Finally, another installment.

Continuing from the wreckage of the wedding in Chapter 45....

for those who haven't been reading - Ranma and Akane are in college,
home for the holidays, and ready to marry.  See earlier chapters
at http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian.rothko/228

==================================================

"A Change of Scene", part 9 (Chapters 44-46)
by June "KaraOhki" Geraci, July 1998
karaohki@snet.net


The characters from Ranma 1/2 in this fiction are the
creations of Rumiko Takahashi, and borrowed without
her permission.
This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Earlier chapters are online at
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/228



                            Chapter 44

"Where is Ranma?", Akane thought, as she sat fidgeting on his futon.
When she got up,
the priest looked at her oddly, and held out one hand.

"Miss Tendo, I need to ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Excuse me?  I don't understand."

The priest laughed, rather sarcastically.

"Come now, I'm sure you do.  You've always made it plain that you don't
want to marry
your fiance.  Why are you doing this?"

In the hallway Ranma held his breath, waiting to hear Akane's response.

"I'm marrying Ranma because I have to."

The priest and Ranma both gasped.

"It's not what you think!  No one is forcing me.  I have to marry Ranma
because I love
him too much to be separated from him."

The priest nodded, smiling.

"That was all I needed to hear, my dear."

Akane smiled back and stepped into the hallway, where Ranma pulled her
into his arms.

"Thank you, Akane.  I needed to hear it, too."

Akane blushed bright red.

Footsteps behind them announced Shiro's return.  He was carrying a small
tray with
cups and a bottle of sake, and was being trailed by the photographer,
whom he had
intercepted on his way out.

"I told you that you forgot something, Ranma.  Don't you need this for
the ceremony?"

"You're right, Shiro.  Thanks."

"You're welcome.  Now I have to see about getting your family up here.
But it think it
would be best if you just got started without them."

The photographer preceded Ranma and Akane into the bedroom, and began to
set up
his equipment.

Akane sat down, arranged her kimono, and picked up her flowers.  Ranma
simply stared
at her.  Now that they were finally in a quiet place, it seemed to him
as if he were seeing
her for the first time that day, and he was overwhelmed.  Ranma had been
somewhat
nervous before, but it had been nothing compared to what he was feeling
now, and he
couldn't help wondering why this beautiful girl was marrying him.

Akane saw the admiration in Ranma's eyes, and blushed again.  She was
suddenly the
victim of an extreme case of nervousness, and her flowers began to
tremble.  Ranma had
always had many, many girls to choose from.  Akane couldn't believe that
he'd chosen
her.

Their eyes locked, and they sat there, just looking at one another.
They may have sat
there forever had not the priest cleared his throat, causing them to
look at him.

"I hate to rush you, but we should get this done before someone comes in
and tries to
stop us again."

Ranma nodded, and picked up Akane's hand.  Holding it felt so right that
his
nervousness vanished.

Akane stopped shaking when Ranma held her hand, and any fears she'd had
disappeared.

The priest spoke briefly of the importance of their commitment to one
another, and
paused when he heard footsteps on the stairs.  Soun and Kasumi entered
the room, and
quietly sat down on the floor, eyes wide.  Shiro had told them what was
happening
upstairs, but they'd had a hard time believing him.

The priest decided to wait, and within a few minutes Nabiki came
upstairs, followed by
Genma and Nodoka.  There was no more space available on the bedroom
floor after their
arrival, so Shiro sat on the floor in the hallway behind them, with
Shampoo beside him.
The priest looked at Shiro, and raised his eyebrows.

"May we continue, or is there someone else coming?"

"We're all here, sir."

Ranma and Akane looked extremely relieved.  The delay had caused their
jitters to
return, and they reached for one another's hands, holding on tightly.
At a prompt from
the priest, they began the recitation of their vows.

Akane smiled as Ranma promised to love her, to be faithful to her, and
to take care of
her forever.  She knew that Ranma would always call her names, tease
her, and pick
fights with her, but that was part of his love and she accepted it.

Ranma listened with a smile as Akane promised to love him, to be
faithful to him, and to
take care of him forever.  He knew that Akane had a quick temper, would
often disagree
with him, and might very well kill him with her cooking, but that was
all right with him
as long as they were together.

They exchanged rings, shared the sake cup, and sighed with sheer relief
when the priest
declared them to be husband and wife.  Soun was already sobbing softly
when Ranma
was invited to kiss his bride.  Ranma didn't need a second invitation,
and soon the room
was filled with sounds of approval from family members watching what
they had never
expected to see.

*****

It had taken a little while for the remaining wedding guests to realize
that none of the
Tendo or Saotome families were in the dojo.  They huddled together in
small groups,
wondering what to do.  Sounds of laughter made them all look toward the
broken doors
and the families re-entered, with the exception of the bride and groom.

Soun made an attempt to speak to everyone, but his tears choked him, and
Genma took
over.

"I have an announcement to make.  My son and Tendo's daughter were
married a few
minutes ago, and they'll be downstairs soon.  Let's get ready to give
them a big
welcome!"

*****

After the photographer finished taking a set of portraits, Ranma waited
impatiently
while he got his things together, and hurried to close the door after he
went downstairs.
Akane was standing at the window, and Ranma took her flowers from her
hand and
tossed them onto the bed.  He pulled her into his arms and crushed her
against him.
Akane held him just as forcefully, burrowing her way deeper into his
embrace.

"We did it, Akane.  Despite everything they threw at us, we did it."

"Even Daddy gave up, Ranma."

"He what?"

Akane pulled back, so that she could look into her husband's eyes.

"He told me that our engagement was a mistake, and I didn't have to
marry you.  He was
wrong, Ranma.  I did have to."

"Then why didn't you pound Kuno, Akane?"

"What?"

"I saw you, Akane.  When he grabbed you, you pulled away, and I could
tell you were
getting ready to send him through the roof, but you just stopped.  I
would have stepped
in if Shampoo hadn't gotten there first."

Akane laughed.

"You don't know how much I wanted to, Ranma, but I was afraid."

"Not of Kuno!"

"You've got to be kidding!  No, I was afraid I'd rip my kimono, and I
want to keep it
forever."

Ranma pulled Akane back into his arms, and kissed her.

"It's beautiful, Akane."

Akane ran her hands across Ranma's shoulders, and down his arms.

"You look pretty wonderful yourself.  Japanese clothing rather than
Chinese, or
Western.  I think I like it."

Ranma's reply was another kiss, which lingered until they were
breathless.  Akane slowly
withdrew from Ranma's arms, and retrieved her flowers.

"We'd better go downstairs."

*****

P-Chan shivered.  He was cold, wet, and aggravated.  Ryoga had been
visiting his
parents, and had stepped outside to get the newspaper when it had begun
to rain.  Not
wanting his parents to see his pig side, Ryoga had run off to look for
shelter, and become
lost.

P-Chan suddenly looked up and realized where he was.  Why was it, he
wondered, that
whenever he got lost he ended up here?  The Tendo home was before him.

P-Chan ran around the side of the house and was grateful to see that Mr.
Tendo still
hadn't fixed the small hole in the fence that he always used to get in.
He squeezed
through, found his way into the house, and up to Akane's room.  He was
soon asleep on
her bed.

While the piglet slept, the reception went on at the dojo.  Music played
while couples
whirled around the floor, and aside from the destroyed doors, no one
would have been
able to detect that the place had been a madhouse earlier.

Shiro danced with Shampoo, and wondered at the faraway look on her face.
She'd been
watching Ranma and Akane dancing, and he couldn't tell what she was
thinking.

Shampoo watched the smile on Ranma's face as he looked at his wife.
She'd always
wanted to see that particular smile directed at her, and it had never
happened.  She tore
her eyes from them, and looked at Shiro.  It was at that moment that
Shampoo realized
the smile she was looking for was there, but on a different man's face.
She smiled back
shyly and stopped thinking about Ranma, at least for a little while.

*****

Soun had been at first amazed, and then overjoyed when he'd witnessed
Ranma and
Akane's marriage.  Then doubts began to assail him.  He'd said earlier
to Genma that
their children didn't love one another, and he wanted his daughter to be
happy.  Soun
waited for the music to stop, and took Akane aside.

"Akane, are you sure this is what you wanted?  Are you happy?"

Akane laughed, and hugged her father.

"Daddy, this is exactly what I wanted!  Can't you see that I'm happy?"

"I had to be sure."

Akane returned to Ranma for another dance, and Soun continued to watch
them.  He
still harbored some reservations, but they vanished when Ranma stopped
dancing mid-
song, picked Akane up, and kissed her.  Oblivious to the fact that they
were in the center
of the dance floor, Akane clung to Ranma, returning his kiss.

"They must love one another, to kiss in public like that."

Genma had crept up beside his friend, and his muttered remark made Soun
jump.  Soun
nodded, looking confused.

"But when did that happen?  How could we miss it?"

"I don't know, Tendo."

Genma handed Soun a bottle of sake, and a cup.

"Let's drink to our children, Tendo, and to promises kept."

Akane was sitting with her sisters and Ranma's mother when Ranma
approached her
and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Akane, we have to get ready if we're going to make the train."

Akane held out her hands, and Ranma pulled her to her feet.  His mother
smiled, and
also stood up.

"Let me help you, dear."

*****

P-Chan woke from his nap.  There was certainly a lot of noise coming
from the dojo, but
he'd been too tired to investigate it before.  He was about to do so
when he heard
footsteps on the stairs, and faint voices.

"Where will you be going, dear?"

Akane laughed.

"Wherever Ranma takes me, Mother Saotome.  He said something about the
mountains,
but that's all he would tell me."

Nodoka thought for a moment, and smiled.

"I think I might know where, Akane."

"Don't tell me, Mom.  I don't want to know."

P-Chan stiffened, his thoughts in chaos.  Why was Akane calling Mrs.
Saotome "Mom"?
Was she married?  P-Chan jumped off the bed and hid underneath it.  When
he saw
Akane enter it wearing a wedding kimono, he knew he'd arrived at the
worst possible
time.

Nodoka helped Akane change out of her kimono, and P-Chan watched.  From
the
vantage point he had, all he could see were her ankles, but that was
enough to make him
miserable, since he knew that now those little ankles belonged to
someone else.  P-Chan
wanted very much to have Akane hold him just one more time, and was
about to come
out from under the bed when Ranma came in and Nodoka left to call a
taxi.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?"

P-Chan peeked out and was sorry that he had, for all he could see was
Ranma kissing
Akane.  Akane had her arms wrapped around Ranma, and P-Chan was
beginning to
wonder if they would ever stop when a strange noise distracted all three
of them.

"What the heck was that?"

"It sounded like Daddy, Ranma."

Ranma and Akane ran down the stairs, and P-Chan took the opportunity to
leave
Akane's room and the Tendo house.  There was no longer any reason for
them to be
there.

*****

Akane found her father weaving around the living room, weeping.  When
Akane
approached him, the weeping became louder.

"Don't go away, Akane."

"Daddy?"

Soun grabbed Ranma, and shook him weakly.

"Why are you taking my little girl away from me, Ranma?"

Ranma supported Soun, who was barely able to stand, and walked him
toward his
bedroom.

"Father Tendo, you've been telling me to marry Akane for years.  What's
the problem?"

"You can't take my little girl away.  I won't let you."

Soun suddenly collapsed, and Ranma had to carry him the rest of the way.
Akane
undressed her father, and put him to bed.  By the time she was done,
Soun was half
awake, and clinging tightly to her hand.

"Don't leave me, Akane.  My little girl should be with her father."

"Daddy, I'll always be your little girl, but I'm Ranma's wife now.  You
have to learn to
share me with him."

Ranma chuckled at Akane's words, and ran upstairs for the suitcases.
Akane sat
patiently, holding her father's hand as he wept.  Soun finally drifted
off, and his grip
loosened.  Akane gently withdrew her hand, and tiptoed out of her
father's room.
Ranma was waiting for her just outside the bedroom door.

"Your father was really upset, Akane."

Akane giggled, and hugged Ranma.

"Daddy's plastered, Ranma.  He won't remember a thing he said when he
wakes up
tomorrow."

Ranma had hoped that there wouldn't be any more delays to their
departure, but it
wasn't surprising to him to find Shampoo waiting next to their bags.
Shampoo hadn't
spoken to them at all since the wedding ceremony, but had hovered
nearby, watching
them quietly.

For once in her life, Shampoo didn't know what to say.  Then the taxi
pulled up outside,
and she knew she didn't have any more time to think about it.  She
stepped up to
Ranma, touched his hand lightly, and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
There was an
incredible look of love and sadness in her eyes when she whispered to
him softly:

"Goodbye, Ranma.  Be happy."

Shampoo ran back toward the dojo before Ranma could respond.

Akane watched Ranma standing there, hand to his cheek where Shampoo had
kissed
him.  When he finally looked down, she couldn't help smiling.  Ranma
looked as though
he expected her to clobber him for letting Shampoo kiss him.  Instead,
what he heard
surprised him.

"Ranma, do you think Shampoo will be all right?"

"I hope so, Akane."

By the time they got to the station, the rain had turned to snow.  Akane
leaned back
against Ranma as she watched the lights of Nerima receding.



                            Chapter 45

Nearly all of the guests had departed, and Shampoo know she couldn't put
off going
home any longer.  She retrieved her coat, put it on, and found Shiro
standing beside her,
buttoning his own coat.

"I'll walk you home, Shampoo."

"No, Shiro.  Mousse or Great-Grandmother will see you."

"Then I'll walk you most of the way there."

Shampoo couldn't argue with that statement, and said her goodbyes to
Kasumi and
Nabiki, the only members of the family still present.

P-Chan had been wandering the streets in circles.  He'd been trying to
find his way to
Akari's house, but had found himself in front of the Tendo home more
than once.  It was
not where he wanted to be, and P-Chan felt that even more strongly when
Shampoo
emerged from the house in the company of a young man he didn't know.
The moment
she saw him, she scooped him up.

"Ryoga, what you doing here?"

Shiro looked at Shampoo in confusion.

"Why are you calling this pig Ryoga?  Isn't he P-Chan, Akane's pet?  She
showed me
pictures of him."

Shampoo spoke to the pig instead of Shiro.

"Is ok to trust Shiro, Ryoga.  We go back inside."

Shiro was totally mystified when Shampoo ran upstairs to Ranma's room.
She went
through his closet, and found some old clothing he'd left behind.

"What are you doing, Shampoo?"

"No can guess?  This not real pig.  Please give him bath, Shiro."

Comprehension came into Shiro's face, and he raced downstairs to the
bathing room.
Shampoo followed more slowly, and son Shiro and Ryoga emerged from the
bathing
room.  Ryoga was red with anger, and immediately turned on Shampoo.

"How dare you reveal my curse like that!  Who is this guy?"

"Is Shampoo's friend, Shiro.  He Ranma's roommate."

Ryoga's face fell.

"Not anymore, he isn't."

Shampoo lost her temper.

"Ryoga!  Why you follow Akane, when Akari loving you?  Silly boy."

Shampoo stopped short, hand to her lips.  She'd been describing her own
behavior.

After a few uncomfortably silent moments, Ryoga shrugged, and smiled
sadly at
Shampoo.

"You have a point.  Thank you."

The three left the house, where Shampoo took Ryoga by the shoulders and
gave him a
push in the direction of Akari's house.  She doubted that he would find
it, but chose to
hope for the best.

Shiro was quiet as they walked toward the Nekohanten, and Shampoo soon
noticed.

"Is Shiro thinking?"

"Yes, Shampoo.  I have to ask you something.  Does Akane know that
P-Chan is Ryoga?"

"No."

Shiro couldn't believe it.

"What about Ranma?"

"Yes, but he keep secret, like Shampoo."

Shiro couldn't understand why Ranma would keep Ryoga's curse a secret
from Akane.
Why on earth would he want her to keep this young man as a pet?  This
was something
he'd have to ask his friend about.

Shampoo stopped short two blocks before the Nekohanten.

"This close enough, Shiro.  You go back now."

She paused, and hugged him.

"Thank you for inviting Shampoo to wedding.  Shampoo knows now that
Ranma very
happy."

"What about you, Shampoo.  Are you happy?"

Shampoo thought about it.

"Yes, Shiro.  Shampoo happy."

Shiro's response was to gather Shampoo into his arms and kiss her.  When
he released
her, she just stood there, looking startled.

"Why Shiro do that?"

"Because it felt right, Shampoo.  I'll be in touch."

Shiro quickly turned around and walked away, wondering what was
happening to him.
Since his senior year of high school he'd gone out with many girls, and
had never felt
quite this serious about any of them.  He'd intended to stay unattached
until he got his
degree, but whether she knew it or not, Shampoo was causing him to
re-think his
intentions.

The Nekohanten was dark when Shampoo entered it.  Upstairs, there was no
light
coming from Mousse's door, or Cologne's, and she assumed they were both
asleep.  Then
Shampoo discovered her great-grandmother sitting on her bed.

"Where have you been, Shampoo?  Mousse looked for you all morning.  We
had no one
to make deliveries this evening.  It cost us a lot of business."

Shampoo replied in Chinese.

"I went to Ranma's wedding, Great-Grandmother."

Cologne's eyes widened.  She'd heard that the wedding had actually
occurred, but how
could that be if Shampoo had been present?

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"I helped, Great-Grandmother!  He. . . he . . . Ranma loves Akane, not
me.  It was the
right thing to do."

Cologne opened her mouth to chastise Shampoo, and changed her mind.
There was too
much pain in her great-granddaughter's eyes already.  Tradition demanded
that Ranma
marry Shampoo, but for once, Cologne thought that tradition could be
overlooked.

"You look tired, Shampoo.  We can talk about it in the morning.  Will
you be all right?"

Shampoo didn't know what to say.  She wasn't sure what to think, or what
to feel.  The
first man she'd ever loved had just married someone else, and she could
honestly wish
him well.  She also had just been kissed by a young man she barely knew,
but who had
somehow found a way to slip through the cracks in her broken heart.

"I'm not sure.  I want to go to bed, I think."



                            Chapter 46

Akane was deep in a dream.  She and Ranma were running on the beach, and
even
though they were splashing through the surf, he was not changing.  Akane
laughed, and
threw herself into Ranma's arms.  She thought he would kiss her, but
instead he took
her by the shoulders, and gently shook her.

"We're here, Akane.  Wake up."

Akane rubbed her eyes, and sat up.

"I'm sorry, Ranma.  I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Ranma laughed.

"That's ok.  I did too."

It was still snowing when they got off the train, but there wasn't much
on the ground
because of the strong winds coming through the mountain pass.  They
began walking,
and soon could see the lights of the inn.  The door opened as they were
walking up the
steps, and a white-haired woman smiled, and bowed to them.

"Good evening.  You must be the Saotomes."

Ranma smiled, and returned the bow.

"Yes, we are.  Good evening."

"Please come in.  We've been expecting you."

Ranma and Akane put down their bags to take off their coats and shoes,
and a member
of the staff immediately whisked them away.

"I'll show you to your room."

The followed the woman down the hallway, and she stopped and gestured
toward a pair
of doors.

"The baths are here.  I thought you might want to take advantage of them
while we make
your dinner."

They continued down the hall, where the woman unlocked the door and
showed them
into their room.  It was small - the bed seemed to take up all of it -
but flames crackled
from the fireplace, and there was a view of the mountains from the
window.

"Bathrobes and towels are there.  We'll have dinner for you in about
half and hour."

Ranma thanked her, and closed the door.  When he turned back to his
wife, she was
smiling at him the way that caused his pulse to race, and he pulled her
into his arms,
holding her close.  Too many people had tried to come between them, to
interfere with
them, or to harm them.  Finally, Akane was his, and they were alone, and
no one could
get in the way.

*****

Akane rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, and immersed herself in the
tub.  She
watched the light reflecting off the ripples in the water, and relaxed,
letting the last of
the day's tension leave her.  After everything that had happened at
home, Akane felt that
it was almost miraculous that she and Ranma had been able to come to
this quiet place.
It had been very difficult for them to let go of one another to go to
the bathing rooms,
and Akane looked at the wall beside her, knowing that her husband was
just on the other side.

Ranma lay back in the hot water, staring at the ceiling.  His wedding
day had come close
to being a disaster, and he was relieved that it was over, and he and
Akane were miles
away from Nerima.  Ranma felt uncomfortable having Akane out of his
sight.  He looked
at the wall beside him.  The women's bath was just on the other side.

"Akane, can you hear me?"

"Ranma?"

"I'm getting out now, Akane.  I think our dinner should be waiting for
us."

"Give me five minutes."

Ranma stood by the door of the women's bathing room, waiting for Akane.
She soon
came out, wrapped up as he was in one of the robes supplied by the inn.
Ranma saw the
midnight blue lace peeping out at the neckline, and smiled.

When they got to their room, they found a maid turning down the bed, and
another
setting out their dinner on a low table by the fireplace.

*****

Ranma poured two cups of wine, and put the dinner tray outside the room,
locking the
door.  When he turned around, Akane was standing at the window, holding
both cups.
She had removed her robe, and the firelight reflected off the satin
ribbons of her
nightgown.

Ranma joined Akane at the window, where they sipped their wine, looking
out at the
mountains.  The snow continued to fall outside, and the wind howled down
the
mountain pass.  Akane listen to the howling and shivered, moving closer
to Ranma.

"Come sit by the fire, Akane.  It's too cold here by the window."

Ranma sat down on the rug before the fire, and pulled Akane into his
lap.  They
alternated soft kisses with sips of wine, and gentle caresses.

*****

Two empty wine cups sat on the table, barely visible by the light of the
dying fire.  A
short distance away, a puddle of midnight blue silk and lace lay on the
floor.

Ranma gazed at Akane as she lay in his arms, eyes closed, wondering if
she was asleep.
They'd been talking quietly, and she had stopped talking, closed her
eyes, and pillowed
her cheek on his chest.

"Akane"

"Mmmmm?"

Akane opened her eyes, lifted her head, and smiled at Ranma.

"I thought you might be asleep."

Akane's expression changed.  She looked anxious, and grabbed Ranma's
shoulder.

"I don't want to go to sleep.  I'm afraid you'll disappear."

Ranma lifted Akane's hand from his shoulder so that he could kiss her
fingers.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.  Go to sleep, Akane."

Ranma fought to keep his eyes open until he felt Akane relax into sleep.
He pulled the
quilt higher around her shoulders, and finally allowed himself to close
his eyes.  The last
thing he was aware of was Akane's hand creeping up to his pigtail, and
taking firm hold of it.


-----------

more to follow


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