An American Dragon In Nerima
It was amazing how quickly time passed by. For the two lovers, it was hectic arranging all the details. The church had another engagement for that day, as did the base chapel. The chaplain, though, didn't have a problem with holding the ceremony at the Dojo. There was a martial arts construction competition which rebuilt the actual dojo in less than a week. Nabiki had been called in to negotiate prices, and was able to get the best deals on everything from decorations to catering to music.
During this month was an even quicker wedding that Marx and Kasumi attended in Juuban, officiated by the grandfather of one of Setsuna's more troublesome students' friend at their shrine. There they were able to meet both Ranma's wife, and his sister; which caused some interesting things when Kasumi met Hotaru for the second time, although they became friends after sorting out their view of what happened before the fight with Firespur, even if Hotaru didn't really remember it. Nodoka met Marx for the first time, and commented to Kasumi how she was lucky to catch such a "manly man", even if he wasn't a martial artist. And of course, Happosai chose to pay his respects to the newlyweds, which led to very interesting things for most of the guests and the bride.
When the couple returned home after the wedding, Kasumi sighed at the results of Akane's latest attempt at cooking. There was a large, gelatinous mass sitting in the middle of the yard, with a hungry looking gleam in one of its pseudopods. The recipient of the gleam was currently refilling the koi pond. As the acting matriarch of the Tendo Clan scanned her domain, she noted that both the liquor cabinet and shogi table were nowhere to be found. "Oh boy," she muttered, as she ran into the house to check on the status of her personal space.
Marx chuckled at the sight of Genma-panda, save for his head, encased inside the…whatever it was. Help me! Flip. Someone, please! One of the innate abilities of a silver dragon is the ability to communicate in most languages. And it was surprising that this giant amoeba-type creature, born from Akane's cooking, had a developed speech center and sentience. "That panda'll give you indigestion, little one," he said. To the Tendos, it sounded like a series of high pitched screeches and scratches.
"He looks edible," the mass replied. "Kind of tough and chewy though."
"Might I recommend spitting that piece of heartburn out? There are more tasty morsels in the sewer system. And you'll be doing the city of Tokyo a public service by keeping it vermin free. Just try not to eat any two legs, unless they're doing something wrong."
"I guess I can do that." A skinned panda, save for his head, went flying out of the creature, covered in protoplasm. The hungry gleam disappeared, as the creature rolled away, and down into a storm drain. In the coming years, the Tokyo Water and Sewer Department would report a surprising decline in sewer rats and other vermin that normally infest the labyrinthine network of tunnels under a major city. Small giant amoeba could be seen rolling along the countryside from Tokyo to the other major cities in Japan, then to minor cities and outlying towns. The World Health Organization would note that Japanese sewers were the cleanest and safest in the world, but the report refused to cite the exact reason why, since those who wrote the report still were unable to comprehend exactly what did that job.
Thank you, Marx-san, Genma-panda signed. Where were you two, anyway? Flip. We were forced to have Akane cook for us.
"We were at Ranma-kun's wedding to Setsuna Meiou. Setsuna-san was a most lovely bride," Kasumi said, relieved after checking that Akane hadn't worked her (black) magic on her knives.
"WAH!" Soun began to wail. "NOW THE HOUSES WON'T BE JOINED!" The Tendo patriarch's wail as soon accompanied by an increase in his crying.
"We'll go drag my ungrateful boy back and have him marry Akane this evening. He should still be dressed," Genma pronounced, after changing back to his normal form.
"No." Kasumi said. "You will not drag Ranma back here. He is a married man now." Marx stood in the background, letting his fiancée handle her father, and his lazy panda of a friend.
"But Kasumi, for the honor of the Saotome-Tendo union, Akane must marry Ranma," Soun wailed.
"No, Father. As far as the agreement calls for is the engagement of a Saotome to a Tendo. It does not call for any specific timeline for the union to occur."
"But my ungrateful boy married someone else."
"Because you two kept forcing him to marry my sister. If the two of you hadn't announced that Akane was going to be his fiancée when you and Ranma arrived, then perhaps they could have grown to love each other.
"But that doesn't matter now, does it. You two forced Ranma on Akane, never allowed them time to get to know each other, always listened to my violent sister, as if what she said was gospel, even when she was wrong, and even toyed with Ranma's honor.
"Oji-san, if you so much as discuss going after my little brother, then I'll let my fiancé discuss this with you. Remember what Marx-san is, oyaji." Genma nodded hesitantly. Dealing with Happosai could be less hazardous to his health than dealing with a silver dragon. Especially if that silver dragon was pissed at him. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I'm tired and going to bed."
"And if either of you decide to interrupt Ranma on his honeymoon, I shall say 'Ni' until you die," Marx said with a toothy smile and fake British accent. He left chuckling, leaving the fathers with a confused look on their faces.
"What was that all about, Tendo?" Genma asked.
"I have no idea, Saotome. Must be that odd American humor; you'd think we'd be used to it by now."
With all the goings on, it was amazing that for Marx it seemed he fell asleep that night, and woke up to his wedding day. He'd scheduled his leave about half way through the month, but it just came as a surprise. His family arrived as scheduled, and they'd put them up in the Cerulean Tower Tokyo Hotel in downtown Shibuya-ku for three weeks. It was an early anniversary present for Marx's parents and a vacation for his sister and her children. Marx's brother-in-law hadn't been able to get the time off.
Marx opened his eye as the alarm was going off. He shut the alarm off. Since it was their wedding day, his bride to be wasn't there. It was traditional that the groom not see the bride before the wedding, lest they suffer from bad luck. He just wanted to go back to bed, but knew that wouldn't work. He got out of the bed he shared with his soon to be wife, and threw on a robe. Heading out to the kitchen, he saw half the dimwitted duo sitting there, staring at the koi pond, munching on bamboo shoots, and not in his cursed form. "Where's Soun," Marx asked.
"He's with his daughters, like the father of the bride should." The portly martial artist regarded the American dragon next to him. "Let me ask you this, Marx-san: If I made amends to my son, would Ranma want me back in his life?"
Marx thought about it, as he made himself a cup of tea. "Ranma was hurt by a lack of trust in numerous people within this house. Akane only saw him as a prize to be won or lost and as a convenient outlet for her anger. Soun only saw him as a means to ensure the legacy of the Tendo School of Anything Goes continues; but since Akane doesn't know anything other than the basic beginner forms, it would have been up to Soun to grow up and teach his new heir. Unfortunately, you saw him as a meal ticket, a means to a life of living off your son's successes; not exactly an admirable trait in a father.
"Add in the numerous fiancées that you engaged him to, the fact that you chose to listen to Akane and not to your own son, it makes it for a difficult decision on his part. Right now, he's madder at you for screwing up his life to the point where he had to question his honor, and marry into his bride's clan to save what personal honor he has than willing to let you back into his heart. And, somehow, I doubt that he'll be willing to return to the Saotome Clan anytime soon. Even your wife gave her blessing to marry out of the clan to preserve the honor of the fiancées."
Genma looked at Marx, standing there, sipping his tea. "Thank you, Marx-san, for you views. I have much to meditate on."
"Saotome-san, go home to your wife. Apologize to her. You may still have potential to do good, but it's been buried by your years of training under Happosai and your petty thievery. Be glad I haven't hauled your butt down to the local precinct like I've wanted to do, for the numerous accounts of petty thievery that have followed you since your apprenticeship to Happosai.
"Learn from your mistakes, and grow." With out a word, Genma stood, and walked out of the kitchen. Marx just hoped that the overweight martial artist would follow his advice.
The day progressed for Kasumi and her wedding party in Minato-ku, at Shingen Japon, getting their hair and makeup done. Akane was actually calm around Xian Pu, since neither former fiancée of Ranma Meiou had a target for their affections anymore. Marx's mother idly chatted away with her daughter-in-law. "Kasumi, I know you've told me that your family has a tight budget. How can you afford this?"
Kasumi smiled at her mother-in-law, glad for her fiancé's English lessons. "Well, when Christopher-kun was in China, something happened to him."
"What happened to my son?" Marx's mother asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Something wonderful," Kasumi replied, "and yet something dangerous. There are people who would like to do nothing better than kill, injure or capture my fiancé. But it brought your son to my house, and into my heart, Ginny-san. And because of the trials we have faced together, and will face together, Christopher-kun and I have grown closer than lovers."
Marx's mother raised an eyebrow at what her daughter-in-law said. "Who's after my son?"
Kasumi chuckled lightly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I guess you're right," Mrs. Marx said, with a resigned sigh. "My son's letters home have been kind of light as to personal information."
"He does it to protect himself as well as his family. The people who want to do harm to him have no qualms about harming his loved ones as well."
"I'm sure there's more to it, but I'll leave well enough alone." There was the hint of a sweat drop on the back of her mother-in-law's head, and the way she said what she said left a lot of opening for interpretation.
With the hour of the wedding approaching like a stalker, Marx was getting nervous—not butterflies in the stomach nervous, but high performance fighters in the gut nervous. He paced around the kitchen of the Dojo like a caged tiger. Especially since the rest of the house was off limits to him. "Why don't you relax," his best man asked.
"Ranma, I recall you were this nervous last month," Marx replied, as he poured a shot of Makers' Mark left over from last night's bachelor party and downed it. The whiskey seemed to calm him down slightly. Ranma declined a response, since he knew that Marx was right. "Well," he said, looking at the clock, "we might as well get this on." Ranma nodded as the groom, for the second time in thirty days, pulled on his mess dress jacket.
"Marx-san," Ranma said, "don't worry. Kasumi is a wonderful woman, who loves you unconditionally." The pigtailed martial artist looked at the American who was marrying his one-time sister in law. "Now, if you make the most beloved person in Nerima unhappy, I will personally do something painful to you, dragon or not."
"Ranma, I would never hurt Kasumi. She reminds me too much of Peng to let that happen," Marx replied, letting his draconic alter ego answer. Both sides of the being known as Christopher Marx knew that hurting Kasumi would be the last thing they'd ever do. The human dragon could remember being loved by two different sets of parents—his draconic parents in the Swiss Alps who died fighting Lividicus' hordes from trying to take over the world, and his human parents—as well as being instilled with the same ideals of honor and ethics that created who he was today.
"I just needed to hear that, Marx-san. Sorry 'bout that."
"Ranma," Marx replied, "I've been living in this household long enough to know that the truth is a distorted thing. And I know you'd want reassurance for that the girl you thought of as your big sister was marrying the right man for her."
"Even if that man was mostly dragon," Ranma said lightly. "You'll make her a good husband. Now, I don't think it's customary for the bride to wait on the groom."
Marx stood at the head of the dojo, with Ranma behind him, and the base chaplain, Father (LTC) Burns. He was looking calm, if only because of the shot of whiskey from earlier. Ranma cracked a joke that relieved the tension in the air. A canned version of "Here Comes the Bride" began playing, and the guests stood. The bridesmaids entered, with Marx's sister first, followed by Akane, Setsuna, Shampoo, and then Nabiki, as the maid of honor. Soun entered, dressed in his best formal kimono and hakama, and looking proud that this day had come.
It was Kasumi, however, that took her soon-to-be husband's breath away. She was dressed in Peng's wedding robes and headpiece. To Dai Ryuujin no Nishi, she was Peng brought back to life. For Marx, she was the most beautiful thing in the world, as she walked down the informal aisle.
Soun handed his eldest daughter to the American lieutenant, a tear running down his cheek. The formality of the ceremony was that important to the Tendo patriarch that he managed to keep his waterworks in check. "I just wish your mother were here to see this day, Kasumi-chan," he said before he turned and took his seat.
As one union began, another one was beginning to be discussed. In Firespur's lair, a ball of magical energy formed, disturbing the resting dragon. Dressed in his immaculate robes, Lividicus walked into the lair. The lich looked around at the cave and sniffed. "Hello, Firespur. You seemed to come out the worse for wear in your little fight with Draconarius."
The red wyrm rolled her uninjured eye at the lich. "What do you want, mage?" She rasped, which led to a hacking cough from her injured lungs.
"My dear, I wish to offer a simple arrangement."
"What kind of arrangement?"
"You will keep Draconarius occupied while I retrieve something near and dear to me."
"So what's in it for me, mage, besides the defeat of my nemesis?"
"I will present to you nine young women, mostly girls, for you to snack on. And I believe one of them you had in your clutches already."
"That's nothing. I had more presented to me when I woke up.
"Wait a moment. Which one?"
"Ah, but that is a secret. When they're gone, as well as Draconarius, you can have the whole of Japan as your domain, free to do with as you will."
Firespur responded with another round of hacking coughs. "I will think on it mage. Now, get out." Lividicus nodded, and walked back through his gate.
"I now pronounce you man and wife," Fr. Burns stated formally. "You may kiss the bride."
Marx kissed Kasumi amid the applause of the families, friends and coworkers. The two walked down the aisle, to the wedding march from Mendelssohn's music to A Midsummer's Night Dream, cameras going off. The couple and wedding party paused at the doors of the dojo to receive their guests. There was much handshaking, hugs, and congratulations from the families, and their guests.
As the couple approached the open doors after the last of the well wishers left the dojo, members from the 374th Security Forces Squadron, dressed in formal Class A's, snapped to attention. "Present arms!" Master Sergeant Spirenburg shouted. The twelve man formation in front of the doors drew their ceremonial sabers and formed an arch over the path. Marx and Kasumi ducked to cross under the saber arch, amid showers of rice. The Master Sergeant and his assistant dropped their sabers, blocking the path. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. Mrs. Marx, welcome to the Air Force," he said, before returning his saber to the arch.