Ukyou was working at the grill of her restaurant. It was still largely empty, so when he entered, Ranma had her complete attention. "Hey Ukchan. I'll have a pork okonomiyaki."

"Coming right up. Anything for my fiancee."

This caused Ranma's face to fall. "Ukyou, none of the marriages that Genma set up are valid. I don't know if I'm ever going to get married."

"But what about my families honor?"

"You're getting your honor out of pop's hide. You're my best friend, but only I can ask someone to marry me, and right now I don't think I'll ever ask anybody."

"But why?" Ukyou's mounting anger collapsed into confusion.

"Because the happiness doesn't last, and the misery does. You either lose the person you care for most, or you eventually wish you could lose the spouse you have."

"What if I say my honor still isn't satisfied?"

"My pop's lied to me all my life. He never gave a shit about me. When Soun's done punishing him, your family can have him. You're my best friend, but that doesn't mean I'm going to marry you. I'm not going to swear that we'll never get married, like I did with Akane, but I'm not going to swear that we will either! I've only heard one believable thing that gives me hope I might marry. All the stories of happy marriages don't ring true."

"What was the believable one?"

"I don't remember where I heard it. Some older guy was talking about when he was looking for a girlfriend or wife. He wanted the perfect woman, but he never saw one. Finally he lowered his standards and married someone. Years later when he was recovering from something, he woke up, and saw his wife had fallen asleep in a chair at his bedside. He thought over his life with the woman he married, and realized perfection can only be achieved through both effort and time."


Soun buttonholed Ranma in private, "Ranma, I know your father's an idiot. But there is still an obligation between our two families, which you and I have to settle. I still want you to marry Akane, and unite the two schools."

Ranma appeared to be more than a little put-upon. "I'm willing to try to unite the two schools, but I will not forswear myself by marrying Akane. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to have a family."

"But you and Akane are perfect for each other!" Soun all but wheedled.

"I'll tell you a secret, if you promise to keep it to yourself. You can't even tell your daughters, and I want you to swear in particular that you'll never tell my father."

"Ok Ranma, what is it?"

"It's about my dream. We've agreed that everything in the dream that we've checked was accurate, right?"

"Yes, so far."

"Well things are now beginning to be different from the dream because I've had the dream. So the dream isn't what has to happen, but what could happen. It's not the future, but what the future could have been. In the dream I had many fiancees, but I married Akane because I loved her."

"See? That's proof you should marry."

"In the dream, everyone was miserable. We had no children. We got divorced twice. Both branches of the school came to an end. That is why I swore never to marry Akane. If I do, all of your dreams die soon after."

"I see. Still, it won't definitely happen this time, the future is changing, right?"

"Do you really want to risk ending both schools that way? There should be a way to make both schools stronger without risking killing them."


Over a pleasant dinner with Ranma and the Tendos, Soun suggested, "Son, I want you to start teaching Akane the Saotome Ryu. As part of your effort to unite the schools."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Ranma started to say, but he's interrupted by an angry Akane.

"Are you saying I'm not good enough?"

Ranma ignores the interruption. "Mr. Tendo, The methods my father used might have been successful, but they were totally crazy. I want to come up with better ways to teach, but so far, I can't see how."

"Well, son, you could use Akane as a pupil while you figure out how to change things."

"I guess so. The first thing Pop woulda taught her is 'the landing of the drunken owl', assuming he didn't just spar with her to humor her. Pop never did like teaching anyone else but me."

Akane shouted, "A new technique? I demand you show me!"

For the first time this conversation, Ranma acknowledged Akane, his face a mask of anger. "Aren't you listening? The only way I know to teach it is my pop's way, and you'll be trashed violently. I'm not going to beat you senseless!"

"I'm a martial artist! You're not taking me seriously!"

Soun tried to act as the wise mediator. "Son? If you have no ideas yet how to teach it, then you should teach Akane using your father's methods, and watch her to see how it might be taught better."

"I think this is a mistake. But, okay. I'll allow her to try the basic drunken owl a few times, while I look for a better way. I don't promise to continue if I can't find a better way, but I'll show her the basics. The advanced drunken owl is just sadistic, though. No one should go through that. It coulda killed me."

"I'll master the basic and the advanced. You just watch me!"

"Well, you can't even try the advanced until you master the basic. By then I might be able to find a way to scrap the old method. Tendo, I'll need to build something to teach the basic method. Where would I go to buy lumber?"

Nabiki smirked. "Let me guess. The drunken owl needs a perch?"

"Oh no. a trebuchet."

"What's that?"

"It's like a catapult, but instead of using springs to store up energy, it uses rocks on one end of a see-saw arrangement. When the rocks on one arm are allowed to go down, the other end goes up. Akane, how much do you weigh?"

"Pervert! That's none of your business!"

"I need to know so I don't make the trebuchet too strong or to weak!"

This shocked Nabiki. "You mean, Akane is launched from this thing?"

"Yep. Saotome Ryu is an aerial school. Before you can learn how to fight in the air, you have to learn how to safely land. So the trebuchet throws the pupil twenty meters into the air toward a mass of trees."

Nabiki broke the stunned silence. "If you're going to do this anyway, I mean I don't think you should. It sounds too dangerous. But if you are going to do it, can I sell tickets? It would pay for the lumber, at least."

"Only if you make sure that everyone knows that I'm opposed to it, and that Akane is insisting. I think this training method should be sealed, or replaced."

Akane's pride pricked up "I can do it! I'll show you all!"

Ranma ignored Akane's braggadocio, and continued talking to Nabiki. "And let the ticket buyers know that we don't promise how many times we'll do it. We're not doing it for their benefit. If we think of a better way, we'll use that!"


Once again, Ranma is buttonholed, but this time by Nabiki. "Ok, Ranma. How's this? I've put you at the head of your family's registry. It's legal, and it would take the panda alot of work to try and undo it, if he's smart enough to even do it. I've also found the address of your mother. Is this sufficient to get your formal forgiveness for the photo incident?"

"Thanks! I hadn't thought of that. Sure, let's go tell your father. How did you manage to do that?"

"Remember this morning, when you and daddy decided not to torture the panda tonight, so he could recover his strength for later? I went to him and promised to try to get him a reprieve tonight if he would just sign some papers. I wouldn't have thought a martial artist would fold so quickly."


A little while later, Ranma came into the living room with some papers he had been working on in private. Ranma asked "How does this letter sound? 'Dear Mrs. Saotome. I have only recently found out that you hadn't died when I was a child. Your husband had lied about this, as well as many other things of importance throughout my life. He is now paying for his crimes against me, and the Tendo family. When we feel we are recompensed, he will be sent to the Kuonji family, and then the Daitokuji family to do with what they will. If he survives this, he will be returned to you. I am currently living with the Tendo family, as I try to decide how to best unite the two martial arts schools, after Genma has forsworn himself on the subject of my marriage. I would like to meet you, please arrange a time with Soun Tendo or Kasumi Tendo for when it would be convenient to have you over. I also ask that you bring the family honor blade with you. As the new head of our clan, I feel it is appropriate that I possess it. Sincerely, your son, Ranma.'"

Kasumi frowned a bit. "That letter isn't very polite, Ranma."

"It wasn't meant to be. She abandoned me to that idiot when I was a child, and now I find that my father is scared for both our lives from her. If she threatens me, or tries to get Genma freed, or force me to do something because of Genma's promises, I will fight back. I can press charges of abandonment, or I can remove her from the family ledger, and reclaim from her a large portion of the family's estate. If she's willing to be reasonable, so will I, but I want her knowing my position before she shows up. If she wants to be my mother, I'll welcome her, but if she wants to be my master, she'll find out how well I grew up without her."


A tall, attractive woman, with a silk-bound katana knocked on the dojo's doors, and was answered by Kasumi. The woman introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Nodoka Saotome. I understand my son is staying here."

"Yes, won't you please come in? Father is teaching him how to play shogi in the living room."

Upon Nodoka entering the living room, Soun called out, "Nodoka! It has been too long. Let me introduce you to your son Ranma."

"Hello mother." Ranma answered in a reserved manner.

"Hello son. I've missed you. Your letter came as quite a surprise to me."

"As did the fact that you weren't dead. I was lead to believe that that idiot was the only family I had."

Nodoka was shocked, both by Ranma's cold tone and by his words. "You shouldn't show such disrespect to your father."

Ranma's voice grew still colder. "I've shown him much more respect than he deserves, after the number of lives he's ruined. You can see him later if you like. We have him behind the dojo where he can't get away. In an attempt to rescue the honor of the Saotome clan, I have become its head. This is a bit awkward, as you are still my mother, but I'm sure we can resolve this."

"What happened to you? You used to be such a friendly child."

"Repeated betrayals by family and friends. Being chased through China by an assassin. Numerous curses. A vision of the life that I was being shoehorned into. And a few things I wouldn't mention in polite company. It wasn't until I put my foot down that I was treated with any respect, so now I put my foot down hard. Now I insist that my respect for others be earned before I give it."

"Has Genma failed that badly?" Nodoka made Genma promise to be a man among men, not considering he could fail so spectacularly in other ways.

Ranma spoke for himself and the Tendos, "We think so. We know of at least three families that he's promised me in marriage. When I was six, he abandoned my best friend and stole her dowry. It took her ten years living with that disgrace to hunt him down. The numerous things he has done to me I might someday forgive, but the number of lives he's hurt, especially those in my name, I cannot forgive him."

"He promised he was going to raise you to be a man among men, or you both would commit seppuku."

This made Ranma furious. "And you allowed this?"

"What choice did I have?" Over the last ten years she had considered that she had made a mistake letting Genma take Ranma, but that she had been paying for that mistake. She chalked it up to the necessary hardships of being a proper wife. She never considered that her mistake could have hurt others.

Ranma was now shouting at Nodoka, "Refuse him! Divorce him! Forbid him! Abandon him! Cripple him!" He calmed slightly, and said, "So that's why he was so scared of you. He thought my curse wasn't manly."

"What curse?"

Ranma dismissed the question. "It doesn't matter. I am a man, and I will have to challenge anyone who says I'm not."

"Are you threatening your own mother?"

"No, I'm giving you a chance to be my mother again. But I've grown up, and I have my own terms. I want your support; I'm not offering you mine. I am the legal head of the Saotome Clan, and I'm the eldest male, besides your husband, who has lost that right. You wanted a man among men, you've got me."

Soun stood behind Ranma, and said, "Ever since Ranma has come here, he has behaved in a manner that I would be willing to have him as a son in law. In spite of Genma's betrayal, he is still welcome in this house."

Nodoka's pride prevented her from showing her feelings. Stoically she said "You have grown up into a man among men. I never imagined you would become so bitter at such a young age. I wish I never let Genma take you away. May I see my husband?"

Soun said, "Of course. I'm sure you'd like some privacy. All I ask is that you don't break the cement."

"Cement?"

Ranma explained, "The most humane way we could find to keep him from running away. His calves are stuck in cement, with rebar going into the ground below. We can't keep him under constant surveillance, and he could get free it we only used ropes. We considered body piercing but decided that wasn't humane."


Ranma, in a respectful manner approached Cologne. "Sensei, I'd like your advice on a family problem. Soun Tendo wants me to start teaching his daughter the Saotome Ryu."

"Well, every martial artist has to teach if they don't want the art to die down."

"That's not the problem. I've told you how my father taught me, and I believe some of the training methods were a bit," Ranma paused, looking for the right word, "excessive?"

"Some danger is necessary if the student is going to be able to handle actual risks in combat."

"Yes, but. This is Akane, and she's agreeing to do any damn fool thing I say, before I tell her what it is! I think teaching her the advanced version of 'the landing of the drunken owl' could kill her. There's gotta be a smarter way to teach it than pop's method."

"How does that one go?"

"You want the long explanation or the short one?"

"The short one will do."

"Tie her arms to the opposite legs, blindfold the student, slightly concuss him, and fling him twenty meters up into some trees."

"And what age did your father try this with you?"

"When I was four. It's pivotal to the Saotome Ryu"

"Well there are two ways of redesigning it. One is to make it less dangerous. A safety net comes to mind. The other is to find a completely different method to teach the same skills."

Ranma thought aloud "The real problem is the fall when you fail to grab the tree. You're dazed, and in pain, and that makes it tough to land well."

"You do realize that if you throw someone in the air, when they're at their highest point is when they'll be going slowest. It's easier to get them moving at that speed closer to the ground. Keep in mind that for it to be effective, you've got to make the student hate failing as much as if they did fall sixty feet, but without the danger."


Ranma ran up to the usual vacant lot that they'd been using for sparring practice full of enthusiasm. "Kuno! It worked! Better than I thought!"

"Your plan to defang your father?"

"That and more! I'm now the head of the Saotome family, and Tendo seems to be losing interest in me marrying Akane! I think he's going to try to engage me to Nabiki or Kasumi, but it means he's open to compromise."

"How did this happen?"

"Well I convinced Tendo that it was my father who betrayed the Tendos. While we were venting our displeasure, Nabiki got him to sign the family over to me."

"Truly this is good news. Shall we spar?"

"Just a minute. I saw your fight with Akane this morning. What happened? You could have knocked her out four times, and I don't see how you failed to block her last shot."

"'Tis true. You have divined my secret shame. I cannot bring myself to hurt her. Oh, that anyone should be in such a wretched position as I. Unable to defeat her, due to the love that spurns me to fight her. I shall forever suffer." Kuno was in full dramatic rant.

"Come on, there are ways around this."

"Tell me, please!" He seized upon the idea.

Ranma suggested, "Ask Tendo for the right to spar with him. He's Akane's teacher. You can go all out against him, and if you impress him, you'll have an easier time getting him to release Akane for marriage."

"You're right! I should meet my future father-in-law. Will you arrange it discreetly? I wouldn't wish to embarrass Akane before her family."


"Hey, Tendo, I've been sparring with someone at school. He's a decent Kendoist. He can't bring himself to hurt Akane, so could he spar with you?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't compete often these days. I only spar with people I know."

"He really doesn't have anyone else. He's surpassed his old teacher, but without decent opponents, he's gained some bad habits. With a little work he could be much better."

"Well. Ok. It is a teacher's duty to teach. I'll do it."

"He asked if I set this up discretely. He knows Akane and Nabiki, and would be embarrassed if they knew."

Soun realized that his lack of recent training meant his opponent might actually hit him a few times. Of course, with his skills, he would win in the end, but it would be embarrassing to be hit by someone as old as his daughters, especially if they knew. "Yes, it would be better if this were done discreetly. Do you think he could get out of class one afternoon? We could spar while Kasumi was shopping, and Akane and Nabiki were in class."

"Sure, want me to set it up for tomorrow afternoon?"

"That sounds good."


That evening, Ranma announces at dinner, "I'm splitting the training for the basic drunken owl into two parts."

"Don't you dare. I can do it the way you learned it."

"This is my school. I'm the sensei. If you want to learn it, you'll learn it using the methods I teach you. I'll accept advice and suggestions from your father, and even from you if you phrase them politely. But from now on, the basic drunken owl landing of the Saotome Ryu will be taught in two parts. Students that cannot even master the first part will not be taught the second. Is that understood?"

"Ok. What's the first part?"

"You need a harness so that we can tie a rope to fasten behind you, as near to your center of gravity. Then we let you swing down and try to grab onto a perch. Also, you're going to be wearing a motorcycle helmet whether you like it or not!"

"That doesn't sound too tough."

Nabiki asked "How high a swing are we talking about?"

"10 meters to start, and the perch will be obscured until she's almost on it. Akane will be traveling at about 50kph when she hits it." Turning to Akane, Ranma sneered, "Is that masochistic enough for you?" Ranma turned back to Nabiki and Soun, and in a normal voice said "I wish I had a second student Akane could spar against, we could make half of the rope a bungee cord, and give her a taste of aerial fighting while she's still learning to jump and land."

Nabiki commented, "If you removed the perch, and came up with a safe way of stopping and getting down, that could be fun."


At their next bout, Kuno announced, "Your assumption of the mantle of clan head has inspired me to do so also."

"What about your parents? You never mention them."

"My mother disappeared while on a trip, when I was six. My father disappeared when I was ten. Since then, I've been the de facto head, but yesterday evening I assumed the de jure position. My sister didn't take it well."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"Few people do. She goes to a different school, where they can better handle her eccentricities."

"I would have thought this school could handle anyone."

"Oh no. This school can handle warriors such as us, but my sister has a devious streak, that the faculty is ill equipped to handle."

"So where does she go to school?"

"Saint Hebereke. But I'm thinking of offering her another school to go to. She feels that an all girl's school ill suits her, and as she's Akane's age, she feels she's old enough to deal with boys on a regular basis. I've heard good things from Kolholtz high school. Frankly even though I love her dearly, I hope she finds someone worth of her interests. When she gets bored, she tends to leave traps for me."

"What kind of traps?"

"Drugged food, exploding toothbrush, electrified kendo dummies. She can be quite devious."

"Ouch. What do you do about it?"

"Well, I have hired a firm to keep the training hall, my bedroom and bathroom under 24 hour surveillance when I'm not there. They alert me to anything she does in them. The surveillance didn't do me any good when she pumped nitrous oxide and ether into my room, but they protect me often enough."

"Wow, how do you protect against gas attacks?"

"I had an industrial strength halon discharge system installed with breathable air. Unfortunately it blows out the windows when I use it."


As Ranma arranged, Soun and Kuno faced each other in privacy across the dojo floor. Before they started to fight, Soun asked, "So, son. Why did you want to spar?"

"Besides Ranma and Akane, I have not been able to find an opponent worthy of myself. Unfortunately, the idea of fighting at full force against Akane is inimitable to me. I believe I have surpassed her, but find myself unable to prove it. As you are her teacher, you should be able to determine my skill, and also provide an opponent who could sharpen my skills. Ranma has pointed out to me the risk of my skills degrading due to the weak showings of my usual opponents."

"That makes perfect sense, let's start."

"Before we begin, honesty compels me to admit that I had another reason to desire to meet you. I have not yet met another woman so perfect as your youngest daughter. At some other point in time, I'd like to petition you for the right to date her. I have expressed my opinion to Akane, but she is too shy and demure in the area of romance to respond."

"We should discuss this at length later. I think Ranma's refusal to marry her might have hurt her. Someone else's interest might be just what she needs at this point."


Later, as Soun contemplated his victory over Kuno, by a slight margin, he spotted Ranma and asked, "Ranma, what do you know about this Tatewaki fellow?"

"He's a good fighter, with some bad habits I'm trying to remove. He's obsessed with Akane. He's also the head of his clan, which currently consists of himself and his younger sister. They own the Kuno estate on the other side of Nerima."

"Sounds like a nice young man. I should see what Akane thinks of him."

A few minutes later, Akane arrived home from school. "Tadaima!"

Soun asked her, "Akane! Welcome home. What do you think of Tatewaki Kuno?"

"He's an egotistical jerk! I hate him! I'd emasculate him if he hadn't started wearing a cup!" She stormed off to her room, and slammed the door.

Soun looked wistful, and smiled. "She's so like her mother."


Nabiki buttonholed Ranma and Soun and dragged them off to talk in private. "Ranma, Daddy, we have to talk."

"What is it, Nabiki?"

"You know how I'm pretty good at judging odds at sporting events?"

"Yes, you have a good eye for that."

"If we don't do something, I give Akane an 80% chance of being seriously injured, even if you were to forbid her from learning the drunken owl. There's even a chance of death."

"My baby!"

Ranma snapped at Soun. "This isn't the time for tears. If we want to change things, we've got to think straight!" After Soun sobered up, Ranma asked, "Why do you think it's that high, Nabiki? I thought I gauged it pretty well for her skill level."

"She's trying to find out how to build her own trebuchet."

"Damn it! I knew she was stubborn!"

Nabiki asked, "You've seen one being built. How hard is it?"

"It's the simplest thing in the world. It's just a bloody seesaw with stones at one end. Any idiot could make one with two logs and some rope. The hard part is making one you can aim! If you can't aim it precisely, the odds of injury go through the roof! Ok, Nabiki, you're the sneakiest one of us. How do we stop her?"

"We can't stop her. All she'd have to do is convince someone else to build it for her, and then give us the slip once, and use it. We need to slow her down, and at the same time dangle something else for her to work on instead. She won't change her mind if ordered, but she'll forget this if something else more pressing comes up."

Ranma asked, "What if she had someone to compete with? I wanted to find her a sparring partner, but there aren't any good choices."

"What about Kuno?" Nabiki suggested.

"I'm sorry, but he's the worst choice. He holds back when Akane is around, and I need one student with a cool head who'll tell me if something is too dangerous. Akane would stick a tanto in her belly if she thought I might have learned a technique that way. Shampoo is out too, she'd make mince meat out of Akane. Ryouga might work if he were always around."

Nabiki suggested, "She has no reason to do it, but how about Ukyou?"

"She'd be good. If Ukyou were unarmed, and Akane wasn't angry, Akane would be in Ukyou's class. Akane and Ukyou are just acquaintances, so there's no hatred or love between them."

Soun asked, "Would she do it?"

Nabiki smirked, "I could talk her into it. I'm pretty sure."

This caused Ranma to frown. "She's a good friend, and I still owe her alot. I don't want her tricked into this."

"Tricking her wouldn't be any good. I could trick her into helping once, maybe twice. We need her help on a long term basis. That means presenting her with all the facts, but presenting it in an order where she'll favorably consider helping." Turning to her father, she continued, "If I get her to agree, daddy, I need you to formally thank her when Akane isn't around, and let her know that the Tendos realize we owe her one, even if Akane doesn't realize it."

"If she can keep any of my daughters from serious injury, she has my thanks."

Ranma, thinking about Soun's tendencies to overprotect his daughters, pointed out, "Remember, in order to keep Akane from serious injury, whomever Akane gets for a sparring partner is going to have to beat her up occasionally. In order for this to work, you have to acknowledge the fact that it's in Akane's best interest for Ukyou to beat her up. It's my job to see that nothing happens that they can't heal up from, but Akane's sparring partner has to be willing to cause her pain."

"I know. I know. I just can't stand thinking about it."

Ranma said "The alternative is to have Nabiki or Kasumi do it."

Nabiki answered "No thank you very much!"


Author's Note:

I never had any intention to explore why Ranma had his dream in the story. It struck me that there would be no way to tell from Ranma's perspective if he just dreamed it, or if he actually was sent back in time into his old body with his memories suitably blurred, i.e. an older Ranma possessing a younger Ranma. There's nothing in his dream to indicate that he did go back, but there wouldn't be if it were done without his consent.

This story was inspired by the idea that Ranma forgives Genma in the original because he finds out Genma's problems one at a time, and has time to forgive each one. Here he is presented with the entire series's screwups all at once, and rather than accepting them, rejects them all together. My original idea involved Ranma, Genma, a handgrenade, and a truth serum. I think the dream idea works better :)

After the torture of Genma, the story started to lose steam. I started to write an omiai scene for Kuno and Akane, where everyone crashed the party, and everyone thought it was for different couples, only Ranma, Kuno, and Soun knew what was supposed to happen. But it didn't work out well. Then I thought of the idea of Ranma training Akane, and of all of the humor inherent in that.

I'm holding off on having Ranma learn the Amaguriken. In the original, he has to train in the Nekohanten as a waitress to get his speed up before trying the chestnuts. In this story, events aren't leaving him much time to train. He has to be a sensei quickly before Akane kills herself. Cologne isn't about to trap Ranma in the wrong gender, so Ranma doesn't have the incentive to learn the attack right away.

I'm probably going to put off indefinitely Kaori showing up. She was more of a fiancee-of-the-week than a serious part of the storyline. If she serves some purpose to the story I'll use her, but I don't want to just retell the original events.

I had plans for Kodachi. Ranma's changes to Kuno is having offscreen effects on Kodachi. Ranma is driving Kuno to be more proactive, or at least reactive to Ranma. Kodachi is the only one who had a schedule for when she was due to appear, due to the gymnastics match. And I don't have an excuse for why she's not on schedule. I just have nothing for her to do right now.

Happosai will show up, but a few weeks late. and as I'm using fewer and fewer days per chapter the longer I write, Happosai will have to wait a little longer for the random lightning strike to free him.

You've heard of the butterfly effect leading to the creation of a storm? Imagine the effect of one Ranma's mouth flapping?

As far as Ranma's concerned, in the dream he loved Akane, but couldn't stand living with her. He tried to change after the first divorce, but that wasn't enough. This time he's going to do everything in his power not to fall in love with Akane. It isn't fair. It may not even be necessary. He could even be passing up a wonderful life with her. It is, however, sensible and understandable, especially as there's no reason in this story that he has to settle on Akane. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No sense being a damn fool about it."

Instead of responding to her insults, Ranma's ignoring Akane as much as possible. This, of course pisses Akane off, so more insults follow. Granted it might be a little out of character to have Ranma acting more mature than Akane, but that's just appearance. the reason for Ranma's actions are just as childish as they always were.

This Akane is still going through the morning Horde, against a Kuno whose skill is increasing (although he's sabotaging his victories), and hasn't given up her crush on Tofu. She also doesn't have a pet to confide in. She doesn't threaten ranma with violence, but Ranma wouldn't let her get away with it if she did.