Oh, and if
anyone has a better idea for a chapter title, lemme know, 'cause I'm not
terribly crazy about this one.

How about "Something New"? ;)  Just kidding.

"Not the Sweetest Moment in the World; but That's Okay"?

		     HEARTS AND MINDS PRELUDE FIVE
		       TENDO AKANE: SOMETHING OLD

Yeah!  Akane finally ties the knot.

	"I'll be happy to see you too, Kuno-sempai. Goodbye, see you
soon."

I *know* Ranma used to call him that all the time, but if Akane called him
Kuno-sempai (I think she did, but my mind's off into space right now) she
would mean it (but only in a superior kind of way).

	The life Kasumi had chosen had surprised everyone. Akane had
expected her to be married with a family of six by now.

???  If you mentioned it (what Kasumi did) in an earlier prelude, I didn't
catch it.  (And if you mean what's in later the chapter, it's not that
surprising.)

So Soun did most of the cooking, and
he had become pretty good at it.

At least when he doesn't get emotional and cries all over the food :)

Everyone:  "Hmmmm... It's a bit... flavory... strange..."

had fed her a hypnotic mushroom that made her hug Ryoga and
Kuno

Yeah, but another mushroom made her hug Ranma :)

	When the two of them actually did finally decide that they would
become husband and wife, it wasn't like that. Getting married simply
seemed like the thing to do at the time.

You know, that usually leads to very unstable relationships...

(But what do I know?)

	Akane didn't know how to take that last remark. It could have
been one of the nicest things Ranma had said to her so far. Or not.
"Nobody *has* to get married, Ranma." She couldn't resist adding.
"You're not pregnant, are you?"

Ranma, with her?  :)

	Now, on a Sunday afternoon in May, they were convinced that
they'd found what they wanted.

And I'm convinced Nabiki probably sold them out, but who am I to complain?

	"True, but it can't hurt to be careful. I want this to be
finally over and done with." If that was at all possible. She remembered
a saying that said that no plan could be foolproof if there were
ingenious enough fools around.

It's probably Murphy's Law, addendum #37 :)

	"Oh, I'm so happy!" Soun would always exclaim. "Think of how
proud your mother would... your mother..." This would be followed by a
typhoon of tears.

typhoon has a more "Asian or Pacific" connotation to it, and hurricane has
a more "North American/Europe or Altantic" connotation to it.  For some
reason I also think typhoon has more wind than rain :)  But then again,
it's an alliteration.

He didn't try to push her into it, to control
her with carrots and sticks. He let her decide to train of her own free

do you mean carrots and celery here?  Or carrot sticks?  I mean there's a
reward/threat factor with carrots and sticks, but it seems wrong.

	Genma and Soun looked up. The dinner table, around which they
sat, now housed a Monopoly board. Nabiki, returning home on summer
vacation from business school in America, had brought the game so that
Soun and Genma could have a change from their usual shogi.

And possibly ingraining business strategies into their unconscious.  Nabiki
should know better than that :)  (She should have brought Mouse Trap or the
Game of Life :) )

	Kasumi turned, nearly blushing with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm
sorry, Father! I only put up those buildings because I thought the red
color went well with the green!"

The worst thing is, Kasumi's probably truthful ;)

	"Lunch tomorrow? I suppose that would be okay. Anywhere except
Otaku Bell.

Still, "Fanatic Bell" leaves something to be desired.

	He plopped himself down in the bath, letting the warmth of the
water permeate his bones.

What?  He doesn't clean himself (ie cold water + soap bit) before going in?

	He did, too.

He who?  Ranma or the priest? ;)



----------------------
Jonathan Ng
jonathan@worldy.com
alternate address: jonathan_ng@my-dejanews.com

     "It feels like ten kilos of life in a five-kilo box."  His voice
gained in strength and lightened in tone.  "I can only feel a trickle now,
like dust motes floating in a sunbeam, one by one, just moving through me,
but it's just so right there's no describing it.  It tickles a bit, feels
like a first kiss or the jolt you feel when the flux in sabacc just makes
your hand better than what you were already betting." - Two Jedi trainees
discussing the Force

	-Excerpt from I, Jedi, P.96, (c) Michael Stackpole