Disclaimer: You know, I realized that I was wrong, even if I was rich, I'd probably write fanfics. That still doesn't mean that I own Ranma ½ though.
AN: peeks head out from under her desk and carefully peers at her computer Um . . .I hope no one is terribly disappointed by how long it took to get this last chapter out. ducks head back underneath quickly, waits a second and slowly brings head back Life got in the way and all that. carefully slides onto the chair in front of the computer My husband is deployed overseas and my daughter is now 11 months old. She definitely keeps me busy but she has a bedtime that she follows very nicely so my nights are more free. Anyway, this is the final chapter. I'm a bit sad about that cause, although so many things got in the way of writing, I did very much enjoy writing it. I still haven't decided whether I want write a sequel but keep an eye out. You never know what may pop up. I hope you enjoyed it. I know I certainly did and I hope everything was worth it for you. And so, for this is your final chance to do so for this story, I hope, dear readers, that you may read, enjoy and review please!
Akane stepped off the plane into the terminal and earnestly began looking around. She hadn't even been able to get a full view of the airport before she was nearly squeezed to death. "Oh, Akane." A familiar voice from a head of long brown hair spoke. "We've missed you so much. Did you have a good trip?"
"Onee-chan, I've missed you and everyone else too." Akane said happily back to her eldest sister. "It was a good trip but it's better to be back home."
Just as the youngest and oldest ones let go of each other, Akane was once again grabbed into a large hug. "Welcome back, little sister."
"It's good to be back, Biki-chan." Akane greeted her with just surprise evident on her face as she hugged her back.
It seemed hugging had become an epidemic. As soon as Nabiki had pulled away, the youngest Tendo was pulled into another embrace by her father as he wept with happiness to see his youngest child. "Oh, Daddy, I'm here now." She reassured him as she hugged him in return.
Ranma stood back and watched the family reunion and couldn't help but feel a little wistful. Ranma wished he could just go up and give the girl he lov. . . cared about a hug but knew he could never dare such an act. Something like that would get out and he'd have at least 3 people out of his blood and the day had only started. The young martial artist wasn't up for that just yet.
When she had finally convinced her father that she was perfectly all right and that he could let go of her, Akane turned to the Japanese boy dressed in Chinese clothes. She considered giving him a hug but decided that it would just end up causing more trouble later. "Hello, Ranma." She greeted him very politely. "How are you?"
"Hey, Akane." Ranma replied easily enough though honestly, he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest. "I'm good. How 'bout you?"
"I'm great, Ranma." The short-haired girl responded honestly and couldn't help but give a dazzling smile. She did feel great as she stared at the young man she couldn't help but love, even though it hurt at times.
"Mousse, it's good to see you too." Kasumi greeted the Chinese boy in the white robe who had stood quietly behind Akane. "Cologne asked that we also pick you up so you'll be coming with us."
"Thank you, Kasumi." Mousse said very politely. "I appreciate it very much."
After everyone gave a quick greeting to the Chinese male Amazon, they grabbed their bags and hopped on the train. There were only a few other people on the train with them and so Akane and Mousse were able to talk about their trip. Kasumi and the rest of the family were almost in awe of how the story was being told. Akane and Mousse whipped back and forth in their conversation, almost finishing each other's sentences at times as they told all that they had seen and done during their trip to the American capital. Ranma simply stood in silence as he barely took in what they were saying. He could only watch Akane as she talked so animatedly and throw an occasional glance at Mousse whenever he interjected his thoughts. He knew that they would end up better friends after spending so much time together during the trip but that didn't mean that Ranma had to be happy about it. At least it looked as if they were still indeed only friends. Ranma decided to stop that line of thought before it got too far.
It wasn't long before the train stopped just a few blocks away from the Tendo home and everyone got off to begin the trek to the house. Mousse parted from their company about halfway there so he could make his way to the Cat Café. Ranma was quite happy to see him go, although he did notice that Akane quieted just slightly with him gone. He hoped it was only cause she was just listening more for Kasumi and Nabiki to tell her the happenings around the house and neighborhood and not cause she was missing the white-robed Chinese boy. Having been forced to carry his inazuke's bags, the pig-tailed boy watched as the Tendo sisters walked a little ahead of their fathers and began chatting with each other.
"I've cooked your favorite foods for your welcome home dinner." Kasumi cheerfully let her little sister know.
"Oh, thank you, Onee-chan." Akane replied. "I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious. It's been fun sampling the different dishes of American cooking but nothing beats your home cooking and I'll be sure to help with the dishes afterwards."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Imouto-chan. The dishes can sit in the sink for the night." The long-haired young woman said.
"But why?" Akane asked confusedly. After all, it wasn't like her older sister to leave housework laying about.
"Well . . ." Kasumi began to say but was quickly interrupted.
"What our dear oldest sister is saying is that she'll be otherwise occupied with our local doctor instead of staying inside our abode for the night." Nabiki said with only a slightly wicked grin on her face.
"Oh, Nabiki!" It was all the eldest sister could say to the middle sister's teasing tone.
"Oh, really?" The youngest sister nearly squealed in excitedness. "I'm so happy to hear that, Kasumi!"
"Yes, it's our first official date." Kasumi admitted with a flushed smile on her face but then threw a wicked gleam at the girl with the page haircut. "I'm not the only one with a date tonight though."
"Nabiki, you have a date tonight too?" Akane nearly squealed in surprise. "With who?!"
"Kasumi!" Nabiki could only sputter back.
"With that Kuno boy." The oldest sister said triumphantly.
"You must tell me every detail of how both these things came to happen!" Akane demanded to know as the front door was opened and everyone walked into the house.
After having her stuff dropped off into her room, the blue-haired girl nearly ran back to the kitchen to help with dinner being put out on the table and continue the conversation with her sisters.
"Now spill!" She ordered her sisters.
Between the teasing and laughing during the telling of their stories, the sisters somehow got dinner onto the table. Soun and Genma had planted themselves in front of their gaming table. While that day's game was Go, which Soun was usually quite good at, for once he could care less that he was losing spectacularly. All 3 of his daughters were happier than he'd ever heard them since before their mother had passed away. Ranma sat in front of the television giving the impression that he was watching TV while waiting for dinner to be served. While his head was turned towards the television, his mind was directed toward the kitchen. He hadn't been aware of the fact that Kasumi had a date with the good Dr. Tofu and that Nabiki had a date with, of all people, Kuno.
"I almost can't believe it!" Akane exclaimed once the middle sister had finished telling her story. "Kuno came here while I was gone? What's going to happen when he sees me though?"
"I made him promise on his honor that he wouldn't make a move toward you." Nabiki said seriously.
"Does that mean he's finally given up on me?" Akane asked hopefully.
"No, but I'm working on him about that." The older sister let her know.
"I suppose that's a start." Akane acknowledged just when all the food was set out on the table and everyone was seated around it.
It was Nabiki who spoke first. "Well, Akane's finally home. It just wasn't the same around here without you, lil Sis."
"It's so good to have the family back together again." Kasumi agreed smiling.
"We all missed you very much, Akane." The Tendo patriarch interjected.
"Welcome back, Akane." Gendo threw into the talk with his bowl in hand ready to grab the first serving.
"Yeah, welcome back, uh, Akane." Ranma grumbled out and though his head was facing the table, he stared at his forced-upon fiancée from the corner of his eyes.
"Thanks, everyone!" Akane said brightly and everyone began to dig into Kasumi's good home cooked meal.
Through the meal, the girls happily continued their chatter back and forth. Soun interjected his own happy comments whenever he felt like with Genma chiming in with him every so often. The only person who didn't say much was the pig-tailed boy who ate his meal quietly, although he did continue to look at the short-haired girl out of the corners of his eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off her even if he had wanted to. He had missed having her seated right beside him during every meal. Dinner was over before he even realized and though he hadn't eaten as much as he normally ate, Ranma didn't mind too much.
The table was soon cleared and Akane ran upstairs to grab her gifts for everyone. She came downstairs with a handful of gifts but she didn't look as happy as she had been during dinner. She passed out presents to her sister, her father and even Mr. Saotome but had nothing else in her hands. The pig-tailed couldn't help but feel a bit forlorn that the girl he cared about didn't have a gift for him. Akane looked over at the Japanese boy dressed in Chinese clothes and was just about to open her mouth to say something but the door bell rang.
Kasumi immediately went to answer it but the youngest sister interrupted her. "You get ready. I'll answer the door." Akane said firmly, pushed her sister toward her room and went to open the door.
"Hello, Dr. Tofu." Akane greeted the older man.
"Hello, Akane." The good chiropractor answered. "Welcome back. Did you have a good trip?"
"Yes, I did." The short-haired girl answered. "Kasumi is getting ready right now and will be out in just a few minutes. Would you like to come inside and wait for her?"
"Why, thank you, Akane." Dr. Tofu said with just a hint of nervousness in his voice and stepped through the doorway into the Tendo home.
Before the blue-haired girl could close the door, another male stepped toward the front door. "It be the beauteous Akane back from her voyage across the sea."
"Hello, Kuno." Akane said in a dead-panned voice.
"Let me count all the ways that I have missed your most blessed pre . . ." Kuno began to spout but was then interrupted when a hand reached out and grabbed onto his ear.
"Kuno baby, remember that you gave your word." Nabiki nearly hissed at him as she yanked down on the young samurai-wannabe's ear.
"YES!!" Kuno cried out in just a little bit of pain. Hearing his compliance, his ear was released and the kendoist continued talking. "Must you hurt me so, lovely Nabiki?"
"Hello, Akane, Nabiki. Hello to you, Kuno and to you Dr. Tofu." A familiar voice called out.
"Oh, hello, Mousse." Akane greeted her good friend. "What are you doing here?"
Mousse held up a small duffle bag. "I forgot to give you the things that you had asked me to put into my bag."
"Oh, yes, thank you!" Akane said happily as she grabbed the bag out of his hands.
"Why duck boy leave work?!" A high-pitched voice called out.
"Oh, brother dearest, why would you come to the home of Ranma darling and not bring me with you?" Another voice called out, with a slight threat to her tone, as the female person landed on top of the wall.
"A-A-Akane?" Ryouga shyly called out. "Is that really you? I got you some souvenirs from my last trip."
"Hello, sugar." Ukyo greeted Ryouga. "Hiya, Ran-chan! Welcome back, Akane. Is Nabiki around? I need to speak to her about something."
"Oh my! It seems everyone has come to welcome you back home, Akane. It seems we have a party on her hands." Kasumi spoke just as she came up and saw everyone standing around the front door. "Invite them in, Akane. I'm sorry, Akane, that I didn't think to invite everyone for dinner or at least dessert as a welcome home party." She then began to walk back into the house toward the kitchen and talking more quietly." I'll put out the food for everyone. Oh, my! I'm glad I always keep around extra food for these such occasions. Dr. Tofu, do you mind if we put off our date for a little while?"
"Of course not, Kasumi!" The chiropractor answered. Unfortunately, his voice did squeak just a lil bit. "I'll come help you."
"Well, you heard her, people." Akane called out softly as she kindly waved for everyone to get inside.
As politely as possible Everyone made their way into the Tendo home. After all, no one would be foolish enough to try to refuse Tendo Kasumi's hospitality, not even Kodachi was that insane. The youngest Tendo led everyone to the backyard and into the dojo as it was the only open space large on the property that would comfortably hold all of this group. Plus, it was used to taking a beating, in case things got out of hand, as it often did when this certain company of martial artists got together. Without prompting of pay, the middle Tendo daughter walked into the house to inform the 2 fathers of what was happening. Everyone stepped into the dojo and looked awkwardly at each other. They weren't exactly there to welcome Akane home after all but it would impolite to not do so at this point.
"How was your trip, Akane?" The okinamikyaki chef cheerfully asked. She was considered to be friendly one for a reason.
The blue-haired girl, glad for the distraction, answered back and began to tell her a few of the things she saw in America and how different it was compared to life in Nermima. Mousse, since he had also been on the trip began to interject his opinion into the conversation and everyone in the dojo was able to see first-hand how Akane and Mousse interacted with each other so well. Ukyou watched back and forth slightly amazed at how close the two seemed and wondered if maybe Akane might have developed a thing for the white-robed Chinese boy so that maybe she could finally Ran-chan all to herself. Ryouga couldn't help but be worried at the new turn of events and, while silently seething, wondered why Ranma would let such things continue. Shampoo was also silently seething though she was busy trying her best to get her Airen to pay attention to her. Kodachi had no idea what everyone one was so interested in those 2 while she was still in the room but it didn't matter too much to her as she was too busy making sure her hair and make up was perfectly in place so that she could talk to her Ranma darling. Ranma simply stood back and stared at the bag that his forced-upon fiancee held in her hands. He wondered what was in it that Akane had been so happy to have back from Mousse. It was probably some gift the duck boy had gotten her while they had been on the trip together.
"How dare you grab my Ranma darling!?" Kodachi suddenly screamed out as she had finally noticed how Shampoo was clinging to the pig-tailed boy.
"Airen not yours!" Shampoo forcefully replied back.
"Just because you have lost your little duck boyfriend does mean that you are allowed to force yourself upon my Ranma!" Kodachi nearly snarled out and she pulled her ribbon and began to twirl it around.
"So much for a quiet welcome at home." Akane muttered to herself with more than just a sigh in her tone of voice.
Mousse was the only one who had heard her and companionably put a hand on her shoulder to silently console her, as he was probably the only one who knew how much coming home and seeing her family had meant to her.
Ryouga, who had been standing not far from the only 3 who had originally been talking, saw this action and saw red. "How dare you do this, Ranma!" He yelled out and began to charge at boy in a red Chinese shirt. "How could you let this happen! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!"
Ranma instinctually dodged out of the way of the irate boy with the yellow bandanna. "I ain't done nothing!" He immediately shouted back. Although not exactly sure why Ryouga wanted to fight, Ranma was welcome for the interruption of such a show of such good fellowship between his fiancee and her latest friend.
The pig-tailed martial artist took the fight into the yard so that they hopefully wouldn't damage any of the buildings too much. Shampoo and Kodachi also took their fight out of the dojo, as they had both just settled their damage accounts up with Nabiki and weren't eager to add onto them just so soon. Nabiki had just stepped out of the house and smirked at the chaos that was already ensuing around the house. She had been exactly right in how long it would take before a few fights would break out now that her little sister was home and had just made a tidy little profit. Kuno had been following right behind her and wasn't sure whether his date would appreciate any attempts at sabotaging the evil sorcerer Ranma's chances of winning the battle. The samurai-wannabe decided that since he was indeed here with Nabiki that he should be the gentleman and not interfere this time. As for his sister, well, there were others who better at handling her.
Ukyo saw the middle Tendo daughter step into the dojo and excused herself from Mousse and Akane's presence. Mousse still had his hand on Akane's shoulder in sympathy. He was ecstatic that Shampoo had followed him out there but wasn't happy in the events that happened afterwards.
Kasumi had just walked into the dojo with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of iced tea with Dr. Tofu in tow carrying a tray of slices of pie on separate plates. "I see the excitement has commenced." She said serenely as she began to pass out a plate of pie to whoever was near.
"Don't worry. I always have a first-aid kit handy." Dr. Tofy interjected. His voice was still squeaking occasionally. The tray trembled ominously in his hand but the doctor was able to steady himself with a deep breath.
A sign popped out almost nowhere. "Is that apple pie?" It read. The Tendo patriarch and Saotome patriarch had just come out of the house and joined the fun. Somewhere on his way through the yard to the dojo, he had been splashed by a bit of water from the koi pond.
"Yes, it is." Kasumi answered and handed each of them a plate and fork.
Kasumi continued to pass out a plate of pie to everyone that wasn't already busy fighting and they began to calmly chat about this and that. Everyone kindly joined into the conversation and eventually even the people who had been fighting saw that there was some of Kasumi's good cooking out and decided to come back into the dojo.
Akane had hardly touched her pie but put her plate back on the tray. "The pie was delicious but I'm still pretty full from dinner, Kasumi. I think I'll go to bed now. The trip back wore me out a little bit."
"Of course, Akane." Kasumi said and gave her littlest sister a hug before she left to go back into the house.
"Thank you all for coming." Akane spoke to everyone before she left with the bag that Mousse had brought back to her still in her hand.
"I must be going as well." Mousse said. "There are some things that must be finished at the restaurant before I can retire for the night."
"Shampoo go home too. Shampoo have early deliveries." The purple-haired girl interjected and she began to hop away on the rooftops leaving her fellow Amazon in the dust so that he was forced to simply chase her.
"Well, I have to get going too." Ukyo let them know, as she had finally finished her business with Nabiki. The normally upbeat cook had a disconcerted look on her face as she made her way home.
Nabiki, having put her calculator away, shook her head at whatever she just figured out, then proceeded to grab Kuno by his wrist and began to walk out of the yard. "The pie was delicious, sis. Kuno and I have places to be tonight. Don't wait up for us!" The kendoist had just enough time to put his plate down and wave goodbye before he was dragged out of sight past the gate.
"We should be going too." Dr. Tofu spoke up. As he glanced at the brown-haired female beside him he couldn't help the glaze that fell over his glasses but was determined to finish off what he was saying. "The movie will be starting soon."
"Oh, my. Yes, of course." Kasumi agreed and began to gather the empty plates and glasses.
"Don't worry about it." Her father told her firmly. "I'll take care of these. You enjoy your date." The eldest Tendo sister was about to argue but Soun was already pushing her out of the doorway along with the chiropractor. With more than just a literal push, he may have a new son-in-law before the year was out.
The only person still left, besides the persons who actually lived at the house, was Kodachi. "We are alone at last, Ranma-darling! We can finally be free to be together."
"Uh, um . . ." Unfortunately, the pig-tailed martial artist, though was extremely quick with his punches and kicks, wasn't that quick with his mind so he decided to give up and just run. It was a tactical retreat after all. There was nothing wrong with that and when dealing with the Black Rose . . .well, there were just some people who were better off being left in the dust.
Kodachi quickly got on her feet and began to chase after her beloved. "Come back, Ranma-darling. You're forgetting to carry me in your arms!"
"Ranma, you get back here!" Ryouga got up to also partake in the chase. "We're not done yet! Take your beating like a man!"
It was hours later and the moon was out before Ranma finally made it back home to the Tendo house. Ryouga had made a wrong turn somewhere at the beginning of the run and was probably in South America by that time. Kodachi had given pursuit for quite a while. If it wasn't for the fact that Mr. Turtle wasn't feeling well and that it was time for his medicine, the young Japanese man dressed in Chinese clothing would still be out running from that insanity. He quietly hopped onto the roof and suddenly heard some shuffling just below him. He was about to hop onto the ground to see who could possibly still be awake at this hour but was halted by the sound of a voice.
"Ranma, is that you up there?" Akane's voice called out.
"Uh, yeah, Akane. It's me." The young Japanese man answered. Honestly, he thought to himself, who else would be on the roof of her house? Then again, it was a valid question since Akane seemed to be number 1 on the list for the kidnapper of the month club and they did tend to use the roof as a highway.
"Stay right there." She told him as she began to climb up on the roof.
"Uh, hey, Akane." The boy in the red Chinese shirt spoke nervously. "Just give me a sec and we can talk inside the house."
"No, it's all right." The short-haired girl said easily. "It'll take just a minute. Just give me a hand, would you?"
The pig-tailed young man reached to grab his forced-upon fiancee's hand and easily pulled her up the rest of the way onto the roof. It was no wonder that she needed a lil help as she still held that small duffle bag that Mousse had brought to her earlier that evening. Upon seeing said item, Ranma couldn't keep a scowl off his face at the reminder that he was no longer the closest one to her. It was a few minutes before either said anything to the other.
"It took you a while to get away from Kodachi, huh?" Akane said, simply to break the silence.
"Yeah." It was all Ranma could respond with.
Akane reached into the bag and pulled out the only object that was apparently in it. She allowed the bag to drop onto the roof and held out a box for Ranma to take. "I got this for you." She informed him quietly.
"What is it?" Ranma asked curiously with a near god smacked expression on his face.
"Open it, dummy." The blue-haired simply ordered.
Not finding any fault with those words, The pig-tailed martial artist did so. "What is it?" He asked as he held up the circle with the leather intertwined in the center with feathers hanging off the bottom.
"It's a dream catcher." Akane explained. "Native American tribes used to hang them above their beds to catch bad dreams as they slept." At this point, she took a quick breath and forced herself to continue, though it was a bit hesitantly. "I know that you have a hard time sleeping sometimes so I thought it was worth a try."
"Um, thanks, Akane." Ranma replied with just a hint of softness in his voice. It was a very thoughtful gift. It wasn't so unusual for Akane to give out thoughtful gifts but usually they just threw their gifts at each other in a haphazard way, hoping not to make the other person angry for whatever reason.
"You're welcome." She answered with a soft smile on her face. "Well, I need to get back into bed. I really am tired. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, have a good night." The young man-who-somehow-stayed-a-young-man-all-day-long replied.
Ranma watched Akane as she carefully climbed down the roof and back through her bedroom window. Just as her head disappeared from sight, the young martial artist made a decision. With the dream catcher still in his hand, he walked over the edge of the room and ducked his head down toward his fiancee's room.
"Hey, Akane? Can I ask you something?"
AN: DON'T KILL ME!! ducks head back underneath her desk and stays there I did say that this story was never meant to be an ending to the series. There is a reason why the title of the story is called 'A Hint of Change' and not 'Actual Change.' I know, it's a cruel distinction. I wrote this story simply cause I wanted to understand some of the emotions the characters were going through, especially what Akane and Ranma were feeling and how those feelings might develop.
I know the main question is–what is Ranma going to ask Akane. Well, I do know what he's going to ask her but I'm not telling. It's not that difficult to guess. If you want to know for sure, well, the only way I'm telling is if I decide to write the sequel. No, this isn't a way for me to beg for more reviews or anything like that, although I welcome anything anyone wants to say as long as it's constructive. I'll remind anyone that I wrote this story more for my own enjoyment than anyone else's. I had things planned out this way for the most part. Ah, who knows, perhaps if someone were polite enough, I might write an epilogue to this story, explaining a little bit more. shrug