A.N.: hey guys, I hope you enjoy the story so far, everything's been a little hectic right now, so I've kind of increased the interval between postings... sorry about that, but such is life! Hey—here's some cool news of my life! I've been elected president of my anime club, or the better name—the Otaku Society. That's really cool, but it's a little demanding. But I wouldn't give it up for anything!! I like how this story is going, and hopefully I'll get some good ideas to write more from the point where I am. Please r & r!!! I love reviews!! Thanks for the support so far!! CJD
Disclaimer: this story is 100 mine but the characters and curse belong to Rumiko Takahashi!!
Chapter 9: Not Yet
"Akane, You've grown up so much since I last saw you!" Mrs. Saotome said, looking at Akane. "Really? I don't remember that." She said. "Oh yes, the last time I saw you and your family was at your mother's funeral." Mrs. Saotome said, with a sad expression. "Oh, that was so long ago, I don't remember much of it." Akane said. "Well, you've become a beautiful young woman." Mrs. Saotome said with a smile. "How is your family?" She asked. "They are very well. My father and Genma are very good friends and do many things together." She smiled. "Oh really? I hope my husband and son haven't been causing too much trouble!" "Oh, no! Actually, I think my father is quite happy having Genma around, it's like all loneliness has disappeared!" She smiled. And Ran...look at you! You look so good!! I haven't seen you in so long, it's so nice! What a lovely surprise!" "Yes, what a lovely surprise indeed, I didn't know he was taking me here." They looked at Ranma. "Well, you two had to meet sometime!" "Well, you two must have had to take a long trip to get here. Come inside." She grabbed both of them and pulled them inside the house.
Mrs. Saotome went into the kitchen, fixing a kettle for tea. Ranma and Akane stood in the entranceway, taking in the house. Ranma hadn't seen it for ten years, nor had he seen his mother. She was so happy to see them. "Akane, this is my house." He said, pulling her in. He kept his hold on her hand when his mother said "Come on in, you two must be very exhausted from your trip. Please, sit somewhere comfortable." "Okay, we'll be on the couch, then!" Ranma called and led Akane into the living room, with a gigantic, comfortable couch in it. They had dropped their bags in the doorway, and Ranma plopped down on the couch, pulling Akane down next to him. She fell with the force of his pull very close to him, and crashed into his hip with hers. "Oops, sorry. Are you okay?" She asked nervously, moving away a little bit. He grabbed her, not allowing her to move away. "No ya don't, I pulled ya close for a reason." He wrapped his arms around her. "So, whaddya think? Are you surprised?" He asked. "Do you even have to ask? Of course! But it's such a nice surprise! I'm as happy to be here as you are!" She had started falling on Ranma's chest because he was holding her so tight. "Ah, I'm falling!" She said, and fell completely onto his chest. Her back lay on his chest. His arms held their position wrapped around her abdomen. Her head fell lightly onto his shoulder. "It's a really nice surprise, Ran. Thank you so much for doing this." she smiled. He leaned his head down and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Yes, I agree with Akane, Ran. It's a lovely surprise." Said Mrs. Saotome from the doorway. She was holding a tray with a few cups and a teapot on it. The two of them straightened up as she entered the room.
"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt, I just thought you two might be thirsty." She smiled and placed the tray on the coffee table. "Ack, no, please don't apologize to me. I'm sorry. Thank you, were are thirsty." Ranma said, not wanting to make his mother feel more uncomfortable than she probably already was. "Oh, its alright! Ranma, you always were the troublemaker. Akane, you watch out for this one. He's a trouble maker, and he'll get you into all sorts of it." She smirked. "Oh, really?" She said raising an eyebrow to the innocent look he put on his face. "I don't know, she says you're trouble, and she knows you better than I do! I think I should listen to her." She said and scooted away from Ranma on the couch. "Oh no!" He exclaimed. He grabbed her and she let out a laugh. "Ah! You see? Trouble!!" "No! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" He said in a terrible, pleading voice. "Alright, alright! Fine! I'll stay on one condition!" She said holding up a finger. "Anything!" he said. "You have to behave while we are here, and I don't want you bringing any unneeded stress on your mother's shoulders!" She said. "Deal!" Ranma exclaimed.
"My dear Akane, if I was you, I think I would have used that condition more to my advantage, like make him do something funny and embarrassing!!" She chuckled, sipping her tea. "Ha ha! But you already set the rules, and we agreed! So nothing embarrassing for me! Hey, mom, you shouldn't give her those ideas! Now who's trouble?" He said.
"I guess you're right. Hm...you two are in love, aren't you?" She asked, getting more serious. "Yes, we are." Ranma said, also getting more serious. "Details! Give me details! Tell me about it-tell me everything—from the moment you met up to now." She said. "Well, its kind of a long story." Ranma said. "We met after dad and I finished our training in China. We had just gotten to the Tendo training hall. And that was when I found out I had been betrothed to one of the three Tendo daughters. They chose Akane because we were the same age, and I think it was because she had a knack for the martial arts." He said. "Yeah, my oldest sister is quite the home maker, but her eyes are set on another, and my other sister, well, she's a bit crazy. We'll leave it at that." She said. "That was a while ago, I think a little over a year." Ranma said. "Oh yes, I was worried at first, being engaged to someone I had only just met, and barely knew, but I have to say, it was handy at school. One of the boys told all the others that if they wanted a date with me, they had to beat me in a fight. When they found out I was engaged, they all backed down."
"Yeah, plus getting into a fight with Kuno the first day wasn't any help." Ranma said. "He still believes he has a chance. I never would have gone out with any of those boys, especially Kuno." Akane said. "I never liked boys. I never wanted anything to do with them. I couldn't trust any of them. And then I met Ranma. I didn't want to admit to myself that I liked him. He was a troublemaker, but he always had good intentions, and he felt as trapped in the engagement as I did. But we got used to it I guess, and grew to acknowledge it." "But in our hearts, we really grew to love each other, even though we didn't say so on the outside. And then, there was Shampoo, Kodachi, Kuno, Ryoga, Ukyo, and so many other people who were in our way." "Yes!" Akane said in agreement. "Shampoo is an Amazon warrior, whom Ranma beat, and in her village, if you are beaten by a man, you have to marry him, so she's still after him; Kodachi is Kuno's sister. She tries to blackmail Ranma into loving her all the time." Akane said. Ranma continued. "Get this, Ukyo wants to marry me because dad arranged it in order to steal her dad's okonomiyaki cart, when we were like five!" Mrs. Saotome's eyes widened. "And then there are the men who are after me. Kuno still thinks I'm up for grabs. And, wait a sec, Ranma, why did you say Ryoga?" she asked him. "Oh, well, um, we were uh- did I really say Ryoga? What about that date?! You might not have thought anything of it, but he certainly did!" "Oh, come on Ranma. That was a setup that Ukyo planned in order to have you on a date too! Besides! I didn't know it was a date! I thought it was a challenge." Yeah well when you found out it wasn't you still agreed!" "Oh you are just as guilty as I am!"
"Enough bickering! Get on with the story!" Mrs. Saotome said. They came back to their senses, and Akane continued. "Well, there have been many people who try to tear us apart. Hopefully that'll be over soon." "Yeah, Ukyo and Ryoga moved on already. We told Shampoo, and her fiancé was overjoyed. "Kuno and his sister know, so there are probably a few others." Ranma said. "Gosh, I can't believe how many people tried to tear us apart." "Yeah, but we showed 'em!" "Yeah, and it was just very recent that we told each other how we really felt. It was a major relief knowing that we felt the same. I can't believe we were in love for so long and we didn't even know it!" "It's a little foolish, huh? Always acting like we hated each other! After a while, it hurt when I said those horrible things to you." "Yeah, I hated saying that stuff, but if not, my dad would start freaking out, and he would get your dad all worked up too." Akane said. "And then, we were rained on with their tears! How embarrassing. Two grown men, Martial Arts masters! Crying over us. But when we told them, they said they already knew—weird." "And they didn't even cry-at first." Akane said. "We sure surprised everyone else though!" Ranma said.
Ranma and Akane sat there for the next hour, telling Mrs. Saotome everything, leaving out the details about the curse. For some reason, he didn't want to tell her. Not yet. During the story telling and the catching up, Akane and Ranma grew more comfortable on the couch together. He put one arm around her shoulder, and held her hand in the other. She began leaning on him more. Mrs. Saotome sat listening, her expression changing with the story. She answered some questions they asked, and they answered questions she asked. They filled her in on every single detail (minus the curse) including the party.
"Oh yeah. We've decided on a date. The wedding is going to be two months from Saturday actually, last Saturday, so it's in seven and a half weeks!" Ranma said. "I would love nothing more than to have you there, mom!" He said. "Oh, well, I did have something planned for that weekend. I have very important plans, and I can't miss them." She said. "What's more important than your only son's wedding?!" Akane blurted out. "Oh dear, you see, its something very important that's taking place then. A once in a lifetime event. You see, I'm going to be somewhere. Somewhere very important. I'll be fulfilling a duty I have to someone very special to me, to someone I love very much. I'm going to be with my family, making sure my only son and the girl he loves have the best damn wedding anyone's ever seen!" They all jumped up and hugged. "Mrs. Saotome, please come back to the house with us! We would all be so honored!" Akane asked. "Yeah mom! Come back with us! Dad hasn't seen you in so long. And you can meet everyone! You can meet Ryoga and Ukyo, and-everyone!" he said smiling. "okay, Ran. I'll go with you, but you two have to help me get there, and you have to help me get the house ready. If I'm going to be gone for a few months, then I should get everything perishable out of here, and ask one of the neighbors to house sit for me. But first things first! It's almost dinnertime! Now Akane, excuse me if I am at all rude, but you don't look like you have too much talent in the kitchen." She said. "Wow, that's amazing! You're right! I don't have any talent with food! How could you tell?" She asked. "Well, I expected that any girl Ranma fell in love with would be a martial artist. Naturally, martial artists have limited capabilities in the kitchen. No need to worry, though. I will have you making the finest of meals in no time!" She said triumphantly. "Now, Ranma, you go shower and nap. In an hour, you can taste a masterpiece made by your soon-to-be wife. Go, go. Get some rest, and we'll see you later!" She pushed her son in the direction of the bathroom/his room. "He waved on his way out and shouted, "Have fun!"
Getting to the bathroom and turning on the shower, he accidentally put his hand under the water while it was still cold. "Damn!" He said. "I'll have to tell her sometime..." he said, changing back when he stood under the hot water. "But, not yet."
