Jusendo Aftermath
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. This is my suggestion for how the manga should have ended, after Ranma killed Saffron at Jusendo.
Chapter 2. Return Home
A reduced group continued on in the morning, consisting of Genma, Ranma, Akane and Ryoga. They said good-bye to the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter, receiving from him a promise that he would write if and when the cursed pools were restored to their former states, and then left the valley. Slowly they made their way across China to the coast, and Akane gradually regained her strength, which pleased her greatly. As nice as it was to be so close to Ranma now that they had admitted their feelings, it had embarrassed her on the first several days to have to be carried by him for the last few hours of their march. Thankfully, by the time they reached the docks and began looking for a ship to take them across, she was feeling much her old self. Ryoga insisted on paying their fares; he was accustomed to carrying money on his unplanned journeys in order to handle unexpected contingencies.
However, it was no luxury liner on which they took passage. The best that they could do was a small cargo ship, and the entire party were sleeping in hammocks within the same compartment. This meant that despite her request to Ranma back at Jusenkyo, Akane found herself sleeping in the same room as her fiancé, about a meter above him.
Unsurprisingly, all three males were constantly splashed with cold water during the journey, causing them to spend much of the time in their cursed forms. Ranma grew exceedingly tired of having to constantly hide Ryoga in pig form or to seek out hot water to change him back, in order to keep Akane from discovering the lost boy's secret prematurely. The trip home couldn't pass quickly enough for him.
Finally, some twelve days after Jusendo, the ship docked at Niigata on the western shore of Honshu. Akane called home as soon as she was ashore in order to reassure her family and let them know that they were all safe. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell them much as her father had answered and he immediately started blubbering at the sound of her voice.
True to Ranma's promise, they stopped at the Unryuu home on the way back to Nerima. When they reached the farm in the early evening, Akari was ecstatic to see her Ryoga walk through the gate. With a squeal of glee, she rushed out and threw her arms around him, asking where he'd been, if he could stay for a while, and did he want to come and look at the latest batch of piglets. The warm welcome was better than a tonic for the lonely lost boy. Ryoga laughed and promised to go see them later, but suggested they might get a bath and a bite to eat first.
Reminded of her duties as hostess, Akari blushed a pretty shade of pink. She immediately invited them all to stay the night, showing them to rooms that they could use and preparing the furo for them as well. Then she went to prepare a dinner at least four times larger than she had planned for her grandfather and herself.
Ryoga informed the others the next morning of his intention to stay on the farm with Akari. Ranma shook the other boy's hand good-bye and wished him luck, while Akari gave Akane a hug and Akane promised her an invitation to the wedding when it finally came about. That left only the three of them, Akane, Ranma and Genma, walking down the dusty road in the direction of Nerima. Ranma decided to wait until they got home before telling Akane about Ryoga's curse. Not out of cowardice, he quickly reassured himself, but out of the vague feeling that Akane might need someone to comfort her after she learned the truth, and the very strong suspicion that she wouldn't want it to be him. It seemed to him that Kasumi would be the best person to handle matters. Best to wait, therefore, until the eldest Tendo sister was available.
The last few miles of their journey seemed to take longer than all of the rest added together. At long last the familiar gate came into view, with the upper floor of the house visible above the wall. Akane gave a strangled sob and took off running for the last block, calling out for her father and sisters.
Ranma stopped his father just outside the invitingly open gate, both to give the Tendo's the first few minutes alone together and also to have a quiet word with his father. As the sound of the happy and tearful reunion came to their ears, he said, "Remember to have that talk with Tendo-san, pop. You know, the one about Akane and me. You better do it soon, before he tries anything foolish. Okay?" Genma tried glaring, but his heart wasn't really in it, so he gave it up as a lost job and just nodded instead. Then they walked through the gate themselves, and Ranma's mother ran up to hug her son and welcome him back.
They waited until after lunch to tell the story of their adventures. It was a long time in the telling, with each of them correcting and commenting on what the others said. It was probably only the fact that few of the events were witnessed by both Akane and Ranma that prevented arguments from escalating into open fighting. In the end they told them everything with the exception of the personal decisions which the young couple had made for their future. They weren't quite ready to discuss that openly yet. Even so, it was fairly obvious that their relationship had been changed by their trials. There was a closeness between the two which had not been present before. It showed itself in their body language, in the way they sat close to one another without flinching, in the occasional glances they shared in moments of unspoken communication.
Indeed, if it weren't for the arguing, the others might have wondered if the pair were truly themselves. All in all, it was almost three hours later before they finally spoke of leaving Ryoga at the Unryuu farm and coming home to Nerima. The eyes of their audience betrayed a variety of reactions. Naturally, Akane's father Soun accepted everything they told him, while Nabiki and Nodoka had trouble believing parts of the tale. Nonetheless, Nodoka was smiling proudly at her son. It was difficult to tell to what degree Kasumi believed their story, but she was clearly pleased to have them back safe and sound.
Soun wiped the tears from his eyes, declaring, "Such hardships endured together! So much risked for one another, but victorious in the end! Surely it is time ... oof!"
He stopped his speech due to a well-placed elbow from his old friend Genma, who said, "Enough words, Tendo! I've been looking forward to a good game of shogi with you for some time. What do you say that the loser treats the winner to sake at Miyagi's tonight after dinner?"
Soun grinned happily. "You're on!" he said, and the two of them walked off together. Ranma sighed quietly, hoping that his father would keep his word and manage to convince Akane's father to leave them in peace for a while. He started gathering his courage, realizing that the time had come. Ranma looked over at Akane, who returned his gaze with a puzzled frown. She hadn't missed his sudden tenseness. He pointedly lifted his eyes toward the ceiling, in the direction of her bedroom.
Akane raised an eyebrow inquiringly, gently teasing him, but gave a slight nod to show that she would be waiting. Besides, she was rather tired of going around in boxers and without a bra. "If everyone will excuse me, I'm going to go up to my bedroom and change into some proper clothing." Ignoring Nabiki's smirk, she stood and headed for the stairs.
Kasumi also stood up. "I believe I should get started on dinner preparations. Auntie Nodoka, I believe that you offered to hang the laundry when it finished washing?" The older woman nodded, and Kasumi turned to her middle sister. "Nabiki .."
Nabiki quickly interrupted before she could have a chore foisted off on her. "The financial report is just coming on," she announced, frowning with warning. Kasumi sighed, shrugging, and left the room while Nabiki turned the television on. Ranma waited several minutes before standing, then headed to the kitchen, muttering about getting something to eat.
However, for once he had something other than his stomach on his mind. He addressed the eldest Tendo sister with quiet determination, deliberately pitching his voice so as not to be overheard. "Kasumi, I ... I'm about to tell Akane something ... something I promised myself a few days ago that I'd tell her once we got home. But I'm sure it's going to upset her, and she probably won't want me around after. Could you be ready to come upstairs and help her if she needs you?"
Kasumi looked worried. "Oh my, Ranma! You're not thinking of calling off the engagement, are you? And here I was just thinking that the experience brought the two of you closer together. You looked like you were getting along better than you ever did before.
Ranma looked around nervously. "Yeah, we are doing better, sorta. No, I'm not planning on calling off the engagement, or anything like that. It ... there's a secret that I kind of had to keep from her, not exactly by my choice, but I doubt she'll see it that way. She's gonna be pretty unhappy about. I can't explain it to you, partly because she deserves to hear about it first, but mostly because I think that she should be the one to decide who else knows and who doesn't."
A minute later, Ranma was knocking on the door to Akane's bedroom, smiling as he looked at her familiar duck-shaped nameplate. She called out "Come in" from inside the room and he entered, closing the door behind him. Akane had changed and was sitting on her bed. She was wearing a blue dress and looking beautiful, and Ranma felt all the more nervous seeing her like that. He hated the thought that what he was going to say would bring her distress. Slowly, he walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor at her feet, his courage deserting him. Unsure how to begin, he sat staring at his hands in his lap, long enough to worry Akane.
After enduring a couple of minutes of silence, she prompted him. "You wanted to speak with me, Ranma?"
He raised his eyes then, fidgeting nervously, a sheen of perspiration on his face. "Yeah, I did. I do. But this isn't easy for me to say. I ought to have told you a long time ago. You're not going to be happy that I didn't. No, that's too weak. I expect you're going to be furious about it. But I have to tell you, 'cause I can't be keeping a secret like this and still claim to love you."
His words filled Akane with ominous foreboding. "Wha ... what is it? Why didn't you tell me sooner if it's so serious?"
Ranma looked downcast. "You know me, right? I don't go back on my word. Ever. It's a matter of honor. It doesn't matter how stupid, once I give my word, I keep it. The problem is, I promised to keep something a secret. I swear to you, I had no idea what would happen, if I had ... I would never have done it. When I saw what was happening, I wanted to let you know, and I tried to put a stop to it, but I couldn't just tell you because of my stupid sense of honor.
"Well, after Jusendo, I got released from that promise, so that I could finally tell you. But I figured it would be better to wait until we got back home first. You'll probably want me out of your sight for a while, and that's easier here than while we were traveling."
Akane's hands gripped her dress just above her knees, wrinkling the delicate fabric badly. In a shaky voice she said, "It was Shampoo, wasn't it? You've been sleeping with her all along, and keeping it from me."
Ranma's head shot up in shock. "Huh? No! Gaaah, no, that ain't it. How can you even think that? No! No way! It was Ryoga." Akane's eyes widened. Ranma replayed what he had just said and turned green. "No! I mean, I made the promise to Ryoga, not that I was sleeping with him! I mean ... what the hell am I saying?" He closed his mouth with a snap to get his tongue under control before it could spout any other idiocies.
Akane gave a relieved giggle at his discomfiture. It seemed that she might be able to lay one of her long-time fears to rest. "You promised Ryoga to keep something a secret, and he used it against you? In some way that's going to upset me? Is that why the two of you were always fighting?"
Ranma was still a bit flustered. "Yeah, more or less. It was a big part of the reason, anyway." He took a deep breath and decided to spit it out, before he lost his nerve. "You see, shortly after he arrived here in Nerima, I discovered that Ryoga had followed me to Jusenkyo. Where he picked up a curse. Which I was at least partly to blame for. And I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone about his curse."
Akane was staring at him blankly. "Ryoga has a Jusenkyo curse, too? Is that why he was so eager to go back to China with you? And I bet that's why he always carries that umbrella everywhere, isn't it? But why was he so scared to let anyone know? You, your father, Shampoo, Mousse, you all seem to manage all right without keeping it secret."
Ranma looked back down into his lap again, and spoke quietly and gravely. "His cursed form is a small, black pig."
Akane froze, both physically and mentally. Her brain struggled to process this information. ‹P-chan. He's talking about P-chan. My pet. Who sleeps with me. Who stays in my room, when he's home. Who knows all of my secrets.› She whispered a strangled "no." ‹P-chan. Whose neckerchief looks just like Ryoga's bandanna.› Her "no" was louder this time, with a note of anguish to it. ‹P-chan. Who Ranma always calls 'Ryoga.' And he always calls Ryoga 'P-chan.' And all of the pig-based insults. And he's jealous of P-chan. And he and P-chan are always fighting. And P-chan wanders off and gets lost.› Her final "No!" was a wail, heart-rending in tone, as she spun around on her bed and grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it.
"A-Akane?" Ranma was hesitant, not sure what to say next.
"Get out!" screamed the crying girl.
Before he could say anything further, Ranma felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Kasumi looking back down at him, her features inscrutable. She gave him a gentle push in the direction of the door. Taking the hint, he stood and left, pulling the door closed behind him.
Kasumi sat on the bed and put her arms around her weeping sister, holding her until the sobs finally started to subside. "Would you like to tell me about it?" she asked softly. Slowly, Akane nodded, and then related the story between long pauses she took to keep herself under control. Kasumi's face hardened into a frown as she learned of Ryoga's betrayal. When Akane finally ground to a halt, Kasumi hugged her more tightly and said, "I understand how very upset with the Hibiki boy you are, and you have every right to be. I'll make it clear to the rest of the family that he isn't welcome to come around here anymore." Kasumi paused, then went on, "Now, would you like to tell me how you're feeling about Ranma? You seemed pretty upset with him."
Fresh tears sprang to Akane's eyes. "He didn't tell me, Kasumi," she wailed. "He knew, and he didn't tell me! He let that bastard go on using me, and he knew all the time. He said he loved me, but how can I believe him? If he could let someone go on doing something like that and not tell me?"
Kasumi drew in a sharp, hissing breath. Ranma had told Akane that he loved her? At last? She did not believe for a moment that Ranma would hurt her sister on purpose, so it was time for a little damage control. Making herself sound puzzled, Kasumi said, "But you said that Ranma had promised not to reveal Hibiki's secret, didn't you?" Sniffling hard, Akane nodded, quieting a little in response to Kasumi's calm voice. Reassured that she was on the right track, Kasumi went on gently. "And Ranma did try, didn't he? He dropped plenty of hints about it, and think about all of the times you got upset with him for trying to make P-chan leave."
The name she had given to the black pig she'd adopted as a pet acted on the girl like a hot poker, making her angry rather than disconsolate. Practically spluttering, Akane shouted, "He still should have told me!"
Kasumi felt a little handicapped by the fact that Akane still wasn't looking her in the face, thus negating any use of facial expressions in reasoning with her sister. She aimed for a maternal and long-suffering tone in her voice. "Akane, you know how Ranma is about his honor. He would never deliberately break his word, no matter how much he stood to lose as a result. But he came very close to doing just that for you. He did try to help you to figure it out for yourself so that you could put a stop to Hibiki's behavior.
"You said he told you that he loved you. Was that at Jusendo?" Akane nodded weakly. "You also said he got Hibiki to release him from his promise at Jusendo, which means he did so immediately after he finally admitted that he loved you. Then as soon as he reasonably could, once you were no longer constrained to travel with Hibiki and had returned to the familiar surroundings of your home, he told you the truth. Don't you think he deserves a little credit for doing all of that? I'll admit that someone else might have been able to manage things better, but this is Ranma we're talking about, and heaven knows he's not very good at understanding other people or knowing how to deal with them. Although he seems to have gotten better than when he first showed up here."
Akane thought about what her sister was saying, which did seem to make some sense, despite her unwillingness to let go of the hurt. With a sigh she asked, "So you think that I should forgive him?"
Kasumi smiled at this sign that Akane was also growing up, that she was not going to allow her temper to rule her and blind her to reason. "I would say that's up to you, little sister. But if you really love him, and he loves you, then his behavior in this matter does not seem so terrible as to throw away that love. Still, being purely practical," Kasumi giggled, "you could no doubt use this to wring a concession or two out of him, if you play your cards right."
Akane frowned, thinking over Kasumi's words. Slowly, a glint replaced the tears in her eyes, and her lips curved into a small smile.
Dinner that evening was strained, the discord between the two teenagers affecting the others in their families. Akane chose not to speak to Ranma despite the fact that he was sitting right beside her. The apparent resumption of hostilities worried Genma. He kept glancing at his son, wondering what had happened. For his part, Ranma was thinking too hard about how to handle the situation to bother with reassuring his father. He still hadn't come to any good solution by the time the meal was over, however Akane took matters into her own hands. She asked him to meet her out in the dojo. Nervously, he agreed.
In the dojo, Akane knelt on the floor without a word of greeting or explanation. With not a little trepidation, Ranma knelt as well, facing her. Silence reigned for several minutes, before Akane spoke. "Ranma, do you truly love me?" she asked him.
Ranma cleared his throat. "Yeah, Akane, I do."
"Do you understand that in choosing to keep Hibiki's secret for the sake of your promise, and thus allowing him to continue treating me that way, that you chose your honor over mine? And do you understand why that was wrong?"
Shame colored Ranma's cheeks and his voice. "Um, yeah. Even if I couldn't break a promise, I should have tried a lot harder to make sure you figured it out. I shouldn't have rested until you knew the truth. I'm so sorry that I was too stupid to realize that a long time ago."
Akane's voice went on, almost emotionlessly, but Ranma knew her well enough to hear the hint of anger in its depths. "Do you have any other secrets like that? Anything else I ought to know, that you've been keeping from me?"
Ranma shook his head, beginning to feel a spark of hope. "No. I promise, there ain't nothing else."
For the first time Akane lifted her eyes, to look straight at him. Her gaze bored deep within him. "Ranma, do you wish to have my forgiveness?"
Ranma sweated under her intent gaze, but didn't even have to consider his answer to this. "Yes, I do. I'll do anything you want to make up for what I did. Just name it."
Akane's voice hardened. "Just saying those words isn't enough. If you want me to forgive you, then you have to swear on your honor that whatever I next ask you to do, you will do to the best of your ability. That there will be no holding back, no hesitation, no equivocation. You will do it because you owe it to me. You will swear this without knowing what I am going to ask."
Ranma swallowed, hard. He knew that if he did make such a vow, that he would be bound by it. He would have no choice but to carry it through. He thought of all the possible things she might ask of him, from the merely humiliating to the terribly painful. ‹You know you have to do this,› he told himself. He bowed his head before her, and spoke. "I swear on my honor as a martial artist, that whatever you next ask me to do, I will do, to the best of my ability."
Akane looked him over carefully, sensing his resolve, and took a deep breath, fighting down her own pride. She reached out and took his large calloused hands in her smaller but equally calloused hands. She waited until he, wondering, raised his head, wanting him to be looking her in the eye for this. "Ranma, I want you to complete my training in the martial arts."
Ranma sucked in his breath sharply. He felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. He could never hit her, could not bring himself to risk hurting her. But in order to fulfill his vow, he would have to. The conflict raged back and forth within his head, until it was stilled by a sequence of recent memories. Akane being abducted here in Nerima, while he was in China. Akane having to fight Kiima at Jusenkyo, while he was on Phoenix Mountain. Emerging from a door under Jusendo mountain to see Akane desperately dodging arrows shot by the Phoenix people. Demonstrably, he would not always be there to protect her, and he could not bear to face the possibility of losing her again. With glistening eyes he whispered to her, "I'll do it, Akane. I promise. I'll train you. It's going to hurt like hell, but I'll do it."
Akane lifted her hands to either side of his face, then leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Ranma. And I forgive you. I love you too much to let what that bastard Hibiki did drive us apart."
Ranma looked around the dojo and asked, "So, uh, do you want to start now? I mean, the sooner the better, right?" Akane nodded happily, and they climbed to their feet, she looking forward to what was coming cheerfully and he with a sense of dread, but both determined.
The next morning, a Sunday, dawned bright and clear, but Ranma was in no hurry to pull himself out of bed. Today was the day that he would have to face both Cologne and Ukyo, and neither meeting promised to be pleasant. The previous night, while Ranma was massaging the soreness out of Akane's legs after their training session, they had discussed how he should approach the two women. Actually, they had started by arguing over whether or not Akane should accompany him, an argument which he eventually won when he pointed out that her presence would just cause Ukyo additional pain. It would hurt Ukyo even more to have her rival there to watch when she learned that Ranma was going to marry another. His more pragmatic argument remained unvoiced, which didn't matter because Akane realized it all too well. Ranma didn't want her there in case either encounter turned violent. If such happened he did not want the distraction of worrying about Akane's safety.
When he did finally arise, he decided to delay the inevitable by seeking out Akane for an early morning training session. The previous evening, he had been pleasantly surprised by how carefully she listened to the things he told her during training, and how quickly she learned what he demonstrated. Even better, she remembered it all this morning. On the other hand, every bruise she took from performing her blocks, and every time he exposed an opening she left by putting a strike through it, was a wound to his heart. In the end, he left her working on an exercise to help increase her speed while he went to bathe and prepare himself, both physically and mentally, for the upcoming discussions.
It was still early in the morning, much too soon for either restaurant to open for lunch. Ranma walked down the street heading for the Nekohanten, the ramen restaurant run by the Chinese Amazons. Cologne would be there alone, since Shampoo and Mousse had remained in China. His decision to deal with the Amazon elder first was simple enough; if she killed him, there would be little point to bother Ukyo with the knowledge that he had decided to marry Akane. With a sigh he slipped around to the back door of the café, and knocked for admittance. The door opened to show the face of the deceptively frail looking old woman.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Son-in-law! You are back from China!" She looked around from side to side, wondering why no one else was present. "But where are Mousse and Shampoo then?"
"They are safe, elder," Ranma replied stoically, seeing her eyes become more alert at his polite reference rather than his more customary 'old ghoul.' "May I come in? I have a rather long story to tell you."
The Amazon nodded and stepped back, allowing him to enter. She took him through to the kitchen, where she was working on preparations for the lunchtime crowd. At Ranma's urging, she sat across from him at the table and he began the tale from the time the party had taken ship for China. He managed to surprise her many times, though she showed little sign of it. The knowledge of Saffron, and what sort of being he was, shook her. Akane Tendo's sacrifice to save Ranma. Mousse's tactic to free Shampoo from her slavery. The battle with Saffron, and his destruction; she was unable to suppress her surprise entirely at this. Akane's return to life after the battle. Shock when he dismissed Shampoo and forced her to return to the village.
As the story drew to a close, Cologne considered carefully all that she had heard. ‹Shampoo has accepted her fate, otherwise she would never have gone home. This means that the quest is over, and I no longer have a basis to gain this boy for our tribe. Besides, I am convinced of the truth of his tale, and that means that he has grown to the point where it could be dangerous to challenge him. He has not said so directly, but it is clear that he has admitted his love for the Tendo girl, at least to himself, and any further attempt to force him in another direction can only be seen as a threat. Ah well, it was a lot of fun while it lasted.›
Aloud she said, "Well, young Ranma, it would seem that our sparring over your destiny has reached an end, and you are victorious after all. Quite amazing. I wish you and Akane Tendo well. I must admit, I found the last couple of years to be more interesting than any of the previous hundred."
Ranma blinked a few times, not sure if he had heard correctly. "That's it? You mean, it's all over with, and you're just going to accept it without a fight?"
Cologne cackled. "Well, I won't say that I'm precisely happy with the outcome. No one likes to lose. However, bringing you back as a husband was Shampoo's quest, not mine. I was simply along to keep up her training and to amuse myself while lending the occasional helping hand. As she has apparently surrendered, there is nothing more for me to do here except to sell this restaurant before returning home. I expect that I'll be gone by the end of the week."
Ranma shook his head, feeling dazed. This was not how he had expected things to go. ‹Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,› he told himself sternly. Standing, he bowed to the old woman. "In that case, I thank you and wish you well, elder. It has been both a pleasure and a terror to know you."
The old woman snorted. "Flatterer. You young men are all alike. Go on, get out of here, you young scamp! I expect you have other stops to make this day." She hopped over to a counter to start putting away supplies she had taken out for the day, and after a final puzzled look Ranma turned and walked out the door.
‹Well, that was ... unexpected,› he thought to himself. ‹I'm sorry now that Akane didn't come along, for that visit at least. I'm not sure she's going to believe me when I tell her about it. I only wish it would go as well when I talk to Ukyo.› He sighed in a melancholy fashion. ‹That would be wishing for rather a lot, wouldn't it?›
It wasn't far to Ucchan's, Ukyo's okonomiyaki restaurant, so all too soon he found himself at the door, looking in. As expected, Ukyo and Konatsu, her cross-dressing server, were already behind the counter, preparing for the lunch opening. Tentatively he raised a hand and knocked on the glass, wincing as he saw Ukyo's face light up at the sight of him. He had a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, and desperately wanted to be anywhere else right now. He watched as she jumped over the counter and ran over to the door, throwing it open and pulling him inside.
"Ran-chan, honey, you're back!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much! Why'd you have to take off without warning me like that? I suppose you heard that Akane disappeared several days after you did? I hope she didn't try to follow you or something equally foolish, but Nabiki hasn't been willing to sell any information on where she went."
Ranma reached back and fiddled with his pigtail nervously. "She was kidnapped by the people I was involved with, so she did end up in China. She came back with me, so we'll both be back in school again tomorrow."
"Hmmph!" Ukyo grumped, with a bit of a glare. "She'd better not have been trying to put any moves on my fiancé while she was traveling with you. Now come on and sit down, I want to hear all about your trip!"
"Um, yeah, and I want to tell you all about it too, Ukyo. There's a lot I have to tell you." His eye didn't miss the fact that she faltered slightly when he called her by name, rather than 'Ucchan.' He saw a little worry crease appear in her forehead as he sat at the counter. She waved to Konatsu to continue with the preparations, while she leaned on the counter to hear his story.
Ranma found himself once more telling the long story, except this time starting at an earlier point, with the arrival of Plum from China. He was embarrassed to realize that in telling parts of the tale, he was taking on some of the cadences of a storyteller. He watched Ukyo's face carefully out of the corner of his eye as he told of Akane's sacrifice, having dared to touch the Kinjakan in order to save him, and his subsequent battle to keep her from dying.
As she listened, Ukyo was growing increasingly nervous, and trying not to show it. For the moment he avoided speaking of declarations of love or marriage intentions, and his long story wound to a close. He was amused to see that at some point during the telling, Konatsu had stopped working, having crept closer until he was right beside Ukyo. He was listening as enrapt as his employer.
"Wow, sugar, that's some story," the young chef said, trying to sound lighthearted, but not entirely successfully. Konatsu nodded his agreement. "I've got to admit, it's a little hard to believe all of it, what with flying people, an immortal being, and Akane shrinking to doll-size and then coming back to life. But at least you're home safe, now, and you've come to see me. Want me to whip up a celebratory okonomiyaki?"
In a tired voice, Ranma said, "There's a bit more that I have to tell you, Ukyo." Again he saw her flinch at the name. "After the battle was over, when I was holding Akane, I thought that I'd lost her forever. At that moment I realized just how much I love her." Ukyo gasped, and started shaking her head, denying that he could be saying this, that she could be hearing it. "After she woke up, I told her, and we've decided to get married this coming summer. I'm really sorry, 'cause I never wanted to hurt you, but I just don't love you the same way that I love Akane."
By this time, Ukyo was shaking her head violently from side to side, gasping out "no" repeatedly. Suddenly she reached across the counter and grabbed Ranma by the shirt, pulling him forward. "No! You can't mean that! I'm your fiancée! I'm the cute one! Your father took my dowry and promised you to me! You have to marry me! You're mine, not hers, mine!"
Ranma forcefully disengaged her hands, holding on to them. "No, Ukyo," he said sadly. "I'm not yours. Or even Akane's. I'm not a possession to be owned, or a prize to be won. I don't belong to whoever's the cutest, or richest, or best cook, or best martial artist, or anything. My idiot pop engaged me to both you and Akane, and I can't marry you both. I'm sorry for you, but her claim came first and she's the one I love. I never wanted anyone to suffer because of me, but my pop didn't leave me much choice, putting me in this situation. However much it hurts you, I had to make a decision, and I'm going to marry Akane."
Madness flared suddenly in Ukyo's eyes, and she grabbed her battle spatula, leaping across the counter, swinging at the boy's head. Ranma managed to block the blow and grabbed the handle, flipping her into the dining area. She landed on her feet and leaped back toward him, swinging the sharp edge with deadly intent. He dodged and parried as best he could, not wanting to hurt her, accepting several tears in his clothing and one long, shallow slice on his forearm. As soon as he maneuvered her to face away from the counter, Konatsu leaped across and poked several pressure points, causing her to collapse bonelessly. Ranma gasped for breath, thanking the genius kunoichi for his help.
"You had better go now, Master Ranma," Konatsu said courteously. "I will tend to Mistress Ukyo when she awakes. I am sure that it was only a temporary madness, and that she will regret her actions once she has a chance to consider the matter."
"Yeah, I hope so," Ranma said wearily as he headed for the door. "Tell her again for me that I'm sorry it had to be this way. I guess I'll see her in school tomorrow. I hope that we can still be friends, but if she doesn't want that, well, I understand." He stepped out the door to see that, however sunny the day may have dawned, a drizzle had now started. He accepted it as befitting his current mood, and barely noticed as he shifted to his female form.
Akane was waiting for him when he got home, opening the door before he reached it. She looked him over with a critical eye, checking for damage. She gave a sigh of relief at the ease with which he moved as he pulled his shoes off, and shook the excess water out of his hair. "All of those cuts look like Ukyo's work," Akane said, a little curiously. "Wasn't Cologne at home, then?"
Ranma snorted. "Yeah, she was there. Surprised the hell out of me though. She accepted what I told her, and admitted defeat. She even wished us well. She said that she expects to be returning to China within the week." As he walked off to the kitchen to get some hot water, he realized that he was alone. Turning back, he saw Akane standing there motionless, in a state of shock. He chuckled, but went on, figuring that she would catch up to him.
He poured the heated water over himself, changing back to male. Akane walked in and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "That wasn't very nice, baka, telling me something like that and then just walking off. Now how about you give me a few more details?" Ranma smiled, and proceeded to tell her everything that had happened at both the Nekohanten and Ucchan's.
"So, you're not sure if Ukyo's accepted it yet or not?" Akane inquired thoughtfully after he had finished.
"No, but there really wasn't much more I could do at the time. We'll just have to wait and see how she reacts after she wakes up. Hopefully she'll listen to Konatsu, and he'll be able to help her see reason."
Akane could see the pain lurking in his eyes as he said this. "It really hurt you a lot to tell her, didn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ranma admitted. "I've known her longer than anyone else, other than Mom and Pop. I don't love her, not romantically, not like I love you, but I do care about her a lot. I hate the thought of losing her friendship. But I don't see what else I could have done."
The misery in his face made Akane want to do something to help. There was one thing that she could think of. Fighting the habit to look around and worry about the reactions of their families, she stepped over and pulled him into a hug. As she held him, his tension slowly dissipated until he hugged her back. Feeling a bit giddy, she gave a thought to the rest of the day. Turning her head until her mouth was at his ear, Akane said quietly, "Ranma, we've been traveling with your father and," she grimaced, "other people, for quite a few days now. Today I'd like to have my fiancé all to myself. Can we go somewhere and do something together, just the two of us?"
"Um, sure." He smiled. "That would be great. What would you like to do?" Feeling a little more peaceful now, they walked off together, making plans. By some quirk of fate, for once they were able to enjoy some time alone together, without anyone interrupting them.