Ranma fumed as they walked home from school. He didn't understand why he was feeling this way—or better yet, why Akane wasn't. They walked in their usual spots: Ranma walking on the fence and Akane on the bordering sidewalk. But it was different this time. Usually it was Akane who was sulking about something, not him. Continuing his pace, Ranma stole a glance at Akane. She was unnervingly calm.

Ranma didn't get it. Why?

It hadn't been a surprise when a random guy had shown up at the Tendos the previous evening. It wasn't a shocker, either, when Masato Whatshisface revealed that Akane's father had made an uncompromising vow with his own. No, what was unexpected was that this Masato guy was apparently promised to one of Soun's daughters. To make matters worse, the contract that this guy provided (complete with Soun's unmistakable signature) guaranteed a daughter equipped with the Art.

Translation: the guy wanted Akane.

It was impossible to tell Masato otherwise, that Akane was already engaged, that wouldn't he rather have someone like Kasumi who could actually sew and cook and clean? Masato refused, however, reminding Soun that years ago, he promised a future bride and, in exchange, Masato's father would not press charges for all the stolen lingerie in their town.

Every resident at the Tendo house besides Soun and Akane was outraged, insulting him (Genma, Ranma, and Nabiki) or politely but firmly telling him to reconsider (Kasumi). Soun just cried constantly, weeping over the shouting. "I don't remember!" he bawled repeatedly throughout the night. Akane simply got to her feet, shrugged, and silently went to her room.

Ranma couldn't fathom why Akane's reaction had bothered him so much. And it irritated him even more that she had woken up earlier this morning just to cook her father breakfast. She had cheerfully presented her father with what was supposed to be eggs and had warned everyone else that this dish was for her father's taste buds only.

At school, it was the same thing. She hadn't blamed Ranma for their tardiness and had swiftly beaten Kuno without so much as a scowl on her face. She ignored Ranma during class and lunch, choosing to talk only with her friends.

And now here they were, quietly walking home. Well, Ranma thought, if Akane didn't care, why should he? He hopped off the fence when he reached the end and walked beside Akane.

"You're moodier than usual," Akane finally offered as a start of conversation. She held her book bag in front of her with both her hands, and seemed determined to keep her eyes on the sidewalk before them.

"Yeah, and I see you're not." Ranma pulled at his backpack straps. Akane didn't reply. He leered at her. "Don't tell me you're actually okay with this," he continued.

"Don't be stupid, Ranma," she growled. "Of course not!" Ranma had to admit that her retort had slightly relieved him.

"Yeah, well…You certainly ain't showin' it. You just shrugged and left. You didn't even argue. Everyone else had to do it for you! And now ya got two fiancés, if you've forgotten!" This, Ranma could tell, had riled her up.

"So what?" she yelled, her face contorted in anger. "I can't have more than one fiancé? Is that it? Is there some rule I don't know about where Ranma Saotome is the one person in the world who can have multiple engagements?"

They had stopped walking, choosing to have their spat on the sidewalk where they were attracting quite a lot of attention.

"Did I say that?" Ranma shouted back. He leaned closer to Akane; their faces were inches apart. "I just wanna know why you're not fighting tooth and nail to get out of this engagement like you do with ours!"

Akane took a step backwards, a stunned look on her face. She shook her head, quickly recovering. She turned around and headed for home. Ranma followed suit. "I get it, Ranma," Akane said after a while. "You don't have to be jealous."

A blush formed on his cheeks. "Jealous? Over an unsexy macho chick like you? You wish!" was the first thing that came out of his mouth. Ranma couldn't help it. It was like it was an involuntary reply!

Akane lightly scoffed and did nothing else. She was the first to reach the gate. She reached the handle, but suddenly turned to Ranma, startling him. "For your information, I cooked Daddy breakfast as a form of punishment, as I will be cooking his meals until he begs or forces Masato to give up. Beg, force—I don't care as long as it ends. And as for why I'm so 'okay' with this…" She let out a breath. "It's because it really doesn't matter to me. He's not the one I'm planning on marrying."

She had said the last sentence so quickly, Ranma almost didn't catch all of it. After giving him a rare smile, Akane opened the gate and dashed in, leaving Ranma behind. Ranma relaxed as he walked through the gate. So she wasn't going to marry Masato.

Ranma halted. Wait a minute. A surge of jealousy flared up in Ranma, whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Just who was Akane planning on marrying?

Ranma ran after Akane, determined to find out.