[Ranma][Fanfic][Revision 2.0draft] Ranma-ototo Series (parts 5-6)
In preparation for a new story set in my Ranma-ototo universe, I'm
revising the original six part mini-series. Mostly because I kept
cringing when referring back to it for the follow up story (tentatively
titled: Please Save My Family or PSMF). I also wanted to fix some
problems with using ototo as an suffix and other bonehead mistakes.
Being my first fanfic and having no pre-readers/FFML input it was very
rough.
So, I'd appreciate it if I could get some C&C and grammar/spelling
corrections on the revised version. I'll put the revisions out in 3
segments.
Thank you.Here's the last two parts...
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Ranma-ototo (Little brother Ranma) Series (Parts 5-6) Revision 2.0
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi
Ranma 1/2 Copyright by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan Inc., Kitty, Fuji,
Viz Communications
Ranma-ototo series created and written by Jim Lazar
Ranma-ototo series Copyright 1998 by Jim Lazar
Story starts shortly after 'Back to the Happosai' Anime episode.
Continuity based on Anime up until 'Back to the Happosai' episode.
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Ranma-ototo (Little-brother Ranma)
Part 5 - A Kiss is Not Just a Kiss
A disheveled Ranma ran down the sunlit street. His clothes were
torn and burned. Some dirt and ruby red lipstick covered his face.
"Well, I guess Akanes not at the Kuno mansion," Ranma muttered as he
ran, his eyes frantically searching all around him. "At least they
didn't find out about the engagement or I never would have gotten out
of there alive."
"Akane!!" Ranma screamed, as he turned down another street, still
in search of his new fiancee.
* * *
Inside Dr. Tofu's clinic, Little-Ryoga and P-Chan played in the
reception area. So far the 'playing' had broken two chairs, overturned
a magazine rack of pre-1970 magazines, and spilled some cold soda on
the floor.
Akane was helping Dr. Tofu bandage Ukyo's wounds in one of the
examination rooms. Her right arm seemed to have the most damage,
however several smaller bandages were on her head, neck and legs. A
sheet covered Ukyo's unclothed body, her clothes having been ripped up
by flying glass during her short battle with Akane and P-Chan. Dr. Tofu
finished wrapping the arm after putting the stitches in.
"Well, she'll be okay, most of the cuts are superficial. The deep
cut on the arm was the worse of it. It's a good thing that you stopped
the bleeding, the glass nicked an artery," Dr. Tofu explained, in his
most professional tone. "So what happened?"
Akane looked uncomfortable and started to wring her hands. "Um, we
had a disagreement over something..." Akane answered, training off.
"Over your engagement?" Dr. Tofu questioned, noticing the ring on
her finger.
"Um, yes. I guess she didn't want to give up Ranma without a
fight," Akane replied, blushing.
"I'm happy for you two, it's about time you made it official," Dr.
Tofu said, smiling.
"Thanks. Um, could you please not tell anyone else?" Akane asked.
"I think we should tell the whole family together. Considering Ukyo is
the first of Ranma's other fiancees to find out, I'd rather prepare for
the others before they find out. Ukyo would have been the last one of
them I'd expect to go postal when she found out. I shudder to think how
the others will take the news."
"No one will hear it from me, but I thought your family and
everyone knew about the engagement already," Dr. Tofu asked, a little
confused.
"No, this is 'OUR' engagement, not theirs!!" Akane responded,
angrily. "After what 'Mr. Tendo' and my father did, they'll be lucky to
get invited to the wedding." She bent a pair of scissors that she had
been holding in half.
"Oh," Dr. Tofu muttered, calmly prying the scissors out of Akane's
hands. "You know about the switch, then?" he questioned in a neutral
tone, in case she didn't really know about it.
"Oh no...don't tell me you were in on this too?" Akane gasped, not
wanting to believe Dr. Tofu knew as well.
"Well, I helped my mother deliver both you and Ranma, it's kind of
hard to mistake parentage that way," Dr. Tofu explained, grinning. "You
were both adorable babies."
A blush covered Akane's body. <I guess my crush on him was only a
pipe dream if he remembers me being born,> Akane contemplated. "Ranma
and I just found out last night," Akane informed him.
"Yes, I heard about all the property damage over the night," Dr.
Tofu mentioned, trying to soften the mood.
A smile appeared on Akane's face. "Well, after I wore myself out
DOING that property damage, Ranma found me," Akane explained, just
needing to talk to someone suddenly. "For once in his life he said all
the right things."
"Love will do that to a young man, when he really needs to help
the one he loves," Dr. Tofu ventured. "I've seen it in his actions and
eyes. He does love you. Young men just can't always express it well."
"I know he does," Akane conceded, looking down at her ring and
rotating it on her finger. "But, I think the good doctor should listen
to his own medicine sometime."
Dr. Tofu suddenly looked uncomfortable and just nodded, not
trusting his voice. Then Ukyo stirred and mumbled incoherently. Dr.
Tofu put a hand on her good shoulder and calmly said, "Miss Kuonji?
It's Doctor Tofu. You've been hurt, but you'll be okay. Please don't
move suddenly, I don't want your stitches to rip out."
"Huh? How did I get here?" Ukyo questioned, confused.
"Akane stopped your bleeding and then brought you here," Dr. Tofu
answered.
"Akane! She did this to me!!!" Ukyo screamed and tried to get up.
That didn't turn out to be a very good idea, because a wave of pain
shoot through her body.
"She saved your life!" Dr. Tofu shouted, holding Ukyo down. "Calm
down!"
"Actually, P-Chan pushed you through the window. He always seems
to try and protect me," Akane mentioned, trying to calm Ukyo down. <I
wonder why?>
"The pig did this? One pork okonomiyaki coming up!" Ukyo snapped,
only half jokingly. Then she looked back at Akane and said, "You
brought me here? Why? I'm just as likely to attack you again." She
winced in pain. <After I'm better that is.>
"Well, I couldn't leave a friend to bleed to death. Could I?"
Akane ventured. Seeing Ukyo wasn't likely to try and get up again, Dr.
Tofu took this opportunity to leave the two women to talk.
"Friends? I've tried to steal Ranma away from you since the day we
met? How can you think of me as a friend?" Ukyo asked, amazed.
"I just do, you're actually the only one of Ranma's old fiancees
that I could stand to be around," Akane conceded. Ukyo didn't miss the
'old fiancees' part and flinched. "Plus, I guess I never really CLAIMED
him. Heck most of the time I tried to get out of the engagement. But, I
hope you can understand that we've chosen each other now and I can't
let you go on pursuing him."
"But, I... I still love him," Ukyo admitted, tears streaming from
her eyes.
"So do I, but I...um, I really don't want to speak for him," Akane
said, but then stops. "If he wasn't serious he wouldn't have gotten the
ring for me. I was shocked when I saw it myself."
"Well, I can't fight a ring, he's made his choice." Ukyo conceded,
vocally. Internally, she wasn't entirely ready to give up on Ranma yet.
<But, best to appear defeated for the time being.> "Got any bridesmaids
yet?"
"Huh? Well we really haven't talked about the wedding yet. But
stop chasing after Ranma and you're in!" Akane declared. <I hope I
don't have to do the same for Shampoo, Kodachi, and god-forbid, Kuno.
That could be a very messy wedding,> Akane thought.
Despite the pain, Ukyo pulled herself up and pulled Akane into a
hug. Tears trickled down Akane's back from Ukyo's eyes. "You'd just
better take care of him or I'll come take him from you," Ukyo
threatened.
"Deal. Although he may need an occasional malleting to keep him in
line," Akane mentioned, jokingly.
"Well, Ranma will always need some sense knocked into him," Ukyo
agreed and then looked around the room. "Hey...where's little Ryo?"
"He's in the lobby, I'll get him," Akane offered. She left the
room and returned shortly with Little-Ryoga.
P-Chan was squirming in the little boy's arms. "You okay
Ukyo-chan?" Little-Ryoga asked.
"Yup," Ukyo said, then looked at Akane. "We all are." Then she
glared at P-Chan. "And you ...PIG! Watch it or you're pork
okonomiyaki." P-Chan cringed at Ukyo's words.
* * *
Ranma spotted Kasumi walking down the street towards Dr. Tofu's
clinic. <Maybe Kasumi knows where Akane is?> Ranma thought, as he saw
Kasumi enter the clinic. He turned towards the building.
* * *
Kasumi walked in the doors of the clinic just as Akane walked out
of the exam room. Akane quickly slid her engagement ring off her finger
and pocketed it, before Kasumi saw it.
"Oh, Akane!" Kasumi cried out, then hugged Akane tightly. "I was
so worried!"
"Sorry we worried you, Kasumi, but I had to work off some anger
before I could really think things over," Akane said, embarrassed.
"Yes, we heard about all the property damage on the news this
morning," Kasumi explained. Akane just looked downward and sighed. "We
should go home and talk to our fathers. Where is Ranma?" Kasumi asked,
looking around the room.
"Um...we had some things happen and I had to bring Ukyo here. Just
let me say goodbye. Then we can go find him. We do need to talk to you
all," Akane replied.
"I'm so glad you've calmed down," Kasumi mentioned, as she
followed Akane into the examination room.
* * *
Entering the room, Akane asked, "Ukyo, I've got to get going. You
okay here?"
"Sure, Akane. Go and find him," Ukyo urged, a knowing grin on her
face. "I am sorry about what happened."
"I know," Akane said, then hugged Ukyo. As they separated, Dr.
Tofu came into the room carrying a tray with teacups and a steaming
kettle.
"I thought you all could use some tea," Dr. Tofu said, then
stopped suddenly when he saw Kasumi. "Kasumi!" he cried out, awkwardly.
He stared at her and continued to walk towards the bed. Not looking at
where he was going, he bumped into the bed and the tray went flying.
A horrified P-Chan, in Little-Ryoga's hands, could only widen his
eyes in shock before the kettle hit him on his head. The hot water from
the kettle spilled over his little black body. Little-Ryoga dropped him
and stepped back shaking off the hot water; he didn't appear to be
hurt.
As everyone watched the tray and teacups clatter to the floor, a
naked teenage Ryoga appeared beside Little-Ryoga. <Oh no...Akane saw me
change!> Ryoga screamed in his head. <And I'm naked!> Quickly reaching
out, he grabbed the nearest thing available and covered himself up.
Unfortunately, that 'nearest thing' happened to be Ukyo's bed
sheet. She shuddered when her naked body was revealed. "What do you
think you're doing, pervert!" she screamed.
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasps.
"Ryoga???" was all Akane could gasp. <Ryoga is P-Chan? What? How?
Was this why Ranma was always picking on P-Chan? Ranma knew...> Akane's
anger grew as she thought about all of the ramifications.
Ranma appeared in the doorway just as Kasumi calmly grabbed
another bed sheet and draped it over Ukyo's naked body. He calmly took
in the scene before him.
<Akane is here and she's safe!! Thank goodness!> was Ranma's first
thought.
In rapid secession he added to that thought: <Ryoga is naked,
gross.> <Ryoga is wet and steaming.> <He must have just changed from
his pig form.> <Akane must know about 'P-Chan' now!> <Ukyo is here,
hurt... hope not bad.> <How did she get hurt?> <And why is she naked
too?> <How did I ever think she was a boy?> <Where have I seen that
little kid before?>
Processing all these thoughts, Ranma did what he always had... he
picked his first thought to act on. After only a second delay and
before Akane's anger forced her to bring her mallet out, Ranma jumped
over to Akane and hugged her close. "Oh, Akane...thank goodness you're
okay." Ranma cried. Akane just hugged him back in amazement, her anger
fading.
"I was so worried when you weren't there when I woke up this
morning. I thought Shampoo or someone else..." Ranma explained. He
suddenly noticed the eyes of everyone in the room go wide and then they
all grinned. "Hey, get your minds out of the gutter! We just fell
asleep in the park together after a long day!" Ranma screamed at them.
<Wow, he didn't say 'I'd never do THAT with an un-cute tomboy like
her',> Akane thought to herself, grinning. "I'm sorry. I went to find
some breakfast for us. I found Ucchan's open and had a little
'disagreement' with Ukyo. I think we worked out our problems, though,"
Akane explained, still enjoying Ranma's embrace.
"Yes, I think we'll be okay," Ukyo agreed, sadly.
"Ranma you have red lipstick on your cheek," Akane commented,
noticing his cheek after they broke their hug. She was a little angry
at seeing this, but she managed to keep calm. Later she was unable to
figure out why she didn't hit him with her mallet, since this was an
obvious 'malletable offense'.
"Oh? I went looking for you at the Kuno mansion and had a little
trouble there," Ranma informed her, while Akane wiped the lipstick off
his cheek. <Amazing, I said the first thing to come into my mind as I
always do, and I didn't get malleted. Maybe the trick is to have the
'right' first thought and not to pick one out of many,> Ranma thought
quickly, analyzing the recent events.
Before anyone said anything else, Dr. Tofu cleared his throat and
his most professional look appeared on his face (even with Kasumi
standing within his sight). "I think we need to let Miss Kuonji get her
rest, ladies and gentlemen. Let's take this outside, please," he
declared, chasing them all out of the examination room. He started to
clean up the tray and cups. Unfortunately, Kasumi stayed to help him,
causing him to drop the tray again.
* * *
In the reception area, Little-Ryoga was looking around the chairs
and tables. "Where did P-Chan go? P-Chan!" he yelled, as he kept
looking for the pig.
Ryoga, now dressed in some spare clothes, apologized deeply to
Akane. "I'm really sorry again, Akane. I couldn't help myself. I guess
I sort of had a crush on you." He blushed. <I finally said it!> he
thought and then remembered what he heard this morning. <But, they're
officially engaged now. Curse that Ranma for doing this to me!>
"I'm sorry too, Akane. I should have told you, but I gave him my
word as a martial artist that I wouldn't tell anyone," Ranma explained,
apologetically. "Of course, that was before I knew what he was going to
end up doing with his curse," Ranma added, glaring at Ryoga.
"I'll have to think this all through, some other time... We have
other things to worry about now. Ranma let's head home, we have some
answers to get from our 'fathers'," Akane said, then added, "And some
things to tell them."
Ranma nodded his agreement, then noticed Little-Ryoga again.
"Who's the kid?" he asked.
"Apparently he is Ryoga's little brother. He thought P-Chan was
his pet for some reason," Akane explained.
"I didn't know Ryoga had..." Ranma began to say, then stopped
suddenly. "Oh no. I know where I've seen that kid before! We've got BIG
trouble! Remember when we went back in time to find out about our
parents?" Akane nodded. "As we were returning I saw this little kid,"
he said, pointing to Little-Ryoga and then finished, "run into the
playground."
Akane looked closely at the little kid, then at the older Ryoga
and back again at the kid. "You mean somehow we brought Ryoga, when he
was just a kid, back with us?" Akane asked, amazed.
Ranma nodded. "Only Ryoga could get lost in time like that!" Ranma
exclaimed, grinning. Despite herself, Akane grinned too. "I'm not sure
how, maybe something about the mirror being broken, but we have to get
him back to the past or Ryoga will disappear from our time," Ranma
explained. <Unless all those old Star Trek episodes were wrong...> A
thoughtful look crossed his face. "Not that that would be the worse
thing I can think of."
"Don't tempt me," Akane growled, still thinking angrily about
P-Chan. <Oh, I hope he never saw me naked.>
Ryoga had been trying to follow this. "You two went back in time?"
he asked.
"Yes, we... err... had to find out some things about our parents,"
Ranma explained.
"And, Ryo here," Ryoga said, indicating Little-Ryoga. "Is not my
little brother who I never knew I had, but is in fact me as a kid?"
"Yes. It was an accident. We're sorry, we'll take him back Ryoga,"
Akane promised.
"Ranma! How dare you! This is all your fault!" Ryoga screamed.
"Yes it is, I'm sorry," Ranma conceded.
This stopped Ryoga in his tracks, normally they started fighting
right now. <Is something wrong with Ranma?> Ryoga wondered. "Well okay
then," was all Ryoga could utter aloud. Ryoga turned and went to talk
to Little-Ryoga.
"Okay...we'll go grab the mirror, a quick breakfast," Ranma said,
his stomach growled then he continued, "and get some boxers for you."
"Boxers?" Akane questioned.
"Remember what happened to your bra and panties the first time we
used the mirror," Ranma replied.
"Oh, yeah," Akane recalled. A blush crossed her face. "I guess
men's boxers would be okay, this one time. I guess I know now why
you're always so adamant about not wearing a bra or panties in your
girl form," Akane suggested, slyly grinning.
"It's always easier to see things clearer when you put yourself in
the other guy's panties," Ranma quipped, smiling at his own joke.
"Pervert," Akane responded.
"Tomboy," Ranma retorted, pulling her into a hug.
"Excuse me," Ryoga interrupted what may have become a kiss. He
looked very uncomfortable with their closeness. "I've told 'Ryo' that
you're going to take him back to his house and that P-Chan had to stay
here. I didn't think he would have understood the time travel business.
Since it's your mess, you'll have to fix it."
"Yes, we will. Come on Ryo time to go. Ryoga, tell Kasumi we'll
see her back at home later," Ranma said, then turned to leave. Akane
held out her hand for Little-Ryoga.
* * *
Later, Ranma, Akane, and Little-Ryoga were walking down the
street. Ranma had the mirror in his hand and Akane had an onion. She
was admiring the engagement ring on her finger. She'd only had a it a
short time, but she already felt naked without it on.
"All set, Akane?" Ranma asked, holding the mirror up. He avoided
looking to see if she's wearing a bra or not.
"Yup, boxers in place, onion ready," Akane mentioned, then
squeezed the onion into her own eye. Tears started to flow.
"You should have let me do that..." Ranma insisted, then held the
mirror under her eyes. A tear dripped onto the cracked surface. It
flared into life. "Magic mirror, take us back to the day after we last
saw our younger selves." With a flash, the three time-travelers
disappeared.
* * *
They appeared on a similar street in the past. They all looked
around. "Wonder where he lives? I've never been to his house before,"
Akane realized a bit late.
"I don't know for sure, let's ask that policeman," Ranma
suggested, indicating the little police station on the corner.
"Good idea. See little Ryo... when you're lost you should ask a
police officer for help," Akane explained to Little-Ryoga. She pointed
out the police officer. "Think that'll help him in the future?" Akane
whispered to Ranma.
"Nope, not really," Ranma whispered back. "Officer! Can you help
us, this little boy's name is Ryo Hibiki and he's lost, can you tell us
where his house is so we can take him back?" Ranma asked the officer.
The police officer sighed. "Oh no, not the Hibiki kid again. Third
time this week alone," the police officer mentioned. Akane and Ranma
exchanged knowing glances. "Come here Ryoga, I'll walk you home. Thanks
for looking after him." The officer lead Little-Ryoga away.
"Sir, do you want to see 'The Breaking Point'? It's a real neat
martial arts move." Little-Ryoga asked walking away with the officer.
Both Akane and Ranma looked troubled. "He wouldn't have taught his
little self that, would he?" Ranma asked.
"I don't think he had time...hopefully," Akane replied. They
started walking back up the street. Ranma reached for the mirror when
they were interrupted by a voice.
"Oh, you're the young couple from yesterday," Mother Tendo
remembered, smiling.
"Oh...hi, Okusama. It's nice to meet you again," Akane replied,
nervously.
"Yes, it is. You know we never did introduce ourselves yesterday.
I'm Ryoga," Ranma said, using the fake names they used with their
younger selves yesterday. "And this... is my fiancee Shampoo." Akane
blushed, since this was the first time they'd told anyone else
directly. Of course, since they weren't using their real names maybe
this wasn't really their first time telling anyone directly. <At least
I know she's not going to attack us.>
<Shampoo? What an unusual name,> Mother Tendo thought. "It must be
recent, you weren't wearing the ring yesterday."
"That's very observant of you. Yes, he asked me last night," Akane
revealed. She smiled broadly and held up the ring. Ranma put his arm
around her shoulder.
"Well, I know you'll make good parents. My Ranma and Akane kept
going on and on about you two last night," Mother Tendo informed them.
Both Ranma and Akane blushed at the mention of their being parents.
"You seem to think very highly of Akane, even though she's not
your own daughter," Akane hinted, not being able to resist finding out
how Mother Tendo felt.
"Oh, yes, I love Akane just like my other children. Her own mother
is too sick to take care of Akane herself, and her father wouldn't know
how to raise a daughter if his life depended on it. He said he was
going to take her to China on a training trip. Really! Imagine taking a
four-year-old girl to China! If it wasn't for the fact that Genma
introduced me and my husband, I'd never let him near my kids," Mother
Tendo explained.
Akane and Ranma just absorbed all this information. They felt
better with every word 'their' mother said.
"I'm afraid I have to go and do my shopping now, you two are
welcome to come over anytime and play with the kids, I'm sure they'd
enjoy it," Mother Tendo suggested. "It's the Tendo house down on
Takahashi Street."
"Well, we're just visiting Nerima, but we will try and drop by if
we're in the neighborhood," Ranma promised.
"That would be fine. Oh, Shampoo dear?" Mother Tendo asked,
leaning towards Akane.
"Yes?" Akane replied.
"I know your fiancee may like it, but you really should wear a
bra, and boxers are really not appropriate for a young lady. If you're
not careful someone will call you a tomboy," Mother Tendo whispered to
Akane. Ranma apparently heard her, since a slight grin crossed his
face. Akane just blushed.
They all said their good-byes and Mother Tendo walked away humming
a little tune. <That's the same tune Akane was humming when I found her
in the park last night,> Ranma remembered, smiling.
Then Ranma and Akane continued walking down the street. "How did
she know?" Akane wondered, looking down to see if anything is showing.
"Mother's intuition, I guess," Ranma suggested. "Come on, I've got
an idea." He pulled Akane in the direction of the Tendo house.
* * *
The Tendo garden looked almost the same as it did in the future
except the trees were smaller, the house looked newer, and the koi pond
didn't have piles of wet clothes laying on the bottom.
Near the big tree in the corner, Ranma helped Akane down the wall.
"Do you have a nail file or something?" he asked.
"Sure, why?" Akane questioned, dinning in her pocked. Then she
handed him the nail file.
"You'll see," Ranma replied, grinning. "Chestnuts roasting on an
open tree!" he yelled and started to hack very fast at the tree bark
using the nail file, chips went flying. "There. THAT ought to confuse
some people," Ranma quipped, as he finished.
Akane looked closely at the tree and saw that he had carved a
remarkably detailed heart on the tree. Inside the heart were the
initials 'T. R. + S. A.'. She grinned. "I always did wonder who's
initials those were," Akane remarked, tracing the letters with her
fingers.
Ranma held Akane close and they looked into each other's eyes
silently. A few heartbeats later, their lips touched and they enjoyed a
long kiss.
Reluctantly they parted. "I guess since we were so tired last
night, that's our first kiss," Ranma stated.
"Um, well actually..." Akane muttered as a troubled look crossed
her face.
Concerned, Ranma asked, "What is it?".
"When I woke up this morning, you looked so sweet and handsome,
I... I kissed you. I stole our first kiss when you weren't even awake,"
Akane explained, crying.
"Well, why did you kiss me?" Ranma asked.
"Huh? Well because I love you of course."
"Sounds like a good reason to me," Ranma suggested. Then he leaned
down and kissed Akane again, this time more passionately.
In an upstairs window a young Kasumi, who looked to be around 9
years old, looked down on this scene with amusement. <Why are those two
people kissing in our garden?> she pondered, watching them. <They look
a little familiar...>
Down in front of the porch, Little-Ranma and Little-Ranma were
watching as well. "Ick, why are they doing that?!" Little-Ranma asked.
"It's called kissing, adults do that! I've seen Momma and Poppa
doing it!" Little-Akane explained, grinning.
"Well, I'm never going to do that! It looks gross!" Little-Ranma
insisted.
"Want to try it with me? You never know it may be fun, they seem
to like it," Little-Akane hinted, pointing at heir older selves.
"Nope, I'd never do that with a tomboy like you!" Little-Ranma
announced. Then he noticed that Akane was suddenly holding her little
mallet. "Um, okay, but only once."
Awkwardly, the little kids leaned into each other and kissed. They
just pressed their lips together and moved their heads a bit, but it
was a kiss nonetheless.
Back in the corner, the older Ranma and Akane finally broke their
long kiss, mostly to avoid passing out from oxygen deprivation. "I
guess we can always call that our first kiss," Akane suggested,
dreamily.
Ranma noticed something over Akane's shoulder and turned her
around. "Ah... actually it looks like we were concerned about our
'first kiss' for nothing. Look," Ranma explained, pointing at their two
younger selves who were just finishing their little peck.
"Icky!" Little-Ranma shouted, as he broke the kiss.
"Baka! Fine! I will never kiss you again," Little-Akane promised.
"Fine by me," Little-Ranma agreed, earning him a mallet blow from
Akane. They both stormed off in different directions.
"Looks like I lied," Akane admitted, smiling sweetly at the two
departing kids.
"Looks like my taste has improved," Ranma said, pulling Akane back
into another kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Akane suggested, "You know what? Maybe the
first kiss isn't important... It's the kisses that last a lifetime that
are."
"I think I can handle that," Ranma promised. "We'd better get
going." They both jumped up and over the back wall. Then they found a
quiet corner to use the mirror in.
After the young couple had left the garden, Little-Kasumi came out
of the house and looked closely at the initials on the tree. "T. R. and
S. A.," she read, examining the letters with her finger. A smile
crossed her face. "Oh my."
[End - Part 5]
=======================================================================
Author's notes and ramblings for part 5:
This part was going to be called 'The Pig Squeals Tonight', but that
would have given away P-Chan's discovery.
I decided to use the Japanese name form for the initials on the tree
(last name then first name). So Tendo Ranma is T. S. and Saotome Akane
is S. A. Really it was a toss up whether I'd use that form or the
western name form, it doesn't affect the story at all.
Well, only one part to go into this story. Hope you've enjoyed it so
far.
=======================================================================
Ranma-ototo (Little-brother Ranma)
Part 6 - Perchance to Dream of Love
Ranma and Akane returned to the present with a bright flash. They
appeared in the Tendo Dojo. They looked around to make sure they didn't
bring any more hitchhikers back with them this time. "Looks like we're
back. Just us this time," Ranma declared. <I still can't believe Ryoga
got lost in time with us. That moron!!> Ranma cursed to himself.
"Yup, I'm going to go change out of these boxers. Then let's get
the family together to let them know about our engagement and also make
sure they stop manipulating our lives," Akane said.
"Sounds good," Ranma replied. The couple headed towards the house.
* * *
In the Tendo's dinning room, a familiar scene repeated itself.
Soun, Genma, Nabiki, and Kasumi were all kneeling around the table.
Ranma and Akane knelt across from them. Most of the previous day's
damage had been repaired, or at least patched up.
"Okay, we all know the basics. I am really Ranma Tendo and Akane
is really a Saotome," Ranma stated.
"We've accepted that as the truth and it's okay," Akane said. Soun
and Genma seemed to relax a bit. "We are still not convinced that
giving Ranma to Mr. Saotome was the best thing to do, especially since
he ended up with his curse. But apparently, I was better off living as
a Tendo." Genma flinched and looked sadly down at the floor.
"As it turns out I'd rather be cursed, than see Akane have to deal
with this nightmare of a curse," Ranma informed them all. "I do
appreciate the training you've given me POP and I think maybe Akane
should join our morning workouts. Since she is your real daughter, she
deserves the training as much, or more, than I do," Ranma explained.
<Just don't expect me to hit you too hard,> Ranma added to himself.
Akane looked surprised, they never talked about that. She grinned.
"Thank you Ranma, I'd love to train for real with you."
Genma relaxed. <He called me 'Pop' again,> he thought. "Of course,
I'd be glad to train her. I always wanted to come back and start
training you again Akane, but events didn't work out that way." Genma
looked lovingly at his daughter, but sad at the same time as he
remembered the lost years.
"The engagement between you two was kind of our failsafe. We'd
hoped to bring the two families back together again in a more peaceful
manner," Soun revealed, tearing up.
"Right, we want you both to consider it again. I think deep down
you two do love each other, you just haven't realized it yet," Genma
appealed to them.
"No," Akane said, flatly. "That engagement is null and void."
<Huh, did she change her mind?> Ranma asked himself. A worried
look crossed his face.
"We have had enough of your manipulations, one-way decisions, and
meddling with our lives!" Akane announced in an angry tone.
<Ah, I see what she's doing,> Ranma realized. "Your actions up to
now have been very dishonorable! Does anyone have a tanto blade handy?"
Soun and Genma went very pale.
"I think there are a couple in the dojo, should I get them?"
Nabiki offered, a wicked grin covering her face.
Ranma wasn't sure if she suspected what was happening or if she
really thought Soun and Genma should use the blades. <Damn, Nabiki
scares me sometimes.>
"I don't think that will be necessary, Nabiki," Akane conceded.
"You two!" Akane shouted, looking at Soun and Genma. Then continued,
"Have to promise to stop interfering in OUR lives and making unilateral
decisions for us. Agreed?"
Reluctantly, after several seconds, Soun and Genma agreed. Of
course, only after Ranma and Akane's battle auras burst to life. "We
promise," they both said, humbly. They bowed their suddenly mature
children.
Ranma looked at Akane, who nodded towards the others. "Now then,
me and Akane have one final thing to tell you all. I have asked Akane
to be my wife and she has agreed," Ranma informed them all, taking her
hand in his. Akane slipped her other hand out of a pocket where she has
been hiding it. She showed them the ring. Everyone face faulted and
stared in amazement at the ring.
Soun started to cry.
"Oh my," Kasumi said. Her worried look turned into a beautiful
smile.
"Wowsa!" Nabiki exclaimed.
"But you said... that the engagement was off..." Genma stammered.
"'YOUR' engagement is. This one is 'OUR' engagement! Not yours,"
Ranma declared, forcefully.
Looking into Ranma's eyes, Akane confirmed Ranma's statement, "We
decided this ourselves, because we love each other."
Ever his eloquent self, Ranma added, "Right."
Soun was in full cry, tidal wave mode. "I'm so happy!" he cried
and jumped across the table to hug them both. Genma joined in the hug,
with Kasumi and Nabiki bringing up the rear. Everyone hugged and kissed
the newly engaged couple.
"I guess you're going to be my ototo for real now," Nabiki
remarked.
"Um, remember...I already am your real brother," Ranma reminded
her.
"Oh, right. Okay, Ranma is my ototo and Akane, as she's always
been to me, will always be my imoto," Nabiki declared, smiling. She
recalled all the child swapping that apparently went on after her
Mother died. <I still can't believe those two meatheads pulled that
off! And I didn't suspect anything!>
Then Genma stood up straight. "I'll go call the minister!" he
declared.
"Good idea, I'll..." Soun started to agree, but was cut short by
Akane's mallet.
Actually, mallets silenced both Soun and Genma. Soun by Akane's
mallet and Genma by Ranma's mallet. Yes, RANMA'S mallet. "Glad you
showed me how to hide these things, they come in handy," Ranma thanked
Akane, then kissed her quickly.
"Now they are malleting people together, what a cute couple,"
Kasumi said, in her sweetest voice.
"WE will decide when WE will get married, not you two!" Akane
proclaimed.
"Got it?" Ranma glared.
Both Soun and Genma nodded their agreements, both suitably
humbled.
Kasumi and Nabiki were examining Akane's engagement ring. "It's
quite lovely, Akane," Kasumi said.
"That must have cost a lot of yen!" Nabiki calculated. <Damn,
where on Earth could Ranma get that kind of money? I know he didn't
borrow it from me.>
"Mr. Hoseki will be sending the bill. Either of you two FATHERS
have a problem with that?" Ranma asked, forcefully. Both Soun and Genma
shook their head no.
"He better have given you a good price," Nabiki said, recalling
who Mr. Hoseki was.
"I'm sure he did... He seemed extremely frightened of you," Ranma
informed her.
"As well he should be," Nabiki replied, with a twinkle in her eye.
"We'd also like to keep all of this business in the family, all
anyone needs to know is that me and Akane are officially getting
married," Ranma explained.
"Okay, that is for the best, no reason to air our dirty laundry in
public," Soun agreed. Everyone nodded their agreement.
"And Nabiki... that means you will not tell or sell anyone the
information. Understood?" Kasumi requested in her most motherly tone.
>From anyone else it would have been a direct order, but Kasumi has a
way of just saying things so sweetly.
"Okay, they won't hear about the child swapping from me." Nabiki
promised. "What about the engagement?"
"We'll have to think about how best to handle it, there are
certain people who may... err... who WILL react badly to it," Ranma
explained and earned a nod of agreement from Akane.
"Okay, I won't sell any information about the engagement either,"
Nabiki promised, a little glimmer of a plan forming in her head.
After another round of hugs, kisses, and congratulations, Akane
said, "Well, I'm going to go take a bath, it's been a long day, err...
days. Coming Ranma?" This last statement earned some surprised looks
from everyone in the room, especially Ranma.
"Huh? Oh... I think I'll wait a bit," Ranma replied, nervously.
"Good boy, you passed that test," Akane admitted. Ranma was miffed
at being 'tested', Akane leaned closer to him. "Don't worry. Someday
soon I'll scrub your back for you," she whispered to him, winking. She
then gave him a sweet kiss. This produced a full body blush from Ranma.
<And your front,> she added to herself, internally blushing.
"I think I liked them better when they were fighting," Nabiki
suggested, as her stomach churned.
"I think it's sweet," Kasumi beamed.
Soun and Genma were crying and congratulating themselves over
their perfect plan to bring Akane and Ranma together after so long.
Some people never learn.
* * *
Later that the afternoon, Akane was tracing the initials that
Ranma carved into the corner tree during their trip to the past. They
read 'T. R. + S. A.'. The tree had been returned to it's upright
position and was being held in place by several stakes and wires.
"Seems like it has been a long time getting to this point," Kasumi
ventured, walking up beside Akane.
"You knew this was us?" Akane asked. <Of course she did, she knew
all about our real parentage.>
"I suspected it was you. I saw two strange adults kissing in our
garden one day and noticed the initials after they left," Kasumi
recalled. "I may have nudged you and Ranma along on the right path, I
hope that's okay."
"Always there when I need you... It's fine, Kasumi. I just wish
Father and 'Pop' could be a little more like you, but they always
overdo everything and push so hard," Akane remarked, hugging her
'sister'. "They almost pushed us apart."
"They do tend to be pretty outrageous sometimes, but they do it
out of love," Kasumi replied. They finished their hug and pulled apart.
"Thank you, Kasumi. As much as I hated how they kept pushing me
and Ranma together, in the end it was your gentle reminders that really
made us see that we loved each other," Akane acknowledged.
"That's what Mothers are for, seeing that their kids are happy,"
Kasumi said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Something else you want to tell me about my parentage?" Akane
quipped.
"No, just that I like to think of myself as your mother sometime,
helps me try and figure out what our Mother would have done," Kasumi
explained, stroking Akane's hair.
"You raised us well, Kasumi. I know that 'OUR' mother would be
proud of the job you did," Akane declared, confidently.
"Thank you, Akane. I needed to hear that," Kasumi announced and
kissed Akane on the cheek.
"Hey! Didn't I knock this tree over on my way out of the garden
yesterday?" Akane asked.
"I had a specialist come over... The roots weren't damaged so he
was able to upright it," Kasumi informed Akane.
"I'm glad."
"I couldn't let the dream die, could I?"
"It's not a dream," Akane declared. She looked lovingly at Ranma,
who had just come out of the house looking for Akane. "It's love."
[End - Part 6]
=======================================================================
[Epilogue]
The next morning, Akane awoke as a beam of sunlight hit her eyes.
She got up and stretched. "What? That was some dream I had.
Weird...image me being Mr. Saotome's daughter and Ranma being Dad's
son," Akane muttered. <And like that jerk Ranma would ever have the
guts to actually ask me to marry him.>
Akane looked out the window, watching some birds fly by her window
and land on the tree in the corner. A puzzled look crossed her face and
she jumped out of the window, bounced down to the ground, and ran over
to the tree.
She was shocked to see the heart shaped carving. She traced the
initials with her fingers, and then she noticed the ring on her finger.
<Huh?> her mind gasped. "I guess it wasn't a dream after all," Akane
realized and a beautiful smile crossed her face. She remembered more
and more details of the past few days she walked back into the house,
avoiding the stakes that held the tree up.
In his room, Ranma was sleeping peacefully in his male form. Akane
slipped into the room. Carefully, as to not awake the sleeping panda,
she slid down next to Ranma. <Why does he sleep as a panda anyway?>
Akane pondered.
Looking lovingly into Ranma's eyes, Akane smiled and gave him a
deep kiss.
Ranma woke up suddenly. <What?> <There are lips kissing me... and
a tongue in my mouth.> <I hope it's Akane and not someone else.>
"Akane..." he called out after she broke the kiss. <Thank goodness.>
"Good morning," Akane chimed.
"Stealing a kiss again?" Ranma inquired, grinning.
"Well you said you'd give me kisses for a lifetime, I'm just
collecting on that promise," Akane explained.
"Good point. So is this going to be the way you're always going to
wake me up?" Ranma questioned.
"I'm going to try my best," Akane promised and then kissed him
again, very passionately.
Behind them the panda stirred and saw the kissing couple. He
grinned as much as a panda could. <Nothing more for me to do here,
they'll work the rest out themselves,> Genma thought, going back to
sleep.
* * *
Ranma and Akane both walked along the top of the fence on their
way to school. "So, how do you think we should tell everyone? Maybe
announce it over the school intercom?" Ranma offered, grinning.
"I don't think so! That would only lead to chaos and probably a
big fight," Akane said, as she walked behind him on the fence, a little
unsteady.
"Well, Mousse and Shampoo know already. So far no backlash from
the C.F.F. yet." Ranma informed her.
"C.F.F.?"
"The Chinese Fiancee Front," Ranma quipped.
Akane grinned. "That probably won't last for long," Akane
insisted. "Ukyo and I had a good talk yesterday. I think she's okay
with it, but it may take her some time and convincing by us for her to
really accept it." <She probably thinks I didn't catch her smirk when
she swore off Ranma, but at least she's trying to be a friend.>
"That leaves the Kuno family. If my battle with them yesterday
over just being at their mansion is anything to go by, they are going
to be hard to get away from," Ranma informed Akane, remembering the
fight he got into yesterday with Kuno and his sister.
"Well, we'll tell some of our close friends at lunch. We'll talk
tonight on how to handle the Kuno's and others," Akane suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Ranma agreed. He then did a quick spin on
top of the fence, almost causing Akane to slip. Ranma caught her in his
arms and gave her a long kiss.
* * *
In front of the school, Akane and Ranma walked towards the front
doors just as the school's intercom system blared to life with a blast
of feedback. "May I have your attention please. We have an important
announcement from Miss Nabiki Tendo. Please give her your attention
please," the speaker demanded. "Here you go Miss Tendo. My debt is paid
off in full now, right?" he added softly, forgetting to turn off the
microphone.
"Right," Nabiki was heard saying.
"She wouldn't... she promised that she wouldn't!!" Akane gasped,
in disbelief.
"Damn, that sneaky..." Ranma started to curse, then remembers
something. "She said she wouldn't SELL the information, not that she
wouldn't tell anyone." <Who'd have thought she'd GIVE away information
like this!>
"Oh no, this is going to be bad," Akane insisted. She looks
nervously around the schoolyard.
"First a little business: I am very happy to announce that
tomorrow I will have videos for sale of the fight of the year that is
about to break out in the school yard. The price will be determined
depending on the outcome. Akane and Ranma, as a gift I'll clear your
accounts of all debts owed me," Nabiki began her speech.
"She's setting us up for a fight, get into your ready position.
I'll cover your back," Ranma instructed. He positioned himself behind
Akane. <Clear all our debts? She must be planning on making a killing
from the video. I hope it's not us that get killed.>
"She's going to pay for this... I swear," Akane growled, eyeing
everyone in the schoolyard as a potential attacker, chances are most of
them would soon be. Some students looked at them a little odd.
"And now the main announcement: My lovely sister Akane Tendo and
Ranma Saotome have officially become engaged. The lovely ring Akane now
wears will attest to the truth of this. I hope them a long and happy
life. I have also been asked to say that the first period classes have
all been canceled, since no one will be attending them anyway. Thank
you and good luck to the happy couple." Nabiki finished her
announcement.
<Oh damn, I forgot I had the ring on,> Akane thought, then slapped
herself mentally.
The crowd had very mixed reactions. The girls mostly eyed the ring
on Akane's finger and admired it. "Oh, pretty!" "What a rock!" "Bet
that cost him a lot of interest from Nabiki," were just some of the
comments heard. Some of the girls who either openly or secretly chased
Ranma advanced on the couple.
Almost all the boys started running towards the couple, rolling up
their selves. The only ones who didn't were the ones held back by their
girlfriends. "Do it and we're history, jerk!" was heard from one of the
girls.
A handful of girls, mostly Nabiki's friends, were standing around
the schoolyard with video cameras and shooting the action. Amazingly,
there was even a girl on a tall crane, getting a dramatic aerial shot.
The first wave of attackers was dealt with easily by Akane and
Ranma. The second wave pressed their attack and was taken care of in
short order. Ranma even got a strike by throwing one boy into a group
of ten other boys. "Strike!" Ranma yelled triumphantly.
Then suddenly, with a flash and crash of lightning, a voice was
heard. "This cannot be, for thy fair flower of Akane Tendo loves only
me, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Kuno yelled from the front
doors. He advanced towards Ranma, using his bokken to knock other
attackers out of his way, actually helping Ranma and Akane in the
process. "Stand aside so I may smite the honorless cur known as Ranma
Saotome!"
A cackle of laughter was heard from the front of the yard. "How
dare you claim my Ranma as your own, Akane Tendo! It's a good thing I
monitor this school's intercom!" Kodachi screamed. "Prepare to taste my
ribbon on your throat, Akane Tendo!" Kodachi started to laugh
maniacally.
At the front wall, Ukyo watched all this with curiosity. "Ukyo,
aren't you going to join in?" a girl standing next to Ukyo asked.
"Well, if they need help I'll jump in, until then I'll enjoy the
show," Ukyo answered calmly.
"Actually, I meant aren't you going to fight 'FOR' Ranma?" the
girl asked, perplexed by Ukyo's inaction.
"I think I've lost that battle already."
* * *
And that is how the fight began. 'Ranma Loves Akane: Battle of the
Engagement' was the title of the video Nabiki sold the next day for
5195 yen (approx. $39.95 US) each. She made quite a profit off the
video sales, roughly ten times what Akane and Ranma owed her. She has
been banned from knowing where the honeymoon will take place to avoid
THAT event from being made into a video.
In the end, the battle only resolved the problem of how to let
people know about Akane and Ranma's official engagement.
Kuno never stopped his attentions towards Akane and trying to
defeat Ranma in battle. Unfortunately for Ranma, Kuno became even more
obsessed with his 'pig-tailed goddess'.
Kodachi simply fell into a deep depression. She would attack Akane
randomly and then try to steal Ranma away. Pretty much normal for
Kodachi.
Shampoo eventually got better from the wounds she received from
Ranma that fateful night. She doesn't chase Ranma anymore, but still
longs for him. No one is sure what may happen when Cologne returns from
China.
Akane eventually forgave Ryoga, but still feels uncomfortable
around him.
Ryoga and Ranma still fight over the strangest things, just not
over Akane anymore. The last fight was over Ranma not letting Ryoga
watch his copy of the battle video.
Ukyo? Well, her quest for Ranma's love may seem to be over, but in
her heart she still holds hope that he will find a way to love her as
she loves him. Unfortunately, she just can't bring herself to get in
the way of Akane's happiness. Her FRIEND Akane's happiness.
Mrs. Ukyo Saotome, she liked the sound of that. Who knows what the
future may bring.
[Finish]
=======================================================================
Author's notes/ramblings for part 6:
Ukyo still uses 'Mrs. Ukyo Saotome' at the end of the story because she
doesn't know about the switches that took place. Only the Tendo and
Saotome families (and Dr. Tofu of course) know about this.
I toyed with the idea of Ranma and Akane accidentally saving Mother
Tendo from dying (instead of cancer she would have been hit by a car on
her way to shopping). This turned out to be too much away from the
original plot line and would have ended the story much differently of
course, so I discarded the idea. I even went back and had Soun make a
comment about the Cancer in part 3, to remove any temptation on my part
to finish differently. Yes, sometimes I have to trick myself to keep my
stories on track.
Part 6 started as the epilogue at the end of part 5, before I realized
it was too big. So part 6 was born.
I want to thank Richard Lawson for a little story he wrote called
'Summer of Love'. In it, the parentage's of all the Ranma characters
are called into question as they all end up being related to each other
in various ways due to the 'free loving sixties and seventies'. Of
course, it was a joke story, but it laid the foundation for my messing
around with Ranma and Akane's parentage for this more serious story
(well as serious as any Ranmaverse story can be.)
P.S. Told you this wasn't a dream.
Revision 2.0draft
July 16, 1998
Revision 1.0 - First posting
Revision 2.0draft - Pre-reader/FFML draft for second revision
Revision 2.0 - Second revised posting
=======================================================================
Email me at: mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net with comments, criticisms,
or if you want to join my pre-reader list.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
Revision 2.0 notes:
My Ranma-ototo series was my first posted fanfiction. While writing a
follow-up story (Ranma-ototo: Please Save My Family) to this six-part
mini series I kept cringing at the original as I looked it over for
reference. So, I decided to revise and re-post it in conjunction with
the new story. This is the result. I didn't change the story line too
much, but grammar and spelling has been cleaned up considerably (the
original had no pre-readers or FFML comments, which is why it was so
rough). I doubt all the mistakes are gone, but I know it reads better
than the original.
Also, I learned after the original that 'Ranma-ototo' is not the
correct way to use 'ototo' (which means little brother). Ototo would
rarely be used to address a younger brother, and Ranma-ototo is
completely wrong (I had incorrectly assumed it was like the -san and
-chan Japanese suffixes). But, since it's the title of the series AND
it's mostly a five year old Akane using the term I have retained the
use of Ranma-ototo in some instances. The follow-up story will shed
some light on why Little-Akane used the term.
I choose to use 'Mother Tendo' to refer to Soun's wife in most places
to avoid confusion and since no official name has been given for her.
The follow-up story will use 'Hanaki' (which I have also used in my
'Childhood of a Modern Dynasty' series) as Mother Tendo's name. I
decided to stick with Mother Tendo for this rewrite.
--
Jim Lazar
E-Mail - mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net
Home - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar
FanFiction - http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime
"You made Akane whose daughter?!?!"
"Genma's."
"Has she hit you with her mallet yet?"
"Several times, actually."