The three Tendo ladies stepped into the study room and greet their father solemnly. The feast was over and the palace had returned to its former silent and dignified appearance. The layout of the study room never ceased to amaze the Tendo ladies. The high ceiling was decorated with murals of the clan's victories over the enemy. Painted by the most renowned artist in Nerima, each tells the story of the ruler's struggle and bravery to strengthen and protect the country. The combination of colors and the artist's unique skills brought out the beauty of the scene before its admirers and gave life to each and every person that appears on the mural. The walls held the portrait of its previous rulers and their families. It took an artist two tedious weeks to paint a portrait for a family of five and the family members must endured the muscle cramps that seized them while they posed. The result was a canvas that captured the beauty and happiness of the whole family. A family tree was carved on one of the walls and gold fillings were used for each person's name. A moment of silence filled the air before Soun began to speak,
"I am very glad that our family unites once more, my daughters. It pains me when you left home during these three lonely years. I am glad that all three of you turned out to be fine ladies although my dear Akane act a bit unfeminine during the celebration. Do not protest, Akane. You should reject the Lord's son gently with a curtsy and not to punch the poor fellow through the roof. I hope you take the initiative to apologize tomorrow."
He took a deep breath and sighed.
"I have been thinking, my dear daughters, that it is time for all three of you to find a suitor. Although I know that you have no problem attracting the men, I must remind you of the Law of Marriage in our family. As all of you know, we are a royal family and there are some rules and criteria that adhered to family when choosing a mate. For ladies, your future husband must be one of respectable position. The position of the man is important as it either strengthens or weakens our current state. I would certainly not allow any commoner to be part of the family. As you had seen in our family tree, each of the men is a hero, priest, healer or lord. Moreover, your current position subjected you to only a few alternatives. Akane, you choose to follow the path of the priestess so you could only marry a priest or a healer as the law regarding your position forbids violence. Defy me and you would not only break the law but also bring dishonor to the family."
"But Dad, do you think it is too early to go into marriage? We just came back from our training and we want to make full use of what we have learn to help to the people. If we get married, our husbands would be very reluctant to let us continue with our work and all of our years of training went wasted." Akane cried out.
"Seriously Dad, you are no fun at all. I wished I am still training rather than searching for a husband. I want to continue debating with the old croons in the court. Their ideas regarding the finance seem so absurd and if I let them off with such a plan, our country would become pig sty. Beside, I got plenty of ideas I want to try and I already found my guinea pigs in the court." Nabiki played with her pen boredly.
"Nabiki, you shouldn't say so much. However, I agree with them, dearest daddy. I still have so much to do and so many people to meet. Oh my, did you see the poor little kids on the street? How I wish I could help them now. They must be terribly hungry." Kasumi sighed.
"Waahh! My daughters conspire together to go against me."
"Dad! Stop this. It is so embarrassing."
"You haven't changed at all after three years."
"Oh my!"
The young man walked silently along the streets. He had never thought that this mission would be so difficult. It seems nearly impossible to enter into the castle without alerting the guards. The walls surrounding the castle were ten feet high and the gatekeepers kept constant watch for any intruders. If he tried to scale up the wall, the chances of him being shot by the archers are extremely high. He had thought of disguising himself as one of the menservants but the idea banished from his mind when he saw that the guards checked the identity of anyone who passed through the gates and had the means to verify who worked in the palace. He frowned deeply. There must be a way to enter into the palace but what is the 'way'?
Deep in thought, he did not take notice of the direction he was heading until he found himself at a dead end. Cursing himself, he realized that he was in an alley behind the inn he was staying and decided to turn back. All of a sudden, angry cries rang through the air and the smashing of glass could be heard from the other side of the wall. Curiosity burned inside him although he tried to appear unaffected. He leaped over the wall and was greeted with a sight he could never forget.
Eight drunken men, each had a broken glass bottle on his right hand, were swaggering unsteadily towards a young lady and calling out lewd names. Their speeches were slurred but their intention with the lady was clear. Their bloodshot eyes were filled with desire and lust as they advanced towards her. She was obviously disgusted with the drunken men and was trembling with rage. Her knuckles were white as she clenched he small fists tightly. With a battle cry, she charged towards the men and proceeds to knock them out with a wooden stick. Her agility and strength astounded the young man and he watched the whole scene with fascination. He could not tear his eyes from the young lady and her fighting spirit stirred something inside him. As she finished hitting the last drunken man, she leaped up and tried to hit the young man with the stick but he dodged it easily. With a back flip, he made a smooth landing and eyeing at the lady in front of him in amusement and surprised. Stunned by his action, she studied the man in front of him while gripping her stick tightly in preparation for any surprise move.
"If you think you could grab me with your smooth little moves, you are wrong pervert." She tensely said.
"I am no pervert. I am just watching your little fight and I must say for a lady like you, your fighting skills are impressive." He replied, slightly irate at being called a pervert by the beautiful lady in front of him.
"I do not believe you. I am warning you. If you dare to touch me with your filthy hands, you would be feeding yourself with your toes. Stand back" she yelled.
"I never know that appearance can be so deceiving. A lady of fine upbringing like you could actually utter a string of curses." he grinned
"What make you think that I am a fine lady? Can't you see the tattered clothes I am wearing? A fine lady would not stroll down this dark alley with her dress and she would have a male escort with her." She narrowed her eyes.
"You accent give you away, my lady. Common folks have a coarse accent and they usually cannot pronounced the words correctly due to their lack of education. Your voice is pretty feminine due to your constant training with a governess. Am I not correct, my lady?"
"You are right. I am a priestess in training and you are the first to look through my disguise. Although we swore never to use violence, we must protect ourselves when the need arises. Since you claimed that you are innocent, I let you off for now. Don't you dare to follow me!" She lowered her wooden stick and began to make her way out when the young man stopped her.
"I guess my manners ran out of me when they saw you fighting. Sorry for not introducing myself to you. It is rude of me. My name is Ranma. Ranma Saotome." The young man gave a sheepish grin
The lady considered for a moment before giving him a small smile.
" Akane."
"Your surname, my lady"
"Just Akane. I do not know my surname. My parents died when I was a baby so the priestess who adopted me give me this name." She walked off to the bust street and disappeared among the crowd.
"Akane. What a beautiful name." He whispered
Author's note: Sorry for the long delay. Writer's block. Ranma did not see the Tendo ladies clearly during the procession so he did not recognize Akane. I will elaborate more on Ranma's past later but I change the storyline a bit. Instead of entering into the palace, Ranma and Akane hide their own identity from each other and they somehow fall in love….Pls tell me what you think about it. Reviews, reviews…