A New Beginning
by Lerris
Smith
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon or Tenchi Muyo. This piece of work is purely for entertainment purposes. This is just a reposting to insure clean chapters. This story is on hold for now.
"Ranma get back here. Take your punishment like a man!"
Ranma shifted to his female form. "Now why would I want to do that?"
Akane tackled her onto the bed and proceeded to conduct her investigation as to whether or not Ranma's female form was more ticklish than his normal one. Results were looking promising.
"No. Stop. Let me go.. Please Stop... " Ranma continued to suffer the full force of Akane's tickle torture.
"So do you promise to stop devising evil ways to wake me up?"
Akane had finally relented in her merciless assault on the redhead.
"No, you need to learn to sense when someone is near you, even when you are asleep. At least I used warm water. I could always start tossing you in the koi pond like pop used to do to me."
"You do that and you'll be finding another room to sleep in at night."
Ranma asked, "So are you coming to school today Nabiki?"
"Yes, I'll be spending most of my evenings at the Masaki shrine though. Yosho is an excellent teacher in the art of the sword, and Achika is a great sparring partner and fun to hang out with."
"Why can't you learn from your father?" questioned Soun.
"I'll continue my lessons in the morning of course. Perhaps Achika can come here instead sometimes. Well I need to run if I'm going to get to school on time."
"Come on Ranma, we need to go!" Akane grabbed him and started running.
"Whats the rush? We are fast enough to get there on time without you dragging me."
Akane had a grin on her face that would have made Nabiki proud.
I've got a bad feeling about this. thought Ranma.
"Change Ranma. Its my turn."
"Your kidding. If Kuno sees us or if Nabiki gets pictures.."
"Now Ranma." Ranma sighed and shifted to his girl form.
Akane picked her up. "You are so much lighter this way." Akane started to run.
"Try jumping some. Its excellent practice with the extra weight." Ranma-chan didn't want to admit it, but she was really enjoying it. Akane was managing about fifteen foot jumps now.
"At this rate, before long you'll be ready to roof hop."
"Its strange. I'm not getting tired at all, even carrying you."
"I think your training is starting to pay off. Its probably related to you being so close to me right now as well. Look there is Nabiki up near the school." Click. "I think you can put me down now. I wonder if we will have to buy that film."
Akane sighed and put Ranma-chan down. Nabiki slipped her camera back into her purse and walked into Furinken's courtyard.
"Hey who is the new girl?"
"Look at the hair. I wonder if its another Amazon."
"Red eyes. I don't think I've ever seen red eyes before."
"She looks sort of like Nabiki."
Just then a girl came floating in and spotted Ranma. She tossed an energy ball just ahead of his location. "I finally found you. Why don't you come with me. We will have fun."
Akane bristled. "What do you think your doing?"
"Hello Ryoko. We can't right now. We have school."
"No. I've been all over this little island looking for something to do and you are the only one who has ever been any fun. Now defend yourself."
"Akane stand back. This is my fight. Besides I'm sure she doesn't intend to cause any permanent harm." Of course the possibility of her doing it accidentally is pretty good. I suppose its another chance to try to figure out how she manages to fly.
Akane grumbled but went to drag a few people out of the immediate area.
Nabiki cursed. Why can't they arrange these things so I have time to sell tickets? I may be a half goddess, but I still need money. Oh well at least it makes me less odd in comparison.
"Remember Ryoko that most of these people can't take punishment like you and I can."
"Don't worry my aim is very good." Do you think I don't know that? I only broke a few bones in the past week.
Ryoko formed an energy sword and came at Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan dodged the attack and increased her speed. She jumped into the air and tried to land a kick on Ryoko, but Ryoko disappeared and ended up behind her and brought her sword down. Ranma-chan frantically formed a shield and used the force of the impact to push herself away.
Ranma-chan prepared several chaos/ki balls in subspace while she frantically dodged away from Ryoko. Ranma jumped in the air and launched them at Ryoko. She managed to dodge the first, but the second and the third hit her. The first took out a section of the pavement as large as Ryoga's attack.
"Ow! That hurt." Ryoko fell to the ground.
"I thought Ranma had to shout something when she did that?" came from a member of the crowd.
"Apparently not anymore" came from another. Nabiki was taking pictures. Maybe I can't sell them without complicating Ranma's life, but it makes a heck of a scrapbook.
"It was meant to. That was fun, but we need to go to class. I still want you to teach me how to fly and that sword thing. Why don't you meet us after school? You can help me train my fiancee. It will be fun. I promise."
Akane glared at her. "Ranma! What do you think your doing?"
"Your right, that does sound fun." She smiled and flew off.
Hiroshi came up to Ranma. "You have some really weird friends, you know that?"
"They seem perfectly normal to me." said Ranma.
Hiroshi said, "She actually looked pretty hot. The ears and the eyes were a little odd though. I wonder if Ranma will introduce us." Neremians are used to weird stuff, so a flying woman really isn't particularly surprising to any of them. Sure they may not have seen one before, but with everything else it really is not that surprising.
Daisuke added, "Your hopeless. You know that. That woman is dangerous."
Nabiki said, "Hello there. Its me Nabiki. I was wondering if you would like to buy some pictures of Ryoko."
"Nabiki its really you?"
Nabiki groaned. She would have to put up with this crap all day.
Nabiki survived. It turned out that being the Ice Queen had its advantages. They simply couldn't afford the answers they wanted. Ranma and Akane said nothing either. Talking about Nabiki had never been a healthy occupation. Besides neither wanted to talk about Nabiki. There was also the fact that people were far more interested in Ranma's new friend. Ranma steadfastly refused to answer any of the questions. They gave up, eventually. All in all it was almost an ordinary school day, well that is ordinary from Ranma's perspective.
Akane still had a huge grin on her face when she got out of school that day.
"I still say you cheated." quipped Ranma.
"It's anything goes dodgeball remember?"
"Half the male members of the gym class stared when you did that pose. That smile alone probably created your own fan club."
Nabiki laughed. "Didn't you know? You both have fan clubs. They are some of the better customers for your photos. I'm sad to say that no one managed to get a photo today though. Well I'll see you guys later." Nabiki vanished from view once she sensed only Ranma and Akane could see.
"It still seems so odd to see my sister do that."
"Jealous?"
"No. Nabiki has changed so much. You have changed so much. I wouldn't want that power at that price. I want to remain me."
Ranma picked up Akane. "Well it's my turn." He then started roof hopping towards home. About a third of the way there Ryoko found them.
"Hey you two. You promised me fun."
"Yes I did." Ranma put Akane down. "Ok the game is to help Akane train. The rules are no energy blasts or swords or anything that will cause permanent harm. I will stay ahead of Akane to set the path. Akane, your goal is to be touched as few times as possible. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Ryoko looked at Akane. "I don't know. It doesn't sound like much of a challenge to me."
"Hey! I can do it."
"Ok Ryoko. Give us a ten second head start ok?" Ryoko nodded and Ranma started running all over town. Akane was struggling to keep up. Suddenly Ryoko appeared before Akane and went to punch her. She dodged around her and bounded after Ranma. This continued for almost an hour and a half all over town. Akane and Ranma were exhausted. Akane was also covered in bruises.
"She is unbelievable. Teleporting ought to be illegal. Ouch I hurt." complained Akane.
"Why thank you. I am pretty impressive if I do say so myself."
"So did you have fun Ryoko?"
"Actually yes. Tormenting Akane is fun."
"Yes, its one of my favorite occupations." Ranma was wearing a silly grin.
"Ranma no Baka!" Akane came at him with her trust mallet, but after another half a mile she gave up.
"Well I think Akane needs a bit of rest before we do more. Would you care to stay for dinner?"
"Why not?"
They entered the Tendo home.
"Akane, what happened to you?" inquired Kasumi.
"Training." gasped Akane.
"Kasumi, I'd like you to meet our new friend Ryoko. She helped me train Akane today. Perhaps you two can get to know each other. I'm going to help Akane recover from her training."
"Its nice to meet you Ryoko. Would you like to come in the kitchen with me? I need to finish dinner."
Ranma gently took hold of Akane and carried her into the bathroom. He began filling the furo.
"Just relax Akane."
"What do you think your doing?"
"Nothing perverted."
He sat down and held her to him. He began to glow a soft violet which flowed over Akane. This lasted for several minutes. He then got up and shut off the faucet. "I have healed a few of your injuries. Doing too much just makes us tired. If you will permit it I will try to give you a massage after you finish. It should help."
Akane looked at Ranma with a look of curiosity and wonder. "Um. Ok."
"Well if you don't mind waiting a short time I'd like to get cleaned up." Ranma shifted to Ranma-chan and then proceeded to very quickly and efficiently clean herself up. Akane caught herself watching from time to time.
"Would you like me to get Kasumi to come in to help? I know your still in pain."
"No, I'll be ok. You should go make sure Ryoko is staying out of trouble. I'm not sure I can completely trust a space pirate." She looked with a bit of regret as Ranma left in his bathrobe.
Ranma-chan dressed and found found Ryoko and Kasumi in the kitchen chatting. Ryoko seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Ranma. Kasumi was just telling me about your crazy life. You make some of my life seem dull and that is an accomplishment. So do you really have four fiancees?"
"Not any more. Most of those were the result of my idiot father selling me over and over again. The only woman I could ever marry is Akane."
Ryoko seemed a little disappointed but gave a small nod. Well still with the chaos in Ranma's life, I'm sure to have some fun.
"So do either of you know any fun guys? Most everyone I've met has been boring." Well most ran away once they saw me fly and do a few other things..
Ranma pondered. "I'm really not the person to go to for relationship advice. I can barely handle my own as you can probably tell." Besides who am I going to introduce her to? Ryoga. I don't think so. Taro? Nah. Mouse? Now there is an idea, if he ever gave up his obsession.
"Well the doctor is supposed to come by tonight. I think he may propose to me." Kasumi smiled. Even Ryoko was affected by that smile.
"Congratulations Kasumi. Well I think Akane is out of the bath and I promised her a massage. You know I think you may have done almost too good a job today Ryoko. She is improving fast, but has so far to go, and it is very important for Akane and I for her to win a fight in a few weeks. Still I thank you. It is hard for me to hit her, even though I know it is needed for her to improve." With that Ranma left the room.
"He really does love her."
"He has for such a long time. He just finally stopped being such an idiot about it. Of course I've been almost as big a fool calmly waiting for the one I cared for to get a clue. Thankfully he finally did." Kasumi smiled.
"If there is something I want, I go get it. That's my philosophy."
"I'm beginning to see the merits of it."
Ranma-chan knocked on Akane's door.
"Come in Ranma."
Akane was sitting on the bed. "Lie down on your stomach and we will get started." Ranma knew exactly what hurt on Akane from what he found out when he healed her earlier. Akane was relaxed and asleep a half hour later when Kasumi called them for dinner. Its interesting that we seem to heal so much faster if we are actually touching.
"Huh? What? Dinner?" I was having such a great dream. Ranma was giving me this heavenly massage. Wait, oh it was not a dream. Akane blushed as she looked up to Ranma-chan. "Hey you, how about switching back so I can properly thank you. I feel so much better now."
"I'm not sure I can take much credit. It seems that our rate of healing and recovery is significantly faster when we are touching." Ranma shifted back to his male form.
She said fondly, "Baka." Now the idiot is almost too modest. Ah well. She then proceeded to kiss him into silence. A second call came from Kasumi a minute later allowed Ranma to recover his breath. They came down to the dinner table. Dr. Tofu had arrived and was sitting beside Kasumi.
Ranma was a little surprised to see Nabiki, but then Kasumi could have called her. I agree with Akane, teleportation is really annoying when you can't do it.
"Hello doctor. What brings you here?" inquired Soun.
"Kasumi invited me to dinner and well there are few people in Nerima who would pass up her cooking." His response seemed a bit practiced.
Soun turned to Ryoko. "And our other guest? Not a fiancee I hope."
Ryoko laughed. "No, sadly Ranma's father never had a chance to engage him to me. Still if he is interested.." Ryoko licked her lips and smiled at Ranma.
"Ranma is mine! I'm not letting anyone take him away from me! Do you understand that?" Ranma's danger sense pegged.
"Relax, I was just kidding. Geeze some people can't take a joke."
Ranma said, "Ryoko is helping me train Akane. Your daughter did very well today in our little impromptu training session. Oh if your curious, she is the one who beat me the other day. Of course I won this morning." Please let the subject be changed. Ranma silently prayed.
"Hey, I just let you go since you said you had school. That was not a victory."
"Oh? Well we will just have to have a rematch then." Excellent, subject changed.
Dr. Tofu had stood up and was fumbling with something in his pocket. A small box fell out, that he took a few minutes to find. He readjusted his glasses and then went over to Kasumi and bent down on one knee. Well at least I didn't have to ask Soun's permission. He asked me if I was interested. Must focus.
"Um I'm not good with these things. Until recently the very sight of you sent me on a mission to dance with Betty all over the town. ..."
Ryoko asked Nabiki, "Who's Betty?"
"His skeleton." replied Nabiki quietly. Ryoko tried not to laugh, but ended up with a giggle that just seemed wrong coming from the space pirate.
Kasumi was now staring directly into his eyes. Caring and hope seemed to emanate from her.
"As I was saying, I have acted the fool for a very long time. Recent events have reminded me how truly precious life is, and that sometimes if you wait too long you could lose what you truly care for..." I still wonder if Nabiki set that whole thing up to make me jealous. If so it worked. He opened up the box. Inside it was a very pretty, yet simple ring, made of gold and with a small ruby that perfectly matched Kasumi's eyes. "Please Kasumi. I love you. I have for ever such a long time. Please be my wife."
Kasumi stared in awe. She had dreamed of this moment for so long. Now that it was here she was almost frozen. Nabiki nudged her. "Yes, oh yes. I will be your wife." She then proceeded to glomp doctor Tofu in a manner that would make an Amazon proud. Nabiki snapped several pictures.
"So where is my ring?"
"Akane, um I, um.. I'm sorry Akane. We have been so busy, and I don't really have any money to buy one like you deserve. I promise I'll get you one just as soon as I can though."
"Just a minute. I should have brought this out when you two finally proposed to each other." He came back with two rings. "This was your mother's and this was my own. I would be honored if you would accept them from me as an early wedding present."
"Father. I don't know what to say. Thanks."
"Yes, Mr. Tendo Thanks. This means alot to me. To us."
"I'm just glad it all worked out."
Nabiki said, "My friend and I also made you two rings. I would have made some for Doctor Tofu and my sister as well, but I hadn't expected this so soon."
"Don't worry sister, I love my ring."
"Ranma, Akane, If you would allow it I would like to add my own present to your rings. I think you would like it, and I'd hate for these to go to waste." Nabiki pulled out two very plain rings that looked to be made of a delicate piece of wood.
Ranma turned to and nodded. Akane said, "Sure. I don't know how you can make them any better though."
Nabiki took the rings. She sat two of the rings down. She held one wood ring and her fathers old ring in each hand and brought them together. A blue glow formed between them and then the wood ring disappeared. The diamond in the ring took on a pure blue color and seemed to glow with an inner light for a moment before fading. She repeated the process with the ring that used to be her mothers. A small tear came down from her left eye as she did so. She then brought the two rings together. The blue gems in their hearts flashed one final time.
Everyone else had watched in amazement and curiosity during this.
Nabiki moved away from everyone else. "Ranma, Akane come over here." They came over to her. Nabiki placed her fathers ring in Akane's hand and then placed her mother's ring in Ranma's hand. "Now place the rings on each others hands."
Ranma took Akane's hand and gently placed the ring on her finger.
Akane took her own ring and placed it on Akane's finger. The two pulsed once and were quiet again.
"I suppose you'll have to do that again when you get married." Nabiki grinned. "Of course there is less likelihood of being interrupted now. Oh and one more thing. Only Ranma will be able to remove Akane's ring and Akane Ranma's. It will also change size now to accommodate Ranma's curse. The rings should also be pretty much invulnerable now, or at least far less apt to take damage than you are."
"Thank you Onechan." Akane gave her sister a hug.
"Thanks. I don't know what to say." added Ranma. He too gave Nabiki a hug. So what else do these do now?
Soun was softly crying. He wished his friend Genma was here to see this, but Nodoka had been making him stay with her since she needed help around the house. He ignored the odd stuff with the rings. Anything that got those two together was fine with him after all.
"Well if everyone's done, Akane and I need to go practice."
"You really know how to ruin the moment you know." Akane got up to follow him. Ryoko followed as well.
Dr. Tofu helped Kasumi to clean up things.
Ranma wove a small ward against listening around the dojo. Sounds would emerge, they just wouldn't be understandable.
"You are self taught aren't you Ryoko?"
"Yes, what does it matter?"
"It doesn't. In some ways your unpredictability makes you very suitable, although there are some areas you could improve in later, if you wanted to."
"The day you beat me for real is the day you can tell me I need to improve."
"Ok, same rules as before. Akane, I know you can't cause Ryoko any serious harm, so do not hold back. Treat it as a real fight. Ryoko you will have to pull your punches somewhat, as the goal is to train Akane not hurt her." Ryoko nodded.
"I'm not made of glass you know."
"No you are not. Were you to transform, you could probably take the damage, but that is not as useful for training you for your fight against Shampoo. I for one know that Ryoko's attacks carry a lot of power." Akane nodded. She didn't like it, but it made sense. Besides given how bad she felt earlier, having Ryoko not hold back sounded.. unpleasant.
"Begin."
Ranma used his time to study Akane and Ryoko. I can almost see how she flies, but I have no idea how I can sustain that amount of energy drain. Its almost as if she does it instinctively as if it is as natural as walking. About twenty minutes passed while Ranma was studying Ryoko's flying ability. Ranma brought his focus back to Akane. She had taken so many hits, and yet she still seemed to be going as fast as when she started. No, thats not right, she is faster than when she started. Her style has improved too. Amazing.
Nabiki walked in about an hour after it began and sat down next to Ranma. Ranma called a halt to the match.
"You are improving." complemented Ryoko. Still she's hardly as much fun as Ranma.
"What I don't get is why I don't hurt more than I do."
Nabiki smiled. She looked from Ranma to Akane. "Because of what you are, I couldn't give you a gift like I gave your sister." Of course I couldn't afford the strength to do more than one anyway. "Funaho and I made those rings and I fused their essence into the rings from our parents. They have a small tie to Jurian energy that enhances the bond between you two, particularly in the areas of healing. There are limits of course. The enhancement will lose effectiveness if you continually force your bodies to your limits. It will recover once you both rest. As long as you don't push it too much, they should also allow one of you to go without sleep every other night provided the other is sleeping very nearby."
"Wow. Thats pretty impressive." commented Ryoko.
"Thanks again sis. This will help. It still feels like cheating though."
"Shh, there is no reason to tell Shampoo everything. Its not as if she never tried to drug, magic, enchant, trick, or scheme her way to get what she wants."
Nabiki laughed. "You are learning Ranma. Besides, I'd be surprised if Shampoo doesn't have a few surprises when she comes back."
"Well I'm going to begin teaching Akane the one thing I hope will allow her to win her fight with Shampoo. There won't be anything for anyone to see though.."
"I'm going to go back to teaching Kasumi."
"I should go too." added Ryoko.
"Do you have anyplace to stay?" asked Akane.
"I was going to sleep in the attic if thats ok."
"Nonsense. You can use the guest room. Ranma sleeps in my room anyway."
"Oh, so he sleeps with you eh? Is he any good?"
Akane blushed.
Ranma pondered the situation. No, I'm not about to comment here. This is entertaining.
"He sleeps on the futon in the corner and he does it as a girl." Akane said defensively.
"Oh so you prefer Ranma as a girl eh? Well I must admit he is very attractive in that form, almost more so than when he is a guy."
Akane turned a shade of red that should have been impossible. Ranma was trying to erase his presence from the room, but was turning a similar shade as well.
"I.. no... um... Its not like that!" she said defensively.
"Sure it isn't. Well Kasumi showed me the guest room before, so I guess I'll see you later." With that she faded through the wall.
Ranma waited several minutes before speaking. "As I was saying before. I hope to begin teaching you what will eventually be your key to winning."
Akane came back to the present. "Oh."
"Cologne knows all of my special techniques and a great deal of how I fight. That is partially why Ryoko has been fighting you, so you don't mirror my style too much. It also reduces the energy I use, which you can better use to learn. I could teach you a special technique or two, but there is too great a chance Cologne taught her how to counter it. What I hope for you to learn is a single spell and it will take a great deal of effort for you to master it before the fight. It will be impossible to teach you the proper theory in the time we have, but if you work at it, you should be able to cast and maintain the spell."
"So what will this spell do?"
"It takes your ki and magic and continually infuses them throughout your body. The drawback is its impossible to use your ki for anything else during the spell, at least until you get way better at magic. The advantage is it should vastly increase your speed and the amount of damage you can take. If you master it, and you get your body in sufficient physical shape so it can handle the stress of the spell then you should be able to move at Amaguriken speed or perhaps a bit faster with your entire body for the entire fight."
"That sounds great, but are you sure it will be enough? What if she learns the Hiryuu Shouten Ha or pressure points?"
"The spell will be using all your ki internally, so you won't have enough to project a battle aura with. That should negate the potential of the Hiryuu Shouten Ha, at least mostly. Pressure points are a concern. I will teach you those I know so you can avoid them. The spell and our accelerated healing should act to diminish their effects. If she uses a weapon you could be in trouble though."
"Shouldn't I practice the sword or something too? I know a fair amount about kendo.."
"No, there is not enough time to truly master any weapon. We will practice disarming weapons later and have to hope that is enough. Speed, agility, endurance are three of the most important things in a fight. They were also your greatest weaknesses. By the time we get to the fight they will be your strengths. You need only avoid her attacks until she makes a mistake or tires and take her down. Now lets begin."
Ranma enfolded her in his arms. "I will lead you through the spell very slowly. I don't expect you to be able to learn it tonight. Just do the best you can and try to remember what you see in your minds eye."
Dr. Tofu gave Kasumi a very passionate kiss goodnight out in front of the Tendo home before he too journeyed home. Well he did get a little lost on the way, but his thoughts were on other things. A couple of thieves thought he would be an easy mark, regretted it shortly afterward. Dr. Tofu never noticed the pretzel shapes he left behind. His mind was on other things.
Later on Ranma-chan yawned and curled up on Akane's bed behind her. "Nabiki said you had to be close for it to work." Ranma wasn't sure she meant they needed to be this close, but wasn't one to complain. Once Ranma was asleep Akane began to read a new chapter in that book. Akane really liked the idea of being an Amazon. Husbands had to obey their wife's after all. Ranma stirred in his sleep for a moment, as if he was having a troubling dream, and then became still again.
"You have done well Shampoo. I have never seen you train this hard before."
Shampoo panted. "It is my honor at stake. Ranma is at stake."
Cologne pondered the future. I don't see how Akane will be able to win this. Perhaps in a year. There is so little time and despite Akane's clear improvement in that little sparring match it seems unlikely. Shampoo has been a blooded Amazon warrior for much of her life. Then there is the test on Amazon history and law. So much to learn in so little time. Still in the end, this battle is serving a purpose. Both Akane and Shampoo are undoubtedly improving dramatically, and that will be needed for the battles ahead. Still I have underestimated Ranma before. Whatever happens I'm definitely glad to have come to Japan. Things are never dull around Ranma.
Ukyo remembered when she confronted her father with what happened. He was so angry. He demanded to know where Ranma's mother lived and then told her to leave. She thought she heard, "Maybe his mother will have more honor." before she was too far away to hear more. She was still surprised that he didn't disown her. Perhaps she had been wrong about her father. It was even more of a surprise when she later learned that her father and Nodoka had come to an agreement that the Saotome family would run her old shop to help pay her way through college. Still it was the least they owed her, so she wasn't going to complain.
Ukyo was just turning out the lights in her new store in Jubaan. It was so much work to get a new store ready for operation. She was very glad for Konatsu's help. She had even enrolled in Jubaan high because it was too much trouble to continue to commute back and forth. She also couldn't stand the thought of seeing them together right now. When Ranma and Akane's relationship fell apart like she knew it would, then she would be ready to comfort him. She could hardly wait.
Some might argue that despite everything Ukyo Kuonji was having a hard time accepting reality. Konatsu Kenzan would have been one of those people. He had gone to spy on Ranma several times for his mistress and always found the same thing. A couple that was very obviously in love. Even the pictures he brought back were never enough to convince Ukyo. She would wait forever and so would he.
Akane yawned. It seemed her body wanted to sleep, no matter what her sister said. She looked back at Ranma-chan. He has always been there for me. I can't believe it took me so long for me to see it. So dedicated. Once he gets a goal in mind he is like an arrow in flight, flying straight to his destination. She gently placed the cover back over her legs that Ranma-chan had kicked off. I will not fail in this. This is my battle, and I will fight it for myself. I just wish there was a way to turn off this bond thing during the fight. I know it will help allot. Heck even my sister is trying to help me out, but I want this to be my victory. She went back to studying and silently resolved to at least remove the rings for the actual fight. I do want to marry Ranma and I will, I just want to do it myself. Akane was worried. If she lost, the book said it would be a year before she could try again. I will not lose!
By the time morning came Akane had gone a fifth the way into the book. There was so much history to the Amazon people. I'll probably have to read the whole book several times to learn it. She practiced the meditation technique Ranma had taught her several times, and even tried the spell Ranma showed her once. The later attempt met with complete failure. Well Ranma said it wouldn't be easy to learn.
Author's Notes: Thanks go to my prereader Ray DeVore for his comments.
2006-02-01