
encouragement.
It was several moments later that they came up
for air. She had a very dazed expression and she
melted against his chest. "Ranma, do you like me?"
He snorted, "I kissed you, didn't I?"
"No, I mean do you like me." She looked up at
him with an expression so blank that Ranma could
have learned from it.
Ranma sighed and gently pressed her head back to
his chest where he began to stroke her hair.
"Akane, I don't know if I want to marry you, but I
would love it if you would continue to go out on a
few dates with me."
He felt her tense slightly and was afraid that
he'd said something wrong. Then she looked back up
at him again with tears.
"Ranma, you don't have to do that. I'm not
going to be insulted if you want to dump my family
back off on our front stoop as soon as it's safe.
You've done more than you needed to already. But I
will not let you lead me on. If you think I'm
beneath you or just plain don't want to date me,
please tell me."
She pulled back a little from him, but he didn't
let her go. "Akane, I'm not exactly sure what it is
about you, but you're the most interesting person
I've ever met. I would be honored to take you out
again."
After another kiss and a few soft words, they
split and went downstairs for lunch.
Nabiki dressed quickly the next day and padded
barefoot down the hall to the room that had been
designated the new school room. She stretched her
arms over her head and walked in to find Akane
sitting at a table with schoolbooks in front of her.
Akane had a dazed but happy expression as she stared
at the globe in front of her.
"Hey, sis, what's up?"
Akane looked up, "Oh, not much, but Ranma and I
are going out again tomorrow night."
"That's nice." Akane and Nabiki both looked up
to see a smiling Saya in the doorway. "I'm glad you
two are getting along well. Ranma's always been
like a son to me, and I'm happy that he's found
someone he can enjoy being with."
Akane didn't seem to thrilled to hear that she
had the other woman's blessing, which Nabiki filed
away. In the mean time, she mentally prepared the
perfect wording to a sentence that she then sent
toward her new tutor.
"I'm sure that Ranma's mother would be glad to
hear that."
Saya blinked, and then looked quite sincerely
sad. "I know I could never be a true substitute for
his late mother, but I tried to be a good influence
on him."
Now Nabiki was a little confused, but she didn't
show it. "Why, whatever do you mean? Mrs. Soatome
is still quite living."
Saya froze and turned her tense face slowly to
study the middle Tendo daughter. "I think you need
to explain."
Akane stood and her chair went flying from her
sudden movement. "Wait a second, you mean Ranma
hasn't even talked to his Mom this whole time he's
been holed up here in the house hiding from Jaxom?"
Saya blinked and looked extra flustered. "Ranma
told me years ago that his mother was dead!"
Nabiki shook her head. "No, Daddy and Auntie
Nodoka have talked a few times over the years since
they found out that Genma—well, you know."
Saya bit her cheek and studied Nabiki for a
moment. "I think we need to have a long talk with
Ranma."
Ranma stared blankly at Soun's face for a long
moment. "My mother is . . . alive?"
Soun nodded gravely, "Yes, my boy, I would have
told you earlier except that, well, I assumed that
you knew."
Ranma reached into his desk drawer and pulled
out a pad of paper and a pen. "Do you know her
address?"
He scribbled a few precious lines before running
to the front door. He had his hand on the knob when
he looked down at himself. He'd been working out
when Saya had knocked on the dojo door. He was
mussed and sweaty. He wanted to see his mother, but
he wanted to make a good impression even more. He
was running upstairs to his room before he could
form a single other word or thought.
He flung open his closet door and ran a questing
hand down each rack. He heard a knock on the hall
door and answered without thought. A moment later,
Akane poked her head into the closet door.
"Ranma, what are you doing?"
"Making a good impression, that's what, is a
suit too much? No, it will show that I've grown up
and that I'm mature, I think."
A moment later, Akane was rushing from the room
with a bright red face. Only then did he realize
that he'd started undressing in front of her. He
shrugged and slipped into a navy pinstriped suit
that he particularly liked. He grabbed a red rose
from the arrangement in the front hall and tucked it
into his lapel. Then he grabbed the rest and tied a
piece of stray twine around the stems.
The next thing he knew, he was pulling up to a
small house. He got out of the convertible and
clutched the bouquet tightly. He started walking to
the door but paused and looked to the corner of the
house just before a pretty woman in a kimono walked
around it with a basket of fresh vegetables. She
was humming and looked up at him with a slight
start.
Nodoka scanned the garden once more for any
stray vegetables that were ripe enough for picking.
Seeing none, she grabbed the basket and straightened
the sword strapped to her back. She began to hum
softly to herself and made her way around to the
front of the house. She turned the corner and was
surprised to see a young man standing there with a
large arrangement of beautiful roses.
He was quite handsome, and dressed nicely in a
tailored suit. His dark shades hid his eyes, but
there was something very familiar about him . . .
"Can I help you, young man?"
He swallowed and turned to face her fully. He
cocked his head as if studying her for something
unknown. "I'm sorry, but are you Nodoka, Genma
Soatome's widow?"
Her throat tightened. She hadn't heard her
husband's name in years. Her hands clenched around
the handle of the basket. Numbly, she nodded, "Why
yes, but I haven't heard that name in years. Can I
ask what brings you here?"
An exultant smile slowly spread across the young
man's face and he took a halting step toward her.
She nearly shrank back, but told herself that was
silly. He reached up and took his shades off and
she was surprised to see that he was crying. Then
she noticed the deep blue of his eyes.
He smiled so sweetly, "There are some who have
called me the White Dragon, others have called me
Ryo Tome, but you and father named me Ranma Soatome
over sixteen years ago. Mother, I'm home."
Within four hours, Nodoka had been told all
about her son's life. Now he was comforting her,
and she him, and they were crying their final tears.
He pulled back and smiled lovingly into her face.
"I always thought you were dead. I never had
any reason to think otherwise—" She watched doubt,
then anger cloud his expression. "That scoundrel
must have known . . ."
"Ranma, what do you mean?"
He sighed, "Never mind, mother, I'll explain
later. Now, how long will it take you to pack
enough to last you a couple of days?"
She blinked once, "What do you mean, son?"
He smiled proudly, "Mother, you're moving in
with me."
She blinked, "Oh Ranma, I can't just yet. I
have a dear old friend coming to see me tomorrow.
Besides, I couldn't dare impose on you."
Ranma glanced around the adequate, yet sparse
accommodations. "Mother, this place is far beneath
you. Trust me, I can more than afford one more
houseguest."
She cocked her head, "What do you mean, one
more? Who is living with you, son?"
He slapped his forehead, "Oh yeah! Apparently
you know the Tendos?" She nodded mutely, so he
continued, "Well I found out that Pop had engaged me
to one of them, so they're staying with me. I can
explain everything else later, but that's the basic
story."
"Oh, dear me, the whole family is staying with
you?"
"Yup, now c'mon, come live with me."
She smiled and cupped his face with one of her
hands. "My son, I have a few loose ends to tie up.
Tomorrow evening I will come see your home. If I'm
satisfied that you can afford for me to live with
you, I'll come. Can you come pick me up at this
time tomorrow evening?"
He nodded, but wasn't happy. "Fine, but go
ahead and have an overnight bag ready. Then I'll
have some people sent over the next day to get all
of your things. You can choose what you want to
keep and throw away once it's all at my place. I
want you safe at my place as soon as possible."
She chuckled, "Oh, Ranma, it is so good to have
you back."
It was very late indeed when Ranma got into his
car and drove back to his place.
Nodoka had just finished packing her overnight
bag the next morning when she heard a knock on the
front door. She was humming happily as she took the
bag with her. She dropped against the wall as she
opened the door. A man with black hair and a silver
streak smiled serenely at her.
"Hello, Nodoka, it's been too long."
She smiled, "Oh, Chad, it's only been a week.
Come in, I have good news!"
He followed her in and sat across the table from
her. "That's nice, what's your news?"
She smiled and turned to gather the tea
implements. "I just learned that my son is alive
and I'm going to see him again tonight! He just
showed up last night without warning!"
By the time she had turned to set those things
on the table, he'd schooled his features into a
suitably happy smile.
Ranma showed up at his mother's house just after
she'd eaten dinner. She'd let him in happily and
excused herself to put up her dishes. He picked up
her overnight bag and took it out to put in the
trunk. By the time he made it back to the front
door, she was opening it to come out and meet him.
He smiled at her, recognizing her features from
his own. She smiled sweetly up at him and started
to open the passenger door. He grabbed her hand and
smirked.
"Not yet, mother, I want it to be a surprise."
He pulled out a black blindfold and she laughingly
allowed him to tie it snugly around her eyes. Then
he carefully helped her into her seat. He didn't
feel self-conscious driving so fast either if she
couldn't see it.
He made it back home quickly, smiling the whole
time. As he parked, he saw a face disappear from a
window. He ran around the car and helped his
stumbling mother from the car. He turned her to
face the house and prepared to take the blindfold
off.
"It's nothing compared to my bosses house, but
I'm kinda proud of it." He removed the cloth with a
flourish.
Nabiki strolled into the parlor where the entire
household was waiting. "They're here." She sat on
the couch between Kasumi and her father. Akane and
Sansha were on the other couch, with Marco sitting
next to Saya on the loveseat. It was a few minutes
before Ranma opened the parlor door.
Nodoka Soatome was in a formal Kimono with a
Katana strapped to her back. She was smiling up at
her son and saying something about the house when
she noticed the people in the room.
"Oh, are all of these people your guests,
Ranma?"
He smiled and everyone stood to be introduced.
"Well, I believe you know Mr. Tendo. These are his
older daughters, Kasumi and Nabiki. Sansha and
Loren Keller here are the children of an old friend
of mine; and I'm training them right now. This is
my childhood tutor, Saya Nishiguchi." The two women
smiled and clasped hands, somehow feeling an instant
kinship.
Ranma turned and gestured for Akane to come
over. She did slowly, blushing slightly when she
realized what was coming. Ranma put an arm loosely
around her waist and smiled at his mother.
"This is Akane Tendo, my fiancée."
Author's Notes:
Whoo, what a relief. Okay, first off, I want to send my deepest thanks to everyone that reviewed/emailed me. I never expected such a response. I tried to email a few of you back, but I've been pretty swamped lately, and thought it would be a better use of my time to just buckle down and make a couple changes that were requested.
I have more chapters up on my website, but I've been having problems withe insufficient bandwith lately, as I'm sure some of you know. They haven't been revised yet though. I went back in and tried to add some more in about the curse, without it looking like I was adding stuff in. Not easy, and this means I'm now even further behind on my homework, but what's a girl to do? Next line of business, rework the last couple of chapters. They'll be a lot more involved, cause that's where most of the plot is, but I've been wanting to do it for ages anyway.
To those of you who've reviewed, thanks again! To everyone else, keep 'em coming!!