Chapter 15

Author's Note: To the final-fan review....yes, I realize I misspelled Ranma's last name. Don't worry, I am going to go through and change all that when the story is complete. And as for the "'kane" why of saying Akane's name, I think it is a more intimate way of saying it. Since Ranma in the English version is the only one who does not pronounce it "Akane" I think of it as a very comfortable, friendly and personalized name from Ranma to her. So, I'm sorry if it bugs you but I will continue to use the "'kane" name. *shrugs* It's all preference right? *smiles* Thank you for your review! I really do appreciate the pointers!! And for all those who keep reprimanding me on my grammar mistakes---I have a friend who is going to take care of that for me. She is a part time beta for my story Lucky Me as well. She'll do a good job. ;)

"...Ukyo probably is running towards town." The words echoed in Ranma's head as he ran along the streets towards town. Running towards Akane is more like it, the boy thought. Jumping the roofs would have been better for time and speed, but Akane never traveled by rooftop. She was on the streets somewhere. It hadn't taken Ranma long to run from Nabiki and Kasumi, jump the back wall and gun it towards town. Akane probably didn't have a clue that they were really married.

Or how much danger she was in with two angry girls on her tail.

Ranma still couldn't believe it! Nabiki had set him up! No matter how much he tried to beat down the doubt, the suspicion that Akane had something to do with this gnawed at the corner of his mind. She couldn't be! She wouldn't sneak to such a low-handed measure.

"Come on you stupid tomboy," Ranma huffed. He stopped on the street corner, swinging his head back and forth looking for the short blue bobbed head. Kasumi said she only left a few minutes before he came into the house, how the heck had she gotten so far?

"Stay away, spatula girl!" Shampoo's voice rang high and clear from the crowd joined at the end of one of the streets. There was no other 'spatula girl' in Nerima it had to be Ukyo. If Ukyo was there, Akane must be as well.

"Stay out of this!" Ukyo's enraged yell answered. Ranma fought his way through the crowd to the front line. From past experiences he had learned the hard way never to jump in the middle of a fight between these two. They'd either demand him to make a choice or beat him up in an effort to keep the other girl from getting him. Since he was lawfully no longer up for grabs, beating the life out of him was their only option now. Something the boy did not look forward too at all.

When he was finally able to make heads and tails out of the situation, Ranma was beyond stunned. Akane, in the middle of the two girls and a large crowd, was sitting on her side staring in disbelief at the events unfolding around her.

Ukyo was to the right, spatula in hand and tears in her eyes.

Shampoo was every image of a pure Amazon. Her arms were tense, face drawn into a death glare, and legs ready to propel her forward in an instant.

Ranma knew he should jump in and stop this before any bystander, namely Akane, got hurt. But his curiosity convinced him to hang back for a few more minutes. If it really did get out of hand, he would step forward and take her out of harm's way.

"This everything to do with Shampoo!" The Amazon protested, curving her back slightly as she eased in a defensive position. "Shampoo no like it but Kitchen Destroyer is Shampoo's Amazon sister. You fight her, you fight Amazons."

"Huh?" Akane's complete focus went to violet haired girl. "Shampoo! What are you talking about? What's going on here!" The confused girl clambered to her feet, switching her eyes from Ukyo to Shampoo.

"Don't try to play innocent with me, Akane." Ukyo spat out coldly. "You tricked Ran-chan into marrying you!"

That idiot, Akane seethed in her mind. I thought he was going to tell them! "Ukyo, it's not like that! I thought Ranma would have told you! We aren't really-"

"Don't say it!" The giant spatula twisted in the chef's grip. The tears were slowly licking her cheeks. "I saw it! I saw the license! You two are married!"

Since the day she met Ukyo, Akane had never considered her dumb. But they say there is a first time for everything. Her temper was slowly shrugging away the shocked ashes and started to burn anew. "We are not!" She whirled around to the Amazon who would make a snake quiver in fear. "And I am not an Amazon! What is wrong with you two?"

"You no know?" Shampoo's stance eased up.

"She's lying." Ukyo accused, fingering her smaller spatulas unseen.

"No, she's not." Ranma stepped forward. He was thrilled that Akane seemed innocent in her sister's deceit. "I don't know what exactly is goin' on but tearin' up the city ain't going to get any of our questions answered."

"What he say." Shampoo put her hands on her hips and smirked as the chef's eyes burned through the pigtail boy's head.

"Why should I believe you, Ranma?"

Akane seized the opportunity to run to Ranma in order to get some questions answered. Of course, Akane's anger was previously stoked and it wasn't put out easily until she took it out on someone or something. "RANMA!"

The boy jumped as the small girl's eyes held the promise of pain within them. "Y-yeah?"

"WHAT is going on here? Why is Shampoo calling me an Amazon? Why didn't you tell them the truth?" With every questioned her face inched closer to his.

"You really don't know do you?" Ukyo's voice was sickly amused. She sheathed her spatula as a cold smile spread across her face. "I guess a congratulations is in order, Akane. Out of all of us, you were the one who finally tricked him into marrying one of us!"

"What's that sup--" Akane's words were cut short as two wrinkled pieces of paper was shoved in front of her face.

"That should explain it all." Ranma stepped back, out of malleting distance, and waited for it to sink in. Shampoo kept her eyes trained on Ukyo incase any threatening move was made. Ukyo stood stock still, arms crossed, head slightly bowed, her eyes were closed and the icy line on her lips remained.

"Oh my---" Akane's stomach lumped together with her heart and both of them took a quick route to her feet. Ignoring the girls, Ranma was her target. "I--I didn't know!"

"Neither did I! Nabiki tricked us!" Ranma fussed, mostly to himself.

"Right, Akane." Ukyo's purr was like snow, falling lightly but chilling to the bone. "You must have seen this as the perfect opportunity to nab Ranma from under our noses." She glanced over at the Amazon. "Why don't you join up with me? We can force them apart."

Shampoo's bangs darkened her eyes to near invisible, her fists were tightly clenched and her frame was slightly shaking. "Is against Amazon law to fight over man."

"It is beneath our tribe to reduce ourselves to physical combat over property." Cologne hopped up on her walking stick and stood beside her great-granddaughter. "Why not accept defeat?" The old lady asked. Ranma could only guess that all the commotion is what brought the ancient woman out here.

"Because she took him away!" Ukyo battled, tears gaining speed and frequency as they fell down her face. Her knees steadily grew weaker. This was nothing like she had envisioned.

Ranma moved towards his friend, to try and do his best to comfort her, but Cologne's withered hand stopped him. "There is nothing you can do for her now."

Akane, for her part, had been calmly going over the outline of the family tree researched by Nabiki and the copy of the marriage certificate. With only one wet eyed look at Ranma, Akane turned on her heels sharply and ran blindly back home.

Great, Ranma thought tiredly. Two crying females and I don't have a clue what to do about either of them.

Genma had an arm slung around Soun's shoulders as they each held a bottle of sake and cheered about the united school. Ranma crossed the floor of the dojo and slammed the screen door shut. They claimed ignorance if not innocence in the whole mess; the young man was disinclined to believe both.

Ukyo had run off to her shop not long after Akane's leaving, Shampoo and Cologne also made a quick departure. Once the crowd dispersed, Ranma had shuffled his feet around the sidewalks. His life always seemed to have a way of doing things without his consent.

His friend was mad at him, Akane was probably mad at him, and he was married. At sixteen! Only sixteen! The boy couldn't find any reason to rush back to the dojo until it was near sunset. He'd have to face the fight and onslaught of problems some time...that is why as soon as he got back onto the Tendo property, he headed straight for the dojo.

"What would Mother have to say about you doing this?" Kasumi asked calmly as Nabiki ceased her nibbling on the cookie she held. In her own private way, the eldest sister had been hoping that Ranma and Akane would see what every one else saw and wind up together. But she always wished it was by their choice.

"She'd probably say it was about time." Nabiki shrugged, brushing off the question as quickly as possible. The girls' mother was each of their weak spots. "Don't worry about it, Kasumi. What's done is done. At least this way we can get some peace and quiet for a change. Not to mention the expense of repairing the house an dojo should drop significantly since Ranma won't have any of his crazy fiancées chasing him anymore."

"But to take away his choice?" Kasumi shook her head sadly. "It's not fair to poor Ranma or Akane."

"Fair takes too long. I just sped things up. Besides it's what she wanted."

From the hall, Akane had heard everything. The sinking feeling continued to drive deeper into the ground. Slowly, she began to trudge up the stairs. Whatever brought her down them in the first place was long forgotten by now.

Ranma didn't feel nervous that night as he stood in front of Akane's bedroom door. He was the living personification of the word! It felt awkward to know they were no longer just playing a part. They were actually married!

Scratching the back of his neck he tried to think of any excuses as to not go in. After Akane had run off earlier that day, he felt no want to go and 'talk it out'. Talking wasn't his strong point; in fact it was his downfall. That's why Ranma always let his actions speak for him.

So if action could speak, his would be screaming 'coward' about now.

"Cut the dramatics, boy." Genma pushed. "Be a man!"

Ranma's growling was the only indication that his father got before the boy took a swing at him. "You're one to talk, old man! I'm only in this mess because of you!" In the back of his mind, the pigtailed boy knew he was only prolonging the inventible. But when the inventible meant being malleted to the big dipper and called a pervert repeatedly---it could wait.

Akane, having been holding her breath since she saw a shadow from under her door, rolled her eyes with a groan. From the sounds of it the Saotome men had already gone down stairs and were quickly making their way to where they always seemed to end up, the koi pond.

There was a sharp knock on her door before Nabiki's annoyed face appeared. "Could you please stop you darling husband from wrecking the house?"

One nasty glare handed to her sister and Akane stomped her way down stairs and to the doors leading to the back yard. Without a word, Kasumi handed her a small mallet.

Genma was doing a back flip and sticking out his tongue at his now female son. "You never let me choose!" Ranma screamed in a high-pitched voice. "Always tellin' me what to do. Gettin' me engaged all over Japan and China!" The older man missteped and before he was able to gain his balance, a well place kicked to his side sent him flailing into the koi pond.

The panda held up a sign, 'But you loved every moment of it!' which caused the red head to tense up noticeably.

"Like hell I did, old man! I didn't get to choose when I was stuck with a girl's body! Or when I got engaged to four or more girls! Or even now when I didn't get to pick who I got to marry!" Thud-plonk

Angry blue eyes turned towards the sound but the only thing there was to see was Kasumi looking towards the stairs and a small mallet laying on the ground.

Post Author's Note: Yes, I know this is not a 'light and fluffy' chapter like the rest, but you knew that to maintain a story you have to have some meat to it. *shrugs* I'm sure the ending chapters will not disappoint!