This is the last (and looks like the longest) chapter in this story. It's been fun, but one thing bothers me. Why do I get so few reviews? Other stories only have one chapter, and they're up to 20! Oh well, I'm posting the story to let others see it, not get reviews.
My next story, titled "Ryoga's Roadtrip" is progressing nicely. This is a sequel to this story, so that'll take care of pacing problems with character development. It'll be a Comedy/Angst/Crossover/Drama/Self-Insert fic, and will most likely be M rated (maybe T rated until I hit the heavy stuff).
One of my Reviewers, Peophin-chan, wrote her own lyrics for Ryoga's song "Wandering Soul." It is supposed to be Wandering, not Wondering. My fault! The song appears at the end of this long chapter.
I don't own Ranma. belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, Fuji TV and Kitty Film. The song at the end was written by Peophin-chan, not me. This chapter uses some characters theat are unique to the Anime, so if you see someone you don't know, it's probably form the anime. Just poke around the character page at furinkan .com and you should find them!
"No, I'm sorry. This event is not open to the public," Nabiki said. It was finally the day of the wedding, and she was dealing with the press. They tried not to keep the ceremony private, but it leaked out somehow.
"We just want some photos and an interview!" one of the reporters begged before she closed the door and locked it. Since the curse of Ranma and the others became public knowledge from the contest, everyone wanted to get an exclusive story. Nabiki was tempted to sell the info herself, but even she had her standards.
The contest provided the money for the dojo repairs, but there wasn't as much left over as they thought. The band members were nice enough to donate some of the money to repair the damage from Kuno's attack on the stage, even though they weren't really at fault.
There were some ways that they cut costs for the wedding. Picolet Chardin II and Madame St. Paul, as their wedding gift, had lent them the kitchen staff from Chateau Chardi. This staff could cook easily for hundreds of normal people. Picolet and St. Paul even agreed not to "criticize the commoners for their atrocious dining manners" at the reception.
The biggest money saver was that fact that there were four couples getting married at the same time. This may be a little unusual, but it cut down on the rental fees for the church and equipment, and their guests only had to make one trip. It wasn't what any of the girls were thinking when they imagined getting married when they were kids, but they weren't complaining.
Nabiki entered the girls changing room. The girls, like herself, were already in dresses. Nabiki went up to her sisters, where Kasumi was adjusting Akane's hair.
"Looks like soon I'll be the only single sister in the family," Nabiki said.
"Don't worry, you'll find someone," Kasumi said.
"Well, I do plan to go to collage. And I'm much more interested in which of you two will make me an aunt first."
Kasumi and Akane started blushing. "Nabiki!" they yelled.
CLICK!
Nabiki laughed as she pulled the camera away. "That look was just too precious!" she said. "But Akane, you'll have to tell us how the honeymoon goes. Let us know if Ranma really is a 'man among men.'"
The rest of the girls, including Shampoo and Ukyo, couldn't help but laugh at how red Akane was.
Kasumi tried to suppress her own laughter. "Nabiki, don't do that! We're all under enough stress."
Meanwhile, in the mens changing room, things were going a lot smoother.
"Do you think I should leave this bandanna on?"
"Hey, I'm going out with my pigtail. I don't see a problem with your bandanna."
The grooms were getting ready. Ranma, Ryoga, and Dr. Tofu were wearing tuxedos, while Mousse was dressed in a ceremonial white robe.
"I'm finally marrying Shampoo," Mousse looked at himself in a mirror. "Somebody pinch me. I must be dreaming!"
Ranma was about to pinch him when Dr. Tofu grabbed his wrist.
"Oh, no you don't," he said. "Knowing you guys, that'll start a fight. Try to act civilized for today, Okay?"
"Ranma, I wanted to congratulate you. I know the schools aren't the reason you're doing this, but joining the schools is something that every founding master is proud him," Happosai said as he hopped up and adjusted his bowtie in the mirror.
"Th…thank you, Happosai," Ranma said.
"Plus, I'll always be able to find you when I need a little fun," Happosai added. Everyone else could only shake their heads at this.
Soon, the ceremony was started. The chosen flower girl, Temari from the Good Old Days Martial Arts School, went down the isle, spreading flower petals.
Dr. Tofu, Ranma, Mousse, and Ryoga were lined up, from left to right. As the organ player started playing, the four brides were led down the isle by Soun and Genma. Soun led Akane and Kasumi down the middle. To their Right, Genma led Akari and Shampoo. This way, each bride matched up to their groom.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered…"
He was cut off by a crash, as Kuno burst through a side door. Sasuke followed him, holding a video camera.
"Ranma Saotome, I will smite thee!" Kuno yelled.
Ranma sighed. "Why can't something go right, just once?" He asked himself out loud.
"I am going to get my revenge. I have gone as far as train in China! Now that I know about your curse, I will ask you: are you familiar with a place called Jusenkyo?"
Ranma cringed. He's heard this story before.
"Are you cursed, and you're blaming me for it?" Ranma dared ask.
"You may find out, if you live that long. However, I can tell you that I've seen Hell, thanks to you. Now you will pay for it! I am going to destroy your happiness!"
"Oh great, another Ryoga," Ranma said.
Ryoga ignored the comment. "You'll have to get past us," he said.
Ukyo got up from her seat and got out Ryoga's umbrella and Shampoo's bonbori from under it, and tossed it to them. "Here, catch!"
They caught it. "Take this!" Ryoga yelled, opening the umbrella. "Shampoo-spinner!" Just before he tossed the heavy umbrella, Shampoo jumped on it. Both the umbrella and Shampoo, with her bonbori extended, sailed around Kuno in a circle a few times, while Shampoo hit Kuno from almost every imaginable angle. Kuno dropped his boken. As Shampoo and her ride came back towards Ryoga, Mousse knelt down and used a chain to pull the boken away before Kuno could retrieve it. As Ryoga caught his umbrella, Shampoo jumped off, landed and jumped off Mousse's back, and then landed on the ground.
"Well, that went well," Ryoga said, glad that this attack worked so well. It was the first one he's made in a long time that didn't have to do with killing Ranma.
"Yeah, but when we practiced, Shampoo wasn't in high heels," Mousse said weakly as he slowly stood back up.
Kuno stood back up also. "I will deal with the rest of you later," he said. "Saotome, this will put an end to you!" Kuno took out what looked like a large stone coin with a hole in it. "Here is something I found in an Amazon village in China."
Cologne gasped from the isle seat. "The nightmare disk!"
"What's that thing?" Ukyo asked.
"A dangerous item from our village, forbidden for decades. If he just looks at Ranma through the hole in the center, it will trap Ranma in a nightmare of his worst fears! It also displays his nightmare on a large bubble!"
"Thanks, you old hag! I knew what it did, but I wasn't sure how to use it!" Kuno said.
Cologne fumed. She didn't like being tricked.
"I'll take that thing!" Mousse said, using a hidden chain to take it from Kuno. However, Kuno had already used it before the chain had reached him.
Everyone watched as Ranma relaxed from his battle stance and his pupils got small, like he was in a trance.
Kuno laughed. "I wonder what his deepest fear is. Nabiki, if you're taking any bets, I'll bet 40000 yen that it's about his fear of cats."
Nabiki scowled. "Dry up and die, Kuno," she said through clenched teeth.
Kuno merely brushed her off. A large bubble formed above Ranma. The show was starting, and he didn't want to miss it.
(A/N: The part that is the nightmare, or what is being displayed on the bubble, will be in italics. Dialogue of characters in the bubble will also be in italics.)
Ranma was in a Tuxedo, running to the church. "How the heck could I be running late for my own wedding?" he asked himself out loud.
He opened the church doors to find it empty of everyone but Akane, who was dressed in regular clothes.
"Akane, were is everyone?" he asked. "Aren't we getting married today?"
"Married!" Akane said, as if she were upset at something. "Why would I marry you, of all people?"
"But…But I thought…" Ranma said, his voice starting to break.
Akane started yelling at the top of her lungs. "I'd never marry you! You're an egotistical, loud-mouthed, self-centered, chauvinistic, gender-changing freak! I wish you didn't know how to swim! Then, you would've drowned and died in that cursed spring and I'd have a normal life!"
"A.. Ak.. Akane…"
"Just die, Saotome. Get the hell out of my life and everyone else's!"
His friends and family watched in horror as the real Ranma, as if he were a zombie, went over and picked up the discarded Boken. He then aimed it at himself!
"Do it, if you dare," Akane said. "You're no 'man among men!' You and your worthless father should have committed seppuku a long time ago, like your mother wants you to."
"Must…do it…" the real Ranma said, preparing to thrust it at his heart.
"NO!" the real Akane yelled. She wasn't even sure if Ranma could actually hear her. "Don't do it! Please! I…I love you, Ranma! Don't do this to me!"
Ryoga watched on. This was a lot like what Sarutoru's "Shadow Fall" attack did to him on Togenkyo Island, except it displayed the nightmare for that bastard Kuno to take pleasure in!
"Please don't!" Nodoka yelled, upset she ever agreed to that stupid seppuku contract.
"Do it!" the nightmare Akane commanded.
Ranma then dropped the wooden sword and closed his eyes. He grabbed his head as if he was in immense pain. The scene in the bubble of Nightmare Akane faded away and was replaced by other images.
It was a memory, not too long after Ranma got to Japan. "Dr. Tofu, can't you see what a pervert Ranma is?"
Another one, from when Ranma defeated Copycat Ken the first time, and Akane was congratulating him. "That's our Ranma, all right!"
One his first memories of Akane after they were engaged. "There's no way in the world that I could ever marry someone like that!"
One from when he was in the martial arts skating competition. "Don't do this." Akane held his hand. "Not for me. Really, it's not necessary."
One where Ranma was about to knock on her door while she was talking to Nabiki. "My life may as well be over if I have to marry a stupid jerk like him. Why don't you marry him if he's so cool? Think about it! I'm engaged to my worst nightmare!"
"I didn't even know he heard that," Akane said out loud.
One from when he was fighting with Prince Toma on the island of Togenkyo. "Ranma, Please! I like you just the way you are! Please don't fight anymore, I'm begging you!"
"He's trying to fight the control. His mind is trying to sort everything out," Cologne said, her eyes getting big.
"You can do it, boy! You can defeat this!" Genma said.
"Yeah, go for it, son!" Soun added.
"No! Nobody has ever been able to break free of the control! The stress level will kill him for sure!" Cologne said, sweating.
Everyone gasped. "Can we stop it?" Ryoga asked.
Cologne closed her eyes and shook her head.
Ranma then started screaming in pain. Now the memories couldn't be heard over the screaming, but they could still be seen. Akane hitting Ranma. Akane applying bandages to Ranma. Akane kicking Ranma. Akane looking happy after getting Christmas gifts from Ranma. Akane slapping Ranma.
Ranma stopped screaming and collapsed on the floor. The images faded into black. Everyone thought he had died. Kuno smirked. Akane started to cry.
Then, there was one final image before the whole bubble vanished.
One from when Ranma first met Akane when they thought Ranma was a girl. "I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"
"Akane…" the real Ranma said, getting up. His eyes were back to normal.
"He managed to live?" Cologne said, astonished, and smiling.
Kuno was livid, but then he smirked. "So you managed to live through your own personal hell? Now you know what it's like to live my life! To not get that which you love…it hurt you so that Akane scorned you, did it not?"
Ranma sneered. "Love! You think you loved Akane! Fighting with her before school? Trying to make her yours? 'A conquest worthy of the great warrior Tatewaki Kuno, aka the Blue Thunder!' She's not some possession! She's a person, with the same rights as you and me!"
Kuno laughed. "Saotome, love is a battle. You won that battle, or so you think. If I have to do something drastic to Akane Tendo to defeat you, so be it!"
"I'll stop that delinquent!" Hinako Ninomya, who was one of the bridesmaids, said. She got out a Five Yen piece. "Happo Five Yen Satsu!"
Kuno picked up Sasuke and used him to block the energy draining attack. He then through the shriveled-up ninja at Hinako, knocking her back. "Sorry, 'sensei,' but I will not allow you to interfere."
"How dare you mess with the hearts of those so full of youth!" Higuma Torajiro yelled.
"Whatever." Kuno then took out a bottle of water and poured it on himself. "You wanted to see my cursed form, Saotome? Here it is!"
Kuno increased in size, almost hitting the ceiling of the church. His skin became scaly. His body became slender and grew a tail.
"Here's my cursed form, curtsey of the pool of drowned King Cobra!"
Ranma looked stunned. "King Cobra? Then how can you talk and still have arms and legs?"
"A person fell into the pool while trying to get away from the Cobra." Cologne said. "I remember hearing about this pool."
"There actually is a pool of drowned King Cobra at Jusenkyo? I didn't think we had those in our part of China. Just in the southern part," Mousse said.
"Oh, but you had no problem with a pool of 'Yeti who drowned riding an ox carrying a crane in one hand and a slippery eel in the other?'" Ryoga asked.
Mousse was going to respond, but he was cut off by a bunch of screams.
Kuno had picked up the four brides with his tail. The grooms started to run at him, but stopped when he held a container above the girls heads. "Do you know what lies in this container?" Kuno asked.
"If you dare harm any of them…" Ranma started.
"They'd be cursed, just like us. Do you know what Nannichuan is?"
"The spring of drowned man!" Ryoga yelled.
"One more step and they'll be turned into guys!" Kuno threatened. "Then, when they are no longer maidens, I will smite them before your eyes."
"You're thinking of killing us when we're guys? And you always talk about being honorable! What do you know about honor!" Akane yelled.
There was some hot water along the walls. Seeing as there were a number of cursed people here, the families wanted to make sure that nobody married an animal, one girl married to another, or ended up with a panda as a father in law.
Ukyo quietly tried to grab some of this water, but Kuno saw her head towards it. He spat some venom in front of the bridesmaid. She stopped just short of the venom on the floor, her eyes big.
Ranma clenched his fist. "There's nothing I can do," he said. Most of the other people just looked at him, but Ryoga caught on fast, and started doing the same thing.
"Akari's in trouble and I'm powerless," he muttered. Then, everyone but Kuno knew what they were going to do.
"I've failed Akane," Ranma continued, becoming more miserable, and then the two then took turns talking.
"Everyone will blame me,"
"…and hate me,"
"…but nobody will hate me more,"
Balls of pure energy started forming in their hands, and grew in size.
"…than myself," Ranma and Ryoga said together.
Kuno was distracted the energy balls forming in their hands, causing him to drop the girls to the ground. They were pulled away quickly by the guests. Everyone scrambled to clear the blast zone.
Just before Ranma and Ryoga released their attacks, Mousse leapt up launched his own attack.
"Steel chain snare!"
Kuno found his legs, arms, head, and tail in multiple chains.
"Do you think this will hold me?" Kuno Roared.
That's when Ranma and Ryoga released their attacks.
"It was a mistake to attack those we care so much about! Shishi Hokodan: dual blast!"
They couldn't do the perfected version, since they couldn't get depressed enough. This caused the beam to come out horizontally, at Kuno. This also wasn't as powerful, but it was the most they could do.
Kuno saw the two energy attacks head towards him. Then they hit the chains on their way and bounced into each other, then merged into one. This new ball of light bounced off the chains some more, becoming smaller and brighter. It then hit Kuno in the face.
All the reporters were still outside, hoping for an interesting story. What they got was Kuno flying through the door and across the street. The reporters looked back to see a very ticked-off Ranma and Ryoga, and the rest of the wedding party looked unhappy also. Deciding they'd rather stay alive, the reporters ran down the street.
"That was incredible!" Soun yelled.
Cologne nodded. "That's my son-in-law. He used chains made of stainless surgical steel. He never meant to hold the enemy in place, but focus the attacks of Ranma and Ryoga."
Nabiki figured it out quick. "Like how the front of a flashlight concentrates the light from the bulb into a bright beam?"
"Exactly, child."
Nabiki smiled. She also then realized that the "son-in-law" that Cologne mentioned this time was not Ranma.
Kuno seemed disoriented, but still had some fight in him "You haven't won yet, fools!" he hissed, and he threw the bottle at the girls.
Mousse used a chain to deflect it away. The bottle fell to the middle of the street. Surprisingly, it didn't break.
"Ryoga! We gotta get rid of that!" Ranma yelled.
Without giving it a second thought, Ryoga hit the street with his finger.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!"
A large crack formed, and traveled towards the bottle. The bottle fell in, and disappeared from sight.
Kuno was angry, but something was wrong with him. He started getting paler, and he collapsed on the ground.
Now that he wasn't watching her, Ukyo managed to finally get him with some hot water. He turned back into a human, but still looked sick.
Dr. Tofu ran over to examine him. "He's been poisoned," he said. "The blast attack must have hit his jaw, causing him to inject himself with his own venom."
Cologne came over, holding a large pill. "Give him this. It will neutralize the cobra venom," she said. "It never hurts to be prepared."
"Wait," Ryoga said. "You're prepared for an attack by a king cobra, which aren'tfound in Japan, during the wedding of your great-granddaughter?"
"When you live as long as me, you tend to be ready for anything, especially when it comes to you children."
The police came by after hearing about the commotion. After a statement by Dr. Tofu and the other guests, they took Kuno away.
Ranma watched as the police car disappeared around a corner. He then felt Akane's hand on his shoulder.
"Come on," she said. "We still haven't been wed yet."
Ranma nodded and went back in.
"I'm surprised. None of you tried to get that spring water for yourself," Ukyo said.
"It wouldn't be right. Not at what the cost could be," Ryoga said, looking at Akari.
"If something happened to Shampoo; something I could have prevented, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself," Mousse added.
"Now you see why I destroyed the spring on Togenkyo," Ranma said, his eyes closed. The other two cursed boys nodded in understanding.
In a short time, the couples were finally wed.
"You may now kiss the bride."
After Ranma and Akane finished kissing, Ranma noticed that she was crying, but she was smiling also. "I know I've said it before, but you're cute when you smile," he said. He then added in a teasing tone "my little tomboy."
Akane smiled. "My little pervert," she said, also teasing.
"Uncute." Now they sounded normal.
"Cross-Dresser."
"Klutz!"
"Idiot!"
"Kitchen destroyer!"
"Womanizer!"
"Oh, just shut up and kiss me again," Ranma said. They did. Everybody cheered.
"I love you," they said at the same time.
The wedding party then relocated to the Dojo for the reception party.
"Congratulations, my boy," Genma said in between mouthfuls of food.
"Thanks pop," Ranma said.
The girls did the bouquet toss at once. Hinako (who was still an adult from the energy she drained from Sasuke) caught it, causing her to get excited and jump for joy, draining her back into a kid again.
Ukyo took another sip of soda. "Hey, there's some musical instruments, but nobody's playing them," she said.
"We couldn't afford a band," Nabiki said with a sly smile. "So we thought we'd get some of the new happy couples to provide entertainment."
Ranma and the rest of the Cursed band looked at each other. "Sure. Why not?" he said.
"I'll get my synthesizer," Akane said.
"Don't worry. It's right here," Nabiki said, getting it out from under a table.
Soon they were ready to play. It did look weird for them to be playing in wedding dresses and tuxedos, but they didn't seem to mind.
"I think, since we were interrupted last time, that Ryoga could sing his 'Wandering Soul' song now," Mousse said.
Ryoga smiled. Akane started playing music on her keyboard while Mousse accompanied with a soft, steady beat. Ryoga then started playing, with Ranma and Shampoo backing up the tune.
Ryoga then started singing.
(A/N: This song was written by Peophin-chan. Used with permission.)
One day
A beautiful dream
And when I open my eyes, it's gone
All night
Wandering rooftops
Don't know where my feet lead me
A metaphor
No place to belong
How do I know
Where I need to go
If I can't even find my way home?
Give me a light to shine through the storm
And cast me over the sea
Give me a star to follow, oh please
And free my wandering soul
New sky
A perfect old place
And all my friends in the clouds
Blue sky
Fire-stained red
The flames eat my fantasy
Sat in the crowd
Kept my love quietly
How can I stand
The touch of your hand
If I'm not what you believe?
Give me a light to shine through the storm
And cast me over the sea
Give me a star to follow, oh please
And free my wandering soul
I thought I could spread my wings and fly
Until I tried to touch the sky
But it's not a race
When I see your face
I know this is where I belong
Give me a heart to feel what is true
Give me the words to say "I love you"
Give me a star
To find my way home
And free my wandering soul
Give me a light to shine through the storm
And cast me over the sea
Give me a star to follow, oh please
And free my wandering soul
Free this wandering soul...
So here ends our tale. I hope you enjoyed it, and will stick around for the sequel. Read and Review!
Here are a few of the fics written by others that I like. I've included their ID numbers. Just replace the 2382437 in the address bar with the chosen ID number. You'll also have to replace the 10 in the next set of slashes with a 1, so that it goes to the first chapter (most stories don't have 10 chapters, so you'll get an error message.)
A Trip to Self by Trugeta – 2318096
A good Ranma/Kasumi story! If you read this, you may need to dedicate a lot of time. It's long, and once you start reading, it's difficult to stop.
Sick of It by rapancheese – 2317593
A fic about Ranma taking control. A must read!
Monkey Head-Butting by Miko2 – 231484
A great fic. I could see this one being made into an episode or OAV very easily! Well done!
State of Mine by Shall-Iin -1798628
Caution: Rated M!
A fic about Ranma having a medical condition that keeps him from reaching puberty. Very well written. There's a sequel, but I've yet to read it.
Ranma's Apartment by C. Jones – 92266
Mousse's Change of Heart by Bruce – 287029
Both these fics are great. Now would you PLEASE update them? Lots of us want to know how they end!
There's a bunch more also. I haven't had a chance to search through here much. But even if I don't read it, there's a large amount of people who will.
So whether you write about Ranma taking charge, a pairing between Ranma and Akane, or one of her sisters, or anyone else, an alternate universe, yet another Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon, and/or Inu-Yasha crossover (I'll be doing a little of this in the next fic), or where Genma as a panda becomes emperor of Japan, keep writing!
I'd like to thank the following for reviewing. Some were good, some were critical (mostly about the pacing), but I used most of it to make this story better. I did 2 major overhauls, but like the finished product! Most of these people have stories too, so click their name in my review page and read 'em!
Priestess Kohana (now update your Paralized story!)
Ryan L. Spradling (who gave me good idea for the next fic)
A.Nonymous (who hasn't used that name for something?)
Dagorwen of Ithilien
Lerris
Peophin-chan (who also wrote the 'wandering soul' song)
I'd also like to thank the following (web addresses have spaces, since fanfiction. net doesn't seem to like web addresses…)
Fanfiction. net (the fic had to be somewhere. Even if they don't allow script formatting, ask shows, MSTs,…)
Furinkan .com (whether it was spelling a character name or just getting more info, this site is THE Ranma ½ site.)
www.japan-guide. Com (for more information on the Obon festival)
Nationalgeographic. Com (information on the king cobra, including where it lives.)
Viz, Runiko Takahashi, Kitty Animation
This fic was printed on 100 recycled disk space using Office XP.
Romshark uses a Toshiba brand Notebook computer.
Bye for now!
Jeffrey aka. Romshark