Chapter 1: Friend or Fiancée?

Note: Akane may seem somewhat OOC here with her willingness to be friends with a boy, but keep in mind that Ranma is arriving a little early in this AU. This is the day before high school starts for Ranma and Akane and therefore the day before Kuno makes his dumb speech that creates the Hentai Horde.

Ranma was nervous as the cab pulled up to the gate, although it would've been nothing compared to his nerves if he had known the true purpose of the trip. His mother told him to wait there while she talked to Mr. Tendo before she got out and headed to the front door.

Not long after Nodoka rang the bell, the door was answered by a middle-aged man with long, dark hair and a mustache. "Yes, can I help you?" asked the voice of Soun Tendo.

"Yes," replied Nodoka. "I called you yesterday about stopping by to discuss something concerning Genma Saotome."

Soun sighed. "I assure you I haven't seen my old friend Saotome in years. Perhaps if you were to look up his wife, she might be able to-"

Nodoka smiled as she cut him off. "I guess you don't recognize me. It's been a long time, Soun."

Soun stared blankly for a few seconds until his eyes lit up in recognition. "Nodoka, is that you? I haven't seen you since my wife's funeral ten years ago. Please, come in."

"I'm sorry, not just yet," declined Nodoka. "I need to discuss my reason for coming first. I've brought my son Ranma to fulfill the old agreement you have with Genma about joining the schools, but I don't want our children to know about it just yet. I'd like them to spend the day together first before we make any decisions. I remember you have some trouble keeping your mouth shut, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me do the talking."

Soun looked like he had just won the lottery. "Finally, the day we longed dreamed of has arrived." He started weeping in happiness. Nodoka shook her head as she went back to the cab to fetch her son and pay the driver.

After hugging a surprised Ranma, Soun led his guests into the tea room. From the kitchen, a feminine voice called, "Father, who was that? Do we have guests?"

"Yes, Kasumi dear," replied Soun. "Could you find your sisters and join us for tea?"

"Yes, father," answered Kasumi. Before long, three teenage girls joined them in the tea room, one of them bringing the tea set.

Soun made the introductions. "These are my daughters: Kasumi, age 19; Nabiki, age 16, almost 17; and Akane, age 15, almost 16." As he spoke, he pointed first to the girl with a long brown ponytail who had brought the tea, then to a girl with unbound neck-length brown hair, and finally to a girl with long dark blue hair held loosely by a ribbon. "Girls, this is Nodoka Saotome, the wife of an old friend of mine, Genma Saotome, and this is her son, Ranma."

Nodoka cleared her throat. "Actually, Soun, it's Nodoka Himura, now that I've parted ways with my foolish ex-husband."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that," replied Soun with sympathy. "I know how hard it is to go on as a single parent. I suppose that explains why Genma isn't here with you. If you see him, please tell him that I miss him and would appreciate it if he stopped by."

"Perhaps eventually," said Nodoka cautiously, "but I think it's best if he stayed away for a while." Nodoka looked at Soun's daughters. "Anyway, girls, I don't know if your father has ever told you, but he and Ranma's father were once training partners and now head the two sister branches of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. I brought Ranma here to meet your family and learn about the Tendo branch of the school."

"So this is why you insisted we stay home today, Daddy?" asked Nabiki. "I'd rather be out shopping before going back to school tomorrow."

Akane looked at the shy young man nervously gripping his mother's arm. This boy was a martial artist like her? He sure didn't look like it. Still, she'd do her best to make him feel welcome. "Nabiki!" scolded Akane. "A guest is a guest." She stood up, walked over to Ranma, and held out her hand. "I'm Akane. You want to be friends?" She flashed him a smile.

At the smile on her face, Ranma's internal defenses almost melted away. There was something familiar about her smile, and it made him feel warm inside for some reason. Still, he resisted, as he spoke up for the first time since entering the house. "I wish you hadn't asked that. It's nothing personal, but it's for the best if you don't become friends with me." As he spoke, Akane could see the pain in his eyes. She wondered what could make a person feel this way.

Nodoka sighed. "Please, Ranma, give her a chance. You don't have to become friends, but I'd like you to spend some time with these girls today. You can't go through life always afraid to meet new people."

Ranma nodded. "I guess I can do that, Mom." He took Akane's hand and allowed her to lift him to his feet. He then looked at the training gi she was wearing. "So it looks like you're into martial arts," he said, finally smiling.

"Of course," confirmed Akane. "Despite being the youngest, I'm the heir to our branch of the school and our dojo."

"You have your own dojo?" asked Ranma, now excited.

"Yeah," answered Akane. "I was practicing there when you arrived. Come out back with me, and I'll show you." She led the now less nervous young man from the room.

After giving a quick tour around the dojo, Akane was ready to see just how good Ranma was. "You practice kempo, right?"

"A little," answered Ranma deceptively as he started to grin.

"Then let's have a little match," suggested Akane. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."

When they were both ready, Akane charged in with a strong punch only for Ranma to dodge by leaning to the side. Akane kept attacking, but Ranma kept dodging with ease, not even needing to block. Akane started to get frustrated and more sloppy as a result. "Why am I missing him? Is he reading my moves?"

Sensing that things were starting to get out of hand, Ranma decided he had seen enough of her skill and needed to start fighting back. Akane badly overreached with her next blow, allowing Ranma to send her stumbling back with a quick palm strike to her lower ribs. Akane came back with a high kick, only for Ranma to block with one of his forearms and sweep Akane's remaining leg out from under her. He grinned at Akane's shocked face as he playfully poked her in the forehead to signify the end of the match. They both started laughing.

"Wow, I can't believe how good you are!" exclaimed Akane. "I thought I was the best martial artist in Nerima, but you're on a whole different level."

Ranma dropped his shoulders and looked down. "I'd be even better if I could still train more often with my pop, but really, it's better this way. You don't want to know about some of the things Pop made me go through to become as good as I am."

Akane put her hand on his shoulder in sympathy. "Is that why your parents are divorced and you live with your mom."

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, but I really don't want to talk about it, so please don't ask."

"Okay," Akane agreed. "Let's go back inside. I bet Kasumi will have a snack waiting for us."

Akane was right, as both teens found cookies and milk awaiting them when they reentered the house. They each took their share and sat at the now empty tea room table to eat, and Kasumi soon joined them.

"So how did it go in the dojo?" asked Kasumi politely.

"Ranma was amazing!" replied Akane excitedly. "I couldn't even touch him." She turned to face Ranma. "I hope you can come visit every once in a while. I haven't had a real sparring partner since Dad stopped training me."

"Your dad stopped training you?" asked Ranma is disbelief. This was a disappointing turn of events, although it did explain some flaws he'd noticed in Akane's training. He had hoped that he could learn some things from Mr. Tendo while he was here. His own father may be a greedy, abusive idiot, but at least he was still around to train with.

Kasumi explained, "Yes, Father took it rather hard when we lost our mother about ten years ago. He shut himself off in several ways, and it wasn't long before he stopped teaching, including us. Akane has had to practice on her own for several years now."

"Akane, I could tell you were good, but it's unbelievable how far you've come without an instructor," praised Ranma. Akane beamed at the compliment. "However," Ranma continued, "your lack of instruction has caused some problems. Your forms are pretty sloppy, and your defense definitely needs work. You can't just power your way through a fight with a strong opponent. You've also failed to make many of the needed adjustments as you've grown taller and your body has, um, developed." Ranma blushed slightly as he said this, remembering how he had needed to make those adjustments himself, or herself to be more accurate. "Some of this shouldn't be too hard to fix. I can work on it with you later." Akane was disappointed as Ranma described her flaws but recovered when Ranma agreed to help.

By now, they had finished their snacks. "I think it's time for the two of you to take a bath after all the exercise you got out in the dojo," suggested Kasumi. At the shocked looks on her companions' faces, Kasumi amended her statement. "Not together, of course. Ranma, you're our guest, so you should go first. I'll get you some bathing supplies and show you where the bathroom is. I've already got the bathtub ready."

A few minutes later, Kasumi returned and rejoined her youngest sister at the table. "So what do you think of Ranma?" she asked.

Akane answered carefully, "Well, so far, he seems pretty nice. It's great that he can help me with my martial arts. It's strange, though, how someone who's so confident when it comes to the Art is otherwise so shy and lonely. At least it means he's probably not a pervert like most boys my age seem to be."

"Maybe you should see if you can get him to ask you out. He is really cute." Kasumi giggled at her suggestion."

"Kasumi!," complained Akane as she blushed. "I barely know him. I'm not ready for that."

"Relax, Akane." Kasumi replied. "Nobody is saying you have to marry him." (At this point, both Nodoka and Soun sneezed as they talked out in the yard.) "Just get to know him over a private dinner or something."

"Well, maybe if he decided to come back and visit every once in a while," Akane conceded. "You're right about him being cute."

After a while, Akane decided that Ranma was probably done with his bath by now and went to take her own. By routine, she stripped in the changing room but then noticed that the "occupied" sign was still on the door. She was about to redress and wait for Ranma to finish when she heard an unfamiliar soprano voice that certainly couldn't belong to Ranma coming from the bathroom.

"I really hope nobody finds out about this, especially not her. Well, I just need to make it through the day, and then it might not matter anymore." This was followed by a sad sigh. "Why did Jusenkyo have to make my boobs so big? They draw too much attention and get in the way."

Akane was puzzled. Why was there some strange girl in their bathroom complaining about her plastic surgeon doing too good a job on her breast implants? "What's going on? Who's in there?" she called out. The room immediately went silent. Something strange was going on, and she was going to get some answers. "Whoever you are, I'm coming in." She heard hurried footsteps as she opened the door and took a step inside.

To her surprise, the girl she heard was nowhere to be found as she instead saw Ranma facing the bathtub with one leg inside. He was at an angle that provided her a clear look at his male anatomy. He turned his head towards her, and they both stared at each other like deer caught in headlights. A few seconds later, the sight of Ranma's manhood extending out reminded Akane that she was giving Ranma just as much of a show as he was to her.

She quietly stepped back into the changing room and closed the door. She put on the top of her gi as an impromptu bathrobe and sat against the wall blushing and breathing heavily as she recalled what she had seen. She considered screaming but remembered that the sign had been out and that she had been the one to walk in on him. But who the h*** was that girl she had heard, and where did she go? Had Ranma managed to sneak a girlfriend into the house and somehow managed to hide her before she came in?

A few minutes later, she heard a knock coming from the inside of the bathroom followed by Ranma's voice calling out. "Akane, are you there? Can I come out and talk? I'm in a towel now, and I'll explain everything." Akane stood up and opened the door slightly. Seeing that Ranma was indeed wrapped appropriately in a towel, she opened the door the rest of the way. "It'll be easier to explain if you come in here with me." Cautiously, Akane stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Ranma, who was that girl I heard, and how did she just disappear?" asked Akane.

Ranma reached back with one hand and nervously fiddled with his pigtail. "The thing is I have a weird Chinese curse that sometimes turns me into a girl. That was actually me you heard."

Akane narrowed her eyes in anger. "Ranmaaa! This isn't funny, you pervert! I want to know why you had a strange girl with you in our bathroom and what happened to her!"

Ranma ignored her and started filling the rinse tub with cold water from the sink. Akane was about to deck him when he poured the water over himself. Akane stood there in shock as Ranma suddenly became much shorter and much more petite, his hair color changing from black to red, and his facial features rearranged into that of an attractive young woman, although her deep blue eyes remained exactly as they were. If there was any doubt as to the gender of this transformed state, it was squashed by the fact that Ranma had only wrapped the towel around his waist, meaning that a very generous pair of assets were now exposed on her chest. In the same soprano voice she had heard earlier, Ranma now said, "Sorry 'bout this."

"Ranma, is that really you?" Akane managed to squeak out.

"Yes, it's still me," confirmed Ranma. "When I was ten years old, my pop foolishly took me to the Cursed Training Ground of Jusenkyo in China. Jusenkyo consists of several dozen pools of water, each with its own curse. If you fall into one of those pools, you are cursed to take on the form of whatever first drowned in the pool whenever you are hit with cold water, while hot water changes you back to normal. I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl, while Pop fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda. Pop had done some rotten things to me before on our four year training journey, but that incident convinced me that I had to get away from him and go home to my mother."

As Ranma finished, she thought about how her stupid curse was once again ruining her life. This was exactly what she didn't want to have happen, and now she was going to lose any chance she had of being Akane's friend. Looking down silently, she waited for the rejection.

She was surprised as Akane instead stepped forward and embraced her. "Ranma, that's terrible," she said sympathetically. "I can't imagine how tough this is for you."

Nervously, Ranma replied, "You're really okay with this? Are you still willing to be friends with a freak like me?"

Akane answered, "Oh Ranma, is this why you were so reluctant to become friends? This isn't your fault, and you're not a freak. It will take some getting used to, but I don't turn away my friends when they need me." She released the now trembling girl she had been holding. "Let's start over. Hi, I'm Akane. Want to be friends?"

Ranma sobbed as she answered, "Yes, I want to be your friend, Akane. Thank you. I was just so worried that you would reject me when you found out about this." She gestured to her still half-naked female form.

"Ranma," replied Akane solemnly, "I promise that I will never reject you because of your curse."

Once Ranma was able to regain her composure, Akane glanced at her still exposed chest and smirked. "You were right about Jusenkyo giving you big boobs. I know girls who would kill to have natural breasts that big."

"Are you jealous?" asked Ranma as she sat on the rinsing stool and propped up her chest with her hands..

Akane slapped Ranma's face relatively lightly at this remark. "Ranma! You don't ask a girl something like that!"

"I'm sorry," apologized Ranma. "I was just teasing you."

For a moment, Akane looked away, then she turned back while blushing to say, "Okay, I admit it. I'm jealous. She opened the front of her gi to directly compare their breast sizes. "It's just not fair that you're so much better built than I am when you're not even a real girl."

Ranma had quickly turned her head away at Akane's display. "Akane, what do you think you're doing?! Close it back up!"

Akane looked confused but did as she was told. "What's wrong? We're both girls right now, so it doesn't matter, right?"

Ranma sighed as she turned back. "Akane, it doesn't work that way. When I'm like this, I still have the mind of a boy, making me the equivalent of a lesbian."

"Oops, sorry," apologized Akane. "I hadn't thought of that possibility." Suddenly, a new thought occurred to her. "You don't use that body of yours to do stuff like peep at women in the public baths, do you?"

"No, of course not. I'm no pervert," responded Ranma insulted.

"I suppose not," said a relieved Akane, "but you can't tell me you haven't ogled your female form in the mirror while alone in the bathroom," she teased.

Ranma's cheeks went red. She looked down as she confessed, "I'm not a pervert, but I'm still a teenage boy. I may have also done some, um, exploration into the nether regions when I first got the curse after I got over the shock of it. I don't look at myself much anymore, though, as not only has the novelty worn off, but I've gotten so used to the curse that this body hardly turns me on at this point."

"I think we're getting a little too personal now," said Akane. Why don't you change back and dry off, and we can both get dressed and head back downstairs."

A little while later they were both properly dressed, Akane now in a cute pink dress and white blouse, as they sat back down in the tea room where Nabiki was now watching TV. Nabiki immediately noticed the awkwardness between them. "What's the matter with you two? Did you see each other naked or something?"

"It was an accident," Akane blurted out before she could stop herself.

Nabiki's jaw dropped in surprise. "I was just kidding. You mean you actually did?" Nabiki took the resulting silence as a yes. "So Sis, did you like what you saw?"

"Nabiki!" shouted Akane, although in her mind she answered the question with an emphatic 'Yes.'

"Well, I guess when you're a tomboy who can't cook, you need to flash some skin to get a boyfriend." Nabiki immediately regretted this remark, as she now knew she had stepped over the line as she watched Akane boil over in anger.

Akane screamed and tried to rush forward with the intent of strangling her sister when she was pulled back by Ranma's arms around her waist. "Calm down, Akane. There's nothing wrong with being a tomboy, and it's not a big deal if you can't cook. Remember, you're better at martial arts than she'll ever be, which also means you can always threaten to beat her up if you need to."

At these words, Akane started to calm down, although she thought, 'He doesn't know just how bad my cooking really is or how manipulative Nabiki can be.'

As the day passed, Ranma did his best to get to know all three Tendo sisters, although he soon gave up on Nabiki who was quite frankly a greedy, manipulative b****. He found Kasumi to be very kind and gentle and of course an excellent cook. Akane was a lot more interesting, though, even with her quick temper, and he found himself already considering her to be a close friend, the first one he had had since Ucchan.

In the afternoon, he worked with Akane on her forms as promised and found that her skill significantly improved with just these corrections. He wondered just how good she would've been if her father hadn't abandoned her training.

Before long, it was time for dinner, and everyone gathered at the table, the four teenagers unaware that this meal would also be the setting for an important announcement.

As they were eating (Ranma surprising everyone but his mother at how fast he could eat while still maintaining decent table manners), Nodoka called everyone to attention. "Soun and I have something important to discuss with all of you," she began. "First, Ranma, you need to show and explain to everyone about your curse."

Ranma gulped nervously as he saw the confused expressions on the faces of Kasumi, Nabiki, and Mr. Tendo. "Mom, do I have ta? Akane already found out and is okay with it, but I'd rather not tell everyone about it."

"Yes dear, it's important that you tell them now. You'll understand why soon," Nodoka replied.

Ranma once again explained about Jusenkyo and his curse. As expected, the rest of the Tendo family didn't believe him until he splashed some water from his dinner glass in his face, invoking the transformation. Soun and Kasumi offered their sympathies, while Nabiki was shocked speechless. Kasumi wasted no time in getting Ranma a cup of hot water to allow him to change back.

"Well now," Soun commented after the reverse transformation, "your problem isn't so bad. Anyway, it's time to explain the real reason Ranma and his mother are here today. Before any of you were born, my friend Genma Saotome and I agreed that we would one day join our two branches of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts through the marriage of our children. Today is the beginning of the fulfillment of that agreement."

At once, four angry voices began shouting out, all protesting the idea of an arranged marriage between two of them. Eventually, Soun and Nodoka managed to get their children back under control. Nodoka took the floor. "I can understand that you aren't happy about being forced into marriage, but this is a matter of honor between our families. Although my ex-husband has done his best to destroy his honor, Ranma's honor and the honor of the Tendo family are both still at stake. If it eventually turns out that a decent match can't be made, we may consider other options, but tonight an arrangement will be made."

"Well said, Nodoka." agreed Soun. "Ranma, you know my daughters now. Pick whichever one you want, and she will be your fiancée."

At these words, different thoughts went through the minds of the three sisters:

Nabiki thought, 'D***, I've blown my chance. If I had known I could easily get a hunk like him as a fiancé, even if he does turn into a girl, I wouldn't have treated him like he's just one of the brainless jocks from school.'

Akane thoughts followed a different path. 'I know I don't want to be engaged, but it might not be so bad if it's Ranma. I almost hope he does pick me. He won't do it, though. Why would any guy want me when he can have Kasumi?'

As for Kasumi, she thought, "I hope he doesn't pick me. I'm much more interested in Dr. Tofu. Akane is really the one he's best suited for, anyway. I should say so.'

Kasumi was about to speak up when Ranma did instead. "First, let me make it clear that I don't have any intention of marrying anybody right now. However, if I have to make a choice, then I want Akane to be my fiancée." He smiled at his new friend and now new fiancée.

Akane's face showed her surprise as she thought, 'He picked me?! He really wants an angry tomboy like me over a beautiful saint like Kasumi?' She felt a little lighthearted inside that she had been Ranma's choice, but soon she felt her anger start to overtake her again as she remembered that she was now engaged to a boy she had just met and hardly knew.

As Akane's emotions swept through her, Nodoka smiled at her future daughter-in-law. "I thought you would be his choice, Akane. I think you'll be good for each other."

Akane couldn't hold in her anger any longer. She began shouting at the woman who she felt was trying to ruin her life. "Good for each other?! How can this be good for us?! I barely know him, and now you expect me to marry him?! I wish the two of you had never come! We were just fine on our own. Why couldn't you have just stayed away from us?!"

Akane was so intent on voicing her displeasure to Nodoka that she didn't notice the effect her words were having on Ranma. He was no more happy than she was at being forcibly engaged like this, but he still wanted to be friends with Akane, if not eventually more. Yet, here she was wishing that they had never met. Did his friendship really mean so little to her? Did she not mean what she said when she asked to be friends? Akane finally noticed the crushed look on his face when he stood up and quietly left the room with tears starting to form in his eyes.

Soun began bawling about how the schools would never be joined, as Akane realized that she had hurt Ranma somehow with what she had said. She hadn't meant to do that. She turned back to face Nodoka as the older woman began to speak, "Akane dear, could we talk privately? I need to explain some things about Ranma and this engagement."

Akane led Nodoka up to her room where they sat down next to each other on Akane's bed. "I'm sorry I overreacted, Mrs. Saotome, um I mean Ms. Himura, but I really hate being forced into this. When I get married, I want it be because my husband and I are in love and decided ourselves to do so."

Nodoka's eyes gained a pensive look. "I understand how you feel, Akane. Perhaps if I had courted Genma longer instead of rushing into marriage, I would've been able to recognize his flaws well enough to realize that it wasn't going to end well. I don't regret my marriage to him, as I have Ranma because of it, and we did have several good years together, but it's always a shame when a marriage doesn't last. If things were different, I would've allowed you plenty of time to get to know each other before revealing the family agreement. With luck, the two of you may have even gotten married on your own terms without any knowledge of the agreement."

"Then why didn't you?" asked Akane.

Nodoka sighed. "It all goes back to the abusive treatment Ranma received from his father on their training trip. I don't know if he's told you but getting cursed at Jusenkyo was merely the final straw that convinced Ranma to leave his father. Ranma has been traumatized in several ways, some of which he has yet to realize himself. I've tried to get him to see a therapist, but he's always refused to go."

"One of his biggest problems is his refusal to make friends or get close to anybody except me. His father betrayed his trust, and he's afraid of it ever happening again. He's convinced himself that anybody who might be his friend will abandon him once they find out about his curse, and he's terrified of being hurt like that again."

"With Ranma now starting high school, I couldn't let him continue down this self-destructive path. In bringing him here to fulfill the marriage agreement, my true goal was for you and your sisters to befriend him and start bringing him out of his shell. As part of this engagement, we will be living here with you while the two of you get to know each other and attend school together. By forcing you together like this, he'll be unable to distance himself from your family like he has with everyone else in the past, providing the means for all of you to break through his defenses and become his friends, which will hopefully help him eventually learn to accept others as well."

"Akane, you in particular have already greatly impressed me. I can tell that Ranma has already become closer to you than he has to anyone since he was reunited with me six years ago. He mentioned that you had already discovered his curse when he told the rest of your family at dinner. I imagine the way you accepted him after you found out must have been a big relief for him."

"So, you see, I'm not the one you owe an apology for your earlier outburst. What you said about wishing we had never come hurt Ranma badly. From his point of view, he thought he had finally found a friend and someone who could understand him, only for her to angrily denounce his friendship in front of everyone. He's no more ready to marry than you are, but he's willing to have a fiancée if it means she'll also be his friend."

Akane now felt horrible about what she said after hearing this explanation. "I'm really sorry, Ms. Himura. I had no idea what I said would hurt Ranma like that. I certainly didn't mean to imply I no longer wished to be friends with him. I-I have some trouble with my temper sometimes. I need to find Ranma and apologize to him right away."

"Please, don't be so formal," replied Nodoka. "If everything works out the way I think it will, we're going to family someday. If you don't want to call me 'Mom' out of respect to your own mother, at least call me 'Auntie Nodoka.' As for your temper, I think you'll find that Ranma won't be the only one to grow from your relationship. Like I said before, I think you'll both be good for each other. Now, if I know my son, he'll be up on the roof gazing out at the sky right now. Why don't you go patch things up with him."

Nodoka stood and turned to leave the room, but before she could go, Akane hugged her future mother-in-law from behind. "Thank you for trusting me like this, Auntie Nodoka."

Once Nodoka left, Akane went over to her window and opened it. She climbed up on the window sill and saw Ranma on the roof, on his back gazing up at the sky, just like his mother had said. "Ranma," she called out, "can you help me up? I need to talk to you."

Ranma sat up and looked down at her, and Akane felt a deep pang of guilt as she saw that his eyes were red from crying. "Wouldn't you rather talk to one of your friends, someone who you would want to come visit?" he accused sharply.

Akane felt another pang of guilt. "Okay, I deserve that. I'm sorry about what I said. I was just frustrated about the arranged engagement and said some things I shouldn't have. I never meant that I didn't want to be friends. I wouldn't trade our engagement if it meant I'd never get to meet you and become your friend."

Ranma jumped down to Akane's window, grabbed her by the waist, and jumped back to the roof. "Thank you, Akane. I forgive you. Friends again?" He held out his hand to her.

Akane ignored his outstretched hand and instead fully embraced him in a hug. "I never stopped being your friend, you dummy."

Akane released her friend who had been shocked still at her unexpected gesture. She looked him in the eyes. "Again, I'm really sorry about what I said. I had no idea it would make you cry until your mother explained it to me."

"Who says you made me cry?" pouted Ranma. "Real men don't cry."

"You have, dummy," said Akane in a mocking tone. "Your eyes didn't get all red and puffy for no reason, did they?"

Ranma smiled and sat back down on the roof. "Okay, I've been crying," he admitted. "The idea of men not crying was one of many stupid ideas Pop drilled into me on our training trip. It wasn't until I broke down after getting cursed that I ever cried during the four years of our journey. I'd hate to think of what I'd be like if I hadn't left him and allowed Mom to knock some sense into me."

Akane flattened her dress and sat down next to him. "Have I ever told you that your father is a complete idiot?" she asked.

"No, but I never get tired of hearing anyone say it." replied Ranma with a smirk.

"You know, if you ever need someone to talk to about what he did to you, I'm willing to listen," suggested Akane.

"Thanks. I may take you up on that offer one of these days, but I'm now ready to discuss it now," said Ranma.

They both lay back and watched for a few minutes as more and more stars began to appear.

Eventually, Akane broke the silence. "I can see why you like it up here. It's very peaceful and relaxing."

Ranma turned his head towards her. "Yeah, I always go up to the roof of my own house whenever I need to think or just want to be alone. Of course, I don't have to be alone if I'm with the right company."

Akane rolled over on her side, propped her head on her elbow, and gave him a huge smile. "That reminds me. Why exactly did you pick me to be your fiancée? I thought for sure you would pick Kasumi. After all, she's incredibly kind and gentle, she can cook and sew and all that other stuff, she never loses her temper, and she's a lot more beautiful than I am. She'd be a much better wife than I'll ever be."

Ranma smiled. "Don't sell yourself short, Akane. I can understand how you'd be jealous of Kasumi, but you're better off focusing on your own strengths rather than trying to copy hers. I don't want someone who's dainty, fragile, and overly feminine. I want a girl who's not afraid and tough enough to stand up for herself, someone who can set me straight when I say or do something stupid. If possible, I want someone who enjoys martial arts just as much as I do, especially if she's really good at it herself. Do you know any girls like that?"

Akane was beaming with happiness at this description, while her heart started to pound within her chest. Ranma gave her a lopsided smile as he added, "Besides, while Kasumi is certainly a pretty girl, you're really hot yourself."

Akane started blushing. "You really think I'm that attractive?"

"Of course you are," replied Ranma with a grin. "Any guy would think so after seeing what I saw this morning. If this engagement works out, I certainly wouldn't mind waking up next to you like that each morning."

Akane was now blushing so badly Ranma thought she might be in danger of bursting some blood vessels. "Yeah, I saw how excited you were, you pervert." She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Although, I have to say that you're very well endowed in both of your forms." She immediately put her face in her hands in embarrassment that she had actually said that to him.

Akane looked back at him through her fingers and saw that his face was now extremely red as well. She took a deep breath and lay back against the roof once again. Her heart was now pounding even harder than before. She had a feeling that she might actually want to kiss Ranma. She fought down the temptation, though. 'I can't kiss him. I've only known him for a day. It wouldn't be right to do that so soon. What would Ranma think? Right now, my friendship is more important to him, especially with this engagement hanging over our heads. Besides, I like Dr. Tofu. I can't just give up on him because of how he acts around Kasumi.' Akane started feeling confused, as she realized that what she was feeling for Ranma right now was different from what she felt for Dr. Tofu and was even starting to overshadow her feelings for the good doctor. She forced her mind away from the issue and once again took solace at looking at the stars.

Ranma snuck one last look at the girl who had somehow so quickly and thoroughly snuck her way into his life. If he had to be stuck with a fiancée, he was glad it was someone like her. He certainly could see himself eventually falling in love with her, which was more than he could say for a lot of other girls. Whether it worked out or not, though, she had already provided him with something that he now saw had previously been a huge void in his life: a true friend.

Author's Notes: So here we have our starring couple meeting in a way where they can start off as friends while already starting to develop an attraction towards each other. Do you think I pulled it off realistically enough?

Most of you have probably noticed the elimination of Ranma's distinctive speech pattern. Six years with his mother and continuous formal education over that time will do that to a guy (and I appreciate how much easier it is to write without having to focus so much on his speech). For the same reasons, he won't be as much of a slacker in school as he was in canon, although he'll never be a "Straight A" student.

Although Soun and Nodoka are now living together as single parents, I'm warning everyone right now that nothing romantic will ever happen between them. I prefer to stick to pairings supported by the manga (although clearly only some of them, otherwise Ranma and Akane would both wind up with bigger harems than Tenchi).