For those of you confused about Akane's behavior here, I've got a reason for it. Akane has basically gotten 1-2 years worth of maturity overnight thanks to her dream, and any uncertainty she had towards her feeling towards Ranma is gone now. Also, Akane strikes me as someone who greatly suppressed their sexuality to an unhealthy degree, for she likely feared showing any sexual desire was practically an invitation to be molested by those around her, even Ranma. Now she's no longer afraid he will do any such thing to her, so she doesn't need to repress herself around him, and once urges become unrepressed, they tend to flare up quite considerably. Not to mention she'd likely want him to call her cute and sexy rather than uncute and zero sex appeal.

Chapter Two

Akane wasn't the only one surprised to see these two. Genma looked downright terrified. "H-h-how did you find us?"

"We could have found you even if we had to chase you thru all of China fool."

"Are they friends of yours?" Kasumi asked the Saotomes.

Ranma slowly nodded. "In a way. They lived right by Jusenkyo and helped us understand the curses." He was then glomped by a girl with purple hair.

"Airen, why you leave?" She asked.

'Wait a minute, she has fox ears and a tail.' Akane told herself now that she could see the Amazon up close. She looked completely normal, except for the extra body parts, which like her cat form were white and lavender colored. 'Is her curse different too? And didn't she not get one this quick? Wait, she knows Ranma as a boy now? What the hell is going on here?'

"Who are you?" Soun asked.

"I am Cologne and this is my great-granddaughter Shampoo. And she is Ranma's wife-to-be."

Soun blanched, Kasumi and Nabiki just stared, and Akane frowned. "Says who?" She demanded.

"Says the laws and customs of our people. Not to mention it's the will of the Myouhi-sama, Goddess of Jusenkyo." Cologne plainly answered.

"Who?" Akane asked, blinking several times. 'Goddess of Jusenkyo? That's a new one.'

Cologne nodded. "The one who created Jusenkyo. Such a tremendous thing couldn't possibly have been created by any mere mortal. It was the creation of a deity."

Akane was confused, and she admitted more than just a bit curious, but right now she had something more important to worry about. "That still doesn't explain why you're here and she's hanging on the boy I just got engaged to."

Cologne was silent for a moment. "Oh, you must be one of the others our prophet told us of."

"One of the others? Can't you just give me a straight answer?" Akane asked, almost out of patience here.

"Okay then, we were told by a prophet that Ranma here and his descendants will be very important to our culture and is clearly blessed by our goddesses to have some control over his curse. We are here to help Ranma grow in the right direction and because we were told he is meant to have three brides, not just one. My great-granddaughter here is one of the three, as she has been picked by fate and blessed by our goddesses too with control over her own curse. You may be the second bride." Cologne answered, then raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe you aren't."

"Hold on, how can any man have more than one wife? It's not legal." Nabiki asked.

"Maybe not in your culture, but ours does permit it." Cologne answered.

"Wait, why would Amazons allow a man to have more than one wife?" Akane asked.

Shampoo and Cologne perked up at this and the elder looked firmly into the youngest Tendo's eyes. "I never said we were Amazons. How would you know that?"

Akane gulped when she realized her slip up. She just inadvertently revealed she knew more than she was supposed to. How was she going to explain this?

Cologne came closer to Akane, as if trying to see something up close. After a moment, she pulled back. "Hmm... perhaps you are one of the other two meant for him. Tell me girl, if the only way to be with Ranma was to share him with two others, would you take that offer?"

Akane thought about it, and that alone surprised the rest of her family beyond belief. Akane, the infamous boy-hating anti-pervert, was actually considering sharing a boy with two other girls, and a boy she had only just met? They all would have expected her to say 'No, he's not worth it' right away. Any woman they knew would have. And yet Akane hadn't blown up and denied any desire to take part in such an endeavor. No, she was actually considering it.

For Akane it was a hard decision. In her dream the idea of sharing Ranma had never ever crossed her mind. Not even 'Let's all date him so we can decide which one of us works best with him'. No, the entire time it had been 'Ranma is mine so hands off' for all his pursuers to all other pursuers. Even Akane, the girl who in the dream didn't want him near her yet refused to see herself lose him to another, didn't ever contemplate the idea that maybe things might have worked out better had being with Ranma been handled as an effort in finding romance rather than winning some ego-contest with other girls.

Of course, this meant Akane still wasn't open to the idea Cologne was proposing. As soon as she learned Ranma was not just a figment of her imagination, she had already been planning on how to get Shampoo, Ukyo, and even Kodachi from their lovelife as soon as they showed up. The idea that she may have to let any of them remain and be active parts was not one she wanted to think about.

"With all due respect, you're asking a lot of me." Akane simply replied in a noncommittal way.

"I understand that. So will you allow me the opportunity to clarify my request away from prying judging ears?" Cologne requested.

This was an easier request for Akane to decide on. "I suppose I could at least hear you out."

"Wait, you're actually doing this Akane?" Nabiki asked, still expecting Akane to reject and tell either the Chinese women or Ranma to scram. Likely both.

Akane nodded. "I'm confused too, but I'm not going to get any answers if I don't hear them out first. Please don't listen in on us Nabiki, though that goes for all of you too."

It was hard to convince them, but Akane managed to go with the Amazons and Ranma into the dojo away from any listeners. Genma stayed away mostly because Soun insisted on an explanation from him at least. Kasumi and Nabiki would listen too, but unlike their father they were unlikely to take his word for it. This was the man who walked around China without being able to read a word of it after all. He had pretty much proven to them he didn't have the best judgment.

In the dojo Akane was seated across from Cologne, with Ranma seated agaisnt the wall and Shampoo next to him but not leaning beside him. She saw he looked uncomfortable but more like she was the cause instead of Shampoo. 'He's afraid this might ruin anything between us. I admit this complicates things, but that's because I didn't expect her to show up this soon or him to be on her good side either. What happened here that was different?'

"I imagine you were already told about how Son-in-law got his curse and how it works, right?" Cologne started. Akane nodded. "Good. Now, were you told what happened afterwards?" Akane shook her head. "Okay, we come from a tribe that lives close to Jusenkyo. We are the Joketsuzoku, an Amazon tribe where women are trained to be warriors and leaders. But I imagine you already knew that, didn't you?"

Akane did not give eye contact, but she did slowly nod. "Yes, but it's hard to explain."

"I think I understand exactly why this happened. You had a vision, did you not?" Cologne asked.

Akane was wide-eyed. "How did you...?"

Cologne smiled. "So, maybe you are the one." She then turned to Ranma. "Son-in-law, she could very well be one of the others you were meant to be with."

"You sure about that?" Ranma asked.

Cologne nodded. "She does fit the criteria. But just to alleviate any confusion we shall inquire further." She then faced Akane again. "Please tell me your name so I don't call you the wrong one."

"I'm Akane. Akane Tendo."

"Well Ms Tendo, I am almost convinced that you might be one of Ranma's other destined brides. To eliminate any doubt I have left, tell me something that you couldn't possibly know without a vision beforehand. If you can't, then I'm afraid I will have to do everything in my power to keep you from him."

Akane frowned but then smiled when she realized all she had to do was give an answer and things would have to go her way. "Okay then. You live next close to the Musk and Phoenix tribes. A boy named Mousse with bad eyes is interested in Shampoo. You once encountered a despicable pervert named Happosai when you were eighteen." At Cologne's surprised face, Akane's smile widened. "Need I say more?"

Cologne lightly grinned. "That settles it. You are one of his destined ones."

"Hold on, how can you be so sure of that? We only just met today?" Ranma asked, confused.

Cologne looked to him. "Son-in-law, remember how we told you that you were meant to be with three girls, not just Shampoo?" He slowly nodded. "We were told one of the other two would come to you guided by the prophet themselves, and the other would have a vision of your arrival and a possible life with you. Akane here knows things that she could only know thru a vision. Akane here is meant to be one of your brides."

Ranma, still surprised, turned to Akane. "Did you really know I was coming here?"

Akane slowly nodded. "Yes Ranma. I knew you would come. I knew you had a curse. I knew that Shampoo would want to be involved with you too, and I think I know who the final 'bride' may be. The only problem is my... 'vision' wasn't entirely accurate."

"How so?" Cologne inquired.

"In it, Ranma only turned into a girl. There was no horse curse involved. And Shampoo didn't show up for over a month, and when she did she thought Ranma was a girl and tried to kill him under the Kiss of Death laws, until she decided to give his male form the Kiss of Marriage. And she was cursed to become a cat."

"Cat?" Ranma asked, tensing up.

Akane nodded. "I know about your fear too. That's still the worst thing I know your father ever did." Then she remembered the seppuku pledge and almost mentioned that, but she shut her mouth. 'No, don't overwhelm him. Let him relax then tell him about his mother. Hopefully this time we can avoid the whole Ranko fiasco.'

Cologne thought it over. "The prophet did say one of his brides would see a future that could happen, not the future that will happen."

"You saw our future?" Ranma asked. "Is that why you wanted to be the one engaged to me?"

Akane nodded. "Yes Ranma. I thought it was just a dream, but when I heard you really were coming here, it made me feel so happy. Please give me a chance. I... I want to be with you. I'm still not certain I can handle sharing you, but I know I shouldn't try to control you. I also want to help you."

"How?"

"Well I can warn you ahead of time of possible threats and unnecessary risks. I know you hate turning down a challenge, but I can at least warn you what you're getting into before you do anything. And I think I know who the third girl for you is."

Ranma's eyes briefly widened. "Really?"

Akane nodded. "Yes, and you already know her. It's Ukyo Kuonji, your old okonomiyaki-making friend." 'I highly highly doubt the third girl is Kodachi. Besides, Ukyo I can at least get along with.'

Ranma recognized the name but looked like he didn't believe her. "Ucchan? But he's a guy."

Akane shook her head. "No Ranma, Ukyo's a girl. Always has been. And I hate to admit it, but I think she's got a better body than I do. She just hides it well."

"Seriously? Ucchan's really a girl?"

Akane nodded. "Yes. Pay close attention to her when she shows up. Which should be in a couple of months but now I don't know for certain." She then turned to Cologne. "By the way, what really happened with Ranma and Shampoo?"

"It's quite a story." Cologne stated.

-Flashback-

Cologne and Shampoo were outside the village training for the upcoming martial arts competition the Amazon village had each year. They had no doubt Shampoo was going to win, but that didn't mean they were going to slack off here.

A rustle in the surrounding flora made them stop. 'Either a spying competitor, or that idiot Mousse is trying something again.' Cologne thought before pogoing towards the source of the sounds. To her surprise it wasn't a fellow Amazon or a certain myopic male, but a young girl with a horse's lower body laying on the ground looking exhausted.

'This girl must be a victim of Jusenkyo. How else do you explain a centaur in China?' Cologne thought.

"Wa... ter..." Ranma growled, sounding very dehydrated.

Cologne turned to her great-granddaughter and told her in Chinese to go fetch some water for this poor girl. Shampoo darted away and Cologne returned her attention to the centaur. "Can you understand me?" She asked in Japanese, figuring that since Ranma requested water in that language that things would be easier for them both if Cologne did too.

"So tired... running... for days. Need water..." Ranma told her.

'Drinkable water usually is hard to find in these parts outside tribe boundaries and with this curse she was probably too afraid to approach a single person for help.' The elder told herself. "Help is on the way. Then we'll get you some warm water too."

"Don't... need a bath."

"It's not for a bath." Cologne told her. 'She probably doesn't yet know how to return to normal form yet.'

In no time Shampoo returned carrying two small buckets of water and offered them out to Ranma.

"That was quick." Cologne commented, surprised Shampoo had made it home and back so soon. Then a frightening thought crossed her mind. "Shampoo, you didn't go to the springs did you?" She asked in Chinese.

Shampoo nodded. "Closest source of water."

Cologne immediately reached out and slapped the first bucket out of Ranma's hands before she could drink from it. Drinking water from Jusenkyo was considered just as bad as falling into one of the springs, and only safe if you were a man drinking from the nannichuan or a woman drinking from the nyannichuan.

Not wanting to lose her drink, Ranma tried to regrab the water but failed. This redirected the buckets movement thru the air and caused the water to spill onto Shampoo. Alarmed by the sudden sensation of cold, Shampoo tried to back away but tripped over the second bucket she had placed on the ground and broke it, causing it to create a puddle she fell into, thus covering her even further in Jusenkyo water.

'Oh, this won't be good. Please goddesses, let that be water from the nyannichuan.' Cologne prayed, wishing for the first time she had taught Shampoo more about Jusenkyo in the past.

Shampoo's body convulsed, as if the magical waters were struggling to do what they did best. The struggle ended as soon as it started and an obvious change took place on the purple-haired girl. Her human ears disappeared and atop her head emerged a set of lavender fox ears tipped white. Her fingernails lengthened to become claws and judging from the sight of a bulge forming on her posterior a tail was growing on her backside hidden by her silk pants. Overall, she looked like what the Japanese would call a kitsune-hanyou and what Americans might call a fox-girl.

'She took water from two springs?' Cologne asked herself. 'Why would she do such a thing?'

Shampoo sat up and winced when she put too much pressure on her compressed tail. Ranma saw her changed appearance and gasped. "Oh crap, did I do that? I'm so sorry."

"She'll be fine, we just need hot water to return her to normal." Cologne told the cursed young man.

"Hot water? Will that make me a guy again?"

"You're a male?" Cologne asked. Ranma nodded. "Strangle, one person who gets a mixed curse causes another to get a mixed curse. Almost sounds like an omen."

"Rest assured Elder, it is no omen. This is fate." A woman's voice told them all, but no speaker was seen. Then the ground started to bubble up and create a small pillar, which morphed as if sculpted by unseen hands until the form of a woman was seen, and if it wasn't for the fact she was made of dirt, she'd pass as exquisite.

"Who or what are you?" Ranma asked, her voice straining a bit and her horse legs making it difficult to get back on her feet... or hooves.

"My dear boy, I am Myouhi, Goddess of Jusenkyo, among other things." Each of the three there heard her speak in the language they knew best.

Cologne and Shampoo gasped then knelt in respect, but Ranma did nothing, mostly because she was still really thirsty. "I apologize for your curse Ranma Saotome, but it had to be done. Same with Shampoo here. Both of your futures require you to be cursed and connected. If not, you will never know happiness. You might find this hard to believe, but you actually have a brighter future this way than any other way."

"I find that... hard to believe." Ranma wheezed.

"Here, let me quench your thirst." Myouhi said before an earthen pitcher formed in her hand and filled with water. She held it out, the length of her arm modified to reach the centaur, and at this point Ranma was too thirsty to care about any risk. She accepted and drank from it, and after a few swallows she felt instantly better and saw she had returned to male form too.

"What the...? I'm cured?"

"Unfortunately no. What I have done is instead grant you control over your curse."

"Control over it?" Cologne asked.

Myouhi nodded. "Yes. I have decided that Ranma here can do more good if he has control over his curse. Ranma, you can choose whichever form you wish to be in, but I must warn you that water will still force an involuntary change for you. Cold water will turn you to a girl and hot water will turn you to a boy, but as long as you're dry you can be any of your three forms you desire."

"Really?" Ranma asked, and the earthen goddess nodded. "I guess that's better than nothing."

Myouhi took the pitcher away then handed it to Shampoo. "I offer you control too Shampoo, but if you take it, you must become a wife to Ranma."

"What?" Ranma and Shampoo asked.

Cologne cautiously approached the goddess. "Myouhi-sama, are you certain such a request is a wise idea?"

"Yes, I am. Go ask the visiting prophet if you want reassurance. But rest assured, my kin and I have discussed this and we foresee that your great-granddaughter and this young man are destined for each other." She then faced Shampoo. "It's either him or Mousse. But if you need time to decide, hold onto this for now. By sunset I will retrieve it."

Before anyone could protest, Myouhi placed the water-filled earthen pitcher in Shampoo's hands then sort of melted into the ground.

The two teens were dumbfounded, but Cologne got out of her stupor faster. "Okay then, let's go see the prophet."

-End Flashback-

"Who is this prophet?" Akane asked.

"An honorary member of the Amazons who doesn't live with us but travels and occasionally visits. According to the legends, her ancestors were blessed by both Myouhi-sama and Nemurimugen-sama, the Goddess of Dreams, and from this blessing the women in her family have the ability to foresee the future and allow others to get glimpses of it too. Our current prophet made a visit and we had to postpone our tournament for a day to accommodate her arrival."

"I don't remember anything about this in my vision." Akane commented.

"I can't say why, but she convinced us to give Ranma our Heaven and Earth Blessing, which goes to esteemed males who are highly favored by the goddesses. It's something that naturally is rarely used, and is meant as a compromise so our village hopefully never becomes too heavily populated by only one gender, to have the man marry more than one woman. If the woman is not an Amazon she would be an honorary member of the village and even be able to train as if she were a member. Not only that but her children with the husband would be considered members of the village."

"Did she ever say exactly why Ranma should get this blessing?" Akane asked.

"Let's just say she convinced myself and the others in charge of the Amazons that Ranma is not the type of person who can be limited to just one outlet. Wild horses are tamed and trained by teams, not individuals." Cologne said, sounding a bit impressed by Ranma. "In either case, the prophet said she had seen Ranma's future and told us how to improve it by giving him the blessing and told us that three girls were destined to bring him and our village to glory. One would be a native of Jusendo who shared a curse like his. One would be a girl who received a vision courtesy of the prophet's power. One would be a girl who was already seeking out Ranma in pursuit of happiness."

Akane slowly nodded. "Shampoo... me... and Ukyo."

"Can you accept such a situation?" Cologne pressed. "Would you accept being with Ranma if it meant you couldn't be the only girl he's with?"

Akane looked to Ranma then sighed. "I'm not sure yet, but it can't be worse than us fighting over him. I know what it's like to have someone fight over you like a prize to claim." She then choked up. 'And yet in my dream I never realized that's what we had been doing to Ranma. We were to him what the Hentai Horde was to me.'

Ranma sensed her discomfort but wasn't certain what it was about. "Something wrong?"

She nodded. "Yes, I've been being harassed at school lately. And I'd like your help to end it Ranma. My vision might not have foretold everything accurately, but as long as you are the same man I fell for, I know I can rely on you. And..." She paused for a moment. "I would do anything to have a chance to be with you for real."