A.N.: Originally I was just going to go straight to the party preparations chapter, but I figure what's Akane being officially engaged without a good fight for her?! So this is for all of the Neko-Ranma fans... and its pretty funny if I say so myself! Kodachi also gets a little action, but not much—I figure she'll help her brother out-that way she'll have Ranma (in her mind), and Kuno'll have Akane. Um- Yeah- Ranma never loses! And thank you so much for all of the great reviews!!! Oh to answer some of them—um, I guess pre Nodoka, because I actually have her in this one, but its one of those things where she hasn't seen him since he was a baby and in my fic there's no such thing as their agreement of seboku and stuff... and sorry about the fluff!! I'm a fluffy writer.... I love the fluff!!! And this fic is basically my first fic ever so I didn't really have the knowledge of writing, so srry about the paragraphs... I tried to fix some! Please keep reading! It gets way better and I'm trying to make it exciting... thanks! Please send reviews! They fuel me to write!! Happy reading!

Disclaimer: This story is totally mine, but the characters are the property of Rumiko T.

Chapter 5: Schoolyard Duel

The rest of the night was hectic. After the laughter died down, there were more arguments and many, many questions about the wedding. It was a lot for the newly engaged couple to handle. "Maybe we should have waited longer to tell them." Akane said with a raspy voice from all of yelling that took place. Ranma was supporting her head, while they sat at the somewhat calm dinner table. Kasumi and Nabiki were clearing, and serving dessert. "Yeah, it would have given us more time to think about these things ourselves." Ranma said, leaning his head on Akane's. they were both way too exhausted to put up with anymore questions. "hey Akane," Ranma said. He looked down, and saw that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Oh, it can wait until tomorrow." He said. "I think its bed time." He informed the table. He got up, and gently carried Akane upstairs and into her room. He placed her under the covers, and suddenly realized how tired he was also. He was too tired to even make it back to his own room. Akane's bed was conveniently in front of his, and it looked so comfy. He nearly collapsed on top of it, next to his fiancée. He took off his silk shirt, not wanting to wrinkle it, and fell almost immediately to sleep.

Although Ranma had always been incredibly strong, he was also incredibly delicate.

Akane woke up in the middle of the night and felt someone next to her. She turned and saw Ranma, lying there, on top of the comforter, and shivering because of it. Akane got worried that he might catch a cold, since he already caught a chill, and found an extra comforter in her closet, and draped it over him. When she got back into bed, he was still shivering, so she wrapped her arms around him, hoping her body heat would keep him warm. She fell asleep moments later, holding onto her beloved.

The next morning was just as hectic as dinner, the night before. Ranma and Akane jumped awake when they heard Kasumi's voice from the bottom of the steps. "Ranma!! Akane!! You two aren't awake yet?! You're going to be late! Wake up!!" Akane jumped up and out of bed. This sudden movement jolted Ranma out of his toasty sleep. He woke up and realized where he was.

"Oh, Akane, sorry, I fell asleep on your bed last night after I tucked you in. I was really tired, and judging by how you fell asleep on my shoulder-""Ranma hurry up and get dressed! We slept in! Oh we're going to be so late!" Akane was bustling around her room, and Ranma jumped up. "What?! Oh my god..." he jumped up and ran out of her room and into his. He threw on a new shirt and pants. He then ran to do the usual morning routine in the bathroom, but in half the time. On his way out of the bathroom, he passed Akane, who was on her way in. "Ran, grab me some toast, and I'll meet you by the door." She said and hurried into the bathroom. "Okay." Ranma said to the bathroom door. He hurried downstairs, grabbed their lunches and book bags, and in his other hand grabbed a handful of toast, and hurried to the front door to wait for Akane, who was now hurrying down the stairs. She joined him, and they hurried out of the front door. "Did a hurricane just pass through?" Soun said, not noticing the lightening fast blur that was his son-in-law to be.

Akane and Ranma slowed down a little bit, and she took some of the weight off of him. She took her lunch, packed it into her bag, and then took Ranma's lunch and packed it into his bag for him too. She handed him his book bag, and he held out his hand, offering over some toast. She instead took the piece that was currently being eaten right from his mouth. "Hey, I was eating that!" He shouted in protest. "Well, then I guess you're going to have to take it back!" She said, taking a bite out of the half eaten toast. "Is that a challenge, or a dare?" Ranma said slyly. He didn't bother to wait for the answer. Just as she was about to pop the last piece in her mouth, he grabbed it and gobbled it up. "Hey! I was gunna eat that!" She said, playfully upset and cutely pouting. "Well then, I guess you're just gunna have to have one of these." Ranma said, holding out his hand, which had about four pieces of toast in it. He took a piece of toast and held it up in front of Akane's mouth. "Here, allow me. Oops, too slow!" he said with a chuckle, and took a bite of the toast. "Ranma Saotome, I will get you!" Akane was steamed and hungry. She jumped up, and tried to steal the rest of the toast. "Uh-Uh-Uh" Ranma said, shaking his head and waving his pointer finger. "Fine then, that was your last chance Saotome. Try and escape if you will." "I dare you to try to-" Akane pulled Ranma in for a soul searing kiss. It was almost too intense for this early in the morning. She let go after a minute to give time for breathing and said, "Oh, you did it now, Saotome, now I'm not hungry for toast anymore. I kinda like how you taste." They started kissing again. Ranma however, kept the toast in his hand, because he knew she would be hungry later. They stopped their kiss after a minute, when they remembered they were hurrying because they were going to be late. "Why does school have to start this early?!" Ranma said, agitated. His morning was finally beginning to return to normal, but now the rush for school was on again. They sighed and started off towards another boring day.

When they reached the schoolyard, the bells were ringing. Akane was happy she didn't have to fight off every single boy in school who wanted a date. However, one still remained, his samurai sword at the ready. "Kuno, not toady! Don't you listen to anything I say?" she growled when the bells stopped ringing. "Now we're late!" Kuno looked at Akane and then back at Ranma "I do listen to you, miss Tendo. My challenge is not for you today. I challenge you, Ranma Saotome, to a fight for the love of Akane!" "Kuno!" Ranma sighed, "Don't you remember any of our previous fights?! Why even bother to ask me? Is there any sort of record you intend to beat by me kicking your ass again?" Ranma was not happy. His morning was off to a rough start. There was so much chaos and he was now late for school because of this idiot Kuno. "Listen Kuno, I accept your challenge, but I am setting the terms. Us, right here, lunchtime. And we'll do as you say. We'll fight for the love of Akane. Now can we please get to class?" "Fine then! Prepare for your defeat at lunchtime, Saotome. You will lose, and I will finally win the heart of my beloved Akane. PUNCH! Ranma had to put an end to the madness. Kuno's yelling had gotten the attention of the entire student body, and they were hanging out of windows, ready to watch a fight. "I'll see you at lunch Kuno, don't wimp out now, I'll be waiting for you!" Ranma grabbed Akane's hand, and they both hurried into the building as Kuno fell to his knees. Their late passes were "unexcused" as usual. The secretary in the office hardly thought "being held up by 'Upper Classman Kuno'" was a good enough excuse. It was funny how familiar the secretary's shouts of "Unexcused" were to Ranma and Akane. Somehow, people who didn't care about punctuality at all were always holding them up, and causing them to be late for school.

Ranma and Akane ate the rest of the toast during first period. Sure it was cold, but it was breakfast. This annoyed Ranma because if he knew he was going to be late anyway, he would have stayed home and had a proper breakfast. Maybe he would have missed Kuno and his "challenge" by coming a little later as well. He wasn't at all worried, however. He was just annoyed. Unless Kuno was hiding something up his sleeve, he wouldn't last more than a minute. Ranma was an extremely experienced fighter. He was well on his way to becoming a master of "Anything Goes Martial Arts" which he had been learning since he can remember. With all of the "training" he had done since his first fight with Kuno, it was obvious that it was a waste of time, but there was still honor in a proper battle. "Besides," he thought, "I never lose." This was a bit "big headed" of Ranma to say, but it was true. Whenever he was challenged, he would find a way to win, whether he fought as a man or a woman.

Lunchtime was just arriving by the time the entire school knew about the fight for Akane's love. When the bell rang, people were cheering Ranma on, and telling Akane that if Ranma loses, choose him anyway. "He won't lose. He never loses." She told the crowd as they were making their way outside. Ranma blushed. He knew that he never loses, but he was flattered that Akane said it with so much pride. She was not afraid to tell anyone this. But there was also a buildup of angst. "What if I lose?" Ranma thought. He would never forgive himself. It didn't matter if he broke his wining streak, it mattered that if he lost to Kuno, he would lose his "right" to Akane. Kuno would automatically take "ownership" over Ranma's fiancée. "I am not about to let him do that!" he said. Akane looked up at him confused, but she squeezed his arm, gave a reassuring smile, and said, "I love you too much to let him have me. You already claim my heart, and there's no way anyone else can have it!" not caring that the entire student body was watching, she gave Ranma a passionate kiss, and whispered so only he could hear, "Go get him, my love." The students cheered even louder as they kissed again, but it died down as soon as they caught sight of Kuno. He was walking out towards the couple, and pointing his sword at Ranma. Ranma nudged Akane, telling her to go watch from the sidelines. She obeyed and hurried out of Kuno's line of fire.

"I am pleased to see you didn't wimp out, Saotome." Kuno said. "Likewise." Ranma said. "Lets get this over with, Kuno!" Ranma said, and Kuno nodded. He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. Ranma was confused by this. A moment later, he realized it was a trick. Kuno set him up. Unfortunately, Kuno knew the one thing that Ranma feared most in the entire world. Ranma stood idle as they were brought towards him, held in Kodachi's arms. "Oh, no!" Akane said. "Ranma, No!" she yelled. It was too late. Ranma had seen what Kodachi was holding. Unable to look away, he heard Kuno's triumphant laugh. "I have you this time, Soatome! Behold! Thanks to my lovely sister, who was more than happy to help out, I give you, your downfall."

"You know this was very stupid of you, Kuno." Ranma said in a weak, shaky voice. "I expected more from you. This will be over sooner than I thought." He said, and started walking towards Kodachi. "Kodachi let them go!" Kuno said. She obeyed and resealed what she was holding in her arms. The two creatures leapt, and bounded towards Ranma, sensing his fear. "Ha!" Ranma said, and caught one of the furry cats in his arms. "I-I w-win..." Ranma said, and fell to his knees, with the cat in his arms. Releasing the creature a moment later, he let out a loud "MEORWWW!!" And galloped towards Kuno. Somewhere in his planning, Kuno stupidly forgot this part. "What's happened to him?!" many of the students were now saying. "He's transformed into the Neko-ken..." Akane said. "And I was actually worried Kuno would do something smart!" She said. "The only thing I have to worry about is Ranma after he beats Kuno." She said. Ranma leapt from the ground and was about to attack Kuno, when Kodachi's Ribbon wrapped itself around Ranma's neck. "Meowurr!!" He said and glared at the Black Rose. "This is what you get, Ranma, when you go around with girls behind my back! I Kodachi the Black Rose, will stop you! My brother will win the heart of Akane, and I will win your heart." She said. Ranma didn't understand a single word this crazy girl just said, but because of her actions, she was now his enemy too. He clawed the ribbon from his neck, and bounded towards her. He clawed the rest of the ribbon on his way, and everything she threw at him in order to stop his attack. What stopped him, however, was Kuno's blade. The wooden sword hit Ranma in the chest and made him leap backwards a few feet. Kuno stepped in front of his sister and said, "This fight is between you and me." Ranma understood this by the way Kuno glared at him. Ranma smirked, and with another "Meowrr!" He leapt. He was too fast, and landed on Kuno's chest. He clawed him, and jumped back to the ground in front of his adversary. The top of Kuno's outfit fell to the ground in shreds. The bottom half was still hanging on by belt. Kuno was frightened by this action because it was very fast. It was his favorite outfit, so he started towards the Neko-Ranma. There was another "Meorwrr!" As Ranma jumped, Kuno's sword exploded into many pieces of shredded wood, and fell. Kodachi was already on her way out, and Kuno, accepting defeat, followed suit. "One day, Saotome! I will defeat you!" he shouted and jumped out of the schoolyard, to admit defeat elsewhere from the many students.

Ranma, only seeing his enemy run away, followed, him. Akane was worried he would do this when Kuno finally accepted defeat and retreated. She started chasing after her Neko-fiancé as he leapt from the schoolyard after Kuno. She saw him jump from tree branch to tree branch down the road. She was thankful they weren't people, when they exploded into shredded wood before her eyes. Before he rounded the corner, she shouted "RANMA!!" He stopped, and turned around. "Meowurr!" He shouted happily as he bounded down the street towards her. When Ranma was in his Neko-ken, the only thing he responded to was Akane. It was because, nature-wise, she was his mate. Even before they were real "mates" he acknowledged her as his, and that was all there was to it. It was a real sign that she commanded his heart 100. He smiled his little cat smile and leapt with another "Meowurr!" And landed right in Akane's lap. He snuggled himself into his mate's lap and stomach, taking in her smell. "Meowrr..." he purred, nestling his head on her chest. This was the only way to calm the Neko-Ranma down until he turned back into his normal self.

Many of the students had followed Akane to the edge of the schoolyard. They saw her cradling the snuggly Neko-Ranma. "That's love for ya!" some of the students shouted, but were swatted down by the girls. "Don't you see she's calming him down?" they said to the boys who were hollering. The noise died down and then Akane took Neko-Ranma's face and gave him a kiss on the lips, which brought him out of the Neko form.

"Oh, no..." Ranma said when he realized where he was and what must've happened. "Its ok, Ranma, you took care of Kuno and Kodachi. They ran home crying after the little scare you gave them." Akane smiled, and got up, after Ranma got off of her. The hoots and hollering from the onlookers were now more audible because they realized Ranma was now back to normal. Ranma and Akane stood staring at each other, not listening to the students' words. "I won, and you are mine forever!" Ranma smiled. "Thank you, for making sure I'll never have to put up with him ever again." She said and smiled back. "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!!" Was being shouted at them from the crowd. "C'mere, you!" Ranma lifted Akane into his arms, and kissed her. It was so passionate, Akane could feel both their hearts pounding. He put her down, and they started walking back into school, holding hands. Everyone remained cheering, and Ranma received many pats on the back. He glanced over, and even saw Ukyo smiling. "And now to eat lunch-finally!" Ranma said, but let out a cry of disgust when the bell rang seconds later.