Sendai
By M. Zephyr
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Ranma x Akane. See the bottom of Chapter 1 for an author's note dealing with the entirety of this story.
A collection of scenes, from immediately after chapter 16, to several years later.
Epilogue
Meanwhile, near a remote village in the Qinghai province of China ...
‹Where am I now?›
The surrounding trees and mountain ridges did very little to answer the question. However, there was a stream flowing down a waterfall from the hillside he stood beside, and a stand of trees nearby acted somewhat as a windbreak. It seemed like a good place to set up a camp. Ryoga shrugged his pack off of his tired shoulders.
‹Damn Ranma anyway.›
It wasn't particularly clear what Ranma was to be damned for, not even to the boy thinking the thought. The thought was more of a habit than anything else, and came to him easily as he was pulling a tent out of his very large pack. Due to a great deal of practice, it wasn't long before the tent was set up, a small fire was burning, and the rabbit he had killed earlier was skinned and cooking over the fire. He sat back meditatively while he waited for it to finish, wondering what else in his life could go wrong, and the reasons why Ranma would be responsible for it doing so.
As he was thinking about taking the rabbit off of the fire, he heard a twig snap a short distance behind him, and leapt to his feet, spinning around and dropping into a fighting stance. He was quite surprised to see a young woman with purple hair.
"Shampoo? What are you doing on Hokkaido?"
"Stupid pig-boy. You is in China, near home village."
"Oh. Well then, what are you doing here? Why aren't you back in Japan chasing Ranma? By the way, I found out where he is. He's in a city called Sendai, attending a school called Masamune."
Shampoo practically growled, clenching her fists. "Idiot boy! Shampoo already know this! And beside, he graduated by now, so no longer going to that school. Am here because great-grandmother make Shampoo come back to village, say can no chase Ranma anymore, must be punished by council. Why you no take Akane away from Ranma before all this happen? Then Shampoo would have Ranma!"
"Hey, why didn't you drag Ranma back here a long time ago? Then Akane would have been free to fall in love with me! As far as I'm concerned, it's your fault, not mine! Well, your fault and Ranma's also."
Unfortunately for Ryoga, Shampoo's temper was stretched a little thin at that moment. She had been devastated at being forced to give up on Ranma, and had been humiliated to appear in front of the council to be punished for it, even if the punishment hadn't been as severe as it could have been. She had just returned from a visit to the Musk that morning, who weren't exactly her favorite people to deal with, and had been forced to immediately turn around and join the hunting party she was out with, tracking down a rabid bear. Ryoga's complaint was just one straw too many.
"You stupid pig-boy! It all your fault, not Shampoo's. You too stupid, too weak, to fight Ranma. You coward about facing Akane, not know what to do with woman even if had one. You a pathetic excuse for male, even stupid Mousse is smarter. I teach you lesson now should have been given long ago."
With that she pulled out her bonborri.
"Are you challenging me Shampoo? Even Ranma only wins against me by trickery; you wouldn't stand a chance."
This time Shampoo really did growl. "Yes, I challenge you. Show you how stupid and weak you are."
Ryoga snorted. "Fine by me. I could use a good fight right now. Bring it on!"
From the trees nearby, an old woman's eyes watched the scene unfolding before her. With the hand not holding her staff, she waved back the warriors behind her.
The two combatants closed quickly, only to have a swing of a bonborri send the boy flying, to bounce off of the hillside near the waterfall. However, he climbed right back to his feet, laughing. Shampoo hissed slightly as the memory of just how tough Ryoga is was finally recalled to her, and she knew that this fight was going to be much more difficult than she had planned.
The fight continued for some time. The rabbit, fire and tent were early casualties, being trampled into the ground. The trees nearby suffered a fair amount of damage also. Both contestants were bruised and bloody, and Shampoo was trying to catch her breath against what she suspected to be another cracked rib. They were now circling each other warily.
Shampoo moved in again, swinging her remaining bonborri, striking with all of the speed of a cobra. However, it wasn't fast enough, as Ryoga stepped inside the swing and caught her under the chin with an open palm strike. The bonborri went flying in one direction, and Shampoo in another, where she landed hard on her back. That landing probably would have hurt a great deal, particularly the way her head hit the ground, if it weren't for the fact that she was unconscious before she came down.
Ryoga grimaced slightly as he stretched; some of the bruises actually hurt. The fight had however been rather cathartic for him, and he was feeling less depressed than when he had set up camp, despite the loss of his dinner. Mindful of Shampoo's curse, he picked up some water which had been sitting near the fire to heat, and holding it at shoulder height, poured it down onto her face.
Shampoo spluttered and coughed the water out of her nose and mouth, struggling to sit up. She managed to do so, looking around a little dazedly at first, recalling what had just happened. ‹I lost,› she moaned mentally. Suddenly, the potential implications occurred to her, and she looked around a little wildly to make sure that there had been no witnesses. With a very audible groan this time, she saw Cologne stepping out of the trees.
The elder helped her great-granddaughter to her feet, and gave her a little shove in Ryoga's direction, where he was bent over with his back to them picking up some of his stuff which had suffered in the battle.
"Well, great-granddaughter, it looks like you've won yourself a husband."
"WHAT?" Ryoga's shout would have frightened off all wildlife in the area, if the earlier fight had not already done so. He stood back up, spinning around quickly, only to find Shampoo right in his face.
With a look of immense resignation on her face, Shampoo leaned forward slightly and kissed him right on the mouth.
"Wo ai ni, airen." It sounded like every word were being dragged out of her throat, over broken glass.
"Uh uh, no way, ain't gonna!" Ryoga was backing away from her rapidly, waving his hands in front of him. He saw Cologne gazing placidly on the scene from behind Shampoo. He contemplated the possible loss of his tent and some cooking utensils, decided that under the circumstances it would definitely be worth it, grabbed his pack as quickly as he could, and turned and ran for the trees.
Cologne gave a negligent signal with her hand, and a group of female warriors stepped out of those trees, holding swords. They looked mildly amused, but their expressions also indicated that they would use the swords if necessary. Ryoga skidded to a halt and looked behind him. To his complete lack of surprise, more warriors were stepping out of the trees back there. He shuddered, and the pack fell from nerveless fingers. He turned back toward Shampoo and Cologne with a terrified look.
"Can we talk about this?" he practically begged. His only answer was a shake of Cologne's head. Shampoo's eyes were looking down at her toes, but her expression was one of disgust.
An hour later a circle of warriors marched back into their village, swords still drawn, and with a visibly depressed boy marching in their midst. Cologne was at their head, and an equally depressed Shampoo was trailing behind, dragging her feet in the dirt. They led Ryoga to the council hall, where the elder suddenly appeared in front of him, her staff coming toward him, and he lost consciousness.
He awoke to find himself naked except for boxers, chained spread-eagled to a stone floor in the midst of glowing diagrams. There was a circle of elderly Amazon females around him, chanting. The air felt thick, and he found that he was unable to speak. These conditions persisted for what he judged to be about twenty minutes before the chant ceased, the floor stopped glowing, and the air seemed to clear.
"What happened? What have you done?" His throat felt very dry.
One of the women came up to him and poured a small amount of drink into his mouth. It was alcoholic, but not very strong. As he got a better look at her, he saw that it was Cologne.
"Your family suffers from an inherited curse, son-in-law, which in the past has both caused you to get lost, but also caused you to home in on people who are familiar to you. If you have suspected that this trait is magical in nature, then you were correct. We have just modified it. So long as you remain in the near environs of our village, you will not get lost. However, whenever you wander away from it, you will not home in on any person but will instead home in on this village. To put it bluntly, you cannot escape; if you attempt to do so, you will merely end up coming right back here."
"What if I refuse to marry Shampoo?"
"You're already married to her, in the eyes of our laws. Now, you cannot escape our village. The only home you will have here is the one that she shares. The only food that you will have is that which is provided to her house. Strong you may be, but you cannot stand against all of our warriors, and if you disobey you will be punished. The same goes for Shampoo, who seems to be little more happy about these events than are you. You are expected to provide strong children for our people; if your wife does not turn out to be pregnant within a few months, then steps will be taken to 'help' the two of you along. We will release you now and escort you to your new bride."
So saying, the chains were removed from him, and he was handed clothing typical of the village males to robe himself in. Seeing little other choice, he did so and was led to a small house, where Shampoo was waiting at the door. Upon seeing him, she sighed quietly, and motioned him to come inside, which, after a moment's hesitation, he did.
As the door closed behind him, he asked quietly, "Is there any way out of this?"
She shook her head. "No. Great-grandmother is insistent. Cannot let another husband get away, shame would be far too great. We have no choice, even if you no like, even if I no like. We no have wedding night tonight, but cannot put off too long, or great-grandmother will use potions. But tonight I start teaching you our language. If must have you as husband, then you learn to speak to wife properly."
Ryoga sighed, and hung his head deeply, wondering just how the hell this was Ranma's fault.
On a bright, sunny day, a young married couple were making their way into a building on a college campus.
"Ready for your first day of college, Ranma?"
"Yeah, I guess. Who'd have ever thought, back when I first showed up in Nerima, me going to college?"
"Nobody who saw you sleep through all of your classes that day, certainly. However, they probably would have thought it more likely than that we would be married when you did so."
"Heh, I suppose so. Still, there's nobody that I'd rather be going to college with than you, tomboy."
"The same goes for me, baka."
Time had passed. Akane and Ranma were sitting down to lunch in a campus cafeteria, and he was speaking. "So love, what do you think of that offer to teach part-time at the dojo on weekends?"
"I think we should take it. It'll be valuable experience for when we start teaching at our own."
"That's what I was thinking too. Hey, guess who called this morning after you left. It was Ukyo, wanting to let us know that Konatsu proposed to her, and they're planning to get married next summer. They're planning a western ceremony with all the trimmings, and want to know if we're willing to be best man and matron of honor."
Akane smiled happily. "What'd you tell her?"
"That I had to ask you, of course, but that I was pretty sure that you'd say yes. She sounded pretty happy. She's been waiting for it long enough; they've been dating for more than two years now, and she confided in me nearly a year ago that she was hoping they'd end up getting married."
Akane was genuinely pleased for her one-time rival. "I'm glad. We'll call them up tonight and tell them we'd be happy to do it."
Ranma returned his attention to his meal. "Good. So what do you want to do after dinner, tonight?"
He gave a little eep, as he felt a hand grasp him high up on his thigh. In a sultry voice, his wife asked, "How about a repeat of last night?"
He turned to her and grinned tolerantly, "Jeez, when I think of the early days and how you'd always be bashing me and calling me a pervert ..."
"... who'd have dreamed that I'd end up being the more perverted of the two of us," she completed with a laugh. "Just thank your lucky stars, mister, 'cause you know you love it."
"Ranma, I received a letter today from father. You'd better sit down."
"Okay, I'm sitting. What is it?"
"It's about Happosai. They found him at an onsen lying on top of a huge pile of women's underwear. The doctors say that his heart just ... stopped."
"Oh. Um, well, the passing of an era, I guess. At least it's probably the way that he would have wanted to go."
"Akane Saotome."
He watched his wife as she walked ahead of him up to the speaker.
"Ranma Saotome."
It was his turn to walk up. He took his diploma from the outstretched hand, and bowed. As he finished walking across the stage, he smiled and waved at his relatives in the audience. Both of his parents were present, as were his father-in-law, his sisters-in-law Nabiki and Kasumi, their husbands, and Kasumi's six month old daughter Kimiko. It was only last weekend that they had attended Kasumi's graduation from Tohoku. She would be starting medical school in just a few weeks.
It was so hard to believe that they had finished college. They would be moving out of their apartment in just three days, and moving back into the old house in Nerima. They would take a short vacation, and then it would be time to put all that they had learned into practice, and start teaching martial arts at the dojo once more. Soun Tendo had decided to move out of the house and move in with Ranma's parents for at least a year, to allow the young couple a little more privacy while they started their business and their life together back in Nerima. Later he might decide to move back in with them.
Ranma felt more than ready to face the new challenge.
"Honestly, Ranma, I'm fine. I've already turned over all of the advanced students to you, and the doctor says it's perfectly all right for me to teach the basic classes for another month. Then Hikari-san will be coming down to stay with us for the next few months to help you out while his sons run their dojo."
"Okay, okay. Sorry. I've just never been a father-to-be before." He lay his hand tenderly on his wife's abdomen.
Akane smiled at him, the smile that had melted his heart the first time that he saw her. "And I've never been a mother before, but we'll be doing it together, partners in this just as in everything else. But maybe I should make you have the next one."
Her husband shuddered. "Don't even joke about that. Besides, you don't have the right plumbing."
She chuckled, then said, "By the way, Ukyo called a little while ago. She, her husband, and their two kids are coming by this afternoon. She said something about wanting to share horror stories about the later stages of pregnancy and giving birth, from the point of view of someone who's been through it."
"Oh." He sounded a little nonplused. "Well, try not to let her get to you with that stuff."
Akane grinned malevolently. "I'll be fine. It's your tail she's planning to twist with those stories, not mine, baka."
"It's a boy!"
Ranma stared down proudly at his newborn son, while holding the hand of his exhausted wife, wondering if feeling would ever return to his fingers where she had him in a vise-like grip. He was also a little worried, wondering if the baby was supposed to look that bloody.
"You two have a fine, healthy son. ... Actually," the doctor winced in pain as the newborn infant grasped his finger, "it seems to be a very strong healthy baby. Just a moment and ... here you go Mrs. Saotome."
Akane looked down lovingly at the child which was finally on the outside of her body, then turned her gaze up to her husband. "He's beautiful," she whispered.
Ranma nodded, then leaned down over the tiny bundle in her arms. "Say hello to your mother, Ryuma. You don't know it yet, but you're the heir to the united School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
The new mother punched his arm weakly. "Give him a chance to learn to walk before you start teaching him how to kick." She paused to contemplate what she had just said, then admitted with a wry smile, "Come to think of it, he's been demonstrating for the last several months that he already knows how to kick."
Ranma grinned in return. "No need to wait; there's plenty we can start teaching him before he learns to walk. Don't worry though, I'm not planning on taking him on any ten-year training trips."
"You'd better not, you baka!" Looking down again, "We do pretty good work, don't we?"
His own smile was tender. "Yeah, we do."
A little later, they were in a private room, and their new son was nursing. Their conversation had turned to details of the school.
"What did you tell your father?" Akane had just asked.
Ranma grimaced. "Thanks, but no thanks. We've united the two schools, and are running the dojo just like they always wanted. I've told them that they're just going to have to sit back and let us run it the way we want to, that their advice is not unwelcome but is unnecessary."
Akane's mouth twisted. "Huh, more diplomatic than I would have been. So, has Hikari-san made up his mind yet?"
This time Ranma gave his wife a broad smile. "Yeah, he's planning to stay with us and help out part-time at the dojo for an extended period, so that we can have a little extra time to raise our son. The school's doing well enough now that we can afford it, and his sons are having a grand time running their dojo without having their dad watching over their shoulders."
Akane smiled back, then the corners of her mouth drooped slightly. "I'm glad. Besides, it's probably going to take a while for me to get back into shape after this."
"Oh, a little while sure, but not too long I think. Before you know it, you'll be knocking me on my tush in the dojo, to the amusement of our students. It'll do them good to see me sparring again with someone who's actually capable of knocking me down. Makes it seem more realistic to them to aspire to reaching that sort of level themselves."
Ranma looked down at his beautiful wife, nursing their new son, remembering the cute but angry schoolgirl to whom he had first been introduced under ridiculous circumstances nearly nine years previously. They had faced many challenges during those years, but nothing that came close to stopping them once they had started facing those challenges together. He reached down and took her hand in his, and she smiled up at him. She was friend, lover, wife, partner. She was his and he was hers, forever.
THE END