This is the final version of Part VIII of Comes the Cold Dragon. I am
reposting it for those who wish to have the final version in their archives.
Thanks to one and all for your help,
Don Granberry.
==================================================================
Many extra special thanks go to my pre-readers for
helping to improve this piece.
Most of the characters in this piece and the setting
for it were conceived of by Rumiko Takahashi for her Ranma
1/2 series of Manga. All such characters and the setting are
the property of Takahashi-sensei and her licensees. All other
characters, except those noted below, are purely fictional
and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is
purely coincidental.
Brief mention is made of Sensei Koyama Takako. Koyam-
sensei is the current headmaster of the Yoshin-ryuu.
No insult of Koyama-sensei or the Yoshin-ryuu is
intended by mentioning them in this story.
------------------
Comes the Cold Dragon: Part VIII Revision 5
------------------
There is a fine line of distinction between what one's
senses relay, and what the mind apprehends. The senses often
relay far more information than the mind bothers to notice.
This is good for it allows us to ignore the distant boom-box
or the smell of automobile exhaust until they present an
actual hazard to our well-being. It is bad because we fail to
hear all of the music, having become inured to noise. We fail
to notice the difference when the butter used to make the
cookies is fresh, because we live in a city full of
automobiles filling the air with their exhaust.
Ranma Saotome's senses did not become much sharper
because he was now a dragon part of the time. What had
happened was that his mind was now much more aware of what
his senses were telling him, having once experienced the
acute senses of his draconian form. Right now, as he slowly
drifted up from a deep sleep, lying on the very edge of
wakefulness, his senses were telling him that he and Akane
were no longer at the clinic.
He knew Akane was nearby because he could smell her,
hear her breathing, and feel the warmth emanating from her
body. She lay on the futon next to his. For some reason, this
news did not alarm him at all. He found that confusing. Why
shouldn't he be worried? Oh, yes. Tofu! Tofu had told him
something about taking a trip out to the country. Something
about riding in the old ambulance a friend of his had bought
from the fire department. Retired ambulances could always be
had for bargain prices in Japan. Virtually no one wanted
anything to do with something a person might have died in.
Elderly Japanese would often refuse to even ride to a
hospital in one. Ranma remembered the early part of the ride
now. Tofu had put him on a bed built into the ancient,
rattling rig rather than a gurney. He remembered that it
still held the faint odor of a hospital. The boxlike vehicle
reeked of antiseptics and other things he could not
identify. Maybe they had been the residual ki left by
previous
passengers. He shuddered at the memory of riding in the
thing.
Ranma lay still and quieted his mind so that his
senses could speak to him without interference. The house
they were in was large, and old. It smelled of aged wood
blessed with years of polish and the warm aroma of thousands
of meals cooked in a happy kitchen. The ambient sound of the
place was spacious and relaxing. There was a pine near the
window. Ranma could hear the breeze whispering through its
needles. There was the faint yet heavy rumble of moving water
off in the distance. Were they near the sea? There was no
definable rhythm to the sound. Probably a waterfall, he
thought. Another long, slow breath told him that others were
nearby. Kasumi and Tofu he identified right away, the third
person took him a bit longer. He puzzled with the information
for a moment until he realized that it was his mother. He
opened his eyes and smiled. The quiet of this place was
comforting, like the soft weight of an old blanket.
Ranma rolled to his left. The shifting weight on his
chest informed that he was still in female form. Akane, he
could see, was at least partially awake and did not appear to
feel very well.
"Hey, Tomboy," Onna-Ranma whispered as he reached
across with his right hand to caress Akane's tummy. "You
okay?"
"I ache all over," Akane murmured.
Onna-Ranma stopped stroking Akane's stomach.
"Don't stop," Akane said in a soft voice. She turned
her head towards Ranma and gave him that warm smile he
treasured so much. "That felt good."
"Hmmm," Onna-Ranma said as he resumed caressing her.
"I think you could use a hot soak and a rubdown."
"I don't think I can make it to the furo, Ranma,"
Akane mumbled softly.
"Sure you can," Onna-Ranma said. "I'll help you."
"Oh? And who will help me while I bathe?"
Onna-Ranma gulped then squeaked out, "I ... I ...
could do that."
"I'd like that," Akane murmured around a sunny smile,
then winced when she tried to shift her weight.
"I'll go warm up the bath," Onna-Ranma said as he
slowly got to his feet. "I'll bet no one thought to fire
it up last night."
Akane watched Onna-Ranma on his wobbling legs for a
moment, then asked softly, "Are you sure the two of us can
manage this on our own?"
"Hey! We're talkin' Ranma and Akane here," Onna-Ranma
said with a cocky grin. "There ain't nothin' we can't handle
together."
Akane smiled at Onna-Ranma again. Making him feel as
though he were sitting out in the sun, even though they were
indoors on a cold, gray day. A wave of dizziness washed over
him and he leaned up against the door-frame for support.
"Try not to hurt yourself, Ranma. You look like you
have the hangover to end all hangovers."
"Hmmph!" Onna-Ranma snorted. "Wait'll ya see what's
waitin' in the mirror for YOU."
"Bleeyah!" Akane stuck her tongue out at her fiance.
Onna-Ranma chuckled at her, then wobbled out of the
room in search of the furo. He had to use the wall for
support more than once.
-------------------
At Tendo-ke, Nabiki stole quietly down the second-
story hallway to Happosai's room. Careful not to make any
unnecessary noise, she eased the door open and slipped
inside. She knew exactly where to find what she was after and
was gone in mere seconds. The two boxes she had retrieved
were small, but heavy. Happosai's seals, or "hanko," were
made of stone.
Once downstairs, Nabiki hurriedly donned her overcoat
and picked up her umbrella. If everything went well, and she
suspected it would, she would be back at Tendo-ke just in
time to head off any mischief her father and Genma cooked up.
Thankfully, Nodoka and Kasumi left a long list of things they
wanted the two old farts to do. Nabiki grinned to herself as
she made her way to the bus stop. It would be fun playing
supervisor once she got back. Probably even more fun than
tormenting the Happosai.
-------------------
Ranma was grateful to find that he and Akane had been
given a room on the ground floor. Akane was in no shape to be
negotiating stairs. His mother's doing, he decided. The furo
turned out to be something of a surprise. It was huge, and
very well appointed. He found the water heater after a bit of
searching. It was hidden from easy view, being enclosed in a
closet. It was one of the old-fashioned gas heaters with a
gas pilot-light rather than having an electrical pilot. The
pilot-light was not lit. Such frugality did not surprise him.
It made no sense to leave the pilot-lights burning in a
seldom-occupied house. He checked the sight glass to make
sure the tank was full of water then, after a few minutes of
fiddling about with matches and buttons, the heater came on
with a satisfying "woof!"
"Shit!" Onna-Ranma whispered to himself. "It's gonna
take this thing an hour or more to heat up that much water. I
may as well make tea and get breakfast started."
He found the kitchen without any trouble. The old
house was large, but its layout was very traditional. The
stove was of a kind Onna-Ranma had only seen in small
restaurants. It had three burners on a side with a heavy,
cast iron-griddle in the middle. A large, four-liter perhaps,
brass kettle sat on the griddle towards the back. Onna-Ranma
turned a knob, but there was no gas. He stood up on his
tiptoes and felt around behind the stove, giving out a sigh
of relief upon finding the gas valve. There was a box of
matches stored on a nearby shelf. He used one to light the
pilot burners and was grateful when they lit. It meant that
he would not have to go outside and find the propane tank. He
filled the kettle with water and set it down on one of the
burners set to high. The kettle began to creak and hiss
merrily as the water began to heat.
Casting an eye about the kitchen, Onna-Ranma noticed
that there were four bags of groceries, a new, unused
electric rice cooker, and a shallow casserole pan holding
something wrapped in damp dish towels.
"Awright!" Onna-Ranma whispered after peeking at what
was wrapped in the damp towels. "Willow bark! Just what Akane
needs."
He rummaged around until he found a small saucepan,
ran about a cup of water into it at the sink, then set it
onto the stove to heat. He looked right at the kitchen's set
of knives twice before realizing what they were. They were
stored in a wooden block rather than in a drawer. He
retrieved the paring knife from the block, then with
practiced skill, he used it to remove a long strip of the
cambial layer from the inside of the willow bark, making the
strip a little wider than his thumb. Onna-Ranma held the it
up by one end, wondering if he shouldn't cut it in two, then
decided that the strip was about the right length for what
ailed Akane. He coiled it up and dropped it into the
saucepan. The stove's burners proved very efficient. The
water in the saucepan began to boil less than a minute later.
He turned down the heat and put a lid on the pan, then set
about storing the groceries in the cupboard and refrigerator.
The water in the large kettle was not quite hot enough
to make tea, so Onna-Ranma decided to get the rice for
breakfast started. Ordinarily, two-and-a-half cups of dry
rice would be enough for five people, but he decided he
wanted Akane to eat a little extra. He threw three cups dried
rice into the cooker, along with two tins of chicken stock,
plus one tin of water, then one and a half teaspoons of salt
and turned the cooker on. He noticed a few packages of
instant miso in the groceries, and decided that he may as
well start it. Once the soup was started, he put a block of
tofu out on the counter so that it could warm up a bit.
The water in the large kettle was finally hot enough
to make tea, so he rummaged around in the cabinets looking
for a teapot. Actually, he found two teapots. One of them was
a bit smaller than the other and had the kanji for medicine
on its sides. Onna-Ranma wondered where Tofu had found it.
The kanji had not been written onto the teapot after it had
been made, but was in fact part of the vessel's glaze. With a
shrug of the shoulders, he poured the willow-bark tea into
the medicinal teapot and then made ordinary tea in the other.
It was then that he remembered that he was supposed to be
drinking a cup of special brew every morning, but decided it
could wait. Akane's sore muscles took precedence. He loaded
up everything he needed onto a tray, then put the large
kettle back on the griddle so that the water would stay hot
without quickly boiling away, and made his way back to his
and Akane's room.
"Ranma?" Akane asked as the door to their room slid
open.
"Yeah, Akane, it's me."
"What have you been doing?"
"Making you some tea. It took me a while to find
everything."
"Oh," Akane said with a smile, "I thought you had
gotten lost."
"What? You got me mixed up with Ryouga, or something?"
Onna-Ranma asked as he poured some of the willow-bark tea
into a cup.
"No," Akane said as she tried to sit up, then
immediately regretted it. "Ow! I don't."
"Here, this will make some of the pain go away," Onna-
Ranma said as he handed Akane the medicinal tea. "Try to
drink it fast."
"Does it taste that bad?"
"No, not really, but it isn't all that good either. It
tastes like tea made from a bale of hay or something."
Akane gave him a questioning look.
"It's tea made from willow bark," Onna-Ranma said. "It
does about the same thing as aspirin, but it works faster and
ain't nearly so bad about upsettin' your stomach."
Akane sipped cautiously at the tea, then immediately
made a face.
"See? I toldja."
Akane glanced up at her fiance just long enough to
stick out her tongue at him, then gulped down her medicine.
"Here," Onna-Ranma said, holding out the pot of
ordinary tea. "A cup of this will kill the taste."
"Thanks, Ranma."
"You're welcome, Akane."
Akane sipped her second cup of tea as Ranma poured a
cup for himself, then asked, "Ranma?"
"Hmm?" Onna-Ranma noised as he sipped his tea.
"Why didn't you tell me Ryouga was cursed?"
Ranma choked, nearly spewing tea all over the room. He
had to gasp for air a couple of times before setting his cup
down. He wanted to be able to dodge without flinging tea all
over the room.
"You mean you finally figured it out?"
"No!" Akane said emphatically and sounding peeved, "I
saw him change yesterday while you were trying to pick a
fight with him."
"Oh."
"So WHY didn't you tell me?"
"Akane," Onna-Ranma said, then paused to rid himself
of the catch in his throat. "Ryouga became cursed because of
me. It was an accident. I wasn't in my right mind at the
time, but it was my fault just the same. I promised him I'd
never tell anyone that he was cursed."
"How was it your fault?"
"He followed me and Pop to China when I didn't show
for our duel all those years ago. He caught up with us at
Jusenkyo. He got there just after I had fallen into the
Spring of Drowned Girl. I was completely berserk and was
chasin' Pop around when I accidently knocked him into the
Spring of Drowned Piglet."
"When did you finally find out?"
"The same night you met P-chan."
"He probably lied to you."
"Oh, come on, Akane," Onna-Ranma said, not believing
Ryouga could think of such a thing on his own. "Ryouga
wouldn't up make something like that!"
"You think not, Ranma? I've got plenty of reason not
to trust him."
"Yeah, ... well ... I guess you do. I mean, I ain't
exactly proud of him for doin' what he did, but you gotta
understand how things are with Ryouga. It ain't like he's got
the brains to plot nothin'. He just got into a jam with you,
that's all. He shouldn't have kept it up, but he probably
would never have started it if things had been just a little
bit different."
"Hmmph!" Akane snorted. "Believe me, Ranma. I have
more reasons than you know to hate and mistrust that bastard.
And he's no friend of yours, no matter what you think of
him."
"Akane," Onna-Ranma said sounding desperate, "he
didn't mean you any harm. It's just that ... "
Akane had begun giving Onna-Ranma a hard stare.
"Just what, Ranma?"
"He fell in love with you after you were nice to his
piggy-half. The poor, dumb sod just got into a trap, that's
all. The only way he could be close to you was to be your pet
pig."
"Horseshit," Akane said in a quiet, menacing way as
her face grew hard. Her eyes became glacially cold. Onna-
Ranma said nothing. He had never seen Akane like this. This
was nothing like her usual _modus operandi_. By all rights,
he should have been halfway to the moon by now, and he had
never heard Akane use that kind of language. He decided that
she must be terribly sore or he would have already been
trying to pick soft spot to land on.
"He's a pervert, Ranma! And he has caused no end of
trouble between us," Akane said as tears started coming into
her eyes. "Trouble he could never have started because he
couldn't have found out how without listening to me while I
talked to my cute little pet pig. I'll never forgive him for
that."
Onna-Ranma closed his eyes and took a deep breath
before speaking. "Maybe so, Akane, but we, you and I, made it
easy for him to cause trouble between us. Didn't we?"
Akane smiled through her tears and held it for a
moment, then began to giggle.
"I suppose we did," Akane said. "I should have seen
through him and it's not like either of us went out of our
way to get along."
"See?"
"You know," Akane said, pausing as she stared down
into her teacup, "I wouldn't get mad at you nearly as often
if you wouldn't embarrass me all the time."
"Embarrass you?" Onna-Ranma asked in a surprised
voice.
"Yes!" Akane said in a louder voice, not quite a
shout. "You embarrass me all of the time, Ranma."
"Well ... well ... I don't mean to! I couldn't help
what the curse was doin' to me all that time."
"I'm not talking about the curse!" Akane snapped. "I
know there wasn't much you could do about that. It's the
things you say and do in front of other people that upsets
me."
"Like what?"
"Like calling me names! Or making fun of me."
"I ... er ... Hell! You know I don't really mean it
half the time."
"Other people don't, Ranma! That's the point."
"Who cares what other people think, Akane? I don't pay
any attention ta hardly any of 'em until they become a
nuisance."
"Or you need something from one of them?" Akane asked,
in an arch tone. It brought Onna-Ranma up short.
"I ... I ... hadn't thought about it that way before."
"That's the problem with you, Ranma. You aren't really
mean, or a bad person," Akane said, pausing to wipe tears
from her eyes. "You're just thoughtless sometimes."
"I'll try to do better, Akane."
"Promise?"
"I promise," Onna-Ranma said, sounding contrite. He
was now fiddling with the end of pigtail and had a very
sheepish look on his face.
"And I hate the way you let Xian Pu hang all over
you!"
Onna-Ranma became very red in the face as Akane
continued.
"You could have stopped that at any time if you had
really wanted to."
"Not without getting you hurt or maybe even both of us
hurt," Onna-Ranma said, trying to contain his anger.
"Oh, really?" Akane asked, with an arched eyebrow.
"Like you did when she put that stupid brooch on?"
Onna-Ranma's anger vanished, replaced with deep
embarrassment.
"It's ... it's ... compli ..."
"Your ego?"
"Yeah!" Onna-Ranma exclaimed, sounding irritated. "But
that ain't the whole thing and you know it. Back then I
wasn't all that sure I wanted to marry you--or anyone else!
D'ya think I enjoyed watchin' you cuddle up with P-Chan and
carryin' him off to your bed every time he blundered into
town?"
Much of Akane's anger dimmed for a moment, then flared
back into full scorch mode.
"You could have put a stop to that as well."
"I tried!" Onna-Ranma said, becoming angry again. "I
threw every hint I could atcha!"
"Why didn't you just tell me about him, Ranma?"
"Oh, tell you? You mean like you'd ever listen long
enough for me to tell ya somethin'? I'm usually half-way ta
the moon by the time I get two words out of my mouth!"
Akane closed her eyes and took a long deep breath
before speaking again.
"I guess we both have been pretty stupid," Akane said.
Onna-Ranma opened his mouth to speak, then closed it
abruptly. His face seemed to suggest that he was about to
agree with Akane, but then changed his mind. For several
moments he seemed to be having an argument with himself, then
finally he spoke, sounding as though he did not really want
to say what he was saying.
"I guess we both made our fair share of mistakes,
Akane."
Akane stared at Onna-Ranma in silence for a moment.
Such an admission coming from him was very nearly
unprecedented. Of course, it was just the two of them in the
room.
"Both of us?"
"Yeah, both of us. Maybe I made a couple that I
really shouldn't of made."
"So did I," Akane said, in a much softer voice.
"Yer dern tootin', ya did!"
Akane glared at Onna-Ranma.
"Ah ... uh ... both of us did."
Akane seemed only somewhat mollified.
"Ya gotta give me a little break here, Akane," Onna-
Ranma said, notes of pleading dominating his voice. "I ain't
all that good at this stuff! Ya know?"
Akane gave Onna-Ranma a sly grin before answering.
"Yer dern tootin' you're not any good at it."
Onna-Ranma opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to
think better of it and closed his mouth. He sat in silence,
staring at the now mystified Akane for a moment, then
grinned at her.
"But I'm gonna get better at it, startin' right now."
Akane giggled and her tears began to dry.
"You're gonna hafta learn to listen long enough for me
to explain things, you know."
"All right, Ranma," Akane said, as the first, faint
traces of a smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth,
"I will, but only if you'll try to find a brake for that
jawbone of yours, especially when other people are around."
Onna-Ranma started to speak, then stopped himself and
stared at the floor for a moment.
"Promise me you won't go after Ryouga the next time he
shows up."
"Okay, I promise, but I will never forgive him, Ranma.
Think of him as your friend if you want, but I'll never trust
him or like him ever again. He was always acting oh-so-very-
noble and superior to you, yet he was deceiving me about
being P-chan all that time. He was taking advantage of both
of us. Neither of us deserved that kind of treatment from
him, the bastard!"
The light of sudden realization dawned in Onna-Ranma's
mind.
"That's how you got like this, isn't it? You were
chasing Ryouga this time instead of me."
Akane nodded her head.
"I guess that means Ryouga owes that goofy dogcatcher
a life-debt, doesn't it?"
Akane's eyes were as hard as stone as she silently
nodded her head again.
"You let your temper get completely away from you,
didn't you?" Onna-Ranma asked while giving Akane a
disapproving stare.
Akane looked shamefaced as she nodded her head, then
whispered, "Yes."
"He really was in love with you, you know," Onna-Ranma
said. Akane started to speak, but he held up his hand. "Wait!
Listen ta what I'm tryin' to tell ya, Okay?"
Akane took a deep breath, then nodded her head.
"Ryouga would give his life for yours right now, if he
had to. Even though he's finally started givin' up on you, he
threatens me every time he thinks I'm not takin' good enough
care of ya. He's helped me every time it really mattered,
even though he didn't want to. Even though with me out of the
way he could have had a chance to ... to ... "
"Sleep in my bed in his real form?"
"Aw, Akane! He ain't like that! He was in love with
you. He did everything he could for both of us at Kenseizan!
Remember?"
Akane's eyes remained very hard as she stared at Onna-
Ranma. Then slowly, as seconds seemed to tick by at the rate
of one per millennium, they began to soften a little. Not
much, but enough to make Onna-Ranma breathe a sigh of relief.
"Drink your tea, Akane," Onna-Ranma said gently,
having decided that a change in subject was in order. "It'll
help the medicine work faster."
Akane took another sip of tea as Onna-Ranma scooted
down to the foot of her futon.
"Let me have your right foot," he demanded as he held
his girlish hands out.
Akane winced at the effort required to raise her leg,
but Onna-Ranma caught her leg under the knee with his left
hand, taking the weight off her sore stomach muscles. Akane
sighed with relief as he began to massage the sole of her
right foot with his thumb while kneading the top of it with
his powerful little fingers.
"Oh!" Akane cried out. "That really helps."
Onna-Ranma gave her an evilly cocky grin.
"Learned this trick from Pops. He used to rub my feet
for me at night when I was little."
"During the early part of your trip?" Akane asked,
then winced at the odd mix of pleasure and pain that Onna-
Ranma's ministrations were causing her.
Onna-Ranma nodded.
"It's funny. Whenever I get really mad him, I remember
him doin' this for me and I can't stay mad at him anymore. He
always tried pretty hard to take care of me, even if he has
pulled some major boners."
"Like the Nekoken training?"
"That was one of his major screwups, all right," Onna-
Ranma said, "but not the only one and not necessarily the
worst."
"Were his swimming lessons really as bad as the
Nekoken training?"
"Much worse!" Onna-Ranma said with a shudder, then
grinned despite the memories running through his mind. "Lucky
for me, we found someone who knew a lot more about teaching
people to swim. The old man had to work his ass off for 'em
for a couple of months, but things came out a lot better in
the end."
"So your dad didn't really teach you how to swim?"
"No, but he taught me what I know about fighting under
water."
Akane shivered at this last, but then smiled.
"Are you planning on taking me to the same person?"
"Yeah, but only to teach you how to swim," Onna-Ranma
said cheerfully. Then his voice took on a note of menace,
"The water fighting techniques you'll hafta learn from me, so
you had better pay close attention to your swimming
instructor."
"Who is he?"
"Oh, you'll meet her soon enough."
"Her?"
"Yep. She'll probably help me fix your breathing,
too."
"There's nothing wrong with my breathing!"
"Think so, huh?" Onna-Ranma said, annoying Akane with
another of his cat-got-the-canary grins. "Give me your other
foot."
Akane gave Onna-Ranma a thoughtful look, as though she
had just gotten his point. While she certainly had not sat
idle at home while she was growing up, the intensity of her
training had been nothing like Ranma's. If he thought her
breathing needed work, it probably did. She tried to raise
her left leg, but it hurt too much. Onna-Ranma picked it up
by cupping his hand beneath her knee, then went to work on
her other foot.
"Ow! Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"Want me to stop?"
"NO!"
Onna-Ranma's grin broadened as he kept working the
knots out of Akane's left foot.
"It's already starting to make me feel better, Ranma.
Thank you."
"Good," Onna-Ranma said with yet another evil grin.
"We'll get you up and walking around some today."
"Oh, no!"
"Oh, yes, Akane. If we don't, you'll be laid up stiff
for weeks. Ya gotta do some stretches, too."
Akane groaned.
"Hey, speakin' of walkin' around, the water oughtta be
hot by now."
"I don't know if I can get up, Ranma."
"Sure you can, Akane. I'll help ya."
"Well, go fill the furo, first."
"All right," Onna-Ranma said as he gently lowered
Akane's leg to the futon. Then in artificially deep voice and
odd accent he said, "I'll be back."
"Don't worry," Akane said, pretending to be terrified.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Onna-Ranma chuckled as he left the room. He was not
gone for long.
"Okay, Tomboy!" Ranma said cheerfully as he re-entered
the room. His hair was wet from having poured hot water on
himself.
"Let's get you up."
"I thought you were going to fill the furo, first."
"It's filling right now," Ranma said, as he dug around
in their things getting out towels and yukata. "By the time
we get there and start bathing, it'll be nearly full."
"Ranma, I don't think ... No! I KNOW, I can't walk
right now."
"Hold these, Akane," Ranma said as he handed her their
bath-things.
Akane looked his male body over, then cocked an
eyebrow at him as she gathered their things to her chest.
"I'll change back once I get you into the bath, okay?"
Akane feigned a pout.
"Now who's bein' a pervert, Tomboy?"
"You're being a tease, Ranma."
"Get used to it," Ranma said with a smirk. "Unless you
wanna get married tomorrow."
"Is that a proposal?"
Ranma froze in his tracks.
"I love you, Akane. Would you marry me, scales, claws,
chaos, curse and all?" he asked, staring into her eyes.
Akane pulled his head down so that she could kiss him.
It was one of those thousand-volt, I'm gonna make you yodel
later type of kisses. Ranma very nearly fell to his knees.
"I kind of like your scales, you know," Akane said
after they came up for air. "Where is it?"
"Where is what? My scales?"
"The ring, silly!"
"Oh, shit!"
"You, baka!" Akane said laughing. "You do realize that
you'll have to do this all over again, right?"
"But you'll say yes?"
"Of course!"
"Hmm, I probably shouldn't hold you to that until
you've had a chance to really talk to Mom," Ranma said as he
carried Akane towards the bath. "Being the wife of a true
Martial Artist is fraught with danger."
"Hmmph!" Akane snorted. "Just hanging around with you
is dangerous. What difference would being married to you
make?"
"Well, gee," Ranma said, wishing he could rub the back
of his neck. "I dunno."
"You are not taking the kids on some ten-year long
training trip," Akane said. "At least, not without me going,
too."
Ranma tried his best to look disappointed, but it was
hard to do while grinning from ear to ear.
"And no Nekoken training, either!" Akane said,
feigning the tones of a complete nag. "I forbid it!"
Ranma laughed out loud despite an involuntary shudder.
"As if I could ever gather up enough ca ... ca ...
cats to try it!"
Ranma set Akane down on one of the bathing stools,
then splashed himself with cold water. Fighting off the
change in form would have cost him enough ki to make him pass
out. The cold water alone was enough to make him dizzy.
"Ranma, are you all right?"
"Aw, I just ... "
"You're overdoing it a little yourself this morning,
aren't you?"
"I'll be okay, Akane," Onna-Ranma said, holding his
head in an effort to stop the world from spinning. "Just give
me a minute, will ya?"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Onna-Ranma said as he began removing
his clothes.
Akane watched him undress. He could tell that not only
was Akane enjoying the show, but that she was also watching
for any further signs of weakness. The truth was that he did
feel pretty weak, but did everything he could to hide it.
Showing weakness at a time like this would NOT be very manly.
"Need help with your pajamas?" Onna-Ranma asked as he
finished stripping.
"Pretty please?" Akane asked, looking and sounding
delighted with the offer. She hampered his efforts at
undressing her by kissing his lips and neck, and tugging at
his breasts while he fumbled with her buttons.
"I'm gonna hafta spank you if you keep that up," Ranma
said, with mock menace in his voice.
"Sounds like fun," Akane said with an impish smile,
"provided you're up to it."
Onna-Ranma was shivering from the cold and lack of ki
by the time they finished scrubbing and rinsing off. It
hadn't helped that Akane was having a difficult time flexing
her limbs or using her stomach muscles. Onna-Ranma had to
help her quite a bit more than he expected.
"Maybe you should stay out of the hot water, Ranma,"
Akane said, sounding worried. "You look awfully pale."
"I'll be okay, Akane," Onna-Ranma said, "Honest."
"Well at least allow yourself to change back into your
guy type," Akane ordered. "I don't think you should keep
using up your ki the way you have been so far this morning."
"You won't mind?"
"How can you ask that?" Akane said, sounding a bit
frustrated. "After we ... after we ... "
"Okay," Onna-Ranma said, with a sheepish grin. "Think
you can make it as far as the furo if I help?"
Akane nodded her head.
Onna-Ranma helped her up, and she let out a little
squeal of pain as her badly stiffened legs protested. Their
entry into the furo was less than graceful. They just fell
into it with a loud splash. Both of them came up spewing
water and gasping for breath.
"Are you okay, Akane?"
Akane smiled before answering. "I'm fine. How about
you?"
"A little dizzy," Ranma said as he put both hands to
his head, "but I'm okay."
"Good," Akane said as she leaned back against the side
of the furo. "So come over here and cuddle with me."
Ranma moved to comply and was immediately embarrassed
at his male body's reaction to Akane's proximity.
"You look tired, Ranma," Akane said.
"I am, a little," Ranma said, thanking the kami that
she had not noticed the rather too prominent protuberance
between his legs. He was still thanking them when he felt
Akane's slender fingers close around it. He gasped with
shock.
"Did I hurt you?" Akane whispered into his ear as she
gave him a gentle squeeze.
"Ah, no," Ranma managed to squeak out of his nearly
completely closed throat. He was fairly certain that his
heart had somehow crawled up into his windpipe. "Just
surprised me a little, that's all."
"I just wanted to know what it felt like," Akane said,
sounding a little embarrassed as her face turned forty-nine
shades of pink.
"It ... ah ... It feels pretty good ... actually,"
Ranma said in a scratchy voice.
Akane giggled, then stroked him gently with her
fingers.
"It's a pretty good handful, too," Akane said,
grinning despite her rapidly deepening blush.
Ranma had another severe dizzy spell. He let his head
slump against Akane's shoulder.
"Ranma!" Akane cried out in alarm, as she placed both
hands on his shoulders and shook him.
"Shh, Akane," Ranma said weakly. "I just need to let
my ki build up a little. I can't think of any other place I'd
rather rest, right now."
"Are you sure, Ranma?"
"Put your arms around me, Akane."
They both fell fast asleep within in minutes.
-------------------
Nodoka Saotome awoke to the smell of rice cooking. Not
wanting Kasumi to assume all the housekeeping chores, she
hastened to get up and dress. Much to her surprise, Kasumi
was nowhere to be found, even though the rice cooker was
hissing away merrily and a large kettle of water sat upon the
griddle, dutifully staying warm. Then Nodoka noticed that
someone had started the morning's soup and had set out the
tofu to warm.
"Good morning, Aunt Nodoka," Kasumi said cheerfully as
she entered the large kitchen. "Trying to steal all the fun,
I see."
"No," Nodoka said, sounding puzzled. "I thought you
had done all this. I just walked in here."
Kasumi scanned the kitchen quickly with a faint hint
of worry in her face, which for Kasumi, spoke volumes.
"Well, it doesn't look as though Akane has been in
here," Kasumi said, sounding as puzzled as Nodoka felt.
"That's no surprise, Tou-chan said she would have
considerable difficulty in moving around for the next couple
of days."
"Perhaps Tofu ... "
"No, it wasn't Tofu," Kasumi said with an embarrassed
smile, then blushed.
Nodoka felt a thick layer of ice form around her
heart. That left only one person--Ranma. Her son had started
breakfast. IN A HOUSE LOADED TO THE GILLS WITH WOMEN, HER SON
HAD GOTTEN UP EARLY AND STARTED BREAKFAST! WHAT SORT OF MANLY
BEHAVIOR WAS THAT?
"Oh, look!" Kasumi said cheerfully as she re-covered
the willow bark with damp towels, "Ranma must have made
willow-bark tea for Akane."
Nodoka closed her eyes in relief as all her internal
alarms suddenly went silent. Ranma's behavior was perfectly
acceptable if he were simply taking care of his fiancee. That
was VERY MANLY of him, even if doing all the other work he
had done the kitchen was going a bit overboard. As her blood
pressure dropped back down to normal levels, she remembered
what Tofu had told her. Would spending time in his girl form
require Ranma to be ... be ... feminine? What then of his
draconian form? Genma certainly seemed to be rather panda-
like when the curse was upon him. She shook her head to clear
it. Ranma was her child. Hers! She would learn to cope.
"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "I just remembered! Tofu
said the water heater will need to be lit and it's one of the
old-fashioned kind with a gas pilot light."
"Oh, well that's no problem, dear," Nodoka said
relieved to have something other than her son's manliness to
worry about. "All we need do is find it. I know how to get
one of those going."
"Oh, good! Where do you suppose it is, Aunt Nodoka?"
"Most of these old houses have them in a closet in the
bath," Nodoka said, "but sometimes the only way to get at
them is to go outside and open a small door in the wall."
"Why don't we check the furo first?" Kasumi asked by
way of suggestion.
Nodoka nodded her head at Kasumi and the pair of the
wandered about the grand old house together, looking for the
furo.
-------------------
The combination of discomfort and desire woke Akane
from her brief nap. She shifted her weight around so that she
could have Ranma's hard body pressed against her front. He
murmured something unintelligible as she kissed him on the
neck. A large, but silent motion of some kind tugged at her
peripheral vision. When she looked up, Akane found her eldest
sister and Nodoka standing in the furo. Kasumi was staring at
them slack-jawed, her skin about the same color as a hospital
sheet. Nodoka stared at the water and seemed to be
delighted.
"Shh!" Akane noised with a finger to her lips, then
whispered, "He'd be embarrassed if you woke him up like
this."
"Is he all right?" Nodoka murmured softly.
Akane nodded her head. Kasumi dragged her jaw shut,
then put a hand over her mouth. Kasumi's skin color however,
remained very close to pure white.
"Still very tired, I think," Akane whispered. "He
overdid it a little this morning."
"We'll go finish making breakfast, Akane," Kasumi
murmured. "You shouldn't stay in here too much longer."
Akane nodded her head.
"Ask Doctor Tofu to come check on us in a few minutes,
would you, Kasumi?"
Kasumi nodded her head, then she and Nodoka beat a
retreat to the kitchen. Nodoka seemed to be floating on air.
Kasumi smiled at this reaction, but was still concerned.
"They are still a bit young for all this, don't you
think?"
"Oh, nonsense, Kasumi-chan," Nodoka said with sunny
smile. "Bathing together is perfectly innocent. Besides,
they'll be married soon enough that it will not matter."
"But what about schooling and ... and ... college ...
and ... "
"We'll find a way, Kasumi-chan," Nodoka said, sounding
as though her faith was unshakable. "Now let us see what we
can do about getting our families fed, shall we?"
Kasumi had to smile. Nodoka's enthusiasm was nothing
if not infectious.
-------------------
Nabiki's visit with Happosai turned out to be
something of a shock. The old man was abnormally subdued and
her visit lasted mere minutes. He took his seals, under the
watchful eye of the police, then quickly stamped a document
he had already written out. He handed the heavy parchment to
Nabiki, saying nothing until she took it from him.
"Do not let your father or Genma read this," Happosai
said. "Soun would panic and Genma might try to forbid it."
Nabiki raised both eyebrows as she read the license.
The "okugi" or "innermost-secret-teachings" were no laughing
matter to be sure, but Nabiki had not realized that they were
also exceedingly dangerous for both student and teacher. The
phrase "... assuming you and said student survive the
training ..." was not the least bit reassuring. She might
have taken it as Happosai indulging in hyperbole, but the
text was entirely too formal for it to be Happosai's work.
That meant that the license was modeled upon an older
document. A much older document if Nabiki was any judge of
kanji, and she was.
"Just tell them to prepare to for a student beginning
the okugi," he said. "They'll know what to do after that
without knowing the details."
"This authorizes Ranma a single student of his
choice," Nabiki said. "You must be pretty confident that he
will choose Akane. Do you really think she's ready to begin
the okugi?"
"Who else is there for him to choose and meet the
requirements?" Happosai asked. "Your father should have
started her on this a year ago."
Nabiki sighed, then said, "You know how fearful Daddy
is about one of us getting hurt."
"Hmmph! Then he should have remarried and had boys."
Nabiki gave Happosai a cold smile.
"That would not have been nearly as much fun for you,
now would it?"
Happosai cackled.
"No, I suppose you're right about that, Nabiki-chan,"
Happosai said without a hint of shame. "Any word on when I'll
be getting out of here?"
"I've been trying to hurry things along, Grandfather,"
Nabiki said. "I think they may release you this coming
Wednesday."
"I won't be coming back to Tendo-ke anytime soon,
Nabiki."
"Oh?"
"I have things I must do and they can't be done in
Nerima."
"Any idea how long you'll be gone?"
"Oh, I think I'll return about the same time the
second crop of yams comes out of the ground this year."
Nabiki was a bit taken aback by this. That would be
late in the fall.
"Why so long?" she asked. "I would have thought you
might want to check on Ranma before then."
"Nope!" Happosai said firmly. "He's on his own for
this one. It's a test. I won't help him, nor will I interfere
with him. Besides, your father and Genma are going to be more
than enough of a nuisance for him."
"You never gave a second thought about being a
nuisance for him in the past."
"This is different, Nabiki-chan. Ranma is about to
face the greatest challenger he is ever going to meet."
"Oh, really?" Nabiki asked with more than a little
concern in her voice. "Who might that be?"
"Ranma Saotome!"
"And here I thought your were going to say Akane
Tendo."
"Hah! He conquered her the day he arrived," Happosai
snorted, then laughed. "Not that the young fool realized it!"
"So you think Ranma is going to have a difficult time
with this."
"I KNOW he is," Happosai said with a grimace. "And I
have to be ready for him once he's done."
"So you expect him to succeed."
Happosai looked Nabiki in the eye, then nodded.
"I hate that I am going to miss out on all the fun.
You'll tape what you can of it for me, won't you?"
Nabiki smiled, but it was a smile which held the chill
of dry, arctic snow.
"Maybe."
Happosai responded with a knowing grin of his own.
Then turned his head so that he could see his guards.
"All right, boys!" Happosai called out to them. "We're
finished here. You can take me back now."
"Hang in there, Gramps," Nabiki said with a smirk,
"only four days left."
"I'll make it," the old man said without looking back.
The trip back was uneventful, but unpleasant. Nabiki
had entirely too many gloomy thoughts running through her
mind to enjoy the ride. She had seen people get hurt in the
dojo during normal training. She herself had been hurt more
than once. Practice weapons might lack sharp edges, but they
were made of oak and even a minor mistake could hurt like
hell. She knew all too well about the physical agony and
boring drill of martial arts training. She shuddered to think
of what the advanced training must be like. There was the
very definite risk of hospital bills to pay and if things
went very badly wrong, they would be attending a funeral.
As soon as she opened the door, Nabiki knew that there
would be little point in trying to hide her arrival. She
could tell from the smell of cigarette smoke that her father
and Genma were already up. The clack of wooden tiles and
Genma's grunt of surprise told her that they were playing
shogi.
"I'm home!" Nabiki called out as she changed from
shoes to slippers in the foyer.
"Welcome back, Nabiki!" Soun Tendo called back.
He was looking up from the shogi board at her when she
walked into the main part of the house.
"I gather the Master has granted Ranma his license to
teach," Soun said, looking at the box Nabiki was carrying.
"He said to tell you and Uncle Genma that you should
make preparations for another student about to begin the
okugi, but not to let you read the documents he made for
Ranma."
Upon hearing this, Soun at first looked as though he
was upset and might cry, but with the swiftness of an
unexpected change in the weather, he suddenly looked
relieved, then happy.
"I'll call the priest, Saotome."
"Hmm, I guess I had better start gathering firewood,
Tendo."
"Let me make the call and I'll give you a hand," Soun
said.
This left Nabiki completely baffled.
"What's going on, Daddy?"
"Oh, nothing you need worry about, Nabiki-chan," Soun
said in an airy tone. "Genma and I have a few preparations to
make is all."
"You guys aren't thinking of trying another wedding
are you?" Nabiki asked, sounding suspicious.
"No, nothing like that, Nabiki-kun," Genma said in his
rumbling voice. "This is will be a much more important
ceremony than a wedding."
Soun Tendo nodded in agreement.
"Whether Ranma and Akane ever marry or not, this will
be important to her, Nabiki," Soun told her. "Shouldn't we go
get the ore first, Saotome-kun?"
"Way ahead of you, Tendo," Genma said with one of his
rare smiles. "I've had it stored under the dojo for the last
three months. I expected us to need it right after the
wedding."
"Oh, well good!" Soun said, sounding genuinely
pleased, "All we need do then is erect the shrine and call
the priest. Once that's done, we can begin."
"Gotta gather deadfall, too," Genma said with a grunt.
"We can't use cut firewood for this, remember?"
"Well, we had best get started then, hadn't we, old
friend?"
"I'm with you, Tendo-kun," Genma answered as he and
Tendo walked out to the foyer together.
"Weren't you going to call the priest?"
"Let's just talk to him once we get to the shrine,
Saotome," Soun said. "We'll be gathering wood from his grove,
anyway."
"Good point," Genma said.
Nabiki stood with her mouth hanging open as she
watched them leave.
"Well, so much for Aunt Nodoka's list of chores!"
Nabiki said to the empty house. "I just hope they don't find
more trouble to get into."
With a shrug of the shoulders, Nabiki picked up the
telephone and called Ukyou Kuonji.
"Ukyou?" Nabiki asked, when someone picked up the
telephone on the other end of her call.
"Oh, fine. Busy is all," Nabiki said, being careful to
put a smile in her voice. "Think you could spare Konatsu for
a few hours?"
Nabiki smirked into the telephone at Ukyou's question.
"No, nothing perverted, unless you count taking some
of Ranma's things to him perverted."
"Five-hundred yen? Sure, that's fine. No, I don't mind
giving you the money instead of him. Yes, I'll pay for the
cab and train fare."
Nabiki found herself smiling despite everything that
had
been going on. Ukyou understood the Art of the Deal well
enough to make dealing with her a pleasure.
"You bet! Thanks."
Nabiki hung up the phone and sighed heavily. It was
hard for her to not think about what Ranma and Akane were
doing now that they were more or less left to their own
devices. Well, if Ukyou could learn to deal with it, so
could Nabiki Tendo, Ice Queen of Nerima.
-------------------
"Ranma?" Tofu Ono asked with a grin and a wink at
Akane. He gently touched Ranma's arm in precisely the right
spot, causing Ranma to wake with a start.
"Huh? Doc?" Ranma asked as his eyes fluttered open.
What happened next was a testament to the speed and efficacy
Ranma Saotome's reflexes. He took in his surroundings,
remembered what he had been doing before going to sleep, and,
at one and the same time, realized that he was being observed
by
Tofu Ono. All of this in less than five microseconds. Such a
feat of data processing is rare, even among race car drivers
and fighter pilots. Somewhere, on the kami plane, Seymour
Cray wept with envy.
"This ain't watcha think, Doc!" Ranma shouted in a
state of panic.
Akane giggled. She was holding a towel over her front.
"Oh?" Tofu asked in an innocent voice. "You mean your
ki has fully recovered?"
"Ah, well, ah, no ... not exactly," Ranma stuttered.
"I didn't think so," Tofu said with a smile. "You do
look quite a bit better this morning, though. Where did you
learn to make willow-bark tea?"
"Hey, train with my old man on the road for a month
and you'll pay close attention to him when he talks about
stuff like that."
"I can just imagine," Tofu said. "Sorry to startle
you, Ranma, but I thought it best to check up on my patients.
I had no idea one of them wanted to practice medicine."
"Aw, Doc," Ranma said, sounding contrite, "I didn't
mean to be practicin' nothin,' but The Art. There ain't
hardly a sensei in Japan that doesn't know about willow-bark
tea."
"Well, I suppose you have a point there, Ranma," Tofu
said with a chuckle. "They do have a regular need for it."
"I picked up lots of other stuff like that in
Hiroshima, but I never use it. That WOULD be practicin'
medicine."
"Oh, really? As part of martial arts training?"
Ranma nodded his head.
"Yoshin-ryuu," Ranma said, "Lot's of good yari [spear]
and naginata stuff taught there as well, but Pops wanted me
to pick up on their methods for treating wounds. They even
have a kind of kata for treating the wounds of a warrior
who's been cut in different places."
[Think of the naginata as a full-length sword on the
end of a wooden shaft some two meters long. Neither the
naginata nor the yari is ordinarily thrown at an opponent
during battle.]
Tofu's smile broadened into a grin.
"Did Koyama-sensei make you wear furisode every other
class?"
[Furisode are formal kimono with very long sleeves
worn by single girls. Married women wear kimono with shorter
sleeves, referred to as "kimono." Onna-Ranma and the other
girls are often depicted wearing furisode by Takahashi. This
is intended to be humorous, as traditional garb is
breathtakingly expensive, even by Japanese standards.]
Ranma rolled his eyes towards the heavens.
"That must've been hilarious," Akane said. "You
studied there before you went to China, didn't you, Ranma?"
Ranma sheepishly nodded his head.
"Well, look at it this way, Ranma," Tofu said, "You
probably never looked as silly as I did."
"Why on earth did they make you wear furisode?" Akane
asked, then giggled as the image of the lanky and very
masculine Tofu Ono wearing furisode played across her mind.
"Because Yoshin-ryuu specializes in instructing young
ladies of substance in the use of the naginata and yari,
Akane," Tofu said. "Koyama-sensei feels that the male
students need to know the same things as the female
students."
"Does your mom know, Ranma?" Akane asked in a loud
whisper as she dug him in the ribs with her elbow.
Ranma responded with a loud sigh.
"You and your dad must have fit in around there like
socks on a rooster."
"You can't even begin to imagine, Akane!" Ranma said.
"In some ways, it was a real nightmare. In other ways, it was
one of the best places I ever studied. The food was great."
Tofu nodded his head in agreement.
"I'll never forget the shrimp and crab soup with soba
and mushrooms!" Tofu said.
"Or the steamed abalone!"
"Ah, you said it, Ranma! How did you like the fish
roasted over oak?"
Akane's stomach rumbled in reply to these
reminiscences. This proved immediately embarrassing because
both Ranma and Tofu stared at her.
"What are you two staring at?" Akane asked in a tone
of mock menace, hoping to cover her unease.
"Perhaps we should get you two out of here, " Tofu
said with a knowing grin. "Breakfast is probably on its way
to the table by now and I just imagine Kasumi and Nodoka
would like to bathe right after we eat."
"Okay, Doc," Ranma said, then realized that it was his
turn to be slightly embarrassed. Tofu was a doctor, sure. And
they were both guys, sure. But they were both guys and Ranma
was not wearing any clothes while Akane was sitting in the
furo as naked as he was. Tofu proceeded to handle it as
though he were in a hospital and Ranma was an intern. The
ploy worked.
"Give me a hand with this patient, Ranma," Tofu said
in a tone of voice that was still as kindly and as soft as
ever, yet brooked no argument. "We need to get her up and
back to her room for further treatment."
"Can I eat first?" Akane asked.
"Sure," Tofu said with a smile. "I'll let my student
here set you up with a tray."
Ranma gave Tofu a puzzled stare as they helped Akane
out of the furo.
"Your student?"
"That is assuming you want to learn what I can teach,
Ranma."
"You bet!" Ranma said, enthusiastically.
"After we eat, I want you to give Akane a rubdown,"
Tofu said in his professional voice. "You do still remember
how, don't you?"
"Sure, Doc," Ranma said, nodding his head. "But I'll
bet you could give me a pointer or two."
Akane shivered uncontrollably as her ears and nose
turned pink.
"You okay, Akane?" Ranma asked, sounding worried.
Tofu grinned at Akane's response to the idea of having
both Ranma and himself working on her, then said. "I'll watch
you work on her this evening, Ranma. I think your mother and
Kasumi have other plans for me this morning."
"I'm fine, Ranma," Akane said, as her the color of her
face turned into a deeper pink. "I just need to get off my
feet. My legs are bothering me a lot."
"C'mon, then," Ranma said gently. "We'll get you back
to the room."
Breakfast went by quickly, but pleasantly. Akane found
that she had some how eaten half-again as much as she
ordinarily would, and that the muscle pain was returning with
a vengeance. There was a knock at the door.
"Yes?" Ranma and Akane chorused.
"It's me," Tofu said.
"Come on in, Doc," Ranma said cheerfully.
"I brought special tea for the two of you," Tofu said,
as he walked in with a tray. "I just imagine Akane is
starting to feel a little pain by now."
Akane nodded. She drank the proffered cup of hot,
willow-bark tea as though it tasted of ambrosia.
"This is for you, Ranma," Tofu said. "I'll bet you
forgot yours this morning."
"I did think about it, Doc," Ranma said sheepishly. "I
just got a little sidetracked is all."
"Kasumi is warming up the oil I made for Akane,
Ranma," Tofu said. "I'll let you apply it."
"Okay, Doc."
"Just remember there are two kinds. One is stronger
than the other. Use the stronger oil for her lower limbs. The
milder oil is for her back and shoulders."
Ranma nodded.
"Be careful not to get any of it on her face or other
sensitive areas."
"Is it the same stuff they make down in Hiroshima?"
Tofu nodded.
"I remember that stuff real well," Ranma said. "I'll
be careful with it."
"I was sure you would have had some personal
experience with it."
Ranma nodded. "Got it on the wrong part of my body
once."
Tofu chuckled, then asked, "How far did you run before
some kind soul caught up with you and knocked you down?"
"Just a hundred meters or so," Ranma said with a grin.
"My legs were shorter then. People in Hiroshima understand.
They just kind of grin at you when you run by 'em naked."
There was another knock at the door.
"I brought the oil, Tou-chan," Kasumi said from the
door. "How are you feeling, Akane?"
"Much better than yesterday, Kasumi-chan," Akane said.
"Thanks for all the help."
Kasumi smiled as she put down a bowl full of warm
water. It had two long, skinny bottles in it. One was made of
brown glass, the other of dark blue.
"The blue bottle has the milder oil in it, Ranma,"
Tofu said, "but as you no doubt remember, you still must be
careful not to get it on anything sensitive."
Ranma nodded.
"Think you two can manage on your own for a few
hours?" Tofu asked.
"Sure, Doc," Ranma said.
"Good. Kasumi and I are going to take your mother out
to see the waterfalls. We may have lunch around there
somewhere."
"There are sandwiches in the fridge for you, Ranma,"
Kasumi said. "In case we're not back in time for lunch."
"Thanks, Kasumi."
"Akane?"
"Yes, Doctor Tofu?"
"This oil will make you feel rather peculiar when it's
first applied."
Ranma rolled his eyes at this.
"So don't panic, okay?"
"I won't, Doctor Tofu."
"Good!" We'll see you two later."
"Later, Doc."
Ranma waited until Tofu and Kasumi were well down the
hall before speaking softly.
"Akane?" Ranma asked as he poured another cup of green
tea for her.
"Yes?"
"Doc didn't exactly tell you everything about this
oil, okay?"
"What didn't he tell me?"
"It's the weirdest stuff you've ever run into in your
life. The creams you get in a drugstore for sore muscles
don't even touch it."
"Oh?"
"You'll think your skin caught on fire for the first
minute or so."
Akane's eyes widened.
"Then you'll think you're being bathed in ice-water or
somethin'."
Akane's looked even more dubious.
"Then your muscles will go completely limp and you'll
feel warm all over."
"That's more or less what the stuff at the drugstore,
does, right?"
"Only sorta," Ranma said. "This stuff gets it right.
You just need to know not to panic when I first start puttin'
it on ya."
"Okay, Ranma," Akane said. "Are you ready to start?"
"If you are."
Ranma had her roll onto her stomach, then wisely began
with her less sensitive lower legs, gently rubbing the oil
into her skin. Akane bit her pillow, then squealed despite
her best efforts not to.
"You want me to wait and let this cool down before I
move on?"
Akane shook her head. Ranma had not been kidding, but
she was determined to prove that she could take anything he
could. He had not been lying about what to expect. Her lower
calves seemed to be soaked with burning gasoline. Ranma
proceeded to work further up her legs, rubbing the fiery
stuff into the backs of her thighs.
"Whoa, Ranma!" Akane cried out. "Give me a minute."
Akane could hear the grin in Ranma's voice as he
spoke. "I'll work on your calves for a minute, that usually
helps the burning stop sooner."
To Akane it felt as though he was rubbing the skin off
of her lower legs. The smell of the oil was quite potent. The
room was filled with the overpowering scent of eucalyptus,
camphor and some other aromatic she could not identify. The
smell of the stuff made it seem as though she was breathing
superheated air.
"No wonder everyone else left!" Akane said. "They
didn't want to listen to me scream--or smell this stuff."
Ranma laughed, as he continued working on her lower
legs.
Akane suddenly breathed in sharply.
"Startin' to feel cold now?"
"Yes," Akane said, unable to keep a whimper out of her
voice. Ranma began applying more oil to the backs of her
thighs.
"Eeeyaah!" Akane shouted. "I'll bet you are really
enjoying this, aren't you?"
Ranma laughed.
"Pervert!"
"Yeah, but I'm your pervert! Ain't I, Tomboy?"
"Don't you ever forget it ... Aaaah! ... Baka!"
Ranma began working the oil into the skin of Akane's
hips. It hurt, but it was curiously thrilling at the same
time. The initial shock of having the fiery oil applied had
passed, as had the notion of pain. Now it was more like a
kind of sensory overload. Akane relished the feel of Ranma's
hard fingers digging into and massaging her sore buttocks. He
worked the stuff in up to the start of her lower back.
"Oh, God! That hurts so good!"
Ranma laughed.
"I'll bet you enjoyed this at that all-girl school,
didn't you, Ranma?"
Ranma snorted before answering.
"I wish! It wasn't an all-girl school, Akane. I got
teamed up with Pops most of the time. If not him, some other
guy that was older than me."
"Bleah!"
"Yeah!" Ranma said with a chuckle. "Double-bleah."
Akane began to shiver as the sensations from the oil
went from unbearably hot to freezing cold.
"Now I'm freezing!"
"Good!" Ranma said, then laughed evilly. "Roll over so
I can do the other side of your legs."
Akane felt her areolae stiffen against the fabric of
the futon beneath her and was suddenly glad that Doctor Tofu
had not stayed to give Ranma any pointers. Ranma seemed to
know without being told how to find all the right spots. The
rubdown was proving to be some of the sweetest agony she had
ever felt. She happily ignored her protesting muscles as she
rolled over onto her back.
Ranma began with her feet this time, rubbing the oil
in a little at the time between the bones that ran from her
ankle to her big toes, then paying close attention to the
muscles behind her ankle and the Achilles tendon. Wave after
wave of pleasant relaxation began to wash over her as the
pain and tension began to fade from her badly overused
muscles. The muscles in the backs of her legs had begun to go
limp and feel incredibly warm, as though she were floating
upon a shallow pond on a hot summer day. This made the brief
sting of the freshly applied oil seem pleasant and something
be looked forward to rather than dreaded.
Akane opened her eyes and watched Ranma's face as he
worked. He looked for all the world like a great craftsman
making something small and delicate. His movement gentle, but
firm. The muscles in his forearms rippled as he found the
tense, tiny knots in her muscles and rubbed them away. God
she wanted him! Oh, God! She wanted to spread her legs and
pull him down between them and feel that hard, rippling belly
of his pressed up against her own.
"You know what I wish, Ranma?"
"What?"
"I wish we had started doing this a year ago."
Ranma laughed.
"You woulda killed me if I tried," he said as his
strong fingers worked their way up into the muscles her left
calf. "You'll never know how many times I thought about it,
though."
"Why?"
"'Cause I thought about it so many times I lost
count."
"Really?"
"Sure," Ranma said with a shrug. "There were lots of
times I could tell you needed a good rubdown."
"A rubdown, huh? Was that all you thought I needed?"
Ranma cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Hey! I'm your pervert, remember?"
Akane giggled, then winced as his fingers found a
particularly sore spot in her right calf, just below the
knee.
"That one's pretty sore, ain't it?"
Akane nodded her head and stared Ranma in the face.
His eyes were calm and tranquil, like the blue waters of a
deep lagoon, but Akane could detect the first faint flickers
of the lightning-like fires of desire in those unbelievably
tranquil depths. It took her breath away. He wants me! She
thought. Oh, God! He wants me as badly as I want him. Will he
really wait until we are married? Akane quickly forgot all
about her question as Ranma began working on the muscles in
her right thigh where they joined the knee. It hurt and
tickled at one and the same time.
"Ooo!"
"I thought you'd be sore there."
"It tickles!"
Ranma grinned.
"And it hurts!"
"You want me to stop?"
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
Ranma began working on a spot just above Akane's right
kneecap with his thumbs. It made her leg tingle from her knee
to her heel, then the sensation shot up her inner thigh to
another, rather sensitive spot. It made her gasp aloud.
"You okay?"
Akane mutely nodded her head as her eyes began to
water. Ranma gave her his cockiest grin.
"I am going to pay you back for this in spades, you
know," Akane said in threatening tones.
Ranma laughed and then went to work on the same spot
on her left leg. Akane fought down the urge to howl at the
sheer ecstasy of it all.
"I'll remind you of that threat one of these days."
"You do that," Akane said, trying to make her voice
sound cold, but only partially succeeding. She grinned evilly
when she realized that she would get to play with Ranma in
two of his three forms. It would be great fun finding out
what made his male form feel this helpless.
Ranma noticed her grin and shuddered.
Akane's grin broadened into a smile. That's right,
Ranma. I own you--body and soul, she thought. Now and
forever, you are mine. I love you.
Ranma's face softened as though she had spoken her
thoughts and Akane realized that he was watching her face and
reading her emotions. Being the treasure of a mighty dragon
was a pretty good deal, once you figured out that you owned
the dragon as much as he owned you. Akane giggled.
"What?"
"Nothing," Akane said. "Just happy is all."
Ranma started probing the large muscles on either side
of her left thigh as he rubbed oil into the fairly sensitive
skin of that area and Akane sucked in a long, whistling
breath.
"Aaaiiiyaah!"
"I could switch oils, if you want," Ranma said as he
began plucking at the massive tendon that ran down her inner
thigh to the knee.
Akane was unable to speak. She just shook her head.
"Sure?"
She nodded her head. The searing sensations passed
much more quickly now. The burning was gone and it already
felt as though he were stroking the inside of her leg with a
block of ice. His strong fingers were painfully working the
aches out of the muscles in her thigh, while thrilling
tingles of pleasure rippled through her lower body. Akane
gasped.
"Startin' to feel better already, huh?"
Akane sighed with pleasure as one particular hard knot
of muscle flared up with sharp pain beneath Ranma's probing
fingers, then began to relax and feel warm.
"That was a bad one. It'll hurt a lot less tomorrow."
"Are you going to do my back?"
"Yep. Gotta finish with your legs and do your tummy
first, though. Your stomach muscles and lower back take a
real beating from running. Your upper back and shoulders get
tight just because your legs and stomach hurt."
"Where did you learn all this stuff?"
"From Pop," Ranma said with a wry grin. "Sometimes by
him telling me, sometimes by him letting me learn the hard
way."
"Aah!" Akane cried out as Ranma began to work on her
right thigh. She was beginning to pant heavily now despite
her efforts at self-control. Things other than her skin and
muscle were began to buzz and tingle. Had it been with anyone
other than Ranma, this experience would have been thoroughly
disagreeable, but it was turning out to be incredibly
pleasant and more than just a little erotic. Akane shivered
as she felt a familiar little fire ignite deep in her belly.
By the time Ranma finished with her right thigh, she was
aching for him to put out that little fire.
"Just relax for a minute, Akane," Ranma said as he
began to carefully towel his hands. "I need to dry this stuff
off my hands and change oils before I start on your stomach
muscles."
Their eyes met as Ranma finished speaking. Akane
fought off the urge to breath in sharply beneath Ranma's
gaze. He looks hungry, she thought. She held his gaze without
blinking and did her absolute best to look edible.
Ranma shivered as though a bucket of ice water had
been poured down his collar. He closed his eyes for a moment
then cast his gaze about looking for place to put the oil
laden towel. Akane smiled at her victory. None of the other
girls could do that to Ranma Saotome. His ego had never
allowed it.
"This may be a little hard to handle at first,
Tomboy," Ranma said as oiled his hands with the contents of
the blue bottle. Akane felt her heart skip a beat as she
realized that he was being careful now to avoid her gaze.
Ranma was still quivering slightly, a sure sign of what his
self-control was costing him.
"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked in her sweetest
voice. "You look a little pale."
Ranma gave her a wry grin as a very definite blush ran
up his neck and filled his cheeks with a pink glow.
"Oh, I'm doin' okay," Ranma said in a shaky voice.
"I'm just a little nervous."
"Nervous?" Akane asked coyly. "Why?"
Ranma began to flounder.
"Put your hands on me, Ranma," Akane said in a tone
that seemed to fill the room with steam. "Now!"
Searing heat washed over the skin of Akane's stomach,
causing her to sit up part way without thinking. The pain in
her badly abused abdominals forced her to lay back with a
less than ladylike grunt.
"Smart a little, Akane?"
The changes in Ranma's voice and demeanor were very
subtle, but Akane noticed them.
"Ranko?"
"Two can play the naughty little girl game, you know,
girlfriend."
"But you're ... you're ... "
"Still male?"
Akane realized suddenly that if anything, the desire
in Ranma's eyes was now burning brighter than ever.
"Where's Ranma?"
"Oh, I sent him off to take a cold shower," Ranko said
with a grin as he continued to work at the knots in Akane's
stomach muscles. "He was losing control."
Akane gasped as her fiance's hard fingers gently
probed and kneaded the muscles of her stomach. The pain was
exquisitely pleasant. Maybe I really am a pervert, Akane
thought to herself. I never expected to enjoy something like
this.
"You know, Akane, you have a truly beautiful little
tummy," Ranko said with an impish smile as he stopped probing
her sore muscles and began to gently caress her skin with his
oily hands. The sensations generated by the oil had gone from
fire to ice, making Ranma's fingers feel like warm sunlight
kissing her skin.
Akane closed her eyes and moaned. Oh, may the kami
forgive me! She thought. I am lying here, and letting a girl
in a guy's body seduce me! Hell! I'm enjoying it. I want to
go all the way with her ... er ... him.
"It's like spring steel covered with velvet," Ranko
said, as he gently spread Akane's legs and knelt between
them.
Now Akane was now burning from the inside out with a
liquid fire she had only felt twice in her young life. Once
on the night after she first saw Ranma naked in the furo, and
then on the night she had seduced him in Tofu's clinic. She
began to shiver with longing.
Ranko gave Akane a knowing smirk, then slid his hands
beneath her buttocks and pulled her to him. Quite without
meaning to, Akane wrapped her legs around his waist. Ranko
slid his hands up along Akane's sides, depositing a thin
layer of the burning oil along the sides her rib cage, then
he moved his hands upwards until he was applying to her ribs,
just below her breasts.
The searing pain was almost more than Akane could
stand for a moment. She gasped several times and
involuntarily squeezed Ranma's body with her bare legs,
digging her heels into his hard buttocks.
Ranko gently worked more oil into Akane's skin above
her solar plexus and diaphragm, then gently trailed his
fingers along the lines of the muscles in her tummy. He began
gently tracking circles around the dome of hard muscle around
her navel. Akane squeezed him with her legs again, this time
becoming acutely aware of the hard, proud flesh filling the
front of Ranma's pants.
"I suppose one of the good things about being engaged
to me," Ranko said as he captured Akane's eyes with his own,
"is that it doesn't take me long to figure out what a girl
really likes."
Akane squeezed Ranma's body even harder, making little
circular motions with her lower body as the rapidly fraying
remnants of her self-control disintegrated.
Ranko began rubbing the oil into the flesh covering
the peak of Akane's pubic arch with the thumb of his left
hand. The fiery bite of the oil made her cry out, then she
began to spasm with pleasure. Ranko lowered himself so that
his belly pressed against hers, then kissed Akane's left
breast. Akane whimpered as wave after wave of pleasure washed
through her aching body. She reached up to the back of
Ranma's head with her left hand and pressed him hard against
her breast. The pleasure lasted for ages. Ranko knew what to
do in order to keep things going.
"I love you, Ranko!"
"Good!" Ranko said in Ranma's voice. "I fell for you
before he did."
"You're joking."
"Yeah, well, maybe a little."
"A little?"
"Well, okay. We fell for you at the same time," Ranko
said. "We couldn't help it, being the same guy and all."
Akane giggled.
"This is so crazy," Akane said, then shivered as a
little aftershock of pleasure wracked her frame. "I don't
know what I'd do if ..."
Akane interrupted herself as she realized that Ranma
had taken back control from Ranko. He kissed her full on the
lips. Akane suddenly felt helplessly willing. Ranma sat up on
one elbow and began to caress her belly.
"Remember, our vow?" Ranma asked.
Akane took his hand in both her own, the pressed it
hard against her stomach.
"Yes, I do," Akane said. "Will you stay here and
cuddle with me for a little while?"
"Sure," Ranma said with a wan smile. "I'm too weak to
do anything else right now anyway."
"Baka."
"Tomboy."
"Pervert."
Ranma grinned evilly then plucked Akane's left breast
with his lips.
"Very perverted when it comes to you, Akane."
Ranma rolled onto his back, then cuddled Akane's naked
body to his side. Her muscles protested a little, but it was
nap time and Ranma made for an exceptionally comfortable bed
warmer. Sleep came quickly to them both for the second time
that day.
-------------------
Akane sat down in her favorite chair in the engawa so
that she could watch the late afternoon sun play with the
surface of the koi pond. She was too old to sit seiza the way
she had in the past. Was it the age, or the mileage? she
wondered to herself. No, it's the age, Akane, old girl.
Ranma's got as many or miles on him as you have and he's
still going strong. They had enjoyed a very full life
together. They had defeated more than a few monsters and
captured several crews of pirates together, but still managed
to raise a sizeable family. Even the dojo had done well. Now
she was a great-grandmother, and her bones had gotten into
the habit of reminding her of every adventure, especially
whenever the weather was about to change. There was little
wonder in this. Akane had been shot twice. Once it had been a
pistol and once it had been a shotgun. She had caught an
arrow with her left shoulder once and had been sliced by
shuriken more times than she could count, not to mention all
the falls and dirty fist fights she had survived.
Ranma had aged as well, but not nearly as much as
Akane had. His dark, reddish beard was shot through with gray
in a few places, but he still had a full head of hair. He was
much broader in the shoulders now, but had somehow managed to
win the "battle of the bulge" most men lost without serious
struggle in late middle-age. He still bounded across the
rooftops of Nerima whenever the mood took him and even teen-
aged boys would whistle at his girl-half. Thinking of it gave
Akane a pang of jealousy, even as it made her smile. Ranma's
masculine side still winced at such treatment, even while
the female half of his ego reveled in it.
Of their four children, their youngest daughter,
Zanma, was the one they got to see most often. She was a
peculiar mixture of her mother and father. She had the build
of Ranma's girl-type. Her hair was an unruly mop like
Ranma's, but it was dark colored with bluish highlights, just
like Akane's excepting the single, renegade forelock of
bright, coppery red. The dragon's blood in Zanma was easily
seen in her eyes. They were like balls of fiery, golden
glass. She was very much her father's daughter in that she
had inherited Ranma's steely will and unfailing loyalty, but
was much like her mother in the kitchen. She did not pick up
the Art at the same rate as her father, but she had his easy
grace and like her mother, once she had mastered a technique,
she was the best at it.
"Mom?"
"In here, Zanma!"
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure I want to," Akane said to her
youngest daughter. "Have you heard from your father?"
"No, but I talked to Ukyou," Zanma said with a smile,
"he said to tell you that he and dad would meet us at the
beach house."
"Oh?" Akane asked, sounding skeptical. "Where were
they?"
"Ukyou said it was all over but the paperwork, so I
guess they are down at the police station filling out forms."
Akane breathed a sigh of relief. Ukyou, their eldest
son, had become a private detective specializing in the hairy
business of countering corporate espionage and thievery. Much
to Akane's annoyance, he often enlisted his father's aid.
"I still don't know if I want to get out," Akane said
with a sigh.
"Aw come on, Mom! You haven't been out of the house
for ages. Besides, almost everyone is going to be there, even
Aunt Nabiki and Uncle Tofu."
Akane smiled at this. She had not seen Tofu for quite
some time. He was still fairly spry for his age, but had
grown quite reclusive after Kasumi passed away. Nabiki, well,
Nabiki had become something of a jet-setter after college and
Jiro, her only son, was now the CEO of Mitsubishi. Much to
Nabiki's feigned annoyance, Jiro worshipped the ground Ranma
walked on.
"You know, Zanma," Akane said in a sad voice, "I
should have turned your father loose ten years ago."
"Mom! Don't talk like that."
"Well it's true," Akane said, choking at the pain in
her voice. "I can't stay up with him anymore. I'm getting
old. He's barely aging at all. He needs a younger woman."
"Don't be silly, Mom. Dad would fall to pieces without
you."
"I'm not going to live that much longer anyway,
Zanma," Akane said. "What will become of him after I'm gone?"
"Aw, Mom! This is exactly why you need to get out of
this house. A little change of air will do you a world of ...
"
Zanma stopped talking at the sound of the front door
opening.
"Yo, Tomboy! What the hell are you doin'? You forget
we're goin' to the beach today?"
"Dad must have flown home."
Akane looked irritated. She always complained that a
man Ranma's age should not be seen doing those kinds of
things, but in truth, she would love to be cruising along
right beside him.
"Ranma no baka!"
"Yeah, but I'm your baka, right, Tomboy?" Ranma asked
cheerfully as he scooped Akane up in his powerful arms. Akane
thumped him on his heavily muscled chest. It was like
slapping the side of tree.
"Just you wait till I get you alone," Ranma said with
a grin and mock menace in his voice.
"Pervert!"
"Yeah, but I'm Akane's kind of pervert, right?"
Akane put her arm around her husband's neck and
cuddled up to him.
"Zanma!"
"Yeah, Pop?"
"Getcher Mom's things," Ranma said. "We'll meetcha at
the beach house."
"Okay, Pop," Zanma said. "You gonna fly her down
there?"
"Ooh, you're finally learning to use your head!"
Zanma stuck her tongue out at her father. Ranma
replied in kind. Akane gave Ranma another walloping blow on
the chest.
"Go on, get out of here, Pop. I'll see the two of you
in an hour or so."
"You bringin' what's his name? That Kuno kid with ya?"
"He's waiting out there in the car, Dad!"
"Tell him not to pull that Osage-no-Onna stuff again,
or I'll have to beat the hell out of 'im."
"Oh, believe me, Pop! He'll never do that again."
As hard as it was for Akane to believe, Tatewaki Kuno
had somehow managed to father a perfectly normal child--well,
perfectly normal for a child born and raised in Nerima,
anyway. Even more surprising was the fact that Zanma had
taken a liking to the young man. Akane did not know whether
to be relieved or worried. Zanma had waited until she was
almost thirty before showing a serious interest in any man,
then that man turned out to be a Kuno. She gave the matter
little further thought. Traveling via Air Ranma had always
been thrilling, especially after Ranma puzzled out the
techniques he had seen Haabu use.
Occasionally passing up light planes and a helicopter
or two, they arrived at the beach well short of sundown and
Ranma almost instantly found himself buried beneath a pile of
teen-aged grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and more than a
few great-grandchildren in their pre-teens. Oh, to be sure
they all came over to give Granma Akane a hug and kiss, but
they were also careful not to play with her the way they did
the family patriarch. Akane's frustration surged again.
Growing old had not been all that bad, until she suddenly
became frail. It was almost as though she had gotten up one
morning only to discover that she was made of glass.
The evening wore on in a pleasant blur. Akane found
herself being doted on by her three powerful sons and adored
by her daughter. She found herself wishing Nodoka had lived
to see this moment. She would have been so very, very proud.
After the meal, her three boys and Ranma decided to try their
luck at a bit of fishing in the surf, while the older of the
grand-children gathered around to listen to Akane tell about
the adventures she and Ranma had enjoyed together, or perhaps
more accurately, endured with style together.
There was the funny story about how the general
madness and confusion of Nerima led to Ukyou being named
after Ranma's first, official fiancee. And the story about
how Daima got his name. He had to be delivered by Cesarean
Section. How they named Genma after Ranma's father. Akane had
still not forgotten how tenderly the old man had held his
third grandson as he lay in his bed, terminally ill with
cancer. They had given Zanma her name in hopes that she would
be blessed with Onna-Ranma's figure. This, of course, led to
Zanma sticking her chest out and strutting around the group
in a circle. The youngsters laughed at Zanma's antics, but
Akane thought the Kuno boy was going to faint.
Soon the half-full moon was high in the southern sky,
turning the whitecaps blue with its soft glow and everyone
was sleepy, everyone except Akane that is. It was another
mixed blessing of old age. Sleep did not come easily and in
truth, she needed little of it anymore. Zanma brought her a
blanket and a flask of hot sake, then sat in warm sand next
to Akane's lounge chair. Their companionship was silent, but
warm for all of that.
"Your father and the boys are coming back."
"You sure, Mom?"
Akane nodded her head.
"I guess I had best get up to the house, then. I
promised Mariko I'd take the midnight diaper watch."
Akane gave her daughter a knowing grin.
"I'll bet you're glad you don't have to do that
anymore."
"Oh, yes!" Akane said with chuckle. "How did you get
roped into it?"
"Your daughter-in-laws insist that I get in some
practice," Zanma said with a rueful grin. She stood up and
brushed the sand from her clothing. "They seem to think I'll
need it soon."
"Will you?"
"Honestly?"
Akane took a long look at her daughter, then nodded.
"I don't think so, Mom," Zanma said, sounding a little
sad. "I haven't found a man yet that I couldn't squash ten
of."
"Well, don't give up hope, dear," Akane said. "And
remember, there is more to life than the Art."
Zanma grinned at her mother.
"Aunt Nabiki says I shouldn't worry," Zanma said with
smile.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, she said if she could find a suitable husband,
anybody could."
"Just between us, Zanma, I think you'll have much less
of problem with it than your Aunt."
"Hah! That's what Aunt 'Biki said," Zanma said with a
laugh. "She said with my figure and looks I could have the
pick of the horde anytime I wanted it."
"Like father, like daughter," Akane told her youngest.
"Aw, Mom!"
"It's true you know."
"Maybe. Look, I'd best get on upstairs. I really did
promise Mariko that I'd help out with the babies."
"Good night, dear."
"Good night, Mom," Zanma said as she turned to go,
then stopped and turned back around. "Are you sure you're
going to be okay out here alone?"
"Who, or what, would be foolish enough to bother me?"
"I guess you got a point there, Mom. See ya in the
mornin'."
"Good night, Zanma."
Zanma was not gone for more than five minutes when
Akane's three sons arrived, lugging heavy stringers of fish.
"Boy, you guys got lucky for a change," Akane said.
The boys stopped and broke out a flashlight so that
Akane could see what they had caught, then got caught up in
ribbing each other about who caught the biggest or the best
or the most and other such nonsense. Akane loved every second
of it.
"Where's your father?"
"Aw, you know how he is, Mom!" Ukyou exclaimed.
"He's out dancing on the surf, Mom," Genma said.
"Yeah, he's probably waitin' on us to go in so he can
be alone with you," Daima rumbled.
Daima resembled his grandfathers. He had inherited
Soun's height, but Genma's build and bald head. For all of
that, he was a ruggedly handsome man with surprisingly
refined tastes. Of the three boys, he was the best educated,
eventually becoming a world renowned surgeon.
"Well I wouldn't mind that at all!" Akane exclaimed.
"You boys get upstairs and go to bed."
The three men grinned at their mother, then chorused,
"Yes, ma'am!"
Daima proved to be right. Ranma came riding in on top
of wave shortly after the boys had gone up to the beach
house. He dragged a lounge up next to Akane's, then stretched
out beside her. He reached over and placed his hand, palm
down, upon her tummy. Akane took his hand in both her own.
"I love you, Akane."
"I love you too, Ranma," Akane said, feeling a lump in
her throat. The time had come to tell him. To clear the air
between them.
"You know we haven't much time left together, Ranma."
Ranma opened his mouth to speak, but Akane could tell
from his face that he was about to begin spouting his usual
protestations. She held up her hand for silence.
"We have to face this, Ranma. I'm aging much faster
than you are."
Ranma's face looked tormented, as he tried to blink
back tears. The tears spoke volumes, for even at the age of
ninety, Ranma Saotome hated for anyone to see him cry.
"I will always love you, Akane."
"I want you to promise me something, Ranma," Akane
said, making sure to keep Ranma's hand pressed firmly to her
stomach. It was not all that firm anymore and it was scarred
from both injury and bearing children, but they had always
had their most sincere exchanges like this.
"What would you have of me, Akane?"
"Promise me you will re-marry after I'm gone."
"Akane!"
"Promise me!"
"Akane ... WHY?"
"Because I must, Ranma. I love you and I don't want
you wasting away in some cave somewhere just because I am
gone."
"Akane ... I ... I ..."
"We have had a good life together. I do not regret a
second of it. When I go, I'll go willingly. My time is coming
soon."
Ranma wept.
"Don't weep for me, Ranma. Just remember me. Okay?"
"I ... I justwishtherewassomethingIcouddo!" Ranma
exclaimed.
"Death comes to all of us sooner or later, Ranma. I
have lived far longer than most other people. You will live
on for much longer, provided you don't lose your head and so
something stupidly heroic."
Ranma's eyes suddenly reflected the light of
realization.
"You want me to re-marry so I'll feel responsible for
someone ... Dontcha?"
Akane smiled at him, then nodded her head.
"I know you all too well, Ranma Saotome," Akane said
in a scolding voice. "You expect to go out in a blaze of
glory."
"Akane, I can't promise you that I'll ever remarry,"
Ranma said, then choked back a sob. "I don't know that I can
do that."
"Then promise me you will go visit the Joketsuzoku for
a year or so."
Ranma looked somewhat annoyed by this for moment, but
relented.
"All right, I promise."
"Good! Now come here and give me a kiss. A good, long
one."
Ranma did, but both of them stiffened when they came
up for air. Something had triggered their sense of danger.
"Someone's out on the surf," Ranma said.
There were only three or four people in the world
besides Ranma who could do such a thing. Only one of them
would be able to find them so easily.
"Probably Haabu," Akane said aloud.
"Yeah, I pretty sure you're right, Akane."
"Go meet him and see what he needs, Ranma."
"I'd rather stay here with you."
"What you'd rather doesn't matter, Saotome. You
wouldn't be you if you didn't answer a call to duty."
Ranma started to say something, but Akane cut him off.
"Go on and get what ever it is over with, just
remember that I want you back here and in my bed before the
week is out."
Ranma grinned.
"And you always call me a pervert."
"You are a pervert!" Akane said with a derisive snort.
"But that's okay, I'm a pervert too."
"You mean you're finally gonna admit it after all
these
years?"
"Get the hell out of here, Baka!" Akane said with mock
anger as she released his hand. "You obviously have work to
do."
Ranma got up grumbling and was still muttering as he
walked down towards the water. The wind carried a few of his
words back to Akane.
" ... uncute ... slave-driving ... TOMBOY!"
Akane smiled. She watched as Ranma met up with the
figure that surfed in on the waves. It was definitely Haabu.
His regal poise and tall figure were unmistakable, even with
just the moon lighting the scene. Akane watched as they
charge out into the surf, skipping over the wave tops.
Neither of them looked back.
"Good-bye, Ranma. My love." Akane whispered.
Akane's ears began to ring as everything began fading
into darkness. No! Her ears were not ringing, that was a bell
ringing. Akane woke with a start and tried to sit up. Her
abdominal muscles screamed in protest at her sudden violence.
Akane looked desperately around the room, trying to
understand exactly where she was. Then it all came back to
her. They were staying at the Ono family's old home place.
She felt the futon next to her own. It was empty.
"Ranma? Ra-a-an-maaa!"
"Down the hall, Akane!" Ranma called out as he ran
back to their room. He slid across the floor on his knees and
took Akane's hand in both his own.
"Are you okay, Akane?"
"I'm fine, Ranma," Akane said, doing her best to get
her breath back under control. "I was having a weird dream
and I sort of got scared when I woke up and you weren't
here."
"Somebody's at the front gate," Ranma said, obviously
torn between answering the bell and seeing to Akane's needs.
"Well, go answer it, silly," Akane said, punching him
lightly on the arm. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?"
Akane nodded her head. Ranma patted her hand, then
left to go see who was at the gate out front, leaving Akane
alone with a whirlwind of unsettling thoughts.
Ranma was not gone long. When he returned, he was
carrying a very formal looking envelope.
"Who was it, Ranma? Is that a challenge letter?"
"It was Konatsu, and no, this isn't a challenge
letter."
"What is it then?"
Wordlessly, Ranma handed her the envelope. Akane
opened it carefully and as she read the contents, the
maelstrom of thoughts churning through her mind intensified
by several orders of magnitude. Why on earth did she dream
about Haabu seeking out Ranma's help? If there was anyone on
earth with an ego larger than Ranma's it was Haabu. He would
never ask Ranma of help, especially given what had happened
the last time Haabu had visited Japan.
It's karma! Akane thought to herself. This letter is
what the dream was about! If I don't train hard enough, I'll
be left behind. Neither Ranma nor I will have a choice. Ranma
is destined to live a hard, adventurous life and if I am to
be part of it, I have to be as good as he is! I must be able
to follow him move for move! Otherwise, he will have to
leave me behind and I'll have to let him go.
Akane looked up from the license Happosai had given
her fiance and said one word, "Yes!"
Ranma gave Akane his most irritating, smart-alec
grin, then asked, "What makes you so sure I'm going to choose
you?"
Akane surprised Ranma by throwing her arms around his
neck and pulling him down on top of her.
"Hey, I ..."
Akane cut Ranma off with a long, hard, deep kiss. When
she let him up for air she asked, "So when do we start?"
Ranma laughed.
"Whenever you're up to it, Tomboy."
"We start tomorrow?" Akane asked hopefully.
"More like the day after, Akane."
"Okay. I can deal with that."
"You sure are eager," Ranma said. "Are you that sure
you want to go through with this? We got no room for error
here, ya know."
"Where ever you go, Ranma," Akane said, "be it heaven
or hell, there am I."
"Well, tell ya this, Akane, but it's gonna
pretty much be a grand tour of hell."
"Then we shall endure it with style."
"Some of this serious training gets to be deadly dull,
ya know."
"I'll deal with it."
"Akane," Ranma paused for emphasis, "you'll end up
eatin' a lot of bitterness before this is over with."
"So?"
"You really mean to go through with this, dontcha?"
"Who else could you possibly pick, Ranma?"
Ranma's face became dead serious as he looked Akane
coldly in the eye.
"Akane," Ranma said gravely, "this is a test. Our
future depends on me passin' it. If I had the slightest
doubts about your being able to do it, or ... or I think you
don't really wanna do it ... with all your heart, I mean. I
will choose Konatsu instead."
This sobered Akane considerably.
"He would be the better choice, Ranma."
"But he isn't you," Ranma said in a near whisper.
Ranma took both of Akane's hands in his own, then
looked her in the eye before speaking.
"Akane, this is going to be the hardest, dullest, most
frustratin' thing you have ever done in your whole life. You
are going to want to quit ten-thousand times before it is
over."
Akane tried to speak, but Ranma cut her off with a
vigorous shake of his head.
"Every time you want to quit, and you will, I promise
you, I wantcha ta think about this talk we're havin' right
now, 'cause there won't be no goin' back after we start. Do
you understand?"
Akane placed the palm of Ranma's right hand on her
tummy, then held it with both of her own.
"Where ever you go, Ranma, there am I."
Ranma gently gathered his fiancee into his arms and
held her close, slowly rocking back and forth, as though she
were a mere child in need of comforting.
"I sure hope the kami watch over us, Akane, 'cause
we're gonna need all the help we can possibly get."
"That's not a problem, Ranma," Akane murmured into his
shoulder. "They already watch us like hawks."
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