Author's Note: Yar, I know I need a beta reader but I have yet to have any offers for someone to do it *pouts*. I need one for this story and for Blush my other Ranma/Akane fic that seems to be agreeable to the reading populace ;) Thanks to all of y'all who reviewed! It means SO much and I'm glad you're hanging in there!
There were times when Akane just really hated that Amazon. There were other times when she found her somewhat pleasant. But now was one of the times when Akane wanted nothing more than to scrawl 'Return to Sender' in thick red marker on the purple hair girl's forehead.
Ranma was on his back side staring up at the smug looking girl. Akane stood beside him, hands clinched and mind racing as to whether or not she had a red marker in her bag. Shampoo crossed her arms and jumped off of the fence where a moment earlier she had bombarded her 'Airen' to the ground in fright.
"Nihao, Ranma."
"H-h-hey Shampoo."
"What do you want, Shampoo?" Akane didn't want to give the girl any hope that Ranma was up for grabs this morning. They had spent the majority of the night studying and she'd be ready to kill if either of them missed the test.
"Proof." The Chinese girl chirped out.
Ranma finally found his feet and was standing next to his fuming 'wife'. With the one word memories of when they had confronted the girl last rushed into his head.
"Not this again!" Akane exclaimed, grabbing Ranma's hand and leading him down the road past Shampoo. "We're not going to make out in front of you again!" Though she said it somewhat calmly a bright red blush appeared from her neck to her hair line.
"Shampoo no want to force kitchen destroyer on husband." She turned to the couple's , only seeing there backs and slightly tensed shoulders.
"Cut it out, Shampoo." Ranma was surprised his voice finally decided to come back. "We're going to be late for school." Interweaving their fingers together, the boy started to pull Akane further down the road. He wasn't so much concerned about the test as he was about the type of proof the Amazon might require.
"You remember when Airen had on love band-aid?" The innocence in her voice could only mean the devil was about to pop out.
The Tendo born girl was pretty sure she was purple by now. Ranma would be sharing the same helpless and tattle tell coloring if he hadn't already switched into battle mode. Shampoo was coming off more and more as a threat.
"What about it?"
"Does Airen remember what we try to get to sign?"
The blood ran from Ranma's face in an instant as he turned around to study the Amazon. Switching his eyes from Shampoo to Akane he saw arrogance and pure fear.
"You don't mean---"
"The marriage license." She walked up smoothly to Ranma, wrapped her arms around his and leaned. Akane was rigid and seemed oblivious to it all. "Shampoo want to see. If Shampoo see, Shampoo believe and leave alone."
Later in the afternoon they had both successfully taken the test, though whether or not both passed was a different matter entirely. Akane was still in shock and Ranma was too nervous.
Ukyo had eyed the couple and their strange behavior all day. She even had enough yen on her to request information from Nabiki. The middle sister was very unhappy as to announce she did not have a clue. After she had taken the money of course.
The couple had met on the roof during lunch.
"What are we going to do, Ranma?" Akane asked, leaning over the side of the railing.
"I don't know, 'kane." Ranma was laying, propped up against the same railing. "I guess will have to go to Nabiki again."
The girl sighed and dipped her head down. "I'm running out of money."
He snorted. "Me too." Then a butterfly fluttered by almost landing on his nose making him smile for the first time today. As it picked itself up into the air again, Ranma jumped to his feet and watched as the colorful bug went about its business.
Akane wasn't sure whether to scream or jump when she felt Ranma press against her back lightly, and his hand rest next to hers on the rail. "Look." The girl, with wide eyes, turned to focus on where his outstretched hand was pointing to.
It was still visible, but becoming harder to see by the second. A small yellow and red butterfly going steadily downward.
From an observer it seemed like nothing more than a happy couple sharing a romantic moment together.
But for Ukyo, who had been observing this little embrace, she felt sick. She'd come up to the roof to ask them why they were even more jumpy than normal. She was more than sick by the time lunch was over, she was green and seeing a light shade of red.
"NABIKI!" Akane growled as her sister crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. The brunette was being difficult. She insisted on money. Akane battled back that she had set this thing up and therefore it was her responsibility to get them out of it.
The middle Tendo only started to feel nervous when her sister started to crack her knuckles. Ranma only made a humored noise at his 'wife' as they stood in front of the school.
"Okay, okay!" Nabiki smiled nervously. "Tell me what your probably is and I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Nabiki." No matter if she had known her sister all her life, Akane's mood swings from homicidal to happy where still unnerving. Ranma didn't seem effected in any way as he merely scratched his nose and yawned. "Shampoo wants to see a marriage certificate."
The listener raised her eyebrow. "Shampoo?" Then the money handler groaned softly.
"And no doubt Ukyo will want to see it later!"
With a tapping finger on the side of her face and brown eyes looking skyward. "What's the problem then."
"Oh come on Nabiki. You know we only signed permission slips when we suppose to be signin' that license."
"Don't worry you two." She smiled and patted them both on the shoulders. "I'll take care of this and write you an IOU."
"Gee thanks."
It was close to seven before Nabiki made another rare appearance at the Cat Café. After fending off the questioning Shampoo and blind Mousse she finally was holding a conference with Cologne.
"Ah, what brings you back here?" The old woman placed her cane on the table and smiled.
"I want Shampoo to stop interrupting in my affairs."
The proud Amazon bristled under such a stiff order. In all her long, long years she was never accustomed to taking orders from outsiders. Truth be told she could hardly stand to take orders from insiders as well. That's why she had clawed her way to the top of the village leaders.
With eyes narrowed, her old faced wrinkled even more as she let her lips fall into a frown. "I'm sure you realize that I am under no laws or rules to listen to you." The woman shifted slightly. "I only agreed to go along with this because of the proof you showed me earlier."
Tough clients weren't always her favorite type of clients. "I know, Cologne." She was tired of this and dealing with the ancient Amazon was not making that feeling ebb. "But you have to understand, in this country there are laws and rules which now hold Ranma and Akane."
The lady laughed long and hard. "My dear girl, you don't really think I believed that made up nonsense you showed me earlier did you?"
Tendo knew this was going to come up. With her sly smile, she reached over and started to dig through her satchel.
A whole day had passed, and strangely Shampoo hadn't tackled Ranma that morning.
Ranma was wide awake, slightly nervous as to why Shampoo hadn't hunted him down and demanded for proof again. Although he had been thrilled to get the test scores back. Akane and he both had passed with flying colors, and not in red for once.
They'd been so happy that after school when they met up again on the walk home they ran to each other and almost, almost kissed in celebration. Instead they ended up blushing like crazy and staring at the ground in fascination.
Now they lay in bed, blanketed by silence. Over the course of the months they had been pulling off this class A charade, Ranma felt something nagging at him. It wasn't an apology for dragging his fiancée into this mangled mess he jokingly referred to as his life. Nah, she'd gotten use to it long ago. Guilt over lying so much? Maybe that would come later.
He turned over on his side to face the girl. She was facing him and nearly burst with red, trying to turn over.
"'kane." She paused, heart racing.
"Ranma."
"Thanks." That was it! He hadn't shown his appreciation for the uncut tomboy's role in this farce.
"For what?"
He smiled.
Akane was about to get mad and demand what it was he was so happy about when her intelligence hit her. She slowly smiled in return.
With that matter settled, the boy closed his eyes and drifted off into whatever his dreams were.
Akane shortly followed his example. Cracking one eye open before falling completely to sleep, she sent a thought his way knowing he'd never get it. Too bad it couldn't be real, Ranma.