Arc III: Engagements

Chapter: Surprise!

Monday afternoon found Akane walking home from school by herself. Her pig-tailed fiancé had cleaning duties this week and she had opted to go home ahead of him. She smiled a little at the small, yet big changes between them since they woke up together in her bed the previous day.

They had spent all of Sunday together doing various silly activities. After breakfast Akane challenged Ranma to a card game called speed which she lost by a huge margin. She didn't feel too badly about it because he had used his Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire technique to win. After that they switched to playing War and Akane had won eleven games to Ranma's nine.

After lunch they did some homework and spent a lot longer taking breaks than they did studying. One particularly fun break included a bowl of grapes and Akane throwing them at Ranma and him catching them in his mouth. It took a few tries but she managed to get almost every single grape in his mouth.

They had to stop their study session when Ranma began getting antsy, so they left to take a walk around town. It was rather peaceful but they soon heard the sound of a bike bell and both ran to hide in a nearby alley. Ranma had pinned her against the brick wall, his hands placed on either side of her head as he tried to make them disappear within the building's shadows. Sure, they were being paranoid but it paid off when they spied Shampoo riding by, apparently making a delivery.

The blue-haired girl's heart was beating a mile a minute and not from the quick sprint into the alley. She was surprised when he pushed her against the wall to shield her from view with his body. But that turned into something completely different the longer they stood there. She forgot all about the possibility of being caught by her rival and could only focus on the way he felt against her.

His arms and legs splayed around her, basically trapping her within his confines. The hard planes of his muscular chest were pressed against her breasts so intimately. Her face buried in the crook of his neck. Her hands, pressed against the wall, twitched. It would be so easy to wrap them around his body and press him even tighter to her. Or to run them up his chest and wrap them around his neck before pulling lips to hers.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm herself but instead she ended up inhaling his scent. That slightly musky aroma that only left her feeling more exhilarated. Her face flushed red as he pulled back from her and looked at her with a grin.

Ramna pulled back a little and grinned down at his fiancée before he noticed how close they were, their bodies pressed against each other. Akane had a blush on her cheeks as she stared at him with wide, dazed eyes.

Ranma gulped. There was a look in his fiancée's eyes that he had never seen before that made his body react instantly. He suddenly felt hot as his blood drain out of his head and went much lower. All he wanted to do was push her against the wall again. But this time to kiss her senseless and run his hands all over her. He started to bring his head down when she suddenly looked away, breaking his trance. He sprang backwards, panting slightly as he tried to regain his control.

Embarrassed by her reaction, Akane closed her eyes and looked down as she tried to gather her thoughts. She couldn't believe what she was thinking about, and in an alley of all places! When she opened them, they stood there eyeing each other for a moment before they darted off in the opposite direction the amazon headed.

After dinner, they watched The Karate Kid together. Ranma out right laughed at the training techniques Daniel was put through, saying he wished all he had to do was wash a car, paint a fence, or sand a deck when he was a child.

There were no major revelations or confessions, only simple enjoyment of their time together; without fighting, without awkwardness, but with plenty of laughter. And if they sat just a tad bit closer together during dinner, their family didn't comment. Or if they walked nearer to each other on the way to school, so their hands occasionally brushed, neither stepped away or acknowledged it.

A blush appeared on her face and that now familiar tingling sensation began to flow through Akane as she remembered waking up in Ranma's arms. Her thoughts turned to the feeling of having him wrapped around her. She loved his slightly musky scent (that was there even in his female form) and the way his arms felt when they surrounded her, making her feel like he would do anything to keep her safe. His body seemed to mold to hers, perfectly, like they were made for each other. It was a really sappy thought but she didn't care. Even when she thought she couldn't stand Ranma, something about being in his arms always made her feel safe, like she instinctually knew he would never truly harm her. A sudden loud scream jolted her from her thoughts.

"SHAMPOOOOO, my love!"

Akane had a split second to groan and dread the encounter with probably both Amazons before she found herself engulfed in the arms of the near-sighted male warrior.

"Here you are, my darling, I've been..."

"MOUSSE! Put your damn glasses on!"

Startled by the familiar voice that was very different than the one he was expecting, the cursed boy pulled back and stepped away. He grabbed his glasses off his head and put them on his face. Bending over, he ran his eyes up and down the figure in front of him.

He was confused. Now that he had his glasses on he could see that this was obviously Akane Tendo, but why did she feel so much like Shampoo? He had grabbed both girls before and didn't remember the blue-haired girl feeling so...lush.

Having had enough of being treated like a piece of meat, Akane smacked him on the top of his head.

"What are you looking at, you pervert?"

Straightening up his clothing and adjusting his glasses, he said, "Forgive me, Akane Tendo, I was just looking for Shampoo and got you two confused."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Why do you go around with those things on your head? You know they only work when they're on your face."

Mousse had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

"Umm...Well...You see..."

"Will you just spit it out?"

He groaned. "Fine. It's just that these things," he waved his glasses around, "make me look... like a nerd. Shampoo really only likes pretty boys and well..."

Akane just stared at him, flabbergasted. Was this really the reason the boy humiliated himself by talking to tanuki statues and mail boxes instead of just wearing his glasses?

"And they say women are vain," Akane mumbled to herself. Sighing, she said aloud, "Well, it's doing you no good to walk around blind."

Mousse laughed, "I can see perfectly well without my glasses." He walked away and ran right into a telephone pole, cracking his glasses and falling to the floor.

"That's it. You're coming with me."

She walked over and reached down to grab him by his ear and forced him to follow her.

"Owww, owww, let go. Let go!" he whined.

Akane had the urge to giggle. She had seen the part-time duck hit with boulders and chui and he was complaining about this. Men, she decided, could be such babies.

She had always felt a sort of kinship with Mousse. She understood how he must have struggled to learn martial arts in a society that told him he should have been tending the home. Where no matter how good he got, he would never be considered a "true" martial artist because of his sex. It was worse for him because his eyesight had made him a laughing stock. She was amazed at how good he was, even having to deal with such a big physical limitation as his eyesight. She knew that if he could get this one thing fixed, he would truly become an asset to his people and hopefully be acknowledged for his hard work and efforts.

She also knew how heartbreaking it must have been for him to have the person he loved mock him and put him down. To be brushed aside so easily by the one person who you wanted to notice you the most.

Yes, she understood Mousse's pain probably better than anyone else. She was never one to sit back and watch someone struggle if she could do something to help, but in this case, it went deeper than that. To Akane, this was very personal and she would do all she could for the man; she only wished she had done it sooner.

A short while later they reached their destination. Akane had dragged Mousse the entire way and only let go when they had walked through the front door. Pointing at a chair, she told him to sit and wait. She smirked at his obedience and walked up to the front desk.

"Hello. I was wondering if Dr. Iguchi was in?"

"Yes, but he was just leaving for the day. Would you like to make an appointment for another day?"

As she was contemplating what to do, said doctor walked out of the back area. Looking up, his face split into a wide smile.

"Akane! What are you doing here?"

Giving the doctor a low bow, she said, "Good afternoon, Dr. Iguchi. I actually came to speak to you, but I was told you were leaving. I can come back another day."

"Nonsense! I always have time for one of Yuka's closest friends."

The middle aged doctor looked fondly at the young woman in front of him. He had watched her grow up from a spunky little girl into the beauty before him and he couldn't have been prouder of her if she were his own daughter.

He could still remember the worry he had felt when his then young daughter came home in tears on her first day of school. The shy girl had started school in the middle of the year after the family had moved and her parents had worried about her making friends but they never expected her to be so distraught. When she told them that a boy had teased her and pulled her hair they were torn between amusement and concern, glad that it wasn't anything more serious. They had comforted her the best they could and sent her along to school the next morning.

They were pleasantly surprised when she came home smiling. She told them all about her new friend who stood up for her when the same boy had started picking on her again. Akane had apparently stepped in when he began pulling her hair and pushed the boy down. She had then introduced Yuka to her friend Sayuri and the three girls had spent the rest of recess playing tag. They had been friends ever since. He would always be grateful to Akane and thought of her and Sayuri as surrogate daughters.

"Thank you, Dr. Iguchi."

Looking over her shoulder to make sure Mousse was still in his seat, she beckoned the doctor a little further away.

"My friend over there really needs to get his vision checked. He's a martial artist, a rather good one actually, but he loses fights and causes problems for himself because he can't see. He rarely wears his glasses and even when he does...I don't even think they are the right prescription. I was just wondering if you could check him out. Only...I don't think he has any insurance or money. I'd be glad to help out..."

"Don't worry about that, Akane. Let's take a look at your friend first. We'll work something out."

"Okay, thank you." Giving the doctor another low bow, she called out, "Mousse, can you come over here please?" She waited until Mousse had joined them before introducing the two. "Mousse, this is Dr. Iguchi. Dr. Iguchi, the Amazon, Mousse."

"It's nice to meet you, Mousse," Dr. Iguchi said, giving a small nod of his head.

"Doctor, it's nice to meet you, too." Mousse then gave a low bow to the plant the doctor was standing next to.

Akane rolled her eyes and Dr. Iguchi raised his eyebrow at the young man. He looked over at his daughter's friend who gave him a look that clearly said, 'See what I mean?'

"Yes, why don't we go into my office?"

Akane had stayed during Mousse's entire visit with the ophthalmologist. She watched as he was given a standard eye exam and the doctor declared the prescription he had to be old, stating his surprise that the Amazon could see at all. He had suggested that with his disdain for glasses, Mousse should get laser eye surgery instead of getting new glasses or trying contacts. The Amazon readily agreed after having heard the benefits of having the surgery.

Not knowing how the Amazon elder would take the news of Mousse having eye surgery, they decided that tomorrow he would leave a note at the Cat Cafe, saying he was going on a training journey and then stay at the Tendo dojo during his recovery. Mousse had almost declined the offer for surgery when he realized how long the recovery would last, but when Akane mentioned his tendency to heal quickly, he relented. For him, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he could not turn down. They had agreed that he would meet her after school tomorrow and they would walk over to the doctor's together before parting.

The last egg tart was placed into the pink cardboard container before the purple haired warrior closed the top.

Shampoo was angrier than she had been in a long time. She seethed as she thought over the last few weeks. She knew Ranma had been affected by her body when they were in the park; she had been able to see his desire for her, and if it weren't for the damn sprinklers, she was positive he would have taken her then and there. Not that she would have minded, in fact, the thought turned her on.

She had decided to leave him stewing for a few days, certain that his desire would make him come crawling to her. So when he didn't show up, she decided to seek him out, positive he would receive her warmly, only to have him throw her into the river. She was so angry when she got home, she spent two hours training, destroying anything she could get her hands on.

It had taken a few days but she came up with a new plan that would make him succumb to his desires and beg for her. She enjoyed the thought of Ranma on his knees, prostrating himself before her. After she made him suffer a little for his actions, she would be happy to show him what a real woman had to offer and ride him until he couldn't see straight. Then he would finally be hers.

All she had to do was have him take one bite of these tarts laced with a little love potion number nine (to make him focus on the first woman he saw) and passion spice (to make sure he was able to perform to her satisfaction) and she would finally have what rightfully belonged to her.

Balanced on the fence top, hands in his pockets and whistling a jaunty tune, the pig-tailed boy was finally headed home. Even clean up duty had done little to dampen his good mood.

For once, he and Akane were getting along and it felt nice. Better than nice, it felt right. He smiled as he remembered how Akane felt curled up against him. He knew she was muscular but he was surprised to learn that she still felt so soft against him. Her body was just so different than his; so curvy compared to his flat angular body. He loved the way her petite body tucked perfectly against his. And she always smelled so nice; fresh and somewhat sweet at the same time. It was intoxicating. He had been pleased that she'd been so happy the rest of the day, smiling and laughing so openly. He had wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her but he didn't want to do anything to spoil the mood and he was still scared she would reject him.

He thought that he would ask her out to watch a movie with him this weekend, not like a date or anything, but for an outing. Just an outing to test the waters, so to speak. He just didn't know how to go about doing it.

"Airen!"

Ranma groaned as he prepared himself for an attack but one never came. Instead the Amazon appeared before him, her hands behind her back as she gave him a smile. There was something in her eyes that had his danger sensors turning from orange to red.

"Yo, Shampoo."

Shampoo brought her hands out behind her back and presented him with a pink baker's box.

"I bring you too too tasty dessert. You try, okay?"

Ranma hesitantly took the box from her hands and peered inside. His eyes widened when he saw four perfectly golden tarts. They smelled heavenly, slightly sweet and savory at the same time. His hand had begun to reach into the box before he pulled it back out as he remembered the look in her eye.

"Umm. Thanks, Shampoo, I'll just take these home."

"No! You try now."

Shampoo reached for the box before she was stopped by the feeling of tiny hands squeezing her breasts together as a face rubbed itself in her cleavage.

"Sweet little Shampoo!"

Her fist plummeted straight down and punched the pint sized pervert in the head, sending him to the ground. He was wearing his sneak mask and landed next to his burglar's bag.

"Hey, ya old freak. Shampoo made some snacks, ya want one?"

Before Shampoo could do anything, Happosai had taken the box and popped all four pastries into his mouth. She looked on in horror as he raised his head and looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Shampoo, my lovely, these were delicious, just like I'm..."

Ranma noticed that Happosai was suddenly glassy eyed as he gazed at the Amazon. The old freak had licked his lips and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Shampoo dash off. Happosai shook his head a little and shot off the ground to chase after her, his eyes gleaming.

Ranma couldn't tell if the egg tarts had been doctored or not. The old pervert's eyes did go glossy before he left but he didn't behave any differently, so it was hard to tell. Ranma looked back down and saw the bag of lingerie that had been left on the ground and suddenly knew without a doubt that the Amazon had done something to the treats, for the old pervert would never forget a bag full of his ill-gotten goods.

He shrugged, glad that it was no longer his problem and happy that he hadn't listened to his stomach for once. He jumped off the fence and threw the empty cardboard box into the nearest trash can as he started whistling again.

When he reached the gates of the Tendo compound, he was surprised to see Akane walking towards him, her book bag still in hand.

"Hi, Ranma!"

"Hey, where've you been?"

"Oh, I was just visiting Dr. Iguchi's office, you know, Yuka's father. I ran into Mousse and took him over there with..."

"Damn it, Akane! What the hell were you thinking? We talked about you telling me where you going. What woulda happened if Mousse decided to kidnap you again and no one knew where you were?"

Akane watched as he started to pace back and forth. She was beginning to get concerned; he seemed to be so easily agitated lately. She tried to focus on the fact that he was worried and not get upset that he did not trust her. Besides, he had a point, she did promise him she would tell him where she went but she had honestly forgotten and wasn't trying to deceive him.

"Calm down, Ranma. It was my idea. I was walking home when Mousse glomped onto me..."

"What?! You let him...he..."

The vein in Ranma's forehead was pulsing, the muscles in his neck were strained and his hands were clenching and unclenching as he paced. Not only had she broken her promise to him so shortly after she made it but just imagining the blind-duck's grubby hands on his Akane made Ranma want to run out and beat the boy with his own port-a-potty.

This was too much for Akane, who didn't know how he could even think she would be okay with Mousse touching her like that.

"I didn't let him do anything. Now are you going to calm down and listen or are you going to continue freaking out?" she snapped.

It took a while, with a few more outbursts from Ranma, before the entire story was told. Ranma was still not happy - especially about Mousse staying in the Tendo dojo - but he knew there was little he could do about it. Once Akane got it in her head to help someone, no one was going to stop her.

There were leaves on the tree. He knew this of course to be a fact of nature and had held plenty of leaves in his hands. But he had never seen the leaves at the top of a tree before. He could actually see the individual pieces and how they moved separately from each other as the wind blew. He could see the different shades of green that each individual leaf had, ranging from a light green to a deep almost emerald color, sometimes all on the same piece.

He could see.

There was a small nest in the tree that he could barely make out as the branches rustled. He could swear he saw the tips of a few egg shells too. A bird flew out of the nest and he tracked it with his eyes as it disappeared over a nearby roof.

The roof itself was an amazing sight. If he wanted to, he could count all the tiles that overlapped to form the sloping top. It would seem like a normal thing for the average person, but for Mousse of the Joketsuzoku, it was truly a magnificent sight. He could not remember ever being able to see details so fine and from such a distance. He knew they all existed and had seen them up close but since his vision had been poor from a very young age he had no memory of them like this.

All he could remember seeing were general shapes; the trees were singular green masses and the rooftops had looked like a uniform piece of wood or tile. He never knew what he had been missing, having thought his glasses were making up for the defect in his eyes, but he now knew he could not have been more wrong.

Today, Akane Tendo had kept her word and brought him to see Dr. Iguchi for the laser eye surgery. Mousse had been more than nervous before it started. He was terrified that something would go wrong and the precious little vision he had would be lost in some accident. But he was amazed that when he left the office his vision had vastly improved and seemed to get better as the day went.

He owed it all to Akane. He didn't know if he would ever be able to pay her back for her kindness. It just amazed him that someone would do so much for him, especially after all that he put her through. He had noticed her kindness before; it was hard not to when you came from a village of women who were raised to be cutthroat from the time they could train. It was odd for him to see a warrior who could also be kind. Although she was not as skilled as his beloved Shampoo, her skills and strength were not to be ignored. He didn't know if there was a way to pay her back but he would try his best. While he didn't owe her a life debt, he felt that the gift she gave him came close.

He was now sitting on the engawa of the Tendo home as he looked at everything possible with new eyes, almost literally. He had enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the family and they all - except Ranma - had greeted him warmly and treated him with respect. Ranma had just grunted at Mousse but after a glare from the youngest Tendo and small slap on the back of his head by his mother, he had given the male Amazon a small begrudging nod of acknowledgement.

Dinner had been an odd affair for Mousse; none of the women screamed at him or hit him over the head, he wasn't forced to work for his food, or turned to a duck and chained in the kitchen. And it surprised him that everyone seemed to enjoy his company. It had been so long since he had been treated with any type of kindness that it felt foreign.

He didn't know if he would ever be able to repay Akane for her kindness or the Tendo family for their generosity, but he knew he would try. No one other than his mother had ever cared about his well-being before and it felt nice.

Ranma was still rude and arrogant but after Jusendo things had changed and Mousse no longer saw him as a rival. After Ranma thought he lost Akane the first time, Mousse had seen see the complete devastation that overtook the pig-tailed boy. He had never seen anyone look so utterly broken before. The usually active and energetic martial artist had simply frozen from shock and would have lost his life if it weren't for the quick thinking of Ryoga. After he found out that Akane was still alive and could possibly be saved, there was a fierce determination there he had never seen Ranma show. He had killed a demi-god for the blue-haired girl and Mousse knew that Ranma's heart belonged to her.

Shampoo no longer had a chance with him, not that she really ever did. Other than that incident with the reversal jewel, Ranma had never shown any real interest in his beloved. Even then, Ranma's attempts at winning Shampoo's affection had been more about his ego than about loving the girl. Even with his then poor vision, it seemed Mousse was able to see the situation more clearly than his beloved ever could.

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Mousse?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Miss Tendo. But please, it's just Mousse."

"Alright, but only if you call me Kasumi."

"Then, thank you, Kasumi."

"Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Of course not."

Mousse watched as Kasumi placed a tray down beside him before kneeling to sit on her calves. She handed him a simple clay cup before taking one for herself. It was odd for him to have her serve him; his culture was so vastly different with the men being more subservient. He returned his gaze once more towards the backyard and watched the sun as it began to set; it created an array of beautiful colors as it disappeared into the horizon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Absolutely magnificent," Mousse replied.

The pair sat in silence and watched as the moon and the stars overtook the skies. When Kasumi went to bed for the evening, Mousse was still sitting on the engawa, marveling at the sheer number of stars in the sky.

"Good job. Next time I think you will be ready to fight my other form."

Akane raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? You think I'm ready for that? Wow, I've never fought a chimera before."

Taro scratched his head before asking, "A what now?"

"A chimera. You know, your cursed form is a mix of different animals; the ancient Greeks called that a chimera." When Taro just gave her a blank look, she added, "Fine, what do you call your cursed form then?"

"I dunno. I never thought about it."

"Okay, what do other people call your cursed form?"

"Nothing, they are usually too busy running away from me, screaming monster." Taro affected a rather high-pitched tone and waved his hands in the air when he said the last word. In his normal tone, he added, "No one had ever stopped to say, 'hey, can I call you a chimera?'"

"Well, since I'm the first and you don't have a better idea, that's what I'm gonna call you. Because calling you a 'drowned yeti holding an eel and crane while riding an ox' isn't going to work."

Taro just shrugged in response.

Akane was once again in the abandoned lot with her friend. She had left Ranma and Mousse at the house to finish a heated game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. With the limitations put on Mousse during his recovery, the boys had to become creative in their need for competition. Akane had already stopped one game of Slap Jack as it was becoming too contentious and she was worried it would come to blows. Not trusting the two alone, she had set Aunty Nodoka to oversee the duo before she left for her sparring session with Taro.

"So, you really think I'm ready for that?"

"I don't know, but I can tell you are holding your strength back now. It makes sense since we're only sparring but against my chimera form, you can go all out and it really won't make a difference."

Akane felt slightly insulted at the comment before she remembered it took the combined power of Ranma, Ryoga, Shampoo, and Mousse to down him before. She was just about to respond when she noticed someone walk by. Looking over, she saw her middle sister leaning on the fence, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Hey, Nabiki."

Akane waved her sister over and watched as she walked toward them with a little more swing in her hips than she normally had.

When Taro saw Akane turn her attention towards the gap in the fence he turned around to see what or who she was looking at. He was pleasantly surprised to see the girl he had interacted so quickly with on the best day of his life. She was as attractive as he remembered and he appreciated the way she seemed to saunter towards him. He frowned a bit at the dumb uniform she was wearing that hid her body from him.

That thing is hideous. Why couldn't they wear a typical sailor fuku, like the rest of the schools around Japan? At least then I could look at her legs, he thought.

"Taro, have you met my sister, Nabiki?" Akane asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Sister?"

"Yes, this is Nabiki. Nabiki, this is Taro."

"Taro, yes, I think I remember you."

Nabiki had a sly smile on her face as she batted her eyes at him and clasped her hands behind her back, pushing her chest out.

"Nabiki, was it? Please, call me Awesome."

Taro had run his hand through his hair and made sure to flex his arm exaggeratedly in the process before crossing them in front of his chest to further display his biceps.

Nabiki responded by taking a step closer and running her eyes all over his body. She crossed her arms and tapped gently on her chin.

"Awesome? Is that your name or a description of your abilities?" she purred at him.

Taro had taken a step closer to Nabiki as he took his turn to run his eyes over her boy. He gaze lingering on her chest and her mouth. She was just as attractive as he remembered but it was her confident attitude that really caught his attention. That and her smirk; it made him think a lot of naughty thoughts. Mainly about all the other things she could be doing with that mouth.

"It's my name, but given a chance, I'm sure I can make you say it again and again about my abilities."

"Oh really? How do you plan to do that?" Nabiki asked as she licked her lips.

"The process is long and hard but I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Oh? Well it's lucky that I enjoy putting my back into...pleasurable jobs."

"Go to dinner with me tonight and I'll tell you more about it."

"Pick me up in an hour and don't forget to change, you're taking me somewhere nice."

At this point the two were standing as close to each other as possible without touching. Nabiki reached up and ran her finger along his arm.

After Taro gave her a wink, Nabiki grabbed her gaping sister by the hand and headed home. They had walked a block before Akane had processed everything that she had seen. While she was slightly naive about things, even she couldn't miss the blatant innuendo and sexual tension between the two. She wouldn't have been surprised if the pair had started dry humping each other in the lot.

"You're not really going to have sex with him tonight, are you?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Probably not but you never know." At her sister's scandalized look, she added, "Oh, lighten up. I doubt it will happen tonight, but don't get me wrong, I want it to happen. He's super hot and I've never been a wait-until-you're-married type of girl."

"But don't you think he'd expect you to after all that?"

"No, I was just flirting with him and he was flirting back. I'm sure he's hoping something happens, but he doesn't seem like the type of guy to expect it, does he?"

"You're right; he's not that type of guy. It's just that you were so..."

"I was what?" Nabiki challenged. When Akane didn't respond she said, "Look, I was just flirting with him, teasing him a little. Okay, a lot, but there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it wouldn't hurt if you started flirting a little yourself."

"What?"

Nabiki stopped walking and looked her sister in the eye. "Ranma has Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi offering themselves to him on a silver platter. And there are several other girls at school who would happily spread their legs for him if they weren't so concerned about their physical safety, not that he's ever noticed any of them. To his benefit, he has turned them all down. Not all teenage boys would do the same. He's a little dense about these things but it's a little hard not to notice girls who are throwing themselves at his feet. And what have you been doing?"

"I don't want to act like that!"

Nabiki gave a huge sigh. "No one is asking you to, little sister. But would it hurt to give him some subtle encouragement? Would it really be so hard to smile a little more at him or to bat your eyelashes at him?"

"But wouldn't that be trying to manipulate him into doing what I want?"

"Well, I hope that it would be encouraging him to do you, but no, it's not manipulating him." When Akane's face turned red, Nabiki added, "Would it really be a hardship if you had to touch him once in a while?"

Akane, face now red, thought back to the few times she had tried to encourage Ranma. When they weren't being interrupted - like the time when the family disrupted them when they were about to kiss! - Ranma had seemed to react positively. And thinking back to the other morning, she knew that she would be more than happy to touch him. She bit her lip nervously.

"Well...what do you think I should be doing?"

Nabiki smirked at her sister before she hooked their arms together.

"Why don't we talk about it while you help me get ready?"

Mousse had left the house a little earlier than planned. Both Ranma and Akane had taken him to a follow-up visit and the doctor had been rather surprised about his recovery, but he had very little exposure to the types of martial artists that seemed to be drawn to Nerima.

They were taking a walk around town before dinner. Akane checked Ranma out from the corner of her eyes and she became red as she realized that she was eyeing his crotch. She pulled her gaze to the ground, completely mortified. Was she becoming a pervert? Her eyes widened at the thought that maybe some of the perverseness of the boys from school and Happosai had rubbed off on her. The thought of catching something from any of those idiots made her nauseous. But she couldn't help herself! She could clearly remember waking up in his arms and the feeling of him pressed against her had really turned her on.

She thought back to the conversation with Nabiki about trying to flirt with Ranma. She suggested that Akane tried to do little subtle things to show her affection for him and at the same time give him some positive reinforcement. She told Akane to laugh at his jokes, lightly tap him on the shoulder, bat her eyelashes at him, and smile at him. It didn't sound too hard and now that they were alone, she thought it was the perfect time to try it out.

"You know, I'm happy for Mousse. He seems so cheerful now that he can see and he has been having a lot fewer accidents lately," Akane said, to start some conversation.

"Yeah. Now that he can see, hopefully he won't be using that stupid training potty anymore."

"Why do you think he ever started to use that thing?"

"I dunno. Maybe he just carried it around in case he needed to use it and ran out of weapons."

Akane started laughing loudly at his small attempt at a joke, but realized she was sounding a bit manic. Trying to save the moment she decided to slap him slightly on the shoulder but in her nervousness, she hit him too hard and sent him flying into the nearby fence.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Ummm...there was a bee on your shoulder. Sorry."

"Oh, okay." Ranma said as he began to walk beside her again.

Mortified, Akane kept her head down and didn't try to initiate any more conversation.

Friday afternoon found Ranma walking home from school with Akane and Nabiki. It had surprised him that the middle sister seemed to have changed overnight when it came to his fiancée. They seemed to be closer than he ever saw them, and while Nabiki pretended to be annoyed with her sister at times, she actually smiled at her and teased her in a friendly manner. It was a marked difference from the usual smirks and taunts she used to rile Akane up.

He really didn't know what to make of it and it kind of worried him. Akane had told him the gist of the conversation between the sisters and about Nabiki's promise to stop blackmailing both of them but she didn't go into details about how Nabiki's revelation came about. Ranma wondered if this was some sort of act to lull them into complacency so she could catch them with their guard down and get some truly damaging material. But for the life of him, he couldn't see what she would try to uncover.

Akane seemed confident in her knowledge that her sister would keep to her word and was happier than he had seen her in a long time. Nabiki still treated him with the same distant manner, so for now he decided to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Which meant that he would keep an eye out for any possible hi-jinks and enjoy the benefits of being around Akane in her good mood.

He started noticing that Akane was acting a little peculiarly lately and he was becoming a little concerned. The other day he had said something in passing about Mousse and she started to laugh uproariously at it when the comment wasn't that funny. Then she swatted him on the arm with enough force that he fell into a fence. When he asked her why she hit him, she had mumbled something about a bug being on his shoulder and her face turned red.

Then this morning they had been talking when she tilted her head and started blinking rapidly at him. He thought something was in her eye and he leaned down to look into them but he didn't find anything. He asked her if she had some dirt in her eye and offered to blow into it just in case. Suddenly she turned around in a huff and walked off. He really had no idea what to make of it.

He glanced over at his fiancée and watched as she giggled at something her sister said. Ranma rolled his eyes when he realized they were probably talking about Taro. Akane had told him that the two had gone on a date, or started dating, he wasn't sure which one and to be honest, he wasn't sure he knew what the difference was. He shuddered to think of the pair together though; with her brain and his brawn, the two could become Nerima's first super villains.

Although that meant he could be Nerima's first super hero. He could be like Batman, with all those awesome gadgets. Or better yet, like his partner, Robin, who had a cool aerobatic fighting style. He could run around and lead his own team of super heroes in a fight against evil. He imagined fighting crime beside Akane. She could be his batgirl. The image of her in a tight fitting black leotard, thigh high boots, and mask, with her cape blowing behind her while she stood akimbo, had the blood pumping through his veins.

He shook his head and glanced over, relieved that neither girl had noticed his lapse in attention. His fantasies starring Akane seemed to be increasing lately and he wondered if there was something wrong with him and if he was finally turning into the pervert Akane used to accuse him of being. But the memory of having her curled up in his arms had seemed to increase the amount of dreams he had about her, as well as the daydreams.

He was just happy that things seemed to be getting back to normal. Mousse had gone home the previous day after his follow up visit. Now he had an entire weekend to look forward to and see if he could finally get Akane to go with him to the movies.

They all entered through the front door and were greeted by Kasumi, who seemed to have been waiting for them.

"Father has asked that you all go clean up and put on something nice. We have some visitors that he would like us all to greet in the dojo. Ranma, this includes you too, as your father is already in the dojo and your mother is helping me get some refreshments together."

"What's this about, sis?" Nabiki asked

"I have no idea, the guests arrived a little while ago and Father and Mr. Saotome rushed them into the dojo and had only come out to give me those specific instructions."

In short time everyone had changed and met back in the living room. Ranma, Akane and Nabiki all walked towards the dojo together, since Nodoka and Kasumi seemed to have finished their snack preparations. When they entered the dojo, Ranma saw Soun sitting by himself facing the dojo doors, a small tray with tea and snacks in front of him. On the left side of the dojo sat his parents, small trays in front of them and a third tray sitting closest to the door. He assumed this was where he was supposed to sit and went forward. When he sat down, he saw that Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane were all sitting in a row, their backs towards the door.

Directly across from him sat three people he had never seen before in his life. There was an older gentleman wearing a pinstripe three piece suit, next to a lady that must be his wife. She was wearing a deep red suit jacket and matching pencil skirt, with a white silk blouse underneath. The third person could only be their son, as his resemblance to the mother was fairly obvious. He had on a pair of dark slacks, a white button up shirt covered with a navy v-neck sweater, underneath a charcoal blazer.

Now he understood why Soun had asked them all to get changed before coming in. Not one to care about clothes, he still felt underdressed in his orange mandarin style top with a small red bow near the collar and usual black pants.

He looked up when Soun cleared his throat.

"Thank you for joining me today, children. I would like to introduce everyone to some old... acquaintances." Gesturing to his left, he said, "This is Mr. Tomo Chihari, Mrs. Yoko Chihari, and their son Sota." Everyone gave them a bow of the head before Soun gestured to his right and continued, "These are the Saotomes, Genma, Nodoka, and their son Ranma." The Chiharis bowed to the Saotomes before Soun gestured in front of him, "And these are my daughters, the eldest Kasumi, my middle daughter Nabiki, and my youngest Akane." The Chiharis bowed again towards the girls before they all turned their attention back to Soun.

The Tendo patriarch cleared his throat and Ranma was surprised to see that Soun had begun to sweat. "The Chiharis have come by today about an engagement contract." He cleared his throat again.

Ranma's eyes narrowed and he turned to face his father. Before he even knew what he was doing, he jumped to his feet and screamed, "Damn it, Pop! What the hell did you do now? Ain't two engagements for me enough?"

He whirled towards the Chihari family and continued, "You guys look like nice people and all but I already have more arranged marriages than I can handle. And it looks like your daughter isn't interested either, since she didn't bother to show up today. Whatever Pop promised you, we'll try to pay it back but the engagement is off."

To his surprise, Mr. Chihari gave a loud bellowing laugh while his wife just looked at Ranma like he grew a second head. When he had calmed down, the older man said, "My boy, the engagement contract isn't between your family, it's with the Tendo Family."

Ranma turned bright red and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh sorry about that," he mumbled before sitting down again. His mother glared at him while his father gave him a self-satisfied smirk, obviously proud that whatever chaos was occurring was for once not his fault.

Ranma turned his gaze and noticed that all three Tendo girls were sitting rigidly, and staring at their father. Kasumi's eyebrows were furrowed and she had a slightly disappointed look on her face, Nabiki looked at him coldly, while Akane had a surprisingly blank look on her face. Ranma figured it was because she knew that for once the events didn't involve her, since she was already engaged to him.

"Daddy, how kind of you to arrange marriage contracts for all three of your daughters. It's so nice to know that you care so deeply about our happiness and wellbeing. And think, with one contract having been broken, you can now go out and trade the remaining daughter for more free food; you must be overjoyed," Nabiki said acidly.

Soun burst into tears and tried to explain himself but was blubbering so badly, no one understood what he was saying.

Mr. Chihari, who seemed to be unable to pick up on the tension in the room, said jovially, "Oh no! The agreement was made over lingerie, not food!" He turned his gaze to Nabiki and said, "When we discussed the terms of the agreement, you father only had two daughters and we had agreed that my son's fiancée had to be one trained in the Anything Goes style." He looked expectantly at all three girls, clasped his hands together, and said excitedly, "So which ones of you are martial artists?"

A/N: The idea that Akane herself has another engagement is not a new one. I borrowed this directly from Possibly Maybeby czechers, specifically the chapter J is for Jealousy. I tried to find another loophole to have Akane the specific fiancée but nothing I could think of would be cannon compliant. If you haven't read it, it's a great selection of one shots that make you laugh and cry.

I love Mousse! There are so many great Akane/Mousse friendship stories. He's an awesome character that was supposed to have played a bigger part in my story but Konatsu and Taro took over.

If you caught it, yes, that was a shout out to Jeremy Harper's Shadows Over Nerima. If you haven't read it, it's a great Ranma/Batman crossover fic.

Thank you, alwaysZutarian and PepperonyOwl for your help! Your suggestions make this story so much better!

Original Publication Date: August 25, 2014
Revised: May 22, 2015