Sendai
By M. Zephyr
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Ranma x Akane. See the bottom of Chapter 1 for an author's note dealing with the entirety of this story.
Chapter 15. The Wedding
The day after the school term ended, they packed the car for the drive down to Nerima. Ranma was so certain he was forgetting something that he checked three times that the rings were packed. Akane and Kasumi likewise checked on the wedding dresses and tuxedos, though only twice apiece. During the drive, as they maneuvered through heavy traffic, Akane realized that she was starting to feel anxious again.
"Do you really think we're going to be able to pull this off?" she asked, addressing no one in particular.
Kasumi answered, projecting calm reassurance for all she was worth. "Now little sister, you need to stop worrying. Everything has gone fine so far, and you know very well that the worst offenders from the previous wedding will not be there. We've taken precautions to make sure that no uninvited people will show up either, and we've been in control of the guest list this time, not Nabiki."
Akane stared unseeing out of the car window, neither calm nor reassured. "I suppose," she agreed reluctantly. "The last attempt just left me a bit ... traumatized, I guess. There's no way to prevent Hibiki from 'accidentally' stumbling onto the location, and either Happosai or Taro could easily follow us there if they wanted to make trouble."
Ranma tightened his arm which already lay across his fiancée's shoulders, and she pressed back more firmly against him, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. With an effort she forced her tense muscles to relax, trying to let the slight motions of the car soothe her.
"Ranma," she declared firmly in a 'no-argument' tone of voice, her eyes still closed, "you are not sleeping in the guest room tonight. I don't care what daddy or anybody else says, I won't survive the next week and a half if I can't get any sleep because of nightmares."
There was a moment's silence and then, in a tremulous voice, Kasumi asked, "Akane, have you and Ranma been sleeping together?"
She still didn't open her eyes. Her answer was matter-of-fact, even dismissive. "We have been sleeping in the same bed, yes, but we haven't been doing anything else." Her eyes blinked open as she reconsidered this, and went on thoughtfully. "Well, actually, we have been doing some other things, but not what you were thinking." A hint of indignation then entered her voice, as she pointed out, "In any event, you'd be a fine one to lecture me about it when you and Tofu have been sleeping together in every sense of the word for several months now."
Kasumi blushed. "Even so, you're still very young ..."
Akane was quick to cut her off, her fears temporarily pushed aside by the argument, mild though it was. "Don't give me that, Kasumi. I'm eighteen, and you're only three years older than me. Also, I'm going to be married in just over a week. If I'll be old enough then, I'm certainly old enough now."
"She's right, you know." Tofu grinned at his fiancée.
"You stay out of this, if you know what's good for you." Kasumi warned, wagging an admonitory finger at him. "In any event, if they're sharing a bed, even if it is just to sleep, then they'd best be prepared for an argument with daddy."
Akane sighed deeply, and nodded. She had already realized that.
"Um, how about us?" Tofu asked plaintively. "I'd rather not be sleeping in the guest room either, and besides, they probably need all the space that they can get for the wedding guests who will be arriving."
Kasumi bit her lip, torn between her desire to be with Tofu on the one hand and the pull of her long accustomed role as her father's dutiful daughter on the other. Finally, she gave a deep sigh and slowly replied, "I suppose you're right, and if Akane is already going to broach this argument with father, then we might as well up the ante and make the argument for both of us. He'll probably cry a great deal, but in the end I think he will accept it." Thinking about how he would react called to mind past incidents, and the anger she had not allowed herself to show at those times began to surface. "Actually, considering some of the things that he and Uncle Saotome tried in the past to get Akane and Ranma together, he has very little logical position from which to protest, not that logic has ever been of any importance to him."
Ranma decided to weigh in with his opinion. "What if we just carry the luggage upstairs and put it in the rooms we plan to use, acting as if it's our decision, which after all it is? If he wants to argue about it, let him start it."
Akane opened her eyes, and smiled at him. "You're right, Ranma. We'll do it that way."
Their arrival at the Tendo home was a little more sedate this time. As they walked into the yard, Soun Tendo walked up to them quickly and pulled his two daughters into a massive hug.
"Hello daddy, where is everybody?" Kasumi wanted to know as soon as he released them, and she had a chance to look around and notice how quiet it was. She wasn't used to her old home looking and sounding so deserted.
Her father looked around as if the quiet was vaguely disturbing to him as well, before answering. "Well, Nabiki is also due home today, from the university, but her train won't arrive for another two hours. The Saotome's are still at their house, although they are expecting to come over later and all of us will be going out together for dinner. The plans for the wedding reception are all ready, and I trust the same goes for the ceremony as well, even if you haven't let us help with it. Where will it be again?"
Kasumi gave her father a small smile. "Now daddy, don't be like that. Yes, everything's fine."
"So are you finally going to tell us where the four of you have been living?"
His oldest daughter nodded. "Yes, actually. With some of Akane's and Ranma's school friends coming down for the wedding, it would be kind of hard to keep it a secret where they're from or what school they attend. We're living up in Sendai, and Akane and Ranma are attending Masamune High School, and doing pretty well, too. Don't let us forget to give you our address later."
"Sendai?" He grimaced. "Well I suppose I should be happy that it's not someplace on Hokkaido or Okinawa, anyway."
"Actually, once we've settled back down after our honeymoons, we'd be willing to have you come up to visit us," Kasumi offered. Only after she made this suggestion did she pause to wonder whether the other three would agree.
"Hmmph. Well, come inside and get settled, so we can talk. I want to hear about everything that's happened since summer."
New Year's Day, which would fall on a Sunday that year, was fast approaching. On the night of Friday the 30th, Akane and Ranma went out to dinner, just the two of them, for a little time alone together. Lingering over the remains of the excellent meal, Ranma reached over to capture Akane's hand.
"Say, Akane, do you realize that this is the first real date we've ever been on here in Nerima?"
Akane considered the observation, then inclined her head in agreement. "I guess you're right. I don't think we would have dared before. Just think of how many people would have shown up by now to ruin everything."
Ranma gave her an urchin grin. "Heh, yeah. I gotta admit I like it like this a lot better. Peaceful, y'know? So, you feeling nervous about Sunday?"
She smiled demurely, pulling her hands free and putting them into her lap. "Do you mean the wedding, the reception, or ... later that night?"
"Well, I guess I was thinking of both the wedding and the night." He smiled at her, but there was a touch of worry in his eyes.
Akane's expression grew more sober. "You already know how anxious I am about the wedding, there's no point in rehashing that again. On the one hand, I'm definitely looking forward to marrying you, and on the other, we both know what a lot could go wrong. I know we've done everything we could to prevent stuff that happened last time, but ... what if they come up with something new? Something we haven't prepared for? What if they manage to ruin this time too? I really just want it to be over, with the two of us safely married and no way for anyone else to break us up or get between us."
Her gaze became introspective as she considered the other half of his question, and a smile hovered at the corners of her lips. "As for that night, yes, I am a little nervous, but not much. We've gotten to know each other pretty well, and we've been getting gradually more intimate with one another." She blushed as she recalled just what his hands had done to her in bed the previous evening before they fell asleep. "I'm ready for the next step. I have been for some time, really."
Ranma chuckled. "Can you imagine what it would have been like last March, if the wedding then had come off, when we found ourselves alone together later than night?"
Akane rolled her eyes, and laughed in reply. "Oh, God. I'd have probably been scrunched to one side of the bed as far as I could go, with my mallet lying between us. We definitely weren't ready then."
"Yeah, and I probably would have picked a fight with you just so I'd have an excuse to storm away and blame it all on you." He shook his head as he thought of how much of a fool he had been. "All in all, I think things have worked out a whole lot better. Do you suppose that some kami was having fun with our lives before, but finally got bored and decided to leave us alone?"
"Shush! Don't tempt fate!" She looked around a little wildly, almost as if afraid that some mischievous spirit might be dining in the restaurant with them, ready to take his words as a challenge. Thus it was that she saw the couple approaching them.
"Ranma," she hissed in a whisper, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward. "Heads up. Ukyo and Konatsu are coming over here."
Ranma gave no physical indication that he had heard her, but his awareness of his surroundings was instantly heightened as a result of her words. He reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. As the pair came up it hit them with a bit of a shock that Konatsu was wearing slacks and a shirt, while Ukyo was in a dress.
"Ranma. Akane." Ukyo's voice was flat, while Konatsu looked distressed. Clearly he would have preferred that this encounter not take place. "A curious coincidence, the two of you choosing the same restaurant as us tonight."
Akane answered sadly. "It is just a coincidence, Ukyo. If we'd seen the two of you when we first came in, we would have gone someplace else to eat. Believe me, we have no desire to hurt you any more than we already have."
Ukyo closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and let it back out, opening her eyes once more. "I know." Her voice sounded a little hoarse. "To tell the truth, I've gotten over most of the pain, and have started getting on with my life." She reached over to the side blindly. Konatsu caught the seeking hand in his own, and held it as though he didn't intend to let it go again. "Konatsu and I started dating a while back, and what I've come to feel for him so far has made me realize that the feelings I had for you, Ranma, weren't exactly what I thought they were. It still hurts, a lot, but I've come to accept that, maybe, it was for the best."
"I'm glad Ukyo, really. We want you to be happy," Ranma told her seriously.
"Yeah, sugar, I'm getting there. Slowly. Um, listen. Konatsu here accepted your invitation to the wedding of course, and I know I turned mine down, but I was wondering if, maybe, you could still let me come? I don't think it'll be as bad as I thought it would, and I think it'll give me a sense of closure."
Ranma answered after a glance over at Akane, who squeezed his hand gently, indicating her silent agreement. "Sure Ukyo. We'd be glad to have you there."
"Thanks. So, um, anyway we were on our way out. We're heading over to the new nightclub that's opened two blocks east. I'd appreciate it if we don't see you there?"
Akane smiled. "Don't worry. We were just going to take a walk in the park and then head home. Tomorrow is the final preparations for both the ceremony and reception, and there's still tons to do. We need to get a good night's sleep."
Ukyo nodded, trying a tentative smile of her own. She and Konatsu turned aside and moved toward the door, walking together away from the past and toward a future. Ukyo's head was high, and her step was confident once more.
Early Sunday morning found the two brides-to-be together in the restroom. Kasumi had her hand on her younger sister's forehead, as Akane finished vomiting into the toilet.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have had that champagne at midnight last night, Akane," Kasumi suggested, expressing both sympathy and concern.
The younger sister grimaced, as she rinsed out her mouth. She spat and then answered. "I doubt that the champagne had anything to do with it. I suspect it's just nerves. Oh, but I'm going to be so happy when today is over with."
Kasumi gave a knowing smirk. "Does that include tonight?"
Akane stuck her tongue out at her older sister. "You know very well what I meant."
She was still a little unsteady on her feet, so Kasumi offered her an arm for support. The two women emerged from the room, only to be shoved aside as Tofu Ono dashed in. A moment later they heard the sound of retching from inside. Akane chuckled weakly while Kasumi rolled her eyes.
"I believe that I'll be happy when it's over with as well," the older sister said primly, then surprised herself with a chuckle of her own.
By nine in the morning, a large crowd had already gathered in the yard of the Tendo home. Akane and Kasumi had gone on ahead by taxi, to get dressed and ready for the ceremony, leaving Ranma, Tofu, and the parents to greet their guests. Ranma introduced their friends from Masamune to their friends from Furinkan, and he and Tofu stood at the gate welcoming other friends and relatives as they arrived. Ukyo and Konatsu were among the last to appear, walking in just as the bus pulled up in front and the guests started climbing aboard.
Amazingly, all of the people who had accepted wedding invitations were checked off as present and accounted for as they boarded the bus, and it drove off promptly at 9:30, headed for Suginami. Nodoka noticed that Ranma was fidgeting quite a lot.
"Ranma, my son, whatever is the matter? You seem to be quite agitated."
"Um, sorry, Mom. It's just that nothing has gone really wrong yet. I'm getting worried that something terrible has yet to happen, to achieve some sort of karmic balance."
His mother sat there with her mouth open for a moment, then scoffed, tossing her head. "Goodness, you're superstitious. Now hold your tongue, before you start to get me all worked up as well."
On arriving at their destination, when Ranma entered the nearly deserted hall, he bumped into one of the decorators carrying a couple of last minute vases of flowers to set up for the ceremony. One of the vases tilted, tipping a cascade of water down the back of Ranma's neck, triggering the curse.
"Ahhhhh!" onna-Ranma screamed, too upset to be circumspect. "Watch where you're going!"
"Um, sorry miss," the man replied, wondering why such a pretty girl was wearing a tuxedo instead of a dress to the wedding.
Akane, dressed and pacing as she waited, heard the scream and grimaced wryly, correctly guessing what must have happened. She opened the door to the room which she and Kasumi had used to dress, to see Ranma stomping by in his cursed form. Akane giggled and took him by the arm. "Okay, this was bound to happen, so now you've got it over with. Come on, baka, let's find you some hot water."
A few minutes later, a once-more male Ranma emerged from a restroom, only to walk straight into the priest who would be performing the ceremony. The priest happened to be sipping from a glass of water, which promptly spilled down Ranma's front.
"Oh, excuse me young ... lady? Um, I'm very sorry about that."
Ranma stood there with his eyes closed, counting slowly to ten as his fists clenched and unclenched. He turned around and headed back into the restroom. A minute later the door opened again, and a head very slowly peeked out and looked carefully both ways before its body followed. As he walked down the hall toward the room where he and Tofu were to wait, his head was swiveling from side to side, looking for any sign of water.
He walked through the door into the room, and almost walked straight into his fellow groom, who was holding a glass of water.
"Aaah! Keep that water away from me!"
"Relax, Ranma. I'm not going to splash it on you. I was just going to step out for a moment to the restroom."
They stepped past each other, and as Tofu reached for the door it suddenly swung open right into him, knocking him back onto his rump. Soun Tendo looked into the room at his two prospective sons-in-law, one sitting on the floor, with an empty glass beside him.
"Um, just wanted to check if you two were all right. Ranma, why are you in your girl form? Surely you should be male when you marry my daughter."
The fuming redhead marched past him and back to the restroom once again, followed a moment later by a sheepish Tofu.
"I, uh, think I won't bring anything to drink back with me this time."
"Thanks, Doc, I'd really appreciate that."
Ranma walked back from the restroom looking rather like a cat crossing a greased tightwire strung above a swimming pool, but made it safely. He and Tofu sat in the room for a while, not speaking to one another, each deep in his own thoughts. Eventually the door to the room opened, and Genma Saotome stuck his head in.
"The ladies are ready now, gentlemen. Time to take your places."
Ranma grabbed the doctor as he started to faint. "Come on now, doc, you can do it. You don't want to upset Kasumi."
The two men moved to the front of the hall and stood before the priest, looking out over the assembled guests. The wedding march started to play, and the doors at the other end of the hall opened, to admit Soun Tendo with a daughter on each arm. They made a stately progress up the aisle, where he then turned a daughter over to each of the men. Unfortunately, due to his tears, he handed them to the wrong men, but the mistake was quickly rectified with only minor tittering from the assembly.
Before the minister could begin the ceremony, the doors at the back were flung open to admit a very old and diminutive master of the martial arts. "Hey! How come I wasn't invited to your wedding!"
Genma and Soun rushed down the aisle and fell to their knees in front of him. "Oh, please master! If you'll just sit quietly for the ceremony, we promise that you will receive the garters afterward!"
Happosai tapped his chin consideringly. "Oh, very well." He plopped down into a chair and motioned for them to proceed.
The priest began the ceremony, and with no further interruptions reached the time for the vows.
"Do you Ranma Saotome take Akane Tendo to be your wife, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." His voice was firm, without hesitation.
"Do you Akane Tendo take Ranma Saotome to be your husband, ..." Ranma watched the face of his bride as the priest spoke the words. She was smiling at him, her face uncovered, having refused to wear a veil. He lost himself in that smile, only realizing that the priest had stopped because her voice spoke.
"I do." Almost whispered, but stated with conviction.
The vows were then repeated for Tofu Ono and Kasumi Tendo. Tofu's glasses started to fog up, and Ranma had to nudge him with an elbow, but he got his response out.
"What token of your love do you offer?"
Four hands held up wedding rings for him to see.
"May these rings be blessed ..." Akane lost the thread of the priest's words, looking at the man to whom she had just pledged herself. His eyes were so deep today, that she thought she could drown in them. It was always his eyes which had drawn her back after their troubles. No matter what arrogance, or foolishness, or denials he had engaged in, when he came to her afterward and looked at her, with or without an apology on his lips, she would look at herself reflected in those deep blue eyes and somehow know that she would have a place forever within him.
"Will the grooms now place the rings on their brides' fingers, and make their pledge?"
She felt like she was coming out of a trance as Ranma took her hand in his, and slowly placed a ring on her finger. She was dimly aware of the same happening beside her with her sister.
"... with this ring, I thee wed."
"Will the brides now place the rings on the grooms' fingers, and make their pledge?"
The two sisters took the hands in front of them and placed the rings on the appropriate fingers, reciting the words they had memorized.
"... with this ring, I thee wed."
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands and wives, and may your days be good and long upon the earth. You may now kiss the brides."
Ranma gathered Akane into his arms, looking deep into her eyes, and thought back over the more than two and a half years which had brought them to this point. He knew that he would willingly go through all of it all over again just to reach this destination. He bent his head down toward hers.
"I love you, Akane." His lips pressed firmly to hers, as beside him Tofu was doing the same to Kasumi. The kisses lasted no more than a few seconds each, but at the same time sealed the transition from the lives that were to the lives that would be.
"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, and Mr. and Mrs. Ono."
The audience broke out into applause, as the couples made their way down the aisle.
Outside the hall, the female guests gathered together, while first Akane and then Kasumi threw their bouquets. Sayuri caught Akane's bouquet, while Ukyo caught Kasumi's. The latter turned to lift an eyebrow at Konatsu, who was observed to swallow hard and tug at his collar with a finger.
In the meantime, Ranma had left his new wife's side, and wandered over to a shadowed recess by the doors.
"I hardly expected to see you here, old ghoul."
"I took Shampoo back to China as I promised, sonny boy. But you, and the Tendo girl as well, were a major part of my life for the last couple of years. I wanted to see the conclusion. I'll be leaving again straightaway."
"How is Shampoo doing?"
"Moping around depressed mostly. Her punishment ended up being pretty light, as I predicted. She's currently working as a servant for our representative to the Musk, not the most pleasant of tasks with their attitude toward females. Afterward, she's going to be put through our entire training regimen, from the beginning. Granted you taught the Tendo girl, and I always knew she had lots of potential, but an Amazon warrior who had trained for years should never have lost so easily."
"So is it good-bye for good this time?"
"It should be. I have no reason to return that I know of."
"I don't suppose you'd consider taking Happosai with you?"
The old woman chuckled. "Not on your life. He caused far too much trouble the first time he visited our village, and I was a lot younger then. No, he's your problem young Ranma, but not, I think, for very much longer. You may not have noticed yet, but his ability to recharge himself from female chi is not as effective as it was even a year ago. I think that soon, perhaps half a year at most, his strength will start to fade."
Ranma grunted. "I can't say that I'll be sorry."
Cologne just nodded. Ranma turned away, and she faded back into the shadows.
Later at the reception, Ranma was dancing with Akane. He looked across the room to where their fathers were drinking themselves into oblivion, and his mother was having a lively conversation with Tofu's mother.
"So, do you feel any different?"
"Yes, actually, I do," she replied. "I hadn't really expected to, but I feel like I've changed in some fundamental way."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. When he pronounced us husband and wife today, it felt to me like the world stopped for a moment and then started up again. Nothing's really changed, but at the same time everything has."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know. It's just what I feel."
He brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek. "I've never seen you more beautiful than you are today, not even last March in your previous wedding dress."
"Thank you, Ranma," she said softly, laying her face against his chest.
"I still can't believe everything went as well as it did. I got hit with water a couple of times, and both Happosai and Cologne found the wedding, oh and lets not forget your dad trying to marry me to Kasumi and you to Doc Tofu, but no major problems."
She pulled back and looked up into his face. "Cologne was there?"
"Um, yeah. Shoot. I hadn't meant to mention that to you. She didn't cause no trouble, she just watched without letting anyone know she was there, and we talked for a few minutes afterward. She should already be on her way back to China."
"Oh, okay, I guess. I'm glad I didn't know earlier, I would have worried about it. I guess that like Ukyo, she might have wanted a sense of closure to all of the craziness. Speaking of Ukyo, did you see that look she gave to Konatsu after catching Kasumi's bouquet."
"No, I guess I missed that." He chuckled. "I wish I had seen it. I think that was when I was talking to Cologne."
"I can't believe that our fathers made Kasumi and I give our garters to Happosai."
"Huh. I don't begrudge it. It was worth it to keep him in line during the ceremony, and it seemed to work."
She nodded. "How much longer, anyway?"
"We just need to stick it out for another fifteen minutes, then we can leave. That will give us time to change and get down to the station to catch our train. Poor Kasumi and Tofu have to stick around for another hour."
"Better them than us. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I've actually enjoyed the reception, but I'm ready to be alone with my husband now."
"Heh. I'm ready too. Why don't we go over and grab a little more cake and punch before we go? Our school friends are over in that area, so we can say good-bye to them at the same time, before we take off."
"Sounds good to me."
That night, in a room in an inn up in the mountains, Ranma stepped out of the private bathing room with a towel wrapped around his waist. His wife was standing at the window, looking down into the valley below them, wearing only the yellow negligee that their friends had given her at the engagement party. The small amount of light coming in through the window silhouetted her body through the sheer material.
"You truly are beautiful," he said huskily as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Mmmm, thank you." She leaned her head back against him, then turned around in his arms and pressed her lips against his. "You're pretty handsome, yourself."
As they continued kissing, he undid the ties of her outfit, and pushed it down to puddle around her feet on the floor. A moment later, she had caused his towel to join it. He scooped her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed.
"No holding back this time, right?" he asked in a deep whisper.
"No holding back, ever again. From this moment, I am yours and you are mine, forever."