As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated.
All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.

Please Enjoy!
Coutuva.

Little Red - Part Three

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Since she would be stuck paying for another full day whether she stayed in the room or not, she decided to just stay. She also decided that it was a good time to employ her tried and true technique for alleviating stress - a pizza, a half-case of pop, and as much work as she could possibly do.

Using the time the pizza took to arrive, she got herself set up with her laptop computer, recharged cell phone and all of her documentation. Her goal was to use the chance to finish all of it off before she went to bed.

After the pizza arrived, her clothes came back off, her underwear went into the bathroom, and her skirt and blazer went between the mattress and box spring. Having not packed any clothes, or anything else for that matter, she was left to improvise. She counted herself fortunate that she was well accustomed to such things from her early days in 'The Biz'.

Wrapped up semi-comfortably in a large towel, she then settled onto the center of the bed and started to work, forcing herself to concentrate.

Her efforts succeeded for approximately half an hour, at which time a solid knock on her door startled her out of 10 years growth. Not making a sound, she slid off the bed and checked the peep, only to shudder at who appeared in the grossly distorted image.

Ranma. Smiling.

"Crap!" she cursed, quietly but angrily. "He would have to show up when I have no damned clothes!" she muttered, searching about for something to wrap up in. Finding nothing readily available, she glanced back out the peep to see if he was still there, intending to send him away. She was actually a bit disappointed to see that he had already left. "Where the hell did he go?" she asked aloud, moving about to try to see up the hall. "Jeez," she finally grumbled, and turned back to the bed.

Just as she reached it, however, the knock happened again. In a flash, she was at the door, only to end up blinking in amazement. She found Ranma again in the hall, this time proffering his Chinese shirt and pants, complete with his famous wry smirk.

Wordlessly, she unlocked and opened her door, then extended a hand. He placed the garments in it, then stepped back and leaned on the opposite wall as she drew them in. As she closed the door again, she couldn't help but notice him look at his watch, then back at her expectantly.

She heard him chuckle to himself as she slammed the door indignantly.

Despite feeling a little silly dressing in the same kind of clothes Ranma wore when he was a teenager, she looked herself over in the mirrored shower stall doors. She had to admit, she finally understood why he always wore them. They looked passable on either sex, and were easily adjusted.

Deciding she could put up with it long enough to see what he wanted, she headed back to the door and opened it, only to be greeted with a bemused look.

"Well, it'll do. Got your room key?" he continued, stepping up to her.

"Of course not. Why? We going someplace?" she asked, a bit surprised at his sudden and marked change of demeanor.

"Hai. I got the feeling you wanted to talk. I decided I'd like to listen," he replied, evenly.

"I'll get my purse," she responded, eyeing him suspiciously. He only nodded.

A few minutes later, they were climbing into his jeep. As if he sensed her curiosity, he looked over at her and spoke. "The rancher's Cadillac," he smirked, firing it up and grabbing the stick. "Got your belt on?" he asked, glancing over at her.

"Hai," she responded, about to ask where they were going. She didn't get the chance, however, as he wordlesly slapped it onto reverse and accelerated out of the slot.

A fast, silent and slightly wild drive later, they pulled up in front of his larger stable, at which he jumped down from the vehicle and stood waiting for her to join him. As she jumped down and stepped toward him, she immediately threw him an annoyed look.

"What gives, Ranma?" she asked, trying to conceal her actual relief at his choice.

Ranma only cracked a thin smile and disappeared into the stable. A few moments later, he reappeared with two tacked-up horses. "You know how to ride?" he asked, proffering her the reins of the slightly smaller horse.

"Hai - a little," she replied tentatively, completely thrown by the development.

"Good. Saddle up, there's not much daylight left," he half-smiled, then swung himself into the saddle of the larger horse effortlessly. Noting that she was still just standing beside the horse blinking, he walked his horse around hers and sidepassed over to her, extending his hand. "Grab hold," he indicated, at which she reached out and took it.

Her knees almost went to rubber as she felt the power in his grip. It had increased by at least double from when she had last felt it. Even more amazing was how he then simply deadlifted her easily 135 lb. frame and literally sat her in the saddle.

As she recovered from that surprise, he looked over at her again and smirked. "Put your feet in the stirrups, and then pick up the reins and follow me. The horse knows the way, so you don't need to do too much," he instructed, urging his horse forward.

True to his words, the horse she sat on followed right along, even as she was still trying to get her left foot in the stirrup.

All through the large yard, and out onto what appeared to be a well-worn trail, she noticed that Ranma remained silent. In fact, he almost seemed to be brooding. That observation had her very curious about his motives - if not a little nervous.

Again, almost as if sensing her concerns, Ranma half-halted his horse until hers caught up. As she fell in beside him, he tossed her a glance that spoke volumes - especially when followed by the question he asked first.

"Why are you here, Akane?" he opened, edgily.

"Like I said - I really don't know," she sighed, draping her arms on the saddle horn. "I was in the next town - overseeing a location shoot. When I got there, I saw a girl wrangling the horses, and she was really good. She treated them like friends - even ate with them," she explained, noting how he smiled to himself as she spoke. "Well, I was watching her ride one, and her hat blew off. The next day, I asked her name. The rest, you know," she concluded, looking over at him again.

"You still haven't answered my question," he responded, the edge noticeably absent from his voice. "Why are you here? As in, at this Ranch?" he repeated, looking over at her.

Akane swallowed hard. She had been dreading this question, but since she could never successfully lie to him, she didn't even try. Drawing a breath, she puffed it out and lowered her head. "Because I knew you were here," she confessed, quietly.

Ranma huffed. "Sure. I've been here since I left Nerima, Akane. You could have found me by using the phone book - just like I did to find you today," he replied, a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "There's more to it than that, isn't there?" he added, his tone remaining the same.

"You tell me. I've been trying to figure it out all damned day. I see your daughter and my life goes to hell in a handbasket. I'm even late getting back to my office because of it," she retorted, deliberately swatting aside her hair so he could see her eyes.

He looked right into them, then looked surprised. "Huh. Then I guess I was wrong," he abruptly remarked, frowning.

"Nani? Wrong? About what?" she asked, now totally confused.

"I thought you were here about Red," he responded grumblingly, actually looking more upset.

"Red?"

"My daughter. That's her nickname," he answered, distractedly.

"Oh. What's she got to do with this?" she countered, now as much curious as confused.

Ranma blinked aback, shot her a look she couldn't quite fathom, then huffed into a deep frown. She opted to just wait, figuring he'd get to the point eventually.

Instead, he just looked over at her for a moment, seeming almost to be studying her. She blinked, then a sickening wave surged through her gut as she realized there was only one reason for his behavior.

"You've never forgiven me, have you?" she finally asked, turning to meet his eyes.

His eyebrows raised. "Actually - yeah. A long time ago," he responded at length, then settled back in his saddle. "But, before I answer the next question, I gotta show you what's up ahead," he stated, his face sobering. "There's the turn... Stay close," he indicated, guiding his mount off the open path and through the trees.

Inwardly, she was in an increasing state of utter confusion. His manner was difficult to read, something that was definitely not normal for him. At least not as she remembered him. She found herself wondering what had happened to change him so much.

A few quiet minutes later, he stopped his horse and stepped off, tying the reins to a tree. Even in the dimming light, she noticed that the spot on the tree was well-worn. Wordlessly, she followed suit. When she finished, he gestured for her to follow.

He walked ahead of her through the brush, his steps deliberate and purposeful. Finally, he stopped and turned to his right, facing a small clearing. She couldn't help but gasp aloud as she moved in beside him - and saw the headstone.

Ranma then closed his eyes, clapped his hands, and quietly offered a prayer. When he finished, he turned and looked at her with misty eyes. "Akane, I'd like you to meet my wife - Saotome Akiko. She passed away four years ago - breast cancer," he stated, his voice tight. "It was her wish to buried here. She loved the outdoors," he continued, clearing his throat.

"Ranma..." she found herself saying gently, almost feeling his pain. He only smiled weakly.

"I brought you here - because she always wanted to meet you," he began, stepping up to the hand-hewn stone and picking off a few leaves. "I told her everything about me; we had no secrets. I met her the year after I arrived in this town, and we were married a year later," he continued, resting his hand reverently on the stone as he looked down at the earth beneath it. "That was when we started our family - and I started working here. Lived here, too. Had a room in back of the Ranch House," he explained, a smile again crossing his face.

"But... Don't you own this place?"

"I do now - have for the past ten years. Used to belong to Akiko-chan's family, but her parents were the last of the line. It became... Our inheritance," he explained, somberly. "Unfortunately, we were only able to share it for a few years. Akiko-chan got sick, and the disease... Took her pretty quick. I suppose... That's actually a blessing," he added, his hand stroking the monument as he spoke.

She was speechless. Suddenly, his melancholy made perfect sense.

"Anyway, she always wanted to meet you, Akane. I was never sure why, but I think it had a lot to do with what made me leave," he redirected, raising his gaze to her again. Strangely, there was none of the expected animosity in it.

"You mean... You told her the 'truth' truth?" she gasped, utterly horrified. "She must have thought I was awful. Especially since she had three children," she trailed off, her eyes widened.

Ranma smirked breifly. "No, actually. I think part of it was she felt sorry for you. Akiko-chan was an incredible woman, Akane. She had more love in her soul than anyone I've ever met, and was ready to share it whatever way she could," he corrected, almost wistfully. "Hell, the horses could even feel it in her, and used to follow her around like puppies," he added, smiling at the thought.

Despite her state, she had to smile at that. "So then she's the one that rubbed off on your daughter. From what I saw, that's exactly how she is," she noted, remembering the scenes. "That girl is incredible, Ranma. You two were blessed," she added, genuinely.

Ranma winced. "Hai. But not as blessed as we wanted to be," he countered, returning his gaze to the plot briefly. "You see, Akiko had a lot of health problems. Spent most of her time either sick or recovering, and never got to do a lot of the things she really wanted to. I tried to give her a good life, but because of that, I couldn't give her what she wanted most," he related, his voice becoming very quiet.

"What... Did she want?" she asked, the uneasy feeling returning to her gut.

He turned and looked back at her levelly. "Her own children," he stated, his eyes hard.

She was flabbergasted. "But you have three kids - and your daughter - looks just like you; uhm - your other you..." she sputtered, incredulous.

Ranma sighed. "Akiko-chan couldn't have kids, so we adopted. Kin, Hiro, even Red - all shortly after we married," he stated, his expression neutral.

"Then how... Does she look so much like you?"

"Simple. She's my daughter," he responded, candidly.

Her confusion stunned her silent - for about thirty seconds. Then, it hit her.

"Oh my God... No..." she gasped, eyes widening as she slumped to her knees.

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END - Little Red Part Three A Ranma1/2 Fanfic By Coutuva

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