Split Ring

A Ranma ½ fanfic

Note: Part 1. Sometimes, my mind wanders at work and it ventures into old fandoms. Very old fandoms. So, here we are.

And hopefully, I caught all my typos and errors. This was written one night, during my day off, 9pm to 1am.

Akane took a deep breath, the warm Okinawan summer air filling her lungs. The sky was cloudless, hot sunrays bearing down on everyone at the resort.

It was nice to be on this getaway; she had been looking forward to it for months. This past winter was brutal, with thicker snow than usual covering the Nerima streets. They were snowed in for days. School was cancelled for most of the week, businesses were closed, and all the inhabitants of the Tendo household were on lockdown.

It was actually her father's idea to take a vacation. There was a flux of clients that showed up in the spring, paying for a thirty-day trial at the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts dojo. 'Try it out for thirty days for this low price', the advertisement basically said. Nabiki got the idea to give martial arts trials on a website which offered coupons to various local businesses. Soun and Genma were hesitant at first. They were old school, if you will. This wasn't a trivial gym membership. This was an art form, a discipline.

But so many people came in. And those people brought money. Some even stayed more than the month trial.

Everyone was up for a summer vacation. Her sisters, Ranma, Genma… then Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, Kuno-senpai, Mousse, Cologne, Happosai... Yup, Akane sighed. Everyone.

It was nice that Ryouga showed up at the resort yesterday. She had called him a week ago, and she wanted to buy him time in case he got lost (which, he did).

As she wandered around the resort grounds, she could feel the short hairs on the nape of her neck beginning to stick to her skin. Up the path, she entered a small building at the end of the property, tucked in the gardens.

As soon as she opened the door, she felt an immediate gust of air. It was a gentle breeze, coming for the large wooden blade ceiling fan, which was suspended over the foyer. The motif of the lush nature outside was mimicked in the foyer: large leaves sprouting out of a river-rock bed, with a dark wooden walkway assembled over the said rocks.

Akane walked deeper into foyer. In the corner of her eye, she noticed an older man, arranging some leatherbound books into neat piles on a table in the hallway. "Good afternoon," she bowed her head.

"Hello," he turned to her, returning the gesture-greeting.

"Um… Is it alright if I walk around for a bit?" the numerous ceiling fans was such a nice getaway from the heat, she thought.

"Oh, please, help yourself," the man smiled.

"Thank you." She glanced around her, looking down the two hallways that were on either side of her. She could have gone down one of them, but something about the double doors right in front of her was calling to her, beckoning. She reached a hand out and pulled on one of the handles, forcing the door to open for her.

The room behind the doors was much larger than the foyer. Ceiling fans darted the space, and rows of pews were arranged to face the wall to wall windows. In front of the large window was a large, thick wooden table, covered in a crisp white cloth.

From the outside, Akane would have never imagined that this building was a chapel.

And to her surprise, she saw a familiar figure sitting down in a pew two rows from the altar. She knew that head of black hair and set of broad shoulders anywhere. It also helped that she could see his signature black braid lazily draped on his right deltoid. Curious, she quietly walked up the center aisle. "Ranma?" she caught his attention.

He briefly glanced back over his shoulder, although he knew it was her just by her footsteps and aura alone. "Hey," he greeted, then turned back to the windows behind the altar.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out. Trying to get away from the crap outside."

By crap, he meant everyone wanting to go to the pool. But that was something he didn't want to risk. Knowing his luck, he would get splashed, Kuno-senpai would harrass him, Kodachi would attack him, and Ukyo and Shampoo who was previously trying to fawn over him would get into a fight with the Kuno siblings, Happosai would try to grab a feel on every female, and that's just the start.

Basically, their normal everyday life.

"Yeah," Akane took a seat at the pew right behind him. "I was trying to get out of the heat."

She watched him, watched the lines of his right arm as it was draped on his backrest, every muscle and vein outlined under his skin. She could barely make out his face, but she could see him staring out of the window, into the view of the blue sky. It wasn't a blank stare by any means. "What's up?" Akane leaned forward, cradling her chin on her hands as she rested her elbows on her knees.

"Huh?"

"Your face. You look like you're thinking. Don't hurt yourself," she verbally jabbed at him.

"Hah-hah," Ranma side-eyed her, letting out a dry, fake laugh.

She smirked back. "No, but really, in all seriousness, what were you thinking about?"

He looked at her carefully, reading the interest in her eyes, before asking, "What do you think you'll be doing after high school?"

"What?"

"After Furinkan High," Ranma repeated in different words. "What do you see yourself doing?"

Akane's hands dropped to cross onto her lap. "Well… I would still be training, definitely. But I want to go to college. Study business, so I can help with the dojo. What about you?"

"I think I'd get a job."

Akane raised a dubious eyebrow. "A job?"

"Yeah," Ranma pivoted his body so that he was facing her more, right arm still draped over the backrest. "Earn enough money so that I can travel the world. And learn as many martial arts as I can. Then, come back to the dojo and officially open it up for business under our management. Think you can finish school by then?"

"Um…" she wasn't sure why, but something about what he said caught her by surprise. She couldn't understand why. They've been engaged of almost two years now; she knew she was supposed to marry him eventually. Hell, it could have happened last year, had it not been for their normal life fiasco interrupting their relationship and hitting pause.

"Relationship" for lack of a better word. She and he had never even said those three words out loud to one another. "I, uh, maybe. But…"

" 'But'?"

"To be honest, I always thought I would manage the school when I was married. With my husband."

"And?"

"And, we're not married, Ranma."

"Oh," he breathed, as if suddenly realizing their status. "But, we're engaged."

"You really think that's going to change?" Akane couldn't believe how naive he was. "With the way our lives are, you think there will come a time when we'll have no fights, no interruptions, no random craziness?" Akane scoffed. "I could name four reasons why we'll never get married," and she began to count off on her fingers. "Ukyo, Shampoo, Kuno-senpai, Kodachi-."

"P-chan," he grunted under his breath.

Akane froze. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," Ranma shook his head and turned away, a sour expression still clearly visible on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but nevertheless, continued on. "Face it, Ranma, a wedding probably won't happen, no matter how much we planned it."

Ranma stood up straight, nearly startling Akane. "Wait there," he instructed, and he dashed out the door into the foyer. Akane watched curiously as she heard muffled voices coming from the closed foyer door. She stood, watching the door, trying to make out words, but soon it stopped, just as Ranma re-entered the chapel. "Okay," he muttered to himself, as if trying to organize his thoughts. "You're right, Akane," he said as he walked up to her, stopping at the opening of her pew. "Let's just not plan it then. Let's just do it."

"Do...what?"

"Get married."

Akane's eyes widened like saucers. "What?"

The doors opened. The man who she saw earlier entered, this time with a small piece of paper in his hand. He briefly skimmed over it as he was walking towards them. "Are we ready?" he asked, looking to the couple.

"Ready for what?" Akane couldn't keep up with what was going on in Ranma's head.

"This guy is a priest-."

"Uh, Minister," the old man corrected.

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma brushed it off. "He can marry us right here, right now."

If Akane's face didn't look surprised earlier, it sure did now. She could feel the floor open from underneath her, the pure wave of shock and nerves hitting her like an uppercut. "WHAT?"

"C'mon, it makes sense," Ranma reasoned. "Like you said, if we plan something, it'll all just blow up in our faces. Let's not plan it, let's just go through with it."

Akane could feel her whole body flush with anticipation, her heartbeat punching into her upper ribcage. "But- this-this is nuts!"

"No, it's not!" Ranma argued. "It makes sense! You want to get married, right?"

Akane opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

This time, Ranma's face showed nervousness and anxiety. "You… Akane? You still do, right?"

"Do… do you?"

A blush erupted from Ranma's cheeks. "I-I asked you first."

"I'm asking you now."

"Well-erm, that," he placed both hands on the back of his head, looking away.

Akane knew how he felt. She was positive. But, even at this stage in the game, they couldn't be honest with one another and tell each other? Really? Why? She thought back to when she woke up in his arms, back in China after the final fight with Saffron, feeling his tears pouring down his face, wetting her fingertips as she reached out for his cheek. He thought she died that day, he thought he didn't have a chance to say he loved her.

But does it really matter?, Akane asked herself. Because on that day, she could feel it. He didn't say the words out loud but she could feel his declaration fill her from head to toe. It was like nothing she ever experienced before. Like sunlight warming every vessel inside her, like butterflies erupting in her chest, like finally releasing a breath in utter and unquestionable happiness she had been holding in for years...

And those times when he blatantly called out that "Akane is mine"... for once in her life, she wanted to claim "Ranma is mine."

She wanted that. So badly.

Akane stood up from her seat, bracing her hand onto the pew. Ranma watched her carefully as she straightened her light yellow sundress, the hem falling mid-thigh. Then, she looked up to him, met his gaze, and said, "Okay."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Yeah? Really?"

"Mm-hm."

"Shall we?" the reverend gestured to the altar.

"Oh-okay. Um, yeah," he put his arms to his sides and then stepped back, letting Akane through. They walked side by side before they stopped at the top step of the four step altar space. The minister took his place at the front, his back to the windows, while Ranma and Akane stood in front of him, facing each other.

"Um, excuse me," Akane looked to the minister. "Can you just skip to the important part?" Knowing their luck, an interruption would happen any minute now.

The reverend smiled. "Do you have your own vows?"

Akane blinked. "Um… not really."

"Actually," Ranma cleared his throat, his eyes momentarily closed before reaching to hold her hands. "Um…"

Akane could feel warm tingling sensations trickle its way from their point of contact.

"So…" Ranma began, "you know, I'm not really good at words, so I'm going to try and give this my best shot. When the old man told me I was engaged to be married to a Tendo, I wasn't too happy about it. You know, being forced into it. I guess, if I had to, I hope I would end up with a typical ideal wife: graceful, well-mannered, a great cook, someone really nice. Then, you were picked on the spot, and turns out, you were nothing like that."

An angry twitch manifested on Akane's face. Seriously?!

"Let's be honest, you're kind of a brute, you're short-tempered, your cooking attempts should be quarantined by poison control, you-."

"Are these vows or insults?!" she raised her voice at him.

"Hey, if you just give me a minute!" Ranma declared, defensively. "As I was saying, you at first seemed to not be a typical ideal wife. And then, I got to know you. And it turns out, typical doesn't matter. 'Cause, see, I saw that you were strong-willed, driven, and you have this capacity for compassion I don't think I've ever seen in anyone before. So yeah, you're not perfect. I'm not perfect. But that doesn't matter, because I want you with me. And I'm going to keep wanting you with me. So, yeah… that's it." Throughout his vow, his gaze was fixed to their hands, as their grip was around hers. However, when he was finished, his eyes fell on her face, only to widen in panic.

Akane could feel small tears falling down her face. She sniffled, and rubbed her nose briefly on her forearm.

"Wh-what are you crying for?" Ranma panicked.

"I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"It was just really sweet! I'm fine!" Akane exclaimed awkwardly. "Okay, hang on, I want to say something too, um…" she had to take a few more short breaths to compose herself. "So, I first met you, you know. Boy you. And I thought you were an insensitive jerk, a pervert, an arrogant idiot… and at times, you still are-."

"Hey, you," Ranma glared at her with narrowed eyes.

"How does it feel, getting a taste of your own medicine?" Akane returned his glare with equal annoyance.

The minister said nothing, only stood silently, trying to keep his judgements off his face.

Akane took a deep breath, sighed, and dug into her inner willpower to continue. "But, Ranma… despite all that, you are always keeping me protected. When I'm around you, I can feel your strength, and it could be when we're walking to school, or in the middle of the fight of our lives. I feel safe with you. I feel like because of you, I have a sense of freedom to be myself. And I hope, I could give you that feeling too. A safe space, where you can be who you want to be, without any judgement, or expectations. Like… a home," Akane realized, through all the jabbering and scattered thoughts, exactly what she wanted to say. "You're my home, Ranma. And I want to be yours. I'll do everything in my power to be."

"Akane…" Ranma looked at her with an expression of wonderment. His lips were slightly parted as his blue-grey eyes gazed at her, drinking in her words. His grip on her hands tightened ever so gently, and he looked down, closing his eyes.

Akane's brow furrowed. "Are-are you okay?"

"Fine!" Ranma choked through the knot in his throat. "Can you just get on with it?" he glared at the minister.

Akane pressed her lips together, suppressing the laugh threatening to erupt from her mouth. She could see a thin sheen of tears lining his eyes.

"Do you plan to exchange rings?" the reverend asked.

"Uh…" Ranma paused and then looked around his immediate area. "Um… hang on." He ran back outside to the foyer and then quickly returned with two resort souvenir keychains that were sold in the foyer. He quickly disassembled it, all while quickly saying "I'll pay for these later. Or, can you charge my room?"

The reverend shook his head, silently dismissing payment.

Ranma continued to fiddle with the chains, taking off the charms, until only the small split rings remained. He tossed the rest of the keychains onto the front pew, while handing one ring to Akane. "Okay, ready," he said.

The minister had recited words for Ranma to repeat, but Ranma took the liberty of modify it when necessary. "I give you this ring… as a symbol of my love and devotion… I commit my heart and soul to you… I ask you to wear this ring… at least until we get back home and I buy you a real one… as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today, our wedding day."

As he said the last three words, he slipped the ring onto her left thumb, seeing as the split ring was far too wide for her ring finger.

She repeated the words as well, with her own changes. "I give you this ring… as a symbol of my love and devotion… I commit my heart and soul to you… I ask you to wear this ring… until I also get you one… as a reminder of the vows we have spoken, our wedding day…" Akane placed the ring on the his left thumb as well, as the weight of the words began to hit her full force. They rejoined hands.

"And if I may..." the reverend stated, "You have both entered this bond of marriage. Please remember this. Remember what brought you here in the first place. Choose kindness and respect, especially during times of turmoil and frustration. Because there will be times when it seems tough, and your lives seem cloudy and dark. But always remember that the sun still exists, even if you lose sight of it. Never forget that." The minister smiled down on both of them and stated his last few lines of the ceremony. "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Akane nervously looked to Ranma, who must have been blushing as equally as her. "So…" she looked up to the minister. "Is this where we… kiss?"

"If you want," he teased good-naturedly. "But you're adults, you can make that decision."

"Right," Ranma breathed just as Akane exhaled. He let go of both hands and reached up to her arms, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. But then, his brow softly furrowed and he reached one hand up to cradle her face. This caused her to look at him, straight into his blue-grey eyes as he used his thumb to gently wipe a small tear that managed to fall down her face. Akane hadn't realized how much she wanted to cry. But everything she was feeling was too raw and too real. Staring into his eyes, so close like this, she saw it all. His nervousness, his trust, his fear, his loyalty…

And her heart kept returning to the time in Jusenkyo, the look she opened her eyes to, his own face smeared with tears.

There was hope in those eyes. She saw that too at the very moment.

Akane placed a hand to his chest and another to gently grip his wrist and sprang to her toes, kissing him. The sensation sent chills all over her body. She had kissed, been kissed by him before, and it always made her heart race, and her mind spin. But this was different, this wasn't just a kiss between a couple, much less to her fiance. This was her first kiss with him as his wife.

As she fell back on her sandaled flat feet, the minister said his congratulations and left them alone. They stood silent for a moment, relishing in the aftermath of their decision. While holding hands, Ranma and Akane both walked to a nearby pew space, and took a seat, facing the floor to ceiling windows.

Both took in and released a breath, at different times. Then, Ranma's voice split the silence in half. "We're… we're married."

"Yeah…" was all Akane could manage to say.

"We're married," he repeated. "Well, maybe not officially on the country paperwork, just to God or whatever, but… we're married."

"Yeah…"

"That's… pretty cool." A gentle smile formed on his lips.

Akane did the same thing. "Yeah," she agreed. "It is." She looked at him. "So, what do we do now?" Tell everyone? Pretend nothing happened? She didn't anticipate anything that far yet.

At first, Ranma didn't have an answer. "I don't know," he said as he draped his left arm behind her backrest. "I… I kinda just want to sit here for a little longer."

"Okay." A couple of few extra minutes wouldn't hurt. Akane leaned back into his arms, sitting flush against his body, feeling the faint rhythm of his heartbeat. Ranma readjusted his left arm so that it was over her shoulders, his left hand hovering over her left shoulder. Akane reached for his left hand with her own, the two split rings brushing each other as their hands gripped one another, their fingers intertwined.