A.N.: hey faithful readers! I apologize for not posting in a while.... But that goes to show I have a life! But anyways! This is a part of my life too, so there ya go! I believe Ranma meets his mom in this chapter and if not then whoops! But I'm pretty sure its this one... about this whole situation, when I wrote this I didn't know about the whole seppoku thing, so ofcourse you wont read anything about it. I changed a few things up a bit, but change is good!! Please enjoy and review!! I love to know what you're all thinking.... Oh yeah! If you get a chance, please do a little clicking and under my name Shiichan921 you'll find my new fic called Trapped in the future—it's an inuyasha fic, and I want to shout it out! Try it out!! Thanx so much!! --CJD

Disclaimer: This story is 100 mine, but the characters and curses belong to Rumiko!

Chapter 8: Trip Time!

"Ranma...Ranma...its time to wake up." Her voice was soft. She had snuck into his room, and didn't want to wake Genma up, being that it was 4:30 in the morning. "Hm?" Ranma was stirring out of his peaceful sleep. "Hey, you." He smiled up at her and turned to look out the window. "What time is it?" He said with a yawn.

"It's 4:30 am. We have to get up and pack. I made some tea with caffeine in it." He rolled over so he was lying on his back looking at his beautiful, sleep ridden fiancée, who was kneeling over him. "You look just as tired as I feel...." He said. "Yeah. Would you like me to attempt breakfast?" She asked. "Hm...well how about some juice for now, and we can pack, and then we can both attempt breakfast. "Okay. She said and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. She got back up and he smiled and said "Good morning." "Good morning." She said smiling back, and standing. He sat up and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. Akane smiled once more, and left to pack.

A half hour later, they were showered, dressed and in the kitchen making an attempt at breakfast. Akane was in charge of the eggs in the dish, which ended up getting a little burnt, and Ranma was in charge of the toast, which they couldn't eat it was so black. They were smiling and joking about their failed attempts at breakfast when the light switched on, and a voice said, "I thought I smelled something burning."

Akane and Ranma looked up. They were really surprised at who they saw in the doorway. Maybe they were blinded by tiredness, but the figure spoke again. You guys are up a little early, eh?" "U-Ucchan?" Ranma asked blinking. "What in the world are you doing here? And at this time of the morning?" He asked in shock. "Um, that's my fault." Ryoga said now entering the kitchen. "Well, it's all because of my sense of direction. Ukyo didn't want me to get lost on my way over, so she walked me home." He said. "Ukyo walked you home at 5 O'clock in the morning?" Akane asked. "Yes. And that's all you'll hear from us." She walked over and started making breakfast. "You look like you two can use a little help." She took the plate of burnt eggs from Akane and dumped it into the trash. "I'll make something. Why are you two up so early anyway?" She said putting some eggs in the pan. "Oh, we're taking a trip. And that's all you'll hear from us!" Ranma said in a playful voice. "Yeah, I don't even know where to. Ran's in charge." Akane said. "Oh really?" Ukyo said raising an eyebrow. "Well it looks like great weather, have a nice time!" She said, serving the perfect scrambled eggs. Ranma and Akane quickly ate their breakfast, bid Ryoga and Ukyo good-bye, picked up their bags, and left.

"So, Ukyo, about last night," Ryoga started. "Yeah, I know, me too." She smiled and reached across the table to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Good morning you two. Wow you guys are up early. Ukyo, what brings you here?" Kasumi said. "Oh, I stopped by to make Ryoga some breakfast." "Well, this is a surprise, and at 5:30 in the morning...I would love to be that young and energetic again." She sighed and went about the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Oh, Kasumi, Ranma and Akane went on a trip, they just left a little while ago." Ryoga said. "Really? Where to? How long will they be gone?" She asked, surprised they didn't tell her sooner. "Well, Ranma was going to take her up to the mountains somewhere, he said they'd be gone for most of the week. That's all I know." Ryoga said.

She nodded and went back to breakfast. And then she turned around wanting to know details on what she walked in on. "So you two are an item?" She asked.

Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane were walking through the empty town. It was dawn. The sunrise looked beautiful, and the town was nice and peaceful without all of the hustle and bustle. Ranma took hold of Akane's hand and said, "You're really going to like where I'm taking you." "I think I'm going to like anywhere with you, Ran." She said.

The pair continued walking until lunch. They were on a path, leading up the mountains. "Lunchtime." Akane said. She was in good shape, but walking all morning had taken a bit out of her. She unpacked some food, and they ate. A little while later, their journey continued and they discussed many things. They talked about the possibilities of Ryoga and Ukyo, and Kasumi and Doctor Tofu, and many other things. It was nice, and Ranma kept a tight hold on Akane's hand the whole way. When it got dark, they decided to make a camp, eat dinner and go to sleep so they could get an early start in the morning.

In the middle of the night, the wind picked up a bit, and Ranma woke up, hearing Akane chattering. They were sleeping in sleeping bags next to each other. Ranma got up, opened his sleeping bag, got into Akane's sleeping bag, and pulled his over them. She really was freezing. He held her close to his body in an attempt to warm her up. After a few minutes, when her shivering stopped, he stopped worrying and fell asleep.

Akane began stirring at dawn. She realized that Ranma was holding her in his arms, an that he must have heard her chattering last night. Akane's moving woke Ranma up as well. He hugged her tighter, and said "you were really cold last night, so I kept you warm." "Mm, thank you. You are so nice to wake up to." She said. He smiled. "I wish we could lay here, together for a while longer, but we have to get to where we're going. I think at this rate, we'll get there a little after lunch, which is perfect." They got up and made some breakfast.

By the time they started hiking again, the sun was above the horizon. Unfortunately, they had to cross a stream. "Oh, I hate this damn curse!" Ran-Chan shouted. Akane said "We can boil some water when we stop for lunch. Its okay." She smiled. Ran-Chan stopped the tantrum, and relaxed. "It's been a while since I last transformed." She sighed. "Well, that's because it hasn't rained and you've been careful." They continued hiking until lunch. Akane had some water from the stream, and Ranma started a fire in order to boil it. Once he was back to normal again, they ate, and set off. "Hm..." Ranma said stopping about fifteen minutes after they set off. "What?" Akane asked. "Oh, um nothing. This way." He said. He led her through the forest until they reached a dirt road. "We're almost there." He said with a smile. "Okay, now don't feel nervous one bit. Everything's fine because we're together." "Ran, what is this? You are making me nervous." "It's fine! We'll have a great time!" He said. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and pulled her up the dirt road.

At the top of the hill, they saw a village. "Ran, where are we?" Akane asked. "You'll find out soon enough." He said. They walked through the village, getting strange looks from the villagers. Akane looked up and saw Ranma had a nice smile on his face. A peaceful smile. The village ended, and they still walked up another path. This path wound up the mountain a bit more, but they reached an area with some houses. They continued to walk, and Ranma spotted a woman sweeping in front of the last house. His heart skipped a beat and he squeezed Akane's hand again. "Ranma are you alright?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm great." He said. He pulled her and started walking faster. They were about fifteen feet away from the woman when she looked up. She looked at the young man and woman standing in front of her. She squinted a bit at Ranma, who was smiling. "R-Ranma?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. He let Akane's hand and dropped his backpack, and ran to her. "Mom!" He said, taking his mother in a tight hug. "Oh, Ranma!!" She was crying, and holding him tightly. Akane's eyes started filling up with tears as she realized why he brought her here. She was so happy he wanted her to meet his mom. He was proud to introduce her to the most important woman in his life. She felt so honored to be in love with him, to be his fiancée.

"Let me look at you." She said, as he let go, finally. She took his face in her hands and looked at him, studying him. Her eyes filled with tears again. "My boy! You've grown up so much! Its been such a long time!" He hugged her again. "I've missed you, mom." He let go again and his mother said, "Well, you are here, and you brought a young lady. Lets see now. Ah! You are Akane Tendo, I presume?" She asked, addressing Akane. Akane smiled and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Yes, I am." She smiled. Ranma took her hand and brought her closer. "This is Akane, my fiancée." He said. Presenting her to his mother. "Its very nice to meet you." Akane said, bowing. She now began to feel nervous. Mrs. Saotome's eyes filled with tears again and she took Akane into her arms, hugging her tightly.