Author's Note: Okay, apparently I wasn't quite as industrious as I'd hoped this week, but I did finally get around to finishing this chapter. There's only one more chapter after this, and it may be a bit shorter than usual, but there's still one or two scenes I haven't even written in draft form yet (don't worry, that won't make it take longer), so it depends on how long they end up being. Also, I'm still debating whether or not to add an epilogue. I have an idea for it but we'll see if that pans out. I'll tell you in my next update. I also have an idea for a sequel (tied in to the epilogue), but I'll tell you more about that next time too. Just out of curiosity (without knowing anything about it) would any of you be interested in a sequel? Let me know if you are; that may help me make the decision.

    Again, I am forever indebted to my loyal readers/reviewers. It's so inspiring to hear that people like stuff that I've written! Btw, CatH inquired about the part in the last chapter where Ranma referred to Akane being able to hurt Ryoga with her punches. Just to clarify, yes I was referring to emotional pain, not physical pain. I think we all remember the Bakusai Tenketsu training, involving Ryoga being crushed repeatedly by a boulder. The man is invincible physically, but as we all know, he has a "heart of glass" (That's why I love him! *grin*).

    In case any of you are interested, my car was totaled in the crash (it wasn't a very expensive car), but I got a new one with a CD player, so that worked out well. And only three more days till I'm done with math class. Yea! An end to the insanity in sight!

    Okay, I know this note was way too long, so I'll stop taking up space and let you read the story! I promise to try to update soon (it's a three day weekend, so it might happen).

Disclaimer: I know I don't own Ranma. The question is, why do you think I own Ranma?

Fortune's Fool

Chapter 6

He found her in the dojo, practicing with unusual ferocity.

"Akane," he said quietly. She ignored him. "Akane..."

"What?" she snapped, stopping and turning to him. Her eyes flashed with barely contained fury and betrayal. He crossed to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"He never meant to hurt you, Akane. He...he loves you." She felt his grip tighten a bit, saw jealousy flicker behind his eyes at these words. She wondered why she'd never seen it before, for it had always been there whenever P-chan or Ryoga was mentioned. "It was just a misunderstanding at first, and he was afraid to tell you, afraid of how you'd react."

Tears formed in her eyes and she choked back a sob, as anger was replaced with humiliation. She fell against Ranma, beginning to cry. He just stood there, holding her comfortingly as she wept into his shoulder. After awhile, he gently picked her up and sat with her in his lap, allowing her to finish crying, waiting until she was ready to speak.

She sniffed, "Why? Why did he do this? I-I'm so emb-barressed. All this time I've b-been cuddling him, a-and letting him sleep in my b-bed," Ranma tensed a bit, but she continued, "And I never knew. All the things I told him, personal things, because I th-thought n-no one could hear. He's been taking advantage of me, deceiving me." With a shaky breath she finally calmed herself. She felt quite drained now. "No wonder I remembered sleeping with him," she muttered wryly.

Ranma started, "What?"

"Relax, I meant P-chan."

"Oh. Right," he said, calming.

She smirked at him a bit, "You're so cute when you're jealous. Hey, what did you mean when you said you were responsible for Ryoga's curse?"

"Well, he followed Pop and me to China, and we were training one day and I sorta accidentally knocked Ryoga off a cliff and into the spring. That's why I couldn't tell you the truth. I was honor-bound. And you have no idea how much it killed me to see you holdin' him to your chest and lettin' him sleep next to you, knowing who he really was," his eyes clouded.

Mild understanding dawned on her face. "So that's why you were always picking on them -- well, him, that is," she placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes, "You have nothing to worry about, Ranma. I'm not sure I ever want to see him again. But even if I did, it's you that I love. It's always been you."

He returned her warm gaze, then leaned in to kiss her tenderly on the lips. She wound her arms around his neck, losing herself in his embrace. He held her close, the contact evoking memories of the previous night for both of them.

Reluctantly, she broke the kiss, "Someone might be watching,"she said. "Ranma, about last night..."

"Yes?" He sounded slightly worried.

"Well, I just wondered...I mean...h-have you ever, um, done anything, y'know, like that before?"

He smiled, relieved, "No. Never."

She looked relieved as well, "So, do you want to, um, come over again tonight?"

* * *

A few days later, Akane strolled through the park, looking up at the darkening sky, and trying to sort out her relationship with Ranma.

'It's so strange,' she thought, 'Things have never been what you could call normal between us. After all, we were engaged before either of us knew the other existed. We've been fighting it for so long, and now everything's turned upside down. I love him, I know that much, and he loves me. And now we're basically sleeping together,' she blushed at the thought, 'But does he actually want to be married to me? Do I want to marry him? If it weren't for our stupid parents and their archaic bargain we wouldn't even have to think about that right now,' she thought bitterly, 'Then we could just let the relationship develop on it's own.'

'But,' nagged a voice in the back of her head, 'if it weren't for the engagement, you would never have met Ranma to begin with. Things may not ever be "normal" in your relationship, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Sometimes the best things come about in unexpected ways. Ranma himself was a girl when you first met him, remember?' the memory brought a smile to her face.

Then, out of nowhere, she was knocked sideways to the ground by a large metal object, wielded with significant force. "Die!" yelled a familiar voice behind her.

She rolled over quickly and stood to face her opponent.

"Ukyo?" she breathed, shocked at the murderous glare the woman was leveling at her.

"How dare you?" her voice shook with anger and a little madness, her hands clenched on the handle of her spatula, "I saw you kiss him! How dare you take my Ranchan from me?! You bewitched him, deceived him! He loves me, not you, you bitch! I'll kill you!" she swung again.

Akane had never seen Ukyo like this. She'd never thought her capable of such unrestrained violence. Her blows were connecting, Akane unable to dodge Ukyo's newfound hatred. She was bleeding heavily before long, in very real danger of being beaten to death. A swift blow once again threw Akane to the ground, and she was unable to get up.

Ukyo moved in for the kill, her spatula at the ready. "Stupid girl. You couldn't have done this the easy way and died when the roof fell in, like you were supposed to. But I guess I hadn't counted on Ranchan being there. Oh well, you know what they say; if you want something done right..." there was mockery in her tone and a maniacal glint in her eye as she raised the spatula high above her head. Then...

"Akane! No!"

"Ranma?" Akane managed to whisper hopefully.

"Ranchan?" Ukyo panicked.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing Ukyo!" he looked angrier than either of them had seen him since Jusendo. Snatching the spatula from the girl's numb hands he growled, "Don't you touch her. I want nothing more to do with you, do you hear me! I can't believe you would go this far! I never would have believed..." words failed him, overwhelmed with hurt and betrayal. Ukyo only stared as he twisted the spatula into a knot and threw it aside, kneeling beside Akane, with worry etched on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," she replied weakly, "thanks to you,"

He took her in his arms and promptly set off for Dr. Tofu's, without so much as a glance for the woman he had once called 'friend'. A dam broke within her, and Ukyo collapsed into a heap on the cold ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

There was a soft knock on Shampoo's bedroom door. "Come in," the girl said, continuing to hang up her newly-washed clothes. She looked up to see Cologne enter.

"Great-grandmother, is something you need?"

The old Amazon considered her for a moment, then spoke, "Tell me the truth. How do you feel about him?"

"Mousse is...sweet; always there for Shampoo when she need him," the girl responded thoughtfully, "But she engaged to Ranma."

Cologne smiled amusedly, "I thought as much. Incidentally, I never said I was talking about Mousse," Shampoo froze, realizing her mistake. She'd been thinking about Mousse, and her Grandmother new it. "Relax, Granddaughter, you've done nothing wrong. So, only now have you begun to realize that you have feelings for the boy."

The girl's eyes were wide with disbelief, "Shampoo love Ranma," she said, though with little conviction.

"No Shampoo, I don't think you believe that any more than I do. Indeed he would make a lovely addition to the tribe," she said, almost wistfully, then hopped closer, perched upon her staff, to look her in the eye, "But that is hardly a reason to marry, is it."

Shampoo met the woman's gaze, still clinging to her old convictions, her last defense against the vulnerability of loving someone with all of her heart.

"Now, tell me the truth. Tell yourself the truth."

Breath caught in her throat, "I...I...," She couldn't do it. She couldn't say it. If she did, it would be like giving up -- surrendering. She couldn't bear to give anyone, not Ranma, not Mousse, not anyone, such control over her. She had chosen Ranma. But her heart had chosen Mousse.

Her resolve crumbled. "I...I love him," she whispered, terrified, but sincere, "With all my heart." A tear slid down her cheek, and Cologne smiled, wiping it away.

"There now. It is a true Amazon who has the courage to listen to her heart -- to let go of her control. It is the most frightening thing imaginable for such women as we. I have always known you to be strong. You must find the strength to be happy, the courage to love."

She nodded, "I will, Grandmother."

"You have taken the first step. Now, you must take the next."

* * *

An hour after the incident in the park, Ranma sat beside Akane's bed at Tofu's clinic. The good doctor had mended her wounds, activated a few pressure points for pain relief and healing, and informed her that she should stay the night , but that she could go home in the morning. Not surprisingly, Ranma had insisted on staying with her.

Now he sat gazeing at the floor, a very troubled expression contorting his features.

"What's wrong?"she asked. No answer. "Ranma?"

Slowly he looked up, staring straight ahead, his eyes hollow and guild ridden, "It's my fault. You could have been killed, both times, and it's my fault. If it weren't for me..."

"If it weren't for you, I would have been killed." she tried to reassure him.

He turned to her, countering, "If it weren't for me she never would have tried to kill you in the first place. And it's not just this time. Ever since Pop and I came here we've brought nothing but trouble. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt because of me. I don't know, maybe..." he gave a defeated sigh, "maybe I should just...leave." his gaze fell to the floor again.

"What?" her voice was small and she felt a knot of fear growing in the pit of her stomach.

"If I left, things would go back to normal here. You'd be safe."

Trying to hold back tears, she asked quietly, "Do...do you want to leave?"

He looked into her eyes, cursing himself mentally for giving her that impression, "No, of course I don't, but..."

"Then don't," she interrupted, and reached for his hand, "Ranma, I am safe as long as you're here. I don't care about Ukyo or any of the others. I want you with me."

He was hopeful for a bit, but then remembered his other concern. "Akane, it's not just that. I mean, what about my curse? No matter how hard we try, even if the others stop attacking us all the time, we could never have a normal life. Doesn't it bother you that I..." he hesitated upon voicing one of his deepest fears -- more terrifying than cats, "that I turn into a girl?"

Her face broke into an amused smile at his apparent apprehension, and she looked down at his hand, still held in her own. She gave it a slight squeeze. "No, not anymore," her voice was soft and sincere, eyes raising to meet his, "I've never known you any other way, Ranma. I love you for who you are, and that never changes. I guess I'm just so used to it that the idea really doesn't bother me at all anymore. Though I must admit," she added coyly, blushing, "I prefer kissing your guy side."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, grinning. A giggle escaped her at his characteristic expression, and he responded by drawing her face toward him for a sweet kiss. When they broke apart, she 'mmm'ed contentedly before opening her eyes and grinning back at him, "Yep, definitely better."

She settled back into her sitting position against the bed, and the couple lapsed into comfortable silence, hands still linked, each lost in his or her own thoughts.

"Ranma," Akane began hesitantly, her voice more serious once again, " I've been thinking, and...well, we've never really talked about...the engagement."

Her fiance tensed slightly, not quite looking at her, "Um, yeah, I guess not."

"Well, I-I was wondering...I mean, do you want to...marry me?"

He swallowed and forced himself to look at her. Why was this stuff always so hard for him? "I've been thinking too and, um, the thing is..."

She began to get nervous, 'He's going to say no, isn't he? I just knew this was too good to be true. He's probably not ready to even think about marriage. If it weren't for our stupid parents!'

"yeah, I-I do."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. "Really?" she squeaked.

He half-grinned at her in that way that always made her knees go weak, "Yes. I love you, Akane. I can't think of anything that would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you. That is, if you'll have me." Wow, had he really just said that? Amazing how the words just sort of came out once he'd started. Maybe he was getting better at this...

She nodded, loosing herself in those blue eyes of his, windows to a soul so closely guarded, and yet it was there for her to see. Only for her. A tear slid down her cheek, and he sat on the edge of the bed, reaching up to wipe it away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing. I love you," she whispered. He placed a hand gently on her cheek.

"Will you marry me then, Akane?"

"Yes, of course I will."

"I don't have a ring or anything, but..."

"I don't care. Just kiss me."

He leaned in and covered her lips with his, his hand caressing her face, hers pressed against his chest. She sank into his kiss, long and sweet and full of the love each felt for the other. Her tears flowed freely, so overcome with emotion was she. For once, there was no doubt or fear, only the world that existed in that small hospital room, populated only by the two of them. For once, everything was perfect.

When they finally parted, he shifted around to hold her in his arms, leaning back against the head of the bed. She snuggled in his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder and her arms over his where they were wrapped protectively around her waist. A sigh issued from her mouth as she blinked dreamily.

"I guess we're going to have to tell everyone about us."

Ranma nodded in agreement, "Too bad, we won't get to fight anymore."

She looked back at him, and they grinned at each other. "I wouldn't count on it sweetheart," she replied mischievously.

A/N: I know you were probably expecting something to go horribly wrong in the middle of this last scene, but it always bugs me when the best scenes get interrupted, so I did it my way this time. See you soon! Please review!