Heart pounding as fast as her feet, Akane ran as far from the ballroom as possible, silently cursing herself as she went.
Despite being past the age of playing dare, of knowing better, she'd allowed herself to be tricked so easily! Even now, to her embarrassment, her lips tingled as though feeling the ghost of his breath.
Next time he goaded her, she'd punch him in that stupid mouth of his and run!
For now, though, Akane picked up the pace as though she could somehow outrun her shame and regret. But long after the sound of pursuit had faded, even when she was sure Ranma wasn't following her anymore, she didn't slow or stop to catch her breath once. Sooner or later, she knew he'd track her down, but until then, there was no way she would make it easy for him.
The question, of course, was where to hide.
Even without a clear destination in mind, Akane knew better than to head for her bedroom, the training grounds, or the barracks—he'd definitely look for her there. But while her brain churned, going over her options, her feet seemed to know instinctively where to go.
Before she knew it, she was headed towards Ranko's room. If he did think to look for her there, at least she could convince the other girl not to let him in.
If he was even looking for her at all. . .
As more time passed with no sign of him, Akane wondered if there was a good reason he'd given up the chase.
Maybe he was engaged now, after all?
Maybe he was too busy toasting his new fiancée to even care where she'd gone?
Without realizing it, Akane's feet began to slow, her heart pounding in rhythm with her now sluggish steps. "Dummy," she muttered, even though she wasn't sure if she was referring to herself or Ranma.
She knew one thing for certain though.
This was all her stepmother's fault!
Even hundreds of miles away, she was still ruining everything! And that's what Akane needed to concentrate on—not Ranma's sexy smile or teasing blue eyes, and certainly not that toe-curling kiss they'd just shared. No, she needed to think of Hinako. To replace all those warm thoughts with the memory of her contemptuous smile—her cold and hard gaze, devoid of any warmth, as she'd stood over her father's lifeless, drained body.
Right. Good. That did the trick!
Defeating Hinako had to come first.
With her resolve adequately restored, Akane marched defiantly towards her destination, a newfound fury behind every step.
. . .Even as she tried to remember the last time her lips had felt so warm.
…
"So, look who FINALLY decided to show up!"
Akane stood motionless inside Ranko's room, in the middle of her door, surprised to find her friend had somehow beaten her there. Just how long had she been wandering the halls anyway?
"What are you doing back so soon?" she asked, shutting the door behind her and kicking off her shoes. No longer trapped in heels, her feet felt like they could breathe again.
"Is that really what's important here?" Ranko asked, her eyes narrowed as she observed, "Huh. You look awful."
"Thanks for that."
"Well, whose fault do you think that is?! You had ONE job, Akane! You just had to say: 'Why yes, Ranma, I'd love to marry you and be part of your family! Thank you so much for asking!' What was so hard about that?!"
"I never said I was going there tonight to marry him!"
"Well, you SHOULD have!"
"Honestly!" Akane muttered as she bent down to retrieve her shoes. What had she been thinking anyway? Hiding outside and sleeping on the ground would've been preferable to this torture! Now barefoot, she turned on her heel and reached again for the door.
Just as quickly Ranko was there, arms outstretched, blocking her way. Again.
"Honestly! Is this all you know how to do?!"
"It's worked so far, hasn't it?"
"Not this time. Move, dummy!" Akane snapped as she tugged on her friend's arm, trying to pull her away from the only exit. But her friend was just as stubborn as a mule. She dug her heels in more firmly as she shook her head back and forth.
"D-don't you wanna h-hear the news?!" she asked, straining against her friend's bull-like strength.
"Not—really—" Akane grunted, pulling harder.
Unfortunately, Ranko wasn't deterred one bit. "My b-brother's engaged—" she continued, bracing herself against the door. "T-to Ukyo—!"
Finally, Akane's grip loosened.
"What did you say?" she asked, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes.
Ranko sighed in relief as she finally managed to pull her arm free and carefully stretched out her aching limb. "You heard me," she said lightly. "Ranma's engaged to Ukyo now."
If Akane thought she'd been prepared to hear those words, she'd been horribly, terribly wrong. "He—he's marrying Ukyo?" she repeated dumbly, the pain sharp and quick and all-consuming. "Oh. G-good for them."
Ranko crossed her arms, leveling her with a look. "Yeah, real convincing. Wanna try that again? Only, this time try not to sound like your favorite pet just died!"
"Stop it," Akane snapped as she turned away, trying to get a hold of herself. But her heart, her mind, her ears—everything was ringing. "It's not like I turned him down because I wanted to," she reminded her. "I don't have a choice!"
"Of course you do," Ranko insisted, still not moving away from the door. "What happened to your family was horrible, Akane—I get that, really, I do, but if you keep letting Hinako ruin what's left of your life, then all you're doing is letting her win! Besides, look at Kasumi. She's married and even has a kid on the way! There's no reason you can't have all that too."
Akane clasped her arms as she struggled not to get angry. She knew Ranko meant well, but sometimes, she was so deluded it was infuriating!
"Do you honestly think she's happy living this way?" She demanded, voice slightly raised. "She's in hiding, dummy! Every time she steps out to go to the market, to talk to a neighbor, to take a walk, she's putting her life in danger! Do you think my niece or nephew will have it any better? They'll have to live like that too! Always moving, never staying in one place for long, always looking over their shoulder. Believe me, it's not living!"
"Well then," said Ranko, her face going mildly pale, even as her stance became even more determined. "Just have them move here with you. I promise we'll protect them."
"No, you can't," she told her, through pulling punches. "They already know to look for us here. Since I've arrived, I've already met one of my stepmother's spies."
To be fair, Gosunkugi hardly counted as a spy, but if he managed to find her, it was only a matter of time before the others did too.
Bringing Kasumi and Nabiki here would be playing right into her enemy's hands!
"What?!" Ranko replied, finally moving away from the door to step towards her. "When did that happen?! Why in the world didn't you TELL me?!"
Akane sighed. "Because it wasn't necessary. This spy is easy to deal with, so I'm safe for now. But it's only a matter of time before more of them find their way here."
"You don't know that," Ranko insisted, even though she didn't sound quite as certain anymore. "And even if they do, who cares? They won't be able to do anything once you're married to my brother and have our entire army behind you!"
"And that's supposed to make me feel better? War?"
"Then what do you plan to do? Keep running and hiding all your life? Hell, Akane—maybe an army knocking at her door is exactly what that bitch needs!"
"It's not that simple," she reminded her, her voice becoming angrier. "I've thought about this, don't think that I haven't! When your father declares war on Hinako, it's your stupid brother who will lead the charge—then all those soldiers, people I've trained beside, people I've come to like—they'll DIE! RANMA will die! How is that helping ANYBODY?!"
"Don't underestimate them. They're stronger than you think."
"And so is Hinako."
"Then what's your great plan, huh?" Ranko replied, her voice raw. "March into the castle and take her on yourself? Is that what you're training for? To learn how to die?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. That's not it at all."
"Then what is it?" She demanded, worry and anger coloring her tone, making her sound almost desperate. "'Cause it sounds like you think you have a better chance of taking down your stepmother than an ENTIRE ARMY!"
"Look," Akane told her, fighting back the need to yell and scream until she saw reason. "I'm not a child anymore! I'm the chosen apprentice of TWO of the world's strongest warriors—do you honestly think I'd just WALTZ up to her, unarmed, without some sort of plan?! I've had years to prepare for this! You haven't!"
"Then what is it? What's this amazing plan of yours?"
"Well. . ." Akane frowned, flustered, no longer looking at her. "It's complicated."
Ranko snorted. "Probably cause you don't have one," she said, leveling her with a cool glance. "And if you do, then it's your lucky day, 'cause I've got ALL NIGHT to hear every excruciating detail. Or I could always go and get Ranma and we could discuss this as a family."
The sly look she shot her wasn't cute.
"Don't you dare," Akane warned, ready to hold her back by any means necessary.
She wasn't ready to see him again, and she definitely wasn't ready to tell him the truth. Maybe she'd never be ready.
But she didn't want to fight with Ranko either. So to prove she was no longer a flight risk, Akane muttered, "Fine, I'll tell you then," and headed for her friend's huge bed, resigning herself to another uncomfortable conversation.
Really, she should have known it'd come to this when she chose to hide here.
As she sat primly on the edge of the bed, Akane nervously smoothed out her borrowed dress, trying to distract herself.
It was silly to be discussing something so serious while wearing a party gown, but Ranko hadn't given her much choice in the matter.
Lips tightly pressed, likely to hold back a goading cheer, Ranko sat down primly beside her. "Okay. Take your time," she told her.
So Akane took her words to heart.
In fact, by the time she was ready to begin, she'd nearly finished counting all the sparkles on her midnight blue dress.
Setting them brought to mind another night, a night when the stars hadn't shone quite so brightly. . .
Pushing that day to the back of her mind, Akane took a slow, deep breath, preparing herself for a new sort of battle. "Okay," she began, purposely downplaying what she was about to say. "The truth is, I'm not strong enough to face my stepmother yet. That's why I'm here. I need to train to get stronger so I can take her on. Until then, I-I can't get distracted and forget my purpose."
"And you'll be ready when? A hundred years from now?" Ranko asked flatly, rolling her eyes. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but you said so yourself, right? She'd magic. What makes you think any amount of training will ever be enough?"
"Because Master Saffron already promised he'd help me," she explained, the memory of her Master giving her confidence. "He said he'd give me the power I need to defeat her and take back our kingdom."
"And you believed him? Some weird, wandering hermit? He could be nuts!"
That point was hard to refute, especially since Akane had never met a powerful warrior who wasn't a little insane. It was their unpredictability that made them so dangerous.
Yet, still, she trusted him.
He'd given her no reason not to.
"You don't know him like I do. You don't know the things he can do," Akane said, feeling defensive. "Years ago, I once saw him liquify an entire mountain! I've seen him create an entirely new light source for an entire village! If he can do all that, why wouldn't he possess a power strong enough to topple my stepmother?"
"If he's so powerful, why hasn't he taken Hinako down himself? Why leave something like that to a child?"
Akane narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a child!" She hadn't been one since she'd stood in the throne room and watched her father's life drain away. "And even if I was, why should that matter? This was never his fight—just like it's not yours now."
Ranko sat up straighter and glared at her. "It is too my fight!" She insisted, her voice full of emotion as she threw a pillow at her. "You guys were like family to us—you STILL are! So even if you get mad, I don't care. I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you talk about throwing your life away so easily!"
Clutching the pillow she'd caught mid-air, Akane finally allowed her eyes to soften. "I won't. I promise. I know what I'm doing."
"I'm not so sure you do," Ranko told her tonelessly. "You're putting all your faith in some weirdo who's not even here! And why hasn't he ALREADY taught you that oh-so-amazing-magical-technique of his? What is he waiting for?"
"He said I wasn't ready," Akane muttered, lowering her head and averting her gaze in shame. "That I was too young, naive, and impatient. He-he said I needed to learn humility and self-restraint before I was ready to face Hinako again."
"Ha—yes! FINALLY, something we can agree on!"
In a true test of self-restraint, Akane stopped herself from sending her friend soaring.
See? Progress.
Master Saffron would be proud.
"Yeah, well, we'll agree to disagree," she answered uneasily. "Master Saffron told me he'd find me again when I was ready. Until then, he told me to lie low, continue my training, get stronger, and wait for him to return. And I'd been doing just that until that jerk Kuno went and ruined everything!"
Even now, her ire rose at the memory of his interference.
Kuno was the reason she was in Wistalia at all, forced to leave her family, cut her hair, and tonight, been forced to lie about her feelings for Ranma to his face. If not for Kuno, right now, it wouldn't feel like her heart had been ripped from her chest.
How could she ever forgive him?!
"But why even bother waiting for some mystery solution at all? What if he's bluffing?" Ranko asked as if Akane hadn't already considered that during her darkest moments. "And even if he's not, Hinako can't take all our soldiers on at once! Isn't it better to overwhelm her with numbers, rather than take her on yourself?"
Akane's answering laugh was loud, bitter, and broken; if only it were that easy.
"Believe me, if an army was the solution, we would've gathered our own ages ago. But that's not the answer." Ranko raised an eyebrow as if to ask, You sure about that? But this time, wisely kept it to herself. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you? About the plague in our kingdom?"
"Of course," Ranko told her with a nod. "That's what they claimed killed you. Or the Amazons; I've heard both, actually."
Akane nodded back, feeling guilty. "Right. Everyone thinks that's why our people have become so sickly over the years. But the only plague there is Hinako."
Ranko's jaw dropped and practically hit the floor. "Wait—what?! Are you serious?"
"I wish I wasn't," she replied, weighed down by the burden of so many secrets. "From what we've gathered, every six months or so, Hinako summons our people to her castle's courtyard from all across the country. Then, once they're gathered beneath the terrace's balcony, she drains them. She drains everyone."
Ranko shook her head, her blue eyes wide with disbelief. "You-you're joking, right? How could nobody know? Someone had to notice an entire COURTYARD of people passed out!"
"She doesn't drain them completely," Akane explained, clutching the fabric of her dress; in the harsh light of Ranko's room, the night and its events felt like an illusion. "She just takes enough to keep herself in her adult form. When it's over, they don't even realize anything's been stolen—they think it's just fatigue and exhaustion from the journey and dismiss it."
"But-but someone had to notice that's not normal!"
Akane gave a sad shrug. "If they did, they knew better than to discuss it. Besides, you'd be surprised what people can turn a blind eye to when they're desperate—but do you see now? If she could do that to her own people, why couldn't she do the same to her enemy? To an entire army? I know you mean well, Ranko, but even your strongest soldiers wouldn't stand a chance against her; she can't be defeated by numbers. The more people there are, the stronger it makes her."
Ranma wouldn't stand a chance.
Knowing how close their families were, Hinako would go after him first.
"Okay," Ranko replied slowly, struggling to absorb this new information. "So, let me get this straight: You plan to hide here until your Master shows up. Then, once he decides you're 'ready' or 'good enough'—" She made exaggerated quotation marks with her fingers. "—He'll teach you this magical technique that will somehow fix everything. And once you've got that mastered or memorized or whatever, you'll waltz into Lumeria and take on your stepmother—a power-draining monster who wants you dead—all by yourself. Did I miss anything?"
Akane felt her face heat up.
When she said it like that, it sounded crazy.
"It's a better plan than yours in any case! That's suicide! At least I'll have the element of surprise."
"That's true." Ranko nodded. "It's so stupid, nobody in their right mind would ever think of it!"
At her droll look, Akane's jaw clenched. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"No, but seriously, this is crazy, Akane. Like, completely insane."
"It's not that crazy," she muttered, already tired of this conversation. This was the very reason she hadn't wanted to discuss it at all. "Hinako's not invincible. She's still human—someone made her that way. And if she's human, she can be stopped."
"And you know this how?"
Akane paused as she realized she may have said too much. She never planned to tell her about Happosai.
"Because I met him," she admitted after a lengthy, reluctant pause. "Remember when I said I trained under two masters? My other Master, Master Happosai, is the one who gave her that ability."
Ranko whistled low, but not to show she was impressed. "Geez, do you know how to pick 'em or what?"
"Honestly! He didn't know it would turn her into a monster," Akane argued, feeling strangely defensive of the old man. "She had a rare disease as a child, so by teaching her how to borrow energy, Happosai thought he was helping her."
"Yeah, real helpful," Ranko drawled, rolling her eyes. "Instead, he gave her the power to steal an entire kingdom."
Akane's heart clenched painfully at the reminder, until she forced the feelings away, locking them up tight like she always did.
"At least he knew he made a mistake," she continued, pushing herself to finish the rest of the story. "After I'd been training under Master Saffron for several years, I found him one day by chance, entombed in some cave—"
"Uh huh," Ranko interrupted, snorting indelicately. "And your first thought was, 'Yeah, sure. I can trust some cave-dwelling gremlin. . .'"
Akane crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Honestly! Do you want to hear the rest of this story or not?"
Losing her smile real quick, Ranko threw her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry," she replied, looking ready and willing to beg and grovel if necessary. "I won't interrupt again, I swear! Please, go on."
With a frustrated sigh, Akane tried to pick up where she'd left off.
"As I was saying," she continued, leveling her friend with a look that seemed to say, before I was interrupted, "somehow, he knew immediately who I was. But rather than turn me in, or expose my identity, he insisted on taking me on as his student. As it turns out, Hinako and the Amazons sealed him away, hoping to bury the secret of her powers forever. It was sheer luck I managed to stumble across him and that cave!"
"Luck?" Ranko sniffed. "Sounds like a trap to me. I mean, seriously, what were the odds?"
"Honestly! I'm not that gullible," she replied, scrunching up her nose at the implication. "Anyway, Master Happosai told me everything and explained how he wanted to teach me how to seal Hinako's ability away, making it impossible for her to drain anyone's power ever again."
"And again, he couldn't do this himself?" Ranko asked, already forgetting her promise not to interrupt. "What is with these all-powerful masters of yours? How old were you anyway, huh? Ten? Twelve?! Why the hell couldn't he do it his own damn self?"
"Because it's not as simple as you think," Akane replied. "You don't know how formidable the Amazons can be! They'd never let him get that close again—there's a reason they stranded him in that cave! But me? They've been looking for me all this time! I'll definitely be able to get close enough."
"So then, you learned it, right?"
Akane slowly nodded her head. "I did."
"Great!" Said Ranko, her eyes lighting up. "Then what's stopping you?! Let's go and put that bitch in her place right now!"
"I can't," Akane admitted, internally cringing at the admission. There's a reason she hadn't wanted to bring up Happosai; it was embarrassing. "His technique is only good if I'm touching her, and there's a catch."
"A catch?"
"Yeah," she muttered, getting angry all over again. "See, you have to repeat the technique every day for a month."
Ranko's eye twitched. And Akane didn't blame her. "Huh?"
"Yeah, it's not very convenient. But I think that's where Master Saffron's special technique may come in handy! I told him everything, so I bet he knows a way to duplicate the spell or make it more effective. Deadly. Something! Either way, it's a start."
"A start?" Ranko repeated incredulously. "Akane, you don't have a plan. You have the stirrings of a plan—a half-baked idea if anything!"
"It's not half-baked!"
"Oh no? Your ENTIRE plan is riding on this mysterious master showing up, isn't it? But what if he never shows up at all? Or, what the heck, say he does—what if you find out he was bluffing all along and this "special technique" of his is like a fancy way to grovel or beg or something?!"
Akane rolled her eyes. She'd heard the stories. "He's not your father, you know."
"Yeah, but martial artists are crazy, Akane! Trust me on this. Me and Ranma were raised by one!"
"Even if that's true, Master Saffron's not like that! Sure, sometimes he can be a little headstrong, childish, petty, and belligerent—" she cut herself off, realizing she wasn't doing herself any favors. "But I can trust him!"
"Okay then, scratch that," Ranko continued. "When he finally does decide to grace you with his presence, how will he even find you again? You're supposed to be in hiding, aren't you?!"
Akane waved her concern aside. That was the least of her worries. For years now, he'd been showing up when she least expected, no matter where they were. "Don't worry about that," she assured her with a laugh, smiling secretly to herself. "He has his ways."
Ranko let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. For your sake, I sure hope so."
"I do," she replied happily, relieved to find this awful conversation finally drawing to a close. That had gone surprisingly well! She had expected Ranko to fight her on everything.
Of course, those delusions were instantly shattered when she heard what came out of her friend's mouth next.
"Anyway, crazy news about my brother, huh? Still can't believe it. I mean, Ukyo? Pretty crazy."
Oh great, they were back to this again.
She'd rather talk about Hinako.
"Yeah. Crazy. . ."
"I mean, honestly," Ranko went on, staring down at her painted nails, poorly feigning indifference. "All things considered, our dad didn't do half bad. I mean, I would've preferred you, of course, but I get it. I do. You have that whole," she paused to casually wave her hand in the air, "martyr-thing going on."
Akane narrowed her eyes, incredulous at having her mission in life dismissed so casually. "Martyr-thing?!"
"Uh, yeah. Suicide mission, remember?"
It was hard, but Akane forced herself to stay calm. What else could she do? Unlike the usual jerks who annoyed her, the loud-mouthed redhead wasn't someone she could casually punch.
Was she?
"Regardless," Akane continued, taking a deep, calming breath, "your dad was okay with that? Marrying him to a guard?"
It certainly didn't sound like the greedy Genma she knew—at the very least, she'd expected him to choose a rich merchant's daughter, not someone of low status.
And what about poor Ryoga?
"She's not though," Ranko replied, no longer staring down at her nails. Instead, her smile was almost taunting. "Ukyo may not look the part, but she's royalty, just like us. She's Tanbarun's princess."
Tanbarun? Akane struggled to recall what she knew about the tiny Southern kingdom—she remembered meeting its heir, Prince Hayato, at one of her family's stuffy, formal balls when she was younger. But he'd been an only child then.
Had something changed in the last eight years? Had Ukyo secretly been hidden away?
Noticing the perplexed look on her face, Ranko took pity and quickly explained: "I'm not surprised you hadn't heard since it was kept kinda hush-hush, but several years ago, the widowed Queen remarried. That man was Ukyo's father."
Oh. What were the chances? That meant there were two princesses hiding away in Wistalia. "Oh no," she said, drawing in a breath, her heart stuttering in fear. "She's not hiding from her step-mother too, is she?"
Even though it was a perfectly reasonable question, Ranko chuckled. "Naw. From what I heard, they get along great. Well, her and Queen Lina, anyway. Her step-brother, Hayato? Not so much."
"I see," Akane murmured, any relief she may have felt, short-lived. She was happy her new friend was safe, of course, but when it came to the engagement, it made her worries triple.
In the back of her mind, Akane had imagined Ranma getting engaged to someone he despised, someone vain and greedy, who he would drop after a few months without guilt or remorse.
But Ukyo was honestly a catch.
She was pretty and brave, loyal and smart, and even better, she didn't have a homicidal monster hunting her down! The only downside she could find at all was Ryoga. And even that was a bit of a stretch.
Who knew how serious they even were?
Why else hadn't Ryoga made a move?
What if she had been secretly pining for Ranma all this time? Maybe Ryoga was her second choice, and now, because of Akane's timely rejection, Ukyo has been given the opportunity to pursue Ranma for real! And the dumb jerk, heartbroken and angry, had probably agreed right away, determined to get back at her—only to find real love had blossomed. Maybe they were together now, swearing their eternal devotion, sealing their oath with a kiss, and after that, Ukyo's pretty pink sleeve would slip off her shoulder, just so, and Ranma would bend to kiss her exposed skin, and, and—RIPPPPPPPP!
Akane stared down at her lap, surprised to find she'd somehow torn the piece of dress she'd been gripping; like a fallen star, it hung limply in her hand.
"Um," began Ranko, more amused than mad as she stared at the piece of gorgeous silk. "You okay there?"
Face blazing, Akane quickly nodded. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your dress."
Ranko grinned and instantly waved her concern aside. "It's not mine. I had it custom-made for you a while ago—so go ahead and rip it up if it makes you feel better."
"Thanks," Akane muttered, sadly fingering the ruined dress. If Kasumi were here, she would've insisted on mending it. She would've loved seeing her dressed up again.
"Anyway," she continued, forcing away thoughts of her family so she wouldn't start bawling. "Tanbarun and Wistalia aren't exactly neighbors, so how did Ukyo end up here?" A terrible thought occurred to her then: "Had she—was she here because of Ranma? Did she follow him here?!"
Ranko stared at her gravely for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Seriously? Why would anyone follow that idiot anywhere?"
"It's not that funny," she muttered, as Ranko laughed harder.
"It is though," she replied as she wiped away a stray tear. "But man, his engagement must be getting to you, huh? I haven't seen you this worked up in a while."
"It's not like that," Akane insisted, even though, yes, it absolutely was like that. Because if she were being honest with herself, Ranma wasn't the type to settle or to give in to anyone! Yet Ranko was acting like it was already a done deal!
Honestly, if that jerk liked her as much as he claimed, then why hadn't he fought harder against his father?!
It hurt to think about it, but maybe Akane had been the one Ranma had been settling for all along. Maybe he had been secretly pining for Ukyo, but thinking she had feelings for Ryoga, had given her up.
The idea that she'd been passed over hurt more than she liked to admit. Even though Akane knew this was for the best. It never would've worked out between them anyway.
Maybe this was a good thing.
A good thing, she told herself again as she continued to twist and wring the torn piece of her dress.
"Sorry to break this to you, Akane, but you're a terrible liar," Ranko told her with a chuckle.
"That's not it at all," Akane insisted, forcing her hands to still. "I don't care who he marries! It's just, I don't want him to be forced into anything, you know? But if this is what he wants, who he wants, then-then I'm happy for him. Truly."
"Uh-huh."
"I mean it!"
"Um hmm."
"Ranko!"
"Anyway," she continued, unapologetic. "Since I can't change your mind, I guess that just about covers it. Time for a bath!" Stretching, the redhead climbed off the bed and headed in the direction of her ensuite bathroom while Akane's eyes widened in happy relief.
Was she really going to let it drop that easily? She sure hoped so.
Akane was exhausted!
"Wanna join me?" Ranko asked, sticking her head back out the door. "It's almost ready!"
"Sure!" Akane said as she moved off the bed, grateful for the timely distraction.
She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes, sleep for a week, and wake to find this had all been a dream.
But a hot bath would work just as well!
Maybe, once submerged, she would stop thinking about Ranma and that stupid kiss . . . and then, maybe, just maybe, it would stop feeling like her heart was still breaking.
…
Ranko's mission was ridiculously easy.
After all, any idiot could see that Ranma liked Akane, and Akane liked Ranma. The only thing keeping them from getting together was her brother's obnoxious personality and Akane's misguided desire to die young.
But luckily, she could work with that.
(She'd worked with less.)
So as Akane soaked in the furo beside her, staring at the ceiling in and out of a daze, once again, Ranko began to plan and scheme.
Even though she barely had to do a thing. Nothing was more effective than a broken heart.
If she just kept pushing Ranma's bogus engagement, eventually, Akane would implode and come to her senses.
She was practically there already.
Even now, the green-eyed monster was alive and well, and taking up residence in this very room—"You don't think Ukyo really likes him though, do you?"—Akane asked again, fighting off another yawn. "I mean, I wouldn't blame her if she did, of course! I-I'm just worried about Ryoga."
"I don't know," Ranko replied, fighting back a grin because really, this was too easy."The two of them have always been pretty tight. Who can know for sure?"
"That's true," she fretted, biting her lip and moving uncomfortably in the bath, unable to sit still.
See? Easy.
Ranma was gonna owe her BIG for this one. Here she was, cleaning up his stupid mess after he went and screwed things up. Again.
What would he ever do without her?!
"I hope the engagement's a long one, at least," Akane continued with a sigh, and then, catching herself, added hurriedly, "I-I mean, not that I don't want him to get married and be happy, or anything like that! I-I just meant they'll probably want time to get to know each other better. Don't you think?"
Akane was blushing like mad when she was done and sank further beneath the water to better hide her embarrassment.
Ranko couldn't help but chuckle.
She was too cute.
"Don't worry, I get it," she assured her and then splashed her playfully with the water to help loosen her up.
Silently though, she was cursing her brother. The idiot should've talked to Akane long before today. Maybe if he had, they'd be celebrating their engagement tonight instead; not this farce.
Not that this outcome was surprising.
Even after all the trouble Ranko had gone through to get that perfect dress, to convince her mother to help, to trick Akane into wanting to go—he STILL managed to muck it all up!
The moron.
He sure was lucky she'd been born a girl! If Ranko had been a guy too, he'd have some serious competition. She wouldn't have hesitated!
But nope, it had to be Ranma. The gutless, dumb one, who couldn't do anything on his own. Even when Ranko had kindly handed her over on a silver platter, primed and ready to be romanced, he'd somehow scared her off!
If Ranma had only given Akane a heads up, or given her time to think about her feelings for a hot minute before springing the engagement on her at the ball, maybe she would've realized they could be together AFTER Hinako was dealt with!
It's not like they had to marry that second!
But no, instead, she'd been blindsided and had predictably panicked.
Of course, Ranko now knew that if she tried to bring it up again, Akane would just argue or rattle off more lame denials. She was as stubborn as her brother.
However, this situation with Ukyo gave her the perfect opportunity to meddle!
No way Akane could keep it together if Ukyo took the role of Ranma's fiancée seriously! And if everyone was on board and played their roles well, maybe that idiot Ryoga would finally man up and get a clue too!
Ranko would get them all together even if it killed her.
(Which, considering the fools she was dealing with, was possible.)
It's a good thing she was so clever and cunning. It shouldn't be too hard to pull off . . . hopefully, before long, love would be back in the air in Wistalia, and Ranko was ready to draw back her bow!
Luckily, her aim was impeccable.
Rankonevermissed.
…
Even before the sun had risen, a loud, relentless pounding dragged Ranma from his sleep; restless though it was. So with a groan and a vow to kill whoever it was, he dragged himself out of his warm bed and pulled open the door, unsurprised to find his sister standing there, smirking and looking way too pleased with herself.
"No thanks," he told her and proceeded to shut the door in her face.
But damn if she wasn't quick.
Ranko's foot shot out, stopping it from closing completely.
"Geez, is that any way to greet your beloved sister?"
Not waiting for an answer, the annoying redhead then shoved him aside and let herself in. And like a tornado barreling towards him, Ranma had no choice but to let her pass.
"What could you possibly want this early? Even the sun's not up yet," he grumbled, leaning tiredly against the closed door. Mentally though, he was wide awake, preparing himself for whatever nonsense she'd brought with her this time.
After all these years, he knew better than to let his guard down.
"Trust me," she told him with a wink. "I come bearing good news this time."
This time? What a laugh. "Nice try. But I haven't trusted you since we were four."
"Really? But this time, it's about Akane. . ."
Ranma immediately perked up.
"Oh? Um, w-what about her? Do you know where she is?" He was pretty sure she'd gone to Ranko's room last night—it was only a lifetime of discipline, and okay, some pettiness too (he was still sore about the whole rejection thing)—that had kept him from tracking her down and confirming as much.
"Yup! But since you're engaged now, well, I doubt you'd find this interesting. . ."
"Oh, shut it. There's nothing between Ukyo and me, and you know it—Ryoga would kill me long before we even made it to the alter anyway."
After the fake announcement, the dolt had practically gone into a coma. It had taken Mint and Lime combined to drag his dumb-ass back to his room.
That, and even if Akane wasn't in his life, Ranma still had zero interest in marrying his bodyguard. It would be like dating his sister. Gross.
"True, very true," Ranko agreed but then added quickly. "Now, just out of curiosity, would you be okay with him trying to kill you? I mean, it'd only be for a little while, and it's not like he feasibly could."
"Funny," Ranma replied as he ran a hand wearily over his face. "'Cause, I'm five seconds away from killing you at the moment."
"Wow. Rude. I'm only trying to help here!"
"If you have a point, I'm begging you, just make it."
"Fine, fine," she muttered. "I talked to Akane, and there's a good reason she's being so aloof with you. And no," she added the second he opened his mouth to ask, "I can't tell you the details. Anyway, as long as you do what I say, I think I could have you two married by the end of winter. Early spring, for sure."
Ranma crossed his arms. "How do you know I still want to marry the tomboy? She did reject me in front of everyone we know. Maybe I'm over the dork."
"You?" Ranko scoffed. "Sure, you're insensitive, stubborn, picky and rude—"
"You got a point in there?"
"BUT," she stressed, "you're also one of the dumbest, most loyal jerks I ME of course," she bragged.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Of course. . ."
"No way you'd give up on choosing a fiancée yourself after finally finding a girl you like. Not when it's so obvious she likes you back."
Man, was he an open book.
Even before his sister had woken him up, Ranma knew he'd never settle for whoever the old man planned to dump on him next. Not with Akane right there, close enough to touch.
"Fine, I'm listening," he told her. "Tell me what this brilliant plan of yours is so I can go back to bed already."
The light that entered her eyes at the invitation was damn near frightening.
"Don't worry, it's simple. See, if you and Ukyo were to ACT like the engagement was real, Akane would completely lose her mind—believe me, I checked, and that girl's poker face is as bad as yours! The dork would cave in no time. Plus, if you pretend the engagement's for real, it would help keep Dad off your back until Akane comes around."
"Do you even know our old man? The second he thinks Ukyo approves is the minute he starts sending out wedding invitations! He'll wanna lock us in as fast as he can."
"Already got it covered," she informed him proudly. "I talked to Ukyo before coming here and she said she's game. We'll just stipulate she wants a long engagement so Dad won't be able to rush things. And we'll have Mom to keep him in check."
"And Ukyo agreed to this why?"
"Same reason as you," she said, shrugging. "While you're busy driving Akane insane, she figured she could get some payback on that dunce, Ryoga."
Huh. That didn't sound half bad, actually.
What did he have to lose anyway? His dignity was back in the ballroom, lying in a pathetic heap on the floor.
"Fine," Ranma agreed with a sigh, hating that it had to come to this. Who knew his love life would be so pathetic?! "I'm in too. Not like it could do any harm at this point, right?"
"Right!" Ranko cheered and patted her brother cheerfully on the back. "You won't regret this, Ranma!"
Funny. He already did.
"Yeah, yeah. Now go away. I wanna sleep."
Ranko gave him a cheeky thumbs up, then turned and left the room, her bright red hair blazing behind her like a wavering flame.
As he locked the door behind her, Ranma couldn't help but wonder why his sister suddenly seemed so interested in his love life. She'd never shown an interest before.
Could there be someone she was interested in herself? Was she trying to hurry him along so she could have a go?
Nah. Ranko didn't have a romantic bone in her body.
She was probably just bored.
In any case, her plan was still loads better than his own: Ranma had planned to slowly wear the tomboy down by daring and pestering her until she gave in out of sheer annoyance and aggravation.
His plan's fatal flaw was that he wasn't sure it would work on someone as stubborn as Akane.
But jealousy? Yeah, maybe that would do the trick.
And if it didn't, if Akane still wouldn't change her mind, there was always Plan B. Ranko claimed she knew why the tomboy was being so standoffish, so if all else failed, he'd get his sister to admit what secret Akane was hiding instead.
After all, he couldn't fix the problem if he didn't know what it was. So until then, Ranma had no intention of losing Akane without a fight.
It was a good thing, then, that fighting was what he did best.
End of Chapter 12