Another Chapter of Pyrelie. Yeah yeah sorry. I need to catch it up as it has a very good first set of chapters. I probably won't be able to continue writing on many other fics for a little while. I've been hooked by a book series that I cannot stop reading (that unfortunantly is very long) Have you ever heard of the Wheel of Time? Yeah... Also I got a new game that I'm playing called Star Ocean III. So My writings will come out a lot slower. Sorry. Only for about three months and then I'll be back at full writing capacity. Don't worry! I'm down but not gone.

Pyrelie

Chapter Two: The Endowment

Ranma's favorite time of day was quickly fading. Three minutes... two minutes... one. Gone!

A small ray of sunlight flickered through the window and landed directly on his closed and sleeping eyes.

"Well... better than the bucket or the pond..." Ranma thought.

He roused himself slowly and made his way down to the bathroom after haphazardly throwing on some blue shorts and a white A-shirt. Once there he let himself bathe in the warmth of the furo as he thought of his things to do.

"Today is the day..." He thought. "Today's the day I tell Akane..."

He reached for the shorts that lay a few feet from the water's edge and searched through the pockets. He pulled out a small black velvet case which held a Dimond ring. Ever since about the time of his battle with Toma he had been saving every last yen he could get his fingers on (and keep Nabiki's off) to buy it. The ring had cost him a grand total of about 90,000 yen.

How he had managed to save it in half a year he could not fathom but he had done it. The main money maker was working at Ucchan's. Sometimes at the Nekohauntan in exchange for a technique or two and a couple thousand yen, but mostly Ucchan's.

He had allready told Ukyo of who he loved most. She had accepted it. Slapped him several million time but accepted it. Definantly cried more than once a day considering how red her eyes were when he came to work there but she accepted it. Complained and pestered him every second he worked there but... she still accepted it and had only recently given up on the pestering. She had lent him almost a fourth of the money and she expected it repayed in triple, which Ranma was glad to do.

Well, not glad by any means but at least it was some compensation to her long lost honor.

The only problem now was... would Akane accept it? Did she even like him, let alone love him? Yeah sure he saved her life a few hundred times. Big deal! There was a good chance that would make Akane more angry than happy.

'No! She loves you... don't think like that! Don't...' He thought. His thoughts however, were inturupted as a small bowl crashed from a high shelf and shattered on the floor.

"...Bad omen?... Nah!" Ranma thought.

Ranma got out of the furo and poored a tub of cold water on himself to rinse off, causing the usual change in form.

After he changed form the back of his neck began to itch horribly. Ranma, being used to pain, barely gave it a second thought knowing it would get worse if he scratched.

"Hmm... I wonder what that word on my neck meant yesterday... Shampoo could have written it I suppose, when she pulled me on top of her... but normally I would notice something being written on the back of my neck.

He shrugged it off and forgot about it seeing as it hadn't seemed to do anything.

After dressing himself he splashed his head with hot water and left the bathroom and went out to the living room. It was a bright Sunday morning. Seeing as Ranma had slept in it was around 11:00 A.M. Leftovers were placed on the table for him to eat.

He sat down and ate the Okonomiyaki Kasumi had prepared. This okonomiyaki in particular, was not as good as Ukyo's however still extreamly good for leftovers made by a first time maker.

Once he was about half way through his meal he heard the distinct sound of Akane's laughter at the front door. The door opened revealing Akane in her usual morning jogging clothes.

"Ok nice to have you over Akane!" Shouted a girl from the front gate. Ranma wasnt' sure who it was but he had thought it was Naomi; A new girl who had only attended Furinkan for about three months and was still finding it hard to get used to all the broken buildings and warcries.

"Thanks for inviting me! I'll have you over here sometime maybe!" Akane called back. "Bye!"

Walking into the door Akane shouted her usual greeting. "Taidama!"

"Hey Akane." Ranma said casually.

Her only reply was a loud "Hmph!" and a freezing shoulder.

"Aw Akane! Are you still mad about that? I'm tellin' ya it wasn't my fault!" Ranma cried.

"Just tell me why you keep going over there then! WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING IT!?" She cried louder still.

Akane was referring to the time two days ago when Ranma left the house simply saying he was going to Uuchans.

"I needed the money!" Ranma yelled back.

"WHAT FOR!!!!" She asked her temper raising even more.

"I... uh.. well..." he stuttered.

"You don't have a reason! You were just going there to see Ukyo!" She cried.

Ranma stood up angrily. "What would be wrong with that!?"

"She's A... a... what... whats... that?" She asked. She pointed at the black leather box sitting on the table right next to his plate.

Ranma looked down. And started. "DAMNIT! WHY'D I LEAVE IT OUT!" He thought.

Akane reached for it but Ranma quickly scooped it up and pocketed it.

"It's nothin!" He denied.

"It... thats a ring isn't it! Your going to propose to Ukyo! AREN'T YOU!" She cried. "I... Ranma I HATE YOU!" She cried and ran out of the front door.

"Akane!" Ranma shouted.

He ran to follow her but suddenly felt an arm on his shoulder.

"Ranma... whats'is about a ring?" Nabiki asked.

"Eh heh huh? What?.. What ring!?" Ranma suttered.

"Your still a bad liar Saotome. Are you actually going to propose to Ukyo?"

"NO!" Ranma yelled loudly.

Nabiki jumped back. Like she had said Ranma was a bad liar. That wasn't a lie.

"Then what?" She asked.

"I was... gonna propose..." Ranma said slowly.

"To..?" She asked expectantly.

"To..." He droned on.

"To... who?" She asked.

"50,000 yen." Ranma stated.

Crack.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 50,000 yen!" Nabiki shouted.

"You forget my debts and I'll tell you who I'm proposing too." Ranma said quickly.

Nabiki had been wracking her brain as of late trying to figure out what it was that Ranma had been hiding his money for. She knew whatever it was, it was expensive and paying her off would not be the first on his priority list.

"So you did get a ring!?" She asked.

"Sorry Nabiki but I gotta go. See you!" He cried and jumped out the door onto the roof.

"Who has you Saotome? Who has your heart?" She thought. She came to a certian conclusion. 'Enjoy him Ukyo.'

-

Akane went to a place very well known to Ranma deliberatly so he could find her. She wanted him to find her so she could hit him. And then find her again so she could hit him again!

She hid under the bridge over the river that Ranma always went to when he felt bad or was angry.

She couldn't believe it. Ranma had finally chosen. And it had been Ukyo. After all this time he had chosen UKYO!

"I thought... I thought I at least had a small chance..." She thought. "That maybe under everything else, he loved me. He said he did on Mount Pheonix, damnit! I HEARD him!" She thought.

She put her finger in one of the many hole's Ranma's finger had pushed into a boulder sitting nearby her.

"DAMN HIM!" SHe cried. She punched the boulder and hundreds of smaller rocks flew up into the river.

She curled herself into a ball as her eyes began to water.

"I don't wanna cry over him.." She thought.

Suddenly Ranma hoped down from the bridge.

"... If you were tryin' not to be found... breakin' boulders into the water probably isn't the best way to go about it." He said.

She glared but it didn't hide her red eyes.

"You could've just told me your were proposing to Ukyo!" She cried. "You could've just..!" But he abruptly cut her off.

"Can you just hear me out for a second! Your right Akane." He said.

He walked over and sat down beside her. "It was a ring. And I am proposing."

"Grrr... Real nice way to tell me about it! Why couldn't you have just told me earlier, before you got the ring so I could be ready!? So I could... I thought you... liked me." her voice faded as her emotions changed.

"Akane... if I'd told you before I'd got the ring... the where would the fun in proposing to you be?" Ranma said.

Akane stomach shout up her throat. Her inner organs twisted and shifted inside her. The only advantage was that her heart had melted leaving more room for her lungs.

"To... to me?" She mouthed but she wasn't sure if the words came out. She soon realized she'd begun holding her breath and started to breath slowly.

"Akane, I was going to ask you to go with me to dinner somewhere tonight, but... well..." He pulled out the black box. "I think this place would be slightly better... lotta memories here. Akane Tendo... will you be my REAL fiancee? Will you marry me?"

Akane was now certain her face was blue with holding her breath. She couldn't fathom how Ranma was holding such good composure.

"But... why did... why? Ucchans.."

"I needed money to buy this... it really wasn't that cheap. Ukyo allready knows what I was gonna do and she accepted it and let me work for the money. She still angry but she's happy for you." He said. "Havn't you noticed i've been paying for my meals at Ukyo's?"

"He wants to marry ME! ME!!! But he calls me a tomboy every day! He... I call him an Idiot every day! He... still wants to marry me! How in the hell is he keeping his composure?! This has gotta be as hard for him as for me!"

"Gomen nasai... gomen Ranma... I didn't know... I.."

She was cut off again by him.

"This thing is gettin' kinda heavy Akane," He said stupidly. Akane suddenly realized that Ranma had at some point opened the box revealing a very expensive looking golden band ring. Fortunantly this comment had the intended effect. The tension was broken.

Akane looked into his eyes. No... he wasn't nearly as composed as she had thought. His eyes had a sort of... hoping in them. Fear in them. He was scared. Scared that she would say no. Of course she wouldn't, but all the same.

Akane had fallen in love with Ranma a long time ago. Long before their adventures with herb. Even before Toma and Kirin. Possibly even before Happosai had showed up. There was no way she could say no to this.

"Ranma no baka! Yes I'll marry you!" She snatched the box out of his hands and pulled out the ring delacatly.

Thanking whatever upper beings there where that had finally let him do this, and thanking Ukyo and Kasumi for all the training he had gone through to make him hold his composure and not say anything stupid he let out a long and contented sigh.

"If I remember right... the guy is supposed to put the ring on the girls finger but... I'm not sure so..." She abruptly handed him the ring back and he placed it on her left hand ring finger.

As soon as the ring was on she embraced him in a very tight hug... "Ranma, you said it before at mount pheonix... I love you..." She whispered into his ear.

She pulled away from him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Ranma's eyes had closed when that happened as had Akanes... after a few moments of that one kiss they backed away.

"... I love you too, Akane." Ranma said opening his eyes. "But I know this isn't gonna last too long before were fighting again so before one of us says somethin' stupid... wanna go out for dinner with me tonight?" He asked.

"I had.. I had plans but, I think I can cancel them this time." She said. "This, is going to take soem getting used to."

"Eh... no kidding" Ranma replied.

"Well... I, guess we can go home now..." She said.

"Yeah."

An air of nervousness had sprung up around them.

"Well... Akane you go home. I got, I got some problems to solve." Ranma said.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Well, main one on my mind is Mousse. If I have any thought in the matter he won't attack me again.

"And Shampoo right?" Akane asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you are still going to let that bimbo glomp you! This is really serious to me if you didn't know."

"Problem has allready been solved." Ranma replied with his usual confident attitude.

"...Ok Ranma. I hope so..." She said. They stood and walked up to the road above, hand in hand.

"I'll be back at seven O'Clock tonight and well go wherever you want." Their hands came apart and they began to walk of to their destinations. when Ranma shouted back, "And I'll... try... to use table manners... Try!"

Akane giggled.

"Ranma... hee... I must be the happiest woman alive today... He better let me still call him Baka. ... I really hope this isn't just some trick..."

-

Ranma walked into the Neko-haunten with his best poker face on. Actually it wasn't. He was still angry with Shampoo and if she was in here then he would simply ignore her. If she glomped him he would not be so kind.

Fortunantly Shampoo wasn't present.

"Ranma!" Cologne shouted when he walked it. "What did you do to my great-granddaughter?"

"Huh? I turned her down again. What else, ghoul?" Ranma acted as if he hadn't noticed but he had. Cologne had called him Ranma instead of Son-in-Law.

"Ranma something happened to Shampoo. She locked her door, and when I broke it open, Shampoo lay on her bed. When I asked her what was wrong she asked me who I was! What did you do, Ranma?"

"All I did was leave the room. She used some sort of spell on me that compelled me to sleep with her. I left the room."

"Are there any details? Anything that was odd about the situation?" Cologne asked anxiously.

"No... well her eyes really didnt' fit what she was doing. Her eyes looked... sad in some way. But other than that..." Suddenly Shampoo appeared from around the corner.

"Great-grandmother! I have great nap I work now!... Ranma... Gomen nasai. Shampoo wish you happy marrige to Akane." Shampoo said cheerfully. She walked back into the changing room where her work clothes were held.

"... Odd." Cologne said.

"She seems fine to me but how did she know...? Oh well. Not that I mind or anything but why did you stop calling me Son-in-Law?" Ranma asked.

Cologne sighed. "I watched you under the bridge of course. I felt Tendo-san there, very angry and figured you'd be following. Also... I ran out of tricks. Your an illusive catch sonny." She said. I hearby nullify all engagements to the Amazons. Please accept my apologies. And I suppose whatever was wrong with Xian Pu was just denial.

"Uh... well, guess that solves what I came here for. Seems sorta sudden? Is it another law? Outsider male proposes to outsider female voids kiss of marrige?" He asked.

"No... no I just ran out of tricks. If you didn't fall to whatever Shampoo used yesterday then I can't win you." She replied.

Cologne failed to mention that his voice the previous day had downright scared her. And it was rare that she was scared. She didn't want someone who could scare her in the tribe. Also, with him in Joketsuzoku it could start a civil war between the males and females. No... no that wouldn't do.

"What did you originally come here for?" She asked.

"Mousse. But I guess you'll take care of that?" He asked.

"Of course. Good luck with Tendo-san Ranma." She sighed.

"Now would you like one last free Ramen? Because after this I'm charging you..."

Ranma happily agreed.

-

"Something is up. Something HAS to be wrong. No way they would give up so easily. NO WAY!" Ranma thought.

Ranma was about half way from the Neko-haunten to the bridge when suddenly his danger sense went berserk. And all danger seemed to be coming from above.

Looking up all he saw was clouds. Sure the clouds were forming a very peculular swirl much like the formation of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha with the center pointed at him but they were just clouds. Sure there was a white light formed at the center there but they were just clouds. Sure the dot was quickly begining to strech the sky downward toward the earth but... wait. That's not normal.

"I can't move!" He thought. And he couldn't. His arms wouldnt' move, nor his legs.

Things went out of movability slowly. after that. Torso, neck, jaw, and finally eyes. He lost control of all of them as his back became arched and he stared up into the sky. The beam came closer as if stretching the sky toward him. And behind the beam an array of light swirled out in a circular patterns that had shifted from the spiral swirl to a form much like a target board of dark and darker clouds, mixed with some rings of blue sky and white light.

And suddenly, the sky recoiled. In flung backwards into its normal position and the light was launched toward Ranma.

Ranma stared at it... helpless as it hurdled toward him and angry at his helplessness. Whatever that thing was, he HAD to get out of its way. He pulled. He forced himself with all of his might, all of his Ki and all of his willpower to move.

One inch, two. Four inches. Six. Each step harder then the last he scrunched his way out. Suddenly he was zapped in a way that made it feel like he was hit by a bullet train. A vortex of blue light rose about him and formed a tube stright up the the beam.

He was suddenly in the middle of the vortex again, with the light headed directly for him again. He hadn't been moved. He just appeared there. He tried to move again and successfully moved an inch to the left before he became entranced by the light. It was becoming smaller. It was about the size of a basketball... baseball. Golf ball. Moth ball... spec. It was a foot from his face and still moving at the same speed but that few milliseconds seemed to last an hour. It slowly inched itself from the top of his arm reach to his face and entered his un-naturally unblinking eye.

The vortex dissapeared and he blasted upward into the sky. His last thought before blackness took him was, "Akane... Gomen nasai."

A few moments later he landed with a soft thud on the grass on the far east side of the public park... half a mile away.

-

"He... he stood me up... I can't... he, he wouldn't!" Akane stuttered. She had had the ring examined by a professional and found that it was most definantly real. But then, why would Ranma not be there? He had scheduled the dinner!

It was about seven twenty five and Ranma was not at the house. Akane had managed to keep his proposal a secret, just in the off chance something like this happened. And sure enough, he did this. "Ranma not baka! I hate-!"

RIIIIIIING!

The telephone rang.

Akane walked over to it, cursing about not being able to properly curse at Ranma and picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello is this miss Akane Tendo?" A man's voice asked. It was a deep voice that Akane held no recognition for.

"Yes. Who is this?" Akane asked anxiously.

"Ma'am. I'm a doctor at the Nerima medical facility. We have a man here identified as Ranma Saotome. We have confirmed that he had been staying with you. Is this true?"

"The hospital! Why! What.. what happened?" She cried. "Yes... yes he is staying with me, us."

"Ma'am, he was found on the eastern side of the park with his eyes swelled shut and a burn mark across the back of his neck. Someone burned the english word passed into the back of his neck I guess. It sure seems like an awfully mean joke though. He also has a pretty big bump on the head. I'd say its from a fall of some sort." The man droned on.

"Is he allright? Will he be ok?" She asked with a still anxious edge to her voice.

"Oh yes ma'am. This boy has the most amazing recovery rate i've ever seen. I could actually watch his eyes heal as it happened. I just wanted to let you know. He'll be up and running like normal in the morning. Also I think that burn mark will dissapear too. It is allready much less visible than it was half an hour ago."

"I'll be right over. Thanks for calling!" She cried as she slammed the phone down on the hook.

"What was that all about Akane?" Nabiki asked from her spot at the table.

Nabiki knew someone had asked Akane on a date that night and that she had been stood up but she had no idea who. And at the moment she just didn't feel like getting the information out because Akane was being so, uptight about it. She'd been nervous ever since she'd returned earlier that day and Nabiki felt she could do without being bothered for once. Though she did seem in much better of a mood.

"Ranma's hurt! They found him in the park unconcious! I'm going to the hospital!" Akane cried.

"Akane-chan! Since when did you care about Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

Akane looked down. And then back up and smiled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring and in one fluid motion, slipped it on her finger.

"Ever since he proposed to me, Nabiki." She said and with that, rushed out the door.

Nabiki was always calm, and cool, and collected. She never lost her composure. Never lost her temper. Never lost her control. And NEVER lost her facial expression.

Except now.

Half an hour later Nabiki's eyes were still wide and showed no signs of having blinked within the last half hour.

Kasumi smiled. "It's about time!" She thought and began to hum again. "Oh Nabiki-chan! Your drooling! No! NO NOT ALL OVER THE FLOOR!"

"Akane... Sorry I couldn't make it tonight. I, got held up." Ranma said from the bed.

"What happened Ranma? Was it Shampoo's great-grandmother? Or Mousse?" She asked.

"As if I could lose to Mousse. No it was, something else. I.. I... OW!!!!!!!" He suddenly grasped his eyes and shut them tight and began to squirm all over the bed.

"Ranma! Doctor! Something happeneing!" Akane cried. But there was no awnser. The door had been shut tight and seemed to be sealed with somethign other than just wood.

Ranma writhed around cluching his eyes and moaning for a few minutes as Akane knew of nothing to do to help him. And suddenly he stopped. His back leaned over looking down at his feet he slowly let his hands off his eyes.

"A... Akane... are you there?" He asked.

"Of course I'm here!" She cried.

"I..."

He slowly opened his eyes. And she backed away.

"Ranma... your eyes... they're... they're gold!" She cried.

"They sting like he..." But he abruptly stopped speaking when he glanced in the mirror. There, staring right back at him, were two golden eyes, that glowed with a neon flash in them.

"What.. happened to you Ranma?" Akane asked.

"I don't know but something... hit me... and made me... I... I dunno I feel like a billion yen whether I look it or not. My eyes don't even hurt anymore... I... I can't even remember what the pain felt like." Ranam replied.

"....I hope your ok Baka." She said.

End Chapter

Sorry if the yen is off. I'm going from anywhere from three hundred to four hundred dollars as the cost of the ring but i'm not certian by any means. If anyone knows differently then please tell. Hope you like the chapter. One of my most romantic ones yet. I just realized I don't think I have the genre of this fic in romance. Better change that!