Written by: Xason "BoyIwanttabeaSaotome" Nexson
Legal Stuff: Ok, so I'm not Rumiko Takahashi, and these ARE her characters,
but I mean no disrespect in using them. I just want to dream up my own stories
involving them. And Viz Communications are the people who have the right to
use them. Please don't sue me, I'll give them back Kuno's driving me crazy,
should have known better than to get him, but I want my ideas to be heard
er, read.
This story takes place right after manga volume 38. It's been said that after
the "Wedding Fiasco" that Ranma and Akane's relationship has gone into
"overtime," hence the title. Well, overtime is usually a very short time in
relation to the corresponding game, sometimes only until the next point is
scored. I think it's time to end the game of who Ranma is going to marry.
This will be the final chapter of this story arc.
"There you go, sir. And here's your change," a nondescript cashier said to a certain pigtailed martial artist.
"Yea, thanks. And, um, have a nice day," was Ranma Saotome's response, picking up the two gallon paint cans after sticking a few choice yen back in his pants pocket. Ranma began the walk back to his mother's house, still trying to make sense of it all. Early yesterday afternoon his mother, Nodoka, and Cologne, Shampoo's Great Grandmother, had made a deal with him. They'd temporarily nullified all of his engagements to be married until sundown today, giving him time to get engaged himself. He'd do this by signing, and having his choice of partner sign, a contract written out by the two older ladies that stated that he and she would marry before he turned seventeen, which was in just a few weeks.
"I still can't believe I'm going along with this," he thought for what must have been the twentieth time that day. As he walked along the streets of the Nerima district, he received the odd look from passers by, not uncommon for a sixteen-year old who should be in school now. "Aw heck," he continued, "I just can't believe that I made a choice." He'd come to this choice after sparring with Ryoga Hibiki, taking a break from repairing his mother's house to take out his frustrations on the eternally lost martial artist. This break had cost him though, now instead of just simple repairs to Nodoka's, he had to paint as well. He'd finished with the basic repairs just an hour ago, leaving him three more hours now until school let out and Akane'd go home to the Tendo's home, where Ranma would be waiting for her. After all this time (was it still less than a year?), he'd chosen to marry the first person he'd been engaged to (Knowingly), the only person of the three choices that might actually turn him down. He'd chosen Akane, with his only real rival's blessing and encouragement.
"Well, here I am." He was indeed at the entrance of Nodoka's house. "Better get to painting," he said aloud to himself. "And better hope that Akane is having a good day," he mentally added, "Or I'm not going to have much of a chance of even asking her."
"RAZOR HOOOOOOOOP!" came the cry from Kodachi Kuno's lips as she threw the described weapon towards Akane Tendo. Akane, to her credit, rolled out of the way with just a bit more than a split second to spare.
Akane looked about the field of Furinkin High School where the fight was taking place. While the initial crowd of students who'd opted to stay here after school rather than go home had dwindled, there was still a decent number of people remaining. Which meant there was more innocent bystanders who could be hurt, and fewer places for Akane to maneuver to. She glared up into the tree where Kodachi's most recent attack had erupted from. "Stupid, Akane, stupid," she thought to herself. "Why did you have to go and make that challenge?"
Flashback to mere moments before:
Akane and her two friends were just exiting the front doors of Furinkin.
"So Akane," the first began, "What did you need to see Mr. Morita about? You can't even take his class until you're a senior."
"Yea, Akane, tell us." The second seconded.
Akane thought back to the previous night, when her and Ranma's fathers had been scheming once again to get the young pair married. She'd confiscated the marriage certificate they would have tried to trick the two of them to sign, and she'd just checked with the only teacher at Furinkin that she knew had any experience in law. "Oh, I just wanted his opinion on something. Kasumi has always spoken highly of him."
"What about?" The second asked.
"Nothing important," Akane replied, "Just something that..." she stopped mid-sentence and made a sudden roll forward. The space she'd just occupied was now taken by a rhythmic gymnastics club. With spikes. "Hey," she almost screamed, looking for it's point of origin. "What's the big idea?"
"Oh dear, I just can't see how I managed to drop that," said Kodachi, standing on the cement fence that surrounded the school. "However did it slip through my fingers?"
Akane slowly got up, eyed fixed on the delinquent gymnast. "Gee, I don't know. Why don't you just state why you're here and go?
"Why I'm here? Who Ho Ho Hoooo! Shouldn't it be obvious?" She leaped off the wall, now casually strolling towards Akane. "In light of recent events, I have decided to renew in full my pursuit of the handsome and dashing Ranma Saotome. You will tell me where he is, as we have much to catch up on."
"And just why should I tell you? I thought you'd realized a while back that he didn't love you."
"True, I did come to that realization. However," they were now only a few meters apart, "When I realized that he might go and waste his life by marrying you, my love for him blazed stronger." Akane was clearly not happy with Kodachi's phrasing, but the younger Kuno continued. "And how happy I was to discover that he didn't love you! I mean, how else can you explain the both of you being dressed for a wedding, along with having parental permission, and still not exchanging nuptials?" Kodachi shrugged, a smug look on her face.
Akane was fuming. "Oh, I don't know," she began, unconsciously taking a fighting stance, "Maybe we didn't go through with it because you and just about everyone else and their brother crashed the almost-ceremony and interrupted?"
"An empty excuse. If Ranma REALLY wanted to spend the rest of his life with a wench like you, he would have defeated everyone present handily."
"Wench? WENCH?" You could practically see the flames in Akane's eyes. "All right, that's it. KODACHI KUNO! I, Akane Tendo, formally challenge you to a match right here and now!"
Kodachi feigned uninterest. "And just why , besides the great Kuno family honor, should I accept this challenge?"
"Because if you win, I'll tell you where Ranma is." The Tendo girl steeled herself for an attack.
"And if I should happen to somehow allow you to defeat me?" Kodachi was noticeably more interested.
"Then you will leave him alone, especially when he's at my house."
"And why do you ask this of me?" Kodachi readied her ribbon. "It's obvious from your continued abuse of him that you don't love him. And if you did, YOU'D have fought back harder at the wedding too. So what does he mean to you, foolish girl?
"Everything," is what Akane almost replied. Surprised at that, she quickly responded instead, "It doesn't matter what he means to me. I'm just REALLY tired of having to listen to you rambling on and intruding into my life. So quit stalling and accept or decline!"
Kodachi frowned immediately at that last command. "Fine. I shall teach you a lesson in manners as well. You do not speak to your betters in such a tone." With a cry, Kodachi erupted forward, and Akane responded in kind.
And thus the battle had begun.
End Flashback.
Akane wiped the sweat from her brow. How long had they been fighting? Five minutes? Ten? Twenty? A strong breeze blew through the air, blowing Akane's hair into her eyes. Kodachi took advantage and pressed her attack, leaping out of the tree and twirling her ribbon furiously.
"Look at you," Kodachi taunted. "You issue a challenge and you spend most of you time retreating. Ho ho ho! Just admit my superiority and I shall spare you further embarrassment." It was noticeable, however, that a few of Akane's attacks had gotten through, as bruises were beginning to form on both combatants.
"Yea right, like that'll happen." Akane had to admit, she barley had the breath to make that retort. Kodachi was winning, and Akane needed a game plan.
Working her retreat in arcs, Akane eventually leaped backwards to swing on a tree branch, intending to launch herself backwards faster than she could have on the ground. As soon as she'd grabbed hold of the branch, though, Kodachi managed to get in range. The ribbon sliced through the air, cutting the branch and forcing Akane to make an awkward landing. From where the end of the branch fell, another strong gust of wind made it stand up on it's end and then turn over.
Kodachi leaped up to the where she'd just cut the branch loose, once again she had the high ground. "Submit to your better, Tendo!" She pulled out a couple of clubs. "You fought well in the beginning, but my victory is near! You will soon loose and Ranma WILL be mine at last! HO ho ho!" She then, twirling ribbon in one hand, threw the two clubs one after another at Akane, making two brisk swipes.
"Ha!" Akane half grunted as she caught the first club. With a quick pivot, she used the club in her hand to block the second. She was not quick enough to block Kodachi's follow-through, which was one of the Kuno's gymnast's balls being kicked towards her midsection. The impact threw her back, as Kodachi jumped into yet another tree.
"The trees," thought Akane as she picked herself up. "She's using them as if they were ring posts in a regular gymnastics match." Club half-forgotten in hand, she steeled herself for another attack as she thought. "She's tired too, falling into a pattern now. Strike, then high ground. How can I use that to my advantage?" Kodachi made another charge, which Akane avoided, and leaped into one more tree. The wind picked up again, and in the corner of her eye, Akane saw the fallen tree branch blow over again. "That's it!" she thought. "Now how do I finish her?" She spied the club in her hand and noticed the hidden switch that activated the spikes.
"This is your last chance, Tendo! Surrender or suffer!" threatened Kodachi from her high, but not too high, perch.
"No way! I'm tired of dealing with you," Akane began, and as she finished her plan she shifted her weight to begin her final offensive. "I'm going to finish you once and for all. When I'm done, you won't be able to lay a finger on me! Hyaaaa!" And with that cry, she charged towards the branch.
Less than ten seconds later it was over.
"Where is she?" thought Ranma as he waited outside the Tendo compound gates. School had been out for over half an hour, and Akane should have been home soon after Nabiki. As it was, Nabiki came home about fifteen minutes ago, and Ranma was getting worried. Of course, he couldn't tell anyone WHY he was worried, that Akane might have gone home with a friend and wouldn't be able to sign the contract. "Man, I knew I shoulda' went to the school instead. I just didn't want Ms. Hinako to drain me of my power for being absent when I was obviously healthy."
A sound made him turn his head to see Kasumi step out of the gate, broom in hand. She began sweeping the dust off of the path, which was normal, but Ranma could see that something was bothering her. "Oh my, I wonder what is keeping Akane? I'd like to ask her what she'd like for dinner," she said, just a little bit louder than she needed to.
"That's right," thought Ranma, "Kasumi's in on this too, kinda." He saw her often look out of the corner of her eye down the street towards the school, and also occasionally in his direction. "She probably wants to know if I'm here to ask Akane, or if I'm here to tell her that I chose someone else." "Yea," Ranma said out loud, "Well I for one would kinda like some curry, but then that's just me." Then in a voice just above a whisper, "It's her I chose. I'm just watin'."
Some of the slight worry left Kasumi's face and she breathed a small sigh of relief. She responded in kind, still sweeping, "Thank you for telling me. Does anyone else know?"
"Naw," Ranma lowered his voice even more, "not even Mom. Well, actually, I kinda told Ryoga the situation, but not my answer for sure." They both continued to look for her. Ranma was about to give up for a while and go inside for a snack, when he spotted a schoolmate walk past. "Hey, you go to Furinkin, right?" he called out to her.
She nodded, responding, "Yes, I do. Can I help you?"
"Yea, actually. Have you seen Akane Tendo since school let out?"
"Yes, when I left the school grounds, she was fighting with Kuno's little sister," she stated matter-of-factly.
"What!" Ranma got more worried, real fast. "Did she win?"
"I don't know," the schoolmate replied with a shrug. "Look, Mr. Saotome, since this school year started I've had a book bag impaled by a hockey stick from one of her would-be suitors fighting for her attention. I've also had a dress shredded by your pal Ryoga's headbands, chunks of drywall falling into my lunch from Shampoo coming to see you, and I've gone into coughing fits over smoke bombs from your other pal, Mousse. I've learned to stay away from fights once they've started." And with that, she continued on her way home.
Ranma looked to Kasumi. "I'm gonna go to the school. She shoulda' beat Kodachi by now, or lost, or whatever. Anyway, That girl," he pointed to his disappearing classmate, "was walking pretty slow. One way or another, we should have heard from Akane by now."
Kasumi nodded. "If she comes home before seeing you, I'll keep her here. Good luck."
"Thanks." Ranma took off towards the high school, unaware of the dark rain clouds coming in over the horizon.
The sight that greeted Ranma was not entirely what he expected. He was standing in front of a tree inside the walls of Furinkin, looking up. What he saw, was Kodachi Kuno, tied with her own ribbon to a tree, and with one of her own spiked clubs imbedded next to her head.
He looked around. "Anyone want to tell me just what happened here, and where Akane went to?" he asked the few remaining students.
One guy, a senior, Ranma noted, came forward. "Yea sure. The fight kind of went on for a while, and it looked like Akane was going to lose towards the end. Then Akane took that branch," he indicated to the fallen branch from the fight, "and used it to catch her ribbon. Then she threw the club at Kodachi's head. Kodachi moved of course, but where the wind has been blowing, her hair was blowing horizontal and was caught by the club. While that distracted her, Akane tore the ribbon out of her hand and used it to wrap her up."
Ranma nodded, noting that Kodachi's hair was, indeed, trapped by the club. Kodachi was struggling against her bonds, and Ranma was glad that part of the ribbon covered her mouth, from her mumbles Kodachi sounded MAD. Ranma turned back to the student. "Any idea where Akane went to after that?"
"Well, that girl with the sumo-pig came by, saying that Ryoga was lost again."
"Akari Unryuu?"
"Yea, well she asked Akane to help her find him, and Akane agreed. They just left about a minute or two before you arrived."
"So I've got a shot at catching up," Ranma thought. Looking to the senior, he said, "Thanks a lot." As the student nodded, Ranma turned to Kodachi. "Sorry, I'd getcha outta there, but I'm in a hurry." As he saw Kodachi's eyes almost bug out of her head, he continued. "Maybe one of these guys will..."
"Ranma Saotome!" came a shout from behind our hero. Ranma turned to see Principal Kuno charging towards him. "You be cuttin' de school today, brah! Missing out on de quality education like a bad kahuna!" He readied his clippers and leaped towards Ranma. "You gonna cut school, den I gonna cut yo hair!"
"Aw, c'mon!" Ranma avoided the opening attack easily. "My Mom called in for me, you can't do anything about it!"
"You wanna bet?" He made another swipe at Ranma's head. "Be missin' to much school, you are. Your Headmaster's gotta do SOMETHING about it!" Another swipe, easily dodged.
"Look, I don't have time for this. I'm just going to end this now!" But as Ranma readied an attack that was sure to get the headmaster off his back, he had to avoid an incoming bokken strike. "HEY! What's the big idea?"
Tatewaki Kuno withdrew his wooden sword to a ready position. "I watched mesmerized from afar the combat between the beauteous Akane Tendo and my sister. Truly spectacular. So much in fact, that even I was lost in my thoughts until you arrived, else I would have freed my twisted sibling. However," and Kuno struck again, between strikes from his father, "as valiantly as my sister fought, I cannot allow the clan of Kuno to fall twice in the same afternoon." Another swipe, followed by rapid-fire stabs that only hit air, "Thus I come to the aid of this embarrassment to our family line."
"Tacchi!" the Headmaster from Hell replied. "So harsh, de words comin' outta your mouth. But together," and he made a few more attacks between his sons, "we can beat dis here delinquent!"
"Aw, great," Ranma thought as he repelled their attacks. "They're not that tough, but they're keepin' me too busy to follow after Akane. Talk about a pain!" He got ready to attack. "Now don't get too far, Akane, I'll be looking for you in just a minute." Poor Ranma had now idea how long this fight would end up delaying him.
Hours Later:
"Stupid Kuno," Ranma grunted as he ran along the top of a fence. "He didn't have to sic the entire kendo club on me!" Though Ranma was unharmed, he appeared to have been sweating a lot. "They kept me busy for way too long. By the time I beat them all, Akane coulda been over a kilometer away, and probably was!" His head stayed on a swivel, looking up and down every street and ally he passed. "And all this random searchin' hasn't gotten me anywhere!"
He stopped, leaping off the fence and resting against it. "OK Ranma, think," he thought, "looking for Ryoga won't help, and they're probably searching as much as I am. My best bet now, is to go to Ryoga's house and hope they come home soon enough. Akane'll either be with them, or she'll go home, and Kasumi will keep her there. So, since there ain't nobody to keep her at Ryoga's, I'll definately go there."
He looked at a clock nearby in a store. "I've still got about three hours. There's still time." And with that thought, he ran full speed in the direction of Ryoga's house.
Only about one hundred yards to the west, on a parallel street, there were three human figures and a very large pig figure headed in the same direction, but at a very leisurely pace. Akari was riding her champion pig, and Ryoga and Akane were walking on either side. Ryoga was looking a little sheepish, Akari happy, and Akane a little hot and sweaty.
"Thanks again for helping Akari find me, Akane." Ryoga was rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. "Are you sure you don't want to just leave it to us for now?" He knew all about Ranma's most recent dilemma, and wanted Akane to go home so that Ranma could find her.
"Oh no you don't," Akari chided before Akane could respond. She shifted her position so that she could better prevent her hat from blowing away in the wind. "Akane was a big help to me, and I AM going to treat her to a home cooked dinner. Something has to make up for the fact that you got lost while we were grocery shopping!"
"It's ok, Ryoga," came Akane's response. "While we were looking for you, Akari ran some ideas for dinner by me, and I'm really looking forward to it. Besides," she added, "it's not like I had anything important to do at home besides study anyway!" "And also," she thought, "Ranma will probably be home by now, and I guess I'm still a little uncomfortable around him, after that last wedding attempt."
"You haven't been home since school let out, won't your family be a little worried?" Ryoga prodded.
"It will be fine, Ryoga. If it will make you feel better, I'll call them when
I get to your place, OK"
Ryoga sweat dropped. "Heh, yea, I guess that'll work."
Ranma paced inside the Hibiki home. He'd been there almost an hour, letting
himself in through the unlocked door. "AAaarrrgh! What's taking them so long?
Ain't they found him yet?" Ranma vented his frustrations into the thin air. Ryoga's
black and white dog looked up from where it was laying down, and soon laid it's head
back down, loosing interest.
Ranma picked up a clock. "Sundown's at 8:35, less than two hours ta go." He
reached into his pocket and pulled out the contract. "Gotta have this at Mom's BY
sundown. I really don't have much time." Fingering the parchment, he soon folded it
back up and returned it to his pocket. Ranma sighed as he made a decision. "Gotta go
and try to find her now. But what do I do if she comes back here?" He spied a pen
and pad of paper. "I guess I'll leave a note, tellin' her to stay here." He went over
and wrote the note.
As he was taping the note to the house's front door, he noticed how dark the sky already was on account of the storm clouds. "Looks like rain, and it ain't gonna hold off much longer. I wonder if Ryoga's got a thermos handy..." He trailed off, then went inside. He appeared a few moments later, thermos of hot water in hand. "Well, here I go. Just stay visible, you tomboy..." With a dash of speed, Ranma set off to find Akane, and by proxy Ryoga and Akari.
Had Ranma not left in such a rush, he might have noticed his note blowing off the door and getting lost in the wind.
At the Saotome house, there stood two figures in the front doorway. One of them, Nodoka Saotome, had just taken down a wind chime and was looking at it. Cologne, the other figure, was gazing ahead.
"I wish the wind weren't blowing so hard today," Nodoka began, "ordinarily I enjoy listening to this. But today it just seems annoying."
"At least the rain has held off," Cologne reminded her. Though I do not know for how much longer." She turned to Nodoka, "Speaking of 'how much longer'..."
"He does seem to be taking his time, yes." Nodoka turned to go inside. "Perhaps I should not have given him so many chores to complete..."
"It is his responsibility to respond in a timely fashion. Although, considering his father,"
"It seems to be a miracle that Ranma has any sense of responsibility at all." Nodoka considered the situation. Just yesterday she'd told Cologne that if she'd found her son to be any less a man than he was, she still would not have forced her son to commit seppuku. She wondered now, was that her current opinion influencing her hindsight? Genma had certainly not done the best job that he could have.
"In any case," Cologne began, "even if this does not work, we are still to be no worse off than before."
"True," Nodoka agreed, but thought silently, "but we could be so much better off."
The telephone rang at the Tendo Dojo and Kasumi Tendo jogged slightly to answer it. She had been on pins and needles since Ranma had left earlier, wondering if he'd found her sister. Despite her excitement, she remembered to keep it cool, as this was Ranma and Akane's business, and no one else's, at least not until they made it public. She made it to the phone by the third ring. "Hello, Tendo Dojo, Kasumi speaking."
The voice came through clearly from the other end. "Hey sis, it's Akane."
"Akane? Where are you?"
"I'm at Ryoga's, Akari is in town and needed my help in finding him. They're treating me to dinner in thanks."
"So will you be there long? It's going to storm soon, and I don't want you to be out in that weather." Kasumi wondered if she'd seen Ranma and just wasn't telling her.
"Well, I'll be here at least until dinner is over, do you want me to come home?"
Kasumi thought hard. The storms were going to last until at least 10 p.m., so there would be a chance for Ranma to find her there if she stayed through the worst of it. But Akane had made no indication that she even knew Ranma was looking for her, so Kasumi needed it to look like she wasn't trying to keep Akane there for ulterior motives. "Yes, I'd like you to come home, of course, but not until after the storm has passed. Is that all right, Akane?" Silence greeted Kasumi. "Akane, are you there?"
Nabiki peeked into the room. "Is that Akane on the phone?" she asked.
"It was," replied the eldest Tendo sister, "But she doesn't appear to be on the other line anymore. It wouldn't be like her to hang up on me..."
"Probably a downed telephone line," Nabiki said with a shrug. "All of these high winds are blowing things over all across town, it's been on the news. So how much longer until dinner?"
"About another ten minutes." Nabiki seemed satisfied and left, leaving Kasumi alone to stare at the phone. "Please stay there Akane," she thought. "If Ranma asks, I can tell him where you are."
"Kasumi? Kasumi, can you repeat that?" Akane frowned as she lowered Ryoga's telephone from her ear. "It's dead," she said of the phone.
"Well, what did she say?" Ryoga asked from a doorway.
"I guess she wants me to come home right after dinner, so that I can miss the storm." Akane scratched her head. "I don't know how she expects me to get there in that amount of time, though. Maybe she forgot how far away you live."
Ryoga had an idea. "Hey, I think I can help you out there. I just need to get something out of the kitchen." Ryoga turned to go through the doorway.
"Um, Ryoga?" Akane spoke up.
"Yes?"
Akane tried not to laugh. "The kitchen is the other way."
"Oh!" Ryoga rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Right, thanks." Ryoga made it to the kitchen without further incident, and Akane followed. Ryoga went past Akari to the counter where there was a cookie jar. "Here it is," he said as he lifted the lid.
"Here what is?" Akane was curious.
"Well, sometimes Mom and Dad leave me a little money for food and things in this." He held out some money. "If I remember right, there's a train station not too far off. If dinner doesn't take too long, you can probably be home before sundown."
"Not that anyone can tell when that is with this overcast, but yea, that sounds great, Ryoga!" Akane accepted the currency. "I promise to give you the change."
"Don't worry about it, there's plenty more." Ryoga didn't know how far it was from the Tendo's to Nodoka's, but this did give Akane a chance to get to Ranma soon. He just hoped that Akari could cook fast enough.
"Dangit! It's dead!" Ranma vented his frustration to no one in particular. He stood next to a public telephone, it's bright green casing contrasting with his red Chinese shirt. "Now how am I supposed to know if she made it back to the Tendo's? The problem ain't on this end." He hung up the phone.
Ranma walked across the street to sit on a bench, quietly thinking. He was tired, he'd been running all around Tokyo, from district to district, back and forth between the Tendo's, Furinkin High School, and Ryoga's house. Even being in great physical shape, all that running had worn Ranma out, to say nothing of his earlier chores. Now time was running out, and Ranma needed to make a decision.
"So what do I do? Should I try running back to the Dojo, or Ryoga's? If she's at the Tendo's, Kasumi will try to keep her there, but I can't be sure if my note will be enough to keep her at Ryoga's." He allowed himself a moment to look at the sky. "Damn, I wish I could remember Ryoga's phone number, I might actually get through there. It's gonna start raining any second now." Ranma fiddled with the thermos he'd "borrowed" from Ryoga, and decided the contents should still be plenty warm.
"No choice," he decided, "gotta try Ryoga's. Man, if I ain't right..." Gathering one more round of energy, he ran towards Ryoga's house. Before he could get there though, the sky finally let go the rain it had been holding.
"WHADDAYA MEAN YA LET 'ER GO!" Ranma, female for the first time in over a day, was standing in Ryoga's living room, flabbergasted.
"Just that, I let her go!" Ryoga tried hard not to loose his temper, "Kasumi called and wanted her to come home to beat the storm, so I gave her some yen and told her to take a train. I figured she might make it there before your deadline!"
"What deadline?" Akari had no idea what this was about.
Ranma ignored her, though not out of disrespect. "Yea, she might make the deadline, but there's no way I will! Didn't ya get my note, tellin' you to keep her here?"
"What note?" Ryoga was getting upset at having to defend himself. After all, he'd only done what he thought was right.
"The note I left on your front door! It told you to keep her here if she came with you. Aaarrrgh... I can't believe my luck!"
Akari spoke up. "I don't know what this is all about, but there was no note on his front door when we got here, Ranma. And if you'd quiet down..."
"Yea," Ryoga emphasized, which got a sneer from Ranma.
"...You'd let us be able to tell you that Akane only left a few minutes ago. Whatever you might want her for, you might be able to catch up before she gets on the train!"
For a split second, Ranma was silent. "Really?"
Ryoga nodded. "If her train was late in the least, she might still be there."
Ranma made a dash for the door and turned. "Which way was it to the station?"
Akari answered before her eternally lost boyfriend could. "Four blocks west, two blocks south."
"Thanks! And sorry for my rudeness!" With that, Ranma ran harder than he had all day towards the train station.
Akari turned to Ryoga. "Would you like to fill me in on what that was all about, hon?"
Ryoga rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I guess so. I probably should
have yesterday"
Ranma-chan stood still in the middle of the street, watching the last bit of
Akane's train disappear. She (He) had been too late, his yelling contest with Ryoga was
all the delay fate needed to screw up his life again. The chance to clear up almost a
year of confusion was gone, and that depressed the hell out of him, and the constant
downpour of rain wasn't helping any.
"Of all the times for a train to run on time," he said to himself, no real anger in his voice, just simple dejection. "Of all the lousy, fricken fracken times." It was then that he realized just how tired he was. Huffing and puffing slightly, he began the trek back to Ryoga's house, where it was nice, warm, and dry. "Awe well," he continued, "At least this don't change nothin'. I'm just back to square one."
He noticed a park on the side of the street, and through the rain he could barley make out a gazebo. His legs ached from overuse, and he decided to go there to rest, rather than Ryoga's. Head hung in exhaustion, it was all he could do to watch his own tired feet take him to the shelter, trying not to step in any puddles along the way. Even with his gaze unfocused, he managed to climb the few steps into the structure and sit down on a bench just inside the entrance.
Ranma slumped onto the bench, his eyes never leaving the ground. Absent mindedly, he managed to remember the thermos of hot water in his hand and use a little bit of it, returning him to his male form. Though just above lukewarm temperature now, the contrast between it and the cool rain made it almost burn when it was poured over the back of his head, trickling down his spine. He sighed, "Why couldn't that tomboy have just stayed put just a few more minutes?" He was shocked when he received a response.
"What tomboy?" A voice called out from just accross the covered deck. Eyes wide, Ranma lifted his head slowly until he was looking accross at a form he hadn't seen through the curtin of rain upon approach.
"A-Akane? What are you doing here?" Ranma couldn't believe his eyes. There was the very person he'd been looking for all afternoon, still in her shcool uniform, her book bag resting by her feet.
Akane was surprised, what was Ranma doing out here? "It started raining and I didn't have an umbrella, so I took shelter here and missed my train. Now, what was that about a tomboy? You talking about me, or did you pick up someone new?"
Ranma didn't answer, he sat staring at Akane. Then he stared just at her arm, then her wrist, finally settling on her watch. A sudden urgency came over him. "Akane, quick, what time is it?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"I was talkin' bout you, OK? Now what time is it?" His voice was strong, but there was a sense of panic in it.
"So you were looking for me." Akane turned up her wrist and viewed her timepiece. "It's 8:19. Why? And why were you looking for me?"
For a moment, Ranma just sat there mouth agape, while he ran the calculations in his head. It didn't take long. "Sixteen minutes," he sighed. "There's just no way to make it there in sixteen minutes. Damn." He took the contract out of his pocket and looked at it. "Damn."
"Ranma, Why were you looking for me?"
Ranma sat still and pondered. Did Akane need to know? There was no real reason to tell her the truth, it would only make things more uncomfortable between them. But there was also no really good reason not to tell her, and he was too tired to think of an excuse. He handed her the contract, and told her, "Here, you might be able to figure it out without me tellin' ya."
Akane took the paper and began reading it. It was damp, so the ink was running a little, but it was still legible. "This is... An engagement contract. But Ranma," she looked up, confusion in her eyes. "Why do you need this? What makes it more legit than your other engagements?" "And," she thought, "Why was he looking for me? So that I could sign it?"
"Mom talked it over with Kasumi and Cologne yesterday, and they agreed to call off all engagements until sundown tonight. They all agreed that if I got someone ta sign this and bring it to Mom's by then, the other engagements wouldn't be reinstated." He gave a half smile. "Just one fiancee, like it always shoulda been."
Realization hit Akane. "You were looking for me. You wanted me to sign it." Her eyes were wide in shock.
Ranma nodded. "Well, I was hopin' you would. It's a moot point though, even if we signed it now, the terms of th' contract say we gotta get it to Mom's by sundown, which is at 8:35. So tomorrow," he shifted himself on the bench so that he could lean back, "everything goes back to normal."
"I thought your Mom was up to something yesterday." Akane was still taken aback. It was only two days ago that Ranma had expressed no interest in getting married. Indeed, rather than marry Akane so that he could recieve his cure, he tried to cut right to the cure part. The thought was still fresh in her mind of how rejected she felt at that. "So what's wrong, did Shampoo and Ukyou refuse to sign it for some reason?" She snapped, "I mean, you knew for sure I'd be at school. But instead of you waiting for me afterwards, there was Kodachi!"
"Yea, I saw what you did to 'er, nice work. But Mom kept me out of school, on account of I'd see you and Ucchan there, puttin' Shampoo at a disadvantage. As it was I came looking for you and had to deal with the other Kunos since I cut class today!"
"Well, I have news for you Ranma, Cologne played dirty. Shampoo was there before school started, ready for you to 'take her to date'!"
"Hey! Cologne knew I wasn't gonna be there, so why would Shampoo? That just proves that Cologne kept her out of the loop!" Ranma leaned back forward, ready to meet Akane's verbal challenge. A fight was more his style.
"Oh, so you're calling me a liar, huh?" There was some fire behind Akane's eyes now.
"Naw, just callin' you wrong! Look, I waited at your place for a half hour before I came to see you after school, and I never went to see either of them. YOU'RE the one who kept me going on a wild Ryoga chase!"
"Oh yea? Well tell me this then, WHY didn't you go see the other two? I mean, you made it clear a couple of days ago you didn't want to be married to ME!" Akane stood up but bent over to yell at him. "WHY?"
Ranma stood to meet her challenge. "Now hold on just a minute! First of all, our parents were trying to BRIBE us into marrying last time, and you know that when the stakes are as high as... oh I don't know... THE REST OF MY LIFE... that I don't give in to bribes! It didn't have anything to do with you!"
"Let me guess, and this does! C'mon Ranma, give me a WHY!"
"You wanna know why I didn't go to the others!"
"I want to know!" Akane bent forward more.
"You really wanna know!" Ranma met her in the middle, they were face to face now.
"I WANT TO KNOW, YOU JERK!"
"FINE!" All that rage was there then, but when Ranma continued, Akane couldn't help but realize that a lot of it left him. "Fine. To Shampoo, I've always been an obsticle or an object. I mean, c'mon, she treats me like a piece of meat! All she wants is to marry me so that she can go home and show me off. And besides, I know how them Amazons treat guys, and I don't want that." Ranma clenched his jaw and stopped.
Akane wore a scowl, but it softened slighty. "Fine, what about Ukyou? You know, your 'cute' fiance."
"Ucchan..." Ranma rubbed his hand over his forehead. "I just couldn't, OK? It wouldn't feel right."
Akane crossed her arms. "Explain it to me." Her gaze was steady, but no longer malicious.
"All right." Ranma sat down. "I don't see why it's so important to know, but I'll tell ya. She's my best friend. And yea, she's cute. And yea, she can cook great. But I just couldn't... I couldn't see me marrying her. Though I'd like to be friends with her the rest of my life, I don't think I could live with her. Again, it just wouldn't feel right, there's somethin' missing that ya need for a marrige. At least I guess that's what it is."
Akane sat back down accross from him, a slight frown remaining. "He's still not telling me everything," she thought. "Enough stalling Ranma, quit holding back. What your saying, in other words, is that I just happen to feel the least wrong as far as choices go. I don't believe that."
"Believe it, all right? I mean, I ain't sayin' it like that anyway, but ya ain't no consolation choice."
"What's missing Ranma," Akane pried, "what's missing from Ukyou?"
Ranma looked like he was going to say something, then held back. He sat tight, choosing his words. He sighed, tired of this fight. What came out next wasn't a retort, but a heartfelt explanation. "I don't..." he began softly, "I don't love her. Not like a husband should love a wife, anyway." His head lowered, no longer able to look Akane in the eyes. "There. I said it."
Akane's heart went bump-bump. "He doesn't want to marry Ukyou because he doesn't love her. But he wants to marry me," she thought. "Does that mean that he...? I have to know." Her voice cool, but far from cold, she spoke. "Ok, it's just the two of us. No one else can hear. Please tell me then, why did you choose me?"
"Well for one thing," he began, still not looking up, "we're already living together, and I'm comfortable with that. Second," This took a lot to say, "I'm happy livin' with you. These past several months, even WITH the curse, have been the best times of my life. And they were even better before Shampoo and Ukyou came into things." He glanced up, only for a moment. "I don't wanna loose that."
"I don't want to loose that either," Akane responded before she knew it. As Ranma blushed, Akane decided to try and hide her embarrassment. She picked up her book bag from the deck, placed it on her lap, and rested her head on it. She noticed how cool her book bag was against her skin, slightly wet from the rain that drove her into the shelter. As she glanced down at it to determine just how wet it had gotten, her eyes suddenly went wide. She looked at her watch.
There was still time.
"Ranma," Akane waited for Ranma to look up. "I'm going to ask you a question. I'm only going to ask it once, and no matter how you respond, I'll accept it. I'm asking because I need to know, so please answer honestly."
"Can this, y'know, wait until later? I've kinda had a stressful day."
Akane shook her head. "I need to know now."
Ranma was slightly aggravated. "Fine, fine. Ask."
Akane took a deep breath, steeling herself. As she opened her mouth to ask, she wondered why the butterflies in her stomach had suddenly appeared. "Ranma, do you love me? I'll never ask again."
"Do I... what kinda question is that? Jeeze..."
"Please, Ranma," Akane buried her face on her book bag. Almost too softly to hear over the rain, "Yes or no."
Ranma thought hard. If he told her now, he'd get this big weight off his chest. He'd feel good, as one always does when they're honest with themselves. But he'd already missed his chance, in a matter of minutes all engagements would be back on, and as soon as the other women knew that Ranma loved Akane, she'd become a bigger target. Could he endanger her more, just to feel better about himself? Did the answer mean that much to her? "No way," he thought, "I can't put her in more danger, even if she really wants to know the truth. If they hurt her, I'd..." He thought back to Mount Phoenix. "I'd never be able to live with myself."
But as he looked up to tell her 'no', he suddenly couldn't. A lump in his throat formed and he couldn't get even a sound of rejection past. And as he cleared his throat to try again, he saw Akane look up from her bag. As their eyes met, Ranma knew that he'd never be able to say he didn't love Akane, not now, not ever. There was a soft pleading in her eyes that melted the lump in his throat, yet still no words came out.
"Please, Ranma," Akane thought. "I don't want to rush your decision, but we don't have much time."
Ranma was having so much trouble getting any words to come. Here he was, the great Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome school of Anything-goes Martial Arts, fierce warrior who had only days ago defeated a god, and he couldn't make a sound. But he would. He had to, even though he didn't know why.
Ranma Saotome could do anything. But he always did the most good with Akane by his side. Eyes still locked with Akane, he finally brought to words what he'd admitted the day before. "Yes." His voice croaked, as if even it couldn't believe what was being said. "Yes, I love you." Thoughts, memories came back, of Akane saying he'd proclaimed his love for her when he thought she was dead. He also remembered his denial of such, and a pang of guilt struck his heart. "And if I didn't say it before, I should have." The shame of his previous mistake was too much to bear, and he could no longer look Akane in the eyes, lowering his head. "I'm sorry."
Had she not been sitting down, you could have knocked Akane over with a feather. "He loves me," she thought. "He actually loves me, and had the guts to say it! He wanted to marry me because he loves me." She sat in shock only for a few seconds, a crash of thunder snapping her out of her self contained monologue. "And he's going to get that chance yet." With sudden determination, she began going through her bag. "Ranma, I have something you might want to see," she said.
"Huh?" Ranma looked up. "Whazzat?"
Akane glanced up, her hand on the marriage certificate still hidden by her book bag's flap. "First, close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Just do it." As Ranma reluctantly complied, Akane gathered her strength to stand up. Willing her knees not to buckle, she stood, placing her backpack on the bench. She walked the few necessary steps and moved her hand forward. "Now, hold out your hands." As Ranma did so, she began to place the paper in his outstretched palm. A sudden impulse took over however, and as contact was made from paper to skin, Akane leaned quickly forward, kissing Ranma on the lips. She closed her eyes as the feeling of excitement took her, enjoying it only for a few seconds before breaking it off.
Just as Akane's lips left his, Ranma opened his eyes. They belayed his stunned mindset.
"I love you too, Ranma," came the words softly from Akane. As she opened her eyes, she couldn't help a smile coming to her lips, even as they quivered with excitement, as if sorry for the contact to be over. She looked him in the eyes only for a moment, before her face turned a little hard. "Well, what are you waiting for? Look at what I gave you!"
On reflex, Ranma did as he was told. As he read the marriage certificate, his eyes grew wide in shock. "What the hell...?"
"It's from the other day," Akane explained. "Our fathers were going to try and trick us into signing it, so I took it away. I checked with Mr. Morita at school," she waited to make sure Ranma was following, "and though this may not be entirely legal as it is, if no one who signs it later objects to it's... legitimacy... then it should stand." She spelled it out for him. "There's still ten minutes. We sign this, we're automatically married."
Ranma looked over the certificate one more time, his thoughts clicking away in his head. "We need two things," he said, eyes not leaving the paper, "we need a witness, one Cologne will trust. They need to see us sign the paper. Second," he looked up at Akane, "we need to make sure, I guess by phone, that they know we signed it before the deadline."
The smile tightened, but never left Akane's lips. "Here, let me put it back in my bag." Akane took the paper and put it away, safe from the rain. "We need to hurry back to Ryoga's. Only nine minutes to go."
Ranma nodded and took Akane by the hand, finally smiling himself. Akane smiled back, reassuring him in his decision. "Ready?"
Akane nodded in agreement, turning to face the storm.
With a jerk, Ranma started running forward, Akane catching up quickly. "Then let's," Ranma started in his male voice, but continued as Ranma-chan, "GO!"
"Ryoga!" Ranma-chan practically yelled as she and Akane burst through the door. "C'mere! And bring a pen!"
"Please!" Akane added.
Ryoga and Akari didn't know what this was about, but they both hurried through the house, bringing a pen each. Akari also brought some paper. "Ranma, Akane, what's up?" Ryoga asked.
"Just listen, and gimmie that pen," Ranma barked. "Akane and me are signing this, and we need you to be a witness." Ranma took the pen and the paper from Akane, signing her name.
"My turn," Akane said, taking the other pen from Akari. She began signing and dating by her name.
Ranma was now writing on the paper Akari had brought. "OK Ryoga, we gotta leave as soon as you sign, but I gotta ask a favor of you. Here's the phone number to my mom's house." Ranma handed the paper to Ryoga. "Cologne should still be there. Tell them Akane and I are on our way, and that we signed this before 8:35. Whatever you do, keep Cologne there!"
Ryoga nodded, not really understanding what was being asked of him. He'd do as asked, though, even if this wasn't that contract Ranma had told him about. He took the pen from Akane, signed, and then dated, the certificate.
"Let's go, Ranma!" Akane almost flew out the door.
"Right! Hey man," Ranma indicated to an umbrella in the corner. "We're gonna borrow that, 'K?" Ranma dumped the remaining contents of the thermos onto her head. Picking up the umbrella, Ranma-kun pursued Akane. "Thanks a lot!"
Ryoga remained still a moment, staring out the still open front door. "That wasn't the contract he told me about before..."
Akari shrugged and handed him a cordless phone. "Don't look at me, hon, I don't even live here."
Racing through the streets back towards the train station, there was a couple. That couple had just been married, though neither of them felt it yet. There had been no ceremony, no reception, no cake, and no guests. There had been no formal kimonos, no gowns, and no tuxedos. They'd been married in a school uniform and an all to familiar red Chinese shirt combination. The most important thing had been present, though, and that was mutual love. Newly admitted, hardly believed, the love between Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo was nevertheless true. They remembered that as they ran under a shared umbrella, the storm still strong, a possible omen. They cared not.
But what would be the result of this? Their lives had just changed forever.
There might just be some Hell to pay.
NOT The End
End: Chapter 3
Next: Ranma 1/2: Aftermath of a Rushed Wedding! Who'd Have Thought?
Author's notes: I'M SORRY!
ahem I apologize for the over three year wait for this chapter. Here are my excuses:
1: Loss of interest. I said before that I might not finish this, but here it is. I have interest now, unfortunately I don't have any in my "Video Reminder" series. That sucks.
2: Life. Abbreviated: Met a girl, wooed a girl, bought a house, moved out/in, got engaged to girl, got married, feuded with my parents, and all the while working a full time job with a lot of overtime.
3: Stupid Computers! I've had this chapter, in various forms of completion, deleted/corrupted multiple times. Never by MY choice. Seriously, they are to blame for some of this. This chapter, as you see it, was backed up on two different hard drives and two floppy disks to ensure it's completion.
4: I subscribe to no Internet service, so reading fics has been difficult, as they used to be my main source of inspiration. Thank God that my library has free access, even if they do limit your time per day.
There you have it. I intend to post several new chapters this summer, but they will be shorter, about the same length as "Video Reminder" chapters. As for "V.R.," it was also deleted with my first incomplete draft of this, so if I continue it, I'll have to start chapter 4 from scratch. Give me until April 30, 2006. If I haven't updated it by then, it's fair game for anyone else to complete.
'Til next time! Xasonnex